Goblin Blanket Flower, Featured Plant of The Day

  

Gaillardia x grandiflora 'Goblin'

Blanket Flower

Type Perennial

Hardy range 3A to 10A

Height 8" to 12" / 20cm to 30cm

Growth rate Average

Form Upright or erect

Exposure Full sun

Bloom Color Red and yellow

Bloom Time Spring through Fall

The flowers are suitable for cut flowers.

Environment This plant tolerates drought.
This plant will grow in dry to moist soil.
Suitable soil is well-drained/loamy or sandy.
The pH preference is a neutral soil.

Leaf Color Green

Culture Notes This cultivar is of the "Monarch Strain" of Gaillardias. These plants can grow in sandy, dry soil in the warmer plant zones. In late summer, cut back to encourage a fall bloom. Do not remove foliage from the plant in late fall. This helps to protect the plant in colder climates.

 Stem cuttings can be taken in late summer, and seeds can be collected after flowering. Spring cut dead foliage only, and deadhead after blooming to keep plant attractive. Plants serve as hosts for butterfly larvae. Plants go well with: Coreopsis, Stokesia, Caryopteris, and Platycodon. 'Goblin' has gorgeous red blossoms with bright yellow margins.

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Creeping Thyme,Featured Plant of The Day

Thymus praecox 'Purple Beauty'

Creeping Thyme, Woolly Thyme

Type Perennial
Hardy range 5A to 7A
Height 2" to 3" / 5cm to 8cm
Spread 12" to 18" / 30cm to 45cm
Growth rate Average
Form Prostrate and spreading or horizontal
Exposure Full sun
Persistence Evergreen

Bloom Color Purple
Bloom Time Spring and Summer

The flowers are suitable for dried flowers.

Environment
This plant will grow in moist soil.
Suitable soil is well-drained/loamy or sandy.
The pH preference is a neutral soil.
Leaf Color
Green
This plant has fragrant foliage.

Culture Notes

This dense, mat-forming, aromatic plant is easy to grow and quite attractive when used in rock gardens, on terraces or between walking stones. Honey bees love the nectar-rich flowers of Thymus. Keep its mat-forming growth clipped to maintain compactness and vigor.
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Queen Sophia French Marigold, Featured Plant of The Day

Tagetes patula 'Queen Sophia' 

French Marigold,  Dwarf French Marigold  

Type    Annual
Height    10" to 12" / 25cm to 30cm
Spread    18" to 24" / 45cm to 60cm
Growth rate    Average
Form    Upright or erect
Exposure    Full sun

Bloom Color    Orange
Bloom Time    Summer and Fall

The flowers are suitable for cut flowers and suitable for dried flowers.

Environment
This plant tolerates some drought and a little salt.
This plant will grow in dry to moist soil.
Suitable soil is well-drained/loamy.
The pH preference is  a neutral soil.

Leaf Color    Green
This plant has fragrant foliage.

Culture Notes
These plants do very well in hot, dry climates.  Seeds can be sown under glass in early spring.  Dead head frequently to encourage more blooms.  This species has a larger flower head than the Tagetes erecta.  These tender annuals are killed by frost and will sometimes self sow.  In addition to the ability to deter white flies from tomato plants, via its scent, the root of the French Marigold is also able to exude secretions which repel the potentially destructive eelworm.  This plant has several decorative and aromatic uses as well.

Common Torch Lily, Featured Plant of The Day

Kniphofia 'Little Maid'

Common Torch Lily, Red Hot Poker

Type

Perennial

Hardy range

6A to 9B

Height

20" to 35" / 50cm to 90cm

Spread

24" to 4' / 60cm to 1.20m

Growth rate

Average

Form

Irregular or sprawling

Exposure

Full sun

Persistence

Deciduous
Bloom Color
White and yellow
Bloom Time
Summer and Fall
The flowers are suitable for cut flowers.

Environment
This plant will grow in moist soil. Suitable soil is well-drained/loamy or sandy. The pH preference is a neutral soil.
Leaf Color
Green
This plant has attractive foliage.

Culture Notes
Kniphofia demands a well-drained soil and protection from intense sun in the warmer zones. In colder zones, mulch well for winter protection. Plants go well with: Echinops, Yucca, Oenothera, Sedum and Coreopsis sp. 'Little Maid' is a dwarf variety of this plant with spikes of ivory tips and soft yellow.
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Serenata Clematis, Featured Plant of The Day

Clematis (jackmanii x group)(n) 'Serenata'
    Clematis

Type    Perennial, vine
Hardy range    4A to 8A
Height    8' to 12' / 2.40m to 3.60m
Spread    8' to 12' / 2.40m to 3.60m
Growth rate    Average
Form    Spreading or horizontal and variable spread
Exposure    Partial shade or partial sun to full sun
Persistence    Deciduous

Bloom Color    Purple
Bloom Time    Spring through Fall

The flowers are showy and suitable for cut flowers.

 Environment
This plant will grow in moist soil.
Suitable soil is well-drained/loamy, sandy or clay.
The pH preference is an acidic to alkaline (less than 6.8 to more than 7.7) soil.

 Leaf Color    Green

 Culture Notes
Most Clematis are hybridized and do not come true from seed.  Stem cuttings can be taken early summer.  Removing spent flowers often increases the blooming period.  Plant so that roots are shaded.

Since Clematis do not climb by tendrils or aerial roots, their leaf petioles will twine around anything close by (including themselves) for support.  Clematis are beautiful specimens climbing up (with proper support wires, etc.) a fence, trellis, lamp post or wall.  It's best not to plant Clematis in an area where it would have to fight for its water supply, such as next to the roots of a tree.  'Serenata' has beautiful 5-6" purple blossoms with a dark purple bar and yellow stamens.

When using a trellis, add compost or cow manure in the spring to the base of this plant.  Also use a water soluble fertilizer (15-30-15) every two weeks through May, June and July.