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Volume 4 Issue 1 | January 2023
January gardening is armchair gardening – a great time to imagine snowy owls, discover a new succulent, learn about perennial seed starting, and plan a trip to a beautiful Metro Park.
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Look Around
What anticipation as the gardener turns the page on a new year! New plants to try, a maturing garden, developing skills – this may be the year it all comes together! Our eyes are fixed forward, but our hopes are shaped by a glance in the rearview mirror. Was it a dry year? Cold? Plagued with insects or disease? Or was it that perfect balance of moisture and temperature that produced the Shangri La of gardens? Take a walk in the garden or woods and let trees tell the tale.

Tree limbs have terminal buds at their tips which contain the leaf and stem material for the next season’s growth. These buds are protected by tough terminal bud scales, and when temperatures warm and days lengthen, the terminal buds swell and break, and the scales fall off, leaving a ring of scars, a terminal bud scale scar, encircling the twig.

Each season’s growth on that branch will be separated by these terminal bud scale scars, and if you look back from the tip of a twig, you can find scars from last year, and the year before, and the year before…
Terminal bud scale scar on an Ohio Buckeye (Aesculus glabra)

photo by E Barth-Elias
Not only can you determine how old that branch is, but by looking at the length of the sections between the terminal leaf bud scars you can see what kind of growing year the tree had. That Shangri La year will have a long section of growth, and the growth from that year with little rain and raging heat will be short. When there are consecutive shorter sections, or sections that gradually get shorter, the plant is likely in decline. 

Fruit tree growers use this information to determine how much fertilizer should be applied for the coming growing season and where to make their pruning cuts, and plant diagnosticians use it to assess tree health. For instance, plant pathologists know from experience that a healthy, established blue spruce will push about six inches of new growth each year. They use this information to help diagnose needlecast and other diseases that plague this spruce. 

We can look at terminal bud scale scars and their corresponding seasonal growth to assess our plants and to plan amendments or triage. Observing these seasonal fluctuations helps us stay in touch with the natural world around us. Trees have a lot to tell… Look Around!

K Edgington
Leaf Brief - Smitten with Succulents
photo by E Barth-Elias
If you’re the sort who tries to be on trend with style and fashion, then this month’s plant profile on succulents will be right down your alley. The rest of us can appreciate succulents because of their diversity, ease of care, and imaginative names.

Succulents refer to a broad group of more than 10,000 plant species (2500 are considered cacti) that are adapted to dry environments. Typically, they have thick stems and leaves that are modified to store water. Many have silvery leaves or fuzzy foliage to reflect the sun. Some have shallow root systems to soak up rainwater quickly while others have long taproots to absorb groundwater. Stomata, tiny openings in the leaves that let them “breathe”, allow the plant to absorb CO2 and give off oxygen and water. 
While we think of succulents as desert plants, some varieties can tolerate frost, snow, and freezing temperatures, and are found right here in Ohio (sedum, agave, and even prickly pear cactus).

Succulents have become popular in home décor for several reasons. Their interesting shapes, textures, and colors give a visual punch to any room. This, in turn, provides inspiration for photography and art, patterns, and color schemes. Because of the varieties available, one can experiment with group plantings or single specimens. Succulents are easy to propagate, can help with indoor air quality, and are nearly indestructible – what’s not to like about a plant you can forget to water for weeks? More about plant care HERE.

Another fun aspect of succulents is their quirky names. Who isn’t drawn to a Burro’s Tail Sedum (Sedum morganianum) or a Panda Plant Kalanchoe (Kalanchoe tomentosa)? Some other fun succulents to consider are the Zebra Plant (Haworthia fasciata) with horizontally striped leaves. (How about a black and white container?) If you can’t afford the real thing, buy that special someone a String of Pearls (Senecio rowleyanus) with bead-shaped leaves that cascade out of the pot. How about a kalanchoe called the Mother of Thousands (Kalanchoe daigremontiana)?  This prolific plant grows baby plantlets from the edges of mature leaves. It’s also known as the Crown of Thorns and the Devil’s Backbone, so take your pick. Walk on the wild side with a Sansevieria called a Shark Fin Snake Plant (Sansevieria masoniana), which simply consists of one large fin-shaped leaf that has been known to crack the pot when it gets too big. This tough plant is also called Mother-in-Law’s tongue and is nearly impossible to kill. Go figure.

