Mother's Day Sale & April Newsletter

Mother’s Day Sale & April Newsletter

Hibiscus and More would like to honor all the gardening mother’s that have visited the web site throughout the years. We would like to thank each and every visitor with my Mother’s Day sale. This year’s Mother’s Day Sale is dedicated to my mother, June Meola, who taught me the passion and love of gardening. My mother is one of the reasons we started the web site: Hibiscus and More because I wanted to share my passion in gardening and growing plants to a larger audience, the World Wide Web. The goal of Hibiscus and More is to provide honest and up to date gardening advice, and to provide high quality plants and gardening merchandise at a reasonable price.

Spring Chores For April and May:

We have had an unusual hard, cold winter this year, and spring is a little late. We have had a few reports that numerous plants are about a month behind in their usual bloom date. Gardening friends in GA informs us that as of 3-21-2010 the Daffodils and Forsythias are just starting out, and only the Bradford Pears with flowers. I lived in GA for 10 years and my mother’s Daffodils always bloomed in early February.

Plant: Spring is one of the best times to look for trees, shrubs, and roses. Numerous flowering shrubs and trees are in bud or full bloom in your area, and certain species of plants are only offered during spring.

Roses: Your roses should be trimmed between February 12 – 20; if you have not pruned your hybrid tea roses it is not too late to trim them now. For more information on trimming, caring, and fertilizing your roses click on my blog.

Vegetable Gardening: Garden center retailers are still reporting skyrocketing sales for vegetable starts and seeds this year versus last year’s sales. Start planning and planting your vegetable garden now to reap the rewards of homegrown vegetables, if you are thinking about having a vegetable garden this year, today is the time to start. Vegetables can also, be planted in large containers or raised planter beds. Put on your gardening gloves and reap the rewards and benefits of a spring vegetable garden. According to gardening experts, the second week in April is the time to start planting: Tomatoes, Peppers, Eggplant, Beans, Corn, Squash, and Cucumbers. For more information on vegetable gardening click on my blog.

Color Annuals: April or May is the month to start thinking about replacing your cool weather color annuals with spring and summer annuals. Here are a few of my favorites: Caladiums, Celosia, Coleus, Cosmos, Dahlberg Daisy, Dusty Miller, Gazania, Geranium, Gerbera Daisy, Ivy Geranium, Lantana, Marigolds, Mexican Sunflower, Moss Rose, Periwinkle, Petunia, Primrose, Purslane, Salvia, Snapdragons, Verbena, Wax Begonia, and Zinnia. All of the annuals mentioned can be planted in soil or in containers.

Bulbs: This year our spring bulbs maybe a little late because of our unusual cold winter, but if you have spring bulbs that are still blooming or starting to bloom you may want to enjoy a few of the flowers as fresh cuts indoors. On all perennial bulbs, let the foliage die back naturally, as the foliage dies the bulb transports the nutrients from the foliage to the bulb and will use the nutrients from the foliage and stores these nutrients to the bulb for next year’s growth and flowers. As the foliage dies, it may look untidy and displeasing. To alleviate this annoyance, you can pull up the foliage in a bunch and then roll the foliage down as you would a paper bag, and then tie the rolled-up foliage with a rubber band.

Shrubs: Trim your spring flowering shrubs after they finish blooming and fertilize with the appropriate plant food.

Azaleas: Once your azaleas finish blooming trim back to shape. Azaleas bloom on last year’s growth so it is important to trim your Azaleas no later than the middle of June. Azalea’s set their blooms during the fall months, and this is one reason to trim your Azaleas during the time frame that is provided. After pruning your Azaleas, you need to fertilize them with an Azalea plant food and also add a new layer of mulch. Instead of throwing your spent coffee or tea grounds away your Azaleas will benefit from sprinkling the grounds around your Azalea bushes, and any acid loving plant such as Ferns, Tropicals, Junipers, Boxwoods, Camellias, Rhododendrons, and Hollies.

Hibiscus Care: Time to Go Outdoors. Once the weather warms up in your area, to 40 - 50 degrees, you can start acclimatizing your Hibiscus by placing it in the shade outdoors and then slowly move the plant to partial shade and finally to full sun. With the unusual weather we have been experiencing this spring bring your prized Hibiscus plant back indoors if you get freeze warnings. Now would be a good time to fertilize and prune your Hibiscus. Follow the recommended fertilizer rates listed on the label. Pruning encourages a bushier plant. 

