growing and caring for red banana plant

I have a small, red-leaved banana plant. I am going to give it
to my daughter in Iowa. What is the best care she can give besides full
sun and moisture? What kind of dirt is best for replanting it and what
kind of fertilizer should I feed it?

You are correct that Ensete ventricosum (Red banana) needs moisture and
sun to thrive. The information I found about this plant indicates that it
is not too particular about type of soil, but it is definitely
frost-tender. Does your daughter plan to overwinter the banana in a
greenhouse or other sheltered spot? The Missouri Botanical Garden
site linked below suggests applying fertilizer during the growing season,
but does not mention a particular type of fertilizer. (See last link
below for more anecdotal information on fertilizer.)

Missouri Botanical Garden has useful information on growing Ensete. Below is an excerpt.

Winter hardy to USDA Zones 10-11. In St. Louis, plants may be grown
outdoors during the growing season (either directly in the ground or in
containers), but must be brought indoors for overwintering or they will
not survive. Plants are best grown in organically rich, medium moisture,
well-drained soil in full sun. Plants tolerate and often appreciate some
part shade or light filtered sun in the heat of the day. Plants need
consistently moist soils that do not dry out. Fertilize plants regularly
during growing season. Site plants in areas protected from strong winds
which can severely damage the large leaves. For containers, use a
well-drained potting soil mix. Keep container soils consistently moist
but not wet. In St. Louis, outdoor plants must be overwintered indoors,
either in a sunroom/greenhouse or by forcing plants into dormancy.
Options for overwintering include:

Bring container plant indoors in
fall before first frost and place container in a large sunny room for
overwintering as a houseplant, with reduced water and fertilization;
If container plant is too large to bring inside as a houseplant, cut
foliage back to 6-8″ in fall after first frost, and store container in a
cool, dark, frost-free corner of the basement until spring, with periodic
addition of a touch of moisture as needed in winter to prevent the soils
from totally drying out;
If container plant is too heavy or too large
to bring inside, remove plant from container in fall before first frost,
wrap roots in plastic and store in a cool, dark, frost-free corner of the
basement until spring (foliage may be trimmed back or left on the plant
and allowed to brown up in the normal course);
If growing plants
directly in the ground, dig, wrap roots, trim back the leaves and store
as in option #3 above. After flowering and fruiting, the pseudostem dies.
Propagate by seed or tissue culture.

The Plants for a Future database also has information on growing this plant.

There is information on fertilizing on the site of the Northwest Palms forum (no longer available online). Excerpt:

I promised in a thread a while back that I would post the fertilizer I
use for feeding my Ensete ventricosum maurelii. Here’s what I typically
do:

The plants get set out in mid May. They have been dormant in the unheated
basement since November. When they were dug up they had all their leaves
cut off except the central growing one. The root ball gets covered with
plastic to help keep moisture in. Over the winter they have lost a lot of
their water but are still succulent and ready to put on new growth
(usually they are already growing before being set out). Their root ball
was kept small to make storage easier and they were watered sparingly and
kept just barely moist for their period of dormancy. Last year the
biggest plant was over 300 pounds (without leaves!) when dug up, but it
will have lost about a third of that weight by the time it is planted
out.

We plant them into areas of the yard where the soil is 100% compost. They
get put in planting holes that have about 6 cups of pelleted shake/feed
fertilizer (24-8-16 or similar) mixed into the bottom of the planting
hole as well as a good sprinkling of pelleted micronutrients, iron and
magnesium. But that’s just the start…

After planting, they are generously watered in with transplant fertilizer
and top dressed with manure or SeaSoil or both. Then, I wait for full-on
new growth to start. As soon as it does, the bananas get fertilized
weekly. I use urea (46-0-0), super phosphate (0-45-0) and potassium
(0-0-50) and make my own mix using a ratio of 2:1:1. I dissolve 1/2 cup
urea with 1/4 cup phosphate and potassium in a small amount of hot water.
This super concentrate gets diluted into 10 litres of water and each
Ensete plant gets this shot of fertilizer, watered in, every week from
early June to October. (As they get dug up for winter, I’m not too
worried about late season applications of fertilizer.) Every few weeks
they also get some magnesium and some fish fertilizer. There doesn’t seem
to be any way to burn them with fertilizer when planted in the ground. (I
wouldn’t use an aggressive fertilizer schedule like this for plants in
pots.) Use caution as nearby plants can suffer from such high levels of
fertilizer–good reason to surround your bananas with cannas and
Colocasias etc.

The other bananas we have (basjoo, sikkimensis, Orinoco, zebrina,
Musella, itinerans) get a similar schedule but smaller quantities of
fertilizer as they just can’t match the maurelii for the “volume” of the
plant (the biggest basjoos get about half the amount).

As other people have also pointed out, the amount of water they get is
also critical. They all love water but must still have good drainage (we
plant ours in raised mounds).

