Fostering a flower takes a little know-how.
What in the world do I mean by ‘fostering a flower’? Are there really a gazillion ways to foster flowers? Flowers grow best when we know their growing preferences. We want to foster the best growth possible in our plants. In my case, cut flowers.
Being in Zone 8a, I plant hardy annuals during fall/winter. This allows longer flowering times when spring arrives. It sounds crazy, but plants that don’t like weather over 80 F get kinda fussy when they get heated up!
Knowing your flowers’ seasons, or weather preferences, helps you know what to grow as a flower farmer. Flowers that don’t like getting too hot, otherwise known as hardy annuals, are: stock, pansies, sweet peas, larkspur, nigela, calendula, delphiniums, poppies, etc. The list could go on!
There are other factors that determine when to plant the right plant in the right place at the right time. There is something called photoperiod. This means plants grow best in accordance to the amount of light they receive in a 24 hour period. Photo means light btw. Some prefer less light, called Short Day Plants – SDP. Some more light, called Long Day Plants – LDP. Others don’t care, called Day Neutral Plants – DNP. You can learn a TON about this here. Be warned, it takes a bit of reading and rereading to fully understand it… oi vey!
Weather, light, and moisture affect the results of a healthy plant. For example, I am currently growing anemones and ranunculus for an early spring harvest. If they get too wet, they can rot before I get any flowers. Because my growing area is in a flood area, I built berms to plant them in. This keeps them higher and dryer. I just check them periodically for proper moisture.
This is just the tip of the iceberg of growing flowers. I can say without a doubt, yes, there are a gazillion ways to foster flowers! Just keep researching and learning and in time you will be an amazing gardener.
