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.

Archive for the Clippings department

New invasive plant found in Calhoun County

November 18, 2020 • Leave a Comment

Although it doesn’t spread as fast as its name suggests, invasive plant mile-a-minute weed has made its way to Michigan. This fast-growing, invasive vine recently was verified at the Whitehouse Nature Center at Albion College in Calhoun County. The plant is native to India, Asia and the Philippine Islands, and can cause harm to Christmas tree farms, reforestation projects and restoration areas by smothering young plants and trees under its dense growth.

Mile-a-minute weed is identified by its triangular leaves, spikes of pea-sized blue fruits, and recurved barbs lining the stems and leaf margins. Unusual circular leaves called ocreae clasp the stem beneath each fruit spike.

It can grow up to 25 feet in six to eight weeks. Dense, prickly thickets overtake native vegetation. Seeds may survive in the soil for up to six years.

Each fruit contains a single seed, and vines can produce up to 3,500 seeds per year. Fruits are eaten by birds, deer and small mammals, which can spread seeds miles away from the original plant.

Learn more here.

Try some forest bathing this fall

October 13, 2020 • Leave a Comment

**The practice of forest bathing began in the 1980s but humanity’s need to be in and part of nature is far older.**

Being in nature is something that comes naturally to humans. Forest bathing, or shinrin-yoku, is a form of nature therapy that originated in Japan and has seen renewed interest in the past few years. While the practice began in the 1980s, humanity’s need to be in and part of nature is far older. It’s an integral part of our species’ history, something rooted deep within each of us.

Nature can be a healing force. For centuries, we’ve recognized the powerful effect of reconnecting with the natural world. There is something rejuvenating about being out among the trees, in being surrounded by the sounds of the forest, the scent of wildflowers, the way sunlight plays through the leaves. Finding that revitalization is one of the key tenets of this practice.

“The art of forest bathing is the art of connecting with nature through our senses,” wrote Dr. Qing Li, the world’s foremost expert in forest medicine, in his book Forest Bathing: How Trees Can Help You Find Health and Happiness. In his book, Li explores the science and history behind forest bathing and how best to practice it. “The key to unlocking the power of the forest is in the five senses,” he wrote. “Let nature enter through your ears, eyes, nose, mouth, hands and feet.”

According to Li, there is no one way to forest bathe; many activities can achieve the intent of the practice. Yoga, foraging, tai chi, plant observations, and even just walking out in the woods all can be considered part of forest bathing.

Related: Oaks, the king of trees

State of Michigan seeks help finding disease-resistant survivor elms

August 3, 2020 • Leave a Comment

A century ago, elegant, vase-shaped American elms shaded neighborhoods with their lacy, arched canopies. Today, many of those trees are dead, skeletal husks—a legacy of the destructive Dutch elm disease. The fungal disease, spread by bark beetles, slowly wiped out most American elms after being introduced in the early 1900s.

However, the American elm’s story isn’t over. Midwest forest health experts are working to stage a comeback, and they need your help. Have you noticed any large, healthy American elms in your area or when out hiking in the forest? Those “survivor elms” might be tolerant of Dutch elm disease. If you are in Michigan’s colder climate zones (zone 5 and colder), you especially are encouraged to report these trees. Currently, there are no Upper Peninsula reports and very few northern lower Michigan reports. It’s important that these zones are represented, because it helps provide a clearer picture of where disease-resistant elms may be.

Several Midwest state natural resource agencies and the U.S. Forest Service are working together to identify such locations. They plan to collect branch samples for propagation (the process of growing new trees from a variety of sources), with the goal of developing a seed orchard suitable for future reforestation efforts in northern areas.

Eligible elms must be:

An American elm (not an imported species).
At least 24 inches in diameter.
Disease-free.
Naturally grown, not planted or treated with fungicide
Within 1 mile of Dutch elm disease (indicated by nearby dying/dead elms).

If you come across one of these trees, record its location and diameter at 4.5 feet from the ground. Submit the observation to the survivor elm website.

Ask MG: Why are my elm leaves are turning yellow and wilting?

New stamps celebrate the beauty of American gardens

July 3, 2020 • Leave a Comment

The U.S. Postal Service has released stamps that celebrate the beauty of American gardens. The stamps feature 10 different photographs of botanic, country estate and municipal gardens taken between 1996 and 2014. The gardens include: Biltmore Estate Gardens (North Carolina); Brooklyn Botanic Garden (New York); Chicago Botanic Garden (Illinois); Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens (Maine); Dumbarton Oaks Garden (District of Columbia); The Huntington Botanical Gardens (California); Alfred B. Maclay Gardens State Park (Florida); Norfolk Botanical Garden (Virginia); Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens (Ohio); and Winterthur Garden (Delaware). To learn more, click here.

