Mothers Day

Twas the night before Mothers Day 2013. As I ponder what my mother went through as I was growing up, it still amazes me. I always wish I could come up with the perfect gift to say Thank You for all you did for me, and STILL do!!
There is no amount of money in the world that could ever repay you. So, as I sit here thinking, I remember the blog that I wrote two years ago.
To my dearest Mother, these words still ring as true today as they did two years ago.

FROM THE CITRUS GUY, 2011
A little change of pace. Today is Mothers Day in the United States, I don't know if any other country observes this, if they don't, they should. Everybody out there will tell you that Mothers are "superwomen" or that their Mother is the best. Well, let me tell you, if you REALLY want a Super Mom, mine wins hands down!
Most people that know me don't know that my Father passed away when I was in 2nd grade, making me all of 7 or 8 years old. At the time, I had only 1 younger brother and 1 younger sister...My littlest brother came from another marriage. So, at the ripe old age of 27, my Mother was now alone with three very young children...ages 8-5-3.
To this day, I have NO IDEA how she managed to raise us. Yes, her parents helped some, we saw my grandparents on the weekends, but that was about all. We lived in an old farmhouse, when I say old, it was 100+ years old then. This was up in New Jersey. The house was basically in the woods, we had a few neighbors across the street, but they were much older. There were no kids around to play with, other than each other.
Thinking back, we always had food on the table. Christmas and Birthdays were amazing. Every year just before school started we went shopping for new clothes, remember this was LONG before Wal-Mart came on the scene, we went to Sears, that was the only place that had clothes to fit my skinny brother and my fat bleep.
This was also back when they had classroom Mothers. These Mothers would come in and assist with classroom birthday parties, arts and crafts, and who knows what else behind the scenes. My Mother was at every function I can think of!
Abraham Lincoln once said: “All that I am, or hope to be, I owe to my angel mother”. No truer words have ever been spoken. My mother taught us about friendship, safety, kindness, nature and gardening....now you know where I got THAT part of my life from. She also taught us about laughter. I mentioned above some of the things she taught me, let me demonstrate:
My sense of clothes:

Safety, it was dangerous to ride wild animals:

And of course, cleanliness:

I mentioned laughter, I got her sense of humor too, warped!
But seriously, there is a part of Mothers Day that I hate. Every jewelry store, department store, and any other store you can think of, tell you to buy your Mother this, that or the other thing to show her how much you love her. I would love to if I could afford it, I would buy her everything under the sun, but it wouldn't mean anything. Abraham Lincoln also said one other great thing: “No gift to your mother can ever equal her gift to you - life”.
Mother because of you, I am what I am...I had an absolute wonderful childhood, and I would not change it for anything......There is also no way in the world I can ever Thank You enough!!!
I LOVE YOU!!
Darren
p.s. She will kill me for this picture, but I had to end today with my two favorite flowers:

Wife on the left, Mother on the right.

I know this is a repeat, but I could never write anything ever again that tells the world exactly how I feel. Happy Mothers Day....Mom!

Roll Out The Barrel

Since the start of my fruit group, the Lowcountry Fruit Growers Society (check us out HERE ) back in November. I have been doing a lot of lectures on growing different kinds of fruit for garden clubs. I have so much in store for this group that it almost scares me!
Anyway, I was doing one of my talks a couple of weeks ago and the topic of Strawberries came up. Let me pause here to remind my followers and let some of the new folks in on a piece of information, the majority of the plants I grow are in containers of some kind, this includes all my Citrus, Figs and other fruits. My Strawberries are no exception. They are grown in a plastic barrel. It looks like this:

This was my first attempt at one, it has problems that we will discuss in a minute. Anyway, this was a lecture where I did not have the luxury of using a powerpoint presentation, so there were no pictures. I explained my barrels to the audience. There was one woman that was having problems understanding what I was talking about and how to go about doing one. Hence, the topic for today's article.
There are numerous places that I know of to get these. The one above was from a wholesale florist that I once worked at. The floralife liquid that we used to keep the flowers fresh came in it. That might be a good place to start if you have one close to you. Another starting point might be a local carwash. The soap comes in large barrels. My other barrel, the blue one below, came from a large landscaping company that used large amounts of liquid iron. I am sure there are other places to get them, just use your imagination. You will want to steer clear of ones that have contained harsh chemicals. The plastic will absorb them and could transfer it to your soil. My cost for each of these barrels? Zero
I mentioned that the one above has problems. Let's discuss them.
First, the holes are just a tad too big. I was actually doing it freehand with a jigsaw. I DO NOT recommend trying this at home. The soil tends to run out of the holes and sometimes the plants start to fall out. The best thing to use is a 2" drill bit, designed to cut nice round holes.
The next problem is, they are spread too far apart. There is a LOT of wasted space there. Now, what should the ideal spacing be? That will probably depend more on the look you want. If you want the plants to completely cover the barrel, maybe 2" apart.
This is what my new and improved barrel looks like:

I only had a few plants to put in, it is still a work in progress.

 This is a little closer view of the holes. As you can see by the ripe fruit, it works pretty well.
I enjoy writing this blog so people can learn from my trials and mistakes. I wish I had more plants to put in when I was making it, but they are easy enough to put in, even after some die off or whatever happens.
I will walk you through the steps and show you how easy this all is.
I will assume you have your barrel and know what kind of look you want.
The first thing to do is cut off the top. This is where you can use the jigsaw. Create a hole with a 1/2" drill bit then jigsaw the top off. You will also want to drill a few small holes in the bottom for drainage.
Next, start drilling your side holes. Start at the bottom, go all the way around however far apart you want.
The next row up, stagger the holes in between the ones from the first row. Continue all the way to the top in this fashion.
So far, so good?
Now, the fun part. Learn from my mistakes. Count your holes and get that many plants, plus four or five more. You will also need LOTS of potting soil, compost or whatever other soil amendments you prefer. Just make sure that it drains very well, yet retains some moisture.
Starting at the bottom, fill the soil up to the first row of holes. Place the roots of the plants through each hole, make sure you don't bury the crown of the plant too deep, then fill with soil up to the next row. Repeat this process all the way to the top. Then use those four or five extra ones to plant into the top.

Pretty easy, right?
Depending on what part of the country you live in and when you want your Strawberries to be ripe will determine what variety to get.
Just to give you a little bit of an idea of what is out there, I will discuss a few here.
The main type of Strawberry suited for me here in my South Carolina garden is called a June-bearer. The name June-bearer is somewhat confusing since these varieties bear most of their crop in May. June-bearers produce a single crop in the Spring.
 Then, there are 'Everbearing' or 'Day-Neutral' types which produce a crop in the Spring, another in late Summer and until frost in the Fall. All of the Everbearing strawberries advertised in nursery catalogs originated in the northern states; therefore, they succeed better for any of my followers up there.
 There are some advantages and disadvantages to growing Strawberries in a barrel like this.
Watering can be tricky. This is where a very well draining, but does hold some moisture, soil is critical. As you can imagine, the plants at the top of the barrel will dry out faster than the ones in the bottom. I keep an eye on it and will stick my finger in some of the bottom holes. If it feels very wet, I will not water, if it is just slightly damp, I water. As long as the soil is good and you have enough drainage holes, there should not be a problem.
 You also have to be careful when fertilizing. If you apply too much fertilizer, you will get excessive leaf growth and poor production. A water soluable food, given right after harvest is what works best for me.
The color of the barrel should also be considered. Strawberries need full sun, 6 hours minimum. I have never seen any, but avoid using a dark colored one. Black, dark blue or even a dark green can absorb the sunlight and get too hot. I like the white and light blue myself. If you want something that blends in a little more to your landscape, painting the barrel a light green or even beige will soften the appearance. You will need to consider this before planting.
Some of the advantages are things like space saving. As you can imagine, 35-40 plants that one of my barrels can hold, would take up a LOT of space in the garden. Having them "up" off the ground also keeps the fruit cleaner and easier to pick.

I will not sugar coat this, Strawberries are also one of the most problematic fruits that you can grow.  
They are subject to many diseases, which I will not go into here: fruit rots (gray mold, anthracnose), leaf diseases (leaf spot, leaf scorch, leaf blight), crown diseases, root diseases (red stele, black rot) and viruses.
Some of the best pieces of advice I can give you when it comes to these problems is, plant only certified disease-free plants, look for resistant varieties and sanitation, sanitation, sanitation. Make sure you remove any diseased or dead foliage and ripe or rotten fruit.
Root weevils, aphids, mites, slugs and snails are among potential pests. Birds are also a huge problem. Netting is about the only sure fire way to foil them. The net will have to be anchored all the way around the barrel, otherwise the birds will walk under it.
Please don't get me wrong, I certainly do not want to dissuade you from growing your own Strawberries, I just wanted to give you all the information. Strawberries can and are one of the most rewarding food crops to grow in a small home garden. Homegrown berries taste far better than the store-bought ones and you can save some serious money by not having to pay supermarket prices. They are the first to ripen in the Spring, berries begin to ripen four to five weeks after the first flowers open and continue to ripen for about three weeks, they also bring a sigh of relieve after a long dreary Winter.
With some luck and good horticultural practices, these guys will even help you with replanting, which should be done every 3-4 years as the plants get older and non-productive. They will send out runners that root very easy and can be trained and held in place in the soil of different holes around the barrel.
Hopefully this will inspire you to try your hand at Strawberries and you will be able to find yourself a barrel (or two) and grow some healthy, tasty fruit.
As always, if you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact me.
Happy Growing!
Darren

MAGS

To say that this Spring has been busy, would be an under statement. The nursery that I work for, if we didn't set a sales record for the month of March, we were REALLY close!
Here in the greater Charleston, SC area, we have been lucky. Yes, the economy has been bad, but I don't think we have been as hard hit as some of the rest of the nation. That is one of the main reasons we have been so busy.
I have actually enjoyed being this busy. The money has been good, I get to talk to lots of people in the horticultural business, plus I get to play with plants all day!
I was making a couple of deliveries today, both contained the topic for today's post, Magnolia trees.
I decided on this topic for a couple of reasons:
1) Magnolia trees are a staple of the southern landscape, hence they are often asked about.
2) The particular cultivar that I was delivering was D.D. Blanchard and I wanted to research why it was named that..
Magnolia grandiflora. There are estimated to be between 80 and 100 species of Magnolia that are native to the eastern United States and southeastern Asia. The grandiflora being the most common and thought about here.

These are not for the small garden. They can tower to a height of 60-80 feet, 30-50 feet wide and have leaves as long as a foot. These things demand attention in a landscape. Those foot long leaves are a dark, deep green and the undersides might be a lighter green or fuzzy, rust brown. The Magnolia is considered an evergreen, though there are a few species that are not.

The flower is something amazing too. They can be as large as 14 inches across. The smell is a clean, crisp fragrance. They usually flower in May and June. Everybody is probably familiar with what they look like:

After flowering, it will produce a fuzzy, brown fruit that is 3 to 8 inches long. The bright red-orange seeds inside are exposed September through November. The fruit fall in November and December.

Magnolias can be grown from these seeds. They should be collected as soon as possible after the fruit is mature and planted. The seeds should be covered with about l/4" of soil and mulched to prevent drying. Seedbeds should be kept moist until germination is complete. Partial shade should also be provided the first Summer for seedlings.
The growing range for Magnolias is from eastern North Carolina, south along the Atlantic Coast, to central Florida, then westward through roughly the southern half of Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi, and across Louisiana into southeast Texas. Now, of course, this is on the assumption that the trees did not read the book or peruse the internet much. I know of a few trees outside of this "range", so take it with a grain of salt.
These majestic beauties are relatively easy to care for.
The ideal soil for most Magnolias is rich, slightly acidic (pH 5.0 to 6.5) and well-drained. They will tolerate moderate drought and even tolerate wet soils.They prefer an even moisture level however. Plant in full sun or partial shade. They will flower better in full sun.
When it comes to feeding your Magnolia, the first three years are when it is needed. Any well balanced fertilizer, such as 10-10-10 can be used. It should be done in March, May and July. By the fourth year, the tree should have a well-established root system and should be able to forage for nutrients on its own. Magnolia roots have been shown to grow more than three times further than the canopy width of the tree, so they can obtain nutrients applied to any nearby plants or lawn.
Magnolias are generally pest-free. They may be troubled by various types of scales, which can infest twigs and leaves. If the tree is still small, this can be taken care of with insecticidal soap or a horticultural oil. If the tree is very large, this will be difficult and probably not needed anyway. If the thought of these insects on your larger tree bother you, look into one of the systemic insecticides. These are taken up by the trees roots and into the leaves, thus killing the pest. Just make sure it is labeled for Magnolias. The label is the law and should be followed exactly. They are also subject to leaf spots, black mildew, blights, scab and canker, caused by various fungi or bacteria. Control is not generally warranted unless it is so severe that the health of the tree is declining. You may want to consider consulting with an arborist in this case.
 I guess I should mention that if you do have a small yard and are just dieing to have a Magnolia tree, there is a solution for you. Magnolia grandiflora 'Little Gem' - This is compact and upright, more like a dense shrub (20 feet tall, 10 feet wide). Leaves are small (4 inches) and lustrous, dark green and bronze. Flowers are much smaller (3 to 4 inches). It blooms at an early age and sporadically throughout the growing season.
As many of you know, I like to occasionally give out some facts that, if you are ever on Jeopardy, might just win you lots of money. So here is some trivia you might enjoy:
The Magnolia is the official state flower of both Mississippi and Louisiana.
Mississippi's nickname is the "Magnolia State."
Magnolia flowers do not yield true nectar; instead they produce pollen in very large quantities.
The Magnolia is one of the oldest plant species, with fossil remains dating back 36 to 58 million years ago.
Well, I hope this little article on Magnolias was interesting and useful. It truly is a Southern staple and deserves a place in any formal garden or where a large specimen is required.
Consider one if you can.
 Happy Grow......What's that you asked? I never told you where the name D.D. Blanchard came from?
After searching high and low, pouring through numerous websites, the answer is:
I have no idea.
If somebody out there knows, please tell me. I hate not knowing something!
Happy Growing!
Darren

