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Tuesday, July 28, 2015

July 28, 2015, Kim’s Weekly Garden Newsletter

July 28, 2015, Kim’s Weekly Garden Newsletter    © Kim Willis

Hi Gardeners


Well we can safely say summer weather has arrived.  I don’t like hot humid weather one bit.  Some plants thrive in it though, but some plant diseases also love this weather and can become a problem.  I write about two of them below.  Make sure to keep hanging baskets and container plants well-watered in the heat.  You may have to water twice a day, I know I sometimes do.

It’s almost August- can you believe that- and gardens are at their color peak.  I have some huge volunteer sunflowers in bloom, zinnias and dahlias are blooming and the wild Jewelweed is now providing lots of tiny flowers for the hummingbirds and bees.  My larger tomatoes are ripening and the sweet corn has ears.  I have harvested several cabbages and some carrots.  Blackberries and raspberries are ripe. 

I was enthusiastic about my solar fountain pumps earlier in the season but I am not so happy now that both have quit working.   One quit after two weeks, the other quit yesterday after maybe 6 weeks of work.  These were inexpensive but if you have to replace them several times a season you might as well buy something more expensive.

Milkweed is blooming in my fields but I have yet to see more than the one Monarch butterfly I saw early in the summer.  The swallowtail butterflies are fewer this year too.  Toads and frogs are abundant this year but at my house we have only seen one turtle this summer and no snakes.  I think the last 2 winters have been very hard on them.

Late Blight in Michigan ( tomatoes and potatoes)



According to the MSU Late Blight monitoring site there has been confirmed cases of late blight in potato fields in Montcalm County which is on the west side of the state.  When late blight is found on potato fields, there is a good chance tomatoes will soon be affected.  The conditions will be excellent- warm and humid – for late blight for at least the next week.  The site predicts most of the state will have an elevated risk of late blight development during the next few days.

USDA Blight Leaf and stem images courtesy of Meg McGrath, Cornell University
and tomato fruit image courtesy of Jean Ristaino, NC State University.
Symptoms of late blight include a blackened, water soaked or greasy look to leaves, stems and tomato fruit or potato tubers, with rapid wilting and death of the plant within a few days.  The blackened areas may look brown at first, and often have white fuzzy looking growth (fungus) on them. Check the backs of darkened leaves to look for white fungal growth.  Tomato fruits that are green or ripe can be affected with hardened brownish black spots. Most other tomato diseases take a long time to kill a plant and the plants keep putting out new growth.  Late blight spreads from plant to plant very quickly so in warm, wet weather home gardeners should check their plants daily for symptoms.

Many other tomato diseases have  similar symptoms and home gardeners may have a hard time deciding if their plants have late blight or a somewhat less serious fungal disease.  It is hard for home gardeners to find somewhere to get a good diagnostic report done on a sample of your plants.  If your county still has an Extension office with a horticulture department you can try there or you can take a sample to MSU’s plant and soil diagnostic clinic in East Lansing.  There is a fee for diagnostic work there. For accurate diagnoses the sample must be picked fresh, with symptoms showing on foliage and or fruit and brought to the lab within a few hours.
Here’s the contact information:
578 Wilson Rd., Room. 107  East Lansing, MI 48824-6469
Phone:  (517) 355-4536  Fax:  (517)  432-0899
pestid@msu.edu


There is little home gardeners can do to prevent late blight other than to begin spraying your potatoes and tomatoes with fungicides before the plants are affected.   After symptoms begin spraying won’t help that plant and it should be pulled and put in a plastic trash bag including all fruit and leaves that fall off.  Tie the bag tightly and send it to the landfill or let it sit in the sun for several weeks and then burn the residue.  The only preventative sprays effective that homeowners can easily get are those with Chorothalonil and some copper based fungicides.   Look for a garden fungicide, check the ingredients and make sure it lists late blight as being controlled.  Follow the label directions exactly.  Also water early in the day so foliage dries before nightfall.   Don’t eat tomatoes or potatoes with late blight lesions or can them.

This hot humid weather is sure to bring on Black Spot in roses if you aren’t protecting them with sprays or growing resistant varieties – Here’s an article on Black Spot.

Black Spot on roses

One of the most common diseases of roses is Black Spot. Black spot is a disease caused by the fungus, Diplocarpon rosa.  It is extremely common in older varieties of tea roses but when conditions are right even roses marked as resistant to Black Spot can develop a mild case of the disease.  Warm humid conditions, especially when there are heavy dews or the foliage stays wet overnight are the prime times for Black Spot to develop.

Black Spot causes black spots on the upper surfaces of rose leaves, surrounded by a yellow area.  If the fungus is heavy the leaves may look almost totally yellow, sprinkled with black spots.  Rose flower petals may show streaking, red spots or distorted areas.  Infected leaves soon drop off the plant.  The plant struggles to put out new foliage and this weakens the plant and reduces blooming.  Infected plants may not survive the winter as well as those with mild or no infection.  And half bare, yellow leaved plants just aren’t very attractive.

Black spot overwinters on rose leaves on the soil or on the rose canes.  Rain and wind move the spores to new foliage on the roses in the spring.  When conditions are right, (warmth and humidity), usually about June, the fungus germinates and infects the rose.   

How to control Black Spot
Black Spot on roses
If you have had problems with Black Spot in the past or your area experiences lots of humid, hot weather you’ll want to plant roses with resistance to Black Spot. Some modern shrub roses have pretty good resistance to Black Spot and rarely require treatment.  Even some tea roses have recently been bred that have some resistance.  Older roses with resistance are the gallicas, rugosa’s and albas.  If you don’t like chemical spraying choose resistant varieties and hope for the best. 

