Divide daisies for better blooms

By Audrey Post
MS. GROW-IT-ALL

Q: I have a problem with some daisy plants I bought two years ago. I have beautiful plants but very few blooms. The plants look like they need to be divided, as they have multiplied since being planted. When should I divide them and what to do to boost blooming? They are planted with plenty of sun in the morning and afternoon shade.

A: Dividing your plants should solve your problems. When plants get too crowded, they get a little shy and don’t show their blooming faces as much. Fall is the best time to divide your daisies.

As for other things you could do to boosts blooming, daisies need six to eight hours of sun a day. If they’re not getting that much, you might want to move them when you divide them and replant them in a location that gets more sun but still provides some relief from the blistering late-afternoon sun. Also, you probably already know to “dead-head,” or remove the spent blossoms, to keep the plant blooming for a longer period.

If you’re considering adding a fertilizer or supplement to promote bloom, get your soil tested first. Those “bloom-buster” products are heavy with phosphorous, and most soil in our area has an abundance of phosphorous.

Q: I have some three-year-old viburnum obovatum ‘Densa.’ When is the best time to transplant them here in Tallahassee?

A: The best time to transplant just about anything here in Tallahassee is fall or early winter. The temperatures are cooler so there’s less heat-stress on the plants and they have a chance to get their roots established before the next growing season.

Your plants, commonly called “small viburnum,” are wonderful evergreen additions to the landscape that get only about 5 feet tall and wide. They have white flowers in spring and summer and the foliage turns bronze/purple in fall. Plant them in a sunny to part-sun location in a well-drained location.

Internet Radio Show: Ms. Grow-It-All’s Internet radio show on the Free World Radio Network this week featured a conversation with occasional co-host Stan Rosenthal, University of Florida/Leon County forester, about tree pests. Go to my Web site at www.msgrowitall.com and click on the Blog Talk Radio link to listen.