Moxie Gardener

A single zinnia, possibly Z. linearis.

Zinnias are native to the American Southwest and Mexico. They are members of the Asteraceae family. Its cultivars number in the hundreds since breeding and hybridizing begin in the 19th century.

The more familiar species is Zinnia elegans, which includes most of the Zinnia cultivars including double flowered types that grow from one to three feet high. Zinnia linearis grows into a smaller, bushier plant and usually has single flowers. It is also more resistant to powdery mildew than Z. elegans. Hybrids between the two species show this resistance on plants that have traits of both parents.

Zinnias are one of the most popular seeds planted in school gardening projects. The seeds are large enough for little fingers to easily handle and they germinate and grow quickly, blooming within a couple of months of sowing.

You can get a jump on the season by starting zinnias indoors under lights about 4 to 6 weeks before the average date of your last spring frost. Harden off plants gradually and transplant into the garden after all danger of frost is past, about the time you plant your tomatoes outdoors.

Zinnias like full sun and soil that is rich in organic matter but loose and friable with good drainage. Their native home is in sandy soil and they will not grow in heavy clay soils.

The scourge of zinnias is powdery mildew. All varieties can show signs of the disease with those in the variety Zinnia linearis a little less susceptible. Space the plants the maximum distance recommended for the type you are growing. Don’t water after noon as this lessens the chance of the foliage being wet after sundown. If possible, don’t water with an overhead sprinkler.

Remember to deadhead your zinnias by removing faded flowers and they will continue to bloom until killed by frost. They are often one of the last flowers whose blooms still look good when other annuals have faded.

Zinnias make wonderful cut flowers. They last for a long time and their wide range of colors make them compatible in arrangements with most other flower varieties.

The small varieties look charming cut with short stems and placed in tiny vases or antique china teacups. Set them in unexpected places throughout the house.

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A clump of Asiatic lilies blooming at midsummer.

Lilies come in several different varieties with blooming times from midsummer through early fall. Plant some of each variety for a continuous supply of blooms throughout the growing season.

Although you can plant lily bulbs in spring, fall is the best time for planting as it gives them time to develop a strong root system before breaking into vegetative growth the following spring. Potted lilies in active growth can be planted in your garden at any time during the growing season.

Lilies are grown from bulbs with fleshy overlapping scales with no protective covering. Plant them soon after purchasing and don’t allow them to dry out.

Plant them in well drained soil in a site where water does not stand after rainfall. Dig down 12 inches and remove rocks. Add peat moss and compost to improve the soil and help with drainage. Add a little bone meal to the bottom of the hole according to the manufacturer’s recommended quantities and scratch it in with your garden claw.

A pleasing way to display lilies in the perennial garden is to plant them in groups of three or five bulbs, spacing the individual bulbs 8 to 12 inches apart. Space the groupings 3 to 5 feet apart. Small bulbs should be planted 2 to 4 inches deep and larger ones 4 to 6 inches deep, as measured from the top of the bulb up to the surface.

Spread an organic mulch like cocoa hulls over the bed. Just before the ground freezes for the winter, add a layer of protective mulch of evergreen boughs, hay, or fallen leaves.

Asiatic lilies start the lily season when they bloom around midsummer. The picture above is of Asiatic lilies blooming right now in Zone 4. Most types have flowers that face upward and have few markings on the petals. Hardy in Zones 4 to 9.

Trumpet lilies begin blooming at midsummer. They are named for their trumpet-shaped flowers and are hardy in Zones 5 to 9.

Tiger lilies bloom from midsummer on. They have freckled, pendulous blooms with petals that curve back on themselves. They multiply prolifically and will form large clumps in a few years. Each stem produces many flowers in warm colors from golden yellow, to orange, to red. Hardy in Zones 3 to 9.

Rubrum lilies bloom in late summer to early fall. They resemble Tiger lilies but come in cool colors from white to deep pink. Their blooms are sweetly fragrant. Hardy in Zones 4 to 9.

Oriental lilies start blooming in late July with some varieties not coming into bloom until late August or September. They are intensely fragrant with flowers that are up to 10 inches across. Hardy in Zones 4 to 9.

