The Goderich Signal-Star, 1980-04-16, Page 50lri4yi6;9
make eyefuls
out of eyesores
with annuals
The garden hot spot. The one location that never seems to
look anything but awful. Year after year, the only plants to
flourish are weeds.
The eyesore can become an eyeful when careful selection
becomes part of the gardening process.. Many annual flowers
do not thrive in hot, dry locations, but the exceptions will
provide unceasing bloom '4n- this most inhospitable en-
vironment.
Verbena and vinca are two annuals which will perform
colorfully in the hot, dry garden environment. Plant
breeders, conscious of the worth of hardy annuals, have
developed two new varieties for the 1980 growing season
Premiering in seed catalogues and as started plants at
greenhouses and,garden centers this spring, are 'Little
Rosie' vinca, and the All -America award winner, 'Sangria'
yerheng _
'Sangria,' recipient of a bronze All -America award for
1980, boasts a rich wine -red color unique to the verbena
family. Other outstanding attributes of this new introduction
include .a very uniform height and increased resistance to
heat. The spreading trailer will extend 2 to 3 feet in the home
garden setting.
Usk, 'Sangria' as an edging plant, add summer color to the
rock garden or try it in a hanging basket. The warm
burgundy overtones will enhance a variety of landscape
settings, plant colors and forms.
The virtues of vinca 'Little Rosie' are also headlined by its
resistance to sun and hot weather, The compact 8- to 10 -inch
plants produce deep violet -rose flowers, however hot or dry
the summer. This newest addition to the 'Little' series boasts
the same lustrous green foliage and hybrid vigor found in
'Little Blanche,' 'Bright Eyes,' 'Pinkie'' and 'Delicate.' All
are ideal as bedding plants in the most droughty.and sun -
sizzled of locations.
While vinca and verbena can both be started from seed,
many home gardeners find these species somewhat exacting
to germinate indoors. They can be .readily purchased as
bedding plants at garden centers and greenhouses.
Verbena 'Sangria'
Hints for cut flowers.
There is no fountain of
youth for cut flowers, but
-properhandling- —can- add -
days to their life indoors.
Theo Blom, Ontario
Ministry of Agriculture and
Food extension hor-
ticulturist, says the; most
important key to long-lasting
cut flowers is to select only
good quality mature flowers.
"Flowers picked too early
won't open properly and will
droop at the neck of the
stem," he says.
And here's another helpful
hint. When gathering flowers
some distance from the
house, take along a pail of
clean water. Make a clean
,cut with a good sharp 'knife
and set the stems into the
water immediately.
Once you have the flowers
in a vase, cut the bottom of
Coldframes and hotbeds
by Ian Smith
Extension Horticulturist
Hotbeds and coldframes
were used extensively, by
home gardeners in the 1960s
and. earlier to grow young
plants before transplanting
them into the garden. In
recent years, the use of these
structures has declined
because of • the increased
number of garden centres
selling young plants, and the
popularity of small plastic
greenhouses. Now, interest
• in hotbeds and coldframes is
picking up because of the
current popularity of home
. gardening and the . trend
toward less expensive
alternatives to greenhouses.
Hotbeds and cold frames
are similar structures. They
are a simply bottomless
boxes made from wood or
masonry, fitted with a
sloping roof of glass or
plastic. The difference
between the two is that
hotbeds incorporate 'bottom
heat so they can, be used
earlier in the spring, and
later in the fall.
---Construction
Both coldframes and
hotbeds require a. protected,
well -drained, sunny location,
preferably on the south side
of a building. Hotbeds,
however, require deeper
excavation than coldframes.
If you intend to heat your
'hotbed with' manure, you
need to dig an area about 60
centimetres (2 feet) deep.
Dig an area half that deep if
,you plan to use electric
cables for heat. You can
either set coldframes in
shallow pits 20 to 30 cen-
timetres (8 to 12 inches)
deep, or set them directly on
top of the soil, banking the
soil up around the sides.
Many home gardeners use
old stormwindows as covers
for coldframes or hotbeds.
For this reason, most frames
are 1.8 metres (6 feet) wide,
with the length determined
l,y the num'} f windows,
or glass sashes used. The
standard measurement of
old storm win ws is 0,9
'metres (3 feet) by 1.8 metres
(6feet.)
The frames are usually
built with planks 30 cen-
timetres (12 inches) high at
the back and 20 centimetres
(8 inches) high at the front:
This forms a slope for the
glass or plastic cover so it
can shed 'water and get the
maximum benefit of the sun.
The planks are spiked
together and 2 x 4 supports
are added to hold the sashes.
Hotbeds
Traditionally, fresh horse
manure was used to heat
hotbeds, but the supply is-
''now
s
'how scarce in . most areas.
Using manure also has a•
number of disadvantages,
primarily the labor required
to pile it into the pit, and to
manage it properly to
generate .the required
temperatures. As a result,
most gardeners use electric
heating cables'.
One heating cable set (18
metres or 60 feet' in length)
provides enough heat for 2.3
square metres (36 square
feet). This area is the
equivalent of a two -sash
hotbed. Lay the cable on a
bed of sand or fine soil. Place
125 t:entinretre--(j etr—
wire mesh screen on top of
the cable to protect it from
damage when the soil is
worked. Cover the cable with
10 to 15 centimetres ' (4 to 6
inches) of good planting soil.
