WILD GREENS by CAROLE OTTESEN Harvesting Edible Weeds from the Garden Makes Weeding a Much 58 PRONUNCIATIONS and HARDINESS More Satisfying Experience

Home , Adam Purple, Bambusa lako, Daphne (plant), Daphne bholua, Daphne cneorum, Fargesia nitida

contents Volume 95, Number 6 . November / December 2016

FEATURES DEPARTMENTS

5 NOTES FROM RIVER FARM

6 MEMBERS’ FORUM

8 NEWS FROM THE AHS Coalition of American Plant Societies meeting, upcoming trip to Connecticut for AHS President’s Council members.

10 AHS NEWS SPECIAL America in Bloom 2016 Award winners.

11 AHS MEMBERS MAKING A DIFFERENCE Mary Rose Rufﬁni.

40 GARDEN SOLUTIONS Making pest and disease control more effective.

42 HOMEGROWN HARVEST page 13 Luscious lemongrass. 44 TRAVELER’S GUIDE TO GARDENS 13 VERSATILE HOLDING BEDS BY LINDA ASKEY Shangri La Gardens Do you have more plants than you know what to do with right & Nature Center, now? Create a holding bed—a temporary nursery—to care for Orange, Texas. them until you can place them in the garden. 46 GARDENER’S pagepage 4444 NOTEBOOK 18 DIVINE DAPHNES BY PAUL LEE CANNON Berries for the New Year, solving spring This diverse genus of showy ﬂowering shrubs is prized for the ﬂowering puzzle, Burpee funds White heavenly fragrance of many species. House Kitchen Garden, new names for familiar gardens, Garden Conservancy to restore Jensen garden in Chicago. 24 GUERRILLA GARDENING BY PATRICIA A. TAYLOR Though technically illegal, gardens planted on other people’s property 50 GREEN GARAGE are enriching communities around the country in inspiring ways. A potpourri of useful products.

52 BOOK REVIEWS 28 BAMBOOS WITH BOUNDARIES BY JULIE BAWDEN-DAVIS The Bold Dry Garden and Urban Forests. Clumping bamboos, which don’t spread like their infamous run- Special Focus: Indoor gardening. away counterparts, allow gardeners to enjoy the beauty and grace of these giant members of the grass family. 54 GIFTS FOR THE GARDENER 56 REGIONAL HAPPENINGS 34 WILD GREENS BY CAROLE OTTESEN Harvesting edible weeds from the garden makes weeding a much 58 PRONUNCIATIONS AND HARDINESS more satisfying experience. AND HEAT ZONES 60 2016 MAGAZINE INDEX ON THE COVER: ‘Summer Ice’ is a variegated selection of hybrid daphne (Daphne transatlantica) with fragrant, pale pink ﬂowers that bloom in late spring and again in late summer or early fall. 62 PLANT IN THE SPOTLIGHT

TOP: COURTESY OF GAYLE CHATFIELD. RIGHT: SHANGRI LA GARDENS & NATURE CENTER Photograph by Josh McCullough Yaupon (Ilex vomitoria).

November / December 2016 3

The American NOTES CFROM RIVER FARM GARDENER

EDITOR David J. Ellis MANAGING EDITOR AND ART DIRECTOR Mary Yee ASSOCIATE EDITOR Viveka Neveln S THE WEATHER turns colder, I find myself in a contemplative mood. I EDITORIAL INTERN have been pondering the questions of why we garden and what this in- Lynn Brinkley terest in cultivating plants says about us. Of course there are probably as CONTRIBUTING EDITOR A many answers to these questions as there are gardeners, but if I had to generalize, Rita Pelczar I would guess that the most common responses would fall into two camps: one CONTRIBUTING WRITER relating to various personal benefits and the other to the “greater good.” Carole Ottesen

So, perhaps you garden because you simply find it fun and relaxing, or for the EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD freshness, flavor, and nutrition of homegrown food. CHAIR Ethne Clarke You might also garden to contribute to a greener, Colorado Springs, Colorado healthier world through creating pollinator habitat Linda Askey or planting trees. Maybe it’s become a fulfilling liveli- Birmingham, Alabama hood. What else would you add? Julie Chai Mountain View, California I believe that all gardeners—no matter why they gar- Mary Irish den—are optimistic people. Hand in hand with this op- San Antonio, Texas timism is an inherent passion, anticipation, and curiosity Panayoti Kelaidis about the future. What does the next season hold? How Denver, Colorado will next year’s bloom or harvest compare to this year’s? Charlie Nardozzi What hue will that flower be when the bud opens? Burlington, Vermont This horticultural optimism and vision often spurs us Denny Schrock on an unending quest to stretch the limits of our gardens. So we pore over the flood of Ames, Iowa seed and plant catalogs showing up in the mail or regularly haunt garden centers. How Jessica Walliser many of you are going to try something new in your garden next year? And how many Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania of you are going to once again try a plant that surely will work this time? Kris Wetherbee Oakland, Oregon The American Horticultural Society exists to support all the manifestations of this optimism. And if you’ll pardon the pun—we’re rooting for you! So let’s get to CONTACT US The American Gardener another issue of this magazine, packed with exciting plants to expand your palette, 7931 East Boulevard Drive useful techniques to try, and fresh ideas to inspire even more optimism. Alexandria, VA 22308 We have something a little different this time—an article informed by you, our (703) 768-5700 members from across the country. A few issues ago, we asked you about how you EDITORIAL E-MAIL: [email protected] use holding beds in your own gardens, and you had plenty to say! Veteran gardener ADVERTISING E-MAIL: [email protected] and longtime contributor Linda Askey helped us corral your collective thoughts on the subject, while adding some of her own experiences. Along with being forever The American Gardener (ISSN 1087-9978) is published bimonthly optimistic, we gardeners certainly love to share with one another. (January/February, March/April, May/June, July/August, September/ That sharing nature also drives gardeners to apply their skills, knowledge, and October, November/December) by the American Horticultural Soci- ety, 7931 East Boulevard Drive, Alexandria, VA 22308-1300, (703) horticultural zeal to improving their local communities. Sometimes it is by way of 768-5700. Membership in the Society includes a subscription to The American Gardener. Annual dues are $35; international dues an organized effort such as the outstanding programs championed by our friends at are $55. $10 of annual dues goes toward magazine subscription. Periodicals postage paid at Alexandria, Virginia, and at additional America in Bloom (see page 10). Other times it may be a little more spontaneous mailing offices. Postmaster: Please send Form 3579 to The American and even clandestine. To get the lowdown on a burgeoning grassroots movement Gardener, 7931 East Boulevard Drive, Alexandria, VA 22308-1300. Botanical nomenclature is based on The American Horticultural known as “guerrilla gardening,” check out the article by Patricia Taylor on page 24. Society A–Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants, on A Synonymized Check- Plant-focused feature articles this time delve into well-behaved bamboos, gour- list of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Canada and Greenland and on the Royal Horticultural Society Index of Garden Plants. Opinions met weeds, and dainty daphnes prized for their powerfully fragrant blossoms. expressed in the articles are those of the authors and are not necessarily those of the Society. Manuscripts, artwork, and photographs sent Whatever your interest, you’re bound to learn something new in this issue of The for possible publication will be returned if accompanied by a self-ad- American Gardener. dressed, stamped envelope. We cannot guarantee the safe return of unsolicited material. Back issues are available at $8 per copy. On behalf of our AHS Board of Directors and staff, we offer our very best wishes Copyright ©2016 by the American Horticultural Society. to each of you for a joyful, healthy, and safe holiday season. Printed in the U.S.A. Tom Underwood Executive Director

November / December 2016 5 Get Social with the AHS MEMBERSC’ FORUM

FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/american horticulturalsociety MORE WILDLIFE GARDENS NEEDED common names are unreliable. But taxon- Q Find seasonal gardening tips, beautiful As a retired florist with a great interest in omists won’t leave well enough alone; ap- gardens around the world, photos of gardening, I recently attended a meeting of parently they have to justify their existence. native plants blooming in our members’ gardens, and more. the Louisville Nursery Association to hear The article about aromatic asters in Message us with photos of Clyde Nutt, a Louisville beekeeper, give a the September/October issue reminded your home garden. talk. Nutt’s suggestion to nursery own- me of my biggest pet peeve. Taxonomists ers was that they should encourage their have taken all the New World asters and clients—both commercial and individual changed their genera to ridiculous unpro- TWITTER: www.twitter.com/AHS_Gardening homeowners—to consider including wild- nounceable, unspellable, unmemorizable life gardens for pollinators of all kinds. I names. I have always prided myself on my Q Follow @AHS_Gardening for think this is a great idea, and hope that the knowledge of botanical names, but this breaking garden news and eye-catching photos. Join us here once a American Horticultural Society will also has gone too far. I personally refuse to month for #plantchat, when encourage this kind of effort. use any of the new names, which include: we host a one-hour open E. Ramsey Kraft Aster breweri (now Eucephalus breweri), discussion with an expert Masonic Home, Kentucky Aster divaricatus (now Eurybia divaricata), garden guest, along with our corporate Aster novae-angliae (now Symphyotrichum member, Corona Tools. If you miss a #plantchat, read the transcripts on our Editor’s note We certainly do! The AHS novae-angliae), and Aster oblongifolium website at www.ahs.org/plantchat. is part of the National Pollinator Garden (now Symphyotrichum oblongifolia). Network, which keeps a registry of pol- Fellow plant enthusiasts unite! Refuse to linator gardens at www.millionpollinator let these self-serving scientists overcompli- INSTAGRAM: gardens.org. Add your garden today! cate our lives. www.instagram.com/am_hort_society Gregory Carlson QEnjoy photos from our travels NO COMMON NAMES, PLEASE Marshall, Virginia around the U.S., along with year-round In reading The American Gardener, it jolts views of the gardens at River Farm, our headquarters in me every time you highlight the common SWEET POTATO PESTS Virginia. name of plants rather than their more iden- I particularly enjoyed the article on sweet tifiable Latin name. For instance, in March/ potatoes in the September/October issue. April you ran an article titled “Give Pinks I would like to add one pest of sweet po- PINTEREST: a Chance.” Pinks? What are pinks? And tatoes to the list. In my garden I have a www.pinterest.com/amhortsociety in July/August you described plants in the terrible problem with voles. There’s noth- Q We’re always creating new boards “Architectural Annuals” article as “prince’s ing more disheartening than to harvest a with images and information to supplement our articles in feather” and “mountain garland.” I’ve never large sweet potato and discover half of it The American Gardener. heard of either one. Nor would a reader missing due to vole damage. I’d appreci- Check out the boards to see have been able to find either one by those ate any suggestions readers have on how what we’re highlighting in names in a catalog. In both instances, you to prevent this problem. this issue! Other popular boards include did give the Latin names, but as an after- Lu Anne Copeland Container Gardening, Gardens to Visit, and Upcycling. thought. Why ever do you use “common” Chesapeake, Virginia names for plants? Betty Stacey CLARIFICATION FLICKR: McLean, Virginia An observant reader pointed out that in www.flickr.com/groups/ the “Homegrown Harvest” article on photo_of_the_month A POX ON TAXONOMISTS sweet potatoes (September/October), Q Enter our monthly, themed garden With all due respect to Carl Linnaeus—the we initially correctly described them as photo contests. The winning photo is featured in our Swedish botanist, physician, and zoolo- tuberous roots, but then erroneously e-newsletter and on our gist who formalized the modern system of referred to them as “tubers” in later sec- Facebook page. naming organisms we know as binomial tions of the article. nomenclature—the time has come for a revolution. Botanists, horticulturists, land- PLEASE WRITE US! Address letters to Editor, The scape architects/designers, and gardeners all American Gardener, 7931 East Boulevard Drive, Alexandria, VA 22308. Send e-mails to editor@ Join the Conversation! over the world labor to memorize the scien- ahs.org (note Letter to Editor in subject line). tific names of plants because they know that Letters we print may be edited for length and clarity.

6 the American Gardener AMERICAN HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY TRAVEL STUDY PROGRAM UPCOMING TOURS CONTACTS FOR AHS PROGRAMS, News from the AHS MEMBERSHIP BENEFITS & DEPARTMENTS November / December 2016 PROGRAMS • EVENTS • ANNOUNCEMENTS For general information about your membership, call (800) 777-7931. Send change of address notifications to our membership department at 7931 East Boulevard Drive, Alexandria, VA 22308. If your magazine is lost or damaged in COALITION OF AMERICAN PLANT SOCIETIES MEETING the mail, call the number above for a replacement. Requests for membership information THE 2017 Coalition of American Plant Societies (CAPS) leadership conference will and change of address notification can also be be held May 17 and 18 in Chicago, Illinois. Ball Horticultural Company will be e-mailed to [email protected]. hosting the sixth annual meeting of this alliance of national plant organizations, which is being organized jointly by the American Dahlia Society and the Ameri- THE AMERICAN GARDENER To submit a letter to the editor of The American Gardener, write to can Horticultural Society. The American Gardener, 7931 East Boulevard These meetings, held at different sites around the country each year, provide a Drive, Alexandria, VA 22308, or send an e-mail forum for plant society representatives to network, discuss issues of mutual interest, to [email protected]. attend educational sessions, and tour regional gardens. More information about the DEVELOPMENT To make a gift to the Ameri- CAPS meeting will be available early next year. can Horticultural Society, or for information about a donation you have already made, call (800) 777-7931, or send an e-mail to devel- UPCOMING TRIP TO CONNECTICUT FOR AHS PRESIDENT’S COUNCIL MEMBERS [email protected]. AN ANTICIPATED annual event, the AHS President’s Council Trip will be heading E-MAIL LISTS To subscribe to specific e-mail to the Litchfield Hills region of northwest Connecticut next year. From June 26 to lists for updates on programs and events, visit 30, participants will enjoy tours of many exceptional private gardens and fascinat- http://americanhort.ahs.org/email. ing specialty nurser- INTERNSHIP PROGRAM The AHS offers in- ies in and around the ternships in communications, horticulture, and membership. For information, send an region, well-known e-mail to [email protected]. Information and for its rolling hills, application forms can also be found in the bucolic scenery, and Gardening Programs area of www.ahs.org. New England charm. NATIONAL CHILDREN & YOUTH GARDEN Travelers will be based SYMPOSIUM For information about the Society’s annual National Children & Youth Garden Sym- at the Interlaken Inn posium, e-mail [email protected], or visit www. in Lakeville, a country ahs.org/ncygs. inn and resort. RECIPROCAL ADMISSIONS PROGRAM The AHS For this trip, the Reciprocal Admissions Program offers members AHS is partnering with free admission and other discounts to nearly 300 botanical gardens and other horticultural the Garden Conser- destinations throughout North America. A list vancy, and the itiner- of participating gardens can be found on www. ahs.org/rap. For more information, call (800) ary will include a visit to 777-7931 ext. 119. one of its preservation The trip will include tours to gardens like this one that exemplifies projects, the historic RIVER FARM The AHS headquarters at River Farm is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays year- the charm of New England’s architecture and landscapes. Hollister House Gar- round (except Federal holidays), and 9 a.m. to den in Washington, 1 p.m. Saturdays from April through Septem- ber. For information about events, rentals, and Connecticut. The Conservancy is also helping to coordinate visits to a number of notable directions, visit the About River Farm section of private gardens that are otherwise only accessible through its annual Open Days program. www.ahs.org. “Our annual President’s Council trip is always a unique experience,” says AHS TRAVEL STUDY PROGRAM Visit spectacular Executive Director Tom Underwood. “Not only do we get to see and do things private and public gardens around the world that are extraordinary, but the group also enjoys a special camaraderie that comes through the Society’s acclaimed Travel Study Program. For information about upcoming with shared interests and passion for the work of the AHS.” trips, call (703) 768-5700 ext. 127, e-mail The itinerary is developing, but in addition to the Hollister House Garden, [email protected], or visit the Gardening destinations include White Flower Farms nursery, Broken Arrow nursery, and Programs section of www.ahs.org. the O’Brien nursery. The trip is an exclusive benefit of membership in the AHS WEBSITE: www.ahs.org The AHS website is President’s Council and current members will receive invitations later this winter. a valuable source of information about the Society’s programs and activities. Users must To learn how to join the President’s Council, e-mail [email protected] or visit set up a username and password to access the www.ahs.org/ways-to-give/presidents-council. member’s-only sections.

News written by AHS Staff. TOM UNDERWOOD

8 the American Gardener AHS NATIONAL EVENTS CALENDAR Gifts of Note Mark your calendar for these upcoming events In addition to vital support through membership dues, the American that are sponsored or co-sponsored by Horticultural Society relies on grants, bequests, and other gifts to the AHS. Visit www.ahs.org or call support its programs. We would like to thank the following donors for (703) 768-5700 for more information. gifts received between September 1 to October 31, 2016.

DEC. 1–23. Indoor Holiday Display at River Farm. Alexandria, VA. DEC. 10. Holiday Open House at River Farm. Alexandria, VA. $1,000+ Gifts

2017 Mrs. Leslie S. Ariail Mr. and Mrs. Al Osman APR. 4–17. Springtime in Japan: Inspiring Gardens & Landscapes. Dr. Sherran Blair Mr. and Mrs. Harry A. Rissetto, AHS Travel Study Program. Ms. Joan April Blazich Esq. APR. 21 & 22. Spring Garden Market. River Farm, Alexandria, VA. Mr. and Mrs. Richard Davison Ms. Katherine J. Ward Mr. Joseph Errington and Mrs. Dudley B. White APR. 22. Great Gardens and Landscaping Symposium. Mr. William Pullen Dr. John A. Wott Woodstock, VT. (AHS partner event.) Mrs. Cherie H. Flores Yacht Haven Garden Club APR. 22–29. Historic Garden Week in Virginia. Dr. and Mrs. John A. Floyd, Jr. (AHS partner event.) APR. 29 & 30. Colonial Williamsburg Garden Symposium. Williamsburg, VA. (AHS partner event.) In honor of Leslie Ariail In memory of Suzy Bales Mr. and Mrs. H. Bartholomew Dr. Sherran Blair Cox A Fall Bounty of Persimmons Mrs. Kathleen S. Hobson In memory of Shelby Boone Mrs. Kelly Kruse In honor of Brad and Celia Bickford In memory of Sarah Bridges Mr. and Mrs. James Heller Ms. Jane Bridges

In honor of Henrietta Burke In memory of Dr. Steven Mrs. Kathleen S. Hobson Graff-Radford Dr. Douglas Wall In honor of Carol Feldman Ms. Carol Putnam In memory of Henrietta Harrison Ms. Elizabeth Lewis In honor of Julianne Mueller Ms. Anne Miller Mrs. Helen Wilkes In memory of Guiness Heffernan In honor of Shirley Nicolai Ms. Maureen Heffernan Mr. and Mrs. Herbert F. Hargroves In memory of Susan Homola Dr. Barbara Moss In honor of Dean Norton Mr. Norman Coker and Eastern Shore Nursery of Mrs. Sydney Blake Virginia Mr. and Mrs. Robert Higgins

In honor of Katy Moss Warner In memory of Kuang Ming Mr. Irv Silver Dr. Lolly Tai

In honor of Marcia Zech In memory of Kuo Hua Li Tai Mr. Richard Tenney and Dr. Lolly Tai A bumper crop of Japanese persimmons (Diospyros kaki) adds Ms. Kathleen Schloeder Dr. John A. Wott seasonal color to River Farm’s demonstration orchard in late fall. These low-growing deciduous trees are often weighed down by the bounteous yellowish-orange fruits that form on pollinated female trees. Fruits reach the peak of sweetness when nighttime temperatures If you would like to support the American Horticultural Society dip to near freezing. A bowl of the fruits makes a wonderful fall table as part of your estate planning, as a tribute to a loved one, or as part of your annual charitable giving plan, please call (703) 768-5700. decoration before being eaten fresh or added to breads, pies, and jams. MARY YEE

November / December 2016 9 AHS NEWS SPECIAL: America In Bloom Awards for 2016

by Lynn Brinkley

OR THE LAST 15 years, America In Bloom (AIB) has been inspir- Fing cities across the United States to embrace the positive power of plants. Each year, this nonprofit hosts a friendly nationwide competition for communities of all sizes to vie for various awards related to their greening efforts. In early October, it held its annual symposium and awards ceremony in Arroyo Grande, California. Earlier in the year, a team of AIB judges evaluated the competing communities on six criteria: overall impression, environmental awareness, urban forestry, landscaped areas, floral displays, and heritage preservation. Those garnering top ratings receive awards, but all of the participating communities are winners because they have taken steps to “become more welcome and vibrant places to live, Fire-resistant landscaping is showcased in a demonstration garden in Arroyo Grande, California. work, and play,” says AIB Executive Di- rector Laura Kunkle. (A partial list of However, several AIB communities are Towns and cities of all sizes, college this year’s award winners is shown in the proving that “beautiful landscapes with an campuses, business districts, and other box below. For a complete list, visit AIB’s emphasis on environmental stewardship eligible communities are invited to reg- website at www.americainbloom.org.) are possible when faced with water restric- ister for the 2017 AIB competition by Additionally, the symposium provides tions,” says Kunkle. For example, this year’s February 28, 2017. For more informa- opportunities for participants to discuss symposium host city, Arroyo Grande,s is tion, call (614) 453-0744 or visit www. successes and challenges within their comin “a severe drought, yet that community americainbloom.org. munities. One factor that has had a greater blooms with beauty,” she notes. It even re- impact in recent years is water availability ceived the AIB award for Best Example of Lynn Brinkley is an editorial intern with and the tightening regulations on its use. Water Wise Gardening this year. The American Gardener.

