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Plants

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The parsley worm caterpillar. Photo by Ellen Barcel

By Ellen Barcel

There are many gardening chores to accomplish in the fall. One that I’m currently working on is bringing in some herb plants to try and keep them growing over winter. Mainly, I want to keep some of my mints growing, but the parsley plant is lush and gorgeous, so I’m going to make a stab at keeping that growing on a bay window. When I went to take a look at the plant, I saw an absolutely beautiful caterpillar on one of the stalks. I knew it wasn’t a monarch, because they go for milkweed (several dined on my butterfly weed, Aesclepias tuberosa, a native variety of milkweed), and besides they have orange strips while my new guest was basically green and black.

Parsley worm caterpillar

A bit of research told me that it was a parsley worm caterpillar, which would eventually change into an American swallowtail butterfly, black with blue markings. How was I going to deal with this critter since I really wanted to see it turn into a butterfly, but I also wanted to bring the parsley into the house so I’d have fresh parsley all winter.

Monarch butterfly caterpillar. Stock photo
Monarch butterfly caterpillar. Stock photo

Again, research told me that they overwinter in the garden as a chrysalis (that is, a pupa) and emerge from the cocoon  in spring (April to May usually) as the beautiful butterfly. So, if you are bringing any plants into the house, check them for hitchhikers. Break off some of the parsley and set it with the caterpillar in a safe place outside to overwinter. I’ve read that it’s a nasty tasting caterpillar so birds tend to leave it alone.

Some people object to the parsley worm (which is attracted to other plants in the carrot family, such as dill, carrots and Queen Anne’s lace). They can be hand picked off the plants if you want. Personally, I don’t mind sharing a bit of my parsley with them knowing that they will turn into beautiful butterflies.

Green tomato hornworm

Another caterpillar you may find on your garden plants is the large green tomato hornworm. I remember as a kid my father finding them on some tomato plants he was growing. One was covered with white insect eggs, parasitized by braconid wasps. My father removed the caterpillar with the eggs, but I later learned that the wasps perform a valuable service to the home gardener, that of devouring other insect pests. 

Like the parsley worm caterpillar, they can be easily removed from the plant by hand picking. While the parsley worm will eventually yield a beautiful butterfly, the tomato hornworm can quickly defoliate tomato plants (and other nightshade plants like potatoes, peppers and eggplants) causing serious damage to the garden.

After going through the pupa stage, a large moth will emerge. No, I’m not willing to share my tomato plants with these critters. But, if you find one covered in white eggs, leave it alone since the wasps that will emerge from the eggs will kill the caterpillar and control other insect pests.

So, monarch butterfly caterpillars are good, parsley worm caterpillars are also very good and tomato worm caterpillars are bad, unless they’re covered in wasp eggs.

There are many other varieties of caterpillars that are sometimes beneficial and sometimes not. Remember the gypsy moth caterpillar can be very bad. (See my column of last July 16 for details on this one.)

Check out any caterpillars you find by typing the description into your computer’s search engine to find similar photos to help identify it. Only when you know what you have, should you decide what to do about the critter or critters in your garden.

Ellen Barcel is a freelance writer and master gardener. Send your gardening questions to [email protected]. To reach Cornell Cooperative Extension and its Master Gardener program, call 631-727-7850.

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Coleus are grown for their brightly colored and beautifully patterned leaves. To keep them growing, don’t let them go to seed. Photo by Ellen Barcel

By Ellen Barcel

There are a number of plants, grown as either annuals or herbaceous perennials, that are admired and grown for their leaves, not their flowers. Hostas are one of these as are aromatic mints, but so are coleus.

Coleus really brighten up a shady place and bring lots of color into the garden all summer long. You’ll find a number of scientific names for the plant, since botanists today frequently reclassify a plant after studying its genetic makeup.

Coleus, however, is in the Lamiaceae family — the mint family. While many plants in that family are aromatic, mints, thyme, sage, etc., coleus isn’t. But coleus does have the characteristic square stems of mints.

There are a number of ways you can grow your coleus: in a bed of plants outside, very nice scattered among hostas or other leafy plants; in a container outside or even as a houseplant.

