The 2019 Gardening Thread.

[Azazel]

Thanks for all the information. So what would you guys recommend doing now to try and salvage my shrub?

 

[DreamerRose]

I'm sorry to say that I don't think you can. It's too large a plant for its location. All you can do is to trim it lightly to keep it from overcrowding the sidewalk.

 

[MoochNNoodles]

So with my lilacs (just planted last year) I should go trim where there was flowers this year? The one lilac is struggling but not dead. Some branches appear dead but farther down there are healthy green leaves. That plant didn't grow much at all last year either. I've started feeding it to see if that helps.

 

[DreamerRose]

No, I don't think you need to cut the old blossoms off. Do cut the dead branches off to where you see new growth. Lilacs really don't need pruning like the kind of shrubs we were talking about - just remove dead wood.

Wow, after all the rain we've had, I'm actually sunburned today. First of the season.

 

[posiepurrs]

Pieris Care And Planting – How To Grow Japanese Andromeda Bushes
How to Prune Pieris Japonica
Honestly I think your Peiris is planted in the incorrect place. If it were me, I would just cut my losses and replace it. I don't think it will ever be happy there and they really don't need to be cut back like that since you sacrifice the blooms.

 

[MoochNNoodles]

No, I don't think you need to cut the old blossoms off. Do cut the dead branches off to where you see new growth. Lilacs really don't need pruning like the kind of shrubs we were talking about - just remove dead wood.

Thanks I'll go look it over again today. I'm kind of afraid there won't be much left; but if that makes the rest of the plant grow better than so be it!

 

[catapault]

If you enjoy 15 foot tall lilacs with flowers only at the top - perhaps peering in 2nd story windows? - don't bother to prune. If you want flowers and fragrance where you can enjoy them more easily then you need to prune. Not much, just shaping.

Twin buds that form at the top of a shoot will flower. Single bud will make a leafy extension / taller shoot.

Since your lilacs were recently planted they should not need much rejuvenation pruning, just shaping. However dead shoots / no leafy growth will not make new leafy growth so as was suggested it should be removed. If you want to check if a shoot is alive or not just scrape the bark firmly but gently with your thumbnail. If there is green under the bark then that portion is alive. If it is brown then it is not.

Here's a site with more information: Learn How and When to Prune Lilacs

 

[foxxycat]

Lilacs have shallow roots-make sure the roots are covered with enough dirt. I dont know if they like acidic or base soil-mine get afternoon sunshine and this year only one side bloomed. There is a weird shrub growing in the middle of them which we didn't get a chance to cut back so it probably will affect the rest of my bushes. They planted 2 colors here-the traditional purple/pink have bloomed, then there's this pink ones that bloom 2 weeks later-so they should show some flowers in the next week or so I hope.
I have never pruned my lilacs but have transplanted them-they dont seem to mind getting moved either.

 

[mama africa]

I thought the leaves looked a lot bigger than the maples I see around here. Ours have tiny little leaves.
View attachment 287205 View attachment 287206

Mine has small leaves too.



We had a thunderstorm with hail yesterday evening...



… but no damage to the plants/flowers.

When I came home from work today I noticed 3 tiny (really tiny) yellow round zucchinis.

 

[NY cat man]

Here is one of Michele's moonflowers. As you can see, it already has 3 small buds on it.

 

[MoochNNoodles]

This is the lilac variety I have: Yankee Doodle Lilac - Monrovia - Yankee Doodle Lilac I bought mine from a local place. They shouldn't get too huge. It says 6' tall and wide.

I spent some time today clearing out one garden bed to "rest" for the year. I've been reading up on using newspaper to block weeds. So I bought a couple on Sunday and put them down under the weed block and cedar mulch. I thought you couldn't use colored newspaper but I found several articles that said you can use colored; but not glossy pages. I ended up not pulling every weed out because that's an insane amount of work for not planting afterwards. Hopefully I don't regret that. I still have to do another 4x8 bed. I'm out of newspapers though. And my hand was done. But the weather was gorgeous. I'm glad I got to spend today outside.

 

[DreamerRose]

That's a beautiful color on the Yankee Doodle. I've been outside now for two days straight (no rain!) myself, and I'm sunburned and sore. I couldn't even make it to the garden club meeting this evening. Because of my surgeries, I've neglected my yard for two years, and it's a jungle out there. I hope I can turn it around this summer, but there's a lot of work ahead of me.

 

[Norachan]

So I have an interesting situation going on in my compost bin. I've got about 30 cm of horse manure in there and I've been adding fruit and veg waste from the kitchen. Now I notice I have some Kabocha growing in there.

The compost bin must be like a green house, it gets plenty of light and it's extra warm.



I tried growing Kabocha a few years ago, but they all drowned in the monsoon. Maybe I should wait until after the rains and move them? What do you think?

 

[mama africa]

So I have an interesting situation going on in my compost bin. I've got about 30 cm of horse manure in there and I've been adding fruit and veg waste from the kitchen. Now I notice I have some Kabocha growing in there.

The compost bin must be like a green house, it gets plenty of light and it's extra warm.



I tried growing Kabocha a few years ago, but they all drowned in the monsoon. Maybe I should wait until after the rains and move them? What do you think?

You could move it to another spot and build or use a construction or fence to enable it to grow vertically.

Trellising Squash: How To Grow Squash Vertically

 

[Norachan]

That's a good idea. I already have a trellis that I've been wondering how to use. It might need a bit of reinforcing, but that should be easy enough to do.

Thanks for the suggestion mama africa

 

[rubysmama]

I've been reading up on using newspaper to block weeds.

I've used newspaper to block weeds, including colour flyers. Cardboard works too. But I've found the cardboard takes a lot longer to break down. But if it's well covered with soil, it really doesn't matter.

 

[MoochNNoodles]

Now I notice I have some Kabocha growing in there.

Go for it! My MIL told me when she and FIL were first married they had an apartment that included some garden and compost space shared with the owner. She had bought some of those little pumpkin gourds at the store; not knowing what they were. So she had cooked them and tossed the remnants in the compost. The next year the landlord was baffled and wanting to know what they'd put in there because they had some sort of pumpkin/squash hybrid growing out of the compost. She said they turned into good squash!

 

[DreamerRose]

I had that happen with a cherry tomato. I had this huge plant growing out of the compost bin. It was straight out of The Little Shop of Horrors.

 

[MoochNNoodles]

That's a beautiful color on the Yankee Doodle.

My blooms were darker than the picture showed. I wanted something like that picture because that's my favorite color. A lot of other pictures looked darker and I guess they were more accurate. But I still LOVE the ones I picked out. If I ever have a property big enough I'm going to get lilacs in all different shades and plant them in a row. Can you imagine if they all bloomed at once!?

I've used newspaper to block weeds, including colour flyers. Cardboard works too. But I've found the cardboard takes a lot longer to break down. But if it's well covered with soil, it really doesn't matter.

I was more afraid to try the color because it's around edibles. I think I read that most newspaper inks are soy based now so they are safe. I may aim to do this every year and put them around plants too. I need a good source of newspaper since we don't buy them normally. DH thought it was a waste to buy it and not read it and I suppose hes right; but man if it this works well it'll be worth it!!

 

[DreamerRose]

If I ever have a property big enough I'm going to get lilacs in all different shades and plant them in a row.

I did that. I have one President Grevy, which is a dark purple, a lighter purple, a pink one, and a yellow one. But the pink and yellow ones faded to white, so I have two whites and two purples now. They are getting quite old - over 20 years - so I don't know how much longer they will last.