HOT! Hot! Hot! Iam sticking my neck out (thoroughly sun- screened of course) and predicting a hot, dry Water restrictions will be needed more than ever and this means added stress to all of our gardens. This makes Ruth D.’s question all the more appro- priate: “I have a front-facing flower bed that has presented problems for the past few years. It gets full sun all day long and is up against a bright = white wall, Every thing I plant in the area scems to struggle all summer long and never quite looks as good as | intended. To make matters worse, the area is partially cov- ered by an awning and so receives very little natural water. Do you have any sug- gestions for-bedding plants that will tolerate these condi- tions? T would rathei stick to plants chat are approximately 12 inches in height.” First suggestion Ruth, make sure your soil is rich in humus. That is to say it should contain large amounts of organic material such as compost or well-rotted mush- room or steer manure. This will help to retain for longer periods of time the little mois- ture that becomes availabic. Next, FE would look into a soaker hose. This will allow you to maximize the amount of water you are applying to the area and feel confident north shore news 4 FJOME & GARDEN Soil rich in humus will survive hot weather NEWS photo Terry Poters PETUNIAS are great in hot and sticky situations. that you are giving the soil a thorough soaking. Make sure this is a soaker hose rather than a sprinkling hose. There are some god ones in the gar- den centres, black in color and made from recycled rubber tires. I should length h H abo mention Pthe bed is much fenuth, vou will he better off if vou split the hose in hwo and use a Y-titting to supply water from the mid dle. This will assure that vou get the maximum water pre sure throughout and theretore ancy istribution of water. Now for the plants. In actual fhet, there are more bedding plants capable of rol- erating hot, sunny conditions than there are shady situations. Here are a few of my favorites that should tolerate your situ- ation with no problem -— as long as they get enough water: African daisy; calendula; celosia; dianthus; geranium: ice plants; Livingston da marigolds; nasturtiums; pet- unias; portulaca; snapdragons; sweet alyssum; vinca; wax begonias; zinnias. Good luck Ruth. T would also like to address Sunday, May 17, 1998 — North Shore News - 29 Jeff's question regarding «the planting and care of young arbutus wees He writes: “I thy * purchased: al- foot tall rh vdotendrons and azaieas. . Eve read that the arburus prefers dry summers and fast- draining, sandy soil, The soil in the bed I planted it in is def- initely more humusy and cov- ered witht a Jayer of black plas- tic and bark mulch. Would this be roo moist for this draining soil and dric mers, but not to the point that they cannot tolerate our North Shore garden environ- ments. hey can take a good deal of soil moisture, certainly enough to keep your rhado- dendrons and azaleas happv. What they cannot take is wet feet. It is imperative that you make sure the site is well drained. Arbutus are subject fone te root rot and can fail quite quickly if the soil st. for prolonged pei or if the roots a any ads of dime damaged in vis why they are hard to transplant, the slightest amount of abrasion io) cheir sensitive roots systems in’ the planting process can cayse root rot to begin. For this reason, I am going to suggest that vou remove the bark mulch and black plas- tic as this can hold moisture in tor too long. Better to plant the area with a compatible ground cover; your thoughts on using arctostaphyllus or kinnickinnick would be entire~ ly appropriate. . 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