The Lowdown

Dr. Jeremy Cowan 477-2145

Regional Horticulture Specialist

jeremy.cowan.@wsu.edu

Tim Kohlhauff 477-2172

Horticulture Program Coordinator

tkohlhauff@spokanecounty.org

Anna Kestell 477-2195

Education/Clinic Coordinator

akestell@spokanecounty.org

Master Gardener County Site

http://www.spokane-county.wsu.edu

Master Gardener Foundation of

Spokane County

http://www.mgfsc.org/

WSU Master Gardener Site

http://mastergardener.wsu.edu

HortSense Fact Sheets

http://hortsense.cahnrs.wsu.edu

On Line Timelog Reporting:

http://ext.wsu.edu/Volunteer/logon

WSU Spokane County Extension Master Gardeners

March 2015

Inside this issue:

State MG Conference

Book Review

Book Review

Armchair Gardener

Continuing Education

Upcoming Events 12

Extension Information

HORTSENSE & PESTSENSE

NEW AND IMPROVED!

The Lowdown Page 2

2015:

a year to celebrate soil By: Laren Sunde

It’s easy to smell a rose or harvest vegetables without appreciating the

earthy mass of hardworking tiny organisms, decomposing matter, and

minerals that made it all possible. We know soil is essential to about 96

percent of the world’s food supply. And we know that for humans this is a

pretty necessary part of not being dead. But it’s still easy to forget just

how important and fragile soil is to life on earth even with all our Master

Gardener training and our passion for gardening. It’s a shortcoming expe-

rienced by modern people as we walk on asphalt, get our food in stores

and buy clothes made of polyester. And that’s why the United Nations

has declared 2015 the International Year of Soils. It’s time to

recognize the value of the stuff that’s beneath our feet.

The Food and Agriculture Organization, a U.N. agency based in Rome,

has organized 120 soil-related projects and events around the world this

year. In the United States the Soil Science Society of America and the

U.S. Natural Resources Conservation Services Agency are leading the

cause to raise awareness about soil as a precious resource. Our WSU

Spokane Master Gardeners will be jumping on the bandwagon.

The International Year of Soils (IYS) Committee first met in early January.

Marilyn Carothers, one of the committee members declared at Winter

Meeting, “I’m on fire!” when describing why she is involved with spreading

the word about the importance of soil and soil stewardship. It is safe to

say that all committee members feel the same enthusiasm and are

looking forward to providing a local focus to soil appreciation. Look for de-

tails about our events and available resources in the Lowdown, on

Facebook, Happy Monday, at the Clinic and at our events.

The Master Gardener IYS Committee will be concentrating on helping

people understand that healthy soils are alive, active and moving — critters everywhere, doing interest-

ing things to make the soil fertile and capable of sustaining plant life.

You don’t have to be on the IYS Committee to help. You can invite your friends to attend our public

showing of the documentary, Symphony of the Soil. Look for details in the coming weeks for dates,

times and locations. When you volunteer at community gardens or give talks to groups, mention the

U.N. International Year of Soils and our Master Gardener involvement. If other clubs you belong to need

a speaker, consider suggesting someone on the 2015 Master Gardener speakers’ list to talk about soils.

(Continued on page 7)

(Continued from page 6)

The Lowdown Page 3

Geri Odell 5-Mar

Dan Muhm 23-Mar

Susan Richardson 25-Mar

Patti Stimson 27-Mar

Peggy Jeremiah 29-Mar

We are glad you are with us!

Most importantly, increase your own knowledge about the soil. If you think learning about soil is dull or

boring or challenging it might be time to have an epiphany and find your WOW POW moment with soil.

Check out the series of monthly videos produced by the Soil Science Society of America:

www.soils.org/iys/monthly-videos. Did you know we have 70,000 different types of soil in the U.S. alone?

Or that you can look up the soil profile of your own yard and garden on the Internet with an accuracy to

within just a few horizontal inches? (http://websoilsurvey.nrcs.usda.gov/app) Or that certain plants

prefer a bacteria rich soil while other plants prefer a fungi rich soil because of the way they uptake ni-

trogen?

