Dream Garden 101 » Flowers

Growing Rose From Cutting

admin — Thu, 04 Jul 2013 11:05:12 +0000

My neighbour has a row of roses, which he took as cuttings. I asked how he took them. He simply plunges the cuttings into the ground. But his secret of success is the humble potato! Before planting cuttings, he pushes the bottom end into a small potato, which he believes keeps the cuttings moist as they develop roots. It sounds crazy, but his row of allotment roses is proof it works.

Starting Seeds Indoors

admin — Thu, 04 Jul 2013 10:38:45 +0000

How to :

Step 1 : Fill 4-inch pots to just below the rim with a light, porous seed-starting or potting mix. Moisten the mix, and let it drain.
Step 2 : Scatter seeds thinly over the surface. and cover the seeds with the proper amount of mix.
Step 3 : When the seeds germinate, move the pots into an area with bright light and temperatures between 60°F/16°C and 75°F/24°C.
Step 4 : When the seedlings develop their second set of true leaves, it’s time to transplant them to individual pots, such as 3- or 4-inch plastic pots. Fill the new containers with potting mix, moisten the mix, and let it drain
Step 5 : Place the seedling in its new container, and firm the mix around it. Water immediately, and then set the pots in bright light.
Step 6 : As soon as the seeds sprout, give them 12 to 14 hours of light each day, If you don’t have a suitable place for your seedlings, try growing them under fluorescent lights.
Step 7 : Seeds of heat-loving summer crops need warm soil to germinate quickly and strongly. You can use Seedling Heat Mat under the containers to keep the soil 15 to 20°F/8 to 11°C above room temperature.

How do you identify poison ivy

admin — Thu, 04 Jul 2013 10:15:09 +0000

To the untrained eye, the poison ivy plant (Toxicodendron radicans) can often be difficult to notice as you’re walking around in the woods. However, by doing some studying right now you can shorten your learning curve for identifying it in the field. With practice over time, you’ll get really good at spotting it when you are out and about. Eventually, you can even develop an intuitive sense for it, as many of us have.

How to plant root bound plants

admin — Thu, 04 Jul 2013 10:13:14 +0000

How to plant root bound plants: Make numerous downward cuts so that the circular roots are cut. This forces the roots to grow outward when they are replanted. Remove any brown or black roots, which are most likely dead. Keep the white roots, which are alive. ‘Massage’ the root ball of your plant, which will help loosen the roots even more. Plant your plant and its ‘freed roots’ in a larger pot or in the ground. The newly cut roots will grow outward and your plant will start growing again. And that’s all there is to fixing a root-bound plant.

DIY Milk Carton Planter

admin — Thu, 04 Jul 2013 10:03:38 +0000

This easy and effective planter is the perfect upcycle to spruce up your space. Simply cut an empty milk carton and wrap it in rough linen. Watch how easily this planter comes together.

How To :

To make your milk carton planter first cut the top third off of your half gallon or 2 litre milk carton.
Next tear some rough linen fabric into inch wide strips. Home Depot has some great drop cloth linen for this.
Working with a hot glue gun, glue the linen strips around the carton working from the top down.
Then place your plant inside your planter. Some starter plants growing in tin cans would be perfect for this project.
Finally level the top of your planter off with moss. If you need your plant to sit higher in the planter for this, just fill the bottom of the milk carton planter with crumpled wax paper.

Growing Tulips in Pots

admin — Thu, 04 Jul 2013 09:54:08 +0000

In addition to small pots, pack bulbs “shoulder-to-shoulder” in big containers for an abundant display in spring. Toss aside the spacing recommendations so you can get as many bulbs into the container that will fit. I love this!

How to Grow Tulips in a Pot:

Buy tulip bulbs and good quality potting soil mix. Purchase tulip bulbs in the fall, no less than 6 weeks before the first frost.
Choose a high container in which to plant the tulip bulbs. Use large, bright colored pots made of natural materials like terracotta.
Plant your tulip bulbs in the container from September to October. Plant numerous bulbs depending on the size of the pot. You can plant 4 bulbs in a 6-inch pot and up to 15 bulbs in a 25-inch pot. Make sure there’s about one-half inch of soil below the bulb and about an inch of soil covering the top of the bulb.
Place the planted bulbs outdoors in a cool shady spot outdoors. Keep containers adequately watered especially for the first few weeks to avoid stunted and shriveled flowers. Regularly water the plants because the pots do not maintain moisture as well as ground soil.
Fertilize and feed the plant after it begins to flower. After flowering, remove any dead flowers and allow the leaves to die and fall off the plant.

How to Make a Petunia Tower

admin — Thu, 04 Jul 2013 09:45:57 +0000

Basically, it’s a ring of galvanized fencing lined with landscape fabric, then filled with potting soil. The petunias were planted through slits in the landscape fabric. This looks like a pretty easy do-it-yourself project!

You can Get the instructions from Here.

Materials you’ll need :

4-foot galvanized wire fencing with 2-inch x 4-inch openings
Landscape fabric
6-inch black zip ties
13 1⁄2-inch flower pot

Tools you’ll need :

Leather palm or cut-resistant work gloves
Utility knife
Garden spade
Aviation snips or tin snips
Scissors

How To Re-grow Lemongrass

admin — Wed, 03 Jul 2013 13:09:27 +0000

Growing lemongrass is child’s play. All you need to do is plonk the stalks that you buy at the supermarket into a jar filled with about an inch or so of water and just watch it grow! Within just two days you will see the roots sprout and you know you’re on your way to a bountiful lemongrass garden.

Just keep changing the water every day or every second day at most. In about three to four weeks, the lemongrass would have grown about 2 inches of roots. Now is when you can transfer the lemongrass sapling to the soil. Keep it watered well, but make sure the soil isn’t soaked in water. It can withstand a good amount of sunlight as well.

Flower Guide

admin — Wed, 03 Jul 2013 13:01:32 +0000

Choosing flowers for a special occasions can be challenging with all the flower choices available today. If you don’t know what you want, take a look at this flower chart. It’s a handy reference guide to the most commonly used flowers in the cut flower industry and is organized by colour.

Or you can use this Beautiful Reference Guide “Flowers A to Z: Buying, Growing, Cutting, Arranging” it shows the difference between fresh and older flowers and demonstrat the care required for that particular type. A special quick-reference box on each flower offers: the flower’s various names; the varieties in which it comes; available colours; scent; characteristics of freshness or aging; vase life in number of days; and flower’s meaning in the language of flowers.

Planting Equisetum in pots

admin — Sat, 29 Jun 2013 11:29:12 +0000

Love this idea for multiple reasons :
- Equisetum grows so quickly and make even the newest newbie of a gardener feel accomplished and happy,
- Equisetum can get out of control and the container will prevent that from happening.

I am going to plant some Equisetum in pots this summer to create privacy and cover up some unsightly areas of my yard.