Attracting Hummingbirds Using Feeders and Flowers

Attracting Hummingbirds

Tom Ingram: Ask a Master Gardner

Sunday, April 29, 2018

Q: I am starting to see hummingbirds. How can I attract them to my garden and take better take care of them? DJ

A: Humming birds are the smallest of native birds in North America and are typically about 3½ inches in length, weighing only about ¼ of an ounce. As most of us know, the humming sound is created by their wings, but did you know they average about 55 strokes per second?

During courtship, males can exhibit rather dramatic behaviors by ascending and then diving straight down toward either the object of their affection or irritation. When this happens, their wings can beat up to 200 beats per second, which creates a louder than normal humming sound, as well as a colorful display of their feathers.

While many people think hummingbirds use their tongues as we might use a straw to drink, they actually drink via a licking motion at a rate of about 13 licks per second. Hummingbirds also capture small flying insects in the air, especially when raising their young.

All hummingbirds of North America are migratory with the exception of one species found in California. The species found most often in Oklahoma is the ruby throated hummingbird. This hummingbird may travel more than 2,000 miles during migration, including 500 nonstop miles over the Gulf of Mexico. To make this journey, they must add about half of their body weight in fat before the trip.

With all the energy expended during flight apart from migration, hummingbirds must feed every 15 minutes during the day to survive. So, the best way to attract them to your garden is through nectar-producing plants or by providing a supplemental food source. Placing the feeder near your garden will encourage feeding from natural sources.

When placing feeders near the house, be sure to get several feeders and place them some distance apart as hummingbirds can get territorial and aggressive around a single food source. Also, be sure to use a feeder with a bee and wasp guard, as this will eliminate aggressive competition for nectar between these insects and the hummingbirds. There is no need to be concerned with small insects found at the mouth of the feeder, as they will typically help fulfill the hummingbird’s need for protein.

You can make your own feeding solution using one part granulated sugar to four parts boiling water. Of course, cool the solution before pouring it in the feeder. The use of red food coloring in the solution is unnecessary and unhealthy for the birds. Feeders should be cleaned every two to three days, especially during warm weather.

Garden tips

• Prune and feed all of the spring-blooming shrubs, such as azaleas and forsythia immediately after blooming, if needed. Azaleas need less fertilizer than many shrubs and often a yearly addition of mulch, as it decays, it will add all the nutrients they need.
• Cool-season lawns — tall fescue and bluegrass — can be fertilized again. If you did not fertilize in March and April, do so now. Do not fertilize these grasses in summer.
• Seeding and sodding of warm-season grasses, such as bermudagrass, Buffalograss and zoysiagrass, is best performed in mid-May through the end of June. The soil temperatures are warm enough for germination and growth. These grasses need a long summer growing season to promote winter hardiness.

Tomato Growing Tips

Tips on Growing Tomatoes in Oklahoma

Allen Robinson: Ask a Master Gardener

Sunday, April 15, 2018

Q: My family loves to eat fresh tomatoes off the vine, but my friends tell me they have trouble growing tomatoes around here. Can you tell me why it is difficult to grow tomatoes here and what I can do about it? Tracy A., Tulsa

A: You are certainly not alone when it comes to loving tomatoes fresh off the vine, as well as having trouble growing them in northeast Oklahoma.

One of the most common issues is known as “blossom drop,” which occurs from poor pollination. Weather is the chief cause of inadequate pollination in garden-grown tomatoes, with the most important factor being temperature. Effective pollination stops occurring once night temperatures are consistently over 70 degrees and/or when daytime temperatures are consistently over 92 degrees, especially if it is windy. Too much rain or too high or low humidity are additional weather factors that reduce pollen fertility. Also, over application of nitrogen fertilizer leads to blossom drop, as well as tall, lanky plants.

The solution to this is to plant healthy plants as soon as possible after the last frost has occurred. Then, pick the fruit as soon as it turns pink and let it continue to ripen indoors. Do not let it sit on the vine until it becomes overly ripened and soft.