Resistant varieties are not immune to Black Spot.  In really heavily infested areas and ideal conditions even resistant roses may get Black Spot. Some resistant varieties perform better in some geographical areas than others.  If one variety of rose always seems to get infected in your garden try another rose or at least another location in the garden.

Other ways to control black spot are to remove all rose leaves from under the plant in the fall or early spring before the plant leafs out.   During growing season pick off any yellowed or spotted leaves and remove those that fall on the ground as soon as you see them.   Don’t crowd the roses, they need good air circulation and roses against buildings or with hedges behind them may have more problems with black spot.

Water your roses at the base, trying not to wet the foliage and do so early in the day so the foliage dries before evening.  Keep roses healthy by planting them in full sun and regularly fertilizing them as roses are heavy feeders.  You’ll also want to control rose insects such as rose chafers and Japanese beetles as these weaken the plant and make them more susceptible to damage from black spot.

There are many chemical controls for Black Spot and other fungal diseases of roses. If you are going to use fungicides begin spraying in June or as soon as you see even one infected leaf.  If you want nice looking tea roses you will probably want to start a spray schedule soon after the plants leaf out. Follow label directions and keep up the schedule for best results.  The sprays don’t help already infected leaves but they do help new foliage stay healthy to make food for the plant.  

The Consumers’ Association Magazine put eight fungicides to the test between April and October last year to combat black spot on roses.  The products they found did the best job were Bayer Garden Systhane Fungus Fighter Concentrate, Scotts Fungus Clear Ultra, and Bayer Garden Multirose 2 Ready-to-use. 

The test was conducted on a variety of modern rose called ‘Silver Jubilee’ which has some resistance to black spot.  Black spot was noticed in June on the roses and treatment according to label directions was begun.  Some roses were left untreated as a control.  The researchers found that any chemical product was better than no treatment.   There are organic treatments on the market but many of these do little or nothing to control fungal disease. 

Beware of so called “home remedies” for Black Spot on roses.  Soap solutions do not work on fungal disease. Alcohol, peroxide and other odd substances may actually harm roses, and you won’t see the experiences of the people who have had that happen in the advertisements for books and magazines listing these miraculous cures.

With the many disease resistant varieties of roses on the market and a little tolerance for less than perfect foliage almost everyone can grow roses, even without chemical sprays.  Don’t let the fear of Black Spot or other rose diseases keep you from enjoying them in your garden.

Another reason to avoid soybean oil

New research done at the University of California, Riverside, found that when animals were fed soybean oil as their source of fat, they had a 25% higher increase in weight, more insulin resistance and liver damage and developed fatty liver and diabetes more often than animals fed coconut oil as a source of fat.  The amount of soy oil added to animal diets was calculated so that it was the dietary equivalent of the amount of soybean oil consumed by the average American.  Both diets had the same percentage of fat and calories.

When fructose was added to both diets the animals with soybean oil and fructose were the least healthy, adding kidney and bowel diseases and cancer to the other health problems.  When fructose was added to the coconut oil groups diet it did increase weight gain by 9% but effects like diabetes and liver problems still remained lower than the soy and fructose group.

Researchers point out that the rise in obesity and diabetes in the US correlates strongly with the rise in consumption of soybean oil in the US and that the rise in use of high fructose corn syrup may have exacerbated certain disease problems.  Certainly the combination of soybean oil and fructose is not healthy.  Research is going to continue, comparing other fats like lard and olive oil to see their effects on health.  My bet is that olive oil will be found to be healthy- no surprise there, but that lard will also be found to be healthier for you than soybean oil.

Currently 60% of the edible oil used in products or for cooking in the US is soybean oil.  If you look at food labels of processed foods you’ll find soybean oil in a large percentage of them.  Salad dressings are almost always made with soybean oil so you are dousing a healthy food with something very bad for you.  If you are concerned about weight gain, diabetes, and liver disease you should be avoiding all sources of soybean oil.

Pot for pain

A new research trial at the University of California San Diego found the inhalation of cannabis (marihuana) helped ease diabetic nerve pain in patients that weren’t getting relief from prescription pain killers.  The side effects were that patients got happy and sleepy.

Cosmos- light and lively summer charmer

No, we aren’t talking about the ladies magazine or the vast universe but rather a delightful annual flower that can light up the summer garden.  Cosmos are unusual because the common name and scientific name are the same, although Cosmos is the genus name and there are several species.  Cosmos bipinnatus is a common garden species, but many cosmos species have been hybridized to make some garden varieties. Cosmos atrosanguineus, often sold in catalogs as chocolate cosmos or chocolate daisy is thought to be extinct in the wild.

Cosmos
Cosmos are native to Mexico, South America and the southern United States. It is thought that Spanish priests growing them in Mexican named them because of the orderly spacing of the petals – cosmos refers to “orderly universe” in Greek or Latin.  Most garden species are annuals but some perennial species exist.  In many places around the world Cosmos have naturalized or gone wild.  Cosmos will grow in poor, dry soil and are easy to grow.  They are excellent for children’s gardens, cottage style and informal beds and also attract butterflies and bees.  Cosmos are good cutting flowers too.

