Happy Garden - December 11, 2008

This week we tips and photos from readers as well as an article about Growing and Harvesting Bittersweet.

Thanks for reading,

Susan

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Photos:

• Garden: Purple Morning Glory
• Garden Mailbox
• Plant a Tree for Each Grandchild
• Golf Bag As A Tool Caddy

Tips and Articles:

• Growing and Harvesting Bittersweet
• Good Will Can Food Scraps For Wildlife
• Use Your Swimming Pool as a Garden
• Make Elderberry Elixer for the Flu
• Making a Christmas Wreath for Nothing

New Requests:

• Bamboo Palm Plant is Losing Leaves
• Caring For Bamboo
• Plumeria Not Blooming
• Trimming Stocks on African Violets
• Bark Mulch is Molding
• Transplanting Moss from the Woods
• How Long Before Peach Pits Sprout?

Crafting for Fun and Money!

If you are an avid crafter, capable writer and own a digital camera, you are eligible to participate. Submit your craft projects to ThriftyFun and we will pay $15 for any crafts that we publish.

More Information:
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Garden: Purple Morning Glory

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Garden Mailbox

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Plant a Tree for Each Grandchild

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Golf Bag As A Tool Caddy

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Growing and Harvesting Bittersweet
By Ellen Brown

Bittersweet is an easy-to-grow vine famous for revealing a striking display of seedpods and berries each fall. Often used in wreaths or decorative displays, this ornamental vine adds value and interest to the garden all year long. Here is everything you need to know to grow this hardy American native.

Two Common Types

American Bittersweet:

American bittersweet (Celastrus scandens) is a deciduous, perennial vine native to North America. Often found growing over fences or climbing up trees, their typical habitat includes rocky upland woodlands, savannas, thickets, and along shady riverbanks of the central and eastern U.S. American bittersweet has smooth, 2 to 4 inch long green leaves. The vines produce tiny greenish-white flowers in June and in early fall, orange-yellow seed husks peel back to reveal scarlet-colored fruit.

Bittersweet fruits are not safe for human consumption, but when left on the vine, they provide a much appreciated source of late winter food for many birds and small animals.

Chinese Bittersweet:

Unlike its American counterpart, Chinese (Oriental) bittersweet ( Celastrus orbiculatus), is considered an invasive plant in most areas. It can easily climb to heights of 40 ft or more in its quest to strangle nearby trees. Like American bittersweet, Chinese bittersweet is often used for fall decorating. The two would be easily confused if were not for the fact that the young twining shoots of Chinese bittersweet come equipped with a pair of soft thorns and its seed casings are yellow instead of orange. The biggest difference between the two, however, may be their environmental impact. Whereas America bittersweet has become so rare in areas that it's now protected from being harvested in the wild, Chinese bittersweet has made the invasive species list in the course of its ruthless spread from New York to North Carolina and west into Illinois.

Planting & Growing Bittersweet

Fall is a good time to plant bittersweet. If mulched and protected over winter during its first year, bittersweet will remain maintenance free for most of its long life. To get the vine to produce brightly colored berries, you will need to plant both sexes of the vine within close proximity of one another. When purchasing plants from a nursery, be sure the sex of the vines are properly identified. The female vines produce the berries, but the sexes are impossible to tell apart until the plants are mature. One male plant will easily produce enough pollen for 6 to 8 female plants (bees are the main pollinators).

Bittersweet can be bought from a nursery or propagated from seeds or cuttings. Seeds sown in the spring need to be placed in containers of moist sand or peat and kept in the refrigerator (34 to 41 degrees F) for 3 months to break dormancy.

Bittersweet vines grow well in both full sun and shade, although full sun is critical for fruit production. These vines are not particularly fussy about soil quality and pests seldom bother them. Because of their climbing habit, bittersweet needs a sturdy support-either an upright trellis or a lateral fence. Do not let it climb up a tree, however, because the twining nature of these vines will easily girdle the trunk. Occasional light pruning will keep plants tidy and help reign in their size. Pruning can be done in late winter or early spring. Harvesting Bittersweet Bittersweet is ready to harvest when you see the first orange capsules of the fruit split open to reveal the orange-red fruit inside. Cut stems to then length you desire and tie them into small bundles. Hang the bundles to dry in a warm, dark room. As the fruit dries, more unopened capsules will split open to reveal the fruits inside. Once dried, the vines make an attractive botanical display that will last for several years.

Removing Invasive Plants

Cutting back invasive bittersweet plants can stimulate the growth of new stems and root suckers. To kill a mature plant, cut back all top growth, and dig out the stump, making sure you get all remaining pieces of the roots. If necessary, repeat this procedure again in the late summer if new shoots spring up from the old roots.

Bittersweet readily self-sows, so when left unchecked, plants can soon be seen popping up everywhere. If you see plants sprouting where you don't want them, pull them out or relocate them to another part of the garden.

