Gardening with Grower Direct

PLANT PROPAGATION

A. INTRODUCTION

Plant cells, unlike animal cells, are totipotent. This means that any single cell has the potential to develop into a whole plant, "totally potent". Every cell, both in the animal and plant worlds, carry the DNA for the entire organism. Only in plants, however, can you entice a single cell to reproduce more cells, and to grow into a new plant.

Plant propagators use this ability of plants to clone or produce genetically identical plants from a single cell, tissue, or organ of a parent plant. The larger the starting piece, the easier the growth of new progeny. For instance, to grow a new plant from a single cells requires specialized media, growing conditions, lots of skill, patience, and luck. To grow a plant from a completely formed cutting with stem, leaves, and tissues, missing only the roots, is as easy as putting it in a glass of water.

We will discuss the methods involved in cell culture and rooted cuttings, for the novice and the experienced grower.

To understand the terminology and the theories to be discussed, you will need to understand basic plant anatomy. Following are diagrams illustrating the important structures in whole plants and plant cells.

Show:

1.Whole plant illustration #1: Stem, node, internode, leaf, petiole, root, crown, bulb, meristem, leaf bud, axillary bud, axis, adventitious roots,

2.Stem cross section: Xylem and Phloem tissues, cortex,

3.Plant Cell: cell wall, cell membrane, chloroplast, vacuole, nucleus

B. THE SIMPLEST METHOD - A GLASS OF WATER

Many plants can be started from cuttings placed just in a glass of water. Starting at the tip, count down the stem at least four nodes. Cut the stem between the fourth and fifth nodes. Remove leaves from the bottom two nodes and place the cutting in water.

Use clean water in a clean container. Clear glass is best so you can see what's happening inside. You can add a teaspoon of aquarium charcoal to the jar if you want. This will absorb some of the toxins and impurities in the water. Change the water regularly if it becomes cloudy or discoloured.

The cloudiness is caused by bacteria and fungi growing in the water, living on the decaying plant cells. To help control this problem you can wash the glass, and the whole cutting with soapy water (dish detergent works best), removing any squishy bits, and replace the cutting clean water.

The discolouration of the water is caused by secretions of the plant itself. These are produced to help the plant fight off attacks from bacteria and fungi, but the compounds can build up in the water and harm the plant eventually.

Place the cuttings to be rooted in a sunny window. You do not need to worry about stress caused by a lack of water, since the cutting can take up all the water it wants. You need to encourage the healthy growth and development of the top shoots and leaves.

The cells and tissues in this top region, will produce a plant growth regulator, Indole Acetic Acid (IAA) which travels down the stem until it gets to the cut end where it accumulates. When it reaches a certain concentration, it will induce the formation of roots. On a normal, rooted plant, the IAA acts to promote the healthy growth of new roots. Commercial rooting powder from the garden center, contains IAA in low concentration. You dip the cutting into the rooting powder, and the IAA in the powder is absorbed into the plant and begins the process of root development. This is just a way to accelerate the process, or to get roots on difficult to handle plants.

Try just stem cuttings in water for the following plants: pothos, coleus, mint, anything with a square stem, vines, geraniums, impatiens, tropical plants, spider plants, grape ivy, pussy willows.

Once the plant has rooted you can plant it in soil in a pot. Some plants will survive indefinitely in just water. This is a simple form of hydroponics. Be sure to give the plant a weak solution of fertilizer once in a while, as there are no nutrients in the water.

C. STEM CUTTINGS

Most people are familiar with the methods for taking stem cuttings from plants like geraniums to produce many new plants from one 'mother plant'. These new plants are genetically identical to the parent, they are clones.

On many species of plants, the new roots will form adventitiously from the node. This means that the roots will develop in an adventurous way, out from a node on the stem. Some plants are so good at producing roots, that new roots will also grow in the internode section of the stem, not at a node at all.

Make the Cut. To improve the success of rooting, stems for propagating should be cut between nodes, leaving a short stub of internode only. The roots will usually form at the node, and the bottom piece of internode tissue may be attacked by pathogenic fungi and bacteria. If the internodal section below the node is long enough, the root formation will be unaffected by the deterioration of the cut end of the stem.

If the internodal section is too short, if the cut is made too close to the node, the root development can be hindered by the damage to the internodal stem section. Do not cut the sections at the nodes.

Remove the leaves from the bottom two nodes, so they won't be buried in the rooting medium. Cut these off cleanly without damaging the stem. The cutting should have at least 2 - 4 nodes with leaves intact, two more at the bottom, with no leaves, and a short piece of internode below the lowest node. It is not necessary for all the cuttings to have terminal buds. You can cut a long stem into several sections, from top to bottom, as long as each section has enough buds and nodes to produce leaves, shoots and roots.

Some plants will produce adventitious roots along the internodal section. This is common when growth regulators are applied and absorbed into this section of the stem. Some plant species are quick to root, and unspecialized as to which part of the stem will produce roots, although more roots are usually produced at nodes.

Growth Regulators. The production of roots is controlled by the movement of plant growth regulators within the plant. The leafy shoots and leaves at the top of the plant produce indole acetic acid and other similarly active compounds which travel to the base of the stem. They act on cells at the bottom of the plant to stimulate root growth in whole plants, and in cuttings. Therefore, it is important to have cuttings with healthy leaves and shoots at the top end as well.

Environment. Rooting can be stimulated by providing a moist environment for the plant, reducing stress on the water transpiration and absorption system in the plant, and by providing an hospitable soil environment for the growth and development of roots. The soil mixture should be fine and soft, moist, and easy for new, young roots and root hairs to penetrate. Keep the cuttings in slightly moist soil, and cover with a plastic bag to help to provide the correct environment. This will reduce the rate of transpiration of water from the leaves, and thus reduce the water stress on the unrooted cutting.

Soil. Use a good grade soilless mix containing peat moss, vermiculite or perlite and some sand if available. For the very early stages, you can use straight perlite or vermiculite to root cuttings. Do not incorporate any garden or black soil into your rooting media as this will introduce soil pathogens and weed seeds. Once the cutting has rooted and has re-established its defense mechanisms, it can go into a soil mix which includes black soil. The potting mix you buy at the hardware store is usually too heavy and contains too much black soil to use for propagating. Try mixing it with half peat moss to make it lighter for potting up your full grown, rooted plants.

Pathogens - Bacteria and Fungi. If the environment is too moist, however, you will increase the growth of pathogenic bacteria and fungi, so the soil should be allowed to dry out between waterings, and cuttings should be monitored regularly for signs of fungal damage. As the plant develops roots, you can cut small holes in the plastic bag, or leave it open slightly at the bottom, and gradually remove the plastic altogether.

You can use Equisetum, horsetails, as natural fungicides. Just mix dried, or fresh horsetails in water, allow to sit overnight, and pour this 'tea' on the plants as a soil drench at weekly intervals, when watering. You can also mix dried, broken horsetail stem pieces into your soil mix when potting the cuttings.

Drawing: stages of cutting

1.cut off from plant, remove lower leaves, internode cut, several sections from one stem
2.put into media, cover with plastic
3.cut holes in plastic
4.cross section of pot with plant and roots developing from nodes.

D. THE NEXT HARDEST WAY TO PROPAGATE A PLANT - FROM SEED

If you can get seed of a plant, of course you can plant this in soil, or sand, inside our outside, and get many wonderful things to grow. Be sure to read the instructions on the seed package. Many seeds have special requirements. Some need to be placed in the cold refrigerator for a few days or even months before they will germinate properly. Some need to be planted outside in July rather than May.

Seeds are little packages of the exactly right genetic materials to produce a plant like its parent. The embryo does start out as a single cell, but it has the help of the rest of the seed to produce roots, shoots and leaves.

See our information package "Starting Bedding Plants from Seeds" for more details.

E. SPECIAL PLANTS

There are some plants that will produce new plants in unusual ways. Many members of the cactus and succulent families of plants, desert plants, are very easy to propagate from stem cutting, petioles, leaf sections, even small stem sections. These plants are from a harsh, dry environment, so they are programmed to take every advantage to develop a new plant.

Try taking any piece of a jade plant, a whole stem section, a leaf with a petiole, a whole leaf without a petiole, even a half of a leaf. Let the cut pieces dry out overnight, this will allow a callus layer to form over the cut ends. This reduces the possibility of infection and also gives a good start to root formation. Lay the pieces on a pot filled with a mix of peat moss and sand (desert plants like sand). You could cover the pot in a plastic bag, but this is not necessary if the pieces are buried a bit in the soil. Water well and put in a sunny window. Allow the soil to dry out before watering again so you don't have fungus problems. New roots should form in about two weeks.

This method will work with many succulent and cactus plants. Try it.

Begonias will grow roots from the veins in the leaves. Cut a large healthy leaf and make small cuts or breaks in the major leaf veins, one cut for each main vein. Lay the leaf right side up on a peat moss and sand mix. Make sure there is good contact between the leaf and the soil. You can put small pebbles on top of the leaf to weight it down, or pin it in place with toothpicks or wires. Cover the whole thing well in a plastic bag and put in a sunny window (not too sunny, or the plant will get steamed in the bag). Roots will form at the break sites on the veins. Then the roots will send up small new shoots. When these are large enough, you can cut them away from the main leaf and repot them in their own pots.

Spider plants and other plants like strawberries send out small plantlets on runners. These runners are actually modified stems, and the plantlets come fully equipped with roots already. This type of plant is very easy to start. You can just cut off the small plants, repot them in their own pot and stand back. To give them a head start, you can leave them attached to the parent plant for a while until the baby is well established in its new home. You can also put the babies in a glass of water until they get more roots before planting in soil.

Lots of plants grow multiple shoots up from the same root. It is very easy to split the plant into many small ones, each with a root and a shoot and repot the small plants separately in their own pots. This is called 'division' and is a common method for plant propagation. Try this on anything that has a bushy bunch of shoots coming out of the crown.

F. FROM A SINGLE CELL

In a laboratory, you can take small pieces of the plant, wash them, and reduce them down to a pieces of just a few cells. If you put these cells in a good growing environment, they will divide from one cell into two and two into 4 until there is a large mass of cells. With further manipulations, you can get a whole plant to grow from a few starting cells.

The culture conditions have to be just right to get the original cells to begin to divide. You must feed them appropriate nutrients, including, nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, minor or trace elements and some growth regulators. You also have to include some antibiotics to keep bacteria and fungi from growing. You can use the same nutrients to make a liquid or a solid media for the cells to grow in.

The first single cell culture media is often a liquid, so it needs to be shaken regularly to keep the culture aerated and the cells from all falling to the bottom. The growing cells need light and heat too, just like a normal plant.

