Posted by admin on March 2, 2009
Lavender is one of the most aromatic, rewarding perennial plants to grow. After Lavender gets established it can be a wonderful drought tolerant plant. The foliage and flowers of a lavender plant are usually nicely fragrant. The flowers can be purple, white, or a combination. Foliage can be green to silver to bluish.
A Dense Variety of Lavender
Lavender plants attract butterflies to the garden as well as bees and other beneficial insects. Lavender plants like part or full sun, with six or more hours of direct sun being ideal.
Lavender with Tall Flower Spikes
For the first number of months that you grow Lavender, it is important to water regularly. After the plant is established, a more arid dry environment is permitted due to the deep roots of the plant. Lavender plants bloom generally in the summer. Spacing between Lavender plants is usually best to be between 15 to 25 inches. Lavender plants grow at a medium pace but can grow fast. Generally Lavender will be one foot to 3 feet in height, and can be anywhere from 2 inches wide when young to many feet wide when established. Lavender is generally not happy below 32°F. It is best to cut back lavender flowers after flowering To promote more bloom. It is not important to fertilize lavender, but some can be beneficial. When planting use a porous mixture with compost, sand, and other well-drained rich nutrients. The average size of a lavender plant is about 3′ x 3′.
Lavender Blooming Like Crazy
Posted by admin on February 14, 2009
Growing succulents can be easy or difficult depending on how you like to care for your plants. If you tend to over nurture plants, you’ll need to get used to neglecting plants when you start with succulents. If you like to neglect your outdoor plants, you’re ready for succulents. Succulents generally have thick, fleshy leaves. Many originally live in dry areas. This means they like the soil to dry out between waterings. Succulents like a minimum of a half day of sun. Full sun is ideal. When growing succulents in pots, smaller containers are best as they like to be constrained at their roots. Succulents are very rewarding, often displaying beautiful leaves. Many succulents have spectacular flowers when they bloom. Plants can be inches in feet to taller than a person.
Posted by admin on February 7, 2009
Ferns can make your other plants look great or look terrific on their own. They provide a backdrop or greenery buffer that not many plants can do so well. Often people think of shade and grow begonias, fuschias, and impatiens, forgetting about ferns. The beautiful contoured shape of a fern frond looks like a beautiful feather.
When growing ferns, ensure you will have enough moisture in the soil as well as drainage. Ferns don’t like to dry out in between waterings, as they can be grown near Azaleas and Camellias. The wide variety of ferns include those that are soft and tiny to huge and leathery. Some common, nice ferns to grow include Wood Ferns and Maidenhair Ferns. Once ferns are established in the ground, they will begin expanding in size and creeping. There are ferns for many locations, and types of shade conditions you may have. Learn houseplant secrets here in this book to understand about more houseplants and conditions.
Posted by admin on January 31, 2009
Here are the steps to create a seed starting rack for your home. Creating this seed starting system doesn’t require much effort at all.
- Purchase a wire rack. You can get this at a kitchen store, restaurant supply store, Costco, or another store. Ensure it has casters so it can roll. Ensure the shelves are adjustable.
- Buy fluorescent tube grow lights or shop lights, with one warm and one cool bulb.
- Hang shop lights from the rack shelves. Use the chains they come with.
- Get a seed starter kit from any local home improvement store. Or just get a tray and punch holes in the bottom.
- Use a soiless mixture for these seeds as new seedlings like a light and airy mix. Pre moisten the mixture in a bag before using it.
- Don’t plant your seeds too deep. Just plant them about 1/2 centimeter deep, pressing into the mix.
- Put a layer of sphagnum moss on top of your mix to prevent the seeds from dying overnight from damping off.
- Optional: put a plastic dome on top of your seed tray so it acts as a greenhouse to give seeds a moist environment to sprout. Remove this dome once the seeds sprout.
- Note that seedlings need 10-12 hours of light per day. You can use a timer so no there is no need to worry when the lights will come on. Keep the light close to your seedlings.
- You can move the lights as close as possible as the seedlings grow.
- Don’t forget to water the mix so it does not dry out at any time.
- Once seedlings have grown 3 sets of new leaves it is time to be fed.
- You can water with a soluble fertilizer at 1/2 strength so the plants feed themselves.
- Pant seedlings in peat pots so when the weather is right they can go right into your garden - learn how to plant them with high density gardening here.
Posted by admin on January 23, 2009
These shade loving plants are loaded with color and texture. This post should give you a great idea of some shade plants to buy for your garden at home. Pinch off finished blooms on any of these all summer long to keep them flowering. Feed these once a month.
- Impatiens - There are many colors of these that thrive in the shade
- New Guinea Impatiens - These can do with less shade, they have darker green foliage, and they also have larger brilliant blooms than regular impatiens
- Tuberous Begonias - These can tolerate up to 6 hours of sun, and can be grown in baskets or containers
- Fuscias - Fuscias can be grown in hanging baskets
- Coleus - These have bright leaves including purples, greens, yellows, chartreuse
- Hostas - These can be dwarf to giant and the more yellowish the leaves, the more sun they can take
- Bleeding Hearts - These can take a little sun, they are on average 1-3 feet tall, and flowers are usually between pink and white
- Astilbe - These have soft feathery plumes in mid to late summer in pink to red
- Lily of the Valley - Quick spreaders
- Ferns - Quick growers
- Baby Tears - Low growing
If you would like to learn about high density gardening in the sun and shade, click here.
High Density Gardening