When Peonies Won't Pop
Robert Gough, Montana State University
Extension Horticulture Specialist
5/15/02
What's native to China and Tibet,
does well in our dry climate and heavy alkaline soils, but sometimes refuses
to bloom? The peony.
Peonies need lots of nutrients to
bloom profusely. Plant the flowers away from the root zone of other plants and
top-dress with compost in the fall.
Be sure your plants are in full
sunlight.
Overcrowding is a common cause of
small flower size. Transplant your peonies every few years in the fall, when
their foliage has died down but before cold weather sets in. These plants will
not bloom the following spring, but will be in their glory the third spring.
Prepare new beds deeply with plenty of organic matter. Divide the old crowns
so that each piece has four or five buds. Set the crown pieces so the buds are
within an inch or so of the soil
surface. Planting too deeply will encourage all shoots and no flowers.
If your plant still isn't blooming,
excess nitrogen could be the culprit, forcing shoot growth instead of flowers.
In early spring, use a fertilizer high in phosphorus and potassium and low in
nitrogen to correct the problem. And leave the ants alone! They're just
gathering the sticky syrup excreted by healthy peony buds.
Want to know more about peonies?
Contact your local MSU Extension office at 538-3919 or e-mail acxdp@montana.edu.
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Chokecherry Poisoning
by Dr Bob Gough
04/11/02
Every year we get a few calls
regarding chokecherry poisoning-its cause, symptoms, etc. I thought it
appropriate to get out ahead of the calls this year, so am providing the
following information for your use. Although chokecherry is usually the
culprit, Prunus demissa (Western Chokecherry), Prunus pennsylvanica (Pin
Cherry), and Prunus serotina (Wild black cherry), have similar properties and
can also become involved in poisoning.
The consumption of the leaves, seeds,
and shoots of the chokecherry (Prunus virginiana) has caused mortality in
livestock and children. The toxic qualities of the chokecherry were first
described in 1847.
The inner bark, buds, flowers, seeds,
leaves, suckers, and young shoots (particularly vigorous, young shoots)
contain the cyanogenic glycoside prunasin which, during digestion in the
stomach, yields hydrocyanic (prussic) acid. This can result in cyanide
poisoning. Prunasin levels are highest in spring and summer and the leaves
become relatively non-toxic when the fruit mature.
Symptoms of poisoning occur from less
than 30 mins. to 3 or 4 hours following ingestion of the tissue. These include
rapid breathing and gasping, salivation, slowed pulse, dilated pupils,
staggering and convulsions, protruding tongue, rolling eyes, cyanosis and
finally, loss of consciousness. The blood becomes cherry red and cause of
death is respiratory failure. Death often occurs within an hour of
consumption.
Most livestock avoid eating
chokecherry leaves but may do so when deprived of other forage sources. The
degree of poisoning varies with the amount of leaves or fruit ingested, the
season, size and kind of animal, and the ability of the animal to detoxify
hydrocyanic acid. Wilted leaves are more dangerous because, with less internal
water, the concentration of the acid is greater. Fresh leaves contain about
143 mg hydrocyanic acid per 100 g (0.02 oz per 1 lb) of leaves; wilted leaves
243 mg per 100 g (0.04 oz per 1 lb). Consumption of 0.25% of the potential
victim's weight (about 1.5 lbs of leaves for cattle and 0.25 lbs of leaves for
sheep), consumed within a 30 to 60 min. period, can cause poisoning.
Hydrocyanic acid is metabolized rapidly and doesn't accumulate, though
constant exposure to the compounddoes not confer immunity.
Children are most often poisoned by
chewing the young shoots of the chokecherry.
With the increasing use of these
species in Montana landscape plantings I suspect the number of calls will
increase regarding the advisability of using chokecherry in the landscape. It
is a fine plant that tolerates the tough conditions of much of Montana. It
presents no problem so long as parents impress upon their children the policy
of never eating anything in the landscape which is not normally eaten. I find
no mention of domestic pets being poisoned by these plants.
I hope this helps as we prepare for
the spring season.
