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SLOW LEAFING OUT OF TREES DUE TO DROUGHT SITUATION
One of the highlights, for me at least, of the annual Upper St. Croix pottery tour is a particular woods on either side of a gravel road leading down to a potter's impressive display of wood-fired bowls, mugs, plates and teapots. Appraising the pottery, and sometimes purchasing it, is my wife's objective. I, on the other hand, stop along the dusty path to marvel at the spring flowers: trillium, bloodroot, wood anemone and Mayapple.
This year, I paused to take some close-up digital photos of the flowers. I've discovered in recent weeks that close-up photos of buds and spring flowers make wonderful images for the screensaver feature on my Macintosh computer.
It's been a marvelous spring season so far, with countless surprises and revelations from Mother Nature. I've also learned some lessons as another winter melted into a seemingly longer-than-usual spring season.
One reason it has seemed longer than usual is the drought conditions. TV meteorologists suggest that we are nine inches of moisture below normal. This deficit has caused the signs of spring to take their pokey time in reaching their peak.
Ash trees, for example, have succeeded in producing tiny little compound leaves but haven't had sufficient moisture to punch the leaves to mid-summer mature size. Many hardwood trees simply can't support a complete leaf canopy on inadequate soil moisture reserves.
The rain on Sunday, May 9, will help a little; 0.95 in. fell on my dry ground. Lots more rainfall is needed in the days ahead to return central Minnesota to a normal moisture situation.
I started many flower seeds in February, March and April. I usually try to start seeds so all plants are ready to transplant in the ground or in pots by May 15. This year, I hit it right on most plants but made notations of which seeds should be started a week or two earlier, or a week later, so they all reach transplant size by May 15.
Many of you by now have probably purchased and planted Endless Summer hydrangea, the new release from Bailey Nurseries that promises to proliferate with blue blooms on new wood. Actually, the blossoms will be blue where soil is somewhat acidic, and pink on more-alkaline soils. I planted two plants in a partially shaded area and another in a large half-barrel container in full sun. I plan to water the half-barrel hydrangea with an acid fertilizer to encourage spectacular blue flowers.
I spread 100 pounds of corn gluten meal on my lawn to discourage crab grass and other annual weeds. Unfortunately, corn gluten meal -- like all lawn herbicides -- should be watered into after application to prevent weed seed germination. Since it didn't rain for the last two weeks, weed control will probably be poor. Today's rain will help to activate the herbicidal activity of this organic weed control method.
Another lesson I learned in recent weeks is that sunflower seeds need to be planted directly in the ground, not started early in seed-starting trays. Sunflowers jump out of the ground with spindly stems that simply can't withstand the stresses of transplanting. The same is true of squash and pumpkin seeds: wait until late May and then plant them in the ground. The resulting seedlings will be much stronger and happier growing on their own in the ground, rather than trying to acclimate to the bright sun and stiff winds of most spring days.
I have also vowed this year to finish all my transplanting of basement-started plants to outside flowerbeds and pots before bringing home additional plants from garden centers. It is awfully tempting to buy trays of annuals at sale prices but my basement inventory will keep me plenty busy for a couple more weeks without having to worry about where to put more plants from town.
As expected, this spring has given birth to another bumper crop of buckthorn seedlings. I have written many times about buckthorn, an invasive woody plant that is on the enemy list of every conscientious gardener. Buckthorn will completely take over your woodlot and perennial gardens if allowed to sprout and grow without a defense strategy.
If you don't know what buckthorn looks like, ask for advice from an experienced buckthorn warrior and figure out a plan to rid you land of this pernicious small tree. Once it gets a foothold, it's hard to remove buckthorn from your landscape. There really is no way to prevent buckthorn from taking up residence in your gardens and woodlot areas since birds spread it by eating the berries and then depositing the berries wherever they choose as they perch on tree limbs that may overhand your garden beds.
I have removed all the mature buckthorn from my acre and a half but every spring I have to pull up hundreds of new seedlings before they get large enough to require removal using a spade or chain.
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PUTTING DOWN ROOTS:
A Delightful Blend of
Gardening Wisdom, Wit
and Whimsy
$10 + $2 for shipping
by Cliff Johnson |
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