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May 2008
Hello everyone and welcome to the May issue of Wildflower News Gardening Magazine.
I just love May. Everything is growing and greening up so fast that the garden changes from day to day as new shoots emerge.
However my Blue Grama Grass (Boutilea gracillis) looks brown and dead with no signs of life. This is quite normal for Blue Grama Grass. It won't green up till late May, or early June because it is a warm season grass. Native grasses are either warm season grasses or cool season grasses. The warm season grasses are adapted to the harsher drier environment of southern Alberta. Spring snowmelt is much less there and the plants have learned not to rely on it. Instead they wait for the spring rains before greening up.
IN THIS ISSUE
- NEWS - Your Fireweed Problem Solved; Grand Opening of Fort Saskatchewan Prairie; Volunteer at Shootingstar Hill
- IN YOUR GARDEN - The seeds have germinated- What now?
- ARTICLE - The Difference Between Native Wildflowers and Non-Native Wildflowers
NEWS
Your Fireweed Problem Solved!
If you have Fireweed, this is the time of the year that you discover that you suddenly have far more of it than you thought. Long lines of baby plants seem to be marching out from the parent. It is actually quite easy to take out the babies because they are still attached to the main plant and have very few roots. Just grab hold of the line and yank and you can take them all out at once.
Helene sent me this alternate solution to the Fireweed problem - eat your surplus plants!
I haven't tried this, but the information is so interesting that I thought I would pass it on.
Edible Uses of Fireweed:
Leaves and young shoot tips of fireweed are edible, raw or cooked. They can be used in salads or cooked as a vegetable. When boiled they make a wholesome vegetable and are a good source of vitamins A and C. The leaves should only be used when they are young. Although they are said to be edible, another report says that an infusion of them can cause nausea. Young shoots can be cooked. They are said to make a good asparagus substitute. The root can be eaten raw, cooked or dried and ground into a powder. Used in spring, it has a sweet taste. The flowering stalks are edible too, raw or cooked. Added to salads, they are best used when the flowers are in bud. The pith of young or older stems is said to be slightly sweet, tender and pleasing to eat, raw or cooked, though it's only obtainable in smaller quantities. Gelatinous, it can be used as a flavoring in soups. The stems are said to be a good laxative, but are best not eaten on an empty stomach. A tea is made from the dried leaves, it is sweet and pleasant. Called 'kaporie' tea in Russia, it contains 10% tannin. The leaves are also used as an adulterant of China tea.
Fort Saskatchewan Prairie Officially Protected!
On May 13th the City of Fort Saskatchewan held the Grand Opening of Fort Saskatchewan Prairie. The Prairie crocus were in bloom as around the entrance gate, looking as if they had been planted especially for the occasion. It was lovely to see this area officially recognized. It was also great to see the Fort Saskatchewan Naturalists honoured for all their hard work over the years to make this day possible.
Volunteer at Shootingstar Hill
Shootingstar Hill (formally Caragana Hill) is a unique area of underground springs in Whitemud Park close to Fox Drive. Because of the relative abundance of water, the site supports native plants such as Labrador Tea which are more commonly found in the Boreal forest north of Edmonton. A group of volunteers, led by Patsy Cotterill, is replanting the area at the base of the hill with some of the flowers and grasses that used to grow there. This is a great chance to learn more about this unusual ecosystem and to take home plants for your garden too. Email Carla at engvolunteer@gmail.com if you are interested in participating.
IN YOUR GARDEN
The seeds have germinated - Now What?!
My seeds that I planted in February are just beginning to sprout. They are so late this year. I planted in cell packs, but even so I have several seedlings emerging in each cell and they will quickly become overcrowded, so this week I am going to separate them into individual pots. This is easy if it is done when the first leaves appear. Take the plug of soil out of the cell and gently tease the seedlings apart. Sometimes if you shake the soil a little it helps to loosen and separate the seedlings. Hold each seedling by the leaf while you repot it. Gently firm the soil around it and water it from the bottom by putting the pot into a tray of water and leaving it until the surface of the soil becomes wet. If you find that your seedlings are very tightly packed and won't separate easily, just divide them into clumps of seedlings and repot them. When they have settled in you can thin them out to 2 or 3 seedlings per pot.
Once you have all your seedlings repotted into small pots, put the pots in a shallow tray so they don't dry out so fast. Keep the pots in semi-shade until the little plants have several sets of leaves. The seedlings can then be planted into their permanent position in the garden. Give them water for the first couple of weeks until they settle in. After that they should be fine.
ARTICLE
The Difference Between Native Wildflowers and Non-Native Wildflowers
I once had a heated argument with a man over Burdock. "It's a weed," I insisted. "It's a wildflower," he said. "Look it up". So I looked it up in the dictionary, determined to prove him wrong. Unfortunately for me, the dictionary definition of a wildflower was " any plant that grows in the wild"
This means that garden weeds, garden escapees, agricultural strays, and native flowers and grasses, are all lumped together under the "Wildflower" heading. No wonder people get confused. This is why I usually use the term "native wildflower" when talking about the plants that I grow. You can see both native wildflowers and non-native wildflowers in bloom in the river valley, parks, and other natural areas, but they are very different from each other. How do you tell them apart? Below is a general description.
To check on an individual species, take a field guide with you on your walk. A good field guide will have the photos of the various flowers sorted by colour so they are easier to look up.
Non-native wildflowers are far more common and more easily seen.
They were originally imported from Europe and other counties, some intentionally, and some by accident. They have escaped into the wild and have adapted to their new life so successfully that they now out-compete the native flowers. Some naturalized wildflowers are perennials and some are annuals.
Some common naturalized flowers are Canada Thistle, Dandelion, Sweet Clover, Sow Thistle, Scentless Camomile, Burdock, Clover, Alfalfa, Tansy and Toadflax.
Most of these flowers are weeds and some are on the Noxious Weed list.
Some are very pretty, but naturalized wildflowers should not be planted in a garden because they can be very invasive. I found this out the hard way when I collected seeds of Bladder Campion from Mill Creek ravine and planted them in my garden.
Native wildflowers are quite hard to find. A lot of species don't even grow in Edmonton any more.
Flowers such as Meadow Blazingstar, Slender Blue Beardtongue, Prairie Buttercup, Western Wood Lily and Prairie Crocus are no longer around.
This is because much of their habitat was destroyed when the land around Edmonton was first ploughed. Development over the years has continued to wipe out the small remaining plant populations. Even natural areas such as Mill Creek ravine were farmed, logged, and mined before being converted to parks.
Native wildflowers have been growing here for thousands of years, and they can do so again if given the chance. Most native wildflowers are perennials and if they are planted in a garden they will look and behave just like any other perennial. Their only difference is that they require no fertilizer, or extra water, and very little care. They are tough and hardy enough to survive extreme weather conditions. By adding local native plants to your garden, you will be giving them a home once again.
Wildflower Seed Mixes
Wildflower seed mixes, the "wildflower meadow in a can" type are a different kettle of fish (or class of plant) altogether. These mixes consist of seeds of fast growing annuals that will put on a good show of colour the first summer and self-seed to produce plants the following year. None of the seeds are from plants native to Alberta. The species seem to be mostly European or from California. Very often weeds such as Scentless Chamomile are present too.
In conclusion...
Well, that's quite enough for May.Send me any questions that you have, or topics that you would like covered in the future, and Happy Gardening!
Cherry Dodd, editor
The Edmonton Naturalization Group