Coleus are native to Southeast Asia and Malaysia. They are flowering plants. However, once the plant flowers and goes to seed, it has reached its life span and dies. So this is crucial: nip or pinch off the flowers in the bud if you want to keep your coleus growing and producing gorgeous, brightly pattered leaves.

Coleus are grown for their brightly colored and beautifully patterned leaves. To keep them growing, don’t let them go to seed. Photo by Ellen Barcel
Coleus are grown for their brightly colored and beautifully patterned leaves. To keep them growing, don’t let them go to seed. Photo by Ellen Barcel

Coleus can be propagated by seed —start indoors 8 to 10 weeks before the frost- free date — or by stem cuttings, rooted in water. If you choose to let the professionals start your coleus, like tomato plants, they can’t be put outdoors until it is warm enough, usually mid-May or, as my father always said, Memorial Day, just in case there’s an unusual dip in temperature. Because they are not cold-tolerant, they are considered annuals if grown outdoors on Long Island, but are evergreen perennials in warmer areas lasting for a number of years.

It shouldn’t surprise you, that being native to a warm climate, they are somewhat heat-tolerant, but that doesn’t mean drought-tolerant. Don’t let the soil get soggy, but do keep it evenly moist. If the soil dries out, the leaves will quickly wilt, but if you notice and water them fast enough, they may perk up.

Coleus leaves come in a wide variety of colors including green, yellow, white, burgundy, red, pink and black — actually a very dark burgundy. The green, of course, comes from chlorophyll, but the reds come from the chemical anthocyanin, an adaptation to attract pollinators to the plant.

Coleus can get quite large, but there are dwarf varieties. Check out the ones you’re interested in before purchasing them. They do best in a soil pH of 6.0 to 7.0, so you may need to add lime to your garden soil. Potting soil is closer to neutral, already.

As houseplants, keep in a warm place — 70 to 85 degrees is ideal, but not less than 50 degrees — with bright light.

As far as fertilizer goes, use compost, or if using chemical fertilizers, use once a month or as per package directions. If you’re growing your coleus in containers, you’ve probably used potting soil of one variety or another. Check it to see if it already contains fertilizer. If so, only start fertilizing when what’s in the soil is used up, which will be noted on the potting soil package.

As the cold weather approaches, you can bring containers inside to grow as houseplants or you can take cuttings from your favorite patterned/colored plants and root them in water over the winter.

Ellen Barcel is a freelance writer and master gardener. Send your gardening questions to [email protected]. To reach Cornell Cooperative Extension and its Master Gardener program, call 631-727-7850.

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Members of the Little Scientists club hold native plants while posing for a photo at Legislator Sarah Anker’s pilot garden launch to save local pollinators and support local farms. Photo by Giselle Barkley
Legislator Sarah Anker, far right, poses with the Girl Scouts of Suffolk County, the Little Scientists, Long Island Native Plant Initiative and Cornell Cooperative Extension at her pilot garden launch to save local pollinators and support local farms. Photo by Giselle Barkley
A boy from the Little Scientists club holds a native plant above his head. Photo by Giselle Barkley
Legislator Sarah Anker speaks to the girl scouts and little scientists and asks them questions about native plants and pollinators at her pilot garden launch to save local pollinators and support local farms. Photo by Giselle Barkley
Little Scientists members and Girl Scouts help plant native plants at Legislator Sarah Anker’s pilot garden launch to save local pollinators and support local farms. Photo by Giselle Barkley
Polly Weigand of the Long Island Native Plant Initiative and Legislator Sarah Anker speak to the girl scouts and members of the Little Scientists club about saving local pollinators and supporting local farms. Photo by Giselle Barkley
Little Scientists members and Girl Scouts help plant native plants at Legislator Sarah Anker’s pilot garden launch to save local pollinators and support local farms. Photo by Giselle Barkley
Little Scientists members and Girl Scouts help plant native plants at Legislator Sarah Anker’s pilot garden launch to save local pollinators and support local farms. Photo by Giselle Barkley
Little Scientists members and Girl Scouts help plant native plants at Legislator Sarah Anker’s pilot garden launch to save local pollinators and support local farms. Photo by Giselle Barkley
A little girl holds a flower at Legislator Sarah Anker’s pilot garden launch. Photo by Giselle Barkley
Little Scientists members and Girl Scouts help plant native plants at Legislator Sarah Anker’s pilot garden launch to save local pollinators and support local farms. Photo by Giselle Barkley
Butterfly milkweed was one of several types of milkweed and native plants planted at Legislator Sarah Anker’s pilot garden launch to save local pollinators and support local farms. Photo by Giselle Barkley

