Saturday, July 31, 2010

KTRS 550 Inside Out Show Saturday July 31 Plant of the Week: Lonicera sempervirens

by MaryAnn Fink
Conservation Specialist
copyright 2010



A honey of a honeysuckle: Lonicera sempervirens

Although frequently called Trumpet honeysuckle, this is not the aggressive Trumpet creeper (Campsis radicans) that can be seen wildly running up telephone polls. It is also not either of the problem honeysuckles that have invaded St. Louis.

This is a GOOD vine with a slow to moderate growth rate and very long bloom cycle, She typically blooms from May to September and has pretty bluish green foliage. (I wish she grew faster!)

She typically grows 10-15' (less frequently to 20') and is showy. Her clusters of narrow tubular shaped flowers vary in color with each plant. Her most frequent color ranges from a peachy crimson blush to a rich mandarin orange with a warm butter gold throat. Occassionally, she can be found in a solid yellow form!

She is almost evergreen! (only if the winter is extra-extra mild). She does reliably hold her leaves till very late fall or early winter. She prefers full sun for best flowering but will tolerate some light shade. She also adapts to a wide range of soil including good old Missouri clay. She is fairly drought tolerant once established! Her formal name is Lonicera sempervirens, .Blanche Sandman 'Major Wheeler' and solid yellow 'John Clayton' are my favorite varieties! Regardless of the color, the flowers give way to the same small red berries which mature in early fall and are attractive to song birds.

Care factor rating: 2 (maybe only 1, she is so easy!) She bloom on the new shoots that develop off of last year’s growth. No pruning is necessary except for gentle shaping or to remove the occasional wayward or misdirected shoot. Prune to shape in very early spring just before or as her new growth is beginning. Removal of the occasional misdirected shoot can be done anytime.

The first brood of hummingbirds have fledged and are visiting my living hummingbird feeder now!

As promised here are a few of my favorite links:

Oma’s Barn- I will be there in the evening of August 4th for Lisa’s free monthly Bloom and Groom series http://www.omasbarn.com/ I have been showcasing her garden for several years-please join us!

Other blog resources:

Powell gardens blog (my dear friend Alan)
Natural Resources Conservation Services (good to know details)
http://www.rollingridgenursery.com/nursery.html (friends alwasy!)

Saturday, July 24, 2010

KTRS 550 Inside Out Show Plant of the Week Saturday July 24 ( Show pre-empted for Cardinal game)


Partridge pea / Chamaechrista fasciculate
or
Growing For Life

or maybe even

Feed Your Butterfly

(which do you blog readers like best?)

By MaryAnn Fink
Conservation Specialist
Copyright 2010


This colorful mid-summer flowering annual is a native of Missouri. He is also a nitrogen fixing legume like all members of the bean family which means he is good at managing his own growing needs and possibly helps out his neighbors as well!

His golden flowers are beautiful as is his fine textured mimosa-like foliage!

His eye catching blossoms rest in the leaf axils that spiral around every stalk. This ascending spiral of sequential blossoms seems to coincide with the rising summer heat. It is as if the partridge pea is a visual for the major musical scale being played by Nature as the season peaks-I can almost hear it-can’t you?
Ever so softly, do re mi fa so la ti Do, - the high note is reached as the season peaks!

Each of his blooms are marked in the center with a fleck of crimson- is this a flower with heart and feelings? Well that is a stretch, but the feathery leaves do look like those of sensitive plant. He reacts to touch as well that is more than I can say about some folks I’ve met!

This touchy native is quite visible right now and for many weeks on the world headquater campus of Alberici. He is also found growing wild along some roadsides and many newly planted prairies. He is comfortable with disturbed soil situations.

He attracts many types of bees and butterflies. The caterpillars of several Sulfur butterflies feed on his foliage, including Eurema lisa (Little Sulfur), Eurema nicippe (Sleepy Orange), and Phoebis sennae cubule (Cloudless Sulfur. Other likely visitors include honeybees, bumblebees, Miner bees, and large Leaf-Cutting bees, Halictine bees, wasps, flies, and ants! Later the pea pods will attract song and game birds, especially quail!

He takes the heat just fine, preferring full sun and average to dry soil. He does not appreciate competition from other plants. Partridge Pea is easy to grow, spread readily when given plenty of elbow room, especially in dry, open situations. He is not reliably sustainable in crowded condition and his population can fluctuate considerably from year to year. He might leave or significantly reduce his population when aggressive natives are not kept in check.

