Roots & Shoots Master Gardener Society of Oakland County October/November 2005 Some Information you should know MGSOOC Board Members President: John P. Humphrey ...............................(248)542-8213 Vice President: Tom Hershberger .......................(586)573-3954 Secretary: Ruth Vrbensky .....................................(248)969-6904 Treasurer: Julie Bird .............................................(248)358-3277 Team Administrator: Sherry Jones .....................(248)442-9866 MSU Extension Oakland County Coordinator Advisor: Carol Lenchek .................................. (248)858-0900 lenchekc@co.oakland.mi.us Team Coordinators Bowers Farm: Martha Humphrey......babylon6@ameritech.net Grants: Clay Ottoni .............................. (248)454-9800 Hospitality: Pat Banaszek ........................... (248)375-5683 Membership: Tom Hershberger ...................... (586)573-3954 Programs: John P. Humphrey .................... (248)542-8213 Trips & Tours: Sandie Parrott ......................... (248)394-1532 Web Site: Sheri Trout. sheri@oaklandweb.com (248)328-0557 Web Site Address: www.mgsoc.org Currently Available Opportunities: Communications, Education, Project Support, Volunteer Activities MGSOOC Board Meetings are open to all. Copies of the Minutes can be made available, upon request to the Secretary. Mission Statement It is the Master Gardener Society of Oakland County's Mission to assist, enable, and encourage its members to use their horticultural knowledge and experience to help the people of their communities, enrich their lives through gardening and good gardening practices. MGSOOC SOCIETY MEETING & LOCATION November 2nd, 2005 General Meeting @ 6:30 pm, Lower Level Classroom MSU Extension Office, 1200 N. Telegraph Road North Office Building, 26 East Education: Nancy Szerlag - "Putting Your Tools to Bed for Winter" Let's call this our seasonal Reminder. Last spring we all sprang forward, right? Daylight Saving Time At 2:00 am October 30th, we get to fall back, so get some sleep, OK! LATE BLOOMERS by Jean Gramlich We sang HAPPY BIRTHDAY to John Humphrey to begin our September meeting. (John is NOT a later bloomer!) George Papadelis from Telly's Greenhouse gave a talk on late bloomers and brought many of the plants with him. As all of you who have heard George know, he talks a mile a minute and tucks lots of great hints into his non-stop discussions about flowers. In this article, I will try to cover as much as I could write down! George gave us a great list divided into August, September and October perennials, ornamental grasses, perennial vines and annuals which bloom late as well. If you missed the meeting, the list is a treasure trove of information. August Bloomers: (* Asterisks will indicate shade tolerant) Allium/Ornamental Onion: Some varieties bloom in August like A. senescens glaucum which has pretty, dense low growing foliage with a flower stalk of 14". Anemone/Japanese or Grape-leaf Anemone: 'Party Dress' is a fall bloomer which is floppy in the shade. *Astilbe/False Spirea: Chinensis and visions are varieties which bloom in the fall. They are fast spreaders, and visions have coarse flowers. Buddleia/Butterfly Bush: This bush blooms all summer and fall. To prevent winterkill, mound soil over the crown in November, and cut back in early spring. This technique can be used with other woody ornamentals like caryopteris. Caryopteris/Blue Mist Spirea: Clusters of many small blue flowers lasting into September. *Ceratostigma/Plumbago: One of the few late-blooming perennials which are short and can be used as a ground cover. It will thrive in dry conditions. The foliage turns crimson in the fall. *Chelone/Pink Turtlehead: Will grow 3-4' and tolerates moist soil. *Clematis/Blue Bush Clematis: Has small blue flowers and tolerates shade but will flop. In the sun it needs no support. Eupatorium coelestinum/Blue Mist Flower: Looks like a perennial ageratum and grows 2' tall. Geranium/Cranesbills: Cultivars 'Rozzanne' and 'Jolly Bee' bloom through August. Helenium/Helen's Flower: Small daisy-like flowers in golds and oranges grow 3-6' tall. They may need staking and should be divided often. Helianthus/Perennial Sunflower: Large single or double daisy-like flowers are 3-5' tall and start blooming in July to September depending on variety. 'Lowdown' has bright yellow flowers on 12" stems in October. Heliopsis/False Sunflower: Large single or double daisy-like flowers which may require staking. 'Loraine's Sunshine' has variegated leaves. Hibiscus/Hardy Hibiscus: Huge flowers on green or burgundy foliage ('Kopper King'). It is late to emerge. *Hosta/Plantain Lily: Some varieties are late bloomers. 'Guacamole' can take full sun and develops new leaves throughout the summer. Gaura/Wand Flower: Many butterfly-like flowers with green or variegated foliage. Some varieties have woody stems and need winter protection. *Ligularia/Ligularia: Beautiful large foliage with big yellow flowers on deer-proof plant. 