'Black Eyed Susans' - Favorite Summer Flowers

The Rudbeckia ‘Goldsturm Black-Eyed Susan’, Rudbeckia fulgida, is an easy to grow perennial with large flower heads of golden yellow and black to brown centers. The flower heads are 3½ to 5 inches across, with a plant spread of 18-24” and a height of 24”. The dark green foliage sits at the bottom on the tall daisy-like flowers and bloom from July to September. Rudbeckia ‘Goldstrum Black Eyed-Susan’ was selected Perennial of the Year in 1999, and one can see why.

‘Black-Eyed Susans’ need to be grown in full sun in somewhat moist soil conditions in a well-drained area. It is great in borders, for cut flowers or for naturalized areas. Rudbeckia attracts butterflies, provides food for birds in the winter and is mildew-resistant.

Coneflowers | Echinacea

Echinacea or coneflower cultivars have undergone many changes in the past few years. New colors, sizes and flower shapes keep coming, but each new cultivar has to be compared to the original, Magnus. This classic echinacea has large, deep-pink flowers that are long lasting and are produced all summer. If there’s any problem it’s that it grows to a height of about 4 feet.

About 20 years ago a dwarf form was found and named Kim’s Knee High. It is the same as Magnus but grows about a foot shorter.

Since then, the echinacea family has exploded with new cultivars.

For years White Swan has been the best of the white echinacea. This year, new dwarf plant Avalanche looks like a winner. The large white flowers have a dark gold cone and are on stems that are only 15 to 18 inches tall. Avalanche will blossom from July to September.

Elton Knight grows into a bushy plant that produces pink flowers reaching up to 6 inches in diameter. The stems are strong enough not to need staking.

If your garden doesn’t include echinacea and you have a sunny spot, try one or more -you will not regret it.

Coneflowers (Echinacea) works with bugs

Coneflowers Good To Grow

Everyone is getting excited about echinacea these days – and not just because it's a pretty flower. Recent scientific studies have proven that taking echinacea daily does help us resist the common cold.

The usual method is to buy a bottle of a tincture made from the roots, then put a few drops in a glass of water every day. This is said to strengthen the immune system. However, don't do it you have an immune system disease like Lupus.

Medicinal properties aside, echinacea is a delight in the garden, easy to grow and tolerant of poor soil. It reaches about a metre high, with flowers that have curious droopy petals. The seedheads, which keep getting bigger and bigger as the summer wears on, look like beehives.

(Leave them on the plant all winter, as some birds love the seeds.)

The most common kind is Echinacea angustifolia, which has pale pink flowers. However, since echinacea is regarded as a "hottie" plant, growers keep coming out with new varieties – some good, some less so. A couple of years ago, I tried one with orangey flowers called MeadowBrite and it promptly died. This year, though, I picked up a variety called PixieMeadowBrite at Sheridan's. It's a real charmer, and is producing a non-stop parade of peachy orange flowers.

Grow echinacea in a sunny spot. It looks best in clumps of at least three. Although often touted as drought-tolerant, I find this plant tends to droop in dry weather, but it recovers nicely after rain. It's also – a big plus in my book – rarely bothered by bugs.

IN YOUR GARDEN: Glorious gladioli

Written by Jenny Watts

Gladiolus has long been a favorite flower in the florist trade for its stately beauty in arrangements. But it also lends an air of dramatic beauty to the garden.

These magnificent flowers originated in South Africa and are members of the iris family. They come in almost every color, except true blue, and stand tall on 3- to 6-foot stems.

They grow from a corm, like a bulb, that needs to be planted in the spring for flowers this summer. The funnel-shaped flowers flare out and usually are ruffled at the edges. They open from the bottom up, and all face in one direction. The leaves are shaped like swords and arranged in narrow, upright fans.

Glads make excellent cut flowers. Cut the stems when the bottom flower is fully opened. Most of the remaining buds will open, a few at a time, almost to the tip. Pick off the faded flowers and they will last for about 10 days in the vase.

Read the full article

A little neglect is best for begonias

I've never thought of houseplants as being in or out of fashion, because I grew up with them: angel-wing begonias with silver dots on their dark green leaves, fragrant geraniums that filled the air with lemon or mint, orchids and cacti that obediently bloomed, under my grandmother's fierce green thumb.

