Home Gardening

North Mississippi Gardening Tips
May, 2001

Springtime Notes

In north Mississippi all danger of frost has passed by this time, and we all can heave a collective sigh of relief and get serious about gardening. "Antsy" gardeners who jumped the gun and set out a gazillion tender bedding plants only to have them reduced to mush by one of our typical late spring freezes can relax now, spend more money and do it all over again. Don't feel bad if you fall into this company. What gardener worth his salt doesn't try to push the limits a little bit? On those occasions when you succeed doesn't it make you feel good and smug when your timid and less daring friends admire your superior gardening abilities-you and I know you were just darn lucky!

Annual Flowers and Vines

Now that I have put you overzealous gardeners in your places, let me say this-

I delivered the last rites to my tender annuals this morning after they succumbed to 20 degrees Fahrenheit last night. Because this report was written more than a month in advance, you can see that I really pushed my luck by planting frost tender plants in March. I did this knowing full well that the median date for the last freeze in north Mississippi usually falls between April 1 and 10. Oh, well.

Annuals add flash and dazzle to our landscapes. When you take into consideration that with proper care these plants will bloom their heads off partially all season, they are a real bargain. They're not permanent, so we are free to try new plants, new combinations, every year. What a deal! For low maintenance and bloom all season try these tough annuals: spider flower (cleome), melampodium, globe amaranth, rose moss (portulaca), cosmos, narrowleaf zinnia, periwinkle. Look for these annual vines: moonflower, Spanish flag (Mina lobata), cypress vine, 'Heavenly Blue' morning glory, Love-in-a-Puff (Cardiospermum halicacabum).

Bulbs

Do not be tempted to cut or otherwise mess with the foliage of your spring-flowering bulbs. If you do this habitually, you will eventually weaken the bulb and flowering will be reduced. Remember your high school botany. The foliage manufactures the food that is stored in the bulb to support the bloom for next spring. Letting the foliage die naturally will ensure that all sugars (food) were translocated to the bulb. If the sight of sickly, yellowing foliage bothers you, plant annuals among the bulbs to help camouflage the unattractive bulb foliage.

Container Gardens

For those of us who are of an age that our get-a-long doesn't get-a-long quite like it used to, gardening in containers can be a very convenient and good thing. Container gardening is accessible, portable, flexible and whimsical. I can't think of one plant that we couldn't grow in a container. Yes, we can even grow trees. We just can't grow really big trees.

Planting combination or "theme" gardens in containers can be fun, especially for children. Each spring at the farmer's co-op where I used to work, we would plant a "Pizza Garden" a "Tea Garden" and other "gardens" in whiskey barrel containers. All the plant material would be labeled and was a big hit with the "small fry" clientele. Pizza Garden plant choices could be tomato, chives, basil, and oregano. Tea garden choices could be lemon verbena, catnip, mint, German chamomile, and lemon balm.

Fruit

Later this month brings the strawberry harvest. My, oh my, I can't think of anything that makes my mouth water more than the thought of diving into a cold strawberry pie heaped with mounds upon mounds of whipped topping!

Strawberries are among the easiest home fruits to grow and one of the most productive. The plants' lack of longevity and size cause them to respond quickly to attentions bestowed or forgotten. This and a long fruiting season mean lost ground often can be regained. If all else fails, plants are easily and quickly replaced. After three years of drought and erratic care my entire strawberry bed has in perfect unison decided to go home to their fathers. I will replace them with the variety 'Cardinal' the recommended choice for North Mississippi. Unfortunately, I did not get them in the ground early enough to enjoy a harvest this spring. For those of you who will enjoy a strawberry harvest and fresh strawberry pies, don't forget to fertilize your plants after harvest. A general recommendation is 1 to 3 pounds of 13-13-13 fertilizer per 100 feet of row.

Groundcovers and Lawns

Fertilize your Bermuda and zoysia lawns this month. Refer to the Mississippi State University Extension Service publication "Establish and Manage Your Home Lawn" for recommended rates. Pick up your free copy at your county Extension office. Perennial Flowers and Vines

I can remember a time in the not too distant past when gardeners choices of perennials were fairly limited, but now we have so many choices of good perennials for the South, it's hard to decide. With perennials we don't get the long bloom season of the annuals, but we do get plant longevity. That reminds me of a quote I read. With apologies to the author, whom I can't remember, I will share it with you. "A perennial is a plant that will come back every year-if it had lived."

By choosing the right perennials we can have a succession of bloom all spring and summer. Spring bloomers: peony, German iris, Siberian iris, thrift (phlox subulata), blue phlox (phlox divaricata), blue star (amsonia), Shasta daisy, 'Biloxi Blue' or 'Homestead Purple' verbena. Summer bloomers: purple coneflower, rudbeckia, bee balm (monarda), daylily, liatris, and lythrum. Fall bloomers: goldenrod, aster, garden mum, mistflower ( wild ageratum), and 'Autumn Joy' sedum.

Trees and Shrubs

Why is it the roses always seem to coincide their full bloom with Mother's day? Maybe this is a subtle hint from nature for all you children out there to get mama a rose bush on her special day. Thereafter, when it blooms every Mother's day she will remember with great fondness her thoughtful child. Hybrid tea roses are very popular because of their gorgeous blooms. They are also the highest maintenance roses you can get mama. There are numerous shrub and antique roses that offer magnificent, recurrrent, and fragrant blooms and do not require the spraying, pruning and other high maintenance of the hybrid teas. Talk to your favorite nurserymen about these roses. He can guide you in your selection.

Vegetables and Herbs

This month is usually thought of as the time to continue planting our warm season vegetables like pole beans, squash, okra, watermelons, etc. It's also harvest time for those of us who planted cool season vegetables. Broccoli, lettuce, radishes, spinach, onions and other vegetables can be enjoyed this month. All the weeding, fertilizing and work you're having to do on the warm season vegetables is less tiresome when you know you can return to the house with an armload of fresh cool season veggies.

Because of all the disease problems associated with our hot, humid southern summers, choosing vegetable varieties based on their disease resistance is essential. Talk to your county Extension agent for recommended disease resistant vegetables. Using these recommendations will mean you won't have to spray as often with fungicides and the less spraying the better for your family's health and the environment.

Lelia Scott Kelly, Ph.D., writes North Mississippi Gardening Tips monthly and is a Horticulture Specialist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service. Her office is in the North Mississippi Research & Extension Center, Verona.