Extension service offers planting tips

Published: April 19, 2008

NORMAN — Flats of colorful spring flowers are stacked and ready for purchase at numerous garden and outlet stores throughout the city. According to area horticulturists, it's time to buy, plant and watch them grow.

Samantha Wagner, a horticulture educator at the Cleveland County Extension Service, offers these tips for selecting and planting spring flowers:

•Select sun tolerant plants for sunny areas and shade-loving plants for shady areas. Not all plants can take the Oklahoma heat, and remember that morning sun is more forgiving than afternoon sun. •When choosing perennials, buy plants suitable for the 7a climate zone. Any plant with a rating of 7a, which can be determined by the tags on flower containers or by asking your vendor, or lower should survive Norman's winters. • For best results, get your soil tested, then choose plants and trees that prefer the type of soil you have. A soil test takes about two weeks and costs about $10. •When planting, arrange plants according to height, plant form and texture or according to flowering periods. •Prepare flower beds by spading deeply. Loosen soil and add peat moss, sand, ground bark or compost, if needed. •Plant the root ball below the soil line. •Water new plantings thoroughly to give them a good start. Thereafter, water whenever the soil begins to dry, preferably early in the day.

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