Corokia Get Thee to a Shrubbery!
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October 2012 garden time A Digital Monthly Magazine for Your Garden & Home Corokia Get Thee to a Shrubbery! Asian Pears Bringing Houseplants Back Indoors J. Frank Schmidt & Sons’s Nancy Buley Check out more Garden Time at www.gardentime.tv 1 2 Harvest Time In this issue... Fall has arrived to the Pacific Northwest and that means the return of the cooler weather, but it also means so much Corokia more! The fall is a season of major transition. The spring and summer slowly change and they progress. The weath- er in spring slowly improves as the plants slowly grow and go through their life cycle. But in the fall, everything seems to fast-forward. We can have a cold snap, perhaps an early frost and everything changes drastically! I love the fall. got to have it....pg. 4 The colors are so bright and the air is crisp again. Unfortu- nately, the colors are here for only a short time! Fall, the season of dramatic changes! Bringing Houseplants In For us, this fall was about changes as well. This year we hosted our first Fall GardenPalooza. The past couple of years we have sponsored GardenPalooza: The Tour. This self-guided tour allowed people to travel on their own around the valley to visit garden centers, large and small. backyard....pg. 6 The problem was that the distances were very large and people spent most of their time driving between locations. So, along came changes! We approached the owners of Fir Corn Maze Point Farms, Jack and Jessica Romaine, and asked them if they would be interested in co-hosting a new fall event, and the Fall GardenPalooza was born on September 22nd. We had a great turnout and the weather cooperated as well. We would like to thank everyone that came out and visited with us. Plans are under way for our 11th annual spring adventures....pg. 8 GardenPalooza event and for our second annual event next fall. You can always find out more at www.GardenPalooza. com Asian Pears Another big change for us was the change of time for the Fusion TV show on KOIN Local 6 in Portland. The move to the 9am hour has made a lot of viewers happy since they don’t have to get up so early! We will have a couple of pre- emptions for sporting events, something we didn’t need to eats....pg. 10 worry about at the earlier time, but overall the response has been great! Nancy Buley And one more thing… Fall is the time for harvesting. We recently did a story with Jan McNeilan about all the differ- ent ways of preserving your garden bounty (http://youtu. be/4oUG95Yo1XI), and recently on the Garden Time show we even walked you through the steps for canning toma- toes (http://youtu.be/3cy71AyLUQc). If you are trying to hortie....pg. 12 save your harvest and are thinking about canning or pre- serving, be sure to check out the OSU Extension website at http://extension.oregonstate.edu or you can call the Food Duct Tape Safety and Preservation Hotline at 1-800-354-7319. Happy Gardening, Jeff Gustin, Publisher home....pg. 16 Garden Time Magazine • October 2012 • Volume 4, No. 10, Issue #43 Garden Time Magazine is published monthly by Gustin Creative Group, October Gardening 17554 SW Mardee, Lake Oswego, OR 97035. Jeff Gustin, President. ©2012 Gustin Creative Group, LLC. All rights reserved. Reproduction wtditg....pg. 18 in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. Customer Service: If you are experiencing difficulty receiving the e-mail notifica- tion for this magazine, please contact us at [email protected]. Gardening Events Subscriptions: For a free subscription to this magazine, please fill out the form available on the Garden Time website, at www.gardentime.tv. play time....back cover Check out more Garden Time at www.gardentime.tv 3 Get Thee to a Shrubbery! The scent of chocolate, tiny foliage, and a unique texture are just the most obvious virtues of this unusual shrub. got to have it by Judy Alleruzzo 44 E I remember the first time brand choice. Sometimes I saw Corokia shrubs. It the plants produce small red was a warm summer day berries in the fall. and I was in a garden cen- ter cruising the aisles for Another attribute of Corokia cool plants. I walked by a is using the branches in display of gnarly, gray col- flower arrangements or ored branched shrubs and wreaths. The plants are thought, “Oh No, someone easy to prune so you can forgot to water!” easily be creative. The un- usual texture and color of Was my face red when I saw