HERE COMES THE SUN...

Juel Duke

As someone who has been a “serious hobbyist gardener” for decades I get frustrated by how many new gardeners (and there are many joining the hobby right now) make posts that show they don’t understand the “right plant in the right place” concept, especially the role that the sun plays in the health and vigor of a plant. Then I remember “sun exposure” was one of the hardest concepts for me to grasp, as well.  Despite classes and copious reading, it was a couple decades before I really understood that I needed to know how the sun moved over the potential planting spot and how that translated to the basic terms used to describe what spot meant “right place” as far as sun exposure.

Knowing how the sun passes over your property and observing the shadows of trees and other structures along that path is an excellent start.  Note the difference in the size of the shrubs from the far left to the far right in the picture above.  I pass this spot frequently so I know they are all the same type of plant, Vitex, planted at the same time when they were all basically the same size.  The vitex on the far right is half the height and much less vigorous than the one on the far left.  The two in the middle are like stair steps down to the smallest one.You can also see that there are trees to the right.  There are no trees nearby to the left.  I now understand that sun exposure is the likely cause for the differences.  No amount of fertilizer can make up for the lack of sun, especially to a plant that thrives in full sun.

The following link will take you to an article from Penn State Extension that provides a guidance on measuring sun exposure in your landscape: https://extension.psu.edu/planting-in-sun-or-shade. 

Why is it important to know your sun exposure?  You’ve seen those phrases on plant tags at the nursery.  Phrases like “Full sun”, “Partial shade/full shade” and others. Even if you have to look up the growing information about a plant, because there’s nothing but a name tag, it’s important to know the plant’s preference. There are standardized meanings for those terms that experienced gardeners know and rely on when choosing plants.   Combine the understanding of those terms with the info about the plant and you’re one step closer to “Right Plant, Right Place”.

Here’s a handy reference that I’ve excerpted from the Chatham County NC Extension Service.  The full presentation, which is excellent, is available at https://chatham.ces.ncsu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/FallPlantingOnlinept2.pdf. 

Exposure: Sun versus Shade Full sun: at least 8 hours direct sunlight each day Part sun: at least 4 hours direct sunlight each day Morning sun: gentler, shade plants are usually okay with morning sun Afternoon sun: hotter, harsher – choose sun tolerant plants for sites that get direct afternoon sun Light Shade: a bright shade such as that cast by pine trees – as opposed to a dark shade cast by buildings or hardwood trees

Of course, some plants are a little more forgiving than others about exposure but this gives you a place to start when trying to determine if a plant is likely to thrive where you want to plant it. 

For a bit more in-depth explanation, I give you this excerpt from the North Carolina Extension Gardener Handbook (ISBN-13: 978-1469641256). 

Sunlight  “Examine the type of light available, from full sun to partial sun, and heavy shade. How many hours a day is the site in full sun? When evaluating light exposure, note the duration and intensity of sunlight the site receives. Four hours of full sun during the morning is very different from 4 hours of stronger, more intense afternoon sun. There are also many types of shade, and the amount of light in a shaded location varies with the type, number, and size of trees in the area. If the site receives more than 3 hours of unfiltered midday sun, treat it as a "full sun" site. "Partial shade" is defined as receiving unfiltered morning sun but shade during the afternoon hours, or moderate shading throughout the entire day. A "heavily shaded" site would receive very little direct midday light and less than 60% of the sun's intensity during the remainder of the day. Few flowering plants do well in deep shade. Introducing more light to a shaded location can greatly increase flower production. Removing some tree limbs can allow more light to reach the ground below. Plants preferring partial shade may tolerate more sunlight if temperatures are moderate and adequate water is provided.”

North Carolina Extension Gardener Handbook on page 19-16.

This excellent book  is available to reference online at https://content.ces.ncsu.edu/extension-gardener-handbook. It can also be purchased through numerous retailers.

If you are interested in adding a vegetable garden, this article will be helpful.

https://www.buncombemastergardener.org/sunlight-vegetable-garden/

Please, take the time to learn about the various sun exposures in your space.  It’s a great way to save money by not killing as many plants as I did before I learned the basics.

FALL GARDENING CHECKLIST

Checklist of Things To Do in the Garden in the Autumn

By Mary Jane Bosworth

September

Many flowers have now set seeds and they may be collected and saved for the following year. Annuals and biennials are among the easiest to grow from seeds. Some you might want to consider for this project would be: marigolds, zinnias, spider flowers, strawflowers, larkspur, and sunflower.  Store seeds in a cool, dry place in a paper envelope or bag.

If you will be considering planting spring bulbs for the following year, now is the time to order them, so get out your catalogs or go on-line now.

Plant pansies for splashes of winter color.

Apply a pre-emergent herbicide to shrub beds to control winter annual weeds.

Divide and replant overgrown perennials such as hostas, coneflowers, daylilies. 

This is a good time to get your soil tested for next year’s plantings.

Remove spent annuals from your garden and cut the tops of perennials.

Bring houseplants indoors when temperatures dip below 50. Give them a good bath with soapy water or spray with insecticidal soap. Move plants to shade for a week to condition them to the lower light levels they will receive when they are returned to the house.

