Heartland’s 9th Summer
Where did all the time go? It is hard to believe we are entering
our 9th summer here at Heartland. A lot of things have happened
in that time, most of them wonderful, a few a bit sad...but
all if it is called Life. It is time to enjoy this summer
and celebrate that the winter of 2010 is gone. No more cold,
no more snow and no more ice for a while. Just warm sunny
days and breezy balmy nights. I have very slowly gotten my
planters planted. I have gone mostly white this year in memory
of my little companion and gardening buddy, Nick. I am also
growing a couple of ever blooming hydrangeas and a rose in
containers on my patio this year. My gardening areas where
I live now are very limited. I will over winter these pots
either on my sun porch or in the garage. I hope your gardens
are what you’ve always dreamed of, and that you enjoy
each and every moment of them.
REDEEM YOUR POINTS!
You have been waiting to redeem your points
and the time has arrived. The first point redemption period
is JUNE 16 THRU JUNE 30, 2010. You may come in and purchase
any merchandise with your points. Treat yourself to that little
something you really wanted, or use those points to get someone
a little gift, or if you have enough points you can do both.
The only things you can not use points to purchase is a gift
certificate and planting fees or previous purchases. Please
bring in your picture id to redeem points. It will be required
to protect your points in our system. The next redemption
period will be December 13th thru December 24th. Any unused
points will expire on December 24th.
Some
like it Hot!
Some like it Hot, and Sunny! If you have those areas that
you could fry eggs in, we have some plants that can take it
and keep on going….
Dipladenia & Mandevilla—these two
plants are cousins and are just as easy as can be. And they
bloom their hearts out all the long hot summer season. These
beauties work really well in containers, and will make your
deck or patio very colorful. The new Mandevilla this year
is ‘Stars and Stripes’, it is a red & white
bicolor.
Hibiscus—the state flower of Hawaii, and the
# 1 tropical for the summer patio or deck. Easy and blooms
all summer. All it needs is sun, water and fertilizer. I can
no longer grow them unless I set them up really high off the
ground….my Westie Sadie picks and eats the blooms right
off of them.
Passion Vine—If you have never grown a passion
vine give it a little thought. The blooms on them are so unusual,
looking a little like something from outer space. They love
the sun and heat. They are not winter hardy for our zone,
but they have been know to come back if planted in a protected
area, and mulched heavily. I had one planted on a trellis
one year and the black plastic edging was fairly close to
the base of it. Low and behold..it came back the next year,
coming up closer to the edging that gathered heat for it during
the winter.
Pentas don’t get enough credit for
their love of heat and sun. They are also one of the favorites
of butterflies. They do want to be dead headed on a regular
basis.
Lantana—another sun lover that we tend
to take for granted. They are marvelous, and I really like
the fragrance of lantana. Butterflies are drawn to them for
regular feedings.
Periwinkle—what would we have ever
done with out this old time favorite. 6 hours of sun...no
problem...8 hours of sun...no problem...sun from dawn to dusk...no
problem. This plant is very easy if you don’t try to
rush putting it out in the spring when it’s too cool
and wet. Blooms all summer….no dead heading needed.
The perfect plant for the person that wants to have some flowers
but does not want to have to do any maintenance on them!
Rose Moss & Purslane— these cousins
take all the sun and heat you can throw at them and say “Bring
on some more”. Colorful blooms all summer. Works in
containers, beds, and hanging baskets. Another annual for
the gardener with no time to spend in the garden.
These are just a few plants that you can use in your hot sunny
spaces...come in and we will be glad to show you these and
more!
I
expect to pass through life but once. If, therefore, there
be any kindness I can show, or any good thing I can do to
any fellow being, let me do it now, for I shall not pass this
way again.
William Penn
Share
the Bounty
Harvester’s has once again asked Heartland Nursery to
be a place gardeners can drop off extra produce for the hungry.
We ask that whatever you bring will keep at least 2 days without
refrigeration. It takes at least 24-36 hours for them to pick
up. Thanks for your loving hearts, and generous donations.
Non Blooming Plants
In the spring we get so excited about being able to plant
and have flowers again all we tend to think about are colorful
blooms. After all, we have all those pansy and viola colors
to pick from, then all the different colors of petunias and
impatiens, and it goes on and on. In the frenzy of color the
non blooming plants sometimes just get over looked. Which
is too bad because some of the most beautiful plants are beautiful
because of their leaves! When I had a screened in porch I
learned how wonderful just ‘leafy’ plants can
be. Nothing would bloom in there so I started filling pots
with different non blooming plants. That was the most tranquil
spot to spend time, and it soothed my soul like no other place
in my garden. Plants that we think of as house plants can
be seen with ‘new eyes’, and they have an entire
new life in the garden. Wandering jew and Swedish Ivy love
it outside. Caladiums, hostas, heuchera, banana trees, air
plane plants, elephant ears, coleus, sweet potato plants,
vinca vine, dicondra falls, ornamental grasses (both small
and large) ivy, etc, etc make a wonderful garden.
