Invasive Plant: Garlic Mustard - Identification & Control

Garlic Mustard should have been on my list of the dirty dozen plants that I try to keep out of my garden.  Here's a quick take on Garlic Mustard, how to identify, and importantly control it. 

Garlic Mustard Background:

Garlic Mustard Invasive - thriving in rock border

Garlic Mustard  (Alliaria petiolata) is an invasive biennial herb with a distinctive garlic/onion smell. First found in New York state in 1868, it was probably brought by Europeans as a medicinal herb. These days it grows in over 31 states and is labeled an invasive plant. It has no natural enemies of note in North America.  Garlic mustard grows in open woodlands, dense shade, driveway cracks, and your vegetable garden.  It's a biennial so in the first year it produces only leaves, the following spring the plant sends out white flowers on ugly stalks up to 3 1/2 feet tall. Each plant can produce 350-7000 seeds which are dispersed in late summer.  

Alternative Deer Repellents - DIY

I'd previously blogged about the challenges I had been having keeping the Damn Deer out of my garden.  I keep a fence that works very well. However, as I started the woodland restoration that now hugs their trail, my love-hate relationship with this plant predator has continued.

Bad smells keep Deer Away. 

Recently folks have suggested some alternatives to the chemical sprays I have been using. This spring as tulips, hostas, iris, and chokeberry are starting to come out. I'm trying these out - the more potential deterrents the better!  If I can make my precious bits of green plants taste and smell terrible - unless they are starving, the deer should just move on (to my neighbors yard!)  One downside of a treatment that relies on taste (like the pepper spray below) is that the deer must taste the plant to discover they don't really want to eat more.  So there will be some nibbling with this method along. Another reason I like using combos.

Just keep in mind that everything needs reapplication. Make sure to treat the plant completely! Rain and time take away the smell and taste. I do not put these treatments onto food crops by the way. My vegetable garden is safe inside a fence (mostly) - although the bunnies do make a mess. That's another blog. 

A Dirty Dozen - Plants to keep out of your garden!

Keeping invasives out - to make room for these beauties!

I'm making my spring garden to-do list and I notice that many of the tasks involve getting rid of plants rather than planting them! These are my "dirty dozen" of plants I wish had never rooted on my land. Managing these highly aggressive / invasive species is a major chore.  These plants expand via fast-growing roots or rhizomes or expel dozens of seeds annually. So over time you may get much more than you planned!  Many of these are plants I purchased at garden centers or picked up free online through Craigslist or similar sources. Getting plants free should have been my clue that these plants go CRAZY!  Others I inherited with the garden when I first moved in- nearly 12 years ago, this challenge started with Bishops Weed and honey suckle. I pulled them out, cut them down and still they return year after year. I spray them and abuse them. They can be very B-A-D. I'm still at it - and there is not much left. Man some of those roots are tenacious! Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Clearly the former owner of my house LOVED her buckthorn and honeysuckle greatly. Fellow gardeners in my neighborhood love some of these and readily take up the debate as to why I'm pulling them out. My response is always that they are taking space, resources and time from the plants that I really want to flourish in my garden.

So, here's my "Dirty Dozen" of plants I would like to bite the dust and never return. Your experience may vary - but I encourage you to think twice about putting any of these in your garden.

Gardening with Vinegar and other household staples

Keeping an eye out for DIY in the garden (love this pic!)

I cam across a fellow bloggers post this morning where she lists out various things to use vinegar for in the garden. (it's down below)This took me right back to working along side my grandmother in her household garden. She had a few staples - Vinegar, Urine, Baking Soda, alcohol, and coffee grounds. Yes - kitchen staples also carry over into the garden. (I know urine isn't a kitchen staple but you know what I mean!)

With these items - used alone, mixed with water, or other household products, she raised so many wonderful plants. As she put it, she didn't have time or money to go "all the way to the Piggly Wiggly" and buy fancy products for the garden. All that way was about 5 miles - a lady of the great depression knew her home remedies.

Uses of these staples include:
- altering the pH of your soil
- Adding nutrients (like fertilizer does)
- Killing weeds
- Killing pests (coffee grounds and ants don't mix; alcohol on aphids is ugly)

Check out this fellow blogger's site for tips with vinegar.

