Preparation for Over Wintering Container Plants

It is time to bring tender outdoor plants inside before the arrival of cold temperatures. For happiest plants, make the transition a gradual one. No matter how large your windows are, indoor light is not as powerful as outdoor exposure. Rather than moving your containers from a sunny porch directly to their winter home, condition them to reduced light. Just as you harden off new seedlings by exposing them to increasing amount of sun and wind, reverse the order and move those soon-to-be-houseplants into a shady, protected area for a week before they make the relocation to indoors. This extra step allows them to acclimate to reduced sunlight and helps prevent extensive leaf drop.

Once plants have made the move, look for stretching (elongated stems) or reaching toward light sources. If too much stretching occurs, invest in a grow light to supplement what is naturally available. Don’t allow leaves to touch the bulbs. It is a good idea to rotate plants a quarter-turn each week to maintain a normal shape. Repurpose an unused lazy susan or place the container atop a handful of marbles in its saucer. The marbles serve as pseudo ball bearings; plants can be rotated easily without moving the saucer and scuffing floors.

Before you bring them indoors, check plants for insects. I use a hand-held magnifying lens (a 10x jeweler’s loupe) to look for tiny insects like spider mites, white fly, scale, and aphids. I never know what my pets might nibble on, so I avoid insecticides on any indoor plants. A cotton swab dampened with rubbing alcohol can remove pests without damaging leaves or leaving toxic residues. Also remove any dead, dying, or ragged leaves.

Spring is the right time to repot container plants, but I am usually too busy with other garden tasks at that time, so I do a fall cleanup, cutback, and repot all at once. I typically discover some of my container plants have become horribly, embarrassingly root-bound. This is also the time of year that I buy a few plants that have been marked down as part of an end-of-season sale. These, too, are likely to be root-bound.

So, what does “root-bound” mean, exactly? It is when the roots of a plant have outgrown the volume of soil in its pot. The roots have circled the outermost section of the container. In worst cases, roots have displaced the soil so that you can barely see any dirt. If the problem is minor, use a hand cultivator to tease the roots away from each other. Don’t be concerned if you break a few. Significant congestion calls for more drastic steps. For serious cases, use a serrated knife or an electric carving knife from the kitchen to peel off the outside of the root mass. Do not dig deep into the root ball; just remove the outermost portion and an inch or two off the bottom. Reduce top growth at the same time. Return the whittled rootball back to its container, adding enough fresh potting soil to fill the pot, and water just enough to settle everything.

Be cautious to not overwater plants that have moved indoors for the winter. Plants that are not exposed to drying breezes or harsh sun need less moisture. While they do need high humidity, a too-wet soil may cause root rot. Mist to keep humidity high or place pebbles or marbles in the saucer, then add a bit of water but do not cover the pebbles/marbles. You do not want the bottom of the pot to be sitting in water.

To encourage plants to become larger, treat congested roots as described above but replant into a larger container. Just move up a size or two. Plants do not respond well when the container size increase is too large. I am sure there is some science that explains why this is true, but I do not know a source that explains the reasons. From personal experience (read: failure), I can tell you that moving a plant from an 8-inch container to a 14-inch container does not end well. If properly pruned and roots loosened, a container that overwinters indoors will need little beyond hardening off when it is time to move outdoors next spring.

Rootbound, suffocating

Roots loosened, ready for repot

Plant Poppies In Fall

Corn poppies (Papaver rhoeas, pronounced puh-PAY-ver ROH-ee-as) are undemanding annuals, easy to start from seed. Select an area in full sun with average soil. Too rich a soil will produce leafy plants with few flowers. Prepare seed bed in fall by removing weeds and raking smooth. In late October or November, scatter the tiny seeds thinly atop the prepared bed. Do not cover. Let Nature handle the rest. Basal rosettes of foliage emerge in early spring when the weather is still cool. They look like weeds at emergence; be careful that you do not remove the seedlings by accident.

Thin stems with flower buds arise from the rosettes, curved at the top like shepherd’s hooks. The crooks straighten to heights up to 30-36 inches before the flowers open. The petals resemble crepe paper, with yellow stamens in the center. Flower colors are red, rose, pink, purple, white, and bi-colors. California poppies (Eschscholzia californica) are a western native similar in appearance but flowers are shades of yellow and orange.

If you are planning a garden event for early spring of next year, consider these for large swathes of color when few other plants are in flower. Corn poppies dislike heat and humidity and will melt away as temperatures rise. They are good to pair with late emerging perennials like Butterfly Weed (Asclepias) or Balloon Flower (Platycodon). Leave a few seed heads if reseeding is desired.

The North Carolina Department of Transportation uses Corn Poppies in median and shoulder plantings along their interstate highways.

I spotted this large field of poppies along a rural road. There were a few Larkspur flowers mixed in. It was a breathtaking sight.

I planted these poppies in a newly prepared bed two years ago to prevent erosion until I got around to designing and planting a larger pollinator garden. I got busy and the bed went unplanted. Luckily, they reseeded and I had a beautiful bed this year, with zero effort on my part.

Deer as Dreaded Dinner Guests

Last Thursday, I counted more than forty blooms on my hydrangeas. By Saturday, all the flowers were missing as well as most of the leaves. These were shrubs that I had propagated four years ago from cuttings – my babies. They were protected, or so I thought, by an assortment of wire cages fashioned from leftover sections of assorted farm fencing. Everything outside the wire barriers was gone, decimated by hungry deer. The loss made me wonder why I stubbornly persist in growing deer candy: hydrangeas, hostas, daylilies.

