Have you ever heard the gardening phrase “trained to standard”? This is a method by which you convert a woody vine into a small tree. Over the course of a few years simply eliminate all the side shoots, retaining a single shoot supported with a pole. When the shoot hits the right height — say seven or eight feet — allow the vine to branch out. Pinch the tip of the original shoot to promote lateral shoot growth. This summer, check out the alley behind the Ares Thrift Store on Spruce Street in Boulder. Across the alley there are two trumpet vines that look like trees. In flower they’re phenomenal!
Archive for the ‘Flowers’ Category
Nonstandard Standards!
Monday, July 5th, 2010Patriotic Plants
Tuesday, June 29th, 2010
Take a white carnation, cosmos or other simple composite flower. Cut the stem, split it up from the cut, lengthwise, about 3 inches. Take a vial of red food coloring and one of blue. Insert each half stem into the vials. Stabilize for a few hours. Within a few hours you’ll have salute-worthy red, white and blue flowers.
Mysterious Wisteria
Tuesday, May 25th, 2010
Although wisteria in flower are one of the most beautiful plants on earth, they can be problematic. Most common is failure to bloom. The answer is to never fertilize them, with one important exception.
Since they are legumes, members of the bean family, they produce their own nitrogen. But it’s phosphorus they crave, in the form of triple super phosphate powder. For a mature plant, sprinkle 4 to 6 cups in a large area around the base of the plant. This is best done late February to early March and usually results in a tremendous bloom. Forget all the other bad advise about wisteria, such as root pruning. Wisteria crave water, and the more the get the faster they’ll grow.
Japanese wisteria (Wisteria floribunda) grow in a counter clockwise fashion and come in blue, white, purple or pink. They leaf out soon after they bloom, somewhat obscuring the flowers.
Chinese wisteria (Wisteria floribunda) come in the same colors, but have an important distinction. They bloom on bare wood and don’t leaf out until much later, creating a breathtaking display that can last two weeks or more. They grow in a clockwise direction.
Wisteria are big burly plants and can cover literally hundreds of square feet. The flowers are edible and considered a delicacy in Asia. Any sturcture on which they grow must be extremely strong. They also can be trained to a “standard” in which all side shoots are taken off every fall, leaving a central leader. When the leader reaches 8 to 10 feet in height, they are allowed to branch out, in effect creating a wisteria tree.
Sending You Some Spring
Wednesday, February 17th, 2010Now that cupid has passed and we are headed in to that short period of time before we begin preparing our gardens for Spring planting , perhaps this page will help get you in the mood.
Click on the snowman.. You will get a black page.
Click your mouse anywhere (& everywhere) on the page & see what happens!
Better yet, click (hold down) & drag your mouse over the black page…
Enjoy!!
Beware the Checkered Dealth Lily!
Tuesday, October 27th, 2009
The only plaid flower you’ll ever see is that of the Fritillaria meleagris a.k.a. The Guinea Hen Flower or the Checkered Death Lily. While other members of the family can grow three feet tall and sport impressive clusters of blossoms, the Death Lily is rather unassuming. At least until you look closely. Their inverted, tulip-shaped blooms are, by God, finely checkered in red and white. Only six to eight inches tall, they like lightly shaded areas with rich soil. Now’s the time to plant their bulbs for a show next May.
Amaryllis and Paperwhites
Friday, October 23rd, 2009For those of you who want to grow something, anything during these dark months, amaryllis and paperwhites will give you heartening, long-lasting blooms in the depths of winter. They couldn’t be simpler to grow. Bury the bottom third of paperwhites in gravel, sand or even marbles in a low, drainable pot. Water them and give them some light and you’re off to the races. They’ll sport lovely white flowers within a few weeks.
Plant amaryllis to the same depth but in good quality potting soil. Once again, water and sunshine give the bulb all the help it needs to produce astonishingly pretty blooms. There are varieties like Red Lion, which can grow three feet tall and sport a quartet of blossoms 8 inches or more across. The pallette of amaryllis colors is amazing, featuring, red, orange, pink, white and even green flowers. Antey they can be kept from year to year, growing even better with age.
