Author: Russell Stafford

Hortiholic and plant evangelist, Russell Stafford, transplanted his first perennial at age 7 and thereby began a lifelong plant addiction. He is the founder and custodian of Odyssey Bulbs (and Odyssey Perennials), an online nursery specializing in cool and uncommon plants. Russell also works as a horticultural consultant, freelance writer (Horticulture and The American Gardener magazines), and garden editor. He formerly served as Curator and Head of Horticulture at Fernwood Botanic Garden in Niles, Michigan and as the Horticultural Program Coordinator at the Center for Plant Conservation, then located at the Arnold Arboretum in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts. His academic degrees include a masters in forest science from Harvard University.

Growing Raspberries and Blackberries

Wild blackberries — Freshly picked wild blackberries. (Image by Loadmaster)

Few summer treats can compare to a bowl of sweet fresh-picked raspberries or blackberries. Borne on the brambly stems (or “canes”) of shrubs in the genus Rubus, these toothsome morsels are about as delectable as hardy fruits get. And thanks to the efforts of modern breeders, growing raspberries and blackberries is easier than ever. There’s a brambly berry for just about every culinary garden!

Black raspberries (Rubus occidentalis) — Black raspberries (*Rubus occidentalis*) ready for the picking. (image care of USDA, ARS)

What are Brambles?

Botanically speaking, each raspberry or blackberry is in fact a cluster (or “aggregate”) of fused, fleshy seed capsules, individually known as drupelets. The drupelets develop on the domed centers of the white, often inconspicuous, bee-pollinated flowers.

Bramble berries come in several colors including red, orange, yellow, purple, and black, with numerous hybrids between the variously colored types. Most brambles are hardy into colder regions of the United States (USDA Hardiness Zone 5 or so), but some are best suited for milder climes.

Fortunately, perhaps the hardiest of the lot are the red raspberries, widely regarded as the cream of the bramble crop. All derive from Rubus idaeus, a prickly, suckering shrub native to much of the temperate Northern Hemisphere. Hundreds of selections and hybrids of the species are in cultivation, each selected for the flavor, abundance, and timing of its fruits.

Standard forms of red raspberry flower and fruit on the growth of the previous year, ripening their fruits in early summer. So-called everbearing varieties go them one crop better by also producing blooms and berries in late summer on the current season’s growth (known as “primocanes”). Everbearing raspberries can be tip-pruned in early spring for two crops, or sheared close to the ground for a single large late-season harvest.

Colorful Rubus berries — A colorful mix of *Rubus* berries. (image care of USDA, ARS)

Growing Red Raspberries

Red raspberry plants thrive in sun and fertile humus-rich soil (amend or mulch lean or heavy soil with a good compost such as Fafard Premium Natural & Organic Compost). Plant the canes in widely spaced rows (10 feet or so apart), removing suckers that wander more than a couple feet from the rows’ centers.

Recommended summer-fruiting varieties include ‘Killarney’, ‘Nova’ (which fruits a bit later than ‘Killarney’), and ‘Encore’ (which ripens later still). Everbearing red raspberries include ’Autumn Bliss’ and ‘Heritage’ (the latter bearing its fall crop too late for areas with short growing seasons). Yellow-fruited cultivars of Rubus idaeus include ‘Anne’ and ‘Fallgold’ (both everbearing).

Growing Black Raspberries

The eastern U.S. native Rubus occidentalis – commonly known as black raspberry – has sired several cultivars that make excellent choices for cold-climate gardens. The aromatic, dome-shaped berries mature to purple-black in late spring or early summer, depending on the variety. Look for the large-fruited, midseason-bearing ‘Jewel’, and the relatively early-fruiting ‘Haut’.

Black raspberries have similar soil and sun requirements to those of their red kin. Plant them (as well as blackberries and purple raspberries) at 4-foot intervals in rows spaced 8 to 12 feet apart. Prune the tips of black raspberry (and blackberry) primocanes in spring as soon as they reach full height, and remove all second-year canes after they fruit.

Red raspberries — Sweet, red raspberries are a real summer treat!

Growing Blackberries

Least hardy of the brambles are the group known as blackberries, a complex swarm of cultivars deriving from a hodgepodge of species. Their large, relatively elongated fruits ripen as the black raspberry season comes to a close. Relatively few blackberry cultivars are reliably hardy north of USDA Zone 6, and many hit their stride only in mild-winter areas such as the Southeast and Pacific Northwest. Among the best of the hardiest cultivars are ‘Darrow’ and ‘Illini Hardy’, which succeed into USDA Zone 5.

Gardeners in warmer districts can choose from a broad array of blackberries, including numerous thornless, semi-erect cultivars developed by the University of Arkansas and other breeding programs.

Crosses between red raspberries and black raspberries have yielded yet another tribe of brambles: purple raspberries. Intermediate in color, size, and hardiness between the two parent types, this group is best known by the cultivar ‘Brandywine’, whose large, flavorful, tart fruits come later than those of most other raspberries. Other notable cultivars include ‘Royalty’ and ‘Success’.

The various colors and seasons of bloom of modern raspberry and blackberry varieties offer a spectrum of delicious possibilities for bramble fanciers. Continuous spring-to fall harvest of berries is there for the growing, in a rainbow of colors. It’s a great time to be a bramblephile.

Blackberries — Thornless blackberries are easier to harvest!

