How do you know which annuals will do well in your garden?
Annuals are so tempting in the garden center, all lined up in neat rows. To help make good choices, check out the research that's been done in your area's test gardens. |
In my work as a landscaper, I'm responsible for choosing a fair number of annuals that are planted in clients' gardens. And when the plants fail to perform, they look to me. So, who do I look to?
Choosing annuals is tricky because you can't rely on the catalog photos or the plant tags. They always look spectacular. When it comes time to fill your cart with little plastic pots and six-packs, it's hard to make good choices because everything looks so good. What's more, growers are likely to choose plants that are "showing color" early because folks are less likely to buy plants that are not in bloom yet.
If you want to make smart choices, do a little research — or take advantage of the work done by someone else. In addition to my own trial-and-error, I look to reports prepared by the local university. They do trials every year, featuring the All-America Selections. I can see them in the park downtown — and read their reports online. What is an "All-America Selection"? These are flowers and vegetables that have been tested by a network of independent judges who say the varieties have "superior" performance.
But what's "superior" in San Francisco might be "disappointing" in Denver. That's why these local tests are so valuable. They give you a better idea of how the top annuals perform in your area. For instance, I saw some new begonia cultivars in a catalog. They looked fabulous, but local tests give them a ranking of "d", which means dead. Oh, I'll still try a few, but I won't do a major planting for a key client.
Keep in mind that in some cases, the failure can be blamed on the weather. Last year's testers noted that last July was wetter than normal. Sometimes it's just bad luck. The key is this: Get information from a variety of sources, such as the local test garden or your neighbor down the street. To find out what kind of testing is going on in your area, go to the All-America Selections site and/or check with your state cooperative extension system.
Based on 2008 test results, here are some of the winners in my area. All of them are on my shopping list for 2009:
- Bidens 'Solaire Yellow'
- Celosia 'Chinatown'
- Coleus 'ColorBlaze Sedona'
- Euphorbia 'Diamond Frost'
- Portulaca 'Yubi Apricot'
- Zinnia 'Magellan Coral'
- David Grist, Online Content Coordinator, Gardener's Supply
At our store, and I suspect across the nation, the demand for fruit plants is up sharply.
Everbearing strawberries produce succulent berries all summer. |
The grow-your-own movement is stronger than it’s been in about 60 years, judging by the way vegetable seeds, onion sets, and seed potatoes are flying off the racks. Germinating mix and seed-starting supplies are in demand, too, as novice gardeners prepare to grow some of their own food for the first time. Their interest goes beyond vegetables, however. At our store, and I suspect across the nation, the demand for fruit plants is up sharply, too. Some fruits are easy to grow and integrate into the landscape and can even be grown in containers. Strawberries and blueberries are especially suitable for home production and first-time gardeners.
Blueberry bushes are ornamental year round, starting with white bell-shaped flowers in spring, delicious fruit in midsummer, burgundy to flaming red fall foliage, and interesting winter stems. The plants demand very acidic soil, however, preferring a pH range of 4.5 to 5.5. They have shallow roots systems and need moist, well-aerated, well-drained soil. One of the easiest ways to achieve provide for their special requirements is to plant blueberries in raised beds filled with amended soil. Raised beds look tidy and are easier to keep weeded, too.
Strawberries are an especially satisfying home garden crop. Lifting an emerald green leaf to reveal a cluster of juicy, fragrant, red berries takes me back to my childhood every time. Ever-bearing strawberry varieties, such as Seascape, bloom and produce fruit all summer long, making them ideal for casual, extended harvests. Raised beds and containers make good homes for strawberries where in-ground planting isn’t practical.
My favorite raised bed for growing blueberries and strawberries is the Grow Bed because the net cages that fit snugly over the frame protect the berries from birds and other animals. The nets have their own internal support frame that folds flat for storage. I planted June-bearing strawberries in a Grow Bed last spring and eagerly await my first crop this summer. The plants have over-wintered beautifully and new leaves are already peaking out of the mulch.
Blueberries are an easy-to-grow, healthy snack and the bushes are ornamental, too. |
It’s April and I’ve got daffodils on my mind, as I have every spring.
W.F. Leenen breeds new varieties of daffodils in his greenhouse in Holland. For more about how new flowers are created, read about Dutch flower breeders. |
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Daffodils bloom in drifts in my Vermont garden.
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It’s April and I’ve got daffodils on my mind, as I have every spring. From early April, through May, and even into early June, waves of daffodils bloom in succession throughout my yard. Their blooms cheer commuters passing our house and begin the season of home-grown bouquets. Each autumn, when the bulbs become available for planting, I add a few new offerings from my favorite catalogs. My collection now exceeds 70 varieties.
