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In This Issue
Weather It's The
Weather
What's Bugging
You
Questionmark and
Mysterian
Success Tip of
the Week
From the Garden
to the Kitchen
Plant to Ponder
Contact
Informaton
Quick Links
$10,000 Landscape
Makeover
Newsletter
Archive
Success Tip Sheets
Landscape Design Kit
Gift Cards
Rita's Recipes
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Whether It's The Weather
Don't
want to say I told you so, but I told you so. It's bound to
happen every year. This year, though, it seems like things
may be a little further along than usual when a cold snap
hits. Well, time will tell. Here's our info for frost or
freeze protection of your plants:
Well
just like we predicted, Mother Nature is about to throw us a
curve ball with multiple nights possibly reaching down into
the 20's. So the question is "what do we do to protect all
these flowering and leafed out plants"?
Do
remember there are several environmental factors involved
here. Microclimates within the city - microclimates within
the actual yard - How could it actually gets down to, and
how long it actually stays there - previous temperatures
leading up to the cold snap - etc.
Obviously there's nothing to be done for larger flowering
trees and shrubs. Just let them be and see what happens.
But, if you were tempted by the early warmer weather to
plant tender annuals, you'd better make sure they get
covered. Inverted flower pots or other containers, even
cardboard boxes will work to help protect from frost and
hold the soils heat around the plants.
For
larger areas or larger plants that need protection, you can
use bed sheets, burlap or frost blankets - anything made
from fabric. But if you decide to use tarps or plastic,
remember the plastic cannot touch the plants. The plants
will freeze where the plastic touches the plants. You must
form some type of tent to keep the plastic away from the
plants. Whatever you use, make sure these are secured to
keep from them blowing away. And the way I see it, if the
plant is much taller than you are, forget even trying to
protect it.
If the
daytime temperatures (after the freezing night) go into the
upper 40's, be sure to uncover your covered plants during
the day, but be ready to re-cover the plants should the
night time temperatures be predicted to fall back below
freezing.
Now
there are 2 plants I'm always concerned with when this
weather change happens - Japanese Maples and believe it or
not, hostas. If frozen back they seem to have a harder time
recovering. And as I always tell folks - if you're in doubt
on whether or not to cover a plant to protect it from frost
or freeze, go ahead and cover it. You're better to be safe,
than to be sorry.
Many of
us will be watching the levels of damages after this cold
snap. It's been a long time since things have been this far
along this early, to be hit by such a low temperature cold
snap. The potential for some serious freeze damage is
definitely in the air. Time will tell.
[What do rabbits have that nothing else has? -Baby
rabbits.]
What's Bugging You?
Lot's of
questions this week concerning boxwood, concerning either
the cupped leaves or the ones with large blisters on them.
The cupping is caused by Boxwood psyllids. They are a
sucking insect and their early spring feeding punctures
cause the cupping. A spray(s) with insecticidal soap in
early May may help, but rarely a serious problem, as much of
the cupping gets pruned off later. The blistered leaves are
the results of the Boxwood leafminer. The adult females lay
their eggs in the new boxwood leaves in spring, the larvae
fed inside the leaf and emerge the following spring as an
adult. The best control is not by spraying, which is done
early May, but by a soil drench of Bayer's Tree and Shrub
Insect Control in the fall or early spring.
Eastern
Tent caterpillars are on the move! Yes, we are already
seeing those white silky nests in Purple Plums, Cherries,
Crabapples, etc. If you see one, knocking the nest out with
a stick, swiping it with your hand, hosing it out with a
strong stream of water all work great. If you see a few
crawling on the ground, do the Buggy Joe Two Step on 'em.
If you feel the need to spray, poke a hole in the nest and
then spray with Bt. Remember in most cases, the defoliated
areas of the branches due to Eastern tent caterpillar
typically releaf.
If you
have been plagued by White Pine Weevils taking out the tops
of your pines and spruce, and you haven't applied Bayer's
Tree and Shrub Insect Control earlier as a soil drench,
there's still time. But do hurry!
[You can tell who is the oldest rabbit by looking for the
gray hares.]
