This just in: We’re excited to announce the launch of the Gardenista Lookbook—a trove of the 100,000 photos published on our site over the past 10 years, all in one place and searchable.
Above: Decomposed granite inspiration, delivered.
In the past it’s been tricky, even impossible, to search through our content of over 5,000 stories by image. Say you’re dreaming about redoing your patio or starting a vegetable garden or adding more color to your flower beds. Now, through Gardenista Lookbook, you can enter a search term—patio, vegetable garden, purple flowers, etc.—and see it all.
Search broad or nitty-gritty, by type of garden, feature, or plant. Each image can be saved and added to your existing bookmarks on Remodelista or Gardenista; just look for the heart symbol. Many of the images can also be clicked to display in full screen mode for an immersive experience; look for the magnifying glass when you hover over the image. Click on any photo to visit the original post, and easily share your finds on social or via email.
Above: Purple flowers results; click the heart to save finds for later.
Find the Lookbook in our top navigation bar, so can get to it whenever inspiration strikes. It’s free to all and, as always, ad free when you’re a subscriber.
In our latest video, we expand on a blog post from last week and cover why growing food in North Florida often foils vegetable gardeners:
It’s not impossible. And don’t give in to the idea that you need to grow in containers.
This is a regular suggestion we receive, and it just isn’t necessary. There are plants that will thrive and produce tons of food in North Florida without you relying on horse troughs full of purchased dirt, or worse, some sort of weird aquaponics system.
We once grew cassava and yams in pure construction sand that we mounded over some cow manure we knew was free of long-term herbicides. They did great! It’s not the sand. It’s how you approach it, and what you try to grow.
You can succeed in Florida sand, despite 100 degree temps in summer and hard freezes in winter.
Makes 14 x 3-inch round pies (or 16 x 4-inch, half-moon pies)
Butter and half-and-half make the pastry meltingly tender—embrace them. Chilling is essential for a crips texture. For the filling’s seasonal flavorings, pair the orange zest with juniper or fir. Spicebush works beautifully instead of the zest.
The pies freeze well. For a decadent solitary breakfast, defrost in a microwave, then crisp up in hot oven or toaster oven.
Pastry
10 oz (2½ sticks) unsalted butter, very cold (I like Land O’ Lakes)
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon fine sea salt salt
2 cups/8.8 oz all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting the rolling surface
For the pastry: Combine the flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Using the coarse side of a box grater, grate the cold butter into the flour (no grater? Cut it into small cubes). Work the butter and flour between your fingertips until the mixture resembles evenly coarse crumbs (with a few larger pieces allowed). Yes, you can also toss it all into a food processor and spin.
Pour in the Half and Half and work with a wooden spoon a few times. Bring the pastry together into a fat disc with your hands, taking care to use as few motions as possible (the more you work it the less tender will become when baking).
Wrap and chill the pastry until solid—at least 2 hours, and as long as 24 (or freeze for later use). You can do this ahead.
For the filling: Place the cranberries with the sugar and 2 tablespoons of water in a pot over medium-high heat. Stir, and cover. You’ll hear some popping noises as some of the cranberries split in the heat. Gradually their juices will be drawn out. When their liquid is boiling, lower the heat to a simmer. Cook until the fruit is soft and saucy, about 6 minutes. Stir in the orange zest (or spicebush), and the juniper or fir, if using.
In a cup stir the cornstarch into 2 more tablespoons of water. When it is smooth, pour this slurry into the hot cranberry mixture and stir until it is thick—about 30 seconds. Remove from heat. Spoon the filling into a bowl, and transfer to the fridge to chill.
To make: Preheat the oven to 400’F. Cover a large baking sheet in parchment paper.
Roll out the Pastry: Remove the pastry from the fridge about 15 minutes before you roll it out. Dust a clean surface with flour and roll out to approximately 1/8 inch. Press out as many 3-inch shapes as you can. Gather up remaining pastry fragments, press together, and chill for 10 minutes. Press out extra shapes for a total of 28 (for 14 hand pies). Lay all the pressed-out circles on the baking sheet and chill in the fridge for 10 minutes.
Beat the egg in a small bowl.
To assemble: Remove the baking sheet from the fridge. Using a pastry brush, swipe a border of egg wash around the edges of half the rounds. Place a heaped tablespoonful of filling into the center. Carefully cover with a free pastry round, pressing down firmly on the edges to make them stick. When all have been covered and pressed, crimp the edges with the tines of fork.
(For making half-moon hand pies, fill just one side of the pastry circle and fold the empty half over the filling, pressing down as above.)
Return to the fridge and chill for 10 minutes.
Just before baking, brush the pies with egg wash. Cut a slit in each, and dust with sugar.
Bake for 20 – 25 minutes or until the pastry is dark golden and the pies are lightly puffed. Remove from the oven and transfer to a cooling rack.
We’re in Dunstable, Massachusetts (Zone 5b) visiting Tingshu’s beautiful garden. We’ve visited her garden before and last week she shared with us some of the beautiful flowering trees in her front yard. Today we’re back to see the spring bloom in her back garden.
A ‘Louisa’ weeping crabapple (Malus ‘Louisa’, Zone 4-8), beside a grape pergola.
Our Havanese dog Luke running below the ‘Louisa’ weeping crabapple.
From between the branches of ‘Louisa’, a ‘Prairie fire’ crabapple (Malus ‘Prairie Fire’ Zone 4-8) can be seen in the center of the backyard.
The ‘Prairie fire’ crabapple at left, the ‘Jane’ magnolia (Magnolia ‘Jane’, Zone 4-8) at the center.
Looking from behind the ‘Prairie fire’ crabapple, the ‘Louisa’ weeping crabapple can be seen at the center. The right side is an apple tree with white flowers.
From another angle, the apple tree at the left side, the ‘Prairie fire’ crabapple at the right side.
Looking from behind two Rhododendron shrubs, the ‘Prairie fire’ crabapple and ‘Jane’ magnolia tree.
Looking at the center garden from behind the ‘Jane’ magnolia tree. The ‘Prairie fire’ crabapple can be see from between the flowers.
Tulips below the ‘Prairie fire’ crabapple.
A ‘Stellar pink’ hybrid dogwood (Cornus ‘Stellar Pink’, Zone 5-8) beside a fish pond. On the left are the leaves of the ‘Prairie fire’ crabapple.
Have a garden you’d like to share?
Have photos to share? We’d love to see your garden, a particular collection of plants you love, or a wonderful garden you had the chance to visit!
To submit, send 5-10 photos to [email protected] along with some information about the plants in the pictures and where you took the photos. We’d love to hear where you are located, how long you’ve been gardening, successes you are proud of, failures you learned from, hopes for the future, favorite plants, or funny stories from your garden.
Can’t decide on whether to grow bamboo or a palm? Split the difference with the bamboo palm, which rocks the appearance of both!
With elegant, arching fronds and narrow clumps of bamboo-like stems, Chamaedorea seifrizii is the perfect palm for gracing your indoor spaces.
With low maintenance requirements, plus a tolerance for low light and underwatering, the bamboo palm is easy to care for and hard to kill.
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That being said, an optimally cultivated bamboo palm looks way better than one that’s given the bare minimum of care.
So what does optimal cultivation for bamboo palms look like, exactly? I’m glad you asked.
In this guide, we’ll go over what you need to do to keep your bamboo palm thriving. From propagation to growing requirements to health care tips, no stone will be left unturned.
Here are the details of what I’ll cover:
What Are Bamboo Palms?
Belonging to the Arecaceae family of true palm plants, Chamaedorea seifrizii is a flowering evergreen perennial that hails from southeast Mexico and the Central American countries of Belize, Guatemala, and Honduras.
Hardy in USDA Zones 10 to 11, the bamboo palm can either be grown outdoors full-time in adequately warm areas or predominantly indoors as a houseplant in cooler climates.
Regardless of location, it brings with it a beautiful tropical aesthetic that never fails to amaze.
In a boundless outdoor environment, a single bamboo palm can grow three to 10 feet tall and three to six feet wide.
However, potted-up specimens grown indoors tend to max out at much smaller dimensions, thankfully.
From 18- to 24-inch fronds grow thin, deep green, lance-shaped leaflets, each about eight inches long and one inch wide.
In summer to fall, four- to six-inch green flower stalks bearing dioecious yellow blooms grow from the bases of old leaves – although this probably won’t happen when the plant is grown indoors.
If pollinated by a male plant, the flower stalks of female bamboo palms turn bright orange while the fruits change from green to a dark bluish-black.
Be careful, though: the fruits can irritate your skin if you handle them without gloves. But hey, at least they’re attractive to birds!
All of these structures grow from tall, skinny stems, which either shoot straight up or are angled to the side. With their bamboo-like appearance, leaf nodes, and ability to spread via suckering offshoots, it’s easy to see where the “bamboo” moniker comes from.
C. seifrizii has been introduced into Florida and Singapore, along with select islands of French Polynesia, Hawaii, and New Caledonia.
In Florida specifically, it is listed as a Category II invasive by the Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council, meaning that, according to the Florida Invasive Species Council, they “have increased in abundance or frequency but have not yet altered Florida plant communities to the extent shown by Category I species.”
A vigorous outdoor growth rate… how bamboo-like. But if you put C. seifrizii in a pot and keep it indoors, then you should have a reduced growth rate. Put it in the right spot, and you won’t even have to give it that much attention… unless you want to, of course.
Bamboo Palm Propagation
For an ornamental like the bamboo palm, I wouldn’t recommend growing it from seed, at least not if you’re a beginner.
C. seifrizii seeds can take up to six months to germinate, the fruits that they’re housed in can cause contact dermatitis, and fruiting is unlikely to happen in the case of indoor plants.
Bamboo palm propagation is best done via division or by transplanting a purchased nursery start.
Division
Bamboo palm spreads via offshoots – stems that pop up at the edges of the plant’s crown – if you separate one of these from the mother plant, it can be planted and grown all on its own.
In spring, lift your plant from its container or planting site, then spread it out over a surface that you don’t mind soiling up a bit, such as an outdoor deck or a newspaper-covered floor.
Using a sharp and sterile blade, cut the tissue that connects the offshoot to its mother plant, separating the two.
Select an offshoot with developed shoots, and try your best to make the cut clean. As bamboo palms are sensitive to physical trauma, a sloppy severance wouldn’t be healthy.
With your removed offshoot, you’re free to return the mother plant to its original home and find a new one for your offshoot. For help with the latter, read on.
Transplanting
Whether you have a freshly divided offshoot, a young start, or an existing plant that you want to move elsewhere, proper transplanting is essential for its success.
For container-grown bamboo palms, select a pot with drainage holes that’s at least a couple of inches larger than the roots and add a well-draining yet moisture-retaining growing medium – a 50:50 mix of perlite and peat moss or coconut coir should do the trick.
Ensure that your transplant’s root system will have at least an inch of space from the container’s sides in every direction.
For in-ground specimens, prepare rich and well-draining patches of soil with a pH of 5.5 to 7.0. Make sure the holes are dug large enough to accommodate the roots.
If you want a screen of bamboo palms, you can prepare your planting sites right next to each other – they’ll eventually grow in to fill the gaps. Otherwise, space them as far apart as you’d like!
For outdoor transplants in USDA Zones 10 to 11, transplant in spring or fall. For indoor specimens, those can be repotted pretty much whenever you want.
Dig a hole that’s large enough to accommodate the roots of your transplant and deep enough for the crown to be level with the soil line.
Lower the transplant in, backfill with the dug-out soil, then add enough water to fully moisten the soil without turning it soggy.
For in-ground transplants, feel free to add a bit of compost or well-rotted manure to the dug-out soil before backfilling. Bamboo palms love fertile, organically-rich soil.
How to Grow Bamboo Palms
Now that you have a ready-to-go bamboo palm, let’s learn how to keep it going, shall we?
Climate and Exposure Needs
If your bamboo palm is to survive outdoors year-round, you should ensure that you are located in USDA Hardiness Zones 10 to 11.
Indoor specimens, however, can live in an environment that’s kept at a cozy 60 to 70°F.
If you’re trying to save some cheddar on the utilities, then you’ve got some flexibility: up to 80°F is acceptable during warm sunny days, while wintertime temperatures can drop into the 50s without harming the plant.
Regardless of where exactly you’ve set the thermostat, a humid environment of above 55 percent is ideal for bamboo palm houseplants.
To provide this, you can set your specimens on a humidity tray of pebbles that are partially saturated in water, while also keeping them away from dry and drafty parts of the house.
Light-wise, bamboo palms are versatile. Low light to bright, indirect light works for those grown as houseplants, while partial sun to shade works for outdoor specimens. But do your best to prevent bright, direct light and full sun from hitting the fronds.
Soil Needs
The soil you used for transplanting – organically-rich, moisture-retaining, and well-draining, with a pH of 5.5 to 7.0 – will serve a bamboo palm well throughout its life.
