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Vol. 2, No. 6 — June 15, 2006
In This Issue:
Pinching, Pruning, and Dead-Heading Perennials
Remember Me Rose Garden
June To-Do List
Spotlight Special: Two New Lilac Cultivars
What's Blooming
Local Gardening Events
Welcome to the
Washington Garden Enews!
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In this monthly enewsletter, we will:
address timely seasonal topics and projects; post local garden events; and, include a monthly reminder list of what you can be doing now in your garden.
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Reader Contest! Washington Gardener magazine subscribers are eligible for a family-pack of four passes to Brookside Gardens' "Wings of Fancy" Butterfly Exhibit. The passes are good through September 17. To enter, send an email to editor@washingtongardener.com by June 25 with "Butterfly Contest" in the subject line and include your mailing address. We will draw one winner at random and mail the passes to arrive by June 30.
Your Garden Photos Wanted!!! Send us a photo of your garden and you may see it published in our next magazine issue. Tell us in a short essay what makes your garden special or unique. Please include your name and location of the garden. Send high-res photo files to: editor@washingtongardener.com or send actual photo prints (no slides, please) to: Washington Gardener, 826 Philadelphia Ave., Silver Spring, MD 20910.
Pinching, Pruning, and Dead-Heading Perennials
The first flush of perennials is now in bloom and its time to routinely dead-head the spent flowers. What is dead-heading? Simply, cutting off the dying or "dead" flowerheads and their stems. "Pinching" is literally pinching off the spent blooms with your fingers. While "pruning" is trimming back your perennial plants as you would a shrub using garden pruners, though a sharp pair of scissors or shears dedicated to this purpose work supremely well.
Why dead-head? One reason is for basic tidiness. Brown, wilted blooms are not that attractive. Second, many gardeners do not want the perennials to go to seed. Cutting off the flowerheads stops this and also ensures the plant puts its energy into new growth rather than seed formation. Which brings us to our third reason to dead-head, encouraging new flowering. Often perennials will have a second flush of blooms later in the season, if cut back early enough. Finally, dead-head or prune your perennials to encourage bushy growth.
This last reason is why it is recommended to cut back your mums and other fall-blooming perennials now, rather than wait until they bloom. Pinching back the top-growth of these plants will give you shorter, less "leggy" plants that do not need staking later on.
Any precautions? Yes, most all perennials can be cut back to their basal foliage (base or crown of the plant). However, this should not be done with lavender or santolina which made not survive that drastic of a pruning. Other than that, have at it. Chop the entire stems off, then throw them in the compost heap.
Think of dead-heading as your perennials' haircuts -- painless, quick, and necessary.
Happy Growing!
Kathy Jentz
Editor/Publisher
Washington Gardener
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Local Gardening Events
Here is a selection of upcoming events in the DC area of interest to gardeners:
DC
13th Annual Hillcrest Garden Tour
June 17, 11:00am-12:30pm
Washington Heights Baptist Church, 2200 Branch Ave., SE, Washington, DC
This year’s theme is CURB APPEAL. The tour guides will point out interesting features about the homeowners, the homes and the gardens during the one-hour-and-a-half tour.
As an added bonus this year, the garden tour committee will conduct a curb appeal demonstration at the home of Tuskegee Airman Curtis Christopher Robinson, one of Hillcrest’s distinguished residents. Following the tour, all visitors are invited to a gallery reception at 2132 Branch Ave., SE, where light fare will be served and works by artists from East Washington will be displayed. Professional art consultant Sharon Burton will be available to discuss the artists and their work.
Fee: $15. Preregistration is not required.
For more information: visit: GardenTour@HillcrestDC.com.
Daylily Collection Tour
June 24, 10:00-11:00am
U.S. National Arboretum, 3501 New York Ave., NE, Washington, DC
Experience the sights, fragrances and flavors of hundreds daylilies at
the peak of their blooming season. Join the collection's curator in the
garden to learn about growing these versatile perennials. Tour
participants will even be able to taste daylily buds.
Fee: $7. Registration is required.
For more information: call 202.245.4521 or go to: www.usna.usda.gov/Education.
Rare and Endangered Plants
July 7, 10:00am-5:00pm
United States Botanic Garden Conservatory, 100 Maryland Avenue, SW, foot of the U.S. Capitol
You probably know that plants are essential in supporting life on earth. Plants are the ultimate source of the oxygen we breathe and the food we eat. But did you know that in the United States, about three out of every ten plant species is threatened? Recognizing the importance of contributing to local, national, and worldwide plant conservation efforts, the U.S. Botanic Garden participates in collaborative partnerships and programs to conserve threatened plants, share information about the threatened flora of the world, and teach others how they can play an active role in plant conservation. Stroll through the USBG with our Conservation Horticulturist to see some of the rare and endangered plants that we are maintaining and find out what actions the USBG is taking to protect rare and endangered
plants.
Fee: $0/Free. Preregistration is required.
For more information: call 202.226.4082 or www.usbg.gov
MD and PA
Plant Sale
Every Thursday This Summer, 12:00noon-3:00pm
Greenhouse on the Germantown Campus, Montgomery College, 20200 Observation Drive, Germantown, MD
Each Thursday this summer the Landscape Technology Program will have a plant sale.