Houseplants: April is the time to move your houseplants outdoors and place them in an area that is full shade. The temperatures should be around 45-50 degrees at night before moving them outdoors. After a few weeks you can move them to an area that receives filtered shade, in other words, morning light, afternoon shade. This is also, the time to check for any bugs on your plant. Be sure to check underneath the leaves, and if you see those pesky critters on your prized houseplants spray with an insecticidal soap or horticulture oil.

Hibiscus and More’s Mother Day Sale Is To Honor Mother’s Around The World and we are Offering A Wonderful Sale Of Gardening Themed Products. To insure on time delivery by Mother’s Day all purchases should be ordered no later than April 25.  

Give the gift of flowers that will last forever floral fine art prints. Do you see a print that is sold out? Are you looking for a flower or foliage print not listed? Send an email to Cheryl@hibiscusandmore.com to order.

Happy Mother’s Day From Hibiscus And More. ©Cheryl Meola 2022.

 

Fall Bulbs

Fall Bulbs

As the Labor Day Weekend comes to a close that is our signal that the fall season will be coming very soon. We as gardeners know that we have a mental list of gardening duties to perform before the fall season ends. One of the gardening duties would be to plan ahead for planting fall bulbs in your garden. Fall bulbs are sold only for a limited time during the season and should be purchased in advance because a few of the bulbs mentioned require to be chilled in the refrigerator before planting, if you reside in USDA zones 11, 10, and 9. Crocus, Hyacinths, Narcissus, Daffodils, and Paperwhites all require 4 to 6 weeks of chilling. Tulips require 8 weeks of chilling. Bulbs are easy to plant and give you wonderful spring color.

Anemone. Light Requirements: Full sun to partial shade. Height: 10 – 15”. Planting Requirements: 2 “deep at 3 – 4” apart planting on their sides. Soak the tubers over night before planting and water well after planting. Planting months are from October through December, and to extend the blooming season you may plant the tubers at two-week intervals starting in late October. The flowers are good for cutting.

Calla Lily. Light Requirements: Full sun to partial shade. Height: 14 – 18”. Planting Requirements: 3 to 4” deep at 1” apart. Planting months are from September through November, and to extend the blooming season you may plant the tubers at two-week intervals starting in late October. The flowers are good for cutting.

Crocus. Light Requirements: Full sun to partial shade. Height: 4 – 6”. Planting Requirements: 1 to 2” deep at 2 – 3” apart. Planting months are from September through November and require 4 – 6 weeks of refrigeration before planting.

Freesias. Light Requirements: Full sun to partial shade. Height: 18 – 24”. Planting Requirements: 1 – 2” deep at 3” apart. Planting months are from October to November, and to extend the blooming season you may plant the bulbs at two-week intervals starting in October. The flowers are good for cutting and are very fragrant.

Hyacinths. Light Requirements: Full sun to partial shade. Height: 10 – 12”. Planting Requirements: 5” deep at 6” apart. Planting months are from November through December and require 4 – 6 weeks of refrigeration before planting. The flowers are good for cutting and are very fragrant. The Dutch varieties are good for forcing.

Iris – Bearded. Light Requirements: Full sun to light shade. Height: 30 – 32”. Planting Requirements: ½ - 1” deep at 8 – 12” apart. Planting months are from August through November. The flowers are good for cutting.

Iris – Dutch. Light Requirements: Full sun to light shade. Height: 18 – 22”. Planting Requirements: 2 – 4” deep at 3” apart. Planting months are October through November. The flowers are good for cutting.

Leucojum. Light Requirements: Partial shade to shade. Height: 16 – 20”. Planting Requirements: 2 to 3” deep at 4” apart. Planting months are from October through November. The flowers are good for cutting.

Muscari. Light Requirements: Full sun. Height: 5 – 6”. Planting Requirements: 1 to 2” deep at 3” apart. Planting months are from October through November.

Narcissus – Daffodils. Light Requirements: Full sun to partial shade. Height: 18 – 20”. Planting Requirements: 4 – 5” deep with 5 to 6 bulbs per square foot. Planting months are from November through December and require 4 – 6 weeks of refrigeration before planting. The flowers are good for cutting.

Paperwhites. Light Requirements: Full sun to partial shade. Height: 14 – 16”. Planting Requirements: 4” deep with 5 to 6 bulbs per square foot. Planting months are from October through November and require 4 – 6 weeks of refrigeration before planting. The flowers are good for cutting.

