first published January 21, 2010

All it takes is one warm January day to prompt itchy-footed Prairie gardeners to dig out their leftover seeds and start planning for spring and start wondering if they’re still any good. Which is good because otherwise the only other pressing question for me is when are the batteries in the talking car I gave my son for Christmas going to die?

Well…I can give you an answer to the seed question and it’s this: it depends what you mean by good. In the greenhouse, the criterion for keeping or discarding seed includes a checklist of quality parameters. And while we do keep some seeds from one year to the next, others simply don’t meet the criteria and never make it into storage. Here are a few facts to consider.

The first determiner is the seed itself. Some have notoriously short shelf lives of a year or less, whereas others age rather well and have good viability after three or more years. Onion, aster, begonia and pansy are in the short-storage category, while sweet pea, zinnia and members of the cabbage family are quite happy to kick back for several years.

Size counts, too. Smaller seeds have a greater surface-area-to-volume ratio than larger seeds. And that means water can move into a smaller seed more rapidly than it can into a larger one. Water is a friend when you want germination, but it’s your enemy if you’re trying to store seeds. So, as a rule remember that, larger seeds are less apt to being affected by water.

Water in the form of humidity is also an adversary. Obviously you’re not watering your packets before storing, but given a chance, moist air will eventually find it’s way through seed coats and hasten deterioration. Generally, every one percent reduction in seed moisture will double seed life. Most seed for our greenhouse crops is shipped in sealed containers with a small pack of desiccant (water-absorbing material, such as silica gel) to keep moisture away from them.

Temperature is another contributing factor to longevity. Every 5°C drop in storage temperature doubles seed life—but only to the magic temperature of zero. Below zero, many biochemical reactions associated with deterioration don’t occur and further drops in temperature have only moderate affects on seed life.

Now, if you’ve had a bit of an “aha” moment and are thinking your fridge might be the ideal storage spot, well, try again. The air in the fridge would be consistently cool, however, your seed would need to be in sealed, impermeable foil packages. Otherwise, it will likely decline rapidly because most fridge interiors have high relative humidity.

One last thing to consider with regard to storage longevity is seed oil content. Usually, seeds with a higher percentage of oil deteriorate more quickly than starchy seeds. Impatiens seed is tiny and has a relatively high oil percentage, which are two reasons impatiens make the short list for short storage.

So, should you round up your old seed and give them the heave-ho? Heck no! Even though seed genetics aren’t conducive to long-term storage and poor-quality storage facilities affect viability, neither outright eliminates seed life. A germination reduction from 92 percent to 65 percent with onion seeds is not acceptable for commercial growers, so we don’t keep them from one year to the next. But for home gardeners, it’s probably not worth throwing the seed out—just sow the onion patch a little thicker to get the same yield.

So what should you do? Seeds should be stored in an airtight container in a cool, dark place such as a storage room in your basement. Now go ahead, have a peak in your seed tickle trunk to review your leftover seeds. Just don’t do it in your steam room.

Hits & Misses: Nice rice pots & deficient hydrangeas
Question of the Week: The new houseplant that sits on my coffee table has lost its dark colour and vigor. What’s happened?
Science & Technology: Wormwood fights malaria

Part of my daughter’s Grade 6 science course involves developing a basic understanding of the universe. The task was made a little less daunting, and a lot more interesting, by having the students research the mythological history of the stars. Now, in my daughter’s report, the Greek god aspect looked fine to me (keeping in mind that I’m more than a little rusty on ancient deities), but I had a problem with the ancient Greek horticulture information. According to Internet sources, ancient Greeks fed corn to their livestock. That’s a little odd because corn is indigenous to North America—a continent not discovered until centuries later. Perhaps, I’m being too picky. But, it seems to me, the Internet has a fair amount of cut-and-paste information that’s a bit like a griffon—the mythological beast with the head of an eagle and the body of a lion. So, as with all info, consider the source.

Hits & Misses
Hit: Nice Rice Pots
This year, we’ve made a major shift towards recyclable pots. And I must say that not only are the rice pots compostable, they look outstanding. The rice hulls provide a nice earthy look to the pots, which also have a nice smooth finish. The toughest part of growing plants in rice hull pots will be composting the pots because they look too pretty to throw out.