Fee: $0/Free. Registration is not required.
For more information, email steve.dubik@montgomerycollege.edu.
Planting Native Trees
June 25, 9:30am-5:00pm
6509 Seven Locks Road, Cabin John, MD
Pomegranate Seeds will present a workshop on the selection and care of native trees.
Habitat steward Marney Bruce will discuss native plant communities and the right plant for the right site.
Botanist Jeri Metz (Mother Herb) will demonstrate planting techniques and we will all plant trees.
Master Pruner Nancy Welch will demonstrate the care and maintenance of our trees after which we all will try our hand at correct pruning. Hands on work on a small sustainable farm and wildlife habitat in nearby Cabin John, MD.
Fee: $60 ($76 Pomegranate Seeds subscribers). Registration is required.
For more information: www.pomegranateseeds.net.
Butterfly Festival & Plant Sale
June 25, 12:00noon-4:00pm
Brookside Gardens, 1800 Glenallan Ave., Wheaton MD
Celebrating 10 years of the Wings of Fancy Live Butterfly Exhibit with fun and learning for the whole family! Select from the best host and nectar plants to attract butterflies and provide food for their caterpillars as they complete their lifecycle in your garden.
Garden Walks from 12-2pm -- tour the gardens that attract butterflies and their caterpillars. Garden Talk at 12:45pm -- learn about butterfly gardening with Nathan Erwin, Insect Zoo Manager, Smithsonian Institution. Children's Activities include Storytelling, Make a butterfly crown, and face-painting. Concert: 3-4pm -- the Trinity Chamber Orchestra features a new work “A Musical Entomology: A Musical Work in Six Legs.”
Fee: $0/Free. Registration is not required.
For more information: www.brooksidegardens.org
VA and WV
SUNsational - Summer Gardens
June 23, 10:00am-1:00pm
6700 Azalea Garden Road, Norfolk, VA
Tour the best of what's in bloom on this behind-the-scenes stroll. See the Norfolk Botanical Garden in a whole new light when you walk with those who make it grow! Then come inside for a more in-depth discussion on each topic. Bring your brown bag or reserve a box lunch and join this exciting new series.
Fee: $14 ($8 members). Registration is required.
For more information, call 757/441.5838 or email www.norfolkbotanicalgarden.org.
Hosta Garden Tour
July 8, 10:30-11:30am
9750 Meadowlark Gardens Court, Vienna, VA
Doris Rodriguez, Chief Horticulturist, will lead a tour through the Hosta Garden to explore shade loving perennials that grow well in this area. Foliage plants that provide interest with color and texture will be emphasized.
Fee: $0/Free. Registration is not required.
For more information: www.nvrpa.org/meadowlarkevents.html or call 703.255.3631.
Contain Yourself
July 15, 9:30-10:30am
Green Spring Gardens Park, Alexandria, VA
Containers do not have to be predictable. A guided tour of our containers helps you break out of the container rut. Learn all the tricks of the trade for great container design and non stop color. Dress for the weather and wear comfortable walking shoes.
Fee: $10. Registration is required.
For details, go to http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/gsgp/events.htm.
To submit an event for this listing, please contact: editor@washingtongardener.com.
Our next deadline is July 12 for the July 15 edition of this enewsletter.
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Spotlight Special: Two New Lilac Cultivars
Two new lilac cultivars were recently released by U.S. National Arboretum. Wholesale growers are currently propogating 'Old Glory' and 'Declaration', and should make them available to the public from a limited number of retail and mail-order nurseries in 2007-08.
'Old Glory' features abundant, fragrant, bluish-purple flowers, a rounded growth habit, and disease-tolerant foliage. This new cultivar has good tolerance to Cercospora blight and Pseudomonas syringae in warmer climates where these two diseases are a problem. 'Old Glory' is the larger of the two new plants and has grown to 3.5 meters (over 10 feet) in Washington, DC, in 25 years.
'Declaration' boasts fragrant, dark reddish-purple flowers in nearly foot-long flower clusters. This shrub has an open, upright growth habitat and in 25 years has reached a height of 2.6 meters (slightly over 8 feet) in Washington, DC. 'Declaration' is recommended for the traditional cooler lilac-growing regions, generally USDA Hardiness Zone 6 and cooler.
