MSU Recorded Gardening Education on a Variety of Topics

Ways to Earn Education Credits - Master Gardener Program (msu.edu)

Free Recorded Webinars:

Geophytes for Neophytes  (1.25 hrs) Isabel Branstrom and Dr. Sarah Rautio, MSU Extension

Spruce Decline (1.25 hrs) Dr. Monique Sakalidis, MSU Dept of Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences; MSU Dept of Forestry

Managing Habitat for Monarch Butterflies (MSUE Hort Cafe) (1 hr) Dr Nate Haan, MSU Dept of Entomology

Berries and BIrds (MSUE Hort Cafe) (1 hr) Dr Jen Owen, MSU Dept of Fisheries and Wildlife

Seed Starting - To the Windowsill and Beyond! (MSUE DIG IN) (1.25 hrs) Dr. Lori Imboden, former MSUE Consumer Horticulture Educator

Smart Shorelands (Part 1) Michigan's Water Resources-Exploration of Shore Plants and Practices (MSUE DIG IN) (1.5 hrs) Erick Elgin, MSU Extension Water Quality Educator

Smart Shorelands (Part 2) Stormwater is Everyone's Problem! (MSUE DIG IN) (1 hr) Bindu Bhakta, MSU Extension Water Quality Educator

Smart Shorelands (Part 3) Kool Critters that Live Near the Shore and Impactful Rain Gardens (MSUE DIG IN) (1 hr) Paige Filice, MSU Water Resource and Aquatic Educator

Smart Lawn Alternatives - Sedges and Much More! (MSUE DIG IN) (1.25 hrs) Barslund Judd, MSUE Consumer Horticulture Educator

Berried Treasures (MSUE DIG IN) (1 hr) Dr Nate Walton, MSUE Consumer Horticulture Educator

Smart Soils - Sustainability Beneath the Surface  (MSUE DIG IN) (1.25 hrs) Dr. George Bird, MSU Professor Emeritus, Department of Entomology

Insect Life Cycles—Web of Headliners (MSUE DIG IN) (1 hr) Dr. David Lowenstein, MSU Extension Consumer Horticulture Educator

Smart Gardening—Veggie Garden Season Extension (MSUE DIG IN) (1.25 hrs) Rebecca Krans, MSU Extension Consumer Horticulture Educator

Brighten your Day! Lighting for Indoor Plants (MSUE DIG IN) (1 hr) Christopher Imler, MSU Extension Consumer Horticulture Educator

Creating Smart Pollinator Meadows (MSUE DIG IN) (1 hr) Isabel Branstrom, former MSU Extension Consumer Horticulture Educator

Garden-Size Trees (MSUE DIG IN) (1.25 hrs) Rebecca Finneran, MSU Extension Senior Horticulture Educator

Resources from Dean Krauskopf, PhD, at April Meeting

Learning from the Past, 2023 Edition

Perennial Plant of the Year® 2023

Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia ‘American Gold Rush’)

Resistant to Septoria leaf spot.  Slightly lighter golden flowers.

USDA zones 4 to 9; 22-27” tall; 40” wide; Blooms July to October; full to part sun.

 

Green Darner Dragonfly (Anax junius) and American Kestrel Hawk (Falco sparverius)

Migrating dragonflies.  September 1, 2022

 

Myrtle (Vince minor) and Soil pH

Most plants do best when soil pH is between 6.2-6.8

0, is extremely acid to 14, extremely alkaline

Site soil found to have a pH of 8.3

 

Periwinkle (Catharanthus roseus) annual

Planted May 11, 2022, yellow June 20, 2022, two weeks of Epson salts, greening up by July 5.

Periwinkle prefers soil pH less than 6.  Notice marigolds, prefer soil pH between 6-8

                       

Tree planting distance & list of trees suitable for planting near power lines in southeast MI

https://www.newlook.dteenergy.com/wps/wcm/connect/e5e177ef-8c0b-45ad-9c1b-56de926dae51/TreeSpeciesChart.pdf?MOD=AJPERES

 

Barrenwort or Fairy Wings (Epimedium x versicolor ‘Sulphureum’)

Perennial; shade to part shade; USDA zones 5-8; good as a groundcover; blooms between May and June; semi-evergreen/evergreen

 

Autumn Crocus (Colchicum autumnale)

Perennial bulb; USDA zones 4-8; full sun to part shade; blooms in the fall; spring foliage

 

Sedge (Carex)

Perennial grass like plant; USDA zones 4-10; sun to shade; wet to dry

Mt. Cuba Center in DE; four-year trial, 65 natives & 5 cultivars

 

Common Chickweed (Stellaria media)

Winter annual, reproducing by seed and able to produce seed 5-7 weeks after germination.  Four generations possible in a growing season.  Thrives in cool wet conditions and needs light to germinate.  A good layer of mulch will help with control.

 

Tools

2-tine hand weeding fork by Sneeboer  www.GardenToolCompany.com  $54.00

Jekyll Weeder www.LeeValley.com  $37.50

Stainless Steel Soil Knife www.amleo.com  $24.14

 

Interesting Books

The ingenuity of animal survival Winter World by Bernd Heinrich

Summer World a season of bounty by Bernd Heinrich

URLs* from Dr. Dean Krauskopf's Presentation on March 10, 2022

Presentation Slides

Land PKS:  https://tellus.ars.usda.gov/stories/articles/want-to-know-what-s-in-your-soil-there-s-an-app-for-that/

Media Characteristics: https://www.greenhousemag.com/article/growing-media-report-capturing-a-substrates-potential/       

