Hi Gardeners
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| Asiatic and tiger lilies |
It’s a steamy day here. A lot of plants love the heat and humidity,
but this gardener isn’t fond of these conditions. I try to work in the late evenings in the
garden now. I am actually hoping for some rain this afternoon, both to cool it
down and to water all the plants.
The catalpa is dropping all it’s pretty white blooms
now. I don’t mind them on the lawn, the
first mow takes care of that problem. But
I do not like them dropping their flowers on the hosta leaves. The flowers catch in the “cup” of the leaves
and turn into a soggy brown clump. I
have to go around with the hose and wash them out.
The lilies and daylilies are at their peak right now,
the ones the deer left. I had some
beautiful white Asiatic lilies on the east side of the driveway and Sunday
night the deer came up and ate half of them.
That was half of the half they left after the first raid. I wrote more about lilies below.
Besides lilies, the cardinal flowers, beebalm, rocket
ligularia, astilbe, and hosta are blooming.
My dahlias are beginning to bloom.
Both jasmines and my lemon tree are in bloom, as well as my pomegranate and
peace lily. All of my clematis except
the sweet autumn are in bloom. The golden glow (Rudbeckia laciniata var.
hortensia)- which is easily 8 feet tall this year, is beginning to bloom. I staked it early this time, to see if I can
keep it from falling over. These usually attract the Japanese beetles, but I
have only seen a few of them this year.
Golden glow is pretty in bloom when it doesn’t fall
over. But as tall as it is this year the
flowers won’t really show well. I’m
going to have to decide if I want to keep it in the garden, I think. It takes up a lot of space and is really out
of proportion where it is.
I had the opportunity to go to the 16th
annual garden tea at Suncrest, Lapeer County Master Gardeners Display garden,
thanks to a friend. It’s a fund raiser
for the garden and it’s sold out months in advance every year. It’s a beautiful
event and the weather this year was perfect for it. For any of you readers who are part of the
tea production and/or caring for the garden, you are doing great work,
everything was beautiful.
The garden is behind the Lapeer County Medical Care
Facility on Suncrest Drive in Lapeer. It’s
handicapped accessible for the residents there. It’s also open to the public
every day in season during daylight hours, free. It’s an amazing garden with
lots to look at and get inspiration from.
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| Garden at Suncrest |
Tomato blossom end rot quick note
If you have black soft areas on the bottom of your
tomatoes this year you are not alone.
The heavy rains this year have made the problem widespread. Blossom end rot is not caused by a
calcium deficiency according to the latest research. Instead it’s caused by fluctuating soil
moisture. You may still see the cause of
blossom end rot listed as a calcium deficiency on some professional sites that
haven’t been updated but experts pretty much agree now that adding calcium to
soil won’t help the problem.
Common cures suggested in many places tell you to use
tums, eggshells and other items to increase the calcium level in soil. First these items don’t increase calcium in
soil by much, especially eggshells, which take years to release calcium. And second, they don’t work to prevent
blossom end rot. The only cure for
blossom end rot is an improvement in keeping soil moisture consistent. It often corrects itself when the weather improves.
You can buy varieties of tomatoes that are resistant to it. You can eat tomatoes with blossom end rot,
just cut out the bad area.
Epsom salt has absolutely no calcium in it and
nothing else to help blossom end rot. It
may actually make the problem worse by harming plant roots. Do not use Epsom salt on tomatoes.
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| Blossom end rot CANR-MSU |
A book review
Gardenlust: A Botanical Tour of the
World's Best New Gardens
by Christopher Woods. Published September 2018.
If you like looking at other people’s gardens, you’ll
like this book. There are pictures of
fifty gardens from around the world with brief descriptions of the gardens and
the owners. Some are private gardens and
others public, but all are very beautiful.
These are all fairly new gardens, ones you may not have heard about or
seen pictures of before.
I did lust after these gardens, at least some of
them. There were a couple that seemed to
be mostly weird art with few plants I don’t particularly like the looks
of. But most were beautiful and made me
want to move somewhere where I could expand my plant selection, although there
were lots of temperate area gardens too. It’s amazing how gardeners in other
parts of the world have a slightly different, yet somehow familiar take, on
what makes a great garden.
I’ve been back through the book a few times to
examine some of the gardens more closely.
