Refresh your garden with seasonal flowers!
As we transition into the fall season, gardeners have the opportunity to refresh and renew their space! Summer heat can make it difficult to establish new plants and can cause stress on pre-existing plants, while cooler temperatures are ideal for planting and new growth. To refresh your garden from the summer months, consider planting seasonal flowers to give your garden a refreshing, colorful appeal.
Prior to planting, it is imperative that gardeners prepare their garden bed to allow for optimum growth throughout the season. Our desert soils contain low levels of nitrogen and organic matter and high levels of calcium carbonate (caliche) and phosphate. This combination does not offer ideal growing conditions, so gardeners must amend their soil. When amending flower beds, use Dr. Q’s Premium Paydirt Planting Mix to create a 50/50 mix of new soil and native soil. In addition to soil amendment, be sure to utilize a starter fertilizer such as Dr. Q’s Gold Dust Starter Fertilizer to help establish new flowers. Once your plants are established, fertilize once a month using Dr. Q’s Rose and Flower Food to encourage continuous blooms. Avoid overhead watering, as this watering method can cause distorted blossoms and disease. Instead, install a water-wise drip irrigation system.
Once you have prepared your garden bed, it is time to start planting! If you’re unfamiliar, there are a couple types of flowers – annual and perennial. Annual flowers will produce as many seeds as possible during the growing season, then the parent plant will die back. In this way, the parent plant expends all its resources on reproduction (creation of new flowers and seeds), and does not have enough energy at the end of the season to continue growing. Oppositely, perennial flowers won’t die back at the end of the season. Rather, they will go dormant and grow back stronger in the next growing season. Due to our desert environment, there are a few classified perennials that we consider to be annuals, since they won’t grow back after the growing season has ended. Both varieties are recommended for a balanced garden that will produce color all year long!
At Star Nursery, we have many annual and perennial flower options for gardeners to choose from. A few annual varieties include snapdragons, marigolds, and petunias, while perennial varieties include pansies, violas, and mums! For more information on fall flower varieties, keep reading below!
Snapdragons annual
Snapdragons will produce brightly colored flowers throughout the fall season. Dwarf breeds are excellent for mass plantings, foregrounds, or borders, while taller varieties work well as background plantings. All types do well in flower beds or containers. If protected from frost, snapdragons will continue to bloom through spring.
Marigolds annual
Marigolds come in a variety of warm colors, including red, orange, and yellow! They will grow to be big and beautiful, and are sure to brighten up your area.
Petunias annual
Petunias come in a variety of colors including pink, purple, red, and white! For a longer growing period and increased blooms, plant in early fall months to establish them before colder weather arrives.
Pansies perennial
Pansies are a popular and durable flower that comes in a variety of colors! These are a great option for full sun areas.
Violas perennial
Violas are similar to pansies, but slightly smaller. This flower variety looks great in smaller bedding areas, containers, and hanging baskets! Like pansies, violas are a great option for full sun areas. With proper care, violas will bloom again in the summer months.
Mums perennial
Mums are one of the most popular fall garden accents! With large beautiful blooms, mums are the ideal accent for containers or larger areas.
