Wednesday, February 29, 2012

This Brief Is Based On Growing Gladiolus

The gladiolus is an easy-to-grow flower, especially valued for use in floral arrangements. Gladioli produce tall spikes of large blossoms, in a rainbow of colors. Only clear, true blue is missing; white, pink, red, purple, yellow, orange, salmon, and even green gladioli are available, along with many bi-colors.

"Glads" grow from corms (bulb-like structures) that are not winter-hardy in Minnesota. They must either be dug in September and stored until planting time the following May, or replaced annually. Some gladiolus experts recommend treating them as annuals because you are more likely to get large, healthy blooms each year that way, and you don't have to fuss with storing them.

Planting LayoutIf you are growing glads primarily for cut flowers, you may want to plant them in rows, as you would vegetables. It is easier to prepare the area, stake and tend the plants, and harvest flower stalks when they grow in neat rows.

Glads can also be used to provide color in annual beds and borders, though they are very stiff and upright and a bit awkward to work with. Plant gladioli in groups of seven or more corms of the same cultivar (cultivated variety) for best effect.

SiteChoose a location in full sunlight. Although newly purchased corms are ready to bloom and should flower even in the shade, flowers will be larger and brighter and stalks will be sturdier when they're planted in sun. The glads will also be able to store more energy for the following year's bloom, which is critical if you plan to re-use your corms.

Well-drained soil is essential for successful gladiolus growing. If your soil is heavy or tends to be wet, create raised beds for your glads (and most other annuals, perennials, and bulbs). Whether or not you garden in raised beds, loosen the soil to a depth of ten or 12 inches. Fertilize, if necessary, according to recommendations based on a soil test.

PlantingStart planting in mid-May, then again every two weeks through mid-June. This schedule will keep the flowers coming form July through August. You could also choose early, mid-season, and late cultivars, plant them all in May, and still enjoy continuous bloom for much of the summer. The final strategy to extend bloom time would be to plant different sized corms. Larger corms bloom somewhat earlier than smaller corms of the same variety.

Corms smaller than ¾ inch in diameter may not produce flowers. To ensure large-sized blooms, plant corms that are 1¼ inch or larger in diameter. Choose corms that are relatively tall and plump, shaped like a chocolate kiss, rather than wide and flat. Thick corms produce good quality flowers.

Plant corms with the pointed side up, about four times as deep as their diameter. Measure the distance to the bottom of the planting hole, then plant the corm. (A one-inch corm would be planted four inches deep, a 1¼-inch corm, five inches deep, and so on.) Space the corms six to eight inches apart.

Label your corms and put in stakes or other support structures when you plant them. Gladiolus flower spikes blow over easily in the wind. If you stake them first thing, you can avoid the likelihood of damaging their roots with the stakes.

Summer CareApply a layer of mulch such as straw, grass clippings, or pine needles to help keep weeds down. Pull or hoe any weeds that come up. Mulch will also help conserve moisture in the soil, cutting down on surface evaporation. Adequate rainfall or watering is still needed for best quality blooms, so be sure your glads receive an inch or water each week, if possible.

Cutting for BouquetsBring a sharp knife or florist's shears and a tall bucket of lukewarm water to the garden with you. Cut the flower spikes first thing in the morning or at night, not during the heat of day. Cut spikes with only one, two, or possibly three flowers open; the rest will open in order, up the spike. Allow at least four leaves to remain on the plant if you wish to re-use the corms.

Cut diagonally through the stalk and place it in the lukewarm water immediately. Once you've collected all the glads you want cut, put the bucket in a cool, dark place for a few hours so the blooms "harden off". Use floral preservative in the vase water before arranging the glads. As lower flowers fade, nip them off. Cut about an inch of stem off the bottom of each spike every few days.

