My flower Bed!

Hello all!

I was wondering if I have missed something with my flower bed! I need all the help I can get!

I added to bags of organic potting soil and two bags of organic top soil into my bed this year. It was lower on one side, and this is the first year I have planted anything in it so I wanted to give it a good start with good soil! (But I just did not put together that organic meant it would smell like manure! LOL)

I noticed that the soil does not seem to be getting very moist under about 2 inches below the new organic soil I added so I am going to add in some Pete Moss.

I have thought about giving it some Miracle Grow, but I am not sure that is a good idea because of the fact that the soil was organic and has manure in it! LOL

Nothing seems to be growing and the Celosia is starting to look bad!

Do I need to deadhead Celosia? I thought the blooms where supposed to last a very long time!

The Dahlias are not blooming either! AWW I think I might look for some Dwarf Zinnias to replace them! I have heard the bloom like crazy and I know I can collect the seed for next year. That would at least put me ahead!

Here is a list of what and in what order I planted. This pic is a month old but they are not looking much better! LOL

My questions are:

What do I need to deadhead?
What can I collect for seed next year?
What will just come back?
Can Vinca change color? It is supposed to be hot pink and some white and it is all hot pink! Maybe it was just miss labeled at the store.

Front Row:
Celosia (Cristata) Amigo Mix. Which is a mix of bright colors 6 inch height

Second Row:
Hawaii Royal (Ageratum). Which mounts to about 8 inches and is a blue/purple flower 6 inches height

Third Row:
I mixed these together.
Floral Lace Mix Dianthus (Dianthus). Which the colors of are crimson red and a white tipped pink fading into red and white tipped red. 8 inch height.

Forth Row:
Salvia Sizzler (the tag does not have the Latin name) Which has deep plum purple blooms. And I believe grows to an 8 inch height.

Fifth Row:
Dahlia Figaro Mix Which is a bright mix of colors. 12-24 inch height (I did get a few from a greenhouse that look the same! But that tag says they grow to a 10 inch tall height and 10 inches wide. So I guess we will see! LOL)

Sixth Row:
I mixed together Titan Punch Vinca which are hot pink 14-16 inch height. And what the tag simply calls) Vinca which has white peddles and either a yellow hot pink or red center. Some of which have a pinkish purple peddle and a hot pink center. Which it says has a height of 12 inches.

Seventh Row:
Rocket Mix Snapdragons. Which it says are a hybrid of mixed color. So I don't know if that means they will reseed. Height 36 inches.

And finally in the upper left corner (or Eighth Row) is a Royal Red Butterfly Bush. Which looks the same as the standard Butterfly Bush with purple flowers, but whose flowers have more of a pink or reddish tint to them. I was told it would grow to be 6 to 7 feet tall but I am going to keep it trimmed back shorter then that.

Well, for new soil, new bed,and new plants that doesn,t look bad. You might want to mulch a little and develop a lot of patience, it will come around.
Josephine.

Potting soils with lots of organic matter such as peat moss will be difficult to rehydrate if allowed to get too dry. You need to use a surfactant. Mix a small amount of mild soap with water and pour over the bed. Then water the whole bed thoroughly. Did you incorporate the 4 bags into the native soil? If you didn't, then you inadvertently created a barrier that the roots will find difficult to penetrate, but you can correct that next year.

Otherwise, I agree with Josephine. Not bad!

Check the bags for the ingredients to see if any fertilizer was included. You didn't mention when you added the new soils. If it has been over 2 or 3 months, you can use Miracle Grow.

Dead heading encourages the plants to produce more blooms. You can allow the plants to go to seed toward the end of the season. However, if the plants are hybrids, the collected seeds will not bloom true. Hope this helps.

I don't know what happens when you use Miracle Grow in an organic garden, but I know what happens when you stick with organics.:) Ihave discovered that a little epsom salts (which btw is not salt at all, but magnesium) will go a long way towards making things perk up. Some diluted liquid seaweed (follow directions) will stimulate the roots. And I've heard that alfalfa tea is awsome stuff, though I haven't had time to try that. If you encourage the bacteria and other organisms that grow in healthy dirt, you'll have healthy plants. You'll also have fun learning about new things. Happy gardening!

The plants really don't seem to respond any different to organic or inorganic fertilizers as long as they get all the basics as well as the micronutrients. The new Miracle Grow contains the micronutrients. But if you wish to stick with organic fertilizers, Skip Reicter (sp) from Central Texas Gardener and Austin's Urban Extension Serivce swears by Compost Tea for encouraging the beneficial soil organisms and improving the soil.

Ok well the organic end is over me head! LOL I like the idea and just thought that the organic soil would have more good stuff in it then cheap soil does.

