BREAKING DOWN PLUM POLLINATION
One of the benefits of my column are the many people who are great resources I have met along the way.
One of my best resources is Gail Rankin, who runs her own horticultural consulting company. I would like to share a recent email from Gail with you that she sent regarding a column that dealt with plum pollination. I never stop learning, and
this list of plum pollinators was new to me in terms of the timing of the pollination. I thought you plum growers out there might find it useful as well:
Great article on the benefits of vegetable gardening. I’m always so excited when I go into a client’s yard and see a vegetable garden. Most say they want their children to have the opportunity to pick a carrot or some peas and know where their veggies come from. When I worked for Alberta Agriculture my colleague, Betty Vladicka, did extensive research on plum pollination. I thought I would pass it along to you.
The pollination of plums is very complicated. There are three groups of plums — native plums (prunus nigra), native plum hybrids (prunus nigra XP salicina), and Japanese plums (prunus salicina). Plums also bloom at different times. Early bloomers arrive from May 9 to 17, late bloomers show up from May 17 to 26.
Native plums can serve as pollinators for either the Japanese plums or Japanese/native hybrids, but must bloom at the same time. Native plums that are early bloomers include the bounty and dandy varieties, while the northern variety is a late bloomer.
Native plum hybrids include the perfection and prairie brands, while pembina is a late bloomer. Japanese plum varieties include early bloomers like brookgold and ptitsin series (including the 5, 9, 10 and 12) and the lateblooming brookred.
Q My wife and I are growing potted flowers for the first time and went to the garden centre to buy some fertilizer. Do we really need to use transplant fertilizer 10-52-10?
A If you’re looking for a transplant fertilizer, 10-52-10 is good to use for both annuals and perennials, and while it isn’t necessary it certainly can help. The most versatile fertilizer is likely 20-20-20. This all-purpose fertilizer is good for any plant in the garden.
Using a fertilizer with a higher second number is good for flowering plants, such as annuals. A 15-30-15, for example, is ideal to use for annuals to encourage bloom. The slow-release fertilizers that are formulated specifically for containers are also great, and I highly recommend them because they make fertilizing easy. One application can last for several months. An example of the formulation of these fertilizers would be 14-14-14.
Q I have crocuses in a flower bed that faces west with an attached garage to the south, so it gets the sun later in the afternoon. The last few years they come up just fine but do not bloom. I have tried digging them up and replanting them, but to no avail. Do you know what the problem could be?
A I have a couple of ideas. First, is it possible that the bulbs have had too much nitrogen fertilizer? The ideal fertilizer for them would be something like 5-10-10. Higher nitrogen numbers will inhibit flowering, and they could get this extra nitrogen when you fertilize your lawn and some of the fertilizer falls on the bulb area. Second, are you cutting the plants before they have died back on their own, allowing the nutrients in the leaves to be stored back in the bulb?
Q My question is about my dwarf Alberta spruce. Why does it keep getting brown on one side?
A I get a few questions every year about Alberta spruce that don’t make it through the winter, and the reason is always the same. The name ‘Alberta’ in this case does not mean that the tree is hardy enough to be grown reliably in Alberta.
While the tree is hardy enough to handle minus-35 C, it is prone to the drying winter winds and sunscald. If the tree is well protected from the prevailing winter winds it will survive, but if left out in the open or in an area that is exposed to the sun and wind it will suffer.