December 30, 2014 Kim’s Weekly Garden
Newsletter © Kim Willis
These weekly garden notes are written by Kim Willis,
unless another author is noted, and the opinions expressed in these notes are
her opinions and do not represent any other individual, group or organizations
opinions.
Hi Gardeners
 |
| My Christmas gift. |
Happy New Year- you may think tomorrow ends the old
year but really the natural year ended back on December 21 and we are now 9
days into the new natural year. Ever so
slowly the days will lengthen, that’s the good news.
It started out gloomy with flurries this morning but
the day has become at least partly sunny. I can take winter cold if the day is
sunny. We have had a few days in a row
where we have seen the sun, let’s hope it’s a trend.
My Christmas cactus – at least the one in the kitchen,
synced its bloom beautifully with the holidays.
My son bought me a beautiful blooming orchid for Christmas. The geraniums are blooming on the porch and
the Chinese hibiscus has big fat buds that should open soon. It’s so nice to have flowers in the winter.
What
to do if you got a poinsettia for Christmas and want to keep it.
You can just enjoy the poinsettia until it starts
looking bedraggled and then throw it out. Or if you can’t stand to see a plant
die you can keep it as ahouseplant. First remove the foil wrapper around the pot
and make sure it has drainage holes. If
it does, get a saucer for the plant. If
it doesn’t have drainage re-plant the poinsettia in a pot that has good
drainage.
 |
| Poinsettia |
Place the poinsettia in bright light – it doesn’t have
to be in a south window but the brighter the light the better. Let it dry slightly between watering’s but
keep it from wilting. Dry air may cause
the plant to lose leaves. Misting isn’t
recommended anymore but since dry air is also bad for you adding a humidifier to
the room may help you both. Rooms with
lots of plants or a fish tank are generally humid enough. A jar of water over a heating vent can also
help.
Hopefully you keep your home between 55 and 70
degrees. Cooler nights are helpful for
almost all species of plants, including poinsettias.
Some people recommend chopping the plant back by one
third immediately, I don’t. The plant
will stay pretty a long time, so enjoy it.
In March begin fertilizing the poinsettia when you fertilize other
houseplants. After all danger of frost
has passed move the plant outside- and now cut the plant back by one third. Move
the poinsettia to a shady location first, then gradually into full sun. Don’t forget to water it. It’s probably best to sink the pot into the
ground, but not plant it directly into the garden. Fertilize the plant at least
once a month.
In the fall, before frost, bring the plant inside to a
place where it gets bright natural light but little artificial light at
night. Don’t forget to water it. If you are lucky the leaf bracts will color
up again. They need a natural rhythm of shortening
days to start the color show. Once the
color has come you can move the plant to a more visible location if you want. Even
without much color the poinsettia can be a pretty houseplant if it’s grown
well.
My
New Year gardening resolutions
I
will resolve to thin, cull, divide, move and prune before I buy more plants.
Like many of you I tend to put off dividing perennials,
moving plants or just getting rid of plants that aren’t preforming well. My resolution this year is to thoroughly overhaul
two big beds in my yard that are crowded and messy. I need to dig out some hardy roses that
popped up from root suckers, divide huge clumps of day lilies, get rid of some
goldenrod, comfrey, phlox and Maximilian sunflowers and move some plants that
have been buried by other plants.
The problem will be to find a suitable place for things
I take out of the gardens that I want to keep.
I have enough land - but I am not sure I want to begin new beds. I have
some shady areas that could still be added to, but the beds I need to do over
are beds of sun lovers. So some things
just have to go I guess.
I am glad I took plenty of pictures this year so I can
see how things look when they get to mature size. It’s so easy to look at small plants in the
spring and think that everything is perfectly spaced. I know that I can’t even
see the oriental lilies after the baptisia and phlox grow up, that the roses
are buried in peonies and hydrangeas by mid-summer and while butterflies like
the goldenrod that there is just too much of it.
Only after I have culled and pruned and divided and
re-planted will I buy new plants this year, or so I resolve now, in winter,
while looking at all the new catalogs. That’s
my garden resolution what’s yours?
All
American selections announced
The 2015 All American plant selections have been
announced. This year the committee that
makes the selections has also announced some regional winners, plants that are
outstanding in some areas of the country.
Here are the national selections and selections for our region. You will
be able to find at least some of them in garden stores and catalogs this
spring.
Salvia Summer Jewel White 2015 National AAS
Bedding Plant Award Winner
This is a dwarf,
pure white salvia that blooms prolifically.