No I did not till (sp I think) up the dirt that was already there. I just poured in 1 bag of top soil (which I thought was the layer of dirt that naturally was there), and racked it in and spread it around. Then I added 1 bag of the potting soil on top and racked in and spread it as well. Then I repeated that on the other half of the bed.

I thought that was good enough, and I did not have a tiller or one of those claw things that your twist to till. AWW I guess I shot myself in the foot there!

Ok so to correct it I need to add surfactant. What is that and what does it do? Same question for the dish soap?

I did all of this in May, and it still looks almost exactly the same! I have lost 1 or 2 Dahlias and 2 Celosias, but I think that is it. I might still loose on of the Hawaiian Royals! :((

I do have to say that I water at night until there is a small amount of standing water. But last night after deadheading I watered for about 5 to 10 minutes (until I could see that it was "wet" and starting to have the beginnings of standing water) and let it soak in a few minutes as I watered other things.

Then I used a watering can that has a soft pour flow or rain shower end and added Miracle-Gro to it. Then I screwed the hose to the Miracle-Gro sprayer and watered with that.

I looked this morning about 10 or 11 and it still looked wet/muddy so I did not water any this morning which I decided I needed to do everyday to make sure it did not dry out and would keep the organic soil from getting to hot!

So anyway I hope I helped it and did not do more damage!! LOL

I am SOO impressed with Miracle-Grow! I used to faithfully give it to my house plants and they look awesome!!

I have been giving it to my Bougainvilla every week for just two weeks and it bloomed!!!! I have had it for about 4 years and it has NEVER bloomed other then when I first got it!! I am SOOO excited!! I do move it inside in the winter and leave it on my north facing porch all summer!!

Here is a pic of it! I know others look better but I am SO excited!! I was giving up after this year it just looked like a vine! LOL There is a little of my Hibiscus tree in the pic, but you can see the whole Boug! LOL

I am also going to take new (today) pics of the bed, so you know what it looks like now!!

Thank you all so much! Now I need to start figuring out what to do to it and plant in it in the fall/winter! After all here in the Panhandle we get the good old West Texas wind and snow! LOL

Here are the Boug blooms up close

Here is a new today pic of the bed, you can see it is not much different then in May! LOL

Here is the sad Celosia

Here is the Hawaiian Royal and teh Dianthus

txflower....i don't know any answers to any of your questions....i just put stuff in my dirt here and i am by lubbock...in crosbyton...; anyway...i just plant in dirt and mine does fine....; as for your bouginvilla...mine wasnt' blooming either....i researched potential problems...and what i read is that bouginvillas bloom under stress...and you need to keep them stressed to bloom....what is stress to them....lack of water..; i generally love my plants too much and give them too much water....so i know i was doing that to my bougie....; i stopped watering it as much and within a week it started blooming...

Here is the Salvia, Dahlia and Vince.

txflower...also, does your bougie stay in full sun...i noticed the pic wasnt in the sun....but mine stay in full all day sun

Here is the Snapdragons and the Butterfly bush! Man the Snaps a ugly, snaky, and sad! LOL

HUMMM!! I asked a lady at the greenhouse about Boougs and she said it needed iron! So that is why I added the Miracle-Gro! LOL I water it a little ever night and try and keep it moist! LOL But what ever works! LOL

Your basic problem is still that "native soil vs new soil" barrier. By incorporating at least part of the new soil into the native soil, you create a transition layer that eases the plant roots from soil that is easy to grow into to possibly compacted clay-rich soil which is much harder to grow into. You have the same type of problem with getting water into the native soil. It takes much longer for water to penetrate a clay barrier. Water will then excape through an easier route. Also the native clay soil can be very moist, but because the top soil dries faster and the roots have a tendency to remain in that shallow top soil, you plants are very stressed from lack of water. It really is important to create that transition zone. I've done it the hard way — with a shovel.

Sorry about that bit about lack of water. I'm skipping back and forth between my answer and your post. Plants in the ground do not need to be watered every day unless they are big leaves or are plants that naturally require lots of water. It's usually best to water deeply every few days instead of every day by hand. That leads to shallow watering and shallow roots. But you have a complicated problem that all goes back to the soil problems.

Soap reduces the water surface tension. Water can then coat and enter the dry soil. A surfactant does the same thing. Use 1 tsp of soap per gallon and spray the soil with this mixture with a hose end sprayer until surface is wet. Then use plain water to water it in before the mixture dries. Mulching helps keep the top soil damp so the beds could benefit from mulch.

Congratulation on your bouganvilla blooms! I love that color. Do you have it planted in the ground? Have you tried the new Miracle Grow? I haven't because I still plenty of fertilizer left over from last year, but I've read good reports about the inclusion of micronutrients into the new Miracle Grow.

