Cooperative Extension Service Franklin County 101 Lakeview Court Frankfort, KY 40601-8750 (502) 695-9035 Fax: (502) 695-9309 HORTICULTURE franklin.ca.uky.edu Invasive are headache “One of the places we’re really trying to manage (for invasives) is The Arboretum for woodland and landscape Woods, because it’s a remnant inner Bluegrass management woodland. It has an interesting history of being By Carol Lea Spence mowed and grazed a long time ago, when UK had an agricultural experiment station on the property,” Ellingson said. “Once those practices LEXINGTON, Ky., (April 29, 2021) — When were stopped, bush honeysuckle really came visiting The Arboretum Woods in Lexington on into that area. There was a big push in the a Friday during spring semester, one might early 2000s to get rid of the bush honeysuckle, have run into a group of students working hard but wintercreeper was waiting by the wayside to defend the woodland from serious invaders. to come out. Right now, we’ve got almost 100% The students are forestry and natural resources wintercreeper groundcover in some areas, but majors who were taking a class on invasive we’re trying to reduce that population.” species management taught by Ellen Crocker, Wintercreeper (Euonymus fortunei) is a broad- assistant professor of forest health in the leafed evergreen that can take over an University of Kentucky College of Agriculture, Food and Environment, with the help of Emily Ellingson, The Arboretum’s curator and native WHAT’S INSIDE THIS MONTH… plants collection manager, and Barry Duncill, native plants grounds worker. Invasive Plants Are Headache ………...... 1-2 2021 Horticulture Webinar Series ...... …….3 The course not only introduced students to Attracting Hummingbirds ……... .…………4-5 guest speakers such as Joyce Bender, head of KY State Apiarist Webinar …………...……..5 the Kentucky Invasive Plant Council, but it also provided them with hands-on experience in May Gardening Calendar …..…….……….6-7 various invasive plant management techniques. UK Horticulture Webinar Wednesdays …….7 They had to get their Kentucky pesticide 2021 Master Gardener Volunteer Training ..8 applicators license, so they could safely use Dogwood Anthracnose Spotted ………...... 9 pesticides. They haven’t sprayed much, Transplanting Tips For Vibrant Gardens ....10 however, given the time of year, instead CAEMG Lazy Gardener Corner …………...11 concentrating more on hand-pulling garlic Reduce Landscape Mosquito Factories .....11 mustard and honeysuckle and using tarps to kill CAEMG April-June 2021 Programs ………12 off lesser celandine by heating the soil. Continued from Pg. 1, Invasive plants are can be washed away in heavy rain or floods or headache for woodland and landscape carried by wildlife, so lesser celandine’s range management) can be quite wide. area in a proverbial heartbeat. While it may look Ellingson suggested, following manufacturer’s lush blanketing the forest floor, its presence can instructions, spraying lesser celandine with a suppress native woodland plants. Native plants, glyphosate-based herbicide when it is in its having evolved alongside fauna in the area, vegetative state before blooms appear. provide important food and habitat for local wildlife. In one area Garlic mustard of the woods, (Alliaria petiolata) is Ellingson and her also a nonnative team have invasive plant that managed to many will encounter eradicate a section in the spring. Garlic of wintercreeper mustard is a biennial, and were thrilled to meaning that the first see native season it just puts out beginning to leaves, in the shape reestablish itself in of a basal rosette. the space left The second year, it behind. will bloom. Ellingson said they pull it out by Lesser celandine A UK student helps eradicate from The hand before the plant verna ( ) Arboretum Woods. Photo by Ellen Crocker goes to seed. sneaks up on people, because it’s “And don’t forget a pretty thing with bright yellow, buttercup-like about the Callery pear,” Crocker said. “Most flowers springing up wherever it can get a people know it as a Bradford pear, which is just foothold in lawn or bare ground. In the process, one . There are many different varieties its dense root system and foliage prevent native of Callery pears, and they have moved into old wildflowers from growing. field sites and roadsides. In the spring, if you drive around and see something flowering white “It looks beautiful. It’s one of the first things to in old fields, it’s probably Callery pear.” come out in the spring, so no wonder people like it and want to plant it,” Crocker said. “But Callery pears form dense, thorny thickets that despite those pretty buttercup flowers, it will prevent native plants from