Newsletter Cochise County Master Gardener High on the Desert
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Newsletter Cochise County Master Gardener High on the Desert Vol. 15, No. 10 OCTOBER 2004 The University of Arizona and U.S. Department of Agriculture Cooperating In a Desert Garden Sedum—Stonecrop have many of the hardier ones growing all over my yard. Several of the Stone- This month, I couldn’t make up my crops are considered autumn flowers mind what plant I wanted to feature in just like the Mums. My absolute favorite my article. As this series of articles is must be Sedum Autumn Joy or “Herbst about my garden, a garden in the high Freude” which means the same thing in desert, I like to write about plants native German. I think it is a German hybrid. I to the area or at least well adapted. This still can remember it growing in my month I will write about a plant family mother’s garden in Berlin. It is one of Inside this issue: that is at home all over the world and the taller Stonecrops, growing 2 to 3 feet Cuttings ‘N’ Clippings 2 can take different soils and weather tall and wide and its thick gray-green conditions as long as it doesn’t get over- succulent leaves are very showy. In late October Reminders 2 watered. summer, that is about now, it gets huge The Virtual Gardener 3 flower heads consisting of many small Mulberry Trees 4 The Sedums are a family of plants I star-shaped blossoms that start out pink Fall Plant Sales 4 absolutely love. I used to grow them in and as they age turn to copper and then my homes in Germany, in Alaska, I had to rust. The plant is hardy all the way Agent’s Observations 5 these plants in my garden in West- down to zone 5, but freezes to the Virginia, and of course I am growing ground after the lightest frost. It needs them now. The climate here is by far the good drainage and not too much water. better for growing Stonecrops, as long It makes a good container plant. There as they have good drainage and a little also exists a variegated variety, but I afternoon shade they are happy. These have not been able to lay hands on it yet. plants are considered succulents and there is a great variety of them in all Many of the Stonecrops are consid- sizes and colors. Not all of them are ered rock garden plants because they are hardy in our zones, but most of them very small and many of them make great make great container plants. The more low water use ground covers. As their tropical ones I take inside in winter but I (Continued on page 2) Cochise County Cooperative Extension www.ag.arizona.edu/cochise/mg/ 1140 N. Colombo, Sierra Vista, AZ 85635 450 Haskell, Willcox, AZ 85643 (520) 458-8278, Ext. 2141 (520) 384-3594 P AGE 2 (Continued from page 1) leaves are very fragile and usually Cuttings break or fall off when touched they ‘N’ cannot be walked on. When they get smashed or broken off, like Clippings most succulents, they quickly make more plants from their T The next meeting of leaflets. CCMGA is 5:00 p.m. October 7, kept as a houseplant or in a very 2004 at the University of Ari- This family of plants is huge and sheltered place It originated in zona South campus, Room 508 I will only describe a few. Every Mexico and forms long trailing (formerly Room 100). The very year I see more varieties available stems of light gray-green leaves special speaker is Colin Garland, in the nurseries. A very popular that overlap each other. Pink to founder of Global Classroom and little plant is S. angelicum. This deep red flowers may appear from the Aula Global Reserve in the one is from Western Europe. The spring to summer but are rare. My cloud forests of Costa Rica. He dark green leaves are very tiny. plant had only flowered when I is a professional wilderness White and sometimes pink flowers took it outside after the last frost. guide, animal tracker, and cover the plants in spring. This year I was too lazy and left it naturalist who leads wilderness in my sunroom and it did not trips all over the globe. Our From the Mediterranean comes flower. The leaves, as on most thanks to Valerie McCaffrey for S. brevifolium, another tiny Sedum sedums, are very fragile and bringing Colin to CCMGA. for rock gardens or containers. moving it usually takes off a lot of This plant has grayish-white, red- leaves. T Saturday, October 2, 2004 flushed leaves that are very small, from 9:00.