Eliminate native vegetation Plowing/tilling Incorporate 3 compost Plant 3 organic mulch

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1 Kathy Zuzek Extension Educator, Horticulture Started in early 1990 s by Dr. George of Texas A&M Goal was to provide research-based recommendations on environmental stewardship practices in horticultural landscapes Key components of program: 1) identifying and teaching landscape practices focused on: nutrient management without inorganic fertilizer applications improving overall soil health with compost & organic mulch water conservation minimizing pesticide use Key components of program: 2) identifying plant cultivars & species that perform well over multiple years & over a regional basis under low input conditions: inorganic fertilizer and pesticide use are eliminated compost and organic mulch are used as nutrient sources supplemental irrigation is minimized Multiple regional test sites Replicated & randomized trials 4 blocks/trial site 1 plant/cultivar in each block Eliminate native vegetation Plowing/tilling Incorporate 3 compost Plant 3 organic mulch 1

2 Year 1: Plants establish, regular irrigation, no evaluation Years 2-4: Evaluation years No fungicides or insecticides Hebicides only to control invasive weeds No fertilizers No irrigation unless wilt starts to occur Maintain 3 layer of organic mulch Tolerance to Abiotic Stresses: Cold hardiness Heat tolerance Drought tolerance Nutrient deficiencies Disease & insect tolerances Plant size & habit Cercospora Drought Bacterial leaf spot Iron chlorosis/high soil ph Foliar quality Size, color & density Impact of stresses & pests Flower quality Size & color Floral density Repeat bloom or length of flowering season 1official evaluation site in a particular region of the U.S. Followed by multiple small confirmational plots across region to verify evaluation at official site. Examples: Rose Brigade trials S. rose trials S. herbaceous perennial trials S. crape myrtle trials S. vegetable trials Gussie Field Water Worth Park, Farmers Branch, TX Multiple formal evaluation plots established throughout a region of the U.S. Examples: Northern rose trial Kordes rose trial Upper Midwest hydrangea trials Upper Midwest ninebark trial Hydrangea Trial Plot Locations 2

3 H. arborescens (7 cultivars) *Annabelle Incrediball Bella Anna Invincibelle Spirit Bounty White Dome Hayes Starburst H. macrophylla (3 cultivars) Blushing Bride Endless Summer Twist-n-Shout H. paniculata (14 cultivars) Compact PeeGee Tickled Pink Great Star Pink Diamond Unique Limelight Pinky Winky Vanilla Strawberry Little Lamb Quick Fire White Diamonds Little Lime *Tardiva *nursery standard 3-5 suckering plant with large showy starting in June Green to white to brown mophead flowers 2-8 toothed leaves Zone 3 C. Bryson, ARS, bugwood.org Loose open 3-5 plant in the wild Annabelle 3

4 3-6 plant with large showy starting in July Pink, blue, purple lacecap or mophead flowers 4-8 almost succulent leaves Zone 6 Native to Japan 3-20 plants with conical to rounded from July through fall Flower heads: sterile bracted flowers to lacecap Flowers start white or ivory and age to pink Zone 3 hardiness (-40 o F) Eastern and southern China, Japan, Sakhalin They are a popular group of easy-togrow plants There have been many new cultivar developed for northern gardeners recently Hardy to -40 o F and can be planted statewide Adaptable to many soils and ph but prefers moist welldrained soil Part shade to full sun Sand Loam Clay Prune off winter injury 4

5 Prune to 6 in late winter Remove oldest 1/3 of stems in center of plant in late winter Deadheading encourages repeat bloom in late summer and fall Sucker removal Hardy to -40 o F and can be planted statewide Adaptable to many soils (except wet) and ph but prefers loamy, moist well-drained soil Part shade to full sun, full sun best Remove oldest 1/3 of stems in center of plant in late winter If winter injury occurs, prune off winter injury Last year s can be pruned off 5

