< Back Give Your Orchid a Vacation Paul Wood, Dakota County Master Gardener Orchids are like school children. They have been cooped up in your house all winter. They have treated you well, stayed healthy, and maybe even treated you to blooms; for that they deserve something special: a vacation! It is easy; you don’t need a travel agent, an airline reservation or even a hotel room: just set them outside. Read this article by avid orchid grower, Paul Wood, to learn how to safely grow your orchids outside in the summer. The orchids in your house are not native to Minnesota so being outside is like a foreign country to them; they need some orientation and acclimation to feel comfortable and really enjoy their vacation. Prime Vacation Time Orchids like to take their vacations most any time after our night-time temperatures stay above 50 degrees. They can stay on vacation until the temperatures start dipping below 50 at night. Accommodations For the most part, when you put your orchids outside, they should be in dappled light. Putting an orchid that has been inside all winter into direct sunlight will burn its leaves. This is particularly true if you have Phalaenopsis (Phal) because they grow in the lower story of the forests so they don’t get a lot of light even in nature. The dappled light comes in many forms. My orchids spend the summer on the back deck in the shade of a birch tree and do quite well. There are pot clips you can buy for ceramic pots that allow you to hang the orchids right in the tree. If you don’t have a shady spot, you can use shade cloth to protect your orchids. The level of shade depends on the orchid, but for Phals it is 70-80%. You can build a supporting structure for the cloth, but if you have a pergola you are ready to go. Some orchids like Cattleyas, Dendrobiums or Oncidiums prefer more light than a Phal, but that doesn’t mean direct sun light. Bright diffused light is called for. Be sure to harden them off before leaving them in the brighter light. Spa Treatments Orchids, like any other plant, are subject to pests and disease. While your orchids are outside, it is a great time to give them “spa treatments” to keep them healthy. You won’t find orchid specific pesticides, but any pesticide that can be used on tropical plants will be OK for your orchids. Systemic pesticides are best for sucking pests. Safari ®, Malathion ® or Imidacloprid work extremely well. Mix them with water and soak the roots. Both Safari and the chemical Imidacloprid are neonicotinoids, but there are no pollinators visiting your orchids so from that perspective they are safe to use. Horticultural oil can be used for scale as well. Fungicides are best applied when the orchids enter the spa. The copper-based fungicides or a fungicide with chlorothalonil as the active ingredient work well. Remember that fungicides are preventative, not curative, so prevention is key. There are more natural solutions to pest control than what I noted above. These are best used when the orchids return from vacation. Libation Station What is a vacation without some libation! When your orchids are outside you need to continue to water and fertilize them, but you also need to consider the weather conditions. If it has been hot and dry, they might need to be watered more than once a week, particularly if they are in a small pot. Conversely, if it has been hot and humid or very rainy, you might want to hold back on the watering. Under hot conditions, they enjoy a misting to cool their leaves. Orchids prefer their libations straight up, they don’t like mixes such as chlorine or pH increasers (e.g. city water). Watering from your rain barrel or using RO water will go a long way towards keep your orchids healthy. In summary, don’t be afraid to move your orchids outside in the summer; just be sure to keep them shaded and out of direct sun. While on vacation they still need to be watered and fertilized, just be cognizant of the local weather conditions. While they are outside, use this time to treat them with pesticides to keep them healthy and pest free. Treating them also lessens the chance of bringing pests indoors when the vacation time must come to an end and they return to their job of being a flowering indoor plant for your enjoyment. !!!!!! WARNNG- Orchids can become addicting!!!!! References: How To Care For Orchids Outdoors - Everyday Orchids Heat Stress ( aos.org ) Outdoor Orchid Care - American Orchid Society ( aos.org ) Photo credits: www.justaddiceorchids.com (All Creative Commons) (1), Paul Wood (2,3)

< Back Your Answers to Rain Barrels - To Use or Not to Use You may have considered a rain barrel for your yard but wondered whether it was right for you. Rain barrels have environmental benefits but there are pros and cons to using them in your garden. This article provides some helpful information to help you decide whether to invest in a rain barrel for your garden. Linda Holt, Master Gardener You may have considered a rain barrel for your yard but wondered whether they were right for you. This article explains some of the pros and cons of using rain barrels to provide water to the plants in your garden. You will want to decide whether a rain barrel will fulfill your garden’s specific needs to the extent that will make it worth the expense and upkeep. A few of the Pro’s for using a rain barrel in your yard include: 1. The cost of water is going up and the ability to use municipal sources to water your landscape are becoming more limited. Harvesting rainwater may lower your water bill. 2. Rain barrels are a good way to “maximize environmental value” by reducing run-off into the streets and the pollutants that are picked up along the way that are feeding into our streams, rivers and lakes. 3. The rain water is a great alternative for the ornamental plants in your yard as well as indoor plants. 