Gardening Goddess

By Kathy Jentz

 

Pauline grew and pampered her grandmother's heirloom roses with pride each year. In March they had just began to leaf out, by May they were magnificent, but come July and they were desiccated skeletons. Like many gardeners in the Washington, DC-area, Pauline's had been attacked by Japanese Beetles. They can do devastating damage often stripping a whole plant from top to bottom. How can we fight back?

 

Know the Enemy

 

   Japanese Beetles first arrived in New Jersey about 90 years ago by accident. Since then they have multiplied exponentially. Each female beetle can lay about 50 eggs each during their active summer season. Without their natural predators and diseases from their native Japan, they have thrived and spread throughout the eastern United States.

    One of the most hated pests around, they have few virtues other than providing nutrition to birds. The good news is they are only active in your garden from the end of June to late August. The bad news is they spend the rest of the year in their larval stage as white grubs eating your lawn grass roots.

   You will notice that the beetles are attracted to certain plants over others. They will strip a hollyhock or grape vine bare, while letting your boxwoods, azaleas, and holly alone. This is due to certain plant scents that are highly attractive to the beetles. You can plant your garden full of beetle resistant varieties or you can read on for practical ways of fighting this local garden scourge.

 

Hand-to-Hand Combat

 

   The most effective way of dealing with a small infestation of Japanese Beetles is picking them by hand. I know it is not the most pleasant way to spend a summer morning. However, the more you can get rid of now, the fewer that will be around to lay more eggs and come back next year.

   Beetles eat in groups and while feeding they give off odors that attract others to the damaged plant. In addition, each female beetle excretes a chemical that attracts male beetles to her in droves. By manually cutting down on their number, you will automatically get rid of the chemical scents that attract more to your garden.

   Put on gloves and fill a bucket with soapy water. Go out before 8:00 am while the beetles are still sluggish and shake the infested plant over the bucket. Pick off any beetles that stay on the plant.

 

Pulling Out the Bug Guns

 

   Dave McDonald of St. Gabriel Labs in Orange, VA, says, "This year is an especially heavy one in terms of Japanese Beetle population. We are getting reports of increases throughout Virginia, Maryland, and up into Pennsylvania."

   "It just seems to be a perfect climate year for them - the level of moisture, warmth, and general weather conditions - all came together to make a perfect mix for the beetles to thrive," McDonald explained. Well, that is great news for the bugs, but tragic for home gardeners.  

    Some gardeners are facing a situation where the beetle numbers are so large, they are forced to go to drastic measures and resort to chemicals that kill all bugs in their yard. This can be especially destructive to our area's vulnerable honeybee population.

   St. Gabriel Labs distributes Milky Spore, which is one of the first lines of attack for home owners doing battle with an entrenched Japanese Beetle infestation. Milky Spore is a naturally occurring host specific bacterium. It is lethal to the white grubs of Japanese Beetles and does not harm other creatures or plants in your garden. With the spore you are targeting the beetles at their most vulnerable stage.

   Milky Spore is available at your local garden center and comes in two forms - powder for a one-time application or granular which is applied three times for two years in a row. Once applied the spore is guaranteed to kill the grubs and prevent Japanese Beetles for 10 years in your yard.

   That is great for getting rid of your infestation, but what if your surrounding neighbors are also infested and you've got beetles coming over from next door? McDonald says St. Gabriel offers a service that is popular with local home associations. They come out and apply Milky Spore to an entire townhouse community to insure a Japanese Beetle-free environment for all. It is usually paid for out of the association dues and has proved to be very popular recently.

    For more information on environmentally safe beetle combat, visit www.hgic.umd.edu/documents/hg78.pdf, www.milkyspore.com, or www.uky.edu/Agriculture/Entomology and do a site search for "Japanese Beetle."

 

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Kathy Jentz is editor of Washington Gardener magazine and is a long-time DC area gardening enthusiast. Washington Gardener is all about gardening where you live. She can be reached at www.washingtongardener.com and welcomes your gardening questions.

  

What To Do in Your Garden Now to Enjoy it More Later

 

By Kathy Jentz

 

This is the time of year we are just itching to get out and garden. Who wants to be stuck inside??!! You want to have a beautiful garden to spend the summer relaxing in, but have no idea where to start or prioritize. Like many folks in the region, time is usually the factor that you are most lacking. The key is to not be overwhelmed and to break your garden task list down to several small items.

    Here is a quick overview of several tasks that take just 15-30 minutes each and can be done right before or after work, leaving you with a weekend free to kick back and enjoy your hard work. Or you can take advantage of your energy and enthusiasm on weekends by tackling a few big projects like adding a water garden, creating bed border edging, terraces, or paths.

 

Garden Clean-Up

Just as a few minutes of quick picking-up indoors makes a room feel instantly better, just ten minutes or so of garden clean-up every night this upcoming week will make a big difference.

   Start by grabbing any fallen sticks, twigs, and limbs. Bundle them up for kindling or for street-side recycling pick-up. Grab a trash bag and toss in any garbage blown onto your lawn as well.

