Don’t let English ivy ‘leap’

English ivy has covered a chain link fence along our property line, but it’s also getting into a garden bed a climbing up a tree. How can I control it?

English ivy is good for covering ugly fences; not so great when it climbs up into trees.

Gardeners have a saying about English ivy: “The first year it sleeps, the second year it creeps, the third year it leaps.” It can be slow to get started, but once it gets going, it quickly leaps out of bounds.

If you are using English ivy to cover an otherwise unsightly feature or to control erosion on a slope, the Southern Living Garden Book suggests trimming the edges back with hedge shears or a rugged mower two or three times a year. Ivy growing up a fence or wall can also be sheared with a hedge trimmer to look neat.

Early winter is a good time to remove ivy that is growing up into trees. Garden expert Judy Lowe (who has penned several garden how-to books for our region) suggests cutting the vine at the base with loppers or a pruning saw. In the spring, the dead vine may fall out of the tree, or you may need to cut and pull down the dead portions.

Garden events in Middle Tennessee

Jan. 6: The Nashville African Violet Club meets at the Green Hill meets at the Green Hill Women’s Center, 10905 Lebanon Road in Mt. Juliet. For more information, contact Julie at Julie.mavity@gmail.com or 615-364-8459.

Jan. 15: Orchid Society of Middle Tennessee meets at Cheekwood with a program on Paphiopedilums. Refreshments at 6:30, and the program begins at 7 p.m. There is no admission, and the meeting is open to the public.

Jan. 15: Perennial Plant Society meets at Cheekwood’s Botanic Hall. This month’s speaker is Debbie Scales from Bates Nursery; the topic is “Preparation for the 2013 Gardening Season” focusing on new products and cultivars and pest management. Refreshments at 6:30, meeting begins at 7 p.m. It’s free, and the public invited.

Douglas Tallamy

Jan. 17: The Garden Club of Nashville welcomes Douglas Tallamy, author of Bringing Nature Home, to a community meeting at 4 p.m. at St.   George’s Episcopal Church (4715   Harding Road). Tallamy’s topic is “Native Versus Exotic: The War in Your Back Yard,” discussing the crucial role of native plants and the benefits and consequences of the plants we choose. The meeting is free and open to the public.

Feb. 20: Orchid Society of Middle Tennessee meets at CheekwoodBotanical Garden. The program is on Phalaenopsis orchids. Refreshments at 6:30, and the program begins at 7 p.m. There is no admission, and the meeting is open to the public. No admission to Cheekwood and the meeting is open to the public.

Cut winter-brown monkey grass before spring

QUESTION: The monkey grass that borders some of our beds has turned brown. If we cut it down, will it come back next spring?

One reason monkey grass is so popular in landscapes is because it’s tough. It begins to turn brown around the tips and edges this time of year and can look pretty bad by the end of winter, but it sprouts new growth in the spring.

You can mow the plants down, or clip them close to the ground. Best to do it in winter before new growth begins. If you wait too late to mow, you may clip off the tips of the new leaves. In a warm climate, you may begin seeing new growth as early as late February or early March.

Monkey grass (Liriope muscari is the botanical name; it’s also known as lily turf) can be divided in early spring. Dig it up and pull the roots apart, or cut through the clumps of roots with a sharp spade.

Something new for the library

One of the books I’ve consistently used as a reference for more than ten years is the Tennessee & Kentucky Gardener’s Guide by garden writer Judy Lowe. This fall, Cool Springs Press published a new version of the book with updated photos and more features. The subtitle is “The Best Plants for a Tennessee or KentuckyGarden,” and recommendations are based on the 2012 version of the USDA Hardiness Zone map (she says she could not have imagined recommending gardenias outdoors in our zones a few years ago, for example, but now, here they are!)

The plant-by-plant format covers annuals, bulbs, groundcovers and vines, lawngrass perennials, shrubs, trees and water gardens and still gives the when-where-how to plant information, growing tips and care, and how to use plants in the landscape. There’s also information on pruning, planting, pests and diseases, weeds, making compost, starting seeds and other gardening basics.

Keep it in mind if you’re still shopping for the gardeners on your list.

Periwinkle: Bigleaf can be a big problem

QUESTION: This vine (in the photo) is growing behind the boxwoods in front of our house. I’ve never seen it before. Is this something I should keep or get rid of?

