Raking, raking and more raking. The garden beds are nearly ready!
Where else on earth can you have a blizzard and 70-degree weather in the same week? Lucky us, spring is here.
It is early in the season to rejoice, but no real concern if you have also raked and it snows again. Frosted perennials are really not much of a problem. If some of the tissue dies back, use a scissors to cut back to healthy tissue. Like some other garden equations, it’s a temperature X duration factor as to the amount of damage you may have. It could take a few days before you can visually see the damage manifest such as discolored leaf tissue. Perennials are tough and will re-grow.
Tomatoes, peppers or other warm weather crops, will not be so lucky. Warm weather plants will not survive frosts without adequate protection. According to the 5a climate zone, which is here in southern MN, we can have frost into mid-May. That’s the problem with an early, somewhat warmer season, folks get over confident and anxious.
It’s warm enough to dig and divide perennials if you want. I am starting this week with some salvias.
Salvias are one of my favorite garden perennials — if you haven’t tried one, you should! Salvias come in annual and perennial types. I absolutely love them! They are free of insect issues and I have never noticed any disease issues with them either. When I dig these, I will use a pruning saw to cut the plant into 3-4 pieces to pot up into containers. The root ball size should fit comfortably in a 1-gallon pot with room to grow over the summer.
Salvias are from the Mint family. Plants from the Mint family are easy to identify as they have a square stem instead of rounded. Most Salvias have skinny, upright spikey flower stems in a vase like form. Some of the salvia have tufts of flowers along the floral stem resembling the bloom of Monarda, also from the mint family.
Rose Queen Salvia is one of my favorite perennial salvias and it blooms rosy pink nearly all summer. After the main flush of blooms, cutting back the spent flower stems will encourage re-flowering on all perennial salvias. Rose Queen gets 20-24 iches tall and all salvias prefer to be located in full sun. Whenever a plant calls for a full sun location, it means at least six hours per day between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. A couple of morning hours and again in late afternoon is not enough for a full sun plant to thrive. The sun intensity is much stronger midday.
This year’s box of Asiatic Lilies has arrived and will also be potted soon. The problem with potting too early is that once you do, watering soon becomes a daily chore. Asiatic lilies are fully hardy here with big blooms starting in June through July for most varieties. Colors are whites, oranges, yellows, pinks, reds, nearly black, and Pearl Jennifer, which is yellow flushed with lime. Most are 2-4 feet tall, and there are also short ones for the front of the border. Some, but not all, are fragrant. Bulbs should be planted with plenty of room to grow as they will increase in size and stem count over the years. Best conditions are well-drained soil and full sun. Plant them in odd number groups for the best display, 3-5-7 and so on. One single lily doesn’t have much of a visual impact in the garden. Lilies also make awesome cut flowers, but remember since all of their foliage is on the stem, cut it short — don’t starve the plant.
One of the more popular bulbs has been the Stargazer lily, of which I ordered 25. Stargazer is actually an Oriental Lily, and most of the Oriental Lilies are not fully hardy here. Sometimes planting an inch deeper and using winter mulch can get you a couple of years.
Peonies are also on my list, planning to unearth three or more. These will also be divided and potted. The very best time to divide them is in the fall, but I have had established success doing a March dig, while they are still mostly dormant. Most of my peony plants were installed 10-20 years ago and are huge. Last year it took me hours to dig out one plant, starting with a 4-foot circle trench around it. That one plant, “Lullaby,” made 14 potted plants!
Plants with tap roots like Baptisia and Asclepias will likely not survive an attempt to re-locate. If you are not sure, do a quick computer search to see if it is a tap root or fibrous root system before digging. I am potting most of my digs for now, but you can also divide and re-plant or relocate entire perennials. Now is such a great time because plants are mostly dormant, little to no visible new growth. No sun stress, and plenty of time to get established in their new spot. Shovel season is here at last!