Wayside Gardens 7 Easy Steps for Planting Success:
1. Location, Location, Location!
Find the perfect spot for your plant
Always match the garden to the plant, not the other way around. If you have a sun-loving plant that likes to dry out between waterings, it will never be happy in a partly-shaded, waterside location. Sometimes plants surprise us and refuse to thrive where the experts say they should; when you see this happening, you should definitely relocate the plant as soon as is feasible. Since many plants do not like their roots disturbed after planting, it's much easier, if possible, to choose the right location the first time.
Wayside's 7 Easy Steps for Planting Success:
2. Dig a $100 Hole for a $10 Plant!
Make it easier for roots to spread and settle in
Your plant's new home should have room to move around. Dig the hole 3 to 4 times larger than the pot your plant arrives in, and at least 11/2 times deeper. Not only will this allow roots to spread out unimpeded by compacted dirt, it will also allow you to amend your soil with the additives your plant needs to thrive. Remember: the better your soil, the bigger and faster your plant will grow! See step 7 - "Building Better Soil" for more information.
3. The Secret to Transplanting Success? Mud!
Muddy-in your new plants to hold water near the roots
Once your plant is in the ground, make a raised rim of soil around it, slightly wider than its roots, and fill to the brim with water. This will help hold water around the roots until the plant establishes in its new home. Some plants suffer "transplant shock" and fail to take up water through the roots for awhile after being planted in a new location. Muddying-in ensures that the roots are drenched in water, and prevents air pockets in the soil surrounding the roots. If your plant still begins to wilt but the soil is nice and moist, try putting some shade over it for several days. This will slow down loss of water through the leaves, giving the plant more of a chance to settle in.
4. Plants Do Not Live by Love Alone!
Feed your plants and watch them grow
Unless you already have rich, fertile soil, your plants need extra food to grow their best. Regular additions of compost and other organics are terrific (see step 7b), but you will also want to use other fertilizers to stimulate growth and help the plant get off to a strong start.
We recommend a fertilizer like Algoflash especially in the beginning when your plants need it most. You should religiously apply this in the first month according to the direction to establish your plants. Then you can continue with the Algoflash or use a slow release fertilizer to insure healthy growth. For fall planting, wait until next spring to fertilize and start a process all over again in the spring to ensure incredible success.
5. An Inch of Water A Week!
This good rule-of-thumb keeps your plant hydrated and happy
In spring and early summer Mother Nature may take care of this for you, but once you go two weeks without a steady, hard rainfall, it's time to get out the sprinkler!
An automatic watering system is a great investment if you're serious about gardening; soaker hoses will save you a lot of money over traditional types. Of course, if many of your plants are in containers, you need to be even more vigilant - many of these plants may need water every day during the hottest summer weather.
6. Add a "Blanket" of Protection!
Mulch to save water, keep down weeds, and protect plants from harsh weather
Mulch is simply any material applied on top of the soil around your plants to keep moisture in and weeds out. It may be organic, such as straw, pine needles, grass clippings, leaves, compost, bark, and even sawdust. Or it may be inorganic: ground-up tires, small rocks, polyethylene sheets, etc.
Simply leave a few inches between your plant's stem and the mulch, so the plant can "breathe" (and to reduce the chance of spreading disease). Never mulch over newly-planted seeds; do mulch heavily as the seasons change and your plants must adjust to new temperatures and light levels. We prefer organic mulches because you can let them sink into the soil, feeding it; however, inorganic mulches are just fine too.
7. Build Better Soil!
The most important step for nearly trouble-free plants
· A) Find out what your soil needs
· B) Add lots of organic matter
A) Find out what your soil needs
If you're not sure what kind of soil you have, begin with a test from your local Co-operative Extension Service (usually listed in the "Government" section of the phone book under either the "Agriculture" or "Education" heading). They will tell you how to take a soil sample, and will usually test it for a minimal charge.
If you have heavy clay, you need to add organics that make the soil "lighter", so air circulates better and water drains more freely through it. A little sand can help, much better is organic matter in the form of composted leaves and vegetables; aged manure from horses, cows, chickens, and goats; peat; vermiculite; or gypsum. The ideal blend is 10% sand, 40% to 50% clay, and 40% to 50% organic matter, mixed evenly together into a crumbly brown mass that holds moisture but isn't soggy.
If you have sandy soil, you need to add things that will provide nutrients and hold moisture. Compost and organic matter of the types described above, plus a little clay, are ideal.
B) Add lots of organic matter
No matter what kind of soil you have, you can't go wrong by adding organics - compost, well-rotted manure, peat moss - frequently and heavily. Every time you prepare to replant annual beds or vegetable gardens, take the time to work in as much organic matter as you can lay your hands on.
