October 2010

Planters Punchlines
Men's Garden Club of Wethersfield
October 2010

Next Meeting - Monday October 25th @ 7:00 p.m.

Speaker T/B/A Mark Your Calendar: Holiday Party on Monday December 6th

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Compostable Matter
By Jim Meehan

Before Marsha and I vacationed in North Carolina I thought that "night gardening" was a tongue-in-cheek euphemism for sexual hanky-panky, like "watching the submarine races". Or, if it were really a horticultural activity, that it was something plantsman with overly demanding first shift jobs were forced to do by flashlight during those dark hours between dusk and dawn.

It is neither.

This September we rented a condominium at Emerald Isle -- a barrier island south of the Outer banks. Every morning at around 7:30 a.m., with the sun barely up, we walked over to an adjacent convenience market to get the daily newspaper. The grounds of the condo are landscaped with a mixture of southern perennials and annuals between the units, and a combination of prickly pear cactus and white trumpet-shaped flowers on squash-like vines along the sides of the driving area.

A few evenings into our getaway I noticed that these large white flowers were still wide-open, well after dark. Then, one day around 10:00 a.m., I noticed that they were completely closed up.

Marsha, who had observed all of this strange plant behavior days before, opined that they looked to be a form of Datura -- a shrubby annual plant that we had previously seen in New Mexico (along with the prickly pear cactus). It contains toxic or narcotic alkaloids and is used as a hallucinogen by some American Indian peoples.

The Carolina species was the dusk to dawn version of the plant -- sort of a "Deadly Nightshift".

When I got home I typed "white trumpet night flower" into Google.

"The Datura, or bush moon plant has six-inch or larger white trumpet flowers that open at night and remain open well into the following day."
(http://www.arhomeandgarden.org/landscaping/SpecGardening/night_gardening.htm)

Datura, it turns out, are a favorite of the "Night Gardening" movement -- the use of plants that either bloom exclusively at night, or are open during the day but do not release their scent until evening.

Meghan Ray explains it this way on mastergardenproducts.com.

"Since evening is such a popular time to be in the garden, it is worthwhile to ensure that the garden will be a special place at that time. As dusk comes on, however, the blues and purples that looked so interesting during the day become muddy. Vivid red accents on flowers, along with the greens of most foliage, now turn to shades of gray. What can we do?

"Buying fancy floodlights might help. But another solution is to carefully select plants for flowers and foliage that stand out in the half-light of dusk. This is the time of day when whites take on a luminous glow and pale yellows and pinks shimmer as they never do in bright sunshine.

"Patterned flowers and variegated foliage are also more visible in the evening, contributing subtle interest and texture. Some plants, scentless by day, wait until nightfall to release their perfumes into the air.

"Selecting plants with these qualities can make a garden come alive at night. It is not difficult to transform the night garden from something dull and gray into a haven of exotic perfumes and ghostly flowers. Add a few evening divas or fill the garden with them. Either way, the night garden will invite us in."

Her list of suggested plants include yellow hollyhock, Japanese anemone, Coreopsis "Moonbeam", and evening primrose - as well as the trip inducing/potentially fatal Datura (aka angel's trumpet).

Sounds like a plan to me.

Unfortunately "If you live in zone 9, these [Datura] are long-lived perennials, but if you are in zone 8 or lower and the roots should freeze, they will die. The best thing to do is over winter them in a sunny window or prune them back and store them in a cool, dark place such as a basement."

Wethersfield is in zone 5. However I found at least two sources that say they grow the plant as an annual in the northeast -- one of whom claims that Datura seeds that drop onto the ground (they are self-seeding) do not freeze over the winter and will in fact germinate in the subsequent spring.

Like all such fallen kernels, the Datura droppings will invariably become a part of the daily diet for any nearby squirrels. Neither grower commented on the side effects to these rapacious rodents. The cultural anthropologist Carlos Castaneda, who personally explored the mystical properties of Datura under the guidance of Yaqui Indian mystic Don Juan in the 1960's (when else?), contended that he was able to change into a crow and fly while under its influence.

I don't know about the squirrels at your house, but the ones at mine can already do that (and much, much more) on a simple diet of sunflower seeds. One can only imagine the feats these acrobatic plunderers would perform if they were totally stoned.

