Each year, the Perennial Plant Association names a plant of the year. This year's top prize winner is the Aralia cordata "Sun King," also known by its common name, the Golden Japanese Spikenard.
This big, herbaceous perennial plant does well in our climate and creates quite the stunning display in your yard. It grows big and fast, adding 3-4 feet in height and width in just its first year! It does well in full sun and partial shade, and it grows 3-foot long golden leaves before dying back to the ground in winter.
Even better, the Sun King is deer-resistant, with white flowers that the pollinators like and black berries that the birds like. You can mix it in with some other established shrubs or flowers like goatsbeard and the small sprouts that come out in spring can even be eaten like asparagus.
This variety of aralia may self-sow, sending out small seedlings, but this variety is not invasive.
Find it at your favorite garden center. Just march in and say: "I want the Perennial Plant of the Year!"
Q: I followed up on Charlie's suggestion to plant celery. I've never done that before and the seedlings are doing fine. I'm having trouble (or have always had trouble) with the transition from seedling in the home to plant in the garden. Can Charlie walk us through the hardening process for celery and other seedlings? — Alan, in Bennington
Hardening off plants to put into your garden is a great project for folks who are working from home, as it takes a bit of time but isn't difficult. And you can even begin today!
To harden off celery or any plants you've started from seed, simply begin by putting the seedlings outdoors in a place with bright light but not direct sun. Keep increasing the time your seedlings have spent outdoors each day, then after a week, your celery plants will be hardened off and ready for planting in the garden plot.
Q: I rescued a lemon tree from the side of the road last summer. It was in pretty rough shape, was missing a lot of leaves, had a pretty bad case of scale. Since then I top-dressed it with earthworm castings, gave it some love, put it in a sunny spot, and it has been thriving. I took care of the scale. I’ve been spraying the leaves with water periodically as well and watering it when the soil is dry. But it keeps dropping leaves. — Cassandra, in Montpelier
The key is the watering of the citrus plant. Dabbing the alcohol may not be great for the leaves, but citrus grows best in clay pot. It is a finicky plant. Let it dry out after watering, but not too much. That will be the best way to approach this issue and the leaves.
If you put it outside in the summer and keep it to this watering schedule, you'll have a happier lemon tree.
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Hear All Things Gardening during Weekend Edition Sunday with VPR host Mary Engisch, Sunday mornings at 9:35.
