Webmaster - Friends of The Frelinghuysen Arboretum

A is for Anigozanthos and …

Posted on March 4, 2014April 18, 2023 by Webmaster

Anigozanthos is an Australian plant, commonly called Kangaroo Paws. It will bloom in a container or in the garden from Spring into Fall. The flowers are brightly colored in shades of red, orange and yellow, tubular in shape with strap-like foliage. Cutting back the flowers regularly increases the flower display. This is a plant for sunshine and if planted in a container needs well-draining soil. They can be grown indoors as house plants and require bright light, well-draining soil and weekly fertilization. This is a pretty new plant on the gardening scene but it is charming in a container attracting hummingbirds and butterflies. If you like plants that say “touch me” you will like their velvety texture,too.

A. thompsonii

A is also for Abutilon which is a great plant for a shady container. My current favorite is A. Biltmore Ballgown. This is an heirloom plant from the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina. Its tubular yellow flowers with red-striped veining seem to swirl and sway from its deep green foliage like dancers at a ball. Growing 2 to 4 feet high, it requires frequent feeding, well draining soil and only morning sun. Another favorite is Abutilon thompsonii (shown at left) which has a compact, dense habit that is suitable for making a topiary standard. It has mottled leaves of yellow and green with bright orange flowers. Abutilons can be wintered over as house plants quite easily.

Agastache Grape Nectar provides constantly blooming spikes of lavender flowers throughout the summer until frost. Although not hardy in our zone, Grape Nectar makes an excellent annual for the border or a container. It needs excellent drainage and sunlight to perform well.

A. Purple Stripe

No border or container is complete without long-blooming Angelonias that have Salvia-like flower spikes in shades of purple, white or pink. The fragrant flowers are easy to grow in containers or borders and grow to a height of 2 feet. A. Purple Stripe (at right), a pristine white with deep purple splotches, is a compact, floriferous grower. A. Zebra is a pink and purple bi-color that mixes well with other sun-loving annuals.

A is for annuals that add three to four months of color in beds or containers. Add some to your garden this year.

==Sue Acheson

Trees & Shrubs

Posted on February 3, 2014April 18, 2023 by Webmaster

Aronia arbutifolia Brilliantissima

Aronia arbutifolia ‘Brilliantissima’ – Chokeberry

This beautiful variety of a native, deciduous shrub has white flowers in May and develops bright red fruits that persist into winter. The fruits are very ornamental and a food source for wildlife. The plants are salt tolerant and will grow in moist sites as well as average soils. This adaptable shrub grows 6-10 ft. tall and not usually browse by deer.

Camellia oleifera Lu Shan Snow

Camellia oleifera ‘Lu Shan Snow’ – Camelia

‘Lu Shan’ is a very cold tolerant camellia with single, white flowers. It is evergreen and Fall blooming, tolerating full shade. It will add a little excitement to a shady corner. This is a plant that will take you out of your comfort zone with no regrets. This striking shrub is fully hardy in our area. It will bring some new excitement to the autumn garden.

Cornus kousa Wolf Eyes

Cornus kousa ‘Wolf Eyes’ – Kousa Dogwood

‘Wolf Eyes’ is a fabulous dogwood with variegated foliage in white and green. The leaves have a ruffled appearance making it an unusual compliment to the garden. The fall color is a striking mix of red and pink. White flowers in June are followed by ornamental fruits. The tree grows best in partial to full shade so that the delicate white edges of the leaves do not scorch. Mature specimens are only about 10 feet high which makes this a great tree for planting near a shady patio.

Fagus sylvatica Purple Fountain

Fagus sylvatica ‘Purple Fountain’ – Weeping European Beech

A small ornamental tree Purple Fountain is colored deeply purple with a graceful habit. It is strongly upright with a tightly weeping form, forming a lovely cascade effect. The leaf color changes to bronze by mid summer. The weeping branches and bark add winter interest. It grows slowly to a height of 25 ft. and a spread of 15 ft. Add this to your landscape in a place where you can appreciate its’ elegant form and view it year round.

==Marla Jackson, Woody Plant Chair

Join us to make a “Cabinet of Wonders”

Posted on November 1, 2013April 18, 2023 by Webmaster

What better amusement in this Season of Wonders might there be than to create a “Cabinet of Wonders?”

No ordinary piece of furniture, but a repository of the unusual and the remarkable, Cabinets of Wonder have contained objects of ethnographic or archeological interest, religious or historical relics, and medical oddities.

