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Tuesday, August 14, 2018

August 14, 2018 Kim’s Weekly Garden Blog


Hi Gardeners
Viceroy butterfly on tithonia
I talk a lot about weather, I think most gardeners and farmers do.  It seems to me that instead of modern technology making the weather easier to predict that lately weather prediction is chancy at best.  Maybe it’s climate change but I get aggravated when I check the weather forecast before bed and then when I wake up find that the forecast has completely changed.   I know better than to look more than a day or two ahead, because the forecast will change every day, you can count on it.
Is it me or do other people notice that the weather forecast seems to have become very unreliable?  Maybe it’s because we have too much information and every tiny shift in the wind causes a new prediction for the weather.  Maybe it is the weird weather patterns we have been experiencing from melting polar ice and global warming.  I don’t know but to me it seems weather forecasting has become very unreliable from what it was, say 10 years before.
Well today it’s warm and overcast here.  It’s dry again, we missed any rain that passed through spots in Michigan since a week ago. With a soil deficit of about 2 inches still that rain is long gone.  It’s supposed to rain tomorrow and Thursday but like I said, who knows if that forecast will change.
We had some very delicious new potatoes for dinner this week.  I didn’t even plant them, they popped up on their own and I got about 10 pounds from 3-4 plants, a good harvest in a dry year. My vegetable garden is a sorry sight this year.  We had a couple very tiny ears of corn, maybe we will get some more from the later variety.  My tomatoes are producing pretty well but rapidly succumbing to blight. The peppers had some nice fruit earlier, now they are just sitting there, not making new fruit.  The cucumbers aren’t producing well at all and the cukes we got were bitter.
My husband tells me a few of our grapes are ripening, he keeps a close eye on them. However, they are out of the range of the hose and the grapes are very small this year.  The blackberries are ripening but the crop is very small.  The deer have eaten all the apples off the trees as high as they can reach and they too are small this year.
In the flower beds Ligularia dentata , the daisy ligularia is beginning to bloom.  The hosta Aphrodite, which has huge, white fragrant flowers is in bloom.  The Jamaican Lady of the Night (Brunfelsia jamaicensis) on the porch has a single, very fragrant flower.  My tropical hibiscus plants are blooming abundantly and most of the annuals are still showy.  The dahlias are in full bloom and my tall red canna, variety unknown, that sits in the ornamental pond has some huge scarlet flowers.
 
Hosta Aphrodite
Goldenrod is beginning to bloom and the Jewelweed got enough rain that it is blooming here and there, much to the hummingbirds’ delight.  They love those tiny flowers. The Rose of Sharon plants are also in bloom.
What isn’t blooming yet is many of my potted bulbs, peacock orchids, rain lilies, ground orchids and crocosmia.  The plants look good, they just aren’t blooming.  I don’t know why- maybe the late spring.
You’ll notice that the blog is still in newsletter format.  All of the replies that I got about changing the blog to regular blog format told me they liked this format better.  So, for now anyway, that’s how it will be.

Tips on plant ID
It used to be that the average person could identify dozens of plants from cultivated ones to weeds.  Now many people can only identify a few plants, even if they see those plants on a regular basis. It’s because identifying plants has become less important to us, we don’t need to know which plant is friend or foe, and many don’t grow or forage their own foods and medicine.  But for gardeners identifying plants is still important.
There are whole sites on social media devoted to identifying plants and many other garden sites also spend a lot of time with users helping each other identify plants.  There’s nothing wrong with that, experienced people helping others is a great way for all to learn. But the amount of false answers to plant identification on many sites simply astonishes me. 
And on social media sites the person who asked for the identification has to shift through the answers and decide who is the knowledgeable person/ people giving the correct answer. Hint- use the ID with the most likes or that is given the most but realize even that may not be right.  It helps to use sites devoted to plant ID and not just general garden sites.
Asking for someone else to identify a plant is the easy way out and you won’t learn as much as if you try to ID it yourself.  There’s nothing wrong with asking for help if you try and can’t ID the plant or if you want to get a second opinion to reassure you, but at least try to make your own ID first.  You can do it! It may be hard to know where to start but that’s what this article is about, getting started. And when you do get an answer identifying your plant from a picture or specimen write it down and keep that picture properly labeled to help you in the future.
Every gardener should know the basics of plant identification.  You should certainly be able to identify every plant in your garden, even after the plant labels are lost.  Nobody knows every plant on sight though, and even when you think you know what a plant is you can be fooled by an atypical specimen or more likely, a blurry picture. (Or your old mind gets fuzzy.) But there are some things you can observe on a plant you don’t recognize that will help you identify it correctly.