'Britt-Marie Crawford' and 'Desdemona' are excellent varieties. *Lobelia/Cardinal Flower: Likes shade and should be divided often. Plant may last only 2-3 years. Perovskia/Russian Sage: Very tough plant with woody stems. Masses of lavender blooms on long spikes with silver foliage. 'Little spire' is a compact variety. Phlox/Garden Phlox and Upright Phlox: Blooms can begin in late July. Some varieties, including 'David' have mildew resistance. Physostegia/Obedient Plant: White to rose-pink flower spikes above green or variegated foliage. Beware: in good soil obedient plant can spread disobediently! Rudbeckia/Black-eyed Susan: Long blooming from end of July into September. Annual Rudbeckia come in autumn colors. Scutellaria/Scullcap: Very long bloomers which resemble salvia. Sedum/Live-forever: Many varieties have great foliage and provide winter interest. 'Vera Jameson' will form a muffin-shaped mound with purple foliage in the sun. 'Samuel Oliphant' has tri-colored leaves. 'Autumn Fire' looks great against ornamental grasses. Solidago/Goldenrod: Many varieties of varying heights and bloom times including 'Fireworks' which is tall with large heads. Vernonia/Iron weed: Like an aster on steroids with brilliant flowers. September Bloomers: Aconitum/Monkshood: Delphinium-like spikes on long-lived plants which sometimes require staking. Aster/Aster: Mum-like but much hardier. They should be divided often and cut back in the spring. Boltonia/Bolton's Aster: Like asters with pink or white flowers which rarely require staking. *Colchicum/Fall crocus: Short-stemmed pink or white flowers with no foliage in the fall. Rabbit-resistant. Coreopsis/Tickseed: Bloom all summer and into fall. Dendranthemum/Hardy Mum: Hardy when planted early in good soil. Give winter protection. 'Clara Curtis' is a very hardy variety. When purchasing, look for little shoots under the stem or below the soil surface. Iris/Repeat blooming Iris: 'Immortality'. *Kirengeshoma/Yellow Wax Bells: Maple leaf-like foliage with yellow flowers which resemble fuchsia. Moist soil is preferred. Pansies/Pansies: Fall planted pansies will bloom until hard freeze and reblooms in the spring. *Tricyrtis/Toad lily: Delicate flowers of the orchid family, some with variegated leaves. October Bloomers: Callicarpa/Beautyberry: Clusters of long-lasting violet berries along the branches. Plants are 3-4' wide and tall. Will tolerate some shade. *Cimicifuga/Bugbane: Graceful white bottlebrush flowers with green or purple foliage. Ferny purple foliage can be mixed with golden foliage like Hakanochloa for great effect. Winter protection is recommended. *Aconitum carmichaelii/Monkshood: This variety will last into November. Nipponanthemur/Montauk daisy: White Shasta daisy-like flowers bloom very late. Attractive glossy foliage all season. Ornamental Grasses for fall and Winter Interest Calamagrostis/Feather Reed Grass: 'Karl Foerster' begins to bloom in June. Miscanthus/Silver and Maiden Grass: Vase shaped grasses of varying heights and bloom times. Blooms pink, red or silver and turns tan in winter. Panicum/Switch Grass: V-shaped with airy masses of flowers 3-7' tall. 'Heavy Metal' has beautiful color and form; and 'Shenandoah' is a good dwarf variety. Pennisetum/Fountain Grass: Mound shaped with fluffy bottlebrush flowers which shatter in the winter. Hakanochloa/Hakone Grass: Grows slowly to 12-15" in shade. The Vibrant gold and green foliage provides a great contrast with purple foliage. Perennial Vines: *Clematis/Fall Blooming Clematis: Grows quickly and large and produces thousands of little white flowers. *Polygonum/Silver Fleece Vine: Huge trusses of tiny white flowers all summer. Extremely aggressive and the flowers smell bad! Annuals: Argeranthemum: Yellow and butter yellow varieties are long bloomers. Asters: Flowers peak late in the season Bidens: Resembling Coreopsis, these horizontally, Gold plants are used well in baskets and pots. Calibrachoa: Miniature petunias with great cascading habit. Coreopsis: 'Limerock Ruby' has deep rose flowers with yellow stamens. Dianthus: Newer varieties have good heat and cold tolerance. Diascia: Good filler or cascading plant. Helichrysum b.: Strawflower with yellow, orange and red flowers. Helichrysum i.: Silvery, narrow leaves which add texture and color to containers. Muehlenbeckia: Unique wiry filler plant with trailing habit. Nemesia: New 'Sunsatia' series adds to the blue and white colors available previously. Nicotiana: Several colors/heights available perform well in summer and after frost. Osteospermum: Daisy-like flowers. 'Symphony' series flowers all summer and fall. Penstemon: Annuals bloom for several weeks and tolerate frosts. Phlox: 'Intensia' series flowers all summer and after frost. Rudbeckia: Great late season bloomers. Sedum 'Angelina': Nice color and texture for containers with trailing habit. Often winters over. Snapdragons: Perform best in cool temperatures. Swiss chard: Lots of colors provide a good focal point. Tri-colored sage: Good for containers. Verbena: Frost tolerant with great cascading habit. Annual grasses: Pennisetum s. 'Rubrum' and 'Burgundy Giant', Pennisetum 'Purple Majesty' (millet), Stipa tenuissima, Solipsists (Fiber Optic Grass). STORING TENDER BULBS: by Jean Gramlich Sue Grubba spoke at our October meeting on the subject of storing tender bulbs. She graciously substituted for Steve Nikkila. First, Sue defined the true bulbs as having scales, corms as solid with no scales and rhizomes as horizontal fleshy roots. Wait until after a frost to dig the roots and bulbs. Bruising is death to bulbs, so make sure you are careful in handling them. The ideal temperature for storing bulbs is 40-50 degrees, but in modern houses, it is hard to find a place that maintains that temperature. Cannas can be stored on the outside basement wall in a paper bag. Leave a 2" stem on the rhizome. They should be kept cool and dry. Packing peanuts can be used to store them. Dusting them with fungicide is a good preventive measure. If you store them where animals might find them, put cayenne pepper on them. They can also be stored in the pot they grow in if you keep the lights out. Divisions of the rhizome should be done in the spring. Dahlias should be snapped off at the base and left to dry out for a few days. Shake off the soil a couple of times and use an anti-desiccant mixed half-and-half with water to prevent further drying. They can be stored in a cardboard box lined with a plastic bag with cardboard on the top. They store best at cool temperatures. Gladiolas and freesias are papery and should be dug with a garden fork. Put them in an onion bag and hang them from the ceiling. Do not put too many in the bag because the bottom ones will get bruised. They can be stored at 60 degrees. Elephant ears should be dug after frost. Let the bulb dry out and then use a soft brush to remove soil, then store with packing peanuts in a plastic bag. Miscellaneous Tips: * Use a soil thermometer 6" deep and log soil temperatures throughout the season in different spots in your garden. Roots grow until hard freeze. * Use an anti-desiccant on creeping phlox 2-3 times during the winter. Winter sun and poor drainage are factors which cause damage. * Myccorhizae can be purchased in granulated form in a shaker can. * Canadian peat is easier to use if you let it absorb moisture first. * Organic Gardening Notes: by Peter Bray How Natural Mulches Tie Up Nitrogen, And How It Is Released Natural mulches have many benefits, both functional and cosmetic: they prevent soil moisture from evaporating; they suppress the germination of weed seeds; they keep the root zone cool in midsummer; and they promote the growth of earthworm populations. But what is more relevant to the present topic is that they build soil organic matter because they decompose. And because they decompose a frequently asked question is: don't they tie up nitrogen? Well, yes they do. All organic mulches will tie up nitrogen, whether they are shredded leaves and straw in a vegetable garden or wood chips and cocoa shells around ornamentals. There's a straight-forward biological explanation for this. And there's a more complicated biological explanation for why the immobilization of nitrogen in this way is only temporary. As soon as organic matter touches the soil it begins to decompose. The principal agents of decomposition are bacteria and fungi. Bacteria and fungi both need nitrogen as a source of energy. They take it from the soil (and from the organic matter they decompose), and incorporated it into their bodies with the result that it's no longer available for plants. When organic matter comes into contact with soil, whether it's the fall build-up of leaf litter in the woods or a gardener putting down natural mulch, it causes a population explosion of soil bacteria and fungi so that a lot of nitrogen gets immobilized. But it's an ill wind that blows nobody any good: nitrogen tied up in the bodies of bacteria and fungi doesn't leach out of the topsoil, as would mineralize nitrogen, like nitrates and ammonia, which are extremely mobile. If the considerable amount of nitrogen that is tied up were to remain immobilized it would represent a critical loss for plants. But fortunately that it isn't the end of the matter. The mechanism for the release of tied up-nitrogen depends on two things: underground predators and carbon-to-nitrogen ratios. Bacteria have C: N ratios of about 5:1. That's a lot of nitrogen. Nitrogen is the essential building block for protein, and bacteria are mostly protein. (To digress: green plant material has C: N ratios of about 30:1, and dry plant matter has ratios above 100:1. So when bacteria break down plant matter a lot of carbon is released. This is why active compost piles - and soil in which organic matter is decomposing -- give off carbon dioxide.) Bacteria have their predators - amoebae and other kinds of protozoa. They have C: N ratios of about 30:1. This means that when bacteria are consumed by protozoa some five-sixths of the nitrogen in their bodies is released into the soil. But we're not done yet. Some kinds of nematodes feed on protozoa, and predatory nematodes feed on those nematodes. Nematodes have C: N ratios up to 