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Plants

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Passionflower vines are a nice addition to a garden. File photo

By Ellen Barcel

Last week, we took a look at climbing plants in general and specifically annual vines. This week we’ll examine perennial vines, productive vines and vines to avoid.

Perennial vines
I love perennial plants since they’re a plant once and enjoy for many years thereafter plant. Perennial climbing or vining plants include:

Trumpet vines add some color to a garden. File photo
Trumpet vines add some color to a garden. File photo

Trumpet vines produce lots of orange colored, trumpet-shaped flowers. It needs little care but can get out of control, so be careful. It’s a vine that does well in some shade. The trumpet shape is a tip-off that it can attract hummingbirds.

Clematis is another vine that does well with some shade. There are several basic varieties, those that bloom in the spring and those that bloom later in the season. Know which one you have since this determines when you are able to prune it back if needed. The rule of thumb to control a plant’s size is to cut it back immediately after a flowering plant blooms, so as not to interfere with next year’s blooming cycle. Clematis are known for their beautiful flowers, making them ideal as decorative plants on a trellis.

Climbing hydrangeas are beautiful plants but can get very large since they grow up as well as sideways. Be prepared to prune it to the desired size and shape. It can take some shade, but the flowers appear where the sun reaches the plant. As a result, you will see lots of greenery closer to the ground and lovely white flowers up near the top. This is an ideal plant for a chimney, for example.

Native wisteria (Wisteria frutescens) is native to the eastern part of the United States. It is much less aggressive and therefore easier to control than Asian wisterias. It’s a perennial, woody plant in the pea family. Like the Asian variety, it has clusters of purple flowers and grows in hardiness zones 5 to 9. In addition to being less aggressive, its flower clusters are smaller and the overall size of the plant is smaller.

Productive vines:
If you have limited space and want your vines to do double duty, consider vines that are productive.

Cucumbers are easy to grow and generally very productive. Plant them where their tendrils can grasp onto something, like a chain-link fence, a trellis or wire support of some sort. They do need plenty of water, so don’t let the plants dry out during times of summer drought. Cucumbers are annuals, so you need to replant them each year.

Clematis can be a good addition to the garden. File photo
Clematis can be a good addition to the garden. File photo

Another productive, and perennial, vine is the grape vine. See my column of March 10 for more detailed information on growing grapes. Make sure you know how you plan to use the grape so you can select the appropriate type (table grapes, jellies, wine, etc.)

Indeterminate tomato vines keep growing throughout the growing season. They keep setting fruit as long as the weather is mild enough and can get to be very large plants. Tomatoes need plenty of sun and are heavy feeders, so make sure you fertilize periodically.

Honeyberry is a vine that produces edible fruit as does the passionflower. I particularly like the unusual purple flowers of the passionflower and would grow the plant for its flowers alone.

Vines to avoid
There are a number of climbers that are not the best to include in your garden. English ivy is one. It takes over. Many years ago I planted a few tiny plants. I’m still pulling out this terribly invasive plant. It seems to have a mind of its own. While a “vine-covered cottage” may seem charming, you will probably regret planting this one. As a result of its nature, English ivy is on the Management List.

Another is the Oriental bittersweet (Celastrus orbiculatus). It volunteered in my garden and, before I realized it, had grown through my stockade fence, breaking it. Once I thought I had removed it, for years later, I found tiny plants springing up where the seeds had dropped. While very pretty, with its red berries that break open to reveal yellow seed pods, it’s a real pain to control. It climbs by wrapping itself around things, like your good trees, strangling them. As a result of its extreme invasive nature it’s on Suffolk County’s Do Not Sell list.

Avoid the Oriental varieties of wisteria that, although beautiful, can become invasive. File photo
Avoid the Oriental varieties of wisteria that, although beautiful, can become invasive. File photo

A third vine that is difficult to control is the Oriental (Chinese and Japanese) varieties of wisteria. This one is filled with beautiful purple racimes of flowers, so is very impressive, but, it too, takes over the garden. If you insist on planting it, make sure you are ready with the pruning shears, so you can keep it under control. It’s a quick grower, which needs little care and seems to have no natural enemies (insects or disease wise). It sends out runners along the ground so can go out as well as up. I’ve seen abandoned houses with gardens gone to weed, but the wisteria is still growing beautifully, even attaching itself to power lines. As a result, it too is on Suffolk County’s Management List — technically legal but do you really want to plant it?

Ellen Barcel is a freelance writer and master gardener. To reach Cornell Cooperative Extension and its Master Gardener program, call 631-727-7850.

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‘Golden Gleam’ nasturtium is beautiful and delicious. Photo from All-America Selections

By Ellen Barcel

If you have an ugly fence, a plain wall like the side of a garage or any other flat surface that you want to spruce up, consider vining or climbing plants since they grow up, rather than out. They are also great in hanging baskets, for those with limited space. There are several ways of looking at vines or climbers: annual vs. perennial is one. Another is decorative vs. productive. A third is invasive vs. noninvasive, that is, “the good guys.”

