joene's garden » iris

Keep gardens neat looking with deadheading

joenesgarden — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 18:55:47 +0000

As a garden coach and personal gardener most of my springtime gardening work is done in clients' gardens. Gardening at home happens in tidbits of time. Fortunately, I only need tidbits of time to keep up with deadheading. Many clients and gardening friends have questions about deadheading – gardeners' term for removing of spent flowers. But careful attention to how a perennial flowers offers clues to how to deadhead. You don't want to cut down all green growth since perennials use the greenery to produce energy to survive. But unless you plan to harvest seeds from a specific perennial, allowing it to go to seed is simply taxing the plant's energy for no good gardening reason. So I expend a fair portion of my home gardening time removing spent blossoms. Beside ensuring perennials don't waste good energy on seed production, deadheading keeps the gardens looking fresh and allows currently blooming flowers to take center stage.

When spent flowers and stalks are removed, the spikey foliage of iris continues to add interest to gardens.

The Siberian iris flower on the lower right can stay for a day but cut spent flower stalks just above a leaf.

Bearded iris stay looking much neater when spent blossoms are carefully snapped or sliced off.

The blossom on the right will attract all the attention once the spent blossoms are removed. After all blooms have passed, cut the flower stalk off just above a leaf.

Chive blossoms have mostly faded. Pull or snap spent flowers from their stalk. I remove flower stalks later in the season once they turn brown when hey are much easier to pull free.

With no seeds to form, tired looking chive clumps will rejuvenate with new green growth and maybe a few new blossoms later in the season.

Scabiosa will keep flowering until the high heat of mid-summer as long as spent flowers, like those at left center and upper right, are removed.

After a brief period of no blooms, scabiosa will rebloom as cooler late-summer weather prevails.

Peony foliage provides a nice touch of backdrop greenery when spent flowers have been cut just above a leaf node.

Browned flower petals are depressing. The lower right flower can stay for a day or so. The rest must go.

I love the fact that my Oriental poppy gave me three blooms this year – I started the plant from seed a few years back.

I also love the look of the poppy seed pod.

But I'll soon chop it off to allow the plants to put more energy into spreading and hopefully setting even more blossoms next year.

With so little time to tinker in my own gardens, I've taken to leaving a pail at the ready in an inconspicuous spot near a back door. Seeing the pail reminds me to grab a knife, scissors, or pruning shears … and a few minutes each day … to deadhead spent flowers. Do I mind this task? Not at all. It's a great excuse to wander from plant to plant, to listen to birds sing and feel the breezes blow. I walk away with a feeling of accomplishment, even if I've only tended a few plants, and the gardens look better for the attention.

Categories: Gardening, Techniques.
Tags: chives, deadheading, gardening in Connecticut, iris, oriental poppy, peony, scabiosa.

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June Blooms

joenesgarden — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 09:00:00 +0000

Cool days and nights and overcast skies marked the first half of June in south central Connecticut. Nearly daily rain of some amount interspersed with heavy downpours and strong thunderstorms kept soils consistently wet. Pansies, loving the cool temperatures, still bloom. Ferns and mosses thrive in the nearly constant moisture. The peonies were glorious, but short-lived – just as the biggest blossoms opened wide rains pelted them down. The last of my peony blossoms will go by this week, but later blooming iris are coming on strong along with many other happy blossoms to show on Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day, June 2010.

A trio of scabiosa columbaria 'Butterfly Blue'

Trandescantia of unknown variety … traveled with me for years from house to house.

Dianthus deltoides, or Maiden Pinks 'Arctic Fire'

An ever lovely hosta … I don't recall hosta blooming this early before.

Louisiana iris 'Black Gamecock'

Peony hybrid 'Nancy Nora' dancing with Stachys (Lamb's Ear).

Allium 'Hair' shows off a unique personality.

Hydrangea Endless Summer flirting with nearby astilbe.

Coral bells … another long time plant companion.

A sea of lavenders. Can one ever have too many lavenders?

Iris ensata – unknown variety with huge blossoms. I cannot have too many iris.

The dainty shrub rose Mystic Meidiland.

Rose campion always has a mind of its own.

Penstemon digitalis.

And I fell for the new supertunia 'Pretty Much Picasso' – the name alone is enough to attract attention, but I could not resist the color combination of these flowers.

Last June my peonies were in full glory. This year everything seems to be blooming about 2 weeks earlier compared to last. I also had poppies blooming in 2009. This year the greens are there but, sadly, no buds popped up.

Be sure to visit Carol at May Dreams Gardens – the originator of Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day - to see what she has popping from her soils and what other garden bloggers - from all corners of the U.S. and beyond – have to show off on this monthly bloomin' blossom bash.

