Archive for the 'home greenhouse' Category

Designing the perfect landscape for your home can be a challenge. This is true especially if your backyard is a steep hillside. If this is the case for your yard, then prepare yourself for some added work. Do not be afraid to experiment with new ideas and have fun creating your own design.

Preparing your area first

Do the preparations for the new landscape is the first obstacle in the hillside landscaping process. If there is any debris or growth that needs to be cleared, do that first. Make sure all the rocks, brush, and weeds are gone to make space for your new design.

Caring for your new lawn

Taking care of your new investment is up to you. You should maintain a good maintenance schedule which includes watering regularly, mowing twice a week, edging every 7 to 10 days, fertilizing four times a year, and maybe applying lime and thatching once a year.

Fertilizing and watering

You want to keep your grass looking its best all the time. Watering and fertilizing will encourage good grass growth. Determine the best plan for you and for your lawn and then stick to it.

Turf grasses provide outstanding erosion control; absorb the noise and many harmful toxins. Your grass provides oxygen for your family and keeps the environment healthy. Be good to your grass and it will benefit you for years to come.

Get down to the roots

Before you get started on planting your new grass, remember some important factors. Determine the size of the area that you are planting, along with the location, and the soil conditions. You can go to any home and garden center and ask them what the best types of grass are best for you.

Ready to plant your grass

Once you are ready to plant, there are many different methods to choose from including sowing the seed, and laying down sod.

If you enjoy the look and feel of grassy lawns, then there are some important things you should now when it comes to choosing the perfect grass for your landscape. By learning a few things, you will be able to create a lawn that is low maintenance, energy efficient and makes your lawn look the best in town.

Colors of grass to choose

The most popular color of grass is dark green. Everyone wants a deep shade of green for his or her landscape. The only problem with this is that some of your new grass will be invaded with other lighter shades of green. If you prefer dark grass but have light green grass now, choose a turf that blends well because over time, the grass you did not plant will take over the new grass. Lighter shades of green are just as pretty.

Types of grass

Native or exotic grasses will come in all sizes and shapes with a variety made fro every landscape idea and location. It does not matter if you have hot or cold weather, moist or dry, you will be able to find the right grass for you. There are grasses that grow better in the shade as well as grasses that do best in the hot sun. The key is to choose the best one for your situation.

Slender, tapering, red petals give Sprekelia an exotic aspect. It sends out but one flower to a scape, and it requires the same general care as amaryllis. The most common complaint with novice growers seems to be, “I can’t get it to produce flowers the second year.” While in active growth it must never become dry.

Too, the Jacobean lily requires constant fertilizing. I alternate fertilizers-one time a complete commercial type, next time fish emulsion. The plants are sturdy enough to stand summering in the garden, but if you live in a cold area, do not set them out until you are certain danger of frost is over. I once planted a number of sprekelias in the garden on Memorial Day; the following morning there was a freeze so hard the bulbs took the whole summer to recover, and they did not bloom the following winter.

Bulbs are reasonably priced-about 50 cents each in catalogs. Potted plants in bud or bloom bring you about $2.00 each. If you want to try for intergeneric hybrids, this might be a good plant for you to work with. There are reports of hybrids between Sprekelia and Crinum.

Zephyranthes (fairy lilies)

Of easiest culture, the fairy lilies are ideal for the indoor garden, patio, porch box, or greenhouse. The bulbs are small and can be planted singly in 4-inch pots, or several to a bulb pan. The flowers in shades of rose, white, and yellow look like tiny amaryllis. Culture, including rest period, is like that of amaryllis.

Haemanthus, better known as the African blood lily, is fast becoming a popular pot plant. This is an excellent item for collectors, growers of rare house plants, or the gardener who wants one or two “conversation” plants. One firm now lists seven species, and you can get an effective start toward stocking your greenhouse by purchasing a bulb or two of each. I have procured seeds from Africa and grown many of my haemanthus from them. Most bulbs send out many offsets, and these can be removed when they are about a year old. Since the older bulbs retail for

79. A profit-packed bench of orchid plants, ready to please all kinds of customers among the ever-expanding legions of orchid hobbyists. And there’s usually a good market for the cut blooms too. Note the super-drainage holes in the special orchid pots. (Photograph by Genereux)

$1.50 to $10.00, these offsets, especially those of the rarer sorts, are easy to sell. Almost all species are good seed setters. The usual method of pollinating is to rub your hand over the flowers every day while plants are in bloom. This insures pollen distribution of the small flowers.

