On the Farm - This is Columbine
As the weather is warming, we are beginning to see a shift in what is growing at the farm. The ranunculus and anemone are slowing down but the hardy annuals and the biennials are picking up steam. Next up is Columbine.
Columbine (Aquilegia spp) is technically a perennial but it is a short lived one, so we treat it more like a biennial. Biennials are a group of flowering plants that have a two-year life cycle. The first year, they develop their vegetative growth. The second year they produce flowers.
This bed of Columbine was planted two years ago. The green growth was very lush the first year. The second year, it produced minimal flowers on very healthy plants. This year, the third year, the stems are coming on strong, so we expect to see a good flush of blooms this year.
With the time involved to grow this and our shorter and shorter attention spans, I would not be surprised if you have never seen it. It is a really unique flower with its sculptural blooms. The bloom reminds me of a bird’s head.
We grow a long-stemmed variety that is suitable for cut flowers called McKana Giants Mix. It includes a mix of colors including blue, red and yellow. It can be grown from seed but we buy plugs (small started plants) to save time. I don’t recommend this for beginners since it doesn’t give the encouragement of fast blooms. For those who are seasoned gardeners, you may want to give it a try.
Happy Spring,
Linda
P.S. If you are ready to get your hands in the dirt, we have a few more beautiful lily bulbs available. Thanks to all who have already ordered. http://www.purpletuteur.com
Growing Lilies in the Midlands
March is a weather challenge for farmers and gardeners alike. Fluctuating temperatures keep us on our toes as we cover and uncover tender plants. While it is extra work, I don’t mind because we still have ranunculus, poppies and anemone until the daytime temperatures are consistently above 70.
In addition to the weather dance, we also plan and plant for summer. We start summer seeds and plant bulbs for summer between now and mid- April. Most varieties take about 90 days to bloom so we are starting things now that will bloom in June and July.
One garden favorite is lilies. We have a good selection of lilies this year and I am wondering if some of you would like to purchase some of these large Oriental bulbs for your own gardens. We have a limited supply to offer.
Growing Conditions for Lilies
Lilies are relatively easy to grow and make a great visual statement in the garden. Find a spot that is sheltered from the wind and has afternoon shade. They can also be very successfully grown in pots, allowing you to move them to the light or shade as needed.
As with all bulbs, they need soil that is rich and drains well so that they don’t rot. Plant them 8 – 12 inches apart in the garden or no more than 3 per 16” pot. Water regularly but not heavily. Plant them 3 times to a depth equal to three times the height of the bulb. Our warm climate favors a little deeper planting.
During the season, the lily plants will get tall. You can stake them or plant them between shrubs that will provide support. Blooms can be left in the garden to admire or cut to bring into the house to enjoy. After bloom, remove any spent flowers and slow the watering. Leave the stalks to do their photosynthesis activity and strengthen the bulb for next year’s blooms. The stalks can be removed when they are brown.
Early each spring, side dress the bulbs with a balanced fertilizer. Mulch the plants with a light layer of leaves or compost.
Bulb Sale Information
In order to encourage people to get them planted at the optimal time, we are going to limit the window of the sale to two weeks. We will be posting the information on our website starting on Friday 3/24 until Friday 4/7. You will be able to order for pick up or local delivery if you are interested. (Sorry, we are not shipping yet but getting closer). These bulbs should be planted as soon as they are received, for bloom in late June or July. These are varieties that will bloom for years to come in your garden.
Here are the three varieties that we will be offering. Do you have other favorites?
Zelmyra
Tigermoon
Pink Zsar
There is more information about these and other spring bulbs on our website, www.purpletuteur.com.
Happy Spring!
Linda
Here Comes Spring!
With the unusually warm weather we’ve been having, some flowers started to bloom earlier than normal, giving us a welcome jumpstart into spring. We started our Early Spring subscription deliveries the last week of February which is a week ahead of plan. Mother Nature has her reasons.
We’re busy getting the last of our winter projects done so that as the volume of flowers increases, we can stay focused on getting the flowers out of the field and into your hands.
This winter we did a lot of maintenance on the raised beds, added a new peony bed (more on that in a future post) and prepared some new beds for new plantings. We divided our Tuberose and dahlia tubers. We expect to have some of these tubers available in our summer bulb sale, a new offering for us. Date is still tbd, but we will mention it in this newsletter first.
On the farm Tulips, Poppies, Anemone, Ranunculus, Hellebore, Delphinium and Narcissus are in bloom. The hardy annuals are also on the verge. The peonies won’t be far behind!
If you didn’t get signed up for our Early Spring subscription, we still have space available in our Spring to Summer and Summer to Fall offerings. You can sign up on our website. If you don’t like the internet world and would rather not order that way, contact me and we will work it out.
