Ask and Answer Flower Questions Archive - Dec 2009

By Pat:Are Pansies Perennial?

Answer By The Flower Expert:Dear Pat,

Pansies are annuals. An Annual is a plant that completes its entire life cycle within one year is called an annual.

Popular spring-planted annuals are impatiens, pansies, petunias, begonias, geraniums and marigolds. Most flowers referred to as annuals are those we plant after the last frost in the spring, and live until the frost kills them in fall. This might seem like a short life, but on the upside, annuals bloom continuously, so although it's a short life, it's a good one!

A Perennial lives and flower year after year.

A Perennial plant typically, die back (or hibernate) over the winter, but grow and flower as temperatures rise in spring. Most perennials bloom during a certain time of the season- varying from spring to fall. Some perennials like Shasta daisies love sun, whereas Astilbes, Ferns, and Hostas like shade, and Lamium prefers partial shade.

By Alicia Smith :I was given a potted flower as a gift, but there is not a card that tells me the name and how to care for it. It has small yellow flowers in bunches and large, thick, waxy leaves. If anyone knows what flower this is please let me know. I cannot find it online.

Answer By The Flower Expert:Dear Alicia Smith ,

Probably the potted plant gifted to you might be any variety of gingers.

As gingers have large waxy leaves with yellow flowers.

By Heenan: I bought a hyacinth and it's flowered and now I just have the leaves or stalk. Will it flower again or should I cut the stalks back to regrow. The plant is inside?

Answer By The Flower Expert: Dear Karen Heenan,

Hyacinth plants only blooms once.

Just cut the spent flower stalk to the base of the plant and leave the foilage to turn yellow before removing it.

The foilage will feed the bulb for next years blooms.

By Suzie: Does the removal of the pollin in lillies actually extend the life of the flower?

Answer By The Flower Expert: Dear Suzie,

Lilies received should have the pollen stamens removed as they open. Yes, this will enhance the life of the lily.

By Alfred Olivas:Just retunred from Osaka for a birding and butterfly tour. I would appreciate your help in the ID of this beautiful fertile flower please.

Answer By The Flower Expert:Dear Alfred Olivas,

Probably it is Allium amethystinum. it is a species from the Mediterrean where it grows in rocky places. It has hollow leaves that have withered by flowering time (May to July) and many purple flowers in a spherical umbel.

By Kelly:My narcissus bulbs are growing tall quickly. The leaves (or stalks - not sure what they're called) are bending over and seeming to break. What should I do? Trim them? Transplant into the yard?

Answer By The Flower Expert:Dear Kelly,

As the flower bud continues to emerge, you will notice that the bloom stalk may bend toward the light. Rotate the flowered pots every few days to keep stems as straight as possible.

Staking may also be desirable, but take care not to injure the bulb.

By Crystal:which flowers should we be planting in order to ensure them to be in bloom by mid July. Any advice would be much appreciated.

Answer By The Flower Expert:Dear Crystal,

Most large-leaf rhododendrons elipidote bloom from mid-May to June, though there are a few blooming in July.

In my view, Foxgloves and shasta daisies can also be grown for the wedding.

By Guest:How do I take care of Purple calla lillies and since they came from a hot house, can I put them outside? I live on the Olympic Pennisula of Washingtom State

Answer By The Flower Expert:Dear Sir,

Calla lilies need at least 5 to 6 hours of direct sunlight or 10 hours of bright filtered light to bloom.

As the potted plant is in bloom, You can place the pot of purple call lilies in a shaded region in the eastern side. As it get morning sun.

Give the plant sufficient water.

By Linda Wendling:I WAS WONDERING WHY SOME OF MY DAFFODILS HAVE ALL FOILAGE AND NO SIGNS OF ANY BLOSSOMS? WHAT CAN I DO TO GET THEM TO BLOSSOM? THEY HAVE NOT BEEN PLANTED LONG ENOUGH TO BE SEPARATED AND THEY HAVE BLOSSOMED OTHER YEARS.

Answer By The Flower Expert:Dear Linda Wendling,

There are several reasons why a daffodil does not bloom after blooming for years.

The most common reasons why daffodils fail to bloom are that

1. they are in too shady a location 2. their foliage has been removed before it has browned so the bulbs are weak, or 3. they are of a short lived variety or not suited to your local climate.

