LEARNING THE LANGUAGE OF LOVE AND FLOWER "The Rose Knows"

  If you say it with roses on Valentine’s Day, are you sure of what you are actually saying?  Every rose color has its own special meaning expressing many different feelings and sentiments.  To speak the language of roses, remember these color clues:

Red Roses:  “I love you.” They also stand for respect or

courage.

White Roses:  “You’re heavenly.”  They also convey reverence and humility, innocence and purity, secrecy and silence.

Red and White Roses together:  Unity.

Yellow Roses:  Joy and gladness.

Yellow and Orange Roses mixed:  Passionate thoughts.

Red and Yellow Roses combined:  “Congratulations!”

Coral or Orange Roses:  Enthusiasm or desire.

Pink Roses:  Grace and gentility.  Use them to say:  “You’re lovely.”  Deep pink roses say “Thank you;” light pink conveys admiration.

Pink and White Roses together  “I love you still and always will.”

A Single Rose:  Perpetual love.

Sweetheart Roses:  “You’re sweet,” and hybrid tea roses say, “Ill remember you always.”

Pale Colors:  Friendship.  Send peach to a tennis partner, lavender to the neighbor who keeps your spare key.

Two Roses:  Taped or wired together to form a single stem, signal an engagement or coming marriage.

         

PLANTS ARE LIKE PEOPLE

      

 Every year when we put our gardens to bed and get ready for a new year, I think of all the similarities between plants and people.  Both respond to tender loving care.  I wonder if plants make New Year’s Resolutions?  I read somewhere that each American makes 1.9 New Year’s Resolutions.  If that is true around the world, think how many millions of people resolve to improve!  I wonder how many of those resolutions deal with losing weight, exercising more and smoking less.  We all want to be healthy, do things better and become better people.  Plants would probably resolve to produce more and help clean our environment.

 

   People depend on plants for nearly everything, including food, clothing and shelter.  Plants, like people, need nurturing to flourish.  This nurturing requires attention, vision, respect, opportunities and protection.  Nurturing plants requires a good understanding of the nature and potential of different species and the purpose for which a plant is cultivated – for flowers, foliage or fruit.  This aspect of nurturing a garden reminds us of our need to nurture our own bodies by means of good food, reasonable exercise, adequate water, proper rest, cleanliness, and fulfilling our own personal goals and inner nature.  We know we must weed out the influences in our lives that sap our energy and stunt our own growth.  We know we must supply new ideas, knowledge and creative stimulation, to fertilize our minds.  We know we must prune back excessive worries, unneeded products, and old habits so that we might renew ourselves and experience vital rebirth.  We see how a neglected plant withers and dies.  As we become more skilled at nurturing plants, we begin to apply these principles to our own bodies and minds.

Nurturing Is A Year Round Chore

        

         Yes, you can garden in the winter.  Actually, it is the best time for making plans, as well as viewing your landscape and making decisions about what wonderful effects you want to create in your garden next year.  When the leaves fall and the annual flowers are gone, you can see where a nice arbor or water feature might go.

 Assess your landscape for winter interest.  Does snow cling to evergreen branches?  Do seed heads from ornamental grasses and last year’s flowers dance in the wind?  Do the birds swoop in for a cocktail of fermented berries from the trees and shrubs?

 When the landscape looks like a black and white movie, count on conifers to colorize your world.  These cone-bearing evergreens have needles and come in all sizes, shapes and colors.  Yes, colors!  Consider the popular Colorado blue spruce, the gold thread-leaf Sawara Cypress, the orange golden eastern arborvitae.  Pines and junipers boast a paint store palette of greens, plus shades of blue, yellow and hints of red.  With some, the color varies by season.  With all, the color lasts year-long.

  Some broadleaf plants also are evergreens.  Boxwoods, Hollies, Rhododendrons and Wintercreeper (Euonymus) are options for color through winter.

   Ornamental grasses provide a terrific vertical element in summer and then take center stage in fall and winter.  Grasses offer structure, style and movement in the landscape.  They also vary in height, color and plume.

