Easy Care Houseplants. Can Insects and Diseases Hitchhike in on a Load of New Mulch? Plant of the Week: The Gardenia.
More information about what you heard on Episode 135 of the Garden Basics with Farmer Fred podcast. Or what I hope you will hear. Topics tackled on Ep. 135 included:
1) Can that load of chipped/shredded tree branches include insects and disease?
2) Will mulch from certain tree varieties inhibit growth in your garden?
3) What does a gardenia need for optimum performance?
4) What are the easiest houseplants to care for?
The bottom line:
Can chipped/shredded trees be a source for insects and disease?
Probably not. According to our resident college horticulture instructor, Debbie Flower, insects and diseases can’t live through the chipping process, especially if you let the pile sit for a week or so. Longer if you’re the nervous type. Want more information? Here you go:
From Texas A&M: “Fresh Wood Chips for Mulch - Harmful or Good”
From the University of California: “Mulch and the Spread of Plant Pathogens”
From the University of Wisconsin-Madison: “Wood Mulch and Tree Health”
Sharp eared listeners usually have sharp eyes. Their sharp ears may have remembered that Debbie Flower specifically said that verticillium wilt cannot be spread by mulch created from trees that succumbed to verticillium wilt. And, their sharp eyes noticed that UW-Madison specifically states:
“Recent research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison suggests that wood chip mulches produced from trees suffering from Verticillium wilt (see University of Wisconsin Garden Facts XHT1008) can serve as a source of the fungus (Verticillium dahliae) that causes the disease. These studies show that Verticillium can survive for at least one year in mulch and that use of this contaminated mulch can lead to Verticillium wilt in both woody and herbaceous plants. Therefore use of mulches produced from trees with Verticillium wilt should be avoided.”
Who’s right? Who’s wrong? Perhaps the soundest advice comes from The Garden Professors, who maintain a very active Facebook page. This is from their publication: “Why Fresh is Best - When It Comes to Mulch”:
“Getting tree chips is best because there is little likelihood for soil borne pathogens since the materials are chipped branches. There is some possibility of wilt diseases (Verticillium spp.) surviving in arborists chips but little research has established that the pathogen can infect especially if the chips are stockpiled for a short time. In my own research we showed that pathogens, weeds and insects had very short survival times in stockpiled (not turned) piles of greenwaste. There is very little chance of pathogens coming to your garden from arborist chips and the benefits to your soil and perennial plants are worth the effort to get a “chip drop” from your local tree care company.”
2) Too many “L”s on your Scrabble or Words With Friends tile rack? Remember this word: allelopathy. Dr. Linda Chalker-Scott of the aforementioned Garden Professors offers this gardener-friendly definition of a term that is used in conjunction with certain trees, such as walnuts and eucalyptus:
“Allelopathy is the ability of one plant species to affect the growth of another through their chemical exudates.”
And she concludes in her Washington State University Cooperative Extension article, DO BLACK WALNUT TREES HAVE ALLELOPATHIC EFFECTS ON OTHER PLANTS? :
“Use walnut wood chips for mulch if you have them. They will not harm plants and work just as well as those from any other woody species.”
The same is true for eucalyptus. Just listen to what Debbie Flower says about that tree in the latest episode of Garden Basics:
Who doesn’t love a sweet-smelling gardenia flower? The gardenia shrub is widely adaptable (outdoors throughout the Sunbelt, indoors in cold winter areas). It prefers heat, afternoon shade, regular watering in easy draining soil, a pH on the acidic side (around 6), and heaps of praise. The Sunset National Garden Book states about the gardenia:
“Like a temperamental artist, the gardenia has its own set of rules. Fuss over them and the plants give beauty. Ignore them and they yellow and die. For thriving gardenias, provide warmth, regular watering and feeding, and good soil drainage.”
Leave it to Warren Roberts, the Superintendent Emeritus of the UC Davis Arboretum, to uncover a bit of its sordid past. Turns out, the plant is named for a gentleman who was ran out of America (he bet on the wrong side several hundred years ago).
Find out more about the gardenia. It is the Plant of the Week on Episode 135 of the Garden Basics with Farmer Fred podcast.
Finally, we find some houseplants for those who claim to kill every houseplant they’ve ever owned.
Lori Ann Asmus, Master Gardener and proprietor of Emerald City Interior Landscape Services in Sacramento, says there are five sure winners. You’re going to have to listen to Episode 135 of the Garden Basics with Farmer Fred podcast for her list.
