B 

BABY’S-BREATH

See Gypsophila

BALLOON FLOWER

See Platycodon

BAMBOO

For many people, the word bamboo conjures up images of dense thickets of rampant spreading canes. While this is true of many types of bamboo, some species are not invasive. Evergreen members of the grass family, bamboos range from petite miniatures to massive giants. There are over 100 species of bamboo, found from the tropics to mountaintops. While most bamboos are tropical or subtropical, there are hardy bamboos that can survive temperatures of –10° to –20°F.

There are two main types of bamboos: running and clumping. Running types send out far-reaching rhizomes and can colonize large areas. Control running bamboos with 3- to 4-foot-deep barriers of sheet metal or concrete, or routinely cut off new shoots at ground level. Clumping types stay in tight clumps that slowly increase in diameter.

As they grow, bamboos store food and energy in roots and rhizomes. At the start of the growth cycle, the canes grow out of the ground rapidly to their maximum height. The leaves and canes produce food, which is stored in the rhizomes for the next growth cycle. Young bamboos are usually slow to establish, while older plants have more stored food and therefore grow more quickly.

Plant or divide bamboos in spring. Most enjoy full sun or partial shade. Bamboos tolerate a range of soil conditions as long as moisture is present, but they usually don’t like boggy or mucky soils. They are seldom bothered by pests. A carefully chosen bamboo is a beautiful addition to any garden. Low-growing types, such as pygmy bamboo (Pleioblastus spp.), are ideal as groundcovers or for erosion control. Small clumping bamboos, for example some of the species and cultivars of Fargesia, can serve as delicate accents; taller species, such as clumping Borinda boliana, make good screens or windbreaks. Some, like black bamboo (Phyllostachys nigra), make excellent specimens for large tubs, both indoors and outdoors. Because of its rapid growth, bamboo can act as a “carbon sink,” which makes it a good candidate for “green gardening.” To learn more about how bamboo can be part of your green gardening initiative, see page 11.

Five Beautiful Bamboos

Here’s a list of five excellent bamboos for home landscapes and their characteristics:

Bambusa multiplex ‘Alphonse Karr’ (hedge bamboo): Up to 20 feet tall; good for containers; clump-forming habit. Zones 8–10.

Borinda boliana: Up to 30 feet tall; heat-tolerant, noninvasive timber bamboo; clump-forming habit. Zones 7–10.

Fargesia dracocephala ‘Rufa’: 8 feet tall; vigorous, cold hardy, and wind tolerant; clump-forming habit. Zones 5–9.

Phyllostachys nigra (black bamboo): Up to 30 feet tall; jet black canes with green foliage and a running growth habit. Zones 7–10.

Pleioblastus viridistriatus (dwarf green-stripe bamboo): 3 to 4 feet tall; variegated foliage, running growth habit. Zones 5–10.

BAPTISIA

Baptisia, false indigo, wild indigo. Late-spring-blooming perennials.

 

Description: Baptisia australis, blue false indigo, bears 1-inch pealike purple-blue flowers in loose 1-foot spikes. The 3- to 4-foot, dense, bushy plants bear handsome 3-inch, cloverlike, gray-green leaves. Handsome black 2- to 3-inch seedpods dry well and rattle when ripe. Zones 3–9.

How to grow: Set out small plants or divisions in spring. These long-lived plants won’t need division for many years. Move self-sown seedlings when small. Grow in sunny, well-drained, average soil; allow plenty of room. Partial shade and rich soil promote weaker stems that need staking. Baptisias are drought tolerant and pest resistant.

Landscape uses: Feature single specimens in a border, or mass several baptisias as a foliage background for other plants. Allow plants to naturalize in a meadow.

BARBERRY

See Berberis

BASIL

Ocimum basilicum

Labiatae

 

Description: Sweet basil is a bushy annual, 1 to 2 feet high, with glossy opposite leaves and spikes of white flowers. Basil leaves are used in cooking, imparting their anise (licorice) flavor to dishes. Many cultivars are available with different nuances of taste, size, and appearance, including cultivars with cinnamon, clove, lemon, and lime overtones, as well as purple-leaved types such as ‘Dark Opal’ and ‘Rubin’. One of the most popular herbs in the garden, basil adds fine flavor to tomato dishes, salads, and pesto.

How to grow: Plant seed outdoors when frosts are over and the ground is warm, start indoors in individual pots, or buy bedding plants. If you start plants indoors, heating cables are helpful, since this is a tropical plant that doesn’t take kindly to cold. Plant in full sun, in well-drained soil enriched with compost, aged manure, or other organic materials. Space large-leaved cultivars, such as ‘Lettuce Leaf’, 1½ feet apart and small-leaved types such as ‘Spicy Globe’ 1 foot apart. Basil needs ample water. Mulch to retain moisture after the soil has warmed. Pinch plants frequently to encourage bushy growth, and pinch off flower heads regularly so plants put their energy into foliage production.

Grow a few basil plants in containers so you can bring them indoors before fall frost. Or make a second sowing outdoors in June in order to have small plants to pot up and bring indoors for winter. As frost nears, you can also cut off some end shoots of the plants in the garden and root them in water, to be potted later.

Basil can be subject to various fungal diseases, including Fusarium wilt, gray mold, and black spot, as well as damping-off in seedlings. Avoid these problems by waiting to plant outside until the soil has warmed and by not overcrowding plants. (If fungal disease strikes, refer to the Plant Diseases and Disorders entry for organic controls.) Japanese beetles may skeletonize plant leaves; control pests by hand picking.

Harvesting: Begin using the leaves as soon as the plant is large enough to spare some. Collect from the tops of the branches, cutting off several inches. Handle basil delicately so as not to bruise and blacken the leaves.

You can air-dry basil in small, loose bunches, but it keeps most flavorfully when frozen. To freeze basil, puree washed leaves in a blender or food processor, adding water as needed to make a thick but pourable puree. Pour the puree into ice-cube trays and freeze, then pop them out and store them in labeled freezer bags to use as needed in sauces, soups, and pesto. Pesto (a creamy mixture of pureed basil, garlic, grated cheese, and olive oil) will keep for a long time in the refrigerator with a layer of olive oil on top.

Uses: This widely used herb enhances the flavor of tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant. It is great in spaghetti sauce, pizza sauce, and ratatouille. It’s also excellent for fish or meat dishes, combining well with lemon thyme, parsley, chives, or garlic. Try it in stir-fries or in vegetable casserole dishes. Fresh basil leaves are delicious in salads. Try the lemon-and lime-scented cultivars in fresh fruit salads and compotes. Basil is also a staple ingredient in Thai and Vietnamese cuisine; cultivars such as ‘Siam Queen’ give the most authentic flavor to these dishes. Basil vinegars are good for salad dressings; those made with purple basils are colorful as well as tasty.

BATS

Most gardeners now know that bats are helpful allies in the war on garden pests. One bat can catch 1,000 bugs in a single night. If you put up a bat house and attract a colony to your yard, they’ll consume literally millions of pests with no further input from you. What a deal!

In the past, bats were the victims of a lot of bad press. They supposedly tangled in women’s hair, sucked blood, and spread rabies. The truth is that bats have no interest in human hair, male or female. North American bats eat bugs and sometimes fruit, but no blood. As for rabies, scientists once blamed bats for much of the spread of the disease, but have since decided that was an overreaction. Only about 1 percent of bats get the disease themselves, and far fewer pass it on to humans. In 30 years of recordkeeping, only 12 to 15 cases of human rabies have been traced to bats. Most of these incidents could have been avoided: The victim was not attacked by a swooping bat, but instead picked up a diseased bat flapping around on the ground. (A grounded bat is a sick bat.) To avoid a bite, don’t handle bats barehanded. If you must move them, use a shovel.

Of the nearly 1,000 bat species worldwide, 46 species are native to North America. The little brown bat, a common U.S. species, eats moths, caddis flies, midges, beetles, and mosquitoes. Other bats are important plant pollinators, including such Southwestern species as the long-nosed bat and Mexican long-tongued bat.

Bat house. From the outside, bat houses look like long, flat birdhouses without the round entrance holes. But instead of using a door in front, bats fly in through the bottom. They cling to the partitions inside to roost.

The best way to attract bats is to put up a bat house, a wooden box like a flattened birdhouse with an entrance slot in the bottom. You can buy bat houses from stores, catalogs, and Web sites that sell outdoor bird supplies.

If you’re handy, it’s also easy to make your own. Make the entrance slot of your homemade bat house ¾ inch wide. Scribe grooves in the inside back wall about 1⁄16 inch deep and ½ inch apart so the bats can hang on, or attach plastic mesh screening to the inside back wall. Fasten it 15 to 20 feet above the ground on the east or southeast side of a building or the trunk of a shade tree. Then be patient. If there are many roosts available in the neighborhood, bats may take several years to move into yours.

For more on bats and bat houses, check out Bat Conservation International’s Web site; see Resources on page 672.

BEAN

Phaseolus spp. and other genera

Fabaceae

 

Dried or fresh, shelled or whole, beans are a favorite crop for home vegetable gardens. They are easy to grow, and the range of plant sizes means there is room for beans in just about any garden. Among the hundreds of varieties available, there are types that thrive in every section of the country.

Types: All beans belong to the legume family. Snap and lima beans belong to the genus Phaseolus, while mung, adzuki, garbanzo, fava, and others belong to different genera. In general, there are two main bean types: shell beans, grown for their protein-rich seeds, which are eaten both fresh and dried; and snap beans, cultivated mainly for their pods.

The two groups are further divided according to growth habit. Bush types are generally self-supporting. Pole beans have twining vines that require support from stakes, strings, wires, or trellises. Runner beans are similar to pole beans, although runners need cooler growing conditions. Half-runners, popular in the South, fall somewhere in between pole and bush beans.

Adzuki beans, which come from Japan, are extra rich in protein. The small plants produce long, thin pods that are eaten like snap beans. When mature at 90 days, they contain 7 to 10 small, nutty-tasting, maroon-colored beans that are tasty fresh or dried.

Black beans, also called black turtle beans, have jet black seeds and need approximately 3 months of warm, frost-free days to mature. The dried beans are popular for soups and stews. Most are sprawling, half-runner-type plants, but some cultivars, like ‘Midnight Black Turtle’, have more upright growth habits.

Black-eyed peas, also called cowpeas or southern peas, are cultivated like beans. They need long summers with temperatures averaging between 60° and 70°F. Use fresh pods like snap beans, shell and cook the pods and seeds together, or use them like other dried beans.

Fava beans, also known as broad, horse, or cattle beans, are one of the world’s oldest cultivated foods. They are second only to soybeans as a source of vegetable protein, but they’re much more common as a garden crop in Europe than in the United States. You won’t find a wide range of varieties in most seed catalogs, unless you choose a seed company that specializes in Italian vegetables. Unlike other beans, favas thrive in cold, damp weather. They take about 75 days to mature. Fava beans need to be cooked and shucked from their shells and the individual seed skins peeled off before eating.

Garbanzo beans, also called chickpeas, produce bushy plants that need 65 to 100 warm days. When dried, the nutty-tasting beans are good baked or cooked and chilled for use in salads.

Great Northern white beans are most popular dried and eaten in baked dishes. In short-season areas, you can harvest and eat them as fresh shell beans in only 65 days. Bush-type Great Northerns are extremely productive.

Horticultural beans are also known as shell, wren’s egg, bird’s egg, speckled cranberry, or October beans. Both pole and bush types produce a big harvest in a small space and mature in 65 to 70 days. Use the very young, colorful, mottled pods like snap beans, or dry the mature, nutty, red-speckled seeds.

Kidney beans require 100 days to mature but are very easy to grow. Use these red, hearty-tasting dried seeds in chili, soups, stews, and salads.

Lima beans, including types called butter beans or butter peas, are highly sensitive to cool weather; plant them well after the first frost. Bush types take 60 to 75 days to mature. Pole types require 90 to 130 days, but the vines grow quickly and up to 12 feet long. Limas are usually green, but there are also some speckled types. Use either fresh or dried in soups, stews, and casseroles.

Mung beans need 90 frost-free days to produce long, thin, hairy, and edible pods on bushy 3-foot plants. Eat the small, yellow seeds fresh, dried, or as bean sprouts.

Pinto beans need 90 to 100 days to mature. These large, strong plants take up a lot of space if not trained on poles or trellises. Use fresh like a snap bean, or dry the seeds.

Scarlet runner beans produce beautiful climbing vines with scarlet flowers. The beans mature in about 70 days. Cook the green, rough-looking pods when they are very young; use the black-and red-speckled seeds fresh or dried.

Snap beans are also known as green beans. While many growers still refer to snap beans as string beans, a stringless cultivar was developed in the 1890s, and few cultivars today have to be stripped of their strings before you eat them. Most cultivars mature in 45 to 60 days. This group also includes the flavorful haricots verts, also called filet beans, and the mild wax or yellow beans. For something unusual, try the yard-long asparagus bean. Its rampant vines can produce 3-foot-long pods, though they taste best when 12 to 15 inches long. Once the pods have passed their tender stage, you can shell them, too.

Soldier beans, whose vinelike plants need plenty of room to sprawl, are best suited to cool, dry climates. The white, oval-shaped beans mature in around 85 days. Try the dried seeds in baked dishes.

Garden cultivars of soybeans, also called edamame, are ready to harvest when the pods are plump and green. Boil the pods, then shell and eat the seeds. Or, you can let the pods mature and harvest as dry beans. Try ‘Early Hakucho’, ‘Butterbean’, and other varieties. The bush-type plants need a 3-month growing season but are tolerant of cool weather.

Planting: In general, beans are very sensitive to frost. (The exception is favas, which require a long, cool growing season; sow them at the same time you plant peas.) Most beans grow best in air temperatures of 70° to 80°F, and soil temperature should be at least 60°F. Soggy, cold soil will cause the seeds to rot. Beans need a sunny, well-drained area rich in organic matter. Lighten heavy soils with extra compost to help seedlings emerge.

Plan on roughly 10 to 15 bush bean plants or 3 to 5 hills of pole beans per person. A 100-foot row produces about 50 quarts of beans. Beans are self-pollinating, so you can grow cultivars side by side with little danger of cross-pollination. If you plan to save seed from your plants, though, separate cultivars by at least 50 feet.

Bean seeds usually show about 70 percent germination, and the seeds can remain viable for 3 years. Don’t soak or presprout seeds before sowing. If you plant in an area where beans haven’t grown before, help ensure that your bean crop will fix nitrogen in the soil by dusting the seeds with a bacterial inoculant powder for beans and peas (inoculants are available from garden centers and seed suppliers).

Plant your first crop of beans a week or two after the date of the last expected frost. Sow the seeds 1 inch deep in heavy soil and 1½ inches deep in light soil. Firm the earth over them to ensure soil contact.

Plant most bush cultivars 3 to 6 inches apart in rows 2 to 2½ feet apart. They produce the bulk of their crop over a 2-week period. For a continuous harvest, stagger plantings at 2-week intervals until about 2 months before the first killing frost is expected.

Bush beans usually don’t need any support unless planted in a windy area. In that case, prop them up with brushy twigs or a strong cord around stakes set at the row ends or in each corner of the bed.

Pole beans are even more sensitive to cold than bush beans. They also take longer to mature (10 to 11 weeks), but they produce about three times the yield of bush beans in the same garden space and keep on bearing until the first frost. In the North, plant pole beans at the beginning of the season—usually in May. If your area has longer seasons, you may be able to harvest two crops. To calculate if two crops are possible, note the number of days to maturity for a particular cultivar, and count back from fall frost date, adding a week or so to be on the safe side.

Plant pole beans in single rows 3 to 4 feet apart or double rows spaced 1 foot apart. Sow seeds 2 inches deep and 10 inches apart. Provide a trellis or other vertical support at planting or as soon as the first two leaves of the seedlings open. Planting pole beans around a tepee support is a fun project to try if you’re gardening with children, but it will be more difficult to harvest the beans than from a simple vertical trellis.

Bean trellis. Growing pole and runner beans on a trellis produces a clean, high-yielding crop in a small space. Use sturdy wooden or metal stakes for the uprights and bamboo poles for the crosspieces.

Growing guidelines: Bush beans germinate in about 7 days, pole beans in about 14. It’s important to maintain even soil moisture during this period and also when the plants are about to blossom. If the soil dries out at these times, your harvest may be drastically reduced. Water deeply at least once a week when there is no rain, being careful not to hose off any of the blossoms on bush beans when you water. Apply several inches of mulch (after the seedlings emerge) to conserve moisture, reduce weeds, and keep the soil cool during hot spells (high heat can cause blossoms to drop off).

Beans generally don’t need extra nitrogen for good growth because the beneficial bacteria that live in nodules on bean roots help to provide nitrogen for the plants. To speed up growth, give beans—particularly long-bearing pole beans or heavy-feeding limas—a midseason side-dressing of compost or kelp extract solution.

