Magnificent Mums!

Chrysanthemums are lovely, semi-hardy perennials that bring color to the late summer garden.  Here are a few tips to help insure growing  success.  Plant early to establish good roots.  Plant garden mums in a spot where they get full sun, in peat moss, perlite, or organic matter (humus, leaf mold, manures will help to loosen it.)

Plant mums 24 inches apart or more.  You will be surprised at how much growth they put on 

the second year.  Keep moist throughout the fall so they do not suffer stress and can get well 

established before winter arrives.

At the holidays, cut the branches off your Christmas tree with you are done with it.  Lay them across the mums about two layers thick.  If you don’t have a tree, many tree lots will give you trees after the holidays free of charge.  A layer of straw can be used if it is not applied too 

heavily.  The idea is to keep the mums at an even, cold temperature.  Cold doesn’t usually kill mums, heaving from the frost does.  Leave your mums covered until mid March, or about when the crocus bloom.

In the spring after uncovering, trim back dead stems to the ground and feed the plants with a 

5-10-10 formula fertilizer.

To keep the small, compact bushy shape that typifies your mums the first year, cut them back

to a height of 8 inches until mid-July.  They grow quickly and you may have to cut them back 

several times through the season.  After mid-July, let the stems grow and form flower buds.  Without the “haircuts” your mums will still bloom.  They will be taller and may need support 

when in flower.

Mum plants can be divided every other year.  To divide, wait until early spring, dig up the clump and cut into sections.  Make each section at least 6x6 inches to be sure you have a good 

number of rooted stems.

DOG DAYS

  

Saturday, August 23rd 8am-12noon

Come visit with local rescues and find great gifts and treats for your best furry friend!

SPECIAL GUESTS

Brookline Lab Rescue

This organization works with people to place rescued labrador retrievers into good homes.  Come check out their dog items for sale!

Cocker Spaniel Adoption Center, Inc.

"Adopt a cocker spaniel and make a friend for life."

Cavenaugh's Collars

Hand made creative dog collars, leashes, purses, coats, kitty toys and more!   Made in New Cumberland.

Nittany Greyhounds

A non-profit organization comprised of dozens of volunteers, has been working to place retired racing Greyhounds in loving homes for over a decade.  Visit us to learn more about how you can help these wonderful dogs.

SAGE

This Dillsburg organization is a Galgo rescue.  This breed is closely related to the Greyhound and is being used to hunt hare in Spain.  Every year, up to 100,000 of these gentle animals are discarded in horrid ways.  

Harrisburg Kennel Club

This organization actively supports selective, responsible breeding of purebred dogs and dog fanciers.  They will be on hand to talk to people about their organization and will have some dogs to meet and greet.

Just For Dogs

Homemade Treats with Love Baked In.

Furry Friends

Non profit, all-volunteer animal adoption organization, offering second chances at lifetimes of love and happiness.

American Red Cross Animal Assisted Therapy

Animal Assisted Therapy Program for Eastern Cumberland, Duaphin and eastern Perry Counties.

SPERANZA ANIMAL RESCUE

501C3 Non profit animal rescue for all breeds.

DOG WASH!

10am - 12 noon

Bring your dog by for a refreshing bath! 

Your donations will benefit volunteer 

organizations participating in our 

Dog Days event.

ALSO...

* Spin "The Wheel Of Bow Wow" for 

     prizes every 1/2 hour!

*Dress Your Dog Contest & Pageant 

    (pageant will begin at 9:30am - dogs 

    will be judged for prizes) 

Hot Dog Special at our indoor Cafe - $2.00 Plain Hot Dog & Chips

Fun Facts About Hummingbirds

•  A hummingbird’s tongue is grooved
•  Hummingbirds take 150 breaths per minute
•  Hummingbird eggs are the size of a jellybean
•  Hummingbirds beat their wings up to 50 times per second
•  Hummingbirds can fly backwards
•  They often use moss in their nests
•  Female hummingbirds are more subtly colored and less flamboyant than the males
•  Put out hanging baskets to attract hummingbirds -- Geraniums are a great option

Nectar Sources
Plant native flowers, flowering shrubs and trees that produce nectar-rich blooms throughout the season. Red flowers will attract the most birds.  Avoid spraying for insects or spiders in the garden or around your home. Rely on hummingbirds and other insect-eating birds to provide natural pest control.  Use hummingbird feeders filled with a proper sugar solution to simulate natural nectar. Four parts water to one part sugar is closest to the sucrose levels of popular flowers.  Provide nearby perches for hummingbirds to defend their favorite feeding areas.  Many hummingbirds are extremely territorial, and they will use a perch as a lookout point for intruders.

