Gardening Granny's Gardening Pages: April 2021

Tuesday, April 27, 2021

April 27, 2021 Bee blarney

Hi Gardeners

I'm loving these orange tulips I scattered
through the garden

We are on a roller coaster of weather this spring. It’s supposed to get to near 80 today when it was well below freezing just a day or so ago. And don’t get too comfortable with the idea of warm weather because the temps are supposed to drop again by the weekend in most areas of the Eastern US. It’s not supposed to be as cold as last week, but frost and even freezes in some areas can be expected.

I am hoping we get some rain this week. It is getting very dry here, especially for spring. Last night we had thunder and lightning but only a trace of rain. Our pond is the lowest I’ve ever seen it in the spring. I had to water the pansies in containers.

I put a half orange by the jelly feeder, but I still haven’t seen the orioles or the hummingbirds. I expect them to be here soon, however. I am going to get some more hummer feeders set up this weekend. Many other birds are already nesting.

In my garden I am already seeing the early daffodils fading, some later double flowered ones are taking their place. I am actually getting to see tulips open this year. My little twinkle lights have successfully held the deer at bay. Hyacinths and fritillaria are still in bloom, moss phlox is beginning to bloom and so is my magnolia.

The redbud is starting to bloom, and I see apple blossoms showing pink. I would prefer them to not bloom until after this weekend as we have more frost coming but it is what it is. The clove currant is in bloom and I can smell its vanilla spice deliciousness all over the yard.

As we inch closer to Mother’s Day, which seems to be a magical day for planting to many people, be patient. Mother’s Day is early this year, May 9^th, and chances are good many areas will see frosts after that date. Hold off on the tender annuals and vegetable plants or at least be prepared to cover them or bring them inside when frost threatens.

I may shop for some annuals this weekend while the selection is still good, but they will not be planted just yet. I’ll put them on a cart I can pull inside the barn or next to my car so I can stick them inside at night if I need to. The car is a good place to keep plants from frost if you remember to take the plants out early in the morning before the car gets too hot.

Also, it’s not time to put the houseplants outside yet, at least in zone 6 and lower. I already saw someone in my area who had put some nice-looking houseplants out on a sunny, open porch. Those plants will be toast soon. Houseplants need to be acclimated in the shade when they are moved outside, and they should not be moved out until nights are staying above 40 degrees at night.

Both yesterday and today the moon is considered to be full, because the moons rising straddles the two days. It’s a super moon because moon perigee- the closest point in a month to the earth, is also today. This will affect tides and possibly the weather. Rain is more likely around perigee. This month’s full moon is called the Pink Moon. It shouldn’t look pink, it’s nicknamed that because of flowers in bloom at this time. But it will look a little larger than usual.

Daffodil warning

Daffodils are blooming in many yards right now and many people will be picking them for indoor bouquets. Just remember that daffodils and narcissus are poisonous and keep them away from children and pets. The water in a vase of daffodils can also make pets or children sick.

Flowers in a vase that also contains daffodils will not last as long as flowers without them. And it goes without saying that daffodil flowers and all parts of the plant should not be eaten nor used as decorations on edible items.

Stay out of the garden when the soil is wet

One of the worse things a gardener can do to their soil is to get in the garden when the soil is still wet. Farmers and experienced gardeners know that working with wet soil can cause many problems. Wet soil, particularly clay soils, compacts when it’s walked on, or driven on with machines.

Compacted soil makes it difficult for plant roots to get oxygen and water. Roots may stay too wet and rot because compacted soil doesn’t drain well. Seeds may be unable to germinate properly.

Rototilling or plowing soil that’s still too wet destroys soil structure and can cause hard crusted soil instead of the desired loose soil texture. Large clods form and are difficult to break apart, making it difficult for seeds to sprout. The tiller itself compacts the soil just beneath the tine depth. And heavy wet soil may even ruin your tiller.

Soil compaction
Credit Ohio AG Net

A test to tell if your soil is ready to work is to take a fistful of soil and squeeze it, then relax your hand. The soil should form a loose lump when squeezed but when your hand is relaxed the lump should fall apart. If the lump stays when your hand is relaxed, the soil is still too wet to work with.

How long your soil will stay too wet in spring or after prolonged rain varies by the drainage in your garden area, the type of soil and the weather. If you have a clay-based soil you may want to consider raised beds so soil can be worked earlier in the spring. The soil dries out and warms up faster in raised beds.

Adding lime or gypsum will not help wet soil dry out. Don’t ruin your soil for several years by being impatient this spring. Stay out of the garden when the soil is wet.

Honeybees are not nature’s friend

I was working in the vegetable garden Sunday- filling grow bags is hard work- and I noticed all the bumblebees in the honeyberry plants on the back fence. The plants are in bloom, they are members of the honeysuckle family and reward the bees well for their tending. I got to wondering- what do we need honeybees for when we have bumblebees?

Native bee on a nonnative flower

Personally, I have no interest in honey and therefore I don’t have an interest in keeping bees as domestic animals. Like chickens, honeybees sometimes survive in the wild, but most honeybees live in homes created for them by humans and need human tending to thrive. It makes you wonder if there would be so many hot-headed defenders of the honeybee if they did not give their owners a sugar reward for tending them.

