Gardenig in state South Carolina. Tips & Guides

The recent news that all Pyrus calleryana cultivars – the most common of which is the Bradford pear – and several Elaeagnus species have been added to the “do not sell” list in South Carolina has generated a lot of buzz and a lot of questions from homeowners. We’ll try to answer some of those questions in this blog post.

Do you want to get more active? Do you want to learn more about taking charge of your health? Do you want to learn about South Carolina along the way? Physical activity is crucial for maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Getting active can help you lose weight, lower blood pressure, lower blood sugar, lower your risk for heart disease, build strength and gain flexibility in your muscles, sleep better, improve your mood, and increase your energy levels.

If you’re driving along the highway in July or August, you may notice clumps of trees with brown leaves that look dried, dead, or scorched. This is likely the handiwork of the locust leafminer, Odontota dorsalis, a small beetle that feeds on black locust, a common roadside tree in South Carolina.

The box tree moth, Cydalima perspectalis, is a non-native moth that has recently been found in a nursery in South Carolina. Native to eastern Asia, the box tree moth has been present in Canada since November 2018. From August 2020 through May 2021, infested boxwood (Buxus sp.) plants were inadvertently shipped from a grower in Canada to several nurseries in the U.S.; a retail nursery in South Carolina received infested plants in May 2021. As of June 1, 2021, the South Carolina detection is being treated as a regulatory incident, and this pest is not thought to have escaped into the landscape. Clemson’s Department of Plant Industry is investigating plant shipments into and out of the South Carolina nursery to determine if infested material may have been inadvertently sold to homeowners and will be monitoring in and around the nursery to ensure this moth has not escaped. If populations are found, a survey and eradication effort will follow.

Rob Last reports, “Generally speaking, we are in the changeover period from spring to fall crops, with some fumigants being applied to next year’s strawberry plantings. If fumigants are used, make sure soil moisture is good and beds are firm to maximize efficacy. One thing we have observed in blackberries and blueberries in the area is the emergence of bark scale. Bark scale is a new pest to South Carolina and has previously been noted in ornamentals. However, reports for Asia, where the pest is native, indicate the bark scales can survive on Rubus species.

Homeowners have had to combat root-knot nematodes for as long as home vegetable gardens have existed. Nematodes are microscopic worms in the soil in high numbers that can cause damage to susceptible plants. Traditionally, the vegetables most affected were beans, watermelons, cucumbers, and especially three grower favorites: tomatoes, sweetpotatoes, and okra. Although there are many types of nematodes in the soil, root-knot nematodes are some of the most common and cause the large galls or knots you see on the roots of susceptible plants

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Charleston, South Carolina is known for beautiful gates and wrought iron architecture.

Did you know this week is National Moth Week? July 17 – 25, 2021, marks the tenth anniversary of National moth week. This program started in New Jersey but now has a global reach. The goal this year is to encourage young people, in particular, to observe and document moths. To that end, they have many resources and tips on their webpage at https://nationalmothweek.org/. In 2019, the South Carolina Botanical Garden participated in this worldwide event by hosting a Magical Moth night in partnership with the Clemson Entomology Club. It was so much fun that we hope to do it again next year.

Dr. Tony Keinath reports, “Basil downy mildew was found in mid-June in Charleston. Symptoms start as faint yellowing of leaves, which eventually show brown spots surrounded by yellow areas. To see the spores, look on the bottom of a symptomatic leaf. Sometimes it helps to hold the leaf up to a light source (but don’t look directly into the sun). Seeing spores is useful to rule out nutrient deficiency or sunburn on leaves. I do not know of any cultivars that truly are resistant or any organic biopesticides that are effective. Once downy mildew spores arrive in South Carolina, the disease will be present until frost kills the basil host.”

South Carolina’s thousands of dams are used to establish ponds, lakes, and reservoirs that provide flood management, hydropower, drinking or irrigation water, recreation, and wildlife habitat. For many of us, the dam that helps form our backyard fishing pond supports Saturday afternoon fishing with the kids. To protect the integrity of your dam and the benefits of your pond to you as the pond owner (like that trophy bass habitat!), you should plan to perform regular inspection and maintenance of your dam.