    Cut back spent tulip and daffodil blooms. Leave the foliage so that the bulbs can feed and create more energy to come back next year or even multiply for you. If the leaves really bother you, tidy them up by braiding them or twisting them up with a rubber band or twist-ties.

    Weed. Alright this is not the most fun of chores, but if broken down into 15-minute segments should be a bit more manageable. If a weed patch is totally out of control, consider using an herbicide such as Round-Up. Just be careful to read the instructions fully and to not apply any to your garden plants.

   Deadhead (i.e. pinch or snip off) spent blooms on your annuals and perennials to encourage re-flowering. Prune back forsythia, spirea, lilacs, azaleas, and other early spring blooming shrubs. Finally, pinch back mums, salvias, and other late season bloomers to encourage bushy, not leggy, growth.

 

Garden Maintenance

Feed your shrubs and perennial plantings with slow-release fertilizer such as Osmocote.  Fertilize azaleas and rhododendrons, if needed with Holly-tone.

    Check for disease and insect damage. Hose off aphids, white flies, or spider mites on your roses or other perennials. Look out for black spot on your roses and remove and discard any affected leaves in the trash, never put them back into your garden or in your compost. Apply a fungicide to your roses every two weeks during the growing season.

    Water newly planted additions to your garden. It is better to water once-a-week deeply than to water a little every day. Of course, if we have adequate rain fall you can skip this chore. Check hanging pots and containers daily for water needs.

   Be vigilant for mosquito breeding spots -- this means any standing water from a bottle-cap to blocked gutters -- and clean them out immediately. Ask your surrounding neighbors to do the same.

   Provide supports for fast-growing, tall perennials such as delphiniums, peonies, and lilies. Tie-up clematis and other fast-growing climbing vines to trellises, fencing, or wire.

 

Garden Planting

Pot up warm season annuals such as petunias and coleus in containers and hanging baskets to add color around your porch, deck, and entryways.

   Direct sow annual seeds to fill in bare spots in your garden. Good choices are sweet alyssum, cosmos, and forget-me-not.

   Divide crowded perennials and share them with friends. Hold a neighborhood plant exchange to trade for others' extra perennials to expand your garden variety.

    Give your summer garden a tropical look by planting dahlias, elephant ears, and cannas. Then move your houseplants outdoors for a summer vacation on your porch.

   Start a vegetable plot. Now is the time to sow squash, pumpkin, and melon seeds.

You can also plant seedlings (or direct-sow) sweet potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants.

 

Garden Enjoyment

Set up a sitting area in a cool, shady spot with a comfortable chair, side table, cushions, and reading materials. Add citronella candles to ward off mosquitoes and light in the early evening.

   Cut some flowers to enjoy inside and make a small arrangement for every room in your home. Don't forget to make a few arrangements for your outside rooms and sitting areas as well.

    Take some time to smell the roses and observe your hard work. Start a garden journal and note what worked and what didn't this year. Start dreaming big for next year.

 

Kathy Jentz is editor of Washington Gardener magazine and is a long-time DC area gardening enthusiast. Washington Gardener is all about gardening where you live. She can be reached at www.washingtongardener.com and welcomes your gardening questions.

 

Image via Wikipedia

Pick a

Pocketful

of Posies

 

By Kathy Jentz

 

A home full of fresh-cut flowers is a welcoming, warm place. When those flowers come from your very own garden it is even more rewarding. It is a joy each time you look at the blooms t in your own home or at your work place to know they came from your own labor of love. A hand-cut bouquet from your own garden is always the perfect gift. When you grow a cutting garden, you'll have plenty to gather for yourself and to share.

The cutting garden is simply a bed of flowers and foliage plants which the gardener has grown specifically to use in flower arrangements. Often situated at the backs of vegetable beds, along the sides of houses, and skirting fence lines, the cutting garden is a practical alternative to the age-old gardener dilemma of not wanting to cut your most beautiful blooms from your carefully landscaped gardens.

When designing a cutting garden, there is no need to worry about the overall looks of the growing beds as you will be using it for continual materials for your flower arrangements. Pick a site with full sun and good drainage. Cutting gardens can be started from seed, much as you would your vegetable garden, or you can use divisions from your perennial plants. You may also purchase an assortment of potted annuals to add to the mix.

Your cutting garden can be a place for experimenting with new plants and colors that you would not have otherwise chosen in your landscaped beds. A few tips to make yours a success include planting in wide rows for easy harvesting, deadheading regularly to promote flower (nor seed) production, and choosing a variety of early, mid, and late season flowers.

When making selections of plants for a cutting garden, the plant choices are almost endless. You may want to stick to those annuals and perennials that are long-stemmed, sturdy, and do well once severed from their host plant. Here is a list of suggested cutting garden flowers and foliage plants suitable for growing the greater Washington metropolitan area:

• Artemisia
• Asters
• Black-Eyed Susan
• Celosia/Cockscomb
• Cosmos
• Dianthus
• Echinacea/Coneflowers
• Gladiolus
• Goldenrod
• Lavender
• Liatris
• Lilies
• Lisianthus
• Mums
• Peony
• Sages/Salvias
• Shasta Daisy
• Sunflower
• Verbena bonariensis
• Yarrow
• Zinnia

Of course, you can always supplement your cutting garden arrangements with flowers, grasses, branches, and foliage cut from other plants in your gardens, but having a growing bed dedicated just for cutting purposes encourages you to use them more and to not worry about the old "to cut or not" debate.

