Do you really want to amend your soil?

A lot of my customers ask me if they should amend the soil. Amending soil generally means adding compost or conditioning soil. Some even go as far as wanting to take out what is there and replace with new soil.

You could actually create more problems by overworking the top portion of the soil. It is what one of my professors used to call a teacup effect. Water would drain easy through the good portion of the soil and stop at the point that has not been amended. Your plants could then be sitting in water and for plants that don't like "wet feet" this could kill them.

I always tell customers do not over amend your soil. Instead select plants that can take compacted or poor soil conditions, spread leaf compost around where you plant, and mulch. The composition of the soil will eventually change over time. The mulch will break down in to the soil (which is good) creating richer soil. Fresh mulch looks and smells good too. Then avoid walking in your garden as much as possible because that will compact your soil even more and never walk in a wet garden.

One other step I really want to try is to stop at a bait and tackle shop and pick up about three thousand worms and throw them in to my soil. If you find them in your garden now, it is a good sign. They enrich the soil as they move creating oxygen pockets and they fertilize by leaving their casting as they work their way through.

When I moved in to my house I had terrible soil in my front garden. Instead of fussing with the soil I planted tough plants all conifers and native evergreen perennials. I mixed in a little compost while planting and finished it off with fresh mulch. The roots will spread out more, moving through the soil like worms creating nice oxygenated soil. Now plants and soil are working together and improving the conditions to survive on their own.

Native plants will always do better. They're already accustom to the area and soil conditions. The exception being Liriope. I love it. It is one tough plant. Style wise, it's like the color black, alway appropriate. I just could not image living in a would without Liriope.

Next post ....Allium, Agapanthus, Carolina Jasmine.

Weekend Review

We were so busy this weekend. To all of those that came by, thank you for shopping with us.

Frequently asked questions over the weekend were:

(1) How often do I water my interior plants? I water them on a regular schedule, usually Sunday, and fertilize once a month. I never re-pot them, see last blog post. Interior plants can get a little dry between watering, which is better than over watering.

(2) A lady came in with a sick looking orchid and wanted my suggestions on how to improve its looks. For the most part she was doing everything right, except the orchid was in a standard terracotta pot. She used orchid bark for the planting medium and orchid food. My answer, orchids are not like regular plants. In nature they grow in trees, not in soil. I recommended she use an orchid pot which has large holes all around the pot. This simulates the nature habitat of orchids. Second, at this time of year an orchid out of bloom doesn't always look so hot. I once visited a large orchid farm in the California Dessert, it was around Joshua Tree, and their orchids didn't look so great when they were out of bloom either. I think they perk up in bloom, but most bloom once a year. I remember seeing one orchid at the grower that bloomed for one day every 17 years! Out of bloom I thought it looked creepy.

(3) How many herbs can I plant in one pot? And then which ones can I plant together? If you looking to use your herbs a lot, you might want to dedicate one herb to one pot. Find an outdoor spot with tons of sunlight. Two herbs I always plant alone are Basil and chives. Basil because I want a lot of it and chives because I love the way they come back year after year, they're the first sign of spring, and then chive blossoms are adorable. If you're going to mix your herbs in a one pot, you might want to think of it as a collection with some sort of theme of how you will be using your herbs. Three herbs to a pot will make a pretty display. And use herbs with different color and habit to make it interesting: Thyme can trail down the side of the pot, sage and oregano come in different colors like purple, yellow and green, and sometimes tri-color. Your third could be something taller to serve as a focal point: how about flat leaf parsley??

One more thing happened.... God I feel sorry for the two guys that couldn't make up their mind about which containers to use... I must say, I loved what I pulled together for them. Nandina Domestica "Heavenly Bamboo" in a zen sorta asian square darkish glazed pot. It was perfect. One plant that had plenty of room to grow per container and modern because it didn't have a filled up mix of mess... hehe. And to top it off it was evergreen. In winter it would berry! The plant/pot combo had contrast in color and texture. It popped.

Please send me your gardening questions. I'll answer and post them if I can.

Interior Plants: Keep it easy.

I promised Washingtonian Magazine I would write this piece. It's hard talking about interior plants on a beautiful day promising spring might be here to stay.

One thing I hear a lot from customers is that they want to re-pot the plants they've just purchased in to a decorative interior container. I don't think I've ever re-potted an interior plant. And here's why.

First, plants need to drain water, and I don't want water all over my good hardwood floors. Second, interior plants to me are NEVER permanent, I either give them away or they die (because I wasn't around and on vacation to care for them). Finally, I like short cuts. I'm a busy guy.

So here's what I do. I think of best plant/pot combos for desired location in my home. The pottery available today is fabulous. And I must say we have gorgeous pottery from all over the world at the store. Choose a container that matches style and color you like, WITHOUT drainage, and is slightly bigger then the pot your plant is already in. Simply place the plant inside a decorative container. Raise the interior plant slightly to the top of container. You can use pea gravel or broken pottery shards. Then cover top of plant with a decorative soil covering to hide the plastic container the plant is actually in. I like using spanish moss or even smooth river rock. Nobody will be able to tell that you've not re-potted your house plant.

I like watering my plants well once a week. The soil can dry out a bit. Just don't feel like you have to water all the time. Over watering your plants is just as bad as under watering. Use an interior plant food ever so often... when you have a little bit longer time to spare on your chores. Pick off brown leaves and remember it's always good to have some sort of organic insecticidal soap. Plant pest love to make their home in tropical plants, particularly if you leave your interior plants outside for the summer and bring them in for the winter.

To protect my floors, I use cork mats under the containers. Pottery is porous. Cork mats serve the same purpose and works the same way as a drink coaster. Don't forget this step. We have cork mats at the shop.

I'm planning my spring cleaning projects and trying to get my house in shape before my cousin arrives for the visit. I like everything perfect when guest come. I'll add cleaning my houseplants to the list. Plants can build up dust. Clean them, excepts for plants with hairy leaves, with water and soft cloth, or you can rinse them in the shower. Your plants will look and be more healthy.

We're open for spring

Our first weekend back really felt like winter had finally coming to an end. We opened the doors and rolled a few carts of annuals and herbs out. Our regular as well as new customers soon showed up.

Every year at this time, we start filling the store with dwarf ornamental conifers and broad leaf evergreens; evergreen perennials, pansies and herbs. All are ready to go in the ground now and can take the cold. The herbs look so fresh at this time of the year. I wish I had a special name for them that just meant the first of the fresh new plants to arrive. They have names for things like this in romance languages.... like Italian.

The business continues to grow. We've added more staff. So far, I really believe that this is the best cast created since I started the business five years ago. They really know their plants and are very attentive to our customers.

The shop will soon be filled up all the way again with plants. Usually by the end of March most of our stock will be available, including large interior plants.

Now for my garden tips.

It's time to trim back all winter burn off your perennials and ornamental grass. Your plants will look fresh and new when they grow back. Try to avoid stepping in the garden particularly when the ground is wet. This will compact your soil and that is not good.

I did a lot of winter clean up over the weekend. In the process, I found my Allium bulbs just starting to pop up. I pruned back my Akebia "Chocolate Vine." It is a fast growing, semi evergreen vine that does an excellent job concealing my neighbors enormous electrical box. Trimming plants all the way back is a good thing particularly if they've gotten too big or you want to re-train them. You won't hurt the plant.

If you need pruning and garden tools. Now is a good time to get them. Go to our coupon section of the web and you'll find offers for 50% off our Wolfgarten tools. Continue your garden clean up projects now (well now when it warms up) through March for a fresh and vibrant garden to come.