jhofley, Author at Michigan Gardener

PLEASE NOTE: In the autumn of 1995, we hatched the idea for a free, local gardening publication. The following spring, we published the first issue of Michigan Gardener magazine. Advertisers, readers, and distribution sites embraced our vision. Thus began an exciting journey of helping our local gardening community grow and prosper.
After 27 years, nearly 200 issues published, and millions of copies printed, we have decided it is time to end the publication of our Print Magazine and E-Newsletter.

Why does my columbine droop in my garden?

July 31, 2019 • Leave a Comment

One of the most frequently used words to describe a columbine is “nodding.” The flowers are described as either nodding or upright, with a short, broad tube in front and backward projecting spurs. All columbines flower in spring or early summer and prefer rich soil in light to moderate shade with plenty of moisture. Many of the species are short-lived, especially if the drainage is poor. Aquilegia canadensis, a popular variety in garden centers, is native to eastern North America and found in moist, shady areas. The 1-1/2 inch flowers are nodding, appear in early spring, and continue blooming for about 6 weeks.

Why does your columbine droop and nod over in your garden? That is probably its nature. Planting a sturdier plant which blooms later, in front of the columbine, may help it stand up.

Can vegetable gardens be planted near or over septic fields?

July 27, 2019 • Leave a Comment

Our vegetable garden is over part of our septic field. This is the only part of our yard that gets enough sun. Can there be a problem with possible contamination?

There can be a problem with contamination. Unless your septic tank is completely self-contained and does not permeate into the soil, there are health concerns. Most governmental units have mandated households to convert to self-contained systems to protect Michigan’s groundwater from contamination.

Septic effluent contains chemicals and pathogens potentially harmful to people, animals or plants. Soil types affect how a septic system behaves. Clay soils release cleared effluent in a few inches. However clay does not percolate or drain well and is not a good choice for a septic site in general. Sandy soils permit greater travel of effluent and pathogens, because they drain so quickly. In that case, contaminants can travel greater distances.

Root crops such as carrots or potatoes, which grow in the soil, are likely to pick up pathogens from effluent in the soil over, next to, or downhill from drain field trenches. Leafy crops like lettuce or broccoli that develop above ground may be contaminated by pathogens that splash up from the soil surface during watering or a rainfall. Above ground crops like those that vine (cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers), are less likely to be affected by splash up since they grow vertically out of the way. Homes where water is “hard” and which use a salt-based water softener system are more apt to be passing high levels of brine into the septic drain field. These salts can damage plants that grow nearby.

As septic effluent drains out into the lines, it is filtered slowly through the soil. Beneficial soil microbes digest harmful bacteria and viruses. While septic systems are designed to prevent disease-causing soil contamination, there is no easy way to know if your system is functioning properly. In addition to bacteria, consider all the household chemicals that go down your drains every day. Plants are by nature absorbing and processing “factories,” cleaning up the environment. All of this can end up in those vegetables you planted in the only sunny part of your yard.

What is causing purple leaf color on vines?

July 22, 2019 • Leave a Comment

I recently planted several vines in containers in full sun as directed. Now I’ve noticed the leaves appear to have a purple cast to them. What might be wrong?

Signs of stress caused by improper pot size, insufficient nutrients, soil, water, weather conditions, site incompatibilities or drainage can by themselves, or in combination, cause color change in plant leaves. Some plants with dark green leaves that are prone to leaf burn can develop color changes in their leaves if they are receiving too much light. The opposite is also true if they do not receive adequate light. Then again there are plants that have naturally occurring color changes in their leaves and the color is not indicative of a plant problem. With the wide selection of hybrids available, it is not a surprise that we find it difficult to figure out if the coloring is genetic or not.

Annual and perennial vines are easy-to-grow plants if you have a basic knowledge of their cultural needs. Some key facts pertaining to raising vines in your garden: Select varieties that will thrive, not just survive, in the garden. Site conditions to consider include light, water, weather and soil. Most vines like well-drained, organic-rich soil that will support their fast growth rate. Once the vine develops a good root system, stress will be kept to a minimum. Container-grown plants should be watered and fed regularly with a balanced fertilizer. Don’t postpone installing the vine’s support system; they love to hold on. Mulch helps to keep in moisture and cool the root system. Pruning should include removal of diseased or damaged stems. A perennial vine requires removal of dense, tangled growth to allow air flow for healthy growth, while annual vines require little pruning except for shaping.

