Hi Gardeners
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| Viceroy butterfly on tithonia |
I talk a lot about weather, I think most gardeners and farmers do. It seems to me that instead of modern technology
making the weather easier to predict that lately weather prediction is chancy
at best. Maybe it’s climate change but I
get aggravated when I check the weather forecast before bed and then when I
wake up find that the forecast has completely changed. I know better than to look more than a day
or two ahead, because the forecast will change every day, you can count on it.
Is it me or do other people notice that the weather forecast seems
to have become very unreliable? Maybe it’s
because we have too much information and every tiny shift in the wind causes a
new prediction for the weather. Maybe it
is the weird weather patterns we have been experiencing from melting polar ice
and global warming. I don’t know but to
me it seems weather forecasting has become very unreliable from what it was, say
10 years before.
Well today it’s warm and overcast here. It’s dry again, we missed any rain that
passed through spots in Michigan since a week ago. With a soil deficit of about
2 inches still that rain is long gone. It’s supposed to rain tomorrow and Thursday but
like I said, who knows if that forecast will change.
We had some very delicious new potatoes for dinner this week. I didn’t even plant them, they popped up on
their own and I got about 10 pounds from 3-4 plants, a good harvest in a dry
year. My vegetable garden is a sorry sight this year. We had a couple very tiny ears of corn, maybe
we will get some more from the later variety.
My tomatoes are producing pretty well but rapidly succumbing to blight.
The peppers had some nice fruit earlier, now they are just sitting there, not
making new fruit. The cucumbers aren’t
producing well at all and the cukes we got were bitter.
My husband tells me a few of our grapes are ripening, he keeps a close
eye on them. However, they are out of the range of the hose and the grapes are
very small this year. The blackberries
are ripening but the crop is very small.
The deer have eaten all the apples off the trees as high as they can
reach and they too are small this year.
In the flower beds Ligularia dentata , the daisy ligularia is beginning to
bloom. The hosta Aphrodite, which has
huge, white fragrant flowers is in bloom.
The Jamaican Lady of the Night (Brunfelsia jamaicensis) on the porch has
a single, very fragrant flower. My
tropical hibiscus plants are blooming abundantly and most of the annuals are
still showy. The dahlias are in full
bloom and my tall red canna, variety unknown, that sits in the ornamental pond
has some huge scarlet flowers.
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| Hosta Aphrodite |
Goldenrod is beginning to bloom and the Jewelweed got enough rain
that it is blooming here and there, much to the hummingbirds’ delight. They love those tiny flowers. The Rose of
Sharon plants are also in bloom.
What isn’t blooming yet is many of my potted bulbs, peacock
orchids, rain lilies, ground orchids and crocosmia. The plants look good, they just aren’t
blooming. I don’t know why- maybe the
late spring.
You’ll notice that the blog is still in newsletter format. All of the replies that I got about changing
the blog to regular blog format told me they liked this format better. So, for now anyway, that’s how it will be.
Tips on plant ID
It used to be that the average person could identify dozens of
plants from cultivated ones to weeds.
Now many people can only identify a few plants, even if they see those
plants on a regular basis. It’s because identifying plants has become less
important to us, we don’t need to know which plant is friend or foe, and many
don’t grow or forage their own foods and medicine. But for gardeners identifying plants is still
important.
There are whole sites on social media devoted to identifying
plants and many other garden sites also spend a lot of time with users helping
each other identify plants. There’s
nothing wrong with that, experienced people helping others is a great way for
all to learn. But the amount of false answers to plant identification on many
sites simply astonishes me.
And on social media sites the person who asked for the
identification has to shift through the answers and decide who is the
knowledgeable person/ people giving the correct answer. Hint- use the ID with
the most likes or that is given the most but realize even that may not be
right. It helps to use sites devoted to
plant ID and not just general garden sites.
