Vegetable Gardening Vegetable Gardening
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TheThe AmericanAmerican GARDENERGARDENER® The Magazine of the American Horticultural Society January / February 2009 Vegetable Gardening tips for success New Plants and TTrendsrends for 2009 How to Prune Deciduous Shrubs Sweet Rewards of Indoor Citrus Confidence shows. Because a mistake can ruin an entire gardening season, passionate gardeners don’t like to take chances. That’s why there’s Osmocote® Smart-Release® Plant Food. It’s guaranteed not to burn when used as directed, and the granules don’t easily wash away, no matter how much you water. Better still, Osmocote feeds plants continuously and consistently for four full months, so you can garden with confidence. Maybe that’s why passionate gardeners have trusted Osmocote for 40 years. Looking for expert advice and answers to your gardening questions? Visit PlantersPlace.com — a fresh, new online gardening community. © 2007, Scotts-Sierra Horticulture Products Company. World rights reserved. www.osmocote.com contents Volume 88, Number 1 . January / February 2009 FEATURES DEPARTMENTS 5 NOTES FROM RIVER FARM 6 MEMBERS’ FORUM 8 NEWS FROM AHS Renee’s Garden sponsors 2009 Seed Exchange, Stanley Smith Horticultural Trust grant funds future library at River Farm, AHS welcomes new members to Board of Directors, save the date for the 17th annual National Children & Youth Garden Symposium in July. 42 ONE ON ONE WITH… Bonnie Harper-Lore, America’s roadside ecologist. page 14 44 GARDENER’S NOTEBOOK All-America Selections winners for 2009, scientists discover new plant hormone, NEW PLANTS AND TRENDS FOR 2009 BY DOREEN G. HOWARD 14 Massachusetts Horticultural Society forced Get a sneak peek at some of the exciting plants that will hit the to cancel one of market this year, along with expert insight on garden trends. America’s longest- running flower shows, JC Raulston PLANT NOMENCLATURE BY JOHN FRIEL 20 Arboretum’s redbud Keeping botanical names straight can be a real challenge, even for collection receives the experts. national recognition, MOBOT’s pot recycling program SUCCESS WITH CITRUS BY RAND B. LEE 25 celebrates new Growing citrus plants indoors offers fragrant and delicious milestones, slower- rewards year round. growing grass developed for pagepage 4444 30 STEPS TO A SUCCESSFUL VEGETABLE GARDEN southern regions. BY BARBARA ELLIS 48 GREEN GARAGE® A few basic concepts make Selecting the right pruner for each task. it easy to enjoy homegrown vegetables and herbs. 52 BOOK REVIEWS Flowers and Herbs of Early America, Lilacs, 36 PRUNING DECIDUOUS and Plant-Driven Design. SHRUBS BY LEE REICH Special focus: Plant family reference books. Take the guesswork out of 56 REGIONAL HAPPENINGS pruning deciduous shrubs by following a few simple 60 HARDINESS AND HEAT ZONES guidelines. AND PRONUNCIATIONS page 36 62 PLANT IN THE SPOTLIGHT Fraser’s sedge (Cymophyllus fraserianus). ON THE COVER: The seeds of many vegetables, such as zucchini, can be started indoors in trays and TOP: COURTESY OF TERRA NOVA NURSERIES. CENTER: VIVEKA NEVELN. FAR RIGHT: ALL-AMERICA SELECTIONS transplanted outdoors once soil warms in spring. Photograph by Neil Soderstrom January / February 2009 3 AMERICAN HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY 7931 East Boulevard Drive Alexandria, VA 22308-1300 (800) 777-7931 fax (703) 768-8700 www.ahs.org Making America a Nation of Gardeners, a Land of Gardens American Horticultural Society President’s Council As of December 10, 2008 EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Tom Underwood CHAMPION’S CIRCLE Mr. Franklin Y. Hundley ■ Mr. and Mrs. Robert E. Kulp, Board of Directors Jr. ■ Mr. and Mrs. Harry A. Rissetto, Esq. ■ Mr. and Mrs. W. Bruce Usrey CHAIR Susie Usrey Dayton, Oregon CHAIRMAN’S CIRCLE Mr. and Mrs. Kurt Bluemel ■ Mr. and Mrs. Robert L. FIRST VICE CHAIRMAN Don E. Riddle, Jr. Davidsonville, Maryland Bogle ■ Mr. Arnold Steiner SECOND VICE CHAIRMAN Leslie Ariail Alexandria, Virginia SECRETARY Albin MacDonough Plant Baltimore, Maryland LIBERTY HYDE BAILEY CIRCLE Mr. and Mrs. John H. Ariail, Jr. ■ Anderson TREASURER Arnold Steiner Birmingham, Alabama Family Charitable Foundation ■ Mrs. Susan M. Cargill ■ Mr. Gerald T. Halpin ■ Ms. Minako Henderson ■ Ms. JoAnn Luecke ■ Dr. and Mrs. David E. Morrison ■ Mr. and Mrs. Klaus Zech Allan M. Armitage Athens, Georgia ■ Suzanne Bales Oyster Bay, New York ■ William E. Barrick, Ph.D. Theodore, Alabama Kurt Bluemel Baldwin, Maryland ■ Henrietta Burke Alexandria, Virginia ■ Tom Cooper Watertown, Massachusetts HAUPT CIRCLE Ms. Lynda A. Bachman ■ Mr. and Mrs. Carter Bales ■ Mr. and Gay Estes Houston, Texas ■ Anne Garland Farrell Richmond, Virginia ■ Carole Hofley Wilson, Wyoming Mrs. C. William Black ■ Mr. Richard C. and Mrs. Katherine Stark Bull ■ Ms. Margaret Kulp Louisville, Kentucky ■ Caroline Lewis Coral Gables, Florida ■ Jack Lowry Phoenix, Maryland Judy Daniel ■ Mrs. Richard W. Hamming ■ Mr. and Mrs. Richard W. Melissa R. Marshall Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania ■ Mary Pat Matheson Atlanta, Georgia Hanselman ■ Mrs. Carole S. Hofley ■ Mrs. Rosalyn Milbrandt ■ Ms. Katy Moss Shirley Nicolai Ft. Washington, Maryland ■ J. Landon Reeve, IV Woodbine, Maryland Warner Harry A. Rissetto, Esq. Falls Church, Virginia ■ Michel Sallin Groveland, Florida ■ Steven Still Hilliard, Ohio COUNCIL MEMBER’S CIRCLE Nancy J. Becker, M.D. ■ Mrs. Katherine Belk ■ PRESIDENT EMERITUS Katy Moss Warner Mr. and Mrs. Anthony Bigos ■ Mrs. George P. Bissell, Jr. ■ Dr. Sherran Blair ■ Count and Countess Peder Bonde ■ Mr. and Mrs. William L. Carr, III ■ Anne S. Chatham ■ Mr. and Mrs. Edward N. Dane ■ Mr. and Mrs. Nicholas Demisay 2009 Advisory Council ■ Mr. and Mrs. Robert Duemling ■ Mr. and Mrs. Carl Estes ■ Dr. and Mrs. Beverly Hanselman, Nashville, Tennessee – Chair John A. Floyd, Jr. ■ Mrs. Carolyn V. Foil ■ Ms. Marguerite Peet Foster ■ Ms. Amy Goldman ■ Mr. and Mrs. Joel Goldsmith ■ Ms. Ingrid A. Graham ■ Ms. Clarissa Bonde, Washington, D.C. Stu McMichael, Falls Church, Virginia Barbara Grant ■ Dr. and Mrs. William O. Hargrove ■ Mr. and Mrs. Richard F. Walter Bull, Columbia, South Carolina G. Ray Miller, Brandon, Florida Hohlt ■ Mr. and Mrs. Allan L. Holmstrom ■ Mrs. Elizabeth Hooff ■ Mr. Philip Anne Bucher, Silver Spring, Maryland Egon Molbak, Bellevue, Washington Huey ■ Deane H. Hundley ■ Mrs. Deborah Kern ■ Mrs. Marta Lawrence ■ Elaine Burden, Middleburg, Virginia Dean Norton, Mt. Vernon, Virginia Mrs. Carolyn