By Maryanne Sparks
Fauquier County Master Gardener

Area residents are realizing the effects of the harsh winter on the plants in their landscapes.

Freeze damage shows up as “tip die-back,” dead branches or mortality of the plant. By now, plants should have shown some sign of new growth, and you should have some idea if your plant survived the winter.

That is unless you have already removed the plant from your landscape.

Now is the time to do some corrective pruning.

If a plant is dead at the tips, it may be a condition referred to as “tip die-back.” The plant may be pruned to remove the unsightliness the plant. Look for a pair of healthy leaves that have leafed-out and cut just above them. Discard the dead plant material.

If a plant died to the ground as a result of the prolonged freeze and is showing new growth at the crown, as in the picture above, cut the dead branches as close to the crown as is possible. This will make way for new growth. Don’t be afraid to selectively remove a few stems of the new growth if your plant seems to be overcrowded, if you want to encourage a single stem or if you damage any new growth when removing the old. All will be OK.

If some limbs died to the ground but others did not, start removing dead limbs at the crown. Step back and look at the shape of your plant. Now go in and remove dead tips back to a pair of healthy leaves or new limbs. You can be selective as to how far toward the crown you want to prune. You will be controlling the shape of future growth. Just one note of caution: Frequently step away from you plant and look at the plant from all angles! You cannot reattach a limb once it has been cut.

Pruning as described above at this time of year and for this year’s weather conditions will encourage the plant to put out new growth. Pruning should happen when your plants tell you. Remember that plants were a little slow getting started this year. Wait until plants show much more significant new growth and you will have missed the opportunity for pruning this year.

Other garden activities to be pursued this June include continuing garden cleanup, weeding, cultivating, planting and mulching. Install supports now for top-heavy plants and vegetables. And remember that June is the beginning of turf disease time, with dollar spot, brown patch, and red thread leading the list for this month.

If you have any questions, just “ask a Master Gardener!”

Master Gardeners are available at the Warrenton Farmers’ Market on Saturdays from 7:30 to noon to answer your garden and pest questions. Samples and/or pictures will help us to better answer your horticulture related questions.

Master Gardeners also staff The Horticulture Help Desk from 9 a.m. to noon weekdays at the Virginia Cooperative Extension Office at 24 Pelham Street, Warrenton, VA 20186, by telephone at 540-341-7950 ext. 1, or by email at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

• 

The new summer edition of Easy Gardening Tips app from breeders of the Suntory Collection has just been released.

We created this app to help people be more successful gardeners so they can relax and enjoy their time among the flowers.

Tokyo, Japan (PRWEB) June 11, 2014

The most recent introductions to the garden aren’t plants at all. They’re apps. People are digging technology as they seek garden inspiration, advice and information.

The new summer edition of Easy Gardening Tips app from breeders of the Suntory Collection has just been released. It is more of a digital magazine than an app with suggestions for color combinations, engaging how-to videos, seasonal updates and new flower introductions.

The app gives advice on how to decorate a deck, create stunning containers and tips for coping with summer heat. Users can search for flowers by color, bloom time and conditions.

“Whether for practical, hands-in-the-dirt purposes or for drinking in the beauty of flowers, today’s apps really fulfill gardeners’ needs,” says Masashi Matsumura from Suntory Flowers. “Our Easy Gardening Tips app provides both the expert information and the beauty gardeners want.”

Finger Tip Gardening

The just released Summer Edition of Easy Gardening Tips is available now and includes:

•     Decorate a Deck— Designing three unique looks for one deck.
•     Easy-Care Containers—Stunning container designs for flowers that bloom all season.
•     Cool As a Cucumber—Coping with summer heat.
•     Saving a Taste of Summer—Canning and preserving summer vegetable harvests.
•     Green Walls—Installing a plant wall.
•     Red Hot – Using Sun Parasol mandevilla in and around landscapes.
•     Links, store locators, video advice, combination designs, the Flower Find and more information from experts at The Suntory Collection.

The Spring Edition included :

•     Pick the Perfect Palette—A guide to color and flowers.
•     Flower Finder—Search the best flower by sun exposure, bloom time and plant type.
•     Spring Garden Prep—Tips and tricks for this season.
•     Combinations Demystified—Ideas on how to pair plants for gorgeous containers.
•     Expert Advice Videos—Learn about everything from plants to planting to outdoor décor in these informational videos.

“We created this app to help people be more successful gardeners so they can relax and enjoy their time among the flowers,” adds Delilah Onofrey, who represents Suntory Flowers in North America.

