ASTILBES

Thursday, May 4, 2017

Good morning from the mountain above Peacham Pond where the temperature dropped to 28 last night but the wind and rain gave up and now the eastern sky is mostly clear with only a thin pink line at horizon level. The birds are very quiet today and even the calls of the loons at the pond are silent so maybe they moved on to another water for breakfast.

Our big plant delivery from Michigan arrived yesterday. I had been tracking it for two days and found out along the way where Newburgh, NY was. I like the tracking option as I know when I need help getting the boxes off the trailer. It was right on time although the driver did not seem that pleased with me when I told him (not asked him) to back the trailer in the yard. He asked who would handle the traffic and I said nothing, just motioned to traffic to stop and motioned to him to start backing. Too often now days there's never time to do it right but always time to do it over. I am having trouble understanding truck drivers. Some speak no English at all or act like they don't know what I am asking and many absolutely do not know how to drive....just cannot back up a trailer. My expectation is that for what I am paying for freight, I should not have to move boxes from the main road.

The delivery included astilbes which our crew will begin to plant today. Gail is building our offering of this fine plant back up to 75 varieties where it was three years ago. Interest in specific plants often changes over time based upon new hybridizing efforts/new releases and garden writers whose photographs can make a plant immediately popular with one magazine issue. (Note the February issue of Fine Gardening Magazine where Gail and I contributed to an article on astilbes)  I have always loved astilbes and I go for pumila, the short species which can handle rock garden kind of locations where it blooms late ad can handle some heat, the ostrich plume types such as Strassenfeder which grow to three feet tall and float in summer breezes, and then the taller varieties that stand sentry at the back of the gardens as if they are holding big signs that welcome pollinators to your garden. 

Our astilbes are just beginning to break ground now so if you do not know them, it will take another 6 weeks before they show color. In the meantime, take a look at http://vermontflowerfarm.com/astilbes.html and review the 11 pages of plants we offer. I'll bet you can find one you don't have.

Have a great day. I'm off to the flower farm now to get things set up for our crew. Alex will join me in a couple hours and we'll get mixes mixed and pots filled so when the worker bees appear to start potting, everything will be ready--but perhaps the coffee cake.

Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where the pink sky is broadening. There is no doubt that the terrible rain storms that were in Missouri yesterday will be in Vermont tomorrow. We must plant late today as tomorrow there will be no outside work, just pouring rain and wind. Be well!

George Africa

The Vermont Gardener

Vermont Flower Farm

Find us on Facebook as George Africa and also as Vermont Flower Farm and Gardens

On Twitter as vtflowerfarm

Always here to help you grow your green thumb!

Ephemerals

T. grandiflorum

Tuesday, May 2, 2017

I have been here at the flower farm since early morning and have moved equipment in and out half a dozen times only to be driven back inside by the rain each time. I have plenty of potting to do but the cold and the wet just dissolve my lasting power. I just gave up for the afternoon and went for a ride in the cart along the river perimeter to look at spring ephemerals--those wild flowers that shine like beacons but offer smiles and happiness for only a couple-three-four days. 

T. erectum

Vermont has three trilliums and two can be found along the river today although only one is native to the area--the burgundy red erectum. The white grandiflorum are some that I grew from seed at the house and moved down here when we bought the property. There are not a large number of either but they are spreading each fall with the help of ants which grab the seeds and carry them around. The third variety, Trillium undulatum, will be out soon. They tend not to grow in clumps and their painted faces stand out in solitary placements here and there. Most trilliums will grow well in Vermont but for whatever reason, we only have three natives. The grandiflorum grow best where the soil is sweeter so I offer a handful of lime to each plant each spring.

T. undulatum

Hepaticas

Hepaticas are another early favorite that have been hybridized in Japan and Europe in recent years. These are wonderful little flowers with thin petals, big stamens and soft colors. 

Bloodroot

Bloodroot come in singles and doubles and in shades of creams and pinks. They self seed easily and over just a few years provide patches of spring color. On cloudy days they either close early or just never open until there is ample sunshine.

The list of ephemerals continues. Sadly none seem to have any lasting power but factually they are sure to please. Add some to your gardens if you can.

Writing from the flower farm where the rains of two days have brought the river up several feet and have made the gardens wet and muddy. More rain is coming later this week. If you get a chance, get out and see what ephemerals grow close to you.

George Africa

The Vermont Gardener

Vermont Flower Farm

Herbicides

Gail just returned from another walk with Karl the Wonder Dog and they got back in the house just in time. It's been raining all night but has really been raining since about 4:30 this morning. While they were in the rain I was reading about water runoff on VtDigger.

I am passing along this article on atrazine and chemical run off. It raises more questions with me. Read on and let me know what you think. Hopefully there will be someone out there who has experience  with or knowledge of how sewage treatment plants are operated in Vermont. You will notice in the article that blue green algae, which are bacteria, not algae, are mentioned in the article as used in the water/sewage treatment process. The discussion makes me wonder if the blue green algae which can kill domestic animals is in the lakes via the rivers as an indirect result of use in treating raw sewage in Vermont communities. I do not recall any mention of blue green algae when I was a kid but of course research and media coverage is much different than way back when. Everyone likes to point fingers but answers would be better. Anyone know? I'm also interested in what farmers are using now if they are not using atrazine as a weed killer for corn. There must be new corn planting methods that consider all the issues.


Start with the article. Herbicide Runoff


Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where the rain is seriously coming down big time.

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm
On Facebook as George Africa and also as Vermont Flower Farm and Gardens
On Twitter as vtflowerfarm
Always here to help you grow your green thumb!

