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Jill and Rick Van Duyvendyk answer all your gardening questions in Garden Talk on 650 CKOM and 980 CJME every Sunday morning at 9 a.m.
Here are some questions and answers from the April 20 show:
These questions and answers have been edited and condensed for clarity.
Q: When can I transplant rhubarb?
A: As soon as the frost is out of the ground. If it is a bigger plant it is best to split it. If you don’t have room for two plants give one to a friend.
Drive your your spade right through the plant. You can leave half of it in place and transplant the other half. Cutting it in half doesn’t kill it and sometimes rejuvenates the plant. If it is really big cut it in quarters.
Plant them at least four feet apart because they grow at least four feet wide. Rhubarb makes a great ornamental plant, it’s a good landscape plant with a purpose.
Read more:
- Garden Talk: Can I grow apricots in Saskatchewan?
- Garden Talk: Tips for planning a thriving home vegetable garden
- Garden Talk: Everything you need to know about caring for your spring lawn
- Garden Talk: What flowers can I grow in a garden that gets only morning sun?
Q: I have a yellow Loosestrife that I need to move. Will it still bloom this year?
A: As long as you take a good size clump of dirt with it or dig it up now and put it into a pot it will. Once the ground thaws out, then it’s already been dug up and is ready to transplant, so there’ll be less transplant shock.
Q: Can I plant out salvia that were in pots outside all winter?
A: If they’re stuck underneath a bank of snow and were there for most of the winter they may be okay. You can bring them inside for a couple of days, give them some water and see if anything sprouts. You’ll notice within probably about a week if something’s going to pop up. If not, then I would toss them into the compost pile.
(Submitted)
Q: How do I transplant a number of pine and spruce trees popping up that are about two to three feet tall (pictured)?
A: As soon as the frost is out of the ground, move them. Pines have a stick root system not a fibrous one so be careful when you move them and try to keep dirt on it around the roots. Spruce will have a more fibres so will take a ball of earth around them. After moving water them in, and they’ll be great.
Q: How do I make an old potentilla bloom again?
A: Prune it right down to the ground, don’t even leave one stick. Fertilize it every three weeks from mid-May until the middle of July. It’ll take a couple of years to really fill back in. It may not be quite as thick as it was for the first year, but it’ll flower.
Q: How do I use aluminum sulfate on my hydrangeas?
A: It’s a water-soluble powder so mix it with water and pour it over. You can also sprinkle it on the soil and mix it in, then water it. Use it at the same time you do your regular fertilizing, starting around mid-May.
Q: Can I apply a water-soluble evergreen and citrus 30-10-10 fertilizer by sprinkling the powder on the ground and then wait for the rain or does it have to be dissolved in water?
A: It has to be dissolved in water according to the instructions. It’ll tell you how much to put in and the amount of water you use is depending on the size of the plant.
Fertilize around the drip line of the tree, not at the base. If it’s a bigger tree the drip line is the outer edge of the branches not at the trunk. Feeder roots at the outer edges draw in water and nutrients.
Q: Can I trim a branch of my birch tree right now?
A: No. Do not trim birches and maples right now or they will bleed like crazy. Wait until it’s in full leaf around July 1 until the end of September. If you cut it now and it bleeds, that it becomes an attractant for all kinds of insects that could harm your tree.
Q: Should I be concerned about my strawberries growing right now?
A: Any perennials that are coming up naturally out of the ground know the weather. The only time that I’d be worried about it is if we get 10 C temperatures and then all of a sudden it goes down to like -5 C. Throw a frost blanket over top to protect them. It might just set the plant back a little.
Q: When do I remove the mulch off my plants?
A: As soon as trees and shrubs start to bud out a little. That means the ground temperature is warm enough to take your mulch off.
Don’t take it off too soon because there’s all those good bugs like ladybugs in there and there will be no food for them. As soon as trees and shrubs bud out, the aphids will start hatching and provide food.
Q: When can I prune my Saskatoon berry?
A: Right now. Get it done quickly, don’t wait a week.
Q: Is it ok to prune clematis and Karl Foerster grasses right now?
A: Cut the grasses right down to the ground as soon as possible before they start greening up.
The majority of the clematis that are hardy in Saskatchewan grow back from the base every year, so you can cut them back right down to the ground every year.
Q: What should I be doing with my rose bushes now and for the rest of the growing season as they rarely ever bloom?
A: There are only two varieties you don’t want to prune in the spring — one is called Thérèse Bugnet and other is the Persian yellow rose — because they bloom on their old wood first.
All the Morden and Parkland roses and everything else prune them right back to at least a third. They bloom on new wood. Then fertilize them — If you want lots of growth, use 20-20-20 or 30-10-10. There are lots of blooming type of fertilizers, too, Apply every three weeks starting around mid-May until around mid-July.
If they haven’t bloomed much, it could be two things. One is your soil pH is too high, te other is there is not enough direct sunlight.
Q: Can I save an evergreen where deer ate every branch and needle, leaving a stick?
A: No, start again.
Q: When can I repot a seven-foot bird of paradise houseplant?
A: Now is OK. Lift it out of the pot if you can and look at the root system. If the roots are wrapping around the bottom, loosen some of the bigger ones, otherwise just put it into container about two inches bigger in diameter.
Q: When is the best time to split an iris?
A: You can start doing that as soon as you can dig into the ground, the sooner the better.
Q: My maple lost a large branch last fall due due to wind and is now losing lots of sap. Will it be okay?
A: There is nothing you can do. It’ll run its course. In July, clean up any rough edges so the water can’t sit in there and rot. Let it dry and callus over.
Q: Why do my garden planted cucumbers do better than ones started inside?
A: Cucumbers don’t like their root systems moved a lot. So if you’re transplanting a cucumber, you’re disturbing that root system. Sometimes we’re starting them a little bit too early as well, so there’s more chance that they can get mildews. Cucumbers need to be acclimated before they go in the garden, so harden them off.
With cucumbers, if you want to get an early start, get a cloche or mini greenhouse for that section of the garden to keep a microclimate.
Q: Should I fertilize garlic?
A: You can use bone meal, but you don’t need a whole lot of fertilizer for garlic, especially if you have good composted soil. Don’t use a 30-10-10 or 20-20-20 fertilizer.
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