Coreopsis Early Sunrise (Tickseed)

This is a perennial that is near and dear to my heart.  When I first started selling plants at the farmers market it was definately my 'bread and butter' plant.   The thing I love about this plant (and is a big selling point with my customers) is the fact that you can keep this perennial blooming all season long.  Since perennials typically have specific and sometimes short blooming season, this is a big plus. 

The secret to keep it blooming is to cut the spent flower stems fairly deep - don't let them go to seed heads.  If you do this the plant will continue to use it's energy to reproduce and send up new flowers - if you don't cut the spent flower heads off the plant will use that energy to set seed heads.  A word of caution if you want new plants (and trust me you do, the typical life spand of a plant is 3 years) don't cut the spent flowers off in the fall, let those go to seed.  This will give you new plants that will shoot up the following spring.

There are a number of different varieties of Coreopsis - my favorite is Early Sunrise because it has a double bloom that makes a very showy plant.

GTOTM (Garden Tip Of The Month) - separating bearded Iris

Since Frank made a great comment regarding the mini bearded iris - now seems like a perfect time to talk on dividing bearded iris.  The best time to divide your bearded iris is in August, that will give them time enough to get establish and you will get plenty of blooms next spring. 

How do you know when it is time to divide them?  When your rhizomes become crowded and are growing on top of each other is a sure indication that they need to be separated.  Another indication is when you notice you are getting less and less blooms each year (you may have a ton of leaves but few blooms), this indicates that the plants are fighting for nutrients in their crowded environment and only produce foliage growth.

How to plant?  The most common mistake made with bearded iris is planting too deep. First make a 3" deep depression about 6" in diameter. In the center make a small, fist-sized mound of soil. The rhizome is placed on top of the mound so that 1/3 of the rhizome will be above the soil. Spread the roots out to support the plant, replace the soil, firmly pack around the roots to remove air pockets and water liberally. DO NOT plant bearded iris in a low area; they will not tolerate standing water. I would suggest 12 -14" as a good distance between rhizomes. This allows the new growth to fill the area between plants in about three to four years.  And then it is time to separate again.

Fertilize or not?  If your soil is rich in nutrients (a good mix of compose can accomplish this) there should be no need to fertilize.  If you soil has not been amended I would suggest a fertilizer low in nitrogen such as 6-10-10. Fertilizers high in nitrogen tend to cause bacterial rot and lush, but weak, foliage growth. When selecting fertilizers for irises, be sure that the 2nd and 3rd numbers are bigger than the 1st. These numbers stand for the amounts of phosphorus and potassium in the mixture. Phosphorus and potassium are the key nutrients in root and bloom production.

Autum Joy Sedum

A fool proof plant - drought tollerant, does well in poor soil and grows well in full sun, partial sun and a northern exposure.  This plant holds it shape well even during the winter - quite a sight when it is snow covered.  Blooms in the fall starting mid August through frost.  One of my biggest sellers at the market.  I
typically split the plant in early spring (early April) as soon as it shows signs of growing.  I dig the entire plant up and break it into chunks leaving a larger portion to replant as the 'mother' plant.  All the smaller plants are then potted for sale at the market.

Siloam Fairytale - mini daylily

Another Mini Daylily

Miniature cream-pink with orchid-purple eye. Very floriferous.

Blooms: Mid to late season.

Height: 18"

Zones: 3-10

Siloam Doodlebug - mini daylily

Another great plant for the front of a flowerbed

Miniature lemon-yellow with striking purple-red eye

Height: 18"

Bloom: Early to Mid season

Zones: 3-10

Dwarft Bearded Iris - yellow and wine

This small guy is great for the front of your beds.  Blooms very early in May.  The folage only reaches a hight of 6 inches but is very vigorious and multiplies quickly.  Very large blooms for a dwarft variety.

Condilla - delightful double gold daylily

This has always been a favorite of mine - large foilage and large beautiful double gold blooms.

Nanna Ballerina

A few years ago a good garden friend gave me a perennial, but she didn't know the name of it. Never to pass up a free plant I gladly accepted it. I searched for the identity of this perennial for well over a year and resorted to the fact that I would never know its identity. Even garden centers couldn't help me out!!  About a year ago(in growing seasons) I  visited the horticultural garden located on the University of Wisconsin campus. In itself this garden is a delight and a must see garden.  To my surprise, there it was in bloom and identified!! It has been referred to as similar to baby's breath  but slightly larger. It is a member of the achillea family. One word of caution, it is a fast grower but can be contained. Enjoy!

Mary Todd - daylily

A very showy large yellow flower.  For some reason I keep forgetting the name for this flower I can remember it's a famous lady - good thing Frank has a good memory.