Fall bird migration is in full swing in South Carolina. As our temperatures cool and the days get shorter, many birds start preparing to move south. Many warblers pass through the South Carolina Botanical Garden (SCBG) on their way to subtropical and tropical areas. If you visit the SCBG with your binoculars, you may see some warblers in the migratory flight path located below and behind the Bob Campbell Geology Museum.

Utility companies have the thankless task of maintaining the right-of-way for above-ground utility lines to keep the power on. Gardeners and residents often gasp in horror upon seeing the tree and large shrub pruning performed to keep the lines clear. It is a necessary evil. But in many cases, following a ‘right plant in the right place’ mentality will avoid plants interfering with the lines.

Daffodils are one of the most reliable spring bulbs for the Southeast. Not all cultivars, though, survive the summer and come back year after year. The following cultivars have a proven track record in the Coastal Plain region, meaning they have bloomed reliably and lasted in my yard for five to 20 years.

One of my favorite native plants in South Carolina isn’t a typical spring emergent full of bright colors; it’s a species that starts to turn heads as we head into the cooler months. Chasmanthium latifolium, also known as river oats, turns a beautiful bronze in my favorite season, fall, and is found in an area I’m passionate about protecting streamside riparian areas.

How many times have you heard the phrase “Genes don’t lie?” I am an amateur genealogist who has spent years researching my family lines. Imagine my absolute delight in discovering that my 7th great-grandmother was Martha Daniell Logan (Dec 29, 1704–June 28, 1779) of Charles Town, SC. She was the daughter of Lt. Governor Robert and Martha Daniell. After her father’s death on May 1, 1718, almost fourteen-year-old Martha inherited and managed her father’s 48,000 acre estate on the Wando River. She had been influenced by her father’s nursery business and thus began her love of gardening.

Cotton rose mallow (Hibiscus mutabilis), a member of the Malvaceae family, is one of the latest blooming hibiscuses and a popular plant found in many South Carolina gardens. When in bloom, the 4- to 6-inch flowers may be either single or double and range in shades of pink and white. Many times, there will be multiple flower colors on one plant.

Come for a fall stroll at the South Carolina Botanical Gardens.

Many of us enjoy searching for monarch caterpillars on milkweed in late summer and thinking about the next generation of beautiful monarch butterflies. Along the way, one may be surprised to encounter a lesser-known caterpillar getting its fill of milkweed alongside the monarch caterpillars. Milkweed tussock moth, Euchaetes egle, sometimes referred to as the milkweed tiger moth, specializes in milkweeds and dogbanes for larval food. One can find these cute (in my opinion) caterpillars munching away on common milkweed, Asclepias syriaca, at the South Carolina Botanical Garden.

I just love this plant! I think it’s the color and texture that I find so attractive. The silvery-grey, spiky foliage contrasts with rounded bright blue flower heads. Wherever it is in the garden, it stands out and makes a definite statement. This native perennial grows to about 30″ high with multiple branching stems. In nature, it is found in swampy wetlands, and it grows beautifully in our Carnivorous Plant Exhibit at the South Carolina Botanical Garden (SCBG).  But this plant is versatile. It is also at home in soils with average moisture; it is planted near the SCBG Visitor Center on top of a well-drained hill. This variety is rare and increasingly threatened by development in its natural range. It is, however, now available in the nursery trade.

It is hard to believe it is already mid-September. While many folks get excited about spring in the garden, experienced South Carolina gardeners know that autumn is the sublimest of seasons. Crystal clear blue skies, cool, crisp breezes, and the first tinges of fall color signal the end of our hot, humid summer.

Nature is always intriguing, often beautiful, but occasionally it is rather creepy and somewhat gruesome.

It should go without saying that water is vital for plant survival. Plants use water for photosynthesis, transporting water-soluble nutrients, and maintaining turgidity. Turgidity is the water pressure against the inside of a plant’s cell walls that keep plants upright and supple. When a plant lacks water, decreased turgor pressure causes the plant to wilt. During the spring, summer, and fall, wilted leaves indicate a plant lacks water, and experienced gardeners know supplemental water is necessary to ‘perk it up.’ But during the winter, when many plants lose their leaves or wilting leaves are harder to recognize, how do gardeners know when to water?

Come for a Stroll through the Camellia Collection at the South Carolina Botanical Garden! The camellias are in full bloom this week.

