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

This has been a really unusual summer with our mild temperatures, amazing number of days of rain and the actual record setting amount of rain. Usually we would be spending time watering and fighting hot temperature problems like red spider mites. Instead we have had to do limited watering the last 6 weeks and have been battling fungus and disease problems instead of insect problems. Some plants in high areas or well drained soil look the best anyone can remember and are covered with flowers while some plants in low areas or poorly drained soils have died from rot or disease problems or are struggling for survival. Plants need moisture to their roots but they also need oxygen to the roots and if the soil stays flooded or saturated for too long the plants can get too much water and literally suffocate some roots or even the whole plant for lack of needed oxygen to the roots.

Now that the temperatures are rising to more normal summer temperatures and we have had much less moisture over the last week the soil will rapidly dry out. Soon we will need to start doing our normal summer watering and it would be a good time to mulch the surface of your flowerbeds and container gardens with a two or three-inch layer of cotton seed hulls, pecan hulls, bark chips or other natural mulch. Don’t forget to deadhead or cut off the spent or bloomed out flowers from your blooming plants like roses and geraniums to help divert energy from making unwanted seed heads towards additional flowers. With all the rain many geranium plants were damaged by a fungus called Botrytis and look bad. If you will pick off the dead or damaged flowers and leaves the plant will send out more new flowers. If your color plants have too many yellow leaves you can speed up new growth by picking off the yellow leaves before the plant spends more energy on them. If your plants are too stretched and lanky or have some stems that are weak or barren cut the whole plant back or at least the weak stems to stimulate new growth from lower on the plant below your cut or pinch. This will ultimately make your plant stronger and fuller.

You can still select and plant most all container grown trees, shrubs, vines, groundcovers, annual and perennial color plants in your flowerbeds or container gardens. There are thousands of varieties of plants available for you to select for your own personal yard and many plants make a great show in our Oklahoma summer. The following ten plants are some of my favorite summer color plants for Oklahoma in no particular order. I love crepe myrtle shrubs that produce a unique bark year round and gorgeous and impressive clusters of flowers through the summer heat. New varieties, including many bred by Dr. Carl Whitcomb of Stillwater add new colors and are more winter hardy as they come back year after year to provide summer color. Two plants that remind me of my grandmother Ball and were stars in her garden but just get better and better over the years are the easy to grow daylilies available in literally thousands of varieties spread across virtually ever color you can imagine and the canna bulbs grown into confident spikes of summer color. You can see how beautiful cannas are in front of homes or businesses. Imagine the splash of acres of cannas at Horn canna farm, the largest canna farm in the country out by Carnegie, Oklahoma. Two plants I remember growing as a young boy with my father are Penta and Lantana and these remain two of my favorite sun plants that thrive in the Oklahoma heat. Pentas grow a nice mound eight to eighteen inches tall and have colorful clusters of flowers made up of many star shaped flowers in many tones of red, pink, white, rose and lavender. I remember taking cuttings of the pentas and lantanas just before frost each year rooting them and growing them through the winter to have them ready for customers the next spring. It was fun to see people excited about taking home and growing these plants we had cultivated all winter. The lantana also blooms in clusters and thrives in the summer heat. Although available in many colors and creeping and bush styles, I love the bush or mound styles with clusters of flowers in combinations of orange and yellow. Two summer perennials I always enjoy are the many varieties of coreopsis and the bold Rudebeekias. I love a beautiful yellow coreopsis as the center of a large container garden or even more in a mass planting of the delightful yellow covered mounds, which always reminds me of massive fields of yellow wildflowers, which are a related variety of coreopsis. Now there are also thread leaf varieties available in several colors. Rudebeekia with their bright yellow or orange flower petals always stand out with the bold “black eye” at the center of the flower and although pretty as a single plant are most impressive in mass or group plantings like those currently in bloom by the parking areas at Will Rogers Airport that almost take your breath away and make you want to pull out the camera to capture the color. When I was a lad growing up we used to think of begonias as a shade plant but there are many great bronze leaf and specialty varieties that can thrive even in full sun in addition to many that still do best in the shade. Some varieties are grown mainly for the foliage but the most popular varieties offer pretty foliage and delicate flowers in such numbers to make an impressive show.

Two of my favorite shade annuals are the many varieties of coleus, grown for their colorful and imaginative foliage and the many varieties of impatiens. I remember a trip as a boy to College Station, Texas with my Dad to collect cuttings and plants of the Texas A & M hybrid coleus and their impressive combinations of colorful foliage with good vigor and upright growth habits. Some of the new varieties are descendants of those A & M hybrids and they work great in pots, scattered in flowerbeds or in mass plantings.  Some of the new varieties can even tolerate the sun. There are hundreds of varieties of impatiens and they make a great show in shade or part shade in hanging baskets, container gardens or I love them in mass plantings of a single color or combinations of the many tones of colors available.    

