Canada Blooms Update

Did you know that each year, 8-10 competitors from all over the world come to Canada Blooms to compete in the Toronto Flower Show?
In 2019, there were competitors from Barbados, Bermuda, France, Great Britain, India, Ireland, Italy, Oman, South Africa and Canada.

Anna Fulton, won gold with a striking modern design. Anna represented the island of Bermuda and is training to become a judge and demonstrator. Anna is a newcomer to international competition and she has made a brilliant start.

Official rules of the competition state that we cannot name the participants prior to entries being submitted, but we should know the companies participating by early January, so stay tuned to see which countries will be competing.

By Kerry Meyer, Proven Winners

Maybe the heat or vacations have left your planters looking less than stellar. Maybe you’re simply tired of what you have and looking for a change or want to get ride of the pinks and purples you loved in the spring in favour of the more Autumn-like yellows, reds and bronzes. While the basics of design and care don’t really change for fall, there are a few things to consider.

Choosing Plants
When choosing plants for fall, their ability to withstand cool temperatures, including frost or even hard frost, is key to keeping your containers looking great for months.

Another trait to consider is the ability of the plant to blooms under shorter day-lengths. Some plants need longer days to bloom. And, no you are NOT limited to mums, ornamental kale and pansies – although they are great plants for fall. When looking at plants in the Proven Winners on-line database, plants that work for Fall are marked as have Fall interest.

Planting
When potting up planters in spring, there are advantages to using fewer plants per container and leaving plenty of room to grow. But, fall has a different set of circumstances. While you are likely planting containers while temperatures are still quite warm, those temps are going to quickly begin cooling off. As temperatures cool, plant growth slows or stops completely. This means that plants potted up in the fall aren’t going to show the amazing growth you get from those planted in the spring.

Watering
Cool temperatures and smaller plants also lead to plant using less water. Less water used means you don’t have to water nearly as often.

Frost Protection
While choosing frost tolerant plants is necessary, you might also want to add an extra level of protection for your plants when night temps get close to 32 degrees.

(read complete Proven Winners article)

blog.tugo.com suggests that the top destination to see fall foliage in Canada is:

• Victoria,  BC – especially the Japanese Garden at Butchart Gardens
• The Rocky Mountains, AB – The drive from Jasper to Banff is amazing
• Bruce Peninsula, ON – explore the 800 km Bruce Trail
• The Laurentian Mountains, QC – Quebec is littered with floral that changes in the autumn months
• Cabot Trail, NS – Cape Breton Island and Cabot Trail are internationally recognized as one of the most scenic views.

The DiscoverMuskoka.com Fall updates says the expected peak for maples (vibrant red) is Oct 1-12, peak birch and poplar (golden encore) is Oct 12-21.

November is not normally a month that is looked forward to. It just is not an exciting month. It is grey and it looks dirty outside. November also gives us hints that winter will soon start. In the flower business November is a month that does show transition. We move from the last remnants of fall to an in between stage of not winter and not fall. Here in Southern Ontario we don’t have the glorious golden fall colours nor do we have the clean white of winter. However, there is still colour to be found.
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The City of Toronto’s Annual Chrysanthemum Shows are on from October 7-November 4, at Allan Gardens Conservatory, and Centennial Park Conservatory’s show usually begins around the first weekend in November. These fabulous displays of chrysanthemums are grown in-house at High Park and Centennial Park Greenhouses by the City of Toronto growers.

Admission is free. (discover more)