What's Up In The Garden by Jackie Dohlman

Tips on Rhubarb Varieties, Planting Bare-Root Trees, and Planting Vegetables in Containers

What are the best rhubarb varieties for home gardens?

The cultivars ‘Canada Red,’ ‘Crimson Red,’ ‘MacDonald,’ and ‘Valentine’ have attractive red stalks and are good choices for Iowa gardens. ‘Victoria’ is a reliable, green-stalked cultivar. Rhubarb plants can be purchased from garden centers and mail-order companies.

When should bare-root trees be planted?

As the name suggests, bare-root trees and shrubs have no soil around their roots. The nursery stock is dug in late fall, placed in cold storage, and then is shipped to garden centers or directly to consumers in early spring. Bare-root trees and shrubs must be planted in early spring before growth begins. If rainy weather or other circumstances prevent planting within a few days of purchase, store bare-root material in a cool location, such as a garage or root cellar, until planting is possible.

I would like to grow a few vegetables in containers. Can I use garden soil or should I purchase a commercial potting mix?

Plants grown in containers require a well-drained growing medium. Garden soil alone is not a good growing medium. Garden soil compacts when placed in a container, resulting in poor water drainage and aeration. Soil also pulls away from the inside of the container when it dries, making it difficult to properly water plants. A homemade potting mix can be prepared using equal amounts (volumes) of garden soil, sphagnum peat moss and perlite.

A commercial potting mix often is the best choice when gardening in containers. The quality of commercial potting mixes varies considerably. Poor quality potting mixes are often inexpensive, black, heavy and don’t drain well. High quality commercial potting mixes are lightweight, well-drained, free of plant disease organisms and weed seeds, retain moisture and nutrients well, and don’t readily compact. Commercial potting mixes can be purchased at garden centers and many other retail businesses.

Got gardening questions? Contact the Hortline at (515) 294-3108 (Monday - Friday; 10 a.m. -12 noon and 1 - 4:30 p.m.) or send an e-mail to hortline@iastate.edu. For more gardening information visit us at Yard and Garden Online at www.yardandgarden.extension.iastate.edu

picture courtesy of flickr.com