Stepping Up

Welcome Back!!

Actually, that is probably what you are saying to me. I have been absent for quite sometime now. No, I haven't been on vacation, nor have I been sick. The truth of the matter is, I got incredibly busy (I won't bore you with all the details) and I also had a severe case of writers block. I thought I had come up with a good topic a couple of times, then, when I sat down to write it, there was nothing there.

Hopefully, that time off has fixed my head.....Yes, I wrote that so you can fill in your own jokes.

Spring is quickly approaching, at least the calender says so. Mother Nature may have a thing or two to say about that, especially for those of you buried in snow or expecting more!  Either way, it will soon be time to repot many of your plants that have been sitting there all Winter.

Are you ready?

I could write an entire article on how do you know when it is time to repot a plant and I might just do that in the near future. Here is a brief idea of how you can tell. If you can see roots on the surface of the soil or emerging from the drainage hole in the bottom of the pot. If your plant is just not looking well or has completely stopped growing, especially in the growing season it is probably time to repot.

Today however, I want to talk about pot size and which one you should go up to.

I found this picture of the industry standard pot sizes. There are, of course, many in between sizes and the 25 looks more like a 30 to me, but it at least gives you an idea of comparison.

I have been in many discussions about what size pot to use when repotting a plant. The conventional wisdom is, The new pot should be no more than 2 inches wider at the rim or 2 inches deeper than the old pot.

Why, you might be asking.

There are a couple of reasons.

1)     A pot that is much larger gives the roots too much space to grow into.

2)     A too-large container will also hold too much water and can cause root rot.

3)     It will stunt the plant and make it not grow for a while.

I guess these can be good reasons, though, as in life, every rule has an exception.

Personally, I like to go a couple of sizes up, if possible. A few reasons I might not be able to at any given time would be things like, I don't have a much bigger pot or I don't have enough potting mix.

Yes, I know, then just wait until I do. Time is not always on my side and that plant REALLY needs to be repotted.

Here is my thinking for going ahead and putting them into a bigger pot. I will debunk the above reasons as we go.

“ A pot  that is much larger gives the roots too much space to grow into”. Well then, what happens when you put the plant into the ground? That is a MIGHTY big pot!

It was explained to me like this. If you move into a new, much bigger house than you were living in, you will fill it with stuff. The plant will do the same thing.

With a dumb founded look I said, “AND”!?!

Is that not the purpose of the plant? To grow and produce lots of roots? That person walked away. I am not sure if I ticked them off, or they went off to ponder that. The roots of the plant want to reach out and grow. They have a couple of reasons for their existence, to provide food to the plant and to anchor the plant. The more area they cover, the more secure the plant is in the soil.

