THE TURK’S CAP Volume 12, Number 2 Summer 2 GO? The newsletter Of The Delaware native plant Society In This Issue Page 1 : Natural Quotes 1 /Yew Members m DNPS Vision Page 2 Thoughts From The Edge . . . Resources and Reviews Page 3 Feature Article ■ Resources and Reviews Page 4 ■ Gardening With Native Plants Resources and Reviews Page 5 ■ Feature Article continued Resources and Reviews Page 6 Out Of The Wild & Into The Kitchen Page 7 Upcoming Events How Can / Get Involved? The Delaware Native Plant Society is open to everyone ranging from the novice gardener to the professional botanist. One of the primary goals of the society is to involve as many individuals as possible. The DNPS is working on some significant projects at this time. We have completed four refor- estation projects in the Prime Hook area, at Black- bird Creek in New Castle County and Cedar Creek in Sussex County where we have installed tree tubes around newly sprouted seedlings, and are perform- ing annual management of the sites. Help is also needed at our native plant nursery at the St. Jones Reserve with the monitoring and watering of plants along with many other nursery activities. For more information, visit our website at www.delawarenativeplants. org. Our very informa- tive, up-to-date website has all the contact information for the Society, along with a section on native plants, volunteering, and links to other environmental and plant related organizations. A Beachy Welcome To Our Newest Members April through June Jeffrey Davis Demaris Hollembeak Andy Lazorchak The DNPS Vision T he purpose of the DelawareNative Plant Society (DNPS) is to participate in and encourage the preservation, conservation, restoration, and propagation of Delaware’s native plants and plant communities. The Society provides information to government officials, business people, educators, and the general public on the protection, management, and restoration of native plant ecosystems. The DNPS encourages the use of native plants in the landscape by homeowners, businesses, and local and state governments through an on-going distribution of information and knowledge by various means that includes periodic publications, symposia, conferences, workshops, field trips, and a growing statewide membership organized by the DNPS. research. The Turks Cap, Volume 12, Number 2 Page 2 Thoughts From The Edge Of The Garden Website update On 7 April 2009 we added Google Analytics to the source code of our site to track a myriad of statistics about visitation. Here are the stats through 1 1 July 2009. Number of visits: 345 Number that were unique visits: 313 (90.7%) Average time spent browsing: 2 min. 23 sec. Average # of pages browsed: 4.3 Places: U.S.A. (29 states), Mumbai, Bangalore How we were located: 61% from a search engine 27% from a referring site 11% from direct traffic American journal of botany named a top 1 0 MOST INFLUENTIAL JOURNAL OF THE CENTURY Botanical Society of America/www.botany.org (Vol. 55 Number 3) - The Special Libraries Association (SLA) has selected the American Journal of Botany as one of the 10 most influential journals of the past 100 years in the field of biology and medicine. The SLA announced the results on June 16, 2009 at its annual business luncheon in Washington, DC. Accepting the award on behalf of the Botanical Society of America was Dr. Judy Skog, incoming President-elect of the Society. Desert dust alters plant ecology FORT COLLINS, Colo., July 9, 2009 (UPI) - U.S. scientists say global warming might have a greater influence on some plants annual growth cycles than previously thought. Researchers led by Heidi Steltzer of Colorado State University's Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory said their findings suggest accelerated snowmelt caused by desert dust blowing into mountainous areas changes how alpine plants respond to seasonal climate changes. Current mountain dust levels in Colorado's alpine valleys are five times greater than they were before the mid- 19th century, the scientists said. "Human use of desert landscapes is linked to the life cycles of mountain plants, and changes the environmental cues that determine when alpine meadows will be in bloom, possibly increasing plants' sensitivity to global warming," said Jay Fein of the National Science Foundation, which partially funded the With climate change, the wanning and drying of the desert southwest is likely to result in even greater