Tuesday, June 29, 2021

June 29, 2021 Have a safe and happy 4th

 The wild weather ride has been something.  I have been amazed at some of the flooding pictures that I have seen on social media of people’s yards and gardens. The damage is spotty, some places have little flooding, others got 5 inches of water in a day. And it's not just in Michigan, it's strange weather all over the country.

The good news is that this rain that ended our drought is coming after the drought. The soil is dry in most places and can hold a lot of water. Flooding should quickly recede, if we don’t get too much more rain. If your plants are flooded see the tips at the bottom of the blog for assessing and caring for them.

I went out Saturday during a lull in the rain and slugs were everywhere, big yellow slugs. They were all over the grass, and on trees and shrubs as high as my head.  Ugh. And Sunday mushrooms had popped up everywhere in the lawn, little brown ones and slightly bigger white ones- you couldn’t walk without stepping on them.  I have never saw that after a rain. Monday, we mowed over them.

We got just about 3 inches of rain Friday through Saturday night. We had no rain Sunday in the daytime and the large puddle at the end of the drive quickly shrank to nothing. That was the worst of our flooding. Monday evening we had a ¼ inch of rain. Had this been a normal year there probably would have been mushy, soft, flooded areas in the yard. But I was able to mow Monday morning and didn’t find any.

The plants look great. But our catalpa tree “rained” down a blizzard of white flowers- they are everywhere- and they quickly turn brown and slimy. The leaves of the hosta catch them, and they turn into a slime ball in the pocket of the leaves, which can’t be good for them.  So, I am going around trying to dump them out.

In the garden the Asiatic lilies are starting to bloom, which will add some color. So are the fancier daylilies. I have mums opening- can you believe that? – I thought they bloomed early last year but it’s even earlier this year. Roses, lavender, echinacea, Maltese cross, evening primrose, harebells, a few clustered bellflowers, native geraniums, beebalm, are some perennials in bloom in the garden.

I have a baby pumpkin on my pumpkin vines.  Some of the patio tomatoes are starting to ripen. My pot plant is looking nice and bushy.  I am slightly disappointed in my cuke plants, they are growing but not blooming yet. Wild raspberries are ripening.

Humid, hot, wet weather can cause a number of fungal diseases in the garden. Keep a close eye on plants susceptible to fungal infections such as tomatoes.

Have a nice 4th of July holiday everyone.

My mystery plant

This cute little plant popped up in a pot of orange geraniums (Pelargoniums) and it’s funny because I know by the developing seedpods that it is a true geranium. The Pelargonium had been overwintered in the house and was taken outside and planted in a pot that had a mixture of recycled potting soil added to it. The true geranium began growing shortly after I planted the Pelargonium. I’ve never seen this plant growing in the yard and I don’t know how it got here.



The mystery comes because I can’t identify exactly what species of true geranium this is. Cranesbill, Geranium carolinianum, has leaves a lot like this but its flowers are quite pale lilac, and this plant has rather vivid mauve pink flowers.  That color is more common to Geranium dissectum, or cut leaf geranium, but the leaves don’t seem as finely dissected.  Cranesbill is native, but cut leaf is not.


The flowers are very tiny, but pretty. The plant is growing as a low spreader, running over the sides of the pot. There are many other species of true geraniums, but none match close enough that I can see. Geraniums are identified partly from their seed pods which feature a long “bill” growing out of them, leading to the name Cranesbill, which is actually given to a number of the species.

The cute little plant will get to stay. If any of you have knowledge of wildflowers and an opinion on whether this is Cut leaf geranium or common cranesbill let me know.

A new plant I know the name of

Every year I try a new species of plant (new to me), just for the fun of it. This one I got from Select Seed and started inside before transplanting to the butterfly garden. It’s a plant called Anoda cristata alba or snowcups. Its native to the southwest US and Mexico, where it is considered a weed and normally has lilac-colored flowers. This is a white variant that has been selected for slightly larger flowers. It is related to Malvas.

The flowers are unusual for their pure white pollen. They remind me of small silky hibiscus flowers. They are said to be attractive to butterflies and bees, we’ll see. The flowers on mine have just begun to open. Snowcups is an annual that likes full sun and grows to about 3 feet tall. It forms a bush shape, with flowers clustered at the top. The leaves are broad triangles.

