Saturday, September 22, 2007 1:18 AM CDT
Answers to your fall planting questions
By MARSHA OVERTON, Yard and Garden Writer
Before I get into all the questions I have for this week, I just want to thank all of you for supporting the Master Gardeners plant sale. You are always helping us out by purchasing our plants.
This sale and the Herb Festival are really the only two money projects that we have. Besides, you are able to get some fantastic plants at very reasonable prices. So, until next spring, enjoy your plants!
Well, I finally have stopped watering my annuals so much. For sure you must keep watering your trees and/or other plants; such as shrubs or bushes. We are really in need of some more moisture. This kind of weather has been ideal for the farmers, though.
Garden questions
for central Illinois
Q) I have seen several trees around town that seem to be “smothering” because they are covered with vines. Won’t these vines kill the trees?
A) It depends on how the vine climbs and how vigorous it is. Plants like English ivy, which attach themselves to the surface of the bark with aerial roots called holdfasts, do not do damage to the tree until they get so huge that their weight breaks branches and their leaves block out too much light.
Plants like wisteria and honeysuckle, which tend to wrap themselves around the trunk, are a bigger hazard. As these vines grow, they can strip and then strangle the tree, eventually killing it.
Because English ivy adds a handsome green winter cloak, it can be allowed to stay as long as they are confined to the lower trunk, where it won’t lie on the branches or interfere with the sunlight.
Q) I have some wonderful sunflowers this year that I would like to save the seeds from. How do I go about saving these seeds?
A) To keep the seeds for growing or even eating, you have to wait until they are mature. Birds will start lining up just before the petals fall, but the seeds won’t mature until the bracts (the petal-like leaves surrounding the flower) turn brown, and the back of the heads turn lime-yellow. Depending on the size and thickness of the head, this may follow the petal’s falling by three or four weeks.
During this time, you can protect the seeds by covering the head with a paper bag. Cut the mature heads off, and hang them in a dry spot with good circulation. Upside down or right side up doesn’t matter, but it takes at least two weeks for the seeds to dry. They are ready when they come out of the head with a gentle rub.
My sunflowers were wonderful this year. I think I’ll just go to our favorite seed store, buy them next spring and let the birds have these this year.
Q) What length of rest period should bulbs have after being taken up from the soil?
A) This varies with the kind of bulb. Colchicums and lilies, for example, should be replanted with the least possible delay, as should daffodils. Tulips can be stored out of the ground for three months or more without harm.
Q) I have had a lot of trouble losing lily and tulip bulbs in the winter. Some rodent makes burrows 3 inches below the surface of the ground. I have used wired baskets in planting, but to no avail; also poison and traps. What can I do?
A) You may have to encircle the whole bed with fine mesh wire netting, 12 inches wide, buried vertically, and extending 2 to 3 inches above the ground surface. Do not mulch the bed until the ground is well frozen. Liberal addition of pebbles or stone chips to the soil when planting a bulb discourages mice.
Q) What type of soil is needed to grow daffodils?
A) Any garden soil is suitable, providing it is deep, well drained, and reasonably fertile. Avoid planting in hot, barren soil or where the soil remains wet for long periods. They will not survive in wet soils.
Q) How should I fertilize daffodils that do not need lifting and replanting?
A) Top-dress in early fall with super phosphate and in early spring with a complete fertilizer and compost or old, well-rotted manure.
Q) What is the care of fall-blooming chrysanthemums? Mine die down every fall, lose their leaves (which turn black or brown), and flower very late.
A) They are probably infested with leaf nematodes (eelworms). In some cases, the blooms turn brown before fully opening, while having foliage that is in good condition. In your case, though, after your plants have bloomed, cut back close to the ground. Remove and burn all stems and leaves, which harbor the pest over winter. In spring propagate from tip cuttings and set plants in a new location with good soil, or soil disinfected with formaldehyde or chloropicrin.
Gardening guide
for central Illinois
FLOWERS: Dig dahlias, tuberous begonias, cannas, caladiums, gladiolus and callas before the first killing frost. Cure in a warm room at 45 degrees. Peonies, poppies, and sweet peas (just to name a few) may be planted at the end of this month through late fall.
FRUITS: Harvest apples as they mature. Layer black raspberries and thornless blackberries for additional plants. Make pies for the freezer and jams for the toast.
INDOOR GARDENING: Before returning houseplants to the home, thoroughly rinse off foliage and container, inspect plants for insect pests, and treat if necessary. Remove spent blooms and/or dead leaves or stems. Prune if too large. Discontinue fertilizing in October. Start amaryllis dormancy by withholding water. Place in a cool, dark location. Dormancy doesn’t begin until all foliage is dead. Plant should remain dormant for two to three months.
TREES/SHRUBS: Pine trees begin to drop their older interior needles; it is a natural occurrence.
The Extension Master Gardeners are in the office on Monday from 2 to 4 p.m.; Wednesday and Friday, 9 to 11 a.m. This column is based on information and materials available at the University of Illinois Extension office, located at 707 Windsor Road, Suite A., Charleston, 61920; phone 345-7034; e-mail coles_co@extension.uiuc.edu. More information can also be found at http://coles.extension.uiuc.edu/. If you have any questions about yard, garden or indoor plant care, write, stop by or call the Coles County Extension office.
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