Dear Friends,
Who doesn't like April? We are sure there are not many who don't, and this year it almost feels like we get to have two Aprils considering how nice the weather was in March. Many of you have already been into the store chomping at the bit to get the vegetables planted, add some new shrubs or bringing us weeds to identify (and yes, hasn't this been a weedy winter and spring?). Responding to the mild weather we have received many of our plants in earlier than we normally would have, so they are here ready for you to take them home. The only things we may not have full stock of are some of the annuals, though many are here and more are coming.
Our Easter Egg Hunt for Savings will be Sat., April 7th from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. This annual event is a way for you to save some money by looking for eggs hidden around Smithfield Gardens. The eggs will have vouchers for freebies, coupons from 10-40% off, and there will be several golden eggs with 50% off coupons. We do ask that only one coupon is used per household. Speaking of Easter, we have received a few Easter lilies so far with more coming in the first week of the month, and to our cat-loving customers, make sure you keep the lilies out of reach.
Those of you who are accustomed to seeing our sales flyers arrive in your local newspaper, we are now going to be sending them through a mailer, as well as linking them on our Facebook page (you are one of our Facebook friends, aren't you?). Our first flyer will be out next week, so check your mailbox for some great deals. If you don't see it, give us a call or stop by the store to see what's on sale.
We hope to see you soon and wish you happy gardening!
Your friends at Smithfield Gardens |
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Upcoming Events and Classes at Smithfield Gardens
Easter Egg Hunt for Savings
April 7th (Sat.) 9:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Hidden all around Smithfield Gardens will be colorful Easter eggs stuffed with great coupons for discounts on your purchases from 10-40% off, and there a couple golden eggs that have coupons for 50% off. Some will have vouchers for some cool freebies. Get here early as this is a popular event for regular shoppers, and please, one egg per household.
Perennial Gardening for Beginners
April 28th (Sat.) 10:00 - 11:30 a.m.
Every year this type of gardening seems to grow more popular, and it is no wonder since there are so many new varieties to choose from. So if you want to add more of these "repeat performers" to your garden , come let Ann Weber get you started.
Would you like to save 10% on your purchases at Smithfield Gardens? Monday is Military Discount Day and active duty military, Coast Guard, police, fire and rescue personnel all are entitled to this discount. Tuesdays and Wednesdays are Senior Days. Also, anyone who attends one of our free classes is entitled to a discount on the day of the class. All of our discounts apply to any item not already on sale and can not be used towards landscaping services or bulk materials.
Other Events
Historic Garden Week in Virginia
April 21st - 28th
Join the nation's oldest open house with tours all across the state. If you visit vagardenweek.org you can see all that is available.
Lafayette Riverfest 2012
April 28th (Sat.) 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m
The event will celebrate and raise awareness of one of our local waterways. There will be music, food, local artists, green gardening stations, garden tours, free kayaking trips and much more along the waterfront in Norfolk's Colonial Place neighborhood. For more information please visit their website.
The John Clayton Chapter of the Virginia Native Plant Society has numerous outings and events planned for the month. For more information, please visit their fieldtrip and events page.
The Williamsburg Botanical Garden has several events scheduled during the month. More information can be found on their website.
The Norfolk Botanical Garden has classes and events throughout the month. Please click here for more details. |
Heat-Loving Ornamental Peppers
As you visit garden centers this month for your favorite annuals seek out the ornamental peppers before you head to the cash register. Every year there seem to be more of these easy, ornamental annuals to choose from, and you can combine them with sun-loving annuals to make some great container combinations. Capsicum annuum is the name for these heat-loving and humidity-tolerant plants that will provide interest well into the fall.
All of the varieties listed below like a full sun situation best, but they will tolerate a couple of hours of shade and still be fine. Remember, the reason you're probably buying them is to get the cute little fruits and full sun will give you the best pepper production. Sites will say these peppers like evenly-moist, well drained soil but we have seen them be quite drought tolerant here in the display gardens. Read the labels carefully if you have children or dogs who like to sample things. Some are very hot and others are mild. Keep the oldest, wrinkled peppers picked off to keep new peppers coming for a longer time.