Native Wildflowers for the Garden

Spring Virginia bluebells in woodland - April 2007 — Spring Virginia bluebells blanket a woodland garden floor. (Image by Jessie Keith)

America’s eastern native plants are a national treasure. They also offer a wealth of material for American gardens. This is perhaps most evident in spring, when many of the most beautiful native wildflowers strut their stuff in our fields, forests, or perennial borders.

Bloodroot

Among the first of these to bloom is one of the queens of the Eastern forest, bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis). Its broad, scalloped, kidney-shaped leaves unfurl in early spring, sending forth dainty, white, short-stemmed flowers that shatter within a few days of opening. Far longer lasting, however, are the breathtaking double blooms of the cultivar ‘Multiplex’, whose sublime form would do the finest waterlily proud. In whatever form, bloodroot makes a wonderful subject for massing and naturalizing in dappled shade. A moist, relatively coarse soil suits it best (amend heavy or sandy soils with a good compost such as Fafard Premium Natural & Organic Compost).

Virginia Bluebells

Another first-rate naturalizer for moist shade, Virginia bluebells (Mertensia virginica) sends up clusters of nodding, long-necked bell-flowers that morph from pale pink to summer-sky-blue upon opening in early- to mid-spring. The 15- to 18-inch-tall plants are well furnished with broad, blue-dusted leaves that tone prettily with the flowers. As bloom fades, so does the rest of the plant, yellowing and dwindling to a thick fleshy rootstock in late spring. Colonies of seedlings often follow. Wild-collected roots and plants of Virginia bluebell are sometimes sold by disreputable dealers, so buyer beware.

Celandine Poppy

Celandine poppies add a golden glow to the spring wildflower garden (Image by Josve05a)

With its sunny yellow mid-spring flowers and penchant for self-sowing, celandine poppy (Stylophorum diphyllum) makes an excellent shade-garden companion for Virginia bluebells. The 2-inch-wide, crepe-textured, four-petaled poppies are borne atop 18-inch clumps of bold foliage with oakleaf-shaped lobes. Bristly seedpods resembling miniature gourds ripen in late spring, with dormancy (and enthusiastic self-sowing) ensuing. Both celandine poppy and Virginia bluebells work well with other, more persistent woodlanders (such as ferns and Solomon’s seal) that fill the gaps left by their early exit.

Woodland Phlox

Although many native woodland perennials die back after blooming in spring, some stay around for the long haul. These include two species of Phlox that make excellent subjects for borders or naturalistic plantings. Woodland phlox (Phlox divaricata) produces drifts of fragrant, five-petaled blooms on wiry, foot-tall stems with paired, pointed leaves. The flowers are typically periwinkle-blue, but white, violet, and other colors occur in the wild and in cultivation. Their form and hue combine effectively with Virginia bluebells, celandine poppy, white trilliums, wild geraniums, and other wildflowers that bloom in mid-spring. After flowering, plants persist through the growing season and beyond as low semi-evergreen hummocks.

Crested Iris

Yet another splendid spreader for partial shade, crested iris (Iris cristata) grows from knobbly rhizomes that walk along the soil surface, like a bearded iris in miniature. Fanned tufts of arching, 6-inch, blade-shaped leaves give rise to proportionately large blooms that slightly over top the foliage in mid-spring. Flower color ranges from violet-blue to white, with contrasting yellow and white markings. Several cultivars are available. A lightly shaded site with moist, fertile, relatively porous soil is ideal.

All of these – and many more besides (including Geranium maculatum, Hepatica acutiloba, Trillium grandiflorum, Delphinium tricorne, Tiarella cordifolia, Polemonium reptans, and Uvularia grandiflora) – are essential plants for any eastern North American garden that seeks to embody a sense of place.

Gardening with Azaleas

Rhododendron 'Hinode-giri' (Kurume Hybrid) — Azalea ‘Hinode-giri’ (Kurume Hybrid) is a bright selection for spring. (Photo by Jessie Keith)

A single azalea, cloaked in bright petals, is the essence of spring. Grouped together, these versatile shrubs make an elegant tapestry in semi-shaded areas of the garden. With single or double flowers in white, shades of pink, red, purple, yellow and orange, the artistic possibilities are unlimited. Achieving great garden effects with one or more of the many azalea species and varieties requires little more than knowledge of their basic cultural requirements, a bit of garden or container space, and imagination.

Azalea Basics

Rhododendron 'Josephine Klinger' (Ghent Group) — The sunset flowers of azalea ‘Josephine Klinger’ (Ghent Group) offer luscious springtime color. (Photo by Jessie Keith)

All azaleas belong to the rhododendron genus and have Latin names that begin with the word “rhododendron.” So do their close relatives, the ornamental plants that go by the common name, “rhododendron.” This can cause confusion for novice azalea buyers. Fortunately, differences between azaleas and rhododendrons are fairly easy to spot, even if plant tags are missing. Azaleas are generally small-leafed deciduous or evergreen shrubs with loose clusters of fragrant, funnel or trumpet-shaped flowers. Rhododendrons are most often evergreens with larger leaves and fat trusses of bell-shaped blooms.

Azalea Cultural Requirements

A mature azalea–which can grow anywhere from two to eight feet tall–may look big and strong, but its roots are shallow and need consistently moist, well-drained soil that is on the acid end of the pH spectrum. If you are not sure about your soil chemistry, use a soil test kit, available at nurseries and garden centers, to find out. If soil is neutral or alkaline, amend with a product like Fafard Sphagnum Peat Moss to help increase acidity. Preserve soil moisture by mulching azaleas with at least two inches of organic material, spread in a two-foot radius around the base of each plant. If pruning is needed, do so immediately after flowering.

