Hi Gardeners
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| Tithonia still blooming, bee still buzzing |
The leaves have left the bur
oak by the driveway, hastened by the high winds and rain we had last
night. It’s amazing how many leaves one
tree has, the yard and flower beds are covered.
The fall color hasn’t been very good this year and I suspect we’ll lose
the leaves of most trees before they color up much. The sugar maple in the pasture is losing
leaves that have just a touch of yellow. When I look out the window near my
desk I am mostly seeing bare trees now, the redbud is the one blast of
shimmering gold against the gray sky.
Our weather is going to turn
sharply colder in the next few days and a freeze is likely tomorrow night. Right now there are still many annuals in
bloom, zinnias, tithonia, petunias, salvia, sweet alyssum, bacopa, and the landscape
roses, toad lilies sedum and dahlias are still blooming strongly. I was outside on the beautiful Sunday we had
collecting seeds. Tithonia seedheads are
very prickly things; like a ball of thorns, they must be designed to keep the birds
from eating the seeds. I waited almost
too long for the Love in a Mist seed pods, they were scattering their seeds as
soon as I touched them but I managed to get some.
I finished planting my bulbs
this weekend. I was tucking them under the hosta in front and noticed I have a
lot of baby hosta seedlings coming up. I
always get too ambitious with the bulb catalogs and then when it’s time to
plant them- about 400 this year- I am searching for spots where I won’t be
digging into bulbs already there. I look
at my pictures from spring for help identifying bare areas but when I get there
I am sometimes surprised.
Planting bulbs in the fall,
especially new varieties and species I don’t have, gives me something to look
forward to in early spring. Every spring
is unique, different bulb combinations blooming at the same time, new colors,
little surprises everywhere.
Inside the houseplants are
settling in after their summer vacation outside and adjusting to indoor light. One of my hibiscuses lost most of its leaves
but in just the last week shiny new leaves have popped out and today the plant
has 5 large flowers. The hibiscus variety Kona, which has pink double flowers,
has been blooming since I brought it inside. I have a Thanksgiving cactus
blooming already and my streptocarpus all have a good flush of bloom. The
bouvardia and fuchsia are blooming and so is my orange jasmine.
My husband got ambitious
this year and collected about a bushel of black walnuts for shelling. We have a bumper crop this year and few
squirrels to collect them. We usually let someone else have them, if anyone stops
and asks, because of the work involved before you can use them. My grandfather collected several bushels every
fall from his trees and spent the winter cracking them when he had free
moments.
I warned Steve about his
hands turning black from handling the hulls but he still managed to get black
thumbs. First you have to remove the
green husk, then crack the hard shell, and then pick out the nut meats. He sat in the house while it rained yesterday
and cracked nuts. He had to use a cement
block and a big hammer to crack them. After a couple of hours he had about 3
cups of nut meats. (I hope he’s motivated enough to finish the job.) That’s why
those nuts are so darned expensive to buy.
I will be using them to make some great cookies and cakes.
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| Tithonia seed head |
Seed Collecting
Speaking of collecting seeds
(nuts are seeds), it’s that time of year when many gardeners are collecting
seeds to grow next year. This is a great idea if you grow old, heirloom style
plants, plants that are expensive or hard to find or you are just curious about
what the plants will look like in the second generation after all that wild
plant sex in the garden this year.
Make sure the seeds you want
to collect are ripe. Generally this will
mean a brown dry seed pod or a very ripe fruit.
Dry seeds can simply be stored in small clean jars; several paper bags
or packets of different seeds can be stored in one jar. Plastic bags can be used to collect dry seeds
but since there is usually a little moisture left in the seeds it’s better to
transfer them to paper packets that will absorb a bit of moisture. Seeds sealed in plastic bags are more likely
to mold.
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| Seeds and seedpods of woodland nicotiana |
I like to use envelopes from
junk mail to store seeds, they can be taped shut. A bit of powdered milk can be
twisted inside a tissue and placed in jars of seeds to absorb moisture
also. Dried rice added to a jar with paper
packets can also be helpful to absorb moisture.
