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Tuesday, December 4, 2012

December 4, 2012 Garden notes


We sure are having a gray fall.  I keep telling myself that the rain is good for the plants but it sure doesn’t help my mood.  People have been telling me that odd things are still happening related to the unusual weather.  Someone from the mid-south told me that down there some trees that lost leaves are already starting to bud out again.  I noticed that my bulbs are already poking above ground. 

The National Weather Service has issued their meteorological winter (December through March) forecast.   Because of the jet streams, ocean water temperature and other markers, they predict “normal” winter weather for Michigan and most of the nation.  So now we have normal weather, milder and drier, and wetter but colder winter predictions if you add the Weather Service forecasts to both Farmers Almanacs predictions.  Well, someone will be right.

If you are one of the people who worry about the thinning of the ozone layer over us a new finding will get you even more worried.  Recently research has discovered that some of our massive storms that supposedly come from global warming are actually shooting water into the stratosphere, where we think it doesn’t belong.  There it mixes with pollution and forms chemicals that degrade ozone.

Now no one knows if storms have always pushed water into the stratosphere on occasion and whether this was a problem before we added certain chemicals to it from fluorocarbons and other things.  But we do know that wherever large storms with powerful updrafts have been there is a thinning in the ozone layer for several months over that location.  Ozone protects us from harmful radiation.

On to more scary stuff.  Do you believe the world will end on December 21?  I personally expect to be here on December 22nd and maybe a few years beyond that.  There are dozens of scenarios from the rapture to a massive meteor strike being thrown about.  But I planted lots of bulbs this fall and as a gardener I expect that when winter is over, however the weather turned out, spring will return. 

Christmas presents for gardeners

Gardening books and gift certificates to nurseries are welcome gifts for the gardener in your life but here are a few more suggestions. 

Guerilla gardening, where you sneak in and plant things on abandoned land or public spaces has become a popular pastime.  Seed bombs are the weapon of choice.  You lob these bombs into the space you want to re-claim and hopefully plants grow.  One company has made gift baskets that contain various seed mixtures in bomb form combined with slingshots in re-cycled gift boxes.  You can purchase these for about $40 or you can purchase the seed bombs by the pound (about 30 bombs) and make your own kits.  Find the bombs and kits here http://www.greenaid.co/guerilla-gift-box-critters/

How about a quality shovel engraved with the gardener’s name?  You can purchase those at www.diannebbest.com/shovel.php.

Nancy Szerlag has an excellent idea for giving garden magazine gift subscriptions in a recent Detroit News article.  Read the article and get a list of garden magazines to subscribe to at http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20121130/OPINION03/211300313/Winter-s-housebound-gardeners-will-enjoy-gift-magazine?

New poinsettias

Thinking about buying a poinsettia for a gift or to decorate your home?  The last few years have seen an increase in the colors of poinsettias that you can buy, although the familiar red poinsettia is still the top seller. 


“Polar Bear” is white with beautiful green veins. “White Glitter” is red with white flecks.  “Ice Crystal is white with red edges.  Picasso is red with cream streaking.  “Maren” is peach colored.  “Ice Punch” is bright pink with cream centers.  Poinsettias can be saved from year to year although they rarely look as pretty as they did when they came from the greenhouse at future Christmas’s.  A summer outside and being exposed only to natural daylight through fall and winter will help the plant to “flower” again.

Of course plant lovers know that poinsettia flowers are really colored bracts.  The true flower is the yellow tubular shaped objects in the bract center.

New Roses

I promised to talk about new roses for 2013 this week and here are a few I have come across in my reading.

Francis Meilland is a tall, very disease resistant hybrid tea rose.  The flowers are large, well formed, pale pink and very fragrant.  It has won many awards in Europe.

Tequila Gold™ is a new shrub rose with beautiful golden flowers.  It is a continuous bloomer with excellent disease resistance.  It could be used as a specimen or as a hedge.

Wollerton Old Hall is an English type rose.  The blooms are cream with a blush of peach and the flowers have an intoxicating myrrh scent.  While not a continuous  bloomer it blooms abundantly for many weeks.  It is almost thornless which makes picking the blooms easy.

Lady Salisbury is a continuous bloomer of pretty pink flower clusters that are excellent for cutting.  It is an English type rose.

Fighting Temeraire is another English rose. It has semi-double flowers of rich apricot with a splash of gold in the center.   It has strong, tall stems and can be trained as a climber.

England’s Rose is striking cerise pink with a strong spice fragrance.  It blooms in waves throughout the summer.  The small to medium size blooms drop their petals cleanly and never look like blobs in damp weather.


