SUMMER HEAT AND HUMIDITY.
Extreme heat and humidity coupled with night temperatures over 70° can cause problems for your plants. Tropical plants have evolved to thrive in these conditions but many plants that grow well in Zone 5 suffer from the high humidity and high night temperatures of the “dog days of summer”. Bacterial and fungal diseases, like black spot and powdery mildew, flourish on damp leaf surfaces during warm, humid weather. Root and crown rot are more likely to occur during damp, hot, humid weather. High night temperatures cause some plants to continue respiring and consuming food during the night hours which should be a rest period for the plants. Combined heat and moisture cause organic matter and fertilizers to break down faster. Because they are working harder, plants need more nutrients and water not less. Since a healthy plant is more likely to resist these problems, the best remedy is to be proactive. Add compost and make sure your soil has good drainage before planting. Use mulch to keep roots cool, inhibit weeds and retain moisture in the soil. Provide good air circulation by giving the plants plenty of space to grow when planting. The plant label or tag often provides the correct spacing. Spray susceptible plants with a fungicide before any signs of the disease appear. Fertilize to provide extra nutrients. Be careful when watering. Don’t water until the plant needs the moisture, try not to get the leaves wet and water in the morning. This gives the foliage plenty of time to dry off during the day and gives the plant time to absorb most of the water before the damp nightfall.

HEIRLOOM TOMATOES. Sabellico’s grows over 60 types of tomato plants, including over 20 varieties of Heirlooms. Heirloom varieties are popular with gardeners because of their great old fashioned tomato flavor and texture, something that has been lost with the newer hybrid varieties. Heirloom tomatoes come in the standard red and also come in a variety of unusual shapes and colors: purple, pink, striped, ribbed, green, flattened and orange-yellow. On the upside, hybrids are the result of cross-fertilization of carefully selected and controlled varieties to produce uniform plants that are vigorous, produce more fruit of a consistent quality and have greater disease resistance. On the downside, these advances often come at the expense of the great flavor and texture of the old fashioned varieties. For better flavor, give an heirloom variety a try this year.

WHY GROW YOUR OWN? If you care about the environment, you should grow your own. The ingredients for a home cooked meal can travel 1,500 miles from field to fork, using 17 times more fossil fuels than a meal made with local ingredients. If you care about great taste, you should grow your own. We are so used to the taste of fruits and vegetables from the grocery store that it is surprising what fresh produce really tastes like. Store-bought produce has been bred to meet the needs of commercial growers and food distribution systems: uniform fruit, long shelf life and predictable harvest times, not necessarily great taste. Finally, if you care about pesticides on your food, you should grow your own.

Clematis Pruning Pointers

Even though clematis will survive and bloom with no pruning, the right type of pruning will help your vines to grow stronger and produce bigger and more vigorous blooms. The rules for pruning clematis can be confusing because you are supposed to prune different species in different ways. Clematis varieties are often assigned to one of three pruning groups. In order to prune your clematis properly, you will need to know which pruning group your clematis belongs to.

For newly purchased clematis, check the tags. For any that you do not know the variety or pruning group, watch their growing habits for a year. The basic rule is clematis that bloom on new wood (stems formed during the present spring) should be pruned in early spring before growth starts. Those that bloom on old wood (the previous year’s growth) should be pruned just after flowering. Watch to see when the plant blooms. Usually, the early blooming varieties bloom on old wood. With this information, you can assign the plant to one of the pruning groups.

This may sound daunting but the plants are fairly forgiving. Even if you make a mistake, the most you will probably lose are the flowers for one season. It is best to prune a stem just above two strong buds, where two leaves had been growing the previous year. Watch for healthy buds at leaf bases and try to preserve them. The basic objective is to have the greatest number of flowers (buds) on the shapeliest plant.

Group 1 - None or very little pruning. Blooms in early spring on old wood. Flowers are abundant and often less than 2 inches across. This group only needs to be pruned to keep the plants looking fresh and under control. Remove only dead, weak or damaged stems. Wait to prune until after the main flowering has finished or you’ll be cutting off the flower buds. Only if the plant is not flowering well or is overgrown should you prune more. Wait until after flowering and cut off almost all of the side branches, leaving only the main vertical stems that fasten the plant to the trellis. Do not cut the plant back to the ground like you would with a Group 3 clematis because you will delay or lose next year’s flowers.

Group 2 - Moderate pruning. Large flowered doubles and re-bloomers usually fall into group 2. The large flowers open in April or early May on old wood. By late summer, the new wood produces smaller flowers. As the plants leaf out in spring, remove any stems that have died back to a set of strong new buds. Cut away any broken branches and thin out any congested areas. Trim back tips just enough to keep under control.

Group 3 - Hard pruning. This group flowers each year on new wood. If the plant dies back to the ground over the winter, if the flowers are small, sparse and only at the top of the plant and if there is a lot of last year’s dead foliage and bare stems showing at the base, it probably belongs in group 3. To keep these plants full and lush, cut all of the stems to within a foot of the ground in April, leaving just two to four sets of buds per stem, giving the plant a fresh start each year. You have to be ruthless with group 3 to keep them growing their best. Train the new vines onto your trellis, spacing them apart so the flowers will show better.