Archives
BLOGGER SHARES HER EXPERTISE WITH HEAL-ALL
My recent post concerning trying to grow heal-all in containers prompted one of our fellow bloggers, Margaret Molyson, to share her more extensive experiences with this wonderful plant. I was so impressed with her comments; I felt that they should be shared with all of you.
Margaret wrote, “I love the heal-all plant but have found it somewhat quirky to establish. I saved seeds from two plants growing in part of our yard that did not get mowed. The following year I grew them, then planted the seedlings outside; they bloomed the first year! I loved them. Once again, collecting some, but not all, of the seeds. I did the same process again but planted the seedlings in another area. They did wonderfully there last summer. Now, there are no plants in the original place where they were planted, the second area planted is about half, but the walkway, which is wood chips, next to both plantings is loaded with plants! It might not be able to compete with other plants well.”
Margaret, I cannot thank you enough for sharing your experiences with all of us!
HEAL-ALL IS DOING WELL GROWING IN A CONTAINER
One of my favorite spring flowers is heal-all (Prunella vulgaris). Over the years, whenever I have participated in the Annual Spring Piedmont National Wildlife Refuge/Rum Creek Wildlife Management Area Butterfly Count my count team always find butterflies nectaring on this stunning wild plant.
Two years ago, I rescued a few plants from a spot that stood the chance of soon being destroyed by a bulldozer. I rescued a few of these plants and my wife planted them in a large container. Under her skillful care, the plants survived and flourished.
The next year the plants sprouted and grew far larger than they had been the previous year. In fact, they spread and filled the container. To top it all off, they bloomed creating an incredibly beautiful bouquet of light lavender blossoms. The flowers also attracted butterflies.
When the flowers and plants eventually withered during the summer, she scattered seed she had collected from these plants and scattered them in another container.
This spring heal-all plants reappeared in the original container. In addition, the seeds sown in the second container sprouted. Those plants are rapidly growing. We hope that they will bloom this year. Meanwhile, some of the plants growing in the original container are already beginning to bloom.
It does appear that heal-all is one of the many wild plants that thrives in containers. By growing them in pots, my wife and I have enjoyed the opportunity to learn more about the plants themselves, as well as the butterflies, and other pollenators that visit them. This would have been much more difficult if we had to rely on occasional observations made when stumbling across heal-all in the wild.
Our next experiment is to see if we can establish a stand of heal-all on our property. I hope I will be able to report the success of our efforts next spring.
For more information on this fascinating plant, go to the search engine bubble on the right side of the blog page and type in Heal-All. Immediately the blog I wrote concerning this plant will immediately appear.
WEIGELA – AN ATTRACTIVE SHRUB FOR HUMMINGBIRD FANS
If you are searching for an attractive shrub that attracts hummingbirds, you should give serious thought to buying a weigela (Weigela x Florida); it produces a crop of long-lasting, red, trumpet-shaped blooms. The blossoms grow singly and in clusters.
The shrub’s blooming period extends from late spring into summer.
This shrub is capable of becoming 6 to 8 feet tall and 9 to 12 feet wide. However, none of the weigelas my wife and I have grown in our Middle Georgia yard has ever grown that large.
The only weigela we have planted also goes by the name Old Fashioned Weigela. This variety bears red flowers. A dozen or more different varieties of weigela are on the market. While they may attract hummingbirds, I personally cannot vouch for them.
Weigela produces the most flowers when planted in full sun, however, it also grows in partial shade. Once this shrub is established, it is quite drought-tolerant.
If you have a problem with deer pruning your plants, you will be pleased to know that weigela is not high on the white-tailed deer’s list of preferred browse plants.
A HANDFUL OF NECTAR PLANTS LINGER ON
As I write this column, we are well into the second week of November. Nowadays when my wife and I walk outside and scan our gardens, it is obvious that most of the wild and ornamental nectar plants that fed untold numbers of wild pollinators this fall are no longer blooming. Yet, in spite of this, a variety of insects is still hard at work collecting nectar and/or pollen. Fortunately, for them, they can still find food in some plants that my wife and I have grown in containers on our deck. These plants are now the primary source of food for a wide variety of pollinators.
Although some of the plants we grew on our deck have been nipped by a frost a couple of weeks ago, four species of plants are still blooming and attracting most the of butterflies, carpenter bees, bumblebees and other pollinators we are now seeing.
Globe amaranth has been blooming since last summer. Currently their blooms seem to be favored by checkered skippers, fiery skippers, whirlabouts, dun skippers, common buckeyes, and fiery skippers. Occasionally a cloudless sulphur or gulf fritillary we land on the plants’ colorful globe-shaped blooms. Bumblebees also visit the plants.