Partridge pea is considered an excellent choice for erosion control; He is fast at establishing his root system, even on poor quality bare ground. He creates a 2” blanket of seedlings rapidly that sprout into 24-30" bouquets of flowers yhat can stabilize eroding soil and fix nitrogen.

Care Factor 2 This native needs his bed kept open in the spring, free of weeds and native aggressors. He appreciates a gentle hand with turning / hoeing the soil lightly-do this in April. Become familiar with this annual’s seedling appearance and watch for it! Don’t be afraid of heavy sprouting and dense new growth as he competes well with his self-it is just the bullies he wants to avoid. He will gradually disappear without regular maintenance!
Although he is an annual plant that does dies off in the winter, leave his mass of wiry roots and stalks in place during the winter for wildlife cover. These stalks will also act as breakers to defuse the earliest spring rains and allows the seeds to drop naturally at the perfect time. The rain helps the seeds redistribute annually to any open ground and restart the process again. Nitrogen fixation is greatest when his flowering peaks.

Here are some good websites that tell more about this annual favorite:

http://www.nearctica.com/butter/plate5/Elisa.htm
http://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/prairie/plantx/part_peax.htm
http://plants.usda.gov/plantguide/doc/pg_chfa2.doc
http://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=chfa2
http://www.nearctica.com/butter/plate5/Elisa.htm
http://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/prairie/plantx/part_peax.htmhttp://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=chfa2

Saturday, July 17, 2010

KTRS 550 Inside Out Show Plant of the Week Saturday July 17 Hibiscus lasiocarpos/ Rose mallow


Hibiscus lasiocarpos/ Rose mallow
by MaryAnn Fink
Conservation Specialist
copyright 2010


Looking for a versatile showy and smart perennial to add to your landscape? Let me have the pleasure of introducing you to Rose mallow, Missouri’s very own hardy hibiscus.

Although this native perennial typically chooses informal bank / stream side locations to put down her roots she is very adaptable and appropriate for featured placement in any landscape where summer color is appreciated.

Her tolerance of fluctuating moisture conditions and long life span is a pretty plus! She is a charmer in rain gardens, an anchor in doorstep gardens and a real winner around water features.

If left unpruned She can stretch up to 4-6' tall but with just one quick clip she can be kept a compact and full 3’ x 3’.

Although she tolerates average soil and full sun, her best feature is her long bloom blooming period from mid- to late summer, lasting 4-8 weeks! This is when she showcases her huge hollyhock-like flowers that are 4-6" diameter. She is also fairly deer resistant!

She is known for her beautiful magenta-crimson eyes. She has the largest flower of all the native Missouri wildflowers!

Care Factor Rating: 2 Pinch/ clip her growing tips back 2-3” when she reaches 15" tall (she reaches this height by very late spring). This will encourage her to increase her branching, have more shoots and strengthen her stems at the base. This is particularly helpful for encouraging a strong form to hold her oversize flowers and a full compact habit without staking!

I really enjoy this garden worthy Missouri native who likes her feet wet. It is important to note she is late to break dormancy each spring-so be patient. Her intact stems change in the cold to a soft kitten gray that make a nice feature in the snow. They also act as a marker for where to watch for her new growth! (To strip her leaves off, slide a gloved hand, from top down each stalk and knock off gently any lingering leaves. This will leave soft clean lines for winter without damaging her rather soft branches. Don’t do this till late in the fall after her leaves have yellowed but forgot to drop (usually this is after a few frosts have signaled “last chance” for outdoor chores and “good night” to sleepy but still awake perennials.)

Click the link below for other plant recommendations provided by wholesale grower Ritter Perennials. Watch for this name at your local retail nurseries and greenhouses!

http://www.ritterperennials.com/Native_Rain_Gardens.html

Monday, July 12, 2010

KTRS 550 Inside Out Show Plant of the Week July 10 2010 Crapemyrtle Pink Velour®

by MaryAnn Fink
Conservation Specialist
copyright 2010



Lagerstroemia indica ‘Whit III’ is Pink Velour® . She was originally marked as Royal Velvet.

She is the one of clearest pink crapemyrtles to reach the market. But her best cover girl feature is not her “pretty girl pink” flowers but the way they are partnered with her dark skinned foliage. The color dance lasts for weeks, leaving even the audience breathless!