Over several weeks the clumps of growing cells get larger and larger. You can move two or three small clumps smaller than a pea, into a petri plate filled solid media, made with a gelling agent. This media will contain a carefully controlled amount of a specific plant growth regulator, designed to induce the cells to form shoots and leaves, and not just more cells. Once the little plants have a few leaves, they will begin to produce their own IAA (Indole Acetic Acid) which will travel to the base of the plantlet, and accumulate there to induce root formation. Nifty!

During this stage of development, the small plants are increasing in height, and may be getting too big for the petri plate. They are transplanted into large jars containing the same growing media and allowed to develop into larger plants. Once they are strong enough, they can be transplanted out into pots with regular soil and put in the window or outside.

The original cells that you started with are meanwhile still swirling away in the light and they are still dividing and making even more new cells. You can continue to take new pieces out of this culture, place them on solid media, and induce them to produce new plants. You can get thousands of plants from the single cell you started with, and they will all be genetically the same, they will be clones.

G. THE MAGIC TRICK

The key to all of these types of plant propagation is the 'decision' by the plant cells to organize themselves into shoots and roots, or to stay as undifferentiated cells. These undifferentiated cells can continue to multiply indefinitely, and can form large cell masses in culture, and on the living plants. They are known as callus cells, the same as when you have a callus on your heel, from shoes that rub. These are also undifferentiated cells, laid down to protect your heel from the chafing shoe.

In plants the callus cells and tissue form at the base of the stem cutting, in the wound in the begonia leaf, on the cut edges of the jade plant cuttings and leaves, and in the cell cultures. The change from undifferentiated callus cells to organized shoot and root tissues is mediated by the levels of various growth regulators in the plant. In cell culture we had to add these growth regulators externally in the media. In plants with leaves or roots, the growth regulators are produced by the plant and transported to the site of action.

The roots produce cytokinins which travel to the top of the cell mass, or stem, and induce the development of shoots and leaves. The leaves produce auxins like IAA which travel down the stem to collect at the base and induce root formation. The balance of these two and other growth regulators controls the even growth and development of the plant.

This is an amazing control mechanism. We can use what we know about plants and their growth and development to propagate many types of plants from very small sections or even cells. This is a tremendous advantage to plant breeders, geneticists, environmentalists and farmers all over the world. Try it at home - it's fun too.

Preserving Flowers and Herbs

The colour and fragrance of your summer garden can be preserved to enjoy all year long. People have always dried flowers and herbs for medicinal and decorative purposes through various traditional methods and today we have even more choices for preserving our best blooms.

Which ones?

Most flowers will air dry. Try anything first, when you are just learning. Any of the "everlasting flowers' from the seed catalogues will dry well. Roses are very good and keep some of their scent. Plants with more cellulose, sturdier cells, like grains, or strawflowers, will hold their shape and dry better than soft fleshy ones like begonias or tulips.

Picking

In general you should pick flowers just before they are fully mature, as they continue to develop a bit while drying. If the roses are starting to drop petals when you hang them up, they will continue to drop petals as they dry and you'll be left with an empty stem. Slightly immature flowers also have a stronger connection between the petals and the stem and as they dry this should become more rigid, and stronger, if the flower is in the right stage of maturity.

Preparing

It is much easier to clean fresh Flowers than dried flowers. Before processing, remove any brown, misshapen or discoloured petals and leaves. It is not usually necessary to remove the leaves from the stems, except for large plants like sunflowers, where the leaves are large reservoirs of moisture.

Drying

Best results will be achieved from the fastest drying. The longer it takes to dry a bundle, the more likely you will lose colour, have damage from fungus and bacteria, and leaves will turn yellow rather than stay fresh green colour.

You will need a warm place, with good ventilation, and no direct sunlight. The warmth tends to dry the plants faster. The ventilation carries the water vapour away from the plants and so speeds drying. Direct sun, right in the south window, will bleach colours out of leaves and flowers within two weeks. Indirect light is not so much a problem.

Most plants will take 1 to 2 weeks to dry completely. Small fine plants, like larkspur will dry more quickly than heavy, large plants like sunflowers. Over this period, some indirect light will not seriously affect colour.

Storage

Once the bundles are dry they should be wrapped to prevent damage and packed away in a closed box. Newspaper works well for wrapping. This keeps the bundles separate and protected from dust, breaking, and sunlight. The bundles should be laid down flat in the box, not standing up. If they are standing up it is easy to break the tips off. Label the box on the outside so you don't have to open it every time you're looking for those pink peonies. Usually dating the box is a good idea too.

Dried leaves of herbs for cooking should be packed in air tight cans or jars, and kept out of the light too. Labeling is very important here, it's harder to tell basil from oregano, 6 months later when they're all crunched down to fine green leaves.

Silica dried and freeze dried flowers should be stored in an air tight box with some desiccant inside. Use a bit of silica gel in a cloth bag for desiccant. Even table salt will work - in a pinch. This will keep moisture from the air from affecting the blooms.

AIR DRYING

The simplest method is just to make your flowers or herbs into bundles and hang upside down to dry. Use rubber bands to secure the stems. The stems will shrink as they dry, and string or wire will become too loose to hold the dried bundles. Hanging upside down keeps the shape of the flowers looking natural once they are dried. This, of course, does not apply to flowers like Chinese Lanterns or Love Lies Bleeding that are supposed to droop downwards normally, and these plants you would dry standing up in a vase.

For large flowers you should stagger the heads so they are not touching each other. Where the flowers are close together, there's less air movement so moisture can build up, and fungus can develop.

The bundles should be no more than a handful thick at the stem ends. If the bundles are too large, the center of the bunch does not dry properly and mold can grow in the middle. When you open these bundles up to use them, the inside 40% is spoiled.

Herbs

Herbs can be dried in bundles as well, usually, the bundles are smaller for quicker drying because you want to preserve the colour as well as the volatile flavor oils. You can also dry herbs flat on a screen. If you clean the useful leaves off the stems first and dry only the leaves, they will be done sooner. Be sure to spread the leaves out well enough to allow air movement all around and turn or stir the leaves every day until dry. Most herbs handled this way will dry in 2 - 3 days under good conditions.

Potpourri

You can also dry individual flowers, petals and leaves for potpourri on screens this same way. Full flower heads will take longer to dry, and it is very important to turn these often to prevent misshapen flowers, and mold growing on the undersides of the flowers. Once dry, these should be packed in clear plastic bags. You will be able to see easily, what's in the bag, and the plastic will keep moisture from the air away from the dried materials.

Heads up

Certain flowers, peonies and sunflowers, for instance, can be dried heads up with the stems dropped through a screen made of chicken wire or metal mesh with 1.5 - 2" squares. For peonies this can give you a larger, more open flower. Hanging flowers tend to wilt and close up as they dry so you get a smaller, less full flower. With the screen method, you can get them to open even more. The problem with this is that not all of the peonies will open properly on the screen so you must babysit them as they dry. Take out the odd shaped ones before they're fully dry. Shake them gently to restore a more normal shape and hang these upside down to finish drying. The remaining good ones will dry in about 2 weeks.

SILICA GEL DRYING

This method has been used for centuries. The earliest practitioners did not have silica gel, however, they used clean, fine sand or even salt. Dustless kitty litter will work and there are some substitutes for silica on the market as well. Some people use borax.

Silica drying works on all flowers, and extends the range of materials that can be dried. Lilies, orchids and other flowers that do not air dry well can be silica dried to give spectacular results.

The best quality silica gel will have very little dust in it and should have blue indicator crystals. The crystals are blue when the silica is dry and will gradually lose colour as the silica absorbs moisture. When they are completely colourless you should put the silica in a flat pan in the oven at 250°F until the crystals change back to blue. Store in an air tight container. You can re-use silica gel many times, for many years. It will eventually break down and get more fine dust particles, which can affect the quality of the finished flowers so you may have to replace it at some time.

Silica gel is harmful to your health. The dust particles will cause irritations of your throat, nose, lungs, eyes, and skin. For best safety you should wear rubber gloves and avoid inhaling the dust. If you are doing a large quantity of silica drying you should be wearing a good quality dust mask as well. Always work in a well ventilated area and clean up any dust and crystals from the work place when you're finished. Try working outside.

You will need some air tight plastic containers, ice cream pails work well, as well as smaller ones. Put a layer of silica on the bottom of the container, about ½ to 3/4 inch. Place individual flower heads (no stems) upright on the bed of silica. Take the time now to make sure the petals are shaped the way you want them to end up. Gently pour more silica over the flowers so that the crystals fall between the petals and around the blooms. The crystals will draw the moisture out of the petals and leave it in the same shape without wrinkling or shrinking.

Don't pour the silica on so roughly that you bend the petals over sideways or splay out the flowers in an unnatural position. Continue to add silica until the flowers are completely covered. You can add more flowers to the container, as long as they don't touch each other. Where they touch, mold will develop. You can make several vertical layers if your container is deep enough.

Once full, close the lid on the container and wait. Most flowers will dry in 2 - 3 days. Larger flowers and full roses should be left 4 - 5 days. You can speed up the process by micro waving the whole container for 30 second pulses, 2 or 3 times. After micro waving, leave the flowers in the silica overnight and remove the next day. You can also put the container in the oven at 200 F for an hour or so. Or warm the oven and turn it off. Then put the container in over night.

If you remove the flowers right away after heat treating in the microwave or oven, the silica tends to stick to the petals. Waiting an extra day reduces this problem.

To take the flowers out of the silica, gently pour the crystals into another container to reveal the flowers. They may be brittle and certainly they will be fragile, so handle carefully. If they have been left in the silica too long, they will be more brittle. As they are exposed, gently lift them out and put in a secure storage container.

The blooms can be sprayed with a floral preservative, lacquer spray, or even hair spray to give them a protective coat. If your silica is dusty you will need to shake or brush some of the dust off the petals.

Pouring the silica back and forth releases lots of dust. Stand back from the container, don't breathe in the dust, wear a mask, do this outside, this is the high risk part of the operation.

Silica dried flowers have better colour and very much better form than air dried flowers. They will retain these qualities only if stored properly with some desiccant and protected from mechanical damage.

GLYCERINE TREATMENT

Glycerine is a viscous, oily liquid used in hand creams and soaps. Glycerine treatment leaves the plants supple and soft, less brittle and less prone to breakage. It is often combined with a dye so the finished product is softer and coloured as well.

Best results are obtained if the glycerine is drawn up inside the plant. Plants must be fresh cut and still alive, able to draw water up the stem.

