© Kim Willis - no parts of this newsletter may
be used without permission.
Hi
Gardeners
It’s another one of those nice fall days, really nice
for November. Gizzy and I went for a
walk earlier to visit the neighbor’s horses a minute and see what was blooming
still. I still have an iris blooming, a few roses, mums, and bacopa. I can hope that the weather will continue all
winter but I sense the end is near and more traditional November weather will
soon be on us.
 |
| Super Beaver moon |
I have been doing little winter prep things, taking
plastic nozzles and fixtures off the hoses and putting away some hoses. I have
been putting plastic on spots in the chicken coop, putting away lawn furniture
and tomato cages. Steve has been using
his new chain saw to cut down sapling trees in bad spots and trim the oaks.
In the last few years we had deer eating up one side of
our arborvitaes, the side away from the road they border. They also devour an
evergreen euonymus bush on one side each winter. This year we put up some deer netting around
the trees and shrubs. I added some tiny
blinking red solar lights around the arborvitaes. They cost less than $20 and won’t cost anything
to operate. I don’t know if they will be
a deterrent but deer are said to not like flashing red lights as they remind
them of predators. I’ll report later
this winter and tell you if they helped the problem.
My neighbors probably think I’m nuts what with the
blinking red lights and the purple and multicolored lights I have strung up in
other places. They are all solar lights.
But I like them. I’ll probably add
more. They don’t give off enough light
to disturb the plants and they light the paths for me if I’m out at night.
Did you get out and look at the super Beaver moon? If you go out tonight you’ll still get a
pretty good show. The moon won’t look this large again until 2034. I got some pictures as you see in the opening
picture.
 |
I stole this picture from a site offering rose
seeds. This rose doesn't exist.
|
Should you
grow roses from seed?
I am seeing posts on line again from people asking
about planting rose seeds, usually this involves seeds sold on some internet
site filled with vividly colored but fake rose pictures. Here’s the scoop on
rose seeds.
Yes you can grow roses from seed. That’s how we get many new varieties. But it isn’t easy and what you get from the
seeds is a wild card. If you want a
particular type of rose you are much better off buying a plant or starting a
cutting. People who breed roses and
plant the seeds to develop new varieties wait 2 -3 years for them to bloom, and
then evaluate the young rose bushes, choosing the best ones and disposing of
the rest. Any roses that have potential
are then reproduced from cuttings so the new plant will look like the parent.
Roses don’t come true to type from seed. That is they won’t look like the rose the seeds
were gathered from most of the time.
Most roses don’t self-pollinate- they need pollen from another rose to
make seed. If you plant two American
Beauty roses next to each other they may pollinate each other and the plants
grown from the seeds may have flowers that look like American Beauty roses- or
they may not - because the parents are hybrids and there are some hidden genes
in there that allow a variety of flower colors and types to come up.
So what, you say.
I’ll take whatever rose grows.
And that may work if the seeds were gathered from a rose grown on its
own roots that is hardy in your area.
But a great many roses on the market, especially tea roses, (the types
with the pointed bud you buy from a florist), are grafted onto hardy rootstock.
The seedlings you plant may not survive the winter in your area.
Sure you could also grow some hardy roses, picking
varieties that are compatible for grafting and graft your seedling roses on
them – maybe before you even see them bloom and decide if you like them- but
that’s a lot of work. It could be a fun
hobby, but if you just want some pretty roses buy plants.
If the roses the seed is collected from are usually
grown on their own roots and those roots survive winter in your area, then you
may successfully grow rose plants from seed.
Roses grown on their own roots are usually noted in catalogs and they
include some of the landscape type roses and some older heirloom roses. If you don’t see the words- “grown on own
roots or root hardy” in a rose description chances are pretty high it’s a
grafted rose.
If you think you need those rose seeds because you
can’t find roses with that beautiful blue color or that lovely rainbow blend of
colors in the catalogs or stores think again.
Those colors don’t exist. The
pictures are photo shopped or the roses dyed.
The short story is it’s not practical or smart to buy
rose seeds on line. Plants and even cuttings are much more likely to give you
what you want. Roses are not that
expensive. I don’t think I have ever seen a reputable nursery selling rose
seed. If you want to experiment and the
seeds are cheap go for it. Just know
what you’re getting- probably not a rose like the picture- and that it may be a
year or two before you get a small plant to bloom if it survives the winter.