The Cosmos bipinnatus plant and related cultivars has fine, narrow leaves that occur in pairs along the stem, giving them a lacy or ferny look. Their flowers generally occur in pastel colors, rose, lavender and white. Cosmos sulphureus or the yellow cosmos has broader, lobed leaves. The colors of this cosmos and its cultivars are hot colors, red, orange and yellow. Cosmos range from about 2 feet to 4 feet or so tall, depending on the variety and growing conditions.  

All cosmos flowers are daisy like, with a yellow center and colored petals surrounding the disk.  Some ornamental cosmos have the petals rolled into a quill or “shell” shape.  There are now cosmos flowers that are bi-color or streaked.  Cosmos begin blooming in mid-summer, as the days begin to shorten and with a little deadheading will bloom until frost.  

Some varieties of cosmos are ‘Seashells’ – a mixture of pastel flowers with rolled or quilled petals, 'Candy Stripe'  which is white with red streaks, 'Day Dream' is white with a red center, 'Picotee' has white petals with red edges, Antiquity’ comes in shades of dusky pinks and mauves, ‘Double Take’ is a lovely double flowered form white , with red or pink stripes, ‘Double Click’ has double flowers in soft pinks, ‘Bright Lights’ is a mixture of hot colors, ‘Sensation’ is a mix of pastel colors.  A cultivar of the chocolate cosmos, Cosmos atrosanguineus  is ‘Choca Mocha’ which is a deep chocolate color.

Cultivation of cosmos

You can sometimes find started plants in the spring but cosmos are very easy to grow from seed sown directly in the garden.  Simply sprinkle the seeds on bare moistened soil where you want them to grow after danger of frost has passed and lightly cover them with soil.  Plants grown from seed will often bloom at the same time as plants set out as transplants because cosmos don’t bloom until the days are getting shorter.  Thin seedlings to about a foot apart.

Cosmos will thrive in almost any soil and can tolerate some drought, although they appreciate some watering when it’s really dry.  They need full sun.  Moderate fertilization, such as a timed release flower food mixed into the soil at planting, may increase the number and size of flowers but it may also cause the cosmos to “flop” which they are somewhat prone to anyway.  They are best mixed in among sturdier plants that help support them or planted in a dense group to help them support each other.  Cosmos have few insect pests or diseases and will generally flower reliably for you.

Deadheading- removing the flowers as they fade- keeps the cosmos plant blooming longer and encourages it to produce flowering side branches.  As frost approaches you may want to let some flowers alone and collect the seeds that form.  Or you can let the seeds fall in the garden, which some seem to do anyway, and they will usually sprout when the weather warms.  Be watching the area for the tiny seedlings next spring and don’t pull them thinking they are weeds.

If you need a tough, easy flower to add late summer color to the garden try some cosmos.

Eastern Michigan State Fair

If it’s not too hot this week I may visit the Eastern Michigan State Fair, Imlay City, Michigan.  It starts today, July 28 and runs through Saturday, August 1st..  The Lapeer Master Gardeners have a building there you might want to visit.  There won’t be any poultry there this year because of avian flu but there will be other farm animals, fair food, rides, grandstand events, a circus and so on all for one low admission price, free parking.  Admission is $15 except for Tuesday and Wednesday when its $10 until 2 pm. 

“One of the pleasures of being a gardener comes from the enjoyment you get looking at other people's yards.”
― Thalassa Cruso, To Everything There Is a Season: The Gardening Year

Kim Willis
 “He who has a garden and a library wants for nothing” ― Cicero



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.

An interesting Plant Id page you can join on Facebook



Here’s a seed/plant sharing group you can join on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/groups/875574275841637/

Here’s a facebook page link for gardeners in the Lapeer area


Here’s a link to classes being offered at Campbell’s Greenhouse, 4077 Burnside Road, North Branch.  Now open.

Here’s a link to classes and events at Nichols Arboretum, Ann Arbor
Here’s a link to programs being offered at English Gardens, several locations in Michigan.

Here’s a link to classes at Telly’s Greenhouse in Troy and Shelby Twsp. MI, and now combined with Goldner Walsh in Pontiac MI.

Here’s a link to classes and events at Bordines, Rochester Hills, Grand Blanc, Clarkston and Brighton locations

Here’s a link to events at the Leslie Science and Nature Center, 1831 Traver Road Ann Arbor, Michigan  | Phone 734-997-1553 |
http://www.lesliesnc.org/

Here’s a link to events at Hidden Lake Gardens, 6214 Monroe Rd, Tipton, MI

Here’s a link to all the spring programs being offered at Seven Ponds Nature center in Dryden, Michigan. http://www.sevenponds.org/education/progs/springprograms/

Here’s a link to events and classes at Fredrick Meijer Gardens, Grand Rapids Mi
http://www.meijergardens.org/learn/ (888) 957-1580, (616) 957-1580

Garden Day 2015, August 1, 2015, 8 a.m. - 4:15 p.m. Veterinary Medical Center / Plant & Soil Sciences Bldg., MSU campus, East Lansing, MI
This is MSU’s horticulture departments annual garden seminar.  The public is welcome. Key note speaker is Rick Darke, a widely published author, photographer, lecturer and consultant focused on regional landscape design, planning, conservation, and enhancementYou get a choice of 2 other classes and a closing speaker also.

Cost is $85.60 for non-2015 Garden members prior to July 24, $95.60 on and after July 25th this includes lunch but not the evening reception.

Please visit www.hrt.msu.edu/garden-day-2015/ for a full schedule, workshop descriptions and more. Contact: Jennifer Sweet, CMP, CTA, at 517-355-5191 ext. 1339 or hgardens@msu.edu.

