Flower bed care – common mistakes to avoid
When you order fresh cut flowers from your florist, you most likely already know that there are certain steps you need to take to keep them beautiful. If you don’t take proper care of them, they won’t last too long at all. The same can be said for your pretty flower bed. Proper care is important if you want your blooms to thrive year after year.
Give them space
Whether you are planting seeds, bulbs, seedlings or larger plants, you should always leave enough space for them to grow. Remember, while your plants grow above ground, they grow below the soil too. This means that if you plant them too close together, soon you will have an overcrowded flower bed. In addition, their roots can become tangled and the larger of the two plants could end up killing off the smaller, weaker one as they compete for water and nutrients.
Wrong location
Another important factor to consider is the location of your flower bed. You need to make sure that you choose the right flowers for this particular location. So, before planting any flowers, take a day or two to really analyse your garden and figure out which areas receive morning sun, midday sun, late afternoon sun and all day sun. With this in mind, you can select the right flowers for each spot in your garden and they will surely thrive since they will get all the sun or shade that they need.
Soil selection and preparation
The right soil can make all the difference no matter what type of blooms you want to plant in your flower bed. This is why it is important to take a moment to really till the soil and add some fertilizer before you begin planting. Digging up the soil and aerating it makes it easier to plant your flowers and it also makes it easier for them to spread their roots. This is because the soil won’t be as tightly packed which means it will be easier for your plants to grow.
Watering schedule
Apart from nutrients in the soil, you will also need to make sure that you water your flower bed on a regular basis. Unlike potted plants, the water will filter down through the soil so there isn’t much chance of over watering. However, you still don’t want to flood your flowers! Instead, water them gently during the earlier part of the morning and take care not to spray their leaves and blooms. Another option is to water after the sun starts to set and your plants are no longer exposed to direct sunlight. By the following day, any water droplets will have either fallen to the soil or evaporated so they won’t cause your plants to burn as the sun rises.
These are just a few important tips that will help keep your flower bed happy and healthy. By following these guidelines, you will get to enjoy some colourful blooms for most of the year. Just make sure that you choose plants with long bloom cycles so that you can make the most of them.