If you are wondering - when we would visit as kids she would have us pee into a watering can and then take us into the garden to "water" her plants. Very fun and funny at the same time.

Keep singing.

Teresa Marie

Wilting Sansevierius - Causes and Cures

My Wilting Mother-in-Law Tongue Plant

Help I’m Wilting and I can’t get up….…this was the cry from my snake plant ( good luck plant, mother-in-law's-tongue,  devil's tongue, Sansevieria).   I have had this plant for several years. I had just pulled it inside from a glorious summer al fresco, and split it into two large pots.  It seemed fine for a few months. Then it started wilting, and a wilting houseplant is a cry for help. 

Sansevieria is a strong plant, it’s in office spaces and given to people who can kill just about anything else. So I was perplexed as to what was going on and consulted every source I could find on-line and a solution.  Here is what I learned:

1) Know what “healthy” looks like for your plant
2) Know what about your situation is unique. Take into consideration the environment that your plant is in (Potting soil, container size, lighting, heat, drafts.
3) Understand the causes of wilting for the plant in question
4) Experiment and learn to listen to what your plant is telling you – what other people tell you to do may not work for you.

A Healthy Sansevieria

There are many different varieties of Sansevieria. In a walk through the garden center and Garfield Park Conservatory I snapped several shots which are included here.  Almost all the plants display the characteristic tall and erect form. Snake plant leaves may be striped or marbled pattern, vibrant to dull green, or yellow and white.  I think I even saw a chartreuse one once.  The color of the plant may impact the amount of light it needs. I have some placed against interior north walls with very little indirect light. I have others in east facing windows with plenty of sun.  I've had snake plants thrive in areas which offer full sun to dense shade; most grow best in persistent indirect light.   I plant most in cactus mix but occasionally will use regular potting soil. Once I even planted in a container in regular garden soil (not advised.)  The latter was a demonstration of what not to do – but that darn Sansevieria survived for over two years in rock hard soil.  In the conservatory we had one Sansevieria that was placed under a hole in the roof, and it was constantly water logged for several months. It was just fine.  Thus it’s safe to say snake plants will survive poor soil conditions, at least for a period of time. However if optimum soil and light and water conditions do not exist, in time, you may experience pests, root rot, or the dreaded wilt.

In the photographs below are several different types of Sansevieria. The photos were taken at Chicago's Garfield Park Conservatory Desert Room. 

Mother-In Law, Baseball, Moonshine, Variegated, and Longhorn Sansevieria (Snake Plants)

My Unique Situation

Here is where I admit all the things that I had done with these sansevieria that were not up to par.  First off I had them outside in all kinds of rain – that seemed fine, and at the end of the summer I decided to divide them when I brought them back inside.   This was the first problem – I replanted them to shallow and without  sufficient support considering the mature height of these plants.  There was an immediate hit to their health – which I chalked up to being re-potted   I later tried to add some support and tied them up, but a large number of leaves were already wilting and folded off to the side.

During transplantation I was able to see that the roots were in solid condition and there were wet areas of neither dying plant tissue nor fungal growths.  There were also not any insects or infestations. I had good soil mix and balance of fertilizer – so these were on the plus side.

Secondly,  I did not use the right container. The pot for the Sansevieria is way too large for the number of plants it holds. It is also much too deep. However, for the room it is in, I like the larger base pot – which also helps to keep it from tipping over from the dog. Plus I just loved the blue. This was an aesthetic decision, not one for the plants health.  With an over-sized container the plant might get too much water and have root rot – or not enough if the roots are shallow (as with some succulents.)

Lastly with respect to light – they are placed in a west facing window with a few good hours of direct sunlight each (non-gray) day. Good filtered light.  There was no discoloration of the leaves, e.g. yellowing, which would indicate excessive sunlight. So I felt comfortable with the lighting situation on this pair of containers.  Note that the containers are in the bay window, directly above the heat vent.

The causes of Sansevieria Wilting

My research says thee possible reasons for wilting leaves on a Sansevieria plant are:

1) Over or under watering

2) Improper lighting (too little makes them flip over)

3) Infestation (such as thrips)

My Experimentation

I quickly rules out lighting and thrips- and moved onto experimenting with watering.  I found it very interesting that both over-watering and under-watering could make the leaves droop, bend, wilt or begin to look wrinkly. 

