Native wisteria vines are a beautiful blue
Specifically, it's American wisteria (), which is native to the Southeastern states, including far southern Illinois. 'It's hardy to USDA Zone 5 and 6, which includes Chicago and its suburbs,' said Spencer Campbell, Plant Clinic manager at The Morton Arboretum in Lisle. It climbs a large steel trellis in the Arboretum's Grand Garden.
Gardeners may be more familiar with other species that are now considered invasive in the United States, Chinese wisteria () and Japanese wisteria (). These Asian species spread very easily to natural areas, where their vigorous growth smothers native plants.
'We should not plant those vines,' Campbell said. 'But American wisteria is just as lovely, and it's a native plant that provides nectar and pollen to native insects.'
American wisteria and the closely related Kentucky wisteria () are woody vines, with a main stem like a tree trunk, and are deciduous, meaning they lose their leaves in winter. They have glossy dark green leaves and produce large, drooping clusters of pealike, lightly fragrant flowers in late May or early June.
The flowers of both native species are blue to purple, but white-flowering cultivated varieties have been introduced.
Although American wisteria and Kentucky wisteria are less aggressive than the Asian species, they are still vigorous and can eventually grow 25 to 30 feet long if not controlled by pruning. The woody stems and branches will be heavy, so the vines need a very sturdy support.
Wisteria climbs by sending out tendrils — slender curling stems — that curl around a support, the way a clematis vine does. 'The tendrils need to find something small enough that they can reach around it, so your trellis or fence should have wires or mesh or bars that are not too wide,' Campbell said. 'Wisteria can't climb a blank wall.'
These plants need full sun for best flowering, so plant them in a spot that gets six to eight hours of sunlight a day. They prefer a moist, well-drained, slightly acidic soil, with mulch over their roots.
Wisteria will need pruning every year, both to control its size and to encourage flowering. Just after the plant finishes blooming, prune excess growth back to 6 inches. These stems will continue growing and flower buds will form on them. In winter, cut them again so that each stem has two to three flower buds left.
Planting American or Kentucky wisteria will be an investment of time and effort. 'You'll have to erect the right kind of support and you'll have to wait a few years before the vines are mature enough to flower,' Campbell said.
If you have the patience to wait, you can be surrounded by the green shade of a splendid vine with blooms of wisteria blue.
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National Geographic
29 minutes ago
- National Geographic
What everyone gets wrong about the deadliest shark attack in history
HISTORY & CULTURE SHARKFEST The sinking of the U.S.S. Indianapolis is widely known as a shark story—but the truth is much more horrifying. The U.S.S. Indianapolis at port in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, circa 1937. The sinking of the warship is considered one of the worst tragedies in U.S. Naval history: 879 men lost their lives while the survivors suffered for four days and five nights until they were rescued. Photograph By Navy History and Heritage Command "The shark comes to the nearest man and that man he'd start poundin' and hollerin' and screamin' and sometimes the shark go away. Sometimes he wouldn't go away." Robert Shaw's iconic monologue as shark hunter Quint in Jaws captured the horror of the day 80 years ago when sharks descended on the crew of the U.S.S. Indianapolis after the vessel was sunk by Japanese torpedoes during World War II. Thanks to the fame of the movie, that speech propelled the worst shark attack in history into public lore. (Martha's Vineyard locals reflect on the legacy of 'Jaws' 50 years later.) But his speech had some critical errors. Many retellings focus on the sharks mercilessly picking off the survivors, but the terror of that day in July 1945 was 'much more than just a shark story,' says Lynn Vincent, author of Indianapolis. It's a story of hundreds of men—some just 17 years old—who set off a great adventure and changed the face of history before experiencing unimaginable horrors, adds her co-author Sara Vladic. The sinking of the U.S.S. Indianapolis is considered one of the worst tragedies in U.S. Naval history. What really happened? This is the true story of the disaster of the Indianapolis. The U.S.S. Indianapolis sets sail on a top-secret mission The U.S.S. Tranquility lands in Guam carrying the survivors of the U.S.S. Indianapolis. Only 316 of the 1,195 crew members aboard the ship survived after being torpedoed by a Japanese submarine. Photograph By National Archives The U.S.S. Indianapolis was hit by torpedoes just after it had completed a top-secret mission: delivering components of the atomic bomb that the U.S. would later use on Hiroshima during World War II. Photograph By National Archives The Indianapolis—affectionately known as the Indy—was already well-known by the time she met her gruesome demise. She had 10 battle stars and was President Franklin D. Roosevelt's ship of state. In March 1945, a few months earlier, the Indianapolis had been hit by a Japanese suicide pilot, or kamikaze, in Okinawa and was sent back to California for repairs. 'The Japanese plane not only hit her, but sent a bomb through her, literally through her,' says Paridon. 'It exploded underneath her keel.' By the time she was mended, the U.S. Navy needed a ship to transport components of the atomic bomb destined for Hiroshima to Tinian, a U.S.