Pretty Poison

appearance might suggest. They can be grown in either full sun or partial shade. They tolerate heat better than most other violas and are highly resistant to cold. You can establish them outdoors as much as a month prior to the frost-free date in your area, provided the plants have hardened off. Blooms can be expected in spring, summer, and sometimes fall (after a late-summer rest) in cold-winter regions, and in winter and spring in milder climates. Generally speaking, gardeners in cooler northern climates will enjoy flowers longer than their counterparts in the South, where higher soil and air temperatures tend to abbreviate the blossoming season.

Pansies can serve a variety of aesthetic and practical purposes in the landscape. Use them for mass color or as festive trim in borders and edgings, as a flowering ground cover for spring-blooming bulbs, for showy display in pots and window boxes, or to fill in bare spots in the garden at the beginning and end of the growing season.

Because of their incredible tolerance, the pansy is forgiving of too little or too much water. Light fertilizing will keep them strong. They will grow abundantly without much care.

Tips for Choosing Spring Flowering Bulbs

• Select the best you can find. Expect to pay more for them, especially from good sources. Unhealthy bargain bulbs may bloom once, but many won’t survive the winter. Those that do may not bloom for years. On-line stores may be more expensive than local nurseries, but many offer top-quality bulbs that you can’t find locally.

• Planting time is usually before the first hard frost but can be any time before the ground freezes. The idea is to plant early enough in the season to allow the root system to become well established but late enough so that little or no top growth occurs.

Grafting

Grafting is the process by which a part of one plant (usually a piece of stem) is surgically attached to another plant (usually a root or stem with roots). These parts grow together to form a single grafted plant.

This is usually done to strengthen a plant that is less than hardy in an area or to create a new type of plant. Learning to graft is a difficult and painstaking process but can be rewarding for the patient, dedicated gardener.

What plants are usually grafted? Roses are frequently grafted to create new colors or scents. Fruit trees are grafted to produce more fruit or combinations of fruit. Vegetable plants are grafted to create more and bigger yield.

TIPS FOR SUCCESSFUL GRAFTING

Use a sharp knife to cut the wood. A grafting knife should be razor-sharp. A dull knife can cause failure at grafting. You can buy knives specially created for this purpose. These knives have one side sharp, one side flat. Start at the base of the knife blade and use a single cut. Don’t saw at the wood. Splinters, bumps, or unequal cuts will prevent a good match and reduce your success rate.

Collect budsticks from young, firm stems of the plant you want to graft. Wilted budwood won’t make a successful graft. Place the sticks in a plastic bag with a damp paper towel or a little moist peat moss, then seal the bag with tape. Store it in a cool spot, out of the sun. It will last several days.

Cut surfaces will dry out quickly and hurt your chances at a good graft. It’s important to cut, match, and wrap the graft as quickly as possible. Some gardeners put the cut ends in their mouths to keep moist while they’re working. But beware of poisonous plants! Don’t let cut ends come in contact with soil.

After joining plant and budstick, wrap grafts with clear polyethylene budding tape. Stretch the tape almost to the point of breaking. Then seal with tape. A graft is usually wrapped three to six weeks, depending on the type of plant being grafted. A callus should develop on the cut surfaces. This is the healing tissue of the plant. It’s a small drop of white or tan spongy material. When you see this, the graft is ready to be unwrapped. Cold-weather grafts should be left longer. In colder climates, fall grafts are sometimes left wrapped until spring.

Not all of your attempts will work, but this can be an interesting way to create your own new plants!

Longwood Gardens: Home of the Antares Night-Blooming Water Lily

“Longwood Gardens was created by industrialist Pierre S. du Pont (and is sometimes referred to as the DuPont Gardens) and offers 1,050 acres (425 hectares) of gardens, woodlands, and meadows; 20 outdoor gardens; 20 indoor gardens within 4 acres (1.6 hectares) of heated greenhouses; 11,000 different types of plants; spectacular fountains; extensive educational programs including horticultural career training and internships; and 800 horticultural and performing arts events each year, from flower shows, gardening demonstrations, courses, and children’s programs to concerts, organ and carillon recitals, musical theater, and fireworks displays. Longwood is open every day of the year and attracts more than 900,000 visitors annually.” [www.longwoodgardens.org]

Longwood Gardens is located in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania. For more information, visit their Web page, www.longwoodgardens.org, or write: Route 1, PO Box 501, Kennett Square, PA 19348-0501, USA, or call: 610-388 -1000.

A Good Place to View Antares and Other Night-Blooming Water Lilies

http://williamtricker.safeshopper.com/23/182.htm?533

To Get Your Seed Catalogs

http://www.burpee.com/

World famous seed catalogs

http://www.seedman.com/

Plants from around the world

http://www.stokeseeds.com/cgi-bin/StokesSeeds.storefront

Good prices on seeds to get your garden started

www.parkseed.com

Giant seed and garden catalog from South Carolina

Happy fall planting!