YOUR GUIDE TO THE TWIN CITIES
Play Round 1 of the Garden Guessing Game!
Posted on April 24th, 2009 – 9:36 AMBy Connie Nelson
So, I just got most of the winter mulch out of the garden. And what did I end up with — aside from 8 bags of compost-in-the-making? Uh, I’m not sure.Â
Despite heavily mulching my miniature spruce, the bunnies got it. Chewed it right to the nubbins. Total loss. On the plus side, I did find the two roses that I forgot I planted last summer. There, safely buried under the mulch were the new introductions from the University of Minnesota Northern Lights series. Well, I should say one rose and one skeleton of a rose. As I recall, the bun-buns nibbled on that one before I even got it mulched last fall. The buds on my azalea made it through late winter (yeah!) only to become an appetizer for some critter (what the heck?). And my smokebush? Well, the jury’s still out on that one.Â
Yes, it’s time for the annual Garden Guessing Game in Minnesota. Did my new weigela make it through winter? Will my ligularia come up? Should I have divided that miscanthus so late in the season? Did the bunnies really eat an entire shrub rose?
The answer to many of these questions won’t be available for a while. But still I play the game. And you? What’s coming up roses in your garden? What looks a little worse for the wear? And what are you worried you may lose entirely?
 Remember, this is only Round 1 of a game that will have many winners and losers. . . Â
31 Responses to "Play Round 1 of the Garden Guessing Game!"
I planted a ton of ornamental grasses last spring. Half of them are coming up, the other half are just siting there. I am hoping that the second half is a warm season grass.
I am also curious to see if my hollyhocks reseeded themselves.
I do have a ton of iris coming up as well as bachelor’s buttons, blanket flowers and daylillies.
Isn’t it great to see signs of spring!!! I’ve got some sedums popping up and there’s green on some of my ornamental grases (the calamagrostis, not the miscanthus yet) and buds on the climbing roses. . . So there are good surprises, right?
The bunnies chewed my raspberries down to nubbins. They’re putting out more shoots, but I think they only put out raspberries on their second year vines, and if so that means no raspberries this year. There weren’t any last year either. Its not that the birds are getting them, there weren’t even teeny green berries last year. Any suggestions on how to stop them from doing this again next year?
Is it safe to put my hose out yet? I’m afraid there is still a chance it will freeze.
[…] Greengirls – […]
The smokebush I planted last fall is still looking dead, no thanks to it being trampled by my mailwoman (argh) but I have high hopes that it will recover, it was the most exiting addition to my yard last year!
My delphiniums pulled through and have survived being stepped on and raked over! This morning some ‘King Alfred’ daffs were opening up and my Frittilary meleagris (checkered lily) is coloring up. Bloodwort is in full flower. I still eagerly await the asiatic and trumpet lilies I planted last year.
Laura, I think it’s safe to put out the hose.
I have a sluggish smokebush as well. It’s one of the few shrubs that Boris, the malamute, did not demolish over the winter and I’m anxious to see something (anything) come back!
Connie, any idea when the guessing game ends? Do we need to wait for end of May for the final dead or alive survey?
I’m just amazed at the different “zones” in my own yard. In the back, the forsythia is blooming, daylilies and iris are up…in the front (north-facing) it is early early spring, maybe even late winter. I’m not ready to declare anything the victim of winterkill and/or critters just yet. Hope springs eternal, as they say. Buying pretty new gardening gloves and expecting the best.
Laura,
Dealing with bunnies is a problem. There are all sorts of scent-based repellents — human hair, savings of smelly soap, sprays made with dish soap and cayenne pepper. Some folks say they work, but they need to be reapplied after every rain. Ugly as it is, a fence is the only thing that works 100 percent . . .
My peonies and other strong bloomers all seemed to have survived. I’m struggling again with my shade garden where I continue to attempt flowering perennials. Half are coming back strong and the other half of what I planted is still either dormant or dead. Daylilies, tickseed, Salvia and bleeding hearts are growing rapidly.
Megan, it’s going to be a while before the guessing game ends, at least in my yard. My hostas are usually really late. . .sometimes not until early June. MNmom is right. A single yard has lots of microzones.
If it really was THE Bun-bun chewing on your plants, then repellents are just going to make him mad. I would suggest body armor and a flamethrower, or perhaps distract him with an Alfalfa Margarita.
I guess when you’re at the bottom of the food chain, and those bunnies are, you have to avail yourself of everything at the salad bar. Just have a margarita yourself.
I can’t turn a flame-thrower on cute little bun-buns. Guess it’s margarita time for me!
I’m thrilled to see a peony I thought was a goner showing some signs of life. I battled foliar nematodes all last summer trying to save it and keep them from spreading to four more peonies planted in a low hedge across the front of my yard. Here’s hoping that now that I know what I’m dealing with, I can keep them at bay this year.
What the heck is a foliar nemotode?
My guessing game is:
Should I water, or not?
The ground seems extremely dry, so I’ve been watering my grass seed a little bit. But I’m starting to wonder if I should be watering gardens too.
Good guessing game, Bsimon! You’re right to water grass seed, but I don’t know if gardens need it or not yet. I’ve seen people watering, but I’m holding off until the weekend. If it doesn’t rain this weekened — which the forecast calls for — then I’ll water.