Annually amending your outdoor soils with an inch or two of compost in springtime will keep that soil richness topped off nicely.
Water and Fertilizer Needs
Bamboo palms prefer soil that’s kept evenly moist, yet not soggy. To pull this off, water the soil deeply whenever the top inch feels dry to the touch.
But these plants can do just fine a bit outside of their preferences, though, as they can tolerate dryer soils and even the occasional sogginess.
A balanced fertilizer applied monthly during the growing season should keep your plants well-fed.
This water-soluble, powdered 20-20-20 fertilizer from Jack’s Classic via Amazon would be appropriate for in-ground specimens.
Growing Tips
Be sure to provide your plants with a humidity of over 55 percent.
Soil-wise, provide both moisture retention and ample drainage.
Irrigate whenever the top inch of soil feels dry.
Pruning and Maintenance
The bamboo palm is a pretty hands-off plant, which is perfect for all the laissez-faire plant parents out there.
As it grows and develops, the plant is going to outgrow its container, becoming root bound and straining the container’s sides in the process.
Whenever you notice this, either repot it in a larger container or divide it so it can remain in its current size of pot.
If you notice any dry, dead, diseased, damaged, or otherwise unhealthy-looking fronds, feel free to prune them off.
If you have no use for the blooms or their eventual fruits, flower stalks can also be removed as they develop.
During summertime, your C. seifrizii houseplants may benefit from some outdoor time in a partial sun to full shade location.
Make sure you bring your specimen indoors when the temperatures are forecast to drop into the 50s. In the winter months, the bamboo palm won’t require as much water as during the growing season.
Where to Buy Bamboo Palms
“Enough talk! I’m jonesing for some bamboo palms!” Fair enough.
To purchase a plant, start by checking out your local plant nurseries and houseplant shops. If they specialize in tropical flora like C. seifrizii, all the better.
If you have some friends that grow this plant themselves, then it couldn’t hurt to ask them for an offshoot or two. If they have an overcrowded specimen on their hands that needs dividing, then they may even want you to take some.
Dedicated plant swaps and horticultural shows are solid options, too.
Of course, you can always see what is available on the internet. You’ll have to deal with shipping, a waiting period, and not seeing the plant until it’s arrived at your doorstep, but it’s undeniably convenient.
You can find a 10-inch-tall C. seifrizii sold by Costa Farms via Home Depot.
Managing Pests and Disease
Let’s go over some health care tips to keep your bamboo palm happy and healthy.
Insects
Creepy-crawlies can really suck the life out of your plants. They also can vector diseases, so controlling them is definitely a two-for-one!
Mealybugs
Belonging to the Pseudococcidae family, mealybugs are small, oval-shaped, pink-bodied insects that are coated from head to (metaphorical) toe in a mealy white wax, hence the name.
Often congregating in small, protected places on the plant, mealybugs use their piercing-sucking mouthparts to extract vital fluids from the plant, leaving your specimens warped and weakened.
Members of the Coccoidea superfamily, scale insects live up to their name in appearance.
These round and flattened insects don’t look very threatening, but a clump of them can render a plant chlorotic and stunted with their piercing-sucking mouthparts.
They’re also prone to excreting honeydew, unfortunately.
Control of scale is similar to that of mealybugs, for the most part. You may need to use a fine point like a toothpick for individual insect plucking or a blunt edge like a butter knife for scraping, though.
As arachnids from the Tetranychidae family with eight legs and web-spinning capabilities, spider mites certainly look like spiders. But they require a hand lens to notice, and they’ll feed on your plants rather than hunting actual bugs.
Just like mealybugs and scale, spider mites will suck the contents out of your plant’s cells. The damage starts off as stippled feeding dots, and can progress to chlorotic leaves that eventually drop.
Insecticidal soaps, horticultural oils, and strong sprays of water can all help to control these pests. Be sure to monitor plants regularly for webbing!
For general pathogen prevention, make sure to use sterilized tools and disease-free growing mediums, as well as remove nearby plant detritus from your outdoor specimens.
Gliocladium Blight
Also known as pink rot, Gliocladium blight is caused by Gliocladium vermoeseni, a nasty little fungus that can do a whole lot of damage to a small palm like C. seifrizii.
This disease is unlikely to trouble plants grown year-round indoors, but those that spend some of the summer months outdoors may be affected.
Accumulating in pink- to salmon-covered masses on plant surfaces, G. vermoeseni spores enter the plant through dead tissues or wounds caused by man, insect, or weather.
Once inside the plant, the fungus causes brown necrosis near stem bases, gummy fluid discharge, chlorosis, necrosis, stem girdling, and eventual plant death.
To prevent this disease, minimize unnecessary plant wounding, avoid water splashing on the foliage, have a solid pest control plan, and be quick to remove dead tissue from plants.
If the disease happens to strike, quarantine your infected plants, remove diseased tissues, and apply fungicides to prevent disease spread. Plants that are too far gone should be promptly removed and destroyed.
Root Rot
Root rot isn’t caused by a pathogen like Gliocladium blight is – it’s entirely abiotic. But it can be just as destructive.
A bamboo palm loves moisture, but not when it’s sitting in standing water. If the soil takes on too much water for a long enough period of time, the roots will fail to receive enough oxygen, effectively suffocating the plant.
As a result, the fronds and stems above the soil line will show signs of decline, from wilting to chlorosis to stunted growth. Eventually, the entire plant could perish.
To prevent this from happening, always make sure to let the top inch of soil dry between waterings.
If your specimen is suffering, you can unpot the plant and trim away any rotted-out roots and a proportionate amount of shoots to help give the plant a fighting chance. If the majority of the roots are rotted, then the specimen’s odds of survival are slim.
Best Uses for Bamboo Palms
A common tropical addition to malls, offices, and other well-trafficked indoor spaces, the bamboo palm is a wonderful, easygoing houseplant for low light spots in the home.
In the outdoor landscape, these plants make fantastic mass plantings, screens, or even backdrops for your more colorful show-stoppers.
Add both a male and a female to your garden, and you may end up with fruits that attract gorgeous birds!
As a bamboo-like palm, C. seifrizii wields the aesthetics of two visually-soothing plants, making it a double dose of tranquility. In this turbulent world of ours, who couldn’t use a little more calm?
With what you’ve learned in the guide, you’re well-equipped to give these guys all the TLC they need. And in time, you’ll be well-rewarded with vibrant beauty.
Have a burning question or two? Wish there was something I covered, but didn’t? Head on down to the comments section!
There are many advantages to using a greenhouse and very few – if any – disadvantages.
A greenhouse allows you to start seeds at any time, extends the growing season, and offers opportunities for growing vegetables during the winter months.
The structure also protects your plants from hungry herbivores and you can use it to grow species that you wouldn’t otherwise be able to in your USDA Hardiness Zone.
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There are lots of other less conventional reasons, too. For me, the greenhouse is a spot where I can hang out with a book and a cup of coffee and listen to the rain during the winter while still getting my UV rays.
Now that I think about it, how did I ever survive without one?
Do you feel like you need a greenhouse in your life? Maybe you received one as a gift for the holidays?
Before you jump into your first greenhouse adventure, there are some fundamentals you need to understand. That’s what we’ll cover in this guide. Here’s the lineup:
It’s inevitable that you are going to make some mistakes with your greenhouse. Ask me about the time I left the vents closed on the hottest day of the year.
I lost more than one plant to the sauna-like conditions. But this guide should set you on the path and help you avoid some of the biggest problems beginners face.
A greenhouse, sometimes called a glasshouse, is a building designed to house plants and protect them from excessive cold and heat.
The structures are usually made out of glass or clear plastic supported by a timber, metal, or brick framing to allow sun to enter while protecting the plants inside from the elements.
Some people argue that in order to qualify as a greenhouse, the structure must have some sort of climate control. I’d argue that being able to open a door for ventilation or covering it with shade cloth is climate control.
These structures might have heating, roof ventilation, and other amenities, or they might be constructed simply with just a single door to enter and exit through.
Greenhouse Styles and Sizes
When it comes to the actual shape, most greenhouses sit on the ground or a foundation and have an A-frame, shed, gambrel, or gabled roof with four straight walls.
A sloped roof sheds water and is better angled to let light in than a flat roof.
There are also sunken styles known as walipini, pit, and Chinese. The walipini style is primarily underground with just the roof and a small portion of the wall aboveground. This provides a lot of insulation and heat retention.
Pit styles look like a typical greenhouse sunk a few feet into the ground, with just a few steps down into the main structure. Chinese types have three walls that are buried, often into a hillside, with one clear wall facing the southern exposure.
Some structures have a rounded shape. Heck, you could make yours into a big glass triangle like the Louvre pyramid if you wanted!
Greenhouses can be as simple as a primitive wood or plastic frame with thick, translucent material secured over it on a dirt floor, or they can be as elaborate as a two-story home with glass walls and elegant metal framing.
Editorial credit: Pravruti / Shutterstock.com
Many beginners opt for small, pre-built structures that don’t cost an arm and a leg, or they simply secure clear plastic over a frame. That’s how I made my first one.
Something like this Canopia by Palram Harmony Greenhouse, which comes in two sizes – six-by-four or six-by-eight feet – is ideal for beginners.
The steel and aluminum frame is covered with panels that let in 90 percent of sunlight and it features a swinging door that is magnetized to stay shut. It also has a roof vent and gutters.
If all that seems like a lot of work, you could just go with a Sunbubble Greenhouse, which is a dome-shaped tent with clear walls that gives you nine feet in diameter to work with.
It’s perfect if you just have a few plants you want to grow and aren’t ready to commit to a permanent structure. Find one at Gardener’s Supply Company.
The size you choose is determined by your budget, space, and needs. One of the smaller options could grow enough food for one or two people to supplement their diet.
If you have more mouths to feed or you want to grow fruit trees or ornamentals in addition to herbs and vegetables, choose something a bit larger.
Veikous makes an eight-by-14-foot greenhouse with dual locking doors and an adjustable roof vent.
The corrugated plastic moderates the light intensity, trapping heat while still allowing enough light to enter for the plants to thrive.
I will say that when it comes to size, you’re probably going to find that you want more space than you think.
At the beginning, you might envision yourself just growing a handful of herbs, some greens, and a few different brassicas in a small structure.
But fast forward a season or two, and you’re experimenting with new cultivars and species, stacking plants on shelves up the walls, and even hanging plants from the roof to squeeze a few more in.
I’ve never known anyone who couldn’t find a way to use their available space, but I’ve known lots of people who ended up needing more space than they initially thought.
What Can You Grow in a Greenhouse?
You can grow just about anything in a greenhouse, depending on the size, climate control, and your gardening experience. If your goal is to grow piles of delicious veggies, I can’t think of a single species that can’t be grown in a greenhouse.
Of course, some do better outside or are so cold-hardy that it’s almost a waste of space to put them in a greenhouse.
Vegetables like kale, onions, brussels sprouts, and cabbage are totally fine in the freezing cold. But it’s your garden and your choice, so you can grow them inside if you want.
You can use your greenhouse during the winter even if you don’t have a heating system.
Of course, you can grow a wider range of plants if you have heating, but don’t let cold weather hold you back.
Crops like beets, carrots, kale, mizuna, peas, and turnips will all thrive even when temperatures are below freezing outside.
Herbs are some of the easiest plants to begin with.
Herbs
If you are an absolute beginner to growing in a greenhouse, start with herbs.
You’ll have a ready-made supply of goodies for the kitchen, and most of them are happy in pots, forgiving about neglect, and tolerant of less-than-ideal temperatures.
It’s hard to overstate how important it is to choose the right site.
A greenhouse on the north side of a tall building is only going to be good for growing shade-loving species. There go your lemon tree dreams.
Ideally, you would place the greenhouse far enough away from any buildings or tall trees so it receives full sun all day long. We don’t all have such luxury, so a spot on the south side of any building is ideal, with east or west being next best.
In my yard, my greenhouse is situated to the east of my house, but it’s the best spot because it isn’t in the shade of any buildings, so it receives sun right up until the early evening.
If you live somewhere with extremely hot summers and you plan to use your greenhouse during the hottest time of year, you might benefit from some afternoon shade. But those who want to grow in winter will always want full sun.
Deciduous trees will drop their leaves, so a spot with afternoon sun in the summer might be in full sun during winter.
If you live somewhere that experiences extreme storms, choose a spot that will provide some protection from strong wind. South of a building or fence would be perfect. You’ll also want to securely anchor the structure, which is something we’ll talk about shortly.
Some people prefer to situate the greenhouse close to their home for ease of use, access to water and power, and level ground.
Others like the structures to be further away to create some distance from the smell, lights, and sounds. That decision is entirely up to you.
Flooring and Foundation
Depending on the material of your structure, you can set your greenhouse directly on the ground or give it a wood, rock, brick, concrete, or sand foundation.
Treated lumber, metal, and plastic frames can sit directly on the ground, though I would encourage you to properly level the ground before plopping the structure in place.
