DailyFlowerNews

Botanic Garden corpse flower ‘Spike’ gets assist to open

Sat, 05 Sep 2015 18:00:00 +0000

Children petted and caressed it and held their noses in mock disgust. Families took smiling selfies with it. Women knelt over, pressed their noses to the rubbery flesh, and sniffed its leaves.

Explaining the Strange, Stinky Appeal of the ‘Corpse Flower’

By KATIE ROGERS — Wed, 02 Sep 2015 04:00:00 +0000

The rare plants are so popular that they’re requiring crowd control.

Plant Flowers to Attract Beneficial Pollinators - Mother Earth News

Wed, 26 Aug 2015 16:59:30 +0000

Mother Earth News

Plant Flowers to Attract Beneficial Pollinators
Mother Earth News
Caption: Spring blooming Scabiosa will attract bees from the get go of the season. Scabiosa Blue Cockade. I didn't set out to fill my farm with pollinators and other beneficial insects. You might say it has been a side effect of all-natural cut-flower ...

T Magazine: Flowers in Vases, Illustrated

Wed, 18 Mar 2015 16:37:47 +0000

From a series for T in which the artist Leanne Shapton makes new artworks from pictures in old books.

Addicted to Flowering Tobacco

Sat, 17 May 2014 07:45:33 +0000

I have a weakness for Nicotiana sylvestris, which is also known by the unfortunate common name 'Flowering Tobacco'. It's tall and graceful, it gives off a wonderful jasmine-like scent at night and it's not invasive. Unfortunately it can attract aphids, but I can handle them. I just keep the hose handy.

...

Read Full Post

Best Flowers for a Late Spring Garden

Wed, 14 May 2014 09:12:15 +0000

Late spring used to be a lull in my flower border. The bulbs were fading and the summer show was still a month away. I don't know how I let this beautiful season slip by me. Maybe I was so focused on getting the vegetable garden planted or maybe all I could see was weeds waking up - everywhere. Whatever the reason, I've since corrected it by planting a smattering of these cheerful bloomers in saturated pastels that are perfect for bridging the gap.

...

Read Full Post

Is Organic Rose Gardening an Oxymoron?

Sun, 04 May 2014 07:25:29 +0000

Can roses be grown organically? Of course. Growing roses organically is really no different than growing any type of plant with organic techniques - except that roses are notoriously prone to problems. It certainly helps to start with disease resistant rose varieties and there are a lot to choose from, including some new introductions and many of the older species roses. But even if you're devoted to hybrid teas, all hope is not lost. Organic rose gardening means more than just not using chemicals. It means giving the plant what it wants and needs to grow well. Do that and you'll have a healthy plant, better able to withstand pest attacks. Here are some tips.

...

Read Full Post

It's flower show time! Wait.. didn't we just do that?

Wed, 02 Apr 2014 17:13:04 +0000

Squirrels are digging up newly planted crocus, hyacinth, and tulip bulbs. How can I prevent this?

Contributors — Thu, 19 Sep 2013 20:14:03 +0000

Protecting Plants from Squirrels

Some gardeners have placed wire baskets over a small planting of crocus corms and tulip and hyacinth bulbs, while others have covered larger areas with chicken wire or hardware cloth. Others have given up on this tussle with squirrels and planted daffodils which the squirrels do not eat.

Use Caution

Squirrel digging.

While feeding squirrels may provide relief, it is ill-advised. Deliberately feeding squirrels will only encourage their population to increase, resulting in further pressure on your plants. If all else fails, population reduction can provide yearly relief from squirrel damage. Before initiating lethal control be sure to consult with local and state regulations available at your state's wildlife agency. Also if trapping is used, be ready to catch skunks. As skunks (Mephitis mephitis) tend to enter traps set for squirrels.

Online Sources

Squirrel Control Information

Control of Tree Squirrel Damage

See the cherry blossoms in bloom at Fort McHenry

Wed, 28 Mar 2012 02:49:11 +0000

While the warm spring weather has many Maryland residents flocking to Washington DC to visit the National Cherry Blossom Festival, they may be unaware that the same type of Yoshino cherry trees are also blooming in Baltimore City, at Fort...