Somehow keeping a hive of bees has become synonymous with being environmentally friendly. The truth is keeping a beehive may be just the opposite. Hives of domestic honeybees may actually harm native bees and cause the decline of certain wild blooming plants. Yet people still boast that they are keeping a hive of honeybees in the backyard because they care about the environment.

Media concern about bees usually focuses on saving honeybees, which are the not the species that needs saving. It’s our native bees that are in drastic decline, not honeybees. There are around 4,000 species of bees in the US and many of them are endangered. Honeybees are not endangered nor in decline despite the concerns of many people.

While you hear all the tales of honeybees dying, mostly from their human owners, in truth only a small portion of the honeybee population worldwide dies each year. Meanwhile the native bees are dying out of human sight, becoming critically endangered. Some of the decline, we now know, is linked to non-native honeybees.

Research is beginning to turn from honeybees and their problems to native bees. The newest research suggests we need to start recognizing that all bees are not alike, and all bees do not function in the environment in the same way. In many environments, honeybees are disruptive and impact native plant communities negatively by competing with native bees and other pollinating insects. We need much more research on native bees and money earmarked for conservation and ecological research needs to stop being diverted to studying honeybees, which are a domesticated animal.

Honeybees are generalist feeders, whereas many native bees are specialists. In the natural environment native bee species and certain species of plants developed a symbiotic relationship. The flowers needed certain bees and the bees needed them. Over centuries the arrangement was fine tuned and worked very well for both species.

Then honeybees arrived and began exploiting those plant species. While they collected the nectar and pollen the native bees needed to survive, they often weren’t as efficient in actually pollenating the plant, leading to a decline in both native bees and the native plant species.

Native bumblebee on native redbud

And honeybees can be more efficient than native bees in pollinating aggressive nonnative plant species. Japanese knotweed is an example of that. Native bees are less successful in pollinating Japanese Knotweed than honeybees. Honeybees flock to the plant and beekeepers know they produce an especially nice honey from it. But in the process honeybees are helping the plant survive and spread because they are efficient pollinators of the plant. Dandelions, Himalayan Blackberry and Autumn Olive are other invasive plants that honeybees help spread.

Not all native bees are specialists, some like the bumblebees are generalist feeders too. But when someone moves a hive of honeybees into the environment the more aggressive honeybees hog the resources and leave the bumblebees and other nonaggressive native bees working harder to survive- and sometimes failing. (By the way honeybees are more aggressive to humans and animals than native bees too.)

When resources are abundant, such in wild areas thriving with diverse plant species, native bees and honeybees may be able to co-exist peacefully, if the honeybees are kept to reasonable populations. But in less diverse and less rich environments such as cities and suburbs with more pavement and grass than flowers, native bees are often pushed out. That’s why a beehive in the backyard is not a good conservation practice.

Let’s not forget that domestic honeybees are also responsible for bringing diseases and pests to native bee populations. This area lacks a lot of research, although it’s beginning to be produced. It is known that some diseases are transmitted to native bees by honeybees and those diseases do have a negative effect on native bee populations.

Honeybees are often brought in to pollinate food crops such as almonds, strawberries, melons, cranberries and other fruit crops. They do increase the production of fruit because they supplement native bees when a large number of one plant species is blooming closely together at the same time. Honeybee hives can be moved on trucks to these areas. That can be a beneficial use of honeybees. But the beehives should not be left in the area when the flowering period of the crop is done.

The problem with these moving truckloads of hives is what to do with them when the crops don’t need their services. Bringing them somewhere to overwhelm a natural ecosystem with thousands of foraging honeybees is a big blow to the native bees in the area where the truck stops.

Researchers are also sounding the alarm about allowing beehives on public land. Many beekeepers are now bringing their hives to public lands to let their bees “harvest” the native flowers in the region. That’s where those trucks of hives often decide to park after the crops are pollinated. This is very harmful to the native bee population that existed in those areas for thousands of years. The flowers are there because of native bees and they should be left for them. No one should be able to place hives on public land.

You may have read some of my ideas on the vilification of nonnative species. I am a believer that when nature is left alone, eventually a diverse and working ecosystem develops whether that is with all native species or a combination of native and nonnative species. I don’t think aggressive efforts to remove nonnative species should be made, except in some unusual cases.

But honeybees are not being left to fend for themselves in the ecosystem. They are livestock. Humans provide homes for them and feed them in times of scarcity. Most honeybees would not survive winter in the north without human help. Even with human help many don’t survive. But humans just buy more of them to replenish those lost. I wouldn’t hunt down and kill a feral honeybee colony. But I also won’t put up and tend a hive of them.

Honeybees are livestock

If people want honey, they should provide for their bees like chicken farmers provide for their chickens. Grow fields of flowers for them, learn how to have a long season of blooming plants and find how many flowers are needed to feed one hive. If they free range a little fine, but don’t keep more hives than your flower fields can safely support. I wouldn’t turn my chickens loose in a state park or in your farm field to feed themselves and I don’t think you should do the same with your honeybees.

