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Garden Q&A
Question: I need some type of shrub(s) that would produce some type of edible fruit. The problem is that there is a large sycamore tree that shades most of the property. I'd love to try some heritage or native shrub.
- Sally Siddiqi
Answer: Your options are limited since the overwhelming majority of fruit plants need abundant sun, and it will probably take some experimenting to see which of the following actually succeed in your setting. "Moist woods" is the phrase that accompanies many of them in the 1990 book Edible Wild Plants of Pennsylvania and Neighboring States, by Richard J. and Mary Lee Medve, and I wouldn't be surprised if your sycamore's roots take much of the moisture out of the soil. One possibility is wild blueberries, provided there is at least some sun and the soil is acidic. Vaccinium angustifolium is a low-bush species that grows in dry conditions; V. corymbosum is the native high-bush blueberry, which needs wet conditions. Viburnum trilobum, high-bush cranberry, will grow in partial shade and needs rich, well-drained, moist soil. It is not a true cranberry, but has been used as a substitute. Elderberry, Sambucus canadensis, needs moist conditions and may work if your situation mimics an edge-of-the-woods setting. There are other fruiting elderberries, but they are not native to North America. All of the above may work - or may not. Shade-grown fruit is simply not common in our climate. There are two non-shrub plants you might consider: mayapple and ostrich fern. The former, Podophyllum peltatum, produces large leaves like flat umbrellas about a foot above the ground. It blooms in spring and produces one fruit per forked stem, the size of a small egg. It is ripe when fully yellow in early fall. The flavor won't send you swooning, but it can be used for jelly. The plant spreads and, with all those overlapping umbrellas, will shade out lower plants (including weeds). Ostrich fern (Matteuccia struthiopteris) is the species from which edible fiddleheads are harvested. Please note: No other fern is edible. Ostrich fern likes moist conditions and will turn into a dense patch in sun, but also grows in light shade. It spreads by long runners. The spring fiddlehead season is fleeting; they must be picked when just two or three inches tall and still tightly curled. The brown scales must be washed off. I prefer steaming them and serving with a little melted butter. The flavor is somewhat like asparagus. In addition to the Medves' book (check your local library), you might consult http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/1000/1256.html for an article titled "Forest Gardening." Bartram's Garden in Southwest Philadelphia has an excellent sale of native plants every spring, and some of the above may be available. The sale is May 3 this year; Bartram's Garden's phone number is 215-729-5281. Q: As I sat in the sunny garden the other day, I thought maybe February is the new March; in other words, I'm getting antsy to start clearing off the beds and cutting back roses, crepe myrtle, smoke bush, butterfly bush, etc. Is it really too early? I'm afraid that if I wait too long, the bulbs may get smothered if they try to come up early. - Mary Hopkins
A: Clearing away leaves for bulbs is no problem (I rescued some winter aconite this week from a smothering layer of leaves). Likewise, cutting back deciduous ferns, ornamental grasses and perennials that die all the way to the ground. I'd wait on those perennials whose crowns are visibly flush with the soil or a little higher. Epimediums are something to cut back now; the new growth may well come early, and it's nigh impossible to remove last season's tatty foliage once the flower stalks are up. Last year had a similar pattern, and I trimmed back evergreen ferns earlier than I had previously. Hard freeze(s) followed, and the ferns, including some well-established ones, were notably set back. Was this because I trimmed them, or would it have happened regardless? Can't say, though the general wisdom is that leaving the old foliage on helps the plant get through the cold. As for pruning woodies, wait. Yes, spring seems to start earlier, consistently so this century. But parallel with this phenomenon, which all but the obstinate consider to be facts-on-the-ground evidence of global warming, is the increase in extreme weather. Meaning, the occasional hard freezes and heavy snows are just as likely to happen - on the old schedule. Which means that if you prune early and prompt new growth earlier than in the past, it will be vulnerable. Maybe we'll have this all figured out in, say, 15 years.
Send questions to Michael Martin Mills, The Inquirer, Box 41705, Philadelphia, Pa. 19101 or gardenqanda@earthlink.net. Please include locale. Read his recent work at http://go.philly.com/michaelmartinmills.
