Author: sparky

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Encore Azalea’s Online Magazine

Autumn Cheerâ„¢ (Rhododendron Hybrid)
Autumn Cheerâ„¢ (Rhododendron Hybrid)

If you have bought Encore Azaleas, the only patented azalea that is said to bloom not only in the spring, but also in the summer and the fall, instead of contacting TheGardenLady with questions about those azaleas, EncoreAzalea now has an online digital/web magazine that answers all questions related to the Encore Azalea. Check out the site for the advice and information about the Encore Azalea.

Autumn Twistâ„¢ (Rhododendron Hybrid)
Autumn Twistâ„¢ (Rhododendron Hybrid)

Encore Azalea® has launched a new digital magazine that offers gardeners insight into all things related to Encore Azaleas, from planting tips and regional care to spacing suggestions.

Novice and master gardeners alike will enjoy the photos and articles while taking advantage of the easy care tips found in “Blooms.” The digital magazine can be viewed and downloaded here.

“Blooms” also features advice from Robert E. “Buddy” Lee, the inventor of Encore Azaleas and a well-known plant breeder. Lee offers his tips and techniques on soil amendment, planting, mulching, watering, and pruning.

Buddy’s care instructions are also available in Quicktime, or Windows Media format, or as an iTunes podcast. To download these easy-to-use files, visit EncoreAzalea and click the icon on the bottom of the home page.

Best regards,

From your friends at Encore Azalea®

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Lori Rubel’s Georgia Vines

TheGardenLady likes to write about nurseries or gardens that sell interesting plants; and if these places can save readers money in this economy, that is an added bonus. One such gardening resource is Georgia Vines What is unique about Georgia Vines is that their emphasis is on selling vines- and many of these vines are very unusual.

The owner of Georgia Vines is Lori Rubel who says that her passion is vines. She said that because she only had an ” urban backyard to work with, I decided many years ago to collect vines because I could grow them vertically and save room.” When Lori moved to Georgia from her home in upstate NY, she discovered “Passiflora- which is something that I could have never grown in upstate NY.” The more vines she got, the more she found were available. ” Lori says that she now has a large collection of about 140 different types of vines. Lori, who loves beauty, became interested in rare and unusual vines as well as other unusual plants. On her website she says “This is my garden of vines, angel trumpets, butterfly plants, and just about everything beautiful and unusual that I am able to find and plant.”

Because all gardeners love to share their passion with others, a couple of years ago Lori was encouraged by her grown sons to set up a website and share the vines and her passion and knowledge of vines with others.

And what makes Lori’s Georgia Vines a place to save money is that she sells many of the vines and plants as seeds but does NOT charge for postage anywhere in the US. (She does have a small international postage fee.) And many of the potted plants have no postage charge.

If you fall in love with any of the rare plants on the Georgia Vines site and want to order them, be sure that the plants will grow in your area (see here).

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Encore Azalea – Possible Cold Damage

12-20-08 - Encore azalea by jennymunro (on flickr)
12-20-08 - Encore azalea by jennymunro (on flickr)

TheGardenLady received the following question about Encore Azaleas.

We live in Belews Creek North Carolina. We planted 3 Encore Azaleas last spring, they bloomed all summer and fall, they lost their leaves in the winter and now we have no leaves, or buds. The limbs are bare but green, I have cut several and checked for dead signs but have found only green. This is spring and was looking foward to seeing their flowers. Any help will be appreciated.

Here is the answer from Encore Azaleas.

Cold damage can take a while to show up, causing the bark to split which interrupts the transport of water and nutrients throughout the shrub. Loss of foliage, especially during extremely cold weather, may occur, but doesn’t necessarily mean that the shrubs won’t bounce back.

If you have not already fertilized this spring, use a slow release granular fertilizer that is right for your area. Make sure the mix is well-balanced – the three numbers on the packaging are the same or similar. These numbers indicate the amount of nitrogen (promotes plant growth and for foliage), phosphorus (promotes blooms), and potassium (strengthens roots and stems). If your fertilizer contains more nitrogen than phosphorus, your azaleas will concentrate on growing rather than blooming.

Cold Hardiness
In a recently completed three-year cold hardiness study undertaken by the University of Tennessee, 19 of the 23 varieties of Encore Azaleas trialed in USDA Zone 6 demonstrated positive results.

Five varieties (Autumn AmethystTM, Autumn CheerTM, Autumn RoyaltyTM, and Autumn RubyTM and Autumn TwistTM) consistently exhibited solid cold hardiness throughout Zone 6A.

Autumn Sangria and Autumn Sweetheart showed success in protected locations in Zone 6A.

In Zone 6B, 18 varieties consistently exhibited solid cold hardiness:
Autumn AmethystTM, Autumn AngelTM, Autumn CarnationTM, Autumn CarnivalTM, Autumn CheerTM, Autumn ChiffonTM, Autumn DebutanteTM, Autumn EmbersTM, Autumn EmpressTM, Autumn MonarchTM, Autumn PrincessTM, Autumn RougeTM, Autumn RoyaltyTM, Autumn RubyTM, Autumn SangriaTM, Autumn SunsetTM, Autumn SweetheartTM, Autumn TwistTM (Autumn BelleTM, Autumn MoonlightTM, Autumn SundanceTM were not trialed.)

