Viewing comments posted by valleylynn

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[ Cockerell's Stonecrop (Sedum cockerellii) | Posted on January 6, 2012 ]

If exposed to frost and freezing temperature, it needs to be kept on the dry side to survive.
Will tolerate 10°F if kept very dry.

[ Sedum (Sedum australe) | Posted on January 6, 2012 ]

Little is know about this Sedum. First collected by Nelson in 1897 in the mountains of Guatemala.

[ Hen and Chicks (Sempervivum 'Yancha Mizu') | Posted on December 20, 2011 ]

We are researching this sempervivum to see what else we can learn about it.

Elaine M. Chittenden
Manager of Living Collections
Smith College, Lyman Conservatory, 15 College Lane
Northampton, MA 01063
The cultivar name is an unchecked name, meaning we've not researched it,
just accessioned it as we received it and have had it growing in the
rock garden since 1985. Wish I could tell you more about it as I am
curious as to the origin of the name, if it is of hybrid origin (and if
so who are the parents) or if it is a selection of a species, what gave
it "cultivar status" etc.
http://rbg-web2.rbge.org.uk/cg...

[ Stonecrop (Hylotelephium 'Thundercloud') | Posted on December 19, 2011 ]

A new and distinct hybrid Sedum named `Thundercloud` characterized by pointed or fingered foliage, white flowers and a larger height compared to the seed parent. The new Sedum was raised as a seedling from open pollinated seed sown as an unknown Sedum tatranowii, not patented, at Intrinsic Perennial Gardens in Hebron, Ill. in 2005. The selection of the new plant was due to its' larger pointed foliage, larger white flowers and a taller height compared to the seed parent. Initial asexual reproduction has taken place at a nursery in Hebron, Ill. since 2006 by means of division, and vegetative cuttings. The new Sedum has shown to be stable and identical in reproduction to the parent after rooting over 1900 plants from 2006 to2009.

Patent PP21833 Issued on March 29, 2011. Estimated Expiration Date: Icon_subject July 7, 2029.

[ Grapefruit (Citrus x aurantium) | Posted on December 16, 2011 ]

Grapefruit (once known as Citrus x paradisi, but now redefined as a synonym of Citrus x aurantium) is a cross between a pomelo and a sweet orange, both parents being of Asian or Indonesian origin.
The hybrid fruit was documented in 1750 by a Welshman, Rev. Griffith Hughes, who described specimens from Barbados.

It was brought to Florida by Count Odette Philippe in 1823 in what is now known as Safety Harbor.

Grapefruit and grapefruit juice have the potential to interact with numerous drugs. Check with your doctor or pharmacist if you take medications.

[ Gallant Soldier (Galinsoga quadriradiata) | Posted on December 15, 2011 ]

An abundant seed-producing summer annual with hairy leaves and stems, reaching 2 feet in height. Primarily a weed of vegetable crops, however it may occur in any cultivated situation. Found throughout the eastern and midwestern United States, and also on the west coast.

Identifying Characteristics: Hairy stems and leaves, and 3-toothed ray flowers. The densely hairy nature of this weed helps to distinguish this weed from smallflower galinsoga (Galinsoga parviflora), which is very similar but much less hairy than hairy galinsoga.

Seedlings: Cotyledons club-shaped with slightly indented tip. The stem below the cotyledon (hypocotyl) is very short, green, becoming maroon with age. Young leaves opposite, triangular with slightly toothed margins, and covered with hairs.

Leaves: Opposite, oval to triangular, coarsely-toothed, petiolated, and densely covered with hairs on the upper surface. Lower leaf surfaces have hairs that primarily occur on the veins.

Flowers: Many flowers are produced from terminal stems or from the areas where petioles meet the stem (leaf axils). Flowers are less than 1 cm wide and consist of 4 to 5 white (or less often pink), 3-toothed ray flowers (outer flowers) and many yellow disk flowers (inner flowers).

[ Citron (Citrus medica) | Posted on December 13, 2011 ]

A fruit better known to most consumers in its preserved rather than in its natural form. Slow growing shrub or small tree reaching 8 to 15 ft (2.4-4.5 m) high, with stiff branches and stiff twigs and short or long spines in the leaf axils.

Foliage and fruit easily damaged by very intense heat and drought. Best citron locations are those where there are no extremes of temperature.
The soils where the citron is grown vary considerably, but the tree requires good aeration.
The citron tree tends to put out water sprouts that should be eliminated, and the grower should prune branches hanging so low that they touch the ground with the weight of the fruit. Italian producers keep the tree low and stake the branches, and may even trim off the thorns, to avoid scarring of the fruits. The trees begin to bear when 3 years old and reach peak production in 15 years; die in about 25 years.

