Uconnladybug's Blog

Autumn brings to mind the crisp, crunching sound of leaves underfoot, meadow grasses casting a golden hue over the once green fields, and roadsides dotted with brilliant goldenrods and vibrant pink and purple asters. Not having very much fall color in my childhood backyard, oh how I loved the thought of cutting bouquets of cheerful asters for my room – that is until I discovered that those large black and yellow garden spiders were as attracted to this plant as I was! Better to just leave Mother Nature alone.

Asters used to be easy. There were over 600 species of them until molecular and morphological research in the 1990s determined there weren’t. Taxonomists pretty much divided the lot into New World and Old World species but kept them in the Asteraceae family. New World asters were put into new genus’ with tongue twisting names like Almutaster, Canadanthus, Doellingeria, Eucephalus, Eurybia, Ionactis, Oligoneuron, Oreostemma, Seriocarpus and Symphyotrichum. Now there are about 180 species in this group. Fortunately, all these plants are still referred to as asters making them easier to ask for when looking to purchase some new additions to your garden beds.

The European Michaelmas daisy remains an aster (A. amellus). According to Dr. Allan Armitage’s Herbaceous Perennial Plants, the original species is infrequently encountered but numerous cultivars have been bred and selected for. Despite the fact that many species of plants in the aster family are native to North America, much breeding was done in England and Germany beginning in the 1890s.

In the United Kingdom, many species we commonly think of as asters are called Michaelmas daisies. The feast of St Michael and All Angels falls on September 29^th as the days shorten and nights grow longer. It is written that St. Michael was an archangel who fought against Satan and protected believers during the dark nights. The celebration of this feast occurs during the asters’ bloom time, hence their nickname Michaelmas daisies. Asters are also one of the birth flowers for September.

The flowers of an aster are simple yet beautiful. They resemble daisies with their central yellow disk florets and their purple, pink, blue or white ray florets. The word, aster, means ‘star’ in Greek, most probably named for its rayed flowers. Pollinators flock to these plants. Native bees are continuously collecting pollen and the later blooming ones are especially sought after by both migrating and resident butterflies.

Two types of asters most commonly found in our New England gardens are the New York aster (Symphyotrichum novi-belgii) and the New England aster (S. novae-angliae). In the wild, both species prefer sunny, moist areas but cultivated hybrids are perfectly content when planted in your average well-drained soil. Cultivars prefer being kept moderately moist during active growth periods but resent soggy soils when dormant. These unnamed asters were purchased at a garden club plant sale. The purple variety seems far more vigorous than the pink one these days.

 

Another interesting native aster is Eurybia divaricata, the white wood aster. The stems may reach 2 to 3 feet but they typically are a bit zig-zaggy and flop over so it looks like plants are only 18 inches high. The blossoms are small but many and the leaves are coarsely toothed and heart-shaped. White wood asters serve as a host plant for caterpillars of the pearl crescent and checkerspot butterflies.

A second great attribute of this plant is that it grows in dry shade. I have it both in my white garden under a Clethra barbinervis and 2 ‘Bridal Wreath’ spireas and also in Treebeard’s garden under a Sawara cypress mixed in with ferns, epimediums and vinca. White wood asters thrive in both and multiply in a contained manner.

For a spectacular back of the border show, the Tatarian aster (Eurybia sibirica) cannot be beat. Growing to a height of 7 to 8 feet, the plants are covered with sprays of large, bluish, daisy-like flowers starting in late September and lasting well into October. Tatarian asters will spread rapidly I quickly learned after a gardening friend gave me an innocuous looking pot full. And, they are quite drought tolerant. Staking is usually not necessary if grown on the dry side. This year because of all the rain, they have grown quite tall and might need something to hold them up.

Dwarf asters used to be more available. These are usually crosses between two or more species. I had a cultivar called ‘White Opal’ growing in my white garden for almost a decade. It was so delightful because clear white flowers opened on 8 to 10 inch stems. It died out during a particularly warm and wet winter and I have been unable to find it for sale either online or at local garden centers.

Standard varieties of asters are generally sheared at the nursery to produce more compact plants or growth regulators are used. Then in year two in your garden, the delightful, once 14-inch high bushy plants send up stems 3 or more feet tall completely disrupting your design. Asters, for the most part, have a tendency to be somewhat loose, rangy perennials.

