Attract Butterflies with this Annual

A native of Peru, heliotrope (Heliotropium arborescens) grows 4 feet tall in its native environment. It's grown as an annual in most of the United States, usually reaching just 12 to 18 inches tall.

Heliotrope's clusters of flower heads have a fruity fragrance and bloom throughout the summer. In Europe, flowers are used for making perfume. The dark green foliage is rough, wrinkled, and sometimes slightly tinted with purple. Plant heliotrope in containers, annual flower beds, hanging baskets, and window boxes where you can watch the butterflies it attracts.
 

Plant Facts
Common name: Heliotrope, cherry pie
Botanical name: Heliotropium arborescens
Plant type: Short-lived shrub usually grown as an annual
Height: 12 to 48 inches
Zones: 10 to 11
Family: Boraginaceae (Borage)

Growing conditions

• Sun: Full sun
• Soil: Moist, well-drained soil rich in organic matter
• Moisture: Water regularly to establish roots on new plants. Once established, water moderately.

Care

• Mulch: Apply an organic mulch to deter weeds and retain soil moisture.
• Fertilizer: Use a balanced fertilizer monthly.
• Pruning: Pinch shoots to encourage a bushy habit. Remove spent flowers to encourage more flowering.

Cultivars

• ‘Atlantis' (pictured) has dark purple flowers with a sweet fragrance.
• ‘Alba' has fragrant white flowers.
• ‘Marine' has violet-blue flowers 6 inches across.
• ‘Mini-Marine' is a dwarf variety with violet-blue flowers.

Garden notes

• Where not hardy, set out seedlings after last frost in spring.
• In warmer climates, plants like some afternoon shade.
• Shorter cultivars like ‘Atlantis' are good for containers. They can be overwintered in a bright spot with temperatures from 50ºF to 60ºF.
• Heliotrope does well as a houseplant if it has enough bright light.
• Contact with foliage might irritate skin and eyes. Some sources list foliage as poisonous when ingested.

Pests and diseases

• Watch for white flies, mealy bugs, aphids, and spider mites.
• Rust and leaf spot occasionally occur.

Propagation

• Sow seeds indoors 10 to 12 weeks before last average frost date.
• Take cuttings of cultivars in summer.

All in the family

• Some better-known perennials in the Boraginaceae family include Siberian bugloss (Brunnera macrophylla), Virginia bluebells (Mertensia virginica), woodland forget-me-not (Myosotis sylvatica), and lungwort (Pulmonaria spp.).

Text by Mary Pestel, photo courtesy of Monrovia Growers.

For more gardening info check out our friends National Home Garden Club

Gardening Jobs for June

From our friends at The Old Farmers Almanac

Any bedding plants you find for sale can safely be planted outdoors in beds, boxes, or containers.

The pros recommend treating tulips as annuals with the exception of species tulips. Painful as it may be, yank those tulips up, compost them, and plan to plant the bed anew in the fall.

If you long for a hanging basket filled with blossoms, compare prices on different-size plants. It may be more economical to buy several small plants and combine them yourself rather than pay for one large plant. Starting this month, keep hanging plants such as fuchsias well watered and out of direct sun, or their leaves will burn.

Plants that bloom now include balloon flower; Canterbury bells; clematis; coreopsis; delphiniums; English, painted, and Shasta daisies; foxgloves; Oriental poppies; and sweet William.

If you're growing June-bearing strawberries, pinch off all the flowers that bloom the first spring after planting. If not allowed to bear fruit, they will spend their food reserves on developing healthy roots.

Encourage young fruit trees to develop strong limbs and a wider crotch angle by weighing down the branches with clothespins.

Thin fruit trees by leaving 1 fruit approximately every 6 to 12 inches along the branches or 1 fruit per cluster. The higher the leaf-to-fruit ratio, the sweeter the fruit. A standard apple tree should have about 40 leaves for each fruit. Dwarf apples, which usually produce a ration of 1 fruit to about 25 leaves, will yield better-quality fruit when thinned.

Stop cutting asparagus when the yield decreases and the spears diminish in size. Top-dress the bed with compost or well-rotted manure.

Stake tomatoes or build cages around them.

Plant beets and carrots for a late-fall crop.

As the days grow warmer, yank up lettuce that begins to bolt and toss it on your compost pile. Plant another crop of beans in its place.

Thin crowded plantings of lettuce, carrots, beets, and herbs. Give them a good watering when the job is finished to help the roots of remaining plants recover from any damage your pulling may have inflicted.

Religiously patrol your basil plantings and remove all the clusters of flower buds that form at the stem ends the minute you see them forming. This will encourage nice bushy plants and a continuing supply of leaves.

Place beer-filled plastic tubs or saucers in the garden, set level with the soil, to lure slugs to a drunken death. (Studies show they prefer imported beer.) Or place a few old boards in the garden and turn them over every morning to find slugs as they sleep. Dispose of them by dropping them into soapy water or crushing them with a brick.

Mulch around trees to create a safe zone where your mower won't go. Nicking a tree trunk can seriously damage even a well-established tree.

Mow your lawn according to the needs of the grass, not the calendar -- for example, every Saturday. Grasses thicken and provide better cover when regularly clipped at the proper height. Adjust your lawn mower blades to cut the grass at 2 or 3 inches rather than at 1 1/2 inches.

Prune rhododendrons after they flower. On young and old plants, snap off spent flower stalks by bending them over until they break away from their stems. Be careful not to damage growth buds at the base of each flower stalk.

Don't trim iris leaves into scallops or fan shapes after the flowers fade. Leaves carry on photosynthesis and develop nourishment for next year's growth. Cut off brown tips and remove the flowering stalk down to the rhizome. If you're dividing irises, cut the leaves back by about half just before you move them.

If you're growing plants outdoors in containers, don't use a soilless potting mix. Be sure it contains at least half soil. Or make your own blend for window boxes and patio containers by mixing one part compost, one part garden soil, and one part builder's sand.

When shopping at a nursery, don't buy a tree or shrub with a damaged root ball. Inspect it carefully to make sure it is uniform, not crushed, and a good size. For every inch of the trunk, the ball should be seven to eight inches in diameter.

Unless you're working your way through knee-high grass, don't remove those grass clippings from the lawn. Leave them where they fall to filter down to the soil, decompose, and recycle nutrients into the roots.

Attract Humming Birds

KidsGardening.org

Hang some hummingbird feeders around your garden. Place a bit of distance between them, to avoid the squabbles, which can be quite a sight! Powdered “food” formula is available, but you can easily make your own by combining one part sugar to four parts water, and boiling it for two minutes, then cooling and storing in the fridge. Never use honey, which can ferment, or red dye, which can be harmful to the birds.




From our friends at Kids Gardening