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Nobember Tips

October 7th, 2011 admin

In November we get ready for winter, taking steps to protect plants against ice and chilling winds, including erecting windbreaks around evergreens to help prevent desiccation.  It’s also the time to winterize and store garden equipment until the next gardening season.

So it’s no surprise that most of November’s gardening activities are still taking place outside.  You might start in the garden.  Is it all cleaned up?  Have you removed the debris and added lime to the soil in readiness for planting next spring?  A soil test will tell you how much to add.

If you haven’t finished pruning out this year’s fruiting canes on your raspberry bushes, do it now. If you wait until spring, the dead canes will serve as reservoirs for disease, increasing the possibility of spur, cane blight, and other diseases.  For blueberries, however, wait until late winter to prune when winter injury can be more easily determined.November flowers

For perennials, it is okay to wait until spring to cut them back as long as they are not diseased or have poor foliage.  In fact, you may want to wait, even if you have time to prune them now, as many provide a nice winter effect.

This is also a good time to check labels on perennials to make sure they will last through the winter.  Redo them if necessary.  Edge beds to get ready for spring.  Make sure clay pots and garden statuary are covered or out of the weather for winter.  Otherwise, moisture and freezing may crack them.

Protect evergreens from harsh winter winds by building a simple windscreen.  Position the posts on the sides most prone to winds (generally the west and north) and wrap with burlap.  Don’t use plastic as this will heat up, causing the plants to fry on sunny days.  Continue to water evergreens until the ground freezes.

If you still haven’t gotten your bulbs in the ground, do so early in the month or consider putting them in pots to force at 40 degrees F for 12 weeks.  An unheated but nonfreezing cellar or garage is ideal.  Keep the soil moist, not wet.  When bulbs start growing in the spring, generally in March, move to an area with more warmth.

When cleaning out underbrush and unwanted vegetation around your home, think of the wildlife.   Brambles, especially blackberries and raspberries, provide both food and shelter for small animals and birds.

This is a good time to stock up on birdseed for the winter.  Black oil sunflower seed is preferred by most species although you might want to provide niger or thistle seed for finches and suet for woodpeckers and chickadees.  Blue jays (and squirrels, too) like corn–shelled, cracked, or dried on the cob.

Provide a source of water, if possible, preferably a heated bird bath with covered heating element and an automatic shut-off valve or heat cycling on-off switch.  The first protects the birds from injury to their feet, the second will prevent damage to the birdbath if goes dry.  Use a grounded, three pronged outlet to prevent the possibility of electrocution.  Place a flat piece of shale over the heating element to will provide a warm rock for birds to perch on to rest or drink.

Take a few hours to clean, repair, and sharpen your garden tools before putting them away for the season.  Drain the garden hose, roll it up, and store it in the basement or garage.

Using a special additive (available at hardware stores) in the gas tank will help keep moisture out and the gasoline from breaking down as much over winter.  Add a few drops of oil to the cylinder, and change the oil and the spark plugs.  Store pesticides, fertilizers, and other lawn and garden chemicals in a locked cabinet or other high, dry location where they won’t freeze.

Indoors, move your houseplants away from exterior doors to protect them from cold blasts when doors are opened.  Group together potted plants to increase humidity, which may be lacking in the colder months.  At night close shades to protect plants from extreme outdoor temperatures.  Or place a folded newspaper between the plants and the glass.

Plan some fun indoor gardening projects with your kids, such as planting a windowsill herb garden or collecting pinecones, seed pods, and unusual twigs to make thanksgiving decorations.  Or build a birdhouse or “plant” a garden using carrot tops, avocado pits, orange seeds, and other kitchen leftovers.

Other activities for November: try bonsai, the oriental art of shaping miniature container-grown trees; clean up rose beds; plant amaryllis and paperwhites for bloom during the December holidays.

Gift Ideas

September 28th, 2011 admin

You don’t have to be Martha Stewart to turn every day objects into beautiful garden-themed gifts for holiday giving. In fact, these projects are so easy to do that the hardest part may be giving them away, as you will want to keep them for yourself!

GARDENING GLOVES–To make this gift you will need acrylic craft paint (available at any craft store or art supply shop); stencils of flowers, vegetables, or other garden-related items; small paint brushes or sponges; and a pair of white or cream-colored canvas gardening gloves.

