Propagating Chrysanthemums

Chrysanthemums can be propagated from seeds, cuttings, or plant division. Some chrysanthemum hybrids are patented and cannot be propagated without permission. This is usually indicated on the plant label.

Chrysanthemums actually like to be divided – the new clumps grow better than old, crowded ones. After the last spring frost when shoots are 1”- 3” tall, dig them up and carefully pull or cut apart. Throw away any half-dead or overly woody parts, and plant only the healthy divisions. Add a source of phosphorus to the planting hole, along with organic matter. Ideally, divide chrysanthemums every 3-5 years and relocate to reduce disease.

To propagate from cuttings, snip off a piece about 4”- 6” long, and remove the leaves on the bottom half. Dip in rooting hormone and insert about 1” into vermiculite, sand, or sphagnum moss. Create your own mini-greenhouse using a wire frame and plastic wrap, and place the plants under bright light (but not sunlight) until rooted.

To grow from seed, sow at least 2 months before first frost, or start indoors over the winter. The planting medium should be kept at 70-75 degrees, and seeds should germinate in 1-3 weeks.

How to plant tulip?

Planting

Nature never intended for bulbs to loll about above ground, so don't delay planting the bulbs after purchase.

 Plant tulip bulbs in the fall, 6 to 8 weeks before a hard frost is expected and when soils are below 60 degrees F. (See our frost charts.) This timing ranges from early autumn (Zone 4) to late autumn (warmer zones).

Tulips prefer a site with full or afternoon sun. In Zones 7 and 8, choose a shady site or one with morning sun only.

All tulips dislike excessive moisture. Ideally, the soil is well-drained, neutral to slightly acidic, fertile, and dry or sandy.

Rainy summers, irrigation systems, and wet soil are death to tulips. Never deliberately water a bulb bed. Wet soil leads to fungus and disease and can rot bulbs. Add shredded pine bark, sand, or anything to foster swift drainage.

You'll want to space bulbs 4 to 6 inches apart, so choose an appropriate plot size.

To deter mice and moles—if they have been a problem—put holly or any other thorny leaves in the planting holes. Some gardeners use kitty litter or crushed gravel.

If ravenous rodents are a real problem, you may need to take stronger measures, such as planting bulbs in a cage of wire.

Plant bulbs deep—at least 8 inches, measuring from the base of the bulb. And that means digging even deeper, to loosen the soil and allow for drainage, or creating raised beds. Remember, the bigger the bulb, the deeper the hole it needs.

Set the bulb in the hole with the pointy end up. Cover with soil and press soil firmly.

Water bulbs right after planting. Although they can't bear wet feet, bulbs need water to trigger growth.

If you're planning to raise perennial tulips, feed them when you plant them in the fall. Bulbs are their own complete storage system and contain all of the nutrients they need for one year. Use organic material, compost, or a balanced time-release bulb food.

Care

Water tulips during dry spells in the fall; otherwise, do not water.
Compost annually.

Deadhead tulips after flowering.

Allow the foliage to yellow for about 6 weeks after flowering before removing it.

The bulbs of Species tulips may be left in the ground for several years; others may be lifted annually, once the leaves have died down, and ripened in a warm, dry place.

Replant the largest bulbs; smaller bulbs may be grown in containers in a bulb frame, in mix of equal parts loam, leaf mold, and sharp sand. When in growth, water moderately, applying a balanced liquid fertilizer weekly for 3 or 4 weeks after flowering; keep dry in summer, and repot annually.

Using wild flowers in floristry and bouquets

A guest post by Fabrizio Boccha

When, years ago, I asked why nobody uses wild flowers in bouquets I was told, ‘They wilt too fast,’ or, ‘They drop their petals almost immediately.’

In fact , looking back on it I suspect the real reason was that they had fallen out of favour and had been replaced by larger blooms that were easier to cut and cheaper to supply to most florists’ shops.

At Common Farm with our ‘tithe to nature’ concept, we find sustainably grown wild flowers are chic, beautiful and sometimes beautifully scented. They also provide habitat and food for our invertebrate life.

