Coleus

A recent article in American Horticulture Society’s “The American Gardener” magazine is titled “Coleus Comeback” by Ray Rogers.

According to Rogers, “Coleus are more than just simply the darlings of a monomaniacal collector’s eye or quaint Victorian throwbacks for the odd shady corner . . .”

Season-long color, ease of propagation, infinite variety, sun tolerant as well as shade plants, specimen plants or mass planting, upright, mounding, or trailing, in containers or in the garden - what’s not to like? Yes I’m one of those monomaniacal collectors. But, it’s not my fault. My good friend Myra gave me a few plants several years ago and touted their beauty. I’ve been hooked ever since.

I’m seeing a greater variety in local garden centers recently. Dan Scantz Greenhouse donated sun coleus for Musikfest’s Blumenplatz (shown here). ‘Pink Chaos’, ‘Merlin's Magic’, ‘Religious Radish’ and ‘Pele’ created quite a splash of color in the corners of the bed.

I don’t try to remember all the cultivar names. Every supplier seems to have their own set of names.

A Master Gardener once told me square stemmed plants are the easiest to propagate. Most of the coleus have square stems. I usually root them in water then plant them in a mixture of three cups potting soil, one cup vermiculite and one cup peat moss. Sometimes I plant directly in the soil after dipping the stem in rooting hormone.

I clean all the pots in the summer in 1 to 9 solution of chlorine bleach to water and rinse thoroughly. I’ve lost about 15 to 20 percent this year. Mostly to damping off. I think I just don’t pay enough attention to the potted plants and probably overwater or overcrowd the trays. But every year I end up with 60 to 80 plants for the garden and friends.

I’ve been browsing through Rosy Dawn online catalog. Oh my, temptation! http://www.rosydawngardens.com/


See posts – 12/29/06, 5/8/07, 5/26/07, 7/11/07, 8/18/07, 10/20/07, 1/5/08

Hemlock

Hemlock Wooly Adelgid (Adelges tsugae Annand) has become a problem in eastern Pennsylvania forests.

Penn State Department of Entomology fact sheet: "The most obvious sign of a hemlock woolly adelgid infestation is the copious masses of white filaments of wax produced by females. These "cottony" masses normally persist throughout the season and into the following year, even after the insects are dead”. http://www.ento.psu.edu/extension/factsheets/hemlockwoolly.htm

Our 35-year-old hemlocks are about 70 feet tall. (see picture below) That’s too large for me to spray with insecticidal soap. I’m keeping an eye on them. Hopefully, they will last another 35 years.

Here are a two sites that illustrate the difficulty of control.

USDA Forest Service “An Exotic Pest Threat to Eastern Hemlock: An Initiative for Management of Hemlock Woolly Adelgid” http://www.na.fs.fed.us/fhp/hwa/pub/hwa_mgt_plan.pdf

Save Our Hemlocks Action Team http://www.saveourhemlocks.org/controls/my_prop.shtml

Hemlock

Snow on the Hemlocks - 1/19/08

God made snowy days so gardeners could get the housework done.

Heron

Snack attack?

Over the weekend our neighborhood was visited by what I believe was a heron. It was strange to see a huge bird fly to the top of a neighbor’s house.

There are several ponds in the neighborhood. I guess this bird is looking for a tasty Koi.

Bougainvillea

From April 18, 2007 post: “The Bougainvillea is blooming in my living room”

Well, it’s starting to blooming again. This plant started life in my house as a small plant in a 3" pot. I brought it home from the Philadelphia Flower Show about 8 to 10 years ago. It is now 4 to 5 feet tall in a 15" pot.

I don’t know why it keeps growing. I put it out on the deck in the summer and feed it sometimes. It’s full of thorns and grows over the sofa and into the corner hutch. Getting it outside is a mess. It lives on a wheeled wooden caddy. I try not to get falling leaves all over the house or poke my eye out when I drag it outside. Every year I say I’m not going to bring in again. Every fall I drag it back to the living room.

I grew a cutting a few years ago. One winter the cutting got stuck behind some other house plants and I forgot to water it. End of plant.

It usually doesn’t bloom in the summer. According to Plant Answers http://www.plantanswers.com/bouganvilia.htm , it is a heavy feeder. Maybe I’ll feed it more this summer to see if I can get it to bloom outside. I'm sure it's pot bound but I’m not about to try to re-pot the monster. Maybe I won’t bring it in next fall.

Garden Book

The Organic Gardener’s Handbook of Natural Insect and Disease Control, edited by Barbara W. Ellis and Fern Marshall Bradley. 1996 Rodale Press, Inc.

I’m enjoying browsing through this Christmas gift. You need to be really, really interested in gardening to stay with this book. Realizing that it is a reference book, I found the identification parts of the book the most valuable. I’m not so sure about the recommended controls.

