Due to the high volume of traffic on campus related to student move-in this week, the Home Garden Education Office will be closed to the public on Thursday Aug. 27 & Friday Aug. 28.
Your questions are important to us! Please continue to send your questions to ladybug@uconn.edu or call us and leave a voicemail at 860-486-6271.
Thank you for your patience & understanding!
It’s been a strange year. While many gardeners typically start to feel as if their season is starting to wind down in August, some gardens this year seem to finally be hitting their stride. Regardless, with fall just ahead of us, this month provides a fantastic opportunity to reflect, and plan for your next growing season all while the weather is still on your side!
While your garden is still in flower and plants are still well established, it is a great time of year to document this growing season for yourself. Gardeners have used systems of colored golf tees, rocks, or other means to mark out where perennials are in the garden so that they do not disturb them during spring planting or cleanup. Others will sketch out their gardens on graph paper. For perennials, this is a great way to remember what species are planted, and when they flower so that you can shop for additions. This method is particularly useful for vegetable garden beds, which many try to rotate each season. By sketching out what is currently planted, you will be able to identify new locations for next season’s rotation.
It’s always easier to reflect on something while it’s in front of you. Keep a journal and note what went well this season and what didn’t while it is fresh in mind. Include pests and diseases so you are aware of what to scout for next season, before it’s an issue. Even though next year’s conditions may be different, this documentation will help you have an idea of timing, locations, or practices that can be improved on in the next growing season.
While it may not quite be time to start shopping for seeds or starts for next season, note the varieties of vegetables that did well in your garden, and ones that you might skip for next year. Taking note of diseases or pests will also help you with your winter seed shopping by helping you identify if resistant varieties are out there to help you combat those issues. Creating this list now will help you when it comes time for those January seed orders!
If you still want to play in the dirt, this is a good time of year to divide your spring and summer blooming perennials. Division not only provides an opportunity for your plants to have a little extra growing room in the garden bed, but some see it as a way of getting free plants from your garden! Enhance other garden spaces with additional plant material where it may fit. If your plants are healthy and free of pests and disease, you can even share divisions with family, friends or neighbors.
Late summer and fall blooming perennials are best divided in the spring so that they are not expending energy on both flowering and establishment at the same time. Always make sure to follow proper watering guidelines to help any transplanted divisions establish in their new spot in the garden. Even though the plants have been in your garden for a long time, once they are moved the clock resets on their “establishment period.” They’ve taken a hit to their root system and may need your support to recover. Ensure plants are receiving one inch of water per week (roughly 0.62 gallons per sq foot), to help them establish a healthy root system. Always feel the soil to determine whether supplemental water is necessary.
Spring bulbs and Peony roots will be planted in the coming months, so prepare by shopping early! Unique varieties will sell out quickly and you will want to make sure you get what you need for planting time.
We’re also approaching a fine time of year to have your soil nutrition tested so that you’re ready to go next spring! Typically, the springtime sees a rush for soil testing and there can be delays, which mean more time waiting before implementing your fertilizer programs. By testing in the fall, you have your recommendations ready to go when the soil warms up next spring!
Don’t underestimate the value of a detailed gardening journal and a few garden markers to help you remember where things are in your garden, how well they did, and what you may need to watch out for next year! Many successful gardeners have a collection of journals or notes that help them build upon what they learn from season to season. August is the perfect time of year to start documenting those observations while they’re fresh in your mind, and there’s still plenty of gardening left in the year!
You’re in the garden, staring at that same patch of weeds spreading year after year into your flower beds. You grumble how invasive they are. Or are they aggressive? Conversationally, both invasive and aggressive paint the same picture but if you read the fine print, they mean different things.
In everyday conversation, the two words can sound interchangeable. In horticulture and ecology, however, they mean different things. That distinction can shape how we manage plants, communicate with other gardeners and landscape professionals, and understand the regulations that apply to certain species. Gardening lingo can be nuanced and details matter.
Let’s begin with the broadest term: weed. A weed is simply a plant growing where it is not wanted. A weed may be otherwise desirable when it’s growing where we want it. Ralph Waldo Emerson famously said a weed is “a plant whose virtues have not yet been discovered.” A weed is more a description of where a plant is growing; it does not give away information about the plant’s provenance or growth habit.
Aggressive describes the growth behavior of a plant. Weeds and plants we grow in our gardens can be aggressive. Native and nonnative plants can be aggressive too. Aggressive plants can outcompete other plants for resources and outgrow the space allotted to them. Not all aggressive plants are invasive, but in some cases an aggressive, non-native plant can be categorized as invasive.
