van der Meer Garden Centre

Ranunculus' are beautiful and amazing… corms? No, not corn but CORMS.  Now what are corms? Corms are simply energy storage systems: just like bulbs. They simply vary slightly in structure. While bulbs are layered with leaves somewhat like an onion, corms are a very thick root like a beet with all the energy stored inside. Both spend winter dormant and bloom in early spring.  Unfortunately in our zone (3a) ranunculus’ are not a perennial. Most are perennial only in zone 6 and above which means you can’t even get away with trying to find a cozy microclimate around your house. However because of their corms they can be dug up just like a bulb and replanted year after year.   You can easily buy ranunculus grown from seeds which will need all summer to develop a tiny little corm or you can buy the corms themselves. The seed-grown plants can be planted in the garden once the frost date is passed, make sure to plant them in full sun and be very careful about the temperature in early spring as they are not at all frost-tolerant.  The corms need a little bit more love.  When you get your corms they will look like odd little brown splat shapes. This is completely normal. Look them over for signs of mold or rot - the corm overall should be firm and dry. Before planting they need to sit in room-temperature water for 3-4 hours; any more and they will rot. After they soak they can be planted directly into the ground, splat arms down, or pre-sprouted which will trick them into sending out blooms earlier.  To pre-sprout, fill a flat-bottom seed tray half full of damp potting soil. Place and  cover the corms in more damp soil. Leave the tray in a cool place (4-10 ℃) for about 2 weeks checking every day and making sure the soil is damp but never soggy. Keep a watchful eye out for mold or rot and remove any corms showing signs of either. During this time the corms can swell to twice their original size and sprout white hair-like roots all over once these rootlets appear they are ready for planting.  You need to be careful about when you plant them however because if they are exposed to temperatures below -4℃ they will die away, you can avoid this by planting them in pots and bringing them in should the temperature become frosty. Since ranunculus’ need on average 90 days to bloom this also ensures you will have beautiful blooms before september.  Once the summer hits however, ranunculus thrive in the heat.  Most species need loamy aerated soil that is easy to grow in so if you have clay make sure you prepare the soil well by thoroughly mixing in a compost or peat to loosen the soil However certain varieties prefer their feet a bit wet for example Ranunculus repens varieties can even be grown next to ponds or in low lying areas and don’t care at all about being in clay.  Ranunculus have an outstanding vase life, often exceeding 10 days. Cut when buds are coloured and squishy like a marshmallow, but not yet fully open, for a vase life of 10 to 12 days. *Toxic to humans and cats and dogs if ingested in large quantities - know your pets, partners, and childrens garden grazing habits before deciding to plant in your garden.

Out of all the flowers we grow some of the earliest bloomers come to us from bulbs. Beautiful tulips and crocus are the epitome of spring and their blooms bring joy to our winter weary souls.  Bulbs themselves are like little energy storage units, during their short lives they send out roots, leaves, and those lovely flowers like other plants but after they bloom they quickly begin to grab as much energy from the sun and soil and store it away for the next year. This is why, unlike perennials, bulbs will bloom and then begin to fade away - their foliage dying back along with their flowers.  All bulbs have different lengths of time they need before they return to dormancy. Tulips, crocuses, and other spring bulbs bloom quickly and fade quickly, often before the season is even over. While summer bulbs (or corms, or tubers, or all other manner of names for a rooted storage unit) may send out foliage similar to normal perennials and then only die back to the bulb once frost hits.  For this blog I’ll just be going over the spring bulbs we often find in pots for Easter. Forced Tulips, daffodils, hyacinths and crocus which were all grown to be as showy indoors as it is rock hard frozen outdoors. These bulbs are perfect for storing because they have a short growing season and do not need a lot of room compared to some summer bulbs.  Step 1: Buy some beautiful flowers! There are all sorts of lovely flowers on sale for the Spring and Easter season, choosing a pot with no flowers but lots of buds will allow you to enjoy every flower that is ready to bloom.  Common spring bulbs are Tulips tulipa  Crocus crocus  Hyacinth hyacinthus orientalis  Grape Hyacinths Muscari armeniacum Daffodils and Narcissus Narcissus pseudonarcissus. Step 2: Enjoy your flowers. Do not let them dry out just yet and place them in a relatively warm and sunny place.  Step 3: After they are finished blooming begin to restrict water and watch for dying leaves. In this case dampness can easily lead to rot so be very careful not to overwater - if you are worried don’t water - it's better to dry it out too quickly (this will not kill it) than overwater it (this definitely will kill it.) If it looks like it's dying from lack of water that's exactly what you want!  Step 4: Stop watering completely when the plant begins to droop or more than 50% of the leaves have died. If the soil is damp or the pot doesn’t have a drainage hole, remove the plant from the soil and hang it somewhere dark and dry. Make sure all the leaves and roots that are holding on stay on. Step 5: Once the bulb is completely dry (it is vital the bulbs remain dry or they will rot) remove all leaves and roots and place in a paper bag. Store in a dark, cool and dry spot until next season. For added peace of mind you can dust with a fungicide (cinnamon is a natural fungicide in a pinch but it isn’t as reliable as commercial ones) and add sawdust or shredded paper to the bag to absorb moisture.   Congratulations! You have successfully saved your bulbs for another day! As long as they stay dry and dark they will happily rebloom for you next year, most bulbs will last about 12 months this way - if you’re concerned make sure to search the storage times for your specific bulb.  If you would like to learn more here are the links to some of my research sites. Remember to always check what type of flower bulbs you have since different flowers will have different needs for growing and storing.  Happy planting! 

