| | This year’s All-American winner, ‘Summer Valentine,’ features stunning, 5-inch pink b looms with a magenta eye and picotee edges.
The flowers are perched on 22- to 28-inch tall scapes and float about 5 inches above the foliage. It blooms 30 to 130 days per year. | Find out more | 8/5/2008 |
| | Symptoms of daylily leaf streak caused by the fungus Aureobasidium macrostictum was found by members of Univ. of Md. Co-op. Ext. on daylilies. The yellowing streak symptoms start at the leaf tips and progress along midveins. This disease can also cause reddish-brown spots that may be confused with daylily rust (Puccinia hemerocallidis). Daylily rust can cause similar brown to yellow leaf streaks, but is characterized by distinct orange pustules. Daylily leaf streak occurs most often in summer during periods of high humidity and rain. Plants recover when temperatures decrease in fall. The fungus overwinters on dead, infected leaves. | See details | 7/30/2008 |
| | Most cool-season lawns immediately took a dive in quality with the record heat of early June. Attached is a brief newspaper article I developed for the Smith Mtn Lake Association on irrigation and mowing BMPs for cool-season lawns. If you can adapt any part of this text to serve your needs, please feel free to make it your own.
Michael Goatley, Jr.
Extension Turfgrass Specialist
Virginia Tech | Read Article | 7/20/2008 |
| | As of today (6/12/2008), the responsible federal agencies have not yet determined the source of tomatoes implicated in the ongoing Salmonella Saintpaul outbreak. Yesterday, Virginia was added to the list of states from which it is safe to purchase tomatoes. That is certainly good news for Virginia tomato growers and packers. I have again embedded links to the FDA and CDC pages concerning the outbreak. I have also inserted a press release from VDACS.
| See details | 7/15/2008 |
| | The U.S. Botanic Garden in Washington, D.C., recently opened an exhibit devoted to sustainability. "One Planet — Ours" showcases garden displays on the Conservatory Terrace and interpretive and sculptural displays in the National Garden and Bartholdi Park. Visitors can also view "Cool Globes," an exhibit of more than 40 sculptures depicting solutions for unsustainable practices. The exhibit runs until Oct. 13. | See Details | 7/30/2008 |
| | Rudbeckia and veronica are 2 plants in Maryland that have been found to have heavy downy mildew infections. Karen Rane, director of the Univ. of Md. plant diagnostic lab, said there are some things growers should know about the fungal pathogen. There are several species of downy mildew fungi and most have a limited host range. Environmental conditions favorable for infection and spread (cool and moist) are similar for all species. Symptoms include yellow to brown discolored areas on foliage, curling of leaves, leaf drop, distortion of new growth and stunting of infected plants. Look for white to gray, fuzzy fungal growth on the undersides of discolored leaf lesions. Examine newly purchased plants for symptoms since the fungus can come into a greenhouse on infected plants. | See details | 7/30/2008 |
| | Proper identification is the first step to controlling weeds in the nursery, said Tom Dudek, hort. ext. specialist at Mich. State. He suggests 2 publications: "Weeds of Container Nurseries in the United States" by Joseph C. Neal, N.C. St. Univ,. and Jeffrey F. Derr, Va. Tech; and "An IPM Pocket Guide for Weed Identification in Nurseries and Landscapes" from Mich. State Ext. (pub. No. E-2982) The pocket guide is also available online. | See details | 7/15/2008 |
 | | The Chesapeake Conservation Landscaping Council (CCLC) is seeking entries for its 2008 Conservation Landscaping Contest. This competition celebrates properties around the Chesapeake Bay watershed that adhere to the CCLC’s “Eight Elements of Conservation Landscaping.” These “Eight Elements” include guidelines that promote clean ground water, good wildlife habitat, and healthy soils. Winning entries will showcase gardens that are both beautiful and environmentally friendly. Sites may be residential or non-residential, and must be located within the Chesapeake Bay watershed (which covers sections of MD, VA, PA, DE, WV, and NY). Novice gardeners, students, schools, businesses and professionals are all welcome to enter up to three sites each. Contest applications and the “Eight Elements” guideline list can be found on the CCLC website www.chesapeakelandscape.org. Applications due August 1 and winners will be announced in mid-September. Winners will receive conservation landscape related prized, be featured on the CCLC website, and possibly be part of a conservation gardens tour with owner permission. | See details | 7/30/2008 |
| | Red thread and pink patch always appear during cool, wet periods on ryegrasses, bluegrasses, and perhaps even the fescues. We've had numerous calls this past week from around SW Va re: the diseases and David McCall of PPWS provided some comments on control alternatives that I developed into a new podcast and a short pdf attachment highlighting the appearance of the diseases at Turf and Garden Tips. As a rule of thumb, the diseases do not warrant chemical treatment, but they generate a lot of concern because they are so visible. | See Garden Tips | 6/15/2008 |
| | A new daffodil photo database has been added to the Internet Links. | See details | 6/15/2008 |
| | Hemerocallis Summer Valentine was named 2008 winner of the All-American Daylily Award. Well-formed flowers are adorned with a wide rose eye and picotee edging. Flowers are perched on 22- to 28-inch scapes and float about 5 inches above the foliage for a well-balanced presentation. | See details | 6/4/2008 |
| | Scotts Miracle-Gro is working with U.S. EPA regarding a nationwide recall of Miracle-Gro Shake 'n Feed with Weed Preventer All Purpose Plant Food. The action was initiated in connection with an investigation of the product's federal registration. Retailers that carry this product are being advised to stop the sale of and remove this product from store shelves. No other Scotts Miracle-Gro Shake 'n Feed products are affected. | See details | 5/30/2008 |
| | Retired Extension Horticulturist, Thomas E. Pope, PhD, and colleague, Neil Odenwald, PhD, retired head of School of Landcape Architure at LSU, spent several years making digital images of plants for the home garden. These were made over the entire country -- Florida to Washington and Maine to California.