The Easy Gardening Tips app and publications are available as free downloads for the iPad from the App Store. To learn more about The Suntory Collection of beautiful flowers, visit http://www.SuntoryCollection.com.

About Suntory Flowers:

Since the groundbreaking introduction of Surfinia, the first vegetatively propagated petunias, to the world markets, Suntory has led the way in bringing innovative new varieties to market. These include Million Bells calibrachoas, Tapien and Temari verbenas, Summer Wave torenias and more recently Sun Parasol mandevillas and Senetti pericallis. From Suntory’s origins as a beverage company in Japan, the company’s goal is to create new products that enrich people’s lives. Suntory Flowers’ message for consumers is “Kantan, Kirei, Jobu,” which means “Easy to Grow, Gorgeous, Longevity” in Japanese. Suntory guarantees a plant’s garden performance and offers consumers the chance to enjoy beautiful plants. Enjoy Suntory’s “top-shelf” varieties.

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June 9, 2014

Tips for getting garden jobs under control

By AMY IVY

Press-Republican
The Press Republican

Mon Jun 09, 2014, 03:26 AM EDT

The gardening season has gotten off to a slow start but things will catch up.

This year more than ever busy gardeners find themselves on the few days when the weather is decent and they have some time, wondering where to begin. Of the many tasks to do out there, which are the most important to get done first? Here are some suggestions relating to vegetable and flower gardens to help you decide.

Planting

Our growing season is short so most seeds should be in by now. If you didn’t get a chance to get that packet of seeds in the ground consider buying transplants from a local garden center for a quick result. Transplants are an investment so make it a priority to keep them well watered to keep them growing full speed ahead. Transplant shock can set them back, so pay a little extra attention to those new plants until they’re established and putting out new growth.

There is still time to plant a variety of crops from seed such as lettuce, bush beans, carrots, basil, parsley, cilantro, dill and beets. For flowers you can still plant bachelor buttons, cosmos, dwarf marigolds and calendula for late summer blooms.

Weeding

The least popular task in gardening is staying ahead of the weeds, but it’s one of the very most important. In keeping with today’s theme of deciding what needs to get done first, where do you begin?

You finally have a day off. Your perennials are growing fast and so are the weeds in that rich soil you’ve been building up over the years. Over in your vegetable garden the lettuce is sizing up, the onions are small but pushing out some new leaves and the carrots are just barely visible. Do you start with the foot tall dandelions in your perennial garden or the barely visible weed seedlings in your vegetable garden?

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June is the test of a gardener’s mettle, not to mention sunscreen and insect repellant. It’s a fine time to harvest some tips from the pros. They’re the hard working folks that keep the markets full of fresh produce all summer long. You can pick up lots of tips to keep your garden going and get ready for the fall garden, or add to your list of reasons not to!

As Rick Snyder says, “Summer gardening is all about water and fertilizer. The plants need both to keep growing in the heat of July and August.”

Snyder is professor and vegetable specialist with Mississippi State University Extension Service based at MSU’s Truck Crops Branch Experiment Station in Crystal Springs. He should know, based on his extensive experience growing the huge vegetable plots at the Station.

They are the showpiece of Fall Flower and Garden Fest, held annually in October when about 6,000 guests visit in two days. A trial garden which includes All America Selections (seeds) and Mississippi Medallion plants, the Experiment Station puts hundreds of varieties to the test.

Planting everything from radishes to tomatoes and broccoli to beans is not ever easy, but starting them all in summer? Meet me at the Fest this October — I’ll be doing a program both days and signing books. It’s free and you’ll learn a lot.

To bring water to any garden space efficiently can be a challenge if you rely on traditional hoses and sprinklers alone. If you water vegetable plants in beds or pots by hand, take more time. The plants are larger and dry out faster, but a hose with a fan spray or other water breaker attached can do the job.

Stand over each plant with water raining steadily over it and count to 20 before moving on to the next plant. Ideally, plants in beds will be surrounded but water will soak in almost immediately. In pots, this process should fill a 15-gallon pot once and almost top it again. If not, slow your counting. Farmers use more drip irrigation these days, and simple do-it-yourself systems are widely available.

The insect populations build up to fever pitch in July, and so can fungus diseases if the weather is rainy. Growers who use hoop structures covered in plastic during the winter often replace that plastic with shade cloth for summer growing. The shade cuts down on the sun’s rays by 30 percent or more and excludes flying insects, birds and mammals. In the home garden, a lower-profile hoop covered with window screen works for the same purpose and can be built from plastic pipe attached to a 2×4 frame with staples.

