Basil will be happy outdoors — once the weather warms
By Valerie Easton
Special to The Seattle Times
MONROVIA
Syringa vulgaris 'Sensation' features dark-purple flowers outlined in white. |
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Q: I bought a basil plant at Trader Joe's last summer, and it's still going strong on the window sill. Can I plant it out in the garden?
A: Yes, it'll grow far larger and lusher outdoors, but you'll have to wait another couple of months. Basil needs consistent temperatures of 50 degrees at night, and if this spring is as chilly as the past couple, that means at least mid-June before your basil plant should venture outdoors.
Q: I'm thinking of planting a hedge of lilacs at the back of my garden where we've cut back the lawn for a new flower bed. Is a lilac hedge a good idea? If so, I'd like fragrant, old-fashioned kinds in different colors. What would you suggest?
A: If you like the idea of a lilac hedge, then the back of a garden where it isn't too visible is a good spot. While lilacs are supremely beautiful when in bloom, they're bare sticks in winter and leggy green bushes in summer. But to me, the ultimate gardening luxury is going out in late April to cut a huge bouquet of fresh, sweet-smelling lilacs.
If you've got sun, good drainage, willingness to prune and sufficient space, I'd go for it. And lace the lilacs with clematis, so you get some bloom in summer, too.
There are so many lilacs to choose from, it'll make your head spin. Syringa vulgaris 'President Lincoln' is the bluest lilac; 'Ellen Wilmott' is one of the best white lilacs, with double fragrant snowy flowers. 'Primrose' has yellow flowers, 'Edith Cavell' has flowers of warm cream and 'Sensation' is widely available with dark purple flowers trimmed in white.
It's a good idea to buy a lilac with at least one flower on it, for they can take up to five years to bloom.
To shop for a great selection of lilacs while drenching yourself in flower and scent, visit Hulda Klager Lilac Gardens, a historic site in Woodland in Cowlitz County (20 miles north of Vancouver, Wash.), during the annual Lilac Festival, April 15 through May 14. It's open every day from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. For directions, see www.lilacgardens.com.
Q: I'm e-mailing in great anguish, as it appears we have verticillium on our property in Seattle . We have not done a soil sample but are going on the recent diagnosis of a master gardener and certified arborist. Over the past five years, we have lost old almond trees, mimosa, a wisteria vine and staghorn sumac.
We did not realize something could be terribly wrong until the wisteria failed to bloom last year. Now the worst has happened — our beloved 30-year-old vine maple appears to have the disease! Short of moving or ripping everything out and paving over with concrete or (horrors) juniper, is there anything we can do?
A: First, I'm so sorry. You're experiencing what every gardener dreads — watching beloved plants sicken and die. I took your question to Olaf Ribeiro, a well-known plant pathologist on Bainbridge Island . His advice:
"The first thing I would do is have a lab confirmation that it is verticillium wilt. In most cases, it is anything but verticillium wilt when we check it out in my lab. Visual diagnosis can be costly.
"The next thing I would do is screen the mulch for pathogens. The problem is more likely to be rhizoctonia that is quite prevalent in landscapes I have evaluated. Rhizoctonia can be controlled fairly effectively and at low cost. Phytophthora and pythium — two common root-rotting pathogens in Northwest landscapes — particularly those over-irrigated and over-fertilized, could also cause the symptoms described.
"Your best bet is to have a soil and root test done to find out what is really the cause of the problem. Otherwise, replacing plants will just be an exercise in futility."
That sounds like a pretty hopeful answer to me. Ribeiro can do such tests in his lab, and he also does consultations ( fungispore@comcast.net).
Or you can contact the Elizabeth C. Miller Library at the University of Washington ( hortlib@u.washington.edu or 206-543-0415), and ask about its lists of qualified landscape consultants.
ValerieEaston also writes about Plant Life in Sunday's Pacific Northwest Magazine. Write to her at P.O. Box 70 , Seattle , WA 98111 or e-mail planttalk@seattletimes.com with your questions. Sorry, no personal replies.
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