The seeds of more invasive Chinese bittersweet are spread by birds and animals and can remain viable for several years. Pulling parent plants out before they go to seed will assist greatly in eliminating the growth of future plants. 

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Good Will Can Food Scraps For Wildlife

If you are a mother who periodically finds half a peanut butter sandwich, the bottom of a cupcake or a partially eaten cookie left by a child whose eyes were bigger than their stomach, there is a solution other than the "momism" about starving children in Africa (China, Bangladesh, Uganda ...). In a friend's house, the scraps are deposited in a large, covered, plastic container labeled, "good-will can". The children know that these leftovers will be put out daily for the birds, squirrels and other animals who share the world with us. We have attracted many varieties of birds and small animals that are fun to watch and and have taught the children that they can share with those less fortunate who are not human

I do this with leftover cat food, and food scraps but I put it into a freezer container. When the containers are full and there are a half dozen, I take them out to my daughter's dog who thinks they are a wonderful treat. They arrive in a red grocery bag and this dog KNOWS that they are for him (he shares with his cat too!)

By Cinnamon from Williams Lake, BC

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Use Your Swimming Pool as a Garden

We used to have a swimming pool. We did not like to swim or spend so much money to keep the pool clean, it takes lots of money and time to keep it clean. I suggested we have it filled up with dirt so I could have a garden, We had it filled up, I had a very pretty garden all the year, very good idea.

By Kathleen from Dothan, AL

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Make Elderberry Elixer for the Flu

If any of you have access to elderberries, consider making a thick elixer (cook with a little water and sugar, simmer an hour , strain. Elderberries are known to help fight influenza. I would freeze in ice cube tray, and after frozen pop out cubes and put in lidded container. Melt as needed and give few spoonsful to anyone getting sick with respiratory type illness.

By Pikka from Westminster, CO

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Making a Christmas Wreath for Nothing

Find a pine tree with branches close to the ground. Cut enough branches for you to make a wreath. Make a circle base with the branches and then build on with other branches. I used twine to bind the wreath, you can use craft wire or even ribbon. Break out your old Christmas decorations and decorate the wreath any way you like.

By Jen from APO, AE

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Bamboo Palm Plant is Losing Leaves

I have a bamboo palm indoors that is losing leaves after they turn brown. The stems are drooping and growth has stopped. What am I doing wrong?

Bob from Shorewood, IL

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Caring For Bamboo

What is the optimum condition for my desk bamboo to grow? I am in a competition with my peer and after one day he has substantial growth and I do not. I have placed it under my desk for the evening because I'm afraid maybe it's getting too much light. Your advice?

Sonny from Oklahoma City

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Plumeria Not Blooming

I have a Plumeria that did not bloom this year, 2008. It is planted in the ground, about 6 ft. tall and has branched into 2 branches. It has lots of leaves but no blooms. My neighbor has a much smaller Plumeria that has bloomed and is still blooming even though it's almost Dec. Should I cut mine back or add the high phosphate fertilizer or is it too late in the year to fertilize? It bloomed in 2007 when it was about 5' tall and froze that winter. Thanks for the help. Hardiness Zone: 9a Diane from Houston, TX

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Trimming Stocks on African Violets

I read on the internet that you had to trim the stock of an African violet when transplanting it. My plants have very thick stocks and one plant actually has two that have joined together to make an arch that is breaking through the soil. Since I have never had violets with thick stocks I am bewildered what to do.

They are all being pushed upwards out of the soil by these stocks. The outer leaves are starting to droop but the center of the plants are healthy and growing new leaves and beautiful blooms. Any advice would be gratefully appreciated. I am very fond of my plants and wouldn't want to lose any of them.

Annette from Cambridge, Ontario

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Bark Mulch is Molding

I recently put down weed blocker and then covered it with a mixture of small bark wood chip mulch and cocoa shell mulch. There are large areas that look covered in mold. I went to break it up and it "dusted the air". Is this dangerous? The area is dewy in the morning and doesn't get more than 5 hours of direct sunlight, if it's even a sunny day. How can I prevent/remove the moldy areas?

Hardiness Zone: 10a


Julie from Redondo Beach, CA

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Transplanting Moss from the Woods

I hunt a lot and I see lots of beautiful mosses in the woods growing on rocks, rotten logs and the earth. If I pick up a fair sized rock or large piece of bark and place them in the shade in my garden will they need anything else other than misting or watering? Do I need to spray a buttermilk/water solution on them? Thanks.

Hardiness Zone: 7a


Mark from Midlothian, Virginia

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How Long Before Peach Pits Sprout?

I have two peach pits I will be planting. How long will it be before I see any sprouts?

Hardiness Zone: 6a

Janice from Bristol, CT

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Crafting for Fun and Money!

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