Is our country 'for the birds'? Thank 'the Bard'

Now that summer has officially arrived, we can relax and enjoy it — or can we? The weather always seems to have a few nasty surprises for us such as hail, wind, high heat and even floods. We’re very fortunate not to live in “tornado alley.”

With most of our planting done, we can relax a bit. Not completely, of course, as there are always other gardening chores needing to be done. Plant the last of the gladiolas, trim the flower stalks off the irises and give the potted plants another dose of liquid fertilizer. This last one is very important as these plants can’t reach out for nutrients like those in the ground. Every time a pot is watered, some of the fertilizer leaches out the bottom.

If you grow any of the “acid lovers” be sure to give them a dose of that type of fertilizer now that they’ve finished blooming. These include rhododendrons and azaleas. Scratch it in lightly as some of these have very shallow roots.

Flowering annuals need a fertilizer with a high middle number as that one is for bloom. Avoid a high first number as nitrogen will encourage leaves to grow and not flowers. Save that for your foliage plants.

When deadheading your petunias, remember to clip not only the spent flower off, but also the tiny 5-leaved calyx behind it. If you leave that part, the plant will go to seed and stop blooming.

Apple trees have what is called “June drop.” This is when the trees shed many of the tiny fruits. If you need to take off more, do so, leaving one fruit per every 6 inches of stem. The largest blossom is called the “king” blossom.

Large-flowered dahlias are starting to bloom and will continue until the plant freezes in the fall. To get the largest flowers, remove all but one bud at the top of the plant. Also, be faithful with the water and fertilizer. Tall varieties need to be staked in order to tie their huge flowers up. Be careful not to pierce the tuber.

Be faithful about watering newly planted trees and if the weather turns unseasonably hot, like it did last summer, deep water even older ones. There are many dead trees in yards this spring attesting to not enough water last summer. The worst hit seem to be the tall, slender arborvitaes.

And now to explain about the birds:

Many of us often have pesky starlings in our yard. They were never native to this country. To put the blame where it belongs, this is their history: In 1890, Eugene Schieffelin, Bronx resident, pharmacist, noted eccentric and devoted fan of Shakespeare got the idea that America should have every bird mentioned in the works of Shakespeare. To that end, he brought over and released 100 starlings in Central Park. A year later, he added 100 more. Needless to say, that was plenty as the entire U.S. continent now has nearly 800 million of them.

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Elaine Cerny has gardened most of her life, starting in 4-H. She has belonged to garden clubs in three states and is currently serving as secretary for the River City Gardeners Club in Post Falls. Her column appears in The Press every other Sunday from early March until late October.