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Tag: Teri Keith

The ABCs of Hanging Basket Creation and Care

Dark Eyes Fuchsia is a stellar variety with glowing flowers that attract hummingbirds.

Spring is finally here, and many of us have been bitten by the Flower Bug. We are looking forward to beautiful pots on the deck and hanging baskets on the front porch full of gorgeous flowers. It is fun to make up your own hanging baskets, using last year’s baskets or new ones. The key to success is choosing the right pots, soil, and plants, and then giving them the right care. If you get everything right, you’ll have beautiful baskets all season long.

A. Choosing a Basket

There are many types of hanging baskets. Those made of natural materials are more free-draining and lose water faster.

There are many types of hanging baskets made of different materials. Self-watering plastic baskets or those made of ceramic hold water the best, while coir-lined wire baskets or those made of resin rattan and wood drain freely but often lose water more readily. Solid baskets hold onto water better but lack the appealing look of the coir baskets and do not drain as well. Baskets are available at garden centers, nurseries, and big box stores. Buy large ones if you want more than one plant per basket. They will have room for both trailing and mounded plants and also require less water.

Reusing old baskets is also practical and economical. Just be sure to dump out the old soil, wash them thoroughly with soap and warm water, and let them dry in the sun before use.

B. Choosing Hanging Basket Plants

Premade mixed baskets look gorgeous at garden centers, but overpacked baskets like this one will quickly become stressed due to competition.

I like to plant up my own baskets because it is less costly and allows me to be creative. Others may prefer to buy fully grown, complete baskets. These are always lush and beautiful, but be wary before you buy. Those planted up with too many plants tend not to last because they are too crowded. They will look good in the short-term but will quickly lose their luster.

Cascading Begonia ‘Apricot’ is a strong bloomer.

If you take the more economical approach, here are some favorite hanging basket plants that have grown well for me. As a bonus, almost all the flowers listed here are loved by bees, hummingbirds, and butterflies.

Cascading begonias (Begonia x tuberhybrida Pendula Group) like shade, especially in hot weather. Further north where summers are milder, they can be grown in partial sun, but in the Midwest and more Southern regions,  shade or filtered light will keep them looking their best. Cascading begonias have large, glowing, flowers, in shades of yellow, pink, orange, and red, and will trail up to 20 inches over the sides of the basket. A truly spectacular selection is Illumination® Rose Tuberous Begonia, which cascades beautifully with double, rose-red flowers. ‘Apricot’ is another exceptional form with double apricot blooms that truly hang downwards.

Fuchsia (Fuchsia hybrids) are among the most beautiful cascading plants with pendulous flowers that attract hummingbirds. They will grow well in full sun or partial shade, but shadier locations are preferred in areas with hot, dry summers. Fuchsias have tubular inner flowers with showy outer sepals that often curve back. Usually, the flowers are bi-colored, with blooms in differing colors or shades of

‘Balcon Royale Red’ ivy geranium is an excellent heat-tolerant option.

crimson, pink, purple, and white. Especially stunning are those with double flowers and ruffled edges. Dark Eyes trailing fuchsia is one with red sepals and a purplish inner ruffle. When buying fuchsia at garden centers, choose larger, well-established specimens for a faster summer show, and don’t allow them to get dry in the pots for any length of time.

Ivy geraniums (Pelargonium peltatum) are cascading annuals that enjoy full sun and can take the heat.  They cascade up to 20 inches and are called ivy geraniums for their ivy-shaped leaves. They branch well, keeping the stems thick with flowers. Most of the flowers are single, but a few are semi-double.  They come in shades of pink, red, salmon, and white, and they like full sun. Try the classic ‘Balcon Royale Red’, a reliable form that produces loads of bright red flowers and can cascade down to 3-feet.

Petunias and calibrachoa are good container companions.

Petunias (Petunia hybrids) are old sun-loving favorites that have been bred into the most fabulous new varieties.  In particular, look for Proven Winners Supertunias.  Both the regular-sized Supertunias and Mini Vistas will mound in the center and spill over the sides of a basket. Last year I grew Supertunia® Mini Vista™ Violet Star, a striped purple-and-white flowered form with small, less than 1-inch-wide flowers.  It never needed deadheading or pruning and just stayed perfect until the end of the season.  These petunias come in many colors and blends.