Deer populations are becoming concentrated as native habitats are being cleared for new housing construction. I am happy for them to live in my woodlands and eat all my acorns, but I really, really want them to leave my cultivated garden areas alone. There are many recommended deer deterrents to be found across the internet. I have tried Irish Spring soap, human hair, and motion-activated sprinklers. None of these have succeeded in my garden. My growing areas are too large and too far apart to make fencing (electrified or traditional) practical. Applications of Milorganite® and stinky products like LiquidFence® are effective, but they must be reapplied after every rain.

The use of plants with strong scents can be as effective as chemical repellants. Lavender, society garlic (Tulbaghia), blue star flower (Ipheion), rosemary, catmint, marigolds, lemon balm (Melissa officinalis), yew (Cephalotaxus) and boxwood (Buxus) can be incorporated into mixed beds. Deer also avoid butterfly bush (Buddleia), beauty berry (Callicarpa), lamb’s ears, hellebores, salvias, and bearded iris.

Deer are creatures of habit. Once they have an established travel pattern, they tend to walk the same paths daily. If this path coincides with cultivated garden beds, those beds will be browsed regularly. Anything to disrupt the regular route will steer them away from the garden. This can be a physical deterrent like fencing or something a little more mundane. If you do not use the clumping form of kitty litter, empty your cat’s litterbox along the track, and encourage your dogs to defecate in the vicinity.

Despite deterrents, repellants, and specific plant choices, remember that a starving deer will eat anything, including the plants listed above. And tastes vary. What some groups of deer will avoid, other herds will gobble up. It’s enough to turn a vegetarian gardener into a venison-lover.

My cherished hydrangeas

Hosta for dessert

Time to Curate Your Garden Art

It is the middle of September, and the gardening season is winding down as we anticipate autumn’s arrival. Now is the time for pre-winter maintenance: cleaning garden tools, sharpening mower blades, preparing a compost bin for storing leaves until they turn into that black gold known as leaf mold, and deciding which container plants will be brought indoors for winter. Swings or metal benches can be repainted now, while outdoor temperatures are still pleasant.

It is also a good time to review your yard decorations. Indoors, it is easy to overlook items which we see every day. We no longer notice the scratch on the family room floor resulting from the dog’s zoomies or the sun-faded area on the family room rug. Outdoors, we may not notice rust on our iron urns or the chipped rim on the ceramic container. That pair of beautiful, tightly-clipped spiral conifers on either side of the front door may have repaid our inattention by becoming misshapen blobs. Early fall is a good time to take a fresh look and remove the decorations that are no longer in good condition or good taste. And tastes change. Several years ago, I painted bowling balls to look like ladybugs. I loved them – until one day, they just looked silly. They are hidden in the woods now, waiting for the tide of popularity and my attitude to change. If you once collected concrete frogs (I won’t judge) but they no longer bring you joy, it might be time to let them go. If you have blue-dyed mulch (okay, I AM judging you) and you don’t live in Boise, it may be time to reconsider and go with a color found in nature. Please stop dressing plastic geese in costumes reflecting the seasons. Have you ever met a Pilgrim Goose? Me neither.

While cast bronze sculptures and lead fountains will always be considered in good taste, the popularity of garden gnomes, gazing balls, and seasonal garden flags is slipping into oblivion. Pink plastic flamingoes are acceptable only when used short-term, as a joke. To avoid conflicts between neighbors, most Homeowners’ Associations now specify what type and where yard art can be displayed. I read a study recently that said wind chimes appear regularly on the “List of Things I Hate About My Neighbor.” I’m certain that the unpopular chimes are the cheap tinkle-tinkle variety and not the beautifully toned ones that make us think we are approaching an outdoor cathedral. Painted tires and concrete blocks, anything zombie related, flower-filled toilets and bathtubs, and the like have passed their period of appropriateness. I lost every one of my Hydrangea flowers to foraging deer this season, so I wonder about people who have plastic deer in their gardens. I would be happy for them to come take some of my herd home so that they can enjoy the real thing.

Coco Chanel is famous for her advice to dress for an evening out and then remove one accessory, such as a piece of jewelry or scarf or hair ornament. I encourage you to let your plants be the stars of your garden. Keep the garden art to a few items that make you happy, and maintain them in good condition. If you simply cannot part with the painted brick your child made at summer camp or the airplane whirligig made of Bud cans created by your grandfather, put them into storage. They may become valuable or popular one day. I’m holding onto my grosgrain ribbon belts, waiting for fickle fashion to find them trendy again.

Two Insects: One Harmful, One Valuable

I have never been afraid of insects (except for cockroaches, and “Palmetto Bugs” gross me out) until I had an unpleasant encounter while weeding last week. I was pulling small weeds around some shrubs and perennials, when a sudden, searing pain shot through my wrist. I drew back, expecting to see my attacker. Nothing obvious. I used the handle of my loppers to part the Iris foliage near the scene of the crime, and spotted a sporty-looking caterpillar – lime green with a tan and white splotch in the middle. It did not take much research to learn that I had encountered a saddleback caterpillar. Every website advised “avoid contact.”

Saddlebacks are adorned with poison-filled spines. I normally have a limited reaction to bites and stings but within two minutes, my fingers had swelled so much that I could not remove my wedding ring. By the time I reached the house, my entire forearm had doubled in size and was an angry red. Thanks to Google, I knew the treatment to follow, which I will share with you. I washed with soap and water, then used a piece of duck tape to pull out the spines. Next step was to ice the area and swallow a couple of Benadryl.

A closeup view of the poison-filled saddleback spines.

