Category Archives: flowers

Winter Sowing Snapdragons

Posted on January 10, 2025 | 2 comments

This year I am winter sowing snapdragons (Antirrhinum majus), which are annuals that prefer to bloom in the cool spring season. Easy to grow from seed, snapdragons have been bred extensively. There are cultivars with traditional “snap” flowers, open-faced flowers, or double flowers in all colors except for blue. There are dwarfs (6-15 inches), intermediate (15-30 inches), and tall snapdragons (30-48 inches) as well as trailing varieties. These plants are very versatile. They can be grown in rock gardens, containers, hanging baskets, or in the garden.

Snapdragons need full sun and moist but well drained soil high in organic matter. Although they are known for blooming in the spring, if kept watered in the summer and deadheaded, they could bloom again.

Madame Butterfly is an excellent cut flower type and a 1970 All-America Selections Flower Winner

I winter sow snapdragons for several reasons: 1) starting from seed provides a wider range of varieties; 2) starting from seed is cheaper; and 3) winter sowing gives me a jump on the spring season.

In early spring, I will open up the milk jug and transplant the seedlings into the garden. They can take a light frost.

Snapdragons make an excellent cut flower. They need to be deadheaded to encourage a long blooming period. The florets start opening at the bottom of the flower spike first so remove those spent flowers first. Or just cut the entire flower head when blooms are past their prime but cut at the base of the plant.

When cutting the flowers for the vase, cut when a few florets have opened at the bottom and the top buds are still closed. Cut the stem at the base, near the ground and strip off the lower leaves. Cut snapdragons last several weeks.

Try growing snapdragons in your garden this year for deer resistant, cool season flowers.

Snap Doubleshot Yellow Red Heart is a 2025 All-America Selections Ornamental Seed Winner

 

Bottom two photos are courtesy of All-America Selections.

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Color Your Cocktail with Butterfly Pea

Posted on December 22, 2024 | 1 comment

Often seen in cocktails on social media, butterfly pea plants (Clitoria ternatea) are vines that bloom beautiful pea-like flowers, about 2 inches wide. Typically, flowers are cobalt blue with a yellow inner strip. A member of the legume family (Fabaceae), the green leaves are similar to Kentucky coffee trees.

The flowers are also available in white,  lavender, and a pale light blue, single or double flower, but the cobalt blue is well-known in Asian countries. The flowers are dried and sold in bags, or in powdered form, or as an extract. A tea is made with the flowers, which can be brewed alone or with other herbs such as lemongrass, ginger, and mint.

When brewed with boiling water the tea is blue and can be drunk like an herbal tea. However, when an acid is added, such as lemon juice, the tea turns purple. When an alkaline liquid such as roselle tea is added, the tea turns red. Butterfly pea tea acts like a litmus strip, the color of the drink changes with the pH of what it is mixed with. This does not affect the taste but has transformed butterfly tea into a novelty cocktail drink. You will find lots of cocktail drinks made with the flowers on the internet. The blue flowers also are used to dye food such as custards, puddings, rice dishes, and sticky rice.

Butterfly pea is native to Africa. Here in Virginia it is grown as an annual which grows rapidly in the summer up a trellis or obelisk. As a member of the pea family, the plant fixates nitrogen, which is good for the soil. The vine can take full sun to light shade and is drought tolerant.

I have not seen the plant sold at local garden centers but you can order seeds online. It is relatively easy to grow from seed and once you have a mature plant, you can let some flowers go to seed to save the seed pods. Save the pods and split open when dried to reveal the seeds. Save the seeds to grow next year.

Here are a few online seed companies: Eden Brothers, Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds,  Park Seed, Strictly Medicinal Seeds, and Hudson Valley Seed Company. Include the butterfly pea with your 2025 seed order and try growing magical flowers!

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A Great Houseplant: Anthurium

Posted on November 25, 2024 | Leave a comment

When I was young, we lived in Thailand and my mother (who grew up in Milwaukee) would buy plants and orchids from the market. I remember one houseplant in particular. The beautiful flowers were so waxy they looked like they had been polished with furniture polish. The red flowers would last for months. We did not know the names of the plants but we enjoyed their exotic beauty. Now that I am older, I know the waxy plants are called anthuriums. Although I associate them with tropical Asian countries, they really hail from South America tropical environments.

