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Tuesday, February 19, 2019

February 19, 2019 Kim’s Weekly Garden Blog


Hi Gardeners,
Some day soon.
The moon was beautiful last night. It was a super full moon – a moon that is very close to the earth as today is moon perigee.  It’s called the snow moon or full cold moon and it sure was bright reflected off the snow last night.  I thought at first I had left the porch light on it was so well lit up outside.  Because it was so clear it was also really cold out there, 2 below zero here.  I stayed inside and looked out the window, although it would have been nice to wander in the moonlight that bright.

I might have been able to scare the deer that have been destroying my shrubs had I wandered outside.  I saw 5 of them in our old pasture a few days ago.  They have eaten my arborvitae as high as they can reach and the euonymus is once again a skeleton.  I didn’t use any solar twinkling lights this year except for 1 strand and it got pushed down.  I had netting around everything, but they pushed it down or ate through it. 
I went out about noon today and there was a big doe standing in the pasture eating on an apple tree.  At her feet was one of my traitorous cats rubbing around her feet. That’s really bold. And the cat thing was rather weird. I yelled at her and she took off.  They get no food here other than my landscape, but they seem to like it here really well.
I am worried the deer will really destroy my tulips and other things that may be coming up soon.  Where I covered the beds with netting last year the spring plants were spared but seeing how they did the netting this winter makes me wonder if it will help to cover the bulbs.  I hate those big rats.
Only 28 days until spring- calendar spring anyway. We are expecting a warm up into the 40’s this weekend – maybe it will melt the snow we have now and the ice that’s expected tomorrow. And then the snow won’t return for a long time- like next year- hopefully.
Inside one of my amaryllis is almost ready to bloom.  It’s been taking a long time it seems like for the buds to open.  I picked another lemon off the lemon tree this week.  Blooms inside are few, the plants may pick up bloom again now that I have resumed fertilizing and we are having a little more sun.  Those geraniums on the porch are still blooming though.
Tomorrow I will be checking my stored bulbs to see how they are doing.  If you have things like dahlias stored away make sure to check them soon to see if they need a little moisture.  If they are shriveled put just a little water on your packing material.  Another month and I will be potting them up to get them started.
How will your climate change in the future?
Climate change is a fact, no matter what your beliefs are on what caused it.  We know from history that climate often changes the fate of civilizations and is the cause of migrations to new areas.  We are experiencing a warming of our climate in general but that doesn’t mean everywhere on earth will become warmer all the time.  Instead the warming of the polar areas will cause polar ice to melt and the seas to warm and this affects our weather patterns.
We are seeing extreme weather conditions now and they will probably get worse before things settle down to some new normal.  More rain, more storms, more droughts, wide swings of temperature, all are part of climate change.  Will our species survive?  You and I probably won’t be around to find out.  But scientist have been able to predict with some accuracy what the climate will be like a few decades from now.  Your kids may be around to see this.
The University of Maryland’s Environmental Science program has put together a website that predicts future climate in your area.  You can click a location near you on the map and see what your climate will be like in 60 years.  I clicked on Flint, Michigan, the closest listed city near me, and found that in 60 years it should feel like what the weather in Chester, Pennsylvania feels like now.  That will be 10 degrees warmer in winter and 94% wetter than it is now.  Chester, Pennsylvania will feel like New South Memphis, Tennessee and it will be hotter and drier.
Some places will be drier, some wetter than they are now but most will be warmer.  In general, your climate will be like that 300-500 miles south of you now.  Does that mean the growing zones will change?  Probably. But maybe not as much as it would seem since hardiness maps are made on the average low winter temperature.  Erratic weather may allow for areas to get colder in winter than what would be expected from summer temperatures.  Just look at the snow falling in Los Angeles and Hawaii this year.
You can access the interactive map to see what changes your area can expect and find out how the map was made by going here; www.umces.edu/futureurbanclimates

New aloe discovered- Aloe sanginalis,
It’s amazing that we still find new species of plants, and this one wasn’t even hiding, it was just overlooked for centuries.  A Somali environmentalist, Ahmed Awale, was driving through the countryside when he noticed patches of an odd but showy aloe growing along the road. He thought it different from other aloes in the country.  Later he was able to get a botanist, Mary Barkworth, to go back with him to examine the plant.
The people in the area knew the plant and they called it "Dacar cas" or red aloe. But science had never formally examined or classified the plant.  After study, it was found to be a distinct species and was given a scientific name.
This aloe has reddish leaves when mature that make it stand out, but its distinction is a blood red sap that flows from it when broken.  It also has red flowers. It’s now been found in two places in Somalia but its suspected there are other places where it grows. 
Could this be the newest rage in houseplants?  I can see the common name here- Blood aloe.  Someone needs to hop on a plane and go collect some.

