SETBACKS, UPDATES & BACK TO SCHOOL

And you ask, so where you been?!  Yeah, I know, it’s been almost two months since I added a new post.  While I have been kind of busy with other stuff, I mostly got discouraged…let me explain.  You know that lovely piece I did on Dietes last month and how I thought I solved the problem I was having by adding a drip emitter to each plant?  Well, not only did that not revive my Dietes, they’ve all but croaked!!   Not that it’s particularly relevant but I happened to go out of town for four days in mid-August; temperatures were 103° to 106° for the period…pretty typical for August.  When I got home, I noticed all three plants were virtually dead.  It happened so fast, I first thought maybe they’d somehow been sabotaged (poisoned) or some HUGE dog peed on them…to death.  When I became more rational I figured something else must be going on.  I’ll elaborate on my latest theory momentarily.

I probably could have attached a different photo, doing a better job of isolating Simba, my African Sumac, but I like this photo.  Simba’s in the northwest corner of our back yard; in my picture, look towards upper right corner.  Doesn’t she look marvelous (think Billy Crystal)?!!  As I think I mentioned before, I shut off all the emitters under the tree in mid-July and have deep watered (about 3 hours each time) once in August and again this month.  While I’m sure the over-abundance of water impacted Simba, I also think the hot summer with relentless winds played significant parts too.  Come spring, I plan to hire a professional tree-trimmer to give Simba a major pruning.  I think this will help her survive next summer’s heat a bit more easily.

As of last Friday, I now have 18 hours of Master Gardener training under my belt.  The classes are great!  The main subjects to date have been desert bioscape, elementary botany, propagation and soil.  Needless to say, I have already learned a great deal but to conserve space and time here, I’ll elaborate on what I consider my top two favorite topics.  First: Right Plant, Right Spot.  Admittedly, this does not sound like rocket-science; why would anyone want to buy a “wrong” plant?!  Here, in the midst of the Mojave Desert, you’d be surprised.  One of the Master Gardener professors refers to this anomaly as Desert Denial and I’m sad to say I’ve fallen victim to the malady on more than one occasion.

I have my theory as to why Desert Denial is so prevalent in southern Nevada: most people in Las Vegas (including yours truly) are not from here; they’re from California, New York, Florida, Minnesota and dozens of other states…not to mention other countries.  Where I came from, you can go to a nursery, buy a plant, put it in the ground and have better than even odds that said plant will survive.   In the desert, the odds of success are way less.  Why?  Because the nurseries are in Desert Denial too!!  Case in point, my ever-loving Dietes bicolor, which is not included among plants suitable for Climate Zone 11 (Western Garden Book), is readily available at all nurseries in Las Vegas.  I’m not saying that Butterfly Iris won’t grow here…I only need to stroll down my street and see neighbors’ plants that are seemingly doing well to know that they do grow here.  My point is they are not native to our desert nor are they really desert-adapted; at a minimum they require considerable TLC before being truly established in a desert bioscape.   No doubt I would be better off selecting a plant other than Dietes, but I cannot yet say what I’ll end up replacing my three lifeless plants with.  I tend to be a glutton for punishment!

The second of my two top topics might best be summarized with an English proverb I found on The Old Farmer’s Almanac website: The garden must first be prepared in the soul or else it will not flourish.  I think my Master Gardener instructor would probably agree with the notion that soil is indeed the soul of the garden.

So, going back to the problems I’ve been having with Dietes, we already know this is not a great choice for the desert.  But since we also know they can survive here, what else might be going on?  Soil issues and more specifically, soil texture issues.  From Wikipedia: “Soil texture is a soil property used to describe the relative proportion of different grain sizes of mineral particles in a soil.  Particles are grouped according to their size into what are called soil separates. These separates are typically named clay, silt, and sand.”  In our soil class last week we had a homework assignment to determine what soil texture we have in our yard at home.  I honestly don’t know why I would have expected a different outcome, but I was surprised to learn our soil is very high in sand (and you’re probably thinking, like, duh, you’re living in the desert…HELLO!!!).  Nevertheless, like nothing else so far, this really hit home with respect to my Dietes.  It would seem the copious amount of water I applied to this non-desert plant is seeping through the root ball as well as through the sandy soil.  Compound the situation with 103° plus temperatures and voilà, dead plants!  I have one or two other tests I want to perform on the soil before I’m satisfied that I am finally right.  And if I am, I’ll then need to decide on the best approach to amending the soil before replanting…especially if I stubbornly insist on Dietes again!

