Gardening Granny's Gardening Pages

Tuesday, April 9, 2019

April 9, 2019

Hi Gardeners

We’ve had a few days of beautiful spring weather, with sunny days and temps near 70. It’s partly sunny and in the fifties today, a bit windy but not too bad. Of course, as many of you are aware- or if you aren’t, I hope I am making you aware- we are going to get some winter like weather across the country, starting tomorrow. Some places in the south may get severe storms and tornadoes.

I do feel sorry for those whose fruit trees and magnolias are blooming, because snow and freezing weather may harm these. Don’t worry about the early spring blooming bulbs, like crocus. Most of these won’t be harmed even if snow covered. Things like tulips could be crushed by heavy snow. There’s just not much you can do- unless you can cover clumps of tulips with something like a bucket. Don’t cover them with plastic or cloth, which will just be weighed down by snow and make things worse.

Here at my place the crocus have joined the winter aconite in bloom. The white snow crocus by the house bloom first, followed by the early lavender crocus and proceeding to the large flowered crocus in various spots that are just starting to bloom. I see buds on the earliest types of daffodils. The tulips, alliums, hyacinths and fritillaria are well above the ground.

As I look at the tree line, I notice the slightest flush of yellow and red, signs the buds are swelling. Pussy willows by the pond have fuzzy catkins. The amur honeysuckle already has tiny green leaves. The winter wheat in the farm fields across the road is well sprouted and being grazed nightly by a herd of 9 deer. I feel sorry for the farmer whose field is being nibbled, but I’m glad the deer have something to divert them from my gardens.

I have been cleaning out beds and transplanting things. Cool wet weather is a great time for moving plants. I moved two landscape roses and some daylilies. It’s also a good time for fertilizing. I used an entire 20 pound bag of general purpose fertilizer on my flower beds. I get a soil test about every 3 years, but I know my property very well, having gardened here for 25 years, so I pretty much know what’s needed. There are no hard surfaces for the fertilizer to run off and I’m careful how I spread it. I know my plants do very well with my regular spring fertilization, it’s a one time a year fertilization, just as plants get growing and that’s it for the perennials.

And yes, I do use a “chemical” fertilizer, a granular slow release type. I don’t mind organic but I know the plants don’t care either way so I get what I can find at a good price. My flower beds also get organic matter from the leaves and other mulches I use, and the soil is rich and healthy for the most part.

So, what’s happening inside? My amaryllis is still blooming, putting out flower after flower. An ivy geranium I have in a window in the front room is blooming like crazy. The hibiscus are starting to bloom again.

I am going to have to move some plants around though, to make room for my newest addition, a beautiful cannabis plant. (It’s legal here now.) I need to get Mary Helen, as I’ve named her, under a good strong grow light. I don’t usually name plants but this one is special. As much as I know about plants the care and feeding of a modern pot plant is very involved. When I was younger you threw some seeds in a pot and put the pot on a sunny windowsill on the back side of the house so fewer people could see it. Or the seeds came up on their own by the porch step where you sat and smoked it.

But cannabis growing is very technical now. So many weeks in this size pot, with this much light, the so many weeks in the next sized pot with this much light and so on. Plus, different fertilizer formulas for different growth stages and managing heat and humidity- it’s a lot of work it seems. But I will soldier on. And, oh that smell!

Ant control myths

It’s spring and someone wants an organic solution for getting rid of ants. As sure as sunrise someone else will recommend sprinkling cornmeal- or grits- where the ants are to get rid of them. Somehow the idea that ants eat cornmeal or grits then bloat and explode got started and it’s hard to make that false idea die. There’s no evidence that ants ever die from eating cornmeal or grits. And the biology of the ant’s digestive system makes that explosion pretty much impossible.

Ants don’t digest solid foods they may gather, like pollen grains, pieces of dead caterpillars, leaves and so on. The solid bits go into a special pouch area and get carried back to the nest where they are fed to the ant larvae, which do digest solids. The larvae then regurgitate a liquid which is shared through the colony of both worker ants and larvae. There’s no gas build up since they have the ability to regurgitate. Researchers have fed cornmeal and other substances to ant colonies with no problems.

The nonsense of cornmeal killing ants probably got started because cornmeal is often used in ant pesticides as an attractant. A poison is liquefied then added to cornmeal which absorbs it. When you sprinkle cornmeal around in the garden you aren’t killing pests, you are attracting them. You’ll get ants as well as mice and squirrels and other critters. And cornmeal can also mold and look and smell nasty. When you hear someone recommending using cornmeal to make ants explode just laugh.

Boric acid and jelly, it’s the second most common “home remedy” for ants circulated in social media and among gardeners. And yes, boric acid kills ants, it’s one of the most common ingredients in commercial ant control products and get this- it’s a registered pesticide! So, it’s not a myth that boric acid kills ants but it’s neither natural nor safe, that’s the myth. When you use boric acid, whether you buy commercial products or mix up some concoction you read about, you are applying a chemical pesticide, not a “natural” product. And

Despite all the claims boric acid is not harmless to children and pets. Boric acid powder can be inhaled, and chronic exposure will cause problems. Getting powder in the eyes will cause severe damage. But the most common way to be poisoned by boric acid is by consuming it. Normally pets and children would not eat enough boric acid to make them terribly ill but when someone mixes it with jelly, honey or maple syrup they may consume enough to become seriously ill or die.

Boric acid is not harmless to plants either. Boric acid products on plant foliage will dry it out and cause leaf death. Too much boric acid in the soil causes plant death. This can happen when boric acid products are leached into the soil by rain or irrigation.

