Michael Womack
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Saturday, October 16, 1999

For color in winter, plant now

Cool season annuals need time to flourish

 

   Many people use annuals for added color in the landscape. Annuals are plants that complete their life cycle in one growing season (one year or less). In our area, we typically need three crops of annuals to keep those beds looking good year round. A different crop should be planted in the (1)fall/winter, (2) spring and (3)summer due the to drastically different environmental conditions.
   Our warm season annuals typically include purslane, moss rose (portulaca), periwinkles (Vinca), salvia, and verbena. These plants thrive in hot, sunny conditions. Our late date for average first freeze coupled with warm autumn temperatures will allow many of these warm season annuals to continue to grow until the first freeze. Periwinkles and lacy verbena may even perennialize, that is, continue growing for multiple growing seasons if the winters are mild. However, purslane and moss rose will begin dropping leaves and looking stretched and leggy in the coming weeks. When you start seeing signs of decline, remove these annuals and put in cool season flowers.
   Cool season annuals need to be put in during October and early November to allow them to get established before the first freeze. They will usually survive our frosts, but their metabolism will slow down in the cold weather reducing their growth rate.
   Cool season annuals include petunias, pansies and violas, snapdragons, dianthus, marigolds, calendulas, flowering cabbage and kale, alyssum and ageratum. There are numerous varieties available allowing you to incorporate multiple textures and colors into your landscape.
   If you always use petunias or pansies, take a chance on something new. Try some alyssum or flowering kale this fall; you might be surprised at your results.
   Begonias and impatiens can be planted in the fall; however, they are highly susceptible to freezes. Some gardeners will construct cold frames to protect them in the event of freezing temperatures.
   Unfortunately, our summers are too hot and our winters just a little too cold to allow them to be grown unprotected year-round.
   Here are some tips to give your fall annuals the best chance at flourishing:

Buy healthy transplants. Look for dark green color without signs of water stress or insect/disease damage.

Buy compact plants. Bigger is not always better. Tall transplants may be flowering, but their stems are often weak and elongated. They will often break once installed into the landscape and rarely fill in the space completely.

Beware of root-bound transplants. Plants should have a healthy, well-developed root system; however, if the root system is completely wrapped around in endless circles, it will continue this pattern once you plant it. That will prevent good root development and thus reduce your top growth as well.

Remove flowers when you transplant. This practice will allow the plants to divert its energy and resources into root and new shoot development. It will give you a larger, stronger plant with more flowers in the long run.

Add organic matter to you annual beds to improve drainage and aeration. These factors are the keys to strong root growth.

Water in your transplants immediately after installation. That will allow the water to be evenly distributed throughout the soil and reduce water stress that can stunt young plants.

Fertilize with a soluble, general-purpose fertilizer every week for the first four weeks. Then stop fertilizing between Thanksgiving and Valentines Day to allow the plants to "harden off" or reduce succulent growth that may be more susceptible to freezes. If plants look malnourished during the winter, give them periodic treatment with half-strength fertilizer. Remove dead flower stalks throughout the season to promote additional flowering.
   Hopefully these tips will allow your fall flowers to get a strong, quick start and months of beautiful flowers through late spring.
  
  
1999 Caller-Times Publishing Company, a Scripps Howard newspaper. All rights reserved.