**Horticulture Q&A Teleconferences for 2009 Growing Season:
It’s time once again to think about our annual series of Horticulture Question
and Answer Teleconferences(previously known as compressed video)! Last year we
offered six sessions: two each in June, July, and August. If you’d like to have
your local teleconference site included, let us know as we’ll be reserving time
and space soon. We may make an attempt to try the Adobe Connect system for one
of these and do a webinar instead. We’re not sure how well this would work, but
it would reduce costs.
**Certified Horticulturist Program Update: On February 18,
2009, we were the first in the country to offer the test to become a Certified
Horticulturist! One brave soul (hey, we’ve got to start somewhere!) took the
exam. Several others would have taken it but elected to wait until next year as
the study guide is not quite finished. It should be ready to go by this summer,
though.
As a refresher, the national CH program is geared toward paid,
working, professional horticulturists who may or may not have any formal
horticultural education. Several people have asked if Master Gardeners could
qualify. The short answer is no, it’s not geared toward volunteers. Besides, the
MG program in and of itself is a certification program. The CH testing is for
those actively working, and getting paid, in any one of our many green
industries.
The program is national, meant to dovetail with local and
state certification programs already in place. It is managed by the American
Society for Horticultural Science (ASHS) and is being set up to meet the
standards of the National Organization for Competency Assurance (NOCA). NOCA
sets rigid standards for exam questions, exam proctors, protocol for offering
and taking exams, and much more.
If you are interested, contact us at
kpanter@uwyo.edu for further information.
We will be offering the Certified Horticulturist exam at the Wyoming
Groundskeepers and Growers Association conference in Casper in 2010, probably in
February, but dates have not yet been set. Check the ASHS website (www.ashs.org)
for info on the CH program and exam
**Busy Winter: Many questions came up this winter, as usual.
There isn’t much down time in this business. There were the usual plant
identification messages, plus many cultural issues. Two of the most prevalent
were fall needle drop on pines and watering during the winter. Needle drop still
stymies many who develop serious concerns about their pines. Each fall needles
drop on pines – older needles from the inside – but the extent depends on the
species. Some drop only 10% or so each fall but some will drop 30%. It’s natural
and nothing to worry about.
As for winter watering, we do have to care for our perennials, especially those
newly planted ones whose roots aren’t established yet. Watering should be
done if the temperatures are 40 or higher for a few days, there’s no snow cover,
and the ground is not frozen. Fall watering comes up too, as people wonder if
watering perennials as they go into dormancy will delay dormancy and cause them
to send out new growth. The answer is continue watering, but decrease the
frequency (but not the amount of water) in the fall. Watering will not inhibit
dormancy. Dormancy in plants is a very complex phenomenon dependent on several
factors including reduced solar radiation, shorter days, and lower temperatures.
**Recent Questions: Many of the questions lately have been
about high tunnels (and growing crops in them) and new greenhouse operations. We
recently published a series of eight papers in the journal HortTechnology on
various aspects of growing under high tunnels. Let us know if you’d like a set.
Also, numerous people have called during the winter wanting information on
putting up a new greenhouse and also needing information on crops to grow,
production systems, etc. One of the best resources we recommend for novices
looking to get into the greenhouse crop production biz is a book titled
“Greenhouse Engineering.” It is available from the Natural Resources,
Agriculture, and Extension Service based at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY. Go
to www.nraes.org and check out their
publications. The one on greenhouse engineering is inexpensive ($30), easy to
use, and chock full of basic information needed before the first structural post
is placed.
**Other Questions: How to propagate peach trees (it can be
done from both seeds and cuttings); propagating silver poplar trees (cuttings
work); info on potential fruit orchard trees; how to determine cold hardiness
zone (http://www.usna.usda.gov/Hardzone/ushzmap.html);
how to prune peach trees (very carefully); recommended trees and shrubs for an
RV park; evapotranspiration (ET) info for various places in Wyoming; recommended
broadleaf evergreen shrub for a southern exposure (maybe one?); banana plant
flowering and fruiting (!); Plant Select info (www.plantselect.org);
interiorscape pest management and plant care; new Growing Produce publication
online (www.growingproduce.com); and
recommended pH levels for production of geraniums (it depends on which
geraniums).
**In the Panter Back Yard: Snow. Even though it’s been warm
the last couple of days, the three-foot mounds aren’t melting very quickly.
Everything outside is still dormant although a few very early bulbs will emerge
in the next month or so. More and different avian life is feeding at the back
yard feeders – saw a chickadee out there this morning. They’re usually insect
eaters, but one decided to check out the seeds anyway. Flickers and doves are
more and more common these days and a robin showed up last week too.
Some of the orchids are still blooming inside, as usual, as
are the bougainvilleas by the front, south-facing window. We had to take down
the very big, very heavy hanging hoya a couple of weeks ago as it needed a
shower! It’s not fun to move since the thing must weigh 30 pounds – and it hangs
several feet to boot. They say gardening is good exercise – indoors or out!
**Upcoming Events:
--Greenhouse Tomato Short Course, March 10-12, 2009, Eagle
Ridge Conference Center, Raymond, Mississippi. Contact:
http://greenhousetomatosc.com/.
--Greenhouse Crop Production and Engineering Design Short
Course, April 26-29, 2009, University of Arizona, Tucson. Contact:
http://ag.arizona.edu/ceac/.
--7th Annual Green Roofs for Healthy Cities
Conference “Greening Rooftops for Sustainable Communities: Pushing the
Envelope,” June 3-5, 2009, Atlanta, Georgia. Contact:
www.greenroofs.org.
--OFA Short Course, July 11-14, 2009, Columbus, Ohio. Contact:
www.ofa.org.
--American Society for Plasticulture ’09, Penn State
University Campus, July 13-16, 2009, University Park. Contact:
http://www.plasticulture.org/.
--American Society for Horticultural Science Annual
Conference, July 25-28, 2009, Millennium Hotel, St. Louis, Missouri. Contact:
www.ashs.org.
--ProGreen Expo, February 8-12, 2010, Colorado Convention
Center, Denver. Contact:
www.progreenexpo.com.
--Wyoming Groundskeepers and Growers Association Annual
Conference, January or February 2010 (dates not yet determined). Contact:
www.wgga.org.
Karen L. Panter, Ph.D., C.P.H.
Extension Horticulture and Specialty Crops
Plant Sciences - 3354
University of Wyoming
1000 East University Avenue
Laramie, WY 82071
phone 307-766-5117
fax 307-766-5549