Mix 1 part glycerine with 3 parts water. More glycerine can be used on heavier plants like salal and less glycerine on fine plants like baby's breath. The glycerine is easier to mix if you start with warm water. Mix well. Add the dye at this time if you are colouring the plants too. It is a good idea to add some fresh flower preservative to the water. This will keep the plants healthier and the water cleaner.

Stems should be recut under water to make sure there is a good uptake of solution. Stand the plants upright in the bucket of glycerine/water and wait. Most plants take almost 2 weeks to fully absorb the glycerine. You can monitor the progress by the colour change in the stems, leaves and flowers. You should check the stem ends regularly and recut them a few inches every 2 - 3 days to keep the flow of glycerine/water going well.

The glycerine is a large molecule. It cannot enter the plant cells and it does not evaporate with the water from the plant. As it travels up the plant it moves in the spaces between the plant cells. The water gradually moves out of the cells and out of the plant completely leaving more and more glycerine stuck in the tissues. Eventually there is mostly glycerine and very little water left in the plant.

Take the plants out of the bucket, and hang to dry for a few days, just to remove the last bit of water. You can re-use the glycerine solution several times. Filter it and add some fresh flower preservative to reduce fungal and bacterial growth. Store in a sealed container. You can feel how slippery the solution is. When it is not slippery any more the glycerine has been used up and you need to start again with fresh glycerine.

Straight glycerine is a skin irritant. Wear gloves and avoid contact with skin, and eyes. Do not ingest. Keep away from animals and small children. Handle with care. You can buy glycerine at farm supply stores, it is sold as a treatment for milk cows by the litre or gallon.

DYEING

Dyeing flowers gives you an infinite range of colours not always available in the natural materials. All plants have a waxy coating on the surface of leaves, stems and petals. Depending on how thick this layer is, the dye will attach better or worse to the plant. Heating the plant materials will thin out the waxy layer and allow the dye to soak in better.

Plants with neutral natural colours, or colours similar to the dye will give better results than strongly coloured ones. Flowers and plants with lots of surface area like timothy grass pick up the colour better than smooth surfaces like poppy pods.

There are powdered dyes and liquid dyes specifically for plants. Any of these can be applied as a dip for dried flowers or in the water bucket for fresh flowers to take up through the stem. You can use food colouring for small quantities. Fabric dyes will work well too, and are available in a wide range of colours.

It can be useful to dye a variety of materials with the same dye lot so that you will have matching pieces to use in an arrangement. Also, the first bundle dipped into the dye will have the darkest colour and the last bundle will have the lightest colour as the dye gets used up. This range of shades of the same colour can also be attractive in an arrangement.

For fresh flowers, just mix the dye in the water bucket and stand the stems in the mix. Be sure to recut the stems regularly. Add some fresh flower preservative to keep the water clean. You can reuse the solution as long as it's not contaminated with fungus or bacteria.

For dried flowers dip the bundle, heads down into the dye solution. Leaving the bundle in longer will give a darker colour as will repeated dips. Fabric dyes often require hot water and may give better results with hotter water.

You will need to hang the bundles up to dry after dyeing. This should take only 2 - 3 days at most for flowers that have been previously dried.

Colours will change as the plants dry. The liquid mixture is never the same as the finished product. Successful dyeing requires lots of experimentation. Try mixing colours to get just the right shade, or diluting the mix for light shades. Good luck.

It's very easy to paint dried flowers too. You can use craft spray paint which dries quickly or regular spray paint which takes longer to dry. Try also mixing latex paint with water, 1 part paint to 2 or 3 or more parts water, and using this for a dip for the dried flowers. The advantage of paint is that you can get a very wide range of colours.

FREEZE DRYING

This is a very high tech way to preserve flowers. The freeze dryer itself is a large machine that looks sort of like one of those really big washing machines at the laundromat. The flowers are dried under vacuum, and very low temperatures for about 10 days, depending on the water content of the starting materials. The machine costs about $50,000.

This methods gives a very good product however. The flowers have very good colour and form. They are often sprayed with a preservative/sealant to prevent moisture from re-entering the flowers and reducing the quality.

You can freeze dry almost anything, so this greatly increases the range of possibilities. Most common are roses and lilies, but you will find orchids, vegetables and fruits, even animals!

PRESSED FLOWERS

Delicate flowers can be pressed between the pages of a phone book. If you add weights to the top of the stack and have at least 20 pages of phone book between flowers you can get a very nice product. You can fill the page with flowers as long as they don't touch each other. There are many flower presses available, using blotter paper and frames with screws to keep the pressure on.

Pansies, violets, azaleas, any fine textured flower will dry well. Don't forget to press some leaves too for adding to your pictures and cards. Stay away from flowers with high water content, fleshy leaves or bulky form. Large flowers like tulips or lilies won't work as whole flowers because of the bulky calyx, but you can pres individual petals and reassemble what looks like the whole flower later. The calyx on roses is too large to press. Again, try individual petals.

The finished flowers can be mounted with a dab of glue to make pictures, cards and other decoration. Pictures made up and mounted behind glass are not difficult. Just get a nice frame with a good clear glass front. Cards must be covered with a layer of clear Mac Tac or other protective cover. Some people lay the flowers on the top of fancy wooden boxes and lacquer them in place. You can also put them between panes of glass for window hangers.

STORAGE

Dried flowers will absorb water vapour from the air quite easily. On a rainy day, the petals get softer and contain more moisture than on a dry day. Each time the flowers absorb this moisture, however, they will continue to degrade. If they absorb a lot of moisture, if you kept them in the bathroom, for instance, they would eventually lose their colour, and may even turn brown.

For long term storage you want to keep this moisture away from the dried materials. The newspaper wrappings on the bundles will absorb most excess moisture. The desiccant in the box of freeze dried flowers does the same job. Sealing the rest of the materials in air tight bags, jars and boxes will keep most flowers and herbs safe for years. Be careful that the flowers or herbs are completely dry before you pack them away, however, it's very easy to get mold growing inside the air tight plastic bag.

CONCLUSION

There are many methods for drying flowers, and many flowers and herbs suitable for drying. Don't believe any one if they say you can't dry this, or that won't work. Try it any way. Some techniques may work for you and no one else. Good luck.

How To Keep Your Gourds Fresh

Yes you can keep those nifty gourds looking good for years if you do it right. Start with fresh, healthy, mature, gourds with good color and a nice firm, skin. They need to cure in the warm sunshine for a few weeks to really finish off. Pretend they are in a field far south of here, maybe Minnesota, and they have an extra month to really do what they're designed to do. The skin will harden up and protect the seeds inside from marauding animals and pests of all kinds until spring when they will grow again.

Wash the gourds carefully and don't scratch or damage the skin. Dry them well and put them into a warm, sunny window so that there is good air circulation around all the fruits. Best if they don't even touch each other. If you were really nice to them you'd turn them every few days to get a nice even tan.

Once they are really firm you can polish them with a clean, soft cloth, just like polishing shoes. The skin contains a natural wax which will buff up and give you a nice shiny gourd.

If you were really sure you had removed most of the water from the gourd, you could spray it with a clean varnish, both a matte or shiny surface would be interesting. We have sprayed them gold for Christmas Eggs and pale blue and pink for Easter Eggs..

Never poke holes in the gourd. Don't break the skin. Our enemies are the fungi and bacteria living all around us, don't let them at the susceptible insides of the gourd. The plant has natural defenses that will enable it to fight off most normal wear and tear, if the system is intact and healthy.

This drying method will work with other thick skinned members of the Cucurbit family, like pumpkins, and squash, but not soft types like zucchini or cucumbers. Good luck.

Herb Marketing - Cultivating the Marketplace

Herb Marketing - Cultivating the Marketplace Marketing herbs in Alberta presents several interesting challenges and variations on the basic marketing strategies employed by companies world wide. Are you selling fresh or dried herbs or both. The markets for culinary herbs vary significantly from the markets for medicinal or botanical herbs. There is a large market for pharmaceutical grade herbs for extraction of high value constituents.

In a specialty product line such as herbs, we depend heavily on the knowledge base of the producer. The buyers do not always know everything there is to know about the plants themselves; how do they grow, how are they harvested, what time of year is the crop ready, does it take several years to produce, how is it processed, do the customers want the stems, leaves, roots, seeds or flowers, what is it used for and how? It is important for the producer to be able to answer all of these questions and more to be successful in getting their specialty product all the way through the chain to the consumer.

A. Marketing Basics - the Four P’s

1. Price - Make sure your price is within the range already set by the marketplace. If you have a unique product you can set your own price, as high as the market will bear, keeping in mind that you invite competition when you have very high prices. Price is not always the significant factor in the customer’s decision to buy, so don’t feel compelled to start at the lowest price. It’s easier to bargain down than up. Keep in mind your own costs, margins, overhead and so on. It’s no use breaking into a new market with low, low prices, if you are subsidising the market with your free labour, or unpaid overhead expenses.

2. Product - What exactly are you selling? A widget, or the convenience of using a widget, or the status that owning a widget represents? The large increase in the herb market recently is fuelled by the changing dietary habits of North Americans. We are using less salt and fats and more herbs. Fast foods, like pizza, use up a lot of oregano and basil every year. Prepackaged convenience foods, for cooking at home, like instant pasta dishes, depend on herbs to improve the flavour of the highly processed ingredients. If we’re selling flavour, style and convenience, we must have good quality control to maintain flavour through all the processing steps. Canadian grown herbs have a distinct advantage when compared to imported herbs because of our stricter regulations on pesticide use, foreign materials in the herbs, and quality control, an important consideration to the consumer. Chemical free, or organic herbs enjoy a potentially very large market demanding a premium price.

3. Position - This includes where you build your store, but more importantly considers your position in the chain of distribution to the marketplace. Are you selling straight to the consumer, or the retailer, to a wholesale grocery chain, or specialty shop, or maybe dried herbs through a broker to the big multinationals. Your position determines your market strategy and pricing policies. You can narrow down the number of potential customers to approach, making marketing simpler, but you can also limit your choices if there is only one big wholesaler in your area. The trend in business recently has been a blurring of the lines between retail/wholesale. You can market to more than one level of sales if you adjust your prices appropriately for each level and be open, honest, flexible and constructive when conflicts arise.

4. Promotion - Promotion includes marketing, sales, public relations, signage and everything involved in letting your various types of customers know about your product and company. Recognizable logos, names, quality standards, even company ethics are important in today’s marketplace. Consider the bad image of Nike shoes even though the logo is well recognized, the company is known to use child labour in the far east to make the shoes. The Made in Alberta symbols are a good promotion for our local products.

