Garden Talks and Garden Thoughts

Hello again,

We have reached the end of October but you will see below that we have many garden topics to discuss. Email us any comments @ skillins@maine.rr.com OR feel free to join in on the gardening conversation by clicking on "comments"at the end of this post.


The leaves are really starting to fall now! Once your leaves have been raked (and it will still be more than a few days before they are all down!), consider mowing your lawn nice and short for the last time. A nice short lawn not only looks good but it will result in much less matted grass in the late winter and early Spring. Matted grass is hard to mow and serves as a good harbor for snow mold—a disease that can kill parts of your lawn in the early Spring!



As you drive around in November, quite often you will see some beautiful red berries growing in clusters in relatively open areas. We also sell these berries in bunches known as “Winter Berry” bunches. Well, these bushes are easy to grow and we have them here at Skillin’s! The botanical name is Ilex verticillata and the shrubs are easy to grow here in Maine. The typical height is 6 to 10 feet although it will take a few years to reach that height.
I just checked with our good gardening friend Barbara Gardener to see what she has been up to the last several days and here is part of our email conversation:
Barbara: I dug up all of the grape hyacinths yesterday and have been replanting them today. Wow! First time I have bothered. Does it do any good to plant any of the tiny, (very tiny) bulbs that have developed. If so, how many years does it take for them to develop enough to bloom. If I have to separate them every year I guess I'd rather "buy them at Skillins". I'm not sure who might not make it. Those tiny bulbs or this old lady!

Mike: Barbara, I believe the young grape hyacinths would bloom a year from this spring (that would be 2009) for the most part. But it would do well to replant them as they are pretty hardy and should reproduce for you over time. Grape hyacinth can be such a wonderful plant. There is a house on Middle Road in Falmouth where they have a bed of them on the side of the house and for a good ten days to two weeks in the spring, it is worth driving by the house just to see the magnificent blue bed of grape hyacinths.

That being said, I have a bed right in front of my house that has grape hyacinth in it. Poor placement if you ask me. The grape hyacinth are pretty while they flower but their foliage to me is not attractive and it seems to take forever for the foliage to die back. I replant the bed with annuals and I do have some cone flower and other perennials that flower later in the season BUT those darned spiky grape hyacinth leaves just linger and linger. Makes kind of a mess as summer progresses.

SO, my next goal late this fall is to dig out all the grape hyacinth bulbs I can find and toss them into a wild grassy area I have just a little way from my house. Where I toss them is where I plant them. This “tossing and planting” is called “naturalizing” as the bulbs will grow in the early Spring in this haphazard “natural” pattern that my tossing created. They will grow in this area that is sunny BEFORE the leaves from overhanging trees above and the wild grass below pop out in the Spring.

“Naturalizing” is a great technique for many types of bulbs: daffodils, crocus, snowdrops and grape hyacinth just to name a few!


Barbara: Very few spots in any of my gardens that have good, if any, drainage. I love iris but more of them rot than bloom. Do you think it would do any good to add a little sand to the soil where I am placing the rhizome? Naturally, I read that on the internet.

Mike: Barbara, I think that sand will help for a short time but sand will get leached out of wet areas to the extent that water might drain during heavy periods of precipitation. You may want to get your excavator out and dig some drainage swales! I might recommend Siberian iris for that spot; Siberians can take some wet.
I would try some sand but also mix that sand with a good light compost like Quoddy Blend by Coast of Maine to make the soil a little better draining.
Actually, as I think more about the wet area you mention I would check out a great product called Soil Perfector by Espoma (http://www.espoma.com/) that we sell here at Skillin's. Soil Perfector is made from a naturally derived, ceramic mineral that is kiln-fired at temperatures in excess of 2000º F. This process creates a durable, lightweight granule containing thousands of tiny storage spaces that hold the perfect balance of water, air and nutrients for an improved soil structure. Soil Perfector helps your soil get structure in the "middle"; it provides aeration to heavy, wet soils and it also helps hold soil together in lighter soils. Check out Soil Perfector on your next visit to Skillin's.
If anyone of our readers (that means YOU!) would like to give any input on the gardening conversation between Barbara Gardener and myself just join in by clicking on Comment at the end of this posting; this gives all of our readers a chance to comment on gardening issues or you can email me at info@skillins.com!


