Assessing the Damage

Posted on April 12, 2012 by Mary Schier

It's a little out of focus, but there is something on that bloom.

After three nights in the 20s, it looks like we are out of the chilly woods for at least a week or so. Much needed rain is in the forecast and the low temperatures are predicted to remain in the high 30s and low 40s.

It seemed a good time to assess whatever damage occurred. First the good news, most of the blossoms on my cherry tree appear (at least for now) to have survived. And, the really good news is several of these little pollinators were hard at work on the blossoms that were open.

Most of the perennials that have come up seemed to have survived the frost with few problems. Two exceptions: This newly planted ‘Autumn Frost’ hosta really should have been covered up better (my bad!) and the leaves are wilted over completely. The plant was only a couple of inches out of the ground, so I’m hoping it may come up again. Also, a hearty looking (as opposed to really hardy) lupine also is slumped over.

What kind of damage did you experience with the hard freezes?

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Covering Up

Posted on April 10, 2012 by Mary Schier

Bring on the freeze!

My very unofficial thermometer read about 24 degrees F at 7 a.m. today, and there were definite signs of a freeze around the neighborhood. Last night, I covered up my little cherry tree out front in hopes of keeping it a bit warmer against the freeze.

I was surprised how big that tree has gotten! Even using two sheets sown together and an extra queen size sheet, I wasn’t able to cover the entire tree. I plan to leave the ghost covering on through Thursday morning when the freezing night-time temps are predicted to pass.

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Fruit Crops on the Line

Posted on April 9, 2012 by Mary Schier

With a freeze forecast for much of southern Minnesota tonight and tomorrow night, tree fruit crops all over the state are in danger. Many plum, apple and cherry trees are blossoming now–including the little ‘Bali’ cherry in my front yard, which is just starting to bloom. The magic number for a freeze is 28 degrees F.  Above that, many crops will be OK; below it, not so much. The amount of damage also depends on how long temperatures remain low.

Since my cherry is fairly small, I plan to sew together a couple of old sheets and drape them over the tree. Hopefully, that will provide enough protection to keep the blossoms in tact. Those with larger trees or orchards may try running a sprinkler on the tree during the freeze. Here’s a post from the U of M Extension on protecting crops from a freeze.

 

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What Gardeners Are Talking About: Deer

Posted on April 4, 2012 by Mary Schier

A deer buffet

The Spring at the Inn event, held last Thursday at the Lake Elmo Inn, drew a packed crowd of enthusiastic gardeners, who oohed and aahed over a dozen or more new perennials and shrubs that will be available in nurseries this year. With one plant after another, the same question came up: “Do deer like it?”

With few predators, plenty of gardens to munch their way through and this year,  a very mild winter, deer are one of the biggest (both in number and size) pests that gardeners face. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources doesn’t keep track of the number of deer in urban areas, but nationally the estimates run between 15 and 25 million. While a hungry deer will eat just about anything, deer do have their food preferences.

Deer like vegetable gardens, fruit trees and hosta, hosta, hosta. Other plants they like include tulips, pansies, daylilies, dogwoods, garden lilies, hydrangeas and impatiens. Generally, they stay away from plants that are toxic (foxglove, for example) or highly scented (Russian sage). There are few fool-proof methods for controlling deer, though a high fence (5-feet or taller, because they can jump) and a lively dog inside the fence would be a good deterrent.

Another option is to plant things deer don’t like that much and there are several lists of plants available, including this useful post from Terry Yockey’s northerngardening.com site. I’ve not had many problems with deer and, looking over Terry’s plant list, I can see why. My garden has lots of plants deer don’t particularly like, such as nepeta, lamium, coneflowers, coreopsis, heuchera, Russian sage and peonies. I didn’t plant it with deer in mind, but having seen deer more in the past year or two, I’m inclined to continue this approach.

If deer are a persistent problem in your garden, check out Neil Soderstrom’s book Deer Resistant Landscaping, which also has great tips on dealing with other critters or Vincent Drzewucki’s slim, but enlightening book, Gardening in Deer Country.

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What Gardeners Are Talking About: Buckthorn

Posted on April 3, 2012 by Mary Schier

On Saturday, I spent a couple of hours at the Northfield Home and Garden Show at a booth shared by the Northfield Garden Club and the University of Minnesota Extension Master Gardeners of Rice County. Going into the event, I was pretty sure that the most asked question would be about whether it was too early to mow or put down weed-and-feed on lawns. Nope. Many of the gardeners–especially those with larger or more rural properties—asked about buckthorn and what to do about it.

