All things green

Here is a virtual Valentine’s Day gift to you, a loyal reader of our blog. 

We only wish that we could give you these Valentine’s Day Flowers in person!

Bob and Judy

All too often, when we look around at our landscape in Southern Michigan, what we see is actually not Michigan plants, but alien species of plants from other countries. Any roadside has quack grass, brome grass, Queen Anne’s Lace, chicory, and dandelions growing along it; all weeds and all aliens. Of course not many Native Michigan plants would grow in a spot that is constantly disturbed by snow plows in winter and lawnmowers in summer. Prairie plants, which are Michigan natives, could grow along our roads if they weren’t mowed, and in a very few places they do.

Alien plants colonize disturbed areas very quickly. Their seed usually likes to germinate in freshly disturbed soil such as a roadside. Weedy aliens are not choosy about rich or lean soil. They are considered weeds just because of that and also because they produce so many seeds which are distributed as far and wide as possible. Native plants are usually choosier about soil and habitat, but once established and growing well, they can usually hold their own as long as the soil is not disturbed.

Historically our native prairies thrived in spots in Southern Michigan because those sites were regularly burned. Either started by lightning strikes or intentionally set by Native Americans. So prairie plants are usually deep rooted and have crowns where the growing stems emerge from, safely below the surface of the soil where they’re not killed by fires.

Some species of oak trees are adapted to fire, too. Their bark is thick enough that the living inner cells of the tree are not damaged by the heat of a grass fire sweeping through. So historically in numerous spots in Southern Michigan we had landscapes of widely spaced oak trees with special prairie plants growing in the soil in between the oak trees. These are called oak openings or sometimes referred to as savannas.

When Michigan was first settled, the first places to be farmed were usually these open areas. The settler would naturally be attracted to spots where he didn’t have to go to all the labor of cutting down the trees before he could begin to plow the soil and get a crop in. For this reason many of the oak openings and their special plants were lost. Since the Native American were pushed out, other oak openings were not burned anymore. So in the few openings that weren’t plowed, the shrubs and saplings of the adjacent woods started to grow in the rich soil , shading out the oak opening prairie plants. The edge of the woods slowly crept into the prairie and displaced the prairie plants.

One of the exciting aspects of habitat restoration (and I mean exciting!) is the use of fire to reclaim those prairies. Controlled burns have been used now at least for 20 years to help the prairies that are left, keeping them healthier by burning out the aliens, shrubs and trees that cannot survive the fire and reclaiming their lost edges.

In another blog I will tell you about the places in S. Michigan were these kinds of restoration practices are happening.

Bye now,

Judy

There was an unusual conference in Lansing last Friday and Saturday. It was the Stewardship Network’s “The Art and Science of Habitat Restoration”. Dedicated nature enthusiasts from all over Michigan convened to learn more about restoring native habitats.

Michigan is very fortunate to have numerous unusual habitats. From lakes and forests, swamps and marshes, bog and fens, to prairies and sand barrens. Along with the habitats are some rare plants and animals. We have plants in Michigan that are found nowhere else on earth. So it’s no wonder that we have alot of dedicated people who are ready and willing to do the often back breaking labor of restoring habitats that have been damaged.

We’ve lost huge amounts of native habitats to sprawling development. But we also lose unusual habits to changes in drainage patterns, roads being cut through natural lands, ORV use in delicate ecosystems, damming up rivers or straightening rivers. We even lose habitats to other plants - very aggressive weedy plants that take over and crowd out the native plants. Those weedy plants are usually alien plants brought to this country from overseas. Examples are purple loosestrife, brome grass and even some shrubs. We don’t usually think of shrubs as weeds, but certain ones are, such as common buckthorn, autumn olive and bush honeysuckle.

So what do people do when they restore native landscapes?  The majority of the work is weeding out the plants that have invaded the area.  Some alien plants are pulled out before they set seeds.  Some are cut. but if common buckthorn is just cut, it will send up new shoots producing more buckthorn than before,  so the stumps of the cut shrub must be treated with herbicide to kill all the roots.  The herbicide is “painted” on, not sprayed, with a special sponge tip applicator.  This puts the herbicide only where it is needed.  With certain herbicides this method can even be used in wetlands.