Problems: Soybeans, adzuki, and mung beans are fairly resistant to pests. Insect pests that attack other beans include aphids, cabbage loopers, corn earworms, European corn borers, Japanese beetles, and—the most destructive of all—Mexican bean beetles. You’ll find more information on these pests in the chart on page 458.

Leaf miners are tiny yellowish fly larvae that tunnel inside leaves and damage stems below the soil. To reduce leaf miner problems, pick off and destroy affected leaves.

Striped cucumber beetles are ¼-inch-long yellowish orange bugs with black heads and three black stripes down their backs. These pests can spread bacterial blight and cucumber mosaic. Apply a thick layer of mulch to discourage them from laying their orange eggs in the soil near the plants. Cover plants with row covers to prevent beetles from feeding; hand pick adults from plants that aren’t covered. Plant later in the season to help avoid infestations of this pest.

Spider mites are tiny red or yellow creatures that generally live on the undersides of leaves; their feeding causes yellow stippling on leaf surfaces. Discourage spider mites with garlic or soap sprays. Using a strong blast of water from the hose will wash mites off plants, but avoid this method at blossom time or you may knock the blossoms off.

To minimize disease problems, buy disease-free seeds and disease-resistant cultivars, rotate bean crops every one or two years, and space plants far enough apart to provide airflow. Don’t harvest or cultivate beans when the foliage is wet, or you may spread disease spores. Here are some common diseases to watch for:

Anthracnose causes black, egg-shaped, sunken cankers on pods, stems, and seeds and black marks on leaf veins.

Bacterial blight starts with large, brown blotches on the leaves; the foliage may fall off and the plant will die.

Mosaic symptoms include yellow leaves and stunted growth. Control aphids and cucumber beetles, which spread the virus.

Rust causes reddish brown spots on leaves, stems, and pods.

Downy mildew causes fuzzy white patches on pods, especially of lima beans.

If disease strikes, destroy infested plants immediately, don’t touch other plants with unwashed hands or clippers, and don’t sow beans in that area again for 3 to 5 years.

Harvesting: Pick green beans when they are pencil size, tender, and before the seeds inside form bumps on the pod. Harvest almost daily to encourage production; if you allow pods to ripen fully, the plants will stop producing and die. Pulling directly on the pods may uproot the plants. Instead, pinch off bush beans using your thumbnail and fingers; use scissors on pole and runner beans. Also cut off and discard any overly mature beans you missed in previous pickings. Serve, freeze, can, or pickle the beans the day you harvest them to preserve the fresh, delicious, homegrown flavor.

Pick shell beans for fresh eating when the pods are plump but still tender. The more you pick, the more the vines will produce. Consume or preserve them as soon as possible. Unshelled, both they and green beans will keep for up to a week in the refrigerator.

To dry beans, leave the pods on the plants until they are brown and the seeds rattle inside them. Seeds should be so hard you can barely dent them with your teeth. If the pods have yellowed and a rainy spell is forecast, cut the plants off near the ground and hang them upside down indoors to dry. Put the shelled beans in airtight, lidded containers. Add a packet of dried milk to absorb moisture, and store the beans in a cool, dry place. They will keep for 10 to 12 months.

BEE BALM

See Monarda

BEES

See Beneficial Insects

BEET

Beta vulgaris, Crassa group

Chenopodiaceae

 

Beets are a high-yield addition to any vegetable garden. They thrive in almost every climate and in all but the heaviest soils. You can bake, boil, steam, or pickle beets for use in soups, salads, and side dishes. Try growing a patch specifically for harvesting the delectable greens, which contain vitamins A and C and more iron and minerals than spinach.

Planting: Beets can grow in semishade but prefer full sun. They like deep, loose, well-drained, root-and rock-free soil. Like all root crops, beets benefit from hilled-up rows or beds. Dig in plenty of mature compost to lighten heavy soil.

Beets are most productive at temperatures of 60° to 65°F. Where summers are hot, plant them as a spring or fall crop, and as a winter crop in the Deep South. Sow this hardy vegetable directly in the garden a full month before the last expected frost or as soon as you can work the soil. When planting in summer or fall during hot and dry weather, soak seeds for 12 hours to promote germination.

Sow seeds ½ inch deep and 2 to 4 inches apart with 12 to 18 inches between rows. Except for a few monogerm (single-seeded) types, each beet seed is actually a small fruit containing up to eight true seeds. Thin the resulting clusters of seedlings to one per cluster. Transplant thinnings or enjoy the tiny, tender leaves in salads or as cooked greens. If you’re growing beets for greens only, then you don’t need to thin. Plant successive crops every 2 weeks until the weather begins to turn hot.

Growing guidelines: Early weeding is critical to success with any root crop, but beet roots bruise easily, so carefully hand-pull weeds that sprout near your young beet plants.

Once the roots reach 1 inch in diameter, harvest every other one, water well, and mulch to keep down weeds and conserve moisture. Be sure to provide about 1 inch of water a week. Otherwise, plants bolt (go to seed), and the roots will crack or become stringy and tough. Quick growth is the secret for tender roots, so water with compost tea or liquid seaweed extract every 2 weeks. See the Compost entry for instructions for making compost tea. Side-dress with compost at least once halfway through the growing period.

Problems: Beets that are thinned promptly and weeded and watered regularly are usually insect and disease free. The most common pests are leaf miners and flea beetles, but they seldom cause serious damage. Leaf miners are tiny black flies whose larvae tunnel within the beet leaves; control them by removing affected leaves. For more information on flea beetles, see page 459.

Boron deficiency can cause brown hearts, black spots in the roots, or lack of growth. If you’ve had problems with these symptoms, apply a foliar spray of liquid seaweed extract every two weeks and enrich your garden with compost and green manures to increase the supply of boron in the soil.

Harvesting: You can snip off up to a third of a plant’s greens without harming the roots. To harvest the roots, hand pull carefully to avoid bruising them. Beet roots are best when 1½ to 3 inches in diameter; they’ll start to deteriorate if you leave them in the ground for more than 10 days after they reach their full size. After pulling the roots, shake off the soil, and twist off—don’t cut off—the tops, leaving an inch or so of stems to prevent the roots from bleeding. To store beets for up to 6 months, layer undamaged roots between sand, peat, or sawdust in boxes; store in a cool place. You can also can or freeze beet roots or leaves.

BEGONIA

Begonia. Tender perennials grown as summer-and fall-blooming annuals or houseplants; one hardy perennial.

 

Description: The genus Begonia contains over 1500 species and hundreds of thousands of cultivars, grown for their beautiful flowers, as is the case with tuberous and wax begonias, or attractive leaves, as with rex and cane begonias. Begonias generally fall into one of four major groups—fibrous-rooted, tuberous-rooted, rhizomatous, and cane-stemmed—each with different habits and needs.

Begonia semperflorens-cultorum, wax begonia, is a tender perennial commonly grown as a reliable annual. Flowering begins when plants are small and continues until frost. Wax begonias bloom in shades of white, pink, and red, plus blended and edged combinations, on plants that can reach 15 inches or more by autumn. The male flowers normally have four petals (two rounded and two narrow) with showy yellow stamens in the center; the females have 2 to 5 smaller rounded petals around a tight, curly yellow knob. Female blooms occur in pairs, one on either side of each male flower. The shiny, thick, 1½- to 4-inch leaves may be green, reddish to bronze, or speckled with yellow, and appear “waxy,” giving these plants their common name. Perennial in Zone 10; elsewhere, grow as an annual or container plant and bring indoors when frost threatens.

Hardy Begonias

Most people think of begonias as bedding, hanging-basket, or indoor plants, but there is also a handsome perennial begonia that can take the cold. Winter hardy to Zone 6 (Zone 5 with protection), hardy begonia (Begonia grandis) bears large, open sprays of pink or white blooms from late summer into early fall on 1- to 2½-foot arching clumps of striking, angel-wing-type leaves. It thrives in partial shade (out of hot afternoon sun) and fertile, moist but well-drained soil with plenty of organic matter. Plant or divide in spring when it emerges, which is later than most plants. It looks stunning in a bed of ajuga or in woodland plantings with hostas and ferns.

Another popular type of begonia is the cane-stemmed group, including the angel-wing begonias. Representing several species (most prominently B. × argenteoguttata) and cultivars, these houseplants produce plain green or mottled leaves and clusters of brightly colored flowers. Upright cultivars can grow several feet tall; plants with drooping branches are ideal for hanging baskets.

The showy plants called hybrid tuberous begonias (B. tuberhybrida-cultorum) are commonly used in hanging baskets. Single or double male flowers can grow to 6 inches or more across, blooming in bright and pastel shades of white, pink, red, yellow, salmon, and combinations. The upright plants grow to about 2 feet tall. Perennial in Zone 10; in colder climates, bring indoors when frost threatens or treat as annuals.

Rex begonias (B. rex-cultorum) are the most widely grown rhizomatous begonias, the ultimate houseplant begonias. They produce green or reddish leaves, often attractively patterned with silver or black markings. Enjoy the many cultivars as indoor foliage plants.

How to grow: Buy plants or start wax begonias from seed, allowing 4 months from sowing to setting out transplants after the frost date. Take cuttings of particularly nice plants toward the end of summer to grow as houseplants through winter; root cuttings from them in early spring for planting out after frost. Set wax begonias out after the last frost in partial to dense shade; they’ll grow in full sun in the North if kept evenly moist. Plant in average, moist but well-drained soil; water during drought.

Start tuberous begonias indoors, planting them about 8 to 10 weeks before your frost-free date in a loose growing medium. Barely cover tubers with the concave side up (it should have little pink buds coming out of the center) and moisten lightly. Give lots of water and light after the shoots emerge. Move tubers to individual 4- or 5-inch pots when shoots are 1 to 3 inches tall. After all danger of frost is past, plant in partial shade in fertile, moist but well-drained soil with plenty of organic matter. Water liberally in warm weather; douse every 3 weeks or so with compost tea or fish emulsion. (See the Compost entry for instructions for making compost tea.) Stake plants to prevent them from falling under the weight of the flowers.

For container-grown tuberous begonias, choose larger pots (8 inches is a good size) and fill with a loose, rich potting mix. Care for them as you would plants in the ground. For hanging baskets, plant no more than three tubers in a 12-inch basket, and water frequently. To promote branching, pinch plants when they are about 6 inches tall.

When the leaves turn yellow and wither in fall, lift plants out of the ground with soil still attached. After a week or so, cut the stems to within a few inches of the tuber. Once the stem stub dries completely, shake the soil off the tubers and store in dry peat or sharp sand at 45° to 55°F. Leave pot-grown plants in their soil and bring indoors during winter, or store as you would those grown in the ground. Start them again next spring, replacing the soil for those in pots.

Angel-wing and rex begonias need plenty of bright but indirect light. Grow them indoors in a rich, well-drained potting mix. In summer, they appreciate some extra humidity, along with evenly moist soil and a dose of fish emulsion every 2 weeks. In winter, water more sparingly and do not feed.

Indoors, begonias are usually pest free. In the garden, slugs may be a problem; see the Slugs and Snails entry for details on controlling these pests. Stem rot will almost certainly occur on tuberous begonias in poorly drained soil; mildew will whiten the leaves in breezeless corners and pockets. Flower buds may drop in humid weather or if the soil is too dry.

Landscape uses: Outdoors, grow begonias anywhere you want some color in shady beds and borders, or use them in containers or hanging baskets, alone or with other decorative container plants, for portable color.

BELLFLOWER

See Campanula

BENEFICIAL ANIMALS

See Bats; Birds; Pests; Toads

BENEFICIAL INSECTS

Our insect allies far outnumber the insect pests in our yards and gardens. Bees, flies, and many moths help gardeners by pollinating flowers; predatory insects eat pest insects; parasitic insects lay their eggs inside pests, and the larvae that hatch then weaken or kill the pests; dung beetles, flies, and others break down decaying material, which helps build good soil.

Bees and Wasps

Honeybees are called the “spark plugs” of agriculture because of their importance in pollinating crops, but other wild bees and wasps are also important pollinators and natural pest-control agents.

Bees: All bees gather and feed on nectar and pollen, which distinguishes them from wasps and hornets. As they forage for food, bees transfer stray grains of pollen from flower to flower and pollinate the blooms. There are some 20,000 species of bees worldwide. Of the nearly 5,000 in North America, several hundred are vital as pollinators of cultivated crops. Many others are crucial to wild plants.

Pesticide use, loss of habitat, and pest problems such as mites have vastly reduced wild and domestic bee populations. Most recently, a phenomenon called Colony Collapse Disorder is decimating populations of honeybees in the United States. It’s not known for sure what is causing this problem, in which worker bees suddenly die out, leaving behind the queen bee, the nurse bees, and the unborn brood (which in turn die without the support of the worker bees). Possibilities include diseases or parasites, or damaging effects of chemical pesticides on bees’ nervous systems or immune systems.

The good news is that native bees ranging from bumblebees to tiny “sweat bees” are still hard at work pollinating crops and gardens. The best way to encourage native bees is to tend a flower garden with as long a bloom season as possible. Leave some bare ground available for the bees to tunnel in to make nests, and provide a shallow water source where they can drink.

Parasitic wasps: Most species belong to one of three main families: chalcids, braconids, and ichneumonids. They range from pencil-point-size Trichogramma wasps to huge black ichneumonid wasps. Parasitic wasps inject their eggs inside host insects; the larvae grow by absorbing nourishment through their skins.

Yellow jackets: Most people fear yellow jackets and hornets, but these insects are excellent pest predators. They dive into foliage and carry off flies, caterpillars, and other larvae to feed to their brood. So don’t destroy the gray paper nests of these insects unless they are in a place frequented by people or pets, or if a family member is allergic to insect stings.

Beetles

While some beetles, such as Japanese beetles and Colorado potato beetles, can be serious home garden pests, others are some of the best pest-fighters around.

Lady beetles: This family of small to medium, shiny, hard, hemispherical beetles includes more than 3,000 species that feed on small, soft pests such as aphids, mealybugs, and spider mites. (Not all species are beneficial—for example, Mexican bean beetles also are lady beetles.) Both adults and larvae eat pests. Most larvae have tapering bodies with several short, branching spines on each segment; they resemble miniature alligators. Convergent lady beetles (Hippodamia convergens) are collected from their mass overwintering sites and sold to gardeners, but they usually fly away after release unless confined in a greenhouse.

Ground beetles: These swift-footed, medium to large, blue-black beetles hide under stones or boards during the day. By night they prey on cabbage root maggots, cutworms, snail and slug eggs, and other pests; some climb trees to capture armyworms or tent caterpillars. Large ground beetle populations build up in orchards with undisturbed groundcovers and in gardens under stone pathways or in semipermanent mulched beds.

Rove beetles: These small to medium, elongated insects with short, stubby top wings look like earwigs without pincers. Many species are decomposers of manure and plant material; others are important predators of pests such as root maggots that spend part of their life cycle in the soil.

Other beetles: Other beneficial beetles include hister beetles, tiger beetles, and fireflies (really beetles). Both larvae and adults of these beetles eat insect larvae, slugs, and snails.

Flies

We usually call flies pests, but there are beneficial flies that are pollinators or insect predators or parasites.

Tachinid flies: These large, bristly, dark gray flies place their eggs or larvae on cutworms, caterpillars, corn borers, stinkbugs, and other pests. Tachinid flies are important natural suppressors of tent caterpillar or armyworm outbreaks.

Syrphid flies: These black-and-yellow or black-and-white striped flies (also called flower or hover flies) are often mistaken for bees or yellow jackets. They lay their eggs in aphid colonies; the larvae feed on the aphids. Don’t mistake the larvae—unattractive gray or transluscent sluglike maggots—for small slugs.

Aphid midges: Aphid midge larvae are tiny orange maggots that are voracious aphid predators. The aphid midge is available from commercial insectaries and can be very effective if released in a home greenhouse.

Other Beneficials

Dragonflies: Often called “darning needles,” dragonflies and their smaller cousins, damselflies, scoop up mosquitoes, gnats, and midges, cramming their mouths with prey as they dart in zig-zag patterns around marshes and ponds.

Lacewings: The brown or green, alligator-like larvae of several species of native lacewings prey upon a variety of small insects, including aphids, scale insects, small caterpillars, and thrips. Adult lacewings are delicate, ½- to 1-inch green or brown insects with large, transparent wings marked with a characteristic fine network of veins. They lay pale green oval eggs, each at the tip of a long, fine stalk, along the midrib of lettuce leaves or other garden plants.

True bugs: True bug is the scientifically correct common name for a group of insects. This group does include several pest species, but there are also many predatory bugs that attack soft-bodied insects such as aphids, beetle larvae, small caterpillars, pear psylla, and thrips. Assassin bugs, ambush bugs, damsel bugs, minute pirate bugs, and spined solider bugs are valuable wild predators in farm systems.

