Gardening Granny's Gardening Pages: September 2020

Tuesday, September 29, 2020

September 29, 2020, spots and pots

Hi Gardeners

Well it looks like true fall weather has arrived. After a relatively warm week it’s now cool and a bit gloomy here. We had some rain yesterday and it was needed. The trees are starting to turn, the Virginia creeper is red, and the soy fields across from me have turned golden. They’ll be harvested soon. My oak tree is shedding leaves like crazy.

Colchicum

I have almost all the plants that need to be inside moved inside. I moved most of the geraniums inside this weekend. I have decided to let the cannas and dahlias go until frost kills them. Then I will dig and store them dormant. I also have crocosmia, peacock lilies and eucomis to dig.

I have dug cannas and potted them to bring inside some years. They will grow and even bloom indoors in winter. But I just don’t have the room this year. The dahlias are so late blooming I decided to just let them bloom until they die. Some were killed by our frost two weeks ago, but others are still going.

New things are actually blooming in the garden, toad lilies and a few anemones. The colchicum or autumn crocus is blooming. The roses like the cool weather and are blooming well. Mums and asters are still blooming as is the black snakeroot. Many annuals are still going strong. Some purple nicotiana that came up from seed dropped last year is finally blooming.

I have begun cutting back and cleaning up in some places. Usually I wait until spring. But we are having the house reroofed in a couple weeks and it will be a mess. I need to be able to see where the things I want to protect are. I have been dreading the roof project but it has to be done.

I’m evaluating what did well in the garden and what did not this year and making notes. I hope you are doing that too. It will help you later this winter when you are looking at all those seed catalogs and online nurseries. I am pretty sure this is the last year I will plant sweet corn. I love it but it’s just too much trouble. And 3 tomato plants seem to be perfect for our use anymore.

I’m going to get new dahlias next year. I lost quite a few this spring. And more lilies too. See, I am already planning for next year!

Seed collecting and drying

Many gardeners are concerned that there won’t be seeds for sale next year, I don’t think that will be a problem. But if you want to save seeds for next year remember two things- seeds saved from hybrid plants will not give you plants like the parents and seeds must be mature before you take them from the plant.

For example, tomatoes should be ripe to the point of rotting before seeds are collected. Peppers should be their mature color, in sweet peppers that usually isn’t green. Beans should be in dry, brown pods. Cucumbers will be yellow-orange. Summer squash/ zucchini will need to mature past the point where you normally eat them. Let them stay on the plants until mature.

Cleome seed pod splitting

For flowers it’s always best to let seeds remain on the plant as long as possible. If you must cut seed pods/heads before they are brown and ripe place them in paper bags in small bunches and let them dry further in a warm, dry location.

Once seed pods open or seed heads are very dry you can remove the individual seeds from them. Some of these seeds may be ready to store as is. If they feel at all moist, they need further drying.

Once fleshy fruits like tomatoes and cucumbers are ripe seeds can also be removed from them. This can be a messy task. The seeds require drying before storage.

The best way to dry a small amount of seeds is to spread them in a single layer in the sun or in a warm inside location. If the seeds are fleshy or still wet put them on a piece of screen instead of paper so they won’t stick to the paper as they dry. Protect drying seeds from birds and animals. You can dry seeds in a dehydrator too. Don’t use high heat on any seeds you are saving to plant or you will damage the plant embryo. But a dehydrator can help if your weather is wet and cold.

Do not microwave seeds or heat seeds in the oven if you want to plant them. However, if the seeds are for eating, you could use these devices.

Large seeds like beans, nuts and acorns can be stored in baskets or other containers to dry. Containers that allow airflow like wicker baskets or crates with gaps are best. It will take longer to dry these. Remove the hulls from walnuts and hickories before storage. When dry nutmeats will be firm and dry in texture, not milky or soft.

After seeds are very dry store them in paper envelopes, properly labeled. These paper envelopes can go into glass or plastic jars. Twist a bit of dry milk or some white rice in a piece of paper towel and store in the seed storage container. It helps remove moisture that can cause mold. Store seeds in a cool dark place.

Most vegetable garden seeds don’t require any special treatment before planting. But many flower seeds need a period of cold stratification before they will germinate. This means they need to be stored moist and cold for a while before planting. For more information on seeds and their needs see this page; http://gardeninggrannysgardenpages.blogspot.com/p/seeds-germination.html

Jewelweed seed pods

Repotting plants- tips

In fall many people are repotting plants they are bringing inside or that have been growing all summer and look like they need more room. It used to be that people were very reluctant to repot a plant. I used to hold demonstrations on how to do it and often had to encourage people to take the step. But it seems now that the pendulum has swung the other way and people are constantly repotting their plants.

Repotting a plant too often is stressful for the plant and repotting a plant incorrectly can be a death sentence. Plants don’t change location and the soil they are in very often in nature. And when we keep plants in pots we should be mindful that changing the soil and the location plants are in is not a pleasant experience for them.

Kalanchoe calandiva that needs a new pot

Tip one: Use potting medium not garden soil or compost in pots, especially those in the house. It’s lighter, retains water better, and generally does not carry insects and disease if you use fresh medium. Potting mediums vary in what they are made of, even the same brand, from area to area. But despite all the social media brand bashing there’s not much difference in how they perform for plants.

