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New Plantings, Veggie Maintenance, Hummingbird Flowers & Other June News
June Newsletter Cover
Establishing New Plantings
Many gardeners have done a majority of their seasonal work by the start of June. While spring is the best time to plant, you will see trees, shrubs and perennials going into the ground as projects pop up over the summer. It CAN be done but NEEDS to be done wisely! Here are some tips to keep any new plantings as healthy as possible in the warmer summer months.
- The sooner plants can be put into the ground, the better! Plan to purchase and plant within a short timeframe (over the same weekend, if possible). Plants in containers tend to dry out faster and will almost certainly need daily watering if left in hot temperatures and sunny locations.
- Pace yourself and break up your projects if you need to!
- Dig a hole the same depth as the pot. Digging wider than the root ball will help it spread but digging too deep can risk burying the crown of the plant which can lead to complications further down the road.
- If the soil and plants are not nutrient deficient, fertilizing is not necessary. We always recommend fertilizing based on a soil test analysis whenever possible.
- Do not divide plants in their first year of establishment.
- Water the soil line with the goal of providing enough water to move beyond the root ball. This will encourage roots to continue to stretch outward.
- Apply 2-3 gallons of water per inch of trunk diameter immediately after planting.
- Be advised: Watering with sprinklers or drip hoses will only water the first couple inches of soil unless run for long periods of time.
- Check for water regularly.
- Keep in mind that different plants have different needs and instructions on the tag may provide insight into watering.
- Plants that are stressed, exposed to extreme weather conditions, or producing flowers/fruit may need closer attention.
- The best way to know if a plant needs water is to check the soil. Feel the first few inches of the soil to determine if it is wet or dry
- Many potting media mixes used by nurseries may dry out faster than the soil surrounding the plant in the ground. Check as close to the center of the root ball as possible, being careful not to disturb the roots.
- Keep in mind that different plants have different needs and instructions on the tag may provide insight into watering.
Continuing Veggie Garden Success
- Split garden chores up. If you weed for 30 minutes every night after dinner it can be much more enjoyable than having to spend hours of energy on it all in one go.
- Keep an eye on the weather - plants will need more water and even possibly more support on hot or windy days. When tomatoes start to show up - heavy rains may cause them to split so picking them early can help to prevent losses.
- Start scouting now! Look for signs of insects and eggs on the underside of leaves while plants are small and manageable.
- If you have had squash vine borer, cabbage moths, or other types of flying insects - consider using row covers. Keep in mind you may have to hand pollinate if you use this method.
- Giving young vegetable gardens supports early can allow the plants to grow into them as opposed to you making them fit when they're a bit too big. Gardeners have used different types of trellising over the years, and each found what works best for them. A few of them include:
- Tomato Cages
- Stakes
- The Basket Weave/The Florida Weave
- String or Twine Guides
- Compare Various Staking Techniques
Planting to Attract Hummingbirds
Gardeners all over North America strive to create a garden space enticing enough for hummingbirds, butterflies, and other pollinators to stop by on their travels.
- Even though we all associate the color red with these little creatures, they actually see many more colors than the human eye can even detect. You can select other colors to make your garden enjoyable for you and your winged friends.
- Flower shape matters! Hummingbirds like tubular or trumpet shaped flowers best.
- Create a hummingbird haven by making sure there is always something in bloom in your garden. Gardeners can achieve this with long blooming annuals, a series of perennials that bloom one after another, or a combination of both.
We've helped to create a brief list of plants that will improve your chances of attracting hummingbirds into your garden spaces!
Annuals
- Cuphea spp.
- Mexican Heather
- Bat Faced Heather
- Cigar Plant
- Firecracker Plant
- Lantana
- Salvia spp.
- Black & Blue
- Rockin' Series
- Torena
- Verbena
Perennials
- Delphinium
- Dianthus
- Garden Pinks
- Dicentra
- Bleeding Heart
- Hosta
- Monarda spp.
- Monarda fistulosa Bergamont
- Monarda didyma Jacob Cline
Native Plant Highlight: Mountain Laurel
Kalmia latifolia is broadleaf evergreen native to eastern North America and is found in open woods, edges of water or along woodland edges.
Flowers are white and are n bloom from late May to early June. It can form thickets in the woods, and the older specimens have rather picturesque gnarling of trunks and branches. There are multiple cultivars of this plant, some with very colorful flowers.
