Flower Gardening

Flower gardens add color and imagination to the greenery of your backyard or front porch. To ensure the flowers you plant continue to grow healthy and strong, follow these planting instructions. The instructions work for seedlings and mature plants.

The first step is to choose healthy nursery stock. Avoid long plants in full bloom, as these aren't fit well for transplantation. Also stay away from plants with discolored and wilted leaves. Instead, go for stocky, deep green plants with buds.
Healthy bedding plants are shorter and have a good amount of side branching and healthy stems. These transplant and grow more readily than dense, lanky plants. Sometimes transplants have crowded roots that become entangled (known as root bound). If the plant you purchase shows signs of this condition, at planting time loosen the root ball a little.

When you plant is also important. The best time to plant is after the last frost date on a warm, cloudy day. Preparation will ensure a proper transplant. Using a cultivator or hoe, loosen the soil, leaving behind no bulky clods. Dig a planting hole with a trowel that is sized to fit the root ball and has room for some growth.

To transplant, place the root ball into the hole and fill the space around it with soil. In order for each plant to reach maturity and grow to a good size, leave some space between seedlings. This will avoid problems of future crowding.

Larger plants can be planted following a similar method. Plants that have a tendency to overgrow (tansy, mint, bamboo) should be planted right in their pots. But before you plant the pots, cut out the bottom to contain their runners.

For several weeks after planting, don't add any fertilizer. Thorough watering is important though - it's also helpful to apply some B vitamins so that the plants are better able to deal with the shock of transplantation. Keep watering on a regular basis until you start to notice new growth. This is an indication that the plants are putting down roots and have a good chance of survival.

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