Leveling is optional if you have a light, temporary, or small structure like the bubble design we discussed above, but it’s non-negotiable with larger structures.
An unlevel surface will, over time, compromise the integrity of the greenhouse.
The same goes for creating a foundation. Smaller, lighter structures don’t necessarily need one, though it will help. But larger, heavier structures absolutely require a foundation.
If you experience a massive storm, your building is much more likely to be unaffected if you give it a good foundation.
At a bare minimum, you can compact the soil to create a foundation, but this doesn’t work well on sloping ground or in areas with heavy, frequent rain.
The next step up is to create a footing, which secures the greenhouse. This can be as simple as four pieces of treated lumber or some sunken bricks.
If you experience serious storms in your area, you’ll need to anchor the greenhouse into the ground, not just onto the wood.
A long-lasting footing can be constructed out of concrete or cinder blocks.
A slab or deck is the top-tier option. Concrete, stone, brick, wood, or compacted sand can create a solid, long-lasting surface for your building to stand on.
Stone, concrete, brick, and sand have the added bonus of providing extra insulation. Wood, on the other hand, does not.
You can also extend the foundation larger than the footprint of the building if you’d like to place pots, shelves, or furniture outside of the structure.
Inside, you need to consider flooring. Again, you can just rely on the soil for small or temporary structures, but your feet and laundry bill will thank you if you put in flooring.
Plus, weeds grow like… well, weeds in a greenhouse. They love the warm, moist conditions. Consider at least putting down a layer of weed-blocking fabric.
Greenhouses can rapidly become mucky, muddy messes as you spill soil, spray everything with water, and track mud in from outside.
Gravel works well for greenhouses set on the ground or on footings. Or, take it up a notch and place sand on the bottom, quarter minus construction aggregate on top, and lay rubber mats on top of that.
If your building is on a foundation, you can simply use that or put rubber mats on top of the flooring. If I sound like I’m really selling the rubber mats idea, it’s because that’s what I prefer.
They provide foot relief, drain well, can be hosed off, and are fairly affordable. You can purchase a four-pack of 19.7 square interlocking mats at Tractor Supply Company.
Plus, if one gets damaged somehow, you can just pull it up and replace it.
You can also use manufactured locking flooring tiles, treated lumber, or stone tiles.
Equipment
You’ve sorted the actual building, the flooring, and the foundation.
Now, let’s talk about the equipment you’ll need. At a minimum, you’ll need a trowel and containers – unless you plant directly in the ground.
But you’ve already come this far, so you might as well invest in some of the items that will make your life easier, like shelving, seed labels, and some shading.
Speaking of shelving, vertical growing is a clever way to expand your growing capabilities.
Trellises, shelves, and hanging baskets give you the ability to grow more plants in the same square footage.
It’s not just about heat, though. You might also have periods where you need to cool the structure down.
There are several options for reducing the temperature. The first is to increase the ventilation. Just like it helps to open a window in your house when it’s cooler outside than inside, opening a door or roof and side vents can allow heat to dissipate.
Openings that are across from each other are ideal because the movement of air creates a cross-breeze.
If your building doesn’t have built-in ventilation, you can buy kits and install them yourself.
That’s not always enough, though. The next option is to use shade cloth. You can drape shade cloth over the top of the structure or build it into the ceiling to be unfurled when necessary.
You can use shade cloth to block the direct sunlight during the hottest part of the day. Combined with ventilation, this can lower the interior temperature significantly.
Shade cloth comes in many different materials, sizes, and strengths. There are also specially designed woven cloths made specifically for hanging inside your structure.
If you want to take things up a notch, you can install a fan or two. Actually, you could just set a water-safe fan inside the building, open a door, and call it a day.
But ceiling-mounted options free up your floor space and are better suited to move the air throughout the space.
Finally, you can also sprinkle the floor and walls of the greenhouse with water to cool it off. This is known as damping down.
Light and Water
You don’t need supplemental lighting if your greenhouse is sited in full sun.
But if it’s situated somewhere with some shade or you want to grow in the winter when the days are short, get yourself some grow lights.
You can illuminate the entire building with grow lights or opt to light just one area for starting seeds or growing plants that need a bright location.
Something like the BoostGro 225-watt LED light would be an excellent option for lighting a table.
How much lighting you need depends on a number of factors, including what types of plants you are growing and how much natural light your structure receives.
When it comes to irrigation, you have a few options. You can water from above, below, or directly onto the soil. If you have a hose or you’re using watering cans, apply the water to the soil, not to the foliage.
I’m always a proponent of watering at soil level using options like drip irrigation because that’s the best way to avoid diseases, but capillary mats that bring up water from below are excellent, too.
Overhead watering is often the cheapest irrigation method, but it’s indiscriminate and can promote fungal issues.
That said, it’s pretty much the industry standard and is highly effective, especially for larger structures.
If you decide to go with a more efficient and automated method of watering than dragging in a hose or watering can, you can pick up a 16-foot watering system at Gardener’s Supply Company.
Greenhouses tend to have higher humidity levels than the outdoors, and many pathogens thrive in these conditions.
Botrytis, crown rot, downy mildew, fusarium, powdery mildew, root rot, rust, and viruses are all pretty common in greenhouses.
Using clean soil and tools, quarantining new plants, treating or buying disease-free seeds, appropriate spacing, and watering the soil rather than the foliage are all practices that help prevent the spread of disease.
Greenhouses are as Good as Gold
They usually cost a bit to set up, but greenhouses are worth their weight in gold over time.
Giving you the ability to extend the growing season, raise species you wouldn’t be able to otherwise, and protect your plants is invaluable.
Sitting in a greenhouse and listening to the rain or indulging in your favorite hobby when the weather has driven everyone else indoors is a sublime experience.
What will you be growing in your new greenhouse? Fill us in on all your plans in the comments section below.
Hard to believe, but Remodelista turned 15 this year. “We launched in the early days of the Internet (no Instagram, no Pinterest) with a simple idea: four design-minded friends sharing remodeling tips based on a dozen renovation experiences.” The site (and this one, too) remains a vibrant place to exchange inspiration, discoveries, and advice. Here […]
YOU NO DOUBT have seen news that the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map was just updated, and that half the country once again got reclassified a half-zone warmer just as many of us did after the previous update of the map in 2012. But what does it all mean to gardener’s practically speaking?
Todd Rounsaville is a USDA horticulturist and research scientist who was involved in the years-long project that led to the creation of the new map. He helped me drill into what it reveals and to other factors affecting plant hardiness.
Todd leads the U.S. National Arboretum Germplasm program, and he acted as chairman of the technical review team for the 2023 USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map, a group of about 40 people across the country.
Read along as you listen to the Dec. 11, 2023 edition of my public-radio show and podcast using the player below. You can subscribe to all future editions on Apple Podcasts (iTunes) or Spotify (and browse my archive of podcasts here).
2023 hardiness zone map, with todd rounsaville
Margaret Roach: Thanks for making time today, Todd, and it must feel good to see the multi-year effort come to fruition.
Todd Rounsaville: Thanks for having me. And yes, it’s nice to have this out and released to the public and very rewarding to see very positive comments coming in about both the utility of the map and also that gardeners are saying that it’s matched what they’ve seen in their landscape. That’s nice for that confirmation.
Margaret: I think reading some historical papers and so forth that you sent me to do a little homework before our conversation, I read I think that the first attempts that this kind of mapping were in like 1927, it’s a long tradition trying to figure out what’s going on out there [laughter].
Todd: Going back to that era and the number of plants that were being introduced into the states from temperate regions of the world, it was important to understand what would survive where, because latitude is often a good indicator, but there are other factors involved of course. And what these various iterations have found over the years and has kept the tradition going with using this what we now call the Plant Hardiness Statistic, which is the cold temperature, the extreme cold being a really helpful predictive indicator about plant survival, perennial plant survival.
Margaret: What zone are you in; where do you live and garden? You’re near Beltsville, Md., or where are you?
Todd: I live and garden in the PG County [Prince George’s], Maryland, which is just outside of D.C. The arboretum, the National Arboretum, is in D.C. and that was a zone 7B, and the arboretum is now zone 8A.
Margaret: I moved to 6A. In 2012, I moved to 5B. Because I’ve been in the same garden for decades, I’ve seen it go a whole zone so far [laughter]. And this new map, the 2023 map, utilizes data from 1991 to 2020, I think, so like a 30-year span, is that correct?
Todd: That’s correct.
Margaret: And you just said before what the data point that it looks at. Tell us just briefly about that, and a little bit about why this one is so different from… How did half the country shift? Because the easy thing for us all to say as amateurs is, “Of course; global warming.” But that’s not the story; that’s not what this is all about exactly.
Todd: That’s a great question, and I think there’s a simplicity to how the map is generated, but it’s not always intuitive, just glancing at the zone. I think understanding that is really helpful to inform people that rely on it exactly what it means—what’s potentially changed or not. And again, the Plant Hardiness Statistic is a single data point per year, and that is the coldest temperature recorded on the coldest night. And then the map is generated by taking that data point and averaging it over 30 years.
And as you said, for this version of the map, the years range from 1991 through 2020, this map comes about 10 years after the previous map, but we’re actually using about 15 years’ worth of new data, because I think the 2012 map ran up to 2005 data. And not only are we using new data, those new 15 years, but we also lose the 15 years of averages that began for the last map in the mid-seventies and eighties. There was another part to your question; that was a long one.
Margaret: It’s O.K. And it’s data from more weather stations than in the 2012 map also. Isn’t that correct?
Todd: That is correct. There were about 68 percent increase in the available weather stations for this version of the map, had a lot of new data points and also some of the weather stations that were used during the last iteration or actually were not used, because they existed but they didn’t have enough data; they didn’t go back 30 years. And I think that’s part of the reason why so many more were available for this iteration.
Margaret: And there’s been a lot of technology advancements in our ability to map and these experts’ ability to map as well. The maps are more, I don’t even know what the word is [laughter]. It is just so much more sophisticated, isn’t it? The detail that can be… I’ve watched and read some reactions of people on social media and elsewhere where they’re talking about how they can see where a mile away from them, maybe because of a change of elevation or whatever, where there’s a different zone. There’s a lot more detail it seems like.
Todd: That’s an important note to make. And it’s especially true if you scan the map and you look into areas that have greater changes in topography, some of the mountainous areas, you’ll see that there’s a lot of variation. And that’s useful by using the map online and being able to zoom in and really note that some of the topographic changes can really influence even within the county level. You may span three or more half zones; there are lower elevation pockets where cold air settles.
And I think some people may live and garden in those areas and their personal observations over time may have confirmed that they were in one of those frost bottoms. But for potential growers that might be wanting to start a new operation, or a new homeowner that’s moved to an area, looking at that more fine-scale data, the resolution on the map can help inform how your local site compares to the surrounding area.
Margaret: You shared with me a video, a YouTube video actually, from a man called Gardener Scott I believe. It’s a great video. Thank you for sharing it. He’s a YouTube person, and he does a demo of how we can utilize the map and some of its features that it would be hard for us to explain here just in words aloud [laughter]. But there’s a lot of enhancements from the previous time, including this much more granular, getting down to almost like half-mile increments that we can see our zone. And as you say, in a county, there may be multiple zones because of changes in the topography and so forth.
It’s very, very interesting, but it’s not the only thing that affects what we can grow [laughter].
I think Tony Avent or someone at Plant Delights Nursery posted on social media the other day about they’ve tracked their winter lows over the same 30-year period or whatever, and that they would have, if they went by the zones, by the current map at each time, they would have lost plants in a certain number of those years. Because again, it’s only one data point, and plants are vulnerable to lots of things.
I guess I wanted to know, because you have a lot of expertise, what do you think about about hardiness? Because it’s not just that one average low number, is it?
Todd: That’s right. That’s a great point. What I think gardeners know, and certainly Tony Avent knows, is that within whatever zone you are, that there are the influence of environmental, biotic variables that can greatly modify a plant’s ability to survive throughout the year and certainly during the winter. And in the winter months, there’s a lot of plants that the cold is an important factor, but so is as, one example, soil moisture. Keeping things drier, they can often have more cold hardiness; some desert plants would be one example.
And in terms of gardeners who may have seen a shift by a half zone, maybe even a full zone, our general advice hasn’t been to go out and reevaluate your landscape, think about removing things and planting new things because you’re warmer. One part of that is understanding your very local conditions, the microsite of your garden, and factors like if you’re growing plants on the north side of your house versus the south side. In the winter, the south side will get more sunlight so things can have some reflective heat and potentially be buffered a little bit and have a better chance.
Margaret: I’m thinking of exactly those types of things, almost like reading microclimates, and whether they’re opportunities, or like “uh-oh, uh-oh,” they’re warnings.
Todd: Of course it is species dependent, but in my own gardening experience, I think that taking advantage of your microsite and those things like working with the drainage you have or the sun exposure you have can shift certainly more than a half zone. You can get away with things that may not be rated for your zone or would be rated marginally.
