Author: Ause1977

Late summer is the time when most flowers are completing their season. Arranging a long-season booming garden involves planting flowering plants with different seasonal blooms. Late summer flowers fill in the gap between fall and summer flowering plants. Many plants start flowering in late summer and continue through fall. Annual Flowers Summer-blooming annuals grow, blossom and perish in a single growing season. 1 example is the blue shrimp plant (Cerinthe major “Purpurascens”) with green leaves and powdery purple bracts above hanging purple blooms. This cottage garden plant falls seeds after flowering. Tickseed sunflowers (Bidens aristosa) grow to 5 feet tall creating tens of thousands of 2-inch-wide daisy-like flowers with yellow petals surrounding a dark eye. The green leaves are covered with the flowers from late summer through the fall. Remove fading blooms before seeds form to prevent self-seeding. Flowering Bulbs Most bulbs are thought to blossom in the spring, however,…

Planting incompatible companion bushes and perennials around a tree often ends in disappointment and frustration. To avert this irritation, choose shrubs and perennials with soil requirements similar to the tree. Adjusting the soil to suit the companion plants often turns into a struggle that ends without needing to replace them and may have a harmful influence on the tree. The companions should also be short enough to get to their mature height without growing into the tree canopy. Companion Bush and Perennial Requirements Trees, shrubs and shrubs perennials have soil pH requirements. The soil pH should be tested prior to purchasing companion plants to determine whether it’s acidic with a pH of 6.9 or lower, neutral with a pH of 7 or even alkaline with a pH of 7.1 or above. If the tree is booming, the soil pH shouldn’t be adjusted to adapt accent plants. Soil texture also has…

Raising the soil level around a tree’s back is not recommended. Although large piles of mulch often are found around tree roots and trunks, that practice is harmful to tree health. Rather than placing a raised bed around a willow tree, then it’s ideal to create the illusion of a raised bed using one of many practices. Willow Root and Trunk Systems It is a common misconception that tree roots grow deep as opposed to long. A willow tree’s active origins, such as those of most trees, are within the top 3 feet of soil. The largest and most productive origins are in the top 1 foot of soil. This is since roots seek both moisture and oxygen, which can be found together only in the top layers of soil. When soil or mulch is stacked around a tree’s trunk, it cuts off the oxygen supply to your tree roots….

Capsicum plants, better known as pepper crops, are among the simplest vegetables to grow in the home. Pepper plants grow upright naturally, and come in an assortment of sizes and colours. They often benefit from the support of a tomato cage or other reinforcement to maintain their feeble branches from breaking under the weight of growing fruit. Although pepper plants need minimal care, they can sometimes gain from ancient- or late-season pruning. Early-season pruning helps to increase the grade of the fruit and is best done before thriving when the plant reaches a foot tall. Late-season pruning is done after the fruit has set and helps to speed the maturing of the fruit to the plant. Eliminate any dead branches or dying leaves with pruning shears by cutting the branch flush with the rear of the pepper plant. Cut back smaller branches in place of the notch where two other…