chysanthemums, mums, perennials

Growing Chrysanthemums

It?s that time of year when every store I visit has mums for sale. Chrysanthemums are so common we often think of them as temporary filler plants in fall containers and borders. But mums are perennials and can play a bigger role in your garden if you let them.

Garden mums

Chrysanthemums were first cultivated in China as far back as the 15th century. Over 500 cultivars had been recored by the year 1630. There are records in Japan from the 8th century relating the mums.

The botanical name for the garden chrysanthemum has been changed to dendranthemum grandiflorum but I never hear anyone use this name. It doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue.

Yellow or white chrysanthemum flowers of the species. C. morifolium are boiled to make tea in some parts of Asia. In Korea, a rice wine is flavored with chrysanthemum flowers. Chrysanthemum leaves are steamed or boiled and used as greens in Chinese cuisine.

Another variety of chrysanthemum- cinerariaefolium- is important as a natural source of insecticide. The pyrethrins extracted attack the nervous system of all insects. it is harmful to fish and should be used with caution but it?s not persistent in the environment and is biogradable.

Mums, black mondo grass, Blue Hokkaido squash

Grown for years to flower only in late summer and fall, chysanthemums are short day plants, setting buds when they receive light for 10 hours and darkness for the other 14 hours of the day. This is why mums bloom in the spring on leggy stems if they are not cut back. And this is how growers manipulate their blooming, adjusting the dark and light periods with shades in the greenhouse so buds will form in any month. They’re nearly constantly available in grocery stores and florists in every season.

At this time of year when garden mums abound pick a plant with lots of buds. They bloom only once and won’t set more flowers until next year. Those buds, though, last a long time if you don’t let them dry out.

The specific type of plant doesn’t matter since they all have long term growth potential. If you particularly like one color or form of chrysanthemum, plant it now to enjoy again next year. You never know what the growers might decide to grow next season.

Choose a well-drained, sunny spot to plant them. Like many members of the aster family, mums don’t tolerate soggy ground. After blooming, trim off the old flowers and cut back plants to within a 4 or 5 inches of the ground. If you started with 4 inch pots, trim back by half.

Next spring pinch them back whenever growth gets to 8 inches tall. Keep pinching until July, then allow plants to start forming buds for the traditional fall show. Mums need regular water so plant them in spots where you have other plants with the same water needs.

All parts of chrysanthemum plants are potentially toxic to dogs, cats, horses and other mammals. Ingesting the plants can cause vomiting, diarrhea, excessive salivating, rashes or lack of coordination, according to the University of California Davis School of Veterinary Medicine.

 

berries, cool season vegetables, fall garden, fertilizing, perennials, pests, roses

The Early Fall Garden To-Do List

The autumnal equinox happened September 22nd. It’s the official start of fall when the sun crosses the celestial equator and moves southward. The earth’s axis of rotation is perpendicular to the line connecting the centers of the earth and the sun on this day. Many people believe that the earth experiences 12 hours each of day and night on the equinox. However, this is not exactly the case.

During the equinox, the length is nearly equal but not entirely because the day is slightly longer in places that are further away from the equator- like where we live. Also the sun takes longer to rise and set in these locations as it does not set straight down but in a horizontal direction.

Variegated alstroemeria

It was a hot summer and I?m ready for fall. This is the perfect time for transplanting or adding new plants to your garden. Why? Cooler air is kinder to plant foliage while soil temperatures are still warm creating an excellent environment for new root growth. In the fall many plants and trees, even broadleaf evergreens, are entering a period of dormancy. With no need to allocate resources into foliage, plants are transferring all their energy into roots and storing nutrients for the cool months ahead. By spring, the new root systems should be well established.

Now through October, divide summer blooming perennials like alstroemeria, agapanthus, coreopsis, iris, daylily, yarrow, rudbeckia, calla lily, aster and penstemon that are overgrown and not flowering well. You can also divide spring blooming perennials like candytuft, columbine, astilbe, bergenia and bleeding heart although they don’t always bloom the first spring afterwards due to the energy they use re-establishing themselves. Start perennial flowers seeds now so that they will be mature enough to bloom next year.

bergenia cordifolia

Fertilize shrubs lightly one last time with an all-purpose organic fertilizer or layer of compost. Use compost only on California natives.

Fertilizing roses now will encourage them to bloom again this fall. To keep roses blooming make a habit of pinching and pruning off old flowers. Always cut back to an outward facing branchlet with five leaves. There are hormones there that will cause a new flower bud to grow much sooner than if you cut to one with only three leaves.

Plant cool season veggie starts like broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, chard, lettuce, spinach, brussels sprouts, onions and leeks in soil enriched with 4-6″ of compost as summer vegetable crops will have used up much of your soil’s nutrients.You can sow seeds of beets, carrots, radishes, spinach, arugula, mustard and peas directly in the ground.