Only a few types of plants require special potting mediums. Orchids and cacti are two that are most in need of specialized soil. Many potting mediums contain fertilizer now. Make sure you check the bag; it has to be labeled if it has fertilizer. These fertilizers are generally good for several months and you shouldn’t add additional fertilizer during this time.

Potting medium must always be moistened before it’s put in pots. Add water slowly to the potting mix in a large container, a little at a time. Mix with your hands or trowel thoroughly after each addition. Some potting mediums are shipped drier than others. The correct soil texture for potting is moist and clinging together, not dry and crumbly or so wet it doesn’t cling together at all or looks like sludge.

Tip two- all containers MUST have drainage holes. Improper watering is the number 1 cause of houseplant death and pots without drainage simply compound the risk. Putting rocks or other things in the bottom of the pot does not compensate for lack of drainage. These things just raise the wet zone at the bottom – called the perched water level- and keep the soil from drying out. Some plants need the soil in the pot to dry out between watering. All plants need soil that is not waterlogged so the roots can get oxygen.

The proper way to water a plant is to water until water drains from the bottom of the pot. You can’t do this unless the pot has drainage holes. People think they can carefully water a plant and avoid having drainage holes but almost inevitably this causes a problem, plants are either too dry or too wet.

Of course, you will need something under pots to catch the draining water. Pots that are very dry may have water move right through the soil and out the drainage holes. The water will slowly be absorbed back into the soil as the plant sits in the tray of water. But water should be dumped from these trays if it sits there for more than an hour.

If you have a nice ceramic pot you don’t want to drill holes in use it in place of a pot saucer. Find a pot with drainage holes slightly smaller than the ceramic pot and plant the plant in it. Then put the pot in the ceramic container. You may need to dump water out of the ceramic pot so make sure you can easily lift the pot with the plant out of it.

Tip three; Know when your plant actually needs repotting and avoid unnecessary repotting.

If your plant looks droopy, has brown leaves, isn’t growing or you don’t like the pot the plant is in does not mean you should repot the plant. People are far too quick to repot plants now. Repotting a plant is stressful to it and if the plant is already ailing it can kill it. Some plants are fussier than others and really resent repotting.

In rare cases repotting a houseplant may help get rid of insect pests or disease, but generally it doesn’t help much in these cases. If roots are rotting because you overwatered repotting may or may not help. It depends on how much damage has been done. Sometimes simply allowing the pot to dry out – or adding missing drainage holes- may be enough.

When the root ball of a plant has completely filled a pot and there is not much soil left to absorb water it is usually time to repot. When a plant is so large that it is top heavy and the proportion of roots to top is extreme, it may be time to repot, but you would be surprised at what size root ball can support a large plant under proper care.

If something toxic has been spilled in the pot you need to repot the plant. If too much fertilizer or pesticides have been applied, it may be necessary to repot. Cats using the pot as a litter box or someone using the pot as a urinal may necessitate repotting with fresh potting medium.

Most houseplants should not be repotted more than once a year. Very fast-growing plants, especially when they are young, may need repotting every 6 months. Some plants will not need repotting for years. Just because a plant seems to have filled its pot does not mean it needs repotting in all cases. Some plants like sanseveria and certain sedums actually do well with tight roots. If a plant looks healthy and continues to grow its probably fine.

It is tempting to repot a new plant as soon as you get it home. Unless you have strong suspicions there are pests in the pot, like hitchhiking mice or ant colonies, it would be better to let the plant acclimate to it’s new surroundings, give it thirty days or so, before repotting it. If plants have been outside in the summer and need a larger pot before going inside, try to repot them a few weeks before the move.

Tip four- Don’t move plants into pots that are too large. It may seem logical to put a tiny plant into a much larger pot, so you won’t have to repot it too soon. But this is one of the most common mistakes people make when repotting plants. It often results in poor growth or dead plants.

The potting medium and pot interact with plant roots. When you water a plant, it takes up water from it’s roots and moves it up to the top parts of the plant. The water evaporates off the plant leaves, and this process removes water from the potting medium. Oxygen replaces the water removed, aerating the soil.

If you give a plant too much water for the tiny root system to move up and into the air, the roots may rot from being in damp, poorly oxygenated medium. If you give the plant too little water gravity moves it down deep in the pot where the small plant root system can’t reach it, drying out the plant.

It is extremely difficult to correctly water a plant that’s in too large of a pot for its root system. When repotting a plant use a pot only 1-2 inches wider and 3-4 inches deeper than the old pot. If the plant is extremely out of proportion for what size pot it is in and hasn’t been repotted in years, a slightly larger size could be used. A plant that’s properly sized for the pot also looks nicer.

Some miscellaneous tips

Potting medium does break down over time and the plant will sink in the pot. Rather than completely repotting the plant you can gently lift the plant out of the pot and add a couple inches of moist new soil to the bottom of the pot. Try not to disturb the plant root ball. When you replace the plant in the pot the surface of the root ball should be about an inch from the pot rim.

If the pot tapered from larger to smaller diameter there may be a gap between the root ball and pot sides now. Push some moist soil down in this gap. Never add new soil to the top of the root ball to fill the pot. This will kill or damage many plants.

A plant that seems straggly, yellowed or weak may need fertilization rather than new potting soil. Try that first. Make sure to follow label instructions for houseplants or potted plants and don’t use too much fertilizer. Over time as you water nutrients are flushed from the potting medium, so most houseplants can appreciate at least a yearly fertilization. Plants do make most of their own food however from light, and many can go a long time without supplemental fertilizer.

