Hi Gardeners
 |
| Asiatic lilies |
I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday, although I know across
much of the country the heat and humidity were terrible. We had a simple 4th with my sister
and mother, we toured my garden and then went to a restaurant to eat, celebrating
old people style. It was much too hot to
cook outside in my opinion.
While we got some rain about 2 weeks ago, the dry ground soaked it
right up and there hasn’t been anything but sprinkles since. I spend a lot of time watering every day. The grass is starting to crunch. Corn in the fields is rolling up. At least the wheat is drying down quickly and
is beginning to be harvested around here.
All around the country people are suffering from unusual
weather. Everyone seems to be hotter,
some are wetter, some are drier than normal.
Climate change is obvious this year.
What will winter and the next summer bring?
All of my Asiatic lilies are in bloom. The OT hybrid lilies are starting to bloom. It’s so pretty right now but the heat makes
the blooms fade quickly, which is sad.
My large hydrangea is in full bloom, hollyhocks, shasta daisies, zinnias and dahlias are
beginning to bloom. Ladybells, clematis and yarrow are blooming. Rocket
ligularia and the yucca are in bloom.
For their first year with more sun the hosta seem to be doing
ok. The golden variegated ones are much
more golden. I’m a little worried about
my huge Empress Wu, which is turning a
bit yellow, that’s not really its foliage color, but it still looks healthy.
I spend more time outside in late evening when it’s cooler
now. I am getting quite a glimpse into
the deer population we now have around here.
I have never seen so many deer.
They love the sugar beet field across the road from us and cross my yard
every night to go there. I saw one almost
get hit by a truck the other night. I do
not want a dead deer lying in front of my house in this heat!
 |
| Here's one of my yard deer. I call her Lily Slayer. |
Watering tips for dry areas
Remember to keep those pots and hanging baskets watered if you are
in a dry area. In the heat it doesn’t
take long for them to get to the point of no return. They may need watering twice a day.
Annuals need watering more frequently as a rule than perennials as
their root systems are small and they grow faster and are constantly
blooming. In temperatures above 90 degrees
they may need daily watering. Since
their root systems don’t go deep, frequent shallow watering is the most helpful
for them.
Areas near pavement, rocks and buildings or fences that reflect
light and heat need special consideration in watering. You may need to water these areas more
frequently than you water other places.
If you want food crops to grow they need water. Try to avoid letting plants wilt, each time a
plant wilts and then recovers weakens it.
Corn leaves roll up instead of wilt when water deprived. Water content affects the flavor and quality
of many vegetables, without adequate water many vegetables get bitter or less
sweet. Nutritional value also decreases.
Trees and shrubs are often overlooked when we water other
landscape plants. Newly planted trees
and shrubs need to be watered if they wilt and at least once a week they need
to be soaked. But even mature trees and
shrubs suffer in drought and high heat.
Trees may yellow, wilt or drop leaves but sometimes they suffer silently,
and the drought damage shows up when they fail to survive the winter or grow
poorly the next year.
Water stress in woody plants often leads to higher than normal
insect damage and feeding insects bring diseases. One way to water mature trees and shrubs is
to lay a hose somewhere under the tree canopy and let it run at a trickle for
several hours. You can also fill a 5
gallon or larger container with water, put a couple small holes near the bottom
and let it slowly water the plant.
If you notice plants wilting, you should water them. Initially plants may only wilt in the heat of
the day and then recover in cooler times of the day. But when you see wilting it’s time to
water.
It doesn’t really matter if you water in the heat of the day.
You will lose water to evaporation, but the leaves of the plants
will not burn. Let the hose run a bit if
the water in it has become really hot, that can harm plants. Do try to water early enough in the evening
so that the plants dry before darkness.
When plant foliage stays wet a long time in hot weather it’s a perfect
set up for fungal disease.
July almanac
The
full moon in July this year is on the 27th in conjunction with the
moon apogee. The moon perigee is the 13th.
This month’s full moon is called the buck moon or hay moon, depending on whether
you are a farmer or hunter I guess. It’s
called buck moon because the buck deer’s antlers begin to show this month. Wheat harvest is this month – it will begin
soon if it hasn’t already and I think we should call it wheat moon.
