Dividing and Transplanting!

Thanks to Marie Ionotti from About.com for photos and script below!

Dividing & Transplanting

Spring is the ideal time for dividing or transplanting. Try to do this as soon as possible after the plant emerges. It's amazing how quickly plants recover from this abuse if you catch them early, when the weather is still mild and they're raring to grow.

Many perennial plants grow in an ever widening clump. After several seasons of growing, these perennial plants will begin to die out in the center and look more like a ring than a clump. To keep the plants vigorous and blooming, a technique known as 'Division' is performed. Dividing perennial plants gives you healthier, longer lived plants and the bonus of more plants.

When to divide perennials depends on the type of plant and how quickly it's growing. You don't have to wait until your perennial plants begin looking like doughnuts. In fact, it's better if you don't. Keep an eye out for clumps that have grown 2-3 times their size within 2-5 years. Any over grown clump or any clump that has simply exceeded the space allotted is a candidate for division.

It's true that dividing perennials is good for them in the long run. However it is still a shock to their system and giving them a good soaking, preferably the day before you intend to divide, will help your success.Disturbing the root system of any plant interrupts its ability to feed and hydrate itself. Insuring that the roots are well saturated before disturbing them reduces the trauma. Along the same lines as watering your perennial plant well before digging and dividing it, having the new planting hole prepared before you dig will limit the plant's time out of the ground and the stress on the root system.

A very common method of dividing perennials is to use 2 pitch forks to pry and split the plant apart. Perennial plants with fleshy roots, such as the daylily shown here, are easily pried apart with forks.Insert the forks into the center of the lifted plant so that the backs of the forks are touching each other and the tines are crossing. Press down so that the forks go through the plant. You will probably hear some cracking at this point. Let's hope it's your plant and not the handle on your pitch fork. In all seriousness, some plants are so dense that this method will not work. Exercise caution, since garden tool handles can break and send you tumbling.

Butterflies in your garden!

Perchance a butterfly would light on the end of your grandson's nose, you might want plantings that attract butterflies. This photo was taken by Mark Lisk....my son number one, of his number one son Wyatt.

Butterfly gardening has become one of the most popular hobbies today. What could bring more joy than a beautiful butterfly fluttering around your garden?! Butterflies need water, just like your plants do so keep a bird bath in the middle of your flower garden. Plant your butterfly garden in a sunny location (5-6 hours each day), but sheltered from the winds. Butterflies need the sun to warm themselves, but they won't want to feed in an area where they are constantly fighting the wind to stay on the plants. It is also a good idea to place a few flat stones in your sunny location so the butterflies can take a break while warming up.

BUTTERFLY	CATERPILLAR HOST PLANT	BUTTERFLY NECTAR SOURCE
American Painted Lady	Everlasting, Daisy, Burdock	Aster, Dogbane, Goldenrod, Mallow, Privet, Vetch
American Snout	Hackberry	Aster, Dogbane, Dogwood, Goldenrod, Pepperbush
Anise Swallowtail	Queen Anne's Lace	Buddleia, Joe Pye Weed
Baltimore Checkerspot	Turtlehead, False Foxglove, Plantain	Milkweed, Viburnum, Wild Rose
Black Swallowtail	Parsley, Dill, Fennel	Aster, Buddleia, Joe Pye Weed, Alfalfa
Clouded Sulphur	Clover	Goldenrod, Grape Hyacinth, Marigold
Cloudless Sulphur	Cassia, Apple, Clover	Zinnia, Butterfly Bush, Cosmos, Cushion Mum
Comma	Elm, Hops, Nettle	Butterfly Bush, Dandelion
Common Buckeye	Snapdragon, Loosestrife	Carpetweed
Common Checkered Skipper	Mallow/Hollyhock	Shepherd's needles, Fleabane, Aster, Red Clover
Common Sulphur	Vetch	Aster, Dogbane, Goldenrod
Common Wood-nymph	Purpletop Grass	Purple Coneflower
Eastern Pygmy Blue	Glasswort	Salt Bush
Eastern Tailed Blue	Clover, Peas	Dogbane
Falcate Orangetip	Rock Cress, Mustard	Mustard, Strawberry, Chickweed, Violet
Giant Swallowtail	Citrus	Joe Pye Weed, Buddleia
Gorgone Checkerspot	Sunflower	Sunflower, Goldenrod
Gray Hairstreak	Mallow/Hollyhock, Clover, Alfalfa	Thistle, Ice Plant
Great Spangled Fritillary	Violet	Thistle, Black-eyed Susan, Milkweed, Ironweed
Greater Fritillary	Violet	Joe Pye Weed
Gulf Fritillary	Pentas, Passion-vine	Joe Pye Weed
Hackberry Emperor	Hackberry	Sap, Rotting fruit, Dung, Carrion
Little Glassywing	Purpletop Grass	Dogbane, Zinnia
Little Yellow	Cassia, Clover	Clover
Monarch	Milkweed	Dogbane, Buddleia
Mourning Cloak	Willow, Elm, Poplar, Birch, Nettle, Wild Rose	Butterfly Bush, Milkweed, Shasta Daisy, Dogbane
Orange Sulphur	Vetch. Alfalfa, Clover	Alfalfa, Aster, Clover, Verbena
Orange-barred Sulphur	Cassia	Many plants
Painted Lady	Thistle, Daisy, Mallow/Hollyhock, Burdock	Aster, Zinnia
Pearl Crescent	Aster	Dogbane
Pipevine Swallowtail	Dutchman's Pipe, Pipevine	Buddleia
Polydamus Swallowtail	Pipevine	Buddleia
Queen	Milkweed	Milkweed, Beggar-tick, Daisy
Question Mark	Hackberry, Elm, Nettle, Basswood	Aster, Milkweed, Sweet Pepperbush
Red Admiral	Nettle	Stonecrop, Clover, Aster, Dandelion, Goldenrod, Mallow
Red-spotted Purple	Black Cherry, Willow, Poplar	Privet, Poplar
Silver-spotted Skipper	Black Locust, Wisteria	Dogbane, Privet, Clover, Thistle, Winter Cress
Silvery Checkerspot	Sunflower	Cosmos, Blanket Flower, Marigold, Phlox, Zinnia
Sleepy Orange	Cassia, Clover	Blue Porter, Beggar Tick, Aster
Spicebush Swallowtail	Spicebush, Sassafras	Dogbane, Joe Pye Weed, Buddleia
Spring Azure	Dogwood, Viburnum, Blueberry, Spirea, Apple	Blackberry, Cherry, Dogwood, Forget-me-not, Holly
Tiger Swallowtail	Black Cherry, Birch, Poplar, Willow	Tree sap, Joe Pye Weed, Buddleia
Variegated Fritillary	Violet, Passion Vine	Joe Pye Weed
Viceroy	Willow, Poplar, Fruit Trees	Thistle, Beggar-tick, Goldenrod, Milkweed
Western Tailed Blue	Clover, Peas	Legumes
White Admiral	Birch, Willow, Poplar, Honeysuckle	Aphid Honeydew, Bramble Blossom
Zabulon Skipper	Purpletop Grass	Blackberry, Vetch, Milkweed, Buttonbush,Thistle
Zebra Longwing	Passion-vine	Verbena, Lantana, Shepard's Needle
Zebra Swallowtail	Pawpaw	Dogbane, Joe Pye Weed, Buddleia, Privet, Blueberry

The Birds and the Bees! Another good reason for organic gardening!

Pollinating is the busy work of bees and birds...love gone wild!
Bee Pollination

Bees are the most productive pollinators because they intentionally collect pollen for their larva. Their legs have bristles that act as a pollen brush, with the first two pairs of legs brushing pollen from their hairy body and the third pair forming a pollen comb that collects pollen from bristles. The comb forces pollen into the pollen baskets on the legs. Bees have a sucking tongue (shorter than the butterflies and moths) that sips nectar, which the bees regurgitate into honey, which is food for the rest of the hive.

Hummingbird contributions to the garden.

Hummingbird pollinated flowers have a tendency to produce a certain amount of nectar that is drained by the birds. After the bird leaves to hunt for more nectar, the flowers will refill with more nectar, to encourage multiple opportunities to attract more birds and successful pollination.

Pest resistant plantings.

Ladybugs are one of the good guys!


How to Plant a Pest Resistant Garden!

Pests bug me! Especially in my garden, so I have learned to pick plants that cut down on pest maintenance chores and the use of pesticides.

1. There are many plants that will attract beneficial insects that prey on pests that damage your garden. Not all bugs are pests however. Ladybugs and praying mantis are good examples of beneficial bugs in the garden!