I strongly recommend people do not bring beehives to urban and suburban areas so that the remaining native bees in those areas can survive. Many native bees are happy with nonnative plants and gardens can be little oases of survival for them. But if they must share with honeybees, they will probably lose the race. If you have property in the country and are willing to plant crops for your honeybees to forage on, put up your hives. You can then consider yourself an environmentally friendly honeybee farmer.

Honeybees are not needed to help pollinate native plants, but native bees are. Most of your fruits that need bee pollination can be produced without honeybees too.

Despite alarmists, humanity is not doomed if bees disappear. We certainly won’t disappear in four years as some silly memes from people who skipped science class claim. We might miss some fruits and vegetables but the foods that form the basis of human diets, corn, wheat, rice, potatoes and meat will still be here, they don’t need bee pollination.

But it would certainly be a shame to lose native bees and some of the native plants that depend on them. Some people would greatly miss honey, although that’s not essential to the diet either. Losing bees would have cascading effects on some plants and the insects and animals that depend on those plants. But life would go on.

Our native bees are declining rapidly, and it just may be linked to the increasing number of people who think putting a hive in the backyard is somehow doing the environment a favor. Once again when man thinks he is helping nature he often isn’t. If you want to help save the wild bees and wildflowers, skip the honeybee hive.

Tuesday, April 20, 2021

April 20, 2021 Mother Nature slaps us

Orange Fritillaria

Yesterday morning it was sunny and fifty degrees when I went outside. I got some pictures of what was in bloom and did a little yard work. Temperatures got up to 65 before the clouds rolled in, temperatures dropped, and the rain began. Today I woke up to sun again, but the temperature was 32 degrees. A few hours later the clouds are back, and we are waiting for snow showers.

Where I live in Michigan, we are not supposed to get much snow but it’s going to get very cold. That’s a shame because plants are about 2 weeks advanced here from normal and a lot of these blooms are going to be lost. It’s just going to be cold for about 48 hours and then we warm up again, but the damage will be done.

In bloom this week in my garden are orange and yellow fritillarias, guinea hen flowers, bloodroot, trilliums, lots of daffodils and narcissus, early tulips, hyacinths, forget me nots, corydalis, viola and creeping phlox. Violets, dandelions, hensbit, chickweed and ground ivy are weeds in bloom. I bought some pansies and violas this past weekend to plant in my porch boxes and here and there in bare spots. They should be fine with cold and snow.

The hosta are peeking above ground, daylilies are getting quite large, peonies are up 18 inches or so. The clematis and roses are leafing out. Even the buddleias have leaves, which could be bad for them when the cold hits. The apricot and wild cherries are in bloom. My magnolia and redbud are showing color and just about to bloom. I’m hoping the flowers won’t be killed.

Inside my hibiscus are blooming again. I saw some beautiful hibiscus in the greenhouse when I bought the pansies, and I was tempted but I absolutely have no room left inside for more plants. I have all these seedlings sitting under lights here and there, I’ll be glad when they can go outside. I also started some coleus cuttings so yes things are tight here.

Cold and snow and your plants

Some of us are going to get snow today or tomorrow, a cruel sign that nature will do as she will. Many places east of the Rockies are going to see freezing temperatures. But don’t worry too much, unless you visited the garden store and brought home lovely hanging baskets and flats of annuals. Garden stores love the people who feel the first warm days of spring and decide the cold is over. Next week or month you’ll be back to replace some of those plants you bought.

If you didn’t plant them in the ground, you can move those purchases inside. Covering what you planted in the ground might help- but if temperatures dip below 30 F. for several hours, as predicted for some places, covering probably won’t help. If you are in one of the areas that expects heavy snow in the next few days your covers need to be things that are sturdy, like buckets, large pots and so on, that can take the weight of snow. Flimsy covers like old sheets will simply smash plants as snow covers them.

If you bought perennial plants that are hardy in your area and planted them recently you may be ok. It depends on how advanced in growth the new plants are and how much time they had to acclimate. You may want to cover them, with something sturdy if snow is expected, if the plants are much further ahead in growth than the same plants that have been in the ground for at least a year.

Dormant trees and shrubs that are hardy for your area will be fine, even if recently planted. Bulbs planted in the ground that haven’t sprouted yet will probably be fine.

Perennials and spring blooming bulbs that are coming up in established gardens will live, there may be some cosmetic leaf damage from frost. Snow actually helps the perennials if it covers them, it insulates them from harsher cold. But snow or ice may smash your pretty flowers on spring blooming bulbs. Cold may harm any blooming fruit trees, the tree will be fine, but the flowers won’t produce fruit.

You’ll have to wait and see how other blooming trees, like magnolias and redbud fare. If the buds aren’t open yet, they may open when the weather warms. Some flowers may brown a bit but remain open, some will fall off or be turned into brown mushy messes. It depends on what happens in your area and what bloom stage the plants are in.

Leaves on trees and shrubs probably won’t be harmed. Depending on what happens some plants may lose their leaves but should recover and put out new ones when the weather warms. Grass seedlings will be fine.

If you have peas, kale and leaf lettuce up in the garden, they may be fine, much depends on how cold it gets and how much snow falls in your area. A few other early veggies, like beets, radishes, and onions, that are up should be covered and will probably survive. Seeds that have not sprouted will probably be fine.

