Q: I planted a flowering jasmine vine last summer that is going crazy. It’s about 30 feet tall on a trellis. How do I prune it?

A: There are several types of jasmine that are hardy in our area, and most have wonderfully fragrant flowers. As you found out, these vines can be aggressive growers.

Jasmine vines flower on previous season’s growth in early summer, then follow up with flushes of blooms on current-season growth later in summer. Tip-prune overly rambunctious vines as needed in summer to restrict growth, but the main seasonal pruning is best done in early autumn, immediately after flowering ends. It’s not too late to prune now but don’t delay.

Cut back to strong side shoots on the lower vines and thin out crowded or weak stems. No matter how diligent you are about pruning your jasmine, the vines inevitably become a tangled mess over time.

When that happens, cut the entire plant to within a foot of the ground. It will grow back like a wild banshee after such hard pruning so keep it manageable by thinning and pinching to control growth.

Your vine will look better, but it won’t bloom much the first year after such drastic measures. Don’t dismay — by the second year, your vine will once again produce gazillions of attractive, deliciously fragrant flowers.

Q: In August we redid the landscape and put sod on the east side of the house. Now every morning, the sod is turned upside down. Who’s doing this?

A: The culprits are raccoons who are after worms in the soil. I get this question often after folks put in new sod. Evidently the raccoons have figured out that it’s easier to remove new sod to get at their gourmet treats than to dig through thatch in established lawns.

As you’ve found out, these rascals come back to dine so often it’s practically impossible for the sod to root into the soil.

Fortunately, there is a biological control that works well. All mammals except humans hate hot peppers. Buy some cayenne pepper and sprinkle it over the area in question. Use extra-hot pepper and reapply it every evening, especially in rainy conditions.

You’ll know you did it right if you hear these nighttime marauders shouting “ahooa!” as they run from your garden in the night.

Once they’ve experienced a good dose of pepper, they usually decide your lawn isn’t worth it and move to some other yard to cause mischief.

Q: Last spring I planted two artichoke plants and got 25 artichokes from them. Will my plants survive the winter if left in the garden?

A: With a little luck and the right care, you should be able to enjoy artichokes for years to come. In late October, cut the stems to about 8-10 inches above the ground and cover the stump and the surrounding 6-foot area with straw or leaves to protect the roots from freezing.

In early April, uncover the mother plant. If your artichoke survived you should see regrowth in the form of offshoots coming up from the roots of the parent plant. Remove weak offsets and keep only the strongest shoots while aiming for a spacing of 5 to 6 feet between them.

In April, fertilize the offsets by working a cup of organic tomato food into the soil around the base of each plant. Buy extra butter, because chances are you’re going to be feasting on beaucoup artichokes next summer!

Ciscoe Morris: ciscoe@ciscoe.com; “Gardening with Ciscoe” airs at 10 a.m. Saturdays on KING 5.

By

GEORGE WEIGEL

The Patriot-News

on October 25, 2012 at 7:37 AM, updated October 25, 2012 at 7:38 AM

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Video: George Weigel’s Garden Tip of the Week:  Love ‘Em and Leaf ‘Em
Why are you raking every last leaf out of the yard — and paying your municipality to haul them away — then turning around and buying mulch and fertilizer in the spring? Leaves aren’t nature’s trash. They’re God’s gift to gardeners and an excellent soil-building resource. Garden writer George Weigel gives you a few better ways to make use of those falling leaves in your yard in this week’s Garden Tip of the Week. Video by: Christine Baker, The Patriot-News
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Why are you raking every last leaf out of the yard — and paying your municipality to haul them away — then turning around and buying mulch and fertilizer in the spring?

Leaves aren’t nature’s trash. They’re God’s gift to gardeners and an excellent soil-building resource. Garden writer George Weigel gives you a few better ways to make use of those falling leaves in your yard in this week’s Garden Tip of the Week.

For more garden tips, check out the links below.

• Planting blueberries
• Hydrangea tips
• Check out more gardening tips and tricks »

Look for George Weigel’s Garden Tip of the Week each Thursday. George Weigel is the garden writer for the Patriot-News and also owner of a garden-consulting business for do-it-yourselfers, garden-tour host, frequent garden speaker, Pennsylvania Certified Horticulturist and certified gardening nut.