Dodder
Dodder flower
wikipedia
If you come out to your garden one day and find that something seems to have woven your plants together with a golden string you may have found dodder.  While dodder cannot be considered a welcome guest in the garden, it is one of the most interesting plants you may come across. Get a good look at it if you can before you destroy it.
Dodder is the common name for plants of the Cuscuta genus of which there are about 170 species, many native to the US. Only 1% of flowering plants are parasitic and the Cuscuta genus represents many of them. These plants have a host of common names besides dodder including wizard's net, devil's guts, strangle tare, witch's hair, hellbine, pull-down, strangleweed, angel hair, scaldweed, beggarweed,[3] lady's laces, and goldthread.
There are many native species of dodder in North America and species have also been introduced from other places in the world.  They are hard to identify unless you are an expert.  The leafless, usually gold or red stringy stems twined around other plants and not connected to the ground are the diagnostic clue.
Some native species include Cuscuta campestris, with the common names field dodder or golden dodder, Cuscuta pentagona, the fiveangled dodder, Cuscuta gronovii, common dodder, which is found in all but 5 of the 50 states and cuscuta compacta, compact dodder which is very common in the northeastern states in wet areas.
Dodder is related to the Morning Glory family and you may recognize the relationship when you see the plant twined around other plants in the garden.  Unlike morning glories and bindweed, the leaves of dodder have become almost invisible, they exist as tiny scales along the string-like stems. These stems range from pale green to golden or red depending on the dodder species.  Most have colorful stems and you can notice their presence on green plants easily.
Without leaves you may guess that dodder would have a hard time making its own food. Dodder has very little chlorophyll, the food factories of most plants.  To survive dodder has replaced normal plant roots with a specialized root system called haustoria. They have no roots connected to the soil.
Dodder
Lichert, US Forest Service
These specialized haustoria roots grow out along the stem where it is entwined with the stem of another plant.  They burrow into the stems of the poor host plant like other plants roots burrow into soil.  One type of haustoria burrows into the xylem, the water carrying vascular tissue, and the other type burrows into the phloem, the food carrying vascular tissue.  Now the dodder has everything it needs to survive, sucking food and water from the plant it has attacked.
Dodder is an annual plant in North America.  It starts out each season germinating from a tiny seed at the base of what hopefully will be its host plant.  Dodder seeds need to have the seed coat damaged (scarified)by weathering, fungus or animals before they can germinate. The seeds may get to your garden in a variety of ways, they are carried by waterfowl feet, in hay and straw, and in the hair and on the feet of animals.  The seeds can remain in soil for up to 10 years waiting for the right time to germinate.
Once they germinate in spring, they send up that threadlike stem searching for a host.  They are attracted to hosts both by the scents the plants give off and by far red light that is reflected from plants and which they can sense.  If they can’t find a host plant in about 10 days they will die. 
Some species of dodder specialize, accepting only one host species but many will attack a variety of hosts.  They prefer host plants with sturdy, upright stems in most cases. Alfalfa, soybeans, clover, lespedeza, blueberries, viburnum, holly, dahlias, chrysanthemum, tomatoes, potatoes, elderberries, trumpet vine, asters, eupatorium, helenium, petunias, and many young tree species are just some of the host species affected.
Once they begin sucking nutrients from their hosts the dodder plants grow rapidly, covering the original host and often reaching out and literally connecting it to nearby plants.  Their haustoria unite the vascular systems of any plants they span. Sometimes this is beneficial to some degree, such as passing along chemical signals a plant under insect attack produces, allowing connected plants to have an early warning system.  But it is also harmful because diseases a plant may get are easily passed through the vascular systems of connected plants.
Once well-nourished and mature the dodder can produce flowers. This usually happens in summer and early fall, timing depends on the species.   These flowers are tiny, usually bowl shaped and produced in clusters along the stem.  Most are white but some species have pink or lavender flowers. They are pollinated by insects, tiny wasps and gnats are some pollinators. The flowers then turn into small pea-sized fruits the same color as the stem.  Those fruits produce lots of seeds to start the next generation.