Restoring native landscapes is a fairly new science,  so this conference was very useful in sharing the details of methods that work the best.  The people attending ranged from scientists and biologists and botanists to regular people that volunteer their time doing the labor.

I’ll write you more next time about the speakers and classes at the conference, places that have been restored and plants that have saved.

Bye now, Judy

For years I have been looking for a way to keep my feet dry in the greenhouse and garden.  A lot of water gets sloshed around in the greenhouse  and my feet often  get wet and stay wet all day. The same is true out in the garden on a morning covered with heavy dew .

I’ve tried slip-on boots, the type that go over your shoes… they are too heavy to wear all day.

Galoshes are out of the question, for the same reason.

Disposable over boots are OK, but the don’t hold up to a lot of walking.

Wellington’s (known as “Wellies” in The British Isles) keep my feet the driest, but they are a little heavy and rub against my leg at the top of the boot when I walk.

This week the answer to my dilemma  arrived via UPS… a pair of “LawnGrips” garden shoes.

I opted for the short-top, non-steel toed model.

When I first put them on, they felt tight and uncomfortable. I was  disappointed because the advertisement claimed that they had a roomy toe area and gave your feet plenty of space.  I immediately took them off and planned to send them back.

The next day however, I decided to give them another try.  Low and behold, after about 15 minutes of walking, the shoe material started to relax and conform to the shape of my foot.

They turned out to be a very comfortable shoe, today I even  forgot that I had them on.

These LawnGrips kept my feet dry in the greenhouse and outdoors in the slushy mess we call snow.

The bottom of the shoe has a tread pattern with rounded edges that minimizes the sticking of mud  and debris to the bottom.  This avoids the biggest complaint I have about hiking boots in the garden…all of those tiny tread spaces tend to pick up and hold mud.

Like any product, it is not perfect and has it’s “Archilles  heel” :).  The top of the shoe has a stretchy porous material where the tongue is located. This allows water to get in if a direct stream of water hits that spot.  It’s a minor problem under most conditions.

So far I have not needed the put in an extra insole despite walking on the concrete greenhouse floor all day.

They are not available in stores yet but can be found at a number of vendors on-line.

They set me back about $85 , but if they hold up for the rest of the season, it’ll be well worth it.

Bob

“…you make lemonade”, the old proverb goes.

Does the same principle apply when Bob gives you lemons from the greenhouse?

The lemon trees have been providing us with lemons for a couple of weeks now.  There are too many for us here to use so the best thing to do is to start giving them away.

I picked a 1/2 peck this morning…

These lemons are a bit larger than the ones you see in the produce department.  They are tastier too. The variety is ‘Beares’ and they seem to be quite happy in the greenhouse.

Maybe, a slice of lemon in a cup of hot water will go down better than lemonade on this cold and damp winter’s day.

Bob

Today was a great day to take out some plants and spray them off.

If you have house plants that are infested with  pests such as spider mites, mealy bugs or scale, a good rinsing will go a long ways towards cleaning them up.

Tomorrow is predicted to be very mild as well, so, take those plants outside where you can spray plenty of water without being concerned about making a mess. 

The stream of water you use must be strong enough to knock off the bugs but not so strong as to tear or bruise the leaves.

Citrus trees have very tough leaves and seem to be able take quite a bit of pressure. Others plants however, are more delicate. Start with a fine spray and increase the pressure if needed.   You’ll have to judge it yourself.

I use a 3-hole nozzle that puts out a very fine, yet strong stream of water that knocks off just about everything without damaging leaves.

Take advantage of this January thaw while you can.

Bob

Judy and I traveled to Florida a couple of weeks ago. One of the places we visited was Marie Selby Botanical Gardens in Sarasota.

While we were there I bought an Orchid for the greenhouse as a souvenir. Instead of potting it, I decided to put it up onto one of the orange trees.

Orchids are epiphytic plants, meaning that their natural habitat is up in the branches of trees. The tree is only supports the plant but doesn’t provide any nourishment for it.