How You Can Help
•  Keep your sugar-water feeder full
•  Offer more than one feeder
•  Keep your feeders clean
•  Plant nectar-rich flowers

Pollinators

Why Are Pollinators
 Important?

 

Between 75% and 95% of all flowering plants on the earth need pollinators. 1 out of every 3 bites of food you eat is there because of pollinators. In addition to the food we eat, pollinators support healthy ecosystems that clean the air, stabilize soils, and support other life. 

These perennials will not only offer you a beautiful landscape, but entertainment as you watch honeybees gather nectar from bloom to bloom.
      
Plant these perennials for honeybees:

Anise Hyssop (Agastache)
Aster
Beard Tongue (Penstemon)
Beebalm (Monarda)
Black Eyed Susan (Rudbeckia)
Blanket Flower (Gaillardia)
Butterfly Weed (Asclepias)
Catmint (Nepta)
Columbine (Aquilegia)
Coneflowers (Echinacea)
False Indigo (Baptisia)
Gaura
Gayfeather (Liatris)
Goldenrod (Solidago)
Joe-Pye Weed (Eupatorium)
Lavender
Lupine
Russian Sage (Perovskia)
Sage (Salvia)
Sedum
Sneezeweed (Helenium)
Spiderwort (Tradescantia)
Thyme
Tickseed (Coreopsis)
Yarrow (Achillea)

Ornamental Peppers

 

This annual ornamental pepper is usually available from late summer into fall and provides traditional color during the fall season.

The cone-shaped miniature peppers change color as they ripen.  Yellow, red and purple 1-inch fruits are sometimes 

found on the plant.  The fruits are not edible -- but very hot!   The peppers should remain attractive for 2 to 3 months with care.  Some direct sunlight is essential, and the soil must never be allowed to dry out.  White flowers precede the fruit.  Remove shriveled peppers to keep plant looking its best.

TEMPERATURE - Cool or average warmth; not less than 55°F.

LIGHT - Bright lit spot with morning or afternoon sun.

WATER - Keep soil moist at all times.

AIR HUMIDITY - Mist the leaves frequently.  Hot dry air will cause fruits to fall.

FERTILIZER - Feed monthly with mild liquid fertilizer.  Cease when fruit appears.

POTTING - Use standard potting mix.

PROBLEMS - Attacks of aphid and red spider mite are a possibility; also white flies.  Treat with horticulture oil or soap.

Butterfly Day At Ashcombe!

BUTTERFLY DAY!   Saturday, August 2nd 2014  9am-3pm    BUTTERFLY RELEASE AT NOON  CHILDREN'S ACTIVITIES * Food Sampling * Melissa Jacoby Thomas with 'Veggication -  Garden To Gourmet' Winning plates and minds with homegrown produce and veggication * Toni Albert, author from Trickle Creek Books will be signing and selling children's books. * PA Honey Queen Kaylee Gilgore - from the PA  State Beekeepers Association will be on hand to share her beekeeping knowledge.  PROGRAMS * 11am - FREE Tour of our Butterfly Garden * 1pm - Caring for your Butterfly Bush - FREE * Fairy Garden Classes - $20 Fee includes   container, soil, plants, stones and a   butterfly. Must pre-register. 9:30am  1:30pm  10:30am   2:30pm DISPLAYS Informational displays on butterflies,  caterpillars, moths, hummingbirds and bees. Butterfly merchandise, products, info and more! Monroe Fire Company will have their delicious chicken barbecue meal for sale today!

5 NEW Crapemyrtles at Ashcombe!

 

Double Feature (shown) 

Enduring Summer 

Coral Magic 

Plum Magic 

Purple Magic 

CRAPEMYRTLE

Common crapemyrtle (Lagerstroemia indica) is a beautiful 2’ - 15’ shrub or small tree, originally 

introduced to the United States in 1747 from China.  With its lovely, colorful, summer flowers, showy, flaking bark and flaming fall foliage, crapemyrtle became popular in the southern states.  Until the mid 1950’s, however, this beautiful plant was rarely grown north of Washington D.C. (zone 7), for it was not reliably hardy below 10° and often suffered winter damage.  But in the mid-twentieth century, Dr. John Creech, of the National Arboretum in Washington returned from Japan with a newly discovered species, Lagerstroemia fauriei.  Numerous cultivars of this “new” crapemyrtle, many named after American Indian Tribes and are now readily available to Pennsylvania’s ‘Zone 6’ gardeners!