Invasive plants are nonnative and have demonstrated the ability to spread aggressively, establish outside of cultivation into natural areas, and outcompete native plants. People have introduced plants beyond their native ranges for centuries both intentionally and unintentionally. Most introduced, nonnative plants do not become invasive, but those that do can cause significant, costly problems for landowners, communities, and land managers. Invasive plants often have legal or regulatory implications.
The way invasive plants are regulated varies state to state. In Connecticut, a plant is considered invasive if it meets a set of ecological criteria outlined in Connecticut General Statutes 22a-381a. Connecticut’s Invasive Plants Council uses these criteria to recommend which plants belong on the state’s invasive plant list. The list is periodically updated by the State legislature as additional plants meeting the invasive plant criteria are identified. There are more than 100 plants on Connecticut’s invasive plant list.
What does it mean for a plant to be native or nonnative? Native plants are species that have occurred in a region without the benefit of human introduction. Depending on the context, native can mean native to the United States, to New England, to Connecticut, or to a smaller locale. There are different opinions about what makes a plant native and at what geographic scale. The most important consideration is that native plants coevolved alongside other species in their native range and are part of the greater ecological community. Native plants can be considered aggressive, but they are not considered invasive.
In summary, what defines a weed is a matter of opinion. Aggressive plants have robust growth, can be native or nonnative, and are sometimes further classified as invasive. All invasive plants are nonnative and are usually aggressive.
Hanging baskets are a staple of summer, bringing a pop of color and brightness to empty spaces on porches and decks. However, they require extra care and maintenance as their free-floating nature renders them more susceptible to the elements—namely an increased exposure to wind and sun. This leads to drier soils, making it necessary to frequently monitor hanging baskets to meet their watering needs.In especially full baskets with a variety of flowers, roots can become packed together and dry out even faster.
Check the soil texture at least once a day and water accordingly, increasing to two or more times on particularly hot and sunny days. Provide baskets with a healthy drink until water runs through the bottom, ensuring moisture will reach all of the roots evenly and thoroughly.
Baskets may also benefit from a trim, especially if you see the center of the basket starting to thin out or turn brown. Cut back your cascading stems by one third to help the plant push new growth out of the center.
Glossy buckthorn (Frangula alnus ) is an invasive shrub or small tree spreading through disturbed areas, forests, wetlands, and edges across the Northeast. This plant leafs out early and retains its foliage later into fall. By doing so, it shades out native plants and disrupts natural forest regeneration. Look for smooth gray bark with prominent lenticels, alternate glossy leaves, and small fruits that change from red to dark purple or black. Birds eat the fruit and spread the seeds. Management is most effective when plants are removed before fruiting, using a combination of cutting and targeted herbicide application to prevent resprouting. Follow the label and all state regulations when choosing to use herbicides. Young or small plants can be manually removed.
Smaller Parasa slug moths are very small with a shaggy mane of green hairs and a thick green band on its brown forewing. Normally slug moth caterpillars are seen in August- September.
The caterpillars of all slug moths have no legs- instead of crawling they glide along by means of medial suckers. Most slug moth caterpillars have urticating spines which can cause a painful sting if touched, and on some species, like the smaller parasa, the spines are hidden until the caterpillar becomes alarmed. The caterpillar shown was found on a pin oak on Horsebarn Hill, UConn.
How many times have we all heard that phrase? Humans generally do not like super humid weather, but many plants love it. Humidity may even change how a plant grows. Humidity loving plants actually NEED high humidity to grow, and they generally are not able to adapt to lower humidity. Symptoms of low humidity in plants can be leaf drop, drying leaf edges, and in some cases, death. However, with a little special attention and care, a plant enthusiast can add some very unique plants to their collection.
The summer is the easiest time to grow high humidity plants, unless an air conditioner is used. Moving the plants outside to a porch is a great way to satisfy humidity needs. The winter time is the most challenging as the air is cold and dry due to the weather and our heating systems. There are some easy ways to increase humidity in a home, however. The first is to add a humidifier, but I have found these end up causing mold issues sooner or later. A pebble tray or some other kind of tray of water set under the plants, but not touching the pot/soil, can do a fairly good job of increasing humidity. It will need to have water added once or twice a day. My favorite way of increasing humidity is by grouping a bunch of plants all together in one area. They all seem to help each other out by increasing humidity in that spot as they transpire. A fish tank or bowl of water can also increase the humidity in the room substantially. A spray bottle can be used to temporarily increase humidity, but the effects are too short-lived to be worthwhile. Placing a glass or plastic dome over a plant or a small terrarium/plant cabinet is a great way to increase the humidity permanently. Another idea is to place these plants in a humid bathroom environment where showers are taken. There are a number of really unique plants that will make for a fascinating collection if the extra humidity puzzle can be solved.
