Calibrachoa bt Gardener Dave

In the last 2-3 years I have been looking for a “petunia substitute” that would require less maintenance (esp. deadheading) than the ubiquitous petunia. I like petunias for their mass color effect and their fragrance, but I don’t like having to continually trim off spent blooms, and I don’t appreciate their somewhat sticky nature.

Ergo, I have been replacing petunias with Calibrachoa (a.k.a. “Callies”, “Million Bells”, “mini petunia”, etc.) both for bedding and use in pots on my deck. Their blooms are smaller than those of most petunias, but they come in many colors and are “self-cleaning”, so no deadheading! I will share my Calibrachoa experiences here with you and would welcome your own experiences and advice as well. They are still somewhat pricey and not as universally available as petunias, so extra care may be warranted to avoid having to replace/replant them if they don’t make it in your garden for one reason or another.


Firstly: some of the cultural advice I have read claims they are drought resistant. My experience tells me that here they need good well-drained soil and constant moisture, but avoid constantly wet soil. Curiously, if their little leaves begin to curl and wilt, the flowers may stay open and still be vividly colored, but the plant will not recover. Secondly: their stems are rather woody and thin and subject to breakage from handling and wind. I mulch them with shredded cedar bark and try to immobilize the longer stems to prevent wind whipping. Thirdly: they are much adored by slugs, so keep the slug bait handy! Some cultivars are more vigorous than others, some more creeping, some more wiry and bushy. Many are sold in hanging basket arrangements.

Other than those few concerns, I still like the “little fellers” for their generous sun-loving blooms from planting time to after light frosts in the fall, and for their clear bright colors and “enthusiasm” when you treat them right. Give them a shot of fertilizer now and then as you would petunias, and they don’t ask for much else (except no hail please!).

Curiosity overcame me, so I searched the net to see if I could find where their hard-to-remember and hard-to-spell name “Calibrachoa” came from. According to Marsh Botanic Gardens at Yale University, some botanists include them in the petunia’s genus, Solanaceae, and others separate them into their own Calibrachoa genus, named for an 19th century Mexican botanist and pharmacologist, “Antonio de Cali Bracho”.
The more modern version called “Million Bells” was developed by the large Japanese corporation, Suntory (Yes, they also make whiskey) Interesting!

More info on them, including care and even their propagation, can be found at the following site:

gpnmag.com

Cheers,
Gardener Dave

Wild About Wildflowers Part II by Gardener Cumax

Remember those cute adorable seedlings from 2 months ago? They've blasted from the soil to orbit their flower heads about 24" up. The annuals that is. Still green but in need of sunlight from the towering bachelor buttons lie some seven perennials. As predicted, when sowing annuals and perennials at the same time, annuals win out. Still be determined: if the perennials come back next year. To ensure that they will, I'm pruning back these buttons. I would pull, but everything is so tightly packed that I'll be yanking the perennials as well. In this 16' x 2' long "living mulch" I estimate there are about 500 Bachelor Buttons. I'll be happy to cut away half of them. But the gardner snake won't; s/he loves in down there.

Here's what they looked like in the spring.

Wild About Wildflowers

Master Gardeners' Garden Tour 2009

If you missed the 2009 Master Gardener Garden Tour, perhaps you will enjoy the photos Gardener Kim took.

Baked Rosemary Risotto by Gardener Janet

The frenzy of spring planting is waning. The gardens are cleaned out and new perennials stuffed into available spaces, patio plants are bursting out of their pots after the second or third application of fertilizer, it is finally time to relax a bit and enjoy the fruits of our labors.

A pillar of Tuscan Blue rosemary sits in a pot next to the cushioned seat where I read the paper. As my arm grazes its pungent leaves, I loose track of the news and start to think about we could have for dinner.

How about grilled salmon, a nice salad with mixed greens, fresh basil, tomato and buffalo mozzarella, and maybe rosemary risotto? I use a recipe for baked risotto that is much less time consuming than traditional recipes. It is drier and has a firmer texture, but for easy summer meals or entertaining, it can’t be beat.

