Hits & Misses: Unrooted bamboo & Equation 1 begonias
Question of the Week: When should I start my seeds indoors?
Science & Technology: Extending life

U.S. President Barack Obama will have plenty on his plate during his term, and one group is recommending that he might as well stack it with a few nutritious homegrown vegetables. The White House Organic Farm Project wants the president to convert five acres of White House land into vegetable production. According to the non-partisan group, the intent is to carve out a piece of the lawn to create a vegetable plot that is “a model for healthy, economical and sustainable living.” If your interest has been piqued, check out their website (www.thewhofarm.org/ ). I think the project has a lot of merit. The concept might seem somewhat revolutionary, but keep in mind that a Victory Garden was planted on White House grounds during the Second World War and was one of many established under an initiative marketed as “food gardens for defense.” At the very least, visit the website to see the world’s most unusual double-decker school bus!

Hits & Misses
Hit: Unrooted Bamboo
Historically, we have ordered trailing bamboo (a.k.a. that mop-head, hanging-basket grass) as rooted cuttings that we transplant into hanging baskets. This year, we broke with tradition and ordered unrooted cuttings. They have proven to be rapid, vigorous rooters. Considering how quickly trailing bamboo grows in pots, I can’t say I’m surprised by the unrooted cutting results.

Fast-growing bamboo grass looks impressive in hanging baskets.

Miss: Equation 1 Begonias
There are two simple equations that apply to growing plants in the greenhouse.
Equation 1: Low light + warm temperatures = stretched plants.
Equation 2: High light + cool temperatures = compact, well-branched plants.
Unfortunately, a small (very small) batch of Equation 1 begonias arrived this past week. Stretched plants don’t make good transplants for the garden, so those begonias will need a little TLC to fine-tune them for spring.

Question of the Week
When should I start my seeds indoors?
Even though gardeners have been busily buying seeds in our store, it’s still a bit early to start them. Starting dates depend on the seed and the average date of the last spring frost, which is May 9 in our area. Read your seed packets, take that last-frost date into account and calculate how long you need from seeding to transplanting. For example, tomatoes need seven to eight weeks, which means you would be starting them in mid March, while cucumbers need only a couple of weeks.

Science & Technology
Extending Life
Alcohol prolongs life! But don’t break out the bubbly just yet because I’m not referring to human life; I’m talking about the latest research on the vase life of roses. A researcher from the University of Warwick in England found that vase solutions containing 3% sucrose combined with 3% alcohol increased vase life of certain rose varieties. In fact, they lasted four to seven days longer than roses kept in distilled water. I guess it would be inappropriate to assume that 3% alcohol—the same percentage found in light beer—could extend human life. I’m sure there would be lots of volunteers for human trials.

Did You Know?
It takes about six to eight years before an apple tree grown from seed has the capacity to bear fruit. A Douglas fir requires 15–20 years before it can produce seeds; a European beech tree needs 30–40 years.

“In science, fact can only mean confirmed to such a degree that it would be perverse to withhold provisional assent. I suppose that apples might start to rise tomorrow, but the possibility does not merit equal time in the classroom.”
—Stephen Jay Gould

Order Online and Win!
Order one of our Valentine’s arrangements or bouquets before February 13th and you will be entered to win not only your purchase, but also our Unforgettable Floral Package—beautiful flowers delivered once a month for the next year!
Draw date Thursday, February 12 @ 6 pm.
Applies only to online or phone-in orders only. Prize includes delivery.

Hits & Misses: Azalea hearts & mandevilla height
Question of the Week: How can I tell when my houseplant needs repotting?
Science & Technology: Smart water controllers

Accurate measurements are a vital part of any greenhouse business, especially when it comes to fertilizers or pest-control products. Overshoot or undershoot and a sea of lush green plants can be rapidly transformed into a moonscape. Over the years, I have become fairly adept at being able to convert measurements from US or Imperial to metric and all points in between. Back in the Stone Age, I used numerous charts to convert units, then I progressed to the Texas Instruments calculator and now I’ve downloaded a software program into my cellphone. I think it has every single conversion known to humankind. Now just by shaking the phone I can flip from a pounds-to-kilograms conversion to a kilograms-to-pounds conversion. Is it going to help make my crops better? Probably not, but damn it’s fun. By the way, did you know that a US dash is 3.08 mL, while an Imperial dash equals 3.66 mL? How about that a US pinch is 6.16 mL, while an Imperial pinch equals 7.4mL? Yeah…my wife didn’t find it interesting either.