2. Repels:
   Artemisia - produces a strong antiseptic aroma that repels most insects. Use in flower borders or in a vegetable garden.
   Basil - oils repel thrips, flies and mosquitoes.
   Borage - repels tomato hornworms and cabbage worms and attracts beneficial bees and wasps.
   Catnip - repels just about everything, except for cats! Keeps away flea beetles, aphids, Japanese beetles, squash bugs, ants, and weevils.
   Chives - repels Japanese beetles and carrot rust flies.
   Dahlias - repel nematodes.
   Garlic - planted near roses it repels aphids. It also deters codling moths, Japanese beetles, root maggots, snails, and carrot root fly.

3. Attracts:
   Dill - attracts hoverflies and predatory wasps, and its foliage is used as food by swallowtail butterfly caterpillars. Tomato hornworms are also attracted to dill, so if you plant it at a distance, you can draw these destructive insects away from your tomatoes. Dill repels aphids and spider mites. Sprinkle dill leaves on squash plants to repel squash bugs.
   Hyssop - attracts honeybees to the garden.
   Lavender - a favorite among many beneficial insects, but also repels fleas.
   Sunflowers - draw aphids away from other plants. Ants will move their colonies onto sunflowers but sunflowers are unaffected.

Quote of the Day!

I once had a sparrow alight upon my shoulder for a moment, while I was hoeing in a village garden, and I felt that I was more distinguished by that circumstance that I should have been by any epaulet I could have worn. ~Henry David Thoreau

Nature's insect control.

Do bugs bug your roses? Do caterpillars enjoy your cabbage before you do? Do mosquitoes make it impossible to enjoy warm summer nights? Maybe it’s time to enlist Mother Nature’s insect-control army to improve your quality of life. Bring on the birds! A single bird can eat 1,000 insects in an afternoon, providing it with critical amounts of fat, protein, and potassium needed to maintain its high metabolism level. Compared to insecticides, birds provide an efficient job of insect control—with no negative impact on the environment. Sign ‘em up!

To enlist the birds, you need to learn the species of insect eaters that reside in your part of the country and then effectively attract them to your property. “Insect-eating birds help control pests at every stage of life,” says Judy Barrett, an expert on organic gardening from Taylor, Texas. “They eat insect eggs, larvae, and adults. Birds such as barn swallows and purple martins can eat pounds of mosquitoes and other flying insects in a day. Robins, mockingbirds, chickadees, nuthatches, woodpeckers, and titmice are all vociferous insect eaters. Bluebirds’ favorite summer foods include grasshoppers, crickets, ground beetles, spiders, and caterpillars.” Other insect eaters include meadowlarks, red-eyed vireos, yellow warblers, Baltimore orioles, wrens, and eastern phoebes. Even birds you might not think of as insect eaters feed insects to their young to provide the protein they need to grow in their early days of life. By providing the birds’ basic needs—food, water, shelter, and a place to raise their young —you will be treated to an unending source of entertainment and beauty while keeping your insect population under control. Cultivating plants that produce seeds, fruits, and berries will provide food. Allowing flowers such as sunflowers, goldenrod, thistles, cone flowers, and daisies to go to seed will attract finches, juncos, and sparrows and other seed-feeding birds, which feed their young insects. Stocking feeders with seed that is popular with the birds you are trying to attract can enhance your natural feeding efforts. Sunflower seeds, cracked corn, and nyjer thistle are favorites. Birds have preferences of where and what they eat. Some like to feed on the ground, while others prefer to eat at raised feeders. By providing several different types of feeders, each filled with the types of feed birds are attracted to and locating them where those birds prefer to feed, will assure frequent and regular visits.

Your relationship with birds is one of mutual benefit. You provide for some of the birds’ basic needs, and they help keep down the insect population and treat you to an unending source of entertainment and pleasure. It’s a win-win situation if ever there was one. To learn more about attracting insect-eating birds to your backyard, go to the National Wildlife Federation’s Web site, www.nwf.org. You will find information on creating a habitat, established habitats in your area that you can visit, a list of resources to help in establishing a habitat, and much more.

Beautiful color mixes well with garden veggies!

This photo of summer flowers was taken by Keith Couch at the Boise Capital Farmers Market. Every year growing up I heard Mom and Dad fuss a little bit about planting flowers in the food garden. And every year....Mom won out with marigolds and zinnias and cosmos cheering up the beans and tomato plants. A row of marigolds actually acts as a natural insect barrier.