Questionmark and the Mysterians -
Your Questions Answered
"Hello-o-o-o-o Mr. Wilson! My mommy uses DEERSCRAM deer and
rabbit repellent around our house to keep the deer and
rabbits away. And she says it really does a nice job. But
now I'm getting worried. With Easter being this coming
Sunday, will the Easter Bunny skip our house and keep on
going like the other rabbits?" Signed, Dennis. -Well,
Dennis, no worries here. Believe it or not, the makers of
DEERSCRAM actually provide the Easter Bunny with a special
mask to wear when he gets to a house that has DEERSCRAM
around it, so that his delivery of Easter eggs and Easter
Candy will not be interrupted. Pretty cool, eh?
"I've
been reading your newsletter and you haven't said go prune
roses. Did I miss something?" -Nope, because I didn't
say "go" yet! If you simply cannot wait any longer to open
up, clean up and cut back your roses, then go for it, after
the cold spell moves through. This is the reason we wait
until April to open and prune the roses for the spring -
late cold snaps! You still have plenty of time, as many
Rosarians will use Tax Day as the target day to begin the
rose gardening season.
"My
Knockout roses look wierd. Part are alive, part are dead,
some have new growth on top, some are greening at the
bottom. What should I do to make them look nice again?"
-First, let's wait another week before pruning. Then, it
sounds like what you may need to do to clean them up and get
them all the same size and look would be to cut them back
hard, maybe 12-15 inches above the ground. They will
respond quite nicely to this hard pruning, and will 'even
up' the plants once again.
"When
can I prune my lilacs, and when do I prune a tree
hydrangea?" -Wait until after the lilac flowers, and then
prune. But do it within 2-3 weeks after it finishes - don't
wait much longer. Remove older thicker branches at ground
level and prune the others as needed. For the tree
hydrangea (PeeGee), it flowers on new growth. So spring
prune. You can deadhead and clean out crisscrossing
branches, then let the plant get larger, or cut the whole
thing back harder and keep it smaller in size. Either way,
do it this spring.
"When do
I prune my lavender?" -Its usually best to wait until the
lavender starts to show new growth (tops and bottoms) and
then prune as needed. Clean out dead or winter damaged
areas and even up in size. Be careful not to cut back too
severe - sometimes it has a hard time recovering from being
cut way back into old wood. But do make sure it's starting
to grow before you prune.
[A crabgrass plant can produce up to 150,000 seeds before
the plant dies.]
Success Tip of the Week
If you would like to have the first tomato on the block,
I've got a plan that just might make you the winner! Grow
your tomato in a pot!
Grab
yourself a large pot (no smaller than 14 inches), dark in
color so it will warm up quicker, and with lots of drain
holes in the bottom.
Fill
your pot with some good soil-less potting mix, and be sure
to add some Osmocote for a slow feeding, and Soil Moist to
help with your watering.
Now find
yourself a nice looking tomato plant, and look for one of
the earlier producers. Patio tomatoes are smaller but
produce earlier tomatoes, and don't forget the old stand by,
Early Girl. Plant your tomato in the pot, water in well,
and get that baby outdoors in the sun.
Water
and feed as needed. During warm days and nights (60 degrees
plus), leave your tomato outside. If the temperatures drop
below 60, bring it back inside. It's a bit of work, but by
doing this, you jump start the season by a month or more,
and can have the first ripe tomato on your block. And if
you're the Yardboy, that can be a very important thing!
Man, I hope my neighbors didn't catch this secret.
[I
intend to live forever - so far, so good.]
From the Garden to the Kitchen
"Hey
Rita what's Cooking?"
Yardboy, most folks have their Easter dinner already
planned, so today I'm sharing a very unusual and special
recipe, one which I make only at Easter. It's the old
fashioned way of coloring Easter eggs, before commercial
dyes became available. I am transported back to my mother's
kitchen as I color the eggs with the little ones, just as
she did with us. So bear with me, Yardboy, because this
column is more lengthy than usual.
Mom used
to color eggs naturally with onion skins, turmeric, red
cabbage and other vegetable scraps. The eggs are so
beautiful and softly colored. Coloring eggs naturally is a
great way to teach kids to be good stewards of their
environment along with a fun lesson in food chemistry.