Amaryllis Care
Not sure what to do with your Amaryllis after it has bloomed? Keep it going with light watering until September. Check out this blog post for what to do to get it to bloom again. https://www.purpletuteur.com/blog/2021/9/10/want-your-amaryllis-to-bloom-for-the-holidays-easy-as-123
Anemones and Ranunculus Harvesting Tips
For those growing anemone and/or ranunculus corms, if you got them planted by November, you should be seeing growth now. (If you didn’t get them in the ground, you can keep them in the paper bag on a closet shelf until next November. They will hold if they are kept dry and cool.
Anemones tend to come up first. The first stems are short and they get longer with each cutting. The flowers open during the day and close at night. They need to do this a few times before they are ready to harvest. The best time to cut them is when the collar, which is just below the bloom, moves about an inch away from the bloom.
Ranunculus also start a bit short and get taller as the season progresses. They should be harvested (ideally) when the bud is colored and soft as a marshmallow.
That’s it for now! We continue to be grateful to all of you for your support of our small farm. We couldn’t do it without you. We look forward to bringing you bundles of joy (the kind that don’t need college tuition) through out the year. Many many thanks.
Update on Our Fall Plantings
I am happy to report that the fall plantings are coming along very well. Everything has recovered from the December deep freeze and we’re seeing the first buds and blooms on the earliest varieties. March is only 34 days away and by then we should be cutting ranunculus, tulips, narcissus, poppies and anemone for our early spring bouquets.
Here are a few examples of how things look now and how they will look soon (based on last year’s activity). I hope this brightens your day! Linda
The anemones have started to bloom! They start with very short stems but after cutting a couple of times they get long enough to use in bouquets. The left photo is from last week. The other two are from last year, after they get further along.
This is a poppy in bud in our hoop house this year (left). Poppies are one of the earliest things to bloom at the farm. We grow an Italian variety that has extra-long stems and larger flowers. We plant pastel colors that we like to have in Spring.
Our crate-grown tulips are really coming along. Most of these will bloom in March but some in April too. The one shown is Apricot Impression from last year. It is among the first to bloom. We’re growing some new varieties this year, so I don’t have pictures of everything.
The delphinium is also coming along well. The left photo is the hoop house this January. The two on the right are from last year and show where we are headed! This usually starts to bloom in the second half of March.
The campanula looks great this year. It likes cold weather. This one will bloom in April, and what a show! The left photo is this year. The 2 blooms photos are from last year. Campanula is best grown under cover. The bell shaped flowers capture all the rain and it can be damaging to the blooms.
Come on Spring!
The Business of Growing Flowers in South Carolina Evolves
About 75 interested parties came together to discuss commercial flower growing in South Carolina yesterday and I was glad to be among them. The meeting included participation by the SC Department of Agriculture, the SC Center for Cooperative and Enterprise Development, Clemson Cooperative Extension, Matson Consulting, the SC Small Business Development Center, and the SC Specialty Crop Growers Association. We also had flower farmers from the upstate, the midlands and the low country and some who are considering flower farming. I had the pleasure of seeing some fellow flower farmers in person for the first time since Covid.
With 60+ flower farmers in attendance and another 10 – 12 that I know of that did not make it, the supply of local flowers in South Carolina is growing quickly. If we can find ways to create a consolidated supply and distribution mechanism to provide local flowers to florists, event planners and corporations, we can strengthen ties and build a stronger financial basis for the floral industry and for flower farmers in our state. For example, Charleston is a leading destination for weddings in the country. Why not maximize the revenue that stays in the state by making it preferable to use local flowers over those that are imported from (usually) South America?
To be fair, there are florists and event planners is all 3 regions of the state that are huge supporters of local flowers. They understand that the flowers are fresher. They know that they can get beautiful varieties that cannot be shipped successfully. They are willing to utilize the decentralized distribution methods that we have today.
The complexity of buying from multiple small farms is one thing holding others back. They may not be staffed to coordinate with multiple sources. They may not be able to purchase flowers in large enough quantities from one or a few farmers to meet their needs. They also may not be familiar with some of the flowers that can be made available and need more education.
While this was just an introductory meeting, I am optimistic that this group has the energy to define solutions to these challenges. I look forward to our next meeting.
“If you want to go fast, go alone, if you want to go far, go together”. African Proverb
Happy New Year 2023!
Thank you for a wonderful 2022. Every subscription, custom order, wholesale delivery, Ag&Art Tour visit, Garden club talk and visit, our feature on Making It Grow, every farmer’s market and retail purchase and our first Holiday Open House helped us to grow. We could not do it without your support, and we feel so welcomed and inspired by your community feedback.
In 2023, we are looking forward to bringing you more joy through flowers. We’re trying some new (to us) bloomers and expanding on the most popular ones.