getting a toehold. completely take over. It will carpet whole areas, “I think we’re always going to have nonnatives,” so nothing else is growing there. And then it Crocker said. “In my mind, it’s not really bad to goes dormant, and all that soil is more likely to have some nonnative species. You just want to erode, and you could have other invasive have your vigorous native species, too, because issues.” they are not only adapted to our areas and Crocker said Northern Kentucky has a lot of it, provide biodiversity, but they also support the and it’s now been found in Central Kentucky. insects, they support the animals. A lot of The plant reproduces three ways, by seed, by invasives and nonnatives don’t have those tuberous roots and by small bulbils attached to same relationships with our ecosystem.” the base of the leaf stalk. These bulbils easily

Attracting Hummingbirds Attracting hummingbirds is relatively easy as long as you feed them and have flowers near Submitted by Dennis Morgeson, Agent for by. Feeders should be set out by mid-April to Horticulture, Washington County Cooperative attract the first comers. You may need more Extension Service than one feeder because each male will defend a feeder. Place feeders out-of-sight from each We will start with some hummingbird facts. The other to attract more hummingbird is the smallest species of bird in hummingbirds. Hummingbird feeders don’t the world! They are cable of hovering, flying have to be elaborate however red is their backwards, and are the only avian species that favorite color. can fly upside down and backwards. Most people think there are several different types of When feeding hummingbirds, store purchased hummingbirds in Kentucky but actually there is nectar mixes are fine however not needed, you only one, the Rubythroat that lives east of the can make your own. A basic recipe consists of Mississippi river. The male rubythroat is the one 4 parts water, one part sugar (don’t mix it any with the large red spot on its neck and stronger), boil the water and sugar for 2 minutes breast. The male rubythroat weighs only 3.03 to kill any harmful bacteria. Cool the solution in grams or as much as 2.5 paperclips! the refrigerator and fill your feeders. Don’t add any dyes or coloring to your feed it’s not needed Hummingbirds routinely cruise at 27 miles per and some of them can actually harm the birds. hour but can reach up to 60 miles an hour while mating. The hummingbirds wings beat 53 times With all of the sugar water out in the elements per second, they have little or no song, a female your feeders will need to be cleaned regularly, rubythroat can eat 2000 insects per day, they weekly or bi-weekly. Wash it with a mild soap, have to eat 100% of their body weight in nectar rinse with bleach, and rinse thoroughly with per day just to survive, they cannot smell, they water. Insects can become a problem but don’t find food by site, feed every 5 minutes to one ever spray insecticides near feeders. If you hour based on food sources, and often migrates follow the recommended mixing rates bees may over 500 miles in a single day! not like it, if they do, mix a double strength amount in another feeder and the bees are Rubythroats generally arrive in Kentucky by mid likely to go to that feeder and leave the one for -April. Hummingbird’s favorite foods include the birds alone. For ants just rub petroleum jelly nectar from all kinds of flowers and insects. on the wire hanger and the ants can’t get to the Their favorite native flowers include native iris, feeder. pinks, columbine, and phlox. Mating usually takes place in May with young arriving in June; females build the nests and rear the young. By late July migration southwards begins starting from the north downward usually they don’t leave Kentucky until late September. Hummingbirds over winter in Mexico and the Caribbean Islands. Male hummingbirds generally only live 2.5 years while females live 3.5 years. Over 50% of all young will not survive until adulthood. hollyhock, hardy hibiscus, and rose of Sharon, the morning glory family, and woody species Hummingbirds need fresh water so feel baths such as buckeye, clethra, Carolina Silverbell, up daily. They really like fresh nectar so plant native and cultivated azaleas and many types of flowers; they also need trees and rhododendrons, and weigela. Other particular shrubs to nest and rest in. An open sunny area plants that hummingbirds prefer are nicotiana for flying is also preferred. (flowering tobacco), zinnia, Mexican sunflower, snapdragon, obedient plant, foxglove, cleome, If you want to plant flowers for attracting and canna. hummingbirds several plant families are the best such as: the mint family which includes If you don’t have some of the hummingbirds salvia, bee balm, and hyssop, the honey suckle favorite plants then now is a good time to plan family wild or tame with the native trumpet the gardens. You will get a multitude of benefits honeysuckle as a favorite, the columbines wild such as beauty, butterflies, and most of all the or tame, the bignonia family which includes summer long excitement of hummingbirds in trumpet creeper and cross vine, the your garden! penstemons, the lobelias which includes the native cardinal flower as well as cultivated species, the mallow family which includes May Gardening Calendar Begin fertilizing annuals. Continue at regular intervals. Source: William T. Kemper Center for Home Gardening, Missouri Botanical Trees with a history of borer problems Garden, St. Louis, MO should receive their first spray now. Repeat twice at 3-week intervals. Ornamentals can be moved or divided as the Apples, crabapples and hawthorns foliage dies. susceptible to rust disease should have Pinch back mums to promote bushy growth. protective fungicidal sprays applied beginning when these trees bloom. Lawns Pinch azaleas and rhododendron blossoms Keep bluegrass cut at 1.5 to 2.5 inch height. as they fade. Double flowered azaleas need Mow tall fescue at 2 to 3.5 inch height. no pinching. Mow zoysia lawns at 1.5 inch height. If spring rains have been sparse, begin Remove no more than one-half inch at each irrigating, especially plants growing in full mowing. sun. Apply post-emergence broadleaf weed Fertilize azaleas after bloom. Use a controls now if needed. formulation which has an acid reaction. Zoysia lawns may be fertilized now. Apply Canker worms (inch worms) rarely cause no more than 1 pound of actual nitrogen per permanent damage to ornamentals. 1000 square feet. Use Bt if control is deemed necessary. Watch for sod webworms emerging now. Don't remove spring foliage Vegetables prematurely or next year's flower production will decline. Place cutworm collars around young transplants. Collars are easily made from Continue monitoring pines, especially cardboard strips. Scotch and mugo, for sawfly activity on new shoots. Growing lettuce under screening materials will slow bolting and extend harvests into hot Begin planting gladiolus bulbs as the ground weather. warms. Continue at 2-week intervals. Slugs will hide during the daytime beneath a Plant hardy water lilies in tubs or garden board placed over damp ground. Check pools. each morning and destroy any slugs that Scale crawlers are active now. Infested have gathered on the underside of the pines and euonymus should be treated at board. this time. Plant dill to use when making pickles. Plant summer bulbs such as caladiums, Keep asparagus harvested for continued dahlias, cannas and elephant ears. spear production. Control asparagus beetles Begin planting warm-season annuals. as needed. Begin planting sweet corn as soon as white Miscellaneous oak leaves are as big as squirrel ears. Birds eat many insect pests. Attract them to Isolate sweet, super sweet and popcorn your garden by providing good nesting varieties of corn to prevent crossing. habitats. Thin plantings of carrots and beets to avoid Herbs planted in average soils need no overcrowding. extra fertilizer. Too much may reduce flavor Control caterpillars on broccoli and cabbage and pungency at harvest. plants by handpicking or use biological Take houseplants outdoors when nights will sprays such as B.t. remain above 50 degrees. Most prefer only Set out tomato plants as soils warm. Place direct morning sun. support stakes alongside at planting time. Watch for fireflies on warm nights. Both Place a stake by seeds of squash and adults and larvae are important predators. cucumbers when planting in hills to locate Collecting may reduce this benefit. the root zone watering site after the vines Sink houseplants up to their rims in soil or have run. mulch to conserve moisture. Fertilize Remove rhubarb seed stalks as they regularly. appear. May Pests and Problems Watch for striped and spotted cucumber Hold off planting warm season vegetables, beetles now. Both may spread wilt and such as tomatoes, eggplants, vine crops; mosaic diseases to squash and cucumber herbs, and warm-season annuals until the plants. soil warms, usually in mid to late May. Set out peppers and eggplants after soils have warmed. Plant sweet potatoes now. Make new sowings of warm- season vegetables after harvesting early crops. Fruits Mulch blueberries with pine needles or sawdust. Don't spray any fruits while in bloom. Refer to local Extension publications for fruit spray schedule. Prune unwanted shoots as they appear on fruit trees.