Lay the gloves flat on a piece of newspaper. Tape a stencil to the back of the glove, and gently sponge on paint. Or draw floral designs freehand. If applying more than one color, allow the paint to dry between applications of each color. To further personalize the gift, write the recipient’s name on the cuff of each glove.

TOTE BAG–Or add your own personal touches to a fabric tote bag. Again, cream or white is the best color as the design will stand out better. In addition to the bag, you will need stencils, paint for fabric stenciling, and a stencil brush or paint sponge.mosaic_flower_pot

Before you begin, hand wash the bag in cool water using a mild detergent. If needed, iron to remove wrinkles. When stenciling, it’s a good idea to work slowly, carefully blotting the brush on a paper towel to avoid drips and smearing while applying paint. Add one color at a time, allowing the paint to dry between applications. When finished, let the bag dry for a week to 10 days.

Tote bags also can be embroidered or appliquéd. Choose a festive floral design, and don’t forget to work the recipient’s name into the design. For either stenciling, embroidery, or appliqué, it’s best to plan your design on paper first, before you start to work.

Although the tote bag itself makes a wonderful gift, you could fill it with a variety of small garden items, including packets of favorite flower seeds, a pair of hand-decorated garden gloves, a trowel or other hand tool, row markers, and a garden book or blank journal for jotting down garden notes. Or how about a jar of homemade applesauce or blueberry jam? Be sure to add a card with washing instructions: Hand wash in cool water using mild soap.

FLOWER POTS–Decorated clay flower pots make the perfect gift for gardener and non-gardener alike. They can be used for a potted plant or a silk flower centerpiece, or even to hold pens and pencils on an office desk.

You can stencil, decoupage, or cover in mosaic tiles, being as flashy or as subdued in your choice of color scheme as you’d like. But regardless of the decorating method you choose, start with a clean terra-cotta pot.

Lightly sand the outside of the pot with sandpaper, wiping off the dust as you go. If the pot will be used for a plant, brush the inner surface with a water sealant (the kind used for wood) to prevent moisture from seeping through and ruining your designs.

For a stenciled pot, give the outside of the pot two coats of acrylic paint. You may want to paint the rim a different color. Next, tape the stencil to the pot. With a stencil brush, sponge, or foam brush carefully dab on paint.

For decoupage, you can use scraps of colorful fabric; pictures of flowers and vegetables cut from a seed catalog or magazine; or even the front of seed packets to decorate your pot. Arrange pieces on the pot, lightly marking where each will go with a pencil. Remove and coat the back with decoupage medium (available at craft shops). Place on the pot, smoothing gently to eliminate air bubbles.

Use a damp paper towel to remove excess medium. When you have finished, apply several more layers of the medium to seal the design, allowing it to dry between coats. Or you can spray with an acrylic spray varnish.

To make a mosaic pot you will need tile glue or adhesive caulk, grout, and tiny tiles or chips of colored crockery (place broken dishes and glasses in a bag and break into small pieces with a hammer). Brush glue or caulking on the pot in an even layer, doing only a small area at a time. Press pieces onto the pot, spacing them about an eighth of an inch apart. Let dry, then apply grout according to manufacturer’s instructions.

Another option is to paint the pot in a solid, vibrant color–bright gold or a velvety blue would look nice–adding leaf prints to jazz it up. You can use either real or fake foliage, but choose leaves with interesting shapes or edges. Carefully brush fabric paint onto the underside of the leaf, spreading the paint evenly over the surface. Press this side onto the pot, gently rubbing the leaf with your fingers to make the print. Lift off and allow to dry.

You also can use this last technique to decorate placemats. Buy or make the mats out of a solid, neutral color like ivory or wheat. Silver or gold leaves will give the placemats a formal look. Use of autumn colors like maroon, brown, and orange or spring pastels tie the gift into a particular season.

PRESSED FLOWER NOTECARDS–For this idea you will need pressed flowers, leaves, and herbs; a heavyweight paper folded into notecard-size pieces; glue; and clear, self-adhesive contact paper. If you did not press and save blossoms and foliage from summer annuals and perennials, you can use herbs from your windowsill herb garden or foliage from houseplants. Or perhaps you brought your potted flowering plants in for the winter. For flowers, ones with few petals work best, such as pansies.

To dry, spread the blossoms and greenery in a single layer on a paper towel or sheet of white absorbent paper. Place a second sheet on top. Press by putting a stack of books or other heavy objects on top. The drying process will take about two weeks.

