The Exotic Honeysuckle

One of best memories is to sit with your beloved ones under a huge honeysuckle vine in Pennsylvania, sucking the nectar out of the ends of the gold and white blossom. Honeysuckles are arching shrubs or twining bines in the family Caprifoliaceae, native to the Northern Hemisphere. More than 180 species of honeysuckle have been identified so far. Therefore 100 species can be found in China, 20 native species identified in Europe, 20 in India, and 20 in North America. It wasn’t till long afterwards that realized that not all honeysuckles were vines, that just as many of them were shrubs and that among the vining ones not all of them grew as lushly as that childhood twinning ones; they bloom attractively and is quite varied in both their flowers and their berries. 

Hall’s honeysuckle or “Lonicera” japonica “Halliana” is the one of familiar to most people. It has white flowers that turn to gold in late spring and thereafter, followed by black berries. The foliage turns a nice bronze color in fall. A Japanese plant now naturalized in this country and hardy as well. It requires a strong support unless grown as a ground cover and can be very rampant if not controlled by pruning. If you want a more manageable vine, choose Henry honeysuckle “L.Henryi”, which is hardy and has red flowers a bit later than those of Hall’s or try gold flame honeysuckle “L. x heckrottii”, hardy to and long blooming red flowers. Even try trumpet honeysuckle because of it restrained growth and late bloom it helps to keep the hummingbirds around in July and August. Numerous species of honeysuckle have become invasive when introduced outside their native range, particularly in New Zealand and the United State.

Honeysuckle gets its name because edible sweet nectar can be sucked from the flowers. If you want to grow Honeysuckle vines will grow in most soils, and in sun or shade, but they bloom best in full sun and in soil that is fairly moist. Don’t feed the vigorous ones, and restrain them by pruning unless you are using them to control erosion and want rampant growth. Banish aphids as needed with a soap spray and propagate by seed, softwood cutting or by layering. Moreover honeysuckles are valued as garden plants, for their ability to cover unsightly walls and outbuildings, their profuse tubular flowers in summer, and the penetrating fragrance of several varieties.

How to Grow Colchicum Autumnale

Colchicum autumnale, generally recognized as autumn crocus, meadow saffron or naked lady, is a flower that resembles the true crocuses, but blooms in autumn. This is a very weird plant, and if you don’t know what to expect it can really fool you. The plant foliage comes up in spring, just like that of a spring bulb, but it doesn’t bloom, and by summer the leaves disappear. However, if fall, long after you’ve perhaps said; oh, well so much for Colchicum autumnale, some stems come out of the ground with no leaves on them, just big pink, lavender or white flowers that look sort of like large crocuses.

The species is usually cultivated as an ornamental in temperate areas, in spite of its toxicity. There nice as it is to have a fall blooming bulb, or fall blooming anything, you do have the problem of how to landscape those flowerless spring leaves and those leafless fall flowers. They are supposed to look great planted in front of shrubs, but this makes them look all the more gawky. Moreover, plant them in a natural setting, in sun or light shade, where there is a permanent, evergreen ground cover such as periwinkle, which will deemphasize both the leaves and their absence. They will also naturalize well in grass. Colchicum normally grows from corms and is hardy as well. Colchicum autumnale is the only species of its genus native to the Great Britain and Ireland, occurs across mainland Europe from Portugal to Ukraine, and naturalized in Denmark, Sweden, European Russia, the Baltic States and New Zealand.

So, Hybrids of C. autumnale grow about 8 inches tall. However, some colchicums sold are hybrids of C. speciosum. These are apt to be a hit taller. C. speciosum Album is white, despite the fact that these all look something like crocuses and are even called autumn crocuses in some catalogs. They are not the same as spring blooming crocuses which are another species altogether and have their leaves and flowers well synchronized. Moreover, Colchicum plants are deadly poisonous due to their colchicine content. Therefore, the symptoms of colchicine poisoning resemble those of arsenic, and no antidote is recognized.