Hits & Misses
Hit: Azalea Hearts
The heart-shaped azaleas are in perfect…uh, shape for Valentine’s Day. These plants are, in my humble opinion, the perfect floral gift for those conditioned to believe that roses are the only flowers women desire on February 14. Judging from the surveys that I’ve read, and the feedback that I’ve received from the female staff at our business, roses are rather low on the hierarchical list of best flowers for Valentine’s. Guys! Break from convention this year and try azaleas. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Azaleas may not be traditional choices for Valentine’s, but they will win hearts.

Miss: Mandevilla Height
The Mandevilla variety called ‘Pretty’ that we are currently growing in the greenhouse has a nice, colourful tag that declares its mature height as “10 to 12 inches.” The only problem is that some of them are already about a foot tall—and it’s only January. I’m taking a wild guess here, but judging by its vigour, this new variety will likely grow 4–6 feet tall by late summer. The difficulty, however, is that the tag comes with the plant and we really can’t tamper with someone else’s tag. So…I expect to see a few furrowed eyebrows as customers pick up 24-inch-tall pots of ‘Pretty.’ C’est la vie.

Question of the Week
How can I tell when my houseplant needs repotting?
An easy way to tell is simply to tip it upside down (while cradling the plant in your hand) and tap it gently out of its pot. If the bottom half of the container contains mostly roots and very little soil, it’s time to repot. The reason is simple: at this stage, the roots have penetrated nearly every pore space in the soil, leaving little room for air or water. By repotting the plant, you’re giving it much-needed physical space and a fresh supply of soil and essential nutrients. Other signs that indicate it’s time to repot include exposed roots, yellowing leaves, slow growth or little new growth and top-heavy plants that tip over easily.

Science & Technology
Smart Water Controllers
The latest issue of Hortscience reports that with the use of “smart controllers,” summer water use could (on average) drop by 42 US gallons per day for residential landscapes and by 545 gallons per day for commercial landscapes. These devices are designed to dispense variable amounts of water to sections of the landscape that have different requirements. Smart controllers take into account parameters such as rainfall, humidity, soil moisture and topography. Obviously, these controllers, with all their sensors, are a bit pricey. But as water costs go up and controller prices come down, we might (theoretically) see more water-saving technology in our yards. Oh, by the way, 42 US gallons equals 158.98 litres according to my…you know.

Did You Know?
At any given time, a single plant cell can contain upward of 10,000 or more individual proteins.

“When people are laughing, they’re generally not killing each other.”
—Alan Alda

Hole’s now has a Hole’s Greenhouses page on Facebook. You don’t have to be a member to visit, but if you are, be sure to sign on as a fan.

first published January 15, 2009

Suffocation and strangling are not two words one would normally ascribe to plants, unless of course you believe that Little Shop of Horrors is a documentary. But strangely enough, murderous plants aren’t entirely fictional beasts, and one of the most notorious is the aptly named strangler fig.

The strangler fig (Ficus aureus) may have an outlandish handle but it is actually a member of the ficus family, which includes the rather mundane fig tree (Ficus benjamina)—the most common interiorscape plant you’re likely to find. However, even though the strangler fig is closely related to the fig tree, it seems to have lost benjamina’s benign disposition somewhere along its evolutionary path.

Fortunately for us, no plant has a pernicious desire to envelope and squeeze human flesh, but given the opportunity, the strangler fig will gleefully put the chokehold on a tree and squeeze it to oblivion. Here’s how they get it done.

Strangler figs begin their lives innocently enough. Birds feed on the fruit from mature stranglers and inadvertently deposit those seeds on the boughs of any trees they happen to “target.” Then, if the strangler seeds find their new aerial homes hospitable, they germinate on the branches and begin their lives as epiphytes (plants that grow on host plants but that don’t take nourishment from the host). At this point, both the strangler and its victim seem to coexist rather nicely—but don’t be fooled—it’s a relationship that always ends badly.