Anthuriums are members of the Araceae or arum family. The “flower,” the red, heart-shaped part, is a modified leaf called a spathe. The actual flowers are tiny and appear in the center vertical structure called the spadix. The “flower” lasts a long time, making them ideal for cut flower arrangements.

As a houseplant, anthuriums can grow in low light conditions. However, the more light you can provide the more likely it will bloom throughout the year. It definitely does not like moist soil. Water when the soil is dry to the touch. Anthuriums are easy, low maintenance plants, perfect for the home and office.

Usually one sees red-flowering plants at the hardware store or nursery but pink, green and white, and purple colored cultivars are available. There is even a black flower cultivar called ‘Black Love‘. My plant was less than ten dollars at the local hardware store but it was very root bound in a 4-inch pot so check your plant’s roots after you purchase it.

Anthuriums are the perfect winter houseplant: the flowers last a long time and the plant has an exotic, year round appeal. Try growing this easy houseplant or purchase one as a hostess gift when you visit family and friends this year.

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Popcorn Lantana

Posted on October 18, 2024 | Leave a comment

Recently I visited the JC Raulston Arboretum in North Carolina and came across popcorn lantana (Lantana trifolia). This brought back memories. Years ago, Adrian Higgins, former Washington Post garden writer, wrote about this plant after he saw it at Green Spring Gardens in Alexandria, VA. I remember thinking at the time, what a unique plant!

Popcorn lantana is cousin to Lantana camara, the other lantana that is sold at local garden centers in the beginning of the summer. Treated as an annual, the flower colors of Lantana camara are “warm” — red, orange, or yellow. Popcorn lantana has lavender flowers with a random spot of yellow. Although the flowers are pretty, popcorn lantana is named for its “popcorn” like fruit. The flowers bloom along a 3-inch spike, first flowering at the bottom. After they bloom, they produce a small spherical fruit that looks like a purple metallic bead. Eventually, there are spikes of glossy purple beads.

These are full sun, drought resistant plants that prefer well drained soil. Butterflies love the flowers, and popcorns appear from late summer to fall. The entire plant can reach about 3 feet tall and wide. Like the other lantana plants, though, these are tender perennials, hardy to zone 10, so they will not survive our winters.

I looked online for a seed source but could not find any. I did find one plant source but since winter is approaching, I may purchase the plant next spring. If you know of a seed or plant source, please share in the comments section.

 

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Save Your Geraniums for Next Year

Posted on October 13, 2024 | 3 comments

Red geraniums in a large container in May

When my mother lived in Vienna, Virginia, she grew red geraniums in large containers by the front door. Every fall she would pull the plants out of the containers, knock off the excess soil, and place the plants on a shelf in the basement. There was one small window allowing very little light. The following summer, she would pot these up again outside and these plants would come back to life. She did this because her mother, who lived in Wisconsin, also saved geraniums in the fall. However, her mother had a sunny foyer so she would cut her plants back, repot them in smaller containers, and treat them as small indoor plants inside. Both methods worked well. Geraniums can take quite a bit of dryness which is what makes them ideal for overwintering.

If you are growing geraniums consider saving them for next year. Not everyone has a sunny foyer but most people in this area have a basement. For the basement method, this month, before frost, lift the plant out of the container. Shake the soil off and cut off diseased parts and the flowers. Let the plant dry for a few days in the shade so that excess moisture will evaporate. Then place the plant in a large paper bag and close with a binder clip.  Store the bag in the coolest place in the basement.

Periodically, check the plant to see if it is getting too dry or, conversely, moldy. If moldy, just cut and throw away those parts.  If too dry, soak the roots in water for a few hours and then dry and put back in the bag. Eventually, the foliage will die off but that is okay.  In the beginning of April, put the plant in a small container with drainage holes. It may look dead but water, warmth, and light should bring it back to life. Water the plant so water runs out of the drainage holes. Place the container in a room where it is warmer and lighter than the basement. This will trigger the plant to leaf out again. After the average last frost date (Mother’s Day in Virginia), put the container outside. Put it in shade first in order for it to acclimate to the increased sunlight. Gradually, move the container to a full sun location. You can either pot up the plant into a larger, ornamental container, pot up with other plants in a large container, or even plant in your garden for the summer.

