Archive for February, 2009
February 19, 2009 at 2:23 pm · Filed under Herbs
The beginning gardener will find herbs a great choice for those early experiments. Herbs are very forgiving, doing well in poor soil and requiring little or no fertilizer. They’re insect resistant in many cases, and don’t require constant pruning.
Once you’ve selected the types you want to grow and tend, make sure you have the tools to do it.
A small shovel or spade will be adequate for most planting. Herbs don’t require a large hole when planted from cuttings, and seeds are sown very near the surface. A spike or fork will be helpful for aerating compacted soil, especially for new seeds. Herbs like good drainage.
Though they require it only rarely, if you want to optimize your herbs occasional pruning is helpful. That means a pair of pruning shears is a must. Ordinary scissors have their uses in the garden - cutting twine, snipping small stems and so forth. But, a pair of sharp pruning shears is essential for trimming those thicker stems and other tasks.
Depending on your arrangements a good watering can may be helpful. Some just pour water out a one inch opening. That’s great for some plants, but herbs require less water and one of the most common mistakes is overwatering. The type with a series of small holes will make it easier to control the amount given.
Watering cans are great for container-grown herbs and small areas. But for larger gardens you’ll want some kind of watering system. Unless you have lots of time on your hands, an automatic system will be best. Fortunately, a simple drip or soaker hose system is easy to set up and inexpensive. Some will require replacement every couple of years depending on your climate.
Unless you pull them up before winter and re-lay the following spring, winter is hard on those hoses. A couple of years of snow and low temperatures will rot and plug them. But even a 20 ft x 30 ft garden can be completely covered with soaker hose in less than an hour. All that’s required is to make a pattern close to the plants and shove down a few plastic or metal spikes to keep it in place.
A wheelbarrow is handy for transporting those container-started plants to the garden for transplanting. You may also find it handy for carting away weeds that have gotten out of hand. It’s much easier to toss them into the wheelbarrow, then roll it away for bagging or dispersal, than to pick them off the ground when you’re done. That also helps minimize re-seeding.
Laying down a 3-4 inch layer of mulch after you plant can help minimize the need for weeding later. It also helps with soil composition. Mulch can be made from wood chips, bark, gravel or even shredded newspapers - or all of them combined. Just leave about an inch in diameter of space around the base of the plant when you mulch. That will avoid any excess buildup of moisture and heat.
Some simple quality tools, a few packets of fine seeds, a bit of space with good earth and you are on your way to a great herb garden.
February 17, 2009 at 11:31 pm · Filed under Garden Landscaping
Keeping destructive insects to a minimum is now easier than ever. Thanks to innovative biologists and chemists, there are a dozen safe ways to control damaging insects.
The first step is to correctly identify what kind of insects you have or are likely to get. There are thousands of common species, but typically only a handful do most of the harm in any given area. These can often be identified in one or more of three ways.
You can check the leaves of your plants, flowers and shrubs and match them against photos you can find online. If you search for information about the specific plants you’re worried about you’ll quickly find the most common pests. Accompanying that information is frequently a photo you can use for comparison.
Many times, though, insects on flowers, trees, grass and other plants are hidden. In that case you can rely on a guess and apply control methods based on the common invasive species. Aphids frequently infest rose bushes, for example, and can be difficult to spot. Grass often has grub infestations that could only be visually detected by careful inspection underneath the soil.
Another method is to examine the effects.
If you find large, roughly round, brown spots on grass - especially in late Spring through Summer - you probably have a Japanese Beetle grub problem. There can be other causes, double check your guess by the previously listed methods. If you find that patches of grass pull away easily from the soil like carpet that has come loose from its tacks, you probably have a grub problem.
Once you identify the species that is causing the problem, eliminating it is usually safe, inexpensive and easy using modern control methods. That doesn’t necessarily mean purchasing and spraying large areas with chemicals, though many today are designed to be perfectly safe for humans and the environment.
