Wet weather is a blessing for plants
With all the wet weather we have had lately, it has not been nice to be in the garden. But if you are a plant, the weather has been perfect.Damp misty rain is perfect for rooting new seedlings and helping plants to grow. Putting plants in the ground on a hot sunny day puts them under a lot of stress and makes it far harder for plants to adapt quickly and easily.
So the first rule of planting is to pick a day when it is overcast, with rain in the forecast. Your plants will love you for it. You won’t get a suntan and you won’t be happy when mud and dirt sticks to your knees and hands, but you will find that many more plants survive and thrive.
The second rule of planting is to make sure that you put your plants in at the same level as they were in the pot. The only plants you should plant deeper are tomatoes. If you plant a tomato at the level of the first leaves, the buried part of the stem will turn into roots, anchoring the plant more strongly and giving it a larger root system.
Third, put your plants in the hole and press the soil around them tightly. This helps to compact the soil next to the plant and anchor the plant stem firmly so that it will not blow over. I like to build a little wall out at the drip line of the plant to help keep water around the plant roots, but I have to admit, when I plant a hundred lettuce plants, I don’t often built a wall or press them in too firmly. Usually I rely on copious amounts of water to settle the soil around the plant. Which brings me to the fourth rule of planting out: Water the plants in well, especially if you plant them on a sunny day. Plants transpire water on hot sunny days and transpiration does not slow down because the plant has been transplanted. So water them in well.
Wondering how to prune rhododendrons? You may think that this is the wrong time of the year for pruning, and it is for some plants. But rhododendrons should be pruned soon.
As soon as rhododendron bushes have flowered and the flowers have dropped, the shrubs should be pruned. By pruning now, you give the bush time to grow new buds for next spring. If you wait until fall to prune your rhododendron bushes, you will prune off buds and get no flowers next spring. After you have pruned the bushes give them a shot of fertilizer to help them get going again.
Another important step to a nice garden is setting up next year’s bulbs. Snip off the seed heads on your daffodils as soon as the flowers have dropped. That stops the bulbs from putting energy into making seeds and directs the plant’s energy into increasing the size of next year’s flowers. Do not prune the leaves off of the bulbs yet. Wait at least six weeks after the flowers have bloomed before cutting the leaves back. Keeping daffodil leaves intact allows them to make more energy for better blooms next season. Fertilizing the leaves, while it may seem odd, helps to ensure larger bulbs and larger blooms next season.
Fall Planting Bulbs - News
Plan your strawberry planting where it will be in the sun (or would be but for the fog) most of the day. Make sure weeds are under control, especially the perennial ones that will regrow from bulbs or roots left in the ground, such as oxalis or
Another important step to a nice garden is setting up next year's bulbs. Snip off the seed heads on your daffodils as soon as the flowers have dropped. That stops the bulbs from putting energy into making seeds and directs the plant's energy into
Diversity in planting is increasing. This year's colour is yellow. The Netherlands today grows ten billion bulbs a year, 70 per cent of world production, grown on 20000 hectares of land, the equivalent of 40000 football pitches.
Below these are low pots planted with yellow primula and tulip bulbs. "June's a bit drab, so I want to see a bit of summer colour." Already Mike's hanging out for the daphne, camellias, magnolias and early-flowering rhododendrons to bloom.
Besides tulips and hyacinths, other fall bulbs include crocus, narcissus and ranunculus. You must work the soil well with compost and some sort of phosphorus fertilizer such as bone meal. Plant the bulbs at a depth that is twice their diameters.
Selecting Spring Blooming Bulbs for Fall Planting: Overview
By the beginning of June the bulb catalogs start rolling in. It seems a bit early to be thinking of bulbs for next spring especially when the foliage from my narcissus this spring has not disappeared. Ah…but that is a good thing. I can look around and with the help of my garden journal (now full of pictures on my computer) I can visualize what I will need to make my garden look better next year. Orders can be placed any time until fall but if you get the order in early you will probably get all the items you want. Yes, popular bulbs sell out and I have missed some good ones when I have dilly-dallied around with my bulb order.
There are many good bulb dealers on line. Check out Garden Watchdog on davesgarden.com; it gives customers comments and ratings on many different ones. The ones I have checked out get their bulbs from Holland in the fall and ship them too you at the correct planting time. I have had good success with Van Engelen Inc. and Scheepers (Van Engelen’s retail branch) in Connecticut, and Brent and Becky’s in Virginia. Van Engelen is a wholesaler and so you have to buy large quantities but the savings are substantial. They all have a huge selection of bulbs and will all send you a catalogue on request and then a yearly one after that if you make a purchase. Van Engelen’s catalogue has a few sketches of flowers but Scheepers has full color pictures of every kind of bulb, so order a catalogue from both. Please note, I have not received any free products from any of these companies and am recommending them solely on my experience with them. Check them out on the Garden Watchdog.
The entries for narcissus and tulips are usually the largest. I’ll begin with them because they are the most familiar and then go to other groups that most people will recognize. I’ll touch on some very early ones that have confusing names but are familiar, and some that are more exotic and less familiar. Most good companies will carry these, and even more, but this overview will give you an idea of what is possible.
Narcissus /Daffodil (Narcissus spp.) There are more than 25,000 kinds of narcissus if you count all the different cultivars that have been developed. Narcissus differ in many ways including height, color, shape, bloom time, fragrance, tendency to naturalize, and size of flower. Where you live as well as your personal preferences make a difference when selecting the right narcissus. No one company is going to offer all 25,000 narcissus or even close to it, but companies like the ones I suggested above will give you a wide selection of the best varieties. For more on this see my post on selecting narcissus .
Fall Bulbs Allium : planting and soil for Allium bulbs, also known as flowering onion 
Selecting Spring Blooming Bulbs for Fall Planting: Overview Fall Planting Bulbs - Bookshelf
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CATALOGUE, OF Bulbs and Flowering Roots for Fall Planting 'HE If AUGUST 20, 1900 . growing Of bulbs for winter and spring-flowering is very interesting and ...Passionate Gardening, Good Advice for Challenging Climates
Plus, when planting the bulbs in the fall, one doesn't have to battle the ... Fall — plant bulbs. Spring — water to sprout weed seed, remove young weeds, ...New Complete Home Landscaping
Planting Bulbs Plant spring-blooming bulbs in the fall around mid or late October once the ground has cooled, in soil that drains well. ...Day-after-day Knowledge Directory
Fall Bulb Planting | DoItYourself.com
How to plant bulbs in the fall that will bloom into flowers in the spring.
Flower Bulbs | Fall Planted Bulbs | Tulips
Flower bulbs and plant bulbs planted in the Fall, that bloom in the Spring.
Fall Bulb Questions?
What are fall planting bulbs? Fall planting bulbs are plant species that need to be planted in the ground in the fall before the first hard frost. ...
Our collection of Fall planted heirloom bulbs with enhance ...
Southern Bulbs bigger-than-ever selection of unique and beautiful Fall planted flower bulbs will please any gardener. Our bulbs are full-sized and ...
Fall Bulbs: Plant Fall Bulb Flowers
Fall bulbs are the most popular flower bulbs for planting because they have the most choices & colors available over any season. ...
