May - In The Garden
IN THE GARDEN: Thanks to friend and colleague Ron Wilson, my garden guru, for sharing this timely information. These are answers to questions from his fans.
"What is your opinion of the hanging planters where tomato plants are grown upside down?" -Every time I see then, I ask myself "Why didn't I think of that?" Because you see, as best as we can determine, my father, Ed Wilson, was a pioneer in developing the first upside down tomato. The original was planted in a 10 inch hanging basket (planted for us by Paul Koester and Danny Grant), which we found out very quickly was way too small (had to be watered 2-3 times a day or more!). After the first year, my dad upgraded to 5 gallon pickle buckets, and eventually we used 12 and 14 inch hanging baskets for selling them in Natorp's Garden Stores. Grants Greenhouses grew them for years for us to resell. It was a few years after that the word began to get around, and the next thing you knew, the Topsy Turvy was invented. Which, by the way does work. If you'd like to try it on your own, I've included the tip sheet in this week's newsletter. As far as I'm concerned, cherry tomatoes work best upside down! :)
"Is it possible to grow "Sunny" Knock Out rose in a container?" -Absolutely YES! Sunny is the new yellow / slightly fragrant Knock Out, and yes, as with all the Knock Outs, will grow quite nicely in a large container. Yes, you will have to water and feed a bit more, and will have to help protect it over the winter, but makes as great a container plant as it does a great in-ground plant. Now, if you visit the garden stores and they don't have any in stock, more are on the way. The growers release them in stages, so there will be more coming! By the way, don't forget to check out the new Drift Roses, which are ground cover roses, good disease resistance, great all season bloomers, and again will do quite nicely in containers, hanging baskets, or in the ground.
"I have two purple plum bushes that are larger than expected and would like to trim them back after finished blooming. How far back can I go?" -Close your eyes and cut. Seriously, they respond very well to a serious cut back. Remember where you cut them back is where most of the new growth will come from, so cut back a bit harder than you originally planned.
"What do I do to protect the ornamental trees I planted last fall from the cicada's coming this month?" -Wait until you see the red's of their eyes. Then if the populations are high, you may want to consider covering the canopies of the trees with cheesecloth, or grow covers, and tieing it at the trunk of the tree sealing off the canopy from the cicadas. But you may be surprised and not have many or any at all, especially if you live in a new development where the soil has been disturbed over the past years.
"Do peonies get old and not bloom anymore? I have no ants - is that the problem?" -If peonies don't bloom (or stop), several things to consider. Lack of sunlight (need 6-8 hours or more), competition with other plants for sun, water, nutrients (they do not like competition), low nutrients (feed with a garden food and feed to the sides not on top), planted too deep (the major culprit), and a late freeze will affect peony flowering. Remember, the ants you see on the blooms are there for the sweet nectar like juices secreted by the peony flower buds, and have no affect on flowering.
"I notice you and Buggy Joe talking about treating for dandelions when they're getting ready to blow seeds everywhere. Why is that? Won't I have those seeds to deal with later?" -Good question! Spot treating dandelions at the puff ball stage is one of the best times as they are more susceptible to the herbicide - the other being October when they are most susceptible to herbicides. If your lawn is good and thick, dandelion seeds cannot grow in the lawn. Seeds blow in all the time, but with a thick lawn, they cannot grow - they need room. So, you see them pop up the most in thinner areas of the lawn, thin lawns, along sidewalks and driveways (where the lawn has thinned out) etc. So spot treat at puff ball stage, re-spot treat other weeds in mid to late May as they come up, and again, work to get that lawn thicker, as we all know, a thicker lawn means fewer weeds, insects and disease. (Check your mowing height as well!) NOTE: By the way, don't forget that dandelion blossoms are a favorite or many bees, so leaving them to flower will help the bees! Another reason to wait until puff ball stage to treat with a liquid herbicide!
"Why do cats like catnip?" -It's called "nepetalactone" which has a hallucinogenic effect on cats, and catnip has it. Cats will react differently to it, including neutered or non-neutered cats - lions, pumas and leopards like it. Cats getting a buzz from this is harmless, and non-addictive, so don't worry about your cat becoming a catnip junkie.
"When should I prune my lilacs?" -Within 2-3 weeks after they finish flowering. Go light on the Korean lilacs as a heavy pruning may delay flowering for 2 years.
"I am suddenly over run with voles in my landscape beds! What do I do to get rid of them?" -Vole populations have simply exploded over the past few years in the landscape. And they can cause a tremendous amount of damage in the landscape and in the veggie garden. (Voles look like a stub-tailed field mouse with a snoot of the front. Do not confuse these with moles.) Best defense is using mouse traps baited with peanut butter and a few sunflower seeds. Also, try to disguise the trap so other critters (birds, dogs, cats, etc) don't see it. I have heard of some gardeners also having luck with the sticky traps. Place either one next to their surface runs or trails.
"Can I use a rainbarrel's water to water my lawn?" -Water from a rainbarrel can be used to water anything in the yard. The issue would be getting the pressure to use a sprinkler to water, which would involve using a pump of some type. I think rainbarrels will make a major statement in gardening very quickly. Easy way to save rain water to supplement watering without using 'city water'. And there are so many choices today in sizes and styles!
"You told about the combination of plants planted in your containers that faced southwest. What were they again?" -Glad you asked! In the planters (gets all afternoon hot baking sun) I used Perila Magilla, Euphorbia Diamond Frost, Goldilocks Lysimachia, Margarite Sweet Potato vine, and Millionbells. They all did exceptionally well! All A+! I had also planted Sedum 'Angelina' in the ground below these planters, and it is the same way. I love that plant as a groundcover or in containers. Golden yellow in the summer, orange yellow in the winter.