OVER-WATERING: Over-watering is the most common problem for houseplants, so why not develop root rot easily, especially in containers. If you  suspected root rot you can check to see if the soil is moist or wet on the surface and down a few inches. Also pull gently on one of the outer leaves and it comes off easily at the soil level, and the root stinks and is mushy; then sorry, it's got root rot. Best solution here is to throw the rotten parts away – and repot what remains in the new soil.

Up until this point I had been watering the plants every other day when they were outside, and when they came inside I was watering them every third or fourth day. To which my friends cried “What? That’s too much!” I did not have root rot, but I cut it back to the once a week or less per recommendations from garden centers and websites. This went on for several months – and I did not see any improvement in the plants. Upon checking the soil with my hands, I knew that it was dry for several inches into the pot. This convinced me that less water was not the issue.

UNDER-WATERING - Then I realized that several factors were dictating that my Sansevieria needed more water than usual.  First off the pots are too big, and the soil mix promotes drainage – so the water quickly hits the bottom and doesn't stick around much for the plants. Secondly, the containers are right by the heat vent which will accelerate the need for water. Lastly they are in a good light area, which could also mean more water.

So, I went the other way and started watering every four days, and then every two days. Watering means 3-4 cups of water each time, not a complete soaking.

While there are still some bent leaves, there is not solid new growth and vibrant color back in the plants. I’m so happy that they lasted through all these trials and told me when they were happy. I regularly check the soil to a depth of 2-4” to make sure I’m not watering too much, and I apply cactus fertilizer every other week. (If the tips of the leaves turn brown – that’s too much fertilizer) I also rotate the plants and make sure to prop up some of the leaves against the glass – they top 3 ft tall, so I think they have earned a little support ;)

Like many succulents, Sansevieria grow very slowly – it may take time to know if something is wrong or if you fixed it. You may need to play with light exposure and watering to get your plant healthy.

So my parting shot for today is of the Zulu Sansevieria. I love how wide and tall the leaves are. There is just a hint of red along the edges of the leaves. In the pot on the right, I can just hear it asking me to repot it and take part home :)

Zulu Sansevieria

All the best;

Teresa Marie

Easy Fruit Fly Trap

I'm starting to harvest from my vegetable garden and that always means fruit flies in the house.  A few years ago we stumbled across this simple trap.

All you need is:
- A glass or vase
- A piece of paper (8x11 or larger)
- Tape (any kind)
- A piece of fruit or vegetable peels

Simple Paper cone with hole at the bottom

Here are the instructions:
1) Put the fruit or vegetable into the bottom of the glass
2) Roll the paper into a cone shape so that it fits easily into the glass, flush with all sides, while still keeping a hole at the smallest end of the cone (see picture below)
3) Tape the side of the paper cone so it holds it's shape
4) Place the cone in the glass.
5) Sit back and relax while the trap catches the flies
6) Empty the trap and change the fruit out periodically.




The flies go into the glass to get at the fruit and cannot get out!!! For the most success you must minimize other distractions for the fruit flies - clean kitchen, no fruit or vegetable waste available.

Every day, and sometimes a few times a day, I release the fruit flies outside.  I also periodically replace the fruit at the bottom. The older the fruit gets, the more aroma it puts out that attracts the fruit flies.  But I also worry that as the flies might be laying eggs in the fruit - I could be generating them as well. So I like to change it out!



Completed Fruit Fly Catcher

Success - lot of trapped flies :)

I have a bumper crop of cucumbers - anyone have recipes?

Happy Day!

Teresa Marie

Hosta Pests - Fungus?

I am having three problems with hosta this year. I think it is fungus and / or viral.  Let me share pictures and what I have attempted to date for pest management. Any advice welcome, as you can see from prior post, since I have tons of hosta and would like to get ahead of these problems.  BTW I love this guide to hosta pests from IA extension.

PROBLEM 1: Brown Leaf spot, early spring issue



Brown spots on Hosta -Spring 2011

Poison Ivy - my garden's hardiest perennial

I am very sensitive to and have severe reaction when exposed to poison ivy.  So avoiding them is critical to me - but I somehow get into it every year without fail.  I guess I could be 100% certain to avoid poison ivy if I never went into the garden, but that isn't going to happen.  Each year I'm spraying it and pulling it out (well someone else does that.) Then next year - there it is again! I guess that's all part of living next to the forest preserve.  But the seeds can get transported through birds - so it can end up everywhere.