“A too-large container will also hold too much water and can cause root rot”. I can almost see this. If you use a very water retentive soil mix and repot a Cactus or some other water sensitive plant, then yes, you are correct. However, if you use a very well draining soil, with lots of perlite or some other course additive, there should be no problem. The container should also have lots of good drainage.

You can also throw into this mix, the difference between clay pots and plastic pots. Plastic will hold water a little better than the clay. I still like the plastic pots better, they are much lighter.

“It will stunt the plant and make it not grow for a while”.

I have actually never seen any evidence of this. It is possible that people that have had this problem injured the roots in some manner. The plant was in shock and had to replenish the root system. While there is active root growth, there will not be any top growth. So it makes sense that the roots are hurt, they are trying to fix themselves and the plant is not growing.

Another reason I tend to go to a much larger pot is plant size. I had a Citrus tree last year that was in a three gallon pot. The tree itself was very tall, but not terribly rootbound, though it was getting there. Every time the least little amount of wind blew, it would tip over. So, I repotted it. I put it in the next size up, a seven gallon. The next day, after some heavy wind overnight, there it was on the ground again. So, needless to say, it was in a fifteen gallon that afternoon. Hasn't tipped over since.

I mentioned I have gotten extremely busy earlier. So, as the old expression goes, “The shoemakers daughter goes barefoot”, I do not always have time to work my yard like I want to. So, when I do have time, and I have a plant that needs to be repotted, I put it in a much bigger pot, it will then be set for a longer period of time.

I know there will be LOTS of disagreement with my thinking on this whole subject. That is fine. Hopefully it will cause some thinking and maybe help somebody that is on the fence about what size they should use.

As always, if you have any questions, or if you want to discuss this further with me, I am only an e-mail away....TheCitrusGuy@netzero.com

Happy Growing!

Darren

'Tis The Most Wonderful Time Of Year!

Well, the holidays are over. There is not much that can be done in the yard right now. But as a gardener it is an exciting time!

SEED CATALOG SEASON!!

As you can see by this picture, I get a bunch of them.

This is just what has come in so far, I am pretty sure there are still a few missing.

How many of you gardeners out there do not just sit and drool over the pictures of ripe tomatoes, pretty peppers, and golden ears of corn?

Granted, there is a bunch of crossover. Most of the catalogs sell the same varieties. I will go through them and order what I want from the one(s) that have what I want the cheapest.

WHY do I receive so many? Especially when they all pretty much sell the same things?

The wise crack answer is, “because I can”.

The true answer is, because each one will have a couple of “exclusive” or “unusual” varieties that the others don't.

However, today's article is not about what I am going to order (not sure yet anyway). No, today I am going to try to help some of the newbies to gardening. The ones that want to join us in the dark side and grow their own veggies.

All those catalogs look inviting. The pictures look great. The seeds are reasonably priced. It is almost too much to tolerate, I want to plant now!!

Wait a minute. I don't understand some of the terminology being used. Determinate/Indeterminate? Are they not sure of themselves?

Those letters after the name: VFFNTA. Are they trying to learn their alphabet?

Good questions. What in the world are these companies trying to tell you?

Most of this terminology is used for Tomatoes, though the letters can be also relate to Peppers. I will be sticking with Tomatoes today.

Determinate and Indeterminate first.

The majority of Tomatoes you will see, probably 90%, will be indeterminate. These are usually considered a vining type. They can reach lengths, or heights if staked up, of 6-10 feet. It also means, if they are well taken care of, they will continue to grow, flower and set fruit until the frost kills them. The fruit (yes, it is botanically a fruit) will ripen over a long period of time. If you LOVE a good old Tomato sandwich or like a little 'mater in your salad, these are the types you should look for.

Determinate Tomatoes are more commonly known as "bush" Tomatoes. These Tomato varieties are compact and generally grow to a height of about 3-4 feet. Determinate Tomatoes will actually stop growing when the top bud of the plant sets fruit. All of their crop will ripen near the same time over a period of 1-2 weeks and then the plant, having completed its life cycle, will begin to die. Determinate Tomatoes are good candidates for growing in a container. Those aluminum tomato cages you buy at the garden center are designed to support these kinds of plants. If you like to can your own Tomato sauce or make salsa, you need to grow these kinds.

Now for the alphabetically challenged ones.

All of those letters tell you that particular plant has been bred to resist some kind of disease or other problem.

Let's tackle a few of the big ones.

