Update: Native Seeds for 2011

Following up on the Native Seeds for 2011 post, here’s a status report on what has and has not worked so far…

Did not germinate:

Allegheny vine (Adlumia fungosa) I’ve written a lot about this biennial vine. I just can’t get enough of it. I was surprised that the new seeds I bought this year did not germinate; however, I do have one self sown plant that is doing great and should be blooming soon. I also have overwintered and planted out some from last year. I’ll need to make a point of harvesting my own seeds this year.

Fern-leaf False Foxglove (Aureolaria peduculata) This biennial is parasitic on oaks, but, reportedly, does not need them for germination. None of these have germinated, despite trying several different germination conditions. 


Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa) This is the first year I’ve tried these and alas, none had germinated. Fortunately I did get some bare root plants from Prairie Moon Nursery, and these are developing nicely.


Rosey Sedge (Carex rosea) I’ve had a small clump of this perennial grass for nearly 5 years. I was not able to get the seeds I bought this year to germinate. I understand that Carex is generally a difficult plant to grow from seed.


Good germination:

Pearly Everlasting (Anaphalis margaritacea) This is a perennial with white, long lasting flowers similar to the annual Sweet Everlasting (Pseudognaphalium obtussifolium) that I’ve tried several times before. These germinated really well, but have grown on very slowly and so far have not transplanted well. I just may not have the right touch, or location, for these plants.

Tall Swamp Marigold or Crowned Beggarticks (Bidens coronata) is an annual, with good-sized yellow flowers. These did not germinate last year when I cold stratified them in moist sand for 60 days, so this year I got a new batch of seed and conditioned them in moist soil for 60 days in the refrigerator. I was thrilled to see that they were sprouting within 5 days of coming to room temperature. I’ve got these blooming in the garden already! So far I would rate these better than the Bidens aristosa, for early bloom and a manageable size; however it’s still early so we’ll see how long the bloom continues and how vigorously they reseed themselves (a little, a lot or none at all?).


Browneyed Susan and American Pennyroyal in a pot.



Brown-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia triloba) is a short-lived perennial, that while taller has a more delicate appearance than the typical Black-eyed Susan (R. hirta). Last year when I conditioned these in damp sand I got no germination. This year moist stratification in the soilless mix resulted in good and rapid germination after just 4 days of coming out of the refrigerator. I’ve moved some of these to pots and some into the garden. I don’t know if these will grow on to bloom this year, or if they need a season to get established.






Some germination:

Flowering Spurge (Euphorbia corollata) Perennial also known as Wild Baby’s Breath. I thought this could be good for general landscape use, with white flowers through mid-summer. I got a low rate of germination and the plants seem slow to develop. Once the temperatures got over 90, the seedlings began to take off. I’m trying this in several locations and have this one in a pot. So I’m hopeful that at least one of these will mature.

Woodland Sunflower (Helianthus divaricatus) Perennial for dry shade. This plant can be weedy in the garden, but I really want to test it out under the Norway Maple where its vigor may be tempered by this challenging environment. Only 4 of these germinated, but these are developing nicely. I’ve already moved a couple under the 'nasty' Maple and they are continuing to grow.



Repeats, with good results:

Orange Hummingbird Mint (Agastache aurantica ‘Navaho Sunset’) grew quite well last year and I got good germination from the same crop of seeds as last year. Last year’s plants are a dense mass about 18” tall, not ready to bloom yet, but the foliage smells really great, even as tiny plants.

Native to rocky slopes, these transplants
are doing well among some Bearded Iris.

Rock Harlequin (Corydalis sempervirens) Even though the seed was for 2010, still gave a very good rate of germination. Some seedlings that I transplanted into rich humusy soil died immediately, while those interplanted with the Bearded Iris, in unimproved soil, are doing quite well.
















Sulfur Cosmos (Cosmos sulphureus) these germinated well both indoors under lights and direct sown in the garden. I was concerned that I would confuse the seedlings with those from the Bidens aristosa that has reseeded itself all over the garden beds. There are a couple of features that distinguish the seedlings. The first pair of leaflets from the Cosmos are each nearly an inch long, compared to about ¼” for the Bidens, the Cosmos germinate about 2 weeks later than the Bidens (although the Bidens continue to germinate from late April to the middle of June) and while the leaves of both species are deeply divided, the Cosmos have broader rounder tips than those of the Bidens. I am pulling up and discarding the Bidens seedlings, this will be a test of whether I can eliminate this species from the garden so that I can test other plants.



