Let Love Grow: Valentine Plants

The month of February has the theme of ROSES! Now is a great time to plant bare root or container roses in our region. Early planting of these bushes allows them to become established in their new locations before they begin to bloom. This increases the number and quality of roses. Plus, the bushes are more prepared to deal with summer heat when it arrives in May-June. Always plant roses in a sunny, well prepared flowerbed with excellent drainage. They'll need about 8 hours of full sun daily. Wait to fertilize until established. Enjoy cut rose bouquets all year long! FEBRUARY TO DO LIST: -Prune drift roses in the middle of the month, and get ready for a spectacular show in the spring. -Prune landscape trees and any deciduous & evergreen plants that won't flower in spring. -Trim back dormant ornamental grasses in late month. It's important to remove the brown leaves before the new growth emerges and mixes with the old growth. -Plant petunias now for a good flower show in early spring. -Plant bulbs for spring & summer color. -Remove old flowers from cool-season bedding plants to extend blooming and improve flower show. -Replenish cool season crops. -Shop for spring seeds. You can always begin a spring seedling in a cow pot, which is an organic biodegradable solution to planting! -Apply a pre-emergent herbicide to stop weeds in their tracks for lawns and beds. -Clean out bird baths and houses to get ready for spring residents. -Watch for lacebugs on azaleas. They cause foliage to have numerous small white spots as they feed under lower foliage. We can help you control them. - February is the ideal time to fertilize trees. The trees that benefit most from fertilization at this time are the ones that are in the first 10 years after planting. Trees in low vigor also should be fertilized. The best way to fertilize them is by evenly applying the fertilizer around the base. Place it halfway out from the trunk and slightly past the drip line where most feeder roots are found. Deciduous trees require 4-6 lbs of a balanced fertilizer per 1000 sq ft of area. Evergreen trees are fertilized at a rate of 1-3 lbs per 1000 sq ft. A great resource for citrus trees is LSU Ag Center's "Louisiana Home Orchard" pdf document. You can find it by clicking here. February is also a great time to plant pecan and other fruit trees in order to establish a healthy root system. -Don't forget your sweetheart! Nothing says love like roses! This year, instead of giving a dozen roses that will die after a few weeks in a vase, what about giving a rose bush that will continue to bloom? Endless love!

Plan the number and size of flowerbeds so the maintenance they will require can be carried out-not just in spring, but through the hot summer months. Trust us- we want you to plant to your heart’s content! But, be careful not to plant more beds than you have the time, physical ability or inclination to devote to their care and upkeep. Think about the colors you want to use and their placement in the landscape before you come visit us. However, we can always help you with that if you’re not sure! We suggest you use masses of colors to maximize visual effects. Use colors that combine well with the background and that pleasantly harmonize or contrast with each other. Locate color in the landscape where you want to focus the viewer’s attention. Evaluate the light conditions and determine if the bed is sunny (6 hours or more of direct sun) or shady (2-4 hours of direct sun) before you come visit us. That way, we can help you make the right selection for success. We want to help you choose the plants that will do well in the location where you intend to plant them. Check the labels on the plants you consider using for how tall they will grow, since this is important to how you will use them. It’s not unusual for bedding plants to exceed the size on the tag in our area due to our long growing season and fertile soils. But, it’s a good guide! Enrich flower beds with 2-4’’ of organic matter, such as compost, and general-purpose fertilizer (following package directions) thoroughly incorporated into the upper 8’’ of soil. The performance of bedding plants in your landscape depends a lot on how well you prepare the beds prior to planting.  After planting, apply about 2’’ of your favorite mulch to be icing on the cake! Enjoy your flowerbed!

