 |
|||||||||
|
|||||||||
To print this article, use the Print feature in your web browser program
| GLORIOUS COLEUS HAS A PLACE IN EVERY GARDEN | |
| Published: May 13, 1997 | |
Popular plant easy to grow and unparalleled in array of colorsQUESTION:When I visit plant nurseries, I am fascinated by the colorful coleus plants. Please give me information on growing them.ANSWER:Technically a perennial, coleus is usually used outdoors as a tender, warm-weather annual. Although it grows best in positions of filtered light, there are some varieties that will tolerate considerable sunlight. As with begonias, experimentation is in order to select the proper variety for a particular spot.Varieties range from eight inches to five feet tall, and all are easy to grow, requiring only an occasional removal of flower spikes to promote production of new foliage. Plants in heavy shade become straggly quickly and require frequent pruning. All respond well to regular feedings of a water-soluble plant food such as Miracle Gro. Cuttings may be taken in late fall, rooted in water, overwintered in a protected place, and replanted outdoors in spring. The strong colors are especially lovely planted in combination with other summer and fall-blooming tropical plants such as canna, datura, lantana, and plumbago, with the lush foliage of bananas, palms and gingers, and combined with ornamental grasses. Obviously, care must be taken when combining the jewel tones of coleus with flowers of pastel colors. Transplanting Louisiana irisesFrom a phone call:We are in the process of digging and thinning out our Louisiana irises. Is it O.K. to replant them now?According to Ken Durio of Louisiana Nursery, to have the best blooms in spring, you should keep your Louisiana iris foliage uncut, and the plants well-mulched and watered over the summer to prevent their going into dormancy. Other growers suggest that unattractive foliage can be cut back during this period. All agree that the best time to dig, divide and replant is late summer or fall. However, since you are well into the act, you have two choices. You can replant now, keeping the rhizomes moist until they are in the ground; or you can store them until the proper planting time. They may be stored for about a month with the rhizomes in water and the foliage above the water level. To store for a longer period, growers with Bois dArc Gardens in Schriever recommend using an old ice chest with several inches of damp peat moss protecting the rhizomes. One of the advantages to waiting is that there is time to prepare a new bed or rework the old one, working in ample quantities of organic materials such as peat, composted leaves and/or manure, with a balanced fertilizer such as 8-8-8 at the rate of 9-10 pounds per 100 square feet, and allowing these ingredients to compost for several weeks before replanting. One last comment on cypress kneesQUESTION:Why are you needing information on getting rid of cypress knees in lawns? Everyone knows that the knees grow only in water.ANSWER:If only that were true! It does seem to be a fairly common misconception; however, many gardeners and farmers know to the contrary that cypress knees can pop up wherever there is a cypress tree. |