In closing, one (repeated) suggestion: Since my new posts appear on rather an erratic schedule, you might want to subscribe to an e-mail notification whenever I add something.  To begin, just click on Sign Me Up!

BUTTERFLY IRIS, AFRICAN IRIS, FORTNIGHT LILY, WILD IRIS

Dietes bicolor, Dietes iridioides, Dietes grandiflora

While much confusion exists about the common name, the three featured plants are essentially the same but with variations in flower size and flower color.  A number of years ago, Dietes was thought to be part of the genus Moraea; in fact my ancient copy of Sunset Western Garden Book (1977) lists ‘Fortnight Lily’ (and its cousins) among the Moraea.  The two genuses were eventually separated mostly because Dietes grows from a rhizome and Moraea from a corm.  In botany, a rhizome is a characteristically horizontal stem of a plant that is usually found underground, often sending out roots and shoots from its nodes.  Another example of a rhizome is ginger root, available at most grocery stores.  Corms, sometimes confused with true bulbs, are short, vertical, swollen, underground plant stems that serve as water/nutrient storage vessels to help plants survive drought, heat and/or winter.

What I planted in early June of this year is Dietes bicolor (‘Butterfly Iris’).  Dietes is Greek for “with two relatives” in reference to the dual relationship to Iris and Moraea; obviously, bicolor means having two colors. Dietes is a member of the family Iridaceae.

Before I discuss caring for Dietes, I want to elaborate on how to identify one species from the next.  Keep in mind that growers and therefore nurseries are somewhat cavalier about which common name they pair up with which botanical name when they label them.

Dietes bicolor (‘Butterfly Iris,’ ‘Yellow Wild Iris,’ ‘Peacock Flower’) has cream or yellow flowers.

Dietes grandiflora and Dietes iridioides both have white flowers marked with yellow and violet; appear similar in photographs, but they are quite different:

D. grandiflora (‘Wild Iris,’ ‘Large Wild Iris,’ ‘Fairy Iris’) flowers are much larger, last three days, and have dark spots at the base of the outer tepals; the plant is larger overall.

D. iridioides (‘Fortnight Lily,’ ‘Wild Iris,’ ‘African Iris,’ ‘Cape Iris,’ ‘Morea Iris’) flowers are small, last only one day, and lack the spots.

Actually, I do have one more topic (can you spell r – a – n – t) before I proceed with Butterfly Iris.  I mentioned a few weeks ago that watering issues might prove to be a life-long challenge for me; I think some previous posts have affirmed this.  Here’s another example.  About 10 days ago I noticed my three Butterfly Iris (according to Ms. Language-Person, the plural of Iris, the plant, can either be Iris or Irises) were doing rather poorly.  For that matter, my Society Garlic wasn’t looking too hot either.  All in all, the other shrubs were doing fine, so it pretty much had to be Pests or Irrigation (bugs or water).  I examined plants for insects and found none…ergo, a watering problem.  I thought about this quite a bit and then wandered to a somewhat related subject.  I began to wonder why it was that:

(1)    Plants for sale at Las Vegas nurseries look happy/healthy and my same plants were “looking like crap.”  I’ll explain quotation mark momentarily.

(2)    A very significant percentage of shrubs at these same nurseries reside under polyethylene shade cloth or lattice structures, including those labeled FULL SUN.

Here’s today’s geography lesson.  Las Vegas is situated in the Mojave Desert, surrounded by dry mountains with undeveloped areas dominated by desert vegetation and limited wildlife.  City elevation is around 2,030 ft above sea level.  Much of the landscape is rocky and dusty.  Las Vegas’ climate is an arid, desert climate; averages about 300 sunny days per year and more than 3800 hours of sunshine; averages about 4.2 inches of rainfall, occurring on an average of 29 days per year; snowfall is rare but possible.  Las Vegas shares Koppen climate classification (can you dig THAT?) with Yuma, Arizona, Mexicali, Mexico and Dubai, UAE!!!