Baked Risotto

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Ingredients:
3 ½ cups chicken broth
2 Tbsp chopped fresh rosemary leaves
4 Tbsp (1/2 stick) butter
1 onion, minced
2 cups Arborio rice
3 tsp crushed garlic (or 3 minced garlic cloves)
½ cup dry white wine
2 oz (1 cup) grated parmesan cheese
Pepper

Bring broth and rosemary to simmer in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Cover and keep the broth warm over the lowest possible heat.

Melt butter over medium heat. Add onion and cook until lightly browned, about 9 minutes. Stir in the rice and cook until the edges begin to turn translucent (about 3 minutes). Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant (about 15 seconds). Add the wine and cook, stirring frequently until it is completely absorbed (about 2 minutes).

Spread the rice mixture into a 9 x 13 inch baking dish. Pour the warm broth over the top. Bake until the rice is tender and the liquid is absorbed (about 25 minutes).

Stir in parmesan. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Substitute the rosemary with sage, oregano, basil, or other herbs to serve with other main course dishes.

Back to the paper…..

Common Garden Diseases and Solutions by Mary Small

POWDERY MILDEW- White or gray, flour-like substance on leaves, stems, flowers. Thin plant if growth is dense. Keep water out of plant canopy or apply it when it will dry fast. Apply sulfur or potassium bicarbonate or horticultural oils at first sign of mildew.


EARLY BLIGHT(tomato)- Lower leaves yellow; spots of concentric rings found on lower leaves. Keep water off foliage, or apply when it will dry fast. Chlorothalanil fungicide may be applied at first sign of infection.


FIREBLIGHT(crabapple)- Stem tips brown, bend over like shepherd’s crook and shrivel. Drops of bacterial ooze on branches. Prune branch 6-12 inches below visible signs of infection. Treat pruning tool between cuts with 1:9 bleach mixture or rubbing alcohol. (Clean tools when done.) Thin tree branches. Avoid over-fertilization.

CYSTOSPORA CANKER(aspen, cottonwood)-Sunken discolored areas on trunk and/or branches. Dark “pimples” found in cankered area. Branch dieback. Prune out affected branches below visible signs of infection. Keep tree healthy.


LEAF SCORTCH-Leaves brown on edges and in between veins. Often found in hot dry weather. Apply water to plant’s root zone during hot dry weather or when scorch appears.

Pots “R” Us (In special places) by Gardener Dave

There were a couple of problem areas in my yard where nothing seemed to grow well. I didn’t want to put a lot of work into them for reasons which I will explain. One location is in a far corner with a utility pole in it. The grade there is already a bit higher than my neighbor’s and would require a preliminary dig-out to put in a raised bed so as not to harm the fence. However, I kind of like the way my yard slopes gently up to that stage-like corner. The other reason for not putting in an extensive/expensive raised planter bed there - the plants would get pretty well destroyed if the “Power to the People” (Xcel) crew decided that major work is needed up the transformer pole, or (heaven forbid) the pole needs replacing. Since the corner was slightly elevated, I decided to put some “characters” on my little stage in the form of graduated-size terracotta pots. These I plant with annuals each spring. This year I put a row of Calibrachoas in front of the pots. The pots are filled with moisture-retaining potting soil and everything is watered by drip irrigation so maintenance is pretty much just fertilizing and a bit of deadheading. In the late fall I remove the annuals, let the pots go dry, and cover them with plastic to keep the soil dry so it doesn’t expand and crack the pots. If the Power People need to work there, at least they won’t be destroying perennials or an elaborate raised bed, and the pots can be moved.



The other problem area was below my deck in one end of a brick planter that was built at the same time as the house. It gets no direct sun. The light source there is primarily reflected light off the concrete driveway. This seems to be adequate for Impatiens and a few other shade plants. It looked bad, so I decided to give it the “graduated size pot treatment” also. There was room for only three “sized” pots, which I planted with New Guinea Impatiens, “Can Can” Coral Bells (Heuchera ‘Can Can’), and a “Little Lantern” Ligularia (Ligularia x hessei ‘Laternchen’) which I have not tried before. So far they all seem to be happy there. I wish I had a “before” picture to show you, as it’s like the expression “You Had to be There” to see what it was like originally, with Oregon Grape Holly trying to extend itself into those shady conditions from the middle of the planter. It got tall and lanky and very weedy-looking. Needless to say, it is no longer there. Good riddance!

