Category Archives: Gardening Tips

Bulbs for all-year color

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Plant bulbs this spring and summer for all-year color
By Judy Scott,
Oregon State University Extension Service

CORVALLIS, Ore. – After the spring show of crocus, daffodils, hyacinth and tulips, flower gardeners may be at a loss on how to top the early vibrant color.

If you plant summer-flowering bulbs, corms and tubers in the spring, you’ll carry color through the summer, said Ross Penhallegon, horticulturalist with the Oregon State University Extension Service.

montbretia
A wide variety of ililies, dahlias, gladiolus and tuberous begonias are available from catalogs and garden shops. If you love bolder flower gardens, plant more out-of-the-ordinary bulbs, including summer hyacinths, Peruvian-daffodils, fragrant tuberoses, shell flowers and montbretia for striking summer garden accents.

sternbergia candida

For stunning color all the way through the growing season, plant fall-blooming bulbs in late summer and early autumn. Later-flowering species that bloom in the fall include colchicums, autumn flowering crocus, magic lilies of Japan, sternbergia and fairy lilies, to name a few. These are available in summer to early fall at nurseries and from bulb catalogs.

When it’s time to plant, Penhallegon recommends planting each bulb as deep as the diameter of the bulb; if the diameter is one inch, plant the bulb one inch deep. “The soil needs to be well-drained and mulchy, with lots of organic materials,” he said. “Apply a small amount of general purpose fertilizer, organic or conventional, after the bulb emerges from the soil.”
Don’t forget to check with your local nurseries. Each year they offer a new array of plant varieties.

This article is also online at: http://bit.ly/OSU_Gardening1564
Judy Scott, Public Service Comm Specialist , Oregon State University Extension Service
Source: Ross Penhallegon, Ag, Horticulture , Oregon State University Extension Service

Subshrubs

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Subshrubs have the unique characteristics of both herbaceous and woody plants. Their bases are woody but they produce new herbaceous growth during the primary growing season. Many herbs fall into the subshrub category, such as:

SunsetHyssop (Agastache rupestris)
Form: Vase shaped plant maturing to 2 feet high by 1.5 feet wide
Exposure: Full sun
Color: Flowers vibrant pink, purple and orange
Bloom Time: Long bloom season summer to fall
Attributes: Fragrant, Attracts Bees & Butterflies, Ornamental, Medicinal, Culinary
USDA Hardiness Zones: 4b-9


English Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia)
Form: Upright clumping growth habit, 1.5 feet tall by 2 feet wide
Exposure: Plant in full sun to partial sun in evenly moist and rich soil
Color: Green-gray to green–purple foliage in the summer, silver-green to gray-bronzed in the winter. Flowers blue-purple, lavender, violet-blue, or white-pink, depending upon cultivar Bloom Time: varies with cultivar
Attributes: Semi- evergreen, Fragrant, Ornamental, Medicinal, Culinary
USDA Hardiness Zones: 5-9

Garden Sage (Salvia officinalis)
Form: Woody Stems, 3′ tall and wide,
short lived, needs replacing every 3- 4 years
Exposure: Full Sun
 Color: Grayish foliage – Flowers blue to purplish   Bloom Time: May- July

Attributes: Water Conserving Evergreen, Fragrant, Ornamental, Medicinal, Culinary
USDA Hardiness Zones: 5-9

Russian Sage (Perovskia atriplicifolia)
Form: Woody base with upright stems 3 to 4.5 feet tall
Exposure: Full sun, hardy, drought tolerant
Color: Grayish-white stems, silver-gray foliage with small tubular deep blue or lavender flowers
Bloom Time: July – September
Attributes: Pungent fragrance, attracts butterflies, Ornamental, Culinary, Medicinal, deer-resistant
USDA Hardiness Zones: 3-9

Deerwood (Lotus scoparius) (California Broom)
Form: Woody base with arching airy branches, grows to 3 feet
Exposure: Full sun to partial shade
Color: Flowers begin as yellow, turning to orange
Bloom Time: April-June
Attributes: California native, feeds numerous wildlife: hummingbirds, bees, butterflies and deer. Bees relish this plant! Nitrogen fixing capabilities
USDA Hardiness Zones: 6-10

Wormwood (Artemisia absinthium)
Form: Tall straight clusters of silvery-green branches, foliage spirally arranged, grows 3 feet tall by 2 feet wide.
Exposure: Full sun to partial shade, drought tolerant
Color: Greenish-grey foliage clad with silky-silvery “hairs”, small yellow tubular flowers
Bloom Time: June-October
Attributes: Companion plant to suppress weeds – roots secretes substances which inhibit the growth of surrounding plants. Ornamental, Culinary, Medicinal
USDA Hardiness Zones: 4-9

Pruning Subshrubs
Subshrubs are not pruned like softer herbaceous herbs, such as germander, marjoram, oregano, and winter savory, or even other woody plants. Subshrubs are never pruned during the cool fluctuating temperatures of fall and winter and you never cut them to the ground. Subshrubs should be pruned in early spring once signs of new growth appear and then only to remove dead and broken wood. In some cases, pruning can wait until after the first bloom, but technically you should avoid pruning subshrubs because doing so could be harmful to the plant.

by Carlotta Lucas

Happy Soil

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Happy Soil
by Denny Morelli
(Notes from a recent talk at Medford Garden Club)

You can’t have good results in your garden if you don’t start with good soil. Top soils are made up of different components including plant and animal residue, moisture, air space and live soil dwelling organisms.