Another common issue is called “blossom end rot,” where the fruit develops blemishes on the blossom end of the fruit. This is caused by a calcium deficiency in the plant when the fruit is young. Overwatering, either from nature or the gardener, is the most common cause rather than the lack of calcium in the soil.

Skin splitting, called “cracking,” is also caused by plants going from too little to too much water. Be consistent about watering. Mulch plants to provide consistent moisture at the root level, but do not mulch directly against the plant as it can lead to diseases.

Speaking of diseases, avoid splashing soil upon the plant and onto tomato fruits, as this carries related fungi and bacterial diseases. Instead, either use a soaker hose or drip irrigation system or carefully water at the base of the plants. Avoid damaging tender roots by not hoeing too deeply or too closely to the plants.

In addition, several pests love to live off the stems and leaves of tomato plants. For a listing of pests and how best to battle them, go to tulsamastergardeners.org and search for OSU Fact Sheet EPP-7313 (Home Vegetable Garden Insect Pest Control).

Experts say the best weed control in a lawn is to simply grow a healthy lawn. The same is true for vegetables. Look for high quality varieties at reputable nurseries around town and ask which varieties are the most disease resistant. Several varieties are available.

Tulsa’s climate is a challenge to growing tomatoes in the summer but, with a little attention to details, you can have good success. And, remember, there’s always fall.

Garden tips

Fruit and Nut

• Don’t spray insecticides during fruit tree bloom or pollination may be affected. Disease sprays can continue according to schedule and label directions.

• Control cedar-apple rust. When the orange jelly galls are visible on juniper (cedar), following a rain, begin treating apple and crabapple trees with a fungicide.

• Fire blight bacterial disease can be controlled at this time. Plant disease-resistant varieties to avoid diseases.

• Continue spray schedules for disease-prone fruit and pine trees.

Trees and shrubs

• Proper watering of newly planted trees and shrubs often means the difference between success and replacement.

• Remove any winter-damaged branches or plants that have not begun to grow. Prune spring-flowering plants as soon as they are finished blooming.

• Control of powdery mildew disease can be done with early detection and regular treatment. Many new plant cultivars are resistant.

• Leaf spot diseases can cause premature death of foliage and reduce plant vigor.

Flowers

• Most bedding plants, summer-flowering bulbs and annual flower seeds can be planted after danger of frost. This happens around mid-April in most of Oklahoma. Hold off mulching these crops until spring rains subside and soil temperatures warm up. Warm-season annuals should not be planted until soil temperatures are in the low 60s.

• Harden off transplants outside in partial protection from sun and wind prior to planting.

• Let spring -flowering bulb foliage remain as long as possible before removing it.

Vegetables

• Wait a little longer for it to warm up before planting cucurbit crops and okra.

• Plant vegetable crops in successive plantings to ensure a steady supply of produce, rather than harvesting all at once.

• Cover cucurbit crops with a floating row cover to keep out insect pests. Remove during bloom time.

• Watch for cutworm damage and add flea beetle scouting to your list of activities in the vegetable garden.

Landscape 

• Hummingbirds arrive in Oklahoma in early April. Get your bird feeders ready using 1 part sugar to 4 parts water. Do not use red food coloring.

• Keep the bird feeder filled during the summer and help control insects at the same time.

• Lace bugs, aphids, spider mites, bagworms, etc. can start popping up in the landscape and garden later this month. Keep a close eye on all plants and use mechanical, cultural and biological control options first.

• Be alert for insect pests and predators. Some pests can be hand-picked without using a pesticide. Do not spray if predators, such as lady beetles, are present. Spray only when there are too few predators to be effective.

Lawn

• Warm-season grass lawns can be established beginning in late April from sprigs, plugs or sod.

• Fertilizer programs can begin for warm-season grasses in April. The following recommendations are to achieve optimum performance and appearance of commonly grown species in Oklahoma.

