Short Hort Notes

Spider mites. With the warmer weather we've been having this summer, spider mites are having a hayday. They've been noted on the south sides of spruce trees, on turf in sunny locations next to sidewalks, driveways, and structures, plus they've been seen on many other plants. Usually a strong stream of water will temporarily dislodge them. And, they don't like wet conditions. So hose away! There are miticides available, but make sure to read product labels before purchasing and using them.

Wilt and death of foliage on mature trees. The cause(s) of these problems are hard to pin down. Often the symptoms are associated with plant type, as some are more susceptible to such dastardly pathogens as vascular wilts, borers, etc. Sometimes the problem is pathogenic in nature, and sometimes not. There may have been damage to root systems from construction, drought, or another underground problem.

Tomato problems. These are innumerable. We have entire books devoted to disease problems on tomatoes, and this doesn't include the insects! Sometimes it is frustrating because disease symptoms are hard to associate with any one pathogen without having it cultured out. This requires a sample and the help of Raina in the Diagnostic Clinic. There is also a myriad of cultural problems that can wreak havoc with tomatoes.

Tree suckers. Every year people get very frustrated with suckers in the lawn or garden sprouting from roots of cottonwoods, poplars, aspen, some Prunus species, crabapples, etc. The remedy is simply to keep cutting them out or mowing them with the lawn. There is only one product to our knowledge that will help reduce numbers of suckers and that is Sucker Stopper from Monterey Chemical Company (www.montereylawngarden.com).

Lawn troubles. Probably due to our warm summer, bluegrass has suffered this year. Areas near structures, walkways, or driveways dry out very quickly and may need extra attention. Core aeration will help as this aids in water penetrating into and through the root zone. Mowing high will help too as well as making sure water is applied deeply and thoroughly at each irrigation. Occasionally there may be a disease or insect problem.

I had the opportunity to head to New Orleans, Louisiana in late July for our annual American Society for Horticultural Science Conference. The conference was held at the Sheraton on Canal Street, at the edge of the French Quarter and close to some of the flooding that occurred from hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The hotel itself was not damaged as it sits a little higher than most of the rest of the city - the flooding stopped a couple of blocks away. In the French Quarter, many businesses are open, but many are not, a year later. Bourbon Street is in full 'swing' shall we say (if you've ever been there, you know what I mean!) but many of the rest of the small businesses in the Quarter are shuttered. We asked some shop owners about how they were managing, and to a person they said it's a huge struggle. Tourist traffic is still not back to where it was pre-Katrina/Rita. Some shop owners could be in business but have no home. Other shops opened and then closed again as they couldn't make it.

Several of us took a drive around the city and the damage to neighborhoods is horrendous. We passed block after block of boarded up homes, with an occasional FEMA trailer in front of a house being worked on. Total neighborhoods are gone. The city will never be the same.

I moderated a workshop titled 'Outside-the-Box Ideas in Sustainable Landscaping.' Two of the speakers were Henry Harrison and Karen Blackburn, both with Louisiana State University Cooperative Extension. Karen spoke about the 'Impact of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita on Vegetation of the New Orleans Metro Area.' Her Extension office was completely flooded and is still unusable. The flooding occurred from breaches in the dikes in the city, both from the Mississippi River and Lake Pontchartrain. She said many plants were submerged for as long as 6 weeks. All along Canal Street, new palm trees have been planted and the relandscaping is occurring in many places in the city. The city park, including the New Orleans Botanical Garden, was under up to 8 feet of water. The park is still in need of lots of work but apparently there is a shortage of labor to do it. The Botanical Garden has been fixed for the most part, but it took a monumental effort and lots of volunteer help.

Henry talked about damage to his parish, north of Lake Pontchartrain, in his portion of the workshop 'What Happened to Our Trees and Shrubs?'. There, water damage was not quite the problem it was in the city, but wind was the biggest factor. Live oaks withstood the wind fairly well, but many other types of trees, including pines, snapped like toothpicks. He and Karen are working on a return 'of normalcy to human and plant life with educational efforts by extension and other agencies.'

*Abstract from an Oral Talk at the American Society for Horticultural Science conference, July 26-30, 2006: Many of you have heard about the federal 'eXtension' system currently under construction. This talk describes horticulture's part in it, as of this summer.

"A Community of Practice (CoP) for consumer horticulture has been formed as part of the eXtension system. The CoP was organized at the National Consumer Horticulture Forum held Nov. 2005 at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. The meeting was attended by representatives of 24 states from all four Extension geographical regions. The attends discussed project priorities and began to build a framework for working together across state lines on eXtension-sponsored activities and other efforts. Initial plans from the meeting include constructing a National Consumer Horticultue FAQ database, developing online learning modules that can be used for Master Gardener training, and developing marketing tools to better identify consumer horticulture resources available through local as well as national Extension activities......Information regarding eXtension CoPs (including Consumer Horticulture) is continually being updated on the eXtension CoP Web site (cop.extension.org) and information regarding the Consumer Horticulture Forum has been posted on the Consumer Horticulture CoP Community Home page (cop.extension.org/wiki/Consumer_Horticulture_Community)."

*In the Panter Back Yard: We have had some smashing successes in the gardens this year. Among the best performers have been the Calibrachoa (hanging basket - even though it requires watering daily), Cleome 'Sparkler Blush', Zinnia 'Zowie! Yellow Flame', Verbena 'Toronto Wine', Bacopa 'Abundant Giant White', and Aconitum 'Bicolor'. The Pennisetum (purple fountain grass) has done better this year than ever before, and even the Impatiens has prospered. Raspberries are coming on and the snow peas are about done. Tomatoes are green and will be ripening soon. Carrots are plentiful again this year, as is broccoli.

Although many plants have done well, we haven't seen many butterflies this year. Occasionally one will float by and land on one or another of the flowers, but they have been very few and far between. Hummingbirds didn't show up until almost July, but now they are omnipresent. They are so territorial, they bicker alot and are quite entertaining. It's a hoot to watch them! Other birds are still around, mostly siskins since the only seed we have out now is thistle. There's been a chickadee serenading us every morning from the cottonwood, and nighthawks still make their rounds at dusk.