Mum’s the Word: (continued from fall newsletter) After planting and winterizing your mums last fall, it’s time to move into the next phase. Cut back old stems and start looking at the base of your plants for green growth. During the growing season, use a 5-10-5 general fertilizer monthly until August. To develop compact bushy plant growth, start pinching stems as soon as new growth is 4-6 inches tall. Repeat this procedure through the summer when new shoots are 3-5 inches long. Stop pinching around the middle of July and enjoy your beautiful, bushy, upright mums this fall.
Greening your HOA: Many people live in homes with gardens that fall under the rules and regulations of a Home Owner’s Association (HOA).
Adding natives and pollinator plants in the garden may be viewed as messy, wild, and non-conventional, especially when dead material such as leaves, stems, and seed heads remain through the winter and into spring. Pollinator gardens are viewed in conflict with more traditional HOA guidelines. Start by talking to your HOA board members to let them know the what and why of your project. Start small with a garden design that looks organized and deliberate. Explain the benefits such as fewer pesticides, wildlife and pollinator habitat support, and reduced water use. A well-placed habitat sign can add interest and acceptance. For more information go to:
https://homegrownnationalpark.org/planting-native-in-your-hoa-community/
Spring Shrub Pruning: Pruning helps rejuvenate new growth and provides structure and shape. The best time to prune most shrubs is late winter and early spring with the exception of spring blooming plants which bloom on last year’s growth (old wood). Shrubs that bloom on this year’s growth (new wood) such as butterfly bush, panicle hydrangeas, Russian sage, spirea, roses and beautyberry can be pruned now. Wait until your azaleas, rhododendron, lilacs and forsythia are finished blooming before pruning or you run the risk of losing your spring blossoms. These should be pruned soon after blooming so they can set buds for next year’s spring, floral display. Remove dead, diseased, and damaged (DDD) branches as soon as you see them, regardless of season, since they can attract insects and disease.
Ants in Your Plants: In late spring, we rejoice in the beauty and heavenly fragrance of peonies. However, ants love peonies as much as we do. Ants do not harm the plants but, in fact, provide a biological mutualism. The peonies provide a sugary nectar (food) and the ants protect the peonies from aphids and thrips. It is a myth that peonies need ants in order to open their buds. To bring the peonies inside and leave the ants outside, hold the stems upside down and gently tap the stem to dislodge ants in the blossom or dip the blossom in a bowl of cool water and the ants will vacate. Certainly, a vase filled with beautiful, fragrant peonies inside on the table is worth a few good shakes and a persistent ant or two.
Early Spring Color Fix: Move over snowdrops and make way for the beautiful and long-lasting hellebore, also called Lenten rose. The flowers emerge in late winter, often blooming when snow is still on the ground. Their cheery colorful faces bring a much-needed welcome to spring. The thick, leathery evergreen foliage is a nice touch of green in winter but needs to be removed in spring to tidy the plants and reveal the beautiful flowers. There are many newer varieties, boasting great colors and patterns, with the flowers held upright for easy viewing. All parts of the hellebore contain alkaloids making them poisonous and, therefore, resistant to deer and rabbits. Stop by Secrest Arboretum to see the vast array of hybrids. Incidentally, the hellebore was chosen as a 2024 Secrest Select plant.
–Sue Cook, Master Gardener Volunteer