The first two plants that I absolutely love are collectively called Jewel Orchids. I have not found them to be too difficult to grow, but they do not tolerate drying out yet cannot sit in water. I place them on my nightstand next to and underneath some other more “normal” plants. The Jewel Orchid, Ludisia discolor, is an unusual plant has really dark maroon or brown leaves with reflective pink lines. The Lightning Jewel Orchid, Macodes petola, has dark green leaves with reflective yellow lines, living up to its namesake.
Many vining plants like high humidity too. Any of the common ones like Pothos (Epipremnum sp.), Philodendron, Scindapsus, and Monstera tolerate our normal home humidity well, but will grow much larger leaves when exposed to beneficial high humidity. A more difficult plant is Cissus discolor, and words cannot fully describe its beauty. The leaves have a pattern of green, marron, pink, and white in them that is unbelievably gorgeous. This one is so difficult to overwinter that many times I end up taking cuttings of the vines and putting them under a dome. I mist inside the dome frequently and in the spring, I start over by potting the cuttings up in a hanging basket. For a blooming vine, try the bleeding heart vine, Clerodendrum thomsoniae, with its white and red flowers.
The genus Labisia has some mind-blowing, incredible colors and patterns. These plants are expensive, but worth a try. Anthurium, Alocasia, and Syngonium generally have arrow or heart shaped leaves. They have some very unique patterns and shapes, but they do struggle and die if the humidity drops. The prices are all over and just depend on the variety. Other foliage plants include Begonia rex with all sorts of colors and patterns or Fittonia with red, pink, or white stripes on green leaves. Why not try taking the houseplant hobby to the next level by adding some humidity loving plants?
The UConn Home Garden Education Office at the George Leigh Minor Plant and Soil Health Center supports UConn Extension’s mission by providing answers you can trust with research-based information and resources. For gardening questions, contact us toll-free at (877) 486-6271, visit our website at homegarden.cahnr.uconn.edu, or reach out to your local UConn Extension office at extension.uconn.edu/locations.
The Spruce – Heather Zidack discusses why container mixes dry out so fast and how to maintain healthy container gardens.
Burls are sound, hard, woody swellings or protrusions that form on the trunks, branches, or roots of trees. They often appear as rounded or ridged masses with normal bark tissue. Burls are benign and are the result of a response in growth to outside stresses. The normal bark texture of the tree will be on the exterior surface of the burl.
The exact cause of burl formation is a mystery, but these growths are formed by abnormal cell proliferation by the xylem. This growth can be triggered by stress factors such as environmental injury, insect feeding damage, or infections from fungal or bacterial pathogens. Some are thought to be the result of genetic factors that trigger abnormal growth without outside influences. Most burls are not causes of concern to the health of otherwise normally growing trees. Removal of burls from trees is not recommended as it will cause more harm than if the burl remains on the tree.
Some tree species seem to have more burls than others. In our area oaks, maples, willows, cherry and elms have more of a tendency to form burls than other tree species. Sometimes small groups of the same tree species in a tight area may all have burls. Whether the cause is environmental, genetic or both would require a good amount of research. Even then, the root cause may be impossible to discover.
Recently, a friend showed me a tree with one of the largest burls I have seen. This tree was located about a mile into the woods and was a good distance from the trail, but easily visible. It was almost five feet high and went almost completely around the trunk of the mature tree it was growing on.
Because of the nature of unique formation and structure of burls, grain formation is unusual, creating swirling patterns that can be very beautiful. A bird’s eye pattern is the result of an aborted adventitious bud. This makes wood galls a highly prized find by woodworkers, who use the wood especially for veneers and bowls.
There are woody galls caused by gall- forming mites, wasps or by fungal pathogens that are sometimes mistaken for burls. These include the black knot galls that form on infected black cherry and other Prunus species and are caused by a fungal pathogen, as well as horned galls on oaks that result from feeding by gall wasps. These types of growths can be harmful to the host tree.
To tell if an abnormal growth on a tree is a burl or a gall, compare the outer surface and texture of the growth. Burls have smooth, rounded surfaces that are fully covered in bark. The tissue is solid wood and will have intricate, swirling grain patterns. Galls typically have a rough texture to their surface, somewhat tumor-like and with vertical or horizontal ridges. The interior is not solid wood, but instead may be papery, pulpy or otherwise somewhat softer than the wood and is usually discolored. If cut open, there may be a wasp larva or a mite inside the gall. While both a gall and a burl result from excessive cell division, the causes are very different.