Now let’s explore the plants at Las Vegas nurseries.  With a small handful of exceptions, the plants they sell are not native to the Mojave Desert.  Rather, they come from other locales like California.  So what does that mean?  It means many plants which flourish in places like Azusa, California, with an average high in July of 89°, have adapted (somewhat) to the Las Vegas desert climate.  The nurseries know this and prefer to keep most of their inventory in partial shade so plants stay vibrant and people want to buy them.  Trust me.  You certainly would not buy my Butterfly Iris in its present condition.

OK, so what’s the problem with my Iris?  I took a field trip to one of my favorite nurseries to find out.  I posed the question from (1) above and was told I wasn’t giving the Dietes enough water (AAUGH!!!) and when I told him I had one drip emitter per plant, he (somewhat sarcastically) rebuked me and said I should have three emitters for each plant.  Oddly enough, another guy at the same nursery but in the sprinkler department said two was enough…I went with two per plant, at least for now.  I’ll report at a later date if/when my plants recover.

Before everyone reading this falls asleep, let’s recap lessons learned.  First, never forget it’s a desert out there!  Second, if a plant needs more water to thrive (not just survive), don’t assume you need to run your sprinklers longer; perhaps more emitters is the answer.

Once again I feel I must rush through the “care and feeding” part of my discourse but at least Dietes is pretty simple.  AHS Encyclopedia says to grow in “moist but well-drained soil.”  The University of Florida (!!) Cooperative Extension recommends “Plants in the full sun appear to do best with frequent irrigation…Plants grow…in standing water, making it ideal for water gardens and wet soil.”  Hmmmmmm.  An all-purpose fertilizer while blooming will improve overall appearance and health of plant.  No pests to speak of and disease is all but non-existent if soil drains well.  Average winter tolerance of the three species is to 20°.  Pruning isn’t needed except to cut out dead leaves. Do not remove flower stalks of D. iridioides; they can bloom for years.  If you want additional plants for your garden or for friends, lift the plant and divide the rhizome…no more frequently than every three years.

Post Scripts:

• RIP Wally.  He made a valiant effort but succumbed to our record-breaking high temperatures this past July.
• I named the African Sumac, “Simba.”  If I have to explain that, please unsubscribe to my blog.

CREEPING ROSEMARY

Rosmarinus officinalis ‘Prostratus’ ['Dwarf Rosemary']

Perhaps mom was a fan of Shakespeare’s Hamlet.  I recall a passage she regularly quoted while cooking: “rosemary…for remembrance.”  Rosemary’s symbolic and medicinal history goes back thousands of years.  Stemming from the Greek words Ros Marinus, rosemary translates to Dew of the Sea; it was said to be draped around Aphrodite when first born, rising from the sea.  In recent history, a small 2003 study revealed the olfactory impact of rosemary’s essential oils, which produce a significantly enhanced performance for overall quality of memory.  Evidently, they found that the ursolic acid in rosemary sustains acetylcholine levels and may help delay memory loss.  The degeneration of acetylcholine-producing neurons in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s has been blamed for the symptom of memory loss.  That’s it for today’s mythology and chemistry lessons!

Our landscape has a total of six rosemary plants – two in the front and four in the back.  For this post, I decided to include a photo of another part of our backyard…including the “ceement pond” (Jed Clampett, Beverly Hillbillies)…which showcases the grey-green rosemary against the pink sandstone rockscape.

Most of the rosemary around these parts is the creeping variety; the other type is generally referred to as the upright variety.  The upright cultivars of rosemary, which can reach 6 feet tall, make excellent topiary animals.  As I think about it, shaping topiary animals would probably be on my bucket list…if I had such a thing.  ‘Prostratus’, which I’m discussing here, is the Latin root for prostrate (not to be confused with prostate) which means trailing on the ground; a good synonym is procumbent (being or having stems that trail along the ground without rooting).  Wow! Mythology, chemistry, etymology and vocabulary all in one post!!  Creeping rosemary maxes out at 2 feet vertically but has a 4 to 8 foot spread.