 

Pick-Your-Own Cut Flower Farms

 

If you don't have the growing space, time, or inclination to grow a cutting garden of your own, you can visit a Pick-Your-Own flower farm. Blooms at pick-you-own flower patches are generally available in the DC-area from July to the first frost, though some open as early as May. Plan a trip this summer to any of the following area farms to gather bouquets full of zinnias, gladiolus, celosia, sunflowers, and much more.

 

Many area cut flower growers like Farmhouse Flowers & Plants in Brookeville, MD, sell their blooms at farmer's markets every weekend. You can also make an appointment to come and pick your own for large events such as weddings. Call first before your visit any cut flower farms to verify hours, what is in bloom, and availability.

 

Butler's Orchard
22200 Davis Mill Road

Germantown, MD

301-972-3299

www.butlersorchard.com

 

Field of Flowers
37879 Allder School Road
Purcellville, VA

540-328-7231

www.fields-of-flowers.com

 

Phillips Farm Produce

13710 Schaeffer Road

Germantown, MD

301-540-2364

www.phillipsfarmproduce.com

 

Rock Hill Orchard

28600 Ridge Road

Mount Airy, MD

301-831-7427

www.rockhillorchard.com

 

 

AUTHOR CREDIT:

 

Kathy is working her way through her own long garden to-do list including adding a new beds to grow more flowers from seed for cutting this year. She is the editor of Washington Gardener magazine (www.WashingtonGardener.com) and a long-time DC area gardening enthusiast. Kathy can be reached at  washingtongardener@rcn.com and welcomes your gardening questions.

 

# # #

 

 

 

 

By Kathy Jentz

 

What do area gardeners do in the bleakest months of the year? We hunker inside with our plant catalogs and seed-starting trays. We also do emerge from our cocoons to gather for many local garden events and conferences. From garden club meetings to seed exchanges, this is the time of year to brush up on our gardening knowledge. One of the most popular of these is Green Matters conference at the end of February each year hosted by Brookside Gardens in Wheaton, MD.

 

Past Green Matters have centered on stormwater management, native plants, and trees. This year's was the second in a three-year cycle on edible gardening. The 2011 conference was planned by Mark Richardson and he gave an opening talk on the increasing trends of using edibles in public gardens. Those ahead of the curve include the Brooklyn Botanic Garden and the Chicago Botanic Gardens. Both have integrated edibles into their public displays and education programs. Chicago has an outdoor kitchen with weekly chef demonstrations throughout the growing season. While Brooklyn has the oldest running children's garden program which includes after-school groups as well as plots set aside for local families to tend together.

 

The conference was a great networking event for professional horticulturalists as well as amateur home gardeners. Though the program was packed with interesting information, a few speakers stood out from the pack for me: Phil Normandy, Brookside Gardens staff; Jonathan Bloom, author of American Wasteland; and, Carla Hall of Top Chef fame.

 

Brookside's own plant collection manager Phil Normandy gave a short report on the first year of growing edibles at Brookside. Because most visitors to public gardens expect ornamentals with something always in bloom, growing edibles presents a problem as they are usually not very attractive plants themselves. Phil said they were able to incorporate beds of edibles and still look presentable to the public. One way they solved the problem was working in lots of companion flower and herb plantings with the vegetables. Purple basil and marigolds stay low and full while lending lots of color. Sweet potato vines spilled over the edges of the raised beds and covered a multitude of sins. Still, Phil said, there were inevitable periods of "negative space" as one crop ended and another was seeded.

 

What grew best for the edible garden beds at Brookside? Okra! Phil reported a bumper crop of 'Little Lucy' red dwarf okra. Another monster in the garden was Hyacinth Bean,  which quickly took over the arbor built for it to share with other vines. Other successes included cardoon, swiss chard, bok choy, and 'Ruby Perfection' cabbage.

 

Less than stellar results grew from eggplant, calendula, rape seed, and hanging planters of tomatoes. Most succumbed to insect pests and the unusually hot summer of 2010. Phil reports the gardeners tried to maintain the plants without pesticide use, but in certain cases, there would have been zero plant material had they not judiciously sprayed certain edibles.

 

Jonathan Bloom had the unenviable mission of speaking just before lunch. He held the attendees attention though by sharing research from his new book, American Wasteland. The book is all about the food not eaten in the United States. Food waste statistics are appalling and frankly disgusting. Much of our food waste happens before we even purchase it due to stores wanting to display perfect, unblemished fruit and to arbitrary "sell by" dates that have no legal basis. He ended by urging attendees to buy 25% less food each week since a quarter of our food goes to waste. He reasoned we can purchase and prepare meals more thoughtfully and still eat just as well.

