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Hydrangea

 

Hydrangea Care Guide

Following just a few simple growing tips for hydrangea will produce healthy plants with fluffy colorful blooms year after year.

Planting Your Hydrangea

Planting your Hydrangea in early spring or in the fall is ideal. When you are planting a Hydrangea, remember that the blooms and stems must be protected from strong winds and the hot afternoon sun. Avoid planting in open areas where strong winds could break stems. Planting on the eastern side of a building ensures that, in the afternoon, when the sun is at its hottest, your plants are in the shade.
Make sure your plant has good drainage. If the soil is too wet, the roots might rot, and the plant will die. Incorporate a lot of organic matter and an all-purpose slow-release fertilizer into the soil to give your hydrangea a strong start.

General Hydrangea Care

• If you plant them in the summer, they need a lot more water in the beginning to establish the root system.
  
• Most varieties thrive in full sun to part shade, as long as they are planted in moist, rich soil.
  
• Water deeply once a week, and maybe more, if the weather is particularly hot or dry.
  
• Hydrangea fertilization needs vary greatly, depending on your intended bloom color. Certain elements of the fertilizer affect the soil pH, which is a major determinant of bloom color in the pink/blue Hydrangea varieties.

Pruning Hydrangea

Hydrangeas can live for many years without ever needing to be pruned, but if your shrubs grow out of bounds or lose flowering vigor, then there are some essential pruning guidelines you must follow to ensure bountiful blooms the next year!

Hydrangea macrophylla and H. quercifolia:

These generally bloom on old wood and require little pruning. Prune spent blooms immediately after flowering (midsummer), or remove only dead, damaged or unsightly wood.

Hydrangea macrophylla (Bigleaf, Mophead, or Lacecap Hydrangeas)
These Hydrangeas begin blooming in early to midsummer and can continue until summer's end, so they set their bloom buds during late summer or early fall. When pruning mopheads, you have two options, and will probably end up doing a combination of both:

1. Cut back the flowering shoots to the next bud, thus giving the branches a trim that removes the spent blooms without damaging the buds that will bloom next year. Do this right after flowering, but before midsummer.
2. On older shrubs that have lost flowering vigor, cut up to a third of entire stems at the base in late winter to improve flowering vigor. Ideally, you should cut the oldest stems, leaving younger mature stems that are loaded with buds for next year, but sometimes you have a lopsided or crowded Hydrangea that must be pruned to maintain a pleasing shape. The main purpose of cutting off entire stems is to do away with elderly or poorly flowering parts of the shrub, thus letting in more air and light AND encouraging the growth of healthy new branches.In mild climates that may experience warm spells in winter, be careful of the urge to get out in the garden and start pruning before late winter. If you prune too early, you could encourage dormant buds to break, leaving tender growth susceptible to frost and freeze damage.  

How to Adjust Hydrangea Color 

 

Hydrangeas may produce pink, blue, or lavender blooms, depending on where it’s planted and how it’s fed. The presence of aluminum in the plant ultimately determines the color, and pH affects the uptake of aluminum. Alkaline soils, pH of 6.0 or more, are more likely to produce pink blooms, and more acidic soils, pH 4.5 to 5.5, produce blue flowers.

Pink hydrangeas can be turned blue by applying aluminum sulfate to lower the pH and add aluminum to the soil. Applying lime to raise the pH level will help blue hydrangeas turn pink. If your soil naturally produces very blue or very pink hydrangea flowers, you may need to grow your hydrangeas in containers or raised beds to achieve the desired color. If you do attempt to change the color of your blooms by adding these minerals, dilute them well, and add sparingly. It is very easy to scorch your plants by adding too much. White hydrangeas are not affected by efforts to change bloom color.

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Zinnia

 Zinnia

If you didn't grow any Zinnias this year, put them on the top of the spring wish list for next year, and you will thank yourself over and over all season.  This is a plant that is started incredibly easily from seed, flowers very quickly, has a wide range of flower types and colors, withstands full sun and heat, makes an excellent cut flower, attracts bees and butterflies, and can make the difference between so-so garden bed and a spectacular garden showcase.  Whether a beginner or a seasoned gardener, there is a Zinnia out there for every taste, budget, and style.  Creating a Zinnia garden is the perfect way to teach children about gardening, and they will delight in the big, bright, bold colors. 

