Aucuba Plant Profile

Spotted Laurel (Aucuba japonica) is a large, evergreen shrub also known as Japanese Laurel and Gold Leaf Plant. This plant is grown for its striking variegated foliage with yellow or white spots or streaks -- there is also a plain green kind.

This shade-loving plant is great for a spot in the back of the border to add some bright foliage interest or as a hedge. It tolerates dry soils and air pollution well. It is easy to propagate new plants from cuttings.

 It has long-lasting red fruits that appear in the fall that are also attractive.  To produce the fruit, you must have male and female plants nearby to each other.

Aucuba typically grows to 8 feet wide and high. It can be pruned in spring to keep its size in check. There are also dwarf varieties available.

It is hardy to Zones 7 to 9 and is native to Asia. Aucuba can be grown in containers outdoors and also does well as a house plant. Plant it in a protected spot out of prevailing winds and direct sun in well-draining soil. This is a low-maintenance, easy-care plant.

Aucuba: You Can Grow That!

The video was produced by Washington Gardener Magazine.

Audio and Text by Kathy Jentz

Video and Editing by Melinda Thompson
Additional Video Footage by Kathy Jentz

Partially filmed at the US National Arboretum’s Asian Collection.

 

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Win a set of GardenSleeves in the November 2021 Washington Gardener Reader Contest

For our November 2021 Washington Gardener Reader Contest, we are giving away a set of GardenSleeves (prize value: $22).

   Inventor Lynne Eichenbaum has created GardenSleeves by NOMPI Gloves (www.MyGardenSleeves.com), the gardening and work gloves with sleeves. Patented and made in the USA, GardenSleeves came about after Eichenbaum contracted yet another case of forearm poison ivy after tending to her vegetable garden. She invented a pair for herself and couldn’t wait to share them with fellow gardeners. GardenSleeves by NOMPI Gloves keep arms free from scratches, sunburn, poison ivy, mosquito bites, and more. Made from breathable 100% cotton fabric, the sleeves are attached to cotton/poly-blend or nitrile gardening gloves. The elastic arm band assures a non-slip fit and NOMPIs are fully machine washable. 

   To enter to win a set of GardenSleeves, send an email by 5:00pm on November 30 to WashingtonGardenerMagazine@gmail.com with “GardenSleeves” in the subject line and in the body of the email. Tell us what your favorite article was in the November 2021 issue and why. Please also include your full name and mailing address. Winners will be announced and notified on December 1. 

UPDATE:

The winner is Trish McKenzie of Washington, DC. Congratulations, Trish!

Monday Thoughts: ""The heat of autumn is different from the heat of summer. One ripens apples, the other turns them to cider."

"The heat of autumn is different from the heat of summer. One ripens apples, the other turns them to cider." - Jane Hirshfield

GardenDC Podcast Episode 84: Thanksgiving from the Garden

In this episode, we talk with cook and author Jonathan Bardzik about enjoying Thanksgiving from the Garden. The plant profile is on Japanese Maples and I share what's going on locally and in my garden.

Jonathan Bardzik
Photo by Matt Sprague

EPISODE LENGTH: 57:45 WARNING: Don’t listen on an empty stomach! 00:42 Meet Jonathan! 02:30 “It definitely runs through my veins” — Jonathan, on growing up in the gardening world 05:14 “Growing a little something at home, even if the entire meal … is not home grown, I feel more connected to it” — Jonathan 06:58 How to make the most out of your kale this season, and what challenges you might find along the way 08:46 Pro Tip: To combat kale’s bitterness, add some hot sauce 09:51 Jonathan talks about Romanesco, a hybrid of broccoli and cauliflower 13:08 Best ways to use Bok Choy in your Thanksgiving meals 15:52 Jonathan talks about a dish that will be featured on his Thanksgiving table: roasted sweet potatoes with a chive brown butter chimichurri 17:30 “One of the challenges being in the heart of the city is we have some ‘interesting’ animal pests” — Jonathan, on his home garden in DC 18:57 Having a hedge out front that produces red raspberries during early summer is “heaven” for Jonathan and his husband 19:25 His “proudest edible” is the tall hedge of “barbecue” rosemary along the sidewalk 21:33 Best fruits for making compotes 23:47 “They were as good as sitting in the middle of a field in southern Jersey at the peak of season in June” — Jonathan, on eating blueberries in Paris 26:10 What to bring from your garden to a Thanksgiving dinner when you’re not much of a cook 29:34 All about the Thanksgiving staple: PIES 31:19 “I did a taste test of different squashes with my parents once — a sure sign we need to get out of the house more often” — Jonathan 33:40 “You had me at bacon” — Jonathan and Kathy talk about the different flavor combination possibilities with spinach and other late-season winter greens 35:27 If you’re a beginner vegetable gardener, radishes might be a great ingredient to reach for when prepping Thanksgiving dinner 37:52 If you’re afraid of using a mandoline, you’re not alone! 39:48 Jonathan talks about the different ways to prepare carrots and their tops (42:37) 45:09 “I probably use more parsley than anything else” — Jonathan 47:03 Kathy talks about how to make your parsley last in the garden almost all year round 48:59 Go check out Jonathan’s show “Jonathan’s Kitchen: Seasons to Taste” on Revry! 49:29 Also get a hold of his cookbooks, which you can order directly from his website or on Amazon 50:11 Jonathan’s annual Thanksgiving helpline is available on either his Instagram or Facebook, starting Sunday 11/21 and ending Wednesday 11/24 51:45 Check out editor Kathy Jentz’s new book with Teri Speight on how to grow a garden with a limited space and budget! 52:40 Learn about the “elegant and graceful” Japanese maple in this week’s Plant Profile! 54:42 Garden updates: overwintering the alocasia and other plants as houseplants 55:04 Upcoming events: Lantern Light Tour at Tudor Place and Winter Solstice Celebration at Green Spring Gardens

