HortMemo 2001

 

 

 

December 20, 2001

 

TO: Horticulturists interested in Ornamental Horticulture

FROM: Win Dunwell, Extension Horticulturist

SUBJECT: Miscellaneous Information and Announcements.

 

Best Wishes for a Happy, Healthy, and Successful 2002.

 

Win and Christi have had their e-mail addresses changed to wdunwell@uky.edu and cforsyth@uky.edu respectively.

 

KENTUCKY LANDSCAPE INDUSTRIES WINTER CONFERENCE AND TRADE SHOW, January 8-10, 2002, Lexington Center, Lexington, KY. SEE YOU THERE!!!!

 

For those that think the study of plants is great fun there is web site at the University of Kentucky Department of Horticulture web site that was created by Bob Geneve, Rick Durham and Christy Cassady that is "worthy" of being considered a fun and interesting site. http://www.uky.edu/Agriculture/Horticulture/virtarbo/welcome.htm contains some of Bob Geneve's great images and the text contains information about plants not always included in the resources we routinely use. It does require the Authorware web player, but just click on the icon on the opening page to download it. Enjoy!

 

Mike Cunningham, Greenfield Plant Farm,726 Stephens Road, Hamilton, OH 45011 513.683.5249 wrote in The Buckeye, November 2001, "I have come to the conclusion that I have two viable ways to develop this sense of what (plants) people want. First, and best, is to listen to our customers; which for me means listening to our retail salespeople, who have in turn been listening to our customers. ---- The only other way I see to know what plants people want is to make the time to become more of a gardener myself. Furthermore, to garden with as broad a range of interests as possible, so that my personal preferences begin to approximate that of our customers." Sounds good to me.

 

If you cannot attend the Garden Guru's hosted by the Purchase Area Master Gardeners, January 12, 2002, in the Cherry Civic Center, Paducah, KY with Rick Darke and C. Colston Burrell please consider the excellent Botanica program on the same day at the Clifton Center, 2117 Payne Street, Louisville. Botanica is hosting a lecture and book signing by Dan Hinkley, Heronswood Nursery http://www.heronswood.com/index.html Dan will be speaking on "The Garden in Winter: Blossom, Foliage, Fruit and Bark". For more information on the Garden Gurus program contact Purchase Area Master Gardener Carolyn Roof, 270.554.4466, e-mail gardener@paducah.com and to learn more about the Botanica Program contact: Mary Anne Thornton 502.896.4251, botanicaKY@aol.com

 

In the plant category I photographed Pinus densiflora 'Oculis-Draconis', Dragon Eye Pine, at the Southern Region American Conifer Society Chapter tour of Jerry Baker's Baker Arboretum in Bowling Green, KY. I had already seen the plant several times and was introduced again at the ER IPPS meeting in Lexington where Teresa Ford of Yadkin Valley Nursery Co., described it as "A must for variegated plant lovers". I haven't seen it in winter, but Mike Dirr has observed "can be rather attractive,----; unfortunately it discolors to a muddy yellow-brown in winter", that was in Illinois, I will be watching to see how it does in Kentucky because when I observed it in fall it was spectacular.

 

 

 

November 30, 2001

 

TO: Horticulturists interested in Ornamental Horticulture

FROM: Win Dunwell, Extension Horticulturist

SUBJECT: Miscellaneous Information and Announcements.

 

Next month is one of the big issues for those receiving a hard copy. We like to have as many of the future "Upcoming Meetings" as possible included in this issue. If you want something added (you can check what is already there by going to http://www.ca.uky.edu/HLA/Dunwell/HMMeetings.html ***FIX LINK***) please contact: Win Dunwell, P.O. Box 469, Princeton, KY 42445-0469; e-mail, wdunwell@ca.uky.edu ; phone 270.365.7541 x 209; fax 270.365.2667. Thanks.

 

The Kentucky Landscape Industries Winter Conference (see upcoming meetings) program prepared by Dr. Robert "Bob" McNiel will again be one where you must pick one presentation of many excellent presentations for any given time slot. The program includes many gifted speakers discussing the following topics: Plant materials - Dan Hinkley, John Gaydos, Carol Reese, Jim Monroe, Lynn Saville; Landscape design workshop - Dr. Tom Nieman, John Swintowsky, Jeff Singer, Rick Rushing; Garden Center Employee Training - Donna Michael, Amy Fulcher, Rob Stanfa, Richard Weber, Jim Wallitsch; Best Management Practices (including Integrated Pest Mgt) - Win Dunwell, Bob McNiel, John Hartman, Mark Williams, Lee Townsend, Julie Beale, Blake Newton; Management - Tom Shay; Landscape and Arboriculture- Gordon Hayward (stone), Drew St. John, John Grabosky, Dave Leonard; Production practices (including pot-in-pot and irrigation), Bob McNiel, Mark Lurey, Hiram Baldwin, Dr. John Ruter: New Regs for Work and Zone Safety - Russell Thomas; and UK Research Reports. Wow!!!!! Bob's done it again, see you there!!!!

