]]> http://thevariegatedgardener.com/?feed=rss2&p=423 1 http://thevariegatedgardener.com/?p=410 http://thevariegatedgardener.com/?p=410#comments Sun, 07 Feb 2010 22:26:39 +0000 Annie http://thevariegatedgardener.com/?p=410 In “The Waste Land,” T.S. Eliot wrote:

April is the cruelest month, breeding

Lilacs come in several forms (bush, tree, miniature) and colors, usually in shades of pink, white, and purple, although yellow lilacs are available.

Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing

Memory and desire, stirring

Dull roots with spring rain.

Winter kept us warm, covering

Earth in forgetful snow, feeding

A little life with dried tubers.

But if you want to see lilac flowers in April (or more likely, May, here in Southcentral PA), take steps now (in late winter–February) to make sure your lilac bushes are in top shape.

Lilacs are one of the easiest, most trouble-free flowering shrubs you can grow. They like slightly sweet soil (pH 6.0 to 7.0), but will tolerate just about anything except wet feet; these are not plants for marshy areas. They also require full sun; if you plant them too near a wall or shady trees, they’ll tend to lean out in search of light and their flowering will not be as profuse. With their deep, heavy roots, lilacs are extremely drought-tolerant once established. New plants should be watered regularly for the first summer, but once they’re growing well, a couple inches of moisture-conserving mulch will hold them through all but the very driest weather.

Begin your annual late-winter lilac care with a thorough clean up. Remove weeds and vines. Japanese honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica) is a real pest here, and it can smother a lilac in a couple of years. Even a small vine will be competition enough to reduce bloom.

Next, remove dead wood. You’ll very likely find quite a few long, slender, whiplike stems (called watersprouts) coming up from the base of the bush or along the main branches, and a number of these will be dried up and dead. Snap or cut them off; their loss is no big deal. If you see tiny holes in any of the biggest trunks, your lilac has borers. More a nuisance than a disaster, saw out and burn (don’t compost) affected trunks. Lilac borers only attack the oldest wood, and since it’s good practice to remove a few of the oldest stems every couple of years to keep the bush vigorous, these borers aren’t usually much of a problem.

Thin out the bush a bit, removing one or two of the very biggest stems (if you have a tree lilac, don’t touch the main trunks, but do try to remove a couple of the biggest, oldest branches). If your bush has a lot of live, vigorous sprouts (called suckers) coming up around the base, either cut some of these back to ground level or dig them out to replant as new little lilac bushes.

If you did not remove the dead flowers from last year’s bloom, do that now. Removing the spent blooms forces the energy that would have gone into seed (useless for most purposes) back into forming next year’s flowers. Make a habit of removing as many spent lilac blooms as you can every year, after the bush is through flowering. (Another good reason to gather lilacs into bouquets to bring indoors and give as gifts!)

Once you’ve finished pruning, spread wood ashes thinly around the base of the lilac, extending out as far as the drip line (the outermost reach of the branches). Sprinkle on a little ground limestone and as much compost or well-rotted manure as you can spare. Spread mulch: wood chips, ground leaves, and “beauty bark” are fine mulches for lilacs; avoid grass clippings and fresh manures—the excess nitrogen they add to the soil may produce a big flush of leaves and new growth, at the expense of flowers.

Lilacs usually bloom at about the same time as mid-season tulips, and they look fantastic with white, pink, or purple tulips to pick up their colors, and with yellow or red tulips as an accent.

The worst disease of lilacs is powdery mildew, which, when severe, can defoliate a shrub, although it rarely kills. It is unsightly, though, coating the dark green leaves with a floury white.

Treat it by mixing a half-cup of cultured buttermilk milk with a gallon of water and spraying the entire bush. (If you can’t find cultured buttermilk, substitute yogurt instead.) The slight acidity of the milk, as well as the live acidophilus culture in the milk/yogurt, will be enough to knock back the growth of the mildew.

