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Judging from the number of questions I have been getting, it is time to address common gardening problems that are frustrating readers. Often the questions start out like "Is this a normal year?" or "When will conditions be right for my plants?" or "When are we going to have an average year again?"
As a lifelong gardener, I will share my observations. Normal means nothing when it comes to the weather! Whatever plants you are trying to grow, conditions are likely to be opposite and average years are mathematical calculations, not gardening practices.
Having put to rest the idea that we are likely to have the right weather for your plants on a consistent basis, do remember that millions of plants are thriving in spite of the weather. It is always human nature to focus on what is going wrong.
Although it might seem like a strange place to start with the unseasonably hot weather this spring, winterkill has certainly done severe damage to many plants. When you try to explain the problem, the reaction from the gardener with the damaged plants is, "It can't be winterkill because it never got that cold this winter."
The statement explains the problem. Plants produce no heat and they quickly come to whatever air temperature happens to be. They survive the winter best when temperatures cool down gradually in the fall, stay cold and finally warm up gradually in the spring.
Think back and you will recall that this winter was exactly the opposite. I was reroofing my greenhouse in mid December in my shirtsleeves. In between these unseasonable warm spell, temperatures dropped to well below freezing. The alternating freeze/thaw, freeze/thaw cycles kept plants from ever hardening off, so winter damage was rampant.
Roses are among the most severely damaged plants but the severity is extremely variable. Some rose gardens lost many plants, other have almost no damage. It does point out the need to give the roses the correct care in the fall to reduce winterkill problems.
Hybrid tea roses are the least hardy so they showed the most damage. That meant many of them needed severe pruning to remove the dead wood. In extreme case the plants were damaged so severely they had to be replaced.
Plants that are marginally hardy in our area suffered the worst. Many broad-leafed shrubs lost their foliage but most have recovered without permanent damages. If they do not have good growth, cut back the dead wood.
Switching to another group of plants, consider your vegetable transplants. The common concern with tomatoes is why are they growing so slowly and why are the bottom leaves turning yellow?
Think of the 90+ weather mid May, the near freezing temperatures the next week and the exceptionally hot weather the week after. All these take their toll on your plants so be patient. If they are light green in color, use a transplant fertilizer to perk them back up but do not apply too much nitrogen.
Those unseasonably warm temperatures took their toll on newly planted and existing plants. While the plants always get that warm over the summer, leaves in the spring have not yet developed their cutin or waxy layer that protects the leaves from drying out so excessive heat early in the season is most destructive.
Keep your plants watered adequately but do not drown them. Overwatering causes the death of many plants as the small absorbing roots are quickly killed if they do not get enough oxygen.
There are of course they usual kinds of disease problems. Roses are showing rusty spots on the leaves and powdery mildew is rampant on some rose varieties and on Jonathan and many other varieties of apples.
Spraying for mildew on the apple is not effective now because leaves on apples are already fully formed. Preventive sprays need to start as the buds first emerge in the spring to be effective.
If you are noticing black spots on your aspens, the infection occurred weeks ago. Spraying now is a waste of time and money. Keep the sprinklers from hitting the trees and remember to deal with the problem earlier next year.
Aphids are also troublesome on many plants. Start with kinder, gentler solutions if they are causing damage. Wash off the backsides of the leaves with a strong stream of water and add some insecticidal soap if needed. Avoid spraying if possible as that kills the predators and that makes the problems worse.
Fruit insects are always troublesome. Because there are so many pests on so many kinds of fruit, I recommend you keep updated on those pests their controls by frequently checking the IPM pest updates at http://extension.usu.edu/cooperative/ipm/ . This contains links to the home orchard pest control guide and to the updates.
While there are many other garden problem, these are some of the more common, unanswered difficulties you might see in this normal, no make that average or just call it another unique year.
Larry Sagers
Horticultural Specialist
Utah State University Extension Service
Thanksgiving Point Office
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