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Good Ideas for Planting Super Peonies

The peony is one of the longest living perennials that you will find.  There are two popular types of the peonies, and they are the herbaceoius and the tree peony.

It is best to plant the peonies at the back of your flowerbeds because they are larger plants.  In the springtime the peonies have beautiful foliage and beautiful blooms that are going to be produced in May.

Peonies will do their best in a place that receives at least a half a day to a full day of sun.  When the climate is too hot, you should think about providing some shade for the plants.

The right time to plant the peony is in the early fall but early spring plants do great too.  Make sure that you prepare the site good and make sure that you dig an oversized hole and fill it with compost. 

The secret of having a successful peony is to make sure that the tuber is positioned so that the eyes are located on the crown and covered with about two inches of soil.

Peonies are very particular and they do not like to be planted too deep.  If your peonies have quite producing flowers after a few years, you should see if they have fallen too low in their bed.  Maybe they had too much soil on top of them, which made them fall.

If your peonies seem to fall over by the mid summer, you should think about staking them. When you do go to cut the flowers, you should clip them when the buds are ready to unfurl.  When you put them into water, the blooms will soon start to open and this will go on for about a week when they are kept indoors. 

Good Tips for Gardening Tools

You are not going to have an easy time of gardening if you do not have the right tools to make it happen.  There are a few basics that every good gardener should have beginning with the beginner right up to the professional gardener of any kind.

Gloves are a must!   You should have a great pair of waterproof gloves that fit you perfectly.  You should also find some that have long cuffs.  Gardening gloves for women are not easy to find.  You want to find a comfortable pair that are going to last you.

Sun hats are important. You need to make sure that you have a wide brimmed hat that has a cord drawstring on it. This will help you to have good protection from the hot sun.  You need to make sure that your hat will not be lifted up when the wind comes along as well.

A canvas apron is helpful when it has pockets to fit some of the tools that you need as well as phone.  This is good so that you do not have to change out of your good clothes every time you wan to work in your garden.

A five-gallon bucket is a good item to count on too.  This will help you tote your tools around with you from flowerbed to flower bed.  Some people also put their pulled weeds in their bucket as well.

A spade is important to have but can also get lost very easily as well.  It would be good to get some bright colored tape to wrap around the handle so it will show up when it is lost in the weeds or grass.

Pruners are good to help you with your weeds and stems.  You need to get a nice and clean cut that will help to lessen the chances of damaging your plants and their tissue.

Hand rakes are a little larger than a spade and will help you do wanders in your garden.  You can fluff up the mulch and turn up the weeds easier when you have a good hand rake that you feel comfortable using.


 Good Tips for Growing Gardenias

If you are looking for a good plant that has a great fragrance, then you have found it for sure in the gardenia.  Those that are blessed with the ability to grow, your gardenias will be beautiful with their white scented blooms.

This plant will do great in a tropical climate.  So if you are living in a tropical climate, gardenias should be a great growing flower in your areas.

So that you have a good garden, you should look for a compact plant that is full and has glossy foliage.  The leaves should be rich and have a beautiful bright green color.

Gardenias need to have a lot of light.  You should see that the gardenia does not get direct sun in the afternoon, as this is usually the hottest part of the summer heat.

Gardenias need to have a good amount of moisture.  They will react to the water’s quality and temperature.  They need to have room temperature distilled water.  When the gardenia is not blooming it should be kept a little bit drier than others.

These plants are going to bloom the most when the days are warm and the nights are breezy.  Gardenias are mostly tolerant of the different temperatures especially when it is humid.  So that they perform at their very best, gardenias need a climate that is high in humidity.

It is better to se a water-soluble fertilizer on gardenias every two to three weeks.  There is several times during the year that you may need to use an acid fertilizer.

After you have had the scent of the beautiful gardenia, you will be stuck on them!  If you follow the above tips, you will be more likely to grow super gardenias inside your home as well as outdoors for everyone to enjoy!


Growing Beautiful Lilacs

Having the beautiful smell of lilacs all season long is a wonderful feeling.  Do you want to have this wonderful flower blooming around your home?  If so, then you will need listen to all these great gardening tips so that you can have the enchanting scent filling up your space.

Lilacs are a kind of shrub that grows best in the areas of the United States that a winter freeze takes place.  This may seem different.  But it is true.  In the areas that do not experience the winter freeze, the lilac may not bloom.

