The Beauty is in the Details

the Latin of the same name and the Greek Skilla. It was a name used in the distant past by botanists and naturalists such as Theophrastus (371-287 BC) to describe a bulbous plant. Although the plant described by Theophrastus and others was a different bulb, Linnaeus adopted the name for this ‘new’ group of bulbs. The species epithet describes how it blooms during late summer and into the early fall.

The genus name of Prospero was published posthumously in The Genera of Plants in 1866 by the English botanist Richard Salisbury (1761-1829). Salisbury suggested shifting four species of Scilla native to North Africa to the genus Prospero. The inspiration for the genus name remains a mystery, although it has been suggested the district in Italy named San

Prospero was the inspiration, while others consider the magician Prospero in Shakespeare’s the Tempest provided the namesake. However, he did not entertain changing the name of Scilla autumnalis that remained untouched until 1982. At this time, the genus was under much scrutiny by the Austrian botanist Franz Speta (1941-2015). Speta noticed many species of Scilla were sufficiently unique to be teased out, and he suggested placing this species into the genus Prospero, which is now accepted by most in the botanical community.

Although largely unrecognized by most gardeners, Prospero autumnalis is certainly worth searching out in catalogues or specialty nurseries. The narrow, straplike foliage is ¼” wide by 6-8” long and appears in mid- a few seedlings annually. Plants are hardy in zones 5-8. Due to their mid-summer bloom time, plants are best located along the edge of beds near walls or walkways where they can best be appreciated.

The large spikenard plants provide dense cover for small animals on dark forest floors. Spikenard flowers are sought out by bees and beetles; birds and bears are attracted to the berries.

Because of the thick, deep rhizomes, mature spikenard plants are difficult to transplant. Also you should carefully chose a good shady location where this large plant will not shade out smaller companions. Spikenard grows well with Jack-in-the-pulpit, wild geranium, Greek valerian, trillium, yellow wood violet, and Solomon’s seal. Consider this plant if you have the room, and be amazed year after year as it apparently grows from nothing into a five foot “bush” each year.

Editor’s Note: Hubert Ling is Horticultural Co-Chair of the Native Plant Society of New Jersey. He can be reached at milhubling@ verizon.net.

March, only to mostly vanish by July. Starting in late July in Northern New Jersey, the flower stems emerge, often accompanied by a few fresh leaves. Each bulb produces from one to four flowering stems, stretching to 12” tall. They are topped by floral racemes that range from one to four inches long and contain from 5-30+ bright pink or violet flowers, often with a green tip. Each flower has three petals and three sepals that look identical and are termed tepals. The buds are a bright purplish pink, capped in a bright Leprechaun green. As the six tepals open, they reflex backward and develop into a star-shaped flower nearly 3/8” in diameter with outstretched yellow anthers.

Plants grow best in full sun and well-drained soils and increase in size through producing offsets and

Unlike February and March, when the blooms of smaller statured bulbs are easily seen amongst the winter-bare landscape, smaller blooming bulbs in summer can be easily overlooked. Of course, it took a gentleman like Frank Cabot, the founder of the Garden Conservancy to appreciate the value this bulb brings to a garden. Its beauty and unexpected appearance during mid-summer is a detail gardens both need and require. All the more reason why for the Garden, ‘The Beauty is in the Details’, is far more appropriate than the devil!

Editor’s Note: Bruce Crawford is a lover of plants since birth, is the Manager of Horticulture for the Morris County Parks Commission, and a Past President of the Garden State Gardens Consortium. He can be reached at BCrawford@ morrisparks.net

Summer is here and so are a lot of brown spots. What is causing this? Your lawn looked so good this spring. Is it fungus, insect damage, drought stress or Fido? When your lawn is under summer stress, more “brown spots” may appear.

Fungus in a lawn occurs when the “disease triangle” is completed. Disease develops from the interaction between a susceptible plant host (the grass), a disease-causing organism (the pathogen), and an environment that favors the pathogen to infect and incite disease on the host. That environment usually includes heat and moisture. This is similar to getting athletes foot, a fungus that is caused by the warmth of the body, moisture from sweating and working out, and darkness from the foot being covered by socks and shoes. There also is a “disease management” triangle you can follow to reduce fungus in your lawn. Once you have identified the fungus, you can manage it by manipulating the host, the pathogens and/or the environmental conditions. You can manipulate the host plant by using better quality disease resistant grass species

Now that we are entering the month of July, which is traditionally the hottest month of the year here in the Garden State, it is time to start getting our cool season vegetable seeds and plants ready for planting. Of course, we have spent the last couple of months tending to our warm season vegetables such as tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, cucumbers, and squash, and we might even be harvesting some of these. But now is the time to start thinking about a couple of months down the road.

Certain crops thrive in cooler temperatures and do not perform as well during the hottest months of the summer. Lettuce is an excellent example of this. We usually start planting lettuce transplants in the field in mid-April. These transplants can tolerate a light frost and thrive in the cool, damp conditions that are usually associated with April and May. As the plants start to mature in late May and early June, the weather is warmer and temperatures that are too hot can cause the lettuce to bolt and become bitter. One way we have found that can

Turf ‘s Up

By Todd Pretz Professional Turf Consultant