Rex
Begonias
Rex begonias are a great plant to brighten up the
winter. As a houseplant their colorful
foliage will add zest to the windowsill.
And they can be moved outside in summer to bring color to shady
containers and baskets.
Rex begonias have large leaves, generally pointed,
although rounded and other shaped leaves are not uncommon. The leaves are thick and wrinkled looking and
come in a variety of stunning colors and patterns. Some plants can reach a foot high and some
plants have been bred that stay quite small.
Rex begonias are great collectors plants because there
are hundreds of varieties for sale.
You’ll have a hard time picking just one plant to grow.
Growing
conditions
Rex begonias are relatively easy to grow except for one
requirement. They need humid conditions
to keep leaves from getting crispy edges and eventually falling off. If you have a well-lit bathroom rex begonias
may thrive there. They may also do well
over the kitchen sink.
If you don’t use a humidifier in the house in the
winter you can place the rex begonia in a shallow tray of water with stones or
marbles in the bottom to keep the pot bottom above the water line. Grouping rex begonias with other plants also
helps with humidity. Misting the plants
doesn’t work well as rex begonias will get spots on the leaves from water
sitting on them.
Rex begonias like bright light but not direct
sunlight. An east or north windowsill
will generally work or place them about a foot away from a south or west window.
Good, strong light brings out the best leaf color. In the summer outside they need partial
shade. Rex begonias can also be grown
under artificial light.
Plant the rex begonia in good, light potting soil or
use an African violet soil. Keep the
soil moist but don’t let the pot get waterlogged. While Rex begonias like
moisture and humidity their roots also need some air.
Fertilize lightly beginning in March through September,
maybe once a month. Don’t over fertilize, as foliage plants, rex begonias don’t
need much fertilizer. Keep dead leaves picked off. Plants may go through a period of adjustment
when moved, especially from a humid greenhouse or from outdoors into a drier
indoor location. Some plants will even
go dormant.
If the rex begonia does seem to drop all its leaves and
die down to soil level all may not be lost.
Put the pot in a clear plastic bag and set it out of direct light for a
few weeks. Check from time to time to
see how moist the soil is and add a little water if it is very dry. After a month or so- or sooner if you notice
new growth, take the plant out into bright light and resume watering.
Like most begonias, rex begonias flower. However this species of begonia does not have
very showy flowers and you will probably want to clip out the flower stems that
peek out from the center so the plant concentrates on producing its showy
leaves. I am a lazy person when it comes
to trimming flowers however and I still have nice plants.
Rex
Begonia propagation
Rex begonias are one of the few plants that propagate
readily through the leaves. You can
remove a young leaf and stem and insert the stem into a moist pot of planting
medium. Place the pot in a clear plastic
bag in bright indirect light and keep moist.
Wait for a new plant to form at the leaf base. Or you can get many
plants from one leaf using this method.
Find a wide container that a large leaf can lay flat
on. Flip a rex begonia leaf over and
make small cuts across several of the large veins. Don’t cut all the way through the leaf. With a cotton swab rub some rooting powder-
found in houseplant supplies- on each cut.
Fill the container with moist potting medium. Place the leaf on it cut side down and weigh
down the leaf with small pebbles, metal nuts or some other small item so that
the cut vein contacts the soil. Place in
a clear plastic bag in bright indirect light and wait for new plants to form at
the leaf surface by each cut.
These wonderful plants are a great way to share plants
between several plant lovers. Each
gardener can buy a different variety and start new plants to trade with other
gardeners. Even if you keep all of your
plant babies you’ll enjoy the color the rex begonia brings to dull plant
collections.
Cattails,
the world’s most useful plant
What better plant to talk about than cattails during
Native American recognition month and a month when we see Native Americans and
other Americans fighting to save the water, the home of cattails? Cattails are
also protectors of water, filtering out heavy metals and other impurities,
stabilizing banks and shorelines and are heavily invested in the food cycle of
wetlands. Muskrats and other aquatic animals feed on cattails and birds use the
fluff in nests. Fish, frogs, aquatic insects and other small pond critters use
cattails for hiding places, food and homes.
