Phlox 'Bright Eyes'
Phlox 'Bright Eyes' is one of many cultivars that are resistant to powdery mildew. Photo courtesy of Missouri Botanical Garden

GARDENER’S CHECKLIST: Week of March 3, 2022

March bears witness to the eternal struggle of lions vs. lambs, but Ron keeps us safe and distracted with a checklist of indoor gardening possibilities.

Lions came rushing in this week, carried by the fearsome winds that have been so prevalent this winter: mildew, spongy egg masses and more.  Nevertheless, I suspect we’ll soon see a few bright-eyed lambs appearing in the form of new and healthy buds, hopefully not pursued by the ravenous jaws of these airborne pests. In the meantime, here are some indoor gardening tasks to place on your checklist and help distract from the eternal struggle of lion vs lamb:

Use pots of biodegradable material for starting seeds of plants that do not respond well to transplanting, as well as for starting vegetable seedlings.

* Give garden phlox another chance in your flower bed. There are many new varieties these days, and these are not the phlox of your mother’s garden; they are hardier, resistant to powdery mildew, the bane of yesteryear’s phlox.  Mildew-resistant varieties include: ‘Blue Boy’, ‘Bright Eyes’, ‘David’, ‘Delta Snow’, ‘Mt. Fujiyama’, ‘Orange Perfection’,  ‘Robert Poore’, ‘Fashionably Early Crystal’, and ‘Starfire’.  

* Nor should you give up on bee balm (Monarda) just because the ones in Mom’s garden were so susceptible to powdery mildew. Try one of these disease-resistant varieties: ‘Blue Stocking’, ‘Gardenview Scarlet’, and ‘Marshall’s Delight’.    

* Improve the efficiency of your vegetable gardening efforts. Commit to keeping a record, noting when the harvest of each crop began and when it ended. Make note of how much was needed for fresh use and how much was preserved. Then determine if more or less space will be required next year to satisfy family needs.

* Get some biodegradable pots to use for starting seeds that do not respond well to transplanting. Start and grow the seedling in the same pot and then plant it in the garden at the appropriate time, pot and all.  Plants that do not transplant well include: annual phlox, lupine, morning glory, nasturtium, poppy, toadflax (Linaria), cucumber, squash, pumpkin, chervil, dill, and fennel. Bio-degradable pots are made from peat, wood fiber, paper, and even manure.    

* Start the following vegetable seeds indoors this week: Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, celery, celeriac, leeks, onions, rosemary and parsley.

* Start these flowers from seed this week: Dianthus, Digitalis, Heliotrope, Salvia, Verbena, and Viola.

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Scrape off the egg masses of spongy moth from the bark of oaks, birches and other trees in the home landscape.

For those willing to face down a lion or two, scout the trees in your home landscape for the egg masses of spongy moths (Lymantria dispar), formerly known as “gypsy moth”.  Spongy moth caterpillars were a big problem throughout our area last year and caused substantial defoliation of many trees, especially oaks, birch, and apple. The egg masses are tan-colored patches about 1 – 1 ½ inches long, located on the bark of trees, mostly near the lower portion of the tree trunk.  Some may be seen much higher up the trunk. Gently scraping the egg masses into a container of soapy water reduces the damage to the infested tree, but does not totally eliminate the pest. Trees that were significantly defoliated last year will be severely stressed if subjected to a repeat of such leaf loss. While scraping spongy moth egg masses from entire forests is totally impractical, a targeted approach can help reduce the impact on a tree in a home landscape.  Just make sure to study up on lion-taming before you head out!