Native Insect: Elderberry Borer
This native long-horned beetle is a spectacular, though uncommon. It can be found in natural areas where there are elderberry plants. It is large, has long serrated antennae, and has elytra that are orange and bright metallic blue. Larvae are borers of elderberry stems and roots but are not a serious pest in the wild where elderberry are numerous.
Wildlife Highlight: Turtles
Our native turtles will be or are already looking for suitable places to lay their eggs. Sometimes they travel a distance from the water source they live in. As they travel, they are often a victim of motor vehicles as they cross roads at a less than rapid pace. If you decide to help a turtle cross the road, make sure to place it on the side of the road it was trying to get to, as females will only try to get to the side they were originally headed for. Pictured is a spotted turtle on its way somewhere.
Knowledge to Grow On
Read our Ladybug blogs written weekly:
Be Prepared for Ticks
Soil Prep for Success
Strawberry-licious!
How to Tie Climbing and Rambling Roses to Achieve the Best look
Remove Those Suckers!
Remove Those Suckers!
By Dawn Pettinelli, UConn Home & Garden Education Center
About now the gardens should be planted, and it is time to turn our attention to the trees and shrubs on the property. New growth is almost fully expanded and pruning of spring flowering shrubs can commence. When out there with your pruners, keep an eye peeled for suckers and water sprouts, both on the plants you’re pruning and other woody plants in the yard.
Many trees and shrubs produce vigorous, upright stems that can reach several feet high over the growing season if left unchecked. Those arising from the root system are known as suckers while those growths arising from the crown portion of a tree or large shrub are referred to as water sprouts. At the very least, they are unattractive and take away from the architectural framework of a plant. More importantly they use water, nutrients and energy that could be put to better use if not taken from the rest of the plant. If not removed, they can crowd out the main plant resulting in reduced vigor.
Some woody plants naturally tend to produce suckers and sometimes these young vigorous shoots are needed to rejuvenate older plants as aging stems are removed. An example would be shrubs like red-twigged dogwoods or lilacs. Suckers arising from trees such as apples, crabapples, honey locust, lindens and others, however, should be removed.
In the case of grafted plants, like hybrid tea roses or apples, the desired variety is grafted on to a rootstock that might be more cold hardy, have dwarfing genes or other desired features. Occasionally the rootstock revolts, so to speak, and sends up its own shoots. In the case of roses, one might notice a stem with red flowers when the plant was purchased as a named cultivar with different colored flowers.
Suckers and water sprouts often occur because plants are in some way stressed or due to damage to their root system. Plants can be under stress for a number of reasons. Some common reasons would be insect or disease problems, drought, too high of a water table, compacted soil and/or difficult growing conditions.
Planting too deep will also stress a plant and could cause suckers to develop. Whenever planting woody plants sink them so that the level of soil in the pot they are grown in is level with the soil they are planted in.
Another reason for suckers or water sprouts is that plants are pruned incorrectly or too drastically. Seldom is it advisable to remove more than one-third of the plant at one time. Also, avoid topping ornamental or woodland trees.
Ideally suckers and water sprouts should be removed as soon as they are produced. Often, they can just be rubbed or twisted off in spring as their stem is just starting to expand. Once they reach pencil-size in thickness, cut with clean, sharp pruners. Do your best to remove them flush to a limb or as close to the tree’s trunk or root system as you can. Don’t leave stubs as these will likely have buds at their base and just regrow.
Speaking of suckers, there are often questions when growing tomatoes about what to do with the sprouts popping up where the leaf attaches to the main stem. Typically suckers just form on indeterminate tomato varieties, which are those that continue to grow, bloom and set fruit as long as growing conditions allow. If all suckers are left on the plant, it becomes quite unruly and hard to stake. Also, fruit will be plentiful but usually smaller.
Usually, the suckers below the first fruiting cluster are removed so the development of those tomatoes won’t be slowed. Then it is up to individual gardeners to decide whether to leave suckers or not and how many to leave. Often a few are left to increase and extend the harvest. Tomatoes in our area are prone to many leaf diseases, especially during humid and wet seasons. As the bottom leaves yellow and die, it is beneficial to let some of the suckers on top grow so plants can produce more foliage to yield food for the plant and to shade the developing fruit. Some experimentation might be necessary keeping in mind that it is better to remove too little than too much.
For questions about pruning suckers and water sprouts or on other gardening topics, feel free to contact us, toll-free, at the UConn Home & Garden Education Center at (877) 486-6271, visit our website at www.homegarden.cahnr.uconn.edu or contact your local Cooperative Extension Center.
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