Variegated Vinca major (bigleaf periwinkle) is a major pest plant.

Get rid of it, if you can. It looks like variegated bigleaf periwinkle (Vinca major), and left to grow on its on, will scramble and snake its way across everything in its path. This plant, considered an ornamental groundcover by some, was brought here from Europe more than three centuries ago.

It has pretty little blue or lavender pinwheel flowers in spring, but that’s not enough reason to keep it around. According to the Tennessee Exotic Pest Plant Council, the vine has crept in to open and dense canopied forest, forming mats and “extensive infestations” by vines that root at the nodes. They consider it a “significant threat” in the state, and note that it’s also considered invasive in several other southern states, and in California and the Pacific Northwest.

If your “infestation” is still fairly small, I suggest pulling it up, roots and all, if you can. You’ll probably have to pull it several times before it’s all gone. I never recommend chemical controls, but you can read what TNEPPC suggests here.

One of the nice features about the Tennessee Exotic Pest Plant Council’s web site is that they suggest alternatives for the invasive plants you might be considering for your landscape. So, instead of periwinkle, TNEPPC recommends using these natives:

Wild Blue Phlox (Phlox divaricata) and Creeping Phlox (Phlox stolonifera). Both attract bees and butterflies. Creeping phlox does best in the more acidic mountains of East Tennessee.

Several grass-like sedges make good groundcovers for shady places: Seersucker sedge (Carex plantaginea) has puckered light green leaves. Silver sedge (Carex platyphylla) has slightly puckered, light blue-green foliage. Blue wood sedge (Carex flaccosperma) has silvery blue foliage and can do well in wetter sites.

Partridgeberry (Mitchella repens) is a small creeping vine with tiny, glossy, deep green leaves, pairs of white fuzzy flowers in early June, and bright red berries. It grows in shade, and needs acid soil. Birds like it.

Golden Ragwort (Packera aurea [ Senecio aureus ]) has dark, evergreen foliage that colonizes as a groundcover and yellow flowers in early spring. Attracts bees and butterflies.

Marginal Woodfern (Dryopteris marginalis) is an evergreen fern that likes shade and moist soil.

EVENTS COMING UP

This just in: The Nashville Tree Foundation has extended the deadline for entering this year’s Big Old Tree contest. You now have until April 3 to send in information about that

One of last year’s Big Old Tree winners was a Dawn redwood: 109 inches around, 80 feet tall, with a 35-foot crown spread.

big old tree in your yard, your neighbor’s yard, or anywhere in Nashville you see an awesome tree of any species. It (and you) could be awarded honors at the annual High Tree Party, which will be held April 27 – Arbor Day – at SevierPark.

Entering is easy: Download an entry form from the Nashville Tree Foundation’s web site, or enter online. You can see past winners at the web site – a good idea to check it, to make sure the tree you enter hasn’t won in the past. There are also instructions on how to measure a big tree.

Whether you enter a tree or not, you are invited to enjoy the High Tree Party, where big tree winners will be announced, the Victor Johnson Award will be presented to the tree champion of the year, and you can enjoy tree-themed snacks.

The Perennial Plant Society’s annual sale is coming back to the Tennessee State Fairgrounds April 14, 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. There will be thousands of perennials for sale for sun and shade, all from Tennessee growers, so they’re adapted to our growing conditions. Admission is free, but PPSMT notes that the Fairgrounds has a $5 parking fee. To learn more, visit the PPSMT’s website www.ppsmt.org.

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The Herb Society of Nashville’s annual plant sale is April 21 at the Tennessee State Fairgrounds. It’s 9 a.m. – 2 p.m., but get there early to browse through 15,000 herbs (including some of those hard-to-find varieties) and talk to the Answer Ladies and all the other herb fanciers who turn out for this annual event. Look for more info at the Society’s website, www.herbsocietynashville.org and Facebook page.

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Cheekwood is celebrating its gardens all through April with a series of Cheekwood in Bloom events.

The 20^th annual Spring Art Hop is April 7. More than 20,000 candy-filled eggs will be hidden throughout the gardens for egg hunts every half-hour. There will also be music, arts and crafts and live entertainment.