Asking for someone else to identify a plant is the easy way out
and you won’t learn as much as if you try to ID it yourself. There’s nothing wrong with asking for help if
you try and can’t ID the plant or if you want to get a second opinion to
reassure you, but at least try to make your own ID first. You can do it! It may be hard to know where
to start but that’s what this article is about, getting started. And when you
do get an answer identifying your plant from a picture or specimen write it
down and keep that picture properly labeled to help you in the future.
Every gardener should know the basics of plant
identification. You should certainly be
able to identify every plant in your garden, even after the plant labels are
lost. Nobody knows every plant on sight
though, and even when you think you know what a plant is you can be fooled by
an atypical specimen or more likely, a blurry picture. (Or your old mind gets
fuzzy.) But there are some things you can observe on a plant you don’t recognize
that will help you identify it correctly.
What to observe
Many plants look very similar when you first look at them. That’s
the problem of those programs where you snap a picture on your phone and then
the program identifies it. Unless more
information is put into that program from observing the plant, that ID could
very well be incorrect. The more things
you can match from a reference description and the plant in hand the more
likely you will have a correct identification.
So, observe the plant you want to identify carefully.
Good reference books or reference sites will list certain things
that help determine one plant species from another. These are; the type of leaves, (simple or
compound), leaf shape, the leaf edges, whether leaves are hairy or not, leaf
color and the way leaves are arranged on the stem. Flower size, shape and color
are important. These are the things you should be observing.
Observe stem size, color, shape and whether it’s hairy, woody, or
has thorns or tendrils. Does the plant grow upright, or does it climb or sprawl
on the ground? The seed pod, seeds or
fruit shape, size and color help ID it.
Things like plant size, the type of roots, when the plant blooms, what
it smells like, what type of sap it has when stems are broken, and where the
plant is growing, (sun or shade, wet or dry) can help ID it too.
While a professional botanist will get very detailed and may use
words to describe shapes, edges, or other parts that you don’t recognize, most
people can look at a plant description in a reference and get a feel for what
is being discussed. If you don’t
understand a word, look it up. Many
references are made for the average person and use words like heart-shaped
instead of cordate. In a blog earlier
this year covering plant biology, I discuss some terminology for plant leaf
shapes, edges and arrangement that you may want to review.
All of the things you might need to identify a plant may not be
there, especially if you are looking at an immature specimen or a picture. If you aren’t collecting a specimen, and many
times you can’t or shouldn’t collect the plant, jot down your observations and
try to take a good clear, close picture. (Some cameras allow you to record
voice observations for notes.)
While flowers are very important in identification try to also get
pictures of the whole plant, and a close picture of the leaves and stems. Pictures
can help you identify a plant later, instead of relying on memory and they are
necessary if you are trying to get others to help you ID a plant.
It sounds silly but make sure the leaves and stems shown belong to
the plant whose flower you may be trying to identify. I’ve seen flower stems grow up through other
plants and the viewer assumes the plant right below the flower is the plant
that produced it. That can lead to a
difficult ID.
Blurry pictures, and pictures from a great distance that don’t
show individual plant features are not good identification tools. When asking
other people to help you identify a plant from a picture include those
observations you should have jotted down that I listed above. And don’t expect
accurate ID from those blurry pictures or pictures taken from 300 feet away
unless you also have very accurate descriptive notes.
A really great way to get a good, detailed picture of a plant is
to use a flat bed scanner. Place the
plant on the scanner bed with the leaf surfaces or flower facing down. Some flowers may be a little distorted by the
pressure of the scanner cover and tubular flowers will show a flattened image. You can place a shallow box over the specimen
on the scanner bed instead of using the cover to help this a bit. The scanner will capture a life size image of
your specimen. To make the details even
more visible you can place a piece of dark cloth or paper on top of the
specimen before closing the scanner cover.
