Rate a Prairie Coneflower’s numbing power

Purple coneflowers can stand alone in clumps or be companion plants. If I got this correct and sure hope I did——-The picture above is that of Echinacea purpurea( larger leaves) and the one below is Echinacea – angustifolia <—–do not know why that is so little.

This Prairie Purple Coneflower is a native of North America and has easy care. About 2-3′ tall and can be planted in sun or part shade.

My grandmother was a wildcrafter and she tested the potentcy of a coneflower by it’s numbing behavior. She would taste a bit of the root or stem and depending on the numbness in her tongue, she would rate the plant. She found the Echinaceas of the plains region to be stronger than those in NC. She would proclaim it a very good Echinacea if her tongue was very numb.

She told me stories of how the Indians had used the root juices to make poultices for horses and humans.  They would also hold the leaves against their teeth for toothaches.

If you would like to read more about the healing properties, you can visit this SITE. I found it full of useful information on Echinaceas. I don’t promote that site as I know nothing about it but did so much enjoy the article.

I read all day trying to find proof that coneflowers protect us against the cold and flu season. All I can tell you is that something new about this subject is discovered often and the only constant is that the Indians knew best how to use it. Ha! Always goes back to ancient history doesn’t it? We don’t discover new stuff we just learn how to use what we got already.

There are potency differences in the varieties of coneflowers and the way they are prepared. There are many variables and for any particular one to be effective; you must get it from a reliable source and take the concentration needed for your symptoms. Weak concentrations don’t seem to do any good. Brushing your teeth with coneflower paste won’t do much but give you pretty teeth. Ok, well maybe it will numb your gums a bit and aid those with sensitive teeth.

Ok–so here is one theory,  supposedly Echinacea helps the body produce more interferon. The interferon signals the attack cells to reproduce themselves in great numbers so they can seek and destroy viruses or infection before the virus makes you miserably sick.

In layman’s terms, it would be like hiring more firefighters so they could go out and destroy sparks before they became fires.

Now before you start taking lots of coneflower juice and powders, there are things you need to know. Don’t take it consistently cause some studies have shown that it can cause a weakening of your immune system in larger or more consistent doses.

Seems like the most beneficial times to take it are when your symptoms first appear or when you think someone around you has been exposed thus–exposing you as well.

This article is not written as a professional piece of advice. I have no claim to authority on the subject. I’m just a curios person who goes on a internet search to see what’s new on whatever topic crosses my path of curiosity for the day. Today, it was coneflowers.

I did find an interesting article about bovines and Echinacea. Seems that this flower will accelerate the mitosis process of cells in bovines. I’m sure that will come in handy next time we take a cow to the  moon–just kidding. All knowledge is good. That joke is a take on how knowledge was perceived back in the 60’s and I was in elementary school. The NASA program was being pushed like crazy and everything from the drink Tang to plastic was being credited with the discoveries made in our zeal to reach the moon.

President Obama remembers Tang!

That’s Just a Straight No Brainer, Replenishing Your Soil

I gave up on making any major decisions this afternoon when bam!, it hit me. I was reading Twitter mindlessly cause ya’ll know I’m tired. And an article pointed out to me by the Online Herbalist who blogs at Herbalist on the Street tweeted about DIY Cigarettes ( an article on Yahoo). I live in the ever controversial tobacco state of North Carolina so it peaked my interest.

( New Beds in May 2008 or April. I moved in April 1 2008)

I’ll read most anything about tobacco. I’m not a smoker and don’t particularly like the smell of it but I’m not going to tow a no smoking sign around with me. I headed over to the read the DIY Cigarettes at Yahoo.

Smokers are growing their own according to the article. Tobacco seed sales are through the roof. Why–cause of the high price of a pack of cigs. Good grief they can be upwards close to $5 a pack. According to the article you can grow your own three year’s supply worth and not break out of the cartoon.

