Blooming Night & Day

            Welcome back to another episode of Lost In The Farmer’s Market, where we take a look into varied topics regarding sustainability, horticulture and organic practices. In this episode we will be covering a few interesting topics including wild flowers and their role in attracting pollinators and a rare fungal disease that few agriculture text books or gardening books cover. It is an inevitable fact that you will encounter things in the field that you cannot readily find a reference for in your books and one of those things is the normal concept that flowers don’t always bloom during daylight hours. In the test gardens this year is an evening primrose (Oenothera biennis) that volunteered. The specimen pictured below is the size it is because it has benefited from fertilizer runoff from a nearby potted perennial. Despite this fact, the common evening primrose is a biennial as the second part of its botanical Latin name suggests.

This photo was taken at 11:00pm and back lit with a 500 lumen LED flashlight.

This photo was taken at about 8:00 am, note that the evening primrose's flowers are closing.

Since it is night-blooming but doesn’t have much of a scent, you have to wonder just what kind of pollinators it could possibly attract, despite this it has a nectar guide path which allows it to be pollenated by moths, some species of butterfly and some species of bees. Additionally, ants seem to play a role in pollination as they are attracted to its nectar and may actively protect the plant from pests. The down side of the plant is waiting for a bloom every other year and in it’s first year it does resemble a number of common weeds so accidentally pulling it up is a constant possibility. Despite this the bright yellow flowers are completely worth it and this can be part of an old-time cottage style garden bed much like Silverdollar plant (Lunaria biennis) Which is also a biennial. Before we go on to the next topic, I do have to mention the scientific meaning for the term biennial for any readers who are unfamiliar. A biennial is any plant with a life cycle that is such that it germinates and produces vegetative growth the first year and then in the second year produces flowers and seeds thus completing its life cycle. The two most famous biennials we see every day at the grocery store are Carrots and Parsley, but some forms of Radish are as well. 

Few allow a carrot to bloom, but this is what a carrot left to do so looks like.

The fortunate thing about biennials is often their flowers are quite impressive to behold and if that isn’t enough the foliage on the flowering stalks often looks entirely different then that on the rest of the plant. But this moves on to another encounter with an oddity that you will only see on rare occasions in the south when cold and wet weather combine to allow a certain species of fungus called exobasidum to attack the growing tips of several species of Sasanqua-type camellias. This fungus does rarely also attack Japonica and hybrid camellias as well.

The symptoms are pretty consistent as the effected growth is extra-fleshy and may be at times warped or gnarled and the waxy cuticle or protective outer layer of the leaf on the underside may come loose and fall off. Controlling this fungal infection is as simple as pruning the effected parts away and disposing of the clippings in the trash. Left to its own means, the effected parts will dry out and fall off on their own but this does run the risk of the fungus going deeper into the plant so control by pruning is recommended as the best alternative. It should be noted that in common context this ailment is called ‘Exobasidum Leaf Gall’, despite the fact no actual galls in the conventional sense are formed and this disease is not a product of an insect living in the camellia causing a gall-structure. Either way, what the references won’t tell you is the effected parts of the plant are edible, and they are in some parts of North Carolina deemed a rare delicacy. In case you are wondering yes, I’ve tried it, it does need salad dressing but in texture it’s roughly like mushrooms or several spinach leaves or Swiss chard leaves stacked. Since tea comes from Camellia sinensis it shouldn’t be a surprise that camellia leaves aren’t exactly bad for you, especially after a fungus has made them fleshy and soft.

They call it leaf gall, but it doesn't even look like galls.

Before we get into the advertisement part of this post here are some pictures from the field that you might enjoy.

 

'Fuyu' Japanese Persimmon with early fruit.

 My persimmon has failed to produce fruit for years, and here it is in another spring with the beginnings of fruit and perhaps I might get something. Honestly I'd like to try my hand at persimmon wine but  I loathe the idea of buying persimmons at the store so lets see what happens. For note it can take 3-5 years before a persimmon produces buds let alone fruit after it is planted so patience is critical.

This is how varieties are naturally made.

