Join a Horticultural Society – It’s Not ‘Hoity Toity’

Sask Perennial Society
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Join a Horticultural Society – It’s Not ‘Hoity Toity’

Jackie Bantle

Saskatchewan Perennial Society

People often join groups to share similar ideas, information, enjoy camaraderie and develop friendships.  Prairie gardeners have a long history of enjoying the company of fellow gardeners and learning from others how to and what are the best plants to grow in our harsh Prairie climate. 

In the late 19th and early 20th century, formal gardening groups or ‘Garden Societies’ as they were called,  formed in many communities in Saskatchewan. Typically, these societies were formed by community leaders around a central flower or vegetable show.

Local gardeners would bring the flowers, fruit and vegetables that they grew in their own garden to show to other gardeners and community folk.  Certain men in the society would be the ‘judges’ and awards would be handed out for the best specimens, based on previously outlined criteria. The shows were not only one way to brag about one’s garden but more importantly, it was a chance for gardeners to learn from each other about what vegetables, flowers and fruit could be grown.

Since the original shows, the societies evolved to be a place where gardeners could influence local policies regarding community landscape, share ideas, trade plants and seeds and to try to impress fellow gardeners with their own gardening skills.

Photo by Jackie Bantle
Award winning dahlia flowers at Saskatchewan Horticultural Association provincial show.

Some of the older societies in the province include; Regina Horticultural society, founded in 1896 and Yorkton Horticultural Society (established in 1906).  In 1927, the Saskatchewan Horticultural Association was formed with the objective of promoting “the interest of horticulture generally and horticultural societies particularly”. In 1928, the provincial government passed the Horticultural Societies Act, giving the University of Saskatchewan Extension Department responsibility for the general supervision of member societies. The department aided the societies with organization and training related to horticultural exhibitions, garden competitions, field days and demonstrations, home and town beautification, rural work and lectures on horticultural topics.  The Saskatchewan Horticultural Association (SHA) is alive and active.  Some of the current member societies of the SHA, beside Yorkton and Regina, include: Carrot River, Doghide River Garden Club (Tisdale and area), Kamsack, Tamarack Garden Club (Melfort), Indian Head, Norquay, Shamrock (Foam Lake), Tri-City (Nipawin), Spiritwood, Sturgis, Walter Willoughby (Parkside), Shellbrook, Swift Current, Weyburn, Windthorst, Wood River (McCord and area), Saskatchewan Perennial Society (based in Saskatoon) and the Prairie Peony Society (based in Regina).

The gardening societies have undergone a lot of change over the years.  Initially, most of the society events were attended by men in business attire.  The societies then became more popular with housewives who would share garden tips and show off their vegetables.  Today, the societies often provide professional speakers for information nights and assist children or seniors to plant their gardens at their local school or retirement home.  Members may get together to share recipes for their favorite garden produce or discuss a favorite gardening book.  Some clubs spend their time planting community flower pots or maintaining a local public garden.  Today’s members are all ages, men and women, with many horticultural interests.  Some members have a large garden, some have a balcony garden and some members have no garden at all. 

The idea of calling the gardening group a ‘society’ has, perhaps, discouraged some of the younger generation from becoming members – giving the impression that there is a lot of tea and crumpets served with a healthy dose of gossip.  Many gardening groups are renaming themselves as ‘gardening clubs’ to avoid this stigma. 

I have been involved with a local society and the Saskatchewan Horticultural Association for the last fifteen years.  I can assure you that I am not a fan of tea and crumpets and have never been offered tea and crumpets at a society meeting. 

Being part of a society has helped me make gardening connections across the province. This province is rich with horticultural businesses and beautiful personal gardens that have become accessible to me because I am a member of a gardening society. If you love horticulture and you have the desire to learn more, join a local horticulture society or gardening club. What’s the worst that can happen? You might end up with a greener thumb.

This column is provided courtesy of the Saskatchewan Perennial Society (SPS; saskperennial@hotmail.com ). Check our website (www.saskperennial.ca) or Facebook page (www.facebook.com/saskperennial) for a list of upcoming gardening events.

Free trees for your homestead

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Free trees for your homestead

Bernadette Vangool, Saskatchewan Perennial Society

Just off the press, “Trees Against the Wind: The Birth of Prairie Shelterbelts” is a treasure for those interested in trees as well as a great read for history buffs. William Schroeder has done an excellent job of documenting the life and times of those involved in tree planting, from the settlement of the Canadian West in the early 1900’s until the shut-down of the Prairie Shelterbelt Program in 2012.

William Schroeder, a scientist with expertise in tree genetics, retired from his position with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Agroforestry Development Centre in Indian Head in 2016. During his 35-year tenure he was a world leader in breeding woody plants and pioneered sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides) research. His work at Indian Head awakened his interest in the history of tree planting. He subsequently spent many hours at Indian Head, Regina and Ottawa delving into the history of tree planting on the prairies and documenting the stories he had heard at his work place.

The Dominion of Canada realized that to settle the West, and make the prairies more attractive to pioneers, it was necessary to grow trees, to protect crops, gardens, livestock, people and buildings from the often cold, relentless prevailing winds. The tree nursery near Indian Head grew up during this time of British Colonization and provided free trees to homesteaders. The plum jobs, those of foremen and inspectors, were typically awarded to British subjects and the menial work delegated to those of other ancestries, mainly the inhabitants of ‘Germantown’ in Indian Head. Schroeder documents the trials and tribulations of holding onto a reliable work force in the face of hard work and low wages. Inspectors traveled extensively across the prairies, ensuring that farmers prepared the land properly, before any trees were shipped out. They traveled mainly by trains, which may have run once a week or so. But they almost always had to rent horse and buggies at the train station to continue their journey to extensive rural areas beyond those reached by rail.

As a volunteer interpreter for the Saskatoon Forestry Farm Park (the former Sutherland Nursery Station) you might have expected me to be bored with the subject. But I found many gems of new and unusual information.

Who knew that communities like Biggar, Saskatchewan, held tree planting contests? To qualify,  a shelterbelt needed to be a minimum of an half-acre and consist of at least one thousand trees. Farmers could enter in two categories – The Best Shelterbelt or – The Best Prepared Plot. The response to these contests was enthusiastic and results were published in local papers. In 1926, the Best Shelterbelt won the grand prize of $50.00.

Although I knew about the tree planting rail car that travelled from April to November as part of a passenger train and was dropped of at towns along the way, I did not know it was set up as a travelling theatre with long rows of seats and a screen at the front.   “During a typical session, visitors viewed a travelogue of films highlighting all parts of Canada, followed by the film Tree Planting on the Prairies, which was commissioned by the Forest Nursery Station in 1919. The film was a highlight for viewers; many had never seen a talking film before.”   The tree planting car was in service from 1920 to 1973. Today it can be seen at the Manitoba Agricultural Museum, where it continues to educate the public about tree planting on the prairies.

It was great to hear another voice on the subject of shelterbelts – those rows of trees that reduced the winds, making a house a home, and how they came into being. I found the book to be an informative, well researched and an entertaining read.

Thank you, Bill for preserving this little known part of Prairie history.

Trees Against the Wind is available from Nature Saskatchewan’s online store, McNally Robinson and Wild Birds Unlimited in Saskatoon.

This column is provided courtesy of the Saskatchewan Perennial Society (SPS; saskperennial@hotmail.com ). Check out our website (www.saskperennial.ca) or Facebook page (www.facebook.com/saskperennial).

Protecting trees and shrubs from rabbit and mouse winter damage

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Protecting trees and shrubs from rabbit and mouse winter damage

Erl Svendsen, Saskatchewan Perennial Society

White winter rabbits are the cutest – at a distance and in someone else’s yard. Mice, on the other hand, are rarely considered cute except perhaps by their mothers. And during winter, both can cause a little to a lot of damage to your yard and garden, especially to the trees and shrubs. Of course, you don’t notice the damage until the snow is gone and your woody plants are starting to leaf out. 

Stems and bark are good sources of nutrition for animals in the winter, especially when compared to dried grasses and other desiccated herbaceous plants. Rabbits cause damage by eating the bark down to the wood. When they eat completely around a trunk or branch, they effectively girdle it, cutting off the flow of nutrients and water between the root and the living portion above the damaged area. In spring, woody plants may initially flower or leaf out, but eventually the portion above the girdled area dies. Rabbits will also consume small branches and twigs. Mice cause similar damage but are less likely to kill a tree unless their numbers are completely out of control.

Trees with light to moderate damage can recover. However, even if not completely girdled, expect some branches above the visible damage to be less vigorous or even die. Shrubs can take more damage as they can sprout new branches from the surviving stumps or from below ground (i.e. suckers). Prune out any deadwood. While bridge grafting may save a tree with a girdled trunk, it is a difficult technique with limited success. Severely damaged trees are best removed and replaced.

Prevention

Preventing access to the tasty, nutritious tree bark is the easiest approach. Trees and shrubs can be protected from rabbits by fencing around the tree (5-10 cm / 2-5 inches away from the trunk) using chicken wire or galvanized wire mesh (10-20 mm / 0.5-1” squares). Preventing mouse damage will require a finer wire mesh (5 mm / 0.25”).  Dig the fence into the ground about 7.5-10 cm (3-4 inches) to prevent rabbits and mice from crawling under, and it should reach at least 50 cm (2 feet) above the expected snow line. After a heavy snowfall, remove snow as required to maintain enough fence above the snowline to prevent rabbits from reaching over.

Commercial tree protectors are also available from most garden centres (e.g. spiral tree wrap, corrugated tubing, plastic mesh) for protecting smaller diameter, single trunked trees.

Discouragement

Repellents, available from garden centres, work by either making the bark less tasty (e.g. very bitter or spicy hot such as capsaicin), or by fooling bark-munching animals into thinking there’s a predator nearby (e.g., wolf or other equally disgusting urine). The repellents can be painted or sprayed onto tree trunks and shrubs. Some products are longer lasting than others – read and follow product labels.

Habitat change

Loose organic mulch (dry leaves, straw, wood/bark chips), while very effective in reducing weeds, protecting roots against extreme temperatures and conserving soil moisture, can be an excellent overwintering habitat for mice. Before freeze-up, push mulch about 15 cm (6 inches) away from tree trunks and shrubs. In my own garden, I have found mice like to nest in the middle of my Karl Foerster grass clumps. So this year, I cut them back this fall rather than waiting until spring. 

Population control

Use rodenticides as a last resort when mice populations are high and they threaten not only your landscape but are also an occasional indoor visitor. Put out bait stations in late fall before freeze up. Place them close to suspected mouse habitat but where other animals, pets and small children won’t have access to them. Inspect the bait stations regularly and refill as necessary. Follow label instructions.

Susceptible species

Most often, young trees and thin-barked trees are the most susceptible to severe rodent damage. But  when food sources are scarce and populations are high, all trees and shrubs are potentially at risk. The following are species that especially tasty and would benefit from protection.

Trees: fruit (apple, crabapple, pear); ornamental (hawthorn, linden, mountain ash, poplar, willow).

Shrubs: fruit (raspberry, saskatoon, sour cherry); flowering (barberry, burning bush/winged euonymus, forsythia, lilac, rose, spirea, willow), small evergreens.

On the other hand, the following are rarely reported to be damaged: black walnut, Colorado spruce, cotoneaster, dogwood, Ohio buckeye, potentilla.

Erl gardens in Saskatoon and enjoys being a climate zone denier by trying new and interesting perennials. This column is provided courtesy of the Saskatchewan Perennial Society (SPS; saskperennial@hotmail.com ). Check our website (www.saskperennial.ca) or Facebook page (www.facebook.com/saskperennial) for a list of upcoming gardening events.

Sclerotinia – a spooky fall fungus

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Sclerotinia – a spooky fall fungus

Jill Thomson, Saskatchewan Perennial Society

Whether the fruit are used for attractive fall displays, making pumpkin pies for Thanksgiving or carving for Halloween, October is pumpkin month. Our family enjoys both the pumpkins we grow ourselves as well as an annual shopping expedition to the pick-your-own pumpkin at the vegetable farms close to the city.

Pumpkins can be attacked by an ubiquitous fungus called Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, that can totally rot the whole pumpkin. Many pathogens are very selective about the plants they attack, for example the rusts and mildews have different species that attack specific plant types. However, Sclerotinia can attack a wide range of hosts, including vegetables (carrots, parsnips, beans, celery), fruits (tomatoes, pumpkins), flowers (sunflowers), herbs (caraway, coriander) and agricultural crops (canola).

The diseases caused by Sclerotinia are often called cottony rot or white mould, because of the white fungal growth that envelopes the host, or stem rot and blossom blight because of the parts of the plant being attacked. The first sign of infection is usually surface growth of white, fluffy mycelium (fungal strands), and the breakdown of the plant tissues under the fungal mat. A soft rot of the plant tissues may develop as the fungus releases enzymes that break down the plant tissues, enabling the fungus to absorb nutrients from the infected plant. As the disease progresses hard, black resting structures called sclerotia develop on the mould. When stems are first infected, the foliage above the infection may appear normal, but once the stem is completely rotted the upper part of the plant dies quickly and sclerotia will form inside the stems. These sclerotia usually take on the shape of the cavity in which they are growing. This is typically seen in canola and sunflowers.  In a field crop like canola, the sclerotia fall to the ground when the crop is swathed and are incorporated into the soil.  This provides a continuing cycle for the pathogen. After the winter, and for at least 2-4 years hence, the sclerotia produce tiny, mushroom-like structures called apothecia, that release puffs of airborne spores when air currents pass over them. The small, colourless spores can travel several kilometres on wind currents, and their release is usually timed to cause infection of new crops. Weedy species, such as thistles, may also be infected and help continue the disease cycle.

Photo by Jill Thomson. Later infection with sclerotia forming.

When underground crops like carrots and parsnips are infected by the mycelium in the soil, the initial infection may not be noticeable but once the vegetables are place in a cool, moist environment for storage , large pockets of infection can spread from root to root, causing extensive losses. We store our carrots in ventilated plastic bags, and inspect them every few months for signs of infection. Removal of all damaged roots and re-bagging of healthy carrots is necessary. If you suspect high infection rates, rinse root crops, like carrots, in a dilute bleach solution to reduce the spread of disease. This year I have noticed early infections on tomatoes and melons lying on the soil surface in a drip-irrigated area. I will be keeping a watchful eye on my stored vegetables.

Canola and commercial vegetable producers often spray fungicides on their crops, to prevent, or reduce, disease. Home gardeners can help reduce disease by reducing humidity in the garden by spacing plants to avoid touching each other.  As soon as there is any evidence of infection, remove plants immediately to help prevent spread to other plants. Careful monitoring of stored vegetables is necessary, particularly if Sclerotinia has been observed in crops before harvest.

If ever someone writes a horror story about a fungus that mutates and becomes a major problem for humans, turning them into white, ghost-like specimens covered in mould, then Sclerotinia would be the most likely candidate. A long time ago, on an exam paper, I asked students what their favourite pathogen was and why. The response I have always remembered was from a student who chose Sclerotinia, “because the infection it causes is like a car wreck. You know you shouldn’t look but you can’t resist it.” And that does sum up nicely the damage this fungus can cause.

Jill Thomson is a retired Plant Pathologist who lives in Saskatoon, where she enjoys gardening with her family, including the dogs. This column is provided courtesy of the Saskatchewan Perennial Society (SPS; saskperennial@hotmail.com). Check our website (www.saskperennial.ca) or Facebook page (www.facebook.com/saskperennial) for a list of upcoming gardening events.

