Mary, Mary, How Does Your Garden Grow? June 2011

Mary, Mary, How Does Your Garden Grow? June 2011
by Mary Crowell

Has anyone noticed how very beautiful the gardens in your neighborhood are this year? They are so floriferous, (I love using that word; we use it in judging flower shows!). I am sure the amount of rain we have had this spring has everything to do with it, but I cannot remember a colder spring? (Did we even have one and now it is summertime?) June is the month that one notices how well and showy the roses are. It is so hard not to stare at the lush gardens while driving, remembering to keep one’s eyes on the road! Our roses, (Betty Boop, Irresistible, Double Gourmet Popcorn, Altissimo, Honey Bear and tiny, tiny Si) bloomed like crazy and still are! Contrary to popular myth, roses are not as fussy as some would lead you to believe. Following are some easy steps for the care of roses: Make sure they have good air circulation and lots of sun by pruning out the inner branches and removing lower leaves at the bottom foot of the plant. If you deadhead (remove the spent blooms) regularly, water on a regular basis, and feed every 4 weeks with a balanced rose food, you will see marvelous blooms all summer long. To prevent powdery mildew and hit a few aphids, it might be necessary to spray every few weeks with a mix of 2 tsp. baking soda, 2 tsp. hort. oil, 2 tsp. of dishwashing soap in a gallon of water. A few spoonfuls of Epsom salts at the base of the plant seem to help, along with a product called Pay Dirt that my rosarian friend Lore always recommends.

Now is the time to feed and water camellias, summer flowering bulbs and citrus well, as it is essential for great tasting and juicy fruit. Pinch your mums back to have many more blooms in the fall. Cut grass longer than usual, water deeply but less often, and fertilize every 6 weeks. Or better yet, get rid of the grass and plant a veggie garden in the front lawn area. Our tomato plants have been in since early April, have loved all the rain we had and have fruit already. Finish pruning late blooming shrubs such as weigelia, spirea, forsythia, philadelphus and cut back vines such as wisteria, honeysuckle and passion vine. Trim hedges. Lift and divide iris after blooming. Stake tall plants such as alstroemeria and order fall bulbs. This is also a good time to take cuttings of geraniums, plant herbs and summer perennials, such as coreopsis, scabiosa, feverfew, lantana, verbena and my personal favorite salvia. My two favorite salvias are limelight, a purple and lime green and hot lips, a red and white. July is usually the last month we repot and split cymbidiums, every 3 years or so. You want the new cymbidium root growth in place before the winter arrives. It’s a shame I do not take my own advice as I was late repotting my cymbidium’s two years ago, they didn’t have time to grow roots well, before the winter rains, so I had loose plants with no roots last spring and no spikes. Had to repot them again and as a result they were glorious this December and are still blooming spikes. Correct watering year round is so very important but especially critical in the summer, especially if it is hot! Don’t over water natives and remember to check container plants for moisture as they dry out much more quickly than plants in the ground, especially with all the wind we have had. Use water saving devices such as soaker hoses, drip irrigation, and mulches to cut down on evaporation.

It is not too late to plant June/July veggies such as beans, corn, cucumbers, eggplant, melons, parsley, peppers, squash and tomatoes. Get seedlings rather than seeds at this stage of the game. Plant some herbs in baskets and containers right outside your kitchen door to make for easy access. I have those five chimney flues I’ve mentioned before, planted with tomatoes, oregano, rosemary, thyme, basil, and a “pink lemonade” lemon tree in one of them that is finally recovering from being transplanted many years ago. Last year we had one lemon, but this year we have will have many.

As most of you who know me personally are aware, my real passion is epiphytic cacti, epiphyllum if you want to Google the plant, the “Oh WOW” flower and I am just starting my season, which is very late this year because we haven’t had enough warm weather to bloom. Lots of buds but only a few have opened as yet. With about 300 different plants currently in bud, I should have a great showing this month. The San Mateo County Fair is June 11-19th this year so come and check out cut flowers, horticulture, gardens, floral designs and many educational exhibits. Watch for my name in the floral arts division. Check it out at www.sanmateocountyfair.com.

You may ask me questions at macro6096@hotmail.com, be sure and put in the subject line: Mary, Mary Garden Column or write to me c/o the San Mateo Garden Center News, 605 Parkside Way San Mateo, 94403.