Hi Gardeners
The weather has been spring like here, a bit of snow
on Sunday quickly melted. I finally have
my first flowers in bloom, winter aconite.
The crocus should bloom soon. The
frogs are now singing, and our pond is ice free. Indoors my amaryllis is on it's 9th flower.
I moved the live fir tree I was given for Christmas outside
in its pot and as soon as I have time, I’ll get it planted. Some of my tender bulb pots on the porch are
sprouting, a good sign spring is here.
Unfortunately, we have squirrels coming in through the attic and down
into the porch and I found they ate the tubers of my ginger plant. It was semi-dormant on the porch. I saw a
squirrel digging in the pot and realized the damage. I am hoping a few pieces
remain that can re-sprout. I can’t wait to move most of the plants on the porch
outside.
I’ve got the wire around my front bed with most of
the tulips, but I have yet to hook up the electricity. My gardening plans have been put on hold a
bit because my husband was hospitalized last week, and I have been spending
time with him. Hopefully he will be home
soon and I can spend less time driving and more gardening.
Because I have been spending less time at home the
blog is a bit shorter this week.
April almanac
April’s full moon is the 19th. April’s full moon is known as the Pink
moon, egg moon or grass moon. It’s known as the pink moon because it is when
the pink wild creeping phlox usually blooms. The moon perigee falls on the 16th
and moon apogee is April 28th. The Lyrid Meteor shower peaks on
April 22nd but the moon will still be nearly full, and it may be hard
to see them this year. You will have a
better chance to view the May 5th, Eta
Aquarids Meteor Shower.
Holidays in April are Golfers day the 10th,
National Pecan Day 14th, National Garlic Day 19th, Christian
Easter 21st,Earth Day 22nd, Executive Administrative day
and Zucchini bread day the 23rd, Arbor day 25th,
International Astronomy Day and Orthodox Easter the 28th.
April is National Lawn and Garden Month as well as
Keep America Beautiful month. It’s also
National Humor month, National Pecan month and National Poetry month. April’s birthstone is the diamond and the
birth flower is the sweet pea. In the
language of flowers, the sweet pea means either goodbye or blissful love,
depending on who’s translating, I guess.
Garden chores for April include seeding lawns,
planting trees and shrubs, getting seeds and bulbs started indoors in zones 5-6
and maybe planting lettuce and peas outside and putting some pretty pansies in
pots for color. In warmer zones you may
be planting more crops outside like onions, carrots and even tomatoes and
peppers and planting those annual bedding plants and containers.
April is a good month to divide perennials and move
plants you want to relocate. And get those mowers tuned up and ready to go,
most areas of the country will mow at least once in April.
How
Hairy Balls can help Monarchs
For those of you who want to help the monarchs and
other pollinators and gardeners who want unusual plants to start a
conversation, the Hairy Balls plant Gomphocarpus
physocarpus, may be just the plant for you. It’s also an excellent plant
for those who like to make dried flower arrangements.
There are dozens of common names for the plant;
Oscar, balloon plant, balloon cotton-bush, balloon milkweed, bishop’s balls,
elephant balls, monkey balls, Goose
plant, and Giant swan milkweed are a few.
You may also find it being called Asclepias physocarpa, it’s
former botanical name. There is a
similar species called swan plant that is sometimes confused with Hairy Balls, Gomphocarpus
fruticosus, but it’s harder to grow and harder to find.
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| Hairy balls Flickr wallygrom |
Hairy Balls is both a
larval food and a nectar food for monarchs. It’s in the milkweed family and
monarch caterpillars love it. Some
monarch raising sites highly recommend it for rearing monarch caterpillars,
particularly inside, as it is sturdy, large and supports lots of caterpillars
on a single plant. It is not, however a
native plant, it is a native of southeast Africa. Native plant purists will miss out on this
interesting plant.
