Last June I wrote a blog about how Dwayne “pruned” our Miss Kim lilac bush.  You can read about the destruction, er, results in the post “Honey, I Shrunk the Lilac”.  Dwayne insists that I do a follow up, so here I go….

Here is what Miss Kim looks like a year after the attack:

This was a couple of weeks ago while it was blooming. It had a few blooms on it.

It is still only about a quarter the size it was before the atta-, uh, pruning, but at least it looks MUCH better than when he was finished last June.

Oh.. and he wants me to give you his statement.  Here is Dwayne’s release:  “Ha! I was right!  They all laughed!  Well, who’s laughing now?” 

Honey, that wasn’t laughing.  That was weeping….

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Posted under General, Humor / Fun, Photos

Marcia in Cedar Falls wants to take a slip, or cutting, of her dwarf Korean lilac bush.  I haven’t found anything specific to dwarf lilacs, so I will assume… unless told otherwise… that dwarf lilacs will act the same as non-dwarf lilacs.

There are different ways to get new plants started from old ones.  The main two to try are taking a cutting or digging up a sucker plant right by the parent bush.  There is also the layering method. 

Cutting: Cut piece of old lilac off with sharp tools.

Cutting:

Although I have found different reports of people doing short pieces, it seems that 6″ lengths are the best to cut from the parent plant.  Cut the branch you want at an angle with a sharp knife or clippers.  If you are taking this a distance from the parent, keep the cutting moist and cool.  Pull the bottom few leaves off the end and dip it into rooting hormone.  You can find this at almost any place that has a nursery.  Stick it in a pot of dirt and place in a warm spot and make sure it gets plenty of water.  The pot will be its home for the first year and then you can transplant it to its new home the second year.  It won’t have any flowers until the third year, but it will be worth it.  Most of what I read said to take more cuttings than you think you’ll need.  It sounds like some won’t make it and if they do, you can always give it to a friend!

Sucker: You can dig these yunguns up and give them a new home...

Sucker: 

Many older plants will have new plants growing near the base.  These are suckers or runners.  I just did this method a couple of weeks ago with some lilacs for my mom and dad.  Pick out a nice tall one, or at least make sure it looks healthy.  Dig around it and when you find the main root connecting it to the mother plant, chop through it.  Make sure you have as much root as you can get with the baby.  You can put this in a pot or just in the ground.  Make sure it gets plenty of water and sunlight.  Mom said the five we dug up are doing great.  At least they were before the big heat and humidity of the last couple few days. 

Layering takes a long time, but keeps the main food source intact until new roots grow.

Layering:

I have heard of this method, but have never tried it.  In this method you dig a small trench near the branch you will be using.  Leave it attached to the mother plant.  Drag the branch down, lay it in the trench with the top part of the branch bent upward out of the trench.  Cover the trench, and flat branch, with dirt and pin or prop the bent part to stay up.  A couple things I have read on this mention that you should make a little cut on the branch where it is bending up, but other articles didn’t say anything at all about it.  And the ones that did, didn’t make it clear which side of the branch to cut.  Either way, you need to leave it in the trench for a year to allow for root development and then you can uncover it, cut through the branch in the ground and transplant it to your desired location.

There are a couple of other ways, including seed propagation and they are listed in a handout given to North Dakota State University horticulture or biology majors (it isn’t clear) and is a pretty nice source of information.

All in all, it sounds fairly simple to get lilacs to propagate, but it appears that some of the methods take some time to get results.  Whichever way you decide, good luck!

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Posted under General, Spring

Everything is growing well in the garden, but now it is starting to get a bit more colorful.  Lots of flowers are blooming.

This is one of the plants I got last year for $1 near the end of the season. I can't remember what it is called, but it has held onto the flowers for a long time.

Another dollar plant. This one is a viola.

One of my violet irises. It came with the house, so I don't know what the variety is.

This one also came with the house, so I don't know what variety it is either... so...

...I'll just have to come up with something creative so that I know what color it was when I move it.

The bleeding hearts are looking great this year. The paler leaves are a Yellow-leaf Bleeding Heart. It has pink flowers, too.

A globe flower on the north side of the house near the bleeding hearts.

Betty's poppy is blooming. And it has friends!

Betty's poppies, some allium and the jacob's ladder in bloom. Last year we only had one Betty's poppy. This year, they are all over!

This was the day before the peonies burst open.

This is my Strike It Rich rose. It is beautiful AND it has a nice scent.

I hope you enjoyed the pictures.  I’ll try to make sure I add more as the spring and summer progress.

Dig it!

Posted under General, Photos

Emerald Ash Borer

Well.  It’s confirmed.  The Emerald Ash Borer is in Iowa.  It was found in Allamakee county along the Mississippi River two miles south of the Minnesota border on property owned and managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.  It doesn’t sound like much, but four larvae were found in one ash tree on the land and that is bad news. An infestation was discovered last year in Victory, Wisconsin which is nearby.

If you don’t know if you have an ash tree, I found this link to help you identify them.  It’s from Michigan State University.  Michigan has had the infestation since 2003 and has lost millions of trees.  Iowa could lose 80 million.  about 50 million in rural areas and 30 million in urban sites.

Here is a site about the Emerald Ash Borer with more information.  It includes the fact that Michigan has lost tens of millions of ash trees and tens of millions more have been killed in Illinois, Minnesota, Indiana, Kentucky, Pennsylvania and several other states. 

I previously talked about the EAB.  You can check out that page here.  In that post I mention that the species Fraxinus is the one that the EAB likes to munch on.  I have a Purple Mountain Ash which is of the Sorbus species and not a true ash, so I don’t think the critters will affect them. 