Contact anyone on our IYS Committee: Mary Beth Shinn, Carol Albietz, Marilyn Carothers, Eberhard

Schmidt, Kathy Callum, Ryan Herring, Laren Sunde, Sue Malm, or Jennifer Wengeler if you would like

to join the IYS Committee, have a suggestion, or find a good soil related educational resource.

Check out the announcement on page 6!

The Lowdown Page 4

The Potting Table By Mia Marcum-McCoy

It’s time… Let’s propagate! The Master Gardener ‘Garden Fair’ is almost here and everyone can

help. Check the list below for some simple ways you can contribute to the plant sale this year.

Dig and divide

Soak in water to sprout roots (Mint sprigs, sweet potatoes, etc.)

Start from seed (get ideas on what to sow from the list on pg. 5)

Keep in mind some plants may need a little plant spa time in a greenhouse to “juice” up. We want

our plants looking stellar for the sale. And if they are feeling good, they are looking good. Who

doesn’t like some spa time? The Master Gardeners have several greenhouses available for this

purpose. Please contact Denise or Julie for information on where to take your plants.

Dig and divide ~ do it yourself or get someone else to do it. We love a good ‘Dig Party.’ To plan one

or have one planned for you, contact

Denise Eaton <denisekayeaton@gmail.com> or 999-0493

Julie McElroy <julieemcelroy@gmail.com> or 230-6114

Seed-starting: Remember that starting seeds requires a sterile, soil-less mix. You can purchase a

“Seed-Starting Mix” or make your own using the following recipe:

(Continued on page 5)

Mix Type Recipe

Seed Starting Mix (for starting seeds in flats) 1 part peat moss or coir

1 part vermiculite or perlite

Seedling Mix (for seedlings that have developed their first set of true leaves)

2 parts organic matter

1 part peat moss or coir

1 part vermiculite or perlite

The Lowdown Page 5

(Continued from page 4) the following seed starting table was provided by Susan Mulvihill at the MG Win-

ter Meeting. See susansinthegarden.blogspot.com for information (including videos) on how-to seed-

starting.

*Note: selecting short-season varieties of these vegetables is critical: under 75 days for melons, 80-100 days max

for pumpkins and winter squash. The shorter the better!

**edible flower- grow organically.

Other seed starting options include herbs such; basil, cilantro, parsley to name a few.

Vegetables Varieties Approx. start date

Artichoke Green Globe, Imperial Star Feb. 15

Celery Tango Mar. 1

Cucumber Marketmore, Straight eight, Lemon, Socrates Apr. 12

Eggplant Orient Express, Rosa Bianca, Traviata, Aisan Trio,

Italian Trio

Mar. 1

Melon* Alaska hybrid, Minnesota Midget, Snow Leopard,

Canary Tweety, Athena

Apr. 12

Pepper Corno di Toro, Sunset mix, Cayenne Blend, Canary

Bell, Jalafuego, Yolo Wonder, Ace

Mar. 1

Pumpkin* New England Pie, Casper (white), Winter Luxury Apr. 12

Squash, summer Romanesco, Goldmine, Cavili, Sunburst pattypan

(scallop), Lucky 8 or Eight Ball

Apr. 12

Squash, winter Cream of the Crop white acorn, Spaghetti, Sweet

Dumpling, Sweet Meat, Lakota

Apr. 12

Swiss Chard Bright Lights, Rainbow Blend, Peppermint Stick, Pot

of Gold Mar. 1

Annual flowers Varieties Approx. start date

Calendula** Pacific Beauty, Zeolights Feb. 21

Coleus (any) Feb. 1-15

Cosmos Celebration in Pink, Sea Shells, Bright Lights,

Double Click Mix

Mar. 7

Marigold French or Signet types Mar. 7

Zinnia Persian Carpet Mix, Summer Solstice, California

Giants, Northern Lights, Zahara or Profusion

series, Zowie

Mar. 7

The Lowdown Page 6

Date/Family Time at the Movies!

