Garden Plants Information

Flowering Dogwood trees can be easily grown from seed. However 99.9999% of the seedlings that sprout will be Cornus Florida, which is White Flowering Dogwood. It doesn’t matter if you collect the seeds from a White Dogwood or a Pink Dogwood, the seedlings are likely to be white.

The only predictable way to grow a Pink Dogwood, Red Dogwood, or one of the beautiful Dogwoods with variegated leaves, is to bud or graft the desired variety onto a White Dogwood seedling. That’s why the botanical name for Pink Dogwood is Cornus Florida Rubra. Cornus means Dogwood, Florida indicates White, Rubra indicates Red or Pink. Cornus Florida Rubra indicates Pink Dogwood grown on White Dogwood rootstock.

Between budding and grafting, budding is the most common technique used in the nursery industry. Grafting is usually done in the late winter months when the plants are dormant. When you graft a plant you remove a small branch (4 to 6 inches) from the desired variety, trim the end of the branch to expose the tissue under the bark and then trim a taper on the end. You then trim the seedling in such a way to match and receive the branch you are grafting on to it. Timing, temperature, and humidity are all critical to the success of the procedure, which is usually done in a greenhouse.

Budding is much easier, and does not have to be done in a controlled environment. Most budding is done later in the summer when the bark on the seedling slips easily. That means that when a cut is made in the bark of the seedling it can be easily pulled away from the tissue layer under the bark. This tissue is known as the cambium layer. Here in the north Crabapples and other fruits are usually ready to bud around mid to late July, while Dogwoods are not ready until late August.

Unlike grafting where you use a small branch to attach to the seedling, when you bud you insert a single bud under the bark. Budding is usually done down low on the seedling, very close to the soil. You can bud up higher, but any new growth that appears below that bud must be removed because it will be identical to the rootstock and not the desired variety.

The budding process is quite simple. Just clip a branch from the tree of the desired variety, this is known as a bud stick because it has many buds that can be used for budding. The buds can be found at the base of each leaf. Look closely where the leaf emerges from the branch and you will see a very small bud. In the fall when the tree goes dormant the leaf will fall off, and bud will remain. The following spring the bud will grow into a new branch.

When you slip that bud under the bark of a compatible seedling, it will grow the following spring just as if it were still on the parent plant, with all of the qualities of the desired variety. Almost all fruit bearing and ornamental trees are grown this way.

Just make a “T” shaped cut in the bark of the seedling. A horizontal cut about

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Getting Your seed to sprout, is only the first step in the game; they must be provided with the means of immediately beginning to grow.

This means that they should not be left to germinate in loosely packed soil, full of air spaces, ready to dry out at the first opportunity, and to let the tiny seed roots be shriveled up.

The soil should touch the seed - be pressed close about it on all sides, so that the first tiny tap root will issue immediately into ideal surroundings where it can instantly take hold.

Such conditions can be found only in a seed-bed fine but light enough to pack, reasonably rich and sufficiently moist, and where, in addition to this, the seed has been properly planted.

Try to never let the soil become crusted, even if there is not a weed in sight. Keep the soil loosened up, for that will keep your garden growing very nicely.

You should sow from the end of March to the beginning of May, or when plum and peach trees bloom, the following:

Beet, Cabbage, Carrot, Cauliflower

Celery, Endive, Kale, Kohlrabi

Lettuce, Onions, Parsley, Parsnip

Peas, Radish, Spinach, Turnip

Water-cress

Sow from the beginning of May to the middle of June, or when apple trees bloom, the following:

Beans, Corn, Cucumber, Squash

(Melon, water), (Melon, musk), Pumpkin

Tomato, Okra

The planting depths and spacing is critical when it comes to planting your garden… Every veggie has a different depth and space needed to grow as big as possible. You will find that some like to be crowed and others need plenty of space. You want to make sure that you give them the appropriate amount of space so they all get food and water.

You want to be able to get to the vegetables without walking on the plants. You also do not want to walk on the soil that you plan to use to plant.

Some plants also tend to take an abundance of water and feed from the soil, so you will want to have them isolated from the other plants.

Remember that a majority of your seeds will not bloom; so seeding heavy is okay when it comes to things like lettuce, where the seeds are very small. You may want to sprinkle some food on top lightly so that the seeds have a better chance of making it.

However, if you have already fertilized the land, you do not need to add the food!

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Keeping Your Soil Healthy

Your soil is the most important part of your garden, but too many people forget to nurture their soil. Soil is a living thing, containing microbes, fungi, insect life and general “creepy-crawlies” vital to plant health and vigor, as well as a receptacle for chemicals and trace elements. Doing a little soil prep every fall pays off each and every harvest.

First, add more organic matter. Use your rototiller or your spade, and dig under frostbitten plant material, grass clippings, leaves, wood chips, and compost. Avoid using any diseased plant material as compost - burn it first if there are no local restrictions on burning. If you live near any livestock, cover your garden with 1 - 2″ of uncomposted manure, then disguise that with other organic materials, and let the whole thing winter over. A blanket of snow from December through March will turn all of it into about

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