Here's a timely blast from the past, a short Denver Post video from 2015 I did with Andrea, owner of the Garden Patch on East Evans. I don't think the shop is still there unfortunately.
Her tips are very helpful on hanging basket care.
My overuse of "okay" drives me crazy! 🪴😜
Happy Mother's Day!!
If the video link doesn't open, click HERE to view directly from YouTube.
Landscape
design and planting techniques are personal choices by homeowners,
unless you are moving to a house that is already landscaped.
Unfortunately, mistakes and missteps can happen when planting and during
aftercare. And then, too much time passes, leaving the plants to grow
and pose issues and dare I say become eyesores with eventual decline and
possible plant death.
If improving your own planting plan is on your front burner this
outdoor gardening season, then there are ways to change bad planting
habits.
Plant placement
The most used landscape phrase by green industry professionals and
gardeners in the know is “right plant, right place.” Saying it out loud
does not make it so unless you take the meaning to heart (and mind).
This means educating yourself about what the plant needs for light
requirements, soil conditions, water requirements and, above all, size.
(How tall will a tree eventually grow? How wide?)
The tag attached to a plant or tree is a wonderful tool and planting
guide: study it, take a photo, file it. And guess what? Even though the
tag says a plant matures to a certain height and width it won’t
automatically stop growing when it reaches those dimensions.
Sure, the cute little shrub may look just perfect on planting day in
front of your beautiful front door, but is it the right plant in the
right place once it grows up and out?
Proper planting
Correct tree planting often determines its fate. Obvious signs of
poor planting include seeing twine, wire baskets or burlap covering the
root ball. If a tree is declining and eventually dies, there may be
other causes besides improper planting. Under- and overwatering, soil
conditions, pest infestation or poor location may be contributing
factors. When a tree is eventually removed, it’s not difficult to see
one or more of the causes of failure.
When trees are planted too deeply, they look like telephone posts
from the ground up. There should be an obvious root flare visible when
properly planted. Even if you hire out for planting, learn the correct
method and monitor the actual planting. Trees can be pricey and a
lifelong responsibility for care. Check with your local nurseries or the
resources below for best planting practices.
Tree mulch should not be piled too high (often called volcano mulch),
which doesn’t allow for proper air and water penetration. Also keep
mulch directly away from the trunk so it’s not a place for insects to
hide. Too much water close to the trunk may lead to rot.
Adding mulch for a finished look to landscape plantings and borders
can be beautiful and healthy for cooling plant roots on hot days, while
keeping weeds at bay. Mulch choices include shredded bark, chunk bark,
bark chips and arborist chips. If you would rather use rock, there is
pea gravel, river rock, cobble and stones.
Think twice about installing landscape fabric under mulch everywhere
in a landscape. Weeds will return in a year or two and become more
difficult to pull the longer they are left to grow in the fabric. Plus
the soil underneath fabric becomes hard-packed and doesn’t allow plant
roots to move deeper in the soil; they stay closer to the surface in
desperate need and search for space, air and moisture.
Below are some common landscape oops and suggestions for
mending. Both examples show plantings too close to the house and much
too large for the location. Either live with it, replace it with
smaller, more appropriate plantings or move it.
Tree planting don’ts
Seeing a tree with so much visible twine is not only incorrect
planting, but also sad. If a tree has dead branches and stressed
needles, the only solution is to remove it and plant another tree nearby
correctly.
Burlap should be removed as much as possible after the rootball is
placed correctly in the planting hole. Don’t place mulch too close to
the trunk plant the root flare too deeply.
Avoid volcano mulch around trees which prevents air and water from reaching the roots.
Weeds still find borders and beds with landscape fabric, so avoid
using it. A 2-3 inch mulch application helps keep weeds down and are
much easier to pull. Plant roots will be much happier than being
smothered by fabric.
Landscapes will never be perfect yet there’s always room for improvement. Enjoy the process and keep on keeping on.
Betty Cahill is a freelance writer who speaks and writes about
gardening in the Rocky Mountain Region. Visit her site at
http://gardenpunchlist.blogspot.com/ for even more gardening tips.
Spring
in Colorado is grand if you’re OK with switching between a heavy jacket
and a tank top. We never complain about spring rain or even snow since
all moisture is welcome and needed for water use, landscapes and
agriculture.
Here’s your April outdoor plant pruning and vegetable tips list for when the weather is cooperating.
Perennial cutback
The general guideline for perennial blooming plants is to cut back to
the ground all the dead, brown stems and foliage that wasn’t cut in the
fall. This is where new growth will soon emerge; some are already
showing their green. This can be done when the ground dries out between
now and before plants are really putting on new growth (April-May). To
allow for new spring growth, get rid of all that dead foliage and any
new weeds popping up. Toss it all in the compost pile or bin if the
foliage is disease-free from last year’s growth.
