Gardening Granny's Gardening Pages

Tuesday, March 12, 2019

March 12, 2019

Hello gardeners

Calla lilies

It’s pretty here today, the sun is shining and its almost 40 degrees. It’s supposed to be warmer and rain the next 2 days, which hopefully will get rid of all the ice that makes it so tricky to walk around and inspect my gardens.

The beds in the front yard are the first to thaw out. The ice and snow are mostly gone there, and I see some tips of bulbs starting to emerge. I also see that the deer have came right up close to the house and have eaten on my pretty dwarf golden arborvitae. Darn deer! It will be a race to get the ground thawed enough to put stakes in and get some electric wire strung and netting up to preserve bulbs coming up and the rest of my plants.

I usually have snowdrops in bloom by now and I can’t find any. It may be that they were dug up accidentally or buried too deeply when I was expanding the front beds last year. They are such tiny things it’s easy to miss the bulbs. But maybe they will still surprise me. I’m getting excited to see how the new bulbs I planted last fall will look. I planted a lot of daffodils so maybe they’ll be safe from the deer.

My amaryllis is so pretty right now. It has 3 large blooms with more to come. I believe it’s the variety Minerva, but when I bought it, it wasn’t labeled. It is about 5 years old and the pot now has three big bulbs in it. It bloomed outside on the deck mid-summer and now is blooming again. I have another smaller amaryllis that bloomed last year soon after I purchased the bulb, but although it has new leaves it hasn’t produced a bud stalk this year yet. Maybe another summer outside will get it blooming.

About this time of year, I think my houseplants want to be outside as much as I do. They are getting new leaves and growing a bit. I need to start repotting some things and soon I will be potting up the dahlias and some other overwintered bulbs. On the porch the rain lilies, coral drops and peacock orchids are popping up in their pots.

If you celebrate it have a happy St. Patrick’s day and don’t drink too much green beer.

Amaryllis

Saving the Shamrocks

It’s nearly St. Patrick’s Day and the holiday is associated with the shamrock. Is the shamrock a clover or an oxalis? It varies by who you talk to. The Irish associate a clover Trifolium dubium (Lesser or Hops clover) or Trifolium repens (White Clover) with the shamrock. But for most people the shamrock they are going to see around St. Patrick’s Day in pots is usually an oxalis. With a little care you can save this shamrock and have it as a houseplant for many years.

Oxalis are small plants, with a bulbous root. The leaves have 3-4 leaflets, sometimes heart shaped. Many are purple leaved or green splotched with purple. Most oxalis have small, 5 petal flowers that open flat in the spring, although some species have funnel shaped flowers. The flowers are lavender, pink, yellow or white, depending on species. One species, called the candy cane oxalis, has white flowers striped in red.

‘Iron Cross’ (Oxalis tetraphylla) is a four- leaved oxalis, green with purple cross markings and pink flowers. It’s a good potted plant. Oxalis vulcanicola- ‘Molten Lava’ has orange foliage with yellow flowers. There are other varieties for plant collectors too.

The oxalis sold as “shamrocks” are usually tender perennials and won’t survive outside in a cold winter. Keep them in a bright window and keep them moist but not over watered to the soggy point. A light fertilization once a month with a fertilizer for flowering plants will keep oxalis blooming for long periods of time, although they will take occasional breaks from blooming. Well cared for plants will become larger and live for several years. The tender oxalis can make great container plants outside during the frost-free months too.

Shamrock' Iron Cross'
Holland Bulb Farm

If you neglect to water the oxalis and it seems to die don’t despair. These plants sometimes go dormant when stressed. Lightly water the pot and let it sit for a couple weeks, watering when it dries out. Don’t overwater it while there are no leaves, or you may rot the bulbs. You should see new growth in a few weeks. You can then resume normal watering and fertilizing.

Oxalis or wood sorrel species are common throughout most of the world. There are also a few types of oxalis that can be planted outside. Oxalis adenophylla ‘Silver Shamrock’ has silver gray foliage with light pink flowers. It’s said to be hardy to zone 6. Oxalis depressa is a good pot plant with 4 leaved foliage and pink flowers with a yellow throat. It’s hardy in zones 5-8. When looking for oxalis to plant outside look in bulb catalogs. They may be called wood sorrel, a common name. The bulbs are quite inexpensive for most species. They need to be in front of the border or in containers to be seen well as the plants are short and the flowers small.