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Black Pearl |
If you can't afford to buy yourself jewelry with Tahitian black pearls consider getting the award-winning 'Black Pearl' pepper instead. The foliage is a wonderful dark purple when grown in full sun, and the white flowers turn into round iridescent purple-black fruits that are ¾" in diameter. When these ripen they turn scarlet-red. We often pair dark foliage plants with silvery plants like dusty miller or Dichondra 'Silver Falls', and you could also throw in an annual with red flowers to pick up the color of the peppers at maturity. I think this is my favorite ornamental pepper, and its fruits are very hot. This should get 18" tall and wide.
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Purple Flash |
'Purple Flash' is another dark-leaved pepper with dark round fruits, but the foliage is different. The new leaves emerge purple and white and mature to a rich dark purple. The medium purple flowers (not white like many other ornamental peppers) will turn to round black peppers. Expect this to get 15" tall and 24" wide. We planted this one in our fountain garden last summer, where it survived less than ideal conditions with flying colors.
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Sangria |
'Sangria' is relatively new on the market and has cute pointed fruits. The peppers are described as "non pungent" so these are child and pet safe. You will see dark purple peppers first, then shades of orange on the way to the mature red peppers. The 2-3" long peppers stand well above the green foliage.
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Chilly Chili |
An inspired descriptive name is 'Chilly Chili', because the peppers look like they'd be hot but they,too, are non-pungent. This time you get ivory fruits in the beginning and they mature to bright red, with yellows and oranges on the way. These peppers are also pointed and the foliage is dark green. Expect 'Chilly Chili' to get 10" tall and 14" wide. For a bold look in a container I'd pair this one with purple angelonia and 'Blackie' sweet potato vine.
So put those creative thinking caps on and get planning. Ornamental peppers are great in containers but they can also spice up beds and hanging baskets. You might like to pair them in your garden with a long-blooming lantana like 'New Gold', then stand back and wait for the butterflies and the compliments.
Ann Weber
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Loropetalum - Chinese Fringe
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The flowers of loropetalum resemble its botanical cousin, witchhazel. |
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The flowers of Ever Red are the most red of any loropetalum. |
Fifteen years ago loropetalum, or Chinese fringe (Loropetalum chinense), was a plant unknown to most gardeners, and to a few horticulturists as well. Since that time there has been an explosion of burgundy and pink, and loropetalum can now be seen in many gardens, and it is also used extensively in commercial landscaping. The are several reasons for its popularity, and perhaps the most prevalent is its evergreen foliage which emerges a wine-red and matures to burgundy. Before loropetalum became available, gardeners looking for burgundy-leafed shrubs had to settle for deciduous plants like smoke tree (Contius coggygria), sand cherry (Prunus x cistena) and the thorny barberry (Berberis thunbergii). There are green-leaved loropetalums, but most people prefer the burgundy.
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Pizazz will reach 6' tall and wide. |
Another reason the plant is popular is because of its flowers. In late winter to early spring the plant is covered in bright fuchsia, tassel-like flowers. Some varieties offer a more subtle pink, there is one variety that has truly red flowers, and the green-leafed varieties have white flowers. Once the spring show is over, loropetalums will bloom sporadically through the summer and fall with no rhyme or reason as to when. Besides colorful foliage and showy flowers, loropetalum is also very easy to grow. It thrives in our heat and humidity and withstands a normal winter here, plus it has no serious pests or disease issues. Though they can take partial shade, the foliage will reach its richest color in full sun. It prefers evenly moist soil, especially during the first few summers, but once established it shows a high degree of drought tolerance.