Instead of using grub killing fertilizer or insecticide, for example, you can use biological control methods. These are becoming more popular and more effective all the time. A substance called ‘milky spores’ can be a very cost effective way to control grubs in lawns.
Initially biological control may be more costly than a bag of grub insecticide. A 30lb bag of grub killer may cost $10 and last two years where a 1-liter bottle of milky spores may be $30 or more, but it lasts for 10 years. The substance works well because it actually contains living organisms that invade the grub larvae and interrupts their growth cycle. In effect, you have one organism killing another. But the spores do no harm to your lawn, only to the grub.
There are many other biological control methods, each tailored to attack a specific problem. They have to be, since organisms are fairly particular about what insects they will invade and when. But you’ll find them safe, cost effective and frequently longer lasting than chemical methods.
You can always fall back onto chemical insecticides when needed, too. Modern insecticides have become very sophisticated, frequently decaying from the environment safely and quickly into harmless byproducts. At the same time, they do the job before fading away.
February 17, 2009 at 11:27 pm · Filed under Garden Landscaping
Knowing which types of plant thrive best in shade or full sun is essential to a healthy garden. Most trees are very happy to soak up as much sunlight as is available. Cedars, pines, tamarack and many more all do very well. Fruit trees, especially citrus, can take 8 hours or more of full, hot sun every day for months and bloom like crazy. But, flowers vary.
‘Full sun’ means 6 or more hours per day of direct sunlight. Since it’s direct, any energy not taken by the atmosphere is delivered right to the plant. That means plenty of energy for photosynthesis, producing very green leaves and ample flowering - provided the plant doesn’t get so much light it burns and it has sufficient water.
Foxgloves, for example, do well in partial shade, but they also thrive very well in full sun. Their tall stalks will be lined with flowers when the soil is warm and they get adequate water. A completely different looking plant, yarrow, also does very well in full sun. Resembling a fern, with small white flowers, they can take as much sun as they can get.
Since there’s so much sun available in such areas, it’s important to keep the soil at an appropriate level of moisture and well fed. Plants need a certain amount of nitrogen and phosphorous, which they can not get sometimes from the poor soils found in many places around the country.
Keeping plants well supplied with nutrients, however, is easy even under very sunny conditions. For small, potted plants a small amount of liquid fertilizer is enough. How much depends on the plant and the pot, follow the directions. For moderate to large-sized gardens a few bags of inexpensive dry or moist fertilizer is a good idea.
Manure based fertilizer works well for large gardens. It typically comes in 30lb to 50lb bags, and can simply be shaken over the soil right out of the bag or from a dispenser. Keeping the ground moist, but not wet, at least every other day is important for most flowering plants.
Cacti, of course, and other drought tolerant plants can go long periods on very little water. Their unique structures allow them to retain moisture internally, with very little loss through the leaf, much better than irises or pansies or foxgloves and other common flowering plants.
Yarrow can tolerate low levels of water well, as does aloe and verbena. Several types of vine are very drought tolerant, thriving on lots of sun and little water. Bougainvillea and wisteria are two examples. Many shrubs get all the water they need from the soil, provided you don’t live in the desert or where it’s too rocky or sandy. Those types of soil don’t retain water efficiently, which can be an advantage in some circumstances.
Then, of course, citrus trees, walnuts, pines, tamarack and others will do very well in dry soil. Most people tend to overwater their orange trees, for example, especially those in big pots. Pick the right kind of plant for your soil and amount of sun and you’re well on your way to a beautiful landscape.
February 17, 2009 at 11:25 pm · Filed under Greenhouse
Building a foundation for your greenhouse offers you many choices.
Some people, especially if they buy a pre-made greenhouse, will simply lay it on top of whatever ground exists at the location they choose. That may be gravel, or dirt or even grass. Some pre-made greenhouses come complete not only with roof and walls, but a floor, as well.