Like dogs, they accompanied me through my childhood, on through college and to every apartment or house I ever occupied.
Through the years, the role of houseplants changed. Remember the 1970s, when living rooms were full of avocado trees planted from pits, shower curtain rods were for ferns, and orchids and marijuana grew under lights in the attic? It was actually a relief, in the 1990s, to walk into one of those minimalist rooms with no plants, except for say, one long tropical leaf set in a tall vase.
Some of us, though, held onto our potted friends, oblivious to which exotic species was in or out. But now, it's fashionable to be nesting again, especially with begonias.

Read the full article here

Garden workshops like Tupperware parties for the green-thumb set

Lisa Ziegler stands in front of them to explain and demonstrate the efficient and easy use of several little-known gardening tools and products. For instance, there's the dibber, a T-shaped aluminum planting hand tool that's perfect for small bulbs such as crocus, she says. There's also a multi-use trowel that digs planting holes, removes weeds and smoothes soil.

She also peppers her program with educational tidbits. She advises the women to consult their local Virginia Cooperative Extension office when they have plant questions, and encourages them to adopt gardening habits that benefit the environment and health of the Chesapeake Bay.

"This is `edu-tainment,'" she tells the women at Bly's gathering. "Whether you buy or not, you take something away from this workshop."

She started The Gardener's Workshop home parties in 2005, and conducts them with the help of trained "garden steward consultants" who earn commission, bonuses and rebates based on sales. Hostesses earn free and discounted products according to workshop sales. Family members Sara Mason and Suzanne Frye help Ziegler with business needs, such as product photography and catalog layout.

Read the full article

Fast-food take on landscapes appetizing

In the past two weeks I have traveled from the Deep South to northern Michigan, and from West Texas through New Mexico and Colorado to South Dakota. Believe me, the natural gardening climate is vastly different in every place.

Still, there are plants that each place holds in common - oft-used, dependable "garden backbone" plants such as junipers, iris, daylilies, shrub roses, pines, hollies, dwarf arborvitae, zinnias and ornamental grasses. In the South there are lots of nandina, crape myrtles and lantana. All grow well regardless of the care they receive.

OLD FOUNDATIONS

For decades, the general landscape design has hugged the foundation of the house. It started with garden club ladies working with Extension horticulturists and nurserymen, giving nongardeners some easy landscaping ideas that looked good and were fairly low maintenance.

Although these "cookie cutter" designs did neaten and provide uniformity to neighborhoods, they became to be seen as the only acceptable styles.

But as the fast food generation settles down, more of us are puttering in the garden. We need updated tips on what works and what doesn't.

And guess where the major patterns for flower and shrub arrangement are most visible?

Fast food restaurants.

Believe it or not, the most visible, nationally uniform new landscape style - called New American by the American Horticulture Society - is more likely to show up in places where year-round, nonstop good looks and low maintenance are most needed.

This style is neither new nor entirely American. But it was not mainstream here until fairly recently. Back in 1986, when Terryl and I attended the opening of the AHS New American Style demonstration garden in Washington, D.C., it was not mainstream; now it is on every commercial street corner, constantly providing visual cues that flower gardening is here to stay.

TRY IT, YOU'LL LIKE IT

What are the elements? Start with carving a nice-size bed in the front yard, perhaps along one side of the yard and extending partways across the front of the property along the street. Add one or two hardy small trees, coupled with a mix of boldly shaped evergreen shrubs. Tie them all together with mulch or groundcover, then plop in a few groups of perennials and an ornamental grass. Add annuals seasonally, and keep it edged neatly.

This can be done in a weekend. One gardener at a time, the country is changing to year-round good looks without the maintenance - or the rules - of our parents' generation.

If you want a list of dependable "front yard" landscape plants, shoot me an e-mail and I'll paste it right back.

GARDEN TIPS

It's not the "last call" for planting summer-loving veggies (tomatoes, peppers and the like), but those set out now still have time to produce before fall without your having to cover them up.

Yellow jacket wasps make paper nests in underground chambers, and get very busy in late summer and fall. If you have a nest entry hidden in monkey grass or rocks, control them now before they really get bad.

Annual flowers that go to seed do not flower as well. Occasionally cut off faded flowers to keep them productive. Leggy zinnias and overgrown lantana can be pruned to make them busy again.

Author:Felder Rushing

Primer on plant problems, how to treat them! Part TWO

-BACTERIAL BLIGHT

Symptoms: Small, water-soaked spots appear on vegetable leaves. The spots eventually get bigger and turn brown. The leaves either turn tallow and die slowly, or turn brown and rapidly fall off. In cool weather yellow halos may border the infected spots. Sometimes lone, reddish lesions show up on the stems as well.

Cause: Xanthomonas and pseudomonas bacteria.