This
month’s flower is the sunflower- very appropriate and the birthstone is the
ruby. It’s National Blueberry, Eggplant, Lettuce, Mango, Melon, Nectarine and
Garlic month as well as National Hotdog and Vanilla Ice Cream month. Why isn’t it National Cherry month? The second week of July is nude recreation
week. Have fun.
The
Delta Aquariids meteor showers begin mid-month and peak on July 27-30th. Because the peak coincides with the full moon
you’ll have a better chance of seeing these meteors after the full moon in early
August. These meteors continue into mid-
August and overlap with the Perseids meteor shower. Best viewing will be around
2 am for most of the US. Look to the south.
Japanese Stiltgrass (Microstegium vimineum)
Japanese stiltgrass is a non-native plant that is considered
invasive in some states. It was recently found in Washtenaw County, Michigan
and is found in 26 other states, mostly in the eastern half of the
country. Some states want the grass
reported, to report it in Michigan, where it is new, contact Greg Norwood, DNR
Wildlife Division, norwoodg@michigan.gov or 517-342-4514. He would like a picture if possible, the
location and date seen and your contact information. In other states contact your DNR or state Ag
department to see if they want sightings reported.
In many places Japanese stiltgrass has become naturalized, having
been in this country for 100 years. Common names include: Nepalese browntop,
Asian stilt grass, Nepal, eulalia, Mary’s grass, and Chinese packing grass. It came from Japan, China or Southeast Asia,
probably in packing material.
 |
| Japanese stiltgrass National Park Service photo |
Japanese stiltgrass looks like a miniature bamboo plant. It has light green, blade shaped leaves about
3 inches long. Each leaf has a
distinctive silver stripe down the mid-vein. The leaves are asymmetrical, one
side being longer than the other. Plants
range from 1-3 inches tall and may be sprawling or upright.
The flowers of Japanese stiltgrass are insignificant, it blooms in
late summer, turning into what looks like a small wheat-like seed head. A plant
can have around 1,000 small grass-like seeds.
The seeds float in water or are carried by animals or human shoes and
can remain viable in the soil for at least 5 years before germination. Japanese stiltgrass is an annual plant so
reproduction is primarily by seed.
Japanese stiltgrass, like many non-native plants, likes to grow in
disturbed areas like ditches, roadsides, creek sides, abandoned fields, by
hiking trails and parking lots. It
prefers moist rich soil and is very adaptable to soil pH and light conditions,
growing from full sun to full shade conditions.
A native grass, white cutgrass, Leersia virginica, looks quite similar to Japanese stiltgrass but
doesn’t have the silver stripe on the leaf and blooms earlier. It is also found in moist shady areas in the
same states as Japanese stiltgrass is found.
In some conditions Japanese stiltgrass dominates the vegetation in
an area, forming thick, dense patches. Its said that Japanese stiltgrass can
form a lawn in dense shade. (I don’t
know what such a lawn would look like, especially if mowed, but that might be a
good thing in some people’s eyes.) Its
survival is helped by deer, they ignore the plant and chomp on native plants
instead. So, because it is successful in
rough environments, surviving better than natives, it is blamed for
“displacing” native plants.
While deer don’t eat it cattle and goats are said to like Japanese
stiltgrass and will readily eat it. (There is some disagreement over this.) It
may have potential as a forage crop in shade conditions or for hay. These animals might be used to remove it from
an area, if they are put in before it goes to seed. Seed can be transported in hooves. The grass
may also be controlled by pulling, preferably before it goes to seed, or use of
herbicides. The best stage for chemical
control is just as it starts to flower.
Where it has naturalized Japanese stiltgrass is a host plant for
satyr butterflies, including the endangered Mitchell's Satyr (Neonympha
mitchellii). This butterfly is known to
exist in Michigan so don’t remove Japanese Stiltgrass before consulting with
the DNR. The butterfly is also found in
other states, so it would be wise to contact your DNR before destroying
Japanese stiltgrass and possibly a federally endangered and protected butterfly
with it.
If you have read my blog before you know I don’t get too worked up
over non-native plants whose only harm seems to be “displacing” native plants.
Nature has been “displacing” plants for millenniums. If your state wants you to
report Japanese stiltgrass you may want to comply. You shouldn’t deliberately plant it. But don’t worry too much about it.
