Michigan Gardener

SIGN UP for our Free E-Newsletter!
We will send you occasional e-mails with valuable gardening tips and information!

Digital Editions

Click on the cover to read now!
Sponsored by:

  • Home
  • Departments
    • Ask MG
    • Books
    • Clippings
    • Garden Snapshots
    • MG in the News
    • Janet’s Journal
    • Plant Focus
    • Profile
    • Raising Roses
    • Thyme for Herbs
    • Tools
    • Tree Tips
  • Garden Event Calendar
    • Garden Event Calendar
    • Submit a Calendar Listing
  • Resources
    • Alternatives to Impatiens
    • Garden Help
    • Soil and Mulch Calculator
    • Public Gardens
  • Web Extras
  • About
    • Publishing Schedule – 2023
    • Editorial Content
    • Bulk Subscriptions – 2023
    • Where to pick up Michigan Gardener
    • Privacy Policy
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
  • Advertising
    • Print / Web / E-Newsletter Advertising
    • Classified Advertising
    • Material Specs & Terms
    • Make a Payment

Please note that Michigan Gardener has a new schedule in 2023. We will publish one Print Magazine in the spring. This Spring issue will be in stores in early May 2023. We will also publish 10 E-Newsletters from spring through fall. Click to sign up for our free E-Newsletter.

Archive for the climbing tag

How do I care for transplanted roses in spring?

March 31, 2022   •   Leave a Comment

climbing roses
On your climbing roses, if you have laid the canes down on the soil and covered them up, now is the time to uncover and gently lift the canes up and attach them again to their support structure.

Last October, I transplanted two climbing roses and a standard rose bush. What should I be doing for them this spring?

There are four basic tasks for transplanted roses. First, carefully remove winter protection about the time you see crocus and tulips emerging from the ground. That indicates the ground temperature is warming slowly and your roses will be taking up moisture soon. If any of your roses were grafted, expose the graft union and check for growth buds on the rootstock (below the graft). You do not want to encourage these rootstock sprouts—remove them. On your climbers, if you have laid the canes down on the soil and covered them up, now is the time to uncover and gently lift the canes up and attach them again to their support structure.
The second task is pruning in April, when you start to see bud swell on the canes and branches, or around the time forsythias bloom. Remove dead branches and prune for air circulation, crossing branches and aesthetic cane length based on the supports.
The third step is their first feeding, which can be done at pruning time. A general slow-release fertilizer blended for roses is great. Spread it at the dripline and gently scratch it into the soil. Roses are heavy feeders. Many rose growers use organic supplements, such as fish emulsion or additional slow-release granular fertilizer, once a month until August to keep them healthy against disease and insect attack.
Lastly, as the roses start to push out leaves and new growth, apply a preventative spray for fungal diseases like black spot. A horticultural oil spray later in May into June can help with insect problems.

Related: How to grow great roses: Pruning and fertilizing

Filed Under: Ask MG Tagged With: climbing, roses, standard, transplanted

What are good vegetables to grow in a small space?

August 13, 2011   •   

I want to start growing vegetables next year, but I have a limited amount of space. Are there any vegetables I should avoid growing because of the space they require?

Without knowing how limited your space actually is, it’s difficult to make any specific recommendations of what to avoid growing due to space constraints. However, items that typically require a lot of room include squashes, pumpkins, melons, corn, and tomatoes that state “indeterminate growth” under the height heading. You will find that many vegetables that are on this list will also occur in dwarf forms that are suitable for smaller gardens. Try types that can grow on fences or trellises, if you have the vertical space. Items such as peas, most beans, and cucumbers are ideally suited for such situations. A combination of smaller varieties as well as climbing varieties will help you to get the most out of your “little plot.”

Filed Under: Ask MG Tagged With: climbing, small spaces, vegetables, vertical

Copyright © 1996-2023 Michigan Gardener. All rights reserved.