Margaret: For instance, I know that you have particular interest in or involved in a research project that includes native Magnolia species. And magnolias are a beloved garden plant. And I used to be in zone five…[laughter] was I? I guess I was 5A then 5B now I’m 6A. And even there, if I were to have picked an early blooming Magnolia and put it against near to a wall on the south side of my house where it woke up “early,” where those buds, I would’ve had them blasted every year practically and never had flowers.And if I put it somewhere where it could wake up a little later, I could do really well with it. [Above, an early awakening Magnolia ‘Elizabeth’ zapped by a frost in late March.]
That’s an oversimplification, but that’s what we’re looking for as gardeners, I think. And again, to avoid those wet feet at all costs, like you said in winter, that’s a sure killer of a lot of things.
Todd: Exactly.
Margaret: When I began gardening, zone pushing or zone denial as some people call it [laughter], was the ethic I was raised on. Because there were all these new catalogs and people like Plant Delights Nursery or the former Heronswood Nursery or so forth, and you could get all these things that were practically just being put, or were just being put, into the marketplace—and in small numbers and so forth. And there wasn’t a lot of data about those plants, and where they were hardy to exactly; not much was known except where they came from, where the explorer had found them.
It’s like we tried things and it’s O.K. to do that, but you have to be aware that you may have losses, yes? It’s not a sure thing to say, “Yeah, I can grow zone 6.” I can’t just go out right now and say “I can grow zone 6 plants.
On the other hand, a friend at Broken Arrow Nursery in Connecticut dared me a couple of years ago to—again, another magnolia—because I love big leaves, he dared me to plant the big leaf magnolia, was is Magnolia macrophylla? I have this waist-high plant, and now I feel validated. Now I am a zone 6, and that’s supposed to be a zone 6 plant, but it’s been very happy even when I was officially a 5B [laughter].
Todd: And along those lines, it’s also good to note what a volatile statistic these data points are, because it is a single data point. Folks may be in the same zone, or they may have increased, say, a half zone, But there’s really no predicting that the next winter or a winter in the near future could be more indicative of a colder zone, and a really extreme cold snap could kill a lot of plants that had done well for a few years, and that’s why we take 30 years of data into account for the average.
Margaret: And the other thing that I worry about more in recent years, as we’ve seen shifts and changes and even our familiar—if we’re in a garden for a long time—our familiar garden patterns seem different. I also wonder, especially with woody plants, how well-prepared they are, how much chance they’ve had to harden off, so to speak.
We don’t have, where I am, few gentle early frosts anymore that say, “Hey, it’s coming, watch out everybody.” [Laughter.] We will have a hard freeze as our first frost a lot of times now it’ll be dramatic, will be very early. And then there’s balmy weather as we’re having now this year. And I wonder how prepared the plants are. Is the hardening off thing, is that also being affected, and are they more vulnerable in many regions because of the change in the so-called fall time?
Todd: I think you bring up a good point, which is that there are many ways that cold temperatures can negatively affect plants. You just mentioned some of those early freezes, and with Magnolia you talked about some of the later freezes as they’re waking up. Although the Plant Hardiness Zone Statistic, really it does not take those factors into account. It’s the third major class of cold damage, which is those extreme lows generally occurring in mid-winter when things are fairly well dormant.
Although this map doesn’t take into account—it’s a single variable—just like you said when we opened up about some of the broader changes we’re seeing with the global climate… Although the Plant Hardiness Zone Map doesn’t take any of that into account, all of it’s connected: The so-called heat index, the number of days that temperatures are above 30 centigrade or 86 Fahrenheit, plays a role in plant survival, as to do some of these early cold spells and the variability of temperatures, the fluctuations during the winter. And doing a multivariate assessment similar to what Canada does, although it’s not part of this map, it’s important to really take all of those things into consideration and think of the Plant Hardiness Zone Map as one of the tools in the gardener’s toolbox, as a vehicle for risk assessment into the future.
Margaret: I like that, that you’re saying “as a vehicle for risk assessment,” because again, it’s not a guarantee kind of thing. It’s not like, “Sure you can.” It’s not like if you go and get your size in a particular garment [laughter], if you reorder that garment, it will be the same size will fit you again. It’s not like that. It’s not like that because as you say, there can be these aberrant times.
And I think for gardeners, I know I do it, I think we conflate or confuse weather and climate, factors of weather and climate, and maybe we should explain the difference between the two from your point of view, because I feel like I get attached to the weather, and that’s not the bigger picture, either.
Todd: I think that’s easy to do as gardeners. Where personally, for example, something I do every day is just check precipitation and it changes my daily plans, and what’s happening in the immediate future that I need to potentially prepare for. But also as gardeners, it’s important to think about the longevity of plants in the landscape and the longer-term impacts of their survival and health. And I think that’s the climate portion.
It’s why we use these 30-year averages in building this map and try to—especially for planting trees—30 years tends to be across all plants, potentially an average lifespan if you factor in herbaceous perennials. But with tree planting, I think most of us plant them with the expectation that they’ll outlive us, and we want to make sure that we’ve appropriately sited them both in their growing conditions in terms of soils and moisture, but also that we’ve picked appropriate species and provenance material that can last for a long time based on broader changes, climate changes, global temperature, variables like that.
Margaret: When you’ve watched the coverage of the release of the new map, and been interviewed yourself and asked about it yourself, what are the things that you want to get across most of all to people from the new map?
Todd: A typical question from the gardening community relates to, as you mentioned about half the country shifted into a warmer half zone, folks are asking, “What does that mean for me?” And we talked about earlier exactly what the Plant Hardiness Statistic is, and one of the map downloads on the Plant Hardiness Zone Map website is what we call the change map. And it just shows by half zone the parts of the country that have shifted to one half zone, two half zones, up or down. And what you’ll see is some fairly obvious bands that run parallel to the zones, but shifted a little bit.
And what I’m getting at is that if you were previously on just the edge of a half zone, you could have had a very small change in this 30-year average that pushed you into the new zone. Or if you were on the lower edge, a nearly 5-degree change would have kept you in the same zone.
Again, we’re really not suggesting any major changes to how folks are gardening, but to take in the broader pattern across the country, which is that there was a slight increase in the extreme cold temperature. And we would expect that future iterations of this map that we would see all of the zones creeping northward; that is correlated to the more global scale changes that we’re seeing.
That’s really the takeaway. Things have changed, but the change has been minimal and to not make major changes to your landscape based on it.
The other thing I like to point out to people is that along with the new map, the actual website has been completely redesigned. There’s some really great information there, not just about some of the technical information about how the map was created and some of the changes that we saw, but there’s some terrific resources there that are really aimed at any user of the map. And they range from some of the more practical information for folks that might be getting into gardening about soil health, or how to manage weeds in the landscape. And then it goes on to also feature some of the work that’s being done across ARS [Agricultural Research Service], across the country by different ARS researchers whose work intersects not just with plants, but with again, soil health, insects and diseases, anything that has a relation to the Plant Hardiness Zones.
Margaret: I am glad you brought that up. The other thing that I’ve definitely noticed… I’m a birder, and so over the last decade or more I’ve noticed there’s changes in ranges of birds, for instance; I see birds I didn’t see here 20 or 30 years ago and so on. And that’s true also of pests and even certain types of diseases in a sense, that they can expand their territories as well. They’re recognizing the opportunity as well that there’s a longer season, or a milder climate, a little farther up and a little farther up and a little farther up the map [laughter]. Gardeners are also contending with that, yes?
Todd: That’s true. And I would say it works both ways. There are animals and microorganisms that may increase their range during warmer winters. It opens up habitat, but by the same token, I think especially with some of the insects and microorganisms that they do need cold sometimes to complete their lifecycle and get the chilling that they require. I think that would vary species to species, but things are very synced up with temperature for lifecycle, it does make a difference.
Margaret: Todd Rounsaville from USDA, I’m fascinated, and I’m so glad you can make the time today to explain this to the listeners and to me a little bit more. And actually, I hope I’ll talk to you about native magnolias again soon because something really interesting. Thank you for being here today.
Todd: My pleasure. Thanks for having me. And I would love to talk about Magnolias anytime.
Margaret: Absolutely. Good, it’s a date.
more about hardiness zones
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MY WEEKLY public-radio show, rated a “top-5 garden podcast” by “The Guardian” newspaper in the UK, began its 14th year in March 2023. It’s produced at Robin Hood Radio, the smallest NPR station in the nation. Listen locally in the Hudson Valley (NY)-Berkshires (MA)-Litchfield Hills (CT) Mondays at 8:30 AM Eastern, rerun at 8:30 Saturdays. Or play the Dec. 11, 2023 show using the player near the top of this transcript. You can subscribe to all future editions on iTunes/Apple Podcasts or Spotify (and browse my archive of podcasts here).
Begonia coccinea, B.corallina, B. dietrichiana, and hybrids
I’m proud to say I was not the first in my family to grow and care for an angel-wing begonia houseplant.
That honor goes to my daughter Frances, whose aunt Kathy gave her a five-gallon pot with a large, healthy specimen for her 11th birthday.
She kept it as a houseplant in her sunny bedroom throughout middle school, dragging it outdoors for the summer, carefully watering it, and deadheading the coral pink flowers.
I never had to remind her to care for her angel-wing begonia. She took it on herself to learn about the plant and followed tips from aunt Kathy throughout the three-foot-tall plant’s tenure at our madcap home with the resident blended family of five.
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That plant lived and bloomed for at least six years, a great run for a cane-like variety. I only regret that we didn’t realize how easy it would be to take cuttings and root the stems, or I imagine we’d still have an offspring of that same begonia at Newton Street all these years later.
I circled back to angel-wing begonias a couple of years ago when seeking familiar comforts during lockdown. I purchased them from the same South Knoxville greenhouse Fran’s plant came from.
Hers, mine, and the many other types of angel-wing begonia are outright beauties, especially when you pay attention to their growing requirements. You may wish to cultivate them indoors or outdoors or combine the two approaches.
The common name “angel-wing begonia” is used fairly loosely, creating a bit of a gray area on exactly which plants fall into the category.
I’ll explain more about the classification, including the instances when you want to differentiate among varieties and when it’s cool not to bother with distinctions.
I’ll also share a host of tips on growing and caring for these heavenly begonias.
Here’s what you can expect:
What Are Angel-Wing Begonias?
Angel-wing is the common name for a few different begonias.
Botanical species usually accepted as being in the “angel-wing” category include B. coccinea, B. corallina, and B. dietrichiana.
Common traits include sturdy, upright stems with nodes that make them look a bit like slender bamboo, asymmetrical, wing-shaped leaves, and clusters of pink, white, or red flowers borne on the canes.
Photo by Rose Kennedy.
The different species grow to between one and six feet tall, though they usually top out at about two to three feet.
Most varieties have light dots or streaks atop their leaves, often with red undersides.
The species B. dietrichiana is known as the “heirloom” angel-wing begonia, and it has smooth green leaves without markings.
Some folks refer to all cane-like begonias as angel-wings, but cane types often have rounded, elongated, or star-shaped leaves.
You may also hear the popular polka dot plant, B. maculata, called “angel-wing,” and it mostly fits with this classification.
Polka dot plants grow thicker canes and waxier leaves than most cane begonias, though, and have larger polka dots than the other species in this grouping.
They don’t flower as consistently as the others, either. They usually bloom only in spring or summer, if then – as opposed to throughout the year. And their blooms are white and tiny, not pink or red.
Just be aware that while polka dot plants and other angel-wing begonias both need well-draining soil and infrequent, deep watering, B. maculata plants are pickier about light and humidity.
Instead of medium light, they’ll need bright, indirect light.
Dragon wings are more compact than other cane-like varieties, with smaller leaves.
I’m not going to talk about the dragon wings in this guide since they are usually considered a separate variety by growers and breeders alike. And as relatively recent hybrids, their growing needs are a bit different.
All the varieties we’ll discuss in this guide have fibrous roots and are easy to start from cuttings.
You can grow these evergreen plants outdoors as perennials only in USDA Hardiness Zones 10 to 11, but they make beautiful houseplants that bloom year-round with proper care.
You can also enjoy them as garden or hanging basket annuals in cooler growing zones and then toss them in the fall. To me it seems like a waste to trash them at the season’s end.
As I mentioned earlier, there are times when it’s important to differentiate between a cane-like angel-wing begonia and other species that look sort of similar.
Hardy begonias, B. grandis, are one example. They have rounded, paisley-shaped leaves that look like wings if you try hard to convince yourself, and they produce flowers similar to many angel-wing types.
The reason you don’t want to accidentally end up with a hardy type when you’re seeking a cane type is that hardy types are not evergreens, so they lose their leaves when the weather gets cold.
Next are the foliage-first rex begonias, B. x rex cultorum. Many of those patterned cultivars have wing shaped-leaves.