It is easy to overlook a Saddleback. They are only an inch long.

After the pain and swelling subsided (two hours), I went on a reconnaissance mission, intent on sending my attacker to caterpillar heaven. I spotted it, reached in with my clippers, and immediately brushed another one with the other arm. Repeated steps in paragraph two. Another two hours later, I donned heavy leather rose-handler gloves that extend up to my elbows, and revisited the doomed creatures. A careful examination revealed eleven of these evil beings on one Iris ensata. After recycling them, I checked all surrounding plants and found no more.

Saddleback caterpillars, Acharia stimulea, are native and found across the southeast. The caterpillars dine on a wide variety of plant materials, but are usually found in such small numbers that their damage is insignificant. The caterpillar spins itself a silken cocoon for winter before emerging in spring as a fuzzy brown moth with white spots. The mature moth has no trace of the lime green coloration which makes the caterpillar so distinctive. The moths are harmless to people.

Thus chastened by Mother Nature, I took a wide berth to the bees that chose to collect inside my new screen porch. The doors have not been installed yet, and these large black and yellow winged visitors could find their way inside the screen enclosure but could not find their way outside. They are scary-looking. I was surprised to learn that these were not some variety of Killer Hornets but instead harmless (non-stinging, non-biting) Hoverflies (family Syrphidae). The construction workers onsite told me that a common name is Broadcast Bee because they buzz loudly, “broadcasting their presence,” while they hover around humans’ heads as if to say, “Hey, look at me!”

There are thousands of Hoverfly species, of various sizes. Hoverflies have short, stubby antenna and a large set of wings for flying. The second set of wings is tiny, and are used for balance rather than propulsion. If you watch them carefully, you will see that hoverflies really do hang in the air with no apparent destination, while bees and wasps have an obvious direction to their flights. Hoverfly larvae look like the typical fly maggot, but their favorite meal is APHIDS! They are good pollinators, too. It is uncanny how much they look like something that would cause harm. You can encourage Hoverflies by planting nectar-rich, small flowers like Alyssum.

Asiatic Dayflower, a Beautiful Invader

There is an old-fashioned saying, “Pretty is as pretty does.” This is a cryptic way for mothers to tell their headstrong daughters that nice behavior makes them more attractive. The corollary is that a pretty girl with a nasty disposition is not attractive. Asiatic dayflower, Commelina communis, has a beautiful bloom but if an unsuspecting gardener allows just one to remain, plants soon appear everywhere. I repeat, everywhere.

Asiatic dayflower has two blue petals, one smaller white or light blue petal, and yellow stamens. Each flower lasts only one day. The stems are weak and floppy, but the flowers rise above them, to heights of around two feet. Plants are perennial in zones 5-8. They prefer moist soil and partial shade, but will grow in many other situations. It typically crops up along the edges of woodlands. In my garden, it likes to appear stealthily under the edges of tall, Southern Indica azaleas but the striking blue flowers reveal its hiding place.

This non-native wildflower is listed as invasive in several states. Plants are resistant to herbicides. Removal is best done by hand pulling after a rain, when soil is damp. In dry soil, the brittle stems break off and plants return quickly. Also, don’t pull them and toss them aside to die. The stems will throw roots from every leaf node and soon there will be a community, laughing (I assume) at efforts to eradicate. The flowers produce numerous seeds with a high germination rate.

This sneaky fella has concealed himself in the foliage of an Azalea.

Picking and Protecting Pumpkins

It is difficult to think of autumn while the weather is miserably hot and humid, but in a few weeks the temperatures will drop, leaves will start to show color, and the words “pumpkin spice” will appear everywhere. Bring on pumpkin season! Whether you visit a pick-your-own patch or purchase yours from a grocery store, there are a few steps you can take to ensure that your chosen pumpkin lasts as long as possible.

Select a fresh, unblemished specimen. Small cuts on the surface of the skin may appear insignificant, but they are an entryway for rot-causing bacteria. A freshly cut pumpkin’s stem may have a greenish tint or be completely green. Dry, brittle stems indicate that the pumpkin has been harvested a while, and may have a shorter storage life. If choosing between a green-stem specimen with a surface cut or gash and a specimen with a dry, brown stem, select the brown stem. Once bacteria has entered the fruit, decay quickly follows. Use care to avoid breaking or damaging the stem and do not use it as a carry handle. Instead, lift the fruit by placing both hands under the bottom and cradling it gently. A sound, ripe pumpkin will make a “thwack” sound when you thump it, much like a ripe watermelon. This test is useless for me, since I prefer to purchase green or mostly-green specimens. (Weird, I know.)

There are a number of recommendations on the internet for making fall fruits last longer. I have tried several of these. First, washing the surface with a diluted bleach water seems to work, as does keeping the fruit cool and out of direct sunlight. One site recommended spraying the surface with WD-40. It gave the fruit a pretty sheen, but the silicone seeped through the straw onto my brick walkway, leaving an oily-looking spot for weeks beyond Thanksgiving.

Opinions differ on what makes a pretty fall pumpkin. Some people opt for the traditional round, orange globes with faint ribbing. There are many other choices. I love those that are warty, but at least one of my friends finds those disgusting and creepy. Other pumpkins have a skin surface that looks (to me) like a blood-shot eyeball. These are not my favorite, but they do open an opportunity for some interesting carving opportunities. Check out the wide variety of gourds now available. I especially like Turk’s Turban, a two-level squash that is mostly orange on the large lower level and multicolored on the smaller top. Crown of Thorns squash resembles a patty-pan squash that has grown a series of horns. Two-toned crookneck gourds come in a variety of color combinations.