Trailing verbenas (Verbena hybrids) tolerate heat and sun very well and will continue to bloom and perform with regular water. Keep an eye out for the Lanai Series of lantanas. They form a 10-inch tall mound that stays looking beautiful all summer and cascades 18 inches over the side. Lanai® Blue Verbena, with its pure violet-blue flowers, is very eyecatching. Proven Winners Superbenas are even more high performing and bloom nonstop all summer. The apple-blossom pink Superbena Sparkling® Rosé is my favorite.

Calibrachoa (Calibrachoa hybrids) look like very small petunias.  Of these, I

Superbells Blue Moon Punch has striking, dark-eyed flowers.

like Superbells® varieties, but Million Bells® are also reliable. They are available in many different colors with doubles and single flowers (click here to view them all).  Superbelles create a 6- to 12-inch mound in the center of the basket that cascades to 2 feet over the edges. Superbells® Blue Moon Punch™  is a cool lavender with a purple eye that mixes well with pink or white Superbenas. Calibrachoa need full sun but also do well in half-day sun.

Other plant ideas for hanging baskets include the use of just foliage plants. Think beyond your average Boston fern, as pretty as they are. Ornamental sweet potato vine (Ipomoea batatas hybrids), golden moneywort (Lysimachia nummularia ‘Aurea’), dichondra (Dichondra argentea), variegated ivy (Hedera helix hybrids), and small-leafed thymes, such as wooly (Thymus pseudolanuginosis), creeping pink (Thymus serpyllum), and lemon (Thymus x citriodorus) thymes, are all easy to grow in baskets. Gardeners with very little time can even try growing the effortless succulent string-of-pearls and its relatives (click here to learn more about growing string-of-pearls.).

My list offers just a sample of what’s available, so look beyond it. I recommend checking out some of Proven Winners hanging basket recipes, as well as other online sources. There are so many wonderful hanging basket plants for sun and shade.

C. Planting and Caring for Hanging Baskets

Planting up hanging baskets is easy.

Choose soil that holds lots of water but is also aerated. Black Gold has several excellent options. Black Gold Moisture Supreme Container Mix has a very high water-holding capacity, as does Black Gold Waterhold Cocoblend, which is OMRI Listed for organic gardening. Both contain all-natural Sun-Coir, which retains water for a long time.

When deciding upon plant sizes, keep in mind that those in small cell packs take much longer to grow than fuller plants in 4-inch pots, so choose the latter if you want a faster show. Also, consider the growing needs, appearance, and mature size of each plant to make sure they will look good and grow well together. For example, a trailing fuchsia planted alongside a variegated ivy would be a good combination for shade. In many cases, however, one full plant per basket is sufficient.

At planting time, fill the bottom of the basket with potting soil. If planting more than one plant per pot, be sure to place them several inches away from one another. Gently pull their roots apart if they are rootbound. Be sure to cover the roots and continue filling until the surface of the soil is just below the basket rim. Then feed with a time-released fertilizer, such as Proven Winners Continuous Release Plant Food, using the manufacturer’s recommendations.

Watering hanging baskets properly is the biggest challenge for many gardeners. Don’t forget that hanging baskets dry out faster than pots, window boxes, or rail planters because they are more exposed and often smaller. As the roots fill up the basket, they have less room to spread and often need watering every day. Underwatering is the most common problem with hanging baskets, but on rare occasions, shade baskets can be overwatered, resulting in root rot. Be sure you invest in a long-necked watering head to make it easier to reach the baskets.

If some of the plants should start looking ratty by midsummer, just do a light pruning when you put in the fresh fertilizer, and they will bounce back.

Nothing looks prettier than a patio or porch lined with festive hanging baskets. I hope this gets you started dreaming about summer, and the beauty that comes with it. Who knows, maybe we can go outdoors by then.

Growing And Enjoying Old-Fashioned Lilacs

The French heirloom double lilac ‘Montaigne’ is a very fine bloomer. (Image by Jessie Keith)

Nothing is more fragrant than classic lilacs in spring.  I am a lilac nut and have 21 different varieties growing in my yard. When they are blooming, it is hard to stay indoors, unless, of course, you pick a few to enjoy in a vase.