 

Carla Hall, local caterer turned Top Chef superstar, also spoke on careful food preparation. Her mantra is "cooking from the heart." Carla believes that layering of flavors and deliberate, mindful cooking are the keys to enjoying eating and preparing meals. She urged folks not to cook with one eye on the television and the other planning tomorrow's work schedule. Carla dropped some advice gems such as dropping an herbal tea bag in the boiling water when preparing rice or other grains. Her energy was infectious and the audience left in high spirits, ready to use her cooking tips in their own home recipes.

About the author:

Kathy has streamlined her food buying habits after visiting Jonathan Bloom's wastedfood.com. She is editor of Washington Gardener magazine (www.WashingtonGardener.com) and a long-time DC area gardening enthusiast. Kathy can be reached at  washingtongardener@rcn.com and welcomes your gardening questions.

 

   Washington Gardener magazine, is the only gardening publication published specifically for the local metro area -- zones 6-7 -- Washington DC and its suburbs.

   The magazine is written entirely by local area gardeners. They have real-world knowledge and practical advice with the same problems you experience in your own gardens. They share their thoughts on what to plant in deep shade, how to cover bare spots, which annuals work best throughout the humid DC summers, and much more. If you are a DC area gardener, you'll love Washington Gardener magazine!

    The magazine is published four times per year with a cover price of $4.99. To subscribe to the magazine: Send a check/money order for $20.00 payable to "Washington Gardener" magazine to: Washington Gardener, 826 Philadelphia Ave., Silver Spring, MD 20910 OR to pay via Paypal/credit card click on the "subscribe" link at www.WashingtonGardener.com.

     Washington Gardener magazine also makes a great gift for the gardeners and new home owners in your life!

 

# # #

 

 

Shopping for Your Plants by Mail or Online

 

By Kathy Jentz

 

It is a new year according to the calendar and according to your mailbox. If you're like most gardeners you can tell it's the deep winter dormant season not by the chilly weather, but by the number of the mailorder garden catalogs flooding in right now.

I personally have received two or three catalogs per day since January 1. If you didn't get a wide selection of gardening catalogs this year, you can go online to request some be sent to you. A good jumping off point is: http://www.mailordergardening.com/ which has several hundred mailorder garden companies listed with their full contact information and broken down by plant categories.

What are the advantages of mailorder or online ordering? According to the Mailorder Gardening Association, they are:

• Greater selection of products
• The convenience of armchair shopping
• Best guarantees in the business
• Plants and products directly to your door

I especially like that last bullet point. Getting that box of new plants or seeds delivered to your door is like opening a gift to yourself. What a great present to come home to after a long day at the office! And no need to haul heavy plants home on the metro or bus.

One of the best things about getting mailorder garden catalogs or surfing their web sites is that you can do it from the warm comfort of your own home at any time. You are able to sit down and plot out your garden plan on paper before buying. You can dream big at this point and transport yourself to springtime with these luscious photos and detailed plant descriptions. 

 

"Garden catalogs let you take a mental vacation from the frigid days of winter, and they serve as helpful planning tools because they show you the newest plants and products for your garden," said Roberta Simpson-Dolbeare, president of the Mailorder Gardening Association (MGA), which sponsors National Mailorder Gardening Month. "Gardening catalogs and web sites are a great way to get a jumpstart on the gardening season. Many of them also provide helpful information for both new and long-time gardeners."

Just how popular are mailorder garden products? The MGA estimates that Americans spend $3.1 billion annually on mailorder plants, bulbs, seeds, garden tools and garden supplies. If you're planning to order from a mailorder gardening catalog or gardening website, you're in good company. More than 24.2 million American households are expected to place orders with mailorder garden catalogs and websites this year, spending an average of $128 per household.

When I settle in to peruse this year's catalog offerings, I like to have a large scratchpad, Post-its, and pens nearby to sketch out garden bed ideas and keep track of what I want from each catalog. Here are some additional mailorder gardening suggestions:

• Choose plants appropriate to the DC area. That means Zones 6-7. Luckily for us, that is still a very broad range of plants. Most of what we cannot have in this area or tropicals -- which if you must have a specimen you can attempt as a summer annual or try to keep in a heated greenhouse.
• Check out the helpful glossary of terms often included and read the descriptions carefully. If you don't know what an "indeterminate" tomato vine is, pick up the phone or go online and ask. Most garden catalogs have a very helpful, knowledgeable staff in their customer service departments.
• Order early to avoid "sold out" notices. I'm still depressed over that corkscrew vine I wanted so badly last year. This time, I've learned my lesson! Although procrastination does have a few benefits. If you buy online and sign-up for a company's mail list, in late Spring you'll often be sent sale and clearance price offers on overstocked items. These are great for filling in where a perennial has not come back or a new plant has just not flourished as you'd hoped.
• Keep careful records of what you've ordered and where you intend to place them in your garden. This will help you immensely in unpacking your plants several months from now. This also avoids the "now where do I put this?" syndrome, as you stand mid-garden with new plant in hand.

When I do my actual ordering, it is online. That way I get a receipt in my email box, print it out, and can make notes on that as well.

