Hummingbird Garden Quick Guide

Spring has sprung and every gardener is trying to attract those beautiful hummingbirds to their garden.  Hummingbirds spend much of their time darting from flower to flower in search of nectar and small insects to eat so to attract and keep them in your garden you need to make sure they have something to eat.  'Hummers' drink from any color blossom but seem to prefer brightly colored, tubular flowers. Plan your landscape to provide flowers continuously throughout the growing season for these entertaining nectar sippers!  

 

Some favorite hummingbird plants include:

 Bee Balm                      Monarda spp                      perennial

Begonia                          Begonia spp                      annual

Butterfly Bush                 Buddleia davidii                 perennial

Cardinal Flower               Lobelia cardinalis             perennial

Hibiscus                          Hibiscus spp                     annual

Impatiens                        Impatians spp                   annual

Lantana                           Lantana spp                     annual/perennial

Petunia                           Petunia spp                       annual

Phlox                              Phlox spp                          annual/perennial

Hollyhock                        Althea spp                        shrub 

Salvia                             Salvia spp                         annual/perennial

Trumpet Creeper           Campsis radicans             vine

Trumpet Honeysuckle   Lonicera semipevirens      vine

 

Do:

·       Fill the feeder with a cool mixture of 1 part white sugar dissolved in 4 parts boiling water. Store extra solution in the refrigerator.

·       Clean the feeder regularly - every 3 days or so in hot weather - to prevent mold from growing in the sugar solution.

·      Hang the feeder in March and leave it up until at least October or year-round in southern part of state.

 

Do Not:

·         Do not add red coloring to the sugar solution.

·         Do not use a sugar substitute or honey to make the sugar solution.

·         Do not hang feeder in full sun - the solution will spoil more quickly.

 

Remember - keeping feeders up throughout the winter will not prevent hummingbirds from migrating and but will increase your chances of seeing a rare species of hummingbird!

Bold, Beautiful Containers

      You can provide eye candy to your landscape with bold, beautiful containers that showcase plants with attractive flowers and foliage.

Hot pot!

     Use the guideline “thrillers, spillers, and fillers” when choosing plants.  With thrillers, don’t be afraid to go wild with color. Incorporate bright flowering plants or the large, colorful foliage of plants like coleus or crotons.  Ornamental grasses can also work well.

      Spillers are plants that fall gracefully over the sides of the containers such as brightly colored sweet potato vines.

       And for fillers, consider plants with rounded forms or interesting textures such as caladiums or celosia.

     Select containers to complement the plants, and keep in mind how the containers will be viewed.  Use a high-quality potting media, and match plants with similar moisture, soil, and light requirements. And of course, always leave room for the plants to grow to their full size!

Mulch Madness is Here!

Do not create 'mulch volcanos'

            March Madness is now beginning.   ‘Mulch Madness’ should be full swing and continue through the spring and into the summer.  Mulching in and around our flowers and trees is nothing new, but every year we have choices of what type of mulch to use.  Everyone knows how mulches retain moisture, act as a weed barrier, warm the soil in the winter, and cool the soil in the summer.  Mulches however can be a decorative aspect also, so why not pick one that coordinates with your house.

  In our region the most commonly used mulches are pine straw, pine bark, cypress bark, and hardwood bark.  These brown-colored mulches look great with homes that have a brick or stone façade.  These organic materials are readily available and when freshly applied make a planting look neat and nice.  Being organic though means that they have to be replaced almost annually.  When using hardwood mulch, make sure the bark has been composted. 

            There has been somewhat of a trend for red-dyed wood mulches.  Red-dyed mulches provide a splash of color but these bursts of color compete for attention with the plantings and the house.  Additionally this type of mulch can leave a pinkish hue on your concrete after a rainfall.

            As for as inorganic mulches go, gravel is good for several house types.  Dark beach pebbles or ground brick look good with homes covered with stucco.  Japanese garden-style pea gravel fits nicely with homes with a modern style of architecture.  Volcanic rocks or slate will accent a neutral colored home.  A house with dark tones can be lightened up with river rocks.

