Hit the Dirt; Watering and Deadheading

Today on hit the dirt I'd like to read to you from Crockett's flower garden watering plants vary in the amounts of water they need because their root systems are deep in water retentive bulbs and perennials are usually able to withstand dry periods. But if there's a prolonged drought it makes sense to water them by all means respond if you see foliage wilting. The plants to watch are the annual because they are shallow rooted and because they grow in flower so actively all season long. They need a more constant supply of water than do other plants. The rule of thumb is that they need an inch of water a week an inch of water will penetrate about six inches of dry soil. It is difficult to estimate the amount of water the plants are receiving without some sort of gauge. The simplest gauge is a metal can if the heavens do not provide your annual ZX with the necessary inch of water a week. You will have to do so. The best time to water the garden is in the early morning of a sunny day. If you

wait until midday when the sun is hot you will lose much of the water to evaporation. And if you wait until late in the day the plants will go into evening with wet foliage which is an open invitation to disease. The best way to water is in fairly long periods so the soil is well also occasionally rather than lightly moist and frequently light sprinklings don't penetrate deeply enough into the soil. This may restrict the plant's roots to the top few inches of soil which in turn makes him even more sensitive to drought while restricting their growth. If the garden area is small and if you're willing to make a few trips you may be able to water successfully with a watering can. You might just spray manually with the nozzle end of a hose. There are some good attachments available to break the stream of water so it is not too harsh for the plants. Any manual method of watering requires time and there is the temptation to become tired of the job before it is quite

done. I might add that we've had a sort of a drought around here lately in Maine so we should all be out there watering a bit. Our plants probably are pretty thirsty. Deadheading in pruning deadheading is the removal of faded flowers. There are two reasons to do this. One is simply appearance fading flowers are not attractive whether clinging to the plants or cluttering up the floor of the garden where they can create an environment conducive to pests and diseases. All plants including annuals biennials perennials and bulbs benefit from this procedure and if refuses composted the whole garden is better for it in years to come. Many annuals lose steam in mid summer but can be revived for more blossoms if they are cut back as they begin to look ragged. Unless a plant produces clouds of wispy stems and flowers I don't find that sharing the plant off produces good results though it is one approach. Instead

I cut each flower stem individually just above and a leaf node. When the last flower is fading this procedure is more work but it leaves the plant looking better than if it were sheared in some plants removing the faded flowers one by one is simply too much of a task. I put Swan River daisies sweet alyssum and Lobelia in this category. The solution is to shear off the whole canopy of flowers in one clipping. When the flowers have gone by the amount to shear depends on the plant but the general rule is to remove the flower heads and seed pods while leaving as much foliage on the plant as possible to help the plant reestablish itself. Hopefully some of these hints on watering and deadheading from Crockett's flower garden will motivate you to get out there and hit the dirt.