Winter salting

Rock salt (sodium chloride) can harm your plants and rob the soil of nutrients. Ice-melt products made of potassium chloride, magnesium chloride or calcium chloride are slightly less harmful; they are less corrosive and they contain nutrients that plants can use.

    Don’t bother applying ice melt when temperatures are extremely cold. Rock salt will be effective down to 15˚F. Calcium chloride will be effective down to 5˚F. There’s no product that will work below 5˚F unless you apply it very, very heavily.

Leaf Magazine is celebrating its first holiday season! 

Join them daily from Dec. 1st - Dec. 10th on Facebook where they will be giving away prizes.   

All you have to do to enter is share the daily giveaway post on your own Facebook wall.  It's easy. Do it everyday and you could win a gift for yourself or someone else.

Timber Press is offering a chance to win a copy of Dirr’s Encyclopedia of Trees and Shrubs.

For details on the giveaway visit

Giveaway: One Chance to Win Dirr’s Encyclopedia!

www.timberpress.com

I’m excited to announce that we’re having a giveaway for a copy of Dirr’s Encyclopedia of Trees and Shrubs! All you have to do to enter is comment on this post by Friday, December 2nd, 4pm PST. Don’t miss out

Recall issued for 2 million containers of fuel gel for firepots

The Consumer Products Safety Commission urges retailers to stop selling the recalled gel fuels and remove existing stock from store shelves.
The Consumer Products Safety Commission announced last week the recall of 2 million containers of gel-based fuels, used in so-called "firepots." The pourable fuel can unexpectedly ignite and splash onto users when poured into already-lit firepots, posing a risk of burning the user.
The CPSC reports of 65 incidents where splattering, burning fuel gel resulted in two deaths and 34 victims who were hospitalized with second and third degree burns of the face, chest, hands, arms or legs.
This  recall involves gel fuels packaged in one-quart plastic bottles and one-gallon plastic jugs and sold in scented and non-scented formulations. They were sold at various outlets since 2008 for between $5 and $20 by the following companies:

• Bird Brain Inc. (www.birdbrain.com) of Ypsilanti, Mich.
• Bond Manufacturing (www.bondmfg.com) of Antioch, Calif.
• Sunjel Company (2 Burn Inc., www.thesunjelcompany.com) of Milwaukee
• Fuel Barons Inc (www.fuelbarons.com) of Lake Tahoe, Nev.
• Lamplight Farms Inc. (www.lamplight.com) of Menomonee Falls, Wis.
• Luminosities Inc. (Windflame, www.windflame.com) of St. Paul, Minn.
• Pacific Décor Ltd. (www.pacificdecorltd.com) of Woodinwille, Wash.
• Real Flame (www.realflame.com) of Racine, Wis.
• Smart Solar USA (SmartSolar.com/USA/) of Oldsmar, Fla.

Back in June, the CPSC had issued a recall for Napa Home & Garden gel fuels and announced an investigation into firepot burn accidents. The agency also issued a general alert to consumers, warning of the burn hazards posed by all fuel gels.
The CPSC urges retailers to stop selling the recalled gel fuels and remove existing stock from store shelves. Consumers are also urged to discontinue use of the gel-based fuels and contact the manufacturers for refunds and information on how to return unused bottles of the fuel.

If you have been injured by burning fuel gel or had a recent incident with gel-based fuels and would like to share it with the CPSC, visit the agency's website: www.SaferProducts.gov.

Tips for Effective Weed Control

by Barbara Pleasant

Photo/Illustration: Michelle Gervais

If you were to track every hour spent in your garden, you would probably find that you do an inordinate amount of weeding. And while the first few weeks of tearing up these intruders can prove mildly satisfying, the chore soon wears thin. Even more maddening—you are just six simple strategies away from your garden not needing weeds anymore.
What’s that? A garden needs weeds? Weeds are nature’s healing remedy for sites that are in a wounded, plantless state, but weeds and gardeners have different ideas of what makes for a good recovery. Armed with a better understanding of weeds and the strategies outlined here, you can win every future skirmish, giving you more time to enjoy your well-groomed garden.

