Author:Annette

Bulbs Deliver a Brilliant Spring

Maryland Grows1 Comment

Spring bulbs define possibility. Dive into a binful at your local garden center and hold one in your hand. It’s all in there – roots, leaves, stems, and flowers – all the razzle-dazzle of spring in one neat package.   

And now’s the time to plant. So get thee to a nursery or online store and start dreaming of a brilliant spring.

Pick big, firm bulbs. Avoid ones with soft or dark spots. Store them in a cool, dark place with good air circulation until you can plant them by October’s end. 

purple flowers of ornamental onions in bloom
Alliums’ spheres add drama to the spring garden. Photo:  Christa Carignan, UME

There are dozens of bulbs to choose from with bloom times from February to May. Snowdrops start the season, popping their dainty blossoms through the snow. Crocus follow and are often snow-dusted as well.  

Then comes an avalanche of other bulbs: daffodils, hyacinth, tulips, and more. Less well-known but equally rewarding are camassia, scilla, starflower, winter aconite, cyclamen, chionodoxa and allium.  Even the names are delicious.

tulips in a variety of colors
Grand sweeps of tulips are a sure sign of spring. Photo: Judy Kofoet

How do you decide what to plant? If your garden is graced by deer or squirrels, pick bulbs they don’t like such as daffodils, hyacinth, allium, fritillaria, and scilla.   

And remember that drifts of bulbs look best. So instead of a few bulbs, plant a dozen or more in a sweep. Go for the ooh la. 

Bulbs’ leaves need to die back naturally since the foliage feeds the bulbs for next year, so keep that in mind when choosing a planting site. Hide the fading foliage by mixing bulbs with perennials that are already filling out.  

Siberian iris’s fountain of foliage is ideal camouflage as are the unfurling leaves of ferns or hostas.  Practice pairing, planting bulbs to come up through a froth of white candytuft or creeping phlox.  

Think outside the box and use bulbs anywhere you want a splash of color. Combine them with low groundcovers under trees. Naturalize bulbs on a hill or in a woodland. Tuck them into a rock garden or container.    

yellow daffodil flower
Daffodils are a great deer-resistant bulb. Photo: Joan Willoughby

What do bulbs need? Plenty of sun, soil that drains well, and reasonably rich soil. To our clay and rocks, add compost and bulb fertilizer and loosen the planting area to a depth of 6 inches or so.   

Then plant your bulbs about 3 times their width deep. A one-inch bulb goes three inches deep while a two-inch bulbs goes six inches down. Dig the hole with a trowel and pop in your bulb, pointy end up. 

Space bulbs according to the guidelines on their packaging. Top with soil, water, and mulch.  

Aftercare of bulbs is easy. Dig and divide them every few years either after the foliage dies back – when they’re easiest to find – or in the fall if you’ve cleverly marked their location.

Can you garden without bulbs? Yes, but why would you? They are just the ticket for jazzing up your garden beds.  

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.

How to Help Overwintering Pollinators

Maryland GrowsLeave a comment

Raise your hand if you want to help butterflies, bees, and other pollinators. Good for you.

In my last blog post, I discussed two ways to help pollinators starting in the fall. Waiting to cut back perennials until spring and letting some leaves lie protects overwintering insects.

But there is so much more you can do to help this fall and year-round. It’s all about creating habitat, providing safe spaces for pollinators to live, eat, shelter and raise young.

My neighbors raised their eyebrows when I plunked a moss-covered log into my landscape. But it looks terrific in my woodland garden, a natural accent that provides shelter and food for wildlife.

Logs are attractive habitats for wildlife, including pollinators. Photo: Annette Cormany

So, adopt a log. Spiders and beetles are attracted to the moist areas under logs and peeling bark. Bees and butterflies nest and overwinter in drier parts of logs.  

Logs help other wildlife, too. Chipmunks use them as highways, toads love their moisture, and other critters use them for sunbathing. 

Lay logs horizontally, burying one end a few inches to maintain some moisture. And be sure to ask permission before tossing that log into your pickup. Mine came from a family property. Honest.

Dead-standing trees called “snags” also provide habitat for pollinators and other wildlife. As long as a tree poses no danger to you or your home, consider leaving it. What looks messy to us is beautiful to wildlife. 