Perennials - Cut remaining stems and leaves from last season including ornamental grasses, do this before new growth begins. Divide perennials like Hosta and ornamental grasses every three to five years to promote healthy plants and share with friends or create new plantings. Fertilize with Fertilome Blooming & Rooting - this is a premium flower food designed to supply the necessary nutrients to maximize blooms throughout the growing season. Landscape Beds - Prune non-spring flowering shrubs before new growth begins to shape and encourage a more compact habit. Clean up all debris and apply Osmocote, just one feeding provides a constant supply of nutrients for 4 months and encourages a strong root system. Prevent weed growth before it starts with Hi-Yield Weed & Grass Stopper with Dimension under mulch to stop weeds for up to 4 months. This product works better on grassy weed seeds and lasts longer than Treflan and will not harm existing plants. Rose Care - As new growth begins, prune all the injured stems from winter to about 12 inches. To prevent disease/fungus from over wintering, clean the rose bed by removing leaves and other debris. Feed now with any organic form of fertilizer that provides all the necessary nutrients in a non-burning, ready to use granular application that produces wonderful results. Vigorous growing roses are far less susceptible to pest attacks than those that are struggling. Lawns – Apply Fertilome St Augustine Weed & Feed to fertilize your lawn/grass. This not only greens up the lawn but also prevents many other weeds before they start. Feeding with Fertilome St. Augustine Weed & Feed makes it strong so that it chokes unwanted weeds out. Practice patience, Spring renewal has just begun! Winter injury is showing up on many landscape plants, particularly broad-leaf evergreens like Azalea, Bottlebrush, Boxwood, Euonymus, and Mahonia. Brown leaves are a typical sign and as temperatures rise the damage will become even more apparent. Even though leaves look dead, the stems may be fine. So what can you do? Our best advice, practice patience. Wait until new growth appears (which could be well into April this year) before trimming. If you cannot wait until new growth starts, be sure you are only cutting off dead stems. You can tell by scratching the stem with your fingernail. If the internal part of the stem is still green there is a chance you will get new leaves. Dead brown leaves should fall off as new growth occurs. For palms, let them yellow from the outside of the frond to the trunk. They are sending nutrients back to the trunk to preserve themselves. Cut off the brown fronds.

When the calendar page turns to February, we all think of Roses! Roses say “love” with their beauty and fragrance. Planting roses now ensures vigorous blooms for Valentine’s Day and beyond. Whether you enjoy the soft, quintessential romantic tones of pinks, reds and whites or say your love loud with yellow or purple, we have the rose for your garden. To hold hands with your new rose, here is a guide of products. Please visit with a knowledgeable employee at our garden center to determine which of these is the best fit to help your rose garden take root and grow.  Bayer All-in-One Rose & Flower Care This product’s exclusive 3-in-1 formula feeds and protects in one easy step. The fertilizer promotes strong roots and beautiful blooms. The insect control keeps small biting pests like Thrips, Aphids and others away. The disease control helps with black spot, powdery mildew, rust and Southern blight. One application of this will protect your roses for 6 weeks. Fertilome Rose & Flower Food with Systemic Insecticide This product is excellent in early Spring & early Fall. It will help to boost an attractive Spring & Fall display by promoting strong roots and beautiful blooms. With a systemic insect control built it, it will protects plants from damage by aphids, whiteflies, mealybugs, scale among other pests. As a bonus- it boasts “rainproof protection” so no worries if you put down the product only for it to get wet. This will feed for up to 8 weeks and treats up to 32 rose bushes (or 200 sq ft) so get growing y’all! Organic Options: These options are favorable year-long fertilizers, which break down into soil to become part of the soil’s eco system. This helps to feed for a long time. Espomoa Rose-Tone {Rose & Flower Food} This product is designed to supply the necessary nutrients for growing prize-winning roses. It’s created from natural and organic plant food, but not containing any sledges or fillers. How does it work? The organics inside break down gradually to provide a long-lasting food reservoir throughout the growing season. There is also a proprietary blend of microbes that biologically enhances the mix, called Bio-Tone, thus resulting in superior plant growth. Natural Guard by Fertilome {Rose & Flower Food} This product