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Tuesday, May 16, 2017

May 16, 2017, Kim’s Weekly Garden Newsletter 

Hi Gardeners
Tulips will soon be done blooming

The hummingbirds are back!  At least one is hanging around my feeders.  I am more worried about the bees now.  Many in my area are reporting few bees and I am noticing that also.  Usually there are dozens hanging around the hummingbird feeders and they aren’t there this year.  I am worried about the apples and other fruit being pollinized.  I guess time will tell if we will get fruit.

Apple blossoms are beginning to fall.  The lilacs smell beautiful but they are at full bloom and this warm weather we are having will quickly wind up their bloom time.  Tulips are also fading. The trilliums are turning pink, a sign they will soon be gone.  Coming into bloom are the alliums and Dames Rocket.  Sweet Woodruff is a carpet of white. Columbine, Jacobs Ladder, and bleeding hearts are blooming. Chives are blooming.  I see buds on the Siberian iris, roses and peonies.

I am slowly moving the hardier things like rosemary, canna and miniature roses out of the house and greenhouse into the yard.  The dahlias are planted out, some are sprouted and some not.  This week I begin transplanting all the seedlings like zinnias, tithonia, marigolds, bachelors buttons and 4 –O-Clocks into my new cutting garden.  It’s going to be tedious work but hopefully worth it.  I am also hoping to get the first sweet corn planted, by the time it germinates frost chances will hopefully be gone.

Weeding and edging are taking up a bit of my time too.  This time of year gets very, very busy.  I also added some new baby chicks into the workload, my replacement layers for the year.  But I wouldn’t trade spring for any other time of the year.

I was down at my pond the other evening, without my camera unfortunately, when I saw an unusual sight.  There was a brown duck on the pond that had a big golden red crest.  She had several tiny ducklings with her.  I thought it was a female wood duck at first, but it didn’t look quite right so I consulted a bird ID guide.  Turns out it’s a Hooded Merganser female.  They nest in tree holes like the wood duck.  My tame ducks were swimming around the family but didn’t seem aggressive to them.  If they stick around I am going to try and get pictures of them. 

We have a cardinal nest and a mourning dove nest in the yard now.  I attached an old newspaper holder, the kind the companies put by your mailbox, to a fence post in the back and I notice the tree swallows are checking it out.  I have a hen sitting on eggs in the barn and two tame ducks sitting so spring is definitely here.

We’ve been able to sleep with the windows open the past couple nights.  Last night we had a little rain and its warm and humid today.  Storms are forecast on and off for the next few days but all in all, it’s nice weather.



Petunias

Are you a plant snob?  I once heard someone remark disdainfully that someone else wasn’t really a gardener because she planted petunias.  When shopping at a nursery one time with petunias in my cart I had an acquaintance come up and ask me why I, of all people, was buying petunias.  I was buying petunias because I like petunias and there are so many beautiful ones out there.  I can’t help myself, I buy some every year and I’m proud to plant them.

Cherry Cha Ching

There is nothing wrong with having petunias in your garden.  Yes they were once the most common garden annual planted.  Older varieties of petunias had to be dead headed and pinched back to keep them blooming all summer and rainy weather turned them into a mess.  But that doesn’t mean petunias don’t belong in modern gardens and modern varieties are much easier to care for than your grandmothers petunias.

Modern petunias trace their genetics back to two major native species, P. axillaris which has large white flowers and is pollinated by moths, and P. inflate which has small purple flowers and is bee pollinated.  Another petunia, P. exserta, has small, true red, star shaped flowers that are pollinated by hummingbirds.  It is sometimes sold by nurseries.  A close relative of petunia, the Calibrachoa, is also gaining in popularity.
Starry Night

Through centuries of domestication and hybridization we have the beautiful petunias we know today.  Petunias belong to the Solanaceae family, which includes peppers and tomatoes.  They are native to South America.

Petunias are excellent choices for containers in sunny hot places, in window boxes and hanging baskets and as a groundcover in sunny areas.  Hummingbirds are attracted to some petunias; I always set out a pot of red petunias, Petunia exserta if I can find it, for them.  Bees and butterflies are moderately attracted to the plant.