5. People - The fifth, unofficial P of marketing is the people involved. Marketing is all about relationships. The buyer wants to know you and trust your judgement on quality, product knowledge and much more. The Farmer’s Market customer wants you to be well informed on the uses of the herbs, cultivation, preserving herbs, other medicinal uses of various herbs, sources for obscure herbs and almost everything about herbs. The more questions you can answer in a confident, clear manner, the more the customer will trust you and your product and the better your sales will be.

The volume buyers and brokers want the same service. They want to know that you are competent in your field. They need you to be reliable on delivery times, quality control, volumes and any other variable aspects of the interchange. Good customer relations is the core of your marketing strategy. You must be always looking for new customers, but you have to keep your existing customers happy. The business is built on return customers, not on a long string of new ones. It costs approximately six times more money to attract a new customer than it does to service an existing customer. It takes an average of nine "hits," to get a new customer to buy. That means they have to see or hear your name nine times; an ad in the paper, their friend’s conversation, a magazine article, a road sign, another friend, and four more.

B. Getting Started

Assume the grower starts on a small scale and gradually "grows" the business into a larger and more profitable enterprise over a number of years. Also assume that the production and marketing, the supply and demand, grow at equal rates so that the problems of over supply or over demand are not fatal to the business. It is possible to develop a solid business producing and marketing herbs for the local, provincial, national and international marketplace using resources at hand, and information freely available. We are here to explore marketing methods and practices as they apply to herb marketing, in the context of a small business hoping to grow into a profitable, large business.

1. Farm Gate. The simplest system is to grow some fresh herbs and sell them at the farm gate, advertising with a sign on the roadside. "Pick your own" herbs would reduce even the labour involved. Here, the sign is your marketing tool, and the way you speak to and encourage or "cultivate" the customer is your marketing strategy. An Open House in August when the most herbs are ready, free articles on herbs sent to the local media, and happy, returning customers will probably keep you busy enough.

2. Farmers Market. Next, you may want to sell some fresh herbs at the local farmer’s market. Packaging becomes an issue, as well as consistent supply. Your articles in the local papers will continue to help in your business, as will a good sign over your market booth and free handouts with recipes or information about herbs. The Farmer’s Market is an ideal place for market research. Here you will find out what the actual consumer wants much more directly than through any polls, or surveys. You can fine tune your packaging, sizes, shapes, colours, and you can determine which items sell best at what times. This is a good place to try out new products, herb vinegars, herb seeds, herb butter, herb mixes because you can get an immediate response from the consumer.

3. Grocery/Restaurant Retail. At this point you may have extra herbs available that did not sell at the farm gate or at the Farmers Market. The retailer wants effective packaging, consistent volume and quality of product, and lower prices. You should be selling to the retailer at one half of the Farmer’s market prices, so that he can put a 100% mark up and sell at the same price as you do at the market. There is some conflict between the Farmer’s Market as competition to the grocery and you may have to discuss this with the buyer. You will also have to compete with the retailer’s existing suppliers on price and packaging.

Some restaurants use large quantities of fresh herbs, but the chefs are especially picky about quality, stem length, prompt delivery, and consistent quantity and quality. Start with one or two local restaurants where you can establish a good relationship and give them very good service. These will be your learning customers so pay attention to their requests and complaints. Once you have figured out the routine, then take on a few more of this type of customer.

4. Dried Herbs to Retailers. This is a much larger market than the fresh herbs. It is easier to access and easier to manage and there are more potential buyers because the timing and shipping problems are much reduced. Also in this market, there is room for value adding, such as herb mixes, fancy packaging, whole herb bundles and herbs as decorations. You can approach groceries, health food stores, gift shops, delis and specialty food shops, mail order, gift basket suppliers and more.

For this step you will require a catalogue of standard items, with definite prices, volumes, standard packaging, some inventory, and hopefully a long list of customers to call on. Build a database of customers by name, phone, preferences, etc. You can do this by hand with written notes or with any computer contact manager or database program. Be persistent, call everyone on your list at appropriate intervals, send them updated catalogues and samples, visit their stores so you can see what you can do for them. People like to get a piece of paper from you. Be sure to have an appropriate business card and a catalogue, even a brief one.

At some point you may want to exhibit at a trade show. This is an expensive proposition and requires much thought and preparation to make the best of your investment. It can, however, bring you many leads, orders, and other types of contacts that will improve your business. There are shows geared to restaurants and hotels, or gift stores, or any number of industry groups. Read the trade magazines to find the shows that best suit your purposes. Try submitting free articles to the trade magazines to get your name out to the potential customers. Paid advertising in these magazines can be expensive and is rarely effective unless it is supported by an article, or a reference to your type of product in the magazine.

Many trade shows are hosted by industry associations and it can be worthwhile to be a member of the association, and perhaps even an active member, serving on a committee or board. Again, this gets your company name out to the customers in a positive light, and allows you to access inside information about the industry, who the major players are, what types of companies may be interested in your products and which ones don’t pay their bills.

Don’t downplay the importance of word of mouth advertising. A satisfied customer, or even a chance acquaintance can send you several customers a month. This testimonial type of advertising is much more effective, encouraging the potential customer to act more confidently and more promptly than any other passive type of advertising such as magazine ads or catalogues in the mail. This is why it’s so important to talk to everyone you can about your business and your product and find out how the other person’s interests coincide with yours. Take every opportunity to speak to community groups, trade associations, donate to charity auctions, and take part in suitable special events.

If you have developed a company style at this point you may want to align yourself with companies that match your style, that are interested in the same values, policies or trends as you. Strategic alliances allow you to work very closely with a large company to fill some of their out sourcing or other needs while benefitting your own business. Be careful, however, that you don’t depend 100% on one company who could cancel your contract, or change tactics and leave you out in the cold.

Once you have secured, filled and shipped the order, it’s important to follow up by calling the customer to make sure everything was received in good condition, that the product is selling well, that the customer is satisfied with your performance. If there is a problem it’s much easier to deal with it right away, than to leave it until you call for the next order.

If you have a range of products, bulk herbs, consumer pack herbs, teas, medicinals, seeds, herb mixes, decorator herbs, you can approach a variety of customers and offer them different parts of the line. A wide a product range is harder for to market, produce and control, however, so at first, keep it simple.

5. Dried Herbs to Wholesalers. These customers are harder to track down. You need to read trade magazines and use your network to find potential buyers. These customers are looking for bulk herbs in consistent quality, quantity and timing. It may be possible to specialize in only one herb and sell all of it to one customer. As your business develops you could mass produce two or three types of herbs for this part of the market. The marketing strategy is still the same basic pattern however. Get to know the customer and their needs, build a relationship based on trust, good communications, and consistency.

There are some large, wholesale herb houses that deal in a wide variety of culinary and botanical herbs for health food and specialty stores. They would be buying 10 to 20 pounds of certain dried herbs at one time and other varieties in 100 lb lots. If you get one of their catalogues you can pick out which products you can supply and get an idea of their prices. Assume a 100% markup.

It’s fair game to ask questions. If you get a willing person on the other end of the line and they have a few minutes to spare, ask questions about the market, about specific items, pricing, shipping, packaging and anything else you may have trouble with. People like to talk about themselves and their business. Thank the individual for their time. If they are especially helpful you can send them a thank you card or small present. That way you can call them back again sometime and they’ll be willing to talk again. They may become a resource person for you and even perhaps a good customer.

6. Brokers - There are herb brokers working at the wholesale level who will sell your herbs to the appropriate buyers for a commission to Commissions can range from 7 - 20%, depending on how much work the broker has to do and this may be negotiable. The brokers will deal with customs, taxes, shipping, invoicing and many other details of the transaction. This can be an attractive option, since you can then concentrate on the growing and processing.

As with any other type of customer you need to ge to know their needs and their business style. If you can offer a quality product in the right price range and prompt delivery of the quantities ordered, the broker can satisfy his customer and will be happy to work with you again. Be open and honest The more information they have about you, the better they can represent you. If you don’t like the style or personality of the broker, just look around for another one that matches your character a bit better.

C. Conclusions

The basic rules of marketing apply to all your sales calls, whether they are phone calls, personal visits or trade show exhibits. Treat the customers with respect, find out their needs and try to fill them. Marketing is meant to be a win-win situation. You are not trying to fool or cheat anyone, you are trying to help them to stock their store or warehouse with a quality product at a competitive price.

Remember you want that customer to call back and reorder, so you must do everything you can to keep them happy and confident that they have made a good decision in ordering from you. Work with the customer, be flexible, be willing to take back unsatisfactory merchandise, adjust your packaging to meet their needs, they are your partners in business, not your adversaries or victims.

It’s a common problem to over sell, to get an order much bigger than your whole year’s harves and we all know the problems of under selling, too much stock left at the end of the season. Controlled growth is critical in any developing business or industry. Since we are just starting to work on the herb business in Alberta, we need to exert some caution and grow our industry carefully and competently so that we represent the new industry to the market in the best light. Cooperative action is very helpful, for information sharing, pooling the harvest to access the larger buyers and pooling resources like machinery.

Marketing is mostly common courtesy and common sense with a large part of persistence thrown in. It’s not easy but it is a skill that can be learned, practised and perfected. If you find you don’t enjoy or do well at this part of the business, then hire some one to do it for you, just keep close tabs on what’s going on so you don’t end up working for them! You may find that you are your own best salesman because you have the knowledge base to communicate confidence to the buyer even though you may not be a glib salesman. If you enter into it with an open mind and a straightforward approach, you will most likely learn to succeed as you go along. Good luck.

CULINARY HERBS - FRESH AND DRIED

The market for culinary herbs is potentially very large. It may be economically feasible to grow herbs year round in a green house, but this requires some study, and careful management - something to work towards. The simplest entry into this market is for fresh product during the summer, and dried product the rest of the year. There is a high demand for many herbs that are very easy to grow and handle.

There are also many plants grown for medicinal uses. We call these botanicals. This would include such things as Raspberry leaves, Red Clover Flowers, Birch leaves, plantain root, and so on. The herbalists, and health food stores are another whole market segment that we have not approached yet. This may be yet another promising area for research and development. See the Medicinal Herbs information package.

DEMAND

There is a high demand for fresh herbs for the restaurant trade, local farmer's markets and specialty produce stores. Supplying fresh herbs will be easiest for growers who live close to their market and who are willing to make regular deliveries every week or every second week.

PICKING

Fresh herbs should be picked when the leaves are dry, without rain or dew on them. Do not wash the plants. Pack loosely in clean plastic bags. If you poke a few holes in the plastic bag, this will help the plants to breathe and they will last longer in the fridge. A mulch around the growing plants may reduce the amount of soil on the leaves and reduce the need for washing. Mint is especially bad for holding soil on the leaves.