The most valuable crocus in the world yields its secret

Crocus may be blooming in your garden, but they probably won’t be Crocus sativus or the saffron crocus. Saffron is one of the most, if not the most, valuable spices in the world and has been so for thousands of years. The spice saffron is made from the red stigmas of the crocus flower, and there are only 3 to each flower. These are laboriously picked by hand and dried into what are called “threads”. It takes up to 200,000 threads to make a pound of saffron which sells in the US for more than $4,000 dollars.

Saffron blooms in the fall. Each saffron corm can produce up to 4 lavender to deep purple, fragrant flowers with those 3 bright red stamens. Growers can pick the whole flower without worry, since saffron crocus is sterile and can only be reproduced by separating baby corms from the parent corm and growing them to blooming size. This is another trait that keeps the saffron crocus and the spice it produces expensive.

Saffron crocus
credit Serpico Wikimedia commons

Scientists have long wondered where the saffron crocus came from as far as genetics. It has 3 duplicate sets of each of it’s 8 chromosomes making it what is known as a triploid and rendering it sterile. It was thought to be a hybrid of two species of crocus, but with the help of molecular genetics we now know the truth.

Researchers at TU Dresden's Institute of Botany found that saffron crocus actually is a mutant form of Crocus cartwrightianus, a species that is found in Greece. Two individuals of Crocus cartwrightianus that had slightly different chromosomes somehow fused together and then asexual reproduction, primarily helped by humans, kept the plant with its unique smell and taste alive

If you are thinking that saffron might be a lucrative crop to grow you wouldn’t be the first. Most saffron is now produced in Spain and Iran and a handful of other Mediterranean countries. There is some saffron grown in the US, the early Dutch settlers actually brought some with them and planted it cottage herb gardens. Its sometimes even found growing wild by old houses in the mid-south. But it’s not an easy crop to grow in the US.

Saffron is winter hardy to about 14 degrees F, but it doesn’t like wet winters. It likes hot dry summers with rains at just the right time in the fall. Animals like to eat the corms and out of the Mediterranean climate it has more problems with disease. Many growers in the US achieve small crops but commercial growing in the US hasn’t been very successful. It also requires lots of hand labor, which is more expensive here in the states.

Still, if an entrepreneur was to experiment with the plant and find ways to successfully grow it here, it could become a lucrative crop. Knowing the genetics may now allow scientists to figure out how to manipulate other, hardier species of crocus to produce the taste and aroma of saffron.

More reading

www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/03/190311125205.htm

Those wildflower seed mixes

It’s the time of year when many people are purchasing wildflower seed mixes. They have a dream of a beautiful meadow full of colorful flowers all summer long, attracting bees and butterflies. This meadow will be carefree, requiring no work on the gardener’s part for years after they sprinkle the seeds on the ground. Some even dream of filling containers with these wildflowers, because they don’t have any open space to plant them. Unfortunately, that wildflower meadow scenario is only realized in dreams.

I’ve noticed that those wildflower meadows in a bag (or a packet) aren’t as prominent as they used to be, and it’s probably because the concept just doesn’t work well, and sellers get lots of complaints. But they are still out there and every spring there are gardeners buying them. If you are considering this let me explain why it isn’t the best decision.

First you won’t succeed at all with these seed mixes unless you do a good job of preparing the soil first. You can’t just go out and sprinkle the seed on an existing lawn or a weedy patch of ground. You need to remove all existing vegetation and at least work up the first few inches of soil. Like growing grass seed, you should probably apply a light mulch over the seed so it won’t be washed away or eaten by birds.

You can plant these wildflower mixes in fall or early spring. If it is dry after you plant the seeds you need to have a way to water them until they germinate for the best results.

Realize that seeds that are in the soil already or that blow in or are carried in from nearby areas may come up with the seeds you planted. If you really want to do a good job of getting a wildflower meadow started you need to know how to recognize some invasive or aggressive weeds like ragweed, lambsquarters, dock, nettles and so on and weed them out when they are young.

And most native wildflowers look a lot like weeds. In fact, when things start coming up after you sow the wildflower mix most people can’t tell whether it’s the seeds they bought and sowed or weed seeds in the soil from what was there before. Of course, a weed is only a plant that you don’t want in a certain spot and many “weeds” have pretty flowers. But some weeds are neither pretty or pollinator friendly and they may quickly overtake everything else if not controlled.