Over time cattails will help nature in her work of succession, turning
wetlands into dry lands but wherever there is fresh water you will find
cattails.
 |
| Cattails, the swamp supermarket |
The cattail is found throughout North America, wherever
there is a wet spot. There are three species of cattails in North America:
common cattail, (Typha latifolia), Narrow Leaved Cattail, T. angustifolia, and T. domingensis a southern species that
ranges down to South America. Cattails are also found in almost every corner of
the world in the form of one species or another. Cattails have a long, long
association with humans; archeological evidence shows us that humans used
cattails 30,000 years ago.
The cattail has many common names throughout the
world. Common names on this continent include:
bulrush, tule, punks, reedmace, and corndog plant.
Plant
Description
Common cattails, (Typha latifolia), are perennial
plants that develop large root systems, but die to the ground each winter. The cattail root or rhizome is a series of
bulbs connected by underground stems. The
leaves are long, 6 feet or so, and strap-like, spongy and fibrous, arranged
alternately and basal (arise from the base of the plant). There is a central stem from which the flower
head will arise. When leaves are pulled
a white jelly like substance will weep out.
Most people have learned to identify this plant by its
“fruit” the firm brown cylindrical mass
on a tall stem, that when ripe and broken open yields massive amounts of white
fluff. Narrow Leaved Cattail has very small, pencil sized seed wands, (as well
as narrow leaves), and is favored in floral arrangements.
Cattails are wind pollinated. The cattail plant
develops a two tiered flower in late spring; the familiar brown, rounded
cylinder that persists into fall is a compacted group of the female
flowers. On top of that is a similar
looking yellowish cylinder of male flowers that produces abundant pollen in
early summer. The male flowers dry up to
a “ stick” at the top of the plump brown cattail ‘wand” that develops. The “wand” is a compacted mass of tiny seeds,
each connected to a bit of fluff. Late
in the fall and winter the weather will break up the mass, dispersing the seeds
on their bit of fluff in the wind or floating on the water.
Cattails grow in full sun in areas where there is
standing water or very wet soil. They
can grow up to 10 foot tall (T. angustifolia about
3 feet tall) to get their flowering parts out of the water, but if the water is
much deeper than 6-7 feet they generally don’t colonize that area. They are
capable of surviving even if all the standing water around them dries up for
several months.
The plants spread by the root system to make huge stands
of cattails and also reproduce from seeds.
The seeds are attached to bits of fluff that float in the wind and on
the water. In bare mud and shallow water
cattails may be the first plant to colonize.
Uses
of cattail
Cattails were of great importance to almost all tribes
of First People from coast to coast.
Every part of the plant has a use.
Europeans arriving on this continent also knew of uses for the plant and
must have been pleased to find an old friend. Different tribes and peoples may
have had slightly different uses but most indigenous peoples used cattails in
one way or another. There are few plants that can rival the usefulness of
cattails.
To describe the usefulness of this plant I will go
plant part by plant part.
Roots
Even in the winter the cattail roots can be dug and
used for food if one braves the cold water and ice. First People often dug them in fall, dried
and stored them, especially if other harvests had been scarce that year.
Cattail roots contain 10 times as much starch (fat) as potatoes, and almost as
much protein and more minerals.
Roots can be roasted and eaten, or dried and ground
into flour. The flour can be fermented
to produce ethyl alcohol. Roots can also be boiled into a jelly like substance. This jelly was used as a poultice for wounds and
often mixed with other herbs in medicinal preparations as it made them easy to
swallow. It has antiseptic
properties. Roots were also burnt and
used for face painting and tattoo ink.
Leaves
and stems
In the northeast cattail leaves formed the basic
building material for many First People. The leaves were woven into mats that covered a
foundation of curved poles to make a home.
These mat covered homes amazed early European explorers who found that
they excluded wind and rain better than many of their wooden homes with thatched
roofs. Mats covered the inner walls and
floors of dwellings also. Even tribes
that used large skins for home covering often used cattail mats on the floor.
Leaves were woven into baskets, trays, toys, and
hunting decoys that looked like various birds and animals. In some tribes a
square mat (or male) was used on one side of a home and a round mat (or female)
was used on the other side and this was said to protect against lightning.
Leaves and stems of cattails have long tough fibers
similar to hemp or jute. The leaves and
stems were crushed and soaked to extract the fibers which were rolled against
the thigh and turned into twine. The twine made fishing nets, snares, fishing
line, ties for packing up bundles and was used to sew mats together and even in
clothing. Some tribes collected dog hair
or mountain goat hair and mixed it with the twine to make a form of cloth for
clothing and blankets.
