Archive for January, 2010

January: Gardening Activities

Our Average Daily High Temp for January in Michigan is 28°.

I look at January as the planning month. Since the majority of the northern states are usually covered with snow during this month, it is an excellent time to create a garden plan.

Hopefully you have take photos of your garden during the active months or you can remember what is where. Take some time to draw a layout of your garden and label where each plant is in the garden. Then decide if there are any changes you wish to make in plant layout. Also, make note of any plants that may need to be moved or divided. Next decide if there are any new garden projects you want to complete this year.

January is an excellent month to go back and page through your favorite gardening magazines for new ideas or new plants. Once you have a plan in place decide which plants you need to purchase this spring. Garden Crossings offers an early order discount for orders placed in January. This also helps you reserve the plants that you know you need. Remember, Garden Crossings also has a policy that you can place your order anytime, but you do not pay until your order is shipped.

Most of January’s activities are inside activities, but don’t forget to brush the snow off bushes, evergreens or small trees. The light fluffy snow will not cause much harm and is beautiful, but wet heavy snow or ice can damage your plants. Plants which are dormant tend to be more brittle and can crack off easily with the weight of the heavy snow.

Lastly, remember to feed your feathered friends. With greater amounts of snow covering the ground, birds can have a hard time finding food. Even if you are not a bird watcher, they can add life to a cold inactive garden.

To-Dos:

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Caring for Your Echinacea

Preferred Conditions: Echinacea prefers to be planted in locations with moderately fertile, well-drained soils. They do not perform well in locations with poor drainage or soils that remain constantly damp. Provide ample water during the first year after transplanting. Once Echinacea are established (2-3 years) they are quite drought resistant. Coneflowers prefer to be planted in full sun, but also grow well under partial shade. When they are grown in a shadier location they will not grow as vigorously and fewer flowers will be produced.

Maintenance: These exciting perennials are easy to grow and generally require few maintenance activities. Deadheading the spent flowers will promote additional blooming, but will not produce as spectacular flower display as the initial flush of blooms. Taller cultivars may need additional support from cages to prevent the flower spikes from lodging. Pinching them back in the late spring and not providing excessive nutrients will often eliminate the need for caging.

Pests and Diseases: Some of the most common insect pests that may be observed feeding on Echinacea include aphids, caterpillars, grasshoppers, Japanese beetles, leafhoppers, and whiteflies. Most of these pests, under normal circumstances, do not cause significant injury to them with the exception of leafhoppers. Leafhoppers transmit a disease called Aster yellows which often causes the plant to appear abnormal (most notably the flowers often remain green and become distorted). Besides Aster yellows, Echinacea are also susceptible to powder mildew and root rot diseases.

Uses in the Garden: Coneflowers are commonly used as accent plants or in mixed borders, open woodlands, and mass plantings. Coneflowers are also deer resistant.

Other Uses and Attributes: This native of the eastern and central United States is widely used as an aromatic border plant to attract butterflies and birds in to the gardens. They are commonly used as cut flowers or in dried floral arrangements. When Echinacea are not cut back in the fall, the seed heads will provide added winter interest to the often barren landscape and provide a source of food for songbirds.

Field of Echinacea

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Clematis Pruning

Depending on the cultivar, Clematis bloom from various types of growth each year. It is important to understand how each cultivar blooms in order to properly prune them. When done properly, pruning will promote flowering. Conversely, when Clematis are not pruned properly, the flowers will be delayed or they might not flower until the next growing season. For example, certain varieties flower only on the previous year’s growth. These cultivars should only be pruned to remove weak or dead stems after they have finished flowering.

To help avoid confusion, Clematis can be separated into groups based on their flowering characteristics and pruning preferences. For your convenience, these groups are listed below. You can also view the specific pruning requirements for each cultivar by clicking on the ‘More Detail’ link at the end of each cultivar description in our online catalog.

Our general recommendation is to prune all Clematis to about 12 inches within the first year of planting. This encourages them to form a strong root system and promotes new shoots to develop which leads to more flowers in the future. In the following years, they should be pruned to a height of 3 to 5 feet or by following the specific pruning guidelines for each specific cultivar as outlined below.

