Q: I don't know what I did wrong this year, but both my irises and peonies did not bloom. The irises now have some leaves turning brown. Should I cut them into the fan shape, which I do every year, or just let them go? I had one peony bush that bloomed but the buds on the other one just turned brown and withered. I checked to make sure the tubers were just below the surface and they seemed OK. Any advice?
A: Both of your problem plants might have the same solution. Is there enough sunlight? Trees and shrubs around the peonies and irises grow bigger every year and eventually block the much-needed sunlight both of these plants crave to bloom well.
You're right in making sure the plants are not planted too deeply — especially the iris.
When did you last transplant either of these plants? Moving them will set back bloom one to two years.
And when did you fertilize? Since they remain in one place for a prolonged period of time, they deplete the soil, so fertilize regularly. And water when the growing season is dry.
Good luck for next year! There is nothing more you can do this season except to keep the remaining foliage healthy. Cut the iris later this fall and meticulously clean the peony beds this fall, just in case there is an unseen bug or virus that might want to over-winter in the soil.
Q: One of the biggest problems I have, and I think most fledgling gardeners have, is when and if to cut spent blooms. On the Stella d'Oro lilies, should I cut the long stems and dead blossoms off? Will this cause the lilies to continue to bloom all summer, or will I be removing the seed pods that are forming for next year?
Maybe someday you could do part of your weekly column on the fine art of pruning. I know my children ask me all the time where to cut spent blossoms and when to do it. Sometimes I'm right and when I'm wrong I say, "ah, too bad, maybe you should have fertilized!" hehehe!
Thanks as always for your help and advice. Happy Gardening!
A: "Deadheading" (don't you love the term?!) is almost always useful for blooming plants, to prevent energy from being wasted in making seed. Deadhead your perennials, and certainly your annuals to promote another flush of blooming as the seasons go on.
But some annuals are "self cleaning," i.e. they shed their own dead flowers (these include the New Wave petunias, great, because petunias are sticky to pinch off). Most impatiens are also self-cleaning. Be sure when you are deadheading that you remove the whole developing seed pod, not just the dead petals of the flower.
Many perennials benefit from deadheading but as they grow larger and taller, who has the time and energy? It's not imperative but nice if you have the time and patience. This includes lilacs and rhodys.
Hydrangeas take special care since they produce new buds for next years blooms very close to the base of the old flower immediately following bloom so if you chop off more than the current flower, you may be losing flowers for next year!
Daylilies can certainly be cut after bloom. You probably aren't going to need the seed, so save the strength of the plant and carefully remove a completely finished stem. The lilies will look a lot neater! (The seed pods have nothing to do with next year's bloom, so you will lose nothing, and if you do plan to plant the seeds, they should be "ripe" in just a few weeks, when they turn brown.)
Pruning, which is understood to mean reshaping of the plant, and severe cutting of branches, is very different from deadheading and will require specific instructions for each species.
But the most general rules are:
Do major pruning immediately after blooming. (For instance, it's too late to severely prune forsythia now. You won't kill the plant, but you will get fewer flowers next year.)
Don't prune too late in the season! Pruning tends to stimulate growth and you don't want to stimulate growth as you go into the cold winter months.
These are only the very basics (some plants, and only some varieties, are pruned in the spring or not at all!). I could go on for hours. Plants like roses and clematis have some pretty definite rules. That's why we usually prefer to answer pruning problems for a specific species — then we can be more exact.
Your kids are lucky to have you to go to with garden questions and they obviously got their love and knowledge of gardening from you. And you can always come to me with questions!
Q: I have two holly bushes in my yard that haven't been trimmed back in about two years. Can I trim them now (the berries are green)? When is the ideal time to trim them? I use a hedge trimmer, is this OK? What tool is the ideal tool? What is the recommended amount that should be trimmed?
Also, I have a plant that has orange, paper-like flowers with black centers. A neighbor thought it to be an Oriental poppy of sorts. It has been the victim of a groundhog for the last two years, along with the milkweeds (which I don't mind). What are the chances of this orange flower plant surviving and maybe flowering again when the groundhog has gone on to greener pastures?
A: Do you really want to prune the holly? They are very slow growing!
If you must, prune in the late winter/very early spring before new growth appears and do it gently, please, just a few inches! Some gardeners do their pruning at Christmastime when they can use the trimmings for holiday decorations — a great idea!
You can maintain a more natural shape if you can prune with hand clippers. A hedge trimmer will give a more uniform shape.
It does sound like an Oriental poppy, and if that's the case, probably will survive the onslaught of the groundhog. Poppies have a long, deep central root and seem to survive anything! But if it is being completely defoliated, it will certainly lose strength this year.
Next, it's time to get rid of the groundhog. Try a product called "ShakeAway" formulated for critters of several sizes, from mice to deer! It's available at garden centers. It comes in granular form and is just sprinkled around the plants you need to protect. Or, if you know where the burrow is and can locate all of the openings, try my old cure of pouring old, very smelly used kitty litter down the burrow openings, followed by about a quart of water. The smell seems to drive them out without using chemicals.
This Week's Dirt
It's always a temptation to buy a young tree to plant in the fall. Fall is a great time to plant trees if you do it early enough in the season to allow time to get roots settled before a hard freeze. Trees are often offered at bargain prices now because only a very few nurseries have the facilities to properly hold them over till next spring.
Be careful when buying trees in late summer/fall: burlapped or potted roots are often dry and even dead due to improper care over summer in a nursery yard. Remember these trees were probably dug last year for sale last spring and summer.
Got too many zucchini in your garden? Don't let them go to waste! Donate any surplus to your local food bank. They'd love to have any of your fresh garden crops.
Keep deadheading those annuals and don't forget annuals in hanging baskets and other containers. Deadheading and fertilizing can give you weeks of extra bloom.
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North Shore Gardener by Barbara Barger of Beverly is a regular feature of the Home North section. Reach Barbara by e-mail at nsgardener@comcast.net or write to her c/o Salem News, 32 Dunham Road, Beverly, MA 01915. Her Web site is www.nsgardener.com