When planting lilacs, site the bush near a porch, patio, deck, window or doorway, so that, on a warm spring evening, you can enjoy the heady fragrance as you watch the sunset.

Groundhogs are native to North America. They can be real pests in the garden, but good fencing will keep them out.

Groundhog Day is an old Pennsylvania German/Dutch custom.  According to legend, if a groundhog sees his shadow at sunrise on this day, we’re in for 6 more weeks of winter weather.  If not, then we’ll see an early spring.  The early settlers to our region brought the custom with them from their European homes, where a badger was the “prognosticator,” since Groundhogs are native only to North America.  Punxatawney, Pennsylvania, is the most well-known of the Grundsow Lodges (Groundhog Lodges) celebrating this holiday.

(In reality, groundhogs usually don’t wake up from their winter hibernation until well into March, when the first green grass is available for them to eat.)

Candlemas was celebrated as the Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Mother by the Catholic Church. It marks the day that, according to the New Testament, the infant Jesus was taken into the Jewish Temple for the first time, to be accepted as a member of the Jewish faith, and his mother Mary was admitted for a rite of purification, traditionally held for women about 6 weeks after giving birth.  Candlemas occurs 40 days after Christmas.

When I was a child (in the days before Vatican II),  this was a really wonderful celebration in the Polish Roman Catholic Church. The celebration started very late at night and at dawn on the 2nd, boxes of beeswax candles would be brought into the church to be blessed.  These blessed candles were then distributed to the congregation, so that they could be burned in the home for blessings and also–and most importantly–to be on hand in cases where the sacrament of Extreme Unction (Last Anointing) might be needed.

Imbolc, a very ancient Celtic holiday, marks the beginning of the spring season.  Although today we accept the first day of spring to begin at the Spring Equinox on March 20-21, logically, the equinox marks the midpoint of the spring season, just as June 20-21 (traditionally called Midsummer’s Day) marks the middle of summer, not its start. 

For gardeners and nature lovers, you’ll note that trees and shrubs are showing fat and swelling buds, birds are becoming much more active at feeders, and houseplants are starting to perk up.  All this because the days are getting longer and the sun is getting stronger…despite those cold temps and the snow!  If you keep chickens (as I do), and you don’t keep them under artificial light during the winter, you’ll notice that your hens begin to lay eggs again around this date.

Sweet potato pie is a traditional southern treat.

With a flavor similar to pumpkin pie, but with a buttery sweetness all its own, this traditional Sweet Potato Pie recipe will be a big hit. You can serve it topped with whipped cream and  a cup of strong, dark Cafe du Monde coffee for a real southern treat.

1 pound raw sweet potatoes

1/2 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup white sugar

1 tablespoon molasses

1/2 cup milk

2 eggs, beaten

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 (9 inch) unbaked pie crust

Wash and peel sweet potatoes. Boil in water until tender, about 30 minutes.

In a large mixing bowl, mash sweet potatoes with butter. Using a mixer or byhand, stir in sugar, molasses, milk, eggs, nutmeg, cinammon, and vanilla until smooth and creamy.

Pour filling into an unbaked pie crust.

Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 55–60 minutes, or until knife inserted in center comes out clean.

For Shrubs (lilacs, roses, junipers, yews, etc.)

• Don’t worry too much about where you place your cuts (above a bud, below a bud), because with very few exceptions it doesn’t make all that much difference. 
• Use a sharp saw and sharp pruners or loppers. Cuts should be clean, not ragged.
• Never remove more than one-third of living (green) branches and twigs.
• Prune shrubs from the INSIDE out.  This will mean crawling under the shrub, and this is where good pruning starts. 
• First, remove dead and diseased wood. (This doesn’t count toward the “no more than one-third” rule.)
• Next, remove one or two of the oldest stems. These will usually be the thickest, and you should cut them off at ground level or as near to the main trunk as possible.
• Next, remove any branches that are rubbing together.
• Next, starting about two-thirds up in the interior, start removing branches that point inward to the center of the shrub. Don’t remove so many that you hollow out the center, but your goal should be to thin the center so that air and sunlight can penetrate.
• Now, stand back, take a good look at the plant, then trim the outside branches and twigs to a pleasing shape. 

