Mike's Must Have Plants for Your Garden

Hello again,

As the 2012 gardening season progresses in Skillin's Country, I will often cite a favorite plant as "this is a Mike's Must Have plant for your garden!"

The following list is not intended to be a complete list of all plants you  have in your garden but IS intended to provide links to the Mike's Must Have Plants I have cited in print!

Check back often as I bring more Mike's Must Have Plants to the Skillin's Garden Log:

*It is late August and we have some awesome perennials that are in great color. And we think they should be planted in your garden! These are all favorites of mine and I highly recommend them:

**Cimicifuga or Bug Bane is a great shade plant. The foliage colors range from green to a deep purple; the colors always look awesome late in the season. Cimicifuga grows to be a big plant and makes for a great anchor or highlight plant for any shade garden! Oh yes, a Mike's Must Have for sure!

Cimicifuga Brunette

 

**Looking for height, hardiness, standout long lasting yellow flowers and a rich green foliage? Then you are looking for the gorgeous Helianthus Lemon Queen. Many gardeners have spent hours gazing at the beauty and stature of Lemon Queen--the Time is Now for you to join in! This is a clear Mike's Must Have!

Helianthus Lemon Queen--a True Beauty

**This is the classic time of year for the perennial Hibuscus. This plant is always a late starter but a very strong finisher. Gorgeous and large saucer shaped flowers with the most intriguing of colors await you!
Seeing may be believing but the bright colors will take a while to believe. A Mike's Must Have? Oh yes!

Perennial Hibuscus--Covered in Color--a great late summer and fall choice!

**Another great choice for the garden is the Ligularia. This is an absolute Mike's Must Have and here is why. This plant grows large in both shade and partial sun. The foliage ranges from a burgundy shade to a real dark earthy green. The flowers come out in late August and are a nice deep yellow. The plant is very hardy and reliable and makes for a great anchor plant. I give this plant my highest recommendation!

Ligularia--the Rocket!

And of course, some great plant choices featured earlier in the season:

*Peony

*Baptisia, False Indigo

 

*Chives

*Amsonia, the Blue Star Perennial

*Forsythia, long flowering yellow Shrub


Mike Skillin
Skillin's Greenhouses

August is the Time to Divide Perennials and Rebuild the Soil!

 Hello again,

Good gardening friend Paul Parent of the Paul Parent Garden Club sends out a great newsletter every week with pertinent gardening topics. I encourage you to go to his website to sign up for his newsletter. Paul can also be heard every Sunday morning from 6 AM to 10 AM at his website or at WBACH (104.7 FM) every Sunday morning from 6 AM to 9 AM.

We are halfway through the month of August now and it is now time to divide our perennials that have finished flowering and have outgrown their place in your garden. Dividing perennials is not just a way of making new plants with our overgrown plants, it is a way to revive them, and a time to remove the older portions that have become weak or died back and could draw potential insect and disease problems to your garden. Plants like irises, daylilies, hostas, peonies, and more are best divided while the ground is still warm and we have good growing weather and time for them to get established before winter arrives.

Here is an example why you need to divide your plants. If 3 years ago you planted one German iris rhizome in your garden in the fall, it will have flowered the next spring and as the flowering faded, the mother plant will have made 2 new side shoots for the following year. This would double the amount of flowers but the mother plant gave all her energy to the new plants and died. The following spring you now have two plants that will flower and when they fade these two plants will repeat the process, making two new plants each, giving you four plants for the next spring and again more flowers. The two mother plants also die so you now have four new healthy plants in the spring with three dead plants attached to them.

Irises have a major pest called an iris borer; it is attracted to your garden to feed on your dead rhizomes. This pest can also feed on the healthy tissue of your new plants preventing flowering in the spring. During August dig up the plants, remove the dead portions, clean the remaining healthy rhizomes--and now you have 4 healthy plants that should be insect-free. This is also the time to condition the soil and rebuild the soil quality so the new plants can thrive in your garden. Natural products like composts and manures will provide improved growing conditions for the new plants.