StorageDig gladiolus corms once the foliage has been killed by frost. Shake off excess soil and sort the corms by cultivar. Cut the stem off just above each corm. "Cure" corms for about three weeks in a warm, dry, airy place. At this point, the corms you planted in spring will easily break off the bottoms of the new corms that developed over the summer growing season. Discard the old, spent corms and save the new ones. Leave their husks intact, and treat them for insects if they appear infested. (See "pests" following.)
Place the new corms in paper bags, cloth sacks, or nylon pantyhose legs. Store them in a well-ventilated place that's dark, dry, and cool. Ideal storage temperatures range from 35° to 45° F; the cooler the better, as long as they are not allowed to freeze.

When you dig the corms, you'll notice a number of miniature corms attached to the main one. These are called cormels. They should be able to bloom in two or three years if you save them and replant them each spring. Save the largest ones, at least ½ inch in diameter. Plan to plant them about 1½ to 2 inches deep.

Pests
Glads are susceptible to a number of diseases and are prey to insects, as well. To minimize the chance of disease or insect problems, always start with sound corms. Toss any that look odd or feel soft or crumbly. Practice "crop rotation" if possible, planting glads in different locations from one year to the next. If plants are yellow or stunted assume the worst--virus infection, for which there is no cure--and destroy them.

If the leaves appear streaky, or if flowers fail to open or are misshapen or streaked and discolored, the problem is probably thrips. Thrips are tiny insects that overwinter on stored corms. They use rasping mouthparts to feed on gladiolus foliage and flowers, often while the flowers are still in the bud. Spray the plants when you first see damage, using acephate (Orthene and others) or carbaryl (Sevin). Repeat according to label directions if damage continues.

The best way to control thrips is to treat the corms as they go into storage. There are several methods you can try, including keeping the corms cool enough. At temperatures between 35° and 40° F, thrips will not survive.

Monday, February 27, 2012

Beautiful Pansy Flowers That Resemble Butterflies

Pansy flowers have another name for viola tricolor. This flower blooms in the fall and spring. Usually Japanese people really like pansies. Pansy flowers have a variety of sizes. Anyone has a diameter of 3 cm, there is also up to 10 cm. This flower is almost like a butterfly.

Usually pansies have multiple colors in each flower, there is usually 3 colors. Pansy flowers have a dominant color is purple, yellow, red, orange, light blue, dark blue and orange. You can get the pansies in a nearby flower shop at a price not too expensive.

Pansy flowers will only last a few days, and will wither. To grow, you need a shady spot. These flowers do not like hot places. Below we provide images of beautiful pansies. Pansies almost resembles a butterfly. Welcome to explore our website and hopefully fun.

Violas and pansies are irresistible with their cheeky little flowery faces. I enjoy looking at their different colour patterns and trying to work out possible parents. I love what my designer bees do to pansies!

es, pansies are edible and are healthy for you too. Pansies contain Vitamin C and Vitamin A. Pansies will make beautiful colorful garnishes for many vegetable dishes, salads, sandwiches and even desserts. Because of the beautiful and varied colors of the sweet little pansies, they can be matched to just about any tablescape you may want to create for a summer luncheon party or an evening dinner party.

Pansies are from the viola family just as their cousins; the violets, violettas and "johnny jump ups" are too. These are just a few of the many edible flowers that we have on our planet, but they are the ones that we will be sharing recipes about here. Pansies are my favorite because I just love how they look with their little bright, happy, smilin' faces. They are so pretty and cheerful that you can't help but smile when you see them.

These plants have big hearts. They appear in the toughest places and can flower at all times of the year.

Some of my favourite pansies in the garden are either blue, or yellow, or combinations of these colours. I conscientiously collect and label seed each summer. My colour descriptions are quaintly precise - for example, how could I forget the 'light blue top yellow bottom maroon blotches' ones?

Spring flowers are what everyone looks forward to seeing. From the Crocuses that bloom at the very beginning, to the many different perennials, such as peonies or poppies, that finish blooming at the end of spring.

Some of the flowers listed below grow both during spring and summer. People love when the flowers of spring begin to bloom, because they know warmer weather is on the rise.