If you are a new gardener who planted things like tomatoes, peppers, beans, cukes, melons and other warm weather crops outside already, be prepared to buy some new plants. Covering these plants if temperatures go below freezing probably will not save them. If they do live, they may be stunted and not produce well. Gardening is about learning from mistakes. Impatience is own of the biggest mistakes gardeners make.

Earth Day Thursday, April 22, 2021

I’m old enough to remember when Earth Day became a thing. (I was more interested in 4-20 at the time, if you know what I mean. That’s today so light one up.) The first Earth Day was April 22, 1970, so the celebration is 51 years old this year. This year’s theme is Restore Our Earth.

In 1970 about 20 million people came out in the streets of the US to celebrate the first Earth Day. It was the largest civic demonstration to date. Now Earth Day is an international holiday, with almost 200 countries and an estimated billion people participating in Earth Day activities. In that first year I was a senior in high school and our science class went out to clean up a wooded area.

Most of the Earth Day celebrations are virtual this year because of covid. Earth Day Initiatives Virtual Festival was this past weekend. You can check out clips from the event here http://www.earthdayinitiative.org/2021-events

Many local events are still going to be held on Earth Day and the following weekend.

Climate change is of course, the main focus of this year’s Earth Day message. There is renewed optimism that we may be able to keep the worst scenarios, at least, from happening. President Biden has convened a virtual summit about climate change on Earth Day this year with many other nations. Experts don’t expect that much policy will be produced at this summit, but it at least signifies that the US is once again committed to leading and working with the global community to address climate change.

It’s going to take the whole world and most of its citizens to make some changes if we hope to keep our earth friendly to human survival. Every human being on the planet can do some simple things that will help keep our planet suitable for human life. People in developed countries can make more of a difference since it is us that contribute the most to climate change.

Here are some ideas for gardeners to help reduce your climate impact.

Recycle garden plastic. Gardeners use a lot of plastic pots and trays, many of which end up in the trash. Some of this plastic is hard to recycle in the regular recycling stream. When you buy plants in flats and plastic pots ask the greenhouse if they will let you return the plastic items for them to reuse. Some greenhouses/nurseries are glad to do this.

If your local greenhouse doesn’t want the plastic items back, ask a school or group like 4-H if they could use the items for projects. You could also offer to give them away on social media or other places. Some hobby growers or farm market growers may be glad to take them.

You can recycle those plastic pots for your own use too. I never throw out any pots, I can always find a use for them at some point. With new plastic paints you can paint those pots to make them prettier if you like. Painting and decorating pots is a good activity for kids. Pots can be turned into pencil holders and used for storage too.

When you go to a greenhouse bring flats or boxes with you and transfer the plants you buy to them instead of bringing new trays home.

If you are ambitious start a recycling drive for garden plastic. Our Master Gardener program used this at one point as a volunteer opportunity. You’ll need to find a recycling center that will accept the plastic and then set up drop off points in your community for people to bring their plastic pots and trays to, which you will then take to the recycling center.

Reduce your use of gasoline powered tools. This reduces air pollution and conserves oil and gasoline. Modern gardeners know they seldom need a rototiller. Even farmers now use no till methods for planting. Rent or borrow a tiller for the first time you break the ground for a new garden, then use mulching and other good gardening techniques so you don’t need to till again. Rototilling destroys soil structure, disturbs soil microorganisms that break down organic matter and is not needed in most circumstances. It’s a good way to harm your soil and pollute the environment. Get rid of your rototiller.

Use electric or battery powered tools. They are much stronger than they used to be, with longer lasting batteries and they are generally quieter than gasoline powered tools.

Don’t use gasoline powered leaf blowers at all. If you have smaller lawns use an electric or battery mower and weed whip. Consider mowing less lawn- let it go wild or put more gardens in.

Keep a compost pile. A good gardener never rakes up and burns leaves or sends them to a landfill. They compost them along with food waste, weeds and garden debris.

Encourage your city/village to start a composting program for yard waste. Some people won’t or can’t have a compost pile, but they should be encouraged to separate yard waste from regular garbage. If you don’t want a compost pile, make sure to use a yard waste program when it’s offered.

Stop wasting food. It’s healthy to eat lots of fruits and vegetables but they are the items most likely to go bad in the frig and get thrown out. If that happens frequently in your household, you need to change your habits. Buy frozen and canned fruits and vegetables instead of fresh. They are just as heathy and store much better.

Consider what fruits and vegetables you buy. Head or iceberg lettuce is one of the most wasteful and least nutritious foods you can buy. It’s basically green water that is often transported great distances and used lots of water and fertilizer to make that head. Use romaine or leaf lettuce, kale, or spinach instead. Even then greens of any kind are often more wasteful than other vegetables when you compare the small nutrition benefits to the environmental cost of growing and transporting them and how much of them are discarded.

If you plant a huge garden and then let food rot in it, you are also being wasteful. Donate that food to a soup kitchen, neighbors, or food pantries. Then stop overproducing, grow enough for your needs and what you can easily give away.

If you don’t grow your own fruit and vegetables try to eat locally and seasonally. The less food that must be transported the better it is for the environment. Learn to can and freeze seasonal fruits and vegetables to eat when they are not in season.

