Home > Lawn & Garden > Home Gardening > Flowers > Plan Color Scheme for Your Cool-season Landscape October is a transitional month in Louisiana flower gardens. Many warm season annuals have finished or are finishing, and gardeners' thoughts are just beginning to turn to cool-season bedding plants for fall, winter and spring color. Gardeners have options when selecting warm-season bedding plants (Audio 04/14/08) Gardeners can begin planting summer bedding plants around mid- to late April. LSU AgCenter horticlturist Dan Gill says there are many options when choosing warm-season plants. (Runtime: 60 seconds) Marigolds Effective Against the Southern Rootknot Nematode [Image: yellow marigolds] Marigolds produce substances that are toxic to at least one or more kinds of nematodes. Petunias are Popular Bedding Plant [Image: petunias] Information on the use of petunias in our Louisiana home landscapes.  more articles... All-America Rose Selections named for 2008 [Image: Mardi Gras rose] (Distributed 01/18/08) With the New Year come announcements of ornamental plant winners. One popular competition is the All-America Rose Selections. AARS winners for 2008 are Mardi Gras and Dream Come True. Pick Poinsettias [Image: red poinsettia] Pointy and pretty, no flower quite has the petal power of poinsettias at the holidays. And the selection would be far fewer in Louisiana were it not for the LSU AgCenter. Although AgCenter horticulturists do not develop new varieties of poinsettias, they do evaluate the varieties that come on the market and test them for their suitability to grow here. Easy Wave Petunia Cultivars - Photo Gallery [Image: blue] The 'Easy Wave' series of petunias are smaller versions of the original 'Wave' series. This group has also allowed for the expansion of flower color options in the series. Here is a photo gallery of the cultivars. Several "mixes" are available also. Wave Petunia Cultivars - Photo Gallery [Image: blue wave] The 'Wave' series of petunias are very popular with commercial landscapers and home gardeners at the current time. Here is a photo gallery of the cultivars. Tidal Wave Petunia Cultivars - Photo Gallery [Image: cherry] The 'Tidal Wave' series of petunias are hedgiflora type petunias. They are the tallest growing and widest spreading of these petunia groups. Here is a photo gallery of the four cultivars in this series. Get It Growing: Healthy Plants Start With Bed Preparation (For Release On Or After 10/05/07) Fall is a prime planting season in Louisiana. Cool-season flowering bedding plants and cool-season vegetables are planted from now through February, and November through February is the best time to plant hardy shrubs, ground covers and perennials in the landscape. How well you prepare the soil before planting has an enormous effect on the health and growth of your plants. Horticulturist Says Rose Care Needed in Late Summer [Image: Pruning] Louisiana in August may not be the most enjoyable time to work in the yard, but rose bushes need attention to ensure good performance this fall, according to LSU AgCenter horticulturist Dr. Allen Owings. Hot Weather Gardening: Freshen with new flowers, pruning, pest control [Image: zinnias] Yards and gardens generally look a little frayed by this time of the year. The final really hot days that usually come at the end of a long, hot summer are especially hard on plants, says LSU AgCenter horticulturist Dan Gill. Roses Speak Volumes: View, learn to grow at Burden Center [Image: pinkroses] A rose can say a lot. The beautiful blossoms speak of love, sorrow and appreciation. If a dozen roses can say so much, then the rose garden at the LSU AgCenter’s Burden Center speaks volumes. The garden has 150 varieties of roses and more than 1,500 individual plants. Research on this popular flower is conducted at this station in Baton Rouge. Daylilies Good for Late Spring and Early Summer Color [Image: Daylillies] Daylilies are one of the most popular flowering plants for late spring and early summer landscapes in Louisiana. Many new flower forms and flower colors are now available. More...