Gardening is all about getting your hands dirty.
Digging, weeding, planting, pruning.
It's a hands-on kind of pastime.
But sometimes it's smart to keep your hands off!
I'm Shelley Ryan.
Welcome to the Wisconsin Gardener .
Today's program takes a very close look
at one of Wisconsin's native species, poison ivy.
Believe me, this is one time
I'm not going to play with the plants!
But we will show you how to identify poison ivy
and what to do if you find it close to home.
Also on today's program, the insect emerald ash borer
has the potential to devastate ash trees
throughout Wisconsin.
We'll look at trees to plant instead of ash.
At Troy Gardens in Madison
we'll learn more about the Slow Food movement.
But first up, plants that don't need soil to grow.
It's a great way to add vertical interest
to the garden or an indoor room.
That's up next on the Wisconsin Gardener.
Major funding for the Wisconsin Gardener
is provided by Fiskars, a Wisconsin developer
of universally designed ergonomic garden tools;
designed for ease of use.
There's more to learn about Fiskars commitment
to inspiring gardeners at fiskars.com
Additional funding is provided by the Wisconsin Master Gardener Association.
This is my kind of plant: no pot, no soil.
This is perfect.
This is an epiphyte
and we're going to learn more about them.
We are in Door County at Björklunden
a wonderful 400-plus acre estate in Bailey's Harbor.
This wonderful piece of property
is owned by St. Lawrence University
and a place worth checking out.
I'm here with Caleb Whitney of Green Side Up Landscaping.
You have a wonderful selection of epiphytes.
What is an epiphyte?
An epiphyte is an air plant
that doesn't need soil
and actually prefers not to be in soil.
I like it.
It takes what it needs right from the sun and the air.
So, we do need to be mindful
because this particular body of plants
is Tillandsias, which are tropical.
They're from South America.
Okay, so not hardy in Wisconsin.
We can't just stick them outside and hope.
But so how do you keep
something like this happy then?
Well, primarily it's about
trying to mimic those tropical conditions.
The temperature is nothing lower than 50 degrees.
So in the house or out of the house
keep it in a warm spot.
No direct sunlight, because we don't want them to burn.
These are an under-story plant.
So you need to be mindful of that.
Moisture?
Humid summer temperatures in Wisconsin
probably are sufficient.
But in dry conditions inside
you need to mist or water them.
And how do we water them?
Because we don't have soil
you could mount this on the wall, a hook or shelf.
You can mist it there, or you could put it down.
Or, dump it in water and let it soak.
For just an hour?
Just long enough to get good and wet.
Oh, wow!
Then drain it off
because it will actually hold water.
That can cause some run.
It will need a little bit of a liquid fertilizer.
So spray it, or put it in the water it's soaking in.
You use them in unique ways for your business.
I mean, I really like this.
This is really fun.
Once again, they can be very simple.
Hang them on a hook or put in a glass.
Look how artistic these are.
And there's no soil!
You've got what?
This is just tumbled glass
readily available at garden centers.
These are gorgeous.
There's this kind of production.
A little more elaborate!
We found this great driftwood.
I've got pieces at home.
Now I know what I'm going to do with them.
You could lay this on the ground
but there's lots of stuff on the ground.
We need vertical elements indoors and outdoors.
Yeah, you're right.
We begin to build this frame.
We incorporated Door County stone.
Color.
This is just great, the family of tillandsias.
We work with a grower in Florida.
They're so easy to plant.
I love it. Look at that!
( laughs )
See I could do that.
This is an indoor-outdoor project.
Because we're dealing with tropicals
if you're going to be shipping them from a distance
ship them during good temperatures.
Don't do it in the middle of winter.
You can, but there are things you need to do.
It's easier in late spring.
Get them set up, enjoy them.
The bathroom is high humidity.
Yes, anywhere there's higher humidity inside.
Once we're consistently above 50 degrees
day and night
they can go outside into a protected...
Not full sun.
Reflected light is great.
Play with that, then they can come back inside.
You have an even easier portable version.
You can change your mind every day.
Exactly.