What to observe

Many plants look very similar when you first look at them. That’s the problem of those programs where you snap a picture on your phone and then the program identifies it.  Unless more information is put into that program from observing the plant, that ID could very well be incorrect.  The more things you can match from a reference description and the plant in hand the more likely you will have a correct identification.  So, observe the plant you want to identify carefully.
Good reference books or reference sites will list certain things that help determine one plant species from another.  These are; the type of leaves, (simple or compound), leaf shape, the leaf edges, whether leaves are hairy or not, leaf color and the way leaves are arranged on the stem. Flower size, shape and color are important. These are the things you should be observing.
Observe stem size, color, shape and whether it’s hairy, woody, or has thorns or tendrils. Does the plant grow upright, or does it climb or sprawl on the ground?  The seed pod, seeds or fruit shape, size and color help ID it.  Things like plant size, the type of roots, when the plant blooms, what it smells like, what type of sap it has when stems are broken, and where the plant is growing, (sun or shade, wet or dry) can help ID it too. 
While a professional botanist will get very detailed and may use words to describe shapes, edges, or other parts that you don’t recognize, most people can look at a plant description in a reference and get a feel for what is being discussed.  If you don’t understand a word, look it up.  Many references are made for the average person and use words like heart-shaped instead of cordate.  In a blog earlier this year covering plant biology, I discuss some terminology for plant leaf shapes, edges and arrangement that you may want to review.

