Landscape News Articles (from Allen Owings and Rick Bogren)

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "Landscape News Articles (from Allen Owings and Rick Bogren)"

Dylan Butler
6 years ago
Views:

LSU AgCenter Ornamental Horticulture E-News & Trial Garden Notes Early October 2015 Nursery, Landscape & Garden Center Updates Compiled by Allen Owings, Professor (Horticulture),

com/hammond Landscape News Articles (from Allen Owings and Rick Bogren) Mulching September 18 http://www.lsuagcenter.

1 LSU AgCenter Ornamental Horticulture E-News & Trial Garden Notes Early October 2015 Nursery, Landscape & Garden Center Updates Compiled by Allen Owings, Professor (Horticulture), Hammond Research Station, LSU AgCenter Edited by Rick Bogren, Professor (Communications), LSU AgCenter Phone ; Landscape News Articles (from Allen Owings and Rick Bogren) Mulching September 18 Durantas September 25 Louisiana Super Plant Homestead Purple Verbena

Ornamental Plants of the Week for October 2015 (from Allen Owings and Rick Bogren) October 5 Chinese Pistache The Chinese pistache (Pistachio chinensis) is a medium-sized ornamental shade tree known

The tree will reach 30 to 35 feet tall and 25 feet wide at maturity. Young plants take a while to develop a nice branch structure. Chinese pistache has few if any disease and insect problems.

2 Ornamental Plants of the Week for October 2015 (from Allen Owings and Rick Bogren) October 5 Chinese Pistache The Chinese pistache (Pistachio chinensis) is a medium-sized ornamental shade tree known for spectacular orange, red and crimson fall foliage colors. Fall foliage color is great in Louisiana from early November through mid December most years. The tree will reach 30 to 35 feet tall and 25 feet wide at maturity. Young plants take a while to develop a nice branch structure. Chinese pistache has few if any disease and insect problems. It s a great underused tree with outstanding landscape potential. Now through February is a great time to add new shade trees to your landscape. October 12 Encore Azaleas Looking for some of the best of the multi-seasonal flowering azaleas? Look no further than the Encore azaleas the azalea that knows no season. Encore azaleas were born and bred in Louisiana by horticulturist Buddy Lee of Independence. With almost 30 varieties now in the trade, you can select Encore azaleas for dwarf, intermediate and taller growth habits. A wide range of flower colors is available. Plants reliably bloom in spring and fall. You will see occasional blooms in some years on some varieties in summer and fall. Azaleas prefer a filtered sun planting location with light afternoon shade, especially in summer. Landscape beds need to have acid soil and be well drained. Plant in fall for best success. Mulch with pine straw. October 19 Sweetbay Magnolia Louisiana gardeners are always looking for nice trees for the landscape. The sweetbay magnolia (Magnolia virginiana) is an excellent native tree that is not nearly as well known as it should be. The variety chosen as a Louisiana Super Plant selection last fall

is the evergreen type, Magnolia virginiana var. australis, which retains its leaves through winter. Speaking of the leaves, the foliage of the sweetbay magnolia is especially beautiful.

When the wind catches the canopy and flips up the leaves, the ripples of silver are a delight to the eye. Flowers are creamy white and about 2-3 inches in diameter.

3 is the evergreen type, Magnolia virginiana var. australis, which retains its leaves through winter. Speaking of the leaves, the foliage of the sweetbay magnolia is especially beautiful. Smaller and lighter green than the Southern magnolia and without the glossy shine, the foliage of the sweetbay is bright silver on the reverse. When the wind catches the canopy and flips up the leaves, the ripples of silver are a delight to the eye. Flowers are creamy white and about 2-3 inches in diameter. They are present in April and May and have a lemony fragrance. Mature trees will average about 30 feet tall with a spread of 20 feet, but larger sizes are not uncommon. Trees commonly are grown with a single trunk and will produce an attractive columnar, upright tree, but they can also be grown multi-trunked. October 26 Sorbet Violas Want to add color to your fall, winter and early spring garden? Plant some colorful Sorbet series violas. Sorbet violas are the best-flowering violas in LSU AgCenter trials. The small, delicate, bright flowers cover the plant from late fall through spring. Sorbet violas have the most uniform plant habit and produce masses of bright blooms on compact plants. Excellent overwintering and cold hardiness allow planting Sorbet violas in early fall for color through winter and into early spring. This charming plant is an early bloomer and comes in a multitude of colors. Use this LSU AgCenter Louisiana Super Plant to add a punch of color to your winter landscape. These popular cool-season flowers do best in full sun and grow 6 inches tall by 12 inches

wide. When you plant, space individual plants 10 inches to 12 inches apart. Fertilize at planting with a slow-release fertilizer or liquid feed every 2-3 weeks through late fall and winter.

