Sanhedrin Nursery – Garden Blog

• Dig and divide crowded spring-flowering bulbs and tubers including daffodils, scillas, muscari, and bearded iris.

• Take care of your roses: feed, water, weed, mulch and remove faded blooms regularly. Spray if necessary at first sign of insect or disease problems.

• After the June crop of raspberries is finished, remove canes that produced fruit leaving new green canes, which can then be trained on trellises.

• Keep flowers and vegetables in peak condition by giving them a midsummer feeding with a fertilizer that is higher in phosphorus than in nitrogen.

• Dig gently to harvest potatoes, a few plants at a time, after foliage yellows and dries up.

Hostas for Shade

Hostas are carefree plants that provide beauty and colorful leaves for the shade garden. Their lush foliage creates a restful and inviting scene when planted under a canopy of trees. Add a bench for sitting and you will have a tranquil place to relax at the end of the day.

Hostas have dramatic leaves and attractive flowers. Their broad blue, green, gold or variegated leaves are typically heart shaped, shiny and distinctly veined. Variegation can be white, cream, or yellow and can occur on the edges of the leaves, in the centers, or streaked throughout the leaf. They will grow in bright or dappled shade, but must be protected from hot summer sun.

The yellow or gold-leaved hostas need some sun to develop their brightest coloring, because in full shade they become chartreuse. This includes varieties like ‘Guacamole,’ which has huge, apple green leaves with darker green margins. Blue varieties develop their best color in full shade. ‘Bressingham Blue’ is one of the best blue-green hostas.

‘Patriot’ has deep green leaves with white variegation on the edge. It grows very quickly and easily in partial shade and has good sun tolerance. ‘Sum and Substance’ has very large, deeply veined, rounded leaves, varying in color from light green, chartreuse, to gold. It grows 3 feet tall and 4 feet wide.

Clusters of lily-like flowers, which are often fragrant, are borne on flower stalks that rise above the foliage from July to October. These give them the common name, plantain lily. Most flowers are white or light lavender, but some varieties have deeper lilac flowers. Though the flowers last for several weeks and add an delicate highlight, the leaves of hostas are their true appeal.

Hostas are very hardy and prefer a rich, moist soil that is not soggy. They need regular watering throughout the summer and, if growing in the shade of large trees, may need additional waterings to help them compete with the tree roots. When hostas get too much sun or not enough water, the leaf edges become papery and brown.

Slugs and snails love hostas, so you should bait around them once a month. They go dormant in the winter, dying back almost to nothing. Fresh new leaves grow from the roots in early spring. Hostas need little maintenance except to cut out the old flower stalks and perform routine winter clean up.

Hostas can be planted with coral bells, bleeding hearts, astilbe, hardy geraniums and Japanese anemones for a variety of contrasting foliage and flowers. They also do well among ferns and Japanese maples in woodland settings.

Hostas are hardy, long-lived perennials. With their amazing leaf patterns and showy flowers, they add color, interest and a lush, tropical effect to the shade garden.

• Start seeds of broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower and other cool-season crops now. Transplant them to the garden next month and they will be producing for you this fall.

• Penstemon are bushy, evergreen perennials that attract hummingbirds with their red, pink, lavender or purple trumpet-shaped flowers all summer and fall.

• Roses need water and fertilizer to keep blooming well throughout the summer. atch for pests and treat immediately to prevent infestations.

• Shade-loving begonias will add color and beauty in both planters and hanging baskets.

• Fountains create the sound of moving water that is restful and cooling on the patio or in the garden.

Organic Squash-Bug Control

Squash bugs are the most serious pest of squash and pumpkins in the garden. They also feed on cucumbers and melons, but are not usually a serious problem.

The adults and nymphs damage plants by sucking plant juices from the stems, buds and fruits. Then, they inject a toxin that causes the leaves to wilt, blacken, and die.

The adults overwinter in garden debris, re-emerge as soon as the weather warms, just as soon as you set out your little squash plants, and mate soon thereafter.

Squash bug adults are easy to identify. They are approximately 5/8-inch long, dark brown or grey, and hard-shelled. They give off a disagreeable odor when crushed. The nymphs are light green and look like little spiders running up the stems of the plants. The eggs are brown to brick red, shiny and hard.