So here's what I know - how to identify it in all seasons, where to look for it, how to prepare for avoidance, what to do when I get into it.

How do you know it's Poison Ivy?   It has three leaflets (groups of leaves on the same small stem coming off the larger main stem), but variations occur.  The leaves are bright green in spring, green in the summer, and red in the fall.  There are white berries. It can appear as a small plant, vine, shrub.  In my yard it also loves to dress up and put on costumes just to surprise me (LOL well it seems that way!)




Poison Ivy hiding in a bed of Vinca

Here you can see the bright light green color of new plants (and the spots from where I sprayed this with aggressive herbicide)

Clear leaves of three - let it be warning sign, plus note that the stem is red.


Where can you find it growing?  I find it frequently in shady moist places. It somehow grows under other plants in the garden. It hides places so that you get into when weeding!

How do you get the rash?  I seem to get the rash by just looking at Poisen Ivy or passing within 10 feet of it, but then I'm just blessed that way. I can also start with one little spot and it blooms into the craziest mess.  Case in point, look at this picture of my latest brush with Poisen Ivy... yuck!   A neighbor inadvertantly burned Poisen Ivy with some brush, wow what a mess and a trip to the ER. So don't do that.  The oil can get aeresoled and then get you inside and out. Also - any tool, towel, clothing that comes into contact with Poisen Ivy can be a source of contamination. Bad news - those tools can come back to bite you, even after several months!

Rash and blisters thanks to Mr. Poisen Ivy. :(

Damn Urishiol!  That's the name of the oil in Poison Ivy that causes the rash.
(also called Toxicodendron dermatitis and Rhus dermatitis).  This oil is contained in various plants, including the shell of the cashew nut).  That's why you cannot get a raw cashew - they have all been processed (heated) to change the nature of the urisiol.  All parts of Poison ivy contain this oil - some parts more than others. That's why they say that you have to break the leaf to get the rash - because there is more oil on the inside. But hey, that ain't a fact for some people like me. :(

So what do I do to avoid or treat? I always always wear gloves, long pants and long sleeve when working in the garden.  No surprise that this latest rash was from contact at that space between my glove and my sleeves.  I didn't even know it happened.  Immediately upon contact, that is when I know I've gotten into it, I wash my skin with a dilute solvent solution (generally alcohol and or acetone) and then follow with solution of soap and water (COLD water - warm water opens the pores and spreads the oil further!) This is because the oil is not water soluble, so the solvents help to remove the oil.  I have a bottle of solvent in the garage and ready to go - because I've read that the bonding of the oil to one's skin can occur in less than 10 minutes, so I don't want to waste time getting into the bathroom or medicine cabinet!  I also use this solution to periodically wash my garden tools.  I friend also just suggested a poison ivy preventative lotion.  There are over-the-counter creams that contain Bentoquatam, this chemical bonds to the Urisiol rather than your skin! So I'm excited to see if this works!

So I'll leave you with two jokes my boys used to think were so funny.
- What do you get when you cross Poison Ivy with a 4 leaf clover? A Rash of good luck!
- "I'm not afraid to walk through Poison Ivy!" said the fool rashly.

The song of the day is the Blues.
Keep singing

Teresa Marie

Oh Dear - Damn Deer!

While I live in Chicago in the broadest sense of the word, technically I'm in the suburbs. I'm lucky to be situated near the forest preserve - so wildflowers naturally creep over into my yard.

However, so do the damn deer!

There is a path right through my yard. They sleep curled up by the driveway. The family walk around with the little babies. It's really very nice to see. On the other hand, they eat plants in my garden. DAMN DEER.

They munch on my: oaks, maples, pines, roses, Switchgrass, viburnums, ferns, hostas, iris, tulips, and lots of my perennials. They seem to especially favor the new shoots early in the spring and summer. They graze on the flower buds just before they bloom and new leaves when they soft and sweet.  Then during the summer they ignore my garden. They let it recoup for a few months. Then they start at it again in the fall and early winter. DAMN White-tailed Deer!.