If you are going to collect a specimen for ID try to get as many
different plant parts as possible. A
single flower may be fine for an ID in some cases but a flower, leaves and stem
and even a seed pod would be better. To
store a specimen, you could put it in a vase with water for a short time, or
you could press it. To press a flower/plant put it between some plain white
paper towels and put something heavy on it for a week or so. The color is lost or faded in many pressed
specimens so note the original color before pressing.
When collecting specimens remember it’s illegal to collect some
wildflowers. If you don’t know what you
are collecting this could be a problem. Take pictures instead. Avoid taking the only plant in an area. If possible leave the roots of the plant and
most of the foliage. If the plant is on private property you should ask before
removing it. Most public gardens don’t
allow people to collect specimens and if you ask a caretaker they can probably
ID the plant for you.
Your search for ID
You can use picture match features of many browser programs to
begin an ID (or just flip through books), but when you find a picture you think
matches go a bit further and look up a formal description of the plant to see
how many features you can match with your specimen. If you think you might know the identity
start by looking up that plant and comparing a good description to the specimen.
If you have no picture, only descriptive notes and your memory,
try typing the description in a search box and see what you get. Type “small creeping plant with blue daisy
flowers” for example and see what you get.
(I got Felicia amelloides-
Blue Marguerite, Phlox stolonifera- Creeping phlox, Ceratostigma plumbaginoides- plumbago, Anemone blanda- windflower when I
sifted through the results). One of
those might help identify the plant.
With this method you might get lucky quickly or need to sift
through dozens of hits and find nothing.
Try different word combinations for plant characteristics in the search
box and use the advance search options to narrow the search results. Using quote marks as in “small creeping plant
with blue flowers” may help. You then
take the names you come up with and look up the plants images and description
to see if they match your specimen.
Many of the hits that pop up from an online search may be from
plant catalogs. These may describe growth habits or flower color but not
describe things like leaves very carefully.
You can often use that description to find a scientific name though, and
then look that up.
Using books for ID
Each reference book may have a different way to make searching for
an ID easier. Read the book and
familiarize yourself on how it is organized. Some use flower color, plant bloom
time, or plant habitat (wetlands, desert and so on) to help narrow
searches. I prefer books with good color
pictures, but good drawings can also be helpful. Unlike some reference books good plant
identification references don’t go out of date and old books you may find in
resale stores can still be useful.
You may need several books, as covering all types of plants in one
book is next to impossible. You’ll
probably need books for trees, wildflowers, weeds, and ornamental plants. You may want one for herbs used medicinally
or food plants.
Some books I like are: Weeds of the Northeast- Uva,
Neal and DiTomaso, Armitages Manual
of Annuals, Bi-annuals and Half Hardy Perennials, Armitages Garden Perennials , Armitage's
native plants for North American gardens, Dirr's Encyclopedia of Trees and Shrubs (Michael Dirr), Manual of woody landscape plants- Michael A. Burstein, Trees of North America: A Guide to Field
Identification-Brockman, Revised and Updated, North American Wildlife-
Readers Digest, Houseplant Expert-Hessayon, Newcombs Wildflower Guide-(Newcomb).
Any of the Golden Field guide books and the Peterson field guide
books are great resources and cover various geographical areas and types of
plants like wildflowers or grasses or trees and so on. There are often very specialized ID books for
your state. Check with your county
Extension office for publications they may have for your state.
If I am identifying a plant you have in your hand I could give it
any common name I can come up with, and I’ve seen pranksters do that. So, a good gardener will always look up the
scientific name of a plant that’s been identified with a common name. Most references will give a number of common
names along with the scientific one. You
don’t have to use the scientific name, but you will at least know exactly what
plant species you have. Every plant has
only one true name and that’s the scientific one.
When you identify a plant for someone else, unless it’s a very
common plant with a pretty universal common name, think tulip or dandelion, try
to give that person both a common name and a scientific one.
There are many cultivars (or varieties) of common garden
plants. Sometimes people want the
cultivar name of a plant. This can be
quite tricky, especially from a photo.