The Girl Scouts of Suffolk County and the Little Scientists club joined county Legislator Sarah Anker (D-Mount Sinai), Heritage Trust, the Long Island Native Plant Initiative and members of the Cornell University Cooperative Extension to plant local native species in Anker’s Educational Agriculture Support Initiative pilot garden Tuesday at Heritage Park in Mount Sinai.

The Girl Scouts, alongside their younger counterparts from the Little Scientists club, got down in the dirt and planted several native plants, including various types of milkweed which attract monarch butterflies and other native pollinators to the area.

According to the National Wildlife Federation, monarch butterflies and other native pollinators to Long Island have decreased in numbers by more than 80 percent in the past two decades. Native bee populations are also on the decline. With this decline in native pollinators, Anker hopes to educate people about the importance of native plants and pollinators in the environment.

But before members of the LINPI and Cornell Cooperative Extension helped the Girl Scouts and Little Scientists plant flowers and plants in the pilot garden, Anker gathered the children and tested their knowledge on the importance of native plants and pollinators.

Michelle Skoblicki created the Little Scientists club four years ago. The program caters to children from pre-K to fifth grade, and its goal, according to Skoblicki, is to provide these kids with a means to expand their knowledge about science through hands-on activities, literature and art.

Skoblicki recently taught the kids about life cycles using butterflies, and hopes to release the butterflies they raised in the pilot garden by the end of the week.

“We were hoping to have them ready for the garden but they were still in their chrysalises,” Skoblicki said.

Members of the Girl Scouts also helped plant native plants in the garden; and Maris Lynch, who is involved in her third event as a Girl Scout, was simply happy to help.

The launch was the first event for Girl Scouts Analynn Bisiani and Lindsey Galligan. Bisiani said she was happy to participate and was having fun.

“I would definitely do this again,” Bisiani said.

Galligan was one of several kids who grasped Anker’s message.

“Plant are … a very important part of our community,” Galligan said. “They help insects which help us — and that’s that.”

Anker was excited for the launch and hopes to continue spreading the word about the importance of pollinators and the native plants they need.

“When your kids, when your grandkids or great grandkids are here at the park, I want them to experience everything that I’m experiencing now,” the county legislator said. “If we don’t do something now, we’ll loose this forever.”

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Together with sun and sufficient rain, compost tea will help lilac plants bloom. Photo by Ellen Barcel

By Ellen Barcel

Last week, we took a look at compost in general, what it is and how it’s made and used. This week, we’ll take a look at compost tea.

Compost tea is rich in nutrients but will not change the structure of the soil as compost itself will. It brings nutrients to plants quickly, while compost itself is more slow-release with nutrients going into the soil more gradually. Plan to use your compost tea within a few hours after its made.

There are a number of ways to make compost tea, some requiring a variety of equipment. The easiest way is to take a large bucket and fill it with mature compost. Add an equal amount of water and let it steep for a few hours to overnight. Take cheesecloth or burlap and strain the liquid out of the bucket. The liquid can be applied to the soil or used to foliar feed. It is taken up quickly by the plants’ roots. Some people take the compost and put it in a burlap sack and suspend it in a bucket or barrel of water to avoid the straining step.

Some gardeners feel that compost tea needs to ferment and therefore will add molasses to the liquid. The University of Vermont Extension, however, notes that its recommendation is to avoid adding simple sugars like molasses to the mix. It also notes that if the compost tea is made with additives but not tested for safety, then food crops may not be harvested “until 90 to 120 days after the compost tea has been applied.” This is the same recommendation for raw (not composted) manure being added to the garden.

How exactly you go about making the compost tea is up to you, but taking this extra step, while time consuming, gets nutrients into your plants quickly and makes for healthy plants. Healthy plants are more disease and pest resistant. Compost tea can be sprayed on your lawn as well as used for perennials, annuals, shrubs etc.

