The American GARDENER

CThe AmericanNOTES FROM RIVER FARMGARDENEREDITORDavid J. EllisMANAGING EDITOR AND ART DIRECTORMary YeeASSOCIATE EDITORCarole OttesenCONTRIBUTING EDITORRita PelczarEDITORIAL INTERNSJessie KeithKatie PalanjianEDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARDCHAIRJohn Alex Floyd Jr.Birmingham, AlabamaAllan M. ArmitageAthens, GeorgiaNina L. BassukIthaca, New YorkRichard E. BirBrevard, North CarolinaJohn E. BryanSan Francisco, CaliforniaJohn L. CreechColumbus, North CarolinaKeith CrotzChillicothe, IllinoisPanayoti KelaidisDenver, ColoradoRichard W. LightyGreenville, DelawareElvin McDonaldWest Des Moines, IowaFelder RushingJackson, MississippiADVERTISINGThe American Gardener7931 East Boulevard DriveAlexandria, VA 22150(703) 768-5700 ext. 120E-MAIL: editor@ahs.orgThe American Gardener (ISSN 1087-9978) is published bimonthly (January/February, March/April, May/June, July/August, September/October, November/December) by the American HorticulturalSociety, 7931 East Boulevard Drive, Alexandria, VA 22308-1300,(703) 768-5700. Membership in the Society includes a subscription to The American Gardener. Annual dues are 35; two years, 60. International dues are 50. 10 of annual dues goes towardmagazine subscription. Periodicals postage paid at Alexandria, Virginia, and at additional mailing offices. Postmaster: Please sendForm 3579 to The American Gardener, 7931 East Boulevard Drive,Alexandria, VA 22308-1300.AF T E R A L O N G , H O T S U M M E R , I seem to get a fresh burst of energy,once the days start getting cooler, just like the plants in my garden. Thesteamy days of the past summer were well spent, however, as I was able tosoak up new information and inspiration at gardens throughout America and atdifferent AHS educational programs around the country.In June, it was a treat to visit the Better Homes and Gardens magazine displaygarden in Des Moines and the headquarters garden of The Gardener’s of America/Men’s Garden Club of America, our newest AHS Horticultural Partner. Bothgardens contained many exceptional plants creatively combined in small spaces.In July, at the AHS National Children & Youth Garden Symposium in Ithaca,New York, I was inspired anew that connecting youngpeople in America to gardens and gardening is a criticalpart of the AHS mission. On my way back from Ithaca,I stopped to visit a remarkable new Growing ConnectionDemonstration Garden that just opened in Scranton,Pennsylvania. My tour guides were young people whowere discovering just how exciting it is to grow their ownvegetables—and sell the ones they can’t eat!Then, in August, I was off to the Alleghany mountains in Virginia to participate in an exceptional gardensymposium at The Homestead resort. Nurseryman André Viette, winner of theAHS 2004 Liberty Hyde Bailey award, put together a program there that made mewant to come back to River Farm and plant scads of amazing new daylilies—according to André they are a better financial investment than the stock market—and create a water garden. At each of these stops, it was wonderful to have a chanceto visit with so many of you, our AHS family of members.And now, with batteries recharged by the energy and inspiration I drew frommy travels this summer, I am excited to get busy planning for the first phase of ourRiver Farm Master Plan and preparing for our Annual Gala on September 25. AsI’m sure you know by now, the gala’s theme centers on the set of former WhiteHouse gates that had for years been hanging at the entrance to River Farm. Weonly recently learned the unique history of these gates, thanks to the research ofarchitectural historian and AHS board member William Seale. The gates are slated for restoration this winter and then will be shipped up to Philadelphia to serveas the official entrance to the Philadelphia Flower Show in early March.An AHS President’s Council event in Philadelphia on March 4 and 5 is the firstof a host of new educational programs and gardening events we are developing for2005 and beyond. Please take time to review the new “AHS National Events andPrograms Calendar” (see page 10), which will be in each issue of The American Gardener from now on. We hope you will join us at one or more of these events—evenif it is for the very first time—as we move forward with great enthusiasm and resolve to build a new and better AHS and River Farm.Happy gardening!Botanical nomenclature is based on The American HorticulturalSociety A–Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants, on A Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Canada and Greenlandand on the Royal Horticultural Society Index of Garden Plants. Opinionsexpressed in the articles are those of the authors and are not necessarily those of the Society. Manuscripts, artwork, and photographs sent forpossible publication will be returned if accompanied by a self-addressed,stamped envelope. We cannot guarantee the safe return of unsolicitedmaterial. Back issues are available at 8 per copy.Copyright 2004 by the American Horticultural Society.—Katy Moss Warner, AHS PresidentPrinted in the U.S.A. on recycled paper.September / October 2 0 0 45