Spiders and mites: Although mites and spiders are arachnids, not insects, they are often grouped with insects because all belong to the larger classification of arthropods. Predatory mites are extremely small. The native species found in trees, shrubs, and surface litter are invaluable predators. Phytoseiid mites control many kinds of plant-feeding mites, such as spider mites, rust mites, and cyclamen mites. Some also prey on thrips and other small pests. Many types of soil-dwelling mites eat nematodes, insect eggs, fungus gnat larvae, or decaying organic matter.

It’s unfortunate that so many people are scared of spiders, because they are some of the best pest predators around. We are most familiar with spiders that spin webs, but there are many other kinds. Some spin thick silk funnels; some hide in burrows and snatch insects that wander too close, while others leap on their prey using a silk thread as a dragline.

Encouraging Beneficials

The best way to protect beneficial insects is to avoid using toxic sprays or dusts in the garden. Even organically acceptable sprays such as insecticidal soap and neem can kill beneficial species, so use them only when absolutely necessary to preserve a crop and then only on the plants being attacked. Be careful when you hand pick or spray pest insects, or you may end up killing beneficial insects by mistake. While many beneficials are too small to be seen with the unaided eye, it’s easy to learn to identify the larger common beneficials such as lacewings, tachinid flies, and lady beetles.

You can make your yard and garden a haven for beneficials by taking simple steps to provide them with food, water, and shelter, as shown in the illustration at right.

Food sources. A flower bed or border of companion plants rich in pollen and nectar, such as catnip, dill, and yarrow, is a food source for the adult stages of many beneficials, including native bees, lacewings, and parasitic wasps. To learn more about planting a garden for pollinators and other beneficial insects, see page 6.

Water. Many types of beneficial insects are too small to be able to drink water safely from a stream, water garden, or even a regular birdbath. To provide a safe water supply for these delicate insects, fill a shallow birdbath or large bowl with stones. Then add just enough water to create shallow stretches of water with plenty of exposed landing sites where the insects can alight and drink without drowning. You’ll need to check this bug bath daily, as the water may evaporate quickly on sunny days.

Shelter. Leave some weeds here and there among your vegetable plants to provide alternate food sources and shelter for beneficial species. Plant a hedge or build a windbreak fence to reduce dust, because beneficial insects dehydrate easily in dusty conditions. And set up some permanent pathways and mulched areas around your yard and garden. These protected areas offer safe places for beneficials to hide during the daytime (for species that are active at night), during bad weather, or when you’re actively cultivating the soil.

Attracting beneficial insects. Making your garden a haven for beneficial insects is easy and fun. It’s also one of the cheapest and most environmentally sound ways to help prevent insect pests from getting the upper hand on your food crops and ornamentals.

To learn more about encouraging beneficial insects in your yard, visit the Web sites of organizations such as the Xerces Society; see Resources on page 672.

Buying Beneficial Insects

Many garden supply and specialty companies offer beneficial insects for sale to farmers, nursery owners, and gardeners. You can buy everything from aphid midges to lady beetles and lacewings to predatory mites.

Buying and releasing beneficial insects on a large scale, such as a commercial farm field, or in a confined place, such as a greenhouse, can be a very effective pest-control tactic. However, in a typical home garden it’s rarely worthwhile. Chances are that most of the insects you release will disperse well beyond the boundaries of your yard. While that may be helpful for your neighborhood in general, it won’t produce any noticeable improvement in the specific pest problem that you hoped the good bugs would control in your garden. Overall, it’s more effective to invest money in plants that attract beneficial insects to your yard than it is to buy and release beneficial insects.

If you decide to experiment with ordering beneficial insects, make sure you identify the target pest, because most predators or parasites only attack a particular species or group of pests. Find out as much as you can by reading or talking to suppliers before buying beneficials.

Get a good look at the beneficials before releasing them so that you’ll be able to recognize them in the garden. You don’t want to mistakenly kill them later on, thinking them to be pests. A magnifying glass is useful for seeing tiny parasitic wasps and predatory mites. Release some of the insects directly on or near the infested plants; distribute the remainder as evenly as possible throughout the rest of the surrounding area.

BERBERIS

Barberry. Thorny evergreen or deciduous shrubs.

 

Description: Berberis julianae, wintergreen barberry, grows from 3 to 6 feet and has shiny, evergreen, oblong leaves that may turn rich red during a cold winter. Zones 6–8.

B. thunbergii, Japanese barberry, is a popular, but invasive, deciduous shrub that is best avoided because seedlings (sown by songbirds) crowd out native plants in wild areas. Zones 4–8.

Both barberry species produce small yellow flowers in spring and berries in summer and fall.

How to grow: Barberries need full sun and tolerate a wide range of soil conditions. In the North, plant wintergreen barberry in a spot protected from winter winds; in the South, site it out of summer wind and plant in fall or winter.

Landscape uses: Use wintergreen barberry in hedges, shrub borders, or as foundation shrubs.

BETULA

Birch. Single-or multiple-trunked deciduous trees.

 

Description: Birches offer year-round landscape interest with their peeling bark, graceful branches, and magnificent fall color.

Betula lenta, sweet birch, is a handsome native with red-brown, cherrylike bark and a pyramidal habit in youth. Like the other birches, it bears drooping flower spikes called catkins in spring; these are interesting but not showy. The leaves stay freshly green and unmarred through summer, turning yellow in fall. Crushed or scratched twigs yield a rich, root beer aroma. Where it grows wild, sweet birch has been a source of the oil for making homemade root beer. Zones 4–6.

B. nigra, river birch, is a native tree found growing along river banks and rich bottomlands in much of the eastern United States. Pyramidal in youth, this multi-trunked tree reaches heights of 30 to 40 feet in the landscape; the occasional old-timer approaches 100 feet. River birch features shredding, papery bark in shades of cream and pale salmon, and clear yellow autumn leaf color in most years. ‘Heritage’ is a nearly-white-barked cultivar that can replace the popular but insect-prone B. papyrifera in the landscape. Zones 4–8.

B. papyrifera, paper or canoe birch, is a native of the Northern evergreen forests and performs best in cooler climates. Known for its white bark with dramatic black markings, this tree develops a rounded outline with age. Most paper birches hold their lower branches; be sure to allow space for the tree’s mature spread in your landscape plans. The yellow fall color combines well with its bark and with the reds and oranges of other trees. Plan on a mature height of 50 to 70 feet. Zones 4–8.

B. pendula, European white birch, is similar in many ways to paper birch. Its branches have a drooping habit, and its bark splits into black fissures toward the base. Zones 3–6.

B. populifolia, gray birch, is a workhorse among birches. Thriving in almost any soil, this handsome tree has grayish white bark with black markings and a multi-trunked habit. A good birch for minimal-maintenance situations. Zones 4–6.

How to grow: Most birches require light shade. Give them evenly moist, humus-rich soil, a shaded root zone, and plenty of mulch. River birch tolerates some standing water. Planted out of their element, birches soon begin to decline and, if they haven’t already, attract insects such as the bronze birch borer and the birch leaf miner. Stressed trees most often feature the D-shaped holes left in the bark by borers and the brown paperlike leaves caused by leaf miners; reduce both problems by selecting an appropriate planting site. Gray and river birches, especially ‘Heritage’, show resistance to these devastating insects.

Landscape uses: Sweet or paper birch are good choices for naturalizing in the shade of taller trees. Use gray or river birch in clumps or masses.

BIENNIALS

Botanically speaking, biennials are plants that complete their life cycle in two years, germinating the first year then flowering and dying the second. During the first growing season, true biennials germinate and produce a mound of foliage, called a rosette, which is a circular cluster of leaves usually borne at or just above the ground. They winter over in rosette form. In the second season, they send up a flower stalk. After blooming, biennials produce seeds and die at the end of the season.

True biennials, such as Canterbury bells (Campanula medium), standing cypress (Ipomopsis rubra), giant sea holly (Eryngium giganteum), and sweet William (Dianthus barbatus), are winter hardy in most regions and usually have fleshy taproots. While some may hold on and bloom for a third or even a fourth season, they produce the best bloom during the second season from seed.

Plants don’t always follow our clear-cut definitions, though, and in reality, gardeners grow some plants as biennials whether they’re true biennials or not. These include short-lived perennials that are able to winter over with some protection—such as pansies and English daisies (Bellis perennis). These plants bloom best when planted in late summer or fall, mulched or otherwise protected over winter, then pulled up and replaced after they bloom the following spring or summer. (Check with your local Cooperative Extension office or local gardeners to determine how to grow biennials in your area, since the best schedule varies depending on your climate and hardiness zone.)

To make matters more confusing, some biennials can be grown as annuals. For example, if sown indoors in midwinter, ‘Foxy’ hybrid foxglove (Digitalis purpurea) will bloom its first year from seed.

Many true biennials, along with plants grown as biennials, readily self-sow their seed. Giant sea holly, honesty (Lunaria annua), foxglove (Digitalis purpurea), forget-me-nots (Myosotis sylvatica), and hollyhocks (Alcea rosea), all are reliable self-sowers. Thus, if you plant seed of these biennials two years in a row, you’ll have plants in bloom every year from then on—providing the same effect in the garden as perennials do. Just remember to allow some flowers to mature each year and set seed for next year’s plants.

In the following discussion, the term biennial is used to refer to any plants grown as biennials, not just to true biennials.

Biennials in the Landscape

Biennials are attractive in flower beds and borders throughout the landscape, and large-size plants such as hollyhocks (A. rosea) can even be used as specimen plants or for adding color to a shrub border. For best results, interplant them with annuals the first year while the rosettes of foliage are still small. The second season, add more annuals around the plants to fill the spaces the biennials will leave in the garden after they have finished blooming.

Keep in mind that if you buy plants the first year, you will have bloom the first season. If you are starting your own seeds, plan ahead, since it will take two seasons to get the floral display you want. The flowers of most biennials last several weeks before fading. Some, including honesty and mullein (Verbascum spp.), have attractive seed heads that you can use in dried arrangements.

Buying and Starting Plants

Popular biennials like pansies and hollyhocks are sold by nurseries along with annual bedding plants in spring. They have been grown for the first season by the nursery and are offered at a stage where they will bloom in the current season. Plant and maintain them as you would annuals.

Purchase only healthy, bright green, well-rooted plants. Avoid overgrown, leggy, or wilted plants—their performance will be disappointing. Some biennials, including pansies and foxglove, are offered for fall planting. Plant them in early fall to allow ample time for the roots to get established. Mulch the rosettes after hard frost. This protects the crown and prevents repeated freezing and thawing of the soil that can cause roots to heave out of the ground.

Many choice biennials are not offered by nurseries as plants. If you want them, you’ll have to grow them from seed. You’ll find a wide range of biennials offered by mail-order nurseries on the Internet.

Biennials often do not transplant well (many have taproots), so to grow them from seed, sow seeds indoors in individual pots, peat pots, or cell packs. Use a sterile commercial soil mix or a compost-based potting mix. Start seeds of true biennials in early summer so seedlings will be ready to plant out in fall. Sow seeds of pansies, English daisies, and other perennials treated as biennials in August. Protect the young plants with mulch or keep them in a cold frame until early spring.

You can also direct-seed biennials into well-prepared outdoor beds. Keep the seedbed evenly moist but not wet. Take care to protect the seeds from disturbance until they germinate and become well established. Sow seed thickly, then use small scissors to clip off unwanted seedlings. When seedlings are established, mulch the beds to conserve water.

Biennials for Sun and Shade

As these lists show, there are more biennials than you think—including such beloved favorites as hollyhocks, Canterbury bells, sweet Williams, forget-me-nots, evening primroses, and foxgloves. Some are best suited for sun, some prefer shade, and a few thrive in both conditions. Perennials grown as biennials are also included here.

Biennials for Sunny Sites

Alcea rosea (hollyhock)

Campanula medium (Canterbury bells)

Campanula spicata (bellflower)

Cynoglossum amabile (Chinese forget-me-not)

Dianthus armeria (Deptford pink)

Dianthus barbatus (sweet William)

Eryngium giganteum (giant sea holly)

Glaucium flavum (horned poppy)

Ipomopsis rubra (standing cypress)

Lavatera arborea (tree mallow)

Lunaria annua (money plant)

Malva sylvestris (high mallow)

Matthiola incana (stock)

Myosotis spp. (forget-me-nots)

Oenothera spp. (evening primroses)

Onopordum acanthium (cotton thistle)

Silene armeria (sweet William catchfly)

Verbascum spp. (mulleins)

Biennials for Shady Sites

Campanula medium (Canterbury bells)

Digitalis purpurea (foxglove)

Lunaria annua (money plant)

Myosotis spp. (forget-me-nots)

Phacelia bipinnatifida (phacelia)

Planting and Maintenance

Most biennials prefer a loamy soil with ample organic matter and a pH between 6.0 and 7.5. If you’re already growing a wide variety of flowers, you’ll probably have no trouble with most biennials. For best results, plant biennials in a bed with soil that has been turned to at least a shovel’s depth. Thoroughly incorporate organic matter such as compost, along with any necessary soil amendments and fertilizers. (Have your soil tested if you are unsure about its fertility.)

Set purchased plants with their crowns at or just below the soil surface. If you’re transplanting biennials from peat pots, remove all or a portion of the pots. Handle biennial transplants carefully, since many have taproots. Take care not to damage the taproot when planting.

Keep plants well watered until they’re established. An inch of water per week is adequate for plants that are growing in well-prepared soil. Most are fine without supplemental fertilizer: Compost or other organic matter added to the soil at planting time should suffice. Weed the beds regularly so that your biennials won’t have to compete for light, water, and nutrients. Once plants are established, mulch them to conserve soil moisture and control weeds.

Pinching the plants may help control the height and spread of some biennials, but it is generally unnecessary. Removing spent flowers prolongs the blooming season. You may have to stake certain tall plants such as standing cypress, stocks, and mallows, especially in areas with high winds.

As a rule, biennials are fairly pest free. Good cultural practices are the best prevention for both insects and diseases. If serious problems do flare up, spray with an appropriate organic control. Plants with viral diseases should be destroyed. For more on pest and disease control, see the Pests and Plant Diseases and Disorders entries.

BIOLOGICAL CONTROL

See Beneficial Insects; Pests

BIRCH

See Betula

BIRDS

Birds are most gardeners’ favorite visitors, with their cheerful songs, sprightly manners, and colorful plumage. But birds are also among nature’s most efficient insect predators, making them valuable garden allies. In an afternoon, one diminutive house wren can snatch up more than 500 insect eggs, beetles, and grubs. Given a nest of tent caterpillars, a Baltimore oriole will wolf down as many as 17 of the pests per minute. More than 60 percent of the chickadee’s winter diet is aphid eggs. And the swallow lives up to its name by consuming massive quantities of flying insects—by one count, more than 1,000 leafhoppers in 12 hours.

Unless your property is completely bare, at least some birds will visit with no special encouragement from you. Far more birds, however, will come to your yard and garden if you take steps to provide their four basic requirements: food, water, cover, and a safe place in which to raise a family. Robins, nuthatches, hummingbirds, titmice, bluebirds, mockingbirds, cardinals, and various sparrows are among the most common garden visitors.

Food and Feeding

Food is the easiest of the four basic requirements to supply. If your landscape is mostly lawn and hard surfaces, you can use feeders as the main food supply while you add plantings of seed-producing annuals and perennials, grasses, fruiting trees, and shrubs. And if your yard is already a good natural habitat, where plants are the primary food source (as they should be), feeders can still provide extra nourishment during winter, early spring, drought, and at other times when the natural food supply is low. Also, carefully placed feeders allow you and your family to watch and photograph birds.

Some birds, including juncos, mourning doves, and towhees, feed on the ground, while others, including finches, grosbeaks, nuthatches, titmice, and chickadees, eat their meals higher up. In order to attract as many different birds as possible, use a variety of feeders—tube feeders for sunflower seed and Nyjer (also called niger or thistle seed), platform feeders, hopper feeders, shelf and hanging types, and (in cool weather) suet cakes in special suet cage feeders. No matter what the style, the feeder should resist rain and snow, and it should be easy to fill and clean. It should hold enough birdseed that you don’t have to refill it every day, but not so much that the food spoils before it can all be eaten.

Place feeders at varying heights, near the protective cover of a tree or shrub if possible. You can spread them around the yard or group them in one or more “feeding stations” where they’re easy to see from the kitchen, deck, or wherever you and your family enjoy birdwatching. Remember to site them where they’re easy to get to—a feeder at a far end of the yard means a long trek out to fill it, and you’ll be less likely to keep up with it, especially in bad weather, when birds need it most.

Creating a bird garden. Diversity is the key to attracting birds to your yard. Include various types of seed and feeders; a rich array of plants, birdhouses, and nest sites; and make sure water is available year-round.

Best birdseed: You can attract virtually all common seed-eating birds with just two kinds of birdseed: black oil sunflower seed (the smallest of the sunflower types and a favorite of many birds) and white proso millet (the food of choice among ground-feeding species). Some birds have special favorites: goldfinches, pine siskins, and purple finches love Nyjer; tufted titmice and chickadees enjoy peanut kernels. Woodpeckers, chickadees, titmice, and nuthatches love suet blocks. To attract the greatest possible diversity of birds, use black sunflower seed in your tube feeders, and a mix that includes black sunflower and millet in tray, platform, hopper, and ground feeders. Round out the menu with such nourishing but more species-specific seeds as red proso millet, black-and gray-striped sunflower seeds, peanut kernels, Nyjer (in special tube feeders with tiny openings), and milo and cracked corn for ground feeders.

High-quality birdseed and seed mixes are available from wild bird specialty stores and mail-order and catalog wild bird specialty suppliers. Locally, check out pet stores, nature centers, farm stores, garden stores, and hardware stores.

Bird-Attracting Basics

Here’s an overview of some surefire ways to bring more birds to your yard.

• Offer a variety of seed in different styles of feeders placed at varying levels to cater to the needs of different species.
• When adding plants, use as many different food-bearing trees and shrubs as possible.
• Mix short trees and shrubs with tall trees, and include some evergreens like junipers (Eastern red cedar) for food and shelter.
• Combine open spaces with dense plantings.
• Grow grasses, vines, and flowers for seeds and nectar.
• Put birdbaths in the open, so birds will have a clear view when drinking, but near cover, to provide a fast escape.
• Buy a heated birdbath or add a heating coil in winter to keep the water surface open for thirsty birds.

Suet: In cold weather, beef suet can help birds maintain their body heat. Woodpeckers especially appreciate suet. You can buy suet cakes that are shaped to fit suet cages, are tidy and convenient to use, and are rendered so they hold up better if the weather warms. Or you can buy raw suet from the butcher at your grocery store (it’s usually available at the meat counter in winter). Hang the fat in a plastic mesh bag (such as an onion bag) or wire holder (to keep large birds from stealing the entire chunk), or dip pine cones in melted suet and hang the cones from branches.

Special feeding: Birdfeeders will attract the most customers in winter and early spring, when natural food supplies are low. But summer feeding is also rewarding. Fruits such as oranges, apples, and bananas attract many species, including orioles, robins, tanagers, and mockingbirds. Simply cut the fruit in half and stick it on tree branches, or on one of the special fruit feeders available from wild bird suppliers.

Use your vegetable garden as a source of food for birds. Grow a few rows of sunflowers, wheat, sorghum, and millet just for them. In fall, let late-maturing vegetables and flowers (coneflowers are special favorites) go to seed. And don’t till under cover crops such as buckwheat and rye until spring.

Hummingbirds: Hummingbirds are popular summer visitors in almost all parts of the country, and year-round residents in parts of the Southwest and California. You can easily attract them to your garden with feeders that dispense a sugar-water (“nectar”) solution. Sugar water, however, provides only a quick energy boost and no real sustenance, so it’s best to hang hummingbird feeders near natural nectar sources, such as columbines and honeysuckles. You can buy sugar-water nectar for hummingbird feeders, or make your own by mixing ¼ cup sugar in 2 cups water. Boil the water first, then add the sugar and let the solution cool before pouring it into the feeder.

To keep mold from developing, clean the feeders every 3 to 4 days in very hot water (you can add white vinegar in a 1-to-10 ratio of vinegar to water to disinfect them, then rinse well in hot water), using a bottle brush to clean the feeding ports. Because you’ll be cleaning the feeders often, choose disk-shaped feeders with flat feeding ports; they’re the easiest style to clean. When the feeders are dry, refill them with fresh sugar solution. Don’t use honey or brown sugar to make the nectar—it can foster a fungal growth on the hummingbirds’ beaks. And rather than adding red food coloring to the solution, choose a feeder with red feeding ports to attract the hummers.

Squelching squirrels and bigger birds: Hungry squirrels and chipmunks can be a problem at feeders. They can get into even hard-to-reach feeders and, once there, quickly empty them. Keep them away from pole-mounted stations by attaching a metal collar on the pole just beneath the feeder. You can also buy domed plastic squirrel guards from stores, catalogs, and Web sites that sell wild bird supplies, and attach them over or underneath either hanging or pole-mounted feeders.

But the best defense against aggressive squirrels is to buy a birdfeeder with perches that respond to a squirrel’s weight. A good choice is a metal hopper feeder with perches that drop down under a squirrel’s weight, causing a metal barrier to close tightly over the feeding ports. These heavy-duty feeders are nearly indestructible and usually do the trick. Other options are the popular battery-operated hanging feeders that send squirrels flying when they land on a perch.

If large or aggressive birds like grackles and pigeons dominate your feeders and frighten away small birds, distract them with other snacks. Toss some cracked corn and milo or stale bread on the ground several yards from the stations to draw the bigger birds away. (But clean it up nightly so you don’t also attract rats or other unwelcome hungry visitors.) Another effective solution is to simply add more feeders to reduce the competition. Large birds tend to avoid tube feeders, preferring tray and platform feeders. By providing both types, you’ll make sure the smaller birds get their share.

Water All Year

Providing water is likely to attract an even wider range of birds than putting out birdfeeders will. A clean, accessible, reliable water source can help birds survive in winter when natural water sources are frozen, and it’s also helpful during droughts or in arid regions such as the Southwest.

Set a birdbath in the open and at least 3 feet off the ground. Choose a spot near shrubs or overhanging branches to provide an escape route from cats, hawks, and other predators. The water in the bath should be no deeper than 2 inches. Putting a few rocks or pebbles in the birdbath will help birds get their footing. Birds (including hummingbirds) are particularly attracted to the sound of moving water, and many birdbaths now come with a drip hose attachment or built-in recirculating fountain feature. (Some of the fountains are even solar-powered.) You can also buy a separate drip hose attachment for your current birdbath, or simply hang a leaky can or jug, filled with water daily, from a branch over the bath.

In winter, birds need shallow, open water. Commercial immersion water heaters will keep the water in birdbaths thawed in winter, or buy one of the many birdbath models with a heating element built in. They are available from stores, Web sites, and catalogs that sell wild bird supplies. You can try to keep water from freezing by pouring warm water into the baths as needed, but on very cold days, the water can refreeze in less than an hour, so a heating element or heated birdbath is a better option.

Cover and Nest Sites

Cover is any form of shelter from enemies and the elements. Different bird species favor different kinds of cover. Mourning doves, for example, prefer evergreen groves, while many songbirds prefer the refuge of densely twiggy shrubs. Likewise, most species require a particular kind of nest site in which to raise a family. Some birds, including red-winged blackbirds, nest in high grass; others, such as cardinals, nest in dense foliage; and still others, such as woodpeckers, owls, and bluebirds, are cavity nesters, raising their young in nests built in holes in tree trunks.

You can add more nest sites and attract many types of birds to your yard with birdhouses. Different species have different housing requirements, but there are ready-made birdhouses and build-your-own plans for everything from bluebirds to barn owls. Whichever birdhouse you choose, make sure that it is weather-resistant, that its roof is pitched to shed rain, and that there are holes in the bottom for drainage and in the walls or back for ventilation. A hinged or removable top or front makes cleaning easier. Position birdhouses with their entrance holes facing away from prevailing winds, and clean out the boxes after every nesting season.

Landscaping for Birds

Feeders, birdbaths, and birdhouses play important roles in attracting birds. But trees, shrubs, and other vegetation can do the whole job naturally. Plants provide food, cover, and nest sites, and because they trap dew and rain and control runoff, they help provide water, too.

When adding plants to your landscape, choose as many food-bearing species as possible, with enough variety to assure birds a steady diet of fruit, buds, and seeds throughout the year. Mix plantings of deciduous and evergreen species in order to maintain leafy cover in all seasons. Species that are native to your region are generally best, because the local birds evolved with them and will turn to them first for food and cover. Combine as many types of vegetation as possible: tall trees, shorter trees, shrubs, grasses, flowers, and groundcovers. The greater the plant diversity, the greater the variety of birds you will attract. See “Trees and Shrubs for Birds” for some top choices.

Hummingbirds have their own landscape favorites. Preferred trees and shrubs include tulip tree (Liriodendron tulipifera), mimosa (Albizia julibrissin), cotoneasters (Cotoneaster spp.), flowering quinces (Chaenomeles spp.), and rose-of-Sharon (Hibiscus syriacus). A trumpet vine (Campsis radicans) is a gorgeous sight in bloom, with its large, showy orange-red flowers, and it is a hummingbird favorite, as are honeysuckles (Lonicera spp.), annual climbing nasturtium (Tropaeolum majus), and morning glory (Ipomoea tricolor). Favored perennials include columbines (Aquilegia spp.), common foxglove (Digitalis purpurea), fuchsias (Fuchsia spp.), cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis), penstemons (Penstemon spp.), torch lilies (Kniphofia spp.), sages (Salvia spp.), delphiniums (Delphinium spp.), and bee balm (Monarda didyma).

Trees and Shrubs for Birds

To attract birds to your landscape, look at plants from a bird’s point of view. Do they provide food and shelter? Nest sites? Try to plant a variety to provide birds with protective cover and a varied diet throughout the year. The following trees and shrubs are excellent food sources—producing berries, nuts, or seeds that birds will flock to. Evergreen species provide food but are also especially important for winter cover. These species will grow in most regions of the country.

Deciduous Shrubs

Cornus sericea (red-osier dogwood)

Ilex verticillata (winterberry)

Morella spp. (formerly Myrica spp., bayberries)

Prunus pumila, P. besseyi (sand cherries)

Pyracantha spp. (pyracanthas)

Rubus spp. (raspberries and blackberries)

Sambucus canadensis (American elder)

Vaccinium spp. (blueberries)

Viburnum spp. (viburnums)

Evergreen Shrubs

Cotoneaster spp. (cotoneasters)

Ilex spp. (hollies)

Mahonia aquifolium (Oregon grape)

Taxus cuspidata (Japanese yew)

Deciduous Trees

Amelanchier spp. (serviceberries)

Carya spp. (hickories)

Celtis spp. (hackberries)

Cornus florida (flowering dogwood)

Crataegus spp. (hawthorns)

Diospyros virginiana (common persimmon)

Fagus grandifolia (American beech)

Fraxinus americana (white ash)

Prunus spp. (cherries)

Malus spp. (crabapples)

Morus spp. (mulberries)

Sorbus spp. (mountain ashes)

Quercus spp. (oaks)

Evergreen Trees

Ilex opaca (American holly)

Juniperus spp. (junipers)

Picea spp. (spruces)

Pinus spp. (pines)

Pseudotsuga menziesii (Douglas fir)

Tsuga canadensis (Canada hemlock)

Of course, there is a flip side to landscaping for the birds, especially if you grow berries for your family. Bird netting may be a necessity if you don’t want to share your cherries and blueberries with your feathered friends. Fortunately, netting and other simple techniques—such as growing yellow-fruiting rather than red cherries—will prevent or minimize damage. (For more on controlling birds, see the Animal Pests entry.) But most seed-and fruit-eating birds favor wild food sources and are drawn to gardens only for their relative abundance of insects.

BLACKBERRY

See Brambles

BLANKET FLOWER

See Gaillardia

BLEEDING HEART

See Dicentra

BLUEBELLS

See Mertensia

BLUEBERRY

Vaccinium spp.

Ericaceae

 

Blueberries are among North America’s few cultivated native fruits. They are one of the most popular fruits for home gardeners for their ornamental value, pest resistance, and delicious berries. Some gardeners think they’re hard to grow because they require acid soil, but that requirement is actually quite easy to meet.

Types of Blueberries

Northerners grow two species of blueberries: Vaccinium corymbosum, highbush, and V. angustifolium, lowbush. Southern gardeners usually raise V. ashei, rabbiteye blueberry. All three species and their cultivars bear delicious fruit on plants with beautiful white, urn-shaped flowers and bright fall color.

Lowbush blueberries: Although the fruit of the lowbush blueberry is small, many people consider its flavor superior to that of other blueberries. These extremely hardy plants are good choices for the North. They bear nearly a pint of fruit for each foot of row. Lowbush plants spread by layering and will quickly grow into a matted low hedge. Native lowbush blueberries are the most hardy, especially with snow to protect them in Northern locations. Zones 2–6.

Highbush blueberries: Highbush are the most popular home-garden blueberries. Most modern varieties grow about 6 feet tall at maturity, and each bush may yield 5 to 20 pounds of large berries in mid to late summer. Crosses between highbush and lowbush species have resulted in half-high varieties such as ‘Northland’ and ‘Northblue’. These large-fruiting plants grow 1½ to 3 feet tall, a size that is easy to cover with bird-proof netting or with burlap (for winter protection). Highbush blueberries vary in hardiness, but many cultivars grow well in the North if you plant them in a sheltered spot. Some growers raise them in large pots and store them in an unheated greenhouse or cold frame for winter. Good varieties for the North include ‘Bluecrop’ and ‘Jersey’. Gardeners in the South and Pacific Northwest should choose varieties with a low chilling requirement, such as ‘Misty’ and ‘Sunshine Blue’. Zones 3–8.

Rabbiteye blueberries: Rabbiteyes are ideal for warmer climates. They’ll tolerate drier soils than highbush plants can, although they may need irrigation during dry spells. The plants grow rapidly and often reach full production in 4 to 5 years. Most modern varieties grow up to 10 feet tall and may yield up to 20 pounds of fruit per bush; some are hybrids between rabbiteye and highbush blueberries. Rabbiteyes and their hybrids are not reliably hardy north of Zone 7. They do not grow well in areas that are completely frost free, however, because they need a chilling period of a few weeks to break dormancy and set fruit. Zones 7–9.

Planting

Blueberries are particular about their growing conditions, so be sure to choose a suitable spot. They need a moist but well-drained, loose, loamy, or sandy soil with a pH somewhere in the range of 4.0 to 5.5 (the specific range depends on which type you want to grow). Test your soil before planting. If you need to reduce the pH, you can do so by working in lots of composted pine needles or oak leaves, or compost made from pine, oak, or hemlock bark. (You want the soil around the plants’ roots to be about a fifty-fifty mix of your soil and compost. If you can’t get a supply of the proper compost, you can add moist sphagnum peat moss to the planting bed in its place. All of these acidic organic materials will help lower pH.

Adding elemental sulfur is another acceptable method (1 to 7 pounds per 100 square feet of garden space, depending on your soil test results), but bear in mind that the sulfur will harm the mycorrhizae that associate with blueberry roots to aid their growth (for more about mycorrhizae, see the Soil entry). Avoid using the commonly prescribed aluminum sulfate, a chemical source of sulfur that is toxic to many soil organisms and changes the flavor of the fruit. For more information on adjusting soil pH, see the pH entry.

Because most blueberries are not self-fertile, you must plant at least two different cultivars to get fruit, and three are even more effective for good cross-pollination. Plant different cultivars near each other, as the blossoms are not especially fragrant and do not attract bees as readily as many other flowers. If you have a large plot set aside for blueberries, try interplanting the cultivars. Keep good records of your plantings, so that if you lose a cultivar you’ll be able to replace it with a kind that’s different from the surviving plants. Blueberries grow slowly and don’t reach full production until they’re 6 to 8 years old, so get a head start with 2- or 3-year-old plants.

After enriching the soil and making sure it’s acidic enough for blueberries, cultivate it thoroughly to allow the roots to penetrate easily. Blueberries are shallow-rooted, so all the nutrients and moisture the plants need must be available in the top few inches of soil.

In spring or fall, set highbush and rabbiteye blueberries 5 feet apart in rows spaced 7 to 9 feet apart. Set lowbush plants 1 foot apart in rows 3 feet or more apart. Water your plants with a liquid organic fertilizer such as compost tea or fish emulsion directly after planting and once a week for the next 3 to 4 weeks. See the Compost entry for instructions for making compost tea.

Maintenance

Keep plants weed free, but avoid cultivating or hoeing around them; it’s easy to damage the shallow roots. Maintain a thick layer of organic mulch around the plants, and hand pull any weeds that emerge. Pine needles, oak leaves, or shavings from oak, pine, or hemlock are great mulches that help to maintain soil acidity. Even with a mulch, though, blueberries can dry out quickly, so water often during dry seasons.

Blueberries don’t need heavy fertilizing, but nitrogen is important for healthy plants. Those lacking nitrogen have stunted growth and yellow leaves that later become a reddish color. Each spring, apply fish meal or soybean meal under the mulch around each plant. Use ¼ to 2 cups per plant, depending on the size of the plant and how well it is growing.

Pruning

Like most bush fruits, blueberries benefit from pruning as they become older. Yearly pruning helps to encourage large fruits and maintain productivity. Proper pruning also lets sunshine into the bushes, which aids in ripening the berries. Late winter is the ideal time for pruning.