MSU Plant Trial Field Day, August 4, 2015, 8:30 a.m. - 2 p.m. 1066 Bogue Street, Plant & Soil Sciences Bldg. (1st floor), East Lansing, MI 48824

Commercial growers, landscapers and advanced gardeners are invited to this annual event to learn about some of the superior new plants and how they perform in mid-Michigan in the MSU Trial Gardens. Plant performance, ornamental characters, and special needs of plants will be covered. We will also host presentations on the most recent research on the development and spread of impatiens downy mildew and up-to-date discussions on the evolving ethics of American gardeners. For this important and timely topic, Entomologists and Horticultural Extension Specialists will bring us up-to-date on the latest news in pollinators, native insects, and pesticides such as neonicotinoids.

The $42/person registration fee (by July 30) includes morning refreshments, lunch, parking, trial booklet, and the program.

For more, please visit http://planttour.hrt.msu.edu/fieldday.
Contact: Jennifer Sweet, hgardens@msu.edu


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.
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


Tuesday, July 21, 2015

July 21, 2015, Kim’s Weekly Garden Newsletter

July 21, 2015, Kim’s Weekly Garden Newsletter    © Kim Willis


Hi Gardeners
Olina tango  and other lilies

It’s a beautiful day here in Michigan.  Over the weekend we had close to 2 inches of rain so I won’t have to water for a few days.  We seem to be in for a stretch of nice weather.  My Oriental and trumpet lilies are starting to bloom and their scent is floating in on the air.  I do love it when all the big lilies are blooming.  The tiger lilies are also beginning to bloom. 

Speaking of lilies I have been most impressed with the Asiatic hybrid lily Olina Tango.  This lily has gorgeous flowers, deep red fading to almost black at the center.  The stems are sturdy and about 3 feet high with numerous blooms.  I only regret that the nursery sent me only 3 real Olina Tango lilies out of the 6 I ordered, the others turned out to be other colors- pretty but kind of an odd mix color wise.  There’s a picture here.  The pink lilies were called Dutch Red.  They aren’t as red as I thought they would be and I probably would not have mixed those colors but it’s not too bad.

Other flowers blooming are the garden phlox- boy does that stuff become invasive!  Sunflowers, rudbeckia, coreopsis, liatris, Russian sage, hollyhocks, larkspur, day lilies, bee balm and of course the hosta are some things blooming now.  More about hosta flowers below.  My streptocarpus, moved outside for the summer, are blooming like crazy.   My foxglove is sending up side shoots of flowers. The garden is looking great tight now.

My raspberries and blackberries are beginning to ripen.  The corn has tiny ears forming.  We are still eating lettuce although it’s starting to turn bitter.  The new cabbage has been great and we have a trickle of ripe tomatoes coming in.  It looks like we will have a good apple crop this year.

Insect pests are reaching a peak.  Many people are complaining about mosquitoes.  Bean, potato and cucumber beetles are feeding.  And Japanese beetles are the topic of the week in garden circles.

Japanese beetles and what to do about them

Japanese beetles,(Popillia japonica),  are out and about now in good numbers.  Some gardeners will have more trouble with them than others and like many insects Japanese beetles can be worse in one area in certain years than they are in other years.  Sometimes you will see clusters of the beetles on plants, but often the first sign that Japanese beetles are out are lots of holes in plant leaves and flowers.  Most gardeners have had to deal with this serious pest at one time or another.  The first Japanese beetles were found in New Jersey in 1916 and since then have spread west and south.  They are as the name suggests, native to Japan.

As they feed and mate Japanese beetles release a scent that attracts other Japanese beetles and populations in an area may soon contain thousands of beetles.  They can do serious defoliation damage to plants, although the plants will generally recover in late summer when feeding damage is less.  It is estimated that damage and cost of controlling Japanese beetles to Americans is over 450 million dollars each year.

What they look like
The Japanese beetle is a fat, oval, metallic bronze and green beetle, with a row of white spots along the sides of the body. The spots are clumps of white hairs.  The immature stage is a tan-white grub that is found in the soil of grassy areas where it feeds on plant roots.   It has a distinctive v shaped row of bristles on its rear end.  Japanese beetles can fly fairly well.

Japanese beetles consume all parts of plants.  Adult Japanese beetles will feed on over 300 species of plants, including most of our ornamentals, trees, and fruits.  They eat the tissue from between leaf veins, turning them into ragged skeletons which brown and fall off.   They may also eat soft fruit.  The damage the grubs do in lawns and on golf courses appears as yellow spots, where the turf can be rolled back in patches like a rug. 
Japanese beetle on dahlia.

In Michigan, late June to early July is the time when Japanese beetle damage on plant parts above ground first becomes apparent and feeding continues for about a month.  However beetles emerging from the soil can continue into August and some beetles may persist all summer. Feeding on the roots of turf grasses is heaviest in the later part of summer and again in early spring.

Beetle life cycle
When Japanese beetles emerge from the soil they eat for a few days and then begin mating and the females begin laying eggs back in the soil.    In the afternoon she leaves the plants she has been eating, goes to the ground and burrows up to 4 inches down and lays a few eggs.  This continues for days until she has laid roughly 60 eggs.

In warm moist soil the eggs will hatch in about 10 days and the new grubs begin feeding on grass roots.   Eggs and small grubs are very susceptible to drying out and not irrigating the lawn in summer may help control a grub population.