Lastly, they may be too crowded and need to be lifted, divided and replanted.

As your daffodils are not crowded, there may be other above reasons for its non-blooming.

Try by giving a little amount of bonemeal to the plants and observe.

By Betty:We have bugs eating our lilies.help

Answer By The Flower Expert:Dear Betty,

Controlling the bugs on lilies manually is the best defense. They are easy to see and easy to kill. Thumb and forefinger work quite well. You can shake them off the plant into a bucket of soapy water where they will get perished.

By Dennis:Can I shape Rhododendrons, especially Rhododendrons that are over 5 feet tall?

Answer By The Flower Expert:Dear Dennis,

As your Rhododendrons are long, you can trim them.

Yes, Pruning to shape the plant or to keep it within bounds should be done only after flowering.

By Pat:My Agapanthus put out growth during the winter that was white since it was in a dark place. Now that I have brought it out, the growth has turned green. I have read that I should cut that back? I hate to as it is long and beautiful but I do want flowers. What should I do?

Answer By The Flower Expert:Dear Pat,

Agapanthus plants are heavy feeders and do not bloom well if undernourished or grown in too shady a location. Agapanthus are acid lovers and need Potassium and Phosphorus for blooming.

Agapanthus (African lilies) are big plants and usually summered outdoors in tubs where the root system can spread.

And after blooming , it is better of cut off the Agapanthus flowering stock close to ground level. So that plants pick up a bust of energy and perform best for the next year.

From seed, agapanthus can take up to 3 years to flower, and if from divisions, they will flower within one year after being divided.

Check whether it has started from seeds or divisions.

By Nancy:My Iris bulbs are over 100yrs old, we transplanted them three yrs ago in late summer, the first yr after transplanting they all blossomed beautifully, then last year the leaves were all fused and we didn't get any blossoms, looks like we are going to have the same this year. what can be done?

Answer By The Flower Expert:Dear nancy,

Feed liquid fish fertilizer at time of transplanting and every 3 weeks.

If you find seaweed/fish fertilizer, might be a little more expensive.

By Richard:Thank you for your response to my questions about irises. I forgot to add one caveat to my prior correspondence. What, if anything, can you tell me about Japanese or Louisiana irises being "deer resistant"?

Answer By The Flower Expert:Dear Richard,

Normally Louisianas and Japanese Irises are placed in the deer resistant list of plants.

But sometimes deer get munch down Louisianas and but they leaves japanese Irises.

By Jackie Hard:I recently planted by Easter flowers and about 3 hrs later they look wilted. Are the flowers just in shock and will recover or do I have to wait until next spring to enjoy them.

Answer By The Flower Expert:Dear Jackie Hard,

They might be in a shock. They will recover, and probably you can expect a second flowering in the fall from easter flowers.

By Betty:Non-blooming of Irises.

Answer By The Flower Expert:Dear Betty,

Do not panic. I can provide you the reasons for non-blooming of Irises.

Reasons for non-blooming of Irises:-

Lack of full sun, good drainage, lots of space, and quality soil to bloom consistently.

Unfavourable weather conditions or late spring frosts can also harm bloom.

If you bury the rhizome too deeply, the plant may refuse to flower.

By Tom:When Gladiolus & Lilium will bloom ?

Answer By The Flower Expert:Dear Tom,

Gladiolus bloom 90 days from planting. They bloom only once. They do not rebloom that year.

Lilium bloom during summer, mostly June - July.

By Catalina:What can be paired up with purple statice?

Answer By The Flower Expert:Dear Catalina,

Roses can be arranged with purple statice flower.

They can be made into beautiful purple Statice and Roses flower arrangement.

By Guest:I have a lot of iris beds, but they no longer bloom. I get lots of foliage, but no blooms. What am I doing wrong?

Answer By The Flower Expert:Dear Sir/Madam,

Non blooming Irises might have been affected with :

1. There might have some problems during transplanting.

2. When you plant your irises, sure the top surface of the rhizome is level with or just slightly below the soil surface. If you bury the rhizome too deeply, the plant may refuse to flower. Do NOT mulch directly over the rhizomes.