In general, both highbush and rabbiteye plants respond to the same type of pruning. For the first 3 to 4 years, prune only to make sure each bush is growing in a strong upright shape. If the fruit buds are too numerous, remove some of them to get fewer but larger berries. (You can distinguish fruit buds on the dormant plants because they are fatter than leaf buds.)

After 4 years, when the plants are producing well, cut out a few of the thick older canes each year, as shown at right. Thin out branches that are crowding each other and the twiggy ends of canes if they seem too thick. Cut back any plants that are growing too high to harvest conveniently.

For highbush blueberries in Zones 3 and 4, a different type of pruning is recommended because they grow more slowly and don’t get as tall. Severe pruning would be likely to reduce production drastically for many years. Instead, it’s usually only necessary to thin out the twiggy ends of the branches and cut out any wood that is broken or winter damaged. When the bush is about 20 years old, it is beneficial to remove some of the older wood and gradually renew the plant.

Pruning blueberries. For established rabbiteye blueberries and most highbush blueberries, annual pruning involves cutting out a few older canes and thinning crowded branches and twiggy branch tips.

Lowbush plants naturally form low, open-growing shrubs. Prune to remove injured branches and thin out the older canes. Cut up to half of the older canes at ground level each year, and harvest berries from the uncut stems. The next year, remove the stems you left the previous year, and harvest fruit from the new stems.

Problems

Although commercial growers encounter a variety of insects, home gardeners rarely have any problems. The blueberry maggot and cherry fruitworm are the most troublesome insects that are likely to appear. The larvae tunnel in the fruit, making it unsuitable for consumption. Reduce the chances of damage by cleaning up all the old fruit in a planting before winter. If there is a serious infestation, cover the bushes with screening in spring to prevent egg laying.

Diseases are seldom a concern in the North but tend to be more common in the South. Botrytis tip blight kills new growth, and stem canker causes cracks in the canes. Cut away any growth that shows signs of abnormal appearance. Mummy berry makes the fruit rot and fall off. To prevent it, plant resistant cultivars, keep the berries picked, and clean up any dropped fruit.

Viral diseases, such as stunt, are difficult to control and invariably result in the gradual deterioration of the plant. Buy from a reputable nursery to get disease-free plants.

Birds are particularly fond of blueberries. To prevent damage, cover the bushes with tightly woven netting before the berries begin to ripen.

Harvesting

Blueberries ripen over a long season, and you don’t need to pick them daily, as you do with strawberries. Different cultivars ripen to various shades of blue, so be careful not to pick them too early if you want the best flavor; taste them to determine when they’re at their peak. Don’t pull berries from the stem; instead, gently twist them off with your fingertips. If the berries don’t come off with slight pressure, they’re not ready for harvest. Blueberries keep for several days after picking if you keep them cool and dry. They are also ideal for freezing.

BOG GARDENS

See Water Gardens

BONSAI

The goal of the traditional Asian art of bonsai (pronounced BONE-sigh) is to replicate the look of an old tree shaped by time and weather, but dwarfed and grown in a pot. Traditional bonsai trees are not houseplants. They need protection during temperate zone winters, but are kept outside during the growing season and only brought indoors occasionally for display. Tropical trees like small-leaved figs (Ficus spp.) can be used to create bonsai suitable for growing indoors, however.

Bonsai (which means “tree in a pot” in Japanese) can be created from evergreens and deciduous trees, or from almost any plant with a solid, woody trunk and stout limbs. Bonsai fruit trees—often quince, plum, or crabapple—bear small fruit. The best plants for bonsai have tapering trunks with interesting shapes, bends, or twists. Scars, gnarls, and stumps give the tree an aged look.

There are five basic training styles: formal upright, informal upright, broom-shaped, windswept, and cascade. The formal and informal upright styles are for conical, tightly branched trees. The branches of a broom-shaped tree are more spreading, so that the tree resembles an upside-down broom. Windswept tree trunks grow nearly horizontally. Cascading trees fall away over the pot rim, as trees growing on cliffs or rock outcroppings often do.

Bonsai artists develop the styles through a combination of pruning, pinching, and wiring. The trunk is the primary focus of a bonsai tree, and asymmetrical patterns in the branches complement the trunk. Experienced bonsai artists sometimes scar or strip the tree’s bark as well.

The container for a bonsai tree is like the frame of a picture: It should enhance the effect without distracting the viewer from the main attraction. In general, earth-tone containers flatter evergreens, while glazed pots complement deciduous or flowering trees.

If you’re intrigued by the art of bonsai and want to learn how to create your own, there are many books on the subject, both for traditional bonsai and indoor, or houseplant bonsai, as well as a wealth of information on the Internet (see Resources on page 672).

BOTANICAL NOMENCLATURE

Rose, Iris, Daisy, Fern—there are many wonderful plant names that are also used as names for people. The crossover of human and plant names is fun. However, sorting out confusing and overlapping common plant names isn’t fun for puzzled gardeners trying to use the Internet to figure out the identity of a particular plant, decide what to order from a garden catalog, or find the plants they want at a nursery. Some plants have several common names. For example, the popular shade-tolerant annual many gardeners call impatiens is also known as patient Lucy, Zanzibar balsam, patience plant, busy Lizzy, sultana, and sultan snapweed.

Fortunately, gardeners can keep the names and the plants straight by learning about and using botanical nomenclature. Botanists developed this systematic way of naming plants so they could precisely classify every plant they study. This system gives a plant a two-part name, which identifies the plant and classifies it in relation to other plants. The two parts of the name are the genus name and the species name. A species is a group of individual plants that share common attributes and are able to breed together. A genus is a group of one or more species with closely similar flowers, fruits, and other characteristics.

Genus and species names are analogous to people’s first names and surnames. The genus name is like a surname: It indicates a group of plants that have some shared characteristics, just as a surname links a group of related human beings. Genus names are often derived from Greek or Latin words, or from the names of people. For example, Allium (the genus of onions and their kin) is the Latin word for garlic, and Nicotiana (the genus of tobacco) was named for Jean Nicot, who introduced tobacco to Europeans. It’s usually easy to see the shared traits of plants in a genus. Gardeners often refer to plants by using the generic name (the name of the genus) as a common name. When gardeners talk about irises, dahlias, and anemones, they use the genus names Iris, Dahlia, and Anemone as common names.

The species name is like a person’s first name. By itself, a species name won’t help you identify a particular plant. For example, many plants bear the species name odorata because they are fragrant, so the name odorata alone doesn’t refer to any one kind of plant. It takes both names, the genus and the species, to identify a plant as, for example, white pine (Pinus alba) and white oak (Quercus alba). Together, the two parts identify a particular species of plant and distinguish it from all other species of plants.

In nature, most members of a species look pretty much the same, aside from differences due to age or growing conditions. Minor but consistent variations that occur within a species in nature are called subspecies or varieties. For example, doublefile viburnum is Viburnum plicatum var. tomentosum. It bears flat, showy flowers in rows on top of the branches, unlike the species, Japanese snowball viburnum (Viburnum plicatum), which bears snowball-like flowers.

Among cultivated plants, however, there can be wide variation within a species. Gardeners have always singled out and propagated individual plants with noteworthy form, color, fragrance, or flavor. Any cultivated plant with particular features that are passed along when the plant is reproduced by seed or by asexual propagation is called a cultivar, short for cultivated variety. To be proper, cultivar names should follow the species name, as in Salvia officinalis ‘Tricolor’. (Botanical varieties can also have cultivars—for example, Viburnum plicatum var. tomentosum ‘Mariesii’ is a large-flowered form of doublefile viburnum.) For convenience, though, most gardeners refer to vegetables, fruits, and annual flowers by the cultivar name first and then the common name, as in ‘Silver Queen’ sweet corn.

Botanical names and groupings sometimes change, as botanists correct past errors or achieve new understanding. Usually a specialist will grow, observe, and study all the plants in a genus for many years before publishing a revised classification. (Botanists also are using gene mapping to study the relationships among plants.) Several more years may pass before a revised botanical name or grouping is widely adopted.

BOXWOOD

See Buxus

BRAMBLES

Rubus spp.

Rosaceae

 

Raspberries and blackberries are among the most delicious and desirable fruits you can grow in a home garden. The fruits of brambles (thorny members of the genus Rubus) are frequently treated as gourmet fruit, not because they are hard to grow, but because they don’t ship well.

Selecting Brambles

Brambles can produce fruit for 10 to 25 years. It’s important to choose cultivars that have the characteristics you want and suit your climate, but for some types of brambles, you’ll have a very wide range of cultivar choices. It’s a good idea to visit a local raspberry and blackberry grower and ask which varieties grow well locally. To find a grower in your area, check the list of member growers at the Web site of the North American Raspberry & Blackberry Association (NARBA). The North American Fruit Explorers’ Web site is also a great source of information about brambles and other fruits. (See Resources on page 672 for Web site addresses.) Be sure to ask about hardiness and disease resistance. If you have space to grow more than one variety, try to choose varieties with different ripening seasons to extend your harvest.

Raspberries: There are two types of raspberries: summer bearing and fall bearing. In some areas of the country, their bearing season may overlap, so you can harvest raspberries from early summer until frost. Red and yellow cultivars are summer or fall bearers. All black and purple raspberries are summer bearers.

Red and yellow raspberries are the easiest raspberries to grow. Their fruit is sweet and fragrant. Yellow raspberries are mutations, or sports, of reds, and tend to be very sweet. The color is less attractive to birds, too.

Black raspberries are not as winter hardy as red ones, but tend to tolerate more summer heat. They also are more prone to viral and fungal diseases and have stiffer thorns. The berries are seedy but have a very intense flavor. They are good eaten fresh or in preserves.

Purple raspberries are hybrids resulting from crosses between reds and blacks. The canes are generally more winter hardy than the black parent’s canes. They tend to be very spiny and productive with large, intensely flavored berries.

Blackberries: In general, blackberries are less winter hardy than most raspberries. In Northern areas, the roots may survive without protection, but the overwintering canes are often killed above the snow line. But because blackberries tend to be extremely vigorous, even a very short portion of surviving cane will often produce a surprising amount of fruit.

Blackberries can be divided into three general groups: erect, semi-erect, and trailing.

The erect type has strong, upright canes that are usually thorny and don’t require support. They tend to be more winter hardy than the other types and produce large, sweet berries.

Semi-erect blackberries are thornless and more vigorous and productive than the erect type. Most of them grow better if supported. The fruit is tart and large and has a solid core. The plants bloom and mature later than the erect type.

Trailing blackberries, or dewberries, are the least winter hardy. They need support, are early ripening, and have large, wine-colored to black fruit of distinctly good flavor.

Hybrids: Raspberry-blackberry hybrids combine the characteristics of their parents. Most of them are very winter tender. Some are thornless. The fruit resembles blackberries.

Planting and Care

Brambles prefer deep, sandy-loam soil, but they will grow in almost any soil with adequate drainage and a pH range of 6.0 to 7.0, preferably near 6.5. Choose a site with good air drainage, avoiding low-lying areas and frost pockets. Full sun is preferred. In Southern areas, partial midday shade will prevent sun-scalded fruit. In exposed locations, give your berries a windbreak.

Soil Preparation

Brambles thrive in soils with high organic content. Incorporate plenty of organic matter as you prepare the site for planting. Have the soil tested, and amend it if necessary. If you have perennial weeds, eradicate them before planting brambles because the young plants do not compete well with weeds. Grow a cover crop (which will also help improve soil organic matter content), cultivate repeatedly, or use a thick, organic mulch to smother out the weeds.

Planting

Plant brambles in very early spring. The exception is plants produced by tissue culture, which have young, tender leaves. Plant them after all chance of frost has passed, or provide frost protection. Set bareroot plants 1 to 2 inches deeper than they were in the nursery. Dig a large enough hole so the roots will fit without bending. Don’t let roots dry out while planting. Cut the canes back to about 6 inches tall—if you leave too much top growth in place, it will be harder for the plants to become established quickly.

Plant Spacing

Row spacing should be wide enough to allow sunlight and air to reach all plants and to allow you to walk or mow between the rows without damaging yourself or the plants. For home gardeners this means at least 5 feet between rows for raspberries and 7 feet for blackberries.

Some types of brambles produce suckers. Red and yellow raspberries spread 12 to 15 inches a year, so plant 1 to 2 feet apart, depending on how soon you want a solid hedgerow. Blacks and most purples don’t sucker but form clusters of canes from their crowns. Plant them 2½ to 3 feet apart. Blackberries sucker vigorously; space them 5 to 6 feet apart in rows.

Trellising

Although many brambles can be grown without a support system, all are best grown on a trellis. Trellising reduces disease problems, saves space, and speeds pruning and picking.

T trellis. This trellis can be used with a single set of wires for fall-bearing raspberries or a double set of support wires for summer-bearing raspberries. 

T trellis: Summer-bearing raspberries do well on a T trellis like the one illustrated above. Construct it as follows:

1. Set a sturdy 4 × 4 post at each end of the row and about every 20 feet in between. Posts should be set at least 2 feet deep and extend 4 to 6 feet above ground.
2. Add a notched 2 × 4 cross arm to each post to hold wires. Each cross arm should have four notches. The height of the cross arms will depend on how vigorous your brambles are. Try putting them about 3 feet high, and move them if necessary.
3. Cut two lengths of 12- or 14-gauge wire or synthetic baling twine a little longer than the trellis, and fasten the ends to either side of the endpost cross arms.
4. After pruning, put the wires in the outer notches, and arrange the canes outside the wire. Tie each cane individually to the wire. Or use two sets of wires on each side of the cross arm, and sandwich the canes between them. After harvest, move the wires to the inside notch to keep the new canes upright.

Hedgerow trellis: All types of bramble fruit do well when supported by a hedgerow-type trellising system. To construct it:

1. Set a sturdy 4-inch-wide post at each end of the row and about every 20 feet in between.
2. Hammer upward-slanting nails into both sides of each post 3 feet and 4 feet above the ground.
3. Cut four lengths of wire slightly longer than the trellis and twist the ends of the wires into a loop to fit over the end nail.
4. After pruning, lift the wires onto the nails to hold the canes upright between them. (Future pruning is easier if you can remove the wires, so don’t staple them to the posts—just rest them on the nails.) Tuck new canes between the wires. A variation of this trellis uses 1-foot cross arms to hold the wires farther apart.

Pruning

For pruning purposes, let’s divide the brambles into four categories: fall-bearing raspberries, summer-bearing raspberries, black and purple raspberries, and blackberries. The plants produce two kinds of canes: primocanes and floricanes. Primocanes are new shoots that arise from the main plant or new suckers that rise from roots away from the main plant. In their second year of growth, these canes are then called floricanes. Most brambles bear fruit only on floricanes.

Since each site and cultivar is different, as you prune, you will want to adjust cane densities to fit your needs.

Fall-bearing raspberries: Fall-bearing raspberries are the exception: They bear fruit on their primocanes. Because of this, pruning fall-bearing raspberries is easy because you don’t have to decide which canes to save. Mow or cut off these brambles as close to ground level as possible after leaf drop in fall. The most common problem is not cutting the canes low enough to the ground. If stubs are left, some of the buds on them will sprout in spring and grow into weak, unproductive branches.

Summer-bearing raspberries: Summer-bearing raspberries and erect blackberries bear fruit on second-year canes called floricanes. Prune bearing canes off at ground level immediately after the harvest has finished. To avoid spreading diseases, do this when the canes and leaves are dry.

Dormant-prune every year in very early spring before growth starts. Drop any trellis wires out of the way. If you didn’t remove the spent floricanes after harvest, cut them off at ground level now. Cut off any spindly canes, and thin the remaining ones to leave 2 to 4 of the largest, straightest canes per foot of row. Cut off any suckers that are sprouting outside the row as well. Cut the remaining canes back to 4 to 5 feet and reinstall the trellis wires, or tie the canes to your support system. Pruning summer-bearers is illustrated at right.

Black and purple raspberries: These brambles bear fruit on second-year canes, with most of their fruit on side shoots. During summer, cut the tip off each cane when it’s about 2½ to 4 feet high. This will force it to develop sturdy side branches the first year. After harvest, cut the spent floricanes back to the ground.

Dormant-prune every year as for summer-bearing reds, thinning the remaining canes to leave 6 to 9 of the largest, straightest ones per hill. Prune back the side branches to 8 to 12 inches, and remove any spindly ones.

Pruning summer-bearing raspberries. Prune raspberries in early spring. Remove all spent floricanes and thin remaining canes to 2 to 4 per foot of row.

Blackberries: Trailing and semi-erect blackberries are usually left to grow on the ground along the row during the first season. Blackberries bear fruit on second-year canes. Prune spent floricanes off at ground level immediately after the harvest has finished.

In very early spring, select the thickest 6 to 9 canes per hill, cut them back to about 7 feet, space them along the trellis, and tie them. Shorten side branches to 10 to 15 inches; remove spindly ones.