is formulated to create more flowers that are larger and more vibrant. Inside this organic product is all natural options that can be used with confidence in your garden. Like Espoma’s Bio-Tone, this product has a similar ingredient “BIOZOME.” BIOZOME is a micro-nutrient fertilizer that contains all the essential micro-nutrients Boron, Cobalt, Copper, Iron, Magnesium, Manganese, Molybdenum, Sulfur and Zinc. Dr. Earth Rose & Flower Fertilizer This product is a liquid rose and flower fertilizer, which is absorbed much quicker and produces results much faster. It contains PreBiotic and ProMoisture Hydrate, which is to feed flowering plants naturally and promotes bigger, more abundant blooms. The PreBiotics (soluble sugars) provide the existing soil microbes with food and energy to multiply more quickly. ProMoisture Hydrate (Aloe vera) concentrate assists in the hydration of biotics in the soil by coating them with a patent-pending slimy layer to enhance mircrobial hydration. Happy Frog Jump Start Fertilizer This product is great for any new planting, including roses! It is specifically formulated to get new plantings established faster. This proprietary mix of fertilizers supplies phosphorus, which is necessary for root development. It also contains calcium, which builds stronger cell walls, boosting the plant’s ability to resist disease. Mycorrhizal fungi are included to help increase root efficiency, which may enhance nutrient uptake and water absorption.

Roses enhance a garden with beauty & elegance. Now is the perfect time to plant bare root roses so they can come alive in your garden this spring. But, first you need to decide which genre best suits you! Here are the types of roses: Hybrid Teas Roses have been providing colorful displays, rich fragrances and beautiful cut flowers for years. They are exceptionally versatile, useful and will bring years of beauty to your home and garden. These roses are considered the 'Royalty' of the rose family. They are known for their large pointed buds and long, strong stems. Hybrid teas are the classic long stem rose. They are ideal as a cut flower, either alone or in an arrangement. Regular deadheading is recommended for best bloom. Grandifloras They are similar to the hybrid roses and bear large, hybrid-tea like flowers with the same form, but with cluster of blooms on each stem. They are tall, hardy and vigorous. Grandifloras have shorter stems than hybrids, but still make good cut flowers. They can easily be used for creating a mass of color in the landscape. Regular deadheading enhances performance. Floribundas This is now the second largest class of roses. They are shorter-growing than the hybrid teas, and bloom heavily, producing clusters of flowers from June till frost. Their flowers tend to be smaller than hybrid teas. Their lower heights make them ideal for walkways, borders, or in a bed with other roses such as hybrid teas and grandifloras. Periodic trimming keeps them at their best. English These are a cross between old and modern roses popularized by David Austin. Designed to be massed together they offer a charming old-fashioned form and rich fragrance. Miniatures Miniature roses are perfectly scaled, smaller versions of full-sized roses. They are almost always propagated and grown on their own roots, making them extremely winter hardy. They require more frequent watering, as their roots are smaller and not as deep into the soil. A general rule for fertilizing miniatures is a third as much, twice as often. They grow 6"-36" tall, and are ideal in containers, rock gardens or as edging plants. Shrubs This type of rose has flourished in popularity over recent years because of their hardiness and carefree maintenance. Shrub roses bloom profusely during the growing season and require minimal winter protection. Perfect for low borders, hedges and foundation plantings. Occasional trimming in late summer and winter is usually enough for these hardy plants. Flower Carpet Flower Carpet roses are ideal for borders. Be sure to leave sufficient space for these hardy, heavy bloomers. Drift Exceptionally hardy, spreading roses that quickly cover large spaces. Ideal for slopes or anywhere you want low-growing color that's attractive and practically carefree. Climbers Climbers are vigorous and easy to grow. Climbers produce very long canes that need to be anchored to a fence, trellis or other support. Give them plenty of room and fertilizer. A stunning look is planting a climbing rose and a clematis vine together for continuous flowering. Roses have been providing colorful displays, rich fragrances and beautiful cut flowers for years. They are exceptionally versatile, useful and will bring years of beauty to your home and garden. Now, you’ve selected what type is best for you and your garden. Here’s how to plant: Site preparation All roses require full sun (at least 4-6 hours per