Dear Helen: For many years I planted tomatoes and cucumbers in my garden. Now I am living in a south-facing apartment and want to grow them again, in containers. I was interested in your description of Sweet Success cucumber. Are transplants available later in the spring?
S.T.
Sweet Success is a fairly large, hefty vine. You’d need a really big container, around 45 cm wide and 30 cm deep, to sustain it. If you choose to grow it, phone around to your local garden centres to find out which one(s) have ordered plants. Wait to place cucumber plants outdoors until warm spring weather arrives in May.
You’ll find that garden centres will have compact varieties of cucumber and tomato that are well suited for easy growing in containers on patios, decks and balconies. As the weather warms, I don’t think you’ll have any trouble finding transplants that will do well for you.
Be aware of the altered and varied conditions in garden centres now. Some have separate entrances and exits. Others restrict the number of persons allowed in at a time, and/or request that customers wear gloves. Most want card payment using the “tap” method to avoid hands-on transactions. Many are offering to take phone orders to be picked up. Conditions are laid out on most of their websites.
Dear Helen: How can I rid a garden bed of a Phlox paniculata ‘David’ that has become invasive?
S.J.
I’m surprised. ‘David’ is prized for its resistance to mildew and its large flower heads. It was named Perennial of the Year for 2002. It is a vigorous plant though.
Dig invasive growth up by the roots where possible. Where growth is entangled in other plants, keep it cut off or pulled up to eventually weaken the roots. Brushing a fatty acid or acetic acid based herbicide carefully on the foliage will knock unwanted plants back somewhat and will require repeating, but it will also damage any nearby desirable plants touched by the solution.
Dear Helen: There is a powdery white coating on some of the leaf pads on my jade plant. What could it be?
W.S.
A white, dust-like leaf coating usually indicates powdery mildew on most plants. The remedy is to separate the plant, remove affected leaves, clean the area where it was, and improve conditions enough to allow generous spacing between plants and ensure free circulation of fresh area around them.
Warm days followed by cool nights causes a fine moisture deposit on the leaves with overnight condensation. That film of moisture favours spread of the disease. Water only in the morning, to avoid sending the plant into the night with high moisture levels.
Powdery mildew, however, is not often seen on jade plants. They are highly susceptible to mealybug infestations though. Evidence of their presence is a white fluff on the leaves. The insect egg cases form the cottony fluff.
Separate the plant from others and use a very mild soap and water solution to wash coated areas clean. Then clean the whole plant and rise with clear water. Repeat the washing after a few days. More washings may be needed. A 10-day pest-free period will indicate that all the eggs have been mopped up. That’s the period of time eggs take to hatch.
Sweet potatoes. Many home gardeners have been distressed to lose their regular source of sweet potato cuttings when Mapple Farm stopped shipment.
One replacement source this year is Dinter Nursery in Duncan. Beginning today, they will be accepting orders by email (greenhouse@dinternursery.ca) for plants in 10-cm pots at $3.29 each, to be picked up at the nursery around mid-May.
The varieties, from a breeder called Hishtil, are from the Treasure Island series. Available will be Kaukura, Manihi, Tahiti and Tatakoto. The four offer both orange and purple fleshed types. Entering any of the variety names together with “sweet potato” into a search engine will lead to full descriptions and photos.
GARDEN EVENT
Chrysanthemum sale. The Victoria Chrysanthemum Society will hold its annual plant sale on Saturday, April 18, from 10 a.m. to noon, at 1647 Chandler Ave. Procedures to be followed to incorporate physical distancing can be found on the society’s Facebook page: Victoria Chrysanthemum Society-BC, Canada. Or, email Sheila at footcare6o@shaw.ca for instructions. To keep everyone safe, people are asked to make choices ahead of time, from a photo directory on the Facebook page of plants to be sold. Send orders to Sheila today.
