 |
|
|
April 2009 Gardening Q&A
Mystery plant
Exotic looking plant from Aroids family
 by B. Rosie Lerner
Purdue Extension Consumer Horticulturist
Q: Can you please help my friend to find out what the name of this plant on the picture is? She told me it smelled bad when it flowered. I told her this is a kind of insect-eater plant but not sure what the name of it is. — Agus, via e-mail
 A: This is not necessarily a carnivorous (insect-eating) plant, but the photo is of a flower belonging to a large family of plants known as the Aroids. This family includes such plants as philodendron, Jack-in-the-pulpit, anthurium and caladium. It might be possible to narrow down to plant genus if I could see the foliage, but I can’t tell from just the flower structure alone. It would also help to know if this was something growing outdoors in the garden, or if it is grown as a houseplant. In the meantime, you can browse images of Aroid family members at the International Aroid Society Web site: http://www.aroid.org/gallery/.
Q: A neighbor has given me some Mimosa tree seeds from 2008. He has several trees, and they bloom every year so they are Indiana hardy. How do I treat these seeds to get them to grow? They are in long pods, so do I bury a whole pod or open and plant just the seeds?
A: Mimosa tree (Albizia julibrissin) is marginally hardy to Southern Indiana and should survive most winters there, except for those with severe low temperatures. It forms a small tree or large, multi-trunked shrub with large, compound leaves and large clusters of pink flowers in summer, lending a tropical appearance. Mimosa is rather adaptable to poor, droughty soils. Unfortunately, this plant is quite susceptible to a wilt disease and webworm insects, and it also sets large quantities of seed pods where it is hardy. Where these plants are killed to the ground, either by winter cold or disease, they often resprout from root suckers, forming a thicket. It can be invasive where it is hardy.
The seeds require soaking, due to a thick seed coat. Begin with near-boiling water, add seeds removed from ripe pods and allow water to come to room temperature, with seeds continuing to soak for about 24 hours. Then, plant the pre-soaked seeds in potting soil and moisten as needed. Keep the potted seeds warm to speed germination. Additional information on starting trees from seed is available at http://www.hort.purdue.edu/ext/treesfromseed.html.
Q: We are adding on to our garage, and I need to move my peonies. The peonies were my grandmother’s, and I have transplanted them twice. They have been in this spot for the last 10 years. They want to start work at the end of the month. Could you please give me advice on how and when to move them? — Laura Roggenkamp, via e-mail
A: Early spring can be an excellent time to relocate and/or divide perennial flowers. The hard part about doing so at this time of year is precisely locating where the plants are if the tops have completely died back. If you just want to move them intact, carefully lift the roots of the peony plants with a spade, taking as large a soil ball as practical so that there is less disruption to the root system. Use a large tarp to move the clumps to their new site. Be sure to have the new planting site prepared ahead of time so you can drop the clumps into their new home immediately. Aim to place the soil ball at about the same depth as they were previously; peonies do not perform well if planted too deep.
Typically, peonies do not flower well the first year of transplanting, so give them a year or so to readapt to their new site. More information about peonies is at http://www.hort.purdue.edu/ext/HO-76.pdf.
Q: Please tell me how do you grow grapes, apples and other stone fruits (peaches, nectarines, oranges, etc.) from seed. Also, is it possible to use the seeds from store-bought fruits? I have tried to grow them without success. Please tell me why. Also, I would like to know the best soil to grow them in. Can they be grown outside safely? Do they need protection in cold weather? — Daniel Parker, Shipshewana, Ind.
A: Most commercial fruit crops are not raised from seeds, but rather from grafted plants, so that the outcome will be more predictable and fruit production realized more quickly. Seedling fruit trees are quite variable in their hardiness, productivity, quality, size, etc. Additionally, seedling trees take many years (7-10 years or longer) to become mature enough to fruit. Citrus trees, such as orange, are not winter hardy in Indiana and, though the other crops you mentioned might be hardy here, it is unlikely that the varieties available in the grocery are well adapted to our climate. So, if fruit production is what you’re after, it would be best to start with nursery-grown planting stock rather than seeds. More about this at http://www.hort.purdue.edu/ext/treesfromseed.html and http://www.hort.purdue.edu/ext/garbage.html.
Written By: eceditor
Date Posted: 3/25/2009
Number of Views: 514
Return
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|