“V” Which is for Verticillium wilt. This is a disease caused by the fungus, Verticillium albo-atrum, which lives in the soil. It is often confused with fusarium wilt, bacterial canker, or early blight. Symptoms are similar in all these diseases. The fungus works its way up through the plant’s roots spreading a toxin that wilts and creates spots on the leaves. It prevents water from reaching the branches and leaves, thus starving the plant.

Courtesy of freebookessay.com

Some things to look for include: Yellow spots appearing on the lower leaves, followed by brown veins. Leaves then turn brown and fall off. Plants may wilt during the day and recover at night. If you were to split the main stem it shows discolored streaks about 10-12 inches above the soil line. It can attack at any stage in a Tomato plant’s growth, but is most common when the plant is producing fruit. To date, there is no chemical treatment available. 

“F” This one stands for Fusarium wilt. This disease is caused by the fungus, Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. Lycopersici, which also lives in the soil. It is often confused with Verticillium wilt because both produce similar symptoms in Tomatoes. One of the main differences of these two diseases is, the first signs are yellowing and wilting on only one side of the plant – a leaf, single shoot, branch, or several branches. Yellowing and wilting spread throughout the plant as the fungus spreads. There is no chemical control for this one either.

Fusarium Wilt Virus

If you see two FF's, that particular plant is resistant to two different strains of the Fusarium virus.

 “N” Nematodes. Better known as Root-knot nematodes, which are microscopic worms that live in the soil and in plant roots. In a resistant variety, Nematodes fail to develop and reproduce normally within the root tissues, allowing plants to grow and produce fruit even though nematode infection of the roots has occurred . Some crop yield loss may still happen however, even though the plants are damaged less and are significantly more tolerant than that of a susceptible variety.

Typical Nematode Damage

“T” This letter is for the Tobacco Mosaic Virus. This disease can be a problem when resistant varieties are not used and frequent handling of plants is involved. Many strains of the virus exist, affecting many unrelated plants in different families. Handling plants often such as transplanting, staking them up, and pruning can effectively spread the virus. Infected leaf and root debris as well as seeds are common sources of the virus The virus can survive in the plant debris for varying periods, up to 2 years under dry conditions. This is why it is important if you are a smoker to make sure you wash your hands very well before handling your Tomato plants, it can actually remain in your cigarettes and be transmitted that way.

Symptoms first appear about 10 days after plants become infected. Symptoms appear as light and dark green mottled areas on leaves. Leaves on infected plants are often small, curled, and puckered. Plants infected early in their development are stunted and have a yellowish cast. Symptoms may vary depending on virus strain, time of infection, variety, and environmental conditions. The virus can reduce size and number of fruit produced. The earlier a plant becomes infected, the greater the loss.

Typical Tobacco Mosaic Virus Damage (noticed the puckered leaves)

 

“A” The last one I will cover today is Alternaria Leaf Spot also known as Early Blight. This is caused by various fungi in the Alternaria family. Lesions are round to irregular spots on older leaves. Spots enlarge and concentric rings in a bull's-eye pattern can be seen in the center of the diseased area. It is best to use a variety that has been bred to resist this disease, but if it is severe enough to warrant chemical control, select one of the following fungicides: maneb, mancozeb, chlorothalonil, or copper fungicides. Follow the directions on the label, this is the law!

Alternaria Leaf Spot Damage

There are many other diseases that affect Tomatoes. This list is just some of the things that have been bred into them to help resist the problem. As you can see, finding one that has some resistance to a certain disease could be very useful.

There are also many cultural practices that you should be following already. Things such as rotating crops. I know this is difficult if you have a small area to garden in. Ideally you will want to plant things that have no relation to what you planted the previous year. Avoid planting Tomatoes in the same place as well as Potatoes and Peppers. Corn or Beans would be a good alternate crop.

Sanitation. This is a big one I have been harping on for a long time. Clean up any fallen leaves or fruit. Especially if you think you might have some kind of a disease problem. DO NOT compost. Destroy the debris completely or remove them from the area.

Plant in a well drained area. Make sure there is ample sunlight. Do not plant too close together so they can have good air circulation. Common sense is one of your biggest tools in your arsenal.

