Loveland Public Library will host the 2024 Colorado State University Extension Master Gardener spring lecture series, which runs from April 15 to April 29. The lectures, which are free and open to the public, will last from 11am to noon. Location is 300 N. Adams Street, Loveland, Colorado. No registration is required.
If you’re in the neighborhood, please drop in and introduce yourselves. Here’s the schedule:
Monday, April 1–Gear Up for Gardening with Bev Shaw
Monday, April 22—Tubs of Tomatoes and Crocks of Carrots: Container Gardening with Deb Courtner
Monday, April 29—Waterwise Landscapes: Create Beautiful Gardens that Use Less Water with Susan Bonsall
After four years of disappointment, this color guard yucca finally bloomed this month. The blossoms were so heavy that I had to prop up the stalk with a stick.
I’ve been growing color guard yuccas in my garden for about eight years. Each summer, I hoped that one of them would produce the stunning blooms that I’ve seen in photographs. But it never happened until now.
This year was very unusual, in terms of Colorado weather. It rained almost every day during June, which is normally a hot, dry month. But I doubt that the moisture had much to do directly with the blooming of this drought-loving organism.
Perhaps the excessive rain encouraged the development of small, whitish yucca moths, which may have pollinated the plant, causing it to bloom. I’m just guessing here.
Another factor may be that the four-year-old plant, which was a pup from my eight-year-old plant, reached the appropriate level of maturity for blooming. This happened with my mini-man viburnum, which bloomed for the first time this spring after four years in the ground.
Also, my blooming yucca is in a hotter, dryer area of the yard than are my other, more mature yuccas.
I’ve read that you can try fertilizing yuccas with a phosphorus-rich fertilizer, such as bone meal, to encourage them to bloom. Too much work for me.
It hasn’t been all bad, though. After all, color guard yuccas are beautiful and evergreen even without their blooms. But whoa, momma! When those blossoms start popping out, a yucca turns into a real show-stopper.
Each Monday from April 3 through May 1, Colorado State University Extension master gardeners from Larimer County will speak on various garden topics at the Loveland Public Library, 300 North Adams, in Loveland, Colorado. The talks, which are free and open to the public, will run from noon to 1pm.
If you’re in the area, you might considering attending.
Here’s the schedule:
April 3: Susan Bonsall – Low Water Vegetable Gardening
April 10: Bev Shaw – Embracing Colorado Gardening
April 17: Roger Heins – Companion Plants for Roses
April 24: Deb Courtner – Gardening for Our Insect Friends
May 1: Tony Koski – Water Saving Tips for Your Lawn
Sunlight graces the leaves of this spectacular coleus in the Colorado State University Annual Flower Trial Garden.
Happy Autumn, Readers.
It has been a little over 10 years since I started this blog, and I’ve appreciated having readers from all over the world.
The fact is, I’ve lost my passion for writing blog posts. I can write about fall color, favorite perennials, and other topics for only so long before it feels like déjà vu at my computer.
I don’t rule out the possibility of writing again in the future. But for now, I’m taking a break.
I wish you the greenest of thumbs as you pursue your gardening.
Allium schubertii puts on a show even after the growing season is over with its Star-Wars-inspired growth habit.
September and October are prime months for planting spring-blooming bulbs and summer-blooming poppy seeds in Colorado. With this in mind, you may want to consider installing bulbs and poppies that produce not only stunning flowers, but also decorative seedheads. That way, you can bring the seedheads inside and enjoy them during fall and winter.
Some of my favorite plants for their showy dried seedheads:
Ornamental onions, including Allium schubertii, A. ‘Globemaster,’ and A. aflatunense ‘Purple Sensation.’ All of these varieties are sun-loving and drought-tolerant. Globemaster is sterile, whereas schubertii and purple sensation are spreaders.
Allium schubertii is a rose-purple show-stopper with dramatic spikes, resembling a Star Wars character. This easy-to-grow plant blooms in late spring and reaches about two feet high, which includes its 14-inch-wide seedhead. I wonder what it would look like with holiday lights on it. Too much? Maybe.
Allium ‘Globemaster’ is a lavender beauty that grows about 18 to 30 inches high and 12 to 18 inches wide, and will tolerate part shade.