If you're going to do a primary indoor collection
and you want to maintain that verticality.
You can actually, simply glue them.
This is just bamboo.
It could be any number of elements.
A smaller piece of driftwood, even.
Or a candlestick, candelabra, anything.
But this is not going to work.
You can wire them.
The grower says to use
"liquid nails" construction adhesive.
Definitely don't use hot glue.
That would burn them. Yes.
And just glue it like that.
I can move it anywhere. I love it!
If an area is a little too dark
you can still enjoy it in that space
and then move it back out to get more light.
Just what I need, another plant to be in love with.
Thanks, Caleb. You're welcome.
There's more information on Epiphytes on our Web site.
Over the years, I've collected many containers for my garden.
From large to small, light to heavy
ornamental to plain and simple.
I've amassed quite a collection.
I've learned that not all pots are created equal.
Some are just too fragile for my garden habits.
Some are too heavy to drag around the yard anymore.
And some are so light
the slightest breeze knocks them over.
Throughout today's program
we're going to take a closer look at pots.
What's available and what's right for our Wisconsin climate.
Terra cotta is the classic garden pot.
It's made from baked clay
and it's very porous, which allows water and air
to pass through the walls of the pot.
This encourages good drainage
and also helps to prevent root rot and disease.
On the downside
good drainage means that the soil dries out quickly
meaning that there's a lot more watering
during one of our typical Wisconsin summers.
Terra cotta pots are fragile. If you drop them, they break.
If you leave them outside in the winter with soil in them
they can crack and split open.
And they're heavy, too.
Ash trees are lovely in the landscape.
Unfortunately, there's an insect that creates havoc with them.
We're at the UW-Madison Arboretum
with Doctor Laura Jull
woody ornamental Extension specialist
to talk about planting something other than ash trees.
Why are the ash trees suddenly in such danger?
There's an insect called emerald ash borer.
And this is an insect that is not native.
It has been devastating ash trees
throughout the Midwest
Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Canada.
It's moving this way, unfortunately.
So it's inevitable.
Unfortunately, probably.
And it's an insect that bores inside the trees
and actually kills them.
There's not a whole heck of a lot we can do about it.
We can use preventative systemic insecticides in the tree.
However, if the tree is located in a target zone
where there's an infestation of emerald ash borer
all ash trees
regardless of whether they were treated or not
within a half-mile radius will be removed.
If you've got one in your landscape or cityscape
it's going to come down if it's part of that infection.
Unfortunately, yes.
It also leads to the point
that we should never plant a mono-culture, anyhow.
If we plant all of one thing
who knows what insect or disease is going to wipe them out.
The same thing happened with the American Elm
and Dutch Elm Disease back in the '50s and '60s.
It just devastated our urban forests.
Many trees were cut down from the disease.
And you know, alternative species
is a great way to prevent a mass destruction by an insect pest.
One of the trees we have here is Baldcypress.
And this is one of my favorite trees.
And they're gorgeous, look at that.
It has beautiful, soft, feathery foliage
that will turn a darker green in summer.
And in the fall, the foliage turns a nice russet brown color
and drops to the ground.
You really don't need to rake these leaves up.
Oh, good!
It has a very nice branch pattern
as well as beautiful trunk pattern.
Look at the bark on it, and it's hardy.
If you get it from a northern seed source
Most nursery and garden centers around here
would be growing a northern source.
This one is about 50 years old
but even a young one
is going to have some interest in the landscape.
Okay, I'll plant one.
What else?
Some other things we could plant
is a maple called Miyabe Maple.
and Miyabe Maple is a very urban tolerant tree.
Good for the cityscape, as well.
It's not invasive, unlike Norway Maple
and it has bright yellow fall color.
There is a selection
called "State Street" of Miyabe Maple.
It has nothing to do with State Street in Madison
but it was a selection out of the Morten Arboretum.
It's a single stem form
and a very nice tree.
So, again, we can plant shade trees.
If anything, we should try to plant one of each of these
and then have variety in our landscape.
Diversity is key
to help prevent a massive, widespread infestation
of an insect devastating our urban forests.
