Caring for Playful Pansies

How can such a delicate looking flower be so hardy?

Pansies love the cool weather and if you live in a milder climate, you can enjoy the whimsical-face of this five-pedaled beauty into winter.

Pansies comes in vibrant shades of pink, purple, blue, red, orange, yellow, white and a variety of multi-colors.

They are fragrant and edible flowers and make amazing decorative garnishes
for summer salads and fruit parfaits.

Pansies are biennials meaning they have a two year life cycle. The first year they grow leaves and stems then go dormant over the winter. The following year they flowers and, sadly, die.

Pansies are natural wanderers and, given space, can spread a foot or two. To keep in check, plant in pots and baskets. Otherwise, plant 6 to 12 inches apart and let them go.

Growing Your Pansies

Pansies are fairly easy to grow from seed but bedding plants are ready to bloom while your seedings will need their first year development. Should you want to grow from seed, you'll need to start indoors 8 to 10 weeks before you want to transplant outdoors.

Lightly cover seeds with moist soil and place in a dark location that stays a cool 40-60 degrees. After 2 to 3 weeks the seedlings should have a leaf or few and be ready to move to pots. They will need a new location as they must now receive daily light. Move outside after another 6 to 8 weeks as long was the temperature is still between 40-60 degrees.

Plant in early spring for spring/summer blooms and in all for winter/spring blooms.

Pansies are the perfect flower for creating a pattern or color scheme design. Try a circle with light to dark rows and mutli-colored centers or diagonal stripes bordering a walkway. Their little faces look especially delightful paired with garden ornaments.

Caring for Your Pansies

• Pansies need well drained soil and can tolerate either full sun or partial shade.
• Set in individual holes about 6 inches deep with enriched soil.
• Mulch around the plants.
• Don't neglect watering as pansies will not tolerate a dry spell.
• Keep the soil moist not soggy at all times.
• Over watering will also cause leaf spotting and root rot.
• Fertilize every 3 to 4weeks during the growing season.
• Keep your pansies pinched back to promote bushy growth and prevent self-sow.

Pests

In keeping with their hardy nature, pansies are not prone to insect infestation. They may occasionally become victims to aphids and spider mites. Slugs and snails love pansies as much as you do so watch for the slim and take defensive action quickly.

Growing Begonias from Tubers

Begonias remind me of dressing in my Sunday best. Ruffled and creased in flashy reds, yellows, whites, oranges, salmons and pinks the begonia is always ready to show her style and grace.

Her abundant and bright floppy-hat type leaves are almost as much an attraction as her flowers.  She loves to adorn the porches and window boxes of those lucky enough to welcome her to their home.

Begonias are either tuberous (pea-sized bulbs at the base of each leaf for propagation), semperflorens (a hybrid with fibrous roots producing a more waxy variety) or perennials (that usually die with the first frost).

Tuberous begonias are native to South America and South Africa. They are delightfully fun and easy to grow and make excellent gardening lessons for children.

• To grow begonias from tubers start in the late winter or early spring so they'll be ready to bloom in June or July.

• Using a loose well-drained soil mix, start your tubers in a seed tray or box.

• Do not add fertilizers as the tubers are abundantly filled with nutrients.

• If you start the tubers outside, just make sure the last frost has passed.

• If you're going to be working with last year’s crop, remove the tubers from the ground before the first frost;  they will not survive a winter freeze or a rainy season.

• Should you live in a warm, dry climate, tubers will likely do fine left in the ground but they must dry up over the winter so use your best judgment.

• If you've removed from the ground,  you must remove all the excess soil from the roots, clean off any rotted spots with a knife and give them a good rest indoors while they dry. Fear not as you remove all the roots, stems and remaining leaves from the tuber. If the parts don't pull off easily, dry a little longer and try again.

• Once cleaned of debride, place your tubers in a paper bag or cardboard box and place in an area you are sure will remain dry and slightly cool. The tubers must remain dry or they will rot and be goners.

• Depending on your climate, let the tubers lay dormant until February or early April. Then place them in soil mix, hollow/concave side up.

• Don't bury the tubers all the way; they need their tops slightly exposed at the soil line.

