August 2007 Archives

The violet-blue color of achemines used to be relegated, at least in my mind, to hanging baskets and indoor light gardens. But several years ago, a member of the Tyler Men's Garden Club passed along to me a handful of really small, dried coral-colored rhizomes and said for me to give them a try. They have been a favorite in my garden ever since. Because I had more than I needed for containers, I thought I would use them as a tender tropical border plant by my driveway. I was delighted with their abundant flowering, almost right up to frost, and was surprised the following year when that began popping out new foliage in May.

Now, they have spread to several unexpected spots in the garden, but deliberate design and also probably by movement of soil. The tiny, fragile dried rhizomes break up very easily, and apparently most will survive, root and grow when warm summer weather arrives. Not all achimenes varieties are hardy, but these pass along plants have come back year after year, thriving in both shade and suprisingly just as well in sunny exposures if provided some afternoon shade and ample soil moisture. They may not be hardy much further north than zone 7, but this variety is thriving in our East Texas gardens.

I've always liked the fast-growing, non-stop, blue-blooming, sun-loving, drought-enduring 'Indigo Spires' salvia. One weakness it does have is that grows so fast, and never stops blooming that it gets so big it tends to flop and fall over, especially in well-tended (read fertilized and watered) gardens. You can, and should cut it back occasionally, but most gardeners have a hard time bringing themselves to cut off the deep blue flowers spikes that just get longer and longer.

Enter 'Mystic Spires Blue' salvia, a relatively new introduction that is getting acclaim from professional and amature gardeners alike. In almost all respects 'Mystic Spires' is identical to 'Indigo Spires' except that it is much more compact, getting maybe 3 to 4 feet all instead of flopping over at 5 to 6 feet tall like Indigo. It still benefits from a shearing, maybe only once or perhaps twice, to keep it bushy and floriferous. I like to cut back a portion of the growth in early summer, leaving about half to cut back later after the first cut flushes and blooms. It is also non-stop, and instead of being relegated to the back of the flower bed due to size, it can be brought forward where it will be appreciated by not only us, but the flocks of butterflies and other pollinators visiting its dark blue flowers. Does best in full sun, average soil, water and fertility.

It can be seen in the IDEA Garden in the North Texas Winners section by the patio and also in the uppder garden near the Two-wing Silverbell (Halesia) tree.

One of my favorite plant combinations at the IDEA Garden in the Tyler Rose Garden present a striking, almost shocking, contrast between dark purple, almost black leaves, and bright chartreuse yellow leaves of 2 close relatives. Standing taller in the back is Coloscasia esculentus 'Black Magic', sporting huge, dark elephant ears that maintain their rich color throught the heat and sun of summer. Sited right in front is a slightly shorter growing Xanthosoma 'Lime Zinger' with light yellow-green, or chartreuse yellow foliage which almost hurt your eyes they are so bright. Each one sets the other off perfectly. The site is well suited for these moisture-loving plants; a narrow bed constrictred by a wall, patio and drive stays moist throughout the year.

In trapping moles, persistence pays off. You can't just give up. And, traps do work! After about a week of attempts, I finally got # 8 for the year, this time using the Victor Out O Site (VOOS) Mole Trap. This was the first mole I've trapped using this recently purchased trap. I have read more than one opinion that they are very reliable and preferable for deeper runs. This tunnel was about 4 or 5 inches deep, and the mole was very, very big. This part of the yard has seen significant erosion problems over the years as runoff from heavy rain storms finds its way into the tunnels and erodes on its way downhill.

I was using 2 traps in the area, a harpoon and the VOOS. There were several runs to pick from, but for awhile, I kept getting into areas where 2 different tunnels were intersecting. One rule in mole trapping, if it's not sprung within 24 hours, check the run (it may have gone around it, or passed through without pushing up on the trigger), and either reset the trap or move to another spot. Rule #2 in mole trapping, pick a spot where they have recently fixed your test spot (pushing down the soil in one small section). And, rule #3, set the trap in the straightest section you can find. If it curves very much, they will often go right around your trap (perhaps after running into part of the trap itself). Rule #4 - DON'T GIVE UP!!

I have reset the trap in the same section, because often others will also be using the same run. We'll see......

Here is a photo of what once was an oak tree, with a very bad case of girdling roots.
This tree was left in the pot way too long, and is probably part of the reason it did not survive planting out. If the tree had survived, the roots would have continued to grow in diameter, until eventually they would meet the trunk and cut off the vascular flow and ultimately kill the tree.

Missed Friday on the deeper run using the Out O Site trap, and today using the harpoon trap on a shallow run. In both cases, I was taking a chance because it just so happened that there were at least 3 holes exposed in preparing for the traps. I had to make a choice on which path it was going to take - obviously the wrong ones! I moved the harpoon to another spot nearby where there was a straight-away, so my chances should improve. I just packed in more soil in pit for the deeper run to see if they come back and maybe I can figure out which direction they are running. Deeper are a lot more difficult to locate - I'm using a long metal rod to probe the soil.

Mark your calendars for the Saturday, September 8, to attend the free Fall Gardening Expo at the Tyler Rose Garden Center. Steven Chamblee and Keith Kridler are the featured speakers. Chamblee will provide, in his humorous and entertaining style, some of best, "Texas Tough" plants for our gardens. Kridler, an authority on antique bulbs, follows with a look at some of the best spring-blooming bulbs for landscaping. The Conference will be followed by the annual Heirloom Bulb Sale. This year, Master Gardeners have added some unusual plants into the mix. A raffle for many unique and desirable items will be held prior to and on the day of the Bulb Sale. Also new this year is a Photo Contest and Exhibit. A small cash prize is available to the winners, and the best in show will become the cover of the 2009 Northeast Texas Gardening Guide. For more details go to: "Coming Events" section of the Smith Co. Master Gardener web site or the "Programs" section of East Texas Gardening.

A friend saw the photo of my new mole hills, and asked how I knew these were not gopher mounds? This is a common question, and often I think people think any mound is created by gophers, not realizing moles can push up a tremendous amount of soil near their nests and their permanent, deeper tunnels. Mole hills will be amorphous blobs of soil pushed up from the center of the mound, with no visible plug and no symmetry to the mound. Gopher mounds will have a plug to one side from where the gopher is pushing up the soil, which gives the mound a horseshoe appearance.

No activity on the traps since the 1 inch rain yesterday.