Yard & Garden

It’s Too Darn Hot: Garden Schemes for Sweltering Days

Maryland Grows3 Comments

Sticky.  Sticky.  Sticky.  When the temps soar into the 90s, my garden game plan changes. I set my alarm a little earlier to water newly planted plants or those suffering in the heat.  Thank you, rain barrel. I water early so the leaves don’t go to sleep wet at night, a red banner invitation for fungal issues. I’ve snaked a soaker hose through my boxwoods, shallow-rooted plants that stress out in drought.  So I turn on the water and set a timer to give them a good weekly deep soak. As I’m on my watering rounds, I look for interlopers.  In the cool of the morning, my trusty trowel and I are rogueing out sneaky chameleon plant and other weeds.  

Water droplets on the surface of a soaker hose.
Soaker hoses put water right where plants need it.
Photo credit: Annie Lemarie
Leaves and one flower of the chameleon plant.
Chameleon plant is a sneaky weed that requires vigilance.
Photo credit:  Kristen Bell

Where, where, where did that dogbane come from?  I really thought I had it all.  A sneaky mimic of young common milkweed, I sometimes miss it.  “Off with its head,” I say with glee. I’m a “while I’m here” gardener.  So if I see ground ivy lurking at the base of boxwood, I nab it.  The same goes for vinca resprouts in my woodland bed.  Begone!

If I notice tomato leaves touching my straw and newspaper mulch, I snip them off.  Rain can splash fungal spores from the soil onto leaves which is why most tomato troubles start from the bottom up. I cut off the lower branches of my tomato plants a month ago, but I try to stay vigilant with a trim here and there. It’s amazing what you can get done in a half hour in the garden.  Even 15 minutes.  And it’s oh-so-much more pleasant in the cool of the morning. 

Irregular brown lesions on tomato leaves caused by early blight disease.
Snipping off lower tomato leaves decreases the chance of early blight. 
Photo credit:  Gerald Holmes, Strawberry Center, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Bugwood.org

When the heat drives me indoors, I catch up on my garden journal.  A binder with a page for each plant, it’s my garden diary.  I note care basics when I add new plants, and add updates and photos as the seasons pass. I also update my garden maps, rough diagrams of my beds. Maps help me find plants in my densely planted beds and see opportunities to add new plants. As I look out my window, I see a lot of green, but few flowers in a native plant bed. I’m happy with the contrasting forms and textures, but there’s just not enough color.  So I’m making a note to add more late June-July blooms.

Today’s high heat also inspired me to organize all the garden stuff in my sun porch.  I tend to drop and go as I come and go and it’s looking a little rough. So, I’ve organized my pots and tags, tools and twine in my repurposed cabinet and storage bench. So that’s where that was!

I hope I’ve given you a few ideas for keeping your green thumb—and your plants—happy as we enter the heat of summer.    

By Annette Cormany, Principal Agent Associate and Master Gardener Coordinator, Washington County, University of Maryland Extension. This article was previously published by Herald-Mail Media. Read more by Annette.

What’s the Buzz Going On in My Front Yard?

Maryland Grows2 Comments

Early spring, you might notice curious little mounds of finely textured soil dotting your lawn or garden beds. If you look closer, you may even catch a tiny bee poking its head out of a hole like a groundhog (although one that doesn’t eat your plants) on the first day of spring. Don’t be alarmed and don’t stomp them out. They’re native ground-nesting bees, and if you’re lucky, they might be the charming, adorable, and important cellophane bees.

A cellophane bee looking at the camera at the opening of her nest in bare soil.
Cellophane bee emerging from nest

Meet the cellophane bee

Cellophane bees (Colletes sp.) are solitary, ground-nesting native bees that emerge in early spring. They are generalist pollinators, visiting a wide variety of plants, including early blooming trees, native wildflowers, and even some fruits and vegetables.. They’re medium-sized bees with a somewhat fuzzy appearance and are often mistaken for honey bees, though they lack the social structure and communal hive of honey bees.

Top view of a female cellophane bee creating a tunnel in bare soil to build a nest for her brood.
Cellophane bee digging tunnel

What makes cellophane bees stand out among other bees is their unique nesting behavior. Female cellophane bees dig slender vertical tunnels into well-drained or sandy soil, creating brood cells lined with a natural waterproof secretion. This lining hardens into a thin, clear layer that looks and functions like cellophane, hence its name. It helps protect developing larvae from moisture and microbial threats.

A small hole in bare soil with a low mound of soil piled up around the hole. The hole was made by a cellophane bee.
Cellophane bee hole

Now, why all the buzzing around?

