NEIGHBORHOOD GARDEN FOR NOVEMBER 17, 2012

NEIGHBORHOOD GARDEN FOR NOVEMBER 17, 2012

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TOUGH ONES

BY GLADYS JEURINK

As things get cold and turn brown, I have been making a list of those hardy ones that grew well in all that heat and not enough rain. One still standing on October 29, 2012 is a clump of “Amsonia”, a perennial and a native of the central United States as well as Europe. Some of its common names are “Blue Star”, “Willow Blue Star”, “Blue Dogbane”, and “Blue Milk Weed”. All have clusters of little blue flowers of light blue to darker brighter blue, lasting over a week, in clusters. Sometimes it is a little slow to show up in spring so mark its territory so you don’t dig into it. They may bloom he first year a little bit after three years. The species I have is about 3 feet tall with a light blue cloud. They spread by seeds and by roots slowly. Mine are in partial high shade. Babies are easy dig to give away clumps. Hybridizers have developed a species whose foliage is bright yellow in fall. Mine turns to tan.

“Knock Out Roses” did not notice what a dry summer we had. I have eight. They are a shrub Rose whose blooms are not the dramatic Tea Rose but they are resistant to black spot disease, deadhead themselves, and rebloom all summer. We have been down to 21 degrees this fall and they are still bright green. Like all Roses they like water and good drainage.

“Horsetail” (Equisetum species) is a plant just for fun but be warned that it is very invasive. Growing up in Colorado we had a small bog full of Cattails and Horsetail. Their stems are jointed and come apart easily so we made necklaces of them or long chains. There is a short one (8 inches) but I prefer the tall ones that grow to 4 feet. They have a black band around each joint. Here in Lincoln I have a clump in a small black “Water Lily” pool so they can’t creep all over. They have not noticed the frost yet.

On October 7, 2012, Lincoln got down to 21 degrees F. and most plants did not look so happy but there are a few at their best now and some at interesting stages. “Hairy Balls” (Gomphocarpus sp.) reached 6 feet high in their cage. Coming from those tiny white blooms were the 3 x3 inch hairy white balls. I picked a number of them hoping to have “something” for a winter bouquet and popped them into a tall vase to dry. In about 4 days the lower end split and thousands of soft white parachutes floated around the house. I should have sprayed them with a lacquer to give them harder walls and to keep them closed. I do have plenty of seeds! Next year I will pick them, hang them upside down, and paint the balls different colors, and hope they can’t open. At home in Zone 9 and 10 it becomes a shrub but usually treated as an annual here. They are fun to add to an arrangement before they are ready to pop open.

“Snapdragons” like cool weather. My patch of dwarfs seeded themselves last summer. They are a gorgeous purple and red color and were gorgeous in a 6 inch tall, 12 inches wide plant completely covered with blooms until that 100 degree session hit us. It seemed it stopped everything, even shrunk some but now with the rain and the cool they are covered again but not all as some gave up. I am hoping they had enough time to seed so that early next Spring they will be in bloom again.

This Spring I got an Aster I never had before. “Purple Dome” is only 18 inches high and wide but completely covered with bright purple 2 inch blooms while ignoring the cold. The tall “New England Asters” had gone by earlier.

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HORTICULTURAL WORDS

BY GLADYS JEURINK

IPM=INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT

(In the manual that is used in the required class to become a certified pesticide applicator A pest is anything that competes with humans, domestic animals, or desirable plants for food or water, injures humans, animals, desirable plants, structures, or possessions, spreads disease to humans, domestic animals, wildlife, or desirable plants, or annoys humans or domestic animals.)

Integrated Pest Management is an approach to combat pests. The goal is to solve the problem in the least toxic manner. Chemical pest control is the last option. Preventing problems is the first step by preparing your soil and giving the plants the proper home. That is, the amount of sun, moisture and fertilizer they require. Most of these requirements are on your seed packet.

If you have had a problem before with a particular plant, try to find resistant seeds or plants. The propagators and hybridizers and hybridizers have spent years trying to develop these traits.