4. This water source can be utilized any day of the week. 5. Rainwater may contain minerals that are beneficial to plants; However, there are some cons to rain water usage: 1. The water is not safe for drinking nor should it ever touch the edible parts of any plants grown for consumption. The rainfall is collected from a roof / gutter system, the runoff of which may include various “harmful pathogens” resulting from bird fecal matter, rotting leaves, etc. 2. To collect enough water for your purposes you may need multiple rain barrels. 3. Some upkeep is necessary to keep your rain barrel in good shape. Most rain barrels hold around 50-55 gallons of water. In order to determine how much rainwater you can expect from your rain barrel, you must estimate the amount of run off from your particular roof. This requires a thoughtful determination of the square footage of the roof area multiplied by the rainfall in inches and a conversion factor that converts the inches of rainfall to gallons per sq foot. This calculation can be found at: https://extensionpublications.unl.edu/assets/html/g2220/build/g2220.htm Rain barrels can be purchased from various retailers or on-line and come in a variety of shapes and designs. They can also be self-built. There are many DIY rain barrel ideas that can be found on the internet if you prefer to build your own. As mentioned in the above online publication, rain barrels are best dark-colored or opaque as light colored barrels allow sunlight in encouraging algae growth. Rain barrels come complete with a hose guide, overflow tube and screen (to keep critters and debris out) and are relatively easy to install. You will want to position the rain barrel under a drain spout so that the run-off from the roof will flow into the rain barrel. The overflow tube prevents the barrel from overflowing and directs the excess water to a garden bed or base of a tree. You can attach a drain tube to the overflow tube to reach the area of the garden that you wish to receive the water. Cleaning a rain barrel should be done annually in the fall when they are removed and stored away for winter, however, you may need to do it more frequently if they grow algae and get smelly. You should drain the barrel and remove any remaining debris. Scrub the inside of the barrel with a long-handled brush using water and detergent then rinse thoroughly. Including a rain barrel in your landscape may be just the answer to your irrigation concerns. The University of MN extension department has a handy article for you to peruse when giving consideration to this subject. You will find additional information at: https://extension.umn.edu/water-wisely-start-your-own-backyard/rain-barrels Photo credits: University of Minnesota (1, 2)

< Back The Effects of Drought on Trees Lisa Olson, Master Gardener I have heard it said tongue in cheek that Minnesota’s average weather is the midpoint between two ridiculous extremes, because when we talk about averages, it can be misleading. Sometimes it happens that one huge deluge of rain will offset a long dry spell, at least on paper, where the average rainfall for the month or year may appear as normal in the record books. But those long drought periods are not so easily erased in the lives of the trees. According to the US Forest Service, healthy trees mean… Healthy people: 100 trees remove 53 tons of carbon dioxide and 430 pounds of other air pollutants per year. Healthy communities: Tree-filled neighborhoods lower levels of domestic violence and are safer and more sociable. Healthy environment: One hundred mature trees catch about 139,000 gallons of rainwater per year. Homeowner savings: Strategically placed trees save up to 56 percent on annual air-conditioning costs. Evergreens that block winter winds can save 3 percent on heating. Better business: Consumers shop more frequently and longer in tree-lined commercial areas and are willing to spend more. Higher property values: Each large front yard tree adds to a home’s sale price. One thing that helps to keep trees healthy is a consistent, sufficient amount of rainfall. Extended dry periods, even if followed by enough rain to offset the deficit in the record books, will still have a detrimental effect on trees. During an extended dry spell, young trees will be the first to show the effects, while older, mature trees with large root systems may take three to five years to show outward signs of drought effects and at that point it may be too late for them to recover. Additionally, droughts are getting worse. Due to global warming, the increase in average temperature amplifies the effects of drought. Hot and dry is much worse than cool and dry. Higher temperatures mean evaporation increases which means soil dries out faster and trees transpire more. As a result, trees have evolved strategies to cope with drought conditions. One strategy a tree may employ is to close its stomata, or leaf pores, to minimize transpiration. Transpiration is the evaporation of water in plant leaves. A large oak tree can give transpire a whopping 40,000 gallons of water per year. 10% of the moisture in the atmosphere comes from transpiration. With the pores closed, besides preventing transpiration, the tree is unable to take in carbon dioxide which is critical to the process of photosynthesis. Without the ability to make food, it becomes dependent on the energy it has stored to keep itself alive. Symptoms can include scorched, wilted, or rolled leaves, or early fall color. A tree may drop some or all of its leaves to further prevent transpiration. As a tree uses up its reserve energy, growth will stop and twigs and branches begin to die back. Symptoms of drought stressed trees will occur from the top of the tree down, and from the outside toward the center. In other words, the extremities are the first areas to show damage. Damage caused by drought may not show up until the winter when a normally resilient tree becomes affected by sunscald, frost-splitting, or its weakened branches break from heavy snow. Another secondary effect of drought is that a weakened tree is more susceptible to disease and insect damage. Widespread