Janet’s Journal: Gardeners and builders, save those trees

July 2, 2019 • 2 Comments

Builders are not tree specialists and may not even know the full effect of construction on a landscape. Unless you explain and enforce concepts such as the fragility and extent of a root zone,work will expand into that zone. — Builders are not tree specialists and may not even know the full effect of construction on a landscape. Unless you explain and enforce concepts such as the fragility and extent of a root zone, work will expand into that zone.

Here are tips to help you preserve your landscape during a remodeling or construction project

People are digging in these days.Not digging into the soil to make a garden, but digging in on their property to improve it by adding on or remodeling their homes. Ironically, this often increases the property value in one way while reducing it in another, unexpected way.

I’m talking about established trees and landscapes, overlooked assets that are often lost during and after construction. Sometimes, the loss is unavoidable. Even if you wanted to preserve a particular tree or group of shrubs during the construction process, it might not be possible. More often, the loss is the result of oversight, ignorance or miscommunication.

The loss can be huge, in tangible and intangible forms. First, there’s resale value to consider. Surveys by realtor groups (involving photos of homes with and without trees and shrubs) asked how much prospective buyers would pay for the various properties. The surveys indicated that landscaping can add 20 percent to the value of a home. Greenery in general, but large trees especially, garnered positive responses.

Then there are living expenses and quality of life. Energy conservation studies have proven that shade trees can significantly reduce heating and cooling costs. Environmental research concludes that established plants can cut noise levels and improve air quality, with attendant reduction in medical costs and stress-related illness for residents. And although numbers may never be able to convey the value of peace of mind, a majority of people agree that it comes in increasing amounts with beautiful surroundings filled with butterflies and birdsong.

Finally, communities lose when landscapes are degraded by construction. Many cities and regional authorities are dedicating public funds to the quest for cleaner water and lower water treatment costs. Such campaigns focus on educating the public about how actively growing, diverse plantings promote water quality by intercepting, holding and biologically filtering rain that would otherwise pick up pollutants as it runs along pavement and hard-packed soil.

It’s in your best interest to hold onto both the direct and indirect returns your landscape provides. Building professionals are not skilled in tree and landscape preservation. If you’re planning to build onto your home or remodel, or you aim to build new and want to keep all or part of the landscape, you must learn how to be an effective advocate for your trees and other greenery.

There are five points in the construction process when you should think and act to preserve your landscape. When you first consider construction, at your first serious meeting with a building contractor, just before construction begins, during the work and after the building project is complete, there are things you should know and do.

When the general public is polled,we learn that an established landscape can increase a home’s value by 20 percent… — When the general public is polled, we learn that an established landscape can increase a home’s value by 20 percent…

…to a gardener, the landscape may count for more than the house!

When you first consider construction

Your role as a landscape advocate begins when you first consider adding on, remodeling or building new. Begin by identifying “must save” plants. Then hire an arborist and/or a horticulturist, or train yourself to evaluate the health and replacement cost of those trees as well as the adaptability and moveability of shrubs and smaller plants. Get a written estimate of the replacement value of plants and detailed plans for protection and after care. It’s an invaluable item, both for your consideration as you weigh construction options and costs, and as a means to increase builders’ awareness and respect for the landscape.

You or your arborist/horticulturist consultant should also prepare a map of your property that shows the location and extent of the root zones of plants to be saved. You’ll use this to direct construction traffic and deploy protection for these invisible, surprisingly fragile and irreplaceable elements of your landscape.

Pamper “keeper” plants right from the start. Don’t wait until the plant has been damaged—for some damage is almost inevitable during construction. Fertilize your plants and begin or maintain a good watering program to build their stamina.

If you can’t protect most or all of the root zone, it’s not realistic to have that plant on your “keeper”list.This is especially true of species that are intolerant of root disturbance,such as this 70- year-old beech.The root zone extends to and beyond the tree’s drip line.Less than one-third of that area was protected. The tree died within the year. — If you can’t protect most or all of the root zone, it’s not realistic to have that plant on your “keeper” list. This is especially true of species that are intolerant of root disturbance, such as this 70-year-old beech.The root zone extends to and beyond the tree’s drip line. Less than one-third of that area was protected. The tree died within the year.

