Spring for Citrus

Pollinators play an important role. In fact, they are essential in the eco system surviving. The simple truth is that we can’t live without them! Virtually all of the world’s seed plants need to be pollinated. Let’s celebrate pollinators and help them do their job, which benefits us most of all, by cultivating the specimens they need to thrive. Butterflies: Everyone loves to watch butterflies flutter from flower to flower. It brings us a sense of relaxation to watch a butterfly, and to know we have planted what they love brings accomplishment! The most important thing to remember when creating a butterfly garden is to plant both nectar and host plants. Providing host plants for caterpillars to feed on, you will have a front row seat to the metamorphosis process! The caterpillars will consume the host plants then become a chrysalis before the adult butterfly emerges looking for the nectar plants. Then, the females will lay the eggs to hatch into a caterpillar so the cycle can continue. It’s important to plant host plants and not be discouraged with caterpillars eating the plant. It’s usually only temporary! Some host plant ideas are: Passionflower, Milkweed, Swamp Milkweed, Asters, Butterfly Weed, Dill, Hollyhock, Sassafras, Fennel, etc. Nectar plants for the butterflies serve their purpose, and are beautiful in your space! There are so many choices, and they all pack a pop of color to enjoy all season! A great idea to cover a problem area while luring butterflies to your yard is to buy seeds and sprinkle them in that area. The seeds will germinate and create a lasting love for you, and the butterflies! If you don’t have room for a garden, hanging baskets will do the trick just as nicely. Some great nectar plant ideas in shrubs are: abelias, butterfly bush, honeysuckle, spiraea, etc. Some great nectar plant ideas in perennials are: yarrow, butterfly weed, aster, daisy, cosmos, coneflower, joe-pye weed, sunflowers, salvias etc. Some great nectar plant ideas in annuals are: lantana, zinnia, penta, marigold, verbena, geranium, portulaca, allysum, impatiens, etc. One last important thing to note when planting your butterfly retreat is not to use any pesticides! You may be killing off the very insects you made the garden for. There are natural remedy options to repel harmful insects, like aphids. Talk to us in the Plant Health Care room to help point you in the right direction! Bees: As stated in the introduction, every garden requires pollinators, and bees are among the finest, and hardest working! Without bees, there would be limited flowers and far fewer fruits and vegetables to enjoy. In fact, about 30% of the food we all eat depends on the pollination of bees. Besides planting flowers they enjoy, consider bringing more bees to your garden by providing a safe place for their shelter and to lay their eggs. Pollinator houses are trendy and compact enough to be part of your patio décor. There are many bees that are great pollinators, such as the carpenter, mining, sweat and cellophane bees. However, some of the most well-known and easily identified bees are the honey and bumble bee. Both of these live in social colonies and are cavity nesters. They require a constant supply of floral nectar close to their hive all summer long. Some of the biggest threats to the healthy and continued existence of the honey and bumble bee are their habitat loss. Some great nectar plant ideas in trees and shrubs are: apple, redbud, willow, blackberry, blueberry, etc. Some great nectar plant ideas in perennials are: aster, bee balm, black-eyed Susans, goldenrod, joe-pye weed, penstemon, coneflower, savlias, stonecrop, sunflower, etc. Some great nectar plant ideas in annuals are: lantana, aster, catmint, alyssum, salvias, zinnias, lavender, marigolds, calendula, etc. As with butterflies, keep the bees in your garden by eliminating chemical use, especially when plants are in flower. Hummingbirds: The ruby-throated hummingbirds zip across our Southern skies twice a year. They begin migrating from Mexico during the late winter and early spring to head up north for the summer. Then, once it’s fall again (usually August), they will make their way back south to Mexico. Fun facts about hummingbirds: They are the smallest bird in the world! They can beat their wings about 75 times per second! Wow! They can drink 8x their body weight, and also consume about 500 insects daily! Time to get their feeders and your yard ready to fuel them! Hanging hummingbird feeders with sugar water attracts birds looking for a snack. Most feeders are red since this is the color proven to attract them. We sell safe nectar ready to hang to welcome these winged creatures! It’s important to note that if you’re DIYing your nectar, do not use red dye. Hanging a feeder from February through October is a good plan of action! You can also charm hummingbirds to your yard with a selection of their favorite nectar-producing flowers. They are actually attracted to plants with color, and not plants with scent. Red is their choice in color, but any other bright colors like pink, purple, orange and yellow will also attract them. Another important factor to their favorite plants is the shape. Tubular-shaped flowers accommodate their long, narrow beaks. Some great nectar plant ideas in shrubs are: azaleas, butterfly bush, abelias, bottle brush, etc. Some great nectar plant ideas in vines are: honeysuckle, tangerine beauty crossvine, etc. Some great nectar plant ideas in perennials are: bugleweed, bee balm, cardinal flower, columbine, coral bells, daylily, delphinium, gaura, hollyhock, hosta, phlox, gayfeather, rose mallow, cuphea , salvias, etc. Some great nectar plant ideas in annuals are: fuchsia, penta, geranium, sage, nasturtium, petunia, pineapple sage, red salvia, zinnia, etc. An important note, similar to the butterflies and bees, refrain from using insecticides when attracting hummingbirds. They rely on insects for protein, especially during the summer, so they’ll help to clean out your beds of pests!  For all pollinators, make sure you offer them an available water source, such as a birdbath!

