Gardener News February 2022 by Gardener News

TAKE ONE

Gardener News

Proudly Serving the Agricultural, Gardening, Landscaping & Nursery Communities

February 2022

GARDENERNEWS.COM

TAKE ONE No. 226

A Charming, Warm, Blooming Piece of Paradise

Tom Castronovo/Photo

Brian Hautau, left, co-owner of HJ Hautau & Sons Greenhouses in Branchville, Sussex County, NJ, and Emmy, Golden Globe and Tony Award winning actor Kelsey Grammer, looking at a dinner plate dahlia as the dahlia looks back at them. By Tom Castronovo Executive Editor/Publisher Gardener News

On one of the coldest One of our stops included HJ days of the year, I had the Hautau & Sons Greenhouses opportunity to travel around at 45 George Hill Road in Sussex County, NJ with Branchville. Kelsey Grammer. As we arrived, Brian

Hautau, the third generation grower and co-owner, greeted us at the door. While walking through the floral design and shipping room, Brian gave us

a brief history of the family business. The next stop was his workshop and storage room. Brian also acts as the head maintenance (Cont. on Page 8)

2 February 2022

G a r d e n C e n t e r D i r e c t o r y GardenerNews.com

Thank you for a wonderful 2021 season. See you in March! The Biondi Family

GARDEN CENTER HARDWