PLANT OF THE MONTH: BAY LAUREL

Photograph and Article by Andrea Ray Chandler

Boy the breeders have been busy working on Coleus! This succulent annual has been popular since the Victorian era, when it was introduced and used in “carpet bedding” as a foliage plant to create blocks of color in flowerbeds that mimicked Persian-rug designs.  Coleus grows well in the sun, but we love it because it will grow in the shade.  The downside to coleus is that deer and slugs and deer love it.  Oh, and did we mention rabbits and deer?  I’d recommend regular spraying with a hot-pepper wax spray product. ‘Wizard Pineapple’ is an especially nifty cultivar because it doesn’t have that jarring chartreuse-burgundy mixture that is such a design challenge.  It’s just chartreuse, which glows in shady locations, and the large leaves fill in an area fast. Like other coleus, it will produce spikes of pale blue flowers. These are fairly inconsequential, and you can pinch them off with impunity.  Pinching also makes the plant branch out, which makes for more pretty leaves, and that’s a very good thing.

Melissa’s Monologue

Thank you to all who helped with the plant order.  I hope you have been able to enjoy the nice weekend weather to get your flowers and other plants in the ground or in baskets / planters.  I hope you have the opportunity to visit the local nurseries, arboretum, and public gardens in the coming months.  Don’t forget the tours in the metro area, including our own in June.  Happy gardening!

Garden Tour and Pot Luck

Mark your calendars for Saturday June 21st for our annual garden tour and potluck lunch.  Our day will start at 10 AM with a tour of Whittaker Flower Farm's gardens and green house, 15855 W. 183th Street, located between Lackman and Renner Road.  This part of the tour is $3 and includes not only an hour-long hosted tour but also a flower bouquet and use of their lath house for our lunch.  Please bring folding chairs and something to keep your flowers fresh (shallow jar for water or a Styrofoam cooler are suggested).  Other details are still to be determined, and I'll keep you posted as they develop.

Welcome to Our New Members

Please welcome our new and renewing members

• Alison Mairet,

• Julie Bird

• Kim Dia

• and Willa Meyer all from Olathe

Updated membership lists will be available at the May meeting.

Recap of April Meeting

Lew Leonard, a Johnson County Extension Master Gardener, spoke to us about improving garden soil.

The first step is to assess what you’ve got and the needs of what you want to grow.

• Does the site get sun or shade?

• Are there any trees with roots that will compete with other plants for moisture and nutrients?

• Consider the moisture the area gets: does it get plenty of moisture or is it usually dry?  Does the soil drain quickly and well, or hold water and stay soggy?

• The Extension recommends getting a soil test ($10 through the Extension; or home kits can be good); the results will show the pH of your soil and the nutrients existing in it and tell you what to do for the best results; be careful about adding amendments or trying to alter pH if you haven’t had a soil test done; you may do more harm than good, or at least you may waste your money and time putting in what the soil doesn’t need.

If you have poor drainage, you can make raised beds, or you can install drainage pipes in the ground, or you can look into a product like “Enviro-Max”, which hasn’t been scientifically tested but some people say they get good results with.  On the other hand, if your soil is very dry and you find it inconvenient to water it, mulch your beds, or look into Xeriscaping, which is low-water use gardening and using drought-tolerant plants.

The best thing to add to your soil is compost. Add 1 inch per year around your plants, under the mulch – this is especially good to do if you didn’t add any amendments to the bed when you started it.  When preparing a new bed, add 4 to 8” compost to the soil and dig it in.

Sand is something you should NOT add to your beds, unless you are prepared to add a lot of it – 80% sand to 20% soil.  If you don’t add enough sand to clay soil, it turns the soil into something resembling concrete.

The pH can be altered in an existing bed, but it takes several years. If you’re building a new bed, you can change the pH quickly by adding enough amendments.

Beth Reed

May Program

On May 15 our speaker will discuss “Herb Gardening”.  Come and learn all about fragrant, delicious, lovely herbs to grow in your gardens.