So, the bottom line is boric acid is a pesticide and can cause poisoning like all other chemical pesticides. If you mix up concoctions with it, they must be placed in containers that pets and children cannot get into. Boric acid doesn’t just kill ants. Sweet mixes should not be openly spread around in the environment where they can kill bees, helpful insects, and wildlife. If you use a powdered mix pets should not be able to walk through it, as they can be poisoned by licking their paws.

Ants and peonies

Spring is also the time when another ant myth pops up. When people look at peonies and peony buds, they often notice ants on them. Some people swear the peonies need ants and others think ants harm peonies. But the truth is ants are neither bad for peonies nor good for them.

Peonies have many nectar glands, they occur in the flower’s reproductive parts, starting when the buds enlarge and lasting at least to the green seed pod stage. Ants enjoy this nectar. But peonies don’t need ants to eat the nectar. Ants don’t help the buds open by eating “sticky” nectar off and they don’t generally pollinate the peony flower either. Ants do defend a food source to some extent and may keep things like caterpillars from eating the flowers. But this is a minor benefit in most cases.

Peonies without ants will open their flowers just fine. And the ants don’t harm the flowers so there’s no need to control them. There’s plenty of nectar for everyone. Using pesticides in this case, even organic ones, is not good environmental stewardship.

Ants don’t show up on every peony plant. Some varieties seem to attract more ants than others, and what’s available in your area for ant food may determine whether you have ants on your peony flowers or not. If you object to ants being on flowers you are cutting for a bouquet you can shake the flowers or dip them slowly into cold water upside down to remove ants.

Every year these ant myths pop up again and again. Do your part by not spreading these myths and encouraging other gardeners to become educated about ants and how to control them.

Summer bulbs to try

Do you associate planting bulbs with fall? If that’s the case, you may be missing out on some wonderful flowers that are grown from bulbs planted in spring and that bloom in summer and fall. I like interesting and different plants and some of the spring planted bulbs provide plenty of interest. Spring planted bulbs many gardeners are familiar with are dahlias, glads, and cannas but there are many more bulbs gardeners should get to know. (Some of these have tubers, corms or rhizomes botanically but are generally lumped together with bulbs.) Let’s explore some of those lesser known spring planted bulbs, tubers, rhizomes and corms.

calla lilies

Calla lilies -Zantedeschia aethiopica are great summer bulbs. You may be familiar with the small plants sold in nurseries with a wide assortment of colors, including one that’s nearly black. The foliage ranges from narrow sword shaped leaves to broader oval shaped leaves. Some varieties have leaves spotted with white. But there are callas you can buy that make huge plants, covered in large impressive flowers. The common original species can grow 3 feet high and wide with huge white flowers. ‘Green Goddess’ has white flowers that shade to green near the tip and a frilled edge. These plants can get 5 feet high.

Callas prefer full sun in the north and light to partial shade in the south. These plants are not hardy below zone 8. They are very frost tender and should not be put outside until after the last frost. You can start them inside a month earlier. Callas can be used as pond plants, with the pots sitting in shallow water. Keep about half of the pot above the water line. You can treat them as annuals or store the bulbs over the winter. If you intend to store the bulbs cut off any seed pods that start to develop on the plants after blooming.

Bat flower
wikimedia

Bat flowers, (Tacca chantrieri, black and Tacca integrifolia, white) can both be grown from a tuber planted in spring. These plants have flowers that some say look like a flying bat with long dangling whiskers. Actually the bat wings are flower bracts and the small purple flowers are below them. While you might pay more than $20 for a small started plant in houseplant catalogs, you’ll pay much less if you buy these from bulb catalogs. Put them in pots on the patio for summer interest and you can bring them inside and use them as houseplants in the winter.

Bat flowers are not hardy and must not be put outside before all frost danger has passed and brought inside well before frost in fall. They need shade outside and bright indirect light inside. They must be kept moist and like humid areas. They can start blooming when they have two leaves. They will bloom at intervals, eight or more times a year.

Crocosemia

Crocosemia masonorum. have gently arched, tall wands of scarlet, yellow or orange flowers that can brighten up garden beds or star in pots. There are a number of named varieties. Hummingbirds are attracted to them. The leaves look like glad leaves.

Crocosemia are hardy to zone 6 and the crocosemia corms can be dug up in fall and stored like glad corms in colder zones. You can also plant them in pots and move the whole pot inside for storage. They multiply quickly. These plants like full sun and moist conditions. I set pots of them in back of my decorative pond.

Acidanthera

Acidanthera (Acidanthera murielae) or peacock orchids are another plant with glad like leaves and the gently nodding star shaped, white flowers are marked with a red blotch in the center. The flowers have a sweet, light fragrance and make good cut flowers. Plant these thickly in a pot or garden bed for the best show. They have a long period of late summer bloom. The corms are inexpensive and in planting zone 6 and below you could just treat them like annuals, planting new corms each year. (In zone 7 they are marginally hardy and hardy in zones higher than 7.)

You can dig the corms in the fall like glad corms and store them. Or do like I do and plant them in large pots, moving the pots inside during the winter, where they will go dormant. Each year the corms multiply and soon you can divide the corms into two pots. Acidanthera are slow to emerge from dormancy in spring so don’t discard them thinking they are dead.

rain lilies

Rain lilies - Zephyranthes spp. are winter hardy in zone 7 and higher but northern gardeners can plant the bulbs in pots and bring them inside for winter. These plants have grass like leaves and after a rain or a good soaking they quickly produce small perky flowers in pink, yellow or white. There are many named varieties. Plant them in full sun. They need to dry out between watering to promote bloom. Rain lilies multiply quickly.