Rex begonia. Photo by Rose Kennedy.
I included a photo of one of my “painted leaf” rex begonias above to show you how easy it would be to think they were angel-wings.
But the rex types are a bit fussier than the cane types, especially when you try to grow them outdoors, and the growing requirements differ somewhat.
Most B. x rex cultorum cultivars sprout leaves from rhizomes, for example, so they need to be positioned with the rhizome half buried in the soil, not planted with the crown at the soil surface like cane varieties.
The lack of canes makes colorful rex begonias more difficult to propagate, too, so they’re not as easy to share as the typical B. corallina or B. coccinea, either.
Ahead of the growing information, let’s take a minute to learn about the background of the graceful, cheerful angel-wing begonia.
Cultivation and History
Angel-wing begonias are part of the cane-like grouping determined by the American Begonia Society. Most of the cane-like species are native to parts of Brazil.
They are all classified within the Begonia genus Franciscan monk and botanist Charles Plumier first described more than four centuries ago, in 1700.
Europeans fell in love with these types of plants quickly, and identified 200 species between 1700 and 1850, and begonias have been popular with flower and indoor gardeners to some degree ever since.
Many begonias, including the cane types, are easily hybridized, and even amateur breeders have successfully introduced new begonia cultivars.
One of the earliest recognizable cultivars was introduced by a Swiss nurseryman in 1892 and is known as B. corallina ‘De Lucerne’ or B. ‘Lucerne.’
It has olive leaves with silver flecks and is a parent plant for many of the varieties popular today.
‘Lucerne’ plants are pretty hard to find at ordinary nurseries in the US but still have their devotees.
According to the American Begonia Society, as more begonias with wing-shaped leaves came on the scene, they too picked up the name angel-wing, even if they were shrubby or trailing, not cane types.
As the years went by and the name started being used indiscriminately, many hybridizers and home growers stopped using it altogether.
Another subgroup of cane types, the Superbas, has many members classified as angel-wings.
A home hybridizer, Eva Kenworthy Gray, pioneered the Superbas. She began crossing fibrous begonia varieties in the 1920s in California.
In 1926, she crossed a Brazilian variety, B. aconitifolia, with a B. coccinea ‘Lucerne’ from a private collection.
The cross resulted in a cane-like variety featuring deep toothed margins and delicate silver markings on large, asymmetrical leaves. The begonia world took note, and other Superba hybrids followed.
They included a cross of ‘Lenore Olivier’ and ‘Kentwood,’ from Gray’s fellow Californian, Irene Nuss.
The resulting cultivar, named ‘Irene Nuss’ has large, deeply frilled bronzed leaves, upright canes, and numerous clusters of oversized pink flowers.
‘Irene Nuss’ won a Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of Garden Merit in 1971 and it has remained popular among Superba fans ever since.
Now that you’ve seen some of the possibilities, let’s talk about how to propagate these plants.
Angel-Wing Begonia Propagation
One of the great joys of owning an angel-wing begonia is being able to root cuttings from it almost at will.
With the ease of that approach, it’s unappealing to try to grow these varieties from seed unless you can find pelleted seeds from a reputable dealer or plant breeder.
Hybrids produce seeds that won’t grow true to the parent plant, and they may be sterile.
Species plants may produce seeds, but they are quite tiny and difficult to work with indoors – you’d need a magnifying glass and at least two people to try.
It’s not feasible to directly sow them in the garden, either – they simply disappear.
With that said, if you luck out on pelleted seeds, sow them indoors eight to 10 weeks ahead of your average last frost date in Zones with cold winters.
You can find step-by-step instructions for starting seeds indoors in our guide, but take into account begonia seeds need light to germinate.
You can also plant pelleted seeds outdoors in Zones 10 to 11.
As for taking cuttings, this is an easy propagation method as they take just a few weeks to root.
You can propagate cane cuttings at any time of year.
Photo by Rose Kennedy.
Be sure the parent plant is healthy and large enough to lose a few stems and still have at least two-thirds of its foliage remaining, to allow for photosynthesis.
I like to root a couple of canes simultaneously to increase the odds that at least one will succeed, and to have some to share.
Ordinarily I’ll root each stem in its own pot or glass of water so the roots don’t get entangled, but you can propagate several together and then transplant them en masse to grow together if you prefer.
Choose healthy stems that have at least two nodes. Cut a segment about four inches long using sterile scissors or a paring knife.
Pinch off all but the top two sets of leaves.
At this point, you may want to dip the bottom of the clipped stem in rooting hormone to hasten root development. This step isn’t critical, though it will increase your chances of success.
Next, stick the bottom of the stem into a cell, tray, or shallow pot of pre-moistened, well-drained potting mix.
Set the container in a protected spot that receives six hours or more of bright, indirect light without direct sun.
Keep the soil moist with a spray bottle of tepid water, being careful not to get the soil too soggy.
Photo by Rose Kennedy.
You can also root cuttings in a small glass of water. Make sure the nodes are below the water line, while the leaves stay above it.
Every couple of days, change out the water to prevent rotting.
When the roots are an inch long, you can plant the starts in containers or directly into a raised bed or garden after hardening off the seedlings.
Directions for transplanting are coming right up.
Transplanting
Even the healthiest starts need a bit of TLC at transplant time. Here are the basics:
Outdoors
If you live in Zones 10 to 11 or wish to grow angel-wings as annual bedding plants in Zones 3 to 9, you can transplant store-bought starts or rooted canes directly into a garden or raised bed in spring.
First, it’s advisable to test the soil and amend it as necessary. These plants like a pH of 5.5 to 6.5.
Adding plenty of organic matter will improve drainage, and spacing the plants about 30 inches apart will allow room for air to circulate.
Use a trowel or spade to dig a hole as deep as the current container, and a few inches wider.
Ease each transplant out of its cell or container and set it in the hole so the bottom of the cane is even with the soil surface.
Backfill with well-draining soil.
Water the transplants thoroughly, making sure the soil drains well. Then be extra attentive to keeping the soil consistently moist for the next four to six weeks, until the plants are well-established and can tolerate the occasional dry spell.
Indoors
For my money, containers are the way to go if you live in a cooler climate.
I reason that you’ll need to overwinter the plants indoors, so they’ll need pots and fresh potting mix in late summer regardless.
It’s simpler just to grow them in containers full-time if you live where winters are cold and avoid the stress involved in uprooting bedding plants and getting them acclimated to living in a pot.
Choose a pot with drainage holes that is lightweight for easy toting. If you’re repurposing a container, be sure to wash it first and always use fresh potting mix.
It’s ever so easy to transfer water molds and fungi when you use old soil for a new plant, especially if the former occupant of that pot succumbed to a disease.
The planter should be two or three inches wider than the start or the grower’s pot you’ve purchased.
Fill it with a humus-rich potting mix that’s well-draining and formulated for ornamental indoor plants.
Leave at least an inch between the top of the potting mix and the rim of the planter so the contents won’t spill out when you water.
Remove each start from its current pot, tray, or cell by turning the container on its side, then easing the plant out with your fingers, holding the base of the stem and tugging gently.
If you rooted a cutting in water, pull the start up by its stem base, not the leaves.
Create a hole that’s the same depth as the fibrous roots and two inches wider in diameter than the foliage.
Center the start in the hole, backfill with more of the growing medium, and water thoroughly.
From there, get ready to enjoy an indoor flowering plant that’s fast-growing and easy to care for.
How to Grow Angel-Wing Begonias
Angel-wing begonias will reward the effort if you take the time to provide their optimal growing conditions. Here are the basic considerations:
Location
Outdoors, this type of begonia needs well-draining, nutrient rich soil and a part shade exposure.
It can even grow and flower in full shade, but it will have fewer blooms and typically won’t be as full or tall as the ones planted where they receive morning sun and afternoon shade.
If you live in Zones 10 to 11, you can plant them in the ground. Remember the canes can grow several feet tall, so avoid areas prone to high winds that could knock them over.
In Zones 9 or lower, they can’t grow outdoors full-time and will need a suitable indoor location for at least part of the year.
When considering where to place them, remember all begonias contain insoluble calcium oxalates that can cause reactions including vomiting or salivation when a cat or dog ingests a piece.
Keep the plants on a high shelf, or somewhere else out of reach of inquisitive or foolhardy pets.
I like the top of my fridge as an option, since the kitchen offers ample humidity and the appliance sits in front of a sliding glass door that receives morning light.
Oh, and, even the extra-inquisitive cat won’t climb up there.
Call your veterinarian if your pet samples any part of the plant. The toxic reaction is less of an issue for human kids since biting into a leaf creates an odd taste and unpleasant sensation immediately.
Light
Whether you’re planning to grow angel-wing begonias indoors all year or merely move them inside when it’s cold out, plan to provide a spot with bright to medium-bright light without exposing the leaves to direct sunlight.
It may sound odd that these plants can grow in substantial shade outdoors but need plentiful indirect light indoors, but that’s the way it is.
If you don’t have a space at least a couple of feet from a sunny window available, try using grow lights to provide the necessary illumination.
Temperature
Not too hot, not too cold… the just-right temperature is 70 to 75°F by day and around 60°F at night.
Temperatures between 50 to 60°F may slow growth and blooming, and those over 85°F can stress the plant and cause it to lose leaves or stop flowering.
Of course, it’s tough to control Mother Nature outdoors, but you can use a shade cloth if the heat index is soaring or move container plants inside for a few days.
Inside it’s entirely possible to grow angel-wing begonias in a spot away from drafts and where temperatures don’t fluctuate by more than a few degrees during the day or overnight.
Water
Once plants are established and have acclimated to their growing environment, you’ll need to water them thoroughly, but only when the soil dries out.
These are not the type of plants that respond well to dribs and drabs of water as you pass by, so restrain yourself if you’ve been known to overwater houseplants in the past.
Instead of setting a schedule, water when the top inch or two of the soil is dry. You can determine the moisture level with a moisture meter or by jabbing your pinkie into the edge of the potting mix.
In winter, they usually need less frequent watering, but let the soil be your guide.
Always water the plants until you see water coming out of the bottom drainage holes, using room temperature or tepid water.
If you don’t bottom water, make sure to pour water on the soil surface, not over the top of the leaves.
Watering cans are cute, but when you allow water to drip onto the leaf surfaces, they can’t always dry readily, and it might encourage diseases or stem rot.
Let the plants drain into a saucer below for at least 15 minutes after a watering session, and then discard the excess. All begonias loathe wet feet.
Humidity
Begonias thrive in a humidity level of at least 40 percent and as much as 60 percent, but may do okay with slightly less or slightly more.
A good rule of thumb: keep an eye on the foliage. If the leaves start to turn brown at the tips the plants likely need a humidity boost.
Usually, a pebble tray with water beneath the bottom of the pot will work, though if the air is particularly dry in your home, you may want to invest in a humidifier.
Fertilizer
Angel-wing begonias benefit from regular fertilizing when they are actively growing.
About once a month during the spring and summer, apply a liquid 20-20-20 (NPK) fertilizer diluted to half the strength recommended by the manufacturer.
Hold off during fall and winter, and resume again once the plants enter prime growing season in the spring.
Grow in part shade outdoors and bright to moderate indirect light inside.
Water thoroughly when the top inch or two of soil is dry.
From spring to early fall, fertilize once a month with a liquid 20-20-20 fertilizer diluted to half the recommended strength.
Indoors, maintain daytime temperatures of 70 to 75°F and 60°F at night.
Pruning and Maintenance
Cane begonia varieties can live up to six years before becoming weak and spindly and ready for the compost.
You can promote their health and beauty over the long haul with a few maintenance chores.
First, consistently deadhead the spent blooms, especially on plants grown indoors. Remove any dead leaves or stems that fall on the soil, too, to prevent fungal diseases.
Photo by Rose Kennedy.
Second, carefully time when you move indoor/outdoor plants to a new locale.
Set text reminders, or use a gardening journal, and watch the weather forecast. These beauties will repay the vigilance!
These ornamentals must come inside ahead of nighttime temperatures falling below 50°F and not go out again until all threat of frost has passed and the weather is reliably 60°F or warmer.
Make the move gradually in the spring so your begonias can get used to the unfamiliar environment. Start by placing the plants outdoors for a few hours on the first day and an extra hour or two on the subsequent three days.
If you move them outdoors suddenly, they may become stressed by the light and temperature fluctuations and drop leaves, stop growing or blooming, or even die back.
As part of your maintenance, it’s a good idea to prune gangly plants on occasion.
Starting when they’re about a year old, trim back the top six inches of the canes in early winter and again in spring. You can also shape the plants or limit their height by trimming off the ends more often.
You’ll eventually need to re-pot them too, but don’t rush. They prefer to be a bit potbound and usually only need a new home once every two or three years.
Move them to a container just two inches wider than their previous home, and consider starting a few cuttings when you do.
Angel-Wing Begonia Cultivars to Select
Because the “angel-wing” moniker is used somewhat indiscriminately, you’ll need to guard against local nursery options that are labeled as angel-wings but are rex or wax begonias, with very different growing needs.
