Better Late Than Never

I am way late planting my outdoor bulbs. Travel and holidays sort of threw me off my intended schedule. However, it's been my experience that bulbs are very forgiving. I'll have to wait until late March/early April to find out if that's true with the bulb choices I made this year.

Anyway, I planted two types of bulbs in one pot. I did my usual filling of the pot with styrofoam popcorn for drainage and then adding a few inches of soil. Typically, bulbs need to be planted at a depth that is 3x their size. So first, I put in about a dozen Tazetta Narcissus Geranium (the large bulb shown in the photo below). Then I added more soil, and planted about ten Tulip Turkestanica (see second photo below). The nice thing about bulbs is you can plant in layers like that. It's a great way of creating a mixed planting.

I topped it all off with more soil and I will just make sure the soil remains damp throughout the winter. Bulbs really are the ultimate in low maintenance.

Bookshelf: Container Gardening Books

Winter Blooms

After a bit of a hiatus, I am back to talk about planting paperwhite narcissus so that you can have some blooms indoors during the holiday season.

This time of year can be kind of a bummer because there's not much going on in the garden. There's certainly nothing blooming unless you are one of the fortunate few living in a warmer zone. But I like to force bulbs in containers so that I can have blooms indoors. Mostly, I do paperwhites because they are the least fussy. Just about any spring blooming bulb can be forced indoors to bloom, but many require weeks and weeks of cold, dark storage which means planning ahead of time. I've done it before with tulips and hyacinth but, frankly, you get more instant gratification from paperwhites. Plus, they are very easy to find this time of year.

I like paperwhites because they are easier than pie to get to bloom and are relatively inexpensive. You can find them for about a dollar a bulb at the high end nurseries and often much less at big box stores and supermarkets. Often times, you will see prepackaged kits that give you the little pot, soil and bulbs along with directions. Those are fine but I tend to pitch the container in favor of using my own and I also think my potting soil is better. But that's just me.

So, all you need is a few bulbs, a container (drainage holes not necessary--for once!!), soil or rocks, and water. I say "or rocks" because you really don't even need any dirt. Here we go--Step one: put soil or rocks in container. Step two: If using soil, dampen it but don't soak it. If using rocks, bring water level up to top level of rocks. Step three: place bulbs root side down on damp soil or, if using rocks, on surface of rocks so that a little water comes in contact with roots. Step four: put container indoors in any place where it will get at least medium light. Step five: keep soil damp (not wet) or water level in contact with bulb roots. Step six: wait about 3 weeks for stems to start growing and blooms to appear.

Paperwhites are aromatic. I love them but I was eavesdropping on a conversation at the nursery and a truly unfortunate woman had a husband who hated the scent so she had to come up with another solution. I'm guessing she kept the husband and chose a different bulb to grow. Maybe.

Bookshelf: Container Gardening Books

Cutting Back

Time to break out the pruners! I've spent several afternoons cutting back my perennials and shrubs. Now I'm no expert on pruning although I've seen encyclopedic volumes on the subject. I don't have the time or patience to read them. I can only speak from my own experience. Last year, I didn't cut back anything in the fall. Instead, I waited until spring to see where the new growth would emerge and then cut back all the old, dead stuff from the previous year. Nothing at all scientific about that and it seemed to have worked just fine.

This year, I've decided to cut back all of my perennials in the fall (but, of course, not my Japanese Maple tree) just to see if I end up with a different result when next season comes around. I had no choice but to cut back my Lespedeza because this is the year I am forced to divide it which I expect will not be an easy task given how long it's been in the same pot.

I've included pictures of one of my butterfly bushes. In the first picture, you can barely make out the blade of my pruners cutting one of the stems. The second picture shows what the plant looked like after I finished the job. It just so happens I did more research on cutting back butterfly bushes (after I had already cut mine, naturally) and I think I may have been a bit too aggressive. I guess I'll find out.

I'm going to be away for a little while. At the end of this month, I will be posting more information about planting bulbs because that's when I'll be ready to plant mine. You can still find a nice selection in the nurseries and online at sites such as www.whiteflowerfarm.com but they're going fast!

Bookshelf: Container Gardening Books

October Surprise

The fall cleanup continues. The winds have been fierce these past couple of days, so much so that yesterday it toppled my very sturdy iron trellis. In my attempt to upright it, the scarf that was wrapped around my neck got tangled up in the thorny branches of my climbing rose. It took awhile to disengage myself and I am sure I was a hilarious sight for anyone passing by.