These annuals, perennials, vines and other hardy growers make great companions for a mailbox garden design. We have HUNDREDS of choices for your mailbox garden, both in perennials and annuals. If short evergreen shrubs, like the shi shi camellia, or vining climbers, like the Peggy Martin rose, or a jasmine are your style, we have many selections for you as well. Stroll and shop our now expanded garden center to plant the perfect plants(s). Coreopsis auriculata 'Nana' Also known as tickseed, Coreopsis auriculata is a North America native perennial that grows easily in conditions of full sun and soil with medium moisture. Yellow blooms appear from May to June that attract butterflies and the seeds that are produced resemble ticks, hence the common name tickseed. Purple Homestead Verbena Verbena Canadensis ‘Homestead Purple’ requires full sun for the best results and produces a vivid purple flower. A slender-stemmed perennial verbena in a deep, royal purple bloom cluster typical of verbenas, it can grow to heights of 12 inches and widths of 3 feet and can bloom from late summer to the first frost Rosemary Winter hardy, Rosmarinus officinalis is a herbaceous perennial that grows best in full sun and produces pale blue and white flowers during the bloom season. Fragrant and easy to prune and shape, rosemary is an easy maintenance choice for mailbox areas, herb gardens or patio containers. The best part is being able to cut some off for your favorite recipes while you are checking the mail. Cora Cascade Vinca Vinca is one of the toughest, heat-loving annuals for our climate, and the Cora series has a hearty helping of disease resistance, as well. Nothing will flower as much in full sun and hot conditions as the annual vinca. This flower requires no deadheading, little fertilizer, and should only be watered during drought when well-established. Clematis Clematis is a genus within the buttercup family Ranunculaceae with more than 300 species. Clematis is popular with gardeners for its lovely blooms and ability to grow on walls, fences, mailboxes and other areas to highlight its foliage to best advantage. Yarrow A perennial that thrives in full sun and well drained, low moisture soil, produces sweet & small flowers and fern-like, silvery foliage with a bloom period of June to September. Maiden Grass Miscanthus sinensis is a perennial ornamental grass which can grow from 3 to 6 feet in height and spread as wide, depending on variety. With its graceful plumes, which can range in color from sand-pink to silvery-white, maiden grass makes an appealing living hedge or border. They tolerate tough conditions associated with a roadside planting. Pink muhly grass stays around 3’x3’ and blooms a soft pink cotton-candy-like foliage for interest in fall. For best results, plan on cutting them back to the ground in early spring. Summer Phlox Native to North America, Phlox paniculata is a summer flowering perennial whose mid-summer to mid-fall blooms may vary in color from white to purple. It requires sandy, loamy soil and can take partial shade and partial to full sun. Butterfly Iris Best grown in full sun to part shade, Butterfly Iris is a perennial that can tolerate poor, dry soil due to its thick root system. The blooms are creamy white and yellow flowers on 28 inch stalks and attracts hummingbirds. Please note- All Seasons may or may not have these plants in stock available to purchase at the time you come to purchase these. If you're ever looking for something specific, please call the garden center at 337.264.1418 or send an email question via this link prior to your shopping visit!