Special Award Winners Q Most Impressive Pollinator Garden Washington, MO Q Floral Displays Greenwood, SC Q Most Successful Implementation of a New Project Venice, FL Q Community Involvement Edmonston, MD Q Most Striking Public Wall Mural Henderson County, NC Q Heritage Preservation Winter Park, FL Q Best Use of Local Bloom Committee Logo Ironton, OH Q Overall Impression Belpre, OH Q Best Adaptive Reuse of an Historic Structure Brewton, AL Q Coolest Downtown Holland, MI Population Category Award Winners Q Best Program for Engaging Young People Catskill, NY Q Less than 3,000 Castle Rock, WA Q Best Example of Water Wise Gardening Arroyo Grande, CA Q 3,000–5,000 Lewisburg, WV Q Best Heritage Tree Program Morro Bay, CA Q 5,000–10,000 Logan, OH Q Best Combination of Plants in Hanging Baskets Q 10,000–14,000 Morro Bay, CA Newtown Square, PA Q 14,000–20,000 Holliston, MA Q 20,000–30,000 Calabasas, CA Outstanding Achievement Awards Q 30,000–50,000 Midland, MI Q Environmental Efforts Holland, MI Q More than 50,000 Lexington, KY Q Landscaped Areas St. Charles, IL Q Champions Category (Small Cities) Gallipolis, OH Q Urban Forestry Saratoga, CA Q Champions Category (Mid-Size Cities) Washington, MO COURTESY OF AIB

10 the American Gardener AHS MEMBERS MAKING A DIFFERENCE: Mary Rose Ruffini

by Lynn Brinkley

ANY PEOPLE who garden River Farm headquarters in Alexandria, educational events such as the annual can point to a parent or Virginia, and has been a member ever symposium. One of her most import- Mother family member who since. She has explored gardens as far ant contributions has been helping to instilled a passion for plants in them at away as Hawaii and Wales. Wherever raise funds in support of the National a young age. Mary Rose Ruffini can she goes, she finds new ideas to incorpo- Herb Garden within the U.S. Nation- point to several, because she al Arboretum in Washington, grew up surrounded by gar- D.C. This garden, which was deners in Queens, New York. a “gift from the HSA in 1980,” Her mother planted irises and Ruffini explains, helps make spring bulbs while her father visitors aware that the herbal “grew great tomatoes, peren- world encompasses so much nials, shrubs, and trees,” she more than “just parsley, basil, says. Both sets of grandparents and rosemary.” lived nearby and also gardened. A little closer to home, HSA Now she is a grandparent her- members conduct a yearly hor- self, eager to inspire “the next ticultural study to assess herbs generation of green thumbs,” on their worthiness for promo- while serving her communi- tion as the organization’s Herb ty as a Master Gardener and of the Year. “The study involves herbal ambassador. raising a native herb,” says Ruf- fini, “and keeping records from GARDENING IN THE GOLDEN YEARS date of planting and progress, Despite her lifelong interest in or lack of progress of the plant’s gardening, it wasn’t until her growth.” Last year, for exam- semi-retirement from teach- ple, she evaluated dittany (Cu- ing in the late 1990s that Ruf- nila origanoides), which “made fini was able to really devote it through the winter but died herself to it. In 2000, she de- in the extreme cold this past cided to take a semester-long spring,” she reports. This year Master Gardener course she is keeping track of narrow- through Cornell University in leaf mountain mint (Pycnanthe- Ithaca, New York. That same Mary Rose Ruffini (foreground) conducts an mum tenuifolium). year, she attended an herb symposium informational workshop at the Kunz Nursery hosted by the Long Island Unit of the in Port Jefferson Station, New York, with THE NEXT GENERATION Herb Society of America (HSA). She so nurseryowner and fellow Herb Society of Herbs of all kinds mingle with an assort- enjoyed the experience that she kept at- America member Carolyn Kunz-Zambraski. ment of other plants in Ruffini’s shady half- tending these annual gatherings, proudly acre garden, including “76-year-old hostas noting she went to her 17th consecutive rate into her Long Island garden. “The from my grandparents’ garden.” And just event earlier this year. plantings, lighting, and sounds all evoke as her grandparents nurtured her interest After completing her Master Garden- memories,” she says. in the botanical world, she hopes to do the er course, Ruffini began volunteering at same for her own grandchildren. She feels public gardens in her area. “The gardens A PENCHANT FOR HERBS that gardening is not as mainstream for their at the Suffolk County Farm and Educa- Among her varied gardening interests, generation as it was for hers and that may tion Center were my first choice,” she Ruffini found herself most drawn to result in less environmental stewardship. says, because she had once been based herbs. In addition to regularly attending Through gardening and the other outdoor there while coordinating 4-H programs the herb symposia, she became increas- activities Ruffini does with her grandkids, for Cornell’s Cooperative Extension Ser- ingly involved in her local HSA group. she hopes to help them “understand that we vice in the mid-1980s. She has served on its board of directors must all tend to our planet.” Ruffini also began visiting gardens for several years and has lent her hand to whenever she could. In 2002, she visit- everything from editing newsletters and Lynn Brinkley is an editorial intern with

COURTESY OF MARY ROSE RUFFINI ed the American Horticultural Society’s giving presentations to helping organize The American Gardener.

November / December 2016 11 Gifts by will or trust benefit you and the American Horticultural Society.

Gifts through your estate can provide important benefits to you and the Society. Gifts may be made by will or trust, through which you may direct either a specific dollar amount (e.g. $250,000), a percentage (e.g. 25%), or the remainder after provisions for your loved ones. Through your gift you can:

• Preserve current assets. • Reduce or eliminate estate taxes. • Leave a legacy of a greener, healthier, more beautiful America. • Become a member of the Horticultural Heritage Society.

We will be pleased to discuss ways to make a gift through your estate to benefit the Society. Contact us at [email protected]. Backstage in the Garden

Do you have more plants than you know what to do with right now? Create a holding bed—a

temporary nursery—to care for them until you can place them in the garden. BY LINDA ASKEY

RONE TO spontaneous plant pur- Many years later, my holding bed is still It turns out I have a lot of kindred spir- chases, as well as being a compul- in the spot where I nurture hopes for my its. Earlier this year, The American Gar- Psive plant propagator, I have had future garden, where I keep new perenni- dener asked you about your holding beds, a holding bed as long as I have gardened. als, shrubs, and trees that need to wait for and you responded! Your answers reveal A place to park everything I couldn’t summer’s heat and drought to pass before that each holding bed is as individual as live without yet had no immediate time being moved to their permanent home. the owner. or space to set in the garden, it was my There too are the disappointments—the guilty secret. plants that have not thrived or those that LOCATION, LOCATION My first clue that I wasn’t alone was in didn’t work in my garden’s scheme. There Regardless of the reason for having a an early catalog from Heronswood Nurs- are also the extras—plants grown from holding bed, it must be properly locat- ery, the connoisseur’s mailorder nursery divisions or ones uprooted while weeding ed. Susan Shepard (Jackson, Tennessee) during its heyday in the 1990s and early that I couldn’t throw away. Occasionally found an ideal spot for hers that faces east aughts. In one, nurseryman and author I find a place for them in the garden; more behind a garden shed. She says, “That Dan Hinkley referred to his holding bed often they are given to visitors. And I must gives it protection from west winds and as his “procrastination garden.” Suddenly confess that I sometimes keep plants in my storms. It receives morning sun. Also, it’s I realized the cluster of pots near the drive- holding bed much longer than I should, close to a rain barrel so watering is easy.”

LYNNE HARRISON way had a name—and not a diagnosis. so it really is a procrastination garden. Morning sun is the almost magical orien-

November / December 2016 13 of pottedplantsinanOregongarden. driveway isatemporarystopforthisgroup following year.Left:Anunusedpartofa the playgroundtobedugupforsale Dryden, Michigan,areplantedinabedby at theHolyRedeemerLutheranChurchin Leftover perennialsfromafundraisingsale Holding bedscantakemanyforms.Above: In theprocess, Cochracrealizedshehad tion ofmyvegetable gardenforthis.” gardens couldberestored.I used asec- to holdshrubsandperennials untilmy to anewsanitarysewer,Ineeded aplace ripping upmyyardtomakeconnections year. Shewrites,“Whencontractors were Ohio) facedanunenviablesituationlast Donna ShirerCochrac(Brecksville, NURSERIES FORGOODCAUSES urally seektogrowoutsideofthepots. fabric slowsthegrowthofrootsthatnat- be tippedoverbywind.Thelandscape the winter,andpotsarelesslikelyto sand alsoinsulatesthepotsfromcoldin don’t dryoutasquicklythatway.”The “I burypottedplantsinthesand.They two-thirds fullwithsand,”sheexplains. tom withlandscapecloth,andfilledit 11-inch raisedbedframe,linedthebot- “I usedaneight-footbyfour-foot be happy. plants getenoughofwhattheyneedto tation wherebothsun-andshade-loving Her holdingareaisclearlydefined.

TOP: COURTESY OF CANDICE MEYER. BOTTOM: MICHAEL S. THOMPSON ESSENTIALS IN A HOLDING BED Because holding beds are work areas, they are usually not picturesque, but they do need planning to be most functional. Here are some key considerations:

Q Appropriate light exposure (sun or shade) is critical. If you don’t have room for both a sun and a shade bed, look for a spot that has both, or bright shade at the very least. It can be surprisingly effective to use taller plants to shade smaller ones, and set newly divided plants on the north side of a taller plant to shelter them temporarily from hot afternoon sun. Q Having a spigot nearby makes watering easier, especially if your plants are in containers. Container plants may need to be watered more than once during the day, especially in a sunny spot in the summer. If this isn’t feasible, find an area in your garden where you can put the plants temporarily in the ground so they can take advantage of soil moisture. Q Locate the bed where there is protection from prevailing winds to prevent plants from drying in summer, freezing in winter, and blowing over anytime. Clustering pots together in winter will help insulate the plants from temperature extremes, as does mounding loose soil, sawdust, bark mulch, pine needles, or piles of shredded leaves around pots and root balls. Jason Reeves says, “A few times I’ve sunk the whole plant in the pot in a hole in the ground for the winter.” Q If you are an enthusiastic propagator and have the space, a cold frame is a great addition to a holding bed, making it easier to grow plants from seeds, as well Nurseryman Dan Hinkley maintains a series of cold frames as holding areas as divisions and cuttings. —L.A. for plants at Windcliff, his garden in Indianola, Washington.

too much shade to properly grow most there. This not only enhanced the play- are seldom the showiest choices for sum- vegetables, so now most of her vegeta- ground and back of the church, but we mer. During the warm months, Jason ble garden serves as a holding bed. “I am now have plants that we can dig up or Reeves (Clarksburg, Tennessee) main- going to start transplanting divisions of divide for our sale.” tains a grouping of ceramic containers at my own perennials,” she says, “so I can Joan Lindquist (Bridgeport, Con- the end of his driveway filled with bright have large, well-rooted plants to dig up necticut) has kept as many as 500 plants mixtures of annuals and tropicals. About and sell at our Cuyahoga County Master for her garden club in her garden. Di- mid-November, he removes these plants, Gardeners annual Plants in the Park sale visions from member gardens are taken stores the ceramic pots, and turns to his next spring.” when the first perennial shoots emerge, holding bed for replacements. “I have Master Gardeners think alike. Candice and then they are grown in Lindquist’s four large plastic pots that are planted Meyer and Mary Robinson (Dryden, holding beds for the garden club plant sale for winter,” he says. “They spend the Michigan) maintain a holding bed at the in May. “Some of the holding areas are the summer at the sunny end of my holding Holy Redeemer Lutheran Church gar- raised beds we use for our vegetables,” she area.” These pots feature evergeen trees den, where they are longtime volunteers. says. “Others are between raised beds. Still such as ‘Araucarioides’ Japanese cedar Proceeds from a perennial and bake sale others are under or between bushes where (Cryptomeria japonica) and a curly Harry each spring help fund the garden’s devel- the plants will get proper light.” Lauder’s walking stick (Corylus avella- opment and maintenance. Meyer recalls, na ‘Contorta’), a deciduous shrub with “Because we didn’t want to discard the TO EACH ITS SEASON eye-catching twisted branches. In early leftover perennials, we created a bed along Winter container plants are chosen most June, Reeves moves the trees back to the the fence that encloses the children’s play- often for their hardiness. Whether ev- holding area so he can once again create

GRACE HENSLEY ground and began planting selected ones ergreen, winter flowering, or both, they new, colorful displays for summer.

November / December 2016 15 ROOM TO GROW FACILITATING A MOVE bed allows her an opportunity to observe Sometimes new plants can’t compete Ginger Turk (Midway, Arkansas) the habit and performance of new plants successfully with established plants. As a moved from Illinois three years ago, and and visualize effective combinations before garden designer and blogger, Claire Jones during the months traveling between two moving them to the garden. Although Syko- (Sparks, Maryland) regularly receives sam- homes, she gradually relocated plants ra only moved a short distance to her cur- ples of new plants for testing. She says, from her former garden to raised holding rent home, her holding bed was more than “They are usually quite small, and I don’t beds in the new garden. She says, “There a temporary space for the plants from her want them to be overwhelmed in my gar- are five raised beds that get shaded from former garden. It was meaningful she says dens.” So she plants them in a small, sun- the intense afternoon sun by two huge “to preserve the memories of the occasions ny holding bed near her vegetable garden. oaks, and the plants love it here! It’s so when some of the plants were added to the “Once they grow in a little bit, I have a nice to go out to my instant ‘nursery’ gardens at our previous house.” better idea of how they will perform and for stock whenever needed. Also, if a can select the perfect location on my prop- plant isn’t thriving in a spot, I’ll move it GROWING, NOT HOLDING erty to transplant them.” back to the nursery for rejuvenation, and For some gardeners, holding beds serve as Martha Sykora (Annapolis, Mary- then re-think the location. Today I can’t mini gardens with specific functions. Mas- land) uses her holding bed the same way imagine being without the convenience ter Gardener Gayle Chatfield (near Lake for small saplings. She lets them grow of a holding bed.” Superior, Wisconsin) writes, “I have large for a couple of years before she sets them Sherran Blair (St. Petersburg, Florida) raised ‘holding beds’ for holding plants, among established plants in her garden. and Martha Sykora also found their holding seeding perennials and shrubs, propaga- In addition to height, the young trees will beds invaluable when they relocated. Blair tion, and to use as cutting gardens.” Chat- develop a bigger root system that increases made a big jump from USDA Zone 6a in field has beds in both shade and part sun. their chance of survival. Ohio to Zone 10b in Florida, so her holding Raised beds allow her to plant intensively.

These beds in Ginger Turk’s garden in Midway, Arkansas, were originally created to hold plants being moved from her former home. COURTESY OF GINGER TURK

16 the American Gardener “I currently have small Syringa yunnan- ing good composted soil and bone meal ensis plants grown from cuttings from a first,” she says. “Some stay in pots only friend’s shrub, and seedling Viburnum a few weeks, but others I’ve had in their trilobum shrubs from a particularly nice pots for a year or more.” To keep plants specimen in the wild,” she says. “I also through the winter, she moves them to propagate unusual trilliums and native a sheltered location near a shed. Fallen wildflowers and give them away.” leaves can be raked between and over the “I call such beds my nursery beds,” says pots to provide insulation from the cold. Linda Trapkin (Syracuse, New York). “I On the other hand, it is easier to main- plant my tulips (used as annuals for cut- tain plants that are rooted in soil and can ting), divisions from my main beds that tap a greater supply of moisture and nu- I don’t yet have the courage to compost trients, such as the holding bed/border at (such as daylilies), and divisions (Siberian the Holy Redeemer Lutheran Church. It irises) to use in bouquets. Essentially I am all depends on what works best for you. making an auxiliary cutting garden.” Top: Gayle Chatfield, shown with her dog, Finally, I echo the sentiments of Lisa Chesapeake, constructed large raised beds Oliver (Grayling, Michigan). She writes, TO PLANT OR TO POT to serve as holding areas. Above: In this “My holding gardens have become a ne- Gardeners are divided between those bed, Chatfield is propagating Japanese cessity due to my passion for wanting to who plant in the soil of their holding primrose (Primula japonica), ‘Golden Tiara’ add new plants to the garden, prior to hav- beds and those who hold their plants in hosta, pink turtlehead (Chelone lyonii), and ing a plan.” pots. Mark Miller (Columbus, Ohio) Celandine poppy (Stylophorum diphyllum). Thank heaven for holding beds! says, “I never plant things in the ground that I know I will have to transplant lat- the plants in their pots and cover them Linda Askey is a horticulturist who writes er.” He has a small holding bed in filtered with mulch.” from her experiences in her Birmingham, shade in his backyard mainly for newly Linda Leduc (Belchertown, Massa- Alabama, garden, where she has two hold- purchased plants “destined for my moth- chusetts) also keeps her plants potted. ing beds of potted plants, one for shade and

COURTESY OF GAYLE CHATFIELD (2) er’s garden the next time I see her. I leave “I put each plant in its own pot, add- one for sun.

November / December 2016 17 Divine Daphnes

APHNE IS a seductive genus of develop a number of wonderful hybrids. ornamental flowering shrubs This diverse genus of showy Some species are evergreen and others are Dadored for their fetching foliage, flowering shrubs is prized deciduous, although in a few cases this intensely fragrant flowers, and—in a few distinction is hazy because plants are ever- cases—showy fruits. The adjective seduc- for the heavenly fragrance of green in warmer climates and deciduous tive is appropriate, given the genus name in cooler regions. Most, but not all, have honors the beautiful nymph in Greek my- many species. fragrant flowers. thology who was turned into a tree to pro- The tiny flowers are clustered in ter- tect her from the lustful pursuits of the god minal or axillary inflorescences. The pri- Apollo. Purists will grouse that the ancient BY PAUL LEE CANNON mary flush of bloom is in late winter or Greeks connected the name Daphne with early spring, although some of the newer the plant modern taxonomists know as bay hybrids will bloom again in summer to fall. laurel (Laurus nobilis), but such quibbles ‘Carol Mackie’, a selection of the hybrid Daphne The flowers generally fall somewhere along spoil a good story line. burkwoodii, is popular for its highly fragrant the continuum of iridescent white to deep The genus includes some 70 species of pinkish-white flowers in mid-spring, attractive pink, but a few outliers, such as D. jezoensis, shrubs native primarily to temperate Eu- variegated foliage the remainder of the year, have greenish or yellow blossoms. In many rope and temperate to subtropical Asia. In and its relative ease of growth. Here it stars cases the flowers offer a two-tone effect be- addition, breeders have mingled the best in a colorful springtime tableau at Chanticleer cause the color of the buds contrasts with

characteristics of two or more species to garden in Wayne, Pennsylvania. that of the interior of the flowers. Some ROB CARDILLO

18 the American Gardener flowers also display subtle color changes as award-winning British nurseryman who they mature. As for the fragrance, words NEXT OF KIN has bred many notable daphne hybrids. can’t really do justice to the range of intoxi- Daphnes belong to Thymelaeaceae, Retail nurseries typically carry only a cating scents. Let’s just say they smell really a plant family that includes 50 gen- few of the best known selections, so you’ll damn good. era and nearly 900 species of flow- probably need to rely on specialty nurser- ering trees, shrubs, and vines. Their ies (see “Sources,” page 20) to locate some WORTH THE FUSS best known ornamental relatives in- of these plants. Daphnes are cherished additions to nearly clude paper bush (Edgeworthia chry- any garden, and not just for their scent- santha), a shrub with fragrant winter Winter or fragrant daphne (D. odora, ed flowers. “There’s something about the flowers whose bark is used in making USDA Hardiness Zones 7–9, AHS Heat whorls of the foliage, the symmetry, that I high-quality Japanese paper, and leath- Zones 9–6) is one of the most widely respond to,” says Lauren Springer Ogden, erwood (Dirca palustris), a woodland cultivated species. It causes a scent-sation a garden author and landscape designer shrub native to a wide swath of eastern from late winter to early spring when its who grows several daphne selections in and central North America. —P.L.C. rosy-pink buds open into clusters of pale her expansive garden on the outskirts of pink or white flowers so sweetly fragrant Fort Collins, Colorado. half the plant dies off.” While this may you’re apt to sniff your way in search of The high reward of sublime fragrance sound discouraging, it hasn’t deterred the source. The glossy bright green foliage doesn’t come without an accompanying Cappiello from growing daphnes, and it offers its own allure, cloaking attractive high risk, so let’s get the caveat out of the shouldn’t stop you from trying them in brown stems that form a tightly mound- way now: Daphnes are highly susceptible your own garden, either. ing habit three or four feet tall and wide. to root rot. “Just when you get a daphne Here are some of the daphnes high- Several selections are worth growing, established, it starts to do what we refer ly recommended by the experts I inter- starting with ‘Aureomarginata’. Its clusters to as ‘the daphne dance of death,’” says viewed, and a few more are included in a of flowers start off deep pink before becom- Paul Cappiello, executive director of Yew chart on page 21. In researching this article, ing white in late winter/early spring. Shiny, Dell Botanical Gardens in Crestwood, I also relied heavily on Daphnes: A Practi- dark-green leaves are distinguished with Kentucky. “One day the plant’s never cal Guide for Gardeners by Robin White pale, creamy-yellow edges. This attractive looked better, and then three weeks later (see “Resources,” page 20). White is an contrast, along with the shrub’s dense,

Daphne odora ‘Rebecca’‘Rebecca’ GRACE HENSLEY

November / December 2016 19 Resources Daphnes: A Practical Guide for Gardeners by Robin White, Timber Press, Portland, OR, 2006. Manual of Woody Landscape Plants (7th ed.) by Michael A. Dirr, Stipes Publishing, Champaign, IL, 2009. Sources. Briggs Nursery, Elma, WA. www.briggsnursery.com. Broken Arrow Nursery, Hamden, CT. www.brokenarrownursery.com. Gossler Farms Nursery, Springfield, OR. www.gosslerfarms.com. Klehm’s Song Sparrow Farm and Nursery, Avalon, WI. www.songsparrow.com. Monrovia Nursery, Azusa, CA. www.monrovia.com. Wayside Gardens, Hodges, SC. www.waysidegardens.com. Whitman Farms, Salem, OR. www.whitmanfarms.com. Daphne cneorum mounding habit, work wonderfully in a habit lends itself to use as a groundcover. gardens, and is more tolerant of sunny shade garden. The rich, reddish-brown bark is attrac- sites than some other species, as long as ‘Maejima’ is stunning because of the tive, as are the narrow, dark-green leaves. the roots are protected from drying out. showy leaves, which feature wide strips of Profuse clusters of small, pale- to bright- yellow lining the margins of shiny, rich rose pink, powerfully fragrant flowers Lilac daphne (D. genkwa, Zones 5–7, green foliage, creating extraordinary con- bloom in early spring and then on and off 7–5) naturally occurs from rocky hillsides trast with the fragrant, dark purplish-pink throughout the summer. It is adaptable to to moister lowland regions in China and flowers. Even out of bloom, ‘Maejima’ of- a variety of landscape uses, including rock Korea. It is a deciduous shrub that was fers year-round interest. It grows three to four feet tall and wide. Richie Steffen, who oversees a collection Daphne genkwa of rare and unusual plants at the Elisabeth C. Miller Garden in Seattle, Washington, considers ‘Rebecca’ one of the best of the newer variegated forms. “It’s very florifer- ous and super fragrant,” he says. ‘Rebecca’ features soft gray-green foliage with margins even more creamy pale-yellow than those of ‘Aureomarginata.’ The winter and early spring blooming flowers start off as purplish-red buds before unfurling into pretty pink clusters. Fleshy, berrylike red fruits follow. It grows four to five feet tall and wide with a bushy, compact habit.

