Orange Fritillaria |
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.
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
All parts of this blog are
copyrighted and may not be used without permission.
And So On….
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