Plant a tree. Trees store carbon and cool the earth. If there is no room on your property for another tree, find somewhere else to plant one, maybe on school property or at a park or playground. Ask permission first. Trees are your gift to another generation. April is a great month to plant a tree.

Don’t waste water. Plant things that don’t require lots of extra watering in your landscape conditions. Use drip irrigation and careful hand watering when needed. Never leave sprinklers on in the rain and keep them from spraying pavement and running water into the storm sewers. If you must use sprinklers, they should have timers and rain sensors.

Use rain barrels. It’s a myth that many places prohibit them. A few places may require mosquito control methods when they are used. There may be a few places that prohibit them because of “looks”. When people talk about not being allowed to store rainwater it usually means they can’t damn up a natural watershed. It doesn’t mean they can’t collect water that runs off their roof.

Use fertilizers and pesticides sparingly, even organic ones. Identify the problem and then decide what level of action is needed. Do you really need fertilizer? Or will it wash off into the surface water and seep into ground water? Manure and other organic fertilizers are just as bad for the environment when overused as chemical fertilizers. Do you really need a pesticide or is the damage just cosmetic?

Pesticide use should be carefully considered and only as much applied as needed. This includes so called organic pesticides like neem oil and sulfur and folk remedies mixed up in the kitchen, which can also harm soil microorganisms, kill beneficial insects and pollute water. Epsom salt, vinegar and dish soap, for example, are not safe to use indiscriminately everywhere and they are pollutants. Stop using these products in the garden environment.

You don’t need to kill every insect that gets near or even in your home. Find ways to control pests that don’t involve pesticides, such as dumping out standing water to control mosquitoes, using sticky traps and encouraging beneficial insects. Use ant traps instead of spraying a pesticide all over the house or outside around the house. No one needs preventative pesticide sprayings on a regular basis.

Spraying lawns with weed killers and insecticides is a huge environmental “hit” and source of pollution. This whole country needs a mind shift about lawns and their environmental cost. Don’t worry about weeds in the lawn, pull them by hand if they bother you. Proper mowing and care of a lawn will drastically reduce weeds without pesticides. Lawn areas should be reduced and some weeds in a lawn should be acceptable. Mowed areas are for fire control and to keep down harmful pests like mosquitoes and ticks and for paths between gardens.

Weedkillers can be justified in some cases, such as combating poison ivy near the home, but read and follow label directions carefully and never apply more than what’s needed.

Of course, there are many other things all people can do to help the earth. Drive less, use LED light bulbs, reduce your use of plastic bags and other plastics, use energy saving appliances, support renewable energy, and turn your thermostats down in winter and up in summer. If everyone does a little it can help a lot.

Redbud trees for the garden

There is nothing more gorgeous in spring than the graceful branches of the Redbud tree outlined in glowing magenta pink flowers. The Redbud is a small tree, suitable for even the most compact yards, proving that good things can come in small packages. Redbud trees are used in the landscape as specimen trees or as shade tree for small spaces. They are also used in naturalized woodlands. This versatile tree can provide both spring and fall color, flowers in spring and gorgeous fall leaf colors.

The Eastern Redbud tree, Cercis Canadensis, is native to the eastern United States and may also be seen blooming in the woodlands in the spring. There are also redbud trees native to the Western North America, China and southern Europe and Asia. The common name ‘Judas tree’ comes from the belief that Judas hung himself from a mid-eastern redbud tree after betraying Christ.

The redbud tree’s pea-like flowers pop out in early spring all along its branches and even along the trunk as the tree ages. Redbud trees bloom before the leaves appear which makes the flowers even more visible. The flowers of the redbud are edible and can be used in salads.

Redbud flowers pop right out of twigs and trunks.

Redbud flowers turn into large brown pods, which contain 4-10 bean- like seeds. Some people consider the trees messy because of the pods and in some situations the trees will seed themselves in the landscape. There are sterile cultivars that don’t produce seeds. Birds and other wildlife eat redbud seeds.

The trees are rarely more than 25’ high and about as wide. Some cultivars are smaller than others. The shape of the tree can be manipulated with early pruning to form a single trunk tree. Left alone many redbuds form more of a multi-trunk bush. There are now weeping forms of redbuds.

Redbud leaves are heart shaped and turn golden in the fall. The normal color of the leaves is reddish when they first emerge in spring and green in summer. However, there are many types of redbuds with golden leaves, white variegated leaves and purple or reddish foliage.

Growing redbuds

Redbuds are hardy from zone 4 to 8. They need some cold weather to form flower buds, but in zone 4, they should probably be planted in a protected area for the best bloom. If you live in zone 7 and south, you may want to try Cercis canadensis var. texensis (Texas redbud) which is better adapted to warm summers and less winter chill time.

Although the redbud will tolerate partial shade it blooms best in sunny locations, particularly in the north. Redbuds tolerate a wide range of soil conditions as long as the area is well drained; they will not grow in wet areas. Redbud trees are excellent for naturalized settings, at the edge of woodlands. They are beautiful against a background of dark evergreens.

The temptation for homeowners who see a redbud in bloom is to buy a large tree so they can enjoy the bloom sooner in their own yard. Redbud trees form a taproot and resent transplanting, so choose the location where you plant your redbud carefully. Small potted redbud trees are the easiest to establish and spring dormant planting is best. Trees grown from seed or cuttings of redbud trees growing in your area will adjust to your site more readily.