The hairy balls plant is a
tropical shrub, it’s hardy only to zone 8, but gardeners in colder zones can
grow it as a tender annual. Some people
overwinter it in pots but as it is fast growing you could just use it like an
annual. In zones 5 and lower, however,
the part that gives the plant it’s cute name, the round, hairy seed pods, may
not have time to ripen before frost.
Hairy balls has a single
main trunk with numerous hollow stems.
The leaves are light green and a narrow blade shape, arranged opposite
each other on the stems. Plants can get very tall, up to 6 feet high, in long
seasons. The stems exude a sticky white sap when broken like most milkweeds.
And like other native milkweeds they are toxic to livestock and pets.
Hairy balls blooms late in
the summer, one of the last nectar sources for pollinators. The flowers are white with a purple center
and produced in loose clusters from leaf axils.
They are shaped like the typical milkweed flower, with 5 broader white
petals at the base that droop downward, 5 cup shaped purple tinged modified
petals in the center that surround the stamens, and in the center a 5-pointed
star shaped pistil (female part). The
flowers have a light vanilla scent.
Gomphocarpus
physocarpus flowers are self-unfertile. If you want the showy seed pods, you’ll need
to grow 2 plants. While butterflies like
the nectar it is wasps that pollinate the flowers. Mud dauber type wasps are very attracted to
the plant. This may affect where you
will want to plant hairy balls, you won’t want to attract wasps near places
humans sit or eat.
When flowers are pollinated hairy balls will produce
large round seed pods that are light green and covered with soft white spines
that look like hairs, hence the name. The pods will turn tan with some red
botches as they mature. They are packed with the cottony fluff typical of
milkweed pods, each bit of fluff is attached to a small brown seed. They are on long stems which make them
excellent for dried flower arrangements.
How
to grow hairy balls
You could sure have fun with that sentence. However, I’ll stick to botanical tips. You can start with seeds or buy plants to get
started. If you want to start with seeds
here’s the procedure. In zones 7 and
lower start the seeds indoors about 8 weeks before your last frost is expected.
Soak the seeds overnight in warm water. Put them in pots of sterile, moistened
seed starting mix, a few seeds to a pot.
Press the seeds gently into the planting medium but don’t cover them, they
need light to germinate.
Keep the pots moist and in bright light. They should
germinate in 7-10 days. Thin plants or
transplant once true leaves have grown, one plant to a 2-3 inch pot. They need
very strong light to grow sturdy stems. You may need a grow light. Transplant
the seedlings to large pots – 10 inches or more – or into the garden after
danger of frost has passed. Harden them
off for a few days before transplanting outside.
Plants grow quickly from seed and in most areas of
the country they will be able to produce flowers and pods if started inside 8
weeks before the last frost. They will
then flower in August and September.
In the garden or outside in pots, the plants need
full sun. They are not too fussy about
soil type as long as it’s well drained, but should be kept well-watered,
especially just after transplanting. The
plants aren’t particularly attractive so you may want to plant them in the back
behind showier plants.
In some cases, the plants may need staking,
especially as the pods develop. Some
people recommend pinching back plants in early summer to make them more
compact, but if you do this you risk them not blooming before frost in short
season areas.
Plants only need fertilization in very poor soils.
Plants sometimes get aphids, but that’s the only common insect pest. Deer and rabbits don’t eat the plants.
If you are in zone 8 and higher it’s a good idea to
cut the plants to the ground in early winter and remove the stems to the
compost pile. This helps prevent
overwintering virus diseases that can affect monarchs and other
butterflies. The plants will return from
the roots. In zones that have hard
freezes viruses won’t be a problem, but you will need to pull the dead plants
from the garden.
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| Hairy balls seedpod Flickr wallygrom |
Propagation
If you want to save seeds you need to wait until the
pods mature on the plant. It’s best to
let the pods begin to split before collecting seeds. If they totally split however the seeds will
fly away on the wind. In the north they
probably will not germinate where they land and so are wasted. If you are in
zone 8 or warmer you may also want to collect seed before it flies away as in
this case the seeds might germinate and become invasive.