Shop for the one you love at the place she loves! We are your Mother's Day Headquarters! From plants to accessories, we have everything your Mom will sure to love! We also offer gift cards in any mount so Mom can pick out her own presents or plants! Mother's Day is May 12. Click here to read Mom Must Haves It's time to change out tired, cool-season annuals with heat-loving summer annuals such as: Angelonia, pentas, portulaca, vinca & much more. Planting tropical sun lovers like hibiscus is ideal now, too. To encourage more rapid re-blooming, pinch off old flowers on bedding plants after their first flower cycle is complete. MAY TO DO LIST: -Plant warm-season bedding plants. Vinca can now be planted for best results! Don’t know which warm-season bedding plants will be best for your area? Come visit us for a wide selection and knowledge to be successful! -To encourage more rapid re-blooming, pinch off old flowers on bedding plants. -It’s a great time to plant a crape myrtle tree for great summer flowering. -Prune & feed azaleas & camellias once their blooming has finished. -Sow seeds for heat-loving annuals and watch them begin to grow! This is a fun kid project, too, once school is out. -Now is the time to plant all kinds of summer-loving vegetables. -Prune & shape all winter-flowering shrubs and vines. -Mulch all garden beds well to help regulate soil temperature, retain moisture, and keep weeds at bay. An excellent mulch to try, in addition to Grade ‘A’ Cypress or Cedar, is pine straw. To effectively suppress weeds, apply mulch 2 inches thick. -When in the garden, wear a wide brim hat and apply sunscreen. -Plants you had indoors for cool weather can now reside outside. -Place houseplant containers in an area that receives bright shade- not direct sun. -Don't forget to fill bird feeders with seed! -Watch for insect problems on roses. Aphids may develop on tender new growth, thrips on flowers and cucumber beetles on foliage. Let us know and we'll set you up with the proper treatment. -After spring bulbs finish flowering, wait until the foliage turns yellow before cutting it off. This is because food is being manufactured and stored for next year’s blooms.

Shop for the one you love at the place she loves! We have HUNDREDS of gift ideas for your Mom, a special Mom in your life or even for you to put on your kids’ list! With the recent expansion, our footprint has gotten larger with more plants she will love, a large pavilion full of gift ideas for her home + garden, pottery in all sizes and colors, furniture and much more. Gift cards serve as a quick and easy gift, giving Mom the joy of shopping in any and all seasons for her favorites. Buy Mom an EGift Card online here! If you would like to purchase Mom a special plant, we have come up with a list of blooming beauties she would likely enjoy that we have now! Pick from pretty blooms like Mom, or plants in her favorite color family! The gift ideas are upon every turn; we invite you to stroll and shop! Plant Mom a Container Garden: We have SO MANY plants and pots, so dig Mom by planting her a custom container garden! We can help you mix the right plants for full sun or shade. Mix colors and textures, or stay with the same color- the possibilities are ready for you to DIG! Great full sun plants that do well in containers are pentas, vinca, salvias, angelonias, zinnas and many more. Great plants for Mom’s more shaded area are caladiums, begonias, torenias, impatiens and many more. We even offer a potting service, so we can create it all for your Mom- even if you give us a call for a phone order, and even if you don’t live in town. We offer delivery services right to Mom’s door. Clematis: Clematis are gorgeous blooming vines with flowers often as large as your hand. These are tough perennials that like to keep their roots shaded, but otherwise can take the sun/partial sun. Several varieties are available in colors from white to bright purple. Since they like to climb, they are great on a trellis in a large pot or on a wall, on an arbor, a mailbox, etc! Mandevillea/Bougainvillea/Hibiscus: Bring Mom a slice of the tropics with these bright bloomers that put on a show from Spring all the way through summer (and since we *typically* have mild winters, through the winter season as well.) Mandevilleas can climb a trellis, mailbox, arbor, etc, or add beauty to a container or landscape in the bush-form variety. With their trumpet-shaped flowers, hummingbirds enjoy them-especially the red ones! Bougainvillea “blooms” are paper-thin, but their bright presence brings us straight to a tropical paradise. They are often in hanging baskets which brings a pop to a porch. Hibiscus plants bloom in the brightest shades of red, orange, yellow, pink and even a mix of some! Blooms can even be double- you should see the peach color one we have now! Cajun Hibiscus have our local Cajun personality with larger blooms, typically “loud” with ruffles, crazy colors and simply show-stopping. Cajun Hibiscus: We love our loud and proud Cajun Moms! Mimic her personality with a Cajun Hibiscus- the leaves and blooms are larger and showier than the traditional Hibiscus. A bonus to this gift is to select Mom a variety like “Cajun Maiden,” “Grand Mere” or “Love Song!” The names, and blooms, are beautiful and memorable- just like Mom! Shasta Daisy: Many Moms love the look of sweet, delicate daisies. The Shasta doesn’t disappoint. It mixes well with others in a full-sun container, or can be planted in mom’s garden. A fun thing for Mom to do with these is to cut the blooms, place them in a vase and use as a tabletop