Home Gardener's Annuals. Miranda Smith

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       PLANTING SEEDLINGS

      Most gardeners buy at least some annuals from local garden centers and nurseries. They’re usually sold in plastic cell packs (sometimes called “six-packs”). It’s important to know how to handle seedlings when you bring them home and how to transplant them from cell packs—whether into the garden or a container.

      Resist the temptation to buy seedlings already in bloom, as are these celosias. Even though blooming plants provide an “instant” garden, younger seedlings not only transplant more easily but they are also healthier in the long run. Whenever possible, purchase seedlings that are still “green,” or not yet in full bud or bloom.

       PLANTING FROM A CELL PACK

      When planting annuals in beds and borders, mark out the planting area and dig the holes, either one at a time or several at once. If the soil is dry, fill each hole with water and let it drain before setting in the plants. Push gently on the bottom of the cell to dislodge a plant, slide the plant out of its compartment without touching the stem, and set it in the ground. If the plant is at all rootbound, gently tease apart some of the roots, or encourage new root growth by cutting partway into the bottom of the root ball and pulling it apart a bit. Touching only the root ball and if necessary, the bottom leaves—not the stem—set the plant into the hole, firm the soil around it, and water well.

       PLANTING A HANGING BASKET

      Begin by filling the basket with potting soil to 2 inches below the rim. Set one or more plants in the center of the basket. Then plant several more around the edges, so they will cascade over the sides and disguise the pot.

      For a fuller look, use a hanging basket made of wire. Line the inside of the basket with sheets of moistened sphagnum moss that you butt up against one another at their edges. Fill the basket one-third of the way with potting soil. Then insert some small plants around the sides, pulling aside or cutting through the moss so the plant tops are outside the basket, but their roots are planted in the soil. Add more soil mix to fill the basket two-thirds of the way, and add more plants. Then fill the basket the rest of the way, and plant the top as usual, with one plant in the center and three to five plants near the edge of the basket.

      Baskets need to be watered daily in hot weather. To check whether a basket needs water without taking it down from its hanger, place your hand on the bottom and lift up so the pot rests on your hand. If it feels very light, the soil is too dry. When the pot has some weight to it, the soil is moist, and you don’t have to water.

       PLANTING A WINDOW BOX

      Window boxes are a delightful addition to your home. They add instant charm to a country cottage and beautifully soften the severe facade of a city brownstone. Annuals are the plants of choice for window boxes, offering practically limitless combinations of color, form, and texture.

      Plan your window boxes before you buy the plants. You’ll want some taller and some shorter plants, plus some trailers. (See the list on here.) Choose colors that harmonize or contrast attractively with the colors of your home.

      There are three ways to plant a window box: directly in the box, in a molded plastic liner that sits inside the box, or in individual pots that you place inside the box.

      Plastic liners are the most convenient way to go, especially if you want to change the plants for different seasons. You simply pop the planted liner into the box. Liners are also easy to remove when the window box or the plants need maintenance.

      If you plant directly in a wooden window box, be aware that constant contact with moist soil causes wood to deteriorate quickly. You can prolong its life by painting the inside of the box with polyurethane.

      Planting in individual pots allows you to change plants during the season, but makes it harder to create a natural, gardeny sort of look. If you do keep the plants in pots, cover their tops with a layer of unmilled sphagnum moss.

      No matter what kind of container you use, it’s important to provide drainage. Purchase metal boxes with predrilled holes or drill holes in the bottom of wooden boxes or plastic liners. Use screening or row cover material to cover the holes.

       Hanging basket plants

      • Cascading petunia cultivars (Petunia × hybrida)

      • Edging lobelia (Lobelia erinus)

      • Fuchsia (Fuchsia hybrids)

      • Impatiens (Impatiens hybrids)

      • Ivy geranium (Pelargonium peltatum)

      • Nasturtium, trailing cultivars (Tropaeolum majus)

      • Rose moss (Portulaca grandiflora)

      • Sapphire flower (Browallia speciosa)

      • Variegated vinca (Vinca major ‘Variegata’)

      • Wax begonia (Begonia Semperflorens-Cultorum hybrids)

      • Wishbone flower (Torenia fournieri)

       Potting soils

      When planting in containers, it’s best to use a light, porous potting mix. You can use a packaged preblended potting soil, as long as it contains a lightening agent such as perlite or vermiculite and is not 100 percent soil. Or you can mix 3 parts potting soil or topsoil with 2 parts crumbled compost or leaf mold, and 1 part perlite or vermiculite. If you prefer a soilless potting mix, buy one or make it by mixing equal parts of peat moss, perlite, and vermiculite.

       CAREFUL TRANSPLANTING

      1 Water first; then gently push the bottom of the cell pack to loosen the root ball. Rest the stem of the plant against your hand, but do not injure it by pressing on it.

      2 Holding only the root ball, carefully lower the seedling into the planting hole. Fill in and press down gently to put the roots in contact with the soil. Water well.

      

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