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

Oklahoma weather is always interesting, always changing and makes gardening here a little extra challenging.  In my last column we talked about how far ahead of normal we were.  We promptly had two pretty hard cold fronts, taking us well down into the 20’s.  We appear to have gotten very limited damage in central Oklahoma.  I suspect northwest Oklahoma got a lot more damage to their trees, shrubs and plants that were already budded out since they got much colder.  Here in the city I have seen Azalea flowers that turned brown with freeze burn and I have seen some of the new tender growth shoots on mums, grapes and other flowers that froze out, but on most of these plants the older growth appears fine and new growth should sprout out from below the freeze damage. 

Historically we have now had our last freeze and can get serious about the business of spring planting.  If you plan to plant a vegetable garden, this is the time to start planting your tomatoes, peppers, eggplants and other warm season vegetables.  Many folks are planting vegetable gardens for their first time this year and the quicker you plant, the longer the harvest season you will enjoy.  Tomatoes and peppers are the lead vegetables for most every garden, but think about the other vegetables you enjoy and plant some okra, sweet corn, squash, beans, melons or other healthy vegetables.  Nothing beats harvesting and eating your own fresh vegetables and it can save you significant expense on your grocery food bill at the same time.  If you don’t have room for a vegetable garden, plant at least a few vegetables in large containers on your sunny patio or around the house to get a taste of this fun. 

This is also the time to plant most all kinds of ornamental plants to beautify your yard and feed your soul.  Most of us are spending more time around home this year instead of traveling, so this is a great time to plant more trees and shrubs in your yard.  Consider adding some new flower beds, build a raised bed or add more large decorative containers to plant more perennials or annuals to beautify your home.  Most every garden should include some annuals for the color and excitement they add to the garden through the whole garden season.  Plant begonias, impatiens, petunias, marigolds, zinnias or any of the hundreds of other annuals that create the look and color you want in your yard.

We have about a week to go before our last average freeze date of April 7 and yet many areas of the state have already gone 2 or 3 weeks without a hard freeze. If we do get a hard freeze now we are at risk of some really significant damage with so many trees, shrubs and plants several weeks ahead of schedule. Keep your hot kaps, wall-o-waters, sheets and frost blankets handy in case we get a freeze and you need to protect your tender plants.

We have been blessed with many beautiful days which along with the steady show of blooming bulbs, shrubs and trees had me excited for spring even before the calendar made spring official last week. We still have many beautiful forsythia and quince shrubs in full flower and the flowering crabapples and redbud trees have been spectacular. It is very easy at this time of year to see why our early state leaders made the redbud our state tree as it produces bold splashes of purple, pink, red or white flowers to liven up our yards and natural habitats across the state. They have been especially beautiful this year.

We are seeing many folks plant their first vegetable garden this year and others expand their vegetable and herb gardens or add berries, grapes or fruit trees to their yard. Local garden centers are telling me that vegetable seed sales are up 25% to 50%. Onion plants and sets, seed potato and strawberry sales are also up dramatically as more people are trying their hand at growing their own produce. A little effort can give you a chance to save money on your grocery bill, to grow and enjoy really fresh local produce from you own  yard and the chance to know where your food comes from and how it has been raised. I suspect this trend to grow even more over the next few weeks as night temperatures warm a little more and it is time to plant tomatoes, green beans, peppers, eggplant and the other popular warm season vegetables.

If you don’t have the time or inclination to grow your own vegetables consider your local farmers markets and supporting your friends and neighbors who are growing great fresh food in your community. Nothing beats growing some of your own vegetables to feed your stomach and planting the flowering bedding plants you enjoy to beautify your yard and feed your soul. Plant a garden and enjoy spring up close and personal in your yard.

Oklahoma is springing to life all around us. Everything is running early this year and we still have a good three weeks to go until our average last freeze date for central Oklahoma. Hopefully we can avoid a real hard freeze and serious plant damage. The crocus, grape hyacinth and especially the daffodil bulbs have been gorgeous. The forsythia, quince and spirea flowering shrubs have produced spectacular mounds of color. The Bradford Pears, peaches, apricots, crabapples and our state tree, the redbud, have all been dressed out in there brightest colors. It is really special to see these trees, dormant all winter with their naked branches, stage their annual coming out party with their best showing of bright flowers even before unveiling any of their leaves or foliage. The march of spring color will proceed like a fine orchestra through the growing season as different plants flower at varying stages and temperatures as we go through the annual dance of the seasons. It is really fun to observe and add different plants to your yard as the years go by so that some plant is in the starring role or giving a special show or performance most every week. This variety and constantly changing show of color can really add excitement and beauty to your yard and enhance the joy and fun of spending time in your garden.

We are nearing the end of the season to plant cool season vegetables so if you have not yet planted your potatoes, onions, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower and lettuce, the time is now. We really should wait on tomatoes, peppers, eggplant and the warm blooded annuals like impatiens, penta, begonias, rose moss, marigolds, zinnias and most others until after our last average frost date around April 7. Mid April is a good time to go full speed on planting warm season crops. We are nearing the end of the season to apply pre-emergent weed killers for crabgrass and other summer weeds since pre-emergents only work before the weed seeds germinate. You must apply soon to get the most benefit. This is also a great time to plant trees and shrubs as you think of the future.

