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New Articles for You

A few new articles this week. It’s spring in the nursery industry and I’m working full out trying to keep up with the demands of making a living. :-)

On the bulb site – an article about summer flower Galtonia candicans – one of my favourite hardy summer bulbs. http://www.flower-garden-bulbs.com/galtonia-candicans.html

And a subject that not many of us like doing but here’s the easiest way I know to clean out fish ponds http://www.water-gardens-information.com/cleaning-fish-ponds.html

One of the big tall perennial grasses with excellent fall color is Big Bluestem. http://www.gardening-tips-perennials.com/big-bluestem.html

Want to ask a question? Click here to ask a gardening question.www.gardening-tips-perennials.com/askagardeningquestion.html

Your Questions Answered

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I’m getting a lot of questions asking “when can I plant my ??” The bottom line is that you plant tender annuals after the last frost in your area. When is that? It depends on your area doesn’t it? (insert big belly laugh here) Given this newsletter goes around the world – I can’t figure them all out.

Here’s how I do it in my garden. I know the average last frost date (you can find this out by asking a local garden center) is May 17. I’m now looking at my long range weather forecasts (I get a weather report every morning – try the weather channel site) and looking for the minimum temperatures for the next week. (next weekends low’s here are 2C so my plants will be indoors at night) When I get close to that planting date – if the weather has been sunny and warm (I know the soil is warm) and I can’t see cold weather – I’ll plant. But if the weather has been cool – and there’s iffy weather coming – I hold off.

It’s a guessing game really. I can tell you that I moved all my seedlings outdoors yesterday and indoors last night to start the hardening off process. There’s no really cold weather forecast here for the next week so they’re out there soaking up the sun (or at least half the sun as they’re in a protected spot).

Trees, shrubs, roses etc can survive almost anything now – plant ‘em.

Perennial plants – it depends of whether the plant is big and leafy and was forced in a greenhouse (tender) or just starting to grow (hardy). If in doubt, protect it from cold weather.

And if you get caught with your enthusiasm up but the frost coming down – turn on the sprinklers to water the plants – then cover with a sheet (not plastic). When you take off the sheet, water again.

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I’m also getting “Do I really have to let my potted bulb leaves turn yellow?” “Do I have to let my outdoor bulb (insert the name of the bulb here) leaves turn yellow?”

You only have to let bulbs (potted or in the ground) turn yellow if you want them to live and flower next year. If you’re not concerned about this – cut ‘em off. They might live but they certainly won’t get enough energy to set a flower bud.

And yes, that’s the rule and no – you can’t break it even though you want to. (insert grin here)

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How do I care for a mugo pine bush? When do I cut it back? How do I cut it back to keep it small enough for the space it is in? How do I keep it from turning brown at this time of the year when everything else is green and beautiful? Thank you for your help.

A: Controlling this evergreen – and all similar types is easy. Wait until you see the new growth – called candles – as they shoot up from the last year’s growth. Cut this new growth in half. That will keep any evergreen short including this pine.

How to keep it from turning brown is to buy a new one that’s alive. They don’t turn brown unless they’re dead. They’ll shed needles (all evergreens do this) but they don’t turn brown. Sorry.

And regular care - including compost, watering etc will keep them alive as this is normally one tough plant.

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UPDATES!: One of the interesting things about writing this newsletter is all the things I learn (and get reminded of by readers) Here’s a few things to note.

Re sawdust. I simply assumed that you folks would know not to use pressure treated sawdust in the garden. That stuff doesn’t break down and should be garbaged. Do not burn it – do not breathe the dust. Treat it as industrial waste (which it is).

Re sawdust: I’m assuming any woodworker is using a dust mask when he/she cuts wood or sands or any other function that creates small dust particles. But then again, I do and my dad taught me to do this, so I assumed everybody did. Don’t breathe any kind of sawdust as some woods have a reputation of being toxic.

