Spring is the season with endless flowers to enjoy. But the weather has been too warm. 80F (18C) in April is way too warm. Plants need more rain with that much heat. We did get a thunderstorm last night that dumped half an inch, but I can’t help being anxious we’ll get a repeat of last year’s drought.
1. The wild geraniums, Geranium maculatum, always light up my little bit of woodland.
2. I have a forest of columbines in the front yard.
3. The Eastern Waterleaf hitchhiker likes its soggy home by the birdbath. It’s doing so well, it’s about to bloom.
4. The weird little pawpaw flowers are blooming. As the petals fall off, clumps of tiny, baby pawpaws appear.
5. Sadly, all is not a bed of flower petals.
After several months stratifying in the fridge, my miniature grapes and cardinal flower seeds never sprouted. I’ll make another attempt to get the grape seeds going next spring, but I wasn’t going to wait any longer for cardinal flowers. I happily ordered plants from an online native plant nursery that are due to arrive any day.
6. Below is the Amelanchier, or Serviceberry, in the backyard. It’s growing in the spot where I had the soil tested that showed a high level of phosphorus. The leaves are turning a sickly yellow from something in the soil. There is a county gardening program that offers advice to gardeners. As soon as I find out where they are, I’ll be taking a branch to show them.
Below is a leaf comparison. The two leaves on the left are from the two Amelanchier trees in the front yard. The third, on the right, is from the tree above.
Celebrate Earth Day with a visit to Garden Ruminations and Jim, esteemed host of Six on Saturday. Then check out what gardeners all over the world are doing today in the comments.
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Lovely photos! Your columbines are just spectacular! Quite often, when a plant’s leaves yellow like that, there is an iron deficiency and/or a nitrogen deficiency. Serviceberry prefers acidic to neutral soil, and becomes chlorotic in alkaline soil. (https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/amelanchier/) Both can be fixed fairly easily with products you can pick up at your local hardware store. Holly Tone, by Espoma, is a very reliable acidic fertilizer for trees and shrubs. Follow directions on the package for the amount, but you can basically just spread it around the base of the plant under the canopy. In future, mulching with an acidic mulch like pine bark or pine straw will gradually help acidify the soil as these materials break down. I hope this helps to restore your tree’s leaves to a beautiful shade of green!
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Thank you! I did cover the area with pine bark mulch. Obviously it wasn’t enough. I’ll try Holly Tone. I just got back from the county Plant Clinic. I was going to show them a branch, but the staff left early and I missed them by 10 minutes.
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The mulch can take years to affect the soil chemistry. Holly Tone will work faster. Coffee is also acidic. I save coffee grounds and spread them around acid loving plants. Diluted, leftover coffee can be poured around plants, too. But moderation in all things. Testing the actual oH of your soil with a simple kit from the hardware store will help you determine how much of an intervention is needed. Aim for a oH level around 5-7. Good luck 🍀
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The soil test showed the area has a pH of 6.5. I’m heading to the hardware store tomorrow to pick up some Holly Tone.
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The Columbine is my favorite.
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Ah, your pawpaw are farther along than mine. Well, this was an exceptional winter, and some plants are still catching up. Mine may spend another year canned, since they lack a new garden to go into. I could put them in larger cans for this year (even though they are already coming out of dormancy) or plant them here. I should probably give them away, and grow more later.
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Do they do ok in cans? I read they grow really long tap roots.
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They have not complained, but they are still very young. Because of our arid climate (farther inland), they should go into the garden while very young so that they can take advantage of the tap root. If in cans for too long, the tap root should be pruned to promote more branching. I suspect that they will extend roots deeply even if the tap root gets pruned.
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Those are pretty Columbines, I don’t think I have any that colour.
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Thank you! They just popped up on their own and multiplied.
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We have many of the same plants, but you’re ahead of me. The Geraniums and Columbines aren’t blooming here yet. Happy spring!
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