Garden Gate No. 43
Transcription
Garden Gate No. 43
ing ZE en 9:13 AM Page 1 A PUBLICATION OF AUGUST HOME PUBLISHING CO. SPECIAL PROJECT: 4 Easy Steps to a Rustic Stone Wall Page 34 of Ga rd DO Tip s 11/13/01 NS cover.qxd ® February 2002 — Issue N o 43 www.GardenGateMagazine.com GARDEN GATE TESTED: 2002’s Best New Plants! Page 8 PLUS: • The Secrets to NO-FAIL BEGONIAS • Southern Belles Move North: MAGNOLIAS You Can Grow ANYWHERE • STEP-BY-STEP Raspberry Trellis Page 22 Page 30 Page 14 G4302_03b.qxd 11/27/01 2:12 PM Page 2 Contents February 2002 ISSUE No. 43 Features MAVIS AUGUSTINE TORKE PLANT PROFILE Class of 2002 . . . . . . . .8 We tested dozens of new plants and now present to you this year’s best and brightest. Begonias . . . . . . . . . . . .14 With a little care, their brilliant blooms come back more magnificent each year. Editor’s Note Magnolias . . . . . . . . . .22 I f you’ve been subscribing to Garden Gate for a while, you may notice a few changes in the way it looks beginning with this issue. Don’t worry — the information you’ve become accustomed to is still here. We’re just making it easier to use. Let me tell you about a couple of the changes: First, we three-hole-punched the magazine. Many of you told us that you wished there were an easy way to store back issues. Well, that wish came true! Now you can tidy up your stack of magazines and save every issue in a threering binder for reference. Second, if you found yourself tipping the magazine back and forth to minimize the glare, you’ll enjoy our new paper. Its matte finish makes it easier for you to read the stories and see the photographs and illustrations. We’re always looking for ways to make Garden Gate more useful to you. This is why we’re looking to establish a Web advisory board comprised of 700 passionate Garden Gate readers. Over the next year, we’ll contact you with questions concerning the magazine, story ideas and the garden industry. If you’d like to have an impact on the future of Garden Gate (and possibly win some nice prizes), please visit www.GardenGateMagazine.com/advisors/, fill out the signup form and we’ll add you to our list. The only stipulation is that you have access to the internet and e-mail. Thanks in advance for your help! These classic beauties add fragrance and elegance to your garden whether you live in the South or the North. 14 18 2 F E B R U A R Y 2002 / No 43 8 G A R D E N G AT E G4302_03b.qxd 11/14/01 1:18 PM Page 3 ® ® The Illustrated Guide to Home Gardening and Design® Editor Steven M. Nordmeyer Managing Editor Kristin Beane Sullivan 22 Associate Editors Jim Childs Anne Nieland Glen O. Seibert Departments PLANTS IN COMMON Variegated Foliage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18 Most plants have a variegated cousin — we’ll introduce you to a few at this colorful reunion. EDIBLE GARDEN Raspberries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26 Want to know how to grow the best raspberries? Here are a few tips to help you enjoy the “fruits” of your labors. Tips & Techniques . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 From the Test Garden . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 Senior Graphic Designers Deborah Gruca Monte Hammond Illustrator Carlie Hamilton Staff Photographer What’s New . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7 David C. McClure Questions & Answers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38 Sherri Ribbey Details: Creating garden microclimates with walls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41 Editor’s Choice: ‘Annabel’ lilac . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42 Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43 Finishing Touches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44 Editorial Assistant Corporate Gardener Marcia Leeper Prepress Image Specialist Minniette Johnson Contributing Illustrator Tom Rosborough BASICS Garden Heroes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32 These beneficial creatures may not be pretty, but they’re hard-working — meet some bugs only a gardener could love. DESIGN Garden Walls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34 Walls do more than just keep people out — find out how to use them in your garden. Then build a dry-stacked wall of your own. 32 Cover photo: David C. McClure. Love & Peace hybrid tea rose is an All-America Rose Selections 2002 Winner. Access your account day or night www.GardenGateMagazine.com • • • • • • ACCESS your account CHECK on a subscription payment TELL US if you’ve missed an issue CHANGE your mailing or e-mail address RENEW your subscription PAY your bill Click on “Subscriber Services” in the list on the left side of our home page. Menus and forms will take you through any of the account-maintenance services you need. 26 Publisher Donald B. Peschke CORPORATE: Corporate Vice Presidents: Mary R. Scheve, Douglas L. Hicks • Creative Director: Ted Kralicek • Creative Resources Art Director: Douglas A. Flint • New Media Manager: Gordon C. Gaippe • Multi Media Art Director: Eugene Pedersen • Web Server Administrator: Carol Schoeppler • Web Content Manager: David Briggs • Web Developer/Content Manager: Sue M. Moe • Web Designer: Kara Blessing • Senior Photographer: Crayola England • Controller: Robin K. Hutchinson • Professional Development Director: Michal Sigel • Senior Accountant: Laura J. Thomas • Accounts Payable Clerk: Mary J. Schultz • Accounts Receivable Clerk: Margo Petrus • Production Director: George Chmielarz • Elec. Pub. Director: Douglas M. Lidster • Systems Administrator: Cris Schwanebeck • PC Maintenance Technician: Robert D. Cook • Prepress Image Specialist: Troy Clark • Office Manager: Noelle M. Carroll • H.R. Assistant: Kirsten Koele • Receptionist: Jeanne Johnson • Mailroom Clerk: Lou Webber CUSTOMER SERVICE AND FULFILLMENT: Operations Director: Bob Baker • Customer Service Mgr.: Jennie Enos • Customer Service Reps: Anna Cox, April Revell, Tammy Truckenbrod, Deborah Rich, Valerie Jo Riley, Eddie Arthur • Technical Representative: Johnny Audette • Merchandise Buyer: Linda Jones • Admin. Assistant.: Nancy Downey • Warehouse Mgr.: Nancy Johnson • Fulfillment: Sylvia Carey, Sheryl Knox, Albert Voigt CIRCULATION: Subscriber Services Director: Sandy Baum • Circulation Manager, New Business : Wayde J. Klingbeil • Multi Media Promotion Manager: Rick Junkins • Promotions Analyst: Patrick A. Walsh • Billing and Collections Manager: Rebecca Cunningham • Renewal Manager: Paige Rogers • Marketing Analyst: Kris Schlemmer • Assoc. Circ. Marketing Analyst: Paula M. DeMatteis 34 ® G A R D E N G AT E HOW TO REACH US: FOR SUBSCRIPTIONS, ADDRESS CHANGES OR QUESTIONS, WRITE OR CALL: Customer Service 2200 Grand Ave., Des Moines, IA 50312 800-341-4769 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. CT or visit our Web site: www.GardenGateMagazine.com FOR A COMPLETE LIBRARY OR VOLUMES AND BACK ISSUES CALL: 800-978-9631 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. CT G4304_06.qxd 11/19/01 8:24 AM Page 4 Tips&Techniques Share your tips If you have a unique way of doing something in your garden, we’d like to hear from you and consider publishing your tip in one or more of our works. Just write down your tip and mail it to Garden Gate Tips, 2200 Grand Ave., Des Moines, IA 50312. Please include your name, address and daytime phone number in case we have any questions. If you’d like, fax us at 515-283-2003 or send us an e-mail message at gardengate@gardengatemag.com. We’ll pay you $25 if we publish your tip. Dust control New Jersey’s Mary Kohn liked to use diatomaceous earth along the foundation of her house to keep crickets and other bugs outside. However, she didn’t like the way it either lumped together when it was moist or blew into her face when it was dry. But she didn’t want to buy one of those expensive electric applicators. Then Mary remembered how her mother used to sift flour and powdered sugar when she would bake. So Mary got a large, fine-mesh sifter and marked it “for gardening only.” Now she scoops a bit of diatomaceous earth into the gadget and gently sifts along the areas she wants insect-proofed. The screen breaks up the lumps and gives her good control of the dusty powder. She can lay down a line against pests and not end up wearing most of the irritating dust herself. Diatomaceous earth is very abrasive and could cause lung, eye and throat irritation. So even when using Mary’s tip, be sure to wear a dust mask and eye protection when applying the product around your home. ® Leaf puree Balcony bird feeding Sandhya Anie Job of Texas was having problems with her portable bird feeder: It was on the balcony of her third-floor apartment and the birds were flinging corn and millet everywhere. The mess bothered the downstairs neighbors. The answer was to catch the seeds before they fell off the patio. Sandhya bought a 26-inch utility pan from the local discount store. A round fountain basin would work just as well. She drilled a hole for the feeder’s support pole in the center of the pan. Then she slipped the pole through the hole and applied caulking to make it water tight. The big basin keeps the seed from raining down on the neighbors or their gardens. Sandhya fills the pan with pots of colorful plants. When she’s watering, the pan catches the drainage, too. ® Monitoring the garden Betty Farsht of Maryland has come up with a great way to bring the sounds of her garden indoors. She uses a wireless, electronic baby monitor. She puts the transmitter near a birdbath or some other location where animals are sure to congregate. The machine is camouflaged under an overturned flower pot, which also protects it from the rain. Betty takes her receiver from room to room as she works and enjoys the sounds of nature all day long. ® 4 F E B R U A R Y 2002 / No 43 There are several large maple trees on Malcolm Stevenson’s Michigan property, and they produce a lot of leaf litter. So Malcolm lines a 32-gallon, metal trash can with an extra-strength trash bag and fills it with dry leaves (but not sticks or branches). Then he uses his string trimmer to shred them. He holds the trimmer vertically, with the cutting head pointing down and the cutter strings pointing in. He keeps the plastic string guard pressed against the inside of the can. This prevents the whirling string from tearing the garbage bag. Malcolm says he stirs the trimmer in the mass of leaves just like he was using one of those fancy gourmet puree machines. In just a minute the bulky leaves are shredded into small pieces that break down easily and quickly in the compost pile. ® Always wear eye protection, ear plugs and gloves Dry, crispy leaves ready for shredding G A R D E N G AT E • G4304_06.qxd 11/13/01 9:19 AM Page 5 QUICK TIP 5/ -in. acorn nut 16 1/ -in. washer 2 5/ -in. stove bolt, 16 Tractor tool tote Mike Phillips loves working in his Oregon garden. He even got a lawn tractor so he could take care of the acreage in style. But, unfortunately, with the bumps and vibrations that came from sitting on the tractor, he found he dropped tools out of his pockets when he was driving. He was concerned they could fall under the mower blades when he was cutting the grass and damage the blades or fly out and hit someone. His solution? Make tool totes and attach them right to the tractor. Mike found a couple of the big nylon baskets used to wash silverware in industrial dishwashers. He bought his from the cafeteria where he works. But you can also get • • • • Fender 1 in. long used ones from restaurants, schools or hospitals. You’ll find new ones at restaurant supply houses. The big, tough cups have holes in them to let water drain through, and the material is practically indestructible. He drilled a 3/8-inch hole in the tops of the tractor’s fenders and in the bottoms of the nylon baskets. He threaded 5/16-inch stove bolt through each fender and into a basket. A ½-inch galvanized washer squeezed the nylon basket onto the fender and kept the assembly tight. Mike used a round safety “acorn nut” to cover the sharp end of the bolt. Now he can carry hand trowels, weeders and pruning shears without having them drop out of his pockets. ® GROW CYCLE Alabama’s Joe Steinwinder gets double duty out of his clothes dryer. Besides drying clothes, it’s a source of bottom heat to warm the soil in his seedstarting trays. He puts a towel on the machine to even out the heat going to the soil. After a couple of loads, Joe puts a transparent dome on the tray, creating a miniature greenhouse that traps the soil’s heat until the next dryer load. Joe uses this free bottom heat to germinate broccoli, peppers and tomatoes. But he says to steer clear of warming the soil for lettuce, peas and radishes. These cool-season vegetables start better in cool soil. ® For the gardener who has everything Sharon Dell of California wanted to get a gardening friend a birthday gift she’d use. But the friend seemed to already have every garden tool and gadget there was. Finally, Sharon hit upon something every garden needs: a soil test. She’d never known her friend to have had one done. Sharon contacted her county extension office for the name of a soil-testing lab in the area. She had the lab send instructions for preparing soil samples for testing and presented the whole “kit” to her friend. She even helped with gathering the samples for mailing to the lab. The friend loved the idea and wondered why she’d put off getting a test for so long. ® Simple mood lighting Elizabeth Bain of New Jersey loves the light that comes from candles in her garden. But after pricing candleholders, she got to thinking: Why spend a lot of money on something that’s only used at night, when you can’t see it? Now she gets the same soft, romantic glow by putting votive candles in small, glass jars placed all over her landscape. Elizabeth puts a drop of melted wax in each jar to hold the candle securely and another drop of wax on the jar’s outside bottom. She simply presses the jar onto a surface wherever she wants a light. One of her favorite places is along the railing of the patio. The flickering candles outline the shape of the space in a soft glow and make it a little safer in the dark, too. ® Copper amaryllis support For years, Grant Carter of Iowa used wooden dowels to support his potted amaryllis. Now he’s designed a brace that keeps the plants upright and looks great, too. G A R D E N G AT E Grant starts with ¼-inch copper tubing — the kind you hook up ice makers with. Using a pipe cutter to keep from crimping the metal, he cuts 36 inches of the tubing. Next, he forms the soft tubing into a circle just a bit larger than the inside of the pot. It makes a hoop that fits tightly under the pot’s inner rim and holds the support in place. Then he coils the rest of the tubing into a loose spiral and attaches a decorative bead on the rough end. Grant plants the amaryllis, installs the support and, as the bloom stalks grow, he gently adjusts them to stay inside the spiral. When his amaryllis blooms, the copper coil has the stems surrounded and the heavy flowers supported. ® www.GardenGateMagazine.com 5 G4304_06.qxd 11/13/01 9:20 AM Page 6 From the Test Garden PEST PROFILE Geranium bacterial leaf spot Xanthomonias pelargonii Identification — Ever have geraniums (Pelargonium spp.) look great one day and brown and wilted the next? If so, they may have bacterial leaf spot. This disease can stay hidden in soil and in healthy looking plants. Then, when conditions are just right, it can spread rapidly. Three symptoms identify the problem. The first is yellowhaloed lesions about 1/16 in. in diameter with a brown liquid in them. These lesions eventually turn hard and dry. Then individual leaves wilt and die, but can remain attached to the stem for several weeks. A second symptom is “V”shaped lesions between the leaf veins. The leaf eventually wilts and dies, but the leaf stem remains firm and attached to the plant. Third is stem rot. Stems become progressively black and, when cut open, ooze a yellow fluid. Symptoms usually develop only when the weather is still, moist and warm. Control — Prevention is the best policy. Space plants to improve air circulation, and destroy all infected plants immediately. Don’t overhead water — the infection can be splashed in water drops. When taking cuttings, sterilize all your tools in a 10-percent bleach solution. ® 6 F E B R U A R Y 2002 / No 43 Hypertufa landscaping stones Two things keep most folks from using stone in their landscaping: The heavy weight and the heavy price. But there’s a way to have the beauty of stones in your garden with none of the strain. Make some yourself using a lightweight artificial stone called hypertufa. Here’s how. Create the form — Decide how tall and what diameter the stone will be. Then, wearing leather gloves, cut a piece of hardware cloth three times as long as its diameter and twice as wide as the stone’s height. (A rock 12 inches in diameter and 8 inches tall will take a piece of screen about 36 inches long and 16 inches wide.) Start a small crimp in one end and roll the hardware cloth into a tube (see illustration 1). Secure it with a twist of 20-gauge galvanized wire. Roll hardware cloth into a tube 1 Then make a larger crimp on one edge of the tube for the bottom of the rock. See illustration 2. Shape and fold 2 On the uncrimped edge of the tube, use metal snips to make four cuts. Each cut should extend from the edge to about halfway down the side. Fold these cut sections Cut four 3 flaps and fold in in like flaps as in illustration 3. This will make the top surface of the stone. Now shape the frame until it resembles the random, uneven form of a rough stone. Next, line the form with overlapping layers of packing tape, as shown in illustration 4. This keeps the hypertufa mix from falling through the holes in the screen. 4 Line the inside of the form with tape Mix the hypertufa — Mix equal parts by volume of Portland cement, fine-milled sphagnum peat moss and perlite. (A 12-inch diameter rock will take a 1-pound coffee can full of each dry ingredient.) Then slowly add water until the mixture has the consistency of brown sugar — moist and sticky, not soupy. A thin, watery mixture will crumble and fall off the frame when it dries. If your mix ends up too wet, add more Portland cement, not more sphagnum peat moss or perlite. Make the stone — Wearing rubber gloves, press handfuls of the hypertufa G A R D E N G AT E mix onto all the outer surfaces of the frame as in illustration 5. Add layers until the screen is completely covered with about 1/2 inch of the hypertufa. 