Oh, by the way, no edible or medicinal uses for the plant are
recorded. It’s not known if it’s toxic if eaten although one guy at least, said
he ate it without harm but it tasted bad.
Don’t eat it. It is used for
basket waving in Asia.
Milkweeds- Asclepias species
Growing
milkweed deliberately has become quite the thing recently. While there have been attempts in the past to
use parts of the plant commercially until recently it was generally considered
a nuisance weed and it’s toxic to livestock, so it was battled constantly. Now people are almost religiously defending
the plant.
I confess I
leave a few plants up by my deck so I can photograph monarchs. Our overgrown pasture is full of them since
we no longer have grazing animals, except deer.
(If it killed deer I’d plant more of it, but they don’t eat it.) But I always remove common milkweed from the
rest of my yard and don’t feel guilty about it.
It’s an aggressive spreader and will take over if you let it.
 |
| Common milkweed |
There are
about 140 species of milkweed in the Americas, mostly in North America. Some are rarely seen, others are extremely
common. Milkweeds are full of toxic
chemicals that many native insects have learned to exploit. Monarchs, (Danaus plexippus), aren’t
the only insects whose larvae use the toxins as protection from birds and other
animals. The milkweed beetle (Tetraopes tetraophtalmus), large milkweed
bug (Oncopeltus fasciatus), small milkweed bug (Lygaeus kalmii)
milkweed stem
weevil (Rhyssomatus lineaticollis), milkweed tiger moth (Euchaetes
egle) and milkweed leaf beetle (Labidomera clivicollis) all consume
milkweeds.
Milkweeds are
also an important nectar and pollen source for many bees, butterflies and
beetles. The monarch is not responsible for most pollination of milkweeds, nor
are honeybees, which are often trapped by the plants unusual flowers. Instead
heavier bumblebees and beetles and sometimes hummingbirds, pollinate the
milkweed flowers.
Species of milkweeds
Gardeners who
want to attract and help monarchs, as well as those interested in native plant
gardening or helping native pollinators often plant milkweeds. (If you keep honeybees you may want to avoid
planting milkweed nearby.) There are
several species of milkweed that are more easily found and used in gardening
and some milkweed cultivars have even been developed. Here are some of them.
Asclepias syriaca, common
milkweed, is also called butterfly flower, silkweed, silky swallow-wort, cotton
seed and Virginia silkweed. It grows
well in many areas of the US and is the species most attractive to monarchs. It’s a perennial native to the Eastern US and
southern Canada. It likes drier, well
drained soils in full sun. It’s
reasonably attractive in bloom.
This milkweed
grows about 3 feet high. The leaves are
broad and thick with a waxy upper surface and a white mid vein. The underside of the leaf is downy. The thick stems are hollow and exude the
typical milky sap if broken. The flowers
start in mid-summer and are pink-purple (rarely white) balls of small
individual flowers. They are fragrant.
Common
milkweed pods are fat teardrop shaped things with pale green surfaces covered
with hairs and soft spines. Inside are overlapping layers of brown seeds attached
to a bit of white fluff that carries them away when the pods open. The inside of the pod is shiny yellow and
smooth and sometimes used in dried flower arrangements. Pods can turn brown after the seeds disperse
and remain on the plant into winter.
Common
milkweed has a large, branching root system of thick fleshy roots. It spreads by roots and seeds and can take
over large areas.
Asclepias incarnata, is known as the swamp milkweed, rose milkweed, rose milkflower, swamp
silkweed, or white Indian hemp. It has
specialized roots that allow it to live in poorly drained areas. It prefers moist soil in sunny areas.
Swamp
milkweed has narrow blade shaped leaves. The flower clusters are a brighter
pink-purple but smaller than common milkweed and in looser clusters. The seed pods are narrow and rounded, more
pencil shaped than the fat pods of common milkweed. There are cultivars of this species.
 |
| Swamp milkweed Wikimedia commons |
Asclepias purpurascens, the purple milkweed is the milkweed to grow if you have a partly
shaded area. It prefers moist soil in
partial shade. The flowers start pink and turn a deeper purple. They are in small clusters. This milkweed rarely produces seed pods,
spreading by the root system instead.