I hope this has cleared up much of the confusion when you open up a seed catalog. Once you know the lingo, it really is not hard to understand. As always, if you have any questions, please feel free to e-mail me. But for right now, I am going to take my leave of you, I think I just heard the mailman and he might have another catalog for me!

Happy Growing!

Darren

Just Trial It!!

In the about me section on the left hand side of my blog, I have the words “Hopefully Always Inspirational”. Well today, we are going to go for some of that.

Last night was the first time this season that my yard suffered through below freezing temperatures. We have had some frosts, but this was the first time it dropped below 32 degrees. It actually went all the way to 29. The extent of time at the below 32 mark was somewhere in the 5-6 hour range, that is important and I will delve into that here shortly.

Why do I bring this up?

Well, anybody that has been following me or knows me, knows that I grow many unusual, not from around here, type of plants. I live in a Zone 8 and probably half of my plants can barely survive a Zone 9 garden.

Yes, I have a greenhouse, but I still have been doing a lot of “trials” as it were this year. Okay, truth is, they didn't all fit into the greenhouse this year...amazing thing, the plants either grew or the greenhouse shrunk....The intelligence report is still forth coming on that.

Anyway, after the wicked cold we had, I was sure there was going to be a bunch of very unhappy plants. There are.  

There are also a bunch of them that, by all rights, should be dead as a doornail!

Here are a few examples of the ones that don't look so good:

 Black Leaf Elephant Ear

 Dwarf Banana

 African Blue Basil

Yellow Brugmansia

Not much of a surprise there huh?

Well, here are the ones that shook it off like it was nothing:

 Macadamia Nut Tree

 Peanut Butter Fruit Tree

 Mexican Petunia

 Surinam Cherry

There are a couple of things at play here, let's take a look at a few of them.

The plants themselves.

When we think of many “exotic” fruit trees, we think of the shores of Hawaii or maybe down in Brazil or even Southern most Florida. Let me use the Surinam Cherry as an example.

The plant is native to Surinam, Guyana and French Guiana to southern Brazil (especially the states of Rio de Janeiro, Paraña, Santa Catharina and Rio Grande do Sul), and to Northern, Eastern and central Uruguay. Sounds pretty mild, almost like a tropical oasis, right? They probably don't have too many ski slopes or uses for ice scrapers. Yet, through trial and error it has been discovered that young Surinam Cherries can be damaged by temperatures below 28 degrees, and well-established plants have suffered only superficial injury at 22 degrees. Do they actually get that cold there or can plants adapt to more than we give them credit for?

Duration. I mentioned above that the killer cold was here for maybe 5-6 hours. This can be critical. Plants have the uncanny ability to protect themselves for brief periods of time. After that time is up, then the plant will die. My Citrus is a good example of this. They will go semi dormant. They do not lose their leaves like, say a maple tree does, but it still hunkers down and gets ready for the cold. As long as a plant is well watered and healthy, it can possibly survive brief encounters into the very cold abyss.

There is also another reason for the “so far” good luck in the survival rates of my exotic plants, Microclimates.

A microclimate is the climate of a small area that is different from the area around it. It may be warmer or colder, wetter or drier, or more or less prone to frosts. Take another look at the Peanut Butter Fruit Tree. It is right NEXT to the house and tucked slightly under some other trees. Both of those things offer some protection from the cold and frost. There are other things that effect microclimates. On a large scale, bodies of water will keep surrounding areas warmer. As will roads, buildings, walls, even large rocks can absorb heat during the day and give off a couple of degrees of protection at night. Heavy clay soils can act much like paved surfaces, moderating the temperature near ground level.

If you live in a valley, you will be cooler than your neighbors up hill. Cold air is heavier than warm, so it settles down into that open area.

Long time gardeners in an area have learned to take advantage of these type of areas. If you are just moving into a place, it will be difficult to know where the micros are. A couple of pieces of advice, look at your neighbors, see what they are growing. Investigate the yard at different times of the day, month and year, it will consistently be changing. I understand, that one is time consuming, so don't be in a hurry to plant a whole bunch of stuff until you learn what you have. You can also ask around, check with your local extension agents.

If you don't feel like doing any of those things, or want to experiment with some plants that just don't sound like they will do well where you are and PLEASE, use some common sense here.....I promise, a coconut palm tree will NOT grow in Maine.....remember the title of this article...Just Trial It!!

Happy Growing!

