Category Flowering

You may be one of those fortunate souls who has stored their dahlia roots year after year with little loss. The fact is, though, many roots are lost each winter by rot and excessive shriveling followed by decay.Driving along the country roads in the fall where the open places reveal the dahlia plants, a number of these tell a story.

Question: What is the best time and method to cut Dahlia flowers and keep them fresh? B Gibson, SCThe below answers are reader responses to the above question.Answer 1:No dahlia should be cut that is not fully matured. Young blooms that are not fully matured usually will not last as long as the older blooms if placed together under the same conditions.

The lovely Bouvardia flower boo-VAR-dee-uh is a compact, shrub-like plant producing gorgeous trumpet-shaped blooms.It is a late bloomer with white, red, hot pink, or yellow flowers depending on the variety. It makes an excellent option for adding a little color to your porch in the late fall.Bouvardia is named after Charles Bouvard (1572 -1658), superintendent at the Paris, Jardin du Roin.

Abutilon megapotamicum a-BEW-tih-lon meg-uh-poh-TAM-ih-kum aka flowering maples are graceful, fast-growing plants with trailing stems.It often blooms throughout a large portion of the year, offering extra color from spring to fall and possibly winter.It is frequently referred to as the flowering maple.

The Himalayan Blue Poppy is part of the plant genus Meconopsis mee-koh-NOP-sis consisting of a little over forty species of flowering plants.One of the most popular species is the Meconopsis Betonicifolia, commonly called the “Asiatic poppy.” Depending on the variety of this species, it’s also sometimes known by the following names:Tibetan poppyHimalayan blue poppyBlue poppyThe name “meconopsis” means “looks like a poppy” in Greek.

When great-grandma grew flowers one or two varieties of hardy chrysanthemums were about all she had. There just weren’t many varieties for her to select from.Plus she had to protect them like a new baby because they bloomed so late in the fall they often were killed by an early hard freeze.How different it is today!

Scaevola pronounced skee-VO-luh) is a genus of flowering plants from the family Goodeniaceae with over 130 species to its name.The plants in this genus are Polynesia and Australian natives.Robert Brown (1773–1858), named the species Scaevola aemula, after the Roman soldier Gaius Mucius.The story goes that Gaius was so brave he burned his right hand off to demonstrate his bravery.

Dahlias may be grown either from seed or roots, the former method taking about two weeks longer. The several varieties available are, the Cactus Dahlia, the formal and informal decorative varieties, the single-flowered varieties, and the miniature varieties.Dahlia varieties have blossoms in many bright colors such as yellow, crimson, orange, and lavender.

Doronicum (dor-ON-ih-kum) – leopards bane is a deciduous, spring-blooming perennial that grows from tubers or rhizomes. This herbaceous perennial flower is also known as:Caucasian Leopard’s BanePlantain Leopard’s BaneGreat Leopard’s BaneThe Leopard’s Bane plant is a member of the Asteraceae family and hails from Europe.

The Ornamental Allium – They’ve been called the “Aristocrats For The Garden.”Many gardeners across the country are beginning to show interest in ornamental onions (Alliums).These mostly strong-smelling plants, belong to the genus that includes onions.In spite of their showy blooms and the pleasing form of growth in some species, these bulbous allium plants have long been undeservedly neglected.

Few cultivated plants require so little care to insure successful bloom as the hardy perennial phlox.The ease with which it may be grown, its sturdiness and hardiness, the length of its blooming period, and the great variety and beauty of garden phlox flowers are factors which commend it for our gardens.

Helianthemum nummularium hee-lee-AN-thee-mum, num-ew-LAH-ree-um commonly known as rock rose belongs to the Cistaceae family.Another common name of the plant “flower of the sun” comes from Greek words helios meaning “the sun” and anthemon meaning “a flower.”Besides the beautiful showy flowers, the plant is loved for its charming green-grey evergreen foliage which looks stunning among other flowering plants.

Isotoma axillaris ( Eye-SOT-oh-muh ax-ILL-ar-iss) is an Australian and New Zealand native.It does very well in warm climates in USDA hardiness zones 10 – 11. It grows as a perennial but does well in cool climates when grown as an annual.Isotoma axillaris is also known as Laurentia (law-REN-tee-uh) and also Solenopsis (sol-en-OP-sis) axillaris.

Commonly known as the Stock flower, Matthiola ma-the-OH-la is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Brassicaceae or mustard family.The genus is native to southern Europe, from the Balearics to the former Yugoslavia.However, it has been introduced and naturalized to the western part of the Mediterranean region.

Very often, the common names of plants are used to express action.For example, there is creeping gloxinia, trailing coleus, Johnny-jump-ups, bouncing Bet, wandering Jew, squirting cucumber, and walking iris – often referred to as the apostle iris or apostle plant.The name “apostle plant” was derived from the number of leaves in a fan, which is usually 12.

From the mustard family, Brassicaceae comes the Dames Rocket better known as Hesperis matronalis HES-per-iss, mah-tro-NAH-lis a herbaceous biennial flowering species.The flower’s scientific name comes from a Greek-derived genus name, which means “the evening” – reference to the evening fragrant flowers.

Shade flowers we love them, and it’s good to have a cool and shady setting around your home.However, shade can present challenges if you love to grow flowers and other types of plants.Luckily, there are quite a few shade-loving flowering plants which do well even on the north side of your house.Many produce not only beautiful flowers but also have lovely variegated foliage.

The Echium plant ECH-ee-um has around 70 different species and subspecies. The flowering plant belongs to the family Boraginaceae which includes:Heliotropium arborescensBrunnera macrophylla – Siberian buglossNemophila Menziesii – baby blue eyesThey are native to mainland Europe and Central Asia, the Macaronesian islands, and North Africa.

Dendromecon Rigida den-droh-MEE-kon RIG-ih-duh is an evergreen shrub requiring plenty of space.Rigida produces large blooms of yellow flowers in the spring and summer.You’ll probably see Rigida labeled as the common names:Bush poppyTree poppyIsland bush poppyIt’s one of the larger species in the Papaveraceae family, better known as the poppy family.

Stylophorum diphyllum sty-loh-FOR-um, dy-FIL-um is a wildflower native to Eastern North America, including Ontario and the eastern United States.It’s part of the Papaveraceae (poppy) family and often found growing in woodlands or near streams with a lot of shade from other plants.Stylophorum diphyllum is commonly called the woods poppy or celandine poppy.