Garden Detective

Click photo to start the slideshow.

The photo that appears in tomorrow's column has an incorrect caption, which changes the meaning of the advice offered in the Q&A.

Hisbiscus must be brought indoors over the winter. The sunny spot referred to in my answer to reader Maureen Johnson should be near a window, not outdoors. Repeat, not outdoors.

Stuff happens, I guess.

Carry on.

Missouri Botanical Garden photos

Ordinarily I shy away from yellow foliage, but the combination of chartreuse and purple is so striking and dramatic, it changes everything for me.

I love Tradescantia 'Sweet Kate' (spiderwort), which doesn't need to be paired with any other plant to achieve the effect: It blooms with deep purple flowers from summer through mid-fall. And it tolerates some shade, but won't bloom in total shade.

The photos above offer a good idea of what the plant looks like, both with and without flowers. But the photo on the right -- for sun exposure or some other reason -- doesn't accurately depict the foliage color, which is always yellow, as shown on the left. You get the idea.

Hardy to zone 5, 'Sweet Kate' thrives here on Long Island, and it has only average water needs. What's even better is that it self-propagates by producing offshoots, which can be moved to other spots in the garden. Otherwise you can divide it up at the end of the season.

Other chartreuse plants to try:

Coleus 'The Lime'

Golden sweet potato vine

Canna 'Bengal Tiger'

Solanum vine

Hosta 'Sum and Substance' or 'August Moon'

Alchemilla mollis (ladies' mantle)

Comment your favorite chartreuse plants and combinations.

We're a month into fall, and I've haven't purchased a single mum, ornamental cabbage or kale. Judging by the gardens in my neighborhood, one would think those harbingers of autumn are the only plants that bloom this time of year.

Yes, they're pretty. But do we really need to shell out more money right at the end of the season just to extend color for a few extra weeks? I know I don't.

For one thing, the few Chrysanthemums I have (four, two each in two deck planters on my front porch) have been returning on their own every year. Judging by all the spent mums I see kicked to the curb after Thanksgiving every year, most people think they're annuals. They're not. Mums are perennials -- and just like black-eyed Susans and purple coneflowers, they die back to the ground over the winter. If you leave them alone, you'll see green leaves sprouting from the soil in late spring. By October, they'll be in full bloom again.

I leave mine in the planters, and in the spring I plant zinnia seeds around them. The zinnias grow and bloom all summer, while the Chrysanthemum foliage fills up the blank spots nicely. When the zinnias start to look mangy -- around the first week of October -- I cut them out and the mums naturally take their places. You could plant Impatiens or geraniums around them instead of zinnias, or fill the pot with whatever annuals strike your fancy.

Those four mums are just a tiny part of my garden right now. There are lots of plants that keep performing through autumn, and many of them keep going past Thanksgiving.

All the photos on this page were taken today, just 4 days before Halloween.

The Knockout roses not only are still blooming, they're still putting out new buds. The last two years, they flowered straight through Christmas.

The lavender is going strong on the street side of the fence.

Bicolor Buddleia (butterfly bush) is still blooming by the front gate.

Hardy Ageratum is just getting started.

Though they're no longer blooming, foliage from New Guinea Impatiens goes nicely with fall decorations.

And Maddie, the new pain in the a** puppy coordinates nicely with the doormat.

There are fewer petunia flowers, but the ones in bloom look as good as they did when I planted them last May.

Summer remnants of potted purple and green sweet potato vines and purple and orange lantana flowers fit right in with a decorative pumpkin. (Ignore the crunchy leaves in the background. I would have cleaned them up but I was on a picture-taking mission.)

Euonymus 'burning bush' is pretty boring in the summer, but boy what a show it's putting on now. They are to fall what red twig dogwoods are to winter.

Sedum 'autumn joy' are a nice alternative to rust-colored mums.

And let's not forget ornamental grasses. All of mine are in full bloom now. My favorite is Northern sea oats, which I've heard compared to wheat but which remind me of flat cicadas. They're pictured first, below.