Rose daphne (D. cneorum, Zones 5–8, 8–5) is something of a rambler in its native habitat, which covers a large swath of central Europe from alpine regions down to the Mediterranean. Growing to a foot tall

and three or four feet wide, its prostrate TOP: MARK TURNER. BOTTOM: MICHAEL S. THOMPSON

20 the American Gardener introduced to Western horticulture in the Nepalese paper plant (D. bholua, Zones HYBRIDS late 19th century. Unique wands of un- 7–9, 9–7) is native to the woodlands of the Daphne transatlantica (Zones 5/6–9, scented pale violet to lilac flowers bloom Himalayas. It is typically upright and co- 9–5) This hybrid group was developed on bare stems before the foliage emerges in lumnar in form, growing six to 10 feet tall from crosses between D. caucasica and D. spring. Lilac daphne is relatively compact, and up to four feet wide with long, open, collina. “The good thing about D. trans- growing to three feet tall and wide with an branchless or sparsely branched stems. Re- atlantica selections is that they bloom upright branching structure. It grows best ports from growers indicate this may be most in May but then again sporadically in regions that experience hot summers better suited to West Cost gardens. Its ever- all through the summer,” says Andrew and consistently cold winters. green to semi-evergreen leaves are narrow, Bunting, director of collections for the medium green, and slightly leathery. Older Chicago Botanic Garden in Glencoe, Il- February daphne (D. mezereum, Zones foliage tends to drop after flowering. Flow- linois. “And the few flowers in summer 4–7, 7–4) produces a profusion of heav- ers, produced only on the previous season’s give you more than enough fragrance be- ily scented purple or white flowers that growth, bloom in clusters at the ends of cause they’re so intensely fragrant.” cover the stems of this small, cold-har- the stems, appearing as early as mid-win- Top selections include ‘Blafra’ (trade- dy deciduous shrub in spring before its ter and lasting through early spring. Color marked Eternal Fragrance), which was se- light green leaves appear. The fragrance, varies from white to a rosy purplish pink; a lected in 1995. It’s a tidy, round, mounding reminiscent of hyacinths, can scent a large potent, pleasing fragrance is constant while evergreen shrub of dark green foliage that area on a balmy spring day. Showy red the plant is in bloom. sends out a heavy flush of fragrant pink- to reddish-purple fruits cover the plant A selection ‘Jacqueline Postill’ dazzles white blooms in spring and repeat blooms after flowering and attract birds. Since it the senses with terminal clusters of re- from summer through fall. In his book on only blooms on the old wood of the previ- markably fragrant flowers from January daphnes, White reports that Eternal Fra- ous season, plant it in deep, nutrient-rich to March. The purplish-pink to white grance bloomed April through November soil or feed regularly to ensure bountiful flowers are followed by deep, dark-purple, during a trial in the Pacific Northwest and blooming the following spring. It grows berrylike fruits. It grows slowly to 13 feet could tolerate temperatures as low as 15 de- three to five feet tall and wide. tall and about five feet wide. grees Fahrenheit (it can survive at lower MORE DAPHNES WORTH CONSIDERING Botanical name Height, Notable characteristics Origin USDA Hardiness, (Common name) width (ft.) AHS Heat Zones Daphne jezoensis 2, 2 Deep-yellow flowers with a freesialike scent Northern Japan 6–8, 8–6 (Japanese daphne) D. odora ‘Marianni’ 3, 3 Creamy yellow variegation, fragrant blush-pink China 6–10, 9–6 (Fragrant daphne) flowers D. tangutica 2, 3 Fragrant white to lilac flowers, orange-red Western China 6–9, 9–6 (Tangut daphne) fruits and Tibet D. rollsdorfii 1–2, 1–2 Fragrant, pinkish-purple flowers Hybrid 6–9, 9–6 ‘Wilhelm Schacht’ D. transatlantica 4, 6 Pale green-and-cream foliage, fragrant pale pink Hybrid 5/6–9, 9–5 ‘Summer Ice’ flowers in late spring, reblooming summer to fall

D. jezoensis D. tangutica LEFT: JOSEPH G. STRAUCH JR. RIGHT: JANET DAVIS

November / December 2016 21 temperatures, but becomes deciduous). It grows two to three feet tall and wide. Named after the late plantsman Jim Cross of Environmental Nurseries in Long Island, New York, ‘Jim’s Pride’ has evergreen/semi-evergreen foliage and offers an open branching habit, narrow, rich-green leaves and clusters of white, extremely fragrant flowers with red-purple buds. “‘Jim’s Pride’ is just a phenomenal plant,” says Cappiello. “For us, it starts blooming in May through to December. It never gets a gigantic amount of bloom but it’s always got some bloom and fantastic fragrance.”

Daphne transatlanticatransatlantica Daphne burkwoodii ‘Blafra’‘Blafra’ (Eternal(Eternal Fragrance)Fragrance) ‘Brigg’s‘Brigg’s Moonlight’Moonlight’

In zones with mild winters, it blooms in late tablished, it is spectacular. Light shade D. medfordensis ‘Lawrence Crocker’ spring and re-blooms summer through fall. (to avoid scorched leaves) and excellent (Zones 6–9, 9–6) is a real showstopper with With the exception of summer drought, drainage are a must. It reaches two-and- its terminal clusters of fragrant, hot-pink White reports that this daphne hybrid “tol- a-half feet tall and two feet wide, with a flowers that bloom May to June. The tiny, erates a wide range of conditions.” It grows nice upright habit. tidy, lime-green leaves are sweet, too. Intro- three to four feet tall and wide. Everyone I spoke with for this arti- duced from Siskiyou Rare Plant Nursery by cle was enthusiastic about the selection plantsman Lawrence Crocker, it reaches a D. burkwoodii (Zones 4–8, 8–4) was ‘Carol Mackie’. The consensus is that perfectly petite mature size of 12 inches tall created from a cross between D. cneo- this hybrid is just plain beautiful and by 18 inches wide. “It’s a beautiful landscape rum and D. caucasica. The selection relatively easy to grow. The shiny, lime- plant and grows so perfectly,” says Steffen ‘Brigg’s Moonlight’ is a gorgeous study green leaves are small, oval, and edged in from the Miller Garden in Seattle. “If the in contrasts. The variegated leaves are a cream, providing stunning contrast for a drainage is good, it’s a great plant for begin- bright, creamy, dreamy yellow accent- mid-spring flush of fragrant blush-pink ners. It thrives on a little neglect.” ed with dark-green flecks and margins. and white flowers that re-bloom in fall. A Then come the wonderfully perfumed, moderately paced grower, ‘Carol Mackie’ GROWING TIPS pale-pink flowers in late spring. ‘Brigg’s can succeed in not-so-fertile soil as long As noted earlier, daphnes are highly sus- Moonlight’ can be one of the more chal- as it drains well. It grows three to four ceptible to root rot, so planting them in

lenging daphnes to grow, but once es- feet tall and wide. consistently moist, moderately fertile soil LEFT: COURTESY OF MONROVIA.COM. RIGHT: MARK TURNER

22 the American Gardener that drains well is crucial. “Heavy, poorly garden freaks, so a lot of the little ones are drained soils are a deal breaker for most the kind we want anyway.” DESIGNING WITH DAPHNES daphnes,” says Bunting. Aside from the drainage issues, daphnes Daphnes fit beautifully into a wide va- The wet winters in Kentucky, com- are relatively low maintenance plants. Prun- riety of garden styles and situations. bined with heavy clay soil, made daphne ing is minimal because most daphnes have Here are a few design tips. cultivation challenging for Cappiello at a naturally mounding, compact habit and • Plant daphnes where you can enjoy Yew Dell Botanical Gardens. “We needed grow at a slow to medium rate. The cen- the scent up close, such as next to seat- to heavily amend the soil and work with a ter of a daphne can become bare of leaves ing areas, along walkways, or near steps. little micro topography to get their roots and flowers as the plant grows over time. • Grow a variety of species and hy- up out of the muck,” says Cappiello, who If this happens, branches can be cut back brids for succession blooming and has had some success growing daphnes in after spring flowering to encourage bushier year-round interest. scree (gravel) and rock gardens. “You ba- growth. Seldom do I ever have to prune my • Group with Japanese maples, camel- sically have 18 inches of pea gravel and fine daphnes, and the few times I lightly did so, lias, and azaleas in a woodland garden. gravel and sand mixed, to provide an en- they responded with healthy new growth. • Use selections with variegated leaves to brighten shady spots. • Try daphnes in a well-drained container—tufa pots work well—that can be easily moved when the plant is in flower (and indoors for the winter if necessary). —P.L.C.

Aphids can afflict some daphnes, particularly D. jezoensis and D. mezereum, but they are easy to dislodge with a strong jet of water from a hose. Slugs and snails may take a liking to the new foliage and flower buds of some selections during mild periods in winter. Because all parts of daphnes, including the colorful, berrylike fruits (technically drupes), are poisonous if ingested, they are rarely bothered by deer or other herbivores. This is an important thing to be aware of if children or pets are regular visitors to your garden. A lesson I learned the hard way is that Daphne medfordensis ‘Lawrence‘Lawrence Crocker’Crocker’ daphnes are resentful of being transplanted. A winter daphne I grew in a pot put on such vigorous growth, I thought it vironment where the roots can get down Daphnes generally thrive in a site that would welcome more room to grow, so to the heavier soil and get moisture where gets morning sun and afternoon shade in I transplanted it to a sunny border. It they need it but the crown stays up out of summer, but there is considerable adapt- soon expressed disapproval by dropping it,” he explains. ability depending on region and individ- leaves. After leaving it in the ground for If you have heavy clay soil, another op- ual species. In drought-prone areas, they several months, I ended up moving it tion is to plant daphnes in a raised bed. may need supplemental watering from back into the original pot. The plant is It may seem obvious, but don’t plant time to time. still hanging on but is nowhere near as daphnes in a site where runoff from roofs, Most daphnes seem to grow well in vibrant as it once was. porches, or irrigation systems may pool. soil that has a pH range from slightly “With daphnes, you have to be a little In Colorado, Ogden doesn’t have to acidic to slightly alkaline, so test your soil flexible,” says Cappiello. “It can take a few worry about drainage because the native before planting. Amend the soil around tries before you hit the right combination, soils are gritty. She grows mostly alpine daphnes annually with organic matter then once you do, don’t mess with it.” In selections, which stay low enough to or apply a balanced slow release fertiliz- return, these plants will richly reward you avoid the extreme desiccation caused by er. Yellowing leaves may indicate a need for your efforts with their tidy good looks the cold, dry, brutal winds of her climate for more nutrients; remedy with applica- and unbeatable fragrance. zone. “The smaller and shorter the daph- tions of iron chelate as needed during the ne, the more likely it won’t get its butt growing season. Use organic mulch to Paul Lee Cannon is a freelance writer based

ALEKSANDRA SZYWALA kicked,” she says. “People here are rock keep roots cool. in Oakland, California.

November / December 2016 23 While technically illegal, gardens planted on other people’s property are enriching Guerrilla communities around the country. Gardening

BY PATRICIA A. TAYLOR

OINED IN THE early 1970s, the grow vegetables on city land bordering his to beautifying eyesores to land steward- term “guerrilla gardening” refers own property. His talk, which went viral, ship and community building. Cto a powerful but largely unstruc- and other publicity about his scofflaw gar- No matter what the goal, all the efforts tured movement that has taken various den resulted in a change in not only his are technically illegal. That illegality of- forms across the United States and abroad. community, but also the law. ten becomes an issue with the reclamation Los Angeles gardener Ron Finley captured That last word—law—is key to the of thousands of abandoned urban acres this movement’s ethos in a speech he gave concept of guerrilla gardening, which ba- across the country. Some property own- in 2013 when he declared, “gardening is the sically means planting on property with- ers welcome guerrilla gardening efforts, most therapeutic and defiant act you can out the legal right to do so. Depending on others bulldoze them, still others fight to do.” A video of the speech, available on the who is doing the gardening, the goals vary make the gardens legal, and new organiza-

TED.com website, described his efforts to from making healthy food more accessible tions work to evolve the concept. COURTESY OF GREEN GUERILLAS

24 the American Gardener the next spring until the owner mowed widespread publicity he generated with his them down. This illustrates one aspect of TED talk certainly helped his cause. guerrilla gardening: If it’s done to beau- While Finley concentrates on enriching tify private property, it can be successful his South Central Los Angeles area by grow- though the result is often short lived. ing healthy food and encouraging commu- In Seattle, Washington, longer-term nity participation, Scott Bunnell has been guerrilla gardens have sprung up all over beautifying the entire Los Angeles county the city’s small traffic roundabouts. “I for more than three decades through orna- think it is so neat,” says Will Croth- mental gardens on barren plots, generally ers from architecture and design firm along streets and highways. Called the “Che Schemata Workshop, “that people Guevara of guerrilla gardening,” in a local have taken it upon themselves to gar- documentary on his work, Bunnell empha- den wherever they can and to beautify sizes that plants in these gardens need to be their environment. It really adds to the attractive as well as resilient enough to sur- city.” Thus when such gardens beauti- vive without care. He favors succulents and fy a small amount of public space that propagates hundreds for his street plantings, would otherwise remain bare, it is gen- often gleaning new plants from his other erally admired. thriving guerrilla installations. Most do

Left: The nonprofit Green Guerillas in New York City provides resources to community gardens like this one on city-owned land near a subway line. Above: Guerrilla gardeners in Los Angeles plant water-thrifty succulents in a barren patch of ground to beautify a roadway.

KEYS TO SUCCESS Then there is Ron Finley’s example in well, though a few occasionally suffer from Garden writer Marty Ross became a Los Angeles. City law actually encouraged vandalism and other damage. Nevertheless, guerrilla gardener when she decided to plantings along the street, but required a Bunnell and his SoCal Guerrilla Gardening plant tulips in an empty lot near her $400 permit to include vegetables. Because compatriots keep planting on. former Kansas City, Missouri, home. Finley didn’t have a permit, he was ordered The owner of the property happened to to remove his flourishing edible garden. He LESSONS FROM A BULLDOZER walk by while she was placing the bulbs. successfully petitioned the city council to not Illegal but small-scale efforts that look pret- “What are you doing?” he demanded. only allow his garden to remain but also to ty are usually tolerated, but the situation “Planting tulips to make this look nicer,” change the guidelines so that others could can get more precarious when larger pieces Ross sweetly replied. That was fine with grow vegetables without needing a cost-pro- of land are in question. In 1973, a man go-

COURTESY OF SCOTT BUNNELL the owner and the tulips were gorgeous hibitive permit. Of course, the favorable, ing by the name of Adam Purple started

November / December 2016 25 working on an abandoned lot in the Lower East Side of Manhattan. By 1980, he and his neighbors looked upon 15,000 square feet of beautifully designed concentric cir- cles filled with vegetables and trees, which he dubbed the Garden of Eden. Shortly afterwards, the city announced the garden would be destroyed for public housing. Years of protest followed, but after a Federal judge cleared the way, it took just 75 minutes to demolish the garden one morning in January 1986. That action, and similar bulldozing events elsewhere, have been seared into the minds of many a guerrilla gardener. Small plantings, yes; long term, larger efforts, think twice. Rosie Sharp carried that lesson with her when she moved from New York City to Detroit, Michigan, in 2009. “You have to make an investment in the soil, particularly with regard to vegetables,” she says, “and that equity is totally lost when a developer A woman lends a hand weeding this garden that is supported by the NeighborSpace program, buys the property.” After joining a com- which helps communities in Chicago to access urban land legally and provides long-term support. munity garden in her new neighborhood, she discovered that the city owned the land, a source of healthy food. However, land Legal Initiative of the Public Interest Law which meant that the community garden values are rising in this area and the city Center, which provides pro bono work to was actually a guerrilla garden. is seeking to obtain revenue by selling underserved city residents. Her latest case Sharp decided to help the community such adjudicated properties. “The Ernst involves La Finquita, a guerrilla vegetable gain title to the land, which was among Garden was added to the City auction garden that has been a carefully tended more than 66,000 vacant lots in the city list earlier this year,” says Mwendo. “We community fixture for 29 years. according to the Detroit Land Bank Au- successfully had it removed, but it may In January 2016, garden members were thority. It proved to be no easy feat, but end up there again,” she adds. Mwendo literally locked out after the land was sold with her New York determination, she takes comfort from the fact that even if the to a developer. Cahn is arguing the case persisted in filling out reams of forms property is sold, it is such a tiny lot that it’s on the basis of adverse possession. This and attending innumerable meetings for unlikely anything could be built on it and concept, which has been in place in our three years. She not only organized a lim- still abide by the building code. “So, we country for over a century, varies from ited liability company to buy the garden, believe that the best use for it is its current state to state. In Pennsylvania, it means but also was instrumental in creating De- use as a community garden,” she says. that if a property is solely maintained by troit Land Forum, a program that advises Even with substantial legal assistance, a non-owner entity for over 21 years, the citizens on purchasing city-owned land. the preservation of a guerrilla garden may property reverts to that entity. not be assured. In Philadelphia, Amy Cahn estimates that it will take over a LEGAL CONUNDRUMS Laura Cahn heads up the Garden Justice year to determine the fate of La Finqui- Unlike Sharp, Jenga Mwendo doesn’t have ta through the court the time to conduct the legal research need- systems. Most guerrilla ed to save the Ernst Garden, a community gardeners can’t afford garden in her neighborhood in New Orle- and may not even have ans’ Lower 9th Ward. It is on land that was access to this degree of adjudicated to the city decades ago because legal expertise. In order of unpaid property taxes by the registered to facilitate resident-re- owner, who is likely deceased. Mwendo sponsible use of aban- started organizing neighbors to clean up and replant the garden in 2007. She established Guerrilla gardeners the nonprofit Backyard Gardeners Network turned an abandoned lot to help support this garden as well as create a in Philadelphia into an second community garden nearby. urban oasis they named Today, both are thriving vegetable gar- La Finquita, which means

dens serving as a community locus and “little farm.” TOP: COURTESY OF NEIGHBORSPACE. BOTTOM: LA FINQUITA

26 the American Gardener derutilized spaces,” says Ben Helphand, the organization’s executive director, “but they generally are lacking in terms of long-term preservation or ongoing stewardship.” NeighborSpace provides “an effective mechanism for communities to do what city governments and agencies can’t or won’t do,” says Helphand, em- powering citizens to create green spaces without having to worry about potential legal repercussions. In New York City, the community gardening scene has come a long way since Adam Purple’s time. However, the “overwhelming majority of community gardens are on city-owned land,” notes Steve Frillmann, executive director of Green Guerillas, a nonprofit that provides resources to such gardens. This means that these community gardens are still at risk for development, but now there are nu- This flourishing community garden, created legally through NeighborSpace in Chicago, merous organizations like Green Guerillas provides a source of fresh produce as well as a respite from its urban surroundings. to help advocate for them. This organization’s genesis goes back doned property, notes Cahn, “we must gardeners with their eye on an empty plot to the early 1970s, when Liz Christy led have the support of municipal govern- need not resort to guerrilla tactics. Instead, the transformation of a vacant lot in her ments.” Although many cities are trying a nonprofit called NeighborSpace will help neighborhood into a community garden, to implement better policies, the scope of community groups to either gain owner- and founded Green Guerillas to help the problem—hundreds of thousands of ship of or lease the vacant land. It also pro- others to establish community gardens abandoned plots across the country—is vides basic insurance, access to water, and in their own neighborhoods. Its variant one that often overwhelms stretched mu- connections to other support networks. To spelling aside, “this group did a wonderful nicipal budgets. ensure a garden’s longevity, NeighborSpace job helping to turn struggling neighbor- requires groups to identify several leaders for hoods around,” says its board member GETTING ORGANIZED the project and sign a partnership agreement Linda Yang. Today, the nonprofit offers Given the inevitable legal issues surrounding to maintain the property. a variety of resources, such as horticultur- guerrilla gardens, more formal approach- “Guerrilla gardening can play an imal education, fundraising assistance, and es have evolved. In Chicago, for example, portant role in drawing attention to un- consulting services to revitalize struggling or inactive community garden spaces. As a modifier, “guerrilla” is defined by Resources the Oxford English Dictionary as refer- Because guerrilla gardening is so site-specific in terms of climate and legal jurisdic- ring to actions or activities performed in tion, there is no single information source for all areas. A basic introduction, howev- an impromptu way, often without autho- er, can be found at www.WikiHow.com and searching for guerrilla gardening. rization. That word could well apply to citizens’ efforts to garden on abandoned More information about the regional organizations mentioned in the article is properties across our country. Gardening, available at these websites: however, tends to require a longer-term Backyard Gardeners Network, New Orleans, LA. www.backyardgardenersnetwork.org. investment that forces the guerrilla gar- Green Guerillas, New York, NY. www.greenguerillas.org. den concept to evolve. While the excite- NeighborSpace, Chicago, IL. www.neighbor-space.org. ment associated with surreptitious activity SoCal Guerrilla Gardening, Southern CA. www.socalguerrillagardening.org. lessens with that evolution, what remains is the powerful satisfaction of starting a Books garden that creates beauty, often provides Guerrilla Gardening: A Manualfesto by David Tracey, New Society Publishers, healthy food, and definitely enhances Gabriola Island, British Columbia, 2007. community life. On Guerrilla Gardening: A Handbook For Gardening Without Boundaries by Richard Reynolds, Bloomsbury USA, New York, NY, 2008. Patricia A. Taylor is a freelance writer based

COURTESY OF NEIGHBORSPACE in Princeton, New Jersey.

