'JANE LONG', MEET 'KIAN'!  . . . NATIVES, YES!

BUT WITH CAUTION! . . . HERBS THAT LOVE OUR SUMMER HEAT

 

BY BRENDA BEUST SMITH 

"Because Galveston has such diversity on this small island ... we have 

learned to exist closely and profit from each other for a long time."

- Izola Ethel Fedford Collins,
Island of Color - Where Juneteenth Started

(2004, AuthorHouse; www.iecollins.net/about.net)

An International Oleander Society (IOS) member's recent suggestion coincides wonderfully with Galveston's current celebration of the 150th Anniversary of Juneteenth, which commemorates the day a ship sailing into the island's harbor brought with it the news of President Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation.

 

IOS, which is based in Galveston, recently honored Jane Long, the Mother of Texas, by naming an oleander for her. A member's suggestion has now been made to name one of his oleander hybrids for Kian - also known as Kiamata Long - the young African American girl who came with Jane Long to Bolivar Peninsula and shared Jane Long's historic stay during the months preceding the first successful Anglo colonization of Texas.

 

As frequently happens with newly-named flowers, the 'Jane Long' oleander's path through the propagation-for-retail-sales stage has been beset by some inevitable, but unavoidable, delays.  

 

Naming a new flower and bringing it into retail trade is always a very long, time-consuming process. But it is the first step!

 

As you can see in the picture at above left, the 'Jane Long' oleander is a true pink with a different corona ("eyelashes") and wider leaves than the more vibrant pink flower proposed as the 'Kian' oleander (second from left above).  

 

A still-young 'Jane Long' oleander plant is thriving nicely in the IOS Oleander Garden (2624 Sealy in Galveston, behind Moody Mansion). The garden itself is gorgeous now. It's open free during the day.

 

Although Kian later married and had a family of her own, she remained close to Jane Long for their entire lives. Kian was a co-supporter of Jane's vital work with Stephen F. Austin, Sam Houston, William Barrett Travis, Mirabeau B. Lamar and many other Texas heroes.Together they saved many valuable historic papers when Santa Anna's army forced many residents to flee the Brazoria area. Jane chose to take the historic files back to Bolivar Peninsula until it was safe to return.

Jane and Kian's stay on Bolivar Peninsula is recorded on a Jane Long Pavilion monument, near the entrance to historic Fort Travis, a short distance from the Bolivar Ferry Landing on the recently-designated Jane Long Highway (Hwy. 87), site of the Oct. 10 2015 Jane Long Festival. 

Galveston County's 150th Juneteenth Celebration is now underway.  (Click link for event schedule.)

Of special interest to gardeners will be the Sat., June 13 Juneteenth Family Day at historic Stringfellow Orchards in Hitchcock.  An internationally-recognized horticulturist, Henry Martyn Stingfellow (1839-1912) is credited with starting the Gulf Coast's citrus industry with his plantings of Satsuma oranges.

A Stringfellow treatise published in 1890 included then-innovative organic gardening techniques soon adopted by Japanese, German and many American fruit and vegetable gardeners. 

POTPOURRI

 

* HELP IS AVAILABLE TO START POLLINATOR GARDENS: The American Horticultural Society and dozens of other gardening/conservation groups have formed the National Pollinator Garden Network (NPGN) to launch a "Million Pollinator Garden Challenge" in response to President Barack Obama's call to action to reverse the decline of a wide variety of pollinating insects. NPGN's goal is to help school, churches, communities, etc., create one million pollinator gardens over the next two years. Details: www.millionpollinatorgardens.org.

* DON'T FORGET . . . 

        . . . the Houston Zoo's June 20-21 Pollinator Days.  June 15-21 is National Pollinator Week.  

        . . . if you need to replace flood-murdered plants, or just want more great ones, the Mercer Botanic Gardens' big Summer Color Plant Sale is Sat., June 13, open to public at 10:15am. 