 

A reminder for those interested in taking the Kentucky Certified Nurseryman Exam at the Kentucky Landscape Industries Conference and Trade Show, Tuesday, January 8, 2002, information is available on-line at http://www.knla.org/certified.htm

 

The Kentucky Nursery and Landscape Association booklet Outstanding Plants for Kentucky was created under the leadership and expertise of Kentucky plantsmen: landscape designer Tony Nold; and nurseryman Greg Ammon with encouragement, advice, and the council of the KNLA Board of Directors. This excellent publication lists "worthy" plants known to do well in Kentucky landscapes. The booklet is available at a very reasonable cost and can be purchased in volume by contacting Betsie Taylor, KNLA Exec. Dir., 350 Village Drive, Frankfort, KY 40601 502.848.0055 or 800.735.9791, Fax 502.848.0032 e-mail knla@mis.net homepage http://www.knla.org Those wanting individual copies can get them at a KNLA member retail site.

 

The Purchase Area Master Gardeners Winter Program: "Garden Gurus", January 12, 2002, Cherry Civic Center, Paducah, KY will have Rick Darke, a widely published author, photographer, lecturer, and landscape design consultant specializing in native plants and regional landscapes of North America, http://www.rickdarke.com/bio.htm and C. Colston Burrell, noted author and owner of Native Landscape Design and Restoration, Charlottesville, VA (a Google search resulted in 10 pages of links) as speakers. A great program with the added benefit of an auction of specialty plants, see you there!

 

 

 

October 31, 2001

 

TO: Horticulturists interested in Ornamental Horticulture

FROM: Win Dunwell, Extension Horticulturist

SUBJECT: Miscellaneous Information and Announcements.

 

If you didn't get the info to Hope in time for the Kentucky Grown Landscape Plant Availability Guide you can still get your info posted to the searchable web version by sending a listing of the plants, both common and scientific names, and the size you are currently growing, --- These plants do need to be grown in your nursery within the state of Kentucky, to Hope Crain, Kentucky Department of Agriculture, 502.564.0290 x 253, Kentucky Department of Agriculture, 100 Fair Oaks Lane, 5th Floor, Frankfort, KY 40601. The Guide is posted to the Department of Agriculture web site at http://www.kyagr.com

 

The West Kentucky Chapter of the KNLA hosted another good education event. This one covered Small Engine maintenance and was held at James Sander's Nursery, Paducah, KY. Special thanks to all at James Sander's Nursery for providing the place, food, and program. For those that missed it recommendations included always using fresh gas, preferable less that 30 days old mixed with 89 octane gasoline. Other tips don't forget to lub the gear box and driveshaft on your string trimmers, most 2 stroke machines are meant to be run at wide open throttle, and for those that use chain saws; safety is very important, and the Kentucky Master Logger Program (contact the UK Cooperative Extension Service in your County) provides excellent training.

 

Plants: What's happening out there. Well, Sharon Bale told me she learned at the Southern Plant Conference that a dwarf Ironweed (height 2-3 feet), Vernonia lettermannii, is on the market. I am not sure those with pastures will find that of comfort (weed is a part of the name after all), but gardeners that love ironweed will appreciate not having to pinch it back or suffer with a 7-8 foot tall plant. A Google search finds Niche Gardens, http://www.nichegdn.com , will offer the plant in the Fall of 2002. At the ERIPPS Meeting there were several plants mentioned. The most interesting for those in Kentucky is Mike Hayman's selection of Nyssa sylvatica 'Hayman's Red', Red Rage™. Nice glossy leaves and great fall color. And here at the UKREC we have Calycanthus floridus x Sinocalycanthus sinensis 'Hartlage Wine' in trial. The proposed name of this cross is Sinoncalycaly raulstonii, don't ya love it! Every time I walk the Buddy Hubbuch Holly Collection at Bernheim Arboretum I look at Ilex opaca 'Chief Paduke' and say I have to have one of those. The tight pyramidal growth habit and interesting foliage are worthy. The fact that this female cultivar, with oblong fruit (a noted characteristic according to Bon Hartline), has a male name has limited it's marketability. It was selected from a plant found in a Paducah cemetery. SiloHouse Nursery, Paducah, KY has started propagating plants from the original plant. Other Kentucky nurseries frequently have a few.

