GardenDC Podcast Episode 106: Ancient Plants

In this episode, we talk with Dr. Richard Olsen, director of the U.S. National Arboretum, all about Ancient Plants. The plant profile is on the Gladiolus and we share what's going on in the garden as well as some upcoming local gardening events.

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Show Notes: 1:19 Meet Dr. Richard Olsen, director of the U.S. National Arboretum! 2:17 Dr. Olsen talks about gardening as a child in Wisconsin and North Carolina 4:33 Working outside over sitting in an office at a desk as a career 6:03 PhD in plant breeding 8:06 Joined the USNA directly out of PhD program 10:00 Dr. Olsen explains growing meadow plants in his home garden with prairie like environment 14:27 Some mosses, grasses, etc have been around for 500 million years 14:37 Ferns are some of the earliest vascular plants 15:37 Cycads are one of the earlier families that are still extensive in gardens today 17:57 Ginkgo trees are an early seed plant that saw its peak 150 million years ago that is now relegated to one species 19:09 Cycads and Ginkgos are primitive and intertwined in our earth’s biological history 20:42 Extinction of Ginkgo in Northern Hemisphere from last Ice Age 23:00 “Stinky ginkgo” 24:03 Paleobotany: study of ancient plants 24:55 Pollen stays well-preserved in fossils, while other parts of plants fall away 25:20 “Potomac Group” is one of the most important historic fossil records 26:00 Genus of angiosperm named “Anacostia marylandensis” after this area 27:00 Evolution of conifers 28:30 Waterlilies are from a lineage dating back to the dawn of flowering plants 32:28 Chloranthus has 14 species only found in East Asia but the Arboretum houses some! 33:40 Chloranthus lineage unclear 35:01 Magnolias are also an ancient family with pollination structure based on beetles 37:30 Calycanthus aka Sweet Betsy is also considered an early angiosperm 38:24 Dinosaur-themed gardens 40:20 Boxwood family is very primitive 42:05 U.S. National Arboretum as a research institute with long history of plant breeding 44:10 29,000 accession plants at the USNA 45:05 Visitors are important and valued to the USNA community 45:50 700,000 visitors per year 47:58 Get in touch with the U.S. National Arboretum through their website and with Dr. Olsen via email or call the front desk! 49:24 Learn all about gladiolas in this week’s plant profile! 50:41 New this week in the garden: lots of rain, strawberry harvesting, flowers on the snap peas, thornless blackberries are abundant, self-sowing zinnias and celosias, peony blooms, cutting flowers, and more! 52:08 Summer garden reading recommendations 53:33 Local garden events: Valley View Farm Q&A Garden Book Party, Patuxent Nursery talk by Kathy Jentz If you liked this episode, you may also enjoy listening to: ~ GardenDC Podcast Episode 85: Camellias https://washingtongardener.blogspot.com/2021/12/gardendc-podcast-episode-85-camellias.html ~ GardenDC Podcast Episode 94: Magnolias https://washingtongardener.blogspot.com/2022/03/gardendc-podcast-episode-94-magnolias.html

The episode is posted at: 

https://anchor.fm/gardendc/episodes/Ancient-Plants-e1j59v9 

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Episode Credits:

Host and Producer: Kathy Jentz

Show Notes: Tori Vandergriff

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Japanese Maple Plant Profile

Japanese Maple (Acer palmatum) is a small tree with beautiful foliage colors. There are hundreds of Japanese Maple varieties from dwarf forms to larger landscape specimens. This elegant and graceful tree offers year-round interest with its sculptural branch forms and pretty bark.

The differences in varieties are amazing with some Japanese Maple trees having leaves of red and purple hues to greens and yellows and even variegated forms. These can turn brilliant colors in the autumn and are show-stoppers in the garden.  They are also big differences in the leaf shapes, from highly dissected and almost lacy foliage to the larger, more palm-like ones.

Japanese Maple trees are generally hardy from zone 5 to 8. They can be container grown or planted in the ground. They prefer locations with bright light, though it is best to site them away from direct afternoon sun.

Fall is the ideal time to plant them. They should be placed out of strong, prevailing winds and protected from late spring frosts. Plant them in soil that is well-draining and slightly acidic. Keep them well-watered and add organic compost as mulch around their root zone, but do not let the mulch touch the trunk.

Generally, the trees need little care. If you need to remove a branch, the best time to prune them is in mid-summer. You should also remove any suckers that emerge below the tree’s graft point.

Japanese Maple: You Can Grow That!

The video was produced by Washington Gardener Magazine.

Audio and Text by Kathy Jentz
Video by Charlotte Crook and Melena Dinenna

Editing by Melinda Thompson

 

Filmed at the US National Arboretum’s Asian Collection.

 

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12th Annual DC Plant Swap

12th Annual DC Plant Swap Details:
hosted by Washington Gardener Magazine

What: A Plant Swap -- bring and receive free plants to expand your garden

Why: Free Plants!
Fall is a perfect time to get them in the ground.

Date: Sunday, September 22

Time: starting at 2pm bring your plants for sorting by category (shade perennial, groundcover, herb, etc.) -- swap starts promptly at 2:30pm -- do not be late (the swap goes fast and can be over in a matter of minutes!) - after swapping, we can socialize, snack, and trade more info on the plants we brought - we plan to conclude and be cleaned up by 3pm.

Place: US National Arboretum's M Street parking lot (former State Grove Parking lot) - NEW location!

Weather: This event is rain or shine. In case of a bad storm, we will cancel.