reminder of your Mother’s Day gift. This form of “cut flowers” lasts much longer than a store-bought bouquet. Sunflower: Few perennials embody the sun’s sunshine like a sunflower! The recognizable blooms are as radiant as Mom, and some varieties can grow as tall as her, too! Herbs and Vegetables: Does Mom love to cook? Give the gift of her ingredients! With fresh herbs, she can easily flavor your family’s favorites- like a pasta or a gumbo! Another herb gift idea we love is lavender! Lavender has stress-relieving benefits that Mom surly needs. Add to her vegetable garden or get her started. We can help pair you with everything she needs- like an easy raised bed (check out our Big Bag Bed product), organic soil amendments, vegetables from tomatoes to squash to melons to peppers of every spice level. Some can even be planted in a container for easy access! Citrus, Fruit Trees, Berries: Give Mom the gift of an orchard with results she will surely enjoy as healthy snacks, meal additions, and more! We have several varieties of citrus, like lemons, oranges, limes and more. A popular apple you can find in the grocery store is the Fuji, and we have it in tree form for Mom to plant and enjoy without needing to go to the store. Blueberries, blackberries, muscadine grapes and raspberries are fun to pick and enjoy as snacks and sides, plus Moms with youngin’s can plant for her kids to learn the love of gardening! Butterfly Attracting Plants & Milkweed: If Mom loves monarch butterflies, we have the milkweed they love. Milkweed is grown as a food source for the monarch caterpillar. They munch and begin their metamorphism- right in Mom’s garden. Pair milkweed with the plants butterflies enjoy- like lantana, salvia, coneflower, zinnia and more! Butterfly Bush: Speaking of butterflies, Buddleia, or Butterfly Bush is an all-time favorite butterfly magnet. A benefit for Mom is they have a sweet fragrance she will delight in having fill her garden while she watches butterflies flutter without being in a hurry. Japanese Maple, like Seiryu: Does Mom like unique trees that bring interest (and shade) to a back or front yard? You can’t go wrong with a Japanese Maple tree. The mature height, leaf and/or bark shade varies depending on the variety, but they all have a light, wispy look to them that makes them the focal point-much like Mom on Mother’s Day. Drift or Knockout Rose: Blooms on these low-growing shrub rose bushes pop in color and season- much like popcorn. In fact, we have a “Popcorn Drift Rose” variety! Colors are white, coral, red, pink, yellow and shades of those. These shrubs are ideal for landscapes since they stay low, add color and personality in several seasons. Much like the Shasta Daisies, Mom can clip the blooms for a vase for an alternate gift idea to the rose bouquet. Hydrangeas: Hydrangeas are an iconic look to a shady garden/landscape. Their large cluster-forming bloom heads bring a soft look when in the ground, and when used in fresh flower vases around the home. Hydrangeas in white may be Moms favorite, or she may want to change her soil pH level to go between the blue or pink Endless Summer varieties. The Summer Crush is a hot pink look to get Mom ready for summer, while the Limelight has hints of lime to the flower heads. Other varieties, such as Oak Leaf and Variegated are here as well and all will bring Mom a smile. Read more on Hydrangeas for Mom Confederate Jasmine: If Mom has a trellis, mailbox, or structure, a confederate jasmine will look (and smell) delightful climbing. Staying evergreen all year, the sweet white blooms explode with a sweet fragrance throughout spring and summer. Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow: This plant is a perfect metaphor for your love for Mom: you loved her yesterday, you love her today and you will love her tomorrow. The blooms are purple, fading to lavender and to white all while new blooms are putting on the same show. It’s a lovely plant for a partial sun area. Bird of Paradise: If Mom spends her daydreams on a tropical beach, a Bird of Paradise sets the stage in her ground or large container. With exotic blooms of orange (and we have yellow, as well as white for indoors), she will plant a “staycaction!” Gardenia: With snow-white blooms resembling roses, Gardenias not only look as sweet as Mom, they smell as sweet as her too! The strong fragrance carries on a breeze, and does well in ground or containers- especially near an entrance or frequent back-yard relaxing spot of Mom’s. Passion Vine: Another climbing option, but this one is for the Mom who enjoys something different, unusual, and a talking point! The blooms are a unique look, resembling something you would see when traveling to a rainforest. Butterflies are extra fond of the Red Passion Vine, which will bring another show to Mom’s garden! Interior Plants: It doesn’t matter if Mom works in an office, works from home, or simply enjoys the look of live plants in her home space: interior plants bring the outdoors in, calm moods and most importantly purify the air so Mom can stay healthy and happy. Our greenhouse is FULL of options with all shades of green, succulents, cacti, the Mom who likes a different look, or the Mom who loves a traditional Pothos Ivy, or the Mom who loves the trendy Peperomia or Fiddle Leaf Fig. Please note- All Seasons may or may not have these plants in stock available to purchase at the time you come to purchase these. If you're ever looking for something specific, please call the garden center at 337.264.1418 or send an email question via this link prior to your shopping visit!