All afternoon I’ve been reserching the ins and outs of owing an e-commerce site so I can sell the new grow formula I’m associated with. Not more than an hour ago I read about the benefits of replenishing the soil. The formula is able to provide food to the microorganisms in the soil so they can replenish nutrients faster and get the whole ecological scale back in balance. This formula is able to deliver a dining delicacy so small that microorganisms are able to use it more easily. They don’t have to struggle to eat and so they produce more rapidly getting things moving along nicely.

Most fertilizers clobber your plants with salts and cause the roots to weaken. Not many fertilizers are also beneficial to the soil but only the plant. My formula works on the plant, the roots, and the soil. The ingredients are all FDA approved. It’s organic.

I also read an article in a major agriculture magazine singing the praises of this type of formula. When you feed the microorganisms and they start producing byproducts—waste–that is what feeds your plants. You will still need to amend your soil with leaf mulch and a good organic fertilizer like Plant Tone at least two times a year. Microorganisms need the organic leaf mulch too. They can’t just live off dirt.

( Proven Winners Vista Silverberry Summer 08)

The DIY article says that people are turning to growing their own tobacco –paraphrasing here—-they commented that they might die early but they won’t die broke. This is when a light bulb flashed in my brain—–my audience is the home grower. Tobacco steals the land of nutrients almost faster than the plant grows. My grow juice puts those nutrients back in the soil less than a season after depletion.

( end of May 2008)

I’ve been concentrating on the fact that this new formula will kill pest by dissolving their exoskeleton, it will feed the plant and help it grow a healthy cell wall so that pest can’t chew through, and it will feed the plant more efficiently through the roots. The plant grows larger more fibrous roots too. But I’ve not been concentrating on the fact that it can replenish tired dirt. Do you have tired dirt?

( Not long ago–don’t pay attention to a date that pops us as I never set my camera date correctly)

We all know that tired soil is completely dead. Live soil makes healthy soil. I can bring the soil back to life and as one NC county extension office put it—-this is taking NC by storm. All these years of tobacco farming and cotton farming have left some fields dead. Not only does this formula bring it back to life but it ups the yields on plants replanted there with at least 30% increases.

It can do that for the home gardener too. I’ve been slow at getting this product to you because I have to get my trademark registered, get my tax Id settled, get the shipping down which unfortunately can run about $10 no matter what–errr, and other such stuff. It can make you nuts figuring out all the legal details.

(Fall 08, Fiskars and my can of wasp spray, sorry–I do use wasp killer on occasion as they are burrowing under my siding)

But I’m more motivated than ever to get it to you so it can work over the winter and get your beds in prime condition for Spring planting. Oh I hope I can do that.

( This brings us to the current front gardens. Back gardens haven’t had as much attention and I can’t get settled back there. Still lots of work to do. But this is a lot of growth don’t you think? )

I don’t even have a name for the formula yet. I’ve been testing it for a whole year and I don’t know what to call it. When I do figure it out, I’ll let you know. My gardens are barely over a yr old. See why I like this stuff. I also amend with mushroom compost in the Spring and Black Cow in the Autumn which it’s almost time to do. I’ll let all the annuals die back first.

So as I think about starting this e-commerce business to sell some home made stuff for the garden and sell this grow formula—-it’s a lot of decisions on me. I want to get it right. I want what is right for may family. Would you buy this formula? Be honest. I’d really appreciate your feedback. I’m not holding you to it and it won’t be sold on this site but on another I’m developing—flowergardengirl.org.

Side by Side comparison on Senorita Rosalita Cleome

I planted two Senorita Rosalita Cleomes by Proven Winners just this last Spring of 09. One is in my yard and one in the neighbor’s beds across the street from me.  Average height for these plants is 24-48″ Mine are at least 5 feet tall and wide. Both plants came from the same source, same age, and planted the same day. I set them in the ground at the same level and added slow release fertilizer and a dose of Flower Tone ( a fertilizer with micronuturients).