November / December 2016 27 Hardy, attractive, and easy to grow, fountain bamboo (Fargesia nitida) is one of the most popular clumping bamboos. SUSAN A. ROTH

28 the American Gardener USANNE LUCAS vividly remem- BASIC BAMBOO BOTANY feet, although you’ll find some that are bers her first encounter with bam- Among the fastest growing plants on shorter with a narrower spread and others Sboo. It was the late 1960s, and she earth, bamboos are members of the grass that grow quite tall. had ventured into her family’s Maryland family (Poaceae). Taxonomists have Bamboos spread by sending up new backyard with her pet guinea pig, which identified some 100 or so bamboo gen- shoots from the rhizomes each year. These immediately wiggled free and headed era, of which only a couple dozen are shoots, often clad in colorful, papery straight for the bamboo screen between widely cultivated in ornamental gardens. sheaths, emerge from the ground from Lucas’s property and the next door They are widely distributed globally, but late winter to early summer, depending neighbor’s. “I crawled in after him, and the hub of diversity for bamboos is in on species and region. Young shoots are it ended up being a magical experience tropical and subtropical regions of Asia. soft fleshed and easily broken or cut, but for both of us,” recalls Lucas. From a gardening standpoint, bam- they gradually become more woody as Lucas went on to become a horticul- boos are typically divided into two main they grow. Upward growth is achieved by turist, eventually settling in Boston, Mas- types: running and clumping. “All bam- expansion of the smooth sections of culm sachusetts, and those happy childhood boos are invasive to some extent, but it is between the thickened joints, termed memories were tarnished by the horror the rate of invasion that concerns us most nodes. Branches and foliage emerge from stories about bamboo’s invasive qualities as gardeners,” writes David Crompton these nodes. Bamboo foliage is typically linear or lance-shaped much like that of grasses but varies greatly in size depending on species. Individual leaves have bristle- like hairs on the margins and the undersides. The flowers, which form in small with clusters akin to those of standard grasses, Bamboos are tiny and rather insignificant (for more on flowers, see sidebar, page 33). BENEFITS AND LANDSCAPE USES So why grow clumping bamboos? Lucas Boundaries ticks off a long list of qualities she ad- mires: “Bamboos are relatively pest free, deer resistant, drought tolerant once es- Clumping bamboos, which don’t spread like their infamous tablished, long-lived, great CO2 recy- clers, provide shade and privacy and act runaway counterparts, allow gardeners to enjoy the beauty and as a sound barrier, as well as offer erosion control.” Lucas also points out that bam- grace of these giant members of the grass family. boos serve as excellent wildlife habitat, especially for birds, which can hide from predators in the dense clumps. BY JULIE BAWDEN-DAVIS Because bamboos are fast-growing, they are particularly good for creating focal points, screens, and hedges. “In the New she heard from colleagues and clients. in Ornamental Bamboos. It is the species England garden, I’m most attracted to the This unfavorable perception lasted until categorized as running bamboos that evergreen foliage of bamboo, including its she attended a presentation on clumping have resulted in bamboo’s reputation winter texture and movement in the wind bamboos at a professional conference and as an out-of-control landscape invader, during those four to five months of cold discovered there are many noninvasive because this type spreads by vigorous weather, because most of our traditional bamboo species that can be incorporated underground stems, termed rhizomes, evergreens are stiff and static at that time into home landscapes, even in temperate that can travel great distances, sending up of year,” says Lucas. climate regions. new shoots along the way. “Clumping bamboos are equally “It’s unfortunate that there is so much Clumping bamboos, on the other well-suited as specimen plantings,” notes hyperbole when it comes to bamboo,” hand, have a less invasive rhizome struc- Tracy Cato, owner/operator of Thigpen says Lucas, who is currently president ture. These plants form a tight cluster of Trail Bamboo Farm in Doerun, Georgia. of the American Bamboo Society (see upright stems—known as culms—that “There’s a lot to like about bamboos, but “Resources,” page 33). “Clumping bam- extend from a small root mass. These rhi- my favorite aspects are their beauty and boos are not only beautiful additions to zomes slowly extend outward in a circular fast-growing nature.” the landscape, but are truly adaptive and pattern at a rate between two to 12 inch- The wide range of bamboo sizes, grow- solve a host of landscaping and environ- es per year. Height and spread for most ing habits, and looks makes it possible to mental challenges.” clumping bamboos fall between 10 to 20 find one to complement just about any

November / December 2016 29 landscape, says Ralph Evans, owner of GROWING BAMBOO IN CONTAINERS Vista, California-based wholesaler Bo- If you live in a region where clumping bamboos won’t overwinter, or if you lack out- tanical Partners, home of Bamboo Head- door growing space, you can opt to grow them in large pots. Here are some tips for quarters, where they offer more than 300 successful container culture. bamboo varieties. “If you want a tall, lacy bamboo perfect for growing in the shade, Q Carefully consider container choice. Select a container that is larger than three- or a short, pendulous one for accenting a by-three feet and is made from a sturdy material such as concrete or thick metal. koi pond, you can find what you’re look- Drainage holes are essential. Ralph Evans suggests using a container that has a ing for,” he says. straight rather than curving shape, because this makes it easier to remove the plant when you need to repot. RECOMMENDED SELECTIONS Q Plant in high-quality potting soil. Use an organic, soilless mix that provides For best results, start by selecting bamboo excellent drainage. species appropriate to your local climate. Q Water weekly. In the absence of rainfall, flood the bamboo container once a “Do your homework,” says Cato. “Since week during the growing season and once every two weeks the rest of the year. many bamboos aren’t widely available, Never let the pot sit in standing water or the roots will rot. it’s generally best to buy from a nursery Q Fertilize occasionally. Containerized bamboo requires additional nutrients. Apply a that specializes in bamboo, as they can balanced, slow-release fertilizer at planting and then supplement with a high nitrogen recommend the appropriate species for fertilizer every three months during the growing season. your location.” Q Choose varieties carefully. Ideal choices for containers include Fargesia ru- Here are some recommendations for fa, Mexican weeping bamboo (Otatea acuminata ssp. aztecorum), and various clumping bamboos suited to different re- Chusquea species. The ‘Fernleaf’ cultivar of clumping bamboo (Bambusa mul- gions of the country. Keep in mind that tiplex) is also a good container choice, as is painted bamboo (Bambusa vulgaris microclimates also play a role in the type ‘Vittata’), which James Waddick notes grows quite large in the ground but can be of bamboo you can grow. For instance, kept to 10 feet tall in a container. many Fargesia species don’t do well in re- Q Expect to repot regularly. Bamboo in containers needs to be repotted every two gions that endure hot and humid nights. to three years because it rapidly becomes rootbound. “Remove the plant from More clumping bamboos are listed in a the container and either divide it into two or three sections, or prune the roots. chart on page 32. Replant in fresh soil,” says Evans. —J.B. FARGESIA The genus Fargesia is one of the most popular choices for temperate region gardeners. Several hardy species and selections are available. These Chi- nese natives are all relatively slow spreading, low-growing, and respond well to moderate shearing. Fountain bamboo (F. nitida): “This bamboo has dark purple to blue-gray culms and lacy foliage that creates a fountain-shaped, weeping growth pattern,” says Evans. The plants reach 12 to 15 feet tall. A selection ‘Jiuzhaigou’ grows nine to 12 feet tall and features intensely red culms that age to yellow, and delicate, graceful foliage. The culm color is brightest when plants grow in full sun. USDA Hardiness Zones 5–9, AHS Heat Zones 9–5. F. rufa (syn. F. dracocephala ‘Rufa’): This compact species has rusty-red culm sheaths that make a striking statement in the garden, says James W. Waddick, a garden book author who has grown bamboos for 30 years in his Kansas City, Missouri, garden. The culms themselves are bright green, maturing to yellow, and Fargesia rufa is low-growing—maxing out at three to six feet—and distinguished by the reach six to 10 feet tall and wide in full

rusty red sheaths that cloak new culms. It is a good choice for containers. sun to part shade. Zones 5–9, 9–1. COURTESY OF NOAH BELL, BAMBOO GARDEN

30 the American Gardener F. scabrida: The emerging culms of this species are covered in dark orange sheaths that eventually open to reveal lavender-blue culms that age to green. It grows 12 to 14 feet tall, with dark green, willowy leaves. This is one of the more heat tolerant of the fargesias, according to Lucas. Zones 6–9, 9–6.

BAMBUSA The genus Bambusa is native to tropical regions of China, so these selections are best suited to southern regions with long growing seasons and warm winters. Bambusa multiplex ‘Alphonse Karr’: This selection grows 12 to 20 feet high

Above: A cultivar of weaver’s bamboo, ‘Gracilis’ has a columnar habit and graceful, willowy foliage. Right: Often grown in a container, Bambusa multiplex ‘Golden Goddess’ has bright yellow culms.

with culms that are golden yellow with choice for narrow spaces. It has bluish- can be grown in American gardens. Of green striping. When exposed to sunlight green, thin-walled culms that can be these, the best choice is probably Mex- and as they mature, the culms take on used to weave baskets and willowy foliage ican climbing bamboo (Chusquea coro- a pink or deeper golden cast. Another that creates an attractive privacy screen. nalis, Zones 9–11, 11–1), which is native selection, ‘Golden Goddess’, grows six Zones 9–11, 12–8. to Mexico and Central America. This to 10 feet tall with bright golden culms. bamboo features graceful, arching culms Both selections form dense clumps with OTHER Although most of the bam- that reach 10 to 15 feet tall. The culms are attractive foliage. Zones 9–11, 12–1. boos in the genus Chusquea are native bright green to start, gradually becoming B. textilis ‘Gracilis’: Sometimes called to tropical or subtropical areas of South yellower as they mature. It is best sited in weaver’s bamboo, this upright bamboo and Central America, a few species that part shade and moist soil, or in a contain-

LEFT: JANET DAVIS. RIGHT: JERRY PAVIA grows 15 to 30 feet tall and is a good range into the highlands of Mexico er in temperate regions.

November / December 2016 31 MORE CLUMPING BAMBOOS TO CONSIDER Name Height Distinctive features Origin USDA Zones, (feet) AHS Zones Bambusa lako 20–30 Glossy, dark chocolate-colored culms Indonesia 9–11, 12–9 B. textilis ‘Kanapaha’ 20–50 Green culms with white cast Asia 8–11, 12–8 B. textilis ‘RG Dwarf’ 15–20 Compact selection Asia 8–11, 12–8 Fargesia denudata 10–15 Compact with arching canes China 6–8, 8–1 F. murieliae 10–14 Hardy species ideal for hedges, screens China 5–8, 8–5 F. robusta 12–15 Dark green foliage; light green culms China 5–9, 9–5 Otatea acuminata 15–20 Lacy foliage on arching culms Mexico 9–11, 12–1 ssp. aztecorum

Otatea acuminata Bambusa lako Fargesia murieliae ssp. aztecorum

EASY CARE to alkaline, but there is a misconception month, check the area daily and water Clumping bamboos are relatively easy to that they like to grow in water, accord- when the top one inch of soil has dried keep happy, especially if you are mindful ing to Waddick. “In fact, the plant will out. Once established, bamboos are fairly of a few cultivation tips. In choosing a do poorly in such situations. The roots drought tolerant, but they will grow fast- site, remember that these bamboos will like to go in and get some water, but the er if you water them regularly. When the spread gradually, so don’t plant them too crown and rhizomes should never soak leaves begin to curl and their undersides close to walkways, fences, or trees. in it,” he says. Symptoms of overwatered become dull, that’s a sign you need to Choose a location in full sun to part bamboo are yellow, spotted foliage. water, says Evans. shade, depending on species and your “Bamboo is sensitive to desiccation, While bamboos aren’t heavy feeders, region. When it comes to sun exposure, especially in winter, so any protection they will look their best if fertilized oc- bamboo is quite tolerant. “Bamboo will you can offer will help,” says Lucas. If casionally. Feed in spring, midsummer, adapt to where it’s planted,” says Evans. you live in a region that gets drying winds and early fall with a fertilizer that is high “In a shady spot, the leaves may grow or have a garden that is particularly ex- in nitrogen, such as a 20-5-5, which will smaller than in full sun, and the plant posed to the elements, plant bamboo in promote foliage growth. may be shorter.” the understory or where it will be shield- Bamboos should be thinned regularly Ensure that the planting area has ed by other plants or structures. to keep them looking their best. This can good drainage. Bamboos can grow in Water bamboo on a regular basis for be done any time of year. Remove no more

a wide variety of soil types, from acidic the first year after planting. For the first than one-third of the culms at each pruning, LEFT TO RIGHT: JERRY PAVIA; JUDYWHITE, GARDENPHOTOS.COM; COURTESY OF THIGPENTRAILBAMBOO.COM

32 the American Gardener Sources Bamboo Garden, North Plains, OR. (503) 647-2700. www.bamboogarden.com. Lewis Bamboo, Oakman, AL. (877) 796-2263. www.lewisbamboo.com. Thigpen Trail Bamboo Farm, Doerun, GA. (706) 255-4901. www.thigpentrailbamboo.com.

Resources American Bamboo Society, (www.bamboo.org). Q The American Bamboo Society (ABS) currently has more than 700 members worldwide. Its mission is to spread the appreciation of bamboo, provide information regarding the plant’s landscape uses, propagation, identification, and care, and support bamboo research. The ABS sponsors regular chapter events, including A good choice for gardens in temperate climates, Fargesia robusta grows 10 to 15 feet tall conferences, tours, and plant sales. with culms that start off green and turn yellow as they mature. It has introduced many bamboo species to the United States through the U.S. Department of Agriculture. FACTS ON FLOWERING Ornamental Bamboos by David The flowering of bamboos is perhaps the most misunderstood aspect of the plant Crompton. Timber Press, Portland, group. Unlike most plants, the majority of bamboos live for decades before flower- OR, 2006. ing. Because the intervals between flowering are so long, researchers don’t yet have reliable data on the mechanics of flowering and whether the cutting each cane at the base. When prun- intervals are consistent within individual species. ing, it’s a good idea to wear sturdy gloves and Some species are in flower very briefly; others eye protection, as the leaf blades can cause bloom for weeks or months. small but painful cuts. For privacy screening, A few bamboo species are known for flower- you may choose to do very little pruning so ing in unison across their distribution range, a that you have as dense a planting as possible. phenomenon known as the “gregarious flowering Bamboo used as hedging can be sheared in stage.” In his book Ornamental Bamboos, David late summer and late fall. Crompton cites the well known example of foun- Given clumping bamboo’s many at- tain bamboo (Fargesia nitida), which Western tributes, Waddick says it’s unfortunate horticulturists first observed flowering in the early that many gardeners lump all bamboos 1990s in the United Kingdom. Subsequently, into the invasive category. “I urge people Like other grasses, bamboo plants of the same species began to flower in to try clumping varieties,” he says. “If it produces insignificant flowers. Europe and North America. Because the plants gets too rambunctious, you can always expended much of their energy producing flowers remove it.” Chances are you may fall in and seeds, some clumps declined or died. love with bamboo and wonder why you “Clumping bamboo in full flower doesn’t have enough reserved energy stored in hadn’t planted it long before. its rhizome system to survive, so the bamboo generally dies,” says Noah Bell, general manager of Bamboo Garden, a retail and mail-order nursery in North Plains, Oregon. Julie Bawden-Davis is a Certified Master Propagating such species by seed essentially resets the clock, and the resulting Gardener, blogger, and author of numerous bamboos will have a long lifespan. “Given the investment and the time it takes to plant books and articles on both indoor and out- bamboo, it’s advisable to find out as much as possible about the origins of the bamboo door gardening. She lives in Orange County, you are buying to ensure that it won’t flower anytime soon,” says Bell. —J.B.

TOP: MARK TURNER. BOTTOM: COURTESY OF NOAH BELL, BAMBOO GARDEN California.

November / December 2016 33 Wild Greens BY CAROLE OTTESEN

Harvesting edible weeds from the garden makes weeding a much more satisfying experience.

