Hydrangeas are one of the most popular plants in America. They can be grown indoors or outside in the garden, allowing their blooms to be enjoyed at any time of the year. Florist-grown hydrangeas can provide double the enjoyment since their flowers can be enjoyed indoors first, and then be pruned back and transplanted outdoors for a second bloom later in the season.

The two most popular types of hydrangea are mophead and lacecap. Mopheads have large, rounded heads, while lacecaps have a smaller cluster of flowers surrounded by a halo of larger flowers around their edge.

Most hydrangeas grown today come in shades of pink, blue or white. In many varieties, the color can be altered with the addition of lime or aluminum sulfate.

In the garden, hydrangeas do best in a morning sun, afternoon shade location and look great when planted under trees or other larger shrubs. Keep your plants watered regularly so the soil is moist but not wet. Most hydrangeas perform best when fed a couple of times during the growing season with an acid food such as Gardner & Bloome OMRI Listed Azalea & Camellia Fertilizer.

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A flower garden, dangling like a colorful jeweled earring from the eave of your home. Yes, a hanging floral bouquet, the hanging basket--filled full to the brim with flowers and plants from the season, whether that is spring, summer or fall.

A design concept is important for you to consider when building your own hanging basket. You will need to choose a style or theme. For example, perhaps you want all of the same kinds of plants or flowers, or you might choose to have a single color scheme, while others might choose complementary colors or contrasting colors. A hanging basket with all flowers can be fun, and a mixed basket with flowers and foliage plants can be even more interesting.

A hanging basket makes a wonderful statement when it contains both upright and trailing plants. Make sure, however, that the plants that you choose for the upright feature will remain within the scale of the container that you have chosen.

Did we mention containers? There are many choices of containers, too. Wire baskets lined with moss, plastic pots with built in hangers, pots hanging with woven ropes--your ultimate choice will depend on the look that you are creating.

So, you've decided upon your theme, have an idea of the plants that you want and have chosen the container. Excellent. Next you need to prepare your potting mix. Select a high quality potting mix such as Master Nursery Gold Medal Plus and mix in a controlled-release fertilizer such as Osmocote to give it a good start. Also, remember that moisture retention is frequently a problem with hanging baskets (and all containers, for that matter), so mix in a soil polymer that will hold on to the moisture between waterings.

If you have chosen to create a succulent hanging basket, you will need cactus mix, but probably not the slow-release fertilizer or the moisture polymer.

Planting is the next step. Fill your container about 2/3 to 3/4 full with the potting mixture. Carefully remove your new plants from their nursery containers and place them in the container. Don't hesitate to move them around until you are thrilled with the arrangement. Keep in mind which ones are upright growers, and place them in the center. Trailing flowers/plants should be near the edge, of course.

Once the plants are arranged to your satisfaction, fill in between plants with your potting mixture and water well. Remember that, even if you did use the moisture retention polymer, containers dry out far more quickly than plants in the ground. You will need to water several times a week or even more frequently in hot weather.

What's next, you wonder? Watching your own creative design grow to maturity.

Take your time to come into the garden center and look through our selection of flowering and foliage plants. We'll be delighted to help you become a great hanging floral bouquet designer!

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By Tamara Galbraith

A few years ago, a Mt. Gretna, PA, couple known for inventing wacky holidays designated August 8 as "Sneak Some Zucchini onto your Neighbor's Porch Night." Any gardener who has successfully grown summer squash and zucchini will chuckle with understanding over that one. Invariably, we end up with way more zukes than we can possibly eat. We give them to friends, family and co-workers but every time we turn around, there's more.

Occasionally, though, people do have trouble growing zucchini. Here are a couple of common complaints, with suggested solutions:

Q: My zucchini/squash plant is producing lots of leaves and flowers, but no fruit.
A: This is usually a pollination issue, i.e., the pollen on the male flowers isn't reaching the female flowers, due to low bee and other pollinating insect activity. Female flowers have swelling at the base of the flower. Take a Q-tip, get some pollen from a few male flowers, and rub it on the sticky middle part at the end of the female flowers' pistils. You can also plant several bee-attracting flowers around the zucchini plants.

Q. I have some zucchini fruit growing on my plants, but the end of the fruit starts to go rotten before I can harvest.
A. Two things can cause this rotting: a calcium deficiency or an irregular watering schedule. Add mulch around your zucchinis and water on a regular schedule. If that doesn't help, water a small handful of finely ground limestone into to the soil around each plant to raise calcium levels.

By Tamara Galbraith

It's the middle of summer. The heat is on, and while you're sporting a nice tan, your plants have suddenly taken on a pale, pasty look. What gives? Say hello to the fungus disease known as powdery mildew.

A common condition found on plant life throughout North America, powdery mildew is characterized by spots or patches of white to grayish, talcum-powder-like growth. Fortunately, it is usually more of an effect than a problem itself. In other words, in addition to treating the plant, you'll probably want to take a look at the surrounding conditions and make some adjustments.

First and foremost is to make sure you give plants plenty of room. Good air circulation goes a long way. Trim plants that have gotten crowded or bushy. Avoid overhead watering, and don't make late summer applications of nitrogen fertilizer, as powdery mildew loves to attack the newest plant growth which, of course, nitrogen encourages.

To halt the fungus in its tracks, spray with a good fungicide. And next time around, try to choose the more mildew-resistant cultivars of plants that are most susceptible to powdery mildew, like zinnias, bee balm, crape myrtles, cucumbers and squash.

Do your last thinning on deciduous fruit trees after June drop, nature's way of getting rid of an overload of fruit. It may occur any time between early May and July but is most likely to happen in June. One day you visit your apple, peach or apricot tree and find a circle of immature fruit lying on the ground under the branches. You may worry if you are new to fruit trees, but don't panic! It's a natural part of the cycle. These trees often set more than double the amount of fruit they could possibly ripen properly, so they simply drop off part of it.

If you thinned out fruit on your trees earlier, you enabled the remaining fruit to grow larger and thus will have less fruit dropping now. Nevertheless, you may need to remove even more fruit than naturally drops in order to space your crop evenly down the branches. Inspect other deciduous fruit trees that are less subject to June drop (plums, for instance) and thin out their fruits also.

Clean up any fallen fruit under the tree before it has a chance to rot and spread disease. If it's healthy, chop it and add it to your compost pile (cover it with earth to keep away flies and rodents). Also water your deciduous fruit trees deeply in June and July.

How much sun can shade plants tolerate and how much shade can sun plants tolerate?

Answer:

This question is a bit more complex than it looks, since it depends partly on location. In Alaska, a full-shade plant might do best in dappled shade. In Florida a full-sun plant may well need some afternoon shade. The specific location can make a difference too; full-sun plants near light colored walls and patios may be able to take more shade because they get reflected light.

In general, most sun plants need at least five hours of full sun per day during the growing season. It doesn't matter when they get shade as long as they receive at least five hours of sunlight. Any less, and plants will most likely show little growth or vigor, fewer or no blooms and have a thin, spindly appearance.

Most shade plants can handle morning sun (before 10 a.m.) and late afternoon sun (after 5 p.m.)--but no direct sunlight between those hours. Shade plants that are exposed to direct sunlight for more than 20-30 minutes during these midday hours will generally burn, with the leaves exhibiting leaf scorch spots or burning completely brown.

If you have a plant that you discover is in the wrong location, wait until the early evening hours to transplant to a more appropriate spot. (If it's a shade plant in too much sun, try to shade it with something until you can get it moved.)

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