Purple sensation allium’s airy eight-inch seed head adds a nice touch to a fireplace mantel or other site in your home.
Allium aflatunense ‘Purple Sensation’ generates bright purple blooms and grows about two feet high by eight inches wide. Its seedhead is particularly attractive right after blooming because the ripening seeds are deep green.
Certain varieties of Papaver somniferum, such as Hungarian breadseed poppies and Lauren’s grape breadseed poppy.
Hungarian breadseed poppies come in a variety of remarkable colors, including pink, purple, blue, and white. The seeds can be used for breads, cakes, muffins and other baked goods.
Their large rounded seedheads display an attractive flat rosette at the top.
Lauren’s grape breadseed poppy, name for Fort Collins garden designer Lauren Springer Ogden, produces four-inch velvety, deep purple blooms and grows about three feet high.
Poppies bloom in the summer and self-sow freely if you let them, so be prepared for an influx.
After you’ve enjoyed all these plants during the growing season, display the seed heads around your house, such as on a fireplace mantel, table, or dresser.
This is the grass on the east side of my house. I haven’t watered it for about a month, but it stays green because it’s shaded by the house in the afternoon. I provide supplemental water to this area in the summer once or twice a month if it’s really hot. I water the back part of this stretch of lawn more frequently because it gets more sun exposure. There’s also root competition from my crabapple tree. In addition, bunnies have been munching on my grass frequently this summer. I have overseeded my lawn two or three times during the last seven years.
Want to thicken your lawn? Early September is an ideal time to do it in Colorado.
When planting seed, many homeowners rough up the soil a little, drop seed, cover the seed, and keep the area well-watered for about two weeks, giving the seeds time to germinate. In the meantime, no one can walk on the area and the seeds may be eaten by birds.
Want to know how professionals overseed football fields? I learned this method from Dr. Tony Koski, Colorado State University Turfgrass Science professor, when I went through master gardener training.
I’ve used this method many times since. It works. And you can even walk on the area while the grass is being established.
Here are the steps:
*Buy high-quality grass seed at a reputable nursery. It’ll have a higher germination rate and fewer weeds than the stuff you buy at the big box stores.
*Aerate your lawn in late August or early September.
*Using a seed spreader to distribute the seed over the ground. Then drag a metal rake with the tines facing skyward behind you around the yard, knocking the seeds into the aeration holes. (OK, professionals may use fancy equipment to do all this, but you can get the same results with a rake.)
*Top dress the lawn by sprinkling compost here and there and using a rake to spread it evenly. Then drag your rake again, tines up, behind you to knock some of the compost into the aeration holes, which act as germination chambers. These below-ground chambers protect the seeds from foot traffic.
*Water the seed about twice a day for two weeks. That’s how long it takes for many grass seeds to germinate. It’s crucial not to let the seed dry out because a dried seed is a dead seed. After germination, you can cut back on watering to maybe two times a week, depending on how high temperatures get and whether it rains in the meantime.
*When it comes time to mow, don’t go lower than three inches in height. Taller grass reduces the amount of sunlight reaching the ground and helps choke out weeks.
So there you have it—the secret to growing a lush lawn. Keep your yard watered, but don’t overdo it. Water infrequently and deeply to encourage deep root growth. I water about twice a week when temperatures are above 85 and there’s no rain. Otherwise, I water about once a week in the areas that receive the most sun.
This is every homeowner’s nightmare: beautiful, mature trees quickly dying one by one.
Earlier this year, a homeowner in rural northwest Fort Collins lost 22 evergreen trees over two months.
“I first noticed a problem in early to mid-April,” the homeowner recalls. “The needles turned brown on one tree after another. It was like a cascading, domino effect.”
She noted that brown needles started showing up on the inside of the tree and began working their way outward.
“Each individual tree took three weeks to die, if that,” she adds. “I love trees and the many benefits of trees. I just couldn’t look at them.”
The homeowner called seven arborists. They said couldn’t make it over to her place for weeks or even months, but they offered the usual explanations—not enough water, too much heat, extreme winds. All these factors likely contributed to the trees’ decline. But that wasn’t the real problem, according to the eighth arborist, who took the trees down.
