Too Big

 June 2024

Pickaway to Garden

Too big

By Paul Hang

Last June my column title was, “Baby It’s Too Late.” This June my warning is, “Too Big.” I have been known to plant things that became a lot bigger than I had planned. My Dawn Redwood and my Northern Catalpa trees are rivaling “Jack and the Bean Stalk” fairy tale status. My Stiff Goldenrod and my Blazing Star (both native plants) have performed well beyond expectations. Native plants in our flower beds without the competition of a natural environment can grow crazy. My ninebark is the size of a one car garage and my elderberries are well …. Last June, in order to encourage you to plant because it wasn’t too late, I suggested you read the seed packet for information on when to plant certain crops. Also on seed packets and plant tags they often say how big a plant might get. Read’em and heed’em.

The really good fine print goes on to say, “This may vary depending on soil and weather conditions” Now; I have been accused of telling some people, “Do as I say, not as I do.” I have also not read directions and I have not believed some directions. This also goes for Google and You Tube. What I am trying to get at is, be careful before you invest in and plant things you may not be familiar with and take directions seriously and use more than one source of information.

Here in South Central Ohio we have an adequate amount of rainfall even if we do get droughty summers. We also have clay soils. People often curse their clay soils for many reasons but one thing about clay is, it is often very fertile. Once amended with organic matter it is a very nice growing medium. Put the wrong plant in the wrong place and you too may have a yard resembling Jurassic Park. Fe -Fi- Fo- Fum, don’t say I haven’t warned you.

The accompanying photograph shows me (I am just under 6’ tall) and my elderberries. They sprouted from three sticks I planted just a few short years ago. What to do? Prune, prune, prune. As a last result, cut them down and start over with something labeled dwarf (which brings to mind other fairy tales). Read labels and seed packets, beware of plant “gifts.” Use tape measures when planning a planting. Believe it when you read “H 20’ W 12” mature height may reach 60’ “.

If you are enamored of a plant, research for cultivars that are smaller. For instance, Limelight Hydrangea is a great plant. If you read the directions it might say “grows quite tall” or “a larger variety reaching 6-8 feet tall.” Mine surpassed that. Upon further investigation, there are cultivars; ‘Limelight Prime’ grows 4-6’ or ‘Little Lime’ grows to 4’. Are they too big?

Our annual Master Gardener Volunteer Founders Day Celebration will be held on Wednesday June 26^th, 6:00 PM at the Starkey Pavilion at Mary Virginia Crites Hannan Park. Jennifer Windus from the Ohio Invasive Plant Council will present “Good Plants Gone Bad.” Please bring seating as there is none at the Pavilion. Admission is free!

Things to do in the garden:

To avoid the wilting of cucumber and melon vines cover the new plants with row cover material until the plants flower. Then remove the cover so that the pollinators can do their work. Use row covers on all vegetable plants that do not need to be pollinated: cabbage, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, lettuce, onions and root crops are examples. We eat them before they flower and go to seed, thus no need for them to be pollinated. I have begun to do this on more vegetables and it keeps most pests away. Mulch vegetables in mid-month after the soil has warmed up. You can fertilize all vegetables, corn two times, this month.

Weed and thin plants. Crowding plants more than is recommended results in all the plants doing poorly. Water deeply (not a little each day) one inch per week all summer.  Apply the water to the base of the plants rather than on the foliage. If you use a sprinkler, water early in the day so the foliage can dry before nightfall. Wet foliage overnight encourages fungal diseases to develop.

Remove seed heads from perennials. Don’t allow fancy hybrids to ripen and self-sow as their offspring will not come true. Deadhead flowers for more blooms. Iris can be divided and replanted after blooming. Pinch back mums once they are 4 to 6 inches tall. Continue to pinch back until mid-July. If your daffodils or other bulb plants didn’t bloom well it could be because they are now growing in the shade of larger grown trees or shrubs. Or, perhaps they are too crowded? Once the foliage turns yellow you can dig up the bulbs and divide and/or move them.

Fruit trees often shed small fruits in early summer called June Drop. Thin after this occurs. Thin apples to one fruit per cluster and one fruit every four to eight inches. Other tree fruit can be thinned a little less. This will cause bigger fruit. Don’t thin cherries. Pick up all fallen fruit. Only compost fallen fruit if you have a “hot” heap. Otherwise dispose of diseased fruit in the trash.

If you notice a “volunteer” tomato plant in your garden, yank it out or transplant it. Good gardeners, like good farmers, rotate their crops. A volunteer growing in last year’s tomato area allows disease to accumulate in that spot. Mulch under tomatoes keeps the soil from splashing up on the fruits. Soil on the fruits promotes disease. If you don’t stake, trellis or cage your tomatoes and let them sprawl on the ground, mulch will keep the fruit off the bare ground. Mulch also keeps the ground from drying out, suppresses weeds and moderates the soil temperature. Several layers of newspaper topped with organic mulch, leaves, untreated grass clippings, coarse compost, shredded bark etc. should do the trick. Never let your tomatoes wilt. Uneven watering causes blossom end rot.

Water your roses well but hold off on the geraniums. They will bloom best when kept somewhat dry. Roses sprouting from below the graft should be replaced. Peonies should be fertilized after they finish blooming. Newly planted trees and bushes should be watered well each week for the first two years if the weather turns dry. Give them a good soaking. Don’t give them a booster feeding of fertilizer this year. Force those young roots to search for food by stretching out into the soil. Mow the lawn high, 3-4 inches, it crowds out weeds and needs less water, and mowing.

The Master Gardener Volunteers Helpline is open for your gardening questions. Call 740-474-7534 with your question or go to www.Pickaway.osu.edu, click on "Ask an expert."