Two extremely helpful online sites to visit before you place your orders are:

• Dave's Garden: The Garden Watchdog (http://davesgarden.com/gwd/)
  This site has contact information for hundreds of mailorder gardening companies and reviews from fellow gardeners who have used these companies.
• Garden Web: Sources Forum (http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/sources/)
  This site allows you to search on posts from other gardeners or to post your own query. Many use it to look for a specific plant source or to ask about a catalog they've never ordered from before for other's opinions and experiences.

About the author:

 

Kathy's stack of garden catalog is awaiting the next snow day for her chance to sit down with a cup of cocoa in front of the fireplace to peruse them all. She is editor of Washington Gardener magazine (www.WashingtonGardener.com) and a long-time DC area gardening enthusiast. Kathy can be reached at  washingtongardener@rcn.com and welcomes your gardening questions.

 

   Washington Gardener magazine, is the only gardening publication published specifically for the local metro area -- zones 6-7 -- Washington DC and its suburbs.

   The magazine is written entirely by local area gardeners. They have real-world knowledge and practical advice with the same problems you experience in your own gardens. They share their thoughts on what to plant in deep shade, how to cover bare spots, which annuals work best throughout the humid DC summers, and much more. If you are a DC area gardener, you'll love Washington Gardener magazine!

    The magazine is published four times per year with a cover price of $4.99. To subscribe to the magazine: Send a check/money order for $20.00 payable to "Washington Gardener" magazine to: Washington Gardener, 826 Philadelphia Ave., Silver Spring, MD 20910 OR to pay via Paypal/credit card click on the "subscribe" link at www.WashingtonGardener.com.

     Washington Gardener magazine also makes a great gift for the gardeners and new home owners in your life!

 

# # #

 

Prime Time for Pruning

By Kathy Jentz

Just because all the leaves are now raked up and composted does not mean your tree care duties are done for the year. Trees need attention especially in mid-winter as this is actually the perfect opportunity to prune them.

According to the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA), a nonprofit organization supporting tree care research and education around the world, "Trees are dormant in the winter, making pruning easier because you can better see a tree's structure when no leaves are on the branches. Without leaves it is easier to spot dead or broken branches that need to be removed in order to help avoid breakage resulting from harsh winter weather."

Understanding of basic tree biology, sharp tools, and an artful eye are essential in deciding what and where to prune your trees. The certified arborists at the ISA suggest a few simple principles to understand before you start to prune: 

~ Prune with a purpose: Remove dead or diseased wood, provide clearance, or improve
structure.
~ Use proper technique: Improper cuts can cause long-term damage. 

~ Make small cuts: Creates less damage to the tree than large cuts. 

~ Make cuts just outside the branch collar: Allows for faster wound closer.
~ Do not leave stubs.
~ Only use sharp and clean tools.

Lew Bloch, a registered consulting arborist in the greater DC area, echoes that advice. "Never cut more than 25 percent of a tree at anyone time," says Bloch. "And don't prune a tree unless it needs it. Have a reason for doing so before you start."

 

"The biggest no-no in pruning is topping large shade such as oaks, maples, and ashes," chides Bloch. "People always seem to think that by topping the trees it will make them safer and it will actually make them more dangerous. Not only is it ugly, but the tree is more susceptible to insects, diseases, and sun-scald."

 

According to Bloch, every big cut sends out a bunch of sprouts and suckers that are weakly attached and will eventually break of in 10-20 years. Sucker growth promotes heavy foliage growth which makes the tree more likely to blow over in a storm. "You should be pruning trees to thin then for their health," recommends Bloch.

"Proper pruning is an important part of tree health maintenance," according
to Jim Skiera, Executive Director of the ISA. "Every tree is different. Pruning
at the wrong time, pruning incorrectly, or pruning too much may create more problems
than not pruning at all," says Skiera. When in doubt it is best to hire a professional
arborist to do the pruning for you.

If pruning a tree cannot be done without using power equipment or leaving the
ground, then it should be done by a certified arborist. Pruning of large
trees can be dangerous and should be performed by a professional. Bloch adds, "Hire a certified arborist who is insured and in Maryland they must be licensed as well." (Virginia and DC do not have a licensing requirement.) For more tips on how to prune trees or to find a local certified arborist, visit www.treesaregood.com.

Another great tree information resource is Casey Trees. They are a local nonprofit that works to restore, enhance and protect the tree canopy of the nation's capital by collaborating with residents, neighborhood organizations and agencies. Casey Trees (on the web at www.caseytrees.org) also works to ensure that policy makers include trees and green infrastructure as integral elements of community planning and development.

AUTHOR CREDIT:

 

Kathy Jentz is Editor of Washington Gardener Magazine. This winter she is forcing two dozen apricot tulips as holiday gifts for friends --- sh! 

   Washington Gardener magazine, is the only gardening publication published specifically for the local metro area -- zones 6-7 -- Washington DC and its suburbs.

