More on Flowers
I don't care who you are, or how much you paid for your flowers, They won't live without water! It is hard to keep from laughing at someone who points to a bed of crispy brown leaves in a powder dry bed and asks, "Do you think they need some water?", And they aren't trying to be funny! Then there are the rich housewives who say, "but I have irrigation", when they have never bothered to turn the system on. (They never knew there was a control for it!)
One woman said that her grass was damp early in the morning, so her irrigation had to be working! She was amazed when I explained about "Dew" and told her my grass was damp in the mornings too, and I don't have irrigation. She seemed appalled at my suggestion that she stick her finger in the dirt to see if it was damp. I don't know what to think of people who want a flower garden, but are afraid of getting their hands dirty!
I just have to let off some steam about this. I spent part of today checking on flowers where the client called and said their flowers weren't doing well. 9 times out of 10 if we get a call, it is because the flowers are not getting water. Thankfully most of them have the intellegence to notice before the flowers are crispy fried, but there are a few that don't.
Its hard to overwater flowers the first week or 2 after they're planted. After they are well established, they don't need as much water, but they still need some. Some varieties actually like to be fairly dry once they are well established, but they all need a fair amount of water that first week or so.
Here are some tips for your newly planted flowers:
Be sure to water thoroughly. The soil needs to be damp several inches deep, not just the top surface. This is a common problem. People say, "but I water them twice a day" when in fact, all they do is wet the surface that often. It may still be bone dry 2 inches down. Stick your finger in the dirt a couple of inches. If it is damp 2-3 inches down, they have enough water. If you water thoroughly, you won't need to water as often.
Never fertilize weak or stressed flowers. Its like force feeding someone a big dinner when they are sick at their stomach. It will only make them feel worse. Even if your flowers are very healthy, give them a chance to get established before you give them full strength fertilizer
Be careful using herbicides on your lawn near new flowers. A small amount can stress them if it gets to them. While it probably won't kill them, it can cause them to drop leaves and/or blooms.
Choosing your Flowers
As with any plants choosing the right flowers for the right location is the key to a successful flowerbed. Before choosing your flowers, check your bed area at different times of day to see when, and how much sun it gets. The amount of sun should be a big influence on the flowers you choose.
Is the area generally damp or dry? Is There irrigation, or are you willing to hand water them regularly? Moisture, or the availability of it is another big factor to consider. Some flowers, such as vinca or portulacca actually prefer to be dry. (but they still need plenty of water that important first few days after planting) Some, such as impatiens, or astilbe like to be damp. During a hot dry summer almost all flowers will need some watering. It is not a good idea to put moisture loving flowers in the same bed with those that prefer to be dry. If you do, one or the other will not be happy.
If you are planting flowers near your house, the color should be considered. Red flowers will not stand out against a red brick house. White will not show up next to a white house. Use colors that contrast with the background.
A rose by any other name......
Each year many new hybrid varieties are introduced. They all claim to be superior for one reason or another. If something sounds to good to be true it probably is. Keep in mind that many of these claims, while not untrue, can be misleading, especially to the inexperienced gardener.
For example a company called "Proven Winners" has many new hybrid varieties this year that make some wonderful sounding claims. Their "Summer Wave Torenia" is advertised to be bred for its superior tolerance to the sun. This new variety can tolerate more sun than the older varieties of torenia, but torenia just is not a sun loving plant. It will still do much better with some shade. In full sun it turns a brassy color, and has considerably fewer blooms. It is a beautiful plant if given some shade, and not allowed to dry out.
Another "Proven Winner" is called "supertunia". I planted 300 just to try them out. So far it seems that the Wave Petunias are much a much tougher and impressive variety, although the Supertunias are a fine flower.
As with any plants, the key to a successful flowerbed is to put the right flowers in the right location. Impatiens don't like the sun, and petunias don't like the shade. Choose flowers that like the amount of sunlight and moisture, and type of soil in the area you plan to put them, and your flowers will do well.
Deadheading
One of the most common questions I am asked, or I see at the flower forums is if you should deadhead your flowers.
Most flowers drop their spent blooms naturally. There are a few flowers, such as marigolds whose blooms turn brown and ugly, and hang on, and look much better if they are removed. Marigolds will also produce more flowers if you do so, simply because it makes a bushier plant. Salvia may put up one "spike" of flowers which will fade by mid summer, and turn brown. If you remove the dead spike, another one (or 2) will come up.
The majority of flowers do not really need to be deadheaded, and will continue to produce an abundance of flowers all summer without deadheading. Deadheading most flowers is of more benifit to the gardener than the flowers. I call it "therapy". It gets you outside, and is a great stress reliever. Weeding is another good "therapy".
I plant tens of thousands of flowers each year. There is no way on earth I have the time to deadhead them all. They bloom beautifully all summer. I do avoid the few flowers that hold on to large spent blooms.
There are some flowers, such as rudbeckia that will sometimes shut down their flower production in late summer or early fall, that will put out a fresh new flush of flowers if you cut the plants back by about 1/2 when the flower production slows. This is similar to deadheading, but more severe, and is done only once, late in the season.
If you want a bushier plant, pinching it back will help. If your plant is holding onto ugly dead blooms, you can remove them for looks. If, late in the season, your plant seems to stop blooming, cutting it back will help. These are all forms of "deadheading". Otherwise, deadheading is not necessary.
In general, I feel that those who swear by deadheading everything usually benifit more themselves from the "therapy" than the plants do. It doesn't hurt the flowers, and it makes them feel good. Many of them either have very few flowers, or way too much spare time on their hands.
