Many of the retailers, once located on Main St., have now moved to busier and larger locations on Route 1 that are easier accessed and have much more exposure. Destination type businesses that don’t rely as much on traffic flow, such as professional practices, are scattered amongst a few specialty eateries, like Espresso and Gelato places, a couple of high-end restaurants, and some of the nice old homes are now the image residents attempt to maintain for the “Village Affect.” One of the larger businesses that is still on Main St. is Hancock Lumber, a major lumber and building supplier. Although the Hancock site was once owned by another company, I assume it was built at this location because of railroad access in the center of town back in the day. Two or three banks still have offices as well.

So let’s create a “quaint little village with tree lined streets,” people said while talking about the needed renovation of Main St. All kinds of people came up with wonderful ideas to preserve the beautiful old architecture and tie in an updated and improved pedestrian friendly foot traffic plan to meet updated handicapped specs. The committee that was formed included an engineering firm, two landscape architects (LA’s), the Town Manager, a representative from the Town Planning Board, the person in charge of roads and open space, the Tree Warden (who resigned part way through the project), and probably a couple of other people. Four churches as well as a 200-year-old private day school all line the main drag. People wanted to not just have motor traffic on Main street, but also more foot traffic. In my opinion, retail would be needed to draw the people to the village, but the reality for merchants was very limited. Things change and I just hope these new boutiquey, artsy, and vegan pizza joints have enough draw from the “NEWBIES” to make a go of it. When my family moved here in the mid ’70s my guess is the population was about 6,000, today there are about 8,500 residents. The per capita income has also grown dramatically.

Although there was a pretty hefty budget for this Main Street Project, which basically boiled down to new sidewalks, the State happened to be doing some paving work, and funds unfortunately didn’t allow for brick walkways. New granite curbing was replacing the existing 40-year-old curbs. Curbing now not only marks the edges of streets, but is also used to create raised planters around the few trees that were attempted to be saved and new trees being planted. Apparently people didn’t like the idea of planting trees at sidewalk grade and surrounding them with iron grates, as they had been before and is a very common practice in many municipalities.

When I first saw the raised planters around the two existing trees that were able to be saved, I was concerned about how they were going to be mulched without having bark too high on the trunks. So now we have two funny looking raised planters with trees planted at street grade, about 18-24″ below the top of these fancy new raised circular granite planters. If mulch fills these planters, two feet of excess mulch will eventually kill the trees; fortunately that has not yet happened!

As the project progressed more trees were planted in similar new raised granite planters. The LA had specified a special type of amended loam type mix to be used in these planters containing plenty of organic matter and was recommended for street tree use. On the day of the planting, the concrete contractor was just dumping loam in the holes around the trees. No soil amendments, and certainly none of this “special” street tree planting mix suggested by Cornell University. Some of trees had been delivered about a week before planting and sat at grade ready to be planted. Just out of curiosity, I watched to see how often they would be watered. As days passed, no water, temps were well into the ’80s, finally after about five days the Town Highway Dept. came by and watered them. Not the concrete company that was planting them! Needless to say, my feathers were a bit ruffled! Finally the trees were planted and mulched and sure enough, after planting the new trees were very nicely mulched……. with mulch that was about 4 inches too deep!

During this entire project, the only Town official I’d seen doing any kind of overseeing of the work was the Town Engineer and his primary concern was if the granite curbs and concrete walkways were being installed at proper grade. A nursery/landscape company had only delivered the trees, but the concrete company that had poured the walks and installed the nice granite planters was doing the tree installation. Water bags were installed on all trees to hopefully get the trees through the record hot summer. I suppose the Highway Dept. had gotten stuck with the job of watering the trees since they have a tank truck, although they didn’t plant them.

Moving on a couple of months, I was curious to check on the status of the trees. In late August I saw one of the elms was totally brown and a stressed hawthorn had a piece of flagging meaning it needed to be replacement. Sure enough, as I write this in early September the trees have been replaced and some of the deep mulch has been pulled away from a few trees, but not all. Time will tell how these trees look next spring or a couple years down the road. My fingers are crossed!

— by Phil Caldwell
Phil Caldwell is a past president of NHLA (1989) who now lives and works in Maine.   

The post The Wonderful New Street Trees appeared first on New Hampshire Landscape Association (NHLA).

Now there’s more research, a different baseline of understanding, and even more opinions about this to be found on the internet. One end of the spectrum on this topic is represented by organizations such as the Xerces Society with their campaign “Leave the Leaves.” In this marketing blitz, we are learning the importance of leaving the leaf litter for the butterflies, for instance, overwintering here, as caterpillars huddled and bundled in rolled up leaves for warmth and protection from predators. The Luna Moths we’re so fascinated with, with their dramatic wingspans and short, interesting life cycles in June, disguise their cocoons and chrysalis as dried up leaves.