100:1, so that when they have eaten the protozoa almost all the nitrogen that the bacteria tied up in the first place will have been returned to the soil. Similarly, fungi decompose organic matter, particularly woody material and so they also immobilize nitrogen. Fungi have C: N ratios of about 30:1. There are eaten by fungal-feeding nematodes, which in turn are eaten by predatory nematodes and mites. (Gardeners tend to think of nematodes as bad news, but this is only true for some of the plant-feeding kind.) These higher-level predators have C: N ratios of 100:1 and up. So they bring about further release of tied up nitrogen, which by this stage is to all intents and purposes complete. Acknowledgement: most of the biology comes from a talk given by Dr. Elaine Ingham to a meeting of the Michigan Composting Council in December 1998. Her website at www.soilfoodweb.com is well worth a visit. Notes from Carol Hi Everyone. I hope that this glorious Fall weather lasts well into November so I can make up for all those hot days I didn't spend in the garden! Our Oakland County Master Gardener - Continuing Education Committee (CEC) has spent the summer working on a few exciting educational programs. I'd like to use this space to alert you of these programs, so you can mark your calendars (2005 and 2006). Bringing in the Greens will be held on Saturday December 3 from 1:00-3:00 at Tellys. This popular hands-on holiday wreath/swag making workshop will be held just in time for the Holidays! Taught by Advanced Master Gardener Judy Cornellier, space will be limited to 25 people, so register early. Organic Gardening for Beginners is a 3-part series starting the Saturday after Superbowl on February 4 and continuing on the 11th , and 18th. The first class session will cover the principles, practices, and benefits of "growing" organic. The second class will be on month by month organic gardening in Michigan. The third session will be divided into a session on composting and a session on the products available for your use as you garden organically, brought to you by Uncle Lukes. This is a beginners class, so tell your friends and family and all else who have asked you to tell them what this "organic gardening" is all about. The Art and Science of Container Gardening is one of the innovative online programs developed by the Horticulture Gardening Institute and the American Horticultural Society. All who register for this program will come together for a kick-off session on March 15, just when you're itching to get those planters out. It may be too early in the spring for that, but it won't be too early to plan and learn for the next gardening season! Mary McLellan will entertain..er educate us on this subject and then we will run through the process of going online. One last thing for you to watch for... The CEC would like to hear from you on what classes you would like them to work on offering. Toward that end, a link to a survey site will be in an upcoming issue of the Oakland Gardener. Once it appears in the Oakland Gardener, please take a minute or two to go to that link and take the survey. My final note is to wish you a fun and productive Fall and hope you can enjoy the season no matter what Mother Nature throws our way! And remember that the deadline for volunteer and educational activity reporting is December 31, 2005. Michigan State University Extension-Oakland County Bringing Knowledge to Life North Office Building, #26 East Office Hours: 1200 N Telegraph Road Monday through Friday Pontiac, MI 48341-0416 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 noon and 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. Beverly Terry...248/858-0529 Carol Lenchek...248/858-0900 County Extension Director Extension Program Coordinator E-Mail: terryb@msu.edu E-Mail: lenchekc@co.oakland.mi.us Yard and Garden Hotline...248/858-0902 Cathy Morris.... 248/858-1639 Charlene Molnar, Horticulture Advisor Clerk & Contact for Certification Hours of operation vary with seasonal needs. of Volunteer & Education Hours E-Mail: morrisc@co.oakland.mi.us Food Safety Hotline . . . . .248/858-0904 4-H Youth Programs Tom Schneider Michigan State University Master Gardener Program Mary McLellan, State Coordinator 517/355-5191, ext 408 E-mail: mg@msu.edu The Oakland Gardener only accepts submissions via e-mail. E-mail needs to include a description of request, contact person's name, phone number and e-mail address. This info will be "cut and pasted" into this online newsletter. Roots & Shoots is a joint publication of MSU Extension-Oakland County and MGSOOC. Deadlines for submitting information or articles to Toots & Shoots are: January 1 for February/March Issue March 1 for April/May Issue May 1 for June/July Issue July 1 for August/September Issue September1 for October/November Issue November 1 for December/January Issue Michigan State University Extension programs and materials are available to all without regard to race, color, national origin, gender, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, marital status, or family status.