Gardening is full this long weekend
There was a time when each Friday’s Toronto Star featured a regular column by Fred Dale — a gardening legend — in which he answered gardening questions.
Fred was good. Mark remembers reading his column and learning a lot from him.
While much has changed since then, the questions are still here. And now that we’ve arrived at the May long weekend, when gardening activity is at a fever pitch, we are here to help.
Here are our answers to some of the most frequently asked gardening questions we get at this time of year.
What can I plant in the shade? There are countless flowering plants and shrubs that thrive in shady locations. Hostas, yews and ferns are just three of our favourites.
There’s a long list of shadetolerant plants we could suggest, but the best advice we can give is to look at the labels and tags that come with most plants. A lot of time and energy goes into this information; often symbols are used to conserve space on the tag.
Look for a half-sun or a blacked-in circle indicating a shade tolerant plant. An open image of sun indicates that it thrives in full sunshine.
How can I grow grass under a tree? You cannot — well, not low-maintenance grass, anyway. But it can be done if you commit yourself to an annual regimen of spreading triple mix over the root zone of the tree, about four to five centimetres thick, then broadcast grass seed over the area either by hand or use a handheld seed spreader. Use a seed blend that is at least 60 per cent red fescue. Rake smooth and step on the mixture to bring the seed and soil in firm contact. Water until the seed is established. Come next spring, repeat.
Alternatively, plant a shade tolerant ground cover. Periwinkle (Vinca minor) and lily-of-the-valley (Convallaria majalis) have been popular in the past, but they are discouraged as they are invasive. Instead, try wild geranium (Geranium maculatum) or starry solomon’s seal (Maianthemum stellatum) or sweet woodruff (Galium).
How much soil do I need to plant? To start, we do not recommend black earth (turns to dust when dry) or topsoil (lacks natural nutrients) for planting. Instead use triple mix, equal parts peat, compost and clean topsoil.
For most trees, shrubs and evergreens, use three to four times the volume of new soil to the volume of soil in the pot the plant comes in. A twogallon pot will require at least eight to 10 gallons of new soil.
Dig the hole two to three times wider than deep as most plants root horizontally versus vertically. Push new soil around the roots of new plants using the heal of your foot. Water deeply within an hour or so of planting. Continue to water as the soil dries to about five centimetres deep.
Plant high, allowing the water to drain away from the new plant. It will settle.
What is the best weed control? Weeds outcompete most any plant that you put in your garden. Left uncontrolled they choke desirable plants out of existence and rob them of moisture and nutrients.
Our no. 1 choice for suppressing weeds (note that we did not say eliminating them) is natural bark mulch, spread about five to seven centimetres thick. We prefer natural cedar or pine bark mulch to the coloured options as they are just dyed wood chips.
As bark breaks down over the years it adds beneficial nutrients to the soil. Wood chips rob soil of nitrogen and can make some plants hungry.
We do not recommend weedbarrier cloth, or landscape fabric. The idea that polyester spun material suppresses weeds is a myth. When weed roots become entangled in it, the only thing it suppresses is our desire to garden. It is useful under patio slabs and interlocking brick but even there it is not a panacea to a weedfree existence.
The best advice we can give you for weed control is a sharp weeding hoe, used early in the season before young weeds get a strong root down. Once you find your rhythm at this job you might learn to really like it, as we do.
As we follow Fred Dale’s leaf with answers to some frequently asked questions, we hope he would have approved.