Geraniums via cuttings

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Geraniums via cuttings

Sara Williams, Saskatchewan Perennial Society

My most enduring memory of geraniums (Pelargonium spp.) dates back over 60 years ago to 1963. As a young teacher in Tanzania, East Africa, I was amazed to see geranium hedges of over 6 feet (2 m), not unlike the caragana hedges that form an integral part of prairie shelterbelts. I later learned that this species was one of almost 250, almost all native to South Africa, where they grow in a dry, frost-free environment. Only a few of these species have been used extensively in modern hybridization.

Perennial plants, the botanical name is derived from the Greek word, pelargos for stork. The seed head looks like a stork’s bill. Flowers range from white through pink, salmon and red with many bi-colours. The leaves are palmately lobed and often coloured.

First introduced to European gardens in the early 1600s, they were grown by John Tradescant in Lambeth, London by 1633. They had arrived in Holland via the Dutch East India Company by 1700 and were grown in the Chelsea Physic Garden in England by 1701.  Geraniums were often collected by sailors because the tuber was once used in the treatment of dysentery. Hybridization had begun by the 1800s. Geraniums gained great popularity during the Victorian era and were enjoyed by the British royalty.

Widely grown on the Canadian prairies, geraniums are generally grown as annuals: as bedding plants, in containers and in baskets. However, they are actually tender perennials, and if taken indoors before frost, they will live for many years. Once indoors, ensure that they have adequate light (a south-facing window) to prevent spindly growth.

Most of the species commonly grown as house plants have been extensively hybridized, including zonal geraniums (Pelargonium x hortorum) whose attractive leaves are “zoned” into various colours; ivy geraniums (Pelargonium peltatum) with foliage resembling that of ivy; regal geraniums (P. domesticum); and scented geraniums (derived from various species).

Many varieties can be propagated by seeds: in spring, sow indoors in flats about 10 weeks before the last expected frost. Once true leaves appear, move them to two-inch pots and then onto four-inch pots once they are larger. Hybrid varieties will not “come true” from seeds, but these are easily grown from cuttings:

            •           Bring the plants indoors in the fall before frost.

            •           Take cuttings in late winter or early spring from the active new growth.

            •           Cuttings should be about 3-4 inches (8-10 cm) long, taken from vigorous shoots of 15 cm or longer. It’s best to use non-flowering stems.

            •           Using a sharp knife, make a clean slanted cut just above a node.

            •           Remove the bottom leaves, allowing three leaves per cutting.

            •           Let the cut end dry for a day before placing the cuttings in individual 3-inch pots with good drainage. Fill the pots with moist clean sharp sand, vermiculite, perlite or peat moss. Ensure that the cutting is in firm contact with the soil.

            •           Cover loosely with plastic to retain moisture.

            •           Place the pots in a warm (70-75°F), moderately humid environment in bright light but out of direct sunlight.

            •           Do not fertilize.

            •           Spray lightly with water if they appear dry. Keep them evenly moist but never wet.

            •           Alternatively, geranium cuttings may be rooted in water and transplanted to a soilless medium once the roots have developed.

            •           Once roots develop (generally within 3 weeks) at or near the cut surface of the cutting, your new plant is off to the races. Gradually harden these off in terms of light, temperature and humidity.

Sara Williams is the author of many books including Gardening Naturally with Hugh Skinner, Creating the Prairie Xeriscape, and with Bob Bors, Growing Fruit in Northern Gardens. She gives workshops on a wide range of gardening topics throughout the prairies. This column is provided courtesy of the Saskatchewan Perennial Society (SPS; saskperennial@hotmail.com). Check our website (www.saskperennial.ca) or Facebook page (www.facebook.com/saskperennial) for a list of upcoming gardening events.

Chill out for an early indoor spring bulb floral display

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Chill out for an early indoor spring bulb floral display

-Erl-, Saskatchewan Perennial Society

My younger brother, who lives in Sidney just north of Victoria, BC, taunts me every February with pictures of flowering daffodils and tulips. But I have an answer to that and can enjoy flowering spring bulbs as early as January while there’s still snow on the ground with the constant threat of -30C or colder.

The trick to ‘forcing’ bulbs to flower out of season is realizing that when planted outdoors in the fall, bulbs are not completely dormant. During the late fall and early spring, when the soil is cold but not frozen, bulb roots and flower buds are developing. You need to replicate this in your home by planting them in moist potting mix and maintaining cold (but not frozen) conditions. By fooling them into thinking they have spent a winter outdoors, they will be just as anxious to bloom as you are to enjoy them.

            •           Bulb quality matters: Purchase large good quality bulbs as soon as they are available from stores, by mail order or online.  Avoid shrivelled, damaged and undersized bulbs. If possible, select shorter or miniature cultivars.

            •           Pot size: The traditional pot choice is a bulb pan – wide and short – usually 7.5 centimetres (3 inches) high. The wide base make tipping over less likely when growing taller plants. Smaller bulb species (e.g. crocus) are fine in slightly taller pots as they don’t require the extra stability.  But ultimately, any pot will suffice as long as it provides sufficient depth and has good drainage.

            •           Pot depth: The pot needs to be deep enough to have at least 5 centimetres (2 inches) of potting mix PLUS the height of the dormant bulbs. Choose a deeper pot if the bulb will stick above the pot rim (exception: amaryllis).

            •           Potting up: Add at least 5 centimetres (2 inches) of sterile soil-less potting mix, leaving enough room for the bulb to sit just below the pot rim when planted on top of this first layer. Fill the pot for an impressive display: pointed tip up, leaving 1-2 centimeters (0.5-1 inch) between bulbs. Cover all but the tips with additional potting mix. Water well and allow them to drain completely. Label with the species/variety, planting date and the date when the chilling period will be complete. Tip 1: Plant only one variety of one species per pot: a mixed pot is unlikely to bloom in unison. You can still have a mixed effect,  by using multiple pots with separate species and varieties. Tip 2: Space out planting dates to extend the length of time you’ll have spring flowers beautifying your home.

            •           Temperature: Bulbs need consistent chilling temperatures (2-7C / 35-45F). Not many of us have a root cellar or a cold room anymore, but your refrigerator provides an ideal environment (but avoid storing them with apples, avocadoes, bananas, blueberries, cantaloupes and other ethylene producing fruits). An attached garage may work, but the temperature may fluctuate too much (too warm to excessively cold) which will lead to poor results.

            •           Chilling period: Chill your pots in the dark for 12-20 weeks (see below for species-specific chilling period). If you cut the time short, the plants and flowers may end up stunted and distorted.

            •           Inspect regularly: Water to keep the potting mix slightly damp but not wet. If kept too wet, mold and rots may develop. Remove diseased bulbs. Bulbs may start growing before their ‘official’ chilling period is over – move to step 8. when shoots are 5-8 centimetres / 2-3 inches long.

            •           End of chilling period: Bring the pots into a cool and bright location but avoid full sun. If they haven’t started growing already, it may take 2-3 weeks for the bulb to send up shoots and flowers. When the buds start showing a bit of colour, move the pots into a warmer and brighter location. But keep in mind the warmer the location, the shorter their bloom period.

Recommended weeks of chilling

Amaryllis: no chilling required, but may take 6-8 weeks to flower after planting.

Crocus: 15 weeks

Daffodils: 15-17 weeks

Grape hyacinth (Muscari): 14-15 weeks

Hyacinths: 11-14 weeks, although it is possible to purchase pre-chilled bulbs. Just pot these up and wait for the blooms.

Paperwhites: no chilling required.

Squill (Scilla): 12-15 weeks

Tulips: 14-20 weeks

TULIP TIP 1: Face the flat side of the tulip bulb towards the outside of the pot so the first leaf grows towards the outside for an attractive and tidy look.

TULIP TIP 2: Remove the brown papery covering (optional).

Erl gardens in Saskatoon. This column is provided courtesy of the Saskatchewan Perennial Society (SPS; saskperennial@hotmail.com). Check our website (www.saskperennial.ca) or Facebook page (www.facebook.com/saskperennial) for a list of upcoming gardening events

Darwin tulips – the best!

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Darwin tulips – the best!

Sara Williams, Saskatchewan Perennial Society

Tulips add spring colour to our perennial and mixed borders as well as in annual beds. Native to the mountainous areas of Asia from Turkey through Siberia, the genus name, Tulipa, is from the Turkish tulbend, meaning turban, a reference to the shape of the flower. 

They have been the centre-fold of the bulb industry since the 1500s when Turkey initiated a flourishing trade. Cultivated and hybridized in Turkish gardens for centuries prior, they were introduced to Holland and the garden of Carolus Clusius, a botany professor at the University of Leiden, about 1593. Stolen from his garden by botanical thieves, they quickly gained popularity among the wealthier Dutch.

By the 1630s, “Tulipmania” was in full swing in Holland. Amid much speculation, enormous prices were paid for single bulbs, many with unusual striping or mottling. Unfortunately, these bulbs were not long-lived and many fortunes were lost. Both the unusual colouring and their short life were due to a virus. 

Nothing is more enticing than garden centre shelves full of plump tulip bulbs in September with their implied promise of spring bloom. Although widely advertised and readily available, growing tulips in the colder areas of the Canadian prairies is often disheartening. The harsh reality is that many of these are not reliably hardy on the prairies. Some will come through their first spring and then fail to appear in subsequent years. Others may not appear at all. 

Of the approximately five thousand tulip varieties available today, the Darwin varieties listed below are among your best bets for reliable spring colour on the prairies. They combine drought tolerance, hardiness and a more perennial habit than most. 

First introduced in the early 1950s, Darwin hybrid tulips are a cross between single late tulips and early emperor tulips that was first made by Dutch hybridizer D.W. Lefeber. Their parentage gives them their large, shapely blossoms and a relatively early bloom time. Depending on the season and your location, Darwin hybrids typically bloom between mid-April and mid-May. They are generally tall plants with single flowers of good size and colour on sturdy stems. Most are 18 to 22 inches (45-55 cm) tall.

Purchase the largest, plumpest bulbs as soon as they become available in the fall and plant them immediately in well-drained soil in full sun. Water well, mulch, and hope for an early and continuous snow cover – their best insulation!

Among the older Darwin hybrids, generally red, yellow or orange, are:

• ‘Apeldoorn’ – red with persimmon-orange edges and interior (in case you’re wondering, Apeldoorn is a city in         Holland).

• ‘Beauty of Apeldoorn’ – yellow washed with orange. 

• ‘Golden Apeldoorn’ – golden-yellow.

• ‘Golden Oxford’ – golden yellow.

• ‘Oxford’ – scarlet flushed with red.

• ‘Parade’ – red, large black interior base edged with yellow.

• ‘Pink Impression’ – large pink-rose flower. 

The more recent Darwin hybrids also include pinks, whites and purples:

• ‘Acropolis’ – iridescent rosy-pink flowers.

• ‘Ad Rem’ – fragrant, scarlet petals with a gold band.

• ‘American Dream’ – golden-yellow with reddish-orange edges.

• ‘Apeldoorn’ Elite’ – red-orange petals with golden edges.

• ‘Apricot Impression’ – apricot-orange with a yellow edge.

• ‘Apricot Pride’ – apricot-pink to peachy yellow.

• ‘Banja Luka’ – yellow with broad red edge.

• ‘Beauty of Spring’ – extra-large, pale-yellow petals delicately edged in crimson.

• ‘Delta Graffiti’ – pinkish-red exterior with cobalt-blue centre edged in black.

• ‘Hakuun’ – pure white flowers.

• ‘How Sweet It Is’ – peachy-apricot with a golden edge.

• ‘Ivory Floradale’ – cream with a slight pink hue.

• ‘Juliette’ – bright golden flowers with a scarlet flame.

• ‘Mystic Magic’ – reddish-pink flowers on compact plants.

• ‘Novi Sun’ – sunny yellow, 2020 introduction.

• ‘Ollioules’ – rose-red fading into ivory white on the edges.

• ‘Orange Queen’ – mandarin orange-red with yellow glow on outer petals.

• ‘Pink Sound’ – soft candy pink petals with cherry pink edges.

• ‘Red Impression’ – deep red.

• ‘Rise Up’ – salmon-pink petals with a golden yellow base.

• ‘Salmon Impression’ – pink petals with salmon-apricot flushed in their centre.

• ‘Triple A’ – rich orange with delicate orange edging.

• ‘Wedding Dress’ – pure white, 2020 introduction.

• ‘White Clouds’ – snow white.

• ‘World Friendship’ – creamy-yellow; symbol of peace and friendship.

Sara Williams is the author of many books including Gardening Naturally with Hugh Skinner, Creating the Prairie Xeriscape, and with Bob Bors, Growing Fruit in Northern Gardens. She gives workshops on a wide range of gardening topics throughout the prairies. This column is provided courtesy of the Saskatchewan Perennial Society (SPS; saskperennial@hotmail.com). Check our website (www.saskperennial.ca) or Facebook page (www.facebook.com/saskperennial) for a list of upcoming gardening events.

What drives Dutch Elm Disease?

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What drives Dutch Elm Disease?

Jill Thomson, Saskatchewan Perennial Society

Dutch elm disease (DED) is probably one of the best-known tree diseases in North America and Europe.

American elm trees (Ulmus americana) have been planted in many developing cities since the 1900’s, to provide shade for residential areas, and along main streets. They have grown into large, mature trees with a characteristic main trunk that divides into many spreading branches, providing an ideal canopy that shades a significant surrounding area.

Many of us enjoy the cooling effect of the overhead canopy, and this shade will become even more important as our summer temperatures keep climbing. Since the recognition of the destructive nature of DED and its ability to remove mature elms from our landscape, cities have been trying to find suitable replacements for elms, but no other trees are quite as successful at providing shade on city streets.

Dutch elm disease is a very complex disease caused by fungal pathogens,   (Ophiostoma species)that can affect any kind of elm (Ulmus species). It is transmitted by three kinds of elm bark beetle (native elm bark, european elm bark and banded elm bark – in Saskatchewan it is usually either the native or european elm bark beetle that spread the disease), by movement of infected wood, and through natural root connections that occur between trees.

The fungus was first isolated from dying elms in 1921 by a Dutch plant pathologist and another Dutch researcher helped determine that the fungus did cause the disease. Thus, the disease was named Dutch elm disease, although later it was determined that the disease originated in Asia.

The pathogen and beetles were transported to North America in infected wood, probably shipped from Europe after the First World War. DED was first identified in the USA in 1931, and in Ontario in 1946. Many trees died in eastern Canada in the next 40 years.  The disease also spread slowly westward, usually following the stands of native elms (U. americana) that grow along the rivers. It was found in Manitoba in 1975 and Saskatchewan in 1981.

The disease has become established in the native elms of the Qu’Appelle valley, in the Carrot River region and other stands on the eastern side of the province. An isolated elm tree was infected in Regina in 1981 and since then the city has removed more infected trees.  An infected Siberian elm tree (Ulmus pumila) was found in Saskatoon in 2015, it was immediately removed and extra vigilant monitoring of the neighbourhood trees was conducted for about 4 years. Another infected elm occurred in the Westmount area in July 2021 and in July 2023, three infected elms were discovered, two in Sutherland and one in Pleasant Hill.  In August, an additional infected elm was identified in Forest Grove and it is likely about 30 elms will be removed along Central Avenue (City of Saskatoon report, August 28, 2023). 

The disease destroys infected elms quickly, taking one to three years to kill a tree. The first signs of disease are sudden wilting, yellowing and browning of leaves on individual branches (flagging), or the whole tree. When the bark of infected branches is peeled back, brown streaking or mottling is seen on the outer layer of wood.

