Are we done with the cold yet??? The calendar says that spring is just a week or so away and we are still seeing snow showers in areas of the state. Oh well! I noticed that the cold is not stopping the plants. Last week we saw some great hellebores at Extra Perennial Nursery (503-628-1492) and next week we will check out some great spring color at Larsen Farm Nursery (503-638-8600). In this week’s show we are focusing on cleaning up and assessing the damage. It should be a little wet, but not as cold! Good Luck!
This week we featured...
Lawn Moss
If you live in the Northwest you have moss. This is one of the biggest problems facing the homeowner and with the warmer weather around the corner you may have the urge to renovate your lawn for the summer months ahead. But first you have to get rid of the moss. We talked to Norm McCreight of Lilly Miller about moss and why we seem to have so much of it in the Northwest. It is a condition that we get from a lack of care. If you take care of your lawn and help the grass grow, then you can help keep the moss from taking over. Norm gave us some tips on getting rid of the moss and what you should do to keep it from coming back. We also featured the Moss Out product. William started the story by spraying a patch of the lawn and by the time we finished the story the moss was already turning black! We also learned that if your have a moss control that contains iron you should be careful to not let it get on buildings, patio or clothing. The iron will cause a stain. If you want more information about the Moss Out product, check out their website, and BEWARE OF MOSS.
Winter Garden Damage
It was a tough winter and the garden (and the gardener!) took a beating. William and Judy took a walk around Williams’s garden to check out the damage. We started by a collapsed trellis and talked about the saphora where William did a scratch test. If you scratch the bark of a woody tree of shrub you can sometimes tell if it has survived or not. A dark, dry area under the bark will mean a dead plant. If you see green, that means living tissue under the bark. We then moved to the rosemary. Judy showed how a plant ‘burned’ by wind and snow can die from the extreme weather. These plants should just be replaced. William then took a look at his dracaena. He was able to easily bend it and it seemed a little ‘mushy’. That could mean you have lost that plant, but if it is an older plant you could cut it back to the ground and see if it comes back, because the roots may be fine. Phormiums can also look bad this time of year. If it is an older plant you can cut it back and see if comes back from the roots. This type of treatment could be used on all your hardy grasses and broad leaf plants. The next plant was a gauria. This one is fairly hardy and just suffered some leaf burn. We just trimmed the burned parts off and we will add fertilizer in April to promote new growth. The plant next to it was a pitasporum. This plant was completely gone! The branches were dry and cracked. There was no green tissue on the plant at all. The final 2 plants included a daphne that had a broken branch. William took a saw and cut off the split part and with some other selective pruning he will be able to save it. The cut parts can be used in the house because they were covered with fragrant blooms. The final plant was a cryptomeria japonica ‘rasen’ with a split in the trunk. William decided to try and save it since the split was very small. The final lesson learned? If you lose a plant, you can use that as an opportunity to try something new!
Pruning Climbing Roses
Climbing roses are unique and can be the best bloomer in your summer garden. But to get the most out of your plant you need to prune it correctly. They are different than your standard hybrid teas. Christine from Heirloom Roses (503-538-1576) walked us through some of the rules for pruning them correctly. What you can do now is to thin them out. Pick the oldest canes and take them out at the base of the plant. This will promote new cane growth and better plant health. Next you will want to train the longer newer canes on a horizontal fence, wall or trellis. This causes the plant to send flowers up from the entire length of the cane. If you train it vertically it will send all the flower growth to the top of the cane and it won’t be as attractive. If you have specific questions, you can always contact Heirloom Roses or sign up for their Saturday Academy classes.
Grape Pruning
Pruning grapes can be intimidating. Lorraine from One Green World (1-877-353-4028) tried to make it easier for the homeowner to tackle the job. Grape vines can grow in all different directions and that makes it difficult to choose the right ones for grape production. Grapes generally bare fruit on old wood. That means the vine is at least one year old. If you cut out all the old wood you will never get any fruit. This time of year you should study your plant. Pick a couple (2-3) of one-year old vines. Prune them on a vertical trellis and prune off the rest of the vines. This will send all the growth (and fruit production) to these canes. As the season goes on you will see some new growth. These new ‘green’ vines will become your fruit producers for the next year, so take care of them. Next spring you will have to choose a couple of these vines to be your fruit producers. So to recap; pruning grapes are a 2-year job. You are looking for one-year old vines for fruit for this year and you are promoting new ‘wood’ for fruit vines in the 2nd year. Of course you can contact the experts at One Green World for more tips or a great selection of other fruiting plants.
Spring Hydrangea Care
The blooms are still a couple of months away and you may think that it is too late to do some pruning on your blooming hydrangeas, but Kristin from Hydrangeas Plus (866-433-7896) said not to worry. You can still do some light pruning and not ruin your blooms for this coming season. The key is the word ‘light’. You don’t want to just buzz-cut your plants. You may be removing blooming wood. If you need to prune, look at leaving a couple of leaf nodes (branching areas on a stem where new growth occurs). Most hydrangeas bloom on old wood, the stem that is at least one-year old and you don’t want to cut that wood too severely. This is also a good time to fertilize your plants in preparation of the spring growth. A good basic, balanced (10-10-8) will work great. You can also add 2 ingredients to the soil to help maintain bloom color or to try and change the color from pink to blue or back. Aluminum Sulfate (acid) will change the soil chemistry and promote blue colored blooms. To get a pink color in your bloom you will want to add garden lime (alkaline) to the soil at the base of the plant. If you have questions you can give them a call or check out their website for more growing tips. Plus you can stop by their nursery on the weekend of the 20-21 of March for a plant sale. Hydrangeas Plus will also be selling plants at Gardenpalooza on April 4th at Fir Point Farms.
Early Spring Spraying
If you have fruit trees, now is the time to dormant spray before they start to flower. Dormant spraying will help control insects and diseases during the coming growing season. William and Judy showed you the 2 main types of sprays you can use. William used Lime-Sulfur spray. This spray is made for fruits that have seeds. It also has a special oil in it that will help smother the eggs of some of the harmful pests. Judy used a liquid copper spray. This is used for fruits that have pits. Both of these sprays are safe for the environment once they are applied, but you should always use protective gear like gloves, a mask and eye protection when applying them. Remember to make sure that you don’t apply them after the buds start to open, that will smother the flowers and harm the bees that are pollinating your flowers. If you have any questions about spraying and what to use you can contact your local garden center.
