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The Homestead Gardens Annuals Department offers the region’s finest selection of flowers, herbs, and vegetables. If you can’t find it here, odds are that you won’t find it anywhere else! Fresh, flowering plants are being delivered daily from our nearby farm, ready to enhance your beds and containers. Our Annuals sales associates are always ready and willing to help you choose the right plant for the right place.
Justicia Holanda It's Not Autumn Without Mums  Alongside the pumpkin, Chrysanthemums are the comforting harbingers of autumn whose blooms dominate the garden come late fall. Mums are the most widely-grown potted plant in the country, probably because they are ideal cutting flowers, as their blooms last longer than most others. Mums have been cultivated for thousands of years. However, like other plants, such as corn, tomatoes, rice, etc. that have been altered and cross-bred by humans over the millenia,, if we were to see mums in their original form, we wouldn't recognize them when compared to today's cultivars. Two thousand years ago, the Chinese first grew mums as an herb, and they resembled small, yellow daisies. Of course, that shouldn't be surprising, as mums belong to the Compositae (daisy) family. Most people can identify the decorative form of the mum, which is marked by a cluster of petals curving loosely or tightly toward the center, but there are a few other forms, too. The Daisy Mum looks just like a daisy, with a green or yellow center ringed in brightly colored petals. The Quill Daisy Mum is comprised of petals that are rolled into quills that ring the center of the bloom. And the Spoon Daisy Mum is similar to the Quill Daisy, but the tip of each petal flares open to form a spoon.  Mums thrive in full sun, which is considered to be at least six hours per day, and require well-drained soil. But remember that mums love to be grown in containers as well, so check out Homestead Gardens' wide selection of terra cotta and ceramic planters. In fact, combine mums in a container with pansies of assorted colors, ornamental cabbage or kale, ivy, and any number of cool-weather annuals for a stunning fall planter. Better yet, add an ornamental grass to give that autumny feel to the arrangement.Water thoroughly during warm weather, but taper off the watering as the weather cools and your mums establish themselves. Pinch back and shape your mums through May and June, which will prevent them from blooming too early, and encourage growth for blooms throughout autumn. Come winter, cut the plant back 2-4" above the soil and provide a layer of mulch. It’s also prudent to check the plants over the winter to ensure that the freezing and thawing process has not pushed the crown out of the soil. As spring arrives, remove the mulch gradually, and start to fertilize. Then start pinching back as the mums start their growth spurt. We grow all of the mums we carry here at Homestead Gardens. We start them in our greenhouses in early May, and plant new crops every couple of weeks after that to ensure a constant supply throughout the season. We grow over fifty varieties of mums in all sorts of colors: red, yellow, orange, white, bronze, and countless other shades. And we offer a wide selection of sizes to fit your needs. Since they are grown here, our mums are proven champions in the region.
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With dark glossy leaves, black stems, pine cone-shaped buds, and gorgeous pink flowers, Justicia Holanda is uniquely beautiful. Tolerant of heat and humidity, and happy in part or morning sun outside and bright light inside, this is a great plant to add to your container gardens or to grow on its own as a houseplant. It should continue to bloom for months with regular watering and monthly fertilizing.These tropical plants will overwinter only as far north as zone 9, but they are easily cared for indoors when the weather turns cold. They also attract butterflies & hummingbirds to your yard, as if they needed any other virtues!!!