Ka-Bloom! on April 14 includes at family art activity and scavenger hunt,10 a.m. – 2 p.m.; flower arranging demonstration at 10:30 a.m.; guided tour of the Robertson Ellis Color Garden at 11 a.m. Howard Pink and his Musical Garden Hoses at noon; guided tour of the Carell Dogwood Garden at 1 p.m.; and container garden demonstration at 2 p.m.

The grand opening of the Howe Garden at Cheekwood (after a million-dollar renovation) will be April 21, with activities, live music, guided tours and refreshments,10 a.m. – 2 p.m.

In honor of national Arbor Day, April 28, there will be several drop-in activities and demonstrations. By the way, Cheekwood is now a certified Level IV arboretum, with more than 120 identified species of trees.

Every Sunday in April there will be guided greenhouse tours at noon; guided museum tours at 1 p.m.; and a drawing room concert series featuring Blair School of Music at 2 p.m.

Complete details on Cheekwood in Bloom are at Cheekwood’s web site.

The trouble with winter creeper

QUESTION: A vine with dark green, oval leaves and thick woody stems is growing up through the middle of my shrubs. It seems to grow all year. What a nuisance! How can I get rid of it?

Winter creeper euonymus grows in sun or shade, can cover slopes, fences, trees, and is hard to get rid of once it's established.

It sounds like you are describing winter creeper euonymus, an evergreen that can sprawl along the ground (or on slopes, where it can help control erosion) or it can climb and attach itself to trees, walls and other surfaces with aerial roots.

You may see it described as “tough” or “aggressive,” and come to understand that to mean you’ll have a hard time getting rid of it. Indeed, it’s a non-native invasive plant, brought here from  the other side of the world in the early part of the last century. The Tennessee Exotic Pest Plant Council lists it as a “lesser threat,” but a threat nonetheless.

Cutting it down, pulling it out and digging it up are the best ways to begin the attack on winter creeper. Where digging doesn’t work, try cutting it back and applying glyphosate herbicide (such as Roundup) as a 2-percent solution (8 ounces per 3-gallon mix) in water to the stump that’s left. You’ll have to keep doing this, and you’ll have to be careful not to get the herbicide on the surrounding plants.

After the vine has been removed, the best way to keep it from returning is to keep an eye on the area and pull up individual seedlings as soon as you see them.

Small space, big harvests

Is that really possible? Maybe, and there’s a new book in the Complete Idiot’s Guide series that’s here to help. The book is The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Small-Space Gardening, and the author, Chris McLaughlin, provides quite a bit of good information on how to make the most of whatever plots or pots you have available. It’s published by Alpha Books; the price printed on the book is $19.95; at the Web site idiotsguides.com it’s listed as now $12.97.

Cover the ground, not the daffodils

QUESTION: What groundcovers can be used that will allow daffodils to come up in the spring?

Spring bulbs will grow through English ivy, but there are better groundcover choices to use.

Several plants used as groundcover permit spring-flower bulbs to grow through. Nashville-area garden specialists offer a few recommendations:

Ajuga, or bugleweed (Ajuga reptans). To some people this is a nice groundcover, to others it’s a weedy nuisance. It can be aggressive, but in the right spot it might be just what you need.

Periwinkle (Vinca minor), grows in shade, is green all year, and has pretty blue or white flowers in spring. Please note: Vinca minor is listed among the invasive exotic plants in Tennessee. Please use responsibly.

Daffodils will also push up through English ivy (Hedera helix), but because it, too, is an invasive exotic that can climb trees and displace more desired species, I would never suggest planting it in the landscape.

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March: In like a lion

I’m writing this shortly after coming up out of the basement, where we hunkered down for a few minutes Friday afternoon while a possible tornado loomed. The sound of the hail pounding down was tremendous.

I tell you this to let you know that the March Landscape & Garden Calendar, which runs the first Saturday of each month in The Tennessean, starts up again March 3. I say there that meteorologist Bobby Boyd has told us to expect a turbulent spring. Nevertheless, it’s time to get out into the garden again. Look here for the story; go here for a .pdf version of the calendar.

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The Nashville Lawn & Garden Show is this weekend, 10 a.m. – 8 p.m. today (March 3); 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. tomorrow.