Boardash: ArcaMax Gardening Daily Tips for Thursday November 12, 2009

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

ArcaMax Gardening Daily Tips for Thursday November 12, 2009

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Gardening Daily Tips
For You
Thursday November 12, 2009

Loosestrife, Gooseneck (Lysimachia clethroides)
Q&A: Flowers for Drying
Q&A: Wild Blueberries
Tip: Store Tuberous Begonias
Advice from Carolyn Hax
Reader Photos

Loosestrife, Gooseneck (Lysimachia clethroides)

Today's Featured Plant
Loosestrife, Gooseneck (Lysimachia clethroides)

Read the full profile of this plant at ArcaMax.com.

Interested in reading about other plants? Search through hundreds of plant profiles and helpful articles by keyword.

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Q&A: Flowers for Drying

Question: What are the best flowers to dry for arrangements? Are there any greens or foliage that can be dried?

Answer: Flowers and greens that you can grow and dry include baby's breath, cattails, eucalyptus, statice, globe amaranth, heather, helichrysum, hydrangea, larkspur, lavender, starflower, and yarrow. Ornamental grasses add height and drama to dried flower arrangements.

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Q&A: Wild Blueberries

Question: We recently moved to a large woodland lot in Northern New Jersey. Our woods have a thick undergrowth of moss, wildflowers and wild blueberries. We wish to retain the native woodland garden character as much as possible. I assume the soil is very acidic because of the many oak trees. Does it injure the blueberry plants when we rake out some of the overly thick leaf cover? How do wild blueberries differ from domestic blueberry bushes? Would they cross pollinate with a domestic sort to produce slightly bigger berries? What are their prefered pollinators? Would the blueberries be compatible with introduced shade flowers such as foxglove, Virginia bluebells and coral bells?

Answer: It sounds like a wonderful place. You should be able to rake away some of the leaf cover on the bushes, but leave some as a mulch to hold in moisture and provide nutrients. (Compost what you rake away, and add it as a mulch too.) Wild blueberries are simply the ancestors of the newer, cultivated berries that have been bred for larger berries, among other things. I'm not sure if the plants would cross-pollinate, but even if they did you wouldn't see the results in the berries -- the crossing affects the seeds, not the current year's berry crop. (Though having several varieties around does increase fruit production of cultivated varieties.) Blueberries are pollinated by honeybees, and probably other bees and insects as well. You should be able to introduce some shade-loving plants, but if I were you I'd try to keep as much of this lovely habitat intact, as a haven for wildlife (and you!)

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Tip: Store Tuberous Begonias

Lift and store tuberous begonias in late fall in colder areas as leaves and stems dry up. Remove soil from roots, dry the bulbous part roots in shade, store in sawdust, peat moss, or vermiculite in a cool, dark place.

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Advice from Carolyn Hax

Advice columnist Carolyn Hax is famous for her ability to get to the root of people's problems -- not just what they say, but who they are and what they're thinking.

The resulting advice is often ruthless, sometimes controversial, and always hilarious.

See for yourself what great advice Hax has to offer. Subscribe to ArcaMax's Carolyn Hax ezine, and receive her witty, helpful advice free by e-mail!

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-- From the ArcaMax editors

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Sincerely,
ArcaMax Editors

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