The Most Common Questions People Ask Me

I have completed the first 3 weeks of my internship and am starting my fourth. This week I watered, unpacked new plants, received and checked in deliveries, helped customers find the perfect plants for their landscapes. I also learned how to make a lunch schedules so that there is someone in each department at all times.
Customer service is a top priority at Calloway's. Customers will come in looking for plants for areas with certain conditions or they will bring in samples or pictures of their ailing plants. I think it would be interesting to list some of our most common questions.

Color for Shade
One of the most common problems our customers run into is finding color for shade (shade= less than 3hrs of direct sun, partial= 3-4 hrs, Full= 6 hrs). The most common flowers for shade are impatiens, the new guinea impatiens, green leaf begonias, crossandra, shrimp plants, and hostas. Impatiens come in a wide variety of colors from white to purple (not blue). There are 2 types of bedding begonias: the bronze leaf  and green leaf. The bronze tolerates sun and the green leaf will only take shade. Crossandra has light orange flowers and dark green foliage. Shrimp plants have unusual yellow flowers (relatives come in different colors) that almost resemble a shrimp tail. Hostas have variegated foliage and will flower. Some shade plants are best used for their showy foliage rather than flowers. These include coleus and caladiums. Coleus comes in an almost unlimited variety of colors, patterns, and shapes. Caladiums can be grown from bulbs or transplanted. They come mostly patterns of green and pink or white. The strap leaf caladiums can tolerate more sun than the regular. The some good perennials for shade include ferns, turk's cap, and coral bells.

Annuals vs. Perennials
Annuals will die after one season. They are great for temporarily filling spaces or temporary color. Most of them provide instant color. Perennials will survive through more than one season. They are more permanent additions to a landscape. Some will stay leafy and green all year (evergreen), others will lose the leaves and basically be sticks in the winter, but will leaf out in spring (deciduous), and even others will die down to the soil until the weather warms back up. Annuals must be replaced at each season change; perennials do not. Annuals are usually cheaper than perennials. One is not really better than the other. It depends on your personal preference.

Rose Diseases
Roses are amazing. They add so much to a landscape. I believe there is probably a type of rose for every landscape purpose. The most common rose diseases are anthracnose and black spot. Both cause black discoloration on the leaves and are a fungus. You can treat them with a standard fungicide. The infected leaves won't be fixed, so cut those leaves off, but new leaves should not be infected. If your rose is producing blooms, but they are rotting before they can open, you may have thrips (they are bad this year). If you take one of the affected blooms and pull it apart, down towards the center of the flower, there should be tiny oblong insects crawling around. These can be treated with an insecticide. Many people have come in with pictures and samples of there roses, complaining of gnarled new growth and bad blooms. This is more than likely being caused by a virus going around called Rose Rosette or Rose Rosetta. It can be transmitted a couple ways. Spider mites and soil are the most common. If you prune on any infected roses, you must disinfect your pruners with bleach or alcohol. If you have any infected roses, remove them immediately and keep them away from uninfected roses. Once you remove infected roses, DO NOT plant more roses in that area for at least 3 years. The virus can persist in the soil. There is no cure and no sure fire prevention. If you get spider mites, use a mitcide to keep the population under control. Keep an eye on your neighborhood's roses. If it gets into your neighborhood, it can spread from house to house pretty easily. This virus only affects roses.

Grass
St. Augustine grass is the only grass that can grow in shade. It still will not grow in dense shade, but it can handle some shade. You can lay down sod or put in plugs. If you have brown patches in your lawn you may have grubs or a disease called brown patch that is caused by a fungus. If the brown patches seem to be forming in rings rather than patches, treat for fungus. If your St. Augustine is still brown (especially in the shade), it may have been killed in this brutal winter we just had.

Killing Weeds
To kill weeds you need herbicide. Some herbicides will only kill broad leaf plants. Do not spray this in a flower bed. It will kill your garden. Some will kill grassy weeds. Do not spray this on your lawn unless the label lists your lawn grass as a tolerant species. With any pesticide (herbicide, insecticide, fungicide, mitcide), ALWAYS READ THE LABEL BEFORE YOU APPLY IT. This way you apply it correctly or to anything you don't want killed. Also, this is my own personal belief, but if there is a plant growing anywhere you don't want it to, you can call it a weed and the reverse is true as well. It is always helpful to know what the weed is actually called before you buy a treatment. You can bring in a sample to Calloway's and we will help you take care of it. There are also great resources online.

Over vs. Under Watering
Oddly enough, the symptoms of over and under watering plants are very similar. If your plant is wilted, touch the soil. If it feels wet, let it dry out. If it feels dry, water it. If newly dead parts of the plant feel crispy, it is under watering. If it is malleable, it is over watering. If the dead parts feel crispy, the soil has always been moist when you water, you may have a bacteria problem or a pest problem. In that situation, it is probably best to bring a sample to an expert.

Nutrient Deficiencies and Fertilizer
All fertilizers are required to list a fertilizer analysis. It is a sequence of 3 numbers separated by dashes. Each number refers to the relative concentration of a nutrient in the fertilizer. The first refers to nitrogen, the second to phosphorus, and the third to potassium. N-P-K.
The most common all purpose analysis is a 20-20-20.
Nitrogen encourages green growth. Plants with a deficiency begin yellowing in the older or lower leaves. Apply a fertilizer that is high in nitrogen (Blood Meal).
Phosphorous encourages root growth and will often speed up maturity (the plant may flower sooner). Plants with this deficiency will have a reddish discoloration on lower leaves and crispy leaf tips. Apply a fertilizer that is high in phosphorous (Bone Meal).
Potassium is essential to most of a plant's chemical reactions. Plants with this deficiency have interveinial chlorosis (yellowing between green veins) on the older or lower leaves, scorching will begin on the edges of the leaf and work inwards. Apply a fertilizer that is high in potassium.
Iron deficiency looks very similar to potassium deficiency, but it will be found on the upper or newer leaves. To treat this apply a fertilizer that is high in iron.
There are more nutrient deficiency than this, but these ones are the most common.

That about sums up the big trends in questions, I get almost every day. Each day I learn more and more because of the questions people ask. If I don't know an answer, I find someone who does and listen to their answer. There is never a dull day when working at a nursery.