Wichita gardener’s almanac for July 4

Walnut caterpillars — If you had walnut caterpillars on a tree last year, now is the time to be examining the tree for signs of new caterpillars that have just recently begun to start feeding, extension agent Bob Neier told me before he retired earlier this week. There might be a hundred caterpillars hatched on a leaf in this stage when they’re little, he says. If so, they are at the stage where you can pick leaves and smash the caterpillars. If a small branch is affected, you can remove the branch and mash it. Go out daily for another week to check, Neier says. Last year the caterpillars were on black walnut, pecan and species of hickory trees, and sometimes also birch, oak, willow, honey locust and apple trees. The caterpillars can defoliate a tree, usually without harm, but the tree then looks bad until it can put on new leaves.

Last call for tomato and pumpkin planting — Fourth of July is generally considered to be the end of the season for tomato and pumpkin planting, so get some plants, or get some more plants, in the ground if you want tomatoes yet this summer, or your own pumpkins at Halloween.

Garden events

Daylily show — Specimens of daylily hybrids and arrangements of the flowers will be on display when the Prairie Winds Daylily Society has its annual Bloom Show from 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday at Botanica. Admission to the show is free; admission to Botanica will be charged if you want to go into the gardens.

Daylily patch walk-through — The Teardrop Farm Daylily Patch in Sterling will be open for visitors this weekend and two weekends from now. Terry Pitts and Brett Norsworthy have hybridized most of the 6,000 plants. The patch will be open from 8 a.m. to noon Saturday and Sunday and from July 17 to 19. The farm is about 60 miles from Wichita, at 221 N. First St. in Sterling. Admission is free; plants also are available for purchase. For more information, see the website daylilylanding.weebly.com or Teardrop Farm Daylily Patch on Facebook.

Dixieland in the gardens — Dixieland and ragtime band Blair Crimmins & the Hookers will play Tuesdays on the Terrace from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Botanica. Dinner and drinks will be for sale, and picnics also are welcome. The gardens are open until 8. Admission is $7, or $3 for members. More on the band: www.blaircrimminsandthehookers.com.

A look at Botanica’s aquatic collection — Kim Matthews, a gardener at Botanica, will give the lunchtime lecture there on Wednesday about the aquatic plants and creatures that live in Botanica’s water features. Matthews also builds water gardens and installs landscapes and will talk about the rewards and challenges of pond maintenance. The lecture, at 12:15, is included in Botanica admission. Lunch from Truffles will be for sale from 11 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. for $8.

“Big” at Botanica — The movie “Big” will be shown at Botanica at sunset Thursday. Admission is $3 on Thursdays during the summer, and life-size outdoor board games are available for play from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Board games and books are available on the Terrace. The gardens are open until 8 p.m. “Annie” will be shown on Aug. 13.

Cactus show and sale — The Wichita Cactus Club will have its annual show and sale next weekend at Botanica, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. July 11 and 1 to 5 p.m. July 12. Growers from Tulsa will have a variety of succulent plants and some pots for sale. Admission to the show is free, but Botanica admission will be charged if you want to go into the gardens.

McPherson garden tour — The annual McPherson Master Gardeners and Friends garden tour will be from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. July 11. Tickets are $5 to tour gardens at 800 E. Euclid, 1205 Eastmoor Drive, 1772 Limestone Road, 1416 Homestead Place and the Master Gardeners and Friends demo garden at 600 W. Woodside in McPherson. Tickets are available at each garden. The McPherson trolley will give free rides from the demo garden to the others. A “garden matchmaker” scavenger hunt offers prizes for people who can match photos to gardens.

Annie Calovich

This story was originally published July 2, 2015 at 2:12 PM with the headline "Wichita gardener’s almanac for July 4."