North Shore Gardener February 2007

Photo: BBarger

Feb 7: Black gnats in African violets, Aloe blooming

Aloe blooming
Q: I've been reading your column for years and have gotten so much useful information from you. Thank you so much. Now I wonder if you can give me some answers about an aloe plant that I have: I've always had aloe plants (for years) wherever I've lived and used them for burns. I moved to a new apartment, 4th floor, south window, and brought my only remaining aloe with me. This was a rather large round pot with a few small aloe plants in it; not doing very well in my last apartment because not enough sun. I've lived here about 15 months and the aloe (in the window) sprung to life, filling the pot right up to the edges. It is beautiful. It is so crowded that I decided to remove some of the smaller plants and pot them for friends.
I was reaching up to feel the bottoms so I could take some out when I felt something coming out of the plant, on one side, that looked like a scallion top. When I looked up, I saw that it was a stem and that the plant was actually going to flower! The stem is about three feet from the top of the pot and started with what looked like a large bud. As the days went on (this started two weeks ago), the bud has separated into separate buds, now
the little single buds are starting to open from the bottom up. To me, this is very exciting. In all my years I have never seen an aloe plant flower!
It looks like the little flowers will be a light purple color. I have a picture on my kitchen wall of a flowering aloe; the plant is smaller with the leaves shorter and flatter but the bud is the same. (Please bear with me.) My question is what's going on? Is this a rare occurrence? Are there seeds to be collected once the flowers are out? I have been taking pictures of the different stages and look forward each day to see what will happen next.
Do you have any input on this? Any information would be greatly appreciated. Thank you very much and keep writing!

A: WOW!!!!! Yes, your aloe bloom IS unusual! The stem will mature with a whole column of tiny white or lavender flowers. You will have seed if the flower is pollinated - but since it sounds like it's an indoor plant and it wouldn't have bugs around to do the pollination. You can do the job yourself with a clean child's paintbrush - (I save old blusher brushes to pollinate my citrus indoors in winter when there are no bugs around - just be sure the brush is clean and dry. Kid’s watercolor brushes, very inexpensive, are great, too! Touch the brush to the center of each flower, and you should have some seeds form. Do this several days in succession at different times – flowers pollinate at different times of the day, depending on temperature and age and species.

Since you love aloe plants, I'd suggest that you go to "aloe plants" and search it on your computer for more information - there are plenty of people out there who like them as much as you do!

Black gnats on African violets
Q: I am plagued with tiny black gnats that seem to be coming from the soil of my African Violets. I have never had this problem before but it is clear that it all started when I repotted a lot of them a few months ago. What's worse is the violets are doing very poorly, droopy and wilting leaves and no flowers. What can I do to get rid of this pest? I enjoy your articles in the Eagle Tribune. Thank you. A.L.

A: You've got fungus gnats in your African violets! And the larva of this pest, which you correctly assumed was coming from the soil, can damage to roots and produce exactly the symptoms you describe - you're a good detective!

What can you do:
Dry out the soil! The bug cannot live in a dry soil....keep the plant as dry as you can without harming it.

Drench the soil with an insecticide that's labeled for fungus gnats - look at any garden center. A very non-toxic drench would be Peter's Soap Insecticide spray. Repeat every seven days for at least 5 weeks, without fail! One missed drenching and the bugs will have a chance to lay eggs and hatch again. Females lay between 100-300 eggs per 7-10 day cycle, so don't want to miss and allow the cycle to begin again!! Yellow sticky traps work for the adults, too - but I like the drench better, since it attacks the larva. And some gardeners swear by using an inch of clean sand as a dry layer on the soil – if the surface stays quite dry, the bugs can’t multiply!

Get rid of whatever soil you previously used to pot the African violet - and suspect anything else you planted in the same soil as well! Keep watching for flies! Also, look out for any other suspiciously damp plants nearby...fungus gnats need lots of moisture to breed.

The African violets may be a lost cause - try rinsing the roots, spraying with a soap insecticide and repotting in clean soil....or take a clean, healthy leaf, if there are any left, and start rooting it in fresh soil. If you buy fresh soil, be sure the bag is well-sealed when you buy it, so you're sure nothing could have gotten into it......and I might try another brand to be sure there were no contaminants!

And in the future, water more carefully - sometimes less is better!

Thank you for your kind comments - and write to me anytime you have a problem! I'm here to help!