Petunia Trilogy Red F1 2015 AAS National Bedding
Plant Award Winner
The Trilogy series petunias have a great dome shaped
habit. This is a new color for the type-
a true scarlet red.
 |
| Impatiens Bounce Pink Flame. Credit-allamericanselections.org |
Impatiens Bounce™ Pink Flame PPAF
'Balboufink' 2015 National AAS Flower Award Winner
Bounce is a new hybrid impatiens with complete downy mildew
resistance that looks just like the formerly well-loved Impatiens walleriana. Let’s hope other colors will soon be
introduced, (this is hot pink).
Impatiens SunPatiens® Spreading Shell
Pink 2015 National AAS Flower Award Winner.
Another hybrid impatiens that has good downy mildew
resistance, this one is a softer pink.
It’s not the same breeding as the one above.
Basil Dolce Fresca 2015 AAS National Vegetable
Award Winner
A basil with sweet tender leaves and a compact shape.
Lettuce Sandy 2015 AAS National Vegetable
Award Winner
This is an oakleaf type lettuce with frilled deep green
leaves. It has very good disease
resistance and is slow to bolt.
Pak Choi Bopak F1 2015 AAS Regional
Northeast, Great Lakes Vegetable Award Winner
This Pak Choi matures early and has soft, tender
leaves.
Peppers were very popular with the judges this year it
seems.
Pepper Emerald Fire F1 2015 AAS National Vegetable
Award Winner
This is an extra hot, extra-large and extra tasty
jalapeno pepper
Pepper Flaming Flare F1 2015 AAS National
Vegetable Award Winner
An early maturing chili type pepper with a high yield
of brilliant red fruit.
Pepper Pretty N Sweet F1 2015 AAS National
Vegetable Award Winner
A compact sweet pepper with multi-colored fruit that’s
great for containers.
Radish Roxanne F1 2015 AAS National Vegetable
Award Winner
A red colored radish that doesn’t get pithy even when
large.
Squash Bossa Nova F1 2015 AAS National Vegetable
Award Winner
A zucchini with light and dark green mottled skin
that’s very prolific. (Do we really need
more prolific zucchini?)
Squash Butterscotch F1 2015 AAS National Vegetable
Award Winner
A small, sweet butternut type squash.
Tomato Chef's Choice Pink F1 2015 AAS Regional
(Southeast, Great Lakes) Vegetable Award Winner
This is a pink beefsteak type tomato with large yields
and a great flavor.
Where
trial gardens are located in Michigan
 |
| Frankenmuth All American Selections trial garden. Credit allamericanselections.org |
You may know that MSU has an annual trial garden where
growers donate plants for MSU to grow and rate.
Some All American Selections were trialed there. But did you know there is an All American
Selection trial garden in Frankenmuth?
It’s located on the grounds of Frankenmuth Mutual Insurance, 1 Mutual
Avenue- which is just off W. Genesee, in Frankenmuth. If you go to Frankenmuth this summer stop by
and have a look.
Other trial gardens are located in the Dow Gardens in
Midland, Fernwood Botanical Gardens in Niles, Hidden Lake Gardens in Tipton and
the Raker Trial Gardens in Litchfield, which is southwest of Battle Creek.
 |
| Raker trial gardens, Litchfield MI |
The Raker Trial Gardens are some of the largest in the
country. This company grows plants that
private and commercial breeders send to them from all over the world. They provide an independent and objective
evaluation of new cultivars that breeders hope to sell to consumers. You can visit this display garden from July
15th to August 28, 2015 between 9-5.
Rakers also hosts what they call the Connection a two day event that brings
growers, breeders, professional and home gardeners together. There are tours, networking, speakers and so
on. Kids are welcome. This year’s event is July 30-31st.
For more information go to http://trialgardens.raker.com/
Raker’s is also a huge wholesale producer of plugs and
small nursery plants that are sold throughout the country. They have a partnership with Hort Couture-
which brings out the newest and choicest varieties of plants. If you want to
see some of the plants that are being offered this spring there are two links
below. You’ll need to find these plants
in local nurseries or catalogs.
Black book of new plants http://www.hortcoutureplants.com/docs/default-source/catalogs/2015-hort-couture-black-book.pdf?sfvrsn=4
Japanese
Knotweed, friend or foe?
Japanese Knotweed has three Latin names, depending on
what system of classification you choose to use: Polygonum
cuspidatum, Fallopia japonica, or Reynoutria japonica. Other common names include Fleeceflower,
American or Mexican bamboo and various names unfit to publish. While the plant is native to Japan, China and
Korea it can be found all over the world, where it was often introduced as an ornamental
plant, and then became a very unwanted and invasive pest.
 |
| Japanese Knotweed in flower. Wikimedia.commons.otr |
Japanese Knotweed occurs in 39 of the 50 US
states. In most, like Michigan, it’s
listed as invasive. In the UK Japanese
Knotweed is considered so invasive and destructive to the landscape that
mortgages may not be issued for properties that have it. The plant will grow in almost any soil, in
wet or dry areas, in sun or shade. It
survives northern winters.