A laboratory test can confirm the presence of the fungus, which produces spores that travel through and block the conducting tissue of the tree. The fungus is spread from tree to tree by elm bark beetles that make tunnels and lay eggs in dead or dying wood. The larvae develop in infected wood, and when adult beetles emerge they are contaminated with fungal spores that are transmitted to either healthy or infected elms by feeding beetles.

The fungus and beetles have developed a mutually beneficial relationship: adult beetles lay eggs in dead or dying elm wood that is infected with the fungus.  The young beetles that emerge are contaminated with spores of the fungus and initially they feed on healthy trees, transferring the disease to uninfected trees. This ensures dead wood in which the next generations of beetles lay their eggs.

The importance of transmission of the pathogen spores on beetle bodies was recognized when the disease cycle was first studied, and initially control methods targeted the insect vectors. However, this did not prevent the disease and methods to inject pesticides into the trees were used to protect specific elms considered vital to the beauty of city landscapes.

Management programs in most provinces include public education, prevention of movement of firewood, tree maintenance (pruning and removal), sampling trees that are symptomatic, a ban on pruning in the summer when beetles are active, and monitoring of bark beetles to identify types present and population levels.

Prompt removal and destruction of infected trees is considered to be particularly important. Cities have also developed Prevention/Management programs to keep the disease in check because of the aesthetic and economic losses caused by the death of elms.

The city of Saskatoon provides information on prevention of disease transmission, and in August a pamphlet telling us how to “Protect our elm” was distributed with utility bills. The main recommendations, within the city, are:

1. Not to store elm wood

2. Do not prune elms from April 1 to August 31

3. Dispose of elm wood at the landfill (not at compost depots or in green bins).

It is also illegal (hence, very important) not to move elm wood within the province, particularly from home to campsites, and vice versa.

The city will inspect trees that the public suspects may be infected (Saskatoon.ca/dutchelmdisease). Extra vigilance is important in areas were infection has been discovered recently. We can all play a part in controlling this deadly disease.

Jill Thomson is a retired Plant Pathologist who lives in Saskatoon, where she enjoys gardening with her family, including the dogs. This column is provided courtesy of the Saskatchewan Perennial Society (SPS; saskperennial@hotmail.com ). Upcoming event – Fall Plant and Seed Exchange and Plant Sale Sunday September 10th 2:00pm at Saskatoon Forestry and Zoo Hall. Check our website (www.saskperennial.ca) for more details.

‘Leafless’ spurge?

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‘Leafless’ spurge?

Jill Thomson, Saskatchewan Perennial Society

The ideas for many of my articles are often triggered by something I notice on my daily dog walks. When walking by the river in Chief Whitecap dog park at the end of June, I noticed a very large, colourful caterpillar feeding on a leafy spurge plant. This black, red and white caterpillar was identified by my entomology friend, Cedric Gillott, as the spurge hawk-moth (Hyles euphorbiae) caterpillar, which is not native to North America, but has been introduced to try and control leafy spurge (Euphorbia esula). Leafy spurge is a noxious weed, introduced to North America from Europe and Asia. I do find the plant has an attractive appearance; it is a shrub with long, pale blue-green leaves and a fresh, bright green appearance when flowering. Many yellow-green bracts forming a flat topped cluster start to appear in May, about three weeks after the plant emerges. Small, green, inconspicuous true flowers emerge two weeks after the bracts. However, all parts of the leafy spurge plant contain a milky-white latex sap that is exuded when the plant is damaged. This latex is reported to be toxic to grazing cattle and horses, and can cause skin irritation in humans. However, it is the invasive nature of leafy spurge that is most concerning. It can compete aggressively with valuable grazing species, significantly reducing the ability of the pasture to provide feed for livestock.

The plant is very noticeable when blooming and should be reported to the local authority responsible for weed control. Small patches may be removed by spraying with herbicide, but in the case of the patch growing by the river a biocontrol agent would be more appropriate. Hawk moths have been released in the dog park area for several years by the City of Saskatoon Entomologist, Sydney Worthy, along with a flea beetle (Aphthona species). So far, populations of these biological control agents have become established but not in sufficient numbers to control the plants.  Another option for control may be the use of goats and sheep, as they are able to eat this weed, with no detrimental effect on their health.

Populations of the caterpillar have been noticed in Saskatchewan in other years, occasionally in high numbers, unlike the single caterpillar I observed on my walk. This year a large infestation was seen in southern Saskatchewan in the Meyronne area, where thousands of caterpillars defoliated the spurge (T. Mulhern Davidson). It seems that the population levels of caterpillars, and their ability to defoliate spurge plants may be determined by summer and winter weather conditions, but generally consistent defoliation and control of spurge is not achieved.

More effective biocontrol may be provided by leafy spurge flea beetles. Adult beetles eat the above-ground parts of the plant, and lay eggs in the root area. The larvae that emerge feed on the roots of leafy spurge, and this exposes the roots to bacterial and fungal infections that can cause death of the plant. Recently, an article in the agricultural newspaper, The Western Producer (August 3, 2023), describes attempts to increase the populations of the beetles by catching adults in an area with a well-established population, and releasing them in other areas where leafy spurge grows. Volunteers catch enough beetles, in sweep nets, to start a new population in another area infested with leafy spurge. The beetles only feed on leafy spurge so other plants are not damaged.

On researching this article I was surprised to find that leafy spurge has many relatives that can be grown as house plants in our climate. The best known relative is the poinsettia, with its attractive coloured bracts and of course this is a plant that can be toxic to pets, because of the latex sap. Another relative is the firestick plant (Euphorbia tirucalli), which again should be handled with care because of the toxic sap.

Jill Thomson is a retired Plant Pathologist who lives in Saskatoon, where she enjoys gardening with her family, including the dogs.

This column is provided courtesy of the Saskatchewan Perennial Society (SPS; saskperennial@hotmail.com ). Upcoming event – Fall Plant and Seed Exchange and Plant Sale Sunday September 10th 2:00pm at Saskatoon Forestry and Zoo Hall. Check our website (www.saskperennial.ca) for more details.

Roses in my neighbourhood

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Roses in my neighbourhood

Bernadette Vangool, Saskatchewan Perennial Society

Along with healthy exercise, a daily walk around my neighbourhood provides an opportunity to meet the roses my neighbours are growing and to observe how they are faring from year to year. Among these are ‘Morden Centennial’, ‘John Cabot’, ‘John Davis’, ‘William Baffin’ and ‘Adelaide Hoodless’. Together, their namesakes represent four centuries of Canadian history. And planted in the right location and cared for properly with regular pruning, all are quite disease-resistant.

‘Morden Centennial,’ introduced by Henry Heard Marshall, commemorates the centennial of Morden, Manitoba. It has large, medium pink, double flowers. Though it often suffers some winter dieback, it quickly rebounds. Even though this rose drops its petals after blooming, it’s still a good idea to deadhead the rose clusters to promote repeat bloom. Stop deadheading in mid August to allow the  rosehips to form and to signal the rose to enter dormancy.

Bernadette Vangool/Submitted. The ‘Morden Centennial’ Rose was introduced by Henry Heard Marshall, and commemorates the centennial of Morden, Man.

‘John Cabot’ is a pillar or climbing rose, but can also be grown in Saskatchewan as a shrub rose. It produces sturdy canes that can be up to 1.5 meters tall with double, fuchsia-coloured flowers. It blooms heavily in the early summer and continues to bloom until fall. More fragrant than most hardy roses, it was the first climbing rose of the Explorer program developed in Ottawa by Felicitas Svejda. She named the rose after John Cabot, an Italian who sailed under the British flag and reached Newfoundland in 1497. ‘John Cabot’, is one of the best known Canadian roses. Felicitas Svejda recalled that in 1972 she had ordered a propagation field of roses to be ploughed to allow for new trials. She was approached by the tractor driver a while later for permission to work around the ‘John Cabot’ rose, as it was just too pretty to destroy.

‘John Davis’, another stunner and traffic stopper. is my favourite rose, probably because it graces my driveway and provides hours of enjoyment to me as well as  my neighbours. It is covered with pink double blooms, slightly lighter in colour than ‘Morden Centennial’ and blooms profusely for about three weeks starting in the middle of June. It continues to bloom, albeit not as vigorously, until freeze up. It is named after the explorer, John Davis, who searched for, but never found, the North West passage between 1585 and 1587. It is a robust grower and shows the least winter dieback of all my roses.

‘William Baffin’ has deep pink (with a bit of white near the centre), semi-double flowers. (Semi-double flowers refer to roses with a petal count from 5 to 15. Double flowers have more than 15 petals.) Listed as a climber growing two to three meters in height, it becomes very full with large flower clusters. Considered one of the hardiest Explorer roses, it is best grown against a wall. It will need extensive pruning to train it to grow on a trellis. It is named after William Baffin, who sailed with Robert Bylot, and charted the coast of the largest island in Canada in 1615, today known as Baffin Island.

‘Adelaide Hoodless’, one of the Parkland roses, was introduced by Henry Heard Marshall. The clusters of dark red, smaller, but double flowers are stunning and very recognizable in the landscape. It is probably best grown in a more sheltered location. In spring, cut back the canes to 60 cm and remove some of them at ground level. This reduces the need to support the heavy flower clusters. ‘Adelaide Hoodless’ may have flower clusters of up to 25 roses, making it an excellent cut flower, as one single stem can make up an entire bouquet. It is named after the founder of the Women’s Institute of Canada in 1897.

Many of these roses are still available from nurseries and can bring years of enjoyment to the rose lovers in your family. Enjoy!

This column is provided courtesy of the Saskatchewan Perennial Society (SPS; saskperennial@hotmail.com). Check our website (www.saskperennial.ca) or Facebook page (www.facebook.com/saskperennial) for a list of upcoming gardening events.

Roses in my garden – tried, true and totally hardy

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Roses in my garden – tried, true and totally hardy

Here are some rose cultivars (cultivated varieties) that have done well in my garden and are well over 20 years old. In other words, they are tried, true and totally hardy.

‘Morden Fireglow’ has done exceptionally well, sandwiched in between two cedars that have outgrown their space. The unique orange-red flowers with very narrow flower buds, the glossy foliage and the form all resemble that of a tea rose. It does die back sometimes to the ground in winter but always bounces back.

Brian Porter, in Growing Roses in Saskatchewan, mentions that it is susceptible to blackspot and is only moderately resistant to powdery mildew. This has not been my experience. Neither of these diseases have developed. Perhaps it likes its location, just outside the range of my watering system, and therefore in a relatively dry area of the garden.

‘Morden Snowbeauty’ is a sprawling rose bush, with large, white semi-double flowers in small clusters. It is about a meter tall with a spread about twice that size. The lower branches tend to lie near ground level and are quite prickly.

I have planted it amongst other tall perennials, so it is more upright in appearance. My daughter, however, had it planted too close to her walkway and dubbed it ‘The Ankle Biter’.

Because it tends to sprawl, branches at ground level will often root. If you separate them from the mother plant, they can be moved to other locations in your yard. It dies back some years but is quick to rebound.

New growth in spring tends to be very tender and in my yard a bit susceptible to insect damage on the lower branches. Introduced by Lynn Collicut and Dr. Campbell Davidson, I believe it is the only white rose released out of the Morden rose program.

‘Cuthbert Grant’ is another favourite because of its large, deep red, velvety flowers. It was introduced by Henry Heard Marshall. Cuthbert Grant was a Scotsman who in 1793 established Fort La Souris, later known as Fort Assiniboine. It was his son, also named Cuthbert Grant, who is credited as the founder of the Metis nation and its leader in Saskatchewan (prior to Louis Riel), that the rose commemorates.

It blooms in the beginning of summer and will repeat bloom near the end of summer if properly deadheaded. This year it had severe die back. I thought it might not survive, but by the middle of June it put out its first spray of flowers.

Bernadette Vangool/Saskatchewan Perennial Society. A Morden Snowbeauty.

You may be lucky and find some of the following heritage roses  at your local nursery. Many are no longer in general circulation but are thriving in my yard. What they have in common is a tendency to sucker considerably. Nor are they repeat bloomers. Their maintenance is not for the faint of heart.

‘Dr. Merkeley’ blooms only once in summer. It has double pink,  fragrant flowers with densely packed petals. It is a vigorous grower with a wide spread because of its suckering habit. I planted it in the Heritage Rose Garden in Saskatoon, in a spot where nothing else wanted to live. It requires extensive pruning, which is a challenge sometimes as it has quite sharp prickles that grow back along the stems and hook onto everything. This rose was discovered in Russia and brought to Canada by a Dr. Merkeley, a dentist in Winnipeg, who gave it to Frank Skinner who introduced it. It probably fell out of favour because of its suckering and sporadic bloom habit.

‘Suzanne’ blooms in spring just after my cherry trees have finished blossoming. The fragrant flowers are a light pink. Kept in check with regular pruning, it can be a beautiful addition to the garden. Whenever I mow my lawn, I need to first prune out all the suckers, which appear up to three meters from the mother shrub – perhaps the reason it is no longer widely available. A Frank Skinner rose, it was often used by other early plant breeders in their rose development.

‘Prairie Peace’ competes well with my raspberries. Developed by Robert Erskine, its peach flowers never fail to delight in spring. It’s easier to keep in check than ‘Suzanne’, but not by much.

All three of these roses are on display in the Heritage Rose Garden at the Forestry Farm Park in Saskatoon. Unfortunately,  they only put on a show in spring, shortly after apple blossom time.

This column is provided courtesy of the Saskatchewan Perennial Society (SPS; saskperennial@hotmail.com). Check our website (www.saskperennial.ca) or Facebook page (www.facebook.com/saskperennial) for a list of upcoming gardening events.

Crickets – not usually on the hearth but perhaps under the fridge!

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Crickets – not usually on the hearth but perhaps under the fridge!

Cedric Gillott, Saskatchewan Perennial Society

Many readers will be familiar with rather persistent ‘buzzing’ noises, rapidly repeated, either in the garden during late summer evenings or in homes in late fall, usually emanating from under the fridge, freezer, stove, etc., indeed anywhere that is dark and warm. The source of these chirpings is probably a male cricket: In the Prairie Provinces, the culprit is most likely the fall field cricket (Gryllus pennsylvanicus), while in Britain it would be the house cricket (Acheta domesticus) which achieved fame in one of Charles Dickens’ Christmas Stories ‘The Cricket on the Hearth’.

These species are but two examples of a large group of insects (perhaps 10,000 species worldwide, though fewer than 30 occur in Saskatchewan) whose males are able to ‘sing’ (I use the term loosely!). Others include camel crickets, bush crickets, tree crickets, mole crickets, and Mormon crickets. The term ‘cricket’ is derived from ‘criquer’, old French for to creak, rattle or crackle, in reference to the noise made by courting males.

Crickets share several features with their close relatives, grasshoppers: These include hind legs elongated for jumping and, in females, an ovipositor at the rear end used to deposit eggs in soil or plant stems. Unlike grasshoppers, however, they have antennae that are as long as their body, are generally nocturnal and seldom fly.

As I write this article (early July), there are plenty of black fall field crickets in my acreage garden. Some are already about half-grown (12.5 mm [½”]) long, but most are smaller, around 6 or 7 mm [¼”]. With the hot dry spring we experienced this year, the overwintered eggs began hatching about 2 weeks earlier than usual, in the first half of June. The young crickets will pass through between seven and nine moults before becoming adults. Thank goodness that most will succumb to predators, parasites or disease before reaching adulthood.