• Keep the soil moist but don't over water or the dreaded rot will take over.

• Soon you'll have little sprouts shooting up but wait until they reach 4 to 6 inches, before taking them outdoors for repotting. Again, make sure that there is no chance of another frost or all your efforts will be for not.

• Whether you replant in baskets, containers or the ground, provide excellent drainage and cover the soil with a couple of inches of mulch or bark.

• Set the tubers about 2 inches apart and keep that little top barely covered by the soil.

• Begonias make excellent houseplants so feel free to keep one indoors.

• Tuberous begonia can be a bit brittle, so it's a good idea to secure them with a little support.

• Begonias are shade lovers so don't make the mistake of setting them in full sun. Early morning and late afternoon sun is best.

• Because they are not fond of the wind, planting in containers placed on the porch is a perfect home for your begonia.

• Keeping your begonia close will also allow you to check the soil frequently for proper moisture. Begonias will not forgive you if you let them dry out. If you are losing buds, your begonia is too dry.

• Begonias are susceptible to mildew. The sign of the disease is a white or gray powder on the entire plant. If humidity is high or nights are too cool, moisture will germinate spores.

• Make sure you aren't overcrowding your begonias with other plants or leaving them in a corner spot with poor circulation. A dilution water spray of either baking soda (1:100) or milk (1:10) will kill the fungus if it gets too out of hand.

• Now that the begonia is in the growing phase again make sure you fertilize often so it produces the perfect blooms and stores up for propagation next year. Begonias prefer a liquid feed that is high in potash. If you can't find a begonia feed mix, get one for roses or tomatoes.

• Go ahead and pinch the blooms to encourage a busy growth.

• Begonias are loved by vine weevil, aphids, mealybugs and mites and occasionally caterpillar and gnats will cause a problem.  Try dish soap and neem oil first and insecticides as a last resort.

Lilac Growing Tips

If you love a fragrant garden but live in a cooler climate and want a low maintenance plant, then lilacs are for you.

Lilac is a prolific shrub originating from Europe and Asia. The unofficial Lilac Festival of the U.S. is in the Lilac Capital of the World: Rochester, New York. The ten day festival is held in early May and crowns a teen Lilac Queen who reins for the year and gets a $1,000 college scholarship. If you make it to the festival be sure to stop by Highland Park which has over 1200 lilac bushes on its 155 acres!

Far hardier than the fragrant gardenia, lilacs can grow in just about any soil from sand to clay as long as it has good drainage. Plant them as soon as you can dig in the post-winter soil or in late fall. Doing otherwise will likely stunt the growth of the bush. Set the bushes about six feet apart or you will be digging them out in short order. Lilacs have surface roots that radiate far and wide so give them room to spread.

Lilacs are popular in the north and northeast U.S., because they love the cold weather and require a good winter chill to produce their Spring bounty. If your lilac blooms aren't blooming it is likely due to too warm weather. Once the buds are ready to burst, a heat wave can keep the beautiful bloom unwrap for good.

If you simply must have a lilac garden but live in a warmer climate,
you can find a hybrid that can stand the heat.

While the lilac's blooms are truly beautiful, they are also truly brief and you'll only get one bloom per year. Botanists have come up with a great solution for this by breeding early, mid and late blooming varieties. Buy and plant your lilacs with this in mind. Make sure you get one or more of each so you will have many weeks of continuous blooms.

Finding varieties of lilacs won't be difficult as there are more than 1,000 in gorgeous whites, pinks and purples. There is also a wide variety of sizes from about four to thirty feet! The taller varieties make great hedges.

Keeping with its low maintenance reputation, lilacs don’t require much watering. Because they have such long roots, they need to be watered thoroughly but will nearly drown if watered too often or if their soil lacks good drainage. If you have a sunny hill, your lilac will feel right at home.

This plant likes an alkaline soil between pH 6 to 7.5 and a full sunny day. It will do best if it gets at least six hours of sun daily. If your blooms aren't prize winners, check that nitrogen in the soil is not too high.

For an extra treat, give your lilacs the ash from your fireplace.
They will reward you with even bigger blooms.

