Homegrown: Grab your gardening gloves

Jane Schildroth, Linn County Extension Master Gardener Intern, provided the following timely tips:

As the calendar tells us summer has begun, you may begin to think that things in your garden are all set and ready for the growing season.  For the most part, you are probably right and it's time to enjoy all of your work.  Find a chair and a beverage and bask awhile.  But as you relax, you'll notice some items that need attention and you may not be sure what to do about them.  Grab your gardening gloves and take care of these quick maintenance chores to ensure a better result next season.

One plant that has had its glory days for the season is the peony.  The dried blooms aren't pretty right now – so cut them off just to improve the appearance of the foliage.  Wait until fall, after a hard freeze, before cutting the foliage at ground level and discarding it.  This summer, continue to water the peonies if our weather is dry and control weeds around the plants.  Don't let crusts form on the soil around peonies because this will cause the water penetration to be very slow.  2-3 inches is the deepest you'll want to cultivate, however, to avoid disturbing the roots of the plant.  Also, consider the blooms you had this spring.  You may need to add nutrients to the soil or even move the peony to a sunnier home in late August or September.  For more specific information about your peonies read http://www.extension.iastate.edu/Publications/PM1313.pdf.

Another plant that has had its primary attention for the year is the iris.  For now, it's good to cut the flower stalks back to 1-2 inches above the rhizome.  Then in the fall, you can cut the leaves back to 6-8 inches above the ground.  Be sure to destroy the leaves to prevent disease and insect problems.  You will see that some gardeners like to trim the leaves into nice designs.  This is a personal preference and you will notice that these gardeners do not trim off a great deal of the leaf.

You may want to spend some time pruning your chrysanthemums as well.  There are many different versions of the pruning schedule for mums but I have had good luck with at least a couple of “haircuts” before the 4

^th

of July.  Periodically remove the growing tip and first set of leaves on each shoot every 2 or 3 weeks.  (This could have begun in the spring when the new growth is 4-6 inches long, but I'm afraid that usually doesn't happen in my garden.)  This extra work will help ensure your mums bloom on those glorious days of fall without the leggy look of the foliage.

One more plant that is starting to get attention in your garden is the hosta.  Do you pinch off the flowers or not?  This is entirely a personal preference based on whether you think the flowers are attractive or not.  If the plants are allowed to bloom, just be sure to cut out the flower stalks afterwards.  This improves the appearance and promotes the plant's vigor.

These quick maintenance tasks will make a big difference in your garden – and allow you to get back to basking in no time!