I like to combine several of these options into fall arrangements. If you are using pumpkins or gourds in an indoor centerpiece, use a clear glass or plastic underplate or a double thickness of wax paper to protect your table or counter from moisture. Conceal the protective layer with Spanish moss or raffia shreds. Outdoors, place your fall squashes on a layer of straw, pine needles or mulch to prevent direct contact with the soil. This will help keep insects from damaging their skins.

Lopsided pumpkins lend themselves to the creation of cool faces and designs. Another option is to paint designs on the pumpkin rather than carve. Although it is great fun for each member of the family to select and carve their own Jack-o-lanterns, any cut fruit will decay faster than uncut fruit. There are amazing Jack-o-lanterns available on Pinterest, but I lack the vision and manual dexterity to create one. Instead, I learned that you can use metal cookie cutters and a rubber mallet to cut perfect stars and heart. Rubbing a little petroleum jelly on the cut edges keeps them from curling inward as the first sign of self destruction. For lighted carvings, using a battery-powered tealight instead of a candle is safer and helps the fruit stay fresh longer.

If your pumpkin has not decayed, share your post-holiday discarded fruits with zoos or goat owners. Animals find them tasty.

Bit of trivia: Early jack-o-lanterns were carved turnips, not pumpkins. From Wikipedia, the “name comes from the reported phenomenon of strange lights flickering over peat bogs, called will-o’-the-wisps or jack-o’-lanterns. The name is also tied to the Irish legend of Stingy Jack, a drunkard who bargains with Satan and is doomed to roam the Earth with only a hollowed turnip to light his way.”

A Trio of Cool Insects

When life hands you lemons, you make lemonade. As a result of the lightning hit last week that destroyed our internet and computer components and the power outage that shut down my small town for several hours on the hottest day (so far) of 2023, I went outdoors to seek a cooler, peaceful spot. Otherwise, I might never have spotted the three cool insects shown below. 

Eastern Eyed Click Beetle (Alaus oculatus) is also known as the Eyed Elator. In my personal vocabulary, it will be known as a Big Eyed Bug. The large wing spots are thought to serve as a device to scare away predators. If they land on their backs, through wind or some other cause, click beetles have the unique ability to contract themselves and launch into the air so that they can land right-side-up. This explosive contraction causes a popping or clicking sound, which leads to the common name. Despite their scary appearance, these beetles are harmless. The larvae, known as wireworms, are skinny golden worms with brown or black heads. They live in decaying wood or stumps and like to dine on other bugs. This is unique since most wireworms dine on vegetative crops and are considered a nuisance. 

Eastern Eyed Click Beetle

The Tabanus atratus  pictured below was identified by BugGuide.net as Monster Black Fly or Giant Black Fly. The word atratus means “clothed in black.”  I included a photo with my finger so that you could detect the scale of this giant thing. While they normally feed on plant nectar, breeding female horseflies need a blood meal. They make life miserable for horses and cattle. It is rare for them to bite a human, but if you are unfortunate enough to be the target of an attack, the University of Milwaukee describes the experience as “memorable.” This cannot be good. Rather than sucking blood up through a mouth-tube like a mosquito, the Giant Black Horsefly uses razor-like blades to slice skin open and then laps the blood up like a vampire kitten (my description, not UW-M). It is best to avoid these.

Giant Black Horsefly

Southeastern True Katydid, Pterophylla camellifolia, is an attractive green insect with long antenna and a quizzical look. They live in treetops and make their LOUD calls at night to attract mates. Most calls are made by males, but a few females join in the cacophony. When it is cool enough to sleep with windows open, I note that their loud calls end at some point during the night. I don’t know if this is due to changes in temperature, exhaustion from all that caterwauling, or success in finding a mate. True katydids are weak flyers. If they get blown out of the treetops, they are likely to walk back up the tree rather than flying. They must have some serious sticky feet, because one recently rode on my car’s exterior mirror for more than two miles at normal traffic speed. He was still hanging on when I parked.

Southeastern Katydid

A week to regroup

To my gardening friends:
There will be no blog post this week. On Monday, we experienced a severe thunderstorm. Lightning hit our satellite dish, taking out the dish itself, the power adapter, and the house router, along with various and sundry other electric devices. While I still have internet access via my mobile phone, I have decided to take a week away from my regular research, and instead share this sunset photograph. Hopefully, I’ll be back to the normal blog format next week, courtesy of shiny new computer things.

All the best,
Mary

Crinum Lily - Bold Flowers, Long-lived Bulbs

If your taste leans toward bold flowers, grow Crinum, a summer-flowering cousin to the Amaryllis. A southern passalong plant, these flowers are seen frequently on gravesites in the Bahamas. Bulbs are hardy in zones 7b to 10, at least. Flowers are white, pink, rose, or striped. White flowers with red stripes are commonly referred to as Milk and Wine lilies.

Mature plants will reach heights up to four feet. Bulbs are best planted in warm months, April through October, rather than fall or winter. They prefer full sun to part sun and moist soil, but will succeed in a wide range of conditions. Established plants will tolerate limited drought. They are not picky about soil texture or acidity.

When grown in moist, fertile soil Crinum bulbs can become quite large – occasionally up to twenty pounds! When bulbs need division, it is best to lift the entire clump, then separate offsets from the mother plant. Either replant or share the offsets. Newly divided bulbs may take a year or two to settle in and flower. The sturdy stems make good cut flowers. The flowers have a pleasant, clean fragrance.

As an initial investment, Crinum bulbs are more expensive than many other bulbs, but a single investment will provide years and years of enjoyment. Given their willingness to procreate, they are a cost-effective purchase.

