Rodd's Seeds of Wisdom Horticultural tips and tricks from Rodd Moesel

Most all of Oklahoma including all of the Oklahoma City metro area has been blessed with rain, lots of rain.  This is the wettest spring we have had in many years, even decades.  It has been so wet, so often the last three weeks lots of folks complain that they haven’t been able to plant the spring plants they have already purchased or even mow their lawns

We still have lots of planting time left so you can catch up on planting everything you have already purchased anytime the soil has dried to moist instead of muddy.  Oklahoma greenhouses and garden centers are loaded with lots of great spring crops that would have normally sold the last three weeks while we have been so cloudy, wet and getting waves of rain.  As a result the selections of color annuals, perennials, vegetables, shrubs and trees are much greater than normal for late May.  The cooler temperatures, wet weather and good moisture in our top soils and sub soils make this a great time to shop for more plant material, to plant and to be successful with your summer gardening.  Some plants at local greenhouses or garden centers may have stretched tall and lanky in the darker, cool, cloudy weather.  Crops like tomatoes and marigolds root on their stems and you can just plant deeper.  Most plants should not be planted deeper but at the same depth as their current soil line.  Some of the crops that have stretched or gotten lanky like wax begonias, impatiens, pentas and petunias will benefit from pinching or cutting back the tall stems to force out new lower branches after you transplant into your flowerbeds or decorative containers.  Spring planting season has not passed you by; it has just been delayed by our much needed rain showers.  

The rains have also resulted in the most fungus and disease problems we have faced in years as these pathogens do best with high humidity and moisture and have largely been missing the last few years when we have been stuck in a hot, dry drought cycle.  Be observant and watch for mildew, black spot, rust and various forms of damp-off and rot.  You can use fungicides to try and control these and limit disease damage or wait for hot, dry, sunny windy weather to help provide a cure in the future. 

The heavy and regular rains have also caused an explosion in the Oklahoma weed population as weed seeds that haven’t germinated for several years seem to have all sprouted and grown in conditions that were good for a higher germination and weed survival than we have seen for years.  These weeds can steal space, food and water from your desired crops.  You basically have two choices.  Hand pull the weeds with a passion and energy like the young man used in the Karate Kid movie to paint the fence or work with your local nurseryman to select a weed killer or herbicide that can help safely kill the weeds among your favored plants.  Remember these weed killers are usually either pre-emergent to kill weed or grass seeds that have not yet germinated or selective post-emergent herbicides to kill either broadleafs or grasses or vegetation killers to kill everything.  Be very careful and selective in where you use weed killers or herbicides to be careful you only kill what you call weeds.  Hand pulling is of course the safest way to do this and offers a good chance for garden meditation but is not a garden activity everyone enjoys.  As soon as you have the weeds pulled or killed you can dramatically reduce future weed issues by mulching your flowerbeds or decorative containers with a two or three inch thick layer of natural bark, straw or hulls.  This layer of mulch will really reduce weed germination and weed pressure while keeping your soil cooler in our summer heat and reducing your watering by holding more moisture in the soil. 

It is such a blessing to have moisture again for our lawns, trees and gardens even if it has delayed part of our gardening activities.  Thankfully we still have time to plant and enjoy most all crops this growing season.

We are experiencing our best spring weather in several years across most of Oklahoma as we have been blessed with mild temperatures and more importantly, nice soaking rains.  This spring weather is a great way to start the month of May and our celebration tomorrow for Mother’s Day. 

Every one of us was blessed to have a mother and most of us were fortunate to grow up with the love, attention, instruction and encouragement of a mother that shaped our lives as we grew and developed.  Many of us learned about plants, nature and even about birds and bees from our mothers.  For many of us that love of gardening started with our mother or our grandmothers

It somehow seems appropriate that Mother’s Day is celebrated in the spring when we are planting so many new trees, shrubs, vegetables and flowers.  Most of our plant materials are sprouting new shoots, leaves and branches as they grow with enthusiasm as Mother Nature “mothers” our plants in springtime. 

The best way to salute and honor your mother is by spending time with her, whether at a family dinner or working together in her yard or garden.  I look forward to special time with my dear mother, Marjorie Moesel, my amazing wife Dona and my lovely mother-in-law Rojean this weekend and for many years to come.  If your mother, grandmother or wife loves gardening, consider a bouquet of fresh flowers, a living rose bush, a tree, a shrub or a planting of flowers you know she loves or has been wanting.  A gift of a tree, shrub or vine that lives on for decades can create special memories every time she passes it or spends time with that plant in her yard. 