The eighth arborist raised the possibility of pine wilt disease. And he had a cancellation, so he could fit the homeowner into his schedule.
How did the arborist confirm the disease? He cut axial cross-sections (cookies) from the trees. He then showed the homeowner the damage he said was created by pinewood nematodes before he cut down and removed all 22 trees.
“I was devastated,” Soto notes. “It felt like a death. It was a death.”
The only problem is that the trees weren’t pines—they were spruces, according to Colorado State University forestry professor Dr. Seth Davis and professor emeritus Dr. Ned Tisserat, who viewed photos of the trees. Pine wilt nematode doesn’t attack spruces.
When I told Dr. Tisserat that the trees had been planted in holes that weren’t wide enough or deep enough, he said that if the trees were still getting established and were exposed to high winds, drought, and extreme heat, those factors together likely killed the trees. The homeowner said the trees had been in the ground just two years.
However, Dr. Tisserat didn’t rule out the possibility of chemical poisoning because he noticed in the photos that there weren’t weeds or other groundcover around the trees.
Note the raised root ball on this tree. The hole wasn’t dug wide enough or deep enough, which caused the tree to heave out of the ground over time.
We’ll never know for sure how the 22 trees died because the arborist didn’t send tree tissue to CSU’s plant diagnostic lab for analysis.
Mind you, this was a licensed arborist. But he wasn’t certified by the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA), according to my check of his credentials.
The point of all this is to warn you to know who you’re hiring. This poor homeowner got stung twice—first by the green industry “professionals” who planted her trees incorrectly and second by the arborist who apparently doesn’t know a pine tree from a spruce.
I, too, got stung by a so-called professional several years ago when I first moved to Fort Collins and didn’t know anyone. So I followed a recommendation from a neighbor on nextdoor.com and ended up with a landscaper who didn’t know soil amending from mulching.
How do you find a competent green industry professional?
*Check to see if the service provider has certifications. For arborists, check the ISA website, which enables you to find certified arborists and to verify arborists’ credentials in your area, regardless of where you live in the world.
If the arborist isn’t certified, check to see if he/she has a degree or certificate in forestry or a related field.
For landscapers, determine whether the owner or employees hold a landscape management or related degree or certificate from a college or university. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to explain to homeowners that the reason their plants are dying is because the landscaping company installed full-sun plants in full shade.
For landscape designers, determine whether they hold a landscape design degree or certificate from a college or university.
*Ask a local, reputable nursery for recommendations. Some nurseries keep a list of screened green industry professionals to help their customers select qualified suppliers.
*Check with your local forestry department to find out if a particular arborist is licensed. A licensed arborist isn’t necessarily ISA-certified, but at least you’ll know whether they’re operating legally in your locality.
If you live in Colorado, be aware that you’ll likely have to wait weeks or months to have a green industry professional work on your property. That’s just the way it is here. Avoid using an unqualified “professional” who happens to be available.
A plethora of cucumber vines, plus a couple of pepper plants, have taken over my compost pile.
In late May/early June (prime planting time), I took a vacation. I returned June 12 and, a day later, came down with a nasty case of stomach flu whose effects lingered for a couple of weeks.
Needless to say, all this activity destroyed my summer vegetable planting timetable. So I decided to forego planting seeds, went out to buy a tomato plant, and hoped for the best.
Before long, I noticed small cucumber vines growing in my compost pile. Then a few pepper plants.
So I watched the pile to see what would happen. As of late July, I have three small round cucumbers—not a lot, given all the vine activity, but it’s something, nonetheless. These babies likely came from seeds of the round cucumbers that I planted three or four years ago.
A small round cucumber peeks out beneath the mass of vines.
As for the pepper plants, they probably sprouted from seeds of peppers that I bought at the store in past years. They currently have little bitty buds on them.
The tomatoes, planted intentionally, aren’t as mature as some of my neighbors’, but that’s to be expected.
Then in my strawberry patch, some Swiss chard popped up from previous plantings.
Swiss chard has reseeded from previous years’ plantings.
The Swiss chard tastes fine as long as I don’t let it grow too large. As for the cucumbers, they’re too small and hard to harvest yet. And the pepper plants still have a long way to go. Given Colorado’s short growing season, I’m not holding out much hope for the peppers.
