SEASONAL COLOR, calling all posts !!!

[SOMM]

LETS POST EM, i'll start:

Big flowers from small-flower flats that were hand-trowled right into 2"mulch which had been placed over 4" compost on bottom. Orange Coryopsis', blue Salvias, red hibiscuses last until December, very hardy even in midwest to mideast zones. If each laborer is not getting you paid $25 bucks per quarter hour to install this kind of work (includes all materials and travel time), you need to be charging more. Your customer is being gypped if their seasonal color doesnt overcome the mulchbed (gyps you outta referrals) - is reason why compost needs to be laid first, or at least milorganite put down with each piece of plantstock. Milorganite is cheaper and more full-season release, than any pelletized 10-20-10 you'll ever buy, 5 times as time-release 'digestive' to the plant. It is the difference between one $10K job, and a $10K job every year for the same set of commercial firms. These clients irrigate, otherwise we'd add gel additive with each planting.

Best Regards
(Get the Jim Paluch kinda "Dirt Fever", you can do it!)

[SOMM]

American Native Hibiscus from a local nursery at 4 years maturity now, cut back each pre-spring with 3 trowel placements of a handful of Milorganite each. Fence is 5.5' High. We have originally installed french soak irrigation grates from parking lot runoff is only irrigation these prize specimens receive at this small commercial strip mall. Original mulch was seperate. $50 per set originally installed, profit was 50%. Its flat so we just spaghnam peat moss for color once yearly and round-up for weeds, its near a muni sidewalk other side of fence.

[thor]

Your annual beds look great .I use alot of that blue salvia.In 1st pic that orange flowerin plant looks to me like ZINNIA LINEARIS , i may be wrong as we live in different parts of the country? Are those hibiscus cold hardy in pic 2?The only ones we get here that bloom that large are tropical.

[SOMM]

You made me check the plant list from this job friend, and you're absolutely right - they are Orange Zinnias, not Corys! It was too late of a post for me to edit it, otherwise i would- thanks for getting this corrected.

You're absolutely right oh the Hibiscus too, thanks. Elevated bed has tropical hibiscus (annual for us here in Midwest), while we stack snow upon the American native hibiscus, if we have to.

Regards
Somm