Based on first-hand knowledge and what I’ve read in print and on the web, rosemary is pretty darned hard to kill in Zone 11.  To illustrate, I’ll use my “pencil” approach.  Let me tell you, it took close to an hour for me to come up with the acronym P*E*N*C*I*L©.  Five out of the six letters are pretty good fits but one is a REAL stretch, including the spelling, but I needed an “E.”

Pests – Insects, Diseases

Esthetics – Pruning, Trimming, Thinning

Nourishment – Fertilizing

Climate – Heat/Cold Tolerance (Sunset, USDA Hardiness, AHS Heat Zone)

Irrigation – Watering Requirements

Light – Sun/Shade

While my acronym is clever and fairly useful, the items aren’t really in the order I’d prefer.  But then again, who would remember C*L*I*N*E*P?  One more aside before I move on.  The copyright symbol is a joke.  Ha Ha.  While I wait for my filing to be completed, I suggest that you make a token payment each time you use my oh-so clever PENCIL acronym: 25-cents if you envision it; $1.00 if you say it aloud and $5.00 if you use it in print.  I’ll give you my PayPal information in a future post.

OK, let’s wrap this up!  As I said, rosemary is one tough plant.  The evergreen grows great in arid climates as well as quite a few other locales.  Rosmarinus officinalis loves full sun but would do OK in partial sun.  In the desert, rosemary needs some water, but not a lot…do not overwater.  Fertilize if the spirit moves you, but do so lightly and just twice during the spring, about three months apart.  Pruning is also optional and should be done with a light hand too. Pinching off new tip growth encourages bushiness; gentle pruning to confine the rosemary is best done before the summer heat hits.  Insect problems are very infrequent and disease is due mostly to root rot caused by, you guessed it, overwatering.

Oh, did I already mention rosemary is an herb and is a marvelous addition to roughly a zillion recipes?!  However, if you have any male dogs, be judicious about what part of the plant you use in cooking.

PS:  Since my new posts appear on rather an erratic schedule, you might want to subscribe to an e-mail notification each time I add something.

AFRICAN SUMAC

Rhus lancea

One of the advantages of writing your own blog is the latitude to say pretty much whatever you want.  To wit: as I said earlier, ‘gardening…is not an exact science;’ and to quote Eric A. Johnson in his Guide to Gardening – Plants for the Arid West: Pruning, Planting & Care (which I believe is a very worthwhile book), “Growing and caring for plants is often as much art as it is science.”

To some, gardening is a crap shoot and/or a caveat emptor experience…the root of the problem I want to talk about here.  Case in point: since about mid-June, our African Sumac has been dropping a lot of leaves.  I had my theory as to the reason, but thought it would be wise to check with an expert – the horticulturist at the (Las Vegas) Springs Preserve.  I sent him an e-mail: “…I would guess tree is about 7 years old.  The “good news” is my tree doesn’t seem to be the only one having this problem, my neighbors’ trees and the trees in common areas of Summerlin Willows village seem to have it too. Specifically, the tree is dropping an incredible number of (yellow) leaves. I don’t remember this happening last year…but that might be a function of my selective memory.  My first thought was I was over-watering (135 minutes total spread over 3 days per week); but I’m quite sure I was watering more last year (210 minutes total spread over 7 days/week).  I haven’t yet checked the soil under the tree to see if it’s wet on non-watering days, mostly because of the other sumacs in my neighborhood are doing the same thing.  So, my question for you is this: is it normal for African Sumacs to drop so many leaves (and I mean a lot) this time of year?”

He answered promptly and agreed I was watering too much: “Yes it is normal for African Sumacs to drop there leaves.  After reading your question, I am sure that you are overwatering it too much and this causes an increase amount of top growth. Many of the leaves down in the canopy of the tree can’t get light and as a result they drop.  Remember down in Africa these trees hardly get a drop of water and they are considered weeds down there. We put them in confined environments and water often and even overfertilize them and this generates lots of top growth.” Sorry to be long-winded, but I’m trying to make an important point.

