Plant of the month: Coleus

I must admit, between the rain, the heat, and traveling, I can't remember the last time I really worked in my garden (outside of watering, of course). Fortunately, all the rain we've had has kept my plants happy, at least. If I catch a break from the rain this weekend, I need to pull out some weeds that have also flourished with the extra water.

When I worked at Bellingrath Gardens in Mobile, AL, as a summer intern, they had an extensive coleus collection. The horticulture director had a particular fondness for these widely-varied plants and, since they root quite easily, he took cuttings every time he saw a new variety. That was when I realized how many unique and beautiful coleus hybrids there are.

The hybrid wasn't labelled when I bought my coleus, so
I'm not sure which kind it is. 'Wasabi', perhaps?

I bought this chartreuse coleus plant in April when it was just a little guy to fill in a temporary hole while I waited for my hydrangeas to fill out. A couple of months later, that little coleus is over 2 feet tall! It's actually slightly taller than my hydrangea next to it. I love how it brightens up this shady flower bed, even from a distance.

Coleus' foliage colors range from burgundy to green to yellow, depending on the hybrid. Leaf shape and texture range from smooth to ruffled. No matter your tastes, you're sure to find a coleus hybrid that pleases you. As they mature, they get flower spikes (usually tiny blue flowers), but most people prefer to cut off the flower spikes before they develop to keep the plant full and bushy. 

Coleus can be planted in the garden (like I did), or it can make a nice accent in a container planting with other flowers. If you're concerned about size, there are many varieties that don't grow as large as mine. Coleus mostly prefer some shade, but many newer varieties like full sun. Since it does like shade, it works well for patios and balconies (which are usually pretty shady). Coleus prefer a lot of water, but they're pretty tolerant. If it wilts, water it, and it will bounce right back.

The best part of coleus for the South is that it loves the heat. In subtropical climates like South Florida and Mobile, it can be grown as a perennial, but elsewhere it makes a great summer annual (it doesn't tolerate freezing temperatures). Since it roots so easily, I'll probably take a cutting in late fall and grow it on my windowsill to preserve it over the winter. You can root coleus just by sticking a cutting in a glass of water.

What are some of your favorite annuals?

Vegetable Garden Progress Report

I find it interesting that when I tell people in Macon I'm planting a garden, many of them assume I'm referring to a vegetable garden. For some people, that's the only kind of gardening worth spending time on. So this post is for all my vegetable gardening friends.

Since this is my first serious attempt at vegetable gardening in many years (and first major attempt in Georgia), it's sort of like an experiment for me. I planted a little of everything to see what worked and what didn't. It's been two months now, so I thought it was a good time to take stock of my garden's progress.

My vegetable garden on April 30, May 16, and June 12.

What's worked:

1. Bush beans. We got our first crop of beans this week. They came out slightly fuzzy, but otherwise tasty.

Our first bush bean harvest.

2. Cherry tomatoes. One of my cherry tomato plants has reached 6-7 feet tall. The other is almost 5 feet. They're full of little green fruit. The 'Rutgers' are chugging along. I've been removing all side shoots and tying it up to our homemade trellis. Can't speak to the harvest yet, but it's certainly resulted in really large plants.

3.  The cage. The cage my husband built to keep furry pests out of my garden has remained sturdy and mostly in place in spite of our doubts. Now I can watch the deer grazing in my backyard without wondering if they're going to devour my beans. It's also prevented squirrels from unintentionally digging up my carrots (they continue to dig around the tomatoes, but those plants are sturdy enough that they're unaffected).

Our cage doesn't look like much, but it keeps the larger
pests out.

4. Naturally pest-free. I haven't had any noticeable disease or insect problems yet. I like to attribute some of my good fortune to my feathered friends; I give them seed, and they hang around to supplement their diet with insects. Also, the surrounding woods have given us an abundance of ladybugs to take care of any aphids that appear (I should know, the ladybugs were hibernating in my house over the winter). I attribute the lack of disease to the fresh soil mix I used and to the lack of nearby plants to introduce diseases (my vegetable bed is off in a corner by itself). Also, fewer insects=fewer diseases.

What needs improvement: 

1. Radishes. The radishes sprouted and matured but never really developed into edible radishes. Apparently they like a lot of water. I did not give them a lot of water.

2. Number of bean plants. I should have planted more beans. I will only get about one meal's worth of beans out of these plants (enough for me and my husband), and then they'll stop producing. I planted 8 bush bean plants this year. I'll probably do 16 next year, perhaps staggered (8 to start, 8 more 2 weeks later).

The bush beans and onions are competing for space.

What's still in progress:

Everything else looks healthy. The carrots, onions, okra, zinnia, sunflower, and bell pepper plants are growing slowly. The jalapeño plant has tiny fruit on it.

A couple of jalapenos are almost ready to pick.

If you have a vegetable garden, I'd love to hear about it! There are plenty of things I haven't tried yet--like squash and cucumbers. And I have yet to see whether I'll get a good crop from most of my plants, so I'm open to suggestions. What are you growing? What's worked? What hasn't?

5 Tips for Watering Your Plants This Summer

It's officially summer here in Georgia. Temperatures have reached the 90s, and both my hydrangeas and Flower Carpet roses have started blooming.

Clockwise from top: Hydrangea (variety unknown), 'Flower Carpet
Pink Supreme' rose, oakleaf hydrangea, and 'Twist n' Shout' hydrangea

The summer heat means it's time to turn our attention to watering. Lack of water (or sometimes too much water) is one of the leading causes of plant death. I've killed more plants than I can count simply because I went out of town for a long weekend in July, left my plants out on the balcony, and didn't get a plant sitter. (Fortunately I have two excellent plant sitters now, so my garden is in safe hands when I travel.)

Here are some tips for properly watering your garden this summer:

1. Water your flowers and and herbs after the top inch of soil has dried out. Just stick your finger in the soil to determine if it needs to be watered. Of course, some plants (like impatiens) like more water and others (like verbena) like less, so it always helps to know the specific needs of your plant.

2. If you can, water early in the morning. This practice has a couple of benefits. For one, you reduce plant diseases. If you water late in the day, water on the leaves doesn't have time to evaporate and just sits overnight. Wet leaves are the perfect breeding ground for fungus. Secondly, if you're using a sprinkler, you waste less water. If you water in the heat of the afternoon, much of the water evaporates before it reaches your plants.

3. Don't let your vegetable plants dry out. Lettuce, radishes, bell peppers, beans...they all like constant moisture for the best harvest. Hot peppers are one exception--they like to dry out between waterings. Be careful with overwatering your carrots and tomatoes as it gets closer to harvest--a sudden influx of water will cause the carrot or tomato fruit to split.

4. Give your lawn an inch of water a week. Some weeks they may get this from rainfall, other weeks you'll need to put a sprinkler out. You can get a container like a soup can and mark one inch from the bottom with a permanent marker to make a cheap rain gauge. Leave it outside, and if rain hasn't filled your can to the line by the weekend, water your lawn until it does reach the one-inch mark.

5. If you planted any trees or shrubs this spring, they also need an inch of water per week. Make sure they get regular water through the hot summer and into fall. Established trees and shrubs will benefit from extra watering during a drought, but otherwise can be left alone.

Happy gardening! What's blooming in your garden this month?