WORTH REPEATING 



A Congenial Plant 



Russian sage is a congenial, dry-soil plant that will thrive with 

 almost no maintenance once established in the garden. Plants are 

 vigorous and perfectly hardy, ignoring heat, drought and pests while 

 always looking fresh 



Perovskia alripUeifolia will be heavily promoted as the Perennial Plant 

 Associations Plant of the Year for 1095 The plant will be in good com- 

 pany Past winners have included die-hards like astiibe Sprite,' 

 heuchera Palace Purple' and Careapsis verlicillala '.Moonbeam, all of 

 which have enjoyed surges in popularity — and sales — as a result of the 

 PPA designation. 



The stems of Russian sage, a member of the mint family, are gray- 

 ish-white and aromatic. Lavender-blue flowers are arranged in slender, 

 spikelike clusters that extend above the foliage. The plant will grow 3 

 to 4 feet tall and as wide 



Propagation and growing-on are fairly straightforward 



Tip cuttings can be taken during the summer Root cuttings in a 

 propagation bench, or go directly to the final container, a 4- or b-inch 

 pot filled with a light, well-draining medium 



When rooting cuttings, maintain humidity with a plastic tent above 

 the bench rather than by misting to prevent rotting of the cuttings 

 from excessive moisture Remember, Russian sage prefers dry 

 conditions 



A handful of perennial specialist nurseries around the country sell 

 field-grown rooted divisions, shipped fully dormant. 



Russian sage can also be propagated by seed However, like many 

 perennials, germination is often irregular and occurs over a long pe- 

 riod. Chilling at 35'F to SCF will enhance germination percentage 



Year-old plants can be stepped up to gallon-size containers Plants 

 overwinter well, and there are no serious problems with diseases and 

 insects 



Expect a small show of flowers the first year, with greater outbursts 

 in subsequent years, generally coming in late summer 



Russian sage is hardy to Zones 5 through 9. In the garden, the plant 

 prefers well-drained soil. It makes an excellent filler in the border and 

 combines easily with almost anything Remove spent flowers in the 

 summer to lengthen the bloom period 



Russian sage will tolerate some drought when its established To 

 promote good growth and flowers, users should cut the plant back to 

 within several inches of the ground in the spring 



For more. Perennial Plant Associalion. 3383 Schirtzinger Road. Columbus. OH 

 43026: (614) 292-6027 IReprinled from Greenhouse Manager, August. 1994) 





THE GREEN SPOT 



Some people are nervous about bugs 

 — beneficials as well as pests. And 

 the worst reactions come from suggesting 

 the use of wasps. I'll make a suggestion to 

 a client — who perhaps has the beginnings 

 of a white fly problem — to use a parasitic 

 wasp (namely Zntarsia formosa) and the first 

 words III hear are. Do they sting?" 



The answer is, "No." They don't even 

 have stingers. And they re just slightly 

 larger than the period at the end of this 

 sentence. 



People will work in their gardens 

 alongside a multitude of wasps. They will 

 notice bees, paper wasps, yellow jackets, 

 medium and large braconid wasps and 

 hover flies (these resemble small yellow 

 jackets). What they usually fail to see are 

 the hundreds of tiny parasitic wasps. 

 And they don't realize that if it were not 

 for these tiny helpers laying their eggs In 

 the various stages of other insects, their 

 gardens would be overrun with (>ests. 



If you consider using wasps as a 

 biological pest control, remember that 

 they're beneficial in the truest sense of 

 the word — and that they do not sting, 



(Note: Beneficial wasps are often re- 

 ferred to as parasitic wasps, but this Is a 

 misnomer. The wasps commercially available 

 for use in biological pest control are not 

 parasites, but parasitoids. Parasites coexist 

 with their hosts — though not usually to the 

 benefit of the host. Parasitoids. however, kill 

 their hosts — making them popular as pest 

 control agents. t 



Mike Cherim. owner of The Green Spot, 

 a company supplying biological pest control 

 agents and related products, is at 

 603-942-8925 



Wholesale 



Gold Star Wholesale Nureery is a family o»-ned business Since 1952 we 

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