If you’re into color, many succulents have shades of red in addition to the more common blue-green and yellow. Sempervivums, commonly known as Hens and Chicks, are one example that includes Red Rubin, and purple is showcased with the ominously named Dark Cloud and Heart of Darkness varieties. The intensity of the color is dependent on the variety, the sun exposure, and other stressors like extreme temperatures and soil conditions. Don’t forget, many succulents have blooms that only increase their appeal and color options. There are way too many varieties to mention, but each is special in its own way. If you want to expand your houseplant repertoire, succulents can be a fun and easy place to start. A new hobby for the new year, perhaps?
J Gramlich
Creature Feature - Snowy Owl
There’s something magical about Snowy Owls. This song captures that magic—listen HERE. No surprise it’s Hedwig’s Theme, named after Harry Potter’s pet Snowy. In the wizarding world owls are pets (and mail carriers); in our world that’s illegal (not sure about the mail). But real Snowy Owls are fascinating and mysterious, with piercing yellow eyes, large bodies over 2 feet long and smooth heads with almost invisible ear tufts. Their silent flight adds to the mystery, but
Snowy Owl (Bubo scandiaca)
photo by J Cooper
there’s a practical explanation for that. A four-to-five foot wing span reduces flapping, and their wing feathers are structured to absorb sound.
 
Those gorgeous thick feathers (which also cover their beaks, legs and feet) make Snowies the heaviest owls in North America, weighing about 4 pounds—double the weight of the Great Gray Owl. Snowy Owls (Bubo scandiaca) are mostly white, with black or brown markings that feature more prominently on females. The smaller male becomes whiter as he ages. (Hedwig, a female owl, was primarily played by male owls as they are whiter and lighter to hold.)

Snowies need those feathers, as their Arctic tundra homes around the North Pole are chilly, averaging winter temperatures of 20 to 30 degrees below Fahrenheit. Summer temperatures range from the 30s to 50s Fahrenheit, but that’s summer. Snowies generally breed near open water in coastal Alaska, northern Russia, the Aleutians, Scandinavia, and the Canadian Arctic Islands.

I’d head south in winter if I was a Snowy, but their migration patterns are irregular and depend on many factors, including age and gender. Adult females are more likely to remain in northern breeding grounds year round while juveniles and males migrate to Canada and northern parts of Europe, Asia and the U.S. Snowy Owl sightings are not unusual in New England and New York, but occur in the Midwest and Pacific Northwest only during an “irruption” — birds wintering in a place they usually don’t. Read about an irruption of snowy owls HERE. 

Because Snowies are accustomed to treeless tundras, you will find migrating birds in open areas along fields or bodies of water. Several Snowies were seen along the Lake Erie shoreline in Cleveland in January 2022—one was even spotted in a parking lot near FirstEnergy Stadium (a Browns fan?). When sitting on the ground Snowies look like lumps or dirt clumps in the snow. Searching for Snowies? Look up—they may also perch on high spots like telephone poles that offer a good vantage point.

Irruptions of Snowies generally occur every four years but lately seem to happen more frequently. During the 2014 irruption, Snowy Owls were working on their tans as far south as Florida, and frequent fliers have shown up in Hawaii, Bermuda, Texas, Japan and Korea. Scientists speculate that irruptions may be caused by an abundance of food in northern breeding grounds that leads to an increase in owl populations. Learn more HERE.

