CORNELIUS NURSERIES, INC.
Garden Notes
July 8, 2003
You Asked:
Giant Tree Aphids - Again?
New Hibiscus plants hit the Houston Market!
Local grower Barry Schleuter has introduced his 'Bahama Bay' series of Hibiscus this summer. Highly popular, these have proved to be a new staple in Houston landscapes. Visit soon to see his other colors.
We hope your summer
has been good!
If you clicked to get here, we hope that you enjoy this information and that you will consider writing with your gardening questions and concerns.
The PlantMasterGiant Tree Aphids - Again?
We had so many calls last year about this problem that when I received the following e-mail question, I thought that I'd share it with you:
...three of our oak trees have clusters of small black bugs on the trunks. I remember something attacking the oak trees last year, I think they were called tree aphids. If this is correct, could we be having another infestation? What is the most effective treatment for these bugs? -- Janet
They are showing up all over town again this year. The product that we have that seems to work well is Fertilome 'Kills A Bug'. Like most insect infestations, if you can't reach them with a spray you can't control them, and this product is no different. It is not a systemic insecticide that moves throughout a plant when applied only to a portion of the plant. If you have these Giant Aphids high in your tree canopy, this product will not travel to the top of the tree from its lower branches and kill those insects. You must follow the directions and actually contact the insects with the spray in order to control them.
For more information and a photo, click on the following link:
http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/extension/newsletters/hortupdate/mar02/art2mar.html
You asked and there it is. Thanks, Janet.
(back to top)Until just recently we've been laboring under high-pressure systems and a serious lack of rain. Now that we've received some short-term relief from the lack of rain, maybe we can look at what caused this.
When taking a meteorology course in college, our instructor chose a really unusual textbook - a Golden Book of Weather, those tiny, children's books that spell everyday things out in everyday language. It really helped us to understand many of the dynamics of weather systems and principles of forecasting. I've tried since to find it in bookstores, but haven't had any luck. If you find one, or one written for the lay person, grab it. It will help you to understand what's going on.
As I understand it, our day-to-day Gulf Coast weather is affected by a couple of main factors - atmospheric pressure and the jet stream. During our hot spells, we were under domes of high-pressure that compacted everything underneath them, preventing the rise of surface heat and radiation into the atmosphere. This rise is what creates those huge clouds that can become rain clouds and thunderheads. Without those clouds, we have lots of sunshine and very little chance for rain clouds to form.
Couple high-pressure with a jet stream that travels in the northern tier of states, and we don't get the factors to combine that help to move those high-pressure systems out of our area. That's why we had such a long period without any rain. Now, conditions have been conducive to the production of those tall clouds that produce rain and we've had lower pressure in the area that allows the coastal breezes to bring us needed moisture and those clouds to grow tall in the sky.
A special note for people who visit our site and who write with questions - each week that we advertise, we post our ad early onto our website. If you are interested in getting a preview of what's on sale in the upcoming weekend, visit our
Weekly Specials page.
The Perennial Plant Association has chosen Japanese Painted Fern as the Perennial Plant of the Year for 2004. This hardy perennial fern is suitable for shady Houston gardens and remains evergreen throughout the winter.
Cornelius Nurseries
2233 S. Voss Rd.
713-782-8640
1755 FM 1960 W
281-444-1210
1200 N. Dairy Ashford
281-493-0550
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Recently there was an article in the Houston Chronicle that mentioned many plants that have been around for a long time, but have been overlooked for many seasons. Many of us see familiar plants, finally remembering that our grandparents had them in their gardens. Many progressive growers are realizing this and are "re-inventing" these older plants for new gardeners.
Last writing I mentioned the 'Magilla' Perilla. This plant is the result of improvement over an existing, old-fashioned, "Granny's Garden" plant. The original Perilla frutescens resembles dark Basil and has an herbal fragrance to the leaves when crushed. But probably not widely known are the medicinal properties of that original plant. It's worth looking at once again as we become more interested in hardy, tough plants for our urban gardens.
