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Author: Mike Darcy

Mike lives and gardens in a suburb of Portland, Oregon where he has resided since 1969. He grew in up Tucson, Arizona where he worked at a small retail nursery during his high school and college years. He received his formal education at the University of Arizona where he was awarded a Bachelor of Science Degree in Horticulture, and though he values his formal education, he values his field-experience more. It is hard to beat the ‘hands on’ experience of actually gardening, visiting gardens, and sharing information with other gardeners. Mike has been involved with gardening communications throughout his adult life. In addition to garden writing, he has done television gardening shows in Portland, and for over 30 years he hosted a Saturday radio talk show in Portland. Now he writes, speaks, gardens and continues to share his love of gardening. To be connected to the gardening industry is a bonus in life for Mike. He has found gardeners to be among the friendliest and most caring, generous people. Consequently, many of his friends he has met through gardening.

Growing Tomatoes and Berries in Containers

 

Brazelberries™ Raspberry Shortcake In Square Terra Cotta Pot - Photo Courtesy of Fall Creek Farm & Nursery
Bushel and Berry® Raspberry Shortcake ® In Square Terra Cotta Pot – Photo Courtesy of Bushel and Berry®

It is always fun visiting garden shows to see what plants for container gardening are new and which are being promoted by nurseries for the retail customer. Some plants are not really ‘new’ but are probably ‘new’ to a homeowner and perhaps have not been readily available in garden centers because of lack of adequate production. At the recent Yard, Garden & Patio Show in Portland, the BrazelBerries™ Series of berries caught my attention.

 Berries for Containers

Who does not love picking a fresh raspberry in the summer and eating it directly from the plant? It is difficult to duplicate that flavor from a store-bought berry. Raspberries are one of my favorite berries and unfortunately in our garden, we do not have space or the sunny location that the plants traditionally require.

The good news for home gardeners is that a new series of berries has been developed targeted specifically for those with small space gardens or a deck or patio where containers can be used. This new container gardening-friendly series called Bushel and Berry® will be available in garden centers this spring season. The inaugural plant is a thornless dwarf raspberry called Raspberry Shortcake®. It is great for container gardening and requires no staking and has sturdy upright canes. An added bonus is that it has no thorns and produces raspberries in mid-summer.

Two other introductions in this series are compact blueberry plants, which would also be ideal for container gardening. Peach Sorbet™ has beautiful spring color in the new growth that ranges from pink to orange. In a mild winter, it will keep the leaves when the foliage turns purple, thus providing color year round. The second blueberry introduction is called Jelly Bean™ and is very dwarf, only reaching 1-2 ft in height. Both of these blueberries have the typical colorful blueberry new growth and flowers in spring. Even though these two blueberry plants are small in their growth habit, the fruit size is what we think of as normal blueberry.

Brazelberries™ Raspberry Shortcake In Square Terra Cotta Pot - Photo Courtesy of Fall Creek Farm & Nursery
BrazelBerries™ Jelly Bean Blueberry Plant – Photo Courtesy of Fall Creek Farm & Nursery

For those gardeners wanting container plants that not only look good but can also supply edible berries, these are three ideal plants. I am personally a big fan of container gardening and have many containers throughout my garden. However, except for my variegated Meyer Lemon, I do not have any plants in containers that produce anything edible. That will change this year with the addition of BrazelBerries™ in some of my containers.

For Raspberry Shortcake™, I would suggest a large container whereas the Peach Sorbet™ and Jelly Bean™ blueberries could be in a smaller size. However, I have found it is best to have a larger size container than might actually be needed for the plant as plants in small containers tend to dry out quicker in the summer and a larger size will help alleviate this. Fill the pot with Black Gold Natural & Organic Potting Soil as it supplies not only earthworm castings but also perlite and pumice for aeration and good drainage, which these berries need. Mix some additional fertilizer formulated for fruit for best results. Your containers should be placed in a sunny location. Together with this combination of potting soil and fertilizer, your plants should thrive.

Indigo Rose Tomato Plant - Photo By Rich Baer
Indigo Rose Tomato Plant – Photo By Rich Baer

Tomatoes for Containers

This is also the time of year to be thinking of buying tomato seeds and making preparations for starting them indoors. A location near a sunny window is ideal and having a heat mat is also a benefit. Tomatoes are easy to start from seed and should be kept indoors until all danger of frost is over. The Oregon State University introduction ‘Indigo Rose’ was disappointing to some because of the late maturing fruits but for an ornamental plant in a container, it puts on quite a show in clusters of purple fruit. A healthful bonus is the high amount of anthocyanin occurring in the purple pigment.