If you want to learn more, a good article on tree burls can be found on this link from the University of New Hampshire written by forestry field specialist Greg Jordan.
The UConn Home Garden Education Office supports UConn Extension’s mission by providing answers you can trust with research-based information and resources. For gardening questions, contact us toll-free at (877) 486-6271, visit our website at homegarden.cahnr.uconn.edu, or reach out to your local UConn Extension center at extension.uconn.edu/locations.
With the lazy, hazy days of summer in full swing, your vegetable garden is likely in full production mode. Tomatoes should be producing lots of blossoms by now with the earlier varieties offering ripening fruit. While it is true that tomatoes can be challenging to grow in New England, being susceptible to several diseases as well as some abiotic disorders, there are few summer pleasures greater than taking that bite of the first, ripe, sun-kissed tomato. That’s most likely the reason that 86% of food gardeners, according to the National Gardening Association, chose to grow them.
Between summer heat, sporadic rainfall, vacations and inconsistent watering, some of us are noticing black sunken patches on the blossom end (bottoms) of our ripening fruit. This is an abiotic or physiological disorder known as blossom end rot. It starts out with a small water-soaked area that enlarges and darkens as the tomato tries to ripen. The affected tissue has a dark, leathery appearance and may be colonized by a bacteria giving it a black color.
The cause of this disorder is lack of calcium. Most of us know that people require calcium for strong bones and healthy teeth. Plants also have calcium requirements that must be met for good growth and establishment. It is needed for the proper growth and functioning of shoot and root tips and is an integral part of cell walls. As your tomatoes grow in size, more cells with more cell walls are needed.
Plants take up the calcium they need through their roots. Nutrients like calcium, potassium and others are dissolved in the water that is in the soil. When a plant loses moisture on a hot day through the process of transpiration, the roots take up water to replace that loss and keep the plant turgid. The soil water contains nutrients the plants need. Anything that restricts the plant roots’ ability to take up water also reduces the amount of nutrients a plant receives.
Blossom end rot is usually caused by one of two factors. Either there is not enough calcium in the soil or there is not enough water in the soil for the calcium to be able to move into the plant. Sometimes, because of the high humidity, factor number three comes into play. Plants are not transpiring that much because of the high humidity. Since little water is being lost through the leaves, little water (containing calcium and other nutrients as well) is being absorbed by the roots. So even if your soil is loaded with calcium, and your garden is irrigated, plants may not able to transport enough calcium from the soil water into their internal structures.
If blossom end rot is noticed, first take a soil sample and send it to a soil testing laboratory (s.uconn.edu/soil-lab) to determine the soil pH and calcium levels. Often if calcium levels in the soil are too low, plants would also be exhibiting signs of deficiency including stunted growth, curling of leaves and perhaps spotting or scorching on leaves. Follow any recommendations for limestone additions if the pH or calcium levels are too low.
Next, evaluate your watering techniques. Often this disorder occurs when succulent, vigorously growing plants are subjected to drought conditions. It is best to water deeply and less often than to water lightly on a daily basis. After watering, dig a small hole to check if the top 6 inches or so of soil are moistened. Adjust your watering schedule accordingly and if at all possible, just apply water to the base of the plant and avoid getting the foliage wet to discourage diseases. There isn’t much one can do to lower the humidity and increase plant transpiration rates except hope for a bout of dry weather.
To thwart blossom end rot, some gardeners are purchasing blossom set sprays containing calcium to apply to their plants’ foliage. Others are fertilizing and spraying the plant’s foliage with calcium chloride, as directed on the package or making up a calcium solution by mixing gypsum or limestone with water and letting it sit overnight. After 24 hours or so, it can be used to drench the plants and soil. Gypsum can also be applied around the plants at a rate of about 5 pounds per 100 square feet and carefully scratched into the soil. Take care not to injure your tomato plant’s roots and water afterwards. Another option is to search out water soluble fertilizers that contain calcium and can also be used as a foliar spray and apply them to the plant’s leaves.
The UConn Home Garden Education Office supports UConn Extension’s mission by providing answers you can trust with research-based information and resources. For gardening questions, contact us toll-free at (877) 486-6271, visit our website at homegarden.cahnr.uconn.edu, or reach out to your local UConn Extension office at extension.uconn.edu/locations.