dust accumulation in surrounding mountains, the researchers said. "Earlier snowmelt (caused) by desert dust depletes the natural water reservoirs of mountain snowpacks and in turn affects the delivery of water to urban and agricultural areas," said Tom Painter, director of the Snow Optics Laboratory at the Univer- sity of Utah. The study that included Chris Landry, director of the Center for Snow and Avalanche Studies in Silverton, Colo., appeared in last week's issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Thousands of plant species likely to go extinct in Amazon Wake Forest University July 7, 2009 - As many as 4,550 of the more than 50,000 plant species in the Amazon will likely disap- pear because of land-use changes and habitat loss within the next 40 years, according to a new study by two Wake Forest University researchers. The study appears in the current issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and is co-authored by Kenneth Feeley, post-doctoral research fellow, and Miles Silman, associ- ate professor of biology at Wake Forest. The researchers examined several hundred thousand individual plant records to map the distributions of more than 40,000 spe- cies found in the Amazon. Using these maps in conjunction with predictions of future deforestation and land-use change, they estimate habitat loss and extinction risks individually for nearly 80 percent of all Amazonian plant species — something that has never been done. “While previous studies have indicated that we are in danger of losing large numbers of species, they were limited in not providing specific enough results to aid in the design of conser- vation strategies,” Feeley says. The current study provides detailed information that can be used to target conservation action toward individual species that are at high risk of extinction or at specific areas that are especially important to preservation of diversity Resources & Reviews The Dry Gardening Handbook: Plants and Practices for a Changing Climate Authored by Olivier Filippi. A garden that can withstand summer drought and requires little watering is the dream of every gardener who is conscious of the need to conserve water and who wants to create a garden in harmony with the environment. That dream can become a reality with the help of this indispensable new refer- ence book which provides concrete solutions to the questions and hurdles faced by gardeners coping with dry conditions. The Turk s Cap. Volume 12, Number 2 Page 3 Resources t Reviews Xeriscape Handbook: A How-to Guide to Natural Resource-Wise Gardening Authored by Gayle Weinstein. An easy-to-follow, step-by-step approach to creating a water- wise gardening environment, no matter where one lives. Feature Article The Plants Are Talking Back ( Editor ’s note: This contains excerpts from articles in Science Daily, www.treehngger.com, and the University of Washington) For years people have been looking for a good way to keep plants watered. There’s moisture sensors that you stick into the soil and they tell you when the soil is dry, there’s watering spikes that you fill with water and plunge the tip into the soil and it slowly drips water over a long period of time, there’s self- watering inventions like upside down 2-liter bottles filled with water, and many other electronic gadgets that tell you when it’s time to water. But recently a new electronic controller has been created that rivals all others. A new system called Botanicalls, developed by interactive telecommuni- cations researchers, allows your plants to send Instant Messages via SMS (short message service) to your mobile phone or messages to your twitter account on the Internet (called “tweets”). The system currently involves a soil moisture sensor, hardware and software to interpret that data, and a call to a phone. In the future the system will include new features including a light sensor, display, ambi- ent sensors, output to the web and email, as well as calls to your personal cell phone (not just the one connected to the plant). You'll even be able to call and check on the plants status. Probes in the soil send out electrical waves. Based on amount of moisture in the soil, a voltage level is sent through two wires to a circuit board that compares current moisture levels to the optimum moisture level. This data is sent via a wireless signal to an internet-connected computer and received by a local network, which