Monthly Newsletter. January 2016 L A K E A R E A. Volume 10, Issue 1. Miller County Extension P O Box 20 Tuscumbia, MO Phone/Fax

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1 L A K E A R E A Monthly Newsletter January 2016 Volume 10, Issue Club Officers Suzanne Albright, President Phone: suzannealbright47@gmail.com Susan Osgood, Vice President Phone: sllatimer1@gmail.com Nancy Hall, Secretary Phone: jogi65634@gmail.com Roni Vollmer, Treasurer Phone: ronivollmer@hotmail.com Past President, Tamara Jorstad: Phone: tjorstad@gmail.com Standing Committee Chairs 2016 Garden Walk Gail Conavay, theconavays@gmail.com Suzanne Albright, suzannealbright47@gmail.com Club Photographer Glenda Hinrichs, glenda_hinrichs@yahoo.com Historian Sally Burke, burke.lakelovers@gmail.com Hospitality Rita Burks, ritab001@hotmail.com Membership Tamara Jorstad, tjorstad@gmail.com Year Book OPEN MU EXT & MOMA Winnie McKinley, mckinleyw@hotmail.com Newsletter Charli Allee, normcharli@aol.com Projects Charmaine E. Guyot, guyotcharmaine@gmail.com Ways & Means Mildred Webster or Miller County Extension P O Box 20 Tuscumbia, MO Phone/Fax Happy New Year to All! What a wet beginning for John and I just got home from three week sin St. Louis and we were so grateful to find our house and dock just as we had left them. I hope al all of you were as fortunate. We do have some yard cleanup from the storms but that seems pretty minor. The new board met in December with the old board to learn the ends and outs of all our new positions. We are so happy that they will be available to remind us of any details we might neglect. We surprised Tamara with a gift certificate from Green Horizon Nursery on behalf of our club to than her for the outstanding service se has given as president. She will be a tough act to follow. Even now, she is busy putting together the 2016 membership Yearbook. If I found this little book to be indispensable as a new member last year. It is thoughtfully put together and has everything you need to know about the LAMG. However, if you still have questions, feel free to contact me. Here are a couple of reminders for the February Meeting: 1. To facilitate learning everyone s name, don t forget to wear your Master Gardener name badge to all meetings. If you forget, a twenty-five cent fee will be collected by the Ways and Means Chair with the funds being added to the club s income. I keep my badge in my care so I won t forget it. 2. At each meeting, I ll be taking roll callas another way of getting to know our members. I ll also ask a simple gardening question of each you like, what is your favorite perennial? 3. We will continue to have our Share Table where you can bring items for members to take, such as, seeds, gardening catalogs, magazines, books, crafts, etc. However, you must be prepared to take home anything that is not taken at the end of the evenings. 4. Every month e we will celebrate birthdays. For February meeting that will include both January and February. Speaking of the February meeting, I hope you all will come as it has been a couple of months since we last gathered. We will be having a wine and cheese reception, awarding members for their hours dedicated to the Master Gardner program, presenting an education program, and reviewing and discussing the Willmore Lodge Gardens. It will be a busy evening! We have some wonderful programs planned for this year and lots of opportunities to full fill your Master Gardener volunteer requirements. Please join us and enjoy the good fellowship of other Master gardeners. Suzanne Albright, Lake Area Master Gardener President

