Pinch Your Mum and Go for More

You ever see big beautiful Asters and Mums in full bloom? Well, they got that way from having their growth stunted until around the first of August. Pinching their flower buds every time you see them might seem a bit counter-intuitive to why you grow flowers but in the case of these two plants, you are doing yourself a huge favor by squelching their urge to bloom.

I didn’t learn the importance of taking this seemingly irrational action until just recently and allowed my Shasta Daisy bloom whenever it wanted to. I got flowers but way too early in the Summer and nothing in the Fall. Plus the plant looked scraggly and I was very disappointed in its performance. This year I’ve been happily pinching off flower buds every time I see them knowing I’m finally helping this beautiful plant reach its full potential.

six cuttings of Mums

Three hardy mums I bought last year and planted among some Tulips have been pinched as well. Since they were among the Tulips they got leggy and they really need to be bushy. This was a blessing in disguise although I didn’t realize that until today. I found some info from other mum owners who said they keep their mums cut to 6” tall but will occasionally allow them to grow a little taller so they can take cuttings. Mine are already tall and need to be cut back quite a bit so I took this opportunity to take some cuttings.

After cutting them so you have at least two leaves to trim off of the bottom, wet the bottom of the cutting to cover both wounds, dip it in rooting hormone (again cover both wounds) and put them in any potting mix you have available. The rooting hormone helps prevent any bacterial growth from occurring at the wound site. Wetting the cutting only helps the rooting hormone to adhere to the stem. Be sure you have a couple of leaves remaining on the cutting, put the containers somewhere so they stay hydrated and in as little as three weeks you should have new cuttings.

I’m going to keep mine in the basement under grow lights until they root.

Now, I’m going to do the same thing for my Shasta Daisy and a couple of Asters.

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Making More of What I Have

It's been awhile since I've written anything down, at least here on the blog. I have a thick spiral notebook I carry around with me that acts as a sort of 'memory annex'. Believe me I need something to help me remember my thoughts and what I did today.

Anyway, lately I've gotten the bug on to learn as much about propagation as I can. The garden is going on six years old now, at least the first several beds are, and those plants that have survived my learning process are really doing well. So, I decided to see if I can make more of them.

Sedum - aka Stonecrop - seemed the obvious choice to start since they can root in just about anything. I have some Sedum 'Autumn Joy', 'Improved Golden', and 'Red Carpet' that have all been wonderful performers that I can always find room for more - even if I have to dig new beds.

Autumn Joy is full bloom is a rather large plant for Sedum

Autumn Joy is one of my favorite Sedum, the 'blossoms' are creamy ivory at first and then slowly goes through a steady progression of reds - pink, cherry, rose, russet, copper and finally dark mahogany.

This one is six years old and stands 12-15" tall.

They say these get floppy and need to be pinched at the top but I haven't had any problem with it, except it doesn't multiply fast enough for me.



Sedum 'Red Carpet' has quickly become a mainstay in my garden. It, like the 'Autumn Joy' doesn't spread very fast and for the life of me I cannot understand it being referred to as a ground cover, but it is. I love the deep, dark red of this plant. This one is three years old last month and it has spread out from 4" across to about 18". Not really fast for ground cover status but I do like it 'non-aggressive' nature.

Sedum 'Golden Improved' is one of the most beautiful sedums I know. Bees love this plant so much that they completely ignore all other plants around it. The plant looks like it is vibrating from the number of bees that this plant attracts.

This one blooms in Spring while other sedum typically bloom in Fall. Its masses of yellow star-shaped flowers and rich green scalloped leaves make it one of my all-around favorite plants. And it is drought tolerant.

And here are the cuttings. I snipped each branch about 4-6" long, stripped off a couple of leaves from the bottom - this is where the new roots will emerge - firmed them in a little into potting soil and put the whole box in a shady area. Make sure they stay moist and new roots should appear in about 3 weeks. I'll keep them where they are until a cloudy day and transplant them into the new homes.

The Red Carpet already had roots on them when I snipped the stems.

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Boy, How time flies!

It has been awhile since I last posted. No, it isn’t that my interest in gardening has waivered. It’s just that life’s demands have forced my attention to be focused in other directions, and I will spare all of you the details.

Earlier in the year, our area was hit by frost that killed off my newly set-out tomato plants, not once but twice! This can be expected to happen and I should have known better, but not being able to focus 100% on the task at hand will often bite back hard. Predicting weather never has been an exact science, and the lesson learned is that I need to cover everything when temperatures have a chance of dipping below 40F. Hopefully, problem solved.

Anyway, I only planted tomatoes this year and dispensed with plans to grow anything else. This allowed me time to focus on my other, more pressing, non-gardening issues.

I planted the usual Juliet Grape tomato which has always proven to be a big performer and this year was no exception. The other tomato was a Roma I found at some box store. I’m a bit ashamed to admit I didn’t buy this from a garden center but there you have it. It was just crying out to be taken home so I did. While it didn’t produce a bounty of tomatoes, and they were only slightly larger than the Juliet grape tomatoes, I did manage to make sauce for several spaghetti meals.

Over the course of the summer the average high temperatures were in the 90’s and my lawn (and my neighbors lawn) conspired to retake territory that I took for flower beds, those being the ‘non-raised bed’ variety. So, over the next week, the chore of re-pulling all of this grass will be a priority.