   The magazine is written entirely by local area gardeners. They have real-world knowledge and practical advice with the same problems you experience in your own gardens. They share their thoughts on what to plant in deep shade, how to cover bare spots, which annuals work best throughout the humid DC summers, and much more. If you are a DC area gardener, you'll love Washington Gardener magazine!

    The magazine is published four times per year with a cover price of $4.99. To subscribe to the magazine: Send a check/money order for $20.00 payable to "Washington Gardener" magazine to: Washington Gardener, 826 Philadelphia Ave., Silver Spring, MD 20910 OR to pay via Paypal/credit card click on the "subscribe" link at www.WashingtonGardener.com.

     Washington Gardener magazine also makes a great gift for the gardeners and new home owners in your life!

 

# # #

 

Photos all are (C) Kathy Jentz, Washington Gardener Magazine.

 

How to Get Spring Blooms in the Dead of Winter

 

By Kathy Jentz

 

Didn't get all your bulbs planted before the ground froze? Don't discard them! Instead pot them up for indoor forcing and enjoy an early springtime in the depths of winter.

   If you were a good little gardener and got all your bulbs in the ground on time, there are still a few bulbs hanging around unsold at local area garden centers and on major markdown sales on the web and through mail order, snap them up now at these bargain basement prices and consider yourself a savvy customer. Next year, when you place your bulb orders, add a few extra to your quantities to set aside specifically for forcing.

    Never forced bulbs before? Nothing to it. Here are the basics and a few extra tips I've learned from past experiments:

 

1. Bulb Selection. You don't need to buy any specific variety or kinds. You can just select a few bulbs from those that you would buy for outside plantings. After they are done livening up your winter home, you can plant them outside after the last frost so that they will return annually with your other bulbs. One note of caution, indoor bulbs can sometimes give off potent smells. Some people love them, some don't -- paperwhites and hyacinth are especially notoriously in the love/hate category. Experiment a bit, and you'll soon learn which scents are to your tastes and which are just too overpowering for inside your home.

 

2. Timing. Keep in mind that bulbs bloom within three-four weeks of removal from cold storage, which lasts about 12-16 weeks. So if you want blooms for a specific occasion, you need to work about 16-20 weeks in advance for planting time.

 

3. Bulb Planting. Regular bulbs should be planted in soil, but at a shallower depth than you would outside. The top of the bulb should be even with the soil line and have about 2" of soil below for root development. The container should have drainage holes. Because it will be inside your house and no one likes a leaky mess on their furniture, I recommended lining the bottom of the pot with scrap landscape fabric and placing the pot on a good-sized saucer filled with a layer pebbles. Place the bulbs pointy side up and with the "flat" side towards the outside of the pot and as tight together as you like. Crowding them actually makes a nicer visual effect than spacing them far apart. Tight quarters also helps the foliage from growing out too much and flopping over. Water the newly planted bulbs well. Place the pots in plastic newspaper sleeves to maintain a moist environment.

 

4. Cold Storage/Removal for Flowering. Place the potted-up bulbs in cold storage for about 12 weeks. Cold storage should be roughly 40-50 degrees and without light. Storage areas might include your basement, garage, or the crisper drawer in your refrigerator. Different bulbs have different cold cycle times but most are between 12-16 weeks. (Tulips need the most time at a full 16 weeks.) Mark your calendars so that you don't forget about them. When you first remove them from storage, place them in indirect light and away from a heat source to prevent "legginess." After two weeks, when they have sprouted and are several inches high, move them to a sunny, warm window. Once a flowerhead or bud starts to develop, you can then move it to your desired location with indirect sunlight to prolong the bloom life. Keep them watered regularly as soon as you remove them from cold storage. Enjoy!

 

Author:

 

Kathy Jentz is Editor of Washington Gardener Magazine. This winter she is forcing two dozen apricot tulips as holiday gifts for friends --- sh! 

   Washington Gardener magazine, is the only gardening publication published specifically for the local metro area -- zones 6-7 -- Washington DC and its suburbs.

   The magazine is written entirely by local area gardeners. They have real-world knowledge and practical advice with the same problems you experience in your own gardens. They share their thoughts on what to plant in deep shade, how to cover bare spots, which annuals work best throughout the humid DC summers, and much more. If you are a DC area gardener, you'll love Washington Gardener magazine!

    The magazine is published four times per year with a cover price of $4.99. To subscribe to the magazine: Send a check/money order for $20.00 payable to "Washington Gardener" magazine to: Washington Gardener, 826 Philadelphia Ave., Silver Spring, MD 20910 OR to pay via Paypal/credit card click on the "subscribe" link at www.WashingtonGardener.com.

     Washington Gardener magazine also makes a great gift for the gardeners and new home owners in your life!

  

Take a Closer Look at this Versatile Grass

  

By Kathy Jentz

 

Those cute National Zoo pandas' favorite treat is also one of the most versatile and useful plants in the garden. Bamboo is underused in the Washington metropolitan area and is saddled with a bad reputation. It deserves a second look and a more accurate understanding of its better qualities.

 

Nancy Moore Bess author of Bamboo in Japan remarks, "It is the ugly word invasive that gives bamboo a bad rap. I have given lectures during which people have interrupted and announced that all bamboo is invasive and bad. Some people will not let go of misinformation. Some authors perpetuate that misinformation."

