Where to draw the line on a vine

Last week’s column on “why do nurseries sell this plant?” struck a chord with many readers as well as with Holly!  So here is this week’s submission:  that ubiquitous vine, English ivy.

First of all, we’ll stipulate than many ivies are sold as English ivy (Hedera helix) but may be entirely different species.  Genetic research on invasive ivy populations in the Pacific Northwest identify most as H. hibernica (aka Atlantic ivy), with H. helix making up only 15% of the invading populations. … Continue reading this article “Where to draw the line on a vine”

The Importance of Not Leaving Your Veg Garden Unattended for a Week in July


Small dog snout + normal-sized cucumber provided for scale.

This problem is self-explanatory and probably not at all atypical for our readers. Pattypans became UFOs; grey zucchini, footballs.  Note that it’s been very dry here in the Blue Ridge. I shudder to think what would have happened with normal rainfall.


Beans amuck! Scared the hell out of Joel when he opened the fridge. But they wouldn’t fit in the bucket!

If you haven’t tried yard-long beans, give them a shot sometime.… Continue reading this article “The Importance of Not Leaving Your Veg Garden Unattended for a Week in July”

The importance of knowing your plants

One of the first courses a horticulture student takes is plant materials, or, in the case of a forestry student, dendrology.  Why?  Pretty simple; it’s hard to select plants if you don’t know what they are and what they’ll do in the landscape. Of course, the classic example is a large tree or shrub planted in a tight spot that eventually devours an entire house.  But we usually don’t have to look too far to find situations where a homeowner or landscaper clearly had no idea what plant he or she was dealing with.  … Continue reading this article “The importance of knowing your plants”

Clematis calamity solved

Some good and creative guesses about why the Clematis leaves had interveinal necrosis.  While iron and manganese deficiencies both cause interveinal chlorosis (veins are green, areas between are yellow), the necrosis indicates tissue death between the still-living and green veins.  Very simply, this has been caused by water loss.

During transplanting of the vine, I had to remove them from the fence and lay them out on the ground.  They remained this way for a couple of days. … Continue reading this article “Clematis calamity solved”

Friday quiz – yet more clematis calamity!

If you’ve been following the saga of our clematis, you’ll know that first they suffered iron toxicity (from the waterlogged soil they were in) and then were dug up and replanted in containers.  Last week I showed you what happens when you vigorously work wet soil – yet more waterlogging!  During the transplanting process, I took more pictures:

This damage is NOT from the iron toxicity problem.  It appeared during the transplant process.  What caused it?… Continue reading this article “Friday quiz – yet more clematis calamity!”

Jicama (The Yam Bean)

Every once in awhile I get the urge to try and find something interesting in old literature, and today was one of those days.  So I went over to my pile of old “Journal of Economic Entomology” journals and snatched a 1943 issue from the top.  The pest issues that we had to deal with during the war years were interesting because resources were tight — we had DDT (and lead arsenate), but all of it was going to the front to protect our soldiers from lice. … Continue reading this article “Jicama (The Yam Bean)”

Why do nurseries sell this plant?

I wish I were more like Holly…wandering around nurseries finding pretty and unusual annuals and perennials to get excited about.  Instead, I seem to gravitate to plants that annoy me.

Today while looking for some trellises (for those containerized Clematis vines that I’ve been torturing) I saw pots of the Equisetum hyemale (“a tall, evergreen, spreading, reed-like grass”) for sale:

 

As readers of this blog surely know, Equisetum spp. – or horsetails – are not grasses but primitive relatives of ferns. … Continue reading this article “Why do nurseries sell this plant?”

Lamb’s Ears Revisited

A bit more on my recent travels to the big floriculture conference in Columbus, Ohio.  I always try to make it out to the Chadwick Arboretum & Learning Gardens, on the campus of THE Ohio State University. There are several components, including trials, a large arboretum, and several small gardens.  My favorite is the Steven Still Perennial Garden. It’s a lovely mixed garden, designed by Adrian Bloom (Blooms of Bressingham), and was installed in ONE DAY by their garden volunteers – 2005, I think.… Continue reading this article “Lamb’s Ears Revisited”

Clematis conundrum clarified

Friday’s puzzle was tricky!  I will preface the answer by saying I don’t do a lot of container plants except for annuals.  When I plant up annuals into soilless potting mix (which is dehydrated), I work in the water thoroughly into this fluffy medium.  Friday’s situation was a little different.  The Clematis are more or less permanent residents in these planters, so I use real soil rather than potting mix.  (This will reduce or eliminate the shrinkage you’ll get if you use soilless media, as these highly organic materials steadily decompose.)… Continue reading this article “Clematis conundrum clarified”

Friday quiz – the tale of two clematis continues

A few weeks ago I showed you photos of iron toxicity in a Clematis planted in a soggy soil (perched water table).  Because this area is just not conducive to plants, we’re putting in a small deck.  This necessitated the excavation of two Clematis, which were both suffering from wet feet.  (Needless to say the root mass was very small and shallow on both plants.)  We decided to put them into large planters with conical trellises and use them as deck plants.… Continue reading this article “Friday quiz – the tale of two clematis continues”