Trees, Leaves and Frost

What’s On The Show Today?

Winter care of ornamentals in the Plant Doctor segment, growing a hardy herb in Vegetable Heroes, a groundcover whose leaves come in a plethora of colours in plant of the week; plus what does an arborist actually do? in the 4 part series or trees in Design Elements with arboriculturalist and garden designer Glenice Davies

PLANT DOCTOR

Winter Care of Ornamental Plants

Ornamental plants are those whose leaves, flowers and fruits we don't eat.

Autumn is meant to gently acclimatise most plants to the cold.

What if Autumn is just an extension of Summer and then, whoosh, cold weather arrives all too soon and it's winter?

Snow damage on Eucalypts

That is one reason that during winter some of our trees and shrubs don’t look so healthy and gardeners start getting concerned that something is wrong with their particular plant.
Unsuspecting gardeners might even think that their plant is dying because the leaves have started dropping of, yet it’s supposed to be evergreen.
Could it be just a response to cold weather or is something untoward happening in the soil that is affecting the plant’s health?
Let’s find out.. 

I'm talking with was Steve Falcioni, General Manager of www.ecoorganicgarden.com.au

The leaves can change colour due to the cold, and it may be just a normal reaction or because the plant can't access nutrients that it needs.

Frost Damagon Avocado. photo Dept of  Primary Industries W. A.

If you make a note in your garden diary that a particular plant did this or that in winter, you may discover that it’s quite normal during the cold months of the year. 

Seaweed extracts help plants reduce stress factors and one of them is coping with the cold.

Applying it regularly though is a must for this to be of benefit.
If you have any questions either for me or Steve, you can email us Realworldgardener@gmail.com or write in to 2rrr, PO Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675.

VEGETABLE HEROES

Lemon Grass
Lemon Grass or Cymbopogon citratus is in the Poaceae Family
Lemongrass is a perennial grass native to tropical southeast Asia.
You may have heard of lemongrass and even seen it sold in the fruit and veg section of the supermarket, but what you may not know is that there are two main types of lemongrass.
There’s East Indian, Cymbopogon flexuosus , and West Indian, Cymbopogon citratus.
East Indian lemongrass, also known as cochin or Malabar grass is native to India, while West Indian lemongrass is native to southern India and Ceylon.
Did you know that lemongrass is one of the most widely used traditional plants in South American folk medicine?
In India, it’s used as a medical herb and for perfumes, but not used as a spice; in the rest of tropical Asia (Sri Lanka and even more South East Asia), it’s an important culinary herb and spice.

What does it look like?

Lemon grass grows in a bushy like clumps to 1 m tall with long narrow pale green leaves.
The slender stalks are about 30cm long and are rough to the touch, especially the leaf blade edges which feel quite sharp.
The common name gives it away but lemongrass has a wonderful lemony scent and taste because of the citral that’s the aldehyde that gives it the lemon odour.

It can be easily propagated by division and when you pick the Lemon Grass to use in cooking or teas, cut off the bottom part leaving just the roots - put this piece into a glass of water and it will shoot very quickly.

You can then replant it and you’ll definitely always have Lemon Grass in your garden.

For companion plant aficionados, growing a clump of Lemon Grass in the vegetable garden has a good influence on all the plants around it and the vegetables will be much more flavoursome.

How To Grow Lemongrass
Lemongrass is adapted to hot wet summers and dry warm winters, is drought tolerant and will grow on a wide range of soils but prefers rich, moist loams.
It dislikes wet feet, but it does like regular watering in summer.
If it’s damaged by frost in cooler areas, the tops should not be cut until all danger of frost has passed.

How to control that lemongrass.

Cut back the old leaves in early Spring to strengthen the bush as well as tidy it up because invariably if it has dried out , there’ll be plenty of dead stalks which aren’t much good for cooking.
This helps to protect the centre of the plant from further cold damage.

You need a pretty big pot to contain it.
In a small pot, it gets too cramped too quickly and as I’ve discovered, get little green growth and lots of dead leaves.
You can divide the clump, but it will soon be just as massive as it is now.
It's jolly hard work digging it, and every single piece with roots on it will in no time flat be just as big as the parent.

