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Nature’s Way Resources owner John Ferguson, “The Lazy Gardener” Brenda Beust Smith and Pablo Hernandez welcome your feedback and are so grateful to the many horticulturists who contribute their expertise

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“A profusion of pink roses bending ragged in the rain speaks to me of all gentleness and its enduring.”

— William Carlos Williams, American poet (1883-1963

Two Southern Grand Dames today!

MOST SEEK MORE BLOOMS! BUT WITH PEGGY MARTIN, IT’S…

‘HOW DO I COPE WITH ALL THESE FLOWERS?’

BY BRENDA BEUST SMITH

FIRST, CALM YOUR FEARS — PEGGY’S’s not invasive! “INVASIVE” refers to plants that reproduce by too-easily-spread/too-abundant seed production or sprouting new plants from uncontrollable spreading roots, etc.

Peggy Martin has a single root system that doesn’t spread. She’s just an enthusiastic growing/blooming single plant that “leans” on whatever supports are available. Don’t be afraid to titrate structures if first one doesn’t work. She easily tolerates experimentation but does need anchors or attached supports to grow up and over a wall, fence or trellis — all on a single root system! She’s one tough Southern broad who will provide incredible blooms in spring and through summer and fall (if all conditions are right).

Gardeners in the know are prepared. Peggy will happily bloom on whatever supports you supply. But, as you can see, it MUST be able to hold her weight. She can be pruned back (after blooming) to help control her spread. All those cuttings can be rooted.

Still, know you have the sympathy of Nathan Knutson, Production Manager of the Antique Rose Emporium in Independence (between Brenham and College Station). Despite her challenges he notes Peggy’s constantly in demand, especially in spring.

(Note: Nathan and his Texas-rooted extended family members picked up Antique Rose Emporium’s reins after the retirement of Mike Shoup, who was so instrumental in helping to preserve and bring to market so many of our historical,Texas-tough pioneer roses. (More on the Texas Rose Rustlers and antique roses website: texasroserustlers.com)

Nathan recommends a good deep soaking once a week until she is well established. Deep waterings encourage deep root growth for a healthier, hardier plant. Although Peggy isn’t picky about habitat, she appreciates healthy organic-rich soil.

And about the rule most roses don’t like “wet feet”? Nathan notes, after Hurricane Katrina, Peggy was found thriving just fine with standing salt water for over a week. She seems to be able to adapt to most conditions.

ARC’s Peggy Martin “Rose Tree” (“umbrella” support pictured at top) has been pruned back and is still filling out again — so this is a good time to go see that type of support construction. More suggestions/cautions from Nathan:

  • Remove winter-deadwood only.
  • Prune all climbing roses AFTER a strong bloom period. Live cuttings can be rooted.
  • Peggy Martins generally bloom on 2nd year’s growth.
  • After a few years, it’s okay to thin Peggy if she eventually gets a bit too dense. However, Nathan recommends for first couple of years, let her focus on growth.
  • For maximum blooms, train branches to grow more horizontal than vertical. Horizontal-leaning branches tend to produce more flowers.
  • Although Peggy isn’t picky about habitat, she appreciates healthy organic-rich soil.
  • Since Peggy stays evergreen year-round, she’s definitely a winter asset, for example, covering a northside fence to help protect your house for a north wind barrier. Fertilizer, while not a must, will help with spring (and maybe) fall blooms

EDITOR’S NOTE: Peggy Martin rose’s backstory — and that of Louisiana resident Peggy Martin (extraordinary woman whose family has owned the original plant for decades) — has been turned into a delightful children’s story: “The Rose Without a Name” by Nancy Rust and Carol Stubbs (Melissa Vandiver Illustrations). Available at crimsondragonpublishing.com/product/the-rose-without-a-name(Also on Amazon) A delight for children and adults alike, especially if you owner live by a Peggy Martin rose!

 In addition, following Hurricane Katrina, Peggy Martin (the lady) donated numerous rose cuttings to produce plants that were then sold to help the Garden Club of America and many volunteers raise funds to help restore Southern public botanical gardens destroyed by that devastating 2005 hurricane.)

  • JANE HOFFERT MOORE, another Houston Grande Dame, has left us but will be long remembered for her generous heart and community contributions, but also for our mutual love  her magnificent pink magnolia, so deserving of championship tree status (tried to get it for her. No luck). Jane and I met after I first drove past her Calumet at Jackson St. home, not far from Riverside Terrace where I grew up. We (and this incredible spring treasure) stayed in touch for decades!
  • NOT FOR EVERYONE, BUT at 80, I’ve earned the right to love — and willingly say good-by to — my own emerald mead treasures (below) this time of year. First learned of this ancient gardening practice in Martha Grimes’ “Old Winds Of Change.” A favorite fictional character, Melrose Plant, plans to use this ancient manipulating of wildflowers (on Scottish hillsides) to create colorful patterns on a British estate.

