Has your spring been somewhat less than a sunny, gardener's delight?
Haven't had enough time to get the garden looking quite right yet?
'Color Spots' may be your quickest and easiest way of catching up with the neighbors.
Color Spots are easy care, blooming size annuals that the nurseries have grown in 4" pots. They have taken care of the feeding, pinching and early care for you. The result is a nicely branched plant, blooming and ready to set in the garden. You will be able to see what your flower will look like before you even pick it out, and have some early summer colors before the sun sets. Prepare the soil, water the new plants before you remove them from the pot; plant the color spots at the recommended spacing on the label; water them again.
The Result: I N S T A N T C O L O R !
Pinch your Chrysanthemums to encourage them to be bushier and have more blossoms. Pinch them again, every 6 inches or so, as they grow.
This is an excellent month to pick out a few new perennials, and plant them in the garden. Divide spring flowering perennials like, Primroses, Arabis, and Aubrietia. Once the soil has warmed, you can sow seeds for perennials directly into the garden.
Check your Roses for mildew, aphid, black-spot or other disease problems or insect infestations, and if they appear take steps to control them right away. Your roses will need to be fertilized each month through the summer. Make sure your climbing roses are securely tied into position. Prune them after blooming.
Deadhead your annuals to encourage continued flowering. Remove dead foliage from your spring flowering bulbs, but only after it has died back naturally. Sow seeds for Ornamental Kale and Flowering Cabbage for colorful plants next fall and winter.
Stake tall flowers to keep them from blowing over in the wind. Add a stake to each planting hole as you're transplanting, and tie the stem loosely to the stake as the plant grows.
As the weather dries out, your container grown plants may need daily watering especially if the pots are exposed to the drying sunlight.
Gladiola corms can still be planted for successive blooms. Tuberous Begonias can now be safely planted outdoors. Once the foliage of Daffodils has died back, you may divide and move the bulbs to a new spot. Daffodil clusters should be divided up every 3 years to ensure good blooming. |