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Turning
up the Heat in Peppers
Robert Gough, PhD, Montana State University
Extension Horticulture Specialist
Some people go to great lengths to get the hottest peppers
around. So what can you do to turn up the heat in hot peppers?
Perhaps the best way to get the most pungent fruit is to
plant the hottest cultivars you can get your hands on, assuming that they'll
ripen in your area. There is another route, but I caution you to try it only
on a small plot.
Spanish researchers reported that peppers of the cultivar
"Padron" were significantly hotter when the plants were drought
stressed. It stands to reason. Drought stressed grape vines produce more
flavorful wines, and many other fruit, when shy on water, develop more intense
flavors.
The trick here is not to go too far. If you withhold a
little too much water, plants will not yield well. If you withhold a lot too
much water, they die. Peppers are no exception.
The Spanish research did not report yields, but it's likely
that the water stressed pepper plants had lower yields than plants that
received sufficient irrigation. So if you skimp on water in hopes of heating
up your peppers, best limit the experiment at first and pay attention to yield
decreases.
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Winter Drying
Threatens Lawn Life
Winter desiccation causes your grass to turn white or brown.
It's most severe on elevated sites and slopes where little snow builds up and
grass is exposed to drying winds. These areas also have a lot of surface
runoff, and little water soaks into the ground. In other words--they're very
dry.
When air temperatures are above freezing and the soil is
frozen, grass loses water through its blades, which causes drying--even death.
The severity of the drying depends on air temperatures, the exposure of the
turf and how long or hard the wind blows.
Snow is a natural insulator for turf during the winter,
keeping grass moist even on the coldest days. But expect a certain amount of
winter drying each year. Just mow off the brown leaves in spring and little
damage remains. Severe cases may need overseeding.
Here is what you can do to reduce winter drying. In early
fall, rent equipment or hire a professional to de-thatch and core-aerate your
lawn. Irrigate in late autumn before the ground freezes. And don't forget that
fall fertilizer application.
Want to know more about lawn care? Contact your local county
Extension office or visit http://gardenguide.montana.edu.
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Putting
Strawberries to Bed for Winter
Strawberries are productive in our region and supply lots of
fine desserts for the kitchen table. What should you do with them now to keep
them healthy over winter?
Strawberries usually overwinter well, provided that you give
them a little protection. Since they have a relatively small root system,
strawberry plants sometimes fall victim to frost heaving. The water in the
soil expands as it freezes, pushing the plants out of the soil a bit more each
time it thaws and re-freezes. Strawberry crowns are also subject to drying in
winter, especially where there is little or intermittent snow cover.
To avoid these problems, mulch the plants with at least 2
inches of straw, after the soil freezes in winter. The object is not to keep
the soil from freezing, but to keep it frozen--eliminating the freezing and
thawing cycles that produce frost heaves. The straw also insulates and traps
snow, protecting the crowns from drying winds. Remove the straw when growth
begins in the spring.
Fishing Line Deters Pesky
Birds from Garden
Homeowners now can replace their hawk statues and scarecrows with a
new weapon to deter birds feasting on garden fruits- ordinary, inexpensive
fishing line, says a Montana State University wildlife specialist.
"Every year I get lots of calls from people having problems with birds
chomping off new sprouts as they come up in the garden," says James Knight,
wildlife specialist for Montana State University Extension Service. "Other
people have problems with birds getting into trees and pecking on the fresh
fruit just before they're going to harvest."
In the past, Knight recommended that homeowners use netting or other
barriers to keep birds like pesky sparrows and pigeons out. But barriers
make harvesting difficult. Repellents such as snake, hawk or owl statues
weren't very successful either.
"The repellents work for a few hours or even a few days," Knight said.
"Then before long, the birds are perching on them."
But Knight thinks he might not get as many calls from frustrated gardeners
this year if they try a trick with monofilament fishing line that he discovered
by chance.
"A few years back, I had some beans in my garden, and I marked one row
with some monofilament line," Knight explains.
"It turned out that when the other rows came up, the sparrows chomped
off the sprouts as soon as they emerged. But the row underneath the line
was untouched."
Next, he put the fishing line over the other rows of beans and found
that the birds were repelled.