The best thing you can do for your garden is compost, compost and more compost.

Organic content provides food for growing plants, food for bacteria, fungi, earthworms and other beneficial organisms. A total organic content should be at least 6% of the top 4” – 6 “of top soil. It also provides a reservoir for moisture. Organic content also provides temperature stability and weed control.

This water reservoir prevents the tendency of over watering in the summer and the leaching out nutrients in rainy weather. Over watering can be a serious problem as it flushes out nutrients and increases pollution levels in our streams.

The timing and rate of releasing nutrients is important. Organic material helps to control the amount of fertilizer available at any given time. Air space created by the channels made by various organisms provides space for oxygen, moisture and plant roots. Do not rototill. Tilling the soil collapses this delicate structure. It is better to put a layer of 2” – 4” of compost on top early in the spring to let the nutrients sink in.

One problem in planting is that plants are usually planted too deep. Dig the hole, add some compost and plant the plant so it is higher than ground level, creating a small rounded berm. In time it will sink to the level of the ground.

Be careful where you buy compost. Most box store compost may be over a year old and have little nutrients left. Denny’s commercial formula is 40% forest material, including rotted wood, leave, moss and humus; 50% pasture material, including shredded alfalfa, grass and cover crops; 10% dairy goat & chicken manure; and nutrient supplements e.g. seed meal, kelp meal, high protein livestock feed, goat mils and trace elements. Do not use walnut leaves for mulch.

Fertilizers for home gardeners include fish emulsion, which works very fast but needs to be applied often; and Dr Earth, which takes a month to do any good. Be sure to look at the label; a lot of compost has too much magnesium. In the heat of the summer a layer of alfalfa, purchased at a feed store, protects the ground. Denny sells his compost from his farm. Read more here: http://www.ccountry.net/~compost/

Other good sources of compost are Hilton Landscape Central Point and the Grange Coop, who has an excellent compost called Green Planet Compost.

by Emilie Vest

Planting: FEBRUARY & MARCH

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FEBRUARY AND MARCH Planting: from Crockett’s Victory Garden

Vegetables:
You can start your seeds of: BROCCOLI, CABBAGE AND CAULIFLOWER
Sow seeds in potting soil; 18 seeds will give you plenty!
Set trays, or 4″ pots, in the bright warmth of your greenhouse or hotbed.
When seedlings are 1″, transfer to individual pots.
Towards the END of the March, move them into a cold frame or protected area to harden off where they will grow more slowly. They will be ready for the open garden in APRIL.As soon as your ground can be worked, plant peas and radishes directly into the garden.Beets are one of the few root vegetables that can be successfully transplanted, so plant them in your greenhouses now. They can be transplanted into the garden in APRIL.

Flowers:
Group1:
Impatiens, Lobelia, Petunias, Scarlet Sage, Verbena, Fibrous-rooted Begonia, Ice Plant, need 7-9 weeks from seeding indoors to planting in the garden.

Group 2:
Ageratum, Sweet Alyssum, Globe Amaranth, China Asters, Bells of Ireland, Blue Lace Flower, Cosmos (yellow and orange type), Dusty Miller, Lupine, Flowering Tobacco, China Pink, Portulaca, annual Phlox, Snapdragon, Stocks and Strawflowern, require a minimum of 6 to 8 weeks indoors before to planting in the garden.

Group 3:
Sweet Alyssum, Globe Amaranth, Balloon Vine, Calendula, Celosia, annual Chrysanthemum, Clarkia, Cornflowers, Cosmos, Chinese Forget-me-not, Godetia, Marigold, Pincushion Flowers, Zinnia and Sunflowers, need 4-6 weeks from starting indoors to planting in the garden.

I’m sure there’s more…..
Happy Planting
Melody Jones

Consulting “Old” References? Beware

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The article below came from the November/December 1993 Fine Gardening magazine, “Letters to the Editor.”
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Words of Warning: if you are going to consult “old” references be sure & check their accuracy for today’s growing conditions. This letter recommends Pampas Grass, which is classified as an invasive species under current gardening research. I agree with what the author says about red fountain grass, but NOT the pampas. Granted, this was for the southwest, but checking current resources is always wise. As a buyer & gardener, beware.

Good gardening, Viki Ashford
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Fine Gardening Article: Ornamental Grasses for the Southwest

“ In response to the request from Paul Endres for suitable ornamental grasses for the Southwest (FG #32, P. 6), I’d like to suggest red fountain grass (Pennisetum setaceum ‘Rubrum’) and pampas grass (Cortaderia selloana), which I’ve successfully grown in my Las Vegas, Nevada, garden . With an occasional watering from my drip irrigation system, they tolerate heat and drought, and their swaying flower plumes and slender leaves lend grace to the landscape.
(invasive species now)

The leaves of red fountain grass, which grows 4 ft. to 6 ft. tall, are almost maroon in color. In winter, the grass goes dormant, and I cut it down to about 10 in. above the ground. Don’t worry if it appears dead all winter; the leaves will return in spring with the same beautiful show. Pampas grass needs lots of room, because it grows quite tall and forms a fountain of narrow leaves. The plumes, borne atop tall stalks, are a feathery white. A word of warning: the leaves of both of these grasses are sharp, so wear gloves, long sleeves and long pants when planting or pruning them.” Author: Karen Kampfer, Nevada