In Mexico and South America Anoda may be known as Alache and is made into a thick soup. There are herbal uses for the plant, mainly for various digestive problems and its being studied for blood sugar control.

This isn’t a common garden plant yet. Besides Select Seed, I saw it offered at Plant Lust. It does well in heat and humidity and mine is growing like gangbusters. They say it reseeds freely, but maybe I won’t mind, maybe I’ll even save the seeds.  I’ll review it more fully for its garden qualities after the season is over.

Snow cups

 

Tips for flooded areas

In Michigan and many other places in the US this past week or so, many gardens have been flooded. Here the soil was dry and is quickly absorbing excess water but in many places it has been a wet spring/summer and water isn’t receding quickly.

If your plants are submerged or even if they just have their feet in water after 12 hours, you need to act.  If some part of the plant remains above water chances are better than if they are totally submerged, but root damage will begin in soaked soil soon after flooding.

Try to drain the water away from your lawn, trees and ornamental plants if it’s possible. You may have to dig a trench to a roadside ditch or another place to let water flow off. If you have a place to safely pump it you can also use a sump pump, irrigation pump or even a fountain or pond pump to remove water. Pay attention to where the water will flow as you pump or trench it off. It’s not fair to send it to a neighbor’s property unless the neighbor agrees to allow it.

Even if there is no water visible on the surface of the ground, soil that is totally saturated will cause root damage to plants.  Roots need air spaces in soil, or they simply drown. If you dig a shallow hole in the soil and water pools there, your soil is saturated and needs draining. Sometimes a simple trench can allow water to drain away.

Of course, there are cases when there is nothing you can do to get rid of the water but wait and hope.  In some cases, the plants will make it through, in other cases be prepared to replace some of your landscape. If you have flood insurance, check with your policy holder to see if landscape damage is covered.

Perennials and annuals

There are of course some perennials that like wet conditions.  But most common garden perennials and annual bedding plants don’t like waterlogged soil or being submerged. If you cannot drain water away from them, you stand to lose many of them in just a few days. You may want to wade into the water and lift your favorites right out of the ground. Pot them somewhere drier and wait for better soil conditions to re-plant them.

Many plants are going to look yellow after a flood. Many nutrients, especially nitrogen, have probably been washed away. Fertilize them with a good balanced fertilizer following label directions.

If you suspect that flooding may occur again you may want to replace the dead perennials with plants better suited to wet conditions or install a drainage system. Plants that are called “rain garden” plants usually survive short periods of flooding or saturated soil.

Potted plants

If they are submerged, move the pots out of the water. But the biggest problem after heavy rains is pots that are not draining. You must act quickly to drain them. If they have drain holes you may need to elevate the bottom off the surface they sit on, so they drain faster. Stick some pebbles or small pieces off wood under the pot corners. If they don’t have drain holes you must give them some or remove the plants. Having rocks or something in the bottom of a pot without drainage does not work in this case.  (It isn’t a good idea anytime.)

An electric drill can make holes in most pots. You can put the holes down near the ground in the sides of the pot, you probably can’t turn them over to drill holes in the bottom.

Like other plants, potted plants that have been subject to heavy rain may need some fertilization. And things like hanging baskets will dry out if you don’t get any more rain for a couple of days.  Don’t forget about them because everything else is still wet.  They’ll need watering.

Vegetables and small fruit

If your garden was covered with silt (mud) or debris in a flood you will probably need to start over. If covered with mostly water you may be able to salvage things.

Perennial vegetables like rhubarb and asparagus may need to be replaced if they were submerged in water for more than 48 hours or if there is standing water or waterlogged soil for more than 3 days.  Do not eat any parts submerged in flood water.

Strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries and grapes that are flooded for more than 48 hours will probably die and need to be replaced.  As with perennials if you can get the fruit plants out of the ground and hold them somewhere until the water drains you may save them.

After a flood any food plants that were in contact with flood water should not be eaten as they may be contaminated with dangerous bacteria and possible other contaminants in flood water. Water that overflows from storm drains, or runs off roads and parking lots may have gas and other contaminants. If you are close to manure holding ponds, sewage treatment ponds, chemical treatment areas, factories and so on, flood water may also be contaminated.

