PLANTWISE - January 2010

…and Heeearrr They Come!

- the first flowering bulbs of the season

Posted by: Kate Bryant on Jan 27, 2010 at 08:00PM 0 Comments

Iris reticulata ‘Pixie’ (inky purple-blue); Iris danfordiae (yellow) and very early white Crocus chrysantha ‘Purity’ -in their tiny clay pots, they fit right on my sunny south windowsill.

It’s a sweet thing to go to Trader Joe’s in January and February and buy little pots of cheery spring bulbs in flower. But it’s another kind of sweet altogether to pick out your own bulbs and start them in little clay pots yourself in October – tucking them in to a blanket of mulch as the weather gets colder, unearthing them in late winter, and finally, bringing them to flower on your own windowsill right around now. If you want flowers that are as green as can be – that don’t involve heated greenhouses and trucking costs but are completely made by hand – go DIY and start your own.

Of course, you wouldn’t be starting them now – starting spring-flowering bulbs is an autumn project you would have done back in October, when those tulip, daffodil, crocus, iris and other bulbs first showed up in the shops. That’s when I posted instructions on how to do it.

So, if you didn’t get around to it way back in late 2009 – that seems like a million years ago already, doesn’t it? – then just imagine this is your mildewy window is yours (yes, I do currently have a bit of a moisture problem in my kitchen.) And in addition to feeling thankful that your kitchen fan works, you can also admire the bright and happy little floral bon-bons on my windowsill. (I smartly followed my own advice back in October and got my bulbs all potted up before traveling.)

Since everybody’s a little flower-crazy right now, as January comes to a close, here’s another idea for bringing flowers and budding life into your home: you can cut branches from certain old-fashioned, early-flowering shrubs commonly found in Portland backyards and “force” them into flower. Try shrubby quince (Chaenomeles sp), Forsythia , and fruit tree branches including flowering apricot (Prunus mume ). I sometimes experiment with others, even just for the leaves: Japanese maple leaves unfurling can be as lovely as any flower on the planet. The gnarlier and more twisted the branches, the more beautiful it looks in a vase.

I cut these quince branches a week ago and instead of opening up bright coral red, they are white tinted with coral. If I cut them now, their pigment will be better developed and they’ll be the right color.

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Tags: Flowers, Indoor Gardening

Now’s the Time to Shop For Winter Interest Plants

Posted by: Kate Bryant on Jan 23, 2010 at 02:00PM 4 Comments

Helleborus foetidus ‘Westerflisk’ is the earliest of the hellebores to flower – often beginning around Christmastime in the Portland area

Surely I’m not the only one who is ecstatic about the rare bits of sunshine we’ve had lately. During my walks to catch these few precious rays, I’ve been happily sniffing the heady scent of Daphne , Himalayan box (Sarcococca ) and witch hazel (Hamamelis ) that’s wafting around Portland neighborhoods right now.

It’s been a funny weather year – we had record cold temperatures during December, yet the witch hazels – at least in my part of town – were in flower a couple of weeks early. In fact, the flowers on my Arnold Promise witch hazel were unfurling in the last days of December, nearly three weeks ahead of last year. And February daphne (Daphne odora ) has begun cracking open its waxy little pink star-flowers a week earlier than last year.

One has to wonder why any plants would bother flowering in the middle of winter. I just came across a reference to this in Michael W. Buffin’s Winter Flowering Shrubs (Timber Press, 2005):

“The ability for plants to flower during the winter months enables them to reduce the level of competition for pollinators of their flowers… flowers pollinated in the heart of our winters face the harshest challenge, especially those that will be damaged by freezing temperatures. Whatever the price, in terms of energy, to produce flowers in the heart of winter… the benefits must outweigh the cost. So the next time you see a shrub flowering in the middle of winter, spare a thought to what went into producing that flower, and wonder at the marvel of nature.”

I am in full wonder and gratitude mode. Wherever I look in my garden, there’s something new busting out. I counted nearly 20 plants in bloom this afternoon – and many of them smell delicious! So in appreciation of this extraordinary climate where relatively mild winters permit us to enjoy flowers in the depths of winter, here are five treasures I wouldn’t be without. They are all readily available at local retail nurseries. And, I’d like to point out that from now through February or March really is the best time to shop for winter-flowering and winter-interest plants. If your soil is workable, you can plant them and get a preview of how they’ll look next winter – and above all, you can choose the colors and types you like best when they’re in full bloom. This is especially important with witch hazels (which can be mis-labeled) and hellebores (which are often seed-grown and vary greatly).