Re Lilac problems. I mentioned the lichen on a lilac. A reader with a serious degree in “bugs” :-) suggested it could also be oyster-shell scale as this is a common problem of lilacs. I had a “duh” moment and of course she’s right. (Thanks for watching Moni) :-)

Deer: There’s a hundred different recipes and I have each and every one of them in my mailbox right now. (insert big belly laugh). THANKS to each and every one of you who wrote. HERE’S THE DEAL – the common thread in all of them is that they are applied regularly. It doesn’t seem to matter if you urinate on the area – apply some noxious smelling sulphur or rotted eggs or expensive commercial product, or hang your cat’s hairballs (seriously). You gotta apply it regularly.

There’s no such thing as a one-time spray. And if the deer are really, really hungry – nothing works except a deer fence.

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Polygonatum, common name Great Solomon's Seal, cultivar 'Variegatum' has been growing great under my 75 year old walnut for 15 years, and I don't think I saw it on your list, but I may be wrong. The other plants I have that you list on your website for juglone tolerant plants: burning bush, hosta, astilbe, 'Emerald Fountain' Canadian Hemlock, caylilies. Some of the following have grown a while and then died for me are - various coral bells, ajuga, May Night salvia, double flowering plum tree, and hardy geraniums. The only flower I have a lot of luck filling in with is impatience (begonias, geraniums live but don't grow much). To keep the impatience growing I have to water, so my thought is that maybe the right moisture for the impatience is too much moisture for the perennials in a fairly shady area. What do you think? I want to it be filled in and lush as it is one of my main entrances.

A: Understand that plants don’t just “die” under a walnut – as if you’ve sprayed them with a herbicide. They wither and fade away and they do so in different time frames. Some are more resistant than others to the poison secreted by the walnut roots. So it likely isn’t the water but the cumulative effect of the juglone killing off your perennials. If you need a blast of colour – go with the annuals that work and plant them a little closer than normal to fill in faster and grow a tad taller.

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Need some good water garden construction pictures?

My hyacinths do not come completely up before they bloom. most of the time the buds are not just barely out of the ground when they bloom. They are planted in different places-sun, shade, and partial shade, and almost all of them do the same thing.

A: As long as the flowers continue to elongate and finish blooming standing on top of the soil, this sounds pretty much like the plant and the way it grows.

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My shrub rose bushes only have thick, long canes with no side branches on them. They only bloom on the top of the cane. Why and how can I fix it? Please and thankyou!

A: A common problem with some varieties. No big deal. If you’re hesitant, cut off the last six inches or so of the cane. This will force some side growth that will produce flowering buds. If you’re bold, the more you take off – the more side shoots you’ll create. So you can theoretically cut off one-third to one-half of that long shoot to produce a thicker plant.

Just compost and water it regularly to produce a good regrowth and bloom flush.

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My question is about these new selfwatering container boxes. I'm a little skeptical because of the small size of the container and the vegetables that they say they can grow with better results than conventional methods. One company is Earthbox.

Do You Want to Grow Vegetables?

Please comment, because sometimes I have an urge to buy one of those selfwatering containers because of all their claims.

A: Ah, the power of copywriting! (chuckle) You’re right to be skeptical. The key to growing success is to provide adequate water so if these systems do that consistently (more consistenly than you) then you’ll have more success with them. If you water regularly – then you don’t need them.

If you provide enough water – you can grow darn near any plant in a small container. But there is a difference between being compulsive with a hose and having a life. And for this difference we need a certain amount of soil. I found that 6 shovels of soil would let me grow a great tomato plant if I watered *every* day. Miss a day and the plants were toast.

So less soil means twice a day watering.

This is where those self-watering boxes come in handy. If you’re a forgetful gardener – then they work. But if not – they don’t.

But you have to love skillful ad writing.

From My Garden To Yours

Whoa! So now what do I do? Half-loads come off the highways next week and until they do, my load of gravel is still in the pits somewhere. I was going to use the gravel to line the pathways I’ve just excavated to reduce the mud in the house. Hmm. There’s a problem here given we’ve had over an inch of rain in the last 24 hours and the pathways resemble the canals of Venice more than they resemble dry paths. The sun porch has been temporarily named the mudroom (at least I hope it’s temporarily) and the dog is banished to the porch. Do you know how muddy a dog can get when you put an inch of rain onto newly dug soil?