Beetles and other insects burrow through dead wood, creating tunnels that cavity-nesting bees such as mason bees lay their eggs in. Other insects tuck under bark. I once saw a striking mourning cloak butterfly emerge from the bark of a dead tree.

If leaving a whole dead tree is too much for your sense of order or safety is an issue, fell the tree but leave the log in part or whole. Or leave just the stump. Hardwood logs with the bark attached add more varied, longer-lasting habitat.

Stumps offer food and shelter to insects. Photo: Annette Cormany

What else can you do to enhance your habitat for pollinators beyond planting native plants that flower from spring to frost? Plenty.  

Add a rock pile or wall. Bumblebees, leafcutter bees, and wasps nest in their cavities. Ground beetles and many other insects shelter where soil meets stone.  

Stone walls – including this handsome one dressed in lichen – provide shelter and nesting sites for wildlife. Photo: Annette Cormany

Use different sizes and types of rocks and skip the mortar to create more protected nooks and crannies. Planting native plants nearby makes the area even more attractive to pollinators and other beneficial insects.  

Thanks for all you are already doing to help support and protect pollinators. It matters. 

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.

How to Protect Pollinators in the Fall

Maryland Grows2 Comments

Did you know that how and when you cut back your perennials and tidy your landscape matters to pollinators?  

I just read a fact sheet from the Xerces Society that opened my eyes to more ways to help pollinators year-round, especially in the fall.   

I already make sure I have something blooming from April to frost, so pollen and nectar are always available. And I emphasize native plants that coevolved with pollinators to support them best.

But beyond flowers, there are many things we can do to provide shelter for nesting and overwintering pollinators. And we can start some of them in the fall. 

Pollinators and other insects shelter in stems and branches of trees, shrubs, and flowers. They also shelter in leaf litter, undisturbed or bare ground, dead wood, brush piles, and rock piles.  

Incorporating these features in your landscape – rather than cleaning them away – supports bees, butterflies, and other pollinators.   

So how can you make your garden more welcoming to pollinators this fall?

Start with the stems. Don’t cut back your perennials until late spring. Bees and other pollinators hibernate in the stems in winter. Only remove unhealthy plant stems to manage disease.  

But doesn’t that look a little unkempt? Yes, but messy is beautiful – and necessary for pollinators to survive and thrive.  

Master Gardener sign explaining why a messy garden is good for pollinators. Source: A. Cormany

The Master Gardeners and I believe this so strongly that signs in our teaching gardens say, “Excuse our mess, pollinators at rest,” to explain why we don’t cut back plants in the fall.

Next, leave some leaves. Most butterflies and moths use leaf litter to protect eggs, caterpillars, chrysalises, or adults over the winter. 

Wooly bear caterpillars tuck into leaf piles. Luna moths wrap their cocoons in leaves. Some butterflies lay eggs on fallen leaves. Queen bumble bees burrow into soil under leaves.  

A luna moth cocoon wrapped in leaves to wait out the winter.  
Photo:  M. Raupp

So pile some leaves around trees, shrubs, and perennials as a natural mulch. They will suppress weeds, hold moisture, and feed the soil. I chip some leaves but leave some whole.    

I often use leaf mulch in my vegetable garden, too. And when I had a larger landscape, I kept a 3-foot border of leaves against a stone wall to provide more shelter.   

Leaves aren’t litter: they’re habitat. Ideally, some leaves will become a permanent part of your landscape. Pick a corner, an edge, or a garden. I let leaves lie in a small woodland garden. 

But if you need to remove some of the leaves, try to leave them in place until mid-spring to give  overwintering pollinators a chance to emerge.  

This is really a glimpse of the many ways you can invite and support pollinators year-round. Learn more about Pollinator Gardens on the Home and Garden Information Center website.

Thanks for all you are doing to protect pollinators. It matters.  

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.

Smart Watering Helps Plants Beat the Heat

Maryland Grows4 Comments

Cole Porter was right. It’s too darn hot. 

As we watch the high temps stubbornly refuse to budge, it’s tempting to hunker down indoors and let our gardens go. Don’t. Those plants really need us now.

The best thing you can do to help is to water well. That means watering deeply less often.  

a show of water from a hose - watering a garde plant
Water at the base of plants to soak the roots.
Photo: Miri Talabac, UME

Daily sprinkles do more harm than good, stimulating shallow roots, which have a harder time drawing up the water plants need.  

