Proven Winners with Danielle Ernest

Welcome to Gardening With Confidence™ on WebTalkRadio.net.

MY GUEST THIS WEEK

Join us as we hear from Danielle Ernest with Proven Winners about new annuals and perennials introduced this year, what we can expect expect for 2011 and where we can buy Proven Winner plants.

Anisodontea ‘Slightly Strawberry’ Trial in Helen’s Haven™ Words like Anisodontea don’t roll off my tongue as well as l would like them too. But Proven Winners has helped with that. Check out their audio to pronounce the Latin names.

I find the naming of new hybrids interesting and often wonder how the process works.  In the absence of first hand knowledge, I envisioned this:  The Fictitious Naming of ‘Pretty Much Picasso.’

TIP OF THE DAY WEEK – Extend your fall season by pruning summer annuals.

As the summer cinders on, some annuals, particularly petunias, will start to look leggy and tired.  Don’t miss the chance to enjoy these blooms well into the fall.

In late summer, many gardeners fall victim of thinking summer is nearly over, so they might as well ignore their tired looking flowers or remove them altogether.  But by doing so you will have a lost opportunity of extended fall pleasure.

There is no reason not to have your annual flowers blooming until first frost.  Revitalize your tired-looking annuals instead by giving a mid-season pruning.

The beginning of August is a great time to trim back annuals. Just trim them back by a third to a half.   Within a week, the trimmed plants will begin to flush out more bushy and fresh looking.

So prune now, and then relax and enjoy the rest of your summer knowing fall will continue to bloom for you.

Helen Yoest is a garden writer and coach through her business Gardening with Confidence™.

Follow Helen on Twitter @HelenYoest and her facebook friend’s page, Helen Yoest or Gardening With Confidence™ Face Book Like Page.

Each week, Helen host’s a garden talk WebTalkRadio.net show called Gardening With Confidence™.