Flower gardening is one of the most rewarding things you can do in your yard. Not only does it make your garden look more beautiful, but it can also be a great way to earn extra cash.
Whether you are growing flowers for your own enjoyment or to sell them, it is important that your flowers are nurtured properly so they can thrive. Follow these tips to help you grow your best blooms ever!
Planting
Planting flowers is an easy way to add color, fragrance, and beauty to your outdoor space. The key to success is knowing how to choose the right flower and properly plant it.
First, read the label of your new plants to determine how much sunlight each species needs and how much space the roots require. Next, make a design plan for your garden based on these specifications.
Select a location that receives at least six hours of direct sunlight throughout the day. This will allow the plants to grow optimally and meet their goals for blooms, height, and spacing.
Fertilizing
Flowering perennials are often a challenge to gardeners, because they can’t be easily dug up or weeded around. This makes fertilizing a very important and necessary task for ensuring a healthy bed.
The best way to fertilize flowering plants is to choose a plant food that meets their specific needs. This will be a liquid or granular fertilizer that is specifically designed for flowers.
It is also important to water your plants before applying any type of fertilizer. This will ensure that the soil is moist before the application and helps prevent burning your plants.
Fertilizers come in two forms: slow release granules that last for a few weeks and liquid fertilizers that are applied to the plant’s leaves and soil. Liquid types are much faster and easier to apply, but they must be applied more frequently.
To boost blooms, choose a fertilizer that contains a high percentage of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. Nitrogen stimulates leafy growth, phosphorus promotes vigorous root development, and potassium enhances blooming.
Watering
Watering is a critical part of growing flowers, both indoors and out. Not only does it keep your garden looking great, but also helps prevent disease and mold from developing.
The amount of water plants need to grow and thrive varies based on many factors, including weather, time of year, soil type, and plant age. It can be difficult to determine how much water to give your flowers, but a few tips can help you make the right decision.
One inch of water every seven to 10 days throughout the growing season is generally enough, though there are exceptions for some flowers and soil types. Heavier clay soils, for example, do well with only a single watering session per week.
The best time to water outdoor flowers is early in the morning before the hottest part of the day. This allows the soil to cool and reduces evaporation. It also gives the roots of your flowering plants time to soak up the water before it evaporates.
Harvesting
A well-timed harvest helps ensure a longer vase life. For many varieties, it’s best to pick flowers when they’re still in bud or just beginning to open up, as that helps prevent insects from chewing through petals or otherwise damaging the bloom.
After cutting, move the stems to a bucket of clean water, with the addition of a flower preservative that includes sugar for food, bleach for controlling bacteria, and water acidifier to help the blooms rehydrate faster. Allow the flowers to hydrate for several hours before handling or arranging.
If the flowers wilt, recut the stems and rehydrate them in warm rehydration solutions depending on the needs of each flower variety. Woody perennials may require additional treatment with boiling water to remove sap before recutting. This will also help reduce the risk of botrytis, a fungal infection that can occur when moving flowers from cool to warm temperatures.