Light watering also encourages tomatoes and peppers to develop black, leathery blossom end rot. 

So water vegetable plants deeply twice a week. Dial it back to once a week when things cool down.   

Watering in the morning is best as is directing water to the base of plants.  

If you planted new trees or shrubs this year, water them slowly and deeply at least once a week to soak the root ball. Use a soaker hose, a 5-gallon bucket with a few nail holes, or a hose on a slow trickle. 

a green tree bag placed around the trunk of a tree
Tree bags help to keep trees and shrubs well watered. 
Photo:  Joe Murray, Bugwood.org

And no, rain is not enough. Here are a few more tips on watering trees and shrubs.

If you’re growing anything in containers, check those pots daily. Most need to be watered every day.  And do some supplemental watering in your perennial beds. Everything is dry, dry, dry.

Smart tools make watering easier and use less water.

Soaker hoses – made from recycled tires – water plants slowly at the base of plants so you don’t lose water to evaporation.  

Drip irrigation does the same and lets you customize water zones. I can’t say enough good things about the drip irrigation system on a timer in my vegetable beds.  

a drip irrigation system set up in a raised bed garden
Drip irrigation saves time and money.
Photo:  Robert Cook

Rain barrels are a godsend. An eighth of an inch of rain on the average roof fills a 50-gallon barrel.  That’s free water, folks. I have four rain barrels and plan to add two more.  

a rain barrel next to a garden
Rain barrels capture rain from roofs to reduce water bills. 
Photo:  Rutgers University

Avoid watering with sprinklers. Overhead watering can promote disease and cause the loss of up to 80 percent of water to evaporation. 

Here are some more tips on conserving water and using smart tools. 

In addition to boosting plants’ water needs, heat zaps plants in other ways. 

Have you noticed flowers falling off your tomato plants? Sustained high temps prevent pollination, causing plants to jettison their blooms. Don’t worry. Flowering and fruiting will restart when it cools.

Trees react to high heat, too. Many are raining down leaves. This is a natural stress reaction. In fact, trees don’t need all their leaves. They’re just shedding some to cut down on maintenance. 

Unless the leaf loss is dramatic, those trees will be just fine.  

Lawns are feeling the heat as well, browning here, there, and everywhere. They are not – I repeat not – dead. Lawns naturally go dormant in high heat and will spring back with rains. Only new lawns need to be watered.

If you’d like to boost your landscape’s resistance to heat and drought – and the need for supplemental watering – add some water-wise plants.  

Deep-rooted, well-adapted native plants are a great choice. So are plants with fleshy leaves or roots, blue leaves, skinny or fuzzy leaves – all natural adaptations that mean these plants need less water. Think sedum, iris, lavender, threadleaf coreopsis, and lamb’s ear. 

Here are some tips for creating a more climate-resilient landscape.

Watering wisely and picking the right plants will help you build a more heat-resilient landscape that can not only beat the heat but look good doing it.     

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.

Scary Bugs (And Why You Shouldn’t Be Afraid)

Maryland GrowsLeave a comment

Eek! It’s a bug!

I know most folks don’t like creepy-crawlies. Bugs aren’t their thing. Mine, yes, but this is what I do – help people deal with garden pests and protect good bugs.

Some good guys do look scary, like something out of a sci-fi movie with spikes and fangs and ridges and crazy colors.   

But looks aren’t everything. In most cases, these are good bugs – what we call beneficial insects – that help to control the few bad dudes in your garden.  

Let me introduce you to a few bug friends that aren’t beauties but do a beautiful job of controlling harmful pests.  

Assassin bugs get a bad rap simply because of their name. We’re talking James Bond, right?  

an assassin bug is a cloudy-gray color with a hump on its back
Scary-looking assassin bugs are efficient predators. Photo: Photo: Johnny N. Dell, Bugwood.org 

That’s a good thing. Assassin bugs are efficient predators, but boy, do they look scary. Battleship grey with spikes down their backs, they look like they’re wearing armor.  

But the battle is mostly one-sided. Insects that cross an assassin bug’s path likely will get skewered by its lance-like mouthpart and slurped dry.  

Stop shuddering. There’s an upside. 