Cheers,
Gardener Dave

Mulching Around Trees

There is a very simple way to mulch around trees without killing the grass with glyphosate, digging up sod or using landscape cloth or plastic to smother the grass. Use newspaper instead! Four to six pages of newspaper with mulch on top will effectively kill the grass. Your trees will love not having to compete with grass for nutrients and water and the newspaper will decompose and continue to feed the tree. Newspapers use soy-based inks so there is no fear in harming the earth!

See how easy:



And voila! Ten minutes later:

Garden Problem Spots – Invasive Roots from Older Trees and Shrubs by Gardener Dave

I am soliciting some advice from you other blogging gardeners. My yard has several areas where I would like to plant perennials, but invasive, wide-spreading feeder roots from existing older trees and shrubs make new planting difficult and rob the soil of moisture and nutrients. These are areas that are 5-10 feet or more from the main tree trunks or shrubs. Some areas are shady, some are sunny.

I have had some success in recent years with making a couple of raised flower beds in these areas, covering the original existing soil and the inside sides of the wood bed material with high-quality woven weed barrier before adding improved planter soil. In one, I doubled the layer of weed barrier before adding soil. The raised beds are 12-14 inches high. They are planted with perennials in the back and center, leaving the front edges open for annuals.

Since my weed barrier is quite permeable to water and oxygen, I believe I am doing the existing trees and shrubs little damage, since the beds are watered regularly and the bed soil is quite light and porous, similar to standard potting soil. Also, the beds do not cover a large portion of the tree/shrub root area. Water, even heavy rain, seems to drain easily through both the soil and weed barrier. So far (in 2-3 years), the perennials seem to thrive in this environment, and the original tree and shrub invasive root problems seem to be alleviated. Whether the weed barrier will stand up to them long-term remains to be seen.

What I am wondering is: In your experience, are there many common herbaceous perennials that require a root depth of over 12 inches to attain healthy maturity? I have “Googled” to some extent to determine this, but would welcome your experiences and knowledge in this area. Thanks!

Gardener Dave

What to do with the side yard? by Diggin' Donna

Have you noticed how narrow side yards have become in newer neighborhoods? They are usually covered in rock and serve only as a pathway from the front yard to the backyard. In older neighborhoods, like mine, side yards are typically wider and offer more options for development.

But what to do with the side yard? It has the house on one side, and often a fence on the other side. It’s usually a shady area, and can be full of tree and shrub roots. It’s a high traffic area, resulting in compressed soil. It’s one of the more challenging parts of the yard for many of us.

When we moved into our house, the side yard had a shed, a locust tree and some spotty grass. I left it that way for a summer or two, then decided it was a waste of water to try and nurture the grass. So I killed the grass and put wood bark mulch in its place. Well, that took care of the water waste, but it was pretty boring. So one summer, I decided to take on the side yard as my main project. I added a meandering flagstone footpath, several large planters, a volunteer sumac, and a hammock under the tree. I planted perennials in the planters, not sure if they would last beyond the first year. At the entrance, I put an greenish metal arbor and gate.



It’s now an interesting, maintenance-free walkway. The perennials have survived in the planters with minimal winter water. The tree drops its leaves on the mulch, and I don’t have to rake them up. It’s a great place to hide out and take a nap in the shade. In the backyard, I continued the flagstone pathway in the lawn all the way to the pergola. For not much money or effort, I solved my side yard dilemma.

Stir Up the Compost by Kim Bone

While I was outside I realized I needed to do something I really did not want to do....STIR THE COMPOST BIN!!!
I grabbed my handy shovel and went to work only to realize there was more in there, than I thought, so I emptied the bin and got to work by mixing up the old with the new. As I was doing this I did some spreadin' around and mixed it with some good ol' dirt and gave it a good waterin'. That's all folks!

Hori-Hori – You Gotta' Have This! by Diggin' Donna

The word “Hori” is a Japanese word for digging.


When I retired last year, a fellow gardener gave me a Hori Hori knife as a retirement gift. It’s one of the best gifts I’ve ever received. The Hori Hori was originally used for excavating bonsai in the mountains of Japan. Because the tool is small, it’s less destructive than a shovel and can be worked around fragile bonsai roots during excavation. I’ve heard that it’s also called a “diggy diggy.”

