Discover the Fun of Gardening

September 27, 2012   

Crotons and mums are the perfect decorations for bursts of autumn color.

We are well into the first week of fall and already the mornings and evenings are a little more pleasant. It's the perfect time to decorate your garden for the season, and Kerby's has all the cool plants your garden needs like flowering kale, crotons and of course mums. Don't forget we carry pine straw bales too, which add a lovely autumn touch to front door decorations and make great mulch when the season is over. Bales are just $5.99 each.

Abby trying to help in the rose garden.

If your rose garden is looking a little tired after the summer, then it is time to get it back in shape! Abby was helping us deadhead our rose garden at home this past week . . . unfortunately her version of deadheading is plucking the petals, but you have to start somewhere. As the weather cools, it is a great time to clean up the rose garden and even add a few new selections. Kerby's has lots of fun varieties of roses such as Brigadoon, Julia Child, Mr. Lincoln and Gold Medal. If you want to learn the ins and outs of caring for your rose garden in the fall and winter, then join us for a workshop this Saturday, Sept 29th at 10am.

Happy Gardening,
Kim, Joey and Mark
 

In This Issue
Featured Plant

Growing Roses

Upcoming Events
Workshop This Weekend: Rose Gardening

New Shipment
of Roses  
2 for $50
Regular Price $29.99
3 Gallon Pot

Fall Veggies and
Onion Sets are In

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Bells of Fire Tecoma $12.99 10" Pot

 Featured Plant
Bells of Fire Tecoma
Tecoma x 'GToRuben'
 
This new tecoma is on fire! Beautiful reddish-orange flowers appear from spring to fall on this medium sized shrub. If you are familiar with other tecomas (also known as yellow elder or yellow bells), then you know they can grow quite large. This new shrub is smaller in size and can easily be maintained between three and five feet tall. As if the bright autumn color wasn't enough, it is a great plant for butterflies and hummingbirds too. Add one to your garden today.

Rose Gardening

A rose by any other name can grow in your garden. Roses are notorious for being challenging in Florida. But armed with the right knowledge and materials, you can grow beautiful roses.

1. Only plant roses that are grafted on Fortuniana rootstock. It is the only rootstock that thrives in Florida's climate. Often cheaper roses are grafted on Dr. Huey rootstock, but roses on this rootstock do no perform well in our area. All of Kerby's hybrid tea, grandiflora, floribunda and climbing roses are Fortuniana grafted.

2. Plant roses in an area that receives at least 6 hours of direct sunlight. If you have shade, you might think about planting camellias, which have gorgeous flowers and love protection from the sun. If you want a rose garden, you must have sun.

3. Leave enough space between roses for them to grow as well as enough space to walk between bushes for dead-heading, spraying and of course for picking flowers. Typically space plants three to four feet apart.

4. Plan to spray roses. In Florida, especially during the rainy season when the humidity is high, roses need to be sprayed weekly to every other week to prevent diseases like black-spot fungus or powdery mildew and insect problems. Preventative sprays are much more effective at keeping roses beautiful than trying to spray after a problem is spotted. Our favorite spray combo is to use Systemic Insect Killer by Bonide and Liquid Systemic Fungicide by Fertilome. Mix two tablespoons of each into 1 Gallon of water in a pump sprayer and you've got a single spray that handles both disease and insects. (Remember to always read the labels when applying pesticides.) Always spray in the evening to avoid burning the plants. Kerby's also carry's a 2-n-1 fungicide/insecticide that can be applied as a drench to really make it easy!

5. Prune roses severely in January or February when the weather is cool to moderate height and to select the strongest branches. Prune lightly through the rest of the year, avoiding heavy pruning in the summer months. Deadhead roses as needed. The sooner old blooms are removed the faster new blooms will emerge.

Materials Needed:
Rose bushes (start with as many as you have room and time for.)
1 Bag of Kerby's Pine Soil per rose bush
1 Bag of Kerby's 8-4-8 fertilizer
Liquid Systemic Fungicide
Systemic Insect Killer (or 2-n-1 Systemic Fungicide and Insecticide)
Pump Sprayer or Hose-end Sprayer
Sharp Clippers
Rose Gloves (to avoid thorns)

Dig a hole twice as wide as the rootball, but no deeper. Plant rose bushes at the same depth as they were growing in the nursery container. Backfill the hole with Kerby’s Pine Soil and water in well. Fertilize with 1 tbsp. of Kerby’s 8-4-8 fertilizer two to three weeks after planting. Begin spraying with the Liquid Systemic Fungicide and Systemic Insect Killer (they can be combined in the pump sprayer) after the roses have been planted for two weeks.

Hopefully this will get your rose garden off to a great start. The bouquets of flowers that you pick from your garden will surely reward your hard work.  Don't miss the workshop this Saturday, where we'll talk about all the ins and outs of growing roses in Florida.

 

Upcoming Events

 

 

 

Rose Care in the Fall and Winter

Saturday, September 29th at 10am

Roses always need a little TLC after the summer time. At this workshop we'll talk about pruning and caring for roses in the fall and winter. We'll also talk about pest & disease control and fertilizing to get the best blooms out of your rose bushes. 

 

 

Butterfly Gardening
Saturday, October 13th at 10am

Butterflies are a-flutter in Florida all year long, so make sure they have plenty of food. Come out and learn about the different types of butterflies that call Florida their home and the best plants for attracting each one.

 

 

 

 

Camellias: A Southern Tradition
Saturday, October 20th at 10am

Camellias are a classic flower of the south. Their color lights up shade gardens when they are in bloom. Camellias start blooming in the fall and continue (depending on the variety) until spring. Come out and learn all about planting and caring for camellias. 

 

 

 

 

Growing Fresh Herbs
Saturday, November 3rd at 10am

Thanksgiving is just around the corner. That means, it's the perfect time to add a little kick to all of your recipes with fresh herbs straight from your own garden. Whether you are looking to start an herb garden or just want some tips on keeping an existing garden growing, this workshop is for you.   

 

 

 

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