3 Or some nutrient deficiency.

By Melody:Is there something special I should do when using daffodils as a cut flowers in a vase?

Answer By The Flower Expert:Dear Melody,

By Guest:How should we care for Hyacinth plant? Should it be kept inside or be planted outside? If planted outside, will it comeback year after year? If kept inside, should it be repotted in a bigger pot? It is now in a 6" pot.

Answer By The Flower Expert:Dear Sir/Madam,

You can plant them outside outdoors.

It would grow this year , but will not bloom this year.

Larger the bulb, larger the flower.

Make sure to let the leaves turn brown and then remove the leaves to let the rest of the growing time go to the bulb.

In my view, the size of the pot can be increased.

By Richard Segal:In the rear area of my property, which gets perhaps 6 hours of sun or partial sun, the ground is always very wet after a rain, and will remain so for many days. It will dry out after several days of sun so I can't term it as being "swampy".

Can you suggest a type of iris that I should consider for that particular location. I live in South Carolina.

Answer By The Flower Expert:Dear Richard Segal,

Irises prefer well-drained soil, rich in organic matter.

Japanese and Louisiana iris can grow in wet soil.

Yellow flag iris can be grown in standing water.

By Guest:HYACINTH'S ARE FALLING OVER, WHAT CAN WE DO IF ANYTHING TO CORRECT THIS.

Answer By The Flower Expert:Dear Sir/Madam,

In my view, its normal in case of hyacinths.

They are toppled over when they opened due to their weight. You can lift and put small stakes to hold the flower stalks.

Usually it is probably be due to heavy rain.

By Guest:I would love to know how to care for my Birds of Paradise. I live in a Mediterranean country, Malta, that has a changeable climate.

The leaves of my Birds of Paradise are a pale green rather than the usual healthy green, and the foliage have like black spots or stains. What can it be and what I can do.

Answer By The Flower Expert:Dear Sir/Madam,

Probably it might be the work of fungi or bacteria.

You can remove the infected leaves when the plant is dry.

Leaves that collect around the base of the plant should be raked up and disposed of.

Avoid water from top, but water from the base of the plant. For fungal leaf spots, use a good fungicide.

By Guest:Can acymbidium plants survive when planted outside?(florida)

Answer By The Flower Expert:Dear Sir/Madam,

Cymbidium is a type of Orcchid. It can be grown indoors and outdoors. Its a very good houseplant.

If planted indoors, it can be brought outdoors, during winter months.

If planted outdoors it should be given protection from direct sunlight and taken indoors during summer.

By Charlotte, NC:We have a pink dogwood tree which is approximately 4-5 yrs old, and appears to be healthy, but it never blooms. It is surrounded with white dogwoods, but is our only pink. Is it true that a pink dogwood needs another pink in order to bloom properly? And by the way, it is about 8-9 feet tall in partial sun.

Answer By The Flower Expert:Dear Charlotte, NC

Dogwoods are basically a southern tree and do not tolerate cold weather in the springtime when the flower buds are forming.

The climate must be warm enough in the spring to develop the flower buds.

The nonflowering of a dogwood may have several causes. Insects and diseases may have damaged and weakened the tree. The main insect is a borer, and the main disease is a fungus called anthracnose. Involvement with either of these is usually evident from their characteristic signs.

The lack of sunlight is also a possible cause for no blossoms. Dogwoods are often thought of as a shade tree, but they survive full sun and seem to do best with about a half day of morning sun and afternoon shade. Total shade or only an hour or two of sun is a cause of non-blooming.

By Geraldine:My tulips came up but did not bloom. The bulbs were transplanted to a new flower bed this year. Can you think of any reason for not getting blooms?

Answer By The Flower Expert:Dear Geraldine,

If those non-flowering bulbs were planted last fall, you probably have a soil (or added fertilizer) with too much nitrogen in it.

Nitrogen also encourages leafy growth at the expense of flowering.

You can have your soil tested. And make sure that any bulb fertilizers you use has a higher second and third number (the P and K) that it does nitrogen (N). Numbers like 5-10-10 are good.

Another possibility is that your bulbs are in too much shade.

By Barbara Johnson:How can we divide the agapanthus?