There was one other thing that was bothering me about our tree.  I feared some kind of pest or disease was shriveling the newly emerging leaves.  Rather than bother the Springs Preserve horticulturist a second time, I figured I’d ask at one of the nurseries I frequent.  And so this past Monday I did.  First, I checked their sumacs to see if there were any with similarly withered new growth; yes, there were!  I surmised that this must indeed be normal (and in fact I later found the following on the web, “When new leaves first emerge, they look distorted and seem stuck to each other … this is normal.”) but figured I’d double-check at the information counter.  April, who had helped me before wasn’t available so I ended up asking one of the regular nursery staff.  I showed him a tree with the distorted leaves and he said (without much conviction, which I always find bothersome) that he didn’t see any evidence of pests, so it must be normal.  In casual conversation, I mentioned about the dropping leaves and my over-watering.  He replied, “You can’t over-water these trees; they just drop leaves when it gets hot and they’re stressed.”

Hang in there, I’ve nearly reached the end of my rant.  As a neophyte gardener, who do I believe – Dr. Green Thumb at the Springs Preserve or this greenhorn (don’t you just love my puns?) nurseryman?  Obviously, I’m going with the good doctor.  But what if I’d only made the trip to the nursery and didn’t send my e-mail?  I probably would have gone home, dragged the garden hose over to the sumac and watered it for the next 48 hours.  I do want to give the young nurseryman a little credit though; sumacs do drop leaves during the hot months however they CAN be over-watered.  The moral to this story is use caution when asking for gardening advice, because it may not always be the right advice.  Checking credentials never hurts.

So now that I’m already a page and a half into this post, it’s passed time to present the salient attributes of Rhus lancea.  This synopsis is from the University of Arizona Arboretum website: “This slow growing tree reaches heights of 15 to 30 feet with an equal or greater spread.  The canopy of this evergreen is very dense when young, thinning somewhat when more mature…This tree is typically multi-trunked and produces a high number of branches that grow in every direction. There are fissures in the dark gray trunk which reveal an orange mahogany color beneath. The palmately compound leaves form in groups of 3 with leaflets that are 2 to 3 inches long. The leaves are shiny and dark green. The small flowers are whitish-green and give way to yellow or red berrylike fruit that grows in clusters. The fruit contains small black seeds with a paper like coating.” Why reinvent the wheel when UofA did such a fine job describing the African Sumac?

Other tidbits:

• Hardy to 20°F
• Immensely heat tolerant
• Very low water use; water only 12-15 times per year in Sunset Zone 11
• Rhus lancea does not appear in The AHS A-Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants and I’m not sure why
• Trees are dioecious, either distinctly female or distinctly male (ours is female)
• Spring pruning is best; clean out dead interior branches; prune up droopy lower branches; avoid making many heavy cuts on large branches at one time
• Similar to Texas sage, prone to Cotton Root Rot; often caused by over-watering
• Fertilizing seems to be a bit of a web (and print) mystery. With that said, we had all our trees deep-root fertilized in February; another company recommended both spring and fall. We’ll probably pass on the fall fertilizer application.

OLEANDER [Nerium Oleander]

Before I get started on my synopsis of oleander, I want to fulfill my promise from the last post and list what shrubs and trees grow in our front and back yards.  Here’s a photo of the front yard…back yard is a bit trickier and will have to wait.  The list is all inclusive as of today and reflects only common names.  This will serve as a blueprint for upcoming posts.

Dwarf Bottlebrush  √	Wallflower  √
Texas Sage  √	Oleander
Rosemary	Lantana
Dwarf Myrtle	Society Garlic
Dwarf Mock Orange	Butterfly Iris
Boxleaf Euonymus	Nandina
Cassia	Red Yucca
French Lavender	Regal Mist
Lady Banks’ Rose	Sycamore
Ash	African Sumac
Privet

BTW, this table did not copy in the same format from Word to my post.   I tried and tried to fix it, but no luck. 