allows the plant to send a message for help. These messages might include a thank-you when plants are watered, or a warning if the watering is too much Each Botanicalls kit is $99 and has to be assembled from basic parts. Developers say it's worth it if you like your plants but don't always remember to take care of them. The new kit is the third generation of the Botanicalls system. The team is continuing to innovate and hopes to make it smaller, cheaper and easier to use. A technology similar to this is also being used in the wine industry to measure water stress in grapevines. A science lab recently developed a synthetic tree that mimics the flow of water inside plants using a slab of hydrogel with nanometer-scale pores. Using this technology, the device became an embedded mi- crosensor capable of measuring real-time water stress in living plants. In theory, the sensor will help vintners strike the precise balance between drought and overwatering — both of which diminish the qual- ity of wine grapes. A team is working at the Cornell Nanofabrication Facility in Ithaca to develop 4-inch diameter silicon wafer protoypes, each containing approximately 100 microsensors. They have also begun collaborating with Infotonics, a firm in Canandaigua, N.Y., that specializes in microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), to plan commercialization of the sensors. The partnership applies cutting-edge engineering to practical agricultural concerns. The team hopes to design a sensor that will transmit field readings wirelessly to a central server; the data will then be summarized online for the grower. Looking ahead, the team is pursuing alternative sen- sors that could enhance research in fields from food science to forestry. They have begun development of a "multi-use sensor" that redirects water flow inside the plant through a shunt. In this case, the sensor could measure the flow of water and mineral nutri- ents through the plant, in addition to water stress. But before we get into all the high tech forms of plant watering, it’s good to know some basics. Continued on page 5 The Juri s Cap, Volume 12, Number 2 Page 4 Gardening With Native Plants Butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa) NATURAL HISTORY The long hot muggy days of summer are now upon us and all along the roadways and uncultivated fields of Delaware it’s time to look for the bright orange and yellow flowers of Ascle- pias tuberosa , more commonly know as butterfly weed. These beautiful flowered members of the milkweed family are com- mon throughout most of the eastern United States and Canada, and occasionally west to Colorado and Minnesota. The Butter- fly weed is the only ‘milkless milkweed’ and exudes a watery sap, not the sticky, milky juice characteristic of most Asclepias species. It is an important nectar plant to numerous bees and a myriad of butterflies including swallowtails, sulphurs, hair- streaks, fritillaries, and skippers that flock in great numbers to the showy 2 to 4 inch clusters of flowers. Perhaps most impor- tantly, the butterfly weed and other members of the milkweed family are a host plant to the Monarch Butterfly. Not only do the Monarchs frequent the flowers for their rich nectar, they also lay their eggs on the underside of the leaves, where once hatched, the emergent caterpillars gorge themselves on the leaves, ingesting a poison that makes them and the resulting butterflies unattractive to potential predators. This strategy is so effective, that several other butterflies mimic the colors of the Monarch to help avoid predators. The butterfly weed is a peren- nial attaining a height of 1 to 2 feet. Mature plants will boast numerous stalks terminating in flower clusters that open some- what sequentially, making for a prolonged summer blooming season. WHERE TO GROW The butterfly weed grows naturally in a wide variety of soils and light conditions. It will tolerate partial shade and moder- ately moist soils, but for best results full sun and a light sandy loam are recommended. It has a long fibrous taproot that act as a water storage tank, providing drought resistance and making it well suited for naturalizing in wildflower gardens, un-mowed fields, bright woodland borders and other undisturbed areas. For planting in the perennial flower garden, plants should be clustered approximately one foot apart providing a blanket of mid-summer color. PROPAGATION AND CARE Propagation