1. Transplant New Guinea impatiens plants into larger containers.
2. Purchase tuberous begonias already in bloom.
3. Continue planting summer annuals.
4. Choose and plant hibiscus.
5. Choose and plant succulents.
6. Transplant succulents including cacti and euphorbia.
7. Continue to plant papayas, bananas, and palms.
8. Fill in your vegetable garden with summer crops.
9. Pinch back chrysanthemums.
10. Pick and deadhead roses, but stop disbudding them now.
11. Remove seed pods from fuchsias.
12. Deadhead flowers.
13. Prune impatiens.
14. Prune petunias.
15. Pinch the flowers off of coleus.
16. Cut back hydrangeas.
17. Divide your English primroses, or you can wait until fall.
18. Propagate bromeliads by dividing the offshoots from parent plants.
19. Mow cool-season lawns long.
20. Mow warm-season lawns short.
21. Stop removing runners from strawberries. Let them grow and root in the ground.
22. Continue to prune and train espaliers.
23. Continue to propagate and clean up daylilies.
24. Once Martha Washington geraniums stop blooming, clip off their faded flowers and cut back.
25. Feed fuchsias.
26. Feed water lilies.
27. Feed cymbidiums with a fertilizer high in nitrogen.
28. Fertilize roses.
29. Feed ferns.
30. Fertilize tuberous begonias and impatiens.
31. Feed coleus lightly.
32. Check camellias and azaleas for chlorosis.
33. Fertilize bromeliads.
34. Feed cool-season lawns lightly.
35. Feed warm-season lawns.
36. Water all bougainvilleas well, especially newly planted ones.
37. Water cymbidiums.
38. Water impatiens daily.
39. Water vegetables regularly; do not let tomatoes or cucumbers run dry.
40. Water citrus and avocado trees.

Tropical gardens lift our spirits and transport us into magical, exotic places such as Hawaii, Bali, Florida's Keys, the Bahamas and beyond. Although not everyone wants a completely tropical backyard, the beauty of tropical plants is undeniable. The addition of tropical plants to your garden may bring you one step closer to your dream of these wonderful faraway places.

When you think of tropical, what comes to mind? Large-leaf foliage plants, spectacular splashes of colorful flowers, exotic looking flowers and foliage. The tropical look has been aptly described as "flamboyant in form and contrast." As you read this article, release your biases regarding the uses of tropical plants. Imagine ways that you can introduce your favorite tropical into your cottage garden or classic garden. We think that you will find the perfect location for your favorite one.

Alternatively, tropical garden lovers, discover other plants not classically considered "tropical" and put them into your garden--and you'll love the effect. Abutilon is excellent for this. Tibouchina (princess flower), acuba, fuchsia, camellia and impatiens are other plants that help you think out of the tropical plant box.

From the horticultural point of view, "tropical" means a plant that cannot sustain freezing temperatures. So, not all plants so defined will have that lush tropical look, will they! Actually. there are "tropical" desert plants too, including cactus and succulents.

Tropical plants exemplified in this article may be included simply because they are tropical looking. And some plants may also be drought tolerant and not from what we consider a classic tropical locale. But blended together, they create that exotic tropical look.

Plant them into your garden, whatever its style may be...Well, keep in mind that plants can take on the characteristics of their surrounding plant neighbors. This is why we would encourage you, if your choice is not a tropical garden, to consider our tropical friends anyway. The variation in foliage color, textures and size will add a new element. Remember, in garden design, it is good to vary these elements to add interest to your garden borders.

The tropical plant (and tropical-look plant) list is long and diverse. The list below names just a few. We're sure you could think of just as many more!

Trees: Bananas (musa and ensete), brugmansia (Angel's Trumpet), palms, tree ferns, dracena, cassia, tibouchina, tupidanthus, schefflera, and feijoa (guava).

Shrubs: Abutilon, acuba, brunsfelsia (Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow plant), ferns, philodendrons, hibiscus, fatsia, gardenia, iresine, justicia, and strelitzia (Bird of Paradise).

Vines: Burmese honeysuckle, bougainvillea, tecoma (yellow trumpet flowers), Distictus (trumpet flowers), and passion flower vines.

Grasses: Cyperus (papyrus), sedges, bamboo, and liriope.

Miscellaneous: Aloe, begonia (rex hybrids), clivia, plumeria, bromeliads, fuchsia, and impatiens.

Are you able to find a perfect place in your garden for any one of these? If you need more help with this, just ask any one of us. We will be happy to help you create your tropical island garden get-away!

"That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet"

William Shakespeare

The presence of roses in gardens transcends time. Roses have always been, are today, and will forever be, not only a plant member of our gardens but most often the featured plant in our gardens. And this happens simply by default, because nothing has as great a floral color impact in your garden as a rose.

Humans have an ongoing love affair with roses. And to that end, we have created many different garden designs, most of which leave space for the rose. Whatever your garden style, a rose is a welcome addition.

Roses in English gardens are tucked in with lavender, foxglove, daisies, and delphinium. They appear in wildflower gardens with poppies, forget-me-not, love-in-a-mist and clarkias; they stand in rows in formal rose gardens and gather in circles in the informal rose garden, and please believe us, they are in vegetable gardens too. Roses are planted en masse as a flowering hedge, roses are planted in commercial settings, roses are in our cemeteries, and roses are growing in the wild. We think you may be getting the picture.