5 Apply hypertufa to all outside surfaces Wrap the stone in plastic sheeting and let it cure 24 hours. Then remove it and start scratching horizontal lines into the rock with a steel-wire brush. These grooves in its surface give the rock a more realistic, stonelike appearance. If you remove too much, just press a little more hypertufa over the “bald spot,” let it harden a bit and start the texturing process again. When the stone has the right look, rewrap it in plastic, let it cure for a week and it’s ready for the garden. ® MATERIALS AND TOOLS Materials: ¼-inch hardware cloth 20-gauge galvanized wire Portland cement Milled sphagnum peat moss Perlite Water Fiberglass packing tape Plastic sheeting Tools: Container to mix in, leather gloves, rubber gloves, metal snips, steel-wire brush G4307.qxd 11/13/01 9:25 AM Page 7 What’s New 1 “The Ultimate Flower Arranging Book” This book is for anyone who 1 likes to bring a little bit of nature inside (even if you only look at the pictures). There are a multitude of ideas for using both fresh and dried flowers in arrangements to beautify your home. It starts with design principles, such as color, shape and texture, then moves on to the tools you need and covers techniques to prepare your flowers for arranging. The rest of the book builds on this foundation, showing you how to make arrangements using a wide variety of plants and materials. And its photos will inspire you to create your own designs. Check your local retail or online bookstore for “The Ultimate Flower Arranging Book” by Judy Spours. It retails for $24.95. ® 2 2 A cleaner pond, naturally Using barley straw is a great way to keep your water garden free of some types of algae while ensuring the safety of fish, pets and aquatic plants. The Barley Ball from Gardener’s Supply Co. makes using this organic method easier than ever. It’s a vented plastic ball filled with barley and a special float that’s seeded with natural micro-organisms to inhibit algae bloom. The ball keeps the barley floating just below the surface, where it’s most effective. Use one ball if your pond holds 260 to 2,600 gallons. If it’s bigger, just add another. In the fall, remove it from your pond and discard the used barley. Store the ball until spring, when you can put in a refill and look forward to another year with a clean pond. The Barley Ball is available from Gardener’s Supply Co. at www.gardeners.com or by calling 800-9553370. It retails for $29.95, and refills are $19.95. ® 3 3 Deck-O-Torch While most torches are relegated to the lawn or garden, here’s one you can bring right onto the deck. The Deck-O-Torch is secured with an adjustable clamp designed specifically for deck railings. Attach it to your railing and enjoy the flickering light while you relax on your deck. It’s all metal and has a protective finish that’s weather-resistant so it can stay outside all year without rusting. For safety’s sake, remember to keep it clear of any combustible materials. It’s easy to fill — just unscrew the top, pour the torch fuel into the canister and replace the lid. Since it’s refillable, you’ll keep the lights burning for years to come. Get the Deck-O-Torch for $24.95 from Duncraft at www.duncraft.com or call 800-593-5656. Torch fuel is not included. ® 4 Greenhouse to go Owning a greenhouse is only a dream for many gardeners because of cost or complicated setup. The dream can come true with the GabelHaus, a portable greenhouse. It goes together a lot like a tent, and two of us put this one up in about an hour. The heavy-duty fabric has reinforced corners and UV protection. At 6 feet wide, 10 feet long and 8 feet tall at the center, you could start enough seeds to fill a botanical garden. The GabelHaus retails for $299 from ACF Greenhouses. Go to www.littlegreenhouse. com or call 888-888-9050 to order. Ask for the 4 Portable Gable Greenhouse. ® What’s New items If you have a new item for the garden, we’d like to hear from you! Mail your information to Garden Gate What’s New, 2200 Grand Ave., Des Moines, IA 50312. Fax us at 515-283-2003 or send us an e-mail at gardengate@gardengatemag.com. G A R D E N G AT E www.GardenGateMagazine.com 7 G4308_13.qxd 11/13/01 9:35 AM Page 8 C O V E R S TO RY: P L A N T P RO F I L E Love & Peace is a trouble-free rose, resisting blackspot and insects well. Class of 2002 1 These new plants passed our tests with flying colors. W ell, another year is here, and that means new plants! But how do you know if a new variety is right for your garden? To help you, we tried out dozens of these plants in our test garden last year. After rigorous testing, some of them moved to the head of the class. Meet the best of the class of 2002: Shrubs, perennials and vines Love & PeaceTM rose — A hybrid tea rose, Love & Peace (‘BAIpeace’) is good for cutting because it has long stems and a fruity scent. It’s also a 2002 All-America Rose Selections winner. It thrives in full sun and well-drained soil. Feed it and keep it well-watered and this rose will produce beautiful blooms, like the one in photo 1, beginning in early summer. In our test garden, Love & Peace kept clean foliage until frost and resisted blackspot well. It grows 4 feet tall and 3 feet wide and is cold-hardy in USDA zones 4 to 9 and heat-tolerant in AHS zones 12 to 1. You’ll find Love & Peace at local garden centers. Introducer: Bailey Nurseries, Inc. 8 F E B R U A R Y 2002 / No 43 2 { Sweet Diana miniature rose grows about 18 in. tall and works well at the front of a garden border or in a container. Sweet DianaTM miniature rose — We’ve been testing Sweet Diana (‘SAVadiana’) for a few years now, and it’s been beautiful and healthy through all sorts of conditions. The folks at the American Rose Society must agree because they’re giving this miniature rose their Award of Excellence for 2002. Sweet Diana grows about 18 inches tall and produces loads of little yellow blooms from late spring to midfall. These blooms G A R D E N G AT E hold the yellow color in photo 2 well as they age, and they make good cut or dried flowers. This miniature rose might look dainty, but it acts tough: Sweet Diana is cold-hardy in USDA zones 4 to 9 and heat-tolerant in AHS zones 12 to 1. You can order Sweet Diana from Nor’East Miniature Roses at 978-9487964 or www.noreast-miniroses.com. Introducer: Nor’East Miniature Roses. ‘Blue Waterfall’ Serbian bellflower — What sets ‘Blue Waterfall’ apart from other Serbian bellflowers? The plant in photo 3 is still young, but as the growing season progresses, stems full of flowers cascade out from the foliage. It tends to bloom more profusely and tolerates heat and drought better than its relatives, too. ‘Blue Waterfall’ grows about 10 inches tall and 24 inches wide. This perennial does best in full sun or part shade. It will tolerate dry soil, but does better in moist, well-drained soil. ‘Blue Waterfall’ is coldhardy in USDA zones 4 to 7 and heat-tolerant in AHS zones 7 to 1. Look for ‘Blue Waterfall’ in your local garden center. To find your nearest Blooms G4308_13.qxd 11/13/01 9:35 AM Page 9 of Bressingham retailer, visit www. bobna.com on the Web. Introducer: Blooms of Bressingham North America. ‘Sea Foam’ foamflower — Look at photo 4. You can barely see the foliage of ‘Sea Foam’ because its flowers are so full. But after the blooms fade in a few weeks, its leaves, with dark splashes along the midribs, are revealed. These leaves often turn bronze in the winter, too. ‘Sea Foam’ will grow about a foot tall and wide. Like all foamflowers, it blooms in spring and does best in shade to part shade. It’s cold-hardy in USDA zones 4 to 9 and heat-tolerant in AHS zones 9 to 1. Ask for ‘Sea Foam’ foamflower at your local garden center. Introducer: Terra Nova Nurseries. ‘Sweet Dreams’ pink tickseed — Instead of the traditional yellow tickseed flowers, ‘Sweet Dreams’ has large, white blooms changing to raspberry toward the center. You can see an example in photo 5. Its foliage is fine-textured and its habit loose, like that of threadleaf tickseed. If you’d like ‘Sweet Dreams’ to rebloom, shear its foliage back by about half after each flush of blooms, beginning in early summer. Plants grow 18 inches tall and 24 inches wide. ‘Sweet Dreams’ thrives in full sun and is cold-hardy in To grow a trumpet vine, Names to know give it plenty of room and Your guide to the a sturdy structure. It can common and botanical grow 40 feet tall and has names of plants on roots that can spread these pages aggressively, too. Foamflower Tiarella spp. Plant trumpet vine in Geranium full sun — it’s not too picky Geranium sessiliflorum about soil, accepting even Miniature rose Rosa spp. tickseed alkaline and dry spots. It’s Pink Coreopsis rosea cold-hardy in USDA zones Rose Rosa spp. 4 to 9 and heat-tolerant in Serbian bellflower Campanula AHS zones 9 to 1. Look for Balboa Sunset poscharskyana Threadleaf tickseed at local garden centers. Coreopsis verticillata Introducer: Monrovia. Trumpet vine ‘Black Satin’ geranium Campsis radicans — Need some rich contrast in your containers? How about a good-looking ground cover that won’t take over your rock garden? Try ‘Black Satin’ perennial geranium. It has dark-burgundy foliage and dainty, pink flowers. The foliage of ‘Black Satin’, which you can see in photo 7, grows 10 inches tall and 16 inches wide. In flower, the plant is about 2 feet tall. It does best in sun to part shade and well-drained soil. ‘Black Satin’ is cold-hardy in USDA zones 7 to 9 and heat-tolerant in AHS zones 9 to 1. Look for ‘Black Satin’ geranium at your local garden center. Introducer: Terra Nova Nurseries. 3 { ‘Blue Waterfall’ Serbian bellflower will bloom in summer and again in fall. USDA zones 4 to 9 and heat-tolerant in AHS zones 12 to 1. COURTESY TERRA NOVA COURTESY MONROVIA You may have seen this plant in one of the few garden centers who carried it last summer. In 2002 it’s more widely available. You can also order it from Plant Delights at 919-772-4792 or www. plantdelights.com. Introducer: Blooms of Bressingham North America. Balboa SunsetTM trumpet vine — If you like trumpet vine, now you can have the deep-red flowers in photo 6 in addition to its usual orange. Balboa Sunset’s (‘Monbal’) large blooms keep coming from late spring through autumn. 5 6 COURTESY TERRA NOVA { ‘Sweet Dreams’ pink tickseed will rebloom if you shear it back by half after each flush of flowers. { Balboa Sunset trumpet vine’s deep-red flowers attract loads of hummingbirds. 7 < ‘Black Satin’ geranium has some of the darkest foliage you’ll find among perennial geraniums. 4 { ‘Sea Foam’ foamflower produces lots of blooms. They make charming, long-lasting bouquets in spring. G A R D E N G AT E 9 G4308_13.qxd 11/13/01 9:35 AM Page 10 Annuals The annuals on these pages should be available as seeds or container plants at your local garden center. I’ve also given you a mail-order source, if there is one, of seeds or plants with each profile. Fireworks Series geranium — It’s difficult to describe this unique plant, but each petal is angular, and the foliage is puckered. You can see what I’m talking about in photo 8. In 2002, you’ll be able to buy Fireworks geraniums in three colors: Cherry Bicolor, Pink Bicolor and Scarlet. We grew all three last summer. The care and culture requirements for the Fireworks Series are similar to those of most other geraniums. Grow them in full sun, give them plenty of water and deadhead from time to time. Fertilize every couple of weeks with a balanced, watersoluble fertilizer. Fireworks is heat-tolerant in AHS zones 12 to 1. The Fireworks Series is a geranium grown from cuttings; you won’t be able to buy seeds. But you should be able to find cutting-grown plants at a local garden center. Introducer: Oglevee. ‘Leilani’ flossflower — In recent years, most of the flossflowers you’ll find at the garden center are little mounds only a few inches tall. ‘Leilani ’ hearkens back to an earlier day. It’s supposed to grow 14 to 16 inches tall, but ours grew even taller than that, approaching 20 inches. Its true-blue flowers and butterflyattracting powers make it a great garden plant. ‘Leilani’ is perfect for containers, but be sure you choose a large one, such as the 24-inch pot in photo 9. Otherwise, you may not have enough room for this plant. One nice thing about flossflowers is you don’t have to deadhead. Their flowers fade gracefully and don’t detract from the plant as they age. The flipside is the seeds mature on the plant and tend to drop off and sprout on the surrounding soil. Grow ‘Leilani’ in full sun. If you’ve had trouble with flossflowers fading in the heat before, try ‘Leilani’ — it’s heattolerant in AHS zones 12 to 1. Order ‘Leilani’ seeds from Park Seed Co. at 800-845-3369 or www.parkseed. com. Introducer: Goldsmith Seeds. Nautica Series nolana — A trailing blue flower can be difficult to find. But Nautica fills that order beautifully. And you can choose from ‘Nautica Dark Blue’ or ‘Nautica Light Blue’. With dark-green foliage and blue flowers that look similar to small petunias, Nautica looks terrific trailing over the edge of a pot or left to ramble on the ground. We used ours in containers, as you can see in photo 10. Although nolana does best in full sun, Nautica did well for us whether we put it in sun or light shade. It’ll perform best in fertile soil, growing to about 2 feet wide and 6 inches tall. Heat tolerance is untested, but in the Deep South, Nautica will bloom even in winter. Look for Nautica nolanas at your local garden center either as single plants or in mixed containers. Introducer: Ball FloraPlant. ‘Cherokee Sunset’ gloriosa daisy — Looking for a beautiful mix of rich autumn colors? Try ‘Cherokee Sunset’. This hardy annual in photo 11 is a twist on the traditional gloriosa daisy. The AllAmerica Selections-winning mix has red, bronze, orange and gold flowers and both double and semidouble blooms. Plants grow 2 to 2½ feet tall and will bloom from midsummer until frost. They’re prolific bloomers, so this makes them good candidates for cut flowers. Harvest some now and you’ll have plenty more later because this annual reblooms well. We had a high germination rate with our seeds, and they transplanted easily. Gloriosa daisies need full sun to bloom, but they’re not picky about soil. In fact, they generally prefer it on the lean side. ‘Cherokee Sunset’ is heat-tolerant in AHS zones 7 to 1. You can order ‘Cherokee Sunset’ seeds from Thompson & Morgan at 800-2747333 or www.thompsonmorgan.com. Introducer: Thompson & Morgan. 8 9 10 { Fireworks geraniums flower prolifically. ‘Fireworks Pink Bicolor’ grew 18 to 24 in. tall at the back of this container. { ‘Leilani’ flossflower grows taller than its cousins, so it makes a good specimen in a container or in a garden border { Nautica nolanas have a sprawling habit that works well as a trailing plant. 10 F E B R U A R Y 2002 / No 43 G A R D E N G AT E G4308_13.qxd 11/13/01 9:36 AM Page 11 ‘Black Magic Rose’ geranium — Take a look at the foliage of ‘Black Magic Rose’ in photo 12. Each leaf on this AAS winner has a dark-burgundy center and is edged in green. The leaves would be attractive even if the plants’ rose-colored flowers were missing. They work well as bedding plants or in containers. In spring and fall’s cool weather, the variegation is most vivid. When it heats up in the summer, the leaves { ‘Cherokee turn mostly green with just a faint- Sunset’ gloriosa black outline in the center. daisy has seeds ‘Black Magic Rose’ grows about with a high germi11 2 feet tall and a little wider. Start nation rate. seeds indoors 10 to 12 weeks before the average last frost date. After your star, golden yellow, orange, rose, white last frost, plant ‘Black Magic Rose’ in and yellow. Or you’ll find a mix of full sun and fertilize and water regularly. all seven colors, which is what we grew Geraniums are heat-tolerant in AHS at our test garden and you can see in zones 12 to 1. photo 13. Order seeds from J.W. Jung Seed Co. Grow gazanias in full sun and give at 800-297-3123 or www.jungseed.com. them plenty of moisture, even though Introducer: K. Sahin, Zaden B.V. they like the heat. Kiss is cold-hardy in Kiss Series gazanias — When the tem- USDA zones 8 to 11, so in some climates, peratures rise in summer, the Kiss Series it will bloom all year. It’s heat-tolerant takes off. Its flowers are 4 inches across in AHS zones 12 to 1. and they open more reliably than other Order Kiss seeds from J.W. Jung Seed gazanias we’ve grown, even in cloudy Co. at 800-297-3123 or www.jungseed. weather. Each plant grows about 6 inches com. Introducer: Goldsmith Seeds. tall and has a uniform, mounded habit. Sparkler Series spider flower — If you You can buy Kiss gazanias in seven have a small garden, chances are you colors: bronze, bronze with a center may not have had room for a 6-foot-tall Names to know Your guide to the common and botanical names of plants on these pages Flossflower Ageratum houstonianum Gazania Gazania spp. Geranium Pelargonium xhortorum Gloriosa daisy Rudbeckia hirta Nolana Nolana spp. Spider flower Cleome hassleriana spider flower. But at about 3 feet tall, this one will work even in a large container like the deck planter in photo 14. And because of its small stature, it doesn’t need staking. ‘Sparkler Blush’ has pink flowers and is a 2002 AAS winner. ‘Sparkler Lavender’, ‘Sparkler Rose’ and ‘Sparkler White’ are other colors. To grow the Sparkler Series from seed, start indoors four to six weeks before the last frost. If you live in the South, you can direct-sow it in full sun. Spider flower is heat-tolerant in AHS zones 12 to 1. Buy Sparkler seeds from Park Seed Co. at 800-845-3369 or www.parkseed.com. Introducer: Goldsmith Seeds. 12 { ‘Black Magic Rose’ geranium’s foliage turns darker as the weather cools. 