Montauk daisies are blooming, which is what they're supposed to be doing in October.

Check out this verbena. It looks much better now than it did during the dog days of summer.

Purple coneflower and black-eyed Susans are powerhouse perennials.

While the Phlox isn't exactly abundant this time of year, I do have several that are still blooming. These are 'David.'

Salvia.

The Viburnum is back for a second showing, after blooming profusely in the spring.

I won't be spending money on kale anytime soon.

I know you're out there - skulking about behind bushes, tiptoeing and whistling, binoculars in hand. If you really want to attract birds to your garden, you're going to have to give them a reason to stay. Here are some plants that are up to the job.

Click photo to get started

Why are botanical names necessary when we have plenty of common names to call plants by and they're easier to pronounce, anyway? The reason is because we have plenty of common names to call plants by.

In different regions of our country and in different countries of the world, different common names are applied to plants. Depending on who you talk to, Hypericum calycinum can be called Aaron's beard or St. John's wort. Eupatorium coelestium might be referred to as Hardy Ageratum, Mistflower or Wild ageratum. To complicate matters, the plant called ironweed in Georgia is completely different from the plant called ironweed in the midwest (the former is Sidai; the latter, Veronica, which around here is called speedwell.)

Carolus Linnaeus saw this could be a problem back in the 1700s. His claim to fame was breaking down genera into species and devising the modern system for naming plants and animals. He also was infamous for having a dirty mind.

Linnaeus was the Sweedish botanist, zoologist and physician who wrote 'Systema Naturae' and 'Fundamenta Botanica.'

Here's the system of botanical nomenclature he established and how it's used.

The Genus is the first word of a name. It's always capitalized and in italics. It's a noun, naming the plant based on its structure. Often, this is the same as the common name. The plural of genus is genera.

Species is the 2nd word in the botanical name. It, too, is always in italics, ut it's lower case. The species is considered the adjective, describing the plant. This is where Linnaeus earned his pervert reputation. Think about plants called Genus vulgaris. Pretty racy stuff in those days. Or Avocado, named for the Aztec word for testicle, pretty racy stuff even today. Vainilla, the botanical name for vanilla, which is taken from an orchid pod, means 'little vagina." Do orchids remind you of anything?

Sometimes, there's a subspecies. In those cases, that name would come next.

Third is Variety, which describes the naturally occurring differences among species. It's always lower case and never in italics. If the variety is named after a proper noun, like a place or a person, then it's in single quotes. It's preceded by "var." in the name.

Cultivar comes next, if applicable. A cultivar is cultivated by a horticulturist in a lab, the result of man-made breeding. Cultivars are written in single quotes, always capitalized, never in italics.

Hybrid is a combination of two different forms, usually a lab or greenhouse creation, and is indicated by "x" before the hybrid name.

The Kingdom is the biggest group of plant or animals. Before all of these subcategories are Family and Kingdom, which you don't ordinarily come into contact with. When you see a name ending in "aceae," pronounced Ay'-see-ee, that's the family.

All these names are derived from habit, shape, character, kind, part, season, region, color, size, degree or form. When Linneaus noticed similarities between certain body parts and flowers he made those body parts part of the botanical name, and that's what got him into trouble.

Who says pornography can't be educational?

It's hit all of us hard. Whether you've lost your shirt in the stock market or just feeling gas pains (or milk pains or other pains from the "gas surcharges" so many businesses feel justified in charging us these days, from pizza deliveries to taxi cabs), you can use a break.

I know I can. I pass one of my favorite garden centers on the way home from work each day. In the past, temptation would get the best of me around once a week and I would stop in "just to check out the new stuff," I'd promise myself. Invariably, I'd leave with at least one new plant and, on occasion, a cartload of guilty pleasures. It pains me to report I only took that detour once since September, and left empty-handed.

So I've been scouring the web for you (and for me) and found there are still a few sweet deals out there.

Wayside Gardens is offering 15% off your entire first order. Use coupon code V2C780. If you've shopped there before, as I have, they're also giving away a free upgrade to express shipping with your order of $75 or more with code FREEUPGRADE, which expires on 11/15/08.

Gardener's Supply Company is offering 15% off a purchase of $25 or more. Use code cnb83002.

At Gardens Alive!, get 25% off rose and ornamental plant spray with coupon code 145691.

Old House Gardens has a created a whole "Economic Stimulus Sampler" for it's new web customers. They'll send you $50 worth of bulbs for $30. Here's their promotion, which reminds me of the "Schooner Tuna: The tuna with a heart" promo from the movie Mr. Mom, starring Michael Keaton and Terry Garr (I'd love to share the video with you but I can't find it ANYWHERE):

"Gardening teaches us optimism, and despite the economic storm sweeping the planet these days, we know sunnier days will come again as surely as spring itself.

To help you get through the gloom, we’ve put together this special new sampler. For just $30 we’ll send you at least $50 worth of fabulous bulbs that we simply have too many of this fall. Yes, $50! Though actual choices will vary, possibilities include ‘Little Witch’ and ‘Queen of the North’ daffodils, ‘White Henryi’ lilies, ‘Diana’ and ‘Columbine’ tulips, Elwes snowdrops, and Crocus tommasinianus ‘Albus’. No matter what we choose for you, this is one investment that’s sure to bring you glorious returns.

For zones 5, 6, and 7 only (sorry!), and only while supplies last. http://www.oldhousegardens.com/bulb.asp?Cat=fSA

Michigan Bulb is giving away $20 in regular-priced items when you purchase $20 in regular priced items with code 808567 (expires 12/31.)

And, of course, there's always Free Trees and Plants, which charges you just for processing, packing and shipping (the first two are used to pay it's disabled-worker staff).

And then there's my beloved ebates, where I always stop before doing any online shopping. Sign up is free, and they give you a kickback on all your online purchases made by clicking links to stores from their site. Plus, they'll give you $10 (2 $5 bonuses) just for signing up through this link. I've been a member for 3 or 4 years now, and I've gotten $345 back. To join, click here.

Check out Garden Bargains Online, too, a constantly updated website devoted to sales and coupon codes for plants and supplies.

AP PHOTO

I know you've been asking yourself this question for some time now, so I'll put you out of your misery: The world's longest insect is officially Phobaeticus chani, a stick bug that measures in at nearly 2 feet long.

British scientists made that announcement yesterday, adding that it was discovered by a local in Borneo who brought it to Malaysian amateur naturalist Datuk Chan Chew Lun in 1989. Philip Bragg formally identified the insect in the October issue of the journal Zootaxa and named it Phobaeticus chani, which means "Chan's megastick."

Not really fair, I say, that it would be named for the naturalist to whom it was handed over and not the villager who actually discovered the thing, which resembles a pencil-thin bamboo shoot. But I guess it's not surprising.

At about 22 inches long, including its twiglike legs, the dull-green insect has a 14-inch-long body, beating the previous record held by Phobaeticus kirbyi, also from Borneo, by about an inch.

And we complain about aphids.

Simply put, organic gardening refers to the avoidance of synthetic fertilizers, pesticides and soil amendments in the garden. And, yes, your garden can thrive without them. Here's how:

1. Pick the right plant for the right place

Keeping shade lovers in the shade and sun lovers in full sunlight not only encourages plants to thrive, but reduces their susceptibility to disease and infestation. That's because stressed plants are more likely to weaken. Likewise, don't put plants with low water needs in soil that doesn't drain well, and don't plant thirsty varieties in sandy soil. Consider only native plants, which are accustomed to the local climate and don't require as much care as non-native plants.

2. Test the soil

Before planting anything, test your soil. Each plant has optimum pH levels in which they'll grow best. If your pH is too high or too low, nutrients won't be available to your plants. A pH of 7 is neutral. Below 7 is acidic; above 7 is alkaline. Call the Cornell Cooperative Extension (516-228-0426 in Nassau; 631-727-7850 in Suffolk) for information on how to collect a sample and when and where to take it. They will recommend a course of action for improving your soil.

