As we enter early Summer, here are some observations for the month.
Rhododendrons and other Winter-burned plants
If you had the patience and didn’t cut back or remove your winter-damaged evergreen plants, you have been rewarded with lots of new growth coming from stems you probably thought were dead. Now is the time we are starting to clean-up the shrubs by pruning back to the new growth. Some plants may look a little odd for the season but they will recover. To minimize some of the challenges we experienced this year, it is critical to always pay attention to weather and drought trends. I was telling you all to water well into the fall to ensure that there was ample moisture in the soil and the plants didn’t go into the winter stressed. I took some flak from a few professionals who said you don’t water in November. I haven’t heard from them this Spring!
Hydrangeas, Again!
We are looking at back to back years of great macrophylla Hydrangea color. We have had a long, slow Spring, and while it may have been cold at times, we haven’t had any snap freezes that are typical after the Hydrangeas start to expand their buds. I expect another great year, provided you have been properly pruning them, if at all. Above in the What’s Happening Now section, I mention a Hydrangea Class at Mass Horticultural Society in Wellesley. It is a comprehensive class on all Hydrangeas we grow in New England. It covers the very different care and maintenance for the various species. I am also teaching the same class at Blithewold in Rhode Island at a stunning public garden, if you want to have a day adventure on the coast.
Rabbits, Rabbits, Rabbits!
If you have been paying attention, you notice that rabbits go after certain plants at specific times of the year. When there is little green in Winter, they go after woody plants and stems. So the Hydrangeas, Azaleas and Roses they demolished in January and February are of no interest to then now, but all the green shoots coming up of perennials and grass are very interesting. We now have the added challenge of little bunnies that don’t know better and indiscriminately chew on everything. Here is a link to my newsletter from last year that was a Comprehensive Look at Rabbits. Buy some concentrated Liquid Fence and a hand-held spray bottle. After a more intense start for a few weeks, get used to going out once a week, especially after hard rain, and spritz any plants that get nibbled. This trains the rabbits to know what plants not to eat. Just make sure you don’t do this before you are having people over to your outside space. The smell takes a few hours to dissipate.
Allergies
Most people don’t realize that the headaches and lethargy they can often feel in Spring are the result of allergic reactions to early pollen. Sniffles and sore throat are more recognizable symptoms. Early in the season as trees are budding and flowering, they release some of the most allergenic pollen. Now, I am not a doctor, and you should discuss this with you doctor, but there are some amazing over the counter nasal sprays that can completely alleviate these symptoms. Now we are heavily into grass pollen, which is also highly allergenic. Ironically, the biggest pollen dump comes from the Pine trees in the coming weeks. This pollen is not allergenic like the earlier releases, there is just so much of it. However, Eastern Medicine believes Pine pollen is good for a specific male enhancement.
Mosquito Season
Please stop hiring these companies that come out and spray or fog your gardens to kill mosquitos. While some use bad chemicals and others use ‘organic’ products, they all do the same thing and kill lots of insects, indiscriminately. Use the Bucket of Doom. I talked about this last year and several of you let me know the impact. It is cheap, simple and a fun project to do with kids. The idea is that you have a bucket of water, with some organic matter to make it a little funky, and then you add some mosquito dunks that kill mosquito eggs and larvae. Very important to put a wire top or lid with holes to keep birds and mammals away from the water. This is far more effective at collapsing mosquito populations than anything else, and it only targets the mosquitos. Make sure that this is the only item with standing water in your garden. It is sneaky what can collect and hold small amounts of water.
If you want to subscribe for free to my more detailed newsletter, please go to the following link: The Barker, a newsletter for gardeners in New England.
Barking Dog Gardens - Gardening in New England 