If you prefer more compact plants, late blooming varieties can be pinched twice, once in mid-May and again in late June. Otherwise, plan on staking the plants early in the season or position them so their sprays of blossoms have another plant or object to lean over. Pinched plants also send out side shoots so you get more blooms.

Asters grow in full sun to light shade. Fertilize them lightly each spring. Excess nutrients have been implicated in disease problems. Rapidly growing asters need to be divided every third year as the center of the clump often dies out. As with other fall blooming perennials, division is best done in the spring. Dig up the whole clump and divide the outer portion into groups of 3 to 5 stems. Discard the old woody center. Replant divisions at 18-inch intervals. Pot up extras to donate to plant sales.

As with garden phlox, it is advisable to remove spent blossoms. Seedlings are often more vigorous than parent plants and will crowd out choice selections.

The only real problem I have encountered with asters is their susceptibility to powdery mildew. Keeping them well spaced and divided to increase air circulation usually keeps this fungus problem under control. Some varieties are bred for resistance to this disease.

Asters make wonderful additions to perennial beds and borders, and are suitable for naturalizing. They will surely be as much of a star in your fall gardens as they are in mine.
Dawn P.

Vacations are for traveling and relaxing, seeing new lands and experiencing cultures other than our own. I did just that this summer on a trip to Ireland visiting the entire coastal perimeter of the country. I am a plant person at heart, so of course I was enamored with the plant life I saw, touched, and even ate and drank. The golden barley in the fields was to become an important ingredient in the Irish Guinness beer brewed in Dublin. We took a tour of the brewery to learn how the fruit of the hops plant and the grain of the barley are turned into the well-loved stout beer.

Along the coastal route we traveled, we did not see many vegetable farms as they were located more inland where there were better growing conditions and soil. We did see many fields with sheep and cows. Beef and dairy cows were often feeding in fields not used for hay.

Often large fields would have a lone, ancient tree standing within its boundaries, and could be any species that happened to take root on the spot. Our tour guide told us those trees are known as fairy trees which house the fairies of Ireland. Fairies in Ireland are not nice and cutesy like we Americans think of them. In Ireland fairies are tricky beings, and can bring havoc and bad will to those who disturb them. For this reason, farmers will leave a large tree in the middle of his field, even driving around it when seeding and growing crops, avoiding tilling up the area so as not to disturb or offend the fairies residing under it. The superstitions are handed down with the generations, and many stories of them may be found in bookstores on the local legends.

We passed peat bogs which are wetlands covered in accumulated dead plant material and mosses. Peat takes centuries to form under the acidic and anaerobic conditions. Layers of peat were traditionally cut out of the bog, left to dry and then used a fuel source to burn inside fireplaces to heat homes. Now a day, modern heating is used in Ireland, and bog management laws limits on the amount of peat harvested. Peat moss used in gardens is also harvested from bogs. Since it takes centuries to form, it is not really a very good renewable resource.

 

In windswept, boggy meadows along the seaside were plants that looked like cotton blowing in the wind. It is called bog cotton, Eriophorum angustifolium, a grass-like sedge plant with fluffy seed heads. Each seed is attached to a fluff of hairs/bristles that can catch the wind to be carried far away. Great method of seed dispersal created over eons to ensure the survival of the species.

Heather grew wild among the rocky areas and tolerated the harsh, windy climate well. It was low growing among the native grasses providing a subtle lavender color to the fields.

 

Foxglove is a native weed just about everywhere in Ireland. Its purple nodding bells arising from waste areas and rock walls. Called Fairy Thimbles in folklore, they are deemed unlucky if you bring them into the house in case you let a naughty fairy into the home. Foxgloves are biennial, with second year plants blooming from June through August.

I captured (with the camera), this cute little bee coming in for nectar on this non-wild foxglove in a tended garden.

While in Northern Ireland at Malin Head, I came across the most unusual hedge plant planted in multiple yards and outside several establishments. After asking a local or two, its identity was revealed as Hebe, a broad leaved evergreen plant with showy purple flowers in July and August. It is native to New Zealand and the folks I spoke with weren’t sure how it originally came to their town, but they share it readily with neighbors. Hebe is hardy there, but will not take temperatures below freezing. Even one exposure to a freeze and its top growth will die back. The stands of I saw were happily six feet tall and tolerating even this northern most town on the coast.