O, WILD GREENS are not a pro-environment political Nparty. They are plants—okay, okay, weeds—that you can eat. My association with them began one fine spring morning some 40 years ago when an el- derly man came into my Maryland yard and asked permission to cut poke. Poke? Poke! An old Elvis song came to mind:

Down in Louisiana Where the alligators grow so mean There lived a girl that I swear to the world Made the alligators look tame Poke salad Annie, poke salad Annie

I followed him, mystified, to a fenced area along the road that had once been a paddock. He’d seen a mess of it growing the previous fall, reckoned it would be up about now. He pointed to a familiar weed I knew by its scientific name, Phytolacca americana, and indicated a tubular shoot with a gnarled finger. “You got to get it when it’s like that— just a-comin’ out,” he said, slicing off the shoot with a pocket knife. “It’s good eatin’ but first, you got to boil it in two changes of water. It’s poison, don’t you know.” Poison! No wonder Elvis’s poke salad Annie was mean. The old man left with a shopping bag full of it. “There’s still plenty for you,” he said. Not on your life, I thought. Still, that spring as I fussed over my Numerous common garden weeds make nutritious and tasty additions to the salad bowl. tiny lettuces and peas, I contemplated the irony of vegetables that grow tentatively, DANDELION The dandelion’s fall from grace began in always at risk from drought or deer, slugs, Dandelions (Taraxacum officinale) were the mid-20th century, when they became or insects, while weeds like poke shoot well known in ancient Egypt, Greece, one of the primary targets of our national ob- up, robust and abundant. Of course, and Italy and have been used in Chinese session with pristine, ping-pong-table lawns. that’s what makes them weeds. traditional medicine for many centu- Yet despite decades of herbicide spraying The dictionary defines a weed as “any ries. Early European colonists brought and back-breaking hand weeding, these in- undesired, uncultivated plant that grows in seeds to North America with them so defatigable plants still pop up in yards in all profusion as to crowd out a desired crop, they could grow dandelions for medici- 50 states, Canada, and Puerto Rico. disfigure a lawn….” The phrase “disfigure nal purposes, and the dandelions found The genus name, Taraxacum, is de-

a lawn” brings dandelions to mind. conditions to their liking. rived from the Greek taraxos, meaning GRACE HENSLEY

34 the American Gardener “disorder,” and akos for “remedy.” Both While dandelions have not yet ac- roots and leaves have been used as a pu- quired the gourmet cachet they have in TIPS ON GROWING AND rifying tonic for the liver and immune Europe, their popularity is growing, and HARVESTING WEEDS system and as a mild diuretic, a phenome- dandelion farming has become a big busi- non that gave rise to the French common ness in the United States. Q Always positively identify weeds name, pissenlit—literally, piss in bed. Vineland, New Jersey, has become the before eating them. Once you learn As well as substantiating earlier uses, self proclaimed “dandelion capital of the them, you can forage anywhere. modern research has found that chenode- world,” and holds a Dandelion Festival “Most wild gourmet garden vege- oxycolic acid, a substance found in dande- each year to prove it. “Vineland is famous tables are the same all over North lions, dissolves cholesterol. Other studies for dandelions because it was a huge crop America,” says wild food authority suggest additional compounds in dandelions here, planted by Italian immigrants who John Kallas of Portland, Oregon. Q Avoid harvesting weeds from any site that may have been treated with pesticides, or that is so close to a roadway that plants may be tainted by car emissions or road runoff. Q If you grow rather than forage for wild greens, give them the TLC you would any vegetable. Wild green seedlings thrive with light, air, nutrients, and room to grow. Enrich the soil with compost. Q Greens such as nettles, lambsquarters, and purslane get tough when mature, so treat them as cut-and- come-agains. Trim them back regularly to encourage tender, new growth. —C.O.

putting out new growth and before the plants flower. The flavor of the leaves, akin to sharp-flavored lettuces like endive, becomes extremely bitter after bloom when the weather gets hot. Mix the piquant young leaves with milder greens in salads. Add crumbled feta cheese, dried cranberries, or chopped ap- ples. Or combine leaves with other greens and sautée them in olive oil with a dash of balsamic vinegar or lemon juice. The flower buds and roots are also edible, and of course the flower petals have long been used to make dandelion wine. LAMBSQUARTERS The distinctive yellow flowers of dandelions can be used to make dandelion wine. Like dandelions, lambsquarters (Che- nopodium album) are an ancient food. lower blood sugar levels, stimulate immune established homes here,” explains Dawn The Vikings ate them and left a recipe cells, and retard tumor formation. Hunter, executive director of the Greater for them, “Kokt Svinmatta.” Grown in Dandelions’ nutritional profile rockets Vineland Chamber of Commerce. Europe since the Bronze Age, their leaves off the charts. Ounce per ounce, the leaves Dandelion greens are increasingly are a rich source of vitamins with 349 per- are higher in vitamin A than broccoli, car- available at both farmer’s markets and cent of the daily requirement for vitamin rots, or spinach. They contain potassium, supermarkets, but why pay for them A and 111 percent for vitamin C, as well as iron, calcium, zinc, and vitamin E. And their when you likely have plenty of them al- folate, calcium, iron, protein, and dietary vitamin C content was great enough to keep ready in your garden? Gather the leaves fiber. But they fell from favor when spin- employees in the early days of Hudson’s Bay during mild spells in winter or in the cool ach, with larger leaves and shorter stems,

MARK TURNER Company from developing scurvy. months of spring or fall when they are arrived from Asia in the 16th century.

November / December 2016 35 Unlike spinach, lambsquarters—sometimes called goosefoot for the shape of the leaves—don’t peter out when the weather warms. That’s when they take off, soaring to as much as six feet in rich, moist soil, but more commonly reaching three feet. You can prolong the production of new leaves by harvesting frequently, or simply lopping off old stalks to stimulate new growth. The small young leaves, and sometimes the stems, are coated with a mealy white dust, giving them a gray cast. Interchangeable in recipes calling for spinach, lambsquarters excel in a Gruyere

A fast-growing annual weed, lambsquarters produce leaves that can be used like spinach in a wide variety of recipes.

cheese-charged white sauce as a filling for crêpes. Or use them in a quiche or frittata alone or mixed with other greens. Stir fry them or mix them with ricotta cheese to make a filling for lasagna. NETTLES Nettles (Urtica dioica) start growing in early spring before most other plants, a trait that makes them popular in cold places. Eating them is a spring rite in northern lands such as Ireland, Scotland, and Scandinavia. Wherever they grow, it is with wild abandon. They spread by rhizomes and seed, and thwart eradication by stinging when touched. “Stinging nettles” raise fe- rocious welts on those with particularly sensitive skin. For these reasons, few people tolerate them in gardens, but they are easy to find growing wild just about anywhere—especially on woodland edges and in vacant lots. On the West Coast there is a regional strain identified as Urtica dioica var. californica, that is just as stingy and edible as the species. Despite their bad rap, nettles are nutritional superstars, containing more than 25 percent protein as well as calcium, magnesium, potassium, selenium, zinc, and vitamins A and C. Herbalists value their medicinal qualities, particularly as a remedy for cystitis and for treating immune response disorders such as arthritis. Harvest nettles carefully, using thick gloves, but be assured they lose their sting as soon as they are cooked. “To me,” says wild edibles authority John Kallas, director

of Wild Food Adventures in Portland, Ore- ROB CARDILLO

36 the American Gardener gon, “nettles are a replacement for any green are rather widely spaced on prostrate stems. in any recipe. They’re wonderful in lasagna.” This tendency to sprawl makes harvesting Recipes for nettle soup abound. I find difficult. Pinch the tips of young plants for they taste bland, so I like to mix them with a steadier supply of shorter, more upright lambsquarters, dandelions, collards, or kale greens. This will also delay formation of the in a mess of cooked greens. Be sure to use on- tiny white flowers. ly young leaves. Eating the older leaves, says Chickweed favors moist, rich soil and Kallas, “is like chewing on rope—even when is very easy to identify. A line of fine hairs they are cooked well.” This is not surprising, runs down only one side of the stem un- as nettle stalks were once used for making til it hits a leaf, then switches to the oth- rope and a linenlike cloth. er side. Eat it raw as a pretty addition to salads or blended with basil or parsley as CHICKWEED part of an excellent pesto. In her book Another common wild green with nutri- Backyard Foraging, Ellen Zachos suggests tional value and a long history is chick- it’s “an excellent substitute for sprouts or weed (Stellaria media). An annual, it is one shredded lettuce” on sandwiches. of the earliest greens available at the cool extremes of the growing season, often vis- PURSLANE ible poking through snow in winter thaws. In the same family as chickweed, purslane Chickweed is one of the most widespread (Portulaca oleracea) is a succulent annual weeds, occurring throughout the world’s weed that favors hot, sandy soil. It is fre- temperate and Arctic regions. quently found in the cracks in sidewalks The common name derives from the Gardeners may avoid nettles because of in midsummer at precisely the time when fact that birds find it delectable. During their sting, but once cooked, the plants lose many other greens disappear or become Elizabethan times, it was fed to falcons. this unpleasant trait. too bitter to eat. The spoon-shaped muci- People still offer it to caged birds as a ton- laginous leaves and round, succulent stems ic, rich in vitamin C and phosphorus. ulcers, and is still effective, crushed and comprise the greatest source of omega-3 Chickweed is good for people, too. It applied to itchy, irritated skin. A tea from fatty acids in the green world. Purslane also has a nutritional content and cooked fla- the entire plant yields a soothing drink contains more beta-carotene and six times vor comparable to that of spinach and a for colds and flu. According to herbalists, more vitamin E than spinach, along with medicinal tradition that dates to antiquity. chickweed contains saponins that emul- iron, high levels of magnesium and potassi- The Greek physician Dioscorides recom- sify fats, which may account for its use in um, and vitamins C and A. mended it for eye and ear inflammation. folk medicine as a remedy for obesity. Purslane’s primary use throughout Throughout history, it has been used in Chickweed is delicate with small—about history and the world was as a food plant. poultice form to treat inflammation and half an inch long—spoon-shaped leaves that Ancient Egyptians prized it, and it is still

Chickweed (above) and purslane (right) are both low-growing annual weeds, but the former

TOP: ROB CARDILLO. BOTTOM LEFT: ALEKSANDRA SZYWALA. RIGHT: GRACE HENSLEY thrives in cool, moist conditions, while the latter prefers it warm and dry.

November / December 2016 37 used in traditional dishes in India and the a few cooks still pickle them for winter sal- just the stems and leaves, to prevent the Middle East. Although it wasn’t grown ads. Some people plant purslane or gold- plants from regrowing. in Europe until about the 16th century, en purslane (P. sativa), which has larger Garlic mustard’s flavor is a robust blend- by the mid-18th century, Martha Wash- yellow leaves and grows more upright. ing of its namesakes. Add it raw to hearty ington was pickling it in the New World. Others find just enough wild plants in sandwiches, include it in pesto, or let its Mexicans call it verdolaga and use it in cracks in the sidewalks and along the patio lusty flavor star in a stuffing for pork roast soups, tortillas, and omelets. And, mixed to enjoy for summer meals. As weeds go, or roast beef. Or, lightened up by mixing in equal parts with sorrel (Rumex acetosa), purslane is generally well-behaved. with lambsquarters or spinach and onions, purslane is an okralike component of the it makes an excellent side dish for lamb. classic French bonne femme soup. A WEED YOU LOVE TO HATE Young purslane leaves and shoots A European native biennial, garlic mus- GRAZING THE GARDEN enliven salads with a citrusy tang. Older tard (Alliaria petiolata), is a nuisance in There is beautiful economy in weeding the shoots and leaves are fine as a potherb, and gardens, but its real threat is as an escapee garden and in so doing, putting tasty and Resources Backyard Foraging by Ellen Zachos. Storey Publishing, North Adams, MA, 2013. The Encyclopedia of Edible Plants of North America by Francois Couplan and James A. Duke. Keats Publish- ing, New Canaan, CT, 1998. Feasting Free on Wild Edibles by Bradford Angier. Stackpole Books, Mechanicsburg, PA, 2001. The Herbal Epicure by Carole Ottesen. Ballantine Wellspring, NY, 2001. Edible Wild Plants: Wild Foods From Dirt To Plate by John Kallas, Gibbs Smith, Layton, UT, 2010. The Wild Vegetarian Cookbook by Steve Brill. Harvard Common Press, Boston, MA, 2002. Seed Sources for Wild Greens Highly invasive garlic mustard was first introduced from Europe as a food plant. Its strong- Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Co., flavored foliage should be harvested before its flowers appear atop its stems in spring. Mansfield, MO. (417) 924-8917. www.rareseeds.com. in natural areas. In North America, garlic nutritious foods on your table. Once you Q Nettles, others. mustard is a noxious invasive throughout start harvesting wild greens, you may find Garden Medicinals and Culinaries, the eastern half of the continent, as well your views of vegetable gardening altered. Earlysville, VA. (434) 964-9113. as in many central and western states. In You may never grow spinach again, in- www.gardenmedicinals.com. rich, moist, shady places, it spreads swiftly, stead choosing to pick the lambsquarters Q Dandelions, garlic mustard, crowding out native understory plants. that arrive on their own. You may never nettles, purslane. Given that garlic mustard is highly again bother raising endive when dande- Richters Herbs, Goodwood, ON. nutritious—full of vitamins along with lion greens are readily available. And on Canada. (905) 640-6677. iron, calcium, and omega-3 fatty acids— those long January evenings, instead of www.richters.com. it is doubly satisfying to pull and eat poring over seed catalogs you may choose Q Lambsquarters, nettles, this plant. The most tender, best-tast- to read about other weedy and wild can- dandelions, purslane. ing leaves are the first-year rosettes and didates—such as fiddlehead ferns, sorrel, Southern Exposure Seed Exchange, the small, scalloped leaves on the stalk, prickly pear cactus, and kudzu—for fu- Mineral, VA. (540) 894-9480. harvested before the terminal clusters of ture culinary efforts. www.southernexposure.com. white flowers develop. If you are foraging Q Purslane in the wild, pull as many plants as you Weed gourmand Carole Ottesen is a contrib-

can, being sure to remove the roots, not uting writer for The American Gardener. JANET DAVIS

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Making Pest and Disease Control More Effective by Scott Aker

OW DO YOU cope with the with fungicide if there is a long stretch of of damaged plants. When they feel they inevitable insects, diseases, dry, sunny days. Similarly, there is no need must spray, they are more likely to try Hand weeds that threaten the to treat for pests that are not present at the folk remedies and homemade concoc- beauty and productivity of your garden? moment. With more frequent and careful tions that they deem safer than commer- Some gardeners are willing to take what- monitoring, these gardeners may be sur- cially available products. ever measure is necessary to keep their favorite tree, shrub, or perennial in good health, but more and more say they rarely use pesticides, and others avoid them completely. After years of experience diagnosing garden problems for homeowners, I find most of us can be more efficient and effective if we pay more attention to the cues nature gives us before we react. CONVENTIONAL Gardeners who tend toward a conventional approach of using synthetic pesticides often seek perfection—such as flowers for show compe- titions—or have amassed collections of plants that simply cannot Designed by Rosalind Creasy and Green Willow Gardens, Marva and John Warnock’s organic be replaced—such as decades-old bon- backyard garden in Northern California incorporates a variety of ornamental and edible plants. sai—and have little tolerance for any type of plant damage. They are aware prised at how much spraying can be elimi- Like those who follow conventional of the main pest and disease threats that nated without compromising their plants. practices, organic gardeners can benefit from their plants face, and are willing to spend more purposeful observation of the plants hours treating them with pesticides if ORGANIC in their garden, with an eye to spotting necessary. In some cases, they may be On the other end of the spectrum are problems early. Most organic approaches guided by a schedule that dictates what organic gardeners who have sworn off to pest control work best if applied before their plants need to be sprayed with and synthetic pesticides entirely. They focus damage has occurred, so monitoring is key. when—just in case an insect pest appears on improving the foundation of the It’s also helpful to consider how effective a or weather conditions favor a disease. garden—soil—by incorporating large control measure might be before investing Those who practice conventional pest amounts of organic matter and using heavily in it. For example, many of the ben- control can, in most instances, refine their cover crops. When plants are attacked eficial insects that can be purchased for re- program to save time and money by rely- by pests or afflicted with diseases, these lease in the garden to control pests—such as ing less on the calendar and more on what gardeners can tolerate a great deal of ladybugs to control aphids—provide little is actually happening in the garden. For damage. They’ll do almost anything to long-term benefit because the “beneficial”

instance, they can skip treating their roses avoid spraying, including the removal insects won’t stick around. Conservation SAXON HOLT

40 the American Gardener of existing beneficial insects by creating a Gardening Q&A with Scott Aker hospitable environment for them is much more effective. With home remedies such IN SEARCH OF PLANTS FOR WINTER CONTAINERS as garlic and hot pepper sprays, it is difficult I’ve really enjoyed my container garden all season, but everything is gone after the to determine whether they work unless you first frost and I’m tired of pansies and kale. My containers hold about 20 gallons make careful observation of the extent of of soil and I live in USDA Hardiness Zone 5. What can I grow in them in winter? the problem before and after the treatment. I’m looking for something tall but don’t want it in the containers over the summer. You also need to be familiar with the life cycle of the pest or disease you are dealing You should limit yourself to plants that are hardy to Zone 3 or 4 because con- with to be sure that the problem did not tainer plants always experience more extreme temperatures than those grown in simply resolve itself because of a completed the ground, where the mass of soil provides considerable insulation. While there life stage or change in weather conditions. are many perennials that are hardy in these zones, they are usually dormant in Be aware that even organic pesticides winter and won’t provide much of a seasonal display. such as rotenone or pyrethrum come Your best bet is to cut branches of evergreens, such as conifers and hollies, with their own concerns. Rotenone has and arrange them in the pots. They will look good for several weeks before you been implicated in the development of need to replace them with fresh branches. Parkinson’s disease, and pyrethrum kills bees and has been linked to development FERN DROPS LEAVES INDOORS of allergies in some people. I have a Boston fern that does well out on the porch each summer, but when I INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT bring it indoors for winter, it sheds tons of leaves. What can I do to stop this? In the middle of the road, we have those Ferns like high humidity, so it’s the low who practice Integrated Pest Management humidity and decreased light intensity (IPM), a concept originally developed for of the indoor environment that causes agricultural use that has been adopted by the fronds of your fern to dry and fall off. home gardeners. In an IPM program, Give the plant as much sunlight as possi- science-based solutions are applied in ac- ble while it is indoors, and keep it as cool cordance with detailed observation, data as you can. It’s a good idea to put ferns collection, and accepted levels of tolerance on a large tray filled with pebbles and for the presence of a given pest or disease. water to keep the humidity higher around IPM gardeners regularly check their the plant. Keep the water level just below plants for insects and consult weather fore- the bottom of the pot so the soil doesn’t casts to know when diseases are likely to get waterlogged. —S.A. develop. They maintain sticky yellow cards and other devices in their yard to monitor Send your gardening questions to Scott Aker at [email protected] (please include your the presence of insect pests, and they have city and state with submissions). thoroughly investigated every pesticide they use, categorizing them in terms of their tox- Those who have espoused convention- At the same time, some IPM folks have icity and holding them as a last resort when al control methods have had to adapt to begun to acknowledge the need for a more all other control efforts have failed. new realities. Many of the pesticides in holistic approach by including all the pa- No matter how much monitoring they their arsenal in days past are simply not rameters of plant growth in their program do, however, they will at some point fail available anymore. A few once-reliable instead of just targeting pests and diseases. to recognize and deal with a major pest chemicals became ineffective as fungi, Some horticulturists have even been using or disease problem. IPM practitioners can mites, and insects became resistant to other terms such as Total Plant Manage- enjoy their gardens more if, rather than them. New problems that cannot be ment (TPM) to express their expanded focusing on the pests and diseases, they managed with pesticides, such as rose ro- interest in soil health and garden ecology. gain a deeper knowledge of how insects sette disease, have appeared, necessitating If you are like me, your approach and microorganisms, good and bad, fit consideration of other control options. does not fit neatly into one philosophy. into the entire ecosystem. They might The organic approach has become We should accept the fact that we can strive to do more soil preparation to stack more refined, with an emphasis now on re- never control every problem that comes the odds in the plant’s favor. search aimed at developing organic systems our way, and we should strive to learn for all kinds of crops. Once a fringe move- from other gardeners who might do CHANGE IS INEVITABLE ment, organic gardening has turned into things differently than we do. In the time I have spent working in hor- a mainstream business. Organic gardeners ticulture, these three pest and disease have more pesticides available for their use Scott Aker is head of horticulture and management philosophies have begun as essential oils and fungal derivatives are education at the United States National

COURTESY OF FOREST AND KIM STARR to converge and overlap. developed against pests and diseases. Arboretum in Washington, D.C.