The International Year of Soil Committee would like to invite Master Gardeners and families to view “Symphony of the Soil” co-starring John Reganold, Regents Professor of Soil Science at Washington State University, and featuring the beautiful Palouse. "Drawing from ancient knowledge and cutting edge science, Symphony of the Soil is an artistic exploration of the miraculous substance soil."

There will be two showings here at the Extension:

Tuesday, March 24 at 6:30 p.m.

Wednesday March 25 at 2 p.m.

Snacks will be provided.

Viewing time: 104 minutes

Please RSVP # of people in your party and which viewing date to Laren Sunde @ spanglegarden@aol.com

Composting Saturday, March 7

9 a.m. - noon

Tomatoes from Seed Saturday, March 7 12:30—3:30 p.m.

Berries & Small Fruit Saturday, March 21

9 a.m. - noon

Home Orchards Saturday, March 21

12:30—3:30 p.m.

Growing Perennials Saturday, March 28

9 a.m. - noon

Growing Herbs Saturday, March 28

12:30—3:30 p.m.

Home Greenhouses Saturday, April 18

9 a.m. - noon

SPRING CLASSES

The Lowdown Page 7

The Lowdown Page 8

FOXGLOVES I CAN’T BEAR TO

LEAVE BEHIND

By Eva Lusk

As we’re starting to think about moving to a smaller house and garden, I’m looking for the plants that I can’t possibly leave behind. I’ve already potted up some of my favorite plants, but I keep thinking of others that I really don’t want to be without, either.

Fortunately I’ve let the foxgloves (Digitalis spp.) go to seed over the years, because there are now quite enough to take with me without leaving gaping holes in the garden. And since they’ve already moved from one botanical family to another, moving to another garden must seem pretty routine.

Before the new genetically researched APG classification system arrived on the scene, foxgloves belonged to the Figwort Family (Scrofulariaceae). Now, however, they have their own tribe, the Foxglove Tribe (Digitalideae), in the Plantain Family (Plantaginaceae).

Even though all of the plant is toxic if you eat it, foxglove are a mainstay of many gardens, mine included. Bees love them, crawling right up inside the flowers. Hummingbirds and butterflies are also attracted to them. The toxins don’t seem to affect them. Rabbits and deer avoid munching on my foxgloves, and that’s a real boon.

Foxgloves provide the digitoxin in the heart medication digitalis, which is used to treat arrhythmia. The most common source for the digitoxin is Grecian foxglove (Digitalis lanata). Improperly administered, however, digitalis can kill, and has been used deliberately throughout the centuries to commit murder.

Foxglove lore says that growing them near other plants can help stimulate growth and resist disease, and growing them near apples, potatoes and tomatoes improves the storage ability of those plants. In flower arrangements, foxgloves can make other plants last longer. I haven’t actually experimented to see if there is anything to these claims.

The most common foxglove is (Digitalis purpurea) is an impressive, stately biennial. The botanical name comes from the Latin word for finger and purple. And sure enough, the flowers are most often purplish pink, and some white ones, too. Although common foxglove is also found in the wild, it is not a native plant, but one that escaped from early gardens and naturalized itself.

Though the second-year plant dies after flowering, it reseeds itself and thus continues to thrive in the garden—sometimes showing up where you don’t want them. If your seedlings are in the wrong place, just dig them up for our plant sale or move them to another spot in the garden. Most like part shade as well as sunshine.

D. purpurea also has a number of cultivars. ‘Pam’s Choice,” has large white flowers with purple speckles inside. ‘Alba’ flowers are pure white. ‘Apricot Blush’ has showy spikes of apricot to peach

D.parviflora

Continued on pg 9...

The Lowdown Page 9

colored flowers. The dwarf foxglove, Digitalis purpurea ‘Foxy,’ is just under three feet tall, and produces spires of large, dangling bells in pastel shades. All of these are biennials, so let them go to seed.