14 13 { ‘Kiss’ gazania has large flowers that bloom for months in summer and fall. { ‘Sparkler Blush’ spider flower is easy to fit into almost any garden since it grows only 3 ft. tall. G A R D E N G AT E www.GardenGateMagazine.com 11 G4308_13.qxd 11/13/01 9:36 AM Page 12 Vegetables ‘Sungella’ better? It has the same sweet flavor, but each tomato is larger. This means bigger bites! ‘Sungella’ is an indeterminate tomato, so you’ll want to stake it or grow it in a cage. The heavy clusters of brightorange tomatoes you see in photo 17 will weight down the plant if you don’t support them. Start tomato seeds indoors six to seven weeks before the average last frost date in your area. After the soil has warmed to about 70 degrees, harden the seedlings off and move them to the garden. ‘Sungella’ should be ready to harvest in about 100 days. Order ‘Sungella’ tomato from Thompson & Morgan by calling 800-274-7333 or at www.thompsonmorgan.com. Introducer: Thompson & Morgan. ‘Diva’ cucumber — ‘Diva’, in photo 18, is a cucumber you’ll want to try. Its flavor is sweet and nonbitter and its skin is tender. This AAS winner produces only female flowers and it sets fruit without being pollinated. What this means for you is a heavy-producing plant without many seeds. For the best texture and flavor, harvest ‘Diva’ when the fruits are about 4 inches long. As soon as your soil has warmed to 70 degrees, sow cucumber seeds directly in the garden. Plant about five seeds to a hill, space them 2 to 4 inches apart and set them ½ inch deep. When seedlings grow their first set of true leaves, thin them to a foot apart, or two or three to a hill. Because ‘Diva’ vines can grow 6 feet long, you’ll need to leave plenty of room. Or, you can save some space and grow them on a trellis, as we do at our test garden. Ours is a 5-by-6-foot wood frame covered with chicken wire. We lean the trellis against a support, and the cucumbers stay clean and hang on both sides of the wire. You should be able to find ‘Diva’ seeds at your local garden center. Or order them from Johnny’s Select Seeds at 207-4374301 or at www.johnnyseeds.com. Introducer: Johnny’s Select Seeds. ‘Orange Smoothie’ pumpkin — Don’t have much room for pumpkins? Try ‘Orange Smoothie’. The smooth, small pumpkins in photo 19 are sized perfectly for kids to paint on, carve and carry around. And at only 5 to 8 pounds, it makes a good candidate for autumn arrangements, too. But ‘Orange Smoothie’ isn’t just nice to look at. It tastes good, too! That must be why it’s an AAS winner this year. Start seeds in the garden about 90 days before you plan to harvest. ‘Orange Smoothie’ is semi-determinate, meaning its vines will only grow to a certain length. So it doesn’t take up as much space in the garden as many pumpkins do. COURTESY THOMPSON & MORGAN ‘Eruption’ red lettuce — This dark-red lettuce is as good to look at as it is to eat. You can see its wonderful color in photo 15. It’s a bibb-romaine cross that forms 8inch-tall heads with sweet, crunchy hearts and tasty leaves. We sowed a fall crop and enjoyed a harvest 28 days later. For full-sized leaves and heads, you’ll need to allow 50 days. You can order ‘Eruption’ from Johnny’s Selected Seeds at 207-437-4301 or www.johnnyseeds.com. Introducer: Johnny’s Selected Seeds. ‘Claremont’ mini romaine lettuce — We sowed the seeds of ‘Claremont’ alongside ‘Eruption’, and had a beautiful combination in our test garden. ‘Claremont’, in photo 16, produced nice heads about 9 inches tall. If you haven’t left much room for heads of romaine lettuce in your garden in the past, try ‘Claremont’. You can space the plants 6 to 8 inches apart. Harvest the heads about 46 days after sowing the seeds. Order ‘Claremont’ from Johnny’s Selected Seeds at 207-437-4301 or www.johnnyseeds.com. Introducer: Johnny’s Selected Seeds. ‘Sungella’ tomato — When I heard about ‘Sungella’, I was pretty excited. It’s billed as an improved version of ‘Sungold’, my all-time favorite. How is 16 17 { ‘Claremont’ mini romaine lettuce has a crispy texture and a sweet flavor. { ‘Sungella’ tomato has a low acid content, which gives it a mild, sweet flavor. 15 18 { ‘Eruption’ lettuce is a bibb-romaine cross that can be ready for harvest about 28 days after sowing. { ‘Diva’ cucumber’s thin skin and few seeds make it easy to eat. Harvest fruits when they’re about 4 in. long for the best texture and flavor. 12 F E B R U A R Y 2002 / No 43 G A R D E N G AT E G4308_13.qxd 11/13/01 9:36 AM Page 13 EIGHT MORE NEW PLANTS TO TRY PLANT NAME COMMENTS ‘Appleblossom’ bergenia Perennial; white flowers turn pink; 12 to 18 in. in flower; Bergenia spp. Cold: USDA zones 4 to 8; Heat: AHS zones 8 to 1 ‘Golden Alexander’ lysimachia Perennial; yellow-and-green variegated foliage; 24 in. tall; Lysimachia punctata Cold: USDA zones 4 to 8; Heat: AHS zones 8 to 1 ‘Pink Adobe’ twinspur Perennial; salmon flowers in late spring and summer; Diascia integerrima Cold: USDA zones 4 to 8; Heat: AHS zones 9 to 1 Garden Sun climbing rose Shrub; golden yellow and orange blooms; 10 to 15 ft. tall; Rosa ‘Meivalier’ Cold: USDA zones 4 to 8; Heat: AHS zones 12 to 1 ‘Limon Ripple’ kousa dogwood Shrub; chartreuse-and-green-variegated foliage; 12 ft. tall Cornus kousa and wide; Cold: USDA zones 5 to 8; Heat: AHS zones 8 to 1 ‘Astronaut Mixed’ sweet pea Annual; large flowers; no tendrils; sturdy stems; Lathyrus odoratus 6 ft. tall; Heat: AHS zones 8 to 1 Salvia ‘Jeweled Towers’ Annual; mix of red, burgundy, lavender and purple flowers; Salvia splendens 10-in. flower spikes; Heat: AHS zones 12 to 1 ‘Park’s Lemon Ice Hybrid’ watermelon Fruit; 80 days til harvest; 15-lb., yellow, seedless fruit Cucumis melo with high sugar content; 6- to 8-ft. vines TM Order seeds from Nichols Garden Nursery by calling 541-928-9280 or at www.nicholsgardennursery.com. Introducer: Seminis, Inc. ‘Sorcerer’ pumpkin — Someone once told me that bumpy skinned pumpkins are good for eating. When I tried ‘Sorcerer’, in photo 20, I knew what he meant. This AAS winner is a full-sized pumpkin that reaches 15 to 22 pounds when it’s ripe. ‘Sorcerer’ has a round shape and sturdy stems that make good handles. INTRODUCER OR WHOLESALER/RETAIL SOURCE PlantHaven for Robin White Plant Delights Nursery (919-772-4794, www.plantdelights.com) PlantHaven for David Tristram Shady Oaks Nursery (800-504-8006, www.shadyoaks.com) High Country Gardens High Country Gardens (800-925-9387, www.highcountrygardens.com) Conard-Pyle Co. Local garden centers Wayside Gardens Co. Wayside Gardens Co. (800-845-1124, www.waysidegardens.com) Thompson & Morgan Thompson & Morgan (800-274-7333, www.thompsonmorgan.com) Park Seed Co. Park Seed Co. (800-845-3369, www.parkseed.com) Park Seed Co. Park Seed Co. (800-845-3369, www.parkseed.com) It’s billed as a compact vine reaching only 10 feet wide. But in our test garden, it started growing rather quickly and was closer to 20 feet by the time we harvested the pumpkins. It was a healthy vine that didn’t have disease troubles, though. And it produced several pumpkins from one hill — it must have been those gigantic leaves that helped support such a heavyproducing plant. We even got a rather late start with our pumpkins this year — in July — and we still had good luck. ‘Sorcerer’ is ready to harvest about 100 days after you plant seeds. Order ‘Sorcerer’ seeds from Stokes Seeds, Inc. at 800-263-7233 or www. stokeseeds.com. Introducer: Harris Moran Seed Co. For even more of the best new plants of 2002, check out the table above for descriptions and help in finding them. Now that you’ve been introduced to the class of 2002, give a few of these top performers a try! ® — Kristin Beane Sullivan 19 20 { Both ‘Orange Smoothie’ and ‘Sorcerer’, photos 19 and 20, take up less room in the garden than other pumpkins. G A R D E N G AT E www.GardenGateMagazine.com 13 G4314_17.qxd 11/13/01 9:44 AM Page 14 PLANT PROFILE M Tuberous Begonias © MARILYNN McARA An explosion of color from summer through fall. 1 14 F E B R U A R Y 2002 / No 43 G A R D E N G AT E y front porch used to be just another place that people would speed by in their cars or ignore as they continued on their morning walks. Then last summer I hung tuberous begonias in baskets on my porch and planted them around my foundation. Now I’m thinking I might need to put out a few lawn chairs for passersby. That’s how often folks have slowed down to enjoy the begonias. Take a look at the pendulous begonia in photo 1 and you’ll see what I mean. Wouldn’t this display make you take a second look? Once tuberous begonias start blooming, they can flower continuously for four months. You’ve probably heard about begonias, and perhaps even planted a few. Wax, or semperflorens (always blooming), begonias are sold as annuals. The begonias I’ll talk about here are the tuberous type. That means they grow from a tuber, an enlarged stem that stores food for the plant. It looks like a bulb or a corm. Once you decide to add tuberous begonias to your garden, you’ll have lots of options to choose from. First, there are upright and pendulous forms. The uprights usually grow 6 to 12 inches tall, but some can reach 30 inches. Pendulous forms are particularly wellsuited to hanging baskets and have branches that can drape over a pot’s edge by 18 inches or more. Your choices don’t stop there. You can find solid colors in clear white and brilliant orange, red, pink and yellow. With hybridizing, there are bicolors, or flowers with two colors, and picotees, with petals edged in contrasting colors. One bold color combination is a cultivar in the Pin-Up Series. ‘Pin-Up Flame’, a 1999 All-America Selections (AAS) winner, is a yellow, single flower with a wide, bold-orange picotee. The proportion of colors on the blooms varies from plant to plant. These large flowers can reach 4 inches across. Not all picotees are as dramatic: The ‘Show Angels Mix’ has flowers edged in soft pastel. Most tuberous begonias have 2- to 4inch-wide flowers. A few even have blooms 6 or more inches across. In general, upright begonias have larger flowers than pendulous types do. < Pendulous begonias bring a sense of distinction to a setting, like on this porch where they hang like jewels on a chandelier. Plant four to six tubers in a large pot for a dazzling summer display. G4314_17.qxd 11/13/01 10:12 AM Page 15 Although there are more than 10 different classifications of flower forms, these distinctions aren’t used much in the United States except by gardeners who grow them for flower shows. The main characteristics you’ll see in most garden centers and catalogs are { ‘Pin-Up Flame’ was a 1999 AAS winner and is one of the easier-to-find named cultivars. singles, doubles and ruffled, or fringed, petals. Just look at the photo album below for a few examples of the hundreds of characteristics. In coming years, you might find more fragrant tuberous begonias on the market. Antonelli Brothers, a California nursery that specializes in tuberous begonias, has a few of these available right now. If you’d like to grow these specialty begonias, plan to pay a little more for them than the other types. In addition to flower variations, there are also different colors of foliage. For example, the Ornament Series is an upright group of begonias with several different flower color options. But its main claim to fame is that it has bronze foliage. Frankly, even with colored foliage, I think the blooms still steal the show. Pendulous form BEGONIA TUBERHYBRIDA Tuberous begonia 6 to 30 inches tall, 6 to 24 inches wide Many forms and colors Part shade Well-drained soil Cold-hardy in USDA zones 10 to 11; save tubers indoors in other climates or treat as an annual Heat-tolerant in AHS zones 6 to 1 { Singles are still dramatic, with flowers ranging from 2 to 6 in. across. { Color is one thing that begonias have plenty of, especially in hot tones, such as red. { Picotees add a bit of depth to a garden — their petals have colored edges. This flower is also ruffled. { Doubles have very full-looking flowers with several rows of petals. { The Nonstop Series has double petals and comes in nine different colors. { Ruffled begonias add frill and flounce to the garden with wavy petals. G A R D E N G AT E Upright form With the myriad of begonia characteristics available, it’s nearly impossible to name all the ones that you can buy. When shopping at your garden center, you may not even find named cultivars. Rather, you’ll see a table full of begonias all in full bloom. All you have to do is choose one that you like and buy it (but why limit yourself to just one?). But when you’re buying tubers, unless you can see a photo, you’ll have to go by a description, such as “pendulous, orange, double.” That’s where knowing some of the terms I’ve shown you here will come in handy. And the photos at left show you what some of these characteristics look like. Want something completely different? Try the lesser-known hollyhock begonia. It’s a tuberous type that can grow to 30 inches tall. The stems are erect and resemble a hollyhock, especially with the 1-inch, single, rose-pink flowers that grow in pairs from the leaf axils. Hollyhock begonia is heat-tolerant in AHS zones 12 to 1. Just about anywhere you place a tuberous begonia you’ll have a show. With bright Names to know colors and soft pastels — Your guide to the even white — these common and botanical flowers are eye-catching. names of plants on Turn the page for ways these pages you can design with begoHollyhock begonia nias, from your front Begonia gracilis porch to the shady flower martiana beds of your garden. www.GardenGateMagazine.com 15 11/13/01 Names to know Your guide to the common and botanical names of plants on these pages 10:29 AM Page 16 Design with begonias Wherever you plant tuberous begonias, they’ll attract attention. Their large flowers are especially beautiful when surrounded by Bacopa supporting actors that can Bacopa spp. complement their color or Geranium form. Take a peek at the Pelargonium spp. window box in photo 2. Sedum Sedum spp. The cascade of white bacopa sets the stage for the dazzling begonias. If you plant tuberous begonias in your garden, put them in a shady island bed or at the edge of a woodland, where you can take advantage of their bright colors. Place them at the front of a border, where they’re easy to care for. Or let their bright colors and bold foliage stand out behind shorter plants, as the red begonias are doing in photo 3. Even though the pendulous begonias are especially well-suited for hanging baskets, the uprights work nicely, too. The look is slightly different. But wherever you grow them, hanging begonias will give you color at any height. Try a basket on your porch or on a plant stand, as in photo 4. Care and culture 2 { Surround tuberous begonias with plants that can set them off, like these showers of white bacopa blooms. moss sparingly until the tubers sprout, then keep it slightly moist at all times. The first growth you’ll see is small roots all over the skin. Then pink sprouts will grow on top of the tuber. Some tubers start to grow right away; others take weeks. Pinch off all but two or three sprouts as they grow. If you don’t want to toss the pinched sprouts, root them in moist medium and you’ll get even more begonia plants. When these sprouts reach 1 to 2 inches tall, like the ones in the back of photo 5, it’s time to transplant. Until plants are a few inches tall, pinch off any flower buds that form so energy isn’t taken from the young plant. When the pendulous varieties have 2 inches of growth, pinch out the primary growing tip. This will ensure that you have lots of gracefully hanging branches. © CHARLES MANN Start tuberous begonias in winter from dormant tubers or buy them in the spring as plants. You can grow them from seed, but unless you have a greenhouse, it’s much easier to start with tubers. Select firm tubers with brown skin and a depression on the top side. Set them, depression side up, on damp peat moss eight to 10 weeks before the last frost. They prefer a spot that’s about 70 degrees, with bright, filtered light — an east window is good. Water the peat © MARILYNN McARA G4314_17.qxd 3 4 { Brighten a dark background with begonia blooms, but choose a spot with light shade. Begonias need some sun for peak performance, so don’t plant them in full shade. { Raise your garden to eye level with a hanging basket of begonias. 16 F E B R U A R Y 2002 / No 43 G A R D E N G AT E G4314_17.qxd 11/13/01 10:30 AM Page 17 TIPS FOR SUCCESS Wherever you plant them, begonias like light, well-drained soil. A good rule of thumb is to Male keep two inches between the tuber and the pot edge. Begonias prefer morning or Male late-afternoon sun — direct, hot sun can burn the foliage and flowers. Too much shade can Female cause them to grow spindly. In summer, begonias don’t { Pinching off smaller, single {Propping up your begonia { Careful watering can help perform well in gardens warmer female flowers as soon as they stems can hold heavy flowers your begonias stay healthy. than AHS zone 6. They may surform will let your begonia upright and keep the fragile They like to be moist but not vive but often go dormant and direct energy toward prostems from breaking. Make sup- soggy. If they turn yellow and refuse to bloom during hot spells. ducing more showy, male ports out of coat hanger wire spindly or you see brown rot Feed your begonias after you flowers. Your plant will bloom or see p. 43 for a place to buy starting on the stem, it’s a sign see flower buds. That way you’ll longer, too. these ready-made ones. that you’re overwatering. be promoting blooms and not so much foliage. Use a weak solution of a low-nitrogen/highphosphorus fertilizer, such as 5-10-10, at Begonia stem rot and mildew are caused water, and store it where it won’t freeze. two-week intervals. by the same fungus. Fortunately, you can Or, dig the tuber and let it dry for a week control both by watering only the soil and before storing it in wood shavings in a not the foliage, letting the soil dry between paper bag. Tubers store best at 45 to 55 waterings and providing good air circula- degrees, so a garage or cool basement is tion. Pinch off brown, water-soaked stems a good location. or leaves. The same goes for white mildew Through the winter, if you find any patches. Then spray right away with a tubers that are rooting or rotting, change fungicide. I’ll show you a few more hints the shavings and move them to a drier in “Tips for success” above. location for a few weeks. If any are shrivIf they’re not cold-hardy in your eling, moisten them with a spray of water. garden, there’s no reason to throw out Heed a few pointers and your tuberous your begonias at the end of summer. Take begonias will shine week after week. The 5 the plants indoors to a sunny window or breathtaking flower displays make them { Plant tubers in small pots of damp peat save the tubers for next year! Here’s how: worth the extra care. Try one or two this moss. Turn the plants every week so they grow When the foliage wilts after the first year. Then plan how you’ll fill your garden evenly toward the light. If any flower buds form frost, cut the plant off at the base. Turn with begonias next year. ® at this stage, pinch them off. — Anne Nieland the pot on its side so it won’t collect CHEERFUL WINDOW BOX What better way to enjoy tuberous begonias’ splashy colors than from outside and inside your house. You can when you plant begonias in a window box. And here are three plants that really set off the deep-red color and graceful form of these pendulous tuberous begonias. The salmon-colored impatiens mirror the red tones in the begonias while the white Swan River daisies add a few bright spots to the back of the box. Their branching habit makes them drape over the sides a little. The deadnettle does the same for the front of the box. C C B B D B A { NORTH Scale: 1 square = 6 in. A B Plant list Code Plant Name Cold/Heat Zones A Begonia Begonia Tuberhybrida ‘Sensation Red’ 10 to 11/6 to 1 B Impatiens Impatiens walleriana ‘Super Elfin Salmon’ 10 to 11/12 to 1 C Swan River daisy Brachycome segmentosa ‘Moonlight’ 10 to 11/12 to 1 D Deadnettle Lamium maculatum ‘Orchid Frost’ 4 to 8/8 to 1 G A R D E N G AT E No. of Plants 2 4 2 1 www.GardenGateMagazine.com 17 G4318_21.qxd 11/13/01 10:39 AM Page 18 PLANTS IN COMMON V Variegated Foliage Design like a pro with these versatile plants. ‘Tricolor’ St. John’s wort (Hypericum xmoserianum) grows 1 to 3 ft. tall. As its name, ‘Tricolor’, suggests, its leaves are green with combinations of yellow and pink. Yellow flowers with red anthers show up in late summer. This shrub grows best in part shade and well-drained soil and can tolerate dry periods. It’s cold-hardy in USDA zones 5 to 9, and heat-tolerant in AHS zones 9 to 1. 