Peat Sustainability: https://www.growertalks.com/Article/?articleid=25542

Fertilizer Availability and Cost:  https://www.dtnpf.com/agriculture/web/ag/crops/article/2021/12/13/world-nitrogen-demand-increase-2022                      https://www.dtnpf.com/agriculture/web/ag/crops/article/2021/12/15/geopolitical-trade-disputes-darken                                                https://www.dtnpf.com/agriculture/web/ag/crops/article/2021/12/17/sanctions-affect-world-potash-supply 

Soil Lead and Vegetables: https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/what-do-i-need-to-know-about-lead-before-planting-vegetables

Disease Susceptibility/Resistance of Apple Varieties: https://www.extension.purdue.edu/extmedia/BP/BP-132-W.pdf   https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/scab_immune_apple_varieties_can_reduce_pesticide_use_for_the_backyard

Spotted Lanternfly Fungal Diseases: ttps://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1903579116

Spotted Lanternfly Distribution: https://agri.ohio.gov/divisions/plant-health/invasive-pests/slf#:~:text=Spotted%20lanternfly%20has%20not%20yet%20been%20confirmed%20in,other%20pests%20can%20cause%20these%20symptoms%20as%20well.

Joro Spider:

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/large-parachuting-spiders-could-soon-invade-the-east-coast-study-finds-180979694/   

https://news.uga.edu/joro-spiders-are-here-to-stay/

Samurai Wasp in Michigan: https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/increasing-samurai-wasp-for-biological-control-of-brown-marmorated-stink-bug

Spongy Moth: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/03/science/spongy-moth-romani.html

*URL = Uniform Resource Locator (per Alexa)

Learning form the Past Handout Content

Perennial Plant of the Year™ 2022

Little Bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium and cultivars ‘Jazz’, ‘The Blues’, Standing Ovation’, ‘Carousel’, ‘Blue Heaven’, ‘Prairie Blues’)  Zones 3-9; height 24-48”, width 18-24”; full sun; native.

Boxwood (Buxus spp) – boxwood leafminer (Monarthropalpusi flavus), boxwood psyllid (Cacopsylla busi)

Close monitoring and proper insect/diseases identification.

Bioadvanced 12 Month Tree and Shrub Protect and Feed

 Viburnum Leaf Beetle (VLB) (Pyrrhalta viburni)– highly susceptible species

V. dentatum (Arrowwood); V. nudum (possum-haw); V. opulus (European cranberrybush);

V. opulus var. Americana (American cranberrybush); V. propinquum (Chinese);

V. rafinesquianum (Rafinesque)

        http://www.hort.cornell.edu/vlb/manage.html

To stake or not to stake – Is it the right thing to do?  Why do it?  How long?

 Sanitation – Disinfect tools frequently, dip them for ten seconds into any of these and then allow the tool to dry. 

This includes hands, gloves, shoes, clothing, etc.

Isopropyl alcohol 70-100%

Sodium hypochlorite 10% household bleach (1-part bleach to 9 parts clean water, made fresh daily)

Phenolics 0.4-5% (trade name Pheno-Cen)

Quaternary ammonium at 0.5-1.5% (trade names Greenshield, Consan Triple Action 20, Physan 20)

Why, to keep from spreading problems.  Examples . . . Boxwood (Boxwood blight), Red-twig dogwood (twig blight (canker), lawn (dollar spot, rust), clematis (clematis wilt), etc.

Keeping records

Keep records and take pictures so you can . . . evaluate successes and failures.  Replace a dead plant with an exact match, by keeping track of genus, species and cultivar (not common names).  Where the plant/seed was purchased and when (cost!).    Where it is planted in the garden.  Where there was pest & disease problems, what treatment, product(s) was used & date(s) (IPM).  Blooming dates for trees, shrubs and perennials.  When specific plants were pruned and/or divided.  When certain tasks were done such as fertilizing and with what.  Mulch, what kind, how much, where was it purchased.  Plant problems, floppy, plant health, something doesn’t look right.  Climate data, temps, moisture, sunshine, cloudy.  Changes to make for next year and why.  Good/bad combinations.  Harvest date(s).

 Butterflies – Butterflies of Michigan Field Guide by Jaret C. Daniels

Keeping track of them!

Tools – Radius Garden™ O handle “Natural Radius Grip™”, stainless steel

Fall interest plants

Beautyberry (Callicarpa americana) 3-8’ tall, 3-6’ wide; Z6-10; blooms June to August; full sun to part shade

Monkshood (Aconitum napellus) Z3-7; 2-4’ tall, 1-2’ wide; full sun to light shade

Magazines

Fine Gardening and on-line Garden Photo of the Day (GPOD)

Horticulture and e-newsletter

A Way to Garden – Weekly on-line newsletter featuring horticultural how-to and “woo-woo” from Margaret Roach: garden tips, expert interviews, nature “aha’s,” garden-to-table recipes, and more.  Offering A Virtual Garden Club and a recent book club.  https://awaytogarden.com

Zero-Calorie Potluck of Short Topics including Swiss Chard

Enjoying Michigan Owls

Based on Andrew Nowicki’s fascinating program on owling in Michigan during the winter:

eBird - Discover a new world of birding...

Sign in (cornell.edu) to sign up for alerts of specific sightings

Owling Etiquette

  • Beware of bright light

  • Limit the use of calls

  • Keep your distance

  • Preserve roosts and nests

Owling Tips

  • Dress warm and quiet (no noisy jackets)

  • Play smaller owl calls first (Screech, then Barred, then Great Horned)

  • Listen

  • Consider visiting a hotspot for daylight owls

  • Binoculars with clear images are better than those with higher magnification that magnifies handheld shakiness

Green Infrastructure Presentation

A recording of Dale Browne’s presentation on Green Infrastructure at the September 2021 MGAWC membership meeting is posted at https://youtu.be/lPalNmrxrA8.

Resources: