PATIENCE PAYS OFF WHEN PLANTING PEAS AT HOME
Q I am having all sorts of difficulty growing peas. I get the seeds into the ground as soon as the soil can be worked, but the peas just end up rotting away. Is it possible that I am planting too early? Also, the peas that came up last year did not perform very well. We had a dry spell last June and I was unable to water, as I was away. Would that have affected the plants?
A There is some debate about when to plant peas. One school of thought says to plant them as soon as the soil can be worked, but another school of thought says that peas should not be planted in cold soil or when the soil is wet. The result can be the rot that you are describing. For me, I would not plant peas in soil just after the frost has left the soil, but would wait for a week or two before planting.
As for the lack of water, peas are very fussy about being watered while growing. They should not be allowed to dry out, so adequate moisture (but not wet) is the best. This may explain why they did not perform well for you.
Q I have two mature Swedish aspens that are spaced about six feet apart. For the past three years wasps have invaded one tree every summer, but not the other one. I do not see any evidence of aphids in or around the tree. I hose the tree down daily, to no avail. Do you have any advice for preventing the wasps from returning ?
A Aphids are the usual culprits for this type of problem, as the sticky honeydew they leave behind is an attractant for wasps. However, in your case the problem is likely the sugars in the tree’s sap that may be exuding from a wound. My suggestion is a rather simple one: Wasps are very territorial, so hanging a wasp nest decoy may keep them from coming around your trees.
Q Last fall I saved some of my favourite varieties of geraniums, planted each one in a pot, and placed them in a west window. With only weekly watering, each of the plants continued to grow and bloomed sporadically. Each geranium has grown to a large size, but they are very spindly. Should I just wait until it gets warmer to plant them in a planter and let nature take its course, or should I have cut them back in hopes that they would have bushed out? A Cutting the plants back would have been the way to go. Cutting back encourages the plant to bush out. The question is always how much to cut back. You could safely cut the plants back by up to one-quarter without harming the plant. I know that might seem like a lot, but it follows the old rule of gardening: You have to be cruel to be kind.
Since you missed doing the cutting while the plants were still indoors, you can plant the geraniums in the planter when it is warm enough and cut them back right after planting. This will encourage them to bush out as well, but will just take a bit longer
Q I have some blue oat grass. Should the grass be cut down in the spring so it can grow new, or should the dead grass be removed?
AI like to give my grasses a bit of a haircut first, and then try to pick out as much of the dead grass as I can, just to tidy them up and make them look neater. Every two or three years you should divide the clump in the early spring, which will help keep the plant energized and healthy long-term. Gerald Filipski is a member of the Garden Writers Association of America. He is the author of Just Ask Jerry. Email your questions to filipskigerald@gmail.com. To read previous columns, go to edmontonjournal.com/filipski