CMEMBERS’ FORUMI hope readers enjoyed meeting SteveMason on the pages of the July/Augustissue (“Gardening Raised to NewHeights”) as much as I enjoyed visitinghim and his wife, Mary Carol, in thecourse of writing the article.Sadly, just as that issue of the magazine was arriving in mailboxes across thecountry, Steve found rest from his battlewith cancer. He was able, fortunately, tosee an advance copy of the magazine article just before he died.Although all who knew Steve aredeeply saddened at his passing and ourhearts go out to Mary Carol, I find comfort that, at the end, we celebrated his enthusiasm for life and the joy he found inhis garden. I hope others will be inspiredby his efforts, guided by his insights, andstrengthened by his courage and determination to meet his goal.A copy of the July/August magazinewas displayed among the photos at thememorial service, and afterwards familyand friends took home tomatoes Stevegrew in his garden—a fitting tribute fora gardener who loved sharing his bountyas much as he loved growing it.Linda AskeyBirmingham, Alabama6the American GardenerTHORNLESS BLACKBERRIESI was excited to read the article on climate change in the July/August issue ofThe American Gardener. It's great thatthese kind of issues are being highlighted and brought to the attention of a widespectrum of gardeners. The additionalchallenges this will bring for control ofinvasive plants and pests in this centurywill be a major issue for not only gardeners, but also for farmers and landmanagers.As president of the North ShoreChapter of the National Audubon Society, I’m very active with invasive plant issues. On Long Island we have a WeedManagement Area group, spearheadedby the Nature Conservancy, with federal, state and county agencies and otherNGO’s. We’ve tackled attempting toidentify new invasives and stop them before they gain a critical mass. I’ve becomethe queen of mile-a-minute vine—a newinvader for us that we are trying to haltbefore it completely overwhelms the“naturalized” oriental bittersweet, ampelopsis, Asian wisteria, and English ivy.The good news is that with more volunteers learning to identify these high priority targets, we’re finding and removingthem more quickly.The Audubon Society is involved because we’re seeing that the establishmentof exotic invasives affects not only nativeplants, but birds and other wildlife. Invasive plants heavily affect birds’ food options and nesting habitats. Thecontinued diminishment of native plantspecies leads to poorer, less protectednesting and roosting sites, and wideswaths of nutritionally barren invasivemonocultures.Tackling global warming may seemoverwhelming, but it can be acted on locally. I do my bit by not using powerequipment in my garden. I do have apump for my pond, but no blowers,hedge trimmers, or mowers. Personalchoices do make a difference.Jennifer Wilson-PinesPort Washington, NewYorkI would like to expand upon the information in a sidebar about blackberrythornlessness (“Ouchless Berries”) thataccompanied Lee Reich’s article “Summer Berries” (July/August 2004).Most thornless blackberries are genetically thornless, not—as Reich indicated—chimeras that have two geneticallydifferent sets of tissues. The erect andsemierect blackberries get their thornlessness from the cultivar ‘MertonThornless’. Examples of cultivars withthis recessive gene include ‘Navaho’, ‘Arapaho’, and ‘Chester Thornless’. The trail-Regardless of why they lack prickles,‘Thornfree’ blackberries are delicious.ing blackberries have historically gottentheir thornlessness from ‘Austin Thornless’, ‘Waldo’, ‘Adrienne’, ‘Murrindindi’,and three new releases from our breedingprogram at the Northwest Center forSmall Fruit Research are thornless cultivars with this gene. Because these cultivars are all genetically thornless, you canpropagate plants from any tissue andthey will also be thornless.The thornless blackberries Lee described in the sidebar are a very special case.For many years ‘Evergreen’ blackberry(Rubus laciniatus) was grown commercially in Europe and the United States. Atsome point, someone found a periclinalmutation, as he described, and this became‘Thornless Evergreen’. The other caseLEFT: LINDA ASKEY; RIGHT: DAVID CAVAGNAROSTEVE MASON REMEMBEREDCLIMATE CHANGE AND INVASIVENESS