 Bulbs are toxic to humans and pets. Deer do not bother them.

This Crinum was a gift from a regular customer at the nursery where I once worked. In a few years, it had multiplied into a large, handsome colony.

I planted these in a full-sun area with rich soil, in an area where the condensation from our air conditioner kept the soil moist. They grew to be giants. The largest was a little bigger than a softball but not quite as large a soccer ball. And it was HEAVY.

This beauty protested against her relocation by refusing to bloom for two years. This year, the gorgeous color and sweet fragrance made it worth the wait.

Rose of Sharon, an Old Fashioned Heat Lover

Althea or Rose of Sharon (Hibiscus syriacus, pronounced hi-BIS-kus seer-ee-AY-kus) is a fast growing, low maintenance shrub. It prefers full sun or slight shade, grows in any type of soil, and is adaptable to most soil acidity levels. Plants can reach twelve feet tall and up to ten feet wide, although most mature at a lesser size. They prefer hot weather, and have the charming characteristic of flowering while everything else is drooping in the heat. The individual flowers look like a smaller version of giant tropical Hibiscus but unlike tropical Hibiscus, they are perennial in zones 5-9. They can be planted closely (five feet apart) to create a flowering hedge.

Rose of Sharon begins to bloom in early summer and continues until fall. Plants bloom on new growth. Tip pruning in late winter will encourage new growth and result in more flowers. Please use hand pruners, not powered hedge trimmers. Flowers come in shades of lavender, pink, blue, white, and bi-color. Older varieties produce large quantities of seed that often spread themselves about too enthusiastically for the typical gardener. This dampened their popularity until hybridists introduced a number of low-seed or no-seed cultivars.

Cultivar ‘Diana’ has pure white flowers that mix well with other flowers and shrubs, and is a strong performer. Several semi-double or double-flowered varieties are available. Some of the newer introductions, like ‘Lucy’ or ‘Blushing Bride’ produce fewer seeds. Fully double Blueberry Smoothie™ and Peppermint Smoothie™ are sterile. Proven Winners ‘Sugar Tip’® has a variegated leaf and pale pink, double flowers. It is seedless and semi-dwarf, reaching six feet. Rose of Sharon is still on the Invasive List in Kentucky and Virginia.

Drought-stressed plants that suddenly receive an onslaught of rain are prone to dropping buds in a condition labeled Flower Bud Drop. Provide irrigation in extended drought to avoid this. Although rare, Leaf Spot and Leaf Rust can damage plants. These are treated with a foliar anti-fungal. Plants are occasionally bothered by Japanese Beetles or aphids. They are deer resistant. Hummingbirds and bees, especially larger bees, love the flowers. For this reason, avoid using insecticides or systemics to combat insect infestations. Instead, hand pick Japanese Beetles and use a strong spray of water to wash aphids off buds and tender new growth.

After several years, Rose of Sharon tends to lose its foliage at lower levels. If this is a concern, plant it behind a perennial that will conceal its lower regions, or intentionally prune it to a single-trunk tree form while the plant is young. This is a hardy, long-lived, low-maintenance shrub and is ideal in a pollinator garden or children’s garden.

This Rose of Sharon is blooming in a parking lot island at my local pharmacy, surrounded by asphalt pavement.

A bee enjoys this bloom.

Portulaca, A Flowering Succulent for Heat and Dry Soil

My love for Purlsane began when I inherited a pair of concrete planters that sat atop brick steps in full, baking, South Carolina sun. Nothing would survive in that spot until I found Portulaca (pronounced por-chew-LAY-kah), commonly known as Purlsane. This South American native flourishes in heat, laughs at humidity, and withstands neglect. Too much water will cause rot, so well-draining soil is a must.

Portulaca is a mat-forming annual succulent that reaches heights of four to six inches. Leaf forms are either needle-like or rounded and fleshy. The colorful blooms in shades of yellow, red, pink, coral, white, or magenta open in the morning, then close at sundown or when pollinated by a visiting bee. Flowers may not open on cloudy days. The ‘Yubi’ series and the ‘Afternoon Delight’ series stay open longer than other varieties. This means it is good plant for daytime enjoyment, not so good for evening entertainment. Plants grow quickly from transplants. They will sometimes reseed. They do well in hanging baskets and rock gardens.

A weedy form of Purlsane, Portulaca oleracea, is spread around by birds, winds, and via animals’ digestive systems. The foliage resembles its round-leaf cousin, but flowers are invariably yellow. They are hard to eradicate due to an extensive root system. This “weed” is a food for wildlife. Its leaves are edible by humans but are harmful to dogs, cats and horses if eaten in large quantities.

Portulaca is generally trouble-free, bothered occasionally by spider mites, aphids, or slugs.

A pair of hanging baskets with Lantana and Portulaca

Blanket Flowers for Color in the Heat

Gaillardia x grandiflora is a hybrid between G. aristata and G. pulchella). Commonly known as Blanket Flower, hybrid Gaillardia (pronounced gay-LAR-dee-uh) is a short-lived perennial in zones 7-10. Plant heights range from one to three feet tall with a two-foot spread. It has hairy leaves and produces bright, daisy-like flowers that bloom in a wide variety of colors, including red, orange, yellow, and purple. The flowers are typically 2-3 inches in diameter and have a central disk surrounded by bright single color or bicolor petals. Plants often produce flowers from spring to fall, especially if deadheaded. Leave a few dead heads in place as a treat for goldfinches, who love the seeds. Plants may reseed themselves. Cut flowers last a long time in the vase. Flower centers remain attractive after petals fall, and can be used fresh or dried in flower arrangements.

Plant Gaillardia in full sun only, in neutral soil. Plants dislike poor drainage and will decline in heavy or too wet soils. They are drought tolerant once established, and are a good choice for a xeric garden or pollinator garden. They are rarely browsed by deer or rabbits.

I went to the nursery last week with no intention of purchasing Gaillardia ‘Spintop Red’ but somehow these ended up in my list of purchases. What kind of doofus plants perennials in the midst of a heatwave? THIS kind, apparently. I love the prickly seedheads, right, as much as the flowers.

June Bug Airplane: Childhood Flashback

After mowing grass for three hours last week, I decided to take a water break from the heat. I plopped into a shady chair on the barn porch to rest and hydrate. That is when I noticed something odd. It appeared that the entire grass pasture in front of me was in motion. Was I having an aneurysm? A hallucination? When I walked over to investigate, I found that the air just above ground level was thick with hundreds, maybe thousands, of flying green beetles commonly known as June Bugs. They could just as easily be called May-through-July bugs because they emerge in mid-summer.

As a child, I and the rest of the kids in the ‘hood delighted in the capture of one of these hard-shelled, inch-long beetles. We would carefully tie a piece of sewing thread around the insect’s midsection and allow him to fly freely, restrained to a circular flight pattern by the string tether, held securely in a grubby little hand. (Do kids do this anymore?) When the activity became boring, we would cut the thread and let Mr. June Bug fly away. Everybody knew the bugs were harmless. Or were they?

Green June Bugs do not carry diseases and they do not bite. They are harmless to humans and pets but their legs have spines and it may feel like a pinch when they land on you. They do not infest homes but June Bugs are not harmless. They rank slightly below Japanese Beetles in terms of plant damage. They are voracious vegetarians and can cause significant damage to crops. Their preferred diet is berries, tomatoes, grapes, peaches, plums, figs, or corn. When these juicy treats are not available, they happily munch on grasses, oak leaves, and flowers,.

Green June Bugs (Cotinis nitida, found all over the southeast) go through a complete metamorphosis. They start life as eggs (laid in shallow soil, in groups of 10-30), then live as grubs for three years. They pupate and emerge as adults when soil temperatures hit 70 degrees. While a few adults overwinter underground, most live less than a year, dying at the end of summer. Skunks and large birds like crows eat the grubs.

Dead adults are usually found belly up. As they approach death, their bug-blood ceases flowing to their legs, which then cannot support their weight so they topple over. They are attracted to night-time lights (males more so than females) and may commit suicide by bombing your outdoor bonfire, kamikaze-style. Snakes, lizards, frogs, and birds are natural predators to the adults.

If you think you are seeing more June Bugs than in past years, you are correct. Warmer weather temperatures support population growth. If their damage becomes noticeable, you might want to take steps to reduce their numbers. Try to take the natural approach before resorting to insecticides.

June Bugs are repelled by the scent of essential oils such as lavender, mint or rosemary. Milky Spore bacteria can be used to combat the grubs. It is effective against Japanese Beetle grubs also. Milky Spore is available in many garden centers and some big box stores. Instructions for application are found on the container.

While Milky Spore is not a quick fix, it is long lasting and harmless to humans or pets. There are two widely available insecticides (Carbaryl and Trichlorfon) which are labeled for use against June Bugs. Read labels and follow instructions exactly. A preemptive systemic insecticide (Imidacloprid is one) can also be used. Please use systemics as a last resort and only on non-food plants, because some studies indicate they are contributing to honeybee hive collapse.

Do those yellow “bug light” bulbs really work? Well, June Bugs find them, as well as yellow Sodium Vapor parking lot lights, less attractive than white incandescent lights. LED bulbs do not attract them, another good reason to change over to energy-saving bulbs.

Folklore says that June Bugs are blind. This is untrue. They walk or fly into things because they are naturally clumsy. If they should fly into your hair, their leg spines may become entangled. This feels creepy, even if your common sense tells you they cannot bite. Capture your insect carefully and find a child for a game of June Bug Airplane. If no children are available, go ahead and lasso one with sewing thread. I won’t tell.

Independence Day #247

Instead of researching information on a horticultural topic, I spent my July 4 evening enjoying several fireworks displays visible from our hilltop. Here is a photo of our last home, New Hope Farm, decked out for the holiday a few years ago. I hope that you and your family enjoyed a good holiday. Ours is a remarkable country. We are lucky to be her citizens.

Cleome, Tall Flowers for the Back of the Annual Border

Cleome (klee-OH-mee) or Spider Flower is a tall plant for the back of the border. Its pink, white, rose or purple flowers open gradually, with the spent stamens developing into long-stemmed seed pods with a spidery appearance. Young palmate leaves mimic Cannabis. Older varieties reach heights of five feet and have sharp thorns hiding along stems to surprise the unwary gardener. Newer cultivars are shorter and have been bred to be thornless.

Cleome grows fast from seed; purchased seedlings may be rootbound and not transplant well. Seeds are best planted in full sun where plants are to grow. Keep seeds moist for three weeks. Plants are heat- and drought-tolerant thereafter.

Cleome reseeds readily but is not invasive. Older stems become leggy and leafless at ground level, so it looks best when planted behind a shorter plant that will hide its base. Older varieties of Cleome flowers have an unusual, lemon-musk fragrance that is more noticeable at dusk. A few people find the scent offensive. Thornless cultivars have lost the scent, too. Flowers attract bees and Sphynx months, large insects that can be mistaken for hummingbirds. Plants are deer-resistant. They look especially nice when planted in large drifts. Self-sown seedlings are often too dense for plants to reach full size. Thin them to a spacing of 12 inches.

