13 - Friday, April 28, 1989 - North Shore News

SUFFICIENT WATER KEY TO GOOD SHOW

Devise a design before

buying bedd

I HAVE been wrong before
and I will most assuredly be
wrong again, but I think it’s
getting warmer.

In spite of providing the gods
with yet another opportunity to
rake me look foolish (I need no
help there), I hereby declare open
season on bedding plants.

You may wish to consider a few
exceptions, however. Plants such
as basil, coleus, cucumbers, egg-
plant, impatiens, peppers, squash,
tomatoes, zinnias, and a few other
tenderfoots, should be protected
for two or three more weeks.

In light of the public’s insatiable
desire to spend millions of dollars
and hours of labor 9n summer
color before it becomes fall com-
Post, here are a few tips on buying,
planting and caring for flowering
bedding plants.

First, try tc: think about design
before you begin filling the wagon
at the garden centre. You would
not go to the building supply store
and order a truckload of lumber
before designing your house. Why
make this mistake with your
garden?

Here are a few simple rules of
green thumbery:

* Concentrate your color — Unless
you have won the lottery or wish

to take out a second mortgage on

the house, pick a few high-profile
Spots to use as focal points. Mass
your color in these areas rather
than wasting it by spreading it too
thin or planting in seldom seen
areas.

® Think about growth characterist-
ics — Tall plants to the rear,
shorter plants to the outer edges.
This will not only present a
balanced, stepped display of color,
it will enable the taller plants to be
supported by their shorter
neighbors.

© Consider spacing — The best ef-
fects are achieved when your
plants merge together within four
to six weeks after planting.

This will help to reduce
Maintenance (weeding and water-
‘ing) as well as offering you the best
possible show. Most plants come
with tags that suggest spacing;
follow their directions for best
results.

It may seem superfluous to sug-
gest that you attempt to buy
healthy bedding plants. You would
be surprised by the number of
people who continue to look for
and are continually disappointed
by ‘bargain’ beddiug plants.

. Look for plants that are neither
too large and therefore root-bound
nor too small and therefore more

susceptible to changes in the
weather and transplant shock.

The plants should be just filling

over the
garden gate

Geoff Tobiasson

their containers without looking as
though they are about to burst out
of them.

Certain plants will suffer per-
manent damage if allowed to
become excessively dry during the
early stages of development.

The first signs of future prob-

Kiwanis Club hosts outdoor piant sale

of Pitt
the

THE LATEST fund-raising efforts
by the Kivanis Club of North
Vancouver will not only raise
money but also help keep the
North Shore beautiful.

The club is hosting is First An-
nual Outdoor Plant Sale Friday,

May 12 and Saturday, May 13.
Hanging cedar planters of mixed
summer flowezs and gesaniums
will be on sale as well as plastic
hanging planters of geraniums,
impatiens, fuschias and mixed
flowers.

Muldoon Nurseries
Meadows are supplying
flowers,

The event takes place at the en-
trance of Lynn Valley Centre. The
sale runs from 4 to 9 p.m. May 12
and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on May 13.

OUR MALAYSIAN SHIPMENT FINALLY ARRIVED!

THE ENTIRE STOCK OF FINE

QUALITY MALAYSIAN POTS ARE
ON SALE AT

Cash & Carry

: Across from Venice Bakery
on Main Street

(bright yellow awning)

HALF
BARREL |
gpl ANTERS

* While they last!

lems are the appearance of yellow
leaves. Avoid them.

Piants purchased through repu-
table garden centres are more like-
ly to have received proper pre-
purchase care than those sold
through supermarkets and
department stores.

Planting is straightforward. Just
remember to place them with the
green side up and with enough
diluted fertilizer to soak them in.
The soil should contain enough
humus (organic material such as
compost, composted manures, or
peat moss) to retain moisture
through drier periods.

Some varieties such as
marigolds, marguerites, etc. will
benefit if they are pinched back to
the second or third set of leaves
after planting. This will promote
denser, bushier plants and more
flowers.

Watering is the most important
aspect of post planting care; do
not allow your plants to become
dry. The stress can cause perma-
nent damage which will reveal
itself in weak, sad-looking displays

lants

throughout the season.

Watering is best done by
flooding the beds at ground level
rather than with the use of
overhead sprinklers.

Early morning applications will
avoid the problems created by
watering during the heat of the day
or late afternoons and evenings.

For the brightest, most colorful
displays, use a water soluble fertil-
izer such as 15-30-15 every two
weeks over the season. It is best to
apply this while the ground is
moist to ensure proper penetration
to the root level.

Whitecap Books has just releas-
ed a new title in its ongoing Pacific
Gardening Series: Carolyn Jones’
excellent book on bedding plants
cleverly entitled Bedding Plants. In
it you will find everything you ever
wanted to know and more about
this and other related topics.

If you would like to meet the
author and perhaps acquire a sign-
ed copy, she will be at your service
this Saturday from 2 to 4 p.m. at
the Avant Gardener, 1448 Marine
Dr., West Vancouver.

a rr