Van Dycks

I never thought I'd be complaining about too much rain. Oh sure, some days when I am dying to dash out to the garden to rearrange a few things and put in a few new plants I am disappointed if a sudden rain shower thwarts me. But after what seems like several years of unrelieved drought and far too much time and energy spent hauling hoses and watering cans around trying just to keep things alive, it seems like we'd all be thrilled to have that come to an end.

But the rain this spring is getting to be too much of a good thing.

Bad enough that the unseasonable cold and damp has kept many gardeners from getting through their usual spring chores and planting. Some areas accustomed to putting the more tender plants in late May found that they had to hold off until late June instead. But simmer finally seems to have arrived and so tender plants are at least safe from the cold.

They're not necessarily safe from the rain.

This weekend it rained hard and steadily, and flash flood warnings abounded. I began to worry about needing a rowboat to get out to the yard.

There are some plants that I was glad for. Some like my Black magic Elephant Ears love rain and wetness and seem to be flourishing. Most ferns, astilbe and even hostas can deal with dampness with aplomb. The cannas love it. Remember a few articles back I wrote about plants that will grow happily in a bog? The world is their oyster right now, as the whole world seems to have become a bog!

Peonies don't mind the rain – except for the flowers which fall into ugly brown tatters. I wonder why it is that Peony flowering time is almost a sure predictor of a hard rain.

Siberian irises are fine.

Bearded irises are in torture. Mine sent up flower scapes that opened beautifully and then lay gracefully down in the mud as rains kept beating on them. Bearded irises like dry soil and excellent drainage. Only those irises lucky enough to be planted in raised beds are relatively happy. The rest are in danger of rot.

If you are growing bearded irises (or any rhizomatous plant that starts looking sickly when it shouldn't) then dig the rhizome up and check for mushy spots or an odor that betrays the presence of rot. If the whole thing is mushy, throw it away (not in the compost!). If you see only a bad spot or two and most seems healthy then divide the rhizome up, cutting out the bad places and making sure the remaining, healthy parts each have a fan or two of leaves emerging from it. Dust the cut portions of these new plants with Comet cleanser (which has just the right amount of bleach to disinfect the plant) and then allow the pieces to sit in sun (if you can find it – otherwise any dry, bright place) for a few days until the cut pieces start to heal. Then you can replant.

Most bulbs also hate this kind of weather. Bulbs need a wet winter but prefer that the other seasons remain dry. Unless yours are planted in areas with excellent drainage, you can almost expect that many of them will rot. Spring foliage had died down long enough on most spring bulbs that you can safely dig them up and store them in a cool, dry place until fall.

What to do about other plants suddenly confronted with an excess of water is more perplexing. Many of us, resigned to what seems to be perpetual drought, have planted many Xeriscape, low water, drought tolerant plants. Even many of our plants that normally have the typical "one inch of water a week" requirement have adjusted to dryer conditions. Only they don't have those dry conditions anymore.

If it is at all possible to create raised beds for your more treasured plants, do so. Fill the beds with compost and organic matter. That way the root systems will have a good space of well-drained soil before hitting the less well-drained dirt below and so have a far better chance of survival. Since raised beds are actually elevated from 4inches or more from the earth, they dry off more quickly.

Consider containers – and make sure they have drainage holes. If you can't build raised beds at this late date, and have some treasures that really concern you, transplant them into containers with soil less potting mix and organic matter. This will help keep them from drowning as surely as a good raised bed will.

Watch those plants that cannot be moved carefully for signs of mildew or other bacterial infections. It may be worth your while to prune roses and other shrubs so as to open up the inside of the plant and increase air circulation. The better the air can circulate through plants the less prone they are to fungus problems.

The same applies to perennials. If they are too crowded, they can also develop foliage diseases. Foliage diseases flourish in damp conditions. About 85% of them are caused by fungi, which produce reproductive spores that allow the fungus to disperse and reproduce. They can be carried for miles on the wind. If they stick to the leaves of plants, the fungi do reproduce on the plant – especially if it is wet.

Most fungal diseases require anywhere from 12-24 hours of uninterrupted moisture to infect a plant. You can read descriptions of most fungal infections and how they affect plants here.

This can be heart breaking, but it is also necessary. Remove all affected leaves – careful not to allow any to remain on the soil, where it can reinfect the plant – and dispose of them in a closed bag. Keep checking. Sometimes removing the infected leaves eliminates he danger – but it may take a day or three for the damage to show up on other leaves. Get an organic antifungicide from the nursery (copper sulfate is good) and spray the rest of the plant, following package directions carefully.

Another problem when we have too much moisture is root rot. This is especially a problem with clay soils, which carry this threat with them almost implicitly because they retain so much water. But even good, loose garden soil will get excessively wet when the rains just keep on coming. You can try adding more airspace to the soil by incorporating organic matter, sand or even gravel – but this isn't always practical.

In that case, watch out for leaves that start to yellow. The rains are washing the nutrients out of the soil. Forget the flowers under these conditions and strive for the overall health of your plant. Yellow means a lack of nitrogen; it probably also indicates that the plant needs more iron. So fertilize them. IF the plant turns even yellower or simply refuses to grow, cut the fertilizer amounts in half. You know how food doesn't always appeal to you when you're sick, and so sometimes you reject it. Plants are the same. They may not feel up to eating a lot, but you need to help them keep their strength up.

The good news is that for most plants it is far better that they get too much rain than too much water from the hose. The plants seem to know the difference and unless the amount of rain far exceeds the needs of the plant, they will end up thriving. (So will most weeds, but we'll think about that another day.)

As for the rest – some lessons never change. Just as during drought we had to learn the hard way that some plants – even the most beloved and pampered – simply won't thrive in too dry a situation, now we may have to learn about those that cannot survive with too much wet. This is not your fault. It is nature's way.

But since we can no longer seem to predict what Nature has in store for us (and since we're not getting any younger anyway) strongly consider turning existing beds into raised beds. They are easier to tend, easier on the back, and drain better; the soil warms up more quickly in spring – and they often provide a nice ledge for gardeners to sit on while they work.

Then sit and reflect about how lucky you are that you are not a farmer whose entire livelihood depends on the success of this year's garden. I predict that you will find some wonderful plants growing there – stalwarts who made it through the drought and also through the monsoons. Those are keeper plants – ones on which to form the basis of a happy, easy care garden.

AS for the rest – remember that gardening can be a gamble – but to garden is to hope. We can hope that these years are unusual. We can hope that more and more plants will learn to adapt to changing and uncertain conditions. And we can hope that despite a few curve balls that Ma Nature keeps throwing us we will retain the joy that comes from gardening, learning to accept the bad because the good outweighs it to heavily.