The “Problem-Solving Plant Guide” starts with a plant description. The by-plant section includes flowering plants, shrubs, vegetables and fruits. Then, a list of problems the plant may have ends with page number for control information.

The section, “Insects. Recognizing Your Friends – Eliminating Your Foes,” includes everything from aphids to yellow jackets. The illustrations are small but each insect is accompanied by 2 to 6 pictures. Each insect section includes Description, Life Cycle, Beneficial Effect or Damage Control or How to Attract. The life cycle information is important since some insects can only be controlled at a specific stage of life. It’s nice to have this information in one book.

The book continues with “Diseases and Organic Controls” again with pictures. Type of Problem, Symptoms, Plants Affected, and Prevention and Control for each disease is listed.

Most of the general advice is not something we haven’t heard before. Use disease resistant plants. Clean up plant debris. Prune to insure good air flow. Eliminate weeds. Select the right plant for the space. Use compost and mulch. – a brief synopsis of good advice.

It’s a good reference book and reads like, well, a reference book. I’ll have to force myself to read through some sections. Maybe I’ll read “Diseases. Identifying the Cause – Implementing the Cures” during the next snow storm - unless Dan Brown writes a new book.

A Gardener’s Christmas

All I need is a few garden gifts and life is good.

Please add a comment and share the gifts you received for your garden this season.

Christmas Cactus - 2

Schlumbergera

Some of my Christmas cacti may actually be Thanksgiving cactus. The white blooming plant from December 1, 2007 post always blooms in November. I call them all Christmas cactus because I’m too lazy to make a distinction.

In early December, the red-orange flowering Christmas cactus started to bloom. The leaves are wider and thicker than my other cacti. This year it had a few large blooms.

I’ve had the traditional red Christmas cactus for many years. I received the original plant from my aunt. By cutting a length of a few leaves and rooting in potting soil, I’ve grown new plants to give away. They are very easy to propagate.

After blooming, the plants take a rest. In May, I will trim all the cacti and set them outside in a shady area. They seem to like being pot bound. I may repot and prune the roots once a decade. I fertilize about every two weeks in summer using Miracle Gro or Fish Emulsion. In late August, I bring them in and set them in a sunny window. The room is cool and gets very little artificial light. They bloom reliably each year.

For more information see Purdue Ext Christmas Cactus FAQ http://www.hort.purdue.edu/ext/cactusFAQs.html

Garden 2007

Winners

The soil tests were easy to do. (see September 29, 2007 post) The results for the lilac/shade garden bed) were the most interesting. Calcium and Magnesium are way above optimum. Soil pH, Phosphate and Potash are below optimum. Recommended fertilization: “Apply 3.5 lbs. per 100 square feet of 5-10-10 and 0.5 lbs. per 100 square feet of 0-46-0.” I will continue to add compost and mulch to this bed and fertilize in spring. Hopefully, this will make a difference since this garden is starting to look a little sad. Now I know where to start.

The “Circle Garden”, put in to enhance the shape of the steps from the deck, is beginning to fill in. I like the plan this year – outside edge line Elijah blue fescue; next line grey Dusty Miller; then euonymus and an inside row of sweet alyssum. (see April 15, 2007 post). In another few years it should be perfect. Photos below compare the garden from August 2006 to July 2007. Gardening surely takes patience.

I shared some plants this year with community gardens, herb society, and with friends. It is very satisfying to find a use for surplus plants.

Old reliable winners

I have heard some gardeners say they get tired of their old plants. I will never tire of these old, reliable inhabitants in my garden.

Crocus - energizing a new season --- Azalea – riot of color

Columbine – simple and prolific --- Roses - fragrance and bloom

Coleus – a bright spot wherever they are

2007 Garden

As I looked through the garden photos from 2007, I found some winners and some losers and a few that were a little of both.

Losers

The pot of Double Flowering Tuberose (Polianthea tuberosa) did not bloom (again). I promised myself if there were no blooms in 2007, they would be compost. But, I've the pot away for the winter (again). (see December 29, 2006 post). We’ll see. I get plenty of green leaves and lots of new bulbs each year, but no blooms. I don't know if I'm ready to give up the challenge.

Lobelia 'Crystal Palace' started with a few pretty, bright blue flowers in a pot with zinnias. They never developed into much. I’m not sure if it was the competition from the zinnias or the shade from the zinnias or the hot, dry summer. I've tried nasturtiums and petunias in the bottom of this patio pot. Neither one worked very well. I’ll be looking for a different cascading plant this spring. I may try some of the bright sweet potato vines.

In the middle

Container Vegetables. The cucumber (Bush Champion) plants produced a normal amount of cukes before they were overcome with mildew. I may try a mildew resistant variety this year. The beans (Kentucky Wonder) were a success producing beans into fall. But, keeping the containers watered was a problem in the hot, dry summer. I will be researching watering methods and gadgets this winter.

