March 7, 2020 - Issue #451

Editor's Note: We have redesigned our weekly newsletter. Our goal was to make it more readable, more aesthetically pleasing, and easier to skim. We hope you like the changes!

No occupation is so delightful to me as the culture of the earth, and no culture comparable to that of the garden. -Thomas Jefferson

ARTICLES TO READ

Grow Wisteria for Winning Color

For those who can never get enough of wisteria's tremendous displays of fragrant spring flowers, there's good news. A new everblooming variety of American wisteria (W. frutescens). 'Amethyst Falls' begins its impressive floral show of densely clustered, 4- to 6-inch-long bluish purple flowers in spring, and continues throughout the summer in three waves of bloom.

Growing Hibiscus

Hibiscus are large shrubs or small trees that produce huge, colorful, trumpet-shaped flowers over a long season. They are generally divided into four groups: Hardy Hibiscus, Rose of Sharon, Tropical Hibiscus, and all the various species of Hibiscus.

Should you use Epsom Salt?

After working with home gardeners for more than 10 years, I know that they love to use home remedies on their plants. From setting out beer traps for slugs to hanging bars of soap to repel deer, if the household product seems to work, gardeners try it. That's why I was intrigued by the often-mentioned idea of using Epsom salts as a fertilizer.

Growing Spirea

Among the easiest flowering shrubs to grow, spireas are often used in foundation plantings, as hedges, and in perennial gardens. Most spireas bloom in late spring to midsummer. Flower colors include pink, red, yellow, and white, depending on the variety.

Growing Foxglove

Foxglove's low-growing foliage is topped by 2- to 5-foot-tall flower spikes, depending on the variety. Flower colors include pink, red, purple, white, and yellow. Foxgloves are biennials or short-lived perennials.

Growing Ranunculus

Brilliantly colored flowers are 'ranunculus' chief attraction, and they are indeed special. They most often come in multiple layers of delicate, crepe paper--thin petals, looking like an origami masterwork. Ranunculus (R. asiaticus) excel in southern and western gardens, and make terrific container plants everywhere. They also make long-lasting cut flowers.