areas of damage from emerald ash borer or diseases like oak wilt or other diseases are more prevalent when trees are stressed. One area of damage on a tree cannot be easily observed for damage. Most tree roots are in the top six to 24 inches of soil making them extremely vulnerable to dry periods. https://hort.ifas.ufl.edu/woody/root-growth-lateral4.shtml This leads us to what we can do to minimize the effects of drought on our trees. Water using good practices. Slow, deep watering is critical. Water every five to seven days or more often if the temperature soars above 95 degrees. Place a shallow can where you are sprinkling to be sure at least two inches of water are slowly applied. Be sure to water the entire root area. Roots spread at least two to three times farther than the dripline of the tree. Another factor regarding watering is that any plants growing above the tree roots are also competing for water, so increase the amount of water if other plants are present and be sure to remove any weeds. A couple inches of mulch, but not touching the base of the tree, is a good alternative to grass under a tree. The best way to see if water is getting to the roots is to dig a hole approximately 10 inches deep to see if a sufficient amount of water is getting down to that depth from your watering. An area of heavy clay soil may seem saturated if the water is puddling, but in fact the water may just be sitting on the surface as it takes a long time for water to infiltrate clay. Young, newly planted trees will need more frequent watering until their roots are developed. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources put together this video How to Water a Tree for tips on watering newly planted trees. While it may be tempting to water a little bit every day instead of deep watering once a week, shallow watering will cause the roots all to move closer to the surface where they are more likely to be affected by the extreme weather conditions and unable to grow deeper where more water may be available. For best results, water in the morning and consider using a soaker hose. Avoid pruning stressed trees. Healing the wounds uses up the energy the tree is trying to conserve just to survive. If you are planting new trees, choose your plant wisely. Always consider the site where the tree will be living and select a plant that can tolerate the conditions. If you are interested in learning more about the effects of drought on trees, the links below include helpful information! https://www.fs.usda.gov/learn/trees https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/climate/journal/drought_monitor.html https://news.iu.edu/live/news/28084-young-trees-more-susceptible-to-drought-but-also https://extension.colostate.edu/topic-areas/yard-garden/healthy-roots-and-healthy-trees-2-926/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4518277/ https://environment.yale.edu/news/article/brodersen-drought-and-tree-mortality-science-reveals-harsh-future-for-forests https://www.mass.gov/doc/citizen-forester-june-2017/download https://extension.illinois.edu/blogs/ilriverhort/2016-07-08-drought-impacts-trees-years-come#:~:text=Many%20trees%20will%20take%20three,to%20insect%20and%20disease%20infestations . https://ag.umass.edu/landscape/fact-sheets/long-term-drought-effects-on-trees-shrubs https://hort.ifas.ufl.edu/woody/root-growth-lateral4.shtml https://extension.umn.edu/how/water-wisely-start-your-own-backyard https://extension.umn.edu/my-minnesota-woods/caring-trees-dry-weather https://extension.umn.edu/natural-resources-news/avoid-pruning-drought-stressed-trees https://extension.missouri.edu/news/how-to-help-your-trees-recover-from-drought-5728 https://www.noaa.gov/jetstream/ll-leaf Photo Credit: National Drought Mitigation Center (1), University of Minnesota Extension (2), Lisa Olson (3), University of Florida (4)

< Back Identifying Bees and Wasps and their Nests BJ Hansell, Dakota County Master Gardener There it is. The buzzing noise that strikes fear into the hearts of many a gardener. It might be nothing more than a hummingbird zipping by. Or maybe, just maybe, It’s a stinging insect. It’s a bee, a wasp a hornet! Duck and run!! Truly, most of the time if you leave these creatures alone, they will leave you alone. After all, they are only protecting their territory. They are wonderful pollinators, and you do love how well your garden is flourishing. Hmmm, let’s take a closer look at them & their homes. There it is. The buzzing noise that strikes fear into the hearts of many a gardener. It might be nothing more than a hummingbird zipping by. Or maybe, just maybe It’s a stinging insect. It’s a bee, a wasp a hornet! Duck and run!! Truly, most of the time if you leave these creatures alone, they will leave you alone. After all, they are only protecting their territory. They are wonderful pollinators, and you do love how well your garden is flourishing. Hmmm, let’s take a closer look at them and their homes. Read on to begin our busy journey. This article is a very basic overview of the most commonly encountered wasp and bee nests in MN. You are encouraged to peruse the references provided. Indeed, count them as a launching pad into the amazing world of these insects, without which most of our gardens and agriculture fields would yield vacant lots and desolate landscapes. Wasps and their nests : Wasps will generally not bother people when their nests are not near human activity but should be eliminated when they are located close to people to minimize the risk of stings. Yellowjackets and paper wasps are two types of wasps commonly found in Minnesota. Yellowjackets are 3/8” to 5/8” long and are bright yellow with black lines or other shaped markings on their abdomens. Their bodies are basically hairless and are hard and shiny. They can be mistaken for honey bees. Yellowjackets can be aggressive during late summer and fall around human food and drink. Yellowjackets make their nests from a papery pulp made of chewed-up