When we rake up, mow, and mulch, or worst of all by some standards, use a leaf blower to corral fallen leaves, we are destroying the next generation of many, many pollinators that would have emerged in the spring and started their beneficial work for another life cycle. When you see some of the fritillary butterflies, for instance, in the spring, it’s because they were able to survive all winter, in some of the leaves left undisturbed whether in a forest, thicket, or some gardeners’ lawns who are aware of the “Leave the Leaves” knowledge and movement.

Leaving leaf litter provides habitat for many types of bees and wasps along with all the beneficial insects overwintering. More and more research is indicating that these populations are dwindling, but are essential for our food supply. If your customers are adverse to leaving the leaves and how their yards and gardens will look quite different from crisp and clean (or barren and bewildering, in some viewpoints), then the next best thing would be to gather the leaves and spent perennial material and make a corner area on the property to house that material, giving the eggs and larvae in there the opportunity to overwinter and emerge in the spring.

Another benefit to leaving the leaves, whole, and not shredded, can be to use as mulch. We see a lot of research about the whole leaves actually doing a better job of mulching than the same material shredded. The whole leaves serve to retain moisture and, as whole leaves, provide a stronger weed mat by helping suppress sunlight which helps germinate those pesky weed seeds. The Xerces Society blog, written by Justin Wheeler, points out what I found to be one of the most compelling aspects of leaving whole leaves that I have read from any source. He reminds us that when we are appreciating the spring ephemerals, we often see their “delicate” stems poking up through a leaf, or their stems weaseling through a pile of leaves. The spring ephemerals are strong, forceful, and dynamic and not dissuaded by a few leaves piled smoothly on top of their growth flight plan.

Other professional sources with interest in lawn care expertise, see many other aspects of this situation. Leaf litter for landscapers can also present other problems to weigh against the environmental focus.

One consideration of landcare professionals is the way a mat of leaves can prevent rain water from reaching to the grass roots or plant roots. Young grass may not grow in evenly, depending on the layer of leaf cover they are working against. This prevents a lush, verdant lawn many of your customers want to maintain. By removing the leaves, there will be even distribution of sunlight, water, and various fertilizers you may be using by your own preference or by your customers’ requests. A full, traditional fall clean up will result in that “look” they may be striving for.

Leaf clean up should mean there is as little disturbance as possible for the insects already mentioned overwintering in what you may have cleaned up and, in previous years, thrown into a landfill. An autumn clean up will definitely remove the places deleterious pests and mold will thrive. Check with your Cooperative Extension service or where you have a working relationship with lawn care products, to learn about the ways snow mold hatches and spreads. Learning about the molds and diseases of turf grasses, such as brown patch, will help you determine risk management about autumn clean ups in your area.

Leaving some leaves while thoroughly clearing out others seems to be a reasonable compromise as we learn more and educate clients more, about the “Leave the Leaves” and similar movements. Perhaps leaving leaves in areas where you are going to design in a pleasing garden pathway is a meaningful, beneficial and economical way to begin that process.

It’s all about education, and about learning how we fit in to the natural world. Considering helping your clients diminish the area of expansive, monoculture lawn area by removing some grass and planting some native shrubbery or perennials will be a great way to start the conversation and conversion to healthy lawns living side-by-side with habitats conducive to wildlife, including our much-needed pollinators.

—by Cris Blackstone, NHCLP

The post Two (or More) Sides to Every Story: What to Do with Leaf Litter appeared first on New Hampshire Landscape Association (NHLA).

During Durham Farm Day, August 21, the UNH Agriculture Research group at Woodman and Kingman Farms led several tours showcasing their current research projects. Here, Kyle Quigley, Assistant Farm Manager, points out the projects focusing on growing figs in NH. Besides this outdoor “forest” there’s a high tunnel overflowing with healthy, productive fig plants. You have to see it to fully grasp the scope and size of the plants, which are pruned to ground level stubs, after a frost.

The projects we learned about included several on table grapes, tomatoes, broccoli, strawberries, and even figs. Projects at the site also include investigating integrated pest management (IPM) and growing hydrangeas for the cut flower industry and landscape use in New Hampshire. These projects can all culminate with landscapers benefitting from the knowledge gained through the Ag Experiment Station and shared through the Cooperative Extension – because of the increase in homeowner interest in growing edible plants alongside the ornamental trees, shrubs, annuals, and perennials on their properties.

Costs of the vegetables and fruits can be contained by learning more about overwintering strawberries, for example, or by growing strawberries from seed rather than by starting them and selling plug plants. Shaping and pruning broccoli can help those plants produce more and be easier to harvest for large scale producers as well as home gardeners. As for figs, the tour participants saw what can be described as a “fig forest” in a high tunnel and another dense stand of fig plants outdoors, with the experiment being how to overwinter after the extreme pruning the plants tolerate.