All of the things you might need to identify a plant may not be there, especially if you are looking at an immature specimen or a picture.  If you aren’t collecting a specimen, and many times you can’t or shouldn’t collect the plant, jot down your observations and try to take a good clear, close picture. (Some cameras allow you to record voice observations for notes.)
While flowers are very important in identification try to also get pictures of the whole plant, and a close picture of the leaves and stems. Pictures can help you identify a plant later, instead of relying on memory and they are necessary if you are trying to get others to help you ID a plant.
It sounds silly but make sure the leaves and stems shown belong to the plant whose flower you may be trying to identify.  I’ve seen flower stems grow up through other plants and the viewer assumes the plant right below the flower is the plant that produced it.  That can lead to a difficult ID.
Blurry pictures, and pictures from a great distance that don’t show individual plant features are not good identification tools. When asking other people to help you identify a plant from a picture include those observations you should have jotted down that I listed above. And don’t expect accurate ID from those blurry pictures or pictures taken from 300 feet away unless you also have very accurate descriptive notes.
A really great way to get a good, detailed picture of a plant is to use a flat bed scanner.  Place the plant on the scanner bed with the leaf surfaces or flower facing down.  Some flowers may be a little distorted by the pressure of the scanner cover and tubular flowers will show a flattened image.  You can place a shallow box over the specimen on the scanner bed instead of using the cover to help this a bit.  The scanner will capture a life size image of your specimen.  To make the details even more visible you can place a piece of dark cloth or paper on top of the specimen before closing the scanner cover.
If you are going to collect a specimen for ID try to get as many different plant parts as possible.  A single flower may be fine for an ID in some cases but a flower, leaves and stem and even a seed pod would be better.  To store a specimen, you could put it in a vase with water for a short time, or you could press it. To press a flower/plant put it between some plain white paper towels and put something heavy on it for a week or so.  The color is lost or faded in many pressed specimens so note the original color before pressing.
When collecting specimens remember it’s illegal to collect some wildflowers.  If you don’t know what you are collecting this could be a problem. Take pictures instead.  Avoid taking the only plant in an area.  If possible leave the roots of the plant and most of the foliage. If the plant is on private property you should ask before removing it.  Most public gardens don’t allow people to collect specimens and if you ask a caretaker they can probably ID the plant for you.
Your search for ID
You can use picture match features of many browser programs to begin an ID (or just flip through books), but when you find a picture you think matches go a bit further and look up a formal description of the plant to see how many features you can match with your specimen.  If you think you might know the identity start by looking up that plant and comparing a good description to the specimen.
If you have no picture, only descriptive notes and your memory, try typing the description in a search box and see what you get.  Type “small creeping plant with blue daisy flowers” for example and see what you get.  (I got Felicia amelloides- Blue Marguerite, Phlox stolonifera- Creeping phlox,  Ceratostigma plumbaginoides- plumbago, Anemone blanda- windflower when I sifted through the results).  One of those might help identify the plant. 
With this method you might get lucky quickly or need to sift through dozens of hits and find nothing.  Try different word combinations for plant characteristics in the search box and use the advance search options to narrow the search results.  Using quote marks as in “small creeping plant with blue flowers” may help.  You then take the names you come up with and look up the plants images and description to see if they match your specimen.
Many of the hits that pop up from an online search may be from plant catalogs. These may describe growth habits or flower color but not describe things like leaves very carefully.  You can often use that description to find a scientific name though, and then look that up.
Using books for ID
 Plant identification books have been around for a long time.  While on line searches could be faster gardeners may want to keep some reference books on hand also.  Even garden catalogs can be good places to find a plant ID on cultivated plants. 
Each reference book may have a different way to make searching for an ID easier.  Read the book and familiarize yourself on how it is organized. Some use flower color, plant bloom time, or plant habitat (wetlands, desert and so on) to help narrow searches.  I prefer books with good color pictures, but good drawings can also be helpful.  Unlike some reference books good plant identification references don’t go out of date and old books you may find in resale stores can still be useful.
You may need several books, as covering all types of plants in one book is next to impossible.  You’ll probably need books for trees, wildflowers, weeds, and ornamental plants.  You may want one for herbs used medicinally or food plants.
Some books I like are: Weeds of the Northeast- Uva, Neal and DiTomaso,  Armitages Manual of Annuals, Bi-annuals and Half Hardy Perennials,  Armitages Garden Perennials , Armitage's native plants for North American gardens, Dirr's Encyclopedia of Trees and Shrubs (Michael Dirr), Manual of woody landscape plants- Michael A. Burstein, Trees of North America: A Guide to Field Identification-Brockman, Revised and Updated, North American Wildlife- Readers Digest, Houseplant Expert-Hessayon, Newcombs Wildflower Guide-(Newcomb).
Any of the Golden Field guide books and the Peterson field guide books are great resources and cover various geographical areas and types of plants like wildflowers or grasses or trees and so on.  There are often very specialized ID books for your state.  Check with your county Extension office for publications they may have for your state.
Using common names can be confusing in plant identifications.  Although you may want to know the common name use the scientific name if possible when looking up plant identification characteristics. For example, if you think you are looking at ground ivy, look up the scientific name for it, Glechoma hederacea.  Then look at the identifying characterizations given for that plant and compare it to yours.  If they don’t match, ground ivy could be the common name for another plant or you don’t have ground ivy at all. 
If I am identifying a plant you have in your hand I could give it any common name I can come up with, and I’ve seen pranksters do that.  So, a good gardener will always look up the scientific name of a plant that’s been identified with a common name.  Most references will give a number of common names along with the scientific one.  You don’t have to use the scientific name, but you will at least know exactly what plant species you have.  Every plant has only one true name and that’s the scientific one.
When you identify a plant for someone else, unless it’s a very common plant with a pretty universal common name, think tulip or dandelion, try to give that person both a common name and a scientific one. 
There are many cultivars (or varieties) of common garden plants.  Sometimes people want the cultivar name of a plant.  This can be quite tricky, especially from a photo.  If someone is a collector of that plant species and the cultivar is distinctive they may be able to do it.  But for species like hosta, daylilies, roses, iris and many others that have hundreds of cultivars, identifying a cultivar can be quite hard.  Identifying a fruit cultivar from a picture, such as an apple, can also be hard and not very accurate.
Never, ever, taste or eat plants that you can’t positively identify.  If a person or pet has eaten a plant that you can’t identify don’t waste time on line or flipping through books trying to ID it.   Do gather as many plant parts remaining as you can for ID and take some good pictures. Call poison control or go to an emergency room, especially if any symptoms of poisoning are apparent and bring the specimens or pictures with you. Those experts will know who to contact for ID if they can’t ID the plant.
If you have to do a little sleuthing to identify a plant, you are more likely to remember it in the future.  You’ll be proud of yourself and on the way to becoming a plant identification expert.  So, give it a try on the picture below.
Descriptive notes include, native to the northeastern US,( cheating) a scrambler or vine, pink dangling balloon/ bell type flowers in small clusters in late spring, leaves compound, alternate attachment, leaflets are lobed, found in partial shade, moist areas.  I'll give the answer next week or you can email me and ask if you got it right.