TIP:So putting it in the vegetable garden will only work if you contain it in perhaps a bottomless pot.
The leaves can be picked at any time of the year and the stems can be used fresh or dried.

So why Is It Good For You?
Medicinally Lemon Grass can be drunk as a tea as can taken either hot or cold.
Iced Lemongrass is a mild sedative.
Try it for your insomnia, or when you are under stress, or even if you need help to calm a nervous or upset stomach.
The herb is also said to relieve headaches.
Lemon Grass tea in summer is not only extremely refreshing but it’s good for the skin as the oil ctains Vitamin A. 

How To Use Lemongrass
For an invigorating bath, add a few drops of Lemon Grass oil to your bathwater. Teenagers with skin problems will benefit by drinking the tea regularly and it will also give eyes a bright clear look as well.
For cooking use the stalks only and pick the thick, light green ones that feel firm and aren’t dried out and wilted.

Cut off the woody root tip of each stalk until the purplish-tinted rings begin to show and remove the loose, dry outer layer(s).

Also, if the top of the stalk is dry and fibrous cut this off too.
When using it in cooked dishes, bang it with a cleaver to bruise the membranes and release more flavour.
Put a handful of the leaves into the saucepan when steaming or simmering chicken or fish to give a delicate but delicious taste of lemon.
It can be used in many dishes as a substitute for lemon.
To store fresh lemon grass, wrap well in clingfilm and refrigerate
This will keep for up to three weeks. 

AND THAT WAS OUR VEGETABLE HERO SEGMENT FOR TODAY

PLANT OF THE WEEK

Heuchera species.

Gardening isn’t just about the flowers you know.

There are plants that have leaves in a kaleidoscope of colours with names like Pink Fizz, Champagne, Gumdrops, and Forever Purple.
Heuchera is also great for dry shade in places where root competition won't allow most plants to grow.

There’s got to be one that will inspire you to plant into your garden.

I'm talking with Jeremy Critchley owner of www.thegreengallery.com.au and Karen Smith editor of www.hortjournal.com.au 

Let's find out about them

Heuchera's have a shallow root system and are perfect for greenwalls of any kind.
Jeremy mentioned that Heuchera loves cooler weather and the Autumn/Winter months is the time when the grow most of their Heuchera varieties.

These plants tolerate shady condtions and will cope with being an indoor plant for quite a few months.

Darker leafed varieties can cope with full sun, but it's best to try them on in a sunny location first before planting them into the ground.

In colder climates, to protect them from frost damage, lay a 2 cm layer of thick straw mulch around the plants. 

Heuchera's have a shallow root system and are also perfect for greenwalls of any kind.
If you have a question either for me or the plant panel why not drop us a line to realworldgardener@gmail.com or write in to 2RRR PO Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675

DESIGN ELEMENTS

What Does an Arborist or Consultant Arborist Do?

This series is about arboriculture and managing trees.
Did you know that there was an Institute of Australian Consulting Arborists?
So what is a consulting arborist and can they cut down your trees if you want them too?
Let’s find out?

I'm talking with Consultant Arborist and Garden Designer Glenice Buck.

If you’ve been asked for an Arborist Report, a Tree Report or an Arboricultural Impact Assessment then a consulting arborist is the best person to call because they often prepare these reports for clients with respect to trees for a range of reasons.

And where do you find these consulting arborists? 

Look no further than the Accredited Members of the Institute of Australian Consulting Arboriculturists (IACA) (www.iaca.org.au ) provide written reports for their clients in the public and private sectors. IACA members do not undertake tree pruning or removal work.
The other organization is Arboriculture Australia which also lists consulting arborists.
www.arboriculture.org.au
 

photo Capel Manor College-Arborist Course.

And where do you find these consulting arborists?