The plant does have its charms; it has large rounded
leaves on tall bamboo like stalks with prominent “knotty” leaf joints. In late summer it has small clusters of
dainty white flowers that give off a sweet scent. The plant can grow from dormant roots in the
ground to 6 feet high and wide in just a couple months and forms an impressive screen. But its drawback is also that phenomenal
growth. Japanese Knotweed roots can
extend 10 feet deep into the soil and spread over 30 feet away. The roots are always popping up new sprouts
and one plant quickly becomes a hundred, choking out anything in its path.
Gardeners are usually horrified when they find out they
have introduced a such a bully into the garden. I was the culprit who
introduced the pretty plant I found in the ally to our backyard when I was a
kid. It’s still there 50 years later,
forming a screen across the back of my parent’s yard. It’s growing in shade, in the root space of
black walnuts and doesn’t miss a season.
It gets mowed regularly to just where it pops through the fence and that
keeps it from taking over the rest of the yard.
But if it wasn’t mowed enough I have no doubt it would spread
everywhere.
Japanese Knotweed will take over the property unless it
is vigorously fought. And it’s hard to
kill with pesticides, mowing it makes it sprout faster and digging out all the
roots is nearly impossible. Any piece of
root, however small, will soon grow a new plant. Sprouts will slice through landscape fabric
and plastic. As I mentioned above
regular mowing in lawn areas will keep it from spreading. In flower beds it must be cut back the moment
it begins to grow, over and over again.
Weed killers will work, glyphosate is probably the best bet, if they are
applied each time the stems begin to grow, which will be often. It can take two years – or never- to
eradicate it.
However, like many plants there are many good things
that can be said about Japanese Knotweed.
In Japan the sprouts are eaten in early spring. It has oxalic acid and is prepared much like
rhubarb. And bees love Japanese Knotweed
flowers, producing a honey flavored like mild buckwheat honey. The roots have been used in traditional medicines
for a long time. They are a mild
laxative, a blood thinner and are said to ease the pain of arthritis.
Japanese Knotweed roots have become far more valuable lately
though. It was discovered that the roots are a very good source of resveratrol,
that miracle chemical first discovered in grapes and red wine. Japanese Knotweed roots produce much more resveratrol
than grapes, are much easier to grow, and grow all year round. They are now being harvested for the
supplement industry and chances are if you buy a resveratrol supplement in the
aisles of a local store it will have been made from Japanese Knotweed root.
Resveratrol has been found in recent studies to thin
blood as well as commercial drugs, it has suppressed lung and breast cancer
tumors, and it is being used in studies to combat Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease
and to promote weight loss and improve blood glucose control.
Modern herbalists are using tinctures of Japanese
knotweed root to help cure Lyme disease, as an antiviral and antimicrobial, as
an anti-aging compound, as an estrogen supplement, and for the diseases and
conditions listed above.
Before you go out and dig up some Japanese Knotweed
roots to dry and consume be aware that the root can be a strong laxative. Pregnant and nursing women should not use
it. If you are using blood thinners,
aspirin or other over the counter pain relievers, are on cardiac or diabetes
medicines you should consult your doctor before using Japanese Knotweed.
I don’t think you’ll want to rush out and plant
Japanese Knotweed in the garden for its medicinal qualities. But if you have the plant already at least
you know it isn’t all bad.
Winter’s
back- bundle up out there.
Kim Willis
“He who has a garden and
a library wants for nothing” ― Cicero
More Information
Mistletoe- Steal a kiss, strangle a tree
Kim Willis- Plant Guides-
2010
Mistletoe is not a plant most Michigan gardeners can
grow. However it figures prominently in
American and European holiday decorating and has some fascinating history. Mistletoe is presently either collected from
the wild or semi-cultivated for seasonal use.
Mistletoe is best known today for the Christmas tradition of allowing
lovers and strangers to kiss without censor if they are standing under a clump
of it.
 |
| Mistletoe as it grows. Wikimedia.commons.org |
The common Mistletoe of Christmas decorations grows wild
throughout Europe and parts of North America.
There are related species that grow in South Africa and Australia. Most
mistletoes prefer deciduous trees, (those that lose their leaves in the winter),
but a few species such as Dwarf Mistletoe, will grow on pines and other
conifers.