We can expect to see (hear?) adults by early August. They are typically black, about 25 mm (1”) long, and have antennae as long as the body and a pair of long sensory structures (cerci) at their hind end. Adult males and females are easily distinguished, as females have a long, needle-like ovipositor, while males have adaptations on their fore wings which when rubbed together produce a species-specific song. Its purpose is to attract females for mating. Studies have shown that females select their partner with great care; for example, they can distinguish between the songs of males on the basis of age, preferring to mate with older individuals. Mating and egg-laying take place at night from late August onward till low temperatures prevail and the adults die. Over their lifetime, individual females may lay several hundred eggs, in batches of up to 40, in loose soil. The eggs are the overwintering stage, able to withstand the severe freezing temperatures of a prairie winter. Crickets prefer habitats where the soil is lumpy and cracked where they can spend the day hidden from predators and deposit their eggs.

Unlike grasshoppers which are herbivorous and whose food preferences can be quite specific, crickets are generally omnivorous, eating plant and animal material, fresh or decaying, with equal enjoyment. It may be because of the field crickets’ varied diet that they are seldom a pest in gardens or an agricultural setting. Equally, they are unlikely to find use as predators against pests, as shown by a study carried out by local scientists around the time that crucifer flea beetle populations were rising as increasing acres of cropland were being seeded to canola. In laboratory tests, field crickets readily ate the flea beetles (the only source of food) when restricted to small plastic containers; however, in field trials no significant effect on the beetle population was noted, presumably due to the variety of food available to the crickets in the field cages. That said, there is evidence that crickets accumulate near grasshopper egg-laying areas and actively search for and dig to locate their eggs which they eat eagerly. Thus, they may exert a measure of control over these major pests.

Like grasshoppers, crickets are highly nutritious and eaten by humans and many other animals in many parts of the world including Asia, Europe and North America. For humans, they are typically served dry-roasted, deep- fried or chocolate-coated or are ground into a form of flour. Like grasshoppers, they are a major food source for songbirds and other small vertebrates during the breeding season and prior to migration or hibernation. In Europe and North America house crickets are a major item in the diet of many exotic pets, notably reptiles and amphibians. Until recently, the species used was A. domesticus. However, in 2002 (Europe) and 2010 (North America) the cricket paralysis virus decimated mass-cultured populations of A. domesticus, leaving the pet trade momentarily in disarray. Fortunately, a suitable substitute, the Jamaican house cricket (A. assimilis) was quickly found, and this is now the go-to food of choice sold in pet stores.

Finally, a few words of caution: Before pulling out the spray can of insecticide to exterminate the intruder under your fridge, be aware that the presence of a cricket in the house has long been thought to bring good fortune. As Mrs Peerybingle said to her husband in Dickens’ novel “To have a Cricket on the Hearth is the luckiest thing in all the world!”

Cedric Gillott is a retired entomologist and professor emeritus in the Department of Biology at the University of Saskatchewan. This column is provided courtesy of the Saskatchewan Perennial Society (SPS; saskperennial@hotmail.com). Check our website (www.saskperennial.ca) or Facebook page (www.facebook.com/saskperennial) for a list of upcoming gardening events.

Astilboides or Shield-leaf: a gentle giant

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Astilboides or Shield-leaf: a gentle giant

Sara Williams, Saskatchewan Perennial Society

If you have visited English gardens and marvelled at (and had your photo taken with) Gunnera, with its giant, up to 4-foot wide rhubarb-like leaves, astilboides or shield-leaf (Astilboides tabularis, syn. Rodgersia tabularis) is a smaller, nearly as impressive, but much hardier version that your neighbours and friends can marvel at in your Prairie garden. Its leaves are enormous! Although unrelated, it is the perfect antidote for “Gunnera withdrawal” when garden tourists from the Prairies return home. I’ve grown it for over a decade in my rural Zone 3 Saskatchewan garden. It should be much more widely available.

A bold plant of great architectural value, it is nevertheless well behaved, forming a slowly enlarging clump about 1 m (3 ft) in height. Its large, circular light green leaves are veined, lobed and up to 2 ft in diameter. The leaf stalks are in the centre of the leaf blade, giving them an umbrella-like appearance. Just hope for no hail or have a large umbrella handy. (While this occurred only once, it was devastating for both the plant and the gardener – both recovered.)

As the genus name, Astilboides, suggests, the panicles of tiny creamy white flowers, formed on 1.2 m (4 ft) stalks in early to mid-summer, resemble those of an astilbe. It begins flowering at two or three years of age. The species name, tabularis, means table, also a reference to the size of the leaves, while one of the common names, shield-leaf, describes the shield-like appearance of the foliage. It is the only species within the genus Astilboides.

Photo by Sara Williams. The enormous umbrella-like leaves of astilboides provide a dramatic impact in a shaded woodland garden.

Native to the humid valleys and hillsides of northern and eastern China, Manchuria, and North Korea, it was first described in English in 1887. In its native habitat, it has long been used in the treatment of diabetes and grows in moist woodlands and near lakes and streams. It is much hardier than what many publications suggests. And performs much better in the Prairies than further south!

Plant it in full or partial shade in humus-rich but well-drained soil and out of the wind. It demands even moisture but should not be waterlogged. Mulching is beneficial and highly recommended as the mulch retains soil moisture and reduces weeds. It is amazingly “low maintenance” for such a large and imposing perennial.

This is an excellent perennial for a shaded border or a woodland garden alongside ferns and hostas. It is easily propagated by division in early spring.

Sara Williams is the author of many books including Gardening Naturally with Hugh Skinner, Creating the Prairie Xeriscape, and with Bob Bors, Growing Fruit in Northern Gardens. She gives workshops on a wide range of gardening topics throughout the prairies.

This column is provided courtesy of the Saskatchewan Perennial Society (SPS; saskperennial@hotmail.com). Check our website (www.saskperennial.ca) or Facebook page (www.facebook.com/saskperennial) for a list of upcoming gardening events.

August: A Time to Plant Lettuce

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August: A Time to Plant Lettuce

Jackie Bantle
Saskatchewan Perennial Society

By August, most Prairie gardeners have harvested their lettuce and are enjoying many of the root and vine crops.  However, lettuce is one of those vegetables that can be planted several times throughout the Prairie growing season for multiple harvests.  Some lettuce cultivars can be ready to eat in as little as 35 days from planting.  There is still time to seed and harvest fresh lettuce before fall. 

Lettuce (Lactuca sativa) is a cool season crop.  This means that it prefers cooler temperatures for optimal growth.  Because most lettuce cultivars mature in 30-60 days, there is still time to harvest one or even two lettuce crops prior to fall frost.  Appreciate, however, that planting this late in the season can result in premature bolting of lettuce plants (ie. plants forming flower heads).  Lettuce prefers temperatures between 15-20°C.  Air temperatures above 20°C will initiate physiological processes within the plant that will cause the lettuce plant to bolt before it produces a significant number of leaves.  The warmer the temperature, the faster the bolting will occur.  Once a lettuce plant has initiated visible flower production, taste becomes more bitter.  When planting lettuce this late in the season, choose a shady location, if possible, and be prepared to provide ample water for the fast growing plants to prevent bitter flavours. 

Garden lettuce (Lactuca sativa) can be divided into four main categories:  Leaf, Romaine, Butterhead and Iceberg.  Of the four types, leaf and romaine lettuce are the easiest to grow in the Prairie garden.

  • Leaf lettuce plants are characterized by large, loosely packed leaves joined at the stem.  Leaf lettuce ranges in color from light to dark green to deep burgundy, speckled or a combination of colours (ex. green leaves with burgundy leaf tips).  It usually has a mild flavor with crispy texture but not as crisp as Romaine lettuce.  Oak leaf lettuce refers to flatter leaf types shaped like oak leaves: they can be either red or green in color.  Battavia lettuce is also known as summer crisp or French crisp lettuce.  Battavia lettuce looks like a loose leaf lettuce when it is young but tends to form a tight bunch as it matures.  One of the advantages for home gardeners growing leaf lettuce instead of other types of lettuce is that leaves can be picked individually instead of pulling the entire head at once.   
  • Romaine lettuce is most commonly used for Caesar Salads and is often referred to as Cos lettuce.  Romaine lettuce has long, green leaves that form an oblong head.  Its crisp texture with a stronger flavor than butterhead or leaf lettuce, make it a favorite among food lovers looking for the crispy texture of iceburg lettuce however, Romaine lettuce has higher nutrient analysis than iceburg lettuce.  Although the flavor is strong in Romaine lettuce, it should not be bitter.  Previously Romaine lettuce types formed quite large heads at maturity however, newer cultivars can be grown with smaller, individual-sized heads.  Some of the newer Romaine lettuce cultivars also have a hint of burgundy color in their leaves.
  • Butterhead, bibb or Boston lettuce names are used interchangeably to describe lettuce cultivars that are known for their soft, “buttery” textured leaves and sweet, mild flavor.  The loose forming heads of this lettuce type range in color from light to dark green.  In the last several years, grocery stores are selling ‘living lettuce’ or ‘hydroponic lettuce’.  It is the Butterhead (i.e. Bibb or Boston) lettuce cultivars that are used for these living lettuce sales. 
  • Iceberg lettuce forms a tight, cabbage-like head of pale, green leaves.  Iceberg lettuce is one of the crunchier lettuce types due to its high water content in the leaves.  I don’t recommend growing iceberg lettuce, especially later in the Prairie season, as it tends to bolt early and has many disease problems under the hot summer temperatures. 

Seeding distances between plants and rows for lettuce will be determined by the type of lettuce being grown.  Follow directions on the seed package.  Baby leaf lettuce can be sown much closer than romaine lettuce that will be harvested as large heads.  Lettuce seed should be lightly covered at planting time (only 3mm deep). 

Lettuce is ready to harvest whenever the size of the leaf is suitable for consumption.  Remember, oversized leaves and lettuce plants that are starting to bolt will tend to be more bitter. 

Enjoy lettuce from the garden for as long as you can. The fresh flavour of garden lettuce is never the same as the lettuce purchased in the grocery store.

This column is provided courtesy of the Saskatchewan Perennial Society (SPS; saskperennial@hotmail.com ). Check our website (www.saskperennial.ca) or Facebook page (www.facebook.com/saskperennial) for a list of upcoming gardening events.

Caring for hardy roses

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Caring for hardy roses

Bernadette Vangool

Saskatchewan Perennial Society

Hardy shrub roses include those developed by Agriculture Canada, in Eastern Canada (the Explorer Series) and those bred on the prairies (the Parkland and Morden Series as well as those developed by other Canadian plant breeders). The hybrid teas and the David Austin varieties require added protection to overwinter on the Canadian prairies.

When the Morden Research Rose Program closed in 2010, the rights to the rose lines were awarded to the Canadian Nursery Landscape Association. The Artist Series of roses, ‘Emily Carr’, ‘Felix Leclerc’, ‘Bill Reid’, ‘Campfire’ and ‘Oscar Peterson’ came out of this consortium. More recently, the Vineland Research & Innovation Centre in Ontario, in partnership with the Canadian Nursery Landscape Association, continue to introduce new hardy roses. The roses known as the 49th Parallel Collection include ‘Canadian Shield’, ‘Aurora Borealis’, ‘Chinook Sunrise’ and ‘Yukon Sun’. Any of these relatively recent introductions are well worth a try.

Hardy roses are propagated on their own roots and are sold by nurseries as potted plants. They should be planted in a sunny location with good air circulation. In order to flower, roses require at least six hours of sunshine per day. Dig a hole 45 cm deep and wide. Amend the soil with compost or well rotted manure, or better yet, replace poorer soil with a good quality soil with compost added. If available, throw some alfalfa pellets into the planting hole, they are a good organic fertilizer, which will fix nitrogen and give the rose a boost. Roses should be planted at the same depth as when in the pot. Leave a “well” or dike around it to ensure that the roots are well hydrated with each watering. After planting, water well, then place an organic mulch (wood chips, post peelings, dried leaves) of 7-10 cm deep on the soil surface around the rose to conserve moisture and discourage weeds.

Photo by Bernadette Vangool. A Felix Leclerc Rose.

Your rose will require approximately two and a half centimetres of water per week. To avoid diseases such as powdery mildew, rust and blackspot, water the soil rather than the foliage. If you must water with a sprinkler, do so early enough in the day to allow the rose foliage to dry thoroughly before nightfall. If possible, select varieties which are resistant to these diseases. Be diligent about pruning out rust. It can spread to adjacent roses, even those said to be resistant.

These roses usually do not require fertilizer in their first year. In subsequent years, to encourage bloom, apply a fertilizer with a higher middle number in the spring.  I only fertilize once a year, but you can apply a weaker soluble fertilizer every two weeks. Stop fertilizing in early August to allow plants to rest, harden off and to discourage new growth before winter.

Prune your roses in the spring, as soon as they show healthy vigorous growth. Remove any old canes that show no sign of life, as well as canes that show spindly growth or crossing branches. Whenever possible, prune to just above a leaf bud that faces in the direction you want the rose to grow. Generally, this will be an outfacing bud, but sometime you may want a shrub rose to fill in at the centre. If you cut too far above the bud, the rose will expend unnecessary energy trying to feed this area, but to no avail, as that section will generally die back to the bud anyway. This energy is better used in the development of new growth.

Dead head your roses after blooms are spent, pruning them back to an outfacing bud. This signals the rose to develop a new flower cluster. I try to prune before August, after which I allow rose hips to form which provide winter interest and food for the birds.

Since roses often suffer dieback in winter, avoid pruning them in the fall, although you may want to cut back very tall canes to prevent winter wind damage.

Besides the added benefit of more flowers, pruning your roses brings you up close and personal with these beauties, providing an opportunity to inspect them for diseases and problems that may otherwise be overlooked.

This column is provided courtesy of the Saskatchewan Perennial Society (SPS; saskperennial@hotmail.com ). Check our website (www.saskperennial.ca) or Facebook page (www.facebook.com/saskperennial) for a list of upcoming gardening events.

Roses in a pollinator garden

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Roses in a pollinator garden

Bernadette Vangool

Saskatchewan Perennial Society

Many gardeners, having been made aware of the beneficial work of bees and other pollinators in food production, are starting to incorporate native plants into their landscape to encourage the success of native pollinators.

The best roses for the native bees are most likely the native roses, such as Rosa arkansa, Rosa woodsii and Rosa acicularis. But these may not be appropriate for many of our gardens as they can spread aggressively and may not bloom profusely.

Scent, colour and shape attract bees to flowers. The stronger the scent in a rose, usually the higher the nectar content. Some bees prefer tube like flowers whereas many bumblebees prefer a large landing pad. It is not uncommon to see several bees foraging on the heads of large sunflowers.

Roses bred for our harsh prairie climate, often have traded their heavenly scent for hardiness. So to attract bees to your yard, it is essential to provide that scent with other companion plants such as centaurea, catmints, giant hyssop and spireas. Another way is to incorporate rugosa roses, which tend to be more fragrant and will attract bees throughout the day. Among the rugosas are: ‘Hansa’, (found in old farm yards); the Bugnet roses developed by Georges Bugnet in Alberta; ‘Henry Hudson’ developed in Ottawa by Felicitas Svejda; and finally the Pavement roses which were developed in Germany, but are perfectly hardy here on the prairies. The Purple Pavement’ rose thrives in the Heritage Rose Garden at the Forestry Farm Park, where others are eaten to about a foot off the ground by deer. ‘Purple Pavement’ roses appear to be somewhat deer resistant and are always teaming with bee activity.

Photo by Brian Baldwin. Rose curculio hard at work.

It is thought that bees do not like dark colours or can’t see the colour red. So, if you are trying to attract pollinators, avoid the dark red hues such as ‘Cuthbert Grant.’ It’s a beautiful rose, but I have never seen bees on it.

Compared to other flowers, roses produce very little nectar, so bees won’t stop at each flower for very long. Bee activity among the Parkland and Explorer roses is heaviest in the early morning hours, when they are most fragrant and new flowers are opening. To provide roses with a larger landing pad, plant varieties that have single to semi-double flowers (those with 5 to 15 petals). They provide lots of pollen and have more stamens for bees to forage.

Many other insects aid in the pollination of roses and are beneficial for different reasons, such as ants or lady beetles that control aphids. However, some insects can prove quite destructive, chief among these are the rose weevil or rose curculio which frequents the light coloured Pavement roses, but can also visit other varieties. Weevils drill holes in the rose buds and then suck out all the juices of the young bud, often preventing the buds from opening. Like the lily beetle, the best method of control is to pick them off and crush them underfoot. Or, catch them in a jar of water, as they drop from the plant to the ground.

Sawflies are important pollinators of crops, but their larvae, which resemble little green caterpillars which hang out underneath freshly grown leaves, can do considerable damage. If a small area is of concern, often just the new lower branches, you can pick them off and prune out any unsightly growth. I often disregard minimal damage, but keep an eye open to ensure it stays localized. For larger infestations, consider the use of insecticide soap to deter larvae from attacking the rest of the plant. Finally, leaf cutter bees may take some nice circular pieces from the edges of some of your rose foliage, but this scarcely hurts the rose and provides good nesting material for the bees.

And how do you tell that the pollinators have been on the job? Well. rose hips of course!

This column is provided courtesy of the Saskatchewan Perennial Society (SPS; saskperennial@hotmail.com ). Check our website (www.saskperennial.ca) or Facebook page (www.facebook.com/saskperennial) for a list of upcoming gardening events.

Grasshoppers – not all bad!

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Grasshoppers – not all bad!

Cedric Gillott

Saskatchewan Perennial Society

With just over 80 species in Saskatchewan and occurring in vast numbers in some years, it’s not surprising that, in the opinion of many readers, grasshoppers would rank first in a list of ‘worst insects’ (followed closely, of course, by mosquitoes!). So, what is it that gives them this reputation and do they have any ‘saving graces’ that may warrant their forgiveness?

Well, first off, this reputation is engendered by the activity of just a handful of pest species, notably, the lesser migratory grasshopper, the clear-winged, and the two-striped. Under suitable conditions (see below), populations of these species can become huge, causing massive damage not only to agricultural crops but to vegetables under cultivation in gardens. Indeed, when wheat was essentially the only agricultural crop under cultivation, the lesser migratory grasshopper had a reputation as the major insect pest of the Canadian Prairies. However, since crop diversification, its ranking has been challenged by contenders such as wheat midge and especially crucifer flea beetles.

Like those of other insects, the life cycle of grasshoppers is strongly influenced by weather conditions. All but one or two prairie species have but a single generation per year and lay their eggs in late summer. If available, females select south- or west-facing slopes including ditches as these tend to become snow-free and warm up more quickly in the spring. The eggs, which may or may not begin embryonic development in the fall, are the overwintering stage, capable of surviving the bitterly cold prairie winter (though a good coating of snow certainly helps to insulate them from temperature extremes). Eggs hatch in late spring, juveniles grow quickly through summer, and the adults mate and lay their eggs in the soil while ever warm weather continues. Depending on the species, a female might lay 20-25 eggs in a frothy mass (an egg pod), and produce up to 10 of these during her quite short life.

So, one may ask, how can grasshoppers sometimes appear in such massive numbers while at other times they are barely noticeable? And it is here that weather plays a major role. A warm, dry spring accelerates embryonic development, hatching, and growth of young grasshoppers, leading to a larger proportion of the population surviving to become adults. Simultaneously, the lack of moisture retards plant growth and that which does occur is rapidly gobbled up by the developing ‘hoppers’. When warm, dry springs occur in several consecutive years, grasshopper populations can build up massively and ravage seedling crops. Conversely, cool, wet spring conditions are great for plants while slowing down grasshopper growth (and, incidentally, facilitating the spread of insect diseases which can have a large impact on grasshopper numbers). Thus, (crop) plant development outstrips grasshopper growth, and the insects seldom reach noticeable densities.

Dan Johnson/Lethbridge. By contrast, when in flight, the outstretched hind wings render the grasshopper highly conspicuous and easily mistaken for the mourning cloak butterfly.

On the flip side of the coin, what are grasshoppers’ ‘saving graces’? Their primary value is that they are a major (even primary) food source for many native birds and other vertebrates, as well as for some predatory and parasitic insects. This is especially so for birds in the breeding season and when they are building up food reserves prior to their fall migration.

As well, several species are quite attractive in their coloration and habits. For example, the Carolina grasshopper, perhaps our largest species with females having a wing span reaching 10 cm, is quite common though often missed due to its excellent camouflage, matching the bare ground on which it prefers to sit. However, in flight the insect is strikingly conspicuous, especially the males as they flitter and hover in the air while attempting to attract females. To the untrained eye, they can easily be mistaken for mourning cloak butterflies.

In most years, grasshoppers will not be a significant pest in the vegetable garden: for one thing, by the time the insects are at their hungriest (the ‘teenage’ juveniles and breeding adults), garden plants will be essentially fully grown; and secondly, as their name indicates, most grasshopper species prefer to eat members of the grass family, not the broad-leaved plants that constitute the majority of our garden crops. Only in a rare ‘plague’ year might it become necessary to consider applying some form of control.

Cedric Gillott is a retired entomologist and professor emeritus in the Department of Biology at the University of Saskatchewan. This column is provided courtesy of the Saskatchewan Perennial Society (SPS; saskperennial@hotmail.com). Check our website (www.saskperennial.ca) or Facebook page (www.facebook.com/saskperennial) for a list of upcoming gardening events.

Looking into the rusts

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Looking into the rusts

by Jill Thomson

The fungi that cause rust diseases are an interesting group. Although they disfigure their host plants, they rarely destroy them, finding a way to feed off the hosts without killing them, while producing different spore stages, sometimes as many as five, sometimes on two different hosts, in order to perpetuate their life cycle.

Rusts have historical significance, going back to at least Roman times. There are records of a festival, called the Robigalia, where sacrifices of red animals (such as foxes, dogs, cows) were made to the rust god, Robigus, to protect the wheat crops from destruction.

More recently cereal rusts have caused epidemics that destroyed the wheat crops planted by European colonists in North America. Stem rust of wheat was found to have 5 spore stages and the barberry plant was required as a host to complete the life cycle. In 1918 the United States created a program that required the removal of barberry in wheat growing areas.

Eventually a barberry testing program was developed to ensure that susceptible barberry species were not grown in areas where wheat stem rust was a problem. I now grow one of those barberries in my yard. Data also showed that spring infection occurred in Canada because spores were being blown north from infected wheat fields in the USA, so barberry is not so important for providing spores in the spring.

In Saskatchewan, we frequently see infection of roses, saskatoons, hollyhocks, and sunflowers. All are caused by different rust species, with varying complexity in their life cycles.

Rose rust can be caused by several species belonging to the genus Phragmidium, and only roses are infected. The disease begins in early summer, when you will see round, blackish-brown spots with orange, tan, or yellow centers on the leaves. Infected leaves turn yellow, and on the underside of the leaf you will see clusters of tiny, orange spores. These spores may also be formed on the stems, as you can see on the infected wild roses I photographed at a Rosewood park in mid-June this year.

Infection often starts on the lower part of the plant probably because rust likes the humid conditions found in the lower foliage. Usually, foliage on the bottom of the plant succumbs first, and then the disease moves its way up the plant. In the fall, the leaves or stems will develop black spores.

Rust spores travel in air currents and water splash. The spores cause infection when temperatures are around 20°C and moisture must be present on the leaves for at least 2 hours. This information helps you control the disease: avoid crowding your plants so they dry out quickly after rain, water below the foliage so moisture does not stay on the leaves.

Photo by Jill Thomson
Wild rose with rust infections on leaf and stem.

Remove and destroy any lesions you see early in the season, and if black cankers develop on the stems in the fall prune them out and destroy them, as they contain the spore stage that will overwinter.  Rugosa roses are very resistant to rust and hybrids are more susceptible, so check which to plant if you are having rust problems. There are also fungicides that can be used if the disease is problematic.

Sunflower rust is also very host specific. The rust pustules only occur on sunflowers, on the underside of lower leaves first. They are cinnamon-brown and dusty, as they contain the spores that spread disease.

Weather and microclimate play a large role in determining disease development. Longer dew periods and dense canopies both encourage infection and development of disease. So avoiding over-crowding and long periods of leaf wetness will minimize disease development. Also removal and destruction of infected leaves helps prevent spread.

Place infected leaves in bags in the garbage, and if infection is severe remove stems and petioles that also may be infected. Black pustules containing overwintering spores will be found at the end of the season , these should be bagged and destroyed.

Hollyhock rust is caused by the fungus Puccinia malvacearum and it can infect all members of the Alcea family, which includes Mallow and Lavatera. It begins as yellow spots on the leaves, with rusty pustules containing spores on the undersurface.

The spots may grow together and cause large sections of leaf to die and ultimately the leaf will fall off. Stems may also develop spots and the disease can spread to other hollyhocks, plus any mallow weeds nearby. In fact these weeds can act as a reservoir of disease and they should be destroyed.

The conditions conducive for disease are hot and humid, so make sure there is good air circulation around the plants and do not let leaves remain wet in the evening.  Spread mulch under the plants to prevent last year’s infection from producing spores. Cut down the hollyhocks at the end of the season, and bag and remove the debris. There are fungicides that can be used if necessary. 

The 3 rusts just discussed are relatively simple diseases, affecting single host types and producing 1 or 2 spore types. The rust you find on saskatoon plants is much more complex. Saskatoon-Juniper rust alternates its growth on saskatoon plants and juniper plants, and it produces 5 spore stages to complete its life cycle. It can be extremely destructive on the saskatoon plants, destroying leaf tissue and causing malformed berries that are unfit for consumption.

Infection of saskatoon bushes occurs in the spring, when tiny, windborne spores are produced on juniper shrubs. The shrubs are infected with the fungus several years previously, and they cause the plant to grow hard, woody galls.

In damp weather at the end of May, long orange, jelly-like masses (called telial horns) grow quickly out of the galls. The tiny spores present in these jelly masses are splashed around when it rains and the spores are then blown by the wind to saskatoon bushes that are just leafing out.

The spores can travel several km, so it can be very difficult to isolate the two hosts, particularly in the wild. When the spores land on saskatoon plants they infect the new leaves, forming small orange or yellow “rust” spots on the underside of the leaves. Tiny spiny projections are then formed on the leaves, and on infected berries. The berries are unsightly and although they can be used to make juice or jelly they are not acceptable for fresh fruit consumption.

In July the rusty spots on leaves and fruit produce a different kind of spore, which is blown to juniper bushes, and it can infect, and cause the gall formation that takes several years to mature, to complete the cycle.  Control of this disease is difficult, the telial galls can be pruned out of junipers that are close by, but spores can travel easily on wind currents. Many commercial growers have to resort to a protective fungicide spray in the spring, to prevent infection of the bushes.

Regardless of their complexity, rust diseases do not usually cause complete death and destruction of their hosts, which probably explains their success historically.

Jill Thomson is a retired Plant Pathologist who lives in Saskatoon, where she enjoys gardening with her family, including the dogs. This column is provided courtesy of the Saskatchewan Perennial Society (SPS; saskperennial@hotmail.com). Check our website (www.saskperennial.ca) or Facebook page (www.facebook.com/saskperennial) for a list of upcoming gardening events.

Edging, Rock Garden or Groundcover? [Part II]

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Edging, Rock Garden or Groundcover? [Part II]

by Sarah Williams

[Continued from last week’s article with more perennials that can serve several purposes in our landscapes] With attractive flowers and foliage, and a fairly low height, these are easy to grow and hardy. They can edge a border or path, are at home in a rock garden, and given time, can act as groundcovers in “difficult” areas.

Dwarf baby’s breath (Gypsophila repens)

An old-fashioned flower, baby’s breath is native to the Alps and Pyrenees Mountains of Europe but does very well on the Canadian prairies. The Latin name says it all: Gypsophila means a lover of chalk and refers to its preference for lime-based or alkaline soils, which we have in abundance, while repens refers to its creeping or prostrate form – ideal for a rock garden or edging. Soft, misty clouds of pink or white flowers appear from early to mid-summer above narrow grey leaves about 20 cm (8 in.) in height. But its deep roots make it difficult to transplant once established. It does best in full sun in average well drained soil. Among the varieties are: ‘Alba’ with white flowers; ‘Rosea’ which is mat-forming with single, rose-pink flowers; and ‘Rosyveil’, developed by Karl Foerster of ornamental grass fame in 1933, with semi-double, pink to white flowers in late summer.

Coral bell Morden hybrids (Heuchera richardsonii x H. sanguinea) were developed at the Brandon and Morden Research Stations. Unlike many of the newer introductions, these are dependably hardy and long lived. Henry Marshall combined the hardiness of our native coral bells with the beauty of the tender H. sanguinea to develop ‘Brandon Glow’, ‘Brandon Pink’ and ‘Northern Fire’ which were released in 1983. Lynn Collicut continued this work and released ‘Ruby Mist’. All of these are 50-60 cm (20-24 in.) in height, exceptionally hardy, long lived, with excellent scalloped foliage and flowers with a long blooming period during June and July. ‘Brandon Pink’ has deep coral pink flowers and faintly mottled foliage; ‘Brandon Glow’ has darker pink flowers and distinctly mottled foliage; ‘Northern Fire’ has darker red flowers; and ‘Ruby Mist’ has ruby red flowers and dark green foliage. Place them in full sun to light shade in average well drained soil. They are easily propagated by spring division.

‘Dropmore Blue’ catmint (Nepeta) is a hybrid developed by Frank Skinner and introduced in 1932. It has spikes of small, tubular blue flowers above oval, gray-green leaves, forming an informal mound of about 40 cm (16 in.). Because the flowers are sterile, it blooms all summer and does not produce unwanted seedlings. Place it in full sun to partial shade in well-drained soil. It is easily propagated by spring division.

Photo by Hugh Skinner.
‘Drop more Blue’, or Catmint, blooms all summer. Place it in full sun to partial shade, and in well-drained soil.

Wild strawberry (Fragaria virginiana) is only 30 cm (12 in.) in height with attractive semi-evergreen foliage, white flowers that bloom in early summer and small but exceedingly sweet and tasty red strawberries. Native to the prairies and parklands, it has long been enjoyed by Indigenous Peoples. Easily propagated by separating the plantlets produced by the stolons, it should be planted in full sun to partial shade in average well drained soil enriched with organic matter.

Soft lungwort (Pulmonaria mollis) differs from most lungworts in that its foliage does not have the variegation that many gardeners have come to expect in a lungwort. Its leaves are instead a soft, hairy green and 30-45 cm (12-18 in.) high. The small, bell-shaped flowers are among the earliest, changing from red to blue as they mature. In its favour, it’s more adaptable and much longer lived than most lungworts. It will flourish in full sun to full shade, given an average to moist soil well amended with organic matter. Propagate by division after flowering.

Sara Williams is the author of many books including Gardening Naturally with Hugh Skinner, Creating the Prairie Xeriscape, and with Bob Bors, Growing Fruit in Northern Gardens. She gives workshops on a wide range of gardening topics throughout the prairies.

This column is provided courtesy of the Saskatchewan Perennial Society (SPS; saskperennial@hotmail.com). Check our website (www.saskperennial.ca) or Facebook page (www.facebook.com/saskperennial) for a list of upcoming gardening events.

