SUMMER IS AROUND THE CORNER

We have a large selection of annuals, perennials, tropicals, ferns, shrubs and ground covers in stock and more crops coming ready each week. Although our hours scale back during the summer months our product selection remains well stocked and a great variety of plants to choose from.

Our product range is now coming into the hot weather selections and things that can take our Texas heat and sun. Lantana, verbena, coleus, vinca (periwinkles), moss rose, hibiscus, purslane, scaevola should all be readily available along with other items for the Texas heat.

As June rolls into north Texas so does the heat. We have had pleasant weather this spring the rain helped fill the area lakes along with helping get our gardens and plantings off to a great start.

One of the most frequently asked questions we get asked, "How much do we water"?
This also happens to be the most difficult question to answer. Each lawn, bed and planting area is different and there are just as many types of sprinkler systems. So there is no one answer for every one that fits.

It is best to saturate a bed when watering. Misting a bed lightly or getting the plant and the top layer of soil or mulch damp does nothing for the growth of the plant. Deep watering then allowing the soil to go slightly dry between watering will be the most beneficial. This allows the roots to go deeper and develop stronger. Shallow roots created from too frequent light watering will "fry" quickly as our temperatures and sun heat up.

If you are using automatic sprinklers, it may be necessary to apply additional water by hand for the first few weeks after planting bedding plants,  a couple of months for shrubs and up to a year if you are planting large trees to get the roots and plants well established.

BASKETS POTS AND CONTAINERS:
Just like our lawn and our gardens, as the weather begins to heat up and we water more frequently, our containers need more water too. Normally it does not matter what kind of material the container is made of, but often it is the size of the container and the soil volume that causes us problems. The smaller the container the harder it is to keep the plants we planted in them alive and thriving.  Be sure that when we do water that we thoroughly saturate the entire container. This may take a couple of passes to get water to the bottom. When watering the pots, baskets and containers by hand it sometimes helps to water it good then let it set for few minutes while we water nearby containers and then go back and water the first one again. Repeating this process a couple times until all of your pots are watered helps the water go down to the bottom and keeps the water from just running over the top edge or around the sides of the root ball and not penetrating the soil and roots. If your soil is near the top rim of the container the water will run off and not sink in, take a broom handle or dowel rod and insert holes into the potting media, this will allow the water to go into the planted area. You may have to do this a couple of times over the season but this easy and simple trick does make a difference.

FERTILIZER:
As we water more often we are also leaching many of the nutrients out of the garden or potted plants. The "Color Star" time released fertilizer that we sell should be lasting about 2 months this time of year. (During cooler months it lasts about three months). As we get into the dog days of summer, it should last around 4-6 weeks. Although we sell and have had great success with "Color Star" there are plenty of good fertilizers on the market and as long as it is used regularly and properly your plants will be happier.

BUGS AND INSECTS (THIS TIME OF YEAR):
As great as the weather has been so far this spring for our gardens, it has been equally beneficial to many garden pests and insects. Take note and keep an eye out for them and treat as needed. Snails, slugs and aphids are multiplying and thriving

As we get ready for the heat of summer, The Flower Ranch already has in production our late summer and fall planting schedule. We will be offering a good line of late summer perennials, hostas and perennial grasses. We will keep you posted on the progress of these and other crops as the plants become ready. The pages related to these items on our website are also under construction, and should be up and running soon.

SEND US YOUR PHOTOS:
We have also added a page to our website for Customers Photos.
Many customers over the years have told us how great their beds look and many have brought in pictures to show us. We thought it might be fun to post some of them for us all to see. If you like what your yard and garden are looking like and would like to show it off, we will be happy to post it to the new page. Giving others planting ideas and suggestions and sharing success stories can be a fun way to gain new ideas and designs.