The Coastal Gardener - April, 2005
The first roses, new seedlings, and many other spring wonders!
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Everyday in early April keeps us in eager anticipation of the unfurling of the roses. But even though I have already had some blooms on the English Shrub rose 'Gertrude Jeklyll' and some on the Rugosas, the main show is yet to come. Any day now…any moment…perhaps tomorrow. But due to the grey weather of March, many rose stems have gone blind, that is, produced no buds at their tips. Blind growth is simple to remedy by cutting back the tips to the first five -leaflet leave on the stem. Soon enough the rose will produce a blooming stem, full of buds enough to make your neighbors envious. And a good truss of roses at the dinner table is just the ticket for gaining jealous comments from your less talented friends.
In my own potting shed the cold frame has come in very handy this year, protecting seedlings from the nearly constant onslaught of rain. Seedlings sprout much quicker in the shelter of the frame, a small greenhouse-like structure made of aluminum and double wall polycarbonate. First I sowed pots of sweet peas and verbenas, then bronze fennel, ornamental millet and gazanias. After the seedlings sprout, the frame lid is left open more often each day to introduce them to the colder outside air. When strong enough, they move to a wire enclosure for their final hardening off, but still protected from the birds. After planting out in the garden the seedlings gain additional protection from the floating row covers I spoke of last month.
April is the best month to think about August and September, for now is the time to set in cannas, asters and chrysanthemums for late summer bloom. I potted up containers of Bengal Tiger, a stripped-leaf canna with pink flowers, and Wyoming Dwarf, a red-leaf scarlet flowered selection; both available from Park Seed www.parkseed.com The cannas will be moved to their summer homes on the dining patio as they come into full leaf. Rooted starts of chrysanthemums from Bluestone Perennials (add .com) will be ready to bloom by August. Mums are often overlooked by the home gardener but were once quite popular. They remain very easy to grow as long as they are supported with a grid of twine about a foot or two above the crown then disbudded to give the best blooms. Disbudding forces the plants to delay blooming while a second more selective disbudding encourages larger blooms.
I have blathered on about asters to most of you as much as do about bulbs but I think that the aster's value cannot be overstressed: They begin bloom in the deepest August doldrums and well until October. Asters come in a rich range of blues, reds pinks or purples with heights for both the back and front of the border and mix perfectly with late blooming roses.
Watching for insects and diseases is an important activity; small groups of aphids turn into infestations in just days. I tend to use the least toxic approach to an insect or disease problem from squashing bugs to picking off rust covered leaves. Anticipating disease problems on roses is as simple as a monthly preventative spray of Neem oil while keeping the roses well fed and making sure there is good air circulation. The local American Rose Society usually has great talks on rose care this month along with a bloom competition.
Out in the orchard a several of my favorite plants are creating this month's picture. Burgundy-leaved Euphorbia 'Chameleon' has born chartreuse centered flowers that echo the nearby greens of Oregano 'Santa Cruz', which will later send up a cloud of pink flowers. In the background the first blooms on Rosa 'Mutabilis' are doing their magic act of turning from rich gold just after unfurling to rose pink as each flower ages. Of course the spiny leaves of a variegated holly, which in years to come will be the winter focal point near the orchard gate, echo the rose's the gold.
>Underappreciated Plant of the month: Arum italicum 'Pictum'. Here is a bulb closely related to the Calla Lilly but not grown for its flowers. Instead you plant it for the fabulous effect of it's marbled white veins over glossy leather leaves. They emerge in fall with the first rains and grow larger as winter progresses. Later insignificant brown flowers give way to unusual racemes of red berries in June after the leaves have withered away. Mine are planted amongst a carpet of heathers in partial shade. Source: BrentandBeckysBulbs.com
Enjoy! Dave Egbert