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Pennsylvania fall foliage 2012 update

October 24, 2012

Tim’s Tips: Keep deer, critters away from your lawn

Tim’s Tips Tim Lamprey

Newburyport Daily News
The Daily News of Newburyport

Wed Oct 24, 2012, 03:00 AM EDT

The weather may be mild but the calendar tells us that November is coming, and that means that cold weather is on its way. As it arrives, there are various creatures that will want to eat your trees and shrubs, and cause damage to your plants.

Deer and mice eat all kinds of trees and shrubs. Voles and moles will tunnel through your lawn and gardens and damage the roots of your plants.

You need to set up a plan now to protect the trees, lawn and plants.

Deer are becoming a major problem in this area. Once the snow starts to fall, they begin eating more plants — and the plants that we commonly set out in the yard, unfortunately, are ideal pickings. You should spray a liquid deer repellent to your plants now. By doing so before the deer start eating, you have a better chance of stopping them completely. The scent of the repellent keeps the deer from wanting to eat.

Mice are particularly fond of eating the bark off of fruit trees and many ornamental flowering trees. Remember that if the mice or rabbits eat the bark all the way around the trunk, the tree will not be able to take up food and water in the spring. This will cause the tree to die. If you place a wrap around the trees, however, the mice will not be able to access the bark. Tree wraps come in many styles and sizes. By applying one now, you can save your trees from accruing costly damage in the future.

Moles and voles have been a major problem in lawns and flowerbeds during the past two winters. Their tunneling causes root damage as perennials’ roots make a great winter food for voles.

There are granular mole and vole repellents that you can apply to your lawn and perennial gardens. These repellents create a scent in the soil that moles and voles do not like, which will prevent them from spending the winter destroying your yard.

It is time to put into place the necessary steps to prevent damage to your plants and lawn once the snow begins to fly. By starting now, you can break the habit of animals visiting your yard and turning it into a salad bar for their winter diet.

Well, that’s all for this week. I’ll talk to you again next week.

—

Tim Lamprey is the owner of Harbor Garden Center on Route 1 in Salisbury. His website is www.Harborgardens.com. Do you have questions for Tim? Send them to ndn@newburyportnews.com, and he will answer them in upcoming columns.

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Environmental Landscape Management Program

Seneca College, King Campus

It’s almost that time of year to say goodbye for the season to your lush and vibrant gardens. You may now be wondering what you should do to your garden in the fall to prepare it for the seasons ahead.

If your garden is getting overgrown, the fall is a great time to divide and transplant your plants. However, don’t wait too long because you want them to get established before the ground freezes up completely.

When it comes to other fall garden chores, think of it as two main tasks – cleaning up this past season’s growth and preparing your garden for a successful growing season next year.

After we get those first frosty nights, some plants will get floppy and soft. As students in Seneca College’s Environmental Landscape Management program learn, plants like Hostas and Daylilies can be cut right down to the ground. However, plants like Coral Bells like their leaves left alone to protect their crowns from the cold winter. In addition, you may want to leave your ornamental grasses and any Sedum Autumn Joy you have for winter interest in the garden. If you are a bird lover you may also want to leave your Coneflowers and Black-Eyed Susans alone to feed our feathered friends.

To prepare the garden for next season, consider adding some organic compost in the fall to provide nutrients next spring when the plants need it most. If you have any tender perennials in your gardens pile up some mulch or soil around the base of the plants to protect the roots from any freeze and thaw cycles, but make certain you wait until after the ground freezes to do this.

One thing to keep in mind is different plants have different needs and requirements, so it is important to know which plant species you have in your gardens. Once you figure that out, you can research the plants to find out what works best for each one, or you can always call an expert.

Feeding the birds in our gardens is a growing activity with over 26 per cent of the UK adult population feeding our nations birds, providing local birds and other wildlife with supplementary food and encouraging nature to thrive.

Despite the growing trend in bird feeding across the country, figures from the 2012 RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch show just how bird populations have declined in recent years to reach an all time low since the survey began more than thirty years ago.

Traditionally common birds, such as the unmistakable glossy purple green Starling, are seeing the most rapid decline in numbers. The Starling is now red listed as a bird of high conservation concern with other bird species such as house sparrows, blackbirds and robins also in decline.

