Gerbera Daisies | colorful blooms | Flowers for Bouquets

Gerbera Daisies used to be called Transvaal Daisy, and you may see that name from time to time in catalogs or on labels. It's another of the flowers we've acquired from South Africa and it's well-suited to our Southern California climate, whether in the hot inland valleys or along the coast.

The wild form, before plant breeders started working on it, was an orange red color, and today we have white, pink, red, orange, ivory and shades and tints of all these colors. Many of these are hybrids from the old original and have more colors, are stronger growers, and produce bigger flowers.

The plants have long, lobed leaves, and the flowers are borne on top of long stems making them suitable for cutting. We always see them in bouquets the florist prepares, but we can grow ones that easily rival what the florist has.

Gerbera likes well drained soil, and the crown should never stand in water. It helps to fertilize two to three times a year, and disease and insects aren't usually a problem. The big flowers have a daisy-like form, and many can be 2 to 4 inches across. Some of the newer hybrids have duplex petals, and there are some strains that are double.

One of the best is called California Duplex, or simply California Mixture, and another, a dwarf variety used mostly in containers, is called Happipot. The oldest hybrid is called Jamesonii, and it's still around.

You can grow gerbera from seed, but it's a slow process and care must be taken in getting good germination. Nurseries and garden centers usually have gerbera in gallon sizes, sometimes in 4-inch pots. Mature plants can be divided after the main bloom period, early spring through summer, to make additional plantings. In mild climates such as ours, most gerbera will produce a few blooms all year long.

Gerbera likes to be crowded, and performs best when the crown is kept well above the soil and kept dry. Good soil and frequent feeding helps to promote growth and better blooms.

When cutting flowers for a bouquet, take the longest stems you can find and slit the stem at the bottom, up about an inch, to hold them longer in water.

FLOWER POWER FACTS

Plant: Gerbera
Best features: Big, colorful daisy-like blooms
Degree of difficulty: Easy to grow from started plant or divisions
When to plant: Start seed early in spring, set plants in anytime
Where to plant: Full sun, will tolerate a little shade
Soil specifications: Good soil
Fertilizer and water: Fertilize at regular intervals, water when they dry out

Strawflowers make good bouquets!

Strawflowers make good bouquets both fresh and dried, and the papery blooms are unusual.

Some flowers last well when cut fresh and placed in water, and there's a group of flowers called flowers for drying that can be cut and used almost forever when properly dried. One of these is the strawflower, Helichrysum bracteatum, often seen as a dried flower.

One of the seed companies I worked for had a bouquet of dried strawflowers in a secretary's office which she said had been there for years, and they still looked pretty good.

But strawflower can look good in the garden too, and there's one variety that's a good grower and very colorful. It's called Bright Bikinis and is listed in most seed catalogs, and sometimes found on the seed rack.

It's a dwarf version of the much taller old strawflower, which often got nearly 3 feet tall. Bright Bikinis gets around 15 inches tall and has semi-double blooms on sturdy plants in bright red, gold, pink and shades of those colors.

The older tall mixture has some additional colors, including maroon, salmon, white, bronze and yellow. Thompson and Morgan's catalog lists one called Summer Solstice, and it may simply be the old tall variety judging from its description.

There are many flowers that can be used for drying, but strawflower is one of the easiest to grow and very easy to dry.

Pick the flowers just as the buds are beginning to open, remove any leaves and then hang the flowers upside down in a dry, but airy location, out of direct sunlight. It usually takes a few weeks to get them dry enough to bring in for use as a dried bouquet.

Meantime, you can continue to enjoy the beauty of the strawflowers in the garden or as a fresh flower indoors. Most blooms are fairly large, 2 to 3 inches across, and the colors don't fade quickly. In the garden it helps to pick off the spent blooms to help continuous blooming.

Strawflowers are easy to start from seed and the seed germinates well. Plant in a warm location from March through July, cover the seed lightly, and water well to start. After the plants are about 2 to 3 inches tall you can thin them out to about a foot apart. Continue to keep well watered until the plants are growing well, then water only as needed. Fertilizer helps a little as the plants start to grow but hold off on fertilizer after the plants start to bud.

Disease and insects aren't usually a problem, but sometimes snails chew on the small plants. Plants will bloom all summer long and well into the fall in most inland areas.

FLOWER POWER FACTS

• Plant: Strawflower


• Best features: Good as cut flower and dried flower


• Degree of difficulty: Easy to grow


• When to plant: Sow seed early spring to mid-summer, plants up until August


• Where to plant: Full sun


• Soil specifications: Good soil


• Fertilizer and water: Fertilize sparingly, water well to start

Test Your Weed IQ

Mankind has been battling weeds ever since we first began cultivating the land. Over the years, a number of myths, thoughts and opinions have been formulated about these common menaces -- some true and some not so true. By learning some simple facts about weeds, you can put yourself in a much better position to rid your garden of these unwanted guests.

