There’s a climbing vine in my garden which has hydrangea-like flowers. I have lost the tag, and don’t know if it is Hydrangea petiolaris, or Schizophragma hydrangeoides–how can I distinguish one from the other?
There is an article in Arnoldia (the journal of the Arnold Arboretum at Harvard University) from July 24, 1933 which explains that the two plants are related, but the flower ‘petals’ (which are actually sepals) surrounding the center are distinct:
“In Hydrangea petiolaris this encircling tiara is composed of greenish white flowers, each one made up of four rounded sepals. In Schizophragma hydrangeoides these showy sepals are a purer white and they are borne singly rather than in fours.”
University of Arkansas Extension also says that Schizophragma “differs in flowering time (after climbing Hydrangea) and in the fact that it protrudes less from structures.”
There is another less commonly grown climbing Hydrangea, Hydrangea integrifolia, an evergreen that grows to 40 feet tall and 20 feet wide. Its flower buds look almost like those of peonies, and its leaves are elongated and glossy.
Slowly but surely, what’s left of my untended lawn is being overtaken by a small weed with fan-shaped leaves. It reminds me of a tiny Lady’s Mantle. What is it, and is there any hope of getting rid of it without herbicide?
Your description sounds like Aphanes australis, whose common name is slender parsley-piert. The common name derives from the plant’s leaves which resemble parsley, and the French ‘perce-pierre,’ meaning ‘break (or pierce) stone.’ It thrives in dry, exposed, or barren soils. North Carolina State University’s Turf Center describes cultural control methods:
“Winter annual broadleaf weeds germinate in the fall or winter and grow during any warm weather, which may occur in the winter, but otherwise remain somewhat dormant during the winter. They resume growth and produce seed in the spring and die as temperatures increase in late spring and early summer. They quickly invade thin turf areas especially where there is good soil moisture. Shade may also encourage growth. Many have a prostrate growth habit and are not affected by mowing. A dense, vigorous turf is the best way to reduce the encroachment of winter annual weeds. First, select adapted turfgrass cultivars for your area and then properly fertilize, mow, and water to encourage dense growth.”
It sounds like lawn renovation might be a good idea. If the parsley-piert has intense competition from a happily growing lawn, it will not thrive. Seattle Public Utilities has good resources on lawn care.
It’s summer and my husband wants to add lime to our soil because some of our tomatoes have blossom-end rot. He thinks this will correct the problem. I think we would do better to make sure our tomatoes aren’t drying out, and then work in soil amendments next time around. Also, couldn’t we use eggshells for calcium instead of lime? We have a ready supply from our backyard chickens!
I think you are on the right track. Blossom End Rot (BER) is a physiological disorder that tends to affect larger tomatoes rather than smaller ones. According to Craig LeHoullier’s book Epic Tomatoes (Storey Publishing, 2015), some varieties are especially susceptible: “Roma/paste varieties, and some of the longer indeterminate sauce types like Opalka and Speckled Roman. Adverse growing conditions [such as drought stress or low calcium levels] can make it problematic for many other varieties as well.”
All print and web sources I consulted mention environmental conditions as a cause of this problem. It starts through the supply of water and calcium in the developing fruits. The effects may be seen on plants exposed to a period of drought during rapid growth; root damage; heavy, wet, or cold soil; excess salt in the soil.
A soil test is the ideal starting point to make sure the pH is adequate for tomatoes. Epic Tomatoes recommends amending the soil with lime if necessary. (Washington State University Extension says the time to do this is 2-4 months before planting, not in the middle of summer!) Mulch around the base of the plants to conserve soil moisture during hot spells and water regularly. Another reason a soil test is a good idea is mentioned by British Columbia author Linda Gilkeson in her book Backyard Bounty (New Society Publishers, 2011):
“Your soil might have enough calcium, but it isn’t available, or the plant can’t take it up fast enough. This is often because the movement of calcium inside the plant has been inhibited by drought stress, possibly from irregular watering. This is often seen on tomatoes in containers that experience alternating dry and wet soil. It can also be caused when plants grow too fast as a result of too much nitrogen fertilizer.”
Since you prefer not to use lime (the dry powdery texture of calcium carbonate can be irritating to the skin and eyes), you will be pleased to know that the use of eggshells is mentioned by Mike McGrath in You Bet Your Tomatoes! (Rodale Press, 2002). At planting time you can “put some crushed-up eggshells into the planting hole.” Make sure the eggshells are ground to a fine consistency.
Don’t forget that those damaged tomatoes can still be used–just cut off the bad parts!
What is the difference between yams and sweet potatoes?