Lilacs (Syringa vulgaris, USDA Hardiness Zones 3-7) come from the mountains of southeastern Europe. In 1563, the Austrian Ambassador to Istanbul brought back shoots of the wild blue lilac in his luggage and introduced the rest of Europe to this shrub. They became an instant hit, especially in France. Soon after, both purple and white lilacs were found in people’s gardens, and gardeners began to actively select unique forms. Lilacs came to America in the 1600s, still with either purple or white flowers and no outstanding named selections.

Great Lilacs and Their Histories

One of my favorite lilacs is ‘Charles Joly’, with its fragrant, double, deep magenta flowers in mid-May. (Image by Jessie Keith)

In the early 1800s, Europeans began developing improved white and dark purple lilacs and new colors, such as clear rose. But it wasn’t until a French nurseryman, Victor Lemoine (1876-1927) from Nancy, France, became interested in lilacs and began breeding them that many of the most beautiful lilacs ever were developed. He bred them for much of his life and named over 153 classic varieties, many of which are still sold at garden centers today. His double-flowered varieties have never been surpassed. One of my favorites is ‘Charles Joly’, with very fragrant, double, deep magenta flowers in mid-May. It is still considered the best lilac in its color range. Other of his bests include the award-winning  ‘Miss Ellen Willmott’, a superb double bloomer with large, white flowers, ‘Montaigne’ (1907), an excellent pink and white double, and ‘Madame Charles Souchet’, a very showy variety with large florets of pale to medium lilac-blue.

The lilac ‘Primrose’ has the palest yellow flowers.

The second great breeder of lilacs was the American Father Fiala (1924-1990). In the nineteen forties, this parish priest in Ohio began working with his favorite flower as a hobby, a love inspired by the lilacs in his grandmother’s extensive garden. Father Fiala developed 50 different varieties of lilacs and was working on new ones when he died in 1990. Some of his best are ‘Marie Frances’ (8 feet), a true pink, very fragrant form, the equally fragrant ‘Blanche Sweet’ (8 feet) that has blue flowers tinged with pink, the true-blue ‘Wedgewood Blue’ (6 feet), double white-flowered ‘Avalanche’ (10 feet), and ‘Primrose’ (12 feet) with its unusual, light yellow flowers.

Fiala was also a founder of the International Lilac Society and wrote the definitive book, ‘Lilacs – the Genus Syringa’, which is still in print and an essential resource for lilac lovers.

Two-tone ‘Sensation’ is a popular variety that’s easily found at nurseries.

Other lilacs well worth mentioning include the fantastic ‘Beauty of Moscow’, whose pink buds open to gorgeous, double, white flowers. The heirloom was bred by the Russian hybridizer Leonid Kolesnikov in 1943 and is still widely sold as a garden favorite. Another that is a perennial favorite is the bicolored ‘Sensation’, with large, unique reddish-purple flowers edged in white.

Growing Lilacs

The white flower panicles of  ‘Avalanche’ have double flowers.

These are long-lived shrubs that can survive for well over 100 years, so it is important to choose the best site for a lilac. Lilacs grow in Zones 3 to 7.  Any farther south is just too warm for their survival. They like full sun, unless you live in an area with high summer temperatures, in which case afternoon shade is a good idea.

Most of all, lilacs cannot tolerate wet feet. They have to have well-drained soil at all times. Soil that is average to poor with a neutral to alkaline pH is preferred. Established plants will tolerate dry soil. However, newly planted shrubs need to be kept moist for the first year until their roots are established. Mulch is the best way to conserve moisture in summer, but be sure to leave a 4-inch, mulch-free space around the base of the plant to avoid crown rot.  In a real drought (we had ten weeks with no rain last August to November), everything needs extra water.

Lilacs reach 6 to 15 feet tall and 4 to 12 feet wide, depending on the variety, so space them accordingly. When planting any shrub or tree, I find it helpful to mix some Black Gold Garden Soil into the dug up soil for good establishment. It is rich in organic matter and feeds plants for up to six months.

Pruning Lilacs

Lilacs can be pruned and trained as large hedges or small, multi-stemmed trees.

