Weird Plant Wednesday!

Inspired by Linda’s Euphorbia quiz last week – here’s another:

Euphorbia tirucalli ‘Firesticks’ in the Hahn Horticulture Garden at Virginia Tech (right before we dug it up due to impending frost). Am hoping for a "comment of approval" from Hap (Mister Cactus Jungle) on this nice specimen…not bad for Zone 6a!


Same funky little leaflets/antennae… just like Linda’s Euphorbia lactea ‘Cristata’

GP factoid: also known as "milkbush," the latex sap contains terpenoids – it apparently has potential as an energy source or "hydrocarbon plant."… Continue reading this article “Weird Plant Wednesday!”

Phosphate toxicity and iron deficiency

Bert’s post yesterday reminded me of some work one of my graduate students did about 10 years ago.  We were curious to see whether a transplant fertilizer containing phosphate was correlated with foliar iron deficiency, which is visualized as interveinal chlorosis:

 What Scott did was to plant 10 rhododendrons per treatment into pots containing containing a name brand azalea, camellia and rhododendron food (5-5-3) at 0, 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0 times the recommended amount. Here are some of the results of that study:

 
Total number of chlorotic plants

Total foliar iron vs.… Continue reading this article “Phosphate toxicity and iron deficiency”

Diagnosing plant problems

As an Extension Specialist working with nursery and landscape issues, I’m frequently called upon to troubleshoot problems with trees and shrubs in various settings.  Sometimes it’s residential or commercial landscapes, sometimes nurseries, sometimes Christmas trees.  So naturally I was intrigued when the most recent issue of American Nurseryman featured a cover story on diagnosing nutrient deficiencies in plants.  The article was written by Dr. Gary Gao, Extension specialist with Ohio State University.  The article http://www.amerinursery.com/article-7428.aspx is good and does a good job on covering the basics. … Continue reading this article “Diagnosing plant problems”

Green candles identified

Not many guesses this week – too many Halloween parties?  In any case, Hap was correct – this is a closeup of the growing edge of Euphorbia lactea ‘Cristata.’  The "candles" on the edge are tiny leaves that appear whenever water is abundant but shed quickly during dry periods:

Thanks for playing, and Happy Halloween!

Friday quiz returns!

I’ve been remiss in getting quizzes posted – partially a time issue, but mostly a lack of interesting photos. But I’ve got one today:

Can you identify what this plant is, and specifically what the little green candles are?

Answers on Monday!

The Wrong Message

Every once in awhile I’ll see a new garden product that really speaks to me.  Something that promises spectacular results on some garden problem that I’ve had to deal with before and attacks it in a novel way.  Then I’ll read the advertising materials for the product and be let down before even trying it.  Such is the case for a new product called Liquid Ladybug (which, by the way, is one of the niftiest product names that I’ve ever seen — so there’s a win for the company!).… Continue reading this article “The Wrong Message”

Today in Cucurbit News…

Cucumbers are one of the most widely-grown vegetables in the world.  Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds (a great place to buy unusual and international veggie seeds) lists 51 varieties from North America, Southeast Asia, China, India, Mexico, and Europe.  Dark green ones seem to be in the minority – yellow, white, orange and red skins in shapes round to elongated dominate.

Cukes traditionally have a few nutrients including some Vitamin A from carotenoids and beta carotene, but have never had the reputation as nutritional power house.… Continue reading this article “Today in Cucurbit News…”

A little about bugs

I’m not much of an entomologist.  (Okay, I’ve never had a single bug-related class.)  But I do appreciate insects in all of their bewildering shapes and behaviors.  And after this weekend I’ve become a little more entomologically educated.

I spent the weekend in Prescott, Arizona at the annual MG conference.  Besides meeting lots of great Master Gardeners (and Extension educators) in that state, I also met Dr. Whitney Cranshaw from Colorado State University.  He gave a keynote talk called “Gardening for Insects – or not!” … Continue reading this article “A little about bugs”

The people have spoken…

OK, the results are in for our reader poll to design a landscape tree transplant study here at MSU next spring.  And the winner is…er, I mean, winners are: Root ball manipulation and Fertilization at the time of planting.  Root ball manipulation drew 74.3% of the responses, Fertilization was chosen by 63% (voters could chose more than one favorite topic).  All other proposed topics were under 40% (Mycorrhizae – 37%, Crown reduction- 31%, Cambistat – 11.4%, Bioplex – 11.4%).… Continue reading this article “The people have spoken…”

Any PR is good PR…I think…

Virginia Tech (my institution of employment) does a good job of bringing newsworthy research and outreach stories to the university’s home page.  With a huge college of engineering, robotics seems to be the dominant theme (no matter how lame the robot is) closely followed by solar-powered cars etc.  So it’s a rare and thrilling event when a news items with a horticultural topic is featured on the VT web site!

As I read it yesterday, my heart sank a bit.… Continue reading this article “Any PR is good PR…I think…”