April showers bring May flowers....if only it were that easy! Ryan McEnaney, public relations and communications specialist at Bailey Nurseries, helps us solve our greatest spring gardening queries.
Woodbury Magazine: When can I start uncovering my garden and planting?
Ryan McEnaney: The best general advice is to wait until the weather is consistently above freezing and when the forecast no longer calls for a hard nighttime frost. These low temperatures can zap existing plantings if they’re uncovered, and kill new plantings before they have time to establish.
WBM: I’d love to grow classic roses, but I’ve heard it’s difficult. Any tips for growing and maintaining them?
RM: Beautiful, traditional-looking roses that grandma used to grow are called hybrid tea roses, and can be difficult to grow. Fortunately, rose breeding has greatly advanced in the past 15 years. I suggest Bailey Nurseries’ Easy Elegance Collection, which have been bred to survive Minnesota winters. These disease-resistant beauties require no chemicals, are available in a wide range of colors and though they look like your grandma’s roses, they’re actually easy-to-grow shrubs.
WBM: What’s the most exciting new flowering plant on the market that can survive our Minnesota weather?
RM: The popular blue-blooming Endless Summer hydrangeas have a new and improved sister: BloomStruck. These hydrangeas survived the 2013-2014 winter to bloom and re-bloom in intense pink or deep purple from May through October. There’s also an available fall bloom color that deepens to maroon. And it gets better; the blooms can all be cut, ensuring you gorgeous bouquets as well.