It can be a rewarding project to start your own tomatoes from seed and it is quite easy. Begin with good quality seeds and sow in a tray of Black Gold Seedling Mix. This seedling mix has been formulated with a wetting agent to help with water penetration and the fine texture encourages high germination. Keep the mix moist until seeds germinate and when seedlings reach several inches in height, transplant to a small pot, 4-inch size is ideal, and use Black Gold Natural & Organic Potting Soil. This is 100% organic and OMRI (Organic Materials Review Institute) listed.

I like to ask listeners to my radio program which tomato performed the best for them and the winner this past year was from the former country of Czechoslovakia. The tomato is called ‘Stupice’. It is a cold-tolerant tomato and is ideal for our unpredictable spring weather here in the Pacific Northwest as well. It is good for both eating fresh as well as in salads. Harry Olson, a Salem, Oregon tomato grower, told me it was his first tomato to ripen in the spring then it continued producing fruit all summer and was the last tomato he picked in the fall.

Spring is coming, let’s get ready!

Container Gardening Stupice Tomato - Photo By Rich Baer
Container Gardening Stupice Tomato – Photo By Rich Baer

Growing Orchids Indoors for Winter Color

Growing Orchids Indoors 01 - Photo by Rich Baer

In spite of the internet and its excess information, one of the last holdouts for actual paper catalogs must be the garden seed companies. When they start to arrive in my mailbox (a real, old fashioned mail box that gets paper letters and catalogs), I know that spring cannot be far away. Just looking at the front covers of these catalogs gets my mind thinking about what I am going to do this year in the garden!

But back to reality: this is January, winter is still here and since we do not have much color outdoors, it is nice to see something blooming in the house. Have you given any thought to growing orchids indoors for winter color in your home? We see blooming orchids at many grocery stores and they are often purchased for their flowers, which last for weeks, and then unfortunately the plant is discarded. Often orchids are overlooked as a permanent house plant, perhaps because of an undeserving reputation of being ‘fussy’ or hard to grow and that is not the case. Orchids do have some unique growing requirements, but certainly nothing that is difficult to learn.

Probably the most unique aspect of growing orchids indoors is that they grow best in an orchid bark rather than a traditional potting soil. Lucky for us Black Gold has the products needed to grow orchids in a home setting. Orchids need extremely fast drainage and often the plants are grown in an actual bark type medium. Black Gold has a quality bark/media mix called Black Gold Orchid Mix that is great for cultivating many orchids. The unique orchid mix is a blended combination of small bark, Canadian Sphagnum peat moss and perlite and/or pumice. There is a small amount of lime added and so this product is ready to use.

Growing Orchids Indoors 02 - Photo by Rich Baer

Many orchid growers like to use just bark as a potting medium and others like to use bark and blend it themselves with pumice or perlite and sometimes even adding small amounts of charcoal.  Charcoal is excellent for helping with aeration and charcoal has the ability to help remove excess moisture.

Black Gold Orchid Mix is good for semi-terrestrial orchids, such as Paphilopedium and Cymbidium, which tend to have thinner roots that need more water retention. Compare this to orchid bark, which is perfect for epiphytic orchid for types like Odontoglossum, Phalaenopsis, and Cattleya and other medium rooted varieties. A note here about orchid roots and that is many orchid plants have a tendency to send out roots above the soil or bark level in the pot and these roots will grow and often extend out over the side of the pot. These roots should NOT be cut off as they are helpful to the overall vigor of the plant.

Growing Orchids Indoors 03 - Photo by Rich Baer

Lisa Long of St. Helens, Oregon is an Oregon State University Master Gardener and has been growing orchids indoors and out for nearly 20 years. She grows orchids on her windowsill in trays of pebbles. A small amount of water is in each tray with the level of it being just below the bottom of the orchid pot. The water will supply much need humidity in a dry indoor environment. The windowsill offers the light conditions they need; bright light but indirect sunlight in the summer. Also, try to keep the plants away from an area with drafts whether it is a door, window or heating vent.

Lisa waters her plants weekly and uses a weak strength of a water soluble plant food. She suggests new orchid growers join a local orchid society if there is one in your area. You can learn many tips from those that have been growing orchids. Learn what species you have and follow a water and fertilization schedule depending on the particular requirements that species has.  Overwatering is the most common cause of orchid death. Lisa also reports that orchids, as well as many other house plants, will benefit from a weekly dusting. Lightly wipe the leaves with a damp paper towel. She also recommends re-potting them about once every year and add fresh bark or whatever potting medium you are using. When you re-pot one, select a pot that is just the next size larger.