What your wildflower patch might look like

Here’s a true story. Someone asked me to come look at their “wildflower” patch and tell them which were wildflowers and which were weeds. There were a few black-eyed Susan’s which we declared wildflowers. The rest was chicory, Queen Anne’s lace, some common yarrow, some goldenrod that wasn’t blooming yet and a lot of different grasses. Now to some people those are wildflowers but when I pointed that out to the homeowner, they were aghast. “But that was what was there before” she said. “Where are the yellow and red flowers that were in the picture?”

Most wildflower mixes claim they have a variety of seeds in them and they probably do. Some are carefully blended from native plants that would grow in your area if all went well but that mix may well contain seeds of plants that you consider roadside weeds.

Some wildflower mixes are a hodgepodge of seeds from many habitats and climates, some of which may grow in your area and some that won’t. They may contain lots of quick blooming annual flowers which aren’t considered wildflowers or that aren’t native. That may be fine with those that aren’t native plant purists and some of those mixes are actually the prettiest, at least the first year.

Read the label to see what seeds are in the mix, and what the percentage of each is. Look up flowers that you don’t recognize from their names. If the label doesn’t have that information you shouldn’t buy it. Buy mixes for your climate and conditions that exclude any invasive weed seeds and contain the types of plants you hope to see bloom.

Most “wildflowers” have short periods of bloom when they look pretty, and then the rest of the year they look like straggly weeds. It’s very hard to balance a seed mixture so that something should be blooming all over, all the time and even harder to get those seeds to germinate and bloom when and where they should. Many plants grown from seed won’t bloom until the second or even the third year after planting.

A realistic expectation of a wildflower meadow planted from seed is that are times that it will look pretty and times when it will not. You may get something that looks like the picture on the bag if you are very lucky, at least for one year. But wildflower meadows aren’t the same each year either. Some species die, some proliferate and take over much of the area. Weather and other things affect bloom seasons. Trees and shrubs grow up and plants invade from outside areas. This requires some weeding and brush cutting if you want some semblance of meadow to remain.

You may be thinking more about helping pollinators than creating beauty and that is fine. But realize there may not be plants in bloom for pollinators all the time either. Most of the time your wildflower patch will probably look like a farm field that’s been left alone for a few years and reverted to a semi-natural state. That’s ok with some of us but for others it’s a disappointment.

Your neighbors may not appreciate the weedy look of most wildflower meadows, and if there are any laws about mowing you may be forced to mow your “weeds” down. So, before you go to the work of planting that wildflower meadow make sure you are in an area that will allow you to leave an area unmowed. And remember that wilder areas may harbor wildlife like snakes, frogs, mice and rabbits. I think this is fine, but you or your neighbors may not.

If you want a nice, colorful wildflower or native pollinator friendly patch you would be better off to select and plant small seedlings of native perennial plants. Choose those you like, and that grow in your planting zone and conditions (sun, shade, moisture level in soil, soil type). Select things that bloom at various times of the year. These starter plants are available now from many places. Mulch around them to help keep unwanted plants from popping up. Water them until they are established.

If you want color through much of the year and a lot of pollinators sow small patches of annual flowers among the perennials. These can be native or things like zinnias, tithonia, sunflowers, nicotiana and cosmos that are both colorful and attractive to pollinators. Some of these may reseed for you.

It may be a bit more expensive and a lot more work, but most people will be much more satisfied with the results of a carefully planned and planted wildflower or native pollinator patch than a mixture of seeds from all types of plants spread randomly. Work on it in stages if you need to, some plants can be divided or will spread on their own to expand the plot.

For those with really small beds or who want to use containers, buying starter plants is really the best way to grow wildflowers or pollinator friendly native plants. You could mix a few plants in one pot or have individual pots for each plant and group the pots. You’ll want to select plants that look good in and out of bloom or that have long bloom periods. You might buy seeds of one or two varieties of wildflowers to start in a small bed. Remember some perennials take 2 or more years to bloom.

For those of you who don’t worry about neighbors and don’t really care how the wildflower patch will evolve over the years, or that your patch is not so attractive at times, there still may be some use for those wildflower seed mixes. But do have realistic expectations of what will result from planting them and what work is needed to get them to grow.

Spring seeding lawns

Spring is the second-best time to plant lawn grass seed, after early fall. This would be for cool season grasses, grasses like Kentucky bluegrass, most fescue and ryegrasses. This would include completely seeding a new lawn or patching older lawns.

To get good germination of grass seed you need to time the planting carefully. You want the air temperatures to be about 65 degrees F on average in the day time when you seed. For gardeners in planting zones 7-8 that will probably be mid-to late March. For those in zones 5-6 Early April will probably work best and for zones 3-4 mid to late April.

If you wait too late to plant your grass seed and it gets warm and dry, you’ll have poor germination and growth. If you can’t plant grass seed early in spring consider leaving it to early fall, which is the best time to plant it.

While you want the area you are seeding to be free of snow, ice and standing water when you seed, a little snow or frost after you seed won’t hurt. If you are seeding a new lawn on bare soil or totally renovating an old lawn by removing all vegetation, you’ll want the soil in the area to be workable- able to support you or equipment without making deep ruts or footprints. When you pick up some soil and squeeze, it will crumble when you open your hand instead of remaining in a clay like clump.

For new lawns and total renovations work up the soil until the surface has no large clods or rocks. Rake it smooth and fill in low spots. If the topsoil was removed, as in some new construction sites, you may want to purchase topsoil. Put down at least 3 inches, more if you can afford it before you seed. Try to work it into the top 3-6 inches of what subsoil was left in the area.

If the topsoil was not removed by construction you probably won’t need to add topsoil, even if you think the soil is poor. Lime usually isn’t needed either, it’s better to do without it than add it when it’s not needed. The best plan would have been to have the soil tested last fall. You can still have it done but in spring getting results often takes longer and you may miss the best grass seeding time. In this case if you still think you need some amendments work in 2-3 inches of compost to the existing soil.

For new and renovated lawns you can add some grass fertilizer either when you plant or when you see the grass sprouting. Follow the label directions carefully for the amount to apply. Keep fertilizer off hard surfaces and away from drains. There are some fertilizers specially formulated for newly seeded lawns.

If you are adding seed to bare spots, you’ll need to be able to rake up the soil a bit so the seed has good contact with the soil. And when overseeding and patching lawns any old grass needs to be cut very closely before you begin. (Overseeding is adding grass seed to an existing lawn that is thin.)

Before seeding bare spots or overseeding, you can apply a couple inches of compost right over the existing lawn. Then add the grass seed. You can also fertilize just after you see the new grass germinating. In this case don’t fertilize when planting seed as the fertilizer will invigorate the older grass and it may shade the new young grass or compete too vigorously with it. Once it has sprouted and is an inch or so high it has a better chance at competing with the old grass.

DO NOT use lawn fertilizer with crabgrass preventer when planting grass seed unless you have read the label directions and it states clearly that it can be used when seeding. Many types of crabgrass prevention products will inhibit the germination of other grass seeds too. Scotts and a few other companies claim to have products you can use to prevent crabgrass that won’t harm other grass seedlings. Also do not use corn gluten meal when you plant grass seed, it will inhibit germination.

To keep birds from eating the seed you may want to cover seeded areas with chopped straw. If applied lightly it won’t hurt existing grass and breaks down quickly. Some grass seed is dyed green and the idea is birds don’t see it, but that doesn’t always work. Keep people and pets off seeded areas until after the grass has been mowed for the first time. That first mowing should be when the grass blades have reached 3 ½ inches and you cut them back to 3. For the healthiest lawns keep grass blades about 3 inches long.

The most common reason that grass seed doesn’t germinate is hot, dry weather. If spring is dry you must water the seeded areas often and if it’s also hot – 75 degrees plus, you may need to do it everyday until the seed germinates.

Forcing spring flowers

By the time March arrives most plants have had enough dormancy chilling so that a spell of warm weather can quickly bring them into bloom. But if you bring branches of flowering plants into warm rooms you can hurry the process along. Not every plant can be forced into bloom; it’s the branches of woody ornamental plants that bloom in early spring that can give you those perky blooms.