Get outside and water your existing plants when needed, plant a few more trees and plants to green up your world and select your own favorite summer color plants.

Last week was the official start of summer as we celebrated the summer solstice. So far this year we have been sheltered from our normal hot dry summer weather but it sounds like the pattern may be changing from the moderate temperatures and regular rains to actual summer weather. We’ve finished picking the last of the strawberries in our strawberry patch and so we will have to switch back to store bought strawberries if we want more fresh strawberry shortcakes. We are enjoying an amazing harvest of apples, peaches and even apricots this year so now we are switching to fresh baked apricot pies,  peach and apple cobblers and apple turnovers. It is hard to beat the joy of fresh vegetables, berries and fruit grown in your own yard or on your own farm.  We usually only get an apricot harvest in central Oklahoma every third or forth year because of late freezes so I have been really surprised to get such a great apricot harvest this year when we got a fairly hard freeze on Easter weekend. Somehow that freeze missed the apricot flowers and we will get to enjoy fresh Oklahoma apricot pies and apricot preserves this year.

Every plant or tree is a weed somewhere and very special someplace else and every plant has certain times of year when they draw our attention and become one of our garden stars.  Right now the daylilies are covered with flowers, the magnolia trees are showing off their beautiful large white flowers and the mimosa trees are downright beautiful. A lot of people think of the mimosa as a weed tree or focus on the mess they can make after flowering but few trees are as beautiful when covered with flowers as the mimosa with their unique pink flowers.

Since we have been so moist I have been hearing a lot of questions about fungus and disease problems on lawns, roses and flowers. There are a number of good fungicides available that can help you with these rot, mold and leaf spotting issues in addition to cultural practices of trying to let these plants get drier, cleaning off bad leaves and deadheading spent or bad flowers and increasing air movement through disease challenged plants. As it has warmed up we are seeing a lot more insect activity and damage from worms, mealy bugs, aphids, thrips, scale and the like. Bagworms, grasshoppers and red spiders are just starting to make their annual appearance and are much easier to control if you attack them at first sighting instead of waiting for them to get large and well established. If you are having insect or disease problems take a sample of the problem in a jar or sack to your local nurseryman so they can identify the problem and prescribe the best cure.

The weather has been so moderate and agreeable this year that most all of our yard plants and trees are doing really well and making a very nice show. You can still enjoy a great deal of success this year from container grown plants you select and plant out now. Annuals like geraniums, marigolds, penta, zinnias, periwinkle, petunias and hundreds of others planted now will still be showy for four or more months until we get our first hard freeze. You can also plant trees, shrubs, vines, berries, ground covers and perennials to add more color to existing flowerbeds or to fill a brand new flowerbed. You can still plant your own patio or container gardens in your favorite containers or you can buy preplanted hanging baskets or containers to add color and excitement to your porch or patio. Since the daily rains are predicted to be over now you will want to mulch your flowerbed and container gardens with a bark, straw or hull natural mulch. Applying a two to three inch soil cover mulch will reduce watering, cool the soil temperature and dramatically reduce weed population in your flowerbeds. With your plants growing so fast and drinking more water at this time of year do not forget to feed them with a good water soluble fertilizer every fourth or fifth watering or with a well balanced granular or slow release fertilizer. When the rains stop, don’t forget to step up and take over the watering responsibilities and remember to really soak your plants as needed. Water more often in hanging baskets and smaller containers and once or twice a week depending on soil type and mulching in your flowerbeds.    

Most of nature and our gardens are really pretty this year so make sure to set aside some time to watch an early sunrise or a late sunset in your garden or a nearby park and enjoy time in your yard.

What a difference a year makes. Last year we were dealing with a drought, worrying about water rationing, talking about installing drip irrigation systems and discussing the importance of mulching all your flowerbeds and container gardens. This year we have been blessed with more than average rain, have not had to do much watering on our plantings and thankfully our water reservoirs have mostly filled up and it doesn’t appear we will need to worry about water rationing. Now that we are getting hotter, it is still a very good idea to mulch your flowerbeds and container gardens with a bark, straw, hull or other natural mulch to reduce watering, keep your soil temperature cooler and to help control weeds. In the future it will improve your soil when mixed with the soil and as it decomposes. It is still a good idea to start thinking about designing and installing a drip irrigation system to reduce your water use and get the water most efficiently to your plants root zone. But at least it is not urgent this year so you can take your time to study and do it right as we all work to embrace sustainable gardening practices and do our best to be responsible stewards of our water and other resources.