Larger seeds like beans need
to be spread on a screen and dried in a warm place for a week or so before
storing. Corn should be dried on the cob for a few weeks before being removed
from the cob. Seeds need to be separated from moist fruits and dried on a
screen also. Some moist fruits, like
that of tomato, are best left to rot in a safe place. Once the fruit has disintegrated wash the
seeds in cool water and spread them out on a screen to dry.
Do not dry seeds for
planting in the oven or worse in the microwave.
Don’t laugh- someone once asked me why none of the seeds they grew
germinated the next year. After
questioning I found they dried them in the microwave. Drying in the oven may kill the seed embryos
and drying the seeds in the microwave will certainly destroy them. If the seeds are for eating or cooking drying
them in the oven is fine.
One of the most vital parts
of seed saving is to label the seeds. Believe me; you won’t always remember
which seeds are which next year. Do it
at the same time you collect the seeds and make sure the writing doesn’t smear to
where it’s illegible. If you deliberately crossed two varieties of plants make
sure to write the parent’s variety names on the packets.
When your seed packets are
filled store them in a cool dry place that mice and insects can’t get
into. A cool to cold place for storage
is important for many types of seeds.
Some plants have special seed storage quirks you’ll needs to consider. There’s a page with lots of seed information
in the list to the right of this blog and there’s a section about special needs
of some seeds.
The seeds from newer hybrid
plants may not be such a good idea to save as the second generation is often a
hodgepodge of inferior types, and it makes better sense to purchase new hybrid
seeds next year. This is also true if
you enjoy trying different varieties each year or if a certain variety didn’t
do well for you.
Many gardeners like to share
and trade seeds. Collecting seeds from
your garden may be a way to meet other gardeners in your area and also get
varieties of plants that may be hard to find.
Many seed pods make excellent dried flower arrangement material too.
Fall seed sowing of common garden flowers
You may think the planting
season is over when the leaves fall off the trees but there are some common
garden flowers that drop their seeds in the fall. Those seeds need a period of cold to
germinate and may need the freezing and thawing cycle to crack a hard seed coat
and allow moisture in for germination.
You may have some of the garden plants that require these conditions in
your garden and they will self- seed for you if left alone. If you don’t have the plants and want them in
your garden now may be the time, before the ground freezes solid, to sow some
of those seeds.
Seeds that can be sown in
the fall include: bachelor's button, coreopsis, cosmos, echinacea, flax,
larkspur, moss rose, marigolds, milkweeds, morning glory, nasturtium, pansy,
poppy, strawflower, sweet pea, verbena, viola and zinnia. Buy the seeds or collect dry seeds from
friend’s plants if you don’t have them.
Some of these may also be planted in early spring. Some wildflower and grass seed may also be
suggested for fall planting. Check the
label, plant description or a reference.
Chances are if nature drops the seed in late fall it likes fall
planting.
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| Bachelors buttons |
When you are collecting seed
from the garden remember that seeds from hybrids like most marigolds and
zinnias you purchased in a garden center last spring will not come true from
seed. That is they will probably not
look like their parent. But that said
they are often just as pretty although you may get a range of sizes and
colors. And you could get something
unusual and exciting if you experiment.
What to do
Clear a spot in the garden
of vegetation and loosen the soil.
Sprinkle the seeds over the area. You may want to sprinkle them thickly
as some will not germinate. You can thin
in the spring. Very small seeds like
poppy seed should not be covered but press them against the soil. Larger seeds like morning glory seed should
have a loose layer of soil about a half inch thick placed over them. Don’t water the seeds; it tends to wash them
into clumps or away from your prepared area.
Nature should take care of the watering for you.
You can apply a very thin
layer of mulch such as pine needles or chopped straw but don’t use leaves or
anything that mats over the seeds and don’t make the mulch deeper than a half
inch. (Poppies, larkspur and moss rose
will germinate better if not mulched.) Make sure to mark the spots where you
sow the seeds. Some may wait until
warmer weather to emerge so don’t be in a big hurry in the spring to plant over
them, thinking they didn’t sprout. If
you have trouble with birds pecking at your seeds cover the area with netting.