As I’ve been working with my fellow Master Gardeners, I’ve noticed that people who own a Hori Hori use it for almost everything. Need to remove sod, transplant or split perennials? No problem! Need to cut through woody roots? Just grab a Hori Hori. One gardener has even used it as a small axe. It’s especially great for those oh-so challenging tasks like opening a bag of soil.

The Hori Hori is available with a carbon steel blade or a stainless steel blade. The blade is razor sharp and serrated. Some blades are marked to serve as a ruler for measuring depth. It has a large smooth wooden handle and is easy to use with one hand. It comes with a sheath that can be attached to your belt.

But beware – the carbon steel blade and wooden handle are easily camouflaged in the earth. I’ve lost mine a couple of times and found it partially buried in soil. Try one! I’ll bet you love it.

Marriages in the Garden, Achieving Plant Partnerships by Jerry Peterson

All you gardeners out there are invited to a wedding! Actually, every time you plan, arrange, or plant your gardens, you’re participating in a wedding. Just as human marriages succeed when the people involved complement each other and build on differences and similarities, so we as gardeners have opportunities to create successful “plant marriages” when we plant our gardens.

We could call it “Horticultural Harmonies” or “Plant Partnerships” or perhaps some other cute alliterative name, but what we’re really talking about is using landscape plants in a way that creates a harmonious and attractive picture. We can take advantage of the plants’ differences and similarities to accomplish this.

The general idea is to use the color, size and texture of the plants to generate a pleasing combination of plant materials. Many articles have been written about the use of the color wheel with its primary colors, secondary colors, and complementary colors. For all I know, maybe someone could get a PhD in colors! The color wheel indeed is a handy tool that can be useful in designing a garden. However, there are other sources of ideas for putting plants together in pleasing combinations. Some of the best resources are just looking at what others have done, visiting gardens in the area, seeing pictures in books and magazines, and even using those occasions when serendipity allows us to discover a delightful plant combination by accident.

Would you not agree that, if you plant a garden that pleases you and accomplishes your goal for that garden, then the garden is a success. You don’t have to please the experts or your neighbors. You are not accountable to anyone else (well, maybe your spouse). No one else has to like what you like.

Having said that, perhaps from time to time this blog can pass on some tips and ideas about possible plant combinations or other garden design topics. Let me tell you about a “plant marriage” that came about quite accidentally for me, but I’ve grown to like the effect. I’m not a big fan of most junipers. However I do like the low growing mat juniper used as a ground cover.



I once had an area in which I had planted one of these mats. I also acquired a Barren Strawberry (Waldsteinia fragarioides or Waldsteinia ternata) and planted this low growing groundcover next to the juniper. The barren strawberry soon wound its way into and among the juniper and created a very nice display of color and texture. The two plants are different shades of green, the strawberry has small yellow flowers, and the textures meld into what, in my opinion, is a very nice display.

Since then, I’ve used the Barren Strawberry with other plants, allowing it to weave its way between, among, under, and through. It looks very nice with Partridge Feather (Tanacetum densum) and Snow-in-Summer (Cerastium tomentosum). The Barren Strawberry spreads via runners like our normal garden strawberry, but it’s very easy to just pull out what isn’t wanted, and start it somewhere else in your garden or give it to a friend.

Let’s drink a toast to our marriages!

Fungus Among Us by Diggin' Donna

I love walking through my neighborhood, checking out the gardens and landscaping. There’s always something new and interesting. Lately, I’ve been slogging through puddles and mud from all of this marvelous rain we’ve had. No surprise, there’s lots of fungus popping up.

This “colony” of mushrooms was growing right beside the sidewalk in some rain-soaked soil. These mushrooms looked like they were growing right on top of each other.




Further down the block, this “fairy ring” caught my attention. I’ve heard about this configuration of mushrooms, but had never seen it before.