In the north seeds sometimes won’t mature before a
hard frost. That’s why some people plant
hairy balls in large pots so they can move them to a protected spot inside for
the pods to mature. You could also try covering plants on frosty nights for a
while. Some people have had success
ripening the pods if they are nearly mature by pulling the whole plant and
hanging it in a warm spot inside, this will take up some room.
The plants can be overwintered inside in a warm
greenhouse or under lights. But it might be better to start cuttings in late
summer and overwinter smaller plants. Stem
cuttings are not hard to root.
If you want to save the pods for dried flower
arrangements, you’ll want to collect pods before they split, while they are
still green. You should be able to cut off a fairly long stem with several
hairy balls on it. Hang them somewhere warm to dry inside for a few days.
What could be more interesting than showing people
some hairy balls in your garden? Why not try some of these interesting plants
this year. While not native they are
very helpful to pollinators and the monarch butterfly likes them for baby
feeding. There are some links below to
places that sell hairy balls seed or plants. Logee’s sells plants but they are
expensive. You may find the seeds in
other places too.
The
color red in the garden
I love the color red, in all it’s many shades. I love crimson red roses and deep plum red peonies
and orange red poppies. But red can be a hard color to fit into the garden
palette. Some shades of red tend to disappear when viewed from a distance and others
seem to draw the eye closer.
If you have ever tried to pick a color to paint a
room from a selection of paint chips on cards you know there can be hundreds of
variations of a color. Hues are
considered pure colors, they are the primary colors on the color wheel, red,
blue, and yellow. When you combine two
of these colors equally you get the secondary colors of orange, purple or
violet, and green. When you combine a
secondary and primary color equally you get what is called a tertiary color
like red-orange, or magenta (purple and red) and so on.
Red is a primary color, between blue and yellow on
the color wheel. Color is a spectrum,
when red gets close to the blue part of the color spectrum you have the bluish
reds, an even mixture of red and blue is purple. When red gets close to yellow on the color
wheel you have the yellowish reds and an even mixture of red and yellow makes
orange. Typically, the orange reds and purple reds clash with each other. In the garden they look better separated by
white, silver or gray.
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| Geraniums, coleus and impatiens |
From hues we go to tints, which are paler versions of
any of the hues, and shades, which are darker versions. When a color is mixed with both black and
white, or gray, it’s called a tone. When red is mixed with white you get the
various colors of pink and coral, with black the colors maroon and burgundy appear. Many flowers that are called black are deep
red.
Often you can’t tell what color of red will blend
with the other colors in your garden or container until you actually put the
colors close together. Descriptions in catalogs may call the color red but the
range of colors in red is vast. If
harmonious color schemes are important to you try to see the actual plant in
bloom or it’s best foliage stage ( because foliage can be red shades too).
In the garden the deep reds and reds toward the blue
spectrum have a tendency to disappear unless they are against a lighter background. Crimson roses against a white fence pop out
beautifully but the same rose surrounded by green foliage or other dark colored
flowers isn’t as visible. The paler
pinks and rosy pinks mix well with the pure reds and blue-reds. Some shades of blue also mix well with the
true reds and blue-reds.
The reds with some yellow and orange in them draw the
eye and the orange reds blend well with yellows of various tints and tones. A mixture of these colors is warm and cheery. These reds are less effective against white
backgrounds but can be stunning against a dark green, dark brown or black
background. Various tints and shades of
coral will make pleasing combinations with some of the orange and yellow reds.
The true reds and reds toward the blue-red spectrum
often work best as accent colors rather than in masses. Red is a good attention
grabber for containers, or a focal point and it can sometimes be achieved with
foliage as well as flowers. Plants with
red foliage include amaranth, coleus, Japanese maples, heuchera, some sedums,
cordyline,
The opposite is true for many shades of red toward
the yellow spectrum, the orange reds often show up well in masses – like a
field of poppies or a big pot of marigolds.