Evening Primrose

I just had to include this plant in my blog.  It is a super seller at the Farmers Market - I have a ton available every year and I always sell out.  When it is blooming people will buy it even if they don't have a place for it - it is a bright sun yellow color that people can't resist.
You may recognize it under a different name - perhaps sundrop or pot-of-gold?  It is a very prolific plant and multiplies rapidly, however it is easy to maintain because the root system is very shallow allowing you to easily keep it under control using a hand trowel to did up excess plants.
It will grow well with all different sunlights - I even have some on the north side of the house where the leaves stay a dark green and it typically blooms a couple weeks later than the plants that are in full sun.  It's typical blooming season is mid to late June.
Last year I had some toward the front of the house and a neighbor's son came over and used his new star war sword and wacked the tops off.  No worry - I trimmed the broken tops off and much to my surprise they shot new leaves up and by the end of July I had new blooms.  So this year after my June blooms were done I cut the tops of...and sure enough by late July early August I had new blooms.  LOL live and learn!

Bonanza Daylily

Here is a great flower to use in a group.  It goes particularly well when planted inbetween a red and a yellow.  Since it is yellow with deep red ...it makes the 3 colors flow together smoothly.

GTOTM (Garden Tip of the Month) Gardening with Rodents!!!

With the days getting progressively shorter,and most perennials going to sleep for the upcoming winter one can look forward to the next gardening season in the upper midwest. Wait!!!! There is some gardening to be done yet this fall. Now is a perfect time to augment your spring landscape by planting a variety of spring flowering bulbs readily available at a variety of sources at this time of year. In fact on a recent Sunday afternoon I did just that. About two hours later I discovered that something had dug up the newly planted bulbs!!!. Thus the topic of this posting. To prevent this from happening to you, I recommend two tried and tested methods of preventing squirrels, chipmunk, and other animals from digging up your bulbs. 1) I place wire mesh over the planted area securing it with rocks, bricks or covering the ends with soil. Personally I like to use chicken wire. In the spring simply remove it as you see the growth poking through the soil. 2) Generously sprinkle cayenne pepper over the planted area. As the animals start to dig, the pepper will stick to their paws and they will lick the pepper off. While hot to the human taste, cayenne pepper has a bitter taste for animals. This will discourage them from staying in that area. I would interesting in hear about other tried and tested methods of dealing with this problem. Happy Gardening!!!

Bi-color Daylily - Pocomania

Pocomania is typically not one of my favorite daylilies. It is worth mentioning that it is very prolific and under the right circumstanses blooms a very long time. Last fall I put in a plant just below the down spot from the water gutter on the southwest corner of the house. It bloomed from late July through the first week of October. With that said plenty of sun and moisture make it one happy camper.

GTOTM (Garden Tip Of The Month) - pruning flowering bushes

Ever prune your over grown flowering bushes in the fall and then next spring you have no blooms (or very few)? Here is a rule of thumb - if you have bushes like Lilac or Forsythia that bloom early in the spring - the appropriate time to purne them is in the spring right after they are through blooming. If you prune them in the fall you cut off the new growth (from the current year) that produces the blooms the following spring.

Red Daylily - Wild Heart

If I haven't mentioned already I am particularly fond of Daylilies. I have quite an assortment of shapes and colors - but by far reds are my favorite. It took me a while before I could actually part with some of my reds and offer them for sale at the market, but once I did they sold like hot cakes. Here is one of my favorites called Wild Heart.

GTOTM (Garden Tip Of The Month)

Not sure this would qualify as a tip, but I am sure those of you that have flower beds are probably dreading going out at this time of year to clean up the bed. Forget it!
I never clean a flower bed in the fall. I let the natural folage act as a mulch for the plants over winter. Also being somewhat commercialized I want the plants that have seed heads to stay in the garden over winter. Seed heads mean you will have new plants popping up in the spring.

New plants = more plants to pot = more sales at the Farmers Market = more cash.

An even more important thing that a lot of people don't think about.....those extra seed heads provide a ton of food over winter for birds, squirrels and a number of other animals (some we don't even know about).

And if that hasn't convinced you.....some plants hold their shape well. The one that comes to mind most frequently is Autum Joy Sedum. It stands tall and proud over winter and if you have a group of them they are quite a scenic conversation piece when they are snow covered.

Last of the fall plantings

Peach Velvet

Burning Ember




A couple days ago the weather was nice - sunny and mid 60s, so I decided to plant the last 2 remaining potted daylilies. The one was Burning Ember that I had left over from this years farmers market, and the other was Peach Velvet that I accidentially dug up while weeding an older flower bed.

Here is a little about me to help you get a better picture of who I am and what makes me tick.

I live in the midwest - Dubuque Iowa. If you look at a map Dubuque is located along the Mississippi River right where the three states meet (IA/IL/WI). One bridge across the river goes to IL and the other to WI.

My passion in life is perennial plants. I have sold plants at the local farmers market for the last 12 years. This blog is intended to share information on that subject - I am truly hoping others will feel free to post information that they have learned from their experiences, as specific subjects come up.

Dubuque Iowa falls in the Plant Hardiness Zone 5, so my information will typically be geared to that zone.

The Garden Spot - the beginning

If you haven't already guess the theme and content of my blog will be centered on gardening and garden tips. Hope you enjoy and find it useful.