Control of Japanese beetles in home landscapes
In July homeowners can apply grub control products containing imidacloprid (Merit) and halofenozide.  In spring if damage is apparent use grub products containing trichlorfon (Dylox) and carbaryl (Sevin).  Remember that these pesticides will harm many kinds of animals in the soil and may have toxic effects on pets and children too. 

For ornamental plants a general insecticide for ornamental plants can be used but once again these will kill many types of insects, good and bad. Systemic products may do some good - but the beetle has to eat part of the plant to be killed.  They are best used early, before beetle populations get high.

 For fruit trees, including ornamental types of fruit trees, a multipurpose orchard spray should be used as directed on the label.  For vegetables use an insecticide approved for edible plants.  Vegetables that don’t require pollination can be covered with lightweight row cover material to exclude beetles.
Natural Controls
Hand picking and using a hand vacuum to remove beetles as soon as they are seen is helpful.  Once beetles get established they attract more beetles.  Japanese beetle traps that attract the beetles and then drown them have been around for years, but in small yards the placement of traps can be a problem.  The traps attract more beetles than might normally be in the area and need to be placed a good ways away from plants you want to protect.

Research published in the Journal of Economic Entomology, 04/08/2009, found that a mixture of two essential oils, wintergreen and ginger oil, was quite effective at repelling Japanese beetles.   Peppermint oil was also a strong repellant. (Coffee and citronella oils actually seemed to attract Japanese beetles).  More research is being conducted to find the best way to use these oils as beetle repellants on crops.  These oils could be applied to food crops safely and would be relatively benign to the environment.

Other research conducted at the USDA Application Technology Research Unit in Wooster, Ohio found that geraniums could be part of the war against Japanese beetles.  Entomologist Chris Ranger found that Japanese beetles that ate geranium leaves were paralyzed within 30 minutes and stayed immobile for up to 24 hours.  While immobilized they are easy prey for birds and other predators or could be swept or vacuumed up.

Interestingly enough the paralytic effect of geranium leaves on Japanese beetles has been known since the 1920’s, about the time the pest arrived in the United States.  Ranger and a colleague have just begun to develop a natural pesticide using geraniums and have applied for a patent. 

A few years ago milky spore disease was introduced into areas where Japanese beetles are found.  This fungal disease attacks the Japanese beetle’s immature stage- the grub that resides in your lawn destroying grass roots.   Milky spore disease is now found in stores and garden supply catalogs for you to sprinkle over affected areas.

A new protozoan disease that also kills Japanese beetle is being released throughout Michigan.     These natural controls are safe for the environment and kill only Japanese beetles.

Both the milky spore disease and protozoan controls take many years to begin to be effective in an area.  But combining those controls with faster acting repellents made from essential oils or a geranium knock out spray could be the environmentally friendly solution homeowners have been waiting for.

Growing hostas for their flowers

When most gardeners think of hosta they are thinking about the lovely foliage that comes in so many variations and how the foliage will add interest to the garden, particularly gardens in the shade.  But a long time ago hostas were grown for their flowers, something that would bloom in the shade.  They were sometimes called plantain lilies or funkia.   Almost all mature hosta plants bloom, but there are some hosta that put on better flower shows than others.
Flowers of hosta 'Venus'.

Hosta flowers come in two color varieties white and shades of lavender. Some hostas also have fragrant flowers.  Flowers can take several forms also, from trumpet shaped to bell like, and are produced in clusters on a stem above the crown.  Like their foliage some hosta varieties have flowers that are large and on tall scapes or stems, and others have smaller, shorter flowers.  Hosta begin blooming in June in zone 5 and continue through August, with each variety having a different bloom time.  Mature plants with many crowns produce the best flower show.  Hosta plantaginea varieties and hybrids with them usually have fragrant flowers.  Hosta flowers are a favorite of hummingbirds by the way.

Here are some hostas known for their pretty flowers.  'Fragrant Bouquet', has white, fragrant, flowers and has spawned many color sports, Fragrant Dream’ with white flowers, 'Guacamole', fragrant, pale lavender flowers, are two. 'Regal Splendor'  has 5 feet high spikes of lavender flowers. 'So Sweet' is a small hosta with white, fragrant flowers. ‘Raspberry Sundae’ has red flower stalks and buds, flowers open lavender. ‘Honey Pie’ is a gold foliaged hosta with lavender, fragrant flowers.  ‘Aphrodite’ has large, double pure white, deeply fragrant flowers on 2 foot stems.  ‘Venus’ is similar with single white trumpet shaped flowers. ‘Diamonds are Forever’  has purple striped flowers. ‘Grape Fizz’ has fragrant purple flowers.  Hosta 'Purple Lady Finger' has narrow purple flowers that don’t open up. Hosta 'Strawberry Yogurt' has pretty purple flowers on reddish scapes.  Hosta 'Tickle Me Pink' has red scapes and fuchsia buds and bracts that open to reveal reddish purple flowers.
Hosta Lemon-Lime sport in bloom.

I have a hosta that was given to me and I was told it was the variety ‘Lemon-Lime’, which is known for the number of flowers it produces.  The true ‘Lemon–Lime’ has a mound of flat, narrow, chartreuse leaves with loads of 18" scapes of bell-shaped, purple-striped flowers.   Mine must be a sport or mutation of the variety since the leaves of mine are lime green with a lemon yellow edge.  But it is loaded with purple flowers in mid-summer.  Another named sport is Hosta 'Twist of Lime'  which is quite compact – 4-5 inches tall - with narrow chartreuse yellow foliage edged in green and deep violet flowers in late spring.   

