PA Plantings

"And now for something completely different" Since Blogger.com makes doing little voluntary polls incredibly easy, just for fun I am starting a little contest for the most elegant flower. I plan on posting 5 pictures at a time in each draw. After five contests I will will put the winners up against each other. I may continue the contest further if there is any interest. Suggestions for future contestants are welcome. I would like this to be a subjective judgment by each voter of the intrinsic elegance of each species or variety, not necessarily a judgment of beauty (which in my opinion is not necessarily the same as elegance) nor a judgment of my photos. The selections are all mine for now with a mix of wild and garden flowers. Everyone is welcome to participate. ~ The voting list is on the left side of the blog~ 1-Zephranthes grandiflora 2-Heteranthera dubia 3-Calopogon tuberosus 4-Iris sibirca 'Gulls Wing' 5-Arisaema heterophyllum I will keep the voting open for ...

There is an article in the P hiladelphia Inquirer yesterday about the biological control program for Mile-a-minute vine ( Polygonum perfoliatum ) A minute Weevil Rhinoncomimus latipes has been extensively tested to be sure it will only eat the mile-a-minute plants (I hope it is well enough tested!) and has been released in this area. The Philadelphia Inquirer said: "At last count, more than 66,000 weevils have been released at 61 sites in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland and West Virginia." ................... "A week and a half ago, Judy Hough-Goldstein, of the University of Delaware, stood before a group of experts at an invasive-plants conference at the University of Pennsylvania, providing an update on R. latipes . The prognosis was good. "A lot of plant mortality this year," she said. "Go, weevils!" Either way, not even the most optimistic think the weevil will expunge mile-a-minute from the landscape. The idea is to restore balan...

September 20, Thursday 7:30 p.m. at the North Museum on the campus of F&M College in Lancaster: This is our annual fall plant exchange and slide show. We now have a digital projector at our disposal for anyone who has digital pictures to show. Native resolution: 1024 x 768. There will be a brief board meeting before the regular meeting. Anyone who who like to announce in advance what plants the can bring/expect to bring please e-mail me and I will share it by e-mail with the membership. I will post the list of what we expect to bring very soon. October 18, 2007 Mountain Wildflowers of UTAH, Mike Slater Muhlenberg Botanical Club 7:30 pm at the North Museum on the Campus of F&M University.

September 22, Saturday: Nottingham County Park 10:00 a.m. 150 Park Road, Nottingham, PA 19362 (610-932-2589). Located 4 miles south of Oxford off Route 1 Bypass in southwestern Chester County, this 651-acre park sits atop an outcropping of serpentine stone greater than one square mile in size, making it one of the largest serpentine barrens on the East Coast. Go into the park entrance, turn right, and meet at pavilion 6. This trip consists of a long walk in and out, so be prepared to carry your lunch with you to eat on the trail. Trail rating: moderate. Leader: Tim Draude (717-393-7233) October 7, Sunday: 10:00 a.m.State Game Lands 156 and Penryn We will examine this poor soil plant community, which will hopefully include fringed gentians. After lunch we will walk in the Penryn power cut, looking for asters and goldenrods. Trail rating for the power cut: moderate, about 1 mile in length. At the intersection of Rtes. 501 and 322, turn left (west) onto 322 and travel approximately 3 mil...

A very cute little native goldenrod is found along the lower Susquehanna river growing in crevices in the schist bedrock. It is now called Solidago simplex ssp. randii v. racemosa ( USDA Plants Link ). The name is almost longer than these plants are tall. I would expect that would be bigger when not growing in a tiny crack in a rock but I do want to try growing it in a trough or rock garden. This species is on the PA endangered species list as this is the only place it is found. It is on the list under the name: Solidago spathulata DC. var. racemosa (Greene) Gleason Sticky Goldenrod status: Endangered Variety racemosa grows from Tennessee to New Brunswick and Nova Scotia and it is considered threatened or endangered in many states. Other varieties of Solidago simplex ssp. randii grow as far west as Lake superior. Sticky Goldenrod grows on the flood scoured bedrock where competition is reduced along with many relict prairie species like Big-blue-stem, little blue-stem, Indian gra...

Today Jan and I went to pay our yearly visit to Chanticleer Garden with Dick and Ann Rosenberg for company. As always we had an enjoyable time seeing new plants, admiring the garden plantings and wonderful plant combinations and seeing friends who work there whom we know through the Rock Garden Society. We were warmly greeted at the entrance by Laura Aiken and we chatted briefly with Yvonne England and Joe Henderson. There was a very light drizzle when we arrived but it stopped as we got out of the car. The fine drops elegantly decorated many of the flowers and leaves. Pictures in sort of in the order shown (The pictures are fighting it out and don't want to go where I want them to in this post tonight! I will continue the fight tomorrow. ) (I'm winning, I think) (I WON!) : 1) A Chanticleer (a Rooster) 2) Looking into the Teacup Garden 3) The Teacup Garden 4) Monarda punctata 5) Hydrangea serrata 'Preziosa' 6) Rhododendron prunifoliu m 7) Russelia equisetiformis 8) Li...

Viola conspersa (Dog Violet) and related "Stemmed" blue violas from Eastern North America Our friend Kim Blaxland who is especially interested in Viola species e-mailed me today to ask me about Viola conspersa plants that we have seen. It seems there is some question whether this is just an upright form of another species and should be lumped with Viola labradorica*/V. adunca v. minor. Viola conspersa is a relatively upright plant with light blue flowers and leaves scattered up the stem. While the other species have their stems prostrate on the ground. She asked especially about what kind of rocks and what the soil pH would be. I think I usually have seen V. conspersa on soil derived from diabase (an intrusive igneous rock which usually give rise to circumneutral soils) here in Berks County, PA The pictures of Viola conspersa here are mine. The first two are from PA State Gamelands #52 (north of Churchtown, Lancaster Co. and south of Maple Grove in Berks Co.) They ...

Muhlenberg Botanic Club Field Trip August 11, 2007 Leader: Fred Habegger plus 12 members of the club. Falmouth Boat Ramp – Conoy Canal Park 10am -12 noon (After a brownbag lunch several of us went down river to Vinegar Ferry, see below for addition plants) Weather was nice and sunny, the humidity had dropped from earlier in the week and we had a pleasant day. We walked trail through the woods upriver to second power cut (Large Corten Steel Pylons) then bushwhacked out to the river. Where we explored the diabase bedrock where it has been scoured and carved by the Susquehanna river . Many beautiful potholes are there where swirling flood water has ground in circular holes in the hard and smooth diabase with the aid of pebbles spinning inside them. Many interesting plants were seen. In the woods, power cuts and in the riverbed among the rocks. All done with dry feet! Plants in BOLD are pictured Acer negundo , Boxelder (fr) Acer saccharinum , Silver Maple Ailanthu...