Ground Breaking Banter - Rick
No matter how much you love gardening and working outside, we can all benefit from ways to save a little bit of work. After all, that frees us up to enjoy the garden more. So with Labor Day just a few days away, we thought we’d talk about finding ways to make gardening and landscaping a little less work. Sometimes it’s as simple as discovering a product – say, the quick-connect hose fittings that Rick loves, or incorporating continuous release fertilizer into your containers to avoid mixing fertilizer. Other times, we discover labor-saving tools and ideas by accident, like when Rick discovered that an onion hoe makes a good all-purpose garden tool.
Join us on your favorite podcast platform or at the YouTube link above to hear our whole conversation on labor-saving tips for your garden and landscape.
And here’s this week’s Lim-A-Rick:
I was watching my next door neighbor
Hacking weeds and brush with a sabre
I thought, that looks sweaty
and not to be petty
but I’m not into that kind of labor.
I’m getting a tension headache
I just stepped on my garden rake
Things aren’t going well
So I’ll sip Zinfandel
and take a hydration break.
Today’s Plants on Trial is an ode to big shrubs, especially as they pertain to labor savings in the garden and landscape. While it’s true that small shrubs, of which we have plenty, can also save you work in the garden because they won’t go out of control, it’s absolutely worth considering what bigger shrubs can do for you as well. If properly sited with enough space, it’s hard to beat a beautiful shrub for a completely maintenance free planting. We’re going to use our Red Balloon viburnum as today’s plants on trial, because it’s the perfect example of how big shrubs – Red Balloon viburnum is 6-8’ tall and wide – can save you time, money, and work.
Before I get to the reasons why it can do that, let me give you a picture of what Red Balloon viburnum looks like. It is a lantanaphyllum viburnum, basically a hybrid between Viburnum lantana, also known as wayfaring tree (which, fun fact, “lantana” was the Latin word for what we now consider viburnum, even though when we refer to a plant as lantana now, it means something completely different), and Viburnum rhytidophyllum, also known as leatherleaf viburnum. So it has very thick, very hairy, deeply ribbed foliage and is semi-evergreen in milder areas. In late spring, it puts out big clusters of densely packed white flowers that are very showy and beautiful but don’t be tempted to stick your nose into this one – though some viburnums are delightfully fragrant, this one decidedly is not. Those flowers give way to equally large and densely packed clusters of red berries that then mature to black. So it’s definitely a plant with multi-season interest.
Now, let’s talk how big shrubs like Red Balloon viburnum save you work. The first reason is very simple: they take up a lot of space that would otherwise be lawn or garden bed, two things that both need much more maintenance than the shrub itself.
Second, they provide shade and coverage so they readily outcompete weeds in their vicinity. Add a good 2-3” layer of shredded bark mulch for even better results (and an even happier shrub!).
Third, shrubs are really some of the lowest maintenance types of plants. Trees are as well, but of course, not everyone has the space – or time – to deal with planting a new tree. In this case, shrubs are a great alternative. The shrub itself needs virtually nothing, once it’s established. It will be drought tolerant, deer resistant, and will never need pruning (again, provided you’ve given it a good berth in all directions of at least 8’, 4’ on either side of the center of the plant). So basically, you have 64 square feet of your yard that you would have been mowing taken up by a beautiful shrub with year-round interest that also provides habitat for wildlife – your lawn definitely can’t claim that!
Red Balloon viburnum also makes an excellent hedge. It can grow in full to part sun and is hardy in USDA zones 4-8. It is best left unpruned, as there is no way to prune it without removing flowers or fruit, though you can selectively remove branches if you wish; avoid trimming or cutting back.
If you’d like to add Red Balloon viburnum – or any of the 320+ Proven Winners ColorChoice Shrubs – to your garden or landscape, you’ll find a list of local retailers here.
Gardening Mail Bag - Stacey
You’ve got elderberry borers, also known as elder borers. Because elderberries are North American natives, it’s not surprising that we have native insects that have evolved some dependence on them for all or part of their life cycle. There are actually two insects this could be: there’s the elderberry borer, also known as the elder longhorn beetle, and the elder shoot borer and common stalk borer, which are moths. Telling the difference can be difficult, but overall, as the names imply, the shoot borers are found in the soft, herbaceous shoots near the tips of the branches and the cane borers go into thicker woodier stems. You may get lucky and spot an adult cane borer – they are extremely noticeable – but otherwise, it may be difficult to tell exactly which one of these is causing the damage to your plants. Fortunately, it’s not all that important to determine which one it is, as the treatment for both is the same.
Neither insect can complete its life cycle in stems or canes that are younger than a year or so, so one simple management approach is just cutting the plant back every other year. You’ll miss flowers the years you cut, but get them the following. You can also tolerate them: even though the damage seems severe, it’s not typically enough to cause plant health issues, and any flagging or wilting stems can just be removed to improve the appearance of the plant.
Arborvitae are really easy to grow, so there’s not too much you’ll need to do in terms of special care. They grow best in full to part sun, and moist, well-drained soil. Once established, they can tolerate drought as well as wet soils, so long as neither condition is very prolonged. A good layer of shredded bark mulch is always recommended for arborvitae, as they have shallow roots that are best kept cool and moist in summer and insulated in winter. Do keep them watered regularly for the first two to three years as they get established.
For long-term health, it is probably a good idea to fertilize them once a year in late winter/early spring using a rose fertilizer or other fertilizer formulated for woody plants or evergreens. This encourages vigorous growth that can help outpace any pest issues. Though there are several pests that can potential plague an arborvitae, by keeping plants healthy and vigorous, their incidence will be negligible. While snowloads aren’t typically a problem for arborvitae, ice certainly can be, so if you can safely remove any snow or ice that has accumulated on the plants, you should.
These plants have ascochyta leaf spot, sometimes known as rhubarb leaf spot – though it’s important to distinguish ascochyta, which manifests as small brown yellow leaf spots, from a different leaf spot, ramularia, is also called rhubarb leaf spot but manifests as red spots. You definitely have ascochyta.
While it is a bit unsightly, it’s not a huge cause for concern and should be easily managed in the same way as other leaf spots, which is to say that you can remove and discard (do not compost) any affected foliage now. As the plant goes dormant this fall, remove and discard all of the foliage. If you find that the disease keeps returning, that would indicate something about the site isn’t suitable for rhubarb – perhaps it’s due to overhead watering, which exacerbates leaf spots, or low air circulation, or too little sun (though I must say looking at your photos, I don’t think that’s an issue – your plants are large and healthy, despite the bit of leaf spot). In that case, consider moving to a spot that’s less favorable to the development of fungal diseases.
Do you have a question for us? We’re happy to help! E-mail us or use the contact tab above. Due to high volume, we may not get to your question, so if you need an answer quickly, please reach out via the Proven Winners website.
Branching News - Rick
In the final segment, we continue our suggestions for labor-saving tools, techniques, and practices in the garden – join us at the YouTube link above to hear our whole conversation.