[…] Nathan Branch placed an interesting blog post on Play Round 1 of the Garden Guessing Game!Here’s a brief overviewAnd what did I end up with — aside from 8 bags of compost-in-the-making? Uh, I’m not sure. Despite heavily mulching my miniature spruce… […]
Foliar nematodes are nasty little roundworms that are difficult to control and can destroy a plant. A call to the U of M extension service helped me identify them. There’s an article about them at http://www.extension.umn.edu/projects/yardandgarden/ygbriefs/p151nematodesfoliar.html. “NEMATODES!” has become the go-to all-purpose cry of alarm in our household.
My link doesn’t take you to the correct page. Go to the U of M Extension Service site and search “foliar nematodes” in the upper right hand corner for the article.
A mixed report from my garden.
I got some raspberry transplants late. Didn’t really have time or place to stick them in the garden, so I just threw them in a container and piled some dirt around the roots.
They are alive!!
The winter was harsh on my bugleweed — Ajuga reptans — which I use as a groundcover in a couple garden beds.
I have an established patch of Irish Moss that looks dead. Sniffle.
Over winter, the bunny chewed two small shrubs very hard. I thought they might be goners, but they are sporting new growth. Yay!
I didn’t know whom to blame for my missing mock orange shrub that I planted last summer and was stressing out about it…having read the above accounts I finally have figured out the culprit. . I have an open compost bin right next to the vanished bush, which was a winter-long snack bar for the squirrels, so I guess the rabbits got mad!
I should loan out my “big dogs” to you folks with a rabbit problem…the little munchers don’t stand a chance versus a St. Bernard or two.
Bloodroot is blooming beautifully like a carpet in the woods behind the house, daffs are blooming. Most of my perennials are up in the full sun except the oriental lilies and my tree peony. Four rows of pototates and onions are planted. YEA! SPRING!
It’s so nice to know that I’m not the only one playing this guessing game! All of you experienced gardeners give me hope for the empty spots–especially in that pesky half sun/half shade corner. Bleeding hearts looking good, day lilies coming but everything else looks to be a loss. I’ll keep hoping.
As for watering, I’ve only been watering the lettuce, pea, carrot seeds. And, I’m hoping for rain, rain, rain.
Peter, I’ve tried to grow both Irish and Scottish moss and never had luck overwintering either. The only kind of moss I’ve had luck with is the kind I’ve found growing naturally on the shady side of my sister’s barn. I transplanted a hunk of that and it did fine. . . BTW I’ll bet your ajuga will spring back — at least a little bit.
You could start a side business, Kiwi, just taking your St. Bernards from garden to garden to scare away the critters!
Am near top of valley in Shakopee - so far the only possible losses are the mums I panted 4 years ago as annuals which keep coming back and the two butterfly bushes I planted 2 years ago which came back last year. I actually hope they do not as my Harry Lauder walking stick was planted between them in it’s assigned spot early last year before I knew those annuals would come back..in lookng at it though it appears alive but no bud break yet. The apricots are in full bloom, sure hope we get a crop this year. Looks like asparagus is going to be in tonghts dinner menu… maybe I’ll switch from the planned vietnamese to chinese…peas, radish onions shallots and beets are all sprouted. ON teh negative side the quack grass is doing very well, I may go nuclear and do a systemic…any hints? OH and a gopher is in the easment…I may need to do something about him/her too -
Wow,Rowland,sounds like you’ve got a great garden. Walking stick, apricots, asparagus. Can I come over for dinner?
Here’s a quick guide to dealing with quack grass:
Quack grass (Agropyron repens) is a pernicious and downright infuriating weed. It’s a perennial grass, spreading not only from seeds but also through an incredibly large and tenacious system of underground rhizomes. One reason this weed is so hard to eradicate
is its ability to develop new plants from even the smallest rhizome
section left in the soil. It’s particularly troublesome in perennial vegetable and fruit plantings, like asparagus and raspberries, and in
perennial flower beds. In those sites it may reach its mature
height of 2 to 3 feet tall and produce seed heads in midsummer.
Quack grass also is a pest in lawns, although it is somewhat less
obvious there because it is mowed. However, it has a different
color and coarser texture than most standard turfgrasses so it
might be more noticeable in highly maintained turf. Unfortunately, quack grass is difficult to eradicate from lawns. Small areas can be carefully dug out, removing all bits of the
rhizomes, and the bare areas re-seeded or sodded. The most effective treatment for quack grass is spot spraying with a
non-selective herbicide such as glyphosate (Roundup is a trade
name). However, glyphosate will also kill any other growing plants
it lands on, including the desirable turfgrasses in the lawn. Quack
grass has many dormant growing points on its rhizomes which may not
be killed by the first application of herbicide, so repeated
applications may be necessary to kill new shoots. Bare lawn areas
will then have to be reseeded or sodded.
Nancy Rose, research horticulturist
I play the waiting game every year too! I have learned to not give up until June, to replace plants.
Yesterday, my magnolia started blooming, I think spring is here!
Rain will help other plants reappear.
It appears I have lost the battle with quack grass in my perennial garden thanks to a less than vigilant neighbor’s overgrown garden. Now I have to decide when and how to dig up all the perennials into pots at some point so I can eradicate the pesky stuff once and for all, unfortunately probably with chemicals. The problem is the perennial garden has 20 years of plants that aren’t all marked and am not sure when is the best time to do the project.
Greengirls Connie Nelson, Robyn Dochterman and Jaime Chismar are dishin' the dirt from the backyard garden and beyond. Whether you're a greenthumb or greenhorn, they're eager to learn from your misshaps, mistakes -- and most importantly, your sweet successes -- all growing season long.
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