A rather late update

June has been so rough even the roses joined a biker gang.

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. Before I get into he substance of this episode, I urge that all you regular readers out there put down the pitchforks and torches, the delay in this month’s posts is for a very good reason. I started a new day job at the beginning of June and have been in that normal three-week trial period where most jobs work you like a dog to see if you’ll survive. This meant I had no time for the blog or other things and as such this post is late so the other June post will be up here very soon, literally this weekend if I can manage so sit tight, there will be updates in dolby surround sound!

I don't have a name for this variety yet, but I'm working on it.

First off for this post we have the picture above, those two suggestive fruits are the first two ripe hybrid super-hot peppers off any of the three hybrid peppers that volunteered last year. Based on shape I would say they are a mix of Ghost pepper and Trinidad scorpion, but taste testing will reveal how much burn and what flavors are present. Hopefully the local barbecue restaurant Fowlers will like these and want more for making hot sauce with. I’ve worked pretty hard to get these plants to this status and I am hoping that they produce face-meltingly hot but tasty peppers that pepper-heads of all levels can enjoy.

The main topic of today’s article is a house plant that you may not have heard of even if you are familiar with it’s relatives. The family this house plant is from is called Malvaceae, which means the Mallow family which contains two super-well known members, Cotton ( Gossypium sp. ) and Okra ( Abelmoschus esculentus ), but also contains a common southern garden perennial by the name of Cotton-Rose ( Hibisucus mutabilis ) and an even more common garden shrub called Rose of Sharon ( Hibiscus syriacus ). Another common relative seen on every spring seed rack is the Hollyhock ( Alcea sp. ) and if you’re from the Caribbean you might have heard of False Roselle ( Hibisucus acetosella ) the true roselle ( Hibiscus sabdariffa) is still in the mallow family though. In short, the mallows are a large and diverse family with a common trait in that their leaves are almost always palmate shaped and that their seed pods are sub divided into wedges and the flowers are often disproportionately large.

Meet the member of the Mallows that impersonates a tree.

However, the cousin of this family that I will be offering for sale as a house plant later this year is different, it’s leaves are somewhat palmate and its flowers are not terribly large. In fact, this hibiscus relative’s scientific name isn’t ‘hibiscus’ or ‘mallow’ or similar to any of the listed names above. This mallow’s common name is Flowering Maple and its scientific name is Abutilon species. The Flowering Maple in the southern parts of North Carolina is a semi-perennial though if in doubt I would not plant it in the ground. Like a lot of it’s cousins it responds to fertilizer quickly and requires water in heavy amounts at regular intervals. A Flowering Maple in a twelve-inch diameter pot will easily need a bare minimum of four cups (32 ounces) of water a day and will dramatically wilt when dry. I recommend repotting once per year if not every other year to maintain growth and vigor, though eventually for the obvious reasons this will become impossible to maintain and taking cuttings via air layering or typical methods involving rooting hormone.

 

The image above although not the most symmetrical bloom highlights why you would want a Flowering Maple. The foliage is nice and all but Flowering Maples have flowers in a staggering variety of colors but the bicolor varieties like this one are the most staggering. This variety is called ‘Fireball’ for it’s deep red veins and variable orange petals. Some varieties of Flowering Maple have flowers that dangle, and others have flowers that have more rigid stems similar in form to other members of the family. What makes this plant really nice is that it is really easy to care for and is an excellent starter plant for Bonsai. If you wanted your own Japanese Maple but lacked the space or the climate is all wrong, Flowering Maples can fill that niche, they look like the real thing, they come with awesome blooms and they don’t demand much in return except regular water. With careful pruning Flowering Maples can be used in topiaries and given that they grow fast they can be used as seasonal green screens to hide eyesores. The two down sides to Flowering Maples is that they don’t tolerate long droughts and they are occasionally bothered by scale insects, mealy bugs and aphids. The latter two pests are easy to handle, scale insects require systemic treatment which barring a rare specimen plant may not be cost-effective to apply. Fortunately, as I noted before almost any method of taking cuttings works for flowering maple so it’s not hard to replace a plant that’s being invaded.

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

Peppers, Ghost – $3.00

Peppers, Aji Limon - $3.00

Peppers, Peporncini - $3.00

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

Basil, Holy - $ 2.00

Basil, Sweet – $2.00

Basil, Thai - $2.00

Burnet, Salad - $2.00

Oregano, Italian - $2.00

Aloe Vera, Small - $5.00

Aloe Vera, Large - $7.00

Dancing Bones Cactus - $3.00

Coming Soon: (New Items Available July 14^th at the latest)

Herbs - Santolina (aka Lavender-Cotton)

Lavender, English

Thyme, English

Rosemary

Ornamental - Milkweed

Ornamental – Coneflower, Pow Wow Berry Mix

Ornamental – Coneflower, Cheyenne Spirit

Houseplants - Flowering Maple

Houseplants - Eve’s Needle Opuntia

Houseplants - Benjamin Fig

Houseplants – Mini Variegated Jade Plant

Houseplants – Shark Tooth Plant

Houseplants – Live Saver Plant

Houseplants – Philodendrons, assorted

Houseplants – Gold Dust Plant

More to be announced as we near the launch date, stay tuned folks!

As another update, after much debate and research into the feasibility of the operation, I have made the decision not to renew the agreement with Leclair’s General store. Simply put, from an economic perspective, it was an agreement that was costing Bordeaux Regional Nurseries a fair amount of income. Given the difficult nature of the weather this year, the rough winter and other factors I decided to end the agreement so that BRN operations could shift to other markets that have greater potential. While working with them for a little over a year has brought great exposure for BRN, I could not allow my operation to continue to absorb a loss.

For those of you who bought a plant at Leclair’s General store I will continue to stand by my exchange policies for the replacement of plants that have died and were sold in Leclair’s General store through the end of 2018 after which the warranties of the plants will be on a case by case basis. These days I am generally at Leclair’s General Store once a week, for the weekly Sustainable Neighbors meeting at 5:30pm through 7:00 pm. If you have questions then I will be there to answer your questions. Since our meetings have an open-door policy you don’t need to sign up for anything or join anything, you can come on in ask for us and join the meetings. 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 eleventh LITFM post of the new year, stay tuned the next episode which should be posted within a few days.

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.