Harvesting

Brambles ripen in early summer. Red raspberries tend to ripen first, followed by blacks, and even later by blackberries. Berries do not keep ripening after harvesting. For best flavor and ease of picking, wait until they are fully ripe. Some raspberries offer a slight resistance to picking even when fully ripe. Let your taste tell you when to pick. Red raspberries vary in color at maturity from light to dark red. Some purple ones change from red to purple to almost black, with sugar levels increasing as the color darkens. Raspberries slip off the stem when picked, leaving a hollow inside the fruit.

Blackberries, although they also vary in color, are typically shiny black when not quite ripe and dull black when fully ripe. They come off the canes more easily when fully ripe.

Pick your berries as early in the morning as possible, when they are cool. If the berries are wet, let them dry before picking. Handle them gently and place, don’t drop, them into a shallow container. Refrigerate immediately.

It’s easier to pick berries with both hands free. Tie two long strips of sturdy cloth like apron ties to a large tin can or small bucket. Tie your picking can around your waist, or hang it around your neck. Put your berry basket in the bottom if you like. Carry an extra basket to put overripe or moldy berries in as you pick; removing these berries will help prevent rot problems from occurring later.

Problems

While there are many insects and diseases that can attack brambles, there are few bothersome pests in any given area. See the Pests entry for more information on control methods.

Insects

Certain common garden pests attack brambles. Aphids can spread viruses. Japanese beetles feed on ripe fruit. Tarnished plant bugs feed on buds, blossoms, and berries. See pages 458–60 for descriptions and controls for all three. Keep surrounding areas weed free to limit tarnished plant bugs.

Picnic or sap beetles sometimes damage ripening fruit. These small black beetles are attracted to any overripe or fermenting fruit. To control them, pick all berries promptly. Trap the beetles by putting out overripe muskmelons.

If leaves turn pale and speckled, you may have a spider mite problem. Hot, dry climates and seasons encourage them. See page 249 for controls.

The small green larvae of the raspberry sawfly feed on young leaves, often leaving only the leaf skeleton. Hand pick the larvae or spray with insecticidal soap.

Tiny, light yellow worms feeding on the fruit are Eastern raspberry fruitworm larvae. They overwinter in the ground; adult beetles emerge in spring. The larvae feed on leaves, flower buds, and berry cores. Berries may drop before they ripen. Remove and destroy infested fruits. Cultivate in late summer to reduce overwintering insects. The following season, spray spinosad when blossom buds appear and again just before they open.

Cane borers cause shoot tips or whole canes to wilt and die during the growing season. They puncture two parallel rings of holes around the cane. To control them, cut off wilted canes about 6 inches below the holes or swelling and destroy. They overwinter inside canes, so collect and burn all prunings.

Crown borers feed on the base, roots, and sometimes shoots of plants, causing whole shoots to wilt and die. Cut wilted shoots back to below ground level and destroy. Squash rust-colored egg masses you see on the leaves in late summer.

Sometimes leaves will develop many small punctures, or even large tears, but no obvious insect culprit is seen. The problem may be the wind. Windblown leaves can be rapidly shredded by thorns on the canes. Trellises and windbreaks reduce damage.

Diseases

The following diseases can affect brambles.

Raspberry mosaic, blackberry sterility, and leaf curl are major bramble viruses. Mosaic stunts plants and causes yellow-blotched, puckered leaves. Sterility results in vigorously growing plants that produce only nubbins—tiny, crumbly, malformed berries—or no berries at all. Leaf curl causes dark green, tightly curled, and malformed leaves. Viruses can drastically reduce yields. There is no cure. Infected plants should be dug up and disposed of immediately.

Plant virus-resistant cultivars and purchase plants only from nurseries that market virus-free tissue culture or certified bareroot plants. Remove all wild brambles within 500 to 1,000 feet, especially upwind, and keep aphids off your brambles because they spread viruses. Plant black raspberries away from red and yellow ones, because blacks are more susceptible to viruses. 

Anthracnose causes leaves and canes to develop round sunken purple spots that enlarge to oval shapes with gray centers and raised borders. It also causes black, sunken spots on fruit.

Cane blight causes shoot tips to wilt and die in midsummer. Canes are often purple or brown. Summer tipping black raspberries gives the disease organism a natural opening; be sure to do it on a dry day.

Orange rust attacks black raspberries and some blackberries. In spring, the undersides of the leaves are covered with bright, orange fungal growth. Dig up and burn infested plants.

Verticillium wilt causes canes to turn bluish black from the soil line upward, and leaves to yellow and drop. The fungus also attacks vegetables such as tomatoes and peppers. Avoid planting brambles where Verticillium-susceptible crops have been grown previously.

Phytophthora root rot causes stunted plants, yellow leaves, or scorched leaf margins. Avoid it by providing good drainage.

Fruit rots are caused by various fungi. Wet weather during maturity can cause severe problems. Pick the berries as soon as they are ripe, and remove any moldy ones immediately.

Powdery mildew shows up as a white powder on the lower sides of leaves and can spread to shoot tips. Fruit may be stunted. Potassium bicarbonate sprays can help control it.

Crown gall causes lumpy, corky swellings on the roots and bases of canes. Avoid wounding when cultivating, or use mulch instead.

Fungi need warm temperatures and humid conditions to thrive. Anything you do to keep the aboveground parts of the plants dry will be to your advantage. Select a planting site with good air circulation and drainage. Avoid overhead watering. Keep rows narrow, and thin canes to recommended densities. Avoid excessive nitrogen. Trellis canes for best air circulation. Remove spent canes right after harvest. Collect and destroy all prunings. If fungal diseases were a problem in previous years, apply lime-sulfur spray in spring when the first leaves are ¼ to ½ inch long.

BROCCOLI

Brassica oleracea, Botrytis group

Brassicaceae

 

Broccoli is a great choice for a home garden. Freshly cut broccoli heads are rich in vitamins and minerals. They’re delicious raw in salads or lightly steamed and they freeze well. If you choose a variety such as ‘DiCicco’ or ‘Waltham’ that produces plentiful side shoots, you can enjoy several cuttings from each plant in your garden. Broccoli raab and Chinese broccoli are fast-growing, cool-loving broccoli relatives that produce small, tender flowering shoots that you can eat—buds, stems, leaves, and all.

Planting: Broccoli prefers full sun, but partial shade can prevent plants from bolting (going to seed) in areas with warm spells. Provide a rich, well-drained soil, with plenty of compost.

Cool days and nights are essential once the flower heads start to form. There’s a wide range of days to maturity, so pick a cultivar that will mature before the weather in your area turns hot. Gardeners in most temperate areas can harvest both spring and fall crops. Choose a fast-maturing variety like ‘Packman’ for a spring crop. In areas without ground freezes, try growing a third crop by planting a slow-maturing variety such as ‘Marathon’ in winter.

If you’re starting your own seedlings, sow your spring crop indoors 7 to 9 weeks before the last expected frost. Seeds should germinate in 4 to 5 days. After the seeds germinate, place pots in a sunny area or under lights and maintain the temperature at 60° to 65°F; keep the soil moist but not wet. Whether you grow your own or buy from a local grower, to avoid premature heading, make sure seedlings are the proper size before transplanting them into the garden—about 6 inches tall, with 2 to 4 true leaves. Before transplanting, harden them off for at least a week, as described in the Transplanting entry. Set the young plants 1 to 2 inches deeper in the garden than they grew in the pots or flats. Space them 1 to 2 feet apart in rows 2 to 3 feet apart. Closer spacing will produce smaller heads. Firm the soil and water well.

Protecting young broccoli plants from temperature extremes is critical for a successful crop. A prolonged period of nights around 30°F and days in the 50° to 60°F range can produce tiny, immature heads called buttons. To prevent this, protect plants with cloches or row covers during cool weather. Unexpected warm spells can cause the heads to “rice,” or open too soon.

For fall crops, you can start seedlings indoors or sow seeds directly in the ground in July or August. In mild-winter climates, plant in the late fall for a spring harvest.

Growing guidelines: The trick to producing good broccoli is to keep it growing steadily. Two to three weeks after transplanting, topdress with compost tea or side-dress with blood meal or fish emulsion, and water deeply. See the Compost entry for instructions for making compost tea. Repeat monthly until a week before harvesting the flower head. This regimen also encourages large and tender side shoots, which you can harvest until hot weather or a heavy ground freeze ends the broccoli season.

Cultivate around young plants to get rid of weeds and keep the soil loose. When daytime temperatures exceed 75°F, put down a thick layer of organic mulch to cool the soil and conserve moisture. Broccoli needs 1 to 1½ inches of water a week. A lack of water will result in tough stems, so soak plants extra well during dry spells. Fall crops need steady (but slightly less) water.

Problems: Of all cabbage-family plants, broccoli is often the least affected by pests, and fall crops tend to have fewer problems than spring ones. Possible pests include aphids, cabbage loopers, imported cabbageworms, cabbage maggots, cutworms, and flea beetles. See the chart on page 458 for more information on controlling these insects.

Other pests include slugs, mites, and harlequin bugs. Slugs chew holes in plant leaves; see the Slugs and Snails entry for controls. Mites are tiny red or black pests; their feeding causes yellow stippling on the leaves. Knock them off the plant with a strong blast of water, or spray with insecticidal soap. Control harlequin bugs—black insects with red markings—by hand picking or applying soap spray.

Diseases are seldom a problem. Black leg produces dark spots on leaves and stems. Symptoms of black rot include yellowing leaves and dark, foul-smelling veins. Prevent these diseases with good cultivation and crop rotation. In case of club root, which shows up as weak, yellowed plants with deformed roots, destroy the infected plants. Plant your next crop in another part of the garden, and before planting, apply lime to boost soil pH to about 7.0.

Leaf spot shows up as enlarging, water-soaked spots that turn brown or purplish gray. Fusarium wilt, also known as yellows, causes lower leaves to turn yellow and drop off and makes broccoli heads stunted and bitter. Destroy plants afflicted with leaf spot or Fusarium wilt to prevent these diseases from spreading.

Harvesting: Harvest before the florets start to open and turn yellow. Cut just below the point where the stems begin to separate. Once you’ve harvested the main head, tender side shoots will form in the leaf axils all along the lower stalk. Keep cutting, and broccoli will keep producing until the weather turns too hot or too cold. Can, freeze, or pickle broccoli, or keep it refrigerated for up to 2 weeks. Green cabbage loopers and imported cabbageworms often go unnoticed on harvested heads and can end up in your cooked broccoli. To prevent this, drive them out by soaking the heads in warm water with a little vinegar added for 15 minutes before cooking.

BRUSSELS SPROUTS

Brassica oleracea, Gemmifera group

Brassicaceae

 

Brussels sprout plants take up a fair amount of space, but the reward is a bountiful harvest of tasty sprouts. The sprouts, which look like mini cabbages, form along the 2- to 3-foot stems under umbrella-like foliage, and need up to 100 days to mature.

Planting: The hardiest cabbage-family crop, brussels sprouts survive freezing temperatures better than hot spells. Time your plantings so that overnight fall frosts will bring out the sprouts’ sweetness. You’ll find that you’ll plant this crop quite late, after you’ve set out warm-season crops like peppers and squash. To determine the timing of planting, count back the number of days to maturity from your first fall frost—that’s the date to set transplants in the garden. In mild-winter areas, time the crop for a winter-to-spring harvest.

To start your brussels sprout plants from seeds (indoors or out), sow seeds ½ inch deep. When seedlings are 5 to 7 inches tall, space or thin them to 2 feet apart. Set transplants deeper than they grew originally, with the lowest leaves just above the soil. Firm the ground around the plants, and water well.

Growing guidelines: Mulch to retain soil moisture, and hand pull any weeds to avoid damaging the shallow roots of the sprout plants. Foliar feed lightly once or twice a month with compost tea or seaweed extract. See the Compost entry for instructions for making compost tea. Stake in areas with strong winds. The leaves will turn yellow as sprouts mature; remove these leaves as they fade to give sprouts room to develop.

Problems: See the Cabbage entry for insect and disease control information.

Harvesting: Small sprouts (about 1-inch diameter) are the most tender. Harvest them as they mature from the bottom of the stalk upward. Remove sprouts by twisting them from the stem. Pinching off the plant tops forces sprouts to mature faster. Just before a severe freeze, uproot the plants, remove any remaining leaves, and hang the “logs” upside down in a cool place for a few more weeks of harvesting.

BUDDING

All plants have buds, small undeveloped shoots laying in wait for a signal to grow into new stems and leaves. The propagation technique called budding involves cutting a bud off of one plant and inserting it in the stem of another plant, called the rootstock. Budding is a type of grafting, a propagation method in which a piece of plant stem is wedded to another plant.

Many plants can be either grafted or budded. Budding is a common practice for fruit trees and roses. In ideal conditions, a budded plant can grow 2 to 6 feet in its first season.

When you graft a bud onto another plant, the cambium, or inner growing tissue of the plant, produces a special thin wall of cells called callus. These callus cells eventually develop into new cambium cells (cells that transport water and nutrients). These cells form a continuous path from the rootstock to the grafted bud, so that water and nutrients can pass between the plant and the bud. Good contact between the bud and rootstock is essential for this growth and merger of cambium and bud to occur.

Nursery growers and gardeners bud plants in order to change plant characteristics or improve plant performance. For example, a desirable but tall-growing apple cultivar might be budded onto a dwarfing rootstock. Rootstocks can also lend vigor, hardiness, and insect or disease resistance. For successful budding, the bud plant and the rootstock must be compatible; that is, it must be possible to join the two pieces and grow the new plant to maturity.

In general, closely related plants are compatible. Roses, for example, are budded onto other roses, apple cultivars onto other apples. Rootstocks for budding are usually ½ inch or a little larger in diameter. See the Grafting entry for more information on choosing and planting rootstocks.

A thin, sharp knife is essential for budding. For a few bud grafts, a sharp pocketknife or razor blade is sufficient. If you plan to do many bud grafts, consider investing in a good-quality budding knife, which curves upward at the tip. Look for this special type of knife in plant supply catalogs. You’ll also need some type of wrapping material, such as electrical tape, to cover the union.

Season: Budding is usually done in late summer (August or September). For successful budding, the bark must slip, or lift easily; this occurs when the cambium layer is active. When buds are inserted toward the end of the growing season, the union heals in a few weeks. The buds remain dormant until the following spring. If buds do start to grow early, they may be winter-killed.

Getting started: Use only healthy and vigorous plants for budding. In dry weather, water the rootstock plant thoroughly a few days before budding. Collect bud sticks—pieces of stem from which you’ll cut buds—in the morning of the day you plan to graft. Prepare them from the midsections of ¼-inch-diameter branches with buds from the current season’s growth. Avoid immature branch tips and the dormant buds at the branch base. Cut the leaf blades off of the stem, leaving ½ inch of the petiole (the stalk that joins the leaf to the stem). This piece of petiole will serve as a “handle,” making it easier to hold the bud after you cut it out of the stem. Keep the bud sticks moist by putting them in a plastic bag lined with wet paper towel or damp peat moss. Remove the lower leaves from the rootstock.

T-budding. This technique involves cutting a single bud from a plant and inserting it in a T-shaped cut near the stem base of the rootstock plant. Be careful to insert the bud right-side up, or the two parts will not unite.

Method: The illustration above shows the steps of this common budding technique:

1. Make a shallow 1- to 1½-inch vertical cut in the bark low down on the rootstock. At the top of this cut, make a horizontal cut about 1 inch long to form the top of the T.
2. Prepare the bud. Be sure to select a leaf bud, which is usually narrow and pointed, and not a plump, round flower bud. Make a shallow horizontal cut above a suitable bud. Place the knife blade ¾ inch below the bud, and make a shallow upward cut that meets the first cut.
3. Slide the bud piece off the stem. Dip the severed bud in water and keep it moist until you are ready to insert it into the graft.
4. Use the tip of your knife to pry open the two flaps of bark. Gently slide the bud under the bark flaps. Wrap the union with masking tape or electrical tape, but don’t cover the bud itself.

Aftercare: Check the buds 3 to 4 weeks after grafting, and cut the wrapping material. If the buds you inserted look dry and brown instead of green and vigorous, try rebudding on another part of the stem. Keep the soil around the budded rootstock free of weeds, and protect the stem from animals. In spring, remove the top of the rootstock plant by making a clean, sloping cut just above the successful bud. Stake the developing shoot to encourage straight growth. Remove any suckers that grow from the rootstock.

BUDDLEJA

Butterfly bush. Deciduous summer-blooming shrubs.

 

Description: Buddleja alternifolia, fountain buddleja, produces arching branches and grows 12 feet tall. Plants bear alternate, silvery gray leaves and lavender flowers in the leaf axils of last year’s growth. Zones 4–8.

B. davidii, orange-eye butterfly bush, although popular, can be invasive and spread by self-sown seedlings to wild areas. Plants bear white, red, pink, or purple flowers on the current season’s growth. ‘Black Knight’ produces dark purple flowers. ‘Lochinch’ bears 1-foot panicles of lavender-blue flowers with orange centers. Zones 6–8.