1. Let sleeping weeds lie

Kill weeds at their roots but leave the soil—and dormant weed seeds—largely undisturbed. Photo/Illustration: Brandi Spade

Every square inch of your garden contains weed seeds, but only those in the top inch or two of soil get enough light to trigger germination. Digging and cultivating brings hidden weed seeds to the surface, so assume weed seeds are there ready to erupt, like ants from an upset anthill, every time you open a patch of ground. Dig only when you need to and immediately salve the disturbed spot with plants or mulch. In lawns, minimize soil disturbance by using a sharp knife with a narrow blade to slice through the roots of dandelions and other lawn weeds to sever their feed source rather than digging them out. Keep in mind that weed seeds can remain dormant for a long, long time.

2. Mulch, mulch, mulch

Don’t give weeds the chance to see the light. Whether you choose wood chips, bark nuggets, straw, or even pine needles, keep the mulch coming to smother out weeds. Photo/Illustration: Michelle Gervais

Mulch benefits plants by keeping the soil cool and moist and depriving weeds of light. Organic mulches, in particular, can actually host crickets and carabid beetles, which seek out and devour thousands of weed seeds.
Some light passes through chunky mulches, and often you will discover—too late—that the mulch you used was laced with weed seeds. It’s important to replenish the mulch as needed to keep it about 2 inches deep (more than 3 inches deep can deprive soil of oxygen). In any case, you can set weeds way back by covering the soil’s surface with a light-blocking sheet of cardboard, newspaper, or biode­gradable fabric and then spreading prettier mulch over it.
If you choose to use this method on seldom-dug areas, such as the root zones of shrubs and trees, opt for tough landscape fabric for the light-blocking bottom sheet. There is a catch, however: As soon as enough organic matter accumulates on the landscape fabric, weed seeds dropped by birds or carried in on the wind will start to grow. For the bottom layer of fabric to be effective, these must be pulled before they sink their roots through and into the ground.

Monday: Kill weeds. Tuesday: Kill weeds...

If you’re a new gardener—or you’re working in a wild and weedy space—the first season will likely be a rough one. Commit (and stick) to a weeding schedule, and don’t take on more space than you can manage. If you have more weeds than you can handle, keep weedy areas mowed until you’re ready to conquer them.

3. Weed when the weeding’s good

Young weeds go down much easier than older ones, so make the most of good weeding conditions. Photo/Illustration: Michelle Gervais

The old saying “Pull when wet; hoe when dry” is wise advice when facing down weeds. After a drenching rain, stage a rewarding weeding session by equipping yourself with gloves, a sitting pad, and a trug or tarp for collecting the corpses. As you head out the door, slip an old table fork into your back pocket because there’s nothing better for twisting out tendrils of henbit or chickweed. When going after bigger thugs, use a fishtail weeder to pry up taprooted weeds, like dandelion or dock.
Under dry conditions, weeds sliced off just below the soil line promptly shrivel up and die, especially if your hoe has a sharp edge. In mulched beds, use an old steak knife to sever weeds from their roots, then patch any open spaces left in the mulch.

Heat is the key to composting weeds

Few experiences compare to the joy of watching weeds shrivel in the sun after a morning weeding session, but then what should you do with them? Their best resting place, of course, is a compost pile or bin, which is the end of the story if the weeds going in are free of seeds. In reality, however, a good half of the weeds you pull probably hold seeds. Separating the seedies from other weedies is impractical, so weed seeds in compost are customarily killed by raising the temperature in the heap.
Keep it hot. Running a hot heap calls for precise mixing and remixing of materials. Rather than struggle to heat up a heap that wants to run cold, I suggest waiting until a weedy heap reaches a nearly rotted state to set things right. From there, you can solarize small batches of moist compost in black plastic nursery liners that are enclosed in clear plastic bags and placed in the sun for two to three days.
Now you’re cooking. Easier than solarizing, plug in an old Crock-Pot outdoors, turn it to its lowest setting, and warm batches of compost while you sleep (three hours at 160°F kills most weed seeds).
Heat treating weedy compost destroys many of the microscopic life-forms that give compost its punch, so it’s a good idea to reprocess cooked compost for two to three weeks before using it in the garden. Place it in a plastic storage bin with a handful of earthworms borrowed from your garden and it will soon be laced with humic acids and other plant-pleasing compounds.

