Caring For Your Plant Bulbs

The only way to keep up with the latest about Caring For Your Plant Bulbs is to constantly stay on the lookout for new information. If you read everything you find about Caring For Your Bulbs, it won't take long for you to become an influential authority. 

How can you put a limit on learning more? The next section may contain that one little bit of wisdom that changes everything. 

Bulbs are generally among the easiest of all plants to care for, and this hardiness makes bulbs one of the most popular among all kinds of gardeners.  Even though bulbs are easy to care for, however, it is still important to care for them properly to ensure you will have a garden full of dahlias, lilies, daffodils, tulips and other bulbs.  

One great thing about bulbs is the colors they come in.  Bulb plants come in a wide variety of colors, and a flower bed full of bulbs can be one of the most colorful parts of any garden.

As with any type of plant, it is important that your bed full of bulbs receive plenty of water, plenty of sunlight, proper fertilization and a good quality soil.  Providing these basic elements is the best way to get your bulbs off to the best start.

When it comes to watering bulbs, it is important to remember that all bulbs need regular watering during their growth and blooming period.  For most bulbs, the active growth period begins shortly after they go into the ground, and it continues until the foliage on the plant has died back.  The die back generally occurs after the flowering has stopped, or in the autumn of the year.  

If there is not enough rainfall available, the gardener should be sure to supplement the water with deep watering, deep enough to reach the root zone, as the roots will be growing underneath the bulb.  In addition, providing a good layer of mulch will assist the roots in retaining their all important moisture content.  It is important to note here, however, that the bearded iris should never be mulched, since mulching it will cause it to rot.

Proper fertilization is also very important to successfully growing bulbs.  The fertilizer should be applied at the time the bulb is planted, in the bottom of the hole, and covered with a thin layer of soil.  The bulb should never be placed directly on top of the fertilizer.  In addition, the bulbs should be fed with a high nitrogen content fertilizer at the start of the growing season.  Providing this extra feeding will help the bulbs to produce more attractive flowers.

After the bulbs have completed their blooming cycle, they will have used up a great deal of their nutrient content.  For the bulb to do well the following season it is important for those nutrients to be replenished.  There are two steps gardeners should take to ensure that their bulbs will bloom well the next year.

The first step is to be certain that the foliage is left on the plant, even if the foliage looks poor, until the foliage has yellowed and pulls off easily.  That is because the leaves will continue to make food for the plant as long as they are green, and this food will help the plant bloom better the next year.

The second step is to provide a good quality fertilizer right after the flowers have begun to fade away.  It is important to fertilize with a bulb food which is high in phosphorus and potassium, as this will help the plant thrive the next year.

In order to be their most effective, the phosphorus and potassium in the bulb food must be able to reach the root zone, and for this reason the fertilizer should be placed as close as possible to the roots.  For a planting that has already been established, the fertilizer should be stretched slightly into the soil to help it move deeper, and the feeding should be followed by a deep watering. 

There's a lot to understand about Caring For Your Bulbs. We were able to provide you with some of the facts above, but there is still plenty more to write about in subsequent articles.a

Bring The Smell Of Nature Into Your Home With These Fragrant Flowers

A lot of money is spent in this country to reproduce fragrances for perfumes and air fresheners. The majority of these manufactured fragrances have alcohol and other additives that can actually irritate the membranes in your nose. Nature has done it the best and these are some of the most heavenly fragrances you’ll ever smell.

1) Hyacinth! This highly fragrant flower is actually a member of the lily family. Lily’s tend to grow much larger than the hyacinth but if you look closely at this flower you will see that the clusters of these blooms are tubular in shape just like the lily. Hyacinths have been a popular garden flower since the 17 hundreds because of the brilliance of there color (of every shade) and because of the incredible fragrance they have. Whether you have them planted out doors or in a pot in your home, this beautiful flower will brighten up any space and give off a constant heavenly fragrance, but, it is not overpowering. I just can’t imagine a perfume that smells any better than this. And men, instead of giving her some fresh cut flowers, try giving her a hyacinth plant. It will last longer and she can replant it again next year if she wants to put it in a garden.

2) The most fragrant flowers are the pure white Casa Blanca and the dark pink Stargazer lily. They are absolutely beautiful, but beware; the fragrance they give off is so strong, that, one bouquet of lilies can fill up an entire room. Don’t place them where you are going to sit for any length of time unless, that is what you want. They don’t do well in direct sunlight or drafts so place them in a more diffused lit area. If you replace the water every couple of days and add flower food plus a new snip of the ends, you’ll have a long lasting, beautiful fragrant arrangement. 

