Saturday, July 21, 2007
Dig in: It's not too late for a garden
Libba Wolfe
Libba Wolfe's column appears twice monthly in Extra.
Recent columns
Just getting around to your garden? Had a busy spring but you're finally ready to get started? Or your grand vision didn't turn out and it's time to make changes, fill in gaps and try something new?
Whatever the reason, we have about three months left to enjoy the garden and now is a fine time to start.
Old-time, accepted garden wisdom is that you never, ever plant in the summer heat. Those of us who never get it all done in the spring break this rule regularly. But it's a dirty little secret and we feel guilty.
Ten minutes into my conversation with Doug Jessie of Greenbrier Nurseries and I was feeling pretty good. Doug says pot-grown trees, shrubs and perennials do not suffer transplant shock no matter when you plant them. In fact, he's putting things in the ground 12 months a year. His live-die ratio is the same no matter when he plants. "It's not up to the plant. It's up to the person digging the hole and making the commitment to water," he said.
By following a few basic rules, you can create a colorful garden starting now.
Rule One
Organic fertilizer goes in the hole before the plant. Food is important all year, but organic is critical if you're planting now. Organic food is slow release by nature. It's almost impossible to use too much or burn the roots. It supplies micronutrients and helps build beneficial soil bacteria. By contrast, synthetic slow-release fertilizer is slow release only at moderate spring or fall temperatures.
Intense summer heat causes it to deliver food much faster and you lose the benefits of gradual feeding. All the watering you're going to be doing will leech harmful amounts of nitrogen right away. Doug recommends three organic fertilizers in the Tone family: Plant-tone, Garden-tone, Holly-tone.
Rule Two
Get organized about watering. Don't put plants in the ground, go off for a two-week vacation and leave them to fend for themselves. New plants need regular water no matter when they go in, but this time of year they don't stand a chance without it.
According to Doug, plants can take a year or two to become firmly established with healthy root systems. Until then, they need to be watered two to three times a week. That doesn't mean one over-watering will do the trick. In fact, Doug says the most common mistake he sees is over-watering the first three months and then under-watering after that. (Guilty!) If it rains an inch, you can skip one of the weekly drinks. Pay special attention to heavy drinkers such as hydrangeas.
Rule Three
Annuals, fruits, vegetables and heavy bloomers such as roses are "the hogs -- first to the bar and the buffet line." You can use a combination of slow release and weekly water-soluble fertilizer (Miracle-Gro, Peters, etc.). Lots of food, lots of water, and they'll reward you with lush growth, blooms and produce.
Grab your bug spray, sunscreen and a bottle of water. It's not too late to have a garden you can enjoy this year and for years to come. Doug's plant recommendations include:
Annuals -- The selection is getting thin, but what's left in most nurseries is on sale. Petunias and geraniums will give you a reliable color pop for months. Geraniums will even take a light frost. I love the deep blue salvias in golden October light.
Chrysanthemums and asters -- You can't beat these fall standbys. With just a little attention, these will be autumn stars for years. Asters are available now, and mums will be on the shelves in just a few weeks. My favorite mum is the old-fashioned "Clara Curtis." Its airy pink blooms cascade over my stone wall in September. Be sure to get some colors that you'd like to cut and bring in the house so you can extend the season.
Sedums -- Annual or perennial, sun or part shade, tall uprights or tiny ground covers, pale pinks and greens to deep purple, there's a sedum for every taste. An added bonus is that most sedums like drier, rocky soil.
Ornamental grasses -- Because most grasses peak in the fall, now is a great time to use them to jazz up the garden. There are many new dwarf varieties. Doug went into a swoon describing the setting September sun backlighting the pinkish-purple blooms of his Muhly grass, (Muhlenbergia capillaries). It's a 36-inch-tall perennial "to die for."
Last summer I planted annual red fountain grass (Pennisetum setaceum "Rubrum"). By fall it was a dramatic focal point: 4 feet tall and deep red with fluffy pink seed heads. At the end of October, I whacked off enough foliage and blooms to fill a vase and they dried on the mantle piece till March. It might feel pricey for an annual, but you get big bang for the bucks.
Hydrangeas -- The bright orange, yellow and maroon foliage of oakleaf hydrangeas is spectacular in the fall. The new "Lady in Red" also has dazzling deep red leaves. The bright or pale mop heads of "Preziosa" hydrangeas will gradually darken and mottle in fabulous shades of green and burgundy. All the hydrangea blooms can be dried over the winter.