There are lots of ideas you can use to change things up in your own
garden. And you can dream about having
the money to do some of the bigger more elaborate garden ideas presented
here. There’s no advice on gardening in
this book, just a presentation of the gardens and some of the back stories on
them. The writing is enjoyable and not
technical.
The author Christopher Woods has worked in the Royal
Botanical garden, Kew, Britain and he was director and chief designer of
Chanticleer, a wonderful garden here in Pennsylvania, USA. He travels the world looking for inspiration
and garden innovation and, in the book, he shows some of his finds. I wish I was younger, my knees better and I
was rich, so I could tour gardens like this.
The book has beautiful color photos. If you have a tablet which supports digital
books you can get the book in digital format, which is about half the price of
the hardcover edition. I got a digital
edition for my Kindle Fire. You can read
this on any device by downloading a free app., if you buy from Amazon. But a PC
or larger tablet would be best to look at the photos. (By the way, digital
books are a great way to get garden books at very reasonable prices.) If you collect garden books this would make a
great addition in hardcover.
Identifying the lilies
The true lilies make excellent garden plants. Many people are quite confused about lily
species and names, however. Let me try
to help you identify lily species and decide which lilies are right for your
garden. First let’s distinguish true lilies from daylilies, which are an
entirely different family of plants but are also common garden plants.
Daylilies are from the genus Hemerocallis. This genus has 19 species and most of them
are called daylilies as a common name. A
daylily is a perennial plant whose long leaves look much like broad grass
blades and rise from the ground in a clump. The roots are rhizomes, stolons or
fibrous not bulbs. It puts up stalks with flowers of various sizes, shapes and
colors, each usually lasting just one day, hence the name. Garden daylilies can be a species or hybrid
of species. All of the species are
native to Asia.
Hemerocallis fulva is
the common orange daylily which has naturalized in many places in the US. It is sterile and doesn’t make seeds. It’s
often called a ditch lily. There is also
some confusion with this species being called “tiger” lily, which it should not
be called. The name tiger lily should be
used for true lilies of the species Lilium tigrinum to avoid confusion.
In contrast to daylilies there are about a 100
species of true lilies, and they are native to many countries, including the US. A true lily, genus Lilium has a bulb
with overlapping scales as its “root”. A
single stalk comes from each bulb, with narrow leaves arranged around the stalk
spirally or in whorls. Flowers form on short stalks at the top of the plant.
Besides daylilies other plants that have the common
name lily in them are not true lilies. This includes lily of the valley,
Peruvian lily, trout lily, calla lily and ginger lily plus others. Remember true lilies have bulbs, and a
central stalk.
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| Some Asiatic hybrids |
This large genus of Lilium has many species in
cultivation and there are many hybrids between species also. I am going to just
describe some common garden species and hybrids so you can guess which type of
lily you have or decide which you want to have.
I’ll list them in common cultivar groups, each of which may contain many
similar species and hybrids of species.
Asiatic lilies are a group consisting of several similar
species and their hybrids Lilium auratum, Lilium
lancifolium (syn. Lilium tigrinum), Lilium lankongense, Lilium
amabile, Lilium bulbiferum, and other species. This lily group
consists of the common named tiger lily and a number of widely planted lily hybrids
simply known as Asiatic hybrids.
Gorgeous and colorful these lilies have either flowers facing downward
with petals curved backward or in the newer hybrids the flowers face outward or
upward and the petals do not curve backward.
Many of the original species have flowers whose
petals curve backward and the flowers are generally heavily flecked with brown
or black. These are the “tiger lily” or “Turks cap” types and you might call
them a subset of Asiatic lilies. There
are many cultivated hybrid varieties now on the market in a variety of colors,
from orange to white. Most of the tiger lily types have tall stems – up to 5
feet. They don’t have a scent.
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| Tiger lily |
These tiger lily types often have tiny bulbils in the
axils of the leaves instead of seeds.
The black, round bulbils often alarm new gardeners who think they are
insects, but if planted these bulbils grow into new plants. Some newer hybrids may not have bulbils.
The lilies known simply as Asiatic hybrids are the
lilies who have been bred to have large showy flowers that face up or to the
side. They come from the same group of species as tiger lilies but were
selected to have different flower forms by using species that naturally have up
facing flowers. These are some of the easiest lilies for gardeners to grow and
they come in every color and combination of colors except true blue. Some have
speckled throats, some are “clear” colors.
The flowers appear in large clusters at the top of the plant. They open up the bottom up and each flower
stalk can be in bloom for weeks. These
lily flowers are not scented.