Oleander is one of the most popular evergreen shrubs in desert climates…and for good reason.  It’s been cultivated for at least 2000 years, can withstand high temperature extremes with a minimum amount of water and sports a profusion of flowers between May and October.

Depending on the variety, oleanders can grow to a height of 4 feet (dwarf forms) up to 16 feet; flowers can be red, white, pink, salmon and shades in between.  A local Las Vegas expert feels oleander can do without fertilizer while AHS recommends a monthly application of balanced liquid fertilizer. Me, I’m going with local advice.

Pruning oleander requires a special discussion because all parts of this shrub are poisonous; the main toxins being cardiac glycosides which can cause life-threatening heart damage.  Urban legends abound regarding lethal incidents involving oleander, e.g. an entire Boy Scout troop succumbing after using oleander branches to roast weenies.  Do use care when selecting this plant for your landscaping if you have pets and/or small children.  All the same, oleander leaves, thanks to their horrific flavor, are hardly ever ingested by even the most indiscriminate of canines.  By the way, the list of poisonous plants is quite lengthy and includes other familiar plants like sago palm, lantana (especially the green berries), poinsettia, and privet.

Back to pruning.  First and foremost, do wear gloves, a long-sleeve shirt and eye protection whenever trimming oleander.  Incidental contact with foliage can cause dermatitis in particularly sensitive individuals.  Tip pruning during the summer months is a good way to keep shrub neat as well as insuring sunlight reaches the interior of the plant.  Light tip pruning, just above a strong bud, removes only a few inches of stem tips yet stimulates strong branching.

A couple more points before closing: oleander dislikes temperatures below 20°F and may require spring pruning to remove frost-damaged stems; dwarf varieties do quite well in containers; oleander can be trimmed and shaped as a tree, but takes considerable and ongoing work; aphids and scale insects are the most frequently occurring of the pests.

A couple of weeks ago, I asked for suggestions for a phrase I might use each time I sign off my blog.  The one I’ll be using, at least for a while, is “Can You Dig It?”  As a Boomer, I just couldn’t resist this double-entendre.  Thanks to everyone who passed along a clever idea!

TEXAS SAGE

Leucophyllum frutescens ‘Compacta’

It was around 6:30 a.m. yesterday when I took photos of the Texas sage in our front yard.  By the time I thought of taking a picture of the entire yard, the sun was already too high for a well-lit shot.  With twelve weeks until I begin the Master Gardener program, there’s a potential for as many posts to chat about the 16 species of plants and trees in our front yard plus the 3 or 4 in the back.  If I “double up” on some weeks, I can give an overview for each plant currently growing on the property and hopefully complete the task before mid-September.  For my next post, I promise to attach a wide-angle shot of the front yard along with a list of plants/shrubs.

One more leading remark before diving into my discussion of Texas sage: I am rather pleased with my budding knack for photographing plants AND for inserting them into my blog.  As you can see, my photo is a “picture-in-picture.”  Pretty cool, huh?

Based on everything I’ve read both in books and on-line, Texas sage seems to thrive on neglect!  If you remember little else, remember infrequent watering and no fertilizer for this evergreen shrub.  If you recognize the plant in my photo but not the name, you might be familiar with one or two of its other names – Texas Ranger, Cenizo, Barometer Bush, Silverleaf, Purple Sage or ‘Bertstar Dwarf’.  Texas sage isn’t a sage at all; it’s actually a member of the Scrophulariaceae family which also includes penstemons and snap-dragons.  BTW, Texas sage is nicknamed Barometer Bush because rain and high humidity (such as during ‘monsoon season’) throughout the summer and fall months can trigger spectacular flower displays.  And even though the flowers don’t last more than a few days, bees, hummingbirds and butterflies make the most of the blooms before they wilt and drop off.

Native to Mexico and Texas, Leucophyllum frutescens is a fast growing plant; it loves our dry desert climate, thrives on full sun and doesn’t balk at reflected heat or hot winds.  Another bonus is Texas sage is all but immune to garden pests.  The short list of diseases includes Cotton Root Rot, a fast-acting fungus, causing wilt at the upper portion of the plants first.  Again, if you don’t over-water, you shouldn’t have to worry about fungus.

