Too hot to bloom!

QUESTION: I have a pot of impatiens that was doing well, but now the flower buds have been dropping off or turning brown before opening. The pot is always in the shade and I keep it well watered and fed. It has nice green leaves, just no flowers. Any idea what could cause this?

If there are no other symptoms – no spotting of the leaves, no rotting of the stems, no powdery coating or other unusual growth – a good guess at the source of the problem would be the long period of extreme heat. Even in the shade it has been extremely hot (remember that day it hit 109 degrees?) and plants in containers may suffer more because the pot can dry out quickly. A plant under stress will shed its flowers first.

By now, with several days of rain and more reasonable temperatures, the impatiens (and many other things) should begin to recover.

This is a good time to mention again, though, an email I received from UT Extension plant disease expert Alan Windham, in which he warned about the development of downy mildew in beds of impatiens. Watch for plants that are losing leaves, that don’t flower, and that have white growth on the undersides of the leaves, he advises. This disease can be extremely damaging, so pull up, bag and dispose of infected plants to keep it from spreading. There’s more about it at UT Extension’s Soil, Pest and Plant Center Facebook page.

…And too hot to plant, too

QUESTION: My daughter has thinned out her iris bed and given some to me.  She has given me the whole plant (bulbs and stems). I know I can not plant them at this time but how do I store them until they can be planted in November or December?  Do I need to cut the stems off now or leave them as is?  Thanks for any information you can provide. 

You’re right, with too much heat and still too little rain, it’s a bad time to plant anything. Irises are pretty hardy so you can wait to plant the rhizomes.

For now, cut the leaves off to about 3 to 6 inches, and remove as much of the soil from the rhizome as you can. Don’t wash them, just brush off the dried soil. Check to make sure there are no rotting places, insects or diseased-looking spots (discard those if there are) and store them in a cool, dry place.

You don’t need to wait until November to plant them. While they’re pretty hardy, they’d still rather be in the ground, so consider planting in September, or after the worst of the summer heat passes.

When you do get ready to plant, here’s a helpful link from the American Iris Society that provides information.

Another reminder about watering: In spite of all the rain lately, we’re still experiencing severe drought conditions in Middle Tennessee. Young trees suffer most. If you planted trees this spring, give them a little extra attention to help them make it through this hot, dry summer. Click here to see the Nashville Tree Foundation’s guidelines and tips to help keep your trees healthy.

Events coming up

July 26: Farmer Jason performs at Family Night Out at Cheekwood, 6:30 p.m. The event is free with regular Cheekwood admission. www.cheekwood.org.

Aug. 5: The Nashville African Violet Club will meet at 1:45 at the Green Hill Women’s Center, 10905 Lebanon Road in Mt. Juliet. To learn more, contact Julie at Julie.mavity@gmail.com

Aug. 12: The Tennessee Gesneriad Society will meet at Cheekwood at the Frist Learning Center at 2 p.m. The program will be a polinaton/hybridization workshop. For more info contact Julie at Julie.mavity@gmail.com (or 615-364-8459).

Iris time in Tennessee

QUESTION: When is the right time to divide irises?

Bearded irises can be divided after they finish blooming.

Bearded irises, the large, showy flowers that have fuzzy patches on the outer petals, are putting on a pretty nice show across the region right now, and they’ll continue to bloom for several weeks.

After they have finished blooming, the rhizomes can be thinned out and divided if needed. But if you don’t get to it right away, you can wait until later. Irises are resilient and can survive being moved as long as they are re-planted properly.

Garden expert Judy Lowe recommends this method in her book, Month by Month Gardening in Tennessee & Kentucky:

Cut the leaves into a 6-inch high fan shape, then lift the clump with a spading fork and gently wash the dirt from the tubers. Cut off any soft, mushy or damaged parts, then cut the rhizome into smaller pieces, each with an eye or bud, using a sharp knife.

Lowe recommends dipping each rhizome into a fungicide solution to reduce the chance of fungal problems; one part liquid bleach to nine parts water is one suggestion to use.

Replant the rhizome sections close to the soil surface and water them well. Rhizomes of bearded irises should be planted so that their tops are visible above the soil. Iris beds should not be mulched.

In general, you may need to think iris beds every three to five years.

What else can you do in the garden? Pull on your gardening gloves and check today’s Tennessean, where you’ll find information about upcoming garden events and the April Landscape & Gardening calendar.

News & Events

Nashville garden specialist Barbara Wise has a passion for pots – that is, planting and growing container gardens. She now has a new book out: Container Gardening For All Seasons.

“I wrote it for new gardeners and for those who like simple (easy) steps to follow that will help them succeed as gardeners,” she says.

The book features 101 container “recipes” that any novice gardener can follow – she tells what plants to buy, what size container to use, how to place the plants, and substitutions to consider if you can’t find (or don’t like) the suggested “ingredients.” But it’s also nice for experienced gardeners who are looking for new ideas. It’s published by Cool Springs Press; retails for $19.99 and you can order it through Parnassus Books and Amazon.

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Bloom ‘n’ Garden Expo is next weekend, April 13 – 15 at the Ag Expo Center in Franklin, Tenn. Plants, gardening products from hundreds of vendors, speakers and educational workshops are on the schedule throughout the weekend. Details, http://bloomngarden.com.

The Perennial Plant Society’s annual sale is coming back to the Tennessee State Fairgrounds April 14, 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. There will be thousands of perennials for sale for sun and shade, all from Tennessee growers, so they’re adapted to our growing conditions. Admission is free, but PPSMT notes that the Fairgrounds has a $5 parking fee. To learn more, visit the PPSMT’s website www.ppsmt.org.

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The Herb Society of Nashville’s annual plant sale is April 21 at the Tennessee State Fairgrounds. It’s 9 a.m. – 2 p.m., but get there early to browse through 15,000 herbs (including some of those hard-to-find varieties) and talk to the Answer Ladies and all the other herb fanciers who turn out for this annual event. Look for more info at the Society’s website, www.herbsocietynashville.org and Facebook page.

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Cheekwood is celebrating its gardens all through April with a series of Cheekwood in Bloom events.

The 20^th annual Spring Art Hop is today — April 7. More than 20,000 candy-filled eggs will be hidden throughout the gardens for egg hunts every half-hour. There will also be music, arts and crafts and live entertainment.

Ka-Bloom! on April 14 includes at family art activity and scavenger hunt,10 a.m. – 2 p.m.; flower arranging demonstration at 10:30 a.m.; guided tour of the Robertson Ellis Color Garden at 11 a.m. Howard Pink and his Musical Garden Hoses at noon; guided tour of the Carell Dogwood Garden at 1 p.m.; and container garden demonstration at 2 p.m.

The grand opening of the Howe Garden at Cheekwood (after a million-dollar renovation) will be April 21, with activities, live music, guided tours and refreshments,10 a.m. – 2 p.m.

In honor of national Arbor Day, April 28, there will be several drop-in activities and demonstrations. By the way, Cheekwood is now a certified Level IV arboretum, with more than 120 identified species of trees.

Every Sunday in April there will be guided greenhouse tours atnoon; guided museum tours at1 p.m.; and a drawing room concert series featuring Blair School of Music at 2 p.m.

Complete details on Cheekwood in Bloom are at Cheekwood’s web site.