Red flowers aren’t as popular with butterflies and bees,
but hummingbirds are often attracted to them.
Tubular shaped red flowers like trumpet vine, and salvia, lobelia and
pentas are favorites.
 |
| Salvia |
Red is beautiful.
Don’t be afraid of using it in the garden.
April
is a time to plant trees
April is a great month to plant trees for those in
planting zones 6 and lower. Bare root,
balled and burlapped or potted trees all respond well to planting when the
weather is cool and wet. Early May is
still fine for bare-root trees that have been well cared for and balled or
potted trees and shrubs can be planted until late September if they are well
cared for as they acclimate to a new spot. If you are in zone 7 and 8 the best
time for bare root planting is over but potted and balled plants can still be
planted.
Unfortunately, many old ideas about tree planting
still exist among people who work in landscaping nurseries and garden
stores. Research done at places such as
Michigan State University has helped us better understand the process a tree
goes through when it has to re-establish itself after transplanting. The newer advice, backed by research, helps
ensure that your trees will get off to a better start and continue to grow for
many, many years. Here are some things
that you should do or have your landscaper do, to get those new trees off to a
healthy start.
This advice is for trees planted in the landscape, as
ornamental or fruiting trees. A
re-forestation project, involving hundreds of small seedlings requires some
adjustments to technique, although following the advice below would give those
trees a great start too.
Don’t
soak the tree roots for long
Do not put bare root trees in a pail of water for
longer than an hour. You can moisten the packing material or wrap a bare root
tree in some moistened paper, for holding for a day or two. Keep them in a cool place. Try not to hold bare root trees for more than
a few days before planting. Soaking the
roots too long will rot them and the tree will probably die.
Make sure trees in pots or ball and burlapped are
watered, but not too wet. They must be
able to drain well. Do not sit pots or
root balls directly in water.
Preparing
the hole
Prepare a hole three times as wide, but no deeper
than the root ball. If the tree is
bare-root when you buy it, look at the trunk for a dark “ring” area to show you
the level the tree was growing at before it was dug for the depth of your
hole. If it’s hard to determine the
original growing level look for the highest branch root and make the hole just
deep enough that the top root will be about an inch under the soil.
Contrary to what most people think, most types of trees
have root systems that remain in the top three feet of soil. Even if they are a species that has a deeper
tap root, that root grows more slowly than lateral roots when first
transplanted. The tree needs to send out
lateral, (side) roots so that it can start grabbing water and minerals to
support new top growth and it needs to stabilize itself, so it doesn’t topple
in the wind. Having loose soil in a
wide area around the root system is the key to faster establishment.
Planting
at the right depth
Trees that are not planted at the right depth may
grow, although some species are fussier about this than others. But the tree may be in for a lifetime of
problems if it wasn’t planted at the optimum level. If you look at a mature tree that was planted
at the right depth it will be wider at the bottom, the wider part is called a
root flare. Trees planted too deeply
will have trunks that appear to be straight, without widening, right to the
ground. A trunk that flares at the
bottom is stronger and able to withstand wind better. Trees that were planted too shallow usually
don’t survive to maturity.
You get a tree planted at the right level by looking
for that top root. The highest root
branching off the main root on the tree should be just below the ground, about
1 inch below it. On some very small bare
root trees you may need to look closely at the main root to see where branching
is beginning.
To see where the top branching root is in a balled
and burlapped tree is you need to remove the burlap. That will be covered in more detail
below. When trees are put into burlap
roots may be twisted up higher than they were growing, and soil piled up above
that. You need to uncover the root
system in that ball to see where the top root naturally lies. With a potted tree you can usually line up
the soil surface at the top of the pot with the ground level where you are
planting it. You will, of course, be
removing the pot.
