In Good Thyme - by Mariana Graham

June 27th issue of Whidbey News Times

The hard work we put into our gardens all spring is now paying off in eye-popping blooms and the promise of delectable home-grown veggies. Late June is the time we can begin to relax a little. Yes, the routine weeding, watering and deadheading must be done, but with any luck, most of the really backbreaking garden chores are behind us. That is, of course, unless you must move significant portions of your garden.
The safest times to transplant most perennials and landscape plants are spring and fall. But if, like me, you're having new windows installed or the house is being painted or reroofed, you may not have a choice. If it's now or never for your transplants, here are a few tips from veteran Master Gardener Fran Sabine of Oak Harbor:

"The key to success at this time of year is minimizing water stress. During a normal summer day, a plant experiences increasing water stress in the late morning and afternoon as temperatures rise and humidity drops. Digging before 9 a.m. will significantly increase the plant's survival rate.
"Studies performed on photinia showed that shrubs dug early had an 80% survival rate, while only 30% of the afternoon-dug plants survived. Morning dug plants that had been irrigated the day before digging enjoyed a 100% survival rate."

Fran continues, "After digging, it is imperative that the plants be hardened off for a week or two. This means putting them in a shaded area and occasionally syringing with water during the daytime."
In summary, for warm-weather transplanting success, water plants thoroughly the day before digging. Dig early in the morning. Place newly dug plants in the shade and mist with water until wilting stops (usually about a week). Water deeply after planting. Forget fertilizer at transplant time. Water is the all-important substance the plant needs to survive as it acclimates to its new location.

NEED AN EDUCATED OPINION?
What's eating holes in your rosebuds before they open? Are your peach tree leaves curling up and turning brown? Why do those rhododendron leaves have notches in them? You can get answers to these and a host of other plant problems from your Master Gardeners, a corps of volunteers whose considerable experience and enthusiasm for gardening is supplemented by technical training through Washington State University Cooperative Extension.

Last week's column provided a schedule of this summer's Island-wide Master Gardener Plant Clinics and information on the Master Gardener telephone hotline. Another service available to you is the Home Horticulture ("Hort") Call. If your plant problem is too big to take to a clinic for analysis, Master Gardeners will come to your garden to offer educated opinions and advice at no cost to you. To request a Home Hort Call, call the Island County WSU Cooperative Extension Office at 679-7327 Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.. You'll then be contacted by a Master Gardener who will make arrangements with you to visit at a mutually convenient time.

SUMMER GARDEN CHORES
When perennials have finished blooming, feed with a balanced organic fertilizer to help them build strength for next season's flowers. The same goes for flowering shrubs. Annuals, on the other hand, are hungry critters that want regular applications of water-soluble 20-20-20 fertilizer to keep on flowering. Deadhead for continuous bloom. Ensure your garden gets about an inch of water per week. If it doesn't rain, supplement with irrigation, but avoid overhead sprinklers that waste water and can damage brittle-stemmed plants such as delphinium. Water early in the morning so that foliage dries by nightfall. Wet leaves invite mildew and disease. Stake tomato plants up off the ground and water at soil level to prevent blight. Apply a thick layer of organic mulch around vegetables and ornamentals to reduce water loss, keep the soil cool, and discourage weeds. Prune overgrown azaleas and rhodies early in July. Don't prune more than a third of the shrub per year. Remove spent flowers and check rhodie leaves for the telltale notching of root weevils. Spittle bugs aren't pretty, but they're harmless. If they bother you, squirt them off foliage with the garden hose. Got thistle? Now's the time to mow down and rake up the prickly weeds. Left on the ground they'll go to seed. Don't throw them (or any weeds with seed heads) on the compost pile. Now sit on the deck with a cool drink and admire the beauty your efforts have produced!

Garden questions or comments? Call 675-6611, e-mail wnt@whidbey.net. Mariana Graham is a MasterGardener and member of Garden Writers Association of America.

MASTER GARDENER CLINICS
Master Gardener plant clinics are being held at various Island locations throughout the summer. On the north end, bring questions and plant samples to The Greenhouse Nursery each Saturday in July from 9 a.m. to noon, Cenex on Aug. 4 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. or the Navy Exchange Garden Shop June 23 and 30 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. In Central Whidbey, it's at the Coupeville Farmers Market each Saturday through the end of July from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
South end clinics include Freeland Ace Hardware from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on June 23, July 28, Aug. 25 and Sept. 22. You can also find Master Gardeners at South Whidbey Tilth on July 7, Aug. 4, and Sept. 1 from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. Clinics are held at Bayview Farm and Garden June 23 and 30, July 7, 14, 21, 28; Aug. 4, 11, 18 and 25. Clinics may be scheduled at other locations when volunteers and resource materials are available. 'Can't make it to a plant clinic? Call the Master Gardener hotline (360) 679-7327 each Monday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. through the end of September. Garden questions or comments? Call 675-6611, e-mail wnt@whidbey.net. Mariana Graham is a Master Gardener and member of Garden Writers Association of America.