Forcing bulbs: There is no quicker way to bring spring indoors during the winter than with a pot of bulbs. Many different bulbs can be forced, including tulips, hardy narcissus, hyacinths, squill, and crocuses. These are all hardy bulbs that need a 15-week prerooting period before they can be brought into active growth. That period of enforced cold convinces them that winter is at hand; when they’re brought to a warm spot, they assume that spring has arrived and they bloom.

To begin the process usually several bulbs are potted together in a 6-inch bulb pan. Hyacinths, which are large-flowered, look handsome planted as singles in regular 4-inch flowerpots. Add a dusting of garden fertilizer to the soil so the bulbs will have additional nutrients. When they’re planted in the pots, the tips of the bulbs should peek just above the soil line, which should itself be about ½ inch below the rim of the pot. Then moisten the soil and the bulbs are ready for winter.

There are several different ways to store winter bulbs; the purpose is simply to keep the bulbs at 40 degrees or so. Also they can’t be allowed to dry out or freeze. A bulkhead, cool cellar, or refrigerator is fine. Also a cold frame or a bulb trench dug outdoors can be used. This period of cold should last for about 8 weeks (this is the time that you are approximating early winter!).



The bulbs then can be brought into a cool, dark location for about 6 weeks or so. This is the time you are approximating the conditions of late winter or early Spring.

After that, plan on bringing in just a pot or two at a time to give you a sequence of flowering plants through most of the actual late winter and early spring.

Put the pots on a bright but cool windowsill until the shoots are about 4” tall. Then move them into bright sunlight until the flower buds start to show color, at which point move them back into bright indirect light. While bulb plants are growing and in flower, they do best with night temperatures in the low 40s at night and the 60s in the day. Keep the soil moist but don’t feed them. Then enjoy an early taste of spring.

When the bulb plant’s leaves begin to turn yellow, reduce the amount of water and give them only enough to keep the leaves from wilting. By the time the leaves have withered entirely, the soil should be dry. The bulbs can be stored in their pots until the fall, or they can be taken from their pots and stored in a cool dry place. Most bulb plants can’t be forced a second time. But if you have an outdoor garden, you can save the bulbs and plant them outside in the fall. They may not blossom extensively the next spring, but they will regain their strength and eventually produce fine outdoor spring flowers.



The folks at People, Places and Plants magazine (produced right here in Maine) check in this issue with some great gardening tips that deserve special mention. Their web site can be found at http://www.ppplants.com/:


“Begin cooling bulbs for forcing indoor flowering. Start paper white narcissus for holiday blooming.” Just talked about this one! And I am often asked, when should I start my paperwhite narcissus for Christmas blooming. The answer is NOW.


“Cover crops on the inside of cold frames with salt hay or leaves. Bank the outside of the cold frame with bales of hay. Be certain to ventilate on bright, sunny days.” Cold frames can be a great place to store a variety of crops that you would like to winter over but cold frames can heat up quickly. Use straw or our Mainely Mulch product instead of salt hay for an excellent mulch.

Mark Your Calendar

Every Tuesday is Mature Gardeners Day at Skillin’s! Those customers who qualify will receive 10% off all regularly priced items. (Sale items and volume restrictions do not usually apply and some other restrictions may apply).

Every Friday brings Flower Power Happy Hour where we offer fresh cut flower stems and bunches at 30% off their regular prices. The Happy Hour lasts from 4 PM until we close at 7 PM!! Every Friday!

Thanks for reading the Skillin's Garden Blog; email us any comments @ skillins@maine.rr.com or feel free to join in on the garden conversation by clicking on "comments" at the end of this post,

Mike Skillin