Frederick Law Olmsted

Posted on August 20, 2013April 18, 2023 by Webmaster

A special guest is scheduled for January 12th’s New Year’s Party – Mr. Frederick Law Olmsted. Yes, we know, he died in 1903. But that was not an obstacle for Mr. John Bartram, who died in 1777, and appeared at the 2011 Friends New Year’s Party. Thanks to the theatrical excellence of Kirk Brown, it will not be an obstacle for Mr. Olmsted either. Here is some homework to do before the Members Only New Years Party. Garnering information about Mr. Olmsted is aided by the many wonderful websites about him, including www.fredericklawolmsted.com. Here we learn that his concept of the role of the landscape architect was “as broad as his social and political concerns. Olmsted saw his profession as a way to shape the American city by designing public parks and park systems to meet a wide range of recreational needs.” You can register (for free) to take part in the Olmsted forum, which is populated with knowledgeable folks who frequent Olmsted parks.

The National Parks Service Olmsted National Historic Site in Brookline, MA has a neat website http://www.nps.gov/frla/index.htm. Here is an interactive World Map of Olmsted designed sites.

To learn about all the places that his firm and his sons designed go to http://ww3.rediscov.com/olmsted/. A quick search revealed some 236 New Jersey properties, private and municipal, received the Olmsted touch. These include many in Essex County, many near Trenton and a number here in Morris County including Drew University, Glen Farm (a cemetery) the private homes of the Twombleys, Perkins, Willis’s and a Miss Margaret Howes. What fun to research further and see if any of them are extant.

The city of Louisville loves Olmsted big time. Go to http://www.olmstedparks.org to read about their efforts to restore these beautiful public spaces in their city where, they write, that Olmsted designed for three types of recreation: Recreative or individual use, such as walking or relaxing; Gregarious or social use, such as picnics; Exertive or athletic use, such as ballgames.

These activities were to be enjoyed in enhanced parklands where “sequestered and limitless natural scenery” could have a “poetic and tranquilizing influence” on an urban populace otherwise surrounded by brick and steel, cement and fumes. That’s how I like my parks to affect people too!

Finally, visit http://www.olmsted.org. for learning at the highest level. Here are links to the Library of Congress, the Smithsonian and Harvard Design School.

In the cold, coming months surely you will have an hour or so to peruse these sites and learn something of a man whose work “reflects a vision of American communities and American society still relevant today – a commitment to visually compelling and accessible green space that restores and nurtures the body and spirit of all people, regardless of their economic circumstances.” Then, come to the New Year’s Party and be prepared to meet the man!

by Lesley Parness – lparness@morrisparks.net

Swat and Scratch!

Posted on May 28, 2013April 18, 2023 by Webmaster

What is this gardener’s bane? Worse than weeds, the mosquito can damage my garden by keeping me out of it! There are some 63 species of mosquitoes living here in New Jersey. Some will travel just a few yards for a meal, others can fly as far as 50 miles. The potential for contracting St. Louis Encephalitis, Eastern Equine Encephalitis or West Nile Virus through a mosquito bite makes them more than a simple pest.

The Care of Lilacs

Posted on March 28, 2013April 18, 2023 by Webmaster

from The Frelinghuysen Arboretum

Culture

Lilacs grow best in full sun and well-drained soil. They prefer neutral soil with a pH range of 6-7. Many soils in the northern New Jersey area tend to be on the acidic side so lilacs may benefit from a handful of ground of limestone applied every other year. Lilacs also benefit from a spring application of fertilizer. Use an all-purpose, granular fertilizer such as 5-10-5 or 10-10-10 and follow the directions on the package. Do not use a high nitrogen (lawn) type fertilizer as it inhibits flower bud formation. Water your plant well after fertilizing. Lilacs resent competition from other plants, so keep the base well weeded and cut back other plants that may be crowding out your lilac. Two to three inches of mulch at the base of the plant will keep down weeds and hold in moisture. While lilacs are a tough and long-lived plant, they appreciate regular watering during a dry spell or drought.

Planting

Select a sunny site with well-drained soil in an open area. Lilacs need good air circulation. Dig a hole 3X the width of the pot or ball of the plant. If you have a very small plant, be sure the hole is at least 18″ across. Amend the soil with well rotted compost, a cup of lime and some fertilizer. Firm the amended soil to remove excessive air pockets. Place the top of the lilac ball slightly higher than the surrounding ground and firm more soil over and around the roots. Water well. Mulch applied to the base of the transplant helps keep the soil moist. Water your lilac twice a week for the first month, unless there are regular rains. Keep lilac well watered throughout first growing season.

Pruning

Pruning is best done in late March or early April, before the leaves have emerged. Healthy lilacs only need occasional pruning to remove dead or spindly branches. Older, taller plants will benefit by pruning out, at the base, up to one-quarter of the largest branches. Pruning forces new growth to emerge at the base and opens up the plant to more air circulation and light. It also keeps the flowers at eye level. Very old and overgrown lilacs sometimes need total rejuvenation. This may be accomplished by removing one-quarter of the oldest branches each year for four years. If your lilac produces too many suckers at the base, prune or dig out the excess. Suckers with good root systems may be potted up and given to friends or planted in another location in your garden.