 

"Site placement is a key element when thinking about bamboo (or any potentially invasive plant)," cautions Bess. "On our property I have planted an aggressive running bamboo, Phyllostachys aureosulcata, in several places. By the road and along my Goshen stone path, I have placed no barriers. When this variety shoots in the spring, I take out my coffee and shovel and edge the bamboo beds. That is it for the year! Another bamboo bed borders my neighbor's property. For that site, I had a backhoe dig a pit which I lined with professional root barrier, backfilled the hole, and planted my bamboo."

 

Susanne Lucas of Bamboo Select (www.bambooselect.us) recommends the bamboo Fargesia Rufa 'Green Panda' and Fargesia Robusta 'Green Screen' to the Mid-Atlantic home gardener. "If you don't want to deal with the responsibility of planting running bamboos, consider these clumping bamboos - they are just like other tall ornamental grasses, but are evergreen," says Lucas.

 

Some who condemn bamboo are surprised to learn there are native species of the grass that are highly coveted by collectors. The Giant cane bamboo (Arundinaria gigantea) is hard to establish and propagate for home gardeners because it likes wet ground. They once covered wide, impenetrable streambed corridors across the Eastern US. They are still naturally found along stream and other damp, swampy areas.

 

For those truly worried about root spread or who have a limited planting space, bamboos are perfectly adaptable to containers. They will need to be divided every few years when they outgrow their pots, but otherwise are extremely low maintenance.

 

Bamboo comes in colors ranging from pale yellow to jet black and in sizes from just a few inches tall to several yards high. There is a bamboo for each need and situation. Bamboo is also easily combined and contrasted with various other plants. Lucas recommends planting it with, "hosta, ligularia, hydrangea, rhododendron, almost anything!" While Bess recommends combinations with Carex (sedges) and tall ornamental grasses.

 

Wolfgang Oehme, legendary local landscape architect, has used bamboo in his installation and his own home gardens since the 1960s. "It is useful for both screening and as a specimen focal point planting in the landscape," says Oehme.

 

"Bamboo has a lot of other great features too," Oehme explains. "It is evergreen and absorbs carbon dioxide even in the wintertime - while evergreens and other plants do not, so it is a great help in fighting global warming."

 

Bamboo is a wonderful raw materials resource and is being used in making clothing, flooring, paper, and much more. Dave Flanagan of Bamboo Fencer, Inc. (www.bamboofencer.com) says, "I make things of bamboo, many of which are of considerable interest to the gardener -- plant stakes, limb props, path definers, fences, gates, gateways, baskets, sculpture, firewood, charcoal, walking sticks, flower containers, water fountains, screens for air conditioner condensers, and pool equipment are just a few uses."

 

Flanagan continues, "Some good species grow well in the Virginia and Maryland area with diameters that are large enough to do sizable projects.  These include Phyllostachys aurea, flexuosa, nigra 'Henon', nuda, and congesta to mention a few. The key to success is not the species, it is the age of the culm when cut. Never ever cut one for structural use that is less than three years old. I am interested in taking the pressure off of hardwoods that are being logged to extinction in many cases. Bamboo is totally renewable, very attractive in its own way, very strong, and with some skill and techniques can be made into very long lasting useful and beautiful products."

 

If you find yourself falling in love with bamboo and its many possibilities in your garden, you may want to join like-minded folks at the American Bamboo Society (www.americanbamboo.org).  Their mission is to share information on the use, care, propagation, and beauty of bamboo.

 

For further information, the following sources are highly regarded by bamboo enthusiasts: Bamboo for Gardens by Ted Meredith (Timber Press),  The Journal of Japanese Gardening (www.rothteien.com),  and Bamboo in Japan by Nancy Moore Bess.

 

PHOTO CAPTION:

 

Yes, bamboo comes in many colors, but this adventurous paint treatment of Phyllostachys dulcis by Nancy Valk in the home garden of Paul Babikow is not found in nature. Babikow is a well-known wholesale plant seller located just outside of Baltimore, MD.

   Photo taken by Kathy Jentz at the recent spring meeting of the Northeast Chapter of the American Bamboo Society.

 

AUTHOR CREDIT:

 

Kathy Jentz is editor of Washington Gardener magazine and is a long-time DC area gardening enthusiast. Washington Gardener magazine, is the only gardening publication published specifically for the local metro area -- zones 6-7 -- Washington DC and its suburbs.

   The magazine is written entirely by local area gardeners. They have real-world knowledge and practical advice with the same problems you experience in your own gardens. They share their thoughts on what to plant in deep shade, how to cover bare spots, which annuals work best throughout the humid DC summers, and much more. If you are a DC area gardener, you'll love Washington Gardener magazine!

    The magazine is published four times per year with a cover price of $4.99. To subscribe to the magazine: Send a check/money order for $20.00 payable to "Washington Gardener" magazine to: Washington Gardener, 826 Philadelphia Ave., Silver Spring, MD 20910 OR to pay via Paypal/credit card click on the "subscribe" link at www.WashingtonGardener.com.