This week’s dirt…………………………………………………………
Care of roses for a romantic Valentine’s Day
A romantic day for many people for reasons…and traditionally, all of us romantic fools will be buying flowers – traditionally red roses - for Valentine’s Day.

Will you or someone you love make an investment in roses this Valentines Day? Then give the roses the care an investment deserves.

What’s the difference between roses you buy in a supermarket, and roses you buy from a top florist?

Of course there can be a difference in quality, head size, and stem length and color – red is for Valentines Day and true love in any romantics mind! This week you’ll pay for it – but does red really matter? Other flowers are red – and beautiful, too: consider tulips, mini- rose plants, begonias, - a basket full of live plants could go into the garden later…

Buy from someone who cares about the flowers and plants he is selling!

Service is part of the price difference you might pay:

Do you want/need to have them delivered in a box with ribbons and greens and maybe Babies Breath? Or is a paper wrap just fine? Do you need them delivered at a specific time to her office? Or are you going to be very romantic and pick them up and deliver them yourself his year? A face-to-face delivery is certainly romantic!

If flowers are being sent to an office, please consider sending flowers in a vase – ready to admire. Your true love needs to get this investment into water quickly, and a vase may not be available in the office setting.

Immediate care of roses:
Put roses in room-temp water immediately…

Cut a ½ inch off the end of the stem every few days – and change the water every two days. .. Scrub out the vase, too, to prevent algae build-up which kills flowers fast…

Remove any leaves which will be below the water line.

Keep roses in a cool spot – put them in a refrigerator overnight, if you have room….otherwise, a cool porch will do…but don’t let them freeze!

Keep roses away from hot spots – don’t put them on the TV, or microwave – and keep them away from heating sources and out of sun…

How long will your investment last? Cared for faithfully, they should last nearly a week.

A word of caution:
“Being romantic doesn’t mean you have to blow the budget - shop around for the best price. But be very wary of street vendors selling flowers in cold weather – there is nothing romantic about a frost-touched red rose which looked beautiful (and might have been cheap when you bought them – frozen roses turn black when they’re brought into a warm room!

Buy from a known vendor, whether a supermarket or a florist – they’ll be there if your investment croaks on the 15 of February….

Feb 21: African violet root pruning, Pre-chilled bulbs, Growing annuals from seed

Beginning from seed
Q: I’m going to try to grow my impatiens and marigolds and petunias from seed this year mainly because I have big plans for a spectacular flower bed and I want to do it for less money.– I figure I’ll need several hundred plants - Can I do this myself – is it possible?

A: Anything is possible – it just takes time and some planning!

The general rule is to start annual seeds indoors about six-eight weeks before the last frost date – which is about mid-May in our area….so planting would begin about mid-March.

Before you even start, please consider the area you’ll need to produce so many plants – and the containers you’ll need, the soil to fill the containers, the light, sunny area, - and the logistics of watering and feeding hundreds of tiny plants! It will take time every day!

First, you’ll need:

Containers to grow plants in. They don’t have to be traditional flower pots – anything with drainage will do – or anything you can poke a hole in! A yogurt or cottage cheese container, a cut-down milk carton – think of something you can recycle. Having containers of the same size makes it easier – they fit on a tray or in a box and can be easily watered or moved outside to better sun or fresh air, later in spring.

Potting soil - enough to fill all of the containers – and don’t use garden soil, even if you can get to it! Little plants aren’t strong enough to battle the nasty organisms and bugs found in most garden soil – give seeds a good head start by using bags of potting soil…

Fertilizers – after the primary leaves poke through, then the secondary leaves - after they have two sets of leaves, you’ll want to feed your seedlings – feed at half strength for the first few weeks…Miracle-Gro is fine.

A warm place to germinate seed – a heating pad made for warming the seed trays or a warm place, like the padded top of a radiator. The faster seeds germinate, the fewer seeds will rot – and most warm seeds will germinate faster than cold seeds. That’s part of the reason you plant indoors now - you can’t plant seeds in the garden as long as the soil is cold and wet….they will rot.

A conveniently-close water supply – in a warm place, and especially if plants are in small pots, you’ll need to water frequently – one day of draught would kill your crop. Do you want to lug water by the gallon for the next three months? No? Then you could buy a faucet hose.

Source of sufficient light – young plants need plenty of light, either natural or artificial. Turn plants every day or two – they’ll naturally grow towards the light!

