Pontic Rhododendrons

 Note from the Author: Eventually we had to talk about the other half of the family.

 

 

Emerging shoots for new leaves are pretty strange looking.

The flower of a Pontic Rhododendron is very nice.

These small clustered buds will be leaves and branches sometime soon.

The flower bud is very distinct on a Pontic Rhododendron.

 

Common Name: Pontic Rhododendron

 

Other Common Names: Common Rhododendron

 

Botanical Family: Ericaceae (The Heath Family)

 

Botanical Latin Name: Rhododendron ponticum baeticum

 

Description & Habitat: 

          In our landscape we see a lot of Azaleas but their evergreen bigger leafed relative is often absent because of our climate. Needless to say all from a scientific perspective all azaleas are Rhododendrons but not all rhododendrons are azaleas. With that said Rhododendrons of this type are woody broadleaf evergreens, but can be deciduous in some colder climates. These plants are native to places such as Bulgaria, Lebanon and the Caucasus but are well adapted to our respective climate in zone 8. The genus name comes from the Greek word ‘rhodo’ and ‘dendron’ which mean rose and tree respectively. Physically this shrub is best recognized by its leaves which have a simple margin, are elliptical in shape and its alternate branching. As with a lot of rhododendrons this plant’s buds are also a good identification feature as flower buds are often born singly and are larger than leaf buds. On rhododendrons the flower buds bear several individual flowers whereas leaf buds may appear singly, or in clusters indicating potential branching. On average this type of Rhododendron can get up to 4 feet tall with a 5 foot spread, though if planted in too much shade it can get a bit tall while stretching for light.

 

In some older publications this plant may be listed as Rhododendron x obtusum.

 

Special Toxicity Note:  

Nothing on this plant is edible because it contains Grayanotoxins.

 

When & What to Harvest:

This plant is not edible.

 

Related Plants:

There are numerous species of Azaleas and Rhododendrons available on the market.

 

Recipe:

          Rhododendrons are inedible

 

 

Additional Information: (If applicable)

https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/rhododendron-ponticum/

 

Where to get Seed or Bare Root Plants:

Generally this plant is not grown from seed and Rhododendrons are available in most garden centers or nurseries.

 

With all that garden goodness covered this is the part of the blog where I have to advertise for the Fayetteville City Market. Now I know you readers probably don’t much like advertisements, but my booth at the City Market helps to cover the costs of running the test garden and literally maintains the Research & Development budget that is used to bring you the information that has made up the backbone of this blog.  In addition to being able to process card payments we now take CashApp payments so your payment options for my product have tripled. With that said; if you want to get some GMO-free, Organic fruit, herbs, flowers and perennials, come on down to the Fayetteville City Market on 325 Maxwell Street in downtown Fayetteville between the hours of 9:00 am and 1:00 pm on Saturdays. Even in bad weather the market goes on though you might have to look for me under the ‘arches’ of the Transportation Museum’s front entryway.

 

Fresh Foods

Fig Leaf Tea, 8oz

Soupkit, Parsnip

Soupkit, Turnip

Carrots

Onions

Turnips

Celery

Red Potatoes

Parsnips

[Coming soon: Apothecary grade Powdered Fig Leaf]

 

Fall Plants

Brussels Sprouts

Collards

Corn Salad / Mache

Kale, Dinosaur

Kale, Ragged Jack

Kale, Rubybor

Kale, Scotch Blue

Lettuce, Buttercrunch

Sorrel, Raspberry Dressing

 

Garden Supply

Live Mushroom Compost, 1 Gallon

Live Mushroom Compost, 3 Gallon

 

 

How to stay in Contact with Us!

All you need to keep up with all our activities is to have a Nextdoor account and to look for the ‘Sustainable Neighbors of Fayetteville’ group and ask to join! You don’t have to live in Fayetteville to join us! Feel free to ask all your garden questions of our knowledgeable membership and post your cool garden pictures.

 

Sustainable Neighbors of Fayetteville

 

Also please take a gander at the YouTube version of this blog:

The Videos: Look Here

>Newest videos (1): Celriac

 

With all of the updates, blog posts, community announcements and the main topic handled remember that Sustainable Neighbors of Fayetteville’s meetings are still going on! Our next (unofficial) meeting is October 3^rd at the Fayetteville City Market at 325 Franklin Street between 9:00 am and 1:00 pm, or at North South Brewing on the same day between 1:00 and 5:00pm.