There is nothing like walking through a beautiful garden full of brightly colored, beautiful looking and smelling, springtime flowers. This is one of the busiest times for gardeners.

With all the different types of flowers for spring to choose from, one must decide how they want to arrange their garden: by color, style, (meaning bulbs or perennials), or even just your favorites.

They come in many different bright and beautiful colors. The main colors of flowers planted during this season are: red, pink, orange, yellow, blue, purple, and even white.

If you are planting white flowers, be careful of where you plant them. Some white flowers that are planted in the early spring can turn brown due to frost.
Tulips are a beautiful flower to plant, and remind everyone that Easter is on the way. They come in colors such as, pink, orange, yellow, and white. You could have a whole garden on tulips alone. Beautiful!

Spring is the time to plant perennials. Perennials grow in late spring, through early summer. Some examples of perennials are Lily of the Valley, Geraniums, Candytuft, and Forget-Me-Nots.

Flower Bulbs are also popular among spring gardens. Crocuses are a very popular type of bulb to plant for spring. Spring flowering bulbs are usually planted in the fall and then grow in the spring. They are planted in the fall because they need the cold in order to grow.

Spring is also the time to get your summer annuals started. Some great annuals to start planting towards the end of spring are, petunias, marigolds, and nemesia.
Another wonderful sign of spring is the many wonderful trees that grow flowers. I know I love to ride down a street full of beautiful cherry flowering trees. All that pink just reminds me that my favorite season has arrived.

There is definitely a lot to think about when it comes to what flowers for spring to plant. Review the many different flower names we have listed below, and have fun picking out your spring garden!

Friday, February 24, 2012

Facts And Information About Tiger Lily


Most of us refer to the flowers in this picture as an Orange Lily, or a Tiger Lily. But, some people call this Day Lily a "Ditch Lily". It's because this  prolific wildflower is commonly found in ditches around a wide area of America.

There is much confusion about Tiger Lilies. An oriental variety is very similar. The major difference is that the oriental Tiger Lily propagates through a bulbs that forms at leaf axils. The common wildflower Tiger Lily  is a profuse propagator by means of tuberous roots. Both varieties have edible roots and have been used for medicinal purposes. We will focus the remainder of this article on the wildflower variety.  

Do you want to know about tiger lily flowers? Yes! This name sounds strange. Actually tiger lily is an orange flower having dark spots on its petals. These flowers have sweet fragrance and have various other names like ditch lily, Wood Lily, Leopard Lily and Oregon Lily etc. Here in this post, I have collected some facts about tiger lily flowers. If you are interested in knowing about these flowers, then this post will be of great interest for you.

Growing Requirements
These flowers are not difficult to grow at all. All you need to do is to keep the soil wet since tiger lily flowers like dampness. This flower produces bulbs instead of seeds which can be planted in the fall for having mid-summer blooms.
These flowers don’t require to be fertilized. They only need fertilizers if you are planting them in somewhat poor soil. Unlike other bulb flowers, tiger lilies require winter cold to grow healthily. While planting bulbs of tiger lilies, you must make sure that the distance between them should be from 9 to 12 inches. Moreover bulbs should be planted 6 inches deep in a sunny location.

Types of Tiger Lilies

There are two types of tiger lilies named:
  • Common wildflower
  • Oriental
Wildflower type grows from tuberous roots while oriental tiger lilies are planted by bulbs and they are dug up later and then they are divided.

Other Characteristics
  • Bloom size of tiger lilies is from 4 to 6 inches long
  • These flowers are 3 inch wide
  • Flowers have bright orange or red color having black spots on the petals with six stamens
  • Since it stands tall, it makes a beautiful backdrop to garden area
  • This plant creates leaves having a width of 2 inches
Interesting Fact

Bulbs of these flowers are dug up and are boiled and then eaten by Americans. This practice is also common in other oriental countries. They taste like potatoes and are commonly used in Chinese dish moo shu pork. Brown pear dessert dish is also prepared from tiger lilies by placing the bulbs inside a pear along with sugar. Then they are steamed and eaten.