Darren

Water Woes

The last article I wrote dealt with sunlight and what is considered “Full Sun”. It was inspired by questions that I get when someone has an issue with a fruiting plant that is not producing fruit. Today's article has also been inspired by questions that I get when a plant is not doing well. It is probably the number two most common problem I deal with as a Master Gardener.

Watering.

Many of the websites and articles that I read have a sentence in there that drives me crazy! It goes something like this, “This plant needs one inch of water per week” or something along those lines.

WHY, does that sentence bother me so much?

Lets run a couple of scenarios.

You have your favorite plant, it doesn't matter what it is for this example, it has a tag or you have read that it requires one inch of water per week. Okay, fine. What if this plant is in a very sandy soil? Water drains exceptionally well in sand, because it has little to no water holding capabilities. That one inch of water will be gone in hours, the plant is not getting any water 3-4 days later.

Let's reverse it. The plant is in a very heavy peat based soil. Peat holds water very well. That one inch of water may still be around in a week. Then you water again. It continues to build up until the plant literally drowns. More on that in a minute.

So you need to be aware of the type of soil it is in. What about the pot itself? 

A terracotta or clay pot is very pretty. They are nice and heavy and help to stabilize the plant. That clay or terracotta actually wicks the water away from the soil. So here again, one inch of water will be gone in a shorter period of time than one week.

Plastic pots tend to retain the water better. You guessed it, one inch of water per week might be too much.

There are numerous other things that need to be taken into consideration. The type of plant is a big one. A Cactus will need MUCH less water than a Philodendron. I know, the Cactus label does not read one inch of water per week. I have actually met somebody that watered theirs every other day, their thinking...it's a plant and they need water. Of course, there was also the case of a woman that literally...I can't make this stuff up...watered her large Cactus one tablespoon of water every 6 months and wondered why it was looking poorly.

Size of the plant is another good example. Which do you think will need more water in full sun, a four inch pot or something the size of a trash can?

How about the weather? Do you think a week of cloudy, overcast, cool weather will need more water or less water than 95 degrees, cloudless sky, and windy?

It will also matter greatly if it is in the ground or in a pot.

Hopefully that has given you some idea of why you need to know your plant and the situation it is trying to be grown in.

What is that you say? How do you know if you are over-water or under-watering?

EXCELLENT question!

Sometimes when plants start to show symptoms of stress, i.e. wilting, the first reaction is to water, but sometimes over-watering can be just as detrimental to a plant's health as under-watering. Symptoms of both over and under-watering can look very similar. Leaves turn brown and wilt. Often times, when this happens to under-watered plants, those dead leaves will be dry and crispy. While with over-watering, those leaves may still be soft and limp.

Here is a test: Is this from over-watering or under-watering?
Tough to tell huh?

With under-watering the plant tries to conserve what little water it has by keeping the stalk green and the roots moist, but the leaves will turn yellow and wilt and eventually dry up.

With over-watering, plants need to breath. They breath through their roots and when there is too much water, the roots cannot take in gases. It is actually slowly suffocating.

Both over and under-watering can lead to other things, such as stunted growth, and lack of fruit or flowers.

Many people like to use a water meter on their plants. If you are not familiar with these, it is usually a probe that you stick in the soil and it will tell you whether you need to water or not. One of the types looks like this:

 I don't like them because they are very unreliable. I tried one once, I stuck it into a pot of extremely dry soil, I know it was very dry because it fell out in one piece and was very light. The meter said it was fine, do not water.

You actually have a reliable water meter with you right now. Scientifically it is called “the index finger”. Stick that scientific device into the soil, about 1-2 inches....if it feels dry, water...if it is damp, don't and check again tomorrow. Pretty cool huh?!

For smaller plants there is another method. Water the plant very well, make sure there is water coming out of the drainage holes. Then, lift the pot up. Get that weight in your head. After a couple of days, lift the pot again. If it feels much lighter than the other day, water, if it still feels heavy, check again in a couple of days.

I have been known to use both methods. I will stick my finger in a pot, then lift it. I very seldom have a water issue problem.

Hopefully, this has shed some light on the subject of watering. If you MUST err one way or the other, do so on the under-watering side. Many plants are much more drought tolerant than we think and will recover from too little water. There are not many that will come back from a dip into the deep end of a pool, unable to swim, with no life preserver!    

Happy Growing!

Darren