July Chrysanthemum Care

July seems like an odd time to think about your fall blooming Chrysanthemums. However, you will benefit from pruning and fertilizing them before the middle of this month.

In mid-July, mums form their fall flower buds. The hours of dark that increase as fall comes, trigger the flowering. Pruning them after mid-July reduces the flowers.
Photo: Viceroy butterfly on Chrysanthemums from Texas Aggie-Hort - (Texas A & M Extension) -
a great resource for all things gardening. The main page of their site is here.

When summer pruning your mums, cut just above a leaf node, leaving at least one set of leaves on each stem. Think of the letter Y as a leaf node and snip just above that.

Ohio State University has a fact sheet on mums here.
And the National Chrysanthemum Society has growing tips here.

If your weather does not include rain in for the next two months, be sure to water your mums. They will reward you with fall color when the rest of the garden is beginning to fade.

Good Stuff from Other Garden Blogs

I don't know how many gardening blogs a person can read in a day or a week but not as many as we want to, that's for sure. The photo is another lily blooming in our garden today. Gotta love lilies.

GOOD STUFF ON THE BLOGS
Transatlantic Plantsman has a blog entry on the Top Ten Plants in the UK. The list includes geranium, agapanthus, penstemon, and one of my favorites - salvia.

Garden Design Online featured a new way to warm up the environment on chilly nights. It's a must see and I want one.

Pruned posted photographs that predict the future of the environment the next generation will inherit. Sad but dramatic art.

UC Botany Photo of the Day post is kalanchoe photographs. Fabulous.

Gardens OyVey has a series on hydrangeas - selecting, growing, identifying, loving.

The Cultural Landscape Foundation has a post about Carl Rust Parker, a landscape architect who lived from 1882 to 1966. Parker worked for the Olmsted Brothers.

Happy reading. Let me know if you have a favorite blog or post at mollyday1@gmail.com

The Birth of a Monarch Butterfly This Morning

At 6:30 this morning I had the privilege of watching a Monarch butterfly emerging from the chrysalis. It sat there for a couple of hours while I watered and weeded the flower bed.

The papery object on the fence just below and to the right of the butterfly is the empty chrysalis.
When it was ready to move, it walked up the fence and then began fanning its wings to dry them before taking flight.

While the Monarch caterpillars only hang out on milkweeds the adults like the nectar of the perennial sweet pea in that flower bed.

Milkweeds - Asclepias for All Gardens and Gardeners

Whether you call them Asclepias or Milkweeds, this family has everything from tall weeds that grow in drainage ditches to garden quality plants.

Some of them are shrubs, some grow in wet soil, and others thrive in dry scrub. They grow in South Africa and there is at least one milkweed in every state of the U.S.

Their flowers vary but all have seedpods filled with a fluffy, silky substance that carries the seeds on the air.

Asclepias flowers attract several types of butterflies and their leaves provide food for Monarch butterfly caterpillars.
There are three potential problems with growing Asclepias: The milky sap can cause a rash on sensitive skin, they attract aphids and cows can become sick if they eat it.

Many Asclepias are native to Oklahoma but you can also grow other varieties with special care.

The USDA Plants Database lists them at http://plants.usda.gov/. If you have a milkweed to identify, go to http://shrvl.com/n751D to see 226 photos and drawings of Asclepias varieties.

Choose one of these garden-worthy Asclepias species for your garden.

Butterfly weed, or Butterfly flower, Silkweed, Silky Swallowort, Indian Posey, Orange Root or Virginia Silkweed, (Asclepias tuberosa) likes dry soil. Grows up to 3-feet tall with red, orange and yellow flowers. They are native to most of the U.S.

Asclepias tuberosa is the milkweed most commonly sold by nurseries. It does not spread wildly but still has all the benefits of attracting butterflies.

In “Oklahoma Gardener’s Guide” Steve Dobbs wrote about Asclepias tuberosa, saying that you can’t beat its resilience for growing in poor, dry spots. Gay Butterflies Mix is a combination of orange-red, pink and yellow flowers.