Leaves and stems were eaten in early spring either raw
or lightly boiled. They are said to
taste like cucumbers. Also the white
base of the leaves can be eaten at any time as a vegetable.
The jelly like juice produced by leaf ends was much
prized for medicinal use. It was used on wounds, for sore throats, as a
toothpaste, and as shaving cream. The gel has antiseptic and analgesic
properties. It is also used as a glue
and caulk.
A crude paper was made from cattails by early European
settlers.
Pollen
The pale yellow pollen of cattails was eagerly and
carefully collected in early summer. Women
carefully cut the flower heads just before the pollen was to be released into
the wind and shook them in skin bags or other containers to collect the fine
pollen. Cattail pollen was a valued
commodity and early in the 20th century it was still being put up in
glass bottles and sold. It is still
found in Chinese medicine.
Cattail pollen can be baked into cakes. This is how it was generally done. A fire was built on the ground and let to
burn down. The ashes were swept back and
many layers of pollen were patted down in the spot. The pollen was sprinkled with water, just the
right amount, and then hot coals were heaped over the pollen layers. The cake was allowed to cook until golden
brown. It could be eaten then or stored. It is said to have a sweet taste and was
sometimes made sweeter by adding maple sugar or syrup.
Cattail pollen was also mixed with other types of flour,
such as that made from cattail roots or corn. It was used to thicken stews and
soups.
Cattail pollen is diuretic and used to cause
vomiting. It is astringent and was used
to stop bleeding of wounds. Taken
internally it was used to stop internal bleeding, excessive menstruation and
for chest/heart problems.
The pollen was often used in rituals and was used as a
body and face paint. It was combed through the hair to clean and condition it.
Seed
heads
The wand of the cattail (or the corndog) can be boiled
and eaten when it’s still young. Cattail
wands were often dipped in melted tallow
or fat and used as long lasting torches.
When they are burned without fat they are said to repel insects.
Of course the seed heads make good decorative touches
in dried arrangements. Spray them with clear hairspray or craft sealer to keep
them from falling apart quickly.
Seeds
Each tiny cattail seed is attached to a bit of fluff
that helps it disperse. But the tiny
seeds themselves were also utilized. They
were tediously removed from the fluff and pressed for oil. It is similar to
linseed oil. Wax can also be made from the oil.
The seeds can be also be ground into flour, very nutritious flour. While small, seeds are packed into those seed
heads and a small patch of cattails can yield many pounds of seeds.
Cattail
fluff
An archeological site in Northwest Canada turned up the
well preserved body of an infant from hundreds of years ago buried in a copper
trade pot and lovingly cradled in a fluffy bed of cattail down and herbs. Cattail down was often used in infant care,
as a “diaper” as it is absorbent, for cleaning babies as a wipe, to cushion the
baby and keep it warm.
Cattail fluff was stuffed into bedding, clothing and
moccasins for insulation and cushioning. Women used it for menstrual pads.
In WWII cattail fluff was used in place of down and
kapok for military clothing and life preservers. At home it was used to replace
down and cotton in furniture and bedding.
It has been used as attic insulation and pressed into insulating boards.
Fluff could be used as good tinder to start fires and a
bit was often carried in small pouches with flint for starting fires. It was used in rituals, usually as a
cleansing ritual. It was stuffed into
the mouths of the dead and sprinkled on their faces in some tribes.
Whew- I am sure I missed some uses of the cattail but
you get the picture. It’s a valuable
plant and should not be cursed for blocking ponds and streams. I am lucky to have some growing in my pond so
I can experiment with them. If you want
to try cattails for edible uses make sure you get plant parts from plants
growing in clean, unpolluted water.
If you wish to start cattails growing in a wet area
take a wand in early fall and break it open on a muddy area, letting the fluff
disperse a bit, then tamp it down with the feet so it doesn’t blow off. Or you can take root pieces and plant them in
wet areas.
Good books
on Ethnobotany
Ethnobotany is the study of plants in relationship to people
and their use of them. It’s a subject I like to read about and I’ll share some
good book titles here to get you started reading about this fascinating science.
Strength
of the Earth: The Classic Guide to Ojibwe Uses of Native Plants February
1, 2006, Frances Densmore Note: this
book is very expensive and is only a slightly expanded version of the next book
listed, which is much cheaper.
