- Author: Toni Greer
My Iris Journey
I love Irises! The first time I planted the rhizomes was many years ago. It was our first fall in St. Louis. I knew enough to plant in the fall, but knew nothing about the long term care. The first year, I had no signs of the bearded beauties. Disappointed, I thought that maybe they needed more than one year to flower. After year three and still nothing, I decided to take my shovel and see what the challenge was. What I found was nothing, no hint of the rhizomes at all!
Frustrated, I contacted the Missouri Botanical Garden and asked for help. By year four, I learned that Irises are one of the oldest garden perennials and that the flower takes its name from the Greek goddess Iris. As legend has it she walked a rainbow pathway through the sky. Throughout history the Iris has been a very important flower. The three upright petals are called “standards” and the three which hang down are called “falls”. Irises are found in more than 200 species and come in various heights, flower sizes and colors.
Several years later we moved to a new home. Once again I planted Irises. However this time I went to a nursery which was known for hybridizing Irises and Day Lilies. I purchased varieties that were unknown as were the colors. The beautiful flowers that erupted in our yard the following year and for many years after was something that I grew to expect and enjoy. When it came time to split them, we dug up the clumps, washed them clean, and inspected each rhizome for rot or borer damage. We then separated the rhizomes with a sharp knife which we sterilized between each cut as to avoid spreading any disease.
Our home was at the end of a circle with common ground and natural woods surrounding us. I kept what we wanted and then handed out the rest to our neighbors. We did some additional landscaping throughout the subdivision common grounds. I did throw the small ones into the woods as food for our traveling wildlife. I cut back the foliage of each new divided rhizome and just to be safe dusted them with a fungicide before replanting.
The following year the newly planted Irises were lovely including the few that the animals left for me to see at the edge of our woods. They all immerged wonderfully. It was so nice to see the present that they left me when I looked out the window. I think my favorite was our black bearded iris which was tall, sturdy and graceful all of the same time.
- Author: Jenni Dodini
Since this is the time of year that I tend to inspect my yard area for work that must be done before winter actually arrives, I was walking around and checking pots for breakage, etc. Imagine my surprise when I got to this pot and found that it was not only broken due to bulb growth and age (probably more than 5 years), but that there were FLOWERS blooming! This has NEVER, EVER happened before that I know of, and some of these bulbs are OLD. By old, I mean that they were my grandmother's and she has been gone more than 10 years now. The only explanation that I could come up with is that the stupid weather we have had this year got them confused. The other 2 pots of amaryllis were not blooming and although there are plenty of leaves, they did not appear to have any intention of blooming.
Of course, I had to go look things up before taking my own assumptions as gospel, and since I was at work, I went online. I like to check out the University of Minnesota site (as it generally pops up first) when I am researching. I also went to the ANR site, and the information that popped up was from the UC (UCR) Cooperative Extension/ Botany Plant Sciences Dept. Neither site said anything about the plant blooming a second time in ONE year.
I did find some good information however. The family name is Amaryllidoideae and this one is of the Hippeastrum species. Another very common amaryllis that does bloom around here later than the spring is the "Naked Lady" or Belladonna species. Amaryllis are very popular because of the beautiful, showy flowers and because they can be forced to bloom indoors during the winter. They generally bloom in the spring when planted outdoors. The bulb likes a good draining soil and a high phosphorus fertilizer, given regularly, when it starts showing its growth. To keep the plant actively growing after the flowers have died back, cut them off at their base to prevent seed formation. Do not remove the stalk though until it starts to turn yellow and shrivel up as it continues to supply nutrients to the bulb. Also, make sure it gets plenty of bright sunlight after it finishes blooming. The UCR article recommended taking the little indoor pot and sticking it in the ground, pot and all, as long as it drains well. Since the bulbs like to be pot bound, this sounds reasonable, and they only need to be repotted every 3 to 4 years. These bulbs can live up to 75 years! ( I was amazed! ) They do not like to be over watered and if they are, this can lead to bulb and root rot.
Well, this pot and its 2 friends have since been moved to a planter that I made for them, so I hope that they will not be so upset with me that they do not bloom in the spring. I am very sure that they will be able to live there for at least 10 years before I get crazy and dig them up or something. I will mention that to them frequently through the coming months, just in case....
- Author: Mike Gunther
Fall is upon us
Daylight is getting shorter
Just waiting for rain
- Author: Susan P Croissant
Friend Terry planted milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) last year. Doing great. Until she noticed the stems packed with a bright yellow bug with black markings and appendages that looked like an aphid. Yup. Oleander aphid (Aphis neril ), aka milkweed aphid, also feeds on wax plant (Hoya carnosa). Adults are all female, reproducing asexually; males do not occur in the wild. Winged adult females (alata) are yellow and black with dark wing veins, wingless forms (apterae) are yellow with black cornicles, antennae, legs and cauda (tip of abdomen). Nymphs look similar to apterae, except smaller. Invasive. Photos at: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Milkweed_-_or_oleander_-_aphid,_Aphis_nerii.jpg http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/orn/shrubs/oleander_aphid.htm
Feed exclusively on plant sap. Pierce, suck, and penetrate stems, leaves and sometimes flower buds. May congregate on 2 stems, leaving rest of the plant untouched. Favor tender shoots in upper portions of the plant. A colony can get very big, very fast and plant may suffer die-off. If they grow wings, the colony is getting too large and they are preparing to move on--not much left of the plant to sustain them. Bright yellow indicates high toxicity, so spiders and birds tend to stay away.
The real issue is that milkweed serves as host plant for Monarch butterfly larvae. Terryfound Monarch eggs but wasn't sure if she could save them with such a large aphid colony. Monarch eggs are more tightly attached to leaves (usually undersides) than aphids. Her best choice was to move the eggs to an unaffected area of this or another plant. It's unclear if she caught it in time to save the eggs.