Dried herbs are of most use if they are picked on whole stems and bundled like flowers for drying. These can be tied into wreaths, used in basket arrangements and several other decorator items. The longer the stem, and the less processed the plant is, the more useful it will be. Once it is broken down to loose leaves there are less potential markets for it. The loose leaves that fall off the herbs when processing and those that are dried as loose leaf for packaging, will be made into bulk or consumer packages for culinary purposes. This is a highly competitive market and we do not have the volume to be effective in this area, but it could be a larger part of our business over time.

Second grade leaves and stems can still be used in potpourri and for making fire starters. Since all parts of the plants are fragrant, these are very useful to us.

PURCHASING

Herbs are usually purchased by weight. The rare, or high demand ones have the highest price while the common and easy to grow types will be lower priced. Dried herbs are proportionately more expensive than fresh.

CULTIVATION

Many herbs are from the mint family, Labiatae. All of these will be easy to propagate from cuttings, or layering. They will have square stems in cross section, and labiate (like tiny snapdragons) flowers. Seeds are produced freely and should be collected for next year's sales.

To be safe, grow the varieties you are familiar with, or that you know will grow well in your area, and try only a few experiments at one time. A large volume of one type is easier to handle than small volumes of many types.

Many herbs do better if kept well watered, and in full sun. The flavour comes from the aromatic oils in the leaves, and these will be most developed in healthy, vigorous plants. Most herbs change flavour once they go to flower, so try to collect the leaves before this happens. Repeated shearing of plants like mint and oregano can delay flowering until late in the summer. An application of nitrogen fertilizer in mid summer can also help to keep the plants producing leaves rather than flowers.

HERBS - FRESH AND DRIED

Anise Hyssop. Agastache foeniculum. Giant Blue Hyssop. Perennial. Native Plant. Mint family. Direct seed. Could be fall planted. Can be propagated from root divisions or stem cuttings. Licorice scented leaves used in desserts and dried in tea and for medicinal uses. Harvest leafy stems before flowering. Flower stalks are attractive, blue, and can be collected for ornamental uses. Harvest when they are firm and well filled and hang to dry. Seeds are valuable and produced prolifically, collect these too. This plant is highly recommended as it is a multi purpose plant. You can sell the leaves, fresh or dried, the plant divisions, the flowers fresh or dried, the seeds and even the stems.

Basil. Ocimum basilicum. Basil is a tender annual in the Mint family. There are many varieties and a very high demand for all types. You can direct seed in late May and repeat plantings are recommended. Transplants are quicker starts but they are susciptible to fungal stem rot (Fusarium) while still in the seeding tray. For an organic fungicide, try mixing crushed stems of Horsetail (Equisetum - a common weed) into the soil, or making a tea from Horsetails and use this to water the basil weekly, while in the seeding trays and after transplanting into the garden. Horsetails contain a natural fungicide which will not affect the edible qualities of the basil.

Basil likes warmer temperatures, medium moist, rich soil and slightly dryer conditions to hold back the fungus. It needs protection from the hottest mid-summer sun, and is also very frost sensitive. If you direct seed into the garden, try covering the earliest plantings with a row cover for a quicker start. The row cover will increase the temperature around the plants, improving germination and growth. Later in the season you can put a white sheet over the tunnel and use it to shade the same rows. Sun scorched basil has a bronze sheen on the leaves. Use the tunnel again at the end of the season to protect from frost.

Use a mulch such as straw or newspaper around the bottoms of the plants and between rows to keep the plants as clean as possible. You do not want to have to wash the plants after harvesting.

Don't let the plants go to flower. They will stop producing useful leaves, and the flavor is not as good. Fertilize every few weeks with a light dose of nitrogen. Don't drought stress the plants. The fungal stem rot can also create a stress that makes the plant flower too soon. You can sometimes cut the flowering stems off and make the plant go back to leafy growth, but this doesn't always work.

The standard variety, called Sweet Basil, has the highest demand. Try Green Ruffles, and Purple Ruffles, showy but less fragrant. Lettuce Leaf Basil is very popular, as are purple leaved types. There is also Mammoth Basil, Cinnamon Basil, Lemon Basil, and many more. It is worth experimenting with new types, but stay away from small leaved varieties, there's not enough yield. Look for interesting flavours, leaf shapes or colors.

For fresh herb, pick leafy tops of stems every 2 - 3 weeks. Alternatively, you can plant enough seed so that you can harvest the whole plant from several rows each week. Plant enough area to give you continuous yield. Don't wash the leaves. Pack loosely in a plastic bag and store in a cool place, but not in the fridge.

Basil is not as good dried as fresh, but there is still high demand for dried product. For drying, pick small bundles of 10 - 15 stems, tie tightly with a rubber band and hang to dry or lay stems and leaves out on a cardboard flat or basket. Once dry, pack the leaves and bundles away in a plastic bag so they stay dry.

Basil is a very high demand crop. It is a bit difficult to grow for beginners, but we have had good results recently, so don't give up.

Borage. Borago officinalis. Annual. Direct seed. Repeat plantings. Can be planted in late fall and again in early spring. Self sows. Young leaves have a light cucumber flavor. Mature flowers used fresh in salads. Easy.

Caraway. Carum carvi.

Catnip. Nepeta cataria. Perennial. Very easy from direct seeding, transplants or cuttings. Mint family. Used as a cat treat, and sometimes for tea. For these herbal uses, collect leafy, non-flowering stems in small bunches. Tie with a rubber band and hang to dry. Can be sold fresh or dried as a cat treat at the farmer's market and at pet shops. Catnip has attractive flower stalks/seed heads, too. When the flower stalks develop a purple blush, pick 10 - 15 flowering stalks per bundle and hang to dry. Produces seed prolifically, so collect this from more mature stems. There is a good demand for catnip for cat treats and some creative marketing to pet shops could increase sales quite a bit. Catmint is not the same as catnip, choose the true catnip.

Chamomile. Matricaria chamomilla. Annual. Try direct seeding in late fall or early spring. Self Sows. Fragrant flower heads are dried for tea. Lay out to dry and pack in clean plastic bags when completely dry.

Chervil. Anthriscus. Umbelliferae. Dill family. Similar to parsley, but more distinct flavor. Young leaves are used in soups and salads. Collect leafy stems before flowers appear. Direct seed fall, early spring and repeatedly through to July. Can save seed from over mature plants.

Chives. Allium schoenoprasum. Perennial. Easy from seed, but usually grown from divisions. High volume used for restaurants, but price is low. Easy to harvest early in season before flower stalks appear. Some flowers mixed with leaves is good because the flowers are edible too. Cut whole plant low to ground and allow to grow back fully before recutting. Can get 3 - 4 cuts through summer. Tie handfuls with a rubber band for easier handling. Does not dry well, unless cut into small pieces and quick dried in a worm spot.

Coriander. Cilantro. Coriandrum sativum. Unbelliferae. Dill family. Direct seed. Try fall planting, then repeat sowings from early spring to late July. Popular in Mexican and Chinese cooking often called Chinese parsley. Cut leafy stems frequently before flowers set. Better fresh than dried. Could be high volume for restaurants but the price is low, like parsley. Can save seed from over mature plants.

Epazote. Wormseed. Chenopodium ambrosioides. Related to Lamb's Quarters. Strong scented foliage used for Mexican cooking. (Nichol's Seeds)

Dill. Anethum vulgare. Umbelliferae. Direct seed. Can be planted in fall. Will self sow. Should be repeat planted every two weeks from early spring until end of July or later. Best quality for herb use is the leafy, young stems, 6 - 8" tall, before flowers appear. Pick handfuls and tie loosely with a rubber band for easier handling. Aphids can be a problem, but mostly on older plants. Try spraying with water before harvesting. Try getting rid of ants near the garden to reduce aphids. Very high demand, regular supply needed. Also good dried. Save seed.

Edible Flowers. Many flowers are edible, and this is a high demand product for restaurants and specialty stores. Flowers should be of best quality with no bruises, spots, insects or insect damage. Fully opened or almost fully opened flowers are best, rather than buds. Flowers should be picked with a short stem (l" is OK) just to make them last longer in storage and easier to handle in the restaurant. These are mostly used in salads and as garnishes. The size is important. Flowers should be about 3/4" across, not too small and not too large.

The following list is not exclusive, there are many more types that are edible. Alfalfa, Bachelor Buttons, Begonia, Borage, Calendula, Carnation, Dianthus, Geranium, Herb flowers, Marigold, Nasturtium leaves and flowers, Pansy (very good), Peony, Phlox, Rose, Schizanthus, Snapdragons, Stocks, Sunflower petals or small flowers, Sweet Rocket, Sweet William, Tulip, Viola.

Some flowers are definitely toxic, don't pick these: Monkshood, Pyrethrum, any Solanum (potato family), Foxglove, Lupine, Morning Glory. Other flowers, while not toxic, just don't taste very good, Feverfew, Poppies, or have poor texture, yarrow, globe thistle. Handle these flowers with special care. Pick best quality, clean flowers with no water on them. Pack in a plastic bag or rigid plastic box like the ones at the bakery. Keep hydrated with a moistened paper towel in the bottom of the box. Don't store too long before delivery.

Fennel. Foeniculum vulgare dulce. Umbelliferae. Dill family. Annual. Easy from seed. Harvest the bulbous crown of the plant. The leaf petioles make a solid round base used in soups and salads. Fairly high priced. Fresh leaves used as a herb also. Common one is green, but try Bronze or Florence Fennel.

Garlic. Allium sativum. Very high volume. Very good if picked with leaves still on for braiding. Plant individual cloves in broad bands 5 - 6 cloves wide, rather than single rows. Garlic needs to be cured in the sun, or a warm place to harden off the bulb and prevent sprouting. Braids can be dried and decorated with herbs, peppers, and flowers later. Don't use Elephant garlic. Best to plant in the fall, September or October, to get good growth before winter and large bulbs next year. Can also be planted very early in the spring. Even small bulbs are useful for ornamental purposes.

Garlic Chives. Allium tuberosum. Perennial. Popular with Chinese restaurants. Harvest leaves like chives. Propagate from divisions.

Horseradish. Armoracia rusticana. Perennial. Fleshy roots in high demand. Easy from seed or root sections. Roots can be cut and crown replanted to maintain stock. Takes 2 - 3 years for large roots. Smaller, fine roots 1/2 - 3/4" diameter, are better quality and higher demand. Roots must be washed and cut into sections no more than 12", packed in plastic bags. Handle like a fresh herb.