 Jobs in horticulture

If you are in high school or college or an adult looking to change careers why not consider a job in the field of horticulture? If you are reading this, you probably like gardening and plants so why not do what you love?  Every year a wide range of jobs in horticulture go unfilled and that is not including agricultural positions harvesting food crops. The future of jobs in the field looks like it will only grow. 
Jobs in horticulture include a wide range of things including: highly technical research and product development positions, teaching and consulting, pest and disease diagnostic technicians, inspection and quality control, environmental protection specialists, greenhouse management, turf management of sports fields and golf courses, arborists, landscape design, floral design, and working in landscaping or as a professional gardener in public or private gardens. 
According to the USDA there’s a 3 % growth in horticultural production each year and ornamental horticulture is the fastest growing segment of that growth. If you like plants and have an interest in a job that involves them that’s good news.  And while the US government doesn’t track this growth, (and it overlaps with agriculture), there’s tremendous growth in the area of marijuana production and the development of medical and other products from the crop.
As more states legalize marijuana, and hopefully the federal government finally becomes convinced of its safety and legalizes it on a federal level, the need for people with horticultural degrees should greatly increase.  The marihuana industry has become very scientific in its approach to production and high paying research and development jobs are already available and should only increase.
How do you get a horticultural degree?
It used to be that most states had horticultural and agricultural degree programs at their land grant universities.  Land grant universities were given land and federal and state money to educate people in the newest and best practices of horticulture and agriculture (and those are now considered different fields). Then through a system of county Extension offices, educators were to be available at the local level to pass that information to the public.  The 4-H and Master Gardener programs are part of that Extension system.
(Agriculture is generally considered to be the process of producing food crops and animals.  It also includes fiber, bio-fuels and timber or Christmas tree production. Horticulture generally includes ornamental plants, turf grass, and landscaping.  Environmental protection and management are also lumped with horticulture in many places.)
Today only about a third of the 54 land grant universities have a separate horticultural degree program.  But you can still get a degree that will help you in a horticulture field at most land grant universities, it’s just a little more complicated.  Some agricultural degrees easily qualify one for good horticultural jobs and the opposite is also true- horticultural degrees can be used for many agricultural jobs. Some other public and private colleges also offer degrees in horticulture fields and even some high schools offer ag and horticultural training. 
I was lucky to work in a county with a good high school vocational school where things like floral arrangement, greenhouse management, and landscaping are taught as well as crop and livestock management skills. Most students go on to pursue college degrees in horticulture and ag sciences.  But the courses may be enough to allow students better access to some horticultural jobs.
The Master Gardener Program offered in many states is not considered job training and it varies widely from state to state and even county to county as to how well the programs are ran and what they teach.  Some places like greenhouses needing seasonal help might consider the course sufficient training for the job.  Master Gardener classes are good for people to understand and solve their own garden issues and possibly inspire people to go on and get more horticultural education.
People with horticultural degrees and /or vocational training are highly sought after, with more jobs than qualified applicants in most areas. If you are a young person looking for a career field or even an older person looking to change careers, consider horticulture.

