Cut flower garden

[Dahlia]

#23041

Cosmos, Dahlia, Foxglove, Sunflower, Delphinium, Sedum, and Honeywort
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#23042

Two different sunflowers, Dahlia, Snapdragon, and Marigold
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Wow, wow, wow! Your flower arrangements are so wonderful! 😍

 

[digitS']

Phaedra, do you have to use any insecticides to protect your cut flowers?

It's a relief to only grow enough cut flowers to bring a few home and stop to give a few away rather than taking them to the farmers' market to the public and competing with the flower shops for sales.

I only felt the need to spray the dahlias when they were just a few days out of the soil because of the earwigs chewing on the new leaves. There are small caterpillars in the sunflowers but it is easy to find those blooms without the pests. The earwigs are back mostly in the marigolds but it's somewhat easy to see them and shake them off. I'm concerned that the spider mites will show up in the dahlia but it is becoming late in the season. Few aphids this year.

No one wants to take a beautiful bouquet home and have an ugly bug crawl out of the flowers. It's much more pleasant to be a friend to the bees in the garden these days.

Steve

 

[Phaedra]

Phaedra, do you have to use any insecticides to protect your cut flowers?

It's a relief to only grow enough cut flowers to bring a few home and stop to give a few away rather than taking them to the farmers' market to the public and competing with the flower shops for sales.

I only felt the need to spray the dahlias when they were just a few days out of the soil because of the earwigs chewing on the new leaves. There are small caterpillars in the sunflowers but it is easy to find those blooms without the pests. The earwigs are back mostly in the marigolds but it's somewhat easy to see them and shake them off. I'm concerned that the spider mites will show up in the dahlia but it is becoming late in the season. Few aphids this year.

No one wants to take a beautiful bouquet home and have an ugly bug crawl out of the flowers. It's much more pleasant to be a friend to the bees in the garden these days.

Steve

I don't use any insecticides, and the only bug that caused troubles I have is the lily beetle. Fortunately, lily beetles only target the leaves, and the leaves would always be removed for flower arrangement.

This year is my first time to grow Matthiola incana (night-scented stock) - as they are brassica family members, they suffered from flea beetles in early summer. However, when they started blossoming, the flea beetles were gone and the flowers remained totally ok.

I didn't grow same flowers together, instead, they are all mixed with other plants (flowers, veggies, fruits). It should be an effective way to reduce the pest issues.

 

[Phaedra]

When the gladiolus are happy

Compared with the previous years when I grew gladiolus directly on the ground, this year, most of the plants are still very 'energetic' till now. I don't want to lift them up so early, but I also want to clean up the beds for other setups.

So I still dug them this morning, and wow, they are pretty happy growing in a small raised bed (80*60cm) with snapdragons so far. I never harvested such huge corms in the past.

Half of them produced two large corms instead of one; besides, there are a lot of tiny ones - I guess that's the best providence of thriving.

I guess, like Freesias and Daffodils, Gladiolus can well naturalize. However, they might still need to be lifted every year as it's really too 'crowded.'

I will clean them up roughly and store them in the tool shed until all leaves are yellow and dry - the way people handle onions.

 

[digitS']

I have stored them the same way as I do dahlia roots, Phaedra.

Instead of bags of peat moss because of dahlias' odd shapes and sizes, gladiolus have gone in cardboard boxes of peat moss. They have also overwintered just fine when they have been in wood shavings.

Coolest location in the basement.

Steve

 

[Phaedra]

I have stored them the same way as I do dahlia roots, Phaedra.

Instead of bags of peat moss because of dahlias' odd shapes and sizes, gladiolus have gone in cardboard boxes of peat moss. They have also overwintered just fine when they have been in wood shavings.

Coolest location in the basement.

Steve

Thanks, I will store them in the basement after the leaves turn yellow and withered. Both peat moss and wood shaving need extra cost, so I will use paper packaging materials from all kinds of delivery I saved.

 

[Phaedra]

#23043
Marigold and Amaranthus

It's so lovely!

It's very easy for marigolds (or cosmos) to grow wild after they establish properly, therefore, I will cut them back to the 3rd nodes above the ground. This can prevent them from smashing (as they will become very heavy) the other plants in their surrounding or cause light and air flow issues.

I just removed a bunch of them and opened up the space for the young perennials (raspberry and lilac propagated from basal shoots). Annuals like marigold, cosmos, and calendula are good for filling the gaps temporarily, but it's necessary to keep them in the proper size.

It's a bouquet from cleaning up the bed, but the combination of marigold and Amaranthus already has an autumn note.

 

[digitS']

It's very easy for marigolds (or cosmos) to grow wild after they establish properly, therefore, I will cut them back to the 3rd nodes above the ground. This can prevent them from smashing (as they will become very heavy) the other plants in their surrounding or cause light and air flow issues.

That's a good idea, if one has a long enough season for another bloom cycle. We have zinnias and marigolds together. The tall, rangy zinnias are able to stand somewhat above and through the marigolds. Stakes and strings are also necessary here at home . Of course, brutal harvesting of flowers for bouquets could keep those marigolds in line -- making sure to choose varieties that aren't stinky indoors .

Steve

 

[Phaedra]

#23044
Cosmos, Zinnia, Dahlia, Fennel(flower), Sedum, and Sunflower

#23045
Snapdragon, Zinnia, and Geranium

 

[baymule]

I have enjoyed this thread so much this morning! Such beauty! So many gorgeous flowers and so many colors! A ray of delight in my morning that will stay with me for days!