Cellophane bees are solitary, meaning each female builds and provisions her own nest. However, individuals may choose the same area, leading to what looks like a large colony. This clustering behavior can surprise homeowners who suddenly see dozens of small holes in one relatively small patch of soil. While it may seem like they are swarming, these bees are not defending a hive, so they have no reason to sting unless directly handled or severely threatened, and even then, only the females can sting, and they are typically extremely docile. Because they tend to stay close to their nesting sites, they can be incredibly effective at pollinating your immediate landscape. These bees are also a reminder that supporting pollinators isn’t just about planting flowers. It’s also about providing habitat for them, and in this case, a patch of sandy soil.

Most activity happens over a brief few weeks in the spring. Once the females have mated, dug their tunnels, and stocked the brood cells with pollen and nectar, they seal them up and die off, leaving the next generation to develop underground until the following year. By early summer, all visible signs of their presence have vanished and moved underground where the larvae develop, until next spring’s return.

Live and let buzz

Let the bees live, but also support their habitat:

  • Leave some bare or lightly vegetated ground in sunny, undisturbed areas, grassy yards, or pathways. Over-mulching or frequent tilling can destroy nesting sites.
  • Avoid using broad-spectrum insecticides when pollinators are active.
  • Plant native early bloomers to provide nectar and pollen when cellophane bees emerge.
  • Resist the urge to mow or disturb nesting areas for a few weeks during peak activity (typically March through May). Mowing can destroy nesting sites and cause tunnels to collapse.
  • Educate neighbors and fellow gardeners about these beneficial bees, so they are not confused with infestations and treated as such.

 So, if you catch sight of a tiny bee carefully peaking its head out of a little dirt tunnel in your yard this season, take a moment to appreciate it. That bee is one of Maryland’s native pollinators, doing its part to keep your garden and the larger ecosystem buzzing with life.

Written by: Hayden Schug, AgFS Educator and Julia Rycyna, Home Horticulture Educator, both with UME, Charles County. Photo credits: Hayden Schug. Article previously published in the University of Maryland Extension Charles County Connection newsletter.

New beginnings in the garden

Maryland Grows2 Comments
Bean seedlings in my new vegetable garden

Are gardens and landscapes ever finished? Completed? Done?

Of course not. Gardens are in a constant state of change. Some of them (vegetable gardens, for example) we plant anew each year. Other areas we might fill up with trees and shrubs and perennials, and think we’ve created something permanent. But… trees grow, and shade grows with them. Plants die, or plants get bigger or spread faster than we expected. Unpredictable seedlings come up, and might be weeds, or might be something new and exciting that found its way in.

I’ve had some significant gardening changes this year, along with the normal state of constant flux. For one thing, we took down a tree near our driveway (it was an invasive species, and also persistently dropped things on our cars in a super-annoying way) and now we have an area in pretty full sun where it was partial before. So of course we’ve put in a new vegetable garden!

View of the new garden in early June

I had a perennial bed there, but it had become choked with liriope and Spanish bluebells, so I dug those out and threw them away, and transplanted what flower bulbs and native perennials I could locate during the winter months. My son constructed the new garden, which has a base of landscape fabric and pea gravel (to discourage anything from re-emerging from underneath) and consists of three 3’x6’ raised beds that are close to 18” high (no landscape fabric under these), plus plenty of room for containers. It’s surrounded by a six-foot wire fence to discourage animal invaders. The raised beds are made with pressure-treated lumber (now considered to be safe for food gardens) and handy concrete corners they slot into. The soil in the raised beds was dug from the surrounding area (some excavation was necessary to put in that base layer) and supplemented with homemade compost. Some weeds are popping up (along with volunteer tomatoes and mystery cucurbits), but I’m glad not to have to buy topsoil and compost

I’m going to use the new garden for vegetable plants I have trouble growing in my community garden plot, because of pests and diseases that are hard to keep at bay there. This year I’m growing beans and winter squash, plus a few other things! It’ll be interesting to find out how much produce I can grow in a relatively small space.

The herb spiral in early June, with new plants

In another area of my yard I have an herb spiral that was put in seven or eight years ago, next to a gravelly slope where I’d had great success growing rosemary. But this was a particularly bad winter for that marginally hardy Mediterranean herb, and when I checked in early spring, all of the plants were very, very dead. I’ve replanted new rosemary in pretty much the same place (sunny, great drainage, protected from wind) so hopefully it will live at least a few more years.

