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Practical Tips from

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Reprinted from

hortmag.com

Pointers for Planters

G

ardening is part science and part art. That’s why it’s so much fun! You can’t know too much about gardening and you can never stop searching for ideas.

In the next few pages, Horticulture magazine and PlantersPlace.com® have teamed up to bring you a series of articles about some of your favorite areas of interest: vegetables, roses, perennials and container plants.

PlantersPlace.com® is an online community and resource for garden enthusiasts just like you. Its goal is to bring you useful information about gardening in a way that’s easy to access and understand. One key feature is the Ask the Expert section. Marianne Binetti from Plant ersPlace.com is the hostess.

Marianne is an author of numerous books and articles on gardening. To date, she’s answered more than 600 questions on the site. Perhaps the information you need may be found with the aid of the site’s search engine. If not, Marianne will be happy to answer your question.

Some recent inquiries to her column are highlighted here. We invite you to sit back, take a sip from your favorite cozy beverage and browse this special supplement.

Then, when you’re finished with this issue of Horticulture, come visit PlantersPlace.com®. There, you’ll discover a new source of gardening fun and information.

Everything Roses Enter for a chance to

WIN A TRIP

to the

National GARDEN! I planted roses for the first time last year and chose varieties that I thought were black spot resistant.

One (Fragrant Cloud) is covered in black spots. Should I pull it?

— Christy1

Answer: Give it a chance —pull off

the infected leaves, rake any that have fallen and put down a fresh mulch to keep the black spot spores from splashing back up onto the rose. Use a fungicide spray as directed. Anything you can do to increase the sunlight or air circulation will help. If the rose continues to be a disease magnet, then dig it up and toss it out.

Marcia Umland

I’d like to plant a border along a sunny walkway. I like the idea of a hedge of shrubby roses with bulbs and daylilies in front. Do you have specific recommendations for easy care and lots of blooms?

— Amanda15

Answer: I like your colorful idea!

Arrange early blooming bulbs like snowdrops and dwarf daffodils in the back. These will bloom first but you’ll be able to see them because the shrub roses won’t be fully leafed out.

In front of the bulbs place the daylilies but use the dwarf repeat blooming daylily called ‘Stella’. The daylilies will hide the bulb foliage as it dies off in late spring. Use a shrub rose such as Knock Out, Flower Carpet or the dwarf pink, The Fairy rose. For lots of blooms remember to fertilize at least three times during the summer and don’t let the soil dry out. Roses are hungry plants and use lots of water when in bloom. They love both a slow-release plant food like Osmocote and compost added to the soil plus jolts of fast-acting fertilizer like Miracle Gro just before they bloom.

In celebration of the launch of PotShots™ Plant Food Nuggets, Osmocote® is hosting a sweepstakes! The grand prize is a 4-day trip for a winner and guest to the National Garden in Washington DC. Airfare, accommodations at a four-star hotel, $500 spending cash, and a multi-day pass to the National Garden are included. The sweepstakes period is 04/01/09 to 06/30/09. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. A PURCHASE WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING. LEGAL RESIDENTS OF THE 50 UNITED STATES (D.C.) 18 YEARS AND OLDER. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED. Promotion ends 6/30/09. For Official Rules, prize descriptions and odds disclosure, visit http://osmocote .eprize.net/potshots. Sponsor: The Scotts Company LLC, 14111 Scottslawn Road, Marysville, OH 43041

How does your garden grow?

Mouthwatering tomatoes. Luscious berries. Vibrant blossoms. That’s just what you’ll get the first time and every time you use Osmocote® Smart-Release® Flower & Vegetable Plant Food. The secret is in our formula. It balances vigorous top growth with strong root development for four full months. Best of all, you don’t have to worry, because Osmocote is guaranteed not to burn when used as directed. Maybe that’s why passionate gardeners have trusted Osmocote for 40 years – no matter what they’re growing. © 2009, The Scotts Company LLC. World rights reserved.

www.PlantersPlace.com

Just Veggies

Garden Fresh Summer Tomato Sauce How do you know when it is appropriate to plant cool weather veggies like spinach or lettuce?

— Terri

Answer: Even if we have frosty nights the seeds of cold season crops like peas,

lettuce and spinach will still survive. It’s how well the soil drains that’s most important. Cold, damp, clay-like soil may not be able to be planted until May. In raised beds the soil warms up sooner and spring planting can begin earlier.

If you are planting directly into the ground, wait until April.

½ cup of olive oil 2 medium onions, chopped 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 teaspoon chopped fresh basil 2 teaspoons sea salt 4½ cups of chopped, peeled fresh garden tomatoes 4 sprigs of parsley 1 tablespoon of sugar

Are unglazed clay pots, glazed clay pots and glazed ceramic pots suitable for

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growing vegetables and herbs?

— Juskimmel

Answer: It’s safe to use any type of glazed, unglazed or clay pots. Herbs espe-

cially love the heat they absorb from clay pots, and leaf crops such as lettuce like the way glazed pots will hold more moisture keeping their roots damp. You can really grow any edible plant in a container from acorn squash to zucchini.

