Care and How-To Articles - Ornamental Plants and Flowers

Manure is the oldest fertilizer known to civilization. Many gardeners feel manure is superior to synthetic products. Careful and appropriate use of manure, especially in vegetables gardens, is important. 

Impatiens are excellent plants for shady areas in the home landscape. Impatiens are ideal for flower beds, planters, and hanging baskets. Their versatility and adaptability to shade have made impatiens one of the most popular annual bedding plants in the United States. Impatiens are relatively easy to grow from seeds.

Timing

Impatiens are slow growing. Home gardeners should sow seeds in early to mid-February to produce stocky transplants by spring. 

Iowa soils are very diverse and so are the chemical characteristics that make up these soils.  Soil pH is one property that can vary widely across the state both naturally and due to how we manage the field or garden.  It is also one of the most cost effective and easy to manage soil properties that can be modified to improve plant health and crop production.

Steps to Decrease Soil pH  |  Steps to Increase Soil pH  |  More Information

Geraniums have been a popular bedding plant for many years.  Most gardeners purchase plants from garden centers and greenhouses.  However, geraniums can also be grown from seeds.  Se

Cut flowers are a welcome gift in any home, whether you receive a bouquet for Valentine's Day, a Birthday, Mother's Day, or you just decided to treat yourself to something beautiful.

When buying them from a florist, there are several things you can do to prolong the life of cut flowers. 

Although herbs are commonly used for their medicinal and culinary uses, they can also be very ornamental. Ornamental perennial and annual herbs offer the added benefits of varying leaf color, texture, fragrance, and flowers. These multifunctional plants make wonderful additions to any garden from spring to fall.

Valentine's Day is a day to recognize our loved ones.  Many different plants serve as wonderful gifts to show that special person how much you love them!  Cut flowers, orchids, and florist plants are just a few of the plants that are popular gifts on February 14th and the rest of the winter season.

Below are a few resources to help keep these special plants healthy and attractive all season.

https://www.iowapbs.org/shows/gardeningsteil/digital-short/3531/plant-shoppingIn spring, many gardeners will be at nurseries, greenhouses, and garden centers looking to buy plants. Selecting the right species and cultivar of a plant for the landscape by matching sun, water, soil, winter hardiness, and other growing requirements is important. Equally important is selecting high-quality plants. Below is advice on how to purchase high-quality plants from the garden center.

Mid-March is the best time to start many vegetables and annual flowers indoors for transplanting outside once the threat of frost has past. 

Regardless of what type of seed you're growing, to have the best success follow these basic tips:

• Start with fresh seed and clean materials. 
• Consult the package to determine how early to start the seed indoors - do not start seed too early. 
• Provide abundant light. 
• Do not over or under water.
• Raise the humidity during germination.
• If possible warm the germination mix/soil. 

More details about starting seeds indoors can be found below.

For many home gardeners, starting seeds indoors is great fun. Successfully growing seedlings indoors requires high-quality seeds, a germination medium, containers, lights, and other supplies.

Germination requirements (light and temperature) vary among the different annuals and vegetables. The various crops also differ in the length of time from seed sowing until the seedlings are planted outdoors.  Below is germination and growing information for commonly grown annual flowers, herbs, and vegetables. 

There are several garden tasks to do when the garden season transitions from the heat of summer to the bright colors and crisp air of autumn.  The fall months are a great time to select and plant spring-flowering bulbs for next year. Spring-flowering bulbs offer reliable color and fragrance to the garden before many other plants wake from their long winter's nap. Gardeners can choose from traditional spring-flowering bulbs, such as daffodils, tulips, and hyacinths, or the unusual like squill, crown imperial, giant onion, or guinea-hen. A small investment of time and money in fall will reward you with beautiful flowers next spring.

Convincing some gardeners of the landscape value of goldenrods (Solidago species and hybrids) is not always easy. These plants have long suffered from an undeserved reputation as a common field weed that causes hay fever. In fact, ragweed is the primary hay fever culprit. Goldenrod is falsely accused because it flowers abundantly during the peak allergy season.

Growth Habit

Most goldenrods are clump-forming plants with erect to somewhat arching stems of varying heights and alternately arranged leaves. Flowers are typically yellow, but there are a few scarce white forms. Individual flowers are very small but are borne in great numbers to form flower heads of various shapes and sizes. Plants bloom over a long period in late summer and fall.

Groundcovers, by definition, are plants that spread. They are often low-growing perennials or shrubs that unify or define landscape beds and borders. Choosing the right groundcover for a landscape is important as they often consume large areas.  Groundcovers are also excellent choices where turfgrass is not desirable or practical.