Another consideration is how the plant attaches itself (or doesn’t) to the wall or structure. For example, climbing roses don’t really climb up but grow very tall. You need plant ties to attach the canes to a trellis or other structure. We’ll take a look at a variety of vines, how they grow and what you can do with them.

Annual vines
Annual vines grow up and can be trained up a fence or wall but can also be used in hanging baskets or trailing down a retaining wall depending on the plant.

One of the most popular of annual vines is Ipomoea, a genus filled with over 500 different species and countless varieties. The most popular include the old-fashioned, traditional morning glory which twine around a support. The morning glory flowers (usually blue but there are pink, burgundy and white ones) open up in the morning and close at night while the moonflower (white) opens at night and closes by morning. These are nice mixed together. In that way you have flowers round the clock. Morning glories can reseed themselves for the next season. As a result, they are on Suffolk County’s Management list, meaning they are mildly invasive and it is recommended that they not be planted by county agencies or by homeowners near natural habitats.

Another Ipomoea is the cardinal vine (I. sloteri) which is filled with delicate, red flowers. I. butatas is the sweet potato vine, filled with green or burgundy (depending on variety) leaves. The sweet potato vine is grown primarily for its leaves, but you can occasionally find nonedible sweet potatoes in the soil in the fall. I say nonedible because you don’t know how these plants were treated (what chemicals used, etc.) before you acquired them so the potatoes should not be eaten.

Nasturtium is in the cabbage family and has edible flowers that range in color from pale yellow to bright orange. Nasturtium look beautiful trailing out of a basket, window box or over a retaining wall.

Scarlet runner beans have beautiful red flowers and provide edible beans in fall. One of the cool things you can do with these beans is to create a living tepee for children to play in. The tepee also provides shade in the hot summer for them. Take a set of light-weight poles and tie one end together and stake them in the ground in the form of a tepee. Plant the beans around the outside, leaving a space for an entrance. The beans grow quickly, filling first with the flowers and then the bean pods form.

Hanging geraniums (Pelargonium, not hardy geraniums) are beautiful in a basket. Flower colors range from white to pink and burgundy. Geraniums generally tend to be heat and drought tolerant. This doesn’t mean you can ignore them completely, but they do better in the heat of summer than others. Technically, geraniums are not annuals but are tender perennials, meaning they will die back in our area in the cold but continue to grow in greenhouses or down south, year round. Hanging geraniums will not climb up, like Ipomoea will, since they do not wrap themselves around other plants or have tendrils that wrap around other plants or supports.

Yes, the terminology here is confusing. Hardy geraniums (the genus Geranium) overwinter in our area and spread, while annual geraniums, Pelargonium, are tender perennials, growing year around in warmer climates. It is Pelargonium that are commonly sold as annuals, geraniums or zonal geraniums in our area.

Next week: perennial vines, productive vines and vines to avoid.

Ellen Barcel is a freelance writer and master gardener. Send your gardening questions to [email protected]. To reach Cornell Cooperative Extension and its Master Gardener program, call 631-727-7850.

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Once the weather is warm enough, plant your gift plants outside. Stock photo

By Ellen Barcel

Spring is the time when plants in full bloom become popular gifts — there’s Easter and Mother’s Day in particular. I remember my father always bringing a plant to his mother on Mother’s Day. Sometimes events, such as showers, use potted, blooming plants as table decorations. But, the question becomes, how does one care for these gift plants, especially after the flowers have faded?

◆ First, keep the plant indoors, especially if it’s still cold, as long as it has flowers. Keep it out of drafts and in a bright location. If specific instructions come with the plant, then do follow them.

◆ While some plants can eventually be moved to your garden as the weather warms, not all will be cold hardy. Again, read the instructions that come with the plant.

◆ It is important to keep the leaves growing on forced bulbs, so don’t cut them down when the flowers have faded. Those leaves are producing food for the bulbs for next year.

◆ Water the gift plant as needed. Many times stores don’t always water them enough, either to keep them light weight for sale or because they just don’t think to do it. I recently received a gorgeous hyacinth plant but the soil was bone dry. The first thing I did was water it when I got it home.

◆ Select an appropriate location in your garden and, when it’s warm enough, transplant the gift into the soil, if appropriate.

Tulips
Forced tulips make great gift plants. When they have finished blooming, move them out to the garden, but remember the squirrels just love tulip bulbs. A friend of mine noted that she stopped trying to plant tulips in her garden, saying, “I might as well just hand the bulbs to the squirrels.” If you have found a way around this problem, move them into the soil so next year you’ll have a lovely display. Once the leaves have died down, usually mid-summer, they can be removed, but not before.

Daffodils
Daffodils are also very popular as forced gift plants. They have the advantage of being distasteful to squirrels. I have a small clump of miniature daffodils that were given to me in a pot many years ago by a friend for my birthday. I planted them outside and year after year they come back, earlier than any other daffodils, beautiful and sunny. One way of trying to keep squirrels away from your tulips is to ring the tulips with daffodils, sort of hiding the tulips from the hungry rodents.