The Ag Experiment Station was strongly aware of the ways cut flowers are increasingly a consideration for home gardeners, as well as the number of specialty cut flower growers in NH who are looking for more products to sell, adding to their selections for wholesale applications. With several rows of three types of hydrangeas in their full late summer bloom, we learned which types seem most likely to overwinter with strong comeback and bloom times each year. Farms producing field cut flowers has grown by leaps and bounds – 60% increase – since 2007. There are many movements, associations, and a rising awareness of the importance of the “slow flower” movement to reduce carbon footprints from importing vast numbers of flowers, so the UNH research projects are quite welcome to help the end users realize their role in sustainability when flowers are locally grown. The hydrangea project will reveal not only plant hardiness but will indicate valuable information about vase life for the flowers as a commodity.

Before this tour, I was aware of different ways to trellis and train grapes to grow, but I would have said the trellis mechanisms were regional, or cultural, or related to the type of grapes being grown. During this tour, we saw different trellising mechanics and learned the research is showing that the nutrients in grapes can even be enhanced by the different trellises used, by how they offer differing degrees of light, air, and direct sunlight. Our tour guide was a master of sharing the complexities of the research in a way that made it clear to understand and integrate, and he encouraged questions from the tour participants. We learned to distinguish between two main trellis types and were able to walk down a lengthy row of vines which had been planted in 2014, to see the differences. Under the netting protecting the vines from birds, we were able to also see different vines with different stages of ripening and were reminded not to taste test the ripe grapes. Taking even a few grapes during a tour like this would be to remove valuable data points for the research project – to everyone’s disappointment!
Kiwiberries, also grown with trellising mechanisms, were a part of this tour. We learned about the research geared toward standardizing the size and shape of the kiwiberries as well as how in some places they are considered invasive and in other places there is a strong interest in growing them for commercial use. You may have seen Martha Stewart’s extensive property in Maine, with a wall of the kiwiberries on it, preceding her ownership of the property. There was a time when kiwiberries were considered more popular than wisteria for landscape use and were grown by nurseries for these ornamental purposes. Now, they are being strongly considered as a product for their “super fruit” nutritional value and the UNH project is contributing heavily to this area of interest.

If you’ve toured the Woodman Farm site before, you may remember the pollinator meadow areas, which were projects conducted by Dr. Cathy Neal and that received international acclaim for knowledge gained about bee’s preferences. Those meadows are in full bloom this time of year and as Dr. Neal told during her tours, the asters are taking over a bit. She did remind us at the time of her tours that meadows are not static, and different flowers in the mix will self-seed and dominant flowers will wax and wane over time. In full glory, the meadow areas were not only vibrant with colors and textures of seed heads, but teaming with small birds, butterflies, and many types of bees, taking in the nectar provided.

Integrated Pest Management (IPM) projects are conducted on a regular basis, since so many commercial products are on the market and gaining acclaim or notoriety in the fight against various pests. Learning more about IPM could take a full day, and that part of the farm was the turnaround point of the tour.

Heading back to the starting point, there were several projects showcased. From how to grow Brussels sprouts – how to prune the plants, or to let them grow long stalks as we may be more familiar with. How many sprouts result from each method of growth is being analyzed. The bushy form of the pruned plants is a lot different than the stalks with the sprouts circling the stalk!

Projects with tomatoes and how to prune or shape those plants competed with my excitement at finding a fungus growth blowing around the pathway. It was feather-light, and the flat side, which I thought was the bottom, was soft as velvet. The side I thought must be the top, looked something like a delicious mound of chocolate frosting that would fit on a large cupcake. It turns out Evan Ford could immediately identify it for me, as I delicately carried it to where he was and I wanted to perch it on a good background to capture it in a few photographs. It was a common mushroom, one the bright white non-poisonous “fairy ring” mushrooms (Amanita thiersii) which sometimes grow as big as a softball, and their spores thrive in fresh grass clippings. (It turns out that to prepare for the Farm Day, extensive mowing in the field rows and paths had been going on several days prior to our tours.) This object I had in hand was actually upside down as I held it – when turned the other direction, Evan demonstrated with his hand that it was a mushroom which had been sheared by the mower, and this part was the underground part which had been uplifted as he explained it to me. I know from watching some of these in my own lawn, that they do turn a doeskin shade of brown/beige pretty quickly, but I had never seen the part that was supporting the stem or ball, from its undergrown perspective.

All in all, I would highly recommend you take advantage of touring the Woodman Farm as a landscaper curious about how research is conducted and to see a few steps ahead of the trends your clients may start to ask about. From cut flowers to edible landscape plants, vegetables have been elevated to such status, you will see what it takes to go from a serious question with financial ramifications to sustainable answers. Ultimately many of these research projects end up as our new baseline of understanding and expectations of the plants we work with.