Some other alternatives are the Kentucky Coffeetree.
Oh, I like that tree.
It's a native tree. It's a very nice tree.
It has beautiful blue-green foliage, interesting bark.
And females do produce a pod that hangs from the tree.
Some people don't like that. I love them!
If you don't want those pods
there's a male selection called Espresso.
The Espresso Kentucky Coffeetree has no fruit.
That's another one.
And I love the bark of that.
The huge leaves are something unusual.
People don't see these things in the landscape.
Yes, exactly.
Another with regard to elms.
There are many hybrid elms that are out there.
There are some that are American Elm hybrids.
Unfortunately, those are a little bit hard to find
in the nursery,greenhouse or garden center trade.
One of the selections that doesn't have American Elm in it
that I particularly like is called Triumph.
That means we don't have to worry about Dutch Elm.
It's supposed to be resistant.
But again, resistant doesn't mean immune.
But it's supposed to be resistant.
I've seen it as very nice, dark green, glossy leaves.
So the Triumph elm is a nice one.
Another nice elm is called Frontier.
That one's a little bit smaller, about 35-40 ft.
The nice thing about it, is it has burgundy leaves.
Lovely, and nice in a smaller landscape, too.
Okay, are we forgetting anything?
Oaks, what about oaks?
Chinkapin Oak is a native oak to south central Wisconsin.
Not a lot of people know about this oak.
It's a beautiful oak.
It's in the White Oak group
so it's less susceptible to oak wilt
though it can get it, as any oak can get it.
It's naturally tolerant to limestone soils.
Perfect.
It tolerates high pH already.
It has a smaller leaf, a scalloped shaped leaf.
A very beautiful tree.
Interesting looking bark, as well.
So lots of choices.
Plant a mix of all of these.
We've talked about some of them being susceptible to disease.
Any tree that is under stress is more susceptible.
Take good care of your trees with mulch and water.
Water, water, water, that's the most important thing.
Especially during a summer drought.
Okay, thank you Laura.
I'm looking through a listing of heirloom vegetables
being preserved by the Slow Food movement.
What's great fun is I recognize
an awful lot of these vegetables.
I've grown them.
Heirloom lettuce, Grandpa Meyers.
Aunt Ruby's German Green Tomato.
Some of these are wonderful
and the stories behind them are fantastic, too.
I'm with Susan Bolt
of the local Madison, Wisconsin chapter
of the Slow Food movement.
And we're at Troy Gardens, a very active community garden.
We're here to talk about the Slow Food movement.
Susan, is this just heirloom vegetables?
Is that what the focus of this movement is?
Oh, no, the Slow Food movement
focuses on meats, breeds of animals.
It focuses on breads, beverages, fruits, all types of food.
These are usually heirloom or old-fashioned
or what makes them special?
They're special because they're of high quality
really high quality.
It's something that you want to preserve them
and enjoy them for their unique tastes.
Which of course includes a lot of heirlooms
and things that are kind of being lost
in our culture and our tradition.
Let's talk about some of your success stories.
One of the things, oddly enough, on your list
is Sorghum Molasses.
I've grown Sorghum as an ornamental grass in my yard.
I didn't know it was a crop in Wisconsin.
It is indeed a crop
and one that we're at risk of losing.
So, what we did was, we had gotten a request
from a local producer
to see if we could help preserve that tradition.
So we were working with a local museum
on the growing, the processing, cooking.
And actually there's an annual festival now.
We can go to Fall River, Wisconsin
to buy locally-produced Sorghum Molasses
and even attend this festival.
Right. Excellent. I love the idea.
And I think vegetables, I'm a gardener.
But heirloom root beer?
Well, it's artisanal root beer.
And it is made in small quantities.
It was nominated for an award.
It was ranked against other root beers
and it merited recognition.
So, special attention and an effort to keep it around.
And this is from Seymour, Wisconsin.
Right.
Okay, now we get into my realm.
Heirloom vegetables.
These are Amish Paste, one of my favorites.
Amish Paste is an interesting story
in that it was at risk and threatened.
