What's in this Issue:

#2 Lynne's Backyard Gardening Tips

#3 New Gardening Product of-the-Month

#4 Odd & Strange Gardening News

#5 Great Plant of the Month

#6 Invasive Plant of-the-Month

#7 Garden Pest of-the-Month

#8 Feedback - Anonymous

Fertilizing Indoor Plants

Answer:

It is easy to over-fertilize your houseplants because they do not need the same amounts as when they were outside. Some of the symptoms of too much fertilizer include:

- Dried & burned leaf margins

- Loss of leaves (particularly lower leaves)

- Wilted & dying or dead plants

- Browned root system

- Stunted plants or sharp decrease in rate of growth

Houseplants should only be fertilized during their active growth period. Wintertime is their slow and dormant period so you should drastically reduce fertilizing. Houseplants need a balanced ratio of the following nutrients:

• Nitrogen (N)
• Phosphorus (P)
• Potassium (K)

These are sold at lawn and garden centers in granular, crystalline, tablet, and liquid forms and vary in ratios of the 3 important nutrients. Amounts and ratios will vary depending on the type of plant and how much light they are getting. If in doubt on all of this do the following when moving houseplants indoors for the winter:

- Use a balanced fertilizer ratio of 20-20-20

- Reduce substantially the amount of fertilizer

Note: Read the fertilizer info on the specific brand to be purchased because many will tell you what to do.

Note: Finally, If you have the time, call a local county extension agent because they are very versed in the specifics of your regional climate conditions and specific plant types.

Cut Flowers – How to Make Them Last Longer

You’ve grown beautiful flowers and now you want to cut a few and bring them inside. The problem sometimes is… they don’t last very long before wilting and having to be thrown away. Fortunately, there is an answer for this.

You can have Cut Flowers Last Longer for Full Enjoyment

Three things will add vase life to your cut flowers:

1. Selection of cut flowers
2. Proper Preparation of cut flowers
3. Maintenance of cut flowers

1- Selection:

First of all, good flower selection is a key initial step to longevity. Choose flowers that are just coming into bloom. Also, cut your flowers in the early morning or late in the evening when they are holding their maximum amount of water. It is best to cut most fresh flowers before they fully open. By doing this they will retain their attractive form longer. In the case of flowers like roses or poppies you should cut them when their buds first show color.

2- Preparation:

The next stage after selection is to make the actual cutting and to properly prepare them. When making the cut, use a sharp knife or pruning shears for a clean incision. If you use household scissors or shears, or a dull knife, you can mash the stem which slows the absorption of water for the flower. Make an angled slanted cut because a squared off cut will have the stem sitting on the bottom of the vase and thus reduce water intake.

Make sure you cut off any of the lower leaves as you prepare. Then immerse the stems into luke warm water of about 110 degrees. Note: Exceptions are flowers like poinsettias and poppies that bleed a milky sap when cut. In this case, plunge the stem into icy water to stop the flow.

Preservatives - Next, use preservatives to help extend the flowers vase life. These types of answers include materials containing sugars for nutrients, acids to prevent bacterial growth, and a fungicide to reduce the chance of disease. Basically, anything that will feed the flower, prohibit bacteria, and feed the flower will work.

A homemade version of this can be a recipe consisting of this:

• 1 teaspoon of sugar
• 1 teaspoon of bleach
• 2 tablespoons of lemon or lime juice
• Mix all in warm water

Warm water helps in the absorption process, but in the case of cold weather blooms like tulips cold water is best.

3- Maintenance:

Some maintenance is helpful in longer lasting flowers. Once your flowers are in the vase, keep it out of direct sunlight and in a cooler spot. As flowers wilt remove them so they don’t contaminate the rest of the bunch. Changing the water daily is best but at least every 2-3 days and re-add more preservatives each time. As you do this re-cut the stems to allow the fullest absorption.

Enjoy Your Flowers, Longer!

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Rubber Pavers

Should you use rubber pavers are a replacement or substitution for brick or stone pavers? Why deviate from the tried and true. After all, how could rubber be better than stone or brick?

There must be reasons because rubber pavers are not only accepted but are increasing in popularity all the time. Whenever there is a deviation away from what’s been done forever there is resistance to change. Rubber pavers are not meant to totally replace stone or brick, but in certain cases they are the superior choice.

Advantages of Rubber Pavers include:

• They are Attractive
• Very Easy to Install
• Superior Traction Wet or Dry
• Impervious to Ice, Water & Temperature Extremes
• Come in Many Shapes, Sizes & Colors
• Excellent Slip Resistance
• Durable & Chemical Resistant
• Will not Crack & Chip like other Materials
• Self Draining – Won’t hold water
• Superior Noise & Shock Absorbency
• Excellent Anti-Fatigue. Anti-Static Properties
• Excellent Interlocking Stability
• Easily Cut to Fit any Shape
• Can be Put Over Hard Surfaces

Where Rubber Pavers can be used:

Basically, rubber pavers can be used anywhere you would use brick or stone pavers. The split versions are ideal over any hard surfaces.