How to grow: Butterfly bushes require full sun and fertile, loamy soil. Prune fountain buddleja immediately after flowering; either remove one-third of the plants’ oldest branches or cut it to the ground. If you grow orange-eye butterfly bush, cut plants to the ground in winter.

Landscape uses: Use fountain butterfly bush in mass plantings, in perennial borders, or in butterfly gardens.

BULBS

In spring, most gardeners’ fancies turn to thoughts of bulbs—clusters of crocuses, oceans of daffodils, kaleidoscopes of tulips. But bulbs light up the garden throughout the year. Dahlias, lilies, glads, and many other familiar flowers are classified as bulbs. Bulbs are a diverse group of perennial plants, including true bulbs, corms, rhizomes, and tuberous roots—all structures that store nutrients to support growth and bloom.

Bulbs Through the Year

We tend to think of bulbs as spring flowers, but that’s because few other flowers are competing with spring bulbs for our attention. Actually, bulbs can contribute to the garden’s beauty in every season. Here are some of the best bulbs for each season, with tips on how to use them. You can also find more about these bulbs in many of the individual plant entries throughout this encyclopedia. For a list of individual bulbs covered in the book, consult the Quick Reference Guide on page 676.

Bulbs in Winter

If you live in Zones 7–9, you can enjoy the late-winter bloom from bulbs planted in the garden. For gardeners in Zones 6 and north, plant these lovely small bulbs for early spring bloom. These bulbs are also suitable for planting or naturalizing in lawn grass, as their foliage will mature before the grass needs cutting.

Snowdrops (Galanthus nivalis) have bell-like green and white flowers, and will form colonies in woodland sites. Use them in rock gardens, in pockets of soil between tree roots, or in groups at the front of the border.

For a bright yellow carpet of buttercup-like, quarter-size flowers, plant winter aconites (Eranthis hyemalis). These are sometimes hard to establish, but after several years, they’ll self-sow and spread nicely. Other golden additions for the cold months are very-early-blooming daffodils, such as ‘February Gold’, or miniature irises such as reticulated iris (Iris reticulata) and Danford iris (I. danfordiae).

The Bulbs of Spring

Spring is that magical season when our gardens come alive. Among the first bulbs to bloom is glory-of-the-snow (Chionodoxa luciliae) in lovely soft blue or pink. These often bloom with the last of winter bulbs and the darker blue or white Siberian squill (Scilla sibirica). Of course, crocuses, daffodils, hyacinths, and tulips are mainstays of the spring garden. By choosing carefully among the many daffodil and tulip cultivars available (there are early, midseason, and late bloomers) you can plan for blooms all spring in a variety of shapes and colors.

Use anemones to create a spring carpet under larger bulbs. Grecian windflowers (Anemone blanda) are available in pink, blue, and white. They have large daisy flowers and ferny foliage through May.

Plant grape hyacinths (Muscari spp.) as edgings, in borders, under trees and shrubs, and as accents. Grape hyacinths have a long bloom season and are very easy to grow. Muscari armeniacum, a deep blue, is the most common and least expensive. ‘Blue Spike’ is a showy double cultivar. The early dwarf tulips flower in mid-spring, too, so they’re a natural combination with grape hyacinths.

Trout lilies or dog-tooth violets (Erythronium spp.) are perfect for woodland gardens. They have white, yellow, or purplish-pink lily flowers; some species also have beautifully mottled foliage. Fritillaries (Fritillaria spp.) also like a rich, well-drained woodland location. Try 8- to 10-inch-tall checkered lily (F. meleagris) or the stately crown imperial (F. imperialis), which has yellow or orange-red flowers, as an accent plant.

Clumps of summer snowflakes (Leucojum aestivum) are attractive in perennial gardens. They have glossy daffodil-like foliage and pendulous, white and green, bell-shaped flowers.

Nodding star-of-Bethlehem (Ornithogalum nutans) with its silver-green flower spikes is very attractive. You can naturalize O. umbellatum, star-of-Bethlehem, in lawn grass, but keep it out of the garden and wildflower plantings—it is very invasive. Regular mowing will keep it in check.

Most alliums (also called ornamental onions) make their appearance in early spring and bloom through June. This diverse and decorative genus ranges from the giant onion (Allium giganteum), with 4- to 6-inch globes of pinkish-purple flowers borne on 3- to 4-foot stems, to the lily leek (A. moly), bearing small clusters of bright yellow flowers on 14-inch stems.

Foxtail lily (Eremurus stenophyllus) is one of the tallest bulbs, reaching 2½ to 6 feet. It has bottle-brush-shaped flower spikes in white, pink, or yellow. Like the alliums, bloom continues into early summer. Foxtail lilies need very well-drained soil. They make wonderful specimens and accents.

Summer-Blooming Bulbs

Lilies, which are hardy bulbs, are among the stars of the summer border. Many tender bulbs also shine at this time of year, including tuberous begonias, cannas, caladiums, dahlias, and glads. These bulbs are usually planted as annuals in Zones 3–7, but they may be stored indoors over winter and replanted the following spring. Many will perennialize in Zones 7–9.

Calla lilies (Zantedeschia aethiopica) look best grown in clumps for their decorative foliage and white, pink, yellow, or orange flowers. Callas also can tolerate wet feet; try growing them at the edge of a pond or in a container in the water. Callas are hardy in Zones 7–9, but need winter protection in Zone 7.

Crocosmia (Crocosmia x crocosmiiflora) is an orange- to red-flowered gladiolus-like plant that is hardy in Zones 6–9. Its 2- to 3-foot-tall sprays of fiery flowers are effective in clumps in the border or naturalized in a well-drained wildflower meadow.

Fall-Flowering Bulbs

Dahlias, caladiums, some species of lilies, and other summer bulbs extend their summer show into fall. But other bulbs flower only in fall.

Autumn crocus, also called meadow saffron (Colchicum autumnale), is a crocus look-alike hardy in Zones 5–9. Plants produce large clusters of purple, pink, or white flowers in September and October. Large, glossy leaves appear in spring.

There are also true crocuses that bloom in fall, including Crocus speciosus, showy crocus, with lavender blue flowers, hardy in Zones 5–9, and C. sativus, saffron crocus, with purple flowers and edible stamens, hardy in Zones 6–9. Other fall-flowering species and cultivars are available with lilac blue, white, or purple flowers. Plant these hardy bulbs in August and September for bloom in October and November.

Spider lilies (Lycoris spp.) are a group of hardy bulbs that emerge and bloom in a day or two, earning the name magic lilies. Red spider lily (L. radiata) has clusters of bright red flowers with prominent stamens that give them a spidery look. It usually blooms in September and is hardy in Zones 7–10. Magic lily (L. squamigera) bears showy pink trumpet-shaped flowers on 2-foot stems. It is hardy in Zones 6–10 and blooms in July through August.

Hardy cyclamen (Cyclamen hederifolium) are beautiful small plants for dry shade (the prevailing condition under trees and shrubs). Their heart-shaped, silver-dollar-size, mottled foliage is as lovely as the uniquely shaped pink flowers they bear in September and October. Plants are hardy in Zones 5–9. Make sure your cyclamen are nursery propagated.

Growing Hardy Bulbs

Hardy bulbs like daffodils, tulips, crocuses, and lilies can stay in the ground year after year like perennials. Their care requirements are different from those of tender bulbs like dahlias, which must be dug every winter or treated as annuals north of Zone 9. (For information on growing these bulbs, see “Growing Tender Bulbs” on page 118.)

Planting Hardy Bulbs

Planting hardy bulbs is easy when you do it right. Here are steps to foolproof planting.

Selecting a site: Almost all bulbs are sun-lovers and grow best in full sun. However, this is only true when they’re actively growing. By the time spring-blooming bulbs go dormant, they can tolerate full shade. That’s why spring bulbs like daffodils and crocuses grow well under deciduous trees and shrubs—their active growing season occurs before the trees leaf out. Some bulbs, like pink daffodils, will have better color if they’re grown in partial shade.

KEY WORDS Bulbs

True bulbs. True bulbs, like onions, have layers of food-storing scales surrounding the central leaves and flowering stem. Often, the bulbs are covered with a papery skin, called the tunic. Daffodils, tulips, lilies, and hyacinths are all true bulbs.

Corms. A corm is a rounded, swollen stem covered with a papery tunic. Unlike true bulbs, corms are solid, with a bud on top that produces leaves and flowers. Crocuses and gladioli are corms.

Tubers. Like Irish potatoes, tubers are fleshy underground stems that have eyes or buds from which leaves and flowers grow. Some tubers, such as caladiums and tuberous begonias, are cormlike. But unlike corms, which sprout roots only from the bottom, tubers also sprout roots from the sides and top. Other tubers are woody, like anemones.

Tuberous roots. Tuberous roots are swollen, fleshy roots. They have a pointed bud on top and roots that sprout from the bottom. Dahlias have tuberous roots.

Rhizomes. Rhizomes masquerade as roots, but they are actually thick, horizontal stems. Roots grow from the bottom of the rhizome; leaves and flowers sprout from the top. Callas, cannas, and bearded irises have rhizomes.

Perennialize. To come up year after year.

Naturalize. To spread naturally in the landscape like a wildflower. Daffodils are perhaps the best-known bulbs for naturalizing because they’ll spread as readily as wildflowers. Many of the small bulbs, including winter aconites, snowdrops, crocuses, and miniature irises also naturalize well

Little bulbs. A general term used to refer collectively to the many species of small, hardy bulbs, especially spring-blooming ones. These include crocuses, snowdrops, winter aconites, squills, and grape hyacinths.

Bulbs need loose, humus-rich soil for best performance; they won’t bloom well in poor, compacted soils. Most bulbs also need well-drained soil, and will appreciate the addition of decomposed organic matter like compost or composted pine bark. If you have poorly drained or compacted soil, try growing bulbs in raised beds, which will enhance drainage and make for easier planting. Bulbs prefer a pH of 6.0 to 7.0, but will tolerate slightly more acidic soils.

Determining planting times: Plant spring-flowering and early-summer-flowering bulbs like crocuses, daffodils, and tulips in fall so they can develop a root system and meet their cold requirements. (Hardy bulbs usually need a certain number of hours of cold temperatures to bloom.) It’s best to wait until soil temperatures are below 60°F at 6 inches deep before planting. Follow these rules of thumb: In Zones 2–3, plant bulbs in September; in Zones 4–5, September to early October; in Zones 6–7, October to early November; in Zone 8, November to early December; and in Zone 9, December. In Zone 9, precooling may be necessary; see “Forcing Bulbs” on page 118 for more on this technique.

Soak anemones (Anemone spp.) and winter aconite (Eranthis hyemalis) tubers overnight in warm water before planting, to bring them out of dormancy. Plant anemones in fall for spring bloom in Zones 7–9, or in spring for summer bloom in Zones 4–9. Because it is difficult to tell the top from the bottom of anemone tubers, plant them on edge.

Spacing bulbs: Place bulbs in your flower bed according to flower stalk height. For greater impact, plant in clusters of ten or more rather than singly in rows. Plant large bulbs 5 to 6 inches apart and small bulbs 1 to 3 inches apart. Leave room to interplant with perennials, groundcovers, or annuals.

Planting techniques: The general rule for planting depth is 3 to 4 times the widest diameter of the bulb. This depth will help to protect the bulbs against frost, animals, and physical damage from hoeing. Deeper planting will also help bulbs naturalize and perennialize.

Planting small bulbs. To plant small bulbs quickly and efficiently, just stab a bulb trowel into the soil like a dagger and pull it toward you to make a hole for the bulb. Drop in a bulb and step on the spot to close the hole.

The thought of planting a boxful of bulbs can be daunting, but with the right tools and techniques, bulb planting is easy. A heavy-duty tubular bulb planter large enough for daffodil bulbs is the ideal tool for prepared beds. It’s a cup-shaped steel cylinder with a foot bar and long handle on top. Insert the bulb planter in the soil by stepping on the foot bar. Twist the planter, lift it out, then place a bulb in the bottom of the hole. Fill the hole with dirt from the planter, then repeat with the next bulb.

For planting bulbs in unworked soil, around tree roots, and among groundcovers, you need a stronger tool. Choose a naturalizing tool (a straight steel blade with a forked end, topped by a foot bar and long handle), a crowbar, or a narrow spade with a sharp cutting edge and a foot bar. Push the blade halfway into the soil and pull back, then push down hard so the blade goes completely into the soil. Push forward so the blade lifts up the soil to make a planting slot. Put in a bulb, remove the tool, step down to firm the soil, and repeat with the next bulb.

There’s a special trick to planting small bulbs like crocuses and grape hyacinths. Using a narrow trowel, one person can easily plant several hundred small bulbs in an hour, as shown in the illustration at left. This works both in prepared soil or when planting directly through lawn grass.

Caring for Hardy Bulbs

For the most part, bulbs are undemanding plants. Plantings of daffodils, for example, can thrive and even multiply for years with little, if any, care. But bulbs do benefit from basic routine care, and they’ll reward your efforts with more vigorous growth and spectacular bloom displays.

Mulching: Mulch newly planted bulbs with a light, organic mulch like pine needles or straw to aid moisture retention and offer protection from frost heaving. Mulch will help keep down weeds in established plantings during the growing season. It will also help maintain even moisture levels in the soil. Most bulbs can emerge through 2 to 3 inches of light mulch. Keep a layer of light mulch, such as pine needles, salt hay, weed-free straw, or ground, composted bark on established plantings. Renew as needed.

Feeding: For many years, bonemeal was considered the best food for bulbs. But bonemeal is not a complete bulb food—it is only a good source of phosphorus and calcium. Start your bulbs off right with a top-dressing of a complete organic fertilizer, dried manure, or compost in fall after planting. (Don’t put fertilizer in the holes with the bulbs.) This will provide the bulbs with nutrients from the time root growth begins until the foliage matures.

To give your bulbs the complete nutrition they need for top-notch performance, mix 2 pounds of blood meal (for nitrogen), 2 pounds of bonemeal (for phosphorus and calcium), and 3 pounds of greensand or wood ashes (for potash) per 100 square feet of garden bed. If your soil is acid, wood ashes will raise the pH; if it’s already near neutral, use greensand. Unfortunately, bonemeal tends to attract rodents and dogs, which may dig up your bulbs to get to it. For established plantings, apply your homemade bulb food as topdressing in early spring when the foliage is just beginning to emerge from the ground, followed by 2 more pounds of dried blood meal per 100 square feet in early fall. (If you wait to fertilize until after bloom, it’s too late—the foliage will have dried by the time the nutrients reach the bulb’s roots.)

SMART SHOPPING

Bulbs

Whether you buy bulbs from a garden center, mail-order catalog, or specialist grower, bear these tips in mind:

• Buy the biggest bulbs you can afford—you get what you pay for. Look for categories like “exhibition size,” “jumbo,” “top size,” and “double-(or triple-) nosed” for the best bloom. Smaller bulbs, often called “landscape size,” are less expensive and good for naturalizing.
• Inspect bulbs as soon as you get them in the mail or before you buy them at a garden center. Healthy bulbs are sound, solid, and heavy. Lightweight, pithy, soft bulbs won’t grow well. If you are in doubt, heft the bulbs in your hand. Healthy bulbs are solid and heavy for their size.
• Small nicks and loose skins do not affect the development of the bulb. In fact, loose skins (tunics) make it easier for the bulbs to sprout. However, don’t buy bulbs (especially tulips) that completely lack the protective tunic.
• Bulbs should not have mold or show signs of rot. Powdery mildew, a blue-gray fungus, is a sign that the bulbs have become damp. Basal rot is a fungal disease that shows up as brown streaks near the base of the bulb.
• If you receive damaged or diseased bulbs through the mail, call or write the company immediately. A reputable bulb dealer will replace them or give you a refund.
• Plant bulbs as soon as they arrive. If you can’t plant them at once, store bulbs in a dry place with good ventilation and get them in the ground as soon as you can.
• If you buy species bulbs rather than cultivars, make sure they are nursery-propagated, not collected from the wild, a practice that endangers native populations. See the Wildflowers entry for buying tips.

If you don’t want to mix your own bulb food, a simpler alternative is to top-dress with ¼ inch of dried manure (about 2 bushels) per 100 square feet in spring and fall, or 2 bushels of compost in fall and 2 pounds of blood meal in spring. Whichever source of nutrients you use, don’t scratch the fertilizer into the soil surface—you might damage the bulbs, and rains will wash in the nutrients without further help from you.

Watering: When your bulbs are actively growing, they’ll need to be watered if they don’t receive ½ inch of rain per week. This is especially important in fall to assure good root growth before freezing weather sets in, in spring when active top growth starts, and especially in April and May, when the foliage is out and bulbs are manufacturing food for next year’s bloom.