Fertilize regularly with a mix high in phosphorous during the bloom period and a general fertilizer the rest of the time. They also love the organic stuff so layer on the compost.

Lilacs require little pruning and weeding; just enough to keep it attractive is fine. Be sure to cut at the point of the next new bud to keep your bushes bushy. Also, lilacs like their blooms as much as you do. You will sacrifice the following season's bounty if you take too many of the blooms from the bush.

Lucky for you and the lilac, pests are not usually a problem. The scale, a stem borer, will attack new growth so keep an eye out for sawdust and damaged leaves. Use miscible oil spray if the infestation occurs in summer or a dormant oil spray if infestation is detected during the other seasons. If you overwater, you will likely find fungus growing on your lilacs. Clean it off with a dish soap bath and stop watering so much!

The scent of the beautiful lilac will enchant both you and your neighbors. This Spring favorite is simply a must after a long hard winter.

Gardenias Growing Tips

Surely the Gods must have created the gardenia. This perfumed porcelain-faced lady of your garden is in a class by herself. Once she lures in you in with her hypnotic scent, your very soul will be under her spell.

And just like any enchanting lady, the gardenia must be well cared for. Treat her any less than superb and she will be a distance memory. Depending on your climate, gardenias will thrive indoors or out if all her conditions are met.

Gardenias are tropical shrubs, native to China. Buy your plants from a nursery where it has thrived in an ideal environment. To keep the blooms compact and glossy, give your plant plenty of light but do not subject it to direct sunlight, especially in the summer. This sensitive plant is a picker drinker so give it fresh, clean water that is room temperature. If you wouldn't drink it yourself, do not give it to your gardenia.

If your tap water contains too much lime (most do), add more peat-moss
and use only distilled water. You'll know if your gardenia is suffering lime dis-ease
if the leaves turn yellow.  Of course, overwatering can turn any leaf yellow so
make sure that isn't the problem first.

To keep the leaves shiny, your gardenia will enjoy an occasional light showering either from Mother Nature or a mister but don't ever spray with a garden hose or over mist as you will end up with black leaves and fungus. Gardenia are susceptible to molds; if you see darken leaves wash them in a dish soap bath, rinse and decrease your watering and make sure the soil is airy.

The soil, which should be an azalea or peat-based mix, should be lightly moist while the plant is in bloom and on the slightly dryer side otherwise. Being tropical, gardenias like warm, humid days between 70º and 80º F and cooler nights between 55º and 60ºF.  If you live in a cooler climate, you'll need to bring your gardenia in at night and, certainly for the winter. Just make sure it doesn't suffer from dry, stale indoor air. Use humidity trays but never allow the plant to sit in water.

Like all blooming plants, gardenias love the fertilizer. Feed two to three times per month during the growing season, which, depending on where you live, can be between April and November, with an acid fertilizer. Gardenias are acid loving plants so don't let the soil become alkaline. Test the soil with pH strips; it should be between 5 and 6.

Gardenias have surface roots, so don't try to cover them with more dirt and be careful not to pull them or step on them. Beauty bark is the perfect dressing around your gardenias just make sure it isn't hiding signs of overwatering.

Don't over fertilize thinking you can force more blooms. If your plant lacks flowers, it is more likely humidity or temperature issues. Gardenias bloom best in at a temperature around 70º.  Keep the soil continuously moist during the growing period.

Gardenias are shrubs so if you are taking good care of them, pruning will be necessary. But, again, gardenias are special so take care to only prune while the plant is dormant or your will kiss any further blooms and maybe your plant goodbye. The leaves feed the plant so don't all remove all of them - not that you would ever want to! Gardenias make excellent grow cover so keep that design in mind when pruning.

Pests love gardenias too so keep a watchful eye for spider mites, aphids, whiteflies and mealybugs. Be sure to check under the leaves where these little devils hang out. Use good organic, non-toxic horticultural oil (also called dormant oil). These are ecologically and gardenia friendly. If you can't find horticultural oil, you can use cottonseed or soybean oil that you've mixed with a little water so it can be sprayed on.

Yes, gardenias are high maintenance ladies but her beautiful, fragrant flower is so worth the effort. If you treat her right, she will give years of delight.