Published: April 11, 2008 09:56 am            

Ace of Spades: Spring is here, but cold weather can still stunt plants

Originally published in the April 4, 2008, print edition.

My tulips and daffodils are emerging. Will they freeze with a hard freeze yet at this time?

Remember we had some very cold weather last spring after the tulips had emerged, some of those froze while others did not. If cold temperatures do arrive, give the emerging plants some protection. Even the bleeding hearts last season froze hard, but with new growth somewhat later they did bloom well for us even on the northeast corner of the house. Some protection is always a good idea.

Last year we got perennial hibiscus seeds from you to plant in our garden. They grew well, even some bloomed the first year of growth. When do we uncover these from the mulch we put around them last fall?

Once warmer days arrive, remove the mulch so the soil starts to warm up around the base of the plants. These flowers are slow to emerge in the spring, maybe even into the first or second week into June. The word here is patience; if you disturb the plants you may kill them completely. This season they should really be beautiful.

Once they emerge be careful when either you or the lawn care service is spraying. It probably will not kill the plant, but certainly it will set the growth back with fewer flowers this summer.

Can I still apply some fertilizer this spring on my garden area?

Yes, once the garden is dried off you can apply some 10-10-10 granular fertilizer on the garden area either with a drop fertilizer spreader or the fan-type spreader as well. Once the soil is dry, get your tiller out and till the fertilizer into the soil.

When can I apply the water softener salt on the asparagus bed for weed control?

Now is the time to make the first application. Then make the second application in two to three weeks, or before the spears emerge. You can also use pickling salt on the asparagus bed. Another idea is to spray the weeds and grass with Roundup before the spears emerge.

When is the time to apply corn gluten meal on the lawn for crab grass and dandelion control?

The normal time to make the first application is the first week in May. You may want to check the prices on corn gluten meal since the price has nearly doubled from last season.

The “Old Farmer’s Almanac” is predicting a dry summer again for 2008. Any suggestions on helping to keep the garden growing with limited rain this summer?

This may be the year to set up a tank or tub to catch any rainwater which comes off the roof of your house or other buildings. That’s the method people used last summer and fall in the southeastern United States to combat their limited rainfall.

        

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