Now here is a plant that just doesn’t know when to quit blooming. ‘Indian Summer’ is a variety of Rudbeckia (a.k.a: black-eyed Susan) that offers dozens of large, bright yellow-orange daisy-like flowers with dark centers week after week, from early summer until frost. Like its perennial cousins, ‘Indian Summer’ asks little more from you than a sunny location and well-drained soil. Every week or so, take a few minutes to snip off any flowers that are fading. If you would like to encourage them to return next
season, in fall, leave some of the flower heads to form seeds.
Spirea
Spireas are a large group of blooming shrubs that love the sun. They can be divided into two groups, those that bloom in early spring and those that bloom in summer. They are easy to grow and easy to maintain. Almost everyone is familiar with the old-fashioned spring-blooming bridalwreath spirea with its long, arching branches covered with tiny white blooms. Most of the summer-blooming spireas are compact, mound-shaped plants that offer other colors in foliage and flowers. They work well in both the sunny border and in mass plantings. When pruning spireas, be sure you know which type you have. Spring-blooming plants should be pruned right after they have flowered. For more information, pick up a copy of our spirea information sheet.
Updating Your Landscape
Now is the time to look around your yard and evaluate your landscape.
Does it need some perking up? During that hot spell did you wish you had a shade tree near the patio? Would an evergreen shrub near the birdfeeders provide some cover for your winter visitors? Did you wish you had something blooming in your yard this spring when the lilacs, azaleas and weigelas were flowering all over town? Now is a great time to make those wishes come true. Container-grown landscape plants can be planted anytime, and what better time than now. By putting them in before fall, the plants will have more time to adjust to their new homes and will winter more successfully.
Boston and Engelmann Ivy
Engelmann ivy typically turns purplish-red
or crimson in fall and colors early. Boston ivy tends to turn
more brilliant shades of scarlet and red.
If you are looking for a low-maintenance vine to climb a fence or adorn a stucco home, Boston and Engelmann ivy are good options. The two plants are closely related, but they are distinctly different and each has its own advantages.The first distinguishing
characteristic is their leaf shape. Boston ivy, Parthenocissus
tricuspidata, has a lustrous dark green leaf that is shaped
somewhat like a maple with three lobes. Engelmann ivy, a variety of P. quinquefolia (aka Virginia creeper), has leaves that are made up of 5 or 7 smaller leaflets fanned out from its stem. Both vines climb by literally gluing themselves to rough surfaces such as wood, stucco and brick. Boston ivy is slow to establish and spreads outward as much as it climbs upward, resulting in very attractive winter tracery on buildings after the leaves have fallen. Engelmann ivy grows much more quickly directing most of its energy upward, filling out more slowly once it has reached the end of its support. Its winter tracery is much more vertical. Both vines are hardy in Zone 4, can grow at least 40 or 50 feet, bear a blue-black fruit and have good fall color.
Did you know? All parts of the tomato plant except the fruit are toxic.
Tips
Pruning lower leaves from the tomato will help with air
circulation and help control disease.
Squash vine borer eggs hatch in July. The larva tunnel into the squash stem causing the plant to wilt. Slit the stem and remove the white grub, cover the slit stem with soil. The plant
should recover if the damage is caught early.
Looking for something for an area of light shade? Try Heuchera (Coral Bells), which come in a variety of leaf colors and textures.
The best hardy climbing rose is Ramblin’ Red. This rose takes three seasons to fully establish but afterwards its large red
roses will bloom from June to frost.
Flowers and gifts from Bachman’s make any day a special one. When you order your flowers or gifts online, you know you’ll be getting a beautiful fresh floral arrangement from a trusted florist known for outstanding floral design, plus quality and service.
If you’re sending flowers or gifts out of town, you can rely on us to choose the best florist from either the FTD or Teleflora nationwide flower network. Florists who can be counted on to deliver the best fresh floral arrangements and gifts, even when doing a same day delivery.