Discuss all grade changes before the fact. Excess soil piled in the root zone and against the trunk are almost certain death to a tree.The tree also suffers crushed and broken roots from the equipment which spread that soil. — Discuss all grade changes before the fact. Excess soil piled in the root zone and against the trunk are almost certain death to a tree. The tree also suffers crushed and broken roots from the equipment which spread that soil.

Deciding which trees to protect and placing barriers and cushions are good first steps toward preserving the landscape.Don’t slip up on the followthrough. If you hide your head in the sand during construction your precautions can fail.This oak’s protected root zone was breached and the soil there compacted. When the grade beyond was raised, water couldn’t drain. The tree died in two years. — Deciding which trees to protect and placing barriers and cushions are good first steps toward preserving the landscape. Don’t slip up on the follow-through. If you hide your head in the sand during construction your precautions can fail. This oak’s protected root zone was breached and the soil there compacted. When the grade beyond was raised, water couldn’t drain. The tree died in two years.

At the first planning meeting with your builder or work crew

Identify and stake out the exact placement of new buildings or structures. Determine where the grade will change and how much, whether it will be built up or cut away. Discuss all trenching and excavating ahead of time, in detail. You and your landscape experts need this information to plan specific protective measures and negotiate changes in building plans.

List all work functions that will take place on your property and where each will occur, including material storage, fuel storage, parking areas and places where paint and concrete will be mixed or dumped. Compare this to your keeper plant list and root zone map.

Plan a mutually agreeable vehicle and equipment route into the work area. Aim for a straight route, since every turn of equipment means more churning of soil and increased risk of scrapes and bumps to nearby plants. Allow for a track at least eight feet wide, as anything less represents an unreasonable expectation.

All trenching and excavation should be planned for minimal impact on “keeper” plants.Help your builder understand the effects and explore options. A trench for utility lines detoured around this oak, unfortunately, cutting through at least half of the roots along the outer edge of the circular root zone. — All trenching and excavation should be planned for minimal impact on “keeper”
plants. Help your builder understand the effects and explore options. A trench for utility lines detoured around this oak, unfortunately, cutting through at least half of the roots along the outer edge of the circular root zone.

A less intrusive option is to trench straight toward the tree and then bore under the main roots and trunk.Builders may not think this is necessary or possible since as non-gardeners they imagine the roots to be very deep.Here the main roots are visible at normal depth, within the top 18 inches of soil. — A less intrusive option is to trench straight toward the tree and then bore under the main roots and trunk. Builders may not think this is necessary or possible since as non-gardeners they imagine the roots to be very deep. Here the main roots are visible at normal depth, within the top 18 inches of soil.

When you make a root zone map of the property,you can deny access to the root zone of individual “keeper”plants. Sometimes it’s better to fence off entire areas, as here where root zones are protected behind this construction fence. — When you make a root zone map of the property, you can deny access to the root zone of individual “keeper”plants. Sometimes it’s better to fence off entire areas, as here where root zones are protected behind this construction fence.

Now you may have to modify your “keeper plant” list. Be realistic. You may have to change some plants’ status from “keeper” to “remove,” “move to save,” “keep but cut back,” “tie back,” etc. Then, for every plant that remains on the list, plan ways to protect not only the visible parts but the soil and roots. An eight-inch depth of mulch has been proven to be more effective in protecting the soil from compaction and roots from crushing than any other construction site device, including heavy plywood “paving.” Discuss this with the builder along with tarp coverage beneath material storage areas and where falling debris is expected, and where you will accept the greater cost but lesser damage to plants that comes from drilling beneath root zones rather than trenching through them.

Finally, before any work begins, discuss and list who will be responsible for plant removals and obtaining necessary permits (many communities require tree removal permits). Establish who will execute plant moves, when they will be done and how all parties will know that the involved areas are “all clear.” List, too, who will be in charge of putting up and maintaining protective fencing and padding, creating the cushioned vehicle and equipment route, and explaining all of these features and their importance to workers. Expect to be an active player throughout construction.

When construction is about to begin

Now it’s time to move, elevate or cap sprinklers, prune or tie back at-risk trees and shrubs, prepare the vehicle route and place fences and protective devices.

On the access route, peg down landscape fabric first. Its presence will confirm the original grade when it comes time for clean-up. Have eight inches of mulch dumped on the route, beginning at the entrance with successive truckloads rolling over already-mulched ground.

