Archive for March, 2007

Backbone of you garden

If it is trees that you are looking for to line your landscape, then you may want to think about oak trees. These are pest free trees that can adapt to almost any conditions. You cannot beat the beautiful colors of these trees. Oak trees provide lovely shade and no matter where you live, there is probably an oak tree that will work for your design. Maple trees are another great way to go. They also have fascinating colors and can adapt well in any location. If you do not want to use trees, you can always go with a plant or flower that pops out for your border.

Shrubs make good choices for any landscape

You may also choose to have shrubs as your outline for your creative design. Shrubs are a great way to make any landscape idea come together and look well maintained. There are different kinds of shrubs to choose from and again decide on the one that is best for your garden area. Hydrangeas are a beautiful shrub for most areas. The green foliage and vibrant flowers look great in the summer and they also produce festive fall color when the seasons change.

Keywords: Greenhouse Gardening, Landscaping, Plants, Pool, Gardener, Landscape, Trees

Ranunculus

These daintily flowered creepers make splendid terrace plants. The small double flowers are in shades of yellow. Ranunculus asiaticus, tuberous rooted, is one of the best. Although it can be propagated by seed, the tubers are plentiful and low priced. Pot the tubers in early January, several to a 7-inch bulb pan or flat of soil. Tubers should be planted about 1 inch below the soil surface. Grow them in the cool greenhouse, or cold frame. When strong new growth shows, pot them in 2- or 3-inch pots of soil.

Stonecrops-Sedutn and Sempervivum

Most terracing includes steps, ledges, or a retaining wall of stone, brick, or cement. Often the retaining wall is not a complete one. It may be of slender stone slabs wedged into the soil with spaces left between the slabs. For the gardener who wants choice, long-lasting material to add interest to any of these terrace features, suggest that he plant stone crops.

They have thick foliage in shades of gray, green, and rose-tinted green; attractive growth patterns (rosettes, fernlike spires, and slender trailing stems); a bonus of interesting flowers, and the ability to grow in poor soil. You can grow these from seed, giving them the same culture recommended for cactus (page 191). However, the plants of most varieties are reasonably priced and the owner of a small greenhouse may find it more profitable to purchase them in lots of 50 or 100 and retail them. Among my favorite sedums are S. acre, S. album, S. reflexum chameleon, and S. spurium.

Hen-and-chickens is one of the most popular sempervivums. This one, a low-growing gray-green rosette, sends out tiny plants in such abundance it would seem, indeed, to be an old mother hen and her chicks. Cobweb is another attractive sem-pervivum. Gray-green, hairy leaves joined together by a lacy web, plus red flowers, make this an excellent choice for the terrace.

Keywords: Greenhouse Gardening, Landscaping, Plants, Pool, Gardener, Landscape, Trees

Passiflora

The passion flower is a wonderful and “different” vine for terrace trellising. The flower range is from creamy white through lavender, blue, and pink to red. Propagate passiflora during the early spring by taking cuttings and inserting them in any rooting media. They grow well at 70 degrees and can be planted directly into 2- or 3-inch pots. They will flower sparingly in these containers, but they can be sold before flowering

52. Vines, especially unusual flowering types such as this Asarina barclaiana, are in consistent demand for window gardens. (Photograph by Author)

because as soon as prospective buyers note the name passiflora, they are eager to purchase.

A Minnesota grower propagates passiflora by the hundreds and still falls short of supplying the demand. My own greenhouse is so crowded with other things that I lack space for a collection of these vines, much as I would like to have them. Unrooted cuttings sell for 35 cents to a dollar each, depending on the relative scarcity of the particular variety. Highly unusual varieties can be produced by planting passiflora seed which is somewhat difficult to germinate but can be helped along by an overnight soaking in water. Plant in a light soil and keep in a 70-degree house. Germination takes from 2 to 6 weeks. If you want to grow them on yourself in order to have material for cuttings, keep shifting until the vine is in a 5- or 6-inch pot.

In the summer they can be transplanted to the garden; and if your greenhouse can accommodate these big plants, you can dig them in the fall and replant into 8- or 10-inch pots. These older plants will provide you with hundreds of cuttings.

Pinks (Dianthus)

Pinks, so easily grown, and in such a wide variety of colors, are good plants for terraces, bedding, or borders. There are single and double kinds, many having a pungent, clovelike scent. Start seed in February in the cool greenhouse. Make one transplanting to 2- or 3-inch pots, or sell directly from the flats. Cottage pinks (D. plumarius) have the richest odor of all pinks. When selling to new gardeners, be sure to emphasize this asset. These plants usually do not flower the first year but are hardy and will flower the second season. There are many named varieties but if you are starting them from seed it is well to purchase a mixture. From a mixture you will get shades of light lilac, rose, pink, and red. Low-growing Dianthus deltoides has pretty small pink, scarlet, or white flowers with little fragrance. These, too, flower the second year.

China pinks (Dianthus chinensis), the rainbow or annual pinks, grow rapidly from seeds sown in March and grown in the cold greenhouse. Pot and sell from 2- or 3-inch pots or directly from flats. They are not fragrant but their single and double flowers in a wide variety of colors make up for lack of fragrance, and they bloom from seed the first year. Fragrant-flowered Dianthus grenadina resembles the florist carnation and will produce flowers from seed the first year but is not hardy in northern gardens.

