Hi gardeners
It’s a cold and dreary day here. It is supposed to start
snowing any time now. But when I walked to the mailbox, I saw a dandelion
cheerfully blooming. The purple of a heuchera plant popped out at me from the
dry brown oak leaves. The grass is still green, despite being snow covered this
weekend, so all color isn’t gone yet.
I am thankful for the sunny light given off by my grow
lights inside and the plants blooming away inside. I’m thankful for many things
at this gloomy time of the year when we typically gather to give thanks. I have
enough food, a warm house, and land outside to garden on. I have a husband and
animal family to share the holiday with even though I shall miss the larger
family gathering. And most of all I am thankful that no one close to me has
contracted the deadly virus.
I hope all of you have things to be thankful for and that
all of you remain safe and healthy. Have a great Thanksgiving even if you feast
alone. Better times will come.
This week the newsletter is just plant facts and trivia.
Plant
Facts and Trivia
Apple trees cannot produce fruit unless there
is another apple tree nearby. They are self-infertile even though each apple
flower contains both male and female parts. And that nearby tree cannot be the
same variety of apple either. If apple trees are related- and most apple trees
are clones produced by grafting-their pollen cannot fertilize each other. So,
you cannot plant two red delicious apple trees in your yard and expect apples
if no other tree is nearby.
When you buy a certain variety of apple let’s say a Gala
apple, you need to know what other variety of apple tree is a good pollinator
for it. Most good fruit tree catalogs will give you suggestions. The Golden
Delicious apple is considered to be a good pollinator for most types of trees.
If you don’t have room for two apple trees you may be able
to plant just one if your neighbor has an apple tree, or if there are wild
apples growing nearby. Some ornamental crabapples can also be pollinators.
Beans may be a favorite food of many people but
remember beans can be poisonous if they are not cooked. Many types should be
soaked in several changes of water before cooking also. Beans of the Phaseolus
family which include black, red, pinto, navy, kidney and other common table
beans contain toxins called phytohaemagglutinins which will give you vomiting,
diarrhea, and severe stomach cramps. Raw lima beans contain
linamarin, another form of poison. Chickpeas or Garbanzo beans, Cicer
arietinum, are also poisonous if eaten raw.
Beans must reach cooking temperatures of 212 degrees F (100
C) for 10-20 minutes to deactivate the poisons. You can slow cook them after
that. Even “green” beans can be poisonous if eaten raw.
Castor bean is a name given to the plant Ricinus
communis. Gardeners often grow the plant for its large, stately presence,
beautiful foliage and odd spiky blooms. But castor bean flowers should never be
allowed to turn into seedpods if you have children and pets. The seeds, or
beans, are the source of one of the worlds most dangerous poisons, ricin. They
are also pressed to produce castor oil.
Castor oil is used for various medicinal purposes and as a
lubricant. It’s not dangerous when used in small amounts. All parts of the plant do contain some toxins
so care should be used when growing it. The plant is a perennial in warmer
areas, but most gardeners will grow it as an annual.
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Castor bean plant
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Dill, Anethum graveolens is an herb
that has uses for its seeds, flowers and leaves. It gives that unique taste to
dill pickles. You can use a dill leaf, flower or some seeds to impart the
flavor. Besides being used to flavor various types of pickles, dill is often
used in potato recipes.
Dill has a long use as a medicinal plant to calm gas and
nervous stomachs. Seeds were given to
children to chew on and dill tea or a few drops of dill oil were given to
infants to soothe colic pains. Dill tea can be used for heartburn and chewing
on dill seeds will freshen the breath.
The dill plant generally consists of a single, hollow stalk
with scattered feathery leaves along it. The plant can grow to 3 feet tall or
more in a great spot. Umbels (see below) of yellow flowers appear in early
summer. If you are unsure if you are
growing dill you have only to crush a feathery leaf to smell - all parts of
dill smell just like dill pickles!
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Dill flowers
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Euphorbia obesa is a succulent that
looks rather like a green baseball. It’s round and has many segments with
markings that could be imaginatively thought of as stitching. It makes a good
houseplant for those who like succulents.
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| Euphorbia obesa |
Ferns are vascular plants that don’t produce
seeds or flowers. They reproduce by spores. Fern leaves that photosynthesize
are called fronds or trophophyll, the leaves that are reproductive structures
and produce spores are called megaphyll.
These leaves are usually not green. The stems are rhizomes. Ferns occur all
over the world in a variety of ecosystems but are most numerous in tropical
regions.