And ferns….ohhh the ferns. There are so many kinds of
ferns and they look so cool and inviting. I have such a weakness
for ferns.
Begin looking at all the shades of green, all the leaf shapes
and textures...think about how they could work together to
give you new and different container plantings. Expand your
thoughts about what gardening means to you.
Frequently asked
Questions
My hibiscus leaves keep turning yellow,
why? Yellow leaves on hibiscus are almost always
due to insufficient watering. These tropical beauties thrive
in the sun, but they need good deep soakings every day to
be able to do that. Especially if they are on your hot sunny
deck or patio. Take your time when you are watering containers
in these sunny areas. Water needs to soak into the entire
root ball. If you are hurried and try to get as much water
into the pot quickly, most of it will run off before it can
soak in. LOTS OF WATER & SLOWLY!
Why did my petunias stop blooming? The problem
is the dreaded bud worm. This worm devours all the blooms
on petunias and geraniums. It is amazing how fast and how
much they can eat. Captain Jack’s Dead Bug Brew
will knock those worms out of the picture. It is not a poison,
but a bacteria that interrupts their digestive system. Once
they have eaten a sprayed plant they can’t eat any more.
It takes them several days to die, but they are not eating
at that point. BT, Dipel, & Thuricide
works just the same way. The main difference is you can get
the Captain Jack’s in a ReadyToUse.
No more mixing! It’s ready to use when
you are.
I had this expensive sprinkler system put in my lawn,
but the beds keep wilting and look terrible. Why? Lawn
sprinkler systems were never designed to properly water a
flower bed. The next best thing is a soaker hose in the beds.
You can hook it up, turn it on, and come back to it after
an hour or so, and you will have everything watered well.
What is causing the leaves in my Hosta? Slugs.
With the abundance of rain we have an abundance of slugs.
Espoma Slug Bait will take care of them.
Why do I have worms in my apples? This is
my first year growing fruit trees. Fruit trees need to be
sprayed on a regular basis with fruit tree spray. We have
a printed schedule available to help you know when and what
to use to spray with.
Is it too late to move my daylilies and hostas now?
Yes, that should be done early spring when they are
just beginning to grow or in the fall.
I left my pot outside all winter and it cracked and
broke, why? Most pots are best either emptied of
soil and turned upside down, or better yet, brought inside
for winter. The constant freezing and thawing of the soil
is what cracks and ruins pots. If you are considering purchasing
a new pot, think about the plastic Crescent containers. They
have a 10 year guarantee. The 2 large pots out in front of
our store have been out there since 2002, full of soil, and
they still look as good as when we put them out there. I have
2 of them in front of my house and I leave the soil in them
and they are fine. Since large pots are difficult to move
or empty of soil using the Crescent ones make a lot of sense.
random
thoughts……...
Grubs….one of the most dreaded words you
want to hear in the same sentence with your lawn. Grubs do
so much damage and you don’t even see it coming. All
their dirty work is done underground until you see the damage
when it stops raining and your lawn dries out and gets heat
stress...then you know exactly where they have been and what
they have been doing. Look out at your lawn, grubs like a
slight slope to their home, and in the sunniest, hottest spot
they can find. That’s where your damage will show up
first. Rarely will you find grub damage in the shady areas
of your lawn.
You can prevent the problem of having to remove the dead grass,
rake it up, reseed it and care for areas of your lawn until
the new grass is established. It is a lot easier to prevent
than repair, and cheaper!
Bayer Advanced Grub Control will do the job quickly and easily.
It will also give your lawn a little fertilizer to revitalize
it as well as protect it from grub damage. Apply once now
and you will not have problems at all. We have some coupons
to send in for a $3 to $6 rebate on this product. The coupon
is also good for several other of the Bayer products.
If you usually have bag worms...spray right now! They are
still in the caterpillar stage. Use Bonide Caterpillar Spray,
and you won’t have to deal with these creatures later
on. This product hooks to your hose and you are ready to spray...very
easy and very effective. Do it immediately!! This is the product
to use for tent caterpillars, and the bottle will spray 25’
into the air!
Squash borers continue to make gardeners crazy. Remember the
old trick of burying the stem every so often so it will root
in and if a borer comes a long it will not kill the entire
vine.
Keep your zucchini and cucumbers picked before they get too
large. I know the tendency is to see just how large you can
grow some vegetables, but something should never grow as large
as a baseball bat. Cucucmbers are a vegetable that will stop
producing if the ones growing are left on the vine too long
and get too large.
Keep your hummingbird feeders filled with fresh nectar. In
the heat of the summer it can turn bad quickly. If they are
not drinking it fast enough and you are wasting a lot, only
fill it half way or even 1/3 of the way. Most hummingbird
feeders have red on them and so you don’t need it to
be filled to attract them. Spoiled nectar can kill hummers
so please watch your feeders closely.
Once again I have run out of space and need to bid you all
a wonderful summer filled with wonderful flowers, good times,
and excellent health.
I bid you peace………………….Sherry