Ornithogalum. Light Requirements: Full sun to partial shade. Height: 10 – 12”. Planting Requirements: 2” deep at 5 – 6” apart. Planting months are from October through November. The flowers are good for cutting.

Ranunculus. Light Requirements: Full sun. Height: 18 – 24”. Planting Requirements: 2 “ deep at 4 – 6” apart planting with the claws pointing down. Soak the tubers over night before planting and water well after planting. Planting months are from October through December, and to extend the blooming season you may plant the tubers at two-week intervals starting in late October. Can be combined with Anemones. The flowers are good for cutting.

Tulips. Light Requirements: Full sun. Height: 20 – 22”. Planting Requirements: 6” deep at 5” apart. Planting months are from late December through January and require 8 weeks of refrigeration at 48 to 55 degrees before planting.

Watsonia. Light Requirements: Full sun. Height: 4 – 6 feet. Planting Requirements: 3 – 4” deep at 4 – 6” apart. Planting months are from September through November. The flowers are good for cutting.

Have You Visited Our Web Site, Yet? Visit: www.hibiscusandmore.com

Fall Vegetable Gardening

Fall Vegetable Gardening

With the arrival of August, and the month of September just around the corner we need to start planning our fall vegetable garden. There are numerous vegetables that require a cool growing season rather than a warm growing season. For my readers that reside in USDA Zones: 11, 10, 9, and 8 you get the benefits of having two vegetable growing seasons, one in the spring and one in the fall. As the weather cools in your area, and as gardeners we start thinking about fall and what fall brings to us; it’s time to start gardening again. With this in mind I would like to mention the wonderful benefits of a fall vegetable garden.

Home-grown vegetables have a richer, fuller taste and tend to be fresher than store bought since you pick them yourself. Home-grown vegetables are easy and inexpensive to grow as well. Vegetable gardening can involve the entire family from the little ones to the teens. As well as being an educational tool, the time the family spends in the garden is quality time spent together, and can give one a sense of pride.

In today’s economy more and more families are finding ways to save money, and one way to save money on your grocery bill would be to start your own vegetable garden. Vegetables can be grown from seeds or vegetable starts, and more retail garden centers this year are reporting that vegetable starts and seeds are up from last year’s sales; and as a result of our current economy more families decide to spend more time at home and in the garden.

Some of you maybe thinking to yourself I have never grown vegetables before, and I don’t think I can grow vegetables. One of my task as a professional horticulturist to a private estate was to grow home-grown vegetables, and my thoughts were exactly the same; and as a Texas Certified Horticultural Professional I would advise our retail gardening customer’s on how to grow vegetables, but I never grew vegetables professionally. I took my vegetable gardening advice that I gave to my retail gardening customers, and my horticultural experience and put all that knowledge to the test. The results of the vegetable garden test are in the pictures included in this article.

The vegetable garden that I planted last year had a wide variety of root vegetables and above ground vegetables. Root Fall vegetables would include: potatoes, onions, garlic, carrots, turnips, rutabagas, parsnips, beets, radishes, shallots, and asparagus. Asparagus is the only fall perennial vegetable. You need to find a place where it can grow undisturbed for many years. The key to growing root vegetables is giving enough space in between each plant so the actual root (vegetable) will mature and not be misshapen because of planting to close. I grew Georgia Sweet onions from onion sets, Cherry Belle radishes, and Tall Top Early Wonder beets, all from seeds. The wonderful aspect of radishes is that the radishes mature in 22 days, and to have radishes all season replant your seeds every ten days. I was amazed and thrilled at how easy it was to grow vegetables from seed. The above ground Fall vegetables include: peppers, tomatoes, (with the peppers and tomatoes there are varieties to plant for the fall versus varieties for the spring), spinach, lettuce, snow peas, broccoli, cabbage, kale, brussel sprouts, mustard, cauliflower, chard, and collards. For the above ground vegetables I grew from vegetable starts, green peppers, tomatoes; and from seed there was Snow Peas, Black-Seeded Simpson lettuce, Mesclun Sweet Salad lettuce, Little Caesar Romaine lettuce. For recommended varieties to your area, contact your local extension office.