To avoid potential for disease, remove plants once they are killed by frost. Rotate plant locations after a few years to avoid attracting harlequin bugs, a relative of the stink bug.

This image shows Cleome buds (top), open flowers (middle) and unripe seed pods (bottom). The long, narrow pods will mature to tan before they burst open to release ripe seeds. Each one of the pods contains 10-15 seeds. Remove the unripe pods if you want to prevent reseeding.

White Cleome pairs well with almost any other flowers

Spanish Moss - Not Spanish, Not Moss

I identify Spanish moss with the South Carolina low country, so I was surprised to find its silver threads adorning a tree at a friend’s (zone 7, upstate SC) back yard cookout last week. As an imaginative kid, I loved the stuff. It had a mystical, spooky quality that conjured up images of Halloween. My mother always warned me away from it, convinced that it housed ticks and other unsavory inhabitants. Not until today did I learn the truth.

Spanish moss is not Spanish. It is native to the southeast and is found from North Carolina to Texas. And it’s not a moss. It is an epiphyte (air plant) in the same family (Bromeliaceae) as pineapple and some succulents. It does not have roots and is not a parasitic plant like mistletoe. It absorbs moisture and nutrients from the air, not host trees. The need for moist air explains why it is found along coastal areas, but it can be grown outdoors in zones 8-11 or even as a houseplant if its need for moist air is met. If given a protected spot, it may survive in zone 7 also.

Spanish moss (Tillandsia usneoides, pronounced til-LAND-see-uh us-nee-OY-deez) has several other common names, including Old Man’s Beard, Grandfather’s Whiskers, and Wool Crepe. It can be used to weave coarse cloth or rope, as packing material for fragile objects, as mulch either outdoors or on houseplants, or in craft projects. While it is not a preferred home for ticks, it does provide shelter for bats, several species of birds, and a rare spider. I observed a pair of Bald Eagles gleaning the moss from a tree in Beaufort, SC. I suspect it was going to become a nest liner for their family. According to Dr. John H. Lienhard at the University of Houston, in past centuries the strands were included in bricks and mortar to make them stronger, were used to fill mattresses, and even used to stuff the car seats of Henry Ford’s Model A.(See https://www.uh.edu/engines/epi2506.htm )

Spanish moss threads are covered with scales (“trichomes”) that absorb moisture and catch dust particles from which it extracts needed nutrients. These scales also keep the plant from drying out. Once the scales die, they become tough, but even dead scales hold fast to each other. Plants rarely reach more than a foot in length. The long, long strands that you see swaying in beach breezes are not a continuous strand but a family of plants hanging onto each other, like a children’s Barrel of Monkeys game.

Plants thrive in full sun to part shade and are intolerant of air pollution. Spanish moss blooms several months in summer and early fall but the tiny flowers in shades of blue or green are easily overlooked. The flowers are fragrant, if you can get close enough to sniff them. While seen most often on oak trees, plants will cling to fence posts or telephone wires.

A stately home in Beaufort, SC is surrounded by oaks festooned with Spanish moss.

This pair of eagles, on St. Helena Island, filled their beaks with the wiry threads for (I assume) nest construction.

Pitcher Plants: Insects Check In, But Never Check Out

Carnivorous plants, especially Pitcher Plants, have long intrigued me. I felt lucky when a local Master Gardener offered to share. (Thanks, Dustan). Thus started the research -- I did not want to kill this plant. What an education! Everything that I know about other plants simply did not apply. I found one website particularly helpful, although the author was somewhat gleeful in his predictions of failure.

Here is a summary of what I learned, in no particular order:

• Pitcher Plants are in the Sarracenia (pronounced sair-ah-SEEN-ee-ah) family. Other carnivorous plants include the Sundews (Drosera), Venus Flytraps (Dionaea muscipula), and the rather vulgar-looking Monkey Cups (Nepenthes).

• Pitcher Plants can be found in the wild, growing in sunny bogs. This gives the gardener a checklist of their requirements: full sun to mostly sun, and plentiful moisture. Pitcher Plants are endangered or threatened and should never be harvested from the wild. Responsible nature photographers will not reveal the locations of their photos, to avoid illegal gathering.

• Moisture needs are specific. Water, lots of it, either rainwater or distilled water. The chlorinated water that comes from our faucets or artificially softened water will kill the plant.

• Plants should not be fertilized and should never be given treat insects or other food. Let Mother Nature handle the menu. Pitcher Plants cannot digest fats. Gardeners should never offer them bits of hamburger or other meats.

• Pitcher Plant leaves are a hollow tube (the pitcher) with a flap-like lid at the top. The flap has bright veins to attract insects, glands that secrete a sweet, sticky fluid, and downward facing internal hairs to prevent insects from leaving once they are inside the tube. The walls of the tube are smooth, so once the insect has been lured inside for a sweet treat, it falls into the lower pitcher, drowns in digestive enzyme-infused rainwater, and is transformed into a meal. The bottommost portion of the tube is a tiny receptacle for leftover, undigestible insect parts.

• Plants go dormant in winter. Gardeners should allow their dead leaves to remain in place until spring before trimming them back to the rosette base with scissors. Blooms are odd looking umbrellas held upside down on wiry stems. The spent flowers take all season to mature into seed pods. Ripe seeds can be sprouted after a period of cold stratification.

• Leaf colors may be chartreuse, rose, pink, or copper, and have delicate lines that resembles varicose veins.

