May 21 2007
 
 
Spring took its sweet time getting here, but when it warmed up the 
landscape burst into color. Trees and shrubs that normally bloom in a 
regular expected succession seem to be overlapping or blooming 
together. And the weeds seem to be making up for lost time! With a 
busy work schedule at this time of year I find weeding to be a chore 
at the end of the list. Now I’m finally getting around to rescuing 
the perennials and vegetable beds from the invaders. Here’s a tip I 
have found that makes the job less daunting. Weed a small section at 
a time, a little each day. And try to weed just after a rainfall. The 
weeds come out easily with a better chance at getting all the roots. 
After you finish, add a fresh layer of mulch to the thin spots and 
apply a weed preventer, such as Preen or corn gluten to the bed.
 
The frost date has passed and Memorial Day is almost here. It is now 
considered safe to plant all the tender vegetables and flowering 
annuals. Tomatoes, cucumbers and squash can all be planted without the 
chance of frost damaging the tender leaves. Peppers, melons, eggplant, 
basil and beans can be set out, but will grow even better if you delay 
their planting for another week. These varieties prefer a very warm 
soil and they aren’t very tolerant of cold temperatures at night. 
Flowering and fruiting are delayed if they are set out too early.
 
Give melons, squash and cucumbers plenty of room in the garden. They 
are all vining plants that like to sprawl. Cucumbers can be grown on a 
fence or trellis to save space. There are also bush varieties that are 
more compact. Tomatoes, another vine, will need to be staked or caged to 
keep their fruit off the ground. Set these supports in place at planting
time. Peppers and eggplant are bushy plants with heavy fruit. I find that 
small sized tomato cages help support the branches and prevent breakage 
when they are laden with fruit. Mulch all of these vegetable plants with 
untreated grass clippings or clean straw to keep weeds to a minimum. 
The mulch will also help to keep the soil moist between watering. 
A mulched garden will only need watering once a week even during the 
hotter months.
 
To prevent insect pests from ruining cucumbers, squash and eggplant 
cover them with ago-fabric. Drape the fabric over a wire support, 
leaving room for growth. Once the plants start to flower remove the 
cover for pollination. At this point the plants are strong enough to 
survive most pests.
 
Since the latter part of April I have been brought many samples of dead 
or dying plants and reports of plants lost after the winter. Except for 
the month of February, the winter seemed mild compared to years past. 
December was relatively mild followed by an even milder January. In 
fact in January I was fielding questions about all the various plants 
that had started to bud or leaf out. Then February arrived with bitter
cold settling in for three weeks straight. The effect on some of our 
garden plants is pretty drastic. Some trees, shrubs and perennials 
never leafed out this spring. Winter injury or dieback is evident on
hollies, rhododendrons and laurels especially. Large sections or
branches are brown, leaves dead. These plants have the ability to 
grow back depending on the severity of damage. Rhododendrons respond 
well to hard pruning. 
Hollies and laurels will drop their dead leaves but often re-leaf from 
their many lateral buds. Cut back all branches that are dead and 
fertilize to stimulate growth. In a couple of months you will know if 
the plant is coming back or if it needs to be replaced.
 
Other plants in the landscape are showing signs of root injury probably 
from the heavy rain that came with the nor’easter and subsequent 
storms. Too much water held in the soil for an extended period of time 
injures the roots, inhibiting the movement of water and nutrients to 
the plant tissue. Many of the samples of browning spruce and juniper 
that have been brought to me were from wet soil. In this situation 
you can only wait for the soil to dry out and prune out any dead twigs 
and branches. Again, the extent of the damage will determine whether or 
not the plant needs to be replaced.
 
Beth Nardone, botanist, is a resident of Hillsborough and is the 
Nursery 
Manager at the Belle Mead Co-Op. Questions and comments can be sent to 
bethtanical@patmedia.net