4. Lop off their heads

Chopping off weed heads feels good and you’ll reap short- and long-term benefits. Photo/Illustration: Brandi Spade

When you can’t remove weeds, the next best thing is to chop off their heads. With annual weeds, dead­heading buys you a few weeks of time before the weed “seed rain” begins. Cutting back the tops of perennial weeds, like bindweed, reduces reseeding and forces them to use up food reserves and exhaust their supply of root buds, thus limiting their spread.
You will need pruning loppers to take down towers of ragweed or poke, or you can step up to a string trimmer equipped with a blade attachment to cut prickly thistles or brambles down to nubs. No matter which method you choose, chopping down weeds before they go to seed will help keep them from spreading.

5. Mind the gaps between plants

Tightly planted beds leave no room for unwanted visitors. Photo/Illustration: Todd Meier

Close plant spacing chokes out emerging weeds by shading the soil between plants. You can prevent weed-friendly gaps from the get-go by designing with mass plantings or in drifts of closely spaced plants rather than with polka dots of widely scattered ones. You can usually shave off about 25 percent from the recommended spacing.
Most spacing recommendations, however, are based on the assumption that adjoining plants will barely touch when they reach mature size, so stick with the guidelines when working with plants that are prone to foliar diseases, such as bee balms (Monarda didyma and cvs., USDA Hardiness Zones 4–9) and phloxes (Phlox paniculata and cvs., Zones 4–8).

6. Water the plants you want, not the weeds you’ve got

Drip irrigation is the way to go for a quick way to water your plants and not your weeds. Watering by hand works, too, but it’s often tedious. Photo/Illustration: Steve Aitken

Put drought on your side by depriving weeds of water. Placing drip or soaker hoses beneath mulch efficiently irrigates plants while leaving nearby weeds thirsty. In most climates, depriving weeds of water reduces weed-seed germination by 50 to 70 percent. Watch out, though, for the appearance of deeply rooted perennial weeds, such as bindweed and nutsedge, in areas that are kept moist. They can take off in a flash when given the benefits of drip irrigation.
Beyond these strategies, enriching your soil with organic matter every chance you get can move your garden along down the weed-free path. Soil scientists aren’t sure how it works, but fewer weed seeds germinate in soil that contains fresh infusions of good compost or organic matter. One theory makes elegantly simple sense: When soil is healthy and well fed, weed seeds sense that they are out of a job and are less likely to appear.

“A WING & A PRAYER” with THE GEORGIA HOSTA SOCIETY

THE GEORGIA HOSTA SOCIETY
22nd ANNUAL SHOW
Open 10:00 am to 3:30 pm
&
HOSTA & COMPANION PLANT SALE
Open 9:00 am to 4:00 pm
SATURDAY, MAY 7th 2011

Dekalb Technical College Conference Center
Directions: Take I-285 to Exit 41 Memorial Drive East
(You will be outside the Perimeter)
Travel about 1 mile and pass the Wells Fargo Bank on left.
Turn at the next light onto DeKalb Tech Drive.
Conference Center is at the top of the hill. Look for the signs!
Featuring a Special Award This Year

“It’ all about the Edges: Curled, Ruffled or Frilled”
Including the Hosta of the Year 2011:
H. “Praying Hands”

For more information, please visit www.gahosta.org

Coreopsis 'Cosmic Evolution' PPAF (Big BangTM Series)

Large 2 to 3 inch creamy white flowers with a gold button center blooms from early summer into early fall. During the cooler months, magenta coloring radiates out from the center of the flower onto the petals.
Common name: Threadleaf.
Zones 5 to 9.
Full sun.
Plants reach 18 to 24 inches tall and 18 inches wide.Growth rate: Moderate, Easy to grow.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Dianthus Early Bird™ Series

Recent advances in breeding have produced a wide selection of Dianthus varieties that are both stars in the border and are versatile enough for container use.