Categories: Bloom Day, Gardening, Perennials & Annuals.
Tags: Allium "Hair", astilbe, coral bells, Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day, hosta, hydrangea, iris, lavender, penstemon, peony, pinks, Pretty Much Picasso petunias, rose campion, scabiosa, shrub rose, trandescantia.

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Eyes on Iris

joenesgarden — Sun, 23 May 2010 14:16:19 +0000

What's best about May in Connecticut? The warming weather, the bright sunshine, more daylight, trees in full leaf, fantastic spring flowers, and IRIS … it's the one flower I cannot get enough of.

Siberian iris are stand-bys in my gardens. My first clump came from a gardening friend years – probably 30 – ago. They have moved with me and over the years one clump turned into many, many, many clumps in my gardens and in those of other friends. Siberians must be planted a couple of inches below the soil surface – they do not grow from bulbs or corms as other iris – but send out fleshy roots into the soil. Clumps become thick and if not divided every few years, blooms will diminish in number. A good old garden fork is the best way to divide Siberian clumps. Once replanted, in sun or partial shade, they quickly establish. The foliage remains green all summer and provides a wonderful backdrop for later blooming perennials and annuals. Like my reticulatas, my Siberian iris bloom in purples, but I see other shades of lavender and white joining them in coming springs.

established 'black' bearded iris – actually the darkest of dark purple and I'm not sure of the variety – are just about to open. But I have a new acquisition - Hello Darkness – that now resides near a palest of blue, but really looks white – bearded iris – again I'm unsure of the variety. This 'white' bearded iris surprised me with a repeat blossom last October.

A fragrant white bearded iris blooms next to the also fragrant iris pallida "'Aureo-variegata' - a rebloomer with lovely lavender blossoms standing above yellow striped leaves. The sweet scents wafting from this combo make the striking flowers all the more attractive.

Last year's acquisition - might be Beverly Sills – shines in striking peachy, lavender tones …

whether left in the garden or brought inside to enjoy in bouquet form.

Bearded iris bloom well as long as their long corms are planted just below the surface of the soil. Plant too deep and blooms suffer. Bearded iris foliage tends to turn brown at the tips as summer progresses. After flowers fade, remove the flower stalk. If the leaves brown, slice off the browned tips, but I don't remove all foliage until it has completely browned. Common advice is to thin bearded iris clumps in the fall, but I tend to move them around in the spring and early summer. As long as plants have ample water, they do just fine. When transplanting, throw out any damaged, soft iris corms, or those with tiny holes – a sign of iris borers. I've seen some signs of borers, but after removing infected parts and replanting healthy corms in a new spot, transplants do just fine in my Connecticut soils.

The first iris blossoms, the reticulatas, come in the earliest spring – or this year just before spring actually sprung on the calendar. Plant reticulatas in the fall with other spring blooming bulbs and they will tease your iris passion early next spring. Mine bloom purplely-blue but white reticulatas are in my future.

Like so many spring bloomers this year, all but my iris reticulatas started their show early – just before mid-May.

But judging from the number of buds yet to open, and knowing I have later blooming varieties yet to come, I'm looking forward to eying - and sniffing – iris for weeks to come.

Categories: Bulbs, Gardening, Perennials & Annuals, Techniques.
Tags: bearded iris, gardening in Connecticut, iris, iris bouquet, iris pallida, iris reticulata, Siberian iris.

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Making cut flowers last

joenesgarden — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 16:34:32 +0000

With gardens producing more and more delicious looking blooms, the temptation is to cut some of these beauties to enjoy indoors. Unfortunately, too many suffer fear of flower arranging and miss opportunities to enjoy flowers during moments when they cannot get outdoors. Bringing flowers in is one of the best parts of gardening. It gives the gardener, and everyone else who passes by the mason jar of daffodils or the bouquet of peonies, the chance to wonder at the mystery – and often the scent - of each unique flower.

I really have to restrain myself, though, when I'm out and about and see a beautiful bouquet of cut flowers sitting in a vase of stinky, bacteria-laden water. Too often, those let such slimy goo grow will complain that cut flowers just don't last. Well, duh! Wouldn't you tend to fade if you had to stand in a smelly swamp?

Once picked, keeping blooms fresh takes just a little time and attention … think clean vase and fresh water. Cutting a flower stalk or a branch removes it from it's water/food source. Though cut, stems continue to draw up when immediately placed in liquid – you want them drawing up water so immediately place the cut stems in some. A small plastic bucket or similar water-holding container ( a plastic jug with the top third cut off works well) should accompany you to the garden every time you plan to cut fresh blooms and greens. If cutting daffodils/narcissi though, take along a container specifically for these. You don't want to mix these early spring bloomers with any other cut flower since there is a compound in daffodil/narcissi sap that poisons anything else in the vase. That's why just-opening or yet-to-open woody branches work well in narcissi bouquets. – no competing blossoms to die.

