Bring me... A Shrubbery!

According to Wikipedia “A shrubbery is a wide border to a garden where shrubs are thickly planted; or a similar, larger area with a path winding through it… a collection of hardy shrubs … distinct from the flower garden.” Wikipedia also referenced the poet Milton and more to my taste, Monty Python. You may recall that The Knights who say Ni demanded a shrubbery of King Arthur. A nice one but not too expensive.

Penn State’s new Guide for Selecting Shrubs for Pennsylvania Landscapes says .. “Shrubs act as intermediate units working in partnership with trees to provide scale and structure for the larger shade trees and the people and animals that interact with the landscape.” Yes indeed , my cat sleeps in the shrubbery.

This is a great new reference created by Penn State Horticulture Department faculty. It describes more than 200 shrubs for Pennsylvania landscapes. For planning purposes the guide is divided between deciduous and evergreen shrubs. These are arranged by size…less than 3 feet, 3-5 feet, 5-9 feet, etc. Excellent information for planning a shrubbery.

Shrubs native to Pennsylvania are indicated for those of you who are planning with this in mind. Last year I planted Clethera and Itea, a couple of natives that tolerate very wet sites. Great plants. Bees love them.

With more than 200 species mentioned, you’ll of course find Junipers and Viburnum, Taxus and Rhododendron, Cotoneaster and Cornus. But also less know genera such as Xanthorhiza, Indigofera, and Eubotrys.

It won’t be long before we can think about planting outside again. A Guide for Selecting Shrubs for Pennsylvania Landscapes is a great planning reference and inspiration. Read it on line, call us (215-345-3283) for a free copy or order from Penn State.

The ABCs of Beekeeping

In January, I’ll conduct a beginner’s beekeeping course in Doylestown, PA. It will just be the ABC’s…not the ABCs’ and XYZ’s of beekeeping. The latter is the title of a famous and (still published ) book on beekeeping. The registration information is posted on the web . Or you can give us an old fashioned phone call at Penn State Extension, 215-345-3283 and request a brochure if you think you are interested.

Interest in bees and beekeeping has grown tremendously in the last several years. Probably as a result of the widely publicized Colony Collapse Disorder. As a beekeeper, I find it very heartening that so many folks pay attention to this and are concerned.

Interest in honey bees is not new. It is a hobby that has been entertaining and rewarding people for thousands of years. A Philadelphian named Lorenzo Langstroth really got things going when he invented the modern hive with movable and interchange parts in the 1850’s.

Apparently some folks are so concerned about the plight of bees that they want to start hobby beekeeping. I imagine that for others, there was a dormant desire to learn about bees that was awakened by bees in the news. Some gardeners feel that they need to keep bees to ensure pollination for their crops… especially as they notice fewer and fewer honeybees visiting flowers. But our native pollinators (honey bees are not native to North America) actually do a very good job of moving pollen in small gardens. It is the big-time fruit and vegetable producers that really need honey bees. Maybe you’ve heard that more than a million colonies of bees go to California each spring for almond pollination.

There are about 25,000 honey bee colonies in Pennsylvania and 2 million nation-wide. Most of these are maintained by commercial beekeepers. On the other hand, my estimate is that more than 95 % of all beekeepers are hobbyists. If you have an eye for the stacks of 16 by 20 inch boxes that kept bees generally live in, you’ll finds bee hives everywhere. City beekeepers are common in San Francisco, New York, Paris and most cities.

My bee course will be conducted on four consecutive Tuesday evenings beginning on Janaury 26. Interestingly, My co-hort, Tom Butzler, in Clinton County Extension, will be conducting a bee keeping course on- line in January also. Since you are on the web maybe this also appeals to you. Or do both! For more info on Tom's course see this.

Hoe, Hoe, Hoe...Holiday Shopping for Gardeners

Gardening is supposed to be America’s most popular hobby. So, chances are, you know a gardening enthusiast well enough to be thinking about a holiday gift for them.

Here are some ideas in case you are still wondering what to get them.

OK, I guess I have to say it because I work for Penn State but you really can’t go wrong with a Penn State soil test kit. The “kit” is not a “do it yourself “ deal but a service provide by Penn State. Cost is reasonable (nine bucks) and it is guaranteed to be useful. Unique, too. Soil test results tell gardeners about the nutrient needs of their gardens. If you want to splurge, go ahead and get that optional organic matter test for a few bucks more. Check out the details at Penn State's Ag Analytical Services or contact your local extension office . Soil test kits make good stocking stuffers.

Books …. Here are a few that are sure to please.

Every gardener deals with weeds. My favorite weed book is Weeds of the Northeast. 300 pages of color pictures and descriptions of the most common weeds found in the northeast U.S…all for about 30 bucks.