Assassin bugs eat almost any bug, making them ecological balancers that keep insect populations in check. Plus, they enjoy snacking on Japanese beetles, the scourge of many a garden.

Cute and beneficial, the ladybug lies at the other end of the beauty spectrum. But as youngsters, ladybugs resemble tiny orange and black alligators which often get squished because they look like they are Up To No Good.  

a lady bug larva is black and organge and resembles a miniature alligator
Spiky ladybug larvae control aphids and other pests. Photo: Whitney Cranshaw, Colorado State University, Bugwood.org

Not true. These are good guys who consume even more aphids, spider mites, scales, and other baddies than adult ladybugs. In fact, one ladybug can eat over 5,000 aphids in its lifetime. 

Many juvenile insects look nothing like their more familiar adult counterparts. So stop before you squish or spray. Snap a photo or bring a sample to your local Extension office. Most likely it’s an ally you want to protect.  

You can find your Maryland Extension office on our website. Or reach out to the certified horticulturists at our Home & Garden Information Center for help. Send a photo or question to them at Ask Extension.

Wasps get a bad rap, too, with much swatting and shrieking and fear of The Stinger. Only females have those – they’re modified egg-laying organs – and they aren’t likely to use them unless threatened.  

But most wasps are beneficial, preying on bad bugs or laying their eggs on them to feed their young. Plus, they are pollinators, protecting 1 in 3 bites of food we eat. 

a wasp visiting a white-flowering plant
Scoliid wasps lay their eggs on Japanese beetle larva. Photo: Shanon Wolf

Spiders aren’t insects – they have 8 legs, not 6 – but they give many people the willies. But spiders also are beneficial, quietly and efficiently consuming many harmful insects.  

a black and yellow garden spider in its web
Argiope spiders provide free pest control in the garden. Photo: Heather Lawhead

Beauty isn’t everything. An army of not-so-lovely-but-useful insects are your allies in the garden, protecting your plants from the 1 in 10 bugs that are actually harmful. 

So think before you squish or spray. Get us a photo or sample. We’ll identify it and give you management tips that deal swiftly with bad bugs while protecting beneficial insects. 

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.

Mulch Volcanoes Kill Trees

Maryland GrowsLeave a comment
Mulch piled high around trees is harmful. Photo: D. Clement, University of Maryland Extension

I’ve been a bit twitchy lately. I keep seeing mulch piled high around trees and it makes me more than a little crazy. Those mulch volcanoes are so very bad for trees. 

Why? They hold moisture against the bark, inviting rot, pests, rodents, and disease.

With mulch, less is more. One to three inches is all you need. 

Done right, mulch can be a good thing. It suppresses weeds, holds moisture, prevents soil compaction, moderates temperature, and improves soil structure when it breaks down.  

Proper mulch is 1 to 3 inches deep. Photo: UME-HGIC

Mulch can be attractive and create a protective barrier between lawns and plantings. It creates a no-go zone, keeping mowers and weed whackers from damaging tree bark.

A ring of mulch around trees also keeps thirsty grass from robbing tree roots of much-needed water. Water passes more easily through mulch than turf. 

But too much of a good thing is bad. Very bad. So many plants die an early death due to excessive applications of mulch. 

One client had lost three trees in one spot and called me for help. I nearly drove off the road as I approached her home. There were 17 inches of mulch, the bark was black and mushy, and the tree was dead as a doornail. 

Once you start looking for them, you’ll notice mulch volcanoes everywhere. My phone is full of photos of these dastardly cones.  

leave mulched piled too high at the base of a tree trunk
Chipped leaves applied too deeply around a tree as mulch. Photo: Jennifer Foltz

I can’t save all the trees, so I’m enlisting your help. Don’t let mulch volcanoes happen on your watch.  

Know that the type of mulch you choose is important, too. 

Shredded bark mulch is the most popular choice for flower, tree, and shrub beds. It resists compaction, looks good, and is readily available. 

Avoid using chunkier nugget mulches where water flows regularly. Those nuggets float, so they tend to move – sometimes quite dramatically – in heavy rains. 

Consider stone mulches carefully. Leaves, debris, and weeds are difficult to remove, and stones can dry plants with the heat they reflect. Baked Alberta spruce, anyone? 

