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Aspargus in March? yup.

Unreal. Delicious aspargus for dinner tonight. it doesn't really go with taco salad, but it was awesome!
I am sure at the rate my rhubarb is going it will be done before the markets open. Dang it!

Growing Blueberries

 Here is my best professional Horticulturist advice for growing blueberries in this area: (southern Minnesota)   Don't do it. Yes, it's that simple! Forget it. Drop it. Don't go there etc. etc. Okay, so you want an explanation?

Have you heard the saying wrong plant wrong place? Something like that applies. Blueberries are very picky.

• Strike 1 They NEED (not just prefer) acidic soil, about 2 points lower than what is normal around here. Our soil ph is around 6-6.5 in this area. Blueberries NEED a ph of 4.5. What,  2 points you say? It's a near impossibility to achieve and maintain it.
• Strike 2 Blueberries love a peaty-moist soil, areas around here are mostly clay and sand loam. Yes, you can amend the soil with peat. However, if peaty soil ever dries out, it is almost impossible to re-wet it, it becomes impervious to water.
• Strike 3 Plants need annual pruning, that is if that rabbits haven't done it for you. Flowers (your potential berries) can be damaged by late spring frosts.

Frustration and aggravation will soon follow. Year after year as you pick your 5 measly blueberries, you'll have wished you followed my advice. Yes, I have fell into the blueberry trap myself. Luscious visions of huge, sweet blueberries in my cereal every morning. Still waiting....... My second attempt ended in 2006 when I pulled 25 plants up and burned them and have felt sweet revenge ever since.
I say, let Michigan grow the peaches and blueberries and let's focus on plants we have more assured success with. When you see them in the garden centers...resist my friend.

Growing Asclepias aka Butterfly Weed

I love Asclepias! (as KLEEP i ahs) Their common name is butterfly weed. Not to be confused with butterfly bush which is Buddleia. Above is tuberous, the species, a form of milkweed plant. This plant is a perennial here and grows to about 2 feet high. Small flowers are clustered together on strong stems blooming for 3 months! Love it for bouquets.

Cinderalla, a perennial here, is a pink version on 3 foot plants. The flowers of all the perennials are vanilla scented. Asclepias are one of the last plants to emerge in the spring...very late. When you are doing your fall clean-up, leave plenty of stem material in place as your 'marker' for spring.

Above is 'Gay Butterflies.' It comes in a variety of yellows, reds & oranges. It is hardy to zone 5-6 but not in Minnesota. You can grow them as annuals, more worthy than a petunia I say. All of the Asclepias attract butterflies, especially monarchs!

This is Asclepias gomphocarpus. Very unusal seed pods. I use these stems either in flower, which is white, or these ping pong ball size pods. I dried some over winter and they held up fairly well! This is an annual plant here. I started from seed last year, and is reached 3-4 feet by the end of the season.

'Hello Yellow." This is a cute yellow version. These perennial plants get 2' tall & they flower over a 3 month period! Earthworks will have Hello Yellow and the orange at the top of the page for sale this spring.

Care of perennial Asclepias:

Plant in full sun

average to low water

leaner soil (do not enrich)

very carefree -easy to establish

do not move plants as they are tap-rooted - home for life please!

Digging & dividing perennials.

Now is the perfect time to dig and divide perennials. Most plants, but not all, are likley poking thru the soil with this unusual warm weather. Digging and divding or moving is best now because there is little top foliage if any. Very little stress is on the plant when it does not have the top growth to support. Some root systems will pull apart with a little gentle twisting, others can be safely cut apart. Some perennials that are tap rooted like Baptisia, Asclepias and some mints should not be moved unless it is a very young plant. It's easy to destroy tap rooted plants by cutting thru the root. The majority of your perennials will be 'fiberous' root systems, the easiest to divide. Do not be greedy and divide any plants too small. The root systyem should at least fill a 3-4" pot. The smaller the plant, the greater the margin of error is.  Yesterday, I dug, divided and potted nearly 300 plants. Not bad for 4 hours...like a machine!