Making aerobic compost tea was easy enough to do. (see July 7, 2007 and August 8, 2007 posts) I think I got some good results on the roses. I’m not sure how valuable it is as a soil amendment. I’ll be trying it on a portion of the lawn next spring. At the very least, I got to stretch my valuable compost a little further.

Sweet Pea (Sweet Dreams & Streamers Mix) took a long time to germinate. Half of them turned brown and withered. The other half produced a fair amount of flowers. The flowers were almost exclusively lilac colored with few exceptions. There was no noticeable fragrance.

I’ll get to the winners next time.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS

Merry Christmas

and Happy New Year!

Word Origins

While dusting book shelves, I came across an old book - Word Origins and Their Romantic Stories, by Wilfred Funk, 1978 edition.

I felt compelled to stop dusting. I was never fond of dusting anyway.

I paged through trying to find something romantic, or humorous, or fascinating and stumbled across the chapter “Word Histories of Your Garden.” A few excerpts, in 1978 style, follow:

Poinsettia – The Honorable Joel Roberts Poinsett of Charleston, South Carolina, was a distinguished diplomat, Secretary of War in Martin Van Buren’s cabinet . . . appointed special minister to Mexico. It was while there that he became attracted to the large, flaming flowers that we now know so well. He brought some of the plants back to the States and his name Poinsett gave us poinsettia.


Hydrangea – The seed capsule of these showy flowers is shaped like a cup or miniature water-vessel, and when we turn to our Greek lexicon we find the component parts of hydrangea in hydr-, “water,” and angos, “seed” or “capsule.” They look like a “water” cup.

Alyssum – A dainty plant of slender, silvery leaves interspersed with fragrant clusters of small golden or white flowers. The Greeks regarded the plant as a cure for madness and so called it alysson, a-, “not,” and lysa, “madness.”

Tulip – Again among the descriptive names is tulip which, with its showy colors and velvet texture, has somewhat the appearance of a turban. The word comes to us through the obsolete French word tulipan, from tulbend, the Turkish way of saying “turban.”

Other chapters include words about humans, war words, and words of attitudes and emotions, among others.

In the chapter “Where Words about Human Beings Come From”

Fool – Let those who talk too much take care, for the Latin word folis, which gave us fool, means “a windbag.”

I think I’ll go back to dusting.

.

Euphorbia

The Euphorbiaceae is a widely diverse group of plants having about 300 genera and 7,500 species – everything from invasive spurge through succulents to poinsettia. The plants often contain milky sap. I find the differences astonishing.


The familiar poinsettia pictured here is Euphorbia pulcherrima ‘Fismars’ (Mars™ Red). It is certainly a bright holiday plant.

Euphorbia ‘Diamond Frost®' is an annual. The mature height is 12 to 18 inches. I would like to try it in some of my pots next summer. Since the plant is drought tolerant, has a cascading habit and likes full sun, it should do well in the pots on the deck.

All I have to do is find it.

Sustainable Landscapes

Another movement toward growing healthy plants and reducing the use of fertilizers, insecticides and pesticides is Sustainable Landscapes.

On November 1, 2007 a “Preliminary Report on the Standards & Guidelines Sustainable Sites Initiative TM” was published.
http://www.sustainablesites.org/SustainableSitesInitiative_PreliminaryReport_110107.pdf
An impressive list of experts worked to create “. . . an interdisciplinary partnership to develop national, voluntary standards and guidelines for sustainable land development and management practices as well as metrics to assess site performance and a rating system to recognize achievement.”

As stated in the preliminary report:

“Purpose

“Establish Sustainable Sites as the standard which recognizes and provides direction for achieving sustainable land development and management through the creation and implementation of clear and rigorous design, construction, operations, and maintenance criteria.

“Intended Audience

“The products of the Sustainable Sites Initiative provide tools for the land development and management industries to create positive change and lead the way to a sustainable future. The standards and guidelines are available for those who influence land practices to address increasingly urgent global concerns such as climate change, loss of biodiversity, and resource depletion. Sustainable Sites is intended to stimulate an open dialogue among a broad and diverse group of stakeholders.”

A few additional research projects and publications:

The National Park Service (NPS), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and SafeLawns.org have combined efforts to create a sustainable, organic lawn area at the National Mall. http://www.nps.gov/nama/parkmgmt/upload/SafeLawns.pdf

Virginia Cooperative Extension published a long Sustainable Landscape Management Series http://www.ext.vt.edu/pubs/envirohort/vagardlist.html

In 2003, Rodale Institute and Pennsylvania State University started experiments with compost tea on crops. http://fpath.cas.psu.edu/RESEARCH/SAREPoster.pdf

(Picture: Longwood Gardens at dusk 12/4/07)

Integrated Pest Management

IPM

Integrated Pest Management - see http://paipm.cas.psu.edu/


What it is.