The American Daffodil Society reports over 13,000 named daffodil hybrids within its twelve recognized divisions. The Daffodil Photo Database they sponsor is a valuable and fascinating resource for anyone who wants to identify what’s blooming in the yard, learn the history of a particular variety, or delve into the world of daffodil breeding. Even a casual glance through the images on this site reveals the diversity of daffodils’ bloom color, size, and shape.
Double varieties resemble carnations or miniature peonies while some in the split-corona division look like hibiscus. Some have two or more flowers per stems, others have long trumpets in the center of each flower and others have flat, button-like centers instead. Blooms range from postage-stamp to softball size.
Daffodils aren’t just yellow anymore, either. You can choose from white, orange, red, and pink and all the shades and combinations in between. One of my favorites, Apricot Whirl, has fragrant, salmon-pink and white flowers that don’t even look like daffodils. Another favorite, Sabine Hay, has soft amber petals around a bright red-orange center.
If you want sweetly scented blooms, choose varieties in the jonquil or tazetta divisions. They usually have several fragrant flowers per stems. Award-winning Quail and Martinette are among the best in this group. A handful will perfume a room.
No matter where you live, daffodils have a place in your garden. They’ll grow in the ground almost anywhere in the country as long they have well-drained soil and a few hours of full sun. Most varieties need cold winter soil, but many thrive without it and grow well throughout the southern states.
In honor of Earth Day, I'm turning an old compost bin into a new potato bin.
The three-bay bin at the north end of my vegetable garden, with the new bin behind it off to the right. |
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Here is the almost-emptied three-bay bin. The section on the left is almost ready for planting potatoes. Once I move the leaves from the other two bins, they'll be ready, too. In late summer, after I've harvested the potatoes, I'll use the area like a big coldframe. |
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My Earth Day compost bin. This is day one. Looks like I'll need to staple some hardware cloth across that front edge to keep things inside. |
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I’ve had a three-bay, homemade compost bin for about 15 years. Here's how they're supposed to work: Once the first bin is full of yard and kitchen scraps, you move the material into the middle bin to cook. Then you gradually refill the first bin with fresh material. When the middle bin has decomposed, you move that material into the third bin to finish, and then transfer what’s now in the first bin to the middle one. The process of moving the material from one bin to the next, gets it aerated and mixed. In theory, you always have some finished compost waiting in that last bin.
I'm sure this is a great system, but I'll never know for sure. In the dozen years I had it, I never once moved material from one bin to another. Everything just got tossed into the first bin. Once it was full, which usually took about a year, I’d push the stuff on top aside and remove the finished stuff from the bottom. The second bin was usually filled with leaves, which I use for mulching and mixing in with the kitchen scraps in the first bin. The third bin usually contained a tangle of tomato cages, bamboo poles, wooden stakes and wire hoops.
This system could have continued for years, but this spring, I decided that I want to try growing potatoes again. Unfortunately, every inch of my vegetable garden is already spoken for.
A few weeks ago, while wandering around the yard waiting for the ground to thaw, my eyes fell upon those poorly utilized compost bins. If I emptied them, I could plant potatoes inside the bins and then use the same area as a coldframe during late fall and winter.
This meant I needed a different place for compost. With austerity in mind, and wanting to repurpose used materials rather than buy new, I pitched the idea of a new bin made out of wooden pallets. The photo above shows the result.
This new bin will hold about 35 cubic feet, so it will easily accommodate everything I can put into it from now until the snow flies. At that point, I’ll leave it sit for the winter and put a smaller enclosed bin, such as our Deluxe Pyramid Composter, closer to the house so it’s easy to get to during the winter months (when taking the compost out often means wading through 2 or 3 feet of snow).
If you don’t have access to used pallets and someone who is handy with a hammer, here's another option: We have a new extra-large compost bin called The Backyard Recycler and it holds a whopping 20 cubic feet. It has a galvanized steel roof, wooden sides and clean-out doors at the front and back.
If you're trying to improve the look of your garden, start at the edge.
Not a bloom in sight, but the edges are looking nice. |
The back yard looks pretty grim at this time of year. The lawn looks terrible. Everything seems to be either gray or brown. Still, I love looking down at it all from the second-floor window. Why? The fresh-cut edges on all the beds are so crisp.
Some might say that I'm a little bit obsessive about bed edges. I enjoy cutting the thin strips of sod once the frost has left the ground. The smooth curves add a little grace when the landscape is monochromatic and bedraggled. Of course I could put in some permanent edging; I've done that in the front yard. But, I'd miss the chore and all the fussing. Besides, there's not much else to do this early on.