My extremely floriferous hosta, whatever its name really is, produces lots of seed pods and I had several baby hostas appear this spring.  It looks like they are a cross with other hostas I have growing and it will be interesting to see what the mature plants look like and how they bloom.  Many hostas cross breed easily and if you let them form seeds, you can grow a variety of new plants and maybe find something special among them.  You can even hand pollinate flowers to experiment with producing new plants.

Hosta flowers can look pretty ragged as the blooms fade and if you are not interested in seed pods, you can cut the scapes and wilted flowers off.   However leaving the seedpods or a few of them doesn’t hurt the plants and won’t cause the foliage part of the plant to be smaller or less appealing.  Some hosta varieties flowers do not form seed pods as they are sterile hybrids.  And some hosta produce seeds with very low germination rates.

Hosta seedpods can be harvested when they are brown and dry and the seeds removed.  This is usually about a month after blooming.  You can remove the pods as they begin to split and shake out the seeds.  In nature hosta seeds begin to sprout soon after hitting the soil.  You can take ripe dry seeds and sow them in pots or flats right away or even drop them on the soil in a spot where you want them to grow- although this is much less of a sure thing.  You can also save the seeds for later planting.  Let them thoroughly dry then put them in a tightly sealed container in a cool place.   You can start seeds inside over the winter under lights, then transplant outside in the spring.

Hosta’s don’t come true from seeds so your baby plants probably won’t look like the parent.  There are complicated genetic rules about what type of plants can produce what kind of babies.  Green hosta usually produce more green hosta, hostas with different colored edges usually produce solid color leaves and hostas with large white centers may produce sickly albino plants.  If the seed pod of the hosta is streaked, the chances of seedlings producing variegated foliage is higher.  There are more genetic “secrets” you can learn if you look up hosta breeding.

Hosta breeders are working to improve the flower show of various species of hosta, creating varieties with pretty foliage and pretty, fragrant flowers.  I think we will soon see hostas with red-purple or pinkish flowers on the market.  I like to choose hostas that have both pretty foliage and nice flowers but it’s sometimes hard to find information about the flowers when looking at the descriptions in plant catalogs.  I am hoping that will change as more people become interested in hosta for their flowers.

Renovating the strawberry patch

Mid July to mid-August is a good time to renovate your strawberry bed.  June bearing strawberries need a renovation – basically clean up and pruning- to produce strong healthy plants and a better crop next year.  Everbearing strawberries could use this treatment too, but most people prefer to let them keep sporadically producing fruit.  If your everbearing strawberries are crowded or didn’t produce well so far it may be good to renovate them too.

First remove all the old strawberry foliage to just above the plant crown.  Cutting the foliage reduces foliar disease through the summer and causes the plant to have a spurt of vigorous growth with healthy new leaves.  Make sure you make a sharp clean cut with a sharpened mower blade, or hand trimmers.  Don’t use weed “whackers”.  Ragged leaf edges are more susceptible to foliage diseases.

Rake debris out of the bed, including the trimmed leaves and remove any weeds.  Now thin the plants to about 9” apart from center of the plant to the center of the neighbor plant.  You can make rows or ‘beds” where plants are staggered 9” apart.  Strawberries can produce many daughter plants and you may find you have enough new plants to start a new bed or fill in bare spots in your old bed with the plants you thinned out.

After thinning apply a slow release granular fertilizer for vegetable gardens.  Water the strawberry bed well and keep it watered if weather conditions are dry.  That’s it- you have renovated your patch.  Keep it weeded through the rest of summer and mulch with straw just before winter and you should have a great strawberry crop next spring.

Black- Eyed- Susan-   Rudbeckia hirta- a native wildflower

In the meadows and fields and along the roadsides you may find this charming daisy-like flower growing. This pretty native plant has also been adapted for our gardens in a variety of forms.  Black- Eyed- Susan’s are a familiar sight throughout Michigan and most of the eastern half of the United States.  They are the state flower of Maryland.

The wild Black- Eyed- Susan’s have bright yellow petals surrounding a dark purplish- brown cone-like center.  What most people don’t realize is that each “petal” is a single “ray” flower, capable of producing a seed.  The cone is actually a compressed group of tiny purplish “disk” flowers, each of which also produce a single seed.  Each wild Black Eyed Susan composite bloom is about 2 inches across.  Plants bloom from late June until frost.

Domesticated Black eyed Susan's
The Black- Eyed- Susan plant grows 1-3 feet tall depending on growing conditions.  The leaves are long and narrow and the edges of the leaves and the stems are covered with fine hairs.

The seeds of Back-Eyed- Susan’s are a favorite food of small birds like goldfinches and chickadees.  Rudbeckias have been turned into many garden varieties that come in a number of colors and many have double flowers. The flowers may be much larger than wild Black - Eyed- Susan’s.  They may be sold under the name Gloriosa daisies or just Rudbeckia.

Cannabis helps heal broken bones

One of the old herbal uses of marihuana was to treat fractures and research done at Tel Aviv University and Hebrew University and recently published found that cannabinoid cannabidiol, a compound isolated from cannabis, made fractures in animals heal faster and bones became stronger when the compound was administered to animals with broken femurs. Clinical trials in humans will soon begin.