We’ve made it through the first weather test, Storm Elliot, with very good results. The wind and extended cold period caused some damage. Fortunately, most things are already showing new growth thanks to healthy root systems that were blanketed by the warm earth. These plants will be slowed down a bit but will be robust in Spring. We did lose our Cynoglossum but this can be re-seeded in February for a later appearance in our bouquets.
There can be an upside to the cold too. This should be a good year for tulips, daffodils and peonies. All of these plants like a cold period and should benefit from Elliot’s effects.
We hope that you weathered the storm without a lot of damage and have much to look forward to in 2023. We will continue to try to make you smile through the beauty of fresh flowers.
Happy New Year,
Linda
Last Call for Bulbs!
Thanks to all of you who came out to our first ever Holiday Garden Market! We enjoyed meeting some new flower friends and seeing some familiar faces too. Since our first year was a big success, we are looking at doing it again next year. For the second year, we will do a weekday and a Saturday for those who can’t get out during the week. Please let us know if there is anything you would like to see us offer.
Selling bulbs, forcing kits and bulb gardens is a great way for us to bridge the revenue gap between cut flower seasons. And of course, we have to offer bouquets! Our greenery bouquets have been well received too, so thank you.
This is our last week for bulbs. If you are ordering now, bulbs will not be in bloom by the holidays, but will bring some sunshine into January for whoever grows them. We have a selection of Hot Pink (Bolero) and Soft Apricot (Rilona) and White (Denver) that will be great choices, along with Sparticus, the red and white striped bloom that works for Valentines Day too. Forcing kits make a great gift for those who travel during the holidays and are home in January and February.
For the gardeners in the group, we still have a few anemone and ranunculus corms available. Check out the website for the color selection. You still have time to soak and plant them for gorgeous spring blooms!
So, if you order by 12/9, you can pick up at the farm on Saturday 12/10. For orders over $40 we will deliver next Tuesday 12/13. We will be taking the bulb shop off our website on 12/9 at 8:00 pm
Subscriptions
For those who want to provide a bouquet subscription as a gift, or to get your order in early, we will be setting up the subscription shop on 12/12 for spring and summer subscriptions. Stay tuned!
As always, thank you so much for all of your support of our flower farm. We feel so blessed to be able to provide flowers to our community and we couldn’t do it without you!
Linda
Our Holiday Open House is Tomorrow!
We are so excited to welcome you to the farm for our Holiday Open House tomorrow, December 1, from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm! We will have our paperwhite and amaryllis bulbs for sale as well as forcing kits, which include the bulb and a nursery pot and soil. The forcing kits make great gifts for those who have a busy travel schedule over the holidays. The bulb will stay fairly dormant until it is planted and water is added. I will be closing the online store today and will open it back up on Friday, after the open house is over. We don’t want to oversell and risk disappointment!
At the open house, we will have a selection of potted up bulb gardens for easy holiday preparation or gift giving. Along with amaryllis and paperwhites, these can include some succulents and angel wing begonia so that you have something to keep your “need for green” going through the winter. We can also help you fill your own container, if you have something special that you use for the holidays.
We are also making greenery bouquets. I love doing these for the holidays. Since most of us use artificial trees these days, a vase of fresh greenery can be just the thing to get the holiday scent going at home. Some also use the greens around the house to enhance their other decorations.
Mary Ann Adams from One Hubcap Farm will also be there with her gorgeous wreaths! She will have a variety of sizes available. She can also take orders for later pick-up if you don’t find what you are looking for.
Tina Hall-Franklin from T2K Java will also be there with her hot cocoa and coffee to keep us warmer. She also sells her coffee beans. Tina has a portable pop-up shop so think of her for your events too!
The weather will be a little cooler tomorrow so you may want to wear an extra layer! More like the holiday weather I grew up with so happy for a little chill this time of year. We will be on the front porch of the processing shed, so covered but outside.
We hope to see you there!
Linda
Final Fall Notes and A Holiday Event!
The dahlias ended their bloom period with an early frost in the middle of October. It is always a bittersweet time because the flowers are so beautiful that we hate to see them go, but their end means that we can shift our focus to our bulb sale and the work needed to prepare for spring.
Once we shift gears and begin this work in earnest, we make a lot of progress on tasks that have to wait until this time of year. Soil tests are done in the fall and beds are amended accordingly before planting begins.
Most of our early season blooms are either direct seeded or planted as small plants, aka plugs, that grow into their space. We are actively working in 78 4x8 beds and working on adding a few more.
Irrigation is also checked for needed repairs while the beds are empty or contain seedlings. It is much easier to see any issues now.