 This plant is a member of the mulberry family and all the differing leaves are coming from one plant. For some reason it has a chance mutation that is producing three different leaf forms on a single plant. This is how we get those cultivated varieties, we would take a cutting of the odd leaf form and grow it to see if it is stable, if it is then we would take even more cuttings to produce a production lot. That production lot would be cloned numerous times to create the first saleable plants.

It's summer, and it isn't only the bugs that are out.

 I encountered this critter while doing a bit of freelance landscape work for a client. As you can see that is a type of snake, and it is not engaging in a threat posture. I disturbed it and it did not get hostile. Now a lot of people I know kill snakes on sight regardless and that is a practice I do not agree with, in this example, the above snake is either a juvenile black racer or a form of rat snake both of which are non-venomous and pose no threat to pets or people. In both cases they eat varied forms of rodent and serve as population control. This snake upon me disturbing it hung out long enough for me to snap a few photos and then slithered back into the bushes.

For note this is where the advertising starts because it keeps the Test Garden’s supplied and running tests so you don’t have to. If you want to get some GMO-free, Organic vegetables, herbs and fruiting shrubs 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. Barring bad weather, I’ll be there selling the following spring offerings while supplies last.

Late Spring Plant Sale: - All 3” Peat pot plants $2.00!

Plants Available Now:

Peppers, Sweet Banana - $2.00

Peppers, Giant Marconi - $2.00

Peppers, Red Peter - $2.00

Peppers, Furious Sunset - $2.00

Peppers, Tobasco - $2.00

Tomato, White Wonder - $2.00 <Low Acid Type>

Tomato, Carolina Golden - $2.00 <Low Acid Type>

Tomato, Radiator Charlie - $2.00

Tomato, Brandywine - $2.00

Tomato, Black Krim - $2.00

Tomato, Golden Jubilee - $2.00 <Low Acid Type>

Tomato, Glacier - $2.00

Tomato, Mountain Spring - $2.00

Tomato, Sungold - $2.00 <Low Acid Type>

Tomato, Sweet 100 - $2.00

Burnet, Salad - $3.00

Chives - $3.00

Lavender, English -(out of stock)

Oregano, Italian - $3.00

Rue -(out of stock)

Tansy -(out of stock)

Thyme, English -(out of stock)

Aloe Vera, Medicinal Aloe - $4.00 (Small)

Aloe Vera, Medicinal Aloe - $6.00 (Large)

Coneflower, Pow Wow Mix – $4.00

Milkweed, - $ 4.00

Agastache, Anise-Hyssop - $4.00

Cherimoya, Custard Apple - $4.00

Coming Soon:

Santolina (aka Lavender-Cotton)

If the market isn’t your thing or your schedule does not allow you to go there my premium exotic house plants can be purchased in attractive clay pots with unique embellishments at LeClair’s General Store. LeClair’s General Store is located on 1212 Fort Bragg Road in Fayetteville North Carolina.

This is their Facebook Page:

https://www.facebook.com/leclairsgeneralstore/

The Visit NC page’s Listing:

https://www.visitnc.com/listing/leclair-s-general-store

Most recent deliveries to Leclairs:

2x 7” rimless pot – Eve’s Needle Cactus, Opuntia subulata

1x 5” rimless pot – Jade Plant, Crassula ovata

2x 4” standard pot – Radiator Plant, Peperomia caperata ‘Ripple’

2x 4” standard pot – Aristocrat Aloe, Aloe aristata

2x 4” standard pot – Jade Frost Plant, Echeveria sp. ‘Jade Frost’

2x 4” standard pot – White Bunny Ear Cactus, Opuntia microdaisys

4x 3” standard pot – Miniature Jade Plant, Crassula ovata

4x 3” standard pot – Minature Variegated Jade plant, Crassula ovata ‘Carnival’

3x 3” standard pot – Green Carpet Sedum, Sedum sp. ‘Green Carpet’

These days I am generally at the store once a week, maintaining stock and/or delivering new materials (roughly every other week) so if you go to visit the store there is a fair chance I’ll be present to answer your questions. If not, you can always send me questions through this blog or visit the farmer’s market or pay attention to what Sustainable Neighbors is doing at the link below.

https://www.meetup.com/SustainableNeighbors/

            This brings to a close the tenth LITFM post of the new year, stay tuned the next episode which should be posted roughly around the 6th of June.