Too-Mulch-Uous

I know I'm not rocking anyone's horticulture world by recounting the universally documented virtues of mulching, Still, it might bear repeating:

* You absolutely will have fewer weeds
* Watch your water bill drop because your plants and soil are losing less precious water
* Less soil compaction  from driving rains and perhaps foot traffic (from two and four-legged family members)
* Insulating soils from extremes in temperature fluctuation. That works both ways to benefit plants. Soil temperatures drop more slowly in the fall under mulched soils. Roots continue to develop while soil temperatures are above 40 degrees F. Durng the heat of summer plant roots benefit from cooler soil temperatures, too
* Mulches provide organic matter that improves soil structure. Mulch also increases microbial activity that converts organic matter into nutrients
* Research indicates pine fines or pine bark mulch actually have innate fungal-inhibiting properties that make them a smart choice to use for rhododendrons and azaleas

May I just get this one pet peeve off my chest? Why do some landscapers insist on building beaver dams of mulch? You've seen what I'm talking about. Unfortunately, it's an all too frequent occurrence. The mulch is mounded around the trunk at least a foot deep. Guys (women would never do this), root systems need oxygen- just like your lungs. Beaver dam mulching not only reduces oxygen to roots, it keeps bark tissue wet. Wet bark is subject to all kinds of issues. When bark tissue isn't healthy, that's stress. Plant stress often leads to insect and disease problems. Enough said?

 

We know it isn't difficult to mulch properly. Leave a two to four inch diameter opening of naked soil from the trunks of trees, or the outer edge of multi-stemmed shrubs. Spread mulch there, away from stems. In dense clay soils a one to two inch depth is fine. For sandy soils applying a three to four inch layer of mulch is appropriate. Extend the mulch as far as feasible within the context of your garden beds or lawn.

I heard a presentation a few years ago that I thought was interesting. Yes, you would probably be surprised at what I find interesting. Whenever possible, try to replicate what the plant would receive at its feet in nature. So, for trees and shrubs, consider using wood-barked based products that are broken down by fungi. For soft-stemmed annuals, perennials and veggies use "green" mulches that are dominated by bacteria- compost, leaf mulch, cotton burr compost, for example.

 

Don't get hung up on trying to match different mulches throughout your landscape. The most important thing is to mulch, rather than NOT.  Don't forget one last benefit of mulch- appearance, appearance, appearance. In addition to all the documented physical benefits mulch acts as a unifying element. It ties your plants together visually in a way that is very pleasing.

You don't know how lucky you are I didn't get started on white marble chip "mulch".  

A Visit with Knock Out Roses' William Radler

William Radler in his living room

 

There was snow on the ground outside, but plenty of blooms inside the home of William Radler, developer of the popular Knock Out® shrub roses, when I visited recently.

Botanical drawings of roses lined the living room walls. A bouquet of silk roses sat on a table. There was a rose inlay on the wooden floor. And in the basement, the real deal – row after row of rose seedlings, many of them in full flower, under fluorescent lights.

This is the rosarium or “greenhouse” where Radler is developing his next generation of roses. Only the best will ever make it to market. Some may even be good enough to become Knock Out® roses, which are noted for their disease resistance.

More than 80 million Knock Out® roses have been sold since the first was introduced in 2000, making it the best selling rose series in the U.S. It’s also becoming more popular overseas, especially in Europe, Australia and Japan. Two of the seven varieties have been chosen as All America Rose Selections.

With such overwhelming success, you might expect that Radler, now 70, would be slowing down or at least would have moved his rose breeding operation to a larger, more high tech facility. If so, you’d be wrong on both counts.

Radler is planning to step up his rose introductions from one or two a year to as many as five. He especially wants to expand beyond the shrub and climbing roses in his portfolio.

The goal? “I want everything,” said Radler. He hopes to have so many rose varieties that it will require a separate catalog to list them all.

“Everybody hears about the Knock Outs®,” Radler said. “They don’t realize I have 27 roses in production. They might not all be Knock Outs® but most of them are low maintenance roses, the kind of roses people are looking to put in their gardens.”

Brite Eyes, a Radler climbing rose
Photo courtesy of The Conard-Pyle Co./Star Roses and Plants

Eventually, he wants to produce low-maintenance hybrid teas, floribundas, miniatures and polyanthas. Radler’s particularly hot on miniature roses at this point.

“Everyone’s got a place for a miniature rose,” he said. “If they were black spot resistant, I think more people would plant them.”