DO NOT eat carrots, potatoes, radishes or other roots soon after they were flooded. DO NOT eat leafy greens, beans, cukes, melons, tomatoes and so on, that were covered by flood water.  If the consumable parts of the plant were above any flood water, you can eat them after washing them.

If your plants survive, you can eat tomatoes and peppers, beans and so on that develop on plants after flood waters are gone. Whether to eat things like potatoes or carrots, even after flood water has receded, is a judgement call. If they were not developed very much before the flood, the water was just rainwater and not overflow from sewers and drains or water running off streets and parking lots, they might be safe to eat when mature later in the season.

After removing flood water, stay out of the garden until the soil has dried out to avoid compacting the soil. Like other plants, vegetables and fruits may need fertilization after a flood, especially if they are expected to produce fruit-or other edible parts, in the future.

 Grass

Grass that is totally under water for greater than 48 hours will probably die.  Warm, sunny conditions, while beginning to dry the ground, will hasten grass death if water can’t be removed. Grass only partially submerged will last longer but totally saturated soil leads to rotting of the grass roots and if the condition lasts a week or so the lawn may die.

Bluegrass, the most common Midwestern lawn grass, has some tolerance to flooding while perennial and annual rye is less tolerant. Bentgrass, common on golf courses is pretty tolerant.  After you can get to the grass dig a small clump to check on it.  If you see firm white roots and bases of the leaf stems, (crowns) the grass may make it.  Black or brown mushy looking roots and crowns mean the grass is dead.

If silt and debris were deposited on the lawn during the flooding the chances of lawn grass surviving may be less.  A small layer, less than an inch, may not impact the lawn much unless it is heavily contaminated with harmful substances such as salt, oil and gas, but a deep layer of mud or debris will kill the grass. If it cannot be removed with raking or shallow shoveling you will probably want to re-seed the lawn.

If your grass seemed to make it through the flood it will benefit from fertilizing with nitrogen, especially if it is looking yellow or pale green.  Use a lawn fertilizer without any weed killers or insecticides for this. Follow the label directions or use about 3 pounds per 1000 square feet. Unless your soil has really dried out, don’t water the fertilizer into the soil as is normally done, it should dissolve in contact with wet soil.

As long as the soil is wet, limit traffic on the lawn so that the soil doesn’t get compacted or rutted. You may even have to let it get a little longer than usual before mowing. If you do, only take off a third of the grass blade on the first mowing.  If it needs to be shortened further wait a few days, then mow again.  Keep the grass blades about 3 inches.  Never use a weighted roller on the lawn when it’s wet to “flatten” it.  This will cause serious soil compaction and limit the growth of grass roots. 

Trees and shrubs

Most trees and shrubs will take a few days of flooding, as long as they are not totally submerged, without problems. Shrubs and small trees that are covered by water will probably die if the water doesn’t recede in 2-3 days.  Some species may be harmed after 24 hours of submergence. Species of trees that typically grow in wet or bottom land areas such as willows, river birch, black gum, red maple, black ash, cottonwood, swamp oak and so on will generally have few problems with flooding. 

Some species of trees will not do well if the ground remains saturated or the roots remain in standing water for more than a few days.  Redbuds, flowering dogwood (Cornus florida), sugar maple, white oak, hickory, pine, spruce, cedar, junipers, and most fruit trees are examples of trees which really suffer from wet feet. If you cannot drain off the water around them, you may expect a weakened or dead tree. 

Trees that have had their roots too wet for too long will often begin to wilt. The symptoms are similar to being too dry, because the rotted roots cannot transport water to the rest of the tree. Trees that survive may appear yellow or pale green. Give trees and shrubs a little time to recover before deciding they are dead. 

Fertilizing surviving trees may help them recover. Many nutrients are washed out of flooded areas and damaged roots have a difficult time efficiently collecting nutrients that are left. And this seems like its counterintuitive, but if the weather turns dry later in the season, water the trees and shrubs because their damaged root systems may make them more susceptible to death from drought conditions.

After a flood gardeners should assess their landscape to see how likely a future flood will be. Drain tiles, ditches to carry off water, pump systems, raised beds, or moving gardens to higher ground should be considered. Too much water is usually just as bad for plants as too little. Planning ahead is your best insurance.

 




 "When all else fails, take a vacation."

—Betty Williams

 

Kim Willis

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