The Garden Club November 4, 2004

		The Garden Club November 4, 2004


Euonymus alatus ‘Little Moses’ A Great Improvement on One of the Most Spectacular Fall-interest Shrubs Thousands of new plants are introduced every year, but only rarely do we at Carroll Gardens truly get excited about a new introduction. Last year, two new plants caught our attention, the Endless Summer Hydrangea and the Euonymus alatus ‘Little Moses’. This week we are featuring ‘Little Moses’, a true dwarf burning bush that promises to stand the test of time. Without a doubt, you have seen at least one full-sized burning bush this fall: the bright red foliage is hard to miss! The full-sized burning bush is just one variety of over 170 species of trees, shrubs and vines in the Euonymus family. Native to North and Central America, many Euonymus can be found growing wild. ‘Little Moses’ – A True Dwarf Burning Bush ‘Little Moses’, unlike many “dwarf” Euonymus, truly remains dwarf, reaching just 40 inches tall and wide. The standard “dwarf” burning bush can grow to 72 inches tall and wide. The leaves on the ‘Little Moses’ are much smaller and the branching is better. Multiple stems emerge right from the base, so the effect is more mounded and denser, rather than the stalky naked knees associated with the standard dwarf burning bush. It has even better red color than the common burning bush. The color starts a little later, but the leaves hold on the plant bright red for much longer. The color starts deep maroon and gradually turns brilliant red. In addition, the self sown seedling progeny of the standard burning bushes are starting to become invasive pests in our woodlands; ‘Little Moses’ is virtually fruitless. This Euonymus has been through about 20 years of testing before being introduced, ensuring that it is hardy, easy to grow and will remain truly dwarf. ‘Little Moses’ can grow in almost any soil type and in full sun to part shade. However, the more sun that it receives, the better the display of red foliage in the fall. Plant your ‘Little Moses’ anywhere in your garden that you would like a bright show of color in the fall. It can act as a small hedge, border or as a specimen planting. ‘Little Moses’ will remain below windowsill height; so it is easy to incorporate into a foundation planting. Planting and Care For best results plant in early fall or spring. Prefers full sun to part shade, but full sun will give the best display of foliage in the fall. Plant 3-4 feet apart in well-drained soil. Fertilize with Plant-Tone and Kelp Meal in late fall and early spring. Hardy in zones 4-8. From 2-gallon pots for $28.85 less 20%. Our Garden Worthy Certification means that your satisfaction is guaranteed.
Euonymus alatus ‘Little Moses’ Save Now!

Garden Club Frequently Asked Questions Question: I wanted to know why my lilacs have a white looking look to their leaves. They are slightly shriveled as well. They almost look like the leaves are dirty. I didn't know if there is something I can spray them with or if it is possibly due to the excess moisture we have had. Answer: Not to worry! Your lilacs have powdery mildew--a fungus that afflicts most lilacs in late summer and fall. Because of the moist season, this year's mildew was worse than it was most other years. Lilacs and mildew seem to co-exist without any significant harmful effect to the lilac except for appearance. It is too late to do anything this year; the leaves will fall off soon anyway. Next year you can prevent powdery mildew organically on most plants that are subject to it (including phlox, roses and lilacs) by spraying a protective coating over the leaves in late spring once the new growth turns dark green. Drench the foliage with either insecticidal soap at the 2% rate (the summer rate) or horticultural oil. The oil should not be applied when the temperature is forecasted to go over 80 degrees for the following 24 hours. Adding a tablespoon of household baking soda to each gallon of either the soap or the oil spray will increase effectiveness. Additional applications about a month apart are usually needed. Raking up all fallen lilac leaves this fall will help reduce the amount of mildew next year. A drenching spray of horticultural oil with lime sulfur will kill many of the over wintering mildew fungus spores, thereby lessening the mildew infection next year. Spray before the leaves appear, on a day when the temperature is projected to stay over 40 degrees the following night. Be sure to spray the soil and the mulch surrounding the lilac also. Question: My chrysanthemums have finished blooming. Should I cut them back this fall or wait for spring? Answer: Chrysanthemums benefit from the winter protection that the tops, and the leaves that get caught up in the tops, provide. However, the tops with the dead flowers are not attractive and the leaves often compact with the spring rains causing the mums to rot out. I usually cut the mums down to about a foot from the ground after they have finished blooming. Then I cut them right to the ground around the end of February. If I am going to divide any of the mums I do that in the second half of April. With Chesapeake Blue Crab Compost added to the soil, even the smallest shoot will develop into a full size mum by autumn. Question: My lawn seems squishy when I walk on it and parts of it are actually being dug up at night. What is going on? Answer: I’ll bet the lawn seems squishy because when you walk you are pressing down mole tunnels. Because of the massive infestation of grubs, moles are everywhere. They are making tunnels all over the lawn looking for grubs to eat. The digging in your lawn is caused by either foxes or skunks looking for grubs to eat. To prevent the digging and tunneling you need to kill off the grubs. Without a food source the moles, foxes and skunks will move into another lawn where the hunting is better. I suggest you apply Dylox immediately and water it in well. Applied at the recommended rate or a little stronger, Dylox will kill all of your grubs within 24 hours. To reduce the Japanese beetle population next year, I recommend you apply Dylox to your ornamental plantings, although there are usually less grubs in ornamental plantings than there are in the lawn. Do a little exploratory digging to see how badly your ornamental plantings are infested with grubs. I am surprised at the amount of fox and skunk damage to lawns this fall. Usually the worst damage occurs in the spring when the grubs re-emerge. At that time foxes and skunks can tear up an entire lawn overnight. Incidentally, it will not be necessary to reapply Dylox next spring. The grubs you kill this fall are the same ones that would have reappeared next spring had they not been killed with the Dylox. Question: Last weekend I bought a beautiful flowering crab apple tree in your store. You suggested planting some daffodils, tulips and summer blooming perennials around the tree, which sounds like a really pretty combination. But I am a little bit unclear as how to plant the bulbs and perennials. We are going to be planting this weekend so I would appreciate if you could get back to me quickly. Answer: I love circles of bulbs and perennials around trees as they extend the season of interest and make for a much more dramatic display. Installing all three at the same time is quite easy. The best way to plant the tree is by making a hole 2-3 times wider, but not deeper, than the ball. Place the tree in the hole with the top of the ball level with the surface and back fill with the planting mix to within a foot from the top. Press in the planting mix firmly. Place your bulbs in concentric circles about 5 inches apart. The space between the circles should also be 5 inches. (For the nicest display, place the flat side of the tulip bulb towards the outside when setting the outer ring and towards the inside when placing the inner ring). Back fill with 6 inches of planting mix. Firmly press in the planting mix again. Place the perennials without regard to whether they are covering up any bulbs, as the bulbs will grow right through the perennials without harming them. Back fill around the perennials with the remaining soil mix making sure the top of the perennial root ball is level with the soil surface. Press everything in firmly, water well and mulch with 2 inches of mulch. You will have planted several dozen perennials and bulbs with hardly more effort than it would have taken to plant just the tree. ►Garden Club Newsletter Index
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