Mother’s Day weekend ushers in the busy shopping and planting season. What’s on your plant list this year? Garden centers are filled with blooming annuals, hanging baskets, roses and tomatoes— always a hit with moms. Consider adding native plants that complement your Colorado home or low-maintenance shrubs, trees and groundcover plants. This weekend, include some quality time helping mom with garden clean up before heading back to the garden center.
Plant possibilities
• The forecast for this summer growing season is predicted to be dry and hot. But it is Colorado afterall, so don’t rule out the unexpected gully washer or chilly nights in May.
• Is this the year to get serious and evaluate what plants that aren’t working in your garden? Maybe some tough love is needed to start over or “shovel prune” under-performing plants. That’s garden lingo for digging and tossing plants that are not thriving, are way too fussy or not worth giving away.
• Replacement plant possibilities are plentiful. Choose plants that will complement what is already working in your landscape, along with some smart-choice plants that can handle living in high-dry Colorado.
Choice plants
• Plant Select offers the best assortment of plants that grow very well in our region—efficiently categorized in a collection that includes perennials, annuals, trees, shrubs, vines, groundcovers and ornamental grasses.
• Begun in 1997, Plant Select is managed and overseen by Denver Botanic Gardens, Colorado State University plus horticulturists and nurseries throughout the Rocky Mountain region.
• This group has done the heavy lifting by testing and evaluating plants before their introduction to the gardening market. Every year they add more plants to the program.
• Plant Select plants are chosen because they excel in our high-altitude climate, bright sun and variable weather conditions. Most are disease- and insect-resistant and promise a long season of beauty in the garden.
• Several plants in the collection are native to the Rocky Mountain region. Many are water thrifty and attract bees, butterflies and hummingbirds.
• Look for designated Plant Select selections in area independent garden centers (designated on the tag). Learn more about their plants and program at plantselect.org, which includes an easy search feature to find a plant based on type, size, color and growing conditions. Also find downloadable landscape designs, plant stories, and where to purchase.
• Annuals that disappoint during the growing season also are a waste of money. One of the best places to find outstanding blooming annuals and perennials is the list of winners at the CSU Flower Trial Garden at flowertrials.colostate.edu. These horticulture professionals have tested and rated scores of annuals and perennials that do well in our region which means they’ll be happy in your garden, too.
• This garden is also an official All-America Selections display garden and trial ground. The All-America Selection organization promotes new garden seed varieties that have been objectively judged for superior garden performance in trials throughout North America.
• View current and past year winners in various categories on the website. Plan on stopping in Fort Collins anytime from May to October to visit the trial gardens in person (free). Winning plants are readily available for purchase in local independent garden centers.
Planting tips
• All indoor growing nursery plants need to be acclimated to being outdoors before putting them in the ground for summer enjoyment. If not acclimated they won’t adjust and grow well from the extreme change of growing conditions. This process is called hardening off.
• Start by leaving them outside for a few hours each day progressing from shade to partial shade, then sun. Bring them indoors at night. Build up time left outside each day including overnight stays toward the end of the hardening off period. After about five days, they should be used to outdoor conditions and ready for planting.
• Remember to water plants during the “hardening” period. Smaller 2- or 4-inch container plants may need watering once or more a day while hardening off outside in the sun. They dry out very quickly.
• Once planted, keep cover cloths or sheets handy to cover new plantings for nights below 50 degrees. Bring hanging baskets indoors on chilly nights.
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