* AH, NEIL...YOU'RE MAKING ME FEEL SO OLD! Neil Sperry's Gardens magazine, a fixture in Texas horticulture for over 3 decades, has stopped its print editions. July/August will be available only online. Only subscribers get into the special "gated" part.

Sorry, but I love the feel of slick paper and gorgeous flowers that literally leap off the page. I love having the magazine to flip through while Husband watches TV. 

I'll miss the expertise of favorite writers/photographers like Bill Adams, Diane Morey Sitton, Greg Grant and Neil's other regulars. I understand the $$$ of it. But, Neil, I spend entirely too much time on the computer as it is! And that's the truth!

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* LOOKING FOR A GREAT FIELD TRIP? If you have a group interested in fascinating gardening-related outings, I can't recommend any more highly than the tour of Nature's Way Resources. Check out the Houston Urban Gardeners (HUG) report on this tour.

* WINNING TOMATO VARIETIES in The Arbor Gate's annual Tomato Contest included: Prettiest single tomato: 'Mortgage Lifter' (entered by Poly Cline); Best Tasting Small: 'Sweet Chelsea' (Katherine Kelton); Best Tasting Large: 'Big Boy' (Shirley Frey); Largest by Weight: 'Mortgate Lifter' - 1lb 11.3oz! (Poly Cline)and Most Uniform Sample: 'Cherokee Purple' (Poly Cline).

* MEA CULPA, LA IRISES! Reader Mary J took me to task (very nicely, of course!) for not including Louisiana irises (pictured at left, below) in my column on "Submergible list of plants" (easily survive our floods). I might add they also easily survive our intensive droughts and, possessing these two delightful attributes, can be planted right at ground level here.

Left, Louisiana Iris are ideal for lazy Houston area gardeners! Center: St. Theresa Catholic School gardeners, staffers and volunteers Right, David Crockett Middle School student gardeners, staffers and volunteers.

TIP O' THE TROWEL TO . . . 

. . . ST. THERESA CATHOLIC SCHOOL GARDENERS, above, who received a $500 award from The Great Grow at the Sugar Land Farmers Market at Imperial Great Grow Event. Assisting at the event were David Crockett Middle School students who plan to enter next year's competition. Details: www.TheGreatGrow.com

. . . HOUSTONIA MAGAZINE for the great article on the revival of front porches in the current issue. Gardening and front porches just seem to go hand-in-hand, but so few of us have one these days. Porch Song - a fun read on real paper. www.houstoniamag.com.

* TRIED & FAILED TO GROW HERBS IN SUMMER HERE?

Not all these treasured plants can take our intense sun and droughts (well, our usual droughts). November is our main herb planting time and most are harvested through winter and spring.

However! Many herbs do thrive here despite high temperatures. Key to success: the right varieties. Mercer Botanic Gardens' big Summer Color Plant Sale mentioned above will include a selection of herbs such as basil, thyme, scented geraniums, and some curry plant mixed in with hanging baskets

In today's Spotlight below, Jeanie Dunnihoo of the Herb Society of America/South Texas Unit and a Harris County Master Gardener gives great recommendations. And, at the end, are Harris County Master Gardener herb classes for our unique subtropical pocket. 

Brenda's "LAZY GARDENER'S GUIDE" - a when-to-do-what in Greater Houston area gardens - is now available on CD only (pdf file). $20. Checks payable to Brenda B. Smith and mailed to: Lazy Gardener's Guide on CD, 14011 Greenranch Dr., Houston, TX 77039-2103. For a free page of this month's TO-DO list, email Brenda at lazy gardener@sbcglobal.net

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Great summer herbs for this area: l to r Mexican oregano and garlic chives. No space? Group the basils, right.

GOOD SUMMER HERBS FOR THE HOUSTON-AREA REGION

BY Jeanie Dunnihoo

Harris County Master Gardener and

Herb Society of America South Texas Unit member

Summer is a great time to dot your landscape with herbs. Our warm tropical climate enables us to plant herbs like basil, garlic chives, oregano, rosemary, several types of mints, lemon herbs and even some large tropical herbs like Hoja santa, also known as the root beer plant and our famous "Texas tarragon" Mexican mint marigold.

