Dogwood Bushes Bring Some Bright Winter Color by Joyce D’Agostino

Winter branch color

Summer foliage

If you are looking for a “four seasons” plant to add to your landscape, a good suggestion would be dogwood bushes that feature colored branches.

Dogwood bushes are very hardy for the Colorado climate and relatively easy care with few pests or problems.  They provide green leaves and white flowers in the spring, the flowers turn to blue color berries which birds enjoy and then in the fall, the leaves drop to reveal the colorful branches. 

The two dogwood that we have planted in our yard are Cornus sericea ‘Cardinal’ for the red and Cornus stolonifera ‘Flaviranea’ for the yellow variety. These bushes can grow to 3 – 5’ tall shrubs and can become very full which work well for use as hedges but ample room should be allowed when planning their location so that they don’t block sidewalks and driveways. 

The bright stems give a nice pop of color especially when contrasted against snow when often other trees and shrubs have neutral tones for their trunks and stems. 

They are not a high maintenance plant and require simple pruning and removal of any dead wood after the winter is over. The foliage, flowers, berries and color of the stems in the winter makes it a valued landscape plant to be enjoyed each season.

For more information, refer to the following fact sheets:

http://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/garden/07422.html

http://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/garden/07208.html

Colorado State University Extension Education Exhibit 2014 by Duane Davidson

If you missed the 2014 Colorado Home and Garden Show and Jefferson County CSU Extension  Colorado Master Gardener Volunteers' display,  watch this great video created by Duane Davidson.

Watch. Enjoy. Learn!

Colorado Garden and Home Show 2014: Educational Garden Exhibit Shows How to Use Mulch in the Garden by Duane Davidson

When you visit this year's Colorado Garden and Home Show, which opened February 15, be sure to visit the CSU Extension's Educational Garden on Aisle 1600. It was designed and built by Jefferson County's Colorado Master Gardeners.

Its theme is "Mulches for Every Garden." Six sections of the exhibit show how different kinds of mulching materials can be used effectively in the home landscape and garden. In one section, representing a home landscape with evergreen trees, flowering shrubs, and perennial flowers, both pine needles and recycled bark/wood chips are used to unify the planting and retain moisture moisture in the underlying soil. Informational signs note that a pine needle mulch doesn't blow away, that it protects soil in sloping areas from runoff, that it decomposes over time, and that it doesn't change soil acidity.

Selecting Tomato Varieties by Rebecca Anderson

Winter is a great time to research tomato varieties

The seed catalogs are filling my mailbox, making me anxious for spring. I've been trying to narrow down my favorite tomato varieties, but it's tough. All the pictures are beautiful and the descriptions are amazing. How is one to choose?  Modern hybrid or heirloom?  Determinate or indeterminate?  To help with the decision process I've been looking at a study by Tom Fowler, Horticulture Specialist with the University of Missouri Extension Service.  He conducted a field trial in 2013 measuring the production 47 different varieties of tomatoes.  Although one year's worth of data from one state does not provide much opportunity to study tomato varieties in multiple environmental conditions, when considering varieties by classification, Mr. Fowler did come to some useful conclusions.

Jeffco CSU Extension Colorado Master Gardeners: 2013 Highlights by Mary Small

Colorado Master Gardener volunteers in Jefferson County actively engage Jefferson County residents to foster successful gardening. A dedicated corps of 110 volunteers brings a variety of projects to life. In 2013, these energetic volunteers donated 6944 hours to CSU Extension. In business terms, that’s the equivalent of almost 3½ full time staff! In dollars, that volunteer service is worth $153,740. Following are descriptions of some of the major outreach projects which resulted in 10,338 direct contacts with Jefferson County citizens.

Beekeeping 101

Public Gardening Classes – CMG volunteers trained in public speaking presented classes on a variety of gardening topics throughout the year. One of the most successful projects in 2013 was the Backyard Food Production Classes. Colorado Master Gardeners and staff in Jefferson County developed a class series that studied successful backyard food production. Topics covered included Small Fruit Production, Growing Heirloom Vegetables, Biointensive Garden Design, Starting Your Own Plants from Seed, Soil and Amendments, Irrigation, Mapping, Planting, Season Extenders and Backyard Beekeeping. Three hundred seventy two (372) citizens attended. Approximately 1/3 of the audience were first time gardeners. 

Low Humidity Problems and Indoor Houseplants by Carol King

Spider Plant Chlorophytum comosum

This time of year, we Colorado gardeners turn to indoor plants to soothe our gardening souls.  However the indoor environment in our homes can be very harsh for many plants. Many of our house plants are native to humid, tropical rain forests and require special consideration when they reside in our Colorado homes. While lighting and temperatures need to be monitored for successful indoor gardening, humidity is the big issue during colder months.  Heating systems common in Colorado circulate dry, warm air throughout the house. Our indoor environment often has less than 10 percent humidity. This is a drastic reduction from the 70 to 90 percent relative humidity levels found in the native climates of most tropical plants.

