To grow new African violets, use a sterile knife and cut off a healthy leaf as near the base as possible. Dip the stem in rooting hormone then push it through a piece of paper and place the stem in water until it develops roots.

Gardeners have taken this natural process and turned it into the concept of “mulching” where a thick layer of organic matter is applied to planting beds and gardens.

Mulching helps the garden by providing:

• Weed control
• Soil enrichment
• Moisture retention
• Visual appeal

Types of Mulch

Mulch is both functional and decorative, with many different types available. When choosing mulch, consider the density and texture relative to the plants in your garden. Tender seedlings will have a hard time pushing through a thick layer of coarse mulch while large areas around trees and shrubs may benefit from a heavy weed-preventative barrier. While your choice of mulching material should primarily be based on its purpose, it’s also a matter of taste and budget. Some popular options include:

Organic Mulches that Break Down in One Season

• Leaves: While readily available, uncomposted leaves are susceptible to blowing winds when dry and can pack down tightly when wet. Perfect for natural areas, they work best in formal gardens when composted first.
• Grass Clippings: Plentiful during the mowing season, lawn clippings provide great soil amendment but may look messy until they begin to break down.

• Compost: Compost packs a double punch as both mulch and an excellent organic fertilizer.
• Paper: A layer of old newspapers work great as a weed barrier underneath mulch or straw. Try to use papers with biodegradable inks. Shredded waste paper may also be used.
• Hay and Straw: Often used for newly seeded lawns and vegetable gardens since they break down quickly. Hay and straw often contain seeds that may sprout.
• Less common (but effective) one-season organic mulches include shredded corn stalks, manure, peat moss, and rice hulls.

Organic Mulches that Last More than One Season

• Wood: The different varieties of mulch made from ground up trees ranges from shredded and stringy to chipped and chunky. Chipped cedar mulch is both attractive and aromatic. Wood mulches come in single- double- and triple-ground, with the price increasing each time it goes through the grinder. For an inexpensive basic mixed ground mulch, check your local landfill – many cities collect and grind lawn and tree waste, then sell it for as little as $5 per pickup load.

• Bark: Beautiful and durable, bark nuggets have the disadvantage of drifting out of unedged beds, especially in a heavy rain. While relatively expensive, bark can be easily purchased in convenient lightweight bags and provides a nice finished look.
• Pine Straw: Acid-loving plants love pine straw. Longer needles last longer than shorter ones. In areas with a lot of foot traffic, pine needles tend to break down quickly.

• Dyed Mulch: Many shredded wood varieties of mulch are now being dyed every color of the rainbow. So if you’ve always wanted the color of your mulch to reflect your favorite sports team, you just might be in luck.
• Other multi-season organic mulches include seed and nut hulls, cocoa bean hulls, corn cobs, and sawdust.

Inorganic Mulch

• Rubber: Often manufactured to look like wood or bark, recycled rubber mulches are commonly used in playgrounds and walkways. Rubber mulch is the topic of debate among environmentalists, as the benefits of recycling weigh against the potential for off-gassing of toxic chemicals into the air and ground water.
• Rock: Stone, gravel, and crushed rock are highly resistant to wind and maintain their appearance for years. Since rock absorbs heat, it often gives gardens a parched appearance.

Applying Mulch

Spread mulch to a depth of 2” to 4” and keep it back slightly from stems and trunks to avoid smothering the plants. Avoid a “volcano” effect around tree trunks – trees grow their roots to varied and specialized depths and can be sabotaged by an extremely thick layer of mulch.

Beautifying Your Garden with Mulch

In designing your garden, think of mulch as the elegant background that allows your ornamental plants to show their stuff. In the photo below, notice how the edged lawn and mulch accentuates the shape and color of the crimson pygmy barberry.

Mulching not only makes mowing easier around trees but also calls attention to attractive bark and trunk shapes. For a balanced appearance around small ornamental trees, consider making the mulch ring the same diameter as the treetop.

Mulch can also be used to set off an area in a pleasing shape and act as a design feature in its own right. In the yard below, the mulched area serves to:

1. Eliminate the need to grow grass in a shady area.
2. Accentuate the gorgeous Japanese maple tree.
3. Provide a shapely curve in the overall lawn design.

Also consider using more then one type of mulch for design purposes. In this garden, river stones were used as an edging, with shredded wood mulch around the plants themselves.

While river stones often appear white or gray when dry, they can display beautiful colors when wet.

Whatever your design or purpose, your plants will be protected from extreme temperatures, weeds, and short dry spells by a protective layer of mulch.