Miss: Deficient Hydrangeas
Iron deficiency is a common plant problem that happens when soil pH gets too high (alkaline) and limits iron absorption. The result is leaves that look veiny. And that’s exactly what happened to a handful of our hydrangeas. Fortunately, the problem is easy to correct with a small dose of iron sulphate to lower the pH and simultaneously provide extra iron to be absorbed by the hydrangeas. Once the iron levels increase in the plants, the hydrangea leaves will once again turn a rich green…long before Easter.

As with some of our hydrangeas,
the veining on these maple leaves indicates
an inability to absorb enough iron.

Question of the week
The new houseplant, which sits on my coffee table, has lost its dark colour and vigor. What’s happened?
The problem is most likely a lack of sunlight. Placing plants even a few feet away from a window dramatically reduces the amount of sunlight they receive and affects their health. For example, if your plant is a sun lover, such as a calamondin orange, it needs sunlight to directly strike its leaves for at least three hours per day. Some plants want bright indirect light, which means they need to be close to a sunny window, but where light doesn’t directly strike their leaves. Other indoor plants like lower light conditions or indirect light—which means they don’t need to be near a window but still need a room that’s brightly lit with sunlight.

Adequate light is essential to indoor plant health.

Science & Technology
Wormwood Fights Malaria
The species of wormwood known as Artemisia annua isn’t just a pretty plant. According to the journal Science, the plant contains a powerful anti-malarial compound called artemisinin. To date, synthetic versions of artemisinin haven’t proven as effective as the naturally produced compound. So, scientists are fast tracking breeding efforts to develop Artemisia varieties that yield high levels of artemisinin. Since it has been estimated that one million people die annually from this horrible disease, the development of new cultivars can’t come too soon.

Did You Know?
The fibrous roots of native Prairie grasses anchor soils, thus preventing wind and water erosion.

“Laughter is the sun that drives winter from the human face.”
–Victor Hugo

Hits & Misses: Colour me blurple & overheated in the coldframe
Question of the Week: What shrubs work well as groundcovers?
Science & Technology: Developing plant efficiency

It’s been a week since I carried the Olympic torch through St. Albert. When people ask me what it was like, the first word that comes to mind is humbling. That’s because the flame is the star—it represents the hopes, wishes and pride of countless Canadians. My job was merely to move it along my 300 metres, at a reasonable pace, and let everyone along the route have a chance to soak in the spirit. What was the best part of the relay? Undoubtedly, it was the people. Meeting the dozen other torchbearers who ran in St. Albert and seeing the hundreds of enthusiastic and passionate people along the route (including my family) was inspiring. It truly was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Go, Jim, go!

Hits & Misses
Hit: Colour Me Blurple
Producing blue or pink hydrangea flowers requires specialized feed programs. Acidic for blue; non-acidic for pink. If the fertilizer programs are mixed up, the flower colours can be a blend of blue and pink, sometimes referred to as blurple (although I prefer blink).

For this year’s Easter crop, the growers put up signs that say either “I’m Pink” or “I’m Blue,” along with a description of each feed program. Now, there’s nothing revolutionary about separating blue and pink hydrangea varieties or in posting treatment programs, but somehow signage written in the first person makes me a bit more attentive to the hydrangeas…or maybe I’m just getting more sentimental as I age.

Miss: Overheated in the Coldframe
From the we-thought-we-were-doing-the-right-thing file is the storage of our bedding-plant transplant line. The line—a new purchase last year—is comprised of conveyor belts, seats and a watering tunnel, which includes PVC pipe. After transplanting was finished last season, the line was stored in a coldframe to protect it from the weather, which was a good idea. To prevent deterioration of the PVC pipe from the sun’s bleaching rays, the tunnel was covered in black plastic, which wasn’t a good idea. That’s because we didn’t consider that during summer the temperature in an unventilated coldframe can climb over 55°C (130°F), and under the black plastic…well, who knows how high the temperature climbed. What I am sure of, however, are the consequences: heat-resistant pipes bent and twisted into snake-like positions that now need replacing. Yes, we’re reconsidering our storage plan.