Other new plants of note

A Fantastic Foliage® Selection, Flashlights is a new seed grown Milium effusm, that gives gardeners another shade tolerant ornamental grass.  Flashlights makes arching clumps of chartreuse leaves to light up the shade.   It’s excellent for bedding or containers and gets about 10 inches high by 8 inches wide.

The new Jams 'N Jellies Blackberry vinca provides another fantastic bedding plant that could be used in place of impatiens.   It has a velvety purple, almost black flower with a light pink center and would be beautiful paired with light pink, lavender or white flowers. 

Jade Princess is an ornamental millet that has chartreuse leaves with upright purple flower heads that when they are mature, give off a molasses smell.  It would be a neat choice for a sunny container planting on a patio or porch.

Reading the genes of wheat

It may not seem like a big deal to the average person but scientists are excited that the genome of wheat has finally been sequenced, that is we have a map of the genetic make up of wheat.  Did you know that wheat has 94,000 to 96,000 genes which is about 5 times as many genes as a human has?  We think of ourselves as extremely complex organisms but some living things that seem less complex than us have a much more detailed set of building blocks. 

Wheat is the most valuable crop in the world and is facing an emerging disease threat  that poses a serious threat to global food security.  A disease called Ug99, a stem rust disease, has popped up in wheat growing areas of Africa and has spread to the Middle East and Asia.  Ug99 causes almost 100% loss of a crop when it hits an area and current controls for other types of wheat stem rusts are not working well on Ug99. 

Our ARS (Agricultural Research) scientists are working with international groups in a research facility in Turkey to find a cure or treatment for Ug99 before it spreads to the US.  They hope that now they have a map of wheat’s genetic makeup they will be able to identify what genes are involved in resistance to the new disease and develop varieties of Ug99 resistant wheat.  Yes this is genetic modification but it’s a good thing.  If wheat was wiped out across the globe millions of people would starve.

Scientists discover why hybrid plants grow better

It’s long been suspected but researchers have recently confirmed that the reason that hybrid plants (and animals) are more vigorous and productive is that the crossing of two individuals that are not closely related provides back up copies of genes that may have become defective or have gone missing from genetic lines that have been inbred for long periods of time.  Every inbred generation loses some genes through mutation or destruction. When the cell DNA divides during sexual reproduction so that each parent provides half of the chromosomes to an individual many mistakes can happen that damage or destroy genes on those chromosomes.

Many of those faulty or missing genes don’t make substantial differences but sometimes even a single gene that becomes damaged or that is lost can cause great differences.  Usually however the constant loss of a few genes here and there just cause a decline in vigor and productivity over the generations of inbred (purebred) lines.

A hybrid plant, a cross between two varieties of plants that are not closely related, often has 350 or more genes than one of its parents.  These extra genes can replace missing or damaged genes inherited from one parent with healthy ones from the other parent. And sometimes two sets of a certain gene bolster health and production.

Researchers in Israel produced 50 different varieties of tomato plants that had just one genetic mutation after the tomato genome was sequenced so that researchers had an idea where to look for gene mutations.  Crossing these tomatoes with each other provided a variety of enhancements to plant vigor and productivity.  They found that just one gene can increase the sweetness in tomatoes and one gene controls the numbers of flower clusters that form. 

Research on the tomato genome has produced some other interesting things.  A tomato gene was discovered that when injected into cancerous tumors of animals caused the tumors to “die”.  Trials on human cancer will begin soon.  Other tomato genes may become helpful in controlling or preventing Alzheimer’s disease.

Gardeners who avoid hybrid seeds may be missing out on plant varieties that are healthier and more productive than those grown from “open pollinated” or purebred lines.  And it is important to stress that hybrid seeds can be produced organically.  Just because a variety of seed is open pollinated does not mean it is organic.

Here are some articles you may want to read.

Poisonous Holiday plants you may want to avoid

Plants have been brought into the home to decorate it around the winter solstice for hundreds of years. They have become part of the tradition and lore of the holidays and the practice persists even today. But not all holiday plants are safe for children and pets and knowing which ones are poisonous is important for a happy holiday.

http://www.examiner.com/article/poisonous-holiday-plants-you-may-want-to-avoid

Using Ginger


Ginger is commonly associated with ginger bread and other pastries but ginger root is a staple of Asian cooking, especially in stir fry. Ginger is often used in sauces and marinades for fish. Ginger also combines well with fruits like peaches and apples as well as vegetables like squash. Ginger is also well known as an herbal remedy for nausea.

http://www.examiner.com/article/preparing-and-using-fresh-ginger





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