You may first notice small yellow specks on the squash leaves that soon turn brown. Then the leaves will turn brown, dry out and become brittle. Waste no time confronting this pest!

The first line of attack is to kill their eggs before they have a chance to hatch. Squash bugs lay eggs on the undersides of leaves, and sometimes on stems, in masses of a dozen or more in neatly ordered rows. You need to kill the eggs to break their cycle and control the bugs. Get in the habit of scouting your squash plants for the shiny, brown eggs and rubbing them off or crushing them.

Also, keep your eyes peeled for the small, light green nymphs, which are often present near squash bug eggs. You can squish them, too.

Adult squash bugs can run fast when it is hot, but it’s easy to hand-pick them in the cool hours of the day. Drop them into a bucket of soapy water.

The best method for control is prevention through sanitation. Remove old squash plants after harvest, and keep the garden free from rubbish and debris that can provide overwintering sites for squash bugs. Till the area to destroy overwintering sites and to bury the adults.

Crop rotation is also important. Plant your squash and pumpkins in a different part of the garden each year. Praying mantids eat the eggs and nymphs and can be a helpful predator.

Squash bugs tend to develop resistance to insecticides and the adults are difficult to kill. Pyrethrums sprayed on the nymphs and adults is effective as a last result. Be sure to spray the undersides of the leaves. Neem oil is also effective on the smallest nymphs. Since hatching occurs continually throughout the season, subsequent treatments will be required to assure sufficient control.

Keep your garden clean and healthy and enjoy your squash and pumpkin harvest this year.

• Thin fruit trees after “June drop” when the trees partially thin themselves. Thin apples to 6 inches apart and peaches to 4 inches apart. Pears don’t need thinning.

• Garlic should be harvested when the leafy tops turn yellow and fall over; air-dry bulbs, remove tops and store bulbs in a cool place.

• Birdbaths will attract our feathered friends to your backyard so you can enjoy them close-up. Place them a few feet from a bushy shrub to give the birds protection.

• Zinnias love the heat and will add a rainbow of color to your garden and the deer don’t like them.

• Fragrant star jasmine is in full bloom right now. Plant one in a semi-shaded spot where you can enjoy its lovely perfume.

Rhododendron Summer Care

Those lovely rhododendrons and azaleas which gave you such beautiful flowers this spring need some care now. The most important thing that they need is water. They are native to regions such as the foggy lower slopes of the Himalayas or the Smoky Mountains of the eastern U.S., where summer rain falls frequently and copiously. In our dry summer climate, they need special attention.

Rhododendrons have fine roots that grow very close to the soil surface. They can dry out quickly in hot, dry conditions, and will show stress after six weeks of dry weather. They require deep, slow soaking that penetrates through the entire root ball. Avoid shallow and frequent watering, which only encourage root development in the mulch layer. Use a soaker hose or drip system which thoroughly wets the root area.

Rhododendrons and azaleas are setting flower buds now for next spring’s bloom, and they require water to form plump, healthy buds. If neglected in July and August, they may give you a disappointing bloom next spring.

Plants are usually fertilized once in early spring, and again immediately after bloom with a regular fertilizer to keep the leaves a healthy green color. This last application should happen by June 30.

Now is the time to begin fertilizing with 0-10-10 fertilizer. It has no nitrogen in it so it will not stimulate new growth but will help the plants develop flower buds for next year. Apply 0-10-10 once a month in July through October. All fertilizers should be applied when water is available, either through rain or supplementary watering. Never fertilize a dry plant.

Mulch can help retain moisture and keep the roots cooler in hot weather. Be sure to water thoroughly before you apply the mulch. A coarse mulch of wood chips or bark about 2 or 3 inches deep is excellent. Don’t pile it against the trunk or place it too deep over the roots. Roots need air!

When the rhododendron have finished flowering, they should be deadheaded. Carefully remove the flower heads at their bases, taking care not to damage the new growth right next to the flower shoot. Plants that are not deadheaded will put growing and flowering energy into seed production. Young, newly planted or transplanted bushes are especially worth deadheading.

Rhododendrons are surface rooting plants and weeding should be done with care. Never use a hoe or dig with a fork or spade as this will damage the delicate feeding roots that lie near the surface.

Good, basic summer care can make rhododendrons and azaleas year-round assets in your garden.