Removing
anything that isn’t “tree”
Once the tree is in the hole at the right level
everything must be removed from around the root system. Here is where many landscapers balk at the
new recommendations that say all burlap, wire cages and even so called peat
pots must be removed before filling in the hole. You can leave the burlap on the root ball
until it’s in the hole - where you can cut away most of it- but it should be
removed. There are a couple of good
reasons to do this. So called peat pots
must be removed before the roots are placed in the hole.
Modern “burlap” is often composed of synthetic
materials that really don’t break down quickly in soil. Tree roots may still be contained in those
packages years after planting. That’s
not a good thing because the roots need to spread out to support new top
growth. And any burlap that gets exposed
to the air wicks moisture away from tree roots.
Peat pots are even worse at restricting root spreading. Trees need to get those lateral roots growing
the first few months after planting, not years down the line.
And you need to inspect that root system before you
fill the hole, another reason to remove burlap.
Roots that have circled around and around in pots or burlap balls will
continue to grow in circles after being placed into the ground. This may eventually strangle the tree, even
years after planting. And as mentioned
above, you need to know where the top branching root is to properly place the
root system.
Make sure all strings, wire, rope etc. are also
removed from the roots and also the trunk and branches of a tree. As a tree grows these things cut through the
area that transports food and water and any parts above the constricting item
will die.
Root washing- should you do it?
Many garden professionals are now advocating that all the soil
be washed off the roots of trees and shrubs that you purchase in pots or that
are balled and burlapped. When you
remove the soil, you can see the root system and correct any problems or if the
plant ‘s roots are in horrible shape, you can return it for a refund- sometimes. Some experts think removing the soil around
the roots helps plants adjust more quickly to the new soil they will be planted
into.
To root wash all you do is remove pots or burlap and use a hose
to gently wash away all the soil. If you can’t use a hose, you can sometimes
use buckets of water or set the plants roots in a tub off water and swish it
gently. It can take a little work to get
all the soil out if the plant is badly pot bound.
After the soil is washed away you can untangle the roots, clip
off badly circling roots, and spread the roots out. (See the section below
about helping roots grow right.) Keep
the roots damp as you work on them. Washing the roots doesn’t usually damage
them much, so don’t worry about that.
And roots can withstand a bit of pruning without harm too.
If you root wash, you must be prepared to plant the tree or
shrub immediately after the soil is washed away and problems corrected. You can’t leave it sitting in the open air
where the roots will dry out. If you are
planting several trees at once you could wrap the washed roots in wet cloth or
paper for an hour or so. Keep them out
of the wind and sun until planted.
I am not totally swayed by the root washing theory, at least for
all plants. If I remove the pot or burlap
and there are few roots on the outside of the root ball, I remove a bit of
potting soil at the top until I uncover the top horizontal root to find the
correct planting depth and leave it at that. Sometimes a gentle shake or thump
will dislodge enough soil so the roots can be seen. If soil crumbles away from
the roots and I can spread them easily horizontally I will plant those trees
without washing the roots.
If you remove a tree or shrub from a pot or burlap and you see
that the rootball is very root bound and there appears to be circling roots,
then it’s a good idea to wash off the soil and examine the root structure. For very expensive trees or shrubs a careful
root washing might be a good precaution.
If you wash the roots and the plant has badly circling roots,
the worse case scenario, you may want to take it back to where you purchased it
for a refund/replacement. The plant will
probably not survive if planted like this. However, some places may not accept
a plant back that’s been root washed and is out of the container. That’s wrong, but it’s a hard thing to challenge.
Helping
roots grow right
When planting trees never wrap a root around the
hole- spread it out horizontally. If
it’s really too long, trim it off to fit the hole, but never spiral it around
the hole. When you see those roots that
have circled the pot as described above, they must be loosened before replacing
soil. If you can loosen them with your
fingers and spread them out that’s a sign the circling wasn’t too
advanced. Good nurseries either root trim
or repot trees to keep them from getting root bound.
