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| CANNAS JAZZ-UP ANY GARDEN SETTING | |
| Published: August 05, 1997 | |
1890s plant equally at home in the 1990sQ:We recently moved into a house with an overgrown yard that has lots of old plants that we want to keep and/or transplant. There are some big clumps of lilies with huge dark green leaves and tall yellow and orange flowers. We love them but we want to move them to a different spot. Is there any special way to do it?A:From your photo your lilies are clearly canna lilies. You are right to want to hang on to them. With a little care the old ones can be beautiful, and any new hybrids will be spectacular, easy-care additions. You can even grow cannas as water plants, which surprises most people.These fast-growing perennials grow best in full sunlight in fertile, moist soil. They are available in a wide range of flower colors and plant sizes, from giants to dwarfs. There are several selections which have variegated leaves. They are propagated by division of their rhizomes. Foliage will die back during winter. For best results, wait until late February or early March to transplant. The prettiest cannas are dug and divided, and replanted at that time every year, although it is certainly not essential to divide established plants. Dig the plants, cut off old foliage and clean the roots. Dig up the bed and add some organic material like pine bark mulch before replanting. Fertilize every four to six weeks during the growing season with 8-8-8 or other all-purpose fertilizer. Cut back spent flowers and seed pods to induce repeated flowering late into the fall. Siam tulips bloomednow what?Q:I bought two bulbs of the new "summer" or Siam tulips at Jefferson Island. Each bloomed with a gorgeous pink flower. What do I do with them now?A:Glen Stokes, who is marketing the rhizomes and cut flowers nationally, says that after each rhizome blooms, it will produce four or five other plants which will, in turn, bloom that season. When the plants go dormant in November or December, you can leave the rhizomes in the ground or divide and store as you would caladiums. In May, plant them in well-drained soil, on 12-inch centers if in the ground, or one to a container. Feed every other week all summer with a liquid fertilizer such as Miracle Gro, or feed once at planting time with 3-month time-released Osmocote.Tree grows around chain-link fenceFrom a letter:Thought youd like to know that there is a tree of some size in Lafayette with a chain-link fence growing through it. No, not along side or partially covered by the barkpretty much growing through it. Its next to the Judice Apartments sign directly opposite the entrance to the Dr. J.H. Tyler Mental Health Center in the 300 block of St. Julien Ave.Didnt know, but went to look, and youre right! Old House Gardens new bulb catalog readyIn the mail:Americas only source devoted entirely to antique bulbs has its fifth anniversary catalog ready to send. We got interested in Old House Gardens when owner Scott Kunst became sole marketer of the heirloom bulbs raised at Sisters Bulb Farm in Gibson, La. The Southern heirloom list also includes Texas and Georgia bulbs. To order, send $2.00 to Old House Gardens, 536 Third St., Ann Arbor, Mich. 48103-4957. |