They just keep coming! Never heard of this one before, Jung Seed from Wisconsin. No relation to Carl, I'm sure! Looks like they have a lot of interesting varieties and pretty good prices. I may try them. —Roger
Sunday, December 31, 2006
Seed, Seed, Seed Catalogs!
They just keep coming! Never heard of this one before, Jung Seed from Wisconsin. No relation to Carl, I'm sure! Looks like they have a lot of interesting varieties and pretty good prices. I may try them. —Roger
Thursday, December 28, 2006
Oh, Camellia!
I was walking through my favorite nursery recently and I stumbled upon a blooming Camellia. I had no idea there was a variety that bloomed in the winter. I first discovered Camellia in the South while on vacation. I was told it would only survive in the southern region so I didn't bother checking for it at my local nursery. Needless to say I was thrilled when I discovered I could add it to my garden.
Camellia's are an evergreen shrub that produce the most delicate, showy flowers. It's leathery foliage is nothing to dismiss, it's just as stunning as the flowers. There are many varieties, but my favorite is the Winter Rose. It has very soft pinkish flowers that look similar to a rose. It develops a double bloom that sheds its peddles once it's finished blooming. The Winter Rose variety blooms from September through December. It will grow to about 6ft. The wonderful news is the Camellia will survive through winters as far north as zone 6b. It's hard to believe a flower that appears so delicate will survive a harsh winter. For Christmas I received a gift certificate to that same nursery where I first discovered the winter blooming Camellia. I bet you can guess what I'll be buying with it. To learn more about all the different varieties of Camellia's visit the American Camellia Society. http://www.camellias-acs.com/
Wednesday, December 27, 2006
Garden Warming?
It generally seems pretty abstract. Sure, it's warm this December, but some years are colder, some warmer than others. I remember more snow when I was a kid, but then, everything was better when I was a kid!
Here's the reality, though: The National Arbor Day Foundation has just "re-issued" the USDA's plant hardiness zone map, and it shows the real impact of global warming. Here in Carroll County, I've always figured us to be a 6 to 6.5. Now, we're clearly a 7. That's a big difference on a scale of 10.
Look your zone up here. The USDA, too, is revising its map, but hasn't released it yet.
As reported in the New York Times: "Cameron P. Wake, a research associate professor at the Climate Change Research Center at the University of New Hampshire, said that winter temperatures in the Northeast have increased an average of 4.3 degrees over the last 30 years."
It's good news and bad news for us gardeners. On the good side, barring the inevitable cold snap, we can shave a week or two off our earliest safe planting times, and get a week or two more out of the season. And it means we can grow some varieties that previously were too risky.
On the minus side, less cold means more insects overwintering, less successful kill-off of harmful disease-causing bacteria and fungi such as apple scab, and more vigorous growth of invasive species including poison ivy, Japanese honeysuckle and English ivy. For us allergy sufferers, too, it means exponential growth in the release of pollen — 10x as much from ragweed as in the old, cold days.
I've always felt that good, long freezes are critical in our area to keep the plant cycles viable (from a human perspective, to serve our needs, of course) and also to kill off germs that make us sick.
So, we'll see how the rosemary does — that should be a good test. We'll know in the Spring.
Here's the reality, though: The National Arbor Day Foundation has just "re-issued" the USDA's plant hardiness zone map, and it shows the real impact of global warming. Here in Carroll County, I've always figured us to be a 6 to 6.5. Now, we're clearly a 7. That's a big difference on a scale of 10.
Look your zone up here. The USDA, too, is revising its map, but hasn't released it yet.
As reported in the New York Times: "Cameron P. Wake, a research associate professor at the Climate Change Research Center at the University of New Hampshire, said that winter temperatures in the Northeast have increased an average of 4.3 degrees over the last 30 years."
It's good news and bad news for us gardeners. On the good side, barring the inevitable cold snap, we can shave a week or two off our earliest safe planting times, and get a week or two more out of the season. And it means we can grow some varieties that previously were too risky.
On the minus side, less cold means more insects overwintering, less successful kill-off of harmful disease-causing bacteria and fungi such as apple scab, and more vigorous growth of invasive species including poison ivy, Japanese honeysuckle and English ivy. For us allergy sufferers, too, it means exponential growth in the release of pollen — 10x as much from ragweed as in the old, cold days.
I've always felt that good, long freezes are critical in our area to keep the plant cycles viable (from a human perspective, to serve our needs, of course) and also to kill off germs that make us sick.
So, we'll see how the rosemary does — that should be a good test. We'll know in the Spring.
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