Weekly Garden Tip

October 15, 2006

By Gene Joyner, Extension Agent
Palm Beach County Cooperative Extension Service

If you really love flowers, this is your time of year. Every retail garden center has a wide selection of bedding plants of all types and sizes and this is the season for installing them into your landscape. Many perennial favorites are available in large varieties and if you haven’t put flowers in before there’s no reason you can’t.

They do require a little bit more maintenance, but for small areas such as entrance ways or pool areas where you might want some beautiful hanging baskets or container plants it’s hard to beat bedding plants.

Some of the favorites you’ll see this time of year include impatiens, which come in a variety of colors, wax begonias, salvia, marigolds and colorful foliage, too, such as coleus or caladiums. Many flowers planted now will last well into the late spring months or even early summer before they have to be replaced with more heat resistant ones for summer.

You can find virtually any color of flower available if you look hard enough and many people do have favorite types they wish and use the same ones every year in their landscape design. If you don’t have a large outside area to grow bedding plants, they make excellent container plants for a screen room, pool area or inside the home close to a well lighted area.

Bedding plants do require light, frequent fertilization for maximum bloom production and depending on the type might require watering several times a week. Also some types do better in full sun while others will grow in rather dark locations. A good example of ones for shaded areas is impatiens. Nicknamed the shady lady it will grow as well under a heavily foliaged tree as out in open sunlight.

Some flowers that people like won’t be available for a few more weeks either. Things like geraniums typically don’t show up until the end of October or November and if you’re looking for those just be patient, they’ll be arriving at your favorite store soon.

If you’re new to the area or don’t have experience as to what types of flowers perform the best, you can get some helpful free advice from the Palm Beach County Extension office. They also have some printed publications on annuals and bedding plants that offers advice as to planting dates, heights of the plants and how long you can expect them to last before having to be replaced.

For advice over the telephone call the Extension Service during weekdays at 233-1750 in the north and central county area or 276-1260 in the south county area.