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Salvias
As July ushers in the dog days of summer, Salvias, flowering plants in the mint family, remain top performers.
They thrive well in hot, dry conditions and require little maintenance. This makes it an eco-conscious choice in keeping with water-wise landscaping practices.
Salvias have aromatic foliage and colorful flower spikes that attract hummingbirds, butterflies, and other pollinators. They are deer and rabbit-resistant due to their pungent foliage.
- Full sun for 6 - 8 hours is optimum.
- Well-drained soil is best for most Salvia.
- They are light feeders, requiring little supplemental fertilizer.
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With over 900 species, including annual and perennial varieties, many do well in southern gardens.
- To maximize blooms, cut back by about one-half to one-third in early July.
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This month's curator is Hort Board member Kim Ashley.
Pruning
- Remove dead flower heads on perennials and annuals and cut back any plants that have become leggy to encourage bushier growth.
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Maintaining
- Replenish mulch around plants to conserve water and shade the roots.
- Mow grass at recommended heights for a healthy lawn. St. Augustine = 3” to 4”, Centipede = 1 1/2” to 2”, Zoysia = 1” to 2”. Make sure mower blades are properly sharpened to avoid damaging leaf blades.
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Plant Now
- Heat-loving herbs including Basil, Rosemary, and Mexican Tarragon.
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Pest Reduction
- Early intervention is key to maintaining healthy plants. Check plants regularly for black spot, spider mites, aphids, and other pests.
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Resources include Chris Burtt, our local Clemson Extension agent, and local nurseries. Hyams Garden Center, a long-time HORT Business Partner and supporter, even has a Diagnostic Center with helpful staff to answer your questions.
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Greening Our Gardening Habits | |
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Smart Watering Practices
Inefficient or defective irrigation systems can be detrimental to your lawn or garden, add unnecessary expense, and waste precious resources. Here are a few tips to improve irrigation efforts and save you time and money:
- Routinely inspect your irrigation system. Check for leaks, and broken or clogged heads, or engage an irrigation professional to maintain your system.
- Most landscapes require about 1” of water a week. It is best to water longer and less frequently. Watering too often may drown plants or cause them to develop shallow root systems.
- Water in the morning when temperatures are cooler to prevent rapid evaporation. Likewise, avoid watering in the evening as standing water may promote mildew or disease.
- In beds and borders, utilize drip lines, instead of sprinkler heads, to ensure water is slowly and directly applied to plant root zones, minimizing evaporation and runoff.
- Monitor your sprinklers' output to avoid runoff that pollutes waterways with fertilizers and pesticides.
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Joe Pye Weed - Eutrochium sp.
You have to scratch your head and wonder about planting anything in your garden whose name includes the word “weed,” but don’t be deceived as this summer stunner is anything but a weed.
Native to the Eastern United States, Joe Pye Weed is quickly becoming a favorite choice for pollinator gardeners and native plant enthusiasts as it is highly attractive to bees and serves as a host plant for a variety of caterpillars.
- Joe Pye Weed thrives in full sun to partial shade.
- For optimum performance, plant it where it has some protection from the afternoon sun which may cause yellowing leaves.
- Too much shade can cause the plant to become leggy, flop over, or be more susceptible to disease.
- This native bloomer is adaptable to many soil conditions and tolerates nearly all soil pH levels.
- If you are growing Joe Pye Weed in its native environment, you generally won’t need to feed it at all—just sit back and enjoy!
- Placement is key as it can reach 8 to 10 feet in height. Its large mauve flower clusters open in mid to late summer.
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Grab this great plant at our online plant sale through July 3.
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Understanding Plant Nomenclature
Whether you’re gardening in your backyard or visiting gardens, it is important to be able to identify plants and communicate with others about the plant materials you observe. We can't rely on common names as they can vary significantly from one location to another.
To ensure consistency in plant identification, botanists developed a formal scientific system for naming all plants. This universal language, known as Binomial Nomenclature, provides a common language for naming and describing plants.
While labels may vary, they all contain certain key elements:
- The plant’s common name is a kind of nickname that can vary from region to region.
- The scientific or Latin name identifies the plant’s Genus and species.
- Genus which represents the group is always a noun, written in uppercase and italicized.
- Species means the same kind, is always an adjective, written in lowercase and italicized.
- The plant Variety, or Cultivar, is always in single quotations.
- A Variety is a group of plants within a Species that has one or more distinguishing characteristics and usually produces seeds that develop replicas of the parent plant.
- Cultivars may or may not produce seeds, however, the seeds are unreliable, therefore the plant must be cloned to produce exact replicas of the parent plant. Cultivar labels contain a trademark (TM) or registered symbol (R) next to the cultivar name.
Plant labels may also contain other pertinent information about the plant such as its nativity, Family name, source or date of installation.
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Food For Thought - Literally |
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Fresh Tomato Tart
July is the time to reap the benefits of our hard work as homegrown fruits and vegetables are ready for harvest. A favorite recipe of mine handed down by my mother and shared with countless friends, is Tomato Tart. Be sure to add this to your Fourth of July menu. You can thank me later.
Ingredients
- 1 refrigerated pie crust (I prefer Trader Joe’s brand)
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- 3 Tbsp chopped, fresh basil
- 3 to 4 medium-sized ripe tomatoes, cut into 1/2-inch slices
- 1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
Steps
- Fit pie crust into a 10-inch tart pan. Trim any excess pastry along the edges; generously prick the sides and bottom with a fork. Bake at 400 degrees for 5 minutes.
- Sprinkle cheese evenly into pastry shell and top with 2 Tbsp basil.
- Arrange sliced tomatoes on top, brush with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Place on a baking sheet and put on the lower rack of the oven.
- Bake at 400 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes.
- Remove from oven, sprinkle with remaining basil, and let stand 5 minutes before slicing.
For those of you growing figs and zucchini here are two more recipes. I swear by:
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Hello Fellow HORT Members.
I moved to the Lowcountry three years ago and quickly realized (after a few epic failures involving peonies) that I needed to adjust my gardening habits, even though I've been an avid gardener most of my life.
Thankfully, I joined the HORT early on and quickly learned what can and can't grow in the Lowcountry. I love volunteering and sharing helpful gardening tips and tricks with my HORT friends. I hope one or two of those I've shared above are of use to you.
Here's to growing greener together!
Kim Ashley
PS - Save July 16 for our Members-only Gardeners Happy Hour. We'll gather in a beautiful Mt. Pleasant garden and welcome the HORT's new Board members.
PSS - I've posted pics from a recent trip to the gardens of the Brandywine Valley on Facebook if you are looking for garden inspiration.
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Kim Ashley (right) shown here with friend and long-time HORT member, Rene Miles (left) who tag-teamed on The Vine Online. | |
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The Vine Online offers members Lowcountry-specific, horticultural advice, following in the tradition of the HORT's printed publication The Vine. This monthly gardening e-guide is sent exclusively to HORT members. Thanks for being a member.
This is our third issue of The Vine Online. We want to know what's helpful, and what's missing. Please e-mail Kim Ashley or Madeleine McGee with your ideas.
Our Mission: To provide quality educational programming that:
- supports efforts, both big and small, to create beautiful, sustainable green spaces;
- fosters community partnerships; and
- preserves the Lowcountry's horticultural legacy.
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Connect with Charleston Horticultural Society | | | | |