Prune just after shrubs bloom because they only flower on last year’s branches. If you prune in the fall or spring, you will cut off next year’s flowers. Cutting back some of the old, thick, trunks by one third will help promote new growth. In cases where severe pruning is needed, lilacs will tolerate hard or renewal pruning and can be cut back to just a couple of feet and regrow.

 

Lilac Pests and Concerns

Lilacs are long-lasting and remain fragrant in the vase.

There are several common problems that any lilac owner can expect. They are susceptible to powdery mildew, and some may get lilac borers, but I have noticed some lilacs are more resistant to the borers than others are.  In fact, out of my 21 lilacs, only 1 has borers. For powdery mildew, an easy, all-natural fix is the use of Green Cure foliar fungicide.

There are some nurseries online with an excellent lilac selection (The International Lilac Society has a good list of sources, click here to view them), but the only problem is that the plants are usually sold as 4- to 12-inch-tall specimens. Who wants to wait? Instead, I would suggest calling local nurseries in your area to see what lilacs they have.

There are so many reasons to plant lilacs. They are deer resistant, and birds, butterflies, and bees love them. Plant some of these old-fashioned shrubs for their super spring show.

Tough, Easy, Ever-Blooming Garden Flowers

Black and Blue salvia (left), Twisted Red celosia (top right), and French marigolds (bottom right)

If you want reliable, carefree, long-blooming flowers that still perform through hot, dry summers, they are not difficult to find. The best are longtime garden favorites as well as exciting new varieties, which are bred for even greater beauty, easier care, and higher disease resistance. It’s always nice to mix old-favorites with the newest and coolest plants available. If it’s easy and ever-blooming, it’s welcome in my garden.

For the last several years, we have experienced extra hot, dry periods in August and September, where I live in Bloomington, Indiana, so I almost always look for drought and heat tolerant annual flowers. Here are some that I have found to be the best for both containers and garden beds.

Salvias

Van Houttei scarlet sage is taller than most and has burgundy-red flowers. (Image by Jessie Keith)

Big, sun-loving salvias always have a place in my garden, and my favorites tolerate tough conditions and still look beautiful. Of all the purple salvias, and there are many of them, there is one that I like the best, Black and Blue salvia (Salvia guaranitica ‘Black and Blue’, USDA Hardiness Zones 8-10 ). It reaches around 3 feet tall but can be cut back easily, and produces intense indigo-blue flowers with black bases (calyces) all summer long. Plant it in a large container or well-drained flower bed where you can see it through a window and watch hummingbirds visit its flowers. When passing by, rub one of its fragrant, anise-scented leaves between your fingers. Some years ‘Black and Blue’ has reseeded in my garden, with a few new plants coming up in the spring.

This year I will be adding Amante salvia (Salvia ‘Amante’, Zones 8-10) to my garden for its bright fuchsia flowers with very dark calyces. ‘Amante’ can grow to 4 feet, so I will put mine at the back of a daylily bed, which loses color at the end of June. A final, bold, tough salvia that I am getting for the first time this year is the old-fashioned Van Houttei red salvia (Salvia spendens ‘Van Houttei’, Zones 9-11). ‘Van Houttei has spikes of burgundy-red, tubular flowers and is beloved by hummingbirds. Another 4 footer, it will be in the back of a flower bed with some afternoon shade to keep it looking its best. Like most red salvia, it should be deadheaded on occasion.

African and French Marigolds

Marigold Big Duck Orange (Image by AAS Winners)

Good companion plants to these tall salvias would be 2-foot African marigolds (Tagetes erecta) planted around the base. I suggest 2019 All America Selections Winner Big Duck Orange, which has large, fluffy, tangerine-orange flowers that bloom all summer long and even up until frost.

Marigolds are traditional garden flowers because they are so effortless to grow, tolerant of the worst summer weather, and they come in many heights and amazing shades of orange, yellow, red. The two most common types at garden centers are tall African marigolds and shorter, bushier French marigolds (Tagetes patula), which are generally 8 to 12 inches high. French marigolds grow well in pots and garden edges Those in the Disco Series, which reach 10 inches and have extra-large, single flowers of gold, orange, and orange-red, are extra pretty. Plant Disco Mix to get all of the colors in one packet.