Many folks have told me it has been so wet that they haven’t planted all they hoped to or that it has rained on some key weekends when they planned to work in the garden. Others have told me or E-mailed that they don’t think they can be successful planting once June or summertime arrives. That is wrong. You can still plant most all container grown plants and enjoy good success as long as you remember to water your plants regularly.  This is even truer this year than normal since we have enjoyed more moisture and more moderate temperatures. You can still plant most all annuals or color plants and you will still have five months of growth and color before our first freeze in November. You can plant most all perennials, shrubs, trees, vines, and you can still get a nice crop of tomatoes, peppers or many other warm season vegetables or herbs planted in June. The later you wait to plant the larger plant size you may want to start with to make an impact in your yard.

Most all nurseries and garden centers now offer larger size plants as the season progresses including many colorful annuals in 4”, 6” or even 1 or 2 gallon size containers so you can get your lantanas, marigolds, petunias, zinnias dianthus, pentas, geraniums or hundreds of other plants in various sizes depending on your patience. Most garden centers also offer a nice selection of pre-planted container gardens and hanging baskets that will make an immediate impact on your porch or patio.

Remember more rainfall leaches your fertilizer while stimulating more plant growth and may call for you to fertilize your flowerbed a little more this season with a good well balanced water soluble or slow release fertilizer. Remember to “dead-head” or pick off the bloomed out flowers on your roses, geraniums and other flowers to stimulate more new flowering instead of the energy going to seed formation. 

Be on the lookout for insect or disease problems and take samples of any problems you don’t recognize to your local nursery or garden center to help diagnose the problem and prescribe proper treatment. You and your family will enjoy planting live plant material, watching it grow and flower. It not only beautifies your home or business but it can provide real personal satisfaction and food for your soul while providing a good physical workout so get outside and plant something and enjoy your yard and garden.

Many men enjoy plants, so if your Dad, Father, Papa or whatever you call those special men in your life likes inside or outdoor gardening, select something he needs or wants. A fruit or shade tree, rose bush, crepe myrtle or other flowering or evergreen shrub, flowers, vegetables, herbs or a plant for his office or home would all be appropriate. A bird feeder, sprayer, fertilizer, garden gloves or a sack or two of mulch might hit the spot. A gift certificate from his or your favorite garden center or nursery is always welcome.

I was very blessed with a wonderful Dad and two special grandfathers I admired. Even if you don’t buy them a gift, plan to go see or call those Dads in your life and thank them for all they mean to you.  Happy Gardening and Happy Fathers Day.

Container gardening started centuries ago but has mushroomed in popularity in recent years. I have toured old Roman ruins in Turkey and Europe and have seen the remnants of large urns and other early container gardens. I am uncertain exactly what plants they grew in those stately and impressive stone containers but as conservatories and the first greenhouses were created in old Europe for the early day royal families they hosted their collections of container grown orange trees, lemons, limes, bananas and other exotic fruit trees, shrubs and plants brought back to their kingdoms by early day plant exploration teams sent sailing around the new world. Some of these early royal conservatories were called Palmery’s to host exotic palm collections. Then herbs, vegetables and other plants in addition to the palms and trees were often moved in large stone, wood or ceramic containers out on patios or verandas in the summer and back into conservatories for winter protection and enjoyment. For years we have used a limited number of container gardens, often in urns or other decorative pots at each side of a main entrance or a couple of container gardens on a front porch or a back patio to create a more welcome, beautiful and inviting atmosphere.

There have been many plants used in modern container gardens but the most popular has probably been a colorful geranium plant surrounded by asparagus fern, sometimes with a dracaena spike to give another texture and a little height. Hanging baskets have surged in popularity in recent years enjoying their greatest use in the last 20 years since the fabled “Hanging Gardens of Babylon”. This surge in container gardening is being driven by several main trends. Container gardening can be enjoyed by practically everyone whether you live in an apartment, a house or an estate. They are easy to plant and give you a chance to make your own artistic or design statement since there are literally thousands of containers you can use and thousands of plants that can work well in container gardens and even more combinations of plants that you can put together to create your own unique container garden. If you have a greenhouse or patio room you may be able to select your favorite container gardens to bring inside this fall to enjoy for the winter months and then return to the patio or other special spot next spring like you are royalty with your own conservatory. I have one friend who tells me he likes container gardens because he can move then to where the action is. He says they have some front porch friends and some patio friends and he moves most of his container gardens to the porch or patio depending on their guest hosting plans. Part of the rapid growth in container gardens is because of the dramatic expansion of choices in available containers and plants that do well in these containers. We live in the period that will be known as the container garden rebellion. Most of the old rules for container gardening have disappeared to where most all kinds of plants and a wide combination of plants can be used and enjoyed in container gardens. You are definitely not limited to orange trees, palms, herbs or geraniums and fern. Today we plant vegetables or tropicals with color plants and other previously unimaginable combinations.                