HYDRANGEAS

HYDRANGEAS

We have sold hydrangeas at Vermont Flower Farm for several years now. We began by offering some paniculatas we bought in from Montana because they are the most hardy. In spring 2011, we planted them around the fence perimeter and within a week or so of planting, the first of two May floods arrived and washed them away. I had planted around 25 hydrangeas and there were several varieties but of course when they were carried away, the name labels were too. I found every one and had worker bee Steve replant them although the names became a guess. A couple weeks later the same thing happened with more deep water and I recovered all but one that I found later that year in the top of a Japanaese Fantail Willow. Today those hydrangeas look great and are growing well despite the poor attention they received from Mother Nature.

Over the years we have added and grown on several Arborescens such as Annabelle, Incrediball and Invincible Spirit and they handle Vermont very well. We currently offer about 20 hydrangeas, potted and ready to go. We don't mail order any of these because of their size but they are always available for pick-up at the nursery. Last fall, Gail and Alex planted another display garden along Route 2 so the varieties are in one place and over time will be available to see close up as mature specimens.

Here is a list from our website of the hydrangeas we have available this spring and summer. We have a size for about any garden location. More mature heights will take about 3 years from planting time. 

http://vermontflowerfarm.com/Hydrangeas.html

If you happen to live in the Central Vermont area, the City of Barre has many older homes built as the granite industry grew there to be the biggest in the world. During that time, many, many hydrangeas and lilacs were brought from Europe as granite workers arrived in Vermont. Although finding the true names of many of these is close to impossible, it's worth a trip to drive around and see what is flowering. The world famous Hope Cemetary is nearby and contains some examples here and there of lilacs and hydrangeas and is worth a visit too.

Best gardening!

George Africa

The Vermont Gardener

Vermont Flower Farm

In Facebook as a personal Facebook page, George Africa, with lots of gardening pictures and advice, and  also as a Like Page, Vermont Flower Farm and Gardens, 

On Twitter as vtflowerfarm 

And always here to help you grow your green thumb!

Taking Cuttings

Good morning from the mountain above Peacham Pond where last night's storm left us with 7" of wet, clingy snow. Central Vermont received about a foot and other places 2"-5". A year ago today the weather had been quite warm for much of March and there wasn't a snowflake to be found. A tad different this year as there is plenty of snow at the flower farm and "feet" of snow here at the house inside the field perimeters.

Although I would love another spring like last year, it will not happen so my attention turns to more work on the website, making signs for the gardens, getting plant labels written out for odd items that don't come in big numbers, and rearranging things at the flower farm so I can get the delivery trucks backed in exactly where I want them so as to save time and energy. One of the things I have found time to do this year is plant some cuttings from hydrangeas, willows, ninebarks and lilacs. 

I have been doing various cuttings for about all my gardening life. I started with house plant cuttings way back when and just went on from there. The farm ladies next door taught me how to do African violets, geraniums and coleus, and as a young buck I had jars of plants rooting on windowsills where free space and sunlight complimented each other. From there I got into grafting apples and rooting shrubs. It became an exciting hobby but not one I have regularly pursued. This year is different and Gail is showing a little attitude problem about the tables full of plants appearing here and there and taking up the limited space in the front room where sunlight prevails on less snowy days than today.

I purchase the plastic seed starting trays without drainage holes and sheets of plug trays in the 50 or 72 plug size. These are inserts for the seed type trays and the plug holes taper a bit from a total 2.5" depth. The taper encourages good root development. Here's a picture of a 72 plug tray. The taper starts at 1.5" at the top and goes to 7/8".

I buy the seed trays and the plug trays with accompanying dome covers. These are clear plastic and I use the 2" tall domes and the 7.5" domes which come with built-in ventilation holes top and sides and with little do-hickey's that let you adjust the ventilation.  The dome height needs to match the size of the cutting you want to take and I always seem to end up trimming after I have "stuck" the cuttings. The domes, by the way, are important to help control humidity and encourage rooting. It the old days I used plastic wrap and before that, we used a spray bottle on a regular basis and didn't cover anything. There weren't any seed trays when I got started so we used old coffee cans for a lot of what we rooted.

The most important part of this project is the mix. I use a mix of one-third peat based potting mix, one-third composted/dehydrated cow manure and one-third coarse (that's coarse!) sand. I usually mix in a five-gallon plastic bucket and as of last week use a power paint mixer that a friend gave me. Hands work fine but be sure to get the three components well mixed. I mix dry first and then add water. I truly dislike filling all the little holes but that's part of the job and I ensure that the mix is packed in --not hard packed but tight enough to hold the cutting well. 

The size of the cutting is what I receive the most questions on. Truly this is something you learn over time. I clip the end of the branch, try to only cut single stems/branches, keep the diameters to 1/4" or less, and ensure that there is a viable terminal bud. You will notice some top growth in a week and as long as you keep the cuttings misted with water and the soil mix damp, you will get an acceptable percentage of root cuttings.  

Hydrangea Cuttings

Lilac Cuttings

Taking cuttings is a way of expanding the numbers of your collection. There is one caveat which you can read about on my yesterday's Facebook page. It involves plant patents. It alludes to the plant police but doesn't go that far. Some plants are patented and that's a twenty-year affair. There are a number of very confusing things that people do when patenting or trademarking but regardless, the point is to follow rules, check when you have a question and show respect for what went into getting a neat plant, shrub or tree to your life!

Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where the temperature is holding a steady and even 31 degrees, the wind remains at zero and Karl the Wonder Dog wants to go for a walk. Have a nice day--and think about cuttings. 

George Africa

The Vermont Gardener

Vermont Flower Farm

On Twitter as vtflowerfarm

On Facebook as a picture positive personal page named George Africa and a Like Page named Vermont Flower Farm and Gardens

And remember, we're always here to help you grow your green thumb!