Blog | Rotary Botanical Gardens

Nifty Nicotiana

Posted: February 11, 2015 by Mark Dwyer in Blog

Today was fairly mild with some very light snow/sprinkles. We had a small turnout at the Horticulture Center this morning. Janice was in to work on some Garden Expo (this weekend!) details and Spring Plant Sale (Mother’s Day weekend!) signage. Urban came in for some lights processing and Larry H. was out again collecting remnant lights from the Holiday Lights Show out in the gardens. We also saw Dick H., Gary S. and some others today. I continue to prepare for the Garden Expo this weekend and Big John and I will set up the booth tomorrow which helps avoid the crazy set-up influx on Friday before the event starts at 3 pm. See www.wigardenexpo.com/ for information on this fun and educational event. I’m also trying to finish my seed ordering and it’s coming along slowly but surely.

I actually ordered seed of some annual flowering tobacco (Nicotiana sp.) selections today including the Nicotiana langsdorfii (seen above and further below). The flowering tobaccos have always performed well for us and in 2007, we had a vast collection of these selections (see bottom photo). While they prefer decent soils and adequate moisture, they are certainly heat tolerant and are blooming “power houses” throughout the summer. I’m certainly a huge fan of these annuals. We like some of the taller species that also exhibit a strong scent, particularly in the early evening hours. Look for Nicotiana sylvestris and Nicotiana alata selections for some of the best scent. Some of the more modern and compact varieties lack the scent but not the beautiful, tubular flowers. If scent is desired, research your selections prior to purchasing. With the taller varieties, when we see the flowers waning in the mid-summer, we’ll cut the primary flower stalk back severely (down to the bottom set of leaves) which encourages a brand new stalk with strong flowering until frost. This is what I consider “severe deadheading”! These same species will drop lots of viable seed so plan on seeing some babies the following spring. Below are just some of the many varieties offered in our seed catalogs and at local nurseries. They are all easy to grow from seed.

‘Whisper Appleblossom’

‘Tinkerbell’

Nicotiana langsdorfii (above and below)

‘Perfume Deep Purple’

‘Perfume Lime’

‘Avalon Bright Pink’

Nicotiana suaveolens

Nicotiana alata ‘Grandiflora’

Nicotiana sylvestris (above and below)

Nicotiana sylvestris ‘Only the Lonely’

‘Nikki Red’

‘Starmaker Pink Picotee’

‘Starmaker Rose’

‘Starmaker White’

Nicotiana knightiana

Nicotiana Collection at RBG (2007)

Ghost Fern – A Solid Performer

Posted: February 10, 2015 by Mark Dwyer in Blog

“No ghost was ever seen by two pair of eyes.” Thomas Carlyle. I would argue that quote as it relates to the ‘Ghost’ hybrid painted fern (Athyrium hybrida) which I think is appreciated by everyone that sees it and grows it. This silvery fern is a hybrid between the native lady fern (Athyrium filix-femina) and the Japanese painted fern (Athyrium niponicum var. pictum). This fern, which came out 10 years ago?, has the benefit of the vigor and height of the lady fern and the silver patina of the painted fern. I love this fern and we’ve planted over 50 at the gardens. While the painted ferns are usually in the 15″ height range, ‘Ghost’ can offer that same look on a plant close to 30″ in height. The spring coloration has more of a light green/silver combination with the best silvering coming by mid-summer. While the silvering might not rival some of the other painted ferns (Athyrium niponicum), it is not insignificant. Position these in part sun in decent soils with adequate moisture and you can’t go wrong. Unhappy specimens in dry locations or full sun can get quite scorched by mid summer and become unsightly quickly. We punctuate most of our shadier gardens with ‘Ghost’ as it offers some nice illumination of color in locations that rely heavily on foliage. All of these photos are of the ‘Ghost’ fern. There are some other exciting hybrids between lady ferns and painted ferns. Check out ‘Branford Beauty’, ‘Branford Rambler’ and ‘Ocean’s Fury’ (crested) for some other fun options.

