Its almost time to plant spring color!

For beautiful spring color, you can't beat the Petunia

Most of us have planted a lonely Petunia in a pot at some point in the past, but too few of us have fully discovered the impact that these versatile plants can have on our home landscapes. 

Available in every color but orange, sun-loving Petunas are long-lasting, colorful, pest-tolerant, and easy to grow, enhancing any home gardening situation that can sustain the 6 hours minimum a day of direct sunlight required by all members of this plant family.  All Petunias have a sprawling, low growth habit, and thus lend themselves well to containers, window boxes, borders, and mass plantings, requiring only minimal care to produce blooms for virtually the entire season. 

Before the hybridizers discovered them, all Petunias in their natural form bore pink flowers.  Indeed, the most robust and least problematic Petunias to this day sport the color pink, with red being the weakest and most troublesome.  All the other colors come in between, but all (including the reds) will still do satisfactorily if their basic care and watering requirements are met.  Petunias can also be fragrant, with purple, pink, and white being generally the best choices as far as fragrance is concerned.  In most cases, this fragrance is more pronounced at night.

Petunias don't need much to thrive, but a sunny spot with reasonably fertile, well-drained soil is a must.  Work in some organic compost before planting, and mulch to prevent the leaves from touching the ground, which could cause problems with diseases.  Keep the soil moist, and water early so that the leaves have time to dry before nightfall to prevent problems.  Deadhead where practical, but if you have a large stand, cut the plants back uniformly by 1/3 in mid-summer when they begin to look tired.  This rejuvenates the plants and removes many seed pods, thereby stimulating more bloom production. 

Petunias can be started from seed 6-10 weeks before the last frost, bought in flats at the garden store, or propagated by stem cuttings.  If planting store-bought plants, disturb the roots a bit without twisting or bending the main stem to encourage root spread once the plant is in the ground.  When taking cuttings, cut a stem a few inches long just below the leaf node and place in moist soil in a shady place.  It takes a couple of weeks for the cutting to start putting out roots.

Petunias are one of the edible flowers and I have heard that you can use the flowers as wraps for various finger snacks and such, much like squash flowers.  However, I have tasted both the blooms and the petals and personally, I think they taste a bit grassy to be of much use in the kitchen. 

Petunias can add color to cut flower arrangements, but they do tend to droop, and they don't last as long as many other cut flowers, making them a borderline choice for the cutting garden.  If you want their bright color in arrangements, however, they can be strengthened by attaching the stems to florist's wire.    

Problems with Petunias are few, and I hear more complaints about lack of flowering than anything else.  This is one plant that demands at least 6 hours of sun per day, and though it will survive, it will bloom poorly or not at all with too much shade.  It will also not tolerate a poorly drained soil, so do prepare your soil thoroughly before planting to sidestep potential problems. 

As annuals, Petunias die off at the first, frost. However, a few of the newer varieties, including the award-winning "Wave" series are remarkably frost tolerant and may even make it through to the next season if in a sheltered position in zone 7 or up.

All in all, Petunias pack about the most color you can get for the buck in the home landscaping world.  If you haven't really given them a try, do so this year.  If you give them what they want, you won't be disappointed!

Its time to cut back your "Knock Out" Rose. A Texas Superstar.

If you want to control the height of you Knock Out roses now is the time to cut them back.

Cut them down to 18" tall and trim to 2' wide to keep them at a manageable size for those that are planted in tight spaces in the landscape.

'Knock Out' Rose

Knock Out was first introduced in 2000 and hailed a "breakthrough shrub rose" by the All-American Rose Selections because of its exceptional disease resistance and hardiness. It was one of three roses to win the prestigious AARS award for outstanding garden performance in 2000.
Hardiness: Zone 4-9
Exposure: Full sun
Size: Height 5 feet tall, 3 feet wide
Bloom Time: Spring to frost.
Care: Use drip or soaker hose irrigation

Knock Out Roses can have red, pink and off white blooms. By far the most trouble free variety of Rose in our area, needs little care, but will do well with a little fertilizer and even better when dead blooms are removed.

