Early Spring Garden Chores

April 1, 2024April 1, 2024 ~ Loreeebee ~ Leave a comment

There are a few things you can get started on in your gardens in late winter or early spring. If you’re like me, you’re itching to get out there. But you really shouldn’t do much….yet.

Pruning Shrubs While Dormant

Dogwood are examples of shrubs that prefer to be pruned in late winter or very early spring. So are purple smoke tree, black lace elderberry, and viburnum. Snowball and panicle hydrangeas can be trimmed a bit later, still before new growth appears though.

Ornamental Grasses

All of the ornamental grasses you left to blow in the wind over the winter should be cut back as early as you can get to them, right back to about 4 inches tall. Don’t wait until they start to grow as it will be difficult to single out the dead (brown) stalks from the new green ones.

Edging

If you have mounded edging on your garden beds, these can be touched up as soon as the ground thaws enough to do so

Jobs to Leave for a Bit

Cutting back stalky perennials or raking leaves and debris from your garden beds should wait until the weather stays above ten degrees C (50F) This gives bees and beneficial insects a chance to warm up from their winter hibernation to find somewhere else to live.

Many seeds (zinnias, sunflowers and other annuals) must wait until after the last frost to survive. Some you can start indoors if you are really impatient.

Ground Cherries: A Unique Flavour

September 6, 2023September 23, 2023 ~ Loreeebee ~ 3 Comments

Have you ever tasted ground cherries? To me, they taste like a cross between a grape and a cherry tomato. Hubby used to eat them as a child and encouraged me to plant some this past growing season.

What are Ground Cherries?

FoodPrint describes ground cherries as follows:

The ground cherry, also called physalis or cape gooseberry, is a unique fruit. With its papery husk, it looks like a small, orange tomatillo, but its flavor is uniquely sweet: to our palate, a mixture of pineapple, strawberry and green grapes — sweet, tart and vaguely tropical.
FoodPrint

To me, they look like miniature Chinese lanterns.

Plants vs Seeds to Grow Your Own

I was unable to find plants but did manage to order some seeds to start indoors. Unfortunately, as most of my seed ventures are, these were not prolific. Of two seed packets, each containing lots of tiny seeds, I managed to cultivate three plants. The squirrels and chipmunks did not help, every time we looked, they were digging up the seedlings that did manage to survive the process. We moved the last pot indoors when we saw a chipmunk scurrying off with one of our almost-ripe ground cherries. You can tell I don’t spray my plants with herbicides or pesticides. To deter bugs from moving into the house too, I sprayed the soil with hydrogen peroxide often.

My Verdict on Ground Cherries

I love the taste of these tiny, unique fruits but they are lots of work to grow your own. Perhaps I will start looking for plants earlier next spring to get a head start on growing some. And, find a way to deter the chipmunks and squirrels from feasting on them before we can.

Magnolia Scale, Yikes!

August 23, 2023August 23, 2023 ~ Loreeebee ~ Leave a comment

A while ago, when trimming off a few lower branches, I noticed sticky stuff dripping from my magnolia tree. Upon closer inspection, I saw blackened leaves, as well as a black residue on my white veranda rails and porch. Next came the swarms of hornet-like bugs attracted to the sugary residue. What a mess! Apparently, my tree is infested with magnolia scale, as described by the University of New Hampshire:

Magnolia scale feed on plant sap with piercing-sucking mouthparts and excrete a sweet, sticky fluid called honeydew. Unsightly black fungus called sooty mold often grows on the honeydew, making the leaves look dirty and reducing photosynthesis. Honeydew also attracts sugar loving insects such as ants and wasps.
University of New Hampshire

The Stages of Magnolia Scale

Instead of laying eggs, the adult female magnolia scale insects give birth to young crawlers, which then molt into adults sporting a waxy, outer soft shell that protects their bodies. If you discover whitish patches on the branches of your magnolia tree, that would be the time to treat the tree. Otherwise, the tree will suffer greatly.

Treatment for Magnolia Scale

Treating the scale insects at this stage is easiest. My magnolia tree is not yet fully grown so I can still reach all the branches, especially when standing on my veranda. I used another of my trusty Melaleuca products, a concentrated solution of thyme and lemon, called Solugard. I coated each white patch and sprayed the veranda and railing. I may have to repeat the treatment, will keep you posted.

You can also prune out infected branches and twigs if there are not many involved. Most of my branches are so that was not an option. Another solution is a pesticide specifically for the magnolia scale; you probably know what I think about pesticides.

Also suggested is a late April (before the buds open on the tree) application of dormant horticultural oil such as neem oil. This early treatment will kill the magnolia scale insects that have overwintered on your tree.

A cold winter helps too. Our last few winters here in Ottawa have been unusually mild so more of these insects survived on the branches.

Bring on the cold, just not yet please. We have several more months until I am ready for that weather, hoping for another beautiful autumn first.