Sarcococca confusa

Himalayan box (Sarcococca confusa ) Sarcococca are broadleaf evergreen shrubs with tiny, thread-like white flowers that give off a perfume that permeates the air in a most mysterious and intoxicating way. I have one by my front door and people often comment on the delicious scent wafting up onto the porch. There are many species of Sarcococca and they are nearly all intensely fragrant. They are also drought- and shade-tolerant broadleaf evergreens – so can be fit into those weird nooks where little else will grow. Sarcococca confusa and S. ruscifolia reach about 4-6 feet tall and a bit less wide; S. humilis (syn. S. hookeriana var. humilis) is about 1 foot tall and slowly suckers wider; S. saligna is about 3 feet tall with slender, fine foliage and equally fragrant but greenish strands of flowers.

Lonicera xstandishii Platt Garden Form

Winter honeysuckle (Lonicera x standishii Platt Garden form) – there are a handful of winter honeysuckles available including Lonicera fragrantissima (most common type). This 6×8 foot shrub has simple, bluish-green leaves which turn yellow and drop in fall, is somewhat tolerant of drought, grows in sun or shade (though it flowers most prolifically in sun) and – best of all – is completely clothed with intensely fragrant, lemony-scented white flowers in January and February.

Mahonia xmedia ‘Arthur Menzies’

Mahonia xmedia_ ‘Arthur Menzies’ A member of the same genus as our native Oregon grape, this Mahonia was unscathed by this and last winter’s cold. It’s an evergreen with tough, spiny leaves, corky bark, and – best of all – soft yellow, fragrant, nectar-rich flowers that are wildly attractive to hummers. Arthur Menzies (and his close relatives, including ‘Charity’ and others) is fairly drought tolerant and grows well in sun or shade, although it seems happiest in dappled light or morning sun with protection from the hot afternoon light.

Hamamelis xintermedia ‘Arnold Promise’ – a beautiful, small tree for a beautiful, small garden! Oddly, the dried leaves are clinging to the plant more than usual this year, in my garden and other people’s. Where’s Dr. Science when you need him?

Witch hazel (Hamamelis xintermedia ‘Arnold Promise’) Witch hazels are actually small, vase-shaped trees reaching about 12-15 feet high – higher with great age. They have handsome, rumpled leaves that turn red, orange or yellow in fall before dropping. Appearing in January to March, depending on the selection, the flowers are nestled beneath showy, bright, thread-like filaments ranging in color from pale and acid yellow to burnt orange, rusty red and purplish-red. They grow well in sun or part shade.

Daphne odora ‘Marginata Alba’ (the starry white flowers) with another winter-flowering plant, Garrya elliptica ‘James Roof’ behind it. This 12-18’ tall, southern Oregon and California native shrub has silky, chain-like flowers of dusky purple-gray in January and February. It’s drought-, shade- and neglect tolerant. Can’t poo-poo that.

February daphne (Daphne odora) We are so lucky we can grow this plant in Western Oregon! No person who loves sweet scents should be without this winter flowering gem. Reaching about 4×4 feet, this broadleaf evergreen is most commonly seen in its creamy yellow variegated leaf form with shell pink flowers. I also grow two pure white-flowered forms: one with cream leaf variegation and one with plain green leaves. There is also a pink flowered form with plain green leaves. Plant this by your front stoop and feel happy whenever you come or go.

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Tags: Outdoor Gardening

Lighten the Load

container gardeners rejoice!

Posted by: Kate Bryant on Jan 19, 2010 at 05:00PM 2 Comments

For years, I have battled with the lightweight packing peanuts and Styrofoam chips used as filler in the bottom of large pots on condominium terrace gardens. Weight restrictions often limit how much soil can go in containers on rooftop/terrace gardens – but there were no good commercial, gardening-specific alternative to these lightweight materials. And it goes without saying that the biodegradable corn-based, eco-packing peanuts are completely unsuited to wet use in a pot! Yet in addition to being toxic, regular peanuts are notoriously difficult to handle, blowing around on breezy rooftops and being hard to corral when wet. Plus, they become impossible to clean for reuse or recycling. Once dirty from gardening, they must be thrown in the landfill. The re-use ends there. I particularly balked at the idea of growing food in pots full of these junky, sometimes toxic materials.