If you choose to build your own greenhouse, you’ll probably want to prepare the ground underneath it in some way. This could be as simple as smoothing the earth and laying down railroad ties spaced an inch apart. An alternative step up could be creating a simple platform of eight-foot 2 x 4’s or 1 x 6’s nailed to 4 x 4’s spaced out about every 18 inches under the slats. That way you have a solid base and drainage.
But those simple designs leave you with the problem of controlling weeds, replacing floor boards, controlling mildew and other issues associated with wooden floors.
The next step up is laying a cement foundation, similar to the type under many houses. This is easier than it sounds, but it requires more effort than the other alternatives and has a few potential drawbacks.
Creating a cement foundation requires laying out an area, smoothing it and building a temporary ‘container’ around the area you intend to pour. You’ll want to make it fairly smooth and level - not an easy thing to do unless you have a fair amount of experience pouring cement.
In the end, you’ll be left with a semi-permanent foundation which would be difficult to move or remove later if you change your mind about the location.
But a cement foundation will last longer and give you some options about heating. You could lay carpet or tile on top with heating tubes or wires underneath, for example. It’s easier to take care of and very sturdy. Cement floors also can absorb and reflect a lot of heat, which can be handy in a greenhouse.
Building a good cement foundation will require a couple of weekends. The materials, tools and construction plans are available at a hardware store or can be ordered online and delivered.
Beyond following the directions for mixing cement, creating the frame and properly forming the surface, the key is temperature and humidity. It’s important that you carry out the project when you expect moderate to warm temperatures, relatively low humidity and no rain.
Whichever option you choose, make sure you plan ahead. Make sure the floor is sturdy enough to support the benches, tables, pots and people that will be inside. After you have all that installed, it’s much tougher to replace flooring.
February 15, 2009 at 10:06 pm · Filed under Bonsai
Most bonsai trees are a coniferous or deciduous species, with the occasional fruit tree forming part of the collection. But there are more exotic choices that allow the bonsai artist to expand his or her skills.
Wisteria makes one excellent alternative to the run-of-the-mill bonsai. A native of China, Korea and Japan, they can reach 30 feet in the wild. Forming them into a bonsai is an interesting challenge, since they don’t conform to any of the usual styles.
The flowers, assuming a variety of colors - blue, purple, pink, white - are both beautiful and aromatic. They blossom in the spring when they need lots of water, so long as there is adequate drainage. Wisteria do well in full sun to partial shade. Provide ample fertilizer in spring just before they flower, then again in late summer while the leaves are still present.
Orange Jasmine is another option that will provide both beauty to the eye and delight to the nose. Their fragrant, white blossoms are accompanied by bright red fruit.
Orange Jasmine should be fed every three to four weeks beginning in early spring and continuing through mid-autumn. Light watering is adequate for most of the year, with slightly more in the hotter season.
Since they do better in filtered sun and moderate shade, they are one of the few bonsai that can, and probably should, be raised indoors.
Mimosa, or silk trees as they are sometimes called owing to their long silky filaments, are as fragrant as either of the two choices above. Their lacy foliage and puffy flowers are also just as lovely.
Flowers bloom in late April to early July, during which time they should be given moderate water. Avoid watering the flowers since, like many flowering plants, they wilt rapidly and deteriorate when wet.
The Mimosa will be one of the larger bonsai in your collection. They grow rapidly, have large leaves and are very difficult to sustain at a very small size. So give them lots of room on the display bench.
The Desert Rose is another non-traditional bonsai that can turn an ordinary collection into one full of color and excitement. This native of East Africa can grow up to 10 feet in the wild and produce large, pink, trumpet-bowl flowers.
Very bushy, it makes an excellent design complement to the many trees in a standard bonsai set. They need lots of fresh air and ample sunshine, so keep them outside most of the year.
They’re sensitive to cold, though, so in cold climates they should be brought indoors. They don’t thrive below 50F (10C), though will lie dormant and healthy from 50-60F (10C-15C). During this period they will need very little water.