Also, avoid mulch made from recycled tires. It blocks the flow of air and water to plant roots and can leach harmful chemicals. Plus, it doesn’t break down to feed the soil. 

Regardless of the type of mulch you use, keep it an inch or two away from trunks. This avoids moisture buildup that can cause rot and invite insects and disease. 

Learn more about mulching from the Home and Garden Information Center: Mulching Trees and Shrubs.

I also encourage you to look at mulch alternatives. Not only are they more sustainable, they can save the cost and effort of applying and reapplying traditional mulch. 

Plant groundcovers or a mix of perennials and groundcovers around trees to create a plant community that supports pollinators, beneficial insects, and wildlife.  

Try using groundcovers instead of mulch in your flower beds. Newspapers and straw or untreated grass clippings work well in vegetable beds as does an inch or two of compost.

Untreated grass clippings can be used to mulch vegetables.

So join in the mulch mania. Toss it forth with glee but not too deeply. Or explore some mulch alternatives that not only block weeds, hold moisture, and feed the soil, but provide vital habitat.  

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.

Delicate Wildflowers Signal Spring

Maryland GrowsLeave a comment

Each spring I delight in my first glimpse of dainty spring wildflowers scattered along my hiking trails. Welcome, friends.  

Called spring ephemerals, these native wildflowers emerge when the sunlight hits the woodland floor before the first tree leaves unfurl.  

They are called ephemerals because their beauty is fleeting. They come and go in just a few short weeks, dissolving back into the ground in late spring or early summer. 

Why? They must bloom, be pollinated and set seed before the tree canopies steal their sun. But oh what a show until then.

It starts with a dusting of tiny pink-striped spring beauties (Claytonia virginica). Time rolls back as I remember the lawn of my childhood home awash in pink. Even their pollen is pink. 

a single blossom of spring beaty peeping through a leaf
Spring beauty (Claytonia virginica). Photo: R. Rhodes, University of Maryland Extension (UME)

Among the beauties, Dutchman’s breeches (Dicentra cucullaria) pop up here and there looking like someone left white pantaloons out to dry.

Intermingled are the nodding white bell-like blooms of cutleaf toothwort (Cardamine concatenata).

Boldly marching through the waves of more delicate wildflowers are the hefty trillium, named for their trio of pointed flowers and leaves.  

I’m partial to the splotched leaves and red-brown flowers of toadshade (Trillium sessile) but there are lovely purple- and white-flowered forms.

I also am partial to these wildflowers’ poetic names:  spring beauties, Dutchman’s breeches, toothwort, toadshade, and trillium. 

In my own garden, I’ll smile over a sweep of bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis). Its white many-petaled blooms dance in the slightest breeze over large hand-like leaves.

a group of bloodroot flowers in bloom
bloodroot flowers opening
Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis). Photos: C. Carignan, UME

And don’t get me started on my mayapples (Podophyllum peltatum). Dangling a single lovely white flower, their splotched umbrella-like foliage hangs on until mid-summer.

mayapple flower
Mayapple (Podophyllum peltatum). Photo: K. Baligush, UME

But wait. There’s more.  

Virginia bluebells (Mertensia virginica) are just starting to edge the trails with a froth of blue and pink. My father’s favorite, they show pink in bud, then open fistfuls of sky blue bells. 

close up of Virginia bluebell flowers
Virginia bluebells (Mertensia virginica) are lining many local woodland trails.  Photo: Joan Willoughby


All spring ephemerals grow low. Since they must withstand early spring vagaries of weather, they must be tough. Growing low protects them from fierce winds. 

I encourage you to bend low for a closer look. Most ephemerals have delightful details you don’t notice from on high such as pollen held at the bunched bottoms of Dutchman’s breeches.

How can these spring ephemerals look so good so early? Most have thick rhizomes (thickened underground stems) or bulbs that hold energy stockpiled from the previous year.  

Ephemerals’ enduring qualities mirror their ecological benefit. As native plants, they naturally support a healthy ecosystem and provide vital pollen and nectar to early native beneficial insects.

I hope I’ve inspired you to look for wildflowers on your walks and consider adding some to your landscape. But please don’t harvest them from the wild. Look for them at native plant sales and in seed or plant form in catalogs.  

Happy wildflower hunting. 

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.