Well, to grow Colchicum corms are sold in summer. So they should be planted in late summer or early fall in sun or part shade, about 8 inches apart. They are not fussy about soil, but add organic matter if yours is sandy or dry because they need a reasonable amount of moisture. Plant the large bulbs with the tops at least three inches below the soil surface. Though, bulbs normally multiply by themselves without human intervention.  Source: CP

Blanket Flower; Beautify your Home and Gardens

Blanket flower is a perennial long season of bloom, produced from early summer to early fall in different shades. Blanket Flower is also known as Gaillardia is a genus of flowering plants in the sunflower family. Gaillardias look like large daisies, with bold, bright markings like those of an American Indian blanket, in patterns of red, yellows and golds. The blanket flowers are glandular in most species; however the inflorescence is a solitary flower head. Blanket flowers are annual or perennial herbs or subshrubs, sometimes with rhizomes.  

Usually, it grow about 2 ½ feet tall, but there are also dwarf varieties. They bloom in summer over a long period and are a good choice if your climate is hot and dry. Therefore, varieties include the mixed colored “Monarch Strain” and solids such as dark red “Burgundy” and “Yellow Queen”. Multicolored “Goblin” grows a foot tall. Blanket Flower is sometimes rolled into a funnel shape are many tubular disc florets at the center of the head in a similar range of colors, and usually tipped with hairs. Blanket flowers enticing butterflies can be grown in containers and the taller cultivars make nice cut flowers.  Blanket flowers are usually short-lived; cutting back clumps to 6 inches in late summer often increases their chances of winter survival. 

Blanket flower normally grows in moist, humid areas and plants may develop fungus diseases in summer or succumb to rot from winter moisture. Avoid mulching them, and give them light, well-drained soil, preferably on the sandy side. Gaillardias can be grown fairly quickly from seed, and will flower the first year. Moreover in spring season, watch for new shoots that may appear quite a distance from the original clump. If the center of the clump dies, discard it and replant the side shoots. Blanket flowers have insect or disease problems and look out for aphids and leafhoppers that can banquet a virus-like disease called aster yellows.

How to Grow Cactus

Cacti are fun to grow because of their eccentric, even comical shapes. They are extremely beautiful especially when they bloom. If your air is dry and you have trouble growing plants that like high humidity, put away your mister and pebble-filled trays and try cacti instead. They also need less attention than other houseplants. They are part of the large group of desert plants called “succulents” which store water in their fleshy leaves to get them through the long dry spells their native climates are known for. Cacti don’t have conventional leaves, just stems, which are often jointed. They also have “areoles” small holes from which tufts emerge. Sometimes the tufts are soft, like hairs; sometimes they are sharp and spiny. The tufts shelter them from the sun and if sharp, against creatures who might bite them to get at the water inside. The flowers which appear in spring and summer also emerge from the areoles.

Cacti are a large family, with several genera that make good houseplants. Here are some good ones to start with Mammillaria cacti are sometimes called “pincushion” or “nipple” cacti. Most look like small round globes covered with nipples and bear clusters of small, pretty flowers in a crown around the top. Some good ones to try are old lady cactus “Mammillaria hahniana” which is well covered with long white hairs, produces red flowers and generally grows well under 10 inches; the tiny golden star cactus “M. elongata” which is composed of a cluster of long projections with yellow spines and white flowers; M. zeilmanniana, which forms a little round ball and produces pinkish red flowers even at a young age.

Moreover, Easter lily cactus (Echinopsis multiplex) is a little round cactus with vertical ribs and large, pink flowers borne on tall stems; these open in the evening and have a lovely fragrance. Hybrids, which are crossed with species of Lobivia cactus, come in other colors such as red and orange, and may be day blooming. Among the many other good flowering cacti to try are species of Opuntia “prickly pear” Aporocactus “rattail”, Echinocereus “hedgehog”, Ferocactus “barrel” and Rebutia “crown”.