Ferns have little economic importance. A few are eaten as
fronds emerge in spring. In some places the roots of ferns are eaten. Some are
ornamental garden plants. Ferns are often portrayed in art and are used in
magic rituals.
It has been found that ferns take up heavy metals from soil
and air and research is being done on how best to use them for bioremediation.
Gympie gympie or suicide plant (Dendrocnide
moroides) may not be familiar to Americans, but it is familiar to those in Australia
and Indonesia. This plant is also called stinging tree. It’s a relative of stinging
nettles. Gympie is a small shrub, up to
16 feet high that grows in tropical forests. The plant has broad heart shaped
leaves with a toothed edge. They also have small white to purplish flowers and
juicy red or pink fruit that birds love.
All parts of the plant appear fuzzy because they are covered
with tiny hairs that contain one of the most toxic venoms known. The hairs are
like tiny needles that inject a toxin called moroidin into the skin if touched
or brushed. While the pain is searing at first it rapidly gets worse.
The skin will redden and swell, the nose and eyes run, and
breathing becomes difficult. The pain intensifies until it is almost unbearable,
it’s said to be one of the most painful things a human can experience, and that
pain can last for weeks, even months. The lymph nodes will also swell and cause
pain. There is no antidote to the poison. Even if the leaves are dried and old when
you touch them they will still cause great distress.
The pain of this plant is so intense that many people and
animals that get stung commit suicide, hence the name suicide plant. Most
people need hospitalization at least for a few days after contact with the gympie
plant. It’s treated by applying diluted acid to the stung areas and using wax
strips to pull out the fine hairs imbedded in the skin, then administering pain
medications. This usually dulls but doesn’t remove the pain.
Not only is this plant dangerous if you touch it, but it can
also harm you if you just stand near it for as little as 20 minutes. In this
case you will get severe allergic type reactions with respiratory distress. Blood
and pus will run from the nose, the throat becomes extremely sore and painful
and extreme sinus pain occurs. This is
one bad plant.
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Gympie gympie plant
Australian Geographic |
Hardy/half-hardy- this term refers to the cold
tolerance of a perennial plant. If a plant is hardy in your planting zone it
will survive the average winter temperatures. Half-hardy plants will survive
some cold weather and light frosts but will die when temperatures go too low.
Many of the garden plants we grow as annuals are actually half-hardy perennials
in our growing zone. The petunia is an example.
Indigo (Indigofera tinctoria) was the Asian
answer to woad, see below. This shrubby plant has pinnately compound leaves of
light green and pea like pink or purple flowers. It is the leaves that produce a lovely blue
dye. Indigo is naturalized over a large part of the subtropical world, but it has
been in cultivation so long that its native range is unknown.
Indigo was introduced to Europe from India and its introduction
did not make the woad growers happy. They spread rumors about the plant such as
touching it made men infertile, to try and keep the plant from being cultivated.
Leaves have to be fermented before the plant mixture can be
used for dye. The dyed material has to be exposed to the air for the blue color
to appear, which to superstitious people smacked of magic. It took a long time
before Europeans would accept indigo as a dye plant.
Indigo dye has largely been replaced by synthetic dyes but
its an easy plant for people interested in natural dyes to grow. Its only hardy
to zone 8 however. It can be grown as an annual in other places.
Jamaican Lady of the Night, Brunfelsia jamaicensis, is
a wonderful flowering houseplant with beautifully scented white flowers. They
put on quite a show and deserve to be placed where everyone can admire
them. If you want ro know more about Jamaican Lady of the Night please
click on the link below. https://gardeninggrannysgardenpages.blogspot.com/p/jamaican-lady-of-night.html
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| Jamaican Lady of the Night |
Kale is actually a cabbage that has been selected to
have loose heads of dark green, reddish or purplish, generally frilly leaves.
It’s a very nutritious green that has become very popular for salads. It can also be baked to make kale chips.
Gardeners can easily grow kale in the cooler periods of the year. There are
also ornamental kales, grown for their fancy leaves sporting many colors that
can provide color in the fall garden.
Lovage (Levisticum officinale) is an herb that
tastes like a combination of celery and parsley. The leaves, roots and seeds
are used for various culinary purposes, much the way celery is used. It’s native
to Europe and Asia. The plant looks a lot like flat leaved parsley.
Lovage is an easy herb to grow and is hardy from zones
4-8. It is perennial and can grow up to
6 feet high. Gardeners can start it from seeds as well as plants.