If someone is a collector of that plant species and the cultivar is
distinctive they may be able to do it.
But for species like hosta, daylilies, roses, iris and many others that
have hundreds of cultivars, identifying a cultivar can be quite hard. Identifying a fruit cultivar from a picture,
such as an apple, can also be hard and not very accurate.
Never, ever, taste or eat plants that you can’t positively
identify. If a person or pet has eaten a
plant that you can’t identify don’t waste time on line or flipping through books
trying to ID it. Do gather as many
plant parts remaining as you can for ID and take some good pictures. Call
poison control or go to an emergency room, especially if any symptoms of
poisoning are apparent and bring the specimens or pictures with you. Those
experts will know who to contact for ID if they can’t ID the plant.
If you have to do a little sleuthing to identify a plant, you are
more likely to remember it in the future.
You’ll be proud of yourself and on the way to becoming a plant
identification expert. So, give it a
try on the picture below.
Descriptive notes include, native to the northeastern US,( cheating) a scrambler or vine, pink dangling balloon/ bell type flowers in small clusters in late spring, leaves compound, alternate attachment, leaflets are lobed, found in partial shade, moist areas. I'll give the answer next week or you can email me and ask if you got it right.
Jobs
in horticulture
If you are in high school or college or an adult looking to change
careers why not consider a job in the field of horticulture? If you are reading
this, you probably like gardening and plants so why not do what you love? Every year a wide range of jobs in
horticulture go unfilled and that is not including agricultural positions
harvesting food crops. The future of jobs in the field looks like it will only
grow.
Jobs in horticulture include a wide range of things including:
highly technical research and product development positions, teaching and
consulting, pest and disease diagnostic technicians, inspection and quality control,
environmental protection specialists, greenhouse management, turf management of
sports fields and golf courses, arborists, landscape design, floral design, and
working in landscaping or as a professional gardener in public or private
gardens.
According to the USDA there’s a 3 % growth in horticultural
production each year and ornamental horticulture is the fastest growing segment
of that growth. If you like plants and have an interest in a job that involves
them that’s good news. And while the US
government doesn’t track this growth, (and it overlaps with agriculture),
there’s tremendous growth in the area of marijuana production and the
development of medical and other products from the crop.
As more states legalize marijuana, and hopefully the federal
government finally becomes convinced of its safety and legalizes it on a
federal level, the need for people with horticultural degrees should greatly
increase. The marihuana industry has
become very scientific in its approach to production and high paying research
and development jobs are already available and should only increase.
How do you get a horticultural degree?
It used to be that most states had horticultural and agricultural degree
programs at their land grant universities.
Land grant universities were given land and federal and state money to educate
people in the newest and best practices of horticulture and agriculture (and
those are now considered different fields). Then through a system of county
Extension offices, educators were to be available at the local level to pass
that information to the public. The 4-H
and Master Gardener programs are part of that Extension system.
(Agriculture is generally
considered to be the process of producing food crops and animals. It also includes fiber, bio-fuels and timber
or Christmas tree production. Horticulture generally includes ornamental plants,
turf grass, and landscaping.
Environmental protection and management are also lumped with
horticulture in many places.)
I was lucky to work in a county with a good high school vocational
school where things like floral arrangement, greenhouse management, and
landscaping are taught as well as crop and livestock management skills. Most
students go on to pursue college degrees in horticulture and ag sciences. But the courses may be enough to allow
students better access to some horticultural jobs.
The Master Gardener Program offered in many states is not
considered job training and it varies widely from state to state and even
county to county as to how well the programs are ran and what they teach. Some places like greenhouses needing seasonal
help might consider the course sufficient training for the job. Master Gardener classes are good for people
to understand and solve their own garden issues and possibly inspire people to
go on and get more horticultural education.
People with horticultural degrees and /or vocational training are
highly sought after, with more jobs than qualified applicants in most areas. If
you are a young person looking for a career field or even an older person
looking to change careers, consider horticulture.