If you have had problems with the iris borer, it is also time to treat the soil with Bonide Garden Eight granules which will kill and borers that remain in your soil. Fertilize them with Flower Tone by Espoma and your plants will be ready to thrive for the next 3 years without problems. Also when you plant, cover the rhizome with one inch of soil or less. Space iris plants on 18 in centers so they have room to grow. If you’re adding mulch over the planting bed add less over the iris plantings because they want to stay close to the surface of the soil.

Plants like daylilies and hostas should also be separated to make new plants to share with friends and family. These plants grow in the shape of a fan; when you separate them. Try to create new plants that contain 3 to 5 fans of foliage for faster plant development and to keep from losing the flowering for a year or two because the new plants are too small. Condition the soil like the iris and keep well-watered until the fall arrives. Remove all faded or yellowing foliage and clean the new plants to keep them healthy. All three plants need to have half of the existing foliage removed when divided, as this will help establish the plants faster. Divide daylilies and hostas every 3 to 5 years, depending on their size. Space plants of daylilies every 2 feet and 3 feet between rows to allow room for future growth. Hostas will vary, depending on the variety--from 2 to 3 feet between plants. Mulch 2 inches deep helps protect plants during winters with little snow cover or with very cold weather.

Peonies grow from a swollen root or tuber underground and at this time they have pointed buds on them known as "eyes." These are next year’s foliage and flower buds. Remove all the foliage from the plant, dig up the entire plant, and clean the soil from the twisted looking roots. What you want to do is to cut them into pieces that contain 3 to 5 of these "eyes," so they will be strong enough to flower the following spring. Dust the cut you made with a general purpose garden dust or garden sulfur and allow to dry for an hour or two before planting. This will prevent rotting of the tuber when put back into the ground.

Condition the soil like the other perennials we have talked about and plant shallow, like the German iris. The pointed buds should have less than an inch of soil over them when placed in the ground or the plant will not flower when planted too deep--maybe that is why your plants are not flowering very well now in your garden. The tuber should be about the depth of your finger knuckle and when you dig into the soil you should be able to feel it easily. Space your new plants every 2 feet and 3 feet between rows to give them room to grow for the future. Peonies are divided every 5 years and should also be mulched lightly--about one inch thick--to protect the plant during the winter and help hold moisture in the soil during the hot days of summer.

Bleeding hearts can also be divided at this time, and--like the peony--the roots are covered with pointed buds for next year. Make you cuts with a sharp knife that has been dipped in a bit of bleach to sterilize it before cutting the plant and during each cut. Make sure each piece you cut has 3 to 5 buds so the plant can grow quickly and flower for you next spring. Condition the soil before planting and cover the new roots with 2 inches of soil and 1 to 2 inches of mulch them for winter protection and summer heat. Space plants 2 to 3 feet between plants as they will grow large when mature and divide them every 5 years. Fertilize in the spring with an organic flower food like Flower Tone by Espoma to help get the plants off to a quick start.

When you divide in the late summer to early fall, you help to create a better plant, as it can establish itself in a warm soil before the cold weather arrives. Spring-divided perennials start up slower and if the weather is warm and early like it was this year, the plants begin to grow before you have time to divide them--possibly hurting them. Look over your garden; any perennial that has finished flowering can be divided at this time of the year. Always condition the soil and keep the plant well watered until October. Use Bio Tone by Espoma to speed up the rooting process. It is well worth the small investment and most garden centers have it available right now. Bio Tone is also great for all your Fall plantings of shrubs, trees, bulbs and hardy fall flowers like mums and fall flowering asters.

This Saturday, August 25 we are holding a great class called Dividing, Relocating and Transplanting Perennials. Class time is 10 AM. We have openings still in Brunswick (442-8111) and Cumberland (829-5619)

Special Thanks to Paul Parent

Mike Skillin

Skillin's Greenhouses

August 21, 2012

Skillin's! Daily "Dirt" June 2012

Because every garden (and gardener) thrives on good "dirt"! We bring you quick topical tips for your garden in Skillin's Country....

(Check out The Daily "Dirt" for May 2012 for "loads" of recent and still relevant quick gardening tips and pointers)

Thursday, June 14, 2012 Vegetable Garden Tune Up; Make Room for More!

