EFFECTIVE WATERING, INDOOR CACTI, QUICK GROWS, AND CARNIVOROUS PLANTS!
BY BRENDA BEUST SMITH
SINCE THERE’S NO NEED TO WATER RIGHT NOW . . . good time to
evaluate your sprinkler system (or think about adding one). We are in an El Nino year (high temps, increased rainfall, especially in fall). Scientists providing data for Texas’ current drought status aren’t kind to us gardeners, noting …
“Landscape irrigation can account for 50 to 80% of the water used in a home landscape during the summer months... much of this is wasted due to inefficient watering practices.”
We’re “between a rock & a hard place,” as they say. Many subdivisions are now built on raised lots, triggering high percentages of rainfall run-off into sewer lines and bayous, eventually into Galveston Bay — where lawn/garden chemicals wreak havoc and trigger drops in below-ground water tables. This latter effect results in foundation shifts, cracks in sidewalks, driveways and ceilings, doors that won’t close, etc. (See last week’s column.) Just be sure you aren’t deliberately wasting water in a way that threatens your property values!
Now, while our soil is well saturated, is a good time to learn how to water smart! DR. DOUGLAS F. WELSH, Texas A&M Extension Horticulturist, retired, offers these tips, excerpted from DR. WELSH’S FULL ARTICLE):
Never water strictly by the calendar. Learn to recognize dry plants and soil; use as tip-off for watering. Too many factors determine how fast a soil dries for us to put watering on a regular basis.
When the plants are dry, water thoroughly to wet soil several inches down to encourage deep rooting and drought tolerance. One of the worst mistakes: ‘sprinkling’ each day using a thumb at hose end. Most gardeners just don’t have the patience to stand in one spot long enough for deep water penetration.
Water trees by taking sprinkler off hose end. Let water run slowly for several hours out under the drip line (not near the trunk). Be sure runoff does not occur. (Drip line is where rain water rolls off the leaf canopy)
Keep water off tree/shrub leaves as much as possible, especially off crape myrtle and roses. Leaf diseases can spread rapidly on wet surfaces.
Water most plants in morning. Evening watering increases likelihood of disease invasion. Most diseases develop most rapidly in cool, moist conditions.
Symptoms for plants kept too wet are about the same as for those kept too dry. Roots in waterlogged soils die and do not take up water, so plants wilt and turn yellow. Try not to water a drowning plant!
Organic matter, such as shredded pine bark and composted manure, can increase water absorption when they are worked into our native soil.
To keep moisture in the soil, use a thick mulch, such as shredded pine bark, grass clippings or tree leaves. Mulches also keep soil cooler and make weed pulling much easier.
Keep newly planted trees and shrubs well watered.Developing roots are sensitive to under- and over-watering. But again, don’t drown them.
Generally speaking, most sprinklers do a satisfactory job of making an even application. However the most efficient and effective type is the impact sprinkler, (the kind used on golf courses and athletic fields).
For plants to thrive during the upcoming summer months,they will need plenty of water, but equally important is properly applying the much- needed water. DR. WELSH’S FULL ARTICLE.
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EDITOR’S NOTE: TEXAS A&M’s Horticultural Sciences website is loaded with information gardeners need and want. Log on, search your next gardening question and you’ll be delighted with the number of answers you’ll get.
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WANT TO AVOID NATURE’S
CHALLENGES? Keep plants inside where you control their immediate environment. That’s what many collectors of exceptional cacti and other collectable succulents do.
More questions?Y Meet many experts and find exceptional plants? Try here:
FRI-SAT, MAY 12-13: HOUSTON CACTUS & SUCCULENT SOCIETY SPRING
SHOW & SALE, Fri. 9am-5pm, Sat. 9am-3pm, Metropolitan Multi-Service Center, 1475 West Gray. hcsstex.org.