Specialty plant nurseries are usually the best source of the rarest varieties, though you may come across them online. In either case, expect to pay a premium for the most unusual ones!
Begonia fan that I am, you know I will advise you to acquire the ones you can get your hands on readily and expand your collection with any “dream” varieties on your list as you find them.
To get you started, check out these cultivars:
Harmony’s Ghost Angel
This hybrid cultivar looks very much alive, with elongated leaves in a sprightly green, draping from upright canes.
With proper light and care, its clusters of white blooms could appear in any season.
The ghostly aspect comes from small donut-shaped blips of luminous white on the leaves, along with random silvery splotches.
These types of begonias are consistently healthy and easy to tend, but can still occasionally have issues with pests and disease. Here’s what to watch for:
Pests
Outdoors, if you’re plagued by deer munching on your trees and plants, you may want to give angel-wing begonias a try – if you’re in a suitable Zone.
The calcium oxalates they produce make the foliage taste bad, but if deer persist, they’ll usually go for smaller specimens they can easily uproot.
Photo by Rose Kennedy.
Rabbits, too, are known to avoid the sharp taste of the leaves. But that claim mostly applies to full-grown rabbits since the youngsters don’t have the experience to notice the discouraging taste as quickly.
For them, you may place pots out of reach and use row covers to protect tiny, tender starts early in the spring.
As for insect pests, none of them are particularly fond of angel-wing begonias, but they may infest outdoor plants or jump over to begonias from other infected house or bedding plants.
The best prevention is to check the leaves carefully for insects, spider mites, and gastropods ahead of moving plants inside for the winter.
A blast of water from the hose is usually enough to send these pests on their way. If they keep reinfesting, you may need to turn to an application of neem oil, which acts as a natural fungicide and pesticide.
Some of the most common insects and arachnids you might encounter include spider mites, mealybugs, scale, and thrips. You can find information on detecting and combating each in our guides.
Personally, I’ve had a bit of trouble with snails and slugs while my angel-wing begonias are enjoying the great outdoors in spring.
If you’ve seen jagged holes in the foliage, these gastropods could be the culprit.
You can avoid most ailments that afflict angel-wing begonias by giving them ample space for air circulation, growing them in well-draining soil or potting mix, and never overwatering.
Photo by Rose Kennedy.
Limiting moisture or standing water below the plants helps reduce the harmful water molds that cause root or stem rot.
Overly damp soil or wet leaves can also result in fungal diseases like powdery mildew and leaf spot.
Be wary of Botrytis cinerea, which causes a disease called botrytis. Its damage appears on the flowers first and can be prevented by consistently deadheading blooms and removing fallen leaf debris.
Best Uses for Angel-Wing Begonias
When you’re an indoor or outdoor gardener who prefers plants that bloom year-round and have evergreen leaves, angel-wing begonias are ideal.
Photo by Rose Kennedy.
The taller specimens can anchor a spot on a shady patio garden.
Or, you can keep a more modest variety clipped and shaped to serve as a living centerpiece on a well-lit dining room or kitchen table. Just make sure those calcium oxalate-rich leaves don’t fall in the salad!
Window boxes, hanging baskets, a huge pot in the well-lit foyer, or a well-draining garden border lined with wing-shaped foliage and clusters of blooms are only the start. Once you start growing angel-wings and propagating cuttings, you’ll find many uses for them.
Like my sister-in-law, I consider these ornamentals a good gift for an enterprising preteen with a fondness for flowers and a green thumb. Or, give one to yourself!
Quick Reference Growing Guide
Plant Type:
Flowering herbaceous perennial
Flower/Foliage Color:
Coral, pink, red, or white/Bright green, burgundy, green-gray, or silver with light dots in buff, silver, pink, white
Native to:
Brazil
Water Needs:
Moderate
Hardiness (USDA Zones):
10-11
Maintenance:
Low
Bloom Time/Season:
Year-round
Tolerance:
Adult rabbits, deer, some drought, heat
Exposure:
Bright, indirect light (indoors), full to part shade (outdoors), no direct sun
Pot 2-3 inches wider than root ball, bedding plants 2-3 feet apart
Soil pH:
6.0-7.0
Planting Depth:
Soil surface (seeds), even with soil surface (transplants)
Soil Drainage:
Well-draining
Height:
2-5 feet
Family:
Begoniaceae
Spread:
2-3 feet
Genus:
Begonia
Common Pests and Diseases:
Mealybugs, scale, slugs and snails, spider mites, thrips; Botrytis, leaf spot, powdery mildew, root and stem rot
Species:
Coccinea, corillina, dietrichiana, B. x hybrida
A Host of Angelic Begonias
If you’ve ever conversed with me about hobbies for more than 15 minutes, you’ve already learned I’m enamored with begonias.
Colorful rex begonia varieties with artful, patterned leaves are always a top choice.
But angel-wing varieties have also earned my adoration with their shapely leaves and bright blooms.
Part of the draw is the family tie I told you about. But the ease of propagating from canes is what truly sets these varieties above other begonias, for me at least.
A few weeks in a cup of water, and presto! You have more cheery plants to share with your friends.
How about you? If you’ve grown these before, indoors or out, we’d love to receive your anecdotal advice or questions in the comments section below.
While some may be familiar with Japanese sacred lily (Rohdea japonica, Zones 6–10), Rohdea pachynema is an uncommon species that is indeed a Rohdea less traveled. Found only in the Chinese provinces of Yunnan and Sichuan, it is an intriguing member of the Asparagaceae family that is slowly becoming more available to gardeners. It was formerly known as Campylandra sinensis or C. pachynema, but recent DNA work has moved it into the genus Rohdea, whose name commemorates German botanist Michael Rohde. We can find no documented common name for this species, so we have dubbed it “yellow thread rohdea” since pachynema means “thick thread” (referring to the colored central stripe on the leaves).
We suspect that most if not all of the plants of yellow thread rohdea in cultivation are derived from the same population on the flanks of Sichuan’s Luoji Mountain. Bill McNamara of Quarryhill Botanical Garden (now Sonoma Botanical Garden) in California was likely the first to introduce this species to North America. During a visit to Quarryhill some years ago, we were instantly smitten upon seeing Bill’s collection of this beautiful and unfamiliar plant. Our shameless begging worked, and we were gifted a piece of this treasure.
Later, we avidly read Bill’s account of his botanical expedition to Luoji Mountain and then made our own visit to that same 14,300-foot peak. It was like coming across an old friend along the trail when we saw yellow thread rohdea growing among culms of bamboo. Other collectors have been to the same mountain on the same trail and undoubtedly availed themselves of this impossible-to-miss colony.
Yellow thread rohdea has durable, darkly evergreen, narrow leaves reaching 18 inches long or more that gently arch and are highlighted by a pale yellow midrib stripe along their length. It does flower, albeit the blooms are more of a curious green sculptural element than something to be considered for a bouquet—which makes one appreciate the amber tones the flowers take on as they age. Looking at the glossy exotic leaves and overall gestalt, we drew upon our decades of plant hunting and growing rare plants to conclude that this refined rohdea cannot be very hardy. To our surprise, it trash-talked our 10°F dips in winter like it ain’t no thang. It is likely cold hardy to Zone 6, though it may sustain some winter leaf damage.
A rhizomatous perennial, yellow thread rohdea spreads nonaggressively but steadily, increasing appropriately as it intuits your desire for “more, please” once you come to appreciate its understated tasteful beauty and its zero to minimal maintenance needs. Deer don’t seem to notice it, and it has no notable pest or disease issues. With each passing year, we value all the more those plants that are largely self-maintaining, and yellow thread rohdea is just such a plant.
Yellow thread rohdea
Rohdea pachynema
Zones: 7–10
Conditions: Partial to full shade; rich, moist to moderately dry soil
Kelly Dodson and Sue Milliken grow some of the coolest plants on the planet at Far Reaches Farm Nursery and Far Reaches Botanical Conservancy in Port Townsend, Washington.
On the first day of August 2006, my botanizing companion and I were making only our third trip to a barrens on a farm owned by friends in Kentucky. We already knew that this spot never looked the same twice, so we had few expectations as to what we might see. Our delight on arrival can hardly be described. As far as the eye could see was a sea of shades of purple, pink, and white. My designer brain immediately kicked in—if only I could replicate this in someone’s garden!
Scaly liatris is typically found in dry sandy prairies and barrens. It is fairly unusual, being shorter than most other Liatris species. When grown in a garden situation in decent soil, this plant looks all the better for the extra nutrients and water it gets. It can have a more “roundy-moundy” appearance, it flowers for an extended period of time (throughout summer), and, unlike most other liatris, it can be divided. It also attracts a plethora of pollinators, making it both a gardener’s and an entomologist’s dream.
A less obvious attribute of this perennial is its attractive seed heads (though the stage just prior to immature seed can be a tad ugly for a while), and for those of us who like to grow our own plants, the seeds are not difficult to collect and grow on. has been long-lived for me, and I have not encountered any serious diseases or pests, though deer will munch on it occasionally. It is a prairie native certainly worth seeking out and is sure to catch attention.
Scaly liatris
Liatris squarrosa
Zones: 4–8
Conditions: Full sun; dry, sandy, well-drained soil
Native range: Eastern and central United States
Sources:
Hilary Cox is an Arizona-based horticulturist, garden designer, and photographer. She is the co-author of The Gardener’s Guide to Prairie Plants.
There are a bazillion bigleaf hydrangeas out there. So when a new one comes out, it really needs to stand out from the crowd. Meet Eclipse® bigleaf hydrangea—a unique selection with dark purple leaves that hold their color throughout the gardening season. In summer the dramatic foliage is accompanied by striking cranberry blooms with white centers.
Photo by Tracy Walsh Photo, Courtesy of Bailey Nurseries
Courtesy of Bailey Nurseries
Growers are also reporting that this baby is resistant to powdery mildew and Cercospora leaf spot. Just imagine all the great combinations you can create with that foliage in a container or in the landscape.
We’ve finished harvesting the cassava for this year, and have had a few nice meals of it so far.
Rachel’s favorite method for cooking cassava, and one which is very popular in our house, is to make cassava fries.
Since cassava requires boiling to make it safe for consumption, she peels the roots and cuts them into sections, then boils them in salty water until they are fork-tender.
The salt isn’t necessary to remove toxins, but it does make the final cassava fries taste much better.
Once the cassava is cooked, she then strains it and lets it sit for a while. Sometimes she puts it all in the fridge to finish later, other times she takes it right from the pot and moves on to the next step.
The boiled cassava is cut into fry-sized chunks and laid out on a baking tray that has been oiled with tallow or coconut oil.
She then uses a brush to apply more tallow to all the pieces.
Beef tallow is really the best. Lard is good as well. Coconut oil is okay.
Once the pieces are oiled, she salts them, then puts them in the oven to broil on “High” for about fifteen minutes.
It usually takes more like 20-25 to be finished, because often the timer goes off at 15 and she checks them and gives them another 10 minutes. It partly depends on the size of the pieces you put in. Thinner pieces cook much faster than thicker ones. I like them to get a little crunchy, too. A little black on the edges is fine.
Then you just take them to the table, or transfer them to an appropriate piece of glassware from the 1970s.
You can make homemade mayo or use ketchup to dip them in, but honestly: they are so good when boiled in salty water and then coated in tallow and roasted crispy, they don’t need anything to be perfect.
Cassava is one of the crops I highly recommend in Totally Crazy Easy Florida Gardening, as well as in my other Florida gardening books. It’s easier to grow than potatoes, is perennial, has a different season from white potatoes, can be kept in the ground for a long while, and thrives in the state of Florida.
Happy Feast of the Immaculate Conception… we’re headed to church today. And on the way, I will be hunting the international markets for some new root crops to test.
I’ve been thinking about making festive dried citrus garlands for years. They’re supposed to be an easy DIY project, something even a small child could probably pull off. Yet, they remain on a long list of craft projects that I would like to someday try. Though, not this year. And probably not next year either. The fruit garland may be easy—just not easy enough for me.
How low-effort do I need my DIY projects to be? The other night, I trimmed a branch from our Christmas tree. I didn’t want to just throw it away, so I hung it upside-down from the latch of the gate to our backyard. Instant holiday cheer. That is the level of effort I require from my DIY decorations.
I don’t think I’m alone in my fear of sewing machines and nail guns—which is why I’ve rounded up the most basic (yet elegant) DIY holiday decorations, all using foraged botanicals, from our site. No shopping necessary. No painting required. No YouTube video needed. Enjoy.
Above: Justine, our resident crafter extraordinaire, set out to create a more complicated display but realized the eucalyptus branches she bought at Whole Foods were elegant enough to have a starring role on her mantel. Photograph by Justine Hand, from DIY: Minimalist Holiday Mantel, $10 Edition.