Nigella aka Love in a Mist
As of today, we have gotten all of the cold hardy annuals in place. These are things like Larkspur, Nigella, Bachelor Buttons, Orlaya and Saponaria. The rain we have been getting has really helped with seed germination so things are shaping up nicely so far.
Tuberose
Perennials that have been in place for three years typically need to be divided. You can tell if they stop or slow down producing blooms. Yarrow and Echinacea were done last week. Phlox and Tuberose are on the list for early spring.
Fall is also a great time to plant shrubs and trees. We planted a new hydrangea hedge that I am thrilled to finally have in place. We also planted a pussy willow which was rooted from some of our early spring bouquet material.
The spring bulbs are also in progress. Narcissus has all been planted. The anemone and ranunculus are being soaked and rooted for planting in early December.
So, these last four weeks have been very busy. Our early spring subscription season looks very promising.
Next, we are going to be on vacation for a couple of weeks. This time to see friends and family is something we have really been looking forward to.
A New Event at the Farm
After vacation, it will be great to focus on the current holiday season!
On December 1st from 10:00am – 1:00 pm, we are going to host a holiday market at the farm and you are invited!
We will be doing demonstrations on how to grow Paperwhites and Amaryllis.
We will have amaryllis and paperwhites available for sale as bulbs, forcing kits and ready to go decorations. These make great gifts too. If you have a container that you want to use, bring it and we can help you get it planted.
We will also have Angel Wing Begonia, which is a wonderful houseplant, yarrow for planting in your garden and a few other surprises.
Mary Ann Adams from One Hubcap farm will also be there with her beautiful fresh wreaths.
So take a break and come on out to the farm for your holiday greenery. We would love to see you!
Fall Bulbs Make Spring Blooms
Our Fall Bulb Shop is Live
We know that some of you flower lovers are gardeners too. We are happy to bring some harder to find and high-quality bulbs to our community so that you can share in the joy of growing these beauties. Here are things that you can order from our website:
Anemone
Narcissus
Ranunculus
We also have Amaryllis and Paperwhites available on the Bulb Shop again this year.
If you don’t have much gardening experience, I highly recommend trying Amaryllis or Paperwhites for the holidays. They are one of the easiest things to grow and can be grown indoors so that they bloom in December or January when it is harder to get outside.
I really enjoy seeing the photos that people send me of their bulbs in bloom. They bring such joy and there is such excitement for those who are trying for the first time. Here are a few examples:
Beginner Judy H.
Beginner Lynn E.
Seasoned Grower Karen T.
Seasoned Grower Susie
Seasoned Grower Becky H.
On the Farm
The dahlias have been good this year. We tried a few new varieties which we liked and will use again. You will probably recognize these if you had a fall bouquet subscription. They will continue to bloom until the first frost, which is usually around Halloween here in the Midlands.
Hamari Gold
American Dawn
French Can Can
Subscription season is over for this year. Thanks to all of you who participated! We’re already busy getting plants and bulbs in the ground for next spring’s subscriptions.
Next year, we will be expanding our subscription delivery area to include zip code 29169. Deliveries typically start by the first week in March, weather permitting.
Snapdragon Seedlings
These are snapdragon seedlings that we will plant in the next week or two for spring blooming. It is fun to refresh the fields and look forward to the next season of flowers.
Happy Fall,
Linda
Happy Fall! Updates From The Farm
We are enjoying the start of cooler weather and hope that you are too! Here are a few updates that we wanted to share.
Amanda McNulty and I Talk Cut Flowers on Making it Grow
It was such a pleasure to be able to meet one of my gardening heroes and talk cut flowers with her. This being my first time on a TV set, I really didn’t know what to expect. Amanda and the crew made it very easy. Once we had mics on, I couldn’t move around, which is a challenge for me, but she kept me focused on her and the topic at hand.
The set is so comfortable and I felt right at home. After we finished, I dumped some water into the sink that you can see in the background. Oops! There is no plumbing there. There was a mad dash to wipe it up. A learning experience for sure.
The segment will be aired on Tuesday, September 27 at 7:00 pm on SCETV.
Fall Bulb Sale
We are excited to bring you specialty bulbs for your garden and home again this year! You can order anemone, ranunculus, a few specialty daffodils, amaryllis and paperwhites from the website starting about October 15th. There are still supply chain delivery delayss so we will announce again when e have the bulbs.
Bouquet Subscriptions Wrap For 2022
Our subscription season is coming to a close for the year. I want to thank each of you who participates in this service. It does my heart good to bring you flowers and I enjoy your feedback. We will start deliveries back up next March and from now until then we will be prepping the soil, sowing seed, planting bulbs and protecting the plants from the weather as best we can.
Here’s to a lovely holiday season!