wood fibers mixed with saliva. Their nests may be found in many places: below ground in open cavities, hollow logs, and in voids in attics and walls. Some yellowjackets build nests in trees and under eaves of buildings. Hundreds to thousands of yellow jackets may be found inside these nests. Paper wasps are ½ to 1 inch long and are usually brown with yellowish markings. Paper wasp nests are small and can be found under any horizontal surface. In contrast with yellowjackets, not more than 100 wasps can be found in these nests. Neither yellowjackets nor paper wasps use their nests for more than one season. Bees and their nests. Honey bees and bumble bees are two types of bees commonly found in Minnesota. Bee nests are not usually a problem for humans and should be preserved when possible. There are many different bumble bee species in Minnesota. Generally, bumble bees have the following characteristics: their size is less than one-half inch to one inch; they are fuzzy and round; and they are black and yellow. Bumble bee nests are often found in underground cavities, under objects on the ground or higher up in trees or wall cavities. Their nests are made of wax. Honey bees are about one-half inch long; are golden brown with thin black stripes on their abdomens and are fuzzy. Part of each hind leg is flat for collecting pollen. Honey bee nests are the familiar vertical honeycombs made of wax. Their colonies are mostly found in manufactured hives although they occasionally nest in cavities of trees, buildings or similar structures. Bees and wasps are complex and fascinating creatures that are vital to human existence. Although most of the time they will not bother humans, they can be aggressive if threatened. To feel more comfortable with these creatures, you would do well to learn all you can about them. References: https://extension.umn.edu/yard-and-garden-insects/wasps-and-bees https://www.pollinatorsnativeplants.com/plant-lists--posters.html https://beelab.umn.edu/bumble-bees Photo credits: Photo 1, 5: en.wikipedia.org Photo 2: 3,4: University of Minnesota Extension Photo 6: Elaine Evans, University of Minnesota- Extension Photo 7: Dalantech.deviantart.com (all creative commons) Photo 8: Jeff Hahn, University of Minnesota Extension

< Back Building a Pollinator Garden Dan and Cheryl Forrest, Master Gardeners “If the bee disappears from the surface of the earth, man would have no more than four years to live.” This may or may not be a true Albert Einstein quote but the concept is valid. We need bees and all pollinators. Approximately 75% of the world’s flowering plants require a pollinator to reproduce. Pollinators help produce one-third of our food. It’s hard to imagine a diet without many fruits, vegetables, and nuts. Yet, pollinators are at serious risk. You can learn more about this risk at the Bee Lab at the University of Minnesota . But the purpose of this article to focus attention not on the risk, but on what we can do to help. Here are some suggestions. 1. Rethink your lawn! Perfectly manicured grass does nothing for pollinators. Maybe it’s time to let some dandelions and clovers grow in that back corner of your property. These two wildflowers (not necessarily weeds) are prime food sources for pollinators during the late spring and early summer. Stagger mowing so that some of the flowers are in bloom at all times. Take steps to protect the pollinator habitat that exists on your property, especially if this area is out of the way. This could be a bare patch of soil, a dead tree, a rock or brush pile where native pollinators build nests. This is the perfect time to cut down on the amount of grass you have and build a pollinator garden. 2. Design a pollinator garden! First of all, it helps to have sun. The vast majority of pollinator plants are sun-loving. But don’t despair if you have a shady yard; there are shade plants that attract pollinators. A source of water should be available. An old bird bath filled with pebbles and water makes an ideal source of water. A mud bath will attract butterflies as well as bees. Make sure there is a safe distance from any area where you use chemicals. Better yet, avoid chemicals altogether. Although budget limitations might demand that you start small, allow room for expansion. In the world of pollinators, bigger is better. 3. Go native! Avoid highly hybridized plants that are bred to be seedless and thus produce very little pollen and scent. It’s been estimated that native plants are four times more attractive to pollinators than hybrids. Emphasize diversity, not only in variety but also in size, especially plant height. Your goal should be a minimum of 10 different plants; more is better. When you plant, do so in clumps at least 3 feet in diameter. Focus on bright colors. For bees, it’s white, yellow, blue, violet, and purple. Attract hummingbirds with red and orange colors. If you include all these colors, you will attract butterflies also. The shape of the flower is important. Do not include “double” flowers as the pollinators cannot reach the nectar. Single flowers are best. Flowers that provide a natural platform give pollinators a place to land. Flowers that resemble a bull’s-eye provide a nectar guide. This is a region near the center of each petal not seen by humans but visible to the pollinator. Some flowers should have a tubular shape to attract hummingbirds. It is very important to provide nectar and pollen all season-long. Include flowers that bloom continually or stagger bloom times to cover the entire growing season. An excellent source of information regarding plants for bees can be found at the “Bee Squad” at the University of Minnesota. 