So there’s obviously no magic to anything I do–I just experimented with
how much fertilizer they can take and haven’t hit the limit yet.

My only caution is beware of the monster you are creating. Digging up
several 300+ pound plants, moving them (in our case, down a flight of
stairs into the basement), storing them and then reversing the procedure
in the Spring is back-breaking work. Perhaps ours will get too big this
year (this will be their 3rd summer) to do this. Last year they were 17
feet tall…”

propagating crimson glory vine

I am having difficulty propagating Vitis coignetiae. The cuttings are
not taking. Any advice?

Here is what I found in the Plants for a Future Database:

Seed – best sown in a cold frame as soon as it is ripe. Six weeks cold
stratification improves the germination rate, and so stored seed is best
sown in a cold frame as soon as it is obtained. Germination should take
place in the first spring, but sometimes takes another 12 months. Prick
out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to
handle and grow them on in a cold frame for their first winter. Plant out
in early summer.

Cuttings of mature wood of the current seasons growth, December/January
in a frame. These cuttings can be of wood 15 – 30cm long or they can be
of short sections of the stem about 5cm long with just one bud at the top
of the section. In this case a thin, narrow strip of the bark about 3cm
long is removed from the bottom half of the side of the stem. This will
encourage callusing and the formation of roots. Due to the size of these
cuttings they need to be kept in a more protected environment than the
longer cuttings. Cuttings are difficult from this species.

Layering: This is the best method for this species.

See the Royal Horticultural Society for general layering information.

Gaultheria mucronata or Pernettya mucronata

I was wondering if you could figure out if there is a
difference between Gaultheria mucronata and Pernettya mucronata. Are they
the same plant that had a name change? Are they different? I had thought
that P. mucronata had both male and female plants–could you confirm that?

Here is the Pernettya mucronata listing, and here is the Gaultheria mucronata listing, both from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Taxonomy
database, showing that the two names are synonyms.

The University of British Columbia Botanical Garden online forum offers
the following information:

“Often known as pernettya, and less commonly as prickly heath, for many
years this plant was placed in the genus Pernettya. This lasted until it
was recognized that all members of the genus Pernettya were genetically
indistinguishable from Gaultheria. As I mentioned in a previous entry,
modern taxonomy suggests that nomenclature should reflect evolutionary
relationships, so the names of all Pernettya species were changed in
accordance with the evidence, and transferred to Gaultheria.”

Just to make things still more complicated, there is also x Gaulnettya.

There are both male and female plants. See Plants for A Future’s page about this plant.

Additional information from a local gardener’s web site.

gardening on drain fields

I know ornamental grasses are generally okay to plant on drain fields, but does this include larger grasses such as pampas grass? How about larger Miscanthuses? Arundo donax? There are mature pampas grasses already planted on the site I’m planning for. I’m wondering if they should really “go,” and if so, is there something else that would give some height in this area without impacting the drain field.

Here is a link to the Miller Library’s Gardening Answers on planting ornamental grasses in drain fields.

Here is the relevant section:

Grass is the ideal cover for drain fields. Grasses can be ornamental, mowed in a traditional lawn, or left as an unmowed meadow. You can also try groundcovers and ferns.
The key to planting over the drain field is to select shallow-rooted, low-maintenance, low-water-use plants. When tank covers are buried, keep in mind that plantings over the tank–from inlet to outlet–will have to be removed every three or four years for inspection and pumping.

Planting your drain field will be much different from other experiences you may have had landscaping. First, it is unwise to work the soil, which means no rototilling. Parts of the system may be only six inches under the surface. Adding 2 to 3 inches of topsoil should be fine, but more could be a problem. Second, the plants need to be relatively low-maintenance and low-water use. You will be best off if you select plants for your drain field that, once established, will not require routine watering.

SOURCE: WSU Cooperative Extension – Clallam County

Thurston County, Washington, has some information about landscaping a drain field, including plant suggestion.

Additionally, the Pacific Northwest Gardener’s Book of Lists (1997, by R. & J. McNeilan) offers a number of groundcover lists for various situations, including groundcovers for dry sites, slopes, and sun and shade. The Miller Library has this book.

Here is an article from King County.

I would be concerned that the larger Miscanthus plants might develop massive root systems which go far too deep for the site’s needs. Also, Arundo donax is an invasive plant, so you should not use it in your landscape. The Washington Noxious Weed Control Board has further information on this plant.

You may wish to remove the Pampas grass (Cortaderia) as well, as it is potentially invasive, has a deep root system, and is a prolific reseeder.

blueberry bushes lack of blooming and fruiting

We have three blueberry bushes of different varieties that have been bearing just fine over the last several years. This year one of them bloomed heavily and looks like it’s generating a good crop. The other two only had a few flowers. What could account for this? Is there anything we should be doing to encourage blooming and fruiting?