I have mine in a large pot that sits outside in the summer and is brought inside to a cool area for winter. I get several flushes of flowers after they come inside in the fall, then they go dormant for the coldest part of winter. Sometimes they die to the ground, in other winters the leaves stay green. Then when the days lengthen in spring, I get flowers before the plants go back outside after the last frost.

Double flowered tuberose
https://www.gurneys.com/

Tuberose (Polianthes tuberosa) have a wonderful scent. Pot up some of these and put them on the patio or near a place you sit in summer. The flowers are in clusters on a long stem and come in the traditional white as well as a variety of colors. Bulbs have gotten rather expensive for small bulbs in the last few years so you may want to put a few in with other plants. Butterflies are attracted to the scent of tuberose. They like full sun.

Tuberose is only hardy in zone 8. You can dig up the bulbs and save them overwinter like glad corms or move a pot with dormant bulbs inside to store through winter.

Starfish Iris
https://www.michiganbulb.com/

Starfish Iris- Ferraria crispa, this isn’t a true iris, but it blooms about the same time as bearded iris. The leaves are iris like too. You could plant it in the ground, but they show up better in pots, as an unusual conversation piece. The 6 petals of the flower have gold edges that are frilled, the petals are white and spotted with maroon or mauve. They do resemble a starfish in many ways. Some of the plants have flowers with a pleasant vanilla scent but some plants have flowers with a foul odor.

Starfish iris is only hardy to about zone 8. It needs full sun and well drained soil. After it blooms it goes dormant as summer heats up. Keep the dormant corms in the pot on the dry side through summer and remember to bring the pot inside in fall for winter storage.

Ground orchids
https://www.springhillnursery.com/

Ground orchids - (Bletilla striata) - are a rhizome planted in spring that can be hardy to zone 6. They bloom in late spring to early summer and the blooms look like small orchids in shades of pink, white, purple and lavender. The leaves are sword shaped, with a papery texture and a crease. The plants are only 18 inches high so make sure to plant them where you can see them and appreciate them.

Hardy ground orchids should be planted in partial shade, in rich loamy soil. It takes a year or two for them to establish and become showy but it’s worth the wait. They slowly increase over time eventually becoming a mass of showy small flowers in spring.

Lycoris
wikimedia

Lycoris- spider lilies, naked ladies or surprise lilies. These lilies have numerous names that mostly reflect their blooming habit. The bloom stalks appear as if by magic from the ground in mid to late summer, long after the long strap like leaves which appeared in spring have faded and died. There are species and hybrids that flower in red, yellow, pink and white. The flowers are in clusters at the top of stalks about 2 feet tall. They have long stamens protruding from the flowers that give them the spider lily moniker.

Hardiness ratings for lycoris vary. I have seen them blooming by the roadside here in zone 5, completely hardy, left over from old home sites. Yet I have been unable to get some colors to be winter hardy and some are rated only to zone 7. In zones 6 and lower I suggest planting lycoris in tubs and bringing the tubs inside to a cool place to over winter. Lycoris prefer full sun but may bloom in partial shade. They multiply, especially in the ground and become large clumps.

Crinum 'Eleanor'
https://www.plantdelights.com/

Crinum lilies are related to the amaryllis, with similar looking flowers. However, many species are hardy, at least to zone 6. Make sure to check the hardiness rating of any bulbs you buy. Bulbs are generally planted in spring. It’s been my experience that some bulbs will not bloom the year you plant them. Crinums once established in the proper planting zones are extremely long lived, surviving for generations. Unlike amaryllis the leaves stay green throughout the growing season. Flower colors are shades of red, pink and white, with at least one red striped variety.

Crinum lilies like full sun and moist soil, although they can survive periods of dryness. They are good plants for rain gardens. If you live in a zone where they aren’t hardy, like me, you can grow them in large pots, which you move inside to a cool bright place in winter. My plant stays green all winter. Some of these gorgeous flowers are even fragrant. Plants get up to 5 feet tall, depending on variety so plan accordingly.

coral drops

Coral Drops- (Bessera elegans) are related to the onions and their narrow round leaves will remind you of the alliums or a clump of chives. The plants are only about 10 inches tall, but the flower spikes will rise to about 18 inches. The buds are showy coral red drops dangling from the flower spikes and probably the reason for the common name. When they open the dainty, ‘flying” flowers have 6 red orange petals, each with a stripe down the center. In some flowers the stripe is white, in others a darker red than the petals. The center of the flower is lighter in color, almost white. There are 6 very long anthers, they remind me of birds legs sticking out of the flower. The one female part, the pistil in the center of the flower, is deep purple.

Coral drops aren’t hardy except in zones 8 and higher. Plant 6-8 corms in a 10” pot about 3 inches deep in a well-draining potting mixture. You’ll get lots of summer flowers if they are kept moist and in full sun. Move the pots inside for winter storage. The leaves will die, and the corms go dormant. You can also dig the corms and store them like glads.

I’m sure I have forgotten some of the unusual bulbs, corms and rhizomes that one plants in spring for summer flowers. And some catalogs sell oriental, tiger and species lilies for spring planting, although I think they should be planted in fall. I ‘ve included some more reading links to longer articles on some of the plants below.

http://gardeninggrannysgardenpages.blogspot.com/p/cannas-bold-and-beautiful-if-you-crave.html

https://gardeninggrannysgardenpages.blogspot.com/p/coral-drops-bessera-elegans-do-you-like.html

https://gardeninggrannysgardenpages.blogspot.com/p/crocosemia-or-montbretia-crocosemia.html

https://gardeninggrannysgardenpages.blogspot.com/p/gladiolus.html

Are lawns bad for the environment?