Mayapple is an excellent plant for northeastern
gardeners who want a native shade garden. It’s a perennial, easy to grow plant. For an article on Mayapples click on the link
below https://gardeninggrannysgardenpages.blogspot.com/p/growing-mayapples-in-garden-if-youlike.html
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| Mayapple |
Nigella -Nigella
sativa is also called black cumin, black seed or kalonji. Its related to
several ornamental nigella species, such as Love in a Mist. It’s native to
Southwestern Asia, northern Africa and the Middle East. The leaves of the plant
are narrow, and finely divided. Flowers
are small and blue or white. The plant produces a puffy seed pod filled with
tiny black seeds similar to poppy seed.
Black seed has long been used as a condiment/spice in the cuisine
of various countries. It has some traditional medicinal uses. But recently it
seems that black seed, particularly black seed oil has become the snake oil of
modern times. You can see ads claiming that it will cure all ailments, from
cancer to aids and probably covid too. Of course, when something seems too good
to be true it usually is. Most claims for black seed oil cures are false.
Medical studies are being done on the plant and its seeds
and it may hold some promises as an antihistamine, immune system stimulant and contraceptive
but no definitive proof has yet been declared. Some studies on cancer and
diabetes management are also being done. What is known is that black seed can
actually be harmful to some people.
Black seed can cause seizures, may cause excessive bleeding
after surgery or injury, and may cause problems when mixed with many prescription
medicines. It can cause constipation, stomach upset and vomiting. It often
causes an allergic rash. Small amounts, as in spicing food, are probably
harmless but do avoid large doses. Ask your pharmacist or doctor before you
take black seed oil or preparations if you take prescription meds. Pregnant
women should not consume it in medicinal doses.
Osteospermum or African daisies are often seen in
garden stores in the spring. They have daisy like flowers in a range of colors
from purple to yellow. However, these plants do not like hot weather and will
stop blooming or even die back when it’s too warm. They may bloom again in fall
if they survive. Keep them deadheaded to prolong bloom. Osteospermum do not start easily from seed and
are usually grown from cuttings.
Pinching is something most people know how to do when
it comes to other humans. It’s done the same way to plants, taking off the tip
of a stem. Removing the tip of a plant removes certain hormones that cause a
plant to grow taller and allows other hormones responsible for side growth or
width to dominate for a while. This helps make plants fuller and bushier.
Quinoa is an ancient small grain that home gardeners
can grow. It’s related to spinach and amaranth and is native to the Andes
Mountains in South America. This highly nutritious grain was called “chisaya
mama” (“mother grain”) by the Incas. Quinoa is gluten free and can be
substituted for rice in many recipes. The seed coating on quinoa grains contains
bitter saponins and it should be washed several times before cooking.
Quinoa likes to grow in sandy, well drained soils in cool
periods of the year, light frost will not hurt it.
Rosaceae is a family in the plant kingdom which
contains roses as the name suggests, but it also is the family from which many
of the fruits you eat come from. In the Rosacea family are apples, pears,
quince, peaches, apricots, plums, strawberries, cherries, blackberries,
raspberries and other fruits. Besides roses other ornamental plants in this
family include spirea, potentilla, filipendula, geum, cotoneaster, ninebark,
pyracanthas, aruncus, and hawthorn.
Stenocereus eruca has the common name
of creeping devil. This interesting succulent/cacti is rope shaped and sprawls
along the ground. The stem is pale green and covered with nasty spines. As it
elongates it grows roots along the bottom of the stem where it lays on the
ground. The base of the plant dies as the plant proceeds forward, making it
seem as if the plant is creeping along, which I guess it is.
S. eruca is native to Baja California area of Mexico,
where it forms huge colonies in dry areas. The plant produces white or pink
flowers occasionally. It has become a sought after houseplant but can be
difficult to grow.
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Creeping devil
Wikipedia |
Tillandsia are also called air plants. They have
few or no roots and do not need soil. Most grow in trees, rock crevices, gravel
or sand. There are some 650 species, native to Mexico, Central and South America.
They have become popular houseplants. Most have silverly looking, narrow, stiff
leaves although there is variation in leaf color and plant size among species. They are not winter hardy.
Tillandsia do flower occasionally. Flowers are typical bromeliad
flowers clustered on a stem and are generally bright, vibrant colors. In many
plants the foliage will also change color when the plant blooms. Tillandsia need
to be pollinated by another plant of the same species to set seeds. After
blooming the plant produces a few “pups”, (baby plants), and then the main
plant dies.