I am also wondering when we will ever see fruit on the Italian Prune tree I planted several years ago. It was already pretty big when we bought it, and now it is about 2 inches caliper near the base and is about 12 feet tall. Is there anything we can do to encourage some fruit on this? I do not even remember seeing it bloom this year. Could it have something to do with the weather patterns?

One problem might be a lack of bees. There could also be other reasons, such as Botrytis blossom blight, and blueberry shock virus.

Here is a page from Oregon State University which has some good general information on growing blueberries .

Is it possible that the blueberries have become dense and twiggy? If they are not pruned, they may become unproductive. The information below is from University of Florida Cooperative Extension:

Pruning mature blueberry plants is largely a matter of cane removal or cane thinning. The objective of pruning mature bushes is to stimulate the proper balance of vegetative and reproductive growth, and limit plant size. Pruning stimulates the development of new canes which are more productive than older canes. A general rule is to remove about 1/4 to 1/5 of the oldest canes each year (usually one to three of the oldest canes). This will result in continuous cane renewal so that no cane is more than three or four years old. Pruning to reduce the number of flower buds may also be required on some southern highbush cultivars which set heavy crops such as ‘Misty’. Flowers should always be removed from one and two-year-old plants by pruning or rubbing them off before fruit set occurs. Most pruning is usually done immediately after harvest during the early summer. Removal of some of the flowers buds to adjust the crop load is usually done during the late winter just before growth begins.

As for the Italian prune, a plum tree may not begin to bear until it is 3 to 6 years old.

You may also want to visit a Master Gardener Clinic with your questions. You can locate a Master Gardener Clinic within King County on this website.

seasonal flowers and greenery of September

My son and his sweetheart are planning a wedding in Seattle (my hometown) this coming September and would love to use seasonal flowers and greenery. I have not lived in the area for many years and am at a loss. Can you give us some suggestions please?

Here are some of the plants which are available in September:

Achillea (Yarrow)
Alstroemeria (Peruvian lily)
Aster
Callicarpa bodinieri (beautyberry)
Cotoneaster (for foliage)
Dahlia
Echinops
Elaeagnus (foliage)
Eryngium
Heather
Hebe (flowers and foliage)
Helichrysum (straw flower)
Lavender
Acer (Maple: foliage)
Quercus (Oak: foliage)
Skimmia
Limonium (Statice)
Viburnum tinus

Here is a link to the Washington Park Arboretum web page of seasonal
highlights.

A great book on flowers by season is A Year Full of Flowers: Fresh Ideas to Bring Flowers into Your Life Every Day by Jim McCann and Julie McCann Mulligan.

propagating Styrax

Could you tell me how I would propagate Styrax?

All the propagation information I found in our reference books indicates that Styrax is best propagated by softwood cuttings in June to early July (cuttings are easy to root and overwinter easily), or by fresh seed as soon as ripe, kept at 50 degrees for 3 months and then moved to the refrigerator for 3 months.

If you wish to try grafting Styrax, this link to general grafting information from North Carolina State University’s Extension Service may be of use.

tree Peonies winter protection

I have two three-year old Tree Peonies – each in a 30-inch pot. Both have buds – what can I do to protect them from the coming freeze – or will they be ok? The pots are way too heavy for me to move. They are sitting on a blacktop driveway margin. I have no dirt to bury the pots into. Do I wrap them? Would bubble wrap work?

The new one I planted Sunday is covered with an inverted pot – will that be enough?

Your peony (Paeonia) buds will probably be fine, but don’t take any chances!
Protect the pots with bubble wrap and cover the tops with bed sheets or some other cloth. I think the inverted pot over your new plant should be sufficient.
Tree Peonies are quite hardy. The frost would be much more damaging if it came in March or April when plants have leafed out.

Here is an article on predicting frost from Michigan State University.

University of California’s Marin Master Gardeners (now archived) also has useful tips on how to protect plants from damage by low temperatures. Tree peonies are not among the plants most liable to be harmed by the cold.

frost and bulb foliage

Do the many bulbs that are rising up to 8″ out of the ground need to be covered since the forecast has temperatures down to 17 degrees F these next few mornings?

The bulb foliage should be fine as it is. Any flowers, on the other hand will probably turn to mush. If you’re feeling protective or nervous you may want to cover up the foliage with burlap, cloth rags, sheets, etc. Once the clouds come back you can remove the protection.

Here is an article on predicting frost from Michigan State University.

Western red cedars and rainwater throughfall

I am looking for some hard data on the ability of Western red cedar to intercept rain water and the timing of release. Got numbers?

If I am understanding your question correctly, you are asking about the extent to which Thuja plicata (Western red cedar) allows rainwater throughfall. I discovered that there was some research of possible relevance to your topic being done at
Evergreen State University as well as at
University of Waterloo.

The Miller Library has a book entitled Water in Environmental Planning by Luna Bergere Leopold (1978), which might also be relevant to your search.