-controlled island south of Japan. 'That's why she's available… because she had taken that hit,' says Paridon. 'It's a twist of fate, really it is.' (Wreckage of WWII-era warship U.S.S. Indianapolis found after 72 years.) The Indy was loaded up with the priceless cargo and set out on her crucial journey on July 16. The mission was 'uber, uber, uber secret,' says Paridon. 'The sailors on board that ship had no earthly [idea] what they were carrying. Capt. Charles Butler McVay had an inkling. He was told 'every day you save on your transit is one less day we're gonna have to fight this war,' says Paridon. After racing to Tinian under radio silence, the Indy delivered the bomb on July 26 and the top-secret mission was over. But her hardships were about to begin. The U.S.S. Indianapolis at New York City about a decade before it was sunk by a Japanese submarine. The maritime disaster was made famous by Captain Quint's monologue in the movie Jaws. In terms of lives lost, it was the U.S. Navy's second worst catastrophe in history, trailing only the attack on Pearl Harbor. Photograph By Naval History and Heritage Command The U.S.S. Indianapolis was leaving Guam in the early hours of July 30 when a Japanese submarine spotted the ship glinting in the moonlight. Commander Mochitsura Hashimoto ordered his crew to fire and two torpedoes struck the ship. 'These are big kabooms, to put it very, very bluntly,' says Paridon. That was the first catastrophe. Many men were 'there one minute, literally gone the next,' he says. Others were hit by shrapnel and burned by hot metal as they tried to escape. The Indy sank in just 12 minutes. Those who found themselves in the water—concussed, burned, wounded, and covered in oil from the wreckage—were about to face a nightmare lasting five nights and four days. Joseph A. Jacouemot and Richard P. Thelen, two survivors of the U.S.S. Indianpolis, are shown in a hospital in the Philippines shortly after their rescue in August 1945. Hundreds of men struggled for five days to survive dehydration, hypothermia, shark attacks, and madness while floating in the South Pacific. Photograph By National Archives Likely attracted by the commotion and bodies in the water, sharks—likely oceanic whitetips and tiger sharks—started to arrive soon after the ship sank. Stories tell of over 150 men being killed by sharks in a feeding frenzy. But even though we don't know exact figures, the event is acknowledged as the worst shark attack in history. For context, the total number of unprovoked shark bites globally in all of 2024 was just 47. It's believed the sharks largely fed on corpses and the dying. 'Did they eat some of the corpses? Absolutely. Did they bite some of the survivors? For sure,' says Seth Paridon, a historian and deputy director of the Mississippi Armed Forces Museum. 'But it wasn't to the degree that the myth makes it out to be.' (How to stay safe if you do find yourself swimming with sharks.) Some barely saw shark activity. In an oral history conducted by the Naval History and Heritage Command, senior medical officer Capt. Lewis Haynes 'saw only one shark' and didn't see anyone get bitten. McVay recalls merely 'getting a little annoyed' with the shark following his group because it was scaring away the fish that could have provided food. Spending days in the water with circling sharks was just one of countless horrors the men experienced. 'The human story is really what is missed amid all the focus on the sharks,' says Vladic, who spent a decade interviewing 107 of the surviving crew and their families. 'The survivors themselves don't appreciate the focus on the sharks, because there were a lot more men died of many more things.' The men had no food or fresh water and were exposed to the burning sun. Some died of their wounds from the explosion while others succumbed to exposure, exhaustion, thirst, violence, and even suicide. Desperately thirsty, some drank seawater, which caused salt poisoning and mass hallucinations. 'It was amazing how everyone would see the same thing,' said Haynes, who recounted in an oral history how a group of men all thought they saw a nearby island where they could get some sleep. 'Even I fought hallucinations off and on, but something always brought me back.' (Sharks aren't really mindless killers. So why are we so afraid of them?) Perhaps the most heartbreaking delusion was that the Indy was just under the surface. Some men tried to reach the galley to find food, 'and they would swim off down to their deaths,' says Vladic. A chance rescue In Jaws, Quint tells Chief Brody and Matt Hooper that the mission was 'so secret, no distress signal had been sent.' This is one of the speech's key errors. 'The mission was long over,' says Vincent. They had no more need for secrecy. The problem was that the distress signals weren't processed properly. No one was searching for survivors. Survivors of U.S.S. Indianapolis being brought ashore from U.S.S. Tranquility at Guam, on August 8, 1945. In this photograph, they are being placed in ambulances for immediate transfer to local hospitals. Photograph By PhoM1/c J.G. Mull., National Archives A landing craft takes a number of injured survivors ashore for hospitalization at Peleliu, an island in the Palau archipelago in Micronesia. The wreckage of the U.S.S. Indianapolis was discovered by chance—their distress signals hadn't been processed properly. Photograph By National Archives Lt. Wilbur Gwinn discovered them by chance during a routine air patrol on the morning of August 2. While fixing a broken antenna on his plane, he happened to look down and spot oil and flotsam in the water. At