Proper fertilization of flowers growing in landscape beds is important to ensure that annuals perform well all season long, and perennials are more likely to repeat bloom year after year. Continue reading
Category Archives: Flowers
Plants for Tough Sites: Dry Shade
I grew up with a yard that had a slope facing east, shaded by a mature tree with miniscule amounts of good fertile soil to grow any type of plant. I have also inherited this site in my new garden. This area is too steep to mow easily and the grass is so thin it’s mostly weeds. I’m a gardener so I’m not opposed to removing the lawn in favor of perennials and shrubs. Continue reading
What McCracken County Extension Learned from Bedding Plant Trials in 2018
In 2018, 20 varieties from several genera of bedding plants were grown as trial gardens in fifteen counties across the Commonwealth. In McCracken County, these were planted in raised-beds and rated all through the growing season. These plants were purchased in April and planted after the last danger of frost had passed, in early May of 2018. Continue reading
Basics for Starting Seeds Indoors for Transplant Outdoors
Seedlings grown indoors will need warm temperatures, a well-drained media with correct pH to grow the plants, strong light (supplemented artificially), proper nutrients, correct water amounts. Steps to do this are, first, select disease-resistant varieties of seed. Such seeds are more likely to lead to successful harvest. Continue reading
A Messy Winter Garden Makes Good Wildlife Habitat
You worked hard turning some of your property into wildlife habitat. You planted nectar and host plants for butterflies and pollinators. Trees and bushes offer shelter and habitat for birds, squirrels, and other small creatures. Perhaps this summer, a box turtle took up residence in your back yard or you heard tree frogs singing in your own trees! Now, after all your hard work, why would you destroy that wonderful ecosystem by cleaning it up for winter?
Holiday Cactus
In shades of white, golden yellow, pink, rose, coral and red, the flowers of holiday cacti look like exotic birds in flight. It is no wonder that these fall and winter blooming plants have become holiday favorites. Continue reading
Hydrangeas – Blue or Pink? You Decide.
Hydrangeas grace the landscape with beautiful flowers in the spring and summer. The most colorful hydrangeas are bigleaf hydrangeas, Hydrangea macrophylla. Their flowers are usually either pink or blue. Flower color depends on the pH of the soil, a measure of soil acidity. Soil pH can be raised by applying lime. Some hydrangeas will respond to a higher pH (between 6.0 and 6.5) with pink flower color. To lower pH, apply aluminum sulfate. A lower pH (between 5.0 and 5.0) often results in blue flower color. A soil test will determine the existing pH and you can change your soil with the appropriate amendment to get the resulting flower color you want. Continue reading
Rose Diseases
Spectacular blooms and diverse types and varieties make roses a favorite of many Kentucky gardeners. However, warm, humid growing conditions create an ideal environment for serious problems each year with black spot and powdery mildew.
Gardeners can nip these fungal diseases in the bud by planting resistant or tolerant varieties and creating an unfavorable environment for disease development. It may be necessary to use fungicides throughout the summer, especially on susceptible varieties. Continue reading
Hellebores
A plant that flowers in winter has a head start in making it onto any plants lover’s list. This perennial is one that can grow in Kentucky gardens from the knobs and bluegrass to Ohio River, making it a plant for all regions, over a wide range of climates. Despite its common name, Lenten Rose is not a garden rose at all. Continue reading
Top Three New Year’s Resolutions for Gardeners
Many people enjoy making New Year’s Resolutions, so I would like to encourage you to make some gardening resolutions. Even those of you who do not typically grow anything can reap benefits from planting something, nurturing it, and watching it grow. It doesn’t have to be a large vegetable garden. A small container garden or raised bed garden will be just fine. Continue reading
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