One of the most popular cacti is the Christmas cactus “Schlumbergera truncate or Zygocactus truncatus” a jungle epiphyte that sends out long, arching jointed stems. Lovely red or white tube shaped flowers dangle from the tips around Christmas time. The variety known as “Thanksgiving cactus” blooms a few weeks earlier and can be distinguished by the fact that the last joint on a stem has two prominent teeth. A similar plant, Easter cactus (Rhipsalidopsis gaertneri), is spring blooming. Plants are long lived and can grow as tall as 3 feet and at least as wide.

Most cacti prefer full sun, so give them as much of it as you can. Some will do all right in bright light or under fluorescent lights. They like warm temperatures during the day but can tolerate 40 to 45 degrees at night but don’t let them freeze though and may even bloom better if you turn down your thermostat at night. They like dry air but will take average humidity. In spring and summer when growth is active they should be watered thoroughly. However, during the winter they go dormant for a time, a period they need in order to bloom. They perhaps won’t need water at all during this time unless they wrinkle. If your water is softened water them with bottled water, since they cannot tolerate salt.

Moreover, plant cacti in small, shallow clay pots, with a light, sandy soil except Christmas cacti. Repot in spring if you see roots in the drainage hole. Don’t feed new plants for a year, then feed about once a month during the growing season with a weak concentration of low nitrogen liquid fertilizer; don’t feed cacti at all while they are dormant. They love to be summered outdoors, in fact the cooler days and shorter nights at the end of summer can help to trigger bloom, but bring them indoors when temperatures start to get down into the 40s. Propagate them by transplanting offsets that have developed their own roots.

Christmas and Thanksgiving cacti need more water and fertilizer than other cacti, and they need a more organic soil. Feed them twice a month in spring and summer, and let the soil dry out a bit between watering. But starting eight weeks before the time you want them to bloom, give them a rest. Keep them in a cool place that gets no light at night 50 to 60 degree, give them no fertilizer and just enough water to keep them from wrinkling, and don’t repot them during this time do it in spring. Gradually introduce them to warmer temperatures. Water while blooming, and then keep the cacti on the dry side until spring. They are propagated easily by stem cuttings.    

How to Grow Ranunculus

Ranunculus is a large genus of about 600 species of plants in the Ranunculaceae and members of the genus include the buttercups, spearworts, and water crowfoots. Most of the ranunculus available is the showy hybrids that you see in florist shops. The beautiful flowers which are several inches across are round globes made up of several papery textured petals in bright, almost electric colors like red, pink, yellow, gold, white, and picotee that are with the petals edged in a contrasting color. The name Ranunculus is Late Latin for "little frog," the diminutive of rana and this may refers to several species being found near water, like frogs.

They grow 18 to 24 inches tall. They are hardy only in warm climates, blooming there in late winter and spring and going dormant in the summer; both the flowers and the attractive ferny foliage die back. In zones where there is frost they are grown outdoors for bloom in spring and summer until it gets very hot. They can be grown in beds, but they make a particularly fine show as container plants on a deck or terrace. The most ordinary use of Ranunculus species in traditional medicines are anti-rheumatism, intermittent fever and rubefacient.

The plants like full sun and need moisture around the roots, but they will rot if drainage is poor around their crowns. They are planted in late fall in warm climates in cool ones they are started indoors two months before the last frost. Furthermore, all Ranunculus species are poisonous when eaten fresh by horses, cattle, and other livestock, but their acrid taste and the blistering of the mouth caused by their poison means they are generally left uneaten.

Soak the claw shaped tubers in water for a few hours before planting them. Place them in the soil with the claw facing down. Start with small pots, filled with a light, rich potting soil, and move them up to larger pots as they grow, keeping them cool at night and keeping their soil moist. If you love unusual cut flower displays then Ranunculus are the plant is best for you, in vibrant, exciting and perfect for making a dramatic impact.

Moreover bring them outdoors only after danger of frost has passed. After they stop blooming in summer, let the foliage die down and the rubers dry out. Therefore some to have them in the bags of dry peat at about 50 degrees till the planting time. Even warm climate gardeners dig ranunculus up and store them over the summer. However, buttercups are mostly perpetual, but infrequently annual or biannual, herbaceous, aquatic or terrestrial plants, habitually with leafs in a rosette at the base of the stem.