While the majority of haemanthus grow best in bright light, the white-flowered one, H. albiflos, flowers only in a shaded location.

Haemanthus Katharinea produces a hundred or more tomato-red flowers and supple green leaves; H. multiflora, with its beautifully proportioned flower head, is recommended for the beginner. The neck of the bulb is speckled red, and the flower scape, 12 to 14 inches high, firmly supports the ball of red flowers. Other varieties, as H. magniftcus, and H. coccineus also are red or reddish orange, while H. albiflos and its variations have tassels of white flowers.

Haemanthus requires little rest. Some of the red-flowered varieties shed their foliage about 4 to 6 weeks before sending up bloom scapes; H. albiflos remains evergreen, shedding only some of the older leaves. I keep my haemanthus in the greenhouse the year round, never setting them in dark quarters for a dormant period.

The large Dutch bulbs are favorites with collectors and others who want the pleasure of bringing a bulb to flower in their own homes. Because they take so much space, it is not generally a money-making proposition for the small operator to propagate these bulbs, unless you are thinking of establishing your own line of hybrids. If you want to sell the large Dutch types, you will make more money purchasing bulbs in quantity lots and reselling them at retail in early fall. If you pot leftover bulbs, you can sell them as budded or flowering plants.

The species amaryllis are smaller flowered and much prized by collectors. There are A. striata and its varieties in shades of salmon to near pink; A. calyptrata with fragrant green flowers; the “blue” amaryllis, A. Worsleya Rayneri, with mauve-tinted, ruffled flowers; Mrs. Garfield, a named variety of A. reticulata, having a cream-colored stripe down the leaf midribs and pink-and-white flowers with the coming of autumn.

Dr. Ira Nelson of Louisiana State University has discovered some beautiful South American species. A number of these are definitely yellow. One especially fine one is A. Evansae, which opens creamy yellow and fades to white with foliage and flowers much smaller than those of the Dutch amaryllis. Get your start on the species by purchasing bulbs or seeds. You can then pollinate the flowers and sell the seed crop. Or you can grow the seeds and sell the seedlings, and increase the price according to their age.

Amaryllis calyptrata and A. Evansae are difficult to self pollinate. With these the best procedure is to use pollen from another plant of the same species rather than from the same plant. Thus, it is good insurance to purchase two bulbs of the rarer sorts-or grow a few seedlings for your own hybridizing.

Clivia

An evergreen amaryllid, Clivia produces umbels of salmony orange flowers. Because of its bulk, it is not generally a money maker for the small greenhouse, but you should know about it and perhaps grow a few as a trial. It is stunning in flower, and rather decorative in leaf, too. This amaryllid grows from heavy rootstocks rather than from a bulb. The dark green leaves remain on the plant for 2 or more years. Clivias require the same soil and light as amaryllis, but they need somewhat different care during their rest period. While they should never be allowed to go dormant, they must have at least 3 months in a cool (50-degree) temperature to form buds. Blooming time is variable, but usually from Easter until midsummer.

Do not repot oftener than absolutely necessary, as clivias are temperamental and seldom produce flowers the year they are repotted. Clivia miniata, the most popular one, has large umbels of salmon flowers; C. caulescens, a good one for collectors, slender orange-and-green flowers. Seeds of either bring as much as 25 cents each; mature plants of C. miniata sell for around $4.00; C. caulescens for at least $6.00.

Few large growers have made a specialty of the amaryllids, which include the handsome Agapanthus, Clivia, Haemanthus, Sprekelia, and Zephyranthes. Currently the main sources are foreign, but there is no reason why you couldn’t grow and sell them here. Many have only basic cultural requirements.

How to Grow Amaryllids

Culture is about the same for all of them. Large bulbs are potted so their crowns are well above the soilabout one-third. Smaller bulbs are set with crowns barely protruding from the soil. All are heavy feeders, and during their growth period they should not be allowed to dry out.

Prepare a soil of fibrous loam, sand, and leafmold with a pH no higher than 6.5. Growers in Florida have experimented with synthetic growing media. Wyndham Hayward of Lakemont Gardens, Winter Park, recommends potting in sphagnum moss well firmed around the bulb. The bulbs are fed regularly with dried, sterilized, cow manure, about 1 teaspoonful every 2 weeks for bulbs growing in 6- or 7-inch pots. In addition, they receive liquid fertilizer every week. The moss must be damp but not soggy.

