Tips for Growing Azaleas

Nothing pops from your garden like a solid coat of flowers. When the azalea bush blooms, this is exactly what it produces. It is known for blooming all at once, creating a burst of color that is rich, has a wonderful fragrance and is famous for its beauty and numerous blooms.

Most azaleas are spring bloomers, but some varieties will bloom in spring and again in the fall. Blooms will last a couple of months each time, depending on the weather, so using azaleas in your landscaping will produce a lot of color for a good part of the year. If your azaleas will be part of a continuous display and you would like for them to stay green all year, you can try to purchase the evergreen variety as opposed to the deciduous type. Most North American azaleas are deciduous and drop their leaves in the fall. But, with over 10,000 registered hybrids, you are sure to find a color and style that will look most beautiful in the space that you have available.

Azaleas generally grow well in warmer climates, although some will thrive in colder areas. Some will do well in direct sun, but most prefer shady areas. Evergreen and Japanese varieties, in general, need a lot of shade to do well. Planting azaleas under the shade of a tree is preferable. This is because certain trees will turn the soil slightly acidic, which is necessary to grow azaleas. Oak trees, pine trees and holly are best. You can bring a soil sample to your local nursery to have the acidity checked. A pH of 5.5-6 is best.

You can make your soil more acidic by tilling in pine needles, oak leaves, coffee grounds or ammonium sulfate (agricultural sulfur). These things can take time to turn the soil, so you will want to check your soil acidity often to get it right.

Plant your azaleas in deep soil. Rock beds and hard clay can cause water to pool up under the roots of the azalea plant, causing it to slowly drown and die. The soil needs to drain well. Soak the soil completely every now and then with your water hose to make sure that the bottom roots have wet soil, but be careful not to water too often. Mulch can help you keep moisture in the soil without over-doing it.

You can fertilize azaleas in the late winter or early spring, but it is not a good idea to fertilize at other times of year. This is because fertilizer can force the plant into blooming at the wrong time and the new growth will make the plant susceptible to freezing during the winter months. More mature azaleas do not need any fertilizing. Prune your azaleas soon after they are done blooming to avoid removing the new blooms’ shoots.

Once your azaleas are established, you will enjoy blankets of color in your yard. You can choose azaleas with different bloom times to keep the colors coming from spring to fall. Azaleas require little maintenance and can make gardening a joy. Just keep your garden hose reel close by for frequent watering, especially if the weather is very hot or dry.

About the Author: Stacy Pessoney is an award winning author and writer of web content for many different web sites. She is well versed in many different areas, including gardening, hose reel, lawn care and landscaping.

Companion Planting

Companion planting is all about planting things together in your garden that get along and benefit each other. One important benefit of companion planting is pest control. One plant can hide another plant from pests or produce odors that keep pests away. Some plants can be used to attract pests away from other plants. Another benefit is pollination where one plant attracts insects, like bees, which help pollinate the other plant. Some plants add needed nutrients to the soil that benefit their companion plants.

Companion planting has been done since the days of the Romans. Native Americans are known for their technique called the Three Sisters technique in which they planted corn, pole beans and squash together. The beans would climb up the cornstalks and the beans would provide nitrogen for the corn. The squash spreads along the ground preventing weeds and add mulch which retains moisture in the soil. Companion planting became popular in the seventies when the organic farming movement began. There is still limited science to support its benefits in large scale farming but home gardeners espouse its benefits.

Marigolds are a popular companion plant particularly for tomatoes. The smell of the marigolds keeps pests away because they don’t like it and French marigolds are known to keep nematodes away. Nematodes are microscopic worms that can harm plants. There are good and bad nematodes located in soil. The bad ones attack the roots. They are parasites and suck the nutrients out of the plant. It is hard to detect but if the leaves of your tomato plants are yellow you could have nematodes. Next year consider planting French marigolds near your tomatoes to protect them from nematodes.

Basil is a popular companion plant especially for tomatoes. They supposedly improve the flavor of tomatoes. For me they improve the enjoyment of growing tomatoes because every time I smell the basil when watering the tomatoes my mouth waters thinking about the delicious fresh mozzarella, basil and tomato salad covered with extra virgin olive oil I will enjoy. Basil also repels mites, aphids and mosquitoes.

Yarrow is an interesting companion plant used for a few different reasons. It provides a lot of nutrients for other plants and is a good companion for most plants. These nutrients really help if the yarrow is grown near a sick plant. Plants that offer healing benefits for sick plants are called Physician plants. Yarrow, marjoram and oregano are Physician plants.

It is worthwhile to consider companion planting for your next garden to improve the quality of your harvest. Rather than planting your tomatoes in one long row think about planting them near other plants that can assist in their growth by adding nutrients and repelling pests.

Dayelle Swensson is an avid writer for the web on a number of topics. Having gardened herself for many years,she is able to advise others about a variety of things including gardening tips, lawn and tree care, watering, hose reel and keeping your home garden looking good and healthy.