Petunias are generally grown as annuals; actually they are short lived perennials in frost free climates. In a heated, well- lit greenhouse you might  be able to over winter a petunia but they don’t over winter well in household conditions.  Gardeners in the far south, zones 9 and above, have reported petunias over wintering in the garden.
 
Rose Star
Petunias have pointed oval leaves.  The leaves and stems are covered with tiny white hairs, and the foliage has a sticky feel to it.  The flowers have fused petals forming a funnel shape.  Flower size ranges from 2 inches across in some varieties to 6 inches across in others.  There are also double flowered varieties. Some petunia flowers are fragrant, particularly purple and blue colored ones.

Cultivated petunias originally came in two colors, white and purple.  They now come in every color imaginable, even a very dark red purple that looks black.  There are star patterned and striped petunias and the newest color pattern is spotted, the petunia ‘Night Skies’  which is deep purple with white spots is an example.  I am old enough to remember when the first true red petunia came on the market, and then the yellow and orange varieties.

Multiflora, Grandiflora, Milliflora, Floribunda, Supertunia, Wave, Surfina, Sweetunia, Tiny Tunia, are some of the “classes” of petunia flowers.  The first four are older types and are the kinds most often planted in the ground in mass.  These can still be found in flats and cell packs for purchase.  Newer varieties are most often used in hanging baskets and containers and are often sold in individual pots. Most petunias have a cascading, vining habit. 
Black petunias

Cultural needs

Petunias need full sun conditions in the north to do their best.  In the south they may do fairly well in partial or light shade.  Petunias are known for being tolerant of heat and drought when planted in the ground.  In containers however they must be watered regularly.  Petunias planted in the ground probably won’t need watering unless it’s been very hot and dry and they are wilting.  Petunias prefer slightly acidic conditions in their native countries but modern varieties adapt to most types of soil.

Most gardeners will want to start with small petunia plants.  Petunias grow rapidly and small plants quickly become larger.  If the petunias are in small cell packs the best plants to pick are compact ones just starting to bloom.  Lanky petunias with many blooms in a cell pack are stressed and may not do well for a while after planting.  In pots petunias that are full yet compact, with a few blooms are the best choices.  Do not plant petunias outside until all danger of frost has passed.

Gardeners can start petunias from seed.  You need to start about 12 weeks from your last expected frost for good sized plants to transplant outside.  Petunia seed is very fine. Sprinkle it on a sterile seed starting mix that has been moistened.  Press seed lightly into the medium but do not cover as petunia seed needs light to germinate.  Bottom heat is recommended for germination, as is watering from the bottom. Seedling petunias need to be in a sunny warm greenhouse or under grow lights.  They rarely develop well on windowsills.

Good and Plenty Orange

When planting don’t place the plants deeper than what they were growing in the original container.  Use a slow release granular fertilizer mixed into the soil at planting.  Modern petunias need regular fertilization to do well.  If you don’t use slow release fertilizers you’ll need to fertilize weekly with water soluble fertilizer.  Do not use Epsom salts on petunias.

Modern petunias don’t need dead heading (picking off dead flowers) to keep blooming but they may look better, especially in containers if you do so.   This is especially true of double flowered varieties. Older multiflora and grandiflora varieties may begin to look straggly in late summer and a light shearing back will rejuvenate them for a few more weeks of bloom.

Gardeners seldom run into disease problems with petunias.  Really rainy weather for long periods and water logged soil can cause various rots and fungal disease as can over watering in containers.  Powdery mildew is an occasional problem.  Good air flow helps prevent this.  If the plants are covered with powdery mildew you could cut them back to 2-3 inches and they may regrow quickly and hopefully without powdery mildew.  Deer and rabbits do like petunias for dessert so be mindful of that.
Petunia exserta

Some writers list petunias as edible plants.  I would not recommend eating foliage; they are members of the nightshade family like tomatoes.  I would not eat many flowers either, although using them as a garnish probably wouldn’t hurt.