A single Mexican sunflower is still producing blooms that are being visited by bees and butterflies. It survived the frost because it was growing close to the house.
With each passing day, our scarlet sage plants are producing fewer new blossoms. Nevertheless, there are still enough red blossoms to attract their share of the cloudless sulphurs, sleepy oranges, and gulf fritillaries pollinators that are still hanging on in our yard.
However, beyond a shadow of a doubt, pineapple sage is the star of the show. Our pineapple sage plants are still blooming in profusion. A day ago, I saw seven cloudless sulfurs and a couple of gulf fritillaries nectaring at the same time at a blossoms produced by scarlet sage plants growing in a single large container. Bumblebees and a few carpenter bees are still feeding on the blossoms too.
We hope our plants continue to bloom for some time to come. However, we know eventually we will be left with lots of fond memories of the beauty and pollinators the plants have brought us this year.
After they cease blooming, we plan on leaving the plants in place, as we know the seeds they have produced will be eaten by cardinals, American goldfinches, house finches and others well into the winter.
We are already making plans for next year. We want to continue expanding the number and variety of autumn bloomers.
If we are successful, I am certain our backyard pollinators and birds will benefit from our efforts.
NOTE: If you would like more information regarding pineapple sage, go to the SEARCH feature on the blog and type in, Pineapple Sage Is Great For Late Season Pollinators And More. When you hit the return key, this archived blog will appear on your screen.
BACKYARD SECRET—WHEN IS IT TIME TO REMOVE DEAD ZINNIA PLANTS?
By this time of the year the zinnias in my gardens have, in large part ceased blooming. While there are scattered colorful blossoms here and there, most of my once beautiful flowers and plants have been nipped by an early frost. All that remains of the zinnias are brown stalks and the withered remains of the flowers they once displayed to hungry pollinators.
When each of us is faced with this situation, we must decide if we should go ahead and cut or otherwise remove the drab remains of these garden favorites. Many gardeners immediately remove the dead plants in an attempt to beautify their garden. However, I am one of those backyard gardeners that leave the plants standing.
This is done because I realize that a number of birds dine on zinnia seeds. Here is a list of some of the birds that eat the seeds of dead zinnias: American goldfinch, chipping sparrow, house finch, purple finch, cardinals and pine siskins.
I keep an eye on this unorthodox food source and remove the dead plants only after the birds have extracted all of the seeds they harbor. When this occurs varies from year to year.
DEAD ZINNIA SEED HEADS
With that in mind, I hope you will refrain from rushing out and removing your zinnia plants as soon as they are killed by cold weather. If you leave them, you just may catch a glimpse of a bird feeding on the seeds located in the withered remains of the past summer’s zinnia blossoms. If you do, you might find the dead zinnias not as unattractive after all.
GEORGIA MINT MAKES A MAGICAL CHANGE
I am sure you are familiar with the fairy tale that tells the story of how an ugly duckling magically turned into a beautiful swan. While my wife and I don’t have any swans swimming around the Johnson Homestead, each year we witness the similar transformation of a native plant known as Georgia mint from what many would call a nondescript weed into a beautiful wild flower. Let me explain.
If you visited our yard in early summer, you might wonder why we would find room for what some folks might think is an ugly weed to grow in our yard. However if you returned anytime from late summer well into October you would discover the reason why we are so fond of it.
At this time of the year, countless pale lavender-white flowers literally blanket our stand of Georgia mint. Admittedly these blossoms are small, however, what they lack in size they more than make in delicate beauty.
In our neck of the woods, the blooming period for Georgia mint extends for weeks. In fact, the plants are still in full bloom as I write this blog. In comparison, most of our most valued pollinator plants have either ceased blooming or will soon do so. As a result, with each passing day bees (particularly small bumblebees), and butterflies are faced with an increasing shortage of flowers. Fortunately, for them, in our yard, Georgia mint serves as a life preserver.
Currently, our Georgia mint is in high demand. Small bumblebees, cloudless sulphurs, sleepy oranges, a wide variety of skippers (e.g. ocolas, fierys, whirlabouts, cloudeds and duns), gulf fritillaries and buckeyes make daily trips to forage on the petite flowers. Although In past years, monarchs have also joined the assemblage of pollinators, we have not seen any this year.
Each year, when Georgia mint becomes the most visited pollinator plant in our yard, we are reminded that anyone that has the desire to help bees, butterflies and other pollinators should make the effort to provide a parade of plants that supplies these flying gems food throughout as much of the year as possible. For us, Georgia mint is one of our most important late season nectar plants.