And it was promoted.
We've encouraged local gardeners to grow them
and as a result, you can now find them
at farmer's markets, and buy them.
In your backyard.
Local restaurants are even using them now.
Local restaurants are involved in the Slow Food movement?
They pledge to try to use local produce?
That is one aspect of it.
They also host events
that feature these very special foods.
Okay so you encourage people, not just gardeners
but to grow this stuff or to purchase it
whether it's the Sorghum or the root beer.
That's partially how we're keeping this stuff alive
is by keeping it active.
We're keeping it in the public eye by eating it.
Hey, that works for me!
And this is a Wisconsin pepper.
Right, it is the Beaver Dam Pepper
that was brought here in the late 1920s.
It's a mildly hot pepper, and we are promoting its use.
Excellent.
There's a lot going on with Slow Foods.
One of the activities you folks are also doing
involves a Sister City in Italy.
Right, Montova is our Sister City.
When we were looking for a citizen-to-citizen partnership
we noticed their Slow Food group.
We contacted them.
And as a result, we are sharing some of the foods
that are special for our areas.
For example, the students at a local school garden
are growing the Amish Paste Tomato.
This is in Italy
they're growing our Amish Paste Tomato.
And what are you growing here?
We're growing a Chicory. From Italy.
We're sharing traditions and tastes from across the ocean.
I love it!
What people do if they think they've got something
that is a produce or an heirloom chicken
in some part of Wisconsin
that they think is worth saving?
They should contact us at our Web site.
All right, Susan, thank you.
I can't wait to grow some of this stuff
and to continue discovering more.
Thanks. Thank you.
Plastic pots are another option.
They've improved a great deal both in looks and durability.
Some look almost like terra cotta
or stone, or ceramic.
They come in many sizes, shapes, and colors.
They're affordable, and they're lightweight
making them much easier to lug around the backyard
even with plants in them.
Because the plastic walls are impenetrable to water
you don't have to water as often.
Also, they can be left outside in the wintertime.
On the downside, because they're so lightweight
plantings may blow over in a strong wind.
I have a lemon tree that spends half the summer on its side!
This is one of Wisconsin's most prolific native species.
Unfortunately, you don't want to find it in your yard and garden.
This is poison ivy.
And we're here today to talk about identifying it
and what to do if you find it in your own backyard.
I'm with the assistant superintendent
of the West Madison Agricultural Research Station
Judith Reith-Rozelle.
You and I have both had wonderful experience
with poison ivy popping up on our property.
Oh, yes. Surprise!
It's one of those plants
that I know is becoming more of a problem, too.
Yes, it is.
It is becoming more of a problem with global warming.
I knew that was the problem!
They're saying it's becoming more vigorous.
It grows more rapidly and is colonizing bigger areas.
So it is a big problem now.
And I've heard not only is it more vigorous
I've heard that it's actually more toxic.
Oh, yes.
And it's already pretty toxic.
You would not want to touch this
because you do get an awful rash.
Or, about 80% of the population get an awful rash.
And then they get blisters.
The rash turns into blisters, and it progresses
into a real nasty skin eruption.
Very serious.
If you touch that, wash off immediately.
Don't pet your dog if you've run through it
because, then, the dog's fine
but you've got it on your hands from the dog.
It can also get on your clothing
so make sure you wash that clothing.
The key is identification
because then you know what you're getting into.
One of the first keys for me
are these lovely kind of white-yellow-white berries.
Those stay on that little stick all winter long
right into early spring, even before the leaves are up.
I didn't know at first that poison ivy had berries.
Then a couple of years ago
someone came up to me at the Garden Expo
with this gorgeous bouquet
of poison ivy berries!
That's one of the easiest things to identify
in early spring.
The problem is sometimes they get confused
with these dogwood berries.
These have red stems
so that's one way to tell the difference.
Yeah, that's one very good way
because they do grow in the same locality.
You can find them right next to each other
so you want to be able to identify both of them.
In gardens, woodlands, and bike trails like this one.
This isn't just for gardeners.
This is another native species
so you'll find it all over Wisconsin.
