Prime's Clippings May 2017

Oenothera Speciosa - Evening Primrose ... One of our beautiful local wildflowers!

Keepin' it Cool

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I spent April 22, Earth Day, immersed in some beautiful woods in Oklahoma, catching trout in a gorgeous river, and enjoying a nice campfire with lows In the forties. What a great way to celebrate a day that many folks don’t observe, but one that means a lot to a nature boy like me. The dogwoods and redbuds had finished their bloom, but wildflowers were abundant and the spring rains had everything lush and green. So for something a little different, I included a few photos from the woods of Tishomingo Oklahoma and some unique wildflowers in this newsletter. Enjoy!

May is historically our rainiest month and we have had some decent rains just about every week now, so hopefully we will maintain this pattern and get to enjoy a few more weeks of mild temperatures. The only drawback to cool nights is that weeds grow faster than lawns, but that should all change soon and grass will start to dominate.

Leave sprinklers off until rains disappear for a week or more, but  keep an eye on any new plants. We have been jumping into  80- 90 degree afternoons already and that can wilt newly planted flowers in just a day or so. But cool weather and frequent rains can bring on fungal problems like  brown patch in St. Augustine and leaf spot on hawthorns and photinias. Issues like these have to be addressed periodically, but again, we should be happy and take the rain over drought conditions anytime. And I’ll celebrate all the cool weather I can get before the July blast furnace comes on.

Remember our record setting rain fall in May 2015?

A Magical Mystery Quiz

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Anyone that can correctly identify these pictures can have free lawn mowing for a year! Wait, Greg just saw this and said only if I want to pay for it, so I guess that’s out. Besides, I can’t stand to keep secrets, so I’ll just go ahead and clue you in after the break.

You may have guessed that it is a leaf gall, but here’s the rest of the story: This is elm sack gall, caused by the elm aphid Tetraneura ulmi. Galls are deformities on plants that can be caused by insects, disease, or fungal pathogens. What is fascinating about this one (to me anyway) is that the aphid secretes a substance which causes the elm to grow this fuzzy red bulb, which the aphid then uses as a nursery/hotel to raise it’s brood. In June they emerge and drop to the ground to colonize the roots of certain grasses. They then fly back to the tree and deposit eggs in the bark to start the cycle again in spring. So they are using the elm to make little aphid hotels and don’t even feed on it! This tree was covered with hundreds. It looked like it was covered with berries. Fascinating!

Celebrating Wildflowers

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Many of our wildflowers bloomed earlier than normal again this year due to the unusually warm winter, but we had a pretty good show regardless. And it continues still! Here are a few I observed while celebrating Earth Day in Oklahoma, some you won’t see on the beaten path.

Meadow Parsnip growing along the shady edges of oak/cedar woodland, about 2 feet tall.



Tradescantia, or Spiderwort growing in low areas where moisture is abundant.
This is available in nurseries occasionally.



Blue eyed grass. This low little clumping grass is common in fields but you have to look for it. It blooms for about a month and is only 3-6 inches tall.

Now this group of pictures came two weeks ago from about 120 miles west of Fort Worth in Carbon Texas. Indian paintbrushes are most commonly seen in red-orange, but can also be white, yellow, pink, and magenta. I found a patch that had every color. Simply beautiful.

Sometimes the most beautiful gardens are those untouched by the hand of man.

May Chores

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• Mow Weekly
• Finish planting spring flowers
• Mulch beds
• Treat for fire ants

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