Handling bulb foliage: Allow bulb foliage to die naturally rather than mowing or cutting it off. Bulbs need at least 8 weeks of leaf growth after bloom in order to produce food for the next season’s blooms. When the foliage begins to turn yellow or fall over, you can cut it. Don’t braid foliage or bind it with rubber bands while waiting for it to ripen. This is not only unsightly, it actually harms the bulbs—it cuts off sunlight and air, hampers flower production, and encourages rot.

Deadheading: After tulip flowers bloom and fade or fall off, remove seed heads to conserve the bulb’s resources. Deadhead other bulbs only if they look unsightly; seed formation won’t weaken them significantly.

Dividing: Hardy bulbs—especially daffodils—can become overcrowded after many years in the same site. Clumps that cease to bloom or produce few or undersized flowers are probably overcrowded. When this happens, dig and divide the bulbs when their foliage is half-yellowed. By then, the bulbs will have ripened but will still be easy to find. Separate the bulbs and replant immediately in well-drained soil, then top-dress with compost. Be sure you set each species at the proper depth and spacing. Transplant bulbs you’d like to move to another site in the same manner.

Propagating hardy bulbs: The easiest way to propagate hardy bulbs—especially the ones that are good for naturalizing, such as daffodils—is to dig them when the foliage yellows, separate the offsets on each bulb, and replant. You can plant them at the same depth and location as the mature bulbs, but they might reach flowering size sooner if you grow them in a nursery bed for 2 to 3 seasons first.

Propagate crocuses and other bulbs that arise from corms in much the same way. Dig them and separate the small new corms, called cormels, that form alongside the parent corm.

There are two ways to propagate lilies: Pick the small bulbils that form along the stem above the leaves or the bulblets that form at the base of the stem. Then plant the bulbils or bulblets in a nursery bed, where they’ll need to grow for several years to attain blooming size. You can also scale lily bulbs to propagate them. Remove the scales one at a time, and place them in a shallow flat or pot filled with moist vermiculite or peat moss. Bury the scales about halfway, and keep them moist. Small bulblets, which can be transplanted to a nursery bed, will form at the base of each scale.

Coping with pests: Hungry rodents are almost certain to be your bulbs’ worst problem. Protect bulbs like crocuses and tulips from voles by adding a handful of fine crushed gravel to each planting hole on top of the bulb. Fine marble chips or crushed road gravel the size of peas (but sharp, rather than round) are best, or you can buy a commercial product specially designed for this purpose.

Some bulbs are naturally rodent proof. Daffodils are poisonous, so rodents leave them alone. The skunklike odor of fritillaria (Fritillaria spp.) bulbs repels hungry voles, mice, and squirrels.

Try interplanting bulbs with a groundcover to deter rodents. If you have a serious rodent problem, protect larger bulbs like tulips and lilies by planting the bulbs in a hardware-cloth cage. When you prepare the planting bed, dig a 12-inch-deep trench around the bed and line it with ½-inch wire mesh.

Growing Tender Bulbs

If hardy bulbs need the same basic care as perennials, tender bulbs need to be treated like annuals. Set them out in late spring when the soil warms, and give them rich soil and lots of food and water. Like annuals, tender bulbs are big feeders. When fall frosts threaten, you can dig your tender bulbs, cure them, and store them until spring, or consign them to the compost heap with your other annuals.

Planting Tender Bulbs

To get your tender bulbs off to a good start, start by selecting a well-drained site in full sun; exceptions are callas (Zantedeschia spp.), caladiums, and tuberous begonias, which prefer partial shade.

Plant tender bulbs like cannas, callas, dahlias, and glads after all danger of frost is past in spring. These bulbs are frost tender and won’t start growth in the ground until the soil warms above 60°F. Set these bulbs out directly in the garden, or start them indoors and transplant them.

Forcing Bulbs

There’s nothing mysterious about forcing hardy bulbs into bloom out of season. It’s all a matter of giving them a compressed life cycle: a cool fall for root growth and a cold winter dormancy, followed by the warmth and water of spring. The trick is in manipulating the seasons to shave off a few weeks and get early bloom. (Some mail-order catalogs offer prechilled bulbs, which have already had their cold treatment and are ready for forcing.) 

Gathering Materials

Start in fall with the biggest, fattest, healthiest bulbs you can find. Check bulb catalogs for cultivars that are recommended for forcing. Tulips, daffodils, hyacinths, crocuses, grape hyacinths, snowdrops, miniature irises (Iris reticulata and I. danfordiae), and glory-of-the-snow all force well.

The best containers for forcing are shallow, wide pots, often called bulb pans, because they won’t tip over when the bulbs grow tall and top-heavy. Drainage holes are a must.

To make a good basic potting medium, mix equal parts of potting soil, peat moss, and perlite, and then add one part of coarse sand or fine gravel to each two parts of soil mix. If you want to save the bulbs for next year, add a balanced organic fertilizer when planting.

Planting the Containers

You’ll be planting to make a show, so crowd the bulbs into the container, leaving only a little space between. Plant the bulbs shallowly with their noses poking out of the ground to encourage fast growth.

Plant tulip bulbs, which usually have one side less well rounded than the other, in a circle with the flat sides toward the outside of the pot. That way, the first leaf of each bulb will grow from the flat side, and the flower stems will be bunched in the middle. To squeeze more daffodils into a container, plant them in two layers. Place the bottom bulbs on a 2-inch layer of potting mix, cover them to their necks, then set more bulbs between them and cover to the top. Try this with Dutch iris and small spring bulbs, too. Press firmly to settle the bulbs in place and keep them from heaving out.

The Cold Treatment

In addition to the cold period they need to bloom, most spring bulbs need several weeks of darkness and cold temperatures (33° to 50°F) to give them time to grow a healthy set of roots before freezing weather sets in. Tulips need a total of 14 to 20 weeks of cold (including the cool fall period). Daffodils need 16 to 22 weeks. Hyacinths will root at warmer temperatures than others and need 10 to 14 weeks. Crocuses, snowdrops, and other small bulbs need about 12 weeks of cold.

Keep the bulbs moist during this period. You can leave pots outside under a blanket of mulch or in a cold frame until it’s time to bring them indoors. Or you can dig a trench, and store the pots buried up to their rims in coarse sand. Protect the pots from bulb-hungry rodents.

Bring bulbs indoors when the tips have grown about 1 inch tall. Put them in a cool but bright place at no more than 50° to 55°F. Higher temperatures will rush new growth, making it pale and spindly. Once the flowers start to bloom, move your containers anywhere you want a touch of early spring color. They’ll last longer in a cool spot.

After flowering, give the bulbs a dose of organic fertilizer, and water regularly to keep the foliage growing. Plant them outside when the ground thaws. With good care, they’ll recover and produce a beautiful show of blooms after 1 to 2 years of growth.

Plant tender bulbs in a well-worked bed enriched with plenty of organic matter. Dahlias, tuberous begonias, cannas, and caladiums all prefer evenly moist soil, so keep them watered and mulch well after planting. Make sure plants are spaced far enough apart to allow good air circulation; tuberous begonias and dahlias may develop powdery mildew if they’re planted too close together or in a spot with still air.

Starting bulbs indoors: Give tuberous begonias and caladiums a head start by potting them up indoors in early spring and transplanting them when the soil warms outside. Start them in flats or pots in a peat-based potting soil. Set the tubers near the top of the pot, barely covering them with soil. Keep the soil mix evenly moist but not wet. Put the flats or pots in a warm, bright place. When the new shoots are several inches tall, pot up the plants or plant them outdoors at the same level as they grew in the pots.

Caring for Tender Bulbs

Tender bulbs need the same basic conditions as other summer flowers: humus-rich soil, ample water, mulch, and periodic top-dressings. (The larger dahlia cultivars are heavy feeders and appreciate supplemental feedings to support their lush growth.) However, tender bulbs need special storage and propagation techniques. For more on general care, see the Annuals entry.

Storing tender bulbs: If you live north of Zone 9, tender bulbs like dahlias, glads, caladiums, and tuberous begonias won’t normally survive winter if left outdoors. However, you can dig these bulbs, keep them indoors over winter, and replant them in spring—a worthwhile technique if you grow special cultivars. Lift tender bulbs that you wish to save in fall as the foliage begins to die. Let the bulbs dry in a cool, dry place with plenty of air movement (best under a fan). Then store them at 50° to 60°F in wood shavings, dry peat moss, or another suitable porous, dry material. Check several times during winter and discard any damaged, soft, or rotten bulbs.

Dahlias are hardy in Zones 9–10; elsewhere, dig and store them for winter. Glads are reliably hardy in Zones 9–10 but can be successfully overwintered in protected locations as far north as Zone 6. (If you want to experiment, leave a few bulbs well mulched in a sheltered site and dig the rest.)

Propagating tender bulbs: You can increase your stock of favorite dahlia cultivars in fall when you’ve dug the tuberous roots and allowed them to dry, or store the clumps whole and divide them in spring. Use a sharp, sterile knife. Make sure that each division has a piece of stem attached; new shoots sprout only from that part of the plant. Discard any thin or immature roots.

Divide tubers like tuberous begonias and caladiums in spring. Cut them into pieces, making sure each piece has an eye or bud. Let the pieces dry for two days and then plant them. Gladiolus corms produce small cormels, which you can grow to flowering size in 2 to 3 years. Dig, cure, and store the cormels the same way you treat the mature corms. In spring, plant the cormels in a nursery bed at the same time you put the mature corms out in the garden.

BUTTERFLY BUSH

See Buddleja

BUTTERFLY GARDENING

It’s easy to fill your garden with a fluttering rainbow. Nearly every locale across the country offers some butterflies that you can attract into your garden by meeting just a few of the beautiful insects’ basic needs.

Every butterfly passes through four distinct life stages: egg, caterpillar, chrysalis, and adult. Of course, you can’t attract a chrysalis or egg, but you can entice the adults who start the cycle. Adding flowers like zinnias, cosmos, coneflowers, daisies, and other butterfly favorites to your garden is an easy way to attract these nectar seekers.

But in some species, the adult butterfly doesn’t eat anything at all. Its only function is to reproduce, mating and laying eggs for the next generation. You can still attract these butterflies—as well as those that drink nectar—by supplying suitable food plants for their caterpillars to munch. In most species, when the female is ready to lay her eggs, she seeks out the host plant species that her caterpillars will need for food.

A caterpillar is an eating machine, but many species will eat only a few types of plants. The caterpillar of the monarch butterfly, for example, eats only milkweeds (Asclepias spp.); black swallowtail caterpillars may favor your parsley. And as any gardener who’s fought off cabbage-worms can tell you, the common white cabbage butterflies prefer brassicas (cabbage-family crops) for their host plants.

Butterfly life stages. Adult butterflies such as this monarch are attracted to the flowers of many wildflowers and garden plants for nectar. Its larvae eat only milkweed leaves. Each species of butterfly has a different host plant, and that’s where to look to find their eggs, larvae, and pupae.

Supplying food for nectar-seeking adults and host plants for egg laying are the best ways to attract butterflies into your garden. Use low-growing groundcovers such as clovers and grasses to provide sunning spots for adults to warm themselves. Walls, hedgerows, and similar windbreaks create protected spots that butterflies will appreciate.

Adding a source of water is as essential for attracting butterflies as it is for birds. Creating a “mudhole”—a shallow, permanent puddle—offers butterflies both water and minerals from the mud. Or make a butterfly “bath” from the basin of a birdbath (without the stand) or a plate or shallow bowl placed directly on the ground. Fill it with pebbles to give the butterflies good perching spots, then add water. Butterflies will come flocking!

Planning Your Garden

If you want to add the living color of butterflies to your garden, start by using some of the recommended plants in the lists on page 122. Milkweeds (Asclepias spp.) make an unusual addition to the wild garden or middle border, though it’s a good idea to contain their vigorous roots in a buried bottomless bucket. The oddly shaped, sweet-smelling flowers will attract a variety of feeding butterflies, and from summer through early fall, monarchs ready to lay eggs will seek out your planting. If you’re extra lucky, you may find a delicate monarch chrysalis hanging below a milkweed leaf like a jade pendant, decorated with shining gold dots. Milkweed’s well-behaved relative, butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa), bears glowing orange, red, or yellow flower clusters, and looks equally at home in a sunny wildflower meadow or perennial border. But while the aptly named butterfly bushes (Buddleja alternifolia and B. davidii) attract a wealth of butterflies, they have proven invasive in several states and many gardeners are avoiding them because they can escape the bounds of the garden by self-sowing.

Plants for Butterflies

Plants may serve as nectar sources for butterflies, as host plants for caterpillars, or as food for both adults and larvae. To increase the number of butterflies flitting about your garden, plant as many host plants and nectar sources in your yard and gardens as you can.

Blend butterfly-attracting weeds such as alfalfa, clovers, Queen-Anne’s lace, milkweed, and cabbage-family members like field mustard (Brassica rapa) into a wildflower patch. And plant some extra parsley just for the larvae of the beautiful swallowtail butterflies. Some plants that butterflies appreciate are garden pests. These include dandelions, nettles, teasel, and thistles. Use common sense when creating your butterfly garden.

The list below includes butterfly favorites suitable for all parts of the country.

Perennials and Annuals

Ageratum houstonianum (ageratum)

Alcea rosea (hollyhock)

Asclepias spp. (milkweeds, butterfly weed)

Aster spp. (asters)

Coreopsis spp. (coreopsis)

Echinacea purpurea (purple coneflower)

Erigeron spp. (fleabanes)

Eupatorium spp. (bonesets, Joe-Pye weeds)

Grindelia spp. (gumweeds)

Helenium autumnale (sneezeweed)

Helianthus spp. (sunflowers)

Heliotropium arborescens (common heliotrope)

Hemerocallis spp. (daylilies)

Lavandula spp. (lavenders)

Leucanthemum maximum (Shasta daisy)

Leucanthemum vulgare (oxeye daisy)

Lobularia maritima (sweet alyssum)

Mentha spp. (mints)

Monarda spp. (bee balms)

Phlox spp. (phlox)

Rudbeckia spp. (coneflowers)

Salvia spp. (sages)

Sedum spectabile (showy stonecrop)

Solidago spp. (goldenrods)

Tagetes patula (French marigold)

Thymus spp. (thymes)

Verbena spp. (verbenas)

Vernonia spp. (ironweeds)

Zinnia spp. (zinnias)

Trees and Shrubs

Lonicera spp. (honeysuckles)

Rhus spp. (sumacs)

Salix spp. (willows)

Syringa vulgaris (common lilac)

Tilia americana (basswood)

Vaccinium spp. (blueberries)

If your aim is to attract a particular species, you’ll need to do a bit of homework to find out its favorite nectar plants or caterpillar host plant(s). A field guide to butterflies is helpful in planning the butterfly garden. Look for a book with information about the plants that caterpillars eat, the plants from which the adults take nectar, and the drinking, sunning, or other unique habits of the adults. Detailed, full-color illustrations of both the caterpillar and adult stages, and information about the geographical area in which the insects are found, are also valuable. Books specifically on butterfly gardening are another excellent reference. Look online or at nature-oriented bookstores for titles to choose. You’ll also find extensive online information on butterflies and butterfly gardening. See Resources on page 672.

If your goal is to attract as many butterflies as possible, check a field guide or search online to find out which species are found in your area, then create a checklist. Use your list to develop a custom-tailored butterfly garden of food and host plants. A local natural history museum, college entomology department, or butterfly club can give you more pointers. Entomology departments and agricultural extension services frequently publish articles and brochures on butterfly gardening in their state; you can also find many of these online.

BUXUS

Boxwood. Evergreen shrubs or trees.

 

Description: Buxus microphylla, littleleaf boxwood, is a compact, dense, rounded shrub about 3 feet tall at maturity. Glossy green leaves are arranged in pairs on the angled twigs. Early spring flowers are inconspicuous. Hardiness varies; select cultivars adapted to your location. Most cultivars grow in Zones 6–8.

B. sempervirens, common boxwood, is a shrub or small tree of 6 to 15 feet at maturity. The leaves are dark green above and light green below, turning brown or bronze in winter, and are borne in pairs. Common boxwood grows best in warm, moist situations. Zones 6–8.

How to grow: Boxwoods are healthiest when protected from direct sun and wind; the drying effects of these elements cause discolored foliage and dieback of late-season growth. Avoid exposed sites and fertilize in spring or very late fall after plants are dormant. Plant in evenly moist, humus-rich soil and mulch well to keep roots cool. Plan to give winter protection to boxwoods in open areas or at the northern extremes of their hardiness.

Landscape uses: A staple of formal gardens, boxwood’s dense compact shape, fine foliage, and slow growth make it useful in landscape situations ranging from small borders to large hedges. Boxwood is a favored plant for topiary, where its slow growth and tolerance of severe pruning allow gardeners to trim it into fantastic shapes. Dwarf boxwoods make excellent edgings for herb gardens. Some people find the odor of boxwood foliage offensive; smell before you plant.