At the South Carolina Botanical Garden (SCBG), we have always viewed gardening as a fantastic vehicle for teaching. We do this with programs like the new in-person afterschool program: The Green Thumbs Kids Club. Each participant will plant, tend, and harvest vegetables, herbs, and ornamental plants in this club. In addition, they cook, craft, carry out experiments, observe garden critters, and more. To find out more about The Green Thumbs Club, and to register, visit https://calendar.clemson.edu/event/green_thumbs_kids_club#.YdcCLhPMLuV

A February Stroll Through the South Carolina Botanical Garden

Arbor Day is an opportunity to celebrate the trees that make your world better! While National Arbor Day is the last Friday in April, the first Friday in December (December 3, 2021) is South Carolina’s Arbor Day. The difference in dates is that trees in South Carolina are better able to get established when planted in the winter. According to the SC Forestry Commission, our planting season begins in December and ends in mid-March. To learn more about best practices for planting trees, see HGIC 1001, Planting Trees Correctly and HGIC, Plant a Tree.

I remember the first time I saw a calla lily (Zantedeschia aethiopica). I was watching an old Katherine Hepburn movie, “Stage Door.” She swept into the room with an armload of calla lilies and, in her breathless voice, exclaimed, “The calla lilies are in bloom.” Ever since then, the classic beauty of calla lilies has fascinated me. The genus, Zantedeschia, was named in honor of the Italian botanist Giovanni Zantedeschi. The common name, calla, is derived from the Greek word for beautiful.

Worldwide: There are reports of quail being used for food as far back as 960 AD, where there is a reference to fried quail at a country fair trade. During the eighth and sixteenth centuries in Japan, quail were semi-domesticated as pets and singing birds. However, by the early 1900s, they were beginning to be consumed for meat and eggs in Japan and many other parts of the world, including the United States.

Most years, South Carolina receives several inches of rain during the fall and winter. This year, however, we have been on the dry side. We have also been having warmer than average days, and your landscape may need supplemental irrigation.

If you’re looking for an inexpensive and easy way to re-establish vegetation along a waterway, livestakes are for you! Livestake installation is a method of propagation that uses cuttings from a select few species of plants that love to grow along rivers, wetlands, and streams. They merely look like 2-foot sticks to the untrained eye, but livestakes are full of life and ready to start growing when the weather turns warmer.

Every walk in the woods is a treasure hunt as spring ephemerals begin to break through the soil surface. I am almost positive that this trout lily was not up yesterday, but today it is in full flower in the South Carolina Botanical Garden. Notice the beautifully mottled foliage, reminiscent of a trout’s belly. In South Carolina, trout lilies begin to emerge in early to mid-February when leaves are off the trees. Their range is wide in eastern North America, from Labrador in the north to Georgia in the south and as far west as Mississippi.

Another group of tested and trialed garden plants have proven themselves winners in the All-America Selections (AAS) program. The twelve 2022 winners include four flowers and eight new vegetables for home gardens. Two flowers were even AAS Gold Medal Award winners this year, an honor reserved for a breeding breakthrough.

Many years ago, while attending a winter gardening symposium at Calloway Gardens in Georgia, I first observed paperbush (Edgeworthia chrysantha) in full bloom. While exploring the gardens during a break between sessions, I discovered a huge paperbush flowering near the butterfly house. I was amazed by the beauty and fragrance of the flowers and immediately fell in love with the plant.

Plan a Visit to the Fort Hill Plantation on the Clemson University Campus, Home of John C. and Floride Bonneau Colhoun Calhoun and later Thomas Green and Anna Maria Calhoun Clemson.

A thriving hemp industry is emerging in South Carolina despite some growing pains. When the South Carolina Department of Agriculture (SCDA) received approval for the state hemp plan under the USDA early in 2020, over 350 farmers in the state obtained licenses, and 220 farmers obtained licenses in 2021 to grow hemp for its valuable flowers. The decline in applications for licenses to grow hemp between the two years was due to nationwide overproduction of floral hemp in 2020, which prevented some farmers from selling their product. As the industry matures, these supply and demand issues are working themselves out across the country in the floral hemp industry as hemp grown for other products that utilize its fiber parts and seeds is on the rise. We see federal agencies implementing new rules, more grant opportunities for hemp research available, and better banking and insurance options for farmers coming online.