Sweet Corn planting tips

There is nothing better than sweet corn you just picked from your garden.  Have some water boiling, go out to the garden and pick the corn, husk it over the compost pile, come inside and put it in the boiling water with a cup of milk in it for a few minutes and then slather with butter.  Until you taste really fresh sweet corn you don’t know what you are missing.  You’ll always want to grow your own corn after that.

Sweet corn is different than field corn and should only be planted after all danger of frost has passed and the soil is warm.  The more wrinkled the seed corn kernel the warmer the soil should be before planting.  The lowest soil temperature that you should plant sweet corn at is 65 degrees F.  You can use a soil thermometer or judge planting time by looking at phenological signs.  The soil is generally warm enough when lilacs are in full bloom and oak trees have good sized leaves.


If you are going to push the soil temperature limit you should buy corn treated with a fungicide, which helps keep seed from rotting in cold wet soil.  These fungicides are usually brightly colored to let you know the seeds are treated.  Don’t let anything eat this treated seed but by the time you are harvesting those delicious ears of corn the fungicide will be long gone and the corn perfectly safe.

You can plant sweet corn inside in flats a few weeks early but I have found that really doesn’t give you much of an edge over seed planted directly in the ground in optimum conditions.  Transplanted corn generally shows a slow-down in growth for a week or two as it adjusts to garden conditions.  Don’t start inside too early, small plants transplant the best.  You must be able to water transplanted corn as its planted and for several days if it’s dry.

Because corn is pollinated by the wind you should plant it in blocks rather than one long row.   Space seeds 6 inches apart and about an inch deep, 2 inches in light sandy soil.  Space the corn rows 18 -24 inches apart.  I have a piece of molding with inches marked on it and I use it when planting.  (You can use a yardstick too.)  This will keep you honest and stop you from either stretching out the seeds too far or jamming them in there to use up the seed packet.  If stooping over a row is hard for you use a piece of plastic pipe to drop seeds down right over the spot you want to plant it.

I soak the corn seed for about an hour in warm water before planting.  After planting I soak the planted area well.  Take a look around after you’ve planted corn seed and make sure no kernels are showing above ground.  If birds see any kernels they’ll be right there looking for more.  If birds, including your own chickens, are a problem you can cover the planted area with netting until the corn has sprouted.

Corn needs lots of nitrogen to grow well.  I always fertilize at planting and again just as tassels are starting to form on the corn.  Use a fertilizer where the first number is the highest, 10-5-5 for example.  Here’s a tip- you can use lawn fertilizer, which is high in nitrogen, on corn- it is a grass after all- just make sure there are no weed killers or pesticides for grubs in the fertilizer you choose.

Corn is the only common garden crop that will have its flavor changed if it is pollinated by the wrong kind of corn.  If a farmer near you is planting field corn your sweet corn may become tougher and less sweet.  If you plant incompatible varieties near each other the corn you harvest for the table may have a less appealing taste.  Near each other means less than 25 feet apart for home garden varieties, about a hundred feet from field corn.  In a small garden you can sometimes get away with two different varieties of corn not intermingling pollen if they pollinate at very different times, such as a very early 60 days to maturity corn and a late variety, 90 days to maturity, corn.

Seed catalog descriptions will help you decide what corn varieties shouldn’t be planted together.  The seed may be marked, su (normal hybrid) se, sh² or sh²/se which refers to the amount of sweetness the variety has and the type of hybrid it is.   Su and se varieties don’t need isolation from each other but sh² and sh²/se should be planted away from other corns.  If they pollinate each other you’ll get edible corn, but not as nice tasting as if you isolate.  Planting old fashioned open pollinated corn or popcorn close to other varieties may also change the taste of both.

To keep your corn harvest going, plant small amounts of corn every two weeks or plant varieties that mature at different times.  I recommend both tactics because just staggering planting times of one variety is rarely successful for me. The later planted batch seems to catch up to the first batch with only a few days difference.  Unless you are selling, canning or freezing it, a lot of corn at one time can overwhelm you.  Corn at every meal is only good for a few days.

When you do plant more than one variety of corn plant each variety in its own section.  That’s because each will be releasing pollen at a different time and you want to maximize pollination so you will have full ears.  Don’t alternate rows of different varieties or alternate different varieties of seed in a row.

If the weather is hot and dry when you plant keep the corn patch watered if possible, until you see the plants have popped up.  Corn should germinate in less than 2 weeks.  Once it’s up watering can be scaled back.  I only water if it’s been very hot and dry and the corn leaves have been rolled up even in the evening. (Corn rolls its leaves when it’s too hot or too dry.)

Keep your corn weeded, especially when it’s small.  When corn is 3 feet or so high you’ll probably not find many weeds still competing.  Some people go down the rows when corn is about 2 feet high and mound soil up around the base of the stalk.  I do some years but others I don’t and it seems to make little difference. 

What about the 3 sisters planting method?

The 3 sisters method is a supposedly Native American style of planting where corn is planted in a circle with beans and squash, sometimes sunflowers are thrown into the mix.  The corn is supposed to be the support for climbing beans, which aid the corn by producing nitrogen and the squash keeps away critters with its prickly leaves and shades the ground to preserve moisture.  It’s usually enthusiastically endorsed by people who have never tried it.

This method sounds great and makes a cute story about native “wisdom”.  I have read a lot about indigenous systems of planting from the actual descriptions of early Europeans observing their agricultural practices. While there was some crop intermingling, most groups of people did not use this method.  Corn was sometimes planted in circles or in mounds of soil but beans and squash were generally separated into their own fields or mounds, which makes tending them and harvesting easier. 

You’ll find that separating the plants will work better in your garden too.  Believe me, I have tried the 3 sisters method in kids gardening programs and it’s rarely as successful as planting each type of plant separately. The type of corn grown in earlier times had stronger and taller stalks for one thing, than our modern corn varieties and might support beans better.  On modern sweet corn beans climbing the stalks inhibit the corn’s growth and make it more likely to “lodge” or fall over in the wind. Some squash varieties will overwhelm and shade young corn too much.  It’s difficult to harvest corn while not stepping on and smashing those prickly squash vines.

Beans cannot give the corn all the nitrogen they need if the soil is deleted in the first place.  Native people either moved gardens to new ground each year or so or if they were a settled agricultural community used other sources of nitrogen such as cover crops or animal manure on corn. 

The “3 sisters” method of gardening is for novelty, to engage kid’s imaginations and interest in gardening, although I wonder if we are doing them a service by teaching this method.  If you are extremely limited on space it might give you a small harvest of each crop if you did this.  But gardeners wanting to get a good harvest in the most practical manner should not try this method.


Rose rosette disease and Knock Out® roses

If you grow roses you may have heard of rose rosette disease a deadly viral disease that infects roses.  And if you have been on social media sites related to gardening you may have heard people warning others about Knock Out® roses being the cause of the problem.  That’s a false rumor that should be put to rest.

Knock Out ®roses, are a brand name for a series of easy to grow, hardy landscape roses were introduced to the market less than 2 decades ago.  Rose rosette disease has been around since at least 1940.  While Knock Out® roses are very susceptible to rose rosette disease,(who coined that name?), so are most other roses.   Since Knock Out® roses are very popular and are widely sold throughout North America, they may be the variety of rose that more people see with the problem, but they are not the source of the problem.

It’s perfectly fine to plant Knock Out® roses in your garden, as long as they are healthy plants.  Any rose you plant should be examined for signs of rose rosette disease because any kind of rose could introduce the disease.
Rainbow Knock Out

The non-native rose, multiflora rose is also cited as the source of rose rosette disease.  Whether the mite that carries the disease was brought in with multiflora roses or brought in later to control that plant is debatable.   It is true that rose rosette disease is very deadly to multiflora roses.  This suggests to me that the disease and the multiflora rose did not originate in the same place as normally if the two co-existed somewhere the rose would have developed immunity.  The idea that multiflora rose is a reservoir for the disease also seems odd.  Something being a reservoir for disease usually means that that plant is able to continue to survive, even if in a weakened state, while carrying the disease.  From what I can read in the scientific literature multiflora rose succumbs to the disease very quickly, usually in the first winter following infection.

There’s no doubt multiflora rose can be invasive and a problem in some areas.  But it was introduced to this country for some of its attributes, it had pretty fragrant blooms that bees love and tiny rose hips loved by birds.  It was used because it spread quickly and formed a thick hedge or ground cover.  And if these roses exist in wild areas near you and they are infected by rose rosette disease the disease could spread to your garden roses.  But the multiflora rose had to get the disease from somewhere; it doesn’t just produce the disease.  Chances are equally good it got the disease from someone’s garden roses as it getting them from other multiflora roses, especially if the disease is new to the area. 
 
Multiflora rose

So if your roses get the disease it could have come from nearby wild multiflora roses.  Or it could have come from a rose you recently bought and planted in your garden or from a neighbors rose.  Removing multiflora roses and any native species of rose in wild areas around you might give you a protective barrier if no one else is growing roses near you.

Rose rosette disease

Let’s discuss what rose rosette disease looks like and how it’s spread.  The RRD virus is carried from rose to rose in one of several ways.  Tiny mites, not visible to the naked eye are the most common route.  These mites can crawl from rose to rose or worse, because they are so light, blown for long distances on the wind.  They carry the virus in their bodies and transmit to roses when feeding on them, much the way a mosquito carries West Nile virus to humans.  The virus can also be transferred by unsterilized pruning tools from plant to plant.  It can be transmitted during a grafting process, many hybrid roses are grafted on to other roots.  There is some debate on this but some researchers also believe the RRD virus can be transmitted between the roots of nearby roses through root grafting.

Rose rosette disease (RRD) is a viral disease and as a virus, is incurable. It only infects roses.  It causes “witches brooming”, thick multi stemmed clusters of stems, and very red leaves and stems that are thicker and more succulent that other stems.  Caution:  many roses have new foliage that is red, especially in cool weather.  If foliage greens up and looks normal in a few weeks it’s not infected.

The stems infected with RRD are usually covered in tiny soft thorns, which make stems look bristly or hairy.  Some roses get yellowed, distorted leaves that look like pesticide exposure.  The roses are weak and sick looking, and do not bloom well.  The plants lose their winter hardiness and generally die over winter if they make it that far.  Some sickly plants do make it to spring though.

RRD can be tricky to diagnose.  Before ripping out plants I suggest you contact your local Extension office, there is one in nearly every county in the US.  Any local USDA office may also be able to help.  Ask them how to submit a plant sample for diagnoses.   There may be a fee, depending on your state.

While keeping mites off the roses is a good idea, killing the mites with pesticides will not help the problem if the roses are already infected with RRD.  Pesticides, including systemic products, cannot cure the viral disease. 

Most experts recommend you don’t even try to save plants.  If you happened to catch the symptoms quickly it’s theoretically possible to prune off the infected stems well down below the reddened area and halt the progress of the virus.  Then treatment with pesticides for mites might save the plants if they quickly kill them before re-infection occurs.  However trying to keep plants with RRD alive is probably a bad idea since they would become that infamous reservoir of disease.

RRD infected roses should be dug out of the garden, making sure to get all roots.  Plants can then be burned or placed in plastic bags and sealed tightly and removed from the site.  Don’t plant roses in the same spot for a few years, other plants are fine.   If you have other roses without symptoms spray them with pesticides that kill mites, (and this is the time to use conventional pesticides and not organic brews,) and watch them carefully.   Epsom salt, baking soda, beneficial bacteria, milk sprays and so on are absolutely useless for treating RRD.

Prevention of RRD

Examine new plants carefully for signs of RRD.  You may want to avoid dumpster diving for plants; even plants that aren’t roses may have mites on them if roses are sold at that location.  Trying to rescue sickly plants on clearance sale carries a risk also.  Isolate all plants like this away from your garden for several weeks if you decide to do these things.