4. Provide nesting sites! The fourth suggestion is to provide nesting space that provides morning and mid-day sun. Ideally, this should be within three hundred feet of the food sources. Keep in mind that approximately 70% of all native bees are ground-nesters. So, an area of bare soil is mandatory. These bees seldom nest in rich, compact soils so you might have to work some sandy or loamy matter into the soil. The tunnel-nesting bees, approximately 30% of our native species, need old tree stumps, logs, or piles of twigs and branches. Rock piles can also provide nesting areas. Allow this area to remain untouched, especially during the fall and winter months to allow the eggs and larvae to develop. There are man-made nesting solutions. You can find plans on the internet for wooden nesting boxes, stem bundles, butterfly boxes, etc. There are even plans for bumblebee nests. Consider a honeybee hive and learn about their fascinating community lifestyle. 5. Go organic! Finally, we can safeguard beneficial pollinators by going natural or organic. Avoid the use of chemicals, including fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, insecticides or fungicides. Your pollinator garden is a good place to let the garden go wild. If you must use chemicals, please do so in small, limited quantities and at times when the pollinators are resting, as in the late evening. Remember, while you are killing one pest or weed, you are likely killing beneficial pollinators as well. Following these suggestions will not only add beauty to your yard but will help restore the pollinators we need. Our future depends on these pollinators; without them our food source will dwindle Photo credits: Cheryl Forrest (1, 2)

< Back Rose Mallow - A Rose of the North Jim Lakin, MD, Master Gardener Have a riverbank, marsh, or rain garden to manage? Consider adding the lovely, long-blooming Rose Mallow. This article will tell you why and how. Hibiscus lasiocarpos As Juliet observed of her beloved Romeo, “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” We may then ask, “Would that which we call a rose be less beautiful if it is not?” To this I would unhesitatingly say, “Yes in the case of the rose mallow”. H. lasiocarpos and H. moscheutos are nearly identical members of the mallow family (Malvaceae). They are native to most of the Lower Midwest and northward to areas around Lakes Michigan and Erie. Their closely related cousin, the somewhat more cold-tolerant Halberd-leaved rose mallow ( H. laevis ) is native to Southeast Minnesota and up the Missouri River Valley. The rose mallows are hardy through zones 4-9. These perennials are closely related to the much-prized tropical hibiscus. Halberd-leaved rose mallow As you might expect, this gorgeous plant has been hybridized into a large number of attractive cultivars available at your local nursery. The value of these cultivars to our pollinators remains to be determined. There is no question, however that the three native species are key players in the ecological web of the Northern Midwest. They are very nectar and pollen rich, being great additions to a pollinator garden. Halberd-leaved rose mallow The rose mallows are essentially a wetlands plant found around lakes and rivers. They may even be seen growing in standing water. They do well though in moist, well-drained soil in full sun. If they are in a bed, remember to water them during dry, mid-summer weather. They eventually grow to about five feet so you should keep that in mind if inserting them into a border garden. They do well as a backdrop to sun loving ground covers. Rose mallow is slow to emerge from dormancy but once in gear it is a rapid grower, putting on as much as an inch per day. The blooms are quite showy, appearing from July to September so you would do well to mix them with earlier blooming perennials such as Jacob’s Ladder or creeping phlox. The flowers are from three to five inches across with a red center “eye” from which the stamen protrudes. Flower petals may vary from white to shades of pink. Once established, application of a slow-release fertilizer in the spring can enhance growth. While you are at it, pruning back the old growth to about six inches will help to make way for the new foliage. Deadheading usually is not necessary. Rose mallow winters over pretty well although putting a couple of inches of mulch over the plants in the fall will reduce the chance of winter kill. So, if you have a riverbank, marsh or rain garden to plant, you would do well to incorporate the lovely rose mallow. Photo Credit: Taylor Creek Nursery (1,2,3)

< Back Finding the Mother Tree: Discovering the Wisdom of the Forest by Suzanne Simard A family's dog fall into an outhouse on a camping opened up a new world to a young girl - fungi, mineral-colored soil, humus, insects, worms, and more. The young girl grew up to become a forest ecologist and educator. Suzanne Simard’s look into the communicative world beneath our feet highlights nature’s resilience and its enormous capacity to heal. Valerie Rogotzke, Master Gardener “This is not a book about how we can save the trees. This is a book about how trees might save us.” A family's dog falls into the outhouse on a camping trip in a Canadian forest. Uncles, aunts, grandparents, and parents all begin to dig out the poor creature, clearing away leaves from the forest floor, ripping up several feet of tree roots, and overturning several feet of earth. What a young girl sees, though, is not just the tree roots or the dirt itself, but a whole world under the ground: fungi, mineral-colored soil, humus, insects, worms, and more. That young girl grew up to become the forest ecologist and educator Suzanne Simard, a woman whose academic research would lead her back to the world beneath our feet. She began studying the fungal networks of mycelia and the ways that trees communicate with one another through root systems, and discovered that the oldest and most established trees—what she calls mother trees—direct the sharing of resources amongst all the flora of the forest. Simard’s look into the communicative world beneath our feet highlights nature’s resilience and its enormous capacity to heal. Her work appeals to gardeners, naturalists, and scientists alike. For more, her 2016 TED Talk educates on mycelia and mother tree communication, culminating in her advice for all to get out into local forests, to save old growth forests, for loggers to save the mother trees when logging occurs, and for logging companies to regenerate our forests wisely after logging. Simard’s book Finding the Mother Tree goes further still. This is not a dry or stuffy read, but an adventure story. Simard shares her fascinating field research in clear prose, telling stories about her sometimes-eccentric Canadian family of loggers and campers. Readers end with a deeper knowledge of how the natural world works and deeper appreciation for our human responsibility in protecting it. SOURCES : https://mothertreeproject.org https://suzannesimard.com Simard, Suzanne. Finding The Mother Tree: Discovering the Wisdom of the Forest . New York, NY: Knopf Publishing, 2021. “How Trees Talk To Each Other,” TED. 2016 https://www.ted.com/talks/suzanne_simard_how_trees_talk_to_each_other ? language=en Photo credit: book jacket

< Back Indoor Allergen Friendly Plants Janelle Rietz-Kamenar, Master Gardener Did you know that Americans spend roughly 90% of their time, on average, indoors according to US EPA report? As a gardener, perhaps it’s time we focus on our indoor space and the benefits and types of plants we could have indoors. Click on this link to learn more about Indoor Allergen Friendly Plants. Did you know that Americans spend roughly 90% of their time, on average, indoors according to US EPA report? As a gardener, perhaps it’s time we focus on our indoor space and the benefits and types of plants we could have indoors. Read on to learn more about Indoor Allergen Friendly Plants. I thought this article would be simple to write, but as it turns out, it is a much more complicated topic than I thought. Many gardeners understand the psychological benefits of having living plants around us. According to the American Horticultural Society, indoor plants can improve air quality through air purification, reduce stress, improve productivity, and bring beauty to your home. However, some people who have asthma or other lung conditions need to choose what type of plant, if any, is best for them. If you are concerned about allergens in your home, potted plants can be a challenge as the soil, if not properly watered, can create mold. Mold is created in soil from overwatering with limited air circulation and not enough sunlight. The Mayo Clinic suggested that if you do have potted plants in your home, you can put aquarium gravel over the dirt to contain any mold that could develop. Removing dust from your plants periodically also helps with allergies. Flowering plants can also be a challenge for people with airborne allergens. In my research I discovered the Ogren Plant Allergy Scale System (OPALS). It is a standard which considers the likelihood a plant will cause pollen allergy symptoms. Plants are ranked on a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being the most allergenic. This system can be used for trees, shrubs, and other plants (indoors and outdoors). While researching, I did discover that there were many lists to cross reference and it was confusing as some of the lists said they were allergen friendly and other lists said they were not. So, I am including some of the most common plants that showed up on multiple lists realizing that this is a limited list. There are some colorful plants that produce pollens which are heavier and stickier. These plants will be less likely to cause irritants. Another suggestion is to consider cross referencing this list with a plant list that can cause skin rash sensitivities or are harmful to pets. Snake Plant (also called Mother-In-Law Tongue) Peace Lily Parlor Palm Areca Palm Lady Palm Bamboo Palm Dracaena Golden Pothos Dragon Tree (also called Marginata) Rubber Plant Philodendron Brasil Aloe Vera and other Succulents Horsehead Philodendron Dumb cane String of Pearls So, if you have been avoiding houseplants because of concern about allergies, know that there are houseplants out there that can provide the greenery, color and other benefits of houseplants this winter. Reference: “Healthy Living: How a Lab Founded with Mayo Clinic is Fine-tuning the Indoors”. By Liv Martin, September 13, 2021; Minnesota Monthly. https://ahsgardening.org “The Joys and Benefits of Indoor Gardening” Mayo Clinic website: “Allergy-proof your home” By Mayo Clinic Staff House Digest, “15 Best Houseplants for People with Allergies” by Kailen Skewis, October 16, 2022 Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, “Smart Gardening: Tips for an Allergy-Friendly Garden”, AAFA Community Services, 4/18/18 Good Housekeeping, “10 Best Indoor Plants for your Health According to Research”, by Erica Sweeney, Juley 29, 2022 https://zyrtec.com/indoors “5 .“Best Allergy Friendly House Plants” Https://plantify.co.za Https://flonase.com/allergies , “Best and Worst Indoor Plants for Allergies” Photo Credit: Commons.wikimedia.org-Creative Commons (1), Gardening.stackexchange.com-Creative Commons (2), www.flickr.com-Creative Commons (3)

< Back The Vacation is Over Paul Wood, Dakota County Master Gardener Your orchids have been enjoying an invigorating respite outside, but like all good things, it must come to an end. Orchids, like any indoor plant that has summered outdoors, have the potential of picking up nefarious bugs and potential diseases that you don’t want to bring into your indoor growing area. It is better to go on the offensive while they are outside because there are more treatment options available to combat the offenders when the orchids are outside. Read this article to learn how to return your orchids (or other house plants) indoors after their summer vacation. When is the vacation over ? Orchids are tropical plants, but that doesn’t mean always hot and humid. There are warm growing orchids (Dendrobiums), Warm-Intermediate Orchids (Paphiopedilum and Phalaenopsis), Intermediate (Cattleya), and cool growing orchids (Cymbidiums). Most home hobbyists