Note the long cotyledon leaves and rounded leaf tips

 

Compare the first pair of leaves with
those of the Cosmos.

















The annual American Pennyroyal (Hedeoma pulegioides) has been getting established from a planting 2 years ago. I’ve found that these reseed themselves rather well and grow well under lights (after 30 days cold stratification), but did not come up where I seeded them directly in the garden. I guess these do better when they find their own home. I’ve planted out a few of these and am growing some in pots. I plan to snag a few leaves to rub on my arms to test their mosquito repellent properties.


Spotted Beebalm (Monarda punctata) had germinated within 6 weeks in damp sand, while still in the dark in the refrigerator. I moved the germinated seedlings to starter mix and still ended up with a healthy crop of little plants.


Sweet Everlasting (Pseudognaphalium obtusifolium) has given me trouble on transplanting in the past two years. An this year is no exception – lots of seedlings that do not transplant well. The directly sown seeds did not germinate. I think need to be put into really well drained coarse soil and are not appropriate to my garden conditions.



This seedling is developing faster than ones transplanted from
indoors.  Monarda and Agastache are also cropping up.


Some other seedlings that are showing up on there own in the garden are from the Scarlet Sage (Salvia coccinea), Biennial Gaura (Gaura biennis), Strawberry Blite (Chenopodium capitatum) and of course the Swamp Marigold (Bidens aristosa). I was not certain if the seeds of the Salvia could overwinter here in the Northeast.  Seeing these appear in new locations points out the importance of knowing what the seedlings for these annuals and biennials look like, otherwise I would have weeded them out as I was preparing the beds for other plants.




The reseeded catnip has deeper teeth on the leaf margin than for the Salvia coccinea,
the catnip leaf is also has a fleshier texture.



American Smoke Tree

As I was driving through Mount Auburn Cemetery yesterday, the ‘blooms’ of a cluster of American Smoke Tree, Cotinus obovatus, caught my eye. Actually, the true fertile flowers are past, but it’s the fuzzy remains of the infertile flowers that line the flower panicle that are providing the show. This tree is dioecous, meaning that there are separate male and female plants. All of the trees in this cluster appeared to be female, judging by the seeds that were forming at the ends of the panicles. I have not, to my knowledge, seen a male tree in bloom; however, at treetrail.com they say that the male is actually showier. So although you can be sure whether you are getting a male or female plant, either way the smoke effect will be striking.

A few seeds from fertile flowers are at the tips of the panicle.

Close up of the 'smoke'

The species name, obovatus, refers to the distinctive oval shape of the blue-green leaves. It grows as a small tree or upright shrub , 20-30 feet tall. Young tree have a fairly ungainly appearance. These trees are probably about 8 years old. When they were planted here about 3 years ago, they were gangly stems without too many branches. So they have developed very nicely in just a few years.



Buds forming on a younger plant in early May



The native distribution of C. obovatus is scattered across the south central U.S. It is found in neutral to alkaline well drained soils, but will tolerate the more acidic soils in New England, as well. This preference of alkalinity may make it a good choice for planting on residential sites, with their limed lawns and cement foundations.

More commonly seen is the Purple Smokebush, Cotinus coggygria, which mostly grows as a multistem shrub with broad purple tinged leaves. The American Smoke Tree is harder to find, I purchased mine last year from New England Wildflower Society, but I have also found it at commercial nurseries.



Cotinus obovatus at the end of October



While the smoke-like inflorescence is an attractive feature, the fall color of these trees is really the feature that will knock your socks off. This photo was taken of the same tree in late October last year.

So far I’ve planted two of these (one for me, one for a client) and I am looking forward to watching them mature.

Celandine Poppy

Note the single yellow flowers and the fuzzy, drooping seed pod.

The newest native addition to my garden is the Celandine Poppy, Stylophorum diphyllum. It is a Midwestern native, but I have seen it growing in gardens here in the northeast where its large, clear yellow flowers and light blue-green foliage brighten up a shady spot. It is a mid-spring bloomer. Another reason I was interested in knowing this plant is its similarity to the introduced and quite weedy Greater Celandine, Chelidonium majus, a Eurasian native.

