Pensacola News Journal

For: Saturday, April 7, 2001

By: Daniel E. Mullins

Extension Horticultural Agent

Santa Rosa County

Create Bright Spots With Small, Well Kept Flower Beds

A landscape isn’t complete unless it includes some carefully planned splashes of color. Right now, the azaleas, dogwoods, wisteria and spiraeas are providing plenty, but it is time to plan for summer color by establishing annual and perennial flower beds.

Site Selection

The placement of flower beds is one of the most important considerations. Color plantings should compliment the house and can also be used to accent, drawing attention to certain areas, such as the entrance.

Most beds are best kept to the sides of the property and not near the street. Avoid filling the front lawn with numerous random plantings. This tends to separate the front lawn into many areas, making it look smaller and more busy.

Above all, don’t decorate tree trunks by tilling around them and planting flower beds. This is possibly the least effective use of color and one of the most difficult places to successfully grow annuals and perennials.

Instead of planting around trees, choose open areas for flowers. Most species require full sunlight and will also perform better because they won’t have as much competition from tree roots.

Establishment

Before shopping for plants, decide upon the colors that will be used. Single colors can be effective given the proper background, while mixtures within individual beds can work if chosen carefully.

Annuals, perennials or a combination of both can be used. Standard warm season annuals include salvia, celosia, dusty miller, gaillardia, vinca and zinnia. Locally popular perennials include daylilies, butterfly bush, blue daze, coneflower, lantana and shrimp plant. Don’t overlook the tropical perennials when selecting bedding plants. They are well adapted to our warm, wet summers. Some local favorites include coleus, cannas, pentas, jacobinia, and African iris.

Prepare beds by applying generous amounts of compost, manure or peat and till to incorporate to a depth of 8 inches. Set plants no deeper than the top of the root ball and mulch with a 2 to 3 inch layer of bark, leaves or pine needles. Water is the most important ingredient during the establishment period. Irrigate to thoroughly soak the bed, and decrease the frequency of watering as plants take root in new beds.

Maintenance

Good color can be enjoyed all summer with good watering, fertilization and grooming practices. Once established, plants should receive supplemental irrigation as needed. Daily watering is not required, nor recommended because too frequent irrigation can lead to disease problems.

Most beds will need watering only two to three times per week in the absence of sufficient rainfall. Irrigate during the early morning hours, rather than evening, and apply enough to slowly and thoroughly soak the root zone.

Fertilization is important to keep plants growing vigorously. If a slow release product is not used at planting, light supplemental applications of liquid or granular fertilizer can be made every 4 to 6 weeks.

Groom plants by removing old flowers before they have time to produce seed. This practice keeps plants producing more blossoms instead of expending their energy on seed production.

Question of the Week: Can you give me some information about a plant called confederate rose? I can’t seem to find anything in my gardening references.

Answer: Confederate rose is a hibiscus. Botanically, it is Hibiscus mutabilis and requires the same growing conditions as other species within this genus. The original selection is a late summer and fall bloomer. Flowers are up to 6 inches in diameter, and white when they first open. They turn pink or red about a day later.

Plant confederate rose in a sunny location. It is somewhat cold sensitive, being killed to the ground during cold winters. It normally recovers quickly and produces a large, open and informal shaped shrub by summer.

A few nurseries offer this plant. It is normally passed along by gardeners because it is easy to root the stems. Note: Confederate rose is a “first cousin” to cotton and okra. In some parts of the country it is also known as cotton rose.