WhatFinger


City of Toronto Expenses, gardening claims

January Gardening



Happy New Year – and a Leap Year at that. The extra day will extend predicted cold another twenty-four hours, assuming Richard Mosset, a meteorologist with the Canadian Meteorological Centre at Environment Canada, is right. This winter, says the civil servant soothsayer, will be colder than normal over most of the country.

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So what? Look on the upside: Gardeners gain another day for indoor gardening. But first, having recovered from the revelry that greets the Western New Year, the Chinese Year of the Rat is upon us. Decorate with yellow and white flowers and assure happiness with citrus such as clementines, oranges, tangerines and kumquats. Miniature Calamondin orange trees are especially prized but be prepared to pay top dollar. Keeping Citrus mitis alive is best left to the most verdant of the green thumb brigade. All this may alleviate winter blues, a mild depression caused by cold dark days that afflicts 10 to 20 per cent of the population, writes Michael Kesterton in The Globe and Mail. According to Karla Harmon, a mental health counselor at Sioux Valley Hospital. South Dakota, three-fourths of the sufferers are women. She advises “exercise and time spent outdoors.” Hasn’t she heard of the therapeutic benefits of interior ornamental plants? Better yet, according to research by NASA many houseplants sop up all manner of environmental pollutants, enough to satisfy even the Blessed St. Suzuki himself. Calamondin orange is distressingly subject to attacks from spider mite. This minute pest is barely visible to the naked eye. The profuse webs it spins are, however, although by the time they are seen it is usually game over for the unfortunate victim. Palms also seem particularly favoured by spider mite as are dumb cane and dracaenas, although almost any plant under stress may be targeted. A daily spritzing with room-temperature water is an excellent deterrent. Treating with natural insecticidal soap every five days for three weeks may stop attacks detected early enough. The same is effective against aphid and white fly. What to do with all the remaining gift plants that came and, doubtlessly are coming our way this season? Gain a reputation for a verdant digit and one thing for sure: every visitor is convinced you will welcome another plant – or five. A quick checklist of a few popular contributions: Poinsettia: keep in moderate to bright light, soil just moist at all times, fertilize monthly, and modern poinsettias will probably still be in bloom at Easter. Once finished ‘flowering’ – the ‘flower’ is actually a modified leaf called a bract – cut back the stems with care. The white latex that oozes out can irritate skin and eyes. Not easy to persuade to rebloom but makes a good foliage plant. Amaryllis: when all the blooms have dropped take to the kitchen sink and cut back the stem – it will be full of water – leaving the foliage. Continue to water, fertilizing monthly. Commencing early summer, allow to dry out and the bulb to rest until fall, when start watering again; it is not necessary to repot. Azalea: related to hardy garden species but originating from temperate India these beauties usually succumb to indoor overwinter conditions. They require bright light but cool temperatures, 10-20ºC. Soil must be kept moist but never use alkaline water. Weekly spraying with tepid water may prevent flower buds dropping. Christmas Cactus: place in bright light and keep just moist or it will shed its buds – which it will also do if temperatures vary or it is fertilized. Following blooming, keep watering and feeding until late summer, then ease off and allow to rest for a month or more before recommencing usual care. This is usually enough to start bud initiation again. Cyclamen: another cool customer for the 10-20ºC range and bright light but not direct sun. Keep constantly just moist but water carefully – it is fatal to splash the centre of the plant. Carefully remove dead stalks without tearing the corm. Keep fed monthly until early summer, then rest with the soil dry until early fall. Cineraria: these glorious daisy-flowered plants are short-lived annuals. Keep moist and in bright light while realizing that a week or two and they will go to the great green compost heap in the sky. Examine very carefully immediately on receiving – they seem especially prone to whitefly infestation. Gloxinia: this close relative to African Violets grows from a tuber. Prefers 20-25ºC range but otherwise similar in treatment to Cyclamen. However, like all plants with furry leaves, never spray with water. Christmas Pepper: an annual or short-lived perennial pepper that requires moisture, bright light and warmth. Remove shriveled fruit carefully – they are blazing hot and may irritate the skin. May fruit a season if placed outside over summer and the peppers can then be used in the kitchen. Indoor plant enthusiasts emphasize the importance of “buoyant air.” Plants dislike a stale, stagnant atmosphere. Take a tip from orchid fanciers: keep a fan pointed at the ceiling to keep the air moving. Better still, install overhead fans and join Rick in Casablanca. If all this is not enough to distract eager outdoor gardeners from going nuts, then its time for Ernie Grimo’s catalog. The esteemed nut tree expert from Niagara-on-the-Lake (www.grimonut.com) has just issued his 2008 Nursery Catalog. What with the news that the emerald ash borer beetle has landed in Toronto, threatening Fraxinus there, consider getting off your ash with one of Ernie’s kernels. Uproar over Toronto councillors’ expenses, threats of audits, exposure, etc. Some say city hall is where the swine dine but we’re tickled petunia pink after viewing gardening claims by all to few councillors at robford.ca Paula Fletcher charged a $30 ticket for a backyard naturalization workshop by the North American Native Plant Society. Adjoining ward councillor Sandra Bussin was unmercifully teased for renting two rabbit costumes for $205.20 but also spent $120.19 for ‘plants’ at Colangelo Nursery. Ms. Fletcher also spent over $100 at florists for floral arrangements and similarly did doughty Pam McConnell both, let it be noted for sympathy, performers or staff members. Ron Moeser similarly ordered fresh flowers for his constituency office. Adam Giambrone shelled out almost $80 to Home Depot for fall bulbs for Susan Tibaldi Park, while Karen Stintz paid Sheridan Nurseries $604.43 worth of flowers for the Duplex parkette. Less enthusiastic was Mark Grimes. Taxpayers are on the hook for a single issue of Canadian Gardening from Indigo at $5.65 featuring a garden in his Ward 6 Deputy Mayor and city tree advocate Joe Pantalone donated $100 to the West End Flower Faeries plus $500 to the Toronto Parks and Trees Foundation, $200 to the Friends of Massey Harris Park and so, little wonder the need for a bottle of Advil for his office worth $25.52. A tip of the gardening tile to these worthies. Their and other contributions to the health, wealth and horticultural happiness of the nation’s largest city can be viewed at the above website.


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Wes Porter -- Bio and Archives

Wes Porter is a horticultural consultant and writer based in Toronto. Wes has over 40 years of experience in both temperate and tropical horticulture from three continents.


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