Are Your Milkweeds Going to Seed?Do you want to Harvest the Seed?If not, don’t worry about it! If so, Protect the Seed! The Milkweed Bug Oncopeltus fasciatus. You will see that orange-red and black six-legged critter on your milkweeds this time of year. They are herbivores but highly specialized. Like the pickiest eater you know, they only eat one type of food, milkweeds. You will never see them on your tomatoes, squash, or roses, so do not fear the milkweed bug! They do not bite or sting and will never chase you down. They are used as research insects because they are so docile and easy to manipulate. Their only “natural” predator is a gardener with a hose. Since they have no other natural predators, you’ll notice they’ve never learned to escape quickly so you can pick them off. There is no need for chemical assault, not to mention the…
Tag: Native Plants
June 2022 Meeting
JUNE — A nature advocate and wildlife photographer and a Hall County Master Gardener, Karin Hicks spoke on “Creating a Hedgerow for Wildlife.” She shared her adventures with creating a hedge row that met the standards of her HOA. Using a variety of plants with natives being the backbone, she created layers of plants to support wildlife and create privacy. Due to the mixed nature of a hedgerow loosing one plant won’t create a gap tooth look that happens if one plants a uniform hedge using one type of plant such as Leyland Cyprus or Boxwoods. Karin shared her plant list which is a good starting point. Use sites such as NWF.ORG plant list function, GNPS.ORG for plant descriptions, and Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder, www.missouribotanicalgarden.org, to read about plant needs and native status. For more information on hedge rows check out: What is a Hedgerow and Why You Should…
June 2021 Monthly Meeting
Our June 21st Zoom meeting welcomed Dr. Juliana Razryadov for a very educational and informative program. Entitled Big Splash Small Space: Native Plants for Container Gardens, Juliana will gave us a review of container gardening that brings nature to our doorstep. She reviewed native plants available that form beautiful compositions in limited spaces. We learned about pots, overwintering, media composition, and species of native plants that suit them.. Juliana is presently the Botanical Collections Manager at the Botanic Gardens of Wellesley College and was previously the Curator of Horticulture at Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. Related Images: