Sanhedrin Nursery – Garden Blog

• Replace codling moth pheromones now to make your apples as worm-free as possible. Replace the sticky papers at the same time.

• Set out starts of broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage and lettuce for a fall harvest. Spray weekly with BT to keep the cabbage worms at bay.

• Japanese maples may be pruned now in order to shape them.

• First-year fruit trees need to be well-watered through the dry weather. If they are neglected the first year, they may never be strong, productive trees.

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

Keep ‘em Blooming!

As the hot days of summer wear on, some of the garden favorites seem to lose their punch and produce fewer flowers on leggy plants. This doesn’t have to be the case. With some grooming and fertilizing, you can keep most of them blooming all summer.

When petunias start to stretch out with that end-of-the-season look, cut them back halfway with pruning shears to encourage fresh growth. Remove any dead flowers and seed pods. Fertilize the plants with Miracle Gro, and in about two weeks, you will be rewarded with bushy green plants full of flowers and buds.

If your petunias seem to have just quit blooming, they may have been attacked by the geranium budworm, which feeds on the buds and petals of the flowers. If you look carefully, you will see green caterpillars on the plant that are doing the damage. They attack geraniums the same way. Spray plants with BT to stop these hungry critters.

Fuchsias need to have their seed pods removed to keep them blooming. The seed develops on the flower stem after the flower falls off. If left to grow, they make large purple fruits. When the plant finds itself producing seeds, it stops making flowers. So, remove the seed pods and fertilize and get ready for more beautiful blooms. Fuchsias sometimes get spider mites in the summertime. These tiny creatures cause the leaves to turn yellow and drop off. Control them with a superfine oil spray.

To keep zinnias branching and blooming all summer, cut the flowers often. Water them deeply and feed every two or three weeks.

Annual dianthus or pinks need to have faded blooms removed frequently to keep plants blooming. A good shearing, if you haven’t kept up with removing faded blooms, will give them a chance to put forth more flowers.

Hardy geraniums and catmint also respond well to shearing. Cut all of the foliage and flowering stalks right down to the ground after the plant blooms. Mulch around the plants and water well and they will quickly produce compact mounds of lush new foliage and possibly more flowers in a few weeks.

Some perennials will rebloom if you snip off the individual spent flowers. Use this method on yarrow, baby’s breath, feverfew, Shasta daisy, garden phlox, and tall Verbena bonariensis.

Roses require special care to keep them healthy and blooming through the summer. Fertilize plants every 6 weeks and spray every 10 days with Neem oil if you are still having trouble with black spot. If thrips attack the flowers causing them to have brown edges on the petals and look deformed, spray with Spinosad, a bacterium that is classified as organic.

Roses require at least an inch of water a week (about 5 gallons per plant) for continuous blooming. Mulch will help to conserve water and cool the soil. Prune off faded blooms down to just above a 5-leaflet leaf, or a vigorous new shoot.

Give your flowers a little attention now and they will repay you with plenty of blossoms right on through the summer.

• 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.

• Roses need water and fertilizer to keep blooming through the summer. Watch for pests and diseases and treat as soon as you see trouble.

• 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.

• Prune rhododendrons, camellias and azaleas to shape them now. If you wait much longer, you will be cutting off next year’s flowers.

The Hardiest of Houseplants

There are houseplants that even brown thumbed gardeners can enjoy. They require minimal care and are able to put up with irregular watering, low-light conditions and occasional feeding.

Some of the best and easiest houseplants are in the Dracaena family. Dracaena fragrans “Massangeana” (corn plant) and D. deremensis ‘Janet Craig’ adapt well to low light conditions yet remain attractive. Both have wide strap-like leaves. The first with a yellow stripe down the center and the latter, a dark lush green.

Dracaena Warneckii is a handsome plant with distinctive white stripes down the center of each wide leaf. There is also a “Lemon Lime” variety that has dramatic green and yellow stripes on its foliage.

Dracaena marginatas have thin, dark leaves. They make elegant, tall plants for a corner or to add a vertical dimension to a wall or entryway.

Pachira, or Money Tree, is hardy plant and extremely tolerant of low light and dryness. With braided trunks and large, 5-leaflet leaves, these plants can reach 7 feet in height, so give room to grow.

Aglaonema, or Chinese Evergreen, is valued for its lush green leaves that often have silver or cream variegations on them. It is one of the best for low light situations and will tolerate light watering but thrives with lots of water.