Answer By The Flower Expert:Dear Barbara Johnson,

Propagation by division of Agapanthus bulbs is the spring most widely used method of propagation and is the most reliable.

By Brown:I live in the UAE and have a newly planted Frangipani in my garden which keeps losing its leaves.They turn yellow then drop off. There are only two leaves left now. There were some new shoots apearing but that growth seems to have stopped now too.

I've tried watering it - which seems to make it worse. I've also tried stopping watering it - which seems to help.

What am I doing wrong? What doesn't it like?

Answer By The Flower Expert:Dear Brown,

Rust problem might have been there in Frangipani.

Symptoms of rust include many small, bright-yellow pustules on the undersides of leaf surfaces. These pustules rupture to release masses of powdery, yellow spores. The spores, falling from infected leaves onto stems and leaves below, make them appear as if dusted by yellow powder. Heavily infected leaves fall prematurely.

Researchers found that fungicides such as Mancozeb and sulfur which are available for home garden use to control rust and other fungal problems in ornamentals were not as effective as oxycarboxin. You could try using a general fungicide to slow the development of the disease (such as Yates Spray Insecticide and Pesticide, which contains sulfur and Mancozeb), and as a winter cleanup.

Leaf burn can also cause on frangipanis this is usually due to watering of the leaves during the intense heat in the middle of the day.

If you're watering, then do so in the morning or late afternoon.

By Guest:I have an outside flower box that doesn't ever get sunlight, What is the best flower to grow in no sunlight besides ivy? Thank you very much

Answer By The Flower Expert:Dear Sir/Madam,

When you talk about no sunlight , that means only shaded plants, then Ferns, bleeding hearts can be a good choice.If you say about no light, Mushrooms comme to our mind.

Some other shade plants are Pothos vine, philodendron vine.

By Victoria Dixon:I found your website while researching for a novel I'm writing. I need to know if an established lotus plant would already have large, green leaves in late winter/early spring if the climate's warm enough. Do the leaves die back? (I'm clueless on botany.) Thank you for any assistance you can give!

Answer By The Flower Expert:Dear Victoria Dixon,

Lotus plant is dormant over the fall and winter months.

The Lotus plant will have and should have the leaves all winter.

Leave the lotus leaves until they totally dry out, turn brown and dessicate. Leaves can be removed well above the waterline in late fall, winter or even spring.

They should not be removed as it may injure the plant.

By Deborah:I am a very new beginner of gardening , so I need step by step on the planting and care of the Iceland poppy . I only have one to start with and I must say that I do know enough to say that my soil contains mostly clay dirt . So were do I go from here PLEASE HELP!

Answer By The Flower Expert:Dear Deborah,

Iceland poppies are extremely hardy and will grow in any soil.

Planting of Iceland poppies:

Just press the seeds into the surface of the soil, sprinkle a small amount of sand or vermiculite over them, and spritz to moisten.

When the seedlings show, keep the pots in best light.

Care of Iceland poppies:

Soil should be well drained.

Keep seedlings evenly moist.

When plants get 4 inches or so tall, water only when the surface of the soil is dry to the depth of your first knuckle.

Fertilize weekly with a plant food that is not too high in nitrogen. When the plants bloom, remove spent flowers.

If you allow plants to go to seed, it will greatly reduce their longevity.

Iceland poppies are amongst the best poppies for cutting, lasting several days in the vase if they are cut just before the buds open.

By Michelle:I have 4 Jasmine plants located on vines along my west side of my property, block wall. The plants have done well, they are working on their third year. Still I have not seen a flower. They get the stems that are supposed to become flowers but do .not flower. I give them fertilizer during the flowering season, but still nothing. The plants are green but no flowers.

Answer By The Flower Expert:Dear Michelle,

Apply a Mild fertilizer during spring.

Plenty of water should be given during summer.

Jasmine plants should be provided with full sunlight upto at least four hours a day.

Phosphorous and Potassium should be applied in two split doses i.e once after annual pruning and again during June and July.

Tips of the plants should be pinched to stimulate lateral growth and frequent pruning.

Follow this and see.

By Guest:I am getting married at the end of August and I really love Calla Lillies. Since they bloom in June is it maybe possible to plants them indoors so they will be able to bloom for the end of August. How would I go actually buying seeds and preserving them as well as then growing them for their late summer bloom?