Dogwood Anthracnose Management Options Spotted Select disease resistant , such as Oriental dogwood or cultivars developed from By Kim Leonberger, Plant Pathology Extension the ‘Appalachian’ series. Associate and Nicole Gauthier, Plant Pathology Inspect all trees prior to purchase and Extension Specialist installation for symptoms. Anthracnose of dogwood is a common problem Do not transplant forest dogwood into in Kentucky. Symptoms on landscape and landscapes. forest dogwoods often first appear during wet periods in late spring. If left unmanaged, the Prune trees to allow for increased air movement pathogen spreads, eventually resulting in plant and leaf drying. death. Selection of resistant varieties and Select good planting sites that allow for maintenance of tree health are critical for adequate sunlight. disease prevention. Maintain plant Dogwood Anthracnose Facts health with Leaves may develop medium-to-large spots proper with purple borders or scorched tan blotches nutrition, that enlarge to kill the entire leaf (Figure 1). irrigation, and Infected petioles and branches exhibit dieback, the addition of typically beginning on lower branches (Figure mulch. 2). Cankers with a dark brown discoloration Avoid injuries under the bark may develop on limbs. The to trees. development of trunk sprouts increases. Prune all dead, Other landscape trees can develop diseases dying, or also called anthracnose; however, these result diseased from different fungal pathogens and symptoms branches from vary depending on the type of tree. trees. Disease is favored by cool, moist periods. Fungicides Infection may occur throughout the growing may be applied season, as long as conditions are conducive. preventatively. Figure 2: Infected petioles and Caused by the fungus Discula destructiva. Contact a branches exhibit dieback, county The pathogen survives winter in infected plant typically beginning on lower Extension tissues, such as leaf debris and cankers. branches. (Photo: Robert L. agent for more Anderson, USDA Forest Service, information on Bugwood.org) fungicide use.