It’s not too late to plant
the seeds until the ground freezes solid.
After all nature will still be dropping them, even after the snow falls
in some cases. It’s an easy, inexpensive
and effective way to get more plants into your garden.
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| Marigold |
Sleeping with plants
Should you keep houseplants
in your bedroom? The answer is absolutely
yes, if you have a suitable spot for them.
There’s an old myth that plants absorb oxygen at night and therefore are
dangerous to sleep by. While it’s true
that plants take up some oxygen at night and don’t give off as much as they do
in the day there’s absolutely no way that plants will deprive you of oxygen as
you sleep. You could have a room that’s
tightly closed up full of plants and still not have to worry.
During the day when plants are
in light and are photosynthesizing (converting light into a simple sugar), they
give off oxygen as a waste product of that process. That’s really good for us animals, because we
can’t produce our own oxygen. At night or in darkness plants cease
photosynthesis but continue to use a little oxygen for life processes.
When the glucose that’s
produced by photosynthesis is broken down to be used by the plant, waste
products of carbon dioxide and water are released through plant pores. This
process, called respiration, happens around the clock if the plant is alive. All
living things use respiration to break down food into useable energy for growth
and maintenance of the organism. Plants
are releasing carbon dioxide in the daytime as well as the night and using
oxygen too, but they are also taking carbon dioxide from the atmosphere-
usually at a much higher rate than they give off during the day.
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| Who wouldn't want to sleep with these beauties? |
The amount of carbon dioxide
released by plants at night is harmless to humans, even if the room is packed
with plants. I think many people confuse
carbon dioxide with carbon monoxide, which can be dangerous to people in
relatively small amounts, but doesn’t come from living plants. Carbon monoxide comes from burning fossil
fuels or wood. (Carbon dioxide is also
produced by fires but in smaller quantities.)
While too much carbon dioxide could also harm you it’s very rare to be
poisoned by it and certainly houseplants, even in a closed room, are not going
to produce enough carbon dioxide to harm you.
Any small amount of carbon
dioxide released by plants at night is offset by the additional benefit plants
have for indoor air, cleaning it of harmful pollution particles. If a person has allergies to molds though,
plants in the bedroom might trigger that allergy in some circumstances.
Sleeping with pets or
another person in the room uses much more oxygen and produces much more carbon
dioxide than plants do and most people are fine with those scenarios. Astronauts
slept with plants on board will no worries, and a space craft is a prime
example of a closed system. You shouldn’t
worry about sleeping by plants either.
How old is your houseplant?
I have a Snake plant (Sansevieria trifasciate) that I brought
home from my mother’s last year when she decided she could no longer care for
it. She got the plant from her mother before
she died. The plant is verifiably 50 years old and it’s probably older. The
plant is 5 feet tall and about 2 feet wide.
I have a smaller sansevieria that came from an arrangement at my great
grandmother’s funeral, roughly 30 years ago.
Also at my house is a Thanksgiving cactus that’s about 30 years
old. In our family houseplants are
passed down through the generations.
I know that there are other
people out there who have houseplants that are pretty old by any standard,
often passed down to them by family members.
I was curious and decided to do some research to see what the oldest
houseplant was and where it was. The
Guinness book of world records says that the oldest houseplant (actually the
category is potted plant) is a prickly cycad (Encephalartos altensteinii) that was planted inside the Palm House
of the Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew, Surrey, UK in 1775.
However I see that as soon
as this was announced many other conservatories and greenhouses around the
world disputed the record and countered with records of their own. If you
goggle oldest houseplant you’ll probably be referred to the cycad at The Royal
Botanical Gardens but other research will give you even older examples of
indoor plants.