• Group 1

  Clematis cultivars in this group flower on the previous season’s growth. Generally, they can be left unpruned. If pruning is necessary, wait until the flowering is completed and remove only the weak or dead stems.

• Group 2

  These cultivars produce early season bloom on the previous season’s growth and late season flowers on new growth. Generally, these cultivars are only pruned to shape. In the early spring (February or March), prune them lightly above the first pair of new swollen leaf buds, removing about 12 inches from each shoot. Also remove any dead or weak stems at this time.

• Group 3

  Varieties within this group flower on the new season’s growth; they are often the most vigorous cultivars. Prune all of the main stems back to about 3 feet above the ground in February or March, leaving at least one pair of strong looking buds on each stem. Also remove any dead or weak stems at this time.

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Strawburst™ Yellow Bracteantha

In my opinion every full sun combination planter should have at least one Bracteantha ‘Strawburst™ Yellow’ plant in it. I love the HUGE blooms this plant creates. Plus I also think that the texture of this flowers is very fun.

(Strawflower) Bracteantha ‘Strawburst™ Yellow’ PPAF has excellent heat tolerance and since it is also frost hardy it will perform all season long. ‘Strawburst™ Yellow’ PPAF has outstanding flower color and a well-branched habit. The flowers are the largest we have seen on any other Bracteantha.

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Rudbeckia ‘Early Bird Gold’

I love the big splash of color that Rudbeckia ‘Goldsturm’ displays in the late summer. So last year when I was introduced to the earlier blooming ‘Early Bird Gold’ I was excited to know that I could enjoy the bright gold color most of the season.

(Black-Eyed Susan) Rudbeckia ‘Early Bird Gold’ PPAF has a sturdy upright habit and golden yellow flowers with brown cone centers. An amazing discovery from Dupont Nursery in Louisiana, ‘Early Bird Gold’ PPAF has the ability to bloom from early summer into mid-fall. Wow! Enjoy the advantages of this variety in decorative containers or in your landscape designs.

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A recent question from a guest was:

“I have heard that some hydrangea can be trimmed and some can not. I cut back one years ago and it never once flowered. Any answers?”

In response we are talking about “Mop Head” or “Big Leaf” Hydrangeas and also “Hardy Hydrangeas” or paniculata varieties.

Hydrangea ‘Limelight’ PP12,874 is best if pruned in late fall or early spring. Blooms on new wood. Make sure to prune off spent flowers when they turn brown. The paniculata or hardy varieties such as Pinky Winky, Little Lamb & Limelight bloom on new wood and can be trimmed in the late fall or early Spring.

Most “Big Leaf” varieties form their flower buds in the late summer for the following year. They should only be pruned when the flower heads begin to fade, otherwise you’ll risk removing next year’s flowers. When pruning, remove spent flower heads and prune back other shoots to encourage branching and fullness. As a rule of thumb for zone 6, you should not trim these Hydrangeas after August 1st.

In your case, your plants are experiencing what is called winter kill. The winters are too cold and are killing off the buds that have formed on the previous season’s growth. The plant is not dying as it is coming back from the base, but the new growth will not produce the flowers for you. I have heard of people putting rose cones over them or burlap around them and stuffing leaves over the top of the plant. If this sound like too much work, there are a few “Big Leaf” varieties such as Let’s Dance Moonlight and Let’s Dance Starlight that bloom on new and old growth. This means that if the same thing were to happen with these plants, you would still see flowers.

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Aquilegia ‘Clementine Dark Purple’

I love it when the first flowers of spring appear. Aquilegia ‘Clementine Dark Purple’ is one of those that just amazes me with its strong flowering ability. They also bloom quite long while you wait for your other plants to wake up.

(Columbine) Aquilegia ‘Clementine Dark Purple’ is part of a spectacular new generation of Columbine with flowers resembling a small double flowering Clematis. The rich purple flowers of ‘Clementine Dark Purple’ are fully double and spur-less. In late spring through early summer these beauties are packed with blooms above the compact foliage. The upward facing flowers also make excellent cut flowers!

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This time of year it is pretty hard to find anything in bloom when it averages 35° in the greenhouses. But on my walk last week I found a few beauties.

