Hanging Baskets

Hanging Baskets and container gardens need regular maintenance to keep them looking their best.  Pinching off old flowers encourages new blooms and removes decaying material that can harbor disease.  Routine fertilization restores nutrients to the soil, resulting in better blooming performance and healthier foliage.

The Main Attraction

Do you want to create a haven for butterflies and hummingbirds?  If so, try planting some of the following annuals and perennials:  
 

Humming Bird Attractors	Butterfly Attractors
Alcea—Hollyhock	Achillea—Yarrow
Aquilegia—Columbine	Aster
Delphinium	Buddleia—Butterfly Bush
Digitalis—Foxglove	Caryopteris—Blue Mist Spirea
Heuchera—Coral Bells	Chrysothamnus—Rabbitbrush
Impatiens	Cosmos
Kniphofia—Red Hot Poker	Gaillardia—Blanket Flower
Lobelia—Cardinal Flower	Hemerocallis—Daylily
Lychnis—Maltese Cross	Lantana
Monarda—Bee Balm	Lavender
Nasturtium	Liatris
Nicotiana—Flowering Tobacco	Ligustrum—Privet
Penstemon—Beardtongue	Phylox
Petunia	Rhus—Sumac
Phlox	Rudbeckia—Black Eyed Susan
Salvia	Salvia
Snapdragon	Syringa—Lilac
Stachys—Lamb’s Ear	Verbena

70 Beats a Minute

If you’ve lived in Colorado for very long, you’ve probably seen hummingbirds in our region as they migrate through each year.  While red sugar-type feeders are a good way to attract them, you might also consider planting a hummingbird garden.

To attract these little beauties, think tubular!  Hummingbirds expend an incredible amount of energy flapping their wings 70 beats per minute!  To this end, they have to eat one half their body weight in food each day.  Tubular flowers are often rich in nectar, providing a good food source.  Although these birds will feed from flowers of all different colors, they are particularly attracted to the color red.  

Old Wives’ Tales—Truth or Nonsense??

Just where do folklore and wives’ tales fit into the actual scheme of gardening?  Is it just plain old wisdom, or is it tried and true methods passed down from generation to generation?  Check out a few of these and let us know what you think.

• About Houseplants:  If you let the plant suffer a bit while it is small, it will grow into a stronger, healthy plant. (Can you do this with kids, too??)

• About Tomatoes:  Eat tomatoes to prevent sunburn.  (Even if they don’t, they are loaded with vitamins!)

• About Garden Pests:  To get rid of slugs, fill up a saucer with beer and place it strategically in the garden.  (Let those little guys party till they die!)

• About Gardening in General:  Plant only at sunrise or sunset.  (Good advice to avoid high mid-day temperatures and sun)

Plant and Soil Coverages

Thrip Attack!

Although keeping a plant too wet can cause flower buds to brown and drop, another common cause in Colorado is due to a tiny bug.  Western flower thrip attacks many types of flowers including roses and geraniums.  If the rest of your plant looks healthy and the flowers just won’t open, you might have thrip.  To identify this bug, try this—open up a bud and blow gently.  If you see thin brown bugs that look like tiny slivers of wood moving around, thrip are present.  One of the best ways to get rid of these pests is to spray with a pesticide that contains the active ingredient spinosad.  If the infestation is really bad, you may need to prune off the buds that are most affected.  After a treatment or two, the flower should develop new buds free from thrip.  

For any questions you have on this article, or any topic of concern, email us—or better yet, come by and talk to one of our professional staff members.  Remember, Phelan Gardens is open year-round! 

For additional information, check the following links:

• Choosing a Soil Amendment
• Xeriscape soil amendments
• Attracting Butterflies to the Garden
• Butterfly Gardening
• Hummingbird Gardening
• NCSU ENT-ort-72 Western Flower Thrips