Marvel of Peru

 

Note from the Author: Forgot to get this posted last week.

 

 

The most commonly available variety of Marvel of Peru that you will find in plant or seed form is the pink one, but it comes in other colors.

Note that this specimen has heart shaped leaves that are a bit elongated.

In the evening the flowers are very aromatic making this plant a fine evening scented addition to your garden.

Common Name: Marvel of Peru

 

Other Common Names: Four o’Clocks

 

Botanical Family: Nyctaginaceae (The Four o’Clock Family)

 

Botanical Latin Name: Mirabilis jalapa

 

Description & Habitat: 

          Marvel of Peru has a very distinct look to it; the plant’s stems have large joints that can be pretty pronounced towards the base of the plant. The leaves of Marvel of Peru are best described as having a simple margin, with an opposite arrangement and can range in shape from elliptical to heart-shaped in some specimens. The flowers of this plant are a simple tube shape with five petals and are typically pink, white or yellow. The Broken Colors variety of Marvel of Peru thanks to a virus can be all three of the aforementioned colors in a given flower at once. Marvel-of Peru seeds are fairly large, easy to handle and turn black when ripe making it easy to avoid harvesting unripe seed. The seed are found in a cup-like structure formed from the calyx of the flowers. In Zone 8 and 9, this plant is an herbaceous perennial that comes back from a tuber.  No part of this plant is noted to be edible by credible sources however; some unverified ones suggest it has medicinal qualities.

 

Special Toxicity Note:  

Marvel of Peru is noted in numerous credible references to be completely toxic, some blogs suggest you can eat the flowers but I do not recommend this.

 

When & What to Harvest:

This plant is not edible.

 

Related Plants:

While there are other plants in the family, and certainly others you can grow I have to note there are a number of seeds sold online as Four o’Clocks with odd colored flowers such as blue shades that are scams.

 

Recipe:

          Given that this plant contains toxic compounds I do not recommend using it as a medicine or in culinary preparations.

 

 

Additional Information: (If applicable)

https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/mirabilis-jalapa/

 

 

Where to get Seed or Bare Root Plants:

https://www.southernexposure.com/products/four-o-clocks-marvel-of-peru/

 

With all that garden goodness covered this is the part of the blog where I have to advertise for the Fayetteville City Market. Now I know you readers probably don’t much like advertisements, but my booth at the City Market helps to cover the costs of running the test garden and literally maintains the Research & Development budget that is used to bring you the information that has made up the backbone of this blog.  In addition to being able to process card payments we now take CashApp payments so your payment options for my product have tripled. With that said; if you want to get some GMO-free, Organic fruit, herbs, flowers and perennials, come on down to the Fayetteville City Market on 325 Maxwell Street in downtown Fayetteville between the hours of 9:00 am and 1:00 pm on Saturdays. Even in bad weather the market goes on though you might have to look for me under the ‘arches’ of the Transportation Museum’s front entryway.

 

Fresh Foods

Fig Leaf Tea, 8oz

[Soup Kits and Vegetables coming soon]

 

Fall Plants

Brussels Sprouts

Collards

Corn Salad / Mache

Kale, Dinosaur

Kale, Ragged Jack

Kale, Rubybor

Kale, Scotch Blue

Lettuce, Buttercrunch (100% Cyclosporia free!)

Sorrel, Raspberry Dressing

 

Garden Supply

Live Mushroom Compost, 1 Gallon

Live Mushroom Compost, 3 Gallon

 

 

How to stay in Contact with Us!

All you need to keep up with all our activities is to have a Nextdoor account and to look for the ‘Sustainable Neighbors of Fayetteville’ group and ask to join! You don’t have to live in Fayetteville to join us! Feel free to ask all your garden questions of our knowledgeable membership and post your cool garden pictures.

 

Sustainable Neighbors of Fayetteville

 

Also please take a gander at the YouTube version of this blog:

The Videos: Look Here

>Newest videos (1): Culantro

 

With all of the updates, blog posts, community announcements and the main topic handled remember that Sustainable Neighbors of Fayetteville’s meetings are still going on! Our next (unofficial) meeting is September 26^th at the Fayetteville City Market at 325 Franklin Street between 9:00 am and 1:00 pm, or at North South Brewing on the same day between 1:00 and 5:00pm.