There are also several species of groundcovers for shady sites (Groundcovers for Shade).  Some of the shade-loving species such as bugleweed and vinca perform equally as well in both shady and sunny sites. 

 Many summer-blooming tender perennials are great additions to the garden but are not winter hardy in Iowa.  These tender perennials must be dug up in the fall and stored indoors over winter.  This is possible because these plants grow from bulbs or other geophytes like corms or tubers. 

 If a tree, shrub, or perennial cannot be planted in its final spot before winter arrives, you will need to take steps to make sure it survives the winter while still in the container.

Container-grown plants should not be left outdoors above ground over the winter months. The roots of most trees, shrubs, and perennials are far less cold hardy than their aboveground stems or trunks. Container-grown plants are growing in relatively small amounts of potting soil. The temperature of the potting mix may drop into the single digits if container-grown plants are left above ground in winter. Single-digit temperatures may damage or destroy the root systems of plants. 

When autumn arrives, several things can be done to prepare the garden for winter and the following growing season.

Perennials | Vegetable Garden | Annual Beds & Containers | Woody Trees & Shrubs | Lawns | More Information

When a summer heat wave arrives, it can be stressful for the plants and gardeners alike.  The plants of your landscape will require a little more TLC to make it through periods of extreme heat.  Below are a few tips to protect your lawn, garden, and landscape when temperatures soar.

In July and August, the attractive flowers of bee balm (Monarda) are a common sight in gardens, along roadsides, and in prairies.  Bee balm attracts bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds.  The common name of bee balm is in reference to its former use to treat bee stings.  Other common names include bergamot, horsemint, and Oswego tea.  When sited properly and given good care, bee balm is a wonderful, easy-to-grow perennial for the home landscape.

Description

Three species of Monarda (Monarda didyma, Monarda fistulosa, and Monarda punctata) are native to Iowa.  Numerous cultivated varieties are available at garden centers.

Attempting to grow grass under large shade trees or shady areas created by buildings, fences, and walls is difficult and frustrating.  Because of unfavorable growing conditions, grass doesn’t grow well in shady areas and the area is often little more than bare soil and a few weeds.  A shade-tolerant groundcover is an excellent alternative to turfgrass in shady areas. Once they are established, groundcovers require less maintenance than turf, they can out-compete most weeds, and some have attractive flowers as well. Groundcovers will require more time to establish initially but are worth the effort in the long run.

There are over 200 species of Iris.  Most irises grow from thick, underground stems or rhizomes.  A few species are bulbous.  An iris flower typically consists of 6 segments.  The 3 inner segments, which are generally upright, are referred to as standards.  The drooping, outer 3 segments are known as falls. 

Bearded irises are one of the most popular and widely grown perennials in the home landscape.  Though not as widely grown, several other types or species of iris are also attractive additions to the perennial garden.  By selecting and planting several different iris species, gardeners can enjoy blooming irises from April through July.  

Weedy vines can be some of the most difficult to control weeds in the garden.  They are fast-growing, getting very large in a relatively short amount of time and often climb and cover other garden plants.  These tenacious plants climb by twining, rambling, or utilizing specialized structures like tendrils or aerial roots.  They are often botanically classified as eudicots and can be woody or herbaceous, perennial or annual.  Examples of vining weeds include poison ivy, honeyvine milkweed, bindweed, and Virginia creeper. If left to grow, they can smother other plants, blocking light and killing the desirable plant.

Ground ivy (Glechoma hederacea), also known as creeping charlie, is a common weed in many lawns.  Ground ivy is a low-growing, creeping, invasive perennial.  It spreads by seed and the vining stems (stolons) which root at their nodes.  The leaves of ground ivy are round or kidney-shaped with scalloped margins.  Stems are four-sided.  Flowers are small, bluish purple, and funnel-shaped.  Ground ivy thrives in damp, shady areas, but also grows well in sunny locations.  A member of the mint family, ground ivy produces a minty odor when cut or crushed. 

Management Options for Ground Ivy in Lawns | Management Options for Ground Ivy in Garden Beds

Each spring home gardeners buy bedding plants (annual flowers and vegetables) from local garden centers and greenhouses. To help ensure a successful start to the gardening season, select strong, healthy plants and harden them outdoors for a few days before planting. Proper planting is another key to success.

Selection

Select short, stocky plants with dark green foliage. Avoid tall, spindly plants. Smaller seedlings become established in the garden more quickly than larger ones. Also, smaller plants are often more productive. When selecting bedding plants, "large" is usually not better.