3. Add organic matter

Before planting, incorporate organic matter into your soil to improve the water-holding capacity of sand, the draining capacity of clay and to increase nutrients. In my opinion, the best soil amendment is compost. Peat moss works nicely, too. Mix amendments into the top 4 to 6 inches of soil at the rate of 4 cubic yards per 1,000 square feet. While compost can be used as a mulch, peat should never be applied that way. It forms an impermeable layer on top of the soil.

4. Combat disease

Plant disease-resistant varieties. Water deeply to ensure water reaches the roots. Don't water late in the day or overnight, or you'll encourage mold, mildew and fungus. Allow enough space around plants for air to circulate to avoid fungal diseases. If your plants still get powdery mildew, black spot or another plague, proper hygiene is paramount. Clip off affected leaves and stems, and clean up debris and dispose of properly. Never compost diseased plants.

5. Manage insects properly

Reaching for a bottle of insecticide won't only wipe out the intended target, it also will kill beneficial insects that prey on problematic ones. Instead, use row covers, traps and cardboard collars to protect plants and seedlings. If the problem escalates, buy some ladybugs (available at garden centers) to keep aphids in check; use Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis), a naturally occurring bacterial disease of insects that's harmless to humans, pets and wildlife, to combat cabbage worms, tomato hornworms, tent caterpillars and leaf rollers. Several strains of Bt are available, each targeting different insects, so be sure to identify the pest before buying.

6. Fertilize

Always select slow-release fertilizers over their fast-release counterparts. Even though "fast-release" sounds like a quick fix, it isn't. Your plants can only soak up so much fertilizer at one time. If they're inundated with too many nutrients, the excess will run off into groundwater, polluting the environment. Your money will be wasted, too. Try feather meal, blood meal, bone meal or well-rotted manure. For acid-loving plants, use cottonseed meal. If you do need a quick fix, spray liquefied kelp (seaweed) or diluted fish emulsion directly onto leaves. Be sure to follow directions carefully. Many organic products can be harmful if misapplied.

7. Weed

The best way to deal with weeds is to pull them out with their entire root systems. This is most easily done after a rain, when soil is moist. After a season or two of extreme diligence, you'll notice a considerable and continuous drop in the weed population. Be sure to keep pulling weeds into the fall, before they go to seed, to reduce the following year's population. Mulching helps by blocking sunlight to the soil surface, where weeds germinate.

Instead of fertilizing, allow grass clippings to remain on the lawn. They'll release nitrogen naturally.

Plants have vascular systems, much like we do. Ours transports blood around our bodies, theirs transports water and food.

There are two types of tissue that make up a plant's vascular system. They might sound familiar from middle school science class: Xylem and phloem.

Roots soak up water, and it's the xylem that brings that water up through the plant and to the leaves. Phloem transports food (sugar produced during photosynthesis), moving it down from the leaves throughout the plant.

And there it is.

Think you know plants? Try your hand at the 2008 Garden Almanac Quiz. Try to identify the following plants (click photo to get started):

Gardening season is winding down, and you know what that means? It's time to take it inside. Lots of lectures and events happening over the fall and winter. And I'll keep you aprised of the whens and wheres. To wit:

The house and grounds at Old Westbury Gardens will be open for the first three weekends in November. (Nov. 1-2, 8-9 and 15-16; 10 a.m.-5 p.m.). After attending one of the Books in the Ballroom programs below, you can stroll the 200-acre gardens and check out the gift shop there. The series features presentations by noted local authors. All are followed by light refreshments.

Nov. 2, 2 p.m.

Gatsby’s “West Egg” and the “Slender Riotous Island.” Dr. Natalie Naylor, Professor Emerita, Hofstra University, examines the mythologizing of the history and memory of Long Island in the 1920’s as represented in the F. Scott Fitzgerald novel.