I did two things differently. I amend my soil with mushroom compost in the Spring and cow manure in the Autumn while laying down a good layer of leaf mulch. Now I would say that was enough to make a difference except that I’ve grow Senorita Rosalita for several years now and this year she is a foot taller and wider? So how did I accomplish that?

You do see the difference right? And I tease this neighbor all the time. I tell him that next year I’m taking over the fertilizing schedule too. He tells me that my plant is too big to fit in his corner and he’s happy with this little runt. I also planted his variegated lantana and Supertunia Bordeux which are looking a bit stressed. He looks across the street at my house and can see the possibilities. I rub it in.

Now I’m not showing you his lawn cause it is immaculate. He can clearly take care of a lawn better than me—-but not for long—cause I’m getting ready to blow his socks off with that too. So just what did I do to create such monster plants?

My cleome got so big that it split on this side. Not to worry, I cut off a few branches and she then proceeded to mend herself. Why? Because of what I gave her to make the cell walls strong. Since her core was strong—she got better and never dropped a single bloom in the process—well except for the one small branch I cut off the back side.

I think I could have left it and she would have been fine but it was growing in to my mini cryptomeria and salvia. I had to make the choice for the sake of those other plants.

So let’s just say that you aren’t convinced I can grow massive plants?

This picture was taken last Autumn 08. My little River Birch was planted in the Spring of 08. Look at it now–

That River Birch has grown at least 4 additional feet tall and wide. All because I applied my smart formula to the soil around the base of the plant. So how does it work?

You need to stay tuned! I’ll be marketing this formula under the Flowergardengirl name, it is totally organic, does not leach in to the ground waters, does not change the genetic make up of the plant, and is not hazardous. Farmers all over NC are giving a go and they are experiencing between 40 and 80% higher yields without pesticides and herbicides. All because my formula makes the plant stronger.

There are other formulas on the market that are similar but this is the only one created with the correct organic make up to be able to talk to the plant. This formula is unique because of it’s capability to make the plant stronger. Stronger cell walls on a rose bush means that aphids can not chew through the membranes and suck out the juices. Roots grow stronger supplying the plant with more nutrients.

It is also effective sprayed on things such as rust, mildew, molds, fungus and when sprayed in grass or your beds—-will eliminate voles and moles. Why–because it eliminates the bugs that these animals feed on. I’ve seen azaleas come back to life and tired Crape Myrtles come to full bloom again. It also prevents dampening off in commercial nurseries.

Continued use of herbicides, pesticides, and fertilizers will weaken the cell walls of plants and actually make infestations worse. My formula works best because it makes the plant stronger. It certainly is healthier for you, me, the brids and bees. Honey bees hang on cause I’m coming to save the day!

I’ve seen my formula bring those Alberta spruces back to full glory! And just wait till you see what it does to ornamental shrubs. Have you got a boxwood that is browning up? Help is on the way! Commercial landscapers and lawn care experts are going to love it.

So stay tuned. I’m super excited. And….my formula will work in any zone!

Patent Plants, can you root them for yourself?

No. You can not root plants that have a patent for the purpose of sharing or dividing for yourself or anyone. It will say so on the tag. You can bring a cutting in and watch the roots grow but you can not propagate the cuttings to give away or use for your own. It could cost you a bundle if you got caught. I root stuff all the time and have some sweet potato vine out back that has no patent that I am aware of.

What I have done—–is……..let’s say a Rose of Sharon sends out shoots that pop up somewhere else in the garden then I would move it to a more suitable location. I didn’t purposefully propagate it—-it did that on its own. Just like things that reseed. You have no control over that. You didn’t knowingly multiply the parent.

I have found that most cultivars are sterile. Like my Senorita Rosalita Cleome–it does not produce seeds. You have to buy new each year. Or legally, I could cut it back and save it for next year. I tired that once and it died. It does not like to be dug up. So yes, you can trim it and save it over for the following year. I could cut back my PW Ipomoeas and save them for next year. That sort of thing is OK.