Linda
Perennial Phlox
Does your garden have too much sun for Hydrangeas? You may want to try perennial Phlox, Phlox Paniculata. The bloom has a shape that is similar to a hydrangea. They bloom this time of year and are available in a variety of colors. Be sure to select one that is resistant to powdery mildew and you are good to go!
These plants grow tall, with 2 – 4 foot stems, so find a spot in the back of your sunny bed. If you cut them to bring inside, cut the stem near the base of the plant. Often, a second smaller flush will come up before the season ends. As with many perennials, they die back to the ground over the winter. Green shoots start up early in spring.
If you have a bouquet subscription with us, you will see Phlox in the next bouquet. We grow David’s Lavender. In the garden the bloom is pink. When we put it into the cooler it turns purple. When it warms back up, it turns pink again. No other varieties have this chameleon-like characteristic.
Do you grow perennial Phlox in your garden? What is your favorite variety?
Other News:
Thanks to all of you who came to the farm for the Ag+Art Tour. We had between 250 and 300 visitors this year. We appreciate being able to share what we do and what the artisans do during this event.
I will be spending a few days in Massachusetts for the Association of Specialty Cut Flower Grower’s annual conference in early August. This is the first gathering in 3 years, due to Covid. I am looking forward to being face to face with like-minded growers who I usually communicate with over the phone or on social media. I am looking forward to a farm tour too! Five Forks Farm, in Upton Mass will open their farm to Association Members for a tour. You can learn a little bit about them and their story in the last printed issue of Martha Stewart Living. Check it out here
https://www.marthastewart.com/8257345/fivefork-farms-flower-tour
Our summer bouquet season is coming to an end soon. We are offering a fall season of 6 weekly bouquets starting in late August and ending in early-mid October. We would love to deliver our fall bouquets to your door! You can learn more and sign up on our website: https://www.purpletuteur.com/subscription-information
Wishing you much joy in the abundance of summer!
Linda
Happenings at the Farm
It’s Ag and Art Week for Richland and Lexington Counties!
We are busy getting things ready for our annual open house as part of the Richland County Ag and Art Tour. If you have wanted to see the farm, don’t miss this once-a-year opportunity. This event is free to the public and no tickets are required.
The Tour hours are 10 am to 4 pm Saturday June 11 and 1pm to 5 pm Sunday June 12. Find more information at https://www.agandarttour.com/
As far as our farm is concerned, here is the information on artisans and activities. We look forward to seeing you!
Purple Tuteur Farm
787 Langford Road
Blythewood, SC 29016
Open both Saturday and Sunday
Come see our field with seasonal flowers in bloom. We offer scheduled tours of our operation and self-guided tours are also available. We will have bouquets and some plants for sale during the tour.
Restroom facility on-site
Guided tours at 11 and 3 on Saturday and at 2 on Sunday. Self-guided tours all day.
Artisans on Site:
Ellen Yaghjian, copper sculptor ellenyaghjian.com (both days)
Molly Creek Soap Company , soaps, lotions and cleaning products www.mollycreeksoapco.etsy.com (both days)
5 Miles West - wood working; charcuterie boards, trays facebook page @5MilesWest (Saturday only)
The Flavor Station - ice cream creations www.theflavorstation.net (Saturday only)
Luke Moore - Musician (not acoustic, but soft rock) (Saturday 1- 3 pm) facebook @lukemooremusic99
Late Summer Subscriptions
Our current subscription season wraps up in late July and it is sold out. Some of you have been asking about the next subscription season, so here’s the scoop:
The Late Summer subscription season goes from August 23 until October 7. We will offer 6 weeks (weekly) with deliveries on Tuesday or Friday for $210. We use a 7-week delivery period in case you need to skip a week. The website update is ready now. Use this link to get more detail and/or to order:
https://www.purpletuteur.com/subscription-information
Fall Bulb Sales
We will have Ranunculus and Anemone for sale again this year the last two weeks of October. Plant these in November for beautiful early spring blooms.
Amaryllis and Paperwhite swill also be for sale again this year during November and early December.
More detail on these as their time approaches.
Final Thoughts
As always, we are grateful for your support and encouragement. We couldn’t do it without you. Wishing you a fun-filled summer!
Linda
The Kousa Dogwood
Our cousin Susie brought us a Kousa Dogwood the year our mothers passed away. She told us that it would be in bloom on Mother’s Day and I looked forward to seeing it flower. The year was 2006.
The young sapling came in a nursery pot and was about 3 feet tall. This was a good size to plant, as I could dig a reasonably small hole and get it settled in.
I found a spot in our back yard, in partial shade, where it could be somewhat protected and got it planted. After giving it a deep watering, I made a mental note to check on it again periodically, but especially on Mother’s Day.
The next year, the tree had grown but there was not much flowering. It needed more time to get to its mature state and flower. In the following years, we saw just a few blooms.