Nov. 16, 2 p.m.

The Authentic Garden. Claire Sawyers, director of the Scott Arboretum of Swarthmore College, draws on her vast knowledge of American and foreign gardens in a presentation emphasizing those principles that help make gardens true to a specific time, place and culture, and which will nurture the spirit of those who cherish them.

Dec. 10, 6 p.m.

The Gate House. New York Times bestselling author and Long Island resident Nelson DeMille has written the long-awaited follow-up to his classic novel, "The Gold Coast." The evening will feature a question-and-answer session with DeMille, followed by a book signing. For Old Westbury Gardens members, only. Registration required. Call for pricing and other information.

Nov. 9, 2 p.m. - Talk and Tour

Gods, Goddesses, and Mythological Motifs in the Interior Design of Westbury House
Docent Gene Lanzaro leads a tour focusing on these classical motifs evidenced in the Georgian decorative arts so replete in Westbury House.

Special November admission: $8.00 general; $5 for over 62 and children 7-12; members and children 6 and under are free.

Old Westbury Gardens
71 Old Westbury Rd.
Old Westbury
516-333-0048 www.oldwestburygardens.org

It's beginning to feel a lot like autumn, and frost might be threatening your fruits and vegetables. When to harvest and how to store? I generally let my feet guide me: When I find I'm sleeping with my socks on, I know it's time to bring in the last of the tomatoes and cut down the basil. Some crops will ripen after picking, but others won't. Here's a guide to harvesting and handling some common crops:

Tomatoes

Ripe when red. Green tomatoes will ripen on countertop. Best to store ripe tomatoes stem side down.

Peppers

Will ripen on countertop. Can be eaten before mature. Green peppers turn red when fully ripe; hot peppers lose heat as they ripen.

Cucumbers

Best when slightly immature. Ideally, pick when color is dark and spines begin to soften.

Figs

Will not ripen off the tree. What you pick is what you get.

Plums

Will ripen on countertop. Best picked when soft and swollen.

Zucchini

Best when young and tender. Harvest when 6 to 8 inches long.

Pears

Ripe when stem releases fruit with a gentle tug. Will ripen when stored in sealed paper bag on countertop.

Grapes

Pick only when fully ripe, about two weeks after full size and color are achieved. Will not sweeten after harvest.

Watermelon

Ripe when bottom of fruit, which sits on soil, lightens in color to yellow

Pumpkins

Ripe when rind is hard and color deep. Cut with at least 1 inch of stem to prevent rotting.

RECIPE

So you've just saved a bunch of green tomatoes from those frigid overnight temperatures. While you can always let them ripen on the countertop, there's another tasty option to consider: fried green tomatoes. A Southern delicacy introduced to most of us Yankees in the 1991 film of the same name, they're a good way to use up the last of the season's bounty. Here's my version:

Fried green tomatoes

Vegetable or olive oil for frying (south of the Mason-Dixon Line, folks prefer using bacon grease, which is yummy, to be sure. Use whatever you like - or whatever you think your arteries will tolerate.)

1/2 cup cornmeal

1/2 cup dry bread crumbs

Garlic powder, salt and pepper to taste

4 large green tomatoes, cut into 1/3-inch-thick slices

1 cup milk

1 cup all-purpose flour

3 eggs, beaten

1. Pour about 1/2 inch oil in the bottom of a frying pan; heat.

2. Combine cornmeal, bread crumbs, garlic powder, salt and pepper

3. Dip each tomato slice in milk and dredge in flour.

4. Dip in beaten eggs and coat with bread crumb mixture.

5. Fry in hot oil about 4 minutes each side, until golden brown.

Storing herbs

You can always rinse, dry, crumble and store herbs such as basil, parsley and cilantro in a glass jar, but I prefer to freeze them:

1. Remove stems from leaves and discard stems

2. Rinse leaves with water

3. Lay in a single layer on paper towels; dry overnight

4. Place in a Ziploc bag and freeze. Leaves will remain separated for easy retrieval later.

Cornell University photo

The internet is abuzz today with reports of 6 children in Colorado whose faces were badly burned after coming into contact with the milky substance inside myrtle spurge (Euphorbia myrsinites).

