2005 Year in Review

Planning Key to Garden

Source: Sharon Yiesla (847) 223-8627

Gardening will be more successful if practitioners are proactive and do some long-range planning, said a University of Illinois Extension horticulture educator.

"Take weather, for example," said Sharon Yiesla. "While it can be hard to know for sure what is coming, we do see some trends in northern Illinois. Winter is often very cold, and in most years we can count on a good amount of snow. Spring often brings more rain than we would like, and often the temperatures are too cool.

"In most years, summer brings us excess heat, often accompanied by too little rain. We can keep this knowledge in mind when planning home gardens."

The first thing in the planning process is to choose plants that can tolerate northern Illinois weather.

"It is often tempting to grow plants that we see growing farther south in our state or other states, but it will be disappointing if we add them to our yard and we get a 'real Chicago winter,'" she said. "Choosing plants that are fully cold hardy reduces the amount of winter damage that occurs.

"On the other end of the spectrum, we also want to select plants that will tolerate our summer heat. Some plants, like the white-barked birches, do not like the heat we experience, and they will be stressed, leading to other problems like insect attack. Plants that cannot stand the heat should be avoided."

In selecting plants, yard conditions should be considered. Trying to grow a moisture-loving plant in a dry site will lead to disappointment. Determine what your yard offers: sun or shade, dry, wet, or well-drained soils; soil pH; and other factors. Purchase plants that match those conditions, said Yiesla.

“These plants will grow well since they are adapted to the site, and a healthy plant will be better able to tolerate those little ‘surprises’ that the weather often sends our way,” she noted.

Planning can also help fight against plant diseases and insects. When selecting new plants, look for those species that have few common disease and insect problems. Varieties or cultivars that are disease-resistant should also be considered. Yiesla said they are less likely to have problems and, thus, are less likely to need pesticide treatments.

“Careful monitoring of the garden can also help,” she said. “Too often we don’t see a disease or insect problem until it has become a BIG problem. Looking at our plants on a regular basis can be useful for catching a problem when it is still small.”

Regular watering is important for plants, she added. “Too often we don’t water our plants until we are in the middle of a drought. By that time, some damage has already been done. It would be more appropriate to be watering on a regular basis. Most plants need about one inch of water per week.”

If rainfall is plentiful in a given week, the home gardener does not need to water. If rainfall is sparse in a given week, plants should be supplied with needed water. Evergreens fare better when watered regularly in summer and autumn (up until the time the soil freezes).

“Make watering an on-going concern,” said Yiesla.

by  Editor, theCity1.com
June 14, 2005