The success of Knock Outs® has sparked its share of criticism in rose circles. Some rose fans feel that Knock Outs® are pushing other worthy rose varieties out of the market. Others complain that his most popular roses aren’t fragrant.

Radler countered that Knock Outs® are shrub roses, not exhibition roses which often require extensive spraying and care. People no longer have the time or inclination to fuss with roses in their garden, he said. Low-maintenance shrub roses like his often fit the bill.

He also noted fragrance is somewhat subjective, with some people able to detect a fragrance while someone else can not. Radler said the original Knock Out® has a fragrance and that Milwaukee’s Calatrava, a white shrub rose he developed, “can compete with any other rose on the market for fragrance.”

Shrub roses, he added, are not usually introduced for their fragrance.

“There’s all the David Austins, but they don’t make good shrub roses,” he said. “At the end of the season, they’re either the Eiffel Tower or they’re flopping all over the place.”




In the basement with the latest crop of rose seedlings

Flowers galore

Radler has been hooked on roses ever since he bought his first one at age 9. He was winning prizes for his roses while still in college, perhaps one of the reasons why he switched to landscape architecture after only one semester as an art major. He has been breeding roses since the mid 1970s.

His growing set-up remains low tech: saw horses, 2x4s, shop lights and recycled Styrofoam slabs. Meticulous details about each seedling are kept on index cards off to one side.

At this stage, he cautioned, it’s not always possible to tell which roses will perform the best in the garden.

“The miniatures grow larger under the fluorescent lights than they do in the garden,” he said. “And the regular ones grow smaller under the lights than in the garden.”

Flower color also can be more intense outside than under the lights, he added.



Newborn rose seedlings under the lights

Not all of Radler’s crosses work of course. During a recent visit, he showed me a rose with buds that have never opened and a yellow rose with a green, grassy center.

On the other hand, there was a white rose with a fragrance to rival any at a high-end perfume counter. There also was one with a single layer of purple (yes, purple) petals held straight up at a 90 degree angle as well as several interesting color combinations.

These 500 seedlings will eventually be acclimated to sunlight and join the approximately 1,600 roses outside on his 2-acre lot. They won’t be coddled in any way, but assaulted with numerous enemies including overhead watering and black spot. Lackluster performers are culled. Those that flourish are sent off for six years of field trials and may eventually be marketed by The Conard-Pyle Co./Star Roses and Plants.



A very delicate bloom

 



What would you call this color? Vermilion?

Loved the color combination on this seedling



This rose was especially fragrant



Striped petals anyone?

Radler, a life-long Milwaukee resident, said he has no plans to move anywhere else. His first job after college was with the Milwaukee County parks department. He eventually went on to serve as garden director of the nearby Boerner Botanical Gardens from 1981 until his retirement in 1994.

“People who need to get away…I don’t understand that. I like to be in one place and have everything that I need in one location,” he said. “I could easily afford a place in Door County or a place in Palm Springs but that means I’m away from here.”

Success has resulted in some changes at the “headquarters” of Rose Innovations LLC, however. He used to do all the work himself but now has a staff of 8 people. He also has remodeled his house. One of those changes was to add a one-car garage because the original two-car garage is overflowing with garden supplies.




The sun room

Lest you think Radler is a plant snob, he does have many other plants besides roses. A two-story sun room holds everything from African violets and cactuses to lush tropicals. An extensive perennial garden in the front yard has every plant labeled with its common and botanical name.

He is introducing his second perennial this year, Amethyst Kiss™ spiderwort (Tradescantia ‘Radtrad’) which has larger flowers, larger flower clusters and flowers that are more blue that other varieties. He had previously introduced Sweet Thing™ verbena (Verbena ‘Radverb’).




The back yard

One of his upcoming projects will be to put prairie grasses and plants on the tall berm just behind his property. It was formerly used by one of the Milwaukee's interurban railways but is now abandoned. He said the utility that owns the land has just given him permission for the project to go ahead.

Another, possibly even bigger project involves breeding tropical fish and gold fish. He has added several large tanks throughout his house over the past three years.
 
“My goal is to create tropical fish and goldfish that the world hasn’t seen before,” Radler said.

Does he have any names in mind for these new fish? Perhaps something like Knock Out, I asked?

He pondered the question for a minute and just smiled.

By Karen Geisler

2013 Plants of the Year

 

**UPDATED**

The votes have been counted. The red carpet is ready. No, it’s not the Oscars, the Emmys or even the technical award for the most convincing use of groundcover in a science fiction movie.  No, this is much bigger – the 2013 Plants of the Year.