Frances Halstead from The Surrey Wildlife Trust shares her top five tips on looking after our garden birds this winter and turning your garden into a haven for wildlife:

1. Don’t be too tidy in your garden – Try and leave flowering plants to die and set seed, these seeds are an important source of food for garden birds.

2. Provide a variety of food for the birds in your garden – You’ll attract more varieties of birds with a mixture of seeds, nuts, fat balls and mealworms

3. Keep your bird table and feeder clean to prevent the spread of infection

4. Provide plenty of water for your garden birds, its important for them to be able to clean their feathers as well as drink from this

5. Plant berry bearing shrubs, this will provide a great source of food and shelter

The team at Squires garden centre have suggested wildlife-friendly plants and shrubs to attract birds into your garden;

1. Pyracantha – This thorny evergreen shrub produce bitter berries perfect for birds to feed off and also provides dense cover for roosting and nesting birds.

2. Cotoneaster – These shrubs produce bright red berries, which are highly attractive to blackbirds and thrushes.

3. Salix Caprea Pendula – A common species of willow, this deciduous shrub often contains aphids and sawflies in its leaves, perfect for birds to feast on!

4. Lonicera – Commonly known as the honeysuckle, with over 180 species, climbing types will attract greenfly and in turn, garden birds.

5. Ivy – Mature Ivy covering a wall makes an ideal nesting place as well as housing insects too!

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To retain a child’s interest, start a garden with the easiest and fastest-growing plants.

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Cape Town – How can you encourage your children to garden this summer? Transforming a bare patch into a garden of flowers and vegetables is entirely achievable in a short time. It is also fun and educational for kids, who learn about plants, the seasons, wildlife, soil and how to grow their own food.

To retain a child’s interest, start a garden with the easiest and fastest-growing plants. This includes brightly coloured annuals such as nasturtiums, and vegetables that are relatively pest-free and quick to mature. Here is a list of plants that will impress children:

* Sunflowers are popular because they grow to impressive heights. Sow seeds directly into the ground in an open, sunny spot. The emerging plants need little after-care, apart from regular watering.

* Other popular annuals for children include nasturtiums, marigolds and alyssum. The first two are brightly coloured and attractive, and butterflies and bees love alyssum. Sow seeds now by scattering them on moist soil and gently raking them in. Water every day with a fine sprinkler.

* Pumpkins can be grown by placing seeds between two or three layers of damp kitchen towel. Put the parcel in a plastic container and leave in a cupboard. The children can check every few days to see whether the seeds have sprouted. As soon as they have, plant them in small pots, put in a partially shaded place and water regularly. Transplant seedlings into a composted bed when they are 5cm tall.Keep watered and mulched.

* The Jack and the Beanstalk associations make growing climbing French beans fun for children. Grow up a tepee of bamboo poles to make a “tent”. Place the seeds 15cm apart, directly below bamboo canes. Water liberally when flowers form.

* Most children love eating fresh strawberries, and if you buy young plants now, they will fruit this season. Grow in containers in good potting soil in a sunny spot. Although strawberries need soil kept moist at all times, they hate waterlogged soil. After harvesting, use the runners – the shoots they put out – to make new plants. This can be done easily and quickly by pegging down new runners in fresh compost in another pot, where they will take root.

* Tomatoes can be grown in containers on a patio, or in garden beds. Buy seedlings, scatter cherry tomato seed in a sunny bed or sow in small pots or a seed tray. Scatter on the surface of dampened compost; cover with cling film. As the plants grow, they will need to be attached to stakes. When ripened, tomatoes are magnets for little hands, especially cherry tomatoes. – Cape Argus

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Don’t miss out on a sale because your garden has let you down. Mike Bidwell, director at Fine Country, gives his tips for smartening up your garden and appealing to buyers.

1) Don’t make your garden too ornamental: Most people who want outdoor space have young children and therefore green, open spaces are the ideal thing for them to play in.

2) Use clever tricks: If your home has only a small patch of greenery, use mirrors and well-tended flower beds to draw the buyers’ attention, as long as there is still a reasonable-sized space to sit out in.

3) Add colour: A planter or a bay tree in a pot on either side of the front door will make the approach to the house welcoming. You can always take pots and containers with you when you leave but make sure the buyer knows if you intend to do so.

4) Have a good tidy up: Move the bin out of sight or hide it behind trellis. Put children’s bicycles and garden toys away. Make sure lawns and flower beds are trim and weed free and place a table for two in a secluded spot.