Answer: Your options are limited since the overwhelming majority of fruit plants need abundant sun, and it will probably take some experimenting to see which of the following actually succeed in your setting. "Moist woods" is the phrase that accompanies many of them in the 1990 book Edible Wild Plants of Pennsylvania and Neighboring States, by Richard J. and Mary Lee Medve, and I wouldn't be surprised if your sycamore's roots take much of the moisture out of the soil. One possibility is wild blueberries, provided there is at least some sun and the soil is acidic. Vaccinium angustifolium is a low-bush species that grows in dry conditions; V. corymbosum is the native high-bush blueberry, which needs wet conditions. Viburnum trilobum, high-bush cranberry, will grow in partial shade and needs rich, well-drained, moist soil. It is not a true cranberry, but has been used as a substitute. Elderberry, Sambucus canadensis, needs moist conditions and may work if your situation mimics an edge-of-the-woods setting. There are other fruiting elderberries, but they are not native to North America. All of the above may work - or may not. Shade-grown fruit is simply not common in our climate. There are two non-shrub plants you might consider: mayapple and ostrich fern. The former, Podophyllum peltatum, produces large leaves like flat umbrellas about a foot above the ground. It blooms in spring and produces one fruit per forked stem, the size of a small egg. It is ripe when fully yellow in early fall. The flavor won't send you swooning, but it can be used for jelly. The plant spreads and, with all those overlapping umbrellas, will shade out lower plants (including weeds). Ostrich fern (Matteuccia struthiopteris) is the species from which edible fiddleheads are harvested. Please note: No other fern is edible. Ostrich fern likes moist conditions and will turn into a dense patch in sun, but also grows in light shade. It spreads by long runners. The spring fiddlehead season is fleeting; they must be picked when just two or three inches tall and still tightly curled. The brown scales must be washed off. I prefer steaming them and serving with a little melted butter. The flavor is somewhat like asparagus. In addition to the Medves' book (check your local library), you might consult http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/1000/1256.html for an article titled "Forest Gardening." Bartram's Garden in Southwest Philadelphia has an excellent sale of native plants every spring, and some of the above may be available. The sale is May 3 this year; Bartram's Garden's phone number is 215-729-5281. Q: As I sat in the sunny garden the other day, I thought maybe February is the new March; in other words, I'm getting antsy to start clearing off the beds and cutting back roses, crepe myrtle, smoke bush, butterfly bush, etc. Is it really too early? I'm afraid that if I wait too long, the bulbs may get smothered if they try to come up early. - Mary Hopkins
A: Clearing away leaves for bulbs is no problem (I rescued some winter aconite this week from a smothering layer of leaves). Likewise, cutting back deciduous ferns, ornamental grasses and perennials that die all the way to the ground. I'd wait on those perennials whose crowns are visibly flush with the soil or a little higher. Epimediums are something to cut back now; the new growth may well come early, and it's nigh impossible to remove last season's tatty foliage once the flower stalks are up. Last year had a similar pattern, and I trimmed back evergreen ferns earlier than I had previously. Hard freeze(s) followed, and the ferns, including some well-established ones, were notably set back. Was this because I trimmed them, or would it have happened regardless? Can't say, though the general wisdom is that leaving the old foliage on helps the plant get through the cold. As for pruning woodies, wait. Yes, spring seems to start earlier, consistently so this century. But parallel with this phenomenon, which all but the obstinate consider to be facts-on-the-ground evidence of global warming, is the increase in extreme weather. Meaning, the occasional hard freezes and heavy snows are just as likely to happen - on the old schedule. Which means that if you prune early and prompt new growth earlier than in the past, it will be vulnerable. Maybe we'll have this all figured out in, say, 15 years.
Send questions to Michael Martin Mills, The Inquirer, Box 41705, Philadelphia, Pa. 19101 or gardenqanda@earthlink.net. Please include locale. Read his recent work at http://go.philly.com/michaelmartinmills.