     Landscape plants should be pruned to maintain or reduce their size, to remove undesirable growth, to remove dead or damaged branches and to rejuvenate older plants to produce more vigorous foliage, flowers and fruits. In some cases, pruning is necessary to prevent damage to life and property.

   Late winter or early spring, before new growth begins, is generally considered the optimum time to prune most plants.  This is when the plant wounds heal quickly, without threat of insect or disease infection.  However, plants that bloom in early spring (before June 10), such as forsythia, magnolia and crabapples, should be pruned later after their blooms fade.  These early bloomers produce their flower buds on last year’s wood, so pruning early will remove many potential blooms.

        

Plant Talk

         I have been asked many times if talking to plants increase growth.  I don’t know but I think it helps to the growth of the person doing the talking.  Over the years we have learned the language of love and plants and what works with both of them.

         A new year is a new beginning, because it is one where people evaluate their lives, plan and resolve to take actions to make the attainment of happiness more real and possible.

         This is a good time to take our values more seriously, sow those seeds and values and provide the nutrients for your life and the joy that it can and should be.

Tom McNutt is a professor emeritus at The Ohio State University and a retired TV garden expert.

WINTER GARDENING

 A new year means a new garden season.  Weather you are growing houseplants indoors, feeding the birds, ordering seeds or shoveling snow, there is plenty of garden activities even in January. Keep the spirit of Christmas growing during the gray months of winter by watering the yuletide plants.  Amaryllis and Poinsettia need to be watered when the surface is dry to the touch.  Water the soil until it runs freely out of the drainage hole in the containers.  If a saucer is used, discard any water that collects in it.  Do not leave the plants standing in water.  Overly wet soils lack sufficient air, which results in root injury.

  Examine houseplants for signs of pests, focusing your attention on the new growth,

GREEN THUMBS AND GARDENING GIFTS

If holiday gift shopping makes you feel like a Grinch, don’t despair.  ‘Tis the season for giving, so why not give a gift that lasts all year, whether practical or just pretty, garden gifts aren’t just for dedicated gardeners. 

 A plant is a special gift that brings beauty to the home and to the heart as you help a living thing grow. Holiday plants might open the door to the enjoyment and pleasure of nurturing other plants indoors throughout the winter.  Just remember:  a green thumb is simply a positive state of mind.

 

 Indoor plants keep us in touch with nature and in a sense bring the outside in.  Working with living plants provides some new and exciting challenges, but by paying attention to a few simple details, it is possible for almost anyone to have beautiful indoor plants in winter – and year around.

 The secret to growing houseplants is providing the right conditions.  As much as today’s homes need plants, houses can be a hostile environment:  low light, desert-like dryness, heat, drafts and infrequent watering compensated by over-watering.

  If you have a holiday plant, the easy first step is to identify it.  Then learn light, watering, humidity, soil-type and fertilization requirements.  If you can meet these conditions, chances are good that the plant will flourish under your care.

 

 Typically, poinsettias reign at Christmas.  But, numerous other plants are highly desirable for indoors.  Look for cyclamen, kalanchoe, azalea, Christmas cactus, orchid or miniature rose.

 When buying, select plants that will grow in your environment.  Picking the right plants is easy; changing conditions in the home is not.

  If there are no bright, sunny windows, do not select plants requiring lots of light.  If the air is hot and dry during the winter, avoid plants requiring cool temperatures or high humidity.

 Select plants that appear to be insect and disease free. Check the undersides of the foliage and the axis of leaves for signs of insects or disease.  Select plants that look sturdy, clean, well-potted, shapely and well-covered with leaves.  Plants which have new flowers and leaf buds, along with young growth, are usually of superior quality.

NOVEMBER CHILL IS THE LAST CALL FOR WINTERIZING GARDENS

   Falling temperatures have reminded us that our time of illusion is over and winter will be here soon.  We don’t need to watch the nightly TV weather forecast to know that there is a chill in the air.  Plants feel it too and like people, need to bundle up for the winter.