 

 

What would a visit to Ireland be without the mention of potatoes? Several museums and tour guides told the history of the Irish potato famine caused by the fungal disease of late blight, Phytophthora infestans, the same disease that infects tomatoes and can wipe out a crop. The English withheld all other food sources from the Catholic following Irish people unless they denounced their religion. Once the potato blight hit for several years, there was no food left resulting in mass deaths and migrations to other countries. Still today, the entire population of Ireland has not reached the numbers it had before the blight hit.

 

At the end of our trip, we packed up our mementos of Irish lace and tweed caps along with the rich stories of Ireland. My memory cards are full, both the physical one in my camera, and the one in my head.

-Carol Quish, all photos copyrighted by CQuish

 

“By all these lovely tokens September days are here, with summer’s best of weather and autumn’s  best of cheer”

Helen Hunt Jackson

September is here with its splashes of goldenrods, Joe-pye and other late summer flower. Butterflies that migrate are having their last hurrah and late season caterpillars are ready to pupate. Fruit trees are loaded down with apples, and the air in the early morning may be scented by ripe wild grapes. This is a great time of year, still green, but showing signs of the autumn that will soon arrive.  Getting outside now has its own sets of rewards.

 

While moving rocks in a landscape, one had a small mud like structure stuck to the underside. This was the work of the female Eumenes fraternus potter wasps construct mud brood  that look like miniature jugs. After an egg is laid inside with a good supply of caterpillars or beetle larvae to feed the larva when it hatches, the female seals the hole. Since the female potter wasps do not defend their nest, you can check inside to see the food stores/larva or pupa.

Wildflowers in bloom now include cardinal flower, turtlehead and closed gentians, all of which can be found in damp soils, especially along banks of ponds and streams. They can be found under shrubs or among other plants growing in wet areas. Cardinal flowers are a good plant to stake out for the hummingbirds that love their nectar. Bumblebees can be seen squeezing their way into to the gentian and turtlehead flowers that most other bees do not have the muscle to get inside.

There are spectacular late season caterpillars, like sphinx and tussocks. Also the aptly named asteroid, which feeds on both aster and goldenrod flowers and flower buds.

I had to rescue an eft of the red spotted newt the other day. They sometimes come out of the woods after rainy days in warm weather, and this little fellow had come a few hundred yards away from the nearest wood line and was in the middle of a fairway being mowed. Disaster was averted, and the eft was brought to a wooded area near a vernal pool.

I returned to an area of woods off a hiking trail that has a number of nodding trillium, Trillium cernuum.  They now have the brilliant red berry that contains seeds, but you have to lift up the large leaves in order to them. This is one of my favorite trilliums, mostly because it is hard to find, and then the flowers are a reward for those who peek under the leaves to find them.

 

This summer has been warm and droughty after a fairly wet May and June, and even part of July. There has been flooding after the numerous rains where soils are heavy and do not drain well. Then days in the 90’s coupled with poor surface drainage caused turf grasses to die. Even grasses in a light soil may have had shallow roots going into the hot, dry spell, and some of that turf may have bought the farm as well. Yesterday we had only an inch and a half of rain, and yet flooding still occurred where soils were hard from drought conditions. Like Roseanne Roseannadanna used to say- “It‘s always something!”.

I will not especially miss this summer, with its extended heat and awful humidity. I intend to enjoy the cooler weather and especially the cooler nights. And may I never complain about the winter again. Like that will actually happen…

 

Pamm Cooper

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Every year at the UConn Home & Garden Education there are a few topic of interest that we get a lot of calls about. Several years ago we fielded a lot of calls about the drought situation in Connecticut that occupied many people’s thoughts in 2016. In fact, that encompassed two years as we started to feel the effects of it in 2015. On the tail end of the drought, and perhaps in part because of it, many parts of the state were visited with an infestation of gypsy moth caterpillars. When we have a wet spring the fungus Entomophaga maimaiga, a natural control of the gypsy moth caterpillar, can flourish. The fungus overwinters as spores in leaf litter and in the soil. It then reactivates in the spring when there is sufficient rainfall. Although we were receiving an adequate amount of rain by 2017 it happened to occur a bit late for the fungus to be fully effective against the voraciously feeding caterpillars. So the summers of 2016 and 2017 were dedicated to answering many questions about the gypsy moth caterpillars and the damage that they wreaked.

