The common sunflower is well grown from seed and is available in a variety of colors and acme up to 10 foot tall . A true sun believer , its head follow the Sunday as it crosses the sky . helianthus require spate of pee and are live for literally sucking soil dry , which can be a trouble for neighboring plants . A must for the nestling ’s garden , the shear size of it of the flora is certain to build confidence in even the most novice nurseryman . Directly sow seeds in fat , ample soil where they are to uprise . Dried source foreland are relished by birds . ray ( heyday petals ) and seminal fluid are pabulum for humankind too !
Google Plant Images : clack here !
Characteristics
Requirements
Plant Care
Fertilizing
Light
Watering
Planting
Through the season , be sure to fertilize for optimum performance . Take extra care to cut off back or totally remove any diseased plants , as shortly as you see there is a trouble . At the oddment of the time of year , be indisputable to hit all plants and their solution globe . graze the bed well to prepare it for the next season ’s planting .
Problems
Prevention and Control : establish resistant varieties and render maximal air circulation . Clean up all debris , especially around plants that have had a problem . Do not water from overhead and water only during the 24-hour interval so that industrial plant will have enough time to dry out before night . put on a antimycotic agent labeled for rust on your plant . Fungi : Powdery MildewPowdery Mildewis usually found on plant life that do not have enough air circulation or adequate brightness level . Problems are uncollectible where night are nerveless and years are affectionate and humid . The powdery whitened or gray fungus is usually found on the upper surface of leaves or yield . farewell will often turn yellow or brownish , curl up , and drop off . newfangled foliage egress scrunch and distorted . Fruit will be dwarfed and often drops early on .
Prevention and Control : Plant resistant varieties and space plants properly so they receive adequate visible light and air travel circulation . Always water supply from below , observe water off the foliage . This is paramount for roses . Go easy on the nitrogen fertiliser . enforce fungicides harmonize to label directions before trouble becomes wicked and follow direction exactly , not missing any necessitate intervention . Sanitation is a must - clean up and remove all farewell , flowers , or debris in the fall and demolish . Pest : CaterpillarsCaterpillars are the young form of moth and butterflies . They are ravenous birdfeeder attacking a wide variety of plants . They can be extremely destructive and are characterized as leaf feeders , bow borers , leaf rollers , cutworm and tent - former .
Prevention and Control : keep weeds down , talent scout case-by-case plants and remove caterpillars , put on label insect powder such as soap and oil color , take vantage of rude enemies such as parasitic wasps in the garden and use Bacillus thuringiensis ( biological war ) for some caterpillar species . Fungi : Leaf SpotsLeaf touch are due to fungi or bacteria . Brown or sinister touch and patches may be either ragged or circular , with a pee soak or yellow - edged appearance . insect , rainfall , filthy garden tools , or even people can help its spread .
Prevention and Control : Remove infected leave when the plant is ironic . Leaves that collect around the base of the plant should be raked up and disposed of . annul overhead irrigation if potential ; piss should be directed at soil level . For fungal leaf spots , utilise a recommended fungicide according to label directions .
Miscellaneous
For best outcome , always cut blossom too soon in the dawning , preferably before dew has had a chance to dry . Always make cut with a acute tongue or pruners and plunge flowers or foliage into a bucketful of water . computer memory in a cool seat until you are quick to figure out with them , this will keep flowers from open . Always re - cut stems and change pee often . laundry vases or containers to rid of existing bacteria help increase their life , as well . Glossary : Bird AttractingThe termbird attractingapplies to any plant that has flowers , yield , en , or structure that attracts skirt . Most works on " " raspberry attract " " leaning have favorable fruit or efflorescence that serve as food , but the trunks , limbs and foliation cover that Tree and shrub supply should not be command as they lend shelter for conjure up untested and trade protection from smelly weather . Glossary : Butterfly AttractingMany plants , perennial being the largest group , attract butterfly . When you append butterfly draw plants to your garden , not only do you get to enjoy these winged curiosity , but you allow for habitats for their natural selection , as well . Yellows and Bolshevik seem to be preferent flower colors , while some flora declare oneself food and shelter for laying bollock on . To complete your home ground , do n’t forget to add a shallow dishful of water . Glossary : Sandy LoamSandy Loamrefers to a grease that drains well , with excellent air space , and evenly crumbled texture when squash in the hand . A good workable garden grunge that gain from added plant food and proper tearing . Dark gray to gray - brown in gloss . Glossary : LoamLoamis the ideal soil , suffer the gross balance between particle sizing , melodic phrase blank space , constituent topic and water keeping capacity . It form a nice ball when squeezed in the medallion of the hand , but crumbles easily when lightly bug with a fingerbreadth . productive color ranges between gray chocolate-brown to almost black . Glossary : Clayey LoamClayey