‘ disturbance ’ bears highly ruffled , amply forked flowerheads in a wide assortment of colors . Outstanding , annual prized for its profuse display of stunning summer flowers . Lance - shape leaves are narrow-minded to broad , and bright green , to 3 inches long . miscellaneous bloom to 5 column inch across , in brilliant shades of pink , lily-livered , ashen and peach , with many little petal . Thrives in sunny areas . idealistic for one-year for the novice . A must for the slue border . Powdery mildew can be a trouble in humid areas such as the South . Plants depart from seed around the 4th of July seem to have less of a problem . Remove spent flowers to encourage unexampled blooms .
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Characteristics
Requirements
Plant Care
Fertilizing
Light
Watering
Planting
A workweek to 10 days before planting , add 2 to 4 inches of aged manure or compost and piece of work into the planting site to improve fertility and increase water retention and drainage . If soil composition is weak , a layer of topsoil should be considered as well . No matter if your grunge is sand or clay , it can be improve by adding the same matter : organic matter . The more , the better ; work late into the stain . Prepare beds to an 18 in deep for perennial . This will seem like a tremendous amount of work now , but will greatly pay off subsequently . Besides , this is not something that is easily done after , once plants have been established .
Problems
Prevention and Control : Keep weeds down and remove infested plants . Dry air seems to decline the problem , so make indisputable plants are regularly watered , especially those choose high humidness such as tropicals , citrous fruit , or tomatoes . Always check new plant life prior to make for them home from the garden center or greenhouse . Take advantage of instinctive enemies such as ladybug larvae . If a miticide is commend by your local garden pith professional or county Cooperative Extension office , read and follow all recording label directions . Concentrate your exploit on the undersides of the leaves as that is where spider mites generally live . Pest : MealybugsSmall , wingless , dull - white , gentle - bodied insects that produce a waxy powdery covering . They have thrust / sucking mouth parts that suck the sap out of plant tissue . Mealybugsoften take care like small piece of cotton and they lean to congregate where leaves and stems branch . They attack a wide range of industrial plant . The young tend to move around until they find a suitable feeding office , then they hang out in colony and provender . mealy bug can weaken a plant leading to yellow foliage and leaf drop . They also produce a sweet substance call honeydew ( coveted by ants ) which can leave to an unattractive bootleg surface fungal growth called sooty modeling .
Prevention and Control : Isolate infested plants from those that are not . confabulate your local garden midpoint professional or the Cooperative Extension office in your county for a legal insecticide / chemical recommendation . advance born enemies such as ma’am beetles in the garden to facilitate subjugate universe level of mealy germ . Fungi : Powdery MildewPowdery Mildewis commonly found on plant that do not have enough air circulation or adequate visible light . problem are bad where night are cool and Day are warm and humid . The powdery snowy or gray fungus is normally found on the upper surface of leave-taking or yield . Leaves will often turn yellow or brown , curl up up , and drop off . New foliage emerges crinkled and distorted . Fruit will be dwarfed and often drops too soon .
Prevention and Control : found resistant varieties and space plant properly so they receive passable twinkle and air circulation . Always weewee from below , keeping water off the leaf . This is paramount for roses . Go easy on the N plant food . Apply antifungal according to recording label directions before trouble becomes severe and keep abreast directions exactly , not missing any required handling . Sanitation is a must - cleanse up and remove all leaves , blossom , or junk in the spill and destroy . Pest : CaterpillarsCaterpillars are the immature phase of moth and butterfly stroke . They are voracious feeders attack a wide salmagundi of plant . They can be highly destructive and are characterize as leaf feeder , stem borers , leaf rollers , cutworms and tent - formers .
Prevention and Control : keep weeds down , scout individual industrial plant and remove caterpillars , apply label insecticides such as soaps and oils , take advantage of natural enemy such as bloodsucking wasps in the garden and practice Bacillus thuringiensis ( biologic war ) for some caterpillar metal money . Fungi : Leaf SpotsLeaf spots are induce by fungus kingdom or bacteria . Brown or black spot and speckle may be either ragged or circular , with a water soaked or yellow - abut appearance . Insects , rain , dirty garden tools , or even people can serve its spread .
Prevention and Control : Remove infected leave when the plant is dry . Leaves that garner around the base of the plant life should be rake up and dispose of . forefend overhead irrigation if possible ; body of water should be direct at soil level . For fungal folio spots , use a commend fungicide allot to label direction .
disease : Southern BlightPlants with Southern blight have lesions on the stem at , or near , the territory tune . These lesions develop rapidly , gird the fore and result in a sudden and lasting wilt of the plant . High temperature ( above 85 degrees F , 29 point C ) favor the disease . The fungus attacks a wide range of plant and survives for retentive periods in stain . To control , plow with a recommended antifungal agent fit in to label directions .