How
Indians Use Wild Plants for Food, Medicine and Crafts Revised ed. Edition by
Frances Densmore
Plants
Have So Much to Give Us, All We Have to Do Is Ask: Anishinaabe
Botanical Teachings, June 22, 2015 by
Mary Siisip Geniusz
Edible
and Medicinal Plants of the Great Lakes Region – November 8, 2004 by D.O. Thomas A. Naegele
(Author)
Braiding
Sweetgrass; indigenous wisdom, scientific knowledge, and the teachings of
plants- by Robin Wall Kimmerer
Buffalo
Bird Woman’s Garden published in 1918 by Gilbert L.
Wilson
Glorious
Histories: Tales from the Traditional Kitchen Garden
by David Stuart
Some of these books are old and you may find them in an
ebook edition only. I have reviewed some
of these titles and you can see those reviews by clicking on the page link
"book reviews" on the right side of this blog. There are many more such books out there
too.
Cream
biscuits
On a cold fall day nothing tastes better for breakfast
than biscuits and gravy. I found this
cream biscuit recipe and I love it. It’s
a small batch recipe and makes 6-9 biscuits depending on how you cut them. This recipe has only 3 ingredients, although
you can embellish it.
The recipe uses self-rising flour, not all purpose
flour. You can find self-rising flour
next to regular flour in the store. You
could also sub a baking mix like Bisquick but the taste is slightly
different. Use whipping cream, not milk,
the fat content is important to the biscuits texture.
You’ll need
2 cups self-rising flour
1-3 teaspoons of sugar depending on your taste
Mix together the flour and sugar and then add the cream
a little at a time mixing well until you have a stiff dough.
Pat the dough evenly into a greased 6x6 inch pan.
Bake at 450 degrees for about 12 minutes or until
lightly browned.
Variations: brush the tops with melted butter and
sprinkle on finely chopped rosemary, or add 1 cup of finely shredded cheddar
cheese and about a ½ teaspoon garlic powder (or to taste) to dough. Or make the
biscuits sweet ones by brushing on melted butter then sprinkling them with
cinnamon sugar or adding orange zest and a teaspoon of orange juice to the
dough, then brushing the tops with orange marmalade
A hot buttered biscuit melts away the sorrow of a wintry day
Kim Willis
“He who has a garden and
a library wants for nothing” ― Cicero
Events, classes, free items and sales
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.
Do you have plants or seeds you would like to swap or share? Post them here by emailing me. You can also
ask me to post garden related events. Kimwillis151@gmail.com
An
interesting Plant Id page you can join on Facebook
Here’s a
seed/plant sharing group you can join on Facebook
Invitation
If you are a gardener
in Michigan close to Lapeer we invite you to join the Lapeer Area Horticultural
Society. The club meets once a month, 6:30 pm, on the third Monday at various
places for a short educational talk, snacks and socializing with fellow
gardeners. No educational or volunteer requirements for membership, all are
welcome. Membership dues are $20 per year. Come and visit us, sit in on a
meeting for free. Contact
susanmklaffer@yahoo.com Phone 810-664-8912
I have 5-6 large size,
young roosters I will give away free.
They are Rhode Island Red and some are a cross of Australorp and “Easter
egg” chickens. Shoot me an email for
more information Kimwillis151@gmail.com
Garden events have pretty well ended for the
year in this area. But if I come across
any they will be posted.
Here’s a facebook page link for
gardeners in the Lapeer area. This link
has a lot of events listed on it.
Here’s a
link to all the nature programs being offered at Seven Ponds Nature center in
Dryden, Michigan. http://www.sevenponds.org/
Here’s a
link to classes being offered at Campbell’s Greenhouse, 4077 Burnside Road,
North Branch.
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 events and classes at Fredrick Meijer Gardens, Grand Rapids Mi
http://www.meijergardens.org/learn/ (888) 957-1580, (616) 957-1580
Newsletter/blog 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 or you can comment directly on the blog.
Please state that you want to have the item published in my weekly note if you
email me. 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 people and horticulture. It’s a hobby, basically. I hope you enjoy it. If
you are on my mailing list and at any time you don’t wish to receive these
emails just let me know. If you know anyone who would like to receive a
notification by email when a new blog is published have them send their
email address to me. KimWillis151@gmail.com
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