One or more thermostats are
required for hotbeds that
need more than one heating
cable set.
You can plant seeds
-directly into the soil, or- set
flats directly on top'. of
heating cables. The method
used depends on. the type of
plants, .and the amount of
handling they require.
Electrically heated hotbeds
require more water than
manure beds. Keep the:soil
moist, buE not saturated.
During., cold nights,.. when
bottom heat is insufficient,
cover the frames with straw,
old rugs or sacks. On warm,
sunny days, temperatures in
e, u w,u ows, the frames will-rise-rapt'dly;
which can damage or kill the
young plants. To prevent
damage, open the sashes a
bit to provide' ventilation.
Ventilation is also important
to control high humidity
which encourages damping -
off and other diseases.
• Coldframes
Coldframes are used most
often to harden young plants,
such as tomato started
indoors, for an early, start in
the garden. Home gardeners
also find them handy .for
direct seedings of cold -hardy
seeds, such as lettuce or
cabbage and for flats of seed
crops.
Cold frames can be• con-
structed from almost any
type of material, including
hay ' bales and cement
blocks, because.. they are
usually less' permanent than'
hotbeds..
Hotbeds and coldframes
can help you get an early
start in the garden, but they
can also be used for a variety,
of practical purposes
throughout the year. Use
them to store over -wintering
bulbs and. hardy perennials
in winter for seeding
perennial plants in summer
and 'for an early winter
lettuce crop in the fall.
.lVo losers
in gardening
Lack of information? Lack
of garden space? .Indif-
ference? No fear of failure,
more than any other reason
keeps non -gardeners from
planting their first garden
seed or seedling, says the
National Garden Bureau.
Gardening is perhaps the
most socially acceptable
hobby in North America,
enjoyed by rich and poor
alike. Yet some people will
go through life having never
succeeded in raising'a plant
from a seed or keeping a
houseplant happy.
Non -gardeners need en-
Eour—a .,..e t--a+rd--- p,,��e
from their friends and
relatives, never criticism of
their first attempts,
however, bumbling. There is
no such thing as a "born
loser" in gardening. .
the stem with a shall. knife.
Using scissors tends to
squeeze the stern, making, if
difficult for .the flowers to
take up water," says Mr.
Blom.
You can also help lengthen
the life -span of • cut flowers
by adding .flower preser-
vatives to the water. These
preservatives, available at
flower shops or garden
centres, usually contain a
bactericide, fungicide and
some carbohydrates.
Mr. Blom says undiluted
gingerale or •other clear
carbonated beverages can
also be used, instead of
water, to prolong the life of
cut flowers. These beverages
are similar to commercial
preservatives because they
are highly acidic, preventing
bacteria growth and they
also contain sugar.
Versatile begonias
What can yougrow on your
kitchen window tsill, in your
greenhouse year-round, in
hanging baskets, as border
plants, in window boxes,
pa,tio tub's, or in mass
plantings, in sun or shade?
It may surprise you to
know that Fl hybrid begonia
semper-florens will perform
well in all these situations.
Plant breeders have created
new hybrids with larger
flowers, more compact
branching habit, and the
ability to perform in both full
sun -and shade without the
special care and extra"
grooming that are necessary
with some other bedding
plants.
Now, a variety has been
developed especially for'
Hanging. baskets by Pan-
American- --Seed Company.
'Pink Avalanche' is really a
new species, an inter -
specific cross. Its one -inch
flowers are a soft pink,
produced on plants with a
spectacular, pendulous
habit, making it a winner for
hanging baskets. A landslide
of color all season long, it
features unique angel -wing -
shaped foliage. 'Pink
Avalanche' does not produce
seed, but keeps trying
anyway, blooming profusely
in its effort to reproduce
itself.
'Gladiator' is another Fl
hybrid from Pan-American
'Seed Company for this
year's gardeners. More
glamorous than' the
'Glamours,' `Gladiator'
produces brilliant red
blooms, 2 to inches across,
on 8- to 10 -inch plants. Plants
have . a compact, base -
branching habit. The leaves
are Smaller than those of the
`Giamours,' making the
blooms seem even larger.
'Gladiator' has been
recognized as a novelty by
Fleuroselect, Europe's
equivalent to. our ' All -
America Selections.
'Frilly Red' from Ball Seed
Company, hasp huge, bright
red blooms, 3/4 to 1 inch wide
and about 2 inches deep,
enhanced by ruffled edges,
and offset by the dark green
foliage. The ruffled , edges
make 'Frilly Red' especially
attractive for use in pots and
window boxes. Effective in
borders and for mass
]antings, too. 'Frilly ,Pink,'
introduced last year, -has the
same ruffled flowers and
plant habit as `Frilly Red.'
Don't dismiss begonias as
unworthy of your attention.
'Frilly Red' might well say
to its neighboring petunia, as
Annie Oakley sang in "Annie
Get Your Gun," "Anything
you can do, I can do, too. I
can do anything better than
you."
Growing up
. Grow vine crops, such as
cucumbers, watermelons,
squash, and pumpkins, on
fences, stakes or trellises to
conserve garden space.
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