If you have geraniums, now is the time to think about saving them so you can enjoy them again next summer. This method should enable you to enjoy your geraniums for many years to come.

Pink and red geraniums in the landscape in August

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Mandevilla or Dipladenia? What’s the Difference?

Posted on September 27, 2024 | 2 comments

Dipladenia ‘White Halo’ in my garden

In past years, I have grown Mandevilla plants but this year I have a Dipladenia growing in a container. I know the name is a mouthful, they have to come up with an easier name to pronounce, let alone spell. My Dipladenia is a Flordenia type which is supposed to be more floriferous, stronger branching, and heat and drought tolerant. I have White Halo which of course has white flowers.

Both Mandevilla and Dipladenia plants are popular tropical plants. They bloom all summer long in full sun, undaunted by dry spells.  The flowers are very similar, trumpet-shaped, in a range of white, pink, reds, yellow and even peach.

But there is one distinct difference between the two.

Mandevilla with hoya-like foliage

Mandevilla is a vining plant; it climbs up to the sunlight. You purchase it with the intent to cover an arbor, pergola, or obelisk. The stems and foliage remind me of a hoya plant (in fact, they are cousins). The leaves seem larger than the Dipladenia, pointed and glossy. However, if you purchased a Mandevilla and would like to grow it as a shrub, you can just prune it.

A Dipladenia is a shrub, it will not climb up a structure. This makes it perfect for containers and hanging baskets. The foliage is smaller, more compact, and more matte than glossy. The space between nodes (joints where leaves arise) is shorter than the Mandevilla. It is more of a slow grower while a Mandevilla will grow fast to cover a structure. Although they both have trumpet-shaped flowers, to me the Dipladenia flowers appear flatter with a shallow throat.

Dipladenia with compact foliage

Both are full sun, drought tolerant with no need to deadhead (the older I get the more important this is to me). They attract pollinators and are deer and rabbit resistant.

As fall approaches, they can be kept overwinter in order to plant in the garden the following year (these are not cheap plants). There are several ways to do this depending on the space and light in your house. You can root 4 to 6-inch stem cuttings and grow them inside as houseplants. You can give your plant a good trim in the fall, up to one half of the foliage to reduce transpiration, bring the plant in and place in a sunny, cool location and water less often. Or you can cut the foliage back severely, place the plant in a cool, dark place and stop watering. Let it go dormant for the winter but check on it so it does not dry out completely.

Don’t be surprised if containers of Mandevilla and Dipladenia get mixed up at the local garden centers. Most people do not recognize the difference. Regardless, they are great investments for constant summer blooms especially when we have dry summers such as this one.

Mandevilla

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Fall-Blooming Obedient Plant

Posted on September 12, 2024 | 1 comment
Obedient Plant

Obedient Plant

A familiar fall bloomer in this area is obedient plant (Physostegia virginiana). Thomas Jefferson grew these natives at Monticello, and George Washington had plantings at Mt. Vernon. Philadelphia plantsman John Bartram also grew them and sold them in his catalog.

Obedient plants are “passalong” plants, easily divided and shared.  My plants came from a friend who pulled a clump from her garden several years ago. My original plant has thrived and spread via rhizomes (underground stems) but only a few feet in the same garden bed. Not too much but just enough to provide extra plants to share and abundant flowers to cut for an arrangement.

These perennials prefer moist, well-drained soils in full sun. They are great for wildlife gardens, sunny meadow gardens, and rain gardens. The flowers of these deer-resistant plants attract bumblebees, butterflies, and hummingbirds.

The name “obedient” comes from the fact that if you twist the individual flowers, they stay in that new position for some time, hence they are “obedient.”