So if you ever want an easy science experiment, just let some of those little seedlings stay in your compost pile and other garden areas to see what happens.
8/10/2022 Update: Last week, I tasted one of the cucumbers. It wasn’t bitter, but it wasn’t very tasty either. So I didn’t add it to my salad.
Fall 2022 Update: I ended getting several nice green peppers, as well as one fairly decent cantaloupe from my volunteers.
A carpet of blue Veronica pectinata (upper left) appears in early spring to provide a backdrop for bulbs and serviceberries.
I love brightly colored plants in the garden, such as red fire Meidiland rose, yellow Genista lydia bangle, and neon orange carpet hummingbird mint.
If my garden consisted entirely of these gob-smacking colors, though, the effect would be overwhelming.
That’s why blues are so important. Unlike bright colors which advance toward you, cool blues recede. This receding quality creates depth and provides a calming effect in the landscape.
Blues also add interest because blue plants are much rarer in the garden than other colors of plants. That’s why I’m always on the lookout for them.
Some of my favorite blue flora include:
Veronica pectinata. This low-growing groundcover transforms into a carpet of cornflower blue blossoms the size of a pencil eraser in early spring. The carpet offers the perfect backdrop for vividly colored tulips and white serviceberry trees and shrubs. Other favorite veronicas are V. prostrata (another groundcover) and V. austriaca ‘Crater Lake Blue.’ Crater Lake Blue, which grows about a foot high and wide, produces electric blue blooms. It’s more of a show-stopper than a backdrop.
Siberian squill (Scilla siberica). If you live in places like Wisconsin or Minnesota, avoid this plant because it’s considered invasive. In Colorado, however, Siberian squill behaves itself. It’s a beautiful, delicate-looking bulbous perennial that grows three to six inches high in early spring. Sprinkle it among your miniature daffodil and iris bulbs.
Hardy plumbago offers gorgeous blue blooms complemented by copper-colored seedheads. This easy-to-grow groundcover handles root competition well from shade trees.
Hardy plumbago (Ceratostigma plumbaginoides). This stalwart groundcover produces stunning azure blue blooms with contrasting copper-colored seedheads in July. The first time I saw a photo of this plant, I thought the blooms couldn’t possibly be this gorgeous in person. But they are. It’ll grow in both sun and shade, but prefers shade from afternoon sun. Plumbago grows six to eight inches high and 18 inches or more wide.
Blue avena grass (Helictotrichon sempervirens). Also called blue oat grass, this graceful, arching grass grows two to three feet high and wide. With its steel blue leaves, this grass blends well with just about anything in the garden. In June, it sends up tawny flowering spikes. In the fall, the grass becomes wheat-colored, providing interest throughout the fall and winter. Cut blue avena down to the ground in early spring so new growth can emerge.
Electric blue penstemon wows passers-by with its outpouring of intensely colored blooms.
Electric blue penstemon (Penstemon heterphyllus ‘Electric Blue’). Electric blue describes this bloomer perfectly. The plant produces a profusion of intensely blue blooms in June, and it lasts several weeks. Electric blue grows about 15 to 18 inches high and 12 inches wide. Deadhead it when it’s done blooming.
Narbonne blue flax (Linum narbonense). There are several species of blue flax. Narbonne, introduced by Plant Select in 2013, performs pretty well in my amended clay soil even though it’s supposed to prefer sandy or loam soil. Photos often make the blooms look purple, but mine are intensely blue. Narbonne grows 16 to 18 inches high and wide.
Other blue plants worth mentioning are:
Hostas. These broad-leaved plants come in an array of colors. Blue varieties include June, blue Hawaii, fragrant blue, blue heaven, and many more.
Irises. The American Iris Society offers remarkable photos of blue varieties, such as babbling brook, Baltic Sea, cloud ballet, and color me blue.
Rocky Mountain Columbine (Aquilegia coerulea or A. caerulea). This iconic treasure is the state flower of Colorado. It’s a short-lived perennial that reseeds prolifically and grows one to two feet high and wide.
Delphiniums. These upright, architectural plants generate cobalt blue blooms. Be aware, though, that annual dephiniums, or larkspur, reseed like crazy. It’s possible to have too much of a good thing.