These were some basic and interesting facts about tiger lilies. I hope that this post will urge you to grow these flowers in your garden.

Friday, February 17, 2012

Straw Flowers In Hanging Baskets

Strawflower is a tall herb grown for its yellow, orange, red, or white flowers. It is cultivated as an annual— that is, for one growing season. However, the straw-flower is actually a perennial and thus can live for more than one year. The flowers are dried and used in winter bouquets. The strawflower belongs to a group of plants called everlastings.

All everlastings have flowers that last a long time when dried. The strawflower originated in Australia, and is now grown in Europe and America. It grows 3 feet (91 centimeters) tall.Scientific classification. The strawflower belongs to the composite family, Asteraceae or Compositae. Its scientific name is Helichrysum bracteatum.

For something a little different but certainly dramatic consider planting a hanging basket of Strawflowers.Planted alone or mixed in with other annuals strawflower look great and perform well in hanging baskets and hanging planters.

Native to the Australian Outback, Strawflower is a flower with many names. It is also known as a Paper Daisy or an Everlasting Daisy.Botanically they are called Bracteantha bracteata or Helichrysum bracteatum.Don’t despair if you can’t find these plants at your garden centre they are easy to grow from seed – see below.

Great in hanging baskets and excellent as a dried flower for floral arrangements you may become hooked on this great plant.Strawflowers like warm, dry conditions so hanging baskets are ideal for them.While Strawflowers grow best in full, direct sun they also can be grown in semi shade / morning sun positions.

Strawflowers grow to a height ranging between eight and thirty-six inches and will spill over the edges of your hanging basket or hanging planter.Strawflowers are available in dwarf varieties as well as taller varieties – we recommend the choosing taller varieties for your hanging baskets.

We often see instructions “Water occasionally” or “will withstand drought” – we recommend to water well, then to let your hanging basket just dry out before watering it again.

While your strawflower will survive drought conditions it will shrivel up and take time to recover - and your basket will not look great.

For the healthy happy plants, Strawflowers need moist, but well drained soil, they don’t like “wet feet” nor do they do well left without water for several days.

For large flowers and plenty of them - Strawflowers should be fertilized every other week with a low phosphorus fertilizer.

To keep your hanging basket of Strawflowers looking their best you must feed them and most important you must deadhead the flowers regularly to keep the plant(s) looking good.

Deadheading actually encourages continuous blooms.Strawflowers have a long blooming period, from the middle of summer until the first frost.Consider growing strawflowers in your hanging basket if you want annual flowers that will draw lots of attention from your friends and family.

The colors of strawflowers are unique and extremely vivid so your baskets will draw lots of comments.Strawflowers are available in various shades of yellow, orange, tan, red, pink, purple, creamy white and also available in unique bi-colors.

One Gardener wrote of Strawflowers.”The colorful blooms of strawflowers shimmer in the sunlight, and they appear to be coated by fine satin varnish.”

“The beautiful blooms of strawflowers are offset by narrow green leaves on tall graceful stems. The leaves of some varieties of strawflowers are grayish green and extremely eye-catching”.

Yes it is true people love strawflowers for both their lovely foliage as well as the beauty of their brilliant annual blooms.Strawflowers have an added bonus - they work very well as a dried flower.

For dried flower arrangements it is often recommended that Strawflowers should be cut just as they begin to open, then dried head down, hanging by the stem in a dry, shaded area for a couple of weeks.

For the brightest colors hang your Strawflowers upside down in a dark and well-ventilated place.
After drying take them, untie the flowers and use them in floral arrangements in a position away from direct sunlight.

As they tend to be brittle – often their bright flowers as used as in the photo above.
Propagating Strawflower from Seed.Strawflowers are easy to grow from seed. So if you’re searching for strawflowers to grow in your hanging baskets and can’t find any don’t despair - grow them by seed.

