We have had a spell of weird, weird weather. First, we don’t have snow cover. Second, we had some unusually high winds. Third, we had crazy warm temps followed by crazy cold ones. This is all unusual. What is even rarer, we have had a number of sunny days.
Still, it is winter.
This being the case, a reader wants to know if it is a good time to deal with damaged limbs on her birches. I suspect due to The Big Wind, she is not the only one. Her concern is sap flowing from the cut come spring. The answer is that sap will flow in the spring from the wounds of the trees as well, so cleaning up now won’t make any difference. I say go ahead and trim. There may even be some self-healing between now and then, which will diminish or eliminate spring sap leaking.
Not recommended are applications of paints and salves sold for tree wounds. From all I read, these simply attract and support bacteria and viruses and disrupt the tree’s natural healing process. If your breaks still have enough bark, you can make splints using duct tape to “fix”them, but why? If you do cut or trim, use a sharp tool and start on the bottom of the limb and cut upward. This prevents the bark on the bottom from “stripping” or ripping down the limb when what you cut falls.
Next, several readers are reacting not to the wind but to the warmth we had. I don’t know where it went, but they want to know if it is a good idea to plant peas and sweet peas if the opportunity arises again? I say of course! What do you have to lose? Talk about extending the season.
By the same token, if there isn’t any snow cover, you can toss poppies and wildflowers onto the lawn-meadow I hope you are establishing. Get out a rake if you can and work the seed through the grass so it comes into contact with soil.
A couple of readers want to know what they should do about rhubarb rearing its head this time of year. As much as I personally would love ours to die, it won’t matter one bit if yours is “out.” Rhubarb is stone hardy. It will be there in early spring ready for a pie. If not, your neighbor needs to divide hers, no doubt, and can give you a new root to grow a new plant.
Some spring-flowering bulbs have also started to show. The bulbs we plant here are hardy; they produce an “antifreeze” of sorts, which keeps them from being damaged if they sprout due to an early thaw. They should be fine – not that there is much you can do about it.
Wait! There is something you might be able to do. I am reminded of one winter in the early days of The Alaska Botanical Garden before mulching became a gardening norm. We didn’t get any snow cover and 90% of The Garden’s collection was lost to frost, so to speak.
You probably don’t have access to leaves right now to put over unmulched perennials, but if we get any snow, it wouldn’t hurt to shovel lots onto your plants, as snow is an acceptable mulch. If we don’t get any snow, plan on replacing some favorite plants this year. Talk about hoping I am wrong, huh!
Jeff’s Alaska Garden Calendar:
The Alaska Botanical Garden: Please join. What are you waiting for? Partake in just a few activities during the year and make your dues back. Go to www.alaskabg.org. And while you are there, check out all the fantastic activities from seed-starting workshops to painting classes, with yoga and so much more in between.
Sticks and limbs: The Big Wind caused lots of dead wood to fall from trees. The stuff up to 2 inches in diameter should be left in place so it can be mulch-mowed this spring. It is full of good plant nutrients; it is ramial wood. Bigger stuff can be chipped or cut into firewood. No burn piles, please.
Seeds to start: Celery, lobelia. Sweet peas for pinching. If you have the room you might even try some tomatoes. Now is when you appreciate having lights, right?