So it was a happy day when I met entrepreneur Joanna Guzzetta, President of Portland-based Four Seasons Container Gardens and creator of Packing Pearls – a product that could make my container garden projects a good deal easier – and more environmentally friendly.

The system is comprised of three parts:

*air-permeable, heavy-duty fabric liner that separates plant roots and soil from the packing pearls below and can be cut to fit.

*appropriate quantities of 2.5-inch diameter, expanded polystyrene balls (FDA approved safe for edibles)

*a drain shield which sticks to the bottom or side of the pot to keep the drainage holes clear but air-permeable

Invented here in Portland, Oregon by a professional gardener and made and assembled in the US, Packing Pearls are composed of 1/3 recycled material. They are recyclable (can be formed into new products) – and reusable (because they do not themselves break down). Because they do not break down, it is important to save and reuse them indefinitely. Did I mention that they are round – and definitely cleanable?

According to the company literature, Packing Pearls’ 3-part system creates a good drainage system in the pot by keeping the soil contained and separate from the pearls, by allowing air and water to move through the spaces between the pearls, and by keeping the drainage holes clear.

In addition to establishing good drainage in pots, the Packing Pearls system minimizes potting soil use, is simple to assemble and disassemble, and is made of non-toxic products. They are also a great solution to square or unusually shaped containers and troughs, since the pearls and fabric liner can be custom-fitted. These are good reasons to try it, even if weight isn’t an issue for your containers.

Packing Pearls starter kits come in two sizes: small/medium (for pots up to 16" wide), including 1 drain shield, 1 piece 18×18″ pot liner, and 50 pearls, $19.99) and medium/large (for pots up to 22" wide including 1 drain shield, 1 piece 24×24″ pot liner and 80 pearls, $29.99). Parts can be purchased separately as well.

Joanna came by my home office earlier today to explain the system and left me a sample to try in a large planter. I guess this is one of the perks of my job, huh? Stay tuned – at some point in late spring, I’ll report back.

I’m also testing out a system called Ups-A-Daisy planter inserts. I got a sample pack of these from Kianga, Inc., a company in Illinois, and set them up in five small to medium planters last fall.

As with the Packing Pearls, the Ups-A-Daisy products reduce the amount of soil you need to add to a pot – especially useful when you’re creating temporary/seasonal plantings, which don’t usually need as much soil as they’re in anyway. By minimizing the possibility of excess soil sitting below the plants’ roots in a container, they can minimize the likelihood of root rot. They also reduce planter weight, and eliminate the need for toxic or aggravating chips, peanuts, used water bottles, rocks, or other detritus. They can be re-used year after year.

The Ups-A-Daisies were drop-dead simple to install – I just lowered them into the pot, right way up, and added potting soil. I did use a cut piece of landscape fabric over the center hole to prevent soil crumbling through it, although the company says this is not necessary.

Of course, being round, they only work in round pots with a wide enough top opening to accommodate the disk. They have a good drainage system comprised of a center hole and many smaller holes in the indented groove running around the edge. So far, I have appreciated the ease of installation and I certainly used less potting soil in the containers. I’ll know more when I take the winter planters apart in May to install the summer plantings.

Ups-A-Daisy Pot Inserts range from 10-18 inches in diameter, running from $4.99 for the 10" disk to $12.99 for the 18" disk.

Both companies are relatively new but their products can be found in some local garden shops including Cornell Farms Nursery on SW Barnes Road – and, of course, may be ordered directly.

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Tags: Garden Stuff, Container Gardening

Dr. King Day of Service

Posted by: Kate Bryant on Jan 15, 2010 at 05:00AM 0 Comments

The US holiday honoring the life and civil rights work of Reverend Martin Luther King Jr.. (1929-1968) is observed on the third Monday in January each year, around the time of King’s birthday (January 15).

The concept of a Day of Service in honor of Dr. King’s work was created in 1994 to challenge Americans to transform the MLK Day holiday into a day of citizen action and service in keeping with the spirit of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr’s own life work. In recent years, events have taken place all over the country on the MLK Day weekend.