M. Lindsay ■ Mrs. Dorothy Marston ■ Mrs. Barbara McClendon Patty Bush, St. Louis, Missouri Nancy Keen Palmer, Nashville, Tennessee ■ Mr. and Mrs. Egon Molbak ■ Mr. and Mrs. Ken Mountcastle ■ Mrs. Shirley Skipp Calvert, Alexandria, Virginia Bob Patterson, Washington, D.C. Ann Nicolai ■ Mr. and Mrs. James T. Norman ■ Ms. Patricia Painter ■ Mr. Russell Clark, Boston, Massachusetts Dr. Julia W. Rappaport, Santa Ana, California David D. Parrish ■ Mr. and Mrs. Albin MacDonough Plant ■ Dr. Julia Bartie Cole, Owings Mills, Maryland Deen Day Sanders, Norcross, Georgia Rappaport ■ Mr. and Mrs. J. Landon Reeve IV ■ Mr. and Mrs. James A. Runde Jim Corfield, Geneva, Illinois Josephine Shanks, Houston, Texas ■ Mrs. Deen Day Sanders ■ Mr. and Mrs. Emanuel Shemin ■ Jeanne Shields ■ Lucinda Crabtree, Falls Church, Virginia Barbara Shea, Owings Mills, Maryland Mr. R. P. Simmons ■ Mr. and Mrs. Charles H. Smith, Jr. ■ Mrs. P.M. Spreuer Ginny Hill Daisey, Dedham, Massachusetts Holly Shimizu, Glen Echo, Maryland ■ Dr. and Mrs. George E. Staehle ■ Mr. Harold Stahly ■ Dr. and Mrs. Steven Edward N. Dane, Center Harbor, New Hampshire Charles Henry Smith, Jr, Middleburg, Virginia M. Still ■ Mr. Donald B. Stott ■ Mr. and Mrs. John B. Strasenburgh ■ Mr. and Ben Griswold, Glyndon, Maryland Tom Szaky, Trenton, New Jersey Mrs. Russell Terry ■ Dr. Sarah K. Thomson ■ Mr. Howard McK. Tucker and Henry Jameson, Kula, Hawaii Nancy Thomas, Houston, Texas Ms. Megan Evans ■ Mr. and Mrs. Tom Underwood ■ Mr. Joe Viar ■ Ms. Richard W. Lighty, Kennett Square, Pennsylvania Bryan Thomlison, Haddonfield, New Jersey Angela M. Vikesland ■ Mr. and Mrs. Robert D. Volk ■ Mrs. Pauline E. Vollmer Carolyn Marsh Lindsay, Ponte Vedra, Florida Pauline Vollmer, Baltimore, Maryland ■ Mrs. Enid N. Warner ■ Mr. and Mrs. Dennis White ■ Mr. and Mrs. Harvey Mickey Lynch, Dunmore, Pennsylvania Joyce and Harvey White, Nashville, Tennessee C. White ■ Mr. and Mrs. John W. White, Sr. Bob Malesardi, Easton, Maryland Joannah Williams, Sebring, Florida Robert and Joanna Martin, Menlo Park, California Sheryl Wood, Middleburg, Virginia HONORARY PRESIDENT’S COUNCIL Ms. Louise Fruehling* ■ Mrs. Enid Haupt* Barbara McClendon, Alexandria, Virginia ■ Mrs. John A. Lutz* ■ Mr. and Mrs. Bruce Miller* *In memoriam Education Sponsor OXO International Corporate Partners The Care of Trees ■ Chapel Valley Landscape Company Homestead Gardens ■ Monrovia ■ MTR Landscape Architects, LLC. To access the members-only Osmocote portion of the AHS website at www.ahs.org, the username is Horticultural Partners America in Bloom Symposium & Awards Program ■ Bellingrath Gardens and Home ahs. Until February 2, 2009, Colonial Williamsburg Foundation Garden Symposium ■ Cox Arboretum MetroPark the password is sprout. After Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival February 2, the new password The Gardeners of America/Men’s Garden Clubs of America will be seeds. The Homestead in the Garden Symposium ■ Inniswood Garden Society ■ Morris Arboretum Oklahoma Botanical Garden & Arboretum ■ Oklahoma Horticultural Society 4 the American Gardener The American NOTESC FROM RIVER FARM GARDENER EDITOR David J. Ellis MANAGING EDITOR AND ART DIRECTOR Mary Yee ASSOCIATE EDITOR HETHER IN OUR daily lives or in our gardens,