It pains me to see customers spending hundreds of dollars on new plants and simultaneously refusing to spend a few more on a bag or two of compost and a box of starter fertilizer. These two items are not unnecessary “add-ons” that the retailer is just trying to add to the sale, they are critical components of a successful transplanting process - or as I like to refer to them as “plant insurance”. Unless you have phenomenal soil, you should always add compost and starter fertilizers when you are planting new plants. Here is why…
A few weeks back I was harping about why gardeners don’t bother with compost and fertilizer when they are planting. This week I feel the need to talk about the importance of good planting practices. No matter where you purchase your plant material, I can guarantee you they will croak if it they aren’t planted properly. Here are some of my tips to help you succeed…
Now that the summer weather has arrived, it never fails that someone will ask me: “Can I still plant now or should I wait until the fall?” For the record, as a landscape contractor in the Sacramento Valley where it was routinely 85 to 105 degrees, I planted all summer long and never lost a single plant. You can have the same success rate by following my directions…
During the months of May and June one of the all-time favorite plants of local gardeners, the peony, is bursting into bloom. There are many excellent peonies available to utilize in our landscapes; including herbaceous cottage types in all sorts of colors (and varying fragrances) and larger growing tree peonies too. I would never scold anyone for growing either of these types (since I do as well), but I want to bring attention to another fabulous peony option… what is known as the intersectional or Itoh Peony.