Edging, Rock Garden or Groundcover? [Part I]

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Edging, Rock Garden or Groundcover? [Part I]

Sara Williams

All of the following perennials are attractive, fairly low growing, hardy and can serve multiple functions in our prairie gardens. They can edge a border or path, are at home in a rock garden, and, given time, can act as groundcovers in “difficult” areas.

Bearberry (Arctostaphtlos uva-ursi) has a challenging botanical name but is easy to grow. A short (10 cm/4 in.) broadleaf evergreen, native to the polar regions of the Northern Hemisphere, it produces small, pale pink, downward-facing urn-shaped flowers followed by bright red edible berries (loved by bears as well). Place it in full sun to partial shade in average well drained soil.

Canadian ginger (Asarum canadense) is similar in height as bearberry, but is characterized by a steadily increasing mound of attractive, soft, light green, kidney-shaped foliage which mostly hide the small brown flowers produced in spring. The common name is derived from the ginger-like smell of the roots. It’s native from New Brunswick to Manitoba and south to South Carolina. The foliage can cause dermatitis in sensitive individuals. Best to wear gloves and deal with it in the cool of the morning. It does well in evenly moist, well-drained soil rich in organic matter.

Perennial alyssum, basket of gold (Aurinia saxatilis) was one of the very first perennials I grew from seed. It’s long lived, low maintenance, and produces dainty mounds of bright yellow flowers that practically hide the grey-dusted green foliage for about 6 weeks from late spring to early summer. An alpine plant native to Europe of 22-30 cm (9-12 in.), it’s very versatile in our landscapes. Place it in full sun on well-drained soil. For a neater appearance, it may be lightly sheared after flowering.

Snow-in-summer (Cerastium tomentosum) is perhaps not a very marketable name after such a long winter! It’s characterized by masses of pure white flowers over low woolly silver foliage. Only 15-30 cm (6-12 in.) high, it is long lived and blooms for 4-6 weeks from late spring to early summer. Very drought-tolerant once established, it should be grown in full sun on well-drained soil.

Photo by Sara Williams. Cerestium snow in summer is characterized by masses of pure white flowers over low woolly silver foliage.

Blue fescue (Festuca glauca) is a lovely blue ornamental grass of only 10 to 20 cm (4-8 in.). The variety ‘Skinner’s Blue’ is one of the hardiest for the prairies. Its biochemistry is unique in that an chemical is released by its roots inhibits the germination of seeds above its root space. This results in less competition from other plants for space, sunlight, nutrients and moisture. And from the gardener’s perspective, little or no weeding. Place it in full sunlight on well-drained soil.

Siberian avens (Geum urbanum) produces bright, orange-red, five-petaled flowers on erect stems from late spring to early summer. The bright green, pinnately compound foliage is attractive throughout the growing season. Native to Europe and western Asia, it was considered a medicinal herb throughout the Middle Ages. Place it in full sun to partial shade on average well drained soil. It is drought-tolerant once established.Woolly speedwell (Veronica incana) has a calm and relaxing appearance with its combination of blue flowers and soft silver foliage. Between 30-45 cm (12-18 in.) in height, it blooms for four weeks from late June to early July. It is best placed in full sun to partial shade in average well drained soil. It is easily propagated by spring division.

Sara Williams is the author of many books including Gardening Naturally with Hugh Skinner, Creating the Prairie Xeriscape, and with Bob Bors, Growing Fruit in Northern Gardens. She gives workshops on a wide range of gardening topics throughout the prairies.

This column is provided courtesy of the Saskatchewan Perennial Society (SPS; saskperennial@hotmail.com). Check our website (www.saskperennial.ca) or Facebook page (www.facebook.com/saskperennial) for a list of upcoming gardening events.

Honeywood Nursery: A Beautiful Saskatchewan Tourist Destination

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Honeywood Nursery: A Beautiful Saskatchewan Tourist Destination

by Jackie Bantle

One of the challenges of living in Saskatchewan is trying to accomplish all of our gardening events in 6 months of the year.  There is never a lack of outdoor plant spaces to visit in the summer.  If you haven’t had a chance to visit Honeywood Heritage Nursery near Parkside, Saskatchewan, what have you been waiting for?

Honeywood Heritage Nursery was the home and nursery of Dr. A.J. (Bert) Porter.  Dr. Porter was a pioneer plant breeder in Saskatchewan.  Not only was he a prolific lily breeder, but he is also responsible for testing and making many types of hardy fruit available to Saskatchewan gardeners.  Bert Porter was born in 1901 in Guilford, England and immigrated to Canada with his family in 1907 to settle on a homestead near Parkside Saskatchewan.  After taking his ‘normal school’ training, Bert taught for twelve years in rural schools.  During the depression of the 1930’s, Bert Porter left his teaching career to start a  nursery on his farm near Parkside, Saskatchewan.   Although many customers ordered plants from him during the depression, some customers could not afford to pick up the plants they ordered.  Instead of throwing out the excessive plants, he planted them out.  Soon, he learned that many of the fruit plants he was selling were grafted onto tender root stock and did not overwinter well.  It became his goal to develop hardy fruit plants.   If you’ve grown a ‘Honeywood’ saskatoon, ‘HoneyRed’ Rhubarb, ‘Parkside’ gooseberry, ‘Parkside’ plum, ‘Green Elf’ plum or a ‘Spring Snow’ flowering crabapple (which doesn’t produce fruit), you have benefited from Porter’s breeding work.

For the first fifteen years of the nursery, Bert focused on growing raspberries, strawberries and apples.  He helped develop a winter hardy strawberry.  Around 1948, Bert started growing lilies on his nursery and by 1954 he was selling lily bulbs.  For the next 40+ years, Dr. Porter continued to breed plants, especially lilies.  He has 43 named lilies credited to his name.  Some of the more famous varieties include, ‘Cinnamon Toast’,  ‘Sky Dancer’, ‘Jolly Miller’ and ‘Orange Light’.

Although Bert Porter did not do any formal studies in horticulture, in 1963, he was awarded a Doctor of Laws Degree at the University of Saskatchewan.  In 1991, Dr. Bert Porter retired from his nursery.  Over the next decade, the nursery fell into disrepair.   In 1999, a group of neighbors purchased Honeywood Nursery to preserve its unique horticultural legacy. The original buildings and grounds have since been restored and many of the “lost” plants identified and labelled.

In 2001, Honeywood (Dr. A.J. Porter) Heritage Nursery was designated a Municipal Heritage property.  In 2007, the nursery received provincial Heritage Property status and in 2009 it became a registered non-profit corporation. 

Special annual events at Honeywood nursery include Lilies in Bloom and A Touch of Autumn.  This year, Lilies in Bloom will be held from 11:00am – 5:00pm on Sunday, July 16th.  There will be musical entertainment and artisan displays along with food and drinks as well as walking tours through the lily gardens and plants to purchase.  A Touch of Autumn is scheduled for Sunday, September 17th from 11:00am – 4:00pm.  The fall colors of the surrounding trees along with fresh rhubarb and apple pie are an excellent way to spend a fall day.  There are always lily bulbs and perennials for sale as well as local musicians and artisans selling their crafts.

You don’t need a special event to visit Honeywood nursery.  There are always plants to enjoy, trails to walk and a nursery to purchase some plants of your own.  This year the nursery opened to the public on May 12th and will be open throughout the summer and fall from 9:00am – 5:00pm daily.   Check the Honeywood Heritage Nursery Inc. webpage for up-to-date information and announcements.  More information and details can be found on the Honeywood Nursery Inc. website: http://www.honeywood-lilies.ca/.

Bantle is a horticulturist working in the Dept. Of Plant Sciences at the University of Saskatchewan.

This column is provided courtesy of the Saskatchewan Perennial Society (SPS; saskperennial@hotmail.com). Check our website (www.saskperennial.ca) or Facebook page (www.facebook.com/saskperennial) for a list of upcoming gardening events.

Blister Beetles — handle with care!

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Blister Beetles — handle with care!

Cedric Gillott

Saskatchewan has about 20 species of blister beetles (aka oil beetles), ranging in body length from a few millimetres to about 2.5 centimetres. They are often conspicuously coloured and can be found on a range of plants though many have a fondness for solanaceous crops and legumes, especially caragana and alfalfa. Conspicuous body colour is a typical feature of many creatures (other insect examples include ladybird beetles, monarch butterflies and box elder [maple] bugs) and shows would-be predators that the owner is distasteful and to be eaten ‘at your own risk’.

The beetles get their common names from their ability, if handled roughly, to exude an oily material, a process known as ‘reflex bleeding’, from limb joints and other body regions where their cuticle is thin. The material released is actually their blood which contains cantharidin, a nasty chemical that causes blistering of the skin. In mild cases, gentle washing with warm soapy water will provide relief; however, if blistering is more severe, medical advice should be sought.

Much worse, cantharidin is highly toxic and if ingested, even in quite small quantities, for example, by livestock, can cause severe illness and ultimately death. Though veterinarians in Saskatchewan and Alberta are not aware of cases in these provinces, in the USA there have been several reports of blister beetles causing horse deaths. The horses were fed hay containing alfalfa that had been crushed to accelerate drying, an action that had also squashed resident blister beetles, releasing cantharidin into the forage.

Adults generally emerge from their overwintering sites in May/June, living for several weeks, feeding and mating. Then, depending on the species, female beetles lay their eggs in the ground near a grasshopper egg bed or the entrance to the nest of a ground-dwelling solitary bee. A few species place their eggs in flowers. At this point, blister beetle development becomes particularly interesting (at least for entomologists!). Unlike the vast majority of insects whose juvenile stage is either a nymph (as in grasshoppers) or a larva (like caterpillars, maggots and other beetle grubs), blister beetle larvae undergo ‘hypermetamorphosis’, a reference to the fact that there are two distinct juvenile stages. From the eggs, hatch highly mobile, 6-legged creatures (the nymphal equivalent) called ‘triungulins’, a reference to the three claws at the tip of each leg that are used for digging or clinging on to the host bee. Depending on where their mother originally laid her eggs, the triungulins dig down into the soil till they find a grasshopper egg pod, or they wait at the bee’s nest entrance or in the flower for the host’s arrival. When a bee arrives, the triungulins climb onto her, to be transported to the nest housing the bee’s own eggs and larvae.

From this point, the triungulins simply snack on the host’s eggs, and at their first moult change their form to become plump, immobile grubs (i.e., the typical larval form). With the onset of cold fall weather, feeding stops and the grubs remain dormant till spring. Then, depending on the species, they may continue to feed for a short time or immediately pupate, enabling metamorphosis to the adult form to occur.

Though as noted earlier, blister beetles show a preference for plants in the potato and pea/bean families, they will feed readily on many other plants. This may account for the rarity with which they reach pest proportions either agriculturally or in gardens. Should your veggie patch be invaded by a large enough number of blister beetles to warrant control, wear gloves and simply drop (or knock off) the beetles into a pail of soapy water where they will soon drown.Cedric Gillott is a retired entomologist and professor emeritus in the Department of Biology at the University of Saskatchewan. This column is provided courtesy of the Saskatchewan Perennial Society (SPS; saskperennial@hotmail.com). Check our website (www.saskperennial.ca) or Facebook page (www.facebook.com/saskperennial) for a list of upcoming gardening events.

Clematis: Them that climb and them that don’t

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Clematis: Them that climb and them that don’t

Sara Williams

Two types of clematis can be grown on the prairies – climbers and non-climbers. Most gardeners are familiar with the former. While some do very well here, others need a great deal of coddling, coupled with your most protected microclimate and yet still may not survive. They share equal space on garden centres benches. So how does one know if the plant you’re considering will be hardy? Read the Latin names on the plant tags!

The hybrids of Clematis alpina and Clematis macropetala are among the loveliest, hardiest and easiest to grow.  They vary from 2.6 to 4 m (8 to 12 ft), climb by means of twining leaf stalks, and bloom from late spring to early summer on the previous year’s growth. They need little pruning unless blocking a window or an arbor. They benefit from deep, organically enriched soil, a 10-cm (4-in.) layer of mulch at their base and deep watering (to a depth of 45 cm/18 in.) every two weeks. Bloom is greatest in full sun.

The alpine clematis (Clematis alpina), native to Europe and Asia, has bell-shaped flowers in white, pink or blue, with each leaf consisting of three groups of three leaflets. Generally 2 to 2.5 m (6 to 8 ft) high, among the varieties are ‘Ruby’ with deep pink flowers, ‘Willy’ with pale pink flowers with a darker edge, ‘Constance’ with almost red flowers and ‘Francis Rivis’ and ‘Pamela Jackman’ with blue flowers.

The large petaled clematis (Clematis macropetela), native to China, is taller, between 3.6 and 4 m (10 to 12 ft), with bell-shaped flowers. Many have been developed by prairie plant breeders. Frank Skinner introduced ‘Blue Bird’ with lavender blue flowers, ‘Rosy O’Grady’ with long pink pointed sepals, and the snow white ‘White Swan’, while Stan Zubrowski’s ‘Joe Zary’ has double purple flowers.

Quite different from the above are hybrids of the herbaceous Clematis integrifolia and the climbing Clematis jackmanii. These begin growth each spring at ground level and climb to about 3 m (9 ft), blooming on the current season’s growth in late summer. The roots survive, but the foliage is killed to soil level each winter and should be pruned off in early spring. One of the best is ‘Blue Boy’, introduced by Frank Skinner in 1947. A more recent introduction from Latvia is ‘Pamjat Serdsta’ with light violet flowers.

Herbaceous, non-climbing clematis are less well known and not as readily available. They are in need of a marketing agent and a propagation push by wholesale growers. From 0.6 to 1.3 m (2 to 4 ft) high, they’re generally blue or purple, long-lived, hardy and well behaved. I’ve had some for more than thirty years and recommend them highly. Plant them in full sun or light shade in soil well amended with organic matter. Water them as you would most perennials. Remove the previous season’s dead foliage each spring.

The ground clematis (C. recta) is native to the hills and scrubland from southeast Europe to Russia. It’s 1 to 1.3 m (3 to 4 ft) high and covered with panicles of tiny 2.5-cm (1-in.), sweetly scented, star-shaped white flowers in mid-summer.

Mine conceals the lid of my septic tank.  Planted adjacent to what you wish to conceal, gently bend it over once it’s about 18 inches high, placing a small log on top to keep it there. It soon forms a mound of sweetly scented flowers – much sweeter than the contents of your average septic tank. To access the tank, simply move the mass of flowers and foliage to the side.

Purple ground clematis (C. recta ‘Purpurea’) is similar but with purple foliage. The purpling varies and is more pronounced on younger foliage.

The Hungarian clematis (C. integrifolia), native to southern Europe and Asia, including Hungary, is about 60 cm (2 ft) high with large, blue, nodding, bell- or urn-shaped flowers with white stamens.  It blooms from late spring to late summer, becoming somewhat sprawling as the season progresses, and benefits when supported by a peony hoop.

The hairy or fern-leafed clematis (C. hirsutissima), native to the Great Plains, has much divided, almost fern-like, foliage covered with long silky hairs. It’s similar in size and flower characteristics to C. integrifolia, but blooms in spring. The blue flowers are followed by feathery seed heads.  I obtained this in the mid-1970s from Bert Porter’s Honeywood Nursery and it’s been flourishing ever since. That’s fifty years!  A truly lovely and rare plant, I’ve never seen another source for it. If you find it, grab it!

Sara Williams is the author of many books including Gardening Naturally with Hugh Skinner, Creating the Prairie Xeriscape, and with Bob Bors, Growing Fruit in Northern Gardens. She gives workshops on a wide range of gardening topics throughout the prairies.

