Category: Gardening on the Wild Side: Working in Harmony with Nature

Quince blossom

Edible Plants / Flowering Shrubs / Spring

 by Wendy Hamrick, Master Gardener, Class of 2017

Quince, An Early Bloomer

Most gardeners know this as Chaenomeles speciosa, (pronounced kee-NO May lees) commonly known as flowering quince. One of the first quince varieties introduced here in Virginia by English settlers and a native of Southeast Asia, it’s a member of the Rosaceae family replete with its own thorns. An effective barrier when planted in hedgerows, by 1720 Quince cultivation was thriving here in VA. Drought resistant Flowering Quince is a deciduous small flowering tree or large shrub with a long life...

Garden Maintenance / Tales from the Help Desk / Tree Care / Weather / Winter

 by Patsy McGrady

Tales From the Help Desk: Crape Myrtle Bark

Q.  My crape myrtles have splits on the bark.  What is going on? A.  Your crape myrtles appear to have sun scald.  Crape myrtles, Lagerstroemia indica, are considered a relatively problem-free tree. The Clemson Cooperative Extension website cites the most common problems as powdery mildew, Cercospora leaf spot, aphids, Japanese beetles, sooty mold, and the recently recognized crape myrtle bark scale. Clearly, the photo of your tree shows no indications of any of these diseases and insects. Your tree likely...

Flowering Shrubs / Garden Maintenance / Heirloom plants / Landscape Love / Ornamental Shrubs / Rose Care / Tales from the Help Desk

 by Patsy McGrady

Tales From the Help Desk: Rose Rosette Disease

Q.  My Zephirine Drouhin climbing rose looks odd. There are “frilly” growths, and the buds are very small.  Should I be worried? A. The Heirloom Roses website description of Rosa ‘Zephirine Drouhin’ states that it “may be the most consistently blooming, large, flowered climbing rose, with the added benefit that it is thorn-less.” The variety is thought to have originated in France in 1868. Your rose appears to be infected with rose rosette virus (RRV). This is a virus spread...

Garden Maintenance / Gardening on the Wild Side: Working in Harmony with Nature / Tales from the Help Desk / Tree Care

 by Patsy McGrady

Tales From the Help Desk: Growths on Tree Bark

Q:  Something is growing on the bark of my tree.  Is that a problem? A:  It depends.  If it is flat and looks rather lacy, it’s lichen and does not harm the tree. If the growth on your tree bark is shaped like a shelf and looks like a mushroom, it is a conk. Conks indicate that the tree has internal decay. Lichen is a symbiotic relation between certain types of fungi and algae. They have a very shallow attachment...

Garden Maintenance / Spring / Tales from the Help Desk / Weather / Weeds

 by Patsy McGrady

Tales From the Help Desk: Chickweed

Q:  I usually apply a pre-emergent herbicide in spring to kill chickweed.  Is it OK if I go ahead and apply the pre-emergent now? A. No. The use of a pre-emergent herbicide in winter would be ineffective because the weather is too cold for seeds to germinate. We tend to associate pre-emergents with spring because that is when we apply them to take care of crabgrass and other summer broadleaf weeds. I know for my lawn, applying pre-emergent herbicide is...

Container Gardens / Heirloom plants / Holiday Plants / Tales from the Help Desk / Tropical Houseplants / Watering

 by Patsy McGrady

Tales From the Help Desk : Christmas Cactus

Q.  How do I care for a Christmas cactus so that it blooms well for Christmas? A.  Christmas cactus, Schlumbergera x buckleyi, is native to tropical rain forests.  It should be planted in a soil mix that is high in organic material but drains well.  It likes to be root bound, so don’t feel you have to keep putting it in a larger pot each year. Keep the soil moist from spring through summer but let the soil dry out...

Carbon Garden / Gardening on the Wild Side: Working in Harmony with Nature / Soil Conservation

 by Wendy Hamrick, Master Gardener, Class of 2017

What’s the Dirt on Soil?

DIRT OR SOIL? Although we often use the words dirt and soil interchangeably, the differences between them are vast. Dirt is made up of clay, sand, silt, and rocks, with no beneficial nutrients or microbes. Dirt is dead.  Soil on the other hand is living. In fact, it’s teeming with life. Soil holds the key to creating a sustainable garden, trapping and storing carbon, and providing a home for the billions of microorganisms and tiny creatures that help to maintain...

Evergreen Shrubs / Gardening on the Wild Side: Working in Harmony with Nature / Heirloom plants / Native Trees / Permaculture / Taxonomy / Tree Identification / Wildlife Gardening

 by Elizabeth McCoy

Identifying Local Trees in Winter

  Recognizing and identifying trees can be a great pleasure.  Knowing trees well enough to understand how they fit into the local ecosystem, and how they can be used, allows us to look around at the trees in our community with even greater appreciation.  But there are so many trees!  How can you learn to identify them without carrying around a heavy field guide? This was our quandary as my novice Tree Steward colleagues and I began a project to...

Container Gardens / Garden Design / Garden Maintenance / Gardening on the Wild Side: Working in Harmony with Nature / Permaculture / Tender Perennials / Winter

 by Elizabeth McCoy

Weather Alert: Winter Cold

The Williamsburg area has recently been rezoned by the USDA to a slightly warmer Zone 8a. But temperatures can still get down to 5°F or -15 °C, although we don’t typically see temperatures much below the 20s. So as we pull out our gloves and coats, here are some simple things we can do even now to prepare for when extreme cold weather is in the forecast. Tips for Protecting Plants Potted shrubs and perennials hardy to Zone 6 or...

Birds / Garden Design / Gardening on the Wild Side: Working in Harmony with Nature / Holiday Plants / Native Trees / Permaculture / Poisonous Plants / Sustainable Gardening / Wildlife Gardening

 by Elizabeth McCoy

Holly, King of the Winter Forest

  In late autumn, the Williamsburg area woods light up with evergreen holly trees as the hardwoods lose their leaves.  It is their time to sparkle in the winter sunshine.  Their broad, prickly leaves are waxy on top, reflecting what light reaches them through the forest canopy. Unobtrusive throughout the summer, hollies are among the few forest trees, along with wax myrtle, pines, cedars, and magnolias, which remain bright green and covered in leaves throughout the year. Holly King Legends...