Tidewater Gardening - New Year Activities: K. Marc Teff eau

Dorchester Map and History

© John Norton

Dorchester County is known as the Heart of the Chesapeake. It is rich in Chesapeake Bay history, folklore and tradition. With 1,700 miles of shoreline (more than any other Maryland county), marshlands, working boats, quaint waterfront towns and villages among fertile farm fi elds – much still exists of what is the authentic Eastern Shore landscape and traditional way of life along the Chesapeake.

For more information about Dorchester County visit https://tidewatertimes.com/travel-tourism/dorchester/.

TIDEWATER GARDENING

by K. Marc Teffeau, Ph.D.

New Year Activities

After a number of years of not being high on people’s lists of interests, houseplants have come back in vogue. Credit the COVID virus for keeping folks indoors for extended periods of time. As a result, gardening interests have turned indoors to houseplants and their care.

If you have assembled a collection of various houseplant species, remember not to fertilize them during the winter. They do not need it. Excessive fertilization can result in a salt buildup in the soil and may cause root problems. If you are growing plants in clay pots, excessive salts will show up

Tidewater Gardening in the house and the environmental conditions it is exposed to will as a white deposit on the outside of dictate its water needs. If the plant the clay pot. in question is growing in a cool,

Also watch your watering of north-facing room, it will need less houseplants. Your plant’s location water than one that is in the living room, den or family room where a woodstove or other heat source is being used. If the leaves of your houseplant are turning yellow and dropping from the bottom toward the top, the plant may be suffering from overwatering. This condition sometimes results when a plant is sitting in too large a pot. In this case, excess soil around the roots holds too much water, leading to low oxygen levels and root rot. To avoid this problem, never put a plant into a

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pot more than 1 to 2 inches wider than the root ball. Wilting can be caused by too much water, too little water or over fertilization. Leaves with brown edges may be a sign of chronic underwatering or periodic episodes of severe drying out.

For homeowners who seem to have a black thumb when it comes to houseplants, there are two that you might try to grow, the Chinese Evergreen (Aglaonema) and the Snake Plant (Sanseviera), a.k.a. mother-in-law’s tongue. They are very tolerant of neglect and survive for lengthy periods with no water. In addition, they have few pest or disease problems, thrive in low light and can withstand hot or cool indoors temperatures.

During January, you can start the seeds of slow-growing flowers like alyssum, coleus, dusty miller, geraniums, impatiens, marigold, petunias, phlox, portulaca, salvia, vinca and verbena. If you start gerbera seed now, it will be ready to bloom in June.

You can also start tuberous begonias and caladiums now to be set out in the spring. Set the roots in pots or shallow boxes of a soil mixture of one-third sand, one-third peat and one-third loamy soil. Cover with one inch of this soil mixture. Keep the pots moist, but not wet, and in good light at 65°. Transplant to larger pots in 6 weeks and set outside in the ground after all danger of frost is past.

If you are growing chives inside and they are looking a little shabby, cut them back to one inch above the soil. Place in the refrigerator for two weeks, then place the pot in a sunny window to rejuvenate. Some gardeners like to start parsley seed indoors. These seeds are slow to germinate, sometimes taking three

or more weeks before they show signs of growth above the soil.

To encourage them to sprout more rapidly, soften the seeds by soaking them overnight in warm water. Then put 3 or 4 seeds in a pot full of soilless mix, such as equal parts of peat moss and vermiculite, plus a tiny bit of ground limestone and fertilizer. Keep the media moist during the entire germination time. You might want to cover the pot with plastic wrap to keep the moisture in until the seeds germinate. Set the plants in the garden in early May.

On a mild winter day, go outside to check whether any perennials have been heaved by freezing and thawing of the soil. Firmly press down any that have lifted and cover with at least two inches of organic mulch.

Sometimes when we get the warmer temperature break at the end of January, spring bulbs tend to nose out from under the protective mulch. Normally this is not a problem, as the growing tip of the plant and the flower bud is down inside the bulb.

