Home Gardener's Annuals E-Book

Miranda Smith

• Herausgeber: Creative Homeowner
• Kategorie: Lebensstil
• Serie: Specialist Guide
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2018

Seitenzahl: 186

Beschreibung

Planting annuals is a great way to quickly add color and texture to any garden, border, or landscape. Because annuals only last for one growing season, homeowners can change the overall look of their gardens every year. Home Gardener's Annuals shows readers how to prepare the soil, select the right plants, when and how to plant the plants, fertilize the plants, and maintain their gardens. Hundreds of step-by-step color photographs illustrate the gardening tasks that will achieve the best results. This guide to creating beautiful gardens with eye-catching annuals also offers tips for saving time and money, along with useful advice on dealing with common garden pests and diseases.

Leseprobe

Copyright © 2009, 2018 Creative Homeowner

Originally published as Smart Guide: Annuals (978-1-58011-419-6) by Creative Homeowner.

This book may not be reproduced, either in part or in its entirety, in any form, by any means, without written permission from the publisher, with the exception of brief excerpts for purposes of radio, television, or published review. All rights, including the right of translation, are reserved. Note: Be sure to familiarize yourself with manufacturer’s instructions for tools, equipment, and materials before beginning a project. Although all possible measures have been taken to ensure the accuracy of the material presented, neither the author nor the publisher is liable in case of misinterpretation of directions, misapplication, or typographical error.

Creative Homeowner® is a registered trademark of New Design Originals Corporation.

This book is part of the Specialist Guide series. For other books in this series, visit www.creativehomeowner.com.

Print ISBN 978-1-58011-802-6

eSBN 978-1-60765-508-4

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Title: Home gardener’s annuals.

Other titles: Home gardener’s specialist guide series.

Description: Mount Joy, PA : Creative Homeowner, [2018] | Series: Home gardener’s specialist guide series | “Originally published as Smart guide: annuals (978-1-58011-419-6) by Creative Homeowner.” | Includes index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2017037937 | ISBN 9781580118026 (pbk.)

Subjects: LCSH: Annuals (Plants) | Flower gardening.

Classification: LCC SB422 .S65 2018 | DDC 635.9/312--dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017037937

We are always looking for talented authors. To submit an idea, please send a brief inquiry to [email protected].

Creative Homeowner®, www.creativehomeowner.com, is an imprint of New Design Originals Corporation and distributed exclusively in North America by Fox Chapel Publishing Company, Inc., 800-457-9112, 903 Square Street, Mount Joy, PA 17552, and in the United Kingdom by Grantham Book Service, Trent Road, Grantham, Lincolnshire, NG31 7XQ.

Contents

Safety First

Introduction

ABOUT ANNUALS

Benefits of annuals

Annual hardiness

Starting plants from seeds

GARDEN DESIGN

Planning

Fitting the garden into the setting

Garden shapes and sizes

Garden styles

Making good use of containers

Working with color

GARDEN BASICS

Working the soil

Maintaining the garden

Soil amendments and fertilizers

Controlling pests and diseases

Caring for annuals

Collecting and saving seeds

DRYING FLOWERS

Gardens for dried arrangements

A-Z OF FAVORITE ANNUALS

Zone maps

Glossary

Photo credits

Metric Conversion

Length

1 inch

25.4 mm

1 foot

0.3048 m

1 yard

0.9144 m

1 mile

1.61 km

Area

1 square inch

645 mm2

1 square foot

0.0929 m2

1 square yard

0.8361 m2

1 acre

4046.86 m2

1 square mile

2.59 km2

Volume

1 cubic inch

16.3870 cm3

1 cubic foot

0.03 m3

1 cubic yard

0.77 m3

Common Lumber Equivalents

Sizes: Metric cross sections are so close to their U.S. sizes, as noted below, that for most purposes they may be considered equivalents.

Dimensional

1 x 2

19 x 38 mm

lumber

1 x 4

19 x 89 mm

2 x 2

38 x 38 mm

2 x 4

38 x 89 mm

2 x 6

38 x 140 mm

2 x 8

38 x 184 mm

2 x 10

38 x 235 mm

2 x 12

38 x 286 mm

Sheet

4 x 8 ft.

1200 x 2400 mm

sizes

4 x 10 ft.

1200 x 3000 mm

Sheet

¼ in.

