Christmas Sweet Peas
August is an important month in western gardens and, strangely enough, it’s a time when garden fever is low. Too much hot weather dampens gardening ardor but prudent gardeners take the time to keep their plots watered and cultivated. Next comes such routine jobs as starting seeds, pruning, cutting back, cleaning up of August pests and division of perennials.
Start Winter Color
In the milder parts of the Northwest, most parts of California and parts of Arizona it is possible to enjoy colorful plants during the winter if you start now. In the past, many people waited until October to prepare their winter gardens. Plant professionals know, however, that the warm weather remaining then is too short to allow flower buds to set.
Winter-blooming annuals need the next 80 to 90 days of steady warmth for proper growth. Along with this is the need for regular watering so that the seeds germinate properly. Some which can be started now for winter and early spring bloom include : snapdragons, poor man’s orchid, fairy primroses (Primula malacoides) pansies, violas, Iceland poppies, larkspur, bachelor buttons, for-get-me-nots, sweet alyssum, calendulas and linarias.
Winter Vegetables
This same advice also applies to those intending to raise their own vegetables this winter. Many root crops and greens can be enjoyed if started now. Here are some good bets: Swiss chard, broccoli, all members of the cabbage tribe, carrots, cress, lettuce, leeks, mustard, garden peas, radishes, spinach and turnips. Wait another 40 days in the hot areas and inland valleys before starting head lettuce; meanwhile grow leaf lettuce.
Christmas sweet peas are within range of all green-thumbers provided the seeds together with the different flowers for zone 10 are started now. The Northwest is too cold, so confine winter sweet peas to the area from San Francisco Bay south to Mexico. You can also try sweet peas along with zone 10 flowers in the famed sunny valley around Phoenix.
Colorful bouquets can be had if the sweet peas are grown in rich soil in a sunny location. Protect the young seedlings from birds. There are various screens available as well as small-meshed plastering wire. Another secret of colorful flowers is to start feeding the plants from the time they are six inches high with a 10-5-5 liquid fertilizer or other fertilizer high in nitrogen.
Can’t always get what you want, you can find what you need on flowers for zone 10. Drop by today at http://www.zone10.com/astilbe-bulbs.html.
