Dear Helen: Is it true that rosettes of sedums and sempervivums (hen and chicks) die down once they have flowered? If they do, will it ruin the appearance of a planting?
P.G.
It is true that the fleshy rosettes of these succulents die after flowering, but they do so in tasteful fashion. They simply melt away into nothingness as adjacent rosettes fill in their spaces.
听
Dear Helen: Last year I planted red-hot poker plants, which bloomed well. This year, they produced even more of their red flowers, then they all turned yellow. I鈥檓 left with a load of seed pods. Should I cut the flowered stems off the plants and sow the seeds?
D.H.
It鈥檚 usual practice to remove dead flowers from perennial plants, for two reasons 鈥� to maintain a tidy look in the plants, and to prevent them from expending energies in seed production.
If you wish to try growing more plants from the seeds, let the pods dry on the plants until they open to expose the seeds. Then gather the pods into a paper bag for storing in a dry, evenly cool place.
Sow the seeds in early spring, in flats indoors. Germination usually takes two to three weeks. Seed grown plants will begin blooming in their second year.
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Dear Helen: I don鈥檛 understand how ethylene gas works in fruit ripening, in particular with kiwi fruit.
G.M.
Ethylene gas, given off by ripe and ripening fruit, hastens ripening in other fruits. The kiwi fruit that we pick in the fall, before hard frosts, and store at refrigerator temperatures are brought indoors in batches for ripening. Placing a ripe apple in a plastic bag (left partly open for ventilation) with the kiwis shortens the ripening time, because of the ethylene provided by the apple.
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Dear Helen: For the first time, the peaches on our well established tree appeared bruised, starting out as small bruises that expanded to the pit. The tree grows under a roof overhang.
P.B.
Your peaches may have been infected by brown rot, a fungus that affects stone fruits. Soft, rounded spots appear on ripening fruit and expand rapidly to cause rotting throughout. On the tree, sunken cankers may appear on twigs. Twig tips may also die back.
It鈥檚 important to clear away all affected fruit and twigs from the tree as soon as they are seen. Do not compost any of the infected material. Keep the ground under and around the tree cleaned of fallen debris.
Avoid over-fertilizing with nitrogen and thin developing fruit enough to keep the peaches well spaced. Make sure the tree is kept adequately watered as the fruit is swelling and ripening. Water at ground level. Prune the tree to relieve any congestion and expose all parts fully to sun and air.
Even under the overhang of a roof the tree would have been exposed to extreme dampness in the unusually wet weather that lasted through much of the spring. Rain, wind and pollinating insects can all play a part in spreading the spores of brown rot.
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I鈥檒l be taking a break from writing a column for this coming holiday weekend. Happy Labour Day to all.
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Garden Events
VHS meeting. The Victoria Horticultural Society will meet on Tues. Sept. 5, at 7:30 p.m., in the Garth Homer Centre, 813 Darwin Ave. Lora Morandin, Western sa国际传媒 program manager for Pollinator Partnership sa国际传媒, will explore how to select plants for pollinators in the East Vancouver Island region in Pollinator Projects. At the pre-meeting workshop at 6:30, Lora will offer practical advice for creating pollinator-friendly gardens. VHS memberships will be available at the door. Or, attend your first meeting as a guest of the society.
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Food garden tour. Back by popular demand is the second Urban Food-Garden Tour on Sat. Sept. 9, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The self-guided tour of 14 inspiring home-food gardens includes back and front yards, allotments and boulevards. Among four educational stops are Indigenous food gardens in Beacon Hill Park. Tickets, costing $15 (free for under-19s), are available at GardenWorks locations, brownpapertickets.com and garden entrances while supplies last.
The event is a fundraiser for sustainable community food projects both locally and in South Africa. Details at
vicurbanfoodgardens.wixsite.com/tour.