Chinese Pistache: Shade Tree Superstar For Texas

 

Which characteristics are most important when choosing a tree to shade and beautify your home? First, to realize the "Earth-Kind" goal of attractive, productive plants, with minimum effort but maximum protection for the environment, an enlightened selection of plant materials is crucial. Secondly, with the specter of oak wilt threatening live and red oaks in many areas of Texas, there is an urgent need for more diversity in tree species being planted in our state.

So what is the best medium-size shade tree for most areas of Texas? The name is unusual but the performance is outstanding; it's called the Chinese pistache (pronounced pis-tash'). Botanically it is known as Pistacia chinensis.

Abundance Of Texas Advantages

Highly recommended for many years by horticultural experts at Texas A&M, Oklahoma State and Kansas State universities, this native of China possesses a number of special advantages:

• Regarded by many knowledgeable horticulturists as one of the most beautiful, pest free and easily maintained shade trees for the Southwest and Gulf Coast regions.
• Winter hardy to central Kansas, the pistache forms a spreading, umbrella-like canopy which at maturity is 40-50 feet high with a width of 30 feet. This is an ideal size to provide shade, enframement and background for single-story homes.
• Medium to fine textured foliage (an asset in smaller landscapes) that creates a light-textured shade pattern.
• Foliage that remains an attractive, deep green color during the growing season, even in the rocky, highly alkaline, horribly abused soils common to many new home sites across Texas.
• Spectacular fall color in shades of orange, red-orange and even crimson, often rivaling the show of sugar maples in the Northeast. In addition to its brilliance, this tree is also one of the most dependable sources of fall color in the lower South.
• Very acceptable growth rate for such a long-lived species, with 2-3 feet of growth possible each year with good management.
• The first shade tree to receive the coveted "Earth-Kind" designation from the Texas Agricultural Extension Service for its high levels of genetic resistance to insect and disease problems.
• Extremely hard, durable wood, which is also very decay resistant, helps protect tree from wind, ice and vandal injury .
• Superior drought, heat and wind tolerance once tree is established (that is, after 2 or 3 growing seasons).
• Outstanding adaptability, with beautiful specimens growing form Amarillo to El Paso to Houston. The pistache is superbly adapted to all areas of Texas except the Rio Grande Valley.
• An extremely tough, durable and adaptable medium-size tree which is tolerant of both urban and rural conditions.
• fruit set, only on female trees, consisting of clusters of small, round green berries which turn red to reddish-purple in the fall. These fruit clusters make excellent table decorations. And while inedible for humans, the fruit is relished by birds.

Ugly Duckling To Beautiful Swan

Although considered by many experts to be near perfect for this area of the U.S., the Chinese pistache does have a couple of minor faults. First, young pistache in 5-gallon containers (a nice size to purchase) are often rather awkward and gangling in appearance. Rest assured that after 5-6 years of tender loving care in your landscape, this "ugly duckling" will have been magically transformed into a most "beautiful swan" as its canopy develops and begins to mature. Secondly, shaping and pruning your tree when it's young may be necessary to encourage proper branch spacing and structure and for best crown development. Even without such pruning however, the vast majority of pistache will eventually make very nicely shaped trees on their own.

Buying Tips

• Trees 6-8 feet in height, trunk diameter of 1.5 inches, are probably the ideal size for most homeowners to purchase.
• There can be seedling variation in fall color of pistache, with color intensity normally ranging from good to spectacular. Thus, shop in late October, early November when most pistache are exhibiting their fall color. At this time, you can easily select a specimen with the most attractive foliage coloration.

Pistache Culture At A Glance

• Fall planting (September through November) is best. Select a planting site in full sun, and at least 15 feet from your home to provide sufficient room for future growth.
• Pistache will not tolerate "wet feet." So if battling a heavy clay soil which doesn 't drain well, it's best to construct and plant in a raised bed 6 inches high, 4 feet in diameter.
• With your fingertip, check moisture of the root ball weekly. Water only when top inch of soil is dry (this may be weekly during a dry summer but only rarely during a wet winter).
• Mulch immediately after planting. Beginning early next spring, make light but frequent applications of fertilizer.

Aggie Horticulture | Texas Superstar ^TM