If you love the beauty of a garden as well as sweet-smelling flowers and plants to give both your eyes and nose a Springtime delight, then check out these “nose”worthy specimens! Gardenia: Gardenias are one of the most iconic sweet smelling shrubs around, and we are lucky that they do so well in our climate. Their smell is often bottled for perfumes or added to extracts in soaps and lotions. Planting these at an entrance or around your outdoor entertaining area is sure to have your guests breathing in a deep breath to savoy the smell. Butterfly Bush, Buddleia: While there are many different varieties of Butterfly Bush with colors ranging from white to purple, pink, blue or even yellow, two things they all have in common are their honey-like fragrance and being a magnet to butterflies. In fact they are so rich in nectar, they are highly attractive to other beneficial insects and pollinators like bees, moths and hummingbirds, too. They are flowering shrubs that produce distinctive flowers starting in spring and lasting into fall. Scented Geranium (Pelargonium Citronella): This perennial that we’ve also nicknamed “Mosquito Plant/Shocker” has a strong citronella scent we find pleasant, but mosquitos hate. This is an ideal plant to banish the bug (mosquitoes), which is why we recommend planting this in your entertaining area, such as in container gardens. It’s also a great plant to crush the leaves and rub them on your skin while outdoors; offer some leaves to your company as a fun “party trick!” As a bonus, it blooms clusters of lavender-pink flowers adorned with deep crimson brush marks on the tops of their petals. Rosemary: Rosemary is an attractive perennial shrub with fragrant leaves. It’s also a popular culinary herb with a wonderful aroma and piney taste, which goes well with chicken, steak, pastas potatoes, or soups. In liquid form, its scent is enjoyed in soaps, diffusers and more! Rosemary also blooms small, sweet blue flowers. Skinner’s Banana Shrub: Is this a banana tree? Nope, it’s a magnolia, but its blooms smell just like bananas! It’s a worthwhile broadleaf evergreen shrub reaching heights of 10ft in full sun. The spring time flowers are small, cup-shaped and cream in color with a pleasing banana scent! This is a perfect plant for a border or screen hedge! Citrus Trees: Before you can pluck an orange or other citrus for your snack, the tree becomes covered in blooms! These blooms are white, fragrant sweet-smelling flowers with the buzz of pollinators in the air nearby! Society Garlic: These spring-blooming perennials produce stalks of star-shaped purple flowers. The plant gets its name from not only looking like garlic/chives, but smelling like garlic. However, it’s not garlic and is ornamental only, meaning to be enjoyed by your eyes and nose and not your taste buds! It’s a great plant for a full sun flower bed or container since it only reaches about a foot tall and wide. Plus, the garlic smell adds a twist of garden delight! Specialty Roses: “Take Time to Stop and Smell the Roses” is an idiom that means to relax and take time out to enjoy and appreciate the beauty of life. But, it’s also literal because the Specialty Roses smell absolutely heavenly. Planting a rose garden is a beautiful way to share the love of gardening with the love of beautiful blooms, beautiful scents and flowers worthy of being in a vase for interior enjoyment. Lavender: Lovely lavender adds a relaxing vibe and aroma to a garden or container. Lavender grows 1-3’ tall and has those long airy spikes with soft blue-violet flowers quintessential with the Mediterranean. The oils in the flowers are what give this herb its distinctive fragrance. When inhaled, lavender has calming properties that reduce anxiety, as well as being a gentle sedative for sleep. Its name derives from the Latin root “lavare,” which means “to wash,” because it was used in baths to purify the body and spirit. Magnolia: Plant Louisiana’s state flower as a show of culture as well as to enjoy the fragrant (and large) white flowers of this “famous face.” This evergreen tree is low maintenance and adaptable, not to mention making a strong southern statement. The blooms begin to burst open in spring & summer unleashing the sweet aroma of its flower. Don’t want a 40’+ tree in your front yard? The Little Gems, reaching only 12-14’ tall, offer a great alternative. Confederate Jasmine: These are some vines that really shine…or should we say “smell?!” Planting Confederate Jasmine along a fence, on a trellis, arbor or even a mailbox, adds a beautiful look and a strong sweet smell. This evergreen climber is known for its fragrant white star-shaped blooms, which will be more prolific when planted in full sun. Please note- All Seasons may or may not have these plants in stock available to purchase at the time you come to purchase these. If you're ever looking for something specific, please call the garden center at 337.264.1418 or send an email question via this link prior to your shopping visit!

