Worst year yet....

12 years ago

Ok, I was excited this year when I saw that many of my hostas have taken their LEAP in growth. But I'll tell ya, this year has been TOUGH!

First, Spring was several weeks late... if that's what you want to call Spring! It's been wet, so that means slugs are gonna be terrible. We usually see them come out by this time, but with the late spring, I don't think they've hit the hostas yet... I have, however, seen holes in my creeping jenny. And the nematodes are surely going to pop their ugliness out rather quickly in late July, just in time for my garden to be on open tours for the MN Hosta Society.

Lots of rain has been good for the hostas, but the 3 hail storms have not. Then, now that the rain has stopped, the wind has been terrible. We'd had so much rain that I hadn't even turned on the irrigation system till 2 days ago.

The Spring has been so windy, it's blown a boat load of those maple helicopters everywhere. Yes, it's been wet and that's contributed to the mess too...

Now, add to that, it's 103 degrees right now. We've not been over 100 for 5 years.

So we've gone from 50 degrees last week to 100 degrees this week. Soaking rain to terrible winds. And the hail.

Ok, it sucks. I'm done belly-achin' for now.

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Comments (10)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
12 years ago
ok.. its official .. you have become a farmer ...

whats next .. complaints of too dry ...

ken
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franknjim
12 years ago
I have been spared the hail but got the winds and the tears in leaves along with it. It seems that the slugs have taken a liking to my Blue Ivory for some reason even though it has heavy substance. That was sad to see.

As we always say, there's always next year.
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Gesila
12 years ago
I feel for you Melissa, at least the people that come visit my gardens still think hostas are green or green and white.

Gesila
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Mary4b
12 years ago
Melissa, sorry to hear that...it's hardest when you know someone is coming to see... Winds were hard on my transplants that I did last week. I watered them like crazy, and shaded them from the sun, but the wind, I couldn't do anything about.
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alyciaadamo
12 years ago
It's the same here-except the over 100 degree weather hast't hit. I totally understand about the heat- before last year I think I looked up the record for here and it was something like the last time it was over 100 was back in the late 70's. It sure has been weird- a lot of my perennials either came up and died or are taking forever to come up. My David phlox was 2" tall then disappeared(although I noticed a field mouse the other day)lucky me it's starting to grow back again. There is still the rest of the summer so maybe it will even out!
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coll_123
12 years ago
Frank, I have a huge slug population and therefore only buy thick, slug resistant hosta. Even so, they still go after them, especially the ones with white or cream. They never touch June, but will go after the centers of High Society and Remember Me.
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danimal77
12 years ago
It has been one of those years. We still have about 280 acres of soybeans yet to get planted. I learned a long time ago that mother nature can never quite be figured out.
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in ny zone5
12 years ago
Coll, I do not know your zone, but in my zone 5a garden I have seen only one small slug yet, but have 2 hostas with 2 holes each. Per melissa that might mean the slugs are not out yet. And yes, I have seen a dead slug from anti-slug pellets. So who knows when my slug season will start, or I am lucky this year.
We will have the heat wave the next 2 days, 97 and 96 F, will water a lot, thereafter in the 70s. Big storms were meaningless in my garden, no hail, lucky.
Bernd
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leafwatcher
12 years ago
We have had a similar year to Mn. hear in Ia.
thankfully we have dodged the hail though..I hear you about the long cool wet, and now the blustery heat !

Those two or three nights of 32-33 lows when my hosta were all just opening had me wondering what would be the result...I never cared at all about that kind of thing before the hosta bug got me !
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hostasrgreat
12 years ago
As they say in my business, anyone can grow corn in Iowa and Northern and Central Illinois. The real good farmers figure out how to make it profitable outside of those geographies.

There is another saying, anyone can grow hostas in Minnesota. The rest of us envy the great temperatures and rainfall you typically have while we try to grow hostas in hot and humid conditions.

Farmer have one more saying....wait till next year.
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