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

PLEASE NOTE: In the autumn of 1995, we hatched the idea for a free, local gardening publication. The following spring, we published the first issue of Michigan Gardener magazine. Advertisers, readers, and distribution sites embraced our vision. Thus began an exciting journey of helping our local gardening community grow and prosper.
After 27 years, nearly 200 issues published, and millions of copies printed, we have decided it is time to end the publication of our Print Magazine and E-Newsletter.

Challenge: Help frontline healthcare workers fighting COVID-19

March 27, 2020 • Leave a Comment

Daryl Toby, owner of AguaFina Gardens International, contacted us about his COVID-19 challenge for businesses and individuals to check their inventory and storage for personal protection equipment (PPE). These items are needed immediately by our front line health care workers. Examples of these supplies are:

• New or unused disposable face masks
• N-95 mask (sometimes called respirators)
• Eye protection including face shields and safety goggles
• Disposable gowns
• Disposable gloves (especially non-latex)
• Disposable surgical caps
• Disposable foot covers
• Home-sewn reusable masks
• PAPRs (powered air purifying respirators) and PAPR hoods
• Wipes: bleach or anti-microbial
• Hand-sanitizer

We encourage you take the challenge:
1. Find any supplies you may have – even small quantities!
2. Post photo/video on social media with tags below.
3. Find out where to drop off donations.
4. Challenge others to get the word out!

Thank you!

#supportcv19frontline
#protecthealthcareworkers
#aguafinagardens

Why won’t my hydrangeas bloom?

March 26, 2020 • Leave a Comment

I planted 2 Endless Summer hydrangeas and they bloomed beautifully. Over the next 2 years, I planted 4 more in a row next to the 2 originals, and they bloomed well. Last summer, however, the first two (which are 3 times the size of the last two) had beautiful, healthy foliage but absolutely no blooms. There were a couple of buds just forming in late August. Any suggestions to get the originals to bloom again this summer?

Endless Summer hydrangea (H. macrophylla) is a remontant (everblooming) variety. There is the initial late spring flush followed by sporadic blooming through the growing season. It blooms on both old and new wood growth. Wonderful attributes, if managed properly. In the North, these hydrangeas like full morning sun and afternoon shade from heat. Make sure the plants are getting about 5 to 6 hours of sun. Check that a tree or outbuilding isn’t shading them more than necessary.

Lack of bloom and robust foliage can indicate too much water and too much nitrogen-rich fertilizer. Check your watering practices. Water thoroughly but less frequently. They like rich, moist soil, but not saturated soil. A quality, slow-release granular fertilizer applied once in spring or early summer should suffice for these acid-lovers.

Be careful when and how much you prune. Don’t cut them back to the ground like the old-fashioned ‘Annabelle.’ Endless Summer does bloom on new wood, but if you severely prune them, you lose the benefit of old wood flower buds. The few buds you saw forming in August is how long it took the new wood to catch up. Review and adjust your maintenance practices, and you should have a better bloom season on the originals as well as the newer plantings.

Choosing drought-tolerant annuals

March 8, 2020 • Leave a Comment

Last summer we planted portulacas on a cemetery plot. Unfortunately, critters ate and pulled out the blooms. The cemetery requires annuals only. Could you suggest some other flowers we could use that are critter proof and will do well in full sun and with limited watering.

Moss roses (Portulaca) are drought tolerant since they have a taproot as well as surface roots, and their leaves and stems are able to store water. This drought tolerance makes them desirable to animals that are looking for a drink during a dry spell. Your moss roses were probably a tasty treat for the critters that helped themselves to them. A cemetery is a safe environment for animals that are nocturnal eaters, such as rabbits. The moss roses were a good choice for a cemetery if not for those pesky critters. There are some traits that may make plants less desirable to rabbits and deer, and those include strong odors and fuzzy leaves.

An annual is a plant that completes its life cycle in one season and, unlike perennials that can become drought tolerant after they are established, annuals do not have enough time for that process to occur. It is important to choose healthy plants from a reputable garden center so that you know they have been consistently watered and have a strong start. Plants that have been allowed to dry out while in pots or flats have been stressed and do not have the best chance of survival. Choose a disease-resistant variety and plant after all danger of frost has passed. Add some organic matter such as compost or manure to the soil when you are planting. Space your plants properly according to directions to allow air circulation around the plants to help prevent disease. Consistent watering is important for the first month. If Mother Nature doesn’t provide it, you may want to. Deadheading spent blooms, if necessary, and fertilizing according to plant needs will keep them producing blooms throughout the season.

Some choices to consider that are drought-tolerant, like full sun, and may be less desirable to critters include: marigolds, pot marigolds (Calendula), celosia, cleome (there are some dwarf varieties that would be well suited to your site), cosmos, dusty miller, zinnia ‘Profusion,’ ageratum, wax begonia, and globe amaranth.

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