Month: November 2010

Potted plants…really potted

A week or so ago my new friend Doug wondered about some gardening advice on the radio: would adding vodka to paperwhite narcissus make the flowers less “floppy?” The explanation he’d heard was that alcohol would burn the roots and reduce stem growth. Then today I received an email newsletter with the same intriguing information. This newsletter referred to a 2006 article that appeared in HortTechnology as the source of this information.

The study by Miller and Finan has generated a lot of interest in the gardening community, especially this time of year as people get ready to force bulbs for indoor blooms.… Continue reading this article “Potted plants…really potted”

So what to plant under power lines?

I’m going to add a bit more to Bert’s discussion.  Through the efforts of Dr. Eric Wiseman of Urban Forestry at Virginia Tech, we have a
Utility Line Arboretum (ULA).  Modeled after Dr. Bonnie Appleton’s original ULA for Virginia at the Hampton Roads research station, Eric’s includes many woody taxa suitable for planting in the vicinity of power lines (see a nice list of Bonnie’s favorite power-line-friendly taxa here).

Eric came to me with his plan in 2006 and we found some space in our Hahn Horticulture Garden to get it going.… Continue reading this article “So what to plant under power lines?”

Utility arborists: Give ‘em a break

One of our semi-recurring themes on the Garden Professor’s is our WOW’s or “Why Oh Why’s”.  As in “Why oh why do nurseries continue to sell invasive plants?”  Today, I’d like to turn things around a bit and look at a group of people that are often maligned by the public but, in fact, are getting a bad rap and could use a break; utility arborists.

 


Right tree, right place?

Utility arborists face a nearly impossible and unenviable task.  … Continue reading this article “Utility arborists: Give ‘em a break”

Pesticides and Wildlife

If you follow this blog then you know that I write a lot about pesticides.  They’re something that I enjoy reading about and studying.  For whatever reason, I find them fascinating.  That said, they can be some of the worst things for wildlife.  But there are pesticides that are more “wildlife compatible” than others, so today I’m going to cover some of the worst pesticides that you can use in terms of wildlife, and some of the pesticides that might be more acceptable (though far from perfect).… Continue reading this article “Pesticides and Wildlife”

Want more bird visitors? Nonnative plants may be the answer

We’ve posted before about the native vs. nonnative conundrum, especially as it relates to invasive species.  So let’s complicate the issue a bit more by considering how birds are affected by our landscape choices.

About 10 years ago my UW colleague Sarah Reichard and I collaborated on a literature review on the interaction between birds and non-native plants.  While we know that invasive plants can displace native plants and create less biodiverse environments, the resulting impact on species like birds is not so cut and dried. … Continue reading this article “Want more bird visitors? Nonnative plants may be the answer”

Water is the answer!

Wildlife week continues!  My humble experience with my own gardens past and present, as well as our campus garden, is that the presence of water virtually guarantees the presence of wildlife.  One of the National Wildlife Federation’s top requirements for becoming a  Certified Wildlife Habitat is “supply water” (another requirement: "$20 fee").   Water is, of course, the beverage of choice for most animals (though I did hear of a squirrel that preferred beer). And some creatures require it as a substrate in which to reproduce (that sounded a bit clinical). … Continue reading this article “Water is the answer!”

The Garden Professors Go Wild!

It’s ‘Wildlife week’ on the Garden Professors.  One of the most common questions that we get when speaking to garden groups is, “What can I do around my home to promote wildlife?”   My stock answer used to be, “Throw a party!”, but only a handful of people ever got it so I’ve backed off of that one.  Anyway, since the subject of gardening and wildlife comes up so often we’ve decided to dedicate a week to the topic.… Continue reading this article “The Garden Professors Go Wild!”

Mysterious glowing object identified!

Ed, Wes and Paul all correctly identified Friday’s flower as a morning glory, probably an Ipomoea spp.  (They also made me feel rather soiled for pedaling flower porn.  Sheesh.)

What I find fascinating about these flowers is the unearthly glow at the center.  They’re pollinated by bumblebees among other species, and bees see best in the blue-violet-ultraviolet range.  If we were able to see this flower under UV light, you’d see those white areas become completely dark, creating a bullseye for bee approach.… Continue reading this article “Mysterious glowing object identified!”

Glowing mystery

Here’s a snippet of a photo I shot this summer:

What is this mysterious glowing object?  (I did not manipulate this photo in any way other than to crop it) Answer Monday!

By the way, Lynn asked if we could do a posting on how to make our landscapes more wildlife friendly.  We’re doing even better than a posting – we’re doing a whole week’s worth of blogs on the topic!  Thanks for the suggestion – and the rest of you feel free to suggest topics as well.

Big Trees for Crime Reduction

Like Linda, I believe that we don’t plant enough bare-root trees.  Trees that are harvested and sold bare root tend to establish better and recover faster from transplant shock than trees sold in containers or as B&B (balled and burlapped) stock.  But, in general, trees that are purchased in as bare-root stock are smaller than the other two styles, with B&B generally being the production method which yields the largest trees.

I disagree with Linda that, as a general rule, B&B stock should have its roots washed off prior to transplanting — I’ve done it and I’ve lost trees. … Continue reading this article “Big Trees for Crime Reduction”