Time to plant? Yes!

Question:
Is it too early to plant my terrace? I live in Manhattan.
Also, my terrace,which faces North, only gets sun for about two hours a day. Some areas are always in shade. I have three window boxes and a number of pots. What plants/flowers would you suggest.

Answer:
I would say now is a perfect time to plant your terrace. Spring is a great time to plant because it is cool and plants are not nearly as stressed as they may become when the hot days of summer hit. Planting now also allows your new plants to get established in their new containers (pushing out new roots and foliage) so that they have a better chance of making it through next winter. As far as what material, you have a lot of options depending on the size(s) of your containers. With only two hours of direct sun you are going to be best searching out plants that are “shade tolerant”. When shopping it is also good to confirm that the plants you are dealing with can tolerate wind, and depending on your proximity to the water, salt spray. In general I recommend plants (annuals, perennials, and/or small shrubs and trees) that are slower growers and a little more on the compact side. Large plants that naturally get long, tall, or leggy and can become a bit of a maintenance nightmare – depending on how much time you anticipate spending and projectizing out there. Slower growing plants that stay compact typically hold up better under greater stress (heat, wind, drought) and often are easier to care for in the long run. Hopefully that is enough to make you a little more of an educated shopper. Let me know if you need anything else. ...And enjoy the beautiful weekend!

GreenTeam Street Planting in the Bronx

Those who know about The Horticultural Society of New York know about our tremendous community outreach programs. One such program is the GreenTeam, run by John Cannizzo. For more information, visit the HSNY website at: http://www.hsny.org/html/communityoutreach.htm

The following are pictures and text John recently passed around our office. They refer to a street tree planting, 28 trees in all, that was recently done up in the Bronx. With John's permission I wanted to pass on the following for you all to see and read as well. So, without further ado, a little insight into one of the many projects on our plates these days. Enjoy, -Alex Feleppa

Toya and Delon Sponner of FEGS
Getting the trees off of the truck gently is very important.
Dawn, moving the trees to their new homes.
These kids are totally into it in every way.
It is easy to feel good under the influence of the first planting of the year. These trees are part of an environmental remediation that also has a hint of environmental justice. The areas of the Bronx that suffer from the heat island effect most severely are also some of the least well served. This is incidentally some of the neighborhoods that supply the jails with their populations. The sites were picked out by The Hunts Point Multi-service center. One of 9 multi- service centers that offers everything from daycare services and nutrition for seniors to HIV treatment and substance abuse counseling and parole program and a health center. -John Cannizzo

I have a browning evergreen in New York

Question:
My problem is that I have had this spiral pine since I moved in this house and it is dying.

I went to a couple of garden centers and florists and they could not help me beyond selling me "Systemic Insect Control", Acephate (O, S-dimethyl acetylphosphoramidothicate) 9.4%.
Instructions that I followed were to apply it on April and November, but did not stop the yellowing of the branches and the 80% of the tree has already dried out. I did not apply it this year.
They told me that since a couple of years ago it is not legal to sell anything stronger.

Could you please help me indicating if would be some hope for my dear beauty?

Answer:
First, let’s clarify what the tree is. Thank you for the pictures by the way – always a huge help for me when IDing issues. Your evergreen is not a pine. I am guessing it is a kind of juniper. Ornamental topiaries are typically Alberta spruce, arborvitae, boxwood, or in this case, juniper. They are all evergreens, but the needles/leaves are all different for each so it is easy to tell them apart. Growers raise and prune them meticulously into these unique shapes that we then find and buy at our local retailers.

Regarding the care, I’m glad you have held off from using more of that chemical you were sold. If you haven’t seen insect damage on the tree there is nothing to indicate that that is the issue. The reason the tree is in decline, in my opinion, is because it needs more water and/or sunlight. How much are you watering the tree now?

Newly planted trees and shrubs often require a lot more water than most people think. In order for the plant to get established and push out new roots it needs to be watered completely at least a couple times a week. By this I mean put a hose at the base of the tree and leave it on at a slow drip, or even better, buy a soaker hose to attach to your regular hose and keep that wrapped around the trunk of the tree. Now, how much and how often? You should be watering new trees for AT LEAST 2-3 hours each time, AT LEAST 2-3 times a week. “Nature’s watering schedule” is not going to cut it alone. If you think about it, when we get an all-day rain that still only amounts to about an inch or two of water. The rootball of your tree, on the other hand, must be at least 8” or 12” deep. By deeply watering all the roots will be encouraged to grow out and get established in the tree’s new spot.

In this case junipers also require full sun, so you want to be sure the tree gets upwards of four or more hours of direct sun a day.

The good news is that your tree is still alive. The bad news is that all of those needles that have browned and fallen are not going to come back. Evergreen, in general, only put out new growth from the tips of the stems, in other words where the plant is green now. You can go ahead and remove any of the brown, clearly dead needles because they are not doing the plant any good. Once you clean it up you may realize it is worth starting over with a new plant. Even though that may sound frustrating, at least now you know how best to care for this kind of topiary.

Squirrels eating my tulips in Hoboken, NJ

Question:
I have a garden in Hoboken, NJ, where I have planted a couple stands of tulips. Now that they are coming up, I am noticing squirrels (and/or rabbits) eating the foliage. Is there a way to deter them from eating them all to the ground?

Answer:
This is an issue that I have heard of many times, and the solutions people come up with get more and more creative every year. Here is a list of popular options:

Pepper sprays are used by many, including these two listed in Rodale’s "Great Garden Formulas":
½ oz. Tabasco, 1 pint water, ½ teaspoon dishwashing liquid, 1 teaspoon chili powder
(or)
2 tablespoons cayenne pepper steeped in 1 quart very hot water, mixed with 1 teaspoon horticultural oil

The first recipe is recommended to spray around your tulips, not necessarily on them. The latter is recommended as a foliar spray. As long as the weather stays dry these sprays usually do the trick. One catch is that sprays need to be reapplied after rain storms. The other factor is that some consider this method to be inhumane to the squirrels.

The advice many publications give is to incorporate bulbs in with your tulip planting that squirrels will not eat, namely Narcissus spp. (daffodils) and Allium spp.. There are miniature Narcissus that can be used subtly while not taking away from the show the tulips put on.

If the squirrels are going after the bulbs before they emerge, try planting your bulbs in “bulb cages”. Information about various shapes and sizes are available online. Along those lines, a good recommendation I read once said to lay down a layer of gravel below the soil above where you planted the tulips. The tulips will be able to push through the gravel but the squirrels are usually deterred from digging through the gravel and give up.

My last thought, and certainly the funniest sounding option I have ever heard of is to use petroleum jelly. In all honesty I have never tried this, but other gardener’s accounts I have read claim that it works well. To deter squirrels and rabbits alike, some have written that putting petroleum jelly (Vaseline, etc.) on the foliage of the plants work very well. It does not affect the look of your plants but the coating is enough of a deterrent that the little critters will stay away.

If anyone else has tips that have worked for them, I would love to hear your stories. Feel free to email me at the address above – Thanks!