day). Locations that receive early morning sun offer good protection against mildew. Roses need well-drained soil. Good soil additives, like forest compost and peat, are ideal. Use 1/3 additive and 2/3 soil for your planting bed. Planting The hole should be dug twice as wide and 1 1/2 times as deep as the root ball of the rose. Build a mound of soil in the hole to support roots and to hold the plant at the proper height. The bud level should be at above the soil line to protect from rot. Fill soil around roots and water thoroughly. Apply 2-3 inches of mulch to conserve moisture and prevent weeds. Watering During spring and fall roses should receive 1/2 gallon of water per day and 1 gallon a day during the hot summer days! Water roses well before going into winter. Use of a soaker hose is highly encouraged. These work by getting the water to the plants where they need it most, (the roots) and keeping the foliage as dry as possible. If you do water from above, do so early in the morning so the foliage has a chance to dry. This will discourage fungal diseases. Fertilization Fertilize when roses begin to leaf out in the spring, around March 15, and again in mid-June. Water thoroughly after each fertilization. Do not fertilize after mid- August in this area.  Pruning The first major pruning is done in spring when the last hard frost has passed. You will want to remove dead or diseased wood and any weak, damaged, or crossed branches. This should leave you with three to four healthy strong canes pencil size or larger. Make sure all cuts are done on an angle so water will run off canes instead of sitting on top. If you prune well in the spring, you may not have to prune too much the rest of the season. Deadhead hybrid teas, grandifloras and floribundas during the season. This is when you cut a finished bloom 1/4” above a fifth leaf on the outside of the cane. You will want to stop pruning by mid-September.

Repeat flowering roses should be pruned anytime from late January through mid-February. We call it a "Labor of Love" as an easy way to remember to prune roses around Labor Day and Valentine's Day. We are in the realm of Valentine's Day, so it's time to give roses some "love." This pruning is especially important for the popular hybrid tea and grandiflora roses, but all types of repeat-flowering roses benefit from pruning. Without the annual pruning, roses generally become leggy, less vigorous and unattractive and do not bloom as well. To prune, use sharp bypass pruners on your roses. Should you need to cut canes larger than one –half inch in diameter, you should use bypass loppers. It’s a good idea to wear a sturdy pair of leather gloves and long sleeves to protect your hands and arms from the thorns. When pruning Hybrid Tea and Grandiflora Roses: First, remove all diseased or dead canes and weal or spindly canes that are the diameter of a pencil or less by cutting them back to their points of origin. A good rose bush should have 4-8 strong, healthy canes the diameter of your finger or larger after this first step. Cut back the remaining canes to about 24 inches from ground level. When you prune a cane, make the cut about one-quarter inch above a dormant bud or newly sprouted side shoot. Try to cut back to buds that face out, away from the center of the bush. The new shoot produced by the bud will grow outward, opening up the bush for light, air and orderly growth. This may seem picky, but it makes a difference. When pruning other types of ever-blooming roses: In general, roses in this category have more pleasing shapes without severe pruning. But, pruning is still needed to stimulate vigorous growth and control the size and shape. First, remove any dead or diseased canes. To lightly shape the bushes, selectively cut back individual branches to improve the overall form. If a bush is overgrown, it will tolerate hard pruning to get back into shape. As a rule of thumb, these roses are cut back about 1/3 to ½ their height, depending on the situation. Long, especially vigorous shoots that have grown well beyond the rest of a bush and make it look out of balance may be cut back more than the rest of the bush. Young bushes planted within the past year or two likely will not need drastic pruning but they may be cut back lightly to encourage a full, bushy plant. When pruning once-blooming roses: Once-blooming roses should not be pruned now in late winter. Once-blooming roses produce their flowers on growth made the previous year. If they are pruned back now, they will produce few, if any, flowers. It’s far easier for you and healthier for the rose bush if you prune at least once a year. It is very difficult to properly prune a rose bush that has been allowed to grow for several years without pruning. There’s another prune push in late summer-around late August.  Adapted from Horticulture Hints, LSU Ag Center. Click Here to visit LSU Ag Center.

