Garden Tip 224 CRABGRASS CONTROL A single crabgrass plant can produce up to 150,000 seeds. Crabgrass control is most often talked about in the spring, but a bit of attention to it in the fall can help lessen its presence next season. Unlike the grasses that make up our lawns, crabgrass thrives in hot dry weather and it can become invasive at this time of year. The crabgrass plant is producing seed now. I have a mulching mower that I normally use all summer long. During this time of year, however, I mow and bag the clippings every second [...]

Garden Tip 223 SUMMER VINES There are three similar-looking vines to be aware of in the summer garden: Virginia Creeper, poison ivy, and English Ivy. Virginia creeper has five-pointed leaflets radiating from a central point, poison ivy has three, and English Ivy has a leaf with five points, making them all look very similar. I find that poison ivy often has the uncanny ability to be present wherever Virginia creeper and English Ivy are found, almost as if it is using them as camouflage. Always proceed with caution when working around these plants, for we all know how troublesome [...]

Garden Tip 222 SALVIA 'ROCKIN' BLUE SUEDE SHOES Hummingbirds are a most welcome visitor to the summer garden. Many gardeners believe that adding red flowers to the garden, such as Cuphea or fuchsia, is the best attractant. In my garden, the hummingbird magnet is actually a purple flowering plant, Salvia ‘Rockin’ Blue Suede Shoes’. From sunrise to sunset, this plant is a hummingbird favorite. A strong grower, this plant reaches 30 inches tall and wide and does not set seed, so all its energy is concentrated on flower production. Available as an annual in the spring, it is usually [...]

Garden Tip 221 ALL SEASON COLOR Color in the garden can be accomplished all season long with the appropriate plantings of annuals, perennials, and even woody shrubs and trees. The latter plantings are often overlooked, but it is a category that includes many varieties that can lend color and interest to the summer and fall garden. One of the newest introductions in this group, and one of my latest favorites, is Weigelia ‘Midnight Sun’. This shrub is a knockout, and growing only 18 inches tall and wide, it can be incorporated into almost any planting. Glossy green foliage appears [...]

Garden Tip 220 SUMMER GARDEN EDITING With August nearly upon us, it is time for some serious garden editing, removing anything that doesn’t add to the picture. Take a walk through the garden with a critical eye, and you will probably agree. Those dead or dying flower stalks on hosta, daylilies and phlox really have to go. Dry flowers on lady’s mantle, daisies and salvia are ready for a trim, and rose bushes could use a good cut. Drooping hydrangea flowers can be thinned and enjoyed indoors, and the dahlias could probably use a bit more staking. Little things [...]

Garden Tip 219 HARVESTING HYDRANGEAS It is another banner year for flowering hydrangeas here on Cape Cod. Despite a harsh winter, mopheads, paniculatas, and hydrangeas of all sorts are putting on quite a show. So much so, in fact, that I have taken to cutting some of the flowers to enjoy indoors. There are a few things to keep in mind when harvesting the flowers to make the cut successful and longer-lasting. Most importantly, the flowers should be mature, so flowers that have been open for two to three weeks are good to go. Flowers should be cut from [...]

Garden Tip 218 WATER-SOLUBLE FERTILIZER We have passed the summer solstice, and plants are at the peak of their growing season. Constant watering during the long days and hot weather is needed to keep them in prime condition. Along with this watering comes the need to add additional nutrients to the soil, especially for our annuals. Any slow-release fertilizer applied by the grower has long been depleted, and annuals grown for color are voracious feeders. This includes the ever-popular groups of petunias, impatiens, and hanging baskets of all kinds. The addition of water-soluble fertilizer once a week will keep [...]

Garden Tip 217 'HAAS HALO' HYDRANGEA There is a beautiful, native hydrangea out there that is not talked about enough: Hydrangea ‘Haas Halo’. It is in the group of hydrangeas called smooth hydrangeas (because of the leaves), Hydrangea arborescens. We are all familiar with the most popular of this group, Hydrangea ‘Annabelle’. Flowers of ‘Haas Halo’ are large and white and encircle a cluster of fertile florets, thus the name halo. This plant can reach a size of six feet wide and six feet tall, and, as mentioned, is native to North America. The plant is tough as nails, [...]

Garden Tip 216 PERENNIAL CANNAS Canna lilies make striking garden accents, create bold mass plantings, and add dramatic height and color to mixed containers. Grown from bulb-like underground stems called rhizomes, cannas feature large, paddle-shaped foliage and tropical-looking flowers on plants that can reach up to seven feet tall. Depending on the variety, their foliage may be green, bronze, nearly black, or beautifully variegated. Cannas multiply readily as their rhizomes expand each growing season, so a single planting can quickly become a spectacular display. In Massachusetts, however, canna rhizomes are generally not winter hardy and are typically dug up [...]

Garden Tip 215 PRUNING HYDRANGEAS A lot has been said and written about the correct way to prune hydrangeas. The what, where, and when of it all can be confusing, and we will cover them at a later date. Today, however, I will just mention a simple type of pruning that can be performed now. This pruning, called tip pruning, is more for the mophead (macrophylla) varieties and is more for aesthetic reasons than for correct growing concerns. In late June, the stems with flower buds have developed, and the blossoms are beginning to mature.  Those stems without flowers tend [...]