We are hopeful we will continue to be blessed with regular rains and get more moisture restored to our dry subsoil in addition to regular moisture for our topsoil.  This is the prime season to plant most anything and everything in our Oklahoma gardens and landscapes.  Plantings at this time of year have a very high success rate as the temperatures are more moderate and so the new plantings are not likely to get stressed by extreme cold or heat and they enjoy a little more seasonal natural rainfall.  These more moderate conditions give most new spring plantings a chance to grow their root systems, get anchored into their new home and get established before facing the searing heat and dry air of our Oklahoma summers.  You can assist all your new plantings to get well established by adding more organic material like sphagnum peat moss or aged compost to the soil before you do your spring plantings.  Mulch the top of your new plantings with a two inch to three inch layer of bark mulch, pine straw, cottonseed, cocoa or pecans hulls on the soil surface to reduce watering, to keep the top soil cooler and to greatly reduce weed problems.

Just as your Mother got great satisfaction from watching you grow up, blossom and mature, you can get great joy from watching your plants grow, blossom and mature.  Just as your mom would occasionally get frustrated or disappointed in you growing up, there will be times when you will get mad, sad or frustrated with how some of your plants grow, handle problems and challenges or use their resources.  Just as your mother gets excited when you procreate and have children, you can get excited when your plants pollinate and produce seeds for a new generation and you get to enjoy new plants from seeds, suckers or cuttings. 

Most of Oklahoma has been blessed with nourishing spring rains the last two weeks.  These rains have certainly not been enough to get us out of our long term drought but they have been a great gift to all our green growing plants and trees.  We have heard many comments that this is the greenest folks have seen their yards, shrubs and fields in several years.  We pray we will continue to be blessed with life giving rains throughout the rest of this year and that our streams, ponds and lakes will be returned to near capacity.  Far more of our precious water is held in the ground then in our ponds and lakes. We are just not able to see the water stored in our soil clearly although we can tell its presence when we dig to plant our spring vegetable gardens, colorful flowers, shrubs and trees.  One of the severe problems of a long term drought is when we reduce those moisture levels stored in the “water bank” that is our soil.  The longer and harder the drought, the deeper in the ground we lose soil moisture.  First we lose the topsoil moisture, which is easiest to lose and easiest to replace with rain, drip irrigation, hand watering or watering by sprinklers. As we start to lose subsoil moisture the drought takes a greater toll on our deeper rooted and more permanent plants like perennials, grasses and even shrubs and trees.  This sub soil moisture is harder to restore and often takes many rains or sustained slow and deep watering.  Too heavy or hard rains are more likely to run off.  Gentle, soft rains may not last long enough to restore subsoil moisture as water saturates as it soaks in and generally doesn’t move deeper in the ground until the upper soil is totally “full”.  This is why we advise that it is better to water your flowerbeds, lawn and trees less often but with longer “soaking”, rather than spraying or squirting your plantings every day. 

Oklahoma City and many central and western Oklahoma communities are on every other day watering restrictions to save or conserve water.  This is not a problem for most plants and actually may encourage better watering habits of soaking less often rather than squirting every day.  As a general rule most plant material can survive with less, but does best with about an inch of rain equivalent water per week from either natural rains, your drip water system or your water hose.  Some suggest that we not plant lawns or flowers during a drought and thus further reduce the need for water but as the dust bowl in our own state’s history and countless other examples around the world have shown, we need plant vegetation to reduce erosion, to modify the temperature cooler which reduces water use and evaporation and to help rain to soak into the earth instead of running off.  Lawns and plants do all these drought reduction and temperature reduction services while providing us fresh, healthy vegetables, fruits, berries and herbs and the life giving oxygen we humans need for very survival.   On top of those benefits few, things can so dramatically impact the beauty of our yards and neighborhoods and give personality to our homes as gardening.  The ever changing chorus of new growth and flowers provides worldly beauty while feeding our soul and nourishing our spirit as a place to meditate and enjoy and reflect on life. 

This is the season to plant.  Plant your tomatoes, peppers and the rest of the warm season vegetables.  Plant your bedding plants from the almost unlimited choices of colorful annuals and perennials.  Plant new shrubs and trees to add to or update your property. Plant fescue grass seed in shady areas and Bermuda grass in sunny areas.  This is also the time to apply spring fertilizers.  This is the season to plant most everything in our beautiful spring weather and then to sit and watch them grow and to enjoy your part in cooling and beautifying our state.

Spring is here and we are generally safe to plant most all of our warm season crops.  Only the very hottest blooded annuals like caladiums, sweet potato, okra and periwinkle will do better if we wait to plant until May first or after when night temperatures are consistently above 50 degrees.  This is my annual “plant away” column issued after we have passed our last average freeze date and we are generally safe to plant all the warm season vegetables like tomatoes, peppers and eggplant as well as all the beautiful and colorful annuals like geraniums, begonias, petunias, lantana, penta and hundreds more.   We have passed the last average frost date and have already been blessed with incredible flower displays from crocus, daffodils and tulip bulbs; flowering quince, spirea, forsythia and wisteria flowing shrubs; most of our fruit trees, ornamental pears and crabapples and our tough and beautiful state tree, the redbud.  We have had freezes in the last decade as late as May third.  If we get a late surprise cold front, be prepared to protect your tender plants by covering with sheets, blankets, boxes, sacks or commercial row covers to protect your crops.  The odds are with you, that you can plant away without resorting to these protection measures.  Gardeners usually become good weather watchers so you can know what action to take whether it involves protecting your plants from late spring frosts or helping decide when to water your crops or even when conditions will be right for you to work in the garden. 