For a more detailed description of different types of mulch, go to HoneyCreek Vineyards and Orchards.

Every spring, birdwatchers across the country welcome the return of hummingbirds as they migrate north. These tiny, beautiful birds are a delight to watch as they hover and dart throughout the garden, and the males put on quite a show as they protect their territory and attract mates. And while hummingbird feeders do provide nourishment to the energetic birds, let’s face it – an active feeder is a source of pure pleasure for gardeners and bird-lovers alike.

Hummingbird Facts

Of the over 300 species of hummingbirds, about 16 species breed in the United States. The ruby-throated hummingbird is by far the most common east of the Mississippi, but be on the lookout for other types as well. Hummingbirds undertake a grueling migration every year, wintering in the Southern U.S., Mexico, and Central and South America, then returning in the spring to breed throughout North America.

Photo by Cheryl Empey

Hummingbird migration is a product of instinct and nature. Most researchers agree that feeding hummingbirds will not alter these migration patterns, and many gardeners like to extend the feeding season to support migrating birds.

Hummingbirds eat from 5 to 14 meals an hour. Their diet consists of flower nectar (which is largely sucrose, or sugar water) and protein, in the form of spiders, soft-bodied insects, and larvae. They can consume up to 50% of their body weight in nectar each day.

The typical hummingbird nest is about the size of half a walnut shell. The nest is constructed largely of spider silk and plant down, and the outside is covered with lichens, moss, or other camouflaging plant material.

Photo by Sharon Werblowsky

Look for hummingbird nests in trees and shrubs that provide shelter from weather and predators such as azaleas, rhododendrons, camellias, wax myrtle, hollies, oaks (especially live oaks), pines, red maple, and sycamore. They may be near the tips of branches, with overhead leaf protection but space for cooling summer breezes. Although less common, look for nests on porches and other sheltered spots as well.

Choosing a Hummingbird Feeder

There are many different types of hummingbird feeders on the market, and some are quite beautiful. Most come in bright colors to mimic large, nectar-rich flowers. The key to feeding hummingbirds is safety – nectar spoils easily, and bacteria can be dangerous for the birds. Choose a feeder that is easy to refill and clean, or two identical ones with dishwasher-safe parts, so that you can rotate them.

Photo by Julie Day

Making Nectar

The best type of nectar is a simple sucrose (table sugar) solution. More expensive nectar mixes are unnecessary, as the birds obtain the added nutrients from eating insects, and the red color is not needed due to brightly-colored feeders.

To most closely mimic flower nectar, use a 1:4 ratio – one part white cane sugar to four parts water. Some gardeners use a rich 1:1 solution in the early spring, to fuel migrating and nesting birds and to encourage the bird to stay at that feeder. After 2-3 weeks, switch to the 1:4 solution to encourage more feeding activity. Never use honey or brown sugar, since they spoil very quickly and can harbor dangerous bacteria.

To discourage spoilage and mold growth, boil the sugar solution for several minutes, and allow it to cool to room temperature before using. Store any excess in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to five days. Immediately discard any solution that looks cloudy or has black mold.

Using Your Feeder

Photo by Gregory Runyan

Feeders MUST be clean and sanitized to prevent the growth of harmful bacteria. Clean your feeder using mild dish soap, or boiling water, or a mild bleach solution. Whatever the cleaning method, rinse the feeder extremely well. The nectar solution will only last 3-5 days outdoors, and less in hot summer weather. Once you get an idea of how much the birds are eating, only fill your feeder with enough nectar to last 2-3 days, and empty it sooner if it looks cloudy.

Hang the feeder near flowering plants or next to trees where the birds may build their nests. Once a bird has found your feeder, it will return for frequent visits and become quite bold, so get your camera ready!

Planting a Hummingbird Garden

Trumpet Vine, Photo by Holly Harris

When planning a hummingbird garden, consider including the following elements:

• Water for bathing and drinking, such as a birdbath or fountain.
• Space between flowering plants to give the birds room to hover.
• An organic garden free of pesticides which can be toxic to hummingbirds.
• Leafy shrubs for cover and nesting.
• Flowering plants for feeding.
• Lots of bright colors, particularly red.
• Mosses for nesting materials.

Hibiscus, Photo by Julie Day

Some flowering plants to consider include:

• Bee balm – Monarda didyma
• Canna - Canna sp.
• Cardinal flower - Lobelia cardinalis
• Columbine - Aquilegia sp.
• Coral bells - Heuchera sanguinea
• Delphinium - Delphinium elatum
• Flame acanthus - Acanthus mollis
• Four o’clock - Mirabilis jalapa
• Foxglove - Digitalis purpurea
• Fuschia - Fuschia hybrida
• Hibiscus – Hibiscus sp.
• Hollyhock - Althea rosea
• Honeysuckle - Lonicera sp.
• Lantana - Lantana sp.
• Lupine - Lupinus hybrids
• Penstemon - Penstemon sp.
• Petunia - Petunia hybrida
• Trumpet creeper - Campsis radicans
• Trumpet vine - Bignonia tagliabuana

Flowering Quince, Photo by Julie Day

Also consider planting shrubs and trees such as:

• Azalea - Rhododendron sp.
• Bottlebrush - Callistemon lanceolatus
• Butterfly bush - Buddleia davidii
• Eucalyptus - Eucalyptus sp.
• Flowering quince - Chaenomeles sp.
• Mimosa - Albizia julibrissin
• Weigela - Weigela rosea

Further Information

For more info on hummingbirds, check out websites like hummingbirds.net and worldofhummingbirds.com for migration maps and information about specific species. Many websites welcome photographs and submissions of hummingbird sightings for migration mapping and research.

Happy hummingbird-watching!

Well pruned shrubs and trees are a hallmark of a carefully tended yard or garden. Foundation plantings are lush and full, and blooming shrubs display their blossoms on shapely branches that accentuate each plant’s unique style.

In addition to proper planting, watering, and fertilizing; pruning is an important practice for promoting plant health and enhancing the natural size and shape of landscape plants. Pruning is easy—a basic understanding of plant growth, and a few simple techniques, and you’ll be ready to go.

Tools

Most pruning tools have an arc-shaped blade, which makes short work of slicing through small branches. “Scissor action” pruners involve two sharp blades sliding past each other “Anvil cut” pruners have one blade slicing against a wide, flat surface. While scissor action pruners are more expensive, they usually make the cleanest, closest cuts.

Hedge clippers have long, straight blades. They are used for cutting small, green branches and tips and are best reserved for shearing formal hedges. Pruning saws come in a variety of shapes and sizes, with blades designed for larger branches and small trunks.

Make sure blades are kept sharp and oil them periodically. To prevent the spread of plant diseases, clean and disinfect pruning tools after use.

Proper Timing

Spring-flowering shrubs, such as these, should be pruned immediately after blooming:

• Andromeda
• Azalea
• Chinese Redbud
• Fringe Tree
• Kerria
• Mock Orange
• Philadelphus
• Pieris
• Roses
• Spiraea (early varieties)
• Mountain Laurel
• Viburnum
• Syringa (Lilac)
• Japanese Quince
• Pearlbush
• Star magnolia
• Weigela
• Rhododendron
• Deutzia
• Forsythia
• Lonicera

Shrubs that bloom in summer and fall, and shrubs grown primarily for their foliage, can be pruned in early spring, before growth starts:

• Abelia
• Callicarpa (Beauty Berry)
• Hydrangea
• Spirea (late varieties)
• Summersweet
• Crape Myrtle
• Snowberry
• Barberry
• Lagerstroemia
• Boxwood
• Buddleia (Butterfly Bush)
• Clethra
• Hypericum
• Bluebeard
• Shrub Althea
• Coralberry
• Chaste Tree
• Hibiscus
• Privet
• Ilex (Holly)

The soft, green growing tip of a branch is called the “terminal bud.” This bud produces a hormone that affects the growth of side branches. The biology of basic pruning is simple: if you remove the terminal bud, the lateral buds below your cut will be stimulated to grow into more branches. If you leave the terminal bud, the branch will grow longer instead of thicker.

Choosing the Branches

Start by removing any of the branches illustrated below that don’t belong.

Next, look at your shrub with a critical eye while considering the following questions:

• What is this shrub’s natural size and shape (rounded, arching, tree-like)?
• What is the design purpose of this shrub (hedge, foundation planting, specimen plant)?
• Does the plant growth need to be influenced to achieve that purpose?
• Is the shrub healthy and growing evenly?

A well-pruned shrub looks natural, and in most cases doesn’t look like it has been pruned at all. If a shrub’s natural shape does not suit your taste or needs, consider moving it and planting one that is better suited for that location.

Making the Cuts

There are five basic techniques for pruning shrubs. Most pruning jobs will involve a combination of techniques.

1. Pinching back: Simply use your fingers to pinch off the terminal bud of the branch. This will encourage lateral branches to form and can be a great way to prevent more pruning later on.