November / December 2016 41 HOMEGROWNC HARVEST

Luscious Lemongrass by Kris Wetherbee

F YOU ENJOY the citrusy scent of fresh lemons, you will love growing Ilemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus) in your garden. The graceful, arching leaves release a strong lemony fragrance when cut or bruised. Best known for its use in herb teas and in Thai and Vietnamese cuisine, the bulbous base and tender lower parts of its stem have a delightful, milder lemon flavor with a hint of ginger and grassiness, but without any of the acidity. GROWING GUIDELINES Lemongrass is a two- to four-foot-tall, clump-forming grass. Some researchers suspect it is originally native to South- east Asia, where it has a long history of culinary use, but it is widely distributed in tropical regions worldwide. Of the more than 50 species in the genus Cymbopogon, two are used for culinary purposes—West Indian lemongrass (C. citratus, USDA Hardiness Zones 9–11, AHS Heat Zones 12–1) and East Indian lemongrass (C. flexuosus, Zones 9–11, 12–1). West Indian lemongrass is the most popular because its stalks are larger and more bulbous at the stem base. Both lemongrass species can be grown as perennials in USDA Hardiness Zones 9 to 11 and even may survive winters in Zone 8 if The citrus-scented leaves and stems of lemongrass are essential in Southeast Asian cuisine. heavily mulched in late fall. In cooler zones, lemongrass is best grown as an annual, or treated as a tender perennial and brought ditional compost, well-rotted manure, indoors before the first frost. In fact, lem- or earthworm castings to the soil prior ongrass looks great in containers, whether to planting. During the growing season, Sources spending the warm season outdoors or win- topdress the soil with an organic fertiliz- Goodwin Creek Gardens, Williams, ter indoors near a large sunny window. er or apply liquid fertilizer or manure tea OR. (800) 846-7359. For optimal growth, plant lemongrass every few weeks. www.goodwincreekgardens.com. in full sun in rich, free draining, neutral to I’ve grown lemongrass in both con- Johnny’s Selected Seeds, slightly acidic soil kept consistently moist tainers and in the ground in my Oregon Winslow, ME. (877) 564-6697. during the growing season. Digging in a garden (USDA Zone 7b). A well-cared-for www.johnnyseeds.com. two- to six-inch layer of shredded leaves, plant in the ground will grow to maturity Richters, Goodwood, Ontario. compost, or other organic material will in a single season, but since I’m seldom (905) 640-6677. www.richters.com. help improve drainage; soil that doesn’t successful overwintering it outdoors, I dig W. Atlee Burpee & Co., Warminster, PA. drain well will quickly kill plants. up a few stalks to bring indoors for win- (800) 888-1447. www.burpee.com. Lemongrass is a moderate feeder. Im- ter. The key is to trim the stalks so they are

prove soil fertility by incorporating ad- only a few inches tall, then plant them in NANCY J. ONDRA

42 the American Gardener smaller pots to overwinter in a bright, east- or south-facing window. The plants won’t GETTING STARTED actively grow, but the roots will be ready to Lemongrass can be started from seed, but using go in the ground come spring. transplants brings faster and more successful har- Plants that have been growing for vests in most regions. Look for seedlings at garden more than a year may become crowded centers or online sources (see “Sources,” opposite and less productive. They can be divided page). Seedlings can be planted outdoors once soil in spring by digging up or unpotting the has warmed to at least 60 degrees Fahrenheit. clumps and breaking them into smaller Alternatively, you can start your clumps from ones, ensuring that each section has roots stalks (shown right) bought at a supermarket, so they can be replanted. Asian market, or farmer’s market, preferably with a few little roots attached. Root the stalks by PESTS AND DISEASES trimming off the top few inches and then putting Few pests bother culinary lemongrass, the base in an inch or two of water. Change the likely because it contains strong-smelling water every two or three days; the roots will form essential oils. Diseases that do occur, such within a few weeks. Well-rooted stalks can then as rust, are usually caused by unfavorable be planted. —K.W. growing conditions, especially soggy soil or poor air circulation. The solution is to improve drainage, lighten clay soil with resprout as long as you cut it back to just nades, fish and poultry dishes, stir-fries, lots of organic matter, or grow plants in above the soil line. For best results, wait until and curries. The entire stalk can be containers filled with a lightweight com- several stems have formed and simply break chopped or bundled and used fresh or mercial potting mix that drains well. An- or cut off a couple at a time as needed. dried to make an herbal tea. Put chopped other benefit of container plants is that The stalk itself is very tough. For cook- leaves in a muslin bag or giant tea ball to they can be moved to areas that receive ing, remove a couple of the outer fibrous infuse the flavor into soups, stews, or rice; better ventilation, if needed. layers to get to the prime bulbous base and remove the muslin bag or tea ball after white to purple inner core. You can save cooking is done. Lemongrass can even be ENJOYING THE HARVEST the tough parts to flavor liquids. If you har- used to flavor cookies, milkshakes, and Each lemongrass plant can produce from vest more lemongrass than you can use at other sweet treats. Once you’ve grown six to 12 or more harvestable stalks at ma- once, you can store the stalks in plastic bags lemongrass yourself, you are sure to find turity. You can begin harvesting as soon as in the freezer for several months. For lon- many other ways to enjoy it. plants are a foot tall and the stem’s base is a ger-term storage, the stalks can be dried. half inch thick. Make sure to cut below the The finely chopped base and inner Kris Wetherbee grows lemongrass in her white swollen end; the remaining stem will core of lemongrass can be used in mari- garden in Oakland, Oregon.

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November / December 2016 43 TRAVELERC’S GUIDE TO GARDENS

Shangri La Botanical Gardens & Nature Center by Lynn Brinkley

OR A garden named after an earth- ly paradise, Shangri La Botanical FGardens & Nature Center in Orange, Texas, has had to go through a number of daunting challenges to become what it is today. The first incarna- tion of Shangri La originated with Henry Jacob Lutcher Stark, the scion of a family that established a lucrative lumber company in Orange in the late 1800s. Stark began his private garden in 1937, naming it after the utopian setting in James Hilton’s 1933 novel, Lost Horizon. Stark’s vision of paradise included both an oasis in his collected azaleas and camellias and the preservation of a cypress–tupelo swamp— a natural community indigenous to the Gulf Coast—which flanked his home. “At a time when an interest in protecting the environment was not in vogue, Mr. Stark created Shangri La to be a place where people could live in harmony with nature,” says Rick J. Lewandowski, Shangri La’s current director. WEATHERING THE YEARS Beginning in 1946, Stark opened his private garden to public viewing each spring. Thousands of people came to see his impressive azalea collection in full bloom, along with many other colorful tropical and subtropical plants. The garden suf- fered its first major setback in 1958, when a devastating snowstorm killed most of the plants. Shangri La subsequently closed, not to be reopened for 50 years. Stark died in 1965, but he and his wife, Nelda, had established the Stark Founda- tion a few years prior to his passing. For decades, the foundation supported projects that benefited southeast Texas communities, but it wasn’t until 2002 that the foundation set a goal of restoring Shangri La and showcasing the property’s near- Top: The cypress–tupelo swamp of the Adams Bayou borders the botanical garden. Above: by ecosystems for educational purposes.

Spanish moss, orchids, and other tropical plants thrive in the century-old Epiphyte House. Work was set to begin in 2005, but di- PHOTOS ON THIS PAGE AND OPPOSITE COURTESY OF SHANGRI LA BOTANICAL GARDENS & NATURE CENTER

44 the American Gardener Surrounded in spring by blooming azaleas, the iconic Cypress Gate overlooking the Pond of the Blue Moon is made from the logs of cypress trees salvaged in the aftermath of Hurricane Rita, which devastated much of the Gulf Coast of the United States in 2005. saster struck when Hurricane Rita blew garden features aquatic plants that serve birds each year, along with numerous tur- through and destroyed more than 50,000 as a biofilter for water from nearby Ruby tles, fish, and alligators. trees on the Stark property alone. Lake. This 15-acre manmade water feature Among the staff’s favorite spots is the To make the best of the situation, provides vital habitat to 5,000 migratory Pond of the Blue Moon. In addition to Shangri La’s planners repurposed the being “a relaxing space to enjoy views of fallen trees for other uses within the re- Additional Information the garden,” Lewandowski says, “this is development project. The garden finally one of the best places to view the azaleas opened to the public in 2008, but was Shangri La Botanical Gardens in bloom in March.” More than 40 vari- again struck by an extreme weather event & Nature Center eties of azaleas, many of which represent with flooding from Hurricane Ike in Sep- 2111 W. Park Avenue, Orange, TX 77630. the older varieties Stark grew, put on a daz- tember that year, causing it to close for (409) 670–9113. http://starkcultural zling show each spring. further renovation until March 2009. venues.org/shangrilagardens. In addition to these cultivated landscapes, Shangri La offers a wilder version PARADISE FOUND Q Hours: Open year round of paradise, represented by a “complex ma- At 252 acres, the contemporary Shangri La Tuesday–Saturday, 9 a.m.–5 p.m. trix of wetlands, bayous, and swamps that serves a dual purpose as both a horticultural Q Admission: Adults (ages 18–64) $6; are extremely important habitat for a wide display and as a wetland habitat. Its Dis- seniors (age 65 and up) and youth (ages range of aquatic and terrestrial wildlife,” says covery Theater and Nature Center are 10–17) $5; Children (ages 4–9) $2 Lewandowski. Boat tours through Adams LEED-certified buildings—Shangri La was Q Shangri La Botanical Gardens & Bayou, which borders the property and the first facility in Texas to be certified as a Nature Center participates in AHS’s its cypress–tupelo swamp, allow visitors a platinum level project by the U.S. Green Reciprocal Admissions Program. AHS close-up view of these fragile coastal ecosys- Building Council. These modern facilities members showing a current member- tems and the creatures they support. A high- complement the nearly 100-year-old Ep- ship card receive free admission. light of these tours is a visit to the Survivor iphyte House, which Lewandowski calls Tree, a pond cypress (Taxodium ascendens) “the jewel of the three greenhouses that Other nearby sites to explore: estimated to be more than 1,200 years old. make up the Exhibition Greenhouses.” Houston Arboretum & Nature Center, Thanks to Stark’s original preservation Visitors may also explore the na- www.houstonarboretum.org. efforts and to those who sought to build ture-inspired sculpture gardens, children’s Mercer Botanic Gardens, upon his vision, Shangri La remains a par- and edible gardens, and an ever-changing www.themercersociety.org/visit. adise for all to enjoy. perennial border filled with a wide range Orangefield Cormier Museum, of plants that are well adapted to the re- www.orangefieldisd.com. Lynn Brinkley is an editorial intern with gion’s climate. A wetland demonstration The American Gardener.

November / December 2016 45 GARDENERC’S NOTEBOOK

Horticultural News and Research Important to American Gardeners

BERRIES FOR THE NEW YEAR UNRAVELING SPRING FLOWERING TRIGGERS While investigating why these plants Just in time for the 100th anniversa- After a long winter, it can be heartbreak- failed to bloom, the researchers discov- ry of the first appearance of highbush ing to gardeners when a spring cold snap ered they lacked the piece of DNA in blueberries on the market, the U.S. De- zaps flower buds before they can open. their FLC genes that recognizes VAL1, partment of Agriculture (USDA) Ag- Some plants use vernalization—a pro- the key protein that deactivates FLC and ricultural Research Service is releasing cess that enables them to delay flowering allows the plant to flower. This research, a new cultivar called ‘Baby Blues’. The until weather conditions warm suffi- published in the journal Science in July ciently—to avoid this. Scientists have 2016, “provides the first glimpse of how been studying how vernalization works regulators in a cell identify which target for decades, and have recently discov- genes to switch off,” explains Caroline ered a key piece of the puzzle. Dean, lead scientist on the study. “A spe- Researchers knew that a specific cific sequence is recognized and without gene, called Flowering Locus C (FLC), this sequence FLC won’t be suppressed represses flowering throughout the cells and the plant will never flower.” of the plant until warmer weather starts. These findings may help in the de- ‘Baby‘Baby Blues’Blues’ blueberryblueberry As the temperature rises, the plant grad- velopment of plants that better tolerate ually produces proteins that deactivate climate change. For more information, this gene and allows flowering. No one visit www.jic.ac.uk/news. knew exactly how this process worked, however, until a team at the John Innes BURPEE DONATES $2.5 MILLION TO Centre for Plant Science and Microbi- PRESERVE WHITE HOUSE KITCHEN GARDEN ology in Norwich, England, found the The arrival of new residents at the White answer with the help of some mutated House often signals sweeping changes not Arabidopsis plants that did not flower. only in policy, but in the look, style, and ‘Columbia Giant’ blackberry first harvest from agriculturally viable blueberry varieties—as opposed to wild ones—occurred in 1916. Since then, the USDA has developed scores of varieties geared toward both commercial cultivation and home gardeners. “‘Baby Blues’ is a vigorous, high-yield- ing, small-fruited, machine-harvestable highbush blueberry with outstanding fruit quality,” says Chad Finn, a USDA geneticist at the Horticultural Crops Re- search Unit in Corvallis, Oregon, who focuses on berry crops. “It may thrive in milder areas where northern highbush blueberries are grown,” he adds. Releasing concurrently is ‘Columbia Giant’ a blackberry cultivar that Finn also developed. Its thornless, trailing brambles produce very large, firm fruit with a sweet flavor, and it is adaptable to regions where other trailing blackberries Many plants, such as this witchhazel (Hamamelis virginiana), use vernalization to time

are grown, particularly in the Northwest. flowering after the weather begins to warm in late winter and early spring. LEFT (2): COURTESY OF USDA–ARS. RIGHT: VIVEKA NEVELN

46 the American Gardener the First Lady’s ‘Can-Do!’ attitude,” says George Ball, chairman and CEO of the Pennsylvania-based seed and plant supplier, “and we hope that a well-conceived, long-lasting version of the White House Kitchen Garden will be fully supported by ensuing administrations.” More information on the White House Kitchen Garden is available at www.whitehouse.gov/interactive-tour/ kitchen-garden. NEW NAMES FOR FAMILIAR GARDENS In 2014 the Cleveland Botanical Garden and the Holden Arboretum in nearby Kirtland, Ohio, announced a merger. Fol- lowing a rebranding effort, the joint entity announced recently it will move forward Plants await fall harvesting in the White House Kitchen Garden, which recently added this under the umbrella name of Holden Forests gathering space with a table and benches crafted from numerous types of wood. & Gardens. This new name is intended to link the mission and goals of both the 10- focus of the buildings and grounds. One ry garden during the Second World War. acre urban botanical gardens and the more of the notable additions to the grounds Recently the W. Atlee Burpee & Com- rural 3,600-acre arboretum. Though these during the administration of President pany announced it would provide $2.5 two sites represent very different landscapes, Obama was the White House Kitchen million in funding to the National Park they share the common goal of public access Garden, championed by First Lady Mi- Foundation, which oversees the White to, and greater interaction with, green spac- chelle Obama. Planted in 2009, it was the House Garden, to ensure maintenance es in the greater Cleveland area. Learn more first kitchen garden on the White House of the vegetable garden over a 17-year on Holden Forests & Gardens’ new website grounds since Eleanor Roosevelt’s Victo- period. “Everyone at Burpee is proud of at www.holdenfg.org.

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COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT ENVIRONMENTAL ACTION

November / December 2016 47 reflects the gardens’ mission, which includes Its circular design included flower beds ethnobotany projects on the “biocultural filled with richly colored annuals and pe- conservation” of plants central to cultures rennials. Created in the period when urban around the world. Visit www.cornellbotanic areas were becoming densely populated, it gardens.org to learn more. was intended to enrich the lives of those without gardens of their own. But over GARDEN CONSERVANCY AIDS RESTORATION time the garden’s infrastructure and plant- OF JENSEN GARDEN IN CHICAGO ings have slowly deteriorated. After over a century of use and visitation, a To give the garden the attention it historic Chicago garden completed in 1908 needs, the Chicago Park District and Chi- is in need of a makeover. Nestled in the cago Parks Foundation have partnered city’s Humboldt Park, the Jensen Formal with the Garden Conservancy, a national Garden was designed by Jens Jensen, an in- non-profit organization dedicated to pre- fluential American landscape architect who serving historically and culturally signif- helped popularize the use of native plants. icant gardens. The plan is to replace or Newly renamed Cornell Botanic Gardens in renovate the garden’s pergolas, walls, and Ithaca, New York, encompasses the scenic walkways. While emulating Jensen’s origi- F.R. Newman Arboretum. nal planting plan, annuals will be replaced with herbaceous perennials and grasses that In a similar move, Cornell University offer wildlife habitat and interesting fea- in Ithaca, New York, announced in Octo- tures in all seasons. The garden renovation ber that its arboretum, botanical garden, also will include installation of new paths to and 3,500 acres of natural area will now be make it accessible for persons with disabil- known as Cornell Botanic Gardens. The site ities, along with new urns, benches, and a had been known as Cornell Plantations since rehabilitated reflection pool. 1944. The new name is intended to better represent it as a public garden that welcomes Plans are underway to renovate the Jensen News written by Editorial Intern Lynn visitors to campus. It also more accurately Formal Garden at Humboldt Park in Chicago. Brinkley and Associate Editor Viveka Neveln.

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48 the American Gardener

GREENC GARAGE®

A Potpourri of Useful Products by Rita Pelczar

S WE put the final touches on need it. This mulch can be applied by another gardening season, I’d French Blue hand, or broadcast with a spreader for Watering Can A like to share a few of the prod- larger areas. ucts that made my gardens successful A pair of garden forks from Coro- this year, plus one that will help me ex- na (www.coronatools.com) came in very tend the season into the winter months. handy this year for digging root crops, Over the summer, I became ac- transplanting and dividing perennials, quainted with two new products from and spreading mulch. The Four Tine Good Dirt (www.good-dirt.com). I used Good Dirt® Potting Soil Mix to pot up some newly rooted cuttings of perennials

Four Tine favorite. It’s made of lightweight poly- Digging ethylene and has a three-gallon capaci- Fork ty. The long, curved handle allows for a balanced, two-handed grip while you 10 Tine aim the flow, and its stainless steel rose Ensilage Fork is detachable for easy cleaning. Newly sown grass seed needs even moisture to germinate and establish roots. Re-seeding bare patches in the lawn can be a chore, and keeping them watered can be equally tedious. Seed Aide Cov- erGrow™ (www.profileproducts.com) is a nifty product that reduces the frequency and shrubs. This mix has a light, fluffy texture and is easy to moisten without Digging Fork is a workhorse, with stur- getting soggy. It is made from a blend dy 10-inch long, flattened, tempered of sustainably harvested peat moss, or- steel tines and a 29-inch D-grip handle. ganic plant food, plant probiotics, and It makes short work of digging potatoes BogBits™—a recycled by-product from or sweet potatoes and is ideal for prizing the North American peat bogs that adds perennials out of the ground for trans- great porosity. For in-ground plant- planting. It’s also handy for dividing ings, Good Dirt® Soil Conditioner is a clumps of perennial roots and incorpo- slightly coarser combination of the same Seed Aide rating organic matter into the soil before materials that provides both improved CoverGrow replanting. drainage and water retention for newly The 10 Tine Ensilage Fork is well planted trees, shrubs, vegetables, and of watering. It’s a granular mulch com- suited for lifting and spreading organic flowers. It’s a great amendment for my posed of wood fiber and cellulose fiber mulch over your beds. Its business end heavy North Carolina clay soil. that is applied over a seeded area. Thor- is constructed of tempered, welded steel; A good watering can is a garden es- oughly moistened, the granules soak up the thin, rounded tines slide easily into sential, and the French Blue Watering water, expanding significantly in size. a pile of mulch, lifting a good size scoop Can from Gardener’s Supply Company They shade the germinating seeds and with each thrust. The 30-inch D-grip

(www.gardeners.com) has become my gradually release water right where you handle is made of ash wood. CENTER (2): RITA PELCZAR

50 the American Gardener Heated Heavy Duty Cord Protector forget about these chores—and it doesn’t Birdbath need electricity. A substance inside the device expands and contracts depending on the temperature, causing it to move. It can lift lids up to 15 pounds and be adjusted to open when temperatures reach between 55 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit. Easy to install, it opens to a maximum of 18 inches and

Seal® (www.twistandseal.com) is just the ticket. Useful for this or any other outdoor device that requires electricity, the sturdy, hinged plastic case prevents moisture from As winter approaches, my Heated reaching the plugs. It comes with a five- Birdbath from Songbird Essentials (www. year replacement warranty. Univent Automatic songbirdessentials.com), which I covered in If you have a cold frame, you know that Vent Opener the November/December 2015 issue of this once the weather cools you have to regu- magazine and is a favorite with my win- larly open the frame during daylight hours is equipped with a quick-release mounting ter bird visitors, has been reconnected to to prevent temperatures from rising and bracket that allows for easy access to your an exterior electrical outlet. Because the cooking everything inside, then remem- crops. With luck, you can have fresh salads attached cord is fairly short, an exterior bering to close the lid at night to avoid all winter long! extension cord is necessary, and to protect frost damage. The Univent Automatic this connection from moisture, the Heavy Vent Opener from Agriculture Solutions Rita Pelczar is a contributing editor for Duty Cord Protection from Twist and (www.agriculturesolutions.com) allows you The American Gardener.

NICE DIGS!

The OXO Good Grips Trowel is constructed of high-grade 420 stainless steel for strength and durability. It features a soft, non-slip handle with a gel insert that ﬂexes to provide cushioning when digging into tough and compacted soil. Easy-to-read markings provide clear and convenient depth measurement and serrated edges tear through tough soil and weeds.

www.oxo.com ALL PHOTOS ON THIS PAGE BY RITA PELCZAR

November / December 2016 51 BOOKC REVIEWS

Recommendations for Your Gardening Library

The Bold Dry Garden: Urban Forests Lessons from the Ruth Bancroft Garden Jill Jonnes. Viking, New York, NY, 2016. 394 pages. Publisher’s Johanna Silver, with photographs by Marion Brenner. Timber Press, price, hardcover: $30. Portland, OR, 2016. 236 pages. Publisher’s price, hardcover: $34.95. POUND FOR POUND (or tree for tree), the most critical trees EVERYTHING ABOUT the Bold Dry Garden, from the beauti- on the planet are those in urban forests. That’s what I emphasize ful cover to the wealth of authoritative information it contains, to my students in the Master Natural- will appeal to fans of succulents and ist classes I teach, citing general factoids other arid-region plants. But even if such as the savings of energy for heating you have never planted a single cac- and cooling, sometimes by up to 50 per- tus, you will be inspired by the story cent; provision of food, nesting sites, and of Ruth Bancroft and her exemplary cover to enhance urban biodiversity; fil- dry garden in Walnut Creek, Califor- tration of air pollutants and urban par- nia. This consummate gardener, now ticulates; and of course absorbing and 108 years old, has spent more than 40 converting up to 100 pounds of carbon years building a diverse collection of dioxide per tree annually to fight global succulents, shrubs, and trees from arid lands around the world. climate change. But when those students Bancroft and her remarkable garden inspired the founding ask for a book to find more information, I have been at a loss of the Garden Conservancy in 1988 “to preserve exceptional for what to recommend for a general, non-academic audience. American gardens for the public’s education and enjoyment.” Along comes Jill Jonnes with Urban Forests, which contains Through this organization, the Ruth Bancroft Garden is cur- some of the most readable and insightful arboreal prose I have ever rently open to the public, and I was fortunate to visit it recent- come across. Jonnes dives deeply into trees and their roles in Ameri- ly. Its lush beauty completely mesmerized me. can cities through various eras of history. The text is laced with facts, Reading this book’s detailed descriptions of the garden and dates, and figures gleaned from recent scientific studies that, rather examining the exquisite photographs was almost like a return than making one’s eyes glaze over, inspire a profound respect for visit. And the discussions of Bancroft’s planting strategies, her these resilient trees and the people who champion them. ideas of repetition, working with light and shade, and manag- In addition to detailing the array of environmental benefits ing the wide ranging climate adaptation of plants gave me— trees provide in urban areas, Jonnes deftly illustrates the impact already a desert gardener—a much greater understanding of of trees on the well-being of city-dwellers. A poignant example is what is possible despite a lack of water. how an old elm tree that withstood the Oklahoma City bombing Even the captions for the plentiful photos are instructive and in- in 1995 became an emblem of hope and healing to residents. sightful, often going beyond the important task of naming species to A spellbinding storyteller, Jonnes relates the heartbreaking sto- clarify attributes that contribute to the beauty of each composition. ries of America’s most devastating arboreal tragedies—the anni- For example, in a close-up shot of a group of small, round cacti, the hilation of native elm, chestnut, and now ash trees by introduced caption reads, “Parodia magnifica, organized into neat rows of bris- pests and diseases. She counterbalances vivid scenes of entire tly spines topped with satiny flowers, creates a formal appearance.” neighborhoods being clear cut with the diligent efforts of the peo- This book documents an important piece of American gar- ple trying to save these trees from extinction. Through these and den history that facilitated the introduction of numerous cacti other equally compelling anecdotes, the book elucidates the pow- and succulents to our landscapes. As I read through it, it often erful emotional connection humans have with trees. had me running outside to examine my own garden, looking I found myself so enthralled that I was sorry to reach the end for rock edges and niches, reimagining my planting design, of the book. Fortunately, the 30-page bibliography that Jonnes and hunting potential spaces for plants that poke, swirl, send calls “Notes” offers a lifetime of further investigation into the up rosettes of color, and rise high with sword-shaped leaves. magical world of urban trees. —Linda Larson —Guy Sternberg

Linda Larson inspires others to visit gardens wherever they go A certified arborist, Guy Sternberg is the primary author of Native through her blog, “A Traveling Gardener wandering, wondering, Trees for North American Landscapes (Timber Press, 2004). He noticing” at www.travelinggardener.com/wordpress. lives in Petersburg, Illinois.