The herb spiral itself had been taken over by lavender, so it was basically a glorious lavender hill, with no room for anything else to grow. I don’t think the winter completely killed the plants (lavender is surprisingly tough, at least the hardier cultivars) but they were badly enough off that I decided it was time to take them out. I’ve added new soil into the herb spiral and begun planting more herbs. No lavender this time! I have room for it in other places where it can grow into shrubs.

Marjoram, thyme, and lemon verbena in the recovered herb spiral

Changes happen every year in the garden—big ones or small ones, but always some. Enjoy the early summer weather as you transform your own gardening spaces, one small task or one giant refreshment at a time.

By Erica Smith, Montgomery County Master Gardener. Read more posts by Erica.

Supporting Migratory Birds

Maryland Grows2 Comments

With the return of warm weather, new plant growth, and emerging insects, you may have noticed the return of bird song, too. Migratory birds begin to return to their breeding grounds in May from locations as far south as Central and South America. Some species will stay in Maryland all summer to nest; others are passing through on their way to breeding grounds farther north. Maryland is under the Atlantic migration flyway, so we have quite a lot of migrating birds in our community, including orioles, warblers, swallows, and more!

Map of North America showing the four major bird migration flyways- the Atlantic Flyway, the Mississippi Flyway, The Central Flyway, and the Pacific Flyway.
Map by American Bird Conservancy

With bird diversity at its peak in our region due to the return of summer species and the temporary presence of northern species on their way home, it’s a great time to go birding! While the Maryland Ornithological Society’s annual May Count has already passed, you can check out their calendar for smaller birding events across the state, including meetings, tours, and educational opportunities.

You can also see which birds are coming and going through the BirdCast Migration Dashboard —enter your county to see how many birds flew over the previous night and cumulatively this season, as well as a list of species to expect this time of year. The Audubon Society hosts an interactive migration map where you can select a location and a bird species to watch where birds travel throughout the year, thanks to data collected from individually-tagged birds.

In addition to tracking their progress and contributing to community science efforts, there are steps you can take to help migratory birds on their journeys:

  • Keep cats indoors or supervise outdoor excursions, as free-roaming outdoor cats frequently prey on birds.
  • Reduce artificial light at night, as birds often fly at night to avoid predators, stay cool, and navigate by the stars and moon. Artificial light from the ground attracts and disorients migratory birds, disrupting their flight paths and increasing collisions with buildings. Minimize light pollution around your home by turning off outside lights, using red bulbs or red gel filters, and/or adding shades to direct light downward instead of up at the sky. You can also put path or porch lights on timers or install motion sensors, so lights are only on when you need them. Close your curtains or blinds at dusk to protect birds from indoor lights.
  • Lastly, an action where gardeners can excel: plant native vegetation to provide fruits and support insects for native birds with varied diets. For example, our Maryland State bird, the beloved Baltimore Oriole (Icterus galbula), which spends the winter in Central America, feeds mostly on insects like caterpillars, beetles, and grasshoppers, but also eats berries and nectar. A native plant like serviceberry (any species in the genus Amelanchier) would be an excellent choice; it can host 124 species of caterpillars and produces fruits that look similar to blueberries, another oriole favorite (any species in the genus Vaccinium). Native birches (like the sweet birch, Betula lenta), plums (like the American plum, Prunus americana), and oaks (like white oak, Quercus alba) also support higher caterpillar abundances, and red mulberry (Morus rubra) and native blackberry species (like the Allegheny blackberry, Rubus allegheniensis) grow attractive fruits.

With these actions, you can help protect our beautiful springtime singers!

Close-up photo of a Baltimore oriole bird.
Baltimore oriole by Andrew Weitzel
Photo of a serviceberry branch and leaves with purple fruits.
Photo of a cluster of ripening blueberries on a plant.
Photo of red mulberry fruits hanging from a shoot.
Photo of blackberry fruits riopening on the plant.

Serviceberry by Native Foods Nursery; blueberry by 88 Acres; red mulberry by K. Dave; blackberry by Ragesoss

By Sarah Rothman, Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Environmental Science and Technology at the University of Maryland. Read more by Sarah.

Savor the Season, But Don’t Take Off the Gardening Gloves

Maryland GrowsLeave a comment

“In early June the world of leaf and blade and flowers explodes and every sunset is different.”
– John Steinbeck

June is a giddy month. As gardeners we have time to exhale and enjoy.  Spring tasks like mulching and heavy-duty planting are done.  Flowers are going gangbusters.  Veggies are plumping up.  But, as ever, there are a few things to do.  So revel you must, but keep those garden gloves at the ready to ensure your garden keeps looking good and producing well.   