Most of these herbs have multiple uses:

* Good to eat or for brewing refreshing teas

* Provide shelter for native reptiles

* attract beneficial insects to protect other plants

* BASILS: Now that temperatures are above 60 at night, all basils do well. Italian favorites, Genovese green and sweet green basil, are often called regular basils. Purple ruffles or dark opal basils and Thai basil Siam Queen offer spots of color in sunny beds. All add a spicy note to food and especially homemade vinegars.

Clip these culinary beauties regularly to prevent flowering (causes early death). I plant several groups of all basils, leaving some for bees to enjoy.

* GARLIC CHIVES (Allium tuberosum) add a mild taste of garlic to dishes and provide pretty star shaped flowers for bees all summer.

* OREGANO. The three I like most are Hill Hardy (Origanum x marjoricum), Greek Oregano, and the Mexican plant (Poliomintha longiflora) which is not a true oregano but is often used interchangeably. This "Mexican" oregano's purple flowers attract bees and other beneficials.

* ROSEMARY. My favorites are Gorizia, Spice Island , Tuscan blue and Arp. These upright plants have a less piney taste but all rosemaries are edible. For a twisted prostrate type, Huntington Blue is pretty. Give rosemary water but rapid drainage. Avoid watering rosemary from overhead with the lawn sprinkler.

* MINTS are at their peak in early summer then usually bloom in July. Blooms are a favorite of bees. But if you choose to harvest mint for drying it has the best flavor just before blooming. Frequent trimming and water keeps mint happy. Mint will want to take over a garden. Best to grow it in very large round pots to keep different varieties separated. Favorite mints include red stem apple mint (Mentha x gracilis) which contains both peppermint and spearmint oils, spearmint (Mentha.spicata) and peppermint (menthe.piperita).

* LEMON HERBS. Lemon grass (Cymbopogon citratus), lemon balm (Melissa officinalis), and the "queen" of lemon scents, lemon verbena (Aloysia triphylla) all grow well in our hot summer. Give lemon balm some shade for better flavor.

* MEXICAN MINT MARIGOLD (Tagetes lucida) is grown for it's sweet yellow flowers that the bees love and it's similar taste to tarragon.

Give herbs good soil and adequate drainage and they will reward you with their special qualities!

Contact Jeanie Dunnihoo at rlowicki@comcast.net

Great for our summers, l to r: 'Tuscan Blue' rosemary, Mexican mint marigold and spearmint. 

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LAZY GARDENING P.S.:  Mexican mint marigold is great for beds dogs like to invade. It can stand extreme pruning (translation: stomped to ground) and emits a wonderful fragrance when lightly pruned (translation: dog breaks off branches). 

LEARN MORE ABOUT GROWING HERBS at these upcoming Harris County Master Gardener classes. All four are free. Details: https://hcmga.tamu.edu/Public/docs/2015-green-thumb.pdf or 281-855-5600.

* TUES., JUNE 16: GROWING & USING HERBS BY HARRIS COUNTY MASTER GARDENERS. 6:30-8:30pm, Spring Branch Memorial Library, 930 Corbindale.

* THURS., JUNE 18: GROWING & USING HERBS BY HARRIS COUNTY MASTER GARDENERS. 6:30-8:30 pm. Freeman Branch Library, 16616 Diana Lane.

* SAT, JUNE 20: GROWING & USING HERBS BY HARRIS COUNTY MASTER GARDENERS. 10am-Noon. Maude Smith Marks Library, 1815 Westgreen Blvd., Katy.

* TUES., JUNE 23: HARRIS COUNTY MASTER GARDENERS OPEN GARDEN DAY AND GROWING & USING HERBS WORKSHOP, 9-11:30am, 3033 Bear Creek Drive. 

LaShonda, You have very valid concerns. I suspect very little to zero testing is done.