Science & Technology
Developing Plant Efficiency
Most climate experts predict many parts of the world will become hotter and drier in the future. As a result, plant scientists are putting a greater focus on the water efficiency of plants. Plants lose the most water through their stomata (the tiny, but numerous pores on the undersides of their leaves). So, scientists are trying to gain a better understanding of how those pores open and close. They know that when water evaporates from the open stomata, the plant cools and lets carbon dioxide in while letting oxygen out. However, the longer the stomata are closed, the less water the plant loses. Since stomata open and close based on the amount of abscisic acid (ABA) present in the guard cells surrounding them, scientists want to tweak the concentrations of ABA in plants to reduce excessive water loss. In fact, some products that effectively slam shut the stomata for an extended period of time are currently being tested. If you think about it, a 10 percent reduction in water loss spread over a few million hectares of cropland amounts to a lot of water conserved.

Question of the Week
What shrubs work well as groundcovers?
Shrubs that root where their branches touch the soil or that sucker and spread profusely are best suited for groundcovers. In addition to covering the ground, these plants are also good at preventing soil erosion. Good choices include cutleaf Stephanandra, spreading junipers, yellow bud willow and rock cotoneaster.

Did You Know?
North American Natives and settlers used horsetail, a common weed, to scour pots. It’s the high silicon content of the plant that makes it so abrasive.

“The only way to have a friend is to be one.”
–Ralph Waldo Emerson

John Stanley is a world-renowned expert in the gardening industry who traveled here from Australia to advise us on merchandizing trends. Seeing as we’re preparing to make our move to the Enjoy Centre, it seemed like the perfect time to tap into his know-how.
Besides sharing expertise, a consultant often tells clients what they already know and, sometimes, what they don’t want to hear. And that was certainly true of our session with John.
For example, one of the hardest things to hear—at least for me—was that not everyone will want to participate as we transition from our existing business to our new model. John also stressed that the links between buyers, merchandizers and marketing teams need to be stronger. That was something we knew needed improving, and now we have a strategy to strengthen those links.
Certainly, not all the ideas he shared will work for us. But what we wanted was for John to inspire, provoke and stimulate us. And that he most certainly did.

first published January 7, 2010

The cruelest month for houseplants is January. Cold draughts, desert-dry air and very-low light levels conspire to stress them to the point of breaking. But, as always, there’s one exception—the uber-resilient, tough-guy tropical known as the snake plant.

Snake plants (Sansevieria spp.) are indigenous to the tropics yet completely content inside homes and offices. The common name refers to the plants’ long, narrow leaves that are somewhat reminiscent of snakes. Of course, you could also call them by their other common name, mother-in-law’s tongue, which apparently alludes to the sharp tongue-like points of the leaf tips, but I’m not going down that road…

Somewhat surprisingly, the snake plant belongs to the same family as lily-of-the-valley—the ubiquitous and hardy perennial grown as a shade-loving groundcover. The fact that lily-of-the-valley grows amazingly well in dry shade and has the resilience of a dandelion says something about the genetic makeup of this family.

So just how tough are snake plants? Well, I’ve had one for three years, and in that time, I have not fertilized it, moved it, turned it, pruned it, misted it or repotted it. In fact, the most interaction I’ve had with that plant was extracting my hammer from its foliage after trying to hang a painting on the wall next to it. The sum total of care it’s received is a generous drink of water about once a month. Yet, it’s doubled in size.

So obviously, these robust plants can endure long periods of incredibly dry soil without suffering in the least. They’re also not fussy about whether or not they have bright sunshine or low light conditions. You’ll get more rapid growth in direct light, but minimal light doesn’t seem to have any adverse affect other than to slow growth.

Snake plants are not only unstoppable when ignored by their owners, they also rarely suffer from common plant problems. The big three insect scourges (whitefly, scale and spider mites) tend to avoid snake plants, and leaf and root diseases are rare.

Now if that isn’t enough incentive to get you on the snake-plant bandwagon, consider this: research has shown snake plants are excellent at removing a variety of indoor air pollutants, called volatile organic compounds. That should make you breathe easier.

Keep in mind there are several species and varieties of snake plant. The most familiar is Sansevieria trifasciata, which has bands of silver and green on its foliage. Variegated snake plant (S. trifasciata ‘Laurentii’) has a gold edge on each leaf blade and is also very popular. Both varieties are equally tough, but I like the leaf margins on the variegated snake plant. There’s a smaller tabletop variety (S. trifasciata ‘Hahnii’), which has clusters of leaves that form a cup or nest, hence it’s common name, bird’s nest snake plant. The variegated tabletop version is S. trifasciata ‘Golden Hahnii.’ S. cylindrical, as its name indicates, has round, rigid leaves that fan out from a central crown.

