Zone 3 Flowers: Cone Flowers

 Botanical name: Echinacea

Plant type: Flower

USDA Hardiness Zones: 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9

Sun exposure: Full Sun

Soil type: Loamy

Flower color: Red, Pink, Purple, White

Bloom time: Summer, Fall

Coneflowers are bright perennials, some of which are used in herbal remedies. These flowers are easy to care for, relatively drought-tolerant, and are good for cut flowers. Coneflowers are daisy-like with raised centers. The seeds found in the dried flower head also attract songbirds to your garden.

Planting

• Loosen the soil in your garden using a garden fork or tiller to 12 to 15 inches deep, then mix in a 2– to 4–inch layer of compost.
• Plant the seeds in the spring in humus-rich, well-drained soil about 1 to 3 feet apart, depending on the type, in full sun. Coneflowers can tolerate some shade.
• If you are moving a potted plant outside from inside, dig a hole about twice the pot's diameter and carefully place the plant in the soil. Bury the plant to the top of the root ball, but make sure the root ball is level with the soil surface. Water it thoroughly.

Care

• In the spring, put a thin layer of compost around the plants, then a 2–inch layer of mulch to help keep the plants moist and prevent weeds.
• If you receive less than an inch of rain a week, water your plants regularly during the summer.
• If your plants are floppy, cut them to the ground after they flower.
• Remember to cut off the dead/faded flowers to prolong to blooming season and prevent excessive self-seeding. To attract birds, keep the late-season flowers on the plants to mature.
• Divide your plants into clumps every 3 to 4 years in spring or autumn, although coneflowers do not like excessive disturbance.

Pests

• Leaf miners
• Powdery mildew
• Bacterial spots
• Gray mold
• Vine weevils

Info Source

Instructions

1. • 1
     Plant your coneflowers as a border along a walk way or as part of your perennial cutting garden. Cornflowers enjoy full sun and well drained soil. The plants grow quickly up to 20 inches tall and 24 inches wide.
   • 2
     Water your coneflowers often during the first growing season so the roots can become established. Mature coneflowers are drought resistant, but still need a weekly dose of water to survive. If the air is particularly dry, you may need to water your coneflowers more often.
   • 3
     Deadhead the coneflowers during the spring and early summer to encourage new growth in the middle to late summer. Cut off the spent blooms with garden shears as the petals begin to brown. You can also cut out any dead or browning leaves to allow for fresh greenery later in the season. Do not deadhead the coneflowers in the fall, as the seed heads provide food for migrating birds.
   • 4
     Shear your cornflowers back to about one-third of their growth during the early summer and you'll have thicker growth later in the season. Shearing a plant means to cut and remove most of the greenery and all of the spent blooms and stems.
   • 5
     Divide fully grown and lush coneflowers in the spring or early fall, after the blooms have finished. Remove the plant from the ground completely with a shovel. Place the tip of your shovel at the top of the dirt and between the center leaves of your coneflower plant. Push down sharply with the shovel to cut the plant in half. Replant one half back into the hole where it was removed, and replant the other half in a new location. Water both halves of your coneflower after dividing and transplanting.

Read more: http://www.ehow.com/how_5077265_care-coneflowers.html#ixzz2ev0QuoRE

Zone 3 Gardening: Turtle Head Flowers

Turtlehead is an excellent, sturdy, vertical perennial with rounded stems, medium texture and deep-green, boldly veined leaves on short stalks. Weather-resistant flowers are dark pink or purple, borne in short, dense, terminal spikes. The flowers are tubular 2-lipped blooms, with a sparse yellow beard inside each lower lip.Noteworthy characteristics: Blooms for at least 4 weeks and will continue into late summer with deadheading. Great mid-border plant.Care: Grow in partial shade with moist soil. Will grow in dense shade, or even in full sun if soil is soggy. Tolerates heavy clay soils and will also grow in a bog garden.Propagation: From seed in early spring. Divide in spring. Root soft-tip cuttings in late spring or early summer.Problems: Prone to powdery mildew, rust, fungal leaf spots, and damage from slugs and snails.

Height	1 ft. to 3 ft.
Spread	1 ft. to 3 ft.
Light	Full Sun to Part Shade
Moisture	Medium to Wet
Maintenance	Moderate
Characteristics	Native; Showy Flowers; Showy Foliage
Bloom Time	Late Summer; Summer
Flower Color	Pink Flower; Purple/ Lavender Flower
Uses	Beds and Borders, Waterside
Seasonal Interest	Spring Interest, Summer Interest
Type	Perennials

Zone 3 Gardening: Goodland Apple Tree

Height: 20 feet

Spread: 20 feet

Sunlight:   

Hardiness Zone: 3a

Description:

A very hardy green apple with a reddish blush, high quality, great for cooking and eating fresh; eating apples are high maintenance and need a second pollinator; the perfect combination of accent and fruit tree, needs well-drained soil and full sun

Ornamental Features:

Goodland Apple features showy clusters of lightly-scented white flowers with shell pink overtones along the branches in mid spring, which emerge from distinctive pink flower buds. It has forest green foliage throughout the season. The pointy leaves turn yellow in fall. The fruits are showy red pomes carried in abundance in early fall, which are excellent for fresh eating and cooking and baking but which can be messy if allowed to drop on the lawn or walkways. This variety requires a different selection of the same species growing nearby in order to set fruit. The rough brown bark is not particularly outstanding.