—by Cris Blackstone, NHCLP

The post Benefits from the UNH Agriculture Experiment Station Work appeared first on New Hampshire Landscape Association (NHLA).

Autumn heralds winter’s arrival, and with that, we turn from keeping an eye on employee health and safety regarding heat related issues such as dehydration, or sunburns, or poison ivy, and turn to understanding the ways we need to avoid troublesome or dangerous health conditions related to low temps rather than our high summer temps.

The more we train our employees to know what to look for and how to avoid autumn and winter health and safety situations, the better employee attendance, and productivity will be.

We have typically put a lot of time and attention in spring and summer seasonal hires and onboarding process involving our company expectations and safety protocols about operating equipment or safety gear to wear onsite. Now is the time to totally shift gears and prepare for how company expectations and safety protocols pertain to wet weather and cold temperatures.

Operating equipment such as trucks with snow plows seems like an adventure the first few times for many employees. Sometimes there’s an excitement and a disregard for the demands placed on our bodies, while it seems we’re just driving a truck we’re used to driving, but with a plow on it now. You may have done some advanced scouting of properties so drivers on plow routes can become familiar before there’s snow with where the driveway bends a bit, or a stand of bushes needs to be avoided when dumping a load of snow. But don’t disregard the importance of encouraging employees to maintain good sleep hygiene and to curtail social activities that could impinge on the time needed to plow. The lack of sleep will catch up, and that is when mistakes can be made. From not doing a pre-route thorough examination of the vehicle, to hurrying from one job site to another to plow and hurry back home to a warm bed, protocols you expect as the employer (and are hopefully modeling) will be evident as you get complaint calls, or worse yet, see some nominal damage to vehicles or equipment.

The National Safety Council recommends winter vehicle safety tips such as keeping the gas tank at least half full to avoid gas lines freezing. Do you encourage each driver to maintain that level, and provide adequate time on the clock to do so? Have you stocked up on wiper fluid rated for -30F? Have you replaced wiper blades and even considered blades with extra snow load capability? Consider involving employees in the maintenance required on the vehicles so they will understand what you mean when you are asking if they are ready for snow. Some people hear that question, “Are you ready for snow?” and their minds go to ski trips, snowmobiling, backyard bon fires, and the overtime they may accrue during the anticipated blizzard conditions. Make sure safety considerations are firmly in place and aligned with your company’s policies and protocols.

Now is the time to check emergency preparedness kits, according to not only the National Safety Council, but to many large driving associations and OSHA. Reflective triangles in case of breakdowns or on vehicles simply for visibility, may have become cracked or encrusted with eroding salt brines since the last time they were used.
Other recommendations from seasoned tow truck companies, as well as the American Automobile Association and the California Highway Patrol, include keeping high-energy foods such as nutrition bars, packets of nuts, dried fruits, and hard candy on hand. These items (knock on wood) could be helpful for morale as well as beneficial in case of waiting for help if the truck is stranded in bad driving conditions. Sugar and protein are welcomed in the event of any extra time in the vehicle which was unanticipated.

Nowadays, not only a battery charger but also a cell phone charger are a given. And, while we are thinking of what to make sure is included in every vehicle you and your employees use in the winter, include a brightly colored safety vest, in case anyone has to walk out in the miserable conditions for any reason.

Any other favorite items to include for your employees driving your vehicles in the snow? What’s your favorite item to include after some horror story, such as that employee who had some kitty litter on hand to help get some traction when on an icy driveway? Share those real life stories when you have your autumn and winter meetings with your staff, so they see what can happen to anybody, could happen to everybody.

As for hypothermia. . .check the OSHA website for the training videos and posters you can download and post in your employee break room. Remember there are many learning styles, and some of your staff want to read the information you want to share and some are more effective at processing what you say to them during these informative meetings. You might consider some of the training videos offered through organizations specializing in safe snow removal along with the OSHA health and safety videos about causes of hypothermia and ways to avoid it. Some of the training programs you find are available free of charge and employees could view them anytime day or night, as convenient, long before the winter conditions set in.

As a conscientious employer and as a member of NHLA, it’s important for all of us to model our expectations and to ensure the health and safety of our employees. You might consider incentives, such as rewards or citations of some sort for viewing safety videos or for offering suggestions they may have, from the frontlines, to help improve situations they have seen firsthand. Rewarding suggestions and listening to suggestions and fresh ideas are ways we can ensure the values we set forth as NHLA members in this industry ensure that the profession grows and involves new members coming through the ranks and carrying on the NHLA tradition.

— by Cris Blackstone, NHCLP

The post Time to Plan Against Hypothermia appeared first on New Hampshire Landscape Association (NHLA).