Pinch back fall-blooming plants such as asters, mums, and tall sedum to prevent them from getting leggy. Use this trick to avoid supports for perennials that tend to flop, such as Shasta daisies. 

Are there empty spaces in your vegetable beds from harvested crops?  Consider planting a second crop of beans, beets, radishes, or cucumbers. This is called succession planting. The UME Vegetable Planting Calendar can help guide you.

A ripe pickling cucumber on the vine.
Fill in empty spaces in your beds with second plantings of vegetables like cucumbers. 

Fruit trees naturally drop excess fruit this time of year.  That is normal thinning that helps to produce fewer, larger fruit.  You also can manually thin plum, peach, apple and pear trees.  Just leave 5 to 6 inches between fruits.

Just say no to mulch volcanoes! The excessive mounding of mulch around trees and shrubs can injure and even kill them. Mulch should be only one to three inches deep and not be in contact with the base of your trees and shrubs.

The hum of mowers is a constant serenade.  Are you remembering to let those grass clippings lie to provide up to a quarter of the nitrogen your lawn needs? It’s free fertilizer, folks. We just had a week of rain, but hot dry weather is coming.  Mow high – 3 to 4 inches – to keep your lawn healthy and reduce weeds and disease issues.  No scalping, please.

A closeup of a lawnmower next to grass that is mowed and some that is not mowed.
Let grass clippings lie for free fertilizer. 

How is your compost pile doing?  If all the rain has made it damp and a bit smelly, stir in some dry, carbon-rich materials such as straw or shredded leaves or newspaper. You need a mix of green (nitrogen-rich) and brown (carbon-rich) ingredients to keep compost cooking.  Turn compost regularly and keep it slightly moist to create the best ever soil amendment.

A man next to a compost bin made out of chicken wire is using a pitchfork to toss rotted straw into the bin.
Turn compost regularly to make a 4-star soil amendment. Photo credit: Elizabeth Howe

Mosquitoes love wet weather.  It makes tiny breeding pools more likely in pot saucers, buckets, tarps, outdoor toys and more. Look for standing water and remove it regularly.  

The wet weather also has made millipedes emerge from damp leaf litter to wander up the exterior house walls, patios, basements and even one area hot tub. These inch-long brown worm-like creatures get their name from the many tiny legs.  They do no harm and will disappear once things dry out.  There’s no need to treat for them.  

This is also snake mating season.  A few years ago I came across a happy couple in a slithery embrace in my yard.  My neighbor’s young boy asked me what they were doing. His mom smiled and nodded so I started with, “When a girl snake and a boy snake like each other very much…” Oh dear. Some people have a snake phobia.  I don’t, but I get it.  Just remember that snakes are good garden buddies, helping to rid our yards of mice, moles and voles.  Let them be. It’s illegal to kill snakes in Maryland.

Enjoy this time in your glorious June garden…snakes and all!

By Annette Cormany, Principal Agent Associate and Master Gardener Coordinator, Washington County, University of Maryland Extension. This article was previously published by Herald-Mail Media. Read more by Annette.

Q&A: What Damaged My Hydrangea?

Maryland Grows2 Comments
New green hydrangea leaves with brown spots and edges caused by cold temperatures.
Cold night temperatures caused the edges and tips of these new hydrangea leaves to turn brown.

Q:  The new leaves on my hydrangea shrub recently turned brownish on the tips, and they look a bit withered. What can I do to save it?

A:  The shrub is probably fine and you shouldn’t need to do anything for now. It’s likely cold damage, from overnight temperatures below or near freezing. Bigleaf hydrangea (Hydrangea macrophylla) tend to be particularly eager to leaf-out as soon as the weather warms in spring, often too early to avoid frost damage in years with fluctuating temperatures. This inconveniently early emergence is encouraged when plants grow near warmth-retaining materials like a stone retaining wall, solid fence, or house wall.

Give the shrub time to produce more new growth to cover any eyesore leaves. You don’t need to prune damaged leaves off, but you can if they’re too bothersome, once the plant is fuller with more growth. Be aware that, once dormancy is broken, flower buds on the stems are also vulnerable to frost/freeze damage, and that might not be as evident as the singed edges or distorted-leaf symptoms on expanding foliage. If the shrub doesn’t flower this summer, it could be due to spring cold injury, or branches that were pruned back before determining if the bare tips were actually dead.

