Dividing Perennials by Donna Duffy

If your garden looks like mine, you probably have lots of overgrown perennials. The abundance of rain during the past couple of months has encouraged lots of plant growth. Take a walk around your garden and make note of plants that are ready to be divided.

Aphids Abound by Carol King

Aphids

Aphid Honeydew on Ivy

 Sitting in my backyard has become an unpleasant experience.  I have lots of deciduous  trees and they all seem to have a large crop of aphids.  One evening as I looked toward the sun, I could see the aphid “honeydew”  (poop actually) pouring down like a gentle rain! When I come in from outside, I feel as if I am covered with aphids!  Is there a variety that feeds on humans?

Ascochyta Leaf Blight Damages Lawns by Mary Small

Aascochyta Leaf Blight in Bluegrass

Cool moist weather followed by hot dry weather often spells Ascochyta leaf blight on turf. The fungal disease kills leaf blades, creating irregular patches of straw colored turf. Fortunately, Ascochyta does not kill the crowns or roots of plants, so they will eventually recover within a couple of weeks.

To manage the disease, mow lawns 3 inches tall, making sure mower blades are sharp. (Dull mower blades create ragged tips on grass plants, providing the fungus more entry points.)

Keep the turf evenly moist. Check sprinkler heads to make sure they are working correctly, are not clogged, tipped or broken. It's better to water deeply and infrequently. Shallow watering encourages shallow rooting which makes plants more susceptible to drying out. Too much water in poorly drained soils can increase disease development. For more information about Ascochyta, see this CSU Extension fact sheet.

Leafcutter Bees by Joyce D’Agostino

Leaf cutter bee injury

Have you noticed curious semicircular cut outs in the leaves of some of your plants? This might mean that the busy Leaf Cutter bees are at work. 

Recently I noticed these cut out shapes on the leaves of some of my Alpine Strawberry plants. In researching more about them, I found that these bees are a beneficial insect, even though they may be doing some damage to your plants.

Leafcutter bees (Megachile spp.) are considered one of the important native insects here in the Western United States. They are solitary bees, meaning that they don’t live in a hives as do the social honeybees, but they are still very valued as a pollinator. 

When they make the cut and remove the leaf from your plant, it is not for a food source but used to build their nest cells. When they form their cell home, they then line each leaf cell with a mixture of nectar and pollen. The female bee lays an egg into the cell and seals it shut, which produces a secure environment for the eggs to develop. Leafcutter bees make their nests in soft rotted wood but they don’t cause damage to homes or other wooden structures. 

Happy Fourth of July!

Plant fireworks from scribal.com

Happy Fourth of July to all our favorite gardeners!  Here's a link to some amazing plant fireworks.

http://scribol.com/environment/10-most-amazing-natural-fireworks-on-earth

Identifying Poison-Hemlock by Audrey Stokes

Poison-Hemlock (Conium maculatum).

Scientists recommend that you learn to identify and avoid plants that produce dangerous toxins. Your life may depend on it! Each year dozens of people die or are sickened by weeds they didn’t know would cause them harm. Gardeners and outdoor enthusiasts need to be well-informed in order to stay safe. Recently in Larimer County, a dog died from ingesting water hemlock. http://kdvr.com/2015/06/30/dog-eats-poisonous-plant-dies-within-1-hour/

Why are some weeds poisonous?  Most plants produce their own naturally occurring pesticide to deter predators so they won’t be eaten. No plant could survive without producing some defense mechanism. Most lists of Colorado’s toxic weed species that I researched were topped by the very dangerous Poison-hemlock (Conium maculatum). I found this especially alarming due to the fact that I have this weed growing on my property!  Originally imported from Europe as an ornamental plant, it has spread rampantly across North America.

Downy Mildew on Sunflowers by Donna Duffy

I always grow a few sunflowers at the edge of my yard every summer. They are a great conversation piece and a delight to the neighborhood kids and birds. Because of the rain, I got the seeds started late this year and they are up about 3" this week. I was checking them out and noticed a white fuzzy substance on the bottom of the leaves on two plants. After some research, I discovered this is Downy Mildew.

Snakes in the Garden by Donna Duffy

Every summer, I am greeted by garter snakes in my garden. I really do like having them there, I just don’t like to be surprised by them. Last year I was on hands and knees, reaching deep into some overgrown perennials, pulling out dead leaves and stems. When I pulled my hand out of the darkness, I discovered my fingers were wrapped around a snake. It wasn’t pretty for either of us: the snake went flying through the air and I ended up on my back. 

It was one of Colorado’s most common snakes, Thanmophis elegans, or the Western Terrestrial Garter Snake. Here are a few facts about this harmless snake from Colorado Herping.

Gardening Power to the People: Trellis / Vertical Gardening by Ed Powers

Watch this 4-minute video by Ed Powers, Jefferson County Master Gardener, about ideas for trellising and vertical gardening. Thanks, Ed!

Open Garden Day at CSU Horticulture Demonstration Garden by Patti O'Neal

CSU Master Gardeners of Jefferson County will be available for questions and tours of the gardens on Saturday, June 20th, from 8:00am until 1:00pm at the Horticulture Demonstration and Research Garden located at the Jeffco Fairgrounds.  

Master Gardeners tend this garden and build structures, demonstrate different planting styles and experiment with plants to show how to manage and increase harvest of produce in front range gardens.  They will be working in the garden this day and invite you to come and ask questions and take photos for ideas and learn about good gardening practices.  

Adjacent to this garden is our Plant Select garden where the public can see some really durable ornamental plants for Colorado.  We do not amend or water this garden other than what Mother Nature provides, so you can be sure these plants do incredibly well here.  

Come and bring questions, cameras or samples of plant problems from your gardens and Master Gardeners will help you to understand what’s happening this year and how you can help your plants to thrive. 

Please join us!

June Lawn Care by James Johnston

This spring we have had an abundance of moisture and our lawns and gardens are benefiting from it. With its deep green color, Kentucky Bluegrass is in its glory…for now. Leap forward to late June/July with the watering restriction and take into consideration how to maintain your lawn. Whether your turf is a bluegrass, ryegrass, or fescue, proper watering techniques can promote a healthy lawn.

Kentucky Bluegrass or ryegrass lawns need anywhere from 1” in shady areas to 2.25” of water per week in full sun. This may be difficult to do with the restrictions but the following information may help you get the best results for your lawn.

Growing Sunflowers by Billi Mavromatis-Jacobson

Sunflowers, bright and brash, they’re beacons for butterflies and bees in your garden. Sunflowers are a New World native that exists throughout the whole of North America down to Central America.  They can be found at archeological sites dating back to 3,000 BC.

  For those of us who have placed our faces or cameras close to a sunflower in bloom, we know that the sunflower head is not a single flower as the name implies but is made up of over 1,000  individual flowers joined at a common receptacle. It is commonly believed that the sunflowers turn their heads to follow the sun each day but only the immature and developing flower heads do this. Sunflowers will grow in a wide range of soils from sands to clays. They prefer to be direct seeded after all danger of frost.  Plant when day and night temperatures are above 50 degrees Fahrenheit and optimum temperatures for growth are 70 to 78°F. Sunflowers need at least six hours of full sun a day and should be spaced per planting instructions.