Woody plant lovers generally consider Manual of Woody Landscape Plants by Dirr to be the most useful and comprehensive book on woody plants in the U.S. I use it weekly. The fifth edition is 1100 pages…. a winner. Dirr has companion picture books that bring the text to life. Dirr’s Hardy Trees and Shrubs is one of them.

Another great tree book is Trees for American Gardens by Donald Wyman. A oldie but a goodie is A Natural History of North American Trees by Donald Culross Peattie… part poetry, part botany. Nothing else like it.

If you have a hard core botanist in the family… consider The Plants of Pennsylvania by Rhoads and Block. About 3000 Pennsylvania plants are described.

You aren’t likely to find any of these texts in the local book store or even the big box-book stores but you will find them online.

It is a bit tricky to get the right tools for gardeners but I don’t know any gardener who wouldn’t like a pair of Felco hand pruners. They are the “gold standard” in pruning equipment and Felco has an amazing array of options… did you know lefties need custom pruners and that small hands need smaller tools? Check it out.

Other stuff… how about a membership in the Pennsylvania Horticulture Society, Morris Arboretum or passes to Longwood Gardens? Garden centers offer gift certificates.

Has someone been naughty this year? Arrange for a load of mulch to be dropped in the driveway Christmas morning.

Witchhazel, a Blooming Fall Treat.

Just when you thought the last flower had bloomed… along comes Witchhazel. The picture here is of Hamamelis virginiana, Common Witchhazel growing on a mountain top in central Pennsylvania. It sure lights up the woods on a fall day. It is not that the bloom is extremely large… but the fact that nothing else is blooming makes it special.

I don’t see Common Witchhazel in too many nursery/garden centers but what you will find are Hamamelis x intermida hybrids. The most common is 'Arnold Promise' and for good reason. It produces beautiful ,strap-like, yellow flowers in mid-winter and that certainly gets your attention….especially if there is some snow to provide a contrast. Nothing like bloom mid January to get your juices flowing.

There are red flowering hybrids, too. I have observed the cultivar 'Jelena' for several years and its’ coppery colored red flowers are very distinct. It also blooms in early to mid winter.

There is a nice specimen of 'Arnold Promise' planted along the walk way leading to the Bucks County Extension office. It is part of our fledgling Almshouse Arboretum. Penn State Master Gardeners have planted more than sixty trees on the grounds of Neshaminy Manor Center since 2007. Many of these plants were provided by Tree Vitalize , a private-public program with the goal of enhancing tree canopy in Pennsylvania.

In fact, just a week ago a hardy crew of Penn State Master Gardeners planted nine more trees. (Normally I assist them but I was in the woods looking at Witchhazels.

This reminds me that it is still a great time to plant trees and shrubs. We have planted about half of the Almshouse Arboretum trees in the fall with a 100% success rate. So, check out your local garden center and make a deal on good quality trees and shrubs.

Lady Bug, Lady Bug... Fly to Someone Else’s Home!

Good week for encounters with lady bugs… the Multicolored Asian Lady Beetle, Harmonia axyridis , to be exact. On Tuesday, I noticed them as they flew to my arms near a sunny orchard. On Wednesday, the local TV station called to get the story on “swarming” lady beetles invading homes. Sure enough, a Perkasie home had thousands of beetles on the sunny south side of the house. Warm days, following cool nights, (light frost in Perkasie Monday)seems to inspire them to seek overwintering quarters.

Most of us are familiar with the native, red beetle with black spots that probably inspired that children’s ditty. I can’t locate the literary reference. (Help someone!). Almost everyone looks fondly on the red lady bug and gardeners know that they are beneficial in the garden. They eat aphids and other destructive insects.

But the bug of the week is a relatively recent introduction. Literally. The multi-colored Asian Lady Beetle was purposely introduced to the USA as a beneficial insect, designed to apply some biological pressure to destructive, introduced pests. In Pennsylvania, introductions were made in the 1970s and 80’s. They’re good bugs…. tell that to folks who have thousands in their homes.

I feel bad for entomophobic (insect fearing) people. There are so many insects in the world. More than a million species. Books say that there are more species of insects than all other animal species, combined. Most of them are pretty and interesting. A few are not appreciated by people because they destroy crops, sting or carry disease. A few are appreciated for their beauty (butterflies) or utility (honey bees). But insects are just “bugs” to most people and for some reason are not loved. All have a role to play in the grand scheme of things, I suppose. So give a bug a break. Play a game of finding their names and then see what they are all about. (How about it, Amy?) You might be pleasantly surprised.

So, back to the bug of the week. Good bug… eats aphids and scale insects that harm plants. Bad bug,… gets in the house because it is seeking overwintering quarters in you warm home. In their native habitat (Asia) they use warm cliff faces as overwintering quarters. The sunny south side of our houses must seem similar.