Expand your design horizons by trying your hand at a few of these fragrant and beautiful flowering plants. Spaced among some of the standard evergreens - pines, firs and others - they provide a nice contrast. You’ll also have an ever-changing display, as they blossom in spring and lose their leaves in the fall.
February 15, 2009 at 10:05 pm · Filed under Bonsai
Beyond the basic styles of bonsai tree art, there are many wonderful variations. The individual aesthetic that each artist brings to the work allows for an infinite variety of forms.
Group or Forest (Yose)
The group display, often called the forest, is just what the name suggests - multiple bonsai trees residing in a single container. Any species will do, but this style often contains all of one kind. Multiple species within a single pot would make soil design and watering management, not to mention climate and sunlight control, extremely difficult.
In the yose style, there are several sub-styles denoted by the number of trunks in the tray. Sambon-Yose (3 trunks), Gohon-Yose (5), Nanahon-Yose (7) and Kyuhon-Yose (9) are the most common and increasingly difficult as the number rises.
In some cases they spring from a single root underground, in which case the trunks are more like above-ground branches. This is termed kabudachi style. The difference from a standard group in this case is that at the base there will be a central cluster in the middle of the pot.
Korabuki (Raft) Style
In nature, trees are not simply blown by wind and rain, but often completely knocked down. Rains softens the ground, roots grow close to the surface, and the earth has small underground holes. All conspire with the wind to undermine the ability of the tree to remain upright.
But trees are amazingly resilient and can adapt to survive under the most arduous conditions. Even when growing horizontally, provided there is adequate contact with the earth by the roots, life can continue.
As with most bonsai styles, the bonsai artist attempts to emulate nature, even in this extreme case. Many of the results are as spectacular as the full-sized examples produced by nature alone.
Sub-styles include the ikadabuki (straight line), in which the trunk is entirely out of the soil. Typically it will rest on the surface, but some can actually grow somewhat like a kengai and are slightly above the ground.
In another sub-style the trunk rests at an angle, partially underground. In this case the bark under the earth will tend to decay from moisture and small soil organisms.
In many cases the trunk will be allowed to sprout multiple branches that look very much like individual trunks. These appear similar to a group or forest style, but all grow from a single tree.
The netsunagari (sinuous) style is one of the more exotic sub-types. Here the roots meander through the soil like many underground rivers and the trunks are highly gnarled and twisted.
The forms of bonsai tree are as varied as the artists who create them. Where the line is drawn between one style and another is often a very individual choice. After all, nature provides many examples of borderline cases. Dividing red from orange along the color spectrum is difficult. And, at what height does tall become average and fade into short?
Like many things in Japanese culture, the blending of apparent opposites, or balance among competing influences, is never more present than in the design and execution of a bonsai tree. It is the most traditional of arts combined with the ultimate in individual expression.
February 15, 2009 at 10:04 pm · Filed under Bonsai
Beyond the basic styles of chokkan (formal upright), shakan (informal upright), kengai (cascade) and so forth there are several that don’t fit neatly into those categories. The divisions are arbitrary to an extent, but like any specialty they evolve over time to help bonsai artists guide and discuss their work.
Some of the more common advanced styles are the Fukinagashi (Windswept), the Bankan (Twisted) and the Bunjin (Literati).
Fukinagashi (Windswept)
Like most bonsai trees, the windswept style attempts to emulate nature’s effects in miniature.
Its trunk is slanted, as if grown in an environment where the wind tends to blow more strongly in one direction than another. The branches, too, will acquire a preferred direction as a result of growth that is constantly bent.
Areas near cliffs or hills, for example, do this frequently. Coastal regions often experience the conditions that produce fukinagashi. Meandering rivers, although not the result of winds, are formed by similar basic physical forces.
Unfortunately, emulating forceful winds is beyond the technical means of most bonsai artists. But the style is formed by use of similar forces, even when the artist isn’t aware of why they are basically the same.
Stressing a living plant in a preferred direction causes them to cooperate and tend to grow in that way. Those stresses (physical stresses, not the sort of chemical stress induced by unhealthy conditions) can be achieved by well-practiced means, developed over centuries.