Place fences and barriers. Keep two things in mind as you do this. One, if there is space, workers will use it. Two, people need room to work. It’s true that work expands to fit the available space, so barriers are necessary, but they must not hamper the work.

Post signs, even if you feel they are redundant or obvious. “Fuel storage,” “dump excess concrete here,” “stay out, loose soil” are some messages you want to communicate clearly.

Expect to pay extra to protect plants and soil. The construction industry is not aware of its full impact on plants, does not go back to see the consequences years later, and has not been asked to consider the cost of effective protection in its estimates. So be prepared to buy or pay extra for tarps to cover paint mixing areas, “bulldog” type porous tarps to protect shrubs from falling debris or paint, and increased labor to carry in rather than truck certain materials across the soil.

During construction

Your most important act during construction is to stay involved. Many gardeners have described how they felt the need to detach themselves, to avoid looking at what was happening in their yard, and afterward go through a process of reclaiming the space. This is understandable but precisely the wrong thing to do.

Get out there, every day, to see what’s happening, to communicate with the workers and to tend to your plants, which cannot detach themselves. Be ready to prune off broken branches as soon as the damage happens, move fences to enlarge or reconfigure protected areas, add mulch or tarps, etc.

Stand up for your plants. You are the expert when it comes to their needs and condition. Do whatever you must to maintain the protection you intended and to continue watering and other essentials during construction.

At this point you should recognize that there is a language barrier between gardeners and builders, and compensate for it. Even simple terms like “soil” have different meanings to both, leading to variable interpretations of acceptable quality and density. A concept such as “root zone” may be incomprehensible to a carpentry crew, or exist in an altered state in their minds so that any conversation that involves the term must be confirmed with diagrams and clarifying questions, just as “load bearing wall” may be Greek to you until it’s drawn out. Although there are individuals fluent in both “gardenerese” and “contractorese,” you should assume until proven wrong that everything you say can and will be misinterpreted.

I’ve been admonished, in preparing this material, to prepare myself for righteous anger from those in construction fields, who may think that in speaking of all a homeowner must do to protect their landscape I am belittling the skills construction workers have and their sense of responsibility. I hope that I’m making it clear that I do respect skilled and responsible construction workers but at the same time I know that my expertise and that of any gardener deserves as much respect. We are expert in our differing disciplines and when we share the same ground, we must communicate carefully. That begins with respect, extends through explanations of technical terms on both sides, and is never hurt by a few shared cold lemonades on a hot day.

After construction ends

Inspect your plants and the soil for damage. Photograph the plants. These images may be invaluable as benchmarks to assess their recovery.

Make your landscape a garden once more. Remove the excess mulch, landscape fabric, protective fencing and tarps. Aerate the soil. Check that sprinklers are working, and make necessary repairs and adjustments. Untie tied-back plants, bring back temporarily relocated plants, and add new plants.

Watch for signs of stress. These signs may not show up right away—in fact, symptoms of stress may not show up for months or a year in larger plants. The bigger the plant, the longer you may have to keep it under watch.

Give stressed plants kid-glove treatment. Watering is the most important thing you can do, but special fertilizing, pruning and patrolling for particular pests that prey on weakened plants of that type may be in order too. Follow the plan that you made for the plant or had made way back in phase one. It all comes together now, when you see your plants resume the growth rates and beauty they possessed before you were possessed by the construction bug.

You can tell when your trees and shrubs recover from construction stress.Monitor and compare the current growth rate to pre-construction or the species’ average growth rate (listed in books such as Manual of Woody Landscape Plants by Michael Dirr).This sugar maple branch grew just three inches in a year, evident in the differing color of new and old wood.The species’average rate is 8 to 12 inches.It’s still recovering and still needs special attention. — You can tell when your trees and shrubs recover from construction stress. Monitor and compare the current growth rate to pre-construction or the species’ average growth rate (listed in books such as *Manual of Woody Landscape Plants* by Michael Dirr). This sugar maple branch grew just three inches in a year, evident in the differing color of new and old wood. The species’average rate is 8 to 12 inches. It’s still recovering and still needs special attention.

Another way to gauge stress and recovery is leaf size and color. If leaves are smaller than normal or discolored, the plant is stressed.This oak leaf is chlorotic—the plant equivalent of anemia. Chlorosis is as often an indication of root damage as it is mineral deficiency. So pamper this oak with aeration, steady watering and special fertilizer until the leaves tell you it is recovered.