Of course, I went directly to the CMG website to learn more. Here’s what I learned:
Mushrooms may grow in a circle around grass, forming "fairy rings." Grass inside these rings can be a darker green and grow more quickly. In some cases, there are so many mushrooms in these rings water cannot penetrate into the soil and the grass dries out, sometimes dying. This leaves a ring of dead, brown grass and another ring of darker green, healthy grass.
Fungicides don't usually kill fairy ring mushrooms in this region. Spring and fall aeration and several applications of a few ounces of dishwashing solution in a gallon of water on the ring will sometimes make the ring less noticeable.

Bindweed Mites by Mary Small

Recently there was a program on NPR that discussed bindweed mites, a biological control agent of field bindweed and some of its relatives. I found some background information for you on the internet that discusses their biology and also about a distribution program that Adams County is doing in July. You may want to refer folks to this information.

http://www.colostate.edu/Dept/CoopExt/Adams/weed/bindweed_mite.html


The main points to keep in mind about the mites is that they don't perform well in irrigated sites (i.e. irrigated lawns) and it takes a few years for them to successfully control the bindweed. According to Tony Koski, CSU Extension Turf Garss Specialist, a product that contains Quinclorac (i.e., Ortho's Weed B Gone Max plus crabgrass control) does a really good job of bindweed control in home lawns. Spot treat only.



Mary

Cottonwoods

The cottonwoods are starting to spit cotton. In a few days the skies will be filled with cottonwood snow. It will pile up in the corners of the porch and cover the spirea bush like cotton candy. People’s noses will itch and they will blame the cottonwood. The cotton will stick to your sweaty body as you garden and you will go into the shower looking like a giant spider tried to snare you. Invariably, the call comes in for help. Can’t we do something? Please!

A combination of factors causes these trees to produce abundant seed. Sometimes large seed production is a reaction to stress (drought), while other times it is caused by favorable moisture. In other words, they just do this.
The cottonwood at first glance and without proper study, can easily be dismissed as a "trash tree." It has some personal habits that the urban homeowner can find extremely irritating. Like the male catkins that fall early in the spring looking a little like hundreds of wooly worms on the ground. And the sticky pods that fall after that and stain your pants. Then the female lets loose with this cotton, and then because it self-prunes, there are always twigs and dead leaves beneath the tree.

But before we dismiss the cottonwood let’s consider its place in history. I think a very good case could be made for us not even being here without the cottonwood. It provided the Native people shade, a place to camp for the night, and they used the inner bark for women's skirts; the European settlers used the wood for their cabins and their coffins. The Mexican and Spanish people of the Southwest
used it for fuel, its life-saving shade and its roots for carving religious icons. I like to think that the cottonwoods along our ditch are relatives of the ones the Arapaho Chiefs Little Raven and Left Hand shaded themselves under long before Denver began, when they camped along Cherry Creek near its junction with the South Platte.
The rustle of the leaves of the cottonwood can remind you of lapping or rushing water. And last fall right here in the wilds of north Lakewood, a group of vultures migrating, roosted overnight in the neighbor's cottonwood wowing us all with the sight of those great dark birds perched in the tree.

There are a lot of them in north Lakewood (cottonwoods, not vultures), partly because of the irrigation ditches that continue to meander through parts of Jefferson County from a throw back time when this was farmland. And as the cottonwood chooses its own spots it grows all along the irrigation ditches.
So in answer to that question, what can I do about the cotton from the cottonwood? Well, nothing, short of cutting all the trees; or spraying every tree every year with a growth regulator. Ethephon, sold as Florel™. It is labeled to prevent cotton development in female trees and needs to be applied during flower development.

I would like to propose a new reverence for this tree; an understanding that the benefits outweigh its trashiness. Birds call it their home: the woodpeckers, the owls, the grackles, the magpies and vultures; and it continues to offer us life saving shade and the lovely sound of water when the wind blows. And perhaps we should ponder whether our lives have to be so tidy that we don't allow some messiness to interfere?

I say, consider that cottonwood an embarrassing old aunt of a tree. She dresses all wrong, talks too loudly, but has a heart of gold. Her skirts are too short, she gets drunk at Thanksgiving dinner, but she will give you her last dime and a bed on her couch for as long as you need it. She deserves your love! Celebrate the cottonwood. Gather the cotton and stuff a pillow; the cotton is actually hypoallergenic!
Here’s some more information. http://www.ext.colostate.edu/ptlk/1758.html