6 Panicled Hydrangeas formerly small trees in the landscape with a height of 20 Smooth hydrangea: Invincibelle Spirit H. paniculata Limelight H. arborescens Little Lime Summer Fall H. paniculata First Editions Strawberry Vanilla 6

7 H. paniculata Pinky Winky Evaluating: Floral quality Foliar Quality Plant Size & Habit Cold Hardiness Disease and insect tolerance Performance across a variety of soil textures and ph. July 2010 MN Landscape Arboretum, Chaska, MN: Cottonwood Park, Dilworth, MN: North Central Research & Outreach Center, Grand Rapids, MN: Iowa State University Horticulture Research Station, Ames, Iowa: Boerner Botanic Garden, Hales Corner, WI: gallons of water/plant from 2011 to 2014 September 2013 Bigleaf hydrangeas are poor performers in low input conditions & will not be Earth-Kind plants May gallons of water/plant from 2011 to 2014 July

8 Bacterial leaf spot on smooth hydrangeas may eliminate smooth leaf hydrangeas from Earth-Kind designation Strong differences in stem strength & resulting plant habit will impact E-K designation Strong differences in iron chlorosis on high ph soils Strong differences in drought tolerance Strong differences in floral quality Strong differences in floral quality 8

9 Designation of Earth-Kind informs a regional horticultural community that cultivars are likely to perform well with basic plant care Research- & Extensionbased Replicated & randomized Unbiased & trusted Regionality of cultivar recommendations Environmental stewardship Conservation of limited water resources Improvement of soil structure Reduced pesticide & fertilizer use Use of E-K practices can result in enormous savings for users Strong outreach component "Overall, we saw a 70- pecent reduction in water usage. We completely eliminated pesticide applications, reduced labor costs by 50 out of a hundred, and eliminated the potential for soil/water contamination Slade Strickland, Director Addison, TX Parks & Rec. Collaborative trialing creates economic feasibility, enthusiasm, & commitment 8 universities Municipalities, counties, schools, botanic gardens, individuals Wholesale & retail nurseries, industry collaborators, plant societies, nursery & landscape associations 4-5 suckering shrub 4-10 white flowerheads 4-5 suckering shrub 4-10 flower heads Stiffer stems than Annabelle? 9

10 flower heads Denser flower head than Annabelle? Annabelle Bounty Incrediball 4-5 Double-flowered w/ star-like flowers that change from green to white Narrow leaflets w/ white fuzzy bottom 3-4 Pink flowers smaller than white cultivars (4-6 ) flat-topped lacecap clusters change from ivory to green Great Star 6-7 Limelight 6-10 PeeGee 8-10 PeeGee Compact 6 Pink Diamond 6-8 Pinky Winky 6-8 Unique 6-10 Vanilla Strawberry

11 6-7 upright arching plant Flowers (sterile bracts) 2-4 across Sparse flower production 6-10 plant Green and cream flowers age to pink, burgundy, and green sterile change from white to pink and bronze 6 small version of PeeGee with smaller leaves and smaller flowers 6-8 plant 12 creamcolored lacecap age to rosy pink 6-8 plants Conical 14 with double (7 petals vs. 4) flowers Stiff upright stems 11

12 6-10 plant Large lacecap 6-7 upright and then cascading plant habit White flowers turn pink and red to give multi-colored Little Lamb 4-6 Little Lime 3-5 Tickled Pink 4-5 White Diamond plant Conical flower heads start white and age to dusty pink Stems can droop under weight of Little Lime 3-5 Green flowers age to pink and green 4-5 plant Frilly flower heads start white and turn pink 12

13 4 compact plant White flowers turn ivory and pink H. paniculata Quick Fire 6-8 plant White lacecap flowers open a month earlier than other panicle hydrangeas and then turn rosy pink 6-8 rounded shrub 6 lacecap start white and turn pink Blooms in late August & September Questions? Kathy Zuzek zuzek001@umn.edu 13