Challenge: Help frontline healthcare workers fighting COVID-19

March 27, 2020 • Leave a Comment

Daryl Toby, owner of AguaFina Gardens International, contacted us about his COVID-19 challenge for businesses and individuals to check their inventory and storage for personal protection equipment (PPE). These items are needed immediately by our front line health care workers. Examples of these supplies are:

• New or unused disposable face masks
• N-95 mask (sometimes called respirators)
• Eye protection including face shields and safety goggles
• Disposable gowns
• Disposable gloves (especially non-latex)
• Disposable surgical caps
• Disposable foot covers
• Home-sewn reusable masks
• PAPRs (powered air purifying respirators) and PAPR hoods
• Wipes: bleach or anti-microbial
• Hand-sanitizer

We encourage you take the challenge:
1. Find any supplies you may have – even small quantities!
2. Post photo/video on social media with tags below.
3. Find out where to drop off donations.
4. Challenge others to get the word out!

Thank you!

#supportcv19frontline
#protecthealthcareworkers
#aguafinagardens

Diagnosing and preventing brown spots in lawn

January 25, 2020 • Leave a Comment

In my lawn, there are random brown spots about the size of a tennis ball or slightly larger. This condition only seems to happen during mid to late summer, nothing earlier. I fertilize about every six weeks and mow weekly, never cutting more than 1/3 of the grass blade. I don’t have pets, though there are plenty of squirrels and birds. I have a lawn irrigation system that I operate on designated days with about 20 minutes in each zone. What is causing the brown spots and how do I eliminate them?

What a great analysis of your lawn problem; it shows you pay attention to details in the management of your turf. It appears you have a fungal disease called “dollar spot,” so named because the sunken dead spots are about the size of a silver dollar. The spots are about 2 to 3 inches wide, and several spots may grow together, killing a larger area. The fungus can survive in an unseen dormant state in infected turf. When the daytime temperatures reach 60 to 80 degrees, it resumes growth and infects healthy grass blades. Dollar spot occurs when a combination of warm days and cool nights produce dew on the lawn in the morning, which was our mid to late summer pattern this year.

You are mowing exactly the right way. The fact you need to mow once a week says your lawn is actively growing and is probably receiving sufficient fertilizer to maintain nitrogen levels. Kentucky bluegrass, a cool-season grass, grows most vigorously in the cooler months of fall and spring. So, the most important time to feed it is in spring and fall. Feeding every six weeks as you are doing may be unnecessary.

For the best lawn appearance, Ron Calhoun at Michigan State University’s Turf Management Center recommends the “holiday program.” Make one full application about Memorial Day, a half-strength application around the 4th of July, a half-strength application around Labor Day, and one full application around Thanksgiving. Include the pre-emergents for crabgrass with the last one.

The key adjustment for you may be in the amount of water. Your irrigation system may be set to compensate for drought conditions. Try reducing the irrigation frequency and duration, and avoid watering in late afternoon and evening. The rate should be 1/10 inch per ten minutes. Water in mid-morning so that the grass has time to dry out before nightfall. Check the amount of thatch in your lawn. It could benefit from core aeration, a mechanical process that methodically punches holes in the turf and pulls tiny plugs of soil to the surface. Aerating does exactly what it sounds like: it increases air spaces for healthy root growth. If you want to reseed areas, look for resistant bluegrass varieties such as Adelphi, Eclipse, or Vantage. With minor changes and adjustments, you should see those dollar spots disappear from your lawn.

Deterring sparrows from the birdfeeder

January 20, 2020 • Leave a Comment

The sparrows seem to be overtaking our birdfeeder for the finches even though it’s one of those that requires the birds to eat “upside down.” How can I deter the sparrows from throwing thistle all around, wasting it, and interfering with the finches? Would it help to wrap the feeder with a kind of chicken wire that might only allow the smaller finches inside to eat?

The sparrows overtaking your finch feeder are most likely English sparrows, commonly referred to as the house sparrow. They are hard to control around many backyard birdfeeders. They have a tendency to overpower feeders that have a variety of feeds intended for our more desirable native birds. Goldfinches and other small native birds will steer clear of feeders that are occupied by the English sparrows.

Here are two homemade control measures that have been deemed worth a try. The first is an inexpensive method developed by Weir Nelson of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and used on open port tube feeders with perches. Bend a 10-inch piece of flexible wire in half. Feed the wire through the port and loop it over one perch, then pull it tight and tie off around the other perch. When completed, you’ll have two parallel strands of wire stretched through the center of the port between the opposite perches. The two strands of wire discourage the sparrow from easily extracting seeds from the feed port. It has no effect on finches, chickadees, nuthatches, or other songbirds.

