Yes, summer is wrapping up. Time to encourage tender plants to go dormant
As we near the end of August, the change of seasons means a change in gardening.
Try to avoid pruning roses and tender perennials such as hardy fuchsias and salvias. Cutting back plants stimulates growth and your goal at the end of summer is to encourage tender plants to go dormant.
Continue harvesting vegetables and cut flowers to keep your plants producing. Watering rhododendrons and azaleas becomes the most important task at this time of the year as these spring blooming shrubs are forming flowers now. If they don’t get enough to drink, they will give up on the flower party and decide to just make new leaves.
Q. Where can I find the big, fragrant white lilies that I saw in your garden on Facebook? You also posted a photo of them blooming at Point Defiance Park. I have never seen these lilies for sale at local nurseries. — R.T., Email
A. You must be enchanted with the Oriental lilies called Casa Blanca that grows to 5 feet tall with huge, star shaped blooms and a sweet fragrance. The reason you don’t see plants for sale in flower is because these lilies are best planted from a bulb. Lily bulbs are sold at garden centers and big-box stores in bins where you see the more common tulip and daffodil bulbs for sale.
You can plant the bulbs of lilies in the fall or in the spring. They do well in large containers filled with potting soil that have good drainage, and this way you can protect them from moles, voles and squirrels. Lilies do need at least half a day of sunshine to bloom well, and if you cut the awesome blossoms to use indoors, remember to leave as much stem and foliage as possible on the plant that is left in the ground. Like most bulbs, it is the green foliage left after blooming that makes the flowers for next year. So if you cut a long stem of lilies, the bulb may not flower the following year.
Tip: Lilies have pollen that falls from the anthers of the flower and can stain fingers, fabric and the white petals. Once you see the flowers start to open, snip out the inner sex organs of the lily to keep the blooms pristine. Don’t worry — they won’t feel a thing and the blooms will last longer.
Q. Cucumbers. My plants did produce but the inside of the cucumbers are a bit hollow and the flavor not as good as the early cucumbers I harvested. Do they just need cooler weather? — B., Bonney Lake
A. Blame the lack of rain, not the heat, for cucumbers lacking heart. A thick mulch on top of the soil such as two to three inches of wood chips will keep more moisture in the soil between watering for more flavorful cukes. Once you let the plants get a bit thirsty, they will suck the moisture from their own developing fruit to stay alive so you’ll see hollow cucumbers. Your first cucumbers were most likely harvested before the dry days of August so the cucumbers tasted better.
Q. I just want to say thank you for recommending a plant that survived the hot summer and still looks great! I was getting so discouraged by hanging baskets of petunias and other annuals that would fade or grow lanky by the month of August when we always have house guests. You suggested the more drought tolerant Scaevola “Blue Wonder” and the basket is just full of beautiful blue blooms. I don’t even have to deadhead and my lovely hanging baskets do not look overgrown. My Scaevola basket even survived when we were gone over the weekend and the temperature rose to over 90 degrees. They were wilted but recovered. Bravo! — C.C., Spanaway
A. Glad you are such a fan of Scaevola. This tender perennial is commonly called the Fan Flower due to the wedge shaped blooms and foliage. This tropical, succulent plant can handle the heat and is not a big feeder so does not need constant fertilizer like so many other blooming basket plants. It does need good drainage and at least half a day of sun. There are several different types of Scaevola Fan Flower on the market now, so look for the more compact Carpet series of Scaevola, the larger “Purple Fountain” and the Fairy series in various colors of white, purple and deep blue.
Tip: You can try taking cuttings of this plant in early fall. Snip off a branch that is not yet blooming and poke the cut end into potting soil. Keep the soil a bit on the dry side and you should have a rooted new plant in about a month. Grow in a protected area outside or in a cool room indoors this winter and you’ll have new plants to pot up for spring.
Q. How come my hydrangeas wilt a few days after I cut them? I see you use cut hydrangeas outdoors in baskets (and I saw on Facebook you use them on your gate) but mine always wilt quickly. Help. — B.G., Tacoma
A. Clip your hydrangea blossoms when they are mature and rather dry and papery to the touch. Harvest in the morning when they are full of moisture and keep the cut blossoms out of the sun. This will help them dry as cut flowers and last for months with no vase water. Note: Some varieties such as the lacecap hydrangeas do not last long as cut flowers no matter what you do.
Marianne Binetti is the author of “Easy Answers for Great Gardens” and eight other gardening books. She has a degree in horticulture from Washington State University and will answer questions from her website at www.binettigarden.com.
This story was originally published August 22, 2020 at 5:45 AM.