We all love a good mixed cocktail- even your lawn! This is our “winter weed cocktail mix” to help control the winter weeds and prevent the pesky spring & summer weeds from popping up. Ingredients: -1.5 ounce of Fertilome Weed Free Zone. This product is a consistent and fast-acting controller of tough weeds like clover, plantain, ground ivy, spurge and others. We love it because it has a proven cool weather performance. -8.6 ounces of Hi-Yield Atrazine Weed Killer. This product is to control both the emerged weeds and the weeds from seeds in St. Augustine and Centipedegrass. There’s a long list of tough weeds it’s known to control.  -2 teaspoons of Hi-Yield Spreader Sticker. This product does just what its name suggests: It helps other products stick! It’s a non-ionic surfactant that improves and increases absorption of insecticides, herbicides, fungicides and liquid fertilizers. Once you have your ingredients gathered, mix them together in 1 gallon of water in a pump sprayer and apply uniformly over 1,000 sq ft of your lawn. For best results, apply starting in early February , for winter control and to help prevent Spring and Summer weeds. You only need one treatment of this anytime from early February until around late April- or when the temperatures become consistently in the 90s. To continue the treatment, applying Hi-Yield’s Dimension in early October will greatly help winter weeds from reoccurring. As always in any season, call on us to help you know it and grow it!

Container gardening is a great way to enjoy all the pleasures of a garden without as much space, labor or time, but you don't have to sacrifice beauty. Plan your containers to use spillers, thrillers and fillers in dramatic combinations, and you'll have showstopping containers in no time. A key tip is to make sure you know where your container will be placed (sun/shade/partial) so all the plants will “speak the same language.” For example, a shade-loving thriller like Cordyline doesn’t enjoy the sun like fillers Zinnia would. For the best success, pick plants that enjoy the same conditions! We are always here to help! STEP 1: THRILLER The “Thriller” should be the largest, most colorful or most unusual in the container. Your “Thriller” is what draws attention to your container, and they are placed in the center or back of the container you choose. STEP 2: FILLER The “Fillers” function is to fill the space between the “Spiller” and the “Thriller.” The “Filler” should not outshine the “Thriller,” but work as a bridge between the “Spiller” and the “Thriller.” STEP 3: SPILLER The “Spiller” adds character to the container and softens the edges. Plants suitable for “Spillers” should have a trailing growth habit. “Spillers” should be planted around the rim of your container. Thrillers A thriller is the centerpiece of a container, and is often a tall, dramatic plant that immediately draws the eye. Opt for unique plants with unexpected textures or structures to create that thrilling spotlight in any container. An alternative idea is to have the thriller be an evergreen that is a staple year-round, and add in fillers and spillers to match the season. The selection of thriller plants, both in evergreen or seasonal varieties, is immense and would take a nice long stroll around our Garden Center to decide. However, here are some top ideas to get you inspired… Popular thriller plants include: · Elephant ears · Fountain grasses · Boxwoods, like the Spiral · Sky Pencil Holly · Agave · Agapanthus · Junipers · Salvia · Foxtail Ferns · Palms · Bleeding hearts with use of a trellis · Clematis with use of a trellis · Dwarf Meyer Lemon Tree · Lilies · Canna Lily · Cordyline Fillers Filler plants are smaller, mounding plants that literally fill in the excess space in a container, but they don't have to be boring. Look for colors, foliage shapes and textures that contrast well with your spillers and thrillers, and don't shy away from unusual options. The selection of filler plants, is immense (almost anything in our front color area) and would take a nice long stroll around our Garden Center