Test your knowledge with this basic weed IQ test to see if this year's gardening will be an uphill battle or a walk in the park.

True or false?

A weed is a weed.
False. Believe it or not, there are actually thousands of weeds. However, only about 25-30 are common in maintained turf, depending on where you live.

While the majority of weeds have broad leaves, some may have narrow leaves similar to blades of grass. Weeds also have varying life spans. Most common weeds are classified as annuals because they are produced from a seed and only live for a single growing season. They die soon after flowering. However, some varieties of weeds are long-lived and don't die after flowering. This group, which can reproduce by seed or by vegetative means such as rooting, are called perennials and continue to thrive as long as conditions permit.

Pulling a weed is the most effective way of killing it.
False. While it's the most common method of weeding, manually pulling weeds does not guarantee a solution. Since perennial weeds can reproduce from rooting, even if part of a taproot lives after a weed is pulled, the plant can regenerate itself. If you do pull weeds, the only way to ensure the plant won't come back is to make certain the entire root system is removed.

A more simple solution is to eliminate the hassle of killing weeds altogether by preventing them before they even start to germinate. By using a pre-emergent herbicide, you can effectively prevent weeds for up to three months. Easy to apply, this herbicide may be sprinkled on the soil surface of garden beds or on top of mulch any time of the day throughout the growing season. Simply water in.

Weeds die naturally at the end of the season.
Now here's a test to see if you've been paying attention, because the answer is both true and false, depending on the weed. The answer is true in regards to annual weeds. They will die at the end of their season. But realize that different weeds thrive in different weather conditions, so you can still have annual weeds year-round.

In terms of perennials, the answer is false. Perennials can survive for years. In fact, seeds can live for seven years or more, waiting until conditions are right to germinate. Perennial weeds also store reserve "food" in their root systems and continue to sprout again and again, even after their tops are destroyed.

Weeds are just a natural part of gardening.
This is true, but that doesn't mean you have to accept it. The reality is weeds are everywhere. Their seeds are airborne, which means they can be easily carried from one yard to the next. They can be transported by humans, animals, insects and even water. Your own trusted lawnmower could be a carrier! Weed seeds can also be unintentionally introduced through straw or hay, mulch or even inferior grass seeds, which are not weed free.

No matter how many times you apply a weed killer, seeds are bound to be reintroduced to your garden. Here again, the only way to remain weed-free is to apply a weed preventer. That way, regardless of how or when new seeds are introduced, they'll never have a chance to germinate.

Weeds are ugly, but at least they're harmless.
This is false on many fronts. First let's consider the statement "weeds are ugly." A weed is defined as a plant that is not intentionally sown. Therefore a weed can actually be somewhat attractive, just unwanted where it is.

Secondly, certain weeds, such as poison ivy, can actually cause severe skin irritation. Other weeds, including sand bur and thistle, can also scratch and irritate your skin.

Another point to consider is that, if left unchecked, weeds will deprive your flowers of needed water, light and soil nutrients. Weeds can also produce substances that are toxic to your plants. Eventually, they will squeeze out what you actually want in your garden.

All weed-control products are essentially the same.
This statement is false. There are many different types of herbicides available. If you're not achieving the results you desire, you're likely using the wrong type of product.

First it's important to understand the difference between a pre-emergent and a post-emergent herbicide. Pre-emergent implies controlling the weed or weed seed before it "emerges" or germinates. It does not kill existing weeds. A post-emergent herbicide only works on weeds that have already begun to grow. They kill existing weeds, but won't prevent new ones.

Herbicides can also be selective or nonselective. Selective herbicides are those types that only kill selected or target weeds. Nonselective herbicides can kill any plant they touch without being at all selective. These require careful handling so as not to damage wanted garden plants.

Courtesy of ARA Content

Red Perennial Pre-Planned Garden

It is just red and beautiful!

"Pre-planned gardens allow you to put on a colorful show even
if you’ve never planted one flower before. The gardens come with
plans and plants. All you have to do is dig the holes."

Create excitement in your landscape throughout the growing season with this dashing garden. All five perennials are easy to grow and are a fascinating combination of shapes and hues - a veritable rainbow of reds.

This pre-planned garden includes:

• 1 Autumn Red Daylily
  A profusion of large, non-fading red blooms with golden
  bars adorn the 36" stems in mid-summer.



• 3 Jacob Cline Monarda
  Mint-scented foliage, extra-large deep red flowers make
  this a bold accent for a border - or butterfly or herb garden.



• 1 Tenor Tall Phlox
  Enjoy brilliant scarlet red color and spicy fragrance for weeks beginning in mid-summer.



• 1 Red Fanal Astilbe
  Mound-shaped perennials with fernlike foliage produce dozens of
  soft feathery flowers on 20-40" tall spikes in late spring to early summer.


• 3 Desmond Hardy Carnation
  Vivid scarlet blooms-among the most beautiful of all carnations.