Spathiphyllum is one of the few plants that will flower well indoors. It has large dark
green leaves on slender stems and its flower resembles a calla lily. It is known as Peace Lily or White Flag.

Sansevieria or Snake Plant is almost indestructible. It will tolerate low light levels and little watering; during winter it only needs watering every couple of months. It will rot easily if overwatered.

Chamaedorea elegans (Neanthe Bella Palm or Parlor Palm) is a small palm tree, growing slowly to 3 feet tall with slender, cane-like stems. It is often grown as a houseplant, and was particularly popular in the Victorian era. It can be grown in low light, but it grows faster with bright, indirect light.

For hanging plants it’s hard to beat trailing philodendrons or pothos. Philodendron cordatum is a tough, long-lived, trailing plant. They can live for 10 years or more in the same 6-inch pot. It requires very little care.

Pothos is similar in appearance to the trailing philodendron. Its leaves have bright yellow streaks on top of an apple green background. A white and green variety is called ‘Marble Queen.’ Both will take low light conditions and will grow to 20 feet or more, if you let them. Just keep the soil evenly moist.

There’s a houseplant for almost every condition. Houseplants beautify and freshen the air in our indoor environments.

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

• Shear hedges now to promote lush, dense growth.

• Check young trees and fruit trees for suckers and water sprouts. Rub suckers off as they appear and cut water sprouts off apple and pear trees.

• Pepper plants should be fertilized when the first blossoms open.

• Fertilize fuchsias weekly and keep faded fuchsia blooms pinched off for continuous color all summer.

Herbs in the Landscape

Although many people think that herbs belong on the windowsill or in the vegetable garden, herbs also make fine landscaping plants. Many attractive shrubs and ground covers are herbal plants that can add beauty to the landscape while providing foliage and flowers for herbal uses.

Herbs are generally easy to grow and require less watering and attention than most other plants. Their aromatic oils make them relatively immune to insect attack, and for this same reason, deer usually leave them alone. Their fragrance in the garden is another reason to make use of them.

Some low-growing herbs make good lawn substitutes in small areas and around stepping stones. Chamomile and woolly thyme are very good in sunny areas. They can be mowed occasionally if they get taller than you want. Corsican mint, which forms a moss-like mat, in sun or partial shade emits a very strong, pleasant odor of mint when lightly brushed. It is the mint used to flavor liqueurs.

Creeping thyme, lemon thyme and silver thyme are very drought tolerant and make a mounding mat for full sun. Prostrate rosemary grows about 18 inches tall and is excellent for planting on hillsides and for draping over walls. All types of rosemary can be used for culinary purposes and are very deer resistant.

Lavenders, upright rosemary and sage are all lovely shrubs for dry sunny areas. There are many types of lavenders to choose from that grow between 18 inches and 4 feet tall. Lavender can be used as a foundation plant or to create a hedge and will still provide you with delightfully flavored flowers and leaves.

Upright rosemary can grow to 4 to 6 feet tall and makes a nice clipped hedge. Culinary sage has gray-green leaves. There are also varieties with variegated yellow and green leaves, or silver and purple leaves. They make a small mound, about 2 feet tall.

Santolina, or lavender cotton, is a gray, mounding plant that is useful for borders. Catmint has soft, gray-green foliage and lavender-blue flowers that make a showy display.

Foliage is one of the most interesting aspects of herbs for landscaping. Several members of the artemesia family are particularly striking with their silver or gray leaves. Artemesia ‘Powis Castle’ has finely cut, silver-gray foliage that is fragrant and it makes a fine background plant at 3 feet tall. Germander makes a low mound with small rosy-purple flowers in dense heads.

One of the largest herb plants is the Mediterranean bay laurel, Laurus nobilis. It is an evergreen shrub growing 12 feet tall in a dense, tapering cone. This shrub has the bay leaves used in cooking, and it makes a good screening plant.

Two of the most interesting flowering herbs are bee balm (also called Monarda and bergamot) and purple coneflower. Bee balm leaves make a fine tea, and purple coneflower, the familiar Echinacea of many herbal remedies, is a long-blooming perennial that can be a great addition to any garden. It is favorite of monarch butterflies and should be in every butterfly garden.

While most herbs prefer a sunny location, many will do well in part sun or shade. Sweet woodruff — used in potpourris and as a moth deterrent — is an excellent shady area ground cover that cares little about soil conditions.

Whether you want a formal herb garden or a hillside of fragrant herbs, you’ll find herbs to be useful and attractive plants for landscaping.