Once again it is a shame that US researchers can’t even produce marijuana for research and have great difficulty in conducting medical research with the plant.  Cannabis has many, many medical uses and research keeps finding more.  Even though medical use has been allowed in some states, including Michigan, the hoops that people have to jump through to use the product are ridiculous.  The latest incidences of overzealous law enforcement involve children receiving medical marijuana for severe seizures.  It is difficult for children to smoke marijuana- but currently that’s the only legal way they can consume the product- with of course all the legal hassles marijuana medical use entails.  It is better for children to consume the medication as an edible, usually in oil or syrup.  But their parents risk going to jail if they try to give it to them in this way.  Some risk it because it’s the only thing that works to stop the seizures and marijuana has far fewer side effects than conventional seizure medications.  This demonization of an extremely helpful plant has got to stop and the laws for medical use have to be made reasonable.

Black ash baskets and the Emerald Ash Borer

It always amazes me when I learn about some tedious, complicated process that ancient people developed to create something they needed or something beautiful.  Who first discovered the process?  How did someone discover that a black ash log, a piece of lumber, could be pounded until it yielded strips of material that could be woven into baskets?  Baskets make carrying and storing other things so much easier and black ash baskets can be very pretty also.  But it’s a tremendous amount of work to get the black ash weaving material.

Black ash grows in wet areas of the northern forests of America.  First Nation People (Native Americans) use black ash in several ways but one of the most interesting is the weaving of baskets from strips of wood.  First a smooth straight tree has to be cut down and this couldn’t have been easy with hand tools.  A long smooth area of trunk needed to be separated from the branches.  Usually the trunk portion was then submerged in a river or lake for a while.  Next the bark was removed and then the hardest work begins.  The log is pounded with a heavy object in an overlapping pattern over and over again.  This compresses the summer growth rings.  It is hard and time consuming work.

As the rings in the ash log are compressed a whole layer of wood will detach from the log.  It is scored down the log and peeled off.  The “splint” is scraped to clean and smooth it, allowed to dry and then rolled up to store until divided in basket strips.  The trunk pounding was repeated over and over again, yielding many layers of wood, each a slightly different color.  (This is an abbreviated account of the process.)

When Emerald Ash Borer invaded the northern woods it was feared that First Nation People and others who still wove black ash baskets might have to give up the practice so they wouldn’t violate quarantines or spread the beetle, which overwinters as larvae in ash wood and can survive for up to 2 years after a tree is cut down.  The USDA Forest Service's Northern Research Station collaborated with the Match-e-be-nash-she-wish Band of Potawatomi Indians near Gun Lake, Mi. to find a way to preserve the tradition of using black ash for basket weaving.

First Nation People usually store black ash logs in water before processing them into basket making splints. The research found that submerging the black ash logs in water for 18 weeks in winter or 14 weeks in spring killed all the Emerald Ash borer larvae.  They published this work in the journal of Agricultural and Forest Entomology 2015.  This research will allow for Native Americans to continue making black ash baskets if they submerge the logs for the appropriate times.

Growing raspberries

What says summer more than a handful of tart-sweet raspberries?   Raspberries are the perfect fruit for Michigan gardeners to grow because fresh raspberries are difficult to ship and very expensive when found in grocery stores.  Raspberries are easy for gardeners to grow compared to other fruit, and don’t take much space.  The plants are inexpensive so buy enough to eat fresh and then freeze some for a delightful winter treat.

Some raspberry varieties for Michigan

Raspberries come in red, purple, yellow and black.  There are summer bearing - [late June- July,] and ever-bearing, - small crops in June and again in August-September. Fall bearing raspberries are just ever-bearing varieties that are pruned so that they have only one heavier crop in the fall.   Summer bearing raspberries produce the heaviest crops; you can freeze or can the excess.  If you like fresh raspberries over a long season choose a few plants each of summer bearing and ever-bearing. Red summer bearers include Latham, Boyne, and Kilarney.  Royalty is a purple summer raspberry for Michigan.  Jewel and Bristol Black are black summer raspberries.  Polena, Caroline and Hertitage,  are red ever-bearing raspberries.   Kiwigold is a yellow ever-bearing raspberry.

Planting raspberries

Raspberries should be planted in the early spring.  Buy certified, disease free raspberry plants from a good nursery.  Generally raspberries are sold as dormant roots, with a little stub of stem as a handle.  You can store these dormant roots in a cool place - [32- 50 degrees], for a few days until you are ready to plant them. Sometimes you will find potted raspberry plants in nurseries.  Even if you love raspberries, a small family will only need from 6-12 plants.   Raspberries spread, and a small row will soon be larger.  Plant raspberries about 2 foot apart in rows that are about 8 foot apart.

Raspberry plant
One of the best things you can do to ensure success with raspberries is to prepare your planting area in advance.   Clear the area so there is no grass or weeds left in the row.  To make raspberries easy to care for, they should be attached to a trellis system of some sort.  You can put sturdy posts at the end of each row and string heavy-duty wires or cables between the posts, or you can use fencing between the posts as support.   Mulch between the plants and mulch the paths or plan to mow the paths often.  Once weeds and grass take over a raspberry patch it is a huge undertaking to get things cleaned up again and the plants grow better without the competition from weeds.

Fertilizing raspberries

About two weeks after planting, or when you notice the plants are starting to grow, they should be fertilized with 12-12-12 or similar fertilizer.   Use about 1/2 pound per 25 feet of row or follow label directions.  Don’t let fertilizer directly touch the plants and water after fertilizing.  About 6 weeks later repeat the fertilization.   Every year after that your raspberries should be fertilized in early spring, just as growth starts, with about 1 pound of 12-12-12 per 25 feet of row. 