If a white or yellowish crust builds up on the surface of the potting medium or on the pot, there may be too many salts in the pot. Salts come from fertilizers and sometimes your water. The cure for this is to flush the soil with pure water. Do this by sitting the pot in a tub or sink and letting water slowly drip on the soil surface for about an hour. If that isn’t possible[KW1] , pour water on the plant letting it drain and dumping the plant tray several times.

Mold or moss on the surface of the soil means you are overwatering. Remove it and correct your watering.

Fungus gnats look like fruit flies. They develop in potting medium and soil. When you have them you are usually keeping your potting medium too wet. Repotting plants before you have controlled the infestation usually doesn’t work too well. The most effective control is a product called Gnatrol, a safe biological pesticide. For more information about dealing with fungus gnats see this article https://gardeninggrannysgardenpages.blogspot.com/p/fungus-gnats-inhouseplants-in-winter.html

Should you wash the roots of houseplants when repotting them? Unless you are trying to get rid of a toxin or disease the answer is no. Washing the roots of trees and shrubs before planting is very popular now. It’s done to find circling roots and other problems before planting. It’s hard to dig up and examine trees and shrubs for root problems once they start growing. But for houseplants there isn’t much benefit compared to the harm done by disturbing and breaking the roots while washing them.

Repot houseplants only when they clearly need it. There are times when plants do need repotting but houseplants that are frequently repotted often grow poorly compared to ones that are repotted less frequently. Every time you repot you damage roots. Plants are not designed for frequent changes of soil conditions or being moved to new environments. Repotting is not the answer for most houseplant problems.

Maple Leaf tar spot

People are asking about the large black spots on their maple tree leaves that look like someone splashed paint or tar on them. Don’t worry, it’s not your neighbors trying to kill your tree or kids playing a trick, it’s a tree fungal disease. Maple Leaf Tar Spot is caused by at least two types of fungus in the genius Rhytisma. In late summer Maple tree leaves develop large black spots with yellow edges. The raised spots resemble paint or tar.

Maple leaf tar spot

This disease causes little damage to trees and no control is needed now. The leaves may drop off a bit early, but that’s ok too. Maple leaf tar spot doesn’t happen every year but can happen several years in a row. It affects only maple trees.

If you want to help break the cycle remove all the fallen leaves from beneath the maple tree and compost them, or at least move them away from any maple trees. The fungus overwinters on the fallen leaves. It’s fine if the affected leaves are moved to a spot by other tree species.

If you have a specimen maple you want to be cosmetically perfect you can try spraying the tree with a fungicide in the spring, just as the leaf buds break. Trees get infected in spring, but the disease doesn’t show up until late summer. The trees need spraying every 7-10 days until the leaves are of mature size. After the tree is infected fungal sprays will not be of any use.

Since the disease doesn’t significantly damage the tree and only becomes apparent late in the season most people simply ignore the spots. If your tree was heavily infected, it can benefit from deep watering if you have a dry fall and after a hard freeze the trees can be fertilized. Root growth still takes place for many weeks after a hard freeze when trees appear dormant.

Apply about 3 pounds of a tree fertilizer per 1,000 square feet of root zone. The root zone is measured from the trunk to about three feet beyond the drip line of the tree, all around the tree. For maple trees look for a fertilizer that contains iron and manganese. Fertilizers formulated as 18-6-12 or 12-4-4 or something similar is best.

Watch those polyunsaturated fats

Since the 1960’s Americans have been urged to eat less saturated fat and more polyunsaturated fats. Vegetables oils largely replaced fats from animals. And also, since the 1960’s, the rate of obesity in Americans has skyrocketed. But in the last 60 years or so we learned a lot more about fats in our diet and what “proper” nutrition should consist of.

Many researchers now believe the type of fat isn’t as important as we once thought. Dietary fat does not cause body fat, carbohydrates do. Many researchers now feel that saturated or animal fat, isn’t harmful. But the ratio of what types of fat we eat might be a clue as to why obesity is more common today than it was before we became so concerned with fat intake.

Some recent research published in Communications Biology, on August 28 found that animals that were fed an unbalanced ratio of fatty acids while pregnant produced offspring that were likely to overeat and become obese. The animals were fed more Omega 6 fatty acids than Omega 3 fatty acids.

The American diet is high in Omega 6 fatty acids since we stopped consuming saturated fats. These Omega 6 fats come from soy oil, corn oil, safflower oil, sunflower oil and seeds, and pumpkin seeds. Omega 3 fatty acids come from foods such as fatty fish, walnuts, flax seed, and chia seeds. Americans eat an average of 10 times as much Omega 6 fatty acids as Omega 3, with soy oil the major player.

Researchers believe that the uneven ratio of fatty acids affects dopamine production, a hormone that regulates appetite. The change occurs in fetuses during pregnancies where moms ate an unbalanced diet. Generations of pregnancies on this diet may have increased the effects.

Most researchers urge people not to give up polyunsaturated fats, but to make sure they keep Omega 6 and Omega 3 fatty acids in balance. Pregnant women may want to decrease how much soy oil they consume- it’s in everything- and eat more fish and walnuts. Adding saturated fats like butter and eggs to the diet could also reduce the ratio of Omega 6 fatty acids.

Soy oil has also been found to increase metabolic syndrome, a condition that often leads to obesity and diabetes. There are many good reasons to avoid it, pregnant or not.

