Garden Guru
By Kerry A. Mendez
Q:How can I keep my neighbor’s cat from using my garden as its litter box?
A:Get a dog. Just joking (half-heartedly). Flower gardens seem to be irresistible port-a-potties for many cats. They enjoy a huge litter box with privacy screens. Can you blame them? But this doesn’t ease the frustration one feels when we hit one of their buried treasures. There are smell repellants you can apply to send them away in disgust. Bonide makes a granular product called Shot-Gun Dog and Cat Repellant that has an obnoxious odor to our four-footed friends. Shake-Away is a product that works the same way, but it contains fox and coyote urine. You simply scatter these on the soil to dissuade visitors. Pepper and garlic sprays also work when applied to plants. Rue graveolens is an attractive herb that smells disgusting to cats. Rue is a perennial hardy to zone 5, with showy, bluish-green leaves and yellow flowers. It grows about 2’ – 3’ tall in full sun and well-drained soil. It looks pretty in my beds and works as an invisible cat fence. Cats also dislike the smell of citrus. Scatter orange and lemon peels around areas that show signs of a cat’s calling card. Cat Scat is an interesting product. It kind of looks like a bed of one-inch nails, but it is a brown plastic mat with spikes that effectively discourages cats. Or to save money, make your own version using thorny rose canes or brambly branches. Needless to say, trapping is out.
Q:I always see great deals on shrubs and trees at the end of the season. Is it safe to plant these so late?
A:It depends on the plant and how late you are referring to. I love a deal and I am the first in line to purchase good buys. Most deciduous shrubs and younger trees (plants that lose their leaves in the winter) can safely be planted through October in our area. Of course, you greatly increase the odds of how these survive Old Man Winter’s attacks with proper planting and good watering. Before planting, water the container well. When digging the hole, make sure it is at least twice the width of the container and a depth that is the same height of the container. You can add a small amount of compost or manure to the planting hole, mix it into the existing soil and set the plant at the same depth it was in the pot. Water the root ball well, backfill the hole with soil, tamp down and water again. Continue watering the new plant regularly until the ground freezes. I am hesitant to plant any evergreens (plants that retain their leaves/needles in the winter) after mid-October. These are more vulnerable to winterkill because they continue to transpire water though their leaves in winter. Unfortunately, evergreens cannot replenish water loss from frozen ground. This can be extremely stressful, even fatal, to the plant if it hasn’t rooted out well after transplanting. The final point I would make is the healthier any plant is before you dig it in, the better its odds of surviving the winter. If the plant already looks stressed in the pot (i.e., it was not cared for properly at the garden center), then it is already behind the eight ball. Leave it there.
Q:Silver is such an elegant color. What are some silver-leaved plants I can add to my gardens? Are there any flowers that are silver?
A:Silver certainly adds an air of sophistication to any garden. An added bonus is that many of these silvery-leaved plants are also drought tolerant. Plus, they do a fabulous job at quieting down loud colors that are close to each other, acting as a mitigating go-between. I have many silver peacemakers in my gardens. I personally love pairing these with blue, purple and pink flowers or next to plants with blue or burgundy leaves. The majority of plants with silver leaves enjoy sunny locations and good drainage. Sun-loving, silver-foliaged perennials include lamb’s ear, artemisias (be careful of ‘Silver King’ and ‘Silver Queen’ that can be very invasive), edelweiss (leontopodium), santolina (herb, borderline zone 5 and 6), pussytoes (antennaria), yarrow ‘Moonshine’, snow-in-summer (cerastium), lychnis rose campion and salvia argenta (a biennial). Perennials for shade include spotted dead nettle (lamium ‘Pink Pewter’, ‘White Nancy’ and ‘Red Dragon’), Brunnera ‘Jack Frost’ and ‘Looking Glass’, pulmonaria ‘Majeste’ and ‘Diana Clare’. Silver-leaved annuals include dusty miller, licorice plant (helichrysum) and dichondra ‘Silver Falls’. Persian Shield is stunning with shiny silver and purple leaves. There are also a few silvery-white flowers to add refinement to your garden. Sea holly ‘Miss Wilmott’s Ghost’ and globe thistle ‘Artic Glow’ have silvery flowers that seem to especially glow at dusk. Moroccan sea holly (eryngium variifolium) initially has silvery-balled flowers, but they slowly turn blue as the flowers mature.
Editors note: This is Kerry’s last column for the season. We look forward to her return next spring.
Kerry Mendez is the owner of Perennially Yours and is a teacher, writer, speaker and consultant residing in Ballston Spa. To learn more about her work, please visit her web site at www.pyours.com.