THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, March 12, 1995 TAG: 9503100110
SECTION: HOME PAGE: G9 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: WEEDER'S DIGEST
SOURCE: Robert Stiffler
LENGTH: Long : 165 lines
IF YOU'RE IN a new home, consider sod this spring rather seeding. Sod makes an immediate lawn. It is readily available from sod farms, nurseries and garden centers.
The Turf Resource Center reminds us that sod prevents soil erosion, traps dust and dirt, dissipates solar heat, reduces sports injuries, relaxes people, absorbs carbon dioxide, filters and purifies water and increases property value. If it does even half those things, it's a good investment. It is particularly good at eliminating mud and dust around a newly built home. KNOW YOUR NUMBERS
Many new gardeners have difficulty with the numbers on a fertilizer package. There are always at least three numbers and sometimes many more. The first three are the important ones. They represent, in this order: Nitrogen, phosphorus and potash.
An easy formula to remember comes from Louisiana State University experts, who say, ``The fertilizers you want for grass in the spring have a high first number, low second number and medium last number.'' The analysis 25-5-10 is an example.
Although most university recommendations for fertilizing vegetables have been 8-8-8 or 10-10-10, the LSU experts this season say that an 8-24-24, 7-21-21 or 6-24-24 is a better analysis than for vegetables because of the low nitrogen and higher phosphorus and potassium. Many vegetables, including tomatoes, corn, peppers and vining crops, will need at least one side dressing of nitrogen (ammoniuim nitrate or soda) after the plants start growing, they note.
If you cannot find the analyses listed, go to a farm feed and seed store or buy a special vegetable fertilizer at a garden center. Make sure to check the analysis on the package to know that it conforms to these new recommendations. If your search is in vain, you can go back to your old system of using 8-8-8 or 10-10-10. NEW CLEMATIS TO CONSIDER
Jack Campbell, representative for wholesaler Vaughan Seed Co., called about the Feb. 12 column on Donohue clematis. Campbell said that Dick Donohue had recently died, but that his daughter was carrying forward with the business. Campbell also wanted readers to know about two Donohue introductions. The first is Vino, a wine-red clematis with blooms 6 to 7 inches across, with cream-yellow anthers. He said it's excellent as a cut flower and blooms in spring and again in the fall. The other, Ruby Glow, has a 5-inch flower of ruby-rose color and red anthers. It blooms from June through August, much longer than most clematis.
Campbell said these new clematis, as well as others from Donohue, will be available soon at all McDonald Garden Centers. Retailers can order Donohue clematis in gallon containers from wholesaler Knotts Creek Nursery in Suffolk. WATER GARDEN RESOURCE
It's not too early to plan a water garden, and ``Gardening With Water'' by James van Sweden (Random House, $40 hardback) is a thorough new book that tells you how to do it.
The book describes how van Sweden and partner Wolfgang Oehme build and plant fountains, swimming pools, lily pools and water edges.
Marc Cathey, president of the American Horticultural Society, says, ``Oehme and van Sweden have not only introduced a new cast of characters into the garden - perennials, small flowering trees, and grasses - but in doing so they have shown a unique recognition of and appreciation for the aging of the garden through the months of the year.''
Van Sweden has spoken in this area, and he and Oehme have an office in Washington, D.C., and have designed several gardens at the U.S. National Arboretum.
``Gardening With Water'' is available in local bookstores. MUMS IN THE SPRING
One fourth of all garden mums are purchased in the spring, says Edward A. Higgins of Yoder Brothers, North America's leading mum breeder. He says mums planted in the spring have a better chance to establish roots before winter and a better chance of surviving than mums planted in the fall.
``You can enjoy mums indoors now. Once the blooms have faded and the weather warms up, plant them in your garden and they'll bloom again this fall,'' Higgins said. Mums are available in various shades of apricot, bronze, coral, lavender, mahogany, orange, pink, red salmon, white and yellow. GROWING PINEAPPLE
Garden writers and greenhouse operators Doc and Katy Abraham, writing in the January/February issue of Nursery Retailer, say that homeowners are fascinated with the idea of growing pineapple indoors. Many garden centers are selling them.
