Hardier form of sage worth a try
Dear Helen: I want to transplant my one-year old pineapple sage (Salvia elegans) into the front garden. Should I prune it back first? It is 120 cm tall and has not bloomed. Should I transplant it now or wait until spring? Does the plant need a protective mulch over the winter here in Courtenay? D.H.
Because the plant did not bloom in the summer, and also because of its height, I am guessing that you have the species — Salvia elegans — and not the shorter, earlier-flowering, hardier form called Honey Melon.
Honey Melon grows just 45- to 60-cm tall, begins flowering in early summer, and is hardy to -7 C or less. S. elegans grows to a shrubby 120 to 150 cm, prefers temperatures no lower than -1 C, and often is cut down by cold weather before it can bloom. The plants benefit from a tidying up and a light protective mulching for winter. A spring transplanting is preferred for this and other plants of borderline hardiness.
The plants die back to the ground in winter. Cut dead growth away before digging and transplanting.
Consider, in spring, watching for Honey Melon at garden centres. I think you’d be pleased with its undemanding nature, hardiness, and long season of bright scarlet flowers, which are edible. Hummingbirds are frequent visitors to my plant.
Dear Helen: My garden produces wonderful beets; however, they have been badly eaten by an animal or something in the soil. I have a wire cage over the planting to keep out rats, but still the roots are eaten. G.B.
The type of damage on the roots should help to indicate what you are dealing with. If a particularly determined rat or two have burrowed underneath the cage to access the beets, the roots will show tooth marks or some shredding. Control rats with locked, baited boxes to protect birds and also animals that might feed on poisoned rodents.
Wireworms, another possible cause of the damage, bore holes in tubers, bulbs, roots and large seeds. The light yellow to brownish, tough and wiry larvae are the offspring of click beetles. They cause the greatest damage in spring and fall, when they are foraging close to the soil surface. In cold and hot weather, they move into deeper soil levels.
Wireworms are most common in ground that recently has grown grassy plants — lawns, or grass-like cover crops such as fall rye. These are the preferred spring egg-laying sites of click beetles.
Preventive measures include turning over the soil several times before seeding, and picking out any wireworms you see. Digging over the soil also helps to expose the larvae to birds and other predators.
Keep the ground cleared of grassy plants. Push chunks of potato and carrot skewered on short sticks (as markers) into the soil in the spring to trap wireworms. Pull them up every few days and destroy any larvae found in and around the bait. Use both potato and carrot. Different wireworm species are drawn to these different baits.
GARDEN EVENTS
Floral art. The Mid Island Floral Art Club will meet on Thursday at 2 p.m. in St. Stephens Church Hall on Village Way in Qualicum Beach. The afternoon will feature about 10 members creating floral designs in yellow and red, in a rectangular container. Other members and non-member drop-ins (for $6) will observe. Information at 250-752-1858.
Bee friendly gardens. The Vancouver Island Heather Society will host a seminar on Creating a Bee-Friendly Garden on Saturday from 2 to 4 p.m. in Duncan United Church Hall, 246 Ingram St. in Duncan. Ted Leischner will explain the causes of pollinator decline and describe how home gardeners can help by creating a pollinator friendly environment. Ticket cost is $5, at the door or from Earl at 250-722-2345.
Winter pruning. Russell Nursery, 1370 Wain Rd. in North Saanich, is offering a Winter Pruning of Trees and Shrubs workshop with Noah Alexander, a professional arborist who will cover general pruning theory and practice, with demonstrations. The same class is offered on the following dates: Saturday, Oct. 21, at 10 a.m. or 1 p.m.; Saturday, Oct. 28, at 10 a.m. or 1 p.m.; Saturday, Nov. 4, at 10 a.m. Cost is $10. Register at russellnurseryoffice@telus.net and include your phone number.