Bring amaryllids into growth in a house with a minimum temperature of 60 degrees. If it is well ventilated, they do not seem to suffer even when in summer temperatures go up to the 90’s. Good light is necessary to keep flower scapes straight.

After flowering, amaryllids usually produce heavy foliage. This must continue to grow for at least 6 months to let the bulbs “fatten” and make buds for the next flowering. As foliage yellows-usually in the fall-dry off the bulbs and store at 45 to 50 degrees. When new growth shows, bring the bulbs to the light, water them, and feel assured that they are set for another round of bloom.

Propagation

Propagation of most amaryllids is through offsets, the term applied to small bulbs growing alongside the mother bulb. These can be separated and potted individually. Some growers “rim out” the bottom of the bulb-as previously described for hyacinths-to make it produce more offsets. Don’t try this trick unless you’re experienced. With the species amaryllids you can produce more of their kind by hand pollinating them and raising them from seed. The majority of amaryllids ripen seed in about 6 weeks, but Haeman-thus seeds sometimes take up to 4 months.

Seeds should be planted immediately after ripening in a light loam. As soon as the weather warms up, the little seedlings can be transplanted to the cold frame or lath house or directly into the garden. Not hardy in most areas, they have to be replanted to pots or flats and kept in the greenhouse during the cold months.

Big commercial growers all over the country count geraniums among their top money-makers, and the number of semi-amateurs who have found geraniums profitable is legion. The accounts that follow are typical of countless success stories.

When only thirteen years old, Elvin McDonald, then of Gray, Oklahoma, built a 6- by 9-foot lean-to at a cost of less than one hundred dollars, and it became a money-maker the first year. Young McDonald started cuttings and seedlings of rare geraniums-cactus, scented, and fancy-leaved types-in flats in his home, and as soon as the greenhouse was completed moved them in. Within two months the cuttings were ready for sale.

From one $30.00 ad in a horticultural magazine, he received more than $500.00 worth of orders-all in less than 2 weeks.

With this money to purchase additional stock, he began growing more than seventy-five varieties of geraniums, mostly fancy-leaved and scented, since they had proved to be the best sellers. Because the glass of his little greenhouse extended almost to the ground, plants thrived under the benches, affording valuable topside space for rooting cuttings.

In South Bend, Indiana, Mrs. Mabel Welborn makes a dandy profit from geraniums. She started with a little 7- by 12-foot lean-to built on the south side of an unused henhouse; now she grows in a new 14- by 20-foot greenhouse, built for $250.00. One year she advertised in the local paper for Memorial Day, but found that many of her plants were too large and expensive for this holiday trade. Since then she tops taller plants in January, and propagates the cuttings, and sells bushy topped plants to the early spring trade. She prefers a seasonal trade, running ads for Easter, Memorial Day, and Christmas. The rest of the year she runs her house as a hobby, building up her stock of fancy-leaved geraniums. One of her favorites-and well liked by her customers-is Appleblossom Rosebud.

Geranium Society

If you are concerned with geraniums, do join the International Geranium Society, 3632 Vinton Street, Los Angeles 34, California. It publishes an excellent booklet full of helpful information.

Hints on Culture

The geranium (Pelargonium) grows in any ordinary soil, provided it is not deficient in potash, and in a minimum temperature of 55 to 60 degrees with full sunlight. Contrary to popular belief, plants require constant watering. Keeping them on the dry side delays flowering. Good growth and heavy flowering depend on steady fertilizing. Give weekly doses of half strength fertilizer as the buds form.

Pythium, commonly called black leg disease, is a form of rot. To prevent it, sterilize the soil before planting and spray with 2-2-50 Bordeaux to keep older plants free of this infection. One commercial geranium saved an entire collection by repeated dosages of the tar derivative, Carco-X. Another effective fungicide is Orthocide.

Propagation

Propagate geraniums by seed or cuttings. Sow the seeds in a loose soil, spacing them about 2 inches apart. Cover lightly with soil and set in a warm greenhouse. As the seedlings grow, prick them off into 2- and finally 4-inch pots. Seeds sown in August produce spring-flowering plants.

Geraniums respond well to hand pollination; the slender seed pods ripen in about 6 weeks. Do not depend on these homemade hybrids for your first salable crop, however. Seeds sold by specialists are gathered from selected varieties and will give you just the type of plant you want to sell.

Cuttings strike root easily when taken in September. Insert them in a flat of moist vermiculite, spacing them so that leaves do not touch. They will be ready for sale within 4 months. These plants need not be shifted from small to large pots; instead pot them directly into 2- and 3-inchers.