Redbuds can also be started from seed planted in the fall where they are to grow or in pots outside. Although establishment may be slower than some other trees, and a little more care is required to get the redbud tree off to a good start, they are well worth the trouble.

A tree shelter or tube helps redbud trees adapt to their new home and protects them from hungry animals. Redbuds usually begin to bloom in their 7th year from seed if conditions are to their liking.

Proper pruning and redbud problems

The redbud tree often begins growing with a short trunk and many small upward growing stems. Trimming off all but one center stem will make the redbud look more like a tree and will avoid the problem of narrow crotches that split from winds or ice. Other than early shaping of the tree and trimming off crossed or rubbing branches, the redbud will not need pruning.

Canker and verticillium wilt are the most important diseases of the redbud tree. Cankers begin as dark sunken areas along the stems, and the area of limb beyond the canker will wilt and die. Canker areas should be pruned out, go at least one inch beyond the canker toward the trunk to make your cut and burn the pruned branch. Sterilize your pruning shears between each cut.

Verticillium causes parts of the tree to suddenly wilt, or some branches may have leaves that turn yellow on the edges and then brown and die. There is no cure for verticillium but pruning off affected branches and fertilizing the tree may keep it alive for a few more years. Have the tree diagnosed by an expert before assuming it has verticillium wilt and removing it. Do not replant redbud trees where one has died from verticillium wilt as the disease remains in the soil for years.

Some varieties of Redbud

The redbud ‘Forest Pansy’ has purple leaves and rosy-purple flowers. The variety ‘Alba’ has white flowers. Redbud ’Rubye Atkinson’ has flowers that are a gentle pink. ‘Silver Cloud’ has leaves variegated with white. ‘Covey’ is a redbud with weeping branches. ‘Pink Pom Poms’ has double flowers of deep purple pink and produces no seed pods.

‘Hearts of Gold’ has bright golden spring foliage and chartreuse summer foliage and red-purple flowers. It rarely produces seed pods. The Rising Sun™ has apricot-gold foliage in spring that matures green, with pink flowers. ‘Texas White’ has green glossy foliage and white flowers, it’s a cultivar of texensis and only hardy to zone 6. ‘Merlot’ has deep wine-red foliage, pinkish lavender flowers and good heat tolerance.

Chinese Redbuds include ’Avondale’, a double flowered redbud that grows more like a shrub. Hard to find Chinese redbud Cercis racemosa or Chain Flowered Redbud, has flowers of silvery rose that hang from the branches in long chains. Some of these are less hardy than the common Eastern Redbud.

"Snow in April is abominable," said Anne. "Like a slap in the face when you expected a kiss." ―L.M. Montgomery

Kim Willis

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Tuesday, April 13, 2021

April 13, 2021 happy hyacinths

Hi Gardeners

We have been having some excellent weather, except for the wind some days. Most of the rain has come at night here and we have escaped any serious storms. However the prediction is for some snow flurries or a mix of snow and rain on Thursday. Bah!

The garden is moving along nicely. Early tulips are starting to bloom, the apricots and cherries are blooming. The redbud is showing lots of pink and will bloom soon. I have a beautiful showing of hyacinths from the bulbs I bought from Color Blends last fall. All sorts of pretty colors in the mix. I think I will buy the same mix next year and expand the places I have them. Deer don’t eat hyacinths and they smell good too.

I have a yellow fritillaria in bloom and the orange will bloom soon. The daffodils are nearing full bloom. Grape hyacinths and tiny pink species tulips are blooming. Anemones (windflowers) are blooming as are violas and the common violet. Honeyberry and forsythia are in bloom. My clematis and roses are leafing out.

Blood root is in bloom, and the trilliums are budding out. The willows and maples are shedding their pollen and all around a light haze of green and red is coming to the trees. Pussy willows have their catkins. Dandelions, chickweed, and self-heal are blooming. Mayapple is emerging from the ground.

My hosta are up enough that I can locate the big one I want to move. It gets too much sun where it’s at and is usually hidden by ferns by mid-summer, even though it’s a tall hosta. That will be a project for this week, weather permitting. The local greenhouses are open, and I want to get out and buy some pansies. Also on the agenda, potting up my dahlias to get them growing. Maybe I’ll do that when it’s snowing Thursday.

I’ve been cleaning out garden areas and moving stuff around. By stuff I mean bird baths and garden art. A new bird bath is causing me to shuffle things around but it’s all good. Among all the problems in the world, where to put a new bird bath is certainly a “good” problem.

Hummingbird and oriole feeders

This week I hung up a new hummingbird feeder. I bought one early because last year it became hard to find them later in the season. This one was inexpensive, yet it had a moat around the hanging hook to keep ants from getting to the nectar ports. It also had white plastic flowers around the openings, no yellow rings in the center. Yellow center rings or flowers are known to attract wasps and bees. And no, we don’t want to feed the bees, the feeders are for birds.

Since I saw that hummingbirds were getting close, moving up from the south, I put out a feeder. With colder weather coming later this week they may be delayed a little, but I am prepared if an early visitor shows up. As soon as I see a hummer, I’ll put out the rest of my feeders. I also hung a jelly feeder for the orioles, who generally arrive at about the same time as the hummers.