For Small Trees (crabapples, plums, pears, etc.)

If you have to stand higher than the third step on a ladder to reach a branch, call a professional.

•  Never use a chainsaw to prune a tree.
• Never let anyone “top” a tree, in the hopes of reducing the autumn leaf fall. If the tree is that much of a nuisance, have it taken down.  Topping a tree is slow death; you’ll pay again to have it removed sooner rather than later.
• Make all your cuts, no matter how big or small, flush with the stem. Don’t leave stubs, because these encourage rot, which can spread into the main branches and trunk.
• Use a sharp saw and sharp pruners and loppers; cuts should be clean, not ragged.
• Never remove more than one-third of living (green) branches and twigs.
• Start by removing all dead or obviously diseased wood. This stuff doesn’t count toward the “never more than one-third” rule. 
• Next, remove any slender stems that are growing straight up from a horizontal branch. Remove any that are growing up from around the base of the tree, too. These are called “water sprouts” and they sap the tree’s strength and ruin its shape.
• Next, remove any branches that are rubbing together.
• Next, remove any small branches and twigs that are growing in toward the center of the tree.  Your goal is to create an open crown that allows sunlight and air to flow through.
• Finally, thin out any tangled or overly dense areas; step back and walk around the tree frequently, so that you can see where your cuts should be made.

An old neighbor of mine once told me that, when you prune a fruit tree, a cat should be able to jump from your shoulder straight through the tree, without hitting anything!

These are basic guidelines that should serve you for most pruning jobs around the home.  Grapes, raspberries, blackberries, or some other fruit-bearing shrubs and vines require slightly specialized pruning, and you should check with your local extension agent for free tips on caring for these plants.

There’s a popular misconception about hybrids.  A lot of folks think there’s something “unnatural” about them and steer clear, opting instead for more old-fashioned varieties. That’s too bad, because naturally hybridized plants help gardeners grow bigger, better fruits and flowers with less fertilizers and pesticides.  They are the organic gardener’s best friends. 

A really accurate scientific explanation of hybrids involves words like polyploidy, aneuploidy, autopolyploidy, and such, and tends to make my eyes glaze over. So, this is a basic, unscientific, home-gardener explanation of what a hybrid is and how it comes about.

In plants, hybrids are simply created by the selective mating of two  distinct varieties of the same plant.  A variety is a plant with a specific characteristic. For example, one variety of petunia might be white. Another petunia variety might have great disease resistance.  A hybrid is a combination (mating) of the white petunia (parent 1) with the disease-resistant petunia (parent 2).  The result  is a white petunia with great disease resistance (the “child” petunia).

True hybrids are not genetically altered.  There’s no laboratory hocus-pocus going on here.  Mankind has been creating hybrid plants for centuries, and you can create one right in your own back yard.   Tomatoes are very easy to hybridize, so let’s use them as an example.

Let’s say you want to get a dark-red disease-resistant tomato. You choose two varieties of tomatoes: One that produces the dark red fruit you’re looking for, and another variety that is known to be very disease-resistant. Once each plant is in blossom, put the pollen from one tomato’s flowers on the flowers of the other, and vice versa.   Each plant will go ahead and produce its own specific variety of tomato: The dark-red will produce its normal dark-red fruit, and the disease-resistant, its normal disease-resistant fruit.  But the seeds of those fruits will carry the traits of both parents. The seeds, not the fruit, are the “children” of the dark-red to disease-resistant mating.  This is the key to understanding why saving seeds from hybrids doesn’t always work;  it’s the seeds that are hybrids, not the fruits (or flowers).

Next year, when you plant those “child” hybrid seeds, you’ll get plants that bear tomatoes that are both dark red and disease resistant.  Those seeds (and the plants they produce) are hybrids.