In my work as a landscaper, I always pay special attention to the edge zone. Whether it's cut sod, plastic edging, brick or stone, a clean edge makes almost any garden look better. Just neaten it up, get the weeds out and the whole garden is transformed.
As you look at your garden's edges, here are some things to consider:
- Cutting the edge with a flat-bladed shovel is pretty easy, once you develop a technique. However, you'll probably have to cut the edge two or three times a season if you want to keep it neat.
- Plastic edging or rubber mulch is more permanent. You can leave it in all year, although you might have to reposition it in the spring. The same is true for metal edging, which is expensive, but you only need to put it in once.
- Stones or bricks are fairly permanent, too. However, I find that they tend to sink a bit after a few years. Not a problem: Just pull them up and reposition them for a fresh look. It makes a big difference.
- When selecting something to edge a bed that's near the path of a snowplow or snowblower, choose something that can sustain the damage. The bed along our front walk is lined with tumbled concrete pavers, which can usually withstand a ding from the plow blade.
- David Grist, Online Content Coordinator, Gardener's Supply
Making more plants always makes me happy. With cannas, it's easy.
This is a nice clump with most of the dirt shaken off. The dried stalks from last year make nice "handles" for working with the clump. Before planting the new sections, I cut off the dried stalks. A clump of this size can probably be divided into three sections.
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Just when I can't bear another weekend indoors, it's time to pot up the cannas. Spring's first gardening chore! If you've saved a clump or two of cannas, try my technique.
You can plant rhizomes right in the ground, but I find it more practical to start them in pots first. By the time they're ready to burst out of the pots, it's time to plant them outdoors — or give them away to gardening friends.
Keep in mind that you'll need a sunny place for your new plants. I put them in my greenhouse, which keeps them safe from frost and provides plenty of warmth and sun. You could also set them in a sunny, south-facing window, moving them outdoors when frost-free weather arrives.
Start by shaking the soil from the clumps. I keep the clumps barely moist through the winter, so the soil is usually quite dry. You can replant the whole clump, but I like to divide it so I get more plants. Inspect the thick rhizomes, looking for healthy sections. Try to get sections that have two strong "eyes" (where new growth is emerging) and no sign of rot. Once you've isolated a section, cut it from the main clump with a knife or a sharp pruners. Get as many good sections as you can from each clump.
Once your sections are cut, gather some clean nursery pots. In the fall, I try to save black pots that come with mums. Any 8" (or larger) pot will do, but the mum pots are usually wider, so they can accommodate the rigid canna rhizomes.
 Look for pointy areas on the rhizomes; these indicate new growth. Try to have at least two growth points on each section. |
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Flat, shallow pots called bulb pans are ideal because they can accommodate the sections. I can usually fit several sections in each of these 10-inch bulb pans. |
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Plant the rhizomes about 1-2" deep, using fresh potting soil, such as Transplant Mix. If space is tight, it's OK to plant the rhizomes at an angle. They don't seem to mind being cramped in the pot.
Water the pots well and put them in your sunniest location. Water sparingly until you see new growth because too much water can trigger rot. Once fresh green leaves appear, start fertilizing with a water-soluble fertilizer. Cannas benefit from regular feeding throughout the growing season.
More information on cannas
Make choices with the long term in mind.
Flowering crabapple trees bloom in late spring, then offer ornamental fruit from summer to winter. |
Discover new trees and shrubs by visiting an arboretum, college campus, or display garden. Shown here: Trompenburg Arboretum in the Netherlands. |
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Allow enough space for trees to reach full maturity. Blue spruces can spread 10-20 feet wide. |
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Spring weather in Vermont has been relatively warm and dry this year. Except for the patch on the north side of the house, the snow’s been gone from my yard for more than two weeks. The crocuses and snowdrops started popping open two weeks ago. Not bad for March in Vermont!
All this great weather has lured homeowners outside to assess their yards and dream about changes and improvements to their landscapes. They’ve been coming into our garden center in droves and asking for advice on which trees and shrubs to choose. Woody plants are long-term investments, so it pays to be thoughtful about the choices. Selecting one tree or several shrubs from the hundreds of available species and cultivars is daunting, though, even for landscaping experts.
To narrow the choices and help customers match the right trees and shrubs to their landscape, we ask a series of questions to eliminate unsuitable plants. Our goal is to find plants that will thrive where they’re planted and delight our customers for years to come.
- What growing zone are you in? Most of our customers garden in Zones 4 or 5 with a few in Zone 3. Unlike herbaceous perennial plants, which spend the winter under the snow, woody plants are exposed all year. Shrubs and trees that are marginally hardy in our area may not survive an unusually harsh winter in colder Zones 3-4.
