Find answers to common gardening questions provided by nationally recognized gardening expert, Melinda Myers. With more than 30 years of horticulture experience, she is wealth of knowledge and we are pleased to share her frequently asked questions with you here. Come back each month for answers to a new set of questions that will help you in the garden.
Water and mulch are the keys to keeping your plants healthy. Water thoroughly whenever the top few inches of soil are crumbly and moist. You will water more often if your soil is rocky or sandy or during hot weather. Those with slow draining clay soil will water less often. Spread a 2 to 3 inch layer of shredded bark or woodchip mulch on the soil surrounding these plants. Don’t pile the mulch around the trunk or stems. Keep pruning to a minimum the first few years. Remove damaged, crossing or hazardous branches. Wait a year to fertilize. This allows the plants to focus energy on establishing roots instead of putting on an abundance of top growth.
You may want to start with a basic design and as your experience grows you can become more daring. Look for plants that complement the pot and surrounding landscape. They should all require the same light and moisture conditions. Look for something tall for a vertical accent. This has been traditionally spike but New Zealand Flax (Phormium), fountain grass, taller perennials, and vines on a container size trellis will also work. Now find some fillers. These are medium size plants that provide texture and color around the vertical accent. You may want to select plants that have flowers or foliage with similar color as the container, vertical accent or trailing plants. Repeating color in various parts of the planting help tie it all together. Trailing plants include such things as vinca, deadnettle (Lamium), golden moneywort, sweet potato vine, Dichondra and licorice vine. These help anchor the planting to the container and pull it all together and keep the planting in scale with the pot. Design the planting so its overall mature height will be about twice that of the container. These are just some ideas to help you get started. Gather ideas throughout the year to keep expanding the use and design of container gardens in your landscape. Take pictures or make notes on container plantings you like. You can get great ideas from botanical gardens, magazines, other gardeners and of course at Pasquesi’s.
You can use straight bluegrass if the area is 100 percent sun. Most mixes include a high percent of turf type perennial ryegrass for quick cover. Otherwise use a mix of bluegrass and fine fescue (this includes the creeping type). Most sunny grass mixes contain a higher percent bluegrass, perennial rye and some fescue. The fine fescue in the mix will fill in the shady locations. The perennial ryegrass will provide quick cover until the other grasses fill in. Reverse these proportions for shade. Select a grass seed with several varieties of bluegrass and fescue. Do not re-seed areas recently treated with a pre-emergent crabgrass killers. This herbicide will also prevent the grass seed from germinating.
Consider leaving last season's parsley for the caterpillars and starting fresh plants for your use. Parsley is a biennial. It grows just leaves the first season. These over winter and the plant sets flower and seed the second year. Remove the flower stems as soon as they appear if you plan to harvest leaves from the older plants. Many gardeners (myself included) and cooks find the foliage bitter and less desirable the second season. You may even find the caterpillars prefer your fresh crop of parsley to the older plants. Harvest parsley as needed throughout the season. Remove the outer stems first discarding any of the less flavorful discolored stems. You can air dry parsley flat on trays or hanging in bunches or speed up the process using the oven, dehydrator or microwave. Wash the parsley thoroughly and remove any tough stems. Secure several stems together with a rubber band then hang the bundle upside down in a warm, dark dry place to dry. Or spread individual stems on a tray. Place the tray in a warm well-ventilated location out of direct sunlight. Drying can take a week or more depending on the temperature and humidity. Speed up the process using your microwave. Place 4 or 5 stems of washed parsley between a double-layer of paper towel. Microwave the parsley on high for 2 to 3 minutes. Microwave for an additional 30 seconds if the parsley is not dry. Fully dried herbs will be brittle and rattle when stirred. Store dried herbs in an airtight container for later use.
Yes. Both the common and spotted asparagus beetle can cause the damage you describe. They begin feeding as the plants emerge in spring and produce a second generation that feeds on the greenery and causes defoliation. Control these pests by handpicking and dropping the beetles and their worm-like larvae into a container of soapy water. Use insecticides as a last option. These chemicals also kill the parasitic wasp that helps control these pests. Handpicking along with weed control and fall cleanup is usually sufficient to minimize damage.
Established plants (three to four years old) can be harvested in spring as the tender spears emerge. Cut or snap off the shoots just below the ground when they are 5 to 8 inches long. Cut carefully to avoid damaging the tips of nearby spears that have not yet emerged from the ground. Or snap off the spear by bending the stem towards the ground. Regular picking will give you fresh better tasting spears. Stop picking after 6 to 8 weeks. The stems will develop into a large airy plant. Leave the leaves intact throughout the season to produce needed energy for next year's harvest. The yellowed foliage can be cut back to the ground in fall or allowed to stand for winter to capture snow for added insulation.
Whether your soil is sandy or full of clay – the solution is the same. Spread an inch of compost over the surface. Earthworms, ground beetles and other insects will move it through the soil and eventually down to where the bulbs are growing. You can speed up the process with vertical mulching. Purchase one of the bulb planting auger bits. Drill holes into the soil between existing bulbs and perennials. This aerates the soil while moving it into the root zone of the existing plants. Then mulch the soil surface with shredded leaves, pine needles or other organic matter. As these materials break down they too will be moved into the soil to improve the growing condition for your bulbs and other plants.