Juniper Berries. Juniperus spp. Used in cooking wild game. Collect full, blue berries, from almost any type of juniper bush. Native types are more authentic. Rinse and dry on a flat tray.

Lavender. Lavendula vera. Perennial. Mint family. Many types. Try Munstead, English Lavender, Provence Lavender, Sweet Lavender. A new variety in Stokes, Lavender Lady, may be good. Not very winter hardy, can dry out and freeze over winter. Grow in protected sites, not subject to early spring thaws, east facing rather than south facing. Mulch well and water in fall, and don't cut the plant down too short. Easy from seed. Can propagate from stem cuttings. Plants will increase in size over several years. Harvest flower spikes, leaves and stems for use in potpourri and arrangements. Clean, organic flowers can be used in cooking. Recommended. An disease epicemic in the English lavender fields has greatly reduced their supply of lavender and so buyers are looking for other sources, and the price may increase.

Lemon Balm. Melissa officinalis. Mint family. Easy from seed. Can be propagated from stem cuttings. Perennial. Fresh leaves strongly lemon scented. Dried leaves good for tea. Fresh used in salad and soup. Harvest fresh, leafy stems.

Mint. Mentha. Perennial. Many kinds of mint. Almost all are useful for something. Spearmint (Mentha spicata) is the most commonly used in cooking. It has a spear shaped, lanceolate leaf. Peppermint (M. piperita vulgaris) is less popular, but it makes a very nice tea. It has a round, often fuzzy leaf with a scalloped margin.

Fancy types of mint are in high demand; Orange mint (M. piperita citrata), Apple mint, Ginger Mint, Pineapple Mint and so on. Not all of these mints will be hardy in Alberta. Take cuttings or whole plants inside for winter if you want to save them. Look for variegated foliage, and different leaf shapes, but stay away from small leaved varieties like pennyroyal.

Mint can be started from seed, but it cross pollinates freely, so if you want a certain variety you must propagate from root divisions, root sections and stem sections from a known variety.

The plants are very invasive, spreading by underground stolons. Mints enjoy cooler soil and more soil moisture than most plants. Try segregating an area just for mint, where it can fill the bed freely, and you can cultivate around the edges only if you want to control it. Mint will grow in low, moist areas where other plants will not.

Collect fresh leafy stems and pack loosely into a plastic bag. Mint leaves are often carrying some soil on the tiny hairs on the undersides of the leaves. You may need to wash mint. Use at least two rinses. Use a good heavy mulch of straw or paper to avoid this problem.

For drying, tie handfuls into small bundles with a rubber band and hang to dry. Loose leaves and small stems can be laid out to dry in a flat pan or basket. Lower grades can be used in potpourri.

Spearmint is a high volume crop, both fresh and dried. If you have an appropriate spot in the garden, we recommend you plant some mint.

Oregano. Origanum vulgare. Perennial. Standard herb. Many types of oregano available in the seed catalogues. Greek Oregano (O. heracleoticum) is the true oregano. Try Kalitera Oregano, Italian oregano, or any others. Stay away from dwarf or small leafed varieties, these are too much work for small yield. Look for variegated or fancy varieties. Older plants will produce tall flower stalks, very good for drying for decorative uses. High volume. Will start easily from seed, but fine seed is difficult to work with. Transplants for first year is a good way to start.

Marjoram, Sweet. Origanum majorana. Annual. Mint family. Very fine seed, so transplants are more reliable. Very popular herb. Seed heads on stems dry well in bundles for decorative uses. Very fragrant. Will do better in rich soil and full sun for better flavor. High volume. Harvest leafy stems before flowers appear. Try direct seeding in a finely textured seed bed for taller, more bushy plants.

Parsley. Petroselinum crispum. Biennial. Umbelliferae. Dill family. Standard types used in high volume, but price is low. Try to get volume and efficiency up to still make money at low market prices. Try fancier varieties for a higher price. Curled leaf types are good, and Italian Parsley is a good seller. Easy from direct seed. Try repeat plantings.

Perilla/Shiso. Perilla frutescens. Decorative foliage, related to Coleus. Mint family. Cinnamon scented leaves for Chinese cooking and garnishes. Easy to grow. Direct seed or start indoors and transplant.

Rosemary. Rosmarinus officinalis. Standard type. Not hardy. Woody. Similar to lavender. Look for winter hardy new varieties. Sheltered location. Bring plants inside over winter. High demand. Leafy stems can be dried in bundles for decorative uses. Not recommended for Alberta growers but could be a candidate for greenhouse cultivation.

Sage. Salvia officinalis. Perennial. Mint family. Can be direct seeded, but this is very slow. Use transplants or divisions for faster establishment. Try also stem cuttings. Sage is a standard herb, with good demand, and there is a high demand for the fancier varieties, especially pineapple sage, tricolor sage (for garnishes), purple sage, golden sage (variegated). Some of these specialty types may not be completely hardy.

All sage plants should be well mulched and watered for winter. Will grow well in full sun, and will increase in size over time, spreading by underground runners and side shoots. Will produce viable seed that can also be collected for sale. Can be planted in a large bed, rather than in rows.

Harvest leafy stems and pack loosely in a plastic bag. Do not wash. Use mulch to keep leaves clean. Can be made into small bundles for hanging to dry. Useful in garlic braids and herb wreaths. Very good dried too.

Salad Burnet. Poterium sanguisorba. Annual. Direct Seed. Nut-cucumber flavored leaves used in salads, mayonnaise, soup, etc.

Savory. Summer Savory. Satureia hortensis. Annual. Easy from seed. Will self sow. Can be fall planted. Can make several cuts from tops of plants throughout season. Stems can be bundled for drying for use later. Recommended.

Savory. Winter Savory. Satureia montana. Perennial. Strong flavor. Needs winter protection.

Sorrel, French. Rumex acetosa. Perennial. Direct seed in early spring or fall. Seed heads look like Dock. Lemon flavored leaves very good in salad and soups, and with fish. Collect young tender leaves repeatedly through spring until flower stalks develop, and again in late fall. Try Profusion, new from Richter's, said to be slow bolting. Not suitable for drying.

Sweet Rocket. Hesperis matronalis. Biennial. Self sows. Easy from seed. Can be fall planted. Young leaves used in salads. Early spring flowers are edible. Collect seed too. Not good for drying.

Tarragon, French. Artemesia dracunculus. Perennial. (Sage family). This is the true tarragon which does not reproduce from seed. Can propagate from stem cuttings or layering. Identified by the strong flavor, dark green leaves, and lack of seed production. High demand. Does not dry well.

Tarragon, Russian. Artemesia dracunculus. Perennial. not recommended. Not much flavour. Spreads easily. This is a taller plant, with pale green leaves, which sets seeds freely. Easy to distinguish from the true, French Tarragon.

Thyme. Thymus vulgaris. Perennial. Common garden thyme, English thyme, all are good. Mother of Thyme is not very flavorful, but could be used in potpourri. Lemon thyme is in high demand, as is variegated thyme. Experiment with new varieties. Stay away from creeping varieties, too hard to pick, and wooly thyme is not good either. Individual plants can grow to very large size over several years but they do not develop into something that can be divided. Propagate from cuttings, layering or from seed. Transplants recommended in the first year. Use a mulch to keep the stems and leaves clean. Collect leafy stems into plastic bags. Good as a dried herb too.

Seed Sources: l. Stokes Seeds, Box 10 St. Catharines Ontario L2R 6R6 1-800-263-7233 2. Richter's, Goodwood, Ontario L0C 1A0 1-905-640-6677 3. Nichol's Garden Nursery, 1190 North Pacific Highway, Albany, Oregon USA 97321-4598 4. Blooming Prairie, 10351 76 Avenue Edmonton AB T6E 4P4 ph 403 431 1451 fax 403 433 6440 Email blooming@oanet.com Plant Plugs 5. Hi-Q Greenhouses, R.R. l, Morinville, AB T0G 1P0 403 939-7490 BLOOMING PRAIRIE/HERBS/1997

British Columbia Flowers

West of the Rocky Mountains the ecosystems change drastically and there is a whole new spectrum of flowers and plant materials that can be collected from the wild or grown in the home garden.

The same general rules apply for harvesting with care, handling, quality control, shipping and so on. The following are again, only guidelines for the types of flowers that can be dried. It is worthwhile to experiment.

Almost all of the flowers that grow in Alberta, will also grow in BC, so look carefully at the packages "Flowers for Drying" and "Herbs".

The following are plants that can only be found in BC:

Broom. Very plentiful in some parts of BC. Pick in winter when there are no leaves on the stems. Choose bright green stems, with good form, no more than 3' long. 15 - 20 stems/bundle.

Celosia. Very frost sensitive, so may be better grown in BC. 7 - 8 plumosa stems/bundle. 3 - 4 cristata heads/Bundle.

Cones. Large cones from pine (not spruce) or unusual cones, very small, or very large will be saleable. Pine cones must be unbroken and with good color and shape. Ponderosa Pine Cones are very good sellers. Try also White Pine (also called Bull Pine), Australian Pine, any pine with medium sized cones, and some small cones, like white or black spruce. Alder cones are also useful as are fir cones.

Gomphrena. May grow taller and for a longer season in BC. Worth experimenting with.

Herbs. Many herbs grow better in BC. Collect flowering stems and bundle to hang dry. Clean leaves, without chemicals can be dried for cooking. Try Oregano, Sage, Rosemary, Catnip, Rue, Lavender.

Horsetails. Equisetum. Giant horsetails sometimes found. 25 stems/bundle.

Hydrangea. Very good product and high demand. Collect whole flower clusters on 6 - 8" stems, or longer, in September, after the flowers are fully mature, and starting to dry on the plant, but before fall rains begin. Water on the petals will cause browning, and result in poor quality. Lay out to dry and pack into a box when completely dry.

Lavender. Grows much better in BC. Collect tall flower spikes when in full bloom, with color all the way to the end. Leaves, stems and old flowers are still fragrant and can be used in potpourri. Seed is valuable. 35 stems per bundle. Leaves and stems purchased by weight.

Moss. Green sheet moss. Fresh or dried, packed in plastic bags. Fresh moss must be shipped right away. Otherwise, dry it out and pack in cardboard boxes for shipping. Purchased by weight or volume.

Pearly Everlasting Pick in early flower bud stage, before flower opens. 25 stems/bundle.

Rose. Many roses in BC. All stages are useful, buds, open flowers, petals, heads only, flowers on stems, even rose hips. Hang roses to dry in small bundles. Lay out petals and buds to dry. Petals bought by weight.