If you want to start your own, remove the leafy top of a store-bought pineapple by twisting it off. Trim any adhering flesh and strip off 3 or 4 bottom leaves. Place the crown upside down in a dry, shaded area for a week. Then pot it. But do not be in a hurry. It takes 24 to 26 months to produce pineapple in Hawaii. In your home it may take a lot longer. WAY TO REACH WAYSIDE
Wayside Gardens says the number to call for orders from that garden center or for a free Wayside catalog is (800) 845-1124. RARE PLANT AUCTION
If you're in or around Washington, D.C., on April 2, you'll want to visit the National Arboretum for its Fourth Annual Rare Plant Auction, beginning at 10 a.m. The most unusual plants will be auctioned at 1 p.m. Plant experts will be on hand to answer questions, and a cash-and-carry tent will offer more than 2,500 plants plus new, used and rare books.
It is free and open to the public. There is a $10 registration fee to bid in the auctions, but you can become a Friend of the National Arboretum on site and be eligible for other membership benefits. Call (202) 544-8733. GET ROSES IN THE GROUND
Now is an ideal time to plant roses. I like to plant bare-root roses, which often are available only from mail-order sources. You get larger, stronger roots and you can plant them to suit yourself, instead of the way a nursery in Texas or Oregon may have cut the roots to fit in a box.
If you're tired of spraying, plant old-fashioned shrub roses. The Simplicity Rose from Jackson and Perkins is pink and requires little spraying. Best of all, it blooms until frost. This year's All America choices are Brass Band and Singin' in the Rain, each a floribunda and similar in color - a peach-orange. Each grew in my garden last year, with Singin' in the Rain doing best, producing blooms very late into the fall.
If you usually buy inexpensive roses - those in plastic bags at grocery and discount stores or even garden centers - it's even more important that you plant them now. Soon the plants will send out lots of new foliage, due to heat in the store. They'll look great but their roots are dry and the new foliage is deceiving. WHAT GROWS AND WHAT DOESN'T
If you'd like to hear me talk about ``20 Years of Gardening in Hampton Roads,'' come to the Norfolk Botanical Garden auditorium at 7:30 Thursday night. I'll talk about the plants I've grown during that time - the ones to praise and the ones to leave alone. The meeting is free if you're a member of the Norfolk Botanical Garden Society; $5 if you're not. You can also come and join the society that night. Call 441-5838. ALL ABOUT PRUNING
Be at the Norfolk Botanical Garden at 10 a.m. Saturday to learn basic pruning techniques. This class, which is a hands-on demonstration, is usually oversold so call at once. Cost is $12 for NBGS members; $15 to others. Call 441-5838. JUST ADD WATER
A new product called Biomat is designed to produce the garden of your choice with minimal work. It's a 9-inch square pad made of wood fiber with seeds sandwiched between two thin layers of mulch. Biomat is available in five varieties: flower garden; herb garden, ground cover, vegetable garden and grass mat. The grass mat should be ideal for fixing bare spots caused by pet or insect damage in your lawn.
All are organic and biodegradable. You can start them indoors or place the mats on your garden where you want the plants to grow and sprinkle with a light covering of soil.
Costs range from $5.99 to $7.98 for five of the mats packaged together. Five give you a bed of plants 9 inches wide and 45 inches long. The Kansas City manufacturer says Biomats are available in garden centers now. HOLLY FANS UNITE
If you're a holly enthusiast, you may want to attend the Colonial Chapter of the Holly Society of America meeting Saturday at the Patrick Henry Inn in Williamsburg. Registration begins at 9:30 a.m. and includes lunch for $15. Call (804) 642-2449. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
James van Sweden
by CNB