Flower Questions Answered

By Junanne: Why did this tiger lily bloom this way? It had another bloom next to it and it also looks upside down?

Answer By The Flower Expert: Tiger lily blooms that way. Its scientific name is lilium tigrinum.

By Janice: I hve a poppy that is a chocolate red color. Why do the buds turn brown and die before they open? It is not in a wet spot and gets alot of sun.

The plant looks good.

Answer By The Flower Expert: Probably the Aphids have infested the poppy plant.

They make the plant and its parts like stem, leaves, buds turn brown.

By Silvia: Hello I need to bother you again I had asked what to do with gladiolus that the bloom is all deformed and you had sent me recipe, but I lost it would it be possible for you to send it again. I also had another question is their any thing to try and clean up soil because I have a big flower bed that is bad it does not mater what section I plant gladiolus that even when I put new fresh combs they get damaged.

Answer By The Flower Expert:

Selecting a growing area:

Gladiolus does best in full sun though they tolerate part shade.

A well-drained soil with a pH range of 6.5-7.0 is optimal but can grow in a wide range of soils. If you can grow vigorous weeds or vegetables you can grow gladiolus.

Soil preparation needed by Gladiolus:

It think it is better to do a Rototilling, plowing, discing or deep digging the soil to a minimum depth of 8 inches.

Gladiolus needs the soil in proper tilth for growing.

Compost or manure that is well aged and mixed into the soil will condition and fertilize the soil.

Organic material that is not well aged should be worked in a few months in advance of planting.

Make your flower bed, suitable for the planting Gladiolus, by following these instructions.

By Toni: I bought a Yucca plant that had a center flower, last year and planted it in my yard. I live on the boarder of planting zones 6 & 7 in New Jersey. This is year, the center flower did not grow but the leaves are growing and look wonderfully healthy. What should I do to get the center flower to grow?

Answer By The Flower Expert: Yucca flowers are the national flower of the country of El Salvador.

There are some species that do not flower so often. When they grow, they are magnificent if grown in the full sun and in good soil. Probably yours might be one among them. These flower spikes are covered with fragrant white, bell-shaped flowers.

It is an evergreen plant which does not annually shed its leaves.

By Joyce Fleming: I recently planted lots of various potted flowers I purchased at Lowe's. They are turning brown, but I water them frequently and I used good potted soil. I put mulch around them when I finished planting. What is causing them to turn brown and what can I do to save them? I spent lots of money and would hate to lose them.

Answer By The Flower Expert: You did not specify what type of plants did you plant, because some plants do not need much water.

Since, you have muched them, the top soil will not get dried up soon.

And you water them frequently, thus making overwatered.

Probably this is making them brown.

Over watering makes them to turn brown and get infected with some diseases.

By Lisa: Is any part of the Iris plant or blossom toxic to cats?

Answer By The Flower Expert: Yes, Iris flowering plants are dangerous to pets. Iris Bulbs are poisonous to cats.

Stay the pet away from the plants or remove the plants from the pets vicinity.

By Ashleigh: Can you tell me if Lysimachia Punctata is toxic to dogs?

Answer By The Flower Expert:

Common names for Lysimachia punctata: It is called Circle Flower, Dotted Loosestrife, Garden Loosestrife, Large Yellow Loosestrife, Punktierter Gilbweiderich, Tupfelsterne.

Looses-trife means to tame strife.

Its yellow flowers have red stems.

In fact Yellow loosestrife, it is used as has been recommended as an antidote to Hemorrhage and excess menstruation.

The smoke created by burning the plant can be used as an insect repellent.

It is not under the toxic plants list.

By William Moyer: I have Iris?s growing in my Koi pond also in my garden. Should I cut the pod off the iris?

Answer By The Flower Expert: The Iris seed pods contains seeds in them. If you want the iris plants to be seeded, then let these seed pods have to turn from green to brown before they open to disperse seeds.

If you do not want the seeds then cut off the iris pod.