Azalea Stars for Shade

Pink Rhododendron canescens — The palest pink flowered mountain azalea (Rhododendron canescens) is a great native for the garden. (Photo by Jessie Keith)

In the wild, azaleas are natural understory plants that thrive in light shade. This trait makes them perfect for the semi-shaded or woodland garden, where the colorful blooms lighten things up in mid to late spring. If you have room, plant varieties like fragrant, pink ‘Candy Lights’ in groups of three for a dramatic impact. Underplant azaleas with spring bulbs for early interest and install hosta varieties for color and texture later on. Add foliage color by using a variegated azalea such as the semi-evergreen ‘Bollywood’, featuring green leaves edged in cream.

Native Azaleas

Native azaleas, including the fiery golden-orange flame azalea (Rhododendron calendulaceum) and pale pink flowered mountain azalea (Rhododendron canescens), make excellent additions to native plant gardens. The blooms attract butterflies and hummingbirds, while the fragrance lures human admirers. Place close to paths or seating areas to take advantage of the scent. For a succession of bloom and three-season interest, try combining flame azalea with another native shrub, oakleaf hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia), which bears white flower panicles that age to pink and oak-like leaves that redden in the fall.

Container Azaleas

Glenn Dale azaleas at U.S. National Arboretum. (Photo by Tim McCabe, USDA) — At the U.S. National Arboretum, Glenn Dale azaleas flourish. (Photo by Tim McCabe, USDA)

Bloom-a-Thon ‘White’, which tops out at 36 inches tall, is typical of smaller azaleas that work well in large containers. The Bloom-a-Thon and Encore series, like other compact, reblooming varieties, have the added bonus of flowering once in mid-spring and again in early summer, with the possibility of an additional flush of bloom in early fall. For a continual feast of flowers, underplant containers of reblooming azaleas with New Guinea impatiens in complementary or contrasting colors. Containerized azaleas benefit from the good nutrition and water retention provided by a quality potting medium like Fafard Natural and Organic Potting Soil.

Azalea Colors

Sometimes azalea lovers get carried away with color, planting magenta, orange and pink varieties close together. While this may stop traffic in the neighborhood, it also tends to create visual chaos. Make the landscape more coherent by choosing one color or color range, such as pinks. If there is room, plan for a succession of bloom by planting an early blooming azalea, like pink-flowered ‘Camilla’s Blush’ and a later flowering specimen in the same color range. ‘Weston’s Lollipop’ is one example. Underplant with perennials and annuals in the same hue. For a sophisticated finish, add a few contrasting companion plants in a shade that is on the opposite side of the color wheel. ‘Lime Green’ flowering tobacco (Nicotiana alata), for example, makes a perfect foil for a pink planting scheme.

All About Growing Tulips

Tulipa red striped lily — Lily-flowered tulips have pointed petals that open wide from vase-shaped buds. (Photo by Jessie Keith)

What would spring be without tulips? Their large, brilliant, jewel-toned flowers, often with playful markings at their centers, are just what we crave after the gloom and cold of winter. Those big bright bowls of color speak directly to our inner child (as well as to children themselves). And with the wide range of varieties available today, tulips can provide a continuous succession of garden brightness from early to late spring.

Tulipa 'Girlfriend' — ‘Girlfriend’ is a beautiful recently introduced hybrid of Tulipa vvdenskyi.

Tulip History

Tulips have been seducing gardeners for centuries. Turkish sultans featured them in their palace gardens in the 15th and 16th centuries, growing numerous hybrids characterized by dazzling colors and claw-shaped petals. From there, tulips made their way to Europe, evolving into the blunt-petaled forms that we associate with the genus (know botanically as Tulipa). By the early seventeenth century, tulips were all the rage in sophisticated European circles, triggering waves of “tulipomania” that built and destroyed fortunes.

Today, we’re fortunate to have thousands of tulip hybrids in numerous shapes and color. Further enriching our gardens are the many Tulipa species that have been introduced to horticulture in the relatively recent past. Horticulturists group cultivated tulips into sixteen “classes” depending on their flowering times, characteristics, and lineage.

Wild Tulips

This vast horticultural treasure trove began with a handful of wild ancestors from Central and West Asia, regions where summers are hot and dry and winters cold and snowy. And even today, most garden tulips flourish in conditions that recall their lands of origin. They need sun and winter chill to bloom, and a relatively dry summer rest to perennialize. If you garden in the northern United States and can offer sunny, not-too-damp conditions, tulips of all types will likely thrive – provided the pests don’t get them (more on this later).

Tulipa 'Elegans Rubra' — The heirloom cultivar ‘Elegans Rubra’ is an early lily-flowered tulip.

Fittingly, tulip season begins just as spring officially arrives, in March and early April. Earliest of all are a number of elfin Tulipa species that are comparable in stature to the Dutch hybrid crocuses that bloom alongside them. Many of these pixies (e.g., Tulipa biflora) open wide in sun to reveal white interiors with central yolks of yellow. Perhaps the queen of the early-risers is Tulipa humilis, which blooms in a variety of eye-catching hues including purple, pink, and white, with contrasting eyes.