• Zoysiagrass: 3 pounds nitrogen per 1,000 square feet a year
• Buffalograss: 2-3 pounds nitrogen per 1,000 square feet a year
• Bermudagrass: 4-6 pounds nitrogen per 1,000 square feet a year

When using quick-release forms of fertilizer, use 1 pound of actual nitrogen per 1,000 square feet per application; water in nitrate fertilizers.

• Mowing of warm-season lawns can begin now. Cutting height for bermudagrass and zoysiagrass should be 1 to 1½ inches high, and buffalograss 1½ to 3 inches high.

• Damage from Spring Dead Spot Disease (SDS) becomes visible in bermudagrass. Perform practices that promote grass recovery. Do not spray fungicides at this time for SDS control.

• Grub damage can be visible in lawns at this time. Check for the presence of grubs before applying any insecticide treatments. Apply appropriate soil insecticide if white grubs are a problem. Water product into soil.

Bradford Pear Trees are Very Invasive and Short Lived

White Flowering Bradford Pears Have a Dark Side

Brian Jervis: Ask a Master Gardener

Mar 31, 2018

Q: What are these beautiful trees I am seeing all over town with the white blossoms? TP

A: You are probably referring to the Bradford pear. While they are beautiful and quite popular, they have a dark side. But first, let’s talk about what they are and how they got here.

The Bradford Pear (Pyrus calleryana “Bradford”) was first introduced to the United States in the early 1900s as a way to help control fire blight of the common pear. By the ’80s, it had become the second-most popular tree in America, primarily as an ornamental tree.

The Bradford grows rapidly (12- to 15-foot increase in height over an 8- to 10-year period), to a height of 30 to 50 feet tall and 20-30 feet wide with a short to moderate life span of 15 to 25 years (less if we get an ice storm).

Most people are attracted to the Bradford Pear for its showy white flowers that appear in spring. The flowers are beautiful but, unfortunately, have an unpleasant fragrance. Early spring flowering can last two weeks, but late frosts may reduce bloom time.

Sounds like a great tree. Well, that’s what many of us thought until we got to know its dark side.

Although the Bradford pear was originally bred to be sterile and thornless, they easily cross-pollinate and produce fruit. These fruits are like tiny, hard apples, round, ½-inch in diameter, greenish-yellow flecked with whitish spots, inedible, with 2-4 black seeds. After it freezes in the fall, the fruit softens and becomes palatable to birds that help spread the tree.

Unfortunately, these offspring revert back to the thorny variety of their origin. They are not usually noticed until spring when we see them along the highways. These descendants are also quite invasive and tend to displace native plant communities, disrupting natural succession. All those white-blossomed trees you are seeing outside the fence line of the highway are likely the thorny offspring of the Bradford pear.

So, what do we do in response to what we now know about the Bradford? In spite of the fact that Bradford pear trees are well adapted for Oklahoma climatic conditions, just say no. There are a variety of other trees that work well in Oklahoma without the Bradford’s invasive side effects. They are also quite weak, making them poor choices to deal with Oklahoma winds and ice.

If you have a Bradford pear, you might need to consider replacing it, and if you are looking for a spring-flowering alternative, you should consider a redbud or dogwood tree. For more information on which types of trees do well in Tulsa, visit the Hot Topics section of our website, tulsamastergardeners.org, and download a copy of our info sheet: “Trees for Tulsa.”

Garden tips

• Most bedding plants, summer-flowering bulbs, and annual flower seeds can be planted after danger of frost. This happens around mid-April in most of Oklahoma. Hold off mulching these crops until spring rains subside and soil temperatures warm up. Warm-season annuals should not be planted until soil temperatures are in the low 60s.
• Don’t plant tomato sprouts too early. The soil temperature is key and should be above 60 degrees before planting. If the soil is too cool, the plants will sit there and not grow. Remove the blossoms from any tomato plant at the time of planting; it needs roots before making tomatoes.
• You can find some wonderful tomatoes, herbs and flowers for your garden by shopping online during our plant pre-sale. This is the last week of the sale. Visit our website, tulsamastergardener.org, for information.