Today was another productive day with lots of meetings. Larry H. and Peg were at it again and spent many hours bringing in lights from the Holiday Lights Show set up out in the gardens. Urban was in to process more lights and Dr. Gredler came in for some painting on our garbage bins. Cindy helped with some office tasks including organizing more incoming seed orders and other deliveries. We’ll have to get our seeds to our growers in the next couple of weeks for sure. We had our Garden Development & Maintenance Committee Meeting this morning which included Christy, Christine, Gary, Big John, Iza, Cheryl and Larry. We talked a lot about this exciting year. I also met with Christy (UW-Rock County Extension), Chrissy (UW-Walworth County Extension) and Candace (University of Illinois Extension) regarding our September 1st Green Industry Field Day which should be a blast (more info to follow). We also saw Rollie, Mark S. and many others today.

Impactful Wheat Celosias

Posted: February 9, 2015 by Mark Dwyer in Blog

I’m a big fan of annual celosias (Celosia sp.). In 2005, we displayed a collection of over 100 varieties which was a lot of fun. It was amazing to see such a wide range of options with such a heat tolerant annual. While great for flower form and bloom coloration, there are many with interesting foliage as well. The nomenclature is a bit confusing at times with lots of hybrids and new varieties each year. Generally speaking, celosias like full sun in decent soil with adequate watering. We’ve displayed the various “plume” types celosias (Celosia plumosa) and the “cockscomb” type celosias (Celosia cristata). However, I also enjoy the “wheat” celosias (Celosia spicata) which have such upright flower architecture out in the garden. Above is ‘Celway Terra Cotta’ which was a big hit last year and ended up almost 3′ tall. Some varieties will get sizeable in the 3′-4′ range while there are selections closer to 24″ and even shorter. Research your varieties for height and realize the massing these wheat celosias can offer some interesting color and texture. While many of these are hybrids, I consider them “wheat celosias” as they have some spicata heritage and very upright “wheat-like” blooms.

Today was busy with lots of volunteers arriving at the Horticulture Center this morning. Larry H., Dave T. (new grumpy), Alan M. and Peg headed out to bring in more lights from the Holiday Lights Show. The progress was made easier with some sunshine and above frigid temperatures. Urban was inside processing lights while Dr. Gredler did some painting. Terry and Marv installed some new shelving in the Horticulture Center with some help and Dick H. worked on some of our vehicles. Dave, Jim, Vern, Ron Y. and Bob K. all worked on a big carpentry project and are making great progress. Bill O. came in to help Larry later in the morning and Gary S. was in to run some errands. Jim, Stan and Karen M. had a meeting regarding some improvements in the Japanese garden and Kay helped process more seeds for the Spring Plant Sale (Mother’s Day weekend!). We also saw Rollie, Tom, Cheryl R. and many others today.

‘Ruby Parfait’

‘Ruby Parfait’ late in the season

‘Intenz’

‘Flamingo Feather Pink’ (above and below)

‘Flamingo Feather Pink’ late in the season (above and below)

‘Flamingo Feather Pink’ starting to “bend”

‘Pink Candle’

‘Startrek Rose Pink’

‘Kosmo Purple Red’

‘Spiky Pink’

‘Kelos Purple’

‘Cramer’s Hi-Z’

‘Enterprise Dark Pink’

‘Enterprise White’

‘Flamingo Feather Purple’

‘Punky Red’