Great gardener Margaret of A Way to Garden has recently posted  a very good and timely post called Vegetable-Garden Tuneup; Make Room for More! Margaret is an early starter in her vegetable garden. I know many of us are really just getting started in Skillin's Country for this season. But others here have also started early and even if you are just getting started you will find some very helpful tips for what plants can easily be paired with others as well as a good chart and suggestions on Succession Planting in the vegetable garden. She also features a great series of steps about basic "best practices" for any vegetable garden. I may refocus on these steps at this blog in a couple more days. This post by Margaret is well worth reading--it is a keeper!

Tuesday, June 12, 2012 Non Stop Begonias

We have some gorgeous non stop begonias in 3 packs right now. They are still available in many awesome colors. I have always recommended them as a shade plant (and most people do). But I was speaking to one of our customers, Mike D,  on Sunday about the nonstops. Mike D is a great gardener--he loves his tomatoes and grows them well! But in the past few years he has fallen for the non stop begonias as companion plants in his vegetable garden. I asked him where he planted them and he told me "everywhere". Well that means in the blazing hot sun as well. Mike D counters the heat of the sun by regularly giving the non stops deep waterings when he deep waters his tomatoes. So there you go!

Check out this piece from 2010 about Non Stop Begonias for more illustrations about this fabulous plant. (In that piece we refer to 4 packs. Beginning in 2011 we switched to 3 packs because we feel more room in the pack actually means for bigger plants and even more flowers.)

Monday, June 11, 2012 Peonies, A Classic and a Mike's Must Have

Anyone reading this blog loves flowers. After all, aren't flowers the reason we grow plants? (Except for vegetable plants and even then we need flowers!). We all have favorite flowers but in my mind some of the "classics" are roses, pansies, tulips, geraniums (like the classic pink Shoene Helena) and of course, the peony. These flowers are lovely; they catch my eye, they make me stop what I am doing and even hold my breath. Lovely. The Peony is one of those flowers and for that reason is a Mike's Must Have!

Peonies from My Garden in Skillin's Country. The Peony Flower is a Classic!

Check out this Primer on Peonies for some great info. Also good gardening friend Tom Atwell of the Portland Press Herald has just delivered a great article called Maine Gardener: Get Ready for an Explosion of Stunning Peonies. A great read!

Saturday, June 9, 2012  Cucumbers: Grow Them Up!

It IS a great time to plant cucumbers in the garden. They grow great in Skillin's Country. For many of us with small garden spaces I highly recommend "trellising" cucumbers or somehow growing your cukes off the ground. They grow very well as a vine crop and I think they will give you a better yield when their vines are more exposed to the sun and fresh air. Always plant your cukes with a good garden natural garden fertilizer like Garden Tone by Espoma. Also cukes don't like to get thirsty so make sure they get a good deep watering 2 to 3 times per week. My personal favorite is the pickling cucumber--you pick them when they are closer to the size of a pickle and their taste is so sweet!

Tuesday, June 5, 2012 Baptisia, False Indigo, A Mike's Must Have


This plant--the Baptisia, False Indigo, is one of my absolute favorites for the perennial garden. It is a Mike's Must Have because it is tremendously hardy. We sell several varieties and they are all great but I recommend the Prairie Blue--I just love the blue flowers countered by the blue/gray foliage. The plant is striking. It will stand about 3' tall and about 2' wide. Again the blue flowers in June and the foliage make it a standout in your perennial garden at this time!

Baptisia False Indigo--Just Starting to Flower in My Garden (Alongside Some Peonies). What a Hardy Plant! Also Looking Real Good Considering all the Rain We Have Had!

Sunday, June 3, 2012, Peach Leaf Curl

With this wet weather we are seeing many cases of diseases (spots) on plants and leaf curls. One example is Peach Leaf Curl which we have seen many examples of this past wet week. We will see more I am sure as the days pass this week. Peach Leaft Curl shows up as curled or even "humped" leaves on a peach tree. The air has been so moist that afflictions like this are quite understood. Tim, our Nursery Manager, recommends that we pick off any curled leaves on the peach tree. When the weather dries, spray the remaining healthier leaves with Copper Fungicide Spray (sold right here at Skillin's under the Bonide brand). This will help protect the remaining leaves for this time of year. Also keep your peach tree leaves raked off the ground. Keep the area clean--this leaves less of a "harbor" for fungus. In the fall and also in the early Spring use the Copper spray again on the plant as a dormant spray. These sprayings will go a long way toward protecting your peach in another year.

