Color beds provide the most brilliant and eye-catching areas of a landscape. When properly planted and maintained, they add focus and great appeal to the property. But poorly performing beds are a noticeable eyesore. Understanding how to select, plant, and maintain annual color will help to make color beds a customer-pleasing attraction rather than a source of complaints.
Proper fertilization is essential to good performance of bedding plants. There are three ways fertilizer can be applied: slow release, granular, or water-soluble. Slow-release fertilizers such as Osmocote or Nature Safe (organic) can be incorporated into the soil at the time of planting. These types provide controlled release of nutrients lasting two to six months depending on the formulation. When using slow-release fertilizers, it is critical that recommended rates not be exceeded because they cannot be leached of removed from the soil, and excess fertilizer salts will remain in the beds for a long period of time, adversely affecting plant growth. Granular fertilizers such as a 10-10-10 or 10-5-10 are easy to use. They can be spread over the bed with a whirlybird spreader. Granular fertilizers should be watered in well after application with a long irrigation cycle to get nutrients down to the root zone where the plants can take them up. Make sure the plant foliage is dry before applying granular fertilizers so concentrated salts do not stick to wet plants. Again, not exceeding recommended rates is essential to avoid burning plants. It is a good idea to use a leaf blower to lightly blow fertilizer granules off plant foliage before watering. Granular fertilizers need to be applied every two to three weeks according to label instructions. Water-soluble fertilizers such as Miracle-Gro applied through a hose end sprayer may be the safest way to fertilize, but require a hose bib near the planting beds which is not always available. The sprayer mixes the proper amount of water with fertilizer making it almost impossible to over fertilize. Application by this method is time-consuming because it is necessary to put down enough fertilizer to reach four inches down into the soil to reach the root zone. Water soluble fertilizers need to be applied every two to three weeks. Whatever method of fertilization is chosen, it is crucial that label directions are closely followed to avoid problems. Using so called blossom booster fertilizers high in phosphorus are not recommended for bedding plants, and will cause excessive stretching of plants. Backpack sprayers such as solo sprayers are not appropriate tools for fertilizer application. While occasional foliar feeding may have a place in a fertilizer program, it should never be considered the only or primary method used.
Inspect plants regularly and watch for signs of insect infestation or disease onset. If these problems occur, make sure to use only appropriately labeled chemicals to control. Follow all chemical label directions carefully to avoid problems.
Many bedding plants benefit from frequent removal of dead blossoms. For instance, Snapdragons, Marigolds, Salvia, Dianthus, and Geraniums all produce more flowers, and for a longer period of time if faded flowers are regularly removed from the plant.
Until next week, this is Ruth the Grower saying, Following these guidelines for proper selection, planting, and maintenance of bedding plants will help you avoid many of the most common problems that can cause bedding plants to fail to perform. Your life will be easier and your customers will be happier if your annual flower beds provide the beautiful color show that they should.
