Lambs Ears

How did your plants spend their summer vacation? Walk out into the garden and take a look around. Have the Siberian irises crowded out the phlox? Are the stems of your yarrow lazily flopping over its neighbours? Has the centre of the your silvery artemisia browned-out? Did you notice how much smaller the peony flowers were this year than last?

Dividing perennials that have outgrown their space, become lanky and limp from overcrowded stems, ceased to produce large, showy blossoms or that have become woody enough to die-out in the centre is like treating them to a spa – it rejuvenates and keeps them healthy.

Generally, perennials that bloom in the spring and early summer can safely be divided in the fall. These include hardy geraniums, columbines, coral bells, pulmonarias, hostas, centaureas, Siberian irises, oriental poppies and dianthus. But with care, many mid-summer bloomers such as phlox, yarrow and daylilies can also be divided during the cool days of fall. Autumn is also the only time to divide or move herbaceous peonies. These and other fleshy rooted perennials such as oriental poppies have been busy over the summer storing energy in their thick roots. Moving them in the spring, after winter and early spring growth has depleted that energy, means these plants have less of a chance of recovering from being divided. No matter the plant, divide it early enough in the fall to allow it to form a good root system before the ground freezes – generally, at least six weeks before winter sets in.

To divide perennials, wait for a cool, overcast day. Roots exposed to sun, heat or wind can become dried out in a very short time. If you must work on a sunny or windy day, keep the roots shaded and sheltered from the wind – it’s also a good idea to keep a bucket of water handy.

When you’re ready, lift the plant from the ground with a garden fork, digging the tines into the soil under the clump. Gently exert enough upward pressure to leverage the roots from the soil. Work your way around the plant, inserting the fork and prying up the roots until the clump is free.

How you divide up the plant depends on the size of the clump and the firmness of the rootball. Roots of nepeta, geraniums or coral bells are fairly loose and easily teased apart with your hands while those of mature hostas, for example, require the double-fork method. This involves inserting a garden fork into the centre of the clump, then placing a second fork back-to-back to the first one. I find this method a bit awkward for one person to perform because it requires that both forks be pushed in opposite directions at the same time – I don’t know about your dexterity and strength, but I find myself all elbows and thumbs. I prefer dealing with these stubborn roots with a dull knife – or let’s be brutally practical – a hatchet. Just wield it as you would a kitchen clever, and before you know it, your plant is nicely chopped.

Once divided, discard the older, browned-out part of the clump. Plants age from the middle toward the outer edges, so the older parts will be in the middle and the younger ones will be clustered around the perimeter. Replant the young divisions into the garden right away to keep them from drying out, or pot them up to give to neighbours and friends.

Papa, Mama and Baby BrunneraBrunnera ready to divide

Roots on lambs ears

Brunnera 'Jack Frost'

You may prefer the creamy edges of Brunnera ‘Hadspen Cream’ or the gold-rimmed ‘King’s Ransom’ or even the silvery leaves of  ‘Looking Glass’, but my heart will always be true to ‘Jack Frost’. It’s not just the snowy foliage (it reminds me of Frosted Flakes cereal — maybe it’s a nostalgia thing…), or those gorgeous forget-me-not blue flowers, it’s that ’Jack Frost’ is so vigorous and healthy, he just seems to be in love with life. I’ve divided mine several times over the four or five years I’ve grown this wonderful shade plant, and I think I’ll have to do it again this year. By comparison, ‘King’s Ransom’ looks smaller and more delicate than when I planted it last year, and ‘Looking Glass’ has yet to make an appearance this season. So, my desert island choice for Brunnera is definitely ‘Jack Frost’. Any takers?

Hardy perennials can weather the pre-May 24 weather, so beat the rush to the nursery and select some of the season’s choicest plants as soon as they arrive. Once the ground has thawed and dried out, it’s a good time to plant shrubs and trees too, especially magnolias, birch, oak, yews, rhododendrons and azaleas.

Think back to last season. Did the flowers of your phlox seem a bit smaller than previous seasons? Did the middle of your clump of dianthus brown out? Were the stems of your yarrow so tightly packed that they seemed to be choking the life out of the plant? These are signs of decline that dividing can conquer. Tease apart baby crowns of plants such as coral bells and hardy geraniums, and cut large clumps of daylilies and hostas into smaller pieces. Discard the tough, mature sections, and replant the newer growth that generally appears at the outer edges.

Well, firstly, he lives up to his nickname of Heathcliff of the Hedgerows (although the debate rages about whether he’s more Darcy-like. Personally, I think there’s a bit of (a young) John Cleese in him too…). Secondly, after unlikely stints at pizza-making and hotel-running, he has wielded his trowel in some of the world’s best-ranked gardens — namely, RHS Hyde Hall and Harlow Carr. So, he’s got real dirt under his fingernails. And thirdly, he can pronounce Zauscheneria as naturally as we might say: Make mine a double-double! So, ya get the picture. He’s gorgeous, funny and knows his stuff.