Remedy: Like so many of the diseases we've talked about so far, this one also thrives (and spreads) in wet conditions, so minimize overhead watering and never work in a wet garden patch. Buy certified disease-free seed and use blight resistant varieties when available. Rotating crops also helps, and by rotating I mean keeping the same crops out of the soil where they grew previously for at least two years. Be sure and clean up plant debris at the end of the season. Unfortunately, there are no chemical controls for bacterial blight.

-CLUBROOT

Symptoms: Abnormal enlargement and distortion of roots of plants in the crucifer family. Cabbage and Brussels sprouts are most susceptible, followed by broccoli, cauliflower, etc. Lowest leaves may turn yellow and drop off. Yield is usually greatly reduced, but in very favorable soil conditions the symptoms may not even be noticed until the plants are pulled up and the roots examined after harvest.

Cause: Soil borne Plasmodiophora brassicae fungus.

Remedy: Keep soil beds well drained by adding lots of organic matter since clubroot thrives in soils that are cool, wet, and heavy. I always make sure that the soil pH is above 7.2 for these crops as well, since a high pH has been shown to inhibit clubroot. Long crop rotations (up to seven years) works well, though it is often not practical nor possible.

-BLACKSPOT

Symptoms: Rose leaves develop circular black spots up to a half-inch in diameter. Leaves turn yellow and drop off. The flowers themselves are usually not affected.

Cause: Diplocarpon rosae fungus.

Remedy: Blackspot is usually not a fatal disease, but affected plants often try to grow replacement foliage late in the season and that new growth may suffer cold damage when frost hits. The best way to minimize blackspot is to plant resistant varieties and avoid overhead watering because the disease thrives on wet foliage. Cut the bushes back hard in the spring to remove any canes that may have blackspot fungus on them and to improve air circulation. Remove old mulches and apply a thick new mulch around each bush after you give the roses their first feeding this will serve as a barrier between any blackspot fungus on the ground and the newly developing rose leaves. I've had excellent results with controlling and curing blackspot (seemingly overnight) with the "Fermented Salmon" liquid foliar spray. No one seems to be able to explain to me how or why it works so well in controlling this disease, but have my own theory as to why that I'm currently experimenting with (results to be published later!). Otherwise, there are many reliable, commercially available rose sprays that contain various fungicide ingredients if you don't mind using these products in your garden. The key is vigilant spraying throughout the growing season.

-GRAY MOLD

Symptoms: Fruit, vegetables and flowers are all affected. Leaves, flowers and fruit (green or ripe) especially near the soil in the densest area of the leaf canopy turn light brown and develop a gray fuzzy covering. Gray mold will often sprout on soft ripe fruits like strawberries and raspberries after they have been picked.

Cause: Botrytis cinerea fungus.

Remedy: Sanitation is more important than anything in reducing the chances of gray mold from developing. As you walk around the flower garden, the vegetable patch, the fruit trees, pick and destroy all fading flowers and blighted foliage, remove and destroy and diseased leaves, blossoms or fallen fruits. It is also important to space your plants far enough apart so that sunshine and air can penetrate the entire plant. Harvest fruits in advance of rainy, humid and cool conditions whenever possible. Use mulches like pine needles in strawberry beds to keep the fruit off the ground. Fungicides like Captan or chlorothalonil work well to eliminate gray mold.

There are many more possible plant disease that can affect your garden such as Fusarium and Verticillium wilt, early and late blights, scab, leaf curl, brown rot, apple scab, fire blight, cucumber mosaic and so on. A good deal of plant diseases can be avoided by simply using good cultural practices, that is, avoiding over-head watering, providing plenty of air circulation between plants (that means dividing perennials on a regular basis!), maintaining a good healthy soil structure with lots of organic matter, regular weeding and keeping a spotless sanitary garden by quickly removing any spent or diseased plant tissue.

July's hot tips on maintaining flower garden

Planting

* If you are lacking summer color, it's not too late to set out these plants: ageratum, begonias, celosia, chrysanthemums, coreopsis, gazanias, gloriosa daisies, impatiens, marigolds, petunias, portulaca, sea lavender, sweet alyssum, zinnias.


* Start seeds of campanulas, columbine, coreopsis, delphiniums, forget-me-nots, and foxgloves to plant out in September.

* July is the month to start new plants from herbaceous perennials. Cut five-inch stems and remove flowers of carnations, geraniums, marguerites, Shasta daisies, penstemons and verbenas. Root them in damp perlite.

* At the end of the month divide overcrowded clumps of iris and spring-flowering bulbs. Replant into beds prepared by deeply digging in organic amendments.