Tuesday, September 22, 2020

September 22, 2020 And Autumn Begins

It’s a hazy smoggy day here, smoke from the western wildfires, but much milder than the weekend. I don’t know about your neck of the woods but here in Michigan’s thumb we had a freeze/frost event for 2 nights this weekend. It’s early for that here, but nature does what she wants. Now we are supposed to have a stretch of nicer weather.

It’s National Indoor Plant Week- I think. It’s the third week in September but we have 5 weeks in this September- or part of weeks. If it’s supposed to be the third full week, this is it. If you don’t have houseplants shame on you. Go buy some immediately or get some from friends. Houseplants make you healthier and happier.

I spent several days bringing in houseplants, and tender tropicals. My house is packed with plants. There are 40 plants in the living room alone and some of those are huge. There are about 20 in the bedroom,16 in my home office, 10 in the kitchen and a few others scattered here and there. On the porch there are about 20 plants so far, I still have the hardier stuff outside like geraniums to bring in.

I covered some plants with old sheets this weekend to protect them from frost. I couldn’t cover the huge taro plants I had, the stems wouldn’t hold up a sheet and they were 6 feet tall. I hadn’t planned correctly for that, so I was outside at dark digging them out of their huge tubs and putting them in buckets to bring inside. The next day I potted them, but they don’t look happy. The elephant ear I treated the same way, but it seems to have taken the indoor trip much better.

Some things did get frost bitten, even with a sheet the top leaves of the sweet potatoes browned. Some dahlia leaves also browned and wilted. Things like roses and wax begonias survived unscathed. There are still many things blooming in the garden actually. I am getting to see the blooms on some new landscape roses I planted this spring, it took all summer to get them to blooming size. Some dahlias are just starting to bloom too.

The sweet autumn clematis is still covered with blooms, the asters are a froth of white. I have canna, salvia, zinnias, cosmos, marigolds, woodland nicotiana, geraniums, petunias, hosta, mums, roses, ligularia, snakeroot, snapdragons, phlox, sedums, morning glories, and a few other things in bloom.

The Old Farmer’s Almanac is out, (there are several almanac versions) and it’s calling for a mild, wet winter here, more wet than white they say. The weather service says we have entered La Nina conditions for the winter at least and they too predict more precipitation. Temperatures and moisture can vary across the US, with some seeing warmer and drier in La Nina and some seeing colder and wetter weather than normal. It’s the reason we have more hurricanes this season too.

The day is now just over 12 hours long, today is the autumn equinox (9 :31 am EDT) but here in Michigan we add 9 minutes to “half” the day. But by Friday we will have lost those 9 minutes, for the real 12-hour day. By the end of the month we will have lost another 14 minutes. Daylight fades fast this time of the year.

One window in my house

About those potted mums

Fall means chrysanthemums in many areas of the country. Potted mums in blazing or soothing colors are outside the doors of every store. Gardeners buy them to pop into beds where annuals have fizzled or have been killed by frost. They are very affordable and create a vibrant look in the late fall garden. Potted mums are also one of the best plants for cleaning pollutants from indoor air, so they may be good indoor decorations too.

There is nothing wrong with using mums as annuals, and not worrying if they will survive the winter. They will continue blooming with proper care until a hard freeze or snowfall kills them. You can just leave them outside until then. Even if the tag says hardy mum, many of the mums you buy in full bloom in the fall would not survive winter and bloom next year if you plant them this fall. But there are some tricks that you can use that might help you save some of these mums to bloom again another year.

First keep the mums well-watered. They are often sold in small pots that dry out rapidly even in cool weather. Keep them in a sunny spot on the deck or in bright light inside. Don’t use fertilizer on the plants. They are primed to bloom by greenhouse techniques and the decreasing daylight and don’t really need it.

If you are putting them in a garden bed for temporary color, simply sink the pot in the ground. If you want a chance at them surviving winter plant the potted mums into the ground as soon as you buy them (without the pot). But I will tell you from years of experience that only a few will survive. Mums that sit on the deck or patio all fall are not good candidates for outside survival, even if planted in the ground late in the fall.

If you do plant a mum in the ground when you buy it don’t trim back the dead foliage in late fall. Leave it until spring. Mums do best when the dead foliage is left to protect the crown over winter.

A trick you can try for mum survival

If you have the right space inside, you could try this trick with potted mums to get them to survive until spring. Planted in the ground in spring they are more likely to survive and return the following year. I’ve done this several times.

When a hard freeze or good snowfall is predicted it’s time to rescue your potted mums. Bring them inside to a cool room with bright light. This can be a sunny window in an unheated room or under a grow light in the basement. Mums will even stay healthy at temperatures slightly below freezing if protected. The best temperature would be between 40- and 60-degrees F. Trim off any dead flowers. Many times, the plants are still blooming vigorously when brought inside and that’s fine.

While inside you will probably need to water the mums less frequently. The pot should dry out slightly between watering but don’t let them wilt. If they do wilt, quickly water them and they may revive. Just don’t let this happen too often. Don’t fertilize the plants now.

Once blooming slows down or quits cut all of the mum stems back about one third of their length. If it’s quite cool the mums will enter a semi-dormant phase. The leaves will remain green but there won’t be much new growth. That’s a good way to keep them until about March. Even if the leaves brown a bit the plant is probably still alive. Sometimes the leaves and stems will turn entirely brown if they get really cold but if you look closely and see green near the base of stems the plant may recover. In this case cut the dead areas off to about 2 inches from the soil surface.