Several issues come to mind that makes testing difficult as they vary greatly:

1) From physics we know that dark color objects will absorb more of the energy in sunlight than a light colored object, hence it gets much hotter. That is why on two cars parked side by side and in the sun for a couple hours, where one is white and the other is black, you can put your hand on the white one without problems however if you touch the black one it can burn you.

2) Sunlight is more intense in the South than in Northern states hence objects in the sun get much hotter.

3) Rubber is a relatively dense product thus it has the ability to hold a lot of heat energy and become very hot. Due to its density it can transfer a lot of heat energy very quickly to our skin causing burns. The longer the rubber object sits in the sun the more energy it absorbs and the hotter it becomes. Once a certain point is reached materials become so hot that they cannot absorb any more energy and they start radiating it off as heat energy. 

4) An object placed on black asphalt parking will absorb more heat quicker than and object on white concrete and far more than on bare ground or grass. There is additional heat and reflected sunlight, hence these type factors affect how hot an object will get.

5) Other factors are is there enough wind to help remove heat energy from an object and disperse it. Also if the object has been painted, the color of the paint will affect how hot it will become.

6) The angle of the sun due to the season is another factor. Like now (June) when the sun is almost directly overhead at noon, the sunlight is most intense, hence objects become hotter and much quicker. In December when the sun is at a lower angle in the sky, there is a lot more atmosphere to pass through which absorbs some of the energy hence less energy reaches the object and it does not become as hot.

As a result of the above factors, a product that works fine in Chicago or New York where it may have been tested, may become too hot in Texas.

Your e-mail mentioned rubber mulching. Rubber mulch share the above and is very toxic and generally bad for the environment. In our gardening newsletter I talked about rubber mulch last year which I reprinted for you below.

I also attached a handout I did after Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans where vendors selling rubber mulches were claiming termite infested mulch was being shipped from New Orleans to Houston (false claim) and gardeners needed to purchase rubber tire mulch to protect themselves.

Crushed Tires (loose tire chips) -

Rating: Extremely Poor quality

Application: Apply 3-6" deep

Pros: Tested in agriculture, decomposes very slowly, reduced weed growth of 86% in field tests when compared to unmulched soil. Available in several colors.

Cons: Limited availability and very expensive, increases heat index (gets so hot it can burn plants), can cause extremes of wet and dry conditions, some studies show possible higher disease problems, USDA tests show excessive leaching of Zinc causing severe phytotoxicity in acid soils and will contaminate soils with other tire components. Other tests around the world have confirmed USDA research and have shown that as little as 5% ground tire rubber in potting media is toxic to petunias and Impatiens ["Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis, 27 (13 & 14), 1996]. Tests at Colorado State University found that growth of geraniums grown in media with tire chips were lower than with traditional media [HortScience 32(4):674-676, 1997]. Additional research at Iowa State and Mississippi State has also found decreased growth and other problems when used in a potting mix with Geraniums and Poinsettia plants [HortScience, Vol 32(5), August 1997]. Some of the dies used to color tire chips may be toxic. Several reports of spontaneous combustion when applied too thickly. Often sinks into the soil due to its higher density when compared to organic mulches. Note: Works best on poor, unhealthy alkaline soil. Can cause permanent damage to your soil.

Try to avoid, for very special cases only.

Crushed Tires (pressed and glued tire chips) - Several gardening magazines are advertizing weed block mats made from old tire chips. These are mulch mats made from tire chips that have been glued together by heating or by use of a chemical binder. The chips are pressed into 1-2" thick mats and cut into a variety of shapes and sizes such as circles to place around shrubs and trees. These mats are laid down as a mulch and weed block. They are advertised as allowing air and water to pass through the mat but prevent weeds from penetrating. The black color of the tire chips will increase the heat index and the tire chip mats will most likely suffer from the problems of plastic mulches. Also the same type of chemical leaching and phytotoxic effects are to be expected as from chipped tires since they are made from the same feedstock material.

I hope all this helps, John

For more information on rubber mulch visit http://www.natureswayresources.com/DocsPdfs/RubberMulch.pdf