Her thick glossy foliage, sets the stage for her to model Nature’s rich color play. She begins the season slow, a moody garnet that speeds up with the rising heat to a upbeat plum hued green, then to a “let’s party” rumba of copper marmalade. And if the crowd begs for more her complexion will flush with a cherry glow that fades slowly like burning embers in the evening light.

Don’t get me wrong, her flirty girly hot pink blossoms are fun-if pink is your color! They stretch so far past her finger tip branches it looks more like she has a mani, with an Opi’s glam color!
(You know, the good polish that lasts for weeks! ) She is the type of showy that catches your eye at a distance and then holds it till you’re close enough to whisper her name. To some she is absolutly perfect!

But, she has more- she adds movement to the landscape. She sways in a gentle breeze and plays with tiny air currents. Sometimes when she shakes and bounces her pom pom flower clusters, it is as if she is laughing because little wind gusts are tickling her knees. Oh, she is so sweet!

My favorite time with her is when the air is almost still. It looks like she is gazing at the clouds, pondering them like they are her own design. She must have the artist's hand, that pauses momentarily in mid-air and then begins again. Is she drawing a masterpeice, sketching and erasing on an invisible canvas? Yes, and she forces me to see with new eyes the sky, the birds, the glory of the day!

Pink Velour® is easy to make happy, she just needs average soil, minimum water once she is established, all day sun and a little space! If she is left un-pruned, in St. Louis, she will quickly reach 8-12’ tall especially if we have a few consecutive mild winters.

Care Factor Rating: 2 Trim off all dead branches in late spring as new growth appears. Following a mild winter, there may be little dieback. If that is the case a gentle pruning to reduce flowering height and general shape is all that is necessary. All flowering occurs on new wood!

Over crowding can make her and the space feel a little clumsy. She is very resistant to mildew. Prune her only for general shaping. A second light trim can reduce her seasonal blooming height but excessive pruning can lead to stunting over time and her vigor can be affected. Flowering and foliage color is best in full sun.

Saturday, July 3, 2010

KTRS 550 Inside Out Show Plant of the Week July 3 Twilight Gardening Best Pick


My Favorite Twilight Garden Candidate (or maybe I should title this "Cultivate a Taste for the Evening Gardening with Culver’s Root")

Culver's root is a large, erect native perennial which occurs in open woods, thickets and moist meadows / prairies throughout Missouri.
She can stretch as tall as 7' when challenged by tall perennial neighbors but more typically, without a reduction cut in spring, her bloom height tops out around 4-5’.
Although her narrow whorled leaves offer a unique look in the landscape, it is the clustering of so many delicate looking spirals held in a candelabra-like fashion that really lights up the garden at twilight!
These arrangements of tiny tube-like flowers on these narrow steeples open sequentially from the top to the base. Proceeding like a dreamy wedding march, she eventually reaches her most beautiful moment, as Summer approaches. He embraces his enchanting bride just as the smaller lateral wands of blossoms follow the bride's silent cue and fully open. Now these flanking maids of honor welcome all to celebrate the marriage of heat and humidity!
This wedding wonder is camera ready when grow in average, medium to wet, well-drained soil in full sun. She tolerates light shade but does not appreciate poor lighting. Too much darkness leads to her eventual decline. Moisture contributes to her dewy complexion so she will need to be well watered during extended drought conditions. She can repeat this bloom cycle for decades. Her mature beauty may take a few years to fully develop.
Dressed in white, in the faltering light, she is especially captivating especially when accompanied with Wild quinine and Rattlesnake master, two favorite Twilight Garden invitees! Wild Quinine (Parthenium integrifolium) and Rattlesnake master (Eryngium yuccifolium) like similar situations and have a similar bloom period with complimentary flowers and foliage.
Care Factor Rating: 2 Spring clean-up procedure is standard careful removal of last season debris in April. She also requires a spring reduction pruning of 1/3 - ½ in May. When her fresh new growth reaches 10” in height, cut it to 5-6"tall. This "reduction pruning" result is a shorter bloom height 24-30" instead of 4-5', a slightly delayed bloom period and stronger more upright and compact growth.
Removal of the finished flower spikes are not necessary but can improve her appearance and slightly extend her bloom period a few more weeks. Division is not typically required for plant health, but if there is overcrowding or space considerations, divide or move this beauty in mid-spring.