Hybrid Tulips

A number of larger-flowered hybrids follow closely upon these earliest tulips. Kaufmanniana Hybrids (named after the species that sired them) typically have pointed, white or yellow, red-flamed blooms, with broad basal leaves that often bear showy bronze mottling. Single Early Tulips (such as ‘Apricot Giant’ and ‘Coleur Cardinal’) open their large, goblet-shaped blooms on short sturdy stems just as the Kaufmannianas are peaking, in early to mid-April. Then in the next few weeks comes a succession of other tulip classes, most notably:

Fosteriana Hybrids (including the famed ‘Emperor’ cultivars), prized for their huge, brightly colored flowers on relatively compact stems.
Greigii Hybrids, short in stature, with large cupped flowers and gray-green, maroon-splotched leaves.
Triumph Tulips, marked by their elegant, sturdy flowers and strong tall stems that stand up to inclement weather. Most bloom in the pastel range and many have contrasting petal margins.
Darwin Hybrids, combining the height of the Single Late Tulips with the immense brilliant blooms of the Fosteriana Hybrids, and flowering between these two parent classes.
Single Late Tulips, blooming well into May in a wide range of rich colors, on stems that typically exceed 26 inches.
Lily-flowered Tulips, named for their pointed petals that open wide from vase-shaped buds.
Double Late Tulips (such as ‘Angelique’), among the last to bloom, with peony-shaped flowers in mid- to late May.

*Tulipa clusiana* is well adapted to Southern and California gardens.

Altogether, tulip hybrids and species provide more than 2 months of bloom and endless ornamental possibilities. Many species and smaller-flowered hybrids mingle beautifully with other late winter and early spring perennials, both in formal borders and in less formal settings such as cottage gardens. For bold splashes of spring color, nothing beats the large-flowered hybrids, whether in massed bedding schemes or grouped in mixed borders. Some species even naturalize well, persisting and sometimes increasing in garden conditions that are to their liking.
Many tulips also “force” easily in pots, brightening the winter months (see “Forcing Bulbs for Winter Cheer”). Single Early and Fosteriana cultivars are among the best for this purpose.

Planting Tulips

Outdoors, plant tulips in late summer or early fall in a sunny exposure (after the first frost is often a good time). Fertile, not too heavy soil is best (amend sandy or clay soils with an organic compost such as Fafard Premium Natural & Organic Compost). Although often treated as annuals, tulips of all classes will usually return for several years of bloom if planted deep (6 inches or more below the soil surface). Deep planting also helps protect the bulbs from their chief bane – squirrels and other furry pests. Inter-plant tulips with rodent- and deer-resistant bulbs such as daffodils to further deter these herbivores.

A few tulips will even bloom and persist where winters are “too warm” for them. Tulipa clusiana – often dubbed “lipstick tulip” for the red central bands that mark its outer petals – grows and flowers reliably in areas such as California, the Desert Southwest, and the Deep South. Others to try in these regions include Tulipa saxatilis and the previously mentioned Tulipa sylvestris. Tulips offer spring-long possibilities wherever and whatever the garden.

Tulipa Ballerina — ‘Ballerina’ is an award-winning, late-flowering tulip with lily-like blooms of orange and red. (Photo by Jessie Keith)

New Vegetables for 2015

One of the highlights of the gardening season comes in the depths of winter, with the arrival of new catalogs brimming with enticing new varieties. The following are among the best of the new vegetables for 2015.

Tomatoes

A hybrid of two long-time favorites, ‘Jersey Boy’ produces bright red, half-pound tomatoes that “brilliantly join ‘Brandywine’s sublime sweet-sour tang with ‘Rutgers’ classic rich color, shapeliness, yield and performance.” It debuts in the 2015 Burpee catalog, as does ‘Cloudy Day’, which reputedly bears good crops of 4-ounce fruits even in areas too cool for most tomatoes. 2014 All-America Selection Winner ‘Chef‘s Choice Orange’ wins plaudits for its “deep orange, beefsteak shaped fruits” with “firm, sweet, mild flesh.” They ripen relatively early on tall, 5-foot vines. Smaller in all its parts is another 2014 AAS winner, ‘Fantastico’, which yields 10 or more pounds of rich red, grape-sized tomatoes on compact plants suitable for large containers. For lovers of old-time tomatoes, Johnny’s Selected Seed now offers the Heirloom Collection, a seed mix comprising ‘Brandywine’, ‘Striped German’, ‘Cherokee Purple’, ‘Amish Paste’, and other classics.

Peas

Royal Snow Pea — The new ‘Royal Snow’ snap pea has pretty purple pods and pinkish flowers. (Photo care of Johnny’s Seeds)

New introductions for 2015 also include many veggies from outside the tomato aisle. Among the most notable are two pea varieties from the hand of Dr. Calvin Lamborn, father of the snap pea. The fleshy, 3-inch, deep purple pods of ‘Royal Snow’ make a tasty and ornamental addition to salads and other dishes (and the pink flowers are pretty too). They are also good lightly cooked. Vines of ‘Petite Snap-Greens’ are harvested when young for tossing into salads or using in stir-fries. Both varieties are available from Johnny’s.

Beans

The bush bean ‘Mascotte’ holds its long, slender, tasty pods on stems that rise above the plants’ low, mounded leafage. With its compact habit and long harvest season, it’s perfect for containers (in a fertile, humus-rich growing mix such as Fafard Professional Potting Mix) or narrow garden beds. Its many virtues earned it an AAS award, the first for a bean variety since 1991.

Pumpkins & Squash

The new ‘Cinderella’s Carriage’ pumpkin is a beautiful deep orange red and very high performing. (Photo care of AAS Winners)

AAS winner ‘Cinderella’s Carriage’ derives its name from the flattened, carriage-ready shape of its large, reddish-orange pumpkins, arrayed on vigorous, powdery-mildew-resistant vines. As many as seven mini-carriages are produced per plant. Similar in shape (but much smaller in size) are the fruits of a new summer squash variety from Burpee, ‘Cupcake’. Their tasty, savory-and-sweet flesh and tender dark green skin suits them for many uses including roasting, grilling, and slicing into stir-fries.