Why does this matter? Humidity is the level of moisture in the air and can affect a plant's need for water.  Plants grown indoors with low humidity lose more water through transpiration, so their root systems require more water. In addition, plants located near heating or cooling vents may develop leaf spots or brown tips.

Clean Your Garden Tools Quickly and Easily by Gail Wilson

January can be a grim time in the garden here along the Front Range.  Master Gardener Gail gives some good tips for taking on this task and January might just be the time to do that!

Deicing Salts Can Damage Plants by Carol King

Use care when applying deicers

Winter is in full swing along the Front Range and with it comes the inevitable snow and ice causing slippery roads, sidewalks and driveways. Most municipalities use mag chloride on roadways.  Homeowners and business people also often use rock salt (sodium chloride, or table salt) or ice melt on slippery walkways. All of these are salts, and salt works by lowering the melting or freezing point of water. The effect is termed 'freezing point depression'. 

While salt is a necessary part of winter road and walkway safety, it does have its drawbacks. Unfortunately for your plants, it often winds up in the landscape causing injury. When salt sprays from puddles onto plants as cars drive by, it may scorch leaves or kill buds and twig tips. Pines in general are especially noted for their sensitivity to roadside deicing salts. If you notice dying vegetation is on the side of plants facing the road or driveway, the damage has likely been caused by salt spray. Turf grass and other plantings can also be killed if salt-laden snow is piled on it over the course of winter. Accumulation of salt in the soil makes it difficult for plant roots to absorb water and will inhibit seed germination of grasses and wildflowers.

Norfolk Island Pine Care by Planttalk Colorado

Photo courtesy squidoo.com

Norfolk Island pine is a tropical evergreen tree that is adaptable to indoor conditions and is a favorite of many indoor plant enthusiasts. Often used as an indoor Christmas tree, It is not a true pine. In the landscape, it can grow up to 220 feet tall with a trunk as large as 10 feet across. Small trees grown indoors are uniform in appearance and have branches that are parallel to the ground. The Norfolk Island pine is a long-lasting houseplant that grows three to six inches annually.

Celebrate the Winter Solstice! by Donna Duffy

It feels like the days just can’t get any shorter, and it’s true. Today we celebrate the Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year. The Winter Solstice officially arrived in Colorado at 10:11 am this morning, marking the moment that the sun shines at its most southern point. To the delight of many of us, this means that the days will start getting longer, however incrementally.

Spiders Paired with Unlikely Partner to Make Silk by Elaine Lockey

Spiders use their silk for building webs to catch prey, as a safety or drag line if they are spiders that roam, spider "dens" (think orb spiders) and more. Spider silk, a protein fiber, is stronger than steel. Humans discovered the benefits of silk thousands of years ago for fishing lines, the healing of wounds and blood clotting. In more recent years silk has been used in body armor, fishing nets, a thread for optical crosshairs such as telescopes in WWII, beautiful cloth, and violin strings!

However, as you can imagine, it is very difficult and time consuming to harvest enough silk for most applications. So researchers are looking at a host of other ways to extract silk or create silk more efficiently.

That's where goats come in. Yes, goats. Through biotechnology, transgenic goats can produce spider silk proteins in their milk. Amounts average 1-2 grams of protein per liter of milk. However, the silk still does not fully retain the properties of natural spider silk. The following video explains the science behind this strange pairing and should reduce any horrific images in your head about what this looks like.

The science is moving quickly as researchers have also had some success with genetically altering silkworms to produce spider silk and also using bacteria to produce spidroin, the spider's dragline.

top photo courtesy of  http://www.gutsandglorytennis.com/

For more information on spiders and spider silk research, check out these links:

http://www.chemheritage.org/discover/media/periodic-tabloid/2012-05-23-the-amazing-adventures-of-spider-silk.aspx

http://www.colostate.edu/Depts/CoopExt/4DMG/Pests/spiders.htm

Gardening With Children by Nancy Brant

Photo CSU Extension

One of the main reasons that children enjoy gardening is to spend time with someone they love.   It is a good time to experience the outdoors, talk over problems and bond.  If you love gardening, your children will probably enjoy it too.  Another reason children like gardening is that they love being outside and playing in the dirt.

You can plan the garden with very young children by talking about what you might plant, going to the garden store and picking out some fun seeds.  Choose seeds that are easy to handle, germinate quickly, and are tasty to eat.  Radishes are great because they germinate quickly.  Choose a mild variety if your children do not like spicy foods.  Radishes come in white red, pink, purple and black varieties.  There is even an Easter egg seed blend which is a blend of seeds in shades of purple, lavender, pink, scarlet and white radishes in one seed packet.