If you are keeping them a little on the warm side new growth will appear a few weeks after trimming. Mums can get very lanky and ugly looking if this growth is allowed to grow unchecked. Instead pinch out the young tips of new growth after they have reached 2 inches or so. This will keep the plant compact and nice looking. You may need to do this more than once.

When March comes you can bring the mum into warmer conditions if you have a place. If the plant is exposed to natural light the lengthening daylight will cause the mum to come out of dormancy even if it’s still cool in its area. You can start fertilizing with a weak fertilizer solution for blooming plants. The plant will need water more often as it begins to grow.

Keep new growth pinched back to 2-3 inches and give the mum as much light as you can. As soon as temperatures moderate in the spring, the ground is thawed, and no hard freezes are likely move the mum outside. You can plant it in the ground or re-pot it into a slightly larger pot, if you need to keep it in a pot. Use some slow release fertilizer for blooming plants, according to label directions, on the mums.

If you want a compact plant pinch off the tips of those stems until mid–June. After that quit pinching to let the flower buds form. Sometimes a saved mum planted in the ground in the spring will flower a lot earlier than other hardy mums because it had a bit of a head start. If the plant is in the ground leave it there the second winter, there’s a good chance it will return in the spring. Most mums will get larger and fuller with each passing season.

There are hardy garden mums that will give you years of color and are really better for the garden that the mums you buy in pots. These hardy mums are best planted in the spring. You’ll find them being sold as small plants generally, but they grow rapidly through the summer and should bloom the first fall.

So, buy those mums if they take your eye outside the grocery or nursery, but don’t expect them to become perennials in the garden unless you put some effort into it. It’s ok to use some plants for seasonal interest only, and you are supporting the greenhouse industry when you do so.

Manure may contain pesticides harmful to plants

Do you use manure to fertilize your garden because you want to be organic? Better think again. Researchers have known for a while that glyphosate and a few other pesticides applied to crops can accumulate in manure. Animals eat grain or hay that have had pesticides applied to them and the minute amounts in the plants accumulate in the animal and are excreted in their manure. Unless the animals are fed organic hay and grain their manure will have small amounts of pesticides in it.

And those small amounts of pesticides in the manure can affect your crops as a study done with strawberries at the Biodiversity Unit of the University of Turku, Finland proved. They fed quail a diet that included grain that was treated with glyphosate while growing. They then used the quail manure to fertilize strawberry beds. A control group of quail received organic feed and their manure was also used on strawberries.

The strawberries grown with manure from the quail that consumed feed grown with glyphosate were smaller, had smaller fruit and produced fewer runners. The researchers also did the study using meadow grass and found it grew slower and remained smaller than plants grown with “organic” manure.

Similar research has found that manure and compost often contain pesticide residues that can harm plants when they are used to fertilize them. Even manure from grass fed animals can have pesticide residue if the animals graze on fields treated to control weeds or insects.

The takeaway for gardeners is that manure is not always the safe, natural way to fertilize the garden. Unless you know the animals the manure came from were fed organic grain and hay, their manure can contain pesticides. And even if they were fed organically, if the manure is mixed with bedding such as straw that wasn’t grown organically, it can contribute pesticides to the mix. Animals eating commercial feeds are probably consuming small amounts of pesticides.

These small traces of pesticides like glyphosate are very unlikely to harm people eating food grown in contaminated manure. However, it’s important that you realize that the manure may affect plant growth. For anyone worried about pesticide residue you may be better off using a chemical fertilizer and making your own compost from plants not treated with pesticides to furnish organic matter for the garden soil.

Tuesday, September 15, 2020

September 15, 2020 Harvesting the Garden for Houseplants

Hi gardeners

It was quite chilly this morning, 43 degrees when I got up. We have smoggy sunshine today, slightly less thick than yesterday. The smoke from the western wildfires has reached us. It’s making things a bit cooler as it keeps some of that sunlight from warming things up. But I’m not complaining. We have it so much better than those poor people on the west coast. It’s green and lush here now, we had lots of rain last week. No raging fires- or hurricanes- to worry about.

Sweet autumn clematis and rose of Sharon

I worked all weekend on repotting plants and setting up for them inside. Some have been brought inside, and the rest soon will be inside. Then I won’t have to worry as the nights get colder. This weekend frost isn’t predicted,yet, but a look at the temps make me worry about a last-minute frost warning.

I move the larger and more the more valuable plants inside first, small pots are easy to rush inside if needed. Some plants like geraniums withstand the light frosts pretty well, although it’s better they move inside before it. The potted bulbs I want to store dormant are fine to sit through a light frost.

If you want to preserve the annuals or tomatoes, for a bit longer you can cover them with old sheets, row cover fabric, or paper when frost threatens. Remove the coverings as soon as the sun is up, and temps are above freezing. Don’t use plastic for covering plants unless it is suspended so that it doesn’t touch the plant leaves.

I hate taking a lot of the color out of the garden but that’s life. Seasons come and go. There are still hardy plants blooming in the garden though. My quilled yellow mammoth mum is living up to its name, it’s been blooming since August and it’s huge. It’s sprawling a bit now but it’s still pretty. Some of the smaller mums I have around here are beginning to bloom too.