Watching for signs of stress after construction

Symptoms may be immediate or delayed:

Wilting or shedding of foliage during or right after construction.
Development of early fall color or leaves dropping early that season or the season following construction.
Reduced leaf size and shoot growth the next season or later.
Twig or branch loss the next season or later. More needles may drop than are produced on an evergreen. The plant may appear thinner,more transparent.
General growth, appearance and pest resistance may be poor, and secondary problems may appear.

Helping the plant recover

From April through November, water deep and slow throughout the plant’s entire root zone whenever the soil a few inches deep is dry and warm.
Check root growth (dig test hole at drip line) and resumption of pre-construction twig growth rate to determine when the plant has fully recovered.
For every inch of trunk diameter, expect a one-year lag before regular growth resumes.

Article by Janet Macunovich and photos by Steven Nikkila, www.gardenatoz.com.

False indigo growing tips

June 27, 2019 • Leave a Comment

I have 4 false indigos (Baptisia) by my house that were doing great some years ago, but now are very leggy and die off by midsummer. I have 4 other ones near a large pine tree that look magnificent. The ones by my house used to look this way. These plants have been here since we moved into our house 15 years ago. Is there anything I can do to get them back to their full size?

There are two clues in your Baptisia predicament. The first hint is the four plants “near a large pine tree” are magnificent. The second hint is the plants by the house “have been there since you moved in 15 years ago.”

False indigo wants full sun for best performance. Although they like rich soils, they are very tolerant of poor soil and arid conditions, which is what they have around the large pine tree. Since the ones by your house used to look that way, it’s possible a matured tree canopy now diminishes access to full sun. In shade, false indigo gets leggy and needs to be staked. They also spread by rhizomes out from the main base and can consume considerable garden space. Your false indigos have that elbow room out at the pine. The false indigo next to your house may have used up all the space they had available in 15 years, particularly if they are confined by a house foundation and a nearby concrete walk or driveway. There’s no place for them to go.

Since we are moving into the heat of summer, wait until fall to cut back and dig up the false indigos along your house and divide them. Replenish and amend the soil in the area and transplant a limited number of small divisions back to this area. If examining the overhead tree canopy reveals access to full sun is compromised, you can plan to stake the transplanted divisions or simply add them to the great crop you have growing out by the pine.

Choosing plants for hedges

June 22, 2019 • Leave a Comment

I would like to create a formal English garden look, where “squared-off” hedges line the garden perimeter. Can you recommend hedge plant options (other than yews) that grow at least 4 to 8 feet tall, look thick and full (like a solid wall), and grow in sun and shade?

You have several restrictions in your plant request that limit your choices. Your height requirement creates a problem for boxwood (Buxus sempervirens), a favorite of formal English hedges, because they are a rather slow grower. However, they hold the geometric pruning well, are sun and shade tolerant, and form a dense thicket of glossy leaves. Boxwoods are the choice for knot gardens, parterres and topiaries because they are evergreen and hold a crisp line when pruned.

Privet (Ligustrum amurense) grows quickly, is easily sheared to shape and can reach your desired height. It is also tolerant of light and soil variations. Unfortunately, in zones 3 to 7, it is considered deciduous, even though its dense twiggy nature is a screening element in itself.

Since the perimeter of the garden is the designated planting zone, you might consider Japanese holly (Ilex crenata), which is very shearable and has a medium growth rate. Their leaves are spiny but lustrous. They will tolerate full to part sun, but need somewhat acid (low pH) soil and good drainage with sustained moisture. The downside is that they need protection from drought and wind.

There are few if any pines or spruces that meet your criteria. However, the workhorse of the residential landscape, the columnar American arborvitae (Thuja occidentalis), may suit them all. The varieties ‘Emerald’ and ‘Techny’ both meet your height requirement of 4 to 8 feet. They hold their color in winter, and have considerable heat and light tolerance. Shearing and pruning them before spring growth will keep them full and dense. They have a natural pyramidal tendency, but can be nicely shaped to be wider at the base, to give the “squared-off” hedge look you are striving for. Keeping them slightly wider at the base allows light to reach the interior of the shrub, allowing active new growth and preventing thinning of the interior.

Growing grass under trees

June 18, 2019 • Leave a Comment

Our yard is shaded by oaks. We overseed every year with shady grass mix. But by the next spring most of the grass has died. What can we do to grow grass in this situation?