There are nectar feeders for orioles too. If your hummingbird feeder has perches, orioles can use the same feeder. But grape jelly in a feeder and halved oranges are a big draw for orioles. You can use other flavors of jelly but grape jelly is usually the cheapest and orioles love it. My current jelly feeder is simply a glass bowl that sits in a hanger. It has a stick across it for the birds to land on.

I place a half orange on the end of the hook holding the jelly feeder. I cut a little x in the bottom of the orange half to make it easy to push it down over the hook end. You can also drive nails through a piece of wood and skewer the orange halves to it, cut side up. Then hang the wood.

Don’t buy hummingbird or oriole nectar, it’s simple to make. They don’t need red colored nectar to be attracted and it’s best to avoid the dyes. Simply bring some water to a boil and stir in common white sugar. The ratio is one cup sugar to 4 cups water. Some people use a 3 cups water to 1 cup sugar ratio. It doesn’t seem to make much difference. Fill your feeder after the nectar cools down.

Never use anything but plain white table sugar when making nectar. Do not use any artificial sweeteners, brown sugar or honey. Don’t use juice or flavorings either. These things can harm hummers and orioles.

You can make a lot of nectar at one time and freeze some in plastic bags. A quick minute or two in the microwave and you have more nectar ready to go.

Oriole at a jelly feeder

If you haven’t fed the hummingbirds or orioles in the past be patient, it can take a while for them to find your feeders. If you have fed them in the past, try to put the feeders close to the same spot you had them last year. The birds do remember where the feeders were last year. Both hummingbirds and orioles tend to return to the same areas they nested in last season.

Hummers are attracted to red- but only a small amount of red around the feeder is needed. The nectar doesn’t need to be red. Orioles are attracted to red and orange. My jelly feeder is green glass, the jelly is purple, but after I hang a cut orange nearby a few times, they have no trouble finding it.

Other birds may eat some nectar or jelly too. That should be fine. But beware that deer, bear, squirrels and raccoons are also attracted to these feeders. Make sure you hang feeders high enough to discourage these critters. Squirrels don’t seem quite as interested in nectar feeders but do like jelly. If you have a lot of wildlife attacking your feeders, you may want to bring them in at night.

Someone I knew used to put their feeders in a large cage with openings big enough for birds, but that kept out animals. The cage can be hung or put on a pole with the feeders inside.

Ants and bees/wasps/hornets can also be a problem when you hang nectar and jelly feeders. They climb right into the port holes in nectar feeders and drown inside, making a nasty mess. Bees, wasps and hornets may also chase hummers away from feeders. You don’t want bees, wasps and hornets attacking you when you walk by or try to refill feeders either.

Try to eliminate any yellow around nectar ports by painting the yellow a red or green color to discourage flying critters. The feeders with moats you fill with water are good to discourage ants. Ants will climb all the way up a pole and down the hook to the feeder. Various types of moats you fill with water can help. They only need to be about 3 inches wide to stop ants.

You can tape an inverted cone on a feeder pole to discourage ants. You’ll need to coat the inside only of the cone with a sticky substance like petroleum jelly or use a sticky trap for white fly or even mice to make the cone. The outside or any place a bird can touch must not be sticky! A hummingbird is light and can be caught by such a trap or have its feathers pulled out. Even orioles and heavier birds can have their feathers damaged.

Put sticky cones near the bottom of poles. Make them small, they only need to extend 2 or 3 inches from the pole. Check them often and remove if they get dirty, full or collapse from dampness.

If you don't have any hummingbird or oriole feeders its time to get some. You'll enjoy watching these beauties.

Chiondoxia- Glory of the Snow

If you like the color blue and love early blooming flowers you may want to consider planting some Chiondoxia or Glory of the Snow. Blooming just after crocus in the spring, Glory of the Snow contrasts beautifully with early blooming daffodils. Bees appreciate the early blooms too. And best of all Glory of the Snow is deer resistant.

Glory of the Snow is actually one of six species native to Turkey, Cyprus and Crete. Which of the six species is the one common in cultivation is debated. Chionodoxa siehei, C. forbesii or C. luciliae are the species most often mentioned as garden bulbs and there may be hybrids of the species. Glory of the Snow has become naturalized in the UK, Germany and the Netherlands.

Glory of the Snow is one of the so-called minor bulbs that can be planted in the fall for spring bloom. You may have to search a bit harder for them than crocus, but many bulb companies carry them. They look best planted in a mass, so buy at least 25 bulbs. Glory of the Snow is hardy in zones 4-7. Warmer zones may be able to pre-chill the bulbs for spring bloom.

Bulbs are planted in the fall, about 3 inches deep and 3 inches apart, pointed end up. Informal groupings of the small bulbs are best. They aren’t fussy about soil type, but the area must be well drained. They like at least moderate rainfall in spring. Summers can be drier, but they thrive in average garden conditions.

Glory of the Snow prefers full sun but will grow under deciduous trees as they come up and bloom before the trees provide much shade. The foliage dies back quickly after bloom. Make sure to leave the foliage and not remove it until it has yellowed and died.

