Stories related to flower growingAll irises grow from either bulbs or rhizomes. Bulbous irises include Dutch irises, often the irises sold by florists; English irises, similar to the Dutch; and reticulata irises, small irises that fit well in rock gardens and containers. Iris bulbs can usually be left in the ground indefinitely or can be lifted, stored and replanted in the fall. Most of the familiar irises commonly cultivated in gardens are grown from rhizomes, the thickened underground horizontal stem of the plant from which the roots and new shoots grow. Rhizomatous irises are further divided into two large classifications, bearded and beardless, according to whether their blooms do or do not have a fuzzy strip, the “beard,” on the downward petals. How to grow. A dry winter followed by a wet spring is fostering many outbreaks of fungal and bacterial diseases on plants this growing season, according to Jay Pscheidt, plant pathologist with the Oregon State University Extension Service. But now that they are established, it is hard to eradicate them, as prevention is the only sound strategy for control. Summer evenings are a perfect time to enjoy the sweet scent of night-blooming flowers. Do you have a porch, back stoop, deck or patio where you linger after dinner until darkness sets in? Angel’s trumpet, evening primrose, stock, garden heliotrope, moonflower and nicotiana give off delightful scents after sunset. For a low maintenance, low water summer garden, drought tolerant plants are a must. Plants with origins in the Mediterranean, central Asia and the American west will likely do well in Oregon’s dry summers. There is a wide choice of drought tolerant plants with a broad array of colors, shapes, heights and bloom times to keep your garden interesting for months. Some suggestions from the OSU home horticulture program and URL for OSU Horticulture Department’s “Landscape Plants” website. Advice from the OSU Extension Service to keep your petunia plants bushy and producing an abundance of blooms until frost.
Late spring is when the foliage of spring-blooming daffodils, tulips, hyacinths and iris reticulata dies down. Its time to dig, divide and store or replant the bulbs for next year’s bloom. Here’s how. For a low maintenance, low water summer garden, drought tolerant plants are a must. Plants with origins in the Mediterranean, central Asia and the American west will likely do well in Oregon’s dry summers. There is a wide choice of drought tolerant plants with a broad array of colors, shapes, heights and bloom times to keep your garden interesting for months. Some suggestions from the OSU home horticulture program and URL for OSU Horticulture Department’s “Landscape Plants” website. Your curbstrip – the area between the street curb and the sidewalk, might be a great place to develop a low-maintenance, low-water perennial flower garden this spring. Here’s how to do it and some suggested plants to plant there. You can make garden containers, birdbaths and plain or fancy landscape accents that look like stone, but are much lighter, with a material called “hypertufa.” It is easy, fun and cheap. Prune roses when the forsythia blooms still rings true for most varieties, unless they are damaged by winter storms. Then wait to prune them after the last frost. How to prune. How to access on-line or order OSU Extension publication, “Controlling Diseases and Aphids on Your Roses,” EC 1520. Recent cold temperatures have been shocking to some trees and shrubs. The leaves on evergreen leafy species such as rhododendrons and azaleas may droop and curl. They aren't sick, they are just reacting to the cold temperature spells of late fall and early winter. The leaves will return to normal when the weather warms up again, or the plants get used to cold weather. Tips on preventing cold injury in woody plants. Dividing perennials in autumn invigorates overcrowded plants, and it's an inexpensive way to multiply your landscape plantings. How to divide and replant. Autumn is a great time to mulch around your ornamental shrubs, fruiting trees and vines and perennial flowers. How and what to mulch with. Don’t throw away tender summer-blooming bulbs such as tuberous begonias when cold weather hits and the tops die. The tubers can be saved over the winter and planted again the next spring for another year of showy color. How to prepare and store tender summer bulbs. Info on how to order or download related OSU Extension fact sheet, FS 001. To avoid the late summer garden blahs, plant flowering perennials that bloom in the late summer and early fall. To learn more about year round successful gardening in the Pacific Northwest, order “Sustainable Gardening: The Oregon and Washington Master Gardener Handbook,” (EC 8742) from OSU Extension. Preview and get ordering info for the 594-page book at: http://eesc.orst.edu/agcomwebfile/edmat/em8742.pdf. Smaller and fewer blooms in your spring bulbs this year mean it is time to renovate your spring bulb beds. Daffodils, tulips, crocuses and other bulbed spring-bloomers make new bulbs every year. They eventually get crowded and compete for nutrients and water. In summer, dig up your bulbs carefully and when the weather is cooler. Throw away any soft, diseased or insect-damaged bulbs. Then rework the soil to about 12 inches. Add bone meal and a good compost mix or a complete fertilizer when replanting.