Lawns aren’t necessarily bad, its what we put on them and what species we use for a lawn that makes the difference between a lawn that’s good for the environment and one that’s not. You may have heard the term 60 mile an hour lawn and 20 mile an hour lawn. That means what kind of lawn looks good when you go by it at that speed. But what looks good is also subjective to the viewers interpretation.

My lawn is what lawn professionals would call a 60 mile an hour lawn and that looks just fine to me. When you drive by, you’ll see mown, green space between my flower beds. If you look at my lawn up close, you’ll see dandelions, violets, ground ivy, purslane, clover, chickweed, other “weeds” and several types of grass. It’s a lawn that birds, subject to the whims of my cats, hunt on for bugs and worms. Chickens scratch on it and occasionally make dust paths. Rabbits graze on it in the evenings and yes even the deer come by to nibble, until I see them and chase them off. Moles leave tunnels and mounds. Bees and butterflies of various sorts buzz back and forth between flowers in the grass. Frogs hop in front of me as I walk through it and a snake or two is sometimes seen. It’s living space, full of diversity.

My lawn is dotted with trees and shrubs. There are beds of flowers here and there. (I actually have less lawn every year because I expand those beds of flowers.) The edges of my lawn fade into messier, wilder meadow and then brush and woods. It’s what is called edge habitat, one of the types of habitat that favor a wide diversity of plant and animal species. There are even brush piles in that wilder space.

I don’t use chemicals on my lawn, or even fertilizer. It’s mown so that its about 3 ½ inches long, long enough that the weeds in the lawn can bloom between mowing. I don’t roll out the mole mounds, they eventually smooth themselves out. Once in a great while I may water the front lawn strips if it gets very, very dry but the rest is left to nature. I don’t collect grass clippings they are mulched back into the lawn. I don’t rake leaves in the fall, they get chopped up by the mower.

My lawn can be walked on, even driven on occasionally. It’s also a firebreak. It’s full and thick. But it’s short enough that mosquitoes and ticks don’t find it friendly. After all, you don’t have to provide habitat for everything. And if I lived in the suburbs my lawn probably wouldn’t earn me a ticket from the blight ordinance officer, although crabby neighbors might complain about the dandelions.

There are people that would not think my type of lawn qualifies as lawn. The lawn they like is stripped of anything but one species of grass, for a great deal of the country that species is Kentucky bluegrass, which despite the name isn’t a native grass. They weed and feed and water and mow and spray for bugs. Moles are trapped and gassed. Bird feeders are banned because seed hulls might litter the grass carpet or horrors, sprout a sunflower in the middle of the grass. Their lawn is not filled with a diversity of species and isn’t very helpful to the environment. It is a firebreak and it does catch some rainwater and release some oxygen. It will keep mosquitoes and ticks down. So, it’s not entirely useless, but foot for foot, my type of lawn is much better for the environment. It’s a lawn I don’t have to begrudge spending time on, and I don’t feel guilty about having.

If you want a lawn that’s good for the environment, you need to see dandelions and violets as wildflowers dotted in the lawn. They are food sources for the pollinators. Clover is the food that keeps the bunnies from eating other things. Ground ivy smells good when you mow it and covers bare spots. Mole tunnels are annoying, but moles are part of the food chain, and no, they do not eat plant roots. Usually they are worse in spring and late fall and by summer mowing will have collapsed most of the tunnels.

If you keep the lawn area mowed, you really don’t need to spray for mosquitoes and ticks. You are never going to rid your property of either if they are anywhere nearby. Grubs may infest your lawn roots, but in a “natural” lawn you’ll find they do little damage. Those starlings people love to hate will be busy hunting for those grubs, along with other birds and animals like skunks, toads, and shrews. Your pets and kids can safely play on the lawn if you aren’t spraying it. Instead of spending money on sprays and fertilizers spend it on flowers or trees and shrubs.

Limit your lawn space to areas right around your home which helps prevent pollution from gasoline mowers. How much mown space to leave depends of your wildfire risk. But most people don’t need to mow acres of property, 100 feet around the home is plenty. To keep brush down, if that’s a goal, you just need to mow those larger spaces twice a year. Even if you like wildflowers in a meadow type setting a twice-yearly mowing won’t harm most of them.

You don’t need to feel guilty about having a lawn if you have a 60 mile an hour lawn. You’ll probably help the environment more than harm it if you leave the fertilizers, insecticides and herbicides off it and allow nature to plant what she wants in it. Wildlife will appreciate this kind of lawn and species diversity will flourish, even if you don’t limit plants to native types. It’s all a matter of seeing the lawn differently, not as an outdoor carpet, but as edge habitat.

Tuesday, April 2, 2019

April 2, 2019

Hi Gardeners

The weather has been spring like here, a bit of snow on Sunday quickly melted. I finally have my first flowers in bloom, winter aconite. The crocus should bloom soon. The frogs are now singing, and our pond is ice free. Indoors my amaryllis is on it's 9th flower.

