InFocus Magazine

This year it’s been a slow start to the summer, and gardeners are anxiously awaiting the warm summer sun so the gardening season can truly get underway.

Most gardeners have planted their flower and vegetable gardens, so the annual chores of maintenance, watering and fertilizing are the talk of the day.

To keep your hanging baskets and containers looking beautiful throughout the summer, water regularly and thoroughly.  Plants in containers generally need to be watered more often than if they were growing in the ground.  This is especially true for hanging baskets because they are subject to drying winds.  In most areas you should expect to water hanging baskets every day, or even twice a day during a hot spell.  Water should stream from the drainage holes when you water.

Deadhead blooming plants.  As the flowers fade and die, remove them by pinching them off where they meet the stem. This promotes the formation of new flowers, and doesn’t allow the energy of the plant to go into creating seeds.

Fertilize regularly.  Frequent watering washes out the nutrients from the potting mix.  Follow the directions for the correct amount and frequency.  Feed when the soil is moist, and never when the plants are wilting.

If water streams from the drainage holes but the soil still seems dry, try either submerging the pot in a bucket of water for up to an hour, or adding a couple drops of a mild dishwashing liquid to the water, allowing it to penetrate the surface.

When the plants start to look leggy and straggly, don’t be afraid to cut them back.  Most common hanging plants, such as verbena, petunias and impatiens will produce a more dense and new growth.

If you love to grow tomatoes, now is the time to ensure they are staked and ready to be tied to a solid support so when they start to produce their crop, the heavy weight doesn’t allow them to bend over and break.  Be sure to remove the suckers that grow from between the branches and the main stem.  This allows the tomatoes to grow to a larger size and the plant will be more prolific.  Don’t allow the tomato plants to dry out between watering – consistent watering, pinching out suckers and fertilizing is the key to a successful crop.

Once the rhododendrons and azaleas have finished flowering it’s time to clip off the spent flower heads.  It’s a tedious job since you have to be very careful not to damage the new growth that is setting up for next year.  This is also the time to water well and apply specific fertilizer for rhododendrons and azaleas.  You’ll be rewarded for your efforts next summer with a beautiful display of color.

Many gardeners are adding blueberry bushes and blackberries to their gardens.  The nutritional advantage of these berries has been all over the news lately and there’s nothing nicer than walking out into your garden and picking a basket of fresh berries.  Blueberries are acid-lovers and it’s important to get the PH down low enough to get a good crop.  There are specific fertilizers for blueberries to aid in this task.  Ask at your local garden centre which ones are specific for blueberries.

Squash plants—particularly winter squash—are really rewarding vegetables to grow.  Their lush leaves spread and hide the growing fruit.  However, they have a way of taking over the whole garden.  If you want to grow varieties like ‘Buttercup’ or ‘Hubbard’ squash, allow them to roam until later in the growing season when the vines have set all the fruit you want.  Then start pinching off the last four to 12 inches of the main vine and its branchings.  Or, if you’re a bit more limited for space but still love to grow squash, try the hybrid ‘Sweet Mama’—a buttercup-type squash.  Its vines can be nipped off when they reach four feet and the plant will continue to produce fruit prolifically.

Remember, some of the best resources we have when we’re gardening are the people that work in the local garden centres.  If you have a specific question about certain plants, or if you spot some damaged branches or leaves that look damaged, bring them into the garden centre and the staff will help you find out what the problem is.

Even though our summer started out a bit more wet and cold than we usually like to see at this time of year, we could still be in for a hot dry summer, and the extra care you give your plants now will ensure you enjoy the rewards of a beautiful and prolific garden.