Q. Are tomato plants self-pollinating?

    A. Tomato plants do not require cross-pollination by another plant to produce fruit, but fruit set will be heavier if plants are visited by bees or exposed to wind to shake flowers and move pollen from the male to the female parts.

 

    Q. I planted a wisteria vine several years ago. It looks healthy and produces plenty of new growth each year, but it hasn't flowered. Is there anything I can do to encourage it to bloom?

    A. Gardener's love the dramatic flower clusters of wisteria, but the vines have a well earned reputation for being slow to bloom. Asian wisterias may take 15 years or more to mature to the point where they're ready to flower. Some native species reach flowering age sooner. They also re-bloom during the summer; the Asian types tend to flower once in late spring. To succeed with any wisteria, start with high quality plants, select a planting site with deep, moist but well drained soil that is neutral or slightly alkaline (pH of 7 or slightly higher), and avoid high nitrogen fertilizers, which will encourage foliage production over flowering.

 

    Q. I planted rhubarb two years ago. Can I harvest some this year?

    A. The usual recommendation is to wait two or three years before harvesting a new planting to give the plants time to get established, so it should be OK to make at least a light harvest. Depending on the variety you planted, leaf stalks may be mostly green with a little red blush toward the base or solid red. Be sure to consume only the stalks. The leaves and the rest of the plant contain oxalic acid in quantities that make them unsafe to eat. It's also a good idea to remove any flower stalks as soon as they appear. Flowering and seed production use a lot of plant energy that could be devoted to foliage production.

 

    Q. When should I divide clumps of asters?

    A. Early spring, when they've made a few inches of new growth, is the best time. After removing any old growth, use a spade or garden fork to dig up the whole clump. If the clump is too big to dig up all at once, use a spade to cut it into manageable pieces. Use your hands or a knife to divide the clump, making sure each division has one or more healthy looking shoots and a good number of roots. The center will likely be bare and woody, so figure on adding that to the compost pile and replanting the divisions from the perimeter. Replant as quickly as possible, with the crown of each division at the same depth as the original plant, water and mulch.

 

Things to do in May:

    1. Prune early spring flowering trees and shrubs after flowers fade.

    2. Remove and destroy overwintering bagworms from landscape trees and shrubs.

    3. Apply fungicides to roses to control diseases such as black spot.

    4. Plant frost tender plants after danger of frost is past. (May 15 is our frost free date)

    5. Pinch chrysanthemums to keep them compact and well branched.

    6. Make successive plantings of beans and sweet corn to extend the season of harvest.

    7. Thin seedlings of early planted crops, such as carrots, lettuce, spinach and beets, to their proper spacing.

    8. Harvest asparagus by cutting or snapping spears at or just below soil level.

    9. Harvest rhubarb by cutting, or grasp the stalk and pull it up and slightly to one side.

    10. Remove blossoms from newly set strawberry plants to allow better runner formation.

  

MAY
Tuesday, May 6
Noon -- Lunch and Learn at the Garden of the Senses in downtown Van Wert. A 30-minute program on planting containers will be given by the Master Gardeners. Bring lunch for an informative program