Another very attractive biennial is the rusty foxglove (Digitalis ferruginea) ‘Gelber Herold.’ The flowers are yellow with rusty touches on the inside. The flower spike rises 3-4 feet, and the plant will send up new flower shoots if deadheaded. In order to keep it in the garden permanently, however, I always let at least one flower spike go to seed.

The Strawberry Foxglove, (Digitalis mertonensi), is a hybrid of D. purpurea and D. grandiflora. It’s a perennial, but a short-lived one—about three years in my garden. It’s quite lovely--tall, with large, crushed-strawberry colored flowers. Let it go to seed, too, so that it doesn’t die out.

Digitalis parviflora has been in the same spot in my garden for quite a few years although there’s some controversy about whether it is a biennial or a perennial. It sports dense spikes of small orange-brown flowers covered in silvery hair. It’s been easy to grow, even in dry shade, and has kept coming back. I do make sure that it also has a chance to reseed.

My oldest and most reliable truly perennial foxglove has been in the garden for more than 15 years. The large yellow foxglove (Digitalis grandiflora) is very handsome, usually about three feet tall, and blooms for a very long time. The tubular flowers really are quite large, soft yellow with brown markings on the inside.

Small flowered foxglove (Digitalis lutea), another charmer, has dense spikes of small, pale yellow flowers that last for quite a long time. It’s about three feet tall, slender and quite delicate looking. It, too, has been around for many years.

The green foxglove (Digitalis viridiflora) is quite similar to D. lutea, except that the flowers are a very pale greenish yellow color. If you’re not looking closely, you could almost think they were the same.

Willow-leaved foxglove (Digitalis obscura) is actually a small shrubby perennial, only about a foot and a half tall. The narrow, gray-green leaves usually stay evergreen throughout the winter, and the tubular flow-ers of my plant are a rusty burnt-orange with reddish speckles inside. This perennial foxglove needs very good drainage, or it will rot out and disappear from the garden.

I’ve planted it near the foxglove penstemon (Penstemon Digitalis ‘Husker Red’ which also detests overly wet roots, as do most other penstemons. Penstemons like foxgloves are former Figwort Family members (Scrofulariaceae) that have been reclassified as Plantain Family members (Plantaginaceae). Foxgloves, however, belong to the Foxglove Tribe (Digitalideae), while penstemons are part of the Turtlehead Tribe (Cheloneae).

I’m also very fond of penstemons—though I’ll save that topic for another time. D. lutea

...Continued from pg 8

The Lowdown Page 10

1. Put the following in descending order, from the largest group to the smallest group.

Class, Family, Kingdom, Phylum-Division, Order, Species, Genus

2. Why do we us scientific names? Check all that apply.

A. They are absolutely definitive and never duplicated.

B. They are used by people of all countries.

C. They are usually descriptive.

D. They show a systematic relationship to other organisms.

3. A client has brought a plant into the Plant Clinic; you know it is a genus Rosa within the family

Rosaceae because: .

4. The best time to prune roses is:

A. Beginning of dormant season

B. End of dormant season

C. Beginning of growing season

D. End of growing season

5. Put the following perennials in order from most likely to thrive to least likely to thrive in Spokane

given our zone 6 USDA hardiness rating:

a. Physocaprus opulifolius ‘Monlo’

b. Nerium oleander ‘Calypso’

c. Spiraea canfoniensis

6. Name three advantages to using native perennials in your landscaping.

7. Which can be propagated from root cuttings?

Lilly-of-the-Valley Black Eyed Susan Phlox Sedums

Convallaria majalis Rudbeckia hirta P olemoniaceae spp. Sedum

LOWDOWN SELF STUDY QUIZ

Complete the Self Study Quiz and earn 1 hour Continuing Ed.