Hyacinths
Hyacinths are known for being among the earliest to bloom in spring and with having a beautiful, sweet scent. As with daffodils, keep the leaves growing and, once the flowers have died back, move the plant to a sunny place in the garden.

Once the weather is warm enough, plant your gift plants outside. Stock photo
Once the weather is warm enough, plant your gift plants outside. Stock photo

Hydrangeas
Hydrangeas are another popular gift plant. Check the tag that comes with the plant carefully, as not all hydrangeas are cold hardy in our area. I saw an absolutely gorgeous intense, blue-flowered one a number of years ago, and almost bought it, only to notice that it was cold hardy in zones 8 and above. It would not have survived our winters. However, if it’s not cold hardy, it can be used as an annual. Hydrangeas, in general, don’t like an extremely sunny location, or drought, so when you move them outside, take this into consideration.

Easter lilies
Easter lilies are generally cold hardy in zones 7 and up (i.e., warmer climates), so you can try to move your Easter lilies outside into the garden. But, while this is in theory, in practice, I’ve never had them overwinter outside, so I generally treat them as annuals.

Azaleas
Azaleas are beautiful gift plants with some added benefits. In general, they are cold hardy on Long Island, so this is a really great gift for the avid gardener. If year after year you give Mom another azalea, in just a few years, her garden will be filled with beautiful, spring-flowering shrubs. Another advantage of azaleas is that some varieties are evergreens so that they make nice foundation plantings, growing larger and filled with more flowers each year.

Gardenias
The sweet scent of a gardenia plant draws many to it as a gift plant. Most gardenias are hardy in zones 8 to 11 (Long Island is zone 7), meaning that you can grow them outside only in the mild weather. Come autumn you must bring the plant indoors and grow it as a houseplant. This means you need to keep it potted, rather than planted in the soil. There are some varieties, ‘Kleim’s Hardy,’ for example, that claim to be hardy into zone 7, but as with Easter lilies, you’re taking a chance that they will survive our winters. I’d rather keep a beautiful gardenia as a houseplant.

So, enjoy those gift plants, but follow through appropriately.

Ellen Barcel is a freelance writer and master gardener. Send your gardening questions to [email protected]. To reach Cornell Cooperative Extension and its Master Gardener program, call 631-727-7850.

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By Ellen Barcel

Most Long Islanders know that there are certain fruits that grow well here. Come spring, the strawberries are ripe for the picking. As the summer progresses, blueberries, which love our acidic soil, are ripening. Later in the season, both grapes and apples are ripe. However, consider trying at least one unusual fruit in your garden this year.

1 — As you look through your gardening catalogues or other research material, read the descriptions carefully. Especially note the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s hardiness zones in which the plants will grow. For example, I’ve seen some really unique fruit available in catalogues, but they only grow in warmer climates. Long Island is hardiness zone 7. Fruit that is only hardly is zones 8 and above, will not survive our winters. Note that plants that do well in zones 2 or 3 to 6 usually will not do well here since either they don’t do well in our summer heat or they require a really cold winter to thrive.

2 — Check out whether the plant is self-fertile or needs more than one to pollinate it. Some need a second of its same variety while others need a different variety.

3 — Check the soil pH in which the plant will thrive. If your soil is too acidic you need to add lime. If yours is to alkaline, you need to add something like Miracid or Holly Tone to make it more acidic. Once you begin changing the soil’s pH, you need to do this ever after, or the soil will revert to what it would be naturally. Read the package and test your soil.

4 — Note the size of the plants. A row of eight-foot-tall blueberries can make a lovely living screen while a dwarf variety (like ‘Dwarf Tophat’) can be grown in a container on the patio for a tiny garden. If you are making a living screen, remember that since virtually all of the fruiting plants are deciduous, you’ll only get the benefits of the screen in warm weather when the plant is growing.

figwNow, for some unusual fruits to look into:

  • Gogi berries (Lycium barbarum) are considered to be a superfood because they are very high in antioxidants. The plants grow in zones 5 through 9 and will reach eight to 10 feet tall. They do well in full sun and partial shade. The plants produce white, lilac and purple flowers before the berries themselves form in July. The plant continues to flower and fruit until heavy frost. The plant has no known pest or disease problems and is self-fertile. The berries, which are slightly tart, can be eaten right off the plant or used to make juice, wine and even dried to be used as a snack in trail mix.
  • Honeyberries (Lonicera caerulea) do well in zones 3 to 8 and produce blueberry-like flavored fruit, also high in antioxidants. The fruit can be eaten fresh or used to make preserves. The plants can live up to 50 years. Honeyberries need another plant to pollinate it; so when you select plants note which other varieties are good choices. ‘Berry Blue’ reaches just four to five feet tall and blooms in spring followed by the fruit.
  • Figs are traditionally associated with warm climates, but a number of varieties have been developed that are hardy in our area. ‘Chicago Hardy’ grows in zones 5 to 10 and ‘Brown Turkey’ is zones 5 to 9. Both are self-pollinating. Figs are great to eat right off the trees, can be dried or used to make preserves. These are not the old fig trees you’ve seen wrapped up in winter, but cold hardy. However, just to make sure, I keep mine small, growing them in large pots and bringing them into an unheated garage in winter.
  • Pawpaw (Asimina triloba) is a small specimen tree with large leaves. It grows in zones 5 to 9 bearing fruit in late summer. So, here’s one that adds to the landscape besides giving you tasty fruit. Since it grows well in a soil pH of 5.5 to 7, it’s unlikely that you’ll need to adjust your soil pH for the tree to thrive.
  • Native plum (Prunus americanus) does well in zones 3 to 8 but requires two plants for pollination. This is a tall shrub, eight to 10 feet at maturity; so it can be used as a specimen or use a few to make a living screen. It does form thickets, so this can be a factor in your choice. On the other hand, it produces food not only for you but for wildlife as well.
  • Dwarf citrus trees  such as Dwarf Meyer Lemon, Dwarf Key Lime and Dwarf Calamondin Orange are tender in our area, growing in hardiness zones 9 to 10. But, if you don’t have a greenhouse, you can grow any of these as houseplants in the winter in large pots, bringing them outdoors in the summer. Although the plants are dwarf, they produce edible fruit. Citrus trees do best in an acidic soil, 5.5 to 6.5.

Whatever you select, do try at least one unusual fruiting plant this summer in your garden.

Ellen Barcel is a freelance writer and master gardener.

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By Susan Risoli

Plants, trees and earth. They might look solid and unmoving. But today’s landscape professionals say that when it comes to the ways homeowners experience their outdoor spaces, trends are fluid and evolving.

As landscape design expands to include more options, Long Islanders are pushing the boundaries of the outdoor season as much as possible, said Jason Merz, owner of Metamorphosis Landscape Design in Smithtown. “People want to get as much use of their backyard as they can,” he said. “They expect to enjoy it from March or April through October.” And in general, “people are spending a lot more money on their homes and their landscaping than they were 10 or 15 years ago,” Merz said.

outdoor_lightingwSlaving over a hot stove in a sweltering kitchen? Please. These days, cooks are bringing their culinary talents into the backyard, preparing festive meals in full view of their guests. Merz said his company gets requests for “almost a full-on kitchen outside, as part of the patio.” Sinks, refrigerators, large barbecue grills, bar caddies — “they become great focal points for the backyard,” he said. And outdoor heaters keep the setting cozy in the chilly temperatures of early spring and late fall.

Customers’ imaginations are quite literally catching fire. Merz said recently he has seen more and more people using elements such as fire pits and outdoor fireplaces. He’s also noticed that “a lot more people are looking to use outdoor structures, like a cabana or pool house.”

Outdoor televisions are big this year, Merz noted. “This is one of the hottest things lately,” he said. “People use it to watch the football game while they’re sitting outside.” The TVs are mounted on the house or the roof line, in spots where they can be protected from rain, wind and sun.

Swimming pools are no longer limited to basic rectangular shapes. “We’ve been doing more custom gunite pools,” Merz said, with disappearing infinity edges becoming a popular favorite. When it comes to paving stones used for exterior flooring, homeowners “want to get away from a cookie-cutter look,” he said. “Lots of people like natural stone pavers, like bluestone and granite, around their swimming pools.”

outdoor_kitchenwIncreasingly, consumers want more than just one new backyard feature, asking instead for an integrated design of the entire space. “The trend is, people are calling in and saying, ‘We know we need this project done, but we need a design,’” Merz said. “We provide the landscape design for them, and then we build it.”

Irena Romovacek, landscape designer for Hicks Nurseries in Westbury, has seen changes in the types and colors of plants her clients prefer. In recent years, people are being kinder to our beleaguered planet by using more sustainable plants, “in keeping with nature,” she said. This greener strategy calls for succulents instead of grass, “because grass needs a lot of water and fertilizer to make it look good.”

Hamptons outdoor living might include tropical plants such as palm trees, Romovacek said, because the large palm leaves visually offset and balance outdoor displays of modern sculpture that are often a part of East End outdoor spaces. “And tropicals are fun, they’re exotic, they’re unusual,” she said. “Your friends are going to see it and say, ‘Where’d you get that?’”

marble_poolwColor palettes of plantings have changed. “My clients used to like more reds and orange. Now it’s a cooler palette — more blues and greens,” Romovacek said. But even with these softer schemes, she still creates dramatic interest with the strategic placement of shade, or by using plants with colored stems. She and her colleagues have embraced the shift to cooler colors and changed with the times, she said, designing spaces they and their clients can be proud of. “Some of the best landscapes I have designed are green on green,” she pointed out.

Some people want the colors used for decorating inside the house to be brought outdoors. In this way, Romovacek said, color makes a connection between inside and outside environments. “I ask my clients, what are your favorite colors? What colors do you not want to see?”