Not only is it time to “plant away” but the sooner you plant your annual vegetables and flowers the more joy you will get from them.  We have about a seven month growing season from the last spring freeze to the first freeze of late fall so the sooner you plant these warm season crops, the more color and harvest you can get from your spring plantings.  This is also a great time to plant trees, shrubs and perennials that will provide color, cooling and fresh oxygen for many years in addition to their beauty and landscape impact.  These container grown multiyear crops can be planted successfully most anytime of the year as long as the ground is not frozen or too muddy to work.  Early spring plantings give these long term plantings a chance to get adapted and rooted into their new home with help from spring rains and cooler temperatures before the burning heat of our Oklahoma summers.

Don’t forget the value of adding organic matter like sphagnum peat moss or a good aged compost to your soil as you plant your spring crops.  Mulching the top of your plantings with a 2” or 3” layer of bark, straw, compost or hulls will reduce water use and improve crop health.

The whole plant world is sprouting out new branches, leaves and fresh growth and this is a great time to feed most everything from trees to lawns to tomatoes and begonias.  It is always best to have a soil test so you can feed just what is needed.  Without a soil test feed a well balanced fertilizer using either a granular fertilizer, a more efficient slow release fertilizer or apply a water soluble fertilizer as you hand water, drip or irrigate your plantings. 

Make time to enjoy the amazing and ever changing nature show in your own yard, at nearby parks and around your community.  Visit your local growers and garden centers to pick out what you want to plant and “plant away”. 

Spring officially arrived on the calendar last weekend but we are still at risk of some more frosts and freezing in the real world of Oklahoma.  In recent years we had one year without a freeze in Oklahoma City after February 28 and the very next year we had a freeze on May 3rd.  Our last average freeze day across Oklahoma averages from April 7^th to April 15th.  We usually say that it is safe to plant warm season crops after tax day or April 15.  A good rule of thumb is to get your taxes filed and paid and then start your spring and summer gardening for relief and relaxation, unless you file for an extension, then you need to go ahead and start gardening.   

You can safely plant perennials, container grown shrubs and trees right now.  The sooner you plant your perennials, shrubs and trees the better they can get established before the heat of summer.  Few things will do more to change the look of your home or business over time than the impact of well placed trees and shrubs.  All plants take in carbon dioxide and give off the clean oxygen we humans need but trees also provide significant shade, will help cool your yard and even your home, all while looking beautiful and adding value to your property.  There are hundreds of species of trees readily available at local nurseries so you can select small ornamental trees or large impactful shade trees.  You can select flowering trees like the crabapples, red buds or magnolia soulangeana, all in spectacular flower the last two weeks.  Fruit trees that will give you fresh apples, pears, cherries, plums or peaches; nut trees to provide years of pecans or walnuts.  Shrubs also offer a broad palette of choices from the flowering yellow forsythia, to the bright red and orange quince, the dainty and elegant white spirea, all blooming now, to broadleaf or needle evergreens to use as hedges, screens, or to add height and interest around your home and yard. 

If you have shady areas that need new grass the next six weeks is prime time to sow seed of tall fescue type turf grasses.  Since we have warmed up so much, many of the summer weeds have already started germinating so you will miss out on the full effect of pre-emergent or weed and feed products applied at this late date and you may need to apply post-emergent weed killers if you feel the need to reduce your weed population in your lawn.  Consult your local nurseryman for help in selecting the right one for your type of turf. 

This is a wonderful time of year as the world of nature starts to come back to life in our yards, parks and across the country side.  I love all the early flowering bulbs as they produce their show of color and welcome a new spring season starting with the cute crocus, the lovely hyacinths, bold daffodils and tulips all bursting forth from those bulbs we planted last fall or in some preceding year.  The spring symphony then expands with the beautiful displays from our flowering shrubs and the flowering trees including our state tree, the Red Bud.  Soon the full orchestra of nature will be playing with the seasonal color plants we are planting this spring.

If you have spring fever and just can’t wait to plant your tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant until mid April when our night temperatures should be safe or you just want tomatoes before your neighbors, be prepared to protect your early warm season plantings with fabric blankets, boxes or commercial season extension products like Hot Kaps, Wall-O-Water, or row cover fabrics.