I guess it all depends on
what you consider a houseplant, or indoor plant. Bonsai plants are probably some of the oldest
potted plants and many have well documented records. These oldest plants are generally in
conservatories or museums and not maintained in homes. An Italian Bonsai museum has a ficus bonsai
over 1,000 years old. There is a
Japanese White Pine bonsai at the National Bonsai and Penjing Museum in Washington
that’s over 400 years old. It was in
Hiroshima Japan when the atomic bomb was dropped in 1945 and survived. It was
tended by 4 generations of the Yamaki family before it was donated.
As far as an ordinary
houseplant kept in the home I came across the story of a Christmas cactus
belonging to the Kraft family of Bozeman, Montana. Martha Kent, the family’s great, great
grandmother brought it from Pennsylvania on a wagon train about 1864. The family has documented each owner of the 3
x 3 feet cactus since then.
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| Thanksgiving cactus |
Houseplant species that live
the longest tend to be those that are adaptable to many conditions and tough
enough to survive some neglect. Every
species of plant has an estimated lifespan, but just like the human lifespan
that can vary tremendously even within a species. If a houseplant is lucky enough to land in a
home where it’s well cared for, and it’s lovingly passed down to another person
who takes care of it, it may outlive its original owner and possibly several
owners.
The longest lived
houseplants are considered to be: cacti, Schlumbergera or Zygocactus, (Thanksgiving,
Christmas cacti), sansevieria, Jade plants, euphorbias, (Crown of Thorns),
kalanchoes, agave, Chinese evergreen, Ficus, philodendron, pothos, and various
types of bonsai. That’s not to say other
species can’t live a pretty long time. I
have spider plants here that are 15 years old.
My mother has a Chinese hibiscus that’s 20 years old. A friend had a 30 year old Norfolk pine; I
have one that’s 12 years old.
The greenhouse industry
estimates the average life span for a foliage type houseplant is only 4-6
months. That’s pretty sad considering
that many types of houseplants can easily live 20 years or more with good care. When you buy a houseplant research its care
needs thoroughly. Think about the plant
as a long term commitment not as a temporary decorating prop.
Who will take your plants if
you die or can no longer care for them?
You may want to think about this if you are a plant lover and leave some
written instructions. If you are considering passing the plant along to another
family member make sure they know about its care and document the time you have
had the plant in writing so that any interested family member can keep the record
updated.
If no family members want
the plant maybe a friend will continue its care. You might consider donating a large ancient
plant to a local public conservatory, (a living museum for plants), call and
ask if they would want it when you can’t care for it any longer. You could ask garden clubs and Master
Gardener Associations if they have a member who is interested.
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| My elderly sansevieria |
If you are buying plants at
estate sales- and I have seen some very large, old plants offered for sale, see
if the sellers have any idea of how old the plant is. You may hear some interesting stories to go
along with the plant. Don’t pass up the
plant because it’s old, it may outlive you. And write down those stories if you
get them.
It’s pretty amazing to think
of people caring for house plants on a long hard wagon train journey, or on a
ship crossing from the old world and in the drafty, cold houses in the
wilderness. If they managed to keep
plants alive for 50 years surely we can manage it in our modern climate
controlled homes.
Normal needle drop of evergreens
Every fall a lot of people
panic when they see the needles of their evergreens, particularly pines,
turning golden and falling off. What
they don’t realize is that evergreens must shed their old needles at some point
just like deciduous trees shed their leaves.
Some evergreens or conifers, shed their needles a few at a time, others
have a more massive seasonal shedding.
Pines typically shed 2 -5
year old needles in the fall. White pine
sheds its needles every 2 years, scotch pine every 2-4 years, red pine about
every 4 years. Drought and other
stresses can cause heavier than normal needle drop.
Some other conifers, such as
larches, bald cypress and dawn redwood, actually shed all their needles and
look as bare as their deciduous counterparts through the winter. If you were not aware of this you might
think the tree had died and cut it down- a big mistake.
Spruces, cedars, yews and
other plants we consider to be evergreen tend to drop old needles irregularly
and don’t cause as much concern to homeowners because the smaller needle drop
doesn’t draw much attention. Needle
loss on the inside of the tree, involving just a layer or two of needles is
seldom cause for concern. Evergreens
will also lose needles where the tree has become too dense and shaded in the
interior and this is normal too.