the branches add interest to on the tag that it was a dis- any artwork. play of Corokia cotoneas- ter and that is the normal If you are looking for an look of the shrub. I’m glad easy care, unique evergreen I didn’t say anything to the shrub, Corokia is for you. It owner. That was a long time looks great any season of ago and I have seen many the year plus in spring, you unusual plants in my travels can have the scent of choco- to garden centers and nurs- late right out your back door. eries. These trips are usual- ly with William as he simply The two most commonly adores unusual plants. found Corokia at your fa- vorite garden center are: Corokias are native to New Corokia cotoneaster and Zealand. The Kiwi’s common Corokia x virgata ‘Sun- name for it is “Ghost Plant” splash’. as when the plant moves Corokia cotoneaster in the wind, the white un- Corokia cotoneaster: Wire dersides of the tiny foliage Netting Bush. Height 4-7 ft shows off. Corokias are re- by 8 ft wide, can be pruned lated to Dogwoods. to keep in bounds. Plant in Full Sun or Morning Sun I love Corokias because with Afternoon Shade. Ev- they are so unique but still ergreen Foliage. Fragrant, so easy to care for in a land- tiny yellow flowers in spring. scape or container. I planted Needs good drainage and one in my “Desert Garden” regular watering. Use in the which faces southwest but landscape or in containers. does get some late after- Hardy to 10F. noon shade. It is planted right next to hardy agaves, Corokia x virgata ‘Sun- sedums and succulents. I splash’: Variegated Wire love the texture and form Netting Bush. Twisted grey- the Corokia adds to this ish stems with evergreen desert scene. foliage of yellow with green and cream splashes. This This spring I noticed my foliage is a bit larger than Corokia was in bloom with C. cotoneaster. Height 4-8 small yellow, star-shaped ft tall by 3 ft wide, can be flowers. I had never seen pruned to keep in bounds. the blooms before this year. Plant in Full Sun or Morning William and I had a discus- Sun with Afternoon Shade. sion on what they smelled Evergreen Foliage. Fragrant, like and he came up with tiny yellow flowers in spring. Cadbury Chocolate Easter Needs good drainage and Eggs. They do have a choc- regular watering. Use in the olaty fragrance, but I’m not landscape or in containers. totally sold on the Cadbury Hardy to 10F. Corokia x virgata ‘Sunsplash’ Check out more Garden Time at www.gardentime.tv 5 The Plant Who Came in from the Cold It’s time to welcome your fair-weather friends back in to the house. by Judy Alleruzzo By October, when night time temperatures start to temic Insecticide labeled for houseplants. If your dip down to 45 degrees, houseplants that have been plant has fuzzy leaves, use a Systemic Insecticide adorning our decks and patios need to be brought application. Systemics are applied to the soil and back into the house. There are a few basic steps to are absorbed through the root system and make make this a successful transition. the plant toxic to any insects sucking on the foliage. Repeat applications may be needed. As with any Step 1 is to inspect the plants for any insects on the chemical use, read all instructions carefully before foliage. Insects to look for are Mealy Bugs, Scale application. and Spider Mites. All of these insects suck out the plant juices. Spider Mites are very small spiders that are very difficult to see. Usually we see the symptoms of Mealy Bugs are easy to spot as you can see white washed out green color to the foliage or webbing on cottony masses on new foliage, the undersides of the undersides of the leaves. If you suspect Spider leaves or on the stems. The insect is actually under Mites are attacking the plant, place a white piece the white cottony mass. Scale is a brownish hard of paper under the affected leaves and gently tap shell found on the undersides of leaves usually by the foliage to dislodge the potential mites. Specks the center leaf rib or near the area where the leaf will appear on the paper that look like pepper and attaches to the stem. The scale insect is under- will move! These are the Mites. The first control for neath this shell covering. If you find just a few this insect is to wash down the entire plant with Mealy Bugs or Scales, you can touch them with a the garden hose. This will rid the plant of hundreds cotton swab dipped in rubbing alcohol. This will kill of the Spider Mites. Use particular attention to the the insect on contact.