Random tidbits

Zone 4-6, this is your list!

Houseplants:
-Water houseplants with tepid water. Cold tap water may shock plants
-Be sure newly purchased indoor plants are well protected for the trip home. Exposure to icy temperatures for even a few moments may cause injury.
-Overwintering geraniums like bright light and cool temperatures. Keep soils on the dry side.
-On cold nights, move houseplants back from icy windows to prevent chilling injury.
-Holiday Poinsettia basics: - sun for at least half the day. - keep away from drafts, registers and radiators. - night temperatures in 50's or low 60's, days at 70 degrees. - the soil should dry only slightly between thorough waterings. Discard the drainage. - be sure to punch holes in decorative foil wraps to prevent soggy soil conditions.

Ornamentals:
-Hairspray works well to keep seed heads and dried flowers intact on wreaths and arrangements.
-Living Christmas tree basics: - dig the planting hole before the ground freezes. - mulch and cover the backfill soil and the planting hole to keep them dry and unfrozen. - don't allow the tree's roots to become dry. - spray with an anti-transpirant to reduce needle moisture loss. - store the tree outdoors in a cool, shady, windless area until the last minute. Mulch the roots to prevent cold injury. - set the tree up in your coolest room. - don't keep the tree indoors for more than one week. Plant outdoors promptly.
-Be sure the root zones of azaleas and rhododendrons are thoroughly mulched. Any organic material will do, but mulches made from oak leaves, shredded oak bark, or pine needles are preferred.
-Christmas trees hold needles longer if you make a clean, fresh cut at the base and always keep the trunk standing in water.
-Only female holly trees bear the colorful berries. There must be a male tree growing nearby for pollination, if fruits are desired.
-Hollies may be trimmed now and the prunings used in holiday decorations.

Miscellaneous:
-If you feed rabbits corn or alfalfa, they may leave fruit tree bark unharmed.
-Apply mulches to bulbs, perennials and other small plants once the ground freezes.
-All power equipment should be winterized before storage. Change the oil and lubricate moving parts. Either drain fuel systems or mix a gas stabilizing additive into the tank.
-Clean and oil all garden hand tools before storing for winter.


This month's list is short for this zone, so I would like to take the time to go over Japanese Honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica) and why it needs to be controlled.




-What does it look like? Japanese honeysuckle, native to Eastern Asia, is a trailing or twining woody vine. Young stems are often pubescent; older stems are hollow with brownish exfoliating bark. The simple, opposite leaves are oval to oblong in shape and may persist on the vine year-round, making honeysuckle a semi-evergreen vine. The white to pale yellow flowers are extremely fragrant and produced throughout the summer. The fruit is a many-seeded, black, pulpy berry that matures in early autumn.

-What habitats are threatened by this plant? Japanese honeysuckle occurs primarily in disturbed habitats such as roadsides, trails, old fields
and forest edges. It often invades native plant communities after natural or human-induced disturbance such as floods, logging, road construction, etc. Where light levels are optimal, such as forest edges, gaps in the forest canopy, or under sparse, open forest, newly established honeysuckle vines grow and spread rapidly. Vines whose growth has been suppressed in dense shade, however, are capable of
rapid growth and spread when light levels increase due to disturbance.

-How does this plant spread? Japanese honeysuckle spreads primarily by birds and other wildlife that feed on the pulpy fruit in early autumn. The vines spread vertically and horizontally by climbing up tree trunks and/or by trailing over the forest floor. Trailing vines produce stolons, which root when they contact the soil. Once established, a single vine can grow to a length of 30 ft. or more.

-Where is this plant found in the United States?Japanese honeysuckle was introduced to cultivation in 1862 in Long Island, N.Y. It now is widely naturalized in the eastern and central U.S., most abundantly on the Piedmont and coastal plain forests. Honeysuckle was, and in some areas still is, planted as an ornamental ground cover, for erosion control, especially along the highways. In turn they found that with it being so aggressive, it ended up pulling the soil out and caused more of an erosion problem.

How can this plant be controlled? Prevention is the first line of defense: Plant native honeysuckle as a substitute. Small populations of Japanese honeysuckle can be controlled by careful hand-pulling, grubbing out with a hoe or shovel and removal of trailing vines. Over large areas, twice yearly mowing can slow vegetative spread; but stem density may increase due to vigorous re-sprouting. Honeysuckle can be treated with a glyphosate herbicide such as Roundup, best applied to the semi-evergreen leaves in late autumn when other vegetation is dormant but honeysuckle still is physiologically active. I recommend sawing it off at the base and immediately (within 1-2 minutes while the wood is still wet) pouring concentrated Round-up. This allows Round-up to be absorbed into the phloem , which takes the liquid down to the roots. Glyphosate is non-selective, so care should be taken to avoid contacting non-target species. Non-target plants will be important in recolonizing the site after Japanese honeysuckle is controlled.

Why not let it be survival of the fittest, isn't that natural? This plant was not meant to be in our country, and it doesn't have the usual checks and balance found in nature (it doesn't have a prey, at this time.) It is taking over our deciduous forest at an alarming rate (along with Kutzu, Chines Bittersweet and many other exotic species). Without getting into an environmental debate, we need diversity. This planet was set up to work and with our tinkering, we have upset this balance. This aggressive vine seriously alters or destroys the understory and herbaceous layers of the communities it invades, including prairies, barrens, glades, flatwoods, savannas, floodplain and upland forests. If the honeysuckle takes over, it is destroying food for other animals. You will start to notice that you are seeing less and less of them as they migrate elsewhere to find food. The ones who can survive on it's berries will stay, but what happens when something finally gets introduced and wipes out the honeysuckle? Now the animals don't have anything to eat and could face starvation/extinction. Many diseases and pests our woods are facing, is due to foreign bugs, fungus and parasites being introduced because of careless mistakes. When ordering/purchasing non-native plants, do some homework before introducing it to your area. Try to plant things that are native to your region instead, so that the birds/wind/insects can do their job in pollinating and spreading the seeds, hopefully in a nearby wood setting. If you have this stuff on your property, do not look the other way. In some states there are ordinances and you can be fined for having this stuff knowingly on your property.

Tip: When out hiking, spray the bottoms of your shoes with Lysol when done to prevent spreading seeds, fungus and parasites. Those with boats, wash them thoroughly before putting it in a different lake/river. When out camping, check your car for bug casings (especially the Gypsy moth) and destroy.

Next month we'll start talking seeds, so until then, Happy Gardening!