As your Encores mature and get more established in their environment, they will be better able to withstand cold temperatures. Young plants are more susceptible to sudden, drastic drops in temperatures, and sustained cold weather (25 degrees or below).

Cold Protection
Mulch well (about 4 inches deep) in the fall. Reduce water for a month or so before the first frost. Then, after a couple of hard freezes, water well to provide moisture. This will help the plants to go dormant, or “harden off”.

As you would with any outdoor ornamental plants, Encore Azaleas may need some extra protection during sudden freezes and extremely cold weather. Sudden, drastic drops in temperature are more damaging than a gradual decline, especially to newly planted shrubs.

Burlap, old blankets, or sheets (any cloth material) can be used to cover upper plants. It is recommended that you drive stakes in the ground around your Encore and drape the cloth cover over stakes. Foliage in contact with the cover can be injured, so try to minimize cover contact with plant.

I hope you find this information helpful; keep me posted on your progress and let me know if you have any other questions or concerns.

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The Western Painted Lady Butterfly

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A reader of TheGardenLady blog wrote this column about an exciting happening in California on Sat., March 28, 2009.

If we were questioning the calendar, residents in the Bay Area of California knew for certain that Spring had arrived on Saturday, March 28. By late morning, it was well into the 70s and supposedly some thermometers hit low-80s mid-day. The balmy weather, blue skies, and gentle breeze sparked our mass exodus from behind TVs to local parks where all were eager to hit the hiking trails on the East Bay hills. But aside from the hoards of people on the trails, it was for the most part a typical day; while unseasonably warm it was the kind of day that we Northern Californians expect for the next 8 months.

Continue reading “The Western Painted Lady Butterfly”

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The Good Ant

Ant, Head-On 2 by The Bald Eagle1 (on flickr)
Ant, Head-On 2 by The Bald Eagle1 (on flickr)

TheGardenLady received an excellent comment from someone named the GartenGrl.  On this post about Terro Liquid Ant Baits she pointed out the following:

Just remember your peonies need ants to bloom…so don’t put it near your peony bushes or you won’t get any flowers this year!

Ants do have value in the greater scheme of things. And as you point
out, peonies have a need of ants for the plant to flower.  As this quote suggests, ants are extremely important for our environment.

In many ways ants are our friends and allies, and we need them. In China, ants have been used for thousands of years to help control pests in orchards, making them the first insects known to be used for biological control. Ants actually help control pests that we haven’t always been very successful controlling on our own. Both indoors and out, they eat the eggs and larvae of fleas, flies, spiders, bed bugs, and probably silverfish and clothes moths. They also go after cockroaches and other bugs. In addition, ants patrol the perimeters of our houses and keep termites, their mortal enemies, from establishing colonies in our homes. If we let them do their job, that is. Ants are also scavengers that clean out lots of debris. The earth would be a
dirtier place if we didn’t have ants.

TheGardenLady should have suggested using ant traps only where a person doesn’t want them in the house. She appreciates GartenGrl’s comment.

Keep reading the blog and keep comments like this coming.

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The Nature of Glass: Chihuly Exhibit at Desert Botanical Garden outside Scottsdale

scottsdale-2009-152

TheGardenGirls – two 7th grade girls, one of whom is the granddaughter of TheGardenLady – were in Scottsdale over Spring Break.  They decided they were going to be photojournalists when they visited the Desert Botanical Garden, which is hosting an exhibit by the world famous glass  artist Dale Chihuly.  The exhibit lasts until May 31st of 2009.  You definitely shouldn’t miss it.  It’s wonderful.

You can visit Chihuly’s site here.  Before you go please check out TheGardenGirls’ photos here, and let them know what you think.   Just click on a photo and it will enlarge.

scottsdale-2009-201


Continue reading “The Nature of Glass: Chihuly Exhibit at Desert Botanical Garden outside Scottsdale”

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Submitting an Article to TheGardenLady

Agnes Nyanhongo 2002 Sharing the Wisdom by hanneorla
Agnes Nyanhongo 2002 'Sharing the Wisdom' by hanneorla

TheGardenLady would love to consider featuring your articles on gardening.   So if you’ve written an article on gardening or would like to write one, click on the link on the top of this page that says ‘Ask The Garden Lady!’ and fill out the form.  You will be asked to give the following information:

For submitting a link to your article, please include:

* Post title
* Post URL
* Blog URL
* 2-3 sentence description of your post

For a guest article, please include:

* the article
* your correct email address if I need to contact you

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eGardeners Place

Because of the economy, everyone wants to save money. TheGardenLady
is no exception. As TheGardenLady learns about money saving tips, she will be letting her readers know about them. One way to save money is on shipping expenses. For example, if the reader wants to buy seeds from more than one catalog, the reader would have to spend different shipping charges. These mailing charges can add up. But there is a website where one can save on shipping charges. It is called the eGardeners Place.  Here you can shop from 9 different catalogs and pay only 1 shipping fee!

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Russell Wholesale Gardens

In 2007 TheGardenLady had written an article entitled “Tip: A Great Nursery to Buy Perennial Plants and Herbs.” Now there is an update on this excellent nursery. Russell Wholesale Gardens has just put out their own website. Many of their plant descriptions are online so that “current customers can now submit orders online if they want.” There is an excellent Reference section so that gardeners can choose plants for specific locations. There are lists of perennials and herbs. Russells give you their phone number so that you can contact them and get directions to go there.  If you want to email them go here.