So listen up: here’s the scoop on which plants in the whole wide world (that we can grow here in Canada “the edge of where it’s good to garden”) rank among Heathcliff’s Wilson’s favourites for small gardens:

The solid performers

Geranium 'Rozanne'

1. Geranium ‘Rozanne’ (is there anyone anywhere who doesn’t love this plant?)
2. Nigella damascena (what, an annual on a best plants list — yes!)
3. Sanguisorba ‘Tanna’ ( gorgeous, purple-rose colour)
4. Kniphofia rooperi
5. Echinacea ‘Sunset’ (as opposed to the “annual” ‘Art’s Pride’)
6. Rosa ‘Roserie de l’Hay’ (but you won’t ever hear him recommending a hybrid tea…)
7. Phlomis russeliana (in the words of Oudolf, a plant that “dies heroically”)
8. Eyphorbia schillingii in combination with Hosta ‘Frances Willams’ (ask him his guaranteed solution for slugs and snails on hostas…)
9. Polystichum setiferum ‘Herrenhausen’ (lovely twisted fronds)
10. Kirengeshoma palmata (oh yah, loves deep shade)

Shooting Stars

1. Pulsatilla vulgaris (must be the pickiest plant on the planet — needs limestone magnesia with acidic water running underneath — as if!)
   

   Camassia

2. Iris orchiodes (a Juno type)
3. Eremurus robustus  (oh sure, Matthew,  just try growing it on clay…)
4. Camassia cusickii (yup, I’m with you on this one)
5. Rhododendron yakushimanum (ditto)

These are just a few of Wilson’s top picks for small gardens. To hear about all of them, you’ll have to track him down at one of his next speaking engagements.

Helleborus Vancouver Medallion

What better way to welcome athletes and visitors to the Winter Olympics than with drifts of  this gorgeous Vancouver Medallion hellebore?  Thanks to the advance planning of the Garden Club of Vancouver and Heritage Perennials, 750 of these specially named hellebores (the cultivar name is ‘Candy Love’ — appropriate for upcoming Valentine’s Day, too) have been planted in Stanley Park and arranged in sweeping curves resembling the ski runs on the mountains where Olympic contenders will vie for gold medals. Hmm, I could go for a little hellebore gold in my un-Olympic-sized garden, too!

Bottle tree in Yoest garden

11. Bottle trees

Discovering new plants is a big part of why I attend conferences such as the 2009 Garden Writers Symposium in Raleigh, North Carolina. It can also be frustrating, especially if the plants aren’t hardy enough for my USDA Zone 5 garden in Toronto. None-the-less, I’m always captivated by shrubs, trees and perennials that are regional staples in faraway places. That’s why when a fellow garden writer pointed out the bottle tree in a garden we were visiting, I looked desperately around the yard trying to spot this local beauty before confessing, “Oh, gosh. I’m not from around here, can you tell what one looks like?” Duh! I could have kicked myself for being so dense. The great, rare, North Carolina Bottle Tree (Arbus amphoreus?) is a tree made from bottles! Once spotted, we found them in almost every garden we visited. But the best thing I discovered about bottle trees is they’re perfectly hardy – even to Zone 2!

Scuppernong grapes. Photo by Amy C Evans, SFA oral historian

7. Scuppernongs
For a gal who grew up with a grape vine in her backyard you’d think I’d know a grape when I see one, but scuppernongs had me scuppered. The size of ping-pong balls, these juicy fruits were nestled into pint-sized boxes lined up on the open shelves of more than a few vendors at the North Carolina Farmers’ Market where a gaggle of garden writers were visiting during the 2009 Garden Writers Symposium in Raleigh. After explaining they were indeed grapes that grow on a vine, the kind lady behind the counter proceeded to demonstrate how to eat this strange (to me) fruit. Hold them right up to your mouth, she said, and lightly squeeze the too-tough-to eat skin to pop the jelly-like insides right into your mouth. Yum! The sweet, grapey flavour is very intense, which is why it’s so popular in the South for pies and jellied condiments. When I returned home, I opened up a copy of the Garden & Gun magazine (no, I’m not making this up) that I’d picked up at the Raleigh airport to discover an entire article on this odd fruit. Here’s some scuppernong trivia from the pages of Garden & Gun:
· Scuppernongs were first found in North Carolina’s Cape Fear River Valley in 1524. The “mother vine” discovered by Sir Walter Raleigh in 1584 spanned an acre and still produces fruit today.
· Scuppernong wine was a favourite of Thomas Jefferson
· The vines need a sturdy trellis at least 10 feet long by six feet wide

Does anyone know if these grow north of the Mason-Dixon line?

5. Mahonia ‘Soft Caress’

Okay, if you thought I was crazy to write about Euphorbia ‘Ascot Rainbow’ because it’s hardy only to USDA Zone 5, you’ll hate me for highlighting Mahonia ‘Soft Caress’, which is “officially” hardy to USDA Zone 7. But once you’ve seen it, you’ll know why I’m willing to try it as a pot plant here in Toronto, which is a full zone colder. First, ‘Soft Caress’ takes part to full shade, and as a city gardener hemmed in by neighouring trees, I’m always on the lookout for plants that perform under those conditions. Second, its lacy bamboo-like leaves are made for touching (it’s not called ‘Soft Caress’ for nothing, folks!). In the spring, it produces bright yellow flowers – bonus. I’m going to try overwintering it under lights in my basement and then plant it up in a container, which I’ll place in the shadiest spot of my woodland garden next spring. Wish me luck!

Mahonia 'Soft Caress'

 

 

Praying Mantis at the North Carolina Botanical Gardens

3. Jim Chatfield
Got diseased or buggy plants? Who you gonna call? Ohio State University professor Jim Chatfield, that’s who! This pest and disease myth-buster talked for oh-so-short a time on Why Good Plants Go Bad in an entertaining and practical way that made troubleshooting plant problems almost sexy. Among his bon mots, did you know that only 7.4 percent of all insects are pests, and that only .7 percent actually cause significant damage, or that once you see symptoms, it’s too late to control a disease (isn’t that a comfort?). To help you diagnose pesky problems in your garden, download 20 Questions on Plant Diagnosis and learn the dos and don’ts of how to keep plants healthy.