,

Lovely Example of Peach Leaf Curl

A Primer on Peonies

Hello again,

Great gardener Margaret of A Way to Garden brings a great post to her web site called "When the Normally Tough Peony Fails to Blossom". Margaret is a great writer with obvious great gardening experience. She quickly and clearly cites some great peony growing fundamentals which apply very well to our beloved peony plants in our own gardens in Skillin's Country.

If you are growing peonies I highly recommend this post!

Mike Skillin
Skillin's Greenhouses
May 30, 2012

Garden Talks September 6--Peonies, Pumpkins, Frost, Brussel Sprouts, Winter Squash, Fall Flowering Crocus

Hello again,

While putting together the latest Garden Talks Online for Skillin's email subscribers I came upon some past garden writings from some old Garden Talks Onlines that are very topical right now. Basically I ran out of space for the upcoming Garden Talks Online (sign up for Skillin's email list at http://www.skillins.com/ if you would like to hear from us that way but by following this blog you get all of that and more) I decided to post some of these past notes, updated of course for 2009 if need be!

Peonies can easily survive for over 50 years in the garden. Peonies are one of the showiest of garden flowers; their blossoms can reach 6 to 8 inches across in early summer and there are many neat colors available. Peonies can be left in the same spot indefinitely, but if you want to move your peonies or divide your old tubers to make new plants, the best time to do that job is in the early fall. It is important to dig the whole root system carefully. Leave any foliage so as to continue to build strength for the roots. Try to identify small pinkish buds that are the beginning of next year’s growth. (You may have to wash the garden soil off the peony roots). Any new division should have 3 to 4 buds on it; simply use a sharp knife and slice through the root system.

Place the divisions where the new plant will receive plenty of sun. Make certain you have placed plenty of good organic matter in the new hole as well! The real key to making peonies blossom is in the planting depth. If the tops of the plant’s buds are more than 2 inches below the surface of the soil, the plant will seldom bloom, though it will produce plenty of foliage! Don’t forget to water your new transplants well and make sure the ground stays moist right up until the ground freezes.

Pumpkins are ready for harvest when they are completely orange. They can be left on the vines beyond that time as long as the weather does not get too cold; pumpkins rot if they are subjected to a freeze, so if cold weather occurs (low temps around 40 degrees or lower), cover the pumpkins with a sheet or a tarp.

Use shears to harvest pumpkins because if the stem pulls away from the fruit, rot can set up quickly. Also avoid scratching the pumpkin’s skin. Pumpkins keep well if they are stored in a dry spot in temperatures in the low 50 degree area. A garage works great!

Terry Skillin wants me to tell you quickly about potential frost damage. Nighttime temperatures in some outling areas have been dropping to lows of right around 40 degrees. If temperatures drop much lower than that, then frost is very likely to occur. Keep an eye on those night time temperatures! Tender material planted in the ground (such as annual plantings and most vegetable plants) is really the plant material that is at risk. However, we still have many warm sunny days ahead of us, so we urge you to try and protect that plant material because we still have several weeks ahead where your flowers can be quite “showy” or your vegetables can still produce for you!

If you suspect frost damage is likely to occur on a particular night, try to cover the “at risk” material with a bed sheet. Or give this material a shower of water at dusk and then if frost has occurred give the material another shower to melt off the burning frost just before sunrise occurs. The early morning sun will touch those frost particles and cause the particles to in essence “burn” the plant material. Let us know if you have any questions about frost damage!