Once the strangler becomes fairly well established in a tree’s boughs, it begins to develop aerial roots. These aerial roots are more stem-like than root-like in appearance and grow downward in a relentless quest for a patch of ground. Once the aerial roots touch the ground, they penetrate the soil surface and behave like conventional roots. Not surprisingly, the newfound abundance of terrestrial water and nutrients contained in the soil causes a surge in the strangler’s growth. With that, the host tree’s fate is firmly sealed. The strangler fig’s much-needed boost of energy from the soil enables it to form a dense net of branches and foliage around the host tree. In doing so, the strangler intercepts an increasing amount of sunlight at the expense of its host. Eventually, as the amount of sunlight hitting the host tree dwindles, the fig’s victim finds itself slowly, and inexorably strangled. The result? A dense mesh of strangler roots with an eerie, hollow core or column where a mighty host tree once grew.

Strangler figs are by no means rare or exotic and can be found encircling large hardwood trees in various tropical locations. In fact, when I visited Hong Kong last year, I was amazed to see the great heights from which the aerial roots on a strangler could drop and how those roots could anchor themselves in even the tiniest holes of a concrete retaining wall.

One image that came to mind while I stood and marvelled at a strangler fig cloaking one unfortunate palm tree was that of Russian stacking dolls. If a strangler could cover and kill a tree, then could another strangler fig cover a strangler that was covering the host? And could a strangler cover a strangler that was covering a strangler…well you get the idea. Let’s just say I found the thought a little suffocating.

I’m sure everyone is getting tired of hearing doom and gloom about the economy. After all, when the news is filled with nothing but negativity, it’s hard to feel energetic or optimistic. Take, for example a CBC Radio interview I listened to last week. It consisted of several Edmonton retailers answering questions about the state of the economy and their economic reaction plans. Well, the reaction was unanimous: each agreed that
sales would slow, inventory levels would drop, wages would hold or decrease but that they were cautiously optimistic. What I wanted to know, however, was what major changes were each retailer going to institute as a result of this economic climate. That’s the information that’s significant to both consumers and economists. Are expansions plans on hold? Are they implementing new technology to help manage this downturn? What significant change are they planning as a direct result of this “technical recession?” I wanted to know; what are the doom and gloom plans? Other companies are making them.

WestJet wants to step up its plans to add new planes because they feel this is the time to purchase. Apple has changed its cost of music downloads to as low as 69 cents. Monster.com is going to advertise in the Super Bowl for the first time in four years.
These are the ideas I want to hear about. So why did every single retailer in that interview give the same glib answer about the economy? The real meat lies in what new strategies they could be employing.

So then, what is our company going to do? Lots! We have started to revamp our HR from top to bottom. We’ve begun to invest in more technology because we believe improving both our internal and external communication vehicles are essential. We are rebuilding our entire marketing campaign and everyone is expected to work smarter.
Recessions, downturns, cooling off—call it a full-blown depression—but what it comes down to is that the status quo is more than just unacceptable; it’s doom and gloom.

Hits & Misses: Succulents & extra extras
Question of the Week: How low can I turn my thermostat without harming my houseplants?
Science & Technology: Illumination

Our routine for bringing in shipments of plants from abroad is to carefully unpack the cases and to inspect the plants. This not only ensures a high-quality product but also turns up the occasional stowaway. Case in point, the tiny tree frog that hooked a plane ride on last week’s shipment of mandevilla cuttings. She (I think) is about thumb-nail size and currently enjoying her sojourn in a comfy container, complete with mandevillas, water and a pseudo lily pad. We’ll release the frog’s name pending notification of her family.

Hits & Misses
Hit: Oh So Succulent
A huge selection of succulent varieties has arrived at the greenhouse, and they look terrific! Succulents love growing in hot, dry spots on decks and barely blink in drought-like conditions. Despite that fact, succulents haven’t taken over the world of container gardening due to their lack of showy flowers. However, what succulents do have is some of the most colourful and intriguing foliage in the plant world. In fact, one look at their incredible leaves and you just may forget about flowers altogether.

This succulent looks as if its colour is painted on.

Miss: Extra Extras
“Growing on Spec” is a term used to indicate how much extra plant material a greenhouse grows. Sometimes a grower might produce, say, an extra 10% of a particular petunia variety, speculating that there will be enough demand in the marketplace to sell the extras. However, thanks to economic uncertainty, many growers are allocating very little space to spec, and the result, in all likelihood, is that there won’t be as many plants to choose from.

