February 2005

Calendar of Events February 16th ê 1-3 p.m. Landscape Design Class, Part 1

th March 5 ê 8-4 p.m. Spring 2005 ‘ St. Louis Garden Symposium twas a month before N o c ontest for me this sp ring time and all throu g h y ear will there be March 10-13thê Home & Garden Show my head I’ll ju st be c ontent with the March 16th ê 1-3 p.m. Landscape W ere v isions of c atalog s d irt on my k nee Design Class, Part 2 sp rou ting u p on my bed

March 19th ê Spring Dig Festival M y still sleep ing Y es sp ring time is c oming it 9 ê 1 p.m. Ridgway Center throu g h the c old winter’s soon will be here April 20th ê Bulb Garden Class nig ht G ood g ard ening to all and

W hile roots d own below p lease, stay away d eer! c ou ld n’t wait to see lig ht

M y y ard how it look ed so

tired and worn

Help Wanted! C ou ld n’t wait for the

warmth to mak e it reborn Q&A T he weed s how I’d p u ll and

St. Louis Garden Symposium v ow to k eep ou t W ou ld last til the heat Book Reviews wou ld tire me ou t

Bird Bath A nd y et as I d reamed of a

Pots to Planks y ard soon transformed

I remembered the hail how Arbor Day Festivities its ru ins when it stormed Pruning

the importance of diet and St. Louis Ho me & Garden nutrition and the role Show gardening plays with that, in

an effort to help overcome childhood obesity. Sigel Elementary has been designated as the elementary 2005 MBG Garden Tour school to receive 16 raised beds for use with this project. Interested candidates will play a vital role in the education, planting and Still looking for more maintenance of this volunteers! The St. Louis worthwhile effort. Interested Home and Garden Show is candidates should contact March 10-13th and we are Melissa Wade at looking for Master Gardeners 314.977.8523 or email at The Missouri Botanical to staff the booth at various wademe@ slu.edu Garden Tour takes place only times throughout the 4-day once every three years. June show, Thursday ê Sunday, 2005 is the next time that March 10th ê 13th, 2005. This nine spectacular private is a good chance to share gardens will be showcased your knowledge with the Hop on Board the Hugely for the general public to general public and get some Successful Pots to Planks view. Master Gardeners have action! Call Phil at ProgramÉ been invited to participate 314.577.9441 to discuss your with the tour and help time availability. We need 40 answer questions to the people to get the job done! expected 1,200 visitors to these gardens.

The public tour will be June St. Louis University on the The Kemper Center will once th 12 and shifts are from 10 Look OutÉ again collect horticultural a.m. ê 1 p.m. or plastic pots and trays, in 1 p.m. ê 4 p.m. All volunteers 2005 at the Monsanto Center. will be treated to a private This year, the collection will tour on June 9th. Please extend for six successive contact Sally Cohn, MG at weekends starting May 21 & 314.727.6327 for further 22 through June 25 & 26. Our information or to schedule goal for this year is to collect your volunteer times. St. Louis University is looking and process 60,000 pounds for 2 volunteers to work with which is 33% over last yearås their çGardens to Tablesé goal. Lumber and raised bed project. This ambitious sales were excellent in the program aims to incorporate fall of 2004 and we expect it f to continue through the The Flora spring of 2005. Nurseries and ConservancyÉ one of the garden centers will be crowning çJewelsé of

encouraged to participate Forest ParkÉ

spurred on by the projected acquisition of a shredder st onsite to handle large Arbor Day is April 1 - We containers and bundles. Need Your HelpÉ

Get on board the çPots to The Kemper Center celebrates Planksé program by this state recognized day by

volunteering for a work shift giving away saplings to the Interested in volunteer work on one or more of the first 300 people that come to with the Flora Conservancy weekend days. Shifts are 9 the Kemper Center on April st but, not quite sure what it is? a.m. ê 12:30 p.m. and 12:30 ê 1 . We purchase from Just ask any one of these 4 p.m. Saturday & Sunday. the Department of Master Gardeners what itås We need five people per shift Conservation that are raised like to volunteer in one of the and the hours can be applied in their nursery. This year we largest parks in the United to your Master Gardener will be providing Sour gum States. annual obligation. Please call (Nyssa sylvatica), a medium- sized with wonderful red Phil Egart to sign up at Mary Jo Anderson 314.577.9441. This is a fall color: Red oak (Quercus Jack Breier unique program in the US rubra), also a medium sized, Jim Hoefener and has received substantial showing moderate to fast Barb Hilton Linda Kalicak support from the Solid Waste growth on well-drained, sull sun sites and Norway spruce Jennifer Loyett Management District and the Tom Prebil Departments of Natural (Picea abies), one of our few Van Spurgeon Resources as well as the needled evergreens that can Ron Stevens Missouri Environmental withstand cold and heat; Jan Thomas generally grows 40-60 feet Karen Koehneman Improvement and Energy Carol Wellman Resource Authority. tall with no serious insect or Fred Rauch disease problems. Marlene Rush Dan Llitsch Dennis Stroup Steve Cline needs help bundling the saplings for Pam Seyer Susan Uchitelle distribution on Thursday Johan Jackson st morning, March 31 at 9:00 Pamela Fournier a.m. Please call Steve at Dale Ewalt 314.577.9561 to sign up. Linda Stuckmeyer (2005) Judy LaBarbera

Look for more information in the March newsletter about volunteer opportunities with the Flora Conservancy.