You have a couple of choices. You can continue the frustrating cycle of growing grass, or take an alternative approach to living with your oaks. Turf grass needs sun to germinate and establish a root system, even if it is the “shady grass mix.” If your oak canopy is heavy and dense, you could have the canopy judiciously thinned by a trained arborist. They will prune when the trees are dormant in winter and there is little chance for them to be infected with the oak wilt disease. This might open up the canopy enough to let the turf lawn get established.

However, you should know that oak trees can take up to 50 gallons or more of water a day. So while you are watering that lawn you’ve overseeded, the oak trees with their extensive root systems are enjoying the feast. The turf grass never gets its root system established because the oaks are not only shading it out, but also absorbing most of the water.

This is not necessarily a bad thing. Oak trees are preferable bastions of shade. The alternative is to try a different groundcover that isn’t lawn. Oak trees create dry shade. It sounds like your lawn is fairly thin underneath them, which is why you keep overseeding every year. Why not plant dry shade-loving perennials? There are a number of low maintenance plants that would not only lend interest to the landscape under the oak trees, but are low profile, will come up every year, will succeed where turf grass fails, and will provide “green coverage” that you don’t even have to mow.

Consider a mass planting of variegated hostas that would “light up” the shady area under the canopy. Another perennial often used where grass is unsuccessful is lily turf (Liriope spicata). It even looks like grass, but has the bonus of a purple-blue flower in summer, which turns to a red-brown berry in fall. At the outer edge or drip line of the canopy, you could mass plant Stella d’Oro daylilies. They tolerate a wide range of soil types and light conditions. Their yellow blooms are continuously cheerful and when finally done blooming, their foliage lasts until frost. A simple ground-hugging vine is vinca, sometimes called myrtle. It produces a lovely blue flower in spring that shows well in heavy shade. There is also the nice spotted dead nettle (Lamium maculatum) with its silver and green mottled leaves. The cultivar ‘White Nancy’ produces a lovely white flower while other varieties produce pink blossoms mid-spring.

So there are several alternatives and choices to groundcovers that aren’t turf grasses. You need to decide where to put your money: into perennials that will succeed in the shade of your mighty oaks, or continue trying to grow turf grass that will always struggle.

Janet’s Journal: The plant whisperer – What do you say, what do you hear?

May 16, 2019 • 4 Comments

What can it hurt to talk to your plants? Maybe it does nothing for the plants, but it makes you a better, more observant, attentive and cheerful gardener

In the 1960s a corn plant (Dracaena) stuck its leaf into a polygraph and started the world talking about plant-speak. Lie detector expert Cleve Backster lectured and gave interviews about the experience although the scientific world dropped the topic after having a good laugh. — In the 1960s a corn plant (*Dracaena*) stuck its leaf into a polygraph and started the world talking about plant-speak. Lie detector expert Cleve Backster lectured and gave interviews about the experience although the scientific world dropped the topic after having a good laugh.

Luther Burbank, by all measures a genius for more than 800 plant introductions, including the classic Shasta daisy, readily admitted to talking to his plants. He wrote that plants are telepathically capable of understanding speech. — Luther Burbank, by all measures a genius for more than 800 plant introductions, including the classic Shasta daisy, readily admitted to talking to his plants.

You’ve heard of whisperers. Most well-known are horse whisperers, people gifted in working with frightened, neglected, aggressive, hard-to-handle horses with behavioral problems. These healers came out of the woodwork when Robert Redford added his famous smile to the considerable mystique of horse whispering, yet one group is notably quiet. Plant whisperers remain in the shed, so to speak.

Why is there virtually no coverage in the press and no scientific attention to plant whisperers? When so many do it, when there are high-profile champions of the cause such as Prince Charles (‘Of course I speak to plants’), when slightly wacky lie detector expert Cleve Backster hooked his houseplants to a polygraph, and Alfred Hitchcock story collections featured men going mad once they could hear the voices of grass being cut and vegetables plucked? The conspiracy of silence stretches back even to 1848 when Dr. Gustav Theodor Fechner’s theory of emotive greenery, published in Soul-Life of Plants, sent only a short-lived riffle through the scientific community.

My goal is not an appeal for proof that plants hear us and respond. My point in amplifying the subject of plant whispering is to look at what it does for us, the whisperers. It’s irrelevant whether you believe the plants respond or not. What matters is that you see how good this practice is for those who do the talking.

