Happy Mothers Day!

Back in the day I remember that our church youth group had a tradition of passing out carnations on Mother’s Day. I had to check my favorite internet resources to refresh my memory on why that was a thing. History lesson for today: Mother’s Day was started by Anna Reeves Jarvis in West Virginia before the Civil War as a club to teach moms how to care for their children. Mrs. Jarvis was one of the social activists of her time and her daughter Anna Jarvis continued her mother’s work. President Woodrow Wilson made Mother’s Day an official holiday in 1914. Daughter, Anna, struggled to prevent the commercialization of Mother’s Day but the cat was out of the bag and here we are today. Back to the carnations; white carnations were the favorite flower of mother, Anna, so it became the original flower of Mother’s Day. Quoting Ms. Jarvis “the carnation does not drop its petals, but hugs them to its heart as it dies, and so, too, mothers hug their children to their hearts, their mother love never dying.” Over the years that has translated to white carnations if your mother has passed and red or pink if your mother is still living. National Geographic has an interesting piece on Mother’s Day history: 7 Things You Don't Know About Mother's Day's Dark History. So, these days my own mother would rather have plants for her yard than cut flowers so she can enjoy them all season. I am supposed to come up with a climbing red rose for this year and of course I haven’t got that nailed down yet. I make the rounds of nurseries and pick out what I want and then tell my husband what a great gift he picked out. (I have been married 30 years so that works for us on most holidays. He usually replies that he “shopped and shopped”.)

This spring we are seeing a renewed interest in food gardening, and many folks new to gardening. I love it that folks are becoming more connected to where their food comes from. This past week we received more shipments of veggie starts, herbs, perennials, shrubs, trees, garden soil, fruit trees, and a few annuals. We may not have everything but if you are looking for something you did not see last week please come back and check it out. Just remember to check the nighttime temperatures before you put out your tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and other tender veggies as we are looking at some nights in the upcoming forecast to be in the mid to low 30s. Be prepared to cover if the temps are going to be below 37ish. It is Mother’s Day week and we are famous in Montana for getting late frost. We should probably do a rain dance too. It is very dry so if you haven’t already started watering please check your plants!!

With our warm weather we are noticing a few mosquitoes starting to come out. Mosquitoes love standing water and can lay eggs in a tiny amount of water, so it is time to scout for problem areas in your yard. If you have a water feature with standing water you should look for a larvicide specifically listed for mosquitoes such as bacillus sphaericus or bacillus thuringensis isralensis (BTi). Those generally come as some sort of tablet that you drop in the water. These are not harmful to pets, fish or people when used as directed but not recommended for drinking water.

I had a question about clematis pruning. My customer said she didn’t remember all the names of her clematis so is unsure of what pruning group they are in. When that happens you may need to spend a year watching them grow to try to discover when they bloom; do they bloom on old or new wood or both? The first 2 or 3 years of a new clematis you should prune the plant 6-12” from the ground no matter what type it is. That helps get the root clump off to a stronger start. As the root clump develops in future years then follow the clematis group pruning practice. Don’t hesitate to cut out broken or dead stems when you see them. In the early spring a viable stem will have green under the bark and buds at the stem joints. If your plant isn’t blooming like you expect you should make sure you are not putting on too much nitrogen as that will give you more leaves than flowers. Also reevaluate your sunlight to the plant. Clematis like their head in the sun, at least 5-6 hours a day, and their feet in the shade. If the root is too hot or dry it will struggle. Have your trees grown and you have more shade than when you first planted? Clematis need you to help them get started on whatever support you are using or they will end up straggling on the ground so gently train and tie the stems up to get them started. Here is a link to clematis pruning.

I know I have talked about fire blight and coddling moth in apples. It is time to put out coddling moth pheromone traps which we sell. Depending on the weather, there can be 3 generations of coddling moth per year. These traps are not a control measure, they are for monitoring how many moths are flying so you can decide what measure of control to take. Chemical controls work best on the first generation each year. Insecticide controls targeting the larval stage should always be applied after petal fall and should never be applied during bloom to avoid risk of harming pollinators. The MSU Western Agricultural Research Center in Corvallis, MT has an extensive focus on fruit and gardening production. Here is a link to their codling moth info: Managing Codling Moth in Montana Home Orchards. That will also take you to some good color photos on fire blight and study info on berry and small fruit production here in Montana. We have not seen or had reports of any active fire blight yet. That may be due to lack of rain and lots of drying wind. I don’t want to jinx it. Here is the link to fire blight: Fire Blight Management in Montana Orchards. If you would like a printed copy of any of these links please stop by the nursery.

Hydrangea have become the ‘go to’ plant for every yard. There are several kinds of hydrangea but only 3 have the best chance to work here and they each have their own requirements. Let me see if I can make you more confused. Mophead aka Big Leaf varieties, or hydrangea macrophylla, require the most care in this area. They like morning sun, afternoon shade, evenly moist soil and maybe a supplement to change color. Some of these bloom on old and new wood so only prune in the spring after you see what stems have winter killed. Avoid too much nitrogen for the same reason I mentioned above. Adding a soil acidifier like sulfur, iron or aluminum sulphate will help your Endless Summer hydrangea be blue. Lower pH soil for blue blooms, higher pH soil for pink blooms. You will need to supplement each year. Lace Cap hydrangea are also included in this group.

Panicle hydrangea or hydrangea paniculate, are the woody stem varieties that become a permanent bush in the yard. They like full sun so are good for the south and west sides of the yard. They come in a variety of mature sizes and they have flower heads that start out creamy white and turn shades of pink and red. They don’t need much pruning and the deer don’t bother them as much as other types of hydrangea. You cannot change the color of these.

The Smooth hydrangea family, hydrangea arborescens, are well known as Annabelle and family. This group prefers morning sun and afternoon shade. They die back to the ground each year and have the best possibility of blooming in heavy shade. Full disclosure, they can get floppy and need to be supported and the deer love them. This family has expanded from the traditional Annabelle to a variety of smaller and larger mature plants as well as pink flowering ones. You cannot change the color of this group.

Stop in to look at our restocked selection of fruit trees, shrubs and perennials. Happy Mother’s Day!