6 mm

thicknesses

⅜ in.

9 mm

½ in.

12 mm

¾ in.

19 mm

Stud/joist

16 in. o.c.

400 mm o.c.

spacing

24 in. o.c.

600 mm o.c.

Capacity

1 fluid ounce

29.57 mL

1 pint

473.18 mL

1 quart

1.14 L

1 gallon

3.79 L

Weight

1 ounce

28.35g

1 pound

0.45kg

Temperature

Celsius = Fahrenheit − 32 x 5/9

Fahrenheit = Celsius x 1.8 + 32

Safety First

All projects and procedures in this book have been reviewed for safety; still it is not possible to overstate the importance of working carefully. What follows are reminders for plant care and project safety. Always use common sense.

■Always use caution, care, and good judgment when following the procedures in this book.

■Always determine locations of underground utility lines before you dig, and then avoid them by a safe distance. Buried lines may be for gas, electricity, communications, or water. Contact local utility companies who will help you map their lines.

■Always read and heed tool manufacturer instructions.

■Always ensure that the electrical setup is safe; be sure that no circuit is overloaded and that all power tools and electrical outlets are properly grounded and protected by a ground-fault circuit interrupter (GCFI). Do not use power tools in wet locations.

■Always wear eye protection when using chemicals, sawing wood, pruning trees and shrubs, using power tools, and striking metal onto metal or concrete.

■Always consider nontoxic and least toxic methods of addressing unwanted plants, plant pests, and plant diseases before resorting to toxic methods. Follow package application and safety instructions carefully.

■Always read labels on chemicals, solvents, and other products; provide ventilation; heed warnings.

■Always wear a hard hat when working in situations with potential for injury from falling tree limbs.

■Always wear appropriate gloves in situations in which your hands could be injured by rough surfaces, sharp edges, thorns, or poisonous plants.

■Always protect yourself against ticks, which can carry Lyme disease. Wear light-colored, long-sleeved shirts and pants. Inspect yourself for ticks after every session in the garden.

■Always wear a disposable face mask or a special filtering respirator when creating sawdust or working with toxic gardening substances.

■Always keep your hands and other body parts away from the business end of blades, cutters, and bits.

■Always obtain approval from local building officials before undertaking construction of permanent structures.

■Never employ herbicides, pesticides, or toxic chemicals unless you have determined with certainty that they were developed for the specific problem you hope to remedy.

■Never allow bystanders to approach work areas where they might by injured by workers or work-site hazards. Make sure all work sites are well marked.

■Never work with power tools when you are tired, or under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

■Never carry sharp or pointed tools, such as knives or saws, in your pocket.

Introduction

VERSATILE ANNUALS

Home Gardener’s Annuals provides the information you need to include these remarkable plants in your landscape design. Annuals usually last one growing season, but they offer season-long color and texture to your garden. You can start them from seeds inside and then move the seedlings outdoors when the weather permits, or you can purchase seedlings and even started plants from home and garden centers. Use annuals in gardens and borders just as you would perennials and bulbs, and annuals are natural choices for window boxes. Also, containers of annuals allow you to change the look of your patio or deck as the season progresses.

Annuals come in a variety of colors, leaf and bloom shapes, and sizes. For these reasons, annuals are indispensable when combined with perennials and bulbs. Use perennials to form the backbone of your landscape; enlist annuals to provide swaths of color in your garden and to fill in bare spots. And you can experiment by choosing different annuals from year to year for your garden.

Home Gardener’s Annuals will show you how to pick the best plants and provide the conditions to make your annuals thrive. There is also a section on drying flowers.

About Annuals

Benefits of annuals

What are annuals?

Annuals are wonderfully versatile plants. While some gardeners don’t consider annuals “serious” garden plants, most think they are indispensable. A far greater variety of annuals is available in garden centers and seed catalogs than ever before—every year, you find a wider choice of colors, forms, cultivars, and even species.

USING ANNUALS

When used intelligently, annuals can serve a host of functions. No longer the poor relations in a flower garden, they are planted in beds and borders, either by themselves or mixed with perennials. They burst into lavish bloom early and continue to provide color as perennials come and go throughout the season. Annuals make excellent companions to spring bulbs, and their leaves and flowers eventually hide the yellowing bulb foliage. They can be used to fill gaps between shrubs and foundation plantings or can be grown around tree trunks, where their massed colors can brighten the shade.

