HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News-Record, 1975-04-24, Page 21Clinton NewsRecord
Thursday, April 24, 1975
A guide to home
Try a hanging basket this year
mprovements
by A. R. Buekley
Festoons of flowers hanging
.from carport rafters or from
entrance light posts bring visions
of Victoria, B.C., and seem only
possible in that • mild, cool
climate. However, :there are
many plants that will' perform
this function •in other parts of
Canada, in shade or full. sun,
provided attention is paid to the
construction of the basket and the
cultivation of the plants in it.
The outdoor patio, breezeway,
driveway lamp standards, and
fit it a1 ound inside the moss. Now
you are ready for the soil.
Gardening hints
• It is finally time to grow a
garden.
"In most areas of Ontario; 5oi1
can be worked during April,"
explains Ontario ministry of
agriculture and food hor-
ticulturist, R.F. Gomme. "Wait
until all the • frost is out of. the
ground though. 'It's a waste of
time to dig and cultivate
saturated soil, especially day."
As soon as the soil can be
worked, trees, shrubs, and
evergreens can be transplanted.
Prune fruit trees and grapevines
in April. Remove all suckers and
low -growing branches, and those
that are weak and broken, as well
as those that interfere with each
other.
Roses should also be pruned
now. Low -growing types can be
trimmed to a six-inch height.
Prune away about a foot from the
tips of climbing roses. Shrub
roses require little or ne pruning.
Hasten spring by forcing a few
branches ; of pussywillow or
forsythia. Trim off healthy
branches by making slanting cuts
and place them in water at room
temperature, Four or five
branches in a large vase make an
excellent bouquet.
garport can all be embellished
With hanging baskets. Often the
only ways to decorate a service
station is with this form of plant
decor and window boxes.
The first consideration is the
basket. Marden supply houses or
seedsmen usually carry a line of
ready-made baskets of wire or
molded polyethylene plastic. You
can make one from wire netting
or number 12 gauge wire. If the
baskets are custom-built you
should attach a metal dishpan to
the bottom in order to catch
water and prevent dripping.
Some lining is necessary to keep
the soil from washing out. With
eady-made baskets you can use
polyethylene plastic as a lining at
the bottom. Take dried coarse
sphagnurn moss and mold it into
the shape of a bird's nest. If
polyethylene is ttsed-toAkeep in.
moisture or to prevent dripping,
.The mixture should consist of
two parts •good soil, one part
sand, and one part peat moss. To
each bushel of this mixture add a
tablespoon of a commercial
fertilizer such as 6-9-6.
Planting of the gaskets may be
done as soon as the weather is
warm enough outside. When the
lower half of the basket has been
lined with; moss and filled with
soil, push through a few plants to
grow out from the sides. Finish
filling with the compost to one
inch from.. the .to.p..Therim of the
basket may be made higher by
mixing one part clay soil and one
part straw and mixing this with
water to form a cement -like
material. Spread this around the
rim.
After`'planting, stand the plants
in the shade or in the- basement
for a day or so until they become
established.
Give attention to watering all
summer, since soil '.in a basket
dries out very quickly. If the
basket is in a place where the
drainage drip might cause an-
noyance, water at night.
Liquid 'fertilizer should be
applied every two or three weeks
in the form of 20-20-20 or similar
fertilizer at the rate of two
teaspoons to a gallon of water.
Plants for the shade
Strawberry geranium',,
tradescantia, Kenilworth ivy,
achimenes, philodendrons,
trailing tuberous begonias,
columneas, patience plants cup -
and -saucer vine, glory vine
(Eccremorcarpus scaber),
black -eyes Susan vine (Thun-
bergia alata), English ivy,
creeping Jenny and ivy -leaved
geranium all do well in a shady
place.
Plants for the sun
Almost any pendulous plants
will succeed where they get the
full sunshine. The following are
'good;. -,.-examples: hanging ,
bellflower (Campanula
isophy.11a). Sapphire lobelia;
variegated ground -ivy; balcony,
avalanche and cascade types of
petunia; nasturtiums; lantana;
Bijou dwarf sweet peas; Royal
Ensign dwarf morning glory;
German ivy; creeping zinnia
(sanvitalia procumbens) ; canary
bird • vine (tropaeolum), and
pendulous, succulent ,plants such
as little pickles ,(Othonna
capensis) and the Morgan sedum
(Sedum morganianum).
