The nectar corridor supports habitats
Most of us are aware that worldwide, insects are declining in number and that this disappearance includes the essential pollinators as well as the millions that provide vital food for birds, reptiles, amphibians and other critters. That this huge decline will likely have profound undesirable impacts in more ways than we can predict is alarming. We also know some of the culprits responsible (climate change, insecticide use, loss of food and habitat among them) and we’re aware that we can at least slow the decline in our own areas by gardening organically, planting our gardens primarily with native species, especially those that are nectar-producing, and taking steps to mitigate climate change.
But might there be more we can do?
Toward that end, the Life Lab program at Gateway School on Santa Cruz’s West Side has embarked on a project that some of us could participate in, or even start in our own neighborhoods. They have created not only a garden at the school dedicated to pollinator-friendly nectar-producing plants but have also reached out to the surrounding area to establish a “nectar corridor.” Participating neighbors are planting pollinator-friendly plants in their own gardens, to create a connecting series of insect and wildlife supportive habitats, and to provide a more extensive and safe “rest stop” area as well as the food that the insects, especially the pollinators, depend on.
During a recent visit to the school, I watched as Life Lab instructor Caprice Potter and her fifth grade students tucked new native plants donated by Groundswell into a special previously prepared bed into which spent mushroom compost and other organic matter had been incorporated. The plants, including yarrow, sticky monkey flower, gum plant, California fuchsia, California poppy, Pacific aster and seaside daisy, are all nectar-producers known to be supportive of pollinators and beneficial insects.
Students and Potter are enthusiastic about the long range plan for the school garden that includes the four elements needed for wildlife to thrive: food, water, cover and places to raise young. The organic methods used ensure that wildlife of all kinds, including those essential pollinating insects, find a haven here, and become an integral part of the natural cycles through the seasons. Insect-friendly plants are found not only in the new bed but throughout the garden, providing nectar and pollen. A few are important because they are essential for specific insects in their reproductive cycle.
Several butterfly species that naturally reproduce here have a symbiotic relationship with a specific plant, requiring it for their offspring, so in the Gateway School garden, passionflower vines have been planted along a wire fence to provide the exact plants needed for the Gulf Fritillary butterfly. This beautiful orange insect, slightly smaller than a monarch, reproduces naturally in the Monterey Bay region. (Our more famous butterfly the monarch only visits here during the winter months to rest but reproduces elsewhere.)
If you live near the school, become part of the nectar corridor by planting those important natives in your own garden. And if you live elsewhere, consider following the example of this Life Lab program by creating your own neighborhood nectar corridor. Talk with your neighbors or your home owner’s association — this is an easy step we can all take to make a positive contribution to our natural world.
Zoom talk
On another topic, here’s an upcoming Zoom meeting: The De Anza Chapter of the American Rhododendron Society will present a Zoom talk by Sharon Bryson speaking on “Peonies: Bloom and Beyond” at 4 p.m. Wednesday. Bryson has been gardening in Nova Scotia for the last 46 years, is a member of the RSC Atlantic Region Chapter of the American Rhododendron Society, and has administered the Atlantic Rhododendron & Horticultural Society’s Seed Exchange for more than 17 years. With her late husband Bill Wilgenhof, they have grown many rhododendrons and other plants (mostly from seed) at their Willow Garden property, where visitors are invited to visit either in person or on the web at https://willowgarden.net.
Join: https://zoom.us/j/93353606729?pwd=ZVFzY0l0SmxXV2o2SjBURGhxdFUrUT09
Meeting ID: 933 5360 6729. Passcode: 108271.
Information on the De Anza Chapter can be found at deanza-ars.com.
No matter that winter winds and snow still come and go in much of the country. The sun’s earlier rising and higher climb into the sky let us know that spring is on the way. Even houseplants indoors feel the changing season.
Take a closer look at the stems of your houseplants. Any young, new leaves? Swelling buds? Inside their pots, roots might likewise be awakening. All of this makes today, tomorrow, or sometime soon a good time for repotting and pruning.
How tall is too tall?
The most obvious reason to prune a houseplant’s stems is to keep the plant manageable. For example, growing in the ground in a tropical climate, branches of weeping fig, a familiar houseplant, will reach skyward and spread as high and wide as a sugar maple’s. Indoors, at the very least, your ceilings limit the desired height of a houseplant. For looks, you might want to keep the plant smaller, perhaps much, much smaller.
When pruning the stems of a houseplant, the goal is to reduce its size without giving it a hacked-back look. For a plant with many stems, such as a weeping fig, a few severe cuts usually gives better results than many small cuts. Trace one of the tallest stems down to its origin, and cut it off right there. Perhaps do this with another tall stem too.
After one or more drastic cuts have lowered the plant, go back over the plant to make some smaller cuts. Cut back any dead or diseased stems, and any that look gawky or out of place.
There are houseplants, such as dracaena and ponytail palm, that naturally sport only one or very few stems. These rarely need pruning; when they do, it’s because they’ve finally grown too tall. Lop back the stem to lower than the final desired height. New growth will appear near the cut, perhaps even a couple of new stems. If you want to keep the plant singlestemmed, remove all but one of the emerging stems.
Check below ground also
Pruning the stems of a houseplant is just the first step. After a few years, depending on how fast a plant grows, roots will fill a pot until they have no room left to grow. Roots attempting to escape out the drainage hole of a pot is one indication of overcrowding.
More telling is to have a look at the root ball itself. Slide the root ball out of the pot. If it’s a large plant, the easiest way to do this is to first tip the pot on its side. Are the roots cramped together and circling around and around the outside edge of the root ball?
If the roots are overcrowded, you could just move the plant to a larger pot. Of course, then it will grow even bigger, which may or may not be your wish.
If the plant is to go back into its old home, root pruning is needed. Stand the plant upright and — brutal as it might seem — slice off the outer edge of soil and roots all around the root ball. The bigger the root ball, the more you can slice off.
Stand the plant back in its old pot and pack new potting soil in the gaps between the shorn root ball and the container. Use a stick or your fingers to firmly press it in place.
Water the plant, and it’s ready for spring.
Not for every plant
No need to prune and repot every houseplant every year. Many grow very slowly, so might need this treatment only every few years. And some plants — clivia and amaryllis, for example — grow in clumps rather than skyward-shooting stems, and actually do better with their roots cramped in their pots.
Take a closer look at the stems of your houseplants. Any young, new leaves? Swelling buds? Inside their pots, roots might likewise be awakening. All of this makes today, tomorrow, or sometime soon a good time for repotting and pruning . ... When pruning the stems of a houseplant, the goal is to reduce its size without giving it a hacked-back look. For a plant with many stems, such as a weeping fig, a few severe cuts usually gives better results than many small cuts.