BUCKEYES—HANDSOME, SHUNNED BY WILDLIFE, AND STEEPED IN FOLKLORE
In the fall, the seeds of countless plants are more abundant than at any other time of the year. Some argue that none is more pleasing to the eye than the buckeye. While it is largely shunned by wildlife, it is coveted my many Georgians.
I have a red buckeye (Aesculus pavia) growing in my yard. Each year this small deciduous tree produces a crop of large reddish brown seeds called buckeyes. Each plum-sized buckeye appears to be hand-polished. The seeds get their name from the round grayish scar (hilum) found on one side of each seed. To many, this area (where the seed connects to the husk that covers the nut while it is developing) resembles the pupil of a deer’s eye.
When you gaze at a buckeye, it looks like it should be a great wildlife food. In truth, the vast majority of wildlife species don’t eat buckeyes. In fact, squirrels are the only native species known to dine on buckeyes on a regular basis. White-tailed deer, for example rarely do more than nibble on them. However, feral hogs are said to eat them.
Why isn’t it a wildlife favorite? The answer is the buckeye contains a chemical known as glycoside; a derivative of glycoside is known to be poisonous. For some reason, this poison does not affect gray squirrels. However, it is poisonous to livestock and humans. Deer will usually avoid buckeyes but will occasionally nibble on them.
On the other hand, many people covet buckeyes.
According to a number of folktales, buckeyes can do amazing things such as bring good luck and even cure diseases.
Consequently, some say that carrying a buckeye will a person good luck only if it is carried in the right pants pocket.
According to folklore, rubbing a buckeye will cure asthma, headaches, arthritis and rheumatism. However, if you want a buckeye to cure your rheumatism, you must carry it in your left pocket of your pants.
If you have a buckeye tree that produces a bounty of buckeyes, don’t sell them as good luck charms. If you do, technically speaking, you might be charged with false advertising. This is because supposedly, if you sell a one of these magical seeds, it loses its power to provide the buyer with good luck.
MOCKINGBIRDS ARE DINING ON POKEBERRIES
I try to keep abreast of what the wildlife eats throughout the year. This exercise has allowed me to watch how the food habits of a number of my backyard residents change throughout the year. Recently I was reminded of this fact as I watched a northern mockingbird dine on pokeberries.
Throughout the spring and much of the summer mockingbirds I watched them dining on suet, insects, blackberries, and other delicacies. Then seemingly, overnight birds seemed to abandon the places where they had been feeding. Last week they reappeared at pokeweeds that have colonized my property. The birds were dining on the plants’ juicy, purplish-black berries. While I have only seen mockingbirds eating the berries so far this summer, I suspect they have to share them with other backyard residents such as brown thrashers, eastern bluebirds, cardinals and even red-bellied woodpeckers.
The first time I witnessed a mockingbird eating pokeberries a couple of weeks ago the bird was having a difficult time plucking them from a cluster of fruit dangling from a droopy branch. Since it was seemingly impossible for the bird to perch on the flimsy branch and dine of the berries at the same time, it was forced to attempt to hover close to the berries. It immediately became obvious that the mockingbird’s ability to hover will never be favorably compared with that of a hummingbird. In spite of this, after several tries grab the berries, the cluster of berries eventually disappeared into the mouth of the determined bird.
If you find pokeberry plants sprouting in an out-of-the-way spot in your yard, let them grow. If you do, you will be rewarded with an attractive plant, and a great source of food for birds and other wildlife. In addition, you will be offered with some great wildlife viewing opportunities and the chance to learn more about the feeding habits of wildlife without having to leave your home.
SWEETSHRUB IS A FRAGRANT ADDITION TO YOUR YARD
I am surprised that more Georgians are not familiar with the sweetshrub (Calycanthus floridus). Since it bears some of the most fragrant blossoms of any of our native woodland shrubs, you would think that most folks would want it growing in their yard.
The sweetshrub’s blossoms are maroon in color and produce a pleasing aroma that my wife and I are convinced smells like apples. However, some describe the scent as smelling like spicy strawberries. Others inhale the shrub’s pleasing aroma and say it reminds them of a mixture of pineapples and bananas.
Regardless of how you interpret the pleasing odor, the vast majority of us love it. In fact, some people think so highly of it they plant sweetshrubs near their outside doors. This allows them to lean over and take a whiff of the flowers before heading out for the day.
The sweetshrub is also a pollinator plant. Although Sweetshrub blooms generate pollen used by native bees and butterflies, sap beetles are the plant’s main pollinator. However, since sap beetles are small (1.4-inch) and nondescript we often overlook them.