Orienpet lilies are a cross between an Oriental and a Trumpet lily. They bloom from mid to late July into mid August and can reach eight feet high. Flowers come in both warm and cool shades, with some varieties extremely fragrant. They prefer dappled sunlight or morning sun with afternoon shade. Hardy in Zones 4 to 9.

Plant a variety of lilies so you have a continuous supply of blooms from midsummer through fall.

Roses continuing to grow in an abandoned lot. How long will they live with no gardener to tend them?

Roses, well known to need copious amounts of water and attentive care, are growing in an abandoned, fenced parking lot.

What’s amazing to me is that we just had the third driest spring in our area since weather record keeping began over a hundred years ago.

Last fall a fast food restaurant in the neighborhood mysteriously closed in the middle of the work day. They put the address of their nearest restaurant on the marquee, boarded up the windows and put a chain link fence around the entire property.

Nearly nine months later, I couldn’t help but notice the roses growing in the formerly landscaped parking area.  The picture above was taken through the chain link fence erected to keep trespassers out.

Apparently the landscaping fabric in the rose bed is keeping enough of the weeds down to allow the rose to grow.

It brings to mind the many rose societies around the country that actively seek out and rescue old rose varieties. Many old roses are growing wild without assistance from gardeners. These roses are found in vacant lots, abandoned farmsteads and old cemeteries.  Heirloom rose preservation societies document, take cuttings of and propagate old roses so that they are not lost to us.

The goal of most of these societies is to collect so-called “old” roses—those developed before the genes of Chinese roses were bred into the gene pool. Although this may be the primary goal of heirloom rose rescuers, I’m betting many obscure “modern” rose varieties have found their way into the protection and cultivation of these organizations.

A rose lover will not refuse to grow a beautiful, unknown rose variety simply because it’s not old enough.

After all, “a rose is a rose is a rose.”

Look for more articles about roses this summer.

Geraniums are available as bedding plants everywhere.

Farmer’s Market Series

Geranium seeds were brought to Europe from South Africa in the 1600’s and proceeded to take Europe by storm.

Within just a few years they were cultivated in gardens and containers everywhere. Artists of the time featured them in their paintings as either subjects or background.

Geraniums are one of the most popular bedding plants. The geraniums in the picture at left are only a small sample of the many potted varieties available at the Farmer’s Market this week.

Originally classified by Linneaus as Geranium, the half-hardy annual geraniums we grow have since been reclassified as Pelargonium, while the Geranium genus encompasses hardy perennial geraniums.

Pelargonium is derived from a Greek word which means “crane’s bill,” a reference to the shape of their seeds, which hang down and resemble the bill of a crane.

Originally a light salmon color, plant breeders have selected or bred geraniums so that they are now available in a variety of shades of pink, red, magenta, and pure white.

Plant geraniums in full sun in rich well-drained soil. They’ll do alright in partial shade, particularly in areas with summer temperatures consistently above 90°, although they will produce fewer blooms.

Work compost into the soil prior to planting. Use a container potting mix for potted geraniums.

Feed every two weeks with a balanced liquid fertilizer, such as 20-20-20, or use a time-release fertilizer when planting.

Water geraniums thoroughly and then let the soil dry out between waterings. For containers, water when soil feels dry about 2 inches below the surface. In any case, check container-grown geraniums daily, especially during the hottest part of summer.

Sometimes the leaves turn brown and die for no apparent reason, usually due to fungal diseases from excess moisture. Remove the discolored leaves and consistently deadhead the flowers to keep them looking their best all season.

Geraniums will live through the winter in a south-facing window. Cut the plants back by about 2/3 when bringing them indoors. Water sparingly, about once a week. In late winter when new growth starts, begin feeding them again.

You can also keep them over the winter by allowing the plant to go dormant and storing in a cool basement under conditions similar to a root cellar. Cut the plants back by about 2/3, take them out of their pots and remove the soil from the roots. The plants are then hung from the rafters. Keep an eye on them; if the roots begin to appear shriveled, re-hydrate them in water for a couple of hours.

Pot them up in late winter and place under artificial lights or in a south-facing window. When new growth begins, fertilize with a liquid fertilizer.

Geraniums are more hardy than you may realize; often they’re one of the last garden plants still in flower at the end of the growing season, right alongside hardy mums.

