It was a great week here – a bit warmish, a bit coldish and it looks like more of the same this coming week. My lemon tree is in full bloom perfuming the sunporch and it makes morning coffee a treat. I’m working the blossoms with my finger pollinating them (but I’m not buzzing while I’m doing it) so I can have fresh lemons. I did have my first lime yesterday – I cut that tiny one up and it went into the tea at break, the water all day and only got thrown away at night after it was totally used up and squeezed out. But darn a fresh lime is a nice thing when its -3 out there.

I’m a little short of new articles this week – I found myself having to write some magazine and copywriting work (things that pay the bills) :-) instead. But those decks are almost clear and I’ll have more for you next week again.

If you’re in Alaska and listen to Jeff Lowenfells on his gardening show – Jeff and I are doing some interviews this coming Saturday together. Should be a good time with an old buddy.

New Articles for You

And again!) this week, here’s an article on pruning climbing roses This is the correct url. (insert embarrassed grin here)

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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This is not a question but a response to the gardener in Texas with the dicentra. I am in AR, so not in the "deep" south but do have several bleeding hearts... some red, some white. The key for me is water and shade. Even then, in the heat of summer (100+) it will dry up and die back. At this point, I cut off the dead stuff and mulch it. They come back the next spring just fine. I'm not sure though about how much different this will be in Texas.

A: Great info – thanks for sharing. I have had the same experience with the Dicentra dying back in a hot summer but springing back up the following spring. And from where I write – AR is “south”. :-)

I note that several of you wrote with similar answers! THANKS to all!

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Is Your Garden Fragrant Enough?

I am also a fond believer in dayliles what i want to know is if you can give me a list of daylilies with scent im putting in a new sitting area with a swing set for my wife and i would like to include these because they are her favorate flower in the world ! thaks for the time to listen to me

A: The American Hemerocallis Society used to have an award given to the most fragrant dormant daylily. While it has been discontinued, award winners include: ‘Willard Gardner’, ‘Tender Love’, ‘Frozen Jade’, ‘Siloam Double Rose’, ‘Ida Miles’, ‘Siloam Mama’, ‘Siloam Double Classic’, ‘Hudson Valley’, ‘Evening Bell’, ‘Chorus Line’, ‘Golden Scroll’, ‘Smoky Mountain Autumn’, ‘Siloam Spizz’, ‘Vanilla Fluff’, ‘Lemon Lollipop’, ‘Gingham Maid’, ‘Frosted Pink Ice’, ‘Raspberry Candy’, ‘Wineberry Candy’, ‘Dena Marie’, ‘Chance Encounter’, ‘Elegant Candy’, ‘Shimmering Elegance’ and ‘Lavender Blue Baby’.

You won’t lose with any of these if you can find them. Otherwise, simply read the label at the catalog or nursery for help. The fragrant ones are normally labeled.

Personally, I like H. lilio-ashphodelus (the old Lemon Lily) and the old standard ‘Hyperion’ – if you can find either, go with them. My favourite new variety is ‘Scentual Sundance’

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Tomato Growing Secrets

we grew beautiful russet potatoes this year - when first harvested they were beautiful - now when you bake or cook them with the peel on they are a very green colour under the skin - we have them stored in a root house - good ventilation and around 5 - 10 deg cel. depending on outside weather. why the discoloration

A: Personally, I don’t see anything wrong with the colour green. I think it’s a pretty good colour.

However, in potatoes it is the result of chlorophyll production in the tuber. This is a direct exposure to light in growing, drying, or storage. Green = light. And the green part can go quite deep into the potato.

Interestingly enough, different varieties have different sensitivities to greening. 12 hours of 5 foot candles (barely enough to see) will start the process in Kennebec potatoes.

Put a potato in a well-lit cupboard for 3-5 days and you can expect greening if the house temp is 65F.

The amount of green is directly correlated to variety, exposure, temperatures as well as the light intensity (bright versus dull light) and quality of light.

But they turned green because they got light.

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Thank you for the op to ask a question ! Bee Balm 'Gardenview Scarlet' (Monarda), I adore this plant BUT some sort of bug eats the center/blooms of every single stem...IOW, no flowers! I have had this happen TWO years in California...is it the nursery? The area? Spray doesn't seem to help much and the bugs are so small, I can't see them. This never happened in West Virginia...