"Just a single strand of monofilament line suspended directly above
the sprouts, tied to stakes at either end of the row, was causing the birds
to avoid that area," Knight says.
As the sprouts grew, he simply raised the line to keep it just above
theplant.
Knight later tried his idea on his neighbor's strawberry patch that
was besieged with sparrows even though chicken wire covered the patch.
"I suspended the line in rows about six inches apart, and depredation
on the berries totally ceased," says Knight. "It also made it easy to harvest
the strawberries through the monofilament line."
Knight then found a third use for the fishing line. He stretched two
lines six inches apart under the eaves of a house. This prevented swallows
from building mud nests there.
"Keep in mind that swallows are protected," Knight says. "That means
you can't destroy their nest once they start building it. But by putting
up the line before they begin to construct a nest, you won't run into that
problem."
Knight speculates that the monofilament line deters birds because of
its low visibility.
"The line has a characteristic that causes it to appear and disappear
from sight - it seems to be continually moving," he said. "With just the
slightest movement of the line from a breeze or anything else, there can
be major changes in the line's visibility. I think this is what causes
birds to fear it or try to avoid it"
Knight says one drawback to the fishing line is that it becomes brittle
when exposed to the sun, making it susceptible to breaking in the wind.
He said heavier monfilament lines, such as a 20 pound test, aren't as likely
to become brittle. But weights higher than 20 pounds start to lose their
repelling characteristics.
Researchers from other universities have been interested in Knights
discovery. One study at the University of Nebraska tested the monofilament
technique on different bird species. The fishing line didn't work as well
deterring robins as it did sparrows. In a Colorado State University study,
the line was effective in deterring pigeons from roosting on ledges in
the city
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Q: Can I use household ammonia to water my houseplants?
I first heard of this homemade fertilizer as being used during the war -
WWII - when fertilizer was in short supply. Yes, you can. Add about a teaspoon of clear, household ammonia - not the soapy or lemon-scented kind
- to a quart of water and use this sparingly as a source of nitrogen for your plants. It won't add any of the other nutrients and so commercial
fertilizers would be better a better choice.
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Q:
How can I renovate my raspberry patch?
Red raspberry plantings can get overgrown rapidly, reducing berry size
and plant vigor. If your plants appear to be healthy otherwise, with no
discolored or deformed leaves that may indicate a virus infection, you
can renovate the planting. When the leaves have fallen and the plants are
hardened, but before the ground has frozen, mow the plants to within a
couple inches of the ground. Remove the stubs of dead canes and thin the
remaining canes to stand about 6 inches apart in the row. Rows should be
no wider than 3 feet. Roto-till the areas where you want to establish walkways
and top-dress the entire planting with a complete fertilizer, such as 12-12-12,
at the rate of about 20 pounds per 1000 square feet. The canes will grow
vigorously next spring and produce the following year. If you don't want
to miss a year of production, do half the planting this fall and half next
fall.
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Q: How can I get my
African violets to bloom?
Often a difference in humidity can cause the plants to stop flowering. You
indicated in your letter that the plants were flowering when you purchased them, but soon after ceased to bloom. Here’s what to do. First, pinch off
faded blooms to prevent seed formation. Second, be sure there is enough fresh air entering the house, though not circulating directly onto the
plants. Third, be sure the plants are getting enough light. Fourth, set the pots on a bed of pebbles or small stones and keep them moist all the time.
This will keep the humidity high around the plant. Fifth, feed your plants
lightly at every watering except during prolonged overcast weather. Don't feed them during the summer months.
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Q: Do herbal
oils make great insecticides?
Maybe. Japanese researchers have tested several plant-derived oils for
their repellency to the green peach aphid. Of 13 oils tested (thyme, peppermint,
lavender, rosemary, basil, mint, spearmint, hyssop, marjoram, patchouli,
oregano, pennyroyal and sage), those of rosemary, peppermint, thyme, lavender
and spearmint showed significant abilities to repel. Of these, oils of
rosemary and thyme were the best.
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Q: Should I plant
garlic in the spring or the fall?