—10:30 a.m. a free pink to white flowers appear in S, spurium is another lovely Water Wise workshop will be summer. It needs some afternoon groundcover, native to the Cauca- held at UAS. Dawn and Don shade. sus. The most popular variety is Long, American Septic Service, “Dragon Blood,” with purple- will present Septic Care and An uncommon variety is S. bronze leaves and blood red Greywater Reuse. telephium “Arthur Branch” with its flowers. bronzed leaves and burgundy-red T Angel Rutherford will be stems that makes a nice contrast to As you might imagine, I keep presenting two classes at Cochise gray-leafed plants. quite a collection of these lovely College in October— drought tolerant plants. They make October 9 Pond Building S. sieboldi, a Stonecrop grown good potted plants as accents and October 23 Pond Maintenance for deep pink flowers in fall and its nice ground covers under taller For information contact Cochise arching stems of succulent gray drought tolerant plants. Keep in College at 515-5492 green leaves. It is native to Japan. mind most of the Stonecrops are There is also a variegated variety very hardy but like a little shade available; the leaves are pinkish from the hottest sun. and very attractive. Angel Rutherford, Master Gardener S. confusum, a native to Mexico, has a spreading and branching October habit. The leaves tend to cluster in rosettes towards branch ends. It Reminders has clusters of yellow flowers in spring. Robert E. Call ¨ Be ready for the first frost Extension Agent, Horticulture ¨ Thin the seedlings S. morganianum, Donkey’s or ¨ Over seed lawns Burro’s tail is a beautiful plant, but Carolyn Gruenhagen ¨ Plant spring bulb not hardy in our winters and best Editor ¨ Divide perennials ¨ Don’t let weeds go to seed P AGE 3 The Virtual Gardener—Kick It Up a Notch With Home-Grown Garlic If you’ve ever watched Emeril small aerial cloves, that grow on the the supermarket is not a true Lagasse’s cooking shows, you’ve stems. Although you can grow garlic but a close relative. likely heard him facetiously talk garlic by planting cloves from bulbs about kicking up a dish he’s you buy at the supermarket, that is Unless you already have a preparing by tossing in 20 or 30 not the recommended way to do it. favorite, Yavapai County Exten- cloves of garlic. This month I’m You can never be absolutely sure of sion Agent, Jeff Schalau, recom- going to tell you how to grow your the variety you’ll get there, the mends you try two or three own garlic so you too can “kick it genetic quality may not be the best, varieties to find out which grow up a notch.” and they may be infected with best for you and appeal to your viruses. The experts recommend taste. He suggests hardneck My interest in home-grown you buy bulbs (sometimes referred varieties Spanish Roja, Carpa- garlic began a several of months to as “seeds”) from nurseries that thian, or German Red or softneck ago when a friend of mine gave me specialize in producing stock for varieties Inchelium Red, Califor- a sample of several varieties of propagation. nia Early, Chet's Italian, Mild garlic he had grown in his garden. French, or Silverskin. It was wonderful. Before sampling his, I had never really given garlic Garlic needs four to six weeks a second thought and certainly of chilling at 32-50°F to induce never thought of planting any. bulb formation. For this reason it Now I’ve decided to grow some should be planted late in the fall myself. (October-November) in Cochise County. Planting at this time Garlic is a plant with an interest- gives the garlic a short period of ing history. For example, we’ve all growth before the chilling begins. heard that garlic protects against The bulbs can be harvested in vampires. (Just for the record a late June or early July. resident of Transylvania who believes in vampires said in a Garlic grows best in loose recent interview that garlic doesn’t It is said there are more than 300 loams that are high in organic work for that purpose. Drat!) varieties of garlic grown worldwide matter. It is not a drought-tolerant While we may dismiss stor ies of and about 100 of those are com- plant and requires constant vampires, it is a fact that garlic is a monly grown or available in the moisture during active growth. powerful antiseptic and was used United States. Although most Also, since the roots lack a dense for that purpose by military doctors vendors offer California Early or mass of root hairs that aid in the in World Wars I and II. Some California Late, the varieties you absorption of nutrients, the plants current research supports the idea find in the supermarket, other require fairly heavy feeding.