Five blooming perennials for Baltimore gardens

Tue, 10 May 2011 11:31:40 +0000

Choosing from the many perennials at garden centers can be confusing. Which ones will grow best during Baltimore’s notoriously humid summers? Astilbe, trillium, bee balm, soapwort, and bleeding heart have all proven to thrive in northeastern...

Join the fun at Baltimore’s annual Flowermart

Thu, 05 May 2011 19:41:24 +0000

As urban gardeners, Baltimore City residents often face a shortage of convenient places to buy plants. This was one of the reasons why a Baltimore women’s civic group organized the Flower Mart (as it was originally called) in...

The Garden State: Colorful bulbs brighten bleak winter days

Tue, 11 Jan 2011 12:30:00 +0000

After the Christmas tree comes down and the wreaths are tossed, a long spell of bleak days looms ahead with nary a hint of green in sight. Fill the void with winter’s brightest bulbs and you won’t have to pine for vibrant, living color. The key species for winter bloom are two showy flowers: amaryllis and paperwhites narcissus. Both...

The key species for winter bloom are two showy flowers: amaryllis and paperwhites narcissus. Both are easy-to-grow windowsill plants offering quick, if not instant, gratification. Delicate paperwhites can bloom in as little as four weeks and gaudy amaryllis in six.

Unlike familiar spring-flowering bulbs, including tulips, daffodils and hyacinths, these two species don’t require a long period of cold temperatures to trigger bloom. Native to regions of the Southern Hemisphere, they are programmed to flower on an upside-down schedule in our winter months.

Amaryllis and paperwhite bulbs make a thoughtful little holiday gift for winter-stranded gardeners, but if none came your way, there’s still time to order and plant some. There are just a few variations on the paperwhite theme — white, yellow or bicolors — but the choices in amaryllis are expansive and include a wide array of vivid colors and refined flower forms.

The warmth-loving daffodil known as the paperwhite (botanically, Narcissus tazetta) has grown wild in Egypt the Near East since early times. By the 10th century it reached China, where it became associated with the Chinese New Year. One type with white petals and yellow cups, the “Chinese sacred lily,” is a symbol of wealth, prosperity and good fortune, all good wishes for the new year no matter when you celebrate it.

These tender daffodils characteristically bear clusters of five to 15 flowers atop slender stems. The blossoms are strongly scented and the musky fragrance is one that people tend to hate or love, with no middle ground. Modern Israeli breeders have perfected soft yellows such as “Nazareth” and “Bethlehem,” as well as pure white types including “Galilee” and “Ziva,” but haven’t yet produced a scentless variety.

What we call amaryllis is a hybrid form of Hippeastrum, a plant native to the Andean mountains of Chile and Peru. The common name means “sparkling,” and you can’t argue with that, given the saturated colors of their outlandishly over-sized blossoms.

This tropical beauty was discovered by the German physician and botanist Eduard Frederich Poepping (1798-1865) during a plant-hunting expedition in Chile. The original find bore scarlet blossoms, and red is still a favorite color. But today’s hybridizers have concocted flowers of rose, pink and white, as well as two-tone types with stripes or contrasting petal edges. Double-flowered varieties, dwarf kinds, even lightly scented amaryllis like “Blossom Peacock” and “Jewel” are new creations from clever breeders.

If strong perfume is the paperwhite’s calling card, fast growth is the trademark of amaryllis. Once they get going, they shoot up at a phenomenal rate to as much as 24 inches before forming buds. This makes them intriguing to children — or competitive types who want to challenge their gardening buddies to a race to first bloom.

More Inside Jersey:

Culture is simple. Bury amaryllis bulbs to their shoulders in potting soil, ideally in a heavy pottery container that won’t topple as heavy blooms open. Water sparingly until shoots appear, then increase amounts. No fertilizer is needed, but it’s a good idea to turn the pot daily to keep stems straight. Once the plant flowers, moving it to a cool spot out of direct sunlight will prolong the life of the blossoms.

Paperwhites can be grown in potting soil, but do fine without; you can just set them on a bed of gravel, stones or marbles, watering only enough to keep the bottom of the bulbs moist. Containers need to be only 3 or 4 inches deep, and bulbs can be crowded together, sides touching. Keep them in a cool spot until shoots are about 2 inches, then move to a warmer location and watch them leap into action.

It’s hard to go wrong with either of these winter cheer-me-ups. Spring is, after all, an awfully long time away.