The Lowdown Page 11

February Lowdown Quiz Answer Key:

1. www.gardening.wsu.edu

2. March 7

3. Only you know this one

4. False

5. True

6. Huge importance!

7. 50+%

8. Pet friendly plants

9. Maidenhair & Stink Bomb

10. False

11. Naked Seed

From Nicole Martini, Master Gardener State Program Leader

I think you will all be happy to know that the updated Hortsense website has launched. The new Hortsense website offers many new capabilities that I’m sure you’ll find very useful. You can search the database, for instance, and de-fine your search. The bulletins will be available in a printer-friendly format and you’ll be able to email a link directly to the relevant bulletin straight from the website. Carrie Foss (WSU Urban IPM Director and manager of Hortsense) and her team have been working hard on revising the new website, and they in-volved Master Gardeners in the process to help determine what changes needed to be made. Stay tuned for the debut date of the improved Hortsense website.

I also want to announce the new state Master Gardener Program Facebook page and Twitter account. Like and follow these sites for statewide happen-ings, continuing-education opportunities, and new research relevant to the MG Program. You can access both sites from the state Master Gardener Pro-gram website: http://mastergardener.wsu.edu/.

8. Match the symptom to the disease.

9. Which of these are propagated from rhizomes?

Bellflower Cornflower

Iris Hosta

Cranesbill Geranium Peony

10. What are 2 signs a perennial needs dividing?

Bonus question: For whom was Manito’s Perennial Garden named?

A. Botrytis Blight

B. Powdery Mildew

C. Anthracnose

D. Downy Mildew

1. Yellow spots on upper sides of the leaves

and downy fuzz on the underside.

2. A fungus that shows yellow or brown spots

on the leaves & sunken lesions & blisters on

the stems.

3. A fungal disease where leaves, stems and

flowers blacken, rot, and die.

4. White or gray powdery coating on leaf sur-

faces that won’t brush off.

Persons with a disability requiring special accommodation while participating in our programs may call the WSU

Extension at 477-2048. If accommodation is not requested at least three weeks in advance, we cannot guarantee

the availability of accommodation on site. Extension programs and policies are consistent with federal and state

laws and regulations on non-discrimination regarding race, color, gender, national origin, religion, age, disability, and

sexual orientation. Evidence of noncompliance may be reported through your local Extension office.

Calendar of Events

MARCH Monday 2 CLINIC OPENING DAY!!!

Thursday 5 MG training: Weeds & Pesticides 6 pm—9 pm

Saturday 7 Public Education: Composting 9 am—12 noon

Public Education: Tomatoes 12:30 pm—3:30 pm

Monday 9 MG Foundation Board Meeting 1 pm

Backyard Conservation 5 pm—7:30 pm

Thursday 12 Herbaceous Landscape Plants 6 pm—9 pm

Friday-Sunday 13-15 Home & Garden Show

Saturday 14 CABIN FEVER 8 am—4:30 pm

Monday 16 Backyard Conservation 5 pm—7:30 pm

Thursday 19 MG training: Trees & Woody Landscape Plants 6 pm—9 pm

Saturday 21 Public Education: Berries & Small Fruits 9 am—12 noon

Public Education: Home Orchards 12:30 pm—3:30 pm

Monday 23 Backyard Conservation 5 pm—7:30 pm

Tuesday 24 Symphony of the Soil viewing 6:30 pm Extension Rms A, B, & C

Wednesday 25 Symphony of the Soil viewing 2:00 pm Extension Rms A, B, & C

Thursday 26 MG training: Turf Grass 6 pm—9 pm

Saturday 28 Public Education: Growing Flowers 9 am—12 noon

Public Education: Herbs 12:30 pm—3:30 pm

Monday 30 Clinic ID 3:30 pm—5 pm

Backyard Conservation 5 pm—7:30 pm

PCS training 5:30 pm

APRIL Thursday 2 MG training: Backyard Forest Stewardship 6 pm-9 pm

Thursday 9 MG training: Plant Propagation 6 pm-9 pm

Monday 13 MG Foundation Board Meeting 1 pm

Thursday 16 MG training: WaterWise Landscaping 6 pm-9 pm

Saturday 18 Public Education: Home Greenhouses 9 am-12 pm

Thursday-Friday 23-24 Garden Fair set up

Saturday 25 GARDEN FAIR!

Monday 27 Clinic ID 3:30 pm-5 pm

PCS training 5:30 pm