Horticulture Hints Spring 2006 Louisiana Master Gardener Volunteer Program Gardening is food comes by planting 4-feet x 4-feet Thirteen community gardens the number one vegetable gardens. receive volunteer assistance in the pastime in United Gardening complements math, sci- Baton Rouge area, including Habitat States. Learn new ence and English curricula by helping for Humanity, Baton Rouge Botanic gardening skills and reduce ADHD symptoms and building Garden, LSU Hilltop Arboretum, enjoy volunteering self-esteem. McMain’s Development Center and the in your commu- Magnolia Mound Plantation Kitchen nity by becoming In St. Tammany parish, Master Garden. Gardeners present seminar topics and a Louisiana Master Tangipahoa Parish Master Garden- Gardener. conduct a Plant Health Care Clinic at the Northshore Spring Garden Show. ers have volunteered at 26 schools The Louisiana to teach 4-H youth about growing Master Gardener program is a St. Tammany volunteers also hydroponic lettuce and the importance volunteer project of the LSU AgCenter. participate in a city-wide effort to take of a healthy diet. Volunteers assist with Classes are conducted in 20 parishes plants destined to be destroyed by city the state’s annual conference in April. throughout the state. Each class covers roadway and construction projects and transplant them in municipal sites like In the River Region, St. Charles one or two topics, and the series usually volunteers have established and takes three months to complete. There city hall, the community center and the Tyler Thomas Memorial Playground. maintain a heritage vegetable garden is a $55 state fee for the course, and at Destrehan Plantation, complete with individual parish programs may charge At the Slidell Memorial Hospital, tours and gardening information. They an additional class activity fee. Master Gardeners have proposed, work closely with their parish’s park All Master Gardener volunteers developed and maintained a unique system and public schools. garden space created for patients are asked to perform a minimum Lafayette Parish Master Gardeners number of required volunteer hours and requiring recreational therapy as part of their medical rehabilitation. work diligently on their Children’s continuing education hours each year Garden and have conducted 28 outdoor to maintain their certification. For more The space is entirely container- classes for area students. information, contact your parish LSU planted for patient access. Master AgCenter extension office. Gardeners partnered with the Eden Isles In the Shreveport area, Extreme Garden Makeover, a gardening contest, Louisiana Master Gardener exten- Garden Club to make this wonderful addition to the hospital. is a learning experience used to teach sion volunteers have accomplished people about growing gardens. Master much in their communities. In the Natchitoches Parish Master Gar- Gardeners, Shreveport Green and Monroe area, for example, volunteers deners have provided donated plants several generous sponsors have made have worked with Mangham Junior and planting expertise to complete a the event possible. The winner’s garden High School to create an outdoor Habitat for Humanity house. They also will be video taped, and Southern Liv- environment that both enhances the have advised the new homeowners on ing will provide a landscape plan. appearance of the school and functions plant maintenance and establishing a as an outdoor classroom for math and lawn. Master Gardeners’ annual spring science classes. garden tour exposes guests to several In hurricane devastated Orleans private gardens in the Shreveport and Master Gardeners also are Parish, volunteers assisted City Park Bossier area, while promoting good strong supporters of the popular Botanical Garden personnel with gardening practices to the public. LSU AgCenter’s Ag Alley, held in removing storm-damaged plants and conjunction with the annual AgExpo in replanting new gardens. Learning and sharing your Monroe. Each year, thousands of youth gardening knowledge as a Louisiana East Baton Rouge Parish Master Master Gardener in your community is and adult visitors learn about Louisiana Gardeners develop and produce garden- agriculture. a worthwhile experience for you, the ing programs and use their speaker’s volunteer, and the people you help. Students attending the Ouachita bureau to present those topics at public Parish Alternative Center learn where libraries, garden clubs, civic organiza- Bob Souvestre, tions and public events. Master Gardener Coordinator Horticulture Hints Spring 2006 1 Fruits and Nuts Rabbiteye Blueberry Weed Control Pruning Weeds are strong competitors for nutrients and water that fruit plants need. Rabbiteye blueberries are vigorous Weed competition is especially hard on newly planted trees. Having a weed-free growers that can reach 6-8 feet in a few area 12-18 inches around a new plant will greatly increase the rate of growth and years. Prune back