Rosemary. Won't grow at all in Alberta. Collect stems into bundles. Loose leaves can be used as a cooking herb, bought by dry weight.

Salal. Grows like a weed in some parts of BC. Very nice dried and fresh. 15 - 20 stems. Large volume crop.

Strawflowers. These will produce larger flowers in South BC because of the longer day length and the longer summer. Same prices and handling as Alberta strawflowers.

Tropicals. Some parts of BC, especially Vancouver and the east side of the island have a very unique climate and will allow cultivation of some exotic plants. Some of these will be interesting and useful as dried flowers.

Good luck

See also the "Annual and Perennial Flowers for Drying" information package.

Plant Pest and Diseases

Plant diseases are often symptoms of other environmental or cultural problems. When the plant is in a weakened state it is more likely to succumb to the ravages of a disease that it can usually resist. The first control for plant disease is to make sure the plant is well fertilized, growing in appropriate light and water conditions, and a suitable environment. Even under good conditions, however, disease can occur. Here are a few of the most common and troublesome types.

Damping Off

Everyone who has ever started plants from seed will be familiar with this problem. Damping off is caused by several common soil fungi including Phytophthora spp., Pythium spp. and Rhizoctonia spp. Normally, the plant can resist these fungi, but often, in the bedding plant trays, there is too much moisture at the soil surface, the temperature is too warm or too cold, and the plants are weakened from insufficient light. Most commonly the soil is too wet.

There are chemical fungicides to control damping off, however, cultural practices are more practical and less toxic and expensive.

Powdery Mildew

This is a common problem later in the summer when the air is dry. Powdery mildew is caused by a fungus, Erisyphe spp. which prefers dry conditions. It appears as a white powdery deposit on the leaves, often mistaken for white paint spots. It is not usually of economic importance, unless the fungus completely covers the leaves, preventing light absorption. It is common on Delphinium and shade loving plants, as well as currants, and roses. It can cause leaf curling and deformation of fruit and flowers as well as being unsightly on leaves.

One home remedy suggests a mixture of 1 tbsp dishwashing liquid with 2 - 3 tablespoons of baking soda in a gallon of water. Cultural controls could include moving the plants to a more hospitable site, and increasing the moisture level around the plants by hosing them down frequently. The disease overwinters in the soil so it will reappear every year unless some control measures are put in place.

Sclerotinia

This fungus attacks stems and flower heads of many plants including sunflowers. It produces a soft, rotted area in the stem that is easy to break. It can also invade the heads of sunflowers. If the plant doesn't fall right over, and the fungus has the opportunity to mature it will produce hard, black sclerotia, like small stones inside the plant tissues. These sclerotia drop to the ground and produce the spores for next year's infection. They can remain in the soil for several years. The best control for this disease is crop rotation, as it will not attack graminaceous (grass type) plants like wheat or barley.

Aster Yellows

This has been a serious problem for growers of flowers in recent years. It is caused by a mycoplasma, a virus-like organism that can be spread by mechanical damage (tools that break the leaves can carry infectious particles), or by insects, usually sucking or chewing insects that transmit the disease through their mouthparts. The mycoplasma must enter the plant through a wound, but it can be a very small wound. It is extremely easy to transmit and spreads rapidly through a field. It has a very wide host range and will infect most common, non-graminaceous, plants like canola, asters, marigolds, mustards, statice, strawflowers, delphinium, and many more.

It can overwinter in the soil in plant debris, and in infected plants. It is especially problematic on perennial plants as there is no treatment for the disease. The symptoms include a yellowing of the leaves and stems, extreme vertical, upright growth of stems that are usually more curved, and stunted stems and leaves.

The only control is to remove affected plants and burn them or dispose of them away from the field. Do not add these to your compost pile. Wash tools, hands and boots after working with these diseased plants. Early detection is important as is swift action. Crop rotations may be effective.

Stem Rot, Root Rot

Many plants are susceptible to a variety of fungal pathogens that attack at the soil level or just below the soil line. Often, environmental factors are important, the soil is too wet, too dry, too compacted, or there is a heavy infestation of fungal spores already in the soil from last year. Rotate your crops. Basil is especially susceptible to stem rot organisms, and almost always will show symptoms as a withering and darkening of the stem just above the soil line. The fungus attacks the stem vessels and impairs the plant's ability to transport water and nutrients up to the leaves and down to the roots, eventually strangling the plant.

Try this home remedy for root and stem rots including damping off. Horsetails (Equisetum) are said to contain a natural fungicide. Try making a tea from a handful of equisetum stems in a gallon of water. Soak overnight and use this to water your plants. You could also mix dried, crushed horsetail stems into your potting soil for the bedding plants. You could also allow the horsetails to grow in your basil patch.

Other Problems

There are many nutrient deficiencies common in plants. Low nitrogen give a yellow, weak plant, low phosphorus causes brown blotches on the leaves. Low potassium can cause problems in tomato fruits and bud and fruit set in many plants. Micronutrient deficiencies are even more varie d but easily remedied by an application of complete fertilizer.

Plant Pests

One of the many challenges of gardening and farming is the wide variety of insect and animal pests that can attack your favorite plants. Sometimes the damage is minimal and the plants survive with a few tattered leaves. Other times, however, the damage is more severe and can be of economic significance if you are producing a crop for sale. Here are a few of the most common pests that affect the growth and development of flower and herb crops in Alberta.

Aphids

Aphids can be identified by their color, usually the same green as the plants they are chewing on, but also found in black, orange and yellow. They pierce the plant's epidermis and suck out the nutritious plant sap. Well fed aphids will excrete the excess nutrients and sugars as a sticky sap, honeydew, which ants will collect. It is commonly believed that the ants protect the aphids from insect predators and so perpetuate the infestation on our plants. If you can remove the ants, you may also solve the aphid problem.

Try spraying with soapy water. The soap disrupts their thin skin membranes and they burst. There are various chemicals registered for control of aphids, but very few of them are recommended for use on our ornamental crops. Spray the soil around the plants at the same time as the leaves. The aphids leap off the plants to save themselves and crawl back up the stems later when you're not looking.

Tarnished Plant Bugs

These are burnished brown, shield shaped bugs, that actually chew on leaves and young growing tips of plants. They cause problems, just because of the physical damage they do, but they can also spread diseases from plant to plant on their mouthparts. The bugs over winter in the soil in an immature form so you can get an increase in the population from year to year if you don't control it. This may be one insect that requires a chemical spot control.

Caterpillars

There are several types of caterpillars that eat leaves, stems, growing tips and various other parts of our plants. The best control for caterpillars is a toxin produced by a common bacteria, Bacillus thuringensis. The bacteria is now cultured in huge vats and the toxin isolated and purified so that it can be used in many formulations. Once sprayed on the leaves, the toxin is ingested by the caterpillars and it prevents them from digesting their food normally. The little devils starve to death within a few days. One application at the right time can remove most of the pests, but for a serious infestation try a repeat application after a week. The B.t. toxin is not harmful to humans, only caterpillars. It is available at garden centres under various trade names. Read the labels on the containers to find one with B. thuringensis toxin.

Gardening with Native Alberta Plants

Gardening can sometimes be defined as cultivating species of flowers, vegetables or trees that do not commonly occur in your back yard. The challenge is often to find plants that will survive our Canadian winters and the rigours of our back yard environments including drought or shade. When you use plants native to your area you can eliminate many of the hazards of gardening, because you can be sure the plants will be cold tolerant and definitely hardy in your conditions. The only challenge with growing native plants, then, would be to choose the varieties and species that best suited your needs for colour, fragrance, shade or growth habit. It is often the case that native plants grown under the more generous and fertile conditions of the home garden will produce longer stems, larger and more numerous flowers and be much more beautiful than they were in their original locations.

Provenance

True native plant enthusiasts can be very particular about the "provenance" of a species. This is the geographic area that a species occupies in the wild. If you could compare the genetics of a yarrow plant from the Edmonton area and a yarrow plant from Nelson BC, you would see that there are significant differences in their genetic codes. For the purists, bringing that yarrow plant from BC to plant in an Edmonton garden would be polluting the gene pool of the Edmonton yarrow plants. The Edmonton yarrow has provenance over it's geographic location in a circle about 100 km wide.

For many gardeners, the idea of provenance is too restricting and they choose plants from far away locations on purpose. It is still valid to grow a Brown Eyed Susan from southern Alberta in your Edmonton garden, but you're not really following the rules of true native plant gardening. Despite the purists, however, there are thousands of species of plants growing wild in many different ecosystems across Alberta that will thrive in the home garden and bring you many years of pleasure. If at all possible, try to use plants and seeds from local sources. This is especially important in large plantings and for restoration or reclamation projects.

Starting Plants

If you want to start your own native plant garden or use some native plants in your existing landscape, you can find source materials in your nearby forest or roadside. There is an environmental problem with collecting seeds or plants from the wild, however, so be sure to follow the rules.

1. You should never dig up a plant from the wild to transplant to your garden. The only exception to this would be if the area was slated to be bulldozed for a road or dam site or other non environmentally friendly activity. Often, these transplanted plants don't survive the move anyway, as they are not acclimated to your garden conditions. You are much better off to start your own plants from seeds so that they are well conditioned to your garden and your style of gardening.

2. Collecting seeds for propagation is much more environmentally friendly than digging up plants. Never collect more than 1/10 of any stand of seeds. The remainder of the seeds are for the perpetuation of the species in the wild, and for the animals and insects to consume.

Species Selection

Deciding which species or families of plants to look for can be the hard part, as well as the most entertaining part. Your best resource will be a good field guide on native plants of Alberta. Choose one with clear photographs or line drawings and descriptions of a broad range of plants so you can become familiar with the wide variety of plants you will no doubt encounter on your search.

Often you can narrow the selection criteria by defining an ecosystem you wish to copy or create in your back yard. A dryland rock garden could include native Opuntia cactus (Opuntia polyacantha), Dotted Blazing Star (Liatris punctata), and maybe some Creeping Juniper (Juniperus horizontalis). A boreal forest habitat could include the beautiful blue lungwort (Mertensia), Shining Arnica (Arnica fulgens), and Giant Anise Hyssop (Agastache foeniculum). Of course you can always just add native plants to your existing landscape design, without trying to recreate a whole ecosystem. Keep in mind where the plants grow naturally to guide you on the best placement of these beauties in your yard.

Here's a list of native Alberta wildflowers that would be easy to find and easy to cultivate in the garden.

ANNUALS

Brown Eyed Susan. Rudbeckia hirta. Bright yellow petals surrounding a dark brown or black centre on 30 cm stems. Easy from seed and will self sow. Can even get invasive in a small garden. This species is very good for acreage wild flower gardens where you want to establish wildflowers over a large area. Flowers in mid summer.