Suppliers

Amaryllis Bulb Co.
1231 E. Magnolia St., Lakeland, Fla., 33801.
Call (888) 966-9866 or see amaryllis.com.

John Scheepers
23 Tulip Drive, Bantam, Conn., 06750
Call (860) 567-0838 or visit johnscheepers.com.

American Meadows
223 Avenue D, Suite 30, Williston, Vt., 05495.
Call (877) 309-7333 or go to americanmeadows.com

Heuchera ‘Midnight Rose’

Wed, 10 Nov 2010 19:43:33 +0000

Heuchera ‘Midnight Rose’ is a sport of Heuchera ‘Obsidian’. This selection has the same deep black-purple leaves as ‘Obsidian’ but with bright pink variegation that emerges in spring. As the season progresses the variegation increases in surface area and then lightens to a pale creamy pink. As with all Heuchera they are easy to grow and fit well into any perennial planting. Low growing with a mounded habit.

I took this picture at the Oregon Garden in Silverton, Oregon. If you ever have a chance to tour the Oregon Garden take the opportunity.

Sunflower power

Sun, 04 Jul 2010 04:36:06 +0000

Nature's gentle giant.

There’s something about a sunflower that makes people smile.

Maybe it’s because the sunflower is the Jolly Green Giant of the garden, towering (in a benign way) over lesser plants and mere mortals like us. Maybe it’s the active sun-worship that this plant exhibits, turning through the day to aim its radiant floral “face” at the sun. Or maybe it’s the speed with which sunflowers grow — up to a foot a day — that can make an average gardener feel like a horticultural genius.

However you parse it, sunflowers inspire a special affection with their huge, gaudy flowers and stately stalks. Any gardener itching for a challenge can plant a sunflower seed and, with a little attention to the fine points, raise a plant that will catch the attention of everyone in the neighborhood.

It’s true that modern plant breeding has created that contradiction in terms, the “dwarf ” sunflower. Varieties such as Teddy Bear, Music Box, Valentine and Angel’s Halo grow no more than 4 feet tall. These come in an array of sunny colors, mix well with other plants in the flower border and are terrific for cutting.

Regular sunflowers top out at 6 to 10 feet, big enough as plants go. These are the kinds grown commercially (primarily in the Midwest) for birdseed, salted snacks and sunflower oil.

If you’re aiming for a record, though, you have to start with the biggest varieties. What you want are the cultivars bred to rise to heights of 15 or 20 feet or more. Guinness World Records puts the height of the tallest sunflower ever grown at 25 feet 5.4 inches. That skyscraper of a flower was raised in the Netherlands in 1986.

Some of the best prize-winning varieties include Mammoth, Paul Bunyan, Sunzilla and American Giant. (Burpee, burpee.com, and Renee’s Garden, reneesgarden.com, carry some of these.) Don’t bother to start your sunflower seeds indoors in pots. The roots, which penetrate deeply to anchor the plant against wind, grow quickly and resent the trauma of transplanting.

Instead, sow them directly into the soil once frosts no longer threaten and nighttime temperatures are consistently above 50 degrees — mid- to late May for most of New Jersey.

Conscientious watering and feeding is essential to growing a really big sunflower. One recommended method is to water each plant with about 2 gallons of liquid fertilizer (mixed according to directions) every single week. If wet, windy weather is on the way, skip the irrigation, since it may increase the risk of plants toppling. Generally speaking, sunflowers need not be staked unless they are growing in a very exposed, windy position.

When the petals fall off the flowers and the central disk begins to dry, it’s time to climb a stepladder to cover the seed of kernels lest the birds make off with them. Mesh onion bags, loose burlap or paper bags are ideal.

Seed heads can be harvested when the backs turn brown. When heads are completely dry, the seeds can be extracted by hand or released by rubbing against a piece of wire mesh spread over a basket or bucket.

Giant sunflowers are annuals. They won’t survive the winter. That means you have another chance to go for the gusto every season. Onward and upward, gardeners!

Sunflower roast
If you’d like to roast the seeds for your own consumption, here’s a recipe from the National Sunflower Association:

1. Cover unshelled seeds with salted water, using ¼ to ½ cup of salt per two quarts water.
2. Soak overnight.
3. Drain the seeds and pat dry to remove excess moisture. (Skip the soak if you prefer unsalted seeds.)
4. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.
5. Spread the seeds evenly on a cookie sheet and bake for 30 to 40 minutes, stirring occasionally.
6. Remove from the oven and cool completely before storing in an airtight container.

