Emily Jewell took care of the technical aspects while Barb Jewell made
her presentation.
At the February 2014 meeting of the Garden Club of PEI Barb Jewell, of Jewell’s Country Market in Marshfield
PE, spoke about her vast
experience in creating window boxes and containers for her customers. Her family business grows plants and creates
containers for sale, does custom planting for residential customers, and also
has a number of business customers, including the Delta Hotel in Charlottetown
and across the street at the Merchantman Pub. Barb credits the staff of those establishments with helping with the daily tasks of deadheading and
watering.
Barb’s job at the greenhouse business includes
ordering plants, scheduling and selecting the plants to be used in containers
and hanging baskets. Things get started
in the greenhouse during the 12th week before the last frost – which is
the third week in March.
Some customers come in with their own containers,
and Barb will plant them with whatever the customer chooses. She cautions customers to make sure the
containers have proper drainage. Some people put rocks
in the bottom of containers but Barb fills her entire container with good
quality soil-less mix.
She says that often the customers will choose the
geraniums which are most vividly blooming at the time; however, by the time the
customer sees the final planting, Barb has removed the flowers because falling
petals which land on the leaves tend to cause botrytis – disease and
yellowing. New buds will form quickly, and the planting will soon be full of blooms.
Choosing
plants
Before you go to the nursery, make a list of the
plants you want. Do some research on the
Internet or look through seed catalogues to get inspired. Before buying, tip out the plant. The roots should be white, not brown.
When choosing plants, group together plants with
similar needs. Plants with different
needs will not thrive together in a container.
In a formal setting, choose a formal arrangement of plants, such as
dracaena, geraniums, and neat trailers.
Plants around a pool should not have petals that blow off easily and end
up in the water. Choose large tropicals
like cannas instead.
In late spring, Gerbera daisies are in full bloom and look beautiful. But by late July, they stop blooming. If you plant them in containers, make sure
you have other plants that will take over and bloom once Gerberas no longer produce flowers.
Growing
conditions
When choosing plants for containers, consider where
the container will be placed. A
container which gets full sun all day will need different types of plants than
one that will be placed in the shade.
Morning sun is not as intense as afternoon sun.
Plant
tags
Plants are sold with a plastic tag that contains a
wealth of information. It will let you
know the botanical name, common name, colour of flowers and leaves, when it
will bloom, whether it prefers sun or shade, and plant habit (i.e. trailing or
mounding).
The tags also come with a label that you can scan with your smart phone. You can even take a picture of the tag and
the plant and create a digital record of the plants you purchase every
year. This will make it easier to choose
plants next year.
Soil
When planting containers, plants will perform better
if you use fresh soil every year.
It is very important to use good quality soil-less
mix which is a mixture of perlite, peat moss, cocoa fibre, and a chemical
wetting agent. It also contains a small
amount of fertilizer. The brands they
use are ASB or Sunshine #4. This comes
in hard, compacted bales that need to be
broken up and moistened. The greenhouse has
a machine that automatically breaks up the bales and adds water and makes it much
easier to fill containers.
Water
Watering is the most important job in the
greenhouse, because plants dry out fast and can die fast.
Fertilizer
Because plants in containers have a limited amount
of soil, and soil-less mix has very few nutrients, fertilizer
should be applied twice a week. 20-20-20
slow-release is a good all-purpose fertilizer.
Barb tries to stay away from artificial fertilizers, and recommends
making your own compost tea or manure tea to water your plants. Organic fertilizer does not interfere with
the beneficial organisms in the soil that keep roots healthy.
Never fertilize when the soil is very dry. Moisten thoroughly before watering. If the weather is very warm, flush the plant
with straight water to prevent the build-up of mineral salts.
Vegetative
vs seed started plants
A plant marked “vegetative” was started from a
cutting, not from seed. Vegetative
plants are usually sold individually and are more expensive than those started
from seed. Vegetative plants are usually
more vigorous, produce more flowers, and generally perform better.
Jewell’s buys thousands of unrooted cuttings and
plants them up. Their greenhouse has a
warm-water misting stem and bottom heat, which provides ideal conditions.
Transplanting
Make sure the transplanting soil and the plant is
moist. When taking the plant out of the
container, loosen the roots before transplanting.
Geraniums
Jewell’s grows geraniums from cuttings and from
seed. About 75% of the geraniums they
sell are red. Vegetative geraniums are
more vigorous and more expensive than those started from seed.
Recommended plants
- Proven Winners is a licensed brand that offers plants that are more expensive but are quite successful.
Gaura (above) Karalee Petite Pink
Calliope
Dark Red geranium (above) – a cross between ivy and zonal geranium –
very vigorous
Rocky Mountain Dark Red geranium(above) – with the proper light, these two should bloom all season
Lobelia
– (above) choose
vegetative varieties. they are more vigorous and will last all season.
Mounding habit is better than trailing
Coleus
– many colours to choose from – some are more sun tolerant than others – check
the tag - above is Keystone Copper, which tolerates sun and shade
Bidens (above) – fertilize every week, or it will get tired
Juncus (twisted)
Lantana- good for hot, dry areas
Trixi confetti liners - three different varieties grown together
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