Good plants to try are forsythia, flowering quince, crabapples, flowering almond, redbud, flowering dogwoods, spirea, and branches from most fruit trees such as apricot, peach, apple, cherry, plum and pears. Branches of pussy willow can provide fuzzy catkins. You may even want to add some branches that add green (or other colored) leaves to your bouquet. Maples and willows for example, have many leaf color variations that can be a pleasing touch. Magnolias and lilacs can be tried, but it takes longer for them to bloom inside and success isn’t a sure thing.

Use nice sharp pruning shears to get pieces of woody plants that are the right size for your vase. Use care not to destroy the shape of the plant you are cutting from. Get permission to cut branches from the trees or shrubs if they don’t belong to you.

Make your cuts on a slant just above a bud on a branch. This is so a long bare stub won’t be left on the plant. You are looking for branches with flower buds, which are generally fatter than leaf buds. If you are in doubt take a thumbnail and cut a bud open, you should be able to tell whether petals or leaves are hidden inside. Of course, as stated above, some leaves may be desirable additions to the vase.

Bring your cut branches into the house and remove any buds along the branch that will be underwater in your vase. You may want to crush the bottom of heavier branches, so they take up water better. Place the branches in a vase of warm water. Put them in a cooler area of the home- 55- 65 degrees F would be ideal - (it will feel warm to them). Put them in good light but not in a sunny window. Keep the vase full enough that the bottom of the stems is never above the water level. If any stem is out of water for more than a few minutes, it should have a new cut made at the bottom. If the water begins to smell dump it and add fresh.

When the plants begin blooming you can bring them to a place where you want to display them. Blooming may take anywhere from a few days to 2 weeks depending on the plant and the conditions. You should notice the buds swelling and beginning to show color as time progresses. If after two weeks you notice no swelling or signs of life you may have chosen dead branches or branches from plants that don’t respond to this type of stimulus. Discard those branches.

The blooms will last about a week. They will be larger and last longer in cooler temperatures. Taking cuttings every few days can prolong the time you have stems in bloom. Once warm weather begins to arrive outside, stems may only need a day or two to break into bloom inside.

Forcing some spring flowering plants into bloom early is a fast track to spring. It’s quick and easy to do, even though it may mean a trip outside into bitter winter weather. So,bundle up and get rid of that cabin fever by taking a walk outside to get some branches to force into bloom. You’ll be pleased you did it.

The best fertilizer is the gardeners shadow

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 but all gardeners anywhere are welcome)

Newsletter/blog information

I write this because I love to share with other gardeners some of the things I come across in my research each week (or things I want to talk about). It keeps me engaged with people and horticulture. It’s a hobby, basically. I hope you enjoy it. If you are on my mailing list and at any time you don’t wish to receive these emails just let me know. If you or anyone you know who would like to receive a notification by email when a new blog is published have them send their email address to me. KimWillis151@gmail.com

Tuesday, March 5, 2019

March 5, 2019 Kim’s Weekly Garden Blog

Hello gardeners

Streptocarpus

If I concentrate on looking up at the sky from a warm place inside it looks like spring. Well, at least when the sun is shining, and the blue sky shows. Bah, humbug to this bitter cold weather we are having. When I went to the barn this morning there was a peculiar snow mist- you could feel it on your face and see it as a fog across the fields, but it didn’t look like snow up close. The sun has been trying to shine all morning- when it stops snowing.

March is the start of meteorological spring. If the old saying holds true -in like a lion- out like a lamb- then we are due for a mild end to the month. Checking my calendar for last year I found it was warmer the first week of March but on March 8, 2018 we had 8 inches of snow. It’s supposed to drop below zero tonight, but then we start a warm up and by the weekend it will be in the 40’s, with rain of course.

I am more than ready to get outside and do some gardening. Plans are whirling around in my head. There’s so much clean up to do. March is usually a month of extremes here- frogs singing one day- snow the next, but at least there are some days when you can get outside to work and flowers start blooming. The first thing I have to do is get out there and cover those flowers that are coming up with netting, so the deer don’t eat them.

At least the flowers here have stayed dormant. I am hearing that in some places the trees and flowers started budding and now they are being hit with bitter cold. That is very discouraging for gardeners. Covering some things might help but many things will lose their blooms, and some may experience serious dieback. Nature can be cruel.

