Folsom Garden Club

RECYCLE THOSE ROLLS - Trying to find an easy way to start seeds? Here’s a great way to use those cardboard tubes.   

Peat pots are a great way to start seeds, but you don’t have to go to the store to find biodegradable pots. Instead, cut cardboard tubes from paper towels and toilet paper to start your seedlings. Using scissors, cut the tubes into short pieces. Each toilet paper roll makes two pots (illustration A) and each paper towel tube makes four.

After cutting them, set the cylinders into a tray, as you can see in illustration B. If you set them so they touch, they’ll support each other as you water the seedlings. They also dry out more slowly when they’re set close together.

Then fill each pot with seed-starting mix, gently pack it down and sow the seeds. Later, as you plant the seedlings in the garden, break down the side of the roll so all of the cardboard will be buried underground. Just as with peat pots, if the edges stick up above the surface, they’ll wick moisture away from the roots.                                 From - www.gardengatenotes.com

Hydrangea

Hydrangeas need an abundance of water (hydrangea means water tub in Greek), partial to full sun, and very rich soil. The spent flowers of Hydrangeas should be removed as soon as possible to allow the plant to direct its strength to growing and producing new buds rather than seeds. If you didn't add compost to your hole when planting the Hydrangeas, you might consider replanting, because they thrive in rich soil. Fertilize liberally in the spring using a good all purpose plant food.

Pruning and blooming

Hydrangeas only flower on the tips of new growth, so you can remove any stems which have already bloomed.

 The French Hydrangea (Hydrangea macrophylla) flowers from buds formed on new growth produced the previous year, so pruning of this variety should be done immediately after blooming in early summer. Other varieties of Hydrangea should be pruned in late fall or early spring. The entire plant may be cut back to the ground if it becomes to large, because it will quickly re-grow to its prior size, and begin blooming again.

Hydrangea tips and trivia

• (Natures little pH tester)... In acid soil the blooms will be blue, pink flowers in alkaline soil, and white in neutral. The flower colors may be controlled by adding aluminum sulfate to the soil prior to budding to produce or keep blue flowers; or by liming or adding quantities of superphosphate to the soil to produce the pink ones.
• Hydrangeas that freeze back to the ground may never bloom, so you might have to cut them back to the ground and provide heavy mulch to the roots prior to any hard freezes if you want to stand a chance of flowers at all. (This is not an option with H. macrophylla).
• Hydrangeas are propagated by softwood cuttings taken in June. Strip the lower half of the leaves from a 6-8 inch healthy cutting. (Using a sharp clean knife!) Dip about 3/4 inch of the cut end into a rooting hormone such as Root tone® or Hormonex®, and insert the cutting about one inch deep into sterile moist sand, vermiculite or sphagnum moss. Create a mini-greenhouse over the container with poly film over a wire frame and place it in a bright spot (NOT full sun) until the roots form. After rooting the cutting, it should be planted in a mix of loam and peat moss. Hydrangea cuttings may also root when placed in a glass of water.
• Clusters of larger flowers will be produced if the plant is thinned down to half of the original number of stems. Alternatively, pinching out the tips of the new growth (prior to budding), will produce many more flowers but the clusters will be smaller.
• Pee Gee Hydrangeas may grow to 25 feet tall, while the more common varieties will usually only attain 6 feet.

Whiteflies

IDENTIFICATION — If you brush the foliage of a plant and a white cloud floats up and quickly resettles, chances are your plant has whiteflies. Look on the undersides of the leaves and you’ll see the tiny white insects in the illustration.

DAMAGE — Larvae suck the sap from new leaves, which causes them to turn yellow and drop. Sometimes the young insects secrete sticky honeydew as they feed. The honeydew can harbor sooty mold, another symptom you may notice. It looks like black dust stuck to the leaf surface.

CONTROL — Whiteflies can’t survive cold winters, but overwinter on plants brought indoors and also on plants outside in southern zones with mild winters. Check everything you bring into your garden carefully. Also, check house plants before you bring them indoors in fall.

These tiny insects move through their life cycle so quickly that they can build up a devastating population in a matter of weeks. At each stage of life, they respond differently to controls. You can use yellow sticky traps to capture the adult whiteflies or knock the adults and larvae from the leaves with a strong stream of water. The larvae and eggs can also be rubbed from the leaves or use an insecticidal soap about once a week over several weeks to take care of them.

NASTY GNATS Fungus gnats in your house plants can be a real nuisance.  GardenGateNotes.com tells how to solve the problem.   Fungus gnat Bradysia spp.

IDENTIFICATION — If you’ve noticed tiny flies that take flight from your house plants when you water, they may be fungus gnats. Fungus gnats are actually small dark gray flies about 1/8 in. long. They thrive with plenty of moisture and decaying plant matter. Most of their lives are spent as larvae feeding below the soil surface on organic debris and plant roots. After pupating, females can lay up to 300 eggs.