The citron tree blooms nearly all year, but mostly in spring and the spring blooms produce the major part of the crop. The fruit is dark-green when young, takes 3 months to turn yellow. To retain the green color, firmness and uniformity desired by the dealers in candied citron, the fruit must be picked when only 5 to 6 in (12.5-15 cm) long and 3 to 4 in (7.5-10 cm) wide. Mature trees yield an average of 66 lbs (30 kg) per year but exceptional trees have borne as much as 150 to 220 lbs (68-100 kg).

The citron tree is subject to most of the pests that attack other Citrus species. The citrus bud mite (Eriophyes sheldoni), citrus rust mite (Phyllocoptruta oleivora), and snow scale (Unaspis citri) are among its major enemies.
Horticulturists in Florida report that citron trees in this state are nearly always unthrifty, are subject to gummosis, and usually in a state of decline and dieback, and are accordingly poor bearers.
Branch knot, caused by the fungus Sphaeropsis tumefaciens, was first noticed on citron trees in Puerto Rico in 1977. By 1983, it had become a serious threat to the local citron industry. The deformations become large and necrotic, lead to witches' broom, dieback and breaking of branches.

The most important part of the citron is the peel, which is used for making candied Citron, Citron Tea (very much like orange marmalade and is made with honey), used in flavoring beverages such as wine and vermouth.

The citron's place of origin is unknown but seeds were found in Mesopotamian excavations dating back to 4000 B.C. The armies of Alexander the Great are thought to have carried the citron to the Mediterranean region about 300 B.C. The citron was a staple, commercial food item in Rome in AD 301.
The fruit was imported into Greece from Persia (now Iran). Greek colonists began growing the citron in Palestine about 200 B.C. The tree is assumed to have been successfully introduced into Italy in the 3rd Century. The trees were mostly destroyed by barbarians in the 4th Century but those in the "Kingdom of Naples" and in Sardinia and Sicily survived.

[ Apple (Malus domestica Pacific Rose™) | Posted on December 12, 2011 ]

High-quality dessert apple derived from Gala and Splendor cross.
Pacific Rose has a wonderful crunch, with firm, juicy, cream-colored flesh. The apple is thin-skinned for excellent eating. It has a clean, refreshingly sweet flavor which also makes it a perfect desert apple.

Part of the same breeding program from ENZA that brought us Jazz (cultivar name: Scifresh).

Available June to September from New Zealand and December to March from Washington State.

[ Apple (Malus domestica Jazz™) | Posted on December 12, 2011 ]

A cross between two other major apple varieties - Braeburn and Gala.

Excellent strong flavor with a pronounced pear sweetness, and very little acidity.

Butter-yellow flesh is juicy, crisp and dense. The one drawback of Jazz is that it is a very solid apple, and may be a bit difficult to bite into if you do not have strong teeth - the solution is to cut it into slices first.

Jazz is grown in New Zealand, France, and Washington state in the USA, with most commercial plantings only starting in 2000. Like a number of modern varieties it is trade-marked, and was developed in conjunction with a marketing agency - Enzafruit - which controls planting and marketing internationally. "Jazz" is actually a trademarked brand name, the variety name is Scifresh.

Becomes available towards the end of the season - so in northern Europe and North America locally grown fruit comes into shops in November/December while southern hemisphere apples will be available in May.

I find this to be a very desirable apple with nice crunch, wonderful flavor and juicy. It is becoming my new favorite apple. : )

[ Carica papaya 'Sunrise' | Posted on December 12, 2011 ]

Pear-shaped fruit with a slight neck. Averages 22 to 26 ounces depending on location. Skin smooth, flesh firm, reddish-orange, sweet, sugar content high. Quality similar to Solo. Seed cavity not as deeply indented as other Solo strains, making seed removal easier. Plant precocious, maturing fruit about 9 months after transplanting, at a height of about 3 feet.

Papayas are ready to harvest when most of the skin is yellow-green. After several days of ripening at room temperature, they will be almost fully yellow and slightly soft to the touch. Dark green fruit will not ripen properly off the tree, even though it may turn yellow on the outside. Mature fruit can be stored at 45° F for about 3 weeks.

Green papayas should not be eaten raw because of the latex they contain, although they are frequently boiled and eaten as a vegetable.

In India, seeds are sometimes used as an substitute as an adulterant in whole black pepper.

Papaya plants can also be grown from cuttings, which should be hardened off for a few days and then propped up with the tip touching moist, fertile soil until roots form. Semihardwood cuttings planted during the summer root rapidly and should fruit the following year.

