Picking colorful plants for Condo entrance

QuestionI am on the board of a homeowners assoc. and would like a colorful entrance. We are in south florida and would like plants that bloom all year. About two to three foot high and some lower. What would you sug

Annuals for shady areas

QuestionHi, I live in Northern New Jersey up in a mountainous area near the ski slopes. My garden is pretty much shade with all the trees surrounding, which gets minimal sunlight. The only annuals I fin

larkspur seed

Questionmy packet instructions say seeds need darkness to germinate;how much darkness? is on top of the frig. dark enough if its up and away from direct sunlight? AnswerBest result is had, if you fill a container w

Fertilizer for tulips

QuestionHi, My name is Mira White, I live in North-East Arizona, My Uncle last fall gave me over 100 tulip bulbs, we planted them in September of last year. I spoke with my Uncle and asked if they are all the same k

Planting Impatients

QuestionI live in St. Louis, MO and want to know when is the best time to plant impatients and other annuals? Plus, when is it a good time to put together a hanging basket to be outside? THANK YOU! AnswerAmy,

Hostas, etc. havent sprouted

QuestionI planted 2 hostas under my dogwood tree last spring/early summer. They seemed to be doing fine at the end of the fall. One even grew a flower. I also planted 3 more hosta bulbs, silver lam

Pinching deadheading?

Question------------------------- Followup To Question - Does anybody out there have a picture of pinching a flower or some plants? I dont know how to pinch or deadheading is this the same thing. I FEEL REALLY DU

Marigold problems

QuestionFor the past two seasons the leaves on my marigolds look like something is sucking the green out of them. They turn this sickly light gray, but the edges of the leaves are green. It happens to al

Sweet Peas

QuestionThis is my 3rd year attempting to grow sweet peas in my urban garden. This year, I soaked seeds 24 hrs in water, then planted on March 26 (Im in Zone 5). Covered bed with staked plastic netting t

New Gold Lantana

Question------------------------- Followup To Question - Do i add a fertilzer to my lantanas to keep blooming? Ive plant mine in the ground and starting to bloom a little. Answer - A little fertilizer in spring

Castor Beans

QuestionHow do you start them? Ive tried soaking to take off the outer husk,putting them right into the ground and tried starting them indoors to no avail.I have been told that they are the easiest annual to grow. B

Sea Grass Hanging Baskets

QuestionI recently purchased a Sea Grass Hanging Basket. In the basket there is a plastic liner. After potting my annuals I noticed that the water was holding and not draining. Should I take the liner ou

low bordering annuals

Questionwe live in cleveland ohio. I need a colorful flowering border for my front landscaping . It gets mostly full sun, the annuals need to be deer resistant and slug resistant. AnswerMolly: Short to

Azaleas - I think

QuestionHi and many thanks for any help you can provide. I have half a dozen medium size plants that I believe to be azaleas. They bloomed beautifully but, of course, the blooms fell off and now the leaves ar

Geranium Ivy

QuestionHello, I recently planted several window boxes of Geranium Ivy. They are sold as annuals, but I would like to keep them year after year. Is this possible? A neighbor told me I could c

Patio Plants for West Facing Texas Sun

QuestionI live in an apartment on a beautiful golf course, facing due west in Fort Worth - and travel 2-3 days/week. Big challenge - what can I put in windowboxes/containers/baskets that has any chance of suri

green leaves

QuestionHi. Last summer, we had this great herbiscus (spelled right?) plant that had a half- dozen + blooms a week. It was big and fluffy with green leaves and growth. I decided to take it in for the winter, so I pu

garden mums

QuestionI dont usually plant annuals, but this year wanted to try something different. I used topsoil in my window boxes. I dont really care if they come back next year. I planted garden mums last week and water the

moving annuals to another location

Questioni am living in ontario,canada i recently bought impatiens and i am being told that i planted them too close together.she told me i was going to choke them.there are in a box imbedded in the ground.when they

Sick Geranium

QuestionHi C.L., This question may bore you, as my plant is not unusual, I hope that you dont mind. We have several large Geraniums on our deck that are not doing so well. Since, they began blooming m