Still it might be worth it.

After all, what could be more rewarding to the hardcore horticulturalist than sitting in the midst of their narco victory garden all through the night, and blankly staring at the bristly round seedpod of a single Angel's trumpet blossom? And staring. And staring. And staring.

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Here is the complete list of suggested night garden plants from the above referenced mastergardenproducts.com article.

1. Alcea rugosa (yellow hollyhock)
2. Anemone x hybrida 'Whirlybirds' (Japanese anemone)
3. Brugmansia x candida (angel's trumpet)
4. Carex muskingumensis 'Ice Fountains' (palm sedge)
5. Coreopsis 'Moonbeam'
6. Cosmos bipinnatus 'Daydream'
7. Eremurus x Ruiter's hybrids (foxtail lily)
8. Euphorbia marginata (snow-on-the-mountain)
9. Ipomoea alba (moonflower)
10. Lavandula angustifolia 'Hidcote' (lavender)
11. Lobularia maritima 'Pastel Carpet' (sweet alyssum)
12. Matthiola longipetala (evening scented stock)
13. Mirabilis jalapa 'Broken Colors' (four-o'-clock)
14. Nicotiana x sanderae (flowering tobacco)
15. Oenothera biennis (evening primrose)
16. Osmanthus heterophyllus 'Gulftide' (holly osmanthus)
17. Passiflora caerulea (passion flower)
18. Petunia 'Tidal Wave Silver'
19. Salvia argentea (silver sage)

Letters to the Editor

Last month's Planters Punchlines posed question - How much rain can I expect to collect in my rain barrel? Club member Stan Jakubaitis took on the challenge.

Given: 2,000 sq.feet with 1 inch of rainfall. Determine the gallons of rain water.
Since one gallon contains 231 cubic inches, the solution requires determining the total cubic inches of rainfall, and then dividing by 231.

2,000 ft sq x (144 in sq/ ft sq) x 1 inch x (1 gal/231 in cubed) = 1247 gallons

Horti-Culture Corner
An October Garden (Excerpt)
by Christina Georgina Rossetti

Broad-faced asters by my garden walk,
You are but coarse compared with roses:
More choice, more dear that rosebud which uncloses
Faint-scented, pinched, upon its stalk,
That least and last which cold winds balk;
A rose it is though least and last of all,
A rose to me though at the fall.

Halloween Themed Garden Plants --
Annuals, Perennials, Trees and Shrubs for October
Angela England (suite101.com)

Spooks, magic, ghouls, and black cats. October's All Hallow's Eve can be fun to celebrate in the garden with these Halloween named plants. All of these plants have Halloween themed names that can bring a bit of frightful fun into any garden!

Acer palmatum 'Purple Ghost', 'Red Spider', 'Bloodgood' and 'Sister Ghost' - Zones 5-8. These Japanese maples all have unusual names that are more than suitable for a Halloween themed garden. As an added bonus, all Japanese maples have brilliant fall color.

Aralia (Fatsia japonica) 'Spider's Web' - Zones 6-9. This fall-blooming plant is a large shrub or can be pruned into a small tree and has unique variegated foliage all season.

Blanket Flower (Gaillardia) 'Kobold (Goblin)' and 'Gold Goblin' - 'Goblin' and 'Gold Goblin' are both long-blooming perennial plants with bright flowers and drought tolerance.

Canna 'Lucifer' - A dwarf canna only 3-4' tall with bright red-orange flowers that contrast contrast against the broad green leaves.

Dianthus 'Bewitched' - Zones 3-8. A low-growing dianthus great for edging and containers, this dianthus has fringed, pink flowers with bright purple-red centers.

Eggplant 'Casper' - An unusual variety of eggplant, this plant produces fruit that is pale white instead of bright purple.

Elderberry (Sambucus nigra) 'Witches Broom' - Zones 5-8. A great year-round shrub with ornamental winter berries, 'Witches Broom' features a dwarf stature of only 8" perfect for small borders.

Firethorn (Pyracantha angustifolia) 'Gnome' - Zones 5-9. Firethorn is a compact, deciduous shrub bright orange winter berries.