Look no further than the Accredited Members of the Institute of Australian Consulting Arboriculturists (IACA) (www.iaca.org.au ) provide written reports for their clients in the public and private sectors. IACA members do not undertake tree pruning or removal work.
The other organization is Arboriculture Australia which also lists consulting arborists.
www.arboriculture.org.au

If you have any questions about what arborists do, consulting or otherwise or have a suggestion either for me or for Glenice, why not write in or email me at www.realworldgardener.com

Create an Oasis in Your Garden with Autumn Flowers

WILDLIFE IN FOCUS

Did you know that Australia provides habitat for millions of migratory birds each year?
Some of these birds fly amazing distances when they migrate.

Grey Plover photo www.birdlife.org

Today’s bird in Wildlife in focus is the Grey Plover which is a special and unusual migratory shorebird that we know very little about.
It’s the largest plover we have in Australia of its type and we know that they migrate an amazing  12,000km to breed in northern Siberia and Alaska during the northern summer and return to spend our summer in Australia.
Let’s find out more about this bird. I'm talking with Dr Holly Parsons, Manager of Birds in Backyards. www.birdsinbackyards.net

So the grey Plover can be described as having a strongly barred tail.
We can see them all around the coastline of Australia at inlets, estuaries lagoons, and tidal salt marshes.
Oddly enough, the majority of Grey Plovers that migrate to Australia are female. No-one knows why.

Grey Plover, photo Birds in Backyards

They spend their summer here and from March to April, head north, stopping to re-fuel in Korea, and China's Yellow Sea.
Grey Plovers mostly eat crustaceans, polychete works and other invertebrates.
Because shore birds like the Grey Plover are along the coastline if you notice that there’s a flock of shore birds, not just you’re common seagull, but birds like the grey plover, then you can help by not disturbing them and keeping your dog on a lead.
Threats to migratory birds have grown with habitat destruction especially of stopover and wintering sites, as well as structures such as power lines and wind farms.
The conservation of important sites both within Australia and along their migration routes is really important to their survival.
If you have any questions about Grey Plovers or any birds or have some information to share, drop us a line to realworldgardener@gmail.com or write in to 2RRR PO Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675

VEGETABLE HEROES

 Spinach  or Spinacia oleracea.
Spinacia comes from the Latin word for spine and refers to the prickly seed coat.
  The species name, oleracea, simply means that the plant is edible.
Did you try growing Spinach in Summer?
It was alright for a while then when the humidity got turned up the stalks went a funny grey colour, then the leaves turned a sort of greeny-brown.

English Spinach

Not that attractive or edible.
I had to pull them out, not a great experiment.
Spinach originates from the Middle East, most likely Persia or modern-day Iran.
It was brought to Spain via the Moors somewhere between 800 AD and 1200 AD.
Did you also know that Medieval artists extracted green pigment from spinach to use as an ink or paint?
Spinach seed was sent out from England in 1787 with the First Fleet but in the new colony they found it difficult to grow.
They found growing silverbeet much easier, which is why Silverbeet is sometimes called spinach in Australia, but true spinach has smaller leaves and a much sweeter, milder flavour.
When to Sow
In Cool temperate zones, you can plant spinach from April until September.
In temperate zones you have from February until the end of May, and in sub-tropical zones, from April until the end of July.
In Arid zones, you’ve hit the jackpot because you can plant Spinach all year round.

Spinach seeds have a prickly seed coat

These times are only a guide, and personally, I plant some vegetables and see how they go even though it might be a month or two out of their supposed best planting time. So, I have some Spinach seedlings coming up in my garden right now, even though I’m in a temperate district.