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Amaryllis Referring To The Bloom

Amaryllis is a genus of plant that has only one species, the belladonna lily (Amaryllis belladonna). Many lily like plants of the same family, however, are commonly called amaryllis, including the daffodil, snowdrop, tuberose, century plant, and more than 1,000 others.

The belladonna lily, which is native to South Africa, grows from a bulb. Its stalk is 18 to 30 inches high. It is topped by a cluster of 6 to 10 trumpet-shaped flowers which grow about 3 inches long. The fragrant, six-petaled blossoms are typically rose red, but they may be pink, purple, or white striped. Long, narrow leaves appear after the flowers wither.

The plants in the amaryllis family have long stems and many long, narrow leaves. The flowers are made up of six petals, and they may grow in clusters or as a single blossom. Some of the amaryllises are especially fragrant more than half of the amaryllis family are grown from bulbs. The remaining plants are grown from cons or rhizomes.

The belladonna lily is a popular amaryllis that blooms from August to October. This lily-like plant grows from a bulb. Its stalk is 18 to 30 inches (46 to 76 centimeters) high. It is topped by a cluster of 6 to 10 flowers. The fragrant blossoms are usually 3 inches (8 centimeters) long and may vary in color from rose-red to white. The narcissuses and snowdrops are other popular members of the amaryllis family.

Tall stemmed, with trumpet-like blooms, the amaryllis symbolizes radiant beauty. However, Greek mythology has it that the flower got its start from a shy shepherdess, who pierced her heart and created a crimson flower.

Amaryllis was a shepherdess who loved Alteo, a shepherd with Hercules' strength and Apollo's beauty. However, Alteo only loved flowers. He'd often said that he would only love a girl who bought him a new flower. So, Amaryllis dressed in maiden's white and appeared at Alteo's door for 30 nights, each time piercing her heart with a golden arrow. When Alteo finally opened his door, he found a crimson flower, sprung from the blood of Amaryllis's heart.

The word "amaryllis" comes from the Greek word "amaryssein," which means "to sparkle," referring to the bloom. Today, the amaryllis symbolizes pride, determination and radiant beauty--the kind that emanates from an inner source and flowers outward.

Monday, February 6, 2012

Beautiful Orchid Flowers As Structural Make-up

Orchid flowers differ from the majority of flower species in both their pollination systems and structural make-up; the male and female parts of the orchid are actually fused together and located to one side of the flower.

Orchids come in all colors except blue and black, and have flowers, depending on the variety, from the size of a pinhead to the size of a pie plate. Some leaves are thick, some are thin, some are tiny, some plants, such as the Vanilla Plant, grow over 15 feet tall.

About 80 percent of orchids are from the tropics in both the New World (Central and South America) and the Old World (Asia and Malaysia). A smattering can be found in North America and Europe.

Orchids have a reputation as being difficult, if not impossible, to grow, especially without a greenhouse.
Orchids are extremely popular as house plants, garden plants and corsage plants and can today be found all over the world. Some people believe that orchid care is very tricky to keep, but the truth is that even novice plant keepers can reach great success as long as they chose the right orchids and are prepared to do some reading.

The orchid family is the largest family of flowering plants and there are over 20,000 accepted species of orchid. The exact number varies depending on which classification system you use. The Royal Botanical Gardens of Kew in the United Kingdom lists 880 different genera and almost 22,000 species, and several hundred species are added each year. Since orchids are so tremendously popular in the floral trade, horticulturists have also created over 100,000 orchid hybrids and cultivars.

By providing these plants with proper orchid care, you can make them last for years and years to come and offer you new delicate blossoms each year. Some orchids can even be coaxed into blossoming more than once a year, while others will retain their flowers for several months if provided with the right kind of orchid care.

Six very important aspects of orchid care are watering, nutrients, light, temperature, medium, and repotting. On this site you will therefore find detailed information about recommended water habits, proper fertilization, how to find the ideal light combination, how to mimic the natural orchid habitat climate, which type of potting medium to pick, and when your orchid should be repotted.