Geranium 'Tiny Monster' - Zone 4-8. Despite the name, this cranesbill isn't horrific in anyway, but the prolific pink flowers with magenta veining are beautiful additions to any garden.

Hosta 'Red October' - This hosta has medium green, lance-shaped leaves with bright red stems.

Hyssop (Agastache) 'Black Adder' - Zone 6-9. Dark purple flowers all summer and into fall are a favorite of butterflies.

Japanese Bitter Orange (Poncirus trifoliata) 'Flying Dragon' - Hardy to zone 5. Twisted branches and spiny stems make this ornamental tree an unusual addition to the Halloween themed garden and provide a unique winter silhouette.

Japanese Painted Fern (Athyrium nipponicum) 'Ghost' and 'Ursula's Red' - Zones 3-8. Great for part to deep shade with consistantly moist soil. Japanese ferns naturalize well.

Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) 'Graves' - Zones 5-11. The 'Graves' lavender makes a nice addition for a Halloween themed garden because of its name, but makes a great plant for any bed or border because the flowers of this herb are lighter purple than other lavender cultivars.

Oriental Lily (Lilium) 'Alchemy' - This trumpet lily is perfect for brewing up a Halloween themed garden with its large, creamy-orange colored flowers.

Pumpkin 'Casper' - Another white fruiting plant for the garden, this pumpkin has huge white pumpkins that are perfect for the Halloween themed garden!

Rosa 'Banshee' - An old garden rose with fabulous scented pink flowers. Some sports of this rose are prone to balling, but others bloom in a single fabulous flush each spring.

Heath, Spring Heath (Erica darleyen) 'Ghost Hills' - Light silvery-green foliage with cream-colored tipped foliage in the spring.

Tiarella 'Crow Feather', 'Skeleton Key' and 'Jeepers Creepers' - Zones 4-9. 'Crow Feather' has bright green foliage with dark red, almost black markings along the viens that resemble feathers.

'Jeepers Creepers' has bold winter foliage contrast with green, orange or reddish colored leaves and 'Skeleton Key', while less colorful, has fine cut foliage that is unusual for tiarella plants.

Creating a Halloween Garden
By Johann Erickson (buzzle.com)

Halloween is a fun time for kids and adults alike. If you want to create a Halloween garden that tends to be a little macabre, consider creating a Gothic garden.

Instantly transform your current garden into a Gothic garden by adding a few accessories, such as a moon dial and gargoyles. Place a few concrete urns along a garden path or driveway and create a gate by using a panel of wrought iron. Spooky metal-ware can be purchased at garden centers and novelty stores, as can screaming masks that appear to drip blood and CDs of ghostly voices. Use these things to create a chilling effect near your door. Add a resin coffin and a few tombstones to turn your garden into a graveyard.

Creepy creatures are a must for a Halloween Gothic garden. The perfect spooky creatures are bats. They will send chills up the spines of your visitors and they should be welcome in all gardens because they eat beneficial insects. In order to attract bats to our garden, grow plants that will attract night-flying insects. Remember to provide a roosting area for bats. You can make your own bat roost, or purchase one at your local garden center or online. Search the Internet for plans to make your own bat house. If you live in the South, don't prune cabbage palm. These make great roosts for bats.

Plants to grow to attract night-flying insects that bats will enjoy include cornflower, phlox, salvia, silene, spearmint and stock.

Toads love slugs and they will give your garden a warty appearance. Provide a water source where toads can lay eggs and raise their young. Also provide a toad house for shelter. A loose stack of rocks in a moist area is sufficient or prop an old flowerpot up on a rock or stick. Having toads in the garden is said to bring the homeowner good luck.

Your Gothic garden wouldn't be complete without a few resident spiders. These creatures are a great source of pest control. When you find them in your garden, leave them be. Don't kill them. Spider webs lend a spooky effect and are perfect for the Gothic garden.

Praying mantis is welcome in a Gothic garden. They are strictly carnivorous and will eat non-beneficial insects. Some garden centers and nurseries sell praying mantis eggs. Attach the egg cases to twigs and branches that are approximately one foot above the ground. It will take the eggs about eight weeks to hatch in warm weather. Each praying mantis egg case will produce about 200 insects, so you won't need many.