Buckthorn is a restricted noxious weed in Minnesota because of its invasive nature and its impact on wildlife habitats. Once buckthorn gets established, it takes over. There are two types: common buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica) and glossy buckthorn (Frangula alnus). Common buckthorn came to the U.S. from Europe in the 1800s and was used for a hedge in many landscapes. By the 1930s, its negative qualities were well-known and the nursery trade stopped selling it. The glossy buckthorn is particularly invasive around wetlands.

The best way to control buckthorn is to pull it while it is still small. According to the University of Minnesota, it will not resprout from roots underground. Small plants (under 3/8th inch diameter) can be dug or pulled, but for larger ones many buckthorn removal groups use a weed wench or root talon. (The garden club has one that they have used for buckthorn remvoal.) For really large plants, the recommended control method is to cut the trunk as close to the ground as possible and then immediately treat the stump by painting on an herbicide containing triclopyr. (Garlon is the brand name most often recommended.)

You can find detailed information on identifying and controlling buckthorn at the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources website and at the U’s site. Getting rid of buckthorn can be a long process—homeowners must stay vigilant because the seeds can last five years in the ground. As you remove buckthorn, don’t forget to replant the area with a variety of native shrubs and trees that will attract birds and other wildlife. The DNR recommends plants like highbush American cranberry, nannyberry, serviceberry, chokecherry and gray dogwood.

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Renegade Gardener and No-Lawn Lady in Northfield

Posted on March 30, 2012 by Mary Schier

Northfield gardeners will get a chance to hear two wildly original garden designers in the next few days. At tomorrow’s Home and Garden Business Showcase, Don Engebretson, a.k.a the Renegade Gardener and a design columnist for Northern Gardener, will speak three times on a variety of topics. He’ll be talking about common garden myths, cool plants and design for homeowners. (Click on the poster for more information on time and topic.) The show runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Northfield Arena.

On Tuesday, Evelyn Hadden, a Minnesota gardener whose love of no-lawn landscape has led to a website, a book and lots of speaking engagements, will be giving homeowners tips for getting rid of the grass. Her presentation is at the Northfield Public Library, beginning at 7 p.m., and is sponsored by the Friends and Foundation of the Northfield Public Library. Whether you want to just add more garden or banish grass entirely, Evelyn will have great ideas and examples to consider.

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Plant Fashions for Spring 2012

Posted on March 29, 2012 by Mary Schier

The Lake Elmo Inn was packed for the Plant Fashion Show

I joined about 300 enthusiastic gardeners (a sell-out crowd) at the Lake Elmo Inn Event Center today for Spring at the Inn, a spring fashion show for plant geeks put together by the folks at the Minnesota State Horticulture Society. Walking the runway were hydrangeas, roses, ninebarks, phlox and an array of soon-to-be introduced plants developed by Minnesota-based Bailey Nurseries Inc. A who’s-who of Minnesota garden types were in attendance including representatives of Linders, Bachman’s, Wagners and Gertens greenhouses.

I’ll be writing a bit more about the plants that were shown later this week. You also can tune into Grow with KARE over the next two weeks. Bobby Jensen and Belinda Jensen were emcees at the event and will be highlighting some of their favorite plants on TV.

Vanilla Strawberry hydrangea (Bailey Nurseries photo)

Here are two that may make it into my garden this year. Vanilla Strawberry™ hydrangea is an upright 6 to 7 foot tall hydrangea that has huge multicolored blooms. The flowers start out a creamy white but slowly change to pink, then red. The blooms are gorgeous, but what sold me on this plant was that it has red stems, which gives it winter as well as summer interest.

I’m also considering a wisteria for the North. Called ‘Summer Cascade’, this hybrid of Kentucky wisteria is hardy to USDA Zone 3 and is covered with blooms. It can grow 20 feet and cover a trellis or pergola with beautiful, pendulous blooms. (I’ve seen the plant in trial gardens and it’s a wow!) The folks from Bailey said the plant may be in nurseries later this summer — although it is listed in other sources as not being widely available until 2013. This is one to watch for.

 

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Inspiring Community Gardeners

Posted on March 26, 2012 by Mary Schier

Three giving gardeners, from left, Maureen Adelman, MSHS Life Award winner, Chuck Levine, Bruce Bereford Educator's Award winner, and Malcolm Burleigh, Bob Churilla Golden Rose Volunteer award winner.