     Washington Gardener magazine also makes a great gift for the gardeners and new home owners in your life!

 

 

By Kathy Jentz

 

Autumn is harvest time in the garden and not just for your fruits vegetables. It is also time to start collecting your plant's seeds. Many of your annual and perennial flowers are setting seed-heads and are about to burst open. Catch some of them before they do and you've got a head start on your garden for next year.

 

Why go to the bother of collecting all those tiny seeds? The first reason is thriftiness. No need for anything in your garden to go to waste. Compost, recycle, and re-use. The second reason is frugality. Why buy new plants every year when you can grow your own for free? Even further, why buy unproven plants or seeds when you know the ones you are collecting from did well and obviously flourished in your yard.

 

Another reason to collect seeds is to ensure the propagation of heirloom varieties and rare, native plants that are not available through other means. Commercial growers and catalogs will often only carry the most popular plants and seeds. By collecting seeds from particular flowers and edibles, you are safe-guarding the future of these species. You are guaranteeing we will have a wide variety of genetic diversity in our future and not just the current "top growers."

 

The final reason to collect seeds is to trade them. You may have 100s of Cleome seeds and another gardener has 100s of Poppy seeds. Why not trade a few hundred with each other? Again, you are getting new plants for free or close to it. Seed trading is a whole world unto itself. There are online groups, pen pal lists, and clubs for seed swapping.

 

This January, DC area gardeners will have the opportunity to meet up and swap seeds in person. Washington Gardener magazine is holdings its 6th Annual Seed Exchange on Saturday, January 29, 2011 from 12:30 - 4:00 p.m. at Brookside Gardens in Wheaton, MD. The Seed Exchange will include seed swapping, door prizes, planting tips, and gardening workshops by local garden experts. Details will be online soon at www.WashingtonGardener.com

 

Seed collecting is easy. Just wait until the end of the growing season when your current flowers form seedpods. Check on them every few days. They are ready when the pods are dry, brittle, and just ready to open. Don't wait too late or they'll break open on their own and cast their seeds to the wind. Pick a day with little breeze and no rain. Go out in mid-morning, after the sun has dried out the air and dewdrops from the leaves. Take a piece of paper and put it under the seed heads then shake them gently. Be sure the seeds are thoroughly dry before you put them in tightly closed jars or zipper-closed baggies. Label them right away and store them in a cool, dark, and dry place.

 

That last step is the most important. Label them with the date and variety. Be specific as possible. Next spring you'll be very glad you did - as many seeds look alike. The date is important as you will want to use up your seeds the next growing season or two.

 

A side note on seed collecting: not all plants can be propagated from seed. Many plants that you buy are hybrids or sterile. If you have hybrid flowers and vegetables, they mayl produce seeds. However, the seeds will often not produce offspring that is "true" to the parent plants. In other words, the seeds from hybrids are often a different variety than the plant you originally purchased and they are often inferior in quality.

 

A simple way to get started is to collect seeds from your common annual flowers that open-pollinate: zinnias, marigolds, forget-me-nots, four-o-clocks, cosmos, cleome, and sunflowers. Then, as your gardening skills grow, move on to perennials and biennials.

 

So take a few minutes this harvest season to collect those plant seeds and you'll be all set next spring for a bountiful crop of new blooms.

 

 

Kathy is saving seeds this weekend from her hollyhocks which came to her garden from her grandmother's seed collecting. Kathy Jentz is Editor of Washington Gardener Magazine. Washington Gardener magazine, is the only gardening publication published specifically for the local metro area -- zones 6-7 -- Washington DC and its suburbs.

   The magazine is written entirely by local area gardeners. They have real-world knowledge and practical advice with the same problems you experience in your own gardens. They share their thoughts on what to plant in deep shade, how to cover bare spots, which annuals work best throughout the humid DC summers, and much more. If you are a DC area gardener, you'll love Washington Gardener Magazine!

    The magazine is published four times per year with a cover price of $4.99. To subscribe to the magazine: Send a check/money order for $20.00 payable to "Washington Gardener" magazine to: Washington Gardener, 826 Philadelphia Ave., Silver Spring, MD 20910 OR to pay via Paypal/credit card click on the "subscribe" link at www.WashingtonGardener.com.

     Washington Gardener Magazine also makes a great gift for the gardeners and new home owners in your life!

 

 

Nature's AC

Those two weeks in June when we hit record high temperatures, were you feeling. "Hot Hot Hot" as Buster Poindexter sings? Walking around our local neighborhoods during that scorching month, I notice an odd phenomenon.

Some streets are shady and cool, but others were as exposed and baking as Death Valley. What gives? Why are some yards full of healthy trees while others on the same block practically denuded of any plant life?

I started to think about those inside their homes cocooned in their air-conditioned world, oblivious to what those passing by their homes were dealing with on the naked sidewalks. I looked at their dark, asphalt shingle roofs absorbing all the rays of the sun with no trees or shrubs to filter and buffer the home. I bet they are not looking forward to receiving their next energy bill!