Cut back berry vines that have produced fruit. Canes of the current season should be trained in their place.

hemerocallis

Spider mites are especially prolific during the summer. If some of the leaves on your plants are pale with stippling, spray the undersides of infected leaves with organics like insecticidal soap switching off with neem oil as they build up a resistance to one of the pesticides. Plan to spray with a horticultural oil in the winter to kill overwintering eggs.

The weather these days is perfect for being outside. Enjoy it and this place we call home.

growing lavender, growing lavender. best lavender varieties

The World of Lavender

Everybody loves lavender in a garden. It?s one of the standard requests I get to include in a garden design. But we picture the lavender fields we seen in famous gardens not the spindly, woody plants we often end up with in our own gardens. With so many kinds to choose from and endless growing tips here is Lavender 101 from The Mountain Gardener.

Lavender farm- Whidbey Island, WA.

Lavender needs good?drainage. Incorporate organic matter if necessary to make the soil loose and friable. Compost is the best amendment because it is fertile and the uneven particle sizes create better air spaces and give the roots better anchors to attach themselves to. Check the soil’s?pH?(potential hydrogen) to make sure it falls somewhere between 6.5 and 7.5. If the soil is too acidic the lavender will not thrive. If the soil is too alkaline, the nutrients are ‘tied’ up in the soil and the plant cannot use them. Yellowed growth can be indicative of a soil that is out of balance. Adding compost can help to?balance the pH.

Mulching with a fine?mulch?or compost after planting?helps with the weed control. Avoid mulching right up to the stem of the small plant. Instead, leave a collar about two inches wide around the plant.

If planting in?pots, make sure to repot every spring into a larger container with fresh soil to allow the plant to continue to mature and to provide as many flowers as possible. A good, coarse,?potting soil with organic fertilizer?mixed in works best.

Grosso lavender with mixed lavender varieties

In the ground or in a pot, full?sun?is a must. In hot areas, some late afternoon shade can be tolerated without effecting flowering. Lavender in the field rarely needs?fertilizer, especially if compost is applied as a mulch.?More often, problems arise because the soil is not healthy. Avoid chemicals in pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers that kill or starve the beneficial organisms in the soil.

While Lavender is extremely drought resistant once established, it grows larger and produces more blooms with regular watering. This means that when it is?dry, water it then let it dry out a bit before soaking again.

Plants should be pruned?every year immediately after bloom.?Pruning?should not be confused with harvesting. Pruning is necessary to extend the life of the plant. Lavender flower wand stems are usually a bright green while lavender leaves are gray. Cut back not only the flower stem, but also about a third of the gray-leaved stems as well. If the plant has been neglected, it can be cut back further, but avoid pruning back so far that only woody stems with no leaves are showing. A plant pruned into the wood may push out latent (sleeping) buds or it may die.

It?s possible to have a lavender blooming in your garden most of the growing season. Here are my favorites.

Spanish lavenders start blooming early to mid spring. All of these do best with a good pruning about four or five weeks into the bloom cycle, which discourages these large bushes from becoming untidy and sometimes encourages a second sweep of blooms. Spanish lavender?is sometimes referred to as French lavender since it grows wild in France.

lavender farm-San Juan Island, WA

French lavender has the more traditional gray leaves but with serrated edges. This large, fast growing shrub is sometimes referred to as everblooming lavender.?French lavender?does best when kept at no more than three feet, including blooms. The large, blocky flower heads can be dried if picked before any of the little flowers turn brown. Goodwin Creek lavender is a hybrid of French Lavender with a shorter growth habit and a darker purple flower head that is held on a longer wand. It makes a nice border or edging plant.

English lavenders?(Lavandula angustifolias), like?English,?Munstead and Hidcote start flowering in mid to late spring and are finished by late spring or early summer.?They look great when they flower,?and after pruning, remain a compact ball or hedge with exotically fragrant leaves the rest of the year. Hidcote is famous for its dark purple flower. Like most of the English lavenders,?Hidcote is not as drought or heat tolerant as the lavandins.

The English hybrids, sometimes referred to as lavandins, come in?third in the bloom cycle,?starting?just as the the English lavenders are finishing, and continuing to mid summer.?These are the workhorses of lavender. They do it all: bloom lots, grow just the right size, and smell wonderful. Provence?and?Grosso?are the best known of these, but there are many others. These are the ones to line the drive or border the garden with.

Grosso lavender is cultivated for oil used mainly in the cosmetic industry. It makes great lavender bouquets and wands as the flowers stay on the stem better. It has beautiful purple calyxes instead of the normal green calyx of most lavenders. Provence has a long, slender flower wand that is useful for dried bud collecting. The buds come cleanly and easily away from the stalk.

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