Dodder Control

Dodder harms plants by weakening them and the binding together of plants may cause some plant parts to be shaded or prevent flowers from opening.  Dodder infected plants are more susceptible to disease. Dodder can kill the host plants it covers simply by smothering and starving them.  Dodder is considered a serious agricultural pest in some areas and certainly are not the best plant to share space in your garden.  But dodder control can be extremely difficult.
You can’t apply weed killers to the dodder plants unless you are willing to also kill the plants they are attached to.  Remember they now share a vascular system with those plants and pesticides will be transmitted from the dodder to the host plant. If you pull the dodder stems off host plants tiny pieces are usually left where haustoria went into the host plant.  These will quickly regrow new stems.  Control generally means pulling and disposing of the host plants with the dodder on them.  Make sure you get all the plants the dodder is attached to.
If the host plant can be cut back to the ground and regrow or has a tuberous root like dahlias, removing the above ground parts with the dodder may get rid of it and spare the host.
 It’s not recommended that dodder plants and the attached host plants be composted unless you are sure the dodder has not produced any fruits. The seeds are not killed by composting and if you use the compost in the garden you will spread those seeds. The best defense against dodder is to quickly recognize it when it is young, before it flowers, and dispose of it and any plants it is attached to.
Dodder is not considered to be a poisonous plant, but some people have reported colic symptoms in horses after they ate it and digestive problems in cattle have been reported also.  It is not recommended as an edible plant.
Dodder has some uses in folk remedies, it was used for liver and urinary tract problems, but no scientific studies have been done.  Dodder is also said to be a laxative.
If you see dodder in the garden, you probably should remove it before it goes to seed or kills your other plants.  In the wild dodder is a native part of the ecosystem and should be left alone.  It promotes diversity by controlling the growth of saplings and other plants that might dominate an ecosystem.

Should you start plants inside from seed?

Many new gardeners want to start plants from seed because they want the experience of growing things from seed.  But many others believe they will save money if they grow from seed or that starting plants from seed is what good gardeners are supposed to do.  Let’s get two things straight right here, it’s not always cheaper to start plants from seed and many great gardeners prefer to buy seedlings or plants rather than start seeds.
I don’t want to discourage anyone from starting seeds if that’s something they really, really want to do.  Many times, new gardeners are just eager to get started and growing something inside satisfies the itch.  There are some experienced gardeners that feel they must control every step of plant production too. But before you start those seeds inside there are things to consider.
Besides the purchase price of seeds, you’ll need potting medium and containers.  The cost of a packet of seeds is probably about the cost of a 6 pack of plants at your local nursery. If you have a greenhouse, you’ll probably still need supplemental lighting in the northern part of the country, and you may need heat or heated pads.  If you don’t have a greenhouse even southern windowsills probably won’t produce the strongest plants and grow lights will be needed.  Electric bills will go up.   
And if you want 6 different types of peppers the expense mounts rapidly.  Of course, you don’t have to start all the seeds, but most people start far more plants than they need when they use seeds.  That takes a lot of space, and more grow lights.
Instead you could go to a good greenhouse and pick out 6 types of peppers.  Many greenhouses now sell individually potted plants, so you won’t need to buy 4-6 plants of each type.  Even if your only option is to buy a pack of 4-6 plants of the same variety that’s probably a lot less excess than a packet of seeds will produce and about the same cost as 6 packs of seed.
Growing failures are common when people start seeds inside.  Maybe all the seedlings succumbed to dampening off, a fungal disease.  Maybe the cat laid on top of the seedlings or the toddler knocked everything off the table.  Now you may be forced to buy your plants anyway after investing all that time and money. And even if cost isn’t a factor to you, there are other reasons to buy started plants or plant seeds outside in the garden. 