BTW, YOU can become a listener supporter for as little as $0.99 per month! See how at: https://anchor.fm/gardendc/support.

The episode is posted at: https://anchor.fm/gardendc/episodes/Thanksgiving-from-the-Garden-e1aegfk

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We welcome your questions and comments! You can leave a voice mail message for us at: https://anchor.fm/gardendc/message Note that we may use these messages on a future episode.

Episode Credits:

Host and Producer: Kathy Jentz

Interview Edits: Charlotte Crook

Show Notes: Melena DiNenna

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Fenton Friday: Grow Your Own Salad

Guest Post by Melena DiNenna

While interning at Washington Gardener this fall, I grew cutting lettuce (Lactuca sativa), also called cut-and-come-again lettuce, in the community garden. This was my first time tending to an edible plant, so it’s been an interesting learning experience. I was lucky to get seeds that were very fresh and new, so I didn’t need to plant a whole lot to get an abundance of lettuce. 

Each week, we’d go into the garden and tend to our plants. A couple of times we’d get a rainy day, so we’d leave them be that week. Over time we started to weed around the plants, too. I also grew arugula at the same time, which didn’t grow as much as the lettuce. At one point, I even had to plant more arugula seeds since we couldn’t see any seedlings. However, the cutting lettuce grew very well and steadily. In late September and again in early November, I harvested it, giving me enough lettuce to make a delicious salad that week. 

What I love about salad is it doesn’t need to be complicated—sometimes it’s just a matter of throwing together what you have in your kitchen. I washed and patted the lettuce dry and put it into a bowl. I included some leftover cherry tomatoes we had picked from the garden throughout the fall as well. I also threw in some walnuts— my favorite addition to a salad—and topped with balsamic vinaigrette. The lettuce was crunchy and the salad made for a great afternoon snack!

This was just a great experience learning how to care for a lettuce plant. It was so fun watching the process from growing as a seedling to making a great salad ingredient. I hope I get the opportunity in the future to plant some more!

About the Author: Melena DiNenna is a journalism student at the University of Maryland, College Park, with minors in Spanish and sustainability studies. She is from Salisbury, MD, and is interning this fall with Washington Gardener.

About Fenton Friday: Every Friday during the growing season, I'll be giving you an update on my community garden plot at the Fenton Street Community Garden just across the street from my house in zone 7 Mid-Atlantic MD/DC border. I'm plot #16. It is a 10 ft x 20 ft space and this is our 8th year in the garden. (It opened in May 2011.) See past posts about our edible garden by putting "Fenton" into the Search box above.

November 2021 issue of Washington Gardener Magazine

 

The November 2021 issue of Washington Gardener Magazine is out. 

Inside this issue:

·         Firethorn: Dramatic and Daunting Pyracantha

·         Christmas Fern Native Plant Profile

·         Seed-Storing Tips

·         Growing Cutting Lettuce

·         White-Throated Sparrows

·         Fall Armyworms

·         Meet Linda Jones

·         DC-MD-VA Gardening Events Calendar

·         Urban Ag Summit Lessons

·         Visit the Ephemeral Temperance Alley Garden

·         Great Gardening Books Reviewed

·         How to Combine Spring-Flowering Bulbs

and much more…

Note that any submissions, event listings, and advertisements for the December 2021 issue are due by December 5.

 >>  Subscribe to Washington Gardener Magazine today to have the monthly publication sent to your inbox as a PDF several days before it is available online. You can use the PayPal (credit card) online order form here: http://www.washingtongardener.com/index_files/subscribe.htm

Hardy Orange Plant Profile

Hardy Orange (Poncirus trifoliata) is a large shrub that is famous for its sharp thorns and sour citrus fruits. It makes an excellent hedge and should be placed away from any high traffic areas in your landscape.

It is hardy to zones 4 to 9 and originates in China. The leaves fall off in autumn and reveal a dramatic interior of spiny, dark-green stems.