Mistletoe is a true parasitic plant. When a seed from a mistletoe plant, usually
deposited in a bit of fertilizer from a bird, or wiped off a bird’s beak, lands
on the trunk of a tree it begins to grow.
The seeds germinate best on soft barked trees; they are quite sticky even
when birds don’t deposit them. A wide
range of host species is used. Some
trees such as apple and ash trees seem to be attacked more frequently and
others, like Bradford Pear and Ginko are seldom attacked.
Mistletoe sticks a root into the cambium layer of a tree and
gets its water and minerals from the tree.
The plants thick, shiny green leaves are oval shaped and they do provide
some food for the plant, particularly in winter, when the host tree goes dormant. Mistletoe eventually makes a bushy plant, 3-5
foot in diameter hanging from the host tree.
Mistletoe has small whitish flowers that turn into waxy
white berries in early winter. The
berries hang in clusters at the branch ends.
These fruited branch ends are what is collected for Christmas
decorations. Mistletoe branches become
thick and woody over time and place a considerable burden on the host tree.
The evergreen mistletoe is quite obvious when the trees have
lost their leaves in winter. It greatly
weakens its host and often kills it.
Mistletoe may grow back from the root for several years after being cut
out.
Still, mistletoe has its place in nature; many birds feed on
the berries and take shelter or build nests in its bushy mass. Northern Spotted Owls often roost in clumps
of mistletoe. Hairstreak butterfly larvae feed on mistletoe. Mistletoe was the state flower of Oklahoma
until 2004.
Mistletoe has a long association with magical or religious
rites and herbal medicines.The druids were said to cut mistletoe from oak trees
and bring it inside to bring good luck to the New Year. Mistletoe is never supposed to touch the
ground or it will bring bad luck.
Medicinal uses of mistletoe centered on curing nervous
disorders, it is often cited as a cure for epilepsy. In Europe mistletoe is currently being
studied and used as a cure for some cancers and for respiratory problems.
Another old use for mistletoe was to cure sterility and
perhaps that is where the custom of kissing under the mistletoe came
about. Good luck and fertility are
associated with it. Mistletoe ripens its
berries at the time of the winter solstice, when most other things are barren. If a man and woman meet under a hanging clump
of mistletoe they are supposed to kiss and then pluck a berry from the
cluster. When the berries are gone, the
mistletoe is no longer of value.
Be careful with those plucked berries and any mistletoe you
bring into the house. Never consume any
part of mistletoe. Mistletoe is poisonous and can cause convulsions and/or
death in people and pets. Even the dried
plant is toxic and should be kept out of the reach of children and pets.
Events, classes and other offerings
Please let me know if there is any event or class that
you would like to share with other gardeners.
These events are primarily in Michigan but if you are a reader from
outside of Michigan and want to post an event I’ll be glad to do it.
Master Gardeners if you belong to an association that
approves your hours please check with that association before assuming a class
or work day will count as credit.
Do you have plants or seeds you would like to swap or
share? Post them here by emailing me.
Free- 5 male Muscovy ducks,
young, mostly black feathered.
Excellent eating, less greasy than other duck- taste like beef. Or great for decorating your pond. Kimwillis151@gmail.com
A
Note to readers- Garden classes will be less frequent during the next few
months.
MSU offered a variety of on line
seminars for those who were interested in beginning farming topics of various
types. Some of those are now available
free to watch at the address below.
Gardeners may be interested in topics like organic pest control. Get the list of topics and links here.
New- Designing Your Garden for All Five Senses- January
13, 2015 11 am – Rochester Garden Club - Rochester Community House, 816 Ludlow,
Rochester, Michigan.
Janet
Macunovich, well known local professional gardener, author, columnist, garden
designer and dynamic speaker will present Designing your Garden
for all Five Senses. Janet is always informative as well as
entertaining and will add some interesting ideas for your garden.
Cost is
$5 and pre-registration is required. To
register or for more info- Pat (586-337-0897) or Rosemary (586-739-5337).
New- Indoor
Succulent Gardens- a class and make it and take it workshop
Saturday, Jan 17, 2015, At all locations of English Gardens. See below.
The class at 1 pm is free and discusses varieties of
succulents and how to care for them. The
workshop begins at 2:30 pm and requires a $24.99 fee. You’ll make a mixed container of succulents
that you take home.
Sign up in-store or on-line: www.EnglishGardens.com.