Obedient plants provide vertical interest and a wash of pink in the fall, when you least expect it.  I prefer the pink flowering variety, but there are obedient plants with white flowers (‘Alba’) and even green and white variegated leaves (‘Variegata’).

In the spring, the emerging stems are easy to identify. They are square shaped, a mint family characteristic, and they have chocolate brown, vertical strips running up and down the green stems. Being shallow-rooted, I can easily pull unwanted plants if I have to but could just as easily share with my gardening club. If unwanted growth is a concern, try ‘Miss Manners’ (white flowers) or ‘Pink Manners’ (pink flowers), both of which are known to maintain a clumping habit.

Hardy to zone 3, they are easy to grow and do not need fertilizing or deadheading. If you have friends who have these in their gardens, ask for a clump in the spring so you do not ruin the fall display. However, they are easy to find at local garden centers. Try growing this native plant in your garden for fall beauty.

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Monarda: Natives, Herbs, Beautiful Flowers and Pollinator Magnets

Posted on August 16, 2024 | Leave a comment

Monarda punctata

I have been on a Monarda kick lately. To me they have many facets: medicinal and culinary herb, pretty color, unusual flower structure, native plant, pollinator friendly, hummingbird favorite, etc., etc., etc. There are 17 species and two of the species, M. didyma and M. fistulosa, have been bred to produce many cultivars for the market. Usually, Monarda prefers moist soil in full sun to partial shade. Most are perennials that spread by rhizomes and can be “assertive” if given optimal conditions. M. didyma is more thuggish than the others.

Monarda didyma

Of all the species, M. didyma is most favored by hummingbirds because of the red, tubular flowers that are arranged in a whorl within a singular inflorescence. This plant was used by Native Americans for culinary and medicinal qualities. In fact, its common name, bee balm, comes from the practice of rubbing the foliage on the skin to alleviate the pain of bee stings. The foliage also can be used to make tea, hence its other common name, Oswego tea. In the 18th century, John Bartram, Philadelphia’s famed botanist, collected the seed in Oswego, New York. The leaves can either flavor a black tea or used as a substitute for traditional English tea, hence its popularity after the Boston tea party. I like using the red flowers to add color to a fruit salad.

Monarda fistulosa

I also planted M. fistulosa and it has thrived and multiplied. The inflorescence is similar to M. didyma but the tubular flowers are purple. My stand is about 3 feet tall. When it bloomed in early summer it provided a nice mass of purple color. This was not a hummingbird magnet, but butterflies liked it and the bees swarmed around the flowers. When the petals eventually fell off, the seed heads remained all summer long to the point that it looked like a different shrub altogether. M. fistulosa is called wild bergamot because its fragrance is similar to true bergamot (Citrus aurantium var. bergamia). Again, the leaves can be used to make tea or flavor a black tea plus the flowers are edible.

I purchased M. punctata (dotted bee balm) for its unique flower structure. The flower heads, which are more of a bleached green color, are stacked on top of each other, reminding me of the Dr. Seuss children’s books. This species is supposed to be resistant to powdery mildew. Powdery mildew is a fungal disease that creates a white/gray powdery coating on the foliage in summer and early fall. This does not kill the plants but makes them unsightly and of course it makes it impossible to harvest the leaves for tea.

Monarda bradburiana seedheads (in August)

Last year, I bought M. bradburiana (eastern bee balm) at a plant sale, simply because it was a monarda I had not heard of before. This year it bloomed small flowers and the entire plant remained compact, less than 2 feet tall. The seed heads have stayed on all summer long. It has tolerated this hot summer very well with no signs of powdery mildew.

Early in the spring this year, I purchased two small plants of Monarda austroappalachiana. These are Tennessee natives and are supposed to be white flowered, resistant to powdery mildew, and less than 2 feet tall. The plants have survived but not thrived during this very hot summer so it may be a year or two before I can enjoy their full glory.

Next year I will grow Monarda citriodora (lemon bergamot), which, unlike the others in this article, is an annual. It has stacked purple flower heads and is supposed to be resistant to powdery mildew. I have read that the scent is not really lemon but more like camphor. The leaves can be used for tea and the flowers can be used for dried floral arrangements.