That's right.
So again, identification is the key.
It looks more like these berries.
These have a more green path, and are right on the stem.
The leaves themselves can actually be kind of a quandary.
There is a wide variety.
Oh, yes.
The one here that you see has very smooth leaflets.
That's kind of your classic.
That's your classic, a little glossy.
And this is a tri-foliate.
This is a leaf, and these are each leaflets.
So this whole thing is a leaf.
That's what you want to look for, the three leaflets.
But poison ivy does vary as we said.
It can vary, as this one...
This one has teeth on it.
Oh, look at the leaves here.
So you may think, "Oh, I know poison ivy."
It has smooth leaves. It has three tri-foliates.
And I can identify that as a tri-foliate.
Then you come over here and say, "Hm..."
Some of them will even develop
like a mitten, like mulberry.
So that's really hard to identify.
I've also seen some the size of dinner plates
and some with fall color climbing up trees.
They will climb up trees
just like the Virginia Creeper that climbs up.
Very similar in shape on the tendrils that go up.
One of the big problems
when people are out cutting wood
they don't realize the vine is poison ivy.
Then they burn some of that wood
and the smoke can be a major problem.
Very dangerous.
It gets in the mucous membranes and their eyes.
It's better to identify it than get in trouble.
Once you identify it, don't burn it.
I assume you don't compost it.
Right, you don't want to do that.
What would we do with it instead then?
You would really put it in bags
if you're going to pull it out.
It is a perennial.
So you have to remove the roots.
if you're going to do this by hand and not use a chemical.
What are you using on your hands?
I'm using what I brought along!
These are very heavy vinyl gloves.
Don't use the disposable gloves.
No, and don't use lab gloves, anything like that.
Something thick and impenetrable.
And then wash them when you're done.
Wash them with soap and water before you take them off
so you don't take them off and get it on your hands.
Let's say I'm one of those people
that doesn't even want to touch it.
Chemicals.
What would I do if I don't want to smother it or dig it?
You can use two herbicides, two different classes.
One is Round-Up, which will kill everything
that you spray it on.
Glyphosate, Round-Up is the common name.
You can come in and spray it early spring or late fall
and everything will die.
You could use a paintbrush.
So just painting the specific leaves?
Yes, paint the leaf.
Or, you could use 2-4-D, which is a broadleaf herbicide.
You can spray, but all of the broadleafs will die.
Again, you can come in and use a paintbrush
to paint those areas.
Okay, but whatever you do, those are toxic chemicals
so read the labels and follow the instructions.
Right, that's a good point.
Make sure you read the labels
and that the chemical you're using is labeled for poison ivy.
The most important thing is to know your enemy.
That's right.
Thanks Judy. You're welcome, Shelley.
Here's a wonderful new idea from Planterra Pottery.
This is an eco-friendly pot.
Basically, it's biodegradable
made from natural vegetable fibers
that will degrade over time.
So, it's recyclable and earth friendly.
Eco-friendly pots come in natural colors
and simple designs.
Here are some other earth-friendly ideas.
Give old dishes and mugs new life
as containers for small plants.
If they don't have drainage holes in them
use them for small bog or water plants.
Or, put a masonry bit on your drill
and put a hole in them.
Even a hollow log can be used as a wonderful planter.
And one last idea.
If you break pots, don't throw away the pieces.
You can give old, broken pottery new life.
Do a mosaic.
I have a wonderful new container made out of old pots.
You know another great thing about epiphytes?
There is absolutely no way
you're going to get these confused with poison ivy!
If you'd like more information
about any of the topics we've discussed today
please check out our Web site.
Now I need a pot for my epiphytes.
There!
Don't you wish all gardening was that easy?
I'm Shelley Ryan.
Thanks for watching the Wisconsin Gardener.
Major funding for the Wisconsin Gardener
is provided by Fiskars, a Wisconsin developer
of universally designed ergonomic garden tools;
designed for ease of use.
There's more to learn about Fiskars commitment
to inspiring gardeners at fiskars.com
Additional funding is provided by the Wisconsin Master Gardener Association.