Growing from seed is the cheapest way of growing any vegetable and even herb in your garden.
Saved seed is even better but if it’s not that easy to remember where you last put the seeds or if you’re not that good at recording how old the seed is, there’s plenty of packet seeds around in market stalls as well as supermarkets.
Germination of spinach seeds can take anything between a week and 2 weeks.
Plant your seedlings / seeds around 7cm apart in rows about 30 cm apart.
For once a vegetable that grows well in partial to full sun.
Spinach likes a moist but not waterlogged soil.
Using a mulch of straw or grass clippings can help to keep moisture and warmth in the soil.
Plenty of compost and the usual organic matter to so that your spinach will grow well.
Having a worm farm or compost bin really does help your veggie bed no end!
Spinach doesn't like acidic soils, a good PH is around 6.3 -6.8.
Add lime to the soil if you need to a few weeks before you put the seeds in.
Spinach like all leafy vegetables is what’s called a heavy feeder –ie, needs lots of Nitrogen to grow well.
If you haven’t already applied Blood and Bone or cow manures to the soil a month or two ago, your soil will run out of nutrients.
During the cooler months of winter, organic matter doesn’t break down that much and to get the needed Nitrogen, applying liquid fertilisers such as compost tea or fish emulsion often will be the best way to go
Another thing to remember is that Spinach grows on shallow roots, so don't dig vigorously around it.
If you get weeds because you didn’t mulch, carefully hand remove them.
Water frequently to keep up with the fast growth of the plants.
In about 6-7 weeks, your Spinach plant has put on enough big leaves so you can pick them one by one like you might lettuce.

The leaves will keep regrowing for quite a while.
Otherwise pick the whole plant for Spinach pie etc.
Make sure you wash spinach leaves well - soil is not tasty!
Big Tip: When you want to store Spinach in the fridge a tip to remember is that
Spinach is highly ethylene sensitive.
To stop leaf yellowing don’t refrigerate with apples, or tomatoes.
Why should you grow your own Spinach?
 Because Spinach is best eaten fresh and because it loses nutritional properties every day.
Putting it in the fridge slows the deterioration, but half of the major nutrients are lost by the eighth day after harvest.
Why is Spinach good for you.?
The amount of iron in spinach comes way down the list after vitamins A and C, thiamin, potassium and folic acid (one of the B complex vitamins).
Dark green leafy vegetables, like spinach, contain carotenoids. Studies show carotenoids help your eyes stay healthy as you age by preventing macular degeneration and the formation of cataracts.
Also good for the immune system
 If you have any questions about growing spinach or any other vegetable write in or email me.
Plant lots and pick them young:
AND THAT WAS YOUR VEGETABLE HERO FOR TODAY?

DESIGN ELEMENTS

Tropical gardens for everyone series part 1
What do you think of when the word Tropical garden is said?
Swaying palms, coloured cocktail drinks with umbrellas in them, lying in a hammock swaying gently in the breeze? Dipping you toes into a pool?

Perhaps you did all these things on your last holiday to a tropical isle, but wait, you can have it at home as well.
But aren’t tropical gardens definitely for the tropics right? Wrong.
Maybe not all of it, but at least some of the features.
Over the next five weeks, Design Elements will be talking about Tropical Gardens to suit any climate in Australia. Today, you’re going tropical around the pool in part 1 of this series.
I'm talking with Landscape Designer Louise McDaid

The whole garden doesn’t have to be tropical.
If you live in a cooler or arid area, you might have a tropical theme within your garden style. Somewhere there is a microclimate that suits those plants that were mentioned. You get the idea.

PLANT OF THE WEEK

What’s your Autumn garden looking like right now?



Are there plenty of flowers, perhaps roses, are there autumn colours of trees that are starting to lose their leaves.

Heuceheras photo M Cannon

If there’s a few spots that you can add a little something, autumn is the best time to plant, so the plant panel got our heads together and picked out 3 plants that are true winners.
Let’s find out which ones are so good. I'm talking with Karen Smith www.hortjournal.com.au and Jeremy Critchley, plant nursery owner, www.thegreengallery.com.au


I'm talking with the plant panel were Karen Smith, editor of Hort Journal and Jeremy Critchley, The Green Gallery wholesale nursery owner.

One of the stars of the Autumn garden is definitely the Japanese windflower, and they’re so easy to grow and fit well planted amongst Camellias.


Primula

Heucheras on the other hand have many different types of leaf colour making a bold statement in any garden, even in vertical gardens.

Primulas (Primula obconica) fit well into any garden and if you look for the "Libra" range of Primul,s these are NEW and have been bred without PRIMIN.



Japanese wind flowers