Growing Orchids Indoors - 6 up - Photos by Lisa Long

With the vast number of varieties available, it is possible to have orchids in bloom at any month of the year. Do not be discouraged if the plant you bought from a local store does not repeat bloom for a year, or even two. This is not unusual and as long as the plant is healthy, it is just getting settled into its’ new environment.

So the next time you buy a blooming orchid, do not consider it a dispensable, one-time blooming plant to discard when the flower is gone. Instead, treat it with some tender care and you could have a plant that will continue to grow, thrive and bloom for many years.

Photos courtesy of Rich Baer and Lisa Long

Evergreens in the Garden

Quite often when we think of evergreen plants or use the word ‘conifer’, we think of something large like a Douglas Fir, Colorado Spruce or similar tall tree. It is true, these are evergreen plants and they are conifers, but you can also plant evergreens in the garden or in containers. In recent years many new, smaller growing types have become available and these are ideal for small-space gardens as well as a container plant for a deck or patio.

Evergreens In the Garden - 'Horstmann's Silberlocke' - Mike DarcyFir Trees

I have a friend who is very involved in the American Conifer Society and he is forever encouraging me to add more conifers to my garden. He makes a valid statement when he says that they give some winter interest when many other plants have either lost their leaves or been cut back to the ground.

Two small type of conifers that are worth searching for are Abies koreana ‘Horstmann’s Silberlocke’ (Variegated Korean Fir) and Abies pinsapo ‘Aurea’ (Golden Spanish Fir). The ‘Horstmann’s Silberlocke’ just grows about 6-12 inches a year. The feature that makes this such an interesting plant is that the needles slightly curl around the stem and reveal the silver-white undersides. This is an ideal plant for a container and is especially nice in the winter to have by an entryway to a house to enjoy the silver color. Add a red bow and you have a holiday container. The Golden Spanish Fir, is as the name implies, a golden color which stands out against the older blue needles. It is also slow growing and can easily be kept in a container.

Evergreen Bamboo

Crook Stem Bamboo (Image by Xongxinge)

Of course there are other evergreen plants in the garden that should not be overlooked. Many of the bamboos can give wonderful foliage and color throughout the year. We have a beautiful planting of Phyllostachys aureosulcata ‘Spectabilis’ (Crook Stem Bamboo) in our garden that is a much asked about plant when we have visitors. The stems tend to develop kinks as they grow and this makes for a very interesting pattern. We have taken the lower leaves off of our planting to showcase this ‘kinking’ and also to highlight the green stripes on the yellow culms. This is a running type and it is advisable to use a bamboo barrier to prevent it from spreading or to plant it in a large container.

Not all bamboo is tall and a good example of a low growing type is Sasa veitchii. This bamboo may reach 3-5 feet in height but can be kept as a compact ground cover by trimming it to near ground level each spring. It does best in some shade and might be an ideal plant for a slope or area where some erosion control is needed. One of the unique aspects of this bamboo is that in the fall as the nights get cooler, the leaves wither at the margins and turn into what looks like bright white variegation. Then in the spring, the leaves turn green. It is considered winter hardy to 0⁰ F.

Sweet Olive

Another group of plants that are evergreen is the genus Osmanthus. Many times people mistake these for holly as some of them do have a holly-like leaf. However, what Osmanthus can provide that holly does not is flowers with a fragrance. The Lan Su Chinese Garden (formerly Portland Classical Chinese Garden) in Portland, Oregon has a large specimen of Osmanthus heterophyllus which blooms in winter with creamy white flowers and a strong fragrance that sometimes permeates outside the walls of this garden to passersby walking along the street. Another good garden plant is Osmanthus fragrans (Sweet Olive) which is an evergreen shrub, also with very fragrant flowers that appear in spring and early summer.

Evergreens In the Garden - Bamboo Sasa - Mike DarcyMeyer Lemon

Here in the Pacific Northwest, many gardeners also grow citrus as container plants. While not winter hardy, if you have a greenhouse or sunny room with plenty of light, they should overwinter and be ready to set outside in the spring. The Meyer Lemon tends to be one of the hardier ones and most garden centers will stock plants in the late spring and summer. In my garden I have a variegated leaf form of Meyer Lemon in a container that not only has variegated color in the foliage but on the fruit as well. It tends to bloom throughout the summer with extremely fragrant flowers.