With Mother's Day looming (May 12), why wait until the last minute!?!? Here at All Seasons Nursery we make Mother's Day shopping easy. Instead of giving mom a bouquet of cut flowers that will last a week, why not give her a plant that will give her cut flowers over and over!! Endless Summer Hydrangeas will bloom several times into the hotter months of summer. She can cut these huge blooms again and again. She can even change the color of the blooms by simply changing the soil pH from neutral or alkaline which will give her a pink bloom, to acidic which will give her a lavender to deep blue bloom. We also received a shipment of tiny container Hydrangeas for Mom’s home desk or other sweet spot! Some of them even fit in the palm of your hand! Caring for Hydrangeas is relatively simple. When planting choose a spot that receives dappled sun to shade. These plants like moist, but not wet, soil so they will need to be watered regularly, especially as the temperature starts to rise. They are deciduous plants, which means in the winter time the foliage will turn brown after the first hard freeze. Simply strip the dead foliage off and leave the plant alone. You will see new buds forming in mid to late spring. You can use aluminum sulfate, coffee grinds, pine straw or Miracid to acidify the soil if your desired color of the bloom is lavender or blue. Leave the soil alone if you want it to be pink. There are a few varieties in the Endless Summer series to choose from: Try any variety of Hydrangea and you (AND MOM) will be more than delighted with the results. HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY! Click here for more Hydrangea Growing Tips Hydrangea 101 Hydrangeas are among the most popular of garden plants and also some of the most confusing. What color will the flowers be? How can I change colors? How can I use them for arrangements? The first step in answering these questions is to determine what sort of hydrangea you have. Cone-shaped blooms occur on hardy hydrangeas. Brightly colored mophead (round) or lacecap (flat) flowers are usually bigleaf hydrangeas, although mountain hydrangeas also produce lacecap blooms. Bigleaf hydrangeas will have thicker, glossier foliage. Only bigleaf and mountain hydrangea blooms are affected by soil pH, which affects the bloom color. The flowers of other hydrangeas will not change color. Blue flowers appear in more acidic soils, where aluminum is more available to the plant. In more basic soils, where aluminum is less available, the flowers will be pinker. Blooms can range from deep blue to purple to hot pink, with different varieties having a tendency to be either pinker or bluer. You can adjust the color of the blooms by adding aluminum sulfate to the soil for more blue flowers and lime to soils to encourage pink blooms. It may take a couple of seasons to see the desired color. Many gardeners like to enjoy their hydrangeas year-round by cutting and drying them for arrangements. This is easy to do. First, cut the flowers when they are slightly past their peak. Next, place them in a vase and allow them to dry while in water. Drying them in water helps them to hold their shape and color as they dry. Types of Hydrangeas: · Mophead hydrangeas, or Hydrangea macrophyllas, have rounded, globe-like flower heads. Most prefer morning sun and afternoon shade, but avoid heavy shade, which can cause poor flowering. Generally speaking, the further north you live, the more sun mopheads can tolerate. Mops come in blue and pink, as well as white, lavender, and lilac · Lacecaps have flattened, loosely arranged flower heads. Also known as H. macrophylla normalis, they have the same basic growing requirements as mopheads. · H. serratas are a subspecies of the macrophyllas, and they’re smaller shrubs. Give them part shade, if you live in a sunny climate; elsewhere, they can take more sun. · H. arborescens is sometimes called smooth or wild hydrangea. The best-known variety is ‘Annabelle’, which bears big, white blooms and flowers dependably. Give this one some shade, especially if you live where the summers are hot. · H. quercifolia, or oakleaf hydrangea, has cone-shaped flower heads. It’s native to the southeastern U.S. and often droops when the sun bears down, but be careful not to overwater. It needs good drainage. Oakleafs can be huge, so look for a dwarf if space is limited. If planted in a sunny spot, it will develop gorgeous fall leaf color. Give it some shade if your climate is hot. How to Care for Hydrangeas: · For lots of beautiful flowers, choose a hydrangea that’s cold hardy in your garden zone. Check the plant tag to see if it requires sun or shade, so you can plant it in