According to Elizabeth Schneider’s Vegetables from Amaranth to Zucchini (William Morrow, 2001), the orange vegetable that many of us commonly call a yam is in actuality a type of sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas). So is the ivory-fleshed version (also known as Korean, Oriental, or Japanese sweet potato), and so is the boniato-type (a larger sweet potato with fragrant flesh that bakes up dry and fluffy). All sweet potatoes originated in the New World, though many are now grown and used back in Europe and Asia as well.
The true yam has many varieties, all of which originate in the Old World, but which may also be grown and sold here now, particularly in specialty markets. All of the true yams belong to the species Dioscorea, which has 60 edible species (10 of them widely grown). Few of them are sweet; none are as sweet as the orange vegetable we picture with marshmallows at family feasts in the US. Here is a sampling of some true yam types:
- White yam (Dioscorea alata), ñame blanco –“sweet, delicate, mild”
- Purple yam (also Dioscorea alata), ube, ratala, or kand — “gently sweet, with a touch of smokiness, meatiness, and nuttiness”
- Cushcush yam (Dioscorea trifida), mapuey, yampi, or igname couche-couche — “dry, fluffy, and starchy”
- African white yam (Dioscorea rotundata), Guinea yam, Ghana yam, fufu yam — “5 pounds” “potato-like”
- Chinese yam (Dioscorea esculenta), lesser yam, ñame papa “like a fibrous russet”
The following link may also be of interest. Library of Congress explains the confusion between these two types of tubers.
I have organic Rainier strawberries in a raised bed. I’d like to plant organic everbearing strawberries in the same bed. Is there a problem with cross-pollination? What would be your recommendation for the best strawberry varieties to plant in Seattle?
Strawberries can reproduce by runners or by seed. Those which are reproduced by runners will be clones of the parent plant, but those which grow from seed may cross-pollinate.
Here is more information from the Royal Horticultural Society.
Excerpt:
“Strawberries can be propagated in late summer, but no later than early autumn, by sinking 9cm (3.5in) pots filled with potting media, such as general-purpose potting compost, into the beds and inserting individual runners into them. Sever the new young plants from the parent plant when rooted. Perpetual strawberries produce few runners and new plants are best bought in annually.
“Seed-raised cultivars are available but are not recommended*, except for alpine strawberries.”
*I suspect this is because you can’t know what the resulting new generation of strawberries will be like–tasty or not so tasty.
So I think as long as you harvest your fruit, and don’t let fruit ripen and drop into the bed, you can allow runners to produce new plants and they should be the same varieties as their parents. That being said, it’s usually good to replace strawberry plants after a few years, just to keep disease problems down (the RHS link above says to replace every 3 years or so).
I’ve had good luck with Shuksan (June-bearing), and I think I may have grown Tristar (ever-bearing) before, too. Oregon State University Extension has a guide entitled “Strawberry Cultivars for Western Oregon
and Washington” which recommends these varieties and several others..
There are many more varieties listed in the Sunset Western Garden Book of Edibles (2010). If you are looking for sources, you might try your favorite local nurseries, but also mail order nurseries like Raintree, Cloud Mountain Farm, and Burnt Ridge. The Northwest Flower and Garden Show in February often has vendors selling strawberry plants.
We had quite a lightning storm today, and it made me think of something a friend had told me. He used to farm in Eastern Washington, and he said that lightning was good for the soil and the crops. Is this pure folklore or does it have some scientific basis?
This isn’t just folklore. According to the Indiana Public Media’s Moment of Science, “there is enough electrical energy in lightning to separate the nitrogen atoms in the air. Once the atoms are separated they can fall to earth with rain water, and combine with minerals in the soil to form nitrates, a type of fertilizer.”
I have a 22-year-old Eddie’s White Wonder Dogwood. It bloomed the first three springs after planting and then stopped blooming until this spring.
It is planted at the edge of a woodland, facing south. It received summer water the first few years, but not since then, because Sunset Western Garden Book advised re: Cornus nuttallii, part of Eddie’s cross: “Give infrequent summer water.”
I did water it more last summer, as it was so hot and dry in our area. And it finally bloomed!
My question–Do you think that the bloom this spring was the result of more water during the summer, or did the tree have to reach a certain age to start blooming each spring?
There are several reasons that Dogwoods fail to flower. Flowering dogwood does need regular water, according to Sunset’s 2001 edition. Other possibilities might be the age of the tree, and extreme temperatures, such as cold, which may kill the buds.
I would suggest continuing to water and see if it flowers again next season.