Great – not just good, but great air circulation! Haul that fan out of the attic and put it to use!

Much later in the spring, before you transplant into your garden, you’ll need to carry the trays of small plants outside to get used to the great outdoors - but do so very gradually! Be aware of afternoons which cool down very suddenly! No lingering at the mall while the tiny plants you put out in the morning are chilling!

Will you save money by growing your own plants? Yes! But count on a lot of work, too – that’s what you pay a nursery to do for you when you buy plants already started!

Pre-chilled bulbs
Q: How do places like Disneyworld in Florida do the huge displays of tulips and other spring bulbs? I know bulbs have to be chilled before they bloom – that’s why we plant them in the fall. So how do they do it in hot Florida?

A: First of all, they have a huge landscaping budget!

Those bulbs are forced – just like the ones you force in a cold frame, or in your refrigerator, only on a much larger scale. The cost of pre-chilled bulbs is about three times the cost of an un-chilled bulb. The choice of pre-chilled bulb varieties and colors is limited, unless your name is Disney – then you can order exactly the ones you want in the late summer, and they’re chilled and ready for you after the first of the year... Remember, these bulbs are forced bulbs, prepared for a one-time bloom. These bulbs are cold-treated in holding rooms where the temperature and humidity can be carefully regulated – when they’re needed, they’re planted – and within weeks, they have flowers!

Unless the bulbs have a naturally cold period the following year, and allowed to grow and their foliage mature, they have to be dug and replaced (aka. dumped!) every year - they won’t grow and bloom a second year without maturing, fertilizing and chilling. Can you see the $$$’s mounting up?

Some Zone 9- 10 Florida gardeners do this same thing with bulbs only on a much smaller scale. They miss the bulbs which we can grow so easily and cheaply here in cold New England. Florida growers can buy or treat these pre-chilled bulbs, plant them for the one season, then discard them. It’s not quite as silly as it might seem – we do the same thing with our annual plants.

Cold-treated bulbs are now available in small quantities to the home gardener for use in window boxes and other special displays, such as pots for a wedding or special event – they’re called Rapid Bloom bulbs, and cost about $24.00 for twelve hyacinths, $20, twelve tulips, or twenty-four crocus $19.00. See the Rapid Bloom website for details.

It works for me!

From a reader: Her tip for making stubborn older African violet’s bloom again.

Hello! I just read tonight's paper and your advice to the person with the African violet that won't bloom. I didn't know that they needed eight hours of darkness- that's a great tip.

Additionally I have another suggestion for her which worked wonderfully for me when my African violet wouldn’t bloom. I was told to cut approximately 1/4 to 1/3 of the dirt (roots and all) from the bottom of the plant. Put a corresponding amount of fresh soil in the pot and replant the African violet. Normal watering and light thereafter. In about 10-14 days new buds were coming up and it has bloomed continuously for the 6 months since. I don't know how frequently this could be done, or if it works for other blooming houseplants, but it has worked wonders for my plants and for my friends.

This week’s dirt…………………………………………………………
Visit a greenhouse for an early touch and smell of spring!
If this weather is just too much for you – and you really can’t wait for spring, take an hour this week and visit a greenhouse, any greenhouse. Walk into the tropical warmth and humidity - past the tables of tiny plants growing, brush aside vines growing over sides, and smell the scent of warm, moist soil we all love and long for, especially after a bitterly cold winter. And while you’re there, buy a green plant to take home with you – it’ll do you both a lot of good.

Feb 28 07: Painted branches sprouting, Footsteps in snow to mark new garden…., How much light is enough?

Good use for late snow- plot new garden
Q: I’m ready to start gardening, even though I know it will be weeks (months?) before I can get my hands in the dirt again and I have big plans for my new house and yard. What can I do now besides reading catalogs? I hate all this ice and snow!

A: Don’t hate the snow! We’ve had precious little snow this year, and we need the snow to melt and fill the reservoirs and be there to water our gardens this summer. The ice I can do without – but in the meantime, you can use the snow to your advantage.

Plan new gardens by walking around and making outlines for new beds. Look at the patterns for a few days – and erase them easily by walking new patterns if those don’t work – or let Mother Nature erase them for you.