A growing interest in outdoor music coming through backyard speakers is another recent trend, Romovacek said, and so is landscape lighting. “For the past three years or so, people are asking for more outdoor lighting, and they’re controlling their outdoor lights with their phones,” she said. Some of it is for safety  — illuminating paths or stairs — and some is used to show off or play down parts of the yard. “It doesn’t have to be a lot of lighting to be successful,” she said. “You just want to accentuate some of the elements in your landscape.” Some clients ask her to use outdoor lights to simulate the soft, bewitching allure of moonlight, Romovacek said, and others have requested lighting displays that change color with the seasons.

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Daffodil leaves need fertilizer during the growing season so as to build up the bulbs for the following season’s flowers. Photo by Ellen Barcel

By Ellen Barcel

Many years ago, someone in a class I was teaching on hydrangeas asked me, “You mean, you have to feed your plants?” besides controlling the soil pH. I was surprised. Yes, I told her. You have to put nutrients into the soil if you want most plants to grow and thrive. This is particularly important with Long Island’s sandy soil, which has little in the way of nutrients in it especially if you have little or no nutrient-rich topsoil.

So, how do you do this? Well, one of the easiest is to keep a compost pile and to apply compost liberally to your plants. Another is to use a fertilizer available in garden centers, some are organic and some are chemical. But, what exactly are you adding to your soil and therefore plants?

There are three main nutrients plants need: nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K). All three are needed for photosynthesis, that is, turning solar energy into plant matter.

Nitrogen helps with plant growth, encouraging leaf and stem growth. Too much nitrogen and plants will produce lots of leaves but little fruit. Legumes are nitrogen fixing plants, that is, they get their nitrogen from the air. Nitrogen fixing plants include peanuts, peas, bush beans, wisteria and clover. Note that many people try to get rid of clover in their lawns, but clover puts nitrogen into the soil naturally. Besides they have pretty little flowers.

Phosphorus encourages rapid growth, blooming and root growth while potassium helps in the fruit quality and reduction of plant diseases as well as overall plant vigor and pest resistance.

Feed and water your hydrangeas well to get a beautiful array of flowers. Photo by Ellen Barcel
Feed and water your hydrangeas well to get a beautiful array of flowers. Photo by Ellen Barcel

You may see on chemical fertilizer packages numbers like 5-10-5. This means that the fertilizer contains 5 percent nitrogen, 10 percent phosphorus and 5 percent potassium. The rest is other nutrients and fillers. A package that says 10-20-10 is therefore 10 percent nitrogen, 20 percent phosphorus and 10 percent potassium. A complete fertilizer will have all three of these nutrients.

But there are also secondary nutrients that plants need including calcium, magnesium (part of chlorophyll in green plants), sulfur (improves root growth and seed production) as well as micronutrients. Lack of enough iron, for example, and the plant’s leaves will turn yellow.

A well-balanced commercial fertilizer will have all of these nutrients and micronutrients. If you are concerned that your soil, even amended with compost and/or fertilizer has the proper nutrients, there are test kits available in garden centers that will tell you how well your soil is doing. Or you could bring samples to Cornell Cooperative Extension, which will test for a wide variety of nutrients.

Soil pH is not a nutrient but a measure of how acidic or how alkaline soil is. Different plants need different soil pH levels to grow to their best potential. Normally, fertilizer will not contain any chemicals to change the soil pH, unless they specifically say so. For example, Miracid is a fertilizer that contains a chemical that will lower the soil pH. It should not be used on plants that require a neutral or alkaline soil, but on plants like rhodies, blueberries, pines etc., which thrive in an acidic soil.

If you are using potting soil for container gardens, read the package carefully. It will indicate whether it has any fertilizer in the soil and, if so, what and how much. It should also indicate how long the nutrients will last. Some even have watering crystals that hold excess water to be released when the soil itself dries out. Watering crystals will not last forever and may need to be replaced. Again, read the label.

The directions with chemical fertilizers will sometimes talk about foliar feeding, that is, mixing up liquid fertilizer and spraying it directly on the leaves of plants. First, chemical fertilizers in general can burn plants if applied too liberally. Always follow the package directions to avoid this. Second, it’s been my experience that foliar feeding can sometimes burn the leaves of the plants, killing them.

As a result, I never spray liquid fertilizer on plant leaves. If you decide to use slow-release plant food (sticks, granules etc.), note how much is to be applied to a given area, pot size etc. If you overdo it, you can kill your plants. If a little is good, a lot is definitely not better. This is one reason why I prefer to use compost, since it’s virtually impossible to burn plants with compost. I’ve even seen volunteers growing directly in compost piles.

Ellen Barcel is a freelance writer and master gardener. Send your gardening questions to [email protected].