In our fair city, the United Way of the Columbia-Willamette organizes local MLK Day of Service events. Of course, it’s really four days of service, as the schedule is pretty full from Friday January 15 to Monday January 18.

Anyway… I was scrolling down the list of volunteer events for this weekend and noticed that quite a few volunteer projects revolve around gardening.

And so, in the spirit of service to others, why not spend a few hours digging, planting trees, or removing invasive ivy? (If you haven’t yet engaged in ivy removal, you simply must – it’s a required skill for anyone living in the Pacific Northwest!) You could meet up with the horticulture team at the Zoo for a planting project, help prepare a community garden at an elementary school, plant native trees, shrubs and grasses with Friends of Trees, or remove ivy and replant natives at Tryon Creek State Park. Of course these projects provide much-needed help to these groups and organizations. But there can be unforseen benefits to you: you can learn some good basic gardening skills and you can often glean interesting insights into these organizations from the inside. Furthermore – and I speak from personal experience – you inevitably meet interesting people while volunteering.

If you don’t want to get too dirty (c’mon, don’t tell me you don’t love dirt!) or wanted to branch out a little (sorry for the pun), you could help the Community Cycling Center spiff up some bikes, assist with unpacking and sorting food at the food bank, cook or serve a meal at a homeless shelter, clean and refurbish children’s books, frame houses for Habitat for Humanity, help Free Geek recycle computers, or engage in any number of other projects. Because – as a friend pointed out – while there’s overwhelming need in the world right now, it’s always good policy to lend a hand in your own community.

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Tags: Volunteer

Valerie Easton Speaking in Portland

Posted by: Kate Bryant on Jan 14, 2010 at 10:00AM 0 Comments

Do you dream of having a restful, beautiful garden without spending all your free time laboring in it? Or do you feel like your existing garden requires more work than you’d like?

Seattle garden writer Valerie Easton will speak to these very issues at Reed College on Saturday, January 23rd at 10 am. Part of the Hardy Plant Society of Oregon’s winter lecture program, the talk accompanies the publication of Easton’s latest book, The New Low-Maintenance Garden: How to Have a Beautiful, Productive Garden and the Time to Enjoy It (Timber Press).

The lecture promises inspiring images showing how nourishing, restful and bountiful spaces can be created – and which only require the amount of maintenance you’re able to provide.

Kaul Auditorium, Reed College
3203 SE Woodstock Blvd, Portland 97202
Program begins at 10:00 a.m.
Doors open at 9:00 a.m. for plant, book and seed sales
$15 for HPSO members, $20 nonmembers

If you’d like to join the Hardy Plant Society of Oregon, you’ll discover myriad other benefits including an annual bulletin, discounted gardening classes and lectures, and – my favorite – the Open Gardens, wherein you can visit other gardeners’ spaces on weekends and evenings throughout the year. Membership is $25, $35 or $40, depending.

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Tags: Gardening Events, Garden Stuff, Gardening Tips

There’s Still Time!

…to plant bulbs

Posted by: Kate Bryant on Jan 11, 2010 at 05:00PM 2 Comments

Here’s why you should get down on your hands and knees and plant your bulbs – if you haven’t already!

I spent the weekend visiting friends at their farm down by Florence, Oregon. It was a relaxing weekend, thanks for asking. But it wasn’t all fun and games. I learned something about my dear friend that I hadn’t known: she hides things from me. Specifically, bulbs that she hadn’t planted.

Last fall, I had placed a large bulb order with Brent & Becky’s Bulbs. My friend had added a request for some of her own – some daffodil, muscari, snowdrops, foxtail lily and a couple of other delicious little treats.

In October or so, my friend – henceforth to be known as “Wicked Ms. Naughty,” to spare her the shame of personal exposure – made off to the farm with her treasures and I heard nothing more about them. Until I arrived for my little visit on Saturday morning. While snooping around in an unheated room off the kitchen, I discovered a bag brimming with the very bulbs she had ordered last fall. There they sat, wrapped in their little net bags, with sad leaf sprouts twisting in a tortured fashion out from their hideous plastic incarceration.