Automatic Irrigation Systems

If you are away from home a lot but want your lawn to be beautiful an automatic irrigation system could be a perfect solution for you. An irrigation system can be installed and programmed to water at the optimum times. There is an emphasis on green living and conserving valuable natural resources today and an automatic irrigation system is a politically correct choice because you actually conserve water using it.

A lot of water is wasted when you simply use your hose and automatic hose reel to water. It is easy to over water your plants and then the water goes right down through the soil and is wasted. Depending on the type of soil too much water can actually move so quickly through the soil that the roots don’t even have a chance to absorb any.

The first step needed, prior to even researching automatic irrigation systems, is to put together a landscape irrigation design. This design considers the watering needs of different areas of your yard. It is simply mapping out your yard determining how much water each area needs. One area may have plants that are drought resistant and don’t need as much water. Plants with a southern exposure may need more water than plants with a northern exposure.

Having plants that have similar watering needs in the same area is optimum. Considering the watering needs of your plants and forming beds with plants that require the same amount of water is best for plant health and for water conservation. When plants that need a lot of water are planted next to drought resistant plants and watered to keep the thirsty plant happy the less thirsty plant suffers. Drought resistant shrubs can be planted with drought resistant annuals and perennials and all can be happy.

Once you have a good idea of the watering needs of your landscape and have created a plan you are ready to learn about automatic irrigation systems. Whether you plan on hiring a professional or doing it yourself you should know something about them. There are two types of irrigation systems: the sprinkler irrigation and drip irrigation.

The sprinkler irrigation system with underground piping has four basic components. One basic component of the sprinkler system is the timer which controls when the water is released. The other components are the underground piping and irrigation valves and sprinkler heads. Drip irrigation systems distribute water differently. They are basically a series of tubes which have holes at different intervals for the water to go through. You will probably have a need for both types of irrigation systems in your landscape. Drip irrigation works best in areas where shrubs and flowers are growing and sprinkler irrigation works best on lawns.

Dayelle Swensson is an avid writer for the web on a number of topics. Having gardened herself for many years,she is able to advise others about a variety of things including gardening tips, lawn and tree care, watering, hose reel and keeping your home garden looking good and healthy.

The Right Soil and Site Preparation are the Key Ingredients of a Successful New Lawn

The best way to ensure you have a beautiful lawn is to prepare your soil and perform the proper site preparation before the lawn is seeded. If these two things are done properly lots of maintenance and money will be saved over the life of the lawn which can be decades.

For grass to grow properly it needs four things: air, water, sunlight and nutrients. The air water and nutrients all come from the soil. If there isn’t enough of any of these four things the grass will suffer. Proper preparation of the soil for these key ingredients will likely produce a beautiful lawn.

The best soil for a lawn is rarely found on any building site. Loams, sandy loams and loamy sands with a pH of 6.0 to 7.0 are the best soils for a lawn. Normally the soil needs to be improved by adding lime to acidic soils with a PH of 6 and below and sulfur or gypsum to alkaline soils with a pH of 7.5 and above. Test the soil PH with a soil test to determine what pH adjustments are needed.

The first step in preparing the site is removing all rocks, stumps and anything else larger than 3 inches. The site needs to be rough graded to eliminate any drainage issues, to slope the grade away from the foundation, to fill in any holes and make it as level as possible. The second step is to till the site at least a couple inches down to get rid of any existing weeds and to make it easier for new topsoil to mix properly with the existing soil. The third step is to apply the topsoil with a total depth of 4 to 6 inches after it is firmed. At this stage it’s good to add some fully decomposed organic matter into the soil.

Step 4 is where you perform the soil test and then apply what is needed to the soil. You then apply fertilizer high in phosphate to the soil and work it in so it is distributed throughout the soil. After this the final grading can be performed to even out any high or low spots and slopes. The final step is to use a lawn roller which is partly filled with water to firm up the surface which can reveal any low or trouble spots which can then be corrected. It’s best to let the site settle further by adding more water before seeding the lawn.

Dayelle Swensson is an avid writer for the web on a number of topics. Having gardened herself for many years,she is able to advise others about a variety of things including gardening tips, lawn and tree care, watering, water hose reel and keeping your home garden looking good and healthy.

Cool Season Grasses

There are a number of cool season grasses used throughout the United States. The three major cool season grasses are: Kentucky bluegrass, fescues and perennial ryegrass. Mixes which include different varieties of the different types are available and chosen based on the needs of the particular lawn. A detailed description of the cool season grasses follows.

Kentucky Bluegrass

Kentucky bluegrass is the most popular cool-season grass. It has a greenish-blue color and is identified by its canoe shaped blades. It is best suited for those climates with cold winters. This grass has a fine texture and creates beautiful lawns. It is known for its tolerance to extreme winter weather. It can also handle full sunlight with moderate amounts of moisture. It does not tolerate droughts well however, and needs to be watered in the hot summer months. It is slow to germinate and doesn’t like shaded areas and wet soils. Many people will mix Kentucky bluegrass with fescues to provide more tolerance to drought and high heat making the lawn more durable.