Remember, a benefit of compost and compost tea that you make yourself is that you control exactly what goes into it. You can totally avoid pesticides and chemical fertilizers if you want. Also, remember to avoid adding diseased plant matter to the compost pile.

If you are interested in making compost tea, there are two excellent, detailed articles from the University of Vermont (www.uvm.edu/vtvegandberry/factsheets/composttea.html) and the University of Illinois (https://web.extension.illinois.edu/homecompost/materials.cfm). Cornell Cooperative Extension also has an excellent online brochure on composting in general (https://cwmi.css.cornell.edu/compostbrochure.pdf).

Ellen Barcel is a freelance writer and master gardener. To reach Cornell Cooperative Extension and its Master Gardener program, call 631-727-7850.

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Morning glories, once planted, reseed themselves year after year. Photo by Ellen Barcel

By Ellen Barcel

By now, most gardeners know two restraints on Suffolk gardens. Fertilizer cannot be used on lawns before April 1. It must be stopped by Nov. 1. This is to prevent excess fertilizer, which can’t be taken up by plants in the cold weather, from being washed into and polluting the water table and surrounding bodies of water.

The second rule has to do with what plants can no longer be propagated and sold in the county. This is to prevent invasive species from taking over and forcing out native plants. The Do Not Sell list details these plants.

But, in addition, there is a Management list — a list that fewer gardeners are familiar with. What exactly does Suffolk County’s Management list mean and include? The Management list refers to plants which are invasive, but not as invasive as the ones on the Do Not Sell list. Those on the Management list can be legally sold and propagated in the county, but due to their invasive nature, it is recommended that they not be planted on Long Island, “especially by county agencies or for homes near natural habitats.”

Here are some that you may be familiar with or considering planting. Remember, these plants are not illegal to plant and grow, but do you really want to? They’re on the Management list for a reason.

English ivy (Hedera helix) is one that really takes over. Many years ago, when I didn’t know any better, I planted a few small plants. To this day, I’m still pulling out ivy plants. They spread like crazy, love Long Island’s climate and soil, and really take over. If I knew then what I know now, I’d never have planted them.
Katsura tree (Cercidiphyllum japonicum) is a native of Japan and China. It’s grown as an ornamental tree here.

A gardening friend of mine planted several and was told that the tree was relatively slow growing. She was very surprised at how quickly they grew and how large they got. It’s hardy in zones four to nine. It does well in acidic soil. The leaves turn a beautiful red color in autumn, but its aggressive nature makes it a problem.

Asian wisteria (Chinese and Japanese) is absolutely gorgeous, but does take over. Personally, I think it should be on the Do Not Sell list, but that’s just my opinion. Unless you are prepared to control it by pruning and pulling up any volunteers, avoid this one. It does extremely well in Long Island’s climate and soil, needing little in the way of fertilizers. The vines reach for the sun, so you will sometimes see them blooming at the top of trees to which they’ve become entwined. If you must grow these wisteria, train them around a pergola or gazebo and keep the pruning shears handy.

Periwinkle (Vinca minor) has blue flowers and is sold as a ground cover because it spreads so easily. Consider this when deciding to plant — it does spread easily.

Callery pear (Pyrus calleryana or Bradford Pear) is a beautiful tree, which is why it has become so popular, with beautiful white flowers and intense burgundy leaves in fall. It’s relatively quick growing and is the one of the last trees to lose its leaves in fall. In addition, it is disease resistant. All in all a great tree? Well, yes and no. It’s known as a tree whose wood splits easily and it’s not structurally sound — definitely not a good quality. Some produce viable seeds, so they can spread quickly.

Other common plants on the Management list include Common or European barberry, Russian olive, Morning glory, California privet, European privet, White mulberry and Kentucky bluegrass. Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk’s website has a complete list of plants on the Management list; visit www.ccesuffolk.org.

Ellen Barcel is a freelance writer and master gardener. To reach Cornell Cooperative Extension and its Master Gardener program, call 631-727-7850.

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Gypsy moth caterpillars rest on the trunk of this oak tree in Farmingville during the day. Photo by Elyse Sutton

By Ellen Barcel

Recently I received a photo of a Long Island oak tree covered in gypsy moth caterpillars from a reader who noted that chopped leaves were all over her yard and the caterpillar’s droppings covered her driveway. Moths seemed to be everywhere. What was going on?