18 F E B R U A R Y 2002 / No 43 G A R D E N G AT E 1 ariegated foliage is a garden designer’s dream. Why? Even when it’s not in bloom, you can still get good garden mileage out of a variegated plant. Create drama in a large garden with a mass of streaked foliage or add dimension to a small space with a single plant whose leaves are margined in a contrasting color. There are plants for shade and those that prefer sun. Some tolerate dry conditions while others need wet feet. With this in mind, don’t worry whether there’s a variegated plant to grow where you want one — there is. And there’s one to match the style you’re looking for, too — contrasting edging, irregular splotches and stripes, to name a few. Just look at a few of the possibilities in the photos at right. To give you an idea of the variety, imagine you have a plain, green leaf and a paintbrush. Use white to paint on horizontal stripes or an edging. Or unleash your wild side and splatter your leaf with spots and splotches. Give another leaf just a hint of white. Remember coloring books where you had to stay within the lines? Well try painting along a leaf’s veins. Then fill in the leaf so just tinges of green show through. Now dip your paintbrush in yellow, gold or lime green and do this again on more leaves. Think variegation ends there? Dip into your red or fuchsia paint and highlight a leaf’s edge and you’ll get variegation like the ‘Tricolor’ St. John’s wort in photo 1. Occasionally paint the stem of your leaf a matching color. Thankfully, you don’t have to actually paint your garden to get these effects. Variegated forms of normally green plants show up in different ways. A new seedling might make a genetic change from its parents and have a leaf stripe or mottling. Or sometimes variegated leaves will show up on plant offshoots if the plant has been harmed or if there’s been an environmental change. Other times, plant breeders use a harmless virus that creates leaf color variations. However the variegation happens, when plant breeders notice one of these unusual seedlings or offshoots, they snatch it up and try to propagate it. Almost all plants have variegated cousins. Put a green version next to its variegated relative and the green G4318_21.qxd 11/13/01 10:40 AM Page 19 A SAMPLER OF VARIEGATED FOLIAGE ‘Variegata’ wayfaringtree (Viburnum lantana) is a droughttolerant shrub and grows in both sun and part shade. It’ll reach a height and spread of 15 ft. Besides the splotched, variegated leaves, it has small, white flowers that bloom in midspring. They develop into berries that start off yellow-green, then flush red, and finally turn almost black. It’s cold-hardy in USDA zones 4 to 8 and heat-tolerant in AHS zones 8 to 1. ‘Illumination’ periwinkle (Vinca minor) is an evergreen perennial that will brighten any shade to part-shade border. It even looks great trailing over a wall or in a container as an accent plant. Small, blue flowers bloom in spring and continue sporadically all summer on spreading, 4- to 6in.-tall plants. ‘Illumination’ grows best in fertile, moist, but well-drained, soil. It’s cold-hardy in USDA zones 4 to 9 and heattolerant in AHS zones 9 to 1. ‘Variegata’ horseradish (Armoracia rusticana) is a perennial that makes a bold statement the year after you plant it. The first year, it’s green. Then the irregular patterns kick in. It’s a vigorous plant, so you can grow it in sun or part shade. It’ll reach 3 ft. tall and 2 ft. wide and can be invasive, so plant it where you can control it, such as in a raised bed. The bonus? You can eat the roots. It’s coldhardy in USDA zones 4 to 8 and heat-tolerant in AHS zones 8 to 1. ‘Snow Storm’ coral bells (Heuchera xbrizoides) leaves look almost white from a distance. Actually, upon closer inspection, you’ll see some green speckled throughout. The airy, red flowers of this perennial reach 12 to 15 in. in spring and summer atop 6-in.-tall foliage. It grows in either sun or light shade and prefers rich, well-drained soil. It’s cold-hardy in USDA zones 4 to 8 and heattolerant in AHS zones 8 to 1. ‘Variegata’ Siberian bugloss (Brunnera macrophylla) grows well in light shade and rich, well-drained soil. In late spring, its light-blue flowers make a cool display in combination with the creamy white leaf variegation. Siberian bugloss makes an excellent perennial ground cover, at only 12 in. tall. It’s cold-hardy in USDA zones 3 to 7 and heat-tolerant in AHS zones 7 to 1. ‘Variegated Purple’ ornamental pepper (Capsicum annuum) grows in full sun, and its fruit, albeit hot, is edible. With its white, green and purple leaves, this low-growing ornamental makes a great container or frontof-the-border plant with other annuals, such as marigolds. It’s a tropical that’s treated as an annual in most parts of the country. ‘Variegated Purple’ is heat-tolerant in AHS zones 12 to 1. ‘Samantha’ lantana’s (Lantana camara) leaves are marked with yellow, which makes a perfect backdrop for its golden-yellow flowers. It grows best in bright light and well-drained soil. This perennial’s trailing habit makes it great for hanging baskets and as a colorful ground cover. Plus, you’ll have a flower that butterflies love. This lantana is cold-hardy in USDA zones 9 to 11 and heat-tolerant in AHS zones 12 to 1. Zebra grass (Miscanthus sinensis ‘Zebrinus’) is a perennial that’s graceful in almost any garden. Its arching leaves and 3to 5-ft., upright habit make it a great specimen in summer. It maintains its form when the cold hits, so it has winter interest, too. You’ll get the best stripes if you grow zebra grass in full sun. It’s cold-hardy in USDA zones 4 to 9 and heat-tolerant in AHS zones 9 to 1. one will often win out for vigor. Where variegated plants show their lack of vigor is under environmental extremes. Often, they’re less tolerant of hot sun, cold temperatures and wind. So you might have to keep a closer eye on your variegated plants: If you notice the white leaf markings of your ‘Snow Storm’ coral bells turning brown, you might need to move it to a slightly shadier spot, even though coral bells usually tolerate sun well. Why are variegated plants less vigorous? Well, it has to do with chlorophyll — the green leaf component that photosynthesizes, or feeds the plant. It’s hidden behind other pigments or missing in parts of variegated leaves, so the plant isn’t as efficient at producing energy for itself. But don’t worry whether your plant has enough chlorophyll to grow. It’ll always keep enough green in the leaf so the plant can function. G A R D E N G AT E Occasionally you’ll find that your variegated plant reverts and sends up a branch without any variegation. The only bad thing about this is, since the green is more vigorous, it may crowd out the variegated foliage. And that’s why you chose the plant in the first place. If you do catch your plant reverting, just prune out the foliage that isn’t variegated. You may have to do this a few times a year. For ideas on how to design your garden using variegated foliage, turn the page. www.GardenGateMagazine.com 19 11/13/01 10:41 AM Page 20 © JERRY PAVIA G4318_21.qxd 2 JAY PAUL { When you repeat variegated plants in a border, it creates unity. Even after these ‘Variegata’ irises’ spring blooms fade, the variegated foliage will still attract attention. 3 { The white sparkle on the hosta leaves makes an ornate frame for this fuchsia-colored rhododendron. Massing the hosta also helps lead the focus toward the rhododendron. Names to know Your guide to the common and botanical names of plants on these pages Carex Carex riparia Coleus Solenostemon scutellarioides Deadnettle Lamium maculatum Geranium Pelargonium spp. Hosta Hosta spp. Impatiens Impatiens spp. Iris Iris pallida Ivy Hedera helix 20 Japanese painted fern Athyrium nipponicum ‘Pictum’ Japanese silver grass Miscanthus sinensus Madrone Arbutus menziesii Nasturtium Tropaeolum majus Ornamental pepper Capsicum annuum Periwinkle Vinca minor Persicaria Persicaria virginiana Rhododendron Rhododendron spp. Spotted laurel Aucuba japonica Turkey oak Quercus cerris F E B R U A R Y 2002 / No 43 4 { The Japanese silver grass is a stately specimen at the edge of this patio. Its light-colored variegation helps it to stand out against the dark background of the madrone tree. Designing with variegated foliage Some contrast is interesting, but too much can be overwhelming. If everything is variegated, there’s nothing to provide the backdrop to set off the patterns. This is why I recommend using variegated plants sparingly. Pick one or two that strike your fancy and let the rest of your garden frame them. When you’re ready to pick out a variegated plant, try starting with an annual. How about nasturtium, ornamental pepper or coleus, which comes in a brilliant range of colors, so there are plenty to choose from? You can grow annuals for a season and then evaluate what you like. Replace them with similarly colored or patterned perennials or shrubs next year. G A R D E N G AT E Don’t give up entirely if variegation doesn’t seem to fit in your garden. Take a couple of minutes to ask what it is that didn’t work. Maybe you’d like something more bold, such as ‘Illumination’ periwinkle. On the other hand, if the colors were too bright and contrasting, a more subtly variegated foliage, like that of ‘Bird Dancer’ geranium, might fit better. Since mixing different kinds of variegation can create a busy stir, try repeating the same plant. The iris in photo 2 makes a great statement — twice. Its brightyellow variegation adds a sparkle to this border. And because you’re not distracted by other variegated plants, your eye can drift through the garden and easily find places to rest. G4318_21.qxd 11/13/01 10:41 AM Page 21 VARIEGATION COMBINATIONS <The traditional garden — Variegation works well as part of a formal setting. Prune this shrub rose in early spring and you’ll be surrounded by yellow blooms in summer. The flowers bring out B the variegated lemon thyme’s gold edge. As a lowgrowing ground cover, the thyme grows closely around the path stones and will release its citrus fragrance as you walk. The blue-colored stone contrasts with the warm colors of the thyme. A B A B A { NORTH Plant list Code Plant Name A Rose Rosa ‘Prairie Harvest’ B Lemon thyme Thymus citriodorus ‘Aureus’ Scale: 1 square = 1 square foot Cold/Heat Zones 4 to 11/12 to 1 No. of Plants 3 5 to 9/9 to 1 12+ Scale: 1 square = 1 square foot A A B A B B { A NORTH Plant list No. of Code Plant Name Cold/Heat Zones Plants A Canna Canna xgeneralis ‘Praetoria’ 8 to 11/12 to 1 4 B Coleus Solenostemon scutellarioides ‘Black Magic’ 11/12 to 1 5 A mass of the same variegated plant can help another plant, like the rhododendron in photo 3, stand out. The hosta accessorizes this shrub. And when the pink blooms fade, the variegated hostas will be more showy than plain ones would. A single splash of variegation also makes an eye-catching focal point. Take a look at photo 4 and you’ll see what I mean. The ‘Variegatus’ Japanese silver grass is stunning on its own and brightens the area under the tree. See how the grass’s white striping contrasts with the deep tones of the madrone’s red bark? Later in the season, this grass sends out copper-red plumes that provide interest all winter. If it were surrounded by other variegated plants, it might get lost in the shuffle. C C Scale: 1 square = 1 square foot B { { The wild look — For some hot color and wild patterns, try mixing ‘Praetoria’ canna with coleus. There are hundreds of coleus to choose from, but for this combination, I chose ‘Black Magic’. Its green edging matches the variegation in the canna’s leaves, and the deep-purple centers complement the brilliant-orange canna flowers. These plants grow best in full sun and fertile, well-drained soil. C NORTH { The shade garden — In this corner shade garden, the variegation on the Siberian bugloss mimics dappled sunlight and surrounds the hosta with sparkling foliage. The geranium and bugloss bloom about the same time, so you’ll have loads of pink and blue flowers together. Plant list No. of Code Plant Name Cold/Heat Zones Plants A Hosta Hosta ‘August Moon’ 4 to 9/9 to 1 1 B Siberian bugloss Brunnera macrophylla ‘Variegata’ 3 to 7/7 to 1 3 C Geranium Geranium endressii ‘Wargrave Pink’ 5 to 8/8 to 1 5 Need a smaller variegated plant with the same effect? Try ‘Variegata’ carex. The arching leaves have a bright-white midrib. Or, make a statement with a variegated tree, such as ‘Argenteovariegata’ Turkey oak. It has the trademark dark-green color and shiny texture of many oak leaves. But the irregular leaf margins are creamy white. A quick way to brighten a dark corner is to let in more light. But if you can’t move your neighbor’s garage, try adding a variegated ground cover, such as ‘White Nancy’ deadnettle. Its silvery markings mimic light dancing off leaves. ‘Painter’s Palette’ persicaria has the same effect, just with warmer yellow and cream tones. When you’re thinking about variegated leaves, don’t forget that you can cut them and take them inside, too. Stems of G A R D E N G AT E ‘Dentata Variegata’ ivy or Japanese painted fern are excellent greenery in flower arrangements. I know I’ve shown you how to work variegation into your garden so it has a pleasing balance, but sometimes the wild look is just what a garden needs. So don’t be afraid to match ‘Flare’ New Guinea impatiens’ variegated leaves with those of ‘Gold Dust’ spotted laurel. Want some help getting started? Check out the three plans in “Variegation combinations” above. There’s something for everyone — even the wild gardener in you. So give variegated plants a go in your garden — pick a splotch or a spatter, or a swoosh, it doesn’t matter! You’ll get a great effect that will last all season long. ® — Anne Nieland www.GardenGateMagazine.com 21 G4322_25.qxd 11/19/01 11:01 AM Page 22 PLANT PROFILE MICHAEL LANDIS < Star magnolia can be trimmed to a single trunk but often grows as a multistemmed tree. 1 Star magnolia — This is one of the first flowering trees to bloom — usually in early to midspring. Imagine looking out your window after a long winter and seeing a tree like the one in photo 1. What a way to start the season! Even though this magnolia is called a tree, it often looks more like a large shrub. If you don’t cut off the bottom branches, they’ll clothe the plant with flowers all the way to the ground every spring. There are lots of cultivars with different flower colors and forms, but all are sweet-scented. Most have white or pale-pink flowers with narrow tepals, or segments of the flower that look like petals. ‘Royal Star’ has pink buds that open to 4-inch-wide double flowers. ‘Centennial’ is similar with larger flowers and a pink blush. ‘Rubra’ is purple-rose with tepals that twist slightly. Plant star magnolia in full sun or light shade. It’s cold-hardy in USDA zones 4 to 9 and heattolerant in AHS zones 9 to 1. Saucer magnolia — The tree in photo 2 is arguably the most popular magnolia in America. It flowers in midspring. When fully open, each fragrant flower can be up to 10 inches across. Saucer magnolia has a curious habit of putting out a few flowers in late summer, though they’re not as large or brightly colored as their spring counterparts. A saucer magnolia tree starts out growing narrow and upright, but it can eventually grow 20 to 30 feet tall and almost as wide. There are about 40 cultivars. Many of them have pink flowers, but they can range from white to purple. For example, ‘Brozzonii’ has 10-inch-diameter, white flowers brushed with pale rose. And it’s one of the later blooming saucer magnolias. Another difference between cultivars is growing habit. ‘Alexandrina’ grows into an upright, oval shape. Its flowers are white inside and rose-purple outside. Plant a saucer magnolia in full sun and well-drained soil. In an urban area or near a busy street, this is the best magnolia choice — it’s pollution-tolerant. All saucer magnolias are cold-hardy in USDA zones 5 to 9 and heat-tolerant in AHS zones 9 to 1. Cucumbertree magnolia — Cucumbertree magnolia blooms later than most other species, usually in late May. That’s an advantage if your region is subject to late-spring frosts that could damage the flowers. It can grow up to 40 feet tall and wide, sometimes even larger with advanced age. Magnolias No matter where you live, there’s one for you. I f you’ve never experienced a magnolia in spring, you’re missing out. You might be out walking some spring evening and catch a whiff of a sweet-smelling flower. As you follow the scent, you spot a magnolia in full bloom. Its fragrance is almost overpowering up close, but it’s intoxicating as it wafts through the cool, spring air. A magnolia has one of those fragrances you’ll never forget. And no matter where you live in the country, you can grow one of these lovely trees. Here are some of your options: 22 F E B R U A R Y 2002 / No 43 G A R D E N G AT E 10:58 AM Page 23 © RICK WETHERBEE 11/13/01 PHOTO AND INSET: © KEN MEYER G4322_25.qxd 3 4 { Saucer magnolia is sensitive to late-spring frosts. Plant it where it’s protected, such as against an east facing wall. { ‘Elizabeth’ is a cucumbertree magnolia with pointed buds and fragrant, clear-yellow flowers. { The “Eight Little Girls” will sometimes produce a few flowers in late summer The tree above is ‘Ricki’. PHOTO AND INSET: © CINDY HAYNES 2 MAGNOLIAS OF ALL SHAPES AND SIZES 60 ft. Magnolias range in size from more than 60 ft. to less than 12 ft. 40 ft. 20 ft. 5 { Southern magnolia has large leaves and fragrant, white waxy flowers. 