Marigolds do require some deadheading to keep in top shape, and they require full sun and average soil with good drainage. They’re good flowers to plant around the vegetable garden as well because they help ward off harmful pests, particularly tomato root-knot nematodes, which damage tomato roots. (Click here to learn more about companion planting with marigolds.)

Celosias

Flamingo Feather spike celosia is a resilient, long bloomer.

Celosias love sun and heat! Spike celosia (Celosia spicata) is a very long-blooming choice with flowers of pink, white, or burgundy. It looks great even on the hottest days and tolerates drought very well. ‘Flamingo Feather’ is a long-standing variety that reaches 2.5 feet and bears spikes of pinkish flowers until fall.

Classic plume celosia (Celosia cristata var. plumosa) and cockscomb celosia (Celosia cristata var. cristata) have beautiful flowers that come in two distinct shapes, upright fluffy plumes and those that resemble cockscombs.  The flowers come in red, orange, yellow, deep rose, pink, and white and vary in height from 6 inches to 3 feet, depending on the variety. A long-time favorite plume celosia is the classic, award-winning ‘New Look‘ with its glowing red, 18″ plumes and purplish leaves. The scarlet ‘Twisted Red’ is a high-performing cockscomb type from Proven Winners that blooms continuously and reaches 18 inches.

In sunlight, celosia blooms are iridescent.  They need full sun, well-drained soil, and attract butterflies. Plant them in containers or flower borders

Supertunias

Supertunia® Vista® Bubblegum is a very high performer. (Image thanks to Proven Winners)

Good breeding has transformed the ordinary Petunia into something fantastic, the Supertunia®. The petunias in this series are drought-tolerant, heavy blooming, self-cleaning (no deadheading), and unbelievable. There are many types in a wide array of sizes and colors.

Supertunia Vista® varieties mound to 2 feet and trail or spread to 4 feet, making them perfect container or front-of-the-border flowers. Supertunia Vista® Bubblegum is a best-seller due to its high vigor and prolific bubblegum-pink flowers. Supertunia® Black Cherry has gorgeous deep-red flowers that fade into an almost black center.

Last year Proven Winners sent me Supertunia® Mini Vista™ Violet Star plants to try, which have small purple-and-white-striped flowers, as well as some colorful Calibrachoa Superbells® varieties. The plants looked similar until the heat hit. All my other Superbells started looking stressed in the hot summer weather, but Mini Vista™ Violet Star was gorgeous all season. All of the Mini Vistas have small flowers, like Calibrachoa, but are heat and drought-resistant, so they will be my choice from now on.

Profusion Zinnias

Zinnia ‘Profusion Red’ is a 2017 AAS Winner.

Zinnias are a real mainstay of the hot, dry, sunny garden.  There are zinnias of many heights and habits, but I grow only one type, those in the Profusion series.  They were a real breakthrough when they were first introduced in the early 1990s because compact, spreading Profusion zinnias are everblooming, tough as nails, and very disease resistant. Depending on the variety, the plants become covered with cherry, gold, fire (bright orange-red), apricot, or white flowers all summer. Garden centers sell them or you can grow your own from seed. Seeds for the Profusion AAS Mix contains three award-winners, Profusion Orange, Cherry, Red, and White.

Planting and Caring for Annuals

‘Twisted Red’ celosia is a great cockscomb type from Proven Winners.

At planting time, be sure that you site your plants in the best location for their growing needs, and prepare their soil for planting. When planting in the garden, amend the soil with Black Gold Garden Soil, which has added fertilizer that feeds plants for up to 6 months. Mix it in uniformly with the ground soil at planting time. Then mulch to help keep weeds at bay and help hold in soil moisture.

When planting in containers, Black Gold All Purpose Potting Mix is a great choice for potted flowers. Whether planting in pots or beds, I always add a quality, time-released fertilizer formulated for garden flowers, like Proven Winner Premium Continuous-Release Plant Food, which is formulated for flowers.

Being heat- and drought-tolerant does not mean plant and forget.  When watering garden plants, keep the soil moist, but not wet, until the plants are established, and then water them as needed as weather conditions become dry. After 1-2 weeks with no rain, everything will need to be watered.  Containers dry out faster than the garden, especially when the plants are mature, so check them daily for water during the high heat of summer.