A case in point, the Dianthus Early Bird™ Series from Whetman Pinks Ltd. and PlantHaven. Not only are they early flowering, their fragrant double flowers are available in Lavender with maroon eye flowers (Dianthus Fizzy PPAF), white (Dianthus Frosty PPAF), crimson red (Dianthus Radiance PPAF) and magenta (Dianthus Sherbert PPAF). All are compact enough for enough for containers, and are hardy to at least Zone 5.

Coral Bells clean-up

Whether evergreen or dormant, heuchera leaves will get scruffy over the winter. Before spring sprouts, promote healthy new growth by cutting old foliage and flower stems.

Mildred Seaver will be missed

We received this word this morning that Mildred Seaver, a noted hosta hybridizer and friend too many, died this morning after a brief illness. Mildred was known for the vast number of hostas that she had introduced, including Hosta ‘Spilt Milk’, ‘Sea Dream', ‘Sea Monster’, ‘Sea Thunder’, ‘Christmas Tree’, ‘Deep Blue Sea’, ‘Komodo Dragon’, ‘Queen of the Seas’ and many more. She continued to garden until failing health forced her to move into a retirement home a few years back. She was a regular attendee at hosta conventions as long as her health permitted. She was flamboyant, outspoken and great fun to be around. She was 98. She is survived by her son, Charlie Seaver, also a hosta hybridizer, and her daughter, Muriel Seaver Brown. 

Memorials in Mildred’s memory may be sent to the Alex J Summers Memorial Fund, c/o Claudia Walker, 10525 Timberstone Road, Alpharetta, GA  30022.

Brown marmorated stink bug spreading across U.S.

Initially reported around Allentown, Pennsylvania, the brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB), or Halyomorpha halys (Stal), has become a crop pest and household nuisance throughout Maryland and adjacent states. Native to Asia, BMSB is thought to have arrived through shipping material and is now established throughout the Mid‐Atlantic and parts of the West Coast. This invasive species is an excellent hitchhiker and has entered over half of the contiguous United States. Life cycle As BMSB is a relatively new pest, we are still learning about the pest’s life cycle. Entomologists have reported one generation per year in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, but West Virginia researchers have seen 2 generations a year (Nielsen and Hamilton 2010, Holtz and Kamminga 2010). A warmer climate speeds the BMSB development process, and life stage development depends on daylight and temperatures. In BMSB’s native habitat, research suggests 4‐6 generations per year. The following life history facts are based on the BMSB life history in Pennsylvania. Stay tuned to University of Maryland Extension updates and the IPM Pest Alert which go out every Friday from March through October. We will post additional life cycle information as the research continues. The eggs are light green to almost white in color and are laid in clusters of 25‐30. Eggs are often on the underside of leaves and can be found from May through August. Over time, a female BMSB can deposit over 200 elliptical‐shaped eggs. Monitor for these eggs by examining the undersides of foliage. The BMSB nymph has five instars, or juvenile development stages. The nymph ranges from 2.4 mm to 12 mm in length. Nymphs are characterized by dark reddish eyes and a yellowish‐red abdomen with black striping. The antennae of the nymphs are similar to adults—black with white banding. Pennsylvania’s nymph population peaks in July and August, while adult populations are highest in September. BMSB overwinters as an immature adult in houses and other structures. They are typically inactive during the winter months, but indoor heating has kept many stink bugs moving this year.

Georgia Hosta Society 2011 Hosta Leaf Show and Plant Sale

Hosta Show and Plant Sale:  May 7, 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM
New Location: Conference Center at DeKalb Technical CollegeAs one of the oldest local Hosta Societies in the United States, celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2009, the GHS holds the distinction of having the most local shows of any group within the American Hosta Society. GHS holds these shows as an educational project to help introduce the general public to the genus hosta. Hosta leaves are displayed in vases and are judged by panels of judges accredited by The American Hosta Society.

9th Annual Hall County Master Gardeners’ Spring GARDEN EXPO

April 8-9, 2011 — Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
& Saturday, 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Chicopee Woods Agricultural Center

The Complete Garden Event, featuring over 50 exciting vendors, interesting gardening demos, hands on workshops & a children’s booth.