Choose a sunny spot with at least eight hours of direct sunlight daily. A well-drained location is a must, although sandy soil is not recommended, as its loose structure may not offer enough support for roots. While the plants will grow in soil of average fertility, rich soil prods the giants to greater heights.

It pays to dig a big hole, 2 feet wide and deep, and blend in some extra nutrition in the form of compost, aged manure and a slow-release fertilizer such as Osmocote. Seeds should be planted an inch deep in clumps of five to six, with groups spaced about 20 inches apart. Each clump should be thinned to a single plant when seedlings are about a foot tall.

Once the seeds are in and watered, the battle against critters begins. For starters, lay screening over your seeds to prevent birds from making off with them and sprinkle a nontoxic bait such as Sluggo around to prevent slug damage. Deer are fond of sunflowers, too, so you may need to grow them behind fencing or near the house.

Are orchids nature's divas?

Tue, 05 Jan 2010 05:06:13 +0000

Orchids are widely admired as exotic, mysterious and uncommonly beautiful. But would you take one home? For many, the prospect is downright intimidating. Orchids have a reputation as aristocratic plants with temperamental natures and extravagant demands — not to mention high price tags. Yet orchids have become wildly popular as houseplants in spite of these myths. In terms of...

Orchids are widely admired as exotic, mysterious and uncommonly beautiful. But would you take one home? For many, the prospect is downright intimidating.

Orchids have a reputation as aristocratic plants with temperamental natures and extravagant demands — not to mention high price tags. Yet orchids have become wildly popular as houseplants in spite of these myths. In terms of dollars spent in the United States, orchids are second only to poinsettias; on a global scale, they are the No. 1 potted plant in the world.

So, what’s the real story? The truth is that some orchids are no more difficult to grow than the common African violet. While certain species require hard-to-duplicate growing conditions, many can thrive under lights or on windowsills in the average home.

In the Victorian era, when tropical orchids were new to the Western world, only the wealthy could afford specimens wrested from far-off jungles by intrepid plant hunters. Today, modern propagation techniques have brought common species well within reach of the average wallet.

And anyway, it’s wrong to think of orchids as exclusively tropical. Orchids belong to a wide and diversified family of plants including 25,000 species and more than 100,000 hybrids. Every country in the world and every state in America — from Alaska to New Jersey — has its own native orchids.

Wide availability and the pleasure of their often easygoing company have fired a modern epidemic of orchid fever. And their amazing range of sizes, shapes and colors is exactly what feeds the collector’s itch. For the smitten, they’re like potato chips — you can’t have just one.

Ask Ravu Duta, who has squeezed about 70 miniature orchids onto the windowsills of his Brooklyn apartment. Or orchid judge Anne Safarewitz and her husband, Dave, who tend more than 2,000 specimens in greenhouses built in their Middletown backyard.

“It’s addicting,” says Tony Lombardino of Millstone. “You find you can grow them, and it just takes off from there.”

All four found themselves bidding for still more orchids at an event last October that drew about 200 fans: the annual orchid auction held in Colts Neck by the Deep Cut Orchid Society, the state’s largest and most active orchid group.

About 400 plants were auctioned off in a fundraiser that supports the club’s year-round activities. For some rarer types, the winning bids ranged upward of $60, but the majority went for $10 to $30.

“It’s hard to resist a plant with flowers so gorgeous, so intricate, so varied — and so long-lasting,” says Carol Abaya, Deep Cut’s publicist. “People come to our auction from all over, but it’s great to belong to a society like ours. It puts you in touch with a lot of down-to-earth and friendly people who love orchids and want to share what they know.”

She means people such as Dennis Dayan of Deal, who like Safarewitz is an American Orchid Society judge. A past president of the Deep Cut group, he’s extremely knowledgeable not only about orchid culture, but about current trends in breeding and exhibiting.

When the group convenes monthly in Tinton Falls, the “orchid doctor” is in. Dayan freely offers advice to nervous newcomers and baffled veteran growers.