Now, let’s say you decide to save the seeds from your hybrid dark-red disease-resistant tomatoes.  You plant them next year and, to your surprise, you get some plants that are dark-red and disease-resistant, but you also get some that are just dark red, and some that are just disease-resistant.  What happened? 

The simple answer is: Life is a crap-shoot, a genetic roll of the dice.  Some of those seeds will have the genetic material from their parents (the hybrid dark-red-disease-resistant plants), but they’ll also have genes from their grandparents: the dark-red variety, and the disease-resistant variety.  The beauty of life is that anything is possible; by planting the seeds saved from your hybrids, you might get any combination of traits, in varying degrees.  But you’ll always get tomatoes.  You haven’t created anything unnatural; you’ve simply introduced two varieties of tomato that you thought might produce beautiful children and let nature take it from there. 

Now, what about “open pollinated” varieties?  These are varieties (usually heirloom or very old varieties) that will indeed “breed true” from seed.  With these old-time varieties—‘Radiator Charlie’ tomato, for instance—you can save the seeds year after year and get the same ‘Radiator Charlie’ tomatoes year after year.  But…and this is a big but….only if you don’t introduce Charlie to any other tomatoes in your garden.  If Charlie and ‘Aunt Ruby’s Green’ tomato meet and produce seeds,  those seeds will produce a combination (a hybrid) of Charlie and Ruby. 

'Aunt Ruby's German Green' open pollinated tomato

The only way to ensure Charlie stays Charlie is to plant only Charlie (or isolate Charlie from ever meeting Ruby!). 

So, what’s so great about hybrids?  Because we can choose which traits we really like in a plant, by hybridizing, we can produce plants with those important traits. In many plants, one of the biggest benefits of hybridization is improved disease resistance.  Two different varieties with resistance to two different diseases can be bred together to produce a child plant with resistance to BOTH diseases.  Or, a very disease resistant variety can be bred to a very tasty (but illness prone) variety to get a disease-resistant tasty variety.  Once again, we’re talking varieties, not species….you can’t mate a tomato to a banana (two different species) for example, in the same way that you can’t mate your dog to your cat (a kituppy? a pupten?).

Open-pollinated, antique, and heirloom varieties are extremely valuable.  It’s important that we keep these varieties going and growing in our gardens, because they carry the genetic material that can be used to produce new hybrids. As well, for farmers and gardeners around the world who don’t have access to or can’t afford commercially produced hybrid varieties, these open-pollinated varieties allow them to plant a crop every year, simply by saving their own seeds. 

The "child" of 'Charlie' and 'Ruby' tomatoes...a hybrid!

The downside of hybrids is simply cost.  If you buy and fall in love with ‘Roly Poly’ hybrid zucchini, you’re going to have to buy seeds from Burpee’s every year to get ‘Roly Poly’…you can’t save the seeds and expect them to “come true.”

Home-grown sweet potatoes.

Sweet potatoes (Ipomoea batatas) are members of the Morning Glory family.  They are sometimes incorrectly called yams, but yams are another vegetable altogether (Dioscorea batatas), although the two can sometimes be used interchangeably.

To start your never-ending sweet potato patch, you’ve got two choices: either buy sweet potatoes at your grocery store sometime between November and January and start your own plants, or wait until spring and buy plants at a nursery.  I think starting your own plants is more fun (and cheaper!), so that’s what we’ll cover here.

1.  Look for firm, clean sweet potatoes at the local grocery store. It’s not common, but sometimes vegetables are irradiated to prevent them from sprouting, so you might want to ask.  Size doesn’t matter.

2. At home, fill a container with good quality, sterile, moist potting soil. Depending on how many plants you want to start, use either individual small pots or one really big pot.  A windowbox type planter works well too.

The tiny dark red or brown "eyes" will sprout.

3. Each sweet has a “sprouting” end that has very tiny little bumps or “eyes.”  Cut off about 2 inches of this end. (You can plant very small sweets whole.) Set the cut ends on a piece of newspaper to dry for a day. This prevents them from rotting.   Cook up what’s left for supper!