Houston Cactus & Succulent Society’s DAVE THOMAS will be one of the many experts on hand; in his case to advise on growing indoors, including these top considerations, which he will explore even more during the HCSS June meeting (see below):
- Make it your own — If you leave the plant in the soil it came in you will soon regret it. Plant it in your mix!
- Plastic or clay — Plastic will hold wet soil mix longer than un-treated clay which will compete with your soil mix for water!
- Placement — Where are you going to place the new plant—in full sun, partial shade, or full shade? Outside placement could mean your new plant is subject to Houston rainfall, so now, when do ‘You’ water? Maybe a bright window inside the house or greenhouse would be best. Now, you have control. Better than a soggy dead plant than one that is sun burnt!
For more tips on growing all the cactus & succulents you pick up at theFRI- SAT, MAY 12-13 sale (detailed above), don’t miss Dave’s in-depth presentation at HCCS’ June meeting:
WED., JUNE 28: “CACTUS AND SUCCULENT CONSIDERATIONS”
by DAVE THOMAS, 7pm, Metropolitan Muti-Service Center,
1475 W. Gray. Houston Cactus and Succulent Society
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LOW SPOT IN YARD? BOG-DWELLING CARNIVOROUS PLANTS LOVING OUR RAINS . . . & first ever Free Texas Carnivorous Plant Show, Sale & Swap!
By MIKE HOWLETT
petflytrap.com
Springtime in the Houston area is known for being a good time to be outdoors, and also for having frequent and often copious rains. This year is no different – mild temperatures and soft earth as the rains saturate our yards make it the perfect time for planting! But what to plant? While they prefer acidic, nutrient-deficient soil, bog-dwelling carnivorous plants (CPs) can certainly handle the moisture. Many are wonderful outdoor plants, and can even handle our full sun conditions – which is saying something. Planting a variety of North American Pitcher Plants, such as the robust and colorful Sarracenia ‘Maroon’ and tall and stately Sarracenia leucophylla, can make quite the display in a half-barrel planter. Add in some low-growing Venus Flytraps, sundews such asD rosera filiformis, and some colorful companion plants like Grass Pink Orchids (Calopogon) and Orange Milkwort (Polygala lutea), and you have quite an eye (and bug) catching display for all to enjoy!
EDITOR’S NOTE: All of these plants and more will be on display and for sale, along with experts to answer carnivorous plants questions, at the first free Texas Carnivorous Plant Show, Sale & Swap, Sat., June 10, 10am-4pm, 25811 W. Hardy Rd., Spring, TX. www.petflytrap.com/texas-carnivorous-plant-show-sale-swap– 06102023.html
NEWS FROM THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF SOIL AND PLANTS # 238
A recent study compared nitrogen (N) supplied to plants in an artificial form (ammonium sulfate) to nitrogen in an organic form (poultry litter, blood meal or cover crop). They found a significant decrease in bacteria across many families of bacteria and a decrease in species diversity when artificial chemical fertilizer was used. Journal Of Environmental Quality, 2022. Greenhouse gasses that cause climate change are becoming more important and our understanding of them is growing.
Artificial fertilizers both in their manufacture and usage, produce lots of greenhouse gasses hence more farmers are using animal manures as a source of nutrients (natural fertilizer). However, manure can also produce greenhouse gasses. Researchers found that by windrow composting the manures before field application, it reduced greenhouse gasses from 9-90% as compared to direct field application. Journal of Environmental Quality, 2021 Note: Cattle that are grass fed produce many times less greenhouse gases than those fed grain. Note: Composting of organic wastes if done correctly can significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Another study published in the Journal of Environmental Quality (2022) found that compost made from yard waste (grass, leaves, limbs, etc.) was very effective in removing heavy metals and excess nutrients from storm water. They were effective even when blended with 50% soil. Soil compost blends are very useful in LID (Low Impact Development) projects. Note: compost made from biosolids (sewage sludge) did not work and may increase the problems. Researchers from a consortium of laboratories (HZDR) have found a bacterium has magnetic crystals within its cells. The bacteria use the crystals to align themselves with the earth’s magnetic field and to help orientate themselves. This makes them useful for separation processes. They found these bacteria had proteins and other chemicals on the surface of their cell walls that allowed dissolved heavy metals like uranium to stick to their surface. Then using applied magnetic fields that would interact with the magnetic crystals they could remove the uranium from contaminated fresh or salt water. It is believed the same process could be used to remove plutonium from waste water. Journal of Hazardous Material (2023). Scientists at the University of Chicago have found a link between photosynthesis in plants and what is known as a Bose-Einstein condensate, sometimes referred to as the fifth state of matter.
