The Know, Hoe, Sow, Grow and Show Guide | Volume # 5 | Feb 16/06

OK - so we’re adding the articles again. Got a lot of requests to put them back in so here they are. Thanks to all who wrote! Nice to hear the feedback! :-)

Cut up my geranium yesterday – it looks a lot worse for wear now but I got two very strong cuttings off this poor weak thing. I think I’ve got it on the mend after being frosted in the move in December. In any case, there’s a question below about these. I did take some digital photos and hope to get them up on the site to illustrate just what I did.

Also did some seed sowing last night. I had some perennial seed that hadn’t gone into the germination so away they went into the soil last night. I don’t know whether they’re alive or dead but I guess we’ll know in a few weeks. So the garden is starting to take some real shape in my mind – and now that there’s cuttings taken and seed started, I know there’s a garden out there somewhere under this freezing rain.

You gotta love it!

New Articles for You

About the climbing hydrangea vine http://www.beginner-gardening.com/climbing-hydrangea.html

How to grow bleeding heart http://www.beginner-gardening.com/bleeding-heart.html

How to grow annual alyssum http://www.simplegiftsfarm.com/alyssum.html

How to keep a tulip (or other bulb) bouquet alive http://www.flower-garden-bulbs.com/tulip-bouquet.html

How to succeed with cyclamen http://www.flower-garden-bulbs.com/cyclamen.html

How to grow baby carrots (its in the variety selection) http://www.vegetable-gardening-tips.com/baby-carrots.html

Deer repellants. If you have first hand experience, I’ll add it to the website – tell me what you use that works for you! http://www.gardening-tips-perennials.com/deer-repellants.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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My geraniums that I have wintering in my house have been growing long stems, I read where I should pinch out the growing tips. Does this mean I should be cutting off these long stems?

A: Ah no. Don’t cut off the long stems unless you want to take cuttings and root them. “Pinching” means to pinch the small growing tender point at the very end of the shoot. When I pinch a plant, I usually only take a quarter inch or so of new tissue (the smallest new developing leaves).

I also cut off those long stems but only because I want to root them and give me more geraniums (I’m greedy!) :-) This also helps to thicken up the plant and provide a bushy plant for spring instead of an old stringy one.

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I've cut my flower and placed it in a vase of water, but I would like to know if there is anything I can put IN the water to help it last longer.

Is Your Garden Fragrant Enough?

A: For sure. Use cut flower food. It is essentially sugars to feed the plant, acids to balance the pH of the water and a disinfectant to kill bacteria from shortening the life of your flower.

You can make your own with a shot of lemon flavoured soda pop. Or use a tsp of lemon juice and a tsp of sugar in a couple of quarts of water in your vase. Dissolve these together before adding them so they mix into the water.

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Being a former city people we are on the learning curve of country living. We have a large weeping bed [?] [the place where the septic system sends the water]. We are loathe to add yet another place to cut grass, though that is what was recommended. We would like to grow ornamental [preferably perennial] grasses on that area and have already planted some crown vetch and spring bulbs. What would you suggest for a maintenance free area, it is in morning sun only. Thanks

A: Maintenance free area on top of a septic bed is grass. There is no more easier system than this. Period. Anything else will turn into a massive weed bed unless you go out and weed. Vetch will not kill weeds it will only use them as a climbing post and will invade other good areas. If you like a wild look – then leave it. Ornamental grasses will not smother out weeds either but you can try. Plant them very close together to start with and they’ll grow up OK. With any luck, you won’t notice the invading grasses and other weeds but they’ll be there.

Just keep the woody plants well away from the bed.

By the end of this coming weekend, the silver maples that are close to my tile bed should be firewood. The half-rotted Chestnut went a few weeks ago and it’s the maples turn shortly. Protect that bed!

And welcome to the country!

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I'd like to know how to propagate eremurus. A few years ago I planted 3 "Cleopatra" and only one came up. It gets bigger but so far hasn't bloomed. I'm in zone 6 because I'm near Lake Huron. perfect drainage.sand.lightly alkaline.

thanks

A: Eremurus propagates quite readily from seed. It can be a little tricky sometimes but if you prechill it for 90 days, it seems to do well. Just don’t get it too wet.

You can do a fall or early spring division if your clump is large enough but you have to be “really” careful with doing this. It can resent being moved or divided and will simply rot away.

As long as the fertility is good – you’ve got the drainage thing licked with the sand. If its taking this long to bloom, you either don’t feed it well enough (try a shovel of compost around it this coming spring) or you’re too sandy and its not getting enough water. Remember great fertility but great drainage is the way to go with this plant.

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my broccili (in a raised bed) is approx 7 to 8 inches tall and starting to head(i know i am late with it)temps are generally 60's daytime and low 40's to 30's at nite..but this weekend the highest temp for sat will be 30 while a front moves thru..i have a big umbrella i use to keep frost off of them but i am worried about the extended time the temp will be low...should i be? and if so...will i be able to protect the little fellas? thanks for your time

Do You Want to Grow Vegetables?

A: This is from an obviously Southern gardener but I include it for two reasons. The first is to point out that broccoli is a pretty tough plant once it is hardened off – and a mid 30’s or even a light frost isn’t going to bother it. This is the same for all cole plants (cabbages, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts etc)

The second is to regretfully point out that I can’t always respond to requests for emergency information. I get bogged down sometimes or am away and just can’t get to these need-to-know-now requests. I feel badly about this but it’s a fact of life on the Net. This is why you want to cultivate the friendship of those in a small garden center – they’ll be able to share those local bits of info on an emergency basis. And if they know you’re a customer, they’ll be happy to help.