Leave spaces for access at each end and in the middle; tuck those closed when not in use. As the plants outgrow a low hoop, keep a close eye on them for signs of trouble — pale leaves, holes or shredded sections. Some gardeners spray regularly to combat aphids and flea beetles that attack eggplant and tomato plants. Others, like me, pay children to pluck off the 2-inch long tomato ‘worms’ that can devour a branch overnight.

Ray Tyler of Rose Creek Farms markets his produce in Tennessee and north Mississippi. “I have a 2-acre orchard, and an acre of intense close space planting. We have one greenhouse and 1 unheated high tunnel that we use year round,” he says, before listing summer’s usual harvest: tomatoes, peppers, cukes, squash, zucchini, raspberries, blueberries, plums, peaches, basil, potatoes, and kale. In the next two months, he’ll be planting many of these crops again, plus lettuce and greens, a variety of herbs and gourds for fall decorating. You can, too, which is good to know after such a trying winter and spring.

Tyler grows organically, but his biggest challenges are the same as every grower’s: bugs and weeds. His approach is to prevent them, as by using the high tunnel. But for those who want to start a garden, he advises one of my favorite ideas, solarization. Tyler explains, “Till up a plot of garden space, soak it until very wet, then lay a piece of clear plastic (6 ml). Seal the ends with dirt and let it cook for four to six weeks. The soil will cook to 160 degrees and (that) will kill all weed seeds and any soil diseases in that area for a few years, with the exception of Johnson grass.” He advises turning the hogs loose to eat the Johnson grass, but you’ll probably want to dig it out.

“Garden Mama” Nellie Neal is a garden writer, photographer and radio host. Reach her at mama@gardenmama.com.

This is the time of year that weeds get our attention. As soon as warm weather hits, they seem to be everywhere. Then out come herbicides (weed control chemicals) aimed at killing these unwanted pesky plants in our lawns, landscapes and gardens. Unfortunately, not using these chemicals properly can injure or kill desirable plants.

Symptoms of herbicide injury vary depending on the chemical, but common culprits are the growth regulator-type herbicides used to kill broadleaf weeds, such as dandelions, in lawns. Exposure can cause leaf cupping, twisted or distorted growth, and strap-like leaves. The common growth regulator herbicides found in home garden products for lawns are 2, 4-D, MCPA, MCPP and dicamba.

These products are available in liquid or dry form. However, because of the wind, it is easy for spray to drift away from the target area. Therefore, these sprays should only be applied when there is no wind.

In our region, where it is frequently windy, this is difficult. The potential for drift can also be reduced by using large spray droplets instead of a fine mist, and applying the spray as close to the ground as possible.

The other application choice is a dry form, but desirable plants can still be damaged because of uptake of chemicals through the roots. The labels of products containing dicamba indicate that it should not be used “in the root zone of desirable plants.”

If you have trees in or adjacent to your lawn, it is almost impossible to avoid applying the chemical in the root zone. Tree root systems can extend as far as a tree is tall and even further. Garden plants situated next to a treated area could also become damaged via root uptake.

Plants can also be exposed to herbicides when grass clippings from recently treated lawns are used as mulch in the garden. Check product labels for how long you must wait before using the clippings. If you place treated clippings in a compost pile, it is best to compost them for several months before using it in the garden.

Other ways to reduce the chance of herbicide injury in the yard and garden include:

w Avoid applying herbicides in late spring and summer. They can vaporize during warm (above 80 degrees) weather and float in the air, settling down on plants a long way from the point of application and causing damage. If you plan to use liquid or dry herbicides, do it when the weather is cool in early spring or fall.

— If you have a few weeds in the lawn, spot treat them individually or dig them out. A weed popper tool works great for this.

— In landscape beds, apply a 3- to 4-inch layer of bark mulch to discourage weeds.

— In and around the vegetable and flower garden beds, use shallow cultivation or pull the weeds. I like a stirrup-type hoe with an oscillating head. Cultivate frequently to get the weeds when they are small. It is much easier.

— Marianne C. Ophardt is a horticulturist for Washington State University Benton County Extension.

Published June 7, 2014 at 11:06 a.m.

Create a backyard escape with the help of container gardens. Whether you’re looking for a visit to the desert, an English garden or tropical paradise, a few planters can help create the mood.

Reduce your workload and increase your enjoyment with a bit of planning and proper planting.

Select a container with drainage holes, as well as one that mimics the color and feel of the location you are trying to recreate. Use troughs, stone or other containers made from neutral colors when growing succulents. The container should complement, but not overpower, the simple beauty of the desert plants.