Diseases and Pests

Lilacs in our area suffer from three types of problems. The most common disease is powdery mildew that coats leaves in late summer and fall with a silvery-white film. This disease rarely harms a healthy plant, but may look unsightly. The Common Lilac (Syringa vulgaris) and its cultivars are most susceptible to this disease. This problem may be treated with a fungicide or wettable sulfur. For best result follow the instructions on the product. Another common problem is lilac borer. This small, white larva bores into the heartwood of the lilac eventually weakening or killing the cane. It leaves a small pile of sawdust coming out of the entry hole. The best prevention is to prune out the largest, oldest growth and encourage vigorous new growth. The borer does not seem to attack young growth. Borers may be killed with a long wire put into the hole. The third problem lilacs encounter is oyster-shell scale. This tiny pest can rapidly cover lilac canes, weakening and even killing the cane or the entire plant. The pest is light brown or gray and may blend with the bark from a distance. Badly infested branches should be removed and destroyed. Spray with dormant oil in early spring before bud break or with summer oil or Malathion after the leaves emerge. Follow directions.

My Favorite Plant (Today)

Posted on March 23, 2013April 18, 2023 by Webmaster

Verbena Bonariensis

My favorite plant today is Verbena bonariensis a self-sowing annual for sun with a long bloom season.

Self-sowing means that if you let the seed pods stay on the plant they will be dispersed in your garden and you can have this wonderful plant popping up year after year. If you don’t like the serendipity of plants appearing in your garden simply deadhead it as it sets seed.

A look alike to Spring flowering Alliums Verbena bonariensis adds that same circular shape to the garden all Summer long. The purple flowers on wiry stems attract bees and butterflies.

Beautiful Lonicera

Posted on February 13, 2013April 18, 2023 by Webmaster

L. Baggensen’s Gold

Lonicera, or more commonly called honeysuckle, is considered by many to be a noxious weed but there are many varieties of honeysuckle that are not invasive but worthy additions to the garden. The bad guy here is Japanese Honeysuckle(Lonicera japonica) Now for the good guys:

L. Major Wheeler

Lonicera Baggesen’s Gold – This is personal favorite of mine and I have grown it as a shrub, in a container and as a substitute for boxwood. It forms a mounding shrub with arching branches which are evergreen except in severe winters. The leaves are small and golden color.It lends itself to shearing, can be used as a tall groundcover, makes a great specimen plant and like all lonicera is deer resistant. it looks good with purple foliaged plants like purple smokebush or stands out next to deep green shrubs like rhododendrons.

L. pileata

Lonicera Major Wheeler is more like Grandma’s honeysuckle. An 8 foot tall twining vine, it is a magnet for hummingbirds from late Spring through Summer. The trumpet shaped flowers are coral red. If you like yellow you might try Lonicera John Clayton. These vining Lonicera need full sun.

For shady, deer dominated areas Lonicera pileata is small ground covering shrub with beautiful glossy green leaves. This plant is one of The Pennsylvania Horticultrural Societies award winners.It can be grown in full sun or shade.An added bonus is amethyst fruits on mature plants. A somewhat lower version of this plant is Lonicera pileata moss green which has tiny paired leaves which provide year round interest. Both of these honeysuckles are evergreen.

Community Garden Conference

Posted on January 21, 2013April 18, 2023 by Webmaster

2018 Community Garden Conference Presentations

Despite the snow and cold, we had another great conference this past Saturday. Hope you enjoyed it too.

As in the past, we will load the presentation slides here as the presenters make them available to us. Here is what we have so far:

Growing Strawberries in a Community Garden, Peter Nitzsche, County Agent, Cooperative Extension of Morris County
Insect and Disease ID and Management for Home Vegetable Gardeners, Kris Holmstrom, IPM Research Project Coordinator II

Click on a title to open the presentation as a pdf. We will add other presentations as we receive them.

Kokedama

Posted on December 1, 2012April 18, 2023 by Webmaster

by Lesley Parness lparness@morrisparks.net

Around this time of year, my fingers are itching to touch soil and roots. So learning about kokedama offered the perfect winter time planting technique. I first saw these charming plantings at last year’s Philadelphia Flower Show in the booth of City Planters, a Philly florist. I was enchanted, bought one and have been learning about them since then. At each of the following websites, you will need to search “kokedama.” Start at www.designsponge.com for a quick intro. Pretty cool, yes?

Author: Webmaster