Common boxwood (Buxus sempervirens) has long been a favorite shrub for hedges, and it is one of the most deer-tolerant plants for gardens. It is considered a staple in formal gardens due to its tolerance of pruning and shearing. Though boxwood does not sport showy flowers, its deep green foliage grows densely and can form a good screen. Plants can grow in full sun to shade, but their leaves and branches aren’t as dense in the shade, and plants are less vigorous. Boxwood is hardy to zone 5 but may suffer damage in harsh winters. In many locations in New Hampshire, the evergreen foliage tends to turn brownish-yellow when plants are grown in areas with full sun and winter winds. Boxwood is best suited to sheltered locations where it will have some protection.

Japanese pieris (Pieris japonica), sometimes known as Andromeda, is a broadleaf evergreen shrub that can grow up to 10 feet tall, depending on variety. Pieris has glossy dark green leaves year-round and drooping white flower clusters in early spring that attract bumblebees and other pollinators. It grows very well in organically rich, acid soils in full sun to part shade, so if you’ve had luck with other acid-loving plants like rhododendrons, pieris will likely thrive as well. It is also tolerant of deep shade, setting it apart from other evergreens that do best with more sun exposure. As a zone 5 shrub, pieris tends to be most vigorous and suffer the least winter damage in southern New Hampshire. Despite occasional issues with lacebugs and winter injury, Japanese pieris is almost never bothered by deer.

Mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia) is one of the few native evergreen shrubs that deer largely ignore. Mountain laurel grows in the wild in various locations throughout New Hampshire. It is often used in landscapes due to its abundant, unusual flowers in late spring. The species sports white to pale pink flower clusters that can measure as much as six inches across. Many additional cultivated varieties have been introduced to the nursery trade that have blooms in various shades of pink, red, and combinations thereof. The leaves are leathery, dark green and otherwise similar to those of rhododendrons. Mountain laurel is a great choice for landscapes in part shade with moist, acidic, well-drained soil.

Eastern red cedar (Juniperus virginiana) is likely the closest alternative to arborvitae that can be grown in New Hampshire. Eastern red cedar is a native needled evergreen that has overlapping scale-like leaves. It is highly drought-tolerant and is a good choice for gardens with full sun and dry soil. It is also an excellent plant for wildlife, as many species of songbirds, such as Cedar Waxwings, will eat the blueish-gray, berry-like cones. On rare occasions, deer may browse the lower foliage, but Eastern red cedar usually escapes damage. One important thing to note is that Eastern red cedar is an alternate host for cedar apple rust and should not be planted near apples or crabapples.

Chinese juniper (Juniperus chinensis) is another needled evergreen that is similar to Eastern red cedar in many regards. It also has scale-like foliage on mature branches and is highly tolerant of deer, drought, and dry soil. While plants can grow into large trees, a great number of smaller shrubby varieties can be found at garden centers. Chinese juniper is also susceptible to cedar apple rust and should not be grown in the vicinity of apples.

Inkberry (Ilex glabra) is a native evergreen holly species that is popular as a screen in garden settings because it is adaptable to both well-drained and wet soils. It has small, glossy, dark green leaves that are spineless, and produces small black fruit that are enjoyed by various songbird species. Inkberry is easy to grow in most landscapes, provided there is full sun or part shade. It will be at its best when planted in full sun in consistently moist, acidic soil. Inkberry is likely the best native shrub to grow as an informal hedge. Plant height varies considerably, depending on variety, so make sure to choose a form that will suit your landscape needs.

— by Emma Erler, UNH Extension Field Specialist

The post Which Evergreen Trees and Shrubs for Privacy are Deer Resistant? appeared first on New Hampshire Landscape Association (NHLA).

The Basics of Plant Naming
In the mid-eighteenth century, a Swedish scientist named Carl Linnaeus developed a method for naming, ranking, and classifying plants that is still in use today (with many changes). Linnaeus gave all plant species a two-word “binomial” name consisting of the genus and species. It is still the basic structure of the modern naming system. Plants that are very similar and closely related are assigned to the same genus, and each is given a unique species name. For example, spotted geranium and bigroot geranium have the same genus (Geranium) but different species names (maculatum and macrorrhizum respectively). Why are plant names in Latin? In Linnaeus’ time in the eighteenth-century, Latin was the language of science, and the tradition has continued. Latinized descriptive phrases give clues about the plant’s qualities (i.e. “alba” means white and “rubra” red).

While scientific names may seem unnecessarily complicated when you first start learning them, they do serve an important purpose. Plants generally have a common name and a scientific name. Common names are often descriptive of the plant, such as red maple, bleeding heart, or paper birch. There are problems with using common names though. The same species of plant may have two or more common names, with names varying from region to region, and some very different plants may even have the same common name. For instance, “geranium” is the common name used to refer to two different groups of plants. There are the hardy geraniums in the genus Geranium, and tender greenhouse geraniums that belong to the genus Pelargonium. When discussing landscape plants, it can be helpful to describe the species you mean by its scientific name for the sake of clarity.