If you want garden mums that return and bloom every fall don’t buy the potted mums you see outside every store right now. Those are good for color and decorating but they rarely do well in the garden. Buy garden mums in the spring, varieties selected for garden growing and you’ll be much happier with them. When you get these, they are usually small plants, quart sized or smaller pots and not in bloom. Give them a year or two and you’ll have huge plants that reliably return.

The sweet autumn clematis is in bloom and attracting bees. I still have rose of Sharon in bloom and the black eyed Susans still have some bloom. Phlox and roses, lobelia, snakeroot, ligularia and hosta are blooming. I spotted some tiny violas that came up from seed beginning to bloom.

The asters and goldenrod are filling the fields with bloom for the migrating butterflies and last hurrah of the bees. The bumble bees I see have their legs covered in big wads of golden yellow pollen, I think it must be from goldenrod.

I saw a hummer last week, but I haven’t seen him in a few days, and I think the hummingbirds have left. I took the feeders down. The orioles are gone but the turkey vultures are still here.

Keep an eye on your local weather this week and be prepared to cover or move plants inside if frost threatens.

Protecting annuals/vegetables from the first frost

You can also move plants into a shelter temporarily or cover them with buckets, bushel baskets or large pots. In a pinch you can even pluck large leaves of burdock, comfrey or even hosta and place over smaller plants. I’ve done that a time or two. But everything must be removed promptly the next day.

You can get away with this for a few days, especially if they are just once and a while. When frost starts happening every night – or hard freezes are predicted it is time to give up.

If your tomatoes are mature size, and starting to lighten a bit, they can be picked and brought inside, where they will continue to ripen. You can put them on a windowsill or just anywhere you have room. Do not refrigerate. Some people wrap each tomato in newspaper or a paper towel. The tomatoes should be spaced a bit in storage, so they don’t touch. Throw out any that start to rot.

Root vegetables can be left in the ground until you have time to harvest, as long as you get to them before the ground freezes.

Turning garden plants into houseplants

I love a patio and yard filled with colorful plants and if I can get plants that I can use for more than one year so much the better. There are many plants that gardeners grow in their gardens and outdoor containers as annual plants that are actually perennial plants in warmer climates. Some of our most common bedding plants that we treat as annuals fall into this category. If gardeners rescue these plants before a frost, they can become attractive houseplants for the winter.

It’s also economical to keep a few tender perennials over the winter so you don’t have to buy them again in the spring. Many of these tender perennials can be multiplied by cuttings to produce a whole new selection to use outdoors next spring or to share with friends. Some tender perennials that are over-wintered become large, attractive plants that would be impossible to obtain with one summer’s growth.

There is a list of these tender perennials that can winter indoors given below. If these plants are growing in the ground, they should be dug up and carefully potted. If they are crammed into a container that is pretty full and lush it would be wise to separate the different plants and pot them separately. Check the plants and the pots carefully so you don’t bring in small surprise guests like frogs and mice.

Use a good, lightweight potting soil if you need to re-pot tender perennials you are bringing inside. Garden soil can bring in pests. You can use potting medium with fertilizer included but it isn’t necessary for most plants at this time of the year. Blooming plants do appreciate fertilization, however.

Some of these plants go semi-dormant in winter, even when brought inside. They will begin growing again in the spring however, as the days lengthen. The plants that do go into a resting stage can often be kept in a room that is well lit but has cool temperatures that stay just above freezing, such as a sunny porch. Other tender perennials need room temperatures that don’t go below 55 degrees F. to do well over the winter.

Instead of bringing whole plants inside you can sometimes take cuttings of plants and over winter small plants you start from them. It is better to start these plants outside in late summer, and then bring in the small pots before frost. However, if frost threatens and it seems to be too much work to bring a large plant inside, take a few cuttings and try your luck.

Fuchsia are good houseplants

List of tender perennials that can be brought inside for winter

Abutilon, often sold as container plants, make good houseplants.

Aloes, agaves, most are not hardy below zone 8, but can be overwintered inside.

Banana plants, will grow well in a sunny area inside.

Begonias, wax, tuberous, Rieger, angel wing, cane- all types of begonias will bloom all winter in the right conditions. Tuberous begonias and even cane types can be allowed to go dormant and the tubers stored. I always leave the tubers right in the pots and store them in a cool, above freezing place. Take the pots somewhere warmer and bright in February- March and let them start growing again.

Wax (fibrous rooted) begonias can make a pretty blooming plant all winter in bright light. Rieger types also do well inside as houseplants. Rex types are great houseplants.

Brugmansia, most people bring these inside to a cool place just above freezing and let them go dormant in the pot. You can keep them growing and blooming in a warm, very sunny spot indoors.

Calla- you can bring inside and let them grow- or let them go dormant and store the bulbs in the pot until spring in an above freezing place.

Canna- canna will grow inside as foliage plants in bright light all winter or let them die back and save the rhizomes.

Coleus- bring the whole plant inside or take cuttings. If stems get woody and straggly looking cut them back. Bright light is needed inside for good growth.

Colocasia, elephant’s ears- you can let them die back and store the bulbs or let them continue to grow as a houseplant if you have room.

Dipladenia and Mandeville can be overwintered but are a bit tricky. They need bright light and warm conditions.

Eucalyptus, sometimes used in containers, grows well inside.

Fuchsia- plants will grow and bloom all winter in bright light. The smaller flowered varieties make better houseplants.

Gardenias- if you are below zone 7 bring these inside to save. They need cool, humid, sunny conditions inside.