 

These are the best of the best. They're tough, reliable and easy to grow. You can keep your debutantes – those new plants introduced into polite gardening society this time every year. I’ll take those with a proven track record when deciding what to add to my garden this spring.

 

The 2013 honorees as selected by various organizations are listed below. Most of the plants -- especially the All-America Selections®  -- have flourished in various locations around the country.

 

Some, however, are more regional in nature. PlantSelect©, for example, focuses on the Rockies although many of its plants will do well in other areas as well. Live Oak (Quercus virginiana), chosen as the 2013 Urban Tree of the Year by the Society of Municipal Arborists, is only hardy in zones 7b-10.

 

And for those keeping score, this will be last rose of the year from the All-America Rose Selections™ as that group has disbanded.

This list is not all inclusive as some organizations will be announcing their winners before the gardening season begins in earnest. It will, however, provide some good candidates to consider in the coming months as you review what worked and what didn't in your garden during 2012.

So without further ado, the envelopes please....

 

 (A key to the various organizations and links to their Websites are at the bottom.)

 

Annuals
 

Canna 'South Pacific Scarlet'
Photo courtesy of All-America Selections®

Canna ‘South Pacific Scarlet’ (Canna generalis) – AAS Flower Award
Cheyenne Spirit Cone flower (Echinacea hybrida)-- AAS Flower Award
Geranium ‘Pinto™ Premium White to Rose’ – AAS Bedding Plant Award
Bubblegum Supertunia Vista (Petunia ‘Ustuni6001’) -- POM
Silver Shield plectranthus (Plectranthus argentatus ‘Silver Shield’) -- POM
Snow Princess sweet alyssum (Lobularia ‘Inlbusnopr’) – POM

 

Edibles



'Melemon' Melon, 2013 AAS® Vegetable Award
Photo courtesy of All-America Selections®

Melon ‘Melemon’ F1 -- AAS Vegetable Award
Cherry Tomato ‘Jasper’ F1 -- AAS Vegetable Award
Watermelon ‘Harvest Moon’ F1 – AAS Vegetable Award





Clove currant
Photo courtesy of Missouri Botanical Garden

Clove currant (Ribes odoratum) -- POM

Malabar spinach (Basella rubra ‘Red Stem’) – POM

Starkspur® Arkansas Black dwarf apple (Malus pumila ‘Lonacre’) – POM

 

Perennials
 

Variegated Solomon's Seal
Photo from Missouri Botanical Garden

 

The Perennial Plant of the Year™ -- Variegated Solomon’s Seal (Polygonatum odoratum ‘Variegatum’) – PPA

Perennial of the Year -- Queen of the Prairie (Filipendula rubra ‘Venusta’) – GP

Chieftain Manzanita (Arctostaphylos x coloradensis ‘Chieftain’) – PS
Curly Leaf Sea Kale (Crambe maritima) – PS




Tennessee Purple Coneflower
Photo courtesy of Northscaping.com

Tennessee Purple Coneflower (Echinacea tennesseensis) – PS

Caramel Coral Bells (Heuchera ‘Caramel’) – POM
Narbonne Blue Flax (Linum narbonense) – PS
Turquoise Tails Blue Sedum (Sedum sediforme) – PS
 

Rainforest Sunrise, 2013 Hosta of the Year
Photo courtesy of AHGA member Made in the Shade Gardens

 

Hosta of the Year -- Rainforest Sunrise – AHGA

 

Grass of the Year – Blue Heaven™ Little Bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium ‘MinnblueA’) – GP

Blue Zinger sedge (Carex glauca ‘Blue Zinger’) – POM

Palm sedge (Carex muskingumensis) – POM



Francis Meilland™ , 2013 AARS Rose of the Year
Photo from The Conard-Pyle Co.

Rose – Frances Meilland™  (Rosa 'Meitroni' PP#19970) by The Conard-Pyle Co. – All-America Rose Selections™. The first traditional hybrid tea rose to win under no-spray conditions. Also has won the ADR Award in Germany under no-spray tests.

Herb – Elderberry (Sambucus ssp.) – IHA
 

 

 

Shrubs and Vines



Spring leaf color on Redwing™ viburnum

 

Mellow Yellow® spirea (Spiraea thunbergii ‘Ogon’) – POM

Doublefile viburnum (Viburnum plicatum var. tomentosum) -- POM

Redwing™ American Cranberrybush Viburnum (Viburnum trilobum ‘J.N. Select’) – GP 

Cross vine (Bignonia capreolata) -- POM

 

Trees





Flowers on Royal Raindrops™ crabapple
Photo courtesy Northscaping.com



Royal Raindrops™ crabapple (Malus ‘JFS-KW5’) – POM

Vanderwolf’s Pyramid limber pine (Pinus flexilis) – POM

Northern Pin Oak (Quercus ellipsoidalis) – GP

Chinese tree lilac (Syringa reticulata ssp. pekinensis) -- POM

Urban Tree of the Year – Live Oak (Quercus virginiana) – SMA

Conifer of the Year – Border Pine (Pinus strobiformis) – GP

**UPDATE 3/4/13**

If you're still searching for good plants, here are some additional winners that have been announced since this was originally published.

AAS has added two zinnias in its bedding plant category. They are Zinnia 'Profusion Double Deep Salmon' and Zinnia 'Profusion Double Hot Cherry.' Both get about 8-14" tall and are resistant to Alternaria and powdery mildew.

The Delaware Nursery and Landscape Association named Autumn Bride coral bells (Heuchera macrorhiza 'Autumn Bride) as its 2013 Herbaceous Plant and Gro-Low sumac (Rhus aromatica 'Gro-Low') as its 2013 Woody Plant.

The Elisabeth Carey Miller Botanical Garden in Seattle selected 29 plants for its 2013 Great Plant Picks list. Included are 13 different clematis, three geraniums and three salvias.

The Garden Club of America will honor the Eastern redbud (Cercis canadensis) with its Freeman Medal at the organization's centennial annual meeting May 2. An honorable metnion will go to Black gum (Nyssa sylvatica) while special recognition will go to Gopherwood (Torreya taxifolia).

 

 

AAS = All-America Selections™
 

AHGA = American Hosta Growers Association

GP = GreatPlants™ (Nebraska Arboretum and the Nebraska Nursery and Landscape Association). Hardy to zone 4.

IHA = International Herb Association

POM = Plants of Merit (Missouri Botanical Garden). Chosen for their outstanding quality and dependable performance for the lower Midwest -- Missouri, central and southern Illinois and the Kansas City metro area (Zones 5-6).

PPA = Perennial Plant Association

PS = PlantSelect© (Denver Botanic Gardens and the Colorado University Extension). Promotes the best plants for gardens from the intermountain region to the high plains.
 

SMA = Society of Municipal Arborists


By Karen Geisler

Serviceberries? Yum!

The serviceberries are almost finished blooming in the Chicago area.

The amelanchier has more names than you can shake a stick at.  This small native tree/large shrub, often called a serviceberry, is also known as a juneberry, Saskatoon, shad blow, shad bush, sugarplum,  sarvisberry, chuckley pear or even currant-tree.

 I recently added another one – delicious.

While most people in recent years have focused on the tree’s ornamental qualities, its fruit increasingly is taking center stage. Amelanchier (pronounced am-el-LANG-kee-ur) is mentioned in the book “Edible Landscaping” by Rosalind Creasy as well as other similar books. It’s also being grown commercially in Canada’s Prairie provinces with great success.



Serviceberry flowers

The various amelanchier species do have nice white spring flowers, smooth gray bark and good fall color. Recent introductions have enhanced these traits, including Autumn Brilliance, which has great fall foliage.  Rainbow Pillar and Cumulus, two narrow upright versions, are great for smaller urban lots.

What most people don’t realize, though, is that the fruit is quite tasty and can be eaten straight off the tree. Many of the edible fruits from other trees and shrubs, like chokeberries (Aronia melanocarpa) or elderberries (Sambucus spp.), need to be cooked with some sugar.

Serviceberries technically aren’t even berries; they are actually "pomes" or a tiny apple of sorts. They also are good for you, with lots of antioxidents. Native Americans mixed them with dried meat and fat to make pemmican, which sustained them in the winter.

I recently stumbled across a website that sells jam, syrup and pie filling made in Canada from a specific kind of serviceberries known as Saskatoons (Amelanchier anifolia).  So I ordered some jam and decided to treat my co-workers at a breakfast meeting.



Serviceberry jam

The tasting was a big hit!  They described the taste as similar to blueberries but with a twist. Some thought it has a slight almond taste, while others thought it was similar to that of blackberries, dark cherries or raisins. Needless to say, there wasn’t much jam left and my family quickly devoured that.