As those two events have wound down a new concern arose for many of our clients. Thanks in part to press releases and an interview that aired on NBC CT in June the giant hogweed, Heracleum mantegazzianum, (below images) jumped to the front of the queue. The Connecticut Invasive Plant Working Group (CIPWG) issued a warning about this invasive species which was first spotted in Connecticut in 2001. Most of the populations of giant hogweed are under control and none of the reported sightings in 2018 were positive.

There are many look-a-like plants and it is those species that we are asked to identify. Starting in early-June calls and emails began to come in to identify large herbaceous perennials that were striking fear into Connecticut residents. This is in part due to the pretty noxious nature of the giant hogweed sap. Within 24-48 hours after skin has been in contact with the sap painful blisters may appear in individuals that are sensitive to it. Three things need to be present for the reaction known as phytophotodermatitis to occur. First, direct contact between the skin and the sap. Second, the skin must be moist as from perspiration, for example. Third, the contaminated area must be exposed to sunlight. If you are working in an area that contains giant hogweed it is easy to imagine that all of the criteria could be easily met.

Before attempting to remove giant hogweed from an area the first step should be positively identifying it. As I mentioned earlier, there have not been any confirmed sightings in Connecticut yet this year. It may be that the suspected plant is one of the following instead.

The first plant that is most commonly mistaken for giant hogweed is fellow member of the Heracleum genus: cow parsnip, Heracleum maximum, (images below). Unlike giant hogweed which was introduced to the United States 100 years ago from the Caucasus region of Central Asia, cow parsnip is native to North America. A tall herbaceous perennial that can reach up to 10 feet in the shade, nowhere near the 18 feet possible height of the giant hogweed, cow parsnip bears its flowers in in the flat-topped or rounded umbels that are characteristic of other members of the carrot family, Apiacea. Both species have compound deeply-lobed, toothed leaves but the cow parsnip lacks the red veining and leaf stalks common to giant hogweed. Cow parsnip also contains chemicals that cause phytophotodermatitis.

The next most common look-a-like is angelica, (below images). A first cousin once-removed, it shares its family, Apiaceae, with the giant hogweed and cow parsnip but is in the genus Angelica. Angelica grows 3-9 feet tall and also has large umbel flower heads. The compound leaves of angelica are what distinguish it from giant hogweed as they are bipinnate, meaning that they are compound leaves in which the leaflets are also compound (think honey locust leaves). Often used as a medicinal herb, angelica is the least toxic of the hogweed look-a-likes although it may still cause a skin reaction.

Queen Anne’s lace, Daucus carota, (below images) takes compound leaves one step further to tripinnate, having pinnately compound leaves that are bipinnate. The more levels of pinnation, the more delicate the overall effect. The airy-looking leaves of D. carota are what give it the ‘lace’ part of its name and are similar to its subspecies, the domestic carrot. Queen Anne’s lace has an umbellate flower head atop a much slimmer stem than giant hogweed, cow parsnip, or angelica. The sap from the leaves and stems can cause a phytophotodermatitis reaction although the flowers are used to make jelly similar to the yarrow jelly from our June 26^th blog post.

The native Lactuca species includes wild lettuce (Lactuca Canadensis),

prickly lettuce (L. serriola), hairy lettuce (L. hirsute), and the blue lettuces (l. biennis, L. floridana, L. pulchella, L. villosa).

These tall plants start out from a basal rosette of leaves and can grow to 7 feet tall with large alternating broad leaves.  They have pale blue insignificant flowers compared to the dense clustered heads of the previous plants.

Finally, giant ragweed, Ambrosia trifida, has also made a plant identification appearance.  This 6-foot tall annual herb is a noxious weed that has become invasive in other parts of the world as it out competes native species in much the same way that the giant hogweed has here.

As plants and seeds have spread across the globe through human, animal, mechanical, or water means many species have landed in non-native locations and taken root there. If you are a fan of podcasts, check out the Infinite Monkey Cage’s Invasion episode where scientists and comedians take a look at the problems caused by alien (plant) invasions.

Susan Pelton, UConn Home & Garden Education Center

All images by CIPWG and UConn