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Tidewater Gardening they will not damage the bed as they fall. Contact a Maryland liIf we have a heavy snow, be sure censed and ISA-certified arborist to brush the snow from evergreens to assess the situation and make as soon as possible after the storm. recommendations about this and Use a broom in an upward, sweep- other tree trimming work. If you ing motion. Considerable damage plan to trim yourself, remember may be caused by heavy snow or that when cutting large limbs, alice accumulating on the branches. ways undercut first. This means to Prop up ice-covered branches and cut from the bottom up, one-third let the ice melt rather than trying to of the way through the limb, then remove ice from brittle branches. finish by cutting from the top. The Stamp down the snow near young undercut keeps the limb from splittrees to discourage mice from nest- ting and breaking off, which could ing under the snow around them damage the trunk and become an and feeding on the tree bark. entryway for insects and diseases. Tree branches that cast excess Do not cut flush to the trunk, as the shade over herbaceous flower beds collar or enlarged base of a branch should be removed in winter when produces the cells that cause the

Tidewater Gardening and Japanese honeysuckle, should be cut off and removed during the callus growth that covers the prun- winter. ing wound. Also do not treat the Don’t forget to feed the birds and pruning cut with tree paint. The see that they have water. Birds like spray or tar-based material will suet, fruit and nuts in addition to interfere with the callusing over of birdseed. Remember to recycle the wound. your holiday decorations. Green-

Vines that are strangling trees, ery used in ornaments can be used such as bittersweet, wisteria, wild again in the garden. Wreaths and grape, poison ivy, Virginia creeper branches stripped from Christmas trees make excellent mulch for protecting newly planted ornamentals. Remove the material in the spring and compost it. The bulbs, corms and tubers you dug and stored this fall need to be checked. Cut out any sign of rot and dust the wounds with powdered sulfur. Sterilize your knife in

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alcohol between cuts to prevent the spread of rot. Also be sure to check for mice damage.

If you didn’t get a chance to lime your lawn or garden this fall, now would be an excellent time to do it. The alternate freezing and thawing of the soil surface as well as the rain and snowfall help the lime move down through the soil.

If you have a wood stove, don’t throw out that ash if you’re burning wood in the fireplace this winter. Save it until spring and then spread it in your gardens. Scatter it around your carrots, radishes and onions to keep root maggots away. It will also improve the flavor of your potatoes. Wood ash is high in potassium and will raise the pH of the soil.

Of course, use some common sense here in handling the ashes. Place them in a metal bucket or other metal container outside of the house or garage so as not to have the cooling embers become a fire source. Every year we read about some folks who accidentally burn down their house or garage because they put still-hot fireplace

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Tidewater Gardening house temperatures, they become active and start to move around. ashes either in the wrong type of Given any time at all, these creacontainer or do not move them tures will emerge from the wood away from the house. and come crawling out to disturb

When I was a county extension your peace of mind. agent, I would receive calls every Beetles, wasps, bees, ants, winter from folks concerned about moths, flies, various spiders, mites, insects in the firewood. Home- centipedes, millipedes and crickets owners often like to keep a supply are some of the pests often found in of firewood indoors stored close firewood. These insects and spiders to the fireplace or woodstove. But seldom become established in the if the wood is old and has been house, but occasionally they will stacked outside for some time, in- appear in large enough numbers sect problems can occur. to cause concern. Will they bite?

Dead and decaying wood is a Or chew the house down? Probably favorite overwintering place for not. The majority of insects that insects and spiders. These pose no feed on wood attack it only in its unproblem until you bring the wood seasoned form, so they’re not likely inside. Then, exposed to the warm to start chomping on some prized piece of living room furniture. Your best control for these unwanted critters is prevention. Trying to cut a two- or three-year supply of wood at one time increases the risk of insect infestation. Logs cut during the fall or early winter are less likely to become infested than those cut in the spring. The wood should be seasoned to burn

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efficiently and safely, but firewood that sits around for several years may rot and become infested.

It’s best not to let firewood rest directly on the ground for lengthy periods of time. Rotate and stack piles of firewood that have been standing in the same place for a year or more, and keep the piles covered to keep the wood dry. Bring only a one- or two-day supply indoors at a time.

If you see insects or spiders, suck them up with the vacuum cleaner or whack them with the broom or fly swatter. A pyrethrum aerosol insecticide labeled for the general household control of crawling and flying insects can also be used. If you discover a heavily infested log, leave it outdoors until the moment you are ready to throw it on the fire.

Under no circumstances should you apply an insecticide to the woodpile outside or the wood you bring inside! Besides being a waste of money because it doesn’t work, it can also endanger your health. Pesticides give off hazardous gases when they burn. Happy Gardening!

Marc Teffeau retired as Director of Research and Regulatory Affairs at the American Nursery and Landscape Association in Washington, D.C. He now lives in Georgia with his wife, Linda.