Here’s my shorter list:
Bachelor Pad Houseplants
The term, "Bachelor Pad Houseplants", is more inclusive than you might believe. These are not just indoor plant suggestions for apartment-dwelling guys who are spending most of their free time perusing online dating apps or playing the latest version of Call of Duty. These houseplants are for everyone who claims to have accidentally killed every green plant ever purchased. They don't require much water (perhaps once every 10 days in the summer) and can take low light as well as fluctuating temperature conditions. These indoor plants are great for offices, too, where lights, heat and air condtioning are turned off for extended periods.
These plants also pass the Farmer Fred Benign Neglect Houseplant Test: they get watered, and showered...once a month. They live in a room that has enough natural daylight to comfortably read. But frankly, they don't read much; perhaps furtive glances at the photo layouts in "Pistil and Stigma Monthly". Fertilizer? Nope. But they start their indoor life in high quality potting soil with a bit of an organic, slow release fertilizer. That soil gets changed every few years…if I remember. And, they don’t complain, unlike that whiny pothos on Twitter.
Bachelor Pad Houseplants (Purple Thumb Plants, if you prefer):
The Chinese evergreen (Aglaonema spp) is a small to medium sized plant, with oblong, lance-shaped leaves 6-9 inches long and 2-3 inches wide. Among all the Chinese evergreens, look for the "Emerald Beauty". Avoid the "Silver Queen" variety, It can't take temperatures below 50 degrees.
The dracaena grows as a single-stemmed plant, sending out long, narrow leaves all along the stem. Of the dracaena varieties, choose the "Janet Craig" or "Warneckii". You can go two to three weeks between waterings with these. In fact, watering more often could be detrimental.
The ZZ Plant (Zamioculcas zamiifolia). A Southern Hemisphere relative of philodendrons, the ZZ plant has been described as "a houseplant with an attitude". The roots, stem and leaves all store water, making it drought tolerant. It’s a succulent! We have one here that thrives on neglect in a south-facing window without the benefit of cheap sunglasses. However, reports indicate it could do just as well in an east or west-facing window, and perhaps facing north, as well. Or in La Grange.
Sansevieria plant. Both Lori Ann Asmus and I agree, “Mother’s-In-Law Tongue” (aka, Snakeplant) is a welcome addition in homes where plants and dust compete for the same amount of attention. Lori Ann said this on Ep. 135 of the Garden Basics with Farmer Fred podcast about the Sansevieria:
Bachelor Pad Houseplant Care Tips:
• When choosing houseplants, avoid those with no identification tag or simply say, "tropical plant". If they don't know what it is, how can you get help when problems arise?
• Before buying, check the plant on the underside of the leaves and in the crotch where the leaf meets the stem. That's where bugs tend to congregate. Avoid plants with brown-tipped leaves; that's a sign of improper watering or poor drainage.
• The easiest way to clean and water the plant is to take into the bathroom with you, and shower with a friend. Or, if you have a Kentia palm, shower with a frond.
• Use a container that has drainage holes. Keep a pan (such as a microwave dinner dish) beneath it, with a layer of gravel to catch the runoff.
• Don't fertilize the plant from October through March, let it rest. During the spring and summer, fertilize lightly, if at all. Coffee grounds, applied as a mulch once a month, are OK. Just be sure to remove the coffee filter, or any potential mate may back out of the room, slowly.
• If the plant is on a window sill, rotate it every few days so it won't start bending in one direction. Great excuse for when you’re checking out your neighbors.
This Week, In the Farmer Fred Marketplace
As I am fond of saying…As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases from possible links mentioned here.
Hey, it’s a free newsletter! If you shop online at Amazon, please consider using the links provided for great garden merchandise (Amazon throws me a few pennies for each of your purchases). And even you end up not buying that particular item, continue your own shopping spree for other items via that original link. Thank you! Amazon will throw me a few more pennies. And, I will remember you in my will if you decide you don’t want a houseplant book but instead you buy one of these for yourself…
Oh, yeah…the houseplant book. Both Lori Ann Asmus and I agree, “Ortho’s Complete Guide to Successful Houseplants” book is a winner. It has a place on both of our bookshelves. And, it gets used a lot. (the picture is an older edition, with an old price)
How warm is your mulch or compost pile? Find out with a good thermometer!
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