0 Southern magnolia The flowers are slightly fragrant and green-yellow on the species. But some of the cultivars, such as ‘Elizabeth’ in photo 3, are primrose yellow. ‘Butterflies’ has a deeper yellow flower, and the tree grows a bit narrower. ‘Gold Crown’ has yellow flowers that open later than most cucumbertree magnolias. Occasionally you’ll find a cultivar, such as ‘Hattie Carthan’, with a purple blush at the base of each flower. In hot temperatures, the colors soften to creamy white as the flowers age. Where did it get such a funny name? The seed pods look similar to cucumbers. This magnolia can be difficult to transplant, so start with small balled and burlapped or container-grown trees. Cucumbertree magnolia is cold-hardy in USDA zones 4 to 8 and heat-tolerant in AHS zones 8 to 1. “Eight Little Girls” — Looking for a magnolia to use in a foundation planting? All of the trees in this group stay under 20 feet. One cultivar, ‘Ann’, only gets 8 to 10 feet tall. The cupshaped blooms open late so they’re safe from spring frosts. The ‘Ricki’ in photo 4 has been pruned to look like a craggy, old tree, but it’s still only 18 feet tall. Others in this group are ‘Betty’, ‘Jane’, ‘Judy’, ‘Pinkie’, ‘Susan’ and ‘Randy’. The flower colors range from pale pink to dark pink, with full sun bringing out the most vivid colors. And the flowers are often different on the inside than on the outside. Plant these hybrids in full sun out of strong wind — their foliage tatters easily. A spot with an east exposure, backed by other trees is ideal. The “Eight Little Girls” are cold-hardy in USDA zones 5 to 9 and heat-tolerant in AHS zones 9 to 1. Cucumbertree Saucer magnolia magnolia Star “Eight Little magnolia Girls” Southern magnolia — Southerners consider this tree the unofficial symbol of the South. It’s the state flower of Louisiana and Mississippi. Even songs have been written about the elegant, creamy white flowers and their sweet perfume. Each flower, like the one in photo 5, can be 8 to 12 inches across. The peak of bloom is in late spring — May and June in most areas. But a few flowers persist through the growing season. The evergreen leaves are up to 10 inches long. Southern magnolia has shallow roots that make Names to know growing grass under it difficult. Try a ground Your guide to the cover of lilyturf, dwarf sweetbox or pachysandra common and botanical instead. Southern magnolia will grow fine in shade names of plants on and with extra moisture — things other magno- these pages lias will not tolerate. It will slowly grow up to 60 Cucumbertree magnolia feet tall and 30 feet or more wide. Magnolia acuminata There are lots of cultivars. For example, AltaTM Dwarf sweetbox (‘TIIMG’) is known for its upright growth habit. Sarcococca ‘Bracken’s Brown Beauty’ is prized for the brown hookeriana humilis Lilyturf fuzz on the undersides of each leaf. Don’t have Liriope spp. much room? Plant ‘Little Gem’. In about 20 years Pachysandra it’ll only be 20 feet tall and 10 feet wide. Southern Pachysandra terminalis magnolia is cold-hardy in USDA zones 7 to 9 and Saucer magnolia Magnolia xsoulangiana heat-tolerant in AHS zones 9 to 3. Southern magnolia Because magnolias are so striking, they deserve Magnolia grandiflora a special place in your landscape. Turn the page Star magnolia to learn more about how to work one into your Magnolia stellata own garden and care for it. G A R D E N G AT E www.GardenGateMagazine.com 23 11:00 AM Page 24 MICHAEL LANDIS 11/13/01 MICHAEL LANDIS G4322_25.qxd 6 7 { This young star magnolia makes an ideal spring focal point. As it gets larger, the flowers and bulbs around it can be moved to give it more space. { For spring color, a saucer magnolia can’t be beat. Even in the winter, the smooth, gray bark will add interest to this garden. Designing with magnolias Care and culture Magnolias are not shy plants. Think focal point or specimen plant when you prepare to plant one in your garden. Even the small, white-flowering star magnolia in photo 6 can compete with the orange and red Iceland poppies. Because magnolias flower early, consider what will be in bloom about the same time. Spring bulbs, such as tulips and late-flowering daffodils, are ideal. Spring-blooming shrubs, such as forsythia and fothergilla, are also great garden companions. Since most magnolias bloom before their leaves emerge, the flowers show best if they have a contrasting background. Try backing a specimen or even several magnolias with a windbreak of Norway spruces. The fine-textured, evergreen foliage of the spruce will make the magnolia flowers look like a flock of pink butterflies resting in a tree. And the evergreens will protect the magnolias from winter winds. A magnolia is just the ticket if you need a specimen tree for your garden. The saucer magnolia in photo 7 draws the attention of passersby. The simple plantings surrounding it make it the center of attention. Even when magnolias are not in flower, their foliage adds interest to the landscape. Most have large, broad leaves with a shiny surface. In late summer, the densely leafed star magnolia in photo 8 still acts as a focal point near an entrance. And by fall it has colorful seed pods. Magnolias look good in winter, too. The evergreen species hold their leaves, and all of the magnolias have smooth, gray bark and fat, fuzzy flower buds. Because magnolias are so spectacular when they’re in flower, many folks think they are temperamental. You know, the way some gardeners feel about orchids or African violets. But really, almost anyone can grow a magnolia. The key is finding the one for your climate and planting it in the right spot. With a few exceptions, magnolias like well-drained soil a bit on the acid side, with a pH of 5.5 to 6.5. If your soil is too alkaline, the leaves will turn pale green or even yellow. Adjust the pH with elemental sulfur or iron sulfate and work in lots of organic matter, such as compost or sphagnum peat moss. The location you pick for your magnolia is important. It will need at least four hours of sun each day. In more shade, the tree will grow, but it will be spindly and not flower well. During the summer, magnolias need good air circulation to help prevent mildew on the leaves; and in winter cold temperatures can be a problem in low spots. To remedy this, I like to plant magnolias on a hill where the air circulates and late-spring frosts don’t settle to damage the flowers. Planting on a south wall, like the one in photo 8, can protect your magnolia from winter winds. But on the flipside, if you plant in front of a south-facing wall, be prepared to have a few flowers frozen some years. The reflected heat can force the blooms to open early and be susceptible to cold snaps. Given the choice, planting on an east exposure offers the best of both worlds. There a magnolia will get gentle morning sun and be out of strong winter wind. And the flowers won’t be forced open too early. 24 F E B R U A R Y 2002 / No 43 G A R D E N G AT E G4322_25.qxd 11/13/01 11:00 AM Page 25 GENTLE MAGNOLIA PRUNING D B E A 8 { Even after it finishes flowering and leafs out, a magnolia is attractive in a landscape. This star magnolia was planted against a brick wall and pruned to let it show off for the summer, By fall the lumpy seed pods turn pink and open to show colorful berries (inset) that will quickly be eaten by birds. C {Magnolias don’t usually require much pruning. If branches are damaged by weather, cut them off close to a main branch or trunk (A). Remove watersprouts, shoots that grow strictly vertically. They are usually weakly attached and make the tree too thick so air can’t circulate (B). Suckers at the base hide the smooth, gray bark, so cut them away (C). If there are any crossing or rubbing branches that could open wounds and allow insects and decay into the heartwood, remove them (D). Then just prune to balance the look of the tree (E). Spring is the time to plant magnolias, especially in Northern gardens. That gives them time to send out roots before the ground freezes. In Southern states, early fall is also OK. Magnolias often have brittle roots. When you head to the nursery, select one growing in a container or balled and burlapped. The roots are less likely to be damaged, and the plant won’t suffer as much transplant shock. If you’re buying through mail-order catalogs, you might have to go with small, bareroot plants. They’ll be fine, but they might take a couple of extra years to recover. Dig a wide hole when you’re planting a magnolia. That way the roots can spread easily. Always plant at the same depth your tree was growing in the nursery. If you set it too deeply, the roots can’t get oxygen, and the tree will be stunted and possibly die. Planting on a low mound is ideal, just high enough that excess water drains away from the trunk so the roots can breathe. Spread organic mulch around the base of your newly planted tree. It conserves moisture and keeps down weeds. A band of mulch also helps protect the bark from your lawn mower or trimmer. Magnolias don’t recover from bark injuries quickly. Insects and diseases can move in and harm the tree before the wound seals. The same is true for pruning magnolias — keep wounds to a minimum. If Names to know you want to know more about what to prune, Your guide to the check out “Gentle magnolia pruning” in the common and botanical box above. names of plants on these pages Magnolias are really quite easy to grow. Just find the right spot, give them good soil and African violet soon you’ll be enjoying that intoxicating Saintpaulia spp. Cucumbertree magnolia fragrance, too. ® Magnolia acuminata — Jim Childs EIGHT MORE MAGNOLIAS PLANT NAME COLD/HEAT ZONES Bigleaf magnolia Magnolia macrophylla 5 to 9/8 to 1 Kobus magnolia Magnolia kobus 4 to 9/8 to 1 Lily magnolia Magnolia liliiflora 5 to 9/9 to 1 Loebner magnolia Magnolia xloebneri 5 to 9/9 to 1 Sprenger magnolia Magnolia sprengeri 7 to 9/9 to 3 5 to 9/9 to 1 Sweetbay magnolia Magnolia virginiana Willowleaf magnolia Magnolia salicifolia 5 to 9/9 to 1 Yulan magnolia Magnolia denudata 5 to 9/9 to 1 COMMENTS 40 ft. tall; 10-in.-wide, fragrant, white flowers; leaves up to 30 in. long 30-ft.-tall, multistemmed, rounded tree; white, slightly fragrant flowers 12-ft.-tall, shrubby plant; 3-in.-wide, white flowers with purple inside 25 ft. tall; fragrant, white, pink or purple flowers 30-ft.-tall, rounded tree; 3-in., fragrant, dark-pink-to-white flowers 40-ft.-tall, multistemmed tree; white, lemon-scented flowers 30-ft.-tall pyramid; fragrant, white flowers; twigs have a lemon scent 30-ft.-tall, broadly pyramidal tree; fragrant, 6-in.-wide, ivory flowers G A R D E N G AT E Daffodil Narcissus spp. Forsythia Forsythia xintermedia Fothergilla Fothergilla gardenii Iceland poppy Papaver nudicaule croceum Norway spruce Picea abies Saucer magnolia Magnolia xsoulangiana Star magnolia Magnolia stellata Tulip Tulipa spp. www.GardenGateMagazine.com 25 G4326_29.qxd 11/13/01 2:03 PM Page 26 EDIBLE GARDEN Raspberries Grow your own summertime treat. 1 With just a few plants, you can enjoy raspberries all summer long. W hen it comes to wealth, there’s money and then there are things that money can’t buy — like the taste of fresh raspberries on homemade vanilla ice cream. If you grow the berries yourself, the taste is even sweeter. And with just a single row of raspberries, you can be “rich” all summer. Raspberries can be red, black, purple or gold. Summerbearing raspberries bear fruit in June and July. Everbearing cultivars produce one small batch in the summer and a second, larger one in the 26 F E B R U A R Y 2002 / No 43 fall. You can prune each of these types differently, but I’ll show you some of these methods later. For now, I’d like to introduce you to the variety of colors and flavors. Here’s some information to help you “pick” the right one for your garden: Red raspberries — Red raspberries grow on stiff, upright canes, making the fruit easy to spot and pick. And there are both summerbearing and everbearing red raspberries. Summerbearing cultivars have the largest fruits, like the ones in photo 2. Everbearing red raspberries tend to be the most cold-hardy. G A R D E N G AT E Plant red raspberries and in a few years you’ll notice suckers or sprouts coming up from their roots — sometimes up to 6 feet away from the original plant. If your red raspberries spread outside their allotted space, just use a sharp spade to cut them off and remove them. In general, red raspberries are coldhardy in USDA zones 3 to 9 and heat-tolerant in AHS zones 8 to 1. Black raspberries — These are the North American native raspberries. You might still find stands of wild black raspberries in your area. The fruit that you see 11/13/01 1:57 PM Page 27 COURTESY OF MILLER NURSERIES © JERRY PAVIA G4326_29.qxd 2 3 4 5 { Summerbearing red raspberries bear fruit after strawberries finish. { Black raspberries begin ripening in mid-June before red cultivars. { Gold raspberries are everbearing, producing from August to frost. { Purple raspberries are summerbearing, from late June to late July. in photo 3 is smaller and more aromatic than other raspberries. Some people think it’s a sweeter, more intense taste. Black raspberries grow from a clump; they don’t send up suckers as red cultivars do. And all black raspberries produce just one crop during the year — there are no everbearing ones. The long, arching canes usually reach full production in mid-June to mid-July — a bit earlier than many of the reds. Black raspberries are cold-hardy in USDA zones 4 to 9 and heat-tolerant in AHS zones 8 to 1. Gold raspberries — The raspberries you see in photo 4 are actually a form of red or black raspberries with goldenyellow berries. They bear small fruit from late summer into fall. Like red raspberries, they send up suckers and can be pruned the same way as everbearing red cultivars. Their flavor is often mild compared to black and red raspberries. And all of them are quite hardy. Gold raspberries are cold-hardy in USDA zones 3 to 9 and heat-tolerant in AHS zones 9 to 1. Purple raspberries — Purple raspberries are hybrids between reds and blacks. They sucker some, but tend to stay in clumps. They branch more like black raspberries and are pruned the same way. Even their fruit, shown in photo 5, looks and tastes like black raspberries, although it is often larger, lighter in color and milder in taste. These raspberries are resistant to insect damage — very important if you’ve had 6 { Plants need lots of water to form juicy berries — at least 2 in. per week after the petals drop and the fruit begins to swell (inset). problems with raspberry mosaic, a disease carried from plant to plant by aphids. I’ll tell you more about this problem and a few others on the following page. Grow purple raspberries in USDA cold-hardiness zones 4 to 9 and in AHS heat-tolerance zones 9 to 1. There are many choices, and they’re all good. To help you out, I’ve gathered a list of cultivars in the chart below. And on p. 43 there are several raspberry mailorder companies that sell certified virusfree stock. That way you’re assured of healthy, disease-free plants. So, how many raspberries do you need to plant? You should be able to pick one or two pounds of raspberries per foot of single row. Two 10-foot rows of black raspberries should give you enough berries for a family of four to eat fresh and more to preserve for the winter. Like reds? A 4-foot-wide and 10-footlong patch would give you about the same har- Names to know vest. If you want your Your guide to the raspberry plants loaded common and botanical with berries, like the one names of plants on these pages in photo 6 is, turn the Black raspberry page. I’ll show you how Rubus occidentalis to plant and take care of Red raspberry your raspberries to get the Rubus idaeus best harvest. RASPBERRIES AT A GLANCE CULTIVAR NAME ‘Fall Red’ ‘Heritage’ ‘Latham’ ‘Liberty’ ‘Redwing’ ‘Reville’ ‘Blackhawk’ COMMENTS Red everbearing; large, sweet berries; hardy plant Red everbearing; firm fruit; consistent producer Red summerbearing; small fruit; later ripening Red summerbearing; earlier than ‘Latham’; firm fruit Red everbearing; big fruit; good for fresh eating Red summerbearing; early; large berries Black summerbearing; large fruit; later than ‘Jewel’ CULTIVAR NAME ‘Bristol’ ‘Jewel’ ‘Anne’ ‘Autumn Harvest’ ‘Fall Gold’ ‘Brandywine’ ‘Royalty’ G A R D E N G AT E COMMENTS Black summerbearing; upright grower; large fruit Black summerbearing; vigorous; productive Gold everbearing; unique flavor; good for making jam Gold everbearing; small, mild-flavored berries Gold everbearing; rated sweetest in our test garden Purple summerbearing; tart, firm berries Purple summerbearing; sweet fruit for fresh eating www.GardenGateMagazine.com 27 G4326_29.qxd 11/13/01 1:57 PM Page 28 Armed with information about what’s available, you now need to know about caring for your raspberries. How do you plant them when they arrive? What problems should you be on the lookout for? What’s the best way to prune them so you get lots of berries? On these pages I’ll share some tips about those things and more. And in two or three years I’ll expect a pie from you! ® — Jim Childs PLANTING, WATERING AND MULCHING: A GOOD START 2 to 4 in. mulch Leaf buds • • • • Crown 2 in. below soil level • Soaker hose Before you plant in spring, find a spot in full sun or part shade and work rotted manure or compost into the soil to a depth of about 6 in. Dig wide holes deep enough so you can set the bare-root raspberrys’ crowns 2 in. deeper than soil level. Cut each raspberry cane back so just two leaf buds show above the soil. New growth will quickly sprout from underground and on the shortened cane. Raspberries need lots of water. A soaker hose keeps the fruit and leaves dry, helping to prevent the spread of diseases. And in well-drained soil, a layer of mulch helps keep the roots moist. 