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| Asiatic lily hybrid |
As well as being great in the garden, the Asiatic
types are wonderful cut flowers and widely used in the floral trade. These hybrids come in dwarf sizes, with large
flowers on 1-foot plants and in various heights from there to 5 feet high. Most modern hybrids are around 3 feet tall
and have sturdy stalks that don’t need staking.
By choosing a variety of cultivars you can have Asiatic lilies in bloom
from June through August.
One draw back to the Asiatic lilies, including tiger
lily types, is that after bloom- and sometimes even during bloom, the lower
leaves start yellowing and the plant looks ratty, a stalk with yellow limp
leaves. If you want nice big flowers the
next year you need to leave the stalks until the leaves have fully yellowed and
the stalk is turning brown before you cut them down. That’s why it’s better to plant the lilies
toward the back of beds or among plants like ferns, daylilies or other taller
perennials to hide the dying foliage.
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| Asiatic lilies |
Longiflorum lilies-
Lilium Longiflorum – Easter lily- is really the only species in this group. These
have white trumpet shaped blooms, there is one light pink cultivar on the
market. In zone 6 and above these can be
planted in the ground. Some hybrids with
other lily species are being developed.
These lilies are a little harder to maintain as
perennials in the garden. In planting
zones 5 and lower they can be planted in large pots and the pots stored inside
in a cool, above freezing place over winter.
The plants will die back but the bulbs will regrow in spring.
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| Lilium Longiflorum |
Martagon
type lilies are species and hybrids of Lilium dalhansonii, Lilium
hansonii, Lilium martagon, Lilium medeoloides,
and Lilium tsingtauense.
These lilies aren’t used as much as the other lily species in gardens
although they are excellent border plants.
They have a lighter, airy look about them, and look good in “natural”
settings. They also do well in partial
shade.
These lilies have the dangling downward type flowers
with swept back petals like the tiger lily types. The flowers are smaller and daintier
and are generally in pastel shades. They appear at the end of long stems,
growing to about 4-5 feet tall. There
are some very early bloomers in this group, I have some that bloom in May here
in zone 5. They are not fragrant.
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| Martagon type- 'Mrs R O Backhouse' |
Oriental lilies
–Lilium speciosum Lilium
japonicum and others. Lilium auratum,
is used in hybrids of these species as well as in Asiatic hybrids. These
lilies have large trumpet shaped flowers and are usually heavily scented. The flowers start in mid-summer and are born
on long thick stalks that can be 7 feet tall in some cases. Some of the flowers have speckled throats or
bands of color inside. The flowers start
opening from the bottom and the show lasts a long time in the garden.
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| Oriental type - 'Casa Blanca" |
There are now hundreds of hybrid cultivars of
Oriental lilies in all kinds of colors.
Some now have more outward facing flowers. Orienpet lilies are
newer garden favorites that are hybrids of Oriental and Trumpet lilies.
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| Orienpet 'Silk Road" |
Trumpet lilies - Lilium regale, Lilium henryi, Lilium × aurelianense, Lilium
brownii, and other species make up this group. They have large
trumpet shaped flowers that face down and are scented. Most are pastel colors and are quite tall plants.
The true species are often still sold and are good, hardy garden plants. Some new hybrids are being sold as “lily
trees”. These have huge stalks of
flowers after a few years in the garden and are very impressive.
Like other lily species the stalks can be
unattractive after bloom and placing them among other tall plants like ostrich
fern or large hosta (they will grow in partial shade) is a good idea.
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| Trumpet lily |
Native species
– If you are a native plant gardener there are lily species for you. Some are endangered so make sure to buy these
natives from licensed nurseries. Some
are quite delicate, and their needs should be researched before you purchase
them. You’ll need to find out which are native to your area or that will grow
in your planting zone.
These lilies generally have turks cap type flowers. Most
have orange or red flowers, although there are some pinks. Most are not scented. While some are quite vigorous some of these
species lilies need a bit of babying to establish.
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| Lilium michiganense, |
North American species include Lilium
bolanderi, Lilium
canadense, Lilium grayi, Lilium humboldtii, Lilium kelleyanum, Lilium
kelloggii, Lilium maritimum, Lilium michauxii, Lilium
michiganense, Lilium occidentale, Lilium
pardalinum, Lilium parryi, Lilium parvum, Lilium
philadelphicum, Lilium pitkinense, Lilium superbum, Lilium
ollmeri, Lilium washingtonianum, and Lilium wigginsii.