What an inspiring Saturday I had, hearing story after story about the work of the winners of the Minnesota State Horticulture Society’s Awards. These are folks who understand the power of gardening in community—the power to build connections, to increase understanding, to teach youngsters and to create beauty and food to be shared with others.

The awards, which were presented at a luncheon at Bachman’s in Minneapolis, honor individuals, who teach, volunteer and lead, as well as groups, such as the Garden to Table program of the Eagan Resource Center, which uses its food gardens to reduce hunger and build connections; the Gay Straight Alliance of Blaine High School, which created a beautiful school garden–and a more inclusive school environment; and the Soil and Sunshine Club, which has been beautifying its far-flung communities for decades. Businesses, such as Wagner’s Greenhouse, which provides hundreds of plants for the MSHS Garden in a Box program, were also honored.

Several of the recipients spoke about how meaningful they found community gardening to be. As one said, “Gardening is just as much about growing community as it is growing food.”

Congratulations to all the winners!

 

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What’s Growing On? More March Madness in the Garden

Posted on March 22, 2012 by Mary Schier

Squill in bloom.

Last week, encouraged by comments from a friend, I planted a short row of spinach, a short row of mustard greens and a slightly longer row of peas in my vegetable garden. Today, two of the three of them have tiny shoots coming up.

These are all in raised beds but none of them have row covers. It seemed OK to plant because the gardens met the basic requirement of  the ground being not too wet and workable. Given the long-range forecast for Minnesota, which shows no signs of temperatures anywhere close to freezing for the next week or so, I plan to plant more cool-weather crops outside today. Why not? Apparently we live in Kansas City now.

Based on the U of M's kabob test, my lawn is thawed enough to water. Fortunately, the skewer was wet.

I also cleaned up some of my perennial beds. Normally, I heed the standard advice to stay out of the lawn and beds to prevent soil compaction until well into April or even May, but not this year. The University of Minnesota Extension suggested gardeners get a kabob prong and stick it in their soil. If it goes 8 to 10 inches, the ground is OK to water. If the tip is dry, get out the hoses, pronto!

I am not raking the lawn — partly because it’s a chore I don’t enjoy much and partly because it still seems a bit soft. That said, the weeds are popping up already, and I had a grand time this morning pulling a few dandelions. The ground is soft enough that you can pull out the root cleanly — very satisfying.

One of the stunning characteristics of this very strange spring is the speed with which spring bloomers are appearing and blooming. Normally, the squill in my yard come up very slowly, hold on to flower buds for a week or more and then finally bloom. Not so this year, they popped up, and it was boom and bloom in a couple of days.

U of M Extension Master Gardeners from around Minnesota are reporting unbelievable amounts of growth in their gardens. Perennials such as clematis, daylilies, lupine, bleeding heart and hosta are up. Like me, other gardeners planted lettuces, peas and spinach and are seeing shoots already. Under the mulch, I’m finding rudbeckia and sweet woodruff, even the roses and hydrangea are greening up. The consensus among garden experts now seems to be that it is OK to uncover perennials — just be ready to throw a sheet, blanket or mulch on them if the temps suddenly take a dip.

What are you doing differently in your garden because of the unusual weather?

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Digging Out the Phenology Notes

Posted on March 20, 2012 by Mary Schier

Another sign of spring: Blossoms on star magnolia in St. Paul.

Yesterday, I wrote about how some plant experts suggest gardeners handle the extremely unusual warm spring we are experiencing. The usual advice for spring in Minnesota would be to back off and stay out of your yard and garden until at least mid- to late April. But I think this year we may need to shift away from the usual advice. That’s why I dug out some notes I had on phenology, the study of nature signs and how they can be used to guide garden activities.

In the days before Doppler radar, USDA Hardiness zone maps and even university extension, gardeners relied on birds, bugs and flowers for advice on when to plant what. I’m not sure how reliable this advice is, but here are some typical spring activities and what to look for to guide when to do what:

  • When crocus bloom, remove the mulch on your strawberries. (It’s happening here.)
  • When yellow forsythia bloom, prune roses and fertilize the lawn. (Happening here.)
  • When leaves first emerge on lilacs, plant lettuce, beets, spinach and other cool-weather crops.
  • When the aspens have leafed out, plant pansies and other hardy annuals.
  • When lilacs are in full bloom and the barn swallows return, set out your tomato plants and basil.
  • When irises bloom, set out your squash and melon transplants.
  • When dandelions go to seed, it’s time to plant petunias.

What guides are you turning to this topsy turvy spring? What are you doing differently this year?

 

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