Peonies Their absolutely beautiful early summer display of stunning flowers enchant everyone who sees them. After the blooms are finished these bushy plants display their beautiful glossy leaves all summer and into fall. Peonies will tolerate our winters beautifully and can be quite happy being completely neglected.  Let's take a look at these amazing flowers that I absolutely adore Peonies come in 3 types: the herbaceous, the tree, and the Ihto. In Manitoba we only grow the Ihto and herbaceous varieties which die off in the fall and gather all their nutrients and energy into their roots in order to come back in the spring. Peonies like to be in bright sunny areas where they don't have to compete for a lot of nutrients. However these plants will survive in part-shaded areas providing they get a reasonable amount of sunlight. Take time to plant your peonies in the most advantageous spot because peonies do not like to be moved once they have been established. Not to say it is impossible however they do get rather grumpy being broken up, especially if they have not been properly established. Peonies thrive off of neglect so do not worry too much about fussing over your peonies as too much fussing, too much fertiliser, and too much disturbance of their roots will cause them to wither away. Instead add a bit of bone meal to the soil when they're planted and ignore them for a few years unless they need to be staked; their massive blooms often are too big for their stems and while they are blooming they often need a peony cage (in a pinch a tomato cage will suffice for a younger peony)  Once established peonies are well known for their longevity, sometimes even lasting up to a 100 years! Peonies coming a wide variety of colors and bloom styles there are  single blooms Japanese  anenome  semi double  bomb  and double blooms.  The blooms listed get progressively fuller of petals with the single blooms having a single layer of large petals and the double blooms being completely full of petals.  When you buy your peonies in the store don't worry if it doesn't have an enormous root system. The most important part of their roots are the tubers which are where they gather all their energy for the winter. Many peonies are about to bloom these days in greenhouses so don't be upset if you don't get any blooms this year but just you wait until next summer. Peonies bloom late spring to early summer. The blooms make excellent cut flowers. Bring them into the house when they are still tight buds in order to experience the full beauty. However if you do cut the buds for vases make sure that you tap off all the ants that have been climbing all over the peonies! Before peonies bloom they produce a sweet nectar over their buds and as they bloom the ants will be clamoring around to get the nectar. Please do not do anything to deter the ants from eating the nectar of the peonies as ants also will help the peonies by eating other pests they find on their way to eat the nectar. Once the flowers stop blooming the ants will be on their merry way.  Peonies are an incredible plant. Long lives, easy to take care of, and absolutely stunning. The highlight of my spring gardening so far has been to see the tiny little first leaves of my peonies! 

Helping out our pollinators.   Well it seems to be melting! Although the snow keeps coming back in spurts it seems like we're heading in the right direction towards growing things once again! As we head in this direction I want to take a moment for everyone to think about some of our hardest working gardeners out there: bees and all other pollinators.  As you may have heard bees are declining rapidly through many reasons. Some of them are man made, and some of them like certain fungus and mites from nature. Whatever the case, pollinators are a super important part of our gardening lives because without bees and other pollinators we will not be able to get our veggies or fruits without a lot of q-tips going from one flower to another. As the snow begins to melt let's think of some ways that we can help those pollinators  in our area.  The 1st way is not very pleasant for many people, especially those who take great pride in their lawns. However one of the 1st flowers that will ever pop up in the spring is going to be the much hated dandelion. Although dandelions are certainly weeds that I have spent more than my in my desired share of life yanking out of the ground I have recently learned how important they are to the pollinators 1st thing in the spring.  They represent a vital food crop especially when a lot of other flowers don't begin blooming until much later and dandelions probably will have bloomed once or twice by then. Allowing some dandelions to grow in your yard helps all pollinators which will attract them to your yard, which will then attract them to your garden, which will bring a bigger crop. Now obviously this isn't going to be a choice some people are going to want to take as the hatred of dandelions is long standing and extremely fierce throughout our society however it's just food for thought and more importantly it's food for the bees.  If the thought of the yellow flowers dotting your lawn makes you want to break out in hives (no pun intended… or is it?) Another way you can help early pollinators is by planting plants that you do like that will come up very early. Bulbs like crocuses and tulips planted in the fall are one of the 1st things to pop up out of the ground in the spring or you can grow flowers such as pansies which are frost hardy and can be placed out in flower pots and hanging baskets within the next few weeks. I let some of my pansies seed themselves last year and found a clump of them growing under the snow already. They should be flowering within the next couple of weeks right alongside those 1st dandelions. Another great option are shrubs that bloom super early. These shrubs such as forsythia and double flowering plum create flower buds in the fall before they go dormant and said buds boom before the plants leaf out. These shrubs are Manitoba hardy and very beautiful but you must remember not to prune them in the fall when they've already established where their buds are going to be for the spring. As the Spring goes on if you want to create a yard which will be filled with pollinators and will also help your garden don't forget to check out this list of perennial perennial favourites for all pollinators including the much more loved pollinators such as butterflies. See the websites at the bottom of the page for ideas. Pollinators are such an important part of our garden's success and in order to set up these little helpers we need to create environments for them to thrive. There are many people who have let their yards be taken over in order to attract pollinators. However this is a big change and not everybody gets ready for it. If you want to help some bees a little bit and you don't have much room or you're not willing to commit to losing your view of a beautiful green lawn, planting some flowering shrubs or even a beautiful flowering crabapple can be a great way to encourage pollinators in your area.  However don't forget if you're going to try to attract pollinators and you still are using heavy pesticides in your garden and your lawn; you're going to be end up killing them so try to either choose one or another either you want to attract pollinators to your yard or try to discourage them from your yards so that they do not die from the pesticides you plan to use.  Pollinator plant list - Click Here How to create a pollinator friendly garden - Click Here