In normal needle drop, the
needle layers closest to the trunk turn yellow or brown and eventually fall
off. As long as the outer needles
toward the tip of the branch remain green and the tree looks healthy there is
no problem. Pines do not replace the
needles that fall off, this area of the tree will remain bare, growth and new
needles occur on the ends of branches in the spring.
Pine needles, or other
evergreen needles, should be left beneath the tree if possible. This is what nature intends for them to do,
provide mulch for the tree to conserve moisture and breaking down to return
nutrients to the soil. If the needles
fall on walkways though, they should be removed as wet needles can be very
slippery.
Some people worry that
evergreen needles added to compost piles or used as mulch around other trees
and plants will make the soil too acidic.
Unless you have an awful lot of pine needles this effect is negligible.
Pine needles can take a while to break down in a compost pile, so if you need
compost quickly you may want to make a separate pile for needles.
It’s important to identify
the trees in your landscape, to find out whether they are pines, spruces, yews,
arborvitaes, larches so you can look up information to see what’s normal for
that species of tree as far as needle loss goes. There are many tree guides sold that can help
you identify trees.
If you have a question about
tree disease, or still worry about your tree dropping needles, take a sample to
your local Extension office. There is an
Extension office in nearly every US county and you can generally find the
location in the phone book in the government section. To find your Extension office you can go
here: http://npic.orst.edu/pest/countyext.htm
A good sample contains part
of the area you are concerned about- yellowed or discolored needles and some
healthy needles. A dead branch is not usable and neither is needles gathered
from beneath the tree. The branch sample
need not be large. Many Extension
offices have someone who can examine the branch and give you an answer on the
spot, which is generally free of charge. In some offices branches will be
submitted to the diagnostics lab and there will be a small charge.
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| Fall needle drop in white pine |
Easy Broccoli Soup
Fall is the perfect time to make soup. This is a slow cooker recipe that lets you do
other things, like read a good book or pass out Halloween candy, while it’s
cooking. If you use freshly harvested
broccoli for this recipe soak the heads in a large tub of cold water with a ½ cup
of salt added for about 10 minutes. This
will soak out any hidden insects. The
recipe makes about 6 cups of soup.
3 cups broccoli florets, if frozen thaw and drain
1 8 oz. jar of Cheese Whiz™
1 can of condensed cream of celery soup
2 cups half and half or cream
1 thinly sliced small onion
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon white pepper
Place all of the ingredients in a slow cooker and cook on
high for about 3 hours or until the broccoli is soft.
Put soup in blender or use a hand blender and blend until
smooth. Soup will be thick.
Serve hot with croutons or warm bread. This soup freezes well also.
October
O hushed October morning mild,
Thy leaves have ripened to the fall;
Tomorrow's wind, if it be wild,
Should waste them all.
The crows above the forest call;
Tomorrow they may form and go.
O hushed October morning mild,
Begin the hours of this day slow.
Make the day seem to us less brief.
Hearts not averse to being beguiled,
Beguile us in the way you know.
Release one leaf at break of day;
At noon release another leaf;
One from our trees, one far away.
Retard the sun with gentle mist;
Enchant the land with amethyst.
Slow, slow!
For the grapes' sake, if they were all,
Whose leaves already are burnt with frost,
Whose clustered fruit must else be lost—
For the grapes' sake along the wall.
-Robert Frost-
Kim Willis
“He who has a garden and
a library wants for nothing” ― Cicero
© Kim Willis - no parts of this newsletter may be used
without permission.
And
So On….
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
Find
Michigan garden events/classes here:
(This is the Lapeer County Gardeners
facebook page)
An
interesting Plant Id page you can join on Facebook
Here’s a
seed/plant sharing group you can join on Facebook
Newsletter/blog
information
If you would like to
pass along a notice about an educational event or a volunteer opportunity
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what I want. Contact me at KimWillis151@gmail.com
I write this because I
love to share with other gardeners some of the things I come across in my
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