Fragrant tulips
It’s time to start thinking about ordering fall bulbs if you haven’t
done so. Why not order some fragrant tulips? Tulips don’t always return as well as daffodils
and some minor bulbs and they are deer candy but to me they are worth
planting. I like the fragrant varieties
as they give double pleasure in the spring.
Many fragrant tulips are orange or orange-red blends but there are a few
other colors. There are some fragrant
doubles and fragrant tulips come in early, mid and late season bloomers.
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| Tulip Angelique |
Here are some fragrant tulip varieties that I know of, there are
others out there: Abigail, Abba, Aafke, Ad Rem, Angelique, Apricot Beauty,
Ballerina, Beauty Queen, Brown Sugar,
Christmas Marvel, Coleur Cardinal,
Dillenburg, General de Wet, Keizerskroon, Little Beauty, Monsella, Moulin
Rouge, Oranjezon, Orange Favorite,
Orange Beauty, Orca, Peach Melba, Peach Blossom, Prince of Austria,
Princess Irene, Purissima, Rococo, Schoonoord, West Point.
Good places to find these tulips – and now is the time to buy
them- are Old House Gardens, http://www.oldhousegardens.com/ McClure and Zimmerman, http://www.mzbulb.com/ and Van Bourgondien http://www.dutchbulbs.com/ Order soon to get the best variety. You can plant tulips until the ground freezes
but in zones 5-6 early October is a good time to plant them. You need to order them soon to get them by
then.
Common reed (Phragmites
australis),
The Common Reed is found along roadsides and ditches, wetlands and
even in shallow flowing water. It is
often mistaken for Pampas grass, which is not hardy below zone 7 and doesn’t
usually spread into the wild. Phragmites
is a perennial grass that returns each spring, forming large colonies over the
years. It prefers sunny areas with damp
or wet soil. Phragmites are found throughout most of the world in wet areas. It can stand brackish water where rivers and
wetlands meet the sea.
Is it a native plant or invasive species? Phragmites is
interesting because it represents something biologists are just recognizing,
the spread of foreign genotypes which look similar to native species and
therefore often go unrecognized. Phragmites australis subsp. americanus, or Common Reed, is a
native to the Americas. The subspecies that was here before colonization has
subtle differences from the European species that can be difficult for the average
person to determine.
Native
species are usually smaller and have a reddish stem. However, it’s important to remember that the native
common reed is only a sub species of common reed and it’s very similar
genetically to the reed considered invasive. Growing conditions may greatly
influence how those small differences are expressed. Here’s a resource that explains
the differences but it’s my guess that the average person won’t do a good job
identifying the differences.
Before the 1900’s common reed was a relatively uncommon species in
North America, confined to marshy lands along both the east and west
coast. In the 1900’s they began to
rapidly expand their range across the U.S.
and became much more prevalent in wet areas everywhere. This was probably when the European species
was introduced into North America. It is
thought that the European species is hardier and more aggressive in colonizing
new areas. It’s also possible (likely) that we changed the environmental
conditions that favor the European species genetic differences so it’s more successful.
People who fret over invasive species think that the non-native
common reeds should be eliminated, citing the oft claimed theory that they
decrease diversity and crowd out native plants. They will cause wetlands to dry
up faster and succeed to meadows. They
produce a lot of biomass as well as using the water in the wet area. But a big
reason the reeds are disliked is because they take over beaches and boat launch
sites and hide pretty views. They ruin
what people think the environment should look like.
Many marsh and wading birds nest in both native and non-native common
reed stands, including the red winged blackbird. Stands of common reed can help stop shore erosion. Native people around the world had many uses
for the plant. The reed is the subject of many tales and fables and woven into
the oral and written history of man. It’s
not likely we will ever eradicate it from the US.