But check out what I came across: strawberries! Just a couple mind you, so nowhere near a harvest but their appearance is quite unexpected and I will appreciate them even more.

Bookshelf: Container Gardening Books

You Gonna Eat That?

I'm in clean up mode now. There is much cutting back and dividing to do as well. Most of my annuals have bit the dust so it's time to pull those out and dispose of them which is what I spent a couple hours doing this afternoon. But here's a surprise I thought I'd share. When I pulled up one of my expired sweet potato vines (see picture of actual vine below), which I buy strictly for ornamental foliage, I discovered this very good looking pair of potatoes. I did some Internet research and according to some sources, these potatoes are every bit as edible as the ones produced by the non-ornamental variety. But no one stated that they had, in fact, tried them. I decided to toss these but I have a couple more plants to pull up so if I encounter another potato, I may just give it a good scrub and pop it in the oven. If I do, I'll let you know.

Bookshelf: Container Gardening Books

A Plan for Spring Flowers

Here in Northern Virginia, we are definitely feeling fall in the air. It came on pretty quick and caught me a little off guard. The lower temperatures mean one thing for me: planning for spring. And so on Sunday, I found myself on the Fairfax County Parkway (where the changing leaves are beautiful, by the way) heading to Merrifield Garden Center to buy bulbs. I was delirious with the selection they offered. While most people were buying in mass quantities for their landscape gardens, I was buying for my containers.

I've noticed that the selection of bulbs at nurseries and the big box stores is very plentiful now and there is a wide variety to choose from so if you would like to have some tulips or daffodils or hyacinth ready to greet you in the early days of spring, I would suggest buying now. But depending on where you live, you still have lots of time to plant. I don't think I'm going to plant mine until the end of November. If you have containers that are in a spot easily accessible to squirrels, I would suggest waiting as well--especially if you plan to grow tulips. Otherwise you may come outside to find your pots dug up and the bulbs missing.

I will post more on this topic of bulbs later on but for now, just know that you can plant them in your outside containers. Larger pots are always better and if you tend to get really cold temperatures, you can always cover the top of the soil with mulch and wrap the pot in bubble wrap (or something similar) to provide a little more insulation.

Shown at the beginning of this post is a handful of daffodil bulbs. Merrifield had about fifty different daffodils to choose from. Who knew? The other two pictures I'm providing show a healthy bulb. When you buy them, make sure they are plump and firm. Toss back any bulbs that are dried up, or are mushy or moldy. Then stash them away in a cool, dark place until you are ready to plant. Stay tuned....

Bookshelf: Container Gardening Books

Secrets to Success: Tip Number One

When my friend Maureen came to visit last month, she suggested I do a post to summarize all of the things I do to help make my garden thrive. A good idea, I thought, but that would be too wordy for a single post so I've decided to make it a brief series, revisiting it over the next several months. I'll plan to provide a summary of all the points in advance of next year's growing season so you'll have them condensed in one place.

Of course, one could go on and on talking about what each plant requires to succeed in a garden but there are some fundamental things that, if you don't do them, you are likely to be in for some heartache and disappointment (not to mention an emptier wallet).

So first on my list is elevation and drainage. I cannot stress this enough because if there is one thing that thoroughly demoralizes the beginning gardener it's a plant's failure to thrive due to lack of drainage and airflow beneath the container.

The solutions are simple and quite inexpensive (relative to the cost of your plants). First, get some pot feet (see above photo). They'll cost you about a buck apiece. For a round pot, you only really need three but for a square or rectangular, of course, buy four. You can find them at nearly every nursery or garden center. Oh sure, you can get all fancy and buy the ones that look like tiger paws or frogs or snails or whatever (they cost more, by the way) that's up to you. What these provide is elevation so that air can flow beneath the pot. Alternatively, you could buy a plant stand (as long as the surface allows the water from the pot to drain through). Whatever you do, don't waste your time with the matching saucer for the pot, that's not going to do the trick, get pot feet instead.

Which leads me to drainage. Be sure all pots or containers have drainage holes. If they don't drill some if the structure of the pot can withstand it. (See my post from the beginning of the season) If it can't, don't plant in it or else you are setting yourself up for disappointment--don't say I didn't warn you. Also, you'll want to put some sort of material in the bottom of the pot to facilitate drainage prior to adding the soil. I use styrofoam peanuts but you can use gravel from your driveway or broken pot shards. The point is, you don't want soil packed down at the base of your container preventing the water from draining through. That road leads directly to root rot. Best to avoid it.

So there you have it. Tip Number One.

Bookshelf: Container Gardening Books