We start planting large hanging baskets and planters early February. The pictures here show that we start with young plants, a good soil mix to which we add mineral soil and plenty of fertilizer.
We use warm irrigation water the months of February and March so we do not shock the plants when watering. It can take up to 8 hours to bring the soil back to room temperature after using 55 degree well water.
We start planting in February to spread out the work load but the plants grow very slowly due to very low sunlight levels. Our plants grow better in March (which has the same sunlight as October) and grow very quickly in April due to warm day temperatures and higher sunlight.
Once the hanging baskets and large planters start to grow we begin regular prunings to encourage more branching which results in a larger plant with more flowers. We also take off buds and open flowers to reduce the chance of disease from petals laying on leaves.
Pruning involves opening up the plant canopy and looking for branches that have grown. The first pruning we remove 1 to 2 growing tips per plant taking about 1-2 inches from each tip. Subsequent pruning can take 4-6 tips per plant at which time we also shape the plants in case they grow lopsided.
We continue to remove buds and blooms for disease control until 3-4 weeks before sales start about May 10th. Constant grooming keeps the staff busy throughout May.