In the future, you can try using an old sheet or pillowcase (any fabric; avoid plastic) to cover the plant for the night if the forecast calls for temperatures close to freezing. Garden centers that have the ability to protect tender plants can tip pots over and cover them with a thick horticultural felt, which gives the plants a few degrees of protection due to the cover blocking frost and trapping some warmth radiating off the ground. (You can do this with potted plants that have broken dormancy too early, but in home settings it’s more practical to just move them temporarily closer to a sheltered wall instead, or put them in a shed or garage for the night.)

New green hydrangea leaves with brown spots caused by cold temperatures.
Brown leaf spots on new hydrangea leaves from cold weather

New green hydrangea leaves that are turning a dark purplish color and are wilting due to severe cold temperatures.
New hydrangea leaves collapsing from cold injury. Photo credit: Debra Ricigliano

By Miri Talabac, Horticulturist, University of Maryland Extension Home & Garden Information Center. Miri writes the Garden Q&A for The Baltimore Sun and Washington Gardener Magazine. Read more by Miri.

Have a plant or insect question? The University of Maryland Extension has answers! Send your questions and photos to Ask Extension. Our horticulturists are available to answer your questions online, year-round.

How to Pick a Healthy Plant

Maryland GrowsLeave a comment

Woo hoo!  It’s time to go to the garden center.  It’s hard to curb our excitement, isn’t it?  All that color and beauty is overwhelming, and I always feel like a kid in a candy store. I know you are oh-so-ready – me, too – but let’s take a moment and talk about how to pick really good plants.  After all, you deserve the best, right?  

Healthy plants look better, last longer, grow more vigorously, and allow you to pat yourself on the back for being such a savvy plant shopper. So, whether you’re buying vegetables, annuals, herbs or perennials, take the time to really look at the plants you’re considering.  Use these tips to pick the best of the bunch. 

Photo of a tray of healthy tomato transplants each in their own individual 4 inch containers. The plants are dark green and stocky.
Green, healthy tomato seedlings just the right size to transplant. 
Photo credit:  Elizabeth Jones, Washington County Master Gardener

First, think green.  A healthy plant has dark green leaves.  So if a plant looks pale or yellow, walk away.   It’s probably stressed and growing slowly.  Of course, this excludes plants bred to have red, purple, chartreuse, or variegated leaves. 

Bigger isn’t always better.  Yes, you want a healthy plant, but smaller plants with healthy root systems often adapt better than large plants when planted in your garden. When I see someone wrestling a 3-foot tall tomato plant out a garden center door now, I cringe. Too early! Too big!  I look for 8-inch tall tomato plants in 4-inch pots and prefer perennials in quart pots. Steer clear of tall, skinny plants. Opt for thick bushy ones instead. Skinny plants have often been grown in poor light or overgrown their pots. You want lush compact growth.

Basil plants with off-color leaves with spots caused by basil downy mildew.
Look for plant problems such as this downy mildew on basil plants.
Photo credit:  Home & Garden Information Center

Next, check for signs and symptoms of insect pests and diseases. Don’t accept any hitchhikers. If you see insects, nibbled leaves, spots, webbing, or fuzz, put down the pot. Now, check out the roots.  Yes, it’s okay to hold a plant horizontally and gently wiggle it out of its pot to look at the roots. Healthy roots are white, not yellow or brown.  They should be solid, not mushy.  And they should not be encircling the pot or growing out of the bottom. That’s the sign of a plant that’s been in its pot too long. Beware of pots with unknown sprouts.  Weeds can hitch a ride on desirable plants, bringing untold problems into your garden.  Tiny seedlings you can remove, but if a pot is overrun, steer clear.

Beware of pot-bound plants with circling roots such as the one on the left.

Know your garden center.  Look around. Do all the plants look healthy?  Are staff members watering and inspecting the plants and providing good care?  Can they answer your questions?  Good nurseries grow good plants. Beware the deep discount.  Yes, that flat of begonias is half price, but what’s the real cost?  If they are overgrown, potbound, infested, or diseased, they are no bargain.   The real deal is a plant that is full, green, problem-free, and well-tended.

You can find good plants at local nurseries and garden centers and plant sales run by schools and nonprofit groups. Many Master Gardener programs have spring sales, as do arboretums, native plant societies, and other conservation groups. Get connected. I hope you’ll use these tips to enjoy gardens brimming with beautiful, healthy, productive plants.

By Annette Cormany, Principal Agent Associate and Master Gardener Coordinator, Washington County, University of Maryland Extension. This article was previously published by Herald-Mail Media. Read more by Annette.