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My dog is ruining my grass! Each time she urinates the grass turns brown. Someone said its because she is not spayed. Is that true and is there something I can do to fix my grass - its terrible!

Want a Better Lawn than the Neighbors?

A: Do a search on the website. There’s an article up there on my dog ruining my lawn. The bottom line is that it doesn’t matter whether your dog is spayed or not. The damage is being done by the nitrogen in the urine. In the summer you have to immediately water the spot where she urinated to drive that nitrogen down further into the soil and weaken its concentration. (you have an hour after she pees to do this or the damage is done).

Train her to use one part of the lawn – not the entire thing.

But check out the website – it tells you how to repair that damage.

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Someone asked you about repairing a fruit tree which had the bark removed by a rabbit. There's a Ontario Ag bulletin on how to repair that. See http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/crops/facts/98-003.htm

A: Yes, this is a description of bridge grafting for sure. Thanks! for the url. I appreciate it when you folks do this kind of thing and we can pass along pics and information that works well.

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From My Garden To Yours

With a return to the deep freeze, my poor crocus bulbs are about to have a problem. With the rains of last week, the frost has almost left the ground in my garden and those bulbs were determined to sprout. There’s nothing I could do about their enthusiasm and we are now going to pay the price. This is simply by way of saying that sometimes things happen in the garden that you can’t control and the best way to deal with it is to simply relax and understand that sometimes the garden is beyond anything you can influence. I think Mother Nature likes to remind us of this every now and then and if you’re paying attention, you’ll learn a lot of respect for the raw power she wields. I do note that if you have potted bulbs, keeping them cool will extend their bloom time; if you allow them to get too warm, they’ll stop blooming sooner and once those petals start falling off, there’s not much you can do but grow the leaves. But enough about bulbs, we’ll get to the survivors soon enough in the next two months.

I think it’s useful to take a look at what you can do in your garden when we have another warm snap. To begin with, your tender shrubs such as Rhododendrons could use a good coating of anti-desiccant at this time of year. A second coating (I assume you did it in the fall as well) right now will renew their protection and this will protect them from drying out in the winter sunshine and wind. You’ll continue to have green leaves next summer instead of the brown-edged ones that I’m suspecting will be in the forecast for many. If you have yews in an exposed location and that tend to burn, you may find a late bit of protection will do wonders there as well.

This is a great time to do those pruning chores for any kind of tree or large shrub. They are still quite dormant and sleepy and won’t protest at all when you take the loppers and clean them up. Even if all you do is remove the obvious dead branches from your old shrubs, you’ll be doing them a favour by increasing the air circulation in the shrub. Increased air circulation decreases the ability of fungal diseases to hide away. Also, by removing the dead branches, you’re also giving the living ones more space to grow and produce flowering branches.

I have a big old apple tree in the backyard that has seen better days but I’m going to do some pruning on it the next warm day we get. I want to start shaping it a little and take out the dead wood. And as soon as the end of February gets here, I’ll be applying a serious drench of dormant oil and sulphur to start knocking back the overwintering pests and problems (like scab). This tree is big enough the deer can’t bother it so it’s worth saving. That dormant spray is the second step right after pruning.

There are no rose bushes in this garden, a fact I’m about to correct, but if there were I’d be pruning them just as soon as we have another nice outdoors-day. Those big old Explorer roses can stand a serious pruning right now if you want to keep new canes coming and producing blooms. I’d tend to remove one-quarter to one-third of the oldest (or dead) canes each year after the plant was 4 years old. I’d allow the new canes to fill in the spaces as the new canes will produce more flowers than the old. Mind you, I’d also be wearing my heavy leather gloves to do the job but this is the best time to get this job done. It is one of the few times you can see what’s alive in the middle of one of these rose thickets. So, next warm spell get out the pruning shears and have at it.

If we have some more snow, do shovel the walkways onto your bulb and flower beds. I think we’ll all wind up wanting more protection for our plants before we see the end of this winter. The extra layers of snow will help keep the ground cool, which in turn will keep the plants dormant. As long as they stay dormant and don’t start growing, they’ll be fine for next spring. So toss that extra snow onto your tender bulbs or perennials from here on in.

If you have been overwintering potted perennials or roses, now is a great time to check them and make sure the soil is damp. I checked mine last weekend and the soil was still damp so I didn’t take them a big drink of water. But if that soil is dry, get a serious amount of water to the pot so the roots do not dry out. I’m looking forward to seeing what a ‘Knockout’ rose will do in its second year when it gets into the ground instead of a pot.

Now is an excellent time to start feeding houseplants and overwintering geraniums to get them pumping up and growing in the increasing light levels. I’m watching my poor abused geranium come back, turning itself into a handsome plant. It doesn’t know it’s going to be cutting material and this growth spurt is going to fill several containers next summer. If you’re overwintering impatiens or other shade-loving plants, you’ll see increased growth and increased blooms almost overnight although sun-lovers will take a few weeks to ramp up the growth rate.

Reminds me of myself. I think it will take a few weeks of warm weather to get me fully ramped up for outdoor gardening too.