I had gotten into the habit of weeding out any plant with divided leaves, yellow flowers and light green foliage, assuming it was always Greater Celandine. One day I started to rip some out in a client’s garden and was told that this was not a weed and was in fact the native Celendine. So I figured I should learn to tell these plants apart.
Anyone who has pulled up either of these plants has seen the bright yellow or orange juice that can stain clothes. So that does not help distinguish the plants. The leaves are different, but both are deeply lobed and of the same general color. The easiest way I see to distinguish these plants is with the flowers and seed pods. The native Celandine poppy has large (nearly 2 inches) yellow flowers, borne singly, which matures to a single fuzzy pod that droops toward the ground.

Note the upright seedpods
of Greater Celandine

Greater Celandine has much smaller yellow flowers (1/2 inch) borne in small umbels. The seed pods are bean-like and project upwards. Also the leaves are arranged alternately on the stem, while for the Celandine Poppy all of the leaves occurs opposite one another; however this can be tricky to spot in a mass of foliage.


The plants have only been in for a week in a shady area that maintains slightly moist soil. Now we’ll see how it performs over the rest of the summer and how it looks when it comes back next year.


Since there are no natural populations of Celandine Poppy in Massachusetts, I’m sure I did not damage any native plants, but still it’s good to know how to tell these plants apart, especially now that I have some in the ground.

Squirrels eating the Norway Maple

I’ve had a love/hate relationship with the squirrels. While they are amusing to watch, they cause the most damage to the ‘cultivated’ parts of my landscape of any single creature in my backyard. They are constantly digging around new plants; they’ve dug up my single little huckleberry several times. I’ve been lucky in that they have not bothered my tulip or crocus bulbs, much.

Black Huckleberry in mid-April, has been dug up 2-3 times over 2 years.

On the positive side, I noted 3-4 years ago that I had fewer Norway maple seedlings to pull out of the lawn. Then that fall I saw the gray squirrels munching on the seeds, both in the lawn and in the rain gutters.  I understand that these seeds are not the first choice for the squirrels, but they are plentiful and easy to come by.

Squirrel dining on Norway Maple flowers.

Then a couple of weeks ago I saw a squirrel eating the flowers off the Norway maple. This was a new one on me, but anything that reduces the seed production gets a gold star in my book. I did a little checking on the web and found an interesting post by Albert Burchsted,  Apparently gray squirrels prefer the green flowers of the Norway maple over the reddish flowers of the Silver and Red Maples. The squirrels also prune the branch tips from several maple species, including the Norway, to get a drink of the rising sap. This explains the number of broken branch tips scattered on the lawn.


One other ‘destructive’ activity attributed to the squirrels is the snipping off of tulip flowers. While I have not actually seen the squirrels doing this, rabbits and/or birds may also share the blame, they seem to be likely candidates. The tulip flowers are neatly cut off at the base, leaving a mostly intact bloom to wither away nearby. While I have not been able to find my original source, I was told a while back that the animal doing this was after the condensation that collects inside the flower cup and not the flower itself. This creates a compelling image of a squirrel drinking from a tulip ‘cup’, but I would really like to see some proof.

Who did this, and why????

I would appreciate hearing from anyone who has caught an animal, squirrel or otherwise, in the act of tulip vandalism.

Native Bulbs

Scilla growing under a Sargent Crabapple
at Mount Auburn Cemetery, Cambridge, MA.

Spring is ushered in by a plethora of flowering bulbs. Despite my inclination toward natives I still plant all kinds of exotic bulbs. I especially like seeing the blue carpets of Scilla under trees and Crocus sprouting randomly in a lawn. So last fall, this got me thinking, what about native bulbs?

Crocus tommasiniansus between Prairie Dropseed mounds.

Some native bulbs that I knew of were Trout Lily (Erythronium americanum), Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis) and Camas (Camassia sp.). To check for more ideas I did a search of the USDA Plants Database looking for North American natives that are propagated from bulbs gave a list of 30 plants, including Alliums, Camassia, Iris and Sisyrinchium angustifolium (Blue-eyed grass). For corms, 17 Species were listed including Dicentra, Hypoxis (Yellow Star grass) and Liatris. (Note that all of the data for every single plant in this database is not fully stocked, so there are gaps, but it is still a useful tool, especially at the Genus-level.)