Soil management

* July and August are the best months to solarize your garden soil to get rid of weed seeds, insect pests, and diseases. For information on soil solarization, visit the Master Gardener Web site at: http://groups.ucanr.org/mgnapa/index.cfm.

* Renew the mulch around plants to keep them cool and conserve moisture.

* Continue to monitor the soil moisture and check the drip system for clogged sprinklers and emitters.

Maintenance

* Stop pruning these spring-blooming plants now: vines and trees such as azaleas, dogwood, redbud, spirea, forsythia, flowering quince, wisteria and some roses shouldn't be heavily pruned unless they are dormant. Excessive pruning from midsummer into fall will reduce next year's blooms. However, trimming a gangly shoot here and there to maintain the proper shape is fine.

* Encourage more blooms by deadheading (snapping off spent flowers) the annuals and pinching back the tips of chrysanthemums, fuchsias and geraniums.

Primer on plant problems, how to treat them! Part One

Your garden is off to a great start this season and everything's looking great, you don't have a care in the world and then: Whack. All of a sudden your prize tomato plants are turning wicked colors of yellow or brown, perhaps dropping their leaves as we

- DAMPING OFF

Symptoms: Very young (newly seeded) flower and vegetable seedlings either fail to come up or rot off at soil level soon after the emerge.

Cause: A variety of bad fungi (rhizoctona, fusarium, Phytophthora and a few others) that live in the upper layers of seed-starting (or garden soil) bed.

Remedy: I think most gardeners know that using a sterilized potting mixture when planting seeds indoors is a fail-proof method in avoiding this type of disease problem, but what about outside in the open soil? There are a few things you can do, such as building raised beds to ensure good drainage (since these disease fungi are activated by damp soil). Also, compost has scientifically proven disease-fighting power that, when used as a seedbed material, drastically eliminates any chance of seedlings damping off. Just be sure to lay down about a one-inch layer over the bed and don't mix it into the soil. Plant your seed right on top of the mix. I also use sterilized soil-less mixtures to cover the seeds after planting to insure that they will sprout in a near-sterile environment.

-POWDERY MILDEW

Symptoms: Whitish-gray powdery coating on leaves, buds, and often blossoms of vegetables (cucumbers are notorious), and flowers (roses, lilacs and phlox). In severe cases, leaves may turn yellow and become deformed and buds may fail to open.

Cause: Spores of bad fungi (erysiphe, sphaerotheca to name a few) that are spread by wind and encouraged by hot, dry days and cool nights .

Remedy: You can save yourself plenty of headaches by choosing plant varieties that are resistant to powdery mildew if they are available. That not always being the case, you'll need to take other action. It actually thrives in dry conitions. A neat and easy trick is to actually spray the plants with a strong spray of water during the early stages of powdery mildew. This tactic alone might be enough to thwart an infection, as you will literally knock the disease spores off the plant. If that doesn't work, a great homemade solution to combat powdery mildew can be made by mixing one tablespoon of baking soda, one tablespoon of vegetable oil, and a single drop of dishwashing soap in one-gallon of water. Shake the mixture well and apply with a pump sprayer on the plants until they are saturated and dripping. This is a mixture that I'll use on vegetable crops, but often flowers and shrubs need stronger fungicide. Products like Immunox and Daconil work very well.

- ANTHRACNOSE

Symptoms: Sunken spots (up to a half-inch in diameter) appear on the skin of ripe tomatoes affected by this disease. The center of the spots usually darkens and forms concentric rings.

Cause: Colletotrichum coccodes fungus.

Remedy: Anthracnose thrives in warm, wet conditions, so try and avoid overhead irrigation where possible. To prevent spreading the disease, do not work in the garden when plants are wet. Be sure to stake, trellis, or cage your tomato plants so that the fruit is kept away from the soil surface. Make sure to harvest tomatoes as soon as they are ripe and when you find an anthracnose-infected tomato (it's inedible by the way), be sure they are tossed into the garbage pail (do not compost).

-RUST

Symptoms: Orange-yellow, brown, or purple pustules appear on the underside of leaves. Affects many types of plants, but beans, roses, geraniums, hollyhocks and snapdragons seem to catch the worst cases of rust. Eventually, the upper leaf surface becomes mottled with yellow patches, and the leaves shrivel and fall off. Severely infected plants become stunted and may die.

Cause: Many species of fungi that belong to the Uredinales order.