Last fall, we had some aging pines cut down. They were at risk of falling on our house or on our neighbor’s place. This past winter, we had high winds and lots of cold and several other shrubs fell in the same area. This all happened near the dogwood, which remained unaffected.
We have a hole in the landscape now that needs to be filled. I am excited to be able to select some new trees and shrubs for the ‘privacy fence’ between us and the neighbors. I am looking at flowering shrubs like Weigela, Viburnum and Cotinus. This, however, is not the most exciting thing.
The Kousa is blooming! It has bloomed this year like it never has before. Letting more light in made it explode with graceful white flowers. These proper growing conditions should allow it to get taller and stronger going forward. It is thriving and in full bloom this Mother’s Day week. The happy memories of our mothers and times spent in their loving care are represented in each and every bloom.
Wishing you all a Happy Mother’s Day. Whether they are here or are gone, may the light of their love be with you.
The Start of a New Year - The Subscription Shop is Open!
I hope that your 2022 has gotten off to a good and happy start. We have been enjoying some time with friends and family while the growing is slow-going. For me, this is a time of reflection and for home projects that I don’t have time to do when the farm is in full swing.
Sign up at www.purpletuteur.com
We are ready to open the subscription shop for Early Spring and for Spring to Summer! Here is the link to the website: www.purpletuteur.com . I will make a public announcement a few days after this email goes out. This gives our subscribers an opportunity to sign up first.
Fall will be opened up in June. Thanks to all who made our first offering a success iin 2020.
I’ve had the opportunity to meet with several garden clubs and speak on various growing topics over the winter. It has been fun to meet some of you and others, and I look forward to meeting with two more groups in February. Its great to know that the love of gardening is alive and well here in the Midlands of South Carolina!
Thanks to all of you who supported our bulb sales in the fall. If you got your ranunculus and anemones into the ground in the fall, you should be seeing the early signs of blooms, if not flowers. Ours have both started but are growing slowly during these cold days.
Photo: Becky Haggard
I always enjoy the photos that you send to me of your amaryllis and paperwhite bulbs. It does my heart good to know that you are enjoying them. They are such a ray of sunshine while we are indoors. Our second-year bulbs are poised for the early spring subscriptions. I have been keeping them at 60F to keep them from blooming too early. It is time to turn the heat up to 70F so that they will have the temperatures they need to bloom.
We had such a warm fall that everything we planted to overwinter for spring has had a robust start. As a result, when the weather warms consistently, everything will pop! The extra green/larger plants make them more vulnerable to freezing so keeping them covered is critical. Our hoop house does the job for us.
The snow is a welcome sight for many of our cold-loving plants. We’re hoping this bodes well for great daffodils and peonies this year! We’ve added another 48 peonies this winter. It’s a big job to get them set up but we’ll be so glad to see them in bloom three years from now.
We will be a host farm again this year for the Richland County Ag+Art tour. This year, the dates are June 11th and 12th. This is our annual open house and it is free to the public so come on out!
Thanks so much for all you do to support our farm. We are truly blessed.
Linda
Growing Anemone and Ranunculus in the Midlands
Anemone
Ranunculus
If you want to have cutting-garden blooms in late winter and early spring here in Columbia S.C., Anemone and Ranunculus are two great options. While they are very different flowers, they are often discussed together because their growing conditions are similar. They take a little special handling to get started but once you have them in the ground, very little care is required. They will send up multiple stems from each plant, giving you beautiful flowers to bring indoors when not much else is in bloom. Even better, they come back year after year!
Growing Conditions
Both Anemone and Ranunculus need full sun and good drainage. They can be grown in the ground or in pots. If you have clay soil, you may want to use a pot or a raised bed. Too much water will cause the corms to rot.
Both like day temperatures in the 60 – 70 F degree range, with nights from 45 – 55F. This means you can plant them in the fall or in January or February for early spring blooms. The soil temperatures around 55 F are optimal and once it gets warmer, they will go dormant.
Anemone will bloom about 90 days after planting. Ranunculus needs the 90 days and 8-12 hours of daylight. Both will begin to go dormant when daylength reaches 13 hours. They need to be protected from freezing weather. Cover them with heavy mulch if we get freezing weather.
Prep and Planting
Corms : Top - Anemone Bottom - Ranunculus
Both Anemone and Ranunculus need to be pre-soaked for 2 hours before planting. This wakes up the corms. They are alive but dormant when you get them, so they need oxygen during the soak or they will suffocate. Put them in a bowl in a sink filled with water and keep the faucet running slowly, letting the water overflow. This ensures that there is oxygen in the water while the corms are submerged. You can also submerge an aquarium stone into the water to add oxygen and eliminate the water overflow.
