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The Warming Early Summer Sun
Greetings!
 Could it be that the sun is finally, finally around to stay? It's been downright hot lately. And it's only (ahem!) mid June! About time. This has been such a cold, wet spring, but the plants seem to be loving it, at least in my yard. My pansies, viola, lobelia and other cool-season annuals are juussst starting to look a bit ragged. They've been beautiful since I planted them in early April. But the heat, however mild, is taking its toll. They don't like it. Time to rip them out and replace those particular pots and windowboxes with some warm-season annuals, such as marigolds and petunias. Here in Iowa we're lucky that our snapdragons--technically also a cool-season annual--keep going. Our weather doesn't get so hot, the way it does farther south, that come summer we have to rip those out as well. As long as I keep them well watered, they'll do fine. So dig out and dust off that sunblock, get out there, and enjoy! Happy Gardening,  Veronica Lorson Fowler |
Save Money on Water, Beautifully
 Rain barrels are a time-honored way to save water and provide the best chemical-free water for houseplants and flowers.
This 40-gallon classy rain barrel from Petty Vinyl in Gladbook, Iowa, is not only functional but has a unique planter box in the lid for planting. Unusual! Click here for details on how it works.
The rain barrel normally sells for $229.99 plus tax and shipping, but as a subscriber to The Iowa Gardener, it's yours for only $199.99 plus tax. Shipping is free (for a limited time).
For information or to place an order, call Petty Vinyl at 1-888-477-4474 or email them. Don't forget to mention this ad in The Iowa Gardener to receive your discount! And find out more about other outdoor products at pettyvinyl.com. |
Our Plant of the Week
  Wow! My crambe cordifolia is spectacular this year. Most of the year, it looks like rhubarb, with big, rugged leaves, but in June, it sends out incredible, strong stalks of tiny white flowers that rise up 6 feet. I don't even need to stake it. The flowers last for two to three weeks.
It can be a little difficult to find, but call around to some of the better-stocked nurseries. Click here for a mail-order source. After a few years, you'll find it spreads, allowing it to share with family and friends. In fact, neighbor Martha is getting some this year.
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 Bad, Bad Bunny!
Poor Jerry of Windsor Heights. He emailed me to tell how he stepped out to survey his garden one morning and saw five rabbits having a confab in his driveway. They're devastating his garden.
You'd think with all the rain (and flooding of rabbit burrows), we'd have fewer rabbits, but they seem to be out in their usual force. If you're struggling with the damage they do, be aware that putting out human hair doesn't work, various potions don't work (at least for long), and funny electronic gizmos don't, either. Fencing and barriers, and to some extent trapping, are the only truly effective way of preventing rabbit damage.
Fortunately, unlike with deer, it's easy to put up low (and even attractive) fencing that will keep the out rabbits. Click here for tips and hints on preventing rabbits from damaging your plants, as well as some ideas for low rabbit fencing that is actually really attractive.
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Traumatized Tomatoes
 I get lots of questions about this disease problem or that on tomatoes. Fact is, tomatoes--wonderful as they are--are highly disease-prone. It's critical not to plant tomatoes in the same place year after year. In fact, ideally, you would "rotate" your tomato plantings each year to a different spot at least 50 feet away from where they were last planted.
Of course, many of us don't have that luxury of space, but do what you can. Otherwise, click here for Five Simple Steps to Healthier Tomatoes.
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They're Heeere!
Iowa has an estimated 15 million ash trees, and they're threatened by the emerald ash borer, an exotic beetle from Asia, that probably got to the U.S. in packing material several years ago and kills ash trees. Emerald ash borers were recently spotted in a Wisconsin county bordering Iowa. Click here to see exactly where they've been spotted so far.
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Ask Veronica a Question
If you're a subscriber, email Veronica with your garden questions and she'll do her very best to get back to you within two business days. Click here! |
Quote:
"We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses."
-- Abraham Lincoln
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Garden To-Do List
 Tear out your pansies, violas, lobelia, godieta, and other cool-season annuals. As heat hits, the foliage gets brown and ragged, even though the flowers may still look pretty. Be tough! Replace with warm -season annuals, such as marigolds, impatiens, and petunias.
Weed, weed, weed! All this rain followed by warmer weather makes for perfect conditions for weeds to take off with sonic speed. After weeding, mulch
to prevent weeds from returning.
Hurry up and finish planting any tomatoes, peppers, annual flowers, etc. that you have. Our Iowa growing season is so short that you need to get them in now to let them mature and to enjoy them for the longest period of time possible!
You can continue to divide perennials
that bloom in the late summer or fall now, as needed or desired. Hold off on dividing those that bloom in late spring or early summer until either after they bloom or this fall.
Deadhead flowers on annuals, perennials, and some shrubs. In many cases, it will encourage more flowers longer.
Moles ruining your yard? Click here for tips on controlling them.
Continue to plant container-grown or balled-and-burlapped trees, shrubs, and roses now. However, avoid planting bare-root roses and other bare-root plants. This late in the season, they'll struggle to get established.
Time to practice tough love. If a tree or shrub is still struggling with winter damage or overall sickness, with significant amounts of dead wood, it's almost certainly time to dig it up or cut it down.
Hurry up and plant the seeds of corn, squash, cucumbers, and beans now. They like well-warmed soil, and it's now warm enough across the state. But don't wait much longer or they won't mature in time for a good harvest.
Worried about your evergreens? It was a tough winter Click here for tips on choosing and caring for them.
Don't remove the browning foliage of tulips and daffodils until it pulls away easily. The plants need it to rejuvenate for next year.
Pinch mum buds until the 4th of July. This helps them produce larger, bigger flowers on stronger stems.
Stop cutting asparagus now to allow the plants to develop enough foliage to rejuvenate for next year. If your rhubarb is small, stop harvesting now. Otherwise, continue for another few weeks (just be sure to get nice, tender stalks).
If you haven't staked or supported your tomatoes yet, do so now. My tried-and-true fav is a cage made from hog wire or concrete reinforcement wire. And for the tall, beefsteak-type tomatoes, they need to be at least 5 feet tall and preferably 6.
Check out our month-by-month listing of what to plant when in Iowa!
Lettuce will start to bolt, that is, send up tall, elongated stalks, later in the month. At this point, it turns bitter. Pull it up and discard.
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Sponsored Links
Ted's Garden CenterCumming This one-of-a-kind center has topiary, unusual trellises, classes, interesting garden art, container garden "recipes" and more! |
Garden Events
Polk County Master Gardener Tour
Saturday, June 20
9 am-4 pm. Tour seven beautiful gardens in the Ankeny/Saylorville area. $10/ticket. (515) 957-5760.
Beaverdale Garden Walk
Saturday, June 27
9 am-2 pm. Visit seven gardens. Tickets are $5 and available at A Kinder Touch, Ace Hardware, Backcountry Outfitters, Beaverdale Books, Boesen's, Grounds for Celebration.
Central Iowa Water Garden Tour
9 am-4 pm. Beautiful water gardens in Slater, Ames, Boone. Tickets $10. For more info, call 515-278-0939
Project GREEN Garden Tour
Sunday, July 12
10 am-3pm. Stroll through four park-like Iowa City gardens.
Include your group or business garden-related events in this listing for no charge. Click here!
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