Snakes can be both a blessing and a deterrent. They consume rodents, which are good, but they also eat frogs and toads. Be sure any snake that takes up residence in your garden is of the non-poisonous variety. To attract snakes to your garden provide a rock, wood or rubble pile. It won't be long until at least one takes up residence.

Dragonflies are beautiful creatures. They cannot hurt humans, but they are frightening to some people. Dragonflies are beneficial insects that feed on mosquitoes. They also bring color to a garden. Attract dragonflies to your property by establishing a moving source of water. This could be as simple as installing a portable fountain. Place stakes in the yard so dragonflies will have a perch where they can rest. Remember, bug zappers will kill dragonflies and other beneficial insects, as will pesticides.

At one time ladybugs were considered to be both holy and magical creatures. People today associate ladybugs with good luck. They love to feast on aphids and other non-beneficial insects.
Like praying mantis, ladybugs can be purchased at garden centers and nurseries. They can be stored in the refrigerator when they aren't needed and released at any time. Ladybugs are always thirsty, so mist the garden with a fine spray before releasing them in the early evening.

Once you have completed your Gothic garden, you will see the dramatic impact that the accessories and creatures will make on your visitors. Your Halloween Gothic garden will be the talk of the neighborhood and people will flock to your yard to experience some real thrills and chills. Happy Halloween!

9 Garden Myths Demystified
Don't let these classic superstitions waste your time or harm your plants
by John C. Fech

I learned that you shouldn't believe every bit of gardening advice you hear in graduate school, thanks to my statistics professor, Walter Stroup, who loved to wear his "Walter Beer" hat during class. This weird-looking derby made from yarn and beer cans was a gift from one of his former students. During the first class, Stroup explained he always wore his Walter Beer hat when he fertilized his plants and wearing it was what caused them to grow so well. The purpose of his anecdote, I realized, was to impress upon his students the importance of questioning every claim and bit of advice.

We have all followed someone's gardening advice without knowing if it was based on sound information. As you maintain your garden, consider if your techniques are simply ideas passed down through the ages or smart practices based on solid science. Here are a few of my favorite myths and the truths we should all embrace.

Myth: If a plant is under stress, it should be fed
Truth: Fertilizing plants that are not nutrient deficient can lead to additional stress. Fertilizer is added to plants growing in poor soils and to plants that show symptoms of lacking a particular nutrient. Generally, when a plant is stressed, it's not from lack of food. Compacted soil, heat, salt spray, faulty planting, and improper placement are usually the culprits that stress plants. It is important to rule out other environmental conditions before deciding a plant is underfertilized.

When fed, stressed plants use up energy that is better spent on growing roots, walling off decay organisms, or defending against insects.

Myth: Cover newly pruned areas with varnish, tar, or paint
Truth: There really isn't a way to keep fungal organisms out of a new cut. In about half of the situations where these wound dressings are used, the tree's heartwood decays faster than it would have without the topical application. The paint or tar holds moisture near the new wound, which, unfortunately, helps the various fungal decay organisms grow. Instead, simply make a clean cut just outside the branch collar and leave it alone. If pruned properly, trees can take advantage of natural defense mechanisms to ward off most decay problems.

Myth: Organic pesticides are less toxic than synthetic ones
Truth: Misused pesticides can be harmful, regardless of whether they are considered natural or synthetic. Pyrethrum, for example, is made from chrysanthemums but is still toxic to people and pets when handled improperly. Whenever possible, it's best to select the least toxic control option available because, even if not lethal, many of these pesticides can cause serious health complications. Safe storage of these products can help prevent any harmful accidents. Read and follow all label directions, and remember that these products are tools, not miracle workers or silver bullets. Pesticides cannot correct mistakes made in plant selection, installation, or maintenance.

Myth: Newly planted trees need to be staked and guy-wired
Truth: Staking a tree can hinder its proper development. This practice was once a landscape industry standard, driven by a gardener's inner desire to do something good for the plant to help it grow. It's best to avoid staking unless the new tree is located in a windy or on a sloped site.