When it produces pods, they are small and smooth.
Asclepias speciosa or showy milkweed is native to the western US. It has large round clusters of pale pink to
rosy purple flowers. The plant is
similar to common milkweed in most ways and needs well drained soil in a sunny
area. It’s probably the second most
favored larval plant for Monarchs. It’s
considered to be the least toxic of the milkweeds commonly cultivated and it
does not spread by cloning.
 |
| Showy milkweed Wikimedia commons |
Asclepias tuberosa is better known as butterfly weed and is one of the showiest
milkweeds. There are several named cultivars. The leaves of this plant are narrow, blade
shaped and arranged in a spiral around the stem. The flowers are a showy orange or red and
produced in upright facing clusters at the top of the plant. The plant needs full sun and well drained
soil.
While
butterfly weed attracts butterflies and hummingbirds to it’s nectar, it’s not
the preferred larval food for monarchs.
 |
| Butterfly weed |
Asclepias curassavica, also known as tropical milkweed or blood milkweed is a
very showy milkweed with crimson red flower clusters. There are named cultivars with other flower
colors too. However, it’s not hardy in
much of the US and it may actually be harmful to monarchs and possibly other butterflies.
It carries a parasite called Ophryocystis elektroscirrha (OE). When this is ingested by feeding butterfly
larvae it kills them. Experts are still
sorting out how prevalent and dangerous this is in garden plants. However, if you are wanting milkweed for
monarchs I would avoid this plant.
The tricky milkweed flower
One of the
interesting thing about milkweeds is their flowers. A milkweed flower has 5 parts in a “hood and
horn” type structure. Between the 5
parts of the flower are gaps, where a little sack of pollen called a pollinia awaits
a visitor. When an insect attracted by
nectar lands on a flower the feet of the insect slip into that gap. There they get the pollinia stuck to their feet.
When the
insect is ready to fly away it has to pull its feet and the heavy pollen bags
attached, out of the slit and this takes some strength. They then have to fly away, where hopefully
they will land on another milkweed flower and their feet will slip into another
slit, where the pollinia is scraped off and fertilizes that flower. Milkweed is
self-fertile, so the flowers can be on the same plant, but they need an insect
to move the pollinia from flower to flower.
That’s why
sturdy bumble bees and some beetles are the common pollinators of milkweeds. If you examine milkweed flowers you will
often find honeybees and other small insects trapped by milkweed, unable to
pull their feet out of the slits. Some
beekeepers remove milkweed near their hives. Butterflies seem to fare a bit better,
although they do sometimes get trapped.
Butterflies rarely carry pollinia away though and are not considered
good pollinators of milkweeds.
Growing milkweed
Milkweed can
be grown from seeds or started from root cuttings, or plants can be
divided. Gardeners can find plants in
pots in some nurseries. If you are going
to divide a plant, transplant a plant or take root cuttings the best time to do
so is early fall, planting the division, or cutting immediately and keeping it
well watered through fall and the next spring.
Potted plants can be planted in spring.
Milkweed
seeds need a period of cold stratification before they sprout. Collect the seeds in fall, place them between
damp paper towels and store for 2-3 months in the refrigerator. (You can clip off the fluff.) In spring take them out and press them
lightly into moist soil. Do not cover
them, they need light to germinate.
Transplant seedlings into the garden while still small.
You can also
plant the seeds in the fall where they are to grow or in pots left outside over
winter. If you put the seeds on the
ground lightly cover them with mulch so they won’t blow or wash away.
Managing milkweed for monarchs
If your
purpose for growing milkweed is to help monarch butterflies grow common
milkweed. The butterflies prefer to lay
eggs on tender young leaves. Therefore,
the plants should be cut back by about half from time to time, or at least part
of the plants cut back, and watered to encourage new growth. This may remove
flowers. You could grow other milkweeds nearby, or many other types of flowers,
so the adults have nectar sources and a place to lay eggs.
Stop cutting
back milkweed in August so the plants can make enough food to sustain them
through the winter. Don’t use pesticides on your milkweeds of course. A big patch of milkweed attracts more monarchs
than single plants.