2 PAGE 2 LAKE AREA MASTER GARDENER S NEWSLETTER January Gardening Tips Start Off Your Garden Year Right When shoveling or blowing snow, try to dump it atop perennials as long it doesn t have any salt in it. Snow is often called white mulch and a good blanket of it will protect plants from temperature extremes. Use calcium chloride instead of sodium chloride on our walks. It does less damage to plants, better yet, use sand, which doesn't hurt your plants a bit. Houseplant basics houseplant growth this month is slow, so don t fertilize and keep watering to a minimum. Forced bulbs check on pots of any bulbs you forced this fall. Most forced bulbs need week of chilling. Remove them into warmth and sunlight indoors when the tips are 1-2 inches high and/or roots are growing out of the drainage holes. Start seeds indoors for the very slowest-growing plants, such as parsley, thyme, tarragon, bedding geraniums, and sage. You can also start seeds for the plants you can put outdoors early, well before your region s last frost, including chives, onions, and leeks. Stored plant roots check on any stored plant roots or corms, such as dahlias, tuberous begonias, cannas, or glads, for shriveling or decay. Throw out any that are damaged. Garden Journal If you haven t already, start a garden journal or file. Tuck into it names of plants you like, magazine pictures, plant labels and seeds, and anything else that suits your fancy. If you re feeling crafty make your own journal. OR you can purchase a Garden Journal from University of Missouri Garden Lanning and Landscaping While you are doing your garden planning, check out the entire section on garden planning and landscaping at BHG.com. It covers everything from assessing your landscape needs to putting I down on paper to choosing the best plants for you. Garden Plans For specific ides and layouts plans, go to BHG.com s Garden Plans, There are a number of great combinations for everything from shade to property lines to front entries. Make online and mail-order purchases early. Supplies of the most popular items tend to start running out in March or so.

3 LAKE AREA MASTER GARDENER S NEWSLETTER ALL-AMERICA SELECIONS INTRODUCES NINE EXCITING AAS WINNERS FOR THE 2016 GARDEN SEASON PAGE 3 Anyone watching the movements of All-America Selections lately will notice an everincreasing number of exciting and wonderful plants that are being named AAS winners. This announcement is no different with nine new plants that have been trialed by horticulture experts throughout North America and deemed worthy of the All-America Selections brand. All of the following new varieties were trialed during the 2015 growing season and exhibited outstanding garden performance as noted in each of the following descriptions. This grouping of AAS Winners for 2016 includes: Geranium Brocade Cherry Night (National) Geranium Brocade Fire (National) Pepper Cornito Giallo F1 (National) Pepper Escamillo F1 (National) Pumpkin Super Moon F1 (Regional: Southeast and Great Lakes) Salvia Summer Jewel Lavender (Regional: Southeast, Heartland, Great Lakes) Strawberry Delizz F1 (National) Tomato Candyland Red (National) Tomato Chef s Choice Green F1 (National) With this announcement, these varieties become available for immediate sale to the commercial market. Brokers and growers can purchase these varieties immediately. Retailers and consumers will find these winners for sale for the 2016 gardening season as supply gradually becomes available throughout the chain of distribution. Garden communicators are free to begin writing about these varieties now, in preparation for next year s gardens. The first group of AAS Winners for 2016 was announced this past July and are also interesting additions for the consumer s gardens and table: Bunching Onion Warrior (Regional Winner: Southeast, Mountain/Southwest) Mizuna Red Kingdom F1 (National Winner) Radish Sweet Baby F1 (Regional Winner: Southeast, Great Lakes) Source:

4 PAGE 4 LAKE AREA MASTER GARDENER S NEWSLETTER The USDA Plant Hardiness zones divide the United States and southern Canada into 11 areas based on a 10 degree Fahrenheit difference in the average annual minimum temperature. Be Sure and Check Out the Plant Hardiness Zone Map for Missouri If you have news items, pictures of your gardens, projects, special plants, or want to share your favorite garden tips, or have suggestions for improving our Newsletter just let me know? Please submit items by the 25th so I can post them in our Monthly Newsletter!! Send to: Charli Allee 242 Siesta Circle Camdenton, MO to normcharli@aol.com Or text message to

