[ne.weather.moderated added -- we have a few gardening buffs]

In article ,
EdM wrote:
} At the risk of worrying M&M, or possibly suffering CD styled attacks
} (Charles Driveway), here's the garden status update, presumably with a
} legit tie-in to the weather. (PS, Mike, I'll try growing some
} carniverous plants and feeding them quiche).

What, is someone concerned about my driveway? It's still there, and just
fine, thanks. Only problem this am is a bit of snow!

} I thought the low temperature this winter was only right around 0
} (actually a few tenths below...but with multiple occurrences), but I've
} seen colder with far less plant damage. Plus we had substantial snow
} cover much of the time, including during all of the coldest weather.
} Maybe its time to get a new thermometer. The rhodendrons seem to be
} about 75% dead (apparently), and my Roses are starting to grow from the
} ground up, but most of the old branches appear dead. I'm not pruning
} until I am certain, though.

Ouch. That stinks.

It might be the type of rose that is an issue? We bought this place
several years ago and it came with some rose bushes that have survived
rather nasty conditions up here. I haven't been able to really check
them out this spring yet, since it is still early for us. I would think
the snow cover would have been sufficient to protect them. But we did
get down to -20 this past winter more than once....

One thing I have done is to actually shovel snow onto exposed areas to
protect them. We had a poor winter snow-wise here, and in some cases
rain would precede a cold snap and expose certain parts of a garden bed.
I would just shovel the snow in to fill in the gaps.

} Other plants that are heavily damaged include a ground cover of
} bearberry (arctostaphylos uva-ursi), although that might just be in need
} of some renewal (I've no idea) because the were well covered by snow.
} Some creeping junipers near the street that seem to have been the
} recipient of too much road salt and are looking rather blotchy with
} defoliated areas. This happened to them last winter also, but they
} recovered fairly well last summer. One of the Azaleas is looking pretty
} pathetic (I haven't noticed the others yet, which makes think I must
} have seen them and they are fine) and a Mountain Laurel is actually
} looking better than it has (which I find odd, since I believ it to be no
} hardier than the rhodies, etc.
}
} The Hostas look fine, although some are just popping through the ground,
} and the little (6") bareroot Pinus Strobus I stuck in the dirt last year
} already has 3" candles growing from the top. My son got it at a scout
} trip to a local preserve and I'm delighted to see its alive
} (regrettably, only our first success with bare-rooted stock).
}
} The woods are leafing out here this week, although the cultivated Norway
} Maples have been flowering for a while and some closer to NYC have
} nearly full leaves already. The fallen flowers are covering
} everything...cars, street...like a carpet of green snow. The
} fiddleheads are starting to unfurl and the Kwansan Cherries are in full
} bloom for a few days now. The moss is in all the places we usually get
} moss, but I've never seen it so lush or so much coverage. Oh yeah...and
} the hyacinths, crocuses, forsythia, etc. have come and gone. The grass
} has greened and very nearly overdue for the first mowing, and the tree
} leaf-out is in progress. Now if we can get the sun out.

We are still a couple of weeks away from getting leaves on the trees
here. Sounds like you guys are about three weeks ahead of us; I would
have thought you would be even further ahead. Might be that our snow
cover melted early this year.

} BTW, its been in the low 40's tonight with a stiff breeze and periods of
} moderate rain here. Pleasant stuff for May on LI (not).

It's 32 here and it really smells like winter outside. *grin*

} PS Any tips on how to prune the roses...its just one of those things I
} never paid enough attention to. I'm thinking they need something
} severe.

There's a newsgroup specifically dedicated to roses... rec.gardens.roses
You could try posting a query there.

peace,

-*-
Charles M. Kozierok )
Co-moderator, ne.weather.moderated (news:ne.weather.moderated)
Join us for weather info and discussion in a civil, low-noise environment.
Contact me for assistance in having ne.weather.moderated added to your server.

Roses and rhodies took a real beating this winter, at least in my area
(Framingham, MA), too. I've lost 5 rhodies and 4 roses, the rest (couple of
dozen) are slowly recovering. I haven't noticed any problems with my other
perennials or trees.

My bleeding heart already tops my picket fence and is happily blooming.
Lilacs are budding out. The forsythia was the best it's been in years.
Lawn is green and the naturalized crocii gave a tremendous show-- as if the
Easter Bunny had gone crazy. Daffodils are blooming well, and trees are
well-leafed already. Peas are up.

The UMass extension service says give the roses a long time before you give
up on them and pull them out, as they may not be dead at the root-- you may
see shoots coming up within a month or so of the good weather, even on the
ones that look completely lifeless now.