Refreshments for May

Cathy Johnson & Melissa Hanlin

Scholarship Update   

The scholarship committee met and chose Jayme Jones as the 2003 OGOA Scholarship winner.  Miss Jones will receive $400 from the scholarship fund as she graduates from Olathe South and plans to pursue a degree in Landscape Architecture with a community planning minor at K-State.  Her goal is to design parks, plazas, and landscape new office buildings.  Congratulations Jayme!!!

In addition, the committee voted to put $1000 in a 1 year CD at 1.25% and leave the mutual fund untouched at this time.  

Community Service Opportunities

Within the last week, I have been contacted by two different organizations wanting to possibly work with us and share the joy of gardening because they have heard good things about our club and its members.  I will share more once I know, but know that your past work and reputation are becoming known throughout the community.

Also, for anyone who is interested and available, Johnson County Nursing Center has their Horticulture Therapy/Gardening time for the residents on Tuesdays at 1pm.  Activities depend on the weather and the state of the raised beds and residents’ interest level.

Good Samaritan Center has invited us to help its residents pot flowers in hanging baskets on May 5 at 10am.  Anyone who is interested and available is welcome to attend.  It should only last for about an hour.  Club members have worked out there in the past in the horticulture therapy program for residents.

No commitment to community service is required for membership.  Community Service opportunities are available for those wanting to do garden related activities for the betterment of the community.

Plant Swap

Bring any leftover plants or those that you’ve divided or just don’t have room for anymore to the plant swap at the May meeting.  If you don’t have anything to swap and want to try something different, that’s okay too!!!  Bring some plastic shopping bags or bucket, etc to take your plants home.

Plant Order Update

I want to thank everyone who worked in getting the plant order organized, received plants, pulled orders and helped with the remnant dispersal.  I truly appreciate all you did to make it a success!!!  Please let me know what can be done to make it better for next year.  Also, I would like to know your feelings on the plant material as well as the selection.

Don’t forget thank Top Cellars @ 151^st and Mur-Len for the beer flats and Olathe Public Library Blackbob Branch for allowing us to sell the remnants there if you are at either of these places.

As of April 28, it appears that we will break even or possibly make between $50-75 on the order after all expenses.  Final numbers will be available at the May meeting.  There are still a few annuals and perennials left.

Moving Houseplants Outside for the Summer

 

It is often helpful to set many houseplants outside for the summer so they can recover from the low light levels endured during the winter months. As soon as night temperatures stay consistently above 55 degrees F, houseplants can be moved to their summer home. Choose a spot that has dappled shade, is protected from the wind and is close to water. A porch or a spot that receives shade from trees or buildings will work well.

Putting houseplants in full sun will cause the leaves to photooxidize or sunburn because the leaves have become adapted to low light levels inside the house.

Where possible, sink the pots into the ground to help moderate root temperatures and reduce the frequency of watering.

If you have a number of plants, dig a trench 6 to 8 inches deep (or deeper if you have larger pots) and long enough to accommodate all of your plants without crowding. Place peat moss under and around the pots. Peat moss holds water, helps keep the pots cool and reduces evaporation from clay pots. About every two weeks, rotate the pots a quarter turn to break off any roots that have penetrated the peat moss surrounding the pot and to equalize the light received on all sides of the pot. Watering on an "as needed" basis. If the potting soil is dry a half-inch deep in the pot, it is time to water. (WU)

Taken from the KSU Department of Horticulture, Forestry, and Recreation Resources
Horticulture 2003 Newsletter
http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/dp_hfrr/hnewslet

Parting Shot

Working in the garden

A prisioner in jail received a letter from his wife:

I have decided to plant some lettuce in the back garden. When is the best time to plant them?"

The prisioner, knowing that the prison guards read all the mail, replied in a letter:

Dear Wife,
Whatever you do, DO NOT touch the back garden! That is where I hid all the gold.

A week or so later, he received another letter from his wife:

You wouldn't believe what happened. Some men came with shovels to the house, and dug up the whole back garden.

The prisoner wrote another letter:

Dear wife,
NOW is the best time to plant the lettuce!