Keywords: Greenhouse Gardening, Landscaping, Plants, Pool, Gardener, Landscape, Trees

Candytuft (Iberis)

Flower spikes much like hyacinths, in shades of white, pink and orchid, make these low-growing plants favorites for terrace plantings especially as a planting to top a rock wall.

Plant seeds in mid-January and grow them in the cool greenhouse. These will produce flowering plants for sale in May. Sow thinly in flats of soil, transplant to 3-inch pots about March first.

Carpet Phlox (Phlox subulata)

It is not uncommon to see large areas of terrace given over to this richly colored, spring-flowering perennial. Although you can start carpet phlox also widely known as mountain pink from seed, the plants from which you can make divisions are so reasonably priced that it is not practicable for small greenhouse growers to devote space to seed starting. Plant the divisions in small flats of ordinary soil, give them good light and plenty of water. Grow in the cool greenhouse.

Fuchsia

With their drooping, richly colored, bell-shaped flowers, fuchsias make beautiful potted plants for the terrace, for growing in the outdoor planter, or the cool, well-lighted window garden. Although you can start them from seed by sowing them in a warm house in the spring, it may be more profitable to purchase rooted cuttings, or a few large plants and propagate your own cuttings.

As soon as seedlings show true leaves, and cuttings sprout new leaves, give them weekly dosages of diluted liquid fertilizer. One-fourth the recommended proportion is right for seedlings; dilution for cuttings. The older plants are rested through the winter by storing in a cool place. Start the plants into growth in February or March. As soon as they show strong growth, take cuttings and insert them in flats of good greenhouse soil. If the cuttings are given bottom heat so the soil temperature is about 60 degrees, they will root and be sturdy enough in 3 weeks to pot into 3-inch pots. Encourage growth by growing them on in a warm greenhouse or by giving them another 2 or 3 weeks of 60-degree bottom heat.

They can be sold directly from the 3-inch pots; or, if you desire larger plants, give them another shift into a 5- or 6-inch pot. Cuttings taken in September and grown in 60-degree temperatures without any bottom heat will produce plants for 4-inch pots the following spring.

Keywords: Greenhouse Gardening, Landscaping, Plants, Pool, Gardener, Landscape, Trees

Anemone

These pretty bulbous plants thrive in sun or semishade. Their flowers are like thick-petaled poppies, in red, purple, or white. For summer-flowering plants, start the corms (with “claws” pointing downward) in March in the cold greenhouse. As soon as growth shows, pot up in 3-inch pots of porous soil mixture.

Anemones can be started from seeds sown in July, but the imported corms sold in mixture are so reasonably priced it hardly seems worth while to grow them from seeds.

Astilbe

Astilbe features graceful foliage and feathery flower spires. Large clumps can be divided in the spring and potted in 5- or 6-inch pots of sandy soil. They need plenty of water and should be grown in a warm house. Astilbe forces well for late winter-early spring bloom.

Baby’s Breath (Gypsophila elegans)

The lacy appearance of baby’s breath makes it a welcome addition to the terrace. The freshly cut branches are beautiful in flower arrangements. When dried, they become material for winter bouquets.

Balloon Flower (Platycodon grandiflorum)

Neat growth, handsome flowers-in bud or bloom-make the balloon flower a favorite with gardeners. It is a hardy perennial with blue, purple, pink, or white flowers. Just before opening, the buds become swollen and resemble balloons, thus its common name. There are single and double flowers; plants to 2- and 3-foot heights, or dwarfs. These make especially good terrace material. Start seeds in late February or early March in shady loam and grow in the cool greenhouse. Pot up in 3-inch pots about 6 weeks after seed planting.

Keywords: Greenhouse Gardening, Landscaping, Plants, Pool, Gardener, Landscape, Trees

Sweet Peas

These fragrant old favorites need to get their first spurt of growth before the weather warms too much. Colors range from purest white through all shades of pink and lavender. Soak the seeds in warm water over night. Plant one seed to a 2-inch pot of rich soil. February is a good time. Grow them right on in the cool greenhouse or, after the plants have started into good growth, say mid-March, move them to the cold frame.

Sweet peas should be transplanted to the garden just as soon as danger of frost is passed. They grow best in cooler weather, which is a special sales approach to use on the gardener who just can’t wait as late as May to get his spade in the ground. Cuthbertson’s heat-resistant sweet peas are a good choice for repeat business. These come in all the favorite colors. The Spencer and Zvolanek strains also are well known and thoroughly reliable.

Zinnia

Zinnias have been so improved that now there are forms for every gardening need. There are the baby zinnias, the bedders, the small-flowered sorts (so good in flower arrangements), the improved “giants,” and the cactus types with twisted petal tips.

51. House-plant hobbyists don’t always have a specific purchase in mind

when they drop into your greenhouse. If your stock includes a wide

variety of plants (sizes as well as kinds), you are more than likely to

turn such shoppers into buyers. (Photograph by Roche)

Flowers range from white through yellow, orange, pink, and red, and multicolored. Sow the seeds in April in flats and grow them in the cool greenhouse. Prick off and plant singly as soon as they are easily handled perhaps in 2 weeks. Grow under strong light. Once potted, they can be removed and placed in the cold frame, thus leaving space for starting another crop for the later buyers.

Keywords: Greenhouse Gardening, Landscaping, Plants, Pool, Gardener, Landscape, Trees