Discounts and a deciduous disaster | The Compleat Home Gardener
Published 11:00 am Wednesday, June 24, 2026
Procrastinators rejoice! The last week of June is not too late to plant a few tomato plants, bring home some potted basil, thyme and rosemary and fill your patio pots with color.
Frugal gardeners may even find some discount prices on annuals and seedlings at this time of year. If you bring home potted plants late in the season, be sure to tease or scratch the root ball when transplanting from the container into the ground or a larger pot.
Many plants sitting at the nursery all spring will have roots that have circled inside the pot and cutting into the root mass with a trowel to loosen them up will help the plant to send the roots outward as they are released into a brand-new home.
Annuals that do well when purchased in late June despite being root bound include geraniums, tomatoes, peppers, begonias and cucumbers.
Tip: Soak the soil of a potted plant before you attempt the transplant. Smaller plastic pots can be submerged into a pail of water to make sure the root- packed pot is fully moistened. Then water again after planting.
Q. I purchased a rather expensive Japanese maple and transplanted into a nice-looking pot on my patio. This was based on your recommendation that Japanese maples do well in pots. I have kept it well watered and covered the top of the soil with an organic plant food of chicken manure pellets. Disaster. The leaves have turned brown and the plant looks dead. Your thoughts? Sign me: Disappointed.
A. So sorry about your disappointment but there is one glaring mistake in your care description. The chicken manure pellets most likely burned the Japanese maple beyond repair.
Japanese maples do not like to be fertilized as additional plant food burns the leaves. Forms of chicken manure are very high in nitrogen which could be beneficial to vegetable gardens but deadly to maples. Scrape off the top inch or two of soil to remove the fertilizer. Uproot the entire plant and try to pull away most of the soil from the root ball. Now replant in fresh potting soil that has no fertilizer added. Place in a shaded location, keep the soil moist not wet and if you see new growth in a few weeks you have saved your plant. If the foliage never returns, you can add your mistake to the compost pile and consider it a learning experience.
Q. What do you think about gravel gardening in Western Washington? I visited a garden in England where the plants do not need summer water because they are planted in gravel. I hope to lower my water bill by removing my lawn and planting in gravel instead. Will this work? T., Email
A. When designed and installed correctly, a gravel garden can provide more color, less lawn, and little to no summer watering. Success depends on choosing suitable plants, using the right gravel, and preparing the site properly. A helpful resource is “The Gravel Garden: Visionary, Drought-Defying, Naturalistic Designs”, a beautifully photographed hardcover by Jeppe Aagaard Andersen and Teresa Woodard, published by Timber Press.
It explains the approach in detail and shows, step by step, how to transform a lawn into a planted space with gravel paths and seating areas. Keep in mind that only certain plants thrive with a thick gravel mulch, and this style of landscape still requires regular hand weeding and control of self-seeding plants. Even so, replacing lawn with drought-tolerant alternatives can lower your water bill while providing food and shelter for native birds and pollinators. Gravel gardening may well become an important part of the Pacific Northwest’s landscaping future, but it is best to research carefully before getting started.
Marianne Binetti has a degree in horticulture from Washington State University and is the author of “Easy Answers for Great Gardens” and several other books. For answers to gardening questions, visit plantersplace.com and click “As The Expert”. Copyright for this column owned by Marianne Binetti. For more gardening information, she can be reached at her website, www.binettigarden.com.