As for pruning, please fight the urge to shear Texas sage akin to poodles, gumdrops or bonbons!  Not only does selective trimming preserve the natural shape of the plant, in this case it also promotes an abundance of flowers!  As with most shrubs in our climate, the best time of year for pruning is when the risk of frost has passed.  I found a very interesting Internet article about trimming Leucophyllum frutescens. And rather than summarize their tips here, I’m providing the web address…remember that while Phoenix, Az. is hot it’s in Zone 13, not 11:  http://www.mariposahorticultural.com/aTrimm.php Also, I read about what may be an excellent resource on the broad subject of pruning; it’s Johnson’s Guide to Gardening Plants for the Arid West: Pruning, Planting & Care.  I’ll pick it up at the library in a couple of days and will let you know what I think.

WALLY

Erysimum x allionii syn. Cheiranthus (Siberian wallflower) ‘Citrona™ Yellow’

Wally is adopted; but please don’t tell him!  Before he came to live with us, Wally was struggling to survive our desert climate.  He was living with my BFF who thought if I took him in I might be able to revive him.  After a modest amount of time researching Erysimum, I discovered neither Sunset’s Western Garden Book or The American Horticultural Society’s Encyclopedia of Garden Plants felt the desert was a suitable climate for a wallflower.  Hmmmmm, another inauspicious beginning for the newest member of the family.  Oh, and speaking of family AND because I bet you’re dying to know, Wally is part of the Brassicaceae family which includes notables like mustard, cabbage and broccoli.  Who knew?!   BTW, the “x” in Wally’s botanical name indicates he’s a hybrid.

On May 6, 2010 Wally got planted in the shade of our African Sumac tree; photo was taken about a week later.  Even though our high temperatures this May were upper-70s to mid-80s, I figured he’d have the best chance of surviving July and August if he was in filtered sunlight.  It’s been over six weeks since I planted Wally and he’s still alive.

I just took a break and went outside for a closer examination.  I wouldn’t say Wally is vibrantly thriving, but he is doing OK; he’s a bit “leggy” and has only two yellow flowers. I’m thinking I should give him more water whenever Bob gets an extra drink.  In any event, I’d better not get too attached to Wally ‘cause he won’t be around forever.  Quoting the Mississippi State University’s Office of Agricultural Communications, “Technically, they are biennial, but we will be treating them as annuals planted each fall.  Reports show that some plantings are still around after six years, but this is from self-sowing.  Expect it to be an annual.”

It’s time for a few asides and an announcement.  One of my biggest challenges now, and perhaps forever, is watering – how much and how often…over the course of the seasons.  Did you know you can kill plants as quickly by over-watering as you can by under-watering?  I suspect Watering ABCs will be a featured topic for more than one IN THE ZONE post.

If I may use another cooking analogy: just because I can cook, it doesn’t suggest I rival Wolfgang Puck.  Similarly, just because I love gardening doesn’t mean I’m an expert gardener or have a particularly green thumb.  The good news is I might kill a plant or two (or three or four…), but I probably won’t poison you with a bad casserole.  Re-reading the last 3-4 sentences, even I’m a little confused; but hopefully you get my point.

I already forgot my third aside so I’ll move on to my announcement.  Beginning September 15^th I am starting the University of Nevada Cooperative Extension’s Master Gardener Program.  Citing their brochure, “…an educational program designed to teach volunteers gardening techniques that are compatible with our desert community.”   I am really, really excited about taking these classes and will do my best to share key points as often as I can.

Oh yeah, I remember my third aside.  I am so very glad my goal is to become a serious gardener (horticulturist) and not a botanist.  I find plant classification and nomenclature way confusing.  Hopefully I’ll get a little better at that but don’t expect me to spout Latin on a regular basis.  If the nun who tried to teach me Latin in high school is still alive, she’d attest to the remoteness of that happening.

I feel compelled to come up with a catchy phrase to end each one of my posts, like Happy Gardening (barf!), but will have to think on it more.  If you have any sparky ideas, please let me know.