Some of these plants must be
brought inside for the winter if
you wish to keep them from year
to year. The easiest ones to give
you a quick start are nastur-
tiums, dwarf sweet peas,' dwarf
morning glory vine and creeping
zinnia. The seeds of these plants
may be sown directly in the
basket at the beginning of May.
Plants in hanging baskets do
not need to be just those that hang
down. You cat:' also"use upright
plants. By varying combinations
and changing plants from year to
year, you can develop this project
into an interesting hobby.
'The most successful flowering annual for a wide range of
shade conditions is impatiens.
Fer.tiLLze "
Magic cannot turn a lawn into a
patch of emerald -green velvet.
"Proper feeding and care can,
though," says Ontario ministry of
agriculture and food hor-
ticulturist, R.F. Gomme. He
suggests gardeners fertilize their
lawns in the early spring, after
the frost has left the ground but
before growth has begun, and
again in early May, mid-June and
early September.
Frequent light feedings are
better than one heavy feeding.
They prevent nitrogen burn,
especially during periods of rapid
growth, and ensure that the grass
has a continuous supply of
nutrients. It is important to
remember that laws grass grows
under artificial conditions. While
in nature; a bluegrass plant
might fill a square foot of soil and
have little or no competition, in a
lawn it has only a fraction of a
square foot of soil and plenty of
competition. In addition, its
ability to manufacture food is
reduced because it is cut at
regular intervals.
Ilse a balanced_ turf fertilizer
with an analysis of either 10 parts
nitrogen, six parts phosphorus
and four parts potash; or seven
parts nitrogen, seven parts
phosphorus and seven parts
potash. Apply it at the rate of 12
pounds for every 1000 square feet.
To ensure even 'spreading,
calculate the amount needed,
weigh it out and divide it in half.
Move in a north -south direction
when applying half of the fer-
tilizer and in an east -west
direction when applying the rest.
To encourage thicker surface,
growth, improve the lawn's
appearance and prevent weeds,
apply a one-quarter inch top
dressing of weed -free sandy loam
r. to lawns on clay soil and a weed
free clay loam top dressing to.
lawns on sandy soil.
Tomatoes and marigolds
top popularity poll
The most popular flowers and
vegetables sold through nur-
series, garden centers acid
similar retail outlets have been
the subject of a recent survey
among bedding plant growers.
Tomatoes and marigolds ex-
perienced the highest sales in-
creases in•recent year in the poll
conducted.
Pepper plants, impatiens,
especially marigolds which are
the flowering annuals with the
greatest sales increase, ob-
viously reflect a demand among
home gardeners for dependable,
trouble-free varieties, combined
with showiness. Both the dwarf
French type and the taller, large -
flowered marigolds are popular.
The recently -developed high
performance hybrid marigolds
YT-
IvA rge:.fiomet'aegt/ .;„Betunla ,,4-,loci4„,,d a taccounted,foc:
,>��;�li�.�l�.���•�,i�,lad.-:�1s:In�crea,pa�pu��--,,.»-„.��-
in the Survey. Excellent ratings The survey indicated that
were also recorded for salvia growers plan to increase
(scarlet sage), cabbage, por- production of three bedding plant
tulaca (moss rose), ageratum,' items: tomatoes and peppers
small -flowered petunias, garden/ from the vegetable groups and
mums, pansies and snapdragons. impatiens leading the list of
Tomatoes are by far the "most flowering annuals. Also ear -
popular 'vegetable bedding marked for big increases in
plant,” apparently enjoying the production are ,wax begonias,
movement towards home marigolds, geraniums and
vegetable gardening. Plants are petunias. The fact that more
being bought by home gardeners home gardeners are looking for
many ways; from 'packs of six plants to grow in shady areas is
transplants- to pot plants with felt to acc, unt for the increasing
flowers and fruit already formed. popularity of impatiens and wax
The top choices among flowers, begonias.
This attractive companion planting features sent:' tlwarr Anierrican-Imarigolds In the rear and a
mixture of grandiflora petunias in the foregrounds