first, he thought it was an enemy submarine. Then he saw men floating in small groups and sent a message calling for help. In response, Lt. Adrian Marks was sent to help in an amphibious aircraft. Realizing that rescue ships were hours away, he performed an open sea landing—which are against naval regulations because they are so dangerous—and tried to get as many men out of the water and into the plane as possible. He even tied some onto the wings of his plane with parachute cord. Just after midnight on August 3, rescue ships arrived and the men were finally safe. Of the 1,195 men aboard the Indianapolis, 879 lost their lives. Just 316 survived. The final victim of the Indianapolis The Indy had one more victim. Despite the overwhelming support of his surviving crew, Captain McVay was court martialed by the U.S. Navy for negligence in December 1945. Naval vessels are supposed to zigzag in 'submarine-infested waters' to make it harder for torpedoes to hit them, says Paridon, but McVay hadn't done so—because, it turns out, he hadn't been told there were submarines nearby. Admiral Raymond A. Spruance, commander of the Fifth Fleet, pins a Purple Heart on Clarence E. McElroy, a survivor of the U.S.S. Indianapolis. Many of the men who survived the disaster never spoke of the trauma they experienced. Photograph By National Archives Hashimoto was even called to testify. He said that nothing McVay did, including zigzagging, would have stopped him sinking that ship, but the captain was still found guilty. The verdict wasn't overturned until 1996. 'The survivors fought for 50 years to have their captain exonerated,' says Vincent. However, McVay, who took his own life on November 6, 1968, didn't live to see his pardon. 'That's the ultimate, final tragedy,' says Paridon. The legacy of the U.S.S. Indianapolis Many survivors never spoke of their trauma. 'They rarely talked about it to anyone, including their families,' says Vladic. 'There are quite a few cases where the children of survivors found out their dad was on the ship after watching Jaws.' The movie brought the ship's story into public awareness but the Indy's real legacy isn't her sinking, or the sharks, but her role in changing the course of World War II. 'These guys accomplished their mission, and they fought together to survive,' says Paridon. Just one living survivor remains: 98-year-old Harold Bray. But, says Vladic, the crew's families are determined 'to keep the story alive long after the last survivor is gone.' Jaws @ 50: The Definitive Inside Story premieres on National Geographic starting July 10 and streams on Disney+ and Hulu starting July 11. Check local listings.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
20 Little-Known Facts About the Fourth of July That Will Amaze Your Kids
Every year on July 4, kids and adults alike gear up to celebrate Independence Day with barbecues, pool parties, parades, and fireworks displays. But with all of the patriotic festivities, people often forget the true meaning of the federal holiday: the birth of American independence. Give your children a history lesson by sharing these fun Fourth of July facts. Who knows—they might be inspired to share them at your family's celebration! In the 17th and 18th centuries, Great Britain owned several territories along North America's Atlantic coast. They were known as the Thirteen Colonies and included Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, and Virginia. The 13 stripes in the modern American flag represent those original colonies. The Thirteen Colonies weren't entirely happy with Britain's rule over them. They initiated the American Revolutionary War in 1775 to express their grievances about certain matters, such as taxation and their lack of representation in government. It soon turned into a quest for independence from Britain. Delegates from the Thirteen Colonies held a meeting called the Second Continental Congress. On July 2, 1776, they agreed to approve a resolution of independence, which proclaimed freedom from British rule. The statement of autonomy, called the Declaration of Independence, was officially approved two days later on July 4. In a letter to his wife Abigail, John Adams wrote about his vision for Independence Day. Here's what Adams said: "I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated, by succeeding Generations, as the great anniversary Festival." He added that it would be observed with "pomp and parade, with shews, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires and illuminations from one end of this continent to the other from this time forward forever more." America's population has grown exponentially since the Declaration of Independence was signed. As of 2025, it's estimated that more than 341 million people reside in the United States. An article published in The Virginia Gazette on July 18, 1777, talked about July Fourth celebrations in Philadelphia. It mentioned parades, music, speeches, fireworks, and boats adorned with red, white, and blue decorations. Historical sources say that George Washington gave his soldiers double rations of rum on July 4, 1778. A trend that still remains. Nowadays many adults celebrate Independence Day with beer and patriotic cocktails instead. Bristol hosted a small Fourth of July parade in 1785. Since then, it has expanded into an annual celebration that starts on Flag Day (June 14) and ends with a parade winding 2.5 miles through the town on July 4. Thomas Jefferson hosted the party, which is now an annual celebration with a concert and fireworks display at the National Mall. Two signers of the Declaration of Independence went on to become president: John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. Both men died on July 4, 1826—a significant date because it marked the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. America's fifth president James Monroe also died on July 4, 1831, although he wasn't a signer of the Declaration. The Fourth of July became an unpaid federal holiday in 1870—nearly 100 years after it was founded. Congress made it a paid holiday for federal employees in 1941, and it remains so to this day. On Independence Day, there are thousands of public fireworks displays across the country, but the largest one is sponsored by Macy's in New York City. Plenty of other cities host large-scale fireworks shows, too, such as Detroit, Boston, Houston, Nashville, and Washington, D.C. The total accounts for personal consumer fireworks and public display fireworks, according to data compiled by the American Pyrotechnics Association. That's an explosive Fourth of July fact for kids! Congress made the resolution because since 1868 the city of Seward has hosted Fourth of July celebrations in its town square. More than 40,000 people attend the festivities, which is especially remarkable because only 6,000 people reside in Seward! According to the National Sausage and Hot Dog Council (NHDSC), that's enough hot dogs to stretch from Washington, D.C., to Los Angeles more than five times! Francis Scott Key wrote the ballad during the War of 1812 on September 14, 1814. Now it's probably the most famous song about the country. About two years into the American Revolutionary War, the Continental Congress passed a resolution that established the first official flag for the U.S. as an independent nation. The flag had 13 stripes and 13 stars. Since then, there have been 27 official versions of the flag with the current design being the longest-standing. Flag Day is observed each year on June 14. The U.S. flag code was established in 1942, and it states that the flag "should never be used as wearing apparel, bedding, or drapery." That said, you can't get any penalties for breaking the code, so don't worry about that American flag shirt or bathing suit in your closet! Former president Calvin Coolidge is the only president born on Independence Day. He was also a strong supporter of the woman's suffrage movement—how's that for independence? John Hancock and Charles Thomspon were the only two men who signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. The rest of the delegates signed the historical document over the next few weeks. Read the original article on Parents
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Campaign launches to protect endangered badgers being killed on roads in B.C.'s Interior
B.C. residents are being asked to report badger sightings as part of a new campaign aimed at protecting the elusive American badger. The summer months can be some of the most deadly for American badgers, which are endangered in B.C., according to Karina Lamy, a carnivore conservation biologist with the provincial government. The main reason? They get hit by cars while travelling on the road. "The mortality period for them on the roads … starts June, peaks in July, and then drops off in August," she told CBC's Daybreak Kamloops guest host Doug Herbert. "You might see a female right now with two to three kits, [but] with a mortality rate of up to 80 per cent in some areas, most of the kits might not make it into the fall." In an effort to reduce the number of badgers killed on B.C.'s roads, the province, in partnership with conservation organizations Badgers in B.C. and the Simpcw Resources Group, has launched the B.C. Badger Connectivity Initiative, which aims to create safer road crossings for badgers by designing new highway infrastructure and building passable culverts at five spots in B.C.'s Interior where badgers are most likely to be killed by road traffic. In order to get a better idea of where badgers are, the initiative is asking people who see a badger — dead or alive — to report it on the Badgers in B.C. website. Those reports go into a provincial database that will help the group figure out where infrastructure is needed to help keep badgers safe. "Sightings from people on the land are one of the most important tools we have," Ceryne Staples, who leads the badger conservation program within Simpcwúl̓ecw, said in a news release. A badger sighting in B.C. is rare. "You might ask people in an area where you know there are badgers, and they've never seen one before," Lamy said. Lamy said up to 245 mature badgers live in the Cariboo, Thompson and Okanagan regions, while there are up to 160 in the Kootenay Boundary region. They are considered endangered, after years of habitat loss caused by human development, traffic deaths and persecution; badgers were considered an agricultural pest, according to Badgers in B.C. But American badgers are calm creatures, Lamy said. "I think they're kind of a surprising animal," she said. "A lot of people will think that the badger is a little bit more, maybe like the African honey badger, that it's like this fierce, feisty animal, and they can be. But in the experiences that I've had with them this spring, they're actually a much calmer, relaxed animal that you'd think even when it's been trapped and it's sitting in the cage trap waiting for you to release it." Lamy said the group is currently trapping for badgers so researchers can put harnesses on them to track their location to better understand where they are. They've also put cameras in culverts to monitor passage rates. "Hopefully, with that information, we can design better roads together with the Ministry of Transportation and our First Nations partners."