I moved the live fir tree I was given for Christmas outside in its pot and as soon as I have time, I’ll get it planted. Some of my tender bulb pots on the porch are sprouting, a good sign spring is here. Unfortunately, we have squirrels coming in through the attic and down into the porch and I found they ate the tubers of my ginger plant. It was semi-dormant on the porch. I saw a squirrel digging in the pot and realized the damage. I am hoping a few pieces remain that can re-sprout. I can’t wait to move most of the plants on the porch outside.

I’ve got the wire around my front bed with most of the tulips, but I have yet to hook up the electricity. My gardening plans have been put on hold a bit because my husband was hospitalized last week, and I have been spending time with him. Hopefully he will be home soon and I can spend less time driving and more gardening.

Because I have been spending less time at home the blog is a bit shorter this week.

April almanac

April’s full moon is the 19^th.April’s full moon is known as the Pink moon, egg moon or grass moon. It’s known as the pink moon because it is when the pink wild creeping phlox usually blooms. The moon perigee falls on the 16^th and moon apogee is April 28^th. The Lyrid Meteor shower peaks on April 22^nd but the moon will still be nearly full, and it may be hard to see them this year. You will have a better chance to view the May 5th, Eta Aquarids Meteor Shower.

Holidays in April are Golfers day the 10^th, National Pecan Day 14^th, National Garlic Day 19^th, Christian Easter 21^st,Earth Day 22^nd, Executive Administrative day and Zucchini bread day the 23^rd, Arbor day 25^th, International Astronomy Day and Orthodox Easter the 28^th.

April is National Lawn and Garden Month as well as Keep America Beautiful month. It’s also National Humor month, National Pecan month and National Poetry month. April’s birthstone is the diamond and the birth flower is the sweet pea. In the language of flowers, the sweet pea means either goodbye or blissful love, depending on who’s translating, I guess.

Garden chores for April include seeding lawns, planting trees and shrubs, getting seeds and bulbs started indoors in zones 5-6 and maybe planting lettuce and peas outside and putting some pretty pansies in pots for color. In warmer zones you may be planting more crops outside like onions, carrots and even tomatoes and peppers and planting those annual bedding plants and containers.

April is a good month to divide perennials and move plants you want to relocate. And get those mowers tuned up and ready to go, most areas of the country will mow at least once in April.

How Hairy Balls can help Monarchs

For those of you who want to help the monarchs and other pollinators and gardeners who want unusual plants to start a conversation, the Hairy Balls plant Gomphocarpus physocarpus, may be just the plant for you. It’s also an excellent plant for those who like to make dried flower arrangements.

There are dozens of common names for the plant; Oscar, balloon plant, balloon cotton-bush, balloon milkweed, bishop’s balls, elephant balls, monkey balls, Goose plant, and Giant swan milkweed are a few. You may also find it being called Asclepias physocarpa, it’s former botanical name. There is a similar species called swan plant that is sometimes confused with Hairy Balls, Gomphocarpus fruticosus, but it’s harder to grow and harder to find.

Hairy balls
Flickr wallygrom

Hairy Balls is both a larval food and a nectar food for monarchs. It’s in the milkweed family and monarch caterpillars love it. Some monarch raising sites highly recommend it for rearing monarch caterpillars, particularly inside, as it is sturdy, large and supports lots of caterpillars on a single plant. It is not, however a native plant, it is a native of southeast Africa. Native plant purists will miss out on this interesting plant.

The hairy balls plant is a tropical shrub, it’s hardy only to zone 8, but gardeners in colder zones can grow it as a tender annual. Some people overwinter it in pots but as it is fast growing you could just use it like an annual. In zones 5 and lower, however, the part that gives the plant it’s cute name, the round, hairy seed pods, may not have time to ripen before frost.

Hairy balls has a single main trunk with numerous hollow stems. The leaves are light green and a narrow blade shape, arranged opposite each other on the stems. Plants can get very tall, up to 6 feet high, in long seasons. The stems exude a sticky white sap when broken like most milkweeds. And like other native milkweeds they are toxic to livestock and pets.

Hairy balls blooms late in the summer, one of the last nectar sources for pollinators. The flowers are white with a purple center and produced in loose clusters from leaf axils. They are shaped like the typical milkweed flower, with 5 broader white petals at the base that droop downward, 5 cup shaped purple tinged modified petals in the center that surround the stamens, and in the center a 5-pointed star shaped pistil (female part). The flowers have a light vanilla scent.

Gomphocarpus physocarpus flowers are self-unfertile. If you want the showy seed pods, you’ll need to grow 2 plants. While butterflies like the nectar it is wasps that pollinate the flowers. Mud dauber type wasps are very attracted to the plant. This may affect where you will want to plant hairy balls, you won’t want to attract wasps near places humans sit or eat.

When flowers are pollinated hairy balls will produce large round seed pods that are light green and covered with soft white spines that look like hairs, hence the name. The pods will turn tan with some red botches as they mature. They are packed with the cottony fluff typical of milkweed pods, each bit of fluff is attached to a small brown seed. They are on long stems which make them excellent for dried flower arrangements.

How to grow hairy balls

You could sure have fun with that sentence. However, I’ll stick to botanical tips. You can start with seeds or buy plants to get started. If you want to start with seeds here’s the procedure. In zones 7 and lower start the seeds indoors about 8 weeks before your last frost is expected. Soak the seeds overnight in warm water. Put them in pots of sterile, moistened seed starting mix, a few seeds to a pot. Press the seeds gently into the planting medium but don’t cover them, they need light to germinate.