I am not going to go very deeply into lily care here
because of length. Lilies are bought as
bulbs, either dormant or as potted plants.
Dormant bulbs are available from a number of catalogs and are best
bought and planted in the fall. Plant
them as soon as you get them for best results.
It can take several years for a lily to reach the large impressive sizes
shown in catalogs, especially Oriental and Trumpet types but it’s worth the
wait.
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| Orienpet hybrid |
Potted lilies from a garden shop may be blooming out of
season. Plant them in the ground as soon
as possible. If you get florist lilies
as a gift you can usually plant them in the garden and they will return next
year. If it’s cold outside keep them in a sunny window until the soil has
warmed up. Easter lilies are only hardy
to about zone 6. These gift lilies won’t
bloom again the same year and they will look like they are dying, this is
normal.
Most lilies prefer full sun conditions and they need
moderate moisture. Make sure to research
the requirements of different species/hybrids though. All lilies are poisonous to pets, especially
cats, but despite this deer are very fond of them, so take that into
consideration when planting them.
There is a lily for every garden. Lilies are some of the most beautiful and
easy to grow flowers a gardener can choose so make sure your garden contains a
few.
Pokeweed
Every year about this time gardeners begin asking
about a large plant growing in their garden.
Hundreds of pictures of pokeweed will get posted to garden ID sites.
Although you never planted it, pokeweed may appear in your garden because birds
love the berries and distribute them widely.
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| Pokeweed en.wikipedia |
Pokeweed (Phytolacca Americana), is an
interesting plant because it is both eaten and poisonous. It is a native
American plant with both ornamental and useful qualities. It can be found both
in gardens and along roadsides and in fields. Some other common names for the
plant include Ink Plant, Pokeberry and American Cancer, (for reasons unknown).
When I was a child, we used to pick the berries and
use them to color our faces and hands, pretending we were Indians. This was not appreciated by my mother,
especially if we got the berry juice on our clothes, which left a large
stain. If you want to dye something
reddish purple pokeweed may be your plant.
Pokeweed becomes a large plant, up to 6 feet high,
with thick, sturdy reddish stems. It is a perennial plant that dies to the
ground each year and forms progressively larger clumps when it returns. The
leaves are thick, long and oval in shape, larger at the base of the plant, and
arranged alternately on the stems. New spring leaves have red veins and may be
tinged with red. The plant has a big, thick taproot. The impressive size and
color of the stems convince many gardeners to plant it for visual interest.
Poke begins blooming in July. The small
greenish-white flowers are on long spikes at the top and sometimes on smaller
side shoots of the plant. Each flower turns into a green berry that ripens to
purple black. The juice of the pokeberries is a deep red. It will stain hands
and clothing and was used by early settlers in place of ink. Birds love the
berries and spread the seeds far and wide. The plants prefer rich soil and grow
in full sun or partial shade.
All parts of the plant are considered poisonous. It
is the thick succulent shoots of new leaves that are sometimes eaten and known
as Poke Salad. These greens must be boiled in at least 2 changes of water to be
safe. Berries are attractive and care should be taken that children don’t eat
them. A few deaths have
been recorded from adults eating plant parts and at least one child has died
from eating berries. If a child eats even
a few berries poison control should be called.
The berries are not safe when cooked, despite some claims.
Pigs have been known to die from eating poke plants
and berries so keep the plants away from pets and livestock too. However, deer must not eat them or can
tolerate them, which is too bad.
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| Pokeweed USFS |
Since the plant is a perennial cutting it down won’t
help, it must be pulled or dug to dispose of it. You can safely pull pokeweed
and dispose of it. The poisons it
contains can enter through the skin, but you would have to pull a lot of it to
even get sick. I don’t recall getting sick, only spanked, when we smeared our
bodies with it. Use gloves and you’ll be
fine. Some people might have an allergic skin reaction to it but it’s not like poison
ivy.
Some people choose to leave the plant for the birds
or for garden interest and that’s fine.
It is a native plant. But if you
have children, I would be very wary of keeping this plant in the garden. We were warned not to eat it as children and
we never did, but some kids aren’t deterred by warnings.
Gardening simply does not allow one to be mentally old,
because too many hopes and dreams are yet to be realized.
– Allan Armitage
Kim Willis
And So On….
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