Peppers

A panoply of peppers debut this year. Two AAS winners head the list: zingy-fleshed ‘Giant Ristra’, whose fire-red, 7-inch-long fruits are perfect for stringing into swags or wreaths; and gold-fruited, sweet-flavored ‘Mama Mia Giallo’, which also offers the virtue of a compact plant habit. Its long, conical, often curved peppers are delicious fresh or roasted. Burpee introduces an 8-inch, pale-green Italian frying pepper (‘Long Tall Sally’); an early-fruiting banana type (‘Blazing Banana’); a large, moderately hot, Ancho-Poblano variety with dark glossy skin (‘Big Boss Man’), and a jumbo, foot-long, sweet red Marconi-style selection (‘Thunderbolt’).

Cucumbers

And of course there are cucumbers. Compact-growing, early-bearing ‘Pick a Bushel’ is a great fit for cooler regions (as well as container gardens), producing basketfuls of cukes early in the season. Firm, flavorful, and sweet, they can be harvested young for pickles or allowed to mature to slicing size. Matures in 55 days from sowing. Fellow AAS winner ‘Saladmore Bush’ offers many of the same virtues, but bears over a longer season on somewhat longer vines.
Bon appetit!

How To Force Bulbs for Winter Cheer

Daffodils, hyacinths, and tulips in winter? For many of us, this would seem the stuff of fantasy, absent a visit to the florist. Yet, with only a modest investment of money, time, and effort, even a beginning gardener can know the joy of bringing these and other spring bulbs into bloom during the coldest and darkest days of the year. Forcing bulbs is that easy.

Flower bulbs are little marvels. Those that grow in cold climates usually leaf and flower in spring, retreating from summer through winter to a tiny condensed underground storage organ known as a true bulb, corm, tuber or rhizome (we’ll just call them all bulbs here). Give them a warm summer followed by 2 or 3 months of chilly temperatures and moist soil, and they’re primed to grow and flower as soon as temperatures turn milder. By providing these cues, along with a nice pot, we can have them up and blooming indoors weeks (even months) before their outdoor kin make their appearances.

Bulb Forcing Pots and Mix

Hyacinth and daffodil bulbs in baskets — Hyacinth and daffodil bulbs can both be forced in winter.

So what does it take to stage this little miracle? Aside from the bulbs themselves (which we’ll get to in a minute), you’ll need a container, some potting soil and a chilly place for the bulbs to cool their heels. Containers of various sorts and sizes will do fine, but wide shallow pots (sometimes known as “bulb pans”) are ideal. Look for something in the 6- to 8-inch-wide and 4- to 5-inch deep range. Clay pots look especially nice and have the added advantage of not tipping as easily as plastic ones.

I recommend a light, well-drained, quality potting mix such as Fafard Professional Potting Mix, which is also perfect for bulbs and contains less added fertilizer. A fertilizer-enriched mix is not necessary unless you’re planning to relocate the bulbs to the garden after they’ve bloomed.
Now for the stars of your planting projects: your plants!

Bulbs for Forcing

Amaryllis by the window — Amaryllis are some of the most common bulbs to be forced.

Many bulbs “force” well. Perhaps the most rewarding are those that smell as nice as they look. Among these are numerous daffodils, including Narcissus tazetta hybrids like ‘Geranium’ and ‘Cragford’, the delightfully double-flowered ‘Cheerfulness’ and ‘Yellow Cheerfulness’ and ‘Sundial’ and other hybrids of N. jonquilla. Netted irises (Iris reticulata and hybrids) also offer beautiful flowers and a heady scent, as do many grape hyacinths and some tulips and crocuses. And of course, there’s the bulb that practically defines floral fragrance – the hyacinth. Other bulbs worth trying include Grecian windflower (Anemone blanda), Siberian squill (Scilla siberica) and fumewort (Corydalis solida).

Assemble all your materials in early to late fall (either on a potting table or just a kitchen counter festooned with newspaper) and you’re ready to go!

How to Force Bulbs

Two amaryllis sprouts in pots — Two amaryllis sprouts in the pots

Start by filling your container with enough slightly moistened potting mix so that the tips of the bulbs will be an inch or so below the container’s rim when set on the soil’s surface (large bulbs such as hybrid daffodils can be planted with their noses above rim level). Then place your bulbs on the soil, spaced closely but not touching. Fill the container to just below the rim with more potting mix, water until the drainage holes begin to drip, then move the container to a dark location where temperatures will remain above freezing but well below the comfort range of shirt-sleeved humans (40 degrees F is just right). An attic or attached garage may be suitable, but keep in mind that bulb-loving critters might be afoot. If no other place is available, the refrigerator will do nicely, as long as the bulbs don’t have overripe fruit as fridge-mates. Refrigerated containers are best kept in paper bags, to retard drying. Water the containers lightly if the top layer of soil dries.

And now you wait. At about 7 or 8 weeks, start checking for signs of root development. When roots are evident at drainage holes, or if bulbs offer significant resistance if gently twisted or tugged, your bulbs are ready to party. (The appearance topside of leaves or fat buds is a further sign that flowers are in the offing.)

So let the show begin: Bring your container into a cool, shady room for a few days, to acclimate the prepped bulbs to “spring.” Then move it to a sunny – but not too warm – niche, and watch the miracle happen. Most bulbs will flower 2-4 weeks after coming into the light. Water when the soil surface dries.