Landscape Attributes:

Goodland Apple is a deciduous tree with a more or less rounded form. Its average texture blends into the landscape, but can be balanced by one or two finer or coarser trees or shrubs for an effective composition.

This is a high maintenance tree that will require regular care and upkeep, and is best pruned in late winter once the threat of extreme cold has passed. Gardeners should be aware of the following characteristic(s) that may warrant special consideration;

• Disease
• Messy

Goodland Apple is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Orchard/Edible Landscaping
• Shade
• Accent

Plant Characteristics:

Goodland Apple will grow to be about 20 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 20 feet. It has a low canopy with a typical clearance of 4 feet from the ground, and is suitable for planting under power lines. It grows at a medium rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for 50 years or more.

This tree should only be grown in full sunlight. It prefers to grow in average to moist conditions, and shouldn't be allowed to dry out. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. It is highly tolerant of urban pollution and will even thrive in inner city environments.

This particular variety is an interspecific hybrid.

Info source

Zone 3 Gardening: Prairie Magic Apple Tree

Height: 15 feet

Spread: 12 feet

Sunlight:   

Hardiness Zone: 3a

Description:

A relatively new very hardy red apple with a green blush, high quality, great for fresh eating; eating apples are high maintenance and need a second pollinator; the perfect combination of accent and fruit tree, needs well-drained soil and full sun

Ornamental Features:

Prairie Magic Apple features showy clusters of lightly-scented white flowers with shell pink overtones along the branches in mid spring, which emerge from distinctive pink flower buds. It has forest green foliage throughout the season. The pointy leaves turn yellow in fall. The fruits are showy red pomes carried in abundance in early fall, which are excellent for fresh eating but which can be messy if allowed to drop on the lawn or walkways. This variety requires a different selection of the same species growing nearby in order to set fruit. The rough brown bark is not particularly outstanding.

Landscape Attributes:

Prairie Magic Apple is a deciduous tree with a more or less rounded form. Its average texture blends into the landscape, but can be balanced by one or two finer or coarser trees or shrubs for an effective composition.

This is a high maintenance tree that will require regular care and upkeep, and is best pruned in late winter once the threat of extreme cold has passed. Gardeners should be aware of the following characteristic(s) that may warrant special consideration;

• Messy

Prairie Magic Apple is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Accent
• Shade
• Orchard/Edible Landscaping

Plant Characteristics:

Prairie Magic Apple will grow to be about 15 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 12 feet. It has a low canopy with a typical clearance of 4 feet from the ground, and is suitable for planting under power lines. It grows at a medium rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for 50 years or more.

This tree should only be grown in full sunlight. It prefers to grow in average to moist conditions, and shouldn't be allowed to dry out. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. It is highly tolerant of urban pollution and will even thrive in inner city environments.

This particular variety is an interspecific hybrid.

Plant Care: Norfolk Island Pine

I love this plant! I bought one and got an amazing deal at $14 but like it says below, it's a slow grower so I'm waiting and waiting for it to get bigger! There's some growth but it sure is taking it's time! 


Common Name: Norfolk Island Pine
Scientific Name: Araucaria heterophylla
Lighting: Moderate
Watering: Moderate to Low

The Norfolk Island Pine prefers medium lighting so keep the plant within 5 - 8 feet of a window. The plant also prefers cooler household temperatures in general. Watering this houseplant is also quite simple. Water thoroughly once a week or when the soil becomes dry to touch and be sure to discard the extra water in the drain pan after a half hour or so. Also, I have found this houseplant prefers to be watered at the same time week after week. The Norfolk Island Pine also requires high humidity levels, so if humidity is low in your home, be sure to mist the plant with cool water at least once a week.

If the needles begin to fall, it may be 1 of many reasons. The first to check is that you are not over or under watering the plant. Secondly, be sure the pine is receiving enough sunlight, so you may want to try and move it closer to a window.

The Norfolk Island Pine is a medium to low maintenance houseplant, plus with its attractive appearance makes a great addition to any plant room. The only down side to this popular houseplant is that it is a slow grower so be sure to purchase the size you prefer.

Care info from here

My Garden: 2013

It's been a while since I've given you all an update so here are some photos from my garden this year (I started a whole new flower garden so it's a lot of new and fun things in there too!)

 The start of my new flower garden 

I had a lot of spring flowers this year!! 

 Saved a couple of plants from a house that was getting taken down. 

Some plants I saved from the trash at Home Depot