Think of it this way—-You can’t take all the ingredients in a Bayer aspirin—-whip some up in your kitchen to match—and then give it away as Bayer aspirin. All kinds of legal ramifications with that situation. Not just the stealing of the name–but if you give someone a patented plant that you propagated and it does something wild and exotic like morphs in to an invasive human eating monster—then you are in trouble.

The reason you can’t multiply if for your own use?—-you would put the propagators out of business. Research would stop. It’s stealing. It’s what makes the garden industry stay alive. Some PW plants take 7 or more years of testing before they are released to the public—and many more years before that in development.

This post from Dave @ The Home Garden, What in the World are Plant Patents and he gives excellent information on what a plant patent is all about. I also found information at The Ohio University Extension that explains all the ways you can propagate a plant and it be considered reproducing the plant asexually—which means without a father and mother. You can not by patent laws reproduce a plant asexually until the term of the patent runs out. I found both 25 and 17 years on record. You must write for permission from the owner of the patent to do so.

From the US Patent and Trademark office: All about Plant Propagation

And….search your plant by name to see if it has a plant patent: Search for PatFT

What are your thoughts?

Fire Ant Research

Here is a link to my examiner site. I report on how flies are being used to lower the red ant population. It’s gory and the video is worth the watch. Fascinating.

Charlotte History Examiner Put down the fly swatter for red ant control

The Brand Path to 2010

The monsters from Summer 2008. Let’s start with Luscious Citrus Blend Lantana by ProvenWinners Plants. It came to my house looking normal. It was growing in a 5 inch pot and was behaving nicely. By August, it had turned in to a giant specimen of itself. That is at least 9 feet around. The first cold snap we had in November reduced it to tears.

The Vista Silverberry by Proven Winners was amazing. That’s only three plants above. They also came in 5″ pots. This is September and it bloomed through the first couple of frost. It doesn’t mind hot or cold weather and can take a mild frost.

But I’m wondering, do we need these plants to get so large? Since Proven Winners introduction of their plants in to the Big Box stores, I’ve seen nurseries look to other growers and brands. Some nurseries used to be almost exclusively Proven Winners but they are incorporating more varieties each season because there is so much competition with local big box store. The local nursery has to compete by offering more variety and wow power.

Since the larger growers are moving toward a trend of big box sales, I’ve lessened my desire to remain loyal to them. I still love Proven Winners but now I’m thinking of promoting Red Fox and Ball plants. I’ve already incorporated Southern Living Plants who sent me one of my healthiest and fullest shipment of plants ever. They sent me their new lorapedalum cultivars and I’m very pleased. Soon as they get established, I’ll write about them.

Has the Wave caught up with the Supertunia? Do we need a petunia so big in the home landscape? I’m growing a couple of Wave petunias this year and I hope Ball will send me more. I have ask so I can see if I want to promote that product. There sure are some pretty colors and characteristics.

The container above is form the Ball site and I’m loving that Torch Flame Gaillardia

I am looking at the popularity of Wave petunias and others that Ball Horticulture puts their name behind. Sometimes and more often, I can not find the variety of Proven Winners I’m looking for and that my customer just has to have in her custom arrangement. I found a local supplier for Ball plants that isn’t too far from me. I’m going to talk with the owners of The Briar Patch as I know they carry Dummen/Red Fox plants. And they may even carry Ball but I wasn’t paying attention as I was focusing on Proven Winners.

I’m not comparing these companies. I’m just looking for new and unusual that will be at the nursery when I suggest it for someone’s arrangement. I want to be able to find it or at least be more educated about my choices. I don’t shop for plants at the big box stores because they have been too stressed. A stressed plant in my opining–runs the risk of never recovering and there goes my reputation down the drain.

What are you opinions? Are any of you loyal to one particular brand? Have you used Ball and been happy with the results? I’d love to know your thoughts. I hope Ball is listening cause I want to see their newest and prettiest. I love the new double petunias and am pretty impressed with that all summer blooming gaillardia.