• Pitcher Plants can be grown as houseplants, outdoors, or in containers. Keep their moisture requirements in mind. They need damp air and soil, even during winter dormancy.

• They have some of the strangest common names I have encountered:  Sidesaddle Plant, Indian Dipper, Whippoorwill Boots, Huntsman's Cup, Dumb Watch, Frog's Britches.

A fellow gardener who has been successful with Pitcher Plants recommends a mixture of perlite or sand combined with peatmoss as a growing media. Use natural sand from a creek bed. Builder’s sand or playground sand may have been chemically treated to reduce future weeds.

Pitcher Plants grow up to three feet tall and up to two feet wide. They are native to the eastern United States and are cold hardy in zones 6a-8b.

If carnivorous plants are your interest but you are new to them, visit https://sarracenia.com/faq.html as a valuable resource.

Pitcher plants are beautiful in an outdoor tabletop arrangement, but require dedication to water needs.

This image is from a display garden of University of Georgia, taken several years ago. It is what created my interest in growing these unusual plants.

Japanese Maples, Small but Mighty

Japanese Maples are the royalty of the garden, in my opinion. Every one of them is beautiful. Acer palmatum (pronounced  AY-sur pahl-MAY-tum) trees are native to Korea, China, Japan, and parts of Russia. They are hardy in zones 5-8. Due to their small stature and slow-growth habit as well as their gorgeous leaf colors, they are much loved in American gardens.

Some Japanese Maples are upright with mature heights up to twenty-five feet, usually shorter. Some have broad, palm-shaped leaves, imitating Sweet Gum or standard Maples. Other have finely cut foliage that is often described as lace-leaf. Some have a strong weeping habit and a mature width much wider than their height. Foliage colors range from chartreuse to pink, salmon, orange, red, burgundy and an endless array of variegations including white markings. In neighborhoods where HOA restrictions prevent front yard fencing, a weeping Japanese Maple forms a nice umbrella shape that can conceal summertime views of your neighbors. All types are deciduous (lose their leaves in winter).

Trees should be planted in dappled shade and well-drained soil containing plentiful organic matter. Direct sun will cause crispy leaves with brown edges. Those with red leaves will tolerate more sun than those with yellow-to-green leaves. These petite trees can be kept small by growing them in containers. They will survive in containers for years if irrigated regularly. While Japanese Maples can be incorporated into borders and mixed plantings, their attractive structure and outstanding colors make them excellent specimen trees, planted alone to draw attention.

Every gardener has their favorite cultivars. Here are mine: ‘Bloodgood’ – one of the oldest, most common, and easily grown trees, with beautiful red foliage. It has an upright form.
‘Tamukeyama’ – a weeping red lace leaf. It is late to leaf out, so is not damaged by late freezes.
‘Shishigashira ’ – also called the Lion’s Head Maple. In spring, it produces bright green, crinkled leaves. Its dense form gives it an architectural quality I love, and the fall color is yellow with a hint of orange. It will tolerate more sun than some, and is a good choice for bonsai.
‘Mikawa Yatsabusa’ – has a dense form like Shishigashira, but its green leaves emerge on red stems.
‘Shaina’ – one of my two latest acquisitions. The one I saw on a spring garden tour had peachy leaves, almost the same color as the terracotta pot in which it grew. The one I purchased (described as red) has a mixture of red, green, and peach leaves. Trees raised in greenhouses sometimes don’t reveal their true colors until planted outside. I can’t wait to see what develops. ‘Summer Gold’ – the other new purchase, has a yellow leaf with red edges. It was described as heat tolerant. Seller indicated that it could be grown in full sun without leaf scorch. We shall see.

As with other tree purchases, it pays to research mature sizes, growth habits, and special requirements before one goes shopping. I recently attended the open house of a Japanese Maple nursery that is normally a catalog-only resource (Mr. Maple, located in Flat Rock, North Carolina). It was heavenly to be surrounded by thousands of these gems. I wanted one of everything, but I managed to show restraint because of my prepared shopping list.

The beautiful limb structure of Acer palmatum

Japanese maples incorporated into a mixed border, early spring.

The dense, umbrella form of a weeping Acer palmatum can block unsightly views.

Japanese Water Iris fills a Gap

Daffodils and bearded Iris have long faded, and summer annuals are approaching their peak, delayed by this year’s unusually cool spring. In the interim, Iris ensata is putting on a show. Large, flat flowers on strong, thin stems float above narrow, strap-like foliage. Mention “Iris” and most people think of the bearded types, or Siberian, or the petite, crested variety. Showy Iris ensata deserves wider appreciation.

Iris ensata is also called Japanese Iris or Japanese Water Iris. It prefers damp soil and will even tolerate brief periods of standing water, but it is tolerant of average moisture. Like bearded Iris, Japanese Iris arise from fat rhizomes. Unlike their beaded cousins, they prefer to be planted with the rhizome vertical. They want full sun and an acidic soil, and are winter hardy in zones 5-9. Most varieties have blue or purple flowers, but a few are pink or white. While they have standards and falls, the flattened flowers remind one of a large butterfly. They do not have fuzzy beards. When in bloom, the stems can rise to 3-4 feet.

Iris ensata flowers have a long vase life. Plants are deer resistant. Introduce a few of these bulbs to the mixed border, where the summer flowers can be enjoyed over shorter companions that will hide the unremarkable foliage when they are not in bloom. Divide every 3-4 years to maintain good flowering.

Iris ensata ‘Pinstripe’

These were a passalong gift from a gardening friend. They live happily along a creek bank that floods occasionally.