After cutting back, feel free to add some quality compost around
perennials to give them a little nutrient bump for the season.
Fertilizing blooming perennials is fine during the growing season; just
don’t add too much or it may end up causing lots of foliage growth and
fewer blooms. Excess fertilizer runoff is not good for our soils and
waterways.
Wait a little longer to prune the woody types of perennial herbs like
lavender and culinary sage. These plants don’t like being cut when they
are still dormant, and it takes them a little time to push new growth
in the spring that begins on the older, lower woody stems. Wait until
you see tiny leaves on the culinary sage plants to cut off the clearly
dead upper stems. This may be in late April or May. For lavender, that
means cutting only a couple of inches down into new growth (obviously
including any spent blooming wands from last year).
Popular spring and summer blooming shrubs
Russian Sage (Perovskia artiplicifolia) is a favorite of many
homeowners. However, if you’re looking for mid- to late-season bloom and
low water use (once established), also consider these other great
choices: blue mist spirea, catmint, leadplant, Mohave sage and lavender.
Cut Russian sage to the ground in spring (leave a few inches up to a
foot or so) to make room for another season of growth and bloom.
Blue Mist Spirea (Caryopteris), which blooms in late summer, is
often cut hard to the ground every year similar to Russian sage. This is
OK, but it’s also appropriate to prune it every two to three years in
spring. Cut down to where you see new, healthy leaves forming at the
base of the stems. Basically, it means cutting off the spent top flower
growth, totaling about half or a third of the entire plant.
Butterfly Bush: Just like blue mist spirea, Buddleia davidii
(butterfly bush) can be cut every couple of years each spring or every
year. Cut down to about 12 inches above a set of new buds. For the
spring-blooming butterfly bush (Buddleia alternafolia), wait and prune
spent blooms to new growth right after blooming.
Rose of Sharon (Hibiscus syriacus): There’s nothing quite so
dramatic and head turning as seeing late summer blooms on Rose of
Sharon. Yearly pruning isn’t entirely necessary. Rose of Sharon blooms
on new wood each year, so if the shape is a bit unruly or has gotten a
bit too tall for the space or too close to a structure, by all means
prune it now or by early May.
Hydrangea pruning may seem overwhelming. To simplify, examine the
stems each spring and look for obvious swelling buds. If buds look like
they will open soon, then these types should not be pruned now; wait
until after they finish their bloom. They formed these buds last fall
(old wood) for this year’s bloom cycle. Hydrangea shrubs that bloom on
new wood will grow buds this spring, so they can be pruned in late
winter to early spring. Pruning during the growing season may risk
cutting off flower buds. There are five commonly grown hydrangeas in our
area.
3. Hydrangea paniculata are easy-to-grow hydrangeas with mostly lime
green, white or white with pink-tinged blooms round to pointed in shape.
They bloom on new wood, with flowering generally in the summer, and
last several weeks. Cut back in early spring to right above a bud,
leaving about two 2 from the ground. Cut out the thin, pencil-size wood
which can’t hold up the large flowers. Limelight is a great choice for
hedges and containers, and is available in tree form as well.
4. Another classic is the oakleaf hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia),
which is native to the Southeast. It is deeply lobed with oak-like
leaves and showy, white summer flowers. This group produces flowers on
old wood like the macrophylla group, so simply prune any dead wood in
the spring but wait and do pruning (if any) after it finishes putting on
its show. These prefer some winter protection. Bonus with its red,
orange to purple fall foliage!
5. Hydrangea anomala petiolaris, or climbing hydrangeas, are
beautiful when planted in areas with wind and late afternoon sun
protection like a north- or east-facing location. Its aerial rootlets
will easily cling but appreciate some support. With exfoliating
cinnamon-brown bark and fragrant white flower clusters, what’s not to
love? This vine can climb, so give it room. It blooms on old wood, so
just prune out unwanted stray stems after blooming.
Vegetables
Get a jump on your early spring planting season by warming up
in-ground and raised beds with 4- to 6-mil clear or black plastic.
Anchor the plastic with boards, brick or soil. Leave it in place for a
couple of weeks.
When soil temperatures are 40 degrees or warmer, it’s safe to plant
hardy cool-season transplants including broccoli, cabbage or
direct-seeded kohlrabi, peas, lettuce, onions and onion sets, radish,
spinach, turnips and potatoes.
Welcome to the new outdoor home-grown gardening season.
Betty Cahill is a freelance writer who speaks and writes about
gardening in the Rocky Mountain Region. Visit her site at
http://gardenpunchlist.blogspot.com/ for even more gardening tips.