have orchids in the middle two varieties and this temperature range is 60 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit. So, when the night time temps begin to fall below 60 it is time to think about ending the vacation. Temperature variations of 10 to 15 degrees between day and night cue orchids to think about blooming. I challenge my orchids by letting the temperatures dip below 60 and have found this does stimulate the growth of flower spikes. My Cymbidiums are an exception; they need to be vernalized to re-bloom and can withstand temperatures between 20 and 40 degrees Fahrenheit (!). I leave my Cymbidiums outside until the nighttime temperatures dip to the upper 30s and they bloom reliably once indoors. Prepping to come home. When you bring any plant indoors from outside you want to be sure they are not bringing anything home they didn’t leave with. You want to be sure nothing has taken up residence the in the spaces between the bark chips or on the leaves or that an infection hasn’t invaded the plant. Pests I find the easiest way to get rid of the pot of pests is to soak the pot in a container clear up to the pot’s top. Anything inhabiting the mix will float to the top or drown. The culprits I usually see are sow bugs, earwigs, millipedes, and an occasional slug or two. Be sure to inspect the leaves, both top and bottom for pests. Be on the lookout for scale, mealy bugs, and spider mites as these are the most common. You can handle these by wiping down the leaves with water and a drop of dish washing soap. After wiping the leaves, I apply insecticidal soap. To kill two birds with one stone, I mix in a systemic pesticide, like Safari ®, into the water used to get rid of the resident pests. The systemic will continue to help your orchids fend off any sucking pests once they get into the house. Also, I use this occasion to clean off the exterior of the pot because some pests, mealy bugs in particular, will lay their egg masses outside the pot. I then let the pots drain for a day before bringing them in. Diseases Frankly, I haven’t found infections on my orchids; pests seem to be the biggest problem. Having said that, however, it doesn’t hurt to look. If your orchids are outside in the open where it is difficult to control moisture, you might want to look for crown rot. This is treatable with hydrogen peroxide (see reference below). This is also a good time for prophylactic treatments because there are many pesticide options available than can be applied outside, but not inside. These would be the topical sprays that are absorbed into the leaves of the orchid. Any spray that is OK for tropical plants will be OK for your orchids. Summary When you bring in plants from the outdoors to winter in an indoor growing area, it is important to make sure you do not introduce any pests. While this article deals specifically with orchids, the approaches can be used with any tropical plants. Your mantra must be “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure!” References: Cymbidium Orchids - 10 Essentials for Growing Stunning Cymbidiums | Orchid Care Zone Time to bring houseplants back inside | UMN Extension Bringing Houseplants Indoors ( psu.edu ) What's wrong with my orchid? - American Orchid Society ( aos.org ) Orchid Crown Rot - Treatment and Prevention - Orchid Bliss Photo Credits: Paul Wood (1,2)

< Back Have No Doubt, Plant a Garden That Will Resist a Drought In recent years, Minnesota plants and trees have faced pressures from warmer temperatures and prolonged drought. You can foster a healthy, resilient garden by adding species that adapt well to these changes. Read here to find out the type of plants and garden conditions that optimize a drought-resistant garden. Mary Gadek, Dakota County Master Gardener Choosing Drought-Resistant Plants As you head to your favorite garden center, look for plants and trees with at least some of the following characteristics: Native plants- Look for plants labeled as native to Minnesota or ask at your nursery. Native plants usually adapt to or better tolerate local growing conditions and require less water. Shorter plants- Plants that grow less than 3 feet use less water. Compact and clumping plants- Usually, these types of plants have deep roots, which can access water deeper into the soil. Adaptable plants- Look for plants that can grow in either sun or shade or tolerate many soil conditions. Creating the Best Garden Conditions Now that you have chosen your drought-resistant plants, maximize their success in your garden by creating the following conditions in your garden: Appropriate location - Place your plant in the recommended light condition area, (sun, shade, or partial), to ensure the best survival. A plant getting too much or too little sunlight will struggle and require more water for survival. Soil - Loose soil with compost or organic material helps plants’ roots spread and retain moisture. Avoid tillage of soil to allow maintenance of soil’s nutrients. Limit fertilizer, especially in dry conditions, because it can force the plants to work too hard, instead of conserving moisture. Mulch - Spreading mulch in your garden beds aids in reflecting heat and maintaining moisture. Avoid landscaping with rocks around plants and trees as they can absorb heat from the sun and get hot, robbing the surrounding soil and plants of water. Water deeply - Until the plants are established (usually two weeks), water deeply and daily. Then, water deeply about every 7-10 days, depending on the current rain received. Established plants need approximately one inch of water a week. During a drought period, these plants may need supplemental water. “Deep watering” is defined as slow and steady watering at the base of the plant for about 30 minutes. Early fall planting - While spring and summer are fine to plant, the best time is fall, with its shorter days and cooler nights, which allow plants more moderate weather to get established. Lists and Resources for Drought-Resistant Trees and Plants Trees and plants for Minnesota’s climate: https://extension.umn.edu/managing-woodlands/climate-ready-woodlands List of drought-tolerant native plants and turf grasses: https://mnbwsr.medium.com/drought-tolerant-native-plants-and-turf-grass-alternatives-a-short-list-9134c43840a3 List of adaptable native plants: https://northerngardener.org/native-plants-any-garden/ https://www.midwestgardentips.com/drought-tolerant-perennials THE resource for best plants for tough spots: https://conservancy.umn.edu/bitstream/handle/11299/51549/08464.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y By selecting the plants and trees with the listed characteristics and then choosing the best site and conditions, your landscape can withstand the more frequent Minnesota droughts while still providing beauty. Photo Credit: Mary Gadek (1,2,3)