If you’re going for a more tropical feel, keep things warm and natural. Wicker, bamboo and other natural materials work well with the lush foliage and vibrant colors of tropical plants.

On the other hand, when creating an English cottage setting, add a few terra cotta, metal and basket type containers. Set them on your patio, steps or in the garden to create a focal point.

Keep your plants looking good throughout the season with the proper planting mix. Look for potting mixes with good drainage and water holding abilities, like Schultz Potting Soil Plus (schultz.com). Check the label as some mixes contain enough fertilizer to last the entire season and water-retaining crystals to reduce the need to water.

To provide the perfect growing conditions for cacti and succulents, use a cactus mix. The potting mix should retain the moisture and nutrients the plants need while also providing the excellent drainage that is a must for these plants.

Plant any orchids added to your backyard tropical paradise in a potting mix designed for these plants. Use an orchid mix that has excellent drainage and aeration, yet retains the moisture and nutrients these beauties need to thrive.

Check your planters daily and water thoroughly whenever the top few inches of soil are crumbly and slightly moist. Allow cacti and succulents to go a bit drier.

Mulch the soil in tropical, herb, vegetable and annual container gardens. Spread a thin layer of shredded leaves, evergreen needles or twice shredded bark over the soil surface. Use fine pebbles for cacti and succulents that like things hot and dry.

And don’t forget about garden accents. A wattle fence and arbor of twigs and branches work well for an English garden setting, while a water feature can enhance a tropical paradise themed garden. Meanwhile, some southwest garden art can complete the desert scene you’re going for.

So start your vacation this year with a trip to the garden center. Invest in a few containers, the right potting mix and plants. Then plant your way to the retreat of your dreams.

Gardening expert, TV/radio host, author columnist Melinda Myers has more than 30 years of horticulture experience and has written over 20 gardening books, including Can’t Miss Small Space Gardening and the Midwest Gardener’s Handbook. She hostsThe Great Courses “How to Grow Anything” DVD series and the nationally syndicated Melinda’s Garden Moment segments. Myers is also a columnist and contributing editor for Birds Blooms magazine. Myers’ web site, www.melindamyers.com, offers gardening videos and tips.

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This is the time of year that weeds get our attention. As soon as warm weather hits, they seem to be everywhere. Then out come herbicides (weed control chemicals) aimed at killing these unwanted pesky plants in our lawns, landscapes and gardens. Unfortunately, not using these chemicals properly can injure or kill desirable plants.

Symptoms of herbicide injury vary depending on the chemical, but common culprits are the growth regulator-type herbicides used to kill broadleaf weeds, such as dandelions, in lawns. Exposure can cause leaf cupping, twisted or distorted growth, and strap-like leaves. The common growth regulator herbicides found in home garden products for lawns are 2, 4-D, MCPA, MCPP and dicamba.

These products are available in liquid or dry form. However, because of the wind, it is easy for spray to drift away from the target area. Therefore, these sprays should only be applied when there is no wind.

In our region, where it is frequently windy, this is difficult. The potential for drift can also be reduced by using large spray droplets instead of a fine mist, and applying the spray as close to the ground as possible.

The other application choice is a dry form, but desirable plants can still be damaged because of uptake of chemicals through the roots. The labels of products containing dicamba indicate that it should not be used “in the root zone of desirable plants.”

If you have trees in or adjacent to your lawn, it is almost impossible to avoid applying the chemical in the root zone. Tree root systems can extend as far as a tree is tall and even further. Garden plants situated next to a treated area could also become damaged via root uptake.

Plants can also be exposed to herbicides when grass clippings from recently treated lawns are used as mulch in the garden. Check product labels for how long you must wait before using the clippings. If you place treated clippings in a compost pile, it is best to compost them for several months before using it in the garden.

Other ways to reduce the chance of herbicide injury in the yard and garden include:

w Avoid applying herbicides in late spring and summer. They can vaporize during warm (above 80 degrees) weather and float in the air, settling down on plants a long way from the point of application and causing damage. If you plan to use liquid or dry herbicides, do it when the weather is cool in early spring or fall.

— If you have a few weeds in the lawn, spot treat them individually or dig them out. A weed popper tool works great for this.

— In landscape beds, apply a 3- to 4-inch layer of bark mulch to discourage weeds.

— In and around the vegetable and flower garden beds, use shallow cultivation or pull the weeds. I like a stirrup-type hoe with an oscillating head. Cultivate frequently to get the weeds when they are small. It is much easier.

— Marianne C. Ophardt is a horticulturist for Washington State University Benton County Extension.