Zinnias are another member of the large Aster family of plants and originate in Mexico and the Southwest United States.  They come in a form suitable for every garden situation, including single, double, cactus, dahlia, ruffles, and pompon.   Colors include every shade except blue, and many are multicolored.  Most are prolific bloomers that add beautiful color to the landscape, and many have growth habits that make wonderful additions to  container plantings. The uses for Zinnias in the home garden are almost endless.  Use them as border plants, fillers for bare spots in perennial gardens, or massed in a garden all their own. 

Zinnias are ridiculously easy to start from seed, grow quickly, and adapt well to many gardening situations.  Seed can be started indoors and seedlings can be transplanted easily outside for earlier bloom, or the seeds can be started in the garden after the last frost date when the soil has warmed.  Germination is not as good in cold soil.  Bedding plants are also available, but since the seeds are so easy to grow, the need for buying bedding plants is questionable.  The photo at the bottom of the page shows seeds at about 1.5 weeks and 4 days.  Average soil is good enough for Zinnias, and they will tolerate a little neglect here and there as far as watering and weeding, as long as you don't go to extremes. 

Zinnias do need regular deadheading for best performance.  Never doing this chore will seriously reduce both the number of blooms and the life span of the plant itself.  Although most individual Zinnia plants bloom for many weeks, eventually they do go into a rather rapid decline, turning into an unsightly brown dead-looking plant.  Therefore, the best policy is to start new plants every few weeks during the growing season to replace the spent plants.  Once the plant starts to decline, there's no turning back, so just pull it and replace with a new one.  I know it's hard to let go when there is one sickly little bloom left on there, but you have to be strong!  I personally keep a flat of seedlings going at all times.  As I transplant a seedling to the garden, I refill the potting soil and plant a new seed in its place.  This insures that I always have plants waiting to go when I need them. 

In a Habitat type situation, Zinnias are veritable beneficial insect magnets. As noted above, they will thrive in less-than-perfect soil conditions as long as their minimum sun requirement is met (at least 6 hours a day).

Problems with Zinnias are few, but there can be issues with fungus, bacteria, and mildew.  Mealybugs, spider mites, and caterpillars can also cause damage.   Plant spacing to allow for air circulation, and bottom watering will circumvent mildew problems, and a strong stream of water with or without insecticidal soap should keep mealybugs and spider mites within reasonable limits.  The best pest control, however, is to use other plants that attract beneficial insects that will feed on the pests, such as in companion planting.  A well-rounded, healthy garden rarely has serious insect infestations. 

Zinnias are not a poisonous plant and are safe for gardens frequented by children and pets.  However, they are not a culinary flower, and are not used as food garnishes, etc., though cut flowers do make a colorful and elegant centerpiece for the table.

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genus (caladium)

genus (caladium)

 

Description

The plant genus (caladium) is not short of varieties, which consists of over 1000. Most are hybrids from the C. bicolor and sold with by the name of C. x hortulanum (hybrids). Many other common names are used for these hybrids including the rosebud, frieda hemple, lord derby and a fair few others.

These are low growing foliage plants that only grow up to 25in (60cm) tall, with large leaves growing up to 18 inches (45 cm) long.

How it looks: The arrow or heart shaped decorative leaves are very thin and have a papery texture. These leaves grow up from the tuber buried in the soil on quite thin stems. Some of the eye catching color mixtures are impressive, such as the lord derby that displays green and pink leaves with green veins and the candidum with white leaves displaying prominent green veins.

Growing caladium indoors: The caladium is a tuber plant so the foliage only lasts from late spring until the beginning of fall, but they are well worth having around for the summer displaying their attractive colors.

Tubers can be placed in moist potting soil (about 2 -3 inches deep) at the beginning of spring with temperatures of no lower than 75ºF (23ºC). Once shoots appear begin taking care of the plant as advised below.

Growing Tip! If you would like to encourage tubers to begin growing quicker then place the pots on a heating mat.

After the growing period: After the yellowing leaves have started to wilt; remove the tubers from the pots and allow the tuber to dry out "anywhere in the house that's warm enough". Remove any excess stem; they're now ready for planting in potting soil and stored away until next spring returns.

Displaying: The heart of Jesus plant is best placed in a window box or container and they make a great plant for growing around garden borders. They look much better in a row than one single plant, although it's up to what the individual grower prefers and wants to do. These also make great balcony and patio plants, if the temperature is warm enough.