A short lecture later (about the nature of friendship and how such things should never be hidden from friends), we were outside digging. I was able to reassure her that the bulbs were almost all still in good shape. I squeezed the bulbs and nearly all of them were still reasonably firm and solid. Some, of course, were sprouting; others were a little too shriveled and I imagine there will be some loss. Fortunately, they were in a cool, dark place with a bit of air circulation, thanks to the net bags.

We probably planted about 75 bulbs and I suspect that most of them will be fine.

This is what Muscari latifolium looks like when it’s been left in the bag too long. But I have high hopes for its recovery, once it’s tucked in to a blanket of earth.

However, they will flower later than bulbs planted in October and November (especially the early types like crocus and snowdrops), and some of the flowers or foliage may be a little twisted or stunted. But chances are, almost all of them will recover within a year and flower properly and at the normal time in 2011.

So if you are among the wicked and have been hiding your unplanted bulbs in a secret place so that nobody will see them and discover your neglectful ways, may I offer advice? Yes? Well, it is this: take a fearless inventory of your unplanted bulbs right now. As long as you get to it lickety-split, you can probably salvage things. Remove them from the bag, spread them out and feel them. Yes, feel them up. Good bulbs are usually plump, firm and somewhat heavy. It is not a good sign if they have dry, greenish-blue mold on them and collapse with a little “puff” when squished or if they have rotten patches on them and smell foul. It’s true, there are a few bulbs, such as Anemone, that are naturally shriveled. But for most bulbs, shriveled and rubbery are not desirable qualities.

Once you’ve taken a bold inventory, felt them up and discarded the undesirables, it’s time to get out your shovel, pull on your boots and get planting.

Once you lay out your bulbs, the planting’s pretty quick!

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Tags: Flowers, Outdoor Gardening, Gardening Tips

What to do with Mr. Christmas Tree?

Posted by: Kate Bryant on Jan 01, 2010 at 03:00PM 2 Comments

Not that I’m ready to take my tree down – it took forever to set it up and decorate it and I’m not about to cut the experience short. But when the time comes and the tree starts to look sad, I will finally come to my senses, un-decorate it, and drag it out the door.

Luckily, there’s no need to get all in a twist about what to do with it. I’ve laid out the options (below) so you can quickly make it go away. Same goes for swags and wreaths, by the way. Be sure to remove tinsel, wire, wreath frames, stands, and – of course – ornaments. If your tree is flocked, it may not be accepted for recycling so call the recycling center of your choice before dropping it off or arranging pick up. You can also call the Metro Hotline 8:30 to 5, Monday – Saturday, 503-234-3000.

Metro lays out the public recycling options here but I have a few other suggestions, for those who want to get creative:

CHIP IT UP FOR MULCH: If you have a chipper, the resulting woody chips will make a valuable mulch for trees and shrubs in your garden. But who has a chipper? I don’t. Maybe your neighbor does. If so, maybe you can bring them a plate of delicious cookies and chat them up over the fence.

HAVE IT PICKED UP OR DROP IT OFF FOR RECYCLING: For a reasonable fee, many local churches, the Boy Scouts, clubs and other non-profits run tree recycling programs as fund-raisers. Check here for tree recycling programs in your neighborhood.

DEPOSIT IN CURBSIDE RECYCLING: Read this for details on curbside recycling. Just scroll down to see how it’s done in your area. If you do use your yard debris bins, snip the tree into small pieces first. You’ll probably need loppers and a saw, not just hand-pruners. Saw the trunk into smaller pieces or leave it alongside the bins (make sure it fits the size guidelines) and it will be picked up for an additional charge.

HUCK IT INTO YOUR BACK YARD: To keep the material within the living loop of your garden in good Permaculture style, toss it into an out-of-the-way part of your garden to decompose and, ultimately, improve your soil. Good etiquette requires you site the debris where your neighbors don’t have to see the foliage turn orangey-brown and decompose over the next year or two. Personal experience has taught me two things when choosing this option: 1. best to cut the foliage up as small as possible so it breaks down quicker – burying it or working small pieces into your compost pile can also speed things up; and 2. the mutilated trunk is just too depressing looking to leave lying around. Instead, use a saw to cut the main trunk into small pieces and bury them in an out-of-the-way area, add them to an existing yard debris pile for wildlife (big, brushy piles of tree boughs make good bird habitat) or plunk them in your yard debris bin so the City can turn them into mulch.

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Tags: Habitat