Planting Flowers in Southern California
Southern California offers gardeners a multitude of possibilities when it comes to planting flowers. It possesses a mild, pleasing climate that varies from region to region in the large southern part of the state. Southern California falls within zones 8b through 11 on the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone map, making it easy to find the right kinds of flowers to plant and their soil requirements. This allows you more time to enjoy the growth of your flowers after planting them with ease. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Garden soil
- Peat moss
- Garden hoe
- Hand trowel
- Assorted flower seeds
- Watering can or garden hose
Instructions
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Preparing the Soil
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1
Obtain a specially formulated garden soil that aids sandy and loamy soils, which are prevalent in Southern California. For a five-by-eight foot flower bed, you will need around 20 lbs.
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Dig up about a foot of ground in your selected area for planting flowers. This breaks apart the topsoil and prepares the ground for mixing your own enriched soil for planting the flowers. Use a garden hoe, which can break apart the ground as well as dig downward.
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3
Add a four-inch layer of garden soil to the dug up garden earth. Mix the ground dirt and garden soil together. This helps bind the sandy soil of Southern California together for easier flower gardening. You can continue to do this with the garden hoe. For a small flowerbed use a hand trowel.
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4
Introduce an inch of peat moss over the area. This provides water retention capabilities as a mulching material. Peat moss is natural and retains nutrients that concentrate near the bases of your planted flowers for optimal growth and health.
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Water the area lightly with about a half gallon of water per square foot. This packs down the peat moss a bit and settles the freshly prepared soil.
Planting Flowers
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Select a variety of flower seeds that are appropriate for garden zones 8b through 11. In Southern California flowers such as the acrolinium daisy, cape marigold, flax lavender and different rose varieties thrive with ease. These flowers love full sun and loamy soil conditions.
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Follow the directions on the packets of the different seed varieties you have chosen. Different flowers require different depths for planting. For example, French marigolds only need to be planted 1/8 of an inch beneath the soil's surface, but passionflower seeds should be planted at 1/2 inch beneath the soil. Other flower varieties vary so paying attention to each flower's needs is important.
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Select flowers that accompany other plants in your garden area. Companion planting allows you to take advantage of the different things plants can do. For example, planting Chrysanthemums with your other flowers and foliage helps repel root-attacking insects. This aids to the quality of life for your plants.
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Water the area liberally depending on the weather. If it's hot and dry, particularly in mid to late summer in Southern California, twice weekly waterings are necessary. Keeping your flowers nourished and moist keeps them blooming.
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References
- Photo Credit butterfly,insect,winged,flower,brilliant,san image by Earl Robbins from Fotolia.com