            Something seen at trade shows is colored glass mulch.  These smooth, rounded glass pieces come in colors ranging from clear to shades of green, blue, and pink or whatever the manufacturer chooses to make.  They can be over powering if used in too large an area.

            You might also run across rubber mulch made from recycled car tires.  This mulch can also be colored, but as with the colored glass, a little goes a long way.  The best use for this mulch is around playground equipment to cushion falls of children at play.

            With whichever type of mulch you choose, there are a few basic rules to remember.  Be careful not to get organic mulches up against the foundation of the house so as to not encourage termites.  Apply the organic mulches (barks, straw,) 2 to 4 inches deep.  Inorganic mulches (gravels, glass, rubber) are applied 1 to 2 inches thick.  To improve the effectiveness of inorganic mulches, black plastic or weed-barrier cloth should be applied underneath them.  And all mulches should be kept 2 inches away from the base of trees to prevent decay.

Pruning Shrubs

   It’s the last day of February.  Have you completed you pruning chores?  If not it is not too late.  But before you grab the lopers and begin cutting, let’s review the reasons for pruning.  After all, pruning trees and shrubs is not fun and is often unnecessary.

Here are 5 reasons for pruning and the order in which you would approach the task.

1.  To remove dead, diseased, insect-infested, or broken branches.

2.  To change the size or proportion of the plant.

3.  To develop a special form or shape.

4.  To remove wilted or dead flowers and seed pods.

5.  To rejuvenate a declining shrub.

    Probably the biggest reason people prune plants is reason number 2.  And that is because they put the wrong plant in the wrong place.  They did not know that 18 inch azalea would grow to be 8 feet tall!   Before you plant anything else, find out its mature size.  This will save a lot of future work.

   Following is a short list of what to prune when:

Plants that flower before May - Prune after bloom

Azalea

Dogwood

Forsythia

Redbud

Rhododendron

Clematis

Saucer Magnolia

Flowering Cherry

Camellia

Do not commit crapemurder!!!

Climbing roses

 

Plants that flower after May - Prune prior to spring growth

Chaste Tree

 Crapemyrtle

 Nandina

 Sweetshrub

 Abelia

 Sourwood

 Floribunda roses

 

   Remember to keep you pruners sharp and well-oiled.

Celebrate Arbor Day in 2013

Pink-flowered dogwood

   In Mississippi, Arbor Day is celebrated on the second Friday in February each year. This year it is on February 8. Arbor Day is a day set aside to remind us to plant trees and to appreciate all of the great things trees do for us.

   You might not consider trees that important. Who needs to rake up all of those leaves any-way? But, trees are espe-cially important in urban and suburban areas for a variety of reasons.

   Most of us would agree that Mississippi summers are too hot to begin with, but urban areas in particu-lar, are heat traps. Buildings, streets, and parking lots absorb and hold heat from the sun, causing these areas to be several degrees warmer than the sur-rounding countryside.

   Trees moderate this by intercepting the sunlight. The air temperature under tree canopies is six to ten degrees cooler than outside it. Overall, this helps to moderate tempera-tures in urban areas. Properly placed trees which shade your house can cut your air conditioning bill anywhere from 10 percent to 50 per-cent during the summer.

   Trees help out with air pollution also. The leaf surfaces of trees trap and filter out dust, pollen, and other particles in the air. Trees help supply the oxygen we need to breathe as well as use the car-bon dioxide that we exhale and that factories and engines emit.

   Trees stabilize the soil and prevent erosion, cut down on noise pollution by act-ing as barriers to sound, hide unattractive views, and provide food and shelter for urban wildlife. Trees also contribute great-ly to beautification, increase property values and shade our outdoor living areas in the summer. Fruit and nut trees can also be used in the landscape even provide something to eat.

    When is the best time to plant a tree? Twenty years ago! The next bet time is this Arbor Day. Your home and community and this state will benefit from them.

    Always remember to plant the ‘right tree in the right place!’