Visits
to the garden center to explore the new season’s plants might equal the
excitement of arriving at a much-anticipated, never-been-to-vacation
destination. Is it the newness of both activities that gets the heart
thumping and ready for exploration?
Here are some of the newest, must-have perennial and annual plants
for the coming outdoor gardening season. Note: This is a drop in the
garden bucket when you see the plethora of plants waiting for you this
spring.
Perennial plants
Joel Russell, the Colorado certified nursery professional and
perennial manager and Buyer at Echter’s Nursery & Garden Center in
Arvada, said “new plant introductions increase energy for the customer’s
buying experience.” This year, Echter’s has 30 plants that are new to
the market or new to Echter’s. Joel knows his customers and helps set
them up for growing success by asking questions about where plants will
be in the landscape, taking into consideration the plant’s sun and water
requirements.
“Many customers want traditional hydrangeas and boxwoods, but the
waterwise plants that need less water once established are very popular,
and getting more so.”
Russell’s top perennial picks for 2024:
Scabiosa columbaria Giga Silver, common name Pincushion Flower. A
new pincushion plant with more bloom power and size than the standard
blue. Zone 5, full sun (very heat tolerant), well-drained soil, moderate
watering. A touch of electric lavender outer petals with creamy white
centers and dense silver foliage, 15-20 inches tall and 10-15 inches
wide. Blooms spring through summer; deadhead to keep blooms coming. Deer
resistant and drought tolerant once established. Works well for
container gardening, borders, rock gardens, cutting. Loved by
butterflies.
Baptisia Grape Escape, common name False Indigo. Gardeners who know
baptisia know they are not only low maintenance, but also long-lived
from their deep tap roots. They look wonderful both in and out of bloom
with their pea-like flowers and mounding, lush foliage. Grape Escape is a
plant to behold, with deep magenta petals and creamy to yellow keels
(lower petals) that bloom above the dense, green foliage from late
spring to summer. Zone 4, full sun to part shade, average moisture
(drought tolerant once established), poor soil tolerant, deer resistant,
42 to 48 inches tall and 32 to 40 inches wide. Plant as a specimen,
back of the border, use for cutting, blooms look great in a vase. Choose
location carefully; baptisia does not like to be moved. Attractive to
many types of bees and pollinators.
Ross Shrigley, executive director of Plant Select, is the go-to
horticulture professional for knowing plants that every garden should be
growing. Plant Select is Colorado’s leading brand of plants that have
been tested to thrive in challenging High Plains and intermountain
growing conditions. Each year, it introduces plants that can easily be
identified and found in many independent garden centers. Refer to the
Plant Select website for hundreds of more plants in searchable
categories to match your landscape. Design ideas are available, too,
along with many other helpful resources.
Shrigley’s top perennial pick for 2024:
Teucrium Harlequin’s Silver, common name Eversilver creeping
germander. To say that a groundcover has year-round appeal is big
praise. Eversilver easily lives up to this status as a behaved,
low-growing bright carpet of silver foliage. It blooms in early summer
with pretty purple flowers and often reblooms in the fall. Take a piece
of foliage and crush it for a delightful scent of what has been
described as honey-pineapple. Deer and rabbits typically avoid it. Zone
5, full sun, drought tolerant once established and grows in
well-drained, alkaline, rocky to sandy soils, 4 inches tall by 36 inches
spread. Trim away any dead foliage each spring; otherwise no
maintenance is required. Plant Everstilver in the toughest parts of the
landscape — between streets and sidewalks (hellstrips), borders and rock
gardens. Loved by pollinators.
Annual plants
Deborah King, annual supervisor/offsite project supervisor for Tagawa
Gardens in Centennial, has one goal in mind with the scores of annual
plants sold each new gardening season: “To provide a wide range for our
customers as well as the very latest available in flowering plant
material. Our annuals offer instant color with the changing seasons.”
Deborah also sells the “best of” annual plants decided each year at the
Colorado State University Annual Flower Trials. The trial program, like
the Plant Select branded plants, are tried and evaluated for the top
traits that gardeners want when purchasing annual plants:
floriferousness, plant vigor, uniformity and ability to tolerate the
tough growing conditions of the Rocky Mountain region.
King’s top annual picks for 2024:
Best Petunia ’23 from CSU Trials, vegetative container: Petunia
Hybrida Itsy Magenta. Take container gardening to another blooming level
with this small, bright magenta and superior growing petunia. It blooms
so well that the spent blooms are covered easily, so deadheading may be
forgotten. Also does well in cooler temperatures and part shade. Plant
in containers, window boxes, beds and baskets. Blooms spring, summer and
fall until frost.