The author whispers assurances to the weeping pine as it’s wheeled to its new home. It’s just part of the job, keeping the plants informed of the whole situation.

Nine years later, never forsaken by the gardeners who voiced aloud their promises to help it through recovery, it’s still going strong. If it could speak, would it chide us or thank us for putting it into a place of prominence?

Better learning when we hear as well as see

People who study human learning claim that we remember significantly more of what we see and hear than we do of things we heard but didn’t see, or saw without accompanying sound. In that case, we are bound to learn more if we speak to a plant, reinforcing thought with sound.

In addition, researchers have proven that we retain a great deal more information when we move as we learn, matching muscle use to spoken word. Since few can speak to a plant without also stroking a leaf, straightening a stem or gesturing in some way, we are also scribing into our muscles what would otherwise be only a mental and aural memory.

So it makes sense that the gardener who stops to chat is more likely to remember which of his or her charges need water the most, which limbs need staking, or where the bugs hang out. It’s a good bet that person will remember the promises and observations made aloud and then act on that knowledge in ways that improve the garden.

I pay attention when I’m talking

Talking is also a means of focusing attention, and that’s a basic tenet of the whisperers’ craft. Buck Brannaman, famous horse whisperer and consultant on the movie of that name, tells his students to get the horse’s attention first, that if you don’t have that, it doesn’t matter what you do next.

In the case of plants, the benefit doesn’t come from capturing the plant’s attention. It comes when the plant wins your undivided attention.

In talking to a plant, I’m compelled to look for specifics to include in my dialogue. It’s not like the wordless, soothing crooning or repeated generalities like “It’ll be all right” that I might use with a nervous cat in a car. I’m talking to myself as much as to the plant so I’m more likely to be analytical in my plant whisperings. I look for something worthwhile to say, perhaps, “You’re looking greener today” or “How’re those tips, have we finally ousted those pesky mealybugs?” Even if I’m taking a hard line with a plant the conversation is going to focus on particulars, such as, “I warned you that we’d have to cut that branch if you don’t start adding a bit more leaf on the other side!” Because I decide to talk, I look more closely and attend to the details.

An old saying sums it up, “The best fertilizer is the farmer’s footprint.” Attention makes the world greener while lack of attention leads to garden failures. We all know that plants rarely fold up and die overnight, that there are usually early-stage symptoms that an observant person can use to make a diagnosis. It’s also pretty commonly accepted that ministrations in the initial phases of a plant’s decline tend to be more successful than last-ditch efforts applied to the near-dead. Yet ask anyone who works at a garden center about the story given by people who return dead plants, and you’ll hear that it is most often, “I don’t know. It was fine and then it just died.” Such terse individuals are probably not plant whisperers. They didn’t talk and by keeping their mouths closed they failed to open their eyes.

Who can say whether this weeping hemlock survived its ordeal because we chatted it up? From the minute the author tied back its branches for surgery and started to dig, she began talking.

Here it is being trundled to a new spot out of the way of construction workers building a new wing on the house.

While alone in its new spot, the author and other gardeners kept the plant company, whispering regularly to it. Certainly the water they brought it and the intercessions they made to keep construction workers from piling things on its roots made a difference.

Most recently, five years settled and joined by other plants, it has become happy enough to have earned the warning, “I know we said that if you’d hang on and make this move we’d never bother you again but if you keep up growing like that we’re going to have to start pruning you!” — Most recently, five years settled and joined by other plants, the hemlock has become happy enough to have earned the warning, “I know we said that if you’d hang on and make this move we’d never bother you again but if you keep growing like that we’re going to have to start pruning you!”

Synergy from involving others in the conversation

We capture the notice of others when we talk to plants. Not just the bemused neighbor or passerby but important others, people who have something to contribute but might not think to share information except that you piped up first.

As an example, take Pat the gardener and Pat’s handy, loving, but horticulturally-clueless spouse. Pat, leaning close over a small shrub and commiserating: “Oh, that’s not good. Here I thought you were all taken care of but that big old brute lilac is blocking the sprinkler from reaching here, isn’t it? I’ll just have to water you by hand until I can figure a way to move that sprinkler. Maybe you’d like a trickle irrigation line, wouldn’t that be good?”

