Newsletter High on the Desert Cochise County Master Gardener

Vol. 20, No. 2 FEBRUARY 2009 The University of Arizona and U.S. Department of Agriculture Cooperating

The Virtual Gardener—Ask a Master Gardener According to their mission statement, where they really shine is in diagnosing Cochise County Master Gardeners problems and suggesting solutions support the University of Arizona to them. Cooperative Extension Master Gardener Understand, however, that the descrip- Program by providing to citizens tion of the symptoms of a problem alone researched-based horticultural informa- are seldom definitive enough to allow a tion appropriate for Cochise County comprehensive diagnosis. Your doctor environments about gardening, food can’t tell you what’s causing your production, landscaping, native , stomach ache unless he knows some and environmental stewardship. One of additional information such as what Inside this issue: the principal ways Master Gardeners you’ve been eating, exactly where the provide this service is by answering pain is, what you’ve been doing lately, February Reminders 2 questions on these topics. and so on. Similarly, the Master Gar- What’s a Master Gardener 2 There are basically three ways you can dener usually won’t be able to diagnose In a Desert Garden 3 contact a Master Gardener with your the cause of your plant problem unless Cuttings ‘N’ Clippings 3 question: you can call the Extension he or she has some additional informa- Master Gardener Class 3 Office (520-458-8278 Ext. 2141) and tion, so be prepared to offer as much Cacti 101-Chapter 5 4 talk directly to a Master Gardener background information as possible to volunteer; you can drop by the Exten- allow a proper diagnosis. Agent’s Observations 5 sion office at the University of Arizona If there is damage to your plant, be South campus, 1140 N. Colombo in able to describe it in detail. Exactly what Sierra Vista and talk to a Master does the damage look like? Where is it Gardener face to face; or you can e-mail on the plant? How long has the damage your question to the Master Gardener been evident? Is the condition confined office at to a single plant or several? Are any http://ag.arizona.edu/cochise/mg/questio insects present? What do they look like? n.htm. Etc. Of course Master Gardeners will Be prepared to discuss the conditions answer general questions about plants, under which the plant is growing. How bugs, watering, fertilizing, and such, but (Continued on page 2)

Cochise County Cooperative Extension www.ag.arizona.edu/cochise/mg/ 1140 N. Colombo, Sierra Vista, AZ 85635 450 S. Haskell, Willcox, AZ 85643 (520) 458-8278, Ext. 2141 (520) 384-3594 P AGE 2 What is a (Continued from page 1) often does the plant get watered? Master Gardener How much? Has it been fertil- ized? What kind of fertilizer was The Master Gardener program be- used? How much? Has it been gan in King and Pierce Counties of sprayed with a pesticide? What Washington state in 1972 when an kind? What kind of soil is it over-worked Horticultural Extension growing in? How much sun does Agent, Dr. David Gibby, began train- it receive? Etc. ing volunteers to assist him in provid- These are just a sample of the ing support to the community. Dr. kinds of questions the Master and are using Google as your Gibby’s program was simple and ef- Gardener may ask to get the fective. In exchange for a promise to information necessary to search engine, here’s how to do it. Type the words you want to use donate a certain number of hours ser- diagnose your plant problem and vice, he gave volunteers specialized, suggest a solution. If you are as your search terms in the search box followed by a space and then university-level training in horticul- submitting your question by e- ture. Word of his success in recruit- mail, the form on the Web site this phrase: site:ag.arizona.edu/cochise/mg/ ing volunteer support soon spread to prompts you to supply the other communities and today Master additional information. Be sure pdf. Note that you shouldn’t leave a space after the colon. Gardener programs are flourishing to supply all that is requested and throughout the United States and appropriate. Until next time, happy surfing. Canada. Sometimes the Master Gar- In 1987 Horticulture Extension dener may also request you bring Gary A. Gruenhagen, Master Gardener Agent, Dr. Deborah Young, started a sample of the plant into the the Master Gardener program in office. A few conditions cannot Cochise County. The current agent, be properly identified without Robert Call, continues the program, microscopic or even chemical teaching the thirteen week Master analysis. If it is an insect or bug Gardener course yearly. Prospective problem they may request you February Master Gardeners who take the bring it into the office also. Reminders course study such topics as soil, pest Most of the time your ques- management, botany, gardening, tions can be answered immedi- ¨ Winter prune landscaping, and environmental stew- ately but sometimes the Master ¨ Prune roses ardship. Upon completion of the Gardener needs to research them ¨ Cold-moist stratify seeds course the person provides educa- and get back to you with an ¨ Plant bare-root trees tional leadership to the community answer. If Master Gardener ¨ Prepare spring planting beds by donating fifty hours of volunteer volunteers can’t answer the ¨ Clean and repair drip irriga- time. question, they will pass it along tion systems In the summer of 1996, Cochise to Rob Call, the Cochise County ¨ Finalize spring garden plans County Master Gardeners formed a Horticultural Extension Agent. ¨ Keep watering! non-profit organization to support the And if he can’t answer it, it will educational mission of the Coopera- be passed on to a specialist at the tive Extension. The goal of the University of Arizona or else- Cochise County Master Gardeners where. In any case, you will get Association is to promote food pro- an answer. duction, landscaping with native Before I wrap this up, I would plants, and environmental steward- like to give you a tip for search- Robert E. Call ship. ing past Cochise County Master Extension Agent, Horticulture For more information call the Co- Gardener newsletters. If you operative Extension offices in Sierra would like to search for a Carolyn Gruenhagen Editor Vista (520) 458-8278, Ext. 2141 or in particular topic in the newsletters Willcox (520) 384-3594. P AGE 3 In a Desert Garden Cuttings Arizona Blue Eyes – and look like tiny flattened morn- ‘N’ Evolvulus arizonicus ing glories. They appear on the end of the slender stalks, and Clippings

