It's mid-October and we're still a couple of weeks away from planting spring flowering bulbs, especially if the weather stays mild and the soil isn't cool enough.
Still, it's a great time to plan for next year and you can do that by first looking back at last year's spring flowering bulbs. Did your flowering spring bulbs grow well? If they were bugged by pests and critters, it might be time to change up — or at least add to the mix — some different flowering bulbs.
One such bulb might not spring to mind when you're planning your flower gardens and borders: alliums. These ornamental flowering onions check off a lot of boxes when it comes to being a real star in your spring garden.
Flowering alliums grow and blossom to make great cut flowers. These versatile flowering bulbs can grow from six inches to four feet tall and are left alone by things like deer, mice, moles and voles. Plus they are self-sowing (if you leave the seed heads to drop their seed in the soil after flowering) and come back year after year.
And they can really hold their own next to daffodils, hyacinth, tulips and crocus!
One allium variety, "Gladiator," grows quite tall with big purple flowers or umbels, while the "Mount Everest" variety produces white flowers. These flowering onions can grow up through the foliage of your perennial flowers — like day lilies, rudbeckias and echinaceas — and bloom, because they tend to flower later than the other spring flowering bulbs.
For more color in rock gardens or borders that could use smaller flowering bulbs, try "drumstick allium," which has red and green flowers. "Allium ceruleum," blossoms into a steel blue color, and "allium moly" is yellow.
Will black walnut be toxic to nearby apple tree?
Q: I have a black walnut that is probably approaching its 25th year, when I hear it will become toxic to nearby plants. The previous owners planted a little apple tree right beside it, and I'm wondering if the walnut will kill the apple tree. If I move it, how far away should a fruit tree or any plant really, be planted from the black walnut's base to be safe? - Melanie, in Brandon
A: Yes, that apple tree is going to be very susceptible to the toxicity of the black walnut. The tree has chemicals in its root system that can affect many other plants and trees, and apple trees are very sensitive. The University of Wisconsin has a helpful list of plants that are sensitive to black walnut.
In this case, the best thing to do is make a plan for next spring to move that apple tree. You'll need to relocate it at least 50 or 60 feet away from the black walnut tree — outside of its root zone — and then it should be okay.
Hydrangea won't flower despite plenty of water and correct acidity
Q: I have a hydrangea that I’ve had for a few years. The past two it has not flowered at all. Unsure of the variety, I just know it looks healthy but won’t flower. We have spruce trees all around our property so thinking acidity isn’t an issue and we know we have had two wet summers so don’t think that is an issue either. Any advice? - Sandy, via email
A: You're correct to think that hydrangeas have enjoyed the wet summers! And as long as the spruce trees aren't shading them too much, they should flower and look their best. Hydrangeas do well with mostly morning sun and afternoon shade.
One other possibility — if it's a hydrangea macrophylla, which are the ones that have big blue flowers — has to do with how it forms flowers. This type of hydrangea forms flower buds on old stems. This means that the wood from this year will overwinter and then will flower next year.
So if the plant dies back to the ground because in winter, then you're not going to get flowers at all, or your hydrangea will flower late.
This year, towards Thanksgiving or early December, try piling up some wood chips over the hydrangea bush a foot deep or so, taking care not to cover the top. That layer will protect the bottom buds on those stems, so that if we do have a severe winter, they're protected. Next spring, pull back the mulch and hopefully you'll get some flowers.
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