When planning your vegetable garden, either from vegetable starts or seeds don’t forget to add a little color to the garden. In the last couple of years seed companies have established several different colors in vegetables. You can now purchase peppers, carrots, and tomatoes seeds that will produce a wide range of colors. You can purchase bell pepper seeds that come in ivory, lavender, chocolate brown, yellow, and orange. Wouldn’t some or all of those colors look wonderful in a fresh tossed salad or homemade stuffed bell peppers? Carrot seeds now come in colors of yellow, white, golden yellow, red, light and dark purple, and of course your typical orange. Your family will just go wild over the variety of colors that will adorn the family dinner table each evening. Tomato seeds are now available in different shades of red, orange, yellow, and even a dark brown. With all the vegetable colors that are available on the market today, you can now color coordinate your dinner plate with home-grown vegetables, and become the ultimate gourmet chef without paying a gourmet price tag.

Vegetable plants can be grown in a container or a special designated area in your yard. When considering a container versus a designated area there are a few considerations to be reviewed before deciding. Containers are excellent for growing a small amount of vegetables and a good choice, if you have a nice sunny patio or have a small sized yard. When growing vegetables in your yard the designated area that you choose should be in raised beds versus planted in your local soil. Vegetables plants require a loose and peat moss soil mixture. Purchasing landscape timbers or landscape edging at your local hardware store or home improvement store can easily do this.

Deciding a Location: Choose an area that gets 5 - 6 hours of full sun; and if, you have an area that receives more than 6 hours of sunlight that’s all right, too.

Deciding a Container(s): Choose a container that is 14 inches or larger, but the lettuces and radishes can be grown in smaller containers than recommended above.

Deciding a Soil: There are several potting soils on the market and choosing one is a matter of your gardening preferences. Some of the chooses are inorganic verses organic, with moisture control or without moisture control, with timed-release fertilizer or without fertilizer. Some potting soils are especially formulated for vegetables.

Deciding a Fertilizer: There are several fertilizers on the market and choosing one is a matter of your gardening preferences. Some of the chooses are water soluble, granular, time-release, slow-release, organic, or inorganic. Choose a fertilizer that is formulated for vegetable plants.

Choosing an Insecticide: Choosing an insecticide is a matter of your gardening preferences, and while I was growing the vegetable garden I had an IPM (Integrated Pest Management) approach method. I would only use Safer Soaps or Horticultural Oils on all the vegetables that I grew, and realistically I hardly had to spray the vegetables at all. I was constantly watching for any insect or worm that would start eating my prize vegetables, and when I did see one I would simply dispose of the insect.

Choosing a Vegetable Support: Some of the vegetable plants that I mentioned above will need to be staked or in need of a vegetable cage such as tomatoes, eggplant, cucumbers, peas, cantaloupes, and sometimes peppers.

Watering: Of all the ingredients that I have mentioned for vegetable gardening success, water, is the most important to a successful vegetable garden. The soil for your vegetables will need to be consistently moist at all times, and the water source should be city water or treated water. This is one of the reasons for one of last’s years E. coil outbreaks; the vegetables that were recalled received untreated water during the growing process. More gardeners are starting to grow their own vegetables this year versus last year due to the recent E. coli outbreaks in store-bought produce. Just another reason to start growing your own vegetables, you supply the water, you supply the insecticide, and you know exactly what ingredients went into your vegetables. For states that are currently under water restrictions, you can water your food crops, personal food garden, or personal vegetable garden without penalty. Wash all vegetables before eating or cooking.

Planting: There are a few vegetables that do not like to be planted next to each other, and the vegetable combinations to avoid are:

Onions with peas or beans. Tomatoes or squash with potatoes.

Carrots with dill or fennel. Beans with onions and garlic.

Planting tomato Plants: Another planting rule that has always worked for me is to plant your tomato plants deeper than the original soil line, even if you grow your tomatoes from seed. When you are ready to plant your tomato plants remove two sets of leaves or four leaves total and plant the tomato plant that deep in the soil. You just do this with tomatoes and the reason for this procedure is that tomatoes will establish more roots along the stem where you removed the leaves, and tomatoes require a lot more water than the other vegetables mentioned in this article, and tomatoes are one vegetable that is a heavy feeder, i.e. tomatoes require a steady supply of fertilizer.

Put on your gardening gloves and reap the rewards and benefits of a fall vegetable garden. Tastier vegetables than store bought that you harvest on your own. As a vegetable gardener you know the ingredients, and there is nothing more rewarding than tasting the “vegetables” of your labors.

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All photographs and digital images are ©Cheryl Ann Meola 2007. All Rights Reserved. All photographs and digital images displayed in this article are for viewing purposes only and cannot be duplicated.