Hi, I'd Like to Buy Some Flood Insurance . . .

Charles River - Hemlock Gorge Dam, originally uploaded by tpl108.

February's record-setting rainfall firmly pushed eastern Massachusetts out of a mild drought that had persisted since the end of last summer. In all, about eight inches of precipitation fell over the past month. This should help my rhododendrons, which were ravaged by cold and dry conditions last winter.

Weekly Update: Dills and Pruning (GDD 705)

June 19

• Colorburst, a slow-release fertilizer, applied to perennials.

June 23

• Rhody and Forsythia radically pruned. One-third of branches cut back to ground. You could imagine how flipping sweet they look now.
  
• Last of romaine lettuce harvested and removed.

June 24

• Dill planted where the last of the romaine roamed.
  

Need Pruning Advice? With the price of pruning going through the roof, who doesn't? Here are a few links that should put you on the right track.
Virginia Tech's Guide to Sucessful Pruning
University of Tennessee's "Pruning Landscape Trees, Shrubs, and Ground Covers"

Tale of the Tape (last week's measurement)

• Rudbeckia - 12" (11-12")
  
• Phlox -16.5" (16")
• Echinacea - 19-30.5" (18-25")

• Pepper 9" (8")
• Brandywine 16.5" (13")
  
• Yellow Pear 17" (13")
• Sungold 17.5" (13")
• Better Boy 23" (23")
  

Weekly Update - Tomatoes and Peppers (GDD 418)

5/28

• 4 types of tomatoes, sun gold, brandywine, yellow pear tomato, and best boy, along with a green pepper were planted in the vegetable garden.
  
• The test spinach seedlings, having never grown more than an inch or so high, were cleared out to make room for the tomatoes and peppers.
  
• Boxwoods treated for psyllids.
• Big rhododendron begins bloom.
  

6/1

• paeonia lactiflora "Shirley Temple," impulsively purchased at Wal-Mart in April, was planted in a one-gallon pot awaiting creation of space in some as yet undesignated part of the garden.
• Despite application of pre-emergent crabgrass control in late April, a few patches of crabgrass were spotted.

6/3

• Chives dead-headed
  

Weekly Update (GDD 175)

5/7 - Temperatures fall to 32.0 F. The last freeze of the season?
5/11 - Azalea in full bloom
5/12 - Lilac in full bloom
5/13 - Rhododendron "Cunningham White" in full bloom

rhododendron mucronulatem "cornell pink"

rhododendron mucronulatem "cornell pink", originally uploaded by tpl108.

A deciduous azalea-like rhododendron, it's incredibly hardy, tolerates full-sun to light shade, and puts out rich pink blossoms in the spring and has rusty colored leaves in the fall. This plant anchors the right bank of a newly planted bed behind the garage, which had previously been a dazzling collection of the great weeds and noxious plants of North America.

Sources: U of Minnesota, U Mass., U. Conn

Winter Damage Seen on Meserve Holly and Rhododenrons

Despite a warm start, the winter of 2007 was particularly hard on the broadleaf evergreens on the grange. The rhododendrons and the female meserve holly have large swaths of dead, brown, and dessicated leaves.

To quote the experts,

"Winter burn is caused from desiccation, which is a type of dehydration injury. When roots are in dry or frozen soil, water lost through transpiration cannot be replenished by the roots and dehydration occurs. Water loss through transpiration is normally low during winter months, but it increases when plants are subjected to drying winds or are growing in warm sunny spots."

Source: High Plains Journal, "Winter Damage to Broadleaf Evergreens" available here.

Moreover, chlorophyll is destroyed at temps below 28 F, leading to further damage. Fear not, however, for winter, like ladybugs and pretty pink flowers, is a fact of nature.

According to the University of Minnesota,

"If an evergreen has suffered winter injury, wait until mid-spring before pruning out injured foliage. Brown foliage is most likely dead and will not green up, but the buds, which are more cold hardy than foliage, will often grow and fill in areas where brown foliage was removed. If the buds have not survived, prune dead branches back to living tissue. Fertilize injured plants in early spring and water them well throughout the season. Provide appropriate protection the following winter."

Source: University of Minnesota, Protecting Trees and Shrubs Against Winter Damage, available here.