Why camellias may be blooming early
I am worried about my Japonica camellias that should bloom in March. The plants are loaded with blossoms and several have opened during the last two weeks. What can I expect in the next two months?
Nadine Tolman
Cary
It has certainly been a very odd winter so far, and many plants in the garden are quite confused. Flowering can be initiated by many different factors. Spring-blooming plants typically begin blooming either in response to the lengthening days or because of warming temperatures following a period of dormancy. That second type of flowering is causing plants to think spring has arrived with the warm temperatures we’ve been having. Plants like your camellias have started early and the tender flowers will likely be damaged as temperatures drop below freezing. The unopened buds will stop swelling and wait until temperatures warm up again.
What’s best for garden beds
What is the best material to use in building a frame for raised garden beds?
Willis Brown
Mount Olive
There is no single best material for raised beds. Much of this will depend on your budget and the look that will fit in your garden the best. Rot-resistant wood like cedar is easy to use, relatively affordable and can look very nice, as can the composite decking substitutes. Pressure-treated lumber is considered safe by the Environmental Protection Agency and is quite inexpensive. Cinderblock can be easy to install and tailored to fit in any size spot but may not provide an elegant look unless it is coated and capped. Rock is expensive but often makes the loveliest garden feature out of a raised bed. A very easy, inexpensive product is the coir logs used for erosion control. These can be easily curved to create more organic bed shapes. Over time they will begin to break down but are easily replaced.
Moldy Coffee Grounds
I have read that recycling coffee grounds into planting soil is good for the soil. My question: Often mold forms on the coffee grounds before I am able to mix it in. Does this negate the benefits? I use this soil in flower gardens.
Janet Gaskins
Raleigh
In general, coffee grounds are a good source of organic matter, improving soil structure and building topsoil. They provide some nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium as well as some minor nutrients. If you use a lot of grounds, take soil tests every few years to make sure you are not putting soil fertility out of whack. As for mold forming on the grounds before they are incorporated into the soil, this should not be a problem for your plants or your garden and won’t take away any of the benefits.
Mark Weathington is the director of the JC Raulston Arboretum at N.C. State University in Raleigh. Info: jcra.ncsu.edu. Please send your full name, your gardening questions, and the city where you garden, to: askthegardener@newsobserver.com.
Plant Spotlight
Common name: Japanese Cedar
Botanical name: Cryptomeria japonica
Family: Baldcypress (Taxodiaceae)
Category: Conifer
Primary uses: Specimen, hedge
Dimensions: 60 to 80 feet tall by 20 to 35 feet wide.
Culture: Full sun. Japanese cedar prefers a moist, well-drained, acidic soil. It thrives in most spots except compacted or water-logged soils. It may need some pruning when young to develop the best habit.
Hardiness: -10 degrees F (USDA hardiness zone 6)
General attributes: Cryptomeria japonica is a first-rate large conifer. It has a graceful pyramidal shape with sweeping branches. Foliage color ranges from medium green to bluish green and often takes on a bronzy color during the winter, especially if exposed to drying winds. If it is limbed up, the showy reddish bark, which peels off in strips, is exposed to good effect. The selection Yoshino is widely grown as an excellent large tree, but selections from the 3-foot-tall, irregularly shaped Tansu to large, shrubby cultivars are readily available.
This story was originally published February 12, 2016 at 5:01 AM with the headline "Why camellias may be blooming early."