Begonias in a greenhouse

Inside or outside?
When you think of the vegetable garden there are many crops that should be started from seed right in the spot they are to grow. This is true for root crops like carrots, radishes and beets, which don’t like transplanting and also for things like corn, peas, and beans which can be transplanted but usually do better when seeds are planted directly in the ground. 
Lettuce should also be planted where it is to grow.  This could be a container or a garden bed.  Lettuce grows so quickly that starting it in one place and then transplanting it to another makes no sense.  The only exception might be iceberg type (head) lettuce, which is a tricky crop for home gardeners.  You might want to start seed for that inside or buy plants.  Or consider not growing it at all because it has very little nutrition.
For things like tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant, starting the seeds inside early is a good option for most of the country.  However, if you just want a few tomato plants, buying started plants at a nearby greenhouse at the proper planting time for your area is probably the best option.  Unless you have a greenhouse or an expensive grow light system the plants produced at home rarely are as robust and healthy as those you buy. 
It might be justifiable to start tomatoes and peppers from seed if there are rare varieties you want that you probably won’t be able to find at a local nursery.  And some people live far away from a good greenhouse.  There are now catalogs and on-line sites that will allow you to order started tomato and pepper plants and many sell a wide range of varieties. Consider whether purchasing these and having them shipped to you will be as cost effective as growing them from seed.  Remember to consider your time and the effort you’ll invest in growing the plants. 
Vining plants, the cucurbits, like cucumbers, melons, and squash can be started inside or purchased.  Since they should only be started inside a few weeks before transplanting, there’s a little less chance that the plants will get spindly or die before transplanting.  You want to transplant these things while they are still small for best results whether you start them yourself or buy little plants.  
The cucurbits will start outside where you want to plant them quite easily if the soil is warm and they grow faster if they don’t have to get over transplant shock. I always start these as seeds in the spot where they are to grow.  If late frost or something else kills the plants I buy transplants at the greenhouse to replace them.
Onions can be planted in several ways.  Sweet onions like the Vidalia types are usually planted as seedlings. Seed can be started inside or seedlings purchased for transplanting. You can also buy bundles of seedlings from catalogs that are shipped to you.  Onions are one of the few vegetable plants that can be shipped bare root and survive very well.  I would not start onions from seed directly in the garden, although it can be done. It takes a long growing season from seed to bulbs.
Onions can also be started from “sets”.  These are generally cooking type onions.  Sets are tiny onion bulbs. They are quick and easy to plant this way and even kids can easily help plant the sets.  Sets are sold in nurseries or you can buy them from catalogs.
Potatoes are almost always started from “seed potatoes”.  These are either whole small potatoes or cut pieces of potatoes which have an “eye” or sprout.  There are potato seeds sold for gardeners, but they are more of a novelty.  You are better off buying seed potatoes. These are planted in the garden where the plants will grow.
In the realm of flowers whether it’s practical to start plants from seed depends on the species and how many plants you want.  Some annual flower seeds can be sown directly in the ground and will bloom the same season but many need to be started early to bloom before frost. 
Zinnias, marigolds, morning glories, nasturtiums, cosmos, bachelor’s buttons, calendula, and violas are examples of seeds that could be planted in the garden in most planting zones and bloom before summer is over.  They can also be started inside about 6 weeks before the last frost or purchased as plants.  If you only need a few plants I suggest purchasing them as plants.  Purchased plants will bloom faster than those planted as seeds in the garden in most cases.

Zinnias
Plants like petunias and impatiens should be purchased as plants.  They are relatively cheap, and the variety is vast.  These plants need a long growing season and have to be started inside many weeks before frost.  Unless you have greenhouse conditions the plants rarely have the quality of plants you purchase from a commercial greenhouse.  Only grow these from seed if you have a greenhouse and some seed growing experience.
Coleus and geraniums can be started from seed inside, although some geranium cultivars need to be started from cuttings.  They grow fairly easily from seed but take a long time to get plants of a blooming size to plant into the garden.  If you need just a few, buy plants.
Perennial flowering plants rarely bloom the first year from seed, some may take several years.  I recommend that perennials be purchased as young plants instead of trying to grow them from seed.  Some can be difficult to start from seed. Occasionally a rare species will only be available as seeds. Sometimes a friend will give you seeds, or you collect them from somewhere.  Think of these as long-term experiments.
Some plants should not be grown from seeds even though scam sellers will try to make you think it’s easy. Roses and strawberries are two of the popular scams.  Neither of these grows true from seed and no one can sell you “blue” rose seeds or “blue” strawberry seeds because these don’t exist. Don’t buy seeds for either of these or any other colors of these two species. 
You can grow roses from seed if you are a breeder, but it takes years for them to bloom and then it’s a crap shoot as to what kind of flower you will get.  The same is true of strawberries. There are many other types of plants used in the scams too.  Buy seeds from reputable nurseries.  If you see something unusual offered, a strange color, or markings, look it up in several good catalogs to see if it really exists outside of photoshop. See if seeds for that plant are commonly offered.  Avoid buying any seeds from China, that’s where many seed scams originate.
 Here is a huge list of good plant/seed sellers.
In short, you generally don’t need to start plants from seed for your garden inside.  But if you want to try it, go for it.  Just realize it’s often smarter, less expensive and you have a greater chance of success if you purchase started plants. You aren’t a bad gardener if you don’t start everything yourself, in fact many gardeners learn from experience to let others do some of the work. Let someone with ideal growing conditions (greenhouse) and experience produce your plants.  Supporting the green industry is a good thing and who doesn’t like a trip to the greenhouse?

Turn your face to the sun and the shadows fall behind you

Kim Willis
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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 (or things I want to talk about). 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 or anyone you know 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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