When energy from the sun (photons) hits a leaf’s surface it knocks loose an electron leaving a hole behind in the molecule. The combination of the electron and the hole move around the surface of the leaf and is called an “exciton.” Previously this effect of electrons moving without friction had only been found in super conducting materials at extremely cold temperatures. This effect doubles the efficiency of converting energy of sunlight into a form that a plant can use. PRX Energy (2023) The mysteries of God’s creation are amazing and we have only scratched the surface. * * *
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ABOUT US
BRENDA BEUST SMITH WE KNOW HER BEST AS THE LAZY GARDENER . . . but Brenda Beust Smith is also:
- a national award-winning writer & editor
- a nationally-published writer & photographer
- a national horticultural speaker
- a former Houston Chronicle reporter
When the Chronicle discontinued Brenda’s 45-year-old Lazy Gardener” print column — started in the early ’70s as a fun side-project to reporting, it then ranked as the longestrunning, continuously-published local newspaper column in the Greater Houston area. The name, she says, is not just fun, it’s true. Brenda’s gradual sideways step from reporter into gardening writing led first to an 18-year series of when-to-do-what Lazy Gardener Calendars, then to her Lazy Gardener’s Guide book which morphed into her Lazy Gardener’s Guide on CD, which she now emails free upon request. Brenda became a Harris County Master Gardener and, over the years, served on theboards of many Greater Houston area horticulture organizations. She hosted local radio and TV shows, most notably a 10+-year Lazy Gardener specialty shows on HoustonPBS (Ch. 8) and her call-in “EcoGardening” show on KPFT-FM. For over three decades, Brenda served as Assistant Production Manager of the GARDEN CLUB OF AMERICA’S “BULLETIN” magazine. Although still an active broad-based freelance writer, Brenda’s main focus now is THE LAZY GARDENER & FRIENDS HOUSTON GARDEN NEWSLETTER with John Ferguson and Pablo Hernandez of Nature’s Way Resources. A native of New Orleans and graduate of St. Agnes Academy and the University of Houston, Brenda lives in Humble, TX, and is married to the retired Aldine High School Coach Bill Smith. They have one son, Blake. Regarding this newsletter, Brenda is the lead writer, originator of it and the daily inspiration for it. We so appreciate the way she has made gardening such a fun way to celebrate life together for such a long time.
JOHN FERGUSON John is a native Houstonian and has over 27 years of business experience. He owns Nature’s Way Resources, a composting company that specializes in high quality compost, mulch, and soil mixes. He holds a MS degree in Physics and Geology and is a licensed Soil Scientist in Texas. John has won many awards in horticulture and environmental issues. He represents the composting industry on the Houston-Galveston Area Council for solid waste. His personal garden has been featured in several horticultural books and “Better Homes and Gardens” magazine. His business has been recognized in the Wall Street Journal for the quality and value of their products. He is a member of the Physics Honor Society and many other professional societies. John is is the co-author of the book Organic Management for the Professional. For this newsletter, John contributes articles regularly and is responsible for publishing it.
PABLO HERNANDEZ Pablo Hernandez is the special projects coordinator for Nature’s Way Resources. His realm of responsibilities include: serving as a webmaster, IT support, technical problem solving/troubleshooting, metrics management and quality control. Pablo helps this newsletter happen from a technical support standpoint.
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