24 Days of Giveaways - Day 22 Successions

A couple of days ago I looked at the what to grow question.  Which I get a lot, but today's blog on when to grow is of equal importance, maybe even more important.  

Let me explain.  If you are trying to provide cut flower bouquets every week for yourself or others, it is important to have enough flowers in bloom to make that possible.  One newbie frustration is having all your flowers come into bloom at the same time.  This is a condition of something I will call “Spring Fever”.  The inability to avoid running out and seeding all your treasured varieties on the first warm day in the season.  When in fact, this is the time for patience and planning.

Succession planning or planting for that matter is the science of having continual blooms for the longest stretch of the season that you can.  That sounds difficult but in reality a little planning goes a long way.  Succession, as the name suggests, is learning to plant a portion of your variety at two or three consecutive intervals. This is usually accomplished with two or three weeks between planting times.  For example, if you want a steady flush of zinnias, you could plant one third of your seeds after your last frost date, wait three weeks and plant one third and then wait another three weeks and plant the remainder.  Not as challenging as it sounds, but an important step in managing your blooms for cutting.

This simple adjustment in your planting regime allows for a bundle of flowers to be available when you want and not all of them coming and going at once.  Even if you’re not cutting bouquets, it keeps your garden looking fresh much longer during the growing season.  

Day 23 in our 24 Days of Giveaways is a $250 Gift Certificate from Stems Flower Farm.  You use this gift certificate to build your own special garden and with this new knowledge keep blooms in your garden all summer.   

For a chance to win leave a comment below.  In your message, share your “aha” moment in gardening, or a tip that you wish you had learned early on in your gardening career, anything really, as long as it puts a smile on everybody’s face.  EASY.  This giveaway is open to anyone with a Canadian shipping address. This Giveaway is open until Thursday night December 30th at Midnight PT.  

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