Date: April 11, 2011 Pruning Roses Every gardener loves roses. When left unpruned, this garden beauty can become a tangled mass of brambles with few small flowers. Proper pruning encourages the rose to thrive, developing larger blossoms and strong branches. It allows air and sunlight to circulate within the center of the plant, which reduces disease problems. It is usually safe to prune roses in northern Nevada around April 15, unless we are still experiencing freezing weather. However, in colder areas you may want to wait a couple of weeks. Sharp, clean and sterilized tools are critical to rose pruning success. You will need a pair of bypass pruning shears, long-handled bypass loppers for thick canes, a fine-toothed curved saw for woody canes and of course, long gloves! Have a disinfectant on hand, such as isopropyl alcohol, Lysol spray, or 20 percent bleach-to-water solution, to sterilize your tools between cuts. Another essential is a non-toxic, non-petroleum-based white glue to seal freshly pruned areas to prevent boring insects. In Nevada, we prune roses less severely than in milder climate areas of the country, because of the potential for late freezes, drying winds and extreme sun. Start the pruning process by removing the dead, damaged, blackened or crossing canes first. The next steps depend on the type of rose you are pruning. For hybrid teas, the traditional cut-flower type of rose, or for grandifloras, which produce flowers in multiples but grow like hybrid teas, leave five to six of the strongest canes 20 to 30 inches long. Remove only canes three years old or older. Make a 45-degree angle cut one-quarter inch above a bud. Floribundas, also multiple flower producers, have a shorter growth habit, and are pruned to a shorter height leaving more canes. Train and prune climbers to a horizontal pattern for greater flower production, removing any skyward pointing shoots. No matter what type of rose, cut out any suckers, the shoots growing below the graft union, the swollen bit just above the ground. After sterilizing your shears between cuts to reduce the spread of disease from cane to cane, seal any cut one-quarter of an inch or larger with white glue. After pruning, put all the cuttings and old leaves into the trash. Rose cuttings are not good for composting due to the prevalence of disease. Be sure to groom your roses regularly during the growing season to encourage additional flower production. Call University of Nevada Cooperative Extension at 887-2252 or email skellyj@unce.unr.edu for a copy of Pruning Roses in Northern Nevada for more detailed information.
Date: April 18, 2011 Invasive Species Awareness Week April 25 through May 1 is Invasive Species Awareness Week to promote local awareness and action to limit the impacts of invasive species. I m most familiar with invasive plants, but there are also invasive animals and insects. An invasive species is a non-native species whose introduction causes or is likely to cause harm economically, environmentally or to human health. Invasive species are very aggressive, growing and reproducing rapidly and causing problems to native habitats or species. This can mean reduced crop production and reduced fishing, hunting, camping, hikin g or boating. Ex otic invasive sp cies cause $1.1 billion to $120 billion per year in economic losses. Approximately 42 percent of threatened or endangered species are at risk due to non-native invasive species (www.invasive.org). Weeds are everyone s favorite thing to hate, so why all the concern with invasive ones? Invasive weeds survive and thrive outside their natural range, outcompeting native plants for nutrients, water and other resources, particularly on disturbed sites. Invasive plants spread quickly, decreasing forage for wildlife or livestock. Plants such as cheatgrass and medusahead also alter natural fire frequency, with more intense fires happening more frequently. Some invasive plants are also known as noxious weeds. The term noxious is a legal definition for plants that have been determined to be major problems in agricultural and rangeland ecosystems. The federal government and many states, including Nevada, have lists of noxious plants. Some of the 47 noxious weeds on Nevada s list include yellow starthistle, Russian knapweed, hoary cress, perennial pepperweed (tall whitetop), puncture vine, Scotch thistle and salt cedar. How can you help reduce the threat of invasive weeds? Learn to identify native and non-native plants in our area. University of Nevada Cooperative
Extension has numerous weed publications on our website, www.unce.unr.edu, to help with this. Or, bring samples into our offices for help with identification. The easiest and least expensive time to control or manage invasive weeds is during the early stages of growth and development. Because invasive plants are hardy and persistent, they can be difficult to control once established and often require years of treatment with herbicides to get them under control. And, because they are aliens to Nevada, the insects that might eat the plants or the diseases that might control them are not present in our area. This means very little can slow them down, which is why it is so important to catch them early. For more information on invasive or noxious weeds, call 887-2252 or email me at skellyj@unce.unr.edu.
Date: April 25, 2011 Junk the Junipers! Many Nevada homes are located in high wildfire hazard areas. Our environment possesses the right kind of weath er, vegetation and topography to support wildfire. The potential for loss of life and property due to wildfire is growing. Nevada Wildfire Awareness Week, May 1 through May 7, is held each year to build awareness and encourage action to reduce the wildfire threat to homes and communities. This year, we are reminding everyone that YOU have a role in reducing the wildfire threat. This includes homeowners; federal, state and local firefighting representatives; members of the Nevada Fire Safe Council; city planners; fuels Photo courtesy of Carson City Fire Department managers; landscapers; builders; open space managers; and others. By working together, we can create fire-adapted communities designed to survive wildfire. You can take action now on your property by removing ornamental junipers located within 30 feet of your home. Then, on Saturday May 7, dispose of them for FREE by bringing them to the south parking lot of the Casino Fandango Galaxy Theater between 8:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. In exchange, you will receive a coupon from Casino Fandango and another from Greenhouse Garden Center for a free #5-replacement plant or a 50 percent discount on up to 10 shrubs or perennials, limit one per household. Why should you junk your junipers? Home survival during wildfire is greatly influenced by the characteristics of the vegetation growing adjacent to the house. Plants vary in flammability, so a key component to an effective defensible space is the selection and use of less hazardous plants in the residential landscape. Firefighters often refer to ornamental junipers as little green gas cans. During a wildfire, embers can smolder undetected under junipers. The junipers can then ignite and burn intensely, potentially igniting anything else nearby, including your home. Junipers have also been known to
ignite from lit matches or cigarettes tossed into them. By reducing the fuels around your home, such as junipers, you reduce the potential for a fire to generate enough heat to ignite the house. Keep the little green gas cans at least 30 feet from the house and replace them with low-growing deciduous shrubs, herbaceous flowers, rock mulches and hard surfaces. The most important person in preventing a house from being destroyed by wildfire is the homeowner. The actions a homeowner takes to create defensible space before a fire occurs are critical. Do your part before fire season begins junk your junipers. For more information, see: www.livingwithfire.info. We all have a role WILDFIRE SURVIVAL IT TAKES A COMMUNITY!