Who: anyone is welcome as are any of your friends, relatives, or neighbors -- it is FREE -- feel free to forward on this invitation

How: be prepared to BRIEFLY introduce yourself and describe your plant swap offerings

Bring:
~ a name tag - home-made or from work or school -- whatever works
~ pen and paper - you will want to take lots of notes as folks describe the plants and their growing conditions
~ plants to swap - pot them up NOW -- the longer they can get settled in their pots, the better their chance of success and survival - (no plants to share? see note below)
~ labels - fully label all your swap plants with as much info as you have - optimally that will include: common and scientific name, amount of sun needed, amount of water needed, any other special care notes, and color of the blooms (if it is not currently in flower)

What kind of plants to bring: you can bring houseplants, native plants, vegetable plants, ornamental garden plants, water garden plants, annuals, perennials, biennials, shrubs, trees, cuttings, seeds, etc.

What NOT to bring: common orange daylilies* and any invasive species - use this list (http://www.mdinvasivesp.org/list_terrestrial_plants.html) to screen your plant offerings
*Hybrid daylilies are fine and totally welcome, but the common orange ones (aka "Ditch Lilies") usually end up with no takers and we are stuck having to throw them out as yard waste.

What if you do not have plants to swap? Come anyway! Bring refreshments like cold drinks and yummy finger foods to share with the other swappers.

AFTER the Swap: Enjoy the beauty of the US National Arboretum's plant collections

RSVP at https://www.facebook.com/events/2342136279361434/

Plant Profile: Azaleas

A certain Washington Post garden columnist calls them over-used and garish, but we cannot get enough of them every spring! From native varieties to Asian hybrids, there is a perfect azalea for most every local garden. They dazzle in shades of shimmering pinks and pale peaches to deep reds and pure white.

You can put together a collection of early-, mid-and late-season blooming varieties and have an azalea flowering in your garden for six months or more. (Though technically, with the newer re-blooming varieties, the flowering season can extend all the way through the year.)

Plant them where they can attain their full size and you will never need to prune them. They do not love to be in hot afternoon sun and prefer an acidic soil, but basically they are low-maintenance and rewarding shrubs.

Benjamin Y. Morrison, the famed horticulturalist who was the founder and first director of the U.S. National Arboretum in Washington, DC, is noted for cross-breeding different strains of azaleas to produce the Glenn Dale cultivars, which are prevalent today throughout the eastern United States. Morrison lived in Takoma Park, MD, and many of his Glenn Dale introductions can be seen throughout the city’s private home gardens and public parks.

You don’t want to miss the seasonal display of azalea in mass plantings at the U.S. National Arboretum. See our list of 20+ more top viewing spots in the Washington, DC, region at:  http://washingtongardener.blogspot.com/2016/05/top-local-spots-for-azalea-viewing-best.html.

See the UPDATED Azalea Plant Profile at https://washingtongardener.blogspot.com/2026/04/azalea-plant-profile.html and our Native Azalea Plant Profile at https://washingtongardener.blogspot.com/2024/05/native-azaleas-plant-profile.html

The video was produced by Washington Gardener Magazine and edited by intern Allison O'Reilly.

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9th Annual DC Plant Swap

 
9th Annual DC Plant Swap
hosted by Washington Gardener Magazine

What: A Plant Swap -- bring and receive free plants to expand your garden

Why: Free Plants! Last chance to do so before the season heats up.

Date: Saturday, June 11

Time: starting at 11am bring your plants for sorting by category (shade perennial, groundcover, herb, etc.) -- swap starts promptly at 11:30am -- do not be late (the swap goes fast and can be over in a matter of minutes!) - after swapping, we can socialize, snack, and trade more info on the plants we brought - we plan to conclude and be cleaned up by 12:00noon. so you will have the rest of the day to plant and enjoy your Saturday.

Place: US National Arboretum's R Street parking lot -- if it storms, we will move inside to the auditorium.

RSVP:  https://www.facebook.com/events/1039472452786550/
Who: anyone is welcome as are any of your friends, relatives, or neighbors -- it is FREE -- feel free to forward on this invitation

How: be prepared to BRIEFLY introduce yourself and describe your plant swap offerings

Bring:
~ a name tag - home-made or from work or school -- whatever works
~ pen and paper - you will want to take lots of notes as folks describe the plants and their growing conditions
~ plants to swap - pot them up NOW -- the longer they can get settled in their pots, the better their chance of success and survival - (no plants to share? see note below)
~ labels - fully label all your swap plants with as much info as you have - optimally that will include: common and scientific name, amount of sun needed, amount of water needed, any other special care notes, and color of the blooms (if it is not currently in flower)

What NOT to bring: common orange daylilies* and any invasive species - use this list (http://www.mdinvasivesp.org/list_terrestrial_plants.html) to screen your plant offerings
*Hybrid daylilies are fine and totally welcome, but the common orange ones (aka "Ditch Lilies") usually end up with no takers and we are stuck having to throw them out as yard waste.

What if you do not have plants to swap? Come anyway! Bring refreshments like cold drinks and yummy finger foods to share with the other swappers.

ADVERTISER OF THE WEEK: FONA Garden Fair and Plant Sale

A favorite of area gardeners from novice to expert, the FONA Garden Fair and Plant Sale on Friday-Saturday, April 29-30, 2016, at the US National Arboretum. See details at http://www.fona.org/gardenfair/.

The carefully curated offerings include rare and hard to find plants as well as tried and true favorites – you’re sure to find exactly what you’re looking for. In addition to the hand-selected offerings, they’re proud to offer expert advice on-site to guide you through selecting plants for that tricky spot in your garden.

The FONA plant tent accepts credit cards, checks, and cash. All of of the other vendors will accept cash and checks, many but not all accept credit cards. Check out our stellar 2016 vendor list!


ADVERTISER OF THE WEEK Details:
Every Thursday on the Washington Gardener Magazine Facebook page, Blog, and Yahoo list we feature a current advertiser from our monthly digital magazine. To advertise with us, contact wgardenermag@aol.com today.