where this happened was in the case of‘Logan’. Someone found a similar mutation and this became ‘Thornless Logan’.‘Thornless Logan’ is much more stablethan ‘Thornless Evergreen’. So the chimeraLee described in the sidebar really only applies to those particular cultivars.Chad FinnSmall Fruit BreederNorthwest Center for Small Fruit ResearchUSDA-Agricultural Research ServiceCorvallis, OregonLee Reich responds: I would like to thankChad Finn for clarifying what I wroteabout the source of thornlessness inblackberries. In a private communicationto me, he also points out that the westerntrailing blackberry ‘Marion’, a cultivarthat I did not mention in my article, isthe leading blackberry cultivar in theworld. Nearly all ‘Marion’ fruit isprocessed and sold as “marionberry,” butthe trailing cultivars ‘Kotata’ and ‘Siskiyou’ are sold fresh throughout the United States. The USDA-ARS research centerhas also just released three new thornless,western trailing blackberries, ‘Black Diamond’, ‘Black Pearl’, and ‘Nightfall’ thatare good choices for Western gardeners.melons, cukes—and, this year—20 varieties of basil being grown in a research plot.This year’s tasting is past—it was heldon August 25—but I hope you will include the event in future listings.Lillie DorchakMaster GardenerPittstown, New JerseyPLEASE WRITE US! Letters should be addressed toEditor, The American Gardener, 7931 EastBoulevard Drive, Alexandria, VA 22308, or you cane-mail us at editor@ahs.org. Letters we print may beedited for length and clarity.CORRECTION An editorial error inthe July/August issue in Dr. H.Marc Cathey’s July/August “Everyday Garden Science” column implied that ethylene gas is used toextend the life of cut flowers. Ethylene causes flowers and fruits tomature more quickly, thus it is imperative to reduce the exposure ofcut flowers to ethylene.American Horticultural Society’s2005 Great American Gardeners ConferenceORLANDO, FLORIDAAPRIL 13-15, 2005Sub-Tropical Garden Treasures,Old and NewExplore the rich garden traditionsof the region and discover thediversity of contemporary gardensto be found in central Florida Enjoy an evening at Orlando’sHarry P. Leu Gardens andexperience the graciousness andbeauty of “Old Florida” Stroll through the lush landscapesof the Olmsted-designed gardensand marvel at Historic BokSanctuary in Lake Wales Celebrate outstanding Americanhorticulture and meet the winnersof the 2005 Great AmericanGardeners Awards Be on hand for all the openingday festivities at the 2005 EpcotInternational Flower & GardenFestival, the signature gardenevent of the season at the WaltDisney World Resort MISSING TOMATO TASTINGI enjoyed your article on tomato festivals(“Celebrating the Tomato,” July/August2004) but can’t believe you didn’t includethe best tomato tasting in New Jersey, theGarden State! After all, our state was theleading producer of tomatoes until the1950s—it was the home of Campbell’sTomato Soup, remember?This noteworthy event is the GreatTomato Tasting held for the past 14 yearsat Rutgers University’s Emelda C. SnyderExtension and Research Farm inPittstown, New Jersey.It has been attended by over 1,000 visitors in the past several years, is admissionfree, and has a contingent of avid MasterGardener volunteers who serve as docents, tomato choppers, and friendlyhostesses to crowds of delighted people.Mimi McWold, a Master Gardener andemployee of the farm, selects over 100 varieties of tomatoes to grow, many never before grown at Pittstown, as well as sweetpeppers (hot ones, although fascinating,became a problem with children tasters!),We invite you to join your fellow AHSmembers for three days of subtropical garden delights next spring inOrlando, Florida, the site of our 2005 GreatAmerican Gardeners Conference. Mark yourcalendar! Look for more details in theNovember/December issue of The AmericanGardener and be sure to visit www.ahs.org forregular updates. See you there!September / October 2 0 0 47

News from AHSSeptember/October 2004PROGRAMS EVENTS ANNOUNCEMENTSNew Edition of AHS A–Z Encyclopedia of Garden PlantsFOR THOSE OF YOU who have called, written, and e-mailedto say that you have worn out your copy of the American Horticultural Society A-Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants, we havegood news: A revised and updated edition of this essential plantencyclopedia for serious gardenerswill be available in mid-Octoberfrom DK Publishing. The first edition of the encyclopedia, publishedin 1997, sold nearly 200,000 copies.AHS President Emeritus Dr. H.Marc Cathey served as American editor for the 2004 edition, which contains 15,000 entries—including some500 plants new to this edition. Morethan 6,000 full-color photographs illustrate the plants, which are listed alphabetically by genus.Overviews of each genus include basics such as geographic origin,cultural requirements, propagation, and pest or disease susceptibility. Each plant listing includes a complete description of size,flowers, foliage, fruit, origin, and hardiness and heat zone ranges.One of the major improvements in the revised edition is theinclusion of AHS Plant Heat zones and updated USDA PlantHardiness zones for all plants. “This is the most current andcomprehensive plant guide on the market,” says Dr. Cathey.