The last week of March is a call for color as blooming shrubs and flowering trees burst onto the scene. Add the emerging buds of tulips, iris and rock garden plants and the stage is set for the grand performance of a Northwest spring.
Here are the most-asked questions about the most popular plants this time of year.
Q. When should I fertilize my roses? They are showing lots of new growth and have been very healthy but I noticed less flowers last year. These are the tough shrub roses that turn into large shrubs in my garden. P.G., Auburn
A. Your roses are waking up and starving right now. Heavy feeders like roses need more than just compost or manure to keep them happy. Use an all-purpose rose food or a complete fertilizer with numbers like 5-10-10.
Q. I have overwintered some geranium plants indoors and they survived but are leggy and rather pale. When can I move them back outdoors? T.T., Tacoma
A. Geraniums, fuchsias, tuberous begonias and other frost-sensitive plants that survived the winter indoors or inside a garage or basement cannot go back outside unprotected until all danger of frost has passed. I know they look like ugly ducklings right now but leggy geraniums can be cut down by one-third this month and placed near a bright window. Fertilize at half the strength recommend on the label to wake up your geraniums slowly. You don’t want to encourage a flush of quick growth while the plants are still stuck indoors. In a few weeks begin to harden off the tender plants by moving them outdoors during the day and bringing them in at night.
Q. I have a lilac bush that suffered in the wind storm and is split almost in half. I never got around to pruning off the damaged branches. Now to my surprise the branches are sprouting. Should I not prune it after all? Will it bloom even though the branches are broken? P., email
A. Spring is a series of small miracles and sometimes even downed trees will bloom in a final gasp at life. I would wait and see if your broken lilac branches flower then enjoy them as cut flowers. Once the plant is finished blooming it will be ready for a trim or drastic makeover with the pruning saw. Lilacs are one of the flowering shrubs that can be pruned to within a few inches of the ground and will resprout with fresh growth. You can also prune back forsythia, quince, spiraeas, buddleias and smoke trees to within a few inches of the ground. It may take a few years before heavily-pruned shrubs bloom again.
Q. When should we start seeds indoors and which ones do we start? R.D., Buckley
A. Each variety is different so there is no easy answer. Read and follow the instructions on the seed pack using May 10 as your date for when “all danger of frost is past” and April 1 as your date for “when soil can be worked” and count backward or forward as the instructions suggest. For more specific information ask by going to my website at www.binettigarden.com and click the tab “Got a Garden Question?”
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Marianne Binetti has a degree in horticulture from Washington State University and is the author of “Easy Answers for Great Gardens” and several other books. For book requests or answers to gardening questions, write to her at: P.O. Box 872, Enumclaw, 98022. Send a self-addressed, stamped envelope for a personal reply.
For more gardening information, she can be reached at her Web site, www.binettigarden.com.
Copyright for this column owned by Marianne Binetti.