Non of these are cultivars and all are indigenous. Some are from seed collected from our meadow, most are from Emorsgate Seeds who provide provenance information as well as guaranteeing UK origin, by identifying the county of origin too. By ‘farming’ wild flowers we are increasing their number and diversity here at common farm and we make sure that this system is fully sustainable.

Wow! All indigenous (ok, some argument over fox and cubs)

Lesser knapweed, Scabious( devils bit and field0, Oxeye daisey, Meadow buttercup, ladies bed staw, meadowsweet, wild carrot, corky fruited water dropwort, grasses; crested dogs tale and meadow barley, musk mallow, cow slip (this example out very late) red campion, gladdons , fox and cubs (???) and oregano.

It makes a fine looking bouquet but would be better with the adittion of some cottage garden flowers and in fact we always mix our flowers and think of the wild flowers as the spice added to the bouquet dish.

Gardens: what to do this week

Hardy perennial Hellebore ‘Slate’. Photograph: Dave Zubraski/Alamy

Pickle this

If your food waste goes to landfill, you’re missing a great soil improver. A bokashi system lets you collect and ferment it using beneficial micro-organisms: it’s easy, quick and compact, plus the runoff (or bokashi juice) is great for keeping sinks and drains “sweet”. Put the fermented waste in your heap or wormery, or bury it in the soil. For a bokashi starter kit, try evengreener.com.

Visit this

How many cherry trees can you name? I bet it’s one: ‘Morello’. The Cherry Fair at Brogdale Farm in Kent on 19 July aims to open our eyes to a world of cherries, from ‘Stella’ to ‘Merchant’. Taste and buy more than 30 varieties, and find out how to coax a great crop from your own tree.

Plant this

Come spring, you’ll be glad you planted up that unloved shady corner. Hardy perennial Hellebore ‘Slate’ has pretty, purple-black blooms from February to April, and would look good with lime-green euphorbias or white pulmonarias. Height and spread: 40cm x 40cm. Buy one H. ‘Slate’ in a 9cm pot for £11.99 (including free mainland UK p&p). To order, call 0330 333 6856, quoting ref GU357, or go to our Readers’ Offers page. Dispatched in July and August.

Scientists discover why some roses smell sweeter than others - and how to improve the scent

A Damascus Rose

Not all roses smell that sweet but scientists have found out why some smell sweeter than others and in the process have discovered a way of potentially improving the scent of the gardener’s favourite ornamental flower.

A study into the chemistry of rose scents has found a new biochemical pathway in the petals of the plants which produces a sweet-smelling fragrance that could be re-introduced into rose varieties that have lost their smell.

Scientists have identified an enzyme known as RhNUDX1 which plays a key role in producing the sweet fragrance of roses, which they suggest could be re-introduced into modern varieties that have lost their scent as a result of intensive breeding for better colour and shape.

Jean-Louis Magnard and colleagues from the University of Lyon in St Etienne in France identified the new source of rose scent in a study published in the journal Science that investigated the source of the strong scent in the rose Papa Meilland.

They found that the enzyme was lacking in another rose, called Rogue Meilland, which produces little scent and a genetic analysis revealed key differences in the genes responsible for the biochemical pathway that led to the synthesis of the enzyme.

The researchers found that the RhNUDX1 enzyme, which works in the cells of the flower petals, generates the well-known fragrance substance called monoterpene geraniol, the primary constituent of rose oil.

In the future, it might be possible to exploit the knowledge about the gene for RhNUDX1 in order to breed pleasant-smelling scents back into modern varieties that lack a strong fragrance, they said.

Rose Flower pictures

Scientists believe that the discovery of a new biochemical pathway that can synthesise rose scents is probably due to the independent evolution of chemical attractants designed to advertise flowers and bring pollinators to fertilise them.

It is known that a single constituent of rose oil, such as rose oxide, can impart different scents depending on which 3-D shape they have formed. Rose oxide, for instance, can produce four different scents, sweet, fruity, minty or citrusy, depending on which one of four 3-D shapes it has formed.

A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Daily Star on July 03, 2015, on page 11.