FAQ

Q: How often do I need to water? 

A: This is the most frequent question ever. The answer: when your garden needs it. Stick a finger in the soil and see if it's dry. People want a schedule, but nature doesn't work on a schedule. It either rained or it was hot. Plan your garden so that a lot of it can survive on rainfall once it is established. You will need to water new plants and container plants, though. Use a wand on a hose. That way you can rearrange pots as plants go out of bloom and you don't have to fuss with technology. I think people with watering systems spend most of their summer repairing them. And most systems turn on whether it rains or not, so they waste water. If you have a lot of containers, group them so that you can water efficiently. I have 250 to 300 containers, but they are in three main areas. Even in the hottest part of the summer, watering by hand takes at most an hour and a half every three days—and this is in Denver, where the air is very dry. 

Q: How often do you recommend fertilizing? 

A: I don't fertilize my perennial beds because I don't want them to get tall and floppy. For container plants, though, I feed constantly because I want plants worthy of a magazine cover. Label directions say to feed every seven to 10 days. That's not enough. I found this out when I was working on a book and needed to photograph my containers. A hailstorm smashed everything, but by feeding more often than suggested, the plants miraculously came back within three weeks. 

So I recommend feeding container plants every four or five days. Early in the season, switch back and forth between a nitrogen fertilizer and one that's lower in nitrogen but higher in phosphorus and potassium to boost blooms—except for plants you're growing for their foliage. Once the plants are in flower-production mode, by mid-July, use just the flower booster, assuming the plants are the size you want. Never fertilize when the soil is dry; it can burn some plants. 

Q: Why does my (fill in the blank) keep dying? 

A: If a plant dies, it's telling you something. You might want to replace it once, just to make sure the first plant wasn't damaged in some way. But if the replacement also dies, that plant clearly isn't suited to that location. Move on, and plant something else. 

Q: Any ideas for spending less money on plants? 

A: Besides saving seeds and using cuttings from vegetables and herbs. I replant these to help save money on buying more. 

Q: How can I support my tomato plant? 

A: Tomato vines can be either staked or grown in cages. To stake, drive the stakes at or before planting time, as driving a stake into the soil near an established tomato plant damages its root system. As the plant grows, side branches or suckers develop at the points where the leaves join the stem. Remove these suckers before they are more than 3 inches long. If you want to develop two or more stems, leave one or more side branches near the base of the plant. Break off all side branches from these stems as they grow upwards. Tie the stems to the stake with soft string or a cloth strip. 

Q: My plant leaves look chewed! Do you know what type of insect might do that? 

A: Insects that have the ability to chew plants must have special cutters in their mouths for this purpose. Such insects may include caterpillars, beetles, and grasshoppers, for example.