Pat’s spouse, sitting unnoticed on the far side of the lilac on the patio, thinks: “Ah ha. That would be a perfect thing for a birthday present. I’ll have to ask Pat’s buddy Kim what the heck trickle irrigation is.”

It’s not just something that happens in the family. People of different disciplines do meet and take steps forward for the greater good when the thoughts of one are out there where both can examine them. Claus Mattheck was a mechanical engineer when something, perhaps one of those belt-wearing, saw-wielding plant whisperers known as arborists, made him take a look at trees as structures. Now Mattheck’s book “The Body Language of Trees,” is revolutionizing arboriculture by explaining specific signs that tell of impending breakage and fall.

Talk softly and carry a big smile

Maybe the biggest benefit to the whisperer comes from the quiet, calm nature of whispering. This low level of sound probably applies more naturally and consistently to a plantsperson’s work than to any other whisperers’ job. Animal whisperers embrace non-violent ways, but don’t you suspect that even the best of them has raised his or her voice to a subject, if only to be heard above the crashing of hooves against a stall or baying at an imagined threat? That kind of racket just doesn’t happen with plants. Even when we’re upset with a plant so that we feel it needs rebuke, we don’t stand back, stamp our foot and holler. We practice reason or at least learn to accept events with grace, two strategies that become routine and thus are there as a natural fall-back attitude in stressful non-garden situations.

Are you laughing at yourself or a plant whisperer you know? That’s another benefit of this practice. Who hasn’t pulled up in spring an item they planted in fall, mistaking it for a weed? We recognize the error at sight of the potting mix on the root ball, or when we see that there are three of the supposed weed, regularly spaced in a triangle as weeds never are. Perhaps it’s good for the plant to hear “Oh you poor thing, I’m sorry!” but the grin at your own expense is worth far more.

Article by Janet Macunovich and photos by Steven Nikkila, www.gardenatoz.com.

Newly identified hemlock could be resistant to hemlock wooly adelgid

May 8, 2019 • Leave a Comment

Yale graduate student Nathan Havill was studying Asian hemlocks to learn why they can resist the hemlock wooly adelgid (HWA) while the Eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) cannot. In the process, he studied some hemlocks growing at the Arnold Arboretum in Massachusetts, which were presumably southern Japanese hemlocks.

He discovered that the DNA of those hemlocks did not match that of any known species. An investigation showed that the Arnold Arboretum acquired the seeds in 1983 and that they came from Ulleungdo, a small island off the South Korean coast.

In 2008, Arnold biologist Peter Del Tredici traveled to Ulleungdo himself to gather more specimens, which he gave to Garth Homan, a botanist at the University of Maine. Homan found that some of the tree’s DNA was much like the southern Japanese hemlock, while other parts of the DNA more closely resembled that of a different Japanese species. Plus, the Ulleungdo tree had different needles and cones, and flushed new leaves several weeks earlier than the others.

After analyzing these and many other differences, the team announced a new hemlock species: Tsuga ulleungensis, the first new temperate conifer since 2002.

Scientists and others who hope to restore the devastated American hemlock forest are excited. However, since the tree is both rare and endangered, it will likely be a long process for all involved. Breeding work could produce trees that are mostly native but also adelgid resistant.

Excerpted from The Coniferite, Newsletter of the American Conifer Society Central Region.

Website Extra: Finding their garden theme

April 29, 2019 • 1 Comment

After experimenting with various styles, Mark and Carolyn Resch settled on a gorgeous Asian garden

Editor’s Note: The following are bonus photos from a profile of Mark and Carolyn Resch’s garden featured in the May 2019 issue of Michigan Gardener. To read the full story, pick up a copy of Michigan Gardener in stores or see it in our Digital Edition, which you can read for free at MichiganGardener.com.

Japanese lanterns nestled among the ivy groundcover bring added interest to an otherwise all green area.

The koi pond is nestled between the deck and the pavilion. The koi fish add color to the garden while the bubbler adds soothing sound.

Against a green shrub backdrop, the red torii gate is a striking focal point in the Resch’s Asian-themed garden.

Digital Editions

Here are tips to help you preserve your landscape during a remodeling or construction project

Watching for signs of stress after construction

What can it hurt to talk to your plants? Maybe it does nothing for the plants, but it makes you a better, more observant, attentive and cheerful gardener

After experimenting with various styles, Mark and Carolyn Resch settled on a gorgeous Asian garden