   

2. Heading back: This method removes the terminal bud, resulting in more branches. Cut the branch at an angle, about ¼” above a branch bud and sloping down and away from the bud. The branches about 6” to 8” below your cut will be stimulated the most, so keep that in mind when choosing where to cut. The bud nearest the cut determines the direction the branch grows, with the outward facing bud usually resulting in the best shape. If a heading cut is made in the middle of a branch with no bud, the result will be a flush of growth at the site of the cut.

   

3. Thinning: Thinning involves removing branches while leaving the terminal bud. Make the cut just outside the branch collar, which is the bulge where the branch meets the stem, but don’t leave a stub. Thinning can produce a more open, shapely plant, without altering its overall size, shape, or growth habit.

   

4. Renewal or rejuvenation pruning: Renewal pruning involves removing the oldest stems and branches at the base, then thinning or heading back the younger stems to promote regrowth. With rejuvenation pruning, the entire shrub is cut to stubs less than 12”. This drastic measure is usually done if a shrub has become an overgrown, tangled mass that is not blooming well.

   

5. Shearing: Shearing involves trimming off the tips of branches and is best used only for formal hedges. Shearing alters the shrub’s natural shape and promotes thick growth only on the exterior of the plant, which results in dead foliage and lack of growth on the interior branches.

   

For most shrubs, pruning is a forgiving task - once you learn how each plant grows, you can correct previous pruning mistakes as you go. With a little practice, pruning becomes intuitive and is a quick way to revitalize your yard or garden.

Spring is on the way, and warm weather is beginning to peek around the corner, inviting us outdoors and begging gardeners to get their hands dirty. But unless you live in a tropical climate, there is still plenty of freezing weather to come, so don’t get ahead of yourself! Resist the urge to set out new plants, and use this promising season to pay a visit to your garden and tend to what’s already there.

1. Give your shrubs a makeover. This is a good time to prune shrubs, except for those that bloom in the spring. Remove any deadwood and encourage the shrub’s natural shape.

2. Complete that “Honey-Do” list. Finish building that trellis, raised bed, or stepping-stone path you started last fall. Inspect your garden for any needed structural repairs.

3. Clear out the rubbish! Remove debris from drainage ditches, gutters, and planting beds. Clear unwanted brush and undergrowth. Cut back dead foliage on last year’s perennials and ornamental grasses before new growth starts.

4. Make use of all that trash. Turn your compost pile, or start one now.

5. Be proactive. Get rid of weeds as they sprout, and go ahead and take measures to protect your garden from pests.

6. Feed the ground. Once your soil is dry enough, amend your planting beds by “top-dressing” with a couple of inches of compost or your favorite organic mix.

7. Dress it up (and protect) with mulch. Even out your mulch with a rake to a depth of 2 to 4 inches and add more if needed. In colder climates, lightly cover early bulb shoots to protect them from a hard freeze.

8. Spring-clean the potting shed. Give your gardening tools a good oiling, sharpening, and tune-up. Clean out empty flower pots, and dispose of any unused or broken ones. Old clay pots can be broken up to use for drainage in container gardens.

9. Take care of our feathered friends. Clean out and inspect birdhouses and feeders.

10. Don’t forget the lawn. Early spring is a great time for correcting and reseeding the lawn. Hold off on disturbing the soil, or heavy raking, if the ground is still frozen.

11. Move it indoors. Start seeds indoors for later planting in the garden. Repot houseplants if needed, and prune any dead foliage or overgrowth.

12. Plan and dream! Spend these first days of spring in your garden making plans for the coming year. As you enjoy the fresh air, sunshine, and emerging birds, indulge in the excitement that only spring can bring. Spring is the season of possibility and renewal, so inspect your garden with a critical eye and an open mind – what is it asking you to do this year?

Determining when to plant in the spring can be harder than predicting the ups and downs of the stock market. Part science and part superstition, deciding when to plant is the biggest decision of the year if you farm for a living. For the rest of us, it usually just means a little extra work and another stop at the nursery if the weather doesn’t cooperate.

Each region of the country is different, and even within a specific area there may be large fluctuations due to factors like altitude and terrain. That said, the average date of the last spring frost and recommended times to put out summer plants like tomatoes and corn in the lower 48 states are given below.

For more detailed information, check out the maps on these websites:

• NOAA National Climatic Data Center: Last Freeze in Spring
• U.S. National Arboretum
• Avant-Gardening: Frost Zone Map
• Better Homes and Gardens: Last Spring Frost Map