Flower in my (albeit short-lived) emerald mead: l to r, Philadelphia fleabane (Erigeron); Pink wood sorrrel (Oxalis, clover); Hedge mustard (Sisymrium); Clover (Trefoil); vetch (Vicia ludoviciana) and Mazus pumilous (Japanese mazus) 

Not so ambitious as ancient Scots, I just watch as first dandelions and then the tiny flowers above (and more) appear naturally in our front yard (age dictates now is now regular mowed by others). In between mowings, yellow, pink, white & violet flowers create a colorful collage on tiny stems! All are wild volunteers.

Yard guys mow them down along with St. Augustine, ironically triggering even more flowers to appear on tiny 1+/-” stalks. LOVE their persistence! Heavy rains that delay mowers mean I get even taller flower stems! Almost overnight, flowers reappear on tiny stalk creating my own personal “enameled mead” for a month or so. Then: gone til next spring. St. Augustine asserts its strength, leaving lovely memories of nature’s beauty with zero energy exerted by me!

John’s Corner

NEWS FROM THE WONDERFUL WORLD

OF SOIL AND PLANTS # 280

Subject: Healthy Soils – part 2

From last weeks article, healthy soil is composed of the following:

  1. Organic matter from almost fresh to totally decomposed in the form of humus (humins, humic acid, fulmic acid, and ulmic acids)
  2. Minerals (nutrients, sand, silt, and clay)
  3. Elements in the soil major, minor, trace, micro, and we are now learning that even pico amounts of some elements affects soil, plant, and animal health.
  4. Soil life that includes microbes (ex. Bacteria and fungi), macrobes (earthworms, beetles, microarthropods, etc.)
  5. Air & water (includes the chemicals in them, weather good or bad)
  6. Plant choices (soil that is good for one plant may be toxic to another)
  7. Care for, and do not destroy the health of the soil one has 

This week we are going to look at the first two components organic matter and minerals and the role they play in a healthy soil.

 

1) Organic matter – What do you think of when you hear the term organic matter?

Humus, plant waste like leaves and twigs, animal waste like manures, dead bodies of animal’s, insects, and microorganisms?

Sometimes, people use the terms organic matter and humus interchangeably, however, all organic matter is not humus but all humus is organic matter. In general humus is the mythical and elusive dark brown to almost black substance that does not dissolve in water easily but can hold over 15 times its weight in water. It will often be 30% each lignin, protein, and complex sugars. It will contain 3-5% nitrogen (N), 55-60% carbon (C), and has a C:N ratio of 10:1. It is a major component of good quality compost and helps give compost the dark chocolate brown to almost black color.

What are some of the major functions of humus in the soil?

It is the source of food and energy supporting most soil dwelling life forms. Humus is continuously broken down into humic acid, fulmic acid, ulmic acid and humins, vitamins, enzymes, and minerals.

Two of the major functions performed by humus is holding nutrients till needed (prevents leaching) and holding water till needed. It also buffers pH and adds tilth to soils. However, the most important function may be regulating the availability of minerals (elements) in the correct proportions to each other and providing food for the beneficial microbes.

Gardening books often mention the components of humus, so a brief introduction is below.

The components of humus (humic acid, fulmic acid, ulmic acid) are chemically called an acid because of their elemental components and the way the molecules are structured. However, they are weak acids and do not effect pH very much compared to other chemicals.

 Humic acid is a dark-brown humic substance that is soluble in water only at higher pH levels (very alkaline) and is of greater molecular weight (bigger molecules) than fulvic acid. Humic acid is resistant to breakdown and may remain in soil for centuries.

 Fulvic acid is a yellow to yellow-brown humic substance that dissolves in water under all pH conditions and is of low molecular weight (smaller molecules than humic acid).

 Ulmic acid is a brownish molecule that breaks down easily. It helps with creating good soil structure and helps the soil hold onto various elements (nutrients).

 Humin: the other component of humus us a black humic substance that is not soluble in water at any pH, has a high molecular weight (very large molecules), and is never found in base-extracted liquid humic acid products.

 The amount of humus required for a healthy soil is determined by our plant choices. Many plants like azaleas, ferns, ivies, blueberries, will grow in pure organic matter with extremely high levels of humus. However, if we grow cactus, the soil should have very low levels of organic matter especially humus. In this case the high water holding capacity and nutrient levels in humus will lead to root rot and plant death.

As a rule, plants that grow in shady moist conditions require lots of organic matter and humus (up to 100%); plants that grow in the sun prefer about 25% organic matter by volume, and the desert plants and many succulents only 1-2% humus.

Price point at your local nursery will tell you what you are buying. If you are paying $6 or less per bag it is probably fresh organic matter like sawdust and contains zero humus. This low-quality organic matter causes gardening problems from insects and disease, to nutrient tie-up and poor plant growth.

This is the reason so many people say they have a “brown thumb,” they use low quality materials. To use the computer analogy, “garbage in = garbage out”. Translated to gardening, “cheap low-quality soils = lots of problems (weeds, disease, insect pests) and eventual death of plants”.

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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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