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Watering Your Perennials

May 20th, 2007    Subscribe To Our Feed

Proper watering is a crucial element of growing and maintaining perennials, or for any garden variety for that matter. But when is the best time to water them and how often should you do it?

For the majority of perennials, watering is only required when the top of the soil dries out. However, do not wait until they are dry as a bone before giving them water.

Watering is required before any visible signs of drought stress appears. If you are growing perennials in an arid environment, it is ideal to prolong the time between watering. On the other hand, if your plants are located in a wet habitat, it is best to not let them dry out completely.

Watering Problems Can Be A Disaster
Getting too much or too little water on the soil for long periods of time causes several problems for your perennials. However, determining whether your plants are getting too much or too little can be a bit tricky since both conditions show the same symptoms. When perennials are under-watered or over-watered, their leaves turn yellowish with brown edges. They look dull, droopy, limp, and their growth is suppressed. Their leaves and flowers also begin to wither and drop off, and the plant eventually dies.

It’s Best To Test The Soil
It’s hard to tell if you are watering too much or not watering enough by simply looking at these symptoms. So before reaching for the watering can, you must first check the soil to see if it’s too dry or too wet. When you check the soil, don’t just look at the surface to see if it’s wet or dry, because the top of the soil will be different once you go several inches underneath. When you start to see symptoms of stress from your plants, dig a tiny hole a few inches deep and touch the soil. If it feels wet, reduce the amount of water. If it’s dry, you need to water more often.

If you have clay soil, it’s a little more complicated to figure out if you’re watering too little or too much. This is because clay has tiny particles that hold in the moisture and restrict the water from getting to the plants. Therefore, the soil may feel moist but the plants are still not getting enough needed water. To solve this problem, the clay soil should be amended with organic matter.

In addition to manually checking the soil, you can also purchase an electronic moisture monitor that indicates when it’s time to water. Another simple alternative is to use a long screwdriver and probe the soil. You know that your plants are getting enough water if you are able to penetrate the soil with the screwdriver.

Electronic water Timer Precisely Measures WaterNever over water again, simply set and forget–automatically shuts off. Measures the exact amount of water at any pressure.

Sun-Loving Perennials That You Can Enjoy Growing In Your Garden

May 10th, 2007    Subscribe To Our Feed

Flowers love to bask in the sun, and a majority of the common perennials out there prefer to be in the sun for the better part of the day. There are literally hundreds of perennials that enjoy thriving in the sun. This article covers a few of them that you may choose to plant in your garden.

The Benefits Of Sun-Loving Perennials
1. They are easy to grow. You do not need to be an experienced gardener to keep them alive and flourish. These perennials are bred to be adaptable and requires less maintenance to stay healthy.

2. They can be grown in different habitats and climates. Although all perennials are relatively easy to grow, some of them can be picky and are only able to tolerate certain conditions and temperatures. The perennials that are provided in the list below are more tolerant of different weather conditions.

3. They are easy to find. Sun-loving perennials can be found in just about all garden stores and nurseries in your area. In addition, all of them are available online through hundreds of stores nationwide.

Enjoy These 6 Sun-Worshiping Perennials That You Can Plant In Your Garden
1. Butterfly flower: Also called butterfly weed. This orange flower easily adapts anywhere, and if you want to find one, just follow the butterflies and bees. This perennial is hard to transplant, but they are durable and strong once they have settled in their location. This is a hardy plant that can tolerate drought or the winter climate.

2. Blanket flower: This loud flower has a pattern of yellow on the outside and red in the inside. Although they are short-lived, this perennial grows consistently from spring to fall. This flower grows anywhere, although it prefers to be planted in well-drained soil under full sunlight.

3. Shasta daisy: A classic perennial, these popular daisies are large star-like white flowers that are golden yellow in the center. They come in several varieties, from plain to elaborate doubles. This plant needs well-drained soil and regular watering in the growing season.

4. Rose verbena: These playful pink flowers spread freely in clumps and last all summer long. They come in different colors, from white, lilac, rose, to bright purple.

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Benefits Of Planting Perennials Inside Raised Beds

April 15th, 2007    Subscribe To Our Feed

Some gardens and landscape areas just do not have the appropriate type of soil to grow beautiful perennials. Because of this challenge that you may face in your desire to raise these lovely flowers, you may want to consider planting them in raised beds.

What is a raised bed?
A raised bed is simply a boxed area where you are growing your plants in soil that are a few inches above your ground soil (or higher). The planter box may be tightly sealed in a small wooden frame or you could have soil that slopes over the sides. There are different types of raised beds that you can choose depending on the look you want.

Using a raised bed to plant perennials is extremely beneficial when you want to have 100% control the soil you are using, and without the battle of removing the salts out of the ground soil. Going to the trouble of clearing up poor conditioned ground soil is typically frustrating and unsuccessful, and can be very time-consuming as well.

Here is a clip to demonstrate raised bed gardening.

What are the advantages of planting perennials in raised beds?
1. Raised beds offer a somewhat “directional” look to your garden. You can use these beds to form traffic patterns and walkways. Your garden design can look proportional with the setup of raised beds and it presents a clear walk-through path for people to avoid damaging your flowers. Using raised beds also creates a structured look and is very decorative, especially around the edges of driveways or other areas like patios and yard decks.

2. Planting your perennials and other flowers in raised beds can make it easy to garden if you or other members of your household are bound to a wheelchair. Raised beds can be built as high as you need them and what better way for the disabled gardener to enjoy their favorite hobby than by using raised beds to plant and grow their garden?

3. Raised beds also offer your perennials and other plants protection from damage and uprooting that often result from small pets and children running around. Even raised just a few inches off the ground, these beds can deter most damage from even the innocent person who is simply walking through your garden.

4. Last but not least, your perennials may enjoy a longer growing season as a benefit of being grown inside of a raised bed. If they are constructed from brick or stone, the soil stays warm longer than it would if it were in the ground.

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