Michigan Gardener - Your guide Great Lakes gardening: Garden Event Calendar / Expert Advice / Plant Profiles / Tree Care

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What is a good flowering shrub for a fence line?

March 7, 2023 • Leave a Comment

I am looking for a flowering shrub to go along a 6-foot high white fence. I would like it to grow to 3 feet wide and 2 to 3 feet tall.

There are several possibilities that can be maintained to size with relative ease. Planting in front of a white fence reflects heat on the plant. That heat can accelerate flower production but also dry out the soil sooner. Flowering shrubs need a minimum of 6 hours of sunlight each day and consistent watering. Use mulch to minimize water loss. The soil should be loamy and enriched with compost.

Flowering shrub - Dwarf Korean Lilac (Syringa meyeri 'Palibin') Photo: Bailey Nurseries — **Dwarf Korean Lilac (Syringa meyeri ‘Palibin’) Photo: Bailey Nurseries**

Dwarf Korean lilacs (Syringa meyeri ‘Palibin’) bloom mid to late spring with highly fragrant pink flowers. Shear after bloom to maintain the 3- by 3-foot dimension. The dark green glossy foliage provides a nice contrast to the white fence and can behave as a deciduous hedge. If you want a little height, arrowwood viburnums (Viburnum dentatum) have strong upright growth and flat white flowers in spring. Blue Muffin (‘Christom’) grows 3 to 5 feet tall, with blue-black berries that persist if not eaten by birds, and shows orange to burgundy red foliage in fall. Like the lilacs, hand pruning and thinning after bloom will keep the height at the desired level every other year.

Examine the wonderful single and double Knock Out roses. Introduced in 2000, they have become a mainstay in the summer garden, producing flowers continuously from spring until hard frost. Extremely hardy and disease-resistant, they live up to their name.

ELSEWHERE: Viburnum dentatum

What caused holly berries to not appear in the fall?

February 18, 2023 • Leave a Comment

For years, our holly bushes have been lush with fall holly berries, but not last fall. I think they got their fair share of water during the summer heat wave. Any thoughts?

Think back to April 2012 and what happened with the late frost and freezing temperatures at the end of the month. Many of our beloved spring-flowering trees were heavily damaged at a critical time in fruit formation. The holly bushes were no exception. Even though the buds form in the fall of the previous year, April would have been the time these tiny flowers in the leaf base on male plants would have been opening. Many flowering shrubs and trees suffered great damage last spring due to the sudden cold temperatures. Michigan’s cherry and apple industries were significantly impacted by the cold snap.

Although the holly plant is basically a male plant, their flowers and subsequent pollen are necessary for the fertilization of the flowers on the female berry-producing plants. If they aren’t there, the female flowers are not pollinated and there is no berry. Maintaining a consistent watering routine early in the summer as well as during drought periods will also prevent premature berry drop. Covering plants when a freeze is posssible can substantially decrease the loss of flowers and future berry production.

Elsewhere: Winterberry: Michigan’s native holly

Why do cracks on tomatoes occur while still on the vine?

February 3, 2023 •

Resistant varieties come in all sizes and types. ‘Mountain Spring’ (a large red), ‘Sweet Million’ (a small-fruit variety), and ‘Mountain Gold’ (a yellow tomato) are just three selections that are not so prone to cracking.

Cracks on tomatoes that circle the stem end or stretch down from the stem end can be very annoying. They not only deform the beauty of the fruit, but also leave it susceptible to rot. The cause of cracks on tomatoes is generally a growth spurt caused by a prolonged drought. The solution is to provide your garden with adequate and consistent water. You need to water to keep the soil evenly moist. In Michigan, we can have full weeks of rain followed by a month of nothing.

If droughts are common in your immediate location, then besides monitoring the watering, try to look for and select a crack-resistant variety next season. Resistant varieties come in all sizes and types. ‘Mountain Spring’ (a large red), ‘Sweet Million’ (a small-fruit variety), and ‘Mountain Gold’ (a yellow tomato) are just three selections that are not so prone to cracking.

Answers compiled by Martha Ferguson, and contributed by Beverly Moss, Michelle Dunham and Chuck Tyrrell.

ELSEWHERE: Tomatoes exhibiting cracks this summer

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