Reminder: Lecture at HSNY this evening

Essentials of Proper Tree Stewardship:

A Lecture by Alex Feleppa
Tuesday, April 29, 2008, 6:00 – 7:30pm
Free for members, $10 for nonmembers

Trees have a tremendously positive environmental impact, especially here in our urban setting. Join Alex Feleppa for a lesson on trees, from shoot pruning to root development and everything in between. This is a perfect opportunity if you need to learn more about how trees work or if it is time to treat yourself to a horticultural refresher.

Deer Resistant Screening Material

Question:
I am currently working with (a local Long Island community) Fire Department and the town wants a “buffer” tree between our property and the neighbors. I specified an Eastern Red Cedar and the District was worried about deer eating them. I wanted to reach out to someone with more knowledge and found you by google searching “deer resistant plants and shrubs”. What is your feel on the eastern red cedar? Are they highly likely to be eaten by the deer? If so can you recommend something of the same type?

Answer:
When I still lived out east on Long Island I remember eastern red cedar (Juniperus virginiana) being pretty safe in terms of deer resistance. However, that was close to 10 years ago and with all the development over the last number of years I know their taste palettes have expanded quite a bit.

I fear that bases of the cedars will get pretty chewed up. And trying to think of a tree that is going to be that vertical, while staying so narrow, and still deer-resistant is pretty tough. Assuming the area is full sun, there are some narrow upright spruces out there, but they can get thin from their base up over long lengths of time. I am sure that you do not have a huge budget, and there might not be all that much space to plant, but if at all possible, you might want to consider a line of cedars for height and then some deer-resistant shrubs at the base that will complete the screen and not become full of holes as the years go by. You can underplant the cedars with bayberry (Myrica pensylvanica), Abelia (Abelia x grandiflora), Japanese skimmia (Skimmia japonica), even a low growing juniper, and I would hope they wouldn’t suffer too much munching. Again, I apologize, it’s been a while since I’ve landscaped on the island. Barberry (Berberis) and burning bush (Euonymus alatus) hold up well too, but they are both listed as introduced invasive species in the northeast so I can’t really recommend those with a clear conscious.

I will also take this quick opportunity to say that if anyone has a different opinion about the plants I've listed above, others I've forgotten, or if you have different findings from your experiences, I would be more than happy to hear your thoughts. Deer resistance gets tougher and tougher every year with increased development and decreased forest and parkland and I am open to any and all information people wish to share. Thanks.

Where to Prune my 'Gold Rush' Orchid?

Above is a photograph of my Epicattleya 'Gold Rush' at home in Astoria, Queens, and below is a helpful diagram of an orchid with a sympodial growth habit which I found at howthingswork.com

This is a piece about an Epicattleya orchid. Different orchids have different growth habits and different requirements as to where and when they should be pruned post-flower. This post is specific to Cattleya orchids and their hybrids and should not be used as a general guideline for all orchids. It is important to properly identify and understand how your orchid grows and flowers before initiating any pruning.

Question:
I was given a Gold Rush orchid when it was in bloom. It finished blooming, and I was uncertain how to prune back the spent flower spike. I was told by a friend that I should just prune off the spent flower cluster, leaving the bare spike. The spike has continued to stay green, but the orchid is not creating any new flower spikes or new buds on the existing flower spike stem. I'm not even sure when it should start blooming. I received the orchid at the end of June. Should I have pruned the flower spike stem all the way down to the leaf joint, or was my friend right suggesting to leave the flower spike stem on the orchid? When should my Gold Rush Bloom?

Answer:
Let’s first clarify what you are looking at. Your orchid should have tall pseudobulbs which look like fat green stems covered by a thin, papery cover. For my Gold Rush, each pseudobulb is 4-6 inches tall, and has a single large leaf at the top of it. After many months of having the plant, it grew a couple new pseudobulbs, again, with a papery cover and one large leaf. Then a little growth, referred to as the “sheath”, which looked similar a narrow upright leaf grew straight out of the top of the pseudobulb. This was the bud that the flower spike eventually emerged from, even though I admit it was many, many months before the flower spike finally emerged and blossomed. So, then I had a full flower spike that emerged from that narrow sheath. When the flower is past, what I will do, and what I would recommend, is to cut off the flower spike and sheath from the main plant right above where the large leaf is on each pseudobulb. Then, of course, what you will then be left with is each original pseudobulb and its single large leaf. To answer your other question, a new flower spike will not emerge from the pseudobulbs that have already flowered. You will water and fertilize regularly and wait for the plant to put up 2-3 new pseudobulbs, and those will produce next years flower. As far as when the plant will re-flower, I can not definitely say. The Gold Rush that I bought was advertised as blooming in either spring for fall and it bloomed right in the middle of winter. I received it in early March, I assume just past flower, and it was a solid year before I got to see flowers myself. As I said earlier, the protective bud sheath around the new flower spike was there for many months before finally opening.

When to Divide Hosta?

(A beautiful inflorescence of hosta flowers found in Union Square, July, 2007. Photo credit: Alex Feleppa)

Question:

I wanted to divide a few of my hostas because they are too big. My hostas are beginning to bloom and I’m not sure if this is a good time to thin my plant. Should I wait until fall to divide my plants?

Answer:

You mean your hosta are beginning to leaf out, not flower, right? I don’t know of any hosta that bloom this early – the ones I see are just breaking ground with new leaves now.

Honestly, I think it would be fine to lift and divide them right now, but do not wait any longer. The general rule of thumb is that you want to lift and divide your large perennials and grasses soon after they flower so you give them enough time to establish new buds and flowers for next time. Often this means that spring flowering plants are divided in early fall and fall bloomers are best divided in early spring. Of course, there are always exceptions in the world of proper horticulture so if you are unsure it is best to refer to your favorite reference books before breaking ground. Hostas bloom late summer and are so tough, I have divided them in spring and fall and every time they have held up fine for me. Not to mention it is definitely easier to lift them, place them on their sides, divide, and transplant now while the foliage has not yet emerged, or is still very small. In some cases if I lifted and divided them on a sunny or hot day the foliage might have gotten a little beaten up, but again, they are such tough plants that I’m sure they would bounce back and be fine in the long run. If the foliage is up very far and you fear you might damage the plants too much to move them now then obviously you can wait until fall.