Description
The Common Reed looks like a large sturdy grass plant, which it
is. It’s a perennial grass, hardy all over the US. They can grow to over 15 feet high in good
conditions. Long, strap like leaves with
a rough feel are attached alternately along the stem. At the junction of leaf
and stem clusters of tiny hairs are seen. Plants range from bluish green to
yellow green in color.
Typical panicle type grass flowers are produced in summer. The
seed heads have tufts of filaments on each seed which gives them a hairy,
fluffy appearance as the seed heads mature.
These picturesque seed plumes can persist all winter and are excellent
for dried flower arrangements. They are
a purplish gray in early fall that fades to silver gray.
Despite the lavish seed heads Phragmites rarely has fertile
seed. It spreads primarily through the
root system. Small pieces of the roots
carried on farm equipment or shoes or washed down creeks can begin plants in
new locations. If you are a gardener who
wants some on your property, despite the invasive claims, all you need to do is
get a few pieces of rhizome to plant. It
needs a consistently moist sunny location to grow and it will spread.
Control
The native species of common reed and the invasive species can
grow in the same area. This will make it
extremely difficult to control one without eliminating the other. In many places you need a permit to remove
them especially if the control method will alter the wetlands they grow
in.
In other countries common reed is often controlled by allowing
animals to graze it or by mowing. Goats like common reed and are fairly easy on
the environment. Burning the grass in
the fall when it’s dry every year can control it. A certified pesticide
applicator has several chemical controls that can be used. All of these methods are not selective and
other things in the wetlands will be impacted. Homeowners should not attempt to
use pesticides on wetland areas.
Other uses of common reed
Common reed is a good plant to consider for phytoremediation, the absorption
of toxic chemicals and things like oil in wetlands. The plants are harvested and removed or burnt
to dispose of the toxins. Common reeds help
stabilize coastal areas and protect inland areas from the effects of flooding
and rising water levels. This will
become very important in the future.
For foragers, good news, common reed is edible. The shoots are cooked when young and eaten
like asparagus. The leaves can be eaten
when cooked also. Seeds are gathered and pounded into a flour, which is generally
used with other seed flours. Stems can
exude a sweet sap which is collected and rolled into balls to eat. Roots can be boiled and eaten. Powdered dried
stems are moistened and when expanded, roasted like marshmallows. Common reed stems are about 5% sugar and can
actually be boiled down to produce a sugar, like maple sugar. It is said to have a licorice taste.
Domestic animals can graze on common reed and it’s quite
nutritious for them. It can be dried for
hay or bedding.
Medicinal uses of common reed also exist. A decoction of the flowers was used to treat
food poisoning. The ashes of burned leaves were used as a styptic and to prevent
infections in wounds. Poultices were
used to treat genital warts. The roots have diuretic and sedative properties. The sap
is used for bad breath and mouth problems and for indigestion. There are no known toxic qualities of common
reed.
Common reed has been used for building and weaving for thousands
of years. It’s used to thatch roofs, bundled and used to build boats and even
huts. It’s woven into matts and baskets and
turned into paper. Sturdy stems were made into musical instruments, arrows and
fishing poles.
It’s a shame that there is such a war on a plant that has been
useful to man for thousands of years in almost all cultures. It would be far
better to recognize its helpful properties and harvest it instead of destroying
it.
Instant pickles
Here’s a recipe I am asked about from time to time. It’s not really instant but it is quick. It’s great for when you just have a couple
cucumbers. You’ll be surprised how much
like a pickle this recipe tastes.
Ingredients
2 thinly sliced and peeled cucumbers
1/2 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup cold water
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1 dill flower or a few chopped dill leaves
Directions
Combine everything in a bowl and let marinate in the refrigerator
for 15-minutes to an hour. It can sit
longer but the longer it sits the saltier the cukes become. Discard after 1 day.
Have you looked for meteors this week? You can still see them.
Kim Willis
And So On….
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permission.
I write this because I
love to share with other gardeners some of the things I come across in my
research each week. It keeps me engaged with people and horticulture. It’s a
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