Fragrant tulips
It’s time to start thinking about ordering fall bulbs if you haven’t done so. Why not order some fragrant tulips?  Tulips don’t always return as well as daffodils and some minor bulbs and they are deer candy but to me they are worth planting.  I like the fragrant varieties as they give double pleasure in the spring.  Many fragrant tulips are orange or orange-red blends but there are a few other colors.  There are some fragrant doubles and fragrant tulips come in early, mid and late season bloomers.
 
Tulip Angelique 
Here are some fragrant tulip varieties that I know of, there are others out there: Abigail, Abba, Aafke, Ad Rem, Angelique, Apricot Beauty, Ballerina,  Beauty Queen, Brown Sugar, Christmas Marvel,  Coleur Cardinal, Dillenburg, General de Wet, Keizerskroon, Little Beauty, Monsella, Moulin Rouge, Oranjezon, Orange Favorite,  Orange Beauty, Orca, Peach Melba, Peach Blossom, Prince of Austria, Princess Irene, Purissima, Rococo, Schoonoord, West Point.
Good places to find these tulips – and now is the time to buy them- are Old House Gardens, http://www.oldhousegardens.com/  McClure and Zimmerman, http://www.mzbulb.com/  and Van Bourgondien http://www.dutchbulbs.com/   Order soon to get the best variety.  You can plant tulips until the ground freezes but in zones 5-6 early October is a good time to plant them.  You need to order them soon to get them by then.

Common reed (Phragmites australis),

The Common Reed is found along roadsides and ditches, wetlands and even in shallow flowing water.  It is often mistaken for Pampas grass, which is not hardy below zone 7 and doesn’t usually spread into the wild.  Phragmites is a perennial grass that returns each spring, forming large colonies over the years.  It prefers sunny areas with damp or wet soil. Phragmites are found throughout most of the world in wet areas.  It can stand brackish water where rivers and wetlands meet the sea.
Is it a native plant or invasive species? Phragmites is interesting because it represents something biologists are just recognizing, the spread of foreign genotypes which look similar to native species and therefore often go unrecognized.  Phragmites australis subsp. americanus, or Common Reed, is a native to the Americas. The subspecies that was here before colonization has subtle differences from the European species that can be difficult for the average person to determine.