If you want to start growing lilacs and live in a very warm climate, you should check with your nursery for a variety that is perfectly suited for warmer climates.

Lilacs will do better if they are planted where they can get about six hours of full sunlight.  The best planting times for lilacs would be in late April, early May, later in September and even into October.

Lilacs do like a little alkaline soil and they also need to have great drainage.

You should be careful when you space the lilacs apart. Put them about ten feet apart because they do grow into large bushes.  You should try and mulch lilacs with about three inches of bark or wood chips.

You will be able to conserve water and prevent water damage as well.  Lilacs should be fertilized in the early spring and right after they have finished blooming.

When the lilac is done blooming, it is time for it to be pruned.   You can take away about 188 of the stems. Make sure that you prune off any of the dying or the dead limbs.



Growing Mums to Perfection!

One popular perennial is the Chrysanthemums.  You can get mums in a lot of different colors as well as a style of different growths all the way form the smaller dwarf plants all clear up to the Maxi-Mums.

These plants are simple to grow and they are a great plant for the beginner to start off with.  If you take care of them right, they will offer you plenty of enjoyment for many years.

Make sure that you pick out a great variety and plant your mums in a sunny and well-drained area.  You should also protect them during the wintertime.

Planting Season
The best time to plant your chrysanthemums is after the frost danger is gone.  You should be able to use smaller plants that you have received from rooted cuttings or divisions or you can even use a larger sized container plants that you get from nurseries.

The chrysanthemums may be placed in the ground at any time in the spring, summer or even during the beginning of fall.

The Soil, Site and Fertilizer

Mums for the garden will grow well in a bunch of different soils but they will do the best in excellent drainage conditions.  Mums will also enjoy sunny locations.  You should try and mix in two or four inches of peat moss or compost into the soil.  If you only use peat moss, you should try and add some kind of fertilizer in the springtime.

Pinching

If your mums are pruned or pinched on a regular schedule, they will have a bushy or compact plant form.  The traditional method will include pinching out the tip so that you can introduce new branches so that the bulkier plants will be produced.

The pinching must be completed by the 4th of July to assure that you plant your flowers before the frost begins.



Growing the Perfect Roses

When you plant a rose garden, you need to enhance your landscape.  It may intimidate many of the new beginners to try and grow roses.  Rose growing is thought to be a very difficult task by many.

There have been some reports of roses getting powdery mildew and this can make the very thought of growing roses very frustrating.  Paying attention to the four basic parts of your rose growing ideas can turn out to be a huge success.

A. Soil should be the best in order to grow roses.  It has to have a pH of about 6.5 to 6.8.  The soil must also have good drainage for rose growing.  You need to be able to promote the soil’s drainage by using peat moss.
B. Irrigation is another good thing for your rose bushes.  You have to give them a good drink at least twice a week.  If you give your roses at least two good soakings a week, this is going to be better than smaller watering.  It is best not to try and water roses late in the evening.  This could start a powdery mildew that is common amount roses.
C. Space your roses apart if you do not space the roses apart at the right distance, you are helping a powdery mildew to form on your roses.  It is best to let them breathe.  You need to be sure that you follow the spacing requirements that are indicated on the planting label when you buy roses. 
D. Sun is need for your roses to do well.  Roses need to have six hours of sunlight each day and it is preferable to have morning sun rather than afternoon sun. 

There is nothing more wonderful than a rose bush with full blooms on it.  You should not let growing your own roses intimidate you and make you nervous.  You need to just follow these few tips and this will give you a beautiful collection of award winning roses.


Planting Your Garden Right

When it comes to planting flower bulbs, there is the right way and the wrong idea of doing it.  Making sure that you pay attention to the care instructions that come with the bulbs when you buy them.

Tools for Planting

You can use a trowel or a shovel to dig the holes for the bulbs.  You may find that it is so much easier if you use a bulb planter.

It is a good idea to mulch up the newly planted bulbs that you have in your flowerbed.  This is one thing that is recommended by most of the experts.  The mulch will help to prevent weeds from growing; it will cool off the soil and retain the moisture in so that it has more organic material that is needed for growing plants.

Giving your New Bulbs Water
Once you plant the bulbs you need to give them water.  It may also be good to do this in the fall and winter if it is a dry season.