Additional Information

 Considerations for Diagnosis of Ornamentals in the Landscape (PPFS-GEN- 15)  Flowering Dogwood Diseases (PPFS-OR-W -06)  Landscape Sanitation (PPFS-GEN-04)

Figure 1: Leaves affected by  Woody Plant Disease Management Guide anthracnose develop medium-to- for Nurseries and Landscapes (ID-88) large spots with purple borders or scorched tan blotches. (Photo: John Hartman, University of Kentucky) Transplanting tips for vibrant most plants, keep the soil depth similar to how they were previously growing. Tomatoes and gardens peppers can be transplanted more deeply, since Source: Rick Durham, extension professor, they develop roots on parts of the stem that is Department of Horticulture submerged in the soil. Press soil firmly around the roots. 5. Pour one cup of water around each plant and for a bonus start add some soluble fertilizer to the water (follow label directions). 6. Put more soil around each plant leaving a slight depression for water to collect. 7. Water the plants once or twice during their first week in the garden. If you didn’t fertilize at planting, add fertilizer to the water at some point during the first week or so of growth. Follow fertilizer label directions for when to add additional fertilizer. 8. Watch your garden thrive. Last time, we talked about how growing your For more information about starting plants for own vegetables and flowers from seed indoors your flower or vegetable garden, contact the or under a protective covering outside can Franklin County office of the University of expand your choices. You can find that Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service. information at https://bit.ly/3dgPP7h. When the chance of frost has passed, it’s time to think about transplanting your young plants to the garden. About two weeks before you do Kids Days at the Market... that, you should harden (toughen) them off to help them withstand the outside environment. The second Saturday of each month To do so, begin reducing water and fertilizer May - December is Kids Day at the (but don’t let them dry out) and expose them to lower temperatures by taking your plants Franklin County Farmers Market. outside. Bring them in at night if the temperature Children at the Market can participate is expected to drop into the 40s. Also expose in activities, make crafts, and get $2 to them gradually to brighter and brighter light outside. Start off protecting them from strong shop for fruits and veggies at the midday sun and then over the course of a few Market. days move them into full sun conditions. Transplanting will temporarily check a plant’s growth. Therefore, for successful transplanting,  May 8 try to interrupt plant growth as little as possible.  June 12 Follow these steps when transferring them to your garden:  July 10 1. Transplant on a shady day in late afternoon  August 14 or in early evening to prevent wilting.  2. Soak transplants’ roots thoroughly an hour or September 11 two before setting them in the garden.  October 9 3. Handle the plants carefully. Avoid disturbing  the roots. It is better to grasp plants by their November 13 leaves than their tender stems.  December 11 4. Dig a hole large enough to hold the roots. For CAEMG Lazy Gardener Reduce Landscape Corner Mosquito Factories Hello fellow gardeners! Source: Lee Townsend, Extension Call me lazy, but I am not always able to devote Entomologist gobs of time to work in my garden. Maybe you can relate. This series will explore various ways The Asian tiger mosquito (ATM, Figure 2) is we can coordinate with nature to give our a peridomestic species, meaning it is gardens what they need to thrive. As a result adapted to live in and around human our gardens will require less work from us! dwellings. Everyone can play a major role in The first topic I would like to introduce is a type reducing numbers of this fierce day-biter of permaculture called Core Gardening. This is a method used to retain water for your plants by simply by recognizing potential breeding absorbing it into the “core material” so the sites and taking plants can use it as needed. This core material steps to could be dried grass clippings, dried leaves, or straw. It was originally used in desert regions remove or alter that have grasses but no trees. them so they What are the benefits you ask? cannot support Holds moisture (for weeks if the core material is mosquito well saturated). development. This is great for: Figure 1. Asian tiger mosquito ATM breeds in (Susan Ellis, Bugwood.org)  travelers/vacationers natural and  busy gardeners artificial containers. A recent study in New  lazy gardeners ;) Jersey identified tires, trash  No waiting cans, and planter dishes (Figure 2) as the  can plant immediately most important artificial breeding sites for  Cheap the species. However, anything that can  Simple and easy hold water for 10 to 14 days could produce a batch. Discarded containers pose a  Creates better soil significant problem because the desiccation-  allows for loose well drained soil. resistant eggs of container breeding So, to sum it up, you get a self-watering, self- mosquitoes can wait for rain to provide the fertilizing and self-tilling planting bed. The best part is you have more time to do the “enjoying” needed water for development. part of having a garden! See Mosquitoes’ Main Aquatic Habitats for Stay tuned for next month as we cover how an expanded list of potential breeding sites. core gardens are made. Please visit our Franklin County extension office to see our demonstration raised bed using the Core Garden method. We will be planting the bed soon. Also, look for upcoming classes to learn more about this topic and other “Lazy Gardener” ideas. Figure 2. Top artificial containers that serve as Happy gardening! mosquito breeding sites (from left to right): tires, Mandy Clarke trash cans, and planter dishes. (Photo: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

Adam Leonberger County Extension Agent for Horticulture Education