Keep the pots moist and in bright light. They should germinate in 7-10 days. Thin plants or transplant once true leaves have grown, one plant to a 2-3 inch pot. They need very strong light to grow sturdy stems. You may need a grow light. Transplant the seedlings to large pots – 10 inches or more – or into the garden after danger of frost has passed. Harden them off for a few days before transplanting outside.

Plants grow quickly from seed and in most areas of the country they will be able to produce flowers and pods if started inside 8 weeks before the last frost. They will then flower in August and September.

In the garden or outside in pots, the plants need full sun. They are not too fussy about soil type as long as it’s well drained, but should be kept well-watered, especially just after transplanting. The plants aren’t particularly attractive so you may want to plant them in the back behind showier plants.

In some cases, the plants may need staking, especially as the pods develop. Some people recommend pinching back plants in early summer to make them more compact, but if you do this you risk them not blooming before frost in short season areas.

Plants only need fertilization in very poor soils. Plants sometimes get aphids, but that’s the only common insect pest. Deer and rabbits don’t eat the plants.

If you are in zone 8 and higher it’s a good idea to cut the plants to the ground in early winter and remove the stems to the compost pile. This helps prevent overwintering virus diseases that can affect monarchs and other butterflies. The plants will return from the roots. In zones that have hard freezes viruses won’t be a problem, but you will need to pull the dead plants from the garden.

Hairy balls seedpod
Flickr wallygrom

Propagation

If you want to save seeds you need to wait until the pods mature on the plant. It’s best to let the pods begin to split before collecting seeds. If they totally split however the seeds will fly away on the wind. In the north they probably will not germinate where they land and so are wasted. If you are in zone 8 or warmer you may also want to collect seed before it flies away as in this case the seeds might germinate and become invasive.

In the north seeds sometimes won’t mature before a hard frost. That’s why some people plant hairy balls in large pots so they can move them to a protected spot inside for the pods to mature. You could also try covering plants on frosty nights for a while. Some people have had success ripening the pods if they are nearly mature by pulling the whole plant and hanging it in a warm spot inside, this will take up some room.

The plants can be overwintered inside in a warm greenhouse or under lights. But it might be better to start cuttings in late summer and overwinter smaller plants. Stem cuttings are not hard to root.

If you want to save the pods for dried flower arrangements, you’ll want to collect pods before they split, while they are still green. You should be able to cut off a fairly long stem with several hairy balls on it. Hang them somewhere warm to dry inside for a few days.

What could be more interesting than showing people some hairy balls in your garden? Why not try some of these interesting plants this year. While not native they are very helpful to pollinators and the monarch butterfly likes them for baby feeding. There are some links below to places that sell hairy balls seed or plants. Logee’s sells plants but they are expensive. You may find the seeds in other places too.

https://www.johnnyseeds.com/flowers/asclepias-butterfly-weed/oscar-asclepias-seed-1794.html

https://www.joyfulbutterfly.com/product/balloon-plant-milkweed/

https://www.logees.com/balloon-plant-gomphocarpus-physocarpus.html

The color red in the garden

I love the color red, in all it’s many shades. I love crimson red roses and deep plum red peonies and orange red poppies. But red can be a hard color to fit into the garden palette. Some shades of red tend to disappear when viewed from a distance and others seem to draw the eye closer.

If you have ever tried to pick a color to paint a room from a selection of paint chips on cards you know there can be hundreds of variations of a color. Hues are considered pure colors, they are the primary colors on the color wheel, red, blue, and yellow. When you combine two of these colors equally you get the secondary colors of orange, purple or violet, and green. When you combine a secondary and primary color equally you get what is called a tertiary color like red-orange, or magenta (purple and red) and so on.

Red is a primary color, between blue and yellow on the color wheel. Color is a spectrum, when red gets close to the blue part of the color spectrum you have the bluish reds, an even mixture of red and blue is purple. When red gets close to yellow on the color wheel you have the yellowish reds and an even mixture of red and yellow makes orange. Typically, the orange reds and purple reds clash with each other. In the garden they look better separated by white, silver or gray.

Geraniums, coleus and impatiens

From hues we go to tints, which are paler versions of any of the hues, and shades, which are darker versions. When a color is mixed with both black and white, or gray, it’s called a tone. When red is mixed with white you get the various colors of pink and coral, with black the colors maroon and burgundy appear. Many flowers that are called black are deep red.

Often you can’t tell what color of red will blend with the other colors in your garden or container until you actually put the colors close together. Descriptions in catalogs may call the color red but the range of colors in red is vast. If harmonious color schemes are important to you try to see the actual plant in bloom or it’s best foliage stage ( because foliage can be red shades too).

In the garden the deep reds and reds toward the blue spectrum have a tendency to disappear unless they are against a lighter background. Crimson roses against a white fence pop out beautifully but the same rose surrounded by green foliage or other dark colored flowers isn’t as visible. The paler pinks and rosy pinks mix well with the pure reds and blue-reds. Some shades of blue also mix well with the true reds and blue-reds.

The reds with some yellow and orange in them draw the eye and the orange reds blend well with yellows of various tints and tones. A mixture of these colors is warm and cheery. These reds are less effective against white backgrounds but can be stunning against a dark green, dark brown or black background. Various tints and shades of coral will make pleasing combinations with some of the orange and yellow reds.

The true reds and reds toward the blue-red spectrum often work best as accent colors rather than in masses. Red is a good attention grabber for containers, or a focal point and it can sometimes be achieved with foliage as well as flowers. Plants with red foliage include amaranth, coleus, Japanese maples, heuchera, some sedums, cordyline,

The opposite is true for many shades of red toward the yellow spectrum, the orange reds often show up well in masses – like a field of poppies or a big pot of marigolds.