of butterfly weed is by seed and is quite easy to accomplish. In a natural environment the seedpods split in the fall. Each seed is attached to a number of feathery silk-like hairs that carry the seed long distances on the wind. When col- lecting seeds, wait until the pod is ripe and just beginning to open. Pry open the pod until you can grasp the feathery silk-like hairs, then gently remove a cluster of seeds and hairs from the pod and scrape the seeds into an porous envelope for storage. Store the seeds in cool dry place over the winter until ready to plant. In early spring, plant the seeds % inch deep in a mixture of equal parts of sand, sphagnum peat moss, and well-rotted compost - keep evenly moist but not soggy. After the young seedlings emerge and develop 2 sets of true leaves, transplant into individual pots and grow them until fall before setting out into the garden. Your plants should flower in their second year and be fully mature after 4 years. Once the plant is fully mature, you may prolong blooming by cutting off the inflorescence to keep seed pods from forming. This will prompt a second blooming and provide you with flowers for up to two months of summer beauty. Never try to dig up a plant that is living in the wild. Its long taproot is easily broken making transplanting sel- dom successful. And remember, when you see those pesky cat- erpillars munching away on the leaves of your prized butterfly weed, let them be - they will reward you with glorious butter- flies and the plant will die back in the fall no worse for the wear! LORE The butterfly weed should be enjoyed for it’s beauty and for it’s significant contribution to butterflies, bees and other insects that thrive on its nectar and foliage. To humans and other mammals the butterfly weed contains toxic cardiac glycosides rendering it poisonous, and it should never be ingested. In the past, native Americans and pioneers used butterfly weed by creating a paste from the roots to spread on sores. Both settlers and native Americans brewed a tea from the roots to induce perspiration and expectoration in severe respiratory ailments including pleurisy, whooping cough and pneumonia, hence another Resources & Reviews Creating the Prairie Xeriscape: Low-maintenance, Water- efficient Gardening Authored by Sara Williams. Creating the Prairie Xeriscape covers everything you need to know to create a low-maintenance, water- efficient landscape, from the basics of soil, water, and mulch, to the fine points of design. The Turks Cap, Volume 12, Number 2 Page 5 Resources & Reviews How to Get Your Lawn off Grass: A North American Guide to Turning Off the Water Tap and Going Native Authored by Carole Rubin. The only North America- wide guide on how to convert your yard from a water- sucking source of pollution runoff to a flourishing, productive showcase of natural vegetation. Feature Article Continued from page 3 Watering home landscape and garden plants properly is one of the most misunderstood problems facing the average gardener. If landscape plants are water stressed during the summer, they may experience severe problems during the rest of the year, such as increased insect and disease susceptibility and decreased winter hardiness. Water loss from the soil There are several ways in which water is lost from the soil. Rain, melted snow, or water applied by the gardener may percolate through the soil beyond the root zone. This water is useless to growing plants. Water may also evaporate from the soil surface, leaving it dry. Water from lower layers in the soil is drawn to the surface by capillary action and also evaporates. This continual evaporation may deplete water from quite deep in the soil. Transpiration is the process by which a plant loses water through its leaves. This is a necessary process for plant growth. A large tree may lose hundreds of gallons of water a day in the summer. Water lost from the soil by evaporation and transpira- tion must be replaced by precipitation or irrigation. Soil-Water-Air relationships Establishing the correct water-air relationships in the soil is essential for the best growth of all plant types. Oxygen in the soil is necessary for plants to grow. Watering too often or too much is likely to exclude the necessary oxygen from the soil pore spaces. Without enough oxygen, plant roots suffocate and die. Plant parts above ground exhibit symptoms of this stress: wilting, yellowing, and drying