6 RASPBERRY PESTS • Orange rust • • Raspberry mosaic • • Raspberries are easy to grow, but occasionally you might find a few diseases. Orange rust is carried by wind or water from infected plants and mainly affects black and purple raspberries, but rarely reds. Look for orange pustules of waxy spores on the underside of pale leaves in late June. Infected canes are weak and usually won’t flower. Raspberry mosaic virus is carried by aphids from plant to plant. Black cultivars are more susceptible than red ones. You’ll first notice puckered leaves with dark-green blisters surrounded by yellow-green tissue. Over a period of years, the plants become stunted, and any berries that form are seedy. Pull out and bury orange rust- and raspberry mosaic-infested plants 4 ft. or more deep; or you can burn them. Spur blight affects red and purple raspSpur berries. Look for brown or purple fungus spots blight below a leaf bud near the ground. The disease causes buds and leaves to shrivel and canes to split vertically. The next summer the buds are weak or withered. Remove the infected canes in early spring and spray the soil and lower portion of the canes with a lime-sulfur or copper fungicide. Insects love to eat raspberries as much as you do. Here are some of the more common pests you might spot. Japanese beetles skeletonize leaves — there’s nothing Japanese beetle left but a tattered piece of brown lace. As the fruit • ripens, they eat the berries almost faster than you 1/ in. 2 Raspberry 1/ in. can pick them. fruitworm 8 beetle Raspberry fruit• worms chew holes in 1/ in. Raspberry 4 • the leaves and flower fruitworm buds as beetles. Later, worms eat the ripe fruit. Tilling the soil around the bed just 2 or 3 in. deep brings the larvae of both of these pests to the surface. There, predators, such as birds, can munch on them. Till in Picnic beetle spring for Japanese beetles and fall for fruitworms. Picnic beetles bore into ripening fruit to feed and lay eggs. They also carry a fungus that causes the fruit 1/ in. to rot quickly. Overripe raspberries are especially 4 attractive to picnic beetles, so keep your plants picked clean of ripe fruit. Tie the canes up off the ground to prevent damaged or spoiled fruit. And remove decaying vegetation, where they can lay eggs and overwinter. SUPPORT SYSTEMS You can grow raspberries without a trellis, but guiding the canes will help you pick berries from the thorny stems without bloodshed. And a support will keep the fruit up off the ground and cleaner. Using a trellis will also let more light into your plants to promote larger crops. 4 ft. 2X4 • 6 ft. 2X4 6 ft. 4X4 {Free standing — This system works for everbearing raspberries that are cut to the ground each year. They can stand on their own, and there are no nonproducing canes to contend with as you harvest. Plus there are no wires or posts in the way as you cut down the old plants. 28 F E B R U A R Y 2002 / No 43 • • 5 ft. 4X4 • {The horizontal, or “T,” system — In spring, tie the long fruiting canes of black raspberries to supports with cloth strips. Or you can carefully weave the flexible canes between the wires. The center wires keep the new canes out of the way as you harvest. G A R D E N G AT E {Hedgerow — Canes are supported by wires along the edges of the bed. It’s a good system for raspberries that sucker. One disadvantage: New canes are mixed in with the old fruiting canes. When it comes time to prune out the old ones, it’s a sometimes a bit of a tangle. • G4326_29.qxd 11/13/01 1:58 PM Page 29 PRUNING YOUR RASPBERRIES Raspberries need to be pruned because the canes are biennial. That means that the first year, each cane just grows in height and girth. The second year, it produces fruit and dies. To make the plants easier to work around and harvest, it’s best to remove the dead canes. There are different pruning strategies for each type. Here’s how to prune your raspberry plants. Summerbearing red and gold raspberries • Everbearing red and gold raspberries Cut all canes to the ground Trim tips • Remove damaged canes Cut out old canes • • {Step one — In late summer or early fall, remove all of the canes that have just finished producing fruit. Cut these old canes off level with the ground. If you can burn, that’s the best way to get rid of them. Or bury them 4 ft. deep or send them away in the trash because they can harbor diseases and insects. Leave the new canes standing. Black and purple raspberries New canes {Step two — On a warm, late-winter day, look over the canes and remove any that are weak or damaged. Check the remaining ones for symptoms of disease and remove those, too. As growth starts in the spring, shorten the canes to a height where they can support themselves upright — usually about 3 ft. If you fasten your canes to a support system, now is the time to tie them in place. Then trim the tips of the canes to fit the trellis height. Remove old canes Leave 12 in. on lateral branches {One crop system — If you prune this way, you’ll get one large crop that starts in August and will often last until a killing frost. To prune, simply cut all of the canes to the ground. You can do this either in early spring before new growth starts or in late fall. One advantage to this system — it gives you a chance to do a thorough cleanup so you can get rid of diseases and insects that might live in the canes. Next spring, new canes will sprout and have time to bear one large crop by fall. Since all red raspberries sucker, you might get lots of new plants coming up outside the bed. Just cut them off underground with a sharp spade and remove them. Two-crop system — Would you prefer to have everbearing raspberries bear fruit over a long season? Then follow the pruning instructions for summerbearing red and gold raspberries. Whichever pruning method you use, you’ll get about the same total amount of fruit. Trim off 3 or 4 in. when new canes reach 4 ft. tall • • • • New canes • {Step one — Black and most purple raspberries form clumps rather than spreading like the red ones do. After harvest, remove all of the old canes, but leave the new ones that grew over the summer. {Step two — In spring, remove any weak or diseased canes, leaving just four or five of the strongest ones in each clump. There will be long lateral branches growing from each cane. Shorten them back so each one measures about 12 in. Those are the branches where the berries will be produced. If you’re tying the canes to wires or a trellis, now is the time. G A R D E N G AT E {Step three — As new canes sprout from each clump and grow to about 4 ft. tall, cut off 3 or 4 in. of the tip to encourage more lateral branching. This will be an ongoing job as canes grow through the summer. When new canes are produced after about July 4, cut them off at ground level because late canes often won’t come through the winter in good shape and will be weak. If you remove them, the rest of the plant will have more energy for fruit production next year. www.GardenGateMagazine.com 29 G4330_31.qxd 11/19/01 12:39 PM Page 30 S P E C I A L PR O J E C T Hedgerow raspberry trellis W hy trellis raspberries? Well, for one thing, trellising makes them easier to harvest and prune. And, if you’re fortunate enough to have a stem-bending bounty, a trellis will keep your berries off the ground. What’s nice about this hedgerow trellis is it’s flexible. You can install it before or after you’ve planted. And there’s no size limitation — you can keep adding posts and stretching wire for as many raspberry plants as you’d like. I put up two trellises side by side for the raspberries in our test garden. You’ll want a post every 20 to 25 feet of row to give the wires support. Put one post at each end of the row set about 1 foot away from the nearest cane. Using a post hole digger, dig the holes 2½ to 4 feet deep depending on the frost line where you live. To even the tops of the posts, put your posts in the holes and eye the tops or use a level. If one seems much taller or shorter than another, dig out some soil or fill in the hole. You can find most of the materials I used to build this hedgerow trellis at your local home improvement center. The wirevises are unique because they’re designed to hold the wire secure with hassle-free tightening. To order wirevises or post caps and finials, you’ll find a couple of mail-order resources on p. 43. Now, to get started building this trellis, check out the steps at right. 1 2 Set the posts. When you have the posts even, add a few shovelfuls of concrete to each hole until it makes a small mound around the post. This mound will let water run away. Set a level against the side of each post to help you get it plumb. Let the concrete set up for several hours. Mark the first post. Make a mark on the inside of one post 1 ft. off the ground and 1 in. from the right edge of the post. Make a second mark 2½ in. down from the first and an inch off the left edge. Move up 24 in. from the first mark and make a second set of marks. Then measure up another 24 in. and do it again. 6 7 Install the wirevises. Place a wirevise in each of the six enlarged holes — long end into the hole. Then use two ¾-in. #8 screws to attach each wirevise to the post. You only need to tighten the wire from one end of your trellis — that’s why you only use wirevises on one post. 10 Install the screw eyes. On the inside of the first post, install a screw eye in each of the six holes that you started earlier. You can screw them in more easily if you use the shaft of a screwdriver to help turn the eye. These screw eyes will hold one end of the wire. Attach the post caps. Use a bead of silicone on the inside of the post cap to hold it securely on the top of each post. How you attach your finial depends on the type you choose. Some screw directly into the post. 30 F E B R U A R Y 2002 / No 43 G4330_31.qxd 11/19/01 8:32 AM Page 31 Electrical tape 3 Mark the second post. Drill a pilot hole at the lowest mark on the first post. Twist in a screw eye and tie a string to it. Stretch the string to the other post and level the string with a line level. Make a mark, but this time an inch off the right edge of the post. Measure up from there for the other marks. Remove the screw eye. 4 Drill the holes. On the second post, use an extra long 1/8-in. bit to drill all the way through the post at each of your six marks. These holes will accommodate the wire. On the outside of the post, use a 3/8-in. bit to make these holes larger for the wirevises. You only want these enlarged sides of the holes to be 1¼ in. deep, so to keep the bit from going deeper, wrap a small piece of electrical tape around the bit (see inset). This will act as a depth guide. On the first post, use a drill to make a ¼-in.-deep starter hole at each mark so the screw eyes are easier to install later. 5 Paint the posts. Since you haven’t installed any hardware yet, now is a good time to paint or stain your posts and post caps if you’d like. That way you won’t have to mask off the hardware. I used an opaque stain on our trellis. MATERIALS AND TOOLS Wirevise #8 screw 23/16-in. screw eye • • • • #12 wire 8 Attach the wire. To each screw eye, tie a piece of wire 24 in. longer than your row. We used a 22ft. length of wire for our 20-ft.-long row. You can use regular or plasticcoated wire. To tie the wire, thread it through the screw eye and twist the wire back on itself. Use a wire clamp to secure the end. 9 Thread the wire. For coated wire, strip the plastic back so it will slip through the wirevises. Push each wire through its wirevise and tighten it with the claw end of a hammer. As the wire stretches over time, strip back more plastic and tighten the wire the same way. Bend the wire end down so it won’t poke anyone. Materials needed for each trellis: 2 cedar, 8-ft. 4x4 posts #12 wire 1 bag quick-setting concrete 6 wirevises 12 #8 screws 6 23/16 screw eyes • Wire clamp 6 wire clamps 1 tube silicone caulk 2 post caps Paint or stain Tools: Shovel, hammer, pliers, screw driver, square, line level, caulking gun, drill, bits, brush 11 Train the canes. As your raspberries grow taller, weave the branches through the narrow space between the pairs of offset wires. Check them every couple of weeks through the growing season to “train” any new canes. Since we had two rows of raspberries, we made two trellises side by side. You can do the same depending on the number of rows you have. G A R D E N G AT E www.GardenGateMagazine.com 31 G4332_33.qxd 11/13/01 2:44 PM Page 32 BASICS I ILLUSTRATION: TOM ROSBOROUGH f you’re like me, the word “parasite” conjures up all sorts of pictures, and not very pretty ones at that. From a trip to the vet with the dog to things you don’t want to contract, parasites aren’t usually considered beneficial. But here are a few that may change your opinion. These parasitoids, or insect parasites, quietly go about their business attacking garden pests. Anytime there’s an insect pest, there’s usually a beneficial parasitoid nearby. You probably already have many of them in your garden. For the most part, they’re tiny — small enough to fit on the head of a pin — so you may not have noticed them. But the beneficial population usually lags behind the pest population. That means that the going gets a little tough for your plants before the tough get going. What’s unique about each of these parasitoids is it needs a specific host (the pest) to complete its life cycle. It enters or lays an egg on or inside the host. When the parasitoid egg hatches, the young starts feeding on the pest (yes, while it’s still alive) from the inside out. And we wonder where writers get ideas for horror films! So when you employ these parasitoids, keep in mind that they’ll take some time to find the pest and start another life cycle before you notice real results. How many parasitoids you use will depend on your garden situation. You’ll need different quantities for an orchard, a greenhouse or a mixed vegetable patch. I’ve found the customer service folks at all three companies I’ve used to be helpful in deciding how many to order. When you release beneficials in your garden, there are things you can do to encourage them to stick around. One is to irrigate more frequently so there’s water for your helpers to drink. Another is to keep insecticide use to a minimum. Insecticides have an almost immediate effect on pest populations, but many of the chemicals are nonselective, meaning they harm the beneficials along with the pests. Occasionally, especially with seasonal crops, such as bedding plants and vegetables, you’ll notice big bunches of pests. When there’s a chance the whole plant will die unless you act immediately, you’ll have to enlist extra help, like washing off the insects with a hose. If you use an insec- ticide, you can apply it right up until you release the parasitoids. Be sure to use one with minimal residual effect, such as insecticidal soap. That way there’s no insecticide left that could kill the beneficials. There are a couple of ways that these parasitoids can help. First, you can introduce parasitoids to the natural population to keep pests and predators in balance. If your garden environment matches the needs of the parasitoids, they can take up residence and continue to work for you. The second way is to use parasitoids as an insecticide. This means releasing beneficials to help you through a season, knowing they won’t survive after the crop is harvested or cold weather strikes. I’ll tell you more about this at right. These parasitoids attack specific pests, so make sure you know what’s bugging your plants before you order. Your county extension office can help you with this. So if you’re looking for a good scary movie, you’ll have to tune into late-night TV because these garden parasitoids won’t scare you in the least. Now if you’re a pesky garden pest, that’s a different story! ® — Anne Nieland Garden Heroes They may be tiny, but these creatures pack a big punch! Illustration 32 F E B R U A R Y 2002 / No 43 G A R D E N G AT E G4332_33.qxd 11/13/01 2:45 PM Page 33 AMAZING APHIDIUS NOBLE NEMATODES What they attack — These wasps parasitize aphids. What does that mean for your garden? Aphidius parasitic wasps go into your garden, hone in on aphids and start reducing the pest population. The best part? The wasps aren’t 1 harmful to people, pets or other beneficial insects. How they arrive — On your doorstep you’ll find a vial of aphid mummies, or the shells of parasitized aphids, where the wasp eggs develop into wasps. So when you get them, they’re ready to go to work. Several of these wasps fit on the head of a pin. That is if you could get 2 them to stand still. When I’ve ordered them, the tube was already filled with a flurry of activity — many of the wasps had hatched. If you look closely at photo 1, you can see a lot of little black wasps in the tube. How to use them — Order a shipment at the first sign of aphids. Release the wasps in the evening by placing open vials under aphid-infested plants, as in photo 2. Leave the vials for a few days so remaining wasps have time to hatch. It can take a few days before the young wasps do enough damage to immobilize the aphids. So you still might find aphids alive and sucking on your plants’ juices while the wasps are doing their work inside the aphid. Not to worry. They’ll soon start to make a difference. As with other beneficial insects, the wasps don’t kill off an aphid pest population as completely as an insecticide would. They do help keep the population in check by reducing it enough that the plant can recover and keep on growing. These wasps can be pricey, so expect to pay more than you’d pay for some other parasitoids, such as the ones for whiteflies. Aphidius wasps won’t overwinter where temperatures drop below freezing. TRICKY TRICHOGRAMMAS What they attack — Just like beneficial nematodes, Trichogramma wasps control many moth and butterfly caterpillars. The difference is that these wasps attack the egg stage, whereas the nematodes attack larvae. How do you choose? Both beneficial nematodes and 1 wasps have host pests in common. For aboveground pests that are chomping on leaves, Trichogramma wasps have the edge. Nematodes are your first choice for soil-dwelling insects, such as grubs. How they arrive — When your wasps arrive, they’ll be just ready to hatch out of moth eggs glued on a small card and placed in a vial. Trichogramma wasps are 2 small, but you should be able to see them as they hatch from the eggs on the cardboard. How to use them — You’ll want to set them out right away to get working. Place the vial with the cardboard near where the pests are. For example, to control tent caterpillars, place the vials in the crook of the tree (photo 1). To control chewing pests in your perennials, place an opened vial at the base of a plant (photo 2). Put Trichogramma wasps in your garden any time of year that it’s not freezing; otherwise they’ll die off. Since they like it warm, the best time to release them is when the temperature reaches 70 to 80 degrees. Keep the moisture up in your garden so they’ll easily find a drink. What they attack — If you’re an insect larvae — caterpillar, looper or grub — your days are numbered in the presence of beneficial nematodes. These are different than the ones that harm plants. Beneficial nematodes attack pests, such as cabbage loopers, corn rootworms and white grubs. 