the right spot. Early summer and fall are the best times to plant. · Put your hydrangea where you won’t have to prune it. These shrubs grow vigorously, and besides—they’re big and beautiful by nature. · Plant in soil that drains easily, and add good organic material, if needed, to help loosen it. · Don’t plant your hydrangea any deeper than it was growing in the pot. · Avoid planting under trees, where the roots will compete for moisture and nutrients. · Keep your hydrangea watered for the first couple of years, to help develop strong roots. But don’t let water stand around your plants. Oakleafs are especially prone to root rot when they are kept too wet. · Fertilize once a year with a balanced, slow-release fertilizer, or fertilize twice a year with 10-10-10. Commercial manure or compost is an organic alternative. Stop fertilizing by August to let your hydrangea get ready to go dormant.

Once you know a few growing tips, you’ll enjoy these easy-to-grow beauties even more. They Can Take the Sun You don’t need heavy shade to grow hydrangeas. In our South region, most will thrive in morning sun and afternoon shade. We can help you depending on what variety you’re interested in planting. Avoid Trees Don’t plant hydrangeas directly under trees. They don’t like competing for moisture and nutrients, and aggressive tree roots will crowd them. Transplanting Hydrangea The best time to transplant a hydrangea is when it’s dormant in early spring or late fall, after most of the leaves have dropped. Deadhead Your Blooms Deadhead your hydrangeas to encourage more blooms. (Deadheading refers to cutting off dead or faded blooms.) But unless your plants have outgrown their location, it’s not necessary to prune at all, except to remove dead stems and branches. Cut Flower Arrangements If your hydrangea blooms wilt soon after you cut them, take a bucket of cool water along the next time you go into your garden. Drop the stems into the water right after you cut them. Back in the house, boil some water and let it cool for about a minute. Re-cut the hydrangea stems to the length you want, and pop them into the hot water for 30 seconds. Now put the stems in room temperature water and arrange as desired. Watering Hydrangea Hydrangeas are thirsty plants and like deep watering, especially in hot, dry weather. But don’t let them stand in puddles. Amend your soil with plenty of organic matter so it drains easily. We can help! Leaves, But no Blooms? Lots of leaves, but no blooms? You probably over-fertilized your hydrangeas. Once in early spring and again in late summer/very early fall is enough Use a time-release fertilizer or a balanced fertilizer like 10-10-10. We can help! Great Plant Combos Hydrangeas make a beautiful backdrop. Combine them with camellias, sweet potato vines, azaleas, begonias, gingers, caladiums, ferns, impatiens, hostas and any other flowers or foliage plants that like the same growing conditions. If necessary, keep your hydrangeas in shade or part shade, behind plants that need more sun. Great Company Try growing some evergreen shrubs and conifers near your hydrangeas. They’ll help provide winter interest when the plants drop their leaves. Change Their Color Hydrangeas will often be labelled as either blue or pink. The plants can be changed back and forth, however, with simple soil amendments. If you long to change the color of your hydrangea, try this simple trick. Adding sulfur to the soil will make it more acidic, and turn pink hydrangeas blue. Adding lime to the soil will make it alkaline, and will turn blooms pink. Have fun, and treat different plants with different amendments to have some of each color in your yard! We can help since we carry the right blends to change the soil AKA your hydrangea color! Read more in "Hydrangeas for Mom"

Shade is a lovely place to be during the hot Louisiana summers. Gardening in the shade can be a nice relief not only for ourselves, but for our plants. We are all aware of how intense the summer sun can be here in Southeast Louisiana, so take advantage of those pockets of shade you might have in your yard to create a beautiful garden space! Often times we think of colorful, flowering gardens as full sun gardens. Did you know that you can create a colorful garden in the shade as well? Here are some suggestions for adding color to your shade garden. For a specimen piece in your shade garden, consider using a Japanese maple to introduce a dark, contrasting red, purplish color. Japanese Maples are a deciduous tree that are native to Japan, and can be found growing wild in Central China, North and South Korea, and Southeast Russia. In places that are more north of the equator than we