Fescue Grasses

Fescue grasses come in four varieties: Chewing, Creeping, Hard and Tall. Tall is the most common. Fescues are commonly found in the transitional zones where it is too hot of cool season grasses and too cool for warm season grasses. They are typically dark green and medium fine in texture. Fescues are very durable with a deep root system and are low maintenance. They usually stay green year round and are tolerant to moderate shade, heat and drought. The downside of fescue grasses are they aren’t as pretty as other cool season grasses and need to be properly maintained to ensure they don’t go dormant in extreme temperatures.

Bent Grass – Colonial

Bent Grass – Colonial is most often found in Pacific Northwest and Northwestern areas of Canada. It has a fine texture and is used for golf course fairways in these regions. It likes lots of rainfall and moderately cool weather but is also drought tolerant. It is a very attractive grass if properly maintained. The downside of bent grass – colonial is that it produces thatch requiring frequent dethatching and aerating and it has shallow root systems which need frequent watering. It also is susceptible to diseases and pests.

Bent Grass – Creeping

Creeping bent grass is a fine-textured grass commonly found in Pacific Northwest and Northwestern areas of Canada. It does really well in areas with a lot of rainfall and moderately cool weather. The creeping bent grass is often used for golf course putting greens. This grass likes sunlight, can tolerate shade and droughts and looks good if properly maintained. Like bent grass colonial its downside is it tends to produce thatch, requires frequent watering, isn’t very durable and is susceptible to disease and pests.

Annual Ryegrass

Annual ryegrass is only planted for one season and is used as a transitional grass. It is reseeded over warm season grasses in the fall to keep lawns green year round in the south and northern areas of the U.S. where warm season grasses are planted. It is cheap and germinates quickly. The downside is a low tolerance to heat, drought and shade and needs a lot of water.

Perennial Ryegrass

Perennial ryegrass is a tough grass that is deep green and fine textured. It is often mixed with other grasses, particularly Kentucky Bluegrass because it provides increased durability and faster growth. It does best in areas with mildly cool climates and damp summer conditions in the coastal west and northwest regions of the U.S. and Canada. The downside to perennial ryegrass is that it can delay growth of other grasses if seeded over them.

Dayelle Swensson is an avid writer for the web on a number of topics. Having gardened herself for many years,she is able to advise others about a variety of things including gardening tips, lawn and tree care, watering, hose reel and keeping your home garden looking good and healthy.

Are You Over Watering Your Garden?

Most gardeners know when their garden needs watering and are well aware of the effects of under watering their plants. Too few gardeners are aware of the dangers of over watering, however. Over watering is even worse and more damaging. The biggest reason for the death of a house plant is because it has been over watered.

Depending on the type of plant, the time of year, the temperature, your climate, the signs of an over watered plant are generally universal. The most common symptoms are defoliation where the lower leaves on the plant turn yellow and fall, wilting or drooping, spotted foliage, and gray fuzzy mould around the stem, leaves and flowers of the plant.

These symptoms can also be an indication of other problems rather than over watering. Sudden and fast defoliation could also be caused by rapid changes in temperature and possibly under watering. Gradual defoliation could be from insufficient light or fertilizer. Too much fertilizer or exposure to extreme cold could make the leaves fall. An easy way to determine whether you are over watering is by carefully observing how frequently you water your plants. Another way is to check the plant's roots to see if they appear rotten.

The plants in your garden should receive about one inch of water per week, as a general rule. This is only a starting platform for watering your garden; it is much more effective if you personally observe your garden in order to judge how much water it needs. Depending on the seasonal needs of your garden plants, remember that this one inch amount will have to be adjusted from time to time.

The rate of evapotranspiration is one of the most significant environmental factors affecting how much water your garden will need. Evapotranspiration refers to the two ways that plants lose water. Evaporation is when your plants naturally loose water into the air. Transpiration is when plants lose water by itself, usually through the leaves or the stem.

A most effective way of watering your garden is with a hose and making the task easy is a water hose reel. So many times it is a drudgery to unwind the kinks out which stop the flow or untangle a hose that has been put away hastily. A hose reel will solve these problems. In this way, the task will be less overlooked and ensure your garden gets the water when it needs it.

Just use some common sense when watering your garden. First, simply examine the soil to see if it is too dry and crumbly, or if it's too wet and muddy. Checking the soil often will help you avoid both over watering and under watering. Second, water slowly. Watering too quickly causes runoff and waste. Third, water deeply so that more than just the top layer of soil receives water. You want to make sure the water is getting to the root system. And last gardening tip is to water your garden in the morning when it's cool. If you water during the day the heat of the sun causes the water to evaporate too quickly. And if you water in the evening disease and fungal growth can occur in humid climates.



Dayelle Swensson is an avid writer for the web on a number of topics. Having gardened herself for many years, she is able to advise others about a variety of things including gardening tips, lawn and tree care, watering, hose reel and keeping your home garden looking good and healthy.