Well, periodically, when the conditions are right, infestations of certain pests seem to explode. In this case, her offenders were gypsy moth caterpillars. The adult female gypsy moth is whitish in color with a few small brown spots. The male is slightly smaller and is tan with darker brown coloring.

It’s not the moths themselves but the larvae which do a number on the leaves of so many hardwood trees. The moth is indigenous to Europe, but was introduced to the United States when someone thought they could be used to cross with silkworms to develop a silk industry here. That never worked out, but the larvae have attacked trees, particularly in the Northeast, where they have continued to spread south and west.

The gypsy moth was soon recognized as a pest, defoliating trees. Accounts from the late 1800s talk about caterpillars covering roofs and sidewalks.

The female moth lays its eggs which overwinter. In spring, the eggs hatch, and the larvae emerge and feed voraciously on leaves. Usually in early summer the larvae turn into pupa, a stage which lasts two or more weeks. Then the skin splits open and the moth emerges to start the cycle over again. This time line varies as I already saw a female gypsy moth.

Like butterflies, the moths can’t eat, but can consume moisture. So it’s not the moth that’s the problem — it’s the caterpillar. Moths tend to be active at night, while butterflies are active during the day. The moths don’t have a long lifespan, just about a week, just long enough to mate and lay eggs.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture notes that the caterpillars emerge from the eggs at about the same time that trees begin to grow in early spring. While the larvae feed on many different species of trees, on Long Island they can be found on oak,  pine, catalpa, dogwood, American holly, mountain laurel and arborvitae.

Encouraging birds to nest in your garden will help somewhat, as they will eat the caterpillars. But in a major infestation, they just can’t keep up.

The Dept. of Agriculture notes that most healthy trees can recover from infestations and grow a new set of leaves, but that trees already weakened by disease are more likely to die as a result of severe infestation. Repeated infestations also weaken trees, making them more prone to disease. Weather can affect outbreaks. Severely cold winters can kill the eggs, for example.

By now, the worst is over. But, as a gardener, what can you do if you are concerned about a future infestation? Because the life cycle of gypsy moths is year-round, control must be also. Don’t assume that now that the caterpillars are gone, the problem is over. They’ll be back again next year. The Dept. of Agriculture recommends the following:

Now:
* Diversify the type of trees you have in your garden
* Destroy egg masses if you see them — they look like a tan colored mass on wood (even firewood and wood furniture), and under leaves.
* Feed, water and fertilize trees as needed to keep them healthy. That way they can recover more easily in a major infestation.

Next spring:
*Use a band of burlap around the base of your trees, particularly oaks, in spring. Lift it up periodically to see how bad the infestation is. Then remove and destroy caterpillars manually if you can.
* Use double sided tape around trees to prevent the caterpillars from climbing up the trunk to the leaves.
* If you’ve had a particularly bad infestation this year, consider having a professional apply a pesticide next spring. This is a last resort, only to be used if your trees were badly damaged this year.

Ellen Barcel is a freelance writer and master gardener. To reach Cornell Cooperative Extension and its Master Gardener program, call 631-727-7850.

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Water quality monitors take samples and check for bacteria. Photo from Sarah Ganong

It wasn’t pretty, but it was still pretty necessary.

More than 50 volunteers came together over the weekend to plant an acre of native Spartina cordgrass at Sunken Meadow State Park in Smithtown. The planting event was one of the first major public steps in a multiyear grant to restore river and marsh habitat and strengthen the park’s resilience to severe storms.

The $2.5 million project is funded by the Hurricane Sandy Competitive Grant Program and administered by Save the Sound with a team of governmental and nonprofit partners. Sunken Meadow State Park comprises 1,300 acres including the mouth of the Nissequogue River, salt and tidal marshes, dunes, coastal forest and three miles of Long Island Sound beachfront. Attracting over 2 million visitors a year, it is often dubbed the most popular state park in the New York City metro area.

Historically, Sunken Meadow Creek connected over 120 acres of marsh habitat with the Nissequogue estuary and the Sound, but in the 1950s, the Army Corps of Engineers built an earthen dike across the creek, restricting its tidal flow and fundamentally changing the marsh’s plant community, a spokeswoman for Save the Sound said. The Sunken Meadow Restoration team has been working since 2008 to restore tidal flow to the creek. Hurricane Sandy hit the park in October 2012. Its storm surge blew through the dike, fully reconnecting the marsh to the estuary for the first time in 60 years.

