Hyams Garden Center and Accent Store

Serving Greater Charleston Area with Quality, Variety & Professionalism since 1981

What Does the Gardener Say?

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A Bit of Love for Your Roses

Every year, in the month of February, we are given a momentary glimpse of the beauty to come in Spring. Valentine’s Day suddenly surrounds us with bouquets of colorful cut flowers to share with those we love.

For Low Country gardening, Valentine’s Day also signals a good time to share a little tender loving “pruning” care with your rose plants.

It is good to prune while roses are dormant. The months of February and March are usually best. For fertilizing start with ‘rose-tone’ toward the end of February. One can also treat the rose plants with some All Seasons Horticultural Oil Spray to start them off clean from fungus and insects.

For hybrid tea and grandiflora roses, cut back no lower than 18 inches unless they have been damaged by pests or excessively cold weather. Alternating the height of the cuts will give the plant a more natural look.

For floribundas and polyanthas grown as a hedge, shears or hedge clippers can be used to remove one-third to one-half of height. Otherwise, clip back just below where they previously flowered or down to one-third of their length.

Just prior to the growing season, repeat-blooming old garden roses and shrub roses should be pruned. Tip-pruning throughout the growing season will encourage flower-bearing side shoots.

The Roses by Alan L. Strang

            I have roses in my garden,
            And their fragrance fills the air.
            How I love to watch them blooming;
            For they all are very fair.

            Some have deep red velvet petals,
            Some again are snowy white;
            And the little baby pink ones,
            Surely give you such delight.

            Pretty birds come to my garden,
            And sing there the live-long day;
            Yes the birds and pretty flowers
            Help and cheer us on our way.

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Lawn Maintenance

Hey everyone, I hope you’re having a great Spring! If you haven’t fertilized yet, the time is here. It looks like everyone’s grass has greened up enough to tolerate an application of Ferti-lome 15-0-15 Centipede Lawn Fertilizer or something similar. It is a good formulation to ease all warm season grasses into fully greening up including St. Augustine, Zoyzia and Bermuda. Please hold off using any “weed and feed” products as the herbicide component could burn the new grass shoots. A strong healthy grass will choke out many of the weeds you may have now. If needed you could apply a weed and feed after the grass is fully greened up, and we have those on hand. We will have pre-emergents later in the month to apply around Memorial Day to prevent the dreaded Chamberbitter and Virginia Buttonweed. Selective herbicides like Image Kills Nutsedge can be applied after your grass is fully greened to control other problematic weeds. I have had several folks come in with some fungal issues and we have Scotts DiseaseEX on hand as well as a couple of other products. I hope these suggestions help you have a lawn you can be proud of! (Randy Howie)


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Caring for Orchids

Orchids are tropical plants that take on many different forms depending on variety. Some orchids are difficult to grow while others flourish with little care.

Lighting: In the home, orchids need maximum light (not direct sunlight). Proper light levels can be determined by the color of the leaves. A healthy orchid in proper lighting has foliage that is light to medium green.

Temperature: In the home, cool temperatures will help guard against dehydration. Most orchids are happy with medium temperatures at 55-65 degrees at night.

Moisture: It is best to water orchids thoroughly and wait until the surface is relatively dry before watering again. Orchids in fir bark mixes needs watering no more than once every 5-7 days. Generally, orchids with a thick fleshy stem and leaves need less water than orchids with thin, more delicate foliage. Always water your orchid in the morning to allow foliage to dry before night.

Fertilizing: Orchids are not heavy eaters and can be safely fertilized once a month with a water-soluble urea free fertilizer. Always water, as mentioned above, (in the morning), before fertilizing and remembering it is better to under fertilize.

Humidity: Increasing humidity levels around orchids aids in their success while growing indoors. Using humidity trays or trays of wet gravel around or under plants can add to the desired amount of moisture to the air around them; however, be careful to keep the orchid pots bottom above the water level.

Soil: Potting mixes for orchids vary, but most are loose mixtures of organic materials such as fir bark, and/or osmunda fiber, with small amounts of peat, perlite, cork, or charcoal. The object is to have a mix that drains well, but maintains some moisture. Repotting is usually only needed once every two or three years.

Insects: Mealy bugs, aphids and scales are the most frequent pests to be found on orchid plants. Outdoors these pests can simply be washed off. Indoors, further measures may be necessary. Eight is a chemical pesticide that will help control these pests. If you are looking for a pesticide alternative, rubbing alcohol can be sprayed on plants, blooms and buds.

Re-blooming: In the fall and spring, when the outside night temperature is between 50-60 degrees, Phalaenopsis plants can be outside in a covered area in the shade for 2-3 weeks. Temperatures at night should be 15-25 degrees cooler than day temperatures. All orchids benefit from a day-night drop of 10 degrees or more.

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Winter Blooms in Charleston

Winter annuals tolerate cold temperature and bloom even in cool season. Dianthus, viola, pansy, wallflower, bergenia, foxglove, dusty miller are some of the Winter Annuals that tolerate cold temperature up to 19 degrees. Diascia, nemesia, nierembergia, linaria (miniature snapdragon) survive a normal winter and tolerate temperature up to 24 degrees. The least cold tolerant are geranium, alyssum, lobelia and calendula as they do not tolerate temperature below 30 degrees.

Since the date of the first frost varies from year to year, it is difficult to predict how long different winter annuals will last each winter. Snapdragon and stock do not do well an unusually cold winter. Flower pots in the porch do provide us with a great opportunity to save some of the less-cold-tolerant winter annuals. Visit Hyams Garden Center to take home a winter annual of your choice to add color to your front or back porch.