This column is provided courtesy of the Saskatchewan Perennial Society (SPS; saskperennial@hotmail.com ). Upcoming event – Spring Plant and Seed Exchange and Plant Sale Tuesday May 30th 6:30pm at Saskatoon Forestry and Zoo Hall. Check our website (www.saskperennial.ca) for more details.

Spring has finally sprung

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Spring has finally sprung

Erl Svendsen

Saskatchewan Perennial Society

Prairie springs are very short – the snow has only just melted, daytime temperatures are consistently above zero – and before you know it, trees are leafing out and the lawn needs mowing (but not quite yet). This spring sputtered once with the extra snowfall but I look at it as extra moisture, something that has been in short supply the last few years.  As I’m at the starting block waiting for Mother Nature to start the race into summer, now is the perfect time to start getting ready for the year ahead:

            •           Equipment maintenance: Get your lawn mower and rototiller tuned-up now to avoid the rush. While you’re at it, sharpen the mower blades. Sharp blades do less lawn damage, promoting healthy lush growth.

            •           Tools: Sharpen and clean your hand tools. Use an axe file to put a new edge on your shovels and hoes. For tools like pruners that require a finer edge, use a sharpening stone or replace the blade if it is damaged.

            •           Lawn care: Drain any standing water. Standing water that remains longer than a week or two is a problem not only for lawns but also trees and perennials. If you can, direct the water away from your yard with a ditch or pump it out to the street (but not your neighbour’s yard). Wait until early June (after the grass has started to grow) to dethatch or aerate.

            •           Tree and shrub care: Remove dead, damaged, rubbing or diseased wood. In the case of overgrown shrubs, remove up to one third of the oldest branches (thickest stems with darkest brown bark) at their base to rejuvenate. If you’ve had trouble in the past with aphids, leaf rollers, mites, or scale insects, consider applying a horticultural or dormant oil spray to trees and shrubs before they leaf out. Horticultural oil is a fairly benign product, that works by literally suffocating the eggs or overwintering insect stage rather than killing the adult insects with a toxic substance.

            •           Perennial care: Once your beds are somewhat dry, cut back perennials and remove dead and decaying leaves. You can put this organic material in the compost provided they weren’t diseased last year (e.g. don’t compost rust-infested hollyhock stems). Do this before new growth appears; ornamental grasses and chives are especially early to start growing.

            •           Mulch: Apply fresh compost or other organic mulch to preserve soil moisture and moderate soil temperatures around perennials, trees, shrubs and bush fruit during the growing season.

            •           Seeds: Order or purchase seeds for the upcoming season. Most vegetables can be started now (tomatoes, squash).

            •           Vegetable garden: As soon as the soil is dry enough, rototill your garden to loosen and warm up the soil. This will also bring overwintering pests and weed seeds to the surface to dry out or get picked off by our feathered friends. But remember: if you rototill when it is too wet, you will end up with compacted soil – and a muddy mess. Add organic matter such as well-rotted compost or manure. The common wisdom of waiting until the May-long weekend to seed or transplant seedlings applies to tender or chilling-sensitive plants such as beans, corn, cucumbers, peppers, potatoes, squash, tomatoes and the like. What you can plant now are beets, carrots, lettuce, peas, radishes and spinach for an early harvest.

            •           Enjoy: Relax and take a moment or five to admire the early flowering tulips, grape hyacinth, spring Adonis, pussy willow, liverwort (Hepatica) and forsythia. Or take a walk on the wild side (e.g. natural spaces) to catch a glimpse of prairie crocus (in Saskatoon, stroll through Prairie Crocus Park along the river bank, north of the city: https://meewasin.com/crocus-prairie/).

This should keep you busy, at home and off the streets for the next few weeks. Happy Spring!

Erl gardens in Saskatoon.

This column is provided courtesy of the Saskatchewan Perennial Society (SPS; saskperennial@hotmail.com ). Upcoming event – Spring Plant and Seed Exchange and Plant Sale Tuesday May 30th 6:30pm at Saskatoon Forestry and Zoo Hall. Check our website (www.saskperennial.ca) for more details.

Plants for the pollinators

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Plants for the pollinators

Candace Savage and Joanne Blythe,

Wild about Saskatoon

A quiet revolution is taking place in gardens all over Saskatoon. A renewal. A return to appreciating the beauty of the plants that have been blooming on these lands for thousands of years. By adding native plants to your garden, you can be part of this “growing” trend.

Why is it important to welcome native plants back into our neighbourhoods? We live in a time of crisis. The Earth is losing natural habitats at an alarming rate, and the prairies have been hit especially hard. In Saskatchewan as a whole, at least 80% of the grassland ecosystem has already been lost, either to agriculture and other industries or, increasingly, to urban sprawl. Around Saskatoon, the situation is even worse, with more than 95% of the natural vegetation gone.

Loss leads to loss, and it is unsurprising to learn that the populations of grassland birds are in free-fall, suffering the deepest and most widespread declines of any habitat group on the continent. Meanwhile, both regionally and globally, insects are suffering drastic slides in both diversity and abundance. Scientists have begun to warn of an “insect apocalypse.”

As the late, great biologist E. O. Wilson once noted, insects and other arthropods are “the little things that make the world go round.” Flowering plants, which provide the fruits and vegetables that make up the healthiest third of our diets, cannot survive without pollinating insects, notably bees. Birds cannot thrive without insect larvae to feed their young. Did you know that 95% of songbirds, including species that eat seeds as adults, require caterpillars to rear their nestlings? The plants nourish the insects; the insects nourish the birds. Everything is interrelated.

Meanwhile out in the garden, we can help to keep the circle of life turning by providing insects with the resources they need to thrive. Yes, we are talking about gardening for insects! That means growing native plants to sustain native insects. Supporting moths and butterflies through the stages of their complex lives involves choosing plants like goldenrods and sunflowers that feed lots of caterpillars, while at the same time making sure there are nectar-sweet blossoms like bergamot and giant hyssop to feed the flying adults. It means leaving leaf litter on the ground to protect overwintering eggs, pupae and adults.

And then there are the wild bees! We have at least 300 species of native bees in the province, some smaller than ants, others the size of your thumb. They need a variety of flowering plants that provide both nectar and protein-rich pollen as food for adults and young. Since different species have different preferences and needs, it is important to restore as much diversity and complexity to our native plantings as we can manage. Start small and watch how your interest and your garden grow.

Wild bees also need a shallow source of water and safe places to rear their young. Bumblebees might form a colony in a mulch pile or an old mouse nest. Most of our wild bees are solitary and nest in hollow stems or bare ground. Learn to enjoy a messy garden, and the bees will love you for it. Never, ever use insecticides or other poisons.

When you do all these things, gift after gift arrives–joy at that first hint of mauve as the crocus you planted last year emerges from the half-frozen ground, wonder at a sleeping bumblebee in a bergamot blossom, curiosity piqued when you spy a little red-and-gold bee land in fallen leaves. What could it possibly be called? As the plants take root and bloom in this place where they belong, we too begin to belong.

For more information, to view a gallery of native plants and find out how to register your own native-plant garden as a Pollinator Paradise, please visit us online at https://wildaboutsaskatoon.org/pollinator-paradise-yxe/

This column is provided courtesy of the Saskatchewan Perennial Society (SPS; saskperennial@hotmail.com ). Check our website (www.saskperennial.ca) or Facebook page (www.facebook.com/saskperennial) for a list of upcoming gardening events.

Growing potatoes on the Prairies

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Growing potatoes on the Prairies

Jackie Bantle

Potatoes are one of the easiest and most rewarding vegetable crops to grow on the Prairies.  For each small seed tuber planted in the ground, a harvest of 5-10 tubers (depending on the cultivar) is typical.  No two potato cultivars are alike.  Every type of potato or cultivar has been bred for a particular purpose: boiling potatoes don’t necessarily fry well and baking potatoes don’t necessarily boil well. 

Potato cultivars recommended for boiling usually have interior flesh with a high water content and waxy texture:  these qualities ensure that they don’t turn ‘mushy’ during the boiling process.   ‘Norland’ and ‘Viking’ are red skinned, white fleshed, oval potatoes recommended for boiling.  Both cultivars are early maturing, however ‘Viking’ tends to produce larger and fewer tubers than ‘Norland’.  Both cultivars have moderate resistance to potato scab.  ‘Sangre’ is a dark red-skinned, white fleshed, oval potato recommended for boiling.  ‘Sangre’ matures slightly later in the season than ‘Norland or ‘Viking’ and is more susceptible to scab than Norland or Viking.  ‘AC Peregrine’ is a dark red-skinned, white fleshed oval potato recommended for boiling.  ‘AC Peregrine’ matures late in the season but it has an excellent tuber set.  Tubers do not tend to oversize. 

Two purple skinned, white fleshed potato cultivars that are recommended for boiling are: ‘Purple Viking’ and ‘Caribe’.  ‘Purple Viking’ is slightly later maturing than ‘Viking’ or ‘Norland’ and tubers tend to oversize.  ‘Caribe’ is similar to ‘Purple Viking’ except that the tubers tend to be more flattened in shape than ‘Purple Viking’.  Caribe is also more sensitive to common scab than ‘Purple Viking’. 

Several white/yellow skinned and yellow fleshed potato cultivars that are recommended for boiling include ‘Bintje’ and ‘Yukon Gold’.  ‘Bintje’ is a small-medium sized, oval potato with excellent flavour.  ‘Yukon Gold’ tubers mature earlier and are larger than ‘Bintje’,  however ‘Yukon Gold’ is more susceptible to potato scab than ‘Bintje’.  Both cultivars are also recommended for baking and frying.  ‘Shepody’ is an excellent, white-skinned, all-purpose potato (boiling, frying or baking) that matures early in season.  If left in the garden until the end of the season, tubers can become quite large and sometimes have hollow centres. 

One of the best tasting white/yellow skinned potatoes with yellow flesh is ‘Milva’.  This potato has excellent yields, matures in mid-late season and is excellent for boiling.  ‘Milva’ potato seed can be difficult to source.

Potato cultivars that are recommended for baking have a higher level of solids in their flesh, resulting in a firm dry texture after baking.  Potatoes with russet skins are usually recommended for baking.  ‘Russet Burbank’, ‘Russet Norkotah’, ‘Goldrush’, ‘Ranger Russet’ and ‘Umatilla Russet’ are all off-white fleshed, oblong potatoes recommended for baking and French frying. Of these five cultivars, ‘Russet Norkotah’ has the most uniform sized tubers however, the taste is probably the least favorable.  ‘Russet Burbank’ is the latest maturing.  If growing conditions are not ideal, ‘Russet Burbank’ tends to produce knobby and hollow tubers.  All russet potato cultivars are fairly resistant to scab infection. 

Potato cultivars recommended for frying or chipping have a high percentage of solids in their flesh and low sugar content.   The high solid content ensures the potatoes will stay crisp after frying while the low sugar content prevents the potatoes from becoming too dark when fried.  ‘Kennebec’ is a later maturing cultivar that is recommended for frying but also performs well when boiled or baked.  ‘Kennebec’ is moderately susceptible to scab infections.

Many gardeners try to get an early start by planting their potato tubers outdoors early in May. This is not recommended as the soil can be quite cool at that time of the year.  Cool soil conditions encourage potato seed tuber rot and a disease on potatoes known as rhizoctonia.  Rhizoctonia looks like specs of dirt on the potato skin but this so-called ‘dirt’ doesn’t wash off.  This fungal disease, Rhizoctonia solani, can reduce yields and even kill plants, if the infection is severe enough.

Avoid rhizoctonia infection by planting clean seed and planting into warm soil (at least 15°C).  An alternative to early spring planting is GREENSPROUTING your potato tubers.  Place your potato seed tubers under bright light conditions at room temperature about 3 weeks prior to planting out. Short, green sprouts will form on the potato tubers.  Once soil has warmed up, plant potato tubers in the ground as you normally would: take care not to break off the developing sprouts. By planting these pre-sprouted potato seed tubers into warm soil (3rd – 4th week in May),  plants will emerge quickly and disease incidence will be minimized. 

Jackie Bantle is a horticulturist working in the Dept. Of Plant Sciences, University of Saskatchewan. This column is provided courtesy of the Saskatchewan Perennial Society (SPS; saskperennial@hotmail.com ). Upcoming event – Spring Plant and Seed Exchange and Plant Sale Tuesday May 30th 6:30pm at Saskatoon Forestry and Zoo Hall. Check our website (www.saskperennial.ca) for more detail.

Spring Flowering Perennials (part 3 of 3)

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Spring Flowering Perennials (part 3 of 3)

Sara Williams

Saskatchewan Perennial Society

We’ll conclude our series on spring flowering perennials with globeflower, corydalis and hepatica. Last, but not least! And no spring garden should be without them.

Globeflower (Trollius spp.)

Trollius is one of the very few botanical names that is not based on Latin or Greek. It is from the Swiss-German trollblume, and, like the common English name, means a round flower. Native to the mountain meadows of Europe and Asia, they are hardy, trouble-free, and long-lived, forming slowly increasing clumps.

Varying in height from 30 to 80 cm (12-32 in.), they form neat, erect clumps of dark green, lobed or divided foliage. The globe-shaped or buttercup-like flowers are single or double. Their colour ranges from bright orange to almost white. They are fibrous-rooted.

Globeflowers require well-drained but evenly moist soil to which generous amounts of organic matter has been added. They grow best in full sun but will also do well in partial shade. They do struggle in heat or drought.

Place them in a perennial border or a waterside or bog garden. They are easily increased through division just after flowering.

Common or European globeflower(T. europaeus), native to the moist meadows of Europe and Britain, has lemon to buttery-yellow flowers and dark green, palmately divided, deeply toothed foliage. The plants range from 30 to 70 cm (12-28 in.) in height.

Trollius x cultorum hybrids generally have a globe-form flowers with their sepals rolled in, larger flowers, and good foliage. Among the varieties are: ‘Alabaster’, ‘Cheddar’,  ‘Earliest of All’ , ‘Lemon Queen’,  ‘New Moon’,  ‘Orange Princess’ and ‘Superbus’.

Ledebour trollius (T. ledebourii), native to Siberia, Korea and Mongolia, is usually available as ‘Golden Queen’ with deep orange, bowl-shaped flowers on plants 45 to 60 cm (18-24 in.) in height.

Dwarf globeflower (T. pumila), native to the Himalayan Mountains of northern India and China, forms small clumps of about 25 cm (10 in.) in height, with clear yellow, single flowers that open flat.

Noble fumitory, noble corydalis (Corydalis nobilis)

Here is a lovely perennial, one of the earliest to bloom, which should have a place in every northern garden. Sadly, it is seldom seen in our gardens. The blue-flowered corydalis are more readily available, but are not reliably hardy in most northern regions.

Photo by Sara Williams. Corydalis do well in full sun to partial shade in well-drained soil with even moisture.

First introduced to Europe in 1783, the noble corydalis is native to central Asia and Siberia. It forms leafy mounds of attractive, ferny, pinnately compound foliage with a blue-green cast. The flowers, in large dense racemes, are bright yellow with a brown tip, each with four petals, one of which is spurred. They appear in early spring on 45 to 60 cm (18-24 in.) stems. By early summer corydalis has entered dormancy, leaving not a trace until it emerges the following spring.

They do well in full sun to partial shade in well-drained soil with even moisture. Mark their position and take care not to place another plant over them once they become dormant.

This is a good border plant to place adjacent to a perennial that will modestly spread into the space vacated by the corydalis by midsummer. They are also well suited to the edge of a woodland or a shade garden. They self-seed in a very gentle and limited way.