It's best to cut flowers, etc. early in the morning, particularly during warm/hot weather. You want to catch them when they are naturally fresh. Cut stems with a sharp knife, cut them longer than you think you'll need, and cut at an angle. Once you have enough blossoms for the container you have in mind, look around for some fillers – woody branches (leafed-out or not), ivy stems, or anything with interesting shaped leaves (ornamental grasses, laurel, hosta, or ferns). If there's time, let the fresh cuts draw up some water before arranging them – really important if you had to cut your blossoms during mid-day or later or when it's really hot.

The fun part comes in arranging. Sometimes it's easier to choose the container you'll use after you see the amount of blossoms and greens you've cut. Avoid using a too large container or one with a wide opening if you only have a small amount of produce to work with. You want fresh water in the container. If, like me, you've saved a ton of flower preservative packets from store bought flower purchases, it doesn't hurt to add the powder to the correct amount of water in the vase. Just let it all dissolve and blend before adding the flowers. Re-cut each stem/branch, again at an angle, before placing it in the vase. Fresh cuts take up more water. And, DO NOT leave any leaves on stems that will fall below the water line in the vase. Anything left under water will only speed up the decay process and shorten the life of your bouquet.

When working with just a few stems of flowers use narrow necked vases. You can also place one blossom per vase, then arrange multiple vases on a table top or tray for a fuller effect. If creating one larger arrangement, place branches and upright or sturdy fillers in the vase/container first, they help hold top heavy blossoms in place as you add them one at a time. If you are using top-heavy flowers like lilacs or peonies, hosta leaves make a great filler – you can add the hosta around the lower edge of the vase first, then add the lilacs. Fill any holes in the lilac blossoms with a few upright hosta leaves. Simple but beautiful.

If your garden is full of greens, but few flowers, create a green bouquet. Fresh cut fern fronds in a striking or simple vase can turn a dull corner into a stunning eye-catcher. A narrow necked but tall vase is a perfect place to slip a few long, arching leaves from ornamental grasses. Mix variegated with solid colored grasses for added interest.

Most bouquets last longer when given fresh water every couple of days. I don't worry about adding more preservative mix after the first couple of days, just steady the arrangement in one hand, dump the water from the vase, rinse it, add fresh water, and replace the arrangement.

Don't let the fear of flower arranging keep you from enjoying your blossoms even on those days when you can't get outside. Experiment … it's the best way to learn.

For a few more ideas check out Focus on Flowers: Mid-summer bouquets and Peonies and Violet Bouquet.

Categories: Focus on Flowers.
Tags: daffodils, iris, lilacs, narcissi, peonies, using fresh cut flowers, violets.

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Bloom Day – July 2009

joenesgarden — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 10:00:00 +0000

The rain has slowed, the sun is warm, but at mid-July we are still having rather cool (50 degree) nights. Here's what is blooming in my Connecticut gardens.

In addition to its rich blossoms, Phlox paniculata 'Blue Paradise' has a wonderfully sweet scent.

Low-growing daylily, Hemerocallis 'Happy Returns,' works at the front of a border.

The freaky blossoms of Allium 'Hair' (see separate post)

Echinacea 'Green Envy' in an area protected from deer – which have have made midnight snacks of most of my purple coneflowers.

Endless Summer Hydrangea macrophylla 'Bailmer' has been in bloom since early June.

Variegated and solid green Hosta and Heuchera 'Dolce Creme Brulee' .

My 'Grandpa Ott' morning glories freely self-seed
and surprise me with unexpected blossoms here and there.

Nasturtium 'Alaska Mix' – bright edible flowers and leaves.

The first pale yellow flower of Hemerocallis 'Hyperion' on the left and a just opening violet 'Prairie Blue Eyes'

on the right.

On the left, a second showing of Campanula Cup and Saucer mix.

Pink bee balm (Monarda), a trade from a friend, on the right.

Clockwise from top left,
Rose Campion, Scabiosia Columbaria 'Butterfly Blue,'
Veronica and Trandescantia (both unknown varieties).

A pale lavender Iris ensata, purchased flower unseen from a local grower, extends my iris blossoms into July. What a wonderful surprise to find such huge (6 inches across) blossoms of such intricate colors.

Happy Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day!

Categories: Bloom Day, Bulbs, Edibles, Gardening, Perennials & Annuals.
Tags: allium, bee balm, campanula, daylily, echinacea, Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day, gardening in Connecticut, heuchera, hosta, hydrangea, iris, morning glory, nasturtium, phlox, rose campion, scabiosia, trandescantia, veronica.

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