Gardening tips for those lacking green thumbs

    CARIBOU, Maine — Some have a knack for making beautiful gardens grow — and others have a hard time growing anything but weeds.
Kimber and Cindy Noyes have been growing beautiful flowers for 40 years as owners of Noyes Flower and Plant Shop in Caribou — and their historic greenhouse has been serving the folks of Aroostook County since 1919.
All sorts of plants expertly bloom under their care, and Kimber laid out a quick guide to planting that’s simple enough to be followed by the most beginning of beginner-gardeners.
Getting the plant into the ground may seem simple enough, but there’s a good amount to take into consideration.
“First of all, you want to make sure the plant is watered well,” Kimber explained. “Sometimes you’re driving around with it in the back of the car, and it’s a hot day — you want to make sure it’s hydrated before you do anything.”
When you get home and unload the car, that’s a great time to give thirsty plants a good drink.
While that plant’s drinking, take the plant’s tag out of the soil and read it over.
“That will help you figure out where to put it,” Kimber explained.
The tag will explain whether the plant likes full sun, partial sun or full shade.
“At that point, find out how big the plant will be when it’s fully grown, so you’re not putting something that grows to be four feet tall in front of a plant that grows to be two feet tall,” he advised. Plants need room to grow, and gardeners need to be aware that the fully-grown plant will have very different dimensions than the small little plant being planted.
Those preparatory moments are also a good time to check your color scheme, if you have one. A plant with bright orange flowers may not be something you want taking root in a soft, pastel themed garden.
Aesthetics aside, the wrong location can kill your plant.
“Know your surroundings,” Kimber cautioned. “If you’re planting right next to your house, make sure it’s not right under a drip edge from your porch or roofline — that will beat the plant right to pieces.”
Once you’ve figured out that you indeed have the correct plant and you know where it needs to go, it’s time to prepare the soil.
“If it’s in a four-inch pot, make sure the hole is six-inches deep so you have some loose soil for the roots to grow into,” Kimber explained. “Plant it at the same depth as it was growing in the pot, and that’s easily done with just a yard stick or a hoe handle or anything — just place it on top of the soil and make sure it’s even all the way across.”
Sometimes the roots can be all bunched up at the bottom of the plastic container, but Kimber says that’s OK.
“With a rose bush, they suggest you spread the roots out a little bit, but with most greenhouse-grown plants, you can just take it right out of the pot,” he said, pausing briefly with a look of concern.
“… be sure to take it out of the pot,” Kimber emphasized with a grin. He’s heard stories of some folks planting their flowers in the ground, pots and all. While it’s true that some pots decompose, others do not and a beginner gardener’s best bet is to remove the plant from the container.
If the soil is really, really dry when you’re ready to deposit the plant in the ground, Kimber suggests digging the hole where you need to plant your flower and fill it with water. Allow time for the water to dissipate, and then back fill the hole a bit with some drier soil.
“Put your plant in it, fill in around the plant with dirt and gently press down on top of the plant, pushing it down to remove any air pockets — and then water again,” Kimber described.
“Outside, it’s hard to give them too much water — especially when you’re first transplanting,” he added.
A freshly planted garden is a good time to begin a feeding regiment, “either with a timed-release fertilizer where you can spread granules around the plant so that every time you water, it will self feed,” Kimber suggested, “or you can get on a schedule of once a week using liquid fertilizer with your water, such as Miracle Gro.”
How often you water is a bit trickier.
In the heat of a normal summer, Kimber suggests watering two to three times a week.
“But if we get a good, drenching rain, back off for two to three days,” he said. “It is common sense — if the soil feels real most, then you probably don’t have to water. Most plants are fairly tolerant for a day or two, they’re real resilient, they’ll come back.”
There are some quarks, however, when it comes to how frequently gardens need water.
If a plant is planted in a south-facing direction, it’s going to use a lot more water than if it’s on the north side of a building, just because it gets the sun all day long whereas on the north side, it doesn’t,” Kimber described.
For the beginner gardener, Kimber says that most seedlings found at greenhouses and garden centers are beginner plants — and most annuals, too.
Plants for the intermediate gardener are the types that require a bit more TLC, like begonias.
“They are a little more fragile and if the wind gets at them they need to be staked and kept out of the heavy rain because it’ll just break them,” he described.
For the most advanced gardeners, a challenge can be had trying to grow a plant that doesn’t belong in this climate zone — like maybe a peach tree.
Then there are the accidental advanced gardeners … who don’t realize they’re trying to grow plants in the wrong climate zone, like hydrangeas.
“There are a lot of the plants you’ll see at the big box stores, and they just sell them because they sell everywhere else,” Kimber described with a knowing smile, “but we’re in climate zone 3B or 4A. If the perennial says it is good for zone 3-4, than it probably will grow here. Anything in zone 5 or 6 will not grow here …. but you’ll find it at the stores.”
For those looking to test their beginning green thumbs this spring, Noyes Flower and Plant Shop has the plants you need — and the knowledge that will keep your garden thriving all summer long.
The greenhouse and store is located at 11 Franklin Street in Caribou. Additional information can be found online at noyesflowers.com or on Facebook, and by calling 498-2296.