“No other encyclopedia contains this level of information aboutso many important garden plants, from the time-tested classicsto the most popular cultivars introduced in the last few years.”Also hot off the press from DK Publishing is the AHS Southwest SMARTGARDEN Regional Guide, co-authored by PatWelsh and Rita Pelczar. This is the final book in the four-volume AHS SMARTGARDEN Regional Guide series—earlier volumes covered the Northeast, Southeast, and Northwest. Thisgroundbreaking series of regional books, based on using earthfriendly gardening practices and selecting regionally appropriate plants, servesas a textbook for the new online gardencourse, “The Art and Science of theSMARTGARDEN ,” being offeredthrough a partnership between AHSand the Horticultural Gardening Institute of Michigan State University.The book features more than 3,000plants adapted to a variety of gardensettings in Arizona, California, NewMexico, Nevada, Oklahoma, Texas, and Hawaii. Plants aregrouped in more than 150 categories by garden habitat—nativeshrubs for desert gardens, for instance—or special ornamentalfeatures, such as fragrant climbers. A special coding systemidentifies landscape uses, hardiness and heat zones, as well ascultural requirements for each of the plants covered. “This isdestined to become the gardening guide of choice for southwestern gardeners,” says Dr. Cathey.The AHS A-Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants will not beavailable until mid-October, but you can pre-order a copy byvisiting the AHS Web site (www.ahs.org) and clicking on thebook icon on the home page. To order any of the books in theAHS SMARTGARDEN Regional Guide series, visitwww.ahs.org/books/books.htm.Warner To Speak at America in Bloom SymposiumKaty Moss Warner will be delivering thekeynote address during the America in Bloom’s third annualAwards Ceremony and Educational Symposium, which will beheld October 7 through 9 in Indianapolis, Indiana. An AHS Horticultural Partner, America in Bloom (AIB) is a non-profit organization that promotes and rewards community beautificationprograms nationwide.Katy’s speech will come during the educational session onthe morning of Friday, October 8. The awards ceremony andreception will be held on the evening of Saturday, October 9.In addition to the awards ceremony, at which the winnersof AIB’s 2004 awards for community beautification will be presented, this year’s AIB symposium includes many workshopsand tours to highlight the gardens and beautification effortsAHS PRESIDENT8the American Gardenerthat earned Indianapolis the top AIB award last year.On the agenda are tours of the city’s oldest neighborhood,which contains the home of the Hoosier poet James WhitcombRiley and many of the city’s finest parks and gardens. Workshopswill focus on special projects such as converting parking lots topublic gardens and replacing turf with diversified native plantingsthat attract and support beneficial wildlife.“By placing a premium on beautiful gardens and green spaces,Indianapolis is providing inspiration for all American cities to getinvolved in similar beautification programs,” says KatyFor more information on the AIB awards ceremony andsymposium, call (614) 487-1117 ext. 23 or visit www.americainbloom.org. A complete list of award-winning cities for 2004will be published in the next issue of The American Gardener.

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Online Gardening Course Goes on TrialAHS NATIONAL EVENTS AND PROGRAMS2004–2005CALENDARMark your calendar for these upcoming AHSnational events and programs! More detailsabout all these events will be available soon in TheAmerican Gardener and on the AHS Web site(www.ahs.org). DEC. 2. Friends of River Farm (FORF) VolunteerReception, George Washington’s River Farm, Alexandria,Virginia.IN 2005 MAR. 4 & 5. AHS Presi

The American GARDENER 0173361 64751 09 4.95 www.ahs.org The Magazine of the AThe Magazine of the American Horticultural Societymerican Horticultural Society September/October 2004 summer-to-fall-blooming perennials Saving Seeds to Share Cover Crops Nourish Soil through Winter