5) Appeal to the family market: Try dividing the garden into sections so that games of rugby can be played out of sight or at least well away from where adults would want to enjoy a peaceful evening.

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WaterSmart — a program of the Cobb County-Marietta Water Authority and Cobb County Water System – recently sent a team to Brumby Elementary School to teach its after-school Garden Club about fall planting and water-saving techniques for a beautiful landscape. The same knowledge provided to students can be applied to home gardens as well.

The students learned the following fall planting tips:

• Fertilize Less – If fertilizer is needed, pick a slow-release, nitrogen-based formula, such as sulfur-coated urea, urea formaldehyde, IBDU (isobutylene-diurea) or methylene urea. Make sure to check the application rate on the label – this rate is ideal when planting but should be reduced once plants are established.
• Mulch – Use mulch to maintain moisture in soil. Pine bark, nuggets and hardwood chips are best, but rocks, gravel and marble retain heat which can cause evaporation. Another helpful hint – saturate a newspaper and place it on the ground before using mulch. By preventing the soil from drying out, mulch helps plants stay hydrated longer between rainfalls.
• Building Tolerance – Native plants are generally designed to withstand the local climate and environmental conditions without any need for additional watering. To ensure a waterSmart yard, choose plants that are native to the area and drought resistant. Dogwoods, azaleas and hollies are well-suited for the metro Atlanta region, but non-native plants can thrive as well.

By BOB BEYFUSS
Columnist

One of the nicest things about the fall is that it is both the harvest season and also the planting season for bulbs, perennials and other containerized plants. There is still time to plant almost anything that does not require digging up. The moist soil should remain unfrozen for at least another month or so, which will allow some root growth, and the cool temperatures do not cause much moisture stress.

Recently, I planted garlic in the raised bed that grew potatoes and beans this past summer. My harvest of red potatoes and some yellow fingerlings was excellent, as was the bean crop that ended only about a week ago. It is a good idea to rotate your vegetable crops as much as possible, especially in raised beds. Potatoes, tomatoes, eggplant and peppers are all in the same family and should not follow each other if at all possible. Likewise, cabbage, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower and turnips are in the same family, as are beets and Swiss chard. Onions, garlic, leeks and shallots are all in the Allium family.

I saw on the news the other night that a world record pumpkin (squash) was grown this year. I believe in was in Massachusetts. It weighed more than a ton! I cannot imagine any vegetable, or in this case a fruit, because a pumpkin is technically a fruit, weighing more than a ton! The news story said it was gaining about 40 pounds of weight every day! Picture a tiny pumpkin seed planted in June, giving rise to a fruit that weighs tens of thousands time more than that tiny seed. Think of how many pumpkin pies can be made from that oversize squash! Of course, most of that weight is water, but all the organic matter is derived from the carbon dioxide in our atmosphere.

If you want to grow an oversized pumpkin, the Variety “Atlantic Giant” is a good choice. Right now, local fields are dotted with orange pumpkins that will be sold at roadside stands. It you buy one, make sure the “handle” is firm and hard. In addition, the flesh should be too tough to puncture with your fingernail. Pumpkins will continue to turn orange even after they are harvested, as long as there is some orange color already present. Of course, there are also white pumpkins available now in all sorts of odd shapes and sizes. The “guts” may be used for making pie, but, more often, butternut squash is used for making pies because it is sweeter and less stringy than pumpkin flesh.

     I had a pretty good yield of my favorite winter squash, which is buttercup. I think they are even sweeter that butternut, and they make wonderful soup! Both types will store longer than Acorn. Acorn squash should be eaten within a few weeks of harvest, but buttercup and butternut usually keep well into December. Uncarved pumpkins sometimes keep until the following spring, if stored at around 40 degrees. All winter squash will store better if they are first “cured” by exposing them to warm temperatures for a couple of weeks. I have mine in a crate near the woodstove until they get moved to my cool back room.

     The chilly nights are enticing us into making soups and pies that perfume the kitchen as they cook! Fall is a glorious season here in this beautiful region we are so lucky to live in. Too bad winter has to follow it.

Bob Beyfuss lives and gardens in Schoharie County. Garden Tips appears Friday in the Freeman Life section. Send him an e-mail to rlb14@cornell.edu.