My expensive sweet corn seeds have arrived. I’ve been placing plant and seed orders but hoping those plants don’t ship too soon. Seed catalogs are filling my mailbox, very tempting, but I keep reminding myself, I have a lot to take care of right now.

I may not have flowers outside, but things are blooming inside. I have an “Easter” cactus blooming, fuchsia, dipladenia, amaryllis, streptocarpus, geraniums, and a pretty pink impatiens that came up in a pot on its own.

March almanac

The full moon in March occurs on the 21^st and is called the Worm moon, because earthworms once more make worm casts on the soil surface, or Sap moon because the trees begin to produce sap again. Moon apogee was the 4^th. The moon perigee is the 19^th – so close to the full moon it might be a good day to expect a storm.

The most important date for all gardeners in March is, of course the first day of spring. It’s March 20^th. That’s the date when the length of the day and the night are about the same, the spring (vernal) equinox. Actually, in Michigan, the length of the day will be 12 hours and 10 minutes. The length of the day will be 12 hours, 42 minutes on March 31^st. March 10^th begins daylight savings time. Spring those clocks ahead 1 hour.

Other important dates and holidays in March are: 7th – Employee Appreciation Day, 8th International Women’s day, 12th – Girl Scout Day and Plant a flower Day, the 13th is National popcorn day and the 14th National Potato chip day. The 14th is also Learn about Butterflies day.

The 15th is the Ides of March. In ancient Rome this was the beginning of the New Year and also of spring. The 17th is St. Patrick’s Day and the 18th is the Goddess of Fertility day. The 19th is poultry day, if you want some information about backyard chickens why not buy my book- Raising Chickens for Dummies. I also have some articles here: http://gardeninggrannysgardenpages.blogspot.com/p/chickens-ducks-turkeys-care-misc.html

My chicken book- you can buy it on Amazon

The 20th is Earth Day although beware-it’s also Alien Abduction day. The 25th is National Agriculture day as well as National Pecan day and National Waffle day. The 30th is National Doctors day.

March is Irish American month as well as National Women’s History month, National Nutrition month, National Peanut month, National Craft Month and National Frozen Foods month. It’s also National Reading month and I encourage you to read up about gardening and plants in general.

March’s birth flower is the daffodil or jonquil, the birthstone is aqua marine. Here’s a link to an article on growing them.

https://gardeninggrannysgardenpages.blogspot.com/p/how-to-grow-daffodils-marchbirth-flower.html

Fuchsia’s for indoors

Fuchsia 'Eruption'

Many gardeners are familiar with the showy large flowered fuchsia’s that make great hanging baskets for shady spots outside in summer. But many people aren’t familiar with the older varieties of small flowered fuchsias that can make a great flowering houseplant. These fuchsias can also be moved outside in the summer where they are very attractive to hummingbirds.

Most of the small flowered fuchsias used as houseplants belong to the species F. triphylla or are hybrids of that species and another. This species is native to the Caribbean Islands and has been in cultivation since the 1800’s. Some common names are firecracker fuchsia or honeysuckle fuchsia. F. triphylla is a small shrub 2-3 feet tall with drooping branches. In warm climates zone 10 and above, this species can be used as a landscape plant but most gardeners will know them as tender perennials for houseplant or seasonal container use.

The triphylla fuchsias have small oval leaves that are often purple tinged, and they are lightly hairy. There is at least one golden leaved variety. Kept in pots and hanging baskets the plants can be trimmed to maintain shape, but they seem to be fairly slow growing in these conditions. The stems are wiry and woody when mature. Plants are attractive out of bloom, although they won’t be out of bloom often under good conditions. They maintain their leaves all year round unless it gets too dry or cold.

The flowers of this fuchsia are long and tubular with a flare of petals at the end, in the wild they are red or purple. There are several other colors that have been developed. The stamens of the flowers protrude out of the tube and when a hummingbird comes to visit they rain pollen on his head. The flowers are in clusters at the end of drooping stems. The species has a long flowering period, only pausing bloom when very dry or in colder periods. Mine typically bloom sporadically all winter and all through spring, summer, and fall. Bonus note: fuchsia flowers are edible!

Some cultivars of Fuchsia triphylla are 'Thalia' which has orange-scarlet blooms and 'Coralle' with salmon-orange-pink blooms ‘Gartenmeister Bonstedt’ is an older, sterile hybrid of F. triphylla known in Victorian times as Lady’s Eardrop. It has bright red flowers, and dark green foliage with purple veins. ‘Billy Green’ has pretty deep pink flowers.