Snowies generally mate for life. Males seem to select the territory while females choose the nesting site, usually on slightly elevated areas, and dig out a shallow space shaped to their bodies. Nests can be used for years. Clutches range from 3 to 11 eggs, depending on the availability of food. If food is scarce there will be few eggs or even none, a reason why the population can change quickly. HERE is live cam footage of a beautiful Mom and her babies. Snowies are protective parents. Watch THIS ONE drive off predators.
 
Chicks only have about 3 months to become independent—those Arctic summers are short. However, once they leave, they really go! Three young birds tracked from a nest on Victoria Island in the Canadian Arctic journeyed to Hudson Bay, Eastern Russia and southeastern Ontario. In 2012 a Snowy made a 7,000 mile round-trip journey (Boston to Nunavut, Canada).
 
Moms stay with the owlets while dads bring home the bacon. Which is usually lemmings. An adult Snowy can eat 1,600 lemmings a year. (And that’s without ketchup.) The carnivorous Snowies also eat voles, ptarmigan, Arctic hare and seabirds. John James Audubon spotted a Snowy at the edge of an ice hole, using its feet to catch fish! Unlike other owls, Snowies hunt in daylight (necessary with 24 hours of it in the Arctic). In winter homes they may hunt at night as well.
 
Are Snowies endangered? The population is difficult to track due to their inhospitable breeding terrain and their nomadic nature. Scientists don’t have a lot of hard data, but efforts to monitor the birds are increasing using GPS tracking systems. HERE'S an organization researching Snowy populations.

If you enjoy viewing these magnificent, mysterious birds, THIS is a beautiful documentary. Or you can listen to Hedwig’s theme and use your imagination…
C Christian
Successful Seed Starting - Perennial Pointers
PowWow Wild Berry coneflower
photo by K Edgington
An easy chair and a stack of seed catalogs make for a pleasant January afternoon, but how many of us skip the section marked “perennials” because those seeds seem too complicated or difficult to grow? They can be a bit of a challenge, but growing perennials from seed simply requires knowledge about necessary growing conditions and patience. They are satisfying to grow, and starting with seeds yields quantities of plants for the garden with spares to share. Because many perennial seeds have long germination periods, starting them in February or early March produces nice-sized plants for late April or May planting. Here are some pointers:
CHOOSE WISELY: Online and catalog seed sources will describe the days until germination and special pretreatments required. They will also tell you whether the perennial will bloom the first season from seed. PATIENCE is the first requirement---not only for germination but also for first flowers. Playing the long game has big rewards. Some perennials are easier than others to start. Coreopsis, dianthus, gaillardia, rudbeckia, veronica, yarrow, and Shasta daisy seeds require little pretreatment and are relatively quick to germinate. HERE’S a list of both easy and challenging options.  Live on the wild side---try something from the challenging list! 

NOTE EACH PERENNIAL’S REQUIREMENTS: Write the days to germination, treatments to break seed dormancy (see below), and any other notable data on the front of the seed packet. When it’s time to plant, that info will be at hand. HERE’S a good source for specific requirements for many perennials.  Here are the most common requirements:

  • Light Level. Small seeds are sown on the top of the planting medium and usually require a period of light to germinate. Other seeds may require darkness, and a few more finicky ones require specific periods of both.
  • Temperature. Seeds vary in the temperature required to break dormancy and germinate. Most require warm temperatures between 65° and 80°F, but certain perennials prefer cooler sowing media, which mimics the soil temperatures during their natural spring germination.
  • Moisture. Soaking seeds for a period softens their seed coat and may be required for some perennial seeds.
  • Stratification. This is the process of treating seeds with a moist, cold period (as in the refrigerator) for a certain amount of time to mimic the natural process a seed undergoes during the winter months. The usual method is to put the seeds in moist, inert medium, such as perlite, potting mix, or sand, in a zip lock bag or covered pot. Read more about stratifying seed HERE.
  • Scarificaton. Some seeds with hard seed coats benefit from having their seed coats abraded so that air and water can enter and trigger germination. There are different methods, including a hot water soak, nicking with clippers, and sanding with sandpaper or a file. HERE’S a look at five ways to scarify seed. 

USE QUALITY MATERIALS: These include:

  • pencil & plant tags. Always mark your pot or cells with name and planting date. Days to germination can be good info to have on hand as well. A regular #2 pencil's writing will not disappear over the growing season as a permanent marker’s will.
  • quality potting soil. Added turkey grit or crushed stone helps with drainage.
  • milled sphagnum, vermiculite, or sand to cover seeds. These materials help prevent damping off.
  • a zip lock bag, or cover to keep moisture in pots. Use caution here. The long germination periods required by perennials mean lots of time for fungi to attack seedlings. Open bags or provide fresh air regularly and remove the covering when the plants have germinated.
  • supplemental lights. Grow lights can be a gardener’s best friend. They help produce stocky, healthy plants.

HAVE PATIENCE:  Not to belabor a point, but… Go into this game knowing that the prize may come down the road. It can take months for some perennials to germinate (don’t despair---others may take a couple of weeks). Germination is often spotty, with seeds germinating over a long period of time and perhaps only 50% of them germinating at all. That’s OK---it works that way in nature, too. Following the instructions about pre-treating seeds increases germination rates.

POT UP: Start with a small pot or cell after your plants have developed their first true leaves. As your seedlings grow, pot them up to the next sized container. By spring planting time, you will have respectably sized perennials. Potting in containers that far exceed the root system prevents the growing medium from drying out sufficiently between waterings, leading to root rot.

HARDEN OFF YOUR SEEDLINGS PROPERLY:  Because they’re hardy in your area, your perennial plants can be planted outside before tender annuals and vegetables. They MUST be properly hardened off before planting. That’s the process of gradually acclimating them to the sun and wind in their new home. Learn how HERE. 

In case you aren’t an experienced seed starter, HERE’S a short primer with the basics.

Many new and fancy perennials are not available as seed because they must be cloned to produce plants with the same characteristics. However, there is a wealth of wonderful, perennial seeds that are accessible and easy to grow. PowWow Wild Berry coneflower, Foxy foxgloves, Voodoo sedum, Hello Yellow butterfly weed, and Alpina columbine are a few of the seedlings that have graced my cold frames in recent years. What might be growing in yours this spring?

Great Resources:

Propagation Handbook: Basic Techniques for Gardeners by Geoff Bryant (Stackpole Books, 1993)
K Edgington
Branching Out - Liberty Park
Liberty Park, at the very top of Summit County, is a relative mystery to many people farther south. It is part of a 3000 acre, four-park system that is home to a panoply of natural and recreation areas, including Pond Brook Conservation Area, Tinkers Creek State Park, and Tinkers Creek State Nature Preserve. It is worth the drive north to Twinsburg to explore this natural treasure and all it has to offer.

Liberty Park’s Nature Center entices visitors, offering facsimiles of the tracks of animals found in the area: humans, horses, snakes, birds large and small, raccoons, bear. A parks volunteer stands near a scarecrow-like figure holding a small dish of seed. He’s training small birds to take food from humans, hoping to create an area much like Firestone Metropark where birds take seed directly from visitors’ hands. From the nature center hikers can choose from five different trails, ranging from the easy .6-mile Bluebird Trail to the 2.1-mile moderate Black Bear Trail. Incidentally, black
Moss covered rock along a Liberty Park trail
photo by S Vradenburg
bears are returning to the area, which offers abundant food, water and protected areas to raise young.

Before hikers get to the actual trails, kiosks speak to the park’s many resources. There’s everything from sugar maples to facts about the bats that nest in the area to an award-winning Bee Condo created during the 2016 First Night celebration. Its many tubes and nooks offer shelter for a variety of bees and other insects.