Geraniums- you can store them in a semi-dormant phase in a cool, dark place or just pot them and let them bloom all winter in a warmer, brighter place. They will get quite large inside.

Gerbera daisies- will bloom off and on all winter if they are in bright light inside. I actually think gerbera do better inside than outside.

Hibiscus-Tropical or Chinese - bring inside, in bright light they will bloom most of the winter. They’ll live many, many years and get very large.

Joseph’s coat (Alternathera ficoidea), good foliage plant.

Lantana, yep- it will grow and bloom all winter.

Lemon cypress needs the same conditions as rosemary, see below.

Lemon grass, needs bright light in winter.

Lemon verbena needs warmer, sunny conditions. It makes a small tree.

Lifesaver plant (Huernia zebrina), good houseplant.

Lipstick plant and goldfish plant, both make good houseplants.

Ornamental peppers- the smaller varieties with pretty foliage make the best houseplants.

Polka dot plants – keep pinched back so they don’t get leggy.

Rosemary- in zones 7 and lower rosemary should be overwintered inside. It needs cool, not above 65 degrees, sunny conditions for best survival. Most other herbs, including lavender, do not survive well inside over winter.

Setcreasea, the purple passion plant, grows well inside.

“Spikes” – dracaena – make good houseplants.

Sweet Bay- bring inside to overwinter.

Sweet potatoes will keep growing all winter in bright light and warm conditions.

Succulents-many of the new succulents are not winter hardy in zones 7 and lower. Bring them inside and they grow all winter. Check the hardiness zones of all succulents and sedums. If they are hardy in your zone it’s best to leave them outside.

Taro- let it grow through winter or let the leaves die back and save the tubers.

Bulbs that are tender for your zone can be allowed to die back and stored above freezing in net bags buried in shavings or just bring pots inside after potted bulbs have died back. All bulbs must be brought inside before a hard freeze. Bulbs include glads, dahlias, peacock lilies, rain lilies, crocosmia, pineapple lilies, (Eucomis) and other tender bulbs.

Don’t try to save too many tender perennials unless you have a big greenhouse. (Even I close my eyes and leave some behind.) Just save the most expensive, rarest or your personal favorites. You can propagate cuttings from one or two plants for a new border of impatiens rather than trying to save the whole border. All plants need room and good light and the more you have, the more time you will spend caring for them. Trust me, I know.

Gerbera daisies do well inside

Treating Vacationing plants for insects

If your houseplants have been outside for a summer vacation (the vacation was for you) or if you have decided to move some tender perennials inside, as described above, then you may want to treat the plants for insects before you bring them inside. Pests like aphids, scale and mealy bugs are usually kept in check when outside by natural predators. But if they hitch a ride inside there can be major problems.

It is a good idea to spray plants with an insecticide or use a systemic insecticide on them the day before you bring them inside. If you do it outside you won’t pollute your indoor air and surfaces. You don’t need to worry about harming pollinators or beneficial insects when you treat plants going inside. Most systemic pesticides won’t harm your pets if they munch them.

And the benefits of not having to fight aphids, scale, mealy bugs and so on are great. Often these pests don’t show up until later, you look at the plant outside and don’t see them, but when you do see them, it can be very hard to eradicate them. Plants can be treated inside if they develop problems, it’s just easier if you prevent them.

I don’t treat every plant I bring inside, that would be very expensive for me. But many plants are more susceptible to pests. I treat the hibiscus, citrus, fuchsia, spider plants that were outside, amaryllis, ficus, and any plant that has ever had a pest problem inside. If these plants are treated the other plants around them seldom have a problem.

My favorite indoor treatment is Bonide systemic houseplant insect control. There are other brands of systemic houseplant insect control too. Bonide comes in several formulas, and it lasts at least 2 months. This year I am using little spikes you push into the soil, and they also fertilize the plant. I find that treating plants once, before they come inside usually controls pests the entire season inside because plants aren’t getting re-infested. Don’t use systemic products for outside plants on potted plants.

Of course, you can use other methods of controlling insects such as a horticultural soap spray. Don’t use dish soap sprays, they harm plants. There are neem oil sprays for houseplants that are moderately effective. Make sure your plant isn’t one that’s sensitive to neem. The problem with these is that they require multiple applications, but the systemic products are once and forget it, at least for a couple of months. Once again don’t use products for outside plants on plants going inside.

If you take steps to control insects early, before it gets warm and dry inside and insects start making their ugly presence known, your plants will be healthier and you will be happier.

Ardisia- or coral berry

Coralberry, or Ardisia crenata is a tropical plant from eastern Asia that makes a good houseplant. Other common names include Australian holly, Christmas berry and spiceberry. Ardisia produces bright red berries in winter that last on the plant and is sometimes sold in stores around Christmas. It is also used in floral arrangements of living plants because the glossy green upright plants often have new leaves of bronzy red that are attractive.

This plant is considered invasive in climates where it is hardy outside, as in Florida. But northern gardeners don’t have anything to fear from it, it’s only hardy to zone 8. There are other species of ardisia, but they aren’t often seen for sale.

Ardisia plants aren’t easy to find anymore, I got mine from one of those floral “dish” garden arrangements. Ardisia has strong upright stems and forms a small tree when mature. It can have one or multiple stems and is up to 6 feet tall when mature grown outside, inside plants in pots are about 3 feet high. The leaves are long, broadly oval, thick and glossy green. New growth is, as mentioned above, can be bronze-red.

