Askov American. [volume] (Askov, Pine County, Minn.) 1914-current, 1939-08-10
The Dormant Period.

Unless informed beforehand, the
first experience of seeing the foliage
of such perennials as Oriental pop
pies, madonna lilies, bleeding heart,
-columbine, delphiniumS, mertenSia
and hollyhocks turn yellow and die
back in summer is a most distressing
affair to many gardeners. 1t is the
habit of these plants to rest after
Towering. After Towering in May
and negotiating in June, the mertenSia
retires for the remainder of the year;
the Oriental poppy and the madonna
lily go completely dormant for a
month or more, sending up new
growth of leaves in the fall.
The bleeding heart ripens off very
slowly, disintegrating entirely by the
end of summer and the columbine
and delphinium rest temporarily for
a short time with the latter sending
up another set of flower stalks along
with its renewed growth. The holly
hook, having completed its usefulness
and produced its seed for successive
generations, perishes completely.
Nccu SOIuc fAttCutlOu.
Plants that behave in this manner
generally demand some special at
tention, and for the gardeners peace
of mind, their habits in this direction
should be well understood. Conse-
quently, these plants initiate more
queries and more worries than the
general run of garden materials. Of
course, the matter of distinguishing
between death and dormancy is a
difficult one and often even the pro-
fessional wrongly diagnoses the sit
uation, sometimes even in cases where
dormancy is known to be expected.
Death sometimes turks where dor
NANCY is believed to be in progress.
Any plant that is entering its period
of rest, whether mere relative quieS-
.cense or complete dormancy, should
receive special care and attention.
At least it should not be ignored
as it usually is by those who have
learned not to be alarmed by this
phenomenon. The most important Of
the points relative to the care of plants
while going dormant is to allow the
foliage to ripen off naturally, remov-
ing it only when the green matter
is completely gone or when it be-
comes afflicted by disease or insects.
Actually, the foliage should be pro-
tected as ardently when ripening off
as it was during growth. I have
known conscientious and careful gar
deners to evade the issue of protect
ing declining foliage from natural enc
mics. Of course, they did not real
ize that the bugs and blights might
permanently injure the plant or prey
upon the crown and root after the
foliage is gone and reappear when
growth is resumed.
Menace to Other Plants.
Not only are these enemies threat
to the lives of their hosts of the mo-
ment, but they are a real menace to
the other garden plants to which
they eventually migrate. Why spend
time and pay attention to foliage that
is going to die anyway, seems to be
the customary attitude of gardeners.
If spraying and other protective meas
ures seem to be too much of an in
vestment for foliage that will natur-
ally disappear, at least the removal
of those parts that are affected would
be far wiser than totally ignoring
the issue. The best course is to make
a regular practice of inspecting the
declining foliage for evidence of trou-
BILE and promptly taking the proper
protective measures.
Dormant plants should also be pro-
tected from excessive moisture. Be-
ing inactive, the roots do not require
the amount of moisture that is es-
sential when growth is in progress.
Enough moisture to keep the roots
from drying out is all that is neces-
sary until growth is resumed. Ex-
cessive moisture encourages destruc-
tive organisms: Root rot, fungi and
harmful bacterias generally develop
when more than enough moisture is
present. Adequate surface and sub