Great Flowered Gaillardia. Gaillardia aristata. Similar to brown eyed susans, but the petals are yellow with bright red or orange marks in the centre. Easy from seed.

Fireweed. Epilobium angustifolia. Tall, to 1 m, spikes of purple flowers in mid to late summer. Very attractive to bees and butterflies. Fireweed has some medicinal properties as well. This is another invasive plant and will spread rapidly from year to year under the right conditions. It does best in partial shade, and will produce shorter stems in full sun.

PERENNIALS

Start perennials from seed any time from April to October. You can also start them indoors in March, but this seems like more trouble than necessary when they are so easy to start outdoors. Many native plants, both annuals and perennials do best when seeded in the fall. This gives them a cold treatment over the winter and they germinate very well the following spring. Just be careful to keep them in trays or pots, or in a clearly marked spot in the garden so you will find them again in the spring.

Anemone. This is a large family with many interesting members. Anemone patens is the well know purple prairie crocus that blooms early in the spring and Anemone canadensis the Canada anemone is a very pretty white flower on 20 cm stems, very good for full or partial shade.

Asters. Again, this is a big family with many interesting flowers, mostly flowering late in the summer and fall. The common blue aster (Aster laevis), has purple petals around a yellow centre, on tall 30 - 35 cm stems. Aster pansus has a multitude of white flowers with yellow centres on 20 - 25 cm stems.

Buffalo Beans. Thermopsis rhombifolia. This is a low growing (10 - 15 cm) legume producing bright yellow pea like flowers in early summer. This is a good candidate for naturalizing in a lawn or grassy wild area.

Clematis. Clematis ligusticifolia (White) and Clematis columbiana (Purple) are very attractive vines that are very hardy and fast growing. Try them along a fence, up a tree, or trailing down a stone wall. They can be growing from cuttings, but usually seeds are easier.

Fleabane. Erigeron spp. There are many members of this family also. They produce daisy like flowers, similar to the aster, but they come in a wider range of colours including pinks and yellows. Usually shorter stems to 25 cm. Easy from seed.

Giant Anise Hyssop. Agastache foeniculum. This is a spectacular plant in the landscape, producing spikes of blue flowers on tall 50 - 60 cm stems. The blooms stay coloured for months and are particularly attractive to bees and butterflies. It is said to produce very good honey. The licorice flavoured leaves can be used in desserts and teas. Very easy from seed, cuttings or root divisions, this plant will develop into a large clump within a few years. It prefers partial shade but does very well in full sun too. A striking addition for the back of the perennial border or at the edge of the trees.

Goldenrod. Solidago canadensis. For some people Goldenrod is too much like a weed to be able to enjoy it in the garden. For large gardens or acreage wild flower fields, it makes an excellent late summer bloomer with bright yellow plumes that last for weeks. Easy from seed. It is persistent and will form large clumps over time. Goldenrod is often found growing alongside Aster laevis. They flower at the same time and they look very attractive together, the purple aster contrasting well with the yellow goldenrod.

Lemon Mint. Monarda fistulosa. This is a very attractive plant, fragrant, colourful and easy to grow. It will grow to 40 cm in the shade, and only 10 cm in full sun. A member of the mint family, it spreads slowly from root stolons and may also self seed. It is very attractive to bees and butterflies and can even attract hummingbirds to the larger plants. The herb is used for a pleasant lemon flavoured tea. Easy from seed.

Indian Paintbrush. Castilleja spp. There are several species of paintbrush, ranging from yellow, red and even pink tops. The colour comes from the leafy structures at the top of the stem while the actual flowers are very tiny and buried inside the leaves. The seed is also very small and difficult to germinate. There has been some thought that the plants require a host/symbiont relationship with another plant species, perhaps a tree or grass species growing in close proximity so that their roots inter twine. This has not been proven, however, and some growers have successfully produced paintbrush in containers. The tiny seed is a problem, however, and this species is not recommended for novice gardeners. Best results are from sprinkling the seed on very fine moist peat, cover with plastic and hold at 15 - 20 C until germination.

Prickly Pear Cactus. Opuntia polyacantha. This is one of Alberta's native cactus, commonly found near Drumheller and south to the Cypress Hills. It has flat, broad "stems" covered with spikes (leaves) and will produce bright yellow flowers in early spring. Moderately easy from seed and very persistent once started. Keep in a sunny, dry location.

Western Wood Lily. Lilium philadelphicum. This is the common tiger lily. Easy from seed. Do not collect plants from the wild!! It can even be bad to collect seed from the wild unless you find an especially large stand of this. The plant is in serious decline because of it's popularity with gardeners and wild flower "pickers". Once started, however, it will bloom prolifically and last for many years. It prefers slightly shaded locations but will grow in full sun. Do not cut the flowers as this removes much of the carbohydrate energy supply to the bulb and reduces the vigour of the bulb to a point where it often does not recover.

Yarrow. Achillea millefolium (Many flowered Yarrow) the common variety. Achillea ptarmic (Bridal Veil, Pearl Yarrow), larger flowers, dark green leaves. Achillea sibirica similar to A. millefolium, but with larger flower heads. All of the yarrows are very easy to grow from seed. Fall planting is best as a cold period helps germination. They will self sow and can be invasive, although this characteristic makes them very good in large wildflower plantings. Pearl Yarrow is by far the most attractive, with large white flowers. A. millefolium can be purchased as a garden plant in various pastel shades from pink, peach, mauve and red, however, the native yarrow is almost always white, although occasionally you may find a slightly pink one.

TREES AND SHRUBS

There are many beautiful and varied native woody plants for your home landscape as well. Again, these plants wood be more hardy, cold and drought tolerant, and more resistant to pests and diseases than their imported relatives. The range includes prostrate, ground huggers, shrubs, trees and even vines. Many have flowers or fruit too.

Saskatoon Berry Amelanchier alnifolia. This is the well known prairie staple, great for pies, jams and almost everything else. Get a small plant to start, Saskatoon bushes will creep underground so give them a wide area to fill or be prepared to keep them pruned to contain them.

Dwarf Birch Betula glandulosa. This is a very nice, tall shrub with dark, glossy green leaves and an attractive upright habit. Good in shade or wet areas.

Paper Birch Betula papyrifera. This well known birch is valuable for it's beautiful white stems which will look great in contrast with green evergreens or red dogwood. Easy to grow, likes extra watering in the heat of summer and going into fall.

Dogwood. Cornus stolonifera. The red twigs of dogwood make it an especially attractive part of the winter landscape. Plant it next to green evergreens or a white painted wall. Try growing this from cuttings taken from thin, young hardwood.

Silver Berry Eleagnus commutata. This is a very attractive silver bush with silver leaves and even silver berries which will create interesting contrast in the landscape. It can be invasive as it spreads by creeping roots. This character makes it especially useful for filling large areas. Grows to about 2m.

Twining Honeysuckle. Lonicera dioica. This is a very nice climber with bright orange fragrant flowers in early summer. Can be grown from cuttings or seeds. Highly recommended.

Willows. Try Pacific Willow Salix lucida, or Sandbar Willow Salix exigua, for a something interesting in the shrub border or wind break. Pacific Willow has very nice form with fine lance shaped leaves. The Sandbar Willow has an extremely upright growth habit and interesting nut brown bark on the new growth shading to a soft pink/grey on the old wood.

Gardening with native plants can be very enjoyable. It may be possible, that the right sorts of trees and shrubs will attract the native wildlife more successfully than imported varieties, so there may be other benefits to using native plants in your garden. Don't be afraid to try some new plants, you may be surprised at how wonderfully well they fit into your landscape plans. Good luck and good growing.

NATIVE AND WILD PLANTS

Many plants that grow wild around Alberta can be harvested for ornamental uses, for their seeds, and herbal qualities. Some of these are truly native Alberta plants, some are escaped garden plants, like Baby's Breath, and Tansy, and some are escaped crop plants like Reed Canary Grass. We really don't care how they got there, only that they grow in abundance, and that our collecting them will not harm the ecosystem, or endanger the environment in any way.

For truly native flowers, the rule is to pick only l/10 of any stand, leaving the remainder for seed production and for animals. DO NOT DIG UP ANY PLANTS. Be very careful how you pick these, which ones you pick, and what else you damage while you're picking. See the Alberta Native Plant Council's Guide for Collectors.

In general we don't want anything rare, we only want the types that grow in large numbers so we can get a large volume of product. The exception is for seeds. Seed of native flowers can be very valuable, especially for relatively rare types. Again, collect only l/l0 of the total stand.

Be careful of other people's property. Do not cross fences. Usually you can find more than enough to pick on unfenced open areas and along roadsides. Ask permission to collect on someone's property, usually there is not a problem.

NATIVE PLANTS, WEEDS AND FLOWERS

Anise Hyssop. Agastache foeniculum. Blue flower spikes that dry well. Grows in semi shade. Licorice scented leaves. Not usually enough volume to collect flowers, but seeds can be plentiful. Collect some seeds and grow these in your garden to assure a large harvest in the future. This is a multi purpose plant: fresh leaves for herb, dried leaves for tea, plant divisions, fresh or dried flower heads and seeds. See Seed Collectors Guide.

Aspen Poplar. Populus tremuloides. Very nice green leaves if picked early in the season before the insects eat holes in the leaves, but late enough so that leaves are stiff, with enough cellulose to dry well. Bundle in handfuls of about 4 or 5 stems, 2 - 3 feet long, and hang to dry. Very good in leafy, green wreaths, and swags. This could be a new product for us to introduce to the industry.

Baby's Breath. Gypsophila paniculata. Escaped from gardens. Same variety as cultivated, but tends to have heavier, coarser stems. Very robust. Pick only the best quality, whitest flowers. Go back to the same spot every 2 - 3 days to continue picking as the flowers are ready. Put five large stems in a bundle, or more smaller ones. You can compress fresh bundles by rolling them in newspaper, but you must open up the bundles and shake them out before hanging to dry. We will take delivery of fresh product. Worth looking for stands of this in the country. Hard to ship dry because of large volume. May be easier to ship fresh and compressed. Quality will deteriorate if the bundles are left tied up small for too long, fungus can develop and produce brown spots on the flowers. Very high volume crop. See Fresh flowers, Dried Flowers.

Cattails. Typha latifolia. Must be picked while the head is still mostly green. The top half of the head contains a huge amount of pollen. You should either strip this off or cut it right away when picking. Strip off some, but not all leaves. Bundles of l0 - 15 stems. Not a high volume crop.

Grasses. Many types of grasses.