Q: Tell me again, "What is the Q: What kinds of tree function of winter mulch?" are especially beneficial to the soil as they decay? A: Winter mulches conserve moisture and help to control the A: All tree leaves impart Q&A with John Stephens heaving of frozen soils when organic matter and small subjected to rapid increases in amounts of nutrients to the air temperatures. Repeated soil as they decay. There are lots exposure to these conditions can of folk lore about the pros and cause severe damage to roots of cons of using some leaves and displaced . Mulching is not others, but this has not been especially important in the St. substantiated on serious study. Louis area because our winter Organic matter is a key in temperature patterns are so determining the tilth of soils in volatile. your garden.

Q: Can I save some time and money by using seed rather than transplants to plant a large, shaded area in English ivy?

Q: Is it true that deer do not A: The answer to this question eat chrysanthemums? is not straightforward since

English ivy seed is not a A: Not true! They ate the commodity. English ivy has been flowers off mine right in broad classified as a noxious weed in daylight. several states, thus, its use is discouraged, a negative for potential seed producers. You Q: Where can I find sources of could harvest seed, but its dwarf of Amur privet? Q: How would fireplace ashes collection and processing are work as a winter amendment for tedious and time consuming. A: These are not common. A the soil around my blueberry Your best bet is probably to cursory search of the Internet bushes? gather cuttings from beds grown offered no leads, although by your gardening friends and alternatives were suggested. start from there. These proved, on further examination, to be less winter hardy than the you A: This is almost the worst thing asked about, Ligustrum that could be proposed for your amurense. Be sure to check this bushes. Wood ashes are very characteristic before purchasing strongly alkaline and will raise the any so-called dwarfs. soil pH dramatically, which will adversely affect the health and vigor of your plants. Blueberries grow best in sunny, well-draining soil with pH of 5.0 to 5.5. Put those wood ashes in your trash.

and short, broad more, clematis: with other wings. Watching one fly at full clematis, with roses, on or speed through a dense wooded around woody and trees, area is like watching a skier interspersed with ground covers, maneuver a complicated slalom. over and under herbaceous perennials, combined with Birders love to see these annuals or even in the vegetable Bird Bath fearless hawks who can both garden! While the book By soar on thermals or dash through discusses some general aspects Connie Alwood urban backyards. Of of clematis such as whether they have vertical or horizontal growth course, homeowners who provide a repast for songbirds habit, how they might be pruned might not be so happy to witness as well as general care and If you feed birds, you might have a murder at the dinner table. feeding, most of the text is a long seen a hawk in your garden and love poem to clematis in wondered what kind it was. combination with other plants. In Chances are it was a Cooper's or the author’s opinion there is Sharp-shinned hawk. By feeding nothing that clematis cannot do. the small birds, you are inadvertently inviting a hawk to In general Ms. Beutler suggests join the buffet. Only the hawk that you plant clematis with other is more interested in eating a plants in combinations where the bird for dinner. Seed and suet clematis blooms at the same are not to his taste. Birds are his time to complement the primary food. companion plant, such as a rose. Cooper’s Hawk The alternative is to use the Usually the drama starts with the companion plant as a support sparrows and the goldfinches system, with the clematis blooms becoming suddenly quiet. Then filling in the blank spaces after in one fell swoop, the birds rush the companion has finished for cover. Sometimes that's a bloom – for example planting mistake. If that woodpecker had clematis to climb on a frozen on the suet, it might have rhododendron. She rhapsodizes lived, for in one quick flash at length on specific clematis the hawk is on him. What once species with specific companion was a bucolic scene from Currier plants, suggesting color and Ives has now become a combinations, bloom timing, and grisly reality complete with coordinating the clematis growth bloody talons and scattered habit with the companion plant feathers. strength to function as a trellis.

The book also includes a chapter The Sharp-shinned Hawk, which only winters here, is a miniature devoted to herbaceous clematis version of the Cooper's Hawk, a Book Review as well as a chapter on growing year round resident. The By clematis in containers. Using problem of trying to identify the Holly Parks containers can solve problems two species is complicated, unique to certain clematis such perplexing even experienced as requiring a different pH level Gardening with Clematis, Design birders. Nevertheless, these two or special drainage. & Cultivation, demonstrates the accepters (Latin for birds of prey) author’s love affair with clematis. are woodland birds with long tails For Linda Beutler every aspect of the garden is a candidate for planting one or more, preferably