Question of the Week
I’m going on a winter vacation; how low can I turn my thermostat without harming my houseplants?
In general, temperatures that dip below 14°C can inhibit plant growth. Of course, some plants are more sensitive to low temperatures than others, so it really depends on what you have. Anthuriums are extremely sensitive to cold and don’t appreciate temperatures below 18°C. Moving plants away from your windows will also reduce the risk of them becoming frost bitten if, or more likely when, outdoor temperatures plunge. Err on the side of caution or else you may come back to plants that are limp and discoloured.

Science & Technology
Illumination
Electric lamps have been used to grow plants for nearly 150 years, but the future of grow-light technology might have more to do with computers than with Edison. In the latest issue of Hortscience I came across an article that “illuminates” the world of LED (Light Emitting Diode) lights and their potential use in greenhouses. LED’s differ substantially from conventional bulbs because they produce relatively little heat compared to the high-intensity discharge lights (HID’s) that are standard in the greenhouse industry. That means that switching to LED’s would enable plants to use a greater percentage of that light for growth. Looks to me as though LED’s will be overtaking all other greenhouse lighting technology in the not too distant future.

Did You Know?
Stinging nettle is used as an edible plant in some countries like Scotland. In fact, the Scots have stinging nettle eating contests.

“Even if there is nothing to laugh about, laugh on credit.”
–Author Unknown

Our latest edition of Enjoy Gardening arrived today from the printer!

Hole’s now has a Hole’s Greenhouses page on Facebook. You don’t have to be a member to visit, but if you are, be sure to sign on as a fan.

We’ll keep it updated with images, notices and videos and create a new forum for people to share and learn.

Hits & Misses: Winter warriors & change
Question of the Week:Why do my potatoes have dark centres?
Science & Technology: Mental vacations

Happy New Year! Over the holiday break, I rented the 1982 movie E.T: The Extra-Terrestrial for my 10-year-old daughter (yes, believe it or not, E.T. was released over a quarter of century ago!). The verdict was a thumbs-down on the special effects (not a surprising reaction from the CGI generation), but the story received a thumbs-up. I had forgotten that the alien ship was a giant greenhouse—more or less—and that the aliens were likely on a botanical expedition to earth. I guess that explains E.T.’s ability to resurrect that potted houseplant (chrysanthemum, I believe) from the dead, several times, over the course of the movie. In fact, near as I can tell, the resurrected mum was the only earthly thing that E.T. took back to his home planet. Hmm…a glowing index finger that bring plants back from the dead would be a handy gardening tool.

Hits & Misses
Hit: Winter Warriors
During winter, most houseplants struggle with the extremely low-light levels. But there are two plants that shrug off the short days with aplomb: snake plants (Sansevieria trifasciata) and ZZ plants (Zamioculcas zamiifolia). Both are masters at extracting as much energy as possible from every photon of sunlight that happens to strike their leaves. The result is that neither plant looks like it’s clinging to dear life during the winter. In fact, both species will look rich and vibrant throughout the year.

Sansevieria trifasciata

Zamioculcas zamiifolia

Miss: Change
I love the novelty poinsettias (marble, pinks, etc.), but this year in particular, they couldn’t compete with the good old, traditional red poinsettias. Perhaps it has something to do with the recession, but it seems that, along with comfort food, people wanted their comfort plants for Christmas. And when it comes to traditional Christmas plants, nothing beats a red poinsettia.

Question of the Week
Why do my potatoes have dark centres?
It’s easy to forget that potato tubers are alive and, therefore, require oxygen to “breathe.” Potatoes that are stored in fairly deep piles, with little air movement, are at greater risk of having inadequate levels of oxygen for respiration. The result is that the tissue at the heart of an oxygen-starved tuber dies and turns black. And while there is nothing wrong with eating oxygen-deficient potatoes, they certainly don’t look appetizing mashed.

Science & Technology
Mental Vacations
According to research done by Berman et al in the publication Science, a walk through the woods is superior to a walk through an urban landscape…at least when it comes to performing memory tasks. Their research suggests that a brief hiatus from focused attention in urban settings allows for the replenishment and renewal of cognitive control centers. Translation? Being surrounded by plants rather than by concrete and steel is better for our brains. Wow. Stop the presses.

Did You Know?
In plant terms, the length of the day is known as the photoperiod, while the length of the night is known as the skotoperiod.

“May all your troubles last as long as your New Year’s resolutions!”
–Joey Adams

Hole’s provided 100 poinsettias for the EmployAbilities Client Holiday Luncheon The meals and all the trimmings were prepared and served by EmployAbilities staff.