NOT JUST FLOWERS … BY GLADYS JEURINK Some people
specialize in flowering plants, some in vegetables, and others in
foliage plants. But how often do we hear about the plants that do
something different? There are many of them that grow in Nebraska to
make gardening more exciting. Today I want to share with you some that I
like. A few years
ago, George gave me a branch of the “Twisted Willow” or “Corkscrew
Willow” (Salix tortuoso)
which is sometimes called “Dragons Claw Willow”. As with all
willows, it roots easily and now is about fifteen feet high and hanging
over a lily pond. It is a tall, slender plant that bends and twists as
it heads upward. It is fun to see especially in the winter. In the front yard is a shorter, fatter “Henry Lauders
Walking Stick” (Corylus contorta)
whose branches are thicker and even more twisted with catkins hanging
down in spring-a fun thing when everything is covered with snow. About now
(October as I am writing this) the Holly are preparing their winter
show. In the back yard is a
“China Boy Holly” who was partially smashed this spring by a
“Cottonwood” tree branch but still made enough pollen to pollinate
the “China Girl Holly” (Ilex
cornuta). They are only 3 years old but this fall she is covered
with bright red berries. She is in high shade where I put on sulphur
each fall to keep the soil slightly acid. On the east side of the house
is a pair of “Grape Holly” (Mahonia aquifolium) whose berries are blue. Early in the spring she
has clusters of yellow flowers. They
are wider and taller and older than the China Boy and China Girl and I
have had to do a little pruning to see out the window. They also receive
sulphur each fall. I put it on top of the mulch that I keep over their
feet year round. The house foundation tends to raise the soil pH so they
get a larger dose. (Be careful what you plant next to your foundation as
the poured cement or cement blocks leach lime and raise the pH. You may
have to add sulphur each spring and/or fall to lower the pH.) Between
the two Hollys is another pair of red berried Holly whose name I have
forgotten. “Purple
Beauty Berry” (Callacarpa
dichotoma) is a beauty with its clusters of bright purple beads
lining all the stems from the tip to 18-20 inches back. It is a little
late in showing off and its berries always get frozen at their best! I
made a mistake with this one and planted it too close to the gate of the
dog pen so I have to duck in order to open the gate.
Each fall I cut it completely to the ground to keep it about 4
feet by 4 feet. Perhaps if I didn’t do that it would set berries a
little earlier as every summer it is up and growing with tiny white
blooms where the berries will be. It was doing okay before, but I read
it also likes acid soil so last fall it received a cupful of sulphur
granules. I don’t like powdered sulfur since it tends to blow around
but you can scratch both forms into the soil in a circle around the
roots. A plant that
only grows two to three feet high whose small white flowers are not
exciting is the “Chinese Lantern” (Physalis alkekengi). Sometimes it is also called “Japanese
Lantern”. It dies back to the ground at first frost and has vigorous
underground roots willing to take over your yard when it warms up in the
spring. The exciting parts are the seed pods, bright orange, shaped like
a lantern that can be dried for winter bouquets. The orange is actually
calcyes that look like paper and sometimes skeletonize to become even
more interesting. This is not as likely to happen if you want the bright
orange, and mainly can be avoided if you cut the stems immediately after
the orange lantern appears. The leaves sometimes causes itch so you
might want to wear gloves. Also the fruit (lanterns) can give you a
stomach ache if you eat one. The plants are easy to hoe off in spring so
I save the largest group away from the parent that has traveled in the
direction I wanted. All the annual
poppies I have ever known make very interesting seed pods-round with a
rim slightly over it with a row of holes completely around from which
the seeds are dropped out. The
plant dries as soon as this happens so you can start another crop of
something else. The seeds need to freeze to be a big success so if I
want them in a different place I throw them on top of the ground in the
fall and walk on them but do not cover. The walk is because they
will blow away. Authors say there may be as many as 30,000 seeds in one
of those pods!!! The perennial poppy also has those interesting pods but
doesn’t seed as badly. If you want a new plant the safest way to go is
to dig up a root or so, cut them in pieces and plant.
Give them plenty of room as those plants can be several feet
across. The “Oriental Poppies” die down as usual and then in fall
come up in the snow all winter, so do your root cuttings as the plants
start to fail. They won’t
grow if you plant them upside down so be careful. One of the
prettiest centerpieces I have seen in the middle of a huge table was
“Sweet Autumn Clematis” (Clematis paniculata). It actually
has several species names as the taxonomists are continually
“classifying”, which can be confusing. In a good year, one of these
that is over 2-3 years old will climb or sprawl up and out 15 to 20
feet. It is covered with white, fragrant star like white flowers
followed by fuzzy seed heads. The centerpiece had covered the shed roof
with a few white flowers and many, many fluffy seed heads. The decorator
pulled what was on the roof and laid the tangle in the center of the
table. She pushed places aside and inserted short, fat, red candles
which were not lighted. Seed
heads don’t need water and so remained gorgeous for several days.
Many of the Clematis make these fuzzy heads but few of them in
the numbers of “Sweet Autumn”. These plants will grow almost
anywhere. I have several in full sun, and several growing on a chain
link fence directly under a giant Cottonwood Tree. I cut them all to the
ground after a hard frost. “Mexican Hair
Grass” (Stipa tenuissima) is
a fun one to have on your borders as it is only 24 inches tall, soft,
and blows in the wind. It
is listed as Zone 7-10 but I’ve had several clumps now for 2 to 3
years and it seeds fairly well so I believe it is here to stay. It is
also call “Feather Grass”, “Needle Grass” and “Spear Grass”.
It starts light green in spring then develops “blond” hair early
into summer. I have some
growing in the “hell strip” and a few in the backyard getting high
shade. People going by stop
to pet it! Copyright 2006, NOV.
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