Take a look at Salvia, commonly called Sage. There are so many old varieties of this that bear visiting again. The common Mealy Blue Sage has been improved, but the original plant Salvia farinacea is very suitable for low-maintenance gardens. Drought-tolerant and very insect-resistant, this tall, blue-flowering perennial loves the summer heat. It performs very well in a border of mixed annuals and other perennials. And nothing can beat the colors in Salvia splendens, the original annual Salvia. Wide ranges of colors of this tried and true plant are available and it survives well in semi-shade to sunny gardens. And remember that the culinary herb Sage is from this remarkable genus of plants.
Finally, Gingers offer many solutions to shade and semi-shade gardens. The old-fashioned white-blooming Butterfly Ginger, Hedychium coronarium, is extremely fragrant and beautiful in lower-lighted gardens and even as a Moonlight Garden plant. Then Spiral Ginger, Costas, has beautifully crinkled flowers and leaves that twist and spiral from the soil.
Ask about these and many other under-utilized plants for Houston gardens. And read on to learn about the new plants that have come from old garden favorites.
... is New & Improved
Where do new varieties of plants come from? A recent example, once again, is the unusually colorful 'Magilla' Perilla mentioned above. This plant stems from a monochromatic plant in many early- to mid-twentieth century gardens. Hybridizing and selection have produced this now popular new plant. Many of our newest varieties have gone through this very process to yield all-new colors and plant forms.
Recently a new Joseph's Coat was introduced to Houston. Alternanthera 'Partytime' (pictured above) was discovered by a Georgia grower, observed for a period of time and finally produced in sufficient quantities so that growers around the country could offer it to their customers. But to get it to this point, 'Partytime' was narrowed from a field of similar but inferior plants that might have not had the intense color or desirable growth habit that we enjoy in this new plant. And now we are learning that it performs differently in shade, (click
here to see a larger photo), than it does in sun (click here to see the range of colors of this plant in a bright garden). And there are more fun varieties of this garden favorite coming along soon.Now, what about Coleus? Remember when Coleus was only recommended for shade gardens? We can now select from dozens of varieties improved for direct summer sun, tolerant of Houston heat and humidity. And new varieties are appearing with every plant catalog. Click
here to view some recent sun-tolerant introductions.Our buyer took the photos in this section during trade shows that introduce new varieties every year. This year's trade shows are right around the corner so we'll expect more ideas and introductions soon.
Houston is blessed with such tropical conditions that many of our houseplants can be used as suitable landscape plants.
One of the more noticeable ones is the Croton. These colorful foliage plants are noted for their bright yellow, red, orange, speckled and spotted leaves in sunny gardens. When they come to us, they have been grown under some amount of shade, so acclimate them gradually to the direct sunlight. Once this is done, they will thrive during our heat and last until the first frost. At that time, you can bring them indoors or treat them as an annual, replanting again next year.
Another under-used tropical houseplant is actually a group of plants that belong to the genus Pilea. Included in this genus are
Aluminum Plant, Creeping Charlie (sometimes called Baby's Tears), Moon Valley, Friendship Plant, and Artillery Fern. These all require shade and good drainage and protection from snails and slugs. But they also make very suitable components in combination container planters where you can control their environment much easier. In the garden, most all of these will grow low to the ground or else will spread. So they all look great as groundcovers in smaller areas. They'll freeze in the winter, so treat them as annuals, or take cuttings and grow your own.Another relative to the Pilea is the Pellionia. There are two that are most common in garden centers, the
Watermelon Pellionia daveauana and the Satin Pellionia pulchra. Both of these spread throughout the garden and over the sides of planters or containers, providing a nice touch of color and texture. Treat these also like annuals, but they also propagate easily from cuttings or from rooted stems along the ground.And if you like the look of grassy texture in your tropical flowerbeds, try using
Airplane Plant, Chlorophytum comosum. Also known as Spider Plant, this forms a really nice groundcover in shady areas, and you'll also get those stalks where the "babies" sprout. When these touch the ground, they will root and begin to grow a new plant, forming a very dense cover. Again, you'll probably need to watch for snails and slugs and treat this plant as an annual, but they are very easy to grow from those "babies" each year.Thanks for reading this edition of our Garden Notes.
Happy Gardening!
The PlantMaster