A beautiful fall day beckoned me to visit Liberty Park. I chose the Ledges Trail simply because I love rocks. While the day was comfortably cool, I felt the immediate drop in temperature as I left the main pathway and headed down toward the ledges. Once before, during a summer of sweltering humidity, taking that first step toward the ledges was like entering an air-conditioned building. One of the rangers suggested I return when it is much colder; the step into the forest might actually be warmer, given the deep earth’s constant 55-degree temperature. Nature’s heat pump.

For me, the lure of the ledges is the emerald-green moss clinging to the sandstone boulders and cliff faces. It feels a bit like stepping into a prehistoric forest not yet besmirched by human presence. A ranger once told me that Virginia Kendall Ledges, a Metro Park and now part of the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, sported similar green fur. However, after nearly a century of people walking among and touching the stones, their green coats had disappeared. I hope these outcroppings avoid a similar fate.

Farther on, the path levels into a boardwalk, snaking through one of several wetlands found throughout the 3,000-acre park/preserve.

The nearby Pond Brook Conservation Area has been called Pond Brook ever since the area was first settled, although by the late 1900s it was neither a pond nor a brook. Farmers had straightened the stream into an irrigation ditch. That may have helped the farmers, but it nearly killed the waterway that wildlife had depended on since time immemorial. Now, after a nearly 16-year restoration project, it is again a creek supporting wildlife and creating biodiversity where there had been none for decades.

This restoration came about through a collaboration among the Summit Metro Parks, Wetlands Resource Services, the Ohio Department of Transportation, the City of Twinsburg and the Village of Reminderville. Many more organizations were involved, demonstrating the importance of keeping natural areas as we find them and returning as many as we can to what they once were.

The park is open year-round, and those with a taste for adventure should check out the park’s free snowshoe rentals. What started four years ago with only two pairs of snowshoes has grown to 20 pairs, available when the show is at least 6 inches deep. Naturalists schedule snowshoe trail hikes and make sure everyone has training on how to walk in this unusual form of winter wear. 
 
On occasion there are craft programs held in the park’s outdoor shelter, complete with fireplace and hot cocoa. In fact, there is a fire everyday. Visitors can watch birds through the bird window as well as try to feed chickadees outdoors. When there is snow, naturalists offer hikes to identify wildlife by their prints. And for those who like their winters warm and snuggly, the Metro Parks offers many programs online.

It would take many days to explore the three thousand acres of parks in northwest Summit County. Liberty Park is a great place to start.

S Vradenburg
Down and Dirty
January Checklist

  • Decide now what changes you’d like to make to your landscape this coming growing season. Refer to previous Root newsletters on the Summit County Master Gardener website for our series on garden planning and design. (Link below, Volume 3: Issues 9-12)
  • Select and order from various seed and plant catalogs. This is a great way to learn about plants and get some cool stuff.
  • Read and learn—check out local and internet sources for garden-related books, classes, and conferences. Your local Master Garden website is a good place to start.
  • It’s time to trim your oak trees. Here’s why. http://bygl.osu.edu/index.php/node/2081
  • Continue to check for critters on houseplants. Looking for webbing, stippling, yellowing leaves, tiny white puffs, honeydew or flying insects around plants.
  • Recycle pine boughs as mulch around perennials as they allow moisture to flow but insulate plants from wind and freeze/thaw cycles.
  • Try virtual bird-watching for hours of entertainment. https://www.allaboutbirds.org/cams/
J Gramlich
New Growth!
More learning opportunities:
Bare branches of each tree on this chilly January morn look so cold so forlorn.
Gray skies dip ever so low left from yesterday's dusting of snow.
Yet in the heart of each tree waiting for each who wait to see new life
as warm sun and breeze will blow, like magic, unlock springs sap to flow,
buds, new leaves, then blooms will grow.
Nelda Hartmann, January Morn
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The Root of It staff: Karen Edgington (Editor), Emma Barth-Elias (Photo Editor), Carolyn Christian, Jennifer Gramlich, Sarah Vradenburg, and Geoff Kennedy (Technical Advisor)
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