Breeder blog: A flower or two for your mother

News

29.04.2019

Breeder Har Stemkens with his Verbena x hybrida Lanai Twister Red.

Written by Breeder Har Stemkens.

Mother’s Day is always a good moment to give plants and flowers. The chance of frost is very low and there are all these great annuals offered in garden centers and at various markets.

Buying a nice flowering plant of Mandevilla is always a good idea, because these are flowering in all circumstances: either when it is hot or cold, dry or humid. And the flowers are very attractive in white, pink, rose and red. Newer colors are also coming to the market.

However, if you wish to give your mother something truly personal this Mother’s Day (May 12), then why not create your own combination of annuals and plant them in a tub, a hanging basket or whatever you can think about as long as it can contain enough soil for a whole season of flowering. Of course, you can also buy a combination at the garden center, that is easy in modern times and your hands do not get dirty. But it is so much nicer to make your own basket, filled with your personal ideas and love.


Verbena x hybrida Lanai Twister Pink Flagdena	Dipladenia Rio (Mandevilla)	Verbena x hybrida Candy Cane Imp.

What to buy
You can buy summer-flowerers in 9 or 10 cm pots, and there is a lot to choose from: great Verbena, Petunia, Sutera, Scaevola, Diascia, Nemesia, Gaura and much more. You can add some nice foliage plants to it, like Ipomea or Coleus or grasses, there is also lot to choose from. Only take care that you buy summer-plants, there are also now still some early spring flowerers on the market and these will flower still for a couple of weeks, but not the whole summer.

For hanging baskets you should buy all kinds of trailing plants. But for pots and tubs you should look for upright plants. Sometimes, combinations are described as a spiller, a filler and a thriller, which means a plant that should be trailing, fill the pot and will be the center of attention making it most attractive.

Taking care of your creations
Whatever you choose, before planting make sure you water the plant thoroughly. Once planted, water once again. Take care that extra water can leave the pot or leak out so buy a pot with a special reservoir for water so the combo does not have to be watered three times a day! Use soil with fertilizer for more than three months so you have plants flowering all summer long.

Finally, give the plant a story: why did you make this combination especially for your mother?

Happy planting.