So you may see a few new varieties popping up in my post. The garden centers in my area are doing very well. I have to be ready for this trend and interest in gardening. I don’t want to have my head stuck in the sand for the 2010 season.

What do you think? Who will be the next most sought after brand? Will the playing field draw narrower?

What’s This

Something is amiss? How could this have happened. Have  you purchased this variety?

You can’t purchase something this  unique.

The little guy above makes them for free. Isn’t that interesting? Did I just discover a new cultivar or a plain old variety reverting back to its dominate parent? The charasterics of the pink bloom cross pollinated with the larger blooming white variety. I need to get to the bottom of this and try to grow the genetically altered one. I’m not sure I could find the same bee though. I’ll get a cutting of this tomorrow and see what happens.

This is pretty common but so fantastically beautiful when it happens don’t you think?

I don’t know if it is white going pink or pink going white. Looks like white going pink. What is your opinion? The neighbor azalea below looks suspiciously guilty doesn’t it?

There are no rules when it comes to wide open spaces and bees doing what bees do. Les over at A Tidewater Gardener has written a very intersting article about the cross pollination of pear trees. Everything is getting real friendly with each other. Les points out the cons of these sorts of mishaps. Does it make a plant stronger or weaker. The answer could be either. Or….it could be harmless.

The Ability To Have Heat Conducting Containers

There is technology already discoverd that is promising for the suffering plant industry. This new technology will spur cottage industries for just about every object we use on a daily basis. Scientist are meeting this month in North Carolina to discuss the commercialization of nanotechnology. This new nanotechnology will cause our economy to grow greater than during the industrial revolution. It will affect any product from toothpicks to skyscrapers. Are you ready? And it’s not a speculation, it’s a guarantee.

Read this information and view the video below. If you think like me, you’ll get excited and realize the opportunities and possibilities.

Fresh flowers and vegetables year round for everyone and in every home is a possibility for the near future. A most interesting discovery in nanotechnology will give us a new metal that has morphing qualities. It has solar capabilities, can morph to any color and texture, and repells fingerprints. It’s a self cleaning substance.

Nanotechwire ’s site reports on the new discoveries in the science of nanoparticles. 10,000 nanoparticles would fit on a single hair of the common housefly. The particles are information filled containers. The information tells the particle what to do. Millions of nanoparticles can group together and form an amorphous metal. It will be pliable and easily manipulated in to what ever shape you need. It is stronger than conventional methods and materials used to build objects. Under a microscope, it looks like a tangled web of silk.

If you need a larger container or an odd shaped one—just form what you need. It can be translucent. Send its database a picture of alligator skin and the nanoparticles will morph to that texture. If you want your container to match your house, send it a picture of your siding. Not only will it copy the texture, it will be the same color.

The new nanophones will be bendable and also have morphing abilities. Your phone could be worn on your wrist and made to match your outfit.

If containers are made from the substance, they would have solar characteristics and be able to conduct heat. The roots would be kept warm. Build the container so it surrounds the plant and you’ll have a mini greenhouse. Scientist say this will be very affordable and help the environment. Nanotechnology rids our world of clutter. You will have one tool that will operate on a multifaceted level. Less debris in the landfills and less manufacturing causing pollution. This is very smart technology.

Nanoparticles have the ability to cure some cancers. The particle enters the body by capsule, travels to the cancer cell, docks to it, and unloads its passengers. These passengers are the technology to fix the affected cell. This is so much better than taking a medicine which makes you sick and kills off healthy cells too. Nanoparticles seek and fix only the cells affected. Imagine the future discoveries in the medical field for this sort of thing.

Any surface can be covered. Your house, large buildings, cars, containers, and especially greenhouses. It brings us miles closer to being self sustaining. Watch the video and see how Nokia is harnessing these possibilities. This will blow you away and you’ll need to buy a completely different thinking cap.

I have a more detailed article at The Charlotte History Examiner