Liverwort, liverleaf (Hepatica spp.)

Gardeners may complain about Latin names, but given a choice, there is no doubt that I would name a daughter Hepatica rather than Liverleaf or Liverwort. All of these names describe the leaves, said to resemble a human liver. The Greek word hepar means liver, while wort means a cure for. Both are based on the early medieval “Doctrine of Signatures,” wherein the signature or characteristic of a plant indicated its medicinal use as a cure. Thus, Hepatica was said to cure ailments of the liver. Hepaticas are lovely, hardy, and long-lived perennial that should be seen much more often in our northern gardens.

Place them in semi- to full shade in humus-rich but well-drained soil with a pH above neutral. Provide them with even moisture. Hepatica self-seed gently or can be divided. They are ideal for a shaded rock garden or a woodland garden.

Hepatica nobilis, 10 to 15 cm (4-6 in.) in height, is native to the subalpine deciduous forests of Europe and western Asia. The solitary, blue, pink, red, or white flowers appear above the previous season’s foliage in early spring. There are also double forms. The almost evergreen, dark green, basal leaves are three-lobed and develop after the flowers; they remain attractive throughout the growing season. The following are similar to the species except in flower colour: ‘Alba’ is white, ‘Rubra’ red, and ‘Rosea’ pink.

Transylvanian hepatica (H. transsilvanica) is very similar but is a more robust and spreading plant, and larger in all of its parts (15 cm/6 in. in height) than the noble liverleaf. Its azure blue flowers appear about a week later than H. nobilis. Its leaves are scalloped and pubescent.

Sara Williams is the author and coauthor of many books including Creating the Prairie Xeriscape, Gardening Naturally with Hugh Skinner and, with Bob Bors, the recently published Growing Fruit in Northern Gardens. She continues to give workshops on a wide range of gardening topics throughout the prairies. This column is provided courtesy of the Saskatchewan Perennial Society (SPS; saskperennial@hotmail.com ). Check our website (www.saskperennial.ca) or Facebook page (www.facebook.com/saskperennial) for a list of upcoming gardening events

Spring flowering perennials (Part 2 of 3)

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Spring flowering perennials<strong> (Part 2 of 3)</strong>

Sara Williams

Saskatchewan Perennial Society

If you want early spring bloom and you garden in the shade, three species of primroses (Primula) and five species of Solomon’s seal (Polygonatum) have proven rock hardy on the Canadian prairies. Try them!

Primroses (Primula spp.)

It’s hard to imagine a prairie spring without primroses. There are over four hundred species but only a handful flourish in our northern gardens. The genus name is from the Latin primus, meaning first, referring to its early spring flowers. All primroses do best in shade in evenly moist but well-drained soil well amended with organic matter. Among the hardy and long-lived species that have graced prairie gardens for years are Primula auricula, P. cortusoides and P. veris.

The dusty miller primrose (P. auricula) gets its common name from the white farina or flour-like substance that is found on its foliage that looks like the apron of a miller. Auricula means resembling an ear; the leaves were said to resemble a bear’s ear.

Native to the Carpathian Mountains and Austrian Alps, auricula primroses reached their peak of popularity in England during the Queen Victoria’s reign. They were the prima donna of parlour or conservatory plants, hundreds of new varieties were developed, and they were exhibited at shows with keen competition.

About 30 cm (1 ft) in height, the foliage is formed in a rosette of thick, grey-green, evergreen, basal leaves that are rounded to oval, with or without farina. The species has yellow flowers, but the colour range has been expanded to include blue, purple, pink, red, wine, and salmon, often with a contrasting white or yellow central “eye.”

Although one of the most sun-tolerant of the primroses, they are best suited to a shade garden, stream-side plantings or a shaded portion of a rock garden. Divide them in spring immediately after flowering.

The Siberian or cortusa primrose (P. cortusoides) has delicate umbels of pink flowers on stems of 15 to 25 cm (6-10 in.). The crinkled, light green foliage lends it a delicate appearance, but it is hardy and long-lived. Native to the forests of the Ural and Altai mountains, it has been cultivated in England since 1794.  It can be propagated by careful division. It also self-seeds (but with restraint).

The English cowslip(P. veris) is native to the meadows of Europe, including England, as well as those of Asia. Veris means of spring, when it blooms. The common name is more earthy and reflects the fact that it was often found emerging from cow dung in meadows. Only 20 to 25 cm (8-10 in.) high, the upright stems of the species produce lemon yellow, nodding blooms in one-sided, many-flowered umbels. The oval to oblong leaves are light green.

Solomon’s seal (Polygonatum spp.)

Photo by Sara Williams. Solomon’s seal is about 90 cm high with flowers in groups of four.

The common name, derived from the circular sunken scars left on the rootstock after the leaf stalks die—is said to resemble the signet ring worn by King Solomon. An alternative explanation, offered by Gerard in his Herbal, suggests that the dried powdered roots sealed wounds and healed bruises. Polygonatum, is from the Greek polys, meaning many, and gony, meaning knee, describing the jointed rhizomes of the roots. Although sometimes slow to establish, these are long-lived, low-maintenance plants.

Ranging in height from 20 cm up to 2 m (8 in.-6 ft), with graceful, unbranched, arching stems,  the pendulous, one-sided, creamy -greenish flowers develop from the leaf nodes. Dark, blue-black berries follow.

They do best in shade in evenly moist soil well amended with organic matter. Place them in a shaded border or woodland garden. Increase by spring division after flowering, including at least one bud per division.

Small Solomon’s seal (P. biflorum) is native to eastern and central North America, 60 to 90 cm (24-36 in.) in height, with greenish-white flowers, usually in pairs.

Giant Solomon’s seal (P. biflorum var. commutatum) is also native to North America, including Manitoba. The tallest of our Solomon’s seals, the stems range from 60 cm (2 ft) to 2 m (over 6 ft) with large, greenish flowers.

Dwarf Solomon’s seal (P. humile), only 10 to 20 cm (4-8 in.) in height, produces solitary, greenish-white flowers and is excellent as a ground cover. It is native to Japan and Korea.

Garden Solomon’s seal (P. x hybridum) is about 90 cm (3 ft) high with flowers in groups of four.

Common Solomon’s seal (P. odoratum) is native to the deciduous woodlands of Europe and Asia. The pendulous, white flowers, greenish at their apex, are usually in groups of three to five  on distinctly angled, arching stems of about 60 cm (2 ft).

Sara Williams is the author and coauthor of many books including Creating the Prairie Xeriscape, Gardening Naturally with Hugh Skinner and, with Bob Bors, the recently published Growing Fruit in Northern Gardens. She continues to give workshops on a wide range of gardening topics throughout the prairies. This column is provided courtesy of the Saskatchewan Perennial Society (SPS; saskperennial@hotmail.com ). Check our website (www.saskperennial.ca) or Facebook page (www.facebook.com/saskperennial) for a list of upcoming gardening events

Spring flowering perennials a bit off the beaten path [Part I]

Sask Perennial Society
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Spring flowering perennials a bit off the beaten path [Part I]

Sara Williams

Saskatchewan Perennial Society

It’s right about now that we become impatient for spring. So here are some spring flowering perennials to seek out at your local nurseries. They’re a bit off the beaten path, but well worth the hunt. With Easter Sunday approaching, we’ll begin with the European pasque flower.

European pasque flower (Pulsatilla vulgaris)

Similar to our prairie crocus but much more adaptable to garden culture, the pasque flower is native to England, western France, the Swiss Alps and into Ukraine. Like the prairie crocus, it is sought out in alpine meadows and sunny moors by folks who need assurance that winter is indeed over. It is called pasque flower because it flowers at Easter, and its sap makes a green dye once used to colour Easter eggs. The genus is from the Latin word meaning to sway, as the flowers move in the wind. Vulgaris means common (as opposed to rare).

European pasque flowers are hardy and long-lived. The finely divided, grey-green foliage is described as lacy or ferny. The leaves and stems are 25 to 40 cm (10-15 in.) in height and covered in soft hairs. The solitary flowers are in shades of white, pink, mauve, purple, and red, blooming in early spring. They are larger and of more intense colours than those of the prairie crocus. Attractive silky seed heads follow.

Place them in full sun and well-drained soil. They are moderately drought tolerant once established. They resent root disturbance and do not transplant well. European pasque flowers are ideal for a rock garden or edging a border. They may be increased by ripe seed or by very careful division. Among the varieties are ‘Alba’ and ‘Rubra’.

Photo by Sara Williams. The European pasque flower is native to England, western France, the Swiss Alps and into Ukraine.

Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis)

If ever a flower belonged among the “spring ephemerals,” a term used to describe woodland flowers that bloom before the trees leaf out, it is bloodroot. When it is in bud, grab a cup of tea, a comfortable garden chair, your camera and a book of poetry. You have about forty-eight hours in which to sit and enjoy it. The flowers close at night and the petals soon fall. But it is breathtakingly gorgeous, especially the double form, ‘Multiplex’.

Both the common and species names (Sanguinarius is the Latin word for blood) refer to the red root sap that has been used as a dye by Indigenous peoples from Manitoba to Nova Scotia.

The cup-shaped white flowers with orange-yellow stamens are 7 cm (3 in.) in diameter and held on stalks of about 10 cm (4 in.). The basal leaves are as lovely as the flowers. Heart- to kidney-shaped, lobed and 15 to 30 cm (6-12 in.) across, they emerge vertical before they unfold. By midsummer, the plants have become dormant and disappeared. ‘Multiplex’ is similar but with double flowers. It lacks stamens and is longer lasting.

Place bloodroot in a shaded, protected location. They do best in evenly moist but well-drained soil to which generous amounts of organic matter have been added. This is a wonderful plant for a shaded border or woodland garden. It spreads slowly by rhizomes and can be propagated by careful division or by seed sown outdoors in the fall as the seed requires a cold period to ensure germination.

Siberian avens (Geum borisii)

Here is a perennial that should be much more widely available: long-lived, hardy and with excellent foliage and flowers. Named by Wilhelm Schact, a German horticulturist who was head gardener of King Boris II of Bulgaria, Schact found it while plant-hunting and named it after his king. Geum is its classical Latin name.

It forms compact, neat basal clumps, 25 to 30 cm (10-12 in.) high, of dark green, trifoliate, compound leaves, each with a prominent terminal lobe with brilliant orange flowers in May and early June.

Place it in full sun to partial shade in average, well-drained soil. Once established, it is quite drought tolerant. It is well situated in a rock garden, toward the front of a perennial border, or in a “hot border.”

It ispropagated by division, cuttings or fresh seed.

Sara Williams is the author and coauthor of many books including Creating the Prairie Xeriscape, Gardening Naturally with Hugh Skinner and, with Bob Bors, the recently published Growing Fruit in Northern Gardens. She continues to give workshops on a wide range of gardening topics throughout the prairies. This column is provided courtesy of the Saskatchewan Perennial Society (SPS; saskperennial@hotmail.com ). Check our website (www.saskperennial.ca) or Facebook page (www.facebook.com/saskperennial) for a list of upcoming gardening events

Why not grow Kohlrabi?

Sask Perennial Society
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<strong>Why not grow Kohlrabi?</strong>

Jackie Bantle

If you have not had the opportunity to eat fresh kohlrabi, you are missing out.  Kohlrabi (Brassica oleracea) is a member of the brassica family.  Other members of the brassica family include: cabbage, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, kale, cauliflower, turnips and radishes.

Unlike these other cabbage family members, kohlrabi does not have many of the insect and disease issues that these other crops experience.  Brassica vegetables are one of the crops that are ideally suited for growing in a northern climate: they are classified as cool season vegetables.

Kohlrabi comes from the German word, ‘kohl’ meaning cabbage and ‘rabi’ meaning turnip.  The earliest record of growing kohlrabi is from northern Europe approximately 500 years ago.  Kohlrabi is sometimes referred to as ‘stem turnip’ since the main edible part is the above ground swollen stem.  Kohlrabi flesh is crisp and the flavour is sweeter than cabbage.  Plants are either light green or purple in color.  Interior flesh is white.

All young brassica seedlings can withstand a couple of degrees of frost.  For this reason, kohlrabi can be direct seeded as early as the beginning of May.  Plant seeds approximately 1cm deep and about 2.5cm apart.  Spacing between rows should be 30-45cm.  Seedlings should emerge within one week.

Flea beetles are one of the earliest pests of all brassica plants and kohlrabi is no exception.  Flea beetles are tiny black flies (approximately 2mm in length) that jump from plant to plant and feed on leaves, giving a shot-hole appearance to stems and leaves.  They are especially devastating to young seedlings by completely devouring tiny cotyledons and the first true leaves as they emerge.  If flea beetles are a problem, cover new seedlings with thin crop covers for protection.  Alternatively, kohlrabi can be transplanted:  4-6 week old kohlrabi transplants are much more resistant to flea beetle damage than tiny emerging seedlings.

To grow your own kohlrabi transplants, seed plants indoors approximately six weeks prior to transplanting out (April 1st for planting out around May 15th).  Sow seeds in a commercial soilless media containing peatmoss, perlite and vermiculite.  Soilless media provides a disease-free environment as well as excellent drainage to minimize root disease problems.  Use flats, pots or containers with bottom drainage holes.  At a soil or media temperature of 24°C, kohlrabi seeds will germinate in 5 or 6 days. 

Kohlrabi seedling transplants require a minimum of 14 hours of light each day.  Supplemental grow lights will probably be necessary to produce healthy, sturdy transplants.  To test if you have sufficient lighting: the shadow cast on a white piece of paper at midday by an object 10 cm above a white piece of paper should have a definite outline.  If there is no outline, light is inadequate and plants will stretch toward the light, becoming leggy.  Contact your local garden center for appropriate grow lights.  Place lights 30-45 cm above the seedlings for 12-14 hours during the day to provide adequate light.  Fertilize developing transplants two times/week using 20-20-20 soluble fertilizer.  Mix according to label directions.

A common fungal disease that can infect developing brassica transplants is ‘Damping off’.  Symptoms of ‘Damping off’ include water-soaked stems that become constricted at the soil level.  Plants wilt and eventually collapse.  To prevent damping off, provide adequate air movement and light, avoid overwatering and crowding in young seedlings and transplants. 

Kohlrabi transplants can be transplanted outdoors as soon as daytime temperatures reach15°C and night temperatures are not below -2°C for several nights in a row.  Harden off transplants prior to planting out by moving them outdoors into a sheltered, frost-free location at least 3 days prior to transplanting. 

Mature kohlrabi plants range in height from 25-40cm tall.  Kohlrabi is ready to harvest when the swollen above ground stem reaches at least 7-8cm (late July – early August).   Early in the harvest season, harvest alternate plants within the row to allow space for remaining roots to expand.  Trim off the leaves close to the stem.  The above ground stem is the edible portion of the plant.  The outer layer of the stem can be woody and tough.  Peel these tough layers to expose soft, delicious flesh.  Kohlrabi can be eaten raw or steamed.  Oversize kohlrabi (15cm or more in diameter) may tend to have a dry and woody texture. 

Kohlrabi cultivars recommended for northern growing include: ‘Kossak’ (very large stem but good texture), ‘Purple Vienna’, and ‘White Vienna’.

Jill Thomson is a retired Plant Pathologist who lives in Saskatoon, where she enjoys gardening with her family, including the dogs. This column is provided courtesy of the Saskatchewan Perennial Society (SPS; saskperennial@hotmail.com ). Check our website (www.saskperennial.ca) or Facebook page (www.facebook.com/saskperennial) for a list of upcoming gardening events.

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