October

Now is the time to look for bargains at nurseries.

Keep watering so that plants don't get stressed.

Finish cleaning up garden beds by pulling out annuals and vegetables. Cut off tops of perennials.

Just before frost, dig up sweet potatoes and pick all the green tomatoes which can be wrapped in newspaper and will continue to ripen.

Most flowering shrubs can be propagated by hardwood cuttings. Make cuttings 6-8” long and dip in rooting hormone before setting in growing media.

Store the bulbs of Dahlia, Canna, Caladium, Gladiolus and Tuberous Begonia as they may not overwinter. Lift the roots, tubers or corms about the time of the first killing frost and store in a garage until the soil dries and then shake it off. Cutoff the dried stem and place in sawdust or peat moss and store in a basement or other cool, dry place. These plants cannot withstand freezing.

November

Plan now for spring color and plant spring flowering bulbs.

Prepare your vegetable beds by tilling or double digging the beds and adding organic matter.

Test your soil.

Keep up your garden care and harvest your cool season vegetables.

Plant asparagus this month. If you already have some, now is the time to cut back the ferny tops as they turn yellow and brown.

Mulch well around figs, pomegranates and other warmth loving fruits.

Pick, divide and share perennials.

ALL THE BUZZ! 

Belinda Leach

Summer is winding down at the Memorial Garden at the Vance County Regional Farmers Market. The plants and flowers have been doing what they do for our pollinator friends.  But there are more warm temperatures ahead and our pollinators still have much work to do.  Enter the amazing plant, Eutrochium dubium, a.k.a. Joe-Pye Weed.  Joe has been hanging out in the garden all spring and summer with his handsome large, dark green leaves patiently awaiting his time on stage. In late summer, Joe starts producing his large, airy clusters of inflorescences that range from light pink to dark purple and provide important late season nectar to the bees and butterflies.    

Joe-Pye Weed is a plant that is almost always happy where you plant him.  He likes a variety of soils, enjoys wet feet, but can endure some drought conditions, and will take full sun or part sun. Deer do not bother him, nor do other insects or diseases.  

Because Joe-Pye gets tall, six to eight feet in height, he is most suited for the back of a garden bed and needs plenty of room to spread out.  He can be made less leggy and become stockier by cutting back the plant by half in early summer.  Joe spreads through self-seeding and can be divided in the spring. As interesting as the plant, so too is the way it got its name.  The legend is that a New England medicine man, Joe Pye, used the plant to cure typhus.

The Memorial Garden is home to three cultivars of Joe-Pye; Eutrochium dubium “Baby Joe” and “Little Joe” and Eutrochium maculatum “Phantom”.  These plants will have another life this winter as the dried flower head will be left for the birds.  

Another spectacular display in the late summer garden is Solidago rugosa 'Fireworks', Fireworks Goldenrod.   This beauty looks like a huge display of bursting skyrockets with small, narrow, dark green leaves and tiny yellow or gold florets on long rigid stems.  

Goldenrod is just now becoming used frequently in gardens.   It has often been mistaken for ragweed which is hated by allergy sufferers.  Unlike ragweed, its pollen is not windblown, but the pollen has to be moved from plant to plant by our wonderful pollinator friends who are looking for late season nectar.  Goldenrod is easy to grow as it is a sun to part shade loving plant that will tolerate drought and poor soil, has few disease and insect problems and is deer resistant.

Salidago is wonderful as an accent in the back of a garden or border as it will get three to four feet tall.  Since it blooms in late summer, it provides a beautiful backdrop for late summer bloomers such as purple and blue asters and fall blooming flowers like chrysanthemums.  Goldenrod will stay blooming until frost and its droopy stems will provide interest to the garden in winter.

Adding Joe-Pye and Goldenrod will add a dazzling season finale to any garden.  

Editor’s note: If you are familiar with Joe Pye Weed being in the genus Eupatorium your memory is correct. Taxonomists have reclassified it as Eutrochium as correctly used in Ms. Leach’s article.

NOW THAT’S A MOSQUITO!
Juel Duke

The idea for this insect article literally landed on my hand.  I’ve lived near water most of my life but I was not prepared for the enormous mosquito that landed and stayed long enough for me to study it a bit.  Not a mosquito hawk or crane fly, but a mosquito I was sure.  His big fuzzy antennae told me it was a male so I was relieved that I didn’t need to worry about him using his enormous proboscis. The internet provided many images of “giant mosquito” but the descriptions weren’t right.  One hit that I happened to read in a bit more detail mentioned the Elephant Mosquito and it fit the bill right down to being very metallic and colorful.  In fact, the rainbow sparkle was the second most memorable feature, after the size.  The body of my visitor was easily a half inch long.

Turns out that the elephant mosquito, Toxorhynchites rutilus,  is one of the good guys and we should be excited to have it in our yards. The larval stage feeds on the larvae of other pest mosquitoes, a very good thing. 

Adults, both males and females are active only during the day and they use that proboscis to reach nectar in the blooms of plants.  I couldn’t find any information on numbers of these mosquitos but they appear to be wide spread though infrequently found over much of the southern United States.  Therefore, it’s unlikely that they are important pollinators but they are welcome to a share of the nectar from my plants.