Try mulching the bed with 2" - 4" of a mulch, such as pine needle mulch, that can be turned into the soil in the fall. The mulch will help keep the top soil from drying out too fast. It will also allow you to cut down on the daily watering in favor of deeper infrequent watering. You might give SuperThrive a try. It is not a fertilizer, but it stimulates the formation of roots.

HUMMMM! YA nothing like shooting yourself in the foot, and being green!!! LOL

I have my Boug in a pot on the north facing porch right now. I keep it in the same pot, so it has to be a little root bound I would think!

As far as the Miracle-Gro goes I just got a new box a few days ago, but I have been using then same old box for at least 1 year! LOL That shows how much my house plants have not been getting attention! LOL

Well I will see if I can find some mulch. The only mulch I have seen looks like wood chips, or shavings. I have not added any because I was told that the Snaps and Cleosia reseed themselves, and i htought having mulch would stop that from happening. And then would not spread.

I also am wondering if the soil I got is just bad! I have had weeds try and pop up really bad almost daily it seems but I know it is more like weekly!

We went to NM for Fathers day to see my Father and when we got back I was SOO imbearassed how many weeds had grown! I literally pulled 1 trash bag (30 Gallon) out! We call them pig weeds, they pull out super easy and the leaf looks like my Dahlia's do! LOL There where a few dandylions, vineweed and something else trying to come up too!

Therefore, I have wondered if I should just dig everything up and redue the dirt!! Or redue the dirt around the plants at least!

As far as watering goes if I don't do it every night then the start o wilt and dye! SO I just water! Besides now that we are staying in the high 80's to 90's I really should water the grass every night too! LOL

I will see it I can find some SuperThrive for the roots!

It surely wouldn't hurt to mulch, it will keep you bed moist and improve the soil.

Your bed looks very good for your area. I know it is brutal up there. Pine needles won't be available to you , but you can use a light coating of organic mulch that will hold the moisture in and it will breakup when you mix up your soil next year. You might read some of the articles on Gardens.com (link at the bottom of this page). Frostweed has one on composting there I believe.
When you get ready for some seeds in the fall, I am sure you will only have to mention it and you will be offered what you want just for postage. DGer's are generous!
Also, if you stick with more of the native flowers, you will have better results too. I am still learning that lesson!!
Good luck!

This message was edited Jun 24, 2007 9:46 PM

I'm definitely with Josephine....I would add a good layer of mulch, plus it will break down and add nutrients to your soil......I also agree with Sheila.....you can't beat Texas natives for their tough hardiness and drought resistance...as well as their charming beauty... :)

Melanie

Before I could answer, I saw most of what I was going to say already said (smile).

My first thoughts were: incorporate some good soil* and mulch!! Your question about reseeding plants on mulch... the seeds will get down where they need to be and will be able to come up next spring. You'll mulch this fall again anyway... And I've been told that seeds that come through all that (and they will) will be stronger plants because of it.

* I personally use a garden klaw every time I plant. I get some good rich composted peat, mix it into the soil where I'm going to plant, dig my 'hole' and drop in a little Osmocote, put my plant in (and if it's a little dry in the hole, I add a little 'brew' before I put my plant in). Then I surround my newly planted with the good rich soil and top it with good mulch (love cedar mulch b/c it keeps most bugs out and termites don't like it).

BUT... since you don't have a garden klaw, I would suggest using one of those hand held rakes (called a cultivator, isn't it?) and hand mix (as deeply as possible) some good stuff with your soil... like bettydee said... mix in your native soil with your purchased stuff. The better the mix, the better your plants' chances.

My 'brew' is either Miracle Gro or fish emulsion, but I also have used Schultz's--mixed in my watering can. These can do wonders. When we have a particularly sad looking garden, we hook up the hose end sprayer and hit it with a mixture, and even add a little dish detergent for good measure. Soap and water also washes off any nasty little bugs you can barely see. You can mist individual plants with a soapy mixture if you see they have been eaten on.

Sounds like you could use a little of the sand we have here to mix in your soil too! (smile)

Hope some of this helps.

Oh shoot! Meant to add my vote for the native Texas plants. Excellent idea. Look around your area and see what's growing nicely in the natural settings. Ask around (and I don't mean at Lowe's or Wal-Mart--they sell plants imported from Colorado and the likes!), especially your county extension office. LOTS of great info there!

Keep in mind, they will not likely need your "amended" soil to fit it... tried to explain this before my MIL put all kinds of cactus and aloe into her "rich mix" ~ rescued them and stuck them back in the dryer sandy soil and they've perked up.