As summer approaches it’s time to get into the garden maintenance mode – deadheading, weeding and watering. keeping after pests and fertilizing. You can follow the same routine through September, barring any unusual weather.
Speaking of weather, late spring can bring us conditions that may cause some strange symptoms in your plants. Freezing temperatures followed by scorching ones and incredible winds coupled with humidity levels about half of normal are rather the new normal. These can be just the right ingredients for abiotic disorders – maladies that are caused by exposure to some sort of environmental, physical or chemical condition. If you see crispy brown edges on tender new growth, it may be a result of high temperatures, wind and low humidity. Bare-root plants with underdeveloped root systems can be particularly hard hit by these conditions since they are not able to provide enough water to the plant. Blind shoots, those lush new canes that don’t have a bloom on the end, are often a result of cool temperatures or extreme fluctuations during the early active growing stage. Complete defoliation can follow temperature extremes – either too hot or too cold. When Mother Nature throws you a curve weather wise, pay extra attention to protecting your plants.
By Nanette Londeree, Master Rosarian