there are lots of them. The plant Another little plant I really T The next CCMGA meeting starts blooming around the begin- like, in the morning glory fam- is 5:00 p.m. Thursday, February 5 ning of April and the flowers last ily, is Arizona Blue Eyes at the University of Arizona South till October. In winter it freezes (Convolvulaceae). It is nothing Campus Public Meeting Room. An back. I leave the dried up seed like a morning glory. The plant overview of the Cochise County stalks until it warms up, and then is not a vine. It is really very Master Gardeners will be pre- I cut it back. The plant does self- small, and only grows to one sented by Gary Gruenhagen. seed and I never know where it is th foot tall and wide. T The 16 High Desert Garden- going to pop up. It’s usually in When our house was built ing & Landscaping Conference areas I don’t like it to be, like my many years ago here in Ari- will be held at the Windemere Ho- walks. That tells me it likes com- zona, I inspected the yard to tel & Conference Center on Feb- pacted soil. Because it is so small see what would grow there ruary 12 & 13, 2009. There is and my yard is kind of wild and naturally. Of course, the devel- still time to register! natural, that really doesn’t bother oper had the lot scraped down T Congratulations to Bret Gallo- me. Actually, I have dug it up and to the red earth but several way who has been awarded a transplanted it on occasion. It is plants were already coming scholarship to the conference. His successful if you soak the soil the back. There were several winning essay will be published in day before and take the plant out stands of that little beauty in an upcoming Master Gardener with a clump of soil attached. my yard and I marked the spots Newsletter. Of course the plant is very that I remembered where there T A free fruit tree pruning work- drought tolerant and practically were. shop will be given Saturday, Feb- maintenance free. The only down- One cannot help to fall in ruary 14 from 10:00 a.m.—Noon side is as usual, it is not available love with this little guy. Its sky by Extension Agent, Rob Call. The in the nurseries here, but you blue flowers stood out so much location is 3401 E. Navaho, ap- might find it at the Farmers Mar- in my red clay, and it seemed proximately 3 miles South of the kets in Bisbee and Sierra Vista. Mall of Sierra Vista. Turn right on to be really hardy, surviving Choctaw, left on Pueblo, and right the harsh treatment it received. Angel Rutherford, Master Gardener The flowers are about ¾” wide on Navaho to the address.

2009 Master Gardener Class

The new Master Gardener train- ing class is scheduled to begin February 25 and continue through May 27, 2009. It will be held at the University of Arizona South, Room 508 from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. The fee of $120 includes the Master Gardener Manual and a Master Gardener t-shirt. For more information, please call the Coop- erative Extension Office at 458- Evolvulus arizonicus 8278, Ext. 2141. P AGE 4

Cacti 101: Chapter 5— Some Other

Last month’s Virtual Gar- ‘Dinner Plate’ Prickly Pear dener article by Gary Gruenha- Opuntia robusta , known by gen raised some very interesting many common names including and timely thoughts on how to ‘Dinner Plate’ and ‘Clock Face’ protect our gardens during cold prickly pear, is a very elegant cac- weather. On the subject of pro- tus. It is very large, growing to tecting , Gary’s sugges- ten feet high and as wide. The tion to cover the growth point in pads are huge, some up to twelve columnar cacti with styrofoam by twelve inches, and up to two cups is both effective and inex- Figure 1 inches thick. They are well spined pensive. The beauty of this ap- with spines reaching as long as proach is the cactus itself holds Bristly Prickly Pear two inches. The specimens in the the cup in place with its spines. The Opuntia aciculata is not a authors garden have many rela- On larger diameter cacti the Cochise County native but does tively flat pads, hence the name author has used empty one and very well in our climate. This low ‘Dinner Plate’ cactus, but also five gallon garden containers to growing cactus is a delight to look many curved or wavy pads. See cover an entire cactus. If you at but not one to get too close to. It Figure 3. use this approach a brick or gar- tends to reach only about three feet den stone on top of the con- high but will sprawl to eight to ten tainer will usually withstand the feet wide. The attractive dark winter winds. green pads are covered with nu- Many of the so called golden merous clumps of dark red barrel cacti are at risk from the glochids, some reaching a half inch really hard frosts expected in in length. See Figure 2. It grows Cochise County. While many have survived for years in local gardens, important specimens in Figure 3 our gardens need and deserve Opuntia robusta grow readily winter protection. Since cacti from cuttings. In just over two tend to be dormant during our years the O. robusta in Figure 4. cold weather season many cac- has grown from a single pad tus gardeners put protection in cutting to over four feet high and place in November and leave it nearly as wide. Bright yellow there until late March or early Figure 2 flowers up to two inches in di- April. ameter are followed by deep red One of the blessings of winter readily from cuttings and is avail- fruits up to three and a half inches in our cactus gardens is the in- able in local nurseries. One in the long. teresting change in color we can author’s front garden has grown to observe as the weather turns three feet wide by two feet high cold. In addition to the purple from a one gallon, three pad speci- prickly pears we discussed last men planted two years ago. A cut- month several other Opuntia ting from this specimen planted including Opuntia aciculata, less than one year ago now has ten commonly known as ‘chenille’ pads. Opuntia aciculata has yellow or Bristly Pear, takes on a deep flowers up to four inches in diame- red color in winter. See Figure ter and pear shaped dark reddish 1. purple fruit. Figure 4