3) Tuber roses are not actually roses. Like the hyacinth, a tuber rose has a stem with clusters of flowers that are all white. Once again, the smell is fantastic. I once picked off one little petal from the cluster and put it in my car. A few hours later I return to my vehicle and was pleasantly surprised at how wonderful it smelled. My children noticed it as well. It was the perfect natural air freshener.

4) Gardenias! These flowers that bloom on trees have a very short life after they are cut, but for the little time you have them in your home is worth it. Generally gardenias are made into a corsage for special occasions, but if you don’t want to do that, you can place the flower in a low dish of water and then just leave them alone to do their work.

5) There are some roses that have been bred for their fragrance such as the peach colored Oceana rose or the Sterling Silver rose (which is actually purple). Each of these have a light perfume to them. Any of the purple roses have a wonderful smell.

You can order any of these flowers from your local florist. If they don’t have them on hand you can ask them to order some for you. In most cases, if you place an order before noon, you should be able to pick them up later in the afternoon. 

Rather than putting chemicals in the air, you may want to get some flowers now and again and enjoy nature’s perfume. 

Enjoy!

Artificial Flowers

Does the mere sight of fresh flowers make you sneeze? Are you like the many thousands of people that are allergic to the pollen in flowers? Do you like colourful pretty things around you? If so then read on……

Its quite sad to say, but there are thousands if not millions of people who can not enjoy the both the sight and scent of having a bunch of flowers around the home or office for fear that they will end up with a running nose and/or itchy eyes.

So what is the solution?  Yes you guessed – artificial flowers!. Not only do artificial flowers stop you sneezing but they can last forever if you look after them, and as such will save you more money in the long run so that you have more money in your pocket.

Today there are many homes, hotels, offices and restaurants that use the alternative to real flowers.  Artificial flowers if arranged correctly can give any environment a touch of elegance without the hassle of all the maintenance one would expect with real flowers and plants. (i.e. no watering, no having to change the water regularly, and as such no spillages).

Not only can you get artificial flowers, but also plants and trees. So if you want something a little large in order to decorate a room or office then this could be the answer for you.

So what are the advantages and disadvantages to Artificial flowers:

Advantages

No insects

No spillages to clean up

You have the option to change them around when you feel like it (thus making it look like you have a new arrangement)

Low maintenance (a quick wash now and again)

No more worries about who will look after them, if you go away on holiday

Cheaper than buying fresh flowers every week

Disadvantages

Of course everything has a downside, and although your flowers are artificial you will still need to keep then dust free and clean. So an occasional wash in soapy water should do the trick.

Where can you buy them?

There are lots of sources for buying artificial flowers nowadays, which include the following:

Florist, Garden Centre, Department stores, and even your local Supermarket. 

The can be purchased individually so that you can create your own arrangement that will suit your particular needs, or you can ask for them to be arranged for you.

So goodbye to those sneezes and itchy eyes – I feel we have a solution do you?

5 Tips For Planting Roses

When spring is on its way and the ground is soft, it is the perfect time for planting roses. Roses have been a very popular bloom over the years, not only do they look good, but they smell wonderful too. 

However, planting roses cannot be done just anywhere or in just any climate. They need special care and treatment. Here are some tips that you need to consider in order to successfully grow roses:

1. Roses require about 4 to 6 hours of sunlight everyday. It would be best to plant your roses in a clear area where there are not too many trees or other types of plants. The reason behind this is that the rose may lack sunlight exposure and the roots are also likely to become intertwined with the rose and throttle its growth. If you wish to replace an old rose bush, you should remove about 1 ½ cubic feet of the old soil and replace it with new soil so that the newly planted rose will have fresh soil to start with. 

2. When thinking about the position of your roses you must consider the type of rose you are planting. Place ramblers and climbers along trellises, fences and next to pergolas or arches. This is important to consider because they need space to grow freely and these positions are perfect for bigger blooming roses. 

3. Roses will look good in island beds which can be mixed with perennials. Smaller roses make great edging plants, which are perfect for combining in front of taller species. Dig a hole large enough for the size of the root ball, but remember to loosen the soil in the bottom of the hole. You can also add bone meal which acts as a slow acting resource of phosphorus. This will help establish a healthy root growth for your roses. 

4. You should be careful when considering the planting depth as this depends on your climate. If you live in a cooler climate, plant roses deeper, but if you wish to plant in a pot, you must dig about 1 inch deeper than the usual potted level.

5. Make sure that you place roses in the hole carefully. The hole should be refilled with soil so that the roots are covered completely. Before you make the final covering, water the rose. Then mound the soil about 8 inches high around the base of the plant. The earth will keep the stems from drying out until the plant is completely rooted. As the leaves open, you can remove the excess soil that surrounds the plant.

These some important tips you need to consider when planting roses. It will be worth the effort, as your roses will bloom beautifully.