There is some discussion about dogwoods failing to flower on the forum of University of British Columbia Botanical Garden. Possible reasons include the age of the tree (not applicable in your case), excessive use of fertilizer, cold damage to buds, lack of sun, and more.
The book 1000 Gardening Questions & Answers (The New York Times) has a section entitled, “Why Won’t It Bloom.” Reasons that dogwood may not flower are similar to those described above:
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1. Overfertilizing – creates excessive foliage
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2. Excessive Shade – need at least 4 to 5 hours a day and more sun means more flowers
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3. Frosts or droughts – at the wrong time (Dogwoods need lots of moisture and we have had several years of drought)
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4. Pruning – removing the flower buds unintentionally
What grapes for eating ripen in the Seattle area? I do grow concord, but are there any red or green grapes that ripen in this climate?
Both WSU and OSU Fruit Research Stations recommend Buffalo, Canadice, Van Buren, Vanessa, and Venus.
Following is WSU’s entire list:
- Table grape varieties (*currently planted at Mount Vernon)
- Buffalo – midseason Concord type, blue
- Canadice* – early pinkish red
- Interlaken Seedless* – early white, vigorous
- Lynden Blue – very early blue, seeded
- Mars* – medium early, blue
- Reliance*- early, red, table and juice
- Saturn* – medium early, red
- Van Buren – blue Concord type, early
- Vanessa* – early red
- Venus* – early red
- NY 78.836.06* – selection from Geneva, NY breeding program
(Source: Washington State University, Mount Vernon)
You may find Oregon State University’s publication about Growing Table Grapes by Bernadine C. Strik of interest as well.
My rhodies are being devastated by root weevils. They have stripped many of the branches clean of their vegetation, and have destroyed ~50% of the remaining leaves. My rhodies look like they will require years to recover, if they ever do.
If I replace them with resistant varieties or plants that are not susceptible to these pests, will this eliminate the weevils?
Root weevils are the most common pest attacking Rhododendrons in the Pacific Northwest so they can only be temporarily eliminated from any garden. If the environment is right and their food source returns, so will the root weevils.
If you want to keep your current Rhododendrons, the weevils can be controlled if you’re diligent (forever!?). An article by Caroline Cox in the summer 2005 issue of the Journal of Pesticide Reform discusses their control. However, it sounds as if you’re willing to remove them and start fresh. Some of the most susceptible (host plants) are Rhododendron and Azalea, Heather, Salal, Manzanita and Kinnikinnick, Pieris, Maples, Viburnum, most Conifers, Astilbe, Cyclamen, Helleborus, Hosta and Primrose.
(Source: Root Weevils in the Nursery and Landscape; Identification and Control, by J. DeAngelis and G. Garth, EC 1485, Oregon State University Extension Service).
The extension bulletin from the Washington State University Extension website has an excellent list of resistant Rhododendron varieties.
I have a small hibiscus that I would like to train into a
tree with the twisted trunk and I have no idea how to go about that.
Please advise.
When you prune your hibiscus into a tree-like form with a single trunk,
it is called a standard. There are even braided topiary forms. To achieve
the twisted shape, you will probably need to create a support or frame.
The following general information on pruning comes from Tropical
Hibiscus:
“While the tropical hibiscus can be pruned any time, probably the ideal is
the earliest where the resulting tender new growth will be safe from cold
damage*. For shaping purposes, some growers will prune the longest third
of the branches and return in 4 to 6 weeks and prune the next longest
third. Only sharp, clean shears should be used. A clean cut should be
just above and angled down and away from an ‘eye’ or node. (A node is the
junction of a leaf and the stem. There is a small bud in this junction
that is activated after pruning.) Cutting above outward pointing “eyes”
will encourage growth in that direction. The new growth resulting from
pruning invigorates the plant and will provide a source for many new
blooms.”
The American Horticultural Society’s Pruning & Training (edited by Christopher Brickell and David Joyce, DK Publishing, 2011) describes the technique for creating a braided stem:
“Form a braided stem simply by braiding together three flexible young shoots. Select the strongest three on a multi-stemmed young plant, and remove the remainder. Single-stemmed plants can be cut back hard to produce multiple stems.”
The book also describes what is called a “barleysugar stem,” which may be more like the twist or spiral you envision: in this technique, “use a sturdy wooden pole with dowel pegs inserted in a spiral along its length. Train one or two stems around the pole, holding them in place by looping them beneath the dowels. Remove the pegs and the pole in sections when stem growth has hardened.”
Here is a link to Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s article on espalier forms, Special Cases: Pruning for Particular Purposes.
The Miller Library has a good selection of books on pruning and training,
and specifically on topiary. You can search the library’s catalog by clicking this link.