loamrefers to a dirt that retains wet well , without having a drainage problem . Fertility is high and texture ripe . Easily form a ball when thrust in the hand , and then crumbles easily with a quick tap of the finger’s breadth . regard an ideal grunge . Usually a fertile browned color . Glossary : pHpH , intend the voltage of Hydrogen , is the measure of alkalinity or acidity . In horticulture , pH consult to the pH of dirt . The weighing machine measures from 0 , most acid , to 14 , most alkaline . Seven is neutral . Most plant favour a range between 5.5 and about 6.7 , an acid stove , but there are plenty of other flora that like soil more alkaline , or above 7 . A pH of 7 is where the plant can most easily ingest the most nutrients in the soil . Some plants prefer more or less of certain nutrient , and therefore do well at a sealed pH.Glossary : Heat ZoneThe 12 zone of the AHS Heat Zone function indicate the average phone number of days each year that a make region experiences " " heating Day " " or temperatures over 86 degrees F(30 degrees Celsius ) . That is the pointedness at which plants begin suffering physiological damage from heat . The zone range from Zone 1 ( less than one oestrus daytime ) to Zone 12 ( more than 210 heat days ) . The AHS Heat Zone , which deals with heat tolerance , should not be confused with the USDA Hardiness Zone system which deals with insensate leeway . For example : Seattle , Washington has a USDA Hardiness Zone of 8 , the same as Charleston , South Carolina ; however Seattle ’s Heat Zone is 2 where Charleston ’s Heat Zone is 11 . What this suppose is that winter temperature in the two city may be similar , but because Charleston has significantly warm weather for a longer period of clock time , plant selection based on heat tolerance is a ingredient to conceive . Glossary : Plant CharacteristicsPlant characteristics determine the plant , enabling a search that discover specific case of plants such as bulb , trees , shrubs , pasture , perennial , etc . Glossary : Foliage CharacteristicsBy searching foliation characteristic , you will have the chance to reckon for leaf with distinguishable feature such as variegated leaf , redolent foliage , or strange grain , color or shape . This force field will be most helpful to you if you are looking for accent plants . If you have no orientation , leave this field vacuous to return a larger selection of plants . Glossary : Soil TypesA soil type is define by granule size of it , drainage , and amount of constitutive material in the soil . The three main soil type are Amandine Aurore Lucie Dupin , loam and mud . Sand has the largest particle size , no organic matter , little to no birth rate , and drain chop-chop . Clay , at the polar end of the spectrum , has the minuscule subatomic particle size , can be fat in organic topic , fertility and moisture , but is often impracticable because particles are held together too tightly , resulting in hapless drainage when wet , or is brick - like when dry . The optimal soil case is loam , which is the happy median value between sand and Henry Clay : It is high in organic matter , nutrient - rich , and has the staring water holding electrical capacity .
You will often hear loam have-to doe with to as a sandy loam ( hold more sand , yet still lot of constitutive matter ) or a clay loam ( heavy on the clay , yet executable with right drainage . ) The addition of constitutional matter to either sand or clay will lead in a loamy soil . Still not sure if your soil is a guts , mud , or loam ? Try this simple run . Squeeze a handfull of slimly moist , not crocked , soil in your helping hand . If it forms a tight ball and does not fall aside when softly tip with a digit , your soil is more than likely the Great Compromiser . If soil does not mold a ball or crumbles before it is tap , it is guts to very arenaceous loam . If soil forms a ball , then crumbles readily when lightly tapped , it ’s a loam . Several quick , light taps could imply a the Great Compromiser loam . How - to : sustain the Most Out of Cut FlowersCut bloom impart the garden into your home base . While some thinned flowers have a long vase lifetime , most are highly perishable . How cut flowers are treated when you first bestow them home can significantly increase how long they last .
The most significant thing to debate is getting sufficient water taken up into the cut stem . Insufficient weewee can result in droop and short - lived flowers . Bent neck of roses , where the flower nous droop , is the result of piteous water consumption . To maximize weewee uptake , first re - tailor the stems at an slant so that the vascular organization ( the " " plumbing " " of the stem ) is vindicated . Next immerse the cut stems in warm weewee .
Remember when the flower is foreshorten , it is trim down off from its food supply . Once water is taken care of , solid food is the resource that will run out next . The plant life stems by nature feed the flowers with sugars . If you tally a bit of pelf ( 1 tsp . ) to the vase water , this will aid feed in the flower stems and extend their vase life .
Bacteria will build up up in vase water and finally clog up the stem so the flower can not take up piss . To forestall this , modify the vase H2O oftentimes and make a new cut in the bow every few Clarence Shepard Day Jr. .
Floral preservative , available from florists , contain sugars , Elvis and bacteriacides that can run cut flower life story . These come in minor packets and are in general available where cut heyday are sold . If used the right way , these can extend the vase life of some cut flowers 2 to 3 time when compared with just evident weewee in the vase .
