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Bidens are a group of hardy plants in the daisy family that can bring bright warm colours into the garden. In the Bidens range from Proven Winners the golden yellow varieties ‘Tweety’ and ‘Goldilocks Rocks’ are now joined by the rich burnt orange ‘Campfire’. Its flowers emerge deep orange red and mature to bicolour yellow and orange. ‘Campfire’ is a vigorous plant, growing to around 20 to 30 cm tall and is heat and dry tolerant. Cooler temperatures will help promote the burnt orange tones.
In warm areas, bidens can flower from winter through into spring and summer and in cool zones bidens look their best during the warmer months.
Bidens ‘Campfire’ loves a full sun spot in a garden bed and looks fantastic when planted along the edge of a retaining wall. ‘Campfire’ also looks stunning when grown in a pot and when combined with other ‘hot coloured’ flowers and foliage, makes a real statement.
Try Bidens ‘Campfire’ with yellow or orange petunias or calibrachoa and create a fireball of colour like the container recipe from Proven Winners (www.provenwinners.com) called ‘Honeybelle’ or throw colour caution to the wind and go crazy by mixing ‘Campfire’ with purple or blue lobelia.
When planting Bidens ‘Campfire’ into pots or hanging baskets, start with a good quality potting mix like Yates Premium Potting Mix and feed each week with Yates Thrive Roses Flowers Liquid Plant Food. It’s boosted with extra potassium, the key nutrient that encourages flowering. Lightly trim your colourful creation regularly, which will promote a tidier look and new flushes of flowers.
Alyssum is commonly grown as a pretty little filler in amongst other flowers in pots and garden beds. It may not usually take center stage and is often taken for granted, however alyssum is a very worthy plant to grow and makes a gorgeous border plant even when grown on its own.
Yates Alyssum Carpet of Snow is a long lasting and hardy annual that is smothered in masses of tiny honey scented white flowers. In warm and temperate zones during June it’s as easy as scattering seed direct where they are to grow and only just covering with 2 mm of loose soil or Yates Black Magic Seed Raising Mix. Firm down and keep the soil moist while the seeds germinate (which takes around 2 weeks) and the seedlings establish. In cool zones look for seedlings of white alyssum in your local garden centre.
Yates Alyssum ‘Carpet of Snow’ grows to a petite 10 cm tall and will start flowering 2 months after sowing. Here are some beautiful combinations with white alyssum to tempt you:
Before sowing seed or transplanting seedlings, enrich the soil or potting mix beforehand by incorporating some Yates Dynamic Lifter Organic Plant Food. It adds valuable organic matter which benefits soil structure, encourages earthworms and beneficial soil microorganisms and helps hold moisture in the soil. It will also provide organic slow release nutrients to the alyssum as they establish.
Protect seedlings from damaging snails and slugs with a light sprinkling of Yates Blitzem Snail & Slug Bait, then feed the alyssum plants every week with Yates Thrive Roses & Flowers Liquid Plant Food.
It will encourage strong healthy plants and lots of snowy white flowers. Trim the plants back regularly to help keep them tidy and encourage new growth and flowers.
Did you know? Alyssum attracts beneficial insects into the garden, so it’s pretty and clever too!
Phalaenopsis orchids, more commonly known as ‘Moth’ orchids, are native to tropical Asia and are a stunning type of orchid that make a beautiful potted plant. The flowers are long lasting and moth orchids can live for many years, so they’re a worthwhile and very pretty investment. It’s like receiving a bunch of flowers every day for weeks!
The long, fragile looking flower spike can make moth orchids appear daunting to care for, however by using a few simple steps they can be an easy and rewarding plant to grow and can even re-flower for you.
Klare’s Tips:
One of Yates’ fantastic horticulturists (and self-confessed orchid fanatic) shares this top moth orchid tip: after flowering, encourage more flowers by pruning the flower spike back to just above the second node from the base. A new branch will then emerge from that point, together with flower buds.
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