Yes, with a little help from you. A plant's goal is to reproduce. So once it is done flowering, been pollinated and fertilized, it starts to set seed. All the energy goes into producing the seeds to grow the next generation of plants. Keep the plants blooming by removing the faded flowers. Some plants are self-cleaning and don't need deadheading. This is not the case with snapdragons. The little balls forming on the old flower stems of the snapdragons are seed-pods not flower buds. Prune faded flowers back to the first set of leaves. This will encourage branching and new blossoms. Be patient it takes about two weeks for the next flush of flowers. Keep deadheading throughout the season to keep your plants blooming. Snapdragons also produce fewer if any blossoms during hot weather. But once the weather cools the flowers return in greater numbers.
Start by raking away any dead grass. Then roughen the soil surface. Purchase a lawn patch kit or make your own. Commercial grass patch kits contain, seed and mulch in one. Prepare the soil and follow label directions when using these products. Or make your own by mixing a handful of grass seed into a bucket of topsoil. Spread this over the prepared areas. The seeded spots can be mulched to conserve moisture and reduce watering frequency. The key to success is keeping the soil moist. Water often, keeping the soil moist, until the grass fills in these areas.
Prune tall ornamental grasses back to just above the crown in late winter or early spring before new growth begins. A hand pruner works fine for a couple of plants, the hand scythe available at Pasquesi works well for small and larger plantings. Use a weed whip or hedge shear will speed up spring clean up in larger plantings. Shorter grasses like blue fescue, Hakonechloa, and sedges can also be cut back when pruning the taller plants. Or just allow the new growth to push through the old leaves. Then use your fingers like a comb to remove the dead grass blades in late spring or early summer.
This is a common problem for gardeners. Start by making sure your soil has good drainage. Add several inches of organic matter to the top 6 to 12 inches of your garden soil. Consider raising the planting bed. No construction is needed, just rake soil into raised areas within the garden. Once the radishes have sprouted you will need to thin. Remove excess seedling leaving enough room between the remaining plant for the edible underground portion to develop. Use the thinned seedlings to add a bit of zest to salads and sandwiches.
Good news. You are not doing anything wrong and you don't have a bad tree. It is common for flowering trees and shrubs to send out a few flowers the first year and none for the next couple. Recently transplanted trees and shrubs spend the first few years developing a strong root system instead of flowering. This is good for the plant’s longevity even though it is frustrating for you. Mulch the soil under the tree with wood chips or shredded bark being careful not to pile the mulch against the trunk. This will reduce competition from surrounding grass for water and nutrients. Plus it will help reduce weeds and make mowing around the plant easier for you. Continue to water the tree thoroughly as needed. Avoid high nitrogen fertilizers that promote growth at the expense of flowers. Instead use a low nitrogen slow release fertilizer like Milorganite. Research has shown when the microorganisms break down the Milorganite into a plant available form, they also make some of the phosphorous (good for flowering) and potassium bound in the soil available to the plants. This will help promote flowering.
Paper makes a great mulch. As it breaks down it adds organic matter to the soil. Most inks are now soy based and do not pose a health risk. The problem with paper, especially when shredded, is preventing it from blowing away. Wetting sheets of paper and anchoring with shredded leaves, herbicide-free grass clippings and mulch has worked for me. You may want to mix the shredded paper in with something heavier like shredded bark, woodchips, evergreen needles, or other organic mulch. Otherwise consider worm composting. Shredded paper is the perfect bedding for red worms. They will quickly convert kitchen scraps (veggies and fruit only - no meat, no dairy) and the paper to worm castings. Use the castings for fertilizing your plants. Since you will have a limited amount consider using it on transplants, houseplants and containers.
The symptoms you describe are associated with a fungal disease called damping off. Prevention starts with using new or sanitized containers (disinfect used containers with a solution of one part bleach to nine parts water) and a sterile planting mix. Good drainage is important as well since this disease thrives with excess soil moisture. Keep the soil warm and moist, but not waterlogged. Provide plenty of light and thin seedlings to improve air circulation. This is often all that is needed to prevent the problem. If the disease returns, remove any infected plants and treat the remaining seedlings with a soil drench of a fungicide labeled for this purpose. Be sure to read and follow all label instructions carefully before applying.
This is a great way to add color to your indoor décor while pruning trees and shrubs. You can start collecting stems after they have received at least 8 weeks of 40 degree or cooler temperatures. Follow good pruning practices when collecting stems from spring flowering trees and shrubs. Cut the stems on an angle and place them in a container with a couple inches of warm water for 30 minutes. Place the containers in a cool (60 to 65 degree) shaded location. Keep the bottom few inches of the container filled with water. Use a floral preservative to extend the life and beauty of your cuttings. As the buds swell move the flowering stems in arrangements.
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