Perennials That Don't Need Dividing!

Many perennials need to be divided every 2 or 3 years. If over time they are not divided and cleaned up, they start to decline in health and flowering ability. At first this isn’t too big a problem, but sometimes after a while you can wish you had planted something that requires a little less maintenance.

Now you can divide plants for propagation or to control size, but our requirements for the purpose of this article, are plants that don’t need to be divided to stay healthy, that won’t grow too thickly or crowd themselves out, or develop woody-type stems or roots that don’t over winter well.

So here are a few perennials that require no division at all and will give you some extra choices when you think about planting something new in your yard or garden.

Aconitum – Monkshood – Hardy to zone 3
Adenophora uehatae – Lady Bells – Hardy to zone 5
Aruncus dioicus – Goatsbeard – Hardy to zone 4
Baptisia australis – Flase indigo – Hardy to zone 3
Crambe cordifolia – Colewort- Hardy to zone 6
Dictamnus albus – Gas plant – Hardy to zone 2
Eryngium amethystinum – Sea holly – Hardy to zone 6
Gaura lindheimeri – Gaura – Hardy to zone 5
Gypsophila paniculata – Baby’s breath – Hardy to zone 3
Helleborus niger – Christmas Rose – Hardy to zone 3
Hibiscus moscheutos – Rose Mallow – Hardy to zone 6
Hosta - Hardy to zone 3
Paeonia – Peony – Hardy to zone 5

For more plant ideas and gardening tips go to: Weekend Gardener Monthly Web Magazine

How To Save Corn Seed

If you are going to save corn seed this year, make sure it has not been cross pollinated, or that it is not seed from a hybrid plant, because hybrid varieties may not produce fertile seed. You’ll want to do this seed saving exercise only with a non-hybrid variety of corn.

Here's How To Do It:

1. To save corn seed choose the earliest and the best-developed corncobs you can find

2. Cover them with a large enough paper bag to be able tie the top off to keep the bugs and grubs out

3. Do not use a plastic bag as the cob needs to breathe

4. Allow the cob to develop and dry out on the stalk as long possible

5. To store the cobs, remove them from the bag, pull back the husks, and hang in a dry area away from bugs or rodents, or you will end up with a dried out corncob with no seed

6. When the cobs are fully dried out, carefully break-off the seed, store in a paper bag, and keep in a cool place (the bottom of the fridge is a good spot) until springtime and you want to sow it

7. Good seed should be viable for at least two years

If you like this tip about saving seed, get more at: gardening tips

How to Harvest Pumpkins Properly

To make sure your pumpkins last as long as possible, they must be harvested, cured, and stored properly.

A common mistake is to harvest fruit while it’s still immature, which gives you fruit that can not be successfully stored, giving you poor quality results.

On the other hand, keep in mind that mature fruit that have been removed from the vine are still alive, so proper curing and storage will slow the rate of respiration, and prolong the storage life of the pumpkin.

To harvest correctly, here is what you do:

1. Harvest pumpkins when they have developed a deep uniform color, and have a hard rind. The rind will be firm and resist denting when pressed with a thumbnail

2. Harvest all mature pumpkins before a hard freeze. A light frost will destroy the vines and should not harm the fruit, but a hard freeze, can damage the fruit, so get your pumpkins in before damaging hard frosts arrive

3. When harvesting pumpkins handle them carefully to avoid cuts and bruises which can provide entrances for various rot-producing organisms

4. Cut the fruit off the vine with a pruning shears. Leave a 3 to 4 inch (7.6 – 10.2 cm) handle on the pumpkins. A pumpkin with a "handle" is not only more attractive, but they are less likely to rot when they are harvested with a portion of the stem still attached to the fruit

5. Try to never carry the fruit by their stems. The stems may not be able to support the weight and they may break off

6. After harvesting, cure the pumpkins at a temperature of 80 to 85° F (27 to 29° C) and at a relative humidity of 80 to 85 % for about 10 days

7. Curing helps to harden their skins and heal any cuts and scratches

8. After curing, store pumpkins in a cool, dry, well-ventilated location. Storage temperatures should be 50 to 55° F (10 to 13° C)

9. Never store pumpkins near apples, pears, or other ripening fruit. Ripening fruit release ethylene gas which shortens the storage life of pumpkins

10. When storing pumpkins, place them in a single layer where they don't touch one another. Good air circulation helps to prevent moisture from forming on the surfaces of the fruit and helps prevent the growth of decay fungi and bacteria.

11. Avoid placing pumpkins in piles. This generates unwanted heat which may result in the rotting of some fruit

12. Periodically check pumpkins in storage and get rid of any fruit which show signs of decay

13. Properly cured and stored pumpkins should remain in good condition for 2 to 3 months or longer depending up on the variety

If you follow the above steps, you will be assured a successful harvest, and you can use your pumpkins any way you want after that!

For more gardening tips and gardening how tos - visit: Weekend Gardener Monthly Web Magazine.

Checking My Vertical Growing Pumpkins

I planted my pumpkins 11 weeks ago and here is how they are doing. I am training them to grow up, and not out, and it is working great.

I have several pumpkins coming and I will eventually have dozens of them from a garden space that is only 2 feet wide x 5 feet long!

Not too bad!

Oh- both varieties are the smaller pumpkins. One is Jack-B-Little and the other is Baby Bear.

Also, the August Issue of Weekend Gardener Monthly Web Magazine is online now at: Weekend Gardener