Paeonia 'Gardenia'

I just received one peony gardenia and am wondering how I should plant it and if I should get two more to go with it. I'm a beginner at this. Thank you.

ANSWER: Before you plant your peony, be sure to work in plenty of compost around and in the planting site. Also, you might want to do a soil test. Peonies like about a neutral to 7.0 pH.

Never plant peony eyes (the sprouts on the roots or where growth is coming out) deeper than 2 inches below ground or the plant won't bloom. If your peony is potted, make sure you don't plant it any deeper than it is growing in the pot.

Peonies should have some sun during the day and not be planted near trees that would compete for food and water.

Peonies also take a couple of years to establish, so don't expect blossoms next year. Give it time to settle in and grow.

One plant should grow and flourish into a good size even though it looks small when you receive it. If you are using it as a landscape plant rather than a flower border plant, then you might want to plant in groups of three or five.

Thanks for visiting The Plant Coach!

H. 'Frosted Vintage Ruffles'

Daylilies might be the most popular garden flower grown in America today. Surely, it is close behind the rose in popularity, if it hasn’t overtaken those planting beds. Unlike roses, which require almost constant care, the daylily adapts to most growing conditions. They can even successfully underplant roses in the rose garden.

Just because they are not fussy like the rose or drop their blossoms after the first day doesn’t make them a poor garden choice. The clusters of buds, collectively called scapes, are set in abundance and open one after the other to give weeks of color.

Hemerocallis 'Moses' Fire'

Along with the color choices, substance has also improved. Modern day daylilies can have waffled and ruffled flower petals. The texture is visibly hardy and the colors are deeply hot or icy cool.

Some, like ‘Hemerocallis 'Frosted Vintage Ruffles’ have contrasting ruffled edges, in this case a cream body with pale pink ruffled margins and a pale green throat. Lovely.

Some, like H. "Moses Fire" or H. "Over the Top" have extra ruffled petals, making them doubles. The throat colors on some, like H. "Janice Brown" have been developed to extend outward on the petals giving a two tone effect.

The American Hemerocallis Society bestows awards every year on old and new cultivars. They are about all things daylily so you can spend a part of your day learning about these beautiful one-day flowers.

---Posted by Coach Anne, October 29 2008---

QUESTION:

Can you please provide me with some types of fast-growing, evergreen ground cover for my Zone 5 garden? We are trying to eliminate weeds by planting ground cover.

ANSWER:

Mazus reptans sounds like it might fit your spot. It gets so thick you can walk on it. Many of the creeping thymes work, also. Ajuga gets very thick and has the bonus of blue spikes of flowers in the springtime. Ice plant, Delosperma cooperi, makes a needlelike mat in full sun.

Tiny WASPS ARE GOOD BUGS

According to USDA scientists, every year insects destroy billions of dollars worth of grain. Scientists have been studying ways to keep insects out of grain, and consequently out of our cereals.

According to the USDA, farmers and storeowners have to spray our food crops to keep the insects out of them. Two scientists in Kansas have been studying ways to have "good guy" insects battle the "bad guy" insects, a much healthier alternative.

The pests, called Indianmeal moths, lay their eggs in the cereal grains. They can then hatch out on supermarket shelves in boxed cereal and start munching.

The "good guy" scientists have found is a tiny speck-sized wasp that hunts the eggs and lays its own eggs inside the moth eggs. The wasp eggs hatch and leave behind dead moth eggs. Another tiny wasp will hunt and kill any of the creepy crawlies that the first wasp misses.

According to one of the research scientists, these wasps will not sting humans and will not eat grain. One day, tiny wasps might be joining us in the supermarket aisles!

For more info, go to "Dr. Watts" Science for Kids, Agricultural Research Service