They are great for:

• Walkways
• Play areas
• Pool Decks
• Garages
• Horse Barns
• Dog Runs
• Etc…

Pitcher Plants

Imagine a beautiful plant that lures insects to their death by a sweet smell and enticing pigmentation. And to top it off, the pitcher plant then proceeds to eat its victim.

Pitcher Plants have a “pitcher-like” shape that features a deep cavity filled with liquid. Insects are attracted visually and or by odor to it. Once there, the insect such as a fly falls into the pitcher like body and cannot get out because the sides are slippery and grooved. The liquid does 3 things to the insect:

• Traps it
• Drowns it
• Dissolves it

As the insect is dissolved it becomes a soup of amino acids, nitrogen, phosphorus, peptides, and other minerals. This soup is what the pitcher plant absorbs for its food and nutrition.

The question should be… “Why doesn’t the pitcher plant just take nutrients out of the soil like other plants”? and “ Why go through all the hassle of trapping and consuming insects when you could just draw food from the soil”?

The answer is that these plants natural habitats are bogs and swamps where the soil is poor in minerals and the soil is highly acidic. Most other plants could not survive in such soil conditions but the pitcher plant does because it gets its nutrition from outside sources… Insects.

Flowering Vines that Love Shade

Shade can have a big impact on a plants adaptation to a region. For example, plants that normally won’t grow in a warmer region may do well if planted in the shade. You create a micro-environment that is different than in the open direct sunlight.

Plants need sun to survive. Question: Why are some plants able to do well in low light conditions? Answer: They are genetically adapted to be more efficient in photosynthesis. Photosynthesis is the process where chlorophyll absorbs light and uses it as energy to convert carbon dioxide and water into nutrition.

Below are 3 shade loving vine suggestions to get you started:

Trumpet Vines:

This vine could also be known as the hummingbird vine because of its features. The flowers for this vine are a bright orange or red hue which hummingbirds are very attracted to. Furthermore, the trumpet shape of the flower is a perfect fit for the hummingbird’s long and slender beak.

Trumpet vines are great for walls, trellis, old structures on your property, and fences. They are aggressive and fast growing and can reach heights of 25-40 feet. This vine will bloom for several months in the summer.

Clematis Vines:

There are over 250 different varieties of this flowering vine. They are generally very hardy and perennial in nature lasting up to 20 + years in the right conditions. With so many varieties you have various shapes and sizes of both leaves and flowers.

Some clematis vines have flowers shaped like bells, others have random clusters of small white flowers, and some have flat broad blooms. This vine can grow to be anywhere from 12-30 feet depending on the variety. They grow best in partial shade but in the north they’ll handle direct sun.

Climbing Hydrangea Vine:

This vine does well in:

• Full sun
• Partial Sun
• And, Full Shade

It’s hardiness zones are approximately zones 4-10 so it is pretty adaptable. This vine does get tall so you have to control it if using on a trellis or arbor.

Houndstongue

As is the case of many invasive species of plants, Houndstongue is an attractive plant with pretty flowers. Its side affects however are not only that it grows everywhere with abandon, it also Kills animals that eat it.

Horses and Cows are particularly affected by houndstongue but it also can kill sheep. It also substantially reduces their values of the sheep’s wool because the burrs of the Houndstongue stick to it like Velcro.

Houndstongue contains “pyrrolizidine alkaloids”(big word) that have a cumulative affect on the liver and cause irreversible damage. All it takes is for an animal to ingest 5-10% of its body weight in the houndstongue over a period of time for this to be lethal. An animal such as a horse or cow doesn’t know it’s consuming a poison, they are just satisfying their hunger.

This invasive weed is hardy to most temperature zones and does well in shade or sun. Houndstongue grows in open fields, pastures, disturbed areas and roadsides.

More Info: Houndstongue is native to Eurasia but has rapidly spread all around the world including The United States and Canada. It is a biennial that can grow from 1-4 feet tall and spreads by producing up to 650+ seeds per plant. The seeds themselves are hardy and viable up to 3 years so they have plenty of opportunity to sprout.

Wireworms

This lawn, garden & farm pest is found throughout the world. Wireworms get their bad reputation because they feed on grasses, sods, and various crops with great destructive precision. They do this by:

• Devouring seeds in the soil
• Cutting off small underground stems & roots
• Boring into larger stems & roots

Crops or grasses attacked by wireworms have greatly reduced plant populations because the wireworms feed on the seeds prior to germination or just after germination. After this, the destruction continues because whatever survives gets their roots & stems eaten and bored into. This is a very persistent pest indeed.

Good News and Bad News:

The good news is that the Click Beetle (what the wireworm turns into eventually) does no damage and is not considered a problem. The adult wireworm – click beetle, usually lives 10-12 months.

The bad news is that the wireworm in larval development takes from 2-6 years in the soil to grow into the click beetle. Meanwhile, all the time the larval development occurs the wireworm is feeding on the roots & stems of plants.

Detection: Wireworms are among the most difficult pest to detect. A gardener, homeowner, or farmer may not discover a wireworm problem until bare, patchy areas appear. By this time they have done their damage.

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