The Garden Club April 8, 2005

April 8, 2005

Enjoy the Clear Pink Blooms of the

- Rhododendron 'Cornell Pink'
- Begin Your Spring Lawn Care Program
- Garden Q&A

Earliest Blooming
Rhododendron.

Rhododendron mucronulatum 'Cornell Pink'

Earliest Blooming Rhododendron
In the early 20th century, knowledgeable gardeners planted Rhododendron mucronulatum in woodland gardens because of its extremely early spring bloom - usually about 2 weeks earlier than the much over-planted rhododendron PJM. The pinky lavender blooms of Rhododendron mucronulatum make an excellent compliment to the earliest of spring blooming bulbs, especially deep blues like Scilla siberica and Chionodoxa (glory of the snow), as well as yellows like Aconite and Narcissus February Gold. This combination was particularly popular at the Delaware Valley Dupont estates, such as Winterthur. Rhododendron mucronulatum is native to northern Asia (China, Korea and Japan), but has adapted well to our woodlands. It was first introduced in the United States in 1882 and by the end of the first quarter of the 20th century was widely planted in woodland estate gardens.

The growing habit of Rhododendron mucronulatum is somewhat like that of an Azalea, and the plant is sometimes referred to as Azalea mucronulatum. (Technically all Azaleas are included in the Rhododendron family). The leaves are small and they turn shades of red and yellow in the fall. However the plant is totally deciduous. In the spring when in full bloom, Rhododendron mucronulatum is totally leafless, giving a nice airy effect and showing the blossoms to maximum effect. I have seen very old R. mucronulatum, 10 feet tall by 6 feet wide, that were well over 50 years old and that made a spectacular display year after year.

Clear Pink Blooms for a Semi-Shaded Spot
Amongst the thousands of Rhododendron mucronulatum that have been grown, a few have displayed particularly attractive flower color. I feel that the best is the true pink variety developed at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York and named 'Cornell Pink'. The color is a pure phlox pink without any trace of lavender. It opens deep pink and matures to a soft, pale pink. 'Cornell Pink' seems to have a denser habit and be more compact than typical R. mucronulatum. I suspect it will mature at about 5 feet tall. Usually scarce and hard-to-find, we have a particularly nice crop this year - but not a huge supply. Order early; Rhododendron mucronulatum 'Cornell Pink' is sure to sell out.

As with so many precocious harbingers of spring, placement is particularly important so that blooms do not open extra early, only to be damaged by a severe night frost. A north or east facing hillside is ideal, as in the north or east side of a building. Southern or western exposures that are warmed by the late winter sun should be avoided.

Planting and Care

For best results, plant in early spring.
Prefers morning sun and afternoon shade or dappled shade all day long.
Plant in a well-drained, acid soil.
Fertilize in early spring and late fall with Cottonseed Meal and Kelp Meal.
Unusually winter hardy; good in zones 4-8.
Available from two gallon pots. $38.85 less 20%

Our Garden Worthy Certification means that your satisfaction is guaranteed.

Rhododendron 'Cornell Pink'

Spring Lawn Care Program From Carroll Gardens

Click here for the Carroll Gardens Lawn Care and Renovation guides to learn how to make your lawn beautiful with some simple maintenance.

Garden Club Frequently Asked Questions

Question: I hope you don't mind answering this question again, but why is it important that the Dimension not be put down before the Forsythia shrubs are just past peak bloom?

Answer: No, I don't mind answering this question again. With Dimension, timing is very important. Almost all crab grass preventors do not last throughout the crabgrass season. Thus for complete control the gardener has to make two applications. Dimension, if applied at the appropriate strength and time, will last through the crabgrass sprouting season with just one application. If applied too soon, it will run out of strength before the end of the season.

Question: My tulips are being eaten. Do you know what is eating them and what I can do about it?

Answer: It is probably rabbits, or even possibly deer. Either way, spraying Ropel should take care of the problem.