There is one cultivar of ardisia crenata called 'Beni Kajaku' that has beautiful pink-red variegated foliage as well as red berries. It is quite hard to find in the US though. Another variety ‘Spring Frost’ has a white edged leaf and white flowers and is also hard to find.

In late summer and fall plants produce clusters of pale pink or white fragrant flowers. Flowers often have tiny black spots on the petals. The flowers turn into bright red berries, each with one seed. The berry clusters hang down below the foliage for a bright show. Berries can last on the plant for many weeks. The seeds inside berries can be planted to produce new plants.

Inside the ardisia should have bright light, without being in direct sun, avoid south facing windows. They like to be kept evenly moist without being soggy and appreciate moderate to high humidity. They don’t mind cooler winter temperatures down in the 50’s but reduce watering where it’s cooler. This plant loves being outside in summer in a lightly shaded location where it will put on a spurt of growth. Summer outside helps the plant develop flower buds.

Ardisia or Christmas berry needs fertilization about once a month from spring to fall. In winter reduce fertilization to every other month. Use a general-purpose houseplant fertilizer. You can prune the plant to keep it within the size you can handle but top pruning does not make the plant overly “bushy”. It is normally upright and fairly narrow in growth pattern.

Mealy bugs can be a problem inside for ardisia. Use a systemic pesticide on inside plants. Flowers may drop if the plant is too dry, or there are cold drafts. Flowers won’t form if temperatures get too high in summer, but summers here (zone 5) seem to be just fine.

To propagate you can root cuttings or plant the seeds in spring. Bottom heat helps seed germination. Cuttings are generally made from young side branches with a bit of “heel” (stem) attached in late spring. Insert cutting in damp sterile medium and use bottom heat and misting if possible. Otherwise enclose cutting in a plastic bag and place in a warm, softly lit place. It takes 6-8 weeks for rooting.

Birds and raccoons love the berries, but it is thought that berries and plants may be poisonous to livestock, people and pets. There is no hard evidence that the plant or berries are toxic, but I would keep kids and pets from eating the berries or other parts. The roots of ardisia are used in Asia for reducing fever and promoting blood circulation.

Ardisia is illegal in Florida, Alabama and Georgia. It was once used as a shrub in yards because it is so pretty, but it spread into nearby wooded areas and became worrisome to naturalists. It does not survive freezing so northern gardeners don’t need to worry. It has naturalized in Australia and Hawaii among other warm places.

If you are looking for a different houseplant ardisia or Christmas berry may be just the plant for you.

Plant sources

https://www.pernellgerver.com/coralberry.htm

https://toptropicals.com/catalog/uid/Ardisia_crenata.htm

Easy Kicking hot sauce

Like things hot? Want to create your own signature hot sauce? Start with this recipe and make it your own. Just remember to keep the ratio of vegetables to vinegar the same for food safety and use spices to vary the recipe.

For this recipe you need a blender or food processor, a spice bag or tea ball or some clean cheesecloth, 4 half pint canning jars with new lids, a good-sized pot, and a water bath canner. You will probably want some rubber clothes to handle the peppers too.

Ingredients

1½ cups of chopped hot peppers of your choice. Jalapeno, tobasco, cayenne, serrano- any type of hot pepper is good, and you can mix them up.

3 cups of diced canned tomatoes—either home canned or purchased, do not drain juice.

4 cups vinegar

2 teaspoons salt

2 tablespoons pickling spice without dill- purchase this

¼ teaspoon garlic powder

¼ teaspoon onion powder- don’t use fresh onions in this recipe

Directions

Use gloves to chop the peppers unless you are very brave and discard the pepper seeds. Chop them finely. Keep your fingers away from your face, hot peppers can cause burns and misery.

Measure the peppers and tomatoes. It’s important to get the right ratio of vegetable matter to vinegar.

Put peppers, tomatoes, vinegar, salt, garlic, and onion powders in your pot.

The pickling spices are large and hard seeds generally, and you need to put them in the spice bag, or tea ball or tie them in a piece of cheese cloth and drop that in the pot.

If you want to use other spices – powdered spices can go right in the pot, large seeds in the tea ball or spice bag. Some suggested spices are cinnamon, red pepper, black pepper, cayenne pepper, chili powder, cloves, cumin, mustard seed, celery seed, and horse radish. You probably don’t want to add all of them! Use them lightly at first. You can add more, even after cooking.

Bring your pot to a boil and then turn down to simmer and simmer 20 minutes.

Remove from the heat and remove the spice bag or tea ball or cheesecloth bundle.

Pour the sauce into a blender and blend until smooth. Be careful about splashing.

Return to the pot and simmer for another 15 minutes, stirring frequently. During this time, you can taste and adjust spices.

Pour or ladle the sauce into clean jars to within ¼ of the rim. Wipe rims and put lids on.

Process in a water bath canner 10 minutes for under 1,000 feet altitude, 15 minutes for 1,000 to 6,000 feet altitude and 20 minutes over 6,000 feet.

Let jars cool and label them.

“Wine is the divine juice of September.”
— Voltaire

Kim Willis

All parts of this blog are copyrighted and may not be used without permission.

And So On….

Find Michigan garden events/classes here:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/118847598146598/

(This is the Lapeer County Gardeners facebook page)

Newsletter/blog information

If you are on an email list for this blog and wish to be removed please contact me.

Contact me at KimWillis151@gmail.com