By Larry Voelker: I live in Cadillac, MI - Zone 5. I have perrenial daisys and every year I lose about half of them. My soil is sandy so they have good drainage. I also think it's very acidic because of the number of pine trees in the yard. Do daisys like or dislike acidic soil. Last winter I mulched them with dropped pine needles and didn't lose as many as the years before. I'm trying to determine if it's the soil acidity, the harsh winters or a combination of the two that's hurting them.

Answer By The Flower Expert: Might be the combination of both the problems, acidic soil, harsh winters or a combination of the both the problems might be effecting the perennial daisy plant.

By Brian: Hi, my name is Brian, and I am a student at Clarke College in Dubuque, IA. Sometime in April, our biology department was having a plant sale. Curious, I perused what they had, and bought something that looked kind of like an aloe plant, but it definitely wasn't. Since then I've been trying to identify this plant! My neighbor is usually my go-to person for plants, but she wasn't entirely sure. It seems a lot like Devil's backbone, but it doesn't have that jagged stem shape.

Here's what I know:

It's a succulent

it has serrated leaves

Each point of the leaves is capable of producing a bud

the buds drop and grow into new plants rather quickly

leaved have subtle spots of purple on the back

If you could tell me what this plant is called, that would be wonderful. A few of my friends have seen it and want one, but I don't know what to tell them it's called.

Answer By The Flower Expert: I am not sure, but they may be some species of Hoyas.

Give us the nativity of the plant.

By Lynn Kozy: The flowers on my rose bush do not open. They die before they fully open. What is the wrong with this plant?

Answer By The Flower Expert: Probably your Rose bush is in fected with Powdery Mildew.

Powdery Mildew is caused by the fungus Sphaerotheca pannosa. This disease can cause young leaves to curl and turn purple. Young canes may be distorted and dwarfed. If seriously infected, they can die. Badly infected buds do not open.

The problem can be reduced through sanitation and fungicide application.

Pruning and destroying all dead or diseased parts in the spring helps controlling the fungus.

During the growing season, take care of all the eyes.

Weekly applications are adequate.

During rapid new growth, temperature fluctuations, and frequent rains.

A preventive spraying chemicals is useful.

By Sharon: I have the usual canna lily bulbs that bloom with red flowers. My question is that if I buy bulbs that bloom a different color, yellow and orange, when I plant them the following year, do they stay those colors or turn to red?

Answer By The Flower Expert: I have not seen the cannas changing to different color in the following year.

By Tracie: I have a Mandevilla that my oldest daughter gave me two mother's day ago. It is brown and before that it was blooming and green and then I sat it outside and now it is brown. Could you please help me revive this plant.

Answer By The Flower Expert: Does your mandevilla recieve enough sunlight to generate flowers.

Probably it needs more light to bloom with color, properly and healthily.

By Katherine: After the bloom on a Bird of Paradise blooms and the stalk then be cut off or not?

Answer By The Flower Expert: When the Birds of Paradise flower begins to look spent, think it is the time to cut it off.

Cut the entire stalk, unless there is another flower developing from the same stalk.

One should always, just cull the spent flower by itself, by doing this, it seems to stimulate new flowers, but if you just leave them to their own devices, development seems to slow.

By John: I live in Northeast Florida and have two sampaguita plants potted in large containers that receive full sun and adequate watering. They are potted in topsoil mixed with peat moss at about a 3:1 ratio. The soil seems to be draining well. One plant is blooming fairly regularly, but the other is having problems; the blossoms fall off before fully developing, or malformed blossoms emerge with little to no scent. Do you have any idea about what would be causing this?

Answer By The Flower Expert: There are several reasons for the bud fall/drop in jasmines/sampaguita.

They are

1. If there is any sudden drop in temperature resulting in leaf and blossom drop.

2. Dull weather for several days, result in bud drop.

3. IF there is any large variations in soil moisture causing bud drop.

4. Premature bud drop is caused by low humidity, overwatering, underwatering, and insufficient light.