The good news is that they are not harmful to people (minor exceptions) or our structures; they do not reproduce inside our homes. Seal up cracks and crevices to prevent their entry, just as you would do to prevent invasions of Brown Marmorated Stink Bugs or Box Elder Bugs. Insecticides are not usually effective. Once inside, a vacuum cleaner, fitted with a stocking to collect them works well. Some folks are so bug loving they save them and release them next spring. See this for details. Now that’s loving a bug!

Thanks to Iowa State University for the bug pic. There are loads of articles on this insect if you want to search the web. Stick to .edu sites for the best info.

Morris Arboretum… A Horticultural Gem in our Backyard

This week I joined the Philadelphia Branch of the Professional Grounds Management Society (PGMS) for a visit to Morris Arboretum. PGMS is the professional home for the people who manage grounds at schools, universities, public and private gardens, municipal parks and other such places. Did you ever stop to wonder who was making those places look so nice? Visiting interesting sites is part of the professional development this group enjoys and twenty-five of us took part in the visit to Morris. Past PGMS National President and pal Kevin O’Donnell, Superintendent of Grounds at Villanova University, arranged this event.

We had a real treat when Jan McFarland, Education Director at Morris and her colleagues gave us a behind the scenes tour. Morris Arboretum is associated with the University of Pennsylvania and is the official arboretum of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. After learning about the educational programs that Morris offers to professional horticulturists and the public we took off to the tree tops. Perhaps you’ve heard about “Out on Limb”, the unique feature at Morris Arboretum where visitors can scramble around like a squirrel in at tree-top height, securely of course. Indeed, a whole new way of looking at trees.

Jason Lubar, Director of Urban Forestry, lead the group I was in. Jason took us to a fantastic grove of Dawn Redwoods, (Metasequoia glyptostroboides… why is it that I can spell this but not squirel?) which appear to be ancient. Tree people know that this species was not known in the western world until the 1940’s so these trees are actually only about 60 years old. Hard to believe, but true. These trees are some of the first to be planted outside of China, its recent, native habitat. References say it was on our continent 15 million years ago and has been on earth for more than 100 million years.

Morris Arboretum is renowned for introducing interesting new plants to the West. We also stood beneath one of the largest Katsuratrees (Cercidiphyllum japonicum, native to Japan and China) I’ve ever seen and took in the unique fragrance of its fall foliage. Believe it or not, most folks agree it smells like cotton candy!

One thing that makes an arboretum different from a walk in the woods is that the plants are labeled… a great thing if you want to learn plant names. At Morris, the origin and age of plants is also displayed. There are more than 13,000 labeled plants in all so you may need more than one visit to take it all in. Fortunately, members of the Arboretum have unlimited admission year round. Membership also provides reciprocal admission to more than 200 gardens nationwide and invitation to special events. I think I heard Jason say they had a beer tasting recently. Hmmm. I know that I only scratched the surface of this wonderful horticultural gem. I’ll be back.

Morris Arboretum is located in the farthest northwest territory of Philadelphia County and is open seven days a week. Check it out!

Can I Compost those Diseased Tomato Plants?

Yes. That’s the short and simple answer to a question that is on many gardeners minds. The disease that concerns most gardeners this year is late blight, Phytophthora infestans, which plagued so many gardens and farms this year. I have spoken to too many gardeners who are wasting time solarizing tomato vines, planning elaborate crop rotations or sending tomato debris out with the trash. Compost them. It’s also good to know that most diseased plants can be composted without the fear of aggravating the disease situation next year.

Let’s take late blight first because it is easiest. The late blight organism requires a living host to survive. Since tomatoes cannot survive our winters, any late blight fungus will die along with the plant. May as well compost the diseased plants. Or you could simply turn them into the soil. For that matter you could let the dead tomato skeletons hang out all winter on their stakes. Dead tomatoes = dead late blight. Late blight does not form overwintering spores in Pennsylvania that could cause new infections next year.

Potatoes are another story. Late blight infected potato foliage can be treated like tomato foliage. But infected tubers should not be put into the compost pile. Tubers may survive the winter and start up new infections next spring.

Most other tomato diseases do have the ability to survive and infect tomato again next year. Early blight, Septoria leaf spot and anthracnose can survive either on plant debris, in special fungal survival structures, on other plants and even on pots and containers. Crop rotation provides some small measure of control but you can expect these diseases to return each year regardless of crop rotation. And let’s face it, we often have limited ability to rotate crops in our small vegetable gardens. Do it, as a good general pest management strategy, but realize it will not eliminate re-occurrence of disease.

Back to that compost pile… since the environment in the compost pile is much more competitive for fungal pathogens than soil, and these disease organisms will survive thru other means, why not compost those diseased plants?
There are a few garden diseases that surely should not go into the compost pile. Fusarium and Verticillium wilt come to mind, but they are relatively rare these days because of good plant breeding. If you suspect that these are involved then trash them. Otherwise… everything into the compost pile.