5 PAGE 5 LAKE AREA MASTER GARDENER S NEWSLETTER PAGE 5 TOP 10 THINGS TO DO WHEN YOU'RE ITCHING TO GARDEN, BUT IT'S TOO EARLY TO PLANT SEEDS Vickie Jordan, Magic City Master Gardener 1. Install a cold frame. A cold frame is essentially a miniature greenhouse, and it allows you to plant a little earlier because you can protect the seedlings during cold snaps. Purchase a kit or make a simple cold frame by setting straw bales in a square and placing old windows over the top. On a sunny day, the temperatures inside the cold frame can rise quickly, so be prepared to prop the top open for ventilation. And on very cold nights, cover the cold frame with a blanket. 2. Add a trellis. Whether it's covered with climbing roses, morning glories, or even gourds, a plant-covered trellis is eye-catching. Build your own trellis or purchase one and install it in a sunny spot. Consider adding a trellis to a sunny porch so the plants' foliage will provide cooling shade in summer. Use a trellis to screen unsightly views or to create a private sitting area in your yard. If space is at a premium, grow vegetables on trellises, too. Pole beans and cucumbers are good candidates, as are indeterminate tomato varieties, which can grow to a height of six feet or more. 3. Embrace garden crafts. Build a bird feeder, bluebird house, or bat house. Make mosaic stepping stones and create a walkway to your herb garden. Paint terra cotta pots to complement your house color. Build flower boxes for your windows. Add color to your winter garden by painting a fence, shed, or wall a bright, unexpected color. If you're so inclined, paint a mural! Make a silly statue out of clay pots. Weave a trellis or fence from willow or other supple twigs. Browse secondhand stores for inexpensive treasures. A wooden chair with a broken cane seat can be converted into a unique planter by securing a container where the seat was. Paint a mailbox, install it in your garden, and use it to keep small tools and supplies handy yet protected from the weather. 4. Sharpen tools. I know, B-O-R-I-N-G, but you'll be glad you did. 5 Prune trees and shrubs. Fruit trees and summer-flowering shrubs are best pruned in late winter, after the coldest weather has passed but before the buds break. Consult a pruning guide for details. 6. Pull winter weeds. It's never too early to start weeding perennial gardens. Just avoid walking on wet garden soil stay on the paths. If possible, apply a thin layer of bark mulch when you're through. Come spring, when plants have sprouted and you can see where they are, you'll want to apply a thicker, more weed-suppressing layer of mulch. 7. Organize your tool shed and donate extra supplies to a youth gardening program. If you received new tools or supplies over the holidays, set the old ones aside for donating. It's easy to accumulate too many pots, seeds, trowels, and rakes. Why not let someone else make use of them? 8. Buy a tree identification book and learn to recognize trees by their bark and twigs. Not only does it make winter walks more interesting, it also helps hone your botany skills. For example, did you know that you can identify some trees in winter by the shape and size of the leaf buds? 9. Make a list of plants with winter interest to add to your landscape this year. Plants with berries, such as holly, winterberry, and viburnum, are not only colorful, they'll also attract birds. Winter-blooming witch hazels, red twig dogwood, and hellebores are also good choices, as are early-blooming bulbs, such as scilla, snowdrops, grape hyacinth, and crocus. Consult a gardening resource to make sure the plants you choose are appropriate for your region. 10. Install a weather station. Impress your friends by knowing the barometric pressure. Keep track of rainfall so you know when to water your garden.

6 L A K E A R E A UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI EXTENSION Lake Area Master Gardener Club P O Box 20/ Courthouse Annex Tuscumbia, MO Our Mission: Helping Others Learn to Grow and To Have Fun Along the Way! Lake Area Master Gardener Meeting NO MEETING IN JANUARY January Birthdays! January 8th Elvis Presley January 13th Glenda Hinrichs To help new and returning members remember LAMG Club Member Names Starting 2015 a twenty-five cent fee will be charge to an member failing to wear his/her LAMG/Maser Gardener name badge at the monthly meetings. Fines are to be collected by the Ways and Means Chair, Mildred Webster, and funds added to the club s income. Items for the monthly newsletter are due to the Newsletter Chair, Charli Allee, by the 26th of each month Send to normcharli@aol.com