We may be in the middle of winter, but our garden can still supply us with much color, primarily from foliage, twigs, bark or berries. Try some new plants in your garden and as my conifer friend tells me “mix it up”.

As we approach the end of 2012, I would like to extend a very happy 2013 to all. Let’s make it a happy and productive garden year.

Tips For Winterizing Plants

It can be a bit difficult to shift gears and start thinking about winterizing plants, especially after we had such a dry and warm late summer and fall here in the Pacific Northwest. Recently we have had some rain but here it is mid-November and I have not had a frost at my house. Summer blooming plants have slowed down and do not look as good as they do in the summer, but overall, there are many semi-tropical plants that are still looking quite good. I have a large Canna in a pot on my deck and it is still in bloom. The Heliotrope has flowers and Begonia ‘Bonfire’ still has enough flowers to attract hummingbirds.

Musa Basjoo - Mike DarcyOverwintering Hardy Banana

However, we all know the mild weather is not going to last forever, and so now is a good time to discuss tips for winterizing plants. Soon we will be having regular frosts and temperatures below freezing and the tropical plants will be no more and the semi-tropical plants will need to have been put to bed for the winter. The Hardy Banana (Musa basjoo) is a very vigorous grower and even with the top growth dying to the ground in the winter; it can still reach 12-15 feet in height by the end of the summer. However, getting it to bloom can be quite a challenge.

This past summer I have been to several gardens to see Musa basjoo in bloom. The flower is large and quite unusual with a brown color and then behind the flower, small bananas will appear. Musa basjoo is native to a group of islands off the coast of Japan and it is referred to there as a fiber banana. This means that even if we had weather warm enough for the bananas to mature, it would not be considered an edible banana.

To increase the chance of plants having flowers, it is probably necessary to wrap the stems to protect them from the cold. I actually did this on three of my thickest stemmed plants and the wrap kept the stems from freezing. In the spring, the banana will then begin sending out new leaves at the tip of the stem. On the three stems I selected, I cut off the tops at about the six-foot level. I used bubble wrap and tied it around the stems and then wrapped burlap over the bubble wrap to protect the stems from being burned by the sun. Burlap also makes the wrap aesthetically pleasing.

Banana - Mike Darcy

In the spring, I removed the wrapping and the bananas started sending out leaves at the six foot level and the plants grew much taller than if the stems had died to the ground. Even though the roots are considered hardy, I like to give them the added protection of a thick layer of Black Gold Garden Compost Blend and on top of that I make several layers of the banana leaves I have removed. The leaves give some additional protection from the cold and also serve the purpose of preventing the soil conditioner from blowing away. The photo of the bananas is from my garden and this is all just the growth through mid-August.

The overwintering of the Musa basjoo may seem rather extreme and if you do not care if you have flowers, cut the stems to the ground after a hard freeze, add a layer of Black Gold Garden Compost Blend and layer the leaves you have cut off and your plant should survive just fine.

Gunnera at Walt's - Mike DarcyOverwintering Gunnera

Gunnera is a spectacular plant that also likes some winter protection. Since it likes lots of moisture, add Black Gold Just Coir and mix with existing soil when planting. Coir is actually coconut pith and is a natural and renewable product with superb water retention qualities. The crown of Gunnera can be tender to cold temperatures and I cut off the huge leaves and place them over the crown for winter protection.

Other Late-Season Plants of Interest

Another plant we can easily grow here but is not common in gardens is the hardy hibiscus (Hibiscus moscheutos). I think the word ‘hibiscus’ makes people think it is the tropical plant from Southern California and Hawaii, but it is very different except for the flower. The hardy hibiscus flower has the typical hibiscus flower shape and in some cases is even larger. Many times I have seen the hardy hibiscus with flowers the size of dinner plates and they come in a variety of colors. The hardy hibiscus will die to the ground but reappear in the spring with new stems. I like to add a layer of compost similar to what I do with the hardy banana. Hardy hibiscus is a great plant for a full sun location and it tends to bloom late in the summer, usually not until August.

We should never forget the wonderful winter color some plants can provide with just the bark or stems. Paperbark maple (Acer griseum) is a great example. This tree looks nice at any time of year but once the leaves drop, the trunk and stems are exposed and it is easy to understand how it got the common name of Paperbark Maple. A bonus in addition to the bark is that the foliage turns red in the fall. I have seen Acer griseum used as a tree for street plantings and it looks nice all year and is very easy to care for.

There are probably many other gardeners that have some tender plants in pots that they like to overwinter. I have more than I should! I have had good success with a tender Podocarpus and several citrus trees in pots just by putting them on a cart with wheels and bring them into the garage on nights when temperatures are expected to go below freezing. Then during the day, once temperatures have gotten above freezing, I wheel them out into the sunlight.