52 the American Gardener GARDENER’S BOOKS Indoor Gardening

No matter what the season or what’s happening outside, plants can thrive in our homes year round. Space, or the lack of it, need not be a limitation. I’ve grown quite a few herbs on a kitchen windowsill, for example. All that is needed is a can-do attitude and the correct plants. You provide the spirit; these three books will help you plant for success. Get a Dose of Nature In The Indestructible Houseplant (Timber Press, 2015, No Measure. No Mess. $22.95), Tovah Martin has weeded through the world of indoor plants to find over 200 (DV\GRVH options tough enough for any- $XWRILOOFDS one to grow. The key to success is Martin’s thorough plant profiles, which include detailed information about the plant, suitable indoor growing conditions, and care for each plant. The friendly, approachable text is accompanied by photographs that will inspire experimentation. Another nice feature is the houseplant care calendar to help keep maintenance on track.

Sometimes, despite all your best efforts, a plant heads south. What’s Wrong with My Houseplant? by David Deardorff and Kathryn Wads- worth (Timber Press, 2016, $24.95) is a go-to manual for diagnosing problems with indoor plants. Each of the 148 plant portraits, organized by plant type, notes common ailments and describes how to provide an optimum household environment. An illustrated rogue’s gallery of pests and disease symptoms is accompanied by organic solutions for effectively dealing with them. The NEW Espoma Organic liquid plant foods are loaded with natural ingredients and millions of Peter Burke’s Year-Round Indoor Salad Gardening beneficial microbes to grow bigger, more beautiful (Chelsea Green Publishing, 2015, $29.95) demonstrates plants. And with Espoma’s new Easy Dose cap, you’ll how easy, fast, and tasty it is to get a perfect pour every time. Just flip open the cap, grow nutrient-dense greens in- pour the pre-measured dose into your watering can, doors. Burke describes his planting methods in detail, but he and feed. No measuring. No mess. also provides a quick-start guide to those who would rather plant first and then get into the details. Espoma. A natural in the garden since 1929. Either way, instructions are easy to follow. There are even recipes for how to use the resulting har- Watch our video to learn more www.espoma.com/liquids vest of greens. —Mary Chadduck Special to The American Gardener

November / December 2016 53 GIFTS FORC THE GARDENER

Here are plant- and garden-themed gift ideas for all the gardeners on your holiday list—including yourself.

AHS Floral Mugs Sip through the seasons with these bone china mugs adorned with charming flowers, berries, and leaves. Microwave and dishwasher safe, each mug holds eight fluid ounces and bears the AHS logo on the underside. Set of two for $44.90 (including tax and shipping) or four for $84.95. (703) 768-5700. www.ahs.org. Women’s Denim Gardening Gloves Made of machine-washable stretch denim, these gloves feature padded, faux leather palms and adjustable wrist straps. Available in two sizes for $34.95 from Gardener’s Supply Company. (888) 833-1412. www.gardeners.com.

Coneflower Bird Feeder Add a dash of whimsy to the garden while providing sustenance to avian visitors with this eye-catching, coneflower-inspired bird feeder. $89.95 LED Habitat Grow Kit from Plow & Hearth. This stylish, compact indoor grow light system (800) 494-7544. is perfect for raising herbs and salad greens in www.plowhearth.com. the kitchen or for nurturing sun-loving plants indoors through the winter. Available in maple, cherry, and walnut finishes for $279 from LED Habitats. www.ledhabitats.com.

54 the American Gardener Great Garden Quotes Coloring Book Inspiring garden-themed quotes accompany a variety of line drawings ready to be colored. A soothing pastime for gardeners of all ages. Perforated pages are easy to remove for keepsakes. $14.95 from GreenPrints. (800) 569-0602. www.greenprints.com.

Storybook Toad House Provide an enchanting abode for your resident toad with this durable, handcrafted concrete cottage—or just use it as a charming focal point in the garden. $79.99 from Wind & Weather. (877) 255-3700. www.windandweather.com.

Garden Hod Junior This sturdy wire-and-wood basket holds up to eight quarts and lends itself to myriad uses, both indoors and out. Available for $39.99 from A.M. Leonard’s Gardener’s Edge. (888) 556-5676. www.gardenersedge.com. Extendable Handle Rake The easily adjustable handle and narrow rake head make it a snap to reach under large shrubs or between delicate plants. Its lightweight steel handle extends from 18 inches up to 32 inches. $12.73 from Corona Tools. (800) 847-7863. www.coronatoolsusa.com.

Products profiled are chosen based on qualities such as innovative design, horticultural utility, and environmental responsibility; they have not necessarily been tested by the American Horticultural Society. Listed prices are subject to change.

November / December 2016 55 REGIONALC HAPPENINGS

Horticultural Events from Around the Country

NORTHEAST Botanical gardens and arboreta that 835-5440. www.chicagobotanic.org. CT, MA, ME, NH, NY, RI, VT participate in AHS’s Reciprocal Admis- RAP NOV. 18–DEC. 31. Gardens Aglow. sions Program are identiﬁed with the RAP DEC. 7. Getting the Most Out of Holiday display. Coastal Maine Botanical RAP symbol. AHS members showing Stones. Landscaping workshop. Reiman Gardens. Boothbay, ME. (207) 633-8000. a valid membership card are eligible for Gardens. Ames, IA. (515) 294-2710. www.mainegardens.org. free admission to the garden or other www.reimangardens.com. beneﬁts. Special events may not be in- RAP NOV. 25–DEC. 11. Festival of Trees. Dis- cluded; contact the host site for details RAP DEC. 13. Botanical Design Series: Bo- play. Massachusetts Horticultural Society– or visit www.ahs.org/rap. tanical Ornaments. Class. Greater Des Moines The Gardens at Elm Bank. Wellesley, MA. Botanical Garden. Des Moines, IA. (515) (617) 933-4900. www.masshort.org. 323-6290. www.dmbotanicalgarden.com. (302) 831-0153. www.ag.udel.edu/udbg. NOV. 30–DEC. 2. New England Grows. SOUTH CENTRAL Expo and trade show. Boston Convention SOUTHEAST AR, KS, LA, MO, MS, OK, TX Center. Boston, MA. (508) 653-3009. AL, FL, GA, KY, NC, SC, TN www.newenglandgrows.com. NOV. 6–JAN. 2. The 12 Days of Christmas. RAP NOV. 12–JAN. 7. Garden Lights. Holiday Garden light show. Dallas Arboretum. RAP DEC. 4. Kokedama: Hanging Garden display. Atlanta Botanical Garden. Atlanta, Dallas, TX. (214) 515-6615. Workshop. Brooklyn Botanic Garden. New GA. (404) 888-4771. www.atlantabg.org. www.dallasarboretum.org. York, NY. (718) 623-7200. www.bbg.org. DEC. 1. The Art and Technique of Pruning RAP NOV. 19–JAN. 1. Gardenland Express: RAP DEC. 8. Urban Forests: Natural History Japanese Maples. Class. UNC Charlotte Holiday Flower and Train Show. Missouri of Cityscape Trees. Lecture. The Arnold Botanical Gardens. Charlotte, NC. (704) Botanical Garden. St. Louis, MO. Arboretum of Harvard University. Boston, 687-8622. www.gardens.uncc.edu. (314) 577-5100. www.missouri MA. (617) 384-5209. www.arboretum. botanicalgarden.org. harvard.edu. DEC. 3 & 4. Orchid, Garden, & Gourmet Food Festival. Bonnet House Museum & Gardens. RAP NOV. 20. Ikebana: Japanese Flower Looking ahead Fort Lauderdale, FL. (954) 563-5393. Arranging. Workshop. Powell Gardens. RAP JAN. 8, 2017. Pruning in Winter. www.bonnethouse.org. Kingsville, MO. (816) 697-2600 ext. 209. Class. The Arnold Arboretum of Harvard www.powellgardens.org. University. Boston, MA. (617) 384-5209. DEC. 10. The Buzz About Pollinators. Class. www.arboretum.harvard.edu. Smith-Gilbert Gardens. (770) 919-0248. Ken- RAP NOV. 21. Piney Woods Heritage nesaw, GA. www.smithgilbertgardens.com. Festival. Crosby Arboretum. Picayune, MS. (601) 799-2311. www.crosbyarboretum. MID-ATLANTIC RAP DEC. 10. Worm Composting. Class. msstate.edu. DC, DE, MD, NJ, PA, VA, WV Sunken Gardens. St. Petersburg, FL. (727) RAP NOV. 11–23. Million Bulb Walk. 551-3102. www.sunkengardens.org. RAP DEC. 13. Japanese Garden Walking Light display. Norfolk Botanical Garden. Tour. Fort Worth Botanic Garden. Fort Norfolk, VA. (757) 441-5830. Worth, TX. (817) 392-5510. www.fwbg.org. NORTH CENTRAL www.norfolkbotanicalgarden.org. IA, IL, IN, MI, MN, ND, NE, OH, SD, WI DEC. 17. Bird Feeders. Family activity. DEC. 4. Master Gardener Clinic. Rawlings NOV. 25–DEC. 31. Holiday Poinsettia Show. Oklahoma State University. Stillwater, OK. Conservatory. Baltimore, MD. (410) 396- Lauritzen Gardens. Omaha, NE. (405) 744-4531. www.botanicgarden. 0008. www.rawlingsconservatory.org. (402) 346-4002. www.lauritzengardens.org. okstate.edu.

DEC. 10. Natural Holiday Ornaments NOV. 26–JAN. 8. Avant Garden: Weav- RAP RAP SOUTHWEST Workshop. Green Spring Gardens. ing Fashion and Nature Together. Exhibit. AZ, CO, NM, UT Alexandria, VA. (703) 642-5173. Matthaei Botanical Gardens. Ann Arbor, MI. www.greenspring.org. (734) 647-7600. www.lsa.umich.edu/mbg. RAP NOV. 25–JAN. 1. Blossoms of Light. Denver Botanic Gardens. Denver, CO. DEC. 11. Birds of Longwood Walk. Longwood RAP NOV. 29. The Best Winter Interest (720) 865-3500. www.botanicgardens.org. Gardens. Kennett Square, PA. (610) 388- Plants. Seminar. Rotary Botanical Garden. 1000. www.longwoodgardens.org. Janesville, WI. (608) 752-3885. RAP DEC. 6 & 13. Botanical Beauty Gifts. www.rotarybotanicalgardens.org. Red Butte Garden. Salt Lake City, UT. Looking ahead (801) 585-0556. www.redbuttegarden.org. RAP JAN. 11–25. Seasonal Color in Herba- RAP DEC. 4. Pteridomania: The Victorian ceous Perennials. Class series. University Fern Craze. Lecture. Lenhardt Library, Chi- DEC. 16. Kadomatsu in the Japanese Gar- of Delaware Botanic Gardens. Newark, DE. cago Botanic Garden. Glencoe, IL. (847) den. Workshop. ABQ BioPark Botanic Gar-

56 the American Gardener den. Albuquerque, NM. (505) 848-7112. ® www.cabq.gov. LEGO Garden Sculpture Exhibit MANY PEOPLE have fond childhood memories of building with LEGO pieces. Looking ahead Tapping into that wide appeal, the “Nature Connects” exhibit of plant and an- RAP JAN. 10–MAR. 14. Desert Design Cer- imal sculptures constructed from hundreds of thousands of LEGO bricks has tificate Courses. Desert Botanical Garden. Phoenix, AZ. (480) 481-8188. been rotating through www.learn.dbg.org. botanical gardens across the country over the last WEST COAST few years. Currently, se- CA, HI, NV lections from the collec- RAP NOV. 25–JAN. 8. Enchanted: Forest tion of more than 100 of Light. Descanso Gardens. La Cañada sculptures are on display Flintridge, CA. (818) 949-4200. at Cape Fear Botanical www.descansogardens.org. Garden in Fayetteville, North Carolina, through DEC. 3. Holiday Ornaments from Natural and Recycled Materials. Class. January 8, 2017 and at Ho’omaluhia Botanical Garden. Kaneohe, McKee Botanical Garden HI. (808) 233-7323. www.honolulu.gov. in Vero Beach, Florida, until next May. Starting RAP DEC. 6. Succulent Wreath Class. San in January, the Laurit- Diego Botanical Garden. San Diego, CA. (760) 436-3036. www.sdbgarden.org. zen Gardens in Omaha, Nebraska, will also fea- RAP DEC. 7, 14, & 21. Youth Garden Series: Sean Kenney’s LEGO sculptures, like this one of a ture several of the LEGO Sense-able Herbs. Class. Springs Preserve. monarch butterfly, can be seen at a number of botanical sculptures until May. Las Vegas, NV. (702) 822-7700. gardens across the country this year and in 2017. Conceived by con- www.springspreserve.org. temporary sculptor Sean RAP DEC. 10. Organic Fruit and Vegetable Kenney to both educate and entertain viewers, these intricate sculptures of flow- Gardening. Class. Los Angeles County ers, insects, birds, and other creatures are intended to reflect the interconnected- Arboretum. Arcadia, CA. (626) 821-4623. ness of nature. In addition to the sculptures, host gardens often offer additional www.arboretum.org. activities such LEGO building stations for kids of all ages. To see a full schedule DEC. 17. Medicinal Plant Tour. Foster for the exhibit, go to www.seankenney.com/portfolio/nature_connects. Botanical Garden. Honolulu, HI. (808) 522-7066. www.honolulu.gov. Frida Kahlo Exhibit in Arizona RAP DEC. 17. Water Harvesting. Workshop. RENOWNED MEXICAN ARTIST Frida Kahlo’s distinctive paintings often feature Los Angeles County Arboretum. Arcadia, CA. (626) 821-3222. www.arboretum.org. flora and fauna native to Mexico. As a tribute to her love of both art and gardening, the New York Botanical NORTHWEST Garden created the in- AK, ID, MT, OR, WA, WY teractive exhibit, “Frida Kahlo: Art, Garden, Life” RAP NOV. 27. Ancient Tree Species. Walk. Washington Park Arboretum. in 2015, which includes Seattle, WA. (206) 685-8033. over a dozen original www.uwbotanicgardens.org. paintings and works on paper. The wildly popular RAP DEC. 2 & 3. Holiday Bazaar & Artists exhibit is now on display Market. Leach Botanical Garden. Portland, OR. (503) 823-9503. www.leachgarden.org. at the Tucson Botani- cal Gardens in Arizona DEC. 6–8. Western Native Plant Conference. through May 30, 2017. Western Forestry and Conservation Asso- Attendees will also be able ciation. Vancouver, WA. (503) 226-4562. to view a decade’s worth www.westernforestry.org. This garden display at the Tucson Botanical Gardens is of Frida Kahlo portraits inspired by Frida Kahlo’s home garden, La Casa Azul. made from 1931 to 1941 by CANADA photographer Nickolas Muray, as well as participate in related lectures and other activities. Go to www. NOV. 25–27. Dried Flower Arrangers’ Show tucsonbotanical.org or call (520) 326-9686 for more details. and Sale. VanDusen Botanical Garden. Vancouver, British Columbia. (604) 257- —Lynn Brinkley, Editorial Intern 8335. www.vandusengarden.org. TOP: COURTESY OF AMY MCGOVERN. BOTTOM: TUCSON BOTANICAL GARDENS

November / December 2016 57 PRONUNCIATIONSC AND PLANTING ZONES

Most of the cultivated plants described in this issue are listed here with their pronunciations, USDA Plant Hardiness Zones, and AHS Plant Heat Zones. These zones suggest a range of loca- tions where temperatures are appropriate—both in winter and summer—for growing each plant. US- DA Zones listed are still aligned with the 1990 version of the USDA’s map. While the zones are a good place to start in deter- mining plant adaptability in your region, factors such as exposure, moisture, snow cover, and humidity also play an important role in plant survival. The zones tend to be conservative; plants may grow outside the ranges indicated. A USDA zone rating of 0–0 means that the plant is a true annual and completes its life cycle in a year or less.

Bambusa multiplex bam-BOO-suh F. rufa F. ROOF-uh (5–9, 9–1) MUL-tee-pleks (USDA Hardiness Zones F. scabrida F. SKAY-brih-duh (6–9, 9–6) 9–11, AHS Heat Zones 12–1) Ilex vomitoria EYE-leks vom-ih-TOR-ee-uh B. textilis B. TEX-til-iss (9–11, 12–8) (7–10, 10–6) Chelone lyonii chee-LO-nee ly-O-nee-eye Laurus nobilis LAW-rus NO-bil-is (8–11, 12–1) (3–9, 9–3) Nyssa sylvatica NIS-suh sil-VAT-ih-kuh Chenopodium album chen-o-PO-dee-um AL-bum (5–9, 9–2) (0–0, 10–1) Otatea acuminata ssp. aztecorum o-TAY-tee-uh Chusquea coronalis CHUS-kwee-uh ak-yew-min-AY-tuh ssp. az-teh-KOR-um kor-o-NAL-is (9–11, 11–1) (9–11, 12–1) Corylus avellana COR-ih-lus ah-vel-LAN-uh Phytolacca americana fy-toh-LAK-uh (4–8, 3–9) uh-mair-ih-KAN-uh (5–9, 9–5) Cryptomeria japonica krip-toh-MAIR-ee-uh Polygonum orientale pah-LIG-o-num jah-PON-ih-kuh (6–9, 9–4) or-ee-en-TAH-lee (8–9, 9–8) Cunila origanoides ku-NIL-uh Portulaca oleracea por-chew-LAK-uh o-rig-uh-NOY-deez (6–8, 8–6) o-luh-RAY-see-uh (0–0, 12–1) Cymbopogon citratus sim-bo-PO-gon Primula japonica PRIM-yew-luh jah-PON-ih-kuh sih-TRAY-tuss (9–11, 12–1) (4–8, 8–1) C. flexuosus C. flex-yoo-O-sus (9–11, 12–1) Pycnanthemum tenuifolium pik-NAN-thuh-mum Daphne bholua DAF-nee bo-LOO-uh (7–9, 9–7) ten-yoo-ih-FO-lee-um (4–8, 8–1) D. burkwoodii D. burk-WOOD-ee-eye Stellaria media steh-LAR-ee-uh MEE-dee-uh (4–8, 8–4) (3–8, 10–1) D. cneorum D. nee-OR-um (5–8, 8–5) Stylophorum diphyllum sty-lo-FOR-um D. genkwa D. GENK-wuh (5–7, 7–5) dy-FIL-lum (5–8, 8–1) D. jezoensis D. jez-o-EN-sis (6–8, 8–6) Syringa yunnanensis sih-REENG-guh D. medfordensis D. med-ford-EN-sis yoo-nuh-NEN-sis (6–7, 7–6) (6–9, 9–6) Taraxacum officinale tah-RAKS-ah-kum D. mezereum D. meh-ZEE-ree-um (4–7, 7–4) oh-fiss-ih-NAL-ee (3–10, 12–1) D. odora D. o-DOR-uh (7–9, 9–6) Taxodium ascendens taks-O-dee-um D. tangutica D. tan-GYEW-tih-kuh (6–9, 9–6) uh-SEN-denz (5–11, 12–5) D. transatlantica D. trans-at-LAN-tih-kuh T. distichum T. DIS-tih-kum (5–11, 12–5) (5/6–9, 9–5) Urtica dioica UR-tih-kuh dy-o-EE-kuh Dirca palustris DEER-kuh pah-LUS-triss (3–9, 9–1) (4–9, 9–1) Viburnum trilobum vy-BER-num try-LO-bum Edgeworthia chrysantha edj-WORTH-ee-uh (2–7, 7–1) krih-SAN-thuh (7–9, 9–6) Fargesia nitida far-JEE-see-uh NIT-ih-duh (5–9, 9–5)