are, these trees can be grown in full sun, however, with the intensity of our sun during the summer, these trees will not perform to their best potential unless they are planted in full shade. Consider planting them underneath the canopy of other trees, or along the side of your house or courtyard where it is mostly shaded. Similarly, Hydrangeas, Hostas and Coral Bells are all plants that will perform best in shade. Use Hydrangeas to fill large spaces so that they will create a very showy colorful effect. Use Hostas and Coral Bells to fill in the remaining smaller spaces. Both of these plants are perennial, meaning that in the event of a frost, their foliage will die back, the plant will go dormant. New foliage will then begin to emerge in the spring when the ground temperature begins to warm up. Both Hostas and Coral Bells will produce a flower spike that can also be very showy. After the plant has finished flowering, prune out the flower spike to create a cleaner, more manicured look, and let the foliage speak for itself! Other tropical plants that perform well in the shade include bleeding heart vine, cordyline, and many types of ginger. Another aspect about gardening in the shade in Louisiana is the potential to use plants that we would typically classify as “indoor plants” outdoors. Add bromeliads, sansevieria, calatheas, or dracaenas to your combination pots on your patio. As long as it does not have full sun past 11 AM, these plants make great additions to your container gardens. In fact, their minimal water requirements may even make them a favorable choice for gardeners who look for plants that require little attention. Camellias, Azaleas, and Pittosporum make great hedges in the shade. They are all evergreen, with some benefits. Camellias will give you some flowers in the fall into winter, while Azaleas will bloom in the spring. Pittosporum can come in a variegated form (white and green leaves). This will add to the brightness of the garden. Ferns are also a great shade choice. The Holly Fern has robust leaves that adds a fuller texture! Fatsia and Cast Iron plants both have large leaves. Both are evergreen and will add more of a bold look with their broad expansive foliage. Fatsia will grow into a large shrub, while Cast Iron will be more of a low filler plant. Want a tropical look? Go for Soft Caress Mahonia or Philodendron. Both have more of a lacy type leaf that will give the appearance of a tropical paradise! Looking for shade bloomers? New Guinea and SunPatiens will grow and bloom in the shade, just keep them hydrated! Hydrangea will give you color in late spring into summer, with their abundance of blue or pink blooms! You can always change the color bloom depending on the soil. We can help! Torenia, or wishbone flower, is a shade-loving annual and will bloom all summer long in full shade. Its bell-shaped flowers can be white, burgundy, blue or pink. Fertilizing your annuals regularly to maximize their color through the season. For other options go for more colorful leaves, like Coleus, Caladiums and Variegated Ginger. Coleus and Caladiums come in all shades of pink, reds and whites. Use more of the whites to brighten up a shady area. Variegated Shell Ginger has bright yellow and green leaves giving you a pop of color where ever they are placed.  A well-planned shade garden can be more beautiful than even the most floriferous sun garden!

How often to water is simply when the root zone dries out. What the heck is a root zone? The root zone is the area of the soil that roots are present from the plant. For example, let’s take a three gallon shrub; the root zone is approximately ten inches deep and wide. Just because the soil is still moist a foot or two away from the newly installed plant does not mean the root zone is also moist. As a general statement, most freshly planted annuals, perennials, shrubs, trees, etc. should be watered every one to three days; this does not account for Mother Nature’s help. As the plant gets established and the root zone expands, the frequency that it needs water will go down. As our temperatures rise in the summer, most plants will need to be watered more often because their roots are absorbing water much quicker. Now that you know when, let's talk about how! The proper way to water almost all plants is to deeply soak the root zone. An important fact to remember is that 90% of the water that a plant takes in is absorbed by the root system. Watering in the morning is best; plants mostly need water from sunrise to sunset. The plant’s need for water goes down at night. Plus, the more moisture present after dark, the more potential problems you will have with fungus.