“There’s really nothing tougher than an orchid,” says Dayan. “Most people go wrong by overdoing it — they keep their plants too cold, too hot, too dry and, more often than not, too wet from overwatering.”

Experts say there are only three real tricks to orchid culture: Get the watering right, the light right and the temperature right. Most species loathe “wet feet” and need only weekly watering. Bright but filtered light is preferred. And optimum temperatures vary by species, but most need a nighttime drop of at least 10 degrees to trigger bloom.

The colder months — December through May — are the prime flowering time for many orchids. That’s why orchid shows are commonly scheduled early in the year. Deep Cut holds the state’s largest show, set for Feb. 4 to 7 in greenhouses at Dearborn Market, Route 35 in Holmdel. The North Jersey Orchid Society follows with a show April 16 to 18 at Frelinghuysen Arboretum in Morris Township. Both events are free.

Orchid shows are held nationwide — nearly 600 annually, Dayan says. Most local groups are affiliates of the American Orchid Society, which trains judges such as Dayan and Safarewitz in an arduous program that can span nine years.

The AOS sends its own judges to local shows to identify new and botanically important species, award certificates of merit and encourage cultural excellence. And it keeps tabs on international developments though its counterparts around the globe.

“Join an affiliated club and through the national society, you can be in touch with what’s happening in Asia, South America and Japan,” Dayan says. “Get involved with orchids and you can have a window on the world.”

Join a club
Central Jersey Orchid Society
centraljerseyorchids.org
Meets at the Johnson Education Center of the Delaware and Raritan Greenway Land Trust,
1 Preservation Place, Princeton.

Deep Cut Orchid Society
deepcutorchids.com
Meets at the Monmouth Reform Temple, 332 Hance Ave., Tinton Falls.

North Jersey Orchid Society
njorchids.org
Meets at Hanover Manor, 16 Eagle Rock Ave., East Hanover.

Pinelands Orchid Society
pinelandsorchidsociety.org
Meets at the Medford Leas Auditorium, 1 Medford Leas Way, Medford.

Ramapo Orchid Society
ramapoorchid.org
Meets at Flat Rock Brook Nature Center, Van Nostrand Ave., Englewood.

Sandpiper Orchid Society
sandpiperorchidsociety.com
Meets at the Galloway Branch of the Atlantic County Library, 306 E. Jimmie Leeds Road, Galloway.

Late Bloomers

Tue, 16 Sep 2008 18:35:28 +0000

If your garden already has faded to black, you're not taking advantage of plants that wait until the season's final weeks to seize the spotlight. One of these is the Korean chrysanthemum, only now in October coming into bloom.

If your garden already has faded to black, you're not taking advantage of plants that wait until the season's final weeks to seize the spotlight.

One of these is the Korean chrysanthemum, only now in October coming into bloom.

These are not your mother's mums. Banish the picture of those mass-produced potted mums underfoot everywhere during early fall. Pinched and pruned into tight little flower buns, common chrysanthemums are too stiff to integrate into the garden, and many won't reliably survive the winter.

Korean mums are a different creature entirely, relaxed in habit, tall enough to provide blossoms for the vase and hardy as a rock. Bearing a strong resemblance to the daisies of high summer, they grow naturally into a graceful mound without tediuous pinching and are seldom bothered by bugs or blight.

There's just one caveat concerning these desirable perennials: They are best planted in the spring, which gives them a full season to develop. You won't often see them sold as potted plants in the fall, which means you should put them on y our wish list for spring planting.

Korean mums have a checkered taxonomic history, so you may find them offered as Chrysanthemum rubella, Chrysanthemum koreana or even under the mostly abandoned moniker Dendrathema rubella. Good cultivars include the salmon-pink "sheffield," the lavender "Mei Kyo" and "Venus," available in white or pink.

Mail order sources include Bluestone Perennials (bluestoneperennials.com), Lazy S's Farm and Nursery (lazyssfarm.com) and Niche Gardens (nichegardens.com). Want to browse before you shop? The New York Botanical Garden (nybg.org) has an entire garden devoted to Korean mums. Road trip, anyone?

Planting spring-flowering bulbs

It's time to plant your spring-flowering bulbs and, with careful planning, you can achieve a colourful display. Bob Willard from deJager bulbs gives us planting tips and highlights a few of his favourite spring bulbs