Oooh, climbing roses!

Climbing Roses

By Amy McDowell

You can grow spectacular climbing roses in central Iowa. Look for those labeled hardy for zones 4 or 5. Zone 3 would be even better, but climbing roses that hardy are rare. I’ll share a few of my successes and failures.

Blaze – My first climbing rose. The cane winterkill was aggravating, and I wasn’t willing to wrap them in burlap or bury them to protect them. One glorious bloom season in seven years wasn’t enough for me, so I dug it up and gave it away. Soil and mulch around the base of climbing roses just protects the lower part of the plant, so most years I’d get blooms no higher than my knees. Blaze is a red rose that grows to 10 feet with protection.

Zephirine Drouhin – My first successful climber. Three years after planting, this rose rewarded me with large deep pink blooms. When the blooms first open, the fragrance is intoxicating. This rose was on the south side of my home. I mulched the base but never protected the canes in winter. The tips of the canes would sometimes die back, and one harsh winter they died back several feet. It still came through winters much better than Blaze ever had, and I was hooked on climbing roses from then on. Zephirine Drouhin is a rampant grower to 12 feet. The canes are thornless, and it will bloom beautifully in light shade, although full sun is best.

Paul’s Himalayan Musk Rambler – I put a simple metal arbor over the walkway to my front door, and dreamed of my guests floating to the door wide-eyed with wonder at the lovely climbing rose. After poring over the catalogs, I ordered two “Pauls” for the arbor. Pleased with my decision, I curled up with a brand new catalog that had just arrived in the mail. Panic flooded through me when I read their description of Paul—it said this rose has “sharp, grabby thorns.” The visions of my guests turned gruesome and tragic. Scrambling, I decided to plant the two Pauls along the split rail fence away from any paths. They have grown 30 feet wide along the fence, with long arching canes that rarely suffer winterkill. The blooms are such a pale pink that they look white from a distance.

Jeanne LaJoie – This is the pink climber I chose for the walkway arbor, and it consistently rewards me with small perfect blooms and minimal winterkill. Jeanne is much smaller in stature than Paul, barely reaching six feet. Clematis planted on the arbor fills in where little Jeanne leaves off.

Oooh, that awful dry air in winter!

Houseplants and humidity

By Amy McDowell

When I was in charge of watering inside the dome at the Des Moines Botanical Center, I watered more than just the plants. I also soaked the concrete walls and pebbled paths. The plants, screaming for moisture, needed more than just a drink of water—they needed high humidity like the tropical rainforests of their origins.

During these cold winter months, the dry outside air is sucked into our furnaces, heated, and pumped through the heat vents throughout our homes. And just as we suffer with dehydration such as thirst, dry, itchy skin, tired, burning eyes and tender sinuses, our houseplants are suffering with dehydration that shows itself as curling leaves, dry brown leaf tips, yellow leaf margins, shriveling, wilting, bud drop and limp, weak growth.

The water that houseplants take up through their roots is used for growth, but much of the moisture is released, or transpired, through tiny holes in the stems and leaves called stomata. Winter air pumped through our furnaces is so dry that it rapidly taxes houseplants beyond their capacity. There are a number of things you can do to raise the humidity level and aid plants, and it doesn’t even require watering your walls and floors.

·        Humidifiers are the simplest and most effective method to raise humidity.

·        Group plants close together so they can benefit from each other’s transpired moisture.

·        Make pebble trays. Fill sturdy plant saucers with pebbles and water and place them around your houseplants. The pebbles create more surface area than just a dish of water so it will evaporate quickly.

·        Turn down the furnace. Plants will transpire less moisture if the furnace isn’t running as often. Also, keep plants away from heat vents and drafts.

·        If the kitchen or bathroom is bright enough, move plants there, where humidity is often higher than the rest of the house.

·        Misting plants is the least effective option. It is a short-term, temporary solution that must be repeated frequently throughout the day to even make a difference. In addition, water droplets on the leaves may lead to disease.

Amaryllis

Showy and Vibrant Amaryllis

By Amy McDowell

My first amaryllis only bloomed once and then it died. Yes, I followed the directions. I tucked the bulb, pot and all, into a cool dark closet and left it there—too long. Oops. By the time I pulled it out of the closet, the bulb had shriveled up to a dry papery husk. It turned out the directions were poor and I had guessed wrong on a few of the important details. It was years before I grew amaryllis again, but I’m so happy I gave them another try. Here’s how to do it right so they will bloom year after year for you.

Potting Amaryllis

·         Amaryllis blooms are stunning, but buying three bulbs and planting them all in a wide, shallow pot is even more breathtaking.

·         Buy quality potting soil. It will work much better than that light, dusty peat mix that comes in amaryllis kits.

·         Place the bulb so that the top half is above the soil level. The bulb needs to have about an inch of space on all sides.

·         Water it well over the sink, and then set it in a warm location. If you set it on top of a warm appliance, like the refrigerator, the bottom heat will push it to flower more quickly. Don’t leave the pot on a bottom heat source for more than a week.

Care after Blooming

·         You can remove the blooms as they fade, but wait until the bloom stalk starts to whither and collapse before cutting it off.

·         The bulb will still have leaves, so treat it like a regular houseplant until spring.

·         In late May or early June, set the pot outdoors in a shady spot where you will remember to water it. You will have healthy green leaves all season, which are making energy for the next bloom cycle.

·         In late September, let the pot go a little drier, and then in early October, take it into a cool dark basement. You are pushing the bulb to go dormant and rest for about eight weeks. Don’t cut the leaves off until they have turned brown on their own. Little or no water is needed.

·         In early December, bring the pot out. You only need to repot the bulb if it is bursting out the sides of the pot. Water thoroughly, and the blooms are on their way again.

Amaryllis are available with single blooms, double blooms, and in miniature. They come in red, orange, pink, peach, blush, white, and bicolors. You can find amaryllis at the local garden center, or by contacting any of the following sources: Amaryllis Bulb Co. at 888/966-9866 or www.amaryllis.com; McClure & Zimmerman at 800/883-6998 or www.mzbulb.com; John Scheepers, Inc. at 860/567-0838 or www.JohnScheepers.com.

Amy McDowell is an Iowa Certified Nursery Professional. She has an associate’s degree in commercial horticulture and has worked in the field for ten years. She lives and gardens in Polk County.