The best time to pick Brussels sprouts is right after a good stiff frost. This is when the sprouts are at their sweetest, so be ready to start picking your Brussels sprouts somewhere close to the middle or end of September. Leave most of the sprouts on the plant through the frosty fall weather, you can harvest Brussels sprouts until the ground itself freezes! I planted Brussel sprouts for the first time this year. I have to tell you, I underestimated the size of the plants and they are planted much too close. Apparently with all the odd weather sprouts are behind anyway but with the lack of light down into my plants my sprounts are tiny. So early this past week I decided to follow Paul Parent's advice on the topic (given a week ago) and snap most of the branches off my brussel sprouts plants. This has allowed much more sun and air "down into" the plants and it seems as if the sprouts are starting to grow well. Paul also recommended that we sprout growers pinch the tops of the plants to tell the roots stop growing plant and start producing side shoots (in this case sprouts). Paul also raved about his fresh Brussel sprouts he prepares with lots of butter each Thanksgiving. I am going to see Mr. Parent later this week so I am going to ask him for some cooking tips. Paul can be heard every Sunday morning on WBACH at 104.7 or online at http://www.paulparent.com/. His website is pretty darned informative as well if you have time to take a look.

Rosemary is a wonderful herb to use for cooking purposes and can be grown indoors in the winter. We have rosemary plants available here at Skillin’s! Or if you have a fine rosemary specimen in your garden you may want to take cuttings and start a nice fresh plant for the winter! To take cuttings, merely take a slanted slice of outer stem growth from the plant. Dip the cut into water and then into some rooting hormone (sold right here at Skillin’s). Then place the cutting into some good quality potting mix (also sold right here at Skillin’s). Keep the soil moist by misting the soil frequently (try not to mist the plant too heavily). Once the stems start to form little branches, pinch back the tips to encourage branching. At this point the rosemary plant can be watered from a watering can and not from the mister. Keep your plant in a sunny windowsill and enjoy the fresh herbs!

Winter squashes such as butternut, buttercup and acorn squashes are intended for long periods of storage but if they are picked in the wrong way, they will only last a few days. The quick and lazy way to harvest squash is to just pull the fruit from the vine, breaking the stem off where it joins the fruit. But this will leave the squash open to disease and rot. Instead cut the stems with shears about 1” from the fruit and also take care not to scratch the squash as you harvest it. Then put them into a dry room where the temperature will stay at about 55 degrees and you can be confident that the squash will last through most of the winter.

We have loads of spring flowering bulbs available right now--tulips, daffodils, alliums and crocus. We also have many unique bulbs available and one of those is the fall flowering crocus. Yes, it is true! You can plant crocus that will flower in the fall! Usually we think of crocus as being those darling little bulb plants that pop out and flower in the early Spring. Well at Skillin’s we now have available flowering crocus in whites, purples and reds that are best planted in August and September. They in turn usually flower in early fall (late September or early October)!

Plant the little bulbs in the same manner as you would the regular Spring flowering crocus. Plant about 4” deep and 2 to 3” apart. Be sure to add Bulb Booster for best results. Water the little gems well after planting. For the first year, it would not hurt to add extra mulch that can be cleared away in the early Spring. Similar to their Spring flowering counterparts, they prefer a sunny or half shade location. For best effect, plant the little bulbs in “naturalized” groups of 10 bulbs or more!

Mike Skillin
Skillin's Greenhouses
September 6, 2009

August Garden Chores

I found these helpful garden tips at http://awaytogarden.com/my-august-garden-chores when I was noodling around BloominKrazy one of the sites we follow at www.twitter.com/skillins. The advice given is based on a zone 5 situation in very northeastern NY state and western MA. I like a lot of the information they present. So I am listing some of what they have to say (their advice is in quotes) and I comment briefly as to how we hardy gardeners in Skillin's Country can follow this gardening advice to our benefit.

"I SOMETIMES THINK THAT AUGUST, not April, is the cruelest month (though T.S. Eliot famously thought otherwise, and spelled it cruellest for good measure). Hazy, hot and humid…and plum tuckered out. But give up we must not. Every weed pulled now is a hundred you don’t have to deal with later (well, who knows the precise math of mama weed to baby weed, but you get the idea: prevention). Don’t let them go to seed. But that’s not all there is to do around here, so let’s get started on the list...." I love August--and April for that matter. As I get older I praise God for every month I get to see!

"WATERING IS another major focus; if you’re dry, don’t waste water on lawns, which will bounce back from brown in time when cooler, moister days return. Target your offerings to the most precious subjects, particularly recently planted things. " Folks we are NOT dry here in Skillin's Country, we are very very wet. BUT we cannot forget that material like perennials, shrubs and trees planted in 2009 still need a couple of good quality waterings every week. Many weeks the natural rain has sufficed as we have received close to 20 inches of rain since June 1. But if August dries out a little bit our newly planted material will need some water. Keep checking the Skillin's Garden Log; we will keep you posted if such waterings are needed.