My Hometown Roses debuting from Star Roses and Plants (from Allen Owings) A new program from Star Roses and Plants called My Hometown Rose will include premium garden roses selected as regional top

4 wide. When you plant, space individual plants 10 inches to 12 inches apart. Fertilize at planting with a slow-release fertilizer or liquid feed every 2-3 weeks through late fall and winter. With a nice spring, Sorbet violas last until early or mid-may. My Hometown Roses debuting from Star Roses and Plants (from Allen Owings) A new program from Star Roses and Plants called My Hometown Rose will include premium garden roses selected as regional top performers based on trials throughout the United States. These trials including no-spray and no-irrigation test fields in locations from the East Coast to the West Coast. Star Roses and Plants says the varieties bear our promise to be the best garden roses in your area and are sure to feel at home in any garden. These will not be presented in categories as roses typically are. The concept of My Hometown Roses is approachable, and varieties will be selected for their flower form, color or fragrance. My Hometown Roses are roses that love where you live. At the sales location, roses in this program will be grown and displayed in specially printed pots and will have My Hometown Roses variety tags. My Hometown Roses were selected for six different regions of the country based on plant trial observations. The selections for the Southeast (includes Louisiana and all adjoining states) are: Bolero Cherry Parfait Dee-Lish Easter Basket Eternal Flame Francis Meilland Honey Nectar Milwaukee s Calatrava Mother of Pearl Orchid Romance Pink Flamingo Raspberry Cream Twirl Sunshine Daydream Tahitian Treasure Traviata The LSU AgCenter Hammond Research Station is one of the southeastern United States test locations for Star Roses and Plants/Conard-Pyle Company rose trials. Increasing Levee Protection from Wave Overtopping Erosion (from Jeff Beasley and Ed Bush) Starting this year, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in New Orleans will be installing high-performance turf reinforcement mats on levees to reduce erosion and failure

5 associated with wave overtopping. High-performance turf reinforcement mats are erosion products that gain part of their strength to withstand strong hydrodynamic forces through the establishment and interaction with vegetation. The application of the reinforcement mats is a part of the continued effort by the Army Corps to provide protection to the residents of the Greater New Orleans Metropolitan Area from future flooding. During Hurricane Katrina, which struck Louisiana in 2005, several levees were eroded because of waves overtopping levees, a process that involves wave action in which water flows down the protected side of the levee. Over time, the force of the flowing water can erode the back slope of a levee to the point of failure. Through tests conducted at the Colorado State University Hydraulic Laboratory in Fort Collins, which contains the world s largest Wave Overtopping Simulator, the role of vegetation both alone and as a component of the reinforcement mats was investigated. Early tests showed levees constructed from clay differed in their ability to handle varying rates of wave overtopping, depending on several factors. Bare soil failed shortly after being exposed to large waves generated by the Wave Overtopping Simulator, whereas vegetated soils increased wave overtopping erosion resistance, and vegetated reinforcement mats provided further resistance than vegetation alone. However, it was noted through additional testing that the performance of the reinforcement mats was influenced by changes in vegetative growth. Trays with only grass and grass-vegetated reinforcement mats, which had been previously tested and did not fail in the Wave Overtopping Simulator, were exposed to the harsh Colorado winter before being retested the following spring. The cold temperatures stressed the grass so that parameters such as plant density and rooting were reduced. When the tests were re-administered, the grasses by themselves failed at the previously tested overtopping rates whereas a grass-vegetated reinforcement mat did not. This clearly demonstrated the synergy of vegetation in conjunction with reinforcement mats provides greater wave overtopping erosion resiliency. Colorado State University and LSU AgCenter scientists were able to show rooting of the grasses had decreased greater than 30 percent for all treatments (grass alone and reinforcement mats with grass) after winter exposure. This showed changes in vegetation significantly affected wave overtopping erosion performance. Vegetation with higher root architectural parameters, such as root length and surface area, often associated with denser, healthier grass swards, provided greater wave overtopping erosion resistance compared to less-dense grass swards. The interaction of the roots with the soil appears to provide a cohesive factor in retaining soil when subjected to dynamic hydrodynamic forces. This relationship of rooting architecture to erosion performance has also been confirmed for dikes constructed from sand in Florida. In tests conducted for the Army Corps for reinforcement mat application at Lake Okeechobee, differing grass ground coverages and reinforcement mats were evaluated. Again, changes in rooting architecture influenced vegetative erosion resistance to wave overtopping and reinforcement mat performance. From this research the scientists found that reinforcement mats can provide greater protection against erosion from wave overtopping and that managing vegetation may be an important factor in maintaining reinforcement mat performance. (from Louisiana Agriculture magazine, summer 2015)