After they bloom, either discard them or plant them in the garden once the soil becomes workable. (If you replant them in your outdoor beds, just be patient: Your transplanted bulbs will likely be bloomless for a year or two in the garden before they flower again.)

What better antidote for winter than a windowsill brimming with brightly blooming bulbs? You might even find yourself in the market for a spare refrigerator.

Enjoying and Growing Pecans

Pecan fruits in their natural form. (photo by Roger Culos)

In many American households, Thanksgiving just wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without pecans. Whether in the shell, or roasted, or lacing the syrupy matrix of that Southern staple, pecan pie, this most American of nuts is a near-must for the holiday table.

About Pecans

The story of pecan’s journey to the Thanksgiving table begins, fittingly, in the forests of North America. Native from the central Midwest to northeastern Mexico, Carya illinoinensis (as pecan is botanically known) is a towering presence in rich lowland forests throughout its range, growing to a lordly 180 feet tall (and supported by a massive trunk that can reach 7 feet in diameter). American Indians prized and often planted the nuts, thereby increasing the species’ abundance and distribution. European settlers followed suit, cultivating Carya illinoinensis not only for food but also for furniture, tools, and firewood.

Pecan-growing went commercial in the nineteenth century after farmers learned to propagate superior varieties from cuttings (rather than growing random plants from seed, as formerly). Today, United States nut-growers from the Southeast to southern California harvest and sell hundreds of millions of pounds of pecans annually, supplying some 80 percent of the world’s crop (with Georgia, Texas, and New Mexico leading the way).

Pecan pie is an expected seasonal treat at the Thanksgiving dessert table. (image by Joe Hakim)

Not all of this pecan poundage is the same, however. Scores of pecan varieties have entered cultivation since the mid-nineteenth century, each differing in various important characteristics such as nut quality, hardiness, climatological preferences, disease and pest resistance, and precocity (i.e., bearing age). Moreover, recommended cultivars for commercial and home use vary markedly from one region to another (most agricultural extension services provide lists of the best cultivars for their respective states).

Pecan Varieties

Southeast gardeners who would like to experience the thrill of growing their own pecans might want to try:

‘Elliott’, noted for its exceptionally flavorful, relatively small pecans, borne on disease-resistant plants.
‘Gloria Grande’, which bears annual (rather than alternate-year) crops of large, thick-shelled nuts.
‘McMillan’, a disease-resistant, precocious, prolific bearer of medium-sized nuts.

Varieties for Southwest and southern California gardens include:

‘Apache’, whose large, thin-shelled nuts are reliably produced each year.
‘Western’ (‘Western Schley’), widely grown for its sweet-fleshed, prolific pecans.
‘Wichita’, an alternate-year bearer of tasty, medium-sized nuts.

Growing Pecans

Whatever the region or cultivar, pecans require ample space, hot summers, and USDA Zone 5b or warmer winters, and grow best in fertile, well-drained, humus-rich soil (sandy or heavy soils can be amended with a rich compost such as Fafard Premium Natural & Organic Compost Blend). Pecan flowers ripen most of their pollen before or after they’re ready to receive it; consequently, for maximum production plant at least two cultivars with different pollen seasons. Most cultivars begin bearing within several years of planting, their green-husked fruits splitting to disgorge the brown-shelled, sweet-fleshed prizes within.

Pecan aficionados who can’t grow their own – but would like a sampling of named varieties (rather than the anonymous, uniform offerings of their local grocery store) – can shop at mail-order retailers such as Bass Pecan Company and Georgia Pecan Farms. In pecan-growing regions, a few commercial orchards still operate retail stands, where shoppers can browse through piles of freshly harvested pecans in search of the perfect variety for their holiday pies. For cooks who take their Thanksgiving pecans seriously, nothing could be closer to culinary bliss.

Pecan trees are tough, beautiful, and produce lots of pecans once mature. (image by Bruce Marlin)

Annuals for Fantastic Fall Color

Pennisetum 'Rubrum' — Pennisetum ‘Rubrum’ has reddish foliage and grassy plumes that look great until frost. (photo by Jessie Keith)

Many gardens lack for fall color – prompting many gardeners to resort to the ubiquitous fall mum. Often overlooked, however, are the numerous other annuals for autumn display, many of which come into their glory months before chrysanthemum season. Their beauty, longevity, and relative novelty make them a refreshing and often preferable alternative to what has become a fall garden cliché.

Chinese Hound’s Tongue

The dazzling, October-sky-blue flowers of Chinese hound’s tongue (Cynoglossum amabile) give the impression of a tall, out-of-season forget-me-not (Myosotis). In all respects, however, this biennial outshines its spring-blooming cousin, possessing a much longer, summer-to-fall flowering season, as well as attractive, fuzzy, gray-green basal leaves that persist rather than turning to mush. Sown directly in the garden in spring, it will bear a late-summer to frost succession of clustered blooms on upright stems. Plants usually self-sow, but not with the prolific abandon of forget-me-not. Available as seed or occasionally as plants, Chinese hound’s tongue is typically sold in the form of dwarf varieties such as ‘Firmament’, which top out at about 15 inches. It reaches its zenith, however, in full-size forms (including ‘Blue Showers’), which can reach 30 inches tall. This East-Asian native takes well to sunny or partly shaded cottage gardens and mixed borders, partnering beautifully with Japanese anemones, colchicums, and other late-blooming perennials. Dwarf forms do nicely in containers as well as in the open garden.