Volunteers take to Sunken Meadow State Park on Sunday to plant seeds for the future. Photo from Sarah Ganong
Volunteers take to Sunken Meadow State Park on Sunday to plant seeds for the future. Photo from Sarah Ganong

“Now that tidal flow is restored to Sunken Meadow Creek, we’re excited to combine marsh restoration, green infrastructure and public education to have an even greater impact,” said Gwen Macdonald, habitat restoration director for Save the Sound, a bi-state program of Connecticut Fund for the Environment. “It’s an amazing opportunity to show millions of people what a comprehensive program for a healthy coastal ecosystem can look like, with less water pollution, better tidal flow and vibrant marshes for thriving bird, fish and wildlife populations.”

Several environmental groups from state and local levels joined forces starting in 2012 to develop a plan to build on this reconnection and prepare the park’s ecosystem for future storms. The Sunken Meadow Comprehensive Resilience and Restoration Plan was established to manage stormwater, bulk up resilience of the marshes, explore improvements to riverine habitat and improve public knowledge and understanding of the ecological communites at the park.

“Today’s planting event is a first step in restoring historic tidal wetlands at Sunken Meadow State Park,” said Amanda Bassow, director of the northeastern regional office for the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.

“We are thrilled to be able to support this project in partnership with the Department of the Interior through the Hurricane Sandy Coastal Resiliency Competitive Grant Program. The project will provide many benefits including strengthening natural coastal buffers to large storms, increasing wildlife habitat and improving water quality in the park and the surrounding waters of Long Island Sound.”

Sunday’s planting was not the only activity at the park this summer. New York Parks Department and Save the Sound have hired a summer education staffer to engage tourists and local students around issues of native versus invasive species, stormwater runoff, climate change preparedness and other topics, with a focus on opening opportunities for young nature lovers to become citizen-scientists.

The next step in the project, according to Save the Sound, is designing green infrastructure solutions for a 12-acre parking lot that drains into Sunken Meadow Creek. Incorporating stormwater best management practices in the design will reduce the pollutants that run off the parking lot and allow water to percolate into the ground, improving water quality in the creek for the wildlife that calls it home.

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Azaleas, above, as well as rhododendron do well in acidic soil. That means that most Long Island gardeners, who usually have very acidic soil, don’t have to spend time liming the soil. Photo by Ellen Barcel

By Ellen Barcel

Are you planning to renew your landscaping, put in new plants, or take out some old ones? As a gardener you need to know about plants, but you also need to consider your lifestyle and how much time and energy you’re willing to put in to achieve the effect you desire.

Do all the adults in the house work full-time jobs, some even with overtime? Do you frequently take trips during the warm weather? Are you away from your home on vacations? Do you spend lots of time at the beach? If so, you probably want to enjoy your garden when you’re home and not spend time working in it. If, on the other hand, you’re newly retired and just love getting out in the dirt, then gardening is not work — it’s a joy. Now, some things to consider.

A lawn needs to be mowed once a week to 10 days. An acquaintance of mine, many years ago, had two acres of property, almost all of it with a lush lawn. On more than one occasion I heard complaints about how much time he had to spend every weekend mowing his lawn. One alternative for him would have been to hire a service to do this weekly chore. Some people go this route, but it does cost more than putting a gallon of gas in your mower. In fact, if you have a service, you don’t even need to own and maintain a mower.

The best alternative, however, and definitely my preference if I had two acres of lawn, would be to cut back drastically on how much lawn I actually had. Plant trees and shrubs that need minimal maintenance. It’s better for the environment and better for wildlife, which will soon make your garden their home. And you will spend a lot less time mowing.

Another area to consider when deciding how much time you want to spend working in the garden is plants that are prone to diseases and insects. Roses, for example, are gorgeous but notorious for their problems with aphids as well as black spot and powdery mildew. If you absolutely adore roses and have the time, sure, plant them, knowing that you’ll need to spray for insects and diseases periodically. Look for disease-resistant varieties. Another consideration with roses is their thorns. This is a special problem if you have children or grandchildren who will be running around the yard and possibly tripping into them.

