The Northwest Voice

By: Kathy Robinson

Every spring customers come in and are ready to plant their annual flowers. Well you can wait until spring, but that is definitely not the best time. The best time to plant your spring flowers is right now. By planting now you will end up with those nice big beautiful mounds of color that you admire in your neighbors yard. Here are some tips on having beautiful color now through spring.



   Choose new colors schemes - Probably the most popular flowers to plant right now are pansies. They come in quite an array of colors, and you can pick and choose different color schemes. Why not try a different combination than usual? The main kinds of pansies are clear colors or “faced” pansies. Varieties like delta and majestic giants have faces or blotches on the petals. Crown or crystal bowls are the ones with no faces. I tend to like to choose all my pansies from the same group. You can mix up colors within the same style or group of pansy. For instance, you could choose a yellow, blue and white color scheme using all majestic giant pansies. This will add continuity to your overall color design.

Prepare flower beds - Mulch your flower beds well before planting. Kellogg’s Amend works very well because pansies hate to have wet feet! Yes, you can over water them easily. Amend is made from rice hulls and helps to maintain good drainage, and it also lasts longer in the soil than most mulches. Both a pre-plant fertilizer and some SUPERthrive will help to get your plants off to a great start.

Water and worm issues - If you have had trouble with pansies breaking off at ground level in the past, it is usually one of two things: root rot or cut worms. In the case of too much water (root rot) you may need to spray the soil with a fungicide. I like Agrifos or Alliete to drench the soil before planting, then following with once-a-month treatments. Make sure to water plants when the soil is dry, but don’t keep your pansies too wet! If you see small fat worms that curl up on the soil, you can spray with Worm Ender or Liquid Sevin. Spray once a week for three weeks to break the cycle of the insects. Repeat this process if you see more worms.

Promote blooms -  A garden of pansies can be expected to flower during fall, winter and spring. The more you deadhead your pansies, the more they bloom.  Annual flowers will always bloom longer if you remove spent flowers and don’t let them produce seeds. All flowers will let up on blooming if we have a lot of fog, but be patient because spring blossoms will be worth the wait!

   Another option - Snapdragons are another popular plant to get in now. Once established, they don’t like to be over watered either. Snapdragons come in three basic heights: small (about 8 inches); medium (12 to 14 inches); and tall (over 24 inches). Plant snapdragons like pansies. Watch for rust (treat with a fungicide) and worms on leaves and flowers. My favorites are the medium varieties called sprites. You can purchase them in mixed packs or as one color. They are quite beautiful behind pansies or in the center of your pots.

A fragrant choice - Stocks are probably the most fragrant of the cool season annuals. Place groupings of stock near gathering spots in the garden and the scents will charm your visitors. Stocks come with green or grey foliage and can be used as cut flowers as well. I am particularly fond of white stocks since they are a bright and stand out nicely among other bright flowers, like daffodils.

An annual extravaganza - More wonderful annuals for fall planting include alyssum, violas, calendulas, Iceland poppies, dianthus and paludosium. You can count on them growing right through the winter and making you proud this coming spring. Many will reseed and come back for you next year, but even if they don’t they are of great value in the garden for blooming fall through spring. That’s quite a show!

Feed the flowers - Fertilize your flowers once a month with a good flower food. The best type of food would be an organic-based fertilizer with a higher middle number on the fertilizer analysis. If you tend to over water or have heavy soil (too much clay) you will benefit from using soil penetrants. For instance, Soil Buster is a granular product that will help your soil drain better. Just remember to get on that monthly schedule. If you want these flowers to perform in your garden, you must give them what they need. Then just sit back and watch all your hard work pay off! Your neighbors can now oooh and aaah over your yard this spring!