"MAKE A PASS through each bed each week, since weeds are not just unsightly but steal moisture, nutrients and light from desired plants. Top up mulch in all garden beds if washed or worn away to help in the plight. " Very good advice. I was just speaking to a customer this morning who put in a solid day of weeding on Saturday. But as she put it the weeds are pulling quite easy these days since the ground is so moist. Take advantage of the moist ground and get out there and pull those big weeds. Lots of little weeds. Check out a good scuffling hoe like the Hula Hoe (sold right here at Skillin's).

TREES & SHRUBS

"DON’T FEED WOODY plants any more (better, even, to stop in July). Promoting more soft growth in high summer isn’t good; time for them to start moving toward the hardening-off phase of their cycle. No more eats till earliest spring. " I DO NOT agree with this. I do not advocate getting woody plants any more liquid feedings with a "quick rush" (think coffee) food like Miracle Gro. But I do believe all woody plants needs two good feedings per year of a good natural fertlizer like Holly Tone by Espoma for evergreen plants or Plant Booster Plus by Organica or Plant or Tree Tone by Espoma. I believe if you feed your trees, shrubs and perennials consistently twice yearly with these quality all natural foods then you will provide a good slow yield of nutrients and microbes that will benefit your soil and then the roots and then the plant immensely. But consistency is key; two feedings per year. Spring, summer. Spring, fall. Summer, fall. Keep those quality ingredients coming to your soil.

"ALWAYS BE on the lookout for dead, damaged, diseased wood in trees and shrubs and prune them out as discovered. Ditto with suckers and water sprouts." Great advice here. We will be having a pruning class at Skillin's this fall and we will let you know about that soon. But we are always available to answer any pruning questions you have. Dead, damaged and diseased wood can serve as a host for further diseases and/or insects and that prospect is nice to avoid.

VEGETABLE, FRUIT & HERBS

"HAVING TOMATO TROUBLES? I know I am this year, along with much of the East." Check out Garden Talks July 28--Lawn Weeds, Bed preparation; Tomato issues. At the end of that post we had a good tomato discussion with one of our customers. I think there is some good information there.

"AS AREAS COME EMPTY from harvest, build vegetable-garden soil by sowing cover crops: medium red clover now, or perhaps winter rye if you don’t do some areas till mid-fall. These “green manures” will be turned under to improve soil tilth and fertility. " Good advice. Even if you have a small space that is turning empty late summer and fall is a good time to at least layer some compost on top of the empty space. Use your own compost or of course we sell great compost here at Skillin's "in bulk" or by the bag. Simply layer the compost on top of the empty space (the more the better) and let it break down over the remainder of the season, winter and early Spring into your existing soil.

"SOW ANOTHER CROP OF PEAS right now for fall harvest (and perhaps freezing for offseason use). Shelled peas from the freezer really make risotto in January taste like summer. " Great advice and even in Maine we have time to plant another pea crop. That reminds me, we have another crop of broccoli, lettuces and cabbages on the way for you to plant. I believe we will have it available in about another week; just in time for cool weather harvest!

"STRAWBERRY BEDS may appreciate rejuvenation now, if you didn’t get it done last month. " Pull any old plants that did not perform well, spread a dose of Plant Booster Plus by Organica or Garden Tone by Espoma across the bed to reinforce that soil if you have not given the area a quality feeding with a good natural food since Spring.

"KEEP ASPARAGUS well weeded. Let asparagus ferns grow till frost to feed the underlying crowns. " Asparagus is awesome and grows very well in Skillin's Country. Yes, clean the asparagus bed of weeds and again a nice dose of Plant Booster Plus or Garden Tone would probably be very timely.

"DID YOU HARVEST GARLIC? Save the best heads for replanting this fall, the ones with the biggest cloves (or order more for fall delivery). " We should have garlic for you to plant this fall.

