Crazy Cabbages! Ornamental Kale makes the Fall Garden Bloom!

November 15th, 2011

Peacock White / red Kale with Redboor Kale behind makes a lovely late fall garden shine!

Late fall is a great time to observe brilliant color in the garden and it may come from a rather unexpected source.  One of the best plants for late-fall color is a relative of the lowly cabbage-also known as Ornamental Kale.    

Native to the Mediterranean and temperate Asia, the genus Brassica consists of about 30 or so species of mostly annuals we generally would relegate to the garden patch.  Among these are several, open, leafy rosette-types that offer pure delight in the winter garden.  

The most common “cabbage” types are leafy and open, with brightly colored or white centers.  One type known as the ‘Tokyo’ series, comes in deep maroon, purple and white.  Another garden favorite, the ‘Peacock’ series’ leaves are feathery and loose with loads of ornamental interest.  

Upright types such as Brassica X hybrida ‘Redbour’ and ‘Red Giant’ (a.k.a. ornamental mustard.) offer a stately, almost shrub-like appearance.  All of these can be paired with other cold-tolerant garden plants such as parsley, creeping Jenny or colorful pansies.

 Ornamental Kale is like a fine wine, it gets better with age.  The light frosts-yes, even a heavy snowfall only intensifies the leaf color.  Seed started plants can be obtained in the spring or sometimes more mature specimens can be purchased at local garden centers in late summer.  Seeds for all types of kale can be direct sown in the spring garden. 

 Because these plants are annuals, they will flower next spring-some would say “bolt.”  Flowering would indicate to me a beautiful show of blooms but the term bolt tells me that it’s time for a trip to the compost heap.  

Knock-out Holiday Centerpieces 
When it comes to holiday decorating indoors or out, think past the obvious. The most stunning Christmas centerpiece I ever made was based upon a white and purple ‘Tokyo Series’ kale.  Tucking these two plants into a deep basket along with a variety of boughs, eucalyptus and silver accents, the combination garnered more compliments that year than any other!                

 For more information on a wide variety of garden topics, you can log onto www.migarden.msu.edu or contact MSU’s toll-free garden hotline at

1-888-678-3464 with any of your questions. Rebecca Finneran is a Michigan State University Extension Horticulture Educator, garden writer and lecturer. Program information can be obtained at www.stuckongardening.com

 

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Dig in now—to Plant a Living Christmas Tree!

November 14th, 2011

Green plastic, no matter how you shape it cannot replace the natural, fragrant beauty of a true fir or blue spruce Christmas tree.  However, some gardeners have adopted an “earth-friendly,” holiday tradition in lieu of cutting a live tree for the Holiday season by choosing  “living” Christmas trees.  So–what’s the difference between a fresh Christmas tree and a living tree?  Roots–of course! 

Unique conifers like this 'Soft Serve' Chamaecyparis can also make a stunning living Christmas Tree.

Many types of conifers can be chosen to grace your home during the holiday season and yet double as the next landscape addition in your yard.  This may be just the excuse you’ve been looking for to purchase a dwarf conifer such as the ‘Soft Serve’ Alaskan Cypress or ‘Hoopsi’ blue spruce!  

A living tree can commemorate a special holiday event, family milestone or just become a yearly practice.  Families who have been doing this for several years now look into the yard and see significant contributions to their landscape such as a wind break, screen or beautiful addition to backdrop a perennial garden. Living Christmas trees are available from many nurseries and garden centers and may be sold in a large pot or B&B (balled and burlaped.)

Green Side Up
Choosing a living tree and getting it to survive through the winter, however, offers the consumer a number of challenges.  Warm indoor temperatures can break the tree’s dormancy, sending signals to tender buds that it is time to grow.  A subsequent January planting will expose those newly unfolding buds to killing winter temperatures.   

The root ball itself must remain moist during its stay in the home and may utilize as much water as a fresh-cut tree.  One way to avoid breaking the tree’s dormancy is to keep it inside only for a short period of time–two weeks max!  You may need to buy the tree ahead of time and store it in a cold garage or shed, just until you’re ready to bring it in.  If you want to keep your tree in the house until the New Year, don’t plan on bringing it in until December 17.  If you’re using a B&B tree, be careful not to drop the root ball or handle it too roughly.  

Down Size
The second challenge is handling the tree.  A large, B&B or field potted tree can weigh several hundred pounds!  You may need to choose a shorter tree with a smaller root ball, just to be able to lift it into your car. Shoppers must stick to the size of tree they can handle, which usually that means three-to-four feet.  (Keep in mind that the pot or root ball will give the tree added height in your living room.)  The beauty of choosing a dwarf conifer, is that its very nature is small and easier to handle.  The top conifer choices are still spruce the Frazier fir.  If you want something out of the ordinary you could try the ‘Hoopsi’ spruce with its intense blue color and irregular habit at maturity.  Another cultivar of blue spruce is ‘Fat Albert’, a cutting-produced clone with a wide, pudgy habit. 

Dig in!
The best bet for successful incorporation of your tree into the landscape is to plan ahead for planting now.  Dig the hole before the ground freezes and cover it up with mulch, leaves or straw. If you wait, you may need Goliath and a pick ax to get it in the ground. 

Dig the hole as deep as the root ball and twice as wide.  When it’s time to plant, just move the covering away from the hole and fill in with remaining soil. Allow your tree to acclimate to outdoor temperatures gradually, by placing it in an unheated garage or shed for several days before planting.  

It is best to water the tree at planting time.  This will also help eliminate air pockets underneath the root ball.  I suggest you finish the job by covering the top of the soil with a three-inch layer of mulch or compost. Mulch will insulate and protect the roots, allowing them to cool more like normal.  If we have a mild winter with little snow cover, I suggest you check your plant to see if it needs water several times throughout the winter.  

Many garden centers are handling living trees this year.  Be sure to call ahead to check availability. Whether you’re a “tree hugger” or just a “tree lover” you’ll appreciate the beauty of a living tree that can contribute to the environment, enhance your garden or landscape and establish some new family traditions. 

For more information on a wide variety of garden topics, you can log onto www.migarden.msu.edu or contact MSU’s toll-free garden hotline at 1-888-678-3464 with any of your questions. Rebecca Finneran is a Michigan State University Extension Horticulture Educator, garden writer and lecturer. 

Posted in Trees and Shrubs | No Comments »

Pest-free Gardens Begin with Fall Clean-up!

October 10th, 2011

Most of my friends gardens showed more signs of slugs and mildew this season than I can recall in recent years.  Wet conditions in early spring gave the perfect opportunity for slugs and other critters to multiply rapidly.  Add to that several weeks of high night-time temperatures and humidity and even the most resistant species showed the white discoloration known as mildew.  

You may have read the books that give some romantic ideas about “putting the garden to bed creatively” by leaving seed heads and foliage for birds and winter interest, but if your garden was plagued with pests and pestilence this past summer you’ll want to try a new strategy.  Removing foliage and stems of plants and general garden clean up will give you a leg up on insect pests and diseases next year.  

IPM in the Garden
Many insect pests lay eggs on the underside of leaves which will hatch like clockwork next spring if left alone.  I cut perennial foliage and compost my clippings in a pile that is quite a few yards away from the garden.  If you can part with the beautiful (or not) fall color of your perennials to get this job done before frost, it is likely that pests like slugs can be “caught in the act,” so to speak.   Slugs hide deep in the petioles of plants such as Hosta and daylily so cutting them back all the way to the ground, leaving no stubble will help immensely. 

 This thorough garden clean up will also allow daylight and air to dry out the surface of the soil, helping to suppress pathogens that thrive in piled up leaf litter.  One of the things I find when I am cutting is evidence of varmints like moles, voles and chipmunks.  Removing the perennial canopy will not only allow you to target trapping of these destructive pests but will also allow natures predators a much better chance of keeping them at bay. 

Blackened spots on the stems of this peony should be removed and composted to reduce disease next year.

Many gardeners experienced a wide variety of fungal leaf and stem spots, mildew, and rots in a wide variety of perennials.  July’s brutal humidity coupled with warm nights was very conducive to the development of many types of disorders.  Even plants that generally remain disease free in my garden like Peony, had a variety of spots.  Judicious removal of diseased tissue now will help get your plant off to a disease-free start next spring and reduced the need for pesticides in the garden next year.  