Watering raspberries

Raspberry plants do need lots of water, especially in hot weather and on sandy soils.  If dry conditions develop, watering your plants deeply once a week will keep them developing fruit.   Fruit that isn’t watered during dry spells may be small and crumbly.

Pruning raspberries

Pruning and thinning correctly is the key to keeping your raspberry plants strong and productive.  The roots of raspberries are perennial, but the canes, or stems, each last only two years.  Each type of raspberry requires slightly different types of pruning.  If you have purchased a mixture of raspberry types it is best to keep the types together and labeled so you know how to prune.

Summer bearing raspberries should not be pruned at all the first year, just tie them to the supports you have put in.   They won’t have a crop the first year.  In the second year, after they have had a crop and it has been harvested, cut off all the canes that bore fruit right to the ground.  Leave all the new young canes that have developed. New canes have green stems; old ones have brown, woody looking stems. 

In the third spring thin the canes of summer bearing raspberries you left to about 6 canes per foot of row.  Trim the ones you leave back to chest height- about 4 foot- and if they had winterkill, trim off any dead areas.  Do your pruning in early spring, just before growth starts, and make your cuts just above a leaf node, [joint]. Repeat every year. Black and purple raspberries may have long side branches the second and following years that should be shortened to about 10 inches.

Ever-bearing raspberries may have a small crop the first fall.  Do not cut off any canes, they will fruit again early next summer on the same canes.  After those canes have produced fruit, cut them out.  Don’t prune any canes the third year, and thereafter, until they have born fruit again, but you can thin them out in the spring if the rows are crowded and cut off winter killed areas.  After the second year you may also want to trim the canes back to about 4-foot high each year in the spring.

Fall bearing raspberries are fairly simple to prune. Fall bearing varieties are actually ever-bearers that are pruned differently.  In the first year you will get a small crop in the fall.  In early spring of the second year cut all canes right to the ground.  You’ll get a fall crop.  Repeat every year- cut all canes off in early spring.  You will have to thin plants in the rows in spring also. 

 Raspberry shortcake anyone?

Kim Willis
 “He who has a garden and a library wants for nothing” ― Cicero



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.

An interesting Plant Id page you can join on Facebook



Here’s a seed/plant sharing group you can join on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/groups/875574275841637/

Here’s a facebook page link for gardeners in the Lapeer area


Here’s a link to classes being offered at Campbell’s Greenhouse, 4077 Burnside Road, North Branch.  Now open.

Here’s a link to classes and events at Nichols Arboretum, Ann Arbor
Here’s a link to programs being offered at English Gardens, several locations in Michigan.

Here’s a link to classes at Telly’s Greenhouse in Troy and Shelby Twsp. MI, and now combined with Goldner Walsh in Pontiac MI.

Here’s a link to classes and events at Bordines, Rochester Hills, Grand Blanc, Clarkston and Brighton locations

Here’s a link to events at the Leslie Science and Nature Center, 1831 Traver Road Ann Arbor, Michigan  | Phone 734-997-1553 |
http://www.lesliesnc.org/

Here’s a link to events at Hidden Lake Gardens, 6214 Monroe Rd, Tipton, MI

Here’s a link to all the spring programs being offered at Seven Ponds Nature center in Dryden, Michigan. http://www.sevenponds.org/education/progs/springprograms/

Here’s a link to events and classes at Fredrick Meijer Gardens, Grand Rapids Mi
http://www.meijergardens.org/learn/ (888) 957-1580, (616) 957-1580

Garden Day 2015, August 1, 2015, 8 a.m. - 4:15 p.m. Veterinary Medical Center / Plant & Soil Sciences Bldg., MSU campus, East Lansing, MI
This is MSU’s horticulture departments annual garden seminar.  The public is welcome. Key note speaker is Rick Darke, a widely published author, photographer, lecturer and consultant focused on regional landscape design, planning, conservation, and enhancementYou get a choice of 2 other classes and a closing speaker also.

Cost is $85.60 for non-2015 Garden members prior to July 24, $95.60 on and after July 25th this includes lunch but not the evening reception.

Please visit www.hrt.msu.edu/garden-day-2015/ for a full schedule, workshop descriptions and more. Contact: Jennifer Sweet, CMP, CTA, at 517-355-5191 ext. 1339 or hgardens@msu.edu.

MSU Plant Trial Field Day, August 4, 2015, 8:30 a.m. - 2 p.m. 1066 Bogue Street, Plant & Soil Sciences Bldg. (1st floor), East Lansing, MI 48824

Commercial growers, landscapers and advanced gardeners are invited to this annual event to learn about some of the superior new plants and how they perform in mid-Michigan in the MSU Trial Gardens. Plant performance, ornamental characters, and special needs of plants will be covered. We will also host presentations on the most recent research on the development and spread of impatiens downy mildew and up-to-date discussions on the evolving ethics of American gardeners. For this important and timely topic, Entomologists and Horticultural Extension Specialists will bring us up-to-date on the latest news in pollinators, native insects, and pesticides such as neonicotinoids.

The $42/person registration fee (by July 30) includes morning refreshments, lunch, parking, trial booklet, and the program.

For more, please visit http://planttour.hrt.msu.edu/fieldday.
Contact: Jennifer Sweet, hgardens@msu.edu


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.
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