Malabar Spinach

 

Note from the Author: This was overdue, I think.

 

 

The flowers are ok-ish and not all that special.

The semi-succulent leaves can get pretty big, I would advise using a pair of snippers to harvest only the leaves.

Many online sites say the berries taste good, I'm guessing they're ok with them being bland.

Red Malabar spinach has pronounced red stems.

Common Name: Malabar Spinach

 

Other Common Names: Ceylon Spinach, Alugbati, Indian Spinach, Vine Spinach.

 

Botanical Family: Basellaeae (The Malabar Spinach Family)

 

Botanical Latin Name: Basella alba ‘rubra’

 

Description & Habitat: 

Malabar Spinach is a non-native annual vine that readily resows itself in warmer parts of North America and can become a nuisance. Malabar Spinach is native to the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia and New Guinea. Generally speaking Malabar Spinach is a fast-growing warm season vine that can produce vines as long as thirty-three feet long in a growing season under optimal conditions. Its leaves are heart shaped, semi-succulent and are borne in an alternate arrangement.  The stems and leaf petioles have a red coloration that makes them stand out more. The plant’s flowers are small pink and white colored and are spheroid shaped and lack petals. The berries produced from the flowers are a dark purple color and are edible but do not taste like much of anything. In zone 8B, this plant will return from seeds yearly and its seedlings emerge in late spring or early summer. The Malabar Spinach vines are vigorous and the plants are fairly tolerant of average to low quality soil. In cultivation his plant is fairly drought resistant and reacts to nitrogen application rapidly.

 

Special Toxicity Note:  Malabar spinach is not known to be toxic to pets but it does have a small amount of oxalate crystals which are destroyed by cooking.

 

When & What to Harvest: The leaves are what you are after.

 

Related Plants: Green Malabar Spinach (Basella alba), this is the pure green version of the plant, it can be use in the exact same way.

 

Recipe:

          The Forager Chef has an excellent recipe for Malabar Spinach, check it out at the link below.

 

https://foragerchef.com/malabar-spinach-recipe/

 

 

Additional Information: (If applicable)

https://hort.extension.wisc.edu/articles/malabar-spinach-basella-alba/

 

 

Where to get Seed or Bare Root Plants:

https://www.rareseeds.com/spinach-red-malabar

 

With all that garden goodness covered this is the part of the blog where I have to advertise for the Fayetteville City Market. Now I know you readers probably don’t much like advertisements, but my booth at the City Market helps to cover the costs of running the test garden and literally maintains the Research & Development budget that is used to bring you the information that has made up the backbone of this blog.  In addition to being able to process card payments we now take CashApp payments so your payment options for my product have tripled. With that said; if you want to get some GMO-free, Organic fruit, herbs, flowers and perennials, come on down to the Fayetteville City Market on 325 Maxwell Street in downtown Fayetteville between the hours of 9:00 am and 1:00 pm on Saturdays. Even in bad weather the market goes on though you might have to look for me under the ‘arches’ of the Transportation Museum’s front entryway.

 

Fresh Foods

Fig Leaf Tea, 8oz

 

Herbs

Oregano

Sage, Common

 

 

Fall Plants

Collards

Kale, Scotch Blue

Kale, Ragged Jack

Broccoli

Brussels Sprouts,

 

Garden Supply

Live Mushroom Compost, 1 Gallon

Live Mushroom Compost, 3 Gallon

 

Plants Coming Soon:

-Fall Food Plants-

 

 

 

How to stay in Contact with Us!

All you need to keep up with all our activities is to have a Nextdoor account and to look for the ‘Sustainable Neighbors of Fayetteville’ group and ask to join! You don’t have to live in Fayetteville to join us! Feel free to ask all your garden questions of our knowledgeable membership and post your cool garden pictures.

 

Sustainable Neighbors of Fayetteville

 

Also please take a gander at the YouTube version of this blog:

The Videos: Look Here

>Newest videos (1): Culantro

 

With all of the updates, blog posts, community announcements and the main topic handled remember that Sustainable Neighbors of Fayetteville’s meetings are still going on! Our next (unofficial) meeting is September 19^th at the Fayetteville City Market at 325 Franklin Street between 9:00 am and 1:00 pm, or at North South Brewing on the same day between 1:00 and 5:00pm.