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What's Blooming
The spring bulbs and azaleas have now faded and the rose and perennials are putting on their shows. It has been a glorious spring! Our readers reported the following blooms and items of interest in their gardens during the first week of June:
Ursula Sabia Sukinik of North Bethesda, MD, has: Alumn, Asiatic lilies, Azaleas sp, Bletilla striata, Brunnera 'Jack Frost,',Clematic ‘Nelly Moser,’,Columbine sp, Cornus Kousa, Corydalis sp,,Deutzia ‘Magician,’,Dianthus- sweet William, Dragon Arum (Dracunculus vulgaris), Fringed Bleeding Heart (Dicentra eximia), Geranium maculatum & ‘max frei,’ Hemerocallis Stella De Oro (daylily), Heuchera 'Pewter Veil,' Hydrangea 'Annabel,' Hydrangea quercifolia ‘Pee Wee’ and ‘Snow Queen,’ Hypericum perforatum (St. John’s Wort), Impatiens, Iris Siberian, Itea little henry, Jack in the Pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum), Japanese Bleeding Heart (Dicentra spectabilis), Lobiela, Mazus reputans, Nicotiana (flowering tobacco), Polygonatum multiflorum 'Variegatum,' Rosa' knock out' and ‘Meidiland’, Salvia elegans
(pineapple sage), Salvia guaranitica 'Black and Blue,' Schizophragma hydrangeoides (false climbing hydrangea), Solomon's seal (Polygonatum biflorum), Strawberry Foxglove (Digitalis x mertonensis), Tiarella 'black snowflake,' Tricyrtis sp (toad lilies), and Trumpet honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens).
In your editor's own garden in my Silver Spring, MD/DC-border site: Asiatic Lily, astilbe, bee balm, begonia hardy and annual varieties, Clematis jackmanii, common Daylily, creeping jenny, Dianthus, Gallardia, Geranium, Gerber Daisy, hosta blue, impatiens, Lamb’s Ear, lavenders, marigolds, pansy, petunias, primula, peppers ‘Black Pearl,’ Rosa mutablis. Rose miniature yellow, Rose mediland alba and scarlet, Rose ‘New Dawn,’ Rose campion, salvia, saxifrage, snapdragon, strawberries, Tradescantia Spiderwort, Verbena-on-a-stick, viola, Water Lilies (hardy), and Yucca.
Cheval Force Opp in Dunn Loring, VA, has: Artemisia ludoviciana ‘Valerie Finnis’, white sage, Aruncus Sylvester, Goatsbeard, Bletilla striata, Chinese ground orchid, Clematis, ‘Arctic Queen,’ Coreopsis grandiflora ‘Early Sunrise’ Tickseed, Cytisus scoparius ‘Burkwoodii’, Scarlet Broom, Dianthus ‘Bourbon,’ Digitalis ‘Camelot Rose,’ Festuca glauca ‘Elijah Blue,’ Flower Carpet Red, groundcover rose, Hemerocallis Stella de Ore, Hydrangea quercifolia ‘Snow Queen,’ Indigofera dielsiana, Yunnan Indigo, Itea virginica, Kalmia latifolia “Minuet”, Mt. Freckles, L. asiatica, ‘Foxtrot’, Asiatic Lily, Lysimachia ’Alexander’ yellow loosestrife, Magnolia grandiflora ‘Southern magnolia,’ Myosotis sylvatica, forget-me-not, Peonies, herbaceous , Roses, Sambucus nigra ‘Gerda”, Black Beauty Elderberry,
Sisyrinchium angustifolium Lucerne, Blue-Eyed Grass, Syringa x prestoniae, ‘Agnes Smith’ Lilac, Tiarella cordifolia, foam flower, and Tradescantia Snowcap Spiderwort.
Let us know what is blooming or of particular interest in your garden during the week of July 2. Please include your name, city, state, and a plant list in alphabetical order. You may also send low-res digital images. Send to editor@washingtongardener.com by July 12 and we’ll note it in our July 15 issue.
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June To-Do List
We've completed a whole year of garden to-do lists for our region. Last year's June list can be found in our June 2005 issue. Here are a few more tasks and chores to add to the previous listing:
- Sow beets and squash for fall harvest.
- Prune boxwoods.
- Sharpen your lawnmower blade.
- Avoid pesticides or any chemicals near your water garden.
- Harvest herbs just before flowering.
- Make hummingbird food by boiling two cups sugar in four cups water.
- Turn compost pile.
- Clean up fallen fruit.
- Cover berries with bird nets.
- Work in morning or early evening to avoid intense sun and humidity.
Now is a good time to fertilize your azaleas and rhododendrons and monitor them closely for any lacebug damage.
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Remember Me Rose Garden
The nonprofit organization Remember Me Rose Garden has named a new yellow rose in honor of the passengers and crew of United Airlines flight 93, which crashed September 11, 2001 at a field in Stonycreek Township, Somerset County, PA. The organization is dedicated to creating Remember Me rose gardens in New York, Washington, DC, and Pennsylvania to honor the Americans who died during the 9-11 terrorist attacks.
Named ‘Forty Heroes,’ the rose was hybridized by Ping Lim of Bailey Nurseries in St. Paul, MN. It will be available to garden centers in spring 2008. ‘Forty Heroes’ is the fourth rose introduced by Rose Garden, following Firefighter, Soaring Spirits, and We Salute You.
A "Remember Me" Rose Garden was accepted by Washington, DC, Parks and Recreation in June 2002. The test plot of roses for DC was planted last November at the Kensington Volunteer Fire Station in Kensington, MD. The organization is now working with various agencies and groups to determine the site for the main garden in DC.
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Next Issue
The July issue of Washington Gardener Enews will cover Watering Without Waste.
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Edited by Kathy Jentz
Contact: editor@washingtongardener.com or 301.588.6894.
©Washington Gardener 2006
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