 

    The first step is to clean up the total landscape.  Fallen leaves and twigs can become hazardous.  Lawn grasses need air and can’t thrive under a coating of wet leaves.  As leaves decay they create slippery spots on walks and patios, and those leaves can lead to falls.  (Another one of those reasons for the name of the season?) Keep garden litter raked up this month and throughout winter.  Discard any diseased leaves, but place healthy leaves in compost piles to decay over winter and provide excellent mulch in spring.

IT’S TIME TO FALL AHEAD

Just because summer is a fading memory, don’t let our green thumb rest.  Next year’s success begins right now.  So get busy and focus on three fall chores:  sanitation, pruning and planting.

                                                    Good Garden Sanitation 

GARDENERS SECOND CHANCE

            September is a second chance for gardeners to do all those things we didn’t get around to in the spring.  For an instant garden blast of color, fill your flowerbeds and empty spaces in your landscape with Chrysanthemums.  They come in a wide range of autumn colors from white, yellow and gold to bronze to maroon.  Lighter colors tend to bloom earlier than darker reds and purples.  So select different colors for a longer display of color.   Mums also work well as container plants to decorate patios, porches and decks.

Go easy on the water, however, to prevent root rot.  Potted mums do not do well inside the house, as lower light levels often result in yellowing leaves and droopy flowers.

     Flowering Cabbage and Kale also make nice fall plants to replace annual flowers.  Both will turn a beautiful color with the cold and will last until covered with snow.  Or try Fall Asters as they provide good color and many of them are hardy as well. 

       September is an excellent time to plant trees and shrubs.  If planted this month their roots will continue to grow into November, giving them plenty of time to get established before winter.  You might find some good clearance sales this time of year, but don’t let price dictate what you buy.  Leftovers at the end of the season can be just that.  Poor quality means they might require more help to survive.  Choose varieties that do well in your hardiness zone, as well as fit into the space you have available.  Allow ample room for growth as trees and shrubs mature. 

THINK SPRING       

It is time to think spring and plant those spring flowering bulbs.  The bulb package lists planting techniques but fails to suggest planting design.  I encourage mass plantings of one flower type.  The use of several dozen bulbs in one spot will produce a better effect than a mixture of many colors.  European gardens often contain several thousand bulbs of a single type to create a display that is impossible to describe.

Fall Watering: 

Remember the heat wave last fall that sent the plants into winter lacking enough moisture to survive? Many plants died and others were stressed and weakened. It is important to prepare plant for winter. Water newly planted tulips and other spring-flowering bulbs so they make roots before the soil freezes. If weather remains dry, water your bulb beds once a week,

It is also a good idea to water newly planted trees and shrubs every ten to fourteen days. Be careful, though, not to over-water if you have heavy, clay soil. Continue watering periodically. IF NECESSARY, until the soil freezes.  (Roots continue to grow as long as soil temperatures don't drop below forty degrees F.)

         Evergreens will come through winter in better shape if they're not moisture stressed. We used to think that just meant watering regularly in autumn, but it also involves watering in July and August whenever weather is hot and dry. Even though there's been plenty of rain this summer, it's a good idea to water these plants if we run into a dry spell in fall.

            Remember, the cooler it gets, the longer plants can go between watering. Every year some people lose newly transplanted trees and shrubs because they water them daily, thinking they are being helpful, when really they're just rotting the roots, especially in clay soils.

TOM’S TIMELY TIPS FOR SEPTEMBER

•           Seed a new lawn or renovate a poor quality one early in the month.

•           Continue to check for insect pests and treat accordingly.

•           Do not wait for frost warnings to move your plants indoors.  Temperatures of 45° F or lower can damage many tropical houseplants.

•           Prepare houseplants for return trip in-doors.  Scout for insects.  Thoroughly rinse leaves and container.

•           Begin two to three month dormancy for amaryllis.  Do not water.  Place in cool dark place.  Dormancy begins once leaves yellow.

Tom McNutt is a professor emeritus at The Ohio State University and a retired TV garden expert.