Native species are usually smaller and have a reddish stem.  However, it’s important to remember that the native common reed is only a sub species of common reed and it’s very similar genetically to the reed considered invasive. Growing conditions may greatly influence how those small differences are expressed. Here’s a resource that explains the differences but it’s my guess that the average person won’t do a good job identifying the differences. 
Before the 1900’s common reed was a relatively uncommon species in North America, confined to marshy lands along both the east and west coast.  In the 1900’s they began to rapidly expand their range across the U.S.  and became much more prevalent in wet areas everywhere.  This was probably when the European species was introduced into North America.  It is thought that the European species is hardier and more aggressive in colonizing new areas. It’s also possible (likely) that we changed the environmental conditions that favor the European species genetic differences so it’s more successful.
People who fret over invasive species think that the non-native common reeds should be eliminated, citing the oft claimed theory that they decrease diversity and crowd out native plants. They will cause wetlands to dry up faster and succeed to meadows.  They produce a lot of biomass as well as using the water in the wet area. But a big reason the reeds are disliked is because they take over beaches and boat launch sites and hide pretty views.  They ruin what people think the environment should look like. 
Many marsh and wading birds nest in both native and non-native common reed stands, including the red winged blackbird.  Stands of common reed can help stop shore erosion.  Native people around the world had many uses for the plant. The reed is the subject of many tales and fables and woven into the oral and written history of man.  It’s not likely we will ever eradicate it from the US.
Description
The Common Reed looks like a large sturdy grass plant, which it is. It’s a perennial grass, hardy all over the US.  They can grow to over 15 feet high in good conditions.  Long, strap like leaves with a rough feel are attached alternately along the stem. At the junction of leaf and stem clusters of tiny hairs are seen. Plants range from bluish green to yellow green in color.
Typical panicle type grass flowers are produced in summer. The seed heads have tufts of filaments on each seed which gives them a hairy, fluffy appearance as the seed heads mature.  These picturesque seed plumes can persist all winter and are excellent for dried flower arrangements.  They are a purplish gray in early fall that fades to silver gray. 
Despite the lavish seed heads Phragmites rarely has fertile seed.  It spreads primarily through the root system.  Small pieces of the roots carried on farm equipment or shoes or washed down creeks can begin plants in new locations.  If you are a gardener who wants some on your property, despite the invasive claims, all you need to do is get a few pieces of rhizome to plant.  It needs a consistently moist sunny location to grow and it will spread.
Control
The native species of common reed and the invasive species can grow in the same area.  This will make it extremely difficult to control one without eliminating the other.  In many places you need a permit to remove them especially if the control method will alter the wetlands they grow in. 
In other countries common reed is often controlled by allowing animals to graze it or by mowing. Goats like common reed and are fairly easy on the environment.  Burning the grass in the fall when it’s dry every year can control it. A certified pesticide applicator has several chemical controls that can be used.  All of these methods are not selective and other things in the wetlands will be impacted. Homeowners should not attempt to use pesticides on wetland areas.
Other uses of common reed
Common reed is a good plant to consider for phytoremediation, the absorption of toxic chemicals and things like oil in wetlands.  The plants are harvested and removed or burnt to dispose of the toxins.  Common reeds help stabilize coastal areas and protect inland areas from the effects of flooding and rising water levels.  This will become very important in the future.
For foragers, good news, common reed is edible.  The shoots are cooked when young and eaten like asparagus.  The leaves can be eaten when cooked also. Seeds are gathered and pounded into a flour, which is generally used with other seed flours.  Stems can exude a sweet sap which is collected and rolled into balls to eat.  Roots can be boiled and eaten. Powdered dried stems are moistened and when expanded, roasted like marshmallows.  Common reed stems are about 5% sugar and can actually be boiled down to produce a sugar, like maple sugar.  It is said to have a licorice taste.
Domestic animals can graze on common reed and it’s quite nutritious for them.  It can be dried for hay or bedding.
Medicinal uses of common reed also exist.  A decoction of the flowers was used to treat food poisoning. The ashes of burned leaves were used as a styptic and to prevent infections in wounds.  Poultices were used to treat genital warts. The roots have diuretic and sedative properties.   The sap is used for bad breath and mouth problems and for indigestion.   There are no known toxic qualities of common reed.
Common reed has been used for building and weaving for thousands of years. It’s used to thatch roofs, bundled and used to build boats and even huts.  It’s woven into matts and baskets and turned into paper. Sturdy stems were made into musical instruments, arrows and fishing poles.
It’s a shame that there is such a war on a plant that has been useful to man for thousands of years in almost all cultures. It would be far better to recognize its helpful properties and harvest it instead of destroying it.

Instant pickles

Here’s a recipe I am asked about from time to time.  It’s not really instant but it is quick.  It’s great for when you just have a couple cucumbers.  You’ll be surprised how much like a pickle this recipe tastes.
Ingredients
2 thinly sliced and peeled cucumbers
1/2 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup cold water
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1 dill flower or a few chopped dill leaves

Directions
Combine everything in a bowl and let marinate in the refrigerator for 15-minutes to an hour.  It can sit longer but the longer it sits the saltier the cukes become.  Discard after 1 day.

Have you looked for meteors this week?  You can still see them.
Kim Willis

And So On….

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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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