The second method is to shorten the length of perches on thistle tube feeders so they only extend 5/8 of an inch. The shortened perches will not disrupt the ability of goldfinch, house finch, and other members of the finch family from feeding, but should deter the sparrows.

Commercially there is a product available called “The Magic Halo” that seems to be effective. When used in conjunction with either a post-mounted or hanging feeder, it is said to deter up to 86 percent of the English sparrows. With monofilament lines added to the “Halo” at four corners extending below the perches, the elimination of English sparrows from the feeder is said to exceed 99 percent.

There are also several feeders available that have a screen or cage around the actual feeder. It will let the small birds feed while keeping bigger species from getting to the seeds. In general, to discourage unwanted visitors from your feeders, don’t use cracked corn or millet, and don’t use feed mixes, unless they are free of the aforementioned ingredients. Try seeds that are species specific. Many songbirds love black oil sunflower seeds, for example, and will not miss the mixes.

Growing pasque flower from seed

January 16, 2020 • 2 Comments

I picked and planted seeds in a pot from a pasque flower (Pulsatilla vulgaris) this summer. They are growing and are about 3 inches tall now. How do I keep them alive over the winter. Do I plant them in the garden or keep them in the pot in the house?

Michigan is well into fall now and winter is right around the corner. That means your pasque flower seedlings won’t have enough time to establish themselves in the garden soil before a hard freeze. It would be best to maintain this as a houseplant through the winter. In his book Herbaceous Perennial Plants, Allan Armitage recommends that propagation by fresh seed is the best. Pasque flower seeds go dormant soon after maturity. This means the seed you picked could have been directly planted in the garden, giving it time to establish a viable root system to carry it through the winter. Pasque flower, in general, does not transplant well. Established plants can be carefully divided, but there are no guarantees.

So enjoy your pasque flower this winter as a houseplant. You can gather seed and continue the chain of propagation with new seedlings that can mature and produce seed in time for next spring when you can directly sow them in frost-free soil. They love full sun and good drainage. They are excellent rock garden candidates, and thrive in moderate summer temperatures and low humidity.

ReLeaf Michigan announces Big Tree Hunt winners for 2018-2019

January 10, 2020 • 2 Comments

The largest tree in Michigan was submitted by James Wegner: a red oak measuring 384 inches around (32 feet!), located in the city of Marion in Osceola County.

ReLeaf Michigan, a non-profit tree planting and education organization, celebrated the conclusion of its biennial Big Tree Hunt contest, which awards participants for identifying the biggest trees in Michigan.

Running from spring 2018 through fall 2019, more than 700 entries were sent in from people all across the state, including 80 of Michigan’s 83 counties. The winning entry for each county was verified on-site by professional arborists and foresters. The trees were found in all sorts of places, including backyards, local parks, cemeteries and hiking trails. Since many trees are on private property, the specific location of every winning tree is not made public.

ReLeaf Michigan began the Big Tree Hunt in 1993 to celebrate Michigan’s beauty and create a fun way to gather information about Michigan’s biggest trees. The contest is an opportunity for all age groups to get outside, enjoy trees, and help track these vital historical living landmarks. For more information, including photos and the winners list by county, click here.

Hidden Lake Gardens announces Tree Tower and Canopy Walk groundbreaking

December 10, 2019 • 2 Comments

The ADA-accessible tree top top tower will rise 10-stories and the canopy walk will stretch 700-feet-long.

This summer, Hidden Lake Gardens of Michigan State University announced a new attraction that will be coming to the Tipton, Michigan botanical garden and arboretum. The Tree Tower and Canopy Walk project is scheduled to open in 2020, the 75th anniversary of Harry Fee’s gift of Hidden Lake Gardens to MSU.

The design, fundraising, and site preparation phases of the project are on the docket in 2019. Then the tree tower and canopy walk will be pre-fabricated during the winter months. The Canopy Walk is set for construction and installation as soon as the winter weather breaks, with an opening by June 2020. The Tree Tower will begin construction and installation over the summer of 2020, with an anticipated opening of October 2020, just in time for fall foliage season.

The Tree Tower and Canopy Walk attraction will provide people of any ability the opportunity to have a woodland and forest immersion experience. The 700-foot long canopy walk will take visitors through the tree canopy some 65 feet above the ground via the wheelchair friendly boardwalk and suspension bridge. The tree tower will be a 100-foot tall “climb” up into and above the trees via a wooden staircase. For visitors that cannot access stairs, the ADA-compliant elevator—the only tree elevator of its kind—will move people up and down the trees. To learn more, click here.

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