The best plant vendors in the state. Unusual and hard to find trees, shrubs, perennials, daylilies, ferns, Fall annuals, and hostas. Garden tools, equipment, art and so much more!

FREE ADMISSION – Great parking. Unbeatable prices.
Easy loading. Food available. Rain or Shine. NO PETS ALLOWED.
 

Chicopee Woods Agricultural Center located off of I-985N at Exit 20.
Follow the signs. 

Info.770.535.8293  
Sponsored In Conjunction With UGA Cooperative Extension - Hall County

See ya'll there!

Planting Bare Root Perennials - P. Allen Smith

Planting perennials and roses bare root can be daunting, especially when the plants arrive looking like a mass of brown roots and sticks. It is sometimes hard to know which end is up! But there are two reasons bare root is a good option - price and resilience.
Bare root plants are dug from the field while they are still dormant and shipped without any soil around the roots. They will arrive packaged in a plastic bag with a packing material that is slightly moist. This packing material can be sphagnum moss, wood shavings or even paper. This minimal packaging makes them easier to ship, which translates into a less expensive plant for you. And if you follow the design principle of abundance that I do - always plant in multiples of 3 - this is important.
Bare root plants are also quick to establish themselves in the garden. You don't have to worry about transplant shock associated with moving a plant from a container to a flowerbed. And even though they may not look like much, the plants you receive are likely to be larger than a comparable container grown plant.
Although you may order your plants in early spring, the company will hold your order until the appropriate planting time in your area. In northern regions this could be as late as early May. As soon as you receive your plants, take them out of the boxes and check that your order is correct and the plants are in good shape. The roots should be healthy and firm. A little bit of mold is okay, but they shouldn't be either dried up or too mushy.
Weather permitting, bare root plants should be planted immediately after arrival. Soak them for up to 5 hours to get them re-hydrated.
If you haven't already, pick a site for planting. Check the plant label and choose a location in your garden that matches the cultural requirements listed there.
For best results loosen the soil in the designated area to about 10 to 12 inches. Incorporate compost into the soil to aid in drainage and add nutrients.
Dig a hole that is 1.5 times as deep and wide as the plant's roots. Build a firm mound of soil in the middle of the hole. Spread the roots over the mound so that the crown sits at or just below the soil line. Gently back fill the hole. If you have top growth, pull the soil up around it just as you would a container grown plant otherwise cover the entire thing with a 1/2 inch of soil. Tamp the soil down and water well. Wait until growth begins to emerge to apply a layer of mulch. Keep the plant consistently moist through the growing season.
Of course, sometimes delays can't be avoided. You can store the plants inside their original packaging for a day or two in a cool, dark place. Just don't let them freeze.
A longer-term alternative is to heel the plants in. Dig a trench in the garden, remove the plants from their packaging and lay them on their sides with their roots in the trench. Cover the roots with soil and water well until conditions are right to plant them in their permanent location.

2011 North Fulton Master Gardener Faire on April 16

Is it too early to think spring plant sale

Save $7.00 off first plant flat/tray or bulk unit of bare root plants, plus lots of individual plant specials too!
For $7.00 Coupon code - NoSnow must be entered at check out.

Promotion ends February 15, 2011. Offer valid online only, cannot be combined with any other coupons or promotions and may change, be modified or cancelled at anytime without notice. Shipment date may be subject to availability, and quantities are limited.

Website choices include:

achillea, aconitum, actinidia, adenophora, aegopodium, agastache, ajuga, alcea, alchemilla, allium, alstroemeria, ampelopsis, amsonia, anemone, anthemis, aquilegia, arabis, ardisia, arenaria, aristolochia, armeria, artemisia, aruncus, asarum, asclepias, aster, astilbe, aubrieta, aurinia, baptisia, belamcanda, bergenia, boltonia, brunnera, buddleia, campanula, campsi, caryopteris, catananche, centaurea, centranthus, cerastium, ceratostigma, chelone, chrysogonum, cimicifuga, clematis, convallaria, coreopsis, corydalis, crocosmia, delosperma, delphinium, dianthus, dicentra, dictamnus, digitalis, doronicum, echinacea, echinops, epimedium, erigeron, euonymus, eupatorium, euphorbia, fallopia, ferns, ficus p. creeping fig, filipendula, fragaria, gaillardia, galium, gaura, geranium, geum, gypsophila, hedera, helianthus, heliopsis, helleborus, heuchera, heucherella, hibiscus, houttuynia, humulus l. ureus, hypericum, iberis, iris, kniphofia, lamiastrum, lamium, lantana, lathyrus latifolius, laurentia f., lavandula, leucanthemum, lewisia, liatris, ligularia, limonium, linum, liriope, lobelia, lupinus, lychnis, lysimachia, macleaya, malva, mazus, molinia, monarda, myosotis, nepeta, oenothera, origanum, pachysandra, paeonia, papaver, parthenocissus, penstemon, perovskia, persicaria, phlox, physostegia, platycodon, polemonium, polygonatumo, polygonum aubertii, potentilla, primula, pulmonaria, pulsatilla, ranunculus, rodgersia, rubus calycinoides, rudbeckia, sagina, salvia, saponaria, scabiosa, schizophagma, sedum, sempervivum, sidalcea, sisyrinchium, stachys, stokesia, tanacetum, teucrium, thalictrum, thymus, tiarella, trachelospermum asiaticum, tradescantia, tricyrtis, trollius, verbena, veronica, vinca, viola, yucca, or

Ornamental grasses including acorus, arrhenatherum, calamagrostis, carex, chasmanthium, cortaderia, erianthus, festuca, glyceria, hakonechloa, helictotrichon, miscanthus, ophiopogon, panicum, pennisetum, phalaris, schizachyrium, or

from hundreds of hemerocallis and hosta.

slideshow: 10 great groundcovers to rely upon

Check out this slide show from Margaret Roach's A Way to Garden

Gaillardia comparison perennial trial results

Based on the PP&L comparison perennial trial results, gaillardia is a great genus with wide appeal.
Here are some of the best performing gaillardias in the PP&L trial.

Best overall series: The Gallo (Orange, Peach and Red) vegetative series from Florensis proved to be the most uniform series with a compact habit. The plants were low maintenance and required little to no pinching or growth regulators. Bred by Kieft, the Gallos are expected to be the benchmark series in the market.

Grower favorites: The Commotion vegetative series contain ‘Tizzy’ and ‘Frenzy’ from Skagit Gardens. Although these two varieties were not the most compact, they had the greatest number of flowers of any other variety. ‘Tizzy’ and ‘Frenzy’ flowered early and continued to look good over the entire month of the trial. Although not the most compact plants, the Commotions should have great appeal for both growers and home-garden consumers.

Mesa Yellow is the first F1 seed-produced gaillardia from PanAmerican Seed. It is one of the few seed varieties that can hold its own against vegetative varieties. Although not as compact as ‘Arizona Sun’, Mesa Yellow produces huge flowers on well branched plants. Hopefully PanAmerican can add more colors to this line.

PlantHaven’s ‘Oranges and Lemons’ is a vegetative variety bred in the United Kingdom. It was the tallest variety in the group. It is great for large containers and is a proven garden performer.

‘Arizona Sun’ and ‘Fanfare’, two of the oldest varieties in the trial, proved to be good performers. Comparing ‘Arizona Sun’ to some of the newer seed varieties, it was still one of the most uniform in flowering and overall habit. ‘Fanfare’ was more compact and better branched than most of the newer tubular varieties it was trialed with.

Liriope, garden friend or foe?

Tough and easy to grow, there are two basic types of liriope - Liriope muscari and Liriope spicata. Both are grass-like, semi-evergreen perennials that are commonly referred to as Lilyturf, monkey grass, border grass, and blue lilyturf. Pale lavender to white flowers appear among the leaves in late summer on erect flower spikes.

Liriope grows effortlessly in average, medium, well-drained soil in sun or shade. Tolerant of heat, humidity, drought, salt, a wide range of light and soil conditions, Liriope will perform best in moist, fertile soil with part shade. Maintenance is as easy as mowing (on a high mower setting) in early spring before new shoots appear. Liriope transplants easily at any time of year. The blue-black berries easily germinate, but divisions are easier and quicker.