to decide. However, here are some top ideas to get you inspired… Great fillers include: · Herbs · Small low and mounding ornamental grasses, like Aztec · Begonia · Coleus · Hostas · Ferns · Oxalis · Any seasonal color like zinnia, marigolds, celosia, vinca, etc Spillers Spillers are trailing plants that deliberately spill over the edge of containers to create a more organic, living feel to the arrangement. They can make a small container seem much larger. The selection of filler plants, is immense and would take a nice long stroll around our Garden Center to decide. However, here are some top ideas to get you inspired… Top spiller plants include: · Sweet potato vines · Clematis (could be a thriller also with the use of a trellis) · Nasturtium · Verbena · Trailing Petunias · Ivy · Lysimachia (Golden Globes blooms a yellow flower) · Delosperma/Ice Plant · Sedum, such as Lemon Ball · Trailing Vinca · Creeping Fig · Creeping Jenny · Cuphea (Honeybells, White, Bat Face, Bleeding Heart)  No matter which spillers, thrillers or fillers you choose for containers, use each container as an opportunity to experiment with new and unique textures, colors or arrangements, and have fun choosing new plants to try. The more dramatic the arrangement, the more attention your amazing containers will get!

Like gemstones, flowers can represent birthdays in each month of the year. Which one is yours? January: Carnation Carnations are the birth flowers for January. Different colors convey different meanings. White carnations symbolize pure love, while yellow means “wish you were here” and pink says, “you’re unforgettable.” Snowdrops, which indicate hope and beauty, are also flowers for this month. February: Iris and Violet February birthdays are represented by violets or irises, flowers that suggest loyalty and faithfulness. The three upright petals of an iris bloom can indicate courage, faith and wisdom, or friendship, hope and compliments. March: Daffodil Daffodils, sometimes called jonquils or narcissus, are the birth flowers for March. Because they often bloom in early spring, they symbolize new birth, beginnings, happiness and joy. April: Daisy and Sweet Pea Cheerful daisies represent April birthdays. While they often symbolize beauty, innocence, love or purity, they can also mean, “I’ll never tell.” Sweet peas are also birth flowers for April. May: Lily of the Valley Lilies of the Valley, with their sweet perfumes, celebrate May birthdays. They suggest humility and happiness. June: Rose Like carnations, roses, which represent June birthdays, have different meanings for different colors. Red roses signify love, while yellow ones indicate anything from jealousy to friendship. Orange or apricot roses mean desire and enthusiasm. July: Larkspur and Waterlily While pink larkspurs can symbolize a fickle love, purple ones mean first love, and white indicates a happy spirit. These pretty flowers are linked to July birthdays. Waterlilies, which stand for a pure and open heart, or majesty, also represent this month. August: Glads “Remember me” is the message of gladioli, birth flowers for August. The flowers can also mean strength and integrity, while the sword-shaped leaves suggest love-pierced hearts. In ancient times, glads were associated with magical powers. September: Aster Fall-blooming asters symbolize a strong and powerful love and are the birth flowers for September. They also indicate faith and wisdom. October: Marigold Marigolds, in their rich, autumnal colors, symbolize undying love and represent October birthdays. These pungent-smelling flowers can also mean “I’m thinking of you” or indicate sadness and sympathy. November: Mum Chrysanthemums, plants especially prized by Japanese gardeners, stand for November birthdays. White mums signify innocence and purity, while yellow ones indicate that a loved one feels slighted.  December: Narcissus, Holly, Poinsettia Several plants represent December birthdays, including narcissus (think forced bulbs), hollies and poinsettias. Hollies show a desire for a happy home, while poinsettias stand for good cheer.