A: Well, I guess the bugs are more ferocious in California than W.Va. :-) It is NOT the nursery, the plant should be in your garden over the winter so the nursery has nothing to do with it by the second year.

There are several options. If it is indeed a bug eating the flower center, then the easiest thing to do is use rotenone or diatomaceous earth on it. The diatomaceous earth would be my first choice as it is less toxic and will knock off a wide variety of pests (mechanically) including such things as slugs and earwigs (my two first choices for what’s eating your flowers).

Spraying without seeing the pest is pretty useless all way round as you don’t know what to spray. And most organic sprays are contact sprays – they have to hit the pest to kill it. (If you can’t see it, you can’t hit it). Spraying a chemical spray without seeing the pest is similarly useless – you’re simply polluting your garden without knowing why.

There are some physiological problems that cause bud blast in flowers but if the center of the plant is disappearing, then bud blast isn’t your problem.

Go with the diatomaceous earth. Dust every few days or after a rain. That will knock down any pest population harmlessly.

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I live alone and have too small amount's of Vegatable scraps to make a compost pile. I save them in the frig. in a zip-lock bag until full, then when possible head to the garden, dig a hole and bury just the scraps throughout the winter months when I can dig. Am I feeding the squirrels or helping the garden? Will they decompose well enough to plant in May? Thanks for helping

A: What you’re referring to is sometimes called “sheet composting”. And while you may be feeding the squirrels a bit – it all comes back to the garden in the long run. :-) Will they decompose well enough by May? The odds are they won’t decompose at all by May – they’ll be buried and frozen solid – preserving them quite nicely. Can you plant anyway? Sure. There’s not likely a problem with small pockets of decomposing vegetable matter – it won’t burn the plant roots. What it will do is suck some of the nitrogen out of the garden soil so be prepared to add some more back (use a nitrogen rich fish emulsion) in for the plants.

The other option – and one I use – is to feed a worm bin with the organic matter. The worms eat it quite nicely and in the spring, you’ll have some of the finest finished compost to make compost tea.

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I have dried lilies seeds from my tigers,asiatic and field lilies. My question is when do I sow them?

A: Lily seed can be put into small pots anytime now. If sown early, they can be transplanted into individual pots and grown on until the fall when they can be transplanted into the garden. Or, you can direct sow them into the garden in the spring and they’ll germinate and grow right where they’re sown.

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I have what I believe is Canadian Thistle all over my yard and in my flower beds. It's the kind with an extensive root system. I've tried digging them out, using Round Up, even chopping them down on the full moon. They have come back with a vengeance! Is there an easy way to get rid of it? Thanks in advance. Patty

A: You’ll find that the organic sprays that use acetic acid (vinegar) as their base are extremely effective with thistles. Having said that – the larger ones will require several sprayings to completely kill off the that big tap root. Spray – wait to see them start to grow back. When they put out two-three leaves, spray again. Repeat until they stop putting out new leaves. This is usually pretty effective against this weed.

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the rose buds almost dry out before opening and last only a day from my potted roses. soil is moist and i feed them with miracle grow. they are in very large pots. not enough water or to much????

A: OK – there are usually two main problems with bud blast on roses. In no order – watering has a major influence (too wet or too dry will both do this). Touch the soil with your finger – if its dry then water so water runs out the bottom of the pot. If dry, do not water. If you overfeed, you’ll find the buds will drop off as well – too much salt in the soil won’t make the plant happy. The second is botrytis – a fungus that attacts a wide variety of buds and flower parts (almost everthing but the roots). Do a search on the organic-gardening-tips.com for botrytis and you’ll come up with several different sprays and recommendations for stopping this problem in its tracks. I’ve written about it several times.

Flowers dropping off are a major symptom of plant stress. It could be the watering but it could also be too much sun – not enough sun – in the draft of an air vent – in the draft of a door. Whenever you see a flower bud drop – your plant is under stress. Gardening is about figuring out what kind of stress and eliminating it. Welcome to the weird world of plants! :-)