I needed a way to firmly attach the orchid without damaging it.

Regular twist ties and Velcro strips first came to mind, but then I remembered something I had acquired in the summer; a roll of Rapiclip Soft Twist Tie.

This Twist Tie is a foam rubber coated wire that is very soft and pliable and very easy to work with. I paid five or six dollars for this 16′ roll.

You can see here how it gently, yet firmly it holds the orchid to the tree.

This spot gets daily misting from the overhead misting system so my souvenir from Florida should be very happy there.

Bob

I have a few days between Christmas and New Year to take advantage of the fact that the north greenhouse is empty, now that all of the poinsettias have been given away.

One of the jobs I have been wanting to do for a while is wash the inside of the glass on the greenhouse.  It is covered with algae, mildew and other assorted nasty looking stuff. 

Since the peak of the roof is 15 feet from the floor, I bought a telescoping window brush handle to reach the top without having to stand on a ladder.  I tried using a stream of water to rinse off the dirt but, it just sticks to the glass.

At one time I used an expensive window concentrate to wash the glass. After running out of that stuff, I found out that ordinary liquid dish soap works just fine. Also, since dish detergent contains a rinsing agent and, I use RO water to rinse the glass, they turn out sparkling clear.

If I didn’t have access to 300 gallons on pressurized purified water for rinsing, I’d have to sqeegee  all that glass… now that would be a huge task!

The worst part of this job happens when you are washing the roof and skronky water  runs down the pole and  your arm  into your arm pit…yuck!

Look at the difference between a washed pane of glass and the adjacent unwashed glass.  How much light do you suppose  is lost to all of those dirty panes of glass?

The plants will certainly appreciate the effort and the rest of us don’t have to look at all that grime.

Bob

Have you seen the Amaryllis for sale at the stores? They are a bulb which is quite large that either come in a box and must be planted or are pre-planted.

Large blooms of red, white, or pink are the common colors at the “Big Box” stores. In the catalogs there are some unusual varieties. For example; white with streaks of red or green, pink blotches in the middle of the petals or my favorite; white petals edged in a fine line of red, called ‘Picotee’!

Any of these colors of Amaryllis make great presents since they are sure to bloom. Over watering or under watering makes no difference right now. Amaryllis bulbs, at this time of year, will bloom no matter what is done to them.

Some have two or three blooms from one bulb, and the blooms last for a long time. So, if a present is needed for your eighty-five year old aunt or anyone else who is hard to buy for, Amaryllis bulbs are the answer!

Bye for now,

Judy

It’s been a while since I last posted an article here, but that doesn’t mean that things have slowed down in the garden and greenhouse.

Christmas is just around the corner, so for us that means Poinsettias are the focus of our work.  Actually, the poinsettias have been in the greenhouse since September.  As a result, here in the greenhouse, Christmas has slowly crept up since that time. We’ve watched them grow from small, green cuttings to full colorful plants.

 We’ve been so used to the greenhouse being full of Poinsettias, that it’s hard to believe that they will all be gone soon. 

Some of the plants have already been given away last week.

Many people are not aware that there are different Poinsettia varieties, just like there are different varieties of tomatoes.  Through the years, plant breeders have developed varieties for not only color, but, also growth habit (short or tall), leaf shape (smooth or lobed), maturity date (early, mid, or late) and other characteristics.

One very important development in  Poinsettia breeding is the ease of production.  The old varieties needed to be covered with a black shade cloth during a period of their life cycle.  Any light, even from street lamps at night, could cause the crop to fail to bloom.

Fortunatly, this is not as critical anymore.

This year, we are growing three varieties of Poinsettias.

Premium Red is our main crop, we have about 150 of those.

Sonora is our white variety, there’s about 40 of them.

Marblestar is a pink and white variety.  We have about 50 of those.

  of Almost all of our Poinsettias are grown in 6″ pots, except for a couple  dozen 10″ pots.

In two weeks time the greenhouse will be empty of Poinsettias except for a few that we will continue to grow. A couple will be saved for taking cuttings for next year’s crop, while a few more will be left to grow into larger plants for Christmas of 2008.

Bob