 

William Bartram's book Travels is available in electronic form at the Documenting the American South site, http://docsouth.unc.edu/nc/bartram/bartram.html an effort by North Carolina University at Chapel Hill Libraries. Cool!

 

 

 

September 30, 2001

 

TO: Horticulturists interested in Ornamental Horticulture

FROM: Win Dunwell, Extension Horticulturist

SUBJECT: Miscellaneous Information and Announcements.

 

The 2002 Theodore Klein Plant Award Winners are: Acer triflorum- Three-flower Maple; Hamamelis x intermedia - Witchhazel intermediate hybrids of H. japonica x H. Mollis; Ilex verticillata 'Red Sprite' - Red Sprite Winterberry; Polygonatum odoratum 'Variegatum' - Variegated Fragrant Solomon's Seal. For more info on the Theodore Klein Plant Awards go to http://www.ca.uky.edu/HLA/Dunwell/TKleinPA.html ***FIX LINK***

 

Kentucky Grown Landscape Plant Availability Guide updates and/or new listings must be in Hope Crain's hands by October 15, 2001 in order to be included. The Guide is posted to the Department of Agriculture web site at http://www.kyagr.com Hope says in her September 4, 2001 letter "If you would like to be listed in this printed directory and on the web directory, please send a listing of the plants, both common and scientific names, and the size you are currently growing. -----. These plants do need to be grown in your nursery within the state of Kentucky, and there is no charge to be listed." Send lists to Hope Crain, Kentucky Department of Agriculture, 500 Mero Street, 7th Floor, Frankfort, KY 40601.

 

The Louisville Nursery Association meeting at Greenhaven Tree Care was a very nice event. Robert and Patti and their employees have reason to be proud of their facilities and organization. They readily shared how they do business with all attendees. The next meeting will be Wednesday, October 17, 2001 at Bluegrass Farm and Lawn, 800.927.0786 or 502.633.1557, 901 Frankfort Road, Shelbyville.

 

The Eastern Region International Plant propagator's meeting was a great success thanks to all involved but much of the credit should go to Chairman Dr. Bob McNiel. I will talk plants next month but for those in the retail part of the nursery/landscape industry Wallitsch's Garden Center, Louisville, and Wilson's Nursery and Garden Center, Frankfort, that were on the ERIPPS tours are worth a visit. And if you missed the Eastern Region American Conifer Society meeting you can add Leichhardt Landscaping and Garden Center to your list of places for a future visit. Casey and Cindi Schott have made dramatic changes since taking over the Nashville Road garden center just a month ago.

 

Allan M. Armitages new book Armitage's Manual of Annuals, Biennials and Half-Hardy Perennials, 2001, Timber Press, Inc. ( http://www.timberpress.com ) when added to his Herbaceous Perennial Plants and Michael Dirr's Manual of Woody Landscape Plants pretty well rounds out the resources needed for the average nursery/landscape business or educator. Set up in the same fashion as his Herbaceous Perennial Plants (2nd edition, 1997) there is a wealth of information available. Well, yes, a grasses book would seem to be needed but actually Dr. Armitage has included a few grasses (the non-hardy Pennisetums) in this book, as he included perennial grasses in his perennials book. Read the introduction at least once to know how he defined the plants that occur in this book. Depending on where you live you might find yourself going back and forth between the perennials book and this one.

 

 

 

August 31, 2001

 

TO: Horticulturists interested in Ornamental Horticulture

FROM: Win Dunwell, Extension Horticulturist

SUBJECT: Miscellaneous Information and Announcements.

 

I will see you all at the Kentucky Nursery and Landscape Association Summer Outing at Bernheim Arboretum, Clermont, KY on September 6, 2001. From there we will all be at the Eastern Region International Plant Propagator's Society meeting in Lexington, KY, September 30-October 3, 2001. See HortMemo 6, below, and/or the upcoming meetings list. A great opportunity to attend an IPPS meeting right here in Kentucky.

