The Online Garden Gossip
 March 2007/Issue #11

Meet Chloe, Sugar Creek mascot and one lucky dog

My name is Chloe, and I wandered into Sugar Creek Gardens in the summer of 2001.  I had no collar, so there was no way for anyone to know where I came from or who my owner was.  I was about
7 months old.  Roxanne Cronin, plant manager, was the first person I met at Sugar Creek. Wanting to make sure I was safe, Roxanne called animal control to come pick me up, thinking that my owners could track me down there.  She also told them that if no one claimed me, that she would take me.  It was my petite size and soulful brown eyes that won her over.

Ten days later, it was 90 degrees outside and I was riding in the back of a little blue station wagon with no air-conditioning during rush hour.  Roxanne was my new proud mama, and she had to sneak me in and out of her apartment for the first two weeks of our relationship because her apartment had a “no pet” policy.   

Six years later, I am a fixture at Sugar Creek.  I’m nervous when delivery men or postal workers show up because I don’t like their big trucks or their uniforms, but I love Sugar Creek customers – especially the kids!  They are much more my size and seem to adore me.  Mostly I nap, but every now and then I get to do a little running around.  My favorite napping spots include underneath the boss’s desk, on the potting table, or anywhere someone is likely to trip over me.

My favorite activities include chasing bunnies, sniffing around, napping, and looking sad.  (That’s my secret for getting more hugs and kisses!)

Please say “hi” next time you’re at the nursery, and I’ll give you a lick or a wag. Click here to see more pictures of my cuteness!                                           

Feature
**Hydrangea alert!**  Protect your hydrangeas from frost to ensure you'll have blooms this summer

If we heard it once last summer, we heard it a hundred times:  "How come my hydrangeas didn't bloom this year?"

There are many reasons hydrangeas fail to bloom, but the two biggest culprits are improper pruning and late spring frosts that damage flower buds. (Other reasons include too much pruning, too much shade, and too much fertilizer.)

First, let's talk about pruning.  Hydrangeas bloom on old wood or new wood.  If they bloom on new wood, like Hydrangea arborescens 'Annabelle,' then you can prune them fall or spring -- you'll have blooms in the summer.

For plants that bloom on old wood, like any of the oakleaf hydrangeas, you need to prune them in the fall, so that they have time to set bud in the spring.  Or better yet, don't prune them at all.

So now it's spring, the weather is warming up and all our hydrangeas are busy setting flower buds, when wham -- here comes a late spring cold snap.  If there's danger of frost, you can protect those tiny flower buds by covering your shrub with a frost cloth or old bed sheet.

If you're not sure whether your hydrangea blooms on old or new wood, check out our hydrangea fact sheet here.

Upcoming talks at Sugar Creek
You're invited, and they're free!

“Beginning Perennial Gardening,” Saturday, March 17, 10 a.m. and 1 p.m.  Tina Paletta, Horticulturist, will take you though the steps needed to create a successful perennial garden.  The fundamentals of soil, plant selection, light requirements, and color schemes will be discussed.  Call 314-965-3070 for reservations.

“Gardening Under Trees,” Saturday, March 24, 10 a.m. and l p.m. Tina Paletta, Horticulturist.  Tina’s entertaining and informative talk will teach you how to garden under your trees without damaging them.  She will also discuss the ever-expanding selection of shade plants.  Learn how to combine flower and foliage color, form and texture for season-long interest in your garden.  Call 324-965-3070 for reservations.

“Successive Blooms -- Keep Your Garden in Bloom Spring through Fall,” Tuesday, April 3, 6 p.m., Peggy Hoelting, Landscape Designer and Horticulturist.  Learn the secrets of a breathtaking, ever-blooming garden.  You’ll discover how to orchestrate plants’ color, texture, height, and bloom to create a masterpiece that looks great all season.  You will also be taught gardening techniques that will create strong, profuse blooming plants.

Have a question or comment? Send us an e-mail.

Karen's gardening calendar

Karen Collins, a longtime Sugar Creek employee and master gardener, has identified things you can tackle in your garden this month:

• For spring pansy care, remove spent blooms and trim back leggy and discolored foliage.  Water plants well and feed them with a liquid fertilizer.
• Clean up and destroy old foliage on iris before new growth begins.  Spread bulb booster over planting beds to fertilize bulbs. Granules that stick to foliage should be hosed off.
• Winter mulches should be loosened from perennials; recover plants at night if frost is forecasted.  Remove weeds and dead foliage from beds.
• Complete pruning of trees.  Do not prune trees during new leaf growth.
• Pansies and toadflax may be planted.
• Cut ornamental grasses to the ground when new growth begins.
• This is a great time to top-dress your flower beds.  Consider using compost, an all-around balanced organic fertilizer.  We recommend Cotton Burr Compost.
• Sprinkle Triple Super Phosphate around perennials and shrubs as plants start to "wake up" to help with root development, which will mean bigger and better blooms later this season.

Unusual
plant of the month
'Mouse Tail Plant'

The mouse tail plant, Arisarum proboscideum, is a tiny cousin of Jack-in-the-Pulpit.  It performs well in dry shade, as well as well-draining moist soil.  It gets its name from the small flowers that are found tucked under the arrowed leaves, which have the appearance of a long tail.  The lower portion of the spathe is white, like a mouse belly.

Flowers appear in mid to late April, but can be hidden (again, like a mouse).  The leaves outlast the flowers, but will go dormant in the heat of summer.  The main risk to this plant is excessive dampness, which might cause the tubers to rot during autumn and winter dormancy.  The tubers develop rhizomes, which develop more tubers and offsets to make a slowly expanding clump.

We're pleased to carry the newest Knock Out Rose -- Rainbow

You've seen the red, the pink and the blush -- now hold on to your gardening gloves as we reveal the Rainbow!

It is the most floriferous Knock Out rose and the most disease-free yet, with almost complete resistance to blackspot, powdery mildew, and rust. It reblooms ceaselessly from spring through fall, with single blooms that change colors as they mature. It is even lightly scented.

The blooms on this rounded, bushy 3-by-3-ft shrub open orange from coral-pink buds, then quickly turn a soft coral-pink shading to gold at the base, surrounding a yellow center. As they mature, they gradually turn light coral. Just 2 inches wide but packed with color and the scent of sweetbriar, they are a magnificent sight on a fully-blooming shrub, when the various colors of buds, new blooms, and mature flowers are present at once.

After the blooms finally pass, the shrub covers itself in bright orange hips that persist through winter, delighting the birds in your garden. This trouble-free, very high-performing and beautiful rose makes an ideal hedge, driveway planting, ribbon of color in the perennial or shrub border, or container choice. Winner of a 2007 All-America Rose Selection Award, it is superior in every way.

Sugar Creek expects to have a shipment in by April 15.