Other uses for milkweed
Milkweed has
been used for a number of projects through the centuries. The stems contain 2% latex and every so often,
generally during rubber shortages, someone turns the sap into rubber. Tires have been made from it. However, the process is more expensive that
other ways of making rubber and commercial interest is limited.
The milkweed
seed fluff has been used as a down substitute, it has good insulating
qualities. The First People often used the seed fluff for insulating footwear
and infant swaddling. During WW2 it was used in life vests. Several Canadian
companies are producing milkweed commercially to make coat and outerwear
filling currently.
Milkweed
seeds have been compressed to make an oil which is high in cinnamic acid. This is being explored for use as a sunscreen
ingredient.
First People
(Native tribes) had a number of uses for milkweed medicinally. It had a
reputation among several tribes as a contraceptive, decreasing fertility. The sap was used on warts and ringworm. Decoctions
were used for several female problems, including mastitis, increasing milk flow
and preventing hemorrhage. It was used as a laxative.
Experimenting
with milkweeds in home remedies is not recommended as the plant is extremely
toxic and can cause death.
 |
| Common milkweed seed pod |
Toxicity of milkweed
All milkweeds and all parts of milkweed
are poisonous. Plants contain cardiac glycosides, resinoids, (galitoxin), and small
amounts of toxic alkaloids. Milkweed is
extremely toxic to livestock and farmers and ranchers always try to remove any
milkweed in animal pastures and from hay fields. The plant remains poisonous when dried and
found in hay. Animals prefer not to eat
the plant but will eat it when hungry or when its part of hay. This can cause severe illness and death.
It is true
that Native Americans sometimes ate parts of the plant in emergency situations,
but they understood it was toxic and did not eat the plant when other things
were available. There were various ways to try and remove some of the
toxins. It was NOT a delicacy nor a
favored plant, it was a survival food, when nothing else was available. We have
no idea what exposure to the toxins did over the long term.
The current
foraging movement has people using milkweed in various dishes, the young shoots
and the seed pods are usually what’s eaten.
This is a dangerous practice. And from most accounts the plant does not
even taste good. Modern medicine has found that detectable serum digoxin
concentrations are found in the blood after any consumption of the plants. While you may not feel sick immediately this
may have long term effects (like infertility). A little too much and dinner may
be the death of you. Here’s a story you can read about a guy who decided to eat
some milkweed pods and his medical adventures.
Symptoms of
milkweed poisoning include vomiting, diarrhea, severe seizures, coma,
bradycardia or tachycardia, heart arrhythmias, hypotension and hypothermia. Animals may get bloat or colic as well. https://extension.psu.edu/toxic-weed-milkweed
The sap of milkweed can cause severe
eye damage and blindness. Gardeners
should take care when handling the plants not to get the milky sap in the
eyes. Wash your hands after handling the
plants. Don’t rub sweat off your face
when near plants, especially if they are broken or you have pruned them. Keep
children and pets from playing with the plants.
If you get sap in the eyes seek medical help immediately.
Milkweeds are
easy to grow native plants that many people want to include in their gardens to
help monarchs and attract other pollinators.
As long as you respect and understand the plants toxic qualities it
should be fine to include them in the garden.
Lemonade pie
This recipe
is quick and doesn’t require cooking. It’s
an excellent hot day dessert. You can
make this with frozen orange juice concentrate or any other flavor concentrate
also.
Ingredients
1- 6 oz. can
frozen lemonade mix, thawed
1 can
sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon lemon
zest
1- 8 oz. tub
of whipped topping or 3 cups of heavy cream, whipped
1 stick butter,
melted
2 cups of finely
crushed lemon sugar cookies (or vanilla wafers)
Directions
Blend
together the cookie crumbs and butter.
Press mixture
firmly into the bottom and sides of a large pie pan.
Freeze 20
minutes, while you whip up the rest of the pie.
Blend
together the milk, lemonade, zest, and whipped topping or cream.
Pour into the
crust.
Freeze until
firm, about an hour.
Thaw slightly
before serving.
“Dirty fingernails and a calloused palm
precede a Green Thumb."
- Michael P. Garofalo,
Pulling Onions
Kim Willis
And So On….
Find Michigan garden events/classes
here:
(This
is the Lapeer County Gardeners facebook page)
Newsletter/blog information
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 blog 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. 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
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
No comments:
Post a Comment