Dear Master Gardener: I purchased a bat plant last week at a little pop-up nursery in a parking lot. I’ve never heard of it! I was told it is a hummingbird magnet. What can you tell me about it?
Answer: Bat-faced Cuphea (Cuphea llavea), a member of the loosestrife family, is a unique, fast growing plant native to Mexico. In northern climates it is grown as an annual or houseplant, so you can take it in at the end of the season and overwinter it in a sunny window — it may even keep blooming! The leaves are pointed and hairy and the ends of the flower resemble a tiny purple bat face with red petal “ears.” Grown as a summer annual, these unusual plants usually grow to be about 12-18 inches tall and wide. They are a great addition to hanging baskets, window boxes, and mixed containers. Hummingbirds, bees and butterflies are attracted to the Bat-faced Cuphea flowers — and children are fascinated by it!
Dear Master Gardener: We lost a large shade tree at our home in Minneapolis and we’re wondering if a northern catalpa is a good replacement tree.
Answer: Northern Catalpa (Catalpa speciosa) is a large, upright, fast-growing tree that is hardy to zone 4. It is often used in the landscape as a shade or ornamental tree. It does very well in an urban environment because it is tolerant of drought and fairly tolerant of road salts. Northern catalpa bark is gray-brown and becomes scaly with age. The leaves are large (6-10 inches long) and heart-shaped. The showy flowers, which are often visited by insect pollinators, are white and bell-shaped with orange stripes and purple spots and stripes. The fruit of the catalpa is a pod-like capsule, 8-20 inches long and filled with winged seeds. A drawback to the tree and something to consider is that the wood is somewhat weak and branches can break off during storms.
Early June is a great time to finish planting gardens, containers, and hanging baskets. Move houseplants outdoors when nighttime temperatures are 55-60 degrees, as they will benefit from increased light and humidity. Keep them protected from direct sun. Heat and wind can dry them out, so check them often to see if they need water. Add fertilizer at half-strength every few weeks. Some sensitive plants, such as Peperomia, Calathea, and Fittonia, are best left indoors during the summer.Cut rose flowers early in the morning when it is cool and the top of the bud is starting to open. Make the cut at a 45-degree angle above an outward-facing, five-leaf leaflet with sharp, clean pruners.You may need to replace early vegetables such as peas, radishes, leaf lettuce and spinach with quick maturing seeds or transplants. You can direct seed green beans (bush type), beets, green onions, or summer squash.Water your lawn deeply and infrequently when it shows signs of drought stress (dull color, blades curling inward, your footprints are obvious in the grass). Conserve moisture by watering early in the day when temperatures are lowest and winds have not picked up yet. Avoid late evening watering if possible because foliage that remains wet overnight is more prone to plant diseases.If you need to prune spring-flowering shrubs, such as rhododendron, azalea, lilac, forsythia, weigela, or ninebark, do it right after they have finished blooming. Pruning later in the summer may eliminate much of next year’s blooms. Older stems can be removed to the ground and plants can be lightly shaped by cutting the longest branches part way back with a pruning shears. This results in plants with a more natural look that will stay dense in the middle and bloom well again next year. Anthracnose is a fungal disease that shows up almost every year on ash, maple and sometimes oak trees. It causes large dark blotches on leaves, many of which drop. Only rarely is it severe enough to damage trees. Rake up and dispose of fallen leaves. Fungicide is not necessary.Resist the temptation to cut or pull off or tie together the unattractive leaves of daffodils, tulips, and other spring-flowering bulbs. Leave them until they are no longer green. Keep fertilizing until they are brown and withered because the foliage continues to gather energy to nourish the bulb for next year.Cut back Dicentra (bleeding heart) as the flowers fade. This will reduce reseeding and encourage new growth.Avoid overfertilizing your plants. Most perennials get all the nutrients they need from the soil. Top-dress established beds every three to four years by working several inches of compost into the soil surface. If plants are stunted or less vigorous you can give them a boost with a diluted solution (one-half the recommended amount) of liquid fertilizer.Check the upper and lower leaves and stems of your plants for aphids and mites. They suck out plant juices and cause leaves to turn yellow and brown. Spray leaves, especially the undersides, with a blast of water to dislodge these pests. If there are still too many, use an insecticidal soap (a soap formulated to kill soft-bodied insects that is not harmful to the plant or environment).Check pine trees for pine sawfly larvae that look like caterpillars. Knock them off with a blast of water from your garden hose.Water young trees and shrubs once or twice a week all summer, depending on rainfall amounts, heat, and wind conditions. Water at the base of the plants, preferably in the morning, to conserve moisture. Add more mulch over the root area if it is less than three inches deep, keeping the mulch at least three inches away from the trunk and stems.Create a butterfly garden with children by planting butterfly favorites: chives, butterfly weed, coneflowers, liatris, yarrow, dill, zinnia, marigold, verbena, and/or cosmos. Add a few rocks for sunning and a shallow saucer of water. A book your children may enjoy is “Where Butterflies Grow” by Joanne Ryder and Lynne Cherry.
You may get your garden questions answered by calling the new Master Gardener Help Line at 218-824-1068 and leaving a message. A Master Gardener will return your call. Or, email me at
umnmastergardener@gmail.com
and I will answer you in the column if space allows.
University of Minnesota Extension Master Gardeners are trained and certified volunteers for the University of Minnesota Extension. Information given in this column is based on university research.
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