Woodland Tobacco

Salvia elegans 'Golden Delicious' — Beautiful red flowers and golden leaves make Salvia elegans ‘Golden Delicious’ a great sage for season’s end.

There’s nothing dwarf about woodland tobacco (Nicotiana sylvestris), a lordly, bold-leaved, delightfully shaggy plant that holds slender silky-white trumpets on lofty stems that look you in the eye. Blooming alongside (and above) Chinese hound’s tongue from summer to fall, this heat- and sun-loving tender perennial is also a reliable self-sower, with spontaneous seedlings almost always appearing in spring. Debuting in mid to late summer and continuing in abundance until frost, the flowers cast an intense, intoxicating, musky-sweet perfume that peaks at night, drawing pollinating moths. Hummingbirds visit during the day. Plants can be started from seed sown under cover in early spring, or in the garden at tomato-planting time. Seedlings (which are sometimes available from nurseries) should be planted out after the last frost date. Fertile, moist soil is best.

Butter Daisy

For containers and other niches where something more chrysanthemum-like is desired, butter daisy (Melampodium paludosum) is just the ticket. Low, mounded, bushy, and brassy-flowered, it envelops itself with petite golden-yellow daisies for many weeks beginning in summer. Seed catalogs and nurseries sell numerous compact varieties, all of which form tight, 8- to 12-inch hummocks of oval, weakly toothed, mid-green leaves, with flowers appearing about 3 months after sowing. Given a fertile, not overly dry soil, plants will continue blooming profusely until the first heavy frost. Native to Mexico and Central America, this annual can take the heat and will seed itself around in warmer gardens.

Fall Salvias

Mexico is also home to several cold-tender, shrubby sages notable for their showy late-season bloom. Among the best are Salvia greggii and its hybrids, which throw numerous spires of richly hued, hummingbird-thronged flowers from late spring until frost. Cultivars include compact ‘Ultra Violet’ , with vibrant rose-purple flowers on 18-inch stems, and the fiery-flowered ‘Furman’s Red’, whose cherry-vermillion wands can reach 3 feet tall. At least a dozen other tender Salvia species are indispensable contributors to the fall (and summer) garden, thriving in any well-drained, reasonably fertile growing medium, preferably in full sun. Salvia elegans ‘Golden Delicious’ is a gold-leaved, red-flowered selection with a, particularly beautiful fall display. Most of the shrubby salvias perform splendidly in containers as well as in the open garden, and a few will survive USDA Zone 6 winters.

Beta vulgaris ssp. cicla 'Ruby Red' — Colorful Swiss chard looks and tastes best in fall.

Red Fountain Grass

The arching, brown-purple leaves of red fountain grass (Pennisetum ‘Rubrum’) make the perfect foil to salvias and other bright summer- and fall bloomers. Tawny, purple-tinged, plumed flower spikes arch above the foliage in summer and fall. Thought to be a hybrid of Pennisetum setaceum (although usually listed as a cultivar of same), ‘Rubrum’ rarely self-sows, unlike its prodigiously fertile parent. At 3 to 4 feet tall and wide, it works wonderfully in large containers or mixed plantings in full sun or light shade. Typically grown as an annual, it’s a hardy perennial in USDA Zones 9 and warmer.

Swiss Chard

The roster of showy-leaved fall annuals also includes several varieties of chard. Sow the seeds in summer for a fall display of large, crinkled, often bronze-suffused leaves, with vividly contrasting ribs and veins. Most named varieties (such as yellow-ribbed ‘Oriole’ and burgundy-ribbed ‘Rhubarb’) feature one contrasting color, but the mix ‘Bright Lights’ contains numerous hues including red, yellow, orange, purple, and creamy white. Chard’s close cousin, the beet, has also given rise to some showy-leaved varieties. Among the most notable is ‘Bull’s Blood’, whose deep maroon leaves make for good eating as well as for good ornament. As with chard, plants mature in fall from a summer sowing. and provide a welcome change of pace from ornamental kale.

Happy Garden Soil is Rich in Microbes

Behind (or rather, below) every happy garden is a thriving population of bacteria (and fungi and other microbes). Every ounce of productive garden soil contains hundreds of millions of these microscopic critters, which are its very life. Feed the soil with organic matter (think compost), and the soil’s micro-life will respond in kind, converting nitrogen-containing compounds and other nutrients into forms available to plants (and humans).

Conversely, a soil without microbes is barren. That sweet juicy ruby-red tomato; those amber waves of grain; the gardens at Versailles; civilization itself – they all owe their existence to these humblest of organisms.

Soil Food Web

The soil food web comprises countless species interacting in a myriad of mind-numbingly complex ways. Fungi often take the lead, feeding on larger, tougher plant debris (such as wood) and breaking it down into smaller particles. Many fungi, in turn, require nutrients (such as amino acids) synthesized by other microbes. Bacteria – the most abundant soil micro-organisms – consume all manner of organic substances including each other. Protozoa roam the soil’s watery pores, gobbling up bacteria and releasing their nutrients. It’s a jungle down there.

Soil in hand — Every ounce of productive soil contains hundreds of millions of these microscopic critters.

Ultimately, this complex bustle of microbial activity feeds the plants that fed it. Bacteria release the nitrogen locked up in organic matter by converting it into nitrates and other inorganic forms required by plants. Beneficial fungi (known as mycorrhizae) thread their way around and into roots, exchanging nutrients from the soil for sugars synthesized in the plants’ leaves. Symbiotic nitrogen-fixing microbes (such as the bacteria that inhabit the roots of beans and other legumes) pluck nitrogen molecules from the air and split them into individual atoms, making them available to their plant partners. And humus – organic matter that’s been fully broken down by the microbial food web – bonds soil particles into fluffy, moist, well-aerated, nutrient-holding clumps, creating that enviable texture known as good tilth. This is the sort of soil that avid gardeners prize.