Papayas need warmth and a frost-free environment, but can often withstand light freezes with some kind of overhead protection. This can be provided by building a frame around the plants and covering it with bedding, plastic sheeting, etc. when frost threatens. Electric light bulbs can also be used for added warmth. Potted specimens can be moved to a frost-secure area. Prolonged cold, even if it does not freeze, may adversely affect the plants and the fruit.

[ Apple (Malus domestica 'Braeburn') | Posted on December 9, 2011 ]

Large, conical, very dense fleshed red apple with a nice sweet, but tart flavor. Remeniscent of Jonathan in some ways. Very crisp and juicy. It is one of the latest picking apples in the fall. Wait as long as possible for the best quality--- wait for its background color to change from green to yellow.
Braeburn is very late harvesting, but an early to mid-season bloomer. It will bear heavy crops, but young trees can take a few years to set nice crops, even though there may be a multitude of blooms.

Zone 5 to 8

Originated in New Zealand in the 1950s, and by the last decades of the 20th century had been planted in all the major warm apple-growing regions of the world. Braeburn accounts for 40% of the entire apple production of New Zealand. Introduced to the USA in 1980's.
Even in conservative Washington state, the most important apple-producing area of the USA, where Red Delicious and Golden Delicious have always held sway, Braeburn is now in the top 5 varieties produced.
Named after Braeburn Orchards, where it was first grown commercially. It is generally thought to be a seedling of a variety called Lady Hamilton. The other parent is not known, but is popularly believed to be Granny Smith - quite likely given the time and location of its discovery, but there seems to be no scientific evidence to confirm this theory.

Braeburn is a relatively easy variety for the backyard orchardist. It likes a warm but not hot climate. It can be grown successfully in the southern UK, and most parts of the USA.

[ Apple (Malus domestica 'Cameo') | Posted on December 9, 2011 ]

Large, fairly attractive red-striped apple with excellent, sweet-tart flavor and crisp, juicy flesh. It stores well, even in the refrigerator. It picks quite late in the fall, so don't rush to pick it before its time.

It originated as a chance seedling. It was found in a Red Delicious orchard near Dryden, Washington in the 1980's, and was first known as Caudle cultivar. so it seems likely, given the shape and colour, that Red Delicious was one of the parents.

[ Apple (Malus domestica 'Fuji') | Posted on December 9, 2011 ]

Fuji comes from Japan, where it was developed in the 1940s and released in 1962. However its parentage is all American. Fuji is a cross between the widely grown Red Delicious, and Rall's Janet, which is much less well known but is probably the reason for Fuji's attractive pink flush.

Crisp and juicy, with dull white flesh which snaps cleanly. The flavor is predominantly sweet, very refreshing, especially if slightly chilled.

Late-ripening apple variety, and becomes available in November/December northern hemisphere orchards) and May/June (southern hemisphere orchards). Fuji apples need lots of sunshine to ripen properly so it is not grown commercially in the UK or nothern USA.

Needs a pollinator.

[ Apple (Malus domestica 'Granny Smith') | Posted on December 9, 2011 ]

Needs a pollinator.
Grows in zones 5 to 9
A bright green, crisp, hard apple, with a very tart taste. However, served slightly chilled it can also be very refreshing, and works well in salads and baking. The flavor sweetens in storage.

Like all the best old varieties it has a bizarre history, being discovered in Australia in the 1860's as a seedling growing in the remains of a compost pile. The true parentage is still unknown, but is possibly French Crab. The discoverer - a Mrs Maria Smith found that the apple was versatile for cooking and eating, and was involved in spreading its popularity. Her apple orchard was located in Eastwood, now in the City of Ryde, Sydney. In an inspired piece of marketing she called the new apple Granny Smith. By the 1960s Granny Smith was practically syonymous with 'apple' and the variety was used by the Beatles as the logo for their company 'Apple Records'.

One of the first international varieties, a role for which it was well suited. The tough skin and amazing keeping qualities meant it could easily be shipped around the world.
It came to the US, where the famous Grady Auvil, from Washington gave it a start in the commercial apple industry, and made it popular.

[ Apple (Malus domestica 'McIntosh') | Posted on December 9, 2011 ]

Early season apple with very aromatic, flavorful, white, juicy flesh. It is somewhat firm, but only will keep for shorter periods during the fall and early winter.
Medium large in size, but sets abundant crops.
The flavor is simple and direct, generally sweet but with refreshing acidity, and usually a hint of wine. In general these apples keep reasonably well in store, but the flavor falls away quite rapidly. To get the full vinous sugar rush it is best straight from the tree.