With endless hours of work, this has now evolved into a NATIONAL plant data base launched on the internet April 22, 2008.
There are over 8,000 images online at present and more than 2,000 waiting to be added. Approximately 2800 plant species are represented at this time with extensive cultural information on each. All is FREE to any person registering on the site
In developing this, Master Gardeners were one of prime audiences targeted. This site is very user friendly and has extensive search features. | Access the database | 5/31/2008 |
| | Japanese beetle populations will be down this season. The drought of 2007 kept the grub populations at all time lows and amount of adult emerging this season will be low. However, if you have properties that were being irrigated last year don’t put your guard down about Japanese
beetles.
Source: TPM/IPM Weekly Report for Arborists,
Landscape Managers & Nursery Managers
University of Maryland Cooperative Extension | | 5/15/2008 |
| |
For Immediate Release
Contact: Darcy Levit Honker, 703/256-6895
darcy@audubonva.org
Hear the Birds Calling?
BIRDATHON 2008 Starts April 25
Northern VA area - Welcome the coming of spring while raising money for your local Audubon Society chapter by participating in the annual BIRDATHON with your family and friends. BIRDATHON 2008 is the perfect opportunity for all nature enthusiasts (novices and experts) to get into the woods during the height of spring migration.
To participate in this event sponsored by the Audubon Society of Northern Virginia (ASNV), begin by forming a BIRDATHON team and picking a date to conduct your 24-hour bird count between April 25 and May 11. Then, notify the ASNV of your BIRDATHON teammates and date. ASNV will promptly send you a BIRDATHON packet so that you may start asking friends and associates to pledge money for each species identified on your count.
Teams can be between two and five people and all ages are encouraged to participate. Since 2003 the BIRDATHONers have covered natural habitats such as county, state and national parks, wildlife refuges, area wetlands, and into the woods.
Prizes will be awarded on Thursday, May 29, at the Providence Presbyterian Church (9019 Little River Tpk in Fairfax) for most species found and most money raised for ASNV.
To find out how you can see songbirds in the morning, raptors in the afternoon, and maybe even an owl after dark while raising money for ASNV, please e-mail info@audubonva.org or call 703/256-6895. | | 5/1/2008 |
| | Last year's drought means the year ahead will be a tough one in the garden, several sources told The Washington Post. "It's hard to talk to someone about drought when it's pouring with rain," said entomologist Rex Bastian, v.p. of field education for the arborists group the Care of Trees. "But the trees remember. "Trees don't react quickly and often tend to show effects after the damage has occurred," Bastian said. Horticulturist David Yost, who runs a plant clinic at Merrifield Garden Center in Fairfax, Va., said homeowners should be prepared for such symptoms as dead branches, stunted growth and worse. "A lot of symptoms probably won't show up until the summer," he said. | See the full article | 5/10/2008 |
| | Here is a tip to help keep fresh-cut tulips standing at attention. Place a penny in the water with your tulips. The tulips will grow vertically (vs. bending over in all directions as they age). This only works with glass or ceramic vases/containers.
To keep your tulips from opening too wide, insert a straight pin through the stem of each tulip just below the base of the flower, then gently pull it out again. Helps the tulips last longer, too! | | 4/30/2008 |
| | The American Rose Society (ARS) has a page devoted to fragrance in roses. One of the many items on the web page is a compilation of about 2,500 rose varieties that are considered “Very Fragrant” – including a note on which roses are available for sale in North America. | See Details | 4/30/2008 |
| | The 2009 AARS winners are Carefree Spirit, Pink Promise and Cinco de Mayo. Carefree Spirit from Conard-Pyle has a mounding habit and produces deep-red flowers with white accents. The rose thrived in AARS test gardens for 2 years without any fungicide applications. Pink Promise from Coiner Nursery is a highly fragrant hybrid tea with large pink flowers and dark-green foliage. A percentage of sales from this rose will be donated to Nat'l. Breast Cancer Foundation. Cinco de Mayo from Weeks Roses is a floribunda with lavender flowers and a hint of rusty red-orange accents | See Details | 4/30/2008 |
| | The VMGA site has info on MG College 2008 www.vmga.net as well as MG College Scholarships, and MG Merchandise (t-shirts, license plate holder, decals).
See details of the Silent Auction (let George Graine know if you want to have something brought down to VaTech--all items should be brought to Adria's office early in June) | More on Silent Auction | 4/30/2008 |