Doug Templeman, Master Gardener P AGE 5

The Agent’s Observations We brought some furni- conducting tissue will be pro- height of a tree use a technique ar- ture in from a storage duced next growing season. This borists call “drop crotching” and shed. There were some type of damage severs the con- avoid topping. Topping is cutting Q pea-sized balls attached nection between the roots and the trees limbs all at the same height to some of the furniture tree top. You may want to leave straight across and is not good for with some cobwebs. Are these them in the ground until this any tree. This leaves tree “stubs” scorpion eggs? spring to see if anything grows. If that, in the case of ash, will either not remove the trees and prepare not grow back or grow back poorly. No, these are most for planting new trees. The fall is Instead select the tallest limbs and likely spider egg cases. the best time to plant container- remove them where they are at- Scorpions bear their ized plants in the high desert. (For tached to another limb that is A young alive, developing planting guidelines see: lower. In removing this taller limb, within the female. After http://cals.arizona.edu/pubs/gar it leaves behind the lower one with- birth the young are carried on the den/az1022.pdf) out leaving a stub. Removal of a backs of their mothers. She will couple of the taller limbs can be carry them around until they can Would you please tell done in this way. The remaining survive on their own. Immature me the proper time and limbs will have smaller branches scorpions molt seven times to reach way to trim the Fan- that will produce leaves in the maturity in about a year. Adults Q Tex ash tree? We have spring. They will grow at the newly may live for several years. two that are getting a established lower height. Source: Venomous Animals of Ari- little too large for our zona. 1992. Robert L Smith. Coop- backyard. Anything you can do to We have a peach and erative Extension, University of help us would be greatly appreci- nectarine tree that has Arizona, pp. 3-4. ated. leaf curl. How do we Q treat for this problem? The neighbor’s horses ate When pruning ash it is the bark all around some good to remember that First of all you need to of our trees. Will they they do not grow back make sure that the trees Q survive? The insurance as vigorously after have peach leaf curl. company wants to know A pruning as some other A Some cultivars of so they can pay our claim. trees. Pruning should be done in peaches have leaves that the dormant season, i.e. winter. curl naturally. Be sure that the leaf If the trees have been Be careful not to remove too curl was not caused by aphids feed- completely girdled, all many limbs. The general rule of ing on the underside of the leaves. the bark removed from thumb is to remove no more that If the peach leaf curl is caused by A an area all around the 1/4 to 1/3 of the total branch di- the fungus, control is done with a trunk, they will not sur- ameters of a tree in one pruning fungicide. This fungus is one of the vive. The cell division area, called season. Remove limbs from the Taphrina . Apply a copper- the vascular cambium, is located lower canopy only if you have to. containing fungicide like Bordeaux right below the bark. If it is de- With ash if pruning is not needed mix or the broad spectrum fungi- stroyed then no water and nutrient don’t. If you want to lower the (Continued on back page )

Issued in furtherance of Cooperative Extension work, acts of May 8 and June 30, 1914, in cooperation with the United States Department of Agriculture, James A. Christenson, Director, Cooperative Extension, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, The University of Arizona and Arizona Counties cooperating. The University of Arizona is an equal opportunity, affirmative action institution. The University does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or sexual orientation in its programs and activities. The information given herein is supplied with the understanding that no discrimination is intended and no endorsement by Cooperative Extension is implied. Any products, services, or organizations that are mentioned, shown, or indirectly implied in this publication do not imply endorsement by the University of Arizona. The University of Arizona PRSRT STD Cooperative Extension US POSTAGE PAID Cochise County WILLCOX, AZ 450 S. Haskell Avenue PERMIT NO. 70 Willcox, AZ 85643-2790

(Continued from page 5) cide chlorothalonil in the spring just as the buds start to swell. If symptoms persist per- haps another treatment will be needed in the fall after all the leaves have fallen. Source: Plant Pathology 3rd Edition, 1988. George N. Agrios. Academia Press, Inc. San Diego, CA. pp. 335-337.

Robert E. Call Extension Agent, Horticulture