to 48 inches after potential fruit production. harvest. Plants then will have time to An additional advantage of keeping a weed-free zone around a fruit tree is to produce more fruiting wood before prevent mower blight. Mower blight is what happens when the trunk of a tree or frost. Old, unproductive canes can bush is bumped with a mower or weed eater. The inner bark is frequently killed by be cut back to ground level, leaving these bumps, although no outward injury is visible. A sufficient number of bumps a maximum of eight to 10 vigorous by mowers or weed eaters can kill a ring of inner bark around the trunk that will canes. Pruning generally increases often result in tree death. berry size and earliness. Pruning Weed removal by hand is effective but very time consuming. Black plastic dormant bushes reduces yields because weed barriers around the plants can be effective. A layer of organic mulch around fruiting wood is removed. After-harvest the plant also can be very effective. Mulch should not be placed next to the trunk pruning is best! of the tree. The mulch can hold moisture around the trunk and encourage trunk rot. It is best to leave a couple of inches of space between the trunk of the tree and the Blackberry Disease mulch. A serious infection of erect and Be careful when using herbicides, because they have the potential to damage or trailing blackberries is rosette or kill fruit plants and could be hazardous to one’s health if misused. Always read the double-blossom disease, caused by label before use. Some herbicides are fairly selective in what they kill; others kill the fungus Cercosporella rubi. Buds almost any plant they contact. on new canes are infected in the early summer, but no symptoms develop until Many herbicides used in fruit production are not widely available to a the next spring. Numerous leafy sprouts homeowner with only a few trees, or they have to be bought in large quantities. (witches’ brooms) appear from infected Glyphosate, however, is a common herbicide widely available and suitable for many buds in the early spring. These shoots fruit plants. are stunted and pale green (later turning Glyphosate is sold under several trade names. These names include Roundup, to bronze). Flowers are pink, and the Rattler and Touchdown. These products are sold under several formulations and petals are twisted. A whitish spore several container sizes. Some formulations are sold ready-to-use without any mix- mass covers the pistils and stamens of ing. the flowers. Berries do not form from Glyphosate is a nonselective post-emergent herbicide that will damage or kill infected blooms, and those from non- most plants it contacts. Extreme care must be taken to avoid contact of spray with infected blooms on the same cane will foliage, green stems or fruit of desirable crops, plants, trees or other desirable be small and of poor quality. vegetation, since severe damage or death may result. Chemical control of double Shields or coverings made from an impermeable material may be used to blossom has not been very effective. prevent the spray from contacting non-target vegetation. Gray bark on trees and Adequate control can be obtained by shrubs is normally resistant to glyposate penetration. Bark injuries or suckers may pruning out the infected rosettes in the allow the spray to gain entrance into mature trees. spring before they bloom. The thornless blackberry varieties Arapaho, Apache, Ouachita and Navaho have shown good resistance to rosette disease. Pecan Pest March 2006 Fruit Tips for March Pecan phylloxera causes galls on twigs and leaves of pecan trees in May 1. Complete spring application of fertilizer on and June. This insect induces leaf drop fruit trees. in late May and early June, dieback 2. Prune trees that have not been pruned. of twigs and loss of nut production. It makes trees look bad, but not likely 3. Spray fruit trees for pest and disease. to kill trees unless they are severely 4. Graft trees. Use whip and cleft grafts in stressed from other problems. February and March. Use four-flap and bark A spray application of Sevin SL, grafts in April and May. Buds on graft wood Malathion, Lorsban 4E or Provado must be tight. Keep graft wood cool until 1.6F applied when pecan buds have ready to use. Do not allow graft wood to approximately ½ – ¾ inch of new freeze or dry out. growth usually gives good phylloxera control. A second insecticide applica- tion seven to 10 days later sometimes may be needed. Treat only those trees previously infested and those adjacent John Pyzner, Horticulturist to them. Follow pesticide labels. 2 Spring 2006 Horticulture Hints Turfgrass and Lawns Turfgrass Care April Fertilizing Lawns now show spring re-growth. Be careful not to push the season by forcing early growth with lots of fertilizer. If put on too early, fertilizer will feed winter weeds. During April or May, If put on too heavily, it will create a lush, weak growth sensitive to brown patch.