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Southern Gardeners tips for April

Southern gardeners are still talking about the severe winter weather we had and still taking inventory of the heavy toll, when some of the worst cold spells in history ruined many millions of dollars worth of shrubbery. Cold damage does not always show up soon after a cold spell. Some plants will not begin to show signs of trouble until April, May or even June when warm weather brings the plants into active growth. The tops may not show immediate signs of trouble unless the bark splits badly at the very beginning. The tops may stay alive a while on the stored up energy in the stems.

On the brighter side of the picture, this is still a month of breathtaking beauty in southern gardens where deciduous flowering shrubs and trees fill in the gap left by flowerless broad-leaved evergreens. Now the flowering dogwoods, wisterias, flowering peaches and crabs, cherries, redbuds, weeping cherries, spiraeas, bulbs of many kinds and fruit trees in bloom fill the air with the fragrance of spring.

Pruning Back Time

Prune back injured plants to sound, live wood that shows the healthy, moist, green cambium layer directly under the bark. Dead wood often becomes a host for decay organisms. Cut it off as fast as it develops to prevent further spread of possible die-back troubles.

Roses will not show the real extent of the cold damage until about now. If they fail to show new growth by this time, dig them up and destroy them. The hybrid teas were hurt worst of all. Dont try to save plants where the tops have been killed back to the grafts. Only wild rose stocks remain below this point. So, dig and throw away plants injured to this extent.

Complete Fertilizer

A good feeding with a complete plant food at this time will help greatly in bringing back to healthy growth gardenias that have suffered from freezing. Careful trimming to live wood and feeding with an azalea and camellia fertilizer will do wonders in bringing out new growth on these plants.

Summer Flowering Bulbs

Planting of gladiolus, cannas, caladiums, tigridias and dahlias is in full swing. Be sure to plant glads every two weeks until the first of June in the Middle and Upper South to keep them blooming through the summer months. This is about the last planting in the Lower South. Thrips cause considerable damage to gladiolus flowers and foliage. So, spray with malathion.

While dahlias can be planted safely in April the best blooms are produced in the fall. This calls for June planting. They then escape most of the hot summer weather that fades and spots the blooms. Some experts even wait until the first week in July to plant their dahlias. In any case, divide your clumps in storage and have them ready for planting when the time comes.

Annual Flowers

All annual flower seeds can be planted directly in the garden or in the coldframe for transplanting into the garden next month in all sections of the South. It is too late for hardy annuals such as larkspur, sweet peas and cornflowers that grow and bloom best in the cool spring months.

Bedding Plants

Bedding plants are abundant in garden stores everywhere. When in a hurry to develop a colorful border get bedding plants already in bloom. They will provide attractive plantings a good part of the summer. Also select your bedding plants for flower boxes, urns and hanging baskets.

Lawns Call for Attention

Lawns need attention this month. Many of us will have to repair damage caused by the excessively low temperatures. Some plantings of centipede and St. Augustine grass have been damaged. Replantings may have to be made. Sprigging is still the only method of planting these two popular grasses. In the Middle and Upper South mixtures for sunny and shady lawns can be planted as well as Kentucky Blue and carpet grass. Sow these at the rate of 5 pounds per 1,000 square feet. In the Lower and Middle South, Bermuda seed can also be planted now.

Spray Schedule

Spraying starts in earnest in April. Gardeners are expecting everything from a slight to almost complete killing of insects from our cold winter but we must not relax our efforts at keeping pests under control. There will still be a good supply of aphids, scale and other bothersome pests ready to begin work on shrubs, flowers and vegetables as soon as new growth appears. Use oil emulsions for scale and white fly; Malathion to keep down red spider, discourage aphids and keep many other pests under control. Sevin is great for cutworms.

Mulching

Mulching is important with shrubs and all widely spaced plants such as roses and dahlias. A thick layer of “pine straw”, peatmoss or leaves will protect them during the hot summer months, conserve moisture and keep the feeding roots cool and moist.

Vegetable gardens will be in vogue this year. Gardeners plan to turn to food gardening to help offset high costs. You can plant practically everything you want in the vegetable garden now. You can even include a neem tree in your garden as your source of neem oil for plants. Check with your local seedsman on recommended varieties for your section and be sure to try some of the All-America introductions. If space is limited, try parsley for a trim border and tasty garnishes.

For an early start set out plants of tomato, pepper, eggplant, cauliflower, celery, sweet potato, cabbage and onions. Shade newly planted vegetables from the sun for a few days. “Starter solutions” also work wonders in getting them under way quickly and develop extra-strong growth that produces heavy crops.

May 19 2009 | Gardening | No Comments »

Orchids: It is all in the Details

Orchid care is not difficult, it is just different. Orchids have a reputation for being difficult to grow when in fact many varieties make excellent houseplants. Orchid care is a popular topic. Over 35,000 varieties have been discovered in nature. Grow the special orchid! Growing and caring for orchids is a very pleasurable experience for any enthusiast.

Pot your orchids in the smallest pot that the roots will fit in and stake the plant while it establishes itself. The orchids we’ve seen grow the best are often growing in what appears to be ridiculously small pots so resist the urge to ‘pot up’ any more than is absolutely necessary to hold the roots. Potted plants should be watered around once a week, however also take into consideration that the smaller the pot, the more water it needs. NEVER water orchids too much, though, as too much water can kill them.

In the home, place on trays over moistened pebbles. Dendrobium orchids come from an entirely different part of the world, but they actually prefer roughly the same temperature ranges as the Cattleya orchids. This is because the tropical regions of South and Central America are quite similar to the tropical parts of Asia and Australia when it comes to temperature.

Dendrobium orchids require a difference in temperature between the night and day to aid in blooming. Preferably this difference should be about 10 – 15 degrees. Dendrobium orchids will appreciate high nitrogen fertilizer 12 months a year. One teaspoon of fertilizer divided into many small servings is ideal.

Phalaenopsis is one of the types of orchids that burns very easily in the hot sun. If you see any black and yellow on the plant, its in trouble. Phalaenopsis orchids are sometimes referred to as Moth Orchids. They are extremely popular and Phalaenopsis orchid care is certainly not difficult compared to many other more delicate orchid variants.

Cymbidiums can be left out in the noon-time sun, but with most of the other types of orchid, care should be taken to restrict their direct sunlight exposure. Cymbidium orchids are one of the oldest cultivated varieties having 40 species and thousands of hybrids. Originally from Asia, Cymbidium are one of the easiest orchids to grow and will flower yearly if cared for correctly.

You can grow flowers you can’t wait to show off. Growing and caring for orchids is a very pleasurable experience for any enthusiast. There is however alternative ways to growing orchids the traditional way and that is with hydroponics.

Orchids are very sensitive to direct sunlight and have to be kept in shady place during the summer. We can, however, keep them on direct sunlight on the shelf by the window during the winter from November until March. Orchids are proliferated across most countries. In the temperate zones, such as southern Australia, most Orchids grow on the ground.

April 28 2009 | Gardening | No Comments »