Just the right amount of water pressure on a localized area may wash off aphids without destroying Monarch eggs. But you have to scrutinize the leaves and know what the larvae look like. And "dislodged" aphids may climb back up or be returned by aphid-harvesting ants. Soapy water or horticulture soaps on localized area might kill more aphids but is damaging to the monarchs. Cultural controls include reduced levels of watering, pruning and fertilization to reduce tender shoot production. Beneficial insects for control include ladybug (especially in larval stage), lacewing, syrphid fly larvae, and the tiny wasp Lysiphlebus testaceipes. A bright, all-yellow bowl with water and touch of vegetable oil draws insects and is helpful in a small or confined area. In agriculture fields, they use a waterpan stand: https://ucanr.edu/repositoryfiles/ca2310p18-65528.pdf.
Barbara Eisenstein, horticulture chairwoman San Gabriel Mountains Chapter of California Native Plant Society, suggests a tedious but effective technique: dabbing aphids with cotton swabs dipped in isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol kills them outright. Alcohol, however, is also lethal to monarch eggs and larvae, so care must be taken when dabbing. http://articles.latimes.com/2012/nov/09/news/la-lh-milkweed-aphids-monarch-butterfly-eggs-20121104
156-page agricultural manual on milkweed, aphids and monarchs (pg 44+) and pathogens (pg 63+).
http://www.xerces.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Milkweeds_XerSoc_june2014.pdf.
Monarch info and links: http://sfbaywildlife.info/species/monarch_butterfly.htm
FYI, and don't use where Monarchs are present: some advocate garlic as a natural pesticide for bugs, diseases and fungi. However, it will kill beneficial insects and bacteria. Test on small area first. Recipe:
http://green-patches.blogspot.com/2013/06/aphid-control-using-garlic-pesticide.html
- Author: Maria X. Isip-Bautista
Our children each began spending time in the garden when they were only days old, often being carried by me or my husband in a baby carrier. When they were old enough to sit up, they sat on a blanket and watched us while we worked. As soon as they started walking, they were off- toddling here and there, trampling over newly planted seedlings, and being drawn almost magnetically to anything with water. While their constant presence in the garden resulted in more than a handful of plant deaths, much terrorizing of birds and squirrels, and numerous other sorts of shenanigans, the longer term outcome is that they love the garden, appreciate wildlife, and are happiest when outdoors.
Some tips for helping younger kids find their place in the garden, based on our own trial and error:
- Early and Often: It's never too early for kids to start spending time in the garden. We're lucky in Solano County that the weather permits this for most of the year!
o Get a water resistant blanket (for the minimally mobile) or a bouncer or pack and play for cheap at a garage sale or thrift store to use exclusively for outdoor use. This will give baby a secure place to take in their surroundings. Second-hand tents, little plastic chairs, etc. work well for older kids.
o The variety of sounds, types of light, sights, and animals/bugs to watch in the garden are great for a baby's brain development, as is watching adults perform even the most basic tasks in the garden. Talking to them and explaining what you're doing as you do it also helps to develop their capacity for later communication.
- A Safe Garden: For anyone who spends time with young children, safety is always of the utmost concern.
o Storage- be sure to keep any fertilizers, pesticides, sharp pointed or edged garden tools, or any other potential hazards out of reach of small hands.
o Design- when planning your garden, keep thorny, poisonous, or other plants of concern in a part of the yard that is hard-to-reach. Or if you can't do this, (we have recurring poison oak in a part of yard, for example) create a physical barrier to it and explain to them the reason it's important to keep away. Provide secure gates, handrails, and even low fences where needed.
o Sun- be sure to provide shady spots in the garden for kids, as well as sun hats/sunscreen and plenty of drinking water.
o Allergies- be aware of any allergies that kids who are spending time in your garden have, and be sure to keep children's strength Benadryl or epi pens on-hand if needed.
- A Child-Friendly Garden: Providing tools and special planting areas for kids can really up the fun factor.
o Kid-sized gardening tools are widely available in dollar bins of large discount stores and even at some nurseries. Kid-sized garden gloves, boots, and hats are also helpful to have. Designate a special bin or basket for kids to store their equipment, and this will help kids get in the practice of caring for tools and maintaining a tidy garden.
o Assign kids their own special little garden plot where they can cultivate plants of their own choosing, and even fruit/veggies that they like to eat. Pizza gardens or other food-specific gardens are especially fun!
o Find creative ways for kids to personalize the garden by incorporating their art or hand/footprints. Mosaic stepping stones or bird feeders that they create are examples of ways to do this (we'll cover these in future blog posts).
- Kid-friendly Jobs/Tasks: We've found over and over again that young kids love to help out. Giving them a task can keep them from finding other “less constructive” activities and can give them a real sense of ownership of the garden and pride in job well done.
o Pulling weeds (and feeding them to the chickens), raking leaves, watering with a watering can, helping to select seeds/plant starts, helping to plant seeds/plant starts, harvesting berries and veggies, filling a bird bath… the list goes on and on.
- Set them up for Success:
o Good timing: I learned the hard way, for example, to hold off on having kids help with weeding in the veggie garden until after the season's plants are well established. This makes it easier for them to tell the difference between weeds and crops.
o Good instructions: When having kids pull weeds, take the time to show them examples of weeds versus plants that we want to keep.
o Good boundaries: Give kids a defined area to work in. This will help to them to avoid raking blooms out of the flower bed when they are trying to rake up leaves from the grass.
Lastly, a tip for the adults, carving out a space for kiddos in the garden can mean having to share a little of your own. Expect a mishap here and there, things to not always go exactly as planned, and for everything to take a little bit longer. The reward to you and the little person in your life will be more than worth it!