Garden Tip 214 'LIMBING UP' YOUR RHODENDRONS The rhododendrons in my garden are 35 to 40 years old. After this amount of time, you realize that those 12-inch-tall shrubs planted way back when do indeed grow to be 12 feet high and 12 feet wide. A twelve-foot-wide shrub in a half-acre garden is a whole lot of real estate to give up for a shrub that, although beautiful, flowers for only a couple of weeks in the spring. The solution to keeping the plant without losing gardening space, is to ‘limb it up’. Starting at ground level, I have [...]

Garden Tip 213 MIXED PLANTERS AS ACCENTS Now is a great time to create mixed planters to accent patios, porches, and entryways. Garden centers are chock full of annuals, perennials, and tropical plants to choose from. One of the tried-and-true strategies of creating stunning mixed containers is to use the thriller, filler, and spiller combination. Height, volume, and trailing elements in this combination are a simple way to create planters with maximum impact. Thriller plants should be tall and dramatic, the centerpiece of the planter. Filler plants are medium height, adding volume and color, and spiller plants cascade over [...]

Garden Tip 212 PLANT SUPPORTS It is the end of May and plant growth is in its prime. Last week we talked about the Chelsea Chop, cutting back plants to control their height, keeping them strong and full. There are, of course, those plants that are better off left alone or those we choose not to cut. Eventually, some of these plants will require staking, and the sooner it is done the better. It is good to remember that peony hoops aren’t just for peonies, and tomato cages aren’t just for tomatoes. Both offer excellent support for a wide [...]

Garden Tip 211 THE CHELSEA CHOP It is now late May, and perennials have reached the stage in their spring growth where it is time to consider applying the Chelsea Chop. This is a type of pruning of herbaceous perennials, so named because its timing coincides with that of the Royal Horticultural Society’s Chelsea Flower Show. This pruning technique consists of cutting back taller-growing perennials by one-third to one-half of their current growth, resulting in bushier, more compact, stronger plants. It also delays flowering, as plants need time to regrow and set buds. Thus, the flower season can be [...]

Garden Tip 210 FOLLOW-UP WATERING  We gardeners are so engrossed in spring garden projects in May that I thought I would say a few words about follow-up watering. There is a product on the market called Wet and Forget. It is a product that controls mold and mildew and has absolutely nothing to do with watering plants. However, every time I hear the name it reminds me that we are so busy in the spring that we sometimes become a bit negligent in the repeat watering of newly planted material. It only takes one dry spell to damage, or [...]

Garden Tip 209 PLANTS REQUIRING MINIMAL CARE In my golden years of gardening, I tend to seek out plants that require minimal care. One of my favorites in this low-maintenance yet high-performing category is epimedium, also known as fairy wings. This low-mounding perennial flowers in April and May before its foliage appears. Depending on the variety, stalks of delicate four-pointed flowers in red, pink, white, or yellow seem to emerge overnight. Heart-shaped leaves follow in shades of green, maroon, and variegated. Fine-textured on slender stalks, this plant is tough as nails. It tolerates dense shade to partial sun, and [...]

Garden Tip 208 SPRING FLOWERING BULBS There is a silver lining to a cool and cloudy April: spring-flowering bulbs last longer. This spring has been one of the best I can remember for daffodil flowers. They did get off to a bit of a late start, but their peak performance has lasted for weeks. Now, on the downside, there are a couple of things to mention. First, the old, spent flowers. Removing them is more a matter of aesthetics than any horticultural reason.  Developing seed pods have minimal effect on flower production for next year. In the hectic days [...]

Garden Tip 207 BUDGET-FRIENDLY PLANTER TIPS Like everything nowadays, gardening can get a bit expensive. Especially in the spring, when a visit to the garden center is as tempting to a gardener as it is to a child in a candy store. Here are a few things a gardener can do to help temper the budget. Purchase smaller plants, like a one-gallon size instead of a two-gallon, or buy one perennial and split it to make two or three plants. Soil can be another money-saving practice. It is not necessary to change the soil in our planters every year. [...]

Garden Tip 206 ARRANGING OUTDOOR ACCESSORIES Let me level with you. Many times, it is the little things that count, those that add up to create the perfect big picture. Now is the time of year when outdoor accessories are added back to the garden. Planters, bird baths, statuary, and garden ornaments return from their winter storage to accent and add interest to the landscape. We have talked about this before, but it is important enough to mention again. These items are decorative elements added to the garden and shouldn't be put in place slapdash. Line of sight, color, [...]

Garden Tip 205 EDGING THE LAWN April has arrived and it is time to get serious about accomplishing those spring gardening chores. And speaking of time, there never seems to be enough of it to get everything done. Cleaning up leaves from garden corners and under shrubs, raking the lawn, picking up sticks, and picking up sticks again, the list goes on and on. I have always said if time runs short, or if you only have time to do just one thing, get out and edge the lawn. It is the single most effective spring chore that you [...]