Apparently the little girls were plucking the plant out of the ground when they noticed the white fluid dripping out. They thought it would be fun to pretend it was milk and squeezed it into a cup. Not sure whether they tried to drink it or not, but simple goop-to-skin exposure would cause the red, oozing blistering they experienced. Eyes swollen shut and everything. It was nasty.

The good news is the girls should recover without any permanent scarring.

The bright-yellow-flowering evergreen plant with blue-green foliage isn't commonly found in nurseries these days, but older gardens might have it residence. It can be invasive, so even if you don't have kids around it would be a good idea to get rid of it. Be sure to wear protective gloves, etc., when handling.

Wednesday, October 15, 7:30 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Hoffman Center (East Norwich, next to Martin Viette Nursery)

Elizabeth Watson will discuss her book, 'Grounds for Knowledge,' an "engaging and knowledgeable guide to Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory’s buildings both historic and new, and to the 150 species of trees that surround them. The superb color photography and detailed map invite exploration of the newly designated Bungtown Botanical Garden. Buildings and landscapes of nearby Lab campuses in Woodbury, Lloyd Harbor, and Cold Spring Harbor are covered as well."

Reservations are required. Call 516-922-8678 for details.

Lots of inquires about the slaty-grey snake today, after an Australian teenager awoke overnight to find one slithering around her neck. News outlets are reporting the 16-year-old girl was bitten, ran to her parents for help and was told to go back to bed. Apparently, they didn't believer her because she has a creepy-crawler phobia. Ah, teenagers.

Luckily for her, her brother-in-law "tracked down the snake and whacked it on the head with part of a door frame, almost decapitating the creature," according to FOX News. The girl was taken to the hospital, treated and released. Slaty-greys (Stegonotus cucullatus) are not poisonous.

Could this happen to you? Not on Long Island, as the species isn't found in New York (or North America, for that matter.) But lots of snakes are.

So you find a snake. Do you panic? How can you tell whether it's poisonous? Easy. Just look into its eyes: Venomous snakes have eliptical pupils, which explains why evil creatures in horror films are always depicted with those kinds of eyes. Nonvenomous snakes have round pupils, like us.

You'll also notice a pit between the eye and nostril of venomous snakes, and if you can get close enough to turn one over (not recommended) you'll notice the underside of the tail has undivided scales, whereas nonvenomous snakes have divided scales.

Here's a handy diagram from the Cornell Cooperative Extension:

EXCEPTION: Coral snakes, which are poisonous, have round pupils (see comments posted below) Since you can't rely on their eyes for identification, here's a photo, should you ever find yourself face-to-face with one:

USGS photo

Though you're cleaning up the perennials and mulching over the roses, there's no need to give up on the garden until spring. You can keep it looking pretty all year long with these winter workhorse plants:

Click photo for great suggestions.

For more ideas, watch this video, which I taped a while back with Vincent Simeone, Director of Planting Fields Arboretum in Oyster Bay:

Get even more ideas from my column titled 'The Winter Garden':

"If you ever go temporarily insane, don't shoot somebody, like a lot of people do. Instead, try to get some weeding done, because you'd really be surprised. "
                                                                                         -- Jack Handey

Time to cut down herbaceous peonies. Lop 'em off at ground level.

Clark Botanic Garden in Albertson is having its 37th annual plant sale Saturday and Sunday, from 10 am - 4 pm.

They'll be selling floral arrangements, dried flowers, wreaths, mums, ornamental cabbages, pumpkins, perennials, corn stalks, Indian corn, hay bales, bulbs and other seasonal favorites on their grounds at 193 I.U. Willets Road.

The gift shop and cafe will be open as well.

Free admission. Rain or shine.