I decided to focus on the first three. Finding a source for these plants was not trivial, but after many hours on the internet I found a nursery in West Virginia that propagated their own natives: Sunshine Farm and Gardens.  Also, they had all of the species I was after – one stop shopping!

No bloom on this one.

My best result, so far, has been with the Trout Lily, aka Dogtooth Violet, which began sprouting up in early April. At first it blended in with the early tulip foliage, but they distinguished themselves by the mottled coloration on the topside of the leaf. This coloration can be likened to that of a trout. (The backside of this leaf was a flat green, just like the tulip foliage.) A second plant, this one with a bloom, was initially more elusive, but certainly worth finding. Once opened, this small flower was hard to miss. this bloom lasted 7-10 days.  As these were rather small bulbs when I put them in, I may have lost them amongst the Tulips in the leafy mulch that I used.  These plants will spread by stolons, so if they are happy, I will eventually have a good sized patch.



In bud...



...two days later.


 



This brings up a very important point. It is a very good idea to sketch out a map or plan of where you put in your bulbs, because no matter how significant or important they seem at planting time in the fall, the memory fades by springtime. This is my current situation at home (however, not a mistake I make when working for clients).

So far I have not located the Bloodroot that I put in. Its deeply lobed foliage may allow it to blend in with many of the other spring plants that are active right now, like the Columbine, Coral Bells and Geraniums. And, if it’s not blooming, this may be a lost cause. Again, if I had only mapped out where these were put in I would know where to focus my search.

Most of the Camassia that are easily available are cultivars of species native to the Western US, like the Small Camas, Camassia quamash. The only species of Camassia native to the Eastern US is the Atlantic Camas, Camassia scilloides, with a native range from Georgia to Pennsylvania and west to Texas. Since Camas prefers moister areas, I did not save any for myself, but I did put some in for clients with more appropriate conditions (also where I did do a map). So I will be paying them a visit soon to see how they are doing. The Atlantic Camas has a preference for limestone-rich soils, so it may be a good choice in a residential setting for planting near a foundation.

Snowplows and Roadside Plantings, a Case for Native Annuals

Last week I did the spring clean-up of a roadside bed I designed. The plants used were all Eastern North American species.  As I was working I was reflecting on what did and did not work well. For the most part it has been doing quite well with little input from me. Up away from the main traffic flow Aronia (Aronia arbutifolia), Meadowsweet (Spiraea latifolia) and Shrubby Cinquefoil (Potentilla fruticosa) are growing well as are the perennials including Prairie Aster (Symphyotrichum turbinellum), Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea), Appalachian Blazing Star (Liatris squarrulosa), Stiff Goldenrod (Solidago rigida), Red Columbine (Aquilega canadensis) and my favorite grass, Prairie Dropseed (Sporobolus heterolepis).



When I designed this roadside bed back in 2006, I selected plants that I thought would withstand drought conditions, salt spray, full sun and wind. The one aspect that I had not fully appreciated was tolerance to disturbance, particularly resistance to snow plows! Where the bed is protected by a curb there is not much of an issue, but down near the highway the surface of the bed is often scraped over, either directly by the plows or as a result of snow being pushed up and over the sidewalk.

    

When I first learned that blueberries were salt tolerant I happily incorporated them into the roadside position.  I thought people going by would be impressed at how versatile of a shrub blueberries were. I was shocked the following spring when I found the bushes pushed nearly a foot further into the bed, the result of plowing of the snow. Well, the plants are still there 4 years later, but just hanging by a thread. This is obviously the wrong place for what would otherwise be the right plant.



Problem area, after a fresh layer of leaf mulch. 
The blueberry twigs are still in there.



Down by the road Seaside Goldenrod, Solidago sempervirens, is performing well. In fact, this is an example of a native species that is expanding into the urban environment in disturbed areas where road salt makes it difficult for other species to establish. The Prairie Dropseed in this area (those that haven’t been plowed over) are not doing as well. However, Sand Love Grass, Eragrostis trichodes, a new addition to this area does seem to be doing better.

Considering the conditions at this end of the planting I really need a plant (or plants) that will have a continued presence despite a nearly annual scraping of the top layer of soil. Use of a native annual, or perennial, that vigorously self-seeds should fit the bill. Since the plant starts each year anew, disruption of the crown and roots would not be an issue.

This year I have seeded in some American Pennyroyal, Hedeoma pulegioides, a true annual that grows in dry disturbed locations and produces a lot of seed. I also added seeds for a couple of perennials, Spotted Beebalm, Monarda punctata, and Butterfly Weed, Asclepias tuberosa, that are known to reseed effectively and have some salt resistance. By starting from seed I am testing whether this site has the right conditions for germination, a critical factor if they are to get established there.

To get some new ideas I turned to the Advanced Search  function on the USDA Plants database. Here I looked for plants that will tolerate full-sun, drought and salt. While not every plant in the database is searchable in this way, it can provide many leads. Among the results was the Seaside Goldenrod that is already thriving there. A new lead that was generated was Beach Sunflower, Helianthus debilis. I’ve been growing this from seed in pots at home for a couple of years, now it’s time to put it to the test in the field!

Strawberry Blite, it's not a disease!

Despite it’s common name (formerly of the genus Blitum) Strawberry Blite, Chenopodium capitatum, also known as Beetroot and Strawberry Spinach, has some attractive features.  The small ball shaped flower clusters (up to ½ inch) start out green but shortly turn bright red. These flowers mature to bright red edible fruit clusters (to ¾ inch) that contribute to the plant’s common name. The leaves of this species, as with other members of the genus, can be eaten like spinach, fresh or cooked.

Since I was interested in seeing how the aesthetic value of this plant developed, I did not taste the leaves or roots, both of which are edible.  I did try the red berries on several occasions.  They were slightly sweet and not unpleasant, but the seeds were rather large and hard.




Nice leafy example of Strawberry Blite in good soil, late spring.

 This plant is in the same genus as naturalized species Lamb’s Quarters, C. album, and as such I expected it to be equally vigorous.  My experience with this plant has been mixed. I was able to get good germination of the seed under lights without any pretreatment, but I did have problems getting plants to develop after transplanting, in a variety of soils.  I had better results direct sowing the seeds.  The seed pack indicates that they should reach maturity in 40-60 days.  In my crowded New England garden it took nearly 2 months for the plant to reach good size.  It has an upright and branching form, 8-24 inches in height. The gray-green leaves are triangular (as much as 4 inches on the lower branches) and alternately disposed on the branches.  The overall appearance is somewhat coarse.

The wild distribution of C. capitatum is throughout the northern half of North America including Alaska and into the Southwest.  It is not usually found in the Southeast or lower Plains States.  It is listed as a native to Connecticut, but as an introduced species to Massachusetts.  The native habitat is in open woods and can also be found along roadsides. It is often observed reappearing after fires.  It is noted the Sierra Club Naturalist's Guide to Southern New England that the seeds are very long lived.  As with other members of the genus, it produces large amounts of seed.  This may be a consideration in the garden, for once established, it may be difficult to permanently eliminate this plant from the site.

Overwintered plant developing flowers at end of May.

While listed by many sources as annual, I found that it is actually monocarpic.  Well at least I did after I looked up what that means.  A monocarpic plant lives to produce a single crop of seeds then it dies. In my case a couple of clumps of this plant grew as a leafy mass after transplanting and then developed flowers and fruits the following year before passing on.  A monocarp is not necessarily short-lived.  For example, Black Bamboo, Phyllostachys nigra, is also monocarpic, but it may take 70 years before it reaches maturity to produce a crop of seed.  After that the plant will die a natural death.

The genus Chenopodium has high wildlife value.  It is a food source for many birds including the snow bunting, catbird and morning dove.  This species serves as a larval host for the common sootywing butterfly (Pholisora catullus).  In addition to its value as a food plant, the red berries have been used dyes by several Native American groups.

The seeds are available from B&T World Seeds and Horizon Herbs (my source).  While I would really like to use seeds from my own eco-region, the provenance of these seeds is not likely from this area seeing as one supplier is in Europe and the other in Oregon.

For me the jury is still out on this plant.  Since I let most of the berries go to seed, I will watch for its return and test the flavor of the roots and leaves this time.  As a garden plant, its habit was too lax to be a featured highlight, although it could work in the background.  Has anyone else had experience growing this plant?   Stay tuned.