‘Carmel Blue’ is a hybrid with slightly larger flowers, white outer petals with violet center petals and red stamens. It fades to a pinkish violet as it ages. ‘Genii’ is a hybrid with gold to lime green foliage, red outer flower petals with purple centers and red stamens. ‘Annabel’ has larger, semi-double flowers of pale pink. ‘Eruption’ has bright coral pink or orange blooms and is the variety often offered in retail stores.

There are many other species of fuchsia and gardeners may be attracted to the gorgeous, large, double flowering varieties often sold in hanging baskets in spring in garden centers. These large flowered varieties can be tricky to keep alive even in the summer, and are very hard to keep alive inside in winter unless you own a greenhouse and can baby them through winter. The triphylla fuchsias make much better houseplants.

Care

Indoors the triphylla fuchsias like a bright location, near a south window or near grow lights for best bloom. Outside they prefer light to medium shade conditions but if kept constantly moist can survive some sun. When you first move them outside, they need to go in shade, then gradually moved to sunnier locales if that’s where you want them. They can be planted in large hanging baskets or pots. Use a good, humus rich soil or potting medium.

Fuchsias must be kept moist but not soggy wet, they need a pot that drains well. They need more water in hot, dry or sunny conditions and less when it’s colder and darker. They may drop their leaves if they get too dry but will recover if they are watered before it’s too late. These fuchsias like a higher humidity level but will survive in average home humidity levels.

Normal room temperatures, 65-70 degrees F., suit these fuchsias just fine. They can survive temperatures down to 40 F or so but may lose their leaves and go dormant. Some people have had them survive light frosts, but I wouldn’t push my luck there. If you are summering them outside bring them in before frost.

To keep these fuchsias blooming they need regular fertilization. Use a fertilizer for blooming plants and follow label directions for houseplants if they are kept inside. Fertilize once a month October through February and every other week at other times.

If you start with small plants transplant them into larger pots as they grow. When you get to a 10-12-inch diameter pot you may want to quit up sizing and prune the plant to keep it in bounds. If you go to bigger pots you can grow the plants to 2-3’ feet high and wide, which is an impressive sight in full bloom.

Fuchsias bloom on new wood so a little pruning in late winter can encourage that. I rarely prune mine, however, and they manage to put out new wood and blooms on their own. I have heard that some people prune them hard in fall and overwinter them dormant, in a place about 40 degrees F. I prefer to just bring mine inside to a sunny window in the fall and let them bloom their heads off.

Inside fuchsia plants may suffer from whitefly and occasionally scale or spider mites. A warm shower can help with these insect pests or use an appropriate houseplant pesticide. (Maybe some marigolds will help with the whitefly- see article further in the blog.)

Fuchsia plants rarely produce seed when kept inside and some hybrids are sterile. However, they are easily started from cuttings of new, green growth. You can find small plants of rarer varieties in specialty catalogs- try www.selectseeds.com – and in spring you may find plants in larger local nurseries.

If you like blooming houseplants I encourage you to try a triphylla species of fuchsia. These plants are not that difficult to grow indoors and will give you a long season of cheerful flowers.

Spring is for garden myths and old wives’ tales.

It’s spring and all the websites are trying to get your attention as your thoughts turn to gardening. A lot of times they headline “tips” or “hacks” that seem really easy. But even some websites that look real professional pass along tips that are really myths and worthless. And some of those so called “hacks” can be harmful too.

Gardening is about art and science combined. But before you can use art effectively in gardening you also need a bit of that science. Anyone can garden but good advice and some experience will make you a better gardener. Many people turn to others for garden advice and education. But beware of all those garden sites who are only there to make money from you or those social media posts that could cause harm with bad information they spread.

Matchsticks in pots myth

The matchsticks in flower pots and stuck around plants in the garden or buried in planting holes “hack” or “tip” is going around social media again. Supposedly the sulfur and other chemicals in the match heads helps plants in many different ways- different websites claim different miracles.