All of the gardening books claim that northern gardeners should plant
garlic in the spring. However, our summers are very hot and they begin
and end abruptly. This gives the plants little time to produce a good bulb,
since garlic forms few bulbs when temperatures are above 77 degrees F.
Another factor that comes into play with garlic and its cousin the onion,
is photo-period, or day length. Garlic and onion cultivars right for planting
in the north are considered cool season plants. They make their leafy growth
under the cool days of spring. Then, when the days become long, they stop
their leaf growth and begin to make bulbs. If the plants were not set
early enough in the spring to allow a long enough time for them to produce
good root and leaf growth before bulbing commences, then the bulbs will
be a disappointment. Unfortunately, our springs are usually short and we
go right into summer. Spring-planted garlic produces a weak top and a small
bulb in many gardens. If this is so in your case, try planting garlic in
the fall. Set the cloves anytime from mid-September to late October, similar
to the
time we traditionally plant daffodils and tulips. The cloves will develop
a good root system in the fall and early spring and the plants will begin
to grow very early, even beneath the snow. With this head start on the
season they'll have enough time to produce the requisite root system and
top growth before bulbing begins, and you'll have a good crop of bulbs
for your Italian dishes.
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Q: Does
sugar water help preserve cut flowers?
We used to think so, and it may help a bit, but
microorganisms soon flourish in the vase and clog the
water-conducting tubes of the flower stems. The best material to use
is one that contains sugar as well as a chemical that inhibits
growth of microorganisms and an acidifier to help the plant take up
the mix. You can't go wrong with commercial preparations-they work
great. But if you're stubborn, you can make your own by adding 2
tablespoons of a "mediciny" mouthwash to a gallon of
water. Fill the vase with this and your flowers will last
noticeably longer. Remember to use the plain kind of mouthwash-don't
baby your plants with the sweet, mint-flavored products.
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Garden Herb Guide Available
A new publication can help Montana gardeners begin creating beautiful herb gardens.
"Herbs for Montana Gardens" was written by Montana State University Extension Horticulturist Bob Gough. It is an eight-page MontGuide giving
both history and growing information about 30 herbs that can grow in Montana, from the well-known basil and chives to celeriac, costmary and
bee-balm.
While primarily intended for gardeners, commercial growers might find some
new herb production possibilities, though they would need far more information than in this publication, says Gough."Herbs for Montana Gardens" (MT 200003) is available from your local
Extension Service office.
Internet
Great Garden Resource
Thousands of gardening sites are
up and running on the net, and they just keep growing and growing.
A good place to start is the Garden
Gate, a non-commercial site created by Kren Fletcher in 1994. Fletcher
describes herself as an information junkie with along-term interest in
gardening whose goal is to "organize information and make it easy for people
to find what they're looking for."
Garden
Net is the oldest commercially oriented garden site on the Internet.
This is where gardeners can find links to seed companies, mail-order nurseries,
companies that sell garden tools and accoutrements, and more.
For the serious gardener, Ohio
State University's Gardening Factsheet Database listed under its "Webgarden",
contains thousands of horticultural fact sheets from academic institutions
and cooperative extension offices around the country. The site has
a searchable database of more than 3,000 plants, disease, and insect images.
Return to Index
What do the numbers on a
fertilizer package mean?
A surprising number of people don't know how to
read a fertilizer package. Those three numbers on the side of the
bag are collectively called the "analysis." They represent
respectively the percentages of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium
that bag contains. Those are the three major nutrients all plants
need. So a bag of 5-10-10 fertilizer contains 5% nitrogen, 10%
phosphorus and 10% potassium, also called potash. If the bag weighs
50 pounds, it contains 2-1/2 pounds of nitrogen and 5 pounds each of
phosphorus and potash.
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Q:
How do I prune my roses?
Roses probably present the
most mystery regarding their pruning, but it's really simple to care
for them. All you need to do is separate those that need regular
pruning from those that don't, and learn a few details.
If your rose has been
grafted (like many of the hybrid tea roses) and the graft union
remains above ground, remove all suckers arising from below ground.
Species roses, including the shrub roses, need almost no pruning.