Answer By The Flower Expert:Dear Madam,

You can start your in indoors in later winter and transplant them outdoors after your last frost in the spring.

Then the calla lilies will grow and bloom through spring, summer and even fall, but will be possible only when the calla lilies would be dug up, divided and stored during the winter.

By Elisabeth:Name some plants growing below 30 cms.

Answer By The Flower Expert:Dear Elisabeth,

Lavender Little Lady

Little Lottie

are the plants growing below 30 cms.

By carolyn:My large jasmine which is potted and root bound seems to be dieing, Help. what to do? Do they require a lot of water?

Answer By The Flower Expert:Dear carolyn,

Probably your jasmine plant needs repotting.

Try to repot the jasmine.

But the Jasmines do not need much water.

By Trevor:All affected roses are climbing roses growing by my fence and the affected buds are all at the very top of the bushes.

Other than that my bushes are all healthy and there is no evidence of insects or fungus.

Answer By The Flower Expert:Dear Trevor,

We are unable to exactly identify the problem.

Check whether you are giving a lot of fertilizers which may cause the buds to burn before they turn up.

Check also whether the top plant parts are not exposed to other plants infection.

By Jacqui:I wonder if you could let me know whether any of the following names have plants named after them?

Nanny

Grandad

Marshall

Answer By The Flower Expert:Dear Jacqui,

We could find only some names you have requested us to find the flower names.

Nanny - A new and distinct cultivar of Asiatic Hybrid Lily plant named 'Tiny Nanny'

Grandad - Large orange flowers with a frilly edge to the petals. An exceptional Azalea , called- AZALEA DEAR GRANDAD

John - Hypericum - Name: Pronounced hy-PERRI-cum, common name St John's Wort.

By Michele:I'm trying to surprise my friend by getting some flowers for her.

She described a flower she had and loved that is now gone. She didn't know what it was so all I have is this:

It's blossom looks like thorns but is soft and velvety to the touch.

I think it was even gray or something. Not colorful.

I can try to get a better description, but I don't want to let on that I'm trying to get them for her.

Answer By The Flower Expert:Dear Michele,

It would help us in identifying the flower, if there was more information like their nativity and habitat. Anyways, I was thinking of spiderlilies when thought of thorns like flower.

By Guest:1.what time of year does the plant produce flowers?

2. Is this after the blossom is cut it will last about a week in a container of water as a floral arrangement for display?

3. Additionally, approximately how many plants would I have to grow to be able to have 20 to 30 flowers at one time day of the wedding?

Answer By The Flower Expert:Dear,

1.Birds of Paradise bloom from September through May.

2.Lasts about a week in a container of water as a floral arrangement for display.

3.The plant produces the blooms only after the plant completes 4-5 years after maturation.

I think, by that time the plant produces number of clumps. In my view, planting 5-6 plantings is sufficient for you to get 20-30 number of flowers.

By George:How do I get rid of star of bethlehem bulbs? I tried removing them from my flower bed two years ago and now they are taking over my entire backyard!

Answer By The Flower Expert:Dear George,

Star of bethlehems flowers are weedy plants and are invasive.

In my view, its better to physically remove the bulbs which will reduce the plant over time.

All parts of the plant are poisonous.

By Richard:Would bottle brush bushes be suited for the climate in Mobile al and are hasty lillies a good ground cover ?

Answer By The Flower Expert:Dear Richard,

The climate in Mobile al is very hot and humid with occasional very cold spell and sometimes icy conditions.

Spring and Fall are comfortably warm usually with a nice breeze. The summers are very hot and humid with good amount of rainfall.

Bottle brush plants can be grown in full sun produce the best flowers.

Plants can be lightly pruned after flowering to keep them in shape.

A low-phosphorous fertiliser should be applied in spring and autumn.

Mulching will help retain soil moisture and reduce weed growth.

Yes, your climate is in between tropical to temperate type, i think your bottle brush plants and lilies can survive the place you are in.

By Ruby:I recently brought a home in dallas, Tx. I would like to put some nice flowers in my backyard. Can you name some plants that do well in summer. I want to have low maintainence flowers.Do you think Zinnia and Marigold will work and are they easy to maintain. Please let me know.