Matches contain red phosphorus, sulfur and potassium chlorate, ammonium phosphate impregnated into the matchstick wood, glues, dyes, occasional other fillers and chemicals, and powdered glass with a paraffin coat over the head. Some of these chemicals are indeed used in plant fertilizers. But the quantities in matchheads are minute. And since the chemicals are bound with glue and covered in paraffin its going to take a long, long time before those chemicals are available to plants.

If your plants need fertilizer just buy it. For a teaspoon of good fertilizer, you’d need to use a whole box or maybe more of matches. Some sites advise people to put 3 matches in each plant hole for example. This is a hilariously minute amount of any beneficial chemicals and amounts to a good luck charm, nothing else. It would be cheaper to use fertilizer and since fertilizer is formulated to break down in soil it begins working quickly.

And the chemicals in matches are not safer than those in fertilizer, in fact since they haven’t been evaluated as a plant fertilizer there could be harmful ingredients in matchheads, although they would be in minute quantities too. It’s not “organic” just because you pull it out of the cupboard or buy it at a grocery. And its safer to buy products formulated for the way you want to use them.

Matchheads won’t cure plant diseases or kill insect pests either. Sulfur is sometimes used for fungal diseases, but its sprayed-on plants, not buried under them. The long and short of it is that using matches in flower pots and planting holes is an old wives tale and myth. Don’t waste your time and money.

Cornmeal myths

Another persistent myth and popular “garden hack” is to tell people to sprinkle cornmeal around your lawn and garden beds to prevent weed seeds from germinating. It won’t work and may attract ants and mice. The idea comes from research done on another corn product- corn gluten meal- which is NOT the same as cornmeal. Using cornmeal on the lawn and garden is a waste of time and money.

Studies of corn gluten meal as a weed preventative have ambiguous findings. In some places it does seem to keep seeds from germinating when applied to the ground early in the spring. In other places it didn’t seem to work very well. The type of soil and weather conditions may have something to do with the varying results. Remember if it works it will keep all kinds of seeds from germinating, not just weeds. And it won’t kill weeds already growing or that are perennial. You don’t buy corn gluten meal in the grocery store, but you can find it in some garden supply stores.

And by the way, cornmeal will not cause ants to explode after they eat it. Ants don’t digest food they pick up, they take it back to the nest and feed it to larvae to digest. The larvae digest cornmeal very well and then feed it to the worker ants. If the worker ants do consume cornmeal they can spit it back up if it bothers them.

Planting marigolds among your tomatoes may be beneficial

Here’s another example of folklore that might have some truth to it. Gardeners have long suggested planting marigolds among other plants, called companion planting, can keep harmful insects away. Now research has proven that at least in greenhouses, marigolds can shoo whiteflies away from tomatoes.

Researchers at Newcastle University (UK), found that planting French marigolds among tomato plants in a greenhouse kept whiteflies away from them. Whiteflies suck the sap of plants, weakening them and transmitting diseases to them. They are a common greenhouse and houseplant pest.

The researchers found that marigolds release limonene vapors – a chemical also found in citrus peel - and limonene repels the flies. (Studies have found it also repels mosquitoes.) Since limonene can be easily produced commercially there’s hope that a simple solution like cards impregnated with the scent and hung among greenhouse plants would also keep whiteflies away.

Limonene doesn’t kill whiteflies and it also doesn’t kill bees and other helpful pollinators. In fact, bees like marigolds and visit them for their nectar. Limonene is also harmless to animals and humans, at least in the small amounts inhaled as vapors. It doesn’t need to be sprayed on plants, just the “smell” of nearby plants is effective.

Now before you get excited remember that this research was done in a greenhouse, where scents would tend to remain and not be blown away in the wind. It focused on one indoor pest- whitefly. There still is no research that proves planting marigolds in your garden beds outside would be effective in keeping common outside pests away from plants. In fact, some research done with companion planting outdoors has found that there is little benefit as far as pest control.

But research has shown that interspersing flowering plants attractive to pollinators among other plants may help pollinators find those less attractive plants and increase production. Farmers are even planting pollinator strips around some crop fields and in orchards. So, planting marigolds among your tomatoes, peppers, and other garden plants that need pollination to produce fruit could be helpful. If insects are repelled that’s a bonus.

If you have a greenhouse or grow room where whiteflies have become a problem planting some marigolds in it might help protect your crop. If whiteflies are a problem around your houseplants maybe a pot or two of marigolds would help. Marigolds are easily grown from seed.