When you weed your perennial and shrub borders, work organic material into the soil (being careful not to dig up the plant's roots!). When you mulch before frost, apply 4 to 5 inches of good organic material. With each watering the organics will be dispersed, and eventually your soil will be rich and easy to work with.
 
 
Thuja Green Giant
( 47599)
Thuja Green Giant - Hardy, Quick-Growing, Fragrant Privacy Screen! 3 feet or more of growth every year! | WAYSIDE GARDENS HISTORY In 1920, Jan Jacob Grullemans, marketer and plantsman, and nurseryman Elmer Schultz, pooled their talents and European horticultural backgrounds to found Wayside Gardens. Their vision was to grow and market exciting, unusual, and garden-worthy plants of the highest quality—and they succeeded most spectacularly!
Wayside has become the most respected mail-order nursery in the US, legendary for the quality of its plants and bulbs, the excellence of its varieties, and the sophistication of its clientele.
Originally located in Mentor, Ohio, Wayside Gardens grew rapidly until the 60's, when J. J. Grullemans died. In 1975, Wayside was bought by Park Seed Company and moved to South Carolina. Since then, the company has grown and flourished, becoming an undisputed leader in gardening today by maintaining the founders' dedication to providing discriminating gardeners:
* Outstanding and unusual varieties—the best in the world today!
* Excellent plant quality
* Impeccable service
Today, Wayside Gardens focuses on providing unusual, high-end plants and accessories for the serious garden enthusiast. Both the catalog and the website present an extensive selection of top-quality container and bare-root plants, along with decorative accessories, many available exclusively from Wayside Gardens.
Wayside remains true to founder J.J. Grulleman’s pledge to offer only the most superior plants exhibiting the highest levels of quality. We guarantee all Wayside Gardens products to be high quality, true to type, shipped properly, and to perform as advertised. If this is not the case, notify us as soon as possible, and we will gladly resolve the issue, offer gardening advice, or provide a company credit. Please understand that we cannot accept responsibility for the results of extreme weather, neglect, unforeseeable acts of nature, or ignoring our hardiness zone recommendations.
 
The Basics: Roses
How to Care for the Nation's Favorite Flower
America's most popular flower is also one of the very oldest flowers in cultivation. There are more than 2,000 different rose varieties to lure us with their history and fragrance. This is because the rose, like the orchid, cross-breeds readily—a trait exploited first by nature, and then by horticulturalists. Today, we can choose from old-fashioned favorites, as well as modern varieties that are the result of intensive breeding programs throughout the world. The rose is a flower with a rich past, and an exciting future.
There are thousands of beautiful roses, far more than any of us will ever have the opportunity to see, much less grow. When choosing a rose for your garden, there are five considerations that should make the selection process easier.
1. Growth Habit
Though roses are usually planted for their flowers, it is important to know what the plant as well as the flowers will look like, in order to determine where it will fit in your garden.
Tea roses and cluster-bloomers (floribundas) usually grow no more than 2 to 3 feet high. Their form is coarse, but they do produce an abundance of flowers throughout the growing season. The hybrid tea has large, single blooms on long, stiff stems, whereas the floribunda has slightly smaller clusters of blooms on stems that are not as stiff.
Miniature roses have tiny flowers, and may be only 10 to 36 inches tall. They are ideal for containers.
Shrub roses, including both the old-fashioned and the modern types, and ground-cover or landscape roses, are generally large and leafy.
Climbers grow from 7 feet to 30 feet in length, and most of them benefit from some type of support.
Tree roses, or standards, are roses that are grafted into a tree-like form with a single stem and a rounded bush or weeping display of flowers on top.
2. Hardiness
Northern gardeners need to know exactly how hardy a rose is. Southern gardeners must also watch to see what zones are recommended for each particular variety, because some roses do not grow well in hot and/or humid weather.
3. Bloom Time
Many roses, especially the old-fashioned varieties, have just one flush of blooms per year. Will you be satisfied with a cloud of heavenly pink blossoms for three weeks in June, or do you need your rose to bloom all summer long? This consideration may narrow your choices very quickly.
4. Disease Resistance
Selecting a disease-resistant rose is the single most effective way to avoid problems and the need for chemicals. You might start by considering some of the old rose varieties, many of which have natural disease resistance. You can also look to many of the modern roses, which are now being bred for improved disease resistance.
5. Stem Length
This may seem like an odd consideration, but it's important if you are growing roses for cutting. The traditional florist rose is a hybrid tea, and it is the only type of rose that flowers on a long, stiff stem. All other roses have shorter, weaker stems, which gives them a more casual—some believe more beautiful—presence in a vase. |
Sustainable gardening has been around for centuries, but it and permaculture are the latest buzz words these days. 