Tillandsia have special cells on their leaves that allow
them to absorb water from what falls on them or from the air. As houseplants
they need to be sprayed or dipped in water from time to time. Use rainwater or
distilled water on them. They can be placed in many locations, even clipped to
drapes, because they don’t need or want soil. They do need good, strong light
inside.
Umbel is the term for a flower type that consists of
many tiny stems holding flowers joined near the base (called a bract), looking
similar to tiny open umbrellas, upside down. Often these umbels are also in
clusters joined near the base, forming a double umbel. Queen Anne’s Lace and milkweed are common
plants with this type of flower arrangement.
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| double umbel flower of dill |
Valerian is another of the herb plants that once you
get it in your garden you’ll probably always have it. It reseeds prolifically
and is a perennial plant hardy to at least zone 5. It is a large plant, sometimes
6 feet in height and a couple feet wide. It has umbels (see above) of tiny white
or pink flowers that are highly attractive to bees and hover flies.
Valerian is known for it’s sleep inducing properties, which
are backed by science. The roots of valerian are dried and powdered for this
purpose. It’s also used for menstrual and stomach cramps in herbal medicine.
Valarian should not be combined with alcohol or other sedatives. The roots are
also attractive to cats, just like catnip.
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| Valarian |
Woad or Isatis tinctoria is a plant in the
mustard family that was once extremely important to the textile industry. The
dried and powdered leaves yielded a blue dye. The plant is native to Europe. It
has the small yellow flowers typical of plants in the mustard family. Most dyes
are now made with chemicals but people who prefer natural dyes still use this
plant.
Xylem is the name for the tissues similar to animal
veins in a plant that convey water from the roots to the very tips of the
leaves. Usually xylem tissue is bundled with phloem tissue, which transports
food from the leaves to all parts of the plant.
Yams and sweet potatoes are often confused. What most
Americans call a yam is really a sweet potato. Yams are a starchy, bland
tasting vegetable, generally with white flesh. They have a rough, thick, bark
like brown skin. Most yams are grown in West Africa.
Sweet potatoes have a smoother, thin skin, usually red or
orange, sometimes tan in color. The flesh can be shades of orange, white or
purple, there are numerous varieties of sweet potato. And of course, they have
a sweet taste. The orange “yams” you eat at Thanksgiving are sweet potatoes. The
USDA now requires that the label say sweet potato as well as yam. North
Carolina produces more than half of the sweet potatoes eaten in the US.
Sweet potatoes also make great ornamental plants, coming in
a variety of foliage colors and shapes. They are a vining plant. Even the
varieties grown for eating can make a nice outside container plant or
houseplant. (They don’t survive cold weather outside.) At the end of the season
you may find an edible tuber in your containers.
Ziziphus jujbe or Jujube is also called
red date or Chinese date. It is native to Southern Asia. The plants are related
to Buckthorn and grow as small trees or shrubs. They have gotten some interest
lately as fruiting houseplants. There are 5 species and numerous cultivated
varieties. They are hardy to 5 degrees F, that would be about zone 7 here.
Jujube produces fruits that look like tiny apples and they
actually taste like sweet apples when eaten fresh. As they mature, they dry and wrinkle and turn
from greenish to various colors depending on variety, from tan to deep purple.
There is a single pit inside, containing two seeds.
They are used like dates or raisins in cooking and eaten for
snacks. Wine and jelly can be made from them. They are sometimes pounded into a
paste and combined with chilies and other spices as a condiment. The candy
called jujube once contained real jujube but is now artificially flavored.
Jujube is also used in traditional medicines. They are often
used in flu remedies and are said to have anti-fungal, anti-bacterial,
anti-inflammatory, contraception, antioxidant, immunostimulant, and wound
healing properties. If the leaves of jujube are chewed it prevents you from
tasting sweetness for a short while.
Jujube makes an attractive container plant for indoor use. It
has blade shaped leaves and a dense branching habit and can be pruned to remain
smaller. It’s self-fertile so you can get fruit with one plant. It needs very
bright light inside. It would be best to summer it outside.
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Jujube
Toptropicals.com |
In November, the smell of food is different. It is an
orange smell. A squash and pumpkin smell. It tastes like cinnamon and can fill
up a house in the morning, can pull everyone from bed in a fog. Food is better
in November than any other time of the year.
-Cynthia Rylant
Kim Willis
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