Red flowers aren’t as popular with butterflies and bees, but hummingbirds are often attracted to them. Tubular shaped red flowers like trumpet vine, and salvia, lobelia and pentas are favorites.

Salvia

Red is beautiful. Don’t be afraid of using it in the garden.

April is a time to plant trees

April is a great month to plant trees for those in planting zones 6 and lower. Bare root, balled and burlapped or potted trees all respond well to planting when the weather is cool and wet. Early May is still fine for bare-root trees that have been well cared for and balled or potted trees and shrubs can be planted until late September if they are well cared for as they acclimate to a new spot. If you are in zone 7 and 8 the best time for bare root planting is over but potted and balled plants can still be planted.

Unfortunately, many old ideas about tree planting still exist among people who work in landscaping nurseries and garden stores. Research done at places such as Michigan State University has helped us better understand the process a tree goes through when it has to re-establish itself after transplanting. The newer advice, backed by research, helps ensure that your trees will get off to a better start and continue to grow for many, many years. Here are some things that you should do or have your landscaper do, to get those new trees off to a healthy start.

This advice is for trees planted in the landscape, as ornamental or fruiting trees. A re-forestation project, involving hundreds of small seedlings requires some adjustments to technique, although following the advice below would give those trees a great start too.

Don’t soak the tree roots for long

Do not put bare root trees in a pail of water for longer than an hour. You can moisten the packing material or wrap a bare root tree in some moistened paper, for holding for a day or two. Keep them in a cool place. Try not to hold bare root trees for more than a few days before planting. Soaking the roots too long will rot them and the tree will probably die.

Make sure trees in pots or ball and burlapped are watered, but not too wet. They must be able to drain well. Do not sit pots or root balls directly in water.

Preparing the hole

Prepare a hole three times as wide, but no deeper than the root ball. If the tree is bare-root when you buy it, look at the trunk for a dark “ring” area to show you the level the tree was growing at before it was dug for the depth of your hole. If it’s hard to determine the original growing level look for the highest branch root and make the hole just deep enough that the top root will be about an inch under the soil.

Contrary to what most people think, most types of trees have root systems that remain in the top three feet of soil. Even if they are a species that has a deeper tap root, that root grows more slowly than lateral roots when first transplanted. The tree needs to send out lateral, (side) roots so that it can start grabbing water and minerals to support new top growth and it needs to stabilize itself, so it doesn’t topple in the wind. Having loose soil in a wide area around the root system is the key to faster establishment.

Planting at the right depth

Trees that are not planted at the right depth may grow, although some species are fussier about this than others. But the tree may be in for a lifetime of problems if it wasn’t planted at the optimum level. If you look at a mature tree that was planted at the right depth it will be wider at the bottom, the wider part is called a root flare. Trees planted too deeply will have trunks that appear to be straight, without widening, right to the ground. A trunk that flares at the bottom is stronger and able to withstand wind better. Trees that were planted too shallow usually don’t survive to maturity.

You get a tree planted at the right level by looking for that top root. The highest root branching off the main root on the tree should be just below the ground, about 1 inch below it. On some very small bare root trees you may need to look closely at the main root to see where branching is beginning.

To see where the top branching root is in a balled and burlapped tree is you need to remove the burlap. That will be covered in more detail below. When trees are put into burlap roots may be twisted up higher than they were growing, and soil piled up above that. You need to uncover the root system in that ball to see where the top root naturally lies. With a potted tree you can usually line up the soil surface at the top of the pot with the ground level where you are planting it. You will, of course, be removing the pot.

Removing anything that isn’t “tree”

Once the tree is in the hole at the right level everything must be removed from around the root system. Here is where many landscapers balk at the new recommendations that say all burlap, wire cages and even so called peat pots must be removed before filling in the hole. You can leave the burlap on the root ball until it’s in the hole - where you can cut away most of it- but it should be removed. There are a couple of good reasons to do this. So called peat pots must be removed before the roots are placed in the hole.

Modern “burlap” is often composed of synthetic materials that really don’t break down quickly in soil. Tree roots may still be contained in those packages years after planting. That’s not a good thing because the roots need to spread out to support new top growth. And any burlap that gets exposed to the air wicks moisture away from tree roots. Peat pots are even worse at restricting root spreading. Trees need to get those lateral roots growing the first few months after planting, not years down the line.

And you need to inspect that root system before you fill the hole, another reason to remove burlap. Roots that have circled around and around in pots or burlap balls will continue to grow in circles after being placed into the ground. This may eventually strangle the tree, even years after planting. And as mentioned above, you need to know where the top branching root is to properly place the root system.

Make sure all strings, wire, rope etc. are also removed from the roots and also the trunk and branches of a tree. As a tree grows these things cut through the area that transports food and water and any parts above the constricting item will die.

Root washing- should you do it?

Many garden professionals are now advocating that all the soil be washed off the roots of trees and shrubs that you purchase in pots or that are balled and burlapped. When you remove the soil, you can see the root system and correct any problems or if the plant ‘s roots are in horrible shape, you can return it for a refund- sometimes. Some experts think removing the soil around the roots helps plants adjust more quickly to the new soil they will be planted into.

To root wash all you do is remove pots or burlap and use a hose to gently wash away all the soil. If you can’t use a hose, you can sometimes use buckets of water or set the plants roots in a tub off water and swish it gently. It can take a little work to get all the soil out if the plant is badly pot bound.

