Happy 'growing season!'

We’re almost there … at last! I’m referring, of course to the start of our “growing season.” By this, I mean when we can safely plant most tender plants. Still, we must use caution, as we’ve had late spring frosts more times than we care to remember. The “average” date of our last frost is Mother’s Day.

Be sure to “harden off” your annuals and tender garden plants before you actually put them into the ground. This just means a week or so of carting the plants outside daily for a few hours and bringing them back indoors by late afternoon. Doing this helps them to adjust once planted outside.

The hardier plants, such as perennials and trees, got the green light a couple of weeks ago. It’s still a good idea to use caution on the “sissies” of the plant kingdom. Things like tomato and pepper plants, marigolds and coleus just can’t take the cold nights, so they’re often kept indoors until early June.

If you haven’t pruned those roses yet, do it soon. When planting new hybrid tea roses in our area, you need to make a deep enough hole so that the grafted part is 4 inches below the surface of the ground. This will go a long way in helping that plant to survive our winters. Too often, we see rose plants blooming a different color in spring, not what we planted originally.

Sadly, the original pretty flowers come from the top half of the plant which has been winter killed. The new growth then comes from below the graft, which is a hardier rootstock and will produce only small dark red flowers. Rip out the plant and start over.

With bushes and trees leafing out, pruning season is about over for now. It’s best to wait until late summer or early fall to do any more. When pruning or cutting back any plant, remember never to prune off more than one third of the live growth at a time.

Pine trees produce lots of cones. These take two years to mature before they drop to the ground. Evidently, this is year two as these trees are dropping lots of cones.

Once the weather warms up, we should start to see butterflies flitting around. We always think of having blooming plants to attract them. This is true, but there are other ways. One is to provide them with a puddle of water. This offers minerals and a place for a drink. A flat rock to land on is appreciated. Also, a brush pile and some tall grass are good places for them to hide from predators … mainly birds.

If you haven’t already done so, this is the time to fertilize your lawn. Go ahead and run your sprinklers if no rain is in the forecast. That will wash those pellets down to the base of each grass stem and dissolve them so they can go to work.

Speaking of lawns, ever wonder why does it seem that the grass is always greener in the neighbor’s yard?

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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 to late October.