Once they have been soaked, you can pre-sprout them to ensure that the corm is viable or you can go ahead and plant them. It is easier just to plant them, but pre-sprouting ensures that you don’t plant a corm that is not viable.
To pre-sprout, put them in a flat of damp vermiculite and keep them at 40-50F for two to three weeks. If you soak them and then leave them at 60 or above, they will rot since they stay dormant. Try a refrigerator if you don’t have a cool enough space outdoors. White roots will emerge and need to be handled carefully when planting.
Plant the corms 6 inches apart with one inch of soil over the corm. Anemones should be planted with the point down. Some have odd shapes. If you are not sure which is the pointy end, plant them on their side. Ranunculus need their legs down in the soil. Make sure your soil drains well.
Care
Ranunculus in progress
Water them well when they are planted and then do not water again until leaves appear. After the green leaves are visible, feed them with a water-soluble fertilizer once a week until the blooms appear. Stop feeding when the blooming begins.
Cover the plants when weather gets below freezing. If the leaves freeze but the roots are OK, the plant will come back.
Harvesting Your Blooms
Anemone bloom ready to harvest
Anemone open during the day and close at night. They should open more than once before cutting. Cut at the base of the stem, being careful not to cut newly emerging stems. For the optimal cut, the collar should be about an inch from the base of the bloom.
Ranunculus bloom ready to harvest
Ranunculus petals open from a ball shaped bud. Let the blooms open about half way on the plant and cut the stem at the ground. You can also cut the stem when the bud is colored and soft when squeezed and it will open indoors. The second option is handy if rain or a late freeze is in the forecast and you don’t want to risk losing blooms to the weather.
When the days turn warm and daylight gets to 13 hours, ranunculus and anemone will go dormant. Let the greenery die back naturally, cleaning up the leaves after they are yellowed. Leave the corms in place and they will come back when the conditions are right the next year!
Ready to Give it a Try?
We will offer Anemone and Ranunculus corms on our website by October 20th. We are not shipping at this time, but will have farms pick up dates and we will offer delivery to our subscription zip codes. Watch for the announcement coming soon!
The New Growing Year Begins Now!
If you want to have a spring cutting garden, fall is the time to plan and prepare for it. Now is the time to assess what is working and what is not working in your garden, so that you can make adjustments in the cooler fall weather. Here are a few things to consider:
Perennial Sedum Autumn Joy
1. Plant perennials and spring flowering shrubs – while you can do this in the spring also, fall is always best. In fall, the new plants have several months to get their roots established before blooming. We are adding two varieties of hydrangeas and a forsythia this year. October is a good month to plant in our area.
Hardy Annuals Bachelor Buttons and Orlaya
2. Select hardy annuals that you want to grow and purchase the seed. You can start to prepare the beds now and then sow the seed in October. Hardy annuals are those that prefer cooler temperatures to grow. This includes Bachelor Buttons, Bells of Ireland and Larkspur to name a few. If you want to learn more about these flowers, I highly recommend the book “Cool Flowers” by Lisa Mason Zeigler. It is an excellent source of information and easy to read.
Spring bulbs Ranunculus and Daffodils
3. Order spring flowering bulbs and tubers – daffodils, iris, hyacinth, anemone, ranunculus and peonies. All of these produce lovely spring flowers. These can be grown in pots if you don’t have a lot of space or need to protect them from moles and voles in your yard. We will be offering some of these for sale in the next couple of weeks – so stay tuned!
To get everything off to a good start, now is the time to do a soil test. This will tell you whether or not nutrients need to be added to your soil when you plant. Clemson offers this service to the public. It can be difficult to understand but you can call the lab and they will help you understand what you need to do. Read all about it here: https://www.clemson.edu/public/regulatory/ag-srvc-lab/soil-testing/index.html .
Happy Planting!
Want Your Amaryllis to Rebloom for The Holidays? Start now!
Now that school is back in session and the weather is beginning to cool off, it won’t be a minute before the holidays are upon us. Now is the time to do what is needed to get your amaryllis ready for their show.
Amaryllis need a dormant period to build that bloom inside the bulb. We can easily facilitate it by taking just a few simple steps now and a little prep closer to the holidays.
1. Bring your bulb in from outside or away from the window and let the soil dry out for a couple of days. The leaves should be long and green, from a season of green growth, helping the plant absorb solar energy. In this example, a new bulb has formed. Cut its leaves too. It may need another year before it is big enough to bloom.
2. After the soil is dry to the touch, cut the leaves to within an inch of the bulb. After the cut, store the bulb for 8 to 12 weeks somewhere dark and cool, preferably at 50 F. Do not freeze the bulb and do not water it. No water at all for the 8 to 12 weeks.