Many annuals are classic container and window-box plants; they bring instant color to patios, decks, porches, and rooftops. They can intermingle with vegetables and herbs to dress up the food garden or soften the harsh look of a front sidewalk and extend a welcome to your visitors.

Annuals are a convenient and easy way to grow flowers in a whole spectrum of colors; you can find an annual to fit into any color scheme. Many make excellent cut flowers, providing armloads of blossoms for lavish and inexpensive bouquets. Some can be potted up in autumn and brought indoors to continue flowering well into winter.

WHAT IS AN ANNUAL?

To botanists, an annual is a plant that completes its entire life cycle in a single growing season. But to gardeners, the category may also include biennial plants that will bloom from seed in one season if given an early start indoors, as well as tender perennials that are killed by frost and thus treated as annuals in all but frost-free climates.

The annual palette contains all the colors of the rainbow. This garden (below, left) contrasts golden marguerites and perennial tansy with purple heliotrope and verbena.

Fill a corner with color by combining hanging baskets and pots of annuals. In the garden shown below right, sweet alyssum and lobelia freshen a warm mix of petunias and nasturtiums.

Durable annuals

Annuals growing near driveways, streets, and sidewalks are subjected to stress from dust, fumes, and traffic. Choose tough plants like those listed below for these difficult locations.

• Cosmos (Cosmos species)

• Sunflower (Helianthus annuus)

• Blackfoot daisy (Leucanthemum paludosum)

• Zonal geranium (Pelargonium × hortorum)

• Petunia (Petunia × hybrida)

• Rose moss (Portulaca grandiflora)

• Marigold (Tagetes species)

ANNUALS BY HARDINESS

Hardy Annuals

Grow best in cool weather; tolerate a reasonable degree of frost

• Bachelor’s button (Centaurea cyanus)

• China pink (Dianthus chinensis)

• Flowering cabbage and kale (Brassica oleracea)

• Pansy (Viola x wittrockiana)

• Pot marigold (Calendula officinalis)

• Rocket larkspur (Consolida ambigua)

• Snapdragon (Antirrhinum majus)

• Sunflower (Helianthus annuus)

• Sweet alyssum (Lobularia maritima)

Rocket Larkspurs

Half-Hardy

Prefer cool weather but are damaged by repeated exposure to frost

• Blackfoot daisy, Melampodium (Leucanthemum paludosum, Melampodium leucanthum)

• Dahlberg daisy (Thymophylla tenuiloba)

• Dwarf morning-glory (Convolvulus tricolor)

• Edging lobelia (Lobelia erinus)

• Flowering tobacco (Nicotiana × sanderae)

• Licorice plant (Helichrysum petiolare)

• Marguerite (Argyranthemum frutescens)

• Marigold (Tagetes species)

• Mealycup sage (Salvia farinacea)

• Petunia (Petunia × hybrida)

• Scarlet sage (Salvia splendens)

• Spider flower (Cleome hassleriana)

• Strawflower (Helichrysum bracteatum)

• Yellow sage (Lantana camara)

Petunias

Tender

Need warm weather; can’t tolerate any frost

• Cardina cimber, Cypress vine (Ipomoea × mutifida, I. quamocit)

• China aster (Caistephus chinensis)

• Cockscomb (Ceosia argentea)

• Coeus (Soenostemon scutearioides)

• Cosmos (Cosmos bipinnatus, C. suphureus)

• Dusty mier (Senecio cineraria)

• Fanfower (Scaevoa aemua)

• Fossfower (Ageratum houstonianum)

• Fuchsia (Fuchsia hybrids)

• Gobe amaranth (Gomphrena gobosa)

• Heiotrope (Heiotropium arborescens)

• Impatiens, New Guinea impatiens (Impatiens species)

• ove-ies-beeding, Joseph’s coat (Amaranthus species)

• Madagascar periwinke (Catharanthus roseus)

• Mexican sunfower (Tithonia rotundifoia)

• Morning glory, moonfower (Ipomoea species)

• Nasturtium (Tropaeoum species)

• Nemesia (Nemesia strumosa)

• Rose moss (Portuaca grandifora)

• Sapphire flower (Browallia speciosa)

• Sweet potato vine (Ipomoea batatas)

• Wax begonia (Begonia Semperflorens-Cultorum hybrids)

• Wishbone flower (Torenia fournieri)

• Zinnia (Zinnia species)

• Zonal geranium, ivy geranium (Pelargonium species)

Zinnias

ANNUAL HARDINESS

Annuals are categorized as hardy, tender, or half-hardy according to their tolerance to cool temperatures.