Oklahoma native Antelope-horn milkweed is also called Spider milkweed, Antelope horns, Green-flowered milkweed, and Spider antelope-horns. Asclepias asperula or Asclepias viridis has a round ball shaped cluster of flowers.

Bloodflower – also called Indian Root and Swallow-wort (Asclepias curassavica) is perennial in South America and is grown as an annual here. It typically has red or orange-red flowers; the variety Silky Gold has yellow flowers and grows to 3-feet tall.

Perennial Narrowleaf milkweed (Asclepias fascicularis) grows to 3-feet tall in dry soil. Pink flowers.

Swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata), an Oklahoma native, grows to 4-feet tall with pink flowers. One hybrid, Ice Ballet has white flowers. Likes moist soil.

Showy milkweed (Asclepias speciosa) has purple-pink flowers but likes well-drained soil. Plants for a Future database (www.pfaf.org) says the plant’s flowerbuds taste like peas when cooked. This one can become invasive if allowed to seed at will.

Prairie milkweed or smooth milkweed, Asclepias sullivantii, has pink-burgundy flowers on 2-foot tall stems in moist soil. This one is an Oklahoma native that is threatened because its numbers are so low. The seedpods are collected and used in dried flower arrangements.

Common milkweed, A. syriaca, is a native in more than half of the U.S. They grow to 5-feet tall with fragrant lavender flowers. Can become a weed in good soil.

Whorled milkweed (A. verticillata) has threadlike leaves and white flowers.

Dobbs recommends taking tip cuttings to root at the end of the summer. Keep the plants going indoors over the winter and plant them next spring.

Deadheading can prolong the flowering season. Remove flowers as they fade so the plant will continue to produce more buds.

Gardeners often allow a few seed pods to form. In the spring put the floss and seeds outside. The birds will use the floss for their nests and the seeds will sprout to make plants.

Useful resources for native plants can be found at http://www.missouriplants.com/, http://www.kswildflower.org/, and Oklahoma Native Plant Society at www.usao.edu/~onps/.

Rudbeckia Maxima - Giant Coneflower

This is the third year I've purchased and planted an Oklahoma native Giant Coneflower, Rudbeckia Maxima. I love them. They grow to 6 feet tall and have huge flowers.
The leaves are a bluish grey which is also a favorite of mine.

The University of Oklahoma has a database of Oklahoma native plants and it says that this beauty if native to Choctaw county.

The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin calls it a Giant Brown Eyed Susan. Their horticulturist says it is found in moist open spaces from East Texas to the East Cross Timbers.

I'm going to try watering it more and see if this one takes hold and returns next year.

Start Planning for Fall

Now that summer is officially here with 92 degree tomato ripening weather, we can take a look at the garden with an eye to fall. Whether you want a few extra perennials to make a new bed look full or need some seeds to grow fall veggies, the online stores are ready to accommodate.


Renee's Garden Seeds is reminding all gardeners to think of fall planting. I just bought some broccoli seeds to plant in pots in July for the fall garden.

What to Plant in June/July is here and the Second Season article is at this link.

Brent and Becky's is having their summer sale on bulbs. To get the discount, order by July 1st for fall planting. Here's a link to the bulb selection.
The perennials on sale at Easy to Grow Bulbs include a lime astilbe, Roxy Dahlia, and Starfire Phlox.

Sooner Plant Farm has several trees and shrubs on sale at the Clearance Zone link. One that I would love to grow is Red Buckeye (Aesculus pavia), They also have Black Barlow Columbine, Harvest Moon coneflower, and Sapphire Skies Yucca.




Another favorite, Bluestone Perennials has specials, too. Several hosta varieties, candy lilies, popcorn viburnum, and Sioux Blue Indian Grass. Here's that link.

Bottlebrush Buckeye at the entrance to the Overland Park Arboretum

If you know of other online stores having sales, let me know at mollyday1@gmail.com and thanks!

Happy Father's Day

Since 1909 Father's Day has been a celebration of gratitude to the men in our lives who nurture, care for and love their families and friends.

In 1966 president Lyndon Johnson formalized the date as the third Sunday in June.

Whether you honor the men in your life by planting a plant or a kiss, have a wonderful day.