That’s it until 8-12 weeks from now! Simple, right? Now mark you calendar for the date you plan to take the bulb out of dormancy, to remind you to do it.
Then What?
When you take your bulb out of the dark, refresh the potting soil and add a little bulb food to the soil. You may have to stuff the roots back into the pot, but that’s OK. They like being pot bound. Remember to leave one third of the bulb exposed.
Give it a good deep watering. Put it in a warm sunny place. Do not water it again until you see new green growth.
Once the new growth has started, water when the soil dries out. In a few weeks, buds will push out of the bulb and the bloom cycle begins again!
Summer Farm Update
Cheyanne Goes Back to Clemson
With the students going back to school next week, it feels like summer should be over but we have 7 weeks left until fall! Our intern, Cheyanne, headed back to Clemson for her final semester in Agriculture Education. We enjoyed having her work with us and the time flew. Since we’re a small operation, we were able to give her exposure to all aspects of flower production and sales. Her internship professor came to visit last week and gave her a big thumbs up on the experience. We’re looking forward to seeing what she does after she completes her degree!
Our Late Summer to Fall Subscription is Available to Order on the Website!
New this year, we are offering a 5-week subscription starting August 24th and wrapping up by October 15th. Our newest subscription offering brings fall flowers to your door, including dahlias, sunflowers, marigolds and more. Late season dahlias will add beautiful color to your bouquets and with a 4-5 day dahlia vase life, a weekly delivery will keep you in fresh flowers for the season. Our delivery window is 8 weeks so that, in case you need to skip a week, we can accommodate and still complete all deliveries by October 15th. We are offering a small number of subscriptions, so if you are interested, please sign up asap. We don’t want you to be disappointed. Here’s the link to more information: https://www.purpletuteur.com/subscription-information
New Classes at the Farm
We are also excited to be able to offer some classes this September.
September 4th - Making Garden Style Bouquets – Come with a friend to learn the basics of how to make a spiral bouquet to take home using flowers from the farm.
September 11 - Growing Dahlias – Learn to grow these flowers in your home garden (or in a pot on a patio or a balcony). We will cover the specifics of growing them in our hot and humid environment.
You can find out more athttps://www.purpletuteur.com/aboutourclasses
Spring Bulb Sale
We will have amaryllis and paperwhites again this year. Some of you have requested other spring flowering bulbs so we are going to offer additional things that we can grow in our area – daffodils, iris , hyacinths, anemone and ranunculus are included. We will add these to our website shop by early November. Stay tuned!
Behind The Scenes of The Columbia Metropolitan Article
After a year of secrecy, we are thrilled to be able to talk about the Columbia Metropolitan article on local flower farmers! In case you missed it, here is the link: https://columbiametro.com/article/a-blooming-passion/
Photo: Michael Trawick
When Columbia Metro called to tell me that they were writing a story about area flower farmers and wanted to include us, I was thrilled. They needed to come out to take photos in the next week or so. It was March. So many things are not in bloom in March! Of course, I said yes and started getting prepared.
This all happened just days before the Covid lock down. I wondered if they would have to cancel. Fortunately, they did not.
We were in major Tulip season so plenty of those on hand. We had Daffodils, Anemone, Pieris and Hellebore. The Ranunculus was planted but not in bloom. This was the season before we had the hoop house up and the walk-in cooler built, so the Ranunculus would be blooming in April.
As a graduate of Clemson’s New and Beginning Farmer Program, I was able to rent cooler space that year at the Incubator Farm at Sandhills. As grace would have it, Brinton Fox of Boone Fox Farm, was and is a grower at the incubator farm. She was also featured in the article. Clemson was closed for all but essential workers and Brinton and I were able to continue working at the Sandhills site during the lockdown.
Brinton grows beautiful Ranunculus and she already had a hoop house up, so hers were ready! I purchased some Ranunculus from Brinton and they were included in the photo shoot. Grace again, since the photographers would not have been granted access to Clemson to take photos in her growing space during the lockdown.
Farming has many challenges. We work with and around the weather to bring crops to market. Pests and insects can do significant damage and destroy crops. Issues may not be apparent until the crop is supposed to be ready. So, we flower farmers support each other as best we can. We buy from each other before going elsewhere if we need something we didn’t successfully grow. I like to call it “the sisterhood of the flowering plants”.
We got things ready at the farm and waited. I exhaled when Muffie Wells called to confirm their visit.
The day of the photoshoot was so much fun. We got to see other professionals in action. Robert Clark was looking for a cloudy day to take the photos and got it. They took their time finding the shots that they wanted. They asked questions about the flowers and our growing methods. They shot in the field and in our inside workspace, used for making bouquets and bunching flowers. They were genuinely interested. A lovely experience with a group that does so much to raise awareness of the happenings in the Columbia area.