Ottawa Start | Start Gardening!

Start Gardening! July 28, 2004
How to buy plants
By René Trim

Chance of thundershowers?
Plant of the week

In order to end up with healthy plants that will quickly establish in our garden, there are a few things we have to pay attention to when buying them. Some people have their favourite garden center or nursery, but it is not so much the location where we buy our plants – the garden center at the grocery store can be just as good as any other – but more so the condition of the plant.

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Previous:
• Surviving the summer
• Food glorious food
• Watering your garden
• Spruce up your deck
• Growing like stink
• Sun, soil, moisture, wind

The first things to look for are diseases or insect infestations. Any self-respecting garden center will make sure that no such plant material can be found on its premises, but sometimes small signs of disease escape their attention. Also, with so many plants on a relatively small surface an infection can spread rapidly, so regardless of what good experiences one has had with a garden center or nursery, make sure to always look for the signs.

The second thing to observe when choosing a plant is its condition as well as the condition of the soil in the container. Obviously, you should not buy plants that are completely dried out and wilted. Normally, garden centers use sprinklers to keep their pots moist, but it is hard to use these when customers are walking around. A good garden center will make sure that its staff keeps the stock well watered during business hours, even if that entails using hand-held hoses or watering cans.

The third thing to look at – especially when buying shrubs or trees – is if the root ball has started to grow though the holes in the bottom of the plastic container. This is a sure sign that the plant has been in its pot too long and should have been repotted a while ago. In itself, this does not have to be devastatingly bad for a plant, but it does make it hard for it to quickly establish in your garden’s soil. When you lift the plant out of its container – which can be really hard to do when it is in this state – you will find the poor roots that have been confined far too long and have therefore started to grow around the inside perimeter of the pot…around and around and around.

Chance of thundershowers?

What’s with this daily chance of thundershowers everybody keeps predicting?I realize a chance of a thundershower is merely a possibility and not a guaranteed downpour, but has anybody actually SEEN a thundershower lately?

Did anybody get wet recently, was anybody able to do the “Singing in the Rain” routine? Sure, it looked ominous a couple of times over the past week; I even attempted to salvage the patio cushions that - as it turned out - would have been perfectly safe without my interference, but other than some distant lightning nothing ever happened.

Anyway, I am convinced that a meteorologist’s job is hard enough without smarty comments from a gardener, so let’s just leave it at this. Just remember to water your pots during hot, dry spells.

Plant of the week

This week’s pick is the Red Hot Poker (Kniphofia uvaria) or Torch Lily. A native to South Africa, this perennial is not reliably hardy in Ottawa winters. However, when planted in a sheltered spot and given some winter protection it will stand a fair chance of survival. Another solution is to plant it in a pot that is kept indoors in winter.

The Red Hot Poker is a clump forming perennial, 2 to 4 ft. tall and 2 ft. in spread. Its orange and yellow flowers appear in mid summer and are very attractive to hummingbirds. It prefers full sun to light shade and – very important – a rich soil that drains well (although it needs lots of moisture during its growing period). The variety “Little Maid” has lemon-yellow flowers and is more compact in size.

The bright colours of the Red Hot Poker may not be everyone’s cup of tea and growing them in our Ottawa gardens is certainly somewhat of a challenge, but it can be a striking addition to the mid summer border, especially if you are into orange and yellow.

Happy Gardening!

René Trim

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About René
René Trim was educated and trained in The Netherlands, before moving to Canada in 2000. After studying the differences in climate and season faced by Ontario gardeners he established Trim Garden Design and Rescue in May 2002. A gardener since the 1980’s, he has a wealth of knowledge and experience, a vast library of reference materials from which to draw answers to various garden situations as well as an enthusiastic and professional staff.

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