Allowing the tree to sway in the wind encourages the development of stronger stabilizing roots. If staked, the tree may become dependent on this support, preventing the root system from becoming strong and healthy. If it is truly necessary, tie the trunk loosely to the stake using fabrics such as T-shirts or bicycle inner tubes to avoid damaging the bark, and remove the support after one growing season.

Myth: Sunshine focused through water droplets will burn leaves
Truth: The diffused rays of the sun are not power_ful enough to cause burning. If it were the case that water droplets burned leaves, farmers would encounter huge losses after each daytime rainstorm. In fact, lawn care professionals often cool turf by spritzing water over the foliage during the hottest part of the day. In general, the best time to water most garden plants is early in the morning because of higher municipal water pressure, a lower evaporation rate, and the potential to reduce foliar diseases that often occur in overly moist situations. But if you are left with no other choice, watering midday will not harm your plants.

Myth: Add sand to loosen heavy, clay soil
Truth: The worst remedy for a clay soil is to add sand. This practice turns the clay soil into a rock-hard, mortarlike substance. Instead, use organic matter, like compost, to loosen heavy soils because it is light in composition and also improves nutrient quality. Sand can improve a clay soil, but it must be added until it constitutes most of the mineral composition of the soil. At that point, it's not really clay soil any longer; it is sandy soil.

Myth: When it comes to fertilizers and pesticides, if a little is good, twice is better
Truth: A precise measurement of these materials is crucial to the health of your garden. If you like to watch the Food Network, you've probably seen Emeril Lagasse "kick it up a notch" by adding a little more of a certain spice. This approach may be fine for cooking but not for gardening. Fertilizers can raise salt levels in the soil to toxic levels, burning the roots and stunting growth of your plants. Pesticides, when overused, can also have similar detrimental effects on plants by burning the leaves or raising toxicity levels in the soil. Garden products, both organic and synthetic, are extensively tested during research and development to provide safe and reliable results, so using the exact recommended dosage is the best practice. I recently witnessed an impatient gardener spray some cucumber beetles with a very concentrated solution of an insecticide; the bugs died but so did some of the cucumber vines.

Myth: When planting a tree or shrub, dig the hole twice as wide and twice as deep as the root-ball
Truth: A planting hole should be twice as wide as the root-ball but no deeper. By applying this planting principle, you will encourage the roots of a plant to grow out, which creates stability and allows the plant to readily find water and nutrients. A good way to make sure that the root-ball is at the right depth is to place the top roots so that they are parallel with the soil surface and then apply 2 inches of mulch over them. Think of it as a "planting area," instead of a "planting hole."

Don't add compost or potting soil when backfilling the planting area. Most roots prefer to grow in these amended soils instead of spreading out through the landscape.

Myth: Drought-tolerant plants don't need to be watered
Truth: All plants need to be watered to become established. Most "drought-tolerant" plants such as Russian sages (Perov_skia spp. and cvs., USDA Hardiness Zones 6-9) and black-eyed Susans (Rudbeckia spp. and cvs., Zones 3-11) are those that can survive through an average summer without supplemental watering. These plants, however, are usually not drought tolerant in the first year, and regular watering and an application of mulch are good ideas. After that, you can pretty much allow them to fend for themselves, but even the toughest of plants will benefit from a monthly soaking.

Pumpkin History from hsgpurchasing.com

Pumpkins are believed to have originated in North America. Seeds from related plants have been found in Mexico dating back to 7000 to 5500 B.C.

References to pumpkins date back many centuries. The name pumpkin originated from the Greek word for "large melon" which is "pepon." "Pepon" was changed by the French into "pompon." The English changed "pompon" to "Pumpion." American colonists changed "pumpion" into "pumpkin."

Native American Indians used pumpkin as a staple in their diets centuries before the pilgrims landed. They also dried strips of pumpkin and wove them into mats. Indians would also roast long strips of pumpkin on the open fire and eat them. When white settlers arrived, they saw the pumpkins grown by the Indians and pumpkin soon became a staple in their diets. As today, early settlers used them in a wide variety of recipes from desserts to stews and soups. The origin of pumpkin pie is thought to have occurred when the colonists sliced off the pumpkin top, removed the seeds, and then filled it with milk, spices and honey. The pumpkin was then baked in the hot ashes of a dying fire.