Every part of the egg is used, even the shells. Grind them
up and scatter about an inch deep into the soil around your
houseplants and gardens. The shells have much-needed
natural nutrients!
Now
there's no real "recipe", but here's how I do it, the same
way my Mom, Mary Nader, and her Mom did it.
In a
saucepan, place as many papery outer skins of yellow and/or
red onions that you have. Cover with an inch of water.
Bring to a boil, lower to a simmer and cook until onion
skins have colored the water, about 10 minutes.
Use this
same method for red cabbage (just chunk it up), beets,
spinach, etc. Even coffee grounds can be used.
Strain
and add 3-4 tablespoons of clear vinegar to every 4 cups of
liquid. This sets the dye. Don't worry about adding too
much vinegar - a little more won't hurt.
To make
turmeric colored eggs, place two tablespoons of turmeric in
1-1/2 cups water. Stir and place in pan. Cook until it
starts to boil. Remove, let cool but don't strain. Add a
teaspoon or so of vinegar. Place eggs in dye, stirring to
coat. When you remove the eggs, gently wipe off the
turmeric with a soft cloth or run them very quickly under
running water.
Now put
your boiled eggs in. Depending upon how long they sit in
the dye (and know that it takes a lot longer than commercial
colors), the eggs made with yellow onion skins will be pale
yellow to dark amber. Red onion skins produce eggs that are
brick/brown red. Red cabbage is the winner: it makes
beautiful teal blue eggs! Turmeric makes the eggs more
brilliantly yellow than the marigolds my dad used to plant
in our tiny front lawn. If you want, you can put the eggs
in the dye overnight in the fridge.
Yardboy,
I hope you and yours, and all of our readers, have the best
holiday ever!
-Rita
Nader Heikenfeld, CCP / Macy's Regional Culinary
Professional / Herbalist / Author / Local TV and Radio
Cooking Expert / Adjunct Professor U.C. Clermont College /
Community Press Papers / Part time Witchdoctor / Maker of
strange potions /
www.abouteating.com
[What do you call a dumb bunny? -A hare brain.]
Yardboy's "Plant to Ponder"
If
you think you'd like to have a weeping cherry in your yard,
but want it to stay a bit more controlled and be somewhat
easy to maintain, then "Snow Fountain Cherry" is your
answer. Here is a weeping cherry that stays smaller,
perfect for the smaller residential landscape or specimen
plant in the garden. And it requires little or no
maintenance pruning to maintain its form and beauty.
"Weeping Snow Fountain Cherry" is easily maintained between
6 - 12' in height, and same in width. Hardy, heat and
drought tolerant, moderately fast grower, naturally weeping,
dark green leaves turning golds and reds in the fall, and of
course, it's wonderful spring show of small pink open white
flowers on its weeping branches, giving the appearance of "a
fountain of snow".
[What do you ten rabbits marching backwards? -A receding
hareline.]
A
Little Bit of This, A Little Bit of That
It's Easter Weekend, and chances
are, you may have one or several of these plants in your
home. If you do, don't pitch them out after Easter - we're
going to recycle them!
If you have any spring flowering
bulbs like tulips, daffs and hyacinths, after they finish
flowering, remove the spent flowers stem and all, feed the
bulbs with a water soluble fertilizer, and keep growing them
in a sunny location until they begin to yellow. Once that
happens, cut off the foliage, remove the bulbs from the
pots, and plant them in the ground for next spring's
flowers!
If you have a flowering
hydrangea, chances are it's a macrophylla type, so after the
flowers are spent, go ahead and remove those spent flowers,
feed with a water soluble fertilizer, and keep growing this
one like a houseplant until May - then move it outside to a
shady spot for a few days, then plant it in the ground on
the east side of your house, where it will get morning sun
and afternoon shade.
If
you have an Easter lily, after it finishes flowering, remove
the entire spent flower head at the top and let it keep
growing like a houseplant, feeding it with a water soluble
fertilizer. When May gets here, cut the lily back 2/3 and
plant it in a sunny location in the garden. It should
regrow and possibly flower again the same summer!
Remember
with the Easter lilies, they are very toxic to cats. So if
your cat is a plant chewer, you may want to choose another
type of Easter Flower.
[What type of jewelry do rabbits wear? -14 Carrot Gold.]
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