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Tag Archives: nature
Horticulture Report: January 2013
Indoor Palms
By Gena Goddard
Of the 200 or so palm species only a few are able to be grown indoors where the climate is so challenging for any plant. The palm has to adapt to low light, extra dry air, drafts, and being in a confined space. It also should be a slow grower so it stays house size. The following 3 palms have been selected because they are suited for indoor growing and they are commonly sold.
Rhapis excelsa “Lady Palm”
The first is “Lady Palm”, Rhapis excelsa. It grows 6-8ft tall and makes a clump of brown hairy stems with dark green glossy leaves. It grows slowly from underground rhizomes. The leaflets are palmate like “a lady’s hand” and the leaf ends are saw-toothed unlike most palms.
Chamaedorea elegans “Parlor Palm”
The second is the “Parlor Palm” Chamaedorea elegans. It is the palm seen in Victorian homes in the movies. It is a slow grower, growing to 6-7’. It tolerates low levels of humidity and light, though it prefers medium to high humidity and brightindirect light.
Howeia forsteriana “Kentia Palm”
The third is the Kentia, sentry or thatch palm Howea forsteriana. It is a slow grower eventually growing to about 10’ tall. Like the others it tolerates indirect light but needs good drainage.
Care:
I have three Lady Palms which I take outside in a shady place on my deck when the last frost is past, white in our USDA Zone 7B is sometime in late May. Palms can stay outdoors until threatened by frost in Oct/Nov. Before bringing them indoors, prepare them for their winter home by clipping off dead leaves and spraying them off a few times with a strong blast from a hose and inspecting leaves for insects. Inspect all leaves very carefully for any bugs and if you see any spray plant with Safer pest control before bring plants indoors. Place our palms indoors next to the big south facing sunny window and cover any furnace vent openings located close to them with a piece of carpet. They may suffer some indoors during the winter, but they survive so they can thrive and grow next year on my deck.
There are two things I have learned about palms:
1) They do not like to get too dry, so when the soil is dry down to about an inch I water them thoroughly.
2) You can’t prune palms to make them shorter. They only grow from the ends and once that is damaged the whole stem dies. This also means if they get too tall for their space you must give them away, or find a place indoors with more height.
Winter Flowers
Narcissus papyraceus, one of a few species known as “Paperwhites,” is a perennial bulbous plant native to the Mediterranean region (USDA zones 9-10). Paperwhites produce white flowers in bunches which are strongly fragrant and they are easy to force to bloom indoors for winter flowers.
Paperwhites only need three inches of room for their roots to grow, so shallow containers like glass vases and ceramic bowls are ideal containers. It’s fun to scout around antique stores, second hand stores and garage sales for unusual planting containers to display these fragrant flowers indoors. They make wonderful gifts, too.
The planting medium only needs to provide support for the plants and be suitable for the roots to grow through. And because Paperwhites are usually discarded after flowering the planting medium doesn’t need to supply any nutrients, so Paperwhites can be planted in soil, pebbles, tumbled beach glass, glass marbles or small gravel.
Plant Paperwhites bulbs with the top inch above the soil/pebble “soil” line. For a full display plant bulbs close together, almost touching. If planted in soil add just enough water to moisten the soil. If planted in pebbles, rocks or marbles, add enough water to just cover the bulbs bases. The goal here is to have the very bottom of the bulbs touching the water to encourage root growth, but not covering the entire bulb which can cause it to rot. Place the container in a sunny bright location and in a week or two roots will appear, after which the buds and blooms develop quickly. It is fun to watch the daily progress.
Paperwhites
My friend gave me this large basket she was taking to Goodwill, so I lined it with a plastic trash bag, filled it with potting soil and planted 20 Paperwhites in it the first week of December.
Carlotta Lucas
Nan Quick’s Travel Diary: JANE AUSTEN & BATH, ENGLAND
Bath…Even if you’re not a Jane-fan, I think you’ll enjoy my perambulations through this beautiful City, which will (I hope) prompt you to crack open PERSUASION, my favorite of Jane Austen’s novels.
Here’s the link.
http://nanquick.com/2012/12/28/jane-austen-bath-england/
Happy Next Year.
Very Best- Nan
Bird Feeders
Don’t let disease foul your bird feeder…
CORVALLIS, Ore. – As you’re welcoming wild birds into your yard this winter, be sure to keep your bird feeder clean and keep an eye on the health of your feathered diners.
“Sick birds will either be found dead or perched, often with feathers in disarray, eyes squinted or wings held out,” said Dana Sanchez, a wildlife specialist with the Oregon State University Extension Service. “Healthy birds are alert and mobile, whereas sick birds stand out because they are neither of those.”
Birds can get salmonella from bird feeders. Other diseases can spread when birds congregate or land on infected perches, Sanchez said.
“If the sick bird is associated with your feeders, take down the feeders and clean them,” she said. “It is probably a good idea to keep the feeders down for two to three weeks, until the disease has had a chance to run its course in the local population. Allow the bird to recover on its own. Make sure children, pets and free-ranging cats cannot get to the bird.”
Sanchez offered these tips to make sure your feeders are clean and free of mold for backyard visitors.
- Clean your feeders once a month during low-use times and up to once a week during high-use periods.
- Scrape off bird droppings and rinse or wipe clean the perches with a solution of 1 part vinegar to 20 parts water.
- Hang your feeders where the feed won’t get wet. If seed in a feeder has gotten wet and compacted, remove the feed and discard it. Then clean the feeder with warm water and a brush.
- Dry the feeder before refilling with the fresh seed.
- If your feeder’s location is likely to get wet often, only fill it with a one- to two-day supply of seed at a time.
- Clean up under feeders regularly and prevent accumulation of feed beneath the feeders by moving them occasionally. Seed on the ground can attract other animals, such as rodents, that you would prefer to not have near your home.
For more information about feeds and feeder placement, check out the following publication from the OSU Extension Service: http://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/xmlui/bitstream/handle/1957/19664/ec1554.pdf
Author Denise Ruttan, OSU Extension Service
Source: Dana Sanchez, Wild Life Specialist OSU Extension Service
Nan Quick’s Travel Diary: Chapter Seven
CHAPTER SEVEN: THE GREAT CANOPY OF LONDON’S SKIES; GETTING OLDER IN GREENWICH & GARDEN-STROLLING AT HAMPTON COURT PALACE.
Here’s the link–
Happy Holidays, and Best Wishes- Nan