< Back Imagining Your Garden’s Possibilities January is a month of fresh starts, a time to renew and begin again. Whether you were pleased or frustrated with your garden in 2021, the new year is a great time to dream about your 2022 garden’s possibilities. Valerie Rogotzke shares some thoughts about how to reimagine your garden. Valerie Rogotzke, Master Gardener January is a month of fresh starts, a time to renew and begin again. This might not seem to be the best time to be thinking about the garden for Minnesotans, but the frozen ground outside gives gardeners a reprieve from weeding and a chance to imagine possibilities for the future. Perhaps your dream garden evokes a specific place. Imagine an English cottage garden with meandering borders bursting with colorful perennials and a bench under an arbor of hardy wisteria, like one of Gertrude Jekyll’s horticultural masterpieces at Hestercombe House or Lindisfarne Castle . Picture a formal French garden with manicured hedges and a water fountain, like the grounds of Vaux-le-Vicomte or the Tuileries in Paris. Envision a Japanese garden such as Kenroku-en or Koraku-en with winding stone paths through mossy undergrowth, evergreens in abundance, and a pool of still water. Which small elements from these styles could be transplanted to Dakota County? Perhaps your dream garden serves a particular function, providing you with flowers for cuttings, bees for pollinating, or vegetables for eating. To have flowers for bouquets all through the growing season, gardeners must plant with an eye to the calendar, making sure there are options peaking in each month. In addition, it is helpful to have flowers of different scales when assembling arrangements, with larger blooms like dahlias and roses balanced by smaller blooms or ornamental grasses to fill the vase. To encourage bee populations, begin to dig around in the UMN Extension program’s resources on choosing the best pollinator-friendly plants for our area and creating habitat and nesting sites for pollinators. To maximize your success with vegetables and fruits in your garden, take some time now, in winter, to take stock of what has been growing in your garden and what you would like to cultivate this year. Perhaps you have always wanted a small plot of asparagus or a pizza garden with basil and tomatoes. Maybe it’s just time to try something new: sorrel, maybe, or endives? Browse the U’s vegetable guides for ideas and tips for healthy vegetables. A vegetable garden need not be a grand ornamental potager like the kitchen gardens of Villandry – just consider what things you want to eat. Perhaps your dream garden includes time-intensive projects that will not be ready in a year or two, like espaliered apple trees . Perhaps you’d like to rewild an area of your land to encourage native prairie growth , build an Elizabethan knot garden out of interlocking hedges, or develop a natural dye garden with madder and indigo and coreopsis in order to dye fabrics. Whatever your dreams are for your garden, do your dreaming now and dream big! There will be time to prune these dreams back later when practical concerns are considered but January belongs to the imagination. Photo credits: University of Minnesota Extension (1, 2, 3)

< Back How Trees Talk to One Another Karna Berg, Master Gardener Have you ever walked in the woods and thought there was someone there, someone talking? Well, if you have, you were right. It was the trees talking to one another. Oak trees are the perfect example. My back yard has a small, wooded area of mostly oak trees. I now feel them talking to each other. Or are they talking to me? Are they saying they need more water? Would like a sunny day? Just what are they saying? As we all know, our trees are under attack from pollution, drought, pests, and disease. And while trees cannot just move to a more hospitable spot, they can help one another deal with all the stresses on them. Scientists have discovered that trees, and specifically oaks, have developed a root system, or network, through which they communicate. That root system is populated by fungus that aids them in this process. Let’s say a pest is moving into the neighborhood. As we know, they move in slowly, often tracked by tree specialists providing warnings to the public on what to be on the lookout for. Well, the trees are tracking the pests as well. And as the pests land on their branches, they signal ahead through the network that their neighbor trees should be prepared. Oaks and other trees will then produce chemicals and enzymes that help to ward off the pests. It sounds impossible, right? But it is true. Some scientists now even believe that trees also communicate through their leaves. If this is as fascinating to you as it is to me, you can read more about it in some of the books I relied on here. They include: “The Life & Love of Trees,” Lewis Blackwell; “The Hidden Life of Trees: What they Feel, How they Communicate,” Peter Wohllenben; and “Finding the Mother Tree: Discovering the Wisdom of the Forest,” Suzanne Simard. I hope you enjoy them as much as I have. Photo credits: Julie Harris (1), seeing-nature.de (2)