Early each spring remove dead, diseased and broken canes and
branches, and remove spent flower heads from the bush right after
flowering. Cut back winter-killed wood to healthy wood. Maintain the
plants with about four or five healthy canes and keep the center of
the plant open. That's it.
Cut back Hybrid Teas,
Grandifloras, Floribunds and Polyanthus to sound green wood and
treat them as described above. The simple plan of keeping the dead
and unhealthy wood removed and the center of the plant open applies
to all roses.
During summer bloom, as
soon as a flower begins to shatter, remove it and the attached shoot
back to a five-leaflet leaf with a bud pointing toward the outside
of the plant. This will help the plant become bushier and set more
flower buds.
In fall, shorten the canes
of hybrid teas to 12 to 18 inches. This will facilitate winter
protection. Shorten them again in spring, leaving about four healthy
buds on each of the main canes of the plant. As I mentioned before,
simply remember to keep the unhealthy wood pruned out and the center
of the plant open.
Horticulture Hotline:
1-877-GRO-TIPS
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To prune or not to
prune!
Robert Gough, PhD, Montana State University Extension
Horticulture Specialist
4/4/02
Pruning mystifies people. "When do I do it? How do I do
it? Will I kill the shrub if I prune it wrong?" No need to feel
bewildered. Most of the time plants are forgiving. It's hard to kill some of
them, even if you try.
Tall, overgrown deciduous shrubs, like that old caragana in
the back yard, can be rejuvenated by proper pruning. Don't just cut the top
off if you want a natural form. Remove old canes as close to the ground as
possible. New shoots will develop from the base of the plant and provide a
more natural form.
Prune severely overgrown shrubs in the very early spring
before growth begins. However, many spring-flowering shrubs that flower with
or before purple lilac (mock orange, spirea, lilac and some flowering plums)
should be pruned right after their flowers fade.
Bring overgrown shrubs back into shape gradually. Remove a
third of the old canes each year for three years and fertilize and water
sufficiently to promote vigorous new growth from the plant's base. Once the
old growth has been cut out, prune out the oldest third of the canes each year
to keep the bush vigorous. By the way, you don't need to treat the wounds
with pruning paint. That idea has pretty much gone by the wayside.
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Got some thyme on
your hands?
Robert Gough, PhD, Montana State University Extension Horticulture Specialist
3/6/02
If you're sitting around thinking of what to plant this
spring, thyme is a possibility. The Greeks drank it mixed with beer to
overcome shyness. The Scots drank it as a tea to gain strength and courage and
prevent nightmares. These days it's a seasoning in many foods.
You can grow thyme successfully in some parts of our region,
but it is only marginally hardy in most areas. Still, it's a useful herb that
you might want to try planting.
Sow the seeds indoors and start new plants every few years.
Older plants get too woody and don't produce tender, highly aromatic leaves.
Harvest the leaves when the plants are in bloom by snipping
off five or six inches of the flowering top. Dry, strip off the leaves and
store them in a closed container.
Caraway thyme (Thymus herba-barona) is a native of Corsica
and has the fragrance of caraway. Sicily thyme (Thymus nitidus) is used in
poultry seasoning. Other thymes include Thymus serpyllum, Thymus thracicus,
and Thymus vulgaris, the common thyme so popular in rock gardens.
Most families can get by with only a plant of two. After
all, how much thyme do you need? You don't want to end up with too much thyme
on your hands.
Want to know more about herbs for our region? Contact Dave
Phillips, MSU Fergus County Extension Agent
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Keeping
an eye on iris
Robert Gough, PhD, Montana State University Extension
Horticulture Specialist
(7/24/02)
Gardeners do most of their
transplanting in early spring and early fall, but summertime is just right for
moving your tall bearded iris.
These hardy perennials grow well in our
tough gardening conditions and alkaline soils, but they deserve a little
attention to keep them in peak health. Their thick, fleshy rhizomes grow rapidly
near the soil's surface and your iris bed will quickly become overcrowded unless
you thin it every few years.
When flowering is over, deadhead the
plants and separate the clumps of rhizomes. Discard the bloomed-out central
rhizomes and any that look diseased or damaged. Reset only the younger, healthy
ones.