Arrange your dried flowers and leaves on the notecard paper, using a pencil to mark the position of each. Glue background pieces on first, then the focal flowers and accents. Add a message or quote in a nice ink, if you wish. Allow to dry, then carefully cover with clear contact paper to protect your artwork. Press firmly, and smooth out any air bubbles.

These are but a few ideas for holiday gifts to make using flowers and garden themes. Find other ideas by browsing through crafts books or checking out Internet Websites devoted to crafts projects. In addition, check with your local crafts shop to see if any demonstrations or classes are scheduled.

Houseplants Indoors

September 19th, 2011 admin

If you let your houseplants “vacation” on the back deck or front porch this summer, then by early September, it’s time to start getting them ready to move back inside for the winter.

Because conditions differ widely between the inside and outside your home, a gradual reintroduction to the indoors is best.  Sudden changes in temperature, light, and humidity can be traumatic to plants, resulting in yellowed leaves, dieback, wilting, and even death.

First, get ready for the move indoors.  Clean the windows–both inside and out–to ensure that plants will get adequate light this winter.  If some of your plants will need repotting, make sure you have sterilized potting soil, containers, and the supplies you need on hand.begonias

This is also the time to add ceiling hooks for hanging plants or build that wide shelf in front of the window that you’ve always wanted.  If you have a lot of plants that require high humidity, you might want to make the shelf wide enough to accommodate trays to group these plants together.  Line the trays with waterproof material, fill with gravel, and place the pots on top.  Keep the gravel moist.

You will need to bring your plants indoors before nighttime temperatures dip below 45 degrees F.  Most tropical plants will suffer damage at temperatures below 40 degrees F, a few at 50 degrees F.

Inspect plants for insects and diseases, and treat as appropriate before bringing plants back inside.  Check the outside of the pot for signs of soil or unwanted inhabitants.  Soaking the pot in a tub of lukewarm water for about 15 minutes will force insects out of the soil.  If snails, earthworms, or other insects burrowed in the soil, you might want to repot the plants, placing a piece of wire screening over the drainage hole to keep them out next year.

If necessary, repot plants in larger containers.  If plants have gotten leggy during their outdoor stay, remove from the container, and prune the top and roots in equal proportions.  Scrub the pot, add fresh potting soil, and replant.

This is also a good time to take cuttings of annual flowers, such as impatiens, begonias, geraniums, and coleus.  They root easily in water or sand and make attractive houseplants.  This is also a good way to overwinter them for planting in the garden next year.

Take cuttings about three to four inches long.  Remove the bottom leaves, and place the cut end into a mix of peat moss and perlite.  Dipping the end in root transplant hormone encourages faster rooting.  Keep the rooting medium moist but not wet.  When the cuttings have rooted, transplant into small pots.  As the plants grow, repot as soon as the plant has outgrown its current pot.

To prevent shock when you bring houseplants back indoors, expose plants gradually to reduced lighting.  Usually, if they’ve been in bright light and you move them into much lower light, expect some leaves to fall off.  However, new ones should form as the plants readapts to the lower light.  It’s best if they’ve been outside in high light to put them in similar light indoors like a south window or under plant lights on a timer for 16 hours a day.

Don’t overwater!   Although our dry summer meant you probably had to water your container plants every day, indoors they won’t require as much water.  Let the soil surface get dry to the touch before watering again.  Water succulents less often, when the soil is dry for several days.  Don’t water if quite cloudy or rainy weather as plants won’t get sufficient light indoors to dry out.

Finally, give your plants a boost of fertilizer, according to the directions on the product label.  Plants that have been repotted with soil containing fertilizer will not need to be fed again for two to three months.

September Gardering Tips

September 6th, 2011 admin

Bringing houseplants indoors, cleaning up annual flower beds, and dividing iris are some of the gardening tips for this month.

Ready houseplants for winter by checking them for insects, trimming off dead foliage and stems, and repotting if necessary.  Don’t use garden soil, but rather a mix formulated for potting houseplants.  This usually doesn’t have soil, but is “soilless” having peat moss, vermiculite, perlite, or other such ingredients.

Garden soil doesn’t have good properties when put in a pot, and unless pasteurized may introduce diseases and insects.  Gradually move houseplants into shadier conditions to get them used to less sunlight before bringing them inside when nights dip into the 40s.September gardering

As you empty annual beds this fall, there are two main ways to enrich the soil for next year: spreading compost or planting cover crops. Before you spread compost, dig or lightly till in any plants that aren’t diseased to return nutrients to the soil.

