eGarden © 2005 Ed Mues

From The Garden of Ed. Submitted for publication in The Towne Crier on January 12, 2005

Horticultural Update.

It's a new year and a time when many of us resolve to lead a life that is an improvement over the previous. Don't keep your potential locked up inside. We all can make time and reserve some energy to pursue the things we find rewarding. Within all of the normal obligations we feel burdened with, see the new year as an opportunity to learn. Open to new experience; give yourself permission to succeed somewhere new. That said, may you all have a year that is inspiring, fulfilling, safe and peaceful, and try to support those who are less fortunate, in any way you feel is appropriate.

I'm now off my soapbox, and I offer you a horticultural update, since it was last August since I provided one. I hope you find it interesting.

Home Depot has opened a new store in New York City. Right in the heart of Manhattan -- 40 west 23rd Street. And they offer a service surprising to many in these times. If you purchase a plant and a pot, a sales associate will repot it and arrange delivery to you, or the person you designate to receive it. Talk about service!

The Society of Municipal Arborists named a pear tree the Urban Tree of the Year 2005. The honor goes to Pyrus calleryana 'Chanticleer'. It is hardy to Zone 4, is fireblight resistant, grows 30 to 50 feet in a cone shape, and is less susceptible to early freezes than other pear species.

Hurricane activity in Florida had another impact not reported in the mainstream media this past summer and early fall. They brought undesirable new problems to growers with greenhouse and other production structures in the form of mosquitoes and fire ants. These could affect the health and safety of the workers and restrict shipping of plants to other areas.

'Texas Star' hibiscus (Hibiscus coccinea), has grown in popularity in the Houston, Texas area this past year, but has some less knowledgeable residents confused. A landscape contractor's home was rushed by a ten officer task force, guns drawn, seeking a reported crop of marijuana. The Houston Chronicle reported in August 2004 that well-meaning neighbors turned in the innocent grower.

A genetically modified turfgrass, a glyphosate (Round-up) resistant bent grass, was stopped in its tracks from getting approval. An activist group of the International Center for Technology Assessment filed papers with the USDA stating, with expert back-up documentation, that the new strain could become a "superweed". The group further asked the USDA to list the new bentgrass as a federal noxious weed, should any plants escape.

Hand weeding. Bad for the back? In California, the state's OSHA equivalent banned hand-weeding in agricultural crops in order to stem the increase of back injuries. There are lots of exceptions. For example: organic growers who do not use herbicides and have more weed problems, are exempt. High density growers where plants are spaced less than two inches apart, when the use of long handled tools is not an option, are either exempt or workers are limited to 20% of the weekly work for weeding, or workers engaged in hand weeding must receive 15 minutes of rest with pay for every four hours of weeding activity. Gloves, kneepads and training must be provided by growers to employees who hand weed. The issue is heating up and the Calif. Assn. of Nurseries and Garden Centers seeks to exempt all horticultural crops from the ban. The next question is, "Might not similar rules be embraced by other states?"

A devastating disease that has claimed many thousands of trees and cost governments and nurseries millions of dollars in northern California and southern Oregon in the mid-1990s is threatening untold destruction of plant material, maybe world wide. Called Phytophthora ramorum, or Sudden Oak Death (SOD), it is a fungus like pathogen first found only on red oak but has now killed more than a dozen tree species in California. It has also been found in numerous other species including other oaks, maples, mountain laurel, lilac, blueberry and rhododendron to name just some. Stay tuned, because this killer can lay dormant in trees for years and then kill within weeks. Research has shown some east coast oaks are more vulnerable to the disease. Trees in Pennsylvania, New Hampshire and Long Island, N. Y. have been tested and mysteriously yielded false positive results, so far. Very interesting, not just economically.

A news release from the University of Florida's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences reports that "Inmates at the Seminole Correctional Facility, who have been growing their own vegetables for more than ten years, are now raising thousands of beneficial bugs that attack insect pests and feed on troublesome weeds in Florida". If this partnership with the USDA is successful, the pilot project could become a model for such insect farming programs elsewhere that might result in millions of dollars in savings to taxpayers, and in reduced applications of pesticides and herbicides. I'd be in favor of seeing such programs started locally.

Asian longhorn beetles were found in Carteret, N.J. in August 2004. A one mile quarantine was instituted. Hopefully this will work. Previously, ALB was found 10 miles away in 2002.

As reported here in the past, the issue of invasive species is alive and well. In October, Idaho announced plans to appoint an invasive species coordinator by the end of 2005, and enact an invasive species law by 2006. New laws could inhibit or even prevent the transport of certain species within or out of the state.

How environmentally responsible are you as a gardener? Of the 12 recommended environmentally friendly lawn and garden practices, a majority of U.S. households only followed 3. This, according to Bruce Butterfield, National Gardening Association research director. Less than half followed the remaining nine according to the survey. For example: 42% mulch around trees, shrubs or garden areas; 32% identify lawn and garden problems, and look for alternatives to pesticides; 28% recycle yard waste by composting; 25% use only well-adapted or native plants and remove poorly adapted, exotic or invasive plants.

A red raspberry introduced in 1969 was awarded a 2004 Outstanding Fruit Cultivar Award. The American Society for Horticultural Sciences recognized the 'Heritage' raspberry, one of the most successful introductions ever from the NYS Ag. Experiment Station, for its significant impact on the fruit industry within the last 35 years. The ASHS Fruit Breeding Working Group, which determines the awards, also awarded the Crimson Seedless grape, the Tulameen red raspberry, and the Duke blueberry.

Homeowners in Southern California's Cathedral City, near Palm Springs are being paid for planting their yards in a water friendly way. Residents receive up to $ 500 in matching funds for qualified projects that replace lawns with cacti, xeriscape plants and hardscape. The pilot program had an environmental conservation fund of $ 30,000 given out on a first-come first-served basis.

I don't know how many know about tree injections, but they've been around for a very long time. They are used in an effort to control both insect and fungus attacks of well established trees when spraying with insecticides and fungicides is highly unlikely to prove successful. Arborists and pest management specialists have long relied on injecting the fluid conducting systems of trees with chemical pesticides. These are known as systemics because they travel the entire system of the victim with the expressed goal of killing the invading pest and saving the tree. The problem is that the materials injected are quite toxic to all kinds of other life forms, and they need to be monitored very carefully.

Between 2001 and 2003, 68,000 trees in British Columbia were injected with a material (MSMA) to control a severe infestation of a pine bark beetle. Because one toxic ingredient in the MSMA is arsenic, the trees were to be labeled so they would not be logged or used. On Dec. 22nd, 2004, it was reported that the records were lost and some of the trees were logged and burned. A retired pediatrician, Josette Wier, had for four years been phoning and writing letters of concern, and finally got the attention of officials who realized the threat to the environment and human health. Her complaints were addressed and studies conducted. Blood of woodpeckers had elevated arsenic levels, and exposure to people was confirmed as likely, although no health problems were confirmed.

Here, we witness the diligence of a single individual, with a love of her life caring for children, enlightening an entire government, as well as, we hope, pesticide users everywhere. Thank you, Josette, for your fight for what's right. You may have helped save very many lives.

From The Garden of Ed. Submitted for publication in The Towne Crier on January 12, 2005

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