Bulbs On The Brain
Tuesday, October 20th, 2009
If you love daffodils, tulips, crocouses and hyacinths, now’s the time to plant them. It has gotten cool enough to be sure that they”ll be properly chilled to put on a great show in the spring. Select bulbs that are firm and blemish-free, with no sign of growth. It’s important to plant them at the proper depth. Plant some that will bloom at the first breath of spring, like crocuses, and others that will bloom later. There are spectacular parrot tulips, gorgeous Rembrandt tulips and quaint little species of tulips. Daffodils range from the tiny Tete-aTe to the hulking Dutch Masters. They come in yellow, white orange and pink, not to mention combinations thereof.
One of the best things to remember is that they look best in large groups - massed plantings. Find a variety you really adore and plant a lot of them.
If you’re going to plant a lot of bulbs, we’ve discovered a terrific way to do it. You’ll need an electric drill, a bulb auger, a shop vac and a piece of 1″ PVC pipe. With the auger in the drill, take a marker and mark on the shaft of the auger the depth you want to plant. Pick an area a few feet in either direction. Start drilling holds to the right depth and spacing, but don’t worry about dirt that may slide back into the holes. Duct tape the foot-long piece of PVC pipe to the end of the shop vac hose. Once you’ve finished a section, insert the pipe into the bottom of the holes and drop in the bulbs, pointy end up. They are all now at5 the same correct depth. Dump the topsoil out of the shop vac and rake the soil back into the holes. You8 can cover a lot of ground with this method and save yourself the agony of planting them one at a time. You also ensure that they’ll all come up and bloom at about the same time.
Though bulbs may seem expensive, keep in mind that you’re paying for a garden show that has potential to go on a decade or more. Once the blooms are gone give them a good feeding and let the leaves stand. This will give you an even better show the next year.
Pansies
Friday, October 16th, 2009
One of the delights of Colorado gardening is how well pansies grow here. They like cool weather, will tolerate heavy frosts and pop right back up after a snowstorm. It’s wonderful to see their cheery little faces nodding in the breeze. While you’d plant them in a semi-shady spot in the spring and summer they’ll thrive in a protected, preferably sunny and south-facing location in the winter. They like rich, humusy soil and a good watering when the weather warms up. If the temperature is headed for a big drop for a longer period of time - say below zero for more tan a few days - protecting them with straw, leaves, row cover or even limbs off your discarded Christmas tree is a good idea. No other flowering plant comes in such a dizzying array of colors and patterns. And they drop seeds everywhere. Plant pansies for a few years and you’ll have pansies in places you didn’t plant them. The colors may change, the blooms may get smaller and ultimately they seem to lose some of their intensive breeding. They revert to what can be assumed to be thier parent plant, the sweet little purple and yellow Johnny Jump-Up.
Once the spring arrives pansies put on their best show of all, witha burst of vigorous color. It’s still not too late to add some winter color to your garden!
Fall Clean-Up -
Tuesday, September 22nd, 2009Although you may be weary from a long summer of gardening, once the frost takes out your vegetable garden it’s time to clean up. Toss or compost wilted greens, till in some manure and compost. Rake your beds smooth. If you just suck it up in the fall you’ll be able to stroll out to your garden in thh spring and plant away. It really is a pleasure having done the hard work in the fall.
The Viola Variations -
Friday, September 11th, 2009One of the true joys of Colorado gardening is winter pansies. While all pansies are violas, only those with “faces” are technically speaking — pansies. In the spring and summer you’d be right to plant them in a shaded location. But come September, you’ll want to plant them in a sunny, protected spot with rich soil. Given enough water and fertilizer they’ll blossom all winter long and burst into glorious bloom when the weather warms up. Even heavy snows don’t faze them. Once it melts off they spring back up and bloom again. Going into a really severe storm you can mulch them lightly or protect them with branches off your Christmas tree. There are few other plants which offer such a stunning array of colors and patterns. So for some winter cheer now’s the time to plant pansies.