Water or check the soil moisture in container plants at least once every day on hot summer days. Sometimes they'll need water two or even three times per day, if the summer heat is intense. Use a slow, steady stream of water, and don't stop until it seeps out of the holes at the bottom of the pot. To keep a flower garden beautiful from spring into the summer season requires some careful maintenance in May and June, including deadheading spent flowers, fertilizing, mulching, cutting flowering stalks, weeding, pinching back shoots of late flowers and staking tall flowers. Avoid the summer flower doldrums by planting some summer-flowering bulbs, corms and tubers in the spring. How to prepare stored fuchsias, begonias and geraniums for the move from indoor storage to outdoors. In Oregon, April through May is the best time to do this. Oregon State University Department of Horticulture graduate student Micaela Colley and assistant professor John Luna have gathered some scientific evidence about the relative effectiveness of reputed "insectary" plants to attract beneficial insect pests such as hover flies and parasitic wasps. Give spring-planted annual flowers their second wind with a mid-summer application of fertilizer. Amaryllis are as easy as they are beautiful. Huge trumpet-shaped blooms in red, pink, salmon and white top the tall stems that grow rapidly from these large lily bulbs. After blooming, long green strap-shaped leaves appear. Instead of planting flowers every spring, Savonen lets annuals self-sow in the fall. Seedlings come up in the spring, when and where they are best suited to grow. Then Savonen thins the patch to allow survival of the fittest and to sculpt the lines of color she wants in her garden. Summer is the time to hang with flowers. Fuchsias, geraniums, petunias, impatiens, and tuberous begonias grow beautifully in hanging baskets. This summer, don't just grow your flowers at ground level. Fuchsias, geraniums, petunias, impatiens, and tuberous begonias also grow beautifully in hanging baskets. Spring is prime time for bouquets. If you like flowers inside the house as well as outside, Barb Fick, home horticulturist with the Oregon State University Extension Service, has some hints to keep flowers looking fresh longer. "Forcing spring bulbs is easy to do," said Ann Marie VanDerZanden, state coordinator for Oregon State University Master Gardener program, "but it does require a bit of planning now to get beautiful blooms in February." Autumn is the time for planting bulbs indoors as well as outdoors. By potting up some bulbs in October or November and "forcing" them to bloom early indoors, you can have a running supply of fragrant and fresh flowers in the house all winter. If Jack Frost hasn't yet come marauding to your garden, you might want to rescue some annuals for indoor use, suggests Gail Gredler, home horticulturist with the Oregon State University Extension Service. Want to get started now on next spring's crop of colorful landscape flowers? You can by planting daffodils, tulips, crocus and other spring-flowering bulbs in late summer or early fall. The bulbs will overwinter in the soil and bloom early next year. Autumn is time for planting bulbs indoors as well as outdoors. By potting up some bulbs in October or November and "forcing" them to bloom early indoors, you can have a running supply of fragrant and fresh flowers in the house all winter. If your tulips looked smaller than usual last spring and there were fewer blooms, it may be time to renovate your spring bulb beds. Take a few minutes in early December to check the condition of bulbs, tubers, and corms stored away for the winter, recommends Ross Penhallegon, horticulture agent for the Oregon State University Extension Service. A few maintenance chores are necessary to get flower beds up and running again in the spring. By late fall, most Oregon flower and vegetable gardens have suffered from a frost or two and most plants are in a state of decay or slow growth. But there is still plenty to do. If the high cost of perennial plant starts has got you down, take heart. Late spring is a good time for home gardeners to start new plants from cuttings of geraniums, begonias, coleus and impatiens. Withered blossoms of daffodil and narcissus should soon be removed after blooming. Native to central Mexico in the region of Mexico City, the first wild dahlias were mostly single flower types that grew on well-drained volcanic soils. Today's dahlias come in a great variety of forms, from dinner-plates and pom-poms to single anemones and orchids. The dahlias that dazzle you this summer and fall will soon be ready for a hard-earned rest. Oregon is blessed with more than 150 species of butterflies. A little more than half of them are found only in eastern Oregon and about 30 species are found only in western Oregon. With water conservation on everyone's mind this year, it is best to think "drought-tolerant" when planning your flower gardens. Protect garden and landscape plants from hot August weather. Watch plants closely during hot periods and water frequently. Water your plants deeply to grow deep-rooted, more drought-resistant plants. Daylily rust has been confirmed recently at a nursery in the Willamette Valley, according to Melodie Putnam, plant pathologist for Oregon State University Extension Service. It's time to start flexing your green thumbs if you'd like to grow your own veggies, fruits and flowers from seed this year. If you start your own plants from seeds, you'll have a much wider choice of varieties to grow in your garden. Ever since Keats described sweet peas, with their "taper fingers catching at all things, o bind them all about with tiny rings," the English have been mad for the tendrilled vines. Most home gardeners buy flower and vegetable starts each spring. Take a few minutes this month to check the condition of flower bulbs, tubers, corms and vegetables. Remember your childhood days when a backyard became a ranch complete with horses and outlaws? Rekindle those moments this spring by planting a garden with your child. Think of it as spring cleaning. There are a few chores this time of year that will get your garden ready to bloom. Government agencies are learning what many gardeners have known for years: landscaping with native plants not only protects our natural heritage but, if used appropriately, can reduce fertilizer, pesticide, and irrigation demands and their associated costs. Both indoor and outdoor plants require good drainage for a healthy root system. If you have either indoor or outdoor container plants, be on the lookout for salt buildup on the soil surface or pot, according to Ross Penhallegon, horticulturist with the Oregon State University Extension Service. By November, most gardens have been hit by frost, wind and early rain or sleet. It is time to do some late fall cleanup, before winter lets loose its full forces. Most kinds of roses, except ramblers and climbers, should be pruned after danger of frost is past. If they are pruned too early, injury from repeated frost may make a second pruning necessary.
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