Changing Plant Names
Linnaeus used physical characteristics to group plants, a practice that continued until the late twentieth century when it became possible to study plant relationships through genetics. In some cases, genetic discoveries reinforced assumptions made through the examination of plant structures, but in others, DNA analysis showed that plants once thought to be related were quite different. This has led to plants being reclassified and therefore renamed. Names are changing at an accelerated pace, as genetic information allows for new understandings of plant relationships. In many cases, plants that were formerly grouped under a single species are reclassified into distinct species, or species previously classified in a particular genus are placed in other genera. For example, most of the species once classified in the genus Aster have now been placed in other genera, including Symphyotrichum, Doellingeria, Durybia, and Ionactis.

In a perfect world, there would be one true name for every plant, but scientists are constantly debating classifications. Many plants have more than one scientific name, but just one that is accepted as the most accurate. Current accepted names are what you will find in up-to-date botanical literature and serious garden writing. It usually takes years for the horticultural industry to adopt new plant names to avoid confusing clients. Eventually however, accepted names make their way into catalogues and horticulturists must make the mental shift. Do not be surprised if you start seeing the following landscape staples labelled by different names.

Symphyotrichum novae-angliae formerly Aster novae-angliae
New England Aster

Actaea racemosa formerly Cimicifuga racemosa
Black cohosh

Actea simplex formerly Cimicifuga simplex
Bugbane

Chamaepericlymenum canadense formerly Cornus canadensis
Bunchberry

Lamprocapnos spectabilis formerly Dicentra spectabilis
Bleeding heart

Eutrochium spp. formerly Eupatorium spp.
Joe Pye weed

Hylotelephium spectabile formerly Sedum spectabile
Sedum

Swida sericea formerly Cornus sericea
Red-osier dogwood

Swida amomum formerly Cornus amomum
Silky dogwood

Benthamidia florida formerly Cornus florida
Flowering dogwood

Benthamidia japonica formerly Cornus kousa
Kousa dogwood

— by Emma Erler, UNH Extension Field Specialist, emma.erler at unh.edu

The post Shifting Botanical Names appeared first on New Hampshire Landscape Association (NHLA).

One of the largest landscaping companies in greater Portland, or probably now Maine for that matter, started as a mowing operation in Portland and now has mid-coast and Bangor offices. During peak season they employee about 200 workers. They have diversified from what was once primarily a mowing company, that sub-contracted their weed and feed program, to what is now a “Complete Landscape Company.” Maintenance of all types of lawn and shrubs, planting, design work, tree care, landscape construction, snow removal, pretty much the full spectrum. This complete service even goes as far as janitorial services, trash removal, and a security division, maybe spread too thin, in my opinion.

The company has had the huge landscape contract with one of Portland’s hospitals for several years. The hospital has one large primary location in Portland, several other satellite facilities, and numerous office complexes all around southern Maine. Mowing and snow removal seem to be their strong suits, but trailer loads of mulch are used in spring clean-ups (spread too deep) and shrubs are sheared into beach balls and hockey pucks. I must admit, the grounds all look very well groomed. Large beds of colorful annuals are planted each spring in highly visible areas.

So, what’s my point? Does a bigger company mean higher quality work? Does the fact that this landscape company is one of the largest in Maine mean they are one of the most knowledgeable? In my opinion, not at all! As I mentioned earlier, their work is very neat and well groomed, but based on excess mulch and improper pruning, that aspect is very faulty. Plants are not being properly cared for and the general public is being misled. Maybe they should stick to just the lawn care division and seek assistance with their pruning or other plant care skills. I see this all too often with lawn maintenance companies as they expand and diversify. Mowing work turns to plant clean-ups and pruning, then planting or hardscapes and possibly doing small design jobs.

Don’t get me wrong, I have lots of respect for people who grow, diversify, and try to broaden their knowledge. But it’s also very important to watch closely or learn enough to realize your weaknesses and when to seek the help of others. The management of many companies, and not just the big operations, somehow have to learn what mistakes they are making and fix them. Maybe better educating the public is a possible route to go? If all of us with landscape knowledge attempt to teach our customers just a tiny bit about the way plants should be cared for I think it’s a good start. This might make the public aware of what attention they should be seeking. Should they call an arborist, that just happens to mow lawns, with their turf questions? People in the industry have to be upfront with customers and stick to their fields of expertise.

Having operated a chainsaw many hours cutting firewood, I thought it would be easy to cut down only one tree on a job several years ago. It was only about a 6″ caliper spruce that I thought would fall right into the driveway, no problem. After cutting about 60% into the trunk I realized the tree wasn’t falling quite in the direction I had planned and if it fell the wrong way it would hit all kinds of wires and possibly even go as far as into Main street! Since I was just a few doors down from the hardware store, I ran over there, bought some beefy rope and tied it onto my truck’s bumper. By this point, I would be happier if the tree fell on my truck than onto all the utility wires and maybe the street. Fortunately, once the rope was tight between my truck and the tree, it fell in a safe place when I finished cutting it!