"ANOTHER SOWING of chard, radishes, arugula, spinach, turnips, beets and lettuce means succulent fall crops. With salad greens, sow small amounts now and again in 10 days. " We have seeds in stock still AND we are due to get our 2010 seeds from Botanical Interest (http://www.botanicalinterest.com/) very soon. Their array of seeds is ideal for this task but in the meantime we still have some 2009 seeds that will work equally well.

"DID YOU START MORE BASIL from seed? Young, fresh plants sown immediately will be better than woody old ones for combining with fall tomatoes. Is there enough fresh dill coming for late pickles? For peak flavor, basil, sage, marjoram and oreganos, mint and tarragon are best harvested just before bloom. Harvest lavender, rosemary and chamomile as they flower, blossoms and all. " Great herb advice and we have fresh herb plants of many types that were just written about here.

FLOWER GARDEN

"DAYLILIES can be dug and divided as they complete their bloom cycle, right into fall, if needed. " We still have an awesome selection of daylilies still in flower here at Skillin's!

"PEONIES are best divided and transplanted in late August through September, if they need it. Remember with these fussy guys that “eyes” must not be buried more than an inch or two beneath the soil surface. " Peonies will be getting pretty dormant by the end of this month; I agree that in just a few weeks is the best time to divide and conquer them. The depth advice is crucial. I would also put a little Plant Booster Plus or Plant Tone underneath them so when the peonies awaken in late March or early April the soil will be in even better shape then it is now.

"MANY POPULAR ANNUALS can be overwintered as young plants if you take and root cuttings now rather than try to nurse along leggy older specimens. Geraniums, coleus, wax begonias, even impatiens (to name just a few common ones), if grown in good light indoors and kept pinched and bushy, will yield another generation of cuttings for next spring’s transplants. Probably best to expend this effort and space on things you really treasure—an unusual form of something, not the garden variety." Great advice; especially about just trying to preserve absolute favorites. Time and space are precious here in Skillin's Country. In many cases you will be happier and less stressed starting anew in the Spring.

"MANY PERENNIALS and biennials can still be started from seed if you hurry, then set out in the fall into nursery beds. " Yes and we have perennial seeds still in stock in some cases with 2010 seeds due to arrive soon!

"DEADHEAD FADED PERENNIALS and summer bulbs unless they have showy seedheads, or you want to collect seed later (non-hybrids only). " See this recent post Grateful Dead(heading) by KCB where KCB writes eloquently about the benefits and necessities of dead heading those perennials. Very good garden habits written about there. Dead heading is so beneficial to your perennials!

"PREPARE NEW beds for fall planting by smothering grass or weeds with layers of recycled corrugated cardboard or thick layers of newspaper, then put mulch on top. " We have talked about this technique in the past at the Skillin's Garden Log. Check out More Discussion on Newspaper as Garden Mulch!

"RE-EDGE BEDS to make a clean line and define them, and keep edges clean with regular fine-tuning with grass shears. A clean edge makes a big difference, as does topping up the mulch a bit." As the year goes on, beds can always use edging and more mulch (I prefer compost).

HOUSEPLANTS

"IF HOUSEPLANTS NEED repotting, do it now, while they’re still outside (less messy than in the house). Don’t step up more than an inch in diameter (on small pots) or a couple (on large ones). Most plants don’t like to swim in their containers. " We have some great new containers on the way and always have a good selection of pots. I recommend Coast of Maine's Bar Harbor Blend for your soil. All natural, best quality, local company!

LAWNS
"MID-AUGUST TO MID-SEPTEMBER is prime lawn-renovation, planting and re-seeding time in the North. " Check out Garden Happenings! Week of April 27 where I wrote about how pleased I was with my lawn renovation efforts from last August and September and the products I recommend.

DON’T BAG OR RAKE clippings; let them lie on the lawn to return Nitrogen to the soil.

COMPOST HEAP

"DON’T LET the heap dry out completely, or it will not “cook.” Turning it to aerate will also hasten decomposition, but things will rot eventually even if not turned. " I have a compost heap that is thoroughly soaked and cooking nicely. Turning is very important.

Drop us a comment below with any questions or email us at info@skillins.com!

Mike Skillin
Skillin's Greenhouses
August 2, 2009