Just because we do not live in a tropical climate, with some extra effort we can push the zone!

Western Native Plants for Home Gardens

Whenever I hear someone speak of native plants for home gardens, it always makes me wonder what is considered “native”. I live in Oregon, so when a gardener tells me about native plants in home gardens and elsewhere I wonder, “Is this plant from Oregon or does a plant growing in Washington or California also count as a ‘native'”? After all, nature did not draw the state boundaries. Continue reading “Western Native Plants for Home Gardens”

Flowering Plants for Great Fall Color

From mid-September through October, here in the Pacific Northwest, we have an abundance of plants for great fall color. Whether it is foliage, stems, bark or flowers, the color array is almost unbelievable. I think the reason we do not see more of these plants is that many times they reach their prime in the fall and this is not a time of year that we are generally visiting garden centers or viewing home gardens. Here are some ideas that I would like to share after recently visiting various private gardens.

Continue reading “Flowering Plants for Great Fall Color”

Iochroma ‘Royal Queen Purple’

Lochroma 'Royal Purple' - Mike Darcy
We have many pots on our deck and I always like to try some new plants each year. This year I planted Iochroma ‘Royal Queen Purple’ using Black Gold Natural & Organic Potting Soil and the results have been outstanding. In June, I started with three small plants in 4” pots and planted them all in a 14” pot. They began blooming in early July and have not stopped. The flowers are tubular and come in clusters at the end of the branches and are a deep purple. I have done some selective pruning to keep the plant from getting too tall and it has branched out nicely and is a nice compact shrub. It is in a full sun location and seems to like the heat. I doubt if it will survive the winter but regardless, it makes for a great summer blooming plant.

Cup and Saucer Vine

Cobaea scandens - Mike DarcyCobaea scandens, or Cup and Saucer Vine, is a spectacular flowering vine, and when I see one in a garden, as I did recently, I wonder why we don’t see it in gardens more often. The common name comes from the shape of the flower, which is unusual in that when it opens it is a light green color and in a few days turns to purple.

Cup and saucer vine is a very vigorous and fast growing summer vine and would be an ideal choice to quickly cover a fence or trellis. It is easy to grow from seed and should be started indoors in the spring and then set outside when the weather warms. Black Gold Seedling Mix will give the seeds a great start. It is technically a perennial but should be treated as an annual here in the Pacific Northwest and anywhere else where winters are cold. The one drawback that I can think of is that it does not bloom until later in the summer, the last part of August/first part of September. However, I think the flowers are so striking that they are worth the wait. Even better, they are pollinated by bats in the evening hours.

Late-Summer Annual Foliage Color

Rosie Sweet Potato and Coleus - Mike Darcy
Here it is, mid-September and in the Pacific Northwest, and the weather has been warm with little or no rain. This is the time to visit gardens and observe what is performing well at this time of year. Take notes so you will remember next spring what will eventually make for great late-summer annual foliage color.

At a recent garden I visited, there was a bank of sweet potato vines (both chartreuse and black) and they had completely covered the soil. The sweet potato vines in the photo were planted with several different coleus with leaf colors of chartreuse and dark burgundy. What a stunning combination this made. Soil on a slope like this in a sunny location can dry out quickly with hot weather and winds. An excellent soil amendment to add at planting time is Black Gold Just Coir. This is actually coconut coir pith and has very good water hold retention to keep plants from drying out on hot sunny and windy days. It is both a natural and organic soil amendment.

Growing Hardy Hibiscus

Hardy Hibiscus - Mike Darcy

We often think of Hibiscus as tropical plants from Hawaii and other warm weather states. While this Hibiscus can be grown there, it will not survive our winters and gardeners often plant this and treat it as an annual plant. What many gardeners do not know is that there is a winter-hardy Hibiscus (Hibiscus moscheutos). Often referred to simply as Hardy Hibiscus, these shrubby perennials will die to the ground in the winter but reappear in the late spring. There are many varieties that come in shades of white, red, pink, and rose. I have several in my garden and they are now coming into flower.(Bees love them!)

It is nice to have a big perennial blooming at this time of year. The flowers are large and showy. Plants reach about 4-feet tall, and this is an excellent time to visit garden centers to select the color you want. Winter-hardy Hibiscus are best planted in full sun and they thrive in moist soil. Feed with an OMRI Listed organic fertilizer formulated for flowers for maximum blooming!