Question: When I moved, I took my rose arbor with me. In the last house I had 2 different roses on each side of the arbor. I like the 2 color effect, but the roses had very different growing habits and the whole appearance was unbalanced. Is it possible to have 2 different colored climbing roses with similar growing habits?

Answer: Occasionally, roses have a flower color mutation. If separated and propagated, the resulting rose will be exactly the same as the parent in all respects but flower color. (This is how we got a Blushing Knockout and a Pink Knockout from the original Red Knockout.) The same thing happened with tangerine-colored climbing Westerland. From those color mutations we now have the same rose blooming in peachy apricot (called Autumn Sunset) and soft yellow (called Lemon Meringue). I think Lemon Meringue will give the most color contrast to the original tangerine-colored Westerland.

Question: Clumps of snow drops are in my lawn. Now that they are finished blooming I would like to rescue them and plant them in my flower bed. When can I do this and what kind of place do they grow best in?

Answer: Snow drops seed into the lawn only occasionally. I suspect that years ago there may have been a garden in that spot which has since been seeded over. This means that the snow drop bulbs could be much deeper than the normal inch deep. Snow drop leaves are only weakly attached to the bulbs; so careful digging is required, especially if the bulbs are deep.

Clumps of snow drop bulbs are easily moved just as the flowering is passing, but they are quite forgiving and even if your snow drops were blooming a few weeks ago you can still move them with great success. Snow drop bulbs establish much better if planted in the new site immediately, rather than stored out of the ground over the summer. Snow drops prefer a not-too-dry soil in dappled shade. They resent a site that is hot and dry in the summer. I suggest immediate attention because snow drops go dormant about a month after blooming and will be hard to find amongst the taller new-mown grass.

Question: I cut back my Butterfly Bushes a few weeks ago but I forgot the Crape Myrtle. Do I still have time to cut back my Crape Myrtle?

Answer: There seems to be a misconception that Crape Myrtles, like Butterfly Bushes, benefit from cutting back. While cutting back Butterfly Bushes makes it fuller and more compact, in my opinion cutting back harms the appearance of most Crape Myrtles. Cutting back the top replaces the graceful top growth with overly dense, twiggy growth. In many instances, thinning the Crape Myrtle and removing the lower branches to expose the trunk enhances the appearance.

I have observed many situations in which a Crape Myrtle that is too overpowering as a dense bush can be thinned out and allowed to grow and mature as a small tree. I believe Crape Myrtles should be cut back only if the plant is too tall for its location. All pruning of Crape Myrtles is best accomplished just before new growth appears in the spring. Be aware that top pruning almost always delays blooming for a few weeks, even if done at the proper time.

New Crape Myrtles should be selected with care in relation to their siting, as we now have available different varieties that mature to anywhere from 2 feet to over 25 feet.

Question: I seemed to recall last year in one of the newsletters that you gave us a listing of the tomato plant varieties you would be carrying at the store. Do you have that list available yet for this season? If so could you post it for us again? Thank You.

Answer: Ask and you shall receive. The following is the tomatoes that are growing this year:

Beefmaster
80 days. Hybrid strain beefsteak-type, with good disease resistance. Solid, meaty, bright red tomatoes weighing up to 2 lbs. Better yields than most varieties--with larger fruits. Tolerates cracking and splitting. Indeterminate.

Big Beef
73 days. Combines old-fashioned qualities with modern technology to yield one of the best tomatoes yet developed. Big Beef starts with old-fashioned flavor. It then couples that flavor with bred-in hybrid qualities: colossal fruit size, exceptional yield, consistent uniformity and excellent disease resistance. Fruits are globe-shaped, smooth and uniform, weighing 9 oz. to a pound-most averaging 10-12 oz. Indeterminate.

Brandywine - (Antique)
90-100 days. One of the finest-flavored large tomatoes ever offered. Vigorous plants look like potato vines with good yields of large, fir, clear skinned, rose-pink fruits up to one and a half lbs. Indeterminate.

Celebrity
70 days. Semi-spreading plants that can be mulched and left unsupported, but which perform best when grown on stakes. Standard for main-crop hybrids where multiple disease resistance is required. Features bright red, 7 oz., globed-shaped fruits. Semi-determinate.