6 Optimize Nursery Irrigation Practices by Managing Water Output (from Ed Bush and Jeff Beasley) Proper irrigation management is essential to producing a quality nursery crop, reducing cost and optimizing plant growth. Many believe the nursery industry uses excessive irrigation when producing a large crop, but irrigation analysis at the nurseries in both Forest Hill and Folsom indicated that in some cases below-optimum irrigation volume was used. Underwatering crops can be as harmful to plants as overwatering. Physiologically, plants that are underwatered become stunted and lose root and shoot growth. Underwatered plants also become more susceptible to insect pests and diseases. Overwatering crops can leach out necessary elements contributing to nutrient movement and runoff into waterways, while leaving plants deficient in nutrients for normal growth. Several leaf and root diseases are attributed to overwatering, and filling soil air space with too much water can suffocate roots. Managing irrigation requires years of experience and detailed management. The goal of this research was to develop a method of irrigation that would assist growers in determining the proper water requirement needed throughout a changing growing season. Properly scheduling irrigation for nursery container crops can be difficult in substrates (soils) having low water-holding capacity. Therefore, a simple, automated, sensor-driven irrigation system was developed at the LSU AgCenter to better regulate irrigation application volumes. To test the device, known as Switch, researchers evaluated the August Beauty gardenia grown in one of two container sizes (1 and 3 gallons) and two pine bark substrates (fine and coarse) over a four-month period. Gardenias grown using the new irrigation system were compared with plants grown using a traditional timed overhead irrigation system. The traditional timed system applied 1 inch of water per day. Over the course of the study, gardenia had similar growth between irrigation systems within substrate treatments. Gardenia growing in coarse substrate had higher growth indices and greater biomass compared to gardenia growing in the finer substrate. Within four months of planting, all gardenias had reached marketable size. However, gardenia grown using the new Switch system reduced water application volumes greater than 30 percent compared to the traditional timed irrigation system. A provisional patent was granted on the device in It is expected that the patent process will be finalized by January This process was a cooperative effort between the nursery industry and the LSU AgCenter. (from Louisiana Agriculture magazine, summer 2015) Gulf States Horticultural Expo (January 20-22, 2016) HOLD THE DATE EDUCATIONAL SESSIONS Wednesday, January 20 TRADE SHOW Thursday, January 21, and Friday, January 22

7 Louisiana Super Plants 2016 Louisiana Super Plants 2015

8 Louisiana Super Plants Listing of All Plants ( )

9 LSU AgCenter Landscape Horticulture Industry Field Day and SELNA Trade Show October 8

10 LSU AgCenter Plant Diagnostic Clinic LSU AgCenter Soil Testing and Plant Analysis Lab

LSU AgCenter Ornamental Horticulture E-News & Trial Garden Notes Mid-August 2014

LSU AgCenter Ornamental Horticulture E-News & Trial Garden Notes Mid-August 2014 Nursery, Landscape & Garden Center Updates Compiled by Allen Owings, Professor (Horticulture), Hammond Research Station,