Spread compost, even if it’s not well decomposed yet. It will protect the soil over the winter and break down by spring planting time. Or you can plant cover crops, such as buckwheat or annual rye that will grow this fall and early spring until you till it under several weeks before planting.

Lift iris clumps with a shovel and break them apart. Save the plumpest, firmest rhizomes, and discard the old, leafless ones. Trim the leaves to about 6 inches long. Let the rhizomes air dry overnight before planting. Check to make sure they aren’t mushy—a sign of the iris borer. Break off and discard in the trash (not the compost) infected rhizomes.

Daylilies can go years without dividing, but if they’ve gotten too large or aren’t blooming well, early fall is a good time to divide.  Daylily clumps are so dense you’ll need to slice through them with a shovel or spade. Separate them into smaller clumps, leaving at least three plants per clump. Trim leaves to about 6 inches long and replant in a soil enriched with compost.  Water well, and give some liquid fertilizer.  This will help them get established before winter.

Get those weeds out of your garden or else they will make it doubly hard for you next spring. Since bare soil invites weeds, cover bare soil with mulch, such as layers of wet newspaper covered with straw, compost, or manure. This will control late fall and early spring weed growth and provide organic matter.

Japanese beetle larvae have burrowed into the soil, so it’s a good time to treat the soil with beneficial nematodes. These microscopic “roundworms” enter the larvae and kill them with bacteria they release, which in turn convert grub tissue to nutrients for the nematodes. If you can’t find these beneficial nematodes at a local garden center, check online for a mail-order source.

There’s still plenty of time to plant trees and shrubs and perennials, and the prices are right. Root growth will continue into late fall or early winter, and plants won’t have the heat of spring or summer to dry them out. Be sure to water well at planting time and every week until they go dormant.  Wait to fertilize until spring, otherwise new growth may sprout that wont be winter hardy.

Bluestars

September 1st, 2011 admin

A well-drained, moist soil is best although soil preference will vary with individual species as they are native to different habitats.  The Willow bluestar (A. tabernaemontana) and the Shining bluestar (A. illustris) can be found naturally and grow well near water and in damp areas.

The Downy bluestar (A. ciliata) and the Ozark bluestar (A. hubrichtii) can be found naturally and grow well in drier sites.  There are about 20 species, but only a handful are available at garden centers and nurseries.

The Ozark bluestar, sometimes called Arkansas or threadleaf bluestar, was chosen by professionals in the Perennial Plant Association as Perennial of the Year for 2011.  Like most bluestars the leaves are longer than wide, but the leaves of this species are quite narrow.Shining blue star

One common name indicates its origin, found in 1942 in the Ozark mountains of Arkansas by naturalist Leslie Hubricht.  It grows best in USDA zones 6 to 8, sometimes into zone 5.  While it can reach 3 feet high and wide in warmer climates, it may be less robust in cooler climates.

The most common bluestar is probably the Willow, the species named for German herbalist J.T. Tabernaemontanus. While most bluestars only may grow into zone 5, this one is hardy in zones 3 through 9, and is found in moist woodlands. Its flowers are slate blue and the leaves wider than other species. Its fruit pods are held upright, unlike some other species whose pods hang down.

Eastern bluestar, a variety (salicifolia) of the Willow, has leaves five to 10 times as long as wide, like willow leaves (the species name is similar to the scientific name for willow). The Willowleaf bluestar has blue flowers with white centers.

The Shining bluestar is similar to the Willow, only the seedpods hang down rather than being erect and upright, the leaves are more shiny, and the flower clusters are smaller.  The Downy bluestar is named for the fringe of soft hairs on leaves and stems when young.  Otherwise this species is similar to the Ozark in growing conditions and appearance.

Trials of several in this genus at the Chicago Botanic Garden (zone 5) several years ago resulted in good ratings for most.  The only ones rating lower due to chlorotic leaves, likely due to high pH soil conditions, were the Downy and the Dwarf (A. montana) species.

The latter are similar to the Willow and often seen listed as a variety of it, only this one has wider leaves, and a shorter and compact habit.  An even shorter cultivar (cultivated variety) of the Dwarf, ‘Short Stack,’ only reaches about a foot tall so is good for rock gardens.

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