Each Glory of the Snow bulb produces 2 long blade shaped leaves, which are narrower at the base. Each bulb produces a bloom stalk with several flowers. The six petaled (technically 6 tepals) flowers are a soft, lilac blue fading to white in the center. The stamens form a cone shaped structure in the center with the yellow anthers peeking out at the top. The pistil is hidden inside the anther cone.

There are cultivars of Glory of the Snow with pink or white flowers. Some cultivars have a deeper blue color. There are also cultivars with larger flowers. These are harder to find in catalogs.

Glory of the Snow will spread by bulblets and by seed to produce a lovely blue carpet for you in a few years. Ants like the seeds of Glory of the Snow and carry them to other places in the garden. Some gardeners consider them a bit aggressive in spreading but many gardeners welcome that habit. After all the plant is only present for a few weeks each spring.

Unlike other bulbs Glory of the Snow is seldom bothered by rodents and deer. I have been unable to find any information on whether the bulbs are poisonous, but they are closely related to Scillia, which do contain toxic compounds. Most references suggest they are toxic. I would not consume any parts of the plant and would not let pets or livestock eat them.

Growing radishes

In zones 5 and higher radishes are a crop that can be planted in April. If the forsythia is in bloom, radishes can be planted. One of the easiest and fastest root vegetables to grow, radishes are excellent choices for beginning gardeners and for children to grow. They can be grown in containers and take up little space in the garden. Because they reach eating size quickly, several crops can be grown in the same place over a season.

Radishes, Raphanus sativus, are an old crop, grown for thousands of years. Different cultures developed different types of radishes. Asian radishes are usually long and hot and spicy while European varieties are round and not as piquant. The root is the part of the radish most often eaten, although the seed pods are edible and eaten in some places.

There are many colors of radish roots from the familiar red outside, white inside commonly seen in salad bars, to those with white on the outside and fuchsia centers, solid white, purple, and black radishes. Roots can be small and round, long and club shaped or long and tapered like a carrot.

A special kind of radish – daikon- gets quite large and takes several months to mature. It can be eaten like other radishes when young. The seeds of daikon radish can be pressed into oil which is used as a biofuel. It’s sometimes used as livestock feed or as a weed suppressing cover crop.

Radishes have short leafy tops. The leaves have a rough feel. Leaves have been used as a pot green. The flowers have 4 petals and are white or lavender. They will mature quickly to long pods filled with black seeds. Immature pods are quite tasty and can be used in salads or stir fry. The Rat Tail radish has a long, curled pod and the pods are often pickled.

Culture

Radishes are a cool weather crop and should be sown as soon as the soil can be worked. Sow several small batches a few weeks apart to extend the harvest. They will go to seed quickly or become tough and woody in hot weather so use the garden space for other crops in the heat of summer. You can then begin sowing radishes again in late summer, as the weather cools. Frost won’t bother them much. Hard freezes will make the roots soft however.

Radishes, being a root crop, prefer sandy light soil. If your soil is heavy clay you may want to grow radishes in containers of light weight potting soil. Containers should be 6 inches deep for round root varieties, or a foot deep for long tapered root types. You generally won’t need fertilizer, unless you are using a potting mix, or your soil is very poor. You can add a garden fertilizer when you prepare the soil if needed.

Radishes should be grown in full sun. They need even, consistent moisture. Dry conditions tend to make them pithy and very hot tasting. Too much moisture may make them crack, but they are still edible.

Sow radish seed about a ½ inch deep and ½ apart. They usually germinate quickly if the soil is moist, within a week. Thin to 1 or 2 inches apart, depending on the size of the varieties mature root. And they grow very quickly; you can usually begin harvesting them in a month. Harvest the roots as soon as they are big enough for you. Don’t let them get too big or they will become woody and tough.

Store radishes with the tops on or off, in the refrigerator, loosely wrapped in a damp paper towel and they will last a couple weeks. Radish pods should also be stored refrigerated.

Radishes are excellent container plants

If you have problems with root maggots or flea beetles in your radish patch, grow them in containers. Flea beetles are small black beetles that make the radish leaves holey and make plants less vigorous. Root maggots come from flies that lay eggs on the soil next to radishes. They eat the root part of the radish and make them very unappealing.

Cover your radish crop containers with a lightweight, spun row cover, well anchored down on the soil in the containers. You should get perfect radish crops. Make sure to use a little fertilizer in the container if you grow successive crops of radishes.

Containers should be about 10 inches deep for round radishes and 12-14 inches deep for “icicle” types. Daikon types are best grown in the ground.

If you move your containers to a partly shaded location when the weather gets hotter, you may be able to grow another crop. Generally, salad type radishes are ready to eat in 6 weeks from planting. You could get 2 crops in spring and summer and another in the fall.

If you want to grow radishes in the ground and have trouble with root maggots or flea beetles make sure to rotate where you grow your radishes each time you plant them. Covering the crop with row cover, just like with containers, can help prevent the pests.

Radishes are a fine crop for both beginning gardeners and experienced ones. Try some this spring.

Daffodils blossom and tulips jostle to the front of the stage in April. I love these early perennials: they may be more modest but they nearly all have that one special quality that a plant needs to transform your affections from admiration to affection - charm.
- Monty Don