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November / December 2016 59 2016C MAGAZINE INDEX

AUTHORS & Youth Garden Symposium Hedgerows, M/J, 24. “Ice al Matchmaking 101, J/A, 36. in Columbia, South Carolina, Cream” Plants, J/A, 25. Lus- Dianthus: Give Pinks a Chance, Aker, Scott. Making Pest and M/J, 12. cious Lemongrass, N/D, 42. M/A, 18. Disease Control More Effective, Hucek, Margene Whitler. Whitacre, Benjamin. Chestnut Edible Plants: Asparagus, M/A, N/D, 40. Natural and Home- Asparagus, M/A, 44. Rose: A Horticultural Hiero- 44. Bananas, J/A, 30. Beef- made Remedies for Plant Dis- Lawton, Barbara Perry. Rise of glyph, J/A, 62. Dale Sievert, steak Tomatoes, J/A, 48. Blue- eases, M/A, 46. Staying Ahead the Redbuds, S/O, 14. J/F, 11. Quarryhill Botanical berries, M/J, 46. Competitive of Plant-Feeding Mites, M/J, Lee, Rand B. Architectural Garden, J/F, 52. Vegetable Gardening, M/A, 42. Take the Long View with Annuals, J/A, 14. Give Pinks Wingate, Marty. A Symphony of 29. Dwarf Tomato Project, J/F, Soil Improvement, J/A, 42. a Chance, J/F, 18. Geums, M/J, 20. Riz Reyes, 18. Gourmet Mushrooms, J/F, Tips for Overwintering Tropi- LeHoullier, Craig. Beefsteak J/A, 20. 35. Leeks, J/F, 40. Luscious cals, S/O, 40. Understanding Tomatoes, J/A, 48. The World- Lemongrass, N/D, 42. New for Symbiotic Fungi and Soil wide Dwarf Tomato Project, SUBJECT 2016, J/F, 15. Sweet Potatoes, Health, J/F, 42. J/F, 18. Annuals: Architectural Annuals, S/O, 42. Wild Greens, N/D, 34. Askey, Linda. Backstage in the Neveln, Viveka. Nurturing Young J/A, 14. New for 2016, J/F, 12. Evergreens: Broadleaved Ever- Garden (Holding Beds), N/D, Minds with Nature, S/O, 36. Asters: Aromatic Aster, S/O, 60. greens for Mixed Borders, J/F, 13. Ondra, Nancy J. Perennial Match- Awards: AHS 2016 Great Ameri- 24. Bawden-Davis, Julie. Bamboos making, J/A, 36. can Gardeners National Awards Fall Plantings: Perennials for Fall with Boundaries, N/D, 29. Ottesen, Carole. Grow Your Own and Book Award Winners, M/A, Foliage, S/O, 26. Brinkley, Lynn. America in Bloom Gourmet Mushrooms, J/F, 35. 14. America in Bloom Awards Ferns: Moisture-Loving Sensitive Awards for 2016, N/D, 10. Wild Greens, N/D, 34. for 2016, N/D, 10. Fern, J/F, 62. Native Ferns, Mary Rose Ruffini, N/D, 11. Pelczar, Rita. Container Gardens, Bamboos: Bamboos with Bound- M/J, 30. Shangri La Botanical Gardens J/A, 54. Gaining Stature with aries, N/D, 29. Foraging: Wild Greens, N/D, 34. & Nature Center, N/D, 44. Style, M/A, 24. Handy Harvest Bananas: Bold and Beautiful Ba- Fragrant Plants: Aromatic Aster, Bunting, Andrew. Broadleaved Helpers, S/O, 50. Measuring nanas for the Garden, J/A, 30. S/O, 60. Bush Anemone, M/J, Evergreens for Mixed Borders, Up for the New Garden Year, Bulbs: Interplanting Spring 62. Divine Daphnes, N/D, 18. J/F, 24. Perennial Vines for M/A, 55. A Potpourri of Useful Bulbs, S/O, 32. Give Pinks a Chance, M/A, 18. Temperate Gardens, M/J, 14. Products, N/D, 50. Quality Bush Anemone: A Beautiful “Ice Cream” Plants, J/A, 25. Burrell, C. Colston. Native Ferns, Hand Tools, M/J, 52. Starting Water-Efficient Western Fungi: Grow Your Own Gourmet M/J, 30. New Plants, J/F, 50. Native, M/J, 62. Mushrooms, J/F, 35. Symbiotic Bush, Allen. Weesie Smith: Rice, Graham. Perennials for Fall Corydalis cheilanthifolia: Fungi & Soil Health, J/F, 42. Driving Force for Native Plants, Foliage, S/O, 26. See Corydalis, Fernleaf. Gardens, Public (See also Re- J/F, 30. Sheffield, Natalie. Jim Sirch, J/A, Corydalis, Fernleaf: M/A, 62. gional Happenings & Traveler’s Cannon, Paul Lee. Divine 16. Kay MacNeil, S/O, 12. The Carpenteria californica: Guide to Gardens): Hatcher Daphnes, N/D, 18. Sentinel Plant Network, S/O, See Bush Anemone. Gardens and Woodland Pre- Chadduck, Mary S. Jensen-Olson 48. Rutgers Gardens, S/O, 44. Cercis: See Redbuds. serve, M/A, 48. Quarryhill Bo- Arboretum in Juneau, Alaska, Singer, Carolyn. Bush Anemone, Children and Youth Gardening: tanical Garden, J/F, 52. Betty J/A, 44. M/J, 62. National Children & Youth Ford Alpine Gardens, M/J, 44. Christopher, Thomas. Win the Studebaker, Russell. Yaupon Garden Symposium in Colum- Shangri La Botanical Gardens War on Weeds, M/J, 36. (Ilex vomitoria), N/D, 62. bia, South Carolina, M/J, 12. & Nature Center, N/D, 44. Collins, Barrie. Moisture-Loving Swiss, Martha. Stephanie Cohen: Nurturing Young Minds with Geums: A Symphony of Geums, Sensitive Fern, J/F, 62. Grande Dame of Gardening, Nature, S/O, 36. Youth Garden M/J, 20. Crescenzi, Uziel. Betty Mackey, S/O, 20. Symposium Heads to South Grasses: Perennials for Fall Foli- M/A, 13. Hatcher Garden and Taylor, Patricia A. Fernleaf Carolina, J/F, 8. age, S/O, 26. Woodland Preserve, M/A, 48. Corydalis, M/A, 62. Guerrilla Companion Planting: Benefits of Holding Beds: Backstage in the Rising to a Gardening Chal- Gardening, N/D, 24. Companion Planting: Fact or Garden, N/D, 13. lenge: Betty Ford Alpine Gar- Torpey, Jodi. The Joy of Com- Folklore?, M/A, 40. Holly, yaupon: Yaupon, N/D, 62. dens, M/J, 44. petitive Vegetable Gardening, Conifers, Deciduous: Ancient Ilex vomitoria: See Holly, yaupon. Cutler, Karan Davis. Love Those M/A, 29. Trees for Contemporary Musa: See Bananas. Leeks!, J/F, 40. Uridel, Keith. Blueberries, M/J, 46. Gardens, M/A, 34. Native Plants: Bush Anemone, Eber, Max. Aromatic Aster, S/O, Waddick, James W. Bold and Daphnes: Divine Daphnes, N/D, M/J, 62. Native Ferns, M/F, 60. Beautiful Bananas for the 18. 30. Rise of the Redbuds, S/O, Germane, Charlotte. New Plants Garden, J/A, 30. Design: Broadleaved Evergreens, 14.Weesie Smith: Driving for 2016, J/F, 12. Wallace, Ira. Sweet Potatoes, J/F, 24. Companion Planting, Force for Native Plants, J/F, Hahn, Carl. Ancient Trees for Con- S/O, 42. M/A, 40. Gaining Stature with 30. Yaupon (Ilex vomitoria), temporary Gardens, M/A, 34. Wetherbee, Kris. Benefits of Style, M/A, 24. Habitat Hedge- N/D, 62. Heath, Becky. Interplanting Companion Planting: Fact or rows, M/J, 24. Interplanting Onoclea sensibilis: See Ferns. Spring Bulbs, S/O, 32. Folklore?, M/A, 40. Habitat Spring Bulbs, S/O, 32. Perenni- People: (See also AHS Members Honzay, Ping. National Children

60 the American Gardener Making a Difference). Bales, J/A: Genetic Revelations from Hy- Show Exhibits, 8. COLUMNS Suzanne “Suzy” Frutig, M/J, brid Petunia’s Wild Parents, 51. J/A: 15th Annual America in 50. Bartholomew, Mel, M/J, AHS Members Making a Differ- Permaculture Action Network Bloom Awards Symposium, 11. 50. Cohen, Stephanie, S/O, 20. ence: Betty Mackey, M/A, 13. Launched, 53. Spider Venom Coalition of American Plant Soci- Deppe, Dale, M/J, 50. Fisher, Dale Sievert, J/F, 11. Kay Mac- Key to New Pesticide, 51. eties Annual Meeting Recap, 10. Ken, J/A, 52. Gainey, Ryan, S/O, Neil, S/O, 12. Mary Rose Ruffi- S/O: Baptisia Highlighted as Garden Symposium at the Omni 47. Kruckeberg, Arthur, J/A, 52. ni, N/D, 11. Jim Sirch, J/A, 12. Outstanding Native Plant, 46. Homestead Resort in Virginia, 8. Lacy, Allen, M/A, 54. Newman, AHS News Specials: AHS Book Plants Display Risky Behavior, New AHS Award to Honor Young Patrick, J/F, 48. Preston, Carrie, Award Winners, M/A, 17. Great 46. Tapping Technology to Horticultural Leaders, 8. Reserve J/A, 52. Reyes, Riz, J/A, 20. American Gardeners National Track Bugs, 47. Seats Now for AHS Garden Gala Smith, Weesie, J/F, 30. Award Winners, M/A, 14. Nation- N/D: Berries for the New Year, in September, 10. Perennials, Herbaceous: Bush al Children & Youth Garden Sym- 46. Burpee Donates $2.5 Mil- S/O: AHS Annual Online Auction, 9. Anemone, M/J, 62. Fernleaf posium in Columbia, South Car- lion to Preserve White House Growing Good Kids Book Awards, Corydalis, M/A, 62. Give Pinks olina, M/J, 12. America in Bloom Kitchen Garden, 46. Garden 8. New Directors Join AHS Board, a Chance, M/A, 19. New for Awards for 2016, N/D, 10. Conservancy Aids Restoration 8. New Set of AHS Floral Mugs Book Reviews: 2016, J/F, 12. Perennial Match- of Jensen Garden in Chicago, Available, 10. Photography Con- J/F: Rescuing Eden, 44. The Seed making 101, J/A, 36. Perennials 48. New Names for Familiar test Winners, 10. Underwood Garden, 44. for Fall Foliage, S/O, 26. A Sym- Gardens, 47. Unraveling Spring Named Co-Chair for NICH, 9. M/A: A Natural History of English phony of Geums, M/J, 20. Flowering Triggers, 46. N/D: Coalition of American Plant Gardening, 50. Outstanding Pests and Diseases: Natural and Garden Solutions: Making Pest and Societies Meeting, 9. Upcoming American Gardens, M/A, 51. Homemade Remedies for Plant Disease Control More Effective, Trip to Connecticut for AHS Plants with Style, 50. Diseases, M/A, 46. Symbiotic N/D, 40. Natural and Home- President’s Council Members, 9. M/J: All the Presidents’ Gardens, Fungi & Soil Health, J/F, 42. made Remedies for Plant Dis- Notes from River Farm: J/F, 5; M/A, 55. Planting in a Post-Wild World, Pinks: See Dianthus. eases, M/A, 46. Staying Ahead 5; M/J, 5; J/A, 5; S/O, 5; N/D, 5. 54. The Cabaret of Plants, 54. Redbuds: Rise of the Redbuds, of Plant-Feeding Mites, M/J, 42. Plant in the Spotlight: Aromatic J/A: Gardens of Awe and Folly, 46. S/O, 14. Take the Long View with Soil Aster, S/O, 60. Bush Anemone, The Plant Lover’s Guide to Mag- Rosa roxburghii: Improvement, J/A, 42. Tips for M/J, 62. Chestnut Rose, J/A, nolias, 46. See Rose, Chestnut. Overwintering Tropicals, S/O, 62. Fernleaf Corydalis, M/A, S/O: High-Value Veggies, 52. The Rose, Chestnut: A Horticultural 40. Understanding Symbiotic 62. Sensitive Fern, J/F, 62. Hidden Half of Nature, 52. Hieroglyph, J/A, 62. Fungi and Soil Health, J/F, 42. Yaupon, N/D, 62. N/D: The Bold Dry Garden, 52. Symphyotrichum oblongifolium: Green Garage: Container Gardens, Regional Happenings: Urban Forests, 52. See Aster. J/A, 54. Handy Harvest Help- J/F: Longwood Symposium, 54. Gardener’s Books: Beguiling Bees Techniques (see also Garden ers, S/O, 50. Measuring Up for Theodore Payne Native Plant and Other Pollinators, J/A, 47. Solutions): Backstage in the the New Garden Year, M/A, 55. Tour, 56. World Daffodil Con- Going Wild in the Garden, J/F, Garden, N/D, 13. Benefits of A Potpourri of Useful Products, vention, 56. 45. Indoor Gardening, N/D, 53. Companion Planting: Fact or N/D, 50. Quality Hand Tools, M/A: Must-See Spring Plant Managing Water Resources, Folklore?, M/A, 40. Container M/J, 52. Starting New Plants, Sales, 58. S/O, 53. Gardens, J/A, 54. Gaining Stat- J/F, 50. M/J: All Aboard the Garden Railway, Gardener’s Notebook: ure with Style, M/A, 24. Start- Homegrown Harvest: Asparagus, 58. Daylily Extravaganza, 57. J/F: Grant Enables Groundbreaking ing New Plants, J/F, 50. Win M/A, 44. Beefsteak Tomatoes, Flora Artwork Celebrates National for Nascent Delaware Garden, the War on Weeds, M/J, 36. J/A, 48. Blueberries, M/J, 46. Park Service Centennial, 56. 48. Link Discovered Between Trees and Shrubs: Ancient Trees, Love Those Leeks!, J/F, 40. J/A: California’s Annual Celebra- Soil Fungi and Monarch Butterfly M/A, 34. Broadleaved Ever- Luscious Lemongrass, N/D, 42. tion of Heirlooms, 58. Celebrat- Health, 46. New Leadership for greens, J/F, 25. Bush Anemone, Sweet Potatoes, S/O, 42. ing 40 Years, Past, and Future Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower M/J, 62. Divine Daphnes, N/D, News from the AHS: (JC Raulston Arboretum), 56. Center, 48. Researchers Unravel 18. Chestnut Rose, J/A, 62. J/F: Colonial Williamsburg Garden Ohio Sustainable Landscapes How Plants Survive Extreme Gaining Stature with Style, M/A, Symposium, 9. Members-Only Symposium, 57. Drought, 47. Seeds Make a Stink 24. Habitat Hedgerows, M/J, Seed Exchange, 8. River Farm S/O: Pumpkin Palooza, 56. Sus- to Aid Dispersal, 46. Tickseed 24. New for 2016, J/F, 16. Rise Spring Garden Market, 10. Show tainability Symposium in Iowa, Trials at Mt. Cuba, 46. of the Redbuds, S/O, 14. Yau- Off Your City, 9. Upcoming Trav- 55. M/A: Carnivorous Plants Can pon (Ilex vomitoria), N/D, 62. el Program Destinations, 8. N/D: LEGO Garden Sculpture Ex- Count, 52. Corn Ancestor Offers Urban Gardening: Guerrilla Gar- M/A: Annual Spring Garden Market hibit, 57. Frida Kahlo Exhibit in Clues About Climate-Change dening, N/D, 24. at River Farm, 9. Coalition of Arizona, 57. Effects on Plants, 53. Garden Tropicals: Bold and Beautiful Ba- American Plant Societies Meet- Traveler’s Guide to Gardens: Betty Club of America’s Plant of the nanas for the Garden, J/A, 30. ings, 9. President’s Council Trip Ford Alpine Gardens, M/J, 44. Year, 52. New Botanical Postage Tips for Overwintering Tropi- to Chicago, Illinois, in May, 8. Hatcher Garden and Woodland Stamps, 54. Morton Arboretum cals, S/O, 40. Virginia Historic Garden Week, 9. Preserve, M/A, 48. Jensen-Ol- Joins New Affordable Admission Vines and Climbers: Gaining Youth Garden Symposium Heads son Arboretum, J/A, 44. Quar- Initiative, 54. Stature with Style, M/A, 24. to South Carolina, 8. ryhill Botanical Garden, J/F, M/J: Big Changes for National Perennial Vines for Temperate M/J: AHS Travelers Explore Por- 52. Rutgers Gardens, S/O, 44. Gardening Association, 50. Gardens, M/J, 14. tugal, 10. Garden Gala in Sep- Shangri La Botanical Gardens Free Tick Testing to Fight Lyme Weeds, Controlling: Win the War tember, 10. Seed Your Future & Nature Center, N/D, 44. Disease, 48. Good News for on Weeds, M/J, 36. Initiative, 9. Increase Garden- Pollinators, 48. New Plant Spe- Weeds, Edible: Wild Greens, N/D, ing App-titude with Technology, Index compiled by AHS Volunteer cies Discovered, 48. Purifying 34. 9. Winning Flower and Garden Caryl Wheeler. Water with Cacti, 49.

November / December 2016 61 PLANT CIN THE SPOTLIGHT

Yaupon (Ilex vomitoria) by Russell Studebaker

Sources Forestfarm at Pacifica, Williams, OR. www.forestfarm.com. (‘Nana’) Monrovia Nursery, www.monrovia. com. (Wholesale, but offers locater for retail sources in your region.) Woodlanders, Aiken, SC. www. woodlanders.net. (‘Will Fleming’)

dig up suckers as soon as you see them. In the landscape, yaupon is an ideal subject for barriers, espaliers, hedges, screening, topiary work, and as specimens. It is a good native substitute for higher-maintenance boxwood, although its tolerance for being sheared and pruned into geometric shapes has encouraged this practice at the expense of its natural habit. They can also be grown in large containers. A number of cultivars have been developed, although some are difficult to Yaupon’s evergreen leaves and bright red fruits are valuable for adding winter interest in gardens. locate. Ask your local nursery if it can obtain plants for you. Woody plant expert Michael Dirr rates HE CURIOUS common name feature smooth, whitish to gray bark. The Hoskin Shadow™ (‘Shadow’s Female’) one for yaupon (Ilex vomitoria, ovate evergreen leaves, which range from of the best red-fruited selections, and it may TUSDA Hardiness Zones 7–10, about a half-inch to an inch long, are spine- also be a bit hardier than other yaupons. AHS Heat Zones 10–6) is derived from less with finely serrated margins. Yaupon is If you’re looking for a narrow habit, try the Catawba Native American word yop, dioecious—that is, male and female flowers ‘Pendula’, a weeping selection growing 15 which means “tree.” Its equally intrigu- are borne on separate plants. In spring, the to 20 feet tall. ‘Folsom’s Weeping’ is a fe- ing specific epithet, vomitoria, refers to its small white flowers attract bees and other male weeping form that reaches to 20 feet historic use as a purgative. In an account pollinators, but only the female plants pro- tall. ‘Will Fleming’ is an male columnar of his travels, published in 1542, Spanish duce the typically red, quarter-inch berries selection topping out at 15 feet. explorer Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca that provide winter interest as well as food For small gardens, ‘Nana’ is a three- to described observing Native Americans in for songbirds and small mammals. For five-foot-tall female selection, but its fruit what is now the southern United States abundant fruit set, you must plant a male is usually obscured by foliage. ‘Schillings’ drinking an infusion of the tree’s roasted tree near every one to five female trees. (‘Stokes Dwarf’) is a compact male that leaves in ritual ceremonies to cleanse the Yaupon is very adaptable, thriving in grows three feet tall and four feet wide. body and soul of “impurities.” Today we sunny to shady sites and in a wide range of Given all those choices, if you’re in mainly know yaupon as an ornamental soil types and environments ranging from search of a small native tree that is ev- tree that has a multitude of garden uses. swamps to drier upland and coastal sites. It ergreen, wildlife friendly, easy to grow, Native from eastern Virginia to central is also deer resistant and generally untrou- and adaptable, yaupon could be just Florida and west to Texas, southeastern bled by serious pest and disease problems. what you’re looking for. Arkansas, and Oklahoma, yaupon grows Because plants produce suckers, however, 15 to 20 feet tall, developing a vase shape they can potentially spread out of bounds Russell Studebaker is a horticulturist and

as it matures. Its multiple, crooked trunks in a garden. To keep them in their place, garden writer living in Tulsa, Oklahoma. RUSSELL STUDEBAKER

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