Locations: Ann Arbor, Maple Village
Shopping Center, 155 N. Maple Rd., Ann Arbor, Phone: (734) 332-7900, Clinton
Township, 44850 Garfield Rd. at Hall Rd., Clinton Twp., MI, Phone: (586)
286-6100, Dearborn Heights, 22650 Ford Rd., Dearborn Heights, MI Nursery: (313) 278-4433, Eastpointe, 22501
Kelly Rd., Eastpointe, MI, Phone: (586) 771-4200, Royal Oak, 4901 Coolidge Hwy,
Royal Oak, MI , Phone: (248) 280-9500, West Bloomfield, 6370 Orchard Lake Rd.,
West Bloomfield, MI, Phone: (248) 851-7506
New- Introduction
to Unusual Houseplants, January 24th , 2015, 1 pm
at all English Garden Nurseries. See
locations below.
Learn about some unusual houseplants and how to care
for them at this free class.
Sign up in-store or on-line: www.EnglishGardens.com.
Locations: Ann Arbor, Maple Village
Shopping Center, 155 N. Maple Rd., Ann Arbor, Phone: (734) 332-7900, Clinton
Township, 44850 Garfield Rd. at Hall Rd., Clinton Twp., MI, Phone: (586)
286-6100, Dearborn Heights, 22650 Ford Rd., Dearborn Heights, MI Nursery: (313) 278-4433, Eastpointe, 22501
Kelly Rd., Eastpointe, MI, Phone: (586) 771-4200, Royal Oak, 4901 Coolidge Hwy,
Royal Oak, MI , Phone: (248) 280-9500, West Bloomfield, 6370 Orchard Lake Rd.,
West Bloomfield, MI, Phone: (248) 851-7506
New -
Made in Michigan Sunday, January 25, 2:00 pm SEVEN
PONDS NATURE CENTER- 3854 Crawford Road Dryden, MI (810) 796-3200
Farming has been the second largest industry in Michigan
for many years. We will discuss many topics from, but not limited to, organic
farming to composting and recycling. This will be a unique program featuring
live goats, chickens, doves, geese, and more as we discuss farming in Michigan.
This will be fun for all ages. Speaker-Dynamic
West. Free to members, $3 non-members.
New-Signs
of Insects -Sunday, February 1, 2:00 pm SEVEN
PONDS NATURE CENTER- 3854 Crawford Road Dryden, MI (810) 796-3200
Insects of all sorts leave signs that they are
building, chewing, crawling, and “having families” around us. Join Naturalist
Nancy Kautz for a closer look at a variety of shelters, galls, eggs and webs
that might be found in your backyard. Free to members, $3 non-members.
Meijer
Gardens’ 20th annual “Christmas and Holiday Traditions Around The World”, Now through January 4,
2015, 1000 E. Beltline Ave. NE in Grand Rapids, Mi.
This year’s holiday exhibits will include New Year
traditions from Japan, Korea, Vietnam and China, including the Japanese
kadomatsu, or gate pine. This is a display of pine, bamboo and plum blossoms.
There will also be a display from Ghana that includes brilliantly woven kente
and printed adinkra cloths.
There will also be more than 40 international trees and
displays, a Railway Garden that features model trains running through four
indoor garden spaces and more than 30 miniature buildings representing Grand
Rapids landmarks.
Admission is $12 for adults, $9 for students and
seniors, $6 for ages 5-13, $4 for ages 3-4 and free for museum members and kids
2 and younger. Check out the entire schedule of holiday events at www.meijergardens.org.
Capital Area Master
Gardeners - Mixing It Up Garden
symposium - January 31, 2015, 8:15-4 pm.
MSU Plant and Soil Sciences Building ,1066 Bogue Street
East Lansing, MI.
This symposium features a variety of
garden classes to lighten the winter blahs.
Registration fee includes lunch.
A garden marketplace will be available for shoppers. Fees are $35 for
local club members, $45 for other Master Gardeners, $55 for all others.
To get a description of classes and
register online go to: https://mgacac.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/brochure2014_11-14.pdf
Newsletter
information
If you would
like to pass along a notice about an educational event or a volunteer
opportunity please send me an email before Tuesday of each week and I will
print it. Also if you have a comment or opinion you’d like to share, send it to
me. Please state that you want to have the item published in my weekly notes.
You must give your full name and what you say must be polite and not attack any
individual. I am very open to ideas and opinions that don’t match mine but I do
reserve the right to publish what I want.
Once again the
opinions in this newsletter are mine and I do not represent any organization or
business. I do not make any income from this newsletter. I write this because I
love to share with other gardeners some of the things I come across in my research
each week. It keeps me engaged with local people and horticulture. It’s a
hobby, basically. I hope you enjoy it. If at any time you don’t wish to receive
these emails just let me know. If you know anyone who would like to receive
these emails have them send their email address to me. KimWillis151@gmail.com
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