Choose a sunny spot and turn plenty of
compost into the new bed. If you use manure, keep it well below the rhizome
line. Mix in a few handfuls of a high-phosphorus complete fertilizer, such as
10-15-6, to complete the preparation. Barely cover the new rhizomes with soil,
and water them in.
Orient the rhizome so that its fan of
leaves leans away from the center of the bed. Finally, cut away the top half of
the leaf fan to reduce water loss. Your new bed may not bloom the year after
transplanting, but it should make a good show the second year.
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THE TRUTH ABOUT GREEN
TATERS
When you reach into a potato chip bag,
do you wonder if it's true that green potatoes are poisonous? Well, yes, but
don't blame the green stuff.
First, the potatoes that we eat are not
really roots. They are modified stems called tubers. When they are exposed to
light, these stems can develop a green pigment called chlorophyll. It's the same
green stuff we see in leaves and cucumbers--even in green tomatoes--and it's not
considered toxic. In fact, because of its deodorizing properties, chlorophyll is
used in some breath fresheners.
But when harmless chlorophyll builds up
in potatoes, a less-friendly compound called solanine builds up too. This
bitter, colorless and toxic alkaloid is also found in potato tops and sprouts
and in the plants of tomato, pepper and eggplant. It's a powerful cholinesterase
inhibitor and in very large doses can cause paralysis, shock and subnormal body
temperature.
Don't toss that chip yet, though. You
would have to eat, at one sitting, at least four and a half pounds of potatoes
to get the first symptoms of solanine poisoning--drowsiness and itchiness behind
the neck. Still, to be safe, don't eat green potatoes, potato sprouts or potato
tops.
Many lawn and garden publications
are available at local MSU Extension offices. In Lewistown, call
538-3919 or 538-7611, or stop by the office at 712 West Main.
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Spring
follows its own schedule, not ours.
Robert Gough, PhD, Montana State University Extension
Horticulture Specialist
1) As I told the MG classes a week or so
ago, the first question on spring bulbs coming up so early will be coming in
this week. It did. In fact, I got one each from Great Falls and Livingston.
People are panicking. Crocus, tulips, and narcissus are up now, especially on
the south side of buildings. In fact, they were up a month or so ago, but lay
beneath the snow and so out of sight and mind. People believe they will be hurt
by subsequent cold and want to mulch them or otherwise protect them. Don't worry
about it. The plants will be fine. If it gets extremely cold they may be burned
back a bit, but they won't be killed.
2) Questions continue to come in on the winter
scorch problems with the pines. This seems to show mostly on Ponderosa pine, but
I have seen it on Scotch and Austrian Black pines as well. About every 5 or 6
years we get a real scorch problem through combinations of factors I mentioned
in my last email. Again, there is nothing you can do about it now. Expect
even more damage to show up as the temperatures warm, but remember that damage
was already done last winter (it just hasn't shown up yet). If the needles
remain flexible they may green up again in spring; if they are brittle they're
probably gone. DO NOT cut out limbs you think are dead until the Fourth of July.
They may not be dead and may take much of June to green up. You've wasted no
time…if they are dead, they'll be dead in July; if they are not, they'll be
green. Be sure you water the plants sufficiently through the spring and summer
and pay close attention to fall watering.
3) Time to prune your trees and summer flowering
shrubs. The rule of thumb is to prune in early spring before the buds begin to
swell but after the danger of hard freezes has passed. There are a few
exceptions, but I wouldn't worry about them. Pruning paint is not usually
required over the wound.
4) If you follow a high maintenance lawn
fertilization regime (5# actual N/1000 sq. ft/yr) put on the first application
(1 # / 1000 sq. ft) as soon as the ground thaws and the grass begins to show
some green color. A high N fertilizer will do the trick.
5) Pull winter mulch from your strawberries after
severe cold has passed. Ditto for the rhubarb. Check the beds every few days
once the weather warms and pull the mulch before the new growth etiolates.
6) Start crucifer transplants about 7-8 weeks
before you will set them to the garden; tomato transplants about 8-9 weeks;
peppers 8-10 weeks; cucurbits about 4 weeks.
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