1 Nematodes can affect adult stages of these insects, but are most efficient when they’re applied where the larvae hang out, such as on the soil or the leaves. You probably already have beneficial nematodes in your soil, but by applying more, you’re augmenting the natural population. They’re specific as to what they attack, so they don’t harm humans, pets or 2 earthworms. If you have an annual problem with a certain pest, such as rootworms on your sweet corn, use these nematodes as a preventative measure. Or, you can apply them when you first see the pests or signs of them. How they arrive — Nematodes are microscopic. You won’t actually see them in the packaging container. When I’ve ordered them, the nematodes came on a vermiculite carrier, or material that holds them until they’re released. Sometimes they come on a premoistened piece of foam. How to use them — However they come, you’ll need to mix them with water. Then strain out the carrier and spray the nematode-water solution on with a pump sprayer or water it on with a watering can, like I’m doing in photos 1 and 2 above. The strained carrier still has nematodes on it, so sprinkle it on your soil or sod for control of soil-dwelling pests. Nematodes are averse to direct sunlight, so plan on using them late in the day so they have a chance to move into a protected area overnight. As long as the ground isn’t frozen, you can put nematodes out. They’ll work better in warmer temperatures, though. If you aren’t able to apply them right away, you can refrigerate them for up to two weeks. EXTRAORDINARY ENCARSAS What they attack — Whiteflies don’t stand much of a chance when whitefly parasitoids are nearby. The parasitic wasps seek out whitefly nymphs, or the immature stage of the whitefly, and help control the pest population. How they arrive — The wasps will arrive 1 in the egg stage, glued to small pieces of cardboard. Remove the plastic bag and place the cardboard in the accompanying box, as I’m doing in photo 1. How to use them — Hang the box from a whitefly-infested plant or place it in the crook of a tree, as in photo 2. These parasitoids like it warm — between 70 and 95 degrees is ideal. They 2 work more slowly when it’s cooler, and don’t overwinter in areas with freezing temperatures. Just as with controlling aphids, it takes time for the released insects to increase in population. So if you didn’t notice you had whiteflies until they were billowing in clouds from your plants, you’ll first need to use another control method, such as insecticidal soaps. You can use the soaps right up until the parasitic wasp shipment arrives. After releasing the wasps, stop using the soaps and let the insects get to work. G A R D E N G AT E www.GardenGateMagazine.com 33 G4334_37.qxd 11/13/01 12:47 PM Page 34 DESIGN This rough stone boundary wall is low enough to encourage a neighborly visit. 1 Garden Walls A practical and beautiful gardening tradition. W ith apologies to the poet Robert Frost, good walls make good gardens as well as good neighbors. From ancient times, walls have marked borders, defined spaces and created secure and protected areas to live and work. Today, a wall in your garden can have the same practical uses, be an important part of the design and help your plants, as well. 34 F E B R U A R Y 2002 / No 43 Boundaries — A low wall makes a clear, yet subtle, boundary. Notice how the informal stone wall in photo 1 defines the front yard without isolating it? It’s the first element in a welcoming layout that leads the eye from the space outside, along the brick path and up to the porch. For a more private area, the taller brick structure in photo 2 is a good choice. This wall’s open design lets breezes blow G A R D E N G AT E through, helping to keep the area cool for people. Moving air also means less chance of diseases for plants. Aesthetics — Walls can be an integral part of a garden’s design. The solid forms and repeating patterns in photo 2 have a precise look and act as a visual anchor for the softer, more random form of the vine. The dark, rich reds of the brick also contrast with the foliage. Together they make this wall an unmistakable 11/13/01 12:48 PM Page 35 M. C. PINDAR © CHARLES MANN G4334_37.qxd 2 3 { A repeating pattern makes this brick wall a solid visual foundation for the vines. { The smooth face of an adobe wall pulls these different plants together. Their bright colors and multiple textures need the calming influence of the wall’s unadorned surface. DESIGN: DAVID CULP boundary that still lends an elegant, a warmer, more sheltered space to tuck in all those container plants, formal tone to the garden. Although the wall in photo 3 is about which might have difficulty in a more the same height, the adobe structure has exposed location. I’ll show you more a totally different personality. The plain, about how walls create microclimates simple surface and rounded edges don’t and how they can be used in the garden call attention to themselves. This wall is on p. 41. Convinced a wall would work wona privacy screen and a sound barrier for the enclosed space on the other side. ders in your garden? In the next section But out here, the smooth, blank wall I’ll share some of the tips and techniques serves as a backdrop that pulls the tex- you can use to construct a traditional 4 { A wall-turned-container garden not only tures, colors and sizes of all the different dry-stacked stone wall for yourself. ® — Glen O. Seibert directs traffic, it puts the plants within easy reach. plants together. Even purely functional walls can be made beautiful. The brick divider in photo 4 was originally intended just to control traffic between the driveway and the lawn. But adding a built-in planter to the top of the wall transforms a stern, utilitarian barrier into a raised bed that allows easy access to the flowers. Microclimates — A wellplaced wall can even change the weather. Walls create garden microclimates in areas around them. See that corner area in photo 5? It’s formed by an old foundation, which deflects the wind and cold air that flow down from the hill behind it. At the same time the stones that face the sun and the 5 concrete floor gather heat during the day, then release it back { Walls form microclimates that can extend bloom times and shelter plants that may normally be too tender into the area at night. It becomes to grow in your area. G A R D E N G AT E www.GardenGateMagazine.com 35 G4334_37.qxd 11/13/01 12:48 PM Page 36 SPECIAL PROJECT To plant in your wall, plug small, rooted sections of trailing herbs, succulents or perennials into the spaces between the stones. Fill in the gaps with extra soil and water gently. Dry-stacking stone Y 1 Define the wall’s footprint. For a wall under 36 in. high, a 24-in. width is enough. The wall can be as long as you like. Dig out 6 in. of soil. Fill the trench with 2 in. of sand as a fast-draining base for the wall’s foundation. ou’d think a structure piled together without mortar would be flimsy. In fact, dry-stacked stone walls the world over have been standing for thousands of years. Gravity and friction hold them together so they weather extreme temperature fluctuations without cracking or heaving. The technique for building a stone wall is simple. It just takes some test-fitting and adjustments for every individual stone. Think of a jigsaw puzzle: Each piece works to lock all the others around it together. And it’s so satisfying to watch a pile of rock turn into a beautiful wall under your own hands. So 2 roll up your sleeves, put on your gloves and let’s get dry-stacking. Location and materials — First, decide where you want the wall. There could be zoning or planning regulations about where you can put your wall, so check with your local building department. Walls can be stacked using almost any kind of stone. For this wall, I chose a smooth, native limestone. As you see in the photo above, it has a rough surface but is still flat. Stone that’s native to your Lay the foundation. Angle the foundation stones about 20 degrees in toward the center of the wall. The next levels, or courses, will lean in. Gravity will settle and stabilize them. Place the largest, heaviest stones at the edges of the trench. Fill the center with smaller stones. With a soft, sand base, adjusting the foundation requires only a gentle tapping with a sledgehammer. Arrange the stones with their most attractive faces showing and fill the area between the stones with sand. 36 F E B R U A R Y 2002 / No 43 G A R D E N G AT E G4334_37.qxd 11/13/01 12:48 PM Page 37 area is usually easiest to find and will blend into the environment well. Local materials are often less expensive because they don’t have to be shipped very far. But if they’re unavailable, or you’d just prefer a different look, you could even use chunks of broken concrete. You’ll need to know how many cubic yards of stone to order for your wall. To calculate this, multiply the wall’s length by the height by the width, then divide by 27. For example, a wall 12 feet long times 3 feet tall times 2 feet wide equals 72. Divide by 27 and you get 2.66 cubic yards of stone. Order 3 cubic yards, just to be safe. Stone is usually priced by type — sandstone, limestone, granite, etc. Some supply companies charge a flat, per-pallet price and let you mix and match various stone types to get the colors or shapes you want. You can also select prepackaged collections of stone and get a random selection. These “grab bags” are often considerably less expensive. Delivery charges are usually extra. Be sure you have an area close to the wall to receive the stones. You don’t want to carry them any further than necessary. Patience and craftsmanship are the watchwords in building a drystacked stone wall. The pros say that no matter how fast you work, you can probably stack about 4 linear feet of wall a day. So take ROUND STONE IN A SQUARE WALL It’s unlikely that you’ll be able to build an entire wall with nothing but uniformly square, smooth-faced, tightly fitting stones. River boulders, or even smaller, irregular chunks of cut stone, can be used in dry-stack construction. But they need to be secured into the wall with wedges. Start by setting the stone as firmly as possible. Then lodge thin shards of stone into the gaps. Wedges work from the inside or outside, but inside wedging is best. Gravity, the sand fill and the structure’s inward slope will all help to hold the stone firmly in place. your time, invest the extra energy in doing a good job and your grandchildren will enjoy your work in years to come. Take care of yourself, too. Building a stone wall can be physically taxing, so lift even the smaller, lighter stones with your back straight and legs bent. And don’t stack the wall any higher than 36 inches. Taller structures require a different kind of building technique, and lifting stones above your waist isn’t something you should try without some help. MATERIALS AND TOOLS Materials: Builder’s sand Landscape stone Flat, thin capstones Tools: Heavy work clothes, leather gloves, safety goggles, 6-lb. sledgehammer, shovel, steel-toed safety boots, wooden stakes 3 Lock the foundation stones together by filling the open spaces with sand. Stack each additional course and fill it in the same way. Tie stone Tie stone 4 Stagger the stones in the interlocking style you see above. Each stone overlaps the one below it, preventing weak, vertical “runs.” Lay a tie stone crossways every 24 in. on each course. These ties keep stones below them from tilting outward. Finish the top of your wall with thin, wide capstones. They lock down the last course and keep water from running into the wall. G A R D E N G AT E www.GardenGateMagazine.com 37 G4338_40.qxd 11/13/01 12:50 PM Page 38 Questions&Answers Gardening questions? Jot them down and send them to Garden Gate Q&A, 2200 Grand Ave., Des Moines, IA 50312. Please include your name, address and daytime phone number in case we need to reach you. If you’d like, fax your questions to 515-283-2003 or send us an e-mail message at gardengate@ gardengatemag.com. Because we receive so many questions, we can’t answer all of them, but we’ll certainly contact you if we publish yours. Earwigs Watering Boston ferns Q Q An exterminator told me that my house has earwigs, but they’re harmless. Even so, how can I get rid of them? H.T., San Angelo, TX A Can’t blame you. Earwigs (Forficula auricularia) are not poisonous insects, but those prongs on the tail end can inflict a hefty pinch. The bugs can also damage fruits and packaged foods. And they really aren’t a pleasant sight to see running around your house. First, make sure the tiny cracks and openings around doors, windows and the house’s foundation are sealed up tight with caulking or expanding foam. That’s where earwigs come in. You can vacuum up those that are already inside (put some camphor mothballs in the vacuum’s bag to kill them). The creatures breed and thrive outside under debris and rocks, so clear these from around the house. Earwigs don’t reproduce or infest inside, so large-scale extermination isn’t needed. But a spray of ant killer around your windows and doors will help to keep the pests out. ® Actual size: 3/ in. 4 38 F E B R U A R Y 2002 / No 43 The fronds of my Boston fern are drooping, and the tips are brown and brittle. I mist and water every three days and keep the soil moist. What am I doing wrong? I.C., Rapid City, SD A Watering a Boston fern (Nephrolepis exaltata ‘Bostoniensis’) can be tricky. If its soil is too moist, the tips of the fronds can droop and then turn brown. But if you’re giving your ferns just a little water every few days, the soil at the bottom of the pot may be bone dry even though water runs through the drain holes. To get the soil evenly moist, set the potted plant in your kitchen sink, or a large pan, then fill the sink with water. Let the water soak through the bottom holes for 20 minutes or so, then allow the fern to fully drain before returning it to its usual place. Do this deep root-zone watering every few weeks to saturate the soil. In between these Keeping hydrangeas in the pink Q I want to plant hydrangeas but don’t want to turn them blue. How can I get a deep-pink flower? C.T., West Plains, MO A A hydrangea won’t turn any pinker (or bluer) than it’s genetically able to. It’s true you can change the color of some hydrangeas by making the soil more acid with sulfur (for blue) and more alkaline with lime (for pink). But that chemistry will only take the color so far. There are cultivars, however, that have been bred to bloom with more intense and vivid-pink flowers. ‘Forever Pink’ (Hydrangea hortensias) grows 3 feet tall and wide, with brightpink flowers that turn redder as the weather cools. The shrub flowers profusely from early June until frost. ‘Forever Pink’ is cold-hardy in USDA zones 6 to 9 and is heat-tolerant in AHS zones 8 to 1. It flowers on new wood, so even if branches are frost-damaged, it will still bloom. G A R D E N G AT E treatments, top-water the soil lightly when the surface becomes completely dry. Chlorinated tap water can also cause browning leaves. Allow chlorinated water to stand overnight in an open container before using it. Or try distilled, bottled water or collected rainwater for your fern. ® Pink ElfTM (Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Pia’) has more pointed flowers that start out vivid pink at the tips and fade gradually to a white center. It’s cold-hardy in USDA zones 5 to 11, heat-tolerant in AHS zones 12 to 1, and at 18 inches tall, it’s good for planting in a container or in a border under filtered sun. Buttons ’N BowsTM (Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Monrey’) has deep-pink flowers with rounded edges laced in white. It’s cold-hardy in USDA zones 7 to 9 and heat-tolerant in AHS zones 9 to 1. It likes filtered sun. At 3 feet tall, Buttons ’N Bows makes a great foreground plant. It also works well as a cover for deck posts, foundations and as a living screen to hide unsightly air conditioning machinery, utility boxes or exterior plumbing. Check your soil’s pH. If it’s neutral or acid, work a cup of lime into the soil around each plant in spring and fall. It will keep the pH around 7 — insurance that the flowers will remain pink. ® G4338_40.qxd 11/13/01 12:50 PM Page 39 Pruning rose of Sharon Q My rose of Sharon has bloomed beautifully for the last four years. But this year there were flowers on only one half of the plant. Is there anything I can do to get it to start flowering evenly all over? B.A., Rockford, IL A It sounds like one part of your rose of Sharon (Hibiscus syriacus) was damaged by a spring cold snap in your USDA zone 5 area. Rose of Sharon produces flowers on growth from the current year. So if new, young branches were damaged, you wouldn’t see any flowers develop. You can prune out the damaged branches on your fast-growing shrub to stimulate flowering and also keep it compact. Cut