Just as a kengai (cascade) can be formed in part by harnessing the trunk with a cord tied to a stake, so too can the fukinagashi or windswept. Wire can be used as a supplement, but this is more often used for branches than the basic trunk shape.
Often the foliage is sparse, since in natural conditions much of it would have been blown away by the strong winds that produce the bent effect.
Bankan (Twisted)
The bankan style is thought to have originated in China with the beginnings of penjing, the Chinese art that led to bonsai in Japan.
As the name suggests the trunks are twisted and gnarled, sometimes to the extent of forming animal shapes. The dragon is a popular model for the bankan.
Sub-styles range from the Nejikan, in which the trunk makes only a partial turn to the Takzukuri, or Octopus. In the latter, the trunk is considerably twisted and the branches follow suit, making a kind of vortex shape that emulates the winds that shaped the full-sized species in nature.
Bunjin (Literati)
One of the most popular bonsai styles is the bunjin or literati. The simple style, with a thin, slanted trunk and few branches is deceptively difficult. It was inspired by Chinese paintings that depicted trees growing in harsh climates. The results are often spare but dramatic.
As the trunk frequently twists around, branches are displayed at sharp angles upward and the tree presents a different view from every side. Japanese Red Pines are a popular species for this style, but there are many others. Branches often twist as they rise.
These advanced styles are not usually attempted by the novice, but sooner or later every bonsai artist will want to try them. They require great skill and patience, but the effort is more than amply rewarded by the beautiful results.
February 14, 2009 at 4:58 pm · Filed under Bonsai
The Japanese have a word, ‘wa’, that roughly translates to ‘harmony’. It refers to relations between individuals, and man and nature. But it can also refer to the elements comprising a work of art. The art of bonsai uses this concept when coordinating the choice of species and style with the container in which the bonsai tree resides.
Color, material and above all shape and size are considered when matching the right pot to a given tree. Given the variety of tastes in the world, there are no agreed upon rigid rules, but tradition and a sense of symmetry heavily influence the choice. Each is selected to complement the other, giving balance to the overall design.
But there are practical factors to consider, as well, first and foremost.
The size of the pot must physically balance the weight of the moist soil and the tree. Bonsai are typically displayed on a stand or bench or shelf and, being small, are easily tipped over if the pot is too small and light, or the tree is out of balance.
Style affects not only the aesthetic of the bonsai, but this practical factor as well. A kengai (cascade) or han-kengai (semi-cascade) has a trunk and/or branches that travel out from the ‘box’ of the pot. In the case of the kengai, it dips below the plane of the base of the tree, emulating a tree near a cliff under heavy snowfall.
As a result of this style, a too small pot - which holds less soil and provides a smaller base - will put the tree and pot at risk of falling off the display. Bonsai are fragile and years of effort can be lost by a simple accident.
Also, the pot must hold enough soil to accommodate the roots with ample space for growth of two years or so. Normally, a bonsai tree will be re-potted after that time, in order to refresh the soil, trim the roots and possibly increase the size of the tree.
A pot must have a hole in the bottom with a mesh screen in order to allow for proper drainage. The screen can become clogged if the mesh is too small, and allow soil leakage out the bottom if too large.
The tray underneath or attached as an integral part of the pot must be large enough to allow for overflow. Under-watering a bonsai tree can easily kill it, just as over-watering can. And, the easiest way to over-water one is to allow inadequate drainage, worsened by having the bottom continually in water from a tray that’s too shallow or narrow.
The specific sized pot that’s correct for the tree will be affected, too, by species. Flowering and fruiting trees require more water and tolerate wetter conditions. Conifers, such as white pine, do better with a drying period between watering.
Experience and a personal aesthetic will determine the specific pot that’s best to choose. But fortunately for the enthusiast, there are many good examples around to serve as a guideline or stimulus to the imagination. Some bonsai trees live as long as 200 years, and photos of them are readily available.
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