Remedy: This is a fungus that thrives in warm, wet conditions, so again, avoid overhead irrigation in favor of drip irrigation wherever you can. Water in the morning rather then sending the plants into the evening with wet foliage. Allow plenty of room for air to circulate and pluck any infected leaves as soon as you see them. Strict garden sanitation is important in controlling this disease. There are several chemical fungicide products to use in controlling rust, depending on the type of plant.

What do those numbers on fertilizer bags actually mean?

Whenever you see a fertilizer product, it will have three numbers prominently listed on the package, usually on the front. These numbers are very important and tell a great deal about what this fertilizer will do.

Nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium (N, P, K) are what the numbers refer to. They are always listed in this order. It is the percentage within that package of each component.

For example, a common type of all-purpose fertilizer is referred to as 10-10-10. This is a balanced blend of equal portions of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. If you purchased a 50-pound bag, five pounds (or 10 percent) would be nitrogen, five pounds would be phosphorus and five pounds would be potassium. The remaining 70 percent is simply filler, or inert ingredients, which are there mostly to help disperse the chemicals.

A common way of describing the purpose behind each chemical is to think "up, down and all around."

Applying this simple phrase will help you remember that nitrogen, the first chemical listed, helps with plant growth above ground. Nitrogen promotes the green leafy growth of foliage and provides the necessary ingredients to produce lush green lawns. Lawn fertilizers frequently have a high first number for this purpose.

Phosphorus, the middle number, is very effective at establishing growth below ground, in the form of healthy root systems. It is also the component most responsible for flower blooms and fruit production. You'll notice that fertilizers designed for flower production, or starter-type fertilizers for your lawn, have a high middle number.

Potassium, the last number listed, is considered important for overall plant health. This is primarily due to its ability to help build strong cells within the plant tissue. In turn, the plants withstand various stresses, such as heat, cold, pests and diseases. For example, winterizer fertilizers will have a high component of potassium.

When shopping for fertilizers, be mindful of their intended use. Fertilizers that have equal numbers can generally be used as an all-purpose fertilizer. If you had only one product to work with, 10-10-10 would be my recommendation.

To promote good fruit or flower production, look for a middle number that is higher than the first. Otherwise, your plants will be stimulated to put out lots of nice green foliage, often at the expense of fruit or flower production. Instead, you want the energy and nutrition of the plant to go towards the desired result _ flowers or fruit _ so a higher middle number is a more appropriate choice.

To toughen up your plants or lawn for environmental stresses, then you'll want a fertilizer that promotes the last number, possibly as well as a high middle number. A high first number in this case may not be appropriate because you are not likely to be promoting new lush foliage when at the same time putting plants or turf to bed for the winter. Instead, your goal should be to promote cell structure and strong roots which continue to grow through winter.

Finally, whenever you apply fertilizers, don't assume that more is better. You can burn plants by over fertilizing, and damage the surrounding soil as well. Instead, err on the side of less is better. If your soil is rich in organic matter, it should have all the nutrition plants need.

Get ready for gardening

During the winter months, hours of dreaming over garden catalogues are interspersed with pruning and making sure mulch is spread to nourish the plants.

Now, at the end of March, with rain and windy days transformed to warmth and sunshine, we are back at the start of another gardening year.

Where to begin?
Here are some tips on what needs to be done to get your garden off to a good start:

Perennial beds

Perennials flowers such as poppies, delphinium, hostas, astilbes and peonies are all well out of the ground. These are the staples of many flower gardens. They come back year after year and the initial investment is small compared to their contribution to the garden.

If you are starting a perennial bed, remember that the soil should be well prepared to a depth of one foot with lots of well rotted manure or organic matter added.
Be sure all the weed material is removed from the ground before you plant.
Divide perennials that have overgrown their places. Generally, after four years a perennial may need dividing.

If you are replanting a part of a divided plant in the same spot, be sure to add some compost to the soil. It will need the nourishment.
Swap some of your divided perennials with gardening friends - this is a time-honoured tradition among gardeners.
Read up on your plants before you divide them. Peonies, for example, dislike being moved and may not bloom for a year or two after being divided.
If you have a recently established perennial bed and your plants don't need dividing, just remove weeds carefully and add compost or mulch.

Vegetable beds
Dig over your vegetable garden now. The weeds haven't had a chance to take hold and the soil is moist. Add well rotted manure or composted organic matter to your garden.

Dig over the ground so that compost is mixed to a depth of one foot. If it is left on the surface, root vegetables don't get nutrients where they need them most.
Dolomite lime can be added lightly.
Build raised garden beds if you want to enhance your vegetable garden. These offer warmer soil and earlier crops - and they are also easier to work with.