Facts

Origin:	South America.
Names:	Heart of Jesus, angel wings, elephant ear, fancy leafed caladium (common). Caladium bicolor or Caladium hortulanum and others. (botanical/scientific).
Max Growth (approx):	Height 25in (60cm).
Poisonous for pets:	Toxic to cats and dogs.

Caladium Care

 

Temperature:	Above 70ºF (21ºC) is the best temperature to provide, and no lower than 60ºF (15ºC).
Light:	In their natural habitat the heart of Jesus plant grows in shaded areas. Indoors that can be artificially provided with a fairly bright room, without direct sun light. Direct sun will scorch and damage the leaves.
Watering:	After the tubers show signs of growth (small shoots) water frequently - and keep the soil moist.
Soil:	A nutrient rich and well draining potting soil is required.
Fertilizer:	I would feed every week with a diluted liquid fertilizer during the growing season.
Re-Potting:	These are taken out of the pot when the foliage dies down during fall and then re-potted (as mentioned above).
Humidity:	In it's natural habitat this plant is likely to grow with higher humidity levels than we have in our homes, but the average levels within a home should be fine.
Propagation:	Tubers can be divided before planting in spring. When dividing a tuber make sure at least one growing eye is available, so a stem can begin to grow.

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Barberton, Gerbera, Transvaal Daisy (common). -- Gebera Jamesonii

 

Barberton Daisy

Barberton daisy is the common name for the Gebera Jamesonii, also known as the Transvaal or Gerbera daisy. 

 The large range of striking flower colors has enabled this flowering pot plant to become a popular house plant choice for a number of years. 

Facts

Origin:	South Africa.
Names:	Barberton, Gerbera, Transvaal Daisy (common). -- Gebera Jamesonii (botanical/scientific)
Max Growth (approx):	24in tall.
Poisonous for pets:	Non toxic for cats, dogs and horses.

 

Barberton Daisy Care Instructions

Temperature:	Average temperatures of 55 - 75°F (13 - 24°C) are suitable.
Light:	A lover of direct sunlight and bright windowsills. Place close to a south, east or west facing window to provide enough sunlight.
Watering:	It's best to keep the soil moist at all times. Once the soil becomes slightly dry to the touch provide water straight away or the plant will begin to wilt very quickly.
Soil:	A peat based potting mix with 2 parts peat and 1 part perlite is suggested.
Fertilizer:	While flowering, feed with a balanced liquid fertilizer every 2 weeks.
Humidity:	Gerbera's quite like above average humidity levels, although average is absolutely fine.
Propagation:	These are mostly propagated with seeds although the parent plant can also be divided or root cuttings can be used.

Native to South Africa this species is a perennial in warmer climates but in cooler countries (temperate regions) it's grown as an annual and flowering pot plant. There are many varieties and hybrids sold that are more compact in growth than the basic type. The basic type has stalks which grow up to 2ft tall that can become quite lanky and unattractive.

The attractive bright colored flowers has made Gebera daisies an excellent bridal bouquet choice. For those that prefer to have them closer to their skin - they are also a popular floral tattoo choice.

Flowering: The Barberton daisy is available in many colors from white through to bright red and different shades as well. The hybrids sold in garden centers produce two or more single stemmed stalks with a single flower sitting at the top. The capitula (flower head) is approximately 3 - 4 inches wide and displays multiple soft petals from a centrepiece of stamens, anthers, and carpels that look outstanding close up.

Grown indoors they can flower at any time of the year and each flower lasts up to about 4 - 6 weeks. Growers deadhead flowers that are spent to encourage new flowers. Once all flowers have died down you are likely to throw your Gerbera away or place it inside the greenhouse for it's leaves and in the hope the following year it might produce blooms (not likely though).

 

Foliage: These daises have quite attractive rhomboid (diamond) shaped leaves with jagged or wavy edges. Keep in mind these leaves are papery thin and easily damaged. When leaves become damaged they need to be removed and then the plant can become unattractive.

Level of care: Gerbera jamesonii daises are easy to care for, whether grown indoors or outdoors. They're tender plants that will not tolerate frost. Indoors they require some sunlight, moist soil and average temperatures, then nature takes care of the rest.

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