I always prune my roses in the spring just as they're breaking (starting to
bud/leaf out). Although most people prune in the fall and then prune out
winterkill in the spring. I'd rather prune in the spring for both. My
roses are widely admired and pretty lush, so I think I'm on the right track
for roses in my area. I think EdM is wise to wait until the roses break
before pruning. I generally prune the dead canes, winterkill, and then take
about 1/3 of the "top" off to manage the shape and size of the rosebush.
Then I pretty much leave them alone all summer. I've found that the less I
do to my roses, the happier they are.

We had no snow cover here with the cold, and that's what I'm blaming the
rhodie/rose problem on, but hearing that you did have snow cover and still
had the problem is puzzling. Last year we did come out of drought, and
before that everything was pretty stressed, so I wonder whether that's a
factor in the losses here. Perhaps everything wasn't as recovered as I had
thought?

-Perry-


"Charles M. Kozierok" wrote in message
...
[ne.weather.moderated added -- we have a few gardening buffs]

In article ,
EdM wrote:
} At the risk of worrying M&M, or possibly suffering CD styled attacks
} (Charles Driveway), here's the garden status update, presumably with a
} legit tie-in to the weather. (PS, Mike, I'll try growing some
} carniverous plants and feeding them quiche).

What, is someone concerned about my driveway? It's still there, and just
fine, thanks. Only problem this am is a bit of snow!

} I thought the low temperature this winter was only right around 0
} (actually a few tenths below...but with multiple occurrences), but I've
} seen colder with far less plant damage. Plus we had substantial snow
} cover much of the time, including during all of the coldest weather.
} Maybe its time to get a new thermometer. The rhodendrons seem to be
} about 75% dead (apparently), and my Roses are starting to grow from the
} ground up, but most of the old branches appear dead. I'm not pruning
} until I am certain, though.

Ouch. That stinks.

It might be the type of rose that is an issue? We bought this place
several years ago and it came with some rose bushes that have survived
rather nasty conditions up here. I haven't been able to really check
them out this spring yet, since it is still early for us. I would think
the snow cover would have been sufficient to protect them. But we did
get down to -20 this past winter more than once....

One thing I have done is to actually shovel snow onto exposed areas to
protect them. We had a poor winter snow-wise here, and in some cases
rain would precede a cold snap and expose certain parts of a garden bed.
I would just shovel the snow in to fill in the gaps.

} Other plants that are heavily damaged include a ground cover of
} bearberry (arctostaphylos uva-ursi), although that might just be in need
} of some renewal (I've no idea) because the were well covered by snow.
} Some creeping junipers near the street that seem to have been the
} recipient of too much road salt and are looking rather blotchy with
} defoliated areas. This happened to them last winter also, but they
} recovered fairly well last summer. One of the Azaleas is looking pretty
} pathetic (I haven't noticed the others yet, which makes think I must
} have seen them and they are fine) and a Mountain Laurel is actually
} looking better than it has (which I find odd, since I believ it to be no
} hardier than the rhodies, etc.
}
} The Hostas look fine, although some are just popping through the ground,
} and the little (6") bareroot Pinus Strobus I stuck in the dirt last year
} already has 3" candles growing from the top. My son got it at a scout
} trip to a local preserve and I'm delighted to see its alive
} (regrettably, only our first success with bare-rooted stock).
}
} The woods are leafing out here this week, although the cultivated Norway
} Maples have been flowering for a while and some closer to NYC have
} nearly full leaves already. The fallen flowers are covering
} everything...cars, street...like a carpet of green snow. The
} fiddleheads are starting to unfurl and the Kwansan Cherries are in full
} bloom for a few days now. The moss is in all the places we usually get
} moss, but I've never seen it so lush or so much coverage. Oh yeah...and
} the hyacinths, crocuses, forsythia, etc. have come and gone. The grass
} has greened and very nearly overdue for the first mowing, and the tree
} leaf-out is in progress. Now if we can get the sun out.

We are still a couple of weeks away from getting leaves on the trees
here. Sounds like you guys are about three weeks ahead of us; I would
have thought you would be even further ahead. Might be that our snow
cover melted early this year.

} BTW, its been in the low 40's tonight with a stiff breeze and periods of
} moderate rain here. Pleasant stuff for May on LI (not).

It's 32 here and it really smells like winter outside. *grin*

} PS Any tips on how to prune the roses...its just one of those things I
} never paid enough attention to. I'm thinking they need something
} severe.

There's a newsgroup specifically dedicated to roses... rec.gardens.roses
You could try posting a query there.

peace,

-*-
Charles M. Kozierok )
Co-moderator, ne.weather.moderated (news:ne.weather.moderated)
Join us for weather info and discussion in a civil, low-noise environment.
Contact me for assistance in having ne.weather.moderated added to your
server.