We have had some really gorgeous days that make it easy to quench your spring fever with some wonderful time outdoors. Hopefully you will get a chance to escape the news, finance and employment issues and spend some time in the yard where time marches on and the world is flowering and leafing out with new energy and the excitement of spring.

It seems like we go right from ice and snow to battling tornadoes, but that seems to be the annual trip from winter to spring in Oklahoma. We have a long list of projects ready to tackle in the garden. Based on telephone calls, e-mails, comments from garden center owners and others it appears many additional folks are planning to plant a vegetable garden this year. Vegetable gardening can be part of adjusting our lives to deal with new financial realities, trying to live a more independent or sustainable life style or just part of getting back to basics. Now is the time to plant many of the cool season food crops.

Hopefully you have already prepared your soil for planting. If not, till and work your beds right away. Valentine’s Day to mid March is the time to plant onion plants and onion sets, to cut up and plant your seed potatoes. This is the time to plant cauliflower and cabbage plants. Plant seeds or plants of leaf and head lettuce to grow your own fresh salads. Plant seeds of carrots, swisschard, kohlrabi, peas, spinach or turnips now to get your cool season garden growing. In early March we can plant some of the more tender cool crop vegetables like broccoli, beets and radishes. Now is also a great time to plant perennial food crops like asparagus or rhubarb crowns and bareroot blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, grapes and spring or everbearing strawberries. Many of those perennial crops require planting now to enjoy harvests in future years where the annual crops will produce a harvest over the next few weeks and months.

I get lots of questions about controlling weeds in lawns and when and how to control crabgrass. Now until late March is the best time for pre-emergent weed control on your lawn. There are several products, like those containing Dimension, you can apply later and still get results but it is best to apply now. Work with your nurseryman to pick the best herbicide for your application from a smorgasbord of good pre-emergents including those that contain Balan, Simazine, Atrazine, Trimec, Sulfentrazone, Gallery, Team, Surflan, Ronstar, Treflan or my favorite, Prodiamine. You can apply these as a herbicide alone or as part of a weed and feed product. The most important thing is to get the product applied and activated before the Crabgrass and other weeds germinate. The herbicide does not become effective until activated by a good rain or watering of ½” or more. It is great if you can apply it before a rain. If not, water thoroughly to achieve pre-emergent weed protection for 60 to 100 days.

A week ago I was in warm Tampa, Florida for a meeting and they were all talking up and getting ready for the Super Bowl. I came home early last week, just in time for another Oklahoma ice bowl. It seems like we have been making a habit of these ice events the last few years. Thankfully this ice was not nearly as thick as the two terrible ice storms in January and December 2007. We occasionally get ice up to ¼” in thickness but historically only get ice accumulation of 1” or more once every 50 years. In addition to power outages these heavy ice events cause significant splitting, bending and breakage of trees. Thankfully the storm this week did not get to even a ½” accumulation in most areas but we still have seen some damage to trees and branches still stressed and weakened from the terrible and heavy ice of the 2007 storms. The extreme weight of ice can cause many broken limbs and even trunks leaving jagged holes on the bark of the remaining branches. Sometimes the damage leads to severe damage of the cambium and bark leading to dieback and weak growth of new buds and shoots. Branches lost to dieback and breakage reduce the total leaf area on the tree and this reduces the carbohydrates or food available to the roots and branches. It can lead to sunscald of newly exposed bark and open up the trees to attack by borers and other insects. Wounds and dead branches lead to decay which can lead to more branch loss in the future.    

Our goal is to help our trees heal by promoting reasonable vigor, to contain wounds and re-establish a stable, well spaced, branching structure. We can do this with good pruning, proper watering, mulching and moderate fertilization. A good level of vigor will help the trees compartmentalize decay and limit its spread. When a tree loses over half its branches the best approach may be to remove it. If it has over half the branches left use good pruning to help the tree recover. Cut the damaged branches back to laterals or the trunk but preserve the branch collar by making cuts that angle out from the trunk. Never leave stubs.  Spread heavy pruning out over 2 or 3 seasons so the tree maintains sufficient leaf area to produce adequate food.

Trees need sufficient rain or water to keep the tree healthy. Most trees do best with about an inch of rainfall (0.62 gallons per square foot) per week. It is particularly important to provide extra water during the hot dry summer, during dry winters and any drought. We are very dry right now and this ice/sleet/ snow will only provide about a ¼” of rain so your trees need some extra water now. A mulch of natural bark or hulls around the base of the tree will help conserve soil moisture and keep the soil temperature more consistent. Mulch is particularly helpful to young trees.

Select the proper site for any new trees, clean out damaged branches and prune properly on existing trees and water thoroughly to avoid stress and keep your trees healthy.