Garden Tip #178

American Horticultural Society Pruning and Training. Christopher Brickell, editor. New York: DK publishing. 1996
This book gives detailed instructions on how and when to prune trees, shrubs, fruit trees, vines and roses. With good basic background information on general pruning techniques, pruning guesswork is eliminated. The book also explains how to do specialized methods of training like turning your hedge into a living sculpture.

Garden Tip #177

Wondering what plants will thrive in your challenging garden situation? What Plant Where by Roy Lancaster (New York: DK publishing. 1997) will help by showing you color photos and descriptions of plants organized by chapters on soil and light needs; by design features like winter interest and the color of the leaves; and by special features like fragrance and bird attracting.

Garden Tip #58

Whether you planted your tomatoes in April or mid-June, by mid-summer it’s time to think about training and staking strategies. An eight-inch tomato may be dwarfed by a “tomato cage” in June, but by September the cage is usually swallowed up and listing dangerously to one side. The alternative, tying up one central branch to a stake, improves disease resistance, but requires constant vigilance to pinch out all suckers. University of the Virgin Islands provides an excellent illustrated explanation on training tomatoes.

Garden Tip #33

Don’t despair if verticillium wilt lives in your garden’s soil because there are many resistant plants. A few verticillium-resistant trees include Apple and Crabapple, Mountain Ash, Ginkgo, Sweet Gum, Katsura, Douglas Fir, Arborvitae and White Oak. A long list of susceptible and resistant trees, shrubs, perennials and vegetables.

There is some evidence that broccoli (chopped up new shoots worked into the soil) can act as a soil fumigant, if added to the soil before planting. Studies were done by Krishna Subbarao at University of California, Davis, and showed reduced incidence of wilt in cauliflower crops where broccoli had been planted and its residue added to the soil.

Garden Tip #155

Just as the spring planted vegetables are starting to really take off we’re told we must start planning for the fall garden. The problem is where to fit all these new starts. The answer is inter-cropping! For example, sow deep-rooted carrots with shallow rooted beans. Read more suggestions from Texas A & M.

Garden Tip #154

The secrets to growing your own fragrant lavender field are sun and good drainage. Read Lavender: The Grower’s Guide by Virginia McNaughton (Timber Press, $29.95) to learn how to care for this tough, but particular Mediterranean herb. Pruning most types of lavender is essential for maintaining an attractive, long-lived plant, but don’t cut into old wood or your plant may not re-sprout.

For a complete lavender sensory experience visit the annual Lavender Festival in Sequim, WA.

Garden Tip #148

When, exactly, is the best time to harvest a tomato for perfect flavor? According to expert Lois Hole, “tomatoes have the best flavor when picked just before they’ve reached their color peak.” If left on the vine until soft sugar and acid will decrease, degrading the flavor. The wonderful little book called Lois Hole’s Tomato Favorites (Lone Pine, $12.95) is filled with growing information, recipes, facts and folklore with color pictures and quick reference charts.

Garden Tip #138

Usually by late May the Pacific Northwest has received a few days of 80-degree weather. By then soil has finally warmed up enough to plant beans. Grow gourmet French beans, an heirloom variety your grandmother grew, or the edible ornamental ‘Painted Lady’ named after Queen Elizabeth I. Read more about growing beans in the Pacific Northwest at www.rainyside.com

Garden Tip #102

To create a desert oasis look plant a few hardy palms and then add evergreen hardy ferns such as Deer fern (Blechnum spicant),Big leaf holly fern (Cyrtomium macrophyllum), Western Sword fern (Polystichum munitum), and Soft shield fern (Polystichum setiferum). Growing a few ferns usually leads to growing many ferns – there are so many cool species out there. Learn more about the world of pteridology (study of ferns) by joining the locally based Hardy Fern Society. Members receive a packet of fern growing information and a quarterly newsletter; they also participate in a spore exchange and produce the wonderful Fern Festival and plant sale each June. To join the society send $25.00 to The Hardy Fern Foundation, P. O. Box 3797
Federal Way, WA 98063-3797.

Garden Tip #64

What to do with a flower bulb once the flower is gone? It depends! For daffodils, remove the seed head, but let all the foliage turn yellow before you remove it. Braiding the foliage is not recommended because the toxins in the leaves can cause contact dermatitis. If a clump is getting crowded dig and separate the bulbs once the leaves have started to wither. Thin out the small and damaged bulbs and replant the rest. Or store the bulbs, unwashed, in a dry shaded place until September.

For tulips, it’s a bit more complex. Most showy, large-flowered tulips don’t rebloom well, so should be treated like an annual- dug up and tossed. However, Darwin Hybrids, ‘Apeldoorn’ is one example, do rebloom the following year. These should be allowed to yellow and wither naturally and their seed heads removed. They can be divided when the foliage withers. If you don’t know what you have, play it safe and leave your tulips for another year. If the show is disappointing then dig them up and toss.

For a fun tour of the world of bulbs try Lois Hole’s Favorite Bulbs (Hole’s, $1995), a book packed with photos, trivia, growing advice and design tips.

Asters, chrysanthemum, salvias and ornamental grasses are a few perennials that emerge and distract the eye when bulb foliage is yellowing.