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Zhuzchou Fuchsia is the most tree-like of loropetalums. |
There are only two negatives that I know of with loropetalum. Even though it is hardy from zones 7 to 9, if we have an unusually cold winter or have very late freezes, the top of the plant may defoliate. However, it will pop right back when the weather warms. The other negative is its wood, which is brittle and can break easily. So do not plant these near basketball goals or where rowdy labs and children play. If you ever need to prune a loropetalum, do so right after the big spring bloom, and it is best to keep it looking natural and not clip them into cubes or spheres.
The following are some of the loropetalums we carry at Smithfield Gardens:
- 'Carolina Midnight' - an upright variety that will reach 10-15' tall by 6-10' wide, some of the darkest foliage available, flowers are a nearly-red fuchsia
- 'Daruma' - more compact than others, 3-4' tall and wide, pink flowers
- Ever Red™ ('Chang Nian Hong') - dark foliage, truly red flowers, grows 4' tall by 6' wide
- 'Pizazz' - grows 6' tall and wide, fuchsia flowers
- 'Purple Diamond' - vibrant pink flowers, layered branching to 5-6' tall and wide
- 'Purple Pixie' - ground cover form, 1-2' tall by 4-5' wide, hot pink flowers, not as vigorous
- 'Ruby' - compact, 4' tall and wide, pink flowers
- 'Zhuzhou Fuchsia' - upright, can be limbed-up to be more tree-like, 10-15' tall, hot pink flowers
Les Parks |
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Fertilizer Basics
It's no secret that April is the month most associated with new growth, and sometimes plants may need a little help with that. So for this month's newsletter I thought I would talk about fertilizer basics. Simply put, fertilizer is food for plants and is primarily made up of three numbers represented as N-P-K, or nitrogen(N), phosphorus(P), and potassium(K). If you have ever looked at a bag of fertilizer, I am sure you have noticed these numbers, say on a bag of 10-10-10 for example. In this formulation the bag contains 10% nitrogen, 10% phosphorus, and 10% potassium (a.k.a. potash). The remaining 70% can be made up of inert materials, micronutrients, organic matter or other additives.
Nitrogen(N) is what plants need for leaf growth. So something with a high nitrogen number is really going to target green growth, this is why traditional lawn food has such a high first number. In fact, if you use a high nitrogen fertilizer around plants grown for fruit or flowers, you could end up getting a lot of leaves and little else. Speaking of flowers, phosphorus(P) is the component in fertilizer that promotes flowers, fruit and root growth. I often recommend to gardeners who are having trouble getting flowers to form that they should apply a high phosphate fertilizer. The last item is potassium or potash(K) which is good for overall plant health. Think of it as a multi-vitamin.
Fertilizers can be either organic or chemical based, and they can be quick acting, slow release or time-released. Organic fertilizers are typically derived from natural ingredients and generally have low numbers and don't tend to burn. Chemical fertilizers generally act quicker than organics, but you need to make sure they don't burn the plants, so follow the directions carefully. Slow release formulas simply mean the fertilizer is available to the plant over a long period of time. Timed release fertilizers are typically coated in different thicknesses of a substance that takes a while to break down, so the fertilizer may last all season. Osmocote fertilizers fall into this category and are a great do-it-once and forget about it product.
Of course there are fertilizers for just about any type of plant or situation you might have. One I strongly believe in is Root Stimulator, which I recommend for all new plants as it specifically targets root growth, helping plants get over transplant shock. This month and into May, many of you will be putting in new bedding plants, so make sure you use something like Premium Bedding Plant Food or Flower-Tone. Roses are heavy feeders and should be fertilized in April with a good rose food. I really like Mills Magic, which is endorsed by the American Rose Society. There are too many fertilizers on the market for me to mention in this article, but the final one I want to mention is Holly-Tone, which is good for acid-loving plants like hollies, gardenias, azaleas and camellias.
If you are feeling overwhelmed, please stop by the store and let me help you make the correct choice.
Rhonda Harris
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