A third consideration is pruning. If you select lots of plants that are quick growing and need lots of pruning, then you’re going to use up your weekends with the sheers in your hands. This is especially true if you have topiary, which must be carefully and artistically pruned periodically to maintain the look you want.

Then there’s watering. If you have the average Long Island garden, you have one that periodically needs watering. If you go away a lot during the mild weather, what happens to your garden? Do you ignore it, only to come home to a disaster? Pay someone to come periodically and take care of it? Install an irrigation system? Remember, container plants dry out more quickly than plants in the ground and need more supplemental watering. Or do you plant only native plants, which need minimal maintenance and supplemental water.

If you don’t want to spend time adding lime to the soil (sweetening or raising the pH), use only plants that thrive in acidic soil such as rhodies, azaleas, blueberries etc.

There’s no right answer for everyone. But, you do need to look at your own time and energy level and decide which works best for you. If you love to be out in the garden, enjoy the sun on your face, get your hands dirty and love to see those little green sprouts grow and thrive, fine. If because of finances, time or energy you can’t spend that much time working in the garden, then simplify by putting in native plants, which need minimal maintenance, and spend your time enjoying your garden.

Ellen Barcel is a freelance writer and master gardener. To reach Cornell Cooperative Extension and its Master Gardener program, call 631-727-7850.

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Small, colorful vases are perfect to use in rooting cuttings. The purple vase, back right, was from the 1934 Chicago World’s Fair. Photo by Ellen Barcel

By Ellen Barcel

Once a gardener finds a really special plant, one that he or she wants more of, lots more of, the gardener begins to think about how to propagate that plant. Seeds are always a possibility — it’s worth a try — but many seeds do not breed true especially if the mother plant is a hybrid.

If you want a genetic clone — that is, an exact duplicate — you need to propagate the plant vegetatively. Wood cuttings are possible but require some work and care. Isn’t there an easier way to get more of what you have already?

Rooting cuttings in water is truly the easiest way to propagate plants. However, not all plants can be rooted in water.

The houseplants that can be propagated in water include philodendron, pothos and other viney plants. Herbs such as pineapple sage and all variety of mints can also be rooted in water. When the weather gets cold outside consider taking cuttings from begonias, coleus, impatiens, sweet potato vine and even geraniums to overwinter them in water inside. I’ve been told, though can’t verify myself, that African violet leaves will also root in water.

Shrubs hat need a lot of water, such as willows, including pussy willow, will also root easily in water. Some plants, like euonymous, will root just about anywhere. I even had one root behind the shutter on my house against the cedar shakes. Removing it carefully, I was able to plant it in the soil where it is still growing.

Some general guidelines include:
* Select a small container to hold the cuttings. A small colorful vase is particularly attractive when the sun hits the glass.
* Use room temperature water.
* Change the water periodically, say once a week or sooner if it becomes cloudy.
* Keep the water level at the same height from week to week.
* Do not add fertilizer to the water.
* Set the rooting container where it will get partial sun but not get excessively hot if its summer.
* If the end of the cutting turns brown or mushy, it’s beginning to rot. Discard this cutting and try again.
* When enough roots have formed and you move the plant to soil, make sure you use good quality potting soil appropriate for the type of plant if it’s going to be a container plant.
* Use a completely clean planter to help prevent the spread of disease to the new plant.
* Make sure you keep the new plant’s soil wet enough during the transition period. Remember, it’s been growing in pure water for weeks or even months.

Woody stems are more difficult to root in water. You usually need to use rooting hormone and put them in soil. But, if you notice tiny roots forming along the stem of a woody plant, gently bend the stem over to the ground or a pot of soil. Keep the stem pressed against the soil by weighting it down with a rock or brick. This works very well with hydrangeas. If I do this in the spring or summer, I leave the new plant attached to the mother plant until the following spring when I cut it free of the mother plant and dig it up and move it to its new home.

Cactus plants are particularly easy to propagate, but not in water. Take a broken piece, put the end in potting soil designed for cacti, water periodically but not excessively and soon you’ll have a new plant.

Ellen Barcel is a freelance writer and master gardener. To reach Cornell Cooperative Extension and its Master Gardener program, call 631-727-7850.

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