- Tell me about the soil, sun, and wind in your yard. Soil drainage and texture are critical factors. Some trees tolerate wet, clay soils, others require excellent drainage. Soil compaction, pH, and road salt are important in some cases. Sun exposure—the number of hours and time of day—during the growing season is especially important for shrubs. The presence of strong wind may eliminate broadleaf evergreen shrubs and trees with brittle wood.
- How large is the space where you intend to plant? Distance from overhead utility wires, leach fields, roads, buildings, and other trees must be considered, especially for trees. Match the available space to the mature height and spread descriptions for trees and shrubs to allow the plants to reach their full potential without pruning. Avoid planting under roof overhangs and in snow-slide-off zones.
- What ornamental features are important to you? Consider flowers, fruit, bark, seasonal foliage color, wildlife appeal, and growth habit.
- Is low maintenance important to you? Some trees drop messy fruit or large quantities of leaves. Some shrubs grow or bloom better with regular pruning and deadheading. Winter-protective wraps or pest and disease controls may be necessary for others.
Making a thoughtful tree or shrub choice takes time, but it’s time well spent. If you’re planning to add woody plants to your landscape, scout your yard and take notes before heading to the nursery. And don’t be afraid to ask for advice!
Staking tuberous begonias is tricky because the stems are so fragile.
These white blooms really brighten the shady corner of our yard. |
A couple years ago, I inherited some begonia tubers from a woman who was moving away. Tuberous begonias are a little different from other begonias in that they have a big tuber that you can dig up. It's easy to save the tubers if you dig them before frost. The result: bigger plants in the following years.
Although I saved the tubers successfully, I couldn't figure out the best way to stake them. Tuberous begonias have thick stems, but they're brittle. One careless move and SNAP. After a rainfall, the heavy, water-soaked flowers can break off because of their own weight. I tried using a single stake along the main stem. The problem is, it's hard to get the stake near the stem because the tubers are so large. Too close and you'll poke right through it.
This tuber from the white begonia is huge. I potted it up for starting indoors on March 29. |
As the begonias grew, I found the need to add even more support to the spreading "branches". Each plant was supported with several bamboo stakes and Velcro plant ties. It was a lot of fiddly work, but I don't mind staking. In fact, I admit to being obsessed with finding the right stake, hoop or tie for every plant that needs it. So this year, I want to find a better way, and I'm thinking about our 12" Grow-Through Supports.
Anyone else out there growing tuberous begonias? How do you support your plants? Let me know by adding a Comment.
If you'd like to try growing some tuberous begonias this year, purchase a plant at your local garden center or order some dormant tubers by mail. For more on the topic, read Growing Begonias.
- David Grist, Online Content Coordinator, Gardener's Supply
A look at phenology, the study of how plant and animal cycles are influenced by temperature, rainfall and day length.
Phrenology was a 19th century theory that personality tendencies could be inferred by the bumps and depressions on a person’s skull. The word phenology sounds similar but is a very different and much more reliable science with great value for gardeners.
Phenology is the study of how plant and animal cycles are influenced by changes in seasonal and climactic factors such as temperature, rainfall and day length. A phenologist tracks events like the first appearance of robins in spring, when apple trees or lilacs flower, when geese begin migrating south or when trees start to change color in the fall.
Leonard Perry, Extension Professor of Horticulture at the University of Vermont writes:
Tracking the dates of biological events began in pre-agricultural times. The earliest written records were by the Chinese in 974 B.C. The Japanese have been monitoring peak cherry tree bloom for 1,200 years. This type of information is often handed down as folklore, such as the saying about spring bud break and rainfall: "If oak’s before ash, you’re in for a splash. If ash before oak, you’re in for a soak.”
When Dr. Perry first arrived at the University of Vermont in the 1980s, he took over some phenology work begun in 1965 by a Professor Hopp, who tracked bud and bloom times for certain selections of lilac and honeysuckle. Since then, the original work has been greatly expanded by other curious minds, such as geography professor Mark Schwartz at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, who is currently chairman of the National Phenology Network.
Farmers and gardeners have always found phenology information valuable for predicting events such as first frosts, the arrival of certain pests and expected harvest times for crops. Scientists attempting to understand and quantify climate change, are finding these phenology records incredibly valuable.
To get a sense of just how interesting and useful phenology information can be, check out the “citizen scientist” phenology network called Project BudBurst. Right now, you can see live maps that indicate where 75 native species of trees, shrubs, grasses and wildflowers are leafing out or coming into bloom. It’s easy to contribute data about what’s happening where you live. Check out this live map that shows where the common dandelion is blooming. Or this one, which shows where the common lilac is leafing out. Click on the markers to see details.
Happy spring!
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