There are several efforts underway to promote these trees in the U.S. as a commercial crop or an addition to pick-your-own farms. These include Michigan's Saskatoon Project Midwest and a demonstration project by the Cornell University Cooperative Education Extension in upstate New York.

Both are focusing on Canadian varieties especially developed for their fruit: Regent, Smoky, Northline, Thiessen, Honeywood, Pembina, Martin and JB-30 (all Amelanchier anifolia).

Several of the more widely available serviceberries, including Regent (Amelanchier anifolia), and Cole Select, Autumn Brilliance and Princess Diana (all Amelanchier x grandiflora) are reportedly tasty. You also get the plant vigor usually associated with a hybrid form.

Meantime, I’m trying to figure out where I can put a few of these in my garden. Serviceberries, unlike blueberries, will grow in the alkaline soil common in the Chicago area and don’t require two different varieties to get a good crop.

They do, however, need full sun, good drainage, air circulation and watering during drought, especially while they are getting established. The fruit generally matures to a deep blue color here in early July, despite its "juneberry" nickname.

A serviceberry takes about three years before it starts producing a decent-sized crop. Given the wonderful taste and health benefits, though, I’m willing to wait. Now if I can only figure out a way to get the fruit before the birds do….

A serviceberry in full bloom

By Karen Geisler

The Colors of Fall

Fall is here at last! I love the reds, golds, oranges and purples this time of year. Every autumn I vow to put more color in my garden. I’m not there yet, but I’ll keep trying.

There are lots of options beside the burning bushes (euonymus alatus) that so many people have. I especially love smoke bush (cotinus coggygria), oak leaf hydrangeas and some of the viburnums. Of course, you have to have some sedums and mums as well, just to liven things up.

Here are some photos I hope will inspire you. Enjoy!




Golden Spirit smokebush



Alice oak leaf hydrangea

Prairie Flame shining sumac

Limelight hydrangea



Bloodgood Japanese maple

Autumn Blaze maple

By Karen Geisler

Worts and all

Hark ye, m’lords and m’ladies, while I tell a tale of worts. That’s worts with an “o” and not with an “a.”

Their names are many. There’s spiderwort, barrenwort, masterwort, St. John’s wort and others – almost 200 in all.

“Wort” stems from from the Old English word “wyrt,” which means plant, herb or root. It hasn’t been widely used since the mid-17th century, so any plant with a common name ending in “wort” has been recognized as being worthy of cultivation for a very, very long time.



Masterwort (Astrantia major 'Roma')

Most are found in or at the edge of the forest. Many were originally selected because of their reputed medicinal properties.

Spiderwort, for example, was thought to treat spider bites.

Barrenwort supposedly would prevent pregnancy.

Lungwort was reputed to help lung problems because its silver spotted leaves were thought to look like a lung.

And masterwort? Well, according to Monrovia’s ye olde website, it was recommended to treat "the bite of a rabid dog"!

While time – and medicine – have marched on, these plants have endured because their ornamental qualities. Barrenwort (epimedium rubrum) and lungwort (pulmonaria) are both good in dry shade, always a difficult situation for gardeners

Barrenwort has wonderful heart-shaped leaves that are topped with dainty flowers on wiry stems. Make no mistake, however. It’s as hardy as they come. Ditto for lungwort, which now has pink and rose-colored flowers in addition to the original blue.



Barrenwort (Epimedium rubrum)

Spiderwort, which can take part sun but loves moisture, is a bit of a quirky plant. It has an almost zig-zag growth habit and the three-petaled flowers last for only a day. You’ll find it blooming in drifts in the roadside ditches of north central Illinois. It will even thrive under black walnut trees.

Ironically, spiderwort (tradescantia virginiana) is being touted nowadays for a health problem other than spider bites. According to preliminary studies, its blue stamens turn pink when exposed to nuclear radiation or chemical pollution. It’s all the rage on survivalist websites.



Spiderwort (Tradescantia virginiana)

St. John’s wort, of course, has long been thought to help with depression. If you want to grow it because of its nice yellow flowers, however, make sure you get the “Hidcote” shrub version. The actual herb, hypericum perforatum, is classified as an invasive plant by both Wisconsin and Michigan.

All of these plants are time-tested, to say the least, and very worthy of consideration when you’re planning a garden. Or maybe that should that be “wort”-hy…

What's your favorite "wort"?

By Karen Geisler