These tropical orchids are famous for their bright, showy flowers that come in a variety of colors. While the general meaning of the orchid ranges from charm and beauty to sophistication and fertility, these stunning flowers are perfect for any occasion, even just to bring joy. A well-maintained Phalaenopsis orchid (one of the most common species) can bloom for up to four months. The popular Phalaenopsis orchid is one of the easiest orchid varieties to grow as a houseplant and is often referred to as the beginner's orchid for its docile nature or the moth orchid for its flower shape. The most popular orchids on the market, members of the Phalaenopsis family, grow on larger plants and trees and absorb moisture from the air just like their roots. For example, phalaenopsis orchids are usually grown with rough bark, cattleyas with medium bark, and young orchid plants are best grown with thin bark. There are several types of growing media that can be used to grow orchids: mahogan...
From zone 6 to the north, strawberries are best planted in the spring so they can take root the following winter. Garden strawberries grown in zones 7 and south can be planted in the fall and bear edible fruit the following spring.
Evergreen and neutral strawberries have a longer harvest season, but the fruit tends to be slightly smaller than June varieties. For neutral-day strawberries, flowers should be removed within the first six weeks, but flowers that appear later in summer can be left to bear fruit in the fall.
If you're growing a day-neutral variety, consider growing twice as many plants to ensure you can pick up more than a handful of berries at a time. If you love strawberries, be sure to plant more than one variety so you can reap the benefits for a longer period of time. Remember, no matter how you choose to grow strawberries, you need about 6 plants per person for a decent harvest. An initial planting of 100 plants should provide enough fruit for a family of four, with extra for freezing or canning.
The plant can live for several years - no more, the soil will need nutrition to keep the plants fed, and it is worth rooting shoots for free, new plants. Removing flowers will help encourage strawberry plants to produce vines that will root and form new plants (Figure 3). To avoid overcrowding, a strawberry patch needs plenty of topsoil so you can plant shoots between mature plants. Strawberries should be planted 12 to 18 inches apart so that the crown—the growing point where roots and shoots meet—is flush with the soil surface.
Since strawberries have a shallow root system, spreading a thin layer of soil (about a centimeter) around the crown can help develop new roots. To grow strawberries with a corrugated row system, place plants about 24 inches apart (18 to 30 inches is acceptable) in rows about 4 feet apart. Space the plants about 20 inches (50 cm) apart in each direction, using the string as a guide, to get neat, straight rows. The soil surface in the row should be loose and moist to encourage the establishment of daughter plants, which should form a continuous favorite of the plants in the row during the first growing season.
An ordinary plantation of strawberries from June will give the first harvest in the spring of the second growing season. Strawberry plants in June continue to grow and sprout until frost kills the leaves. While it may not seem like much happens to strawberries in September, the fall months are busy developing latent buds that will grow into flowers the following spring. With proper care, strawberry beds will produce good yields for three to five years, starting one year after planting.
The old-fashioned berry ripens immediately, so a large bed of strawberries will produce enough fruit to eat in abundance. When growing strawberries from seed, which is also quite possible, you should plant them at least 18 inches apart.
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