A highly influential apple variety with numerous offspring.
Discovered by John McIntosh, a farmer in Ontario in the early 19th century, and he and his family became involved in propagating trees. The McIntosh apple was ideally suited to the climate of the area, being a heavy and reliable cropper with good cold hardiness, and seems to achieve its best flavor in colder apple-growing regions.

McIntosh remains very popular in the north-eastern USA, and across the border in Ontario and Quebec.

[ Apple (Malus domestica 'Red Rome') | Posted on December 9, 2011 ]

One of the few heirloom US varieties that is now widely-grown outside the USA. Rome Beauty is a commonly cultivated apple originally found in a fence row in Ohio in 1848.

Unlike most apple varieties, it has a very low chilling requirement which means it can be grown in areas which do not have cold winters.

One of the very finest baking apples available because its firm texture retains its shape, and the flesh acquires a very rich flavor when cooked. When prepared in dishes from pies to pancakes, from sauces to baked apple desserts, Rome has proved a delight.

[ Apple (Malus domestica Pink Lady) | Posted on December 9, 2011 ]

Cross between Golden Delicious and Lady Williams.
Cripps Pink was developed in the 1970s by John Cripps in Western Australia

Strong sunlight in autumn is vital for the pink coloration to develop and growers may remove the top-most leaves of the trees to allow light to penetrate the canopy.
Pink Lady® apples from the northern hemisphere tend to arrive in shops from late November - but the very long storage life means they are available almost all year round from northern or southern hemisphere orchards.

Fruit is medium in size and conical in shape, with a distinctive pink blush over a yellow background. The fine-grained flesh of this apple is crisp and crunchy and, because it does not brown easily after being cut, Pink Lady is a desirable addition to fresh vegetable and fruit salads. When eaten out-of-hand, the first bite tastes pleasantly tart and is followed by a delicious sweetness. Pink Lady ripens in September and can be found in most markets right through late spring months.

In mid to late October, this tree’s foliage comes alive in a fiery explosion of orange, maroon and blushing yellow.

This is one of my favorite apples for texture and taste, truly delicious.

[ Apple (Malus domestica 'Gala') | Posted on December 7, 2011 ]

Early to mid season apple that is very juicy and sweet. Stores well.

Acceptable cross pollinaters are: 'Akane', 'Liberty', and 'Spartan'.

Careful early training, annual pruning and shaping are required to insure healthy and productive trees. Apples need a dormant period to produce fruit. Zones 5 to 8.

Flowers are fragrant, long lasting, single,

Very susceptible to fire blight.

A cross between a Golden Delicious and a Kidd's Orange Red planted in New Zealand in the 1930s by orchardist J.H. Kidd. Donald W. McKenzie, an employee of Stark Bros Nursery, obtained a US plant patent for the cultivar on October 15, 1974.

There are many sports of M. 'Gala'.



[ Dianthus | Posted on December 7, 2011 ]

There are over 300 species of Carnations, and hundreds more hybrid varieties. Although the hybrids come in many different colors, the most common colors are white, pink and red. Most have a sweet spicy scent.

There are annual, biennial and perennial varieties of carnations.

Carnations are used in flower beds, borders, rock gardens and containers, such as pots, and are one of the longest-lasting cut flowers.

Cuttings taken from the terminal growth can also be used to propagate Carnations. The cuttings, varying from four to six inches long, are taken, and the basal leaves of at least two to three nodes are removed. The cuttings are then inserted in pure sand. The lower leaves must not touch the surface. Cuttings will be ready for transplantation in 25 to 30 days.This method is preferable in the case of perennial Carnations.

Carnations can also be grown by division to rejuvenate older plants. Dig up an entire clump and pull it apart using your hands to separate the plant segments, or use two gardening forks, inserted in the center of the clump, to gently pry the plant apart. Replant each new division as you would a new perennial or annual, and water it in very well.

You need to know ahead how tall each variety will grow in order to provide the right kind of support. The support should be set in place soon after planting, or as the plants emerge from the ground in the spring, so the stems will remain up.

[ Cabbage Tree (Cordyline australis 'Dark Star') | Posted on December 4, 2011 ]

Cordyline are monocots, having one cotyledon (seed-leaf) instead of two.

Palm like sub tropical tree that will branch with maturity.Some shade required in hotter inland areas.

Dark Star is a sport of C. 'Red Star'. Dark Star has darker color and narrower leaves. It does not appear to grow as vigorously as Red Star though, which makes it a great candidate for container growing.

Drought tolerant in coastal areas once established, but does better with appreciates regular watering.

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