I just planted a vegetable garden with corn, okra, tomatoes, hot peppers, bell peppers, squash, cucumbers and sweet onions. What is a good fertilizer for these vegetables, and when and how often should I use it?

— Annabell

Answer: These plants all respond well to fertilizer and will appreciate a slow-

release plant food all summer long. That’s why I like for gardeners to improve their soil with organic matter and to use fertilizer like Osmocote that slowly releases fertilizer as the soil temperature warms up. Organic matter is the great equalizer. It helps sandy soils hold moisture and nutrients but also helps clay soils to loosen up and drain better. All plants grow better when you improve the soil and it makes the fertilizers more effective.

1. H eat oil in Dutch oven or large saucepan 2. A dd basil and salt 3. H eat oil, onion, garlic together 4. S auté 5 minutes until onion is tender 5. Stir in tomatoes, parsley and sugar 6. B ring to a boil 7. R educe heat and simmer for two hours or until sauce is thickened 8. S erve with high-quality Romano cheese and pasta —michele Lehman

Pots of Plenty How do you determine the correct size container to use for plants? I am considering growing my blueberry bushes in containers.

— LSUggs

Answer: The larger the pot the more

root room but if the pot is too large the extra soil could stay too damp or get too dry without roots filling the space. Annuals or plants that die after one summer need only 6 to 8 inches of soil (but they’ll do better with 18 inches.) Trees and shrubs like your blueberry bushes should have pots at least 2-feet deep. A half wine barrel works well for good sized blueberry bushes. If you start with smaller plants, use smaller pots for the first few years until the roots grow, and then transplant them to larger pots. I have always used Osmocote fertilizer in all my container gardens (really!) so that I don’t have to worry about over fertilizing. Plants in pots are very susceptible to too much fertilizer. This might show up as brown leaf tips. Just remember that potted plants must be fertilized because they can’t spread out their roots and look for food.

How do I care for a Boston fern?

Answer: This is one of the easiest

ferns to grow indoors if you remember to keep the soil moist but not wet.

It doesn’t need bright light so don’t grow it in a sunny window; it will look faded and can even get brown spots from sunburn. It loves the humidity of a bathroom or kitchen and likes to be misted often. But remember to water and then dump the overflow water from the drainage dish or it will

sit in moisture and get root rot. Feel the soil daily. If the soil is not moist then water!

plants. Mine also droop at the slightest problem but I put up with this bad attitude because the colors are so intense and the flowers so huge. I grow Help! I bought two beautiful Gerber mine in pots, feel the soil every day daisies. They were nice for a couple and keep it just barely moist. I place weeks, but since then the flowers, them under a covered patio that gets and sometimes the leaves, insist on only morning sun. They’re almost as drooping. What is the cause? Can I picky as Martha Washington geranido anything to revive them or should ums and Schizianthus or poor man’s I throw them out?

— Mary Lou orchid. Sometimes we have to jump through all sorts of hoops to keep the Answer: Gerber daisies are very pouty most beautiful garden divas happy.

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—Lina

Perennials Forever I live in western Nebraska and my iris plants are just starting to pop up. Can I move them in April?

— Zwetzig

Answer: Yes, Iris moves best after it

blooms but it’s tough and will survive a transplant at this time. You’ll even get to enjoy blooms this year. Just don’t plant it any deeper than it was before and make sure the new spot has lots of sun and good drainage.

I have planters lining my patio. I would like to plant something that is drought tolerant and attracts butterflies. I’d also like something that doesn’t take a lot of care.

— Penrp

Answer: How about perennials? I

Phaedra Wilkinson

Osmocote offers students unique learning experience Osmocote is not your average brand. While professional growers and passionate gardeners have enjoyed extraordinary results for years using Osmocote, few know that MBA students at the Indiana University Kelley School of Business actually manage the Osmocote brand. The team is handpicked and supervised by Bob Stohler, a retired executive officer from Scotts. Bob managed that company’s $1.5 billion North American business unit. The student team handles the brand’s marketing functions including strategy, consumer and trade communications, promotional activities, market research, formula selection and packaging decisions. Students with this kind of experience apparently make excellent prospects because those that don’t migrate to Scotts are now employed at ConAgra, General Mills, Kellogg’s, Eli Lilly, Nestlé, Kimberly-Clark, Kraft and Procter & Gamble.

suggest a summer blooming bulb from Australia called Eucomis (Pineapple Lily). Butterflies love the tall spiky blooms and it’s drought resistant. Adding annuals to summer bulbs is another good way to get more color. Alyssum will attract butterflies and will handle some dry times. One great tip for drought resistance is to use a potting soil like Miracle Gro. It contains water-holding polymers and slow-release plant food. You’ll need to water only half as much. It costs more but you’ll find it on sale in spring. Although I’m a dirt cheap gardener, I don’t skimp on potting soil or fertilizer.

Marianne BinettI

is a horticultural expert and author, dispensing gardening tips and answers online and in print.

She lives with her family near Seattle, Washington.

The Osmocote® brand’s best formula, ever.

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