Liriope spicata, creeping liriope, spreads quickly by underground rhizomes to form colonies, and can be aggressive. Useful as a dense ground cover to stabilize banks or slopes; and can be planted under shallow-rooted trees, along streams or ponds.

Liriope muscari forms a clump and is widely used as a border plant or as a shade ground cover. Clumps slowly expand by short stolons, but do not spread as aggressively as Liriope spicata.

Green thumbs up: Designing a garden with pleasing plant combinations - Abington, MA - Abington Mariner

Green thumbs up: Designing a garden with pleasing plant combinations - Abington, MA - Abington Mariner

New Red Imported Fire Ant Enemies in Place for Fight

Red imported fire ants first arrived in the United States in the early 1930s and have been expanding along the southern portion of the country ever since. These ants inhabit more than 350 million acres in 12 southern states and Puerto Rico, and they have recently become established in isolated sites in California and New Mexico. For more than a decade, ARS scientists have gone on the offensive against red imported fire ants by using natural enemies against them.

Entomologist Sanford Porter has worked to collect, breed, and release phorid flies that are now used to control fire ant populations in the southern regions of the United States. Porter is at the Center for Medical, Agricultural, and Veterinary Entomology’s (CMAVE) Imported Fire Ant and Household Insects Research Unit, in Gainesville, Florida. more info

Missouri Botanical Garden and Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew Announce Completion of The Plant List

As the 2010 United Nations International Year of Biodiversity comes to a close, the Missouri Botanical Garden (MBG) and the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (RBG Kew) announce the completion of The Plant List. This landmark international resource is a working list of all land plant species1, fundamental to understanding and documenting plant diversity and effective conservation of plants.

The completion of The Plant List accomplishes Target 1 of the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC), which called for a widely accessible working list of known plant species as a step towards a complete world flora. The Plant List can be accessed by visiting www.theplantlist.org.

Mesa Yellow Gaillardia

Blanket flower has a reputation as a stubborn prairie plant with beautiful sunset colors. Mesa Yellow, a new cultivar in 2010, keeps the power of its ancestors while showing off a brilliant all-yellow flower. It’s a long-blooming champion, like its relatives—flowers appear from spring to fall, which is one reason it was an All-America Selections winner for 2010. (It also won a 2010 Fleuroselect Gold Medal.) Mesa Yellow has a tidy, mounded habit that’s good for containers, and it makes a great cut flower. Bees and butterflies like it, too.

Common name: Mesa Yellow gaillardia, Mesa Yellow blanket flower
Botanical name: Gaillardia x grandiflora ‘Mesa’ Mesa Yellow
Plant type: Perennial
Zones: 5 to 9
Height: 16 to 22 inches
Family: Asteraceae

Growing conditions
• Sun: Full sun
• Soil: Average, well-drained
• Moisture: Average to dry

Care
• Mulch: Mulch to preserve moisture in the soil.
• Pruning: None needed.
• Fertilizer: None needed.

Propagation
• By seed and division.

Pests and diseases
• Vulnerable to downy mildew, powdery mildew, leaf spot, and rust.
• Snails and slugs may be a problem.

Garden notes
• Take advantage of Mesa Yellow’s drought tolerance, and plant it at the furthest corners of your yard, where the hose barely stretches. Combine it with other never-say-die perennials like yarrow, mountain mint, black-eyed Susan, and prairie coreopsis.
• Mesa Yellow is super tough, but not tall. If you use it with gangly prairie plants like Joe Pye weed, cup plant, and native grasses, be sure to place it near the edges of the border.
• Butterflies like gaillardia flowers, and birds feast on the seeds if you leave some to ripen.
• Gaillardias have a tendency to form colonies, so give this flower some room.
• Mesa Yellow flowers about four months after sowing.

All in the family
• About 30 species of Gaillardia are found in the Americas. G. aristata (Zones 3 to 8) is found from Canada to Arizona. G. pulchella, an annual, is found in the southern U.S. and Mexico. Both species are called blanket flower. Together, these species produced G. x grandiflora, from which many cultivars, including Mesa Yellow, have been developed.