Early Goliath
58 days. The superb size, perfect shape, continuous production, luscious flavor and broad disease resistance of the marvelous original Goliath. The bonus is its remarkable earliness-extend the Goliath growing season at the front end of a full week or more without sacrificing the things we love most about Goliath-extra-large harvests of big 8oz., red, sweet fruits that are deep oblate to globe-shaped. A better yielder than the other early varieties. Indeterminate.

Grapette
75 days. Thin-skinned and juicy, with a distinctive flavor and inviting shape. Sweet tomato taste and texture. Oblong fruits weigh just 1/3 to 1/2 oz. each, and present themselves in clusters of 16 to 40 fruits each-easy pickings, and even easier eating! Semi-determinate.

Jet Star
70 days. A prolific producer of big, globe-shaped fruits that ripen all the way through and are quite free of cracks and scars. Excellent flavor with low acidity. Indeterminate.

Mortgage Lifter - (Antique)
85 days. Special strain with extra-large, smooth, uniform fruits weighing 2 lbs. or more. Disease resistant. Indeterminate.

Patio Hybrid
70 days. Perfect for container gardening. Very compact upright, sturdy plants require only 2 foot stakes. Determinate.

SunSugar
62 days. SunSugar, a breakthrough in tomato breeding! Sweeter than Sungold, even better crack resistance, while retaining a very thin skin-SunSugar has it all! Tall-growing plants set loads of half-ounce, golden fruits filled with sweetness and Vitamin A-four times the amount in the usual red tomato. Be sure to tie and stake; SunSugar is a very vigorous Indeterminate.

Supersonic
75 days. Midseason fruits are firm, meaty, very large, deep oblate in shape and smooth, with excellent resistance to cracking. Plants are vigorous and disease resistant. Indeterminate.

Sweet Baby Girl
65 days. The ultimate in super-sweet cherry tomatoes has arrived! The best variety in the world for home growing, with incredible sets of luscious red fruits in long clusters on compact plants. Crack-resistant, bright red fruits weigh less than 1 oz. apiece. Keep well after harvest. Indeterminate.

Bush Celebrity
67 days. Abundant, large, flavorful fruits, on plants just 15" tall set, matures a few days earlier than Celebrity and ripens from the inside out with no green shoulders. Sweet, glossy red fruits average 8 to 9 oz. with that famous Celebrity flavor that perfectly balances sugars and acids. Sets fruits under many growing conditions. Bush-type, spreading plants can be mulched and left unsupported. However performs best when grown on stakes. Perfect for containers.

Old-fashioned Goliath Hybrid
78 days. Real old-fashioned tomato taste in a modern disease-resistant hybrid. The search for a tomato to please everyone has ended up with this "new old-fashioned" member of the enormously popular Goliath Family. This large-fruited wonder has all the qualities of a fine heirloom variety; big fruits 13 oz. or more, and a pleasing combination of sweetness, flavor and very smooth texture. Fruits are oblate, a little bit flattened, with slightly rough shoulders. Plenty of vigor over a long harvest. Indeterminate.

Roma
75 days. Most well-known paste-type. Perfect for sauces, pastes and catsup. Heavy crops of bright red, pear-shaped fruits; meaty, few seeds. Determinate.

Rutgers
75 days. All-purpose variety, ideal for canning. Ripens evenly from inside out. Bright red fruits with heavy walls, average about 7 oz. Full-bodied flavor is an attractive, old-time favorite. Disease resistant. Determinate.

Sunny Goliath
70 days. Gorgeous yellow-gold variation on red Golitah with big juicy fruits, marvelously mild and sweet having a medium-soft texture and a mouthwatering juiciness when ripe. Large, 7 to 8 oz. fruits can be harvested when they first turn yellow, or left on the vine until they reach a brilliant shade of gold. Vigorous plants continue setting fruits from the bottom up. Ideal for those who don't like the acidic bite of most red tomatoes. Indeterminate.

►Garden Club Newsletter Index