4. Plant the cut ends by setting them cut side down on a few inches of potting soil. Cover with more soil, so that the tips are about a 1/4 inch below the surface.  Water lightly.  Keep the soil just barely moist until the sweets sprout; never let it dry out completely, but make sure the starts don’t sit in wet soil or they will rot.

5. Cover the planted pots with clear plastic and set them in a warm, lighted place.  The kitchen table will do just fine.  If you see a lot of condensation on the plastic, lift it every few days to let the soil dry out a bit. 

6. Wait patiently.  It can take several months for supermarket sweets to sprout.    Check on them every so often, to make sure the soil is still nice and moist and that the planted pieces are still firm.  If any seem soft, rotten, or smelly, toss them.  The first sign of sprouting is a  swelling of the tiny reddish eyes. The earliest leaves are deep red or reddish green. 

Treat sprouted sweet potato starts as you would any houseplant.

 7. Once leaves appear, take off the plastic wrap and treat your sweet starts as you would any houseplant.  Once they’re growing well, cut back on water and allow the soil to dry out a bit between watering. They’ll do best in a brightly lit window, away from cold and drafts.  Keep an eye out for the usual houseplant bugs, like whitefly or aphids, and spray with soapy water if you spot any pests.

8. Once all danger of frost has past, and as early as you can,  plant your starts into the garden. Set them 2 to 3 feet apart, in full sun.  Water them for the first week or two if you don’t get adequate rainfall, but don’t overdo it; sweets thrive on hot, dry summer weather.  Weed until the vines spread to form a thick mat—and they will spread, so don’t situate your sweet potato patch close to small, delicate veggies like carrots or lettuce.  I plant mine near sweet corn or pole beans. 

9. Sweets require a long growing season; here in southcentral Pennsylvania (zone 6)  I usually wait until mid to late October to harvest. They can tolerate a light frost, but its best to cover them when the nights get really cold, but there’s still promise of warm Indian summer weather ahead. You want to keep them in the ground and growing for as long as possible.  The biggest and best tubers will form as the days shorten in August and September.

10.  Harvest your sweets.  As you dig them up, you’ll find long skinny orange roots and small sweets, with bits of green vine and little roots attached.   These are next year’s starts. I usually keep pots with a mix of compost and garden soil right there with me as I harvest.  As you find these little “skinnies,” pot them up.

"Skinnies" are small sweets and underdeveloped roots that will provide next year's starts.

11. Haul in your harvest and next year’s starts.  Store sweet potatoes in a dark, fairly warm spot, like an unheated basement or root cellar.  The potted-up skinnies go upstairs,  where they’ll resume growth almost immediately.  Treat them as you would houseplants, overwintering them in a warm, well-lit spot. 

12.  In the spring, plant your starts in the garden—and there you have it: a never-ending sweet potato patch, one that can get bigger and better every year.

Zinnias are old-fashioned flowers but ‘Zahara’ is a new bicolor for this sun loving class of annuals, with proven resistances to leaf spot and mildew, which can devastate healthy plants and cause an early death. These superior qualities result in long-lasting plants that provide generous color all season. ‘Zahara Starlight Rose’ is heat and drought tolerant, easy to grow in gardens. A perfect plant for the novice or experienced gardener because it is so undemanding with a maximum number of blooms. The mature plants are mid-sized, about 12 to 14 inches tall and wide, large enough to make a bold statement in containers or patio urns. Gardeners will be able to grow ‘Zahara Starlight Rose’ from seed or plants. This new zinnia was bred by PanAmerican Seed Co.

Genus species: Zinnia marylandica
Common name: Zinnia
Unique qualities: First rose and white bicolor zinnia, with disease resistance
Flower size: 2.5 inches
Flower form: Composite, single flower
Flower color: Rose and white bicolor
Plant Height: 12-14 inches
Width: 12-14 inches
Garden Spacing: 10-12 inches
Length of time from sowing seed to flower: 61 days