Now on to new stuff. I have decided to try my hand at propagation. Since starting from scratch five years ago, I now have several shrubs and plants that have established themselves and so the time has come to attempt to make more. The task seems a bit daunting right now, being behind the learning curve, but I think it will be interesting to learn the various ways in which plants can be propagated. I’m not a total stranger to this, I have been rooting houseplants in water for years with a good bit of success. However, outdoor plants may need a slightly different approach such as, placing cuttings in soil (or soiless medium) to layering to dividing and more. Research will allow me to select which type is best according to which plant I want to multiply.

Some plants I have and want to reproduce are Forsythia, Spirea, Caryopteris, Bee Balm, Daylily, Phlox, sedum, mums, and Lamium.

One thing I find most thrilling and fascinating about plants is that every plant cell has the ability to duplicate all parts and functions of the plant. By taking a cutting of a leaf or stem and creating the right conditions, you can create an entirely new plant.

I bought rooting hormone, potting soil, perlite, and I already have loads of plant containers to re-use, so my new adventure will soon be under way. For the next 4-6 weeks I am going to diligently watch over my little charges and hopefully they will become new plants in the spitting image of their parents.

Stay tuned for updates.

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Autumn already?

It seems like just yesterday….

I don’t know why summers seem to go by so quickly these days. They say that as you grow older time does seem to fly by faster. I am beginning to see the truth to that statement.

Since the night time temperatures here at nearly one mile above sea level in the Utah valley are dipping into the 40’s the call to dig out my Fall work list is getting stronger. It seems I cannot put it off any longer.

I finally relented and planted a Geranium, at my wife’s insistence, this year. Don’t get me wrong, I like their foliage and flowers but they seem to get leggy, although this one didn’t, and they need to be dug up every year (this is the true reason I resisted planting one). So, now the time has come to add this chore to my list. Oh, I complain but it isn’t really that big of a deal. The first step is to cut back the plant so it will be easier to dig up. Wait a few weeks for it to recover from the trimming before putting into a container. I am going to also take some cuttings for new geranium starts. Over the winter they will be grown in bright light with cool temperatures. We have a food storage space in the basement that would be just about right for this as the garage would tend to get too cold. There is an excellent post at Ventnor Permaculture that addresses how to take cuttings.

Now is a great time for bargain shopping at nurseries. Which is great because early fall is also an excellent time to set out new perennials to fill in those empty spots that are a constant reminder of past failed plants. Also, dividing and re-planting spring-blooming perennials should be done now so they can get rooted before the ground freezes. Use a spading fork to lift plants and divide them.

I have several Chrysanthemum Alaska that will be divided next year. They have grown in size since planting last year but have not yet begun to die out in the center, which is how you can tell they need to be divided.





The next three plants will all keep their heads this year to both feed the birds and hopefully drop some seed onto the ground in order to start new plants.
Bee Balm Monarda Blue Stocking








Echinacea Magnus








Echinacea Bravado













The Black Eyed Susan (Rudbeckia Goldstrum) has already started some new plants and I will leave them untouched, also for the birds. The Goldfinch especially loves picking seeds right off of the heads.


Earlier this year, I dug some daffodils up to divide them and to move them to a different location. September is perfect doing this so they can establish roots while the soil is still warm. They need to be planted deep, with at least 7-8” of soil above the nose of the bulbs. Deep planting assures they will last and multiply for many years to come. Hopefully, the spot I put them in will be their final location, but who knows, plans are always open for change.

September is also a great time for planting "hardy" pansies for both their late-season color and to get an early start next spring. This is one annual that will actually survive winter to return early in spring. They will grow and bloom well into December. This photo, Delta Violet Face, is from spring 2008 which was planted in winter 2007.

Herbaceous and tree peonies can be planted now in full sun where the soil has been enriched with compost and sphagnum peat moss. Don't plant too deeply because that can cause failure to bloom. I haven’t grown Peonies yet but the neighborhood I live in have had success with them.

Cooler temperatures mean a sort of mini re-birth of the perennial garden. Plants that were stifled during the heat of summer are beginning to respond and grow with cooler conditions. Aster’s are known for their fall bloom and are usually tall 24” up to 48”. This Aster, Snowdrift, was supposed to grow to a height of only 6” and 24” wide and makes a great groundcover.
The first photo shows one which gets all day full sun, and is now 8” tall and has spread to 40” across, has been developing small white buds for several days now and some are beginning to open. This plant will soon be covered with bright white star-like flowers.

The second photo shows another one, in a different location, that is overshadowed by dozen or so Zinnia California Giant opened its blooms about a week ago.





As a side note, if you are experiencing problems with powdery mildew, now is a good time to get a handle on this fungus. You can control the spread and kill off a bunch of spores to lessen the problem next year by spraying a baking soda wash on the plants. Prepare a the wash by mixing 1 tablespoon baking soda and 1 tablespoon vegetable oil (canola oil or dish washing soap works too, it helps the mixture stick to the plants) into 1 gallon of water. Pour the mixture into a tank sprayer and apply to upper and lower surfaces of leaves. Doing so will inhibit the germination of the fungus spores.

This is just the beginning of Fall clean up, and if you take it one step at a time so you don’t overwhelm yourself at the last minute, it shouldn’t be viewed so much as a job as a preparation for next year. Remember, the garden is for your enjoyment so have fun.

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