Morning glories. Be prepared for aggressive reseeding if you plant morning glories. But if you have room for them, they’ll reward you with heavenly deep blue flowers.
So there you have it—lots of choices for adding blue to your garden. I encourage to try some if you haven’t already.
This simple arrangement of Prince Tut sedge, sweet potato vine, white snapdragons, and purple petunias makes a strong statement and is suitable for strong sunlight. You can pay $70 or more for an arrangement like this. Or you can just plant your own for much less. Use high-quality potting soil and make sure you have holes in the bottom of the pot for good drainage.
Chances are, you’re ready to start potting up your container plants for this growing season. Although it’s too early to stick the plants outside in Colorado, now is a good time to buy plants so you can begin hardening them off before putting them on display in your yard.
Let’s say you have a spot that gets hot, blazing sun all day long. Which container plants will withstand that kind of environment?
Garden magazines and blogs publish articles with all sorts of gorgeous specimens. I’ve learned not to put too much stock in those articles, however. I have, for example, tried growing recommended Lobelia and Angelonia in sunny locations, only to be disappointed.
So I’m here to share what I’ve personally grown in pots that have really stood up to extreme sunlight in Colorado, where we’re closer to the sun than many of you in other parts of the country. The flowering plants mentioned here bloom throughout the growing season and require little, if any, deadheading. As for the grasses and sedges, they always look good.
These stellar performers include:
Blue Avena Grass (Helictotrichon sempervirens). Perennial. This stalwart grows about 2.5 feet high and wide, excluding the feathery plumes which shoot up in late spring. The plumes add another foot or so to height. You won’t likely keep blue avena grass in a pot more than a season or two before it will outgrow the pot. Then you can plant it in the ground.
Peruvian petunias are lined up for sale at Fossil Creek Nursery in Fort Collins. Because they trail nicely, they’re ideal for hanging pots, but work well in upright containers, too. Notice the blooms’ showy colors.
Peruvian Petunia (Calibrachoa, Million Bells). Annual. If I have a container that holds only one plant, Peruvian petunia is my go-to plant because it fluffs up about eight inches and trails over the edge of the pot. The colors are sensational. One of my favorites is purple with a neon yellow throat.
Cordyline (Cordyline australis). Annual. Native to New Zealand, this purplish spike can serve as a thriller (as opposed to filler or spiller) in pots.
Lantana. Annual. This broad-leaved stunner with verbena-like, multi-colored flowers is relatively compact, although there are larger, shrub-like cultivars (some of which are invasive weeds in Hawaii, Florida, Texas and other areas). Photographs generally make lantana look garish; they’re more attractive in person.
Nemesia (Nemesia caerulea). Annual. This hard-working plant is a member of the snapdragon family. It comes in just about any color except green and also includes some two-toned cultivars. I’ve grown the trailing variety. It didn’t turn scraggly on me, but in case it does, just cut it back so it’ll be lush again.
Pentas (Pentas lanceolata). Annual. I discovered this darling at the Colorado State University Trial Gardens. Its bright green leaves and showy star-cluster blooms make it a solid standout. Pentas has a dome-shaped growth habit, which contrasts nicely to the other plants mentioned here.
Prince Tut dwarf Egyptian papyrus (Cyperus papyrus). Annual. What a showpiece this sedge is! It grew about 18 inches high in my pot, towering over fillers and spillers. Prince Tut’s father, King Tut, grows about twice as tall.
Zonal geraniums, with their brilliant blooms and attractive foliage, pop in any floral container arrangement.
Ornamental Sweet Potato Vine (Ipomoea batatas). Annual. A long-time favorite, sweet potato vine comes in various shades of purple or chartreuse. I prefer chartreuse because it blends well with so many colors. You usually have to snap them up at garden centers because they sell so quickly. Mine grew about two feet long.
Zonal Geranium (Pelargonium). Annual. Another long-time favorite, zonal geranium features large, flashy blooms against dark green leaves. Blooms can be red, pink, white, orange, purple, or bi-colored.
There are other plants that I think would do well in containers in sunny Colorado, but I haven’t actually tried them. Some of them are:
Blossoms & Blueprints 