Gardening In Southern Climates

When we talk about gardening in Southern climates, we are referring to areas that experience long, hot, humid summers, mild winters and plenty of rainfall and sunshine. Since sunshine and rainfall in abundance are congenial for plant growth, therefore those with green fingers can really expect to have a busy gardening schedule all round the year. However for those of you who want to enjoy your much hankered spring season it will be a wiser act to start preparing the plants and getting them ready during the late winters and just before the spring sets in.

This would generally involve pruning shrubs, trees, fruit trees and perennials by leaving aside the flowering plants for the spring season. You can also actively involve yourself in indoor seed planting of marigolds, petunias, verbena, phlox and salvia as well as outdoor planting of annuals and perennials. Southern winters are a good time for spraying oil sprays to kill mites and scales on deciduous trees. This is the time when you can start transplanting the indoor vegetables mainly cabbage, cauliflowers, broccoli, spinach, lettuce etc.

Though the southern gardens may not have daffodils or tulips to boast about they more than make up for it by flaunting the exotic fruit trees of pineapple and guava. Orchids too are a very common feature in most of the Southern gardens.

The one trade off about gardening in southern climates is the lengthy summer months where the mercury refuses to dip even at nights. This makes it impossible for some perennials like foxgloves and delphiniums to survive in southern climates. Moreover improper watering of the plants can dry out their roots because of the harsh sunrays that perpetually beat down on them. Therefore southern gardeners should resort to the methods of deep watering. Besides it is advisable to water the plants in the evenings or early mornings because these are the best times for water retention.

Since undernourished plants are more prone to insect and bug attacks it will always be beneficial to expose them to the desired quantity of sunlight and keep them well watered. Location too plays a very vital role in the plant mortality rate therefore remember to place the right plant in the right location in order to avoid excess sunlight and watering or maybe even lack of it.

Native plants like wax myrtle and yaupon hollies thrive well in southern climates and once they are well established they call for little care and easily withstand the changes in the environment. The exotic plants (Brazilian Pepper and Chinese Tallow) that are not natives to the Southern areas are also visible in a variety of colors and textures and sometimes even outnumber the natives.

Gardening in the southern climates is definitely a pleasure for gardeners who want to keep their hands full all through the year. After all there is so much to be done and let’s not forget that they have all the time for it as well. Perhaps the only problem that they might be facing is the never- ending summers and the not so cool shorter winters.

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