 

Diseases of Woody Ornamentals and Trees in Nurseries, 2001, edited by Ronald K. Jones and D. Michael Benson, APS Press, The American Phytopathological Society, St. Paul, MN 55121-2097 is an excellent resource for those in nursery production enterprises. In addition to discussion of diseases specific to plant genus there is a section, disease management, which includes: horticulture practices to reduce disease development, tissue culture, and disease management for nurseries using recycling irrigation systems to mention a few of the 16 chapters in this section. The book can be ordered online at http://www.shopapspress.org/disofwoodora.html or by calling to APS Press 1.800.328.7560

 

I visited the J.C. Raulston Arboretum in July and saw the building of the Ruby C. McSwain Education Center was progressing. While wandering the arboretum I came across a J.C. quote that many may know but seems "worthy" of repeating: "Plan and plant for a better world." I like that! With that in mind, the University of Kentucky Arboretum is also in the process of getting it's visitor center and office built. There is a fence across the entrance path, but as of last week workers had put down some attractive pavers to cover the detour walk to the demonstration garden via the Rose Garden path.

 

The Pennsylvania Horticulture Society (PHS) has announced the 2002 PHS Gold Medal Plant Awards (formerly known as the Styer Award of Garden Merit, some people still use this title in articles and catalogs). The winners are Buxus sempervirens 'Vadar Valley', Campsis grandiflora 'Morning Calm', Malus 'Adirondack', and Physocarpus opulifolius 'Diablo' Diablo™. Previous winners and information about the program can be found at http://www.libertynet.org/phs/gold/gold1.html 'Vadar Valley' boxwood and 'Morning Calm' trumpetcreeper have done alright in the UKREC landscape, but have yet to be severely tested by one of "those Winters". 'Adirondack' crabapple is an introduction of the late Dr. Egolf, U. S. National Arboretum, known for it's resistance to several crabapple diseases. The Diablo ninebark is rated as a zone 2-7 plant and should survive our area's Winters, but Mike Dirr questions it's ability to hold the purple foliage color in heat and humidity in a series of fun comments on the cultivar on p. 713 of the 1998 edition of the "Manual".

 

 

 

July 31, 2001

 

TO: Horticulturists interested in Ornamental Horticulture

FROM: Win Dunwell, Extension Horticulturist

SUBJECT: Miscellaneous Information and Announcements.

 

For those wanting to continue to receive HortMemo, please send in your sheet that was included in HortMemo 6 by September 1, 2001. If you have lost the HortMemo continuation sign-up sheet or you wish to stop receiving HortMemo, contact Christi at: 270.365.7541 x 221; Fax 270.365.2667; mail, P.O. Box 469, Princeton, KY 42445-0469; e-mail, cforsyth@ca.uky.edu

 

For those that elected to receive it by e-mail in the future this will be your last printed copy.

 

It has been confirmed that a Lexington daylily collector has a plant that is infected with daylily rust. John Hartman wrote the following in a letter to UK Extension agents and specialists "Daylily rust disease was identified for the first time in Kentucky today" (16Jul01). More information can be obtained by reading Dr. Hartman's article in Kentucky Pest News Number 922, June 25, 2001 http://www.uky.edu/Agriculture/kpn/kpn_01/pn010702.htm#shaday and going to the links he mentions. If you are not on line and would like a copy of the KPN article please call or e-mail Christi at 270.365.7541 x 221 or cforsyth@ca.uky.edu

 

The American Conifer Society Southeastern Region Meeting will be October 5-6, 2001. Jerry Baker and the Baker Arboretum, Bowling Green, Kentucky will host the event.. Paul Cappiello will speak on Friday night and tours on Saturday will include Leichhardt's Landscape Company (Mitch Leichhardt will give a Utilizing A Landscape Architect presentation), Baker's Arboretum, and the garden of Dr. Marcus Patton. Saturday will close with an evening dinner and a plant auction. For more information contact: Jordan Jack, 828.683.4518, Fax 828.683.4557, http://www.conifersociety.org/calendar_frame.html

 

Bernheim Arboretum has started adding beds to the area immediately inside the entrance gates on the left side of the road. You might start watching this area to see young plants as they grow and develop their mature character. The constant expansion of Bernheim's collections is making my goal to see every plant in the horticultural collections "show it's stuff" (most obvious ornamental characteristic) more difficult. Touring with others is very advantageous. Recently, members of the Theodore Klein Plant Award Committee walked the Sun and Shade Garden and a Clerodendron was pointed out to me that I have probably walked past numerous times without noticing. Speaking of Arboretums, I hope everyone has been watching the development of the new rose beds and other activities going on at the University of Kentucky Arboretum, Lexington, KY. The huge piles of soil have been shaped and planting continues there also. What a blessing to have these great public gardens in Kentucky.

 

I was embarrassed to have Dr. Bob McNiel stop by and find that the pot-in-pot plants in our beds had rooted into the soil below the socket pot. We had not used any chemical root control and were lifting the pots to break any roots trying to get into the soil under the socket pot. It turns out the roots had circled and it wasn't until one tried to actually remove the growing container completely from the socket pot that we found the roots had gotten into the soil. It took some real work to get the roots severed. Pot-in-pot is a great system but once roots enter the soil harvest and possibly transplant success can be negatively impacted. Remember, lift and turn the growing container.

 

 

 

June 30, 2001

 

TO: Horticulturists interested in Ornamental Horticulture

FROM: Win Dunwell, Extension Horticulturist

SUBJECT: Miscellaneous Information and Announcements.

 

The KNLA Summer Outing will be at Bernheim Arboretum, Clermont, KY http://www.bernheim.org . In addition to tours of the Arboretum and a trade show, Dr. David Creech, Professor of Horticulture at Stephen F. Austin State University, will be speaking. Part of his fame is his service as director of the ten acre SFASU Mast Arboretum, http://www.sfasu.edu/ag/arboretum/index.htm . Dr. Dave Creech is a well-known entertaining horticulture speaker, see you there.

 

The Eastern Region International Plant Propagator's Society meeting will be in Lexington, KY, September 30-October 3, 2001. In addition to some great tours of private gardens, public gardens, Bernheim Arboretum, Rosehill Greenhouses, Throughbred Daylilies, F.W. Rickards Seeds, Gainesway Horse Farm and Arboretum, Wallitsch production greenhouses, Wilson's Nurseries (if you get a chance stop by Charlie's new garden center complex, Frankfort, KY), and more. There is a excellent propagation and plant program and roundtable discussions. In addition, there will be a poster display of research projects, plant auctions, and numerous other things to attract the plant propagator/plants person. Of course, the objective to "Seek and Share" propagation information is the goal IPPS, but there is the opportunity to increase one's industry network, always an added benefit. See Upcoming Meetings for more info.

 

I added the following to my Getting Started in the Nursery/Landscape Industry http://www.ca.uky.edu/HLA/Dunwell/NLgetstart.html ***FIX LINK*** website discussion following an e-mail from Dick Bir telling of Ted Bilderback's great article: Nutrient management and monitoring is important to getting maximum growth with minimum loss to the environment. Loss to the environment is also an economic loss, so monitoring to avoid loss and at the same time provide adequate nutrient for the plants is a "win, win" situation (I like that). The "Virginia Tech PourThru Technique" originally described by Dr. Robert Wright (a brief by him on lysimeter use in the nursery is at the Soil Moisture Site) was based on monitoring the amount of soluble salts leaching out the bottom of the container following an irrigation event. A recent publication on the topic, Using the PourThru Procedure for Checking EC and pH for Nursery Crops, http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/hil/hil-401.html has been prepared by Dr. Ted Bilderback of NCSU. With the advent of pot-in-pot production systems the lifting of the pots and elevating them so leachate can be collected from the bottom of the pot is not practical so lysimeters (Soil Moisture, Inc, http://www.soilmoisture.com/horticulture.htm ) are used to collect soil water into a tube so water can be extracted with syringe for soluble salt measurement. This technique will probably be called the Virginia Tech Extraction Method.

 

 

 

May 31, 2001

 

TO: Horticulturists interested in Ornamental Horticulture

FROM: Win Dunwell, Extension Horticulturist

SUBJECT: Miscellaneous Information and Announcements.

 

A Reminder. The West Kentucky Chapter of the Kentucky Nursery and Landscape Association will be having a meeting/social gathering, June 14, 2001, 5:00 p.m., at the Lakeview Shelter, Ken Lake State Resort Park, Aurora, KY. Steve Bailey, Garden Center Consultant, will be there to visit with those in attendance. Contact: Rob Stanfa, Rolling Hills Nursery, 270.753.1725.

 

In The Newsletter of the Garden Conservancy, 12 (2), Spring 2001, there was an excellent article by Richard W. Lightly, past Director of Mt. Cuba Center for the Study of Piedmont Flora, on Mt. Cuba Center founder Pamela Cunningham Copeland. Mrs. Copeland died in January 2001. I had the good fortune to visit Mt. Cuba twice on UK Hort Club Spring tours and found the place to be fantastic. I was always surprised that considering all the talent at Mt. Cuba, Richard Lightly worked at Longwood Garden before Mt. Cuba and has a fantastic garden of his own and current Director Rick Lewandowski was at Morris Arboretum for many years, Mrs. Copeland did much of the design herself. Wandering the garden I noted a mailbox in the garden. Curiosity got the best of me and I looked in the mailbox near the gazebo/pond once, it was filled with flags and surveyors tape to be used to mark out changes in the garden, ie removals and where new plants were to go. There was a wildflower guidebook in the one I looked in, that made me feel better as I always need to use my book resources to get information on plants, maybe Mrs. Copeland did also. Mrs. Copeland's garden is "Worthy" and if you ever get the opportunity to visit Mt. Cuba, please do!

 

I was talking with Jim Chatfield, OSU, and realized I had left out a neighboring state new faculty member with Nursery /Landscape Responsibilities when I introduced new faculty at UK, Murray State, and UT in HortMemo 2. My apologies to Dr. Hannah Mathers, Assistant Professor, Extension Specialist in Nursery and Landscape Crops at Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio. She started September 1, 2000. She has prior experience as Nursery Crops Regional Extension Agent/Assistant Professor at Oregon State University and Provincial Nursery Industry Specialist in Alberta and in British Columbia. Her bio lists her education as: PhD from Michigan State University, Lansing, MI; MSc from University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada; BSc from Cornell University, Ithaca, NY. Her area of research interest is: Weed Control in Ornamentals; Relationship of Stress and Disease in Woody Plants; Survey work determining the technical education requirements of Hispanic Workers in the Green Industry; Cold Hardiness in Woody Plants; and Relationship of Fertility and Disease Susceptibility in Ornamentals. Dr. Mathers is a frequent writer on issues important to the nursery industry and can be reached at 614.247.6195 or e-mail mathers.7@osu.edu

 

 

 

April 30, 2001

 

TO: Horticulturists interested in Ornamental Horticulture

FROM: Win Dunwell, Extension Horticulturist

SUBJECT: Miscellaneous Information and Announcements.

 

In the Ohio Nursery and Landscape Assoc. newsletter The Buckeye David Shetlar wrote an article, The Food Quality Protection Act and Insecticide alternatives (or "Is there Life After the Loss of Dursban and Diazinon).

The publication provides a discussion of alternatives for Dursban and Diazinon. David gave us permission to reproduce his article and I have posted it temporarily to http://www.ca.uky.edu/HLA/Dunwell/Shetlar.html ***FIX LINK*** For a copy call Christi 270.365.7541 x 221 or e-mail cforsyth@ca.uky.edu

 

Auburn Universities Plant Identification Resource by Ken Tilt, Bernice Fischman, Harry Ponder, Dee Williams and Beth Clendenen and photos by numerous Auburn faculty and staff is a useful tool. It can be found at http://www.ag.auburn.edu/landscape I use the alphabetical index at http://www.ag.auburn.edu/hf/landscape/dbpages/botanicalindex.html

 

The winter has surprised us. Not in any way severe by pure low temperature standards, but there was significant damage just the same. We started seeing samples of azaleas and boxwood early, even in the fall. The bark had been frozen and mechanically forced off the stems leaving bare wood showing and a plant dead to the ground. We have seen injury on maples, including a Acer palamatum 'Bloodgood' in the UKREC landscape that made us become concerned about a possible disease problem, none was found. Indigofera kirilowii is frequently killed to the ground, but this year one in my yard is in full flower with leaves expanding and the one at the UKREC is dead. Dr. Robert "Bob" McNiel had a good article Focus - Plant Acclimation on the damage he had observed in nurseries this winter in the Winter issue of the KNLA Nursery Views Newsletter, 31(1):23. For a copy contact; Christi at 270.365.7541 x 221 and leave your address, or e-mail cforsyth@ca.uky.edu to request a copy.

 

A reminder, the Inspector Findings in Kentucky: The newsletter for the Kentucky Nursery Industry newsletter published by Entomologists/Nursery Inspectors, Joe Collins and Carl Harper, is a valuable tool to Nursery/landscape industry representatives and is available April through September to all nurseries inspected and can be found on-line at http://www.uky.edu/Agriculture/NurseryInspection/

 

Bob McNiel and I, with help from others, hope to create a UKCA Nursery Crops web site and update and create more for our own sites. Any comments, information needs or constructive criticism would be welcomed. Please contact rmcniel@ca.uky.edu or wdunwell@ca.uky.edu Thanks, Win

 

 

 

March 31, 2001

 

TO: Horticulturists interested in Ornamental Horticulture

FROM: Win Dunwell, Extension Horticulturist

SUBJECT: Miscellaneous Information and Announcements.

 

Botanica will sponsor a presentation Gardens of England by John Wachter, Curator of Horticultural Collections, Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest at 7:30 pm on Monday, April 30, 2001. Botanica will meet at the Commonwealth Bank, 286 North Hubbards Lane, Louisville, KY. John recently toured England with Kentucky plantsmen Tony Nold and Paul Cappiello. Contact Mary Anne Thornton 502.896.4251 for more information.

 

Something to Grow On is Auburn's (Alabama) Nursery Newsletter by Ken Tilt and Bernice R. Fischman and their coworkers. In the March 2001 edition Ken included the costs incurred by an actual person (vs someone estimating) starting a small container nursery. Their newsletter is posted at http://www.ag.auburn.edu/landscape/ then click on Something to Grow On and select March 2001.

 

The Something to Grow On name is also used as the title of an excellent web site at Cornell on fertilizer use in nurseries http://www.cals.cornell.edu/dept/flori/growon/index.html

 

After making mention of "organic nurseries" in HortMemo 1 (January 2001) I came to the conclusion "organic" is in the "eye of the beholder" and will require some further definition. Few nurseries are totally organic, but many have some organic production practices. To say one is fully organic may require some proof. NMPro's e-mail newsletter (to sign up for this free newsletter go to http://www.greenbeam.com/email/email-form.html ) contained a statement indicating that Maryland has an nursery organic certification program. I spoke with Valerie Francis in MD and learned that they were applying their Organic Certification Program to any agricultural enterprise that fulfilled the criteria. Well, well, time to e-mail Hope Crain, KY Dept. of Ag. Organic Certification Coordinator. In her reply she said, "The Certified Organic Program in KY has been set up primarily for fruit and vegetable growers and is now getting into livestock more heavily. There are regulations for the growers, as well as processors and handlers. However, if there was a nursery interested in certifying their operation as "organic" and can follow the regulation as a grower/producer, the Department would work with that grower to do so. Currently, the certification fee is $10 no matter the size, location within the state, or dollar amount sold by the nursery. Applications can be received any time but the inspection must be done during the growing season. In August of 2002, under the USDA federal organic standards, anyone representing their product as organic must comply with the federal standards. Only the growers, processors and handlers with less than $5,000 annual sales are exempt from certification, however, they must also comply with the regulations in order to use the term 'organic'. As a federal guideline, this will cover every state as well as every commodity USDA reviews. --. I believe both greenhouses and nurseries can be certified under this federal law. If you have other questions please feel free to call or e-mail them and I'd be happy to help if I can. Thanks for the interest! Hope". Hope Crain,, can be reached at hope.crain@kyagr.com or by phone 502.564.4696. Thanks to Hope for this informative report.

 

 

 

February 28, 2001

 

TO: Horticulturists interested in Ornamental Horticulture

FROM: Win Dunwell, Extension Horticulturist

SUBJECT: Miscellaneous Information and Announcements.

 

Suction-cup lysimeters are used for monitoring soluble salts in pot-in-pot systems. I had the pleasure of hearing Dr. Robert Wright, originator of the Virginia Tech Liquid Fertilizer System for Container Grown Plants that established the pour-through technique of nutrient monitoring for container production, at the recent American Society for Horticultural Science Southern Region meeting, talk on using suction-cup lysimeters in pot-in-pot systems. A Suction-cup Lysimeter, is a tube with a porous tip, that is placed in the growing container in the pot-in-pot system. Using a hand vacuum pump water in the media is pulled through the ½ bar porous tip into the tube where it can be extracted with a tube and syringe, then tested for soluble salts. This is a modification of the VTECH "pour-through" method used on above-ground containers so that the water can be extracted without having to lift large-heavy containers with a plant from the socket pot and place it on a elevated surface in order to pour-through water and collect the leachate for a soluble salts reading. On-line information on lysimeters is available from http://www.soilmoisture.com and a research paper on lysimeter use by Ron Walden and Alex Neimeira was presented at the 1997 SNA Research Conference is available in Proceedings 42:165-167, or the SNA web site http://www.sna.org/research/97proceedings/Section0246.html

 

Dr. Mark Williams joined the University of Kentucky Department of Horticulture as a faculty member in January 2001 His position is 75% research/25% teaching so the first months of his efforts at UK will be consumed with grant writing and getting a laboratory and an office setup. His area of work will be nursery/landscape weed management. We are very excited to have him on board and expect him to contribute significantly to the Department's programs and to generate research results directly pertinent to Kentucky horticultural enterprises. Please Welcome, Dr. Mark Williams.

 

To my knowledge Dr. Pat Williams is no relation to Mark, but he is a horticulturist and is the new Murray State University Assistant Professor of Horticulture. Pat replaced the retired long-time MSU Horticulturist Roger Macha. Dr. Pat Williams can be contacted by writing to Murray State University, School of Agriculture, 401S Oakley Applied Science Building, Murray, KY 42071-3345, e-mail pat.williams@murraystate.edu , or phone 270.762.7056

 

The University of Tennessee Department of Ornamental Horticulture and Landscape Design hired Dr. Stephen Garton in September 2000. His main program interests are: Propagation and production of landscape plants; Best management practices to conserve environmental quality; New plant creation, evaluation and introduction to commerce. He can be reached at P.O. Box 1071, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37901-1071 phone: 865.974.7324, FAX 865.974.1947, e-mail sgarton@utk.edu, url http://ohld.ag.utk.edu/htm/gart.htm

 

Trees in Our Landscapes: Learning To Get It Right The First Time. Is a program targeted at gardeners. Some of your customers may enjoy the program planned by Dr. Bill Fountain and Kathy Keeney. March 17, 2001, Paducah, KY and March 31, 2001, Ashland, KY. Contact: Kathy Keeney, Paducah 270.554.9520, kkeeney@ca.uky.edu or Lori Bowling, 606.739.5184 lbowling@ca.uky.edu

 

 

 

January 31, 2001

 

TO: Horticulturists interested in Ornamental Horticulture

FROM: Win Dunwell, Extension Horticulturist

SUBJECT: Miscellaneous Information and Announcements.

 

I received the press packet from the Perennial Plant Association announcing the 2001 Perennial Plant of the Year is Calamagrostis xacutiflora 'Karl Foerster'. A great grass it is, we've had it in the UKREC gardens for a number of years and it has performed admirably and looks great in the garden right now as I prepare this issue of HortMemo. For more info go to the PPA web site http://www.perennialplant.org

 

The West KY Chapter of .K.N.L.A. will hold it's meeting, Thursday, February 15, 2001, at The New Marshall County Extension Office, 1933 Mayfield Highway, (SW corner of hwy 58 & hwy 641), Benton, KY. Contact Dusty Kornbacher, 270.527.1884,e-mail, kyflrfmr@vci.net for more information or call Christ 270.365.7541 x 221 to get a copy of the registration info faxed or mailed.

 

It seems those that read last months newsletter enjoyed a little chuckle at my wording in the announcement for the Best Management Practices Workshop II. " The 2nd Best ---" it is not, a great program has been planned by Amy Fulcher and Kathy Keeney for the BMP Workshop II, February 20, 2001, 0900-1510, at the UKREC, 1205 Hopkinsville Street, Princeton, KY. Please notify Amy Fulcher, 270.821.3650, afulcher@ca.uky.edu or Win Dunwell 270.365.7541 x 209, wdunwell@ca.uky.edu so materials and luncheon will be available for those that are attending. Win Dunwell, Bill Fountain, Amy Fulcher, Kathy Keeney and Bob McNiel will be making presentations on topics related to Best Management Practices for Nurseries, Landscapes, and Garden Centers. For those getting this by mail the announcement and forms are attached, for those receiving an e-mail edition go to http://www.ca.uky.edu/HLA/Dunwell/BMP01FLYER.html ***FIX LINK***

 

For those into daylilies, John Rice, noted Kentucky daylily hybridizer for Thoroughbred Daylilies, Paris, KY, will be giving a presentation to the Daylily Society of Louisville, February 19, 2001, 1900. The meeting will be in the basement of the Republic Bank and Trust Company, at the interchange of Highway 22 and Gene Snyder Freeway. Contact Richard Porter DSL Corresponding Secretary, 502.584.7284, for more information.

 

I was asked at the Kentucky Landscape Industries Winter Conference if there are any organic nurseries, I replied I didn't know of anyone promoting that they were an organic nursery. Then George Kozairz, a marketing and financial consultant, stated he felt the environmental factors were important to the future marketing of nursery products. To produce and promote nursery products as an "environmentally friendly" product grown using "environmentally friendly" practices has long been a goal of Extension programs and lead to the use of IPM and BMP principles. I had not really thought about organic nursery production til this question was raised and I heard Tony Avent say his nursery, Plant Delights, was "producing plants organically". So let's start some dialog, see you at the BMP workshop.