I am Tingshu Hu from Dunstable, Massachusetts (Zone 5b). I would like to share some pictures of my flowering trees in my front yard.
We came across this ‘Pink Cascade’ weeping peach (Prunus persica ‘Pink Cascade’, Zones 5–9) in a garden center. It had one flower and two buds. The flower was very attractive, so we took it home. We didn’t expect it to grow into such a gorgeous tree. It blooms for more than two weeks, from late April to mid May.
In this view of the front yard from between the flowering branches of the peach tree, you can see our Havanese dog, Luke, waiting at the garden gate.
In the side yard, the Forsythia (Zones 5–8), flowering quince (Chaenomeles, Zones 4–8), and ‘Jane’ magnolia (Magnolia ‘Jane’, Zones 4–8) are in full bloom.
Eastern redbud (Cercis canadensis, Zones 4–9) is another gorgeous tree with a long flowering period. It blooms from early May for about two weeks.
Looking toward the side yard from below the branches of the redbud, you can see the pink/red crabapple (Malus sp., Zones 3–8) that is an offspring of a ‘Prairie Fire’ crabapple in the backyard. It bears some similarity with its mother but is not the same. The white one in the middle is ‘Sugar Tyme’ crabapple (Zones 4–8), and the pink one is ‘Louisa’ weeping crabapple (Zones 4–8).
The same trees from a different angle
Looking toward the pergola from the redbud branch
Another angle from below the redbud tree. On the right side is lilac (Syringa vulgaris ‘Beauty of Moscow’, Zones 3–7).
‘Jane’ magnolia tree and flowering quince
Have a garden you’d like to share?
Have photos to share? We’d love to see your garden, a particular collection of plants you love, or a wonderful garden you had the chance to visit!
To submit, send 5-10 photos to [email protected] along with some information about the plants in the pictures and where you took the photos. We’d love to hear where you are located, how long you’ve been gardening, successes you are proud of, failures you learned from, hopes for the future, favorite plants, or funny stories from your garden.
Each season, I aim to add more edible perennials to my desert garden. Where I live, we have very hot summers and mild winters, so the challenge is finding perennial crops that survive our hot, dry summers. Over time, I’ve curated this list of 25 edible perennials that thrive in the hot climate of the Arizona desert, transforming my garden into an edible paradise.
Why grow edible perennials?
Unlike annual plants, which complete their life cycle in one season and must be replanted, perennials can live for many years. This means more food with less effort and expense.
An added benefit is that once they are established, most perennials have little upkeep–usually only seasonal pruning and amending with compost. And finally, many edible perennials are high-value crops that can be grown for much less than they cost in the grocery store.
Grapes
Definition of edible perennial
Lemongrass and asparagus
Perennials are often defined in different ways. For this article, these are the criteria I’m using:
A species that lives out its life cycle over 2 more years.
The ability to survive winter and summer.
Harvest in a way that doesn’t kill the plant. (Some of these root crops are plant/replant perennials, meaning they are dug up for harvest, but then some portion is replanted in the same or another hole, keeping the plant alive to produce again the following year.)
Although I’m growing nearly 40 different types of fruit trees, I’m not including fruit trees and most herbs in this post. I recently posted 10 Perennial Herbs for Hot Climates, and I’ll share more about creating a food forest with fruit trees in an upcoming post!
25 Edible Perennials for Desert Climates
1. Artichoke
At the end of flowering, cut plants down to just above the ground and mulch heavily to help them survive the summer. I like growing sweet potatoes over the soil during the summer to further protect the crowns. The plant will begin growing again in the fall. Artichoke plants usually live for 3-4 years. For more information, read my blog post on how to grow artichokes.
2. Asparagus
Asparagus roots produce individual stalks above ground. The roots and stalks grow larger each year. A well-kept asparagus patch can produce for 10 years or more! For more information, read my blog post on how to grow asparagus.
Chiltepin is a wild chili pepper native to the U.S. and Mexico, known for its intense heat and considered the ancestor of all peppers. Plants grow large. I grow my plants in native soil and take care not to overwater. Chiltepin is frost-sensitive; cover plants during frost events.
5. Eggplant
Eggplant is one of the easiest plants to grow in the low desert. Plant in early spring or with the monsoons. Protect from freezing temperatures. May live 2-3 years with ideal growing conditions. For more information, read my blog post on how to grow eggplant.
6. Indeterminate Tomatoes
Indeterminate tomatoes can live for several years if they stay healthy. Feed the soil with compost, keep lower leaves trimmed, and water tomatoes deeply to prevent disease. Protect from freezing temperatures. For more information, read my blog post on how to grow tomatoes.
7. Strawberries
The trick is to choose the correct varieties and provide afternoon shadeso strawberries can survive the summer. Plants can live for 3-4 years. For more information, read my blog post on how to grow strawberries.
25 Edible Perennials for Hot Climates (continued)
8. Grapes
Grapes can take full sun. Their roots go 2 feet (.6 meters) deep; plant in rich soil. Learn how to train and prune correctly, and grapevines will live for many years.
9. Blackberries
Blackberries grow well with plenty of sunlight and water. Blackberry canes are biennial. The canes are fruitless the first year, and then bear fruit the second year, and die after fruiting. Next year’s fruit will grow on this year’s growth.
10. Goji Berries
Berries form on current-year’s wood. Light pruning encourages new growth and keeps the plant open for light and air circulation. Plants begin producing at 2 years old and reach maximum production after 3-5 years.
11. Chichiquelite
Commonly called garden huckleberry. Berries produce abundantly over a long season. Plants grow large and grow well in the ground.
12. Sweet Potatoes
Sweet potatoes are one of my favorite cover crops. I grow them in raised beds and in the ground. If you want to keep sweet potatoes growing as a perennial, leave a small portion in the ground after harvesting, or replant a rooted stem. For more information, read my blog post on how to grow sweet potatoes.
13. Longevity Spinach
This tasty spinach grows well in partial shade. I usually grow it as a ground cover. Longevity spinach tolerates neglect and survives for years.
14. Capers
Caper plants thrive in the low desert. They are happiest in the ground, with at least six feet in every direction.
15. Elderberry
Mexican elderberry, also known as Sambucus Mexicana, thrives in Arizona’s hot climate due to its natural tolerance for drought and heat. Regular watering during the first growing season will help establish a deep root system, making the plant more resistant to drier conditions later on.
16. Jerusalem Artichoke / Sunchoke:
Jerusalem artichokes, also known as sunchokes, thrive in Arizona’s sunny and hot climate. It’s time to harvest when the plants die back. At harvest time, leave a tuber or two in the ground, and they will sprout and grow again.
17. Sugarcane
Sugarcane is a tropical plant that grows best with plenty of water. This perennial grass forms lateral shoots that you harvest each year. New canes form as plants spread and multiply.
25 Edible Perennials for Hot Climates (continued)
18. Passion Fruit Vine
The vigorous vine produces fruit in the spring and fall – give it something to climb. Passion fruit vine usually lasts 3-4 years.
19. Moringa
Moringa is ideal for hot climate desert gardens as it thrives in hot, arid conditions. The leaves are commonly consumed fresh or dried, and the pods are popular in Indian and Asian cooking.
20. Garlic Chives
The oldest garlic chive plant in my garden is at least 10 years old. I divide it every few years, and it comes back each spring. For more information, read my blog post on how to grow garlic chives.
21. I’itoi onions
I’itoi onions are a multiplier onion well-suited to desert growing. The planted bulb multiplies and is propagated by division of bulbs. Bulbs left in the ground over the summer will go dormant and begin growing again in the fall. For more information, read my blog post on how to grow I’itoi onions.
22. Turmeric
This edible perennial needs shade when grown in Arizona. Because the ground doesn’t freeze, I usually leave mine in the ground and harvest as needed throughout the year. For more information, read my blog post on how to grow turmeric.
23. Ginger
Very similar to turmeric, you can leave ginger in the ground and harvest as needed throughout the year. For more information, read my blog post on how to grow ginger.
24. Pigeon Peas
Pigeon pea is a perennial legume shrub that lasts four or five years. Plants can grow large and do well in native soil here in the desert.
25. Cucamelon
Cucamelons are a tender perennial; this means they are sensitive to frost but, if cared for properly, can live for several seasons. Throughout the season, cucamelons develop an underground tuber. Once the plant dies back in mild winter areas, mulch the ground around the roots well,and it should survive over the winter and begin to regrow in the spring. For more information, read my blog post on how to grow cucamelons.
These are the edible perennials I’m growing right now or have grown in my hot climate desert garden. I’m sure there are lots more. Let me know in the comments which ones you’re growing!
I don’t know about you, but nothing is more depressing to me than looking out my windows in February and seeing nothing but brown. I have some conifers and broadleaf evergreens throughout my beds and borders to keep things somewhat interesting. But a greater portion of my landscape is made up of deciduous plants, which means things look pretty bare in winter.
A few years back, however, I added some choice perennials that stay green year-round, and they made the last snowless winter much more attractive. Thanks to the lack of snow cover, the bergenias, epimediums, and gingers put on a glossy show for weeks on end, giving the surrounding beige backdrop a run for its money.
That’s why we asked an array of regional experts to share their favorite evergreen perennials. Here you’ll find plant recommendations for the snow-prone Midwest as well as for the largely snow- free Southwest.
There are few groups of plants more valuable in the garden than broadleaf evergreens. They give the garden structure and interest when not much else is going on. This varied group generally includes any woody plant that does not lose its leaves during the fall or winter and is not a conifer with needles or scales (think pines, junipers, firs, or arborvitae). Broadleaf evergreens represent some of our most popular and useful shrubs: rhododendrons, camellias, hollies, and boxwood. These plants offer a wide range of textures through their varied foliage and can often be complemented with beautiful flowers and a lovely growing habit.
Unfortunately, having so much leafy surface area exposed to the vagaries of winter weather means that broadleaf evergreens can be damaged by cold more easily than other plants, so they are used more frequently in milder areas (Zones 7–11) than in colder areas. Although in colder zones the choices are more limited, there are still some very useful plants that will tolerate Zones 5 and 6, and with protection a few will even survive in Zone 4, where the average winter temperature can drop to a chilling –20° to –30°F. The following are a few of my favorite broadleaf evergreens, ones that do more than just simply add green to the garden in the off-season.
Spectacular flowers are delicious icing to an already tasty cake
A long-blooming stunner from a genus filled with beauties
So many broadleaf evergreens have breathtaking displays of bloom that entire libraries can be dedicated to them. One of the classics is camellia. There are many species and hundreds of cultivars of this staple of the Southern garden to choose from. With thoughtful selection in mild climates, blooms can flourish from early autumn to midspring. In areas prone to occasional cold blasts and long winter rains, I prefer Camellia × williamsii. This hybrid between a winter- and spring-blooming species provides long-lasting flowers at a time of the year when few other plants are blooming.
One of my favorite cultivars is ‘Donation’ camellia, which does well in full sun to partial shade. This large shrub covers itself in bloom and practically glows on a gray winter day. Its large, semi-double, bright pink flowers start opening in late winter and carry on into midspring. One of its best features is its tendency to drop its flowers once they begin to fade instead of hanging onto ugly brown blooms, as the more common C. japonica is prone to do. ‘Donation’ can reach 6 to 7 feet tall and 5 to 6 feet wide in 10 years, with an ultimate height of 10 to 12 feet. Giving it space to grow will allow you to enjoy its full beauty.
Another late winter to early spring bloomer is Burkwood’s sweet olive. As spring bulbs are just awakening, this shrub covers itself with small, tubular white flowers that are intensely sweet in fragrance and can perfume the entire garden. This adaptable shrub tolerates full sun to dappled shade and drought conditions. It can also be clipped and sheared into tight hedges or allowed to grow freely and become a striking large shrub or a small multistemmed patio tree. A moderate grower, it will reach 6 to 7 feet tall in 10 years and can become 12 to 15 feet tall and wide as an older plant.
In particular, I appreciate compact selections such as ‘Elf’ mountain laurel. This slow-growing evergreen reaches about 3 feet tall and wide in 10 years and produces dense clusters of delicate, pink, balloon-like buds that open to gleaming white cup-shape blooms at the beginning of summer. Mountain laurel enjoys the same growing conditions as rhododendrons (moist, well-drained, acidic soil), but it will tolerate more sun, which provides a better bloom.
Unique habits add an extra level of interest
One of the most underrated qualities of broadleaf evergreens is the interesting growth habits and branching patterns some of them have. Too often they are sheared into round balls or irregular squares and not allowed to show their true form. Evergreen foliage can be used to hide poor branching, but it can also emphasize strong and eye-catching structural branching.