Hardy Orange prefers a full-sun location, but it can take some shade. It also prefers acidic, well-draining soils. It can grow to 15 feet high and wide. Once established, it is drought-tolerant.

The small fruits ripen in fall and are full of seeds and the juice is lemon-like. It can be used to make a marmalade, but is generally treated more as an ornamental fruit than an edible one.

The ‘Flying Dragon’ cultivar has beautiful twisting branches and is available by mail order or at local independent garden centers.

Prune it carefully, when needed, by wearing thick leather gloves and eye protection. You can take stem  cuttings to propagate it or try your luck at planting the seeds.

Hardy Orange: You Can Grow That!

The video was produced by Washington Gardener Magazine.

Audio and Text by Kathy Jentz

Video and Editing by Melinda Thompson
Additional Video Footage by Charlotte Benedetto and Kathy Jentz

Partially filmed at the US National Arboretum’s Asian Collection.

➤ If you enjoy this video, please give it a thumbs up and subscribe to our Youtube channel (thank you!)

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Monday Thoughts: "Autumn Is A Second Spring When Every Leaf Is A Flower." - Albert Camus

"Autumn Is A Second Spring When Every Leaf Is A Flower."
- Albert Camus

GardenDC Podcast Episode 83: Greenhouses for Home Gardeners

In this episode, we talk with Ashley Edwards, Horticulture Extension Agent for the Virginia Cooperative Extension, about growing Greenhouses for Home Gardeners. The plant profile is on Pyracantha and I share what's going on locally and in my garden.

EPISODE LENGTH: 50:01 00:44 Meet Ashley Edwards, Horticulture Extension Agent for Virginia Cooperative Extension, and hear about her growing up with “boots on the ground” knowledge of gardening 02:16 “I may not know the answer, but I know who does” — Ashley, on always learning new things in her role at VCE 05:45 What is the best place to site a greenhouse on your property? 07:38 While sunlight is most important, having trees to create shade in warmer months is actually “desirable” 08:31-17:36 Starting small — different types of structures, besides greenhouses, for protection of plants 11:14 High tunnels, temperature regulation, and how the wind factors in 15:39 “With greenhouses… a big consideration is just knowing how much time you have to monitor the environment on the inside” — Ashley 16:17 “Fail safe” and “automated” systems for temperature regulation in greenhouses 17:39 Some “sophisticated” systems now send notifications to your phone when something needs to be checked in your greenhouse 17:56 “So many sleepless nights when we had really, really poor weather” — Ashley, on growing up with propane-heated greenhouses 18:49 Power sources for greenhouses and what to do in case of a power outage 21:13 “You want to consider cleanliness, humidity, comfort” — Ashley, on flooring for a greenhouse 22:42 “I think a lot of people don’t know that you still have to weed inside a greenhouse” — Kathy 24:10 How to handle “one of your biggest enemies” to the greenhouse: Snow 26:35 Pros and Cons of plastic VS glass for greenhouses 29:28 Pro Tip: If your greenhouse is covered with glass, you can paint over with a coating to provide some shading 30:39 How to clean your greenhouse 31:38 “The key with greenhouse pest control is prevention” — Ashley 33:52 Home Grounds and Animals — a pest management guide published by VCE with “pest control recommendations for basically every plant that you can think of” — Ashley 34:36 How to go about purchasing a greenhouse (buying online, DIY-ing, buying secondhand, etc.) 38:29 “It’s easier to elongate … but it’s not easy to change the width” — Ashley, on choosing the size of your greenhouse 39:01 Ashley’s recommendation for greenhouse sizing for home gardeners 39:35 A really useful resource is the LSU extension hobby greenhouses page 40:16 Concerns and cautions to have with greenhouses as a home gardener 40:58 “Utilize your local extension agent throughout this process. That’s what they’re there for” — Ashley 42:09 You can contact Ashley by email (aledwards@vt.edu) 43:05 “Don’t think that if it didn’t go well, that it was a failure. It’s just for learning for the next year” — Kathy 43:35 Learn about the berry-filled, easy-to-grow evergreen Firethorn (Pyracantha) in this week’s Plant Profile! 45:37 Garden updates: We won Best DC Podcast! And are picking greens and planting garlic 

46:52 Upcoming events: U.S. Botanic Garden’s holiday display and light displays in Virginia and Maryland

BTW, YOU can become a listener supporter for as little as $0.99 per month! See how at: https://anchor.fm/gardendc/support.

The episode is posted at: https://anchor.fm/gardendc/episodes/Episode-83---Greenhouses-for-Home-Gardeners-e1a6v1f

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We welcome your questions and comments! You can leave a voice mail message for us at: https://anchor.fm/gardendc/message Note that we may use these messages on a future episode.

Episode Credits
Host and Producer: Kathy Jentz

Interview Edits: Charlotte Crook
Notes: Melena DiNenna

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