There are thousands of different roses, wild or species, hybrids, old roses and modern roses. There are China roses, Gallica roses, Damask roses, moss roses, Bourbon roses, hybrid perpetual roses, rugosa roses, macranth roses, ramblers, and polyanthas. And we haven't even begun to talk about the roses in our garden center!

Wives' tale, myth or fact? What really works to make cut flowers last longer?

Aspirin, vitamins, vinegar, 7-Up, Sprite, pennies and sugar. Some say they work, some say that they don't. There are many folklore additives, and we have a few other tips that will help as well.

• Remove all foliage from the stems below the water line; this minimizes bacterial growth in the water.
• Cut at least an inch from the bottom of each stem. Some say to then crush the bottom of the stem.
• Keep the water fresh.
• Add this homemade recipe: 1 tsp. sugar, 1 tsp. bleach, 2 Tbs. lemon or lime juice to a quart of water.
• Check the water level and replenish as needed.

Did you know that flowers in bud form will open if placed into warm water? Yes, indeed. Conversely, flowers kept in cool water will last longer and buds will be slow to open.

If you have a tip that works, please let us know and we'll be happy to share it with everyone! Who knows? You might even become famous!

Perhaps one of the most beautiful flowers around is the tuberous begonia. There are many varieties, from single or double flower, ruffled-petal flowers, to camellia- or carnation-form flowers. There are even pendulous forms perfect for hanging baskets.

Their colors are extremely vivid, ranging from reds and red-orange to orange, yellow, white and hot pink; there are even bi-colored varieties. The tuberous begonia is a highly versatile plant whose almost fluorescent flowers are wonderful in flowerbeds, patio containers, window boxes or even hanging baskets.

Tuberous begonias will bloom for you all summer long and into early fall. They will thrive in shadier areas where few other flowers with long bloom times and showy flowers will even grow.

Although they are not frost hardy, they can be pulled out of the ground as they start to go dormant in fall, then cleaned off and stored in a cool, dry location over winter and replanted in spring after any danger of frost is gone. Handled correctly, they can provide years of beauty in the garden.

They should be planted in soil that maintains moisture, but also drains (no standing water). If you plant into the ground, you may need to amend first. For best results in containers, be sure to plant using a high-quality potting soil.

These begonias like indirect light or dappled shade locations and need to be kept moist with regular watering. Please take care not to let them dry out. To maintain their vibrant blooms, feed regularly with Grow More Super Bloomer.

We have spectacular varieties available right now, just waiting for a home in your garden. Visit us soon for the best selection.

Spring brings with it beautiful blossoms, fresh air, warmer temperatures . . . and bugs!  Ants, gnats, tent worms, none of which are pleasant.  Ah, but spring also gives us ladybugs and lady beetles (Hippodamia convergens), which are the best-known garden predators available.  There are nearly 5,000 different kinds of ladybugs worldwide, 400 of which live in North America.  In fact, Delaware, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Ohio and Tennessee have adopted the ladybug as their official state insect!

As legend has it, in Europe, during the Middle Ages, the crops were being destroyed by insects, so the farmers prayed to the Virgin Mary for help.  The ladybugs came, ate the pests, and saved the crops!  The grateful farmers began calling the ladybugs “The Beetles of Our Lady” which eventually morphed into “Lady Beetles.”

With aphids, mealy bugs and mites being their favorite food, ladybugs are some of our most beneficial bugs; an adult ladybug can eat over 50 aphids a day.  These small, oval-winged insects are usually red with black spots, and are less than ¼ inch in length.  As they age, the color of the spots will fade.  If a bird, the primary predator of the ladybug, threatens a ladybug, she will play dead.

Some more silly facts about this delightful and advantageous visitor to our forests, fields, gardens, and yes, even our homes:

• Ladybugs chew from side to side and not up and down like people do.
• A gallon jar will hold from 72,000 to 80,000 ladybugs.
• A female ladybug will lay more than 1000 eggs in her lifetime.
• The Asian lady beetle can live up to 2-3 years if the conditions are right.
• In Sweden, it is believed that if a ladybug lands on a young maiden’s hand, she will soon be getting married.
• In England, finding a ladybug means that you will have a good harvest.
• In France, if you are sick and a ladybug lands on you, when it flies away, it will take the sickness with it.
• If you find a ladybug in your house in the winter you will have good luck!

Get to know your beneficial insects. They can be very useful in keeping the pests away and reducing the use of chemicals. And remember--when you do need to use chemicals in your garden, read the instructions carefully and consult with one of our nursery professionals, who can advise you on the best one to use for your particular problem.  

Answer:

Most homeowners bag lawn clippings because they think that the clippings add to the buildup of thatch. This is not true. Clippings that remain on the lawn quickly decompose and release valuable nutrients and beneficial bacteria that actually feed on the thatch layer. Fertilizer needs can be reduced by 20 to 30 percent if the clippings are left on the lawn. The shorter the clippings, the deeper they fall into the turf.

The use of a mulching mower and/or frequent mowing will produce the smallest clippings. If you don't have a mulching mower, consider mowing your lawn twice at one time. This will further reduce the size of the clippings and distribute them deeper into the lawn. Mowing when the grass is dry and fertilizing properly will also help to prevent an excess buildup of thatch.