Photo: courtesy of Richie Steffen, Elisabeth C. Miller Botanical Garden
Think of this guy as a small-scale focal point
Name: Columnar Japanese holly (Ilex crenata* ‘Mariesii’)
Zones: 5–8
One shrub with a particularly interesting habit is columnar Japanese holly. Japanese hollies have clean, tidy, and shiny dark green leaves, as well as none of the sharp spines associated with most other hollies. In addition, they have great drought tolerance. The columnar form ‘Mariesii’ has rigid upright growth with short side branches that create a slightly irregular architectural tower. It grows slowly and only reaches a height of 4 to 5 feet, with a width of only 1 foot, in 10 years.
Bet you’ve never seen a privet like this before
Photo: courtesy of Richie Steffen, Elisabeth C. Miller Botanical Garden
Name: Round-leaf Japanese privet (Ligustrum japonicum* ‘Rotundifolium’)
Zones: 8–9
Another tough shrub with especially unique and interesting branching is round-leaf Japanese privet. It has an upright and compact habit, as well as dense, bright, polished green leaves. As this shrub grows, it has a billowy branching habit that reminds me of a rising thunderhead cloud. It grows more slowly than most other privets, reaching 5 feet in 10 years and with a spread of 2 to 2-1/2 feet. Both of these reliable plants grow well in full sun to dappled shade.
Low growers are as practical as they are beautiful
A tiny treasure that fits almost anywhere
Photo: Brent Wilson/gapphotos.com
Name: ‘Morris Midget’ Japanese boxwood (Buxus microphylla var. japonica ‘Morris Midget’)
Zones: 4–9
In the urban landscape and in smaller gardens, plants with a reduced footprint are sought after highly. There are quite a few broadleaf evergreens that fit this mold, dwarf boxwood being a popular one. One of the most compact is ‘Morris Midget’ Japanese boxwood (photo above). In the world of boxwood, it fits comfortably in the adorable category. It has a tight, dense mound, with bright green foliage reaching about 1 foot tall and 2 feet wide in 10 years; it rarely grows taller than 2 feet with a 4-foot width. The only drawback is that in areas where boxwood blight can be a problem, this cultivar has shown some susceptibility. If you are in a boxwood-blight region, the similar but slightly wider and more open ‘Nana’ dwarf Korean boxwood (Buxus sinica var. insularis ‘Nana’, Zones 6–9), is a good substitute. Both choices take full sun to partial shade.
It’s a great juniper alternative
Photo: courtesy of William Cullina
Name: Canby’s mountain lover (Paxistima canbyi)
Zones: 4–8
One of the most cold-tolerant broadleaf evergreens is the North American native Canby’s mountain lover. This low, spreading shrub is sometimes commonly called “cliff green” or, more disturbingly, “rat stripper,” due to native wood rats stripping the leaves and bark off in winter in a desperate search for food. Growing to 2 feet tall with a spread of 4 to 5 feet, Canby’s mountain lover has the look of an informal, loosely branched boxwood and is ideal for woodland gardens and more relaxed gardening styles. It is at its best in light to deep shade and can be quite useful for the darker areas in the garden.
Two other low-growers that not only have evergreen leaves but put on a nice floral show are Irish heath and alpine mint bush. The Irish heath grows as a low, wide mound and produces some of the largest flowers of the hardy heaths and heathers. Masses of cerise red, pink, white, or lavender urn-shape blooms dance above the foliage on short stems. Flowering begins in early summer and can last four to six weeks. Once the heath is finished flowering, a light shearing keeps it tidy and compact for the rest of the year.
Deer don’t like it, but you sure will
Photo: Majerus/Marianne Majerus Garden Images
Name: Alpine mint bush (Prostanthera cuneata)
Zones: 7-10
The alpine mint bush is equally delightful, with tiny evergreen leaves that give off a pungent minty fragrance when lightly brushed, making the plant resistant to deer. It grows about 2 to 3 feet tall and 4 to 6 feet wide. The tiny foliage gives way to small but brilliant white flowers in early summer to midsummer. This Australian native requires a mild climate to grow successfully, and it appreciates well-drained soil. It and Irish heath are choice shrubs, flowering their best in full sun.
These shrubs are just a sliver of what is available and provide a small glimpse of the diversity of foliage, flowers, and growing habits that make broadleaf evergreens so desirable.
Protecting broadleaf evergreens in winter
In colder climates, broadleaf evergreens can be susceptible to drying out during winter, with the leaf edges being burnt in what is commonly referred to as winterburn (desiccation). This is caused when the sun or wind removes water from the leaves faster than it can be replaced by water from the stems and roots. As temperatures drop and the soil freezes, the free movement of water into the roots and up the stems is hampered. Shrubs in shade and in places with limited air movement are less likely to show this damage, but under prolonged below-freezing conditions, winterburn can still occur. The optimal method to protect plants, which is used commonly, involves constructing a barrier to limit airflow and to shade the shrub. Barriers are usually made with wooden stakes and burlap and are most effective for small to medium-size shrubs.
Photo: Greenmedia/gapphotos.com
Place three stakes in a V-pattern around the plant you are protecting so that the point of the “V” is facing the direction of the most sun or prevailing winds. Once the stakes are driven into the ground, they should be about 1 foot taller than the shrub being protected. This can be done any time in the fall when weather and time permit. In late fall to early winter once the shrub in is full dormancy, burlap can be wrapped and stapled to the stakes. Attach the burlap on the two sides facing the most wind and sun, leaving the third side open to allow some light and airflow to reach the foliage. Depending on the tightness of the burlap weave, one to two layers should be enough.
*Invasive alert: Japanese holly (Ilex crenata)
This plant is considered invasive in NJ and TN.
*Invasive alert: Japanese privet (Ligustrum japonicum)
This plant is considered invasive in AL, GA, NC, PA, SC, and TN.
Thanks to Park Seed for partnering with me on this post. As always, all words, thoughts and vegetable opinions are my own.
There are gardeners who have spreadsheets and schedules that tell them exactly what seeds they should be starting when. Those same gardeners undoubtedly started seeds for fall sowing under lights probably a few weeks ago.
I am not that gardener. Don’t get me wrong, I’d like to be, but the fact is that at this time of year I’m too busy enjoying summer to be organized enough to plan for fall. But I’m also guilt-ridden by seeing bare soil in the vegetable garden where something could be growing.
And that’s where direct sowing—planting seeds directly into the garden—comes in to save the day. And even here in my zone 5 garden, there’s still time to plant some crops for a fall harvest.
When it comes to growing late season vegetables, the main thing I look for when choosing varieties is the time to harvest. Whatever you grow will be significantly tastier than anything you’d buy in the store, so the key is to just grow something.
At the top of my must-grow list is lettuce, which I still consider my favorite vegetable to grow as it is so easy, so cheap and so much better than store-bought. Lettuce definitely prefers cooler temperatures, so it is perfect for planting now. I’ll be growing a lot of Salad Bowl Mix, as it is easy to sow around other crops or in any available spot in the garden. Heading lettuces typically take a bit longer to harvest (although to be clear, you can eat heading lettuce before it makes a nice head and it will still taste great), but there should still be time to harvest Mini Romaine. I bought it as a seed tape so no thinning is necessary, a job that I know I’m bound to forget in the early fall hubbub.
Seed tape eliminates having to thin seedlings later, which is a bonus during a busy late summer gardening season. Simply lay out the tape and cover lightly with soil, then water well and keep them consistently moist until they germinate.
Whether planting seed or convenient seed tape, lettuce couldn’t be easier: just sow thinly and cover with just a dusting of soil. Moisture is key for germination, so it’s important to keep the soil consistently moist until it gets a good start.
Consistent moisture is key to seed germination. When direct sowing that means daily, and possibly even twice daily, light waterings .
Other greens are also great for cool-season growing, including Darkside Hybrid Spinach (ready for harvest in just 25 to 30 days) and Black Magic kale, which really might be the perfect kale. I’m still eating the last bits of the spring-planted kale, but some fresh new plants will be a delicious treat. And kale not only withstands a frost, it tastes better after one.
I left the best of the spring-planted kale standing so we have some kale to eat in the meantime, but planted additional Black Magic kale seeds near it for fresh kale that will only taste better after a frost.
Carrots love a bit of cold as well and can be picked at any stage (just don’t let them get too big). Choosing a variety was easy: I just picked the quickest to mature that I could find: Scarlet Nantes at 62 days to maturity.
The last of my late-season crops is one I have been sleeping on for years: peas. I never even thought to grow them in fall until a few years ago and it turns out I often get better harvests in fall than spring. Again I went for the quickest maturing: Patio Pride, a variety that’s great for containers but works well growing anywhere.
As space in the garden opens up—perhaps when the cucumbers and beans are finished—I’ll sow more seeds, particularly of the quickest-growing vegetables. For now, I’ve tucked them in everywhere, including between the onions that have just a little bit of growing left to do.
Direct sowing several kinds of seeds took very little time, and any times spent tending them will be well worth it in a couple months when I’m still enjoying the harvest from the vegetable garden.
Thank you to Wave Petunias for partnering with me on this post.
I’m often asked a question that is perplexing to me: “Do you grow annuals or perennials?”
I don’t fault the people asking the question as I think there are some people who grow one or the other, and perhaps that was more typical in the past. But the best parts of my garden rely on the combination of annuals and perennials, not to mention, shrubs, trees, bulbs and even vegetables.
Annuals, with their season-long color and seemingly endless array of colors, are perfect for tucking around the garden to fill in a gap until another plant fills in or just generally brighten things up. And perhaps the best all-purpose annual is the petunia.
This year I have Easy Wave Petunias in containers as well as in the ground where they bring a much needed splash of color as other plants (ahem, dahlias) take their time getting around to blooming. Easy Wave Petunias bulk up quickly (in fact I mostly bought 2-inch plants sold in six-packs) and have a nice mounded habit that works well in containers but also fills those pesky holes in the landscape.
Easy Wave Petunias come in oodles of colors and I was feeling a strong monochromatic vibe this year. For one container I combined Lavender Sky Blue and Blue (which reads purple to me) with purple sage for a dark, textural vibe.
I used those same colors in a nearby bed right off the patio, bringing color to an area with dahlias and alliums, including the seedheads of Allium christophii.
In the circle garden, where I like to mass plant in segments, I mixed together all the different pink Easy Wave Petunia colors I could find, from Rose Fusion to Plum Vein. A few surprises snuck in there, including a couple of reds and one white, but the overall look is pretty interesting, especially since different colors have slightly different sized flowers.
A mass planting of a variety of pink tones is brightening up a corner of the circle garden and the red stems of the nearby rhubarb help complete the look.Easy Wave Rose Fusion has beautiful dark pink veining that looks perfect with a setting sun to highlight its best attributes.
All of these are really just getting going. Easy Wave Petunias get about 6 to 12 inches high and can grow to more than 30 inches wide, so these will keep bulking up all summer.
Here’s what that all-blue container looked like shortly after planting. If you look at that photos above you can see how much it has filled in already.
GROWING TIPS
Like all heavy-blooming annuals, Easy Wave petunias appreciate regular fertilizing. I fertilize my containers with a synthetic water-soluble fertilizer every week to 10 days starting in July. I like to keep things organic for my in-ground beds so I usually use a seaweed or fish fertilizer every couple weeks on those plants.
Petunias are also one of those plants that appreciates the occasional trim, so as soon as mine start getting a little leggy, I will cut them back by half (or even more sometimes).
Budworm can be an issue on petunias. I’ve only dealt with them once in my life, so I don’t do anything more than keep an eye on them when I’m watering, like I do with all my plants. An organic spray with BT can be used to control budworm.
Petunias will do best in full sun, but you can push them into part sun without a problem.
Petunias are a classic annual, perhaps the classic annual that have been popping up in and around my garden for years.
Last year I used Easy Wave Lavender Sky Blue in the window box where it put up with a lot of pushy neighbors and provided that gorgeous color all season.
Easy Wave Petunias seem to nail that happy in between place of filling in well and holding up to other perennials in mixed containers and the ground without outcompeting its neighbors. It’s pretty much a perfect partner.
In this view of the front yard from between the flowering branches of the peach tree, you can see our Havanese dog, Luke, waiting at the garden gate.
In the side yard, the Forsythia (Zones 5–8), flowering quince (Chaenomeles, Zones 4–8), and ‘Jane’ magnolia (Magnolia ‘Jane’, Zones 4–8) are in full bloom.
Eastern redbud (Cercis canadensis, Zones 4–9) is another gorgeous tree with a long flowering period. It blooms from early May for about two weeks.
Looking toward the side yard from below the branches of the redbud, you can see the pink/red crabapple (Malus sp., Zones 3–8) that is an offspring of a ‘Prairie Fire’ crabapple in the backyard. It bears some similarity with its mother but is not the same. The white one in the middle is ‘Sugar Tyme’ crabapple (Zones 4–8), and the pink one is ‘Louisa’ weeping crabapple (Zones 4–8).
The same trees from a different angle
Looking toward the pergola from the redbud branch
Another angle from below the redbud tree. On the right side is lilac (Syringa vulgaris ‘Beauty of Moscow’, Zones 3–7).
‘Jane’ magnolia tree and flowering quince