When you visit other gardens, particularly private ones that have roses, you may want to remove your clothing and shoes and clean them before going into your own garden.  Florist rose bouquets probably won’t be a problem, but home grown rose bouquets given to you could pose a risk.

Clean pruning shears after pruning each rose; you can keep wet wipe type products in your garden tool bucket for that. Don’t plant roses where they touch each other and using other plants between roses is also a good idea. If roses die, remove all the plant, including the roots.

Many experts recommend several sprays of horticultural oil or insecticidal soap in late spring/early summer.  May and June are the months when mites are most likely to be present in most of the country and these sprays can kill them.  Many rose experts also recommend cutting back roses severely in the spring, 2/3 of each cane, to try and remove any overwintering mites.  In the north this may be too drastic of a pruning if there has been a lot of winter die back.

Keep a close watch on your roses, and have suspected plants diagnosed quickly. Remove infected plants immediately and dispose of them as described previously.  Since wind can bring in mites that carry RRD from long distances even removing wild roses from a huge area around your garden may not prevent the disease.  However if the disease is known to be present in your area removing wild roses might be good move.

Spinach Soup

Do you have a lot of baby spinach to use up?  It’s that time of year.  Here’s a recipe you try.

Ingredients
8 cups of spinach, chopped and/or sliced
4 cups of chicken broth
10 green onions, sliced thinly
½ cup grated carrot
3 cups cream or half and half
6 tablespoons butter, melted
3 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon orange zest
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper

Directions

Combine the broth, onions, carrot, salt and pepper in a large pot and simmer for about 15 minutes. 

In a pan over low heat wisk the flour into the melted butter until smooth.  

Add 1 cup of cream, stirring continuously until smooth and thick, about 2 minutes. 

Slowly pour the cream mixture into the broth, stirring continuously and blend until smooth.  Add the rest of the cream, stir and cook 2 minutes.

Add the spinach and orange zest to the pot.  Cook just until the spinach wilts. 

Serve hot, great garnished with cheese and croutons.  Makes 4-6 servings.


Get the sunscreen and mosquito repellant out, the battle is on

Kim Willis
 “He who has a garden and a library wants for nothing” ― Cicero

© Kim Willis - no parts of this newsletter may be used without permission.

And So On….
Do you have plants or seeds you would like to swap or share?  Post them here by emailing me. You can also ask me to post garden related events. Kimwillis151@gmail.com
Join the
LAPEER AREA HORTICULTURE SOCIETY on our 35th ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION, JUNE 19th at 6 P.M., SUNCREST DISPLAY GARDENS, behind the Lapeer County Medical Care facility, 1455 Suncrest Drive, Lapeer, Mi.

All Past, Present, and Prospective members are invited to attend this special event. This will be a special time to meet old friends and share some of our memories of the activities of this group.

Guests are welcome.

Displays will be set up showing past activities, as well as old newsletters of the group. Refreshments provided.

For more information contact:
Dave Klaffer at 810-656-7770 or 664-8912

Find Michigan garden events/classes here:
(This is the Lapeer County Gardeners facebook page)
An interesting Plant Id page you can join on Facebook

Here’s a seed/plant sharing group you can join on Facebook

Newsletter/blog information

If you would like to pass along a notice about an educational event or a volunteer opportunity please send me an email before Tuesday of each week and I will print it. Also if you have a comment or opinion you’d like to share, send it to me or you can comment directly on the blog. Please state that you want to have the item published in my weekly note if you email me. You must give your full name and what you say must be polite and not attack any individual. I am very open to ideas and opinions that don’t match mine but I do reserve the right to publish what I want. Contact me at KimWillis151@gmail.com

I write this because I love to share with other gardeners some of the things I come across in my research each week. It keeps me engaged with people and horticulture. It’s a hobby, basically. I hope you enjoy it. If you are on my mailing list and at any time you don’t wish to receive these emails just let me know. If you know anyone who would like to receive a notification by email when a new blog is published have them send their email address to me.  KimWillis151@gmail.com


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