“Plant” in the snow – large plantings, especially trees – need planning before planting. You’ll want to be absolutely sure they’re in exactly the right place. “Plant” a stick or a broom in the place you think you might want a new tree – look at it from all angles, from inside and out. Watch the sun patterns in the area – then later in the spring you’ll be ready to plants and do it once! It’s far easier to plant a broom and move it than to actually plant a tree – and move it!

When spring finally comes, you’ll be ready to start planting- in the meantime, keep reading the catalogs!

Painted branches sprouting
Q: First I want to say I find you column in the Eagle Tribune helpful and interesting

I had to write and tell you I bought some painted tree branches to use for holiday decorations. One branch I put in a planter with Christmas tree greens, pinecones and red berries, etc. I filled the planter with water and these really looked nice for months until March I keep this planter on my front door steps. The other branch I put in a glass container and filled it with water and fresh cranberries and placed this by my fireplace.

Yesterday when I looked at it I was surprised to see some leaves growing on a few painted branches and thought it must be the water and the warm temperature in my home. I’ve used painted branches like this other years and never found any leaves growing on painted branches.

I just thought I would share this with you and your readers.

Thank you. I really enjoy your column.

I.C., North Andover, MA

A: Your painted branches were meant to be used dry. When they were cut and sprayed for holiday decoration, it was probably assumed that they would be stuck into bunches of greens or wreaths to give them some added color – but you put them in water in a warm house and they were eager to grow!

We often see branches of pussy willow and forsythia grow leaves, and even develop roots when they are placed in water and brought in to force. In fact, “force” is what you did when you put the painted branches in water!

Because they were cut and sprayed while they were very fresh, they still had enough sap in them to live when placed in water so they sprouted.

If you leave them in water a few more weeks, depending on what kind of branches they are, they might grow roots, too – and you might be able to plant them in a corner of your garden.

Note: I love your idea of filling a glass vase with branches and cranberries.

What is enough light?
Q: You’re always talking about light levels – near a window, east exposure, no direct sunlight, morning sun vs. afternoon sun, filtered light – and you’re not the only one who says this! All the catalogs say sun, shade, half day. Isn’t there a more accurate way to measure light?

A: Sure! You could use a light meter, which you might already have to use for a camera, which would tell you exactly how much light you are receiving. But why bother with this expense – when you can do it simply and accurately at no cost? Use your hand!

Indoor plants are often classified as being low, medium, or high light plants. As a guide, figure low light to be that from a north window, medium from an east or west window, and high from a south window. But a more accurate method to gauge light exposure for both indoor and outdoor plants is by the intensity of the shadow cast by your hand on a piece of white paper near the location you’ve chosen:

When the shadow cast on a piece of white paper is sharp, the light is bright and suitable for blooming plants…and other high light growers such as tropicals, many flowering plants and veggies…variegated leaves tend to need more sun than solid green leaves. Now try this measurement away from a window – and notice how fast the light intensity declines as you move away from your light source.

When the shadow is present, but indistinct, light is medium and suitable for most green houseplants.

And if it is barely discernible, the light is low, suitable for only plants requiring very low light. Choose plant types according to the light conditions you can give them….but lucky for you, you can move a houseplant from exposure to exposure as the light changes. For best growing, your plants may need to be moved to a different window each season.

Outdoor light needs for plants are often described in catalogs as needing full sun, half day and shade – these descriptions are fairly obvious, but light levels also depend on the time of year, the reflection of light on buildings, the density of leaf cover during the growing season, and the sun’s ever-changing angles through the passing seasons. The hand over the paper test also works outdoors for plants, where your accuracy is even more important, because you can’t dig up and move the plant around as light changes.

This week’s dirt…………………………………………………………

I hate one purpose tools that do one job, then sit idle for months at a time. That was just the case with my bulb auger. We used it for its initial purpose – to drill a hole in the earth to plant hundreds of bulbs – it sure made planting easier! But why put it away? Buy an auger of high quality – and use it throughout the gardening year – and it will be well worth the $20.or so initial cost when you can use it year round! Of course, use it for the purpose it was intended for – for planting bulbs, spring, summer and fall…. Use the auger to dig holes for small annuals – that border of marigolds, alyssum, or plugs of any groundcover. Use the auger for turning the compost pile every week – the bulb auger will mix the layers of rotting vegetation and allow air and water to penetrate the compost – it will be finished compost in far less time, with far less back-breaking work……

I think I’ll change the name of this all-purpose tool to my year-round garden drill! But I still can’t think of any way I can use it in winter…………………………