DAMAGE — Adult fungus gnats are generally considered a nuisance. But the larvae, in large enough numbers, can be a real problem. They feed on root hairs and small feeder roots, which causes stunted growth, off-color leaves or, in cases of severe infestation, leaf drop.

CONTROL — There are several simple ways to prevent fungus gnats from taking over. Avoid overwatering, use a sterile potting mix to keep from passing larvae along and remove plant debris from the soil surface. If you do see these winged visitors hovering around your plants, cut a small cube of raw potato and push it into the soil of each plant to attract the larvae. Remove the potato piece after a few days and discard in the trash. Add another potato cube if you still see gnats around. For severe infestations, try Gnatrol®. It’s a special strain of Bt bacteria (Bacillus thuringiensis), which is safe for home use. Ask for it at your local garden center.

TIPS FOR A BEE-FRIENDLY GARDEN

·        Don’t use pesticides.

·        Plant pollen-rich flowers—the more kinds the better.  Blue, white, and yellow are favorite colors. 

·        Don’t mulch all your bare dirt—that’s where solitary bees build their nests.

·        Consider a bee box.  Some species need nesting holes to lay their eggs in. 

·        Native bees can be good pollinators too.  The West has thousands of species of bees, from fat yellow-and-black bumblebees to slim ant look-alikes.  Encourage them—and gather information about them—this summer by participating in the Great Sunflower Project.  Get free seeds, and help map pollination all over the country.  Go to www.greatsunflower.org for more details.

·        Helpful  remedies for Bee Stings:   

o       Rub a cut onion on your bug bite,

o       put a penny on the bite for 15 minutes

Here’s a tip for Eliminating Mosquitoes!

This is from the August 2004 newsletter, submitted by Past President, Bonnie Warwick.

“Put some water in a white dinner plate and add a couple drops of Lemon Fresh Joy dish detergent.   Set the plate on your porch, patio or other indoor area.

While it’s unclear whether it’s the lemon smell or the white plate, the mosquitoes flock to the plate and drop dead shortly after ingesting the Joy mixture.  They usually die within 10 feet of the plate.  It works just great and simplifies clean-up.”

Deer Repellant:  

Blend 1quart of water, 2Tbsp mineral oil, 2 Tbsp Cayenne pepper, 2Tbsp liquid laundry detergent and 1 egg.  This mixture will remain fresh in the refrigerator for a couple of weeks.  Mix 1/3 cup of it with 1quart of water, place this mix in a bottle with several holes punched in the cap and sprinkle on your plants.  Don’t get the liquid in your eyes – it stings. Try applying it once and see how it goes.  You will have to reapply after heavy rain, but constant reapplication will break the deer grazing pattern.

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Powdery Mildew

Powdery mildew can be recognized easily on most plants by the white, powdery mycelial and spore growth that forms on both surfaces of leaves, sometimes on flowers and fruits and on shoots. It may infect new or old foliage and can be serious on woody species such as rose, crape myrtle, and sycamore where it attacks new growth including buds, shoots and flowers as well as leaves. New growth may be dwarfed, distorted, and covered with a white, powdery growth. Infected leaves generally die and drop from the plant earlier than healthy leaves.

Shade and moderate temperatures favor most powdery mildews. Locate plants in sunny areas as much as possible, provide good air circulation, and avoid excess fertilizer. A good alternative is to use slow-release fertilizer. Overhead sprinkling may actually reduce the spread of powdery mildew because it washes spores off the plant; also, if spores land in water, they die. The best time to irrigate is in mid-morning so that the plants dry rapidly, reducing the likelihood of infections by other fungi, such as the ones that cause rust or black spot infections on roses. As new shoots begin to develop on perennial plants, watch closely for the appearance of powdery mildew.

 Treatment:  Use a protectant fungicide before disease appears or an eradicant at the earliest sign.  Once mildew is extensive, control is more difficult.

To eradicate mild to moderate infections, use a horticultural oil, or one of the plant-based oils such as neem oil or jojoba oil. Oils also have some protectant activity.  Sulfur products are only effective when applied before disease symptoms appear.  Also available is a fungicide containing potassium bicarbonate and a fungicide that can be made at home by combining 2-1/2 tablespoons of horticultural oil in a gallon of water and adding 4 teaspoons baking soda.   Bicarbonate sprays can injure the plant and can have deleterious effects on soil structure so should be used sparingly and with caution

Biological fungicides are commercially available beneficial microorganisms formulated into a product that, when sprayed on the plant, destroys fungal pathogens.

Synthetic Fungicides are also available to the home gardener and function as an eradicant and protectant against both powdery mildew and rust.

 Information taken from UC Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program