Orange Heucheras Abound

Posted: February 6, 2015 by Mark Dwyer in Blog

I’ve always been a big fan of coral bells (Heuchera) although they aren’t the lowest maintenance perennial and will let you know when they aren’t happy (usually by dying). Rich, moist soils are ideal with some degree of sunshine. Late season mulching around the crown of the plant will help mitigate the late winter freezing and thawing which can literally pop them out of the ground. Coral bells are not shade perennials and some of our best specimens are in full sun (with supplemental watering of course!). We have over 50 different kinds out in the gardens but there are literally hundreds of varieties to choose from and every year, dozens more can be found in our catalogs. Keep in mind that all Heuchera also go through a color transition from spring emergence to summer color and in many cases, a fall color as well. Seasonal coloration for even the same variety will vary too depending on sunlight and other factors. I mention this as some of these photos are taken in spring with vivid coloration while others are summer shots with some fading and color shifting. Regardless, these are all worthy of consideration as “orange-ish” Heuchera selections. I was excited over 15 years ago when ‘Amber Waves’ was introduced (see directly below). This is still a good one but many of the best modern oranges (‘Caramel’, ‘Kassandra’, etc.) have Heuchera villosa parentage which helps with vigor, hardiness, heat tolerance and summer color retention. Directly above is ‘Dolce Crème Brulee’ which is a personal favorite. Enjoy some of these varieties and understand that my interpretation of “orange” is a bit loose! :)

It was a partially cloudy day with some bright, invigorating sunshine at times. I was able to accomplish a lot of office work including the continuation of spring seed orders and some plant orders. Availability will become a serious concern very soon so I’ll keep working on this next week before the Wisconsin Public Television (WPT) Garden Expo at the Exhibition Hall of the Alliant Energy Center absorbs my attention next Friday, Saturday and Sunday. We’re selling tickets in our gift shop! We’ll be well represented in our booth with staff and volunteers and I’ll be doing five talks over those three days. See www.wigardenexpo.com/ for more details on this fun and educational event that might just get you through the winter doldrums. The extended weather forecast looks good so far for travel to Madison. Cheryl D. went out in the gardens this morning to collect lights while Urban was inside today processing lights for storage. Bill O. stopped by as did Steve, Dave and Blane. Janice worked on myriad projects and Kay worked on processing the beginnings of our incoming seeds. We also saw Mark S., Kathy P. and many others today.

‘Amber Waves’

‘Marmalade’

‘Ginger Ale’

‘Caramel’

‘Caramel’ with Euphorbia myrsinites

‘Kassandra’

‘Ginger Peach’ (part sun)

‘Ginger Peach’ (full sun)

‘Big Top Gold’

‘Fire Alarm’ (almost red!)

‘Carnival Coffee Bean’

‘Carnival Watermelon’ (hints of pink)

‘Kira Tundra’

‘Peach Parfait’

‘Pinot Gris’

‘Tiramisu’

The Scent of Popcorn in the Garden

Posted: February 5, 2015 by Mark Dwyer in Blog

Over the past five years, we’ve enjoyed growing the popcorn cassia (Cassia didymobotrya). Also called popcorn senna and peanut butter plant, this tropical (native to Africa) thrives in our summer heat. This showy legume (Fabaceae) will get 20′ and taller in native ranges although for us, it will stretch up to 4-5′ in a season. We usually plant them at 18″ tall and they will add another 3′-5′ in height depending on how the summer goes. Adequate watering, decent soils and occasional fertilizer are all very helpful as well. The photo above shows the beautiful blue green foliage of popcorn plant as well as the architectural blooms which attract both bees and butterflies. The blooms are profuse in July and will continue well in to September and all the way until the first hard frost. We donated a plant to a school garden (see below) and the kids seem to be enjoying the scent. I think the flowers smell like buttered popcorn although others say they detect peanut butter…? Regardless, rubbing the flowers and foliage will create an interesting sensory experience. We plant about 50 of these each year and while we have dabbled with different ways of storing them over the winter, we have been unsuccessful. It’s a fun plant to photograph as seen in these many images.

It was fairly cold out today with sub-zero wind chill temperatures this morning. Larry H. braved the cold and headed out to retrieve more lights. We had quite a crew inside with Marv, Terry and Urban processing lights and Dr. Gredler painting. Vern, Dave, Jim, Ron Y. and Bob K. continued progress on their carpentry project which is significant. Gary made some of our first new labels for 2015. Del helped with some odds and ends and Bill O. came in to help Larry out later in the morning. Pat R. and Pat C. helped Janice with some office work this morning and we also saw Rollie, Cheryl R. (new Director) and many others today. I ordered seeds and continue to work on a wide range of projects.