"Hort Minute" from September 2013 Meeting

If you missed the "Hort Minute" at the Essex Greenbelt September meeting, here is some timely advice which our horticulturist, Gail, presented with the fall season in mind:

DECORATING WITH BERRIES

Please do not decorate--inside or out-- with invasive berries, particularly Oriental Bittersweet and Multiflora Rose. Once established these plants are capable of choking a tree! Even if you think you are disposing of the fruits properly in the trash, just one dropped berry can be eaten by birds or rodents and spread elsewhere.

If you are decorating outside with faux berries, look for waterproof ones. Squeeze a faux berry. If it "gives" and is soft, the outer layer will probably burst in wet weather revealing the unattractive core. If the faux berry feels hard and "plastic-like", it is probably waterproof. However, there are problems with faux berries, too. Birds can be harmed by trying to eat them. I was heartbroken one winter to see a blue jay gulping down my artificial winterberry.

FALL PLANTING- PERENNIALS and SHRUBS

September/Early October is not too late to plant perennials and shrubs providing you continue to water them regularly until the ground freezes. Fall is a good time to find bargain in the nurseries, too. The only downside, many nursery plants are pot bound in the fall after growing in containers throughout the summer. You may even have to cut away the pot.

It's important to lossen the roots of container grown plants (herbaceous and woodly) before planting. The outer roots should be teased until they no longer resemble the shape of the pot. Big circling roots that cannot be freed, especially at the bottom, should be cut.

Two tools that aid this "root teasing" process are a three pronged hand cultivator and a soil knife. High quality soil knives are available at Corliss. Basic models like mine are available online at A.M. Leonard. Use the cultivar like a comb to loosen the roots. If the plant is very badly pot bound, make approximately six vertical cuts around the root ball from top to bottom. Then try teasing again with the cultivator. Be just a little "brutal." The plant will thank you!