Surviving Sandy and the First Few Frosts

Castor Bean Bloom (Ricinus communis)

I looked around my landscape this past weekend to see what survived the storm and the 3 or 4 light frosts we've had so far.  Here are the pictures.  Of course we were very lucky that there was minimal damage in our area, with only a short loss of power.

Castor Bean Seed Pod (Ricinus communis)

Castor Bean Plant (Ricinus communis)

So beautiful, but oh so Wicked. 



Rudbeckia hirta

Rudbeckia's - these are descendants from some seed heads I gleaned in 2003 from the area that is now used for the Perennial Demonstration Garden, back when we trialed ornamental plants there.




The variety was Rudbeckia hirta 'Cherokee Sunset' although you can see if you check the link, they've lost their double petals and picked up some color variations via natural crosses, or reverting to ancestral progenitors from the original hybrid cross, I assume.

Can't complain about the price, though.

The long season bloom time for a perennial is very welcome.

Rudbeckia hirta

Rudbeckia hirta

Rudbeckia hirta

Asclepias tuberosa - Butterfly Weed

Asclepias turberosa - Butterfly Weed

I collect seed from multiple sources, including the Wildlife Area, and anywhere else I see the seed pods for this native wildflower and butterfly attractor, so no telling the provenance.

Asclepias tuberosa - Butterfly Weed

Asclepias physocarpa or Gomphocarpus physocarpus Balloon Milkweed

Another milkweed, although native to South Africa.  Unique seed pods, leading to some interesting other common names.  Excellent larval host plant for the Monarch Butterfly.  Seed pods look great in dried arrangements.  This is my fourth year growing them, seeds originally saved from Steve's cut flower trials.  Although perennial in their native Zone 8 growing area, seeds started indoors in mid March allows for us to grow them as annuals here.  I always start a flat or two for the plant sale, so you can get them then.

Blue Salvia or Salvia farinacea

Another zone 7-8 perennial grown as an annual here in our climate.  These were grown from leftover seeds from earlier year cut flower trials.  They were simply marked "Salvia" in a cellophane envelope, so I had no information about them prior to growing them, which made them difficult to sell at our plant sale.  They have been blooming continuously since July and haven't yet succumbed to frost, and aside from planting them in late May, I've done virtually nothing to nuture them.  More information here and here.

Tithonia rotundifolia or Mexican Sunflower

I only have middling success growing these from saved seed year to year.  Luckily, Laurie Collins starts them, so when I have a failure, like I did this year, she always comes to the rescue with a few plants for me. 

I think this is a dwarf variety, 'Fiesta del Sol', although I didn't mark it when I planted it, so can't be sure.

Monkshood

My Monkshood, to go along with Mary's and Nancy's.

'Yummy' Bell Pepper

One pepper plant left, surviving not only the frosts and storm, but critter depredation as well.  This is an heirloom variety of small, tapered, sweet, orange-when-ripe bell pepper called 'Yummy' that I grow from saved seed every year.

Jack-in-the-Pulpit or Arisaema triphyllum

I think of Jack-in-the-Pulpits as an early, spring woodland species that normally, have gone to seed by this time of year, so I have no idea why this fella is coming up and just starting to bloom now.  All my established ones are gone, with just a few of the red berries visible on the ground.  I tried googling around for information that would explain this late blooming phenomenon, but came up empty.  If anyone out there has more information, please let me know and I'll share it here.

Update: 11:50 pm 11/6 - I sent the picture of the Jack-in-the-Pulpit to Dr. Linda Chalker Scott who responded that the phenomenon is probably an example of ecodormancy - a plant's reaction to somewhat adverse, or abnormal enviromental conditions.  Early season warmth?  Mid-summer drought?  Late season warmth?  I have been unable to find a good source to further describe and explain the term.  You can try here, and here.  There doesn't appear to be a Wikipedia entry.  I forwarded the picture to Dr. Bert Cregg, another one of the Garden Professors, who asked for examples in his post linked above.

Mary's Monkshood

Monkshood - Aconitum

MG Mary Crooks sends pictures of her Monkshood in bloom.  Lots more on Monkshood here.

Monkshood - Aconitum

Update: 10/25/12 - Nancy Miller sends these pictures of her Monkshood in bloom, with a bonus picture of her white mums. 

Monkshood - Aconitum

Monkshood - Aconitum

Old Fashioned Mum

Monkshood - Aconitum napellus

I noticed this blooming in the shade garden this weekend. I purchased it at the plant sale back in May, but didn’t know a whole lot about it – just that it was in the shade section. Monkshood, or Aconitum napellus is also known as Helmet Flower, Friar’s Helmet, Venus’ Chariot, or Wolfsbane. It prefers semi-shade but will tolerate full sun. My shade garden is mostly full shade, so I’m not sure how well it will do there, long-term, but it seems to be fine for now, and, obviously, did bloom this year.

One of the more interesting things about it, is its toxicity. All parts of the plant are poisonous, especially the roots, seeds, and new leaves. Legend has it that Livia, wife of Emperor Augustus, used it, along with other deadly compounds, to eliminate political enemies (mostly relatives) that stood in the way of her son, Tiberius, to become Emperor after the death of Augustus. [Update 10/19: Jump to the 4:30 mark of this YouTube from the excellent BBC series I' Claudius for a delightfully evil discussion of plant poisons.]  It also rates a chapter in Amy Stewart’s book, Wicked Plants.

In Greek mythology, deadly aconite sprang from the spit of the three-headed hound Cerberus as Hercules dragged it out of Hades. Legend has it that it got another of its common names, wolfsbane, because ancient Greek hunters used it as a bait and arrow poison to hunt wolves. Its reputation as a witch’s potion from the Middle Ages earned it a starring role in the Harry Potter series, where Professor Snape brews it to assist Remus Lupin in his transformation to a werewolf.

According to Wikipedia, there are 9 subspecies of A. napellus, all originating in Europe, and that plants native to Asia and North America formerly listed as A. napellus are now regarded as separate species. Regardless of origin, it has naturalized in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast regions of North America.

It appears on many Extension lists of deer-resistant plants (deer are not dumb), as well as plant lists poisonous to livestock.



I think it’s kinda purty, and will look for more at next year's sale.

So Whodunit?

Ageratina altissima , formerly known as Eupatorium rugosum (Taxonomists gotta make a living somehow) or white snakeroot, is a common native wildflower in bloom in our area now and is on many extension lists of native plants, good for attracting pollinators.

It is also the plant that killed Lincoln’s mother.

When stock animals feed on white snakeroot they show symptoms of trembles—muscular tremors, weakness, and constipation often leading to death. The poisonous principle is named tremetol, a fat-soluble, high molecular weight alcohol. Nursing females are shielded from some of the effects of tremetol because of the high rate at which it is excreted into their milk. This can be a death sentence for their nursing young however. For people consuming the milk of their animals, the resulting sickness was misinterpreted as a dangerous infectious epidemic of late autumn.

In 1818, nine-year old Abraham Lincoln, lost his mother to milk sickness.