Any one of these admirable specimens will brighten your home and make your thumb feel greener. Just remember, whereas most houseplants need considerable care and nurturing to thrive, snake plants—like their animal namesakes—are best left alone.

Hits & Misses: Predators in the grass & light under glass
Question of the Week: Is a windowsill a good place to start seeds?
Science & Technology: Unsavoury fruit

How many kilograms did you get off your prize tomato plant this summer…two, four, maybe ten? Well, how many kilos could you get off one tomato in a single season if you really pushed the limits? How about 522 kilograms! That’s how many kilograms a single tomato plant (grown like a tree) in Disney World produced in one year. Kathy Crook, one of our growers—who apparently can’t get greenhouses out of her mind, even while on holidays—visited Epcot Center and brought back photos of a tomato tree. In our climate, it’s easy to forget that tomatoes aren’t just annual plants that grow for four months. Given the chance, tomatoes are more like Audrey from Little Shop of Horrors.

Hits & Misses
Hit: Predators in the Grass
Ornamental grasses are great additions to flowerbeds and containers. But to have them at a marketable size by spring, they need to be started in the greenhouses in January. Grasses grow well with supplementary light during the winter, although certain varieties are susceptible to pesky spider mites. During the last few years, we’ve adopted a biological control program to deal with the spider mites. Predatory mites are sprinkled onto the grasses where they dine on spider mites. Once all of the spider mites are consumed, the predators die and what remains is a healthy, spider-mite-free crop of grasses.

Miss: Light Under Glass
January is the one month when we need a fair number of HID (High Intensity Discharge) lights to keep our crops growing. Unfortunately, our demand for light sometimes outstrips electrical capacity in certain zones of the greenhouses. The math is quite simple. If you put 4 HID lights that draw 16 amps onto a circuit that has a breaker with a capacity of 15 amps, all of the lights go out. I’m learning…but it’s a slow process. On the other hand, I know where all the electrical boxes are to reset tripped breakers.

Question of the Week
Is a windowsill a good place to start seeds?
Yes and no. The bright sunlight will encourage healthy seedling growth, but windowsills can become overheated in the day, causing seedlings to stretch. Conversely, cold night air by a window can chill seedlings and inhibit growth. For germination, the flats need to be consistently warm and moist until the seedlings emerge. Then, ideally, the seedlings need to be in a bright but relatively cool spot until they can be transplanted.

Both light and temperature are critical
to successful seedling growth.

Science & Technology
Unsavoury Fruit
I was reading about a Decaisnea insignis, also know as Dead Man’s Fingers, at the Royal Botantic Gardens, Kew. Kew Gardens (which it’s more commonly called) is in London and has the world’s largest collection of living plants. What made this particular plant newsworthy was it’s the first time it has bloomed at Kew Gardens. Dead Man’s Fingers is a member of the cocoa family, and produces unappetizing-looking fruit—which resemble a shrivelled, purple finger—that’s, apparently, edible. Sorry, but I’ll stick with cocoa in a mug, thank-you very much.

Did You Know?
Cactus thorns are just modified leaves.

“He who knows all the answers has not yet been asked all the questions.”
–Author unknown

From the first day we started dreaming about this project and the magnitude of its possibilities, we imagined the Enjoy Centre as a partnership.

Day by day, the Enjoy Centre continues to take physical shape. But as it grows, we’re also busy working to fulfill our mandate of creating a destination. We recognize our customers want more than products and services. They want an experience. To achieve this, we’re building a community of businesses that shares not only a vision but also an accountability to sustainable practices and to future generations. We’re excited about the partnerships that have already been formed and are eager to forge even more. As of today, we know the Enjoy Centre will have our garden centre, a convention space, a spa, a restaurant and a bakery. I don’t know who the final mix of retailers will be but am excited by the opportunity that still exists for more unique, independent retailers to join us. If you think your company could complement the Enjoy Centre business mix and help complete the experience for our customers, contact me (bhole@holesonline.com).