Multiple flower colors on same plant

A staple in the gardens of our grandparents, Four O’Clocks are worthy of a place in our gardens.  Four O’Clocks are members of the Nyctaginaceae family with the Latin name Mirabilis jalapa.  Native to the mountains of South America, they are also known as “Marvel of Peru.”

They’re commonly called Four O’Clocks because the blooms open in late afternoon and stay open all night.  A couple hours after opening they begin to emit a sweet, heady fragrance that makes them a favorite near entrances and patios or potted on decks.

Four O’Clocks are actually perennials grown as annuals in the northern part of the United States.  Due to their long tap root and prolific reseeding they can be considered invasive in the south.  Four O’Clocks are tough resilient plants that handle drought and poor soils as well as pollution, fumes, and smoke.  They will bloom in sun or shade and produce seeds that often germinate and bloom before frost in warmer zones.

As dependable as they are at producing seed, northern gardeners will get earlier blooms if they dig the tubers in fall and store in damp sand or peat moss in conditions similar to a root cellar.  Plant outside in late spring about the time you set out your tomatoes.

The leaves of Four O’Clocks lure Japanese beetles in a kind of “fatal attraction.”  The Japanese beetles are drawn by the scent and poisoned by the leaves.  Some claim Four O’Clocks are effective as a deer repellent or at the very least deer resistant.  Hummingbirds like them and dive deeply into the elongated flowers searching for nectar.

Four O’Clocks are available in red, magenta, pink, yellow, white or striped flowers and have the unusual trait of producing flowers of more than one color on the same plant.  They grow to about three feet high but can grow much taller in long season areas.  In the south they die down to the roots when cold weather arrives.

There is a wild variety native to the Dakota prairie called Mirabilis nyctaginea.  It was discovered by French botanist Andre Michaux in 1792.  Native Americans used the plant to make a tea for colic, eye infections, sore muscles, swellings, rheumatism and indigestion.  Some say the plant has sedative properties and several native tribes smoked the dried leaves.  In South America Mirabilis jalapa was used as a hallucinogen.

The seeds of Four O’Clocks are poisonous.  If you’re plotting a mystery novel add motive and opportunity.

And an alibi.

Short yellow marigold variety unknown

Nothing pops from a distance like yellow flowers.  If you want your garden noticed from a distance, plant only yellow flowers.  While there are plenty of perennials with yellow blooms, use annuals if you just want to try out a yellow garden and don’t want to make a long-term commitment.

Start with a medium height sunflower in the back.  Add tall yellow marigolds, and any of the several varieties of gold or yellow zinnias.  Some notable varieties are Yellow Flame, Golden Yellow, or Old Mexico.  Then layer in calendula, medium-tall yellow marigolds,  yellow petunias, and Bright Lights cosmos.  I know Bright Lights also have orange ones in the mix but trust me, it works.

Peach Melba, Moonlight, and Milkmaid are all yellow varieties of nasturtium for the front of the bed.

Burpee has a yellow variety of helenium called Dakota Gold.  The daisy-like flowers and feathery foliage will contrast nicely with the familiar annuals already mentioned.  They grow 12″-15″ tall and you can order them at www.burpee.com.

Burpee also exclusively has a couple of single French marigolds in yellow:  Nema-gone reaches a height of four feet for the back of the bed, and Jaguar (yellow with deep orange-red splotches near the center of the flowers) comes in at just about a foot high.

These caught my eye as I drove by a neighbor's house

Sprinkle in some annual baby’s breath for filler and add a few short to medium sunflowers.  There’s even a yellow variety of snapdragons, but they’re usually part of a mixture of colors.  Rudbeckia are heat tolerant, yellow daisies that will stay spectacular all summer into fall.  Varieties vary in height from eighteen to forty inches.

A yellow garden works best in the front yard to wow everyone who passes by.  If you keep your palette in the yellow and gold area you can’t go wrong.  By using annuals, you can vary the look from year to year while keeping the color scheme constant.  There are enough varieties in the yellow-gold-orange-rust palette that you can keep it pure or branch out into the “yellow” neighborhood.  Start planning next year’s yellow garden now while you can observe varieties already growing and blooming.

Send me pictures of your yellow garden.