Hardy annuals such as bachelor’s button, calendula, and larkspur grow best in cool temperatures and can withstand some frost and freezing. They are often started from seeds sown directly in the garden. In Zones 7 and colder, gardeners can sow hardy annuals outdoors as soon as the soil can be worked in spring. Some annuals can even be sown the previous fall. In Zones 8 and warmer, gardeners more often sow hardy annuals in fall for flowers in winter or early spring.

Tender annuals such as impatiens, cockscomb, and zinnia are sensitive to cold. In most areas, they are started indoors and transplanted outdoors after the frost-free date, when the soil is warm. An indoor start is particularly important in areas with a short frost-free growing season.

A third category of plants—half-hardy annuals—is accepted by some horticulturists but not by others.

Half-hardy annuals are in between the other two types in terms of hardiness and include marguerite, lobelia, and petunia. Half-hardy plants like cool weather and tolerate a bit of light frost but are damaged by repeated exposure to frost and freezing. Gardeners in all but the warmest climates (Zones 8 to 11) start them early indoors and plant them out when frost danger is past.

STARTING PLANTS FROM SEEDS

Growing your own seedlings affords you a greater choice of plants and cultivars for your garden than purchasing plants from the local garden center. And seeds are much cheaper than plants sold by mail-order nurseries. You can sow seeds for hardy plants directly in the garden. But tender plants and slow-growing ones are often started indoors to produce plants that flower earlier than they would if sown outdoors.

Before you plant any seeds, be sure the containers and tools you plan to use are clean because seedlings are easy prey for disease-causing organisms. If you are reusing starting containers, scrub them out with a 10 percent bleach solution, and let them dry before filling them with soil.

Many people start seeds in a sterile soil mix or growing medium. A number of commercial seedstarting mixes are available, but you can make one from equal parts of peat moss, vermiculite, and perlite. Add two parts of fully finished, good compost to this basic mixture if you want the potting soil to supply nutrients for the first few weeks. Although compost is not sterile, it usually contains enough beneficial microorganisms to combat injurious ones.

PLANTING SEEDS

Most seed packets carry instructions for planting depth and spacing. A general rule of thumb is to plant seeds at a depth that is two to three times their diameter. Tiny seeds (those of begonias or snapdragons, for example) can be mixed with sand to help separate them and make them easier to handle; sprinkle this mixture on top of the potting mix. Most tiny seeds need light to germinate, so it’s important not to cover them after planting. When you mist the soil surface to water them, they’ll work themselves into tiny niches that will keep them moist. Plant larger seeds in individual holes, or make furrows as you do in the outdoor garden.

Some gardeners cover their seeds with a thin layer of fine sphagnum moss to protect the seedlings from damping-off (a lethal fungal disease). Sphagnum moss has fungicidal properties. If you use it in your seed flats, make sure it stays moist at all times. When the moss dries out it becomes hard and stiff, and tender seedlings may have difficulty penetrating it. Although it was used to dress wounds during World War II because of its fungicidal properties, some people experience skin irritations if it gets into cuts or scratches; wear gloves when you work with it.

Temperature. The best temperature for germination varies from plant to plant. Generally speaking, tender (frost-sensitive) plants usually sprout best in warm temperatures of 70° to 75°F. Cool-season flowers germinate better in cooler temperatures around 60° to 65°F. Some plants need a period of freezing or cooling at temperatures of 35° to 40°F before they can germinate. Seed packets often supply this information.

Sow seeds that are large enough to easily handle one or two at a time into flats, cell packs, peat pots, or other containers of moist potting mix.

Carefully cover seeds that don’t need light to germinate by sprinkling fine, loose, moist potting mix over them to the correct depth.

