Best strategy for “cutting garden” in small space!

[Anonymous]

Do you save the $3 sale dahlia tubers for the next year? Or plant them right away? I have to say I didn’t realize zinnias could look so dahlia-like. Seems like I would want both for different reasons!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do you save the $3 sale dahlia tubers for the next year? Or plant them right away? I have to say I didn’t realize zinnias could look so dahlia-like. Seems like I would want both for different reasons!

You have to plant them the same season. Dahlia tubers will not last so long.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Bed will get you more blooms because you have more space, more access to soil nutrients, more soil moisture, etc. Plants in pots need a ton more fussing than plants in the ground. I am a very good gardener and I don’t do pots. Too much fussing when they could take care of themselves, instead.

Stop hating on pots! I've replaced most the grass in my 1/4 acre suburban yard with natives/pollinator friendly plants. Yet, I'm also a big fan of pots - big pots!

I mostly get them from Costco or yard sales. I often paint them (gotta love Rustoleum!) and either use ceramic watering spikes or make them into self-watering containers. I will admit I have to refill the water reservoirs more frequently than I have to water plants in the ground but it's, at most, a couple times a week. It's especially helpful for plants that want consistent moisture.

I like that this allows me to grow in areas I normally couldn't, the rabbits can't get to the plants, it gives me pops of color at different heights and it allows me to nurture some finicky plants that would struggle in the ground. I often get plants half off on the 'distressed rack' at Lowes and nurse them back to health in a big pot.

https://a.co/d/37Bwo1D

I couldn't find the video that I first learned to make any pot but this site is similar. Once you understand the principles, it's easy and highly adaptable.
http://www.bucolicbushwick.com/2011/04/diy-self-watering-container-how-to.html?m=1

[Anonymous]

Tall perennial phlox smell amazing and keep blooming if you cut them. Black eyed Susans also do very well in this area.

[Anonymous]

OP back. Learning so much from this thread!

Does installing self watering in a large planter help the plants in a unique way or just save you time watering? I have a small backyard so watering isn’t a burden

[Anonymous]

Has anyone done the Create Academy courses? Especially interested in Arthur Parkinson and the “bulb lasagna” container strategy

[Anonymous]

Can you put a bulb in the bottom of a small pot and then plant annual seeds on top?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can you put a bulb in the bottom of a small pot and then plant annual seeds on top?

Most annuals are shallow rooted and require lots of water which could rot the bulbs. However, I do this in a back bulb garden bed in the ground. No problems there but I don’t water those annuals. Pots dry out much faster and require more water.

[Anonymous]

Thank you. Any other tips for planting bulbs with/amidst/under other plants/trees? Space is at a premium

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP back. Learning so much from this thread!

Does installing self watering in a large planter help the plants in a unique way or just save you time watering? I have a small backyard so watering isn’t a burden

8:28 here. A self-watering pot is NOT inherently better than planting something in the ground. It's not better, it's not worse. It is simply an option.

Sometimes you have a great spot for a plant but the ground isn't ideal (like, if there's concrete instead of dirt). A pot is a great option. Or, in the case of tomatoes, I plant all mine in 5 gallon, self watering buckets because tomatoes like consistent watering from the bottom and I can use a long pvc pipe to refill the reservoir and a stake. It also keeps the rabbits from eating them and I do have a good, sunny spot for them.

I also like the self watering pots for annuals because I don't have to pay as much attention to them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I grow zinnias, cosmos, and bachelor buttons, sunflowers -- all are cut-and-come again.

I cut them every Thursday and they flower for me from June - October.

I wouldn't waste my time with expensive and finicky dahlias. Many zinnias look like dahlias but are longer bloomers and cut-and-come again.

I will admit that dahlias can be finicky but I will fight you on this point. Also happy dahlias bloom like crazy.

Right, but it's too late in the season to plant dahlias, and it isn't too late to plant zinnias (from seed).

[Anonymous]

Can you just direct sow zinnia seeds now in a big pot?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I grow zinnias, cosmos, and bachelor buttons, sunflowers -- all are cut-and-come again.

I cut them every Thursday and they flower for me from June - October.

I wouldn't waste my time with expensive and finicky dahlias. Many zinnias look like dahlias but are longer bloomers and cut-and-come again.

I will admit that dahlias can be finicky but I will fight you on this point. Also happy dahlias bloom like crazy.

Here's a whole article on Dahlia Zinnias.

https://minnetonkaorchards.com/dahlia-zinnias/#:~:text=Dahlia%20zinnias%20are%20part%20of,important%20to%20make%20this%20distinction.

And here's a pic of a Dahlia Zinnia. Not identical, Dahlias can be massive! But in the same ballpark to a new/casual gardener.

I love dahlias and I love zinnias and I grow both but those pics are of dahlias, not dahlia-flowered zinnias. The growth pattern and foliage is 100 percent dahlia. Zinnias face upward; dahlias face to the side.

Dahlia-flowered zinnias are like regular zinnias but with a lot more petals.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I grow zinnias, cosmos, and bachelor buttons, sunflowers -- all are cut-and-come again.

I cut them every Thursday and they flower for me from June - October.

I wouldn't waste my time with expensive and finicky dahlias. Many zinnias look like dahlias but are longer bloomers and cut-and-come again.

I will admit that dahlias can be finicky but I will fight you on this point. Also happy dahlias bloom like crazy.

Here's a whole article on Dahlia Zinnias.

https://minnetonkaorchards.com/dahlia-zinnias/#:~:text=Dahlia%20zinnias%20are%20part%20of,important%20to%20make%20this%20distinction.

And here's a pic of a Dahlia Zinnia. Not identical, Dahlias can be massive! But in the same ballpark to a new/casual gardener.

I love dahlias and I love zinnias and I grow both but those pics are of dahlias, not dahlia-flowered zinnias. The growth pattern and foliage is 100 percent dahlia. Zinnias face upward; dahlias face to the side.

Dahlia-flowered zinnias are like regular zinnias but with a lot more petals.

+1 Plus a lot of the dahlia-flowered or “cupcake” zinnias don’t really look like that; they default to regular singles. I love zinnias and have five varieties in my garden right now, but they’re “regular” zinnias.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I grow zinnias, cosmos, and bachelor buttons, sunflowers -- all are cut-and-come again.

I cut them every Thursday and they flower for me from June - October.

I wouldn't waste my time with expensive and finicky dahlias. Many zinnias look like dahlias but are longer bloomers and cut-and-come again.

Dahlias are not expensive and they are not finicky. They grow like weeds for me.

C'mon -- one Dahlia bulb costs between $5-$10.

A pack of Zinnia seeds will run you $3 and will grow 10-30 plants!

My zinnias and cosmos are in full bloom right now. Are your dahlias? And when you cut them, do they rebook within the week?

I mean, I love dahlias, but compared to zinnias and cosmos, yes, they are finicky.

Dahlia tubers survive the winter in my DC garden and one plant can provide hundreds of blooms over the course of the season.

I love my zinnias but the dahlias are pretty great too.

I also grow sunflowers, shasta daisies, several varieties of black eyed susans, cosmos, mountain mint for filler, echinacea. All are beautiful cut flowers.