THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, December 10, 1995 TAG: 9512080100
SECTION: HOME PAGE: G4 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: GARDENING REMINDERS
SOURCE: Robert Stiffler
LENGTH: Long : 107 lines
MANY PLANTS ARE purchased this time of year, then moved from store to car to house. Often they're damaged in the moves.
Try to select a calm, sunny, warm day to transport any plants outdoors. Wrap them in several layers of paper with dead air space between the layers. The final layer could be a heavy grocery sack or cardboard box.
Always rush the plant in and out of your heated car to the warm indoors. If you make other stops, be sure the plant doesn't sit in the car and get chilled.
Remember that when placed in a new home, flowering plants need bright light, cool temperatures at night and protection against warm and cold drafts. Plants placed near windows need to be situated so their leaves and stems don't touch icy cold glass. USEFUL BOOK ON GRASSES
One book you might be interested in for Christmas arrived the day after last Sunday's story on new garden books. ``Ornamental Grasses,'' (McGraw-Hill, $24.95 paperback) by Carole Ottesen is a reprint of the hard-cover book published in 1988. It encompasses the work of such eminent landscape designers as Wolfgang Oehme, Edith Edelman and Hans Hanses. Any bookstore can order it. BATTLING MEAL MOTHS
If you've ever had a summer invasion of Indian meal moths, you know what a problem they can be. They lay eggs on everything from nuts, dried fruits, spices, chocolate, marshmallows, pancake batter, cereals and other grain products to dog biscuits. They produce multiple generations in food, bird seed and pet food.
Now Michigan State University releases the news that they also feed on dried flowers and other dried plant material. Dried material you purchase may be infested with the moths, and material you bring in from outdoors may become infested by resident moths and be the source of pantry infestations.
Sanitation is the key. Track down and dispose of any infested materials, whether in the pantry or craft area. Craft materials and finished arrangements can be ``debugged'' when brought into the home. An hour's exposure to temperatures of at least 120 degrees or a day or two at zero degrees in a home freezer should kill any insect life. USE PLENTY OF FRESH HERBS
With holiday season at hand, remember that leading chefs say that when you use fresh herbs, you need to use twice the amount as when dried herbs are specified. If a recipe calls for 1 teaspoon dried sage, use 2 teaspoons fresh sage leaves. COLORFUL PALLET MULCH
In Nov. 12 reader letters, Catherine Weagle wrote about colored hardwood mulch, made from old shipping pallets. Since then, Bill Putname of Wilbar Truck Equipment in Portsmouth has faxed that Williamsburg Recycling recycles old shipping pallets into mulch. They can be reached at Second Harvest, Newport News, 11973-M Jefferson Ave., phone 249-9003. The mulch is dyed various colors, such as blue, brown, red, rose, gold.
Realtor Judy Boone called to say Four Seasons Nursery, 965 S. Military Highway, Virginia Beach, (call 420-4182) also sells such a product. They report they are selling recycled pallet mulch that is stained bright red. They say it's expensive, at $29 per yard. They recommend a red oak mulch, which is is much less expensive at $17.95 per yard.
An unidentified reader from Williamsburg sent a lot of material on Mulch Magic, which is the registered name for a mulch made from recycled shipping pallets. It was is sold by Second Harvest and is available in brown, red, gold, rose and black.
Next came a letter from Bill Hoover of Ghent Gardens, 1722 Granby St., Norfolk, reporting that Ghent Gardens sells this mulch in any color the customer desires, including red, green and pink.
``We have mulched all the beds on this property with this new mulch, and anyone who wishes to see it or get a sample should stop by Ghent Gardens,'' he said.
Anna J. Rhodes of Virginia Beach wrote to say that colored, recycled pallet mulch is available in Chesapeake at a place called Second Nature. She says, ``The Hot 'N Now hamburger chain is using it, at least at their Greenbrier location. It's very colorful.'' McCARTNEY ROSE TO ARRIVE
On the same Sunday, Esther Piskiorski inquired about the McCartney rose. I replied that she'd have to go to Europe to find one, but Bill Kidd of McDonald Garden Centers says they will have the McCartney rose in 1996. Beginning Dec. 2, they offered a Scent of Spring Rose Gift Box that includes a 1996 Rose Guide, a silk rose and a gift card redeemable for a McCartney rose in the spring of 1996. The price is around $15.
The McCartney rose is highly fragrant and has won many awards in Europe. It is being released for the first time in this country this year. Because it has suddenly become so talked about, it may be available at other locations come spring. DON'T CUT BACK MUMS
This is against everything you've read in garden books, but Yoder, North America's largest propagators of chrysanthemums, says not to cut mums back until spring. A hard freeze will turn foliage brown, but Yoder says that if you expect them to come up again next spring, you should leave the brown foliage all winter and cut it back before new growth starts in the spring.
Many, including me, have complained that many of the so-called ``garden mums'' do not come back in the spring. I've always cut them back as soon as their foliage browned, but Yoder says not to do that and the plant will come back in the spring. It's worth a try. by CNB