For success with your “northern” crapemyrtle, choose an appropriate site and plant with your shrubs needs in mind!  Crapemyrtle requires full sun and loves a hot spot.  Plant in slightly elevated sites with southern exposure to promote flowering, control mildew and prevent winter tip dieback.  Soil should be moist but well-drained with a ph of 5-6.5.  The best time for planting is between mid-spring and mid-August to allow plenty of time for root establishment before winter.  Plant as you would any woody shrub.  Remember to plant at the proper depth, backfill soil firmly around roots and water well to settle soil.  Use only root stimulating fertilizers on your new planting.  Please no granular or water soluble fertilizers until next season or until your plant is well established!  Use a mulch to conserve moisture and protect crapemyrtle’s shallow, fibrous roots, but keep it several inches away from the base of your plant.  Water regularly and deeply as needed for the first two years.  Do not count on rain to water any new planting.  To prevent mildew on foliage, always soak the soil under your crapemyrtle and avoid the use of overhead sprinklers.  Avoid excessive mid to late season watering to avoid lush vegetative growth that may not harden off well for the winter.  

For the first winter or two, it is a good idea, but not necessary, to secure a wind barrier of burlap filled with leaves around your crapemyrtle, after all of the foliage drops in the fall.  Freeeze dieback is not uncommon the first year, so don’t worry if you find some tip damage in the spring.  Wait until mid-May to remove your protective barrier.  Crapemyrtles are late starters.  They usually remain very dormant until late spring and won’t show signs of life until day and night temperatures are consistently warm.  If you are worried about your crapemyrtle, do the “scratch test”.  Use your thumbnail or a knife to scratch a stem or two.  A “living but sleeping” shrub will show green tissue under the bark.  When you see this healthy color, you can feel assured that your plant is fine.  Sometimes tip ends will die back, especially the first season, so scratch further down these stems toward their bases.  Mid to late May is the usual time to prune, right before new growth begins.  All pruning should be done at this time.  Trim back damaged tips and shape up leggy stems to stimulate seasonal growth and beautiful flowering.  Established crapemyrtles may be fertilized at this same time with a granular 10-10-10 fertilizer.  Spread it around your plant but keep it away from stems and foliage.  Water it in well - never leave behind dry fertilizer.  Please do not fertilize past the end of June.  In general, nutrient requirements for crapemyrtle are minimal, so fertilize sparingly.  Remember, use only root stimulating 

fertilizer on newly planted crapemyrtle.

In sunny, Zone 6 landscapes, enjoy crapemyrtles as specimen, or summer hedges, or use in mixed borders, massings and foundation plantings.  The colorful pink, white, rose or lavender 

flowers of these beauties add a punch to the landscape when few other shrubs are in bloom.  In 

addition, enjoy fall foliage colors of vivid red, orange and maroon, and beautiful, mottled bark on mature 

specimens 5 years and older.  Crapemyrtle is incredible long blooming!  Some flower 100 days or more!

Our favorite cold hardy crapemyrtles are described below.  ENJOY!

Dynamite  Give your landscape a big bang with this 8 x 8 foot firecracker!  True red flowers bloom July-September!  Enjoy red green summer foliage and pumpkin red fall color!  Blooms well from a young age.

Hopi  This exceptionally cold-hardy, mildew resistant variety withstands winter temperatures up to -25°F.  Clear pink blossoms form on this 5-10 foot shrub and bloom for 100 days, from late June through September.  Bright orange-red autumn color!  Blooms well from a young age.

Pink Velour - Intense shocking deep pink flowers are the highlight of this lovely 8-10’ shrub, especially when set off by maroon to rust green summer foliage.  This long season bloomer flowers well from a young age.  Fall foliage is orange!

Pocomoke  This dwarf variety only reaches 2 feet tall and 2 feet wide.  It has small shiny, dark green leaves, deep rose flowers and the most wonderful mounding globe shape.  Beautiful maroon fall color.  Takes a year or two to bloom well.

Red Rocket  The very bright ruby red flowers on the 10 foot beauty bloom July-September.  Summer foliage emerges red and ages to dark green.  Fall color is bronze-red.  Blooms well from a young age.

Violet Filli  This fabulous dwarf grows only 11/2 feet tall and wide!  Super hardy to Zone 5.  This mini has lovely violet colored blossoms July-September.  Blooms well from a young age.  Look for Red and Coral Filli as well.  Newer and still harder to find!