INDEX
Welcome Wild Gardeners
Phlox Evaluation
Audubon Habitat Collection
Executive Order Targets Invasive Species
Santa Rosa Update
Regional Planning Guides
Oak Conference Presenters Wanted

Welcome Wild Gardeners

We want to extend a hearty welcome to all the readers of Wild Garden magazine, which unfortunately ceased publication earlier this year. Through an arrangement with the publishers of Wild Garden, former subscribers to that magazine have become members of the American Horticultural Society. They will now receive The American Gardener and be eligible for all the other benefits of AHS membership.

Because the American Horticultural Society and the publishers of Wild Garden magazine share a concern for issues such as environmentally sound gardening practices, attracting beneficial wildlife to the garden, getting children involved in gardening, and plant conservation, we know former Wild Garden readers will find membership in the Society a fulfilling experience. We look forward to the new insights and energy these dedicated gardeners will bring to AHS publications and programs.

Phlox Evaluation

Phlox are among the finest of the ornamental plant genera that are principally native to North America. These cheerful spring- and summer-blooming perennials are the latest plants to be rated by the Chicago Botanic Garden’s Plant Evaluation Program. From 1993 to 1996, the garden, located in Glencoe, Illinois (USDA Hardiness Zone 5b, AHS Heat Zone 5), grew and tested 22 species and cultivars of phlox for use in midwestern gardens.

The primary objective of the study was to determine which selections of phlox were most resistant to powdery mildew, a fungal disease that weakens plants and causes unsightly white blemishes on foliage. Researchers also wanted to see how well shade-tolerant, spring-blooming phlox selections would hold up when grown in full sun. Low-growing and woodland species such as P. divaricata, P. stolonifera, and P. subulata were not included in the study.

The test plots received eight to 10 hours of sun per day and were exposed to the elements. The soil in which the phlox were grown was a slightly alkaline clay-loam amended with organic matter. No fertilizer was applied to the plants, but they were given supplemental water as needed.

Top performers in the study were P. carolina ‘Reine du Jour’, P. ‘Chattahoochee’, C. paniculata ‘Katherine’, and C. pulchra ‘Morris Berd’. According to program coordinator Richard Hawke, these selections “combine good health, strong habits, and high flower production in superior plants for a variety of landscape uses.”

Other phlox that performed well in the study were three cultivars of garden phlox (P. paniculata): ‘Bright Eyes’, ‘David’, and ‘Franz Schubert’. These cultivars showed only fair resistance to powdery mildew, but otherwise exhibited excellent ornamental qualities.

For a copy of the garden’s report on its phlox evaluation, send $2 with your request to Plant Evaluation Notes, c/o Richard Hawke, Chicago Botanic Garden, 1000 Lake Cook Road, Glencoe, IL 60022.

The National Audubon Society, headquartered in New York City, and Monrovia wholesale nursery in Azusa, California, have teamed up to put together a collection of 200 ornamental plants that offer food and shelter for birds and butterflies. Called the Audubon Habitat Collection, the plants include herbaceous perennials, shrubs, vines, and trees suitable for gardens throughout North America. Each plant in the collection was chosen because it provides a source of food, nectar, or shelter—or a combination of the three—to various types of birds and butterflies.

“We hope to introduce millions of people to birds and plants and the relationship between the two,” says Jesse Grantham, executive directior of Audubon’s Mississippi office. “Birders are interested in learning how to attract birds to their backyards, and gardening enthusiasts can add diversity to their gardens with plants that help attract birds and butterflies.”

To locate the garden center nearest you that carries the Audubon Habitat Collection, call toll-free (888) PLANT IT. A free brochure about gardening for birds can be obtained by sending a self-addressed, stamped business-size envelope to Monrovia Audubon Habitat Collection, P.O. Box 1385, Azusa, CA 91702-1385.

In February, President Clinton signed an executive order allocating $28 million in federal funding to help government agencies prevent the introduction of invasive plants and animals into the United States and to control invasive species that are already established here. The discovery of infestations of the wood-boring Asian long-horned beetle in Brooklyn, New York, and Chicago, Illinois, in the last two years apparently helped speed up the administration’s response to an issue scientists have been warning about for more than a decade.

The executive order directed the establishment of an Invasive Species Council that will unify the efforts of the various state and federal agencies currently involved in controlling invasive plants and animals. The council—co-chaired by USDA Secretary Dan Glickman, Commerce Department Secretary William Daley, and Interior Department Secretary Bruce Babbitt—has been asked to come up with ways to prevent invasive species from becoming established in the United States and to reduce the economic and environmental impact of problem species.

By some estimates, more than 6,000 non-native plants and animals have taken up residence in the United States. Invasive exotic plants are reported to exist on as much as 100 million acres of land in this country, plaguing farmers, ranchers, and natural area managers. Among the worst offenders are kudzu (Pueraria montana) in the South, leafy spurge (Euphorbia esula) in the Great Plains, and salt cedar or tamarisk (Tamarix spp.) in the Southwest.

In an article in the December 1995 issue of American Horticulturist, writer Yvette La Pierre described the dispute between conservationists and U.S. National Park Service officials over the management of Santa Rosa Island, the largest of the islands in southern California’s Channel Islands National Park.

At that time, the Park Service was under fire for allowing cattle ranching and commercial hunting operations to continue on the island despite strong evidence that these activities were endangering the island’s fragile native flora. In 1997, 13 plants that grow on the island were added to the federal endangered species list.

As a result of public pressure, lawsuits, and lobbying by several environmental and conservation groups, a settlement was negotiated for the livestock to be removed and the commercial hunting operations to be scaled back. The final boatload of cattle left the island last summer and the federal Fish and Wildlife Service is working with the Park Service to protect and restore the island’s plant communities.

Part of the recovery plan will include removing the non-native plants that took advantage of the disturbance created by grazing to become established. Funding for a weed management program has been obtained and a long-term vegetation monitoring project has been initiated to study changes in the island’s plant communities.

The Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin, Texas, is offering regional “Factpacks” that provide gardeners with information on selecting and planting natives appropriate to different areas of the country. The Factpacks cover nine regions, including the Northeast, Southwest, Rocky Mountains, and Northwest. Each package contains a list of recommended plants, seed sources, and instructions on how to integrate native plants into the garden and create wildflower meadows. Factpacks cost $5 each for members of the non-profit group; $10 for non-members. Order Factpacks through the Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center, 4801 LaCrosse Avenue, Austin, TX 78739. For more information, visit the center’s Web site at www.wildflower.org.

Oak Conference Presenters Wanted