This shot looks down onto the space in front of the spa area
of the Enjoy Centre. The steel joists are part of a Hambro floor
system for above-grade concrete.

As I stood under the partially erected steel structure of the Enjoy Centre, I couldn’t help but wonder if we had allotted too much space for some areas and not enough for others. Had we gotten it right? Well, I just wasn’t sure.

When I walked toward the retail greenhouse, I thought it looked small. Yet, when I stood beneath the trusses, I thought it looked big. Then, just as I was almost able to hold both thoughts in my head, I looked up and was completely overtaken by the magnificence of the location. The views overlooking the Lois Hole Centennial Provincial Park are second to none. In fact, the sunsets over Big Lake will be breathtaking from the café.

So, even though my tour started off kinda shaky, by the time I walked off the site, it was clear to me that the Enjoy Centre looked just as it was supposed to—it looked big, and it looked small, and it looked just right.

The remaining trusses for the retail greenhouse will soon be up
and then the glass for that section will be installed.

Hits & Misses: Dressed to the nines & the fun of fungi
Question of the Week: Why do cedars turn brown in the spring?
Science & Technology: Roses in decline

On January 13, I’ll have the honour of carrying the Olympic torch in St. Albert. A friend submitted my name to the 2010 Vancouver organizing committee, and I was fortunate enough to be chosen as a torchbearer. According to the official information, I’ll start my run “approximately” at 3:29 p.m. and will carry the torch 300 metres. The torch enters St. Albert from the north on St. Albert Road, and my section starts near the Staples store. I’ve already got my Olympic attire, including a white tracksuit, toque and a great pair of red mitts. So, I’m all set. I intend to carry the Olympic torch proudly and to try not to fall and extinguish the flame. In fact, I even plan on wearing my best pair of running shoes. You know, the ones with good traction and a secret compartment for a lighter… just in case.

The Olympic torch relay route through St. Albert.
Source: VANOC website

Hits & Misses
Hit: Dressed to the Nines
An interesting trend this past Christmas was for picture-perfect, value-added poinsettias. Perfection wasn’t just about the quality of the plants; it was also about the ribbons, sparkles, chic pots and other plants combined with poinsettias. The poinsettias adorned with only a plastic pot cover didn’t seem to have the same cache as those dressed to the nines. We have high expectations for perfection at Christmas. And this year, poinsettias weren’t immune to the trend.

Miss: The Fun of Fungi
Soils are complex ecosystems. In fact, they can be a little too complex for some people. Recently, we had a somewhat distraught person come into our garden centre with a piece of—for lack of a better description—black, hairy soil.

The hair was actually a fungus feeding on the rich organic matter in the soil. Numerous species of fungi reside in potting soils and pose no harm to houseplants. But when conditions are just right, some pretty strange-looking fungi can arise. If you have children, use the opportunity to teach them about these often strange and remarkable creatures. My advice is to not worry about fungi, unless you have mould allergy in which case you should get rid of the fungi.

Science & Technology
Roses in Decline
Cut roses, once the queen of Dutch greenhouse crops, have all but disappeared according to Dutch grower Hans de Vries. His article in Floraculture International says 90 percent of Dutch rose production has shifted to lower-cost regions, primarily in Africa. The problem to de Vries’ way of thinking is twofold. First, there’s the loss of business to offshore companies, which hurts Dutch growers. Secondly, there’s the loss in quality, not because African producers are bad growers, but because of the relentless pursuit of cheaper roses. The unfortunate result is roses that simply don’t perform as well in consumers’ homes. In de Vries’ opinion, the loss is insidious and means a generation of consumers will grow up not knowing what a high-quality cut rose really is.

Question of the Week
Why do cedars turn brown in the spring?
The simple answer is they’ve dried out over the winter. When the ground is frozen, there’s no way for cedars or other evergreens to replace moisture lost through their needles. Bright, warm and windy days—which are common in early spring—followed by much colder days are especially hard on cedars. Sheltered locations, screens to block drying winter winds, and consistent and generous watering during the growing season all help minimize browning on cedars.

Did You Know?
Agar—a gelatinous substance derived from red algae—is used as a thickener in products such as salad dressings, to make pill capsules and is also used as an anti-drying agent in baked goods.

“Resolve to perform what you ought; perform without fail what you resolve.”
–Benjamin Franklin