Pelargonium Elanos Deep Pink, common name Elanos Rose Zonal
Geranium. A lightly scented deep pink geranium with an upright spreading
habit (14 by 14 inches) that deserves a place in mass plantings,
borders, baskets and containers. Occasional trimming of faded flower
heads is all that is needed; just stand back and watch it continuously
bloom all season.
Betty Cahill speaks and writes about gardening in the Rocky
Mountain Region. Visit her site at http://gardenpunchlist.blogspot.com/
for even more gardening tips.
Garden
Friend - I thought you
might like to read my recent garden article that ran in The Denver Post
about getting your tools ready for the new gardening season.
“If
the only tool you have is a hammer, it’s hard to eat spaghetti,” says
David Allen, a productivity consultant and writer. Could this analogy
apply to using the right garden tool to effectively complete outdoor
tasks?
No doubt, and taking it further: It is time to get tools in their best working condition for the new season.
Take a good hard look at your garden tool kit and then make some
decisions. Are your bypass pruners making sharp cuts or are they doing
harm by crushing the branch? If your trowel handle bends like a paper
drinking straw when digging, then a new, hardworking one will change
your garden life for the better. Maybe your tools just need a bit of
spit and polish and a good sharpening session. And after your decisions
are made, how about spaghetti for dinner?
Clean and disinfect
Improve tool performance with a good cleaning. Just like washing our
hands to remove germs and bacteria, we need to do the same for our
garden tools. No need to spread any harmful pathogens from last year to
established plants in the garden and new ones that will be planted soon.
And when referring to tools, the list includes plant trellises, cages,
stakes, accessories and containers (they’ll need cleaning and
disinfecting, too). Some trellises and containers may not be easy to
clean because of location and size, so do the best you can. Generally,
wooden containers naturally repel fungi and bacteria. Where possible,
wash with soap and water, rinse well and let dry.
Clean each tool well before disinfecting. Begin by giving each a
strong blast of water to remove caked-on dirt and debris. Pruners can
easily be dissembled by removing the nut or screws that hold the blades
together, then the spring coil will slip off. (Keep track of the
pieces.) Soaking in warm, liquid dish soap is all you need; use a stiff
brush for hard-to-reach places. If there’s dried-on residue or sap, soak
longer in soapy water or try a commercial product like Scrubbing
Bubbles, which also disinfects. Read and follow label cautions
associated with commercial products. Rinse well with water after
cleaning and dry.
Lysol — or similar, store-brand versions — works well as a
disinfectant for possible fungi, bacteria and viruses on tools. Simply
place the tool in a bucket or box and spray all sides, or opt for the
easy-to-use wipes. When finished, let the tools air dry.
Avoid using bleach products to disinfect pruners and other
sharp-edged cutting tools. Bleach is very corrosive and can make pits in
some metal tools. However, diluted bleach (one part bleach, nine parts
water) can be used on rakes, shovels, spades, trellises, tomato cages
and containers.
Undiluted 70% or higher concentration rubbing alcohol works well on
small hand tools and pruners, although when used on tools to prune out
fire blight, it might not be as effective.
Rust can be removed a couple of ways: Soak exceptionally rusty tools
in a jar or can of white vinegar for several hours or overnight. For
shovels, soak a large rag with vinegar, wrap it around the shovel blade,
cover with plastic and let it sit overnight. Use a wire brush after
soaking to remove any residual rust. After soaking any tool, wash with
soapy water, rinse and dry.
Also try using some elbow grease with sandpaper or steel wool for rust.
Sharpening
Want superior experiences preparing a meal and maintaining a garden?
Assuming your answer is yes, both disciplines require sharp tools.
The easiest way to sharpen is to take your clean and sanitized tools
to a reputable garden center, hardware store, small business or friend
who specializes in sharpening gardening tools. Prices should be
reasonable.
For DIY, a carbide file is great for smaller tools like pruners,
loppers and small snipper shears. A mill file works well on shovel
blades.
Once all your tools are cleaned, disinfected, and sharpened, give
them a wipe down with some vegetable oil, which will help prevent rust
through the season. Bypass pruners will benefit from a drop or two of
hardware lubricant (like 3-In-One oil).
Tool tips
During the outdoor gardening season, some smart gardeners brightly
paint the handle of their trowels, making them easier to spot in the
garden.
A pocketed apron is handy for holding and carrying tools around
while gardening. Plastic tubs decked out with a saddle bag to hold all
sorts of tools (and perhaps an adult beverage for later in the day) are
also popular.
Take advantage of these warm late winter days into spring and do the
work outside while soaking up some healthy vitamin D. Clean tools,
sharpened pruners? Life is good.
Betty Cahill is a freelance writer who speaks and writes about
gardening in the Rocky Mountain Region. Visit her site at
http://gardenpunchlist.blogspot.com/ for even more gardening tips.