Soil Organic Matter

Organic matter is the key to a healthy, happy soil microbial community, and to the fertility and good tilth that come with it. For gardens blessed with good soil, annually apply enough compost or other organic matter to compensate for what the garden produces during a growing season. A relatively light, rapidly decaying compost such as Fafard Premium Natural & Organic Compost Blend is best for short-lived plants (e.g., annuals and vegetables). Trees and shrubs, on the other hand, benefit most from a coarser compost with a higher bark content such as Fafard Ultra Organic Planting Mix.

Heavy, sandy, or sterile soils can use all the organic matter they can get. Top dress as often as possible with suitable materials: leafy mulches for herbaceous plants; more woody mulches for shrubs and trees.

Fertilizing Soil

Fertilizers – especially fast-acting chemical fertilizers – are never a substitute for adequate organic matter and a healthy microbe community. Soils low in organic matter have little nutrient-holding capacity, resulting in rapid fertilizer nutrient loss (and likely runoff into neighboring bodies of water). Additionally, too much nitrogen can reduce the amount of organic matter by stimulating soil microbes to consume more carbon. Likewise, avoid the use of fungicides and other chemicals that are potentially toxic to soil microbes. Their health is critical to your garden’s (and the planet’s) health!

Ornamental Grasses for Fall

Soft switchgrass (*Panicum virgatum*) clumps and fall composites mingle beautifully in this late-season bed.

Fall has emerged as a full-blown “third season” for gardeners, with as much color and interest as spring and summer. Cooler temperatures make it easier to work outside and the fall garden renaissance has created an array of new plants to join the old standbys. Among those new and newly rediscovered plants are many ornamental grasses that are at their best in the fall, flowering boldly in containers, beds, and borders. Some, like members of the eulalia (Miscanthus spp.) clan, grow high and wide and need generous amounts of garden space. Others, including smaller varieties of fountain grass genus (Pennisetum spp.) fit nicely in containers. Many ornamental grasses are on display right now at garden centers and nurseries.

The foxtail-like plumes of Pennisetums are striking in the fall garden.

Colorful Foxtail Grass

Fountain grass (Pennisetum spp.) is characterized by colorful fall flower heads that resemble fox tails or small bottle brushes. Borne on supple stems, the flower heads arch outward from the foliage clump like the spray from a fountain. The alopecuroides species is one of the best-known fountain grasses, with long, slender foliage forming rounded clumps that may grow up to 5 feet high and wide. About the time the pinkish white flower heads reach their peak in fall, the foliage changes from green to gold, or even red, in the case of the ‘Burgundy Bunny’ variety. Depending on the variety, fountain grass flower heads may be shades of white, rosy pink or even purple. Sun-loving pennisetums will tolerate both wet and dry soil conditions, making them perfect for rain gardens, bioswales or low spots in the landscape. Smaller varieties, like the white-flowered ‘Little Bunny,’ make excellent container plants, topping out at 18 inches tall.

Pink Muhly Grass

Muhlenbergia capillaris is a daunting name for a grass that shines in the early fall garden. Better known as “pink muhly grass,” the plants grow up to 3 feet tall and wide, forming a mound. As fall approaches, muhly grass undergoes a Cinderella-like transformation, bursting forth into a cloud of soft pink flowers that persist on the plant into the winter. Though the color fades as the cold sets in, the cloud effect creates continuing garden interest. All muhly grass is undemanding, asking only a sunny or lightly shaded situation and an annual pruning in early spring. The grass is tolerant of a wide variety of conditions but thrives best in acid soil. If your soil is neutral or alkaline, add an acidic soil amendment, like Fafard Sphagnum Peat Moss, for best results.

Shenandoah switchgrass — The purple-hued foliage and airy plumes of ‘Shenandoah’ switchgrass blend well with many other fall ornamentals.

Hakone Grass

Petite, eye-catching Hakone grass (Hakonechloa macra) has long been a favorite of shade lovers and container gardeners. Growing between 8 and 16 inches tall and equally wide, depending on variety, Hakone mounds neatly with graceful, cascading fronds. The plants spread by underground rhizomes, with the potential to create a tough, but well-mannered ground cover. The species features distinctive, bright green foliage in every season, but for fall interest, it is hard to beat ‘Naomi,’ a variegated variety that sports white stripes on each golden-green leaf. Cool weather turns the green to purple, adding a new color dimension to the garden scheme.

Switchgrass

Feather reed grass has vertical plumes that are easily identified.

Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) is a strong, vertical garden accent any time, growing 3 to 6 feet tall and half as wide in sunny or partly shady conditions. Many varieties of this refined grass feature green or blue-green foliage that turns golden beige in the fall, but some also offer added color. Cultivars like ‘Shenandoah’ bear foliage that emerges blue-green, turns red in summer and is complemented by delicate red flower spikes that mature to gold in the fall and persist into winter. Foliage color and the rate at which that color changes in the fall varies according to the amount of sun exposure the plants receive.

Other Great Ornamental Grasses

The universe of ornamental grasses grows larger every year, with many types, from little ‘Elijah Blue’ fescue (Festuca cinerea) to tall ‘Karl Foerster’ feather reed grass (Calamagrostis spp.), offering strong statements from spring through the end of the growing season. Space and imagination are the gardener’s only limitations.

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