A quote from Longwood Gardens:

“IPM does not simply mean that more pests must be tolerated or that pesticide applications should not be made. IPM seeks to find the most effective yet least intrusive way to reduce the potential impact of pests.” http://www.longwoodgardens.org/IntegratedPestManagement_1_3_2_3_3_4.html

What it isn’t.

It isn’t easy.

IPM starts with selecting the right plant. Healthy plants are less susceptible to stress related disease and pests. Toting mulch and compost are necessary chores. Shrubs and trees need to be pruned – plant litter cleaned up. Weeds need to be pulled. A soil test is necessary to tell exactly what the soil needs instead of fertilizing by month of the growing season. Grass may need to be mowed more than once a week in good grass weather if cut at 2 ½ to 3 inches. Understanding the life cycle of insects is essential in order to use insecticides wisely. There is a lot to learn and do.

Penn State University’s IPM publications offer loads of information for homeowners.

Creating Healthy Landscapes Series (all PDF files)

#1: Introduction

#2: Choose Plants Wisely

#3: Plant with Care

#4: Promote Plant Health

#5: Keep Plants Well Groomed

#6: Monitor Pests and Keep Records

#7: Pest Management Methods

#8: Recognize and Conserve Natural Enemies

#9: Use Nature's Signals to Manage Landscape Plants


IPM may generate low maintenance lawns and gardens in the long run. Healthy plants require less upkeep. Choosing plants wisely, planting with care and conserving natural enemies will go a long way to reduce work in the yard.

Longwood - Service Area

http://www.longwoodgardens.org/

As part of our Longwood Gardens tour, we visited the service area directly behind the Main Conservatory. (Yes, we went beyond the sign.) 30,000 square feet of state-of-the-art production greenhouses produce plants used in the exquisite displays.

Huge fans keep the greenhouses cool in summer. Cool air is pulled in from the wooded area behind the greenhouses through the tan, corrugated screen shown here behind the coleus. Miles of pipes, automatic temperature and water controls, gizmos and gadgets make it a gardener’s dream. According to Longwood’s publication, “Each greenhouse is equipped with its own computerized system that automatically controls temperature, bench and perimeter heat, snow melters, and devices for cooling and shading.”

“In the mid 1950s, Longwood began a breeding program to develop new cultivars. Today, outstanding cultivars are continually being selected and regularly introduced.” More than 100 cultvars have been introduced by Longwood Gardens Research Staff – everything from Acer platanoides ‘Stand Fast’ to Wisteria frutescens ‘Longwood Purple’.

The huge greenhouses were almost pristine inside. Believe me, there was no soil or plant litter on the floor.

The greenhouses also serve as a holding area for replacement plants for the display gardens. Tables were filled with red, pink, salmon poinsettias, bright red and white cyclamen, dusty miller.

As we walked through, an intern from Ohio expertly transplanted snapdragon seedlings Antirrhinum majus ‘Appleblossom’. (Picture in bloom http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/fp.php?pid=3485053 ) They should make a beautiful display.

A long row of Velvet Groundsel - Roldana petasitis lined one of the service halls. It is considered a “pest plant” in New Zealand. (Here is a picture in bloom http://shadoadmin.arc.govt.nz/plants/plantdetails.cfm?plantcode=senpetmin.arc.govt.nz/plants/plantdetails.cfm?plantcode=senpet )

It would be fun to return to Longwood in another season to look for the plants we saw in the greenhouses.

Longwood Gardens

I visited Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square yesterday with the Coplay Garden Club and came home on sensory overload. http://www.longwoodgardens.org/

Pierre du Pont bought the Peirce farm in 1906 and began creating what would become Longwood Gardens. Today, extensive educational programs, plant research, performing arts programs, and displays keep visitors amazed.

After a spectacular lunch, we started in the Main Conservatory which was built in 1919 and houses 20 indoor gardens and over 5,500 plants.

An over-the-top display of pink poinsettias (Euphorbia pulcherrima 'Pink'), grey dusty miller (Senecio cineraria ‘Cirrus’), pink amaryllis (Hippeastrum 'Vera') greeted us in the Orangery. The Main Exhibition Hall fashioned a peaceful splendor with fountain, palm trees and evergreens.

Winterberry enhanced the natural flow of the East Conservatory. The park-like setting is complete with a stream and grass and accented with red cyclamen (Cyclamencoum) and white Easter Lilies, (Lilium longiflorum).

And that was just the beginning of our tour of 4.5 acres of covered gardens. I’ll continue with more of the highlights next time.

Christmas Cactus

The first to bloom. The attractive white/pale pink cactus started to bloom on November 17. The red and orange blooming cacti are setting buds. To be continued . . .