To make a long story short, this is a perfect example of me thinking I knew more than I did, I was playing arborist for a day, when in reality I should have hired someone with far more skill.

— by Phil Caldwell. Phil is a past president of NHLA (1989) who now lives and works in Maine.  

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We’d like to thank UNH Cooperative Extension for their courses throughout the winter, which included multi-session presentations that offered pesticide credits – a great feature. UNHCE also did a great job keeping NHLA members aware of their various webinar opportunities, and for the Certified NHLA landscapers, those opportunities will make it possible to continue their pathway to 2021 recertification.

Other land grant universities (Notably Ohio State) offered courses ranging from landscape design by notable professionals such as Doug Tallamy, trends in understanding the connection between wildlife habitat and healthy eco-environments, and other organizations offering classes and webinars on diversity, equity and inclusion. Each of these opportunities meant our members could learn something new or continue learning more in-depth information about topics immediately related to job performance or connections with customers.

The pandemic is not “over” and we’ll keep a keen eye on what regulations may be in place for our summer Twilight Meetings, which will be held in person, or for our planned dinner meetings, which will carry us through late autumn and through the winter. While things have lightened up as far as being outdoors, maskless, or in larger groups, we’ll keep ahead of the curve with cautions and safe gatherings – meanwhile, enjoy summer and the company of colleagues you may be reconnecting with since March 2020 brought the spring scene to a pandemic pivot.

Your patience and interest in NHLA events continuing has been so helpful and encouraging. Watch future Newsletters or blast e-mails for information about what the Education Committee is planning as well as what the NHLA Board is working on! Get in touch if you would like to be a part of the working committee for the postponed Field Day, or for any of the dinner meetings we’ll try and re-institute. Your input is valuable! Please e-mail Dave DeJohn, President, NHLA, ddejo71@aol.com, and he’ll make sure your ideas are shared with everyone involved in helping NHLA grow and serve as many members as possible.

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Pink lady’s slippers are easily identified by their two opposite basal leaves with conspicuous parallel veins and large solitary pink flowers at the end of a long stalk. The plant gets its common name from the flower’s supposed resemblance to a woman’s shoe.
It is a long-standing myth that pink lady’s slippers are rare and that it is illegal to pick them, but this has been a very good thing for the species. Pink lady’s slippers grow in a narrow range of soil and climate conditions, making them very vulnerable to habitat destruction, climate change and over-picking.

They also do not transplant well or propagate from seed easily, and it can take a decade or longer for a plant to bloom for the first time. Though it is technically legal to dig up pink lady’s slippers on your own property and transplant them into your garden, such a practice is discouraged. Plants that are moved from one location to another often do not survive.

Pink lady’s slippers are a type of orchid and, like most other orchids, they rely on a specific fungus in the soil to germinate and grow. Pink lady’s slipper seeds do not have food stored within them like most other types of seeds. Instead, they require fungi to break them open and attach to them. The fungus passes on food and nutrients to the embryo within the seed, allowing it to germinate and develop into a plant.

As the lady’s slipper gets bigger and can produce most of its own food, the fungus will then take nutrients from the plant’s roots. This mutually beneficial “symbiotic” relationship is essential to the lady’s slipper’s survival. Plants that are dug up and transplanted are very unlikely to be successful, particularly in rich garden soils that bear no resemblance to the sandy, acid soils where pink lady’s slippers thrive in the wild. If the fungus is not present, then the orchid will fail to thrive and begin to decline or die, typically within a couple of years.

Additionally, if you ever see pink lady’s slippers for sale, it is pretty much a given that they were dug up from the wild. Propagating pink lady’s slippers is incredibly difficult and time-intensive, so they are rarely commercially propagated. If you would love to grow slipper orchids in your garden, choose a species that can be more easily cultivated, like greater yellow lady’s slipper (Cypripedium parviflorum var. pubescens) or showy lady’s slipper (Cypripedium reginae). Even these species are tricky to grow, and they come at a high price, typically $35 or more. Plants that sell for less were most likely collected from the wild.

For those interested in rare plants, the NH Natural Heritage Bureau maintains records on approximately 400 plant species determined to be endangered or threatened. This list includes several orchid species, such as small whorled pogonia (Isotria medeoloides) and dragon’s-mouth (Arethusa bulbosa).