Answer By The Flower Expert:Dear Ruby,

Crinums can also be a favourite flowers in Texas, apart from Zinnias and Marigolds during summer.

By Helen:I found a cherry blossom branch cut off the tree. can i salvage it by putting it in water, letting roots grow then resoiling/planting it?

Answer By The Flower Expert:Dear Helen,

Both the sweet and sour cherries are usually, propagated by T-budding.

Sorry, no. Cherries don't root from cuttings.

Cherries are propagated by budding them on seedling stocks in the nursery and are sold for planting stock as one- or two-year-old trees. Sweet and Sour Cherries are fairly easy to grow. Sour Cherries, which are smaller and more tolerant of cold and heat, are easier to grow than sweet Cherries.

By Nena M. Cook:I am planting Gladiolus for the first time this year. I have a front flower bed that already has iris and lilies in it. All of these are white. I would like to know what flowers look good with Gladiolus in a flower bed? Can you help?

Answer By The Flower Expert:Dear Nena M. Cook,

Lilies and Irises also go with Gladiolus.

Gladiolus are good to any home garden.

In the flower bed they may be planted in irregular groups among other flowers.

In my view, they can be attractive when grown among perennials such as peonies and daylilies.

By Guest:I left my plant outside still in the pot & the temp.dropped below freezing. I brought it in but now it is all dead looking. Will it snap out of it?

Answer By The Flower Expert:Dear

You did not specify the area you live in.

Anyways, if you are in Northern part, you should know that they will be in it for a long cold spell.

You should wrap your hydrangeas in burlap for winter protection.

Planting the shrubs near house foundations also gives some refuge from cold temperatures.

Though most of the varieties of Hydrangeas are cold hardy and can sustain the temperatures between -10 and -20.

In your case , Give it sometime, Lets wait and see.

By Becky:In the fall of 2007, we planted some daffodils in our yard around tree bases. Some flowered in the spring of 2008, some only yielded green foliage. (We took care to add bone meal when we planted them.) This spring not a single one has a yellow bloom. Do you have any idea what we might be doing wrong?These are the King Alfred type bulbs.

Answer By The Flower Expert:Dear Becky,

Usually for bulbs, phosphorous is the most important nutrient for flowering and to multiply annually. They should be fed bone meal twice a year.

Usually, Once in the spring before the plants bloom and again in autumn after the first frost.

If you only have time to feed once, it should be done in autumn.

Calcium is also plays a major role.

Calcium helps in development of a plants root system and the growing point or area of rapidly dividing cells at the tip of stems and branches. IF there is a deficiency of calcium then that can cause short, thick, bulbous roots or dieback of all the growing tips and tops.

And also treating the very young bulbs with bonemeal might have caused them non-blooming.

By Liz Wagner:I saw this photograph and am stumped as to what it is or where I can get it.

I labeled it a protea but I am 98% sure that it is not. I thought it might be a chrysanthemum or dahlia also.

Answer By The Flower Expert:Dear Liz Wagner,

Yes, it is a Red giant Protea. They are marvolous flowers belonging to Proteaceae family.

You can get them at Rainbow Proteas Exotic Cutflowers with URL,

http://images.google.co.in/imgres?imgurl=http://www.rainbowprotea.com/html/images/flowers/protea/Red-Barron.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.rainbowprotea.com/protea.html&usg=__gBsEsK5KAQM0BY8lukGc_JFUGGc=&h=525&w=700&sz=63&hl=en&start=60&um=1&tbnid=MOMGq27IImZ75M:&tbnh=105&tbnw=140&prev=/images%3Fq%3DRed%2BProtea%26ndsp%3D20%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26start%3D40%26um%3D1

By Nick:I am working on my science project and used the following 5 flowers for an experiment. Can you please tell me if they have any similarities or traits between them so i could include it it in my paper. Thank you for your help.Alstroemeria, Campanula, Gerber Daisy, Crown of Thorns, Carnations

Answer By The Flower Expert:Dear Nick,

We do not know much about the traits and similarities, but we can say that these flowers Alstroemeria, Campanula, Gerber Daisy, Crown of Thorns, Carnations, can be used as cutflowers in flower bouquets and flower arrangements.