The good news is that the perennials I planted as semi-dormant stock last week think they’re in heaven. I note that most of them are standing straight up, looking quite perky this morning. The dormant roses are actually starting to throw shoots even though they’re still in their packaging and I have to get them into the ground. The potted roses were moved outside this past weekend from their overwintering cold-cellar location and I’ll be pruning them so I can have roses in my clay pots again. If you’ve been overwintering perennials or roses in containers, now is the time to get them outdoors. If you get things outdoors before they start growing, then you don’t have to worry about a little frost or two. The chestnut seeds I started indoors and that have leaves will not go outside until after the last frost. A frost would take those tender leaves and kill the plant. This is the rule of thumb for any plant at the moment. If it is hardy without any growing leaves, you can plant it outdoors. If tender with leaves, you had better leave it inside until after the last frost. And nope, I have no idea when that last frost will be other than the traditional May 24 weekend (it’s a crapshoot one way or t’other).

Deer don’t eat daffodils and I’ve discovered I have a ton of this bulb all over the property. They are popping up in the most unlikely of locations and each time I wander over to take a look at the clump of dark green leaves, I discover that somebody had taken the time to plant them and circle the planting with flat stones. There’s also some iris poking up in the same areas so it looks like I’ll have a later show of flowers as well. I transplanted a few of the iris to the garden bed to give them a more comfortable home and I’m looking forward to seeing what colours they are. If you want to move iris now, feel free to do so but just make sure you plant those corms so the roots are covered but the corm is above ground and showing. If you bury it, it will grow but not flower. If you have an iris that grows tons of leaves but doesn’t flower, now is a perfect time to pop it out of the ground, raise the corm to the surface and replant. You’ll get blooms this year.

Tomato Growing Secrets

My peonies were also transplanted this spring and are doing quite well. I doubt they’ll bloom much but at least they aren’t sulking or wilting away. Like the iris, peonies need a shallow planting and those hard eyes should only be at or just (quarter-inch) below the soil surface. I don’t know if you’ve heard of these plants but interstitial peonies have come to Canada. These are a cross between hardy herbaceous peonies (the ones we all grow) and the more tender but massive flowering tree peonies. These interstitials will be expensive (think $100/plant) but they are hardy plants with the massive flowers of the tree peony. They might be available in local garden centres if you ask or pre-order them although the big box stores won’t be carrying them. I confess there’s plant lust in my heart when I think of these massive flowers and I might just have to spring for one next fall when the plant budget gets renewed. I already have several of the more expensive peonies so I’m thinking I can justify yet another one.

And isn’t that the fun of it all? Dreaming of the garden just never stops. I have already figured out that this spring’s garden is going to be sort of half-done (perennials installed in half the garden) and if I can get half of the dream edged and planted I’ll be doing well. The other half will be annual flowers set in from seed. I’ve tilled up this area and when the rain stops I’ll do it again to get those small germinating weed seeds. Then I’ll gently shuffle across the garden pressing down parallel tracks. These tracks will be spaced approximately 18 inches apart and will be at a 45-degree angle to the pathway becoming the home for my self-sowing annuals. I want a firm seedbed for these direct sown seeds so I’ll gently compress the soil, sow the seed and cover it over with peat and compost to mark the rows. The asters, cosmos, zinnia, dahlia, mignonette and a dozen other varieties will be directly put into this area for mixed flower germinating. I’ll show you this as it happens at my blog at http://feeds.feedburner.com/DougGreensGardening complete with pictures. This won’t happen until the rain stops and the weather warms up but direct sowing of seed is easy and will produce a wonderful bounty of low-cost blooms for later summer pleasure.

But first we have to get this very welcome rain that is bringing our May flowers to stop.

Parting Words

“The rules of the garden are the rules of art; the rules of the rock garden are the more awful rules of Nature herself.”

Reginald Farrer
My Rock Garden 1920

Do You Want to Grow Lavender?