— Emma Erler, UNH Extension Field Specialist, emma.erler at unh.edu

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The book is simultaneously a handbook for exotic and meaningful plants from cultures, countries, and world regions that we can learn a lot about plus a means to gain insight into the lives of people who live in the same places as those plants. As the review quote from Monty Don, excerpted on the cover, says, this book “informs and charms in equal measure.”
It’s informative in the way it shares information about plants and how they produce seeds, nectar, are pollinated, or how they grow as hemi-parasites, as in the case of France’s Mistletoe (Viscum album). There’s a key to the Latin name of the plant in the way it is propagated – that layer of viscin (“glutinous sticky stuff that adheres to bird beaks”) carries the single seeds as birds scrape the viscin off their beaks and in crevices of trees. We learn here that mistletoe favors apple, lime, and pear trees – and that once established, slowly over time the tree becomes more susceptible to disease and diminished fruit or timber quality. There are regulations in northwestern Europe requiring landowners who spot mistletoe on their trees to remove the young established plants immediately. The regulation is followed since there’s a demand for mistletoe by florists and people wanting to decorate reminiscent of early Druid festivities with this plant.

That’s only one example of what we learn about the plants included in this book. There are 79 other plants, along with lavish illustrations by Lucille Clerc, who was also the illustrator for Around the World in 80 Trees.

These two books, published by Laurence King, UK, are printed on high quality, ecologically sensible paper, which leads the way in conscientious publishing terms, perhaps a small point, but meaningful when we learn more about Jonathan Drori. He is a trustee of the Eden Project in Cornwall, England, which you should take time to Google and learn more about. If you have a sense of the Biosphere II in Arizona, the Eden Project will take that concept to another level and astound you with its design elements and botanical purposes. Check out the Eden Project! Drori is well-known to British and BBC television fans, as he’s been involved in many BBC series on science and nature. You may also recognize him from work he’s affiliated with for the World Wildlife Fund.

With such a fascinating life and fascination for researching plants, it’s no wonder this book is info-dense about each of the plants chosen to be included. You sure don’t have to read this cover to cover. It’s organized with most plants getting at least a double page spread, so you can thumb through and read about all the fruits first or all the prehistoric plants that have survived the ages and how they appear now. You could go through and read about the plants from places you have traveled, such as the Pineapple, chosen to represent Costa Rica. From this section of the book, I learned that the very word “pineapple” was once a slang word in the mid-eighteenth century, for things valued in high society, things decadent and highly sought after, but not readily attainable. Besides this type of historical reference, Drori includes a lot about the botany of this plant as he does with each of the 80 in the book. Forming compound fruit (syncarps) and pollinated primarily by hummingbirds, Costa Rica is a rich area for these plants since they require equal daylight and darkness which is just the way the tropics lie relative to the day and night, nearly year ’round.

That’s a magic quality in Drori’s work – he manages to bring in the facts with the colorful language and descriptions that make each plant vivid and memorable. I love coconut and the way he describes it, again, accurately as far as the development of the plant and the botanical interest in coconut palms alongside the details about the taste and textures we eat. But, reminding me that at one stage, “the milky, translucent layer, spoonable and delicious, except to those who squirm at gelatinous textures” it’s not descriptive of what I think of when I think of eating coconut. Yes, I like it fresh and shredded, but also all cared for and included in a Lindt bonbon!

There are a lot of linguistic facts included in the book besides the frequent references to the Latin names connected to our language or other languages. For instance, the coconut was called that by Portuguese sailors, from their word for “smiling” due to the facelike pattern of the three germination spores. Who hasn’t thought of the coconut as having a face? There’s so much to learn about each plant – the coconut is so rich in history, folklore, recipes and the coconut palm so valued as habitat and building material. Even with a medicinal link: coconut water is sterile and has sometimes been used to help medics in the field as an IV to help rehydrate wounded patients. I won’t share information about calcium carbonate sometimes found in coconuts. Read about that aspect of this fascinating plant when you get your copy of Around the World in 80 Plants.

Why is this book important for gardeners, landscapers, Master Gardeners looking to increase their skills and plant enthusiasts? At first you may say these plants are, for the most part, from parts of the world in completely different hardiness zones than we grow here, so why bother? I would suggest that if nothing else, it’s relaxing to learn about these plants and gain the benefits we have learned through the pandemic that gardening, talking about plants, and seeing plants brings us. But, to be more academic, it’s a great book to read and test your skills and memory about plants you may be familiar with and refresh skills as you read about their botany and things such as how they propagate or how they relate to other plants in the same over arching family which you may be more familiar with.

For whatever reason you choose, I hope you will check out this as well as Around the World in 80 Trees since each of these books will complement your book collection as well as engage you in new ways with the plant world.

This book includes an extensive list of Drori’s recommendations for books on related topics, all organized in categories for easy reference. From books on specific plant families to books on social and cultural history where plants are a focus, those references alone are a valid reason to take this book seriously or simply relax and take an arm chair vacation to distant places as you sit back, drink in hand, in your own backyard garden or patio oasis, where your own favorite plants beckon you now!

— by Cris Blackstone, NHCLP

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