Hampton Gardener: May Ramble

It’s been a dry spring so far, and it’s been warmish but not oppressive on the East End—and that meant that it was a great year for magnolia peeping. With no late frost, no rain and a breeze off the ocean, most magnolias bloomed on time, with many varieties in bloom for nearly two weeks before petal drop. It was quite a display.You may recall that several weeks ago I wrote that the severely cold winter would have an effect on some of our insect problems. I postulated that the hemlock woolly adelgid population might be severely knocked down. My suspicions were confirmed (in theory) by Professor Mark Whitmore of Cornell University, who is one of the experts on this pest. He said that he wouldn’t be surprised if 80 to 90 percent of the adelgid population could be killed by the winter. On the surface, this sounds like great news for hemlock owners and lovers, but it isn’t.

It seems that the woolly adelgid is parthenogenetic and the females don’t need males to produce offspring. But it gets worse. He said that the surviving females produce so many offspring that even with an 80-percent winter mortality he thought that in only two to three years their numbers would have recovered. There’s one other fact of science that we need to throw in, though. We have to assume that those females that did survive may be genetically resistant to the cold. We should also assume that their offspring will also carry this resistance, so the population reduction, if it holds true, may be a one-time benefit.

There is good news, though. Three insects have been identified that are woolly adelgid predators and do a good job of controlling them. There is testing going on now to confirm this throughout the state, and it’s hoped that by the time these beneficials can be produced in large enough numbers to be an effective control, there will still be hemlocks left in New York.

Every few years I drive down a highway whose trees and bushes bloom in such profusion that I want to stop over and over again to take pictures, but I can’t. I actually drive this road every week and in some years I did it every day, but the more often I drove its length, the less I appreciated the plantings. Over the years, though, I’ve found that my weekly travels from end to end allow me to see the gradual and subtle changes. Even better is the fact that the road is so long and travels through so many areas close to the water or close to densely populated suburbs that it can take a good 10 days for the plants on the eastern terminus to bloom, while the same plants at the western end have already finished.

The current iteration of the road began in the 1940s in Queens and was finished on June 28, 1971, in Riverhead. You guessed it, the Long Island Expressway. And during its construction the ideas about landscaping such thoroughfares changed, as did the nurseries, potato farms and sod farms that once lined its sides. But if you travel from east to west during the right week in May the displays by trees such as flowering cherries, apples, dogwoods, eastern redbuds, forsythia and even a few exits’ worth of magnolias are pretty dramatic. There’s also a great selection of evergreens from the ubiquitous pitch pines in the ’70s to taller pines, hemlocks and shorter yews as you travel west. Make sure that someone else is doing the driving, though. And don’t be behind me, with frequent and unexpected stops.

If you’ve been strong enough to resist the pleas of that crazy Scotty guy on TV and haven’t fertilized your lawn yet, now’s the perfect time. My suggestion is an organic fertilizer, since they do the least environmental damage, are long-lasting and don’t kill off the soil microorganisms. One application now, another late in the summer and a third early in the fall is really all that’s needed with a total of 2 pounds of nitrogen per 1,000 square feet of lawn. That’s a pretty lean regime, but it’s just fine as long as you’re recycling your clippings back into the lawn with a mulching mower and the proper blades.

This is also getting into the prime time for control of lawn grubs. There has been an upswing in the occurrence of Japanese beetles on the East End, and there is no reason to believe this year will be any different. If you had an issue last summer and if you’re willing to use a chemical to control them, this is the time to have it put down. The chemical in question goes by the trade name of Merit and it won’t do a thing to the grubs that are in your lawn now. When Merit is applied from late May through June it sits in the upper layer of the soil. When the female beetles drop to the soil during the summer and lay their eggs, the Merit kills the grubs that develop from the eggs.

Merit has to be applied by a certified pesticide applicator and you can’t buy it at a garden center on Long Island. Some landscapers and homeowners apply it each year, but I think this is totally unnecessary. If you decide to have it applied do it for two years in a row, then stop. See what happens the third year then decide by sampling for grubs if you need to reapply. I doubt if you will.

There are other approaches as well, especially for those not wanting to use the chemical route. There are nematodes (microscopic, worm-like predators) that can be applied that will kill the grubs, and there are bacteria that can be applied. The nematode method is a bit tricky, and they need to be applied at the right time, with the right conditions and using the right species of nematode. The bacteria (Bacillus popilliae or milky spore) is less tricky but may take several years to become effective.

It looks as if the cold winter had no deleterious effects on the eastern tent caterpillar. Mid-month they were all over the wild cherry trees and a few of the native beach plum trees, but they will move to other related trees. These caterpillars rarely kill a tree, but repeated infestations can do damage. The caterpillars are easily controlled by cutting the tents and putting them in black plastic bags or spraying with pyrethrin or spinosad products. The pyrethrins will kill the caterpillars on contact, so it’s helpful to get the tent open early in the day and spray before the caterpillars head out for their daily feeding. Bt, or bacillus thuringiensis, can also be sprayed, but on the foliage, not the caterpillars. The caterpillars ingest the Bt and die in about a day.

It also looks like the ticks had a wonderful winter under the snow. They’re back with a vengeance, so inspect yourself regularly. I’m not shy about using DEET. I put it only on my clothes, and I use it sparingly and never on my skin.

Lastly, a purple coneflower recommendation. There are dozens and dozens of echinacea on the market now, but if you want a tried-and-true purple coneflower, go for the variety “Magnus.” This has always been my favorite in the true purples, as it’s a vigorous plant with reliable large and vibrant flowers. I found large pots, nearly 2-gallon size of Magnus at a local garden center for less than $15 and thought it was a bargain.

And about your Montauk daisies. Pinch them now, or cut them back by 6 to 8 inches. This will delay flowering, but you’ll have lush and compact plants and not the tall floppy Montauk droopers. Keep growing.