If the roots are thickly layered at the bottom of the
pot or root ball or around the sides you’ll need to trim them. If it’s just at the bottom, trim off the
circling roots, making a slice across the bottom an inch or so deep. Then slightly flare out the remaining soil
and roots. If roots are really circled
heavily up the side of the pot make several cuts length wise through the roots,
as well as trimming the bottom, and hope for the best.
Roots that are circling when planted will probably
continue to spiral around the main root or trunk. This may eventually kill the tree by choking
off the supply of water and food, sometimes years after planting.
Spread roots sideways in the planting hole, except
for any central main root. Don’t squish
all the roots down vertically into the hole.
Any larger roots that are broken can be trimmed.
Refill
with what you removed
You’ll see the signs advising you to buy amendments
and the sales staff may try to convince you, but don’t buy peat or topsoil or
anything else to add to the planting soil as you plant your tree. Research has shown that trees establish
better if the hole is refilled with what you took out. After all, that is the soil that the tree
will be living in after the roots grow through your small amended area. It is easier for the tree to adapt to new
conditions if it starts right away and it doesn’t have to re-adjust its root
system when it grows through the amendments and into the surrounding soil.
Holes filled with “good stuff” may hold too much
moisture next to roots, especially if you throw a bag of peat into heavy clay
soil. The roots sit in water and
rot. And trees may not extend their
roots quickly into surrounding soil if it’s easier to grow roots inside an
amended area. This can lead to circling
roots, with the tree being strangled or to a poorly established root system
that can’t support the tree in a wind storm or through a drought.
You can add a little slow release fertilizer to the
soil you are going to backfill with.
Don’t throw it in the hole, mix it into the soil you removed and then
refill the hole.
Don’t
prune and don’t stake- usually
It’s not necessary to remove one third of the tree as
some older advice may lead you to believe.
Research has shown the tree needs top growth to make food so the root
system can grow. Prune off any broken branches and any branches that cross or
rub each other, that’s all. You can
shape the tree once it has established itself, usually after one growing
season.
Most new trees should not be staked. They grow stronger trunks and wider root
systems if the tree is allowed to sway in the wind. There are some exceptions. New evergreens planted in the fall or in high
wind areas may need to be staked for one growing season. Some ornamental weeping trees will need to be
staked at least for a growing season, some for much longer. If you do stake a tree check the ropes
several times a year to make sure they are not cutting into the tree.
Don’t
over water and don’t over mulch
Yes, newly planted trees need to be well watered at
planting and they should be watered when needed during the first growing season
to get them off to a good start. But
their roots don’t need to be constantly soaked. In really hot weather and in sandy soil
trees may need watering frequently but in most situations a good watering once
a week the first season will be enough.
Mulch is good for trees, but it shouldn’t actually
touch the tree trunk. Rot and disease
can start where decomposing mulch touches trees. And never use more than 3 inches of mulch. Too much mulch absorbs or sheds water before
it gets to the soil and it prevents oxygen from reaching tree roots. To get water and air tree roots may grow up
into the mulch instead of down into the soil, which isn’t good for the
tree.
A little care taken during tree planting will do a
lot to prevent tree failure. A tree may
leaf out and appear to grow the first season or even several seasons but
failure of a tree in the first three years after planting is often due to poor
planting procedures. When contracting with a nursery or landscaper to plant
your trees make sure they are willing to follow your directions and plant
properly. You are the customer. If they say your warranty is void if you
remove burlap for example, you may want to use another company. They may replace the tree, but you will have
lost valuable growing time if it needs to be replaced. And unfortunately, the tree may not start to
decline until the warranty is up.
You plant trees for the future. Plant one this month.
 |
| Credit Satchari National Park Bangladesh Abdul Mornin CC By SA 4 |
He who plants trees loves others besides himself.
Kim Willis
All parts of this blog are copyrighted and may not be used without
permission.
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
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