foliage, leaf drop and twig die- back may all occur. Constant overwatering kills most plants. Too little water, on the other hand, does not allow the roots to replace water lost by the plant through transpiration. The roots may dry up and die, and the top growth begins to show abnor- mal symptoms. In both cases, either too much or too little water, the plant suffers from lack of moisture in its tissues. Heavy clay soils are much more likely to be overwatered than light soils. Conversely, light sandy soils are drought susceptible and tend not to be watered enough. Although light soil allow deeper and quicker water penetration, they dry out more rapidly because they hold less water. Heavy soils, on the other hand, are slower to allow penetration but also dry out much more slowly. A good rule-of-thumb to follow in watering plants is to fill the entire root zone with water, and then allow the soil to dry out partially before the next irrigation. The amount of drying depends on the plant species and size. Large trees and shrubs can be allowed to dry several inches down in the soil before rewatering. A small or newly established plant will need water- ing before very much soil drying takes place. It is essential that gardeners become familiar with how long it takes the root zones of the various plants in their gardens to become completely moistened, and then, how deeply they can allow the soil to dry before the plants begin to show stress and need rewatering. It is also necessary to understand that quick, light sprinkling will not do the job of wetting the entire root zone. Water penetration Soil type or texture is a major determining factor of how much water a soil will hold, or how quickly a soil can be irrigated. For example, 1 inch of water applied to a sandy soil will penetrate 12 inches. It will move anywhere from 6-10 inches into a good loam soil, and in a clay soil it will percolate down only 4-5 inches. Time required Sandy soils allow water to penetrate more quickly than will heavy, dense soils. Wetting the entire root zone of plants grow- ing in heavy soils takes much longer than wetting plants grow- ing in lighter soils. Sandy loams will accept from 1/2-3 inches of water per hour. A clay-loam may absorb only 1/10-3/5 inches of water in the same amount of time. A very dry clay- loam soil could therefore take as long as 120 hours to completely wet to a depth of 12 inches. A sandy loam, however, might take as little as four hours. Organic matter Soils to which organic matter has been added will behave differently. For example, clay soils with added organic matter will accept water more quickly. Organically amended sandy soils hold water longer, and consequently do not need to be irrigated as frequently. Compaction and thatch Water cannot soak into compacted soils, or soils overlaid with a thatch accumulation, particularly if water is applied too quickly. For compacted or thatch-choked areas, or possibly under the canopy of trees and shrubs, the best treatment is to aerate the soil by removing plugs. Mulches around trees and shrubs help restructure the surface layer of compacted soils to allow more efficient penetration of water. / 7 * The Turk s Cap, Volume 12, Number 2 Page 6 Out Of The Wild & Into The Kitchen It’s blueberry season and this wonderful fruit from the Vaccinium spp. can be found all over Delaware, but especially in Kent and Sussex counties. There are a quite a number of recipes out there using these sweet fruits in pies-like desserts. Here’s a couple from www.fooddownunder.com. Alaskan Blueberry Coffee Cake 1 1/2 cup All-purpose flour 3/4 cup Sugar 2 1/2 tsp Baking powder 1 tsp Salt 1/4 cup Vegetable oil 3/4 cup Milk 1 X Egg 1 1/2 cup Blueberries 1/3 cup All-purpose flour 1/2 cup Brown sugar, firmly packed 1/2 tsp Cinnamon (or more to taste) 1/4 cup Firm butter (1/2 stick) In a medium mixing bowl, blend together 1-1/2 cups flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, oil, milk, egg and 1 cup blueberries. Beat thoroughly for 30 seconds and spread in a greased round 9x1 -1/2-inch pan or an 8x8x2-inch pan. Combine 1/3 cup flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and butter. Sprinkle over batter and top with the remaining berries. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 25 to 30 minutes, until done. Don't overbake. Serve warm with butter or honey. Apple Blueberry Cream Puff Sundaes 3/4 cup water 6 tbl butter or margarine 3/4 cup all-purpose flour 1/4 tsp salt 3 lrg eggs 2 pkt frozen escalloped apples - (12 oz ea) 2 cup fresh or frozen blueberries thawed 1 tbl lemon juice 1/2 gal vanilla ice cream Fresh mint sprigs for garnish • Bring 3/4 cup water and butter to a boil in a large saucepan; reduce heat to low. Add flour and salt; beat with a wooden spoon until mixture leaves sides of pan. Remove from heat; cool slightly. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating until smooth. • Drop batter by 2 rounded tablespoonfuls 3 inches apart on lightly greased baking sheets. Bake at 450 degrees for 10 minutes; reduce temperature to 325 degrees, and bake 15 more minutes or until golden. Pierce cream puffs with a fork to let steam escape, and cool. • Thaw escalloped apples in microwave at MEDIUM (50% power) 6 to 7 minutes. Stir together apples, blueberries, and lemon juice. • Split cream puffs in half; fill with ice cream, top with apple mixture, and replace pastry top. Garnish, if desired. • This recipe yields 7 servings. Comments: To serve with cinnamon ice cream, soften vanilla ice cream, and stir in 2 to 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon; freeze. The Turks Cap. Volume 12, Number 2 Page 7 Upcoming Events September 2009 — Bowman’s Hill Wildflower Preserve. 2009 Fall Native Plant Sale. Open to Public and Preserve Members: Sat. Sept. 12 & Sun. Sept. 13 through Sat. Sept. 19 & Sun. Sept. 20. 10 A.M. - 4 P.M. EACH DAY. PLANTS ALSO ARE AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE DURING THE WEEK. MORE INFORMATION ON THE WEB AT http://WWW.BHWP.ORG. Saturday, 12 September 2009 — Adkins Arboretum plant sale. The Fall Native Plant Sale is Satur- day, September 12 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Members may place pre-sale plant orders. The members- ONLY PLANT SALE IS FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 1 1 FROM 10 A.M. TO 6 P.M. THERE IS ALSO A PREVIEW WALK OF THE PLANT SALE, FREE FOR THE PUBLIC, ON WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 9 AT 1 P.M. MORE INFORMATION ON THE WEB at http://www.adkinsarboretum.org/ 26-27 September 2009 — Maryland Native Plant Society annual conference. The annual fall CONFERENCE STARTS SATURDAY MORNING WITH A SERIES OF SPEAKERS, FOLLOWED BY AFTERNOON AND Sunday field trips throughout the region. More information on the web at http:// WWW.MDFLORA.ORG. 3-4 October 2009 — Delaware Nature Society. Harvest Moon Festival at Coverdale Farm, Greenville, DE. More information on the web at http://www.delawarenaturesociety.org/ EVENTS . HTML . Summer and Autumn 2009 — Continuing education at Mt. Cuba Center. This non-profit organiza- tion HAS A FANTASTIC EDUCATION DEPARTMENT. THEY OFFER DOZENS OF CLASSES AND SYMPOSIA THROUGHOUT THE YEAR. FOR MORE INFORMATION CALL 302.239.4244, OR ON THE WEB AT HTTP: //WWW. MTCUBACENTER.ORG. i m m 1 m BE ! DNPS Bi-monthly meetings for 2009 — are currently scheduled for 20 January, 17 March, 19 May, 21 July, 15 September, 1 November (not a meeting, but the annual plant sale) and 17 November. All MEETINGS ARE ON THE THIRD TUESDAY OF EVERY OTHER MONTH AT 7 PM, UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED. THE MEETING WILL BE HELD IN 3 LOCATIONS AROUND THE STATE. THE KENT COUNTY LOCATION IS AT THE ST. JONES Reserve, the New Castle County location is at the New Castle County Conservation District office at 2430 Old County Rd., Newark, DE, 19702, and the Sussex County location is at the Redden State Forest Education Center at 18074 Redden Forest Dr., Georgetown, DE, 19947. See our website for maps and directions to each meeting location. See out website (WWW.DELAWARENATIVEPLANTS.ORG) FOR MORE DETAILS, AND FOR DETAILS ON UPCOMING FIELD TRIPS. The Turk s Cap. Volume 12, Number 2 Page 6 l Membership Application Delaware native Plant Society Member Information Name: Business Name or Organization: Address: o Full-time Student $10.00 o Individual $15.00 o Family or Household $18.00 o Contributing $50.00 o Business $100.00 o Lifetime $500.00 o Donations are also welcome $ City and Zip Code: Telephone (home/work): E-mail address: Membership benefits include: * The DNPS quarterly newsletter. The Turk’s Can * Native plant gardening and landscaping information * Speakers, field trips, native plant nursery and sales Total Amount Enclosed: $ Make check payable to: DE Native Plant Society P.O. Box 369, Dover, DE 19903 Delaware Native Plant Society P.O. Box 369 Dover, Delaware 19903