Helleborus are an early spring bloomer, we see them blooming in the outdoors here in Michigan usually in late March. Helleborus prefer to be planted in part shade to shade locations. They are a drought tolerant plant, whose evergreen leaves are not very appealing to the deer and rabbit population!  Helleborus are a great cut flower to put in a vase or to float in a bowl.  Plant in mass, as a boarder to add great early color appeal to your garden.

Hellebores are enjoyable to grow because they are low-maintenance and disease/pest-free. Simply trim back last year’s foliage in the spring. They can adapt to almost any growing conditions. Though they prefer rich, moist, organic soil, they will also grow in sandy or clay soil. They can even tolerate short periods of drought. The soil pH can range anywhere from slightly acidic to slightly alkaline. Hellebores are shade plants that need to be protected from the hot afternoon sun. They will grow in full shade under large deciduous trees as long as they receive full sun from winter to spring before the trees get their leaves. To increase the number of hellebores in your garden, mulch them heavily in the fall. The new seedlings will grow in this mulch come spring and can then be transplanted elsewhere in the garden. WARNING: Hellebores are poisonous. Do not consume any part of the plant!

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Perennial Aftercare

To optimize performance, improve plant appearance, and ensure longevity there are a few maintenance activities that gardeners should consider. Most perennials can be grown successfully with relatively little maintenance, while other perennials will require more work to keep them in good condition.
Although most perennials are not considered to be ‘heavy feeders’, it is important that they are produced with an adequate nutrient supply. Mulching the perennial beds with compost each year often supplies an ample supply of nutrients. In beds covered with bark mulches, it is recommended to fertilize once or twice per year with a general purpose fertilizer. Applying too much fertilizer causes many perennials to grow too quickly and become floppy. Do not apply fertilizer directly on top of the crown or severe injury from the salts may result. Perennials with tall flower spikes or full heavy flowers, such as Alcea or Delphinium, may require staking to prevent them from toppling over following heavy rains and high winds.

Several perennials benefit from deadheading, thinning, or cutting them back. Deadheading entails removing the dead flower heads and faded flowers; this practice keeps the garden looking nice and encourages many perennials to continue blooming for an extended period and improves the appearance of the plant. A few perennials benefit from thinning or removing some of the stems from the dense bushy clumps in the early spring which allows more air circulation and reduces the conditions for certain foliar diseases such as powdery mildew. Similar to deadheading, cutting some perennials back after they flower will often rejuvenate the clump by regenerating new growth and may possibly lead to another flush of flowers later in the growing season. Cutting back is also used to prevent some perennials from flopping over or to prevent the centers of the plants from opening up and appearing ragged following bloom.

Another important consideration is to prepare perennials for the winter. Do not fertilize perennials after they stop growing in the late summer or early fall. This will allow them to prepare for dormancy rather than encouraging them to remain actively growing. Many perennials go completely dormant (die back to the ground each year) and should have the foliage trimmed back before winter. Removing the existing foliage will make the perennial beds look cleaner and will decrease the likelihood of diseases setting in over the winter months or being carried over and infecting next years growth. Other perennials, such as ornamental grasses, are often trimmed in the spring allowing the foliage to provide some structure to the winter landscape. In northern zones or where tender perennials are being grown (marginal hardiness in your area) it is beneficial to apply mulch after the ground has frozen to help protect these perennials during harsh winters.

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Clematis Planting & Soil Preparation

Prepare a planting hole about 20″ deep and 18″-24″ wide. Loosen sides and bottom of hole so that roots can penetrate. Mix removed soil with lots of humus, or a compost/pine bark product, sand, one handful of lime. Partially backfill the hole with this mixture before planting.

Slip the plant from the pot without disturbing main root ball. Handle the plant carefully to avoid damaging the stems. When planting Clematis, plant them at least 2 inches deeper than it was in the pot. Planting Clematis in this manner will minimize the likelihood of Clematis wilt and will help protect the roots from cold during the winter months. Press the remainder of the compost/humus and soil mixture firmly around the plant, leaving the area slightly mounded to allow for settling. Water them thoroughly after planting.

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