What’s Lurking Beneath the Canopy?
Weeds are also masters at hiding among the foliage.  It never ceases to amaze me when I’m cutting back some phlox to find a huge mature rag weed plant or cottonwood seedling.  “How did I miss that?” I ask myself!  Take time to remove small weed seedlings especially winter annuals such as chick weed.  An innocent little seedling now will equate to a green carpet of problems next spring before your muscles even wake up! 

Like annual weeds that are much easier to root out once the leafy debris is removed, perennial weeds are also much easer to control.   Systemic herbicides like Glyphosate can be used minimally when these weeds are exposed, with no threat of misapplication to your garden favorites.  You will find that the systemic products work very slowly in colder weather but are still effective. Try to apply on a bright sunny day.  If you root out perennial weeds now, you will be thanking me next spring.  

Practicality Wins
As I get older, I find much more practicality in my gardening.  The “winter garden” folks would find issue with my current garden philosophy since almost every livin’ stick is removed for winter.  I used to wait until the snow was falling to actually remove anything.  As my back groans and my joints rust, I have no problem chopping it all down and saying “See ya later!”  The closer the foliage is to the ground the easier it is to rake or blow out the twelve inches of falling leaves that usually accumulate there too!   

For more information on a wide variety of garden topics, you can log onto www.migarden.msu.edu or contact MSU’s toll-free garden hotline at  1-888-678-3464 with any of your questions.  Rebecca Finneran is a Michigan State University Extension Horticulture Educator, garden writer and lecturer.

Posted in Garden/Landscape Maintenance, Perennial Gardens, pest problems | No Comments »

Sharpen your Shovel for Late-summer Garden Chores

August 31st, 2011

August and September are often described as the “dog days” of summer but to a perennial gardener, it is a great time to be thinking about re-energizing perennials like iris and daylily for coming year.  Both known as long-lived perennials, these garden favorites often can use a “pick-me-up” as they age.  Like the “old gray mare,” the woody crowns of a perennial may not be performing as well as it once was.  

Many novice gardeners start out with bearded iris, and what’s not to love about this Mediterranean beauty?  Elegantly shaped blooms have a furry “beard” running down the petals (referred to as sepals).  Of the six sepals, three are turned up and three turned down, the latter commonly referred to as “falls.”  Coming from the Greek, Iris was the goddess of the rainbow, which seems to correctly reflect the diversity in this genus.    

Out with the Old
Bearded Iris benefits greatly from a plant propagating technique known as division.  This surgery of sorts allows a gardener to lift and select firm, healthy rhizomes (underground stems) and to toss out the old ones.  Simply dig up the whole iris clump and shake off the existing soil.  You should be able to get a good look at the rhizome tissue and select for the newest, firm rhizomes with visible buds.  The woody center pieces are generally darker and may show signs of iris borer activity leaving behind tell-tale pencil lead sized holes.  Discard the old, trim back the green leaves to a simple “fan” and reposition the new into the existing site or a new one.  Getting this chore done before the end of September will allow that new rhizome and fan to become well established with small feeder roots that anchor it in the soil.  If you do this chore later in the season, experts recommend placing a small rock on the rhizome throughout winter to avoid “heaving.”

Divide and Conquer
Daylilies are another garden favorite that respond well to division.  Many daylily growers divide daylilies “any time the shovel is sharp” according to the old adage.  However, the best time is post bloom and before the soil becomes so cold that new roots won’t establish.  I find that September is a wonderful time to get this job done as well.   If you trim back the foliage by half the lifting of the clump is easier.  Large clumps can be cut with a sharp spade into pie-shaped wedges or if the clump is loose, just hosing off soil with a stream of water will allow individual plants to be dislodged from the clump.

Post Planting Care
It is best to water the newly planted divisions to displace soil air pockets that may create rot conditions over winter.   If there is a dry fall, this will also get the plant off to a good start for next year.  With ample rainfall supplemental watering may not be a concern.   Mulching the newly planted perennials with your own or commercial garden compost will supply a low amount of nutrients while evening out soil moisture.  Next spring, follow up your planting efforts with fertilizer as recommended by a soil test. 
For more information on a wide variety of garden topics, you can log onto www.migarden.msu.edu or contact MSU’s toll-free garden hotline at 1-888-678-3464 with any of your questions.

 Rebecca Finneran is a Michigan State University Extension Horticulture Educator, garden writer and lecturer.

Posted in Garden/Landscape Maintenance, Perennial Gardens | No Comments »

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