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Wednesday, November 14, 2012

November 13 newsletter


I really loved Sunday even though the wind was howling here.  Yesterday was miserable and bleak and I think today, even though it is cold, is much nicer with the sun shining so nicely. The barn roof was dusted with snow this morning and I know it was snowing quite heavily last night around 10 pm.  
Before today I had some garden phlox blooming in the garden.  It may have frozen overnight.  I also found some nicotiana - flowering tobacco- that had come up from seed and was starting to bloom.  I transferred that to a pot and brought it inside on the porch.  It has red flowers and is a short variety.  I will see just what kind of houseplant it makes. 

 I also saw that my bronze fennel was putting out a lot of sprouts at its swollen base so I potted it and brought it inside.  I missed getting seeds from it earlier when it flowered.  I am curious to see if it flowers again or if it even lives inside.   Normally I treat fennel as an annual, it is probably better classified as a bi-annual so we will see what happens inside.

I have a nice yellow abutilon blooming on the porch.  Abutilons, sometimes called flowering maples, make wonderful houseplants whether they are tree forms or basket forms.  Mine are both basket types, one has large yellow flowers and the other small red and orange flowers.  That one also has pretty yellow variegated foliage which makes a pretty basket whether it’s blooming or not.  I included my article on abutilons below under information if you’d like to know more about them.

 Flower of the Year

 There are many organizations that nominate plants or flowers of the year.  The National Garden Bureau has nominated the “wildflower” as the flower of the year.  This is odd because wildflower isn’t one type or even species of flower.  Supposedly many nurseries will use this as a theme for spring plant offerings so expect to see many wildflowers offered in catalogs.  They also nominated the gerbera daisy as annual of the year and the watermelon as “vegetable” of the year.  Vegetable? 

Other organizations will be nominating plants for flower of the year and other awards.  I’ll let you know about them as I come across them.

 Why bees prefer some flowers more than others

 Over the centuries flowers have devised all sorts of attractive lures to interest pollinators.  Scientists using electron microscopes have discovered that the petals of most bee pollinated flowers contain surface cells with a cone shaped texture.  When a bee lands on these petals its claws are able to grip the surface better than when it lands on a petal with surface cells in another texture. 

 Experiments have shown that the extra gripping power the cone shaped cells give bees allows them to pry open flowers such as snapdragons to get pollen and nectar and it keeps them on flower petals when the wind blows.  When the surface cell shape is modified as it occasionally is during selection for other traits, bees may be less inclined to visit those flowers.

 Chocolate Research

 Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists at the agency's Sustainable Perennial Crops Laboratory (SPCL) and Systematic Mycology and Microbiology Laboratory (SMML), both in Beltsville, Md., have been searching in South America and Africa for different varieties of cacao plants, which chocolate is made from. They are collecting specimens to do research on the genetics of cacao, which has proved to be a hard plant to domesticate and farm.   

 Cacao has many subtle flavors or tones among different varieties of the plant  and different flavors of edible chocolate are produced from these subtle nuances, just as different wines are produced from different forms of grapes grown in different areas.  On a trip to Peru they discovered specimens of a chocolate variety called Pure Nacional, an old chocolate cultivar that high end chocolate companies greatly covet.  It was growing at altitudes that most cacao plants don’t grow in, giving hope that its genes could produce a top quality cultivar of cacao that could expand the range of chocolate production.

 Chocolate production is suffering because of changing conditions in South America and Africa, and a number of diseases that affect the crop.  The ARS has an ongoing program to improve cacao cultivars hoping to ensure that the world has enough chocolate for the future, which is not only good for us lovers of fine chocolate, but ensures a good livelihood for the small farmers who produce the crop and a better economy for their countries.  You can read more about the research at;


 Archeologists and soil

Soil scientists have given archeologists a new tool to learn about ancient civilizations.  With a tool called a spectrophotometer and other new research tools soil scientists can tell what grew in various layers of soil even when no human artifacts remain.  Corn and other cultivated plants leave different chemical signatures in the soil than native vegetation, and these signatures persist for thousands of years.  Soil archeologists can also tell when erosion occurred, another sign of cultivated land.

 Archeologists working in Guatemala’s Tikal National Park were able to map out where corn ( maize) was grown in ancient times by the Mayans.  It is estimated that around 60,000 people lived in this area between 250 and 900 AD.   The soil tools allowed archeologists to find traces of phosporus which indicate the presence of grain based foods, in areas known to be ancient homes.  The traces were heaviest at the edges and doorways of where old structures were known to be and in kitchen areas.  It’s very likely the homes were swept clean freguently and the food particles would settle at the edges of the structures.

 Archeologists have always speculated at the purpose of the wide, flat “plazas” found near the temples of ancient Mayan cities, which rarely contain any artifacts.  The presence of large amounts of phosporus at the edges of these plazas may indicate that they were market places, where food was bought and sold.  The plazas were probably swept clean at the end of each market day or period.

 The new archelogy of soil is giving us a clearer understanding of how our ancestors ate and lived.  Scientists are eager to explore more areas with this new field of archeology.

 
How to Grow Abutilons  
(first published in Examiner.com)
http://www.examiner.com/gardening-in-detroit/kimberley-willis
 Maybe you noticed the beautiful Abutilons in a greenhouse this spring.  If you didn’t you missed a chance to see and own some of the most exotic and interesting container plants you can grow in your Michigan garden.   They aren’t winter hardy here- but will over winter indoors, continuing to bloom through much of the winter.  Other common names for Abutilons include Chinese Bell Flower, Chinese Lanterns, and Indian Mallow.
Abutilons have been around as houseplants for at least a century, commonly seen as a shrubby house plant known as Flowering Maple.   The abutilons however, are a genus of about 150 species growing in sub tropical areas of South America and Asia.  They grow as small trees, shrubs and vines.  Recently plant breeders have worked with the various species of Abutilon, improving and hybridizing them to create many exotic, easy to grow varieties you can now find at the greenhouse near you. 
Abutilons are evergreen- like most tropical plants they keep their leaves all year.  The stems turn woody over time.   Most species are perennial but annual varieties exist.  Some hybrids from South American species will survive temperatures into the teens and growers are working to produce even hardier plants.
 The older tree forms of abutilon still exist but the newer abutilons produced for gardeners tend to form smaller shrub-like plants or spreading hanging basket plants.   There is a wide variation in leaf size and shape and even flower shape among the recent introductions.   In some the large, colorful hibiscus-like flowers are the show, in others the beautiful foliage, often variegated, is as showy as the smaller dangling ‘lantern” type flowers.  All Abutilon flowers are attractive to hummingbirds.
The large flowered varieties usually have leaves that are lobed- sometimes looking like a maple leaf.   They can be various shades of green and may be variegated with yellow or white.  Some large flowered varieties though, have smaller, fuzzy blade like leaves with serrated edges.  The large flowered types have 5 tissue paper-like flower petals shaped like a saucer or cupped ranging in size from 1½ inches to 5 inches across.  
The large flowered abutilons have a prominent pistil and stamens in the center and resemble hibiscus or mallow flowers. Flowers usually dangle, facing downward.  Flower colors are usually warm colors such as reds and yellows, but white, pink and lavender varieties exist.  There are some hard to find double flowered abutilons on the market.
 Small flowered abutilons are usually hybrids of Abutilon megapotamicum.  The flowers have a large calyx- (a thicker version of sepals) - on the back of the flower from which the flower petals protrude beneath, producing the “lantern” look.  The calyx is often a contrasting color from the petals.   Usually the colors are reds, yellows and oranges but some pastels exist.  The lantern type flowers are 1-2 inches long.
Small flowered varieties of Abutilon usually have small leaves but at least one large maple leaf type variety exists.  Many small flowered Abutilon have leaves that are heavily variegated with gold or white.  The lantern types tend to have wiry, arching stems from which the leaves and flowers dangle and make beautiful hanging baskets.
 Growing Abutilon
 Gardeners will generally start with plants.  Abutilons can be started from seeds, although Michigan grown plants rarely produce them.  It takes two years for most Abutilons to bloom from seed.  Abutilons will also grow from cuttings. 
 Do not put Abutilons outside until all danger of frost has passed and bring them inside in the fall before frost.  They can be planted directly in the ground and treated as annuals; however you can bring potted plants inside in the fall for a blooming houseplant.  The larger flowered varieties hold their blooms better if protected from wind.
Abutilons prefer partial to full sun in the garden and a sunny window indoors.  Use a loose, light potting soil.   For best bloom Abutilons need regular feeding.  Use an extended release fertilizer for flowers or fertilize with a liquid fertilizer every two weeks.  In the house stop fertilizing November through January and let the plant rest a bit.
 Abutilons need regular watering, particularly large plants in hanging baskets.  If they get too dry they may drop their leaves but may recover if watered in time.   Do not over water in the winter, soggy soil will kill them.
 Trim off any damaged or spindly growth.  Abutilons can be pruned to control size as some plants will get as large as 6 foot high and wide.  If you want the plants to grow larger replant in a slightly larger pot each spring.
 Some varieties
 ‘Canary Bird’ is an older, small shrub form with large, canary yellow flowers and large leaves.  ‘Cannington Peter’ is similar but has dark red flowers and yellow variegated leaves. ‘Violetta’ is a large - 6 foot - plant with large violet to indigo blue flowers.  ‘Voodoo’ has 2 inch blood red flowers.  ‘Hawaiian Ma’o’  is a large upright with 1 inch golden yellow double flowers.  ‘Tennant’s White’ has huge white flowers.
 

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