Of course, there are many cultivars of M. didyma at the nurseries, including compact types.  As fall approaches, you may find monarda plants on sale as many garden centers need to move their inventory of perennials. Add these to your garden for their multiple uses!

Monarda citriodora

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Deformed Flowers? It May Be Aster Yellows

Posted on June 23, 2024 | Leave a comment

If you have noticed that your coneflowers (Echinacea) or black-eyed Susans (Rudbeckia) are looking strange, they may have “aster yellows” which is caused by a phytoplasma, a small bacterium. This is a disease that affects more than 300 species of plants, including asters, coneflowers, zinnias, marigolds, heleniums, and chrysanthemums. It also appears on vegetables such as garlic, lettuce, carrots, tomatoes, and celery.

Aster yellows is primarily transmitted via leafhoppers. Leafhoppers are small insects, only a few centimeters long, with wedge-shaped, brown, yellow, or green bodies. As the name suggests, they quickly hop from plant to plant. When a leafhopper feeds on a plant infected with aster yellows, the pathogen enters the leafhopper’s body and stays within for as long as that leafhopper lives. So as it feeds on plants and moves around from plant to plant, it spreads the phytoplasma thus spreading the disease. Once a plant is infected, if it is not removed, it remains a host plant — a source of phytoplasma for the rest of the plants in the garden.

Symptoms vary depending on the plant but in my garden, the flowers are grossly deformed. The flower heads are twisted and some are producing small tufts of green growth in the center of the flower. Some petals are too short or green–often there is more green than the color the flower should be. Once plants are infected, they should be removed from the garden. They cannot be cured.

The only thing you can do to prevent aster yellows is to remove and destroy diseased plants as soon as possible to prevent the spread, control weeds which may harbor the disease, and purchase ornamentals that are not as susceptible such as verbena, salvia, nicotiana, geraniums, impatiens, and cockscomb.

If your plant does look weird but you are not sure if it is because of aster yellows, take a clipping to a local plant clinic (usually at farmer’s markets or libraries) or ask your extension agent.

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Virginia Bluebell Season Is Almost Here!

Posted on March 14, 2024 | Leave a comment

Virginia bluebell season is around the corner so plan now to see carpets of this ephemeral wildflower here in Virginia. Although mid-April has been the peak time in the past, it may come earlier since we had such a mild winter. Here are a few places in Northern Virginia to view colonies of bluebells; some places are already reporting blossoms now in March.

Bluebells (Mertensia virginica) are synonymous with early spring. Their blue trumpet-shaped flowers bloom above the green foliage in deciduous woodlands before the trees leaf out. These perennials emerge early in the year, bloom for a few weeks in March or April, and then die back to become dormant in the summer. The plants like the moist soil of the forest, high in organic matter. They self-seed and create colonies which is why you will see carpets of blue in the parks below. If you look closely, you will see that the buds are pink opening up to blue but the overall effect is a blue haze. These are native wildflowers, but you can purchase the plants from nurseries.

Balls Bluff Regional Battlefield Park (Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority), Balls Bluff Road, Leesburg.

Bull Run Regional Park (Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority), 7700 Bull Run Drive, Centerville. This park has a Bluebell Trail just off the Bull Run Occoquan Trail near the Atlantis Waterpark.

Great Falls Park (National Park Service), 9200 Old Dominion Drive, McLean.

Manassas National Battlefield Park (National Park Service), 6511 Sudley Road, Manassas. Best view is from the Stone Bridge.

Merrimac Farm (Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries), 15014 Deepwood Lane, Nokesville. They have a free, family-oriented bluebell festival on Sunday, April 7 from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm.

Riverbend Park (Fairfax County Park Authority), 8700 Potomac Hills Street, Great Falls. Riverbend Park is celebrating bluebells on Saturday, April 6, 2024, from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm. There is a fee for attending this family event; however, the public can visit anytime to view the bluebells.

Scott’s Run Nature Preserve (Fairfax County Park Authority). 7400 Georgetown Park, McLean.

Turkey Run Park (National Park Service), George Washington Memorial Parkway, McLean.

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