This is a great time to plant most everything including your own container gardens. The larger the container the easier it is to manage as far as watering and feeding. Use a good, well drained soil mix in your container gardens. If you are replanting an older container you should plan on changing the soil every few seasons as most soil mixes used with annuals will lose their porosity over time and not provide a good mix of air and water to the roots. Soak your container gardens after planting as you would a new flowerbed and then check the watering regularly. Make sure the container has one or more drain holes so the roots will not stand in water. As we get hotter and drier they will dry out more often, smaller containers and hanging baskets may dry out daily. You can reduce watering on container gardens by about half by adding polymer water absorbent crystals to your soil mix. You can also reduce watering by mulching the top of the containers with a bark or other natural mulch like you would use on your flowerbeds. Feed your container gardens regularly or use a slow release granular fertilizer periodically to keep your plants healthy and blooming.  Some folks like container gardens because they don’t have to bend down and dig in the ground but can plant than on a table or bench and set them where desired. One lady described container gardening as a planting hole she doesn’t have to bend over to reach and she is excited because the hole comes to her. One other interesting trend is setting container gardens on top or partially buried in flowerbeds to create focal points, provide different height elements to your designs or to make it easier to save special plants to bring in before winter.

We have been blessed with magnificent weather the last couple of weeks so get outside and work in your garden. Add a new flowerbed, plant some new trees, replant your old container gardens or add several new container gardens to liven up your home.

We know spring in Oklahoma has really arrived when we get night after night of full time weather coverage from Gary England and his storm chaser, Val, Mike Morgan and our other high tech weather experts. I hope your home, gardens and neighborhood were spared from any of the wind, hail or tornado damage.  When it is not storming, May is about our best planting month for darn near everything especially any container grown color annuals, vegetables, perennials, groundcovers, roses and other flowering shrubs, trees and vines. The garden centers and nurseries usually have their largest inventories to choose from and even more important their broadest selection of types of plants and many different varieties of each type of plant to add to your yard.  Since their traffic and volume are greatest at this time of year they can stock many items that are just hard to locate at slower times of the year.

We are being blessed with dramatically more rain this year than last year but remember that plants still need adequate and timely moisture to get established and reach their peak performance. Make sure to water new plantings in thoroughly and then to check them regularly for when they need a good soaking. Plants in loose or well drained soil will need supplemental watering more often than plants in heavy or tight soils. Plants in the full sun will need water more often than plants in the shade. Plants above ground in containers or especially those even more exposed to drying out from sun and wind in hanging baskets will need watering more often. Plants in the wide open and most exposed to wind will need more water than those in protected backyards or courtyards. Mulching the top of the soil with two or three inches of an organic mulch like a shredded bark, cocoa hulls, cottonseed hulls or pecan hulls or pine or other straws will dramatically reduce weed problems, keep the soil temperature more consistent and will often reduce watering by at least half. The sooner you mulch after planting your flowerbeds or containers the more benefits you will enjoy from this great Oklahoma gardening practice.

Mothers Day is this Sunday and flowering plants are one of the very best ways to remember your mother and let her know how special she is in your life. There are literally thousands of horticultural choices to allow you to select just the right choice for your Mom. Many people send spring bouquets, cut roses or other lovely cut flowers. If your mother loves roses and you know she has been wanting another for her yard, pick out a live rose bush. If she has been admiring the neighborhood wisteria vines, crepe myrtle or a certain fruit tree surprise her with the tree, shrub or plants she has been talking about. We lost my special grandma, Sara Nee Ball, a few years ago but she used to love iris and roses at anytime but seemed to really enjoy new varieties each Mothers Day and I still think of her every time I pass beautiful blooming iris or roses. My mother has always loved all kinds of plants and since she just got out of the hospital with her broken hip she should not be planting her new Smoke Tree and Japanese Red Maple from her temporary walker although I am sure she would figure out a way so we may have to contribute our time and a little effort to help plant her new Mothers Day treats this year. I am certain most mothers would love the gift of some time, muscle power and fellowship to help in their yard as part of their Mothers Day gift.

Container or patio gardens and mixed combination gardens are very popular right now and make a great Mothers Day gift for a patio, porch or balcony and there is an almost endless choice of plant combinations and special containers for these gardens. You may even want to plant a treasured family container with plants that bring back memories for your special mother. If your mother lives inside consider a pretty houseplant or beautiful blooming plant.

Happy Mothers Day to all the remarkable women out there and I hope you all get to spend some special time with your children in person or by telephone this weekend. I can’t tell you how important my Mother, Grandmother and Wife are in my life and I know that most others are blessed to have Mothers and other special women that helped shape their lives and help keep us straightened out and help make life worth living. We thank you all this Sunday for the difference you make in our lives each and every day throughout the year.