After the soil is washed away you can untangle the roots, clip off badly circling roots, and spread the roots out. (See the section below about helping roots grow right.) Keep the roots damp as you work on them. Washing the roots doesn’t usually damage them much, so don’t worry about that. And roots can withstand a bit of pruning without harm too.

If you root wash, you must be prepared to plant the tree or shrub immediately after the soil is washed away and problems corrected. You can’t leave it sitting in the open air where the roots will dry out. If you are planting several trees at once you could wrap the washed roots in wet cloth or paper for an hour or so. Keep them out of the wind and sun until planted.

I am not totally swayed by the root washing theory, at least for all plants. If I remove the pot or burlap and there are few roots on the outside of the root ball, I remove a bit of potting soil at the top until I uncover the top horizontal root to find the correct planting depth and leave it at that. Sometimes a gentle shake or thump will dislodge enough soil so the roots can be seen. If soil crumbles away from the roots and I can spread them easily horizontally I will plant those trees without washing the roots.

If you remove a tree or shrub from a pot or burlap and you see that the rootball is very root bound and there appears to be circling roots, then it’s a good idea to wash off the soil and examine the root structure. For very expensive trees or shrubs a careful root washing might be a good precaution.

If you wash the roots and the plant has badly circling roots, the worse case scenario, you may want to take it back to where you purchased it for a refund/replacement. The plant will probably not survive if planted like this. However, some places may not accept a plant back that’s been root washed and is out of the container. That’s wrong, but it’s a hard thing to challenge.

Helping roots grow right

When planting trees never wrap a root around the hole- spread it out horizontally. If it’s really too long, trim it off to fit the hole, but never spiral it around the hole. When you see those roots that have circled the pot as described above, they must be loosened before replacing soil. If you can loosen them with your fingers and spread them out that’s a sign the circling wasn’t too advanced. Good nurseries either root trim or repot trees to keep them from getting root bound.

If the roots are thickly layered at the bottom of the pot or root ball or around the sides you’ll need to trim them. If it’s just at the bottom, trim off the circling roots, making a slice across the bottom an inch or so deep. Then slightly flare out the remaining soil and roots. If roots are really circled heavily up the side of the pot make several cuts length wise through the roots, as well as trimming the bottom, and hope for the best.

Roots that are circling when planted will probably continue to spiral around the main root or trunk. This may eventually kill the tree by choking off the supply of water and food, sometimes years after planting.

Spread roots sideways in the planting hole, except for any central main root. Don’t squish all the roots down vertically into the hole. Any larger roots that are broken can be trimmed.

Refill with what you removed

You’ll see the signs advising you to buy amendments and the sales staff may try to convince you, but don’t buy peat or topsoil or anything else to add to the planting soil as you plant your tree. Research has shown that trees establish better if the hole is refilled with what you took out. After all, that is the soil that the tree will be living in after the roots grow through your small amended area. It is easier for the tree to adapt to new conditions if it starts right away and it doesn’t have to re-adjust its root system when it grows through the amendments and into the surrounding soil.

Holes filled with “good stuff” may hold too much moisture next to roots, especially if you throw a bag of peat into heavy clay soil. The roots sit in water and rot. And trees may not extend their roots quickly into surrounding soil if it’s easier to grow roots inside an amended area. This can lead to circling roots, with the tree being strangled or to a poorly established root system that can’t support the tree in a wind storm or through a drought.

You can add a little slow release fertilizer to the soil you are going to backfill with. Don’t throw it in the hole, mix it into the soil you removed and then refill the hole.

Don’t prune and don’t stake- usually

It’s not necessary to remove one third of the tree as some older advice may lead you to believe. Research has shown the tree needs top growth to make food so the root system can grow. Prune off any broken branches and any branches that cross or rub each other, that’s all. You can shape the tree once it has established itself, usually after one growing season.

Most new trees should not be staked. They grow stronger trunks and wider root systems if the tree is allowed to sway in the wind. There are some exceptions. New evergreens planted in the fall or in high wind areas may need to be staked for one growing season. Some ornamental weeping trees will need to be staked at least for a growing season, some for much longer. If you do stake a tree check the ropes several times a year to make sure they are not cutting into the tree.

Don’t over water and don’t over mulch

Yes, newly planted trees need to be well watered at planting and they should be watered when needed during the first growing season to get them off to a good start. But their roots don’t need to be constantly soaked. In really hot weather and in sandy soil trees may need watering frequently but in most situations a good watering once a week the first season will be enough.

Mulch is good for trees, but it shouldn’t actually touch the tree trunk. Rot and disease can start where decomposing mulch touches trees. And never use more than 3 inches of mulch. Too much mulch absorbs or sheds water before it gets to the soil and it prevents oxygen from reaching tree roots. To get water and air tree roots may grow up into the mulch instead of down into the soil, which isn’t good for the tree.

A little care taken during tree planting will do a lot to prevent tree failure. A tree may leaf out and appear to grow the first season or even several seasons but failure of a tree in the first three years after planting is often due to poor planting procedures. When contracting with a nursery or landscaper to plant your trees make sure they are willing to follow your directions and plant properly. You are the customer. If they say your warranty is void if you remove burlap for example, you may want to use another company. They may replace the tree, but you will have lost valuable growing time if it needs to be replaced. And unfortunately, the tree may not start to decline until the warranty is up.

You plant trees for the future. Plant one this month.

Credit Satchari National Park Bangladesh
Abdul Mornin CC By SA 4

He who plants trees loves others besides himself.

Kim Willis

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

And So On….

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