You should also plan on giving the bulbs at least an inch of water each week when the growing season starts.  This can either be from the natural rain or from you watering them.

Giving the Bulbs Fertilization

When you start to see bulbs pop up out of the soil, it is important that you start to fertilize them every few weeks.  It is a good idea to use a water-soluble fertilizer.  This will help to give more growth to the flowering bulbs.

All of the tips will help you to have more beautiful flowers after you have planted them. It might take more work but it is well worth it when you are finished.



Sprouting Beautiful Geraniums

Geraniums are plants that look beautiful in a bed alone or with a mixture of other beautiful plants.  They will also make a great edging for a perennial garden.  These plants are very versatile and will look great no matter where they are put.

Geraniums can take a little bit of frost.  However they love the warm weather.  Here you will find some great tips to help you with your growing geraniums.

* Sunlight.  Most geraniums do great in full sunlight.  This means that they should have at least six hours of direct sunlight each day.  If the climate is very hot, then you should plant them in a partly shaded area.  Many geraniums will do well in a shady spot but they will not bloom, as you would expect.

* Soil.  Geraniums do well in rich soil that is very well drained.  If you add some compost to the soil, this will give your plants an extra shove in their growing process.


* Fertilizer.  When you are growing geraniums, it is a good idea to feed them a lot.  You should figure on giving them fertilizer at least every two weeks.  You might also need to feed them when you plant them with a time-released fertilizer that will last the whole season long.

* Water.  If it does not rain you will have to make sure that you are watering your geraniums on a regular basis.  If you are not sure if you should water then, you need to simply poke your finger down into the soil.  If it is dry at least two inches down, then you should get out the hose. 


* Grooming.  You need to keep your plants looking their very best by taking off the dead head and taking away any dried or discolored leaves. Doing it this way the geraniums will look great all season long.



Starting Begonias from Tubers

Growing Begonias from Tuberous-rooted is a wonderful plant to grow.  It is a beautiful flower that has great texture foliage.  They will make great potted plants in your home as well as giving your summer gardens gorgeous color.

So that you can get the flowers early, you need to plant your tubers by letting them sprout in a seed tray or box of damp potting soil in the months of February or March.

You have to space the about two inches apart.  And you should not put them in the ground too deep.  The topside should be covered a little by the potting soil.

The begonias like to be put in a temperature of around sixty-four degrees Fahrenheit.  However they do not seem to be damaged by the higher temperatures.

Once the tubers have started and you can see the leaves begin, you should transfer the tubers to a five-inch pot and cover them up with compost.  Since you will be using begonias in an outdoor garden, you should begin getting your begonias adjusted to the temperatures outdoors in slow stages.

This process is going to start around the end of May.  After about a week, if the threat of frost has passed, you might have to leave your begonia plants outdoors all night long.

Begonias love to be in an area that is moist and has shade.  If they happened to be in the sun for most of the day, you should water them often in order to stop bud drop from happening. 

Plants will continue to grow and buds will start to form.  The begonias should be given liquid feed every ten days or so.  This will help to make the begonias grow beautifully and give you a great group of the flowers as well.



The Sun and Soil

Do you want to know the best way to get rid of irritating weeds and pest and some of the diseases too?  The best thing to do is solarize your soil.

This idea is used in areas that have a large amount of sunshine and higher temperatures.  It can also be used for cooler areas as well.  The results may not be as good but they can do wanders for the battle against weeds of any kind.

What is solarization exactly?  It is the technique that does not involve any chemicals but it does take in the sun’s radiant heat and energy that in return causes physical, biological and chemical changes in the soil.

These changes are able to control or stop the soil born plant pathogens including bacteria, fungi, and pests along with nematodes and weeds.

In order to solarize the soil, you should cover it with plastic or about four to six weeks during a time of the year when it is very hot and when the soil will be able to receive maximum direct sunlight.

The soil heats up to temperatures that are hot enough to kill some soil inhabiting pests that include root rot fungi, wilt, noxious weed seed and root knot nematodes.

Soil solarization will also help to stimulate the releasing of the nutrients from organic matter that is present in the soil.  This is very effective in treating garden soils where they should plant herbs, vegetables and flowers.

Now that you know what soil solarization really is, you might want to give it a try so that you are not using all kinds of chemicals to control your weeds and those annoying pests that try and ruin your beautiful garden.