Light. Seedlings need plenty of light as soon as they break through the soil surface. Fluorescent fixtures are the best way to supply light for indoor seedlings. Their light is very even, and the plants don’t need to be turned to grow straight. You can use special “grow light” tubes, full-spectrum daylight lamps, or a combination of warm white and cool white tubes. Set the lights on a timer so they’re on for 16 hours a day. The tops of the seedlings should be no more than 3 or 4 inches below the lights for the first couple of weeks; later you can gradually raise the lights to 5 inches above the leaves. Start out with the seedling flats elevated on some sort of stand that can be gradually lowered as the plants grow taller. (A pile of books works nicely.) Or suspend the light fixture on chains that you can raise or lower as the plants grow.

If you want to try growing seedlings without using artificial lighting, your best bet is a south-facing window covered with sheer curtains (to keep the heat from becoming too intense) or a bright, unshaded east or west window. Turn the flats every day to keep the stems growing straight.

Water. Seeds and young seedlings need to be watered carefully so that the seeds aren’t washed out of the soil and the delicate new roots aren’t disturbed. The best approach is to water from below, setting the flats or pots in lukewarm water in a sink or special watering tray. Watering from below allows you to evenly and thoroughly moisten the soil without dislodging seeds or tiny seedlings, as can happen with a stream of water from overhead. Set flats or pots in a container of water an inch or so deep until the soil surface feels moist, or use a specially made flat and wicking mat. This method gives you the most control over the amount of water your plants receive. Another technique is to mist the soil surface with a plant mister until the soil is thoroughly moistened. If you use this method, be sure to keep an eye on the soil. Make sure your seedlings don’t dry out; water stress can set back young plants permanently, so you will need to be attentive until the plants are well established. But don’t overwater either. Constantly soggy soil encourages root rot and damping-off. Water your seedlings when the soil is somewhat dry—early enough so that leaves can dry by dark.

Fluorescent lights provide a very even light to plants. For best results, use a timer to keep the light on the plants for 16 hours each day.

Feeding seedlings

Because the soilless mixes for seed-starting contain almost no nutrients, you’ll have to supply some as soon as seedlings develop their first true leaves (the second set they form). But don’t go overboard; overfertilizing seedlings can result in weak, floppy plants more prone to problems. Young seedlings can’t handle full-strength fertilizer. Dilute liquid fertilizers to one-quarter the recommended strength (or if you use fish emulsion, half strength). Use the diluted fertilizer once a week for the first three or four weeks. After that, gradually work up to using a normal dilution.

If you’ve added compost to the seed-starting mix, you can probably wait to feed your seedlings until they are four or five weeks old. But check their color every day; at the first sign or yellowing or purpling, begin feeding once a week with a half-strength dilution of liquid fertilizer.

TRANSPLANTING PLANTS IN PEAT POTS

Seedlings in peat pots need special treatment at transplanting time; peat pots can be so rigid that roots have difficulty breaking through them. Set the pots in a water-filled tray for 30 minutes to an hour before transplanting. When you plant, tear through the sides of each pot, and place the seedling so that the pot rim is below the soil surface, left. You may need to tear off the top ½ inch or so; if the rim sticks out of the soil, it can dry and act as a wick, drawing moisture out of the soil and evaporating it into the air. On a sunny, breezy day this wicking action can cause serious water stress for young plants.

Harden off seedlings in a cold frame by opening the lid for a gradually increasing length of time over several days, finally leaving it open all night, middle.

Thin seedlings by snipping them off with sharp scissors instead of pulling them up to avoid disturbing nearby roots, right.

THINNING AND TRANSPLANTING SEEDLINGS

When the seedlings develop their first true leaves—the second set of leaves to grow but the first that have the plant’s characteristic shape—it’s time to thin. You can thin by pulling up unwanted seedlings individually, snipping off the stems at soil level with nail scissors, or carefully lifting and transplanting the young plants to other containers.

Spacing for seedlings in flats or pots depends on the size of their leaves, but 3 inches is considered a good average spacing distance. Crowding seedlings together increases root competition, encourages the spread of damping-off and other diseases, and causes plants to shade each other, which makes them spindly. To avoid problems, keep seedlings far enough apart so their leaves don’t touch. When the leaves threaten to touch each other, the plants are probably big enough to go into individual pots or, if weather conditions are appropriate, outdoors into the garden. (See “Transplanting Outdoors,” right.)

If you’ve grown seedlings in an unsegmented flat, cut the soil into blocks a few days before transplanting. The cut roots will heal before the plants are transplanted.

HARDENING OFF