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Egyptian walking onions. Stock photo

By Ellen Barcel

When growing fruit in the garden, we generally think of shrubs (blueberries, raspberries etc.) and trees (apple, peach, pears etc.), rarely annuals. But, when it comes to veggies, it’s sort of the opposite — we think of annuals (tomatoes, corn, green beans, radishes, lettuce etc.), which need to be replanted every year.

But, there are veggies that are perennials, veggies where you establish a bed of them and they return year after year. I’ve said it before, I really like the “plant once and enjoy for many years” form of gardening. First, some things to be aware of when establishing certain veggies in beds:

• Select a sunny site with well-drained soil.

• Many perennial veggies produce poorly or not at all in the first year since they’re just becoming established. So, think of perennial veggies as a multiyear project. Once established this year, some will produce for 20, 30 or more years.

• Amend the soil with compost and test it to make sure it is the proper pH and has enough nutrients to support the crops you want to grow.

• Remember to water, fertilize and weed throughout the growing season, even after you’ve harvested, or you’ll have a poor crop the next year.

• There are ways to make the veggie bed look attractive: Make it a raised bed with stones around it, for example, and plant some attractive flowers around the bed as well. Make sure the flowers don’t shade out the vegetable crop.

• If you are setting up a bed for several varieties of plants, make sure that they all have similar  requirements.

• Mulch helps to keep weeds out of these beds and helps to keep moisture in the soil.

Some perennial veggies to consider for your garden include:

Asparagus (Asparagus officinalis) is a spring vegetable, native to Europe, Asia and Africa. There are a number of varieties, including white. Plant the asparagus crowns in early spring, as soon as the soil can be worked. They do particularly well in a raised bed. Gardener’s Supply Company notes that “it’s critical to eradicate all the weeds and grasses from the planting area — even if this requires a full year of advance preparation.” As I said above, growing perennial vegetables is a multiyear commitment. Harvest in spring and early summer. Once this time frame has passed, allow the plants to continue growing. They will produce lacy foliage that can be four or more feet all. The better care you take of the plants at this time, the more prolific they will be next year. Cut back in fall and wait till next spring for a healthy crop.

Egyptian walking onions (Allium proliferum) are cold hardy. Sometimes called winter onions, tree onions or perennial onions they produce bulblets at the end of the stalk where flowers would normally form, not underground. When the stalk bends over and touches the ground, the bulblets will take root, establishing a new plant, hence the name walking onions — they seem to walk across the ground. They come out in early spring, sometimes even through the snow. Once you harvest a plant it will not grow back, but since each plant can produce so many bulblets on many stalks, as long as you don’t harvest all of every plant, you’ll have plenty for the future. They grow in zones 3 to 9 (Long Island is 7). These perennial onions can be found in a number of catalogs. Go to www.egyptianwalkingonions.com for further information.

Horseradish (Armoracia rusticana) is in the same family as mustard, broccoli and cabbage. The roots are used as a spice, particularly for red meat, chicken and fish. It does well in hardiness zones 2 through 9. In the fall, the roots are dug up, some kept for consumption and one main root replanted for next year’s crop. Alternately, only dig up some of your plants. The Horseradish Council (www.horseradish.org) has many recipes for using this delicious but hot spice.

Rhubarb (Rheum rhabarbarum) is botanically a veggie, although it’s used as a fruit, particularly with strawberries, in sweet pies and jams. It’s planted in a similar way to asparagus. Prep the soil, removing all grasses and weeds and plant the crowns in early spring. Don’t expect much of a crop the first year. When harvesting, leave at least some stalks on each plant so it will thrive for the next year. While the plants will produce enormous leaves, remember, it is the red stalks that are edible, not the toxic leaves. A high nitrogen fertilizer is recommended when the ground has just thawed. The rhizomes of rhubarb plants can be divided every three to four years when the plants are dormant.

There are other perennial vegetables, including artichokes and Jerusalem artichokes. And yes, strawberries (which are a fruit) are established in beds as well.

Ellen Barcel is a freelance writer and master gardener. Send your gardening questions and/or comments to [email protected]. To reach Cornell Cooperative Extension and its Master Gardener program, call 631-727-7850.

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A cold frame is the perfect way to get a jump on spring gardening. Stock photo

By Ellen Barcel

When I was a kid, my father always started his tomato (and other) plants indoors as seedlings and then, as the weather warmed, gradually moved them outdoors to harden them off. He did this by first moving them to a cold frame and then finally out into the garden itself.

What exactly is a cold frame and how is it different from a greenhouse? A cold frame is a small structure, with a transparent roof, like a miniature greenhouse. It’s built low to the ground, just high enough to accommodate the new, baby plants. When the weather becomes unexpectedly cold or very rainy, the cold frame keeps the plants warm and dry.

On an unexpectedly hot day in early spring, my father would go out to the cold frame and prop the “roof” open so the temperature wouldn’t become too hot for the little plants. He’d make sure to close the cold frame at night so low night temperatures wouldn’t shock the plants. Once the weather had warmed enough, especially overnight, he’d then move the plants to their permanent home in the garden.

