By Charlie Stebbins An “Arboretum” is an outdoor “tree museum,” open to the public and offering a verdant sanctuary of quiet and beauty. With forests worldwide threatened by development, invasive pests, diseases, and plants, plus poor management practices, the need for quality “arboreta” was never so pressing. Fortunately, the expanding community of tree-loving enthusiasts grows increasingly strong! Check out oaklawnct.com for more information. Arboreta have been around since Roman times and today they total about 4,000 globally. Botanical gardens feature herbaceous flowers and grasses, while ..read more

The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station (CAES) in cooperation with USDA APHIS Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ) continued to detect expanding populations of the spotted lanternfly (SLF) in Connecticut through 2023. The Director of CAES hereby announces the renewal of the Order of Quarantine for SLF that was established July 1, 2021, effective January 1, 2024. More information about SLF, the quarantine order and state quarantine requirements can be found at: https://portal.ct.gov/CAES-SLF Illustration / Colleen Witkowski, Penn State, extension.psu.edu The life cycle of the spotted l ..read more

By Michael Dirr Ilex glabra, inkberry or gallberry, one of best native broadleaf evergreen shrubs, is used extensively in contemporary landscapes from Maine to Georgia and throughout the Midwest. The native range extends from Nova Scotia to Maine, south along the coast to Florida and west to Texas. According to the Florida Native Plant Society, the species grows in low flatwoods, seeps, coastal swales, bogs and sinks. Ilex glabra Forever Emerald in production for spring 2023 at Overdevest Nurseries in Bridgeton, NJ Photo / Overdevest Nurseries I observed the species in wet areas on Cape Cod wh ..read more

Phlox paniculata ‘Jeana’ is the Perennial Plant Association’s Perennial Plant of the Year for 2024. ‘Jeana’ was named for Jeana Prewitt who found it growing along the Harpeth River near Nashville, Tenn. Featured photo courtesy of Prides Corner Farms (pridescorner.com) “I love Phlox paniculata ‘Jeana’ and it is my go-to variety in my garden designs,” says Nancy DuBrule Clemente from Natureworks in Northford, a longtime friend of the magazine. “It does attract tons of pollinators, especially tiger swallowtail butterflies galore. If you deadhead it, it blooms and blooms. It really is superior. Th ..read more

By Russell Steven Powell This story first appeared in the Orchard Blog at newenglandapples.org Highly variable is about the best way to describe the 2023 New England apple crop. Most people by know now that the fresh apple crop will be significantly smaller due to a region-wide freeze the night of May 18. Yet many orchards have full crops, and most have some apples. Photo / Russell Steven Powell Fire engine-red Sweet Maia, a new firm, sweet, early season variety, at Ragged Hill Orchard in West Brookfield, Massachusetts. When all the apples are picked, though, losses could amount to as much as ..read more

Castor-aralia (Kalopanax septemlobus) is a deciduous tree native to Eastern Asia (China, Japan and Korea). Its common names include Tree Aralia and Prickly Castor Oil Tree. It can have thorns up to a half inch long and a trunk five feet in diameter. It may look tropical but it’s actually cold hardy to about -40ºF. It’s recently been found growing wild in several places in Connecticut. GoBotany (gobotany.nativeplanttrust.org) says it’s been spotted in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. University of New Hampshire scientists have traced the spread of this exotic tree in local forests to a single t ..read more

Graham Laird Gardner’s new book, Tiny + Wild, is an excellent introduction to mini-meadows, sometimes called micro-prairies. Meadows are all the rage these days but not everyone has the space, time or money to create large meadows. The answer? Mini-meadows. I first became enamored of miniaturization when I visited the Miyawaki Forest in Cambridge, Mass., essentially a mini-forest. The concept? Plant a bunch of native plants tightly together and create a forest quickly. We can do the same thing with meadows and we can do it pretty much anywhere … hell strips, fence lines, patios, around your ma ..read more

Text and Photos by Dan Jaffe Wilder I remember when I first started growing food; there was a point where I was deciding whether to grow raspberries (Rubus spp.) or not. On one hand I loved the taste of raspberries, on the other hand I was worried about how raspberries grow, namely they grow like raspberries. They quickly colonize and the colony is filled with spines making management a challenge. I’ve learned quite a bit since then, and raspberries are easily one of my favorite crops that I grow today. In addition to the red raspberry (Rubus idaeus), the genus includes black raspberrie ..read more

By Dr. Kelsey E. Fisher Monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) are a charismatic species known for their characteristic orange and black coloration and annual migration from Mexico to Canada. Monarchs overwinter in Central Mexico huddled together in high elevation oyamel fir trees. Throughout the spring and summer months, monarchs undergo a multi-generational northern migration through the United States and into Canada. [The lovely photo of an adult monarch on a purple coneflower was taken by Jacqueline Pohl from Iowa State University.] During the summer breeding period, monarchs are widely d ..read more

By Bryan Connolly This article has the home growers as the target audience. There is a process to apply for a commercial THC cultivation license that can be viewed at https://bit.ly/3CG3wZM Know the rules: check the regulations on the State of Connecticut website before you grow your own: https://bit.ly/3ICgNGp In short, no THC plants can be grown outdoors in Connecticut. They must be grown in a secure area and not visible from the outside. An individual over 21 can grow 6 plants; 3 can be mature or in flower and 3 immature or vegetative. Only 12 plants are allowed per household, so if you ..read more