all the branches back to about 12 inches from the ground in early spring. This stimulates new flowering shoots for an even bloom from Prune midsummer to first frost. ® stems to 12 in. Geranium name game Tobacco cautions Q Q I’m seeing “cutting geraniums” and “seed geraniums” in my garden center. What’s the difference? Is one better than the other? I make chewing tobacco “tea” to kill garden insects. It’s organic, so it’s safe to use around beneficial insects, right? R.L., Auburn, NE S.G., Sheldon, IA “Cutting” and “seed” refer to the way the plant was propagated. Bedding geraniums (Pelargonium spp.) used to be grown just from cuttings. But today many varieties are started from seed. Seed-grown plants have blended traits that they get from random combinations of their parents’ genes. An improved resistance to disease, new flower shapes and colors or different types of foliage textures come from this hybridization. Plants from cuttings are all identical clones of the original. For the home gardener, there’s really no difference. Whether you are buying plants grown from seed or cloned from cuttings, look for the ones that are vigorous and healthy. But other than that, choose those you’ll simply enjoy in your garden. ® Unfortunately, it’s not. The active ingredient in tobacco tea is nicotine. Nicotine is a very effective insect killer, but it’s nonselective. Your tea will kill any bugs that come in contact with it — the good ones as well as the bad. There’s also a chance of spreading tobacco mosaic virus to eggplant, tomatoes and other plants in the nightshade family by using tobacco tea. A safer alternative, for both the beneficial insects and the plants, would be an insecticidal soap spray. Although it, too, is nonselective, it has no residual effects after the soap has dried. Good bugs won’t be harmed if they’re not directly sprayed with it. Generally, beneficial insects are at work in the daytime, so plan nighttime raids to get the destructive garden pests while they’re feeding. ® A Seaside survivors Q My yard is exposed to constant wind and salt spray. What can I plant that will survive these conditions? K.E., Seaside, CA A Despite your cool and beautiful coastal location, you’re still developing a garden in a climate that is semiarid, Mediter- A ranean-type desert. In USDA coldhardiness zone 9, you’ll need to select tough, drought-tolerant plants that are able to resist or at least tolerate salty, sandy soil, constant, gusty winds, intense, full sun and the occasional lashing from violent Pacific storms. See the box on the right for a list of salt, sun and wind-tolerant plants. These tough specimens will survive your demanding garden. ® SALT-TOLERANT PLANTS Ground covers Periwinkle Vinca minor USDA zones 4 to 9/AHS zones 9 to 1 Ice plant Carprobrotus edulis USDA zones 9 to 11/AHS zones 12 to 1 Medium-sized shrubs, hedges or fillers Blue fescue Festuca glauca USDA zones 4 to 9/AHS zones 8 to 1 Firecracker plant Russelia equisetiformis USDA zones 9 to 11/AHS zones 12 to 1 Upright rosemary Rosmarinus officinalis USDA zones 7 to 11/AHS zones 12 to 7 Natal plum Carissa macrocarpa USDA zones 9 to 11/AHS zones 12 to 1 Large trees Norfolk Island pine Araucaria heterophylla USDA zones 9 to 11/AHS zones 12 to 1 Monterey cypress Cupressus macrocarpa USDA zones 6 to 9/AHS zones 9 to 6 Saw palmetto Serenoa repens USDA zones 6 to 11/AHS zones 12 to 9 G A R D E N G AT E www.GardenGateMagazine.com 39 G4338_40.qxd 11/13/01 12:51 PM Page 40 Questions&Answers WEED WATCH Soil mounded at tunnel entrances • Voles and moles Raised ridges mark tunnels • Q How do I tell if I have moles or voles? How can I get rid of them? J.W., Pickens, SC A Yellow nutsedge Cyperus esculentus Identification — Yellow nutsedge is a perennial weed with slender, ½-in.-wide leaves that grow up to 2 ft. long. It sprouts in early summer and matures by fall. Triangular stems, up to 3 ft. tall, rise from the center of each plant. On top are clusters of yellow flowering spikes. While yellow nutsedge does grow from seed, its corms, often called “nutlets,” are the structures that reproduce most quickly. Each plant sends out underground runners that produce clusters of the nutlets. After these nutlets are ready to grow on their own, the parent plant disconnects and the nutlets sprout. When you pull mature plants, the nutlets break free and are left behind. Favorite conditions — This weed thrives almost anywhere it receives full sun. And it’s damaging to crops: Yellow nutsedge hosts a soil-dwelling bacteria that can destroy soil-borne nitrogen. Control — The plant releases its nutlets before chemical herbicides are able to kill it. So dig mature plants as soon as you spot them and try to remove as many nutlets as possible. You won’t get them all, so be prepared to pull up large numbers of young plants next summer. ® 40 F E B R U A R Y 2002 / No 43 Both of these animals can cause big damage to the garden. But moles are carnivores that feed on grubs and worms. Their damage is a side effect of their tunneling to get to food sources. And to be honest, moles aren’t all bad. Like earthworms and other tunneling creatures, moles are part of the natural soilmaking process. They “swim” through the earth, pulling material from in front of them with their large, strong foreclaws. Vole 8 in. This burrowing opens and fluffs the soil’s structure, improving drainage and mixing in important organic materials. Voles, on the other hand, are herbivores that munch on leaves, bark or most any part of a garden plant. It’s unlikely you’ll see either of them in action. Identify them instead by the clues they leave behind as they work. Moles often dig a main tunnel with several side branches. Excavated soil is mounded up around their tunnels’ entrances. Voles live underground, but create sheltered surface runs that look like small trails cropped out of the surface vegetation. 3 in. Tunnel opening • • Surface runs cropped in grass Not the flower’s fault Q The ends of my ripening zucchini always turn brown and moldy. Will removing the spent flowers stop this? D.B., Carthage, TN A No. You’re describing blossom end rot, caused by a lack of calcium in the cells of the fruit. This makes it mushy and susceptible to mold. Quick, early growth that’s followed by very dry weather and an excess of salts in the soil are some causes of this problem. G A R D E N G AT E Mole Trapping is the most effective way to bring these creatures under control. Set mole traps on top of active tunnels. To find one, collapse a surface ridge with your foot. If it’s dug open the next day, it’s active. Place mole traps over the area according to manufacturer’s directions. In theory, when the mole starts to re-open his tunnel, he’ll spring the trap. For voles, set two small snap-spring mouse traps end to end along several of their runways. Bait the traps with a peanut butter and oatmeal mixture. Remember, voles can carry disease, so don’t touch them with your bare hands. Use a plastic trash bag to pick up the animal and wrap it, then put it in the trash. ® For healthy zucchini, plant in welldrained soil and water deeply, especially in the heat of summer. This will prevent salt buildup and keep the root zone moist but not soggy. Mulching will help to keep the soil from drying out, too. And avoid using high-ammonia fertilizers, such as fresh manure. These can burn the plants’ roots, which will prevent them from absorbing the calcium they need. The ammonia also chemically “locks up” calcium in the soil, making it unavailable to the plants. ® G4341.qxd 11/13/01 12:52 PM Page 41 Details Creating garden microclimates with walls T he old saying goes, “Everyone talks about the weather, but no one does anything about it.” But building even a small wall in your garden does do something about the weather — it creates microclimates around the structure. Microclimates are pockets with substantially different environmental conditions than their surroundings. For example, depending on the direction the wall runs — north-south, eastwest or some variation — the shadow it casts will turn previously full-sun areas into partshade or even fullshade areas. Yet even in summer, when the sun is higher in the sky and both sides of the wall may be sunny, one side will still have a warmer exposure. The garden on this bright side may become so dry from reflected sun and convected heat that plants that grew well in the area before the wall was built will now end up toasted. You’ll want to consider more sunand heat-tolerant, low-water plants, such as lavender (Lavandula spp.) or sage (Salvia spp.), to go into these now hotter, drier and more intense full-sun areas. On the other hand, in the fall, when the sun is lower in the sky and shadows grow longer, the part-shade bed created on the darker side of the wall will be in full shade. So plants that do well in a broad range of light and moisture conditions, such as periwinkle (Vinca minor), would be a good choice there. A wall also establishes a wind break. The breezes that may have formerly dried or chilled the garden are deflected. Pockets of still air form warmer or cooler areas on the side of the wall away from the winds, depending on its exposure to the sun. This may give you the opportunity to grow plants that otherwise wouldn’t survive in your cold-hardiness or heat-tolerance zone. Wall absorbs heat during the day and releases it into air and soil at night. Full sun Full-sun, low-water plants, such as lavender, tolerate extra heat. Because the temperature, moisture and wind conditions are so different, temperatures can vary from 10 to 15 degrees on either side of a wall. You might be able to coax a zone 7 plant to grow and bloom in zone 6. But be aware that those flowers or shoots could be damaged by a surprise frost. As you can see, installing a wall gives you a lot to consider. The illustration below shows some of the microclimate conditions a wall creates. By understanding and controlling these microclimates, you can use walls to your advantage. You may even extend the range and seasons of your garden! ® Winds flow over the top of the wall, creating eddies on the back side. Fall debris and winter snow can pile up next to the wall. Part-sun, moisture-loving plants, such as Siberian iris and periwinkle, thrive in cooler, shadier conditions. • • Reflected heat Winter shade Summer shade • Convected heat • • • Mulch retains soil moisture and keeps soil cool. Heat reflected and convected from the wall warms the soil early and keeps it warmer than the other side of the wall. Because of the shade, this soil stays cooler longer and tends to be more moist. G A R D E N G AT E www.GardenGateMagazine.com 41 G4342.qxd 11/13/01 12:53 PM Page 42 Editor’s Choice ‘Annabel’ lilac D on’t certain plants remind you of your childhood? I was quite young when I had my first experience with plant propagation. With a little help, I dug a sucker of an ‘Annabel’ lilac from my grandparents’ garden and carried it home. This light-pink beauty still grows in the garden where I planted it. That was my first introduction to ‘Annabel’ (Syringa xhyacinthiflora), and I’ve enjoyed her company ever since. Why? It blooms a week or two earlier than common lilacs and has large flower clusters. As fall arrives, the leaves of ‘Annabel’ often turn redpurple before they drop. ‘Annabel’ flowers are good for cutting. Slit the stem vertically about 2 inches up from the cut to help the flower quickly absorb water in the vase. ‘ANNABEL’ LILAC Size 10 to 12 ft. tall; 9 to 12 ft. wide Habit Multistemmed, dense and rounded Soil Moist, well-drained Light Full sun Pests None serious Hardiness Cold: USDA zones 3 to 7 Heat: AHS zones 7 to 1 12 ft. 9 ft. 6 ft. 3 ft. 0 42 F E B R U A R Y 2002 / No 43 Because lilacs are so durable and dependable, they make excellent screens and windbreaks. A hedge of ‘Annabel’ lilacs is beautiful. Or, choose several lilac cultivars that bloom at different times and mix them into the border. For example, whiteflowering ‘Edith Cavell’ blooms a week or two after ‘Annabel’. Bright-pink ‘Miss Canada’ blooms about two weeks after that. With careful selection, you can have fragrant flowers for more than a month. Care and culture Lilacs are easy to care for, and ‘Annabel’ is no exception. Pick a spot in full sun or with at least six hours of bright light each day. Too much shade will prevent lilacs from flowering. They grow and bloom best in moist, welldrained soil and rarely need fertilizing. Patience is a life lesson I learned from lilacs. Divisions take about three years to establish new roots and start to bloom — especially if you begin with a small sucker as I did. Bare-root plants will be almost as slow. To make the transition easier, try to buy container-grown lilacs. Their roots aren’t disturbed as much in moving, so they’ll often bloom sooner. Do you need to remove the old flowers? Not really. ‘Annabel’s’ browning petals are quickly covered up by fresh new foliage. And leaving the old blooms won’t reduce next year’s flowering. But if you need to prune to shape your lilac, do so right after ‘Annabel’ finishes blooming. Lilacs set their {‘Annabel’ is one of the first lilacs to bloom in spring. {Low branching means the flowers are handy for picking. buds for next year during the summer. So if you trim too late, you’ll cut them off and the shrub won’t have time to form more. Like most lilacs, ‘Annabel’ does produce a few suckers at the base. For neatness, you can cut them off at ground level. Or in early spring or late in the fall, dig a few to share. When the suckers are about a foot tall, dig carefully, tracing the new root back to one of the main roots on the parent plant. Cut the new plant off, making sure to get as much of the new root system with it as possible. Replant the sprout and keep G A R D E N G AT E it moist until you begin to see new growth. ‘Annabel’ is resistant to powdery mildew. Even though this fungus isn’t fatal, it is ugly. One of the things I like about all lilacs is that deer walk right on by. It seems they don’t like the taste. Gray winters sometimes drag on much too long. But toward spring, I know that my old childhood friend ‘Annabel’ will soon be back to cheer me up with her flowers and fragrance. ® Mail-order sources ArborVillage, P.O. Box 227 Holt, MO 64048. 816-264-3911. Catalog $1. Fox Hill Nursery, 347 Lunt Road, Freeport, ME 04032. www.lilacs.com. 207-729-1511. Catalog $1. G4343.qxd 11/19/01 3:43 PM Page 43 Resources Fairweather Gardens www.fairweathergardens.com 856-451-6261. $4 ArborVillage 816-264-3911. $1 Raspberries (p. 26) Tuberous Begonias (p. 14) Decorative Outdoor Products 18A Sparks Ave. Nantucket, MA 02554 www.DecorativeOutdoor Products.com 877-434-7730 Post caps and finials Valentine’s Day Sweepstakes Rather than a bouquet, how about a garden of roses for your sweetheart? Enter to win eight bushes, four each of the 2002 AllAmerica Rose Selections winners — Starry NightTM and Love & PeaceTM, featured on our cover. How do you sign up? Simply visit www.rose.org and fill out the entry form. Or mail a postcard with your name, address and daytime phone number to AARS Sweepstakes, 221 N. LaSalle St., Suite 3500, Chicago, IL 60601. Entries must be postmarked by February 28, 2002. Jim’s Vineyard Supply P.O. Box 668 Bakersfield, CA 93302-0668 www.jimssupply.com 800-423-8016 Wirevises Mail-order catalogs Mail-order catalogs Miller Nurseries www.millernurseries.com 800-836-9630. Free Antonelli Brothers www.antnelli.com 888-423-4664 Begonia tubers. Catalog free Hartmann's Nursery www.hartmannsnursery.com 616-253-4281. Free Shepherd’s Garden Seeds www.shepherdseed.com 860-482-3638 Begonia stakes. Catalog free Indiana Berry and Plant Co. www.inberry.com 800-295-2226. Free Society The American Begonia Society 157 Monument Rio Dell, CA 95562 www.begonias.org Dues: $17. The ABS also sells publications, including “Growing Tuberous Begonias” ($5). Garden Heroes (p. 32) Mail-order catalogs Gardens Alive! 5100 Scheneley Place Lawrenceburg, IN 47025 www.gardensalive.com 812-537-8651. Free For additional resources and an archive of stories, visit us at www.GardenGateMagazine.com Rincon-Vitova Insectaries, Inc. P.O. Box 1555 Ventura, CA 93002 www.rinconvitova.com 800-248-2847. Free Magnolias (p. 22) Gempler’s 100 Countryside Drive Belleville, WI 53508 www.gemplers.com 800-382-8473. Free Mail-order catalogs Louisiana Nursery 337-948-3696. $6 Garden Gate® (ISSN 1083-8295) is published bimonthly (Feb., April, June, Aug., Oct., Dec.) by August Home Publishing Co., 2200 Grand Ave., Des Moines, IA 50312. Garden Gate® is a registered trademark of August Home Publishing Co. © Copyright 2002, August Home Publishing Company. All rights reserved. Subscriptions: Single copy $4.99. One-year subscription (6 issues) $24.00 (Canada/Foreign add $10 per year, U.S. funds). Periodicals postage paid at Des Moines, IA, and at additional mailing offices. USPS/Perry-Judd’s Heartland Division automatable poly. Postmaster: Send change of address to Garden Gate, P.O. Box 37115, Boone, IA 50037-2115. Subscription questions? Call 800-341-4769, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Central Standard Time, weekdays. Garden Gate® does not accept and is not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts. PRINTED IN U.S.A. KNOW YOUR COLD-HARDINESS ZONE KNOW YOUR HEAT-TOLERANCE ZONE AMERICAN HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY 7931 East Boulevard Drive, Alexandria, Va 22308. 703-768-5700 FAX 703-768-8700 Coordinated by: Dr. H. Marc Cathey, President Emeritus. Compiled by: Meteorological Evaluation Services Co., Inc. Underwriting by: • Monrovia Nursery Company • Horticultural Research Institute of the American Nursery and Landscape Assoc. • Goldsmith Seed Co. • Time-Life Inc. September 1997 DAYSABOVE 86o ZONE Fewer than 1 1 to 7 7 to 14 14 to 30 1 2 3 4 DAYSABOVE 86o ZONE 30 45 60 90 to to to to 45 60 90 120 5 6 7 8 DAYSABOVE 86o ZONE 120 to 150 9 150 to 180 10 180 to 210 11 More than 210 12 AVG LOW TEMP ZONE Below -40 to -30 to -20 to G A R D E N G AT E -45 -45 -40 -30 1 2 3 4 AVG LOW TEMP ZONE AVG LOW TEMP ZONE -10 0 10 to -20 to -10 to 0 5 6 7 20 to 10 30 to 20 40 to 30 Above 40 8 9 10 11 www.GardenGateMagazine.com 43 G4344.qxd 11/14/01 10:42 AM Page 44 Finishing Touches “ Shed no tear — O, shed no tear! The flower will bloom another year. Weep no more — O, weep no more! Young buds sleep in the root’s white core.” — John Keats ® ®