So, think of a cold frame as a transition from the protection of the house or greenhouse where the seedlings are started to the various weather conditions outside — a way of prolonging the growing season.

Cold frames can be bought from nursery supply stores or catalogues or can be homemade. The size depends on how many baby plants you hope it will hold. Usually, it is two or three feet deep by four or five feet wide, depending on the space available and six to 12 inches high.

To make one using leftover materials around your house, use leftover lumber to create the sides of the rectangle, placing them directly on the ground. Then use an old window and attach it to one of the longer sides in the back with hinges so that the window can be propped up to allow excess heat out. If you decide to build your own cold frame, there are a number of videos online that give you detailed instructions.

Yes, you should place your cold frame in a sunny location (a south-facing location is ideal) or you’ll find that your plants will become very leggy. Since it will also protect against heavy rain, make sure the location is one where water doesn’t pool.

Does every gardener need a cold frame? Not necessarily — only if you like to start seedlings indoors to get a jump on spring gardening. If you prefer to buy from your local nursery, then it will have plants out when it is warm enough to plant them directly in the garden.

What’s the difference between a cold frame and a greenhouse then? A greenhouse is a much larger structure, usually designed to grow plants year round or at least overwinter them. A hothouse is a greenhouse with temperature control (heat in winter) to keep plants warm enough while a cool house is a greenhouse used in a hot (desert) environment to protect them from the hot outside temperature, cooling them as needed.

The temperature in a greenhouse is adjusted (frequently automatically with a thermostat) to make sure that the plants are kept at a given temperature. The only adjustment the gardener does to a cold frame is opening the glass to let out excessive heat on a warm spring day. It’s a transition and not intended for long-term growing of plants.

Ellen Barcel is a freelance writer and master gardener. Send your gardening questions and/or comments to [email protected]. To reach Cornell Cooperative Extension and its Master Gardener program, call 631-727-7850.

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Stop cutting back mums and Montauk daisies by the Fourth of July to ensure autumn flowering. Photo by Ellen Barcel

By Ellen Barcel

Holidays are a time when people enjoy a rest, take a vacation from work and like to celebrate special occasions. But, holidays can also serve as markers for gardeners, a calendar of sorts, reminding them what needs to be done and when.

February 2 is Groundhog Day, a day in midwinter where whimsy takes over and the rodent “predicts” either an early spring (as this year) or six more weeks of winter. In any event, February is the perfect time to check out the gardening catalogues, plan your future garden and start your hardier crops indoors in a sunny location. Check the seed packages to see how many weeks before moving them outdoors you should sow the seeds. Cuttings from early flowering shrubs, like forsythia, can be made in February and brought inside to force early flowers.

Poinsettias can be toxic to children and pets, so place them out of reach during the Christmas holidays. Photo by Ellen Barcel
Poinsettias can be toxic to children and pets, so place them out of reach during the Christmas holidays. Photo by Ellen Barcel

March 17, St. Patrick’s Day, is the traditional start of the pea planting season. Of course, it’s really important to check the weather and the soil conditions. Peas are one crop that prefers cool weather but can’t grow in the extreme cold we usually have on Long Island in mid-March. Think of this as a heads-up to get ready to plant as soon as the soil is workable and warm enough.

Easter is a holiday when people tend to bring forced plants, grown in nurseries, into the house. Be really careful here as lilies, while traditional for the season, are toxic to cats. Even the water that the cut flowers are placed in can cause series health issues for them if they drink it; so keep lilies away from your cats. Generally, plant Easter gift plants in the garden as soon as possible but usually after the blooms have faded — so you can enjoy them in the house.

Memorial Day (some people say Mother’s Day, which is a bit earlier) is usually the start of really warm weather, so that tender annuals, such as tomatoes and herbs such as basil and dill can be moved outdoors. Marjoram and summer savory will also die in a late frost; so wait till the weather is warm enough.

Fourth of July is usually considered as the last date in the growing season that perennial flowers, like Montauk daisies and mums, can be pruned back and still complete a flowering cycle, blooming in very late summer to autumn. The rule of thumb is to start pruning them when green buds appear in spring, and stop 100 days before bloom time. That is usually July 4.

Stop cutting back mums and Montauk daisies by the Fourth of July to ensure autumn flowering. Photo by Ellen Barcel
Stop cutting back mums and Montauk daisies by the Fourth of July to ensure autumn flowering. Photo by Ellen Barcel

Labor Day is generally the last day in the growing season that second (or third) season crops can be planted. The first frost day on Long Island is generally considered to be early to mid-November; so count backward from that day for the exact planting time, based on the number of days each plant takes to mature. Some varieties of bush beans will produce a crop in 50 to 60 days, which means plant them in early September, that is, Labor Day for a crop before frost. Also, very tender houseplants should start to be brought indoors if they have summered outside. Particularly watch the low night temps.

By Columbus Day all your houseplants should be indoors. Move tender shrubs or small trees like figs to an unheated garage once the leaves fall. Lift tender bulbs and store them in a cool dry place once the leaves have all died back to the ground.

