August 17, 2008
August is speeding past; we are in the last half of the month. Hopefully, relief from the heat is only about a month away. My time outside is down to less than 30 minutes at a time, by then I’m about to melt and possibly weak from loss of blood to the hungry hordes of swarming mosquitoes.
Caladiums are the top performers in my garden now. Their bright splashes of color keeps everything from looking heat-worn and faded. The only maintenance they need (other than watering) is to cut off fading leaves and remove flower scapes. Once a well-watered leaf falls over, it is time to remove it near the soil line. More leaves will grow from the bulb, quickly replacing the cut one. Removing the older leaves stimulates new growth. Blooms are removed to send more energy into foliage production. The flowers are interesting, the usual spathe and spadix form, but they are small and often hidden under the leaves.
Spring-flowering bulbs are beginning to arrive in garden shops. Buy early for the best selection and to get the largest bulbs. With bulbs the rule is: the larger the bulb, the larger the flower it will produce.
Tulip bulbs will have to be chilled in the fridge for 6 to 8 weeks before planting or they will not bloom next spring. Our winters are not cold enough for them to receive required chill-hours to form a bloom. When chilling tulips, leave them in their original package, place in a plastic bag and store in a drawer in the fridge. Do not store any bulbs around fruit. Ripening fruit gives off a gas that will kill the bulb’s forming flower bud. Tulips can be stored longer than eight weeks, that is the minimum they need to bloom. Experts say each week of chill will produce one inch of stem growth in spring. They will not return the second year in our climate — our summers literally burn them up.
Many other bulbs do thrive in our area, multiplying and returning year after year. Daffodils do not require chilling and always give a dependable performance if grown in full sun. Choose early, mid- and late-season bloomers to extend their color time over many weeks. Size and form also offer many choices. Small species with multi-flowers are lovely planted along path borders. Large-trumpeted forms make a big impact when mass planted. All daffodils multiply from year to year, producing more flowers each spring. They are now available in white and pink, as well as the better known, yellow and gold. Many other bulbs do well in our area. A good catalog will list dozens of species and also give their requirements and recommended zones. We live in zone 8b.
Very small bulbs can be planted in a clay pot and sunk in the soil. They will do very well for several years before needing to be divided and will not get lost or dug into during their dormant period. Diminutive bulbs produce delicate, lovely flowers, but need to be planted in numbers to show up. A dozen bulbs should be placed in each site for maximum impact.
I went out to Azalea Gardens and bought a big bag of very-good grade potting soil. Several pots have split open this summer, mostly ferns, but a few others as well. Being root-bound for too long was the reason they split their pots. I have got to get them repotted and ready for fall. I plan to top-off many other containers with fresh soil to replace what has washed out through the summer. Hopefully this soft, water-retentive soil will give my fall seedlings a good start. Patsy still has plenty of 4-inch pots of annuals and perennials, if you need to perk up containers, beds or hanging baskets. She is having some health problems, so call before driving to the nursery to make sure it is open. Azalea Gardens, 1019 W. Gordon St., 244-0760, carries just about any plant that grows well in our area. I have a begonia that is slowly, leaf by leaf, dying. I’m going to take it to Patsy to diagnose for me. If I have a problem I can’t solve, she is the one I turn to for help. She grows, from seed or cuttings, just about every plant, shrub and tree on her multi-acre nursery and there are few problems she hasn’t encountered.
This is the time of year I pull out seed saved from earlier months and throw them in my beds. Gaillardia, rudbeckia, coneflowers, marigold, zinnia and cosmos will all get tossed in and chopped into the soil with a hoe, no special treatment required other than watering once they sprout. The first three will grow small plants that overwinter and can be transplanted in late winter for bloom next spring and summer. The last three will grow and bloom through fall and early winter (until cold gets them), giving the beds fresh color when other bloomers are fading back. Hollyhock seed get more care. They get a flat of their own and a little pampering. Sometimes the few hollyhock seed I throw on the dirt along with the others, do better than the pampered ones in the “cared for” flat.
The years of drought have brought about many changes in my garden. I have very few four ‘o clocks this year, in past years they grew like weeds, reseeding and coming up everywhere, growing over other plants, reaching four feet tall. The pink-flowering angel trumpets have not bloomed yet. They are just starting to form small bloom buds and not dozens and dozens, just a few in the top. Usually by now they would have bloomed several times. The white-flowering variety doesn’t bloom until the weather cools off, then it blooms on and off until cold damages it. This year they are short, not towering eight feet high as they used to do. The morning glory-tree is short, puny and has yet to bloom at all. Accumulated stress from years of drought is killing some plants and altering the growth and bloom time of others. As gardeners we must adjust to the conditions presented to us, but I sure am ready for a return to plentiful rainfall. I’m out of space, see you next week.