However, most clematis develop color ê from pink to purple and Remove at the base some of the large root systems which make blue to white. These , weaker shoots that are both old them unsuitable to maintenance medium to large shrubs provide and new. Always try to keep in a container. color from midsummer to several stems of old productive autumn when few other plants wood, with a sufficient number Gardening with Clematis, Design are in bloom. There are many of stout new stems that will & Cultivation by Linda Beutler is different types of hydrangeas; the following season. a 300 page hardcover published by Timber Press, Inc. It is many require different methods Early spring pruning (March), available for $34.95 at Walden of pruning. It is important to although acceptable, may result Books in West County Shopping know the identity of the in the sacrificing of bloom for Center. in the landscape so that growing season. This is a the proper pruning technique topic of debate among experts. can be implemented. Many suggest to perform only deadheading (removal just

Hydrangea macrophylla ê below the flower) or clean-up

Mophead or Lacecap Hydrangea (removal of shoots damaged by Zone (5)6-9 and winter or late spring frosts) Hydrangea serrata Zone (5)6-7 pruning at this time, especially This is a commonly grown when growing this species in hydrangea with either large colder zones. Pruning this globe-shaped flowers species too late in the fall (mophead) or flattened heads of (September) is harmful. New tiny fertile flowers surrounded growth, both vegetative and Advisory Board Minutes by a ring of larger, sterile, reproductive, will not develop January 25, 2005 showy sepals (lacecap). It is proper maturity which increases Click here frequently forced by florists and its vulnerability to winter dieback. http://outreach.missouri.edu/stlo sold as an indoor pot plant uismg/minutes/minutes.htm during the spring season. Once moved outdoors, flower color is Hydrangea arborescens ê Smooth Hydrangea Zone 4-7(8) dependent upon the availability of aluminum in the soil and the This hydrangea is grown for its pH of the soil in which it is huge white blooms which grown: blue if acid; pink if appear in profusion in spring alkaline. There are also several and summer. Many gardeners white flowered cultivars. grow this species in hedges. It Pruning can be accomplished at can be pruned to the ground two different times: late summer line each winter or early spring or early spring. Late summer is because it flowers abundantly more widely practiced since this on new growth, and is Pruning Hydrangeas type flowers only from the end frequently killed back during By buds of upright or lateral shoots winter. If a larger is Jan Gowen, MG produced during late summer desired (3+feet) and/or it is not and fall of the previous season. killed back over the winter, prune less severely. Create a woody framework by removing Hydrangeas are classic garden some branches to the ground; shrubs prized for their beauty, Prune as soon as the flowers cut others back at varying durability and diversity of flower have faded and strong shoots are developing from the lower heights from 1 to 3 feet. parts of the stems and crown.

Hydrangea paniculata ê Panicle location, and if grown in an Publishing, Inc., New York, NY. Hydrangea Zone 4-8 exposed site, it is subject to This is a commonly planted some winter dieback. Prune out çPruning Hydrangeasé ê hydrangea because of its any dead wood in early spring. Horticulture Leaflets Online, massive displays of large, white, Cut back just to the point of Cornell Cooperative Extension. panicle-shaped flowers in mid to injury and periodically remove a www.cce.cornell.edu/suffolk/gro late-summer. They gradually few of the oldest stems to the wnet/tree-shrub- turn pink and remain on the base to stimulate new growth maintenance/hydrang.html plant in a semi-dried condition and create a more dense habit. long after the leaves have fallen. Flowers develop on old wood so Pruning involves the removal of any additional pruning (only dead flowers, if unattractive, minimal) should take place after and annual corrective pruning the flowers are spent. of vigorous shoots. This species responds very well to annual Hydrangea anomala subsp. pruning by producing much petiolaris ê Climbing Hydrangea larger flower heads. Thin and/or Zone 4-7(8) cut back the previous seasonås This is a desirable mid-summer growth in late winter or early flowering woody vine that spring, since flower clusters attaches itself by aerial roots to occur on newly developing brick, masonry, or wood. branches. Without regular Flowers appear on the previous pruning, this hydrangea can yearås lateral (side) shoots. As rapidly become overgrown and young plants, tie shoots to their out of scale in the landscape. It support structure until they form can, however, be developed into aerial roots. Once established a single or multi-stemmed tree pruning should be kept to a form. It is best to promote a minimum. If certain shoots have strong woody framework when grown out of bounds, reduce these plants are young. Cut their length along with any back all weak branches leaving outward growing laterals to 3 or 4 of the strongest allow more sunlight into the measuring at about 10-24 canopy. To promote good inches. When established, flowering, deadhead all shoots prune out all lifeless stubs and that have flowered to a healthy prune back all the shoots to bud. their lowest pair of healthy buds above the wood¿framework. References:

Hydrangeas for American Hydrangea quercifolia ê Oakleaf Gardens (2004), M. A. Dirr. Hydrangea Zone 5-9 Timber Press, Inc., Portland, OR. This plant is grown primarily for its oak shaped foliage, Encyclopedia of Hydrangeas excellent fall color, attractive (2004), C. J. van Gelderen, D. M. flowers, and interesting winter van Gelderen. Timber Press, Inc., bark. It is ideally suited to a Portland, OR. lightly shaded or protected  Pruning and Training (1996), C. Brickell, D. Joyce. DK

Tip of the MonthÉ

Put your houseplants in the bathtub and treat them to a gentle shower.