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Plants - Planting Tips |
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HOW TO GROW YOUR PERENNIAL PLANTS Your plants will thrive provided you spend a little time on 4 essential things: 1. WATER The most important thing to remember above all else is to WATER YOUR NEW PLANTS until freeze up. A deep drink (3 cm. (1")) once a week will give your plant deep roots and a healthy start for years and years of enjoyment. 2. LIGHT If your plant prefers a shaded location you should have a look at what kind of shade you have. Shade from tall, mature trees is called “high” shade and equals a semi-shade in our instructions. Shade from other trees may be dappled this season but will become deeper in subsequent seasons as the trees grow larger. 3. SOIL Before you plant . . . PREPARE The soil that is. A well prepared planting site is just the kind of welcome your new plant needs. If you do right by the “new arrival” it will sure do right by you. That’s a promise. Loosen the soil thoroughly with a digging fork or spade to a depth of 15 cm. (6") at least all around the planting site. Work in plenty of humus, leaf mould, well-rotted manure or peat moss to improve the quality of the soil and to help it retain moisture through the summer. Good drainage is important for plants: for instance, adding coarse sand to heavy clay soils helps a lot. HOW TO PLANT YOUR PLANT When planting perennials you’ll need a hole big enough to take the spread out roots of the plant. A well dug soil with lots of organic material is ideal. Dig the soil over thoroughly with a fork or spade to at least 30 cm. (24”). Don’t forget to note that your young plant will grow up. Give it enough room. With the plant in position, gradually replace and firm the soil by hand to get a good contact with the roots. Press the soil around the plant with your foot and water thoroughly. Shelter from the sun for the first few days to reduce foliage transpiration (more moisture going out than coming in). It’s critically important to give your new plant lots of water repeatedly during their first growing season. More new plants die of thirst than any other reason. CHOOSING A SITE Spend some time looking at possible locations. Consider the mature size of your plant, where it will give the best impact. Don't forget to consider the seasonal features of your new plant. Your young plant will need room; overcrowding is usually fatal. CUTTING BACK & DEADHEADING Many late blooming perennials benefit from cutting back in early summer before they’ve begun to form flower buds. This results in more flowers on a more compact plant. Deadheading is the removal of spent flowers and will promote more flowers, extending the blooming season. DIVIDING Many perennials flower best on the newest growth and will benefit from division every few years. Frequency depends on their rate of growth but the general idea is to keep the youngest part of your plant and remove the underperforming, older parts. WINTERING PLANTS IN CONTAINERS It is the “freeze - thaw” cycle in late winter that kills plants overwintered in pots. Your container thaws during the day and freezes again at night. This causes the soil to shift, tearing the roots and killing your plant. You can avoid “freeze - thaw” by moving your container to a shady corner out of the sun or by insulating the pot with leaves, styrofoam or straw and covering it all with a white or light coloured material. Once nighttime temperatures are above freezing you can move your pot back into the sun. IMPORTANT POINTS ABOUT FRAGRANT PLANTS Place your fragrant plants in a sheltered spot out of the wind where their fragrance can linger and entice. ACHILLEA A sun loving perennial that starts flowering in the early summer. Divide every few years.  AEONIUM Loves full sun and plenty of heat. Winter indoors in a sunny window with an occasional watering. BUDDLEIA Buddleia like a well drained soil in full sun. Most people kill their Buddleia by pruning them in the fall. NEVER PRUNE IN THE FALL. Prune HARD in the spring AFTER THEY HAVE STARTED TO LEAF OUT. DELPHINIUM Delphinium are easy to grow provided you follow a few tips. They like a well-drained soil and resent a damp, boggy soil. They don't like to be moved. Thin out the stems of mature plants to produce fewer but stronger stems. When they've finished flowering cut back the flower stems to the ground. You might even get a few shorter stems in late summer. HELLEBORES Hellebores do best in humusy soil that is well-drained (hillsides and slopes are good) with shade from the summer sun. They dislike hot humid temperatures, and can stop growing in the heat of summer. Once cooler temperatures return in late summer, you will see new leaves developing. If your soil is very acidic, add a little ground limestone to bring the pH to about 7 or 6. Plant with the crown of the plant at or just below the soil line. Planting too deep or too high will interfere with the flower formation. Do not leave an air pocket under the crown. Mulch your plant with chopped leaves, coarse compost, shredded weed-free straw, or a similar material but leave the crown area free. Once the ground has frozen, a temporary winter mulch of loose straw can be fluffed over the crown. Remove this mulch before the buds break in late winter. Hellebores like to be watered and fertilized regularly; if the plants are stressed from lack of food or water the buds will not develop properly for the next spring's bloom. During the first season never let the soil dry right out. Once your Hellebore is established however, it will tolerate a little dryness much better than overwatering. Do not let your plants get waterlogged. In the spring cut back the old leaves. After flowering, cut off the flower heads before the seeds have ripened, unless you want to encourage seedlings. GARDENIMPORT.COM Call us if you need more information at 905 - 731 - 1950 or 1 - 800 - 339 - 8314 © 2011 - 2012 Gardenimport inc. all rights reserved |
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© 2008
Gardenimport.com |
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