Thanksgiving, late November, is usually the last time you can plant spring bulbs like daffodils, hyacinths, tulips, etc, outside. Those and other spring bulbs can actually be planted as long as the ground is not frozen. If you miss the cutoff date, consider storing them in the fridge till spring.

Christmas is a time when many decorative plants are used in the house. Be particularly careful with indoor plants, such as poinsettias, which can harm both young children and pets if ingested. And we all know that little kids and pets put everything in their mouths.

While the above are generalities, always take into consideration the actual conditions at any given time. If a sudden cold front is predicted for mid-September, make sure that your houseplants are indoors. If the ground is still frozen in early April, then you just can’t plant your early/cool weather plants yet.

Ellen Barcel is a freelance writer and master gardener. Send your gardening questions and/or comments to [email protected]. To reach Cornell Cooperative Extension and its Master Gardener program, call 631-727-7850.

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Tree hibiscus do well in a planter in full sun. Photo by Ellen Barcel

By Ellen Barcel

 

Last week we took a look at some specific plants that can grow in small spaces. Since there are many options, we’ll take a look at a few more this week.

Tree hibiscus do well in a planter in full sun. Photo by Ellen Barcel
Tree hibiscus do well in a planter in full sun. Photo by Ellen Barcel

A wide variety of vegetables can be grown in pots or tubs including string beans, cucumbers (with a trellis) and squash. Remember to replant for a second crop when the plants cease bearing. String beans, for example, can continue to grow well into the fall.

Roses can also be grown in tubs (medium-sized plants) or window boxes (for tiny rose plants). Like herbs, roses need sun; so select a location for your pots, rock garden etc. that gets at least six hours of sun a day. Miniature roses come in a wide variety of colors: ‘Sun Sprinkles’ is a bright yellow, ‘Hot Tamale’ is a gorgeous mix of deep pink and yellow, ‘Cinnamon Girl’ is a burgundy and ‘Innocence’ is the palest shade of pink, almost white.

Remember to check your rose plants for thorns. If the one you select has a lot of them, make sure you locate it where someone won’t trip and hurt themselves. Miniature roses are prone to the same problems that medium and large rose bushes are, namely black spot (a fungal disease) and aphids. So, you need to take the same care that you would if growing a full-sized plant, that is, use a rose spray unless the variety you select specifically says disease resistant. Also, avoid watering the leaves — aim the hose at the soil. Keeping the leaves dry helps to prevent fungal diseases. If you have a deer problem, make sure that the rose bushes are planted where the deer can’t reach them.

Since roses prefer soil that is only slightly acidic (6.5) to neutral (7), growing roses in pots works well from the soil pH since most potting soil is closer to neutral. If you decide to plant your small roses in your garden soil, test it first. If it is very acidic, you need to add lime.

String beans do well in a planter in full sun. Photo by Ellen Barcel
String beans do well in a planter in full sun. Photo by Ellen Barcel

In addition to shrub roses, consider a tree rose — a wide variety of colors are available — which can be grown in a large tub. Tree hibiscus also does well in tubs.

If you have enough space on an open porch, deck or patio, you can grow dwarf evergreen trees. Dwarf Alberta spruce (Picea clauca) is a sturdy evergreen that grows well in USDA hardiness zones 2 through 8. This dense, slow growing tree prefers full sun and because of its small size fits into small spaces as well as large tubs. Putting a pair on either side of an entrance way gives a formal appearance. You can even decorate with small Christmas lights and ornaments come the holidays. It can be pruned into a topiary if you wish. While the tree can reach 10 feet tall, it’s such a slow grower that it will not usually be a problem for 25 to 30 years.

Squash plants do well in a planter in full sun. Photo by Ellen Barcel
Squash plants do well in a planter in full sun. Photo by Ellen Barcel

Dwarf deciduous trees grow well in tubs. Dwarf fruit trees provide flowers in the spring and fruit in summer or fall. ‘Juliet Dwarf Cherry,’ for example, grows just five to eight feet tall, is self-pollinating and does well in USDA hardiness zones 2 through 7 (Long Island is zone 7). Because of their small size, it’s easy to prune them and easy to put netting to protect the fruit from hungry birds. Other dwarf trees include dwarf apple, pear and fig. Dwarf lime, lemon and orange can be grown outdoors in summer but must be moved indoors in the colder weather.

Bonsai: If you’re really into gardening as a hobby, consider bonsai, plants deliberately kept miniature by root and branch pruning. Bonsai are grown in small containers, but, a warning, this hobby is for the dedicated gardener as it requires a fair amount of work and knowledge. Deciduous plants such as Japanese red maple make for beautiful bonsai but must also be wintered outdoors, in a protected area, as the bonsai version needs a period of rest just like the full-sized plant.

Ellen Barcel is a freelance writer and master gardener. Send your gardening questions and/or comments to [email protected]. To reach Cornell Cooperative Extension and its Master Gardener program, call 631-727-7850.

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