I will post more about the EAB as it comes along.

Dig it!

Posted under Pests, Trees

Sue (from the Asiatic Lilies post) also asked about her Christmas cactus.  She says “it is hot pink in color, had never bloomed since I gave it to my Mom 3 years ago (was forced at x-mas time). Well it bloomed in Sept and then again it started blooming the end of March and just finishing now.  So I am confused on when to feed etc – didn’t realize it would bloom twice in one year.  Can I set that outside this summer or should I just keep it indoors?”

There are several varieties of holiday cactus.  There are Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter.  And I found this one at a local box store that was labeled “Spring Cactus”.

The "leaves" look different than the others in this post, so I don't know if it is the same as one of the others or a new development.

It appears that there are three main types.  The Thanksgiving cactus is the most familiar and widely grown.   The scientific name is Schlumbergera truncata and can also be called crab or yoke cactus.  This variety is found from various stores in early fall through Christmas.  Flower colors range from white through red, lavender and can also be salmon-orange and many shades of each.  The flowering time is generally from about Thanksgiving through Christmas.  This is what we usually call the Christmas cactus because it is the one available leading up to Christmas.

The real Christmas cactus, Schumbergera bridgesii, has arching branches that produce 3-inch-long, rosy-red flowers from late December through March.

The Easter cactus, Rhipsalidopsis gaertnerii, sets its buds from January to March and blooms from March through May with pink or red flowers.  It may bloom again in early fall.  This is probably the one you have, Sue.

Each of these cacti have different “leaf” margins, although they don’t really have leaves.  The Thanksgiving cactus has two to four sawtoothed, upward pointing projections on the sides of the stem.

This photo is from someone in NW Arkansas

The Christmas cactus has leaf margins that are rounded with scallops (usually four) along the edges of the stems.

Also from NW Arkansas

The Easter cactus has leaf margins that are smoother than the other seasonal cacti.  There are 4 to 6 slight ripples along their edges and brownish hair-like bristles at the tips.

And yet another one from NW Arkansas

All three require similar growing conditions, however the Thanksgiving and Christmas cacti depend on short daylengths and cool temperatures to set their flower buds, while the Easter cacti will bloom with cool temperatures at the normal seasonal daylength.

Short-day plants mean that in order to get them to bloom, you need to place them in a spare bedroom or basement where no artificial lights are used at night.  The plants should receive bright light during the day and the temperatures should be kept under 65 degrees.   Some will even bloom if kept at 55 degrees during the fall no matter what the daylength.  You want to keep the plants a bit on the dry side until you see pinpoint buds forming and then you can resume normal watering.  Once the buds have formed, you do not need to continue the short-day treatment, but you do need to keep the soil moderately moist, give them bright light and maintain a cool temperature (that’s 60 to 70 degrees) to avoid bud drop.

Holiday cacti have their origins in South American forests.  They are called “epiphytic” plants, which mean they live on another plant but are not parasitis.  They grow in the crotches of trees and derive their nutrition from the heavy junble rains, decaying organic matter and filtered sunlight.  In the northern latitude home (where we live), they require a well-drained potting soil.  If the soil is compacted and drains poorly, the branches of the cacti may become limp and shriveled.  Do not keep it dry like other cactus.  Keep the soil moderately moist and fertilize them monthly during the summer months with a soluble fertilizer.  You can move them outdoors in summer to a partially shady location. 

Holiday cacti grow and flower best when the roots are a little cramped.  They don’t need to be repotted annually.  You will only need to repot when the soil become compacted or the plants have completely outgrown their containers.  If you do need to repot them, spring or early summer is the best time… when the plants finish blooming. 

Whatever type of Holiday Cactus you have, enjoy the blooms!

Dig it!

Posted under General

Okay… just divide.

Sue sent me an email about when to divide her asiatic lilies and a question about Christmas cactus.  I’ll save the cactus for another post, but I’ll talk about the lilies today. 

Asiatic lilies are more upright than daylilies.

This is what the previous asiatic lily looked like last year.

Right now the lilies are really growing. 

I don't remember what color this one is. I think it's red, but it will be great to watch it growing.

This one is an Easter lily from last year. I was under the impression that the variety sold as "Easter Lily" are not hardy here, so I was surprised to see it growing. I hope it does as well next year!

The best time to divide the lilies would be early fall.  Daylilies, on the other hand, can be divided every three to six years in the early spring or during the early fall, like September.  I’ll talk about dividing daylilies later.

Carefully dig up the clump and separate the bulb.  Replant them immediately.  If you have to delay the replanting, put the bulbs in a plastic bag containing some lightly moistened peat moss and place the bag in the refrigerator.  Plant large bulbs 4 to 6 inches deep and small bulbs should be 1 to 2 inches deep.  Lilies do best in well-drained soil in full sun.  The large bulbs may bloom the following summer, but it may take the small bulbs a year or two to get enough energy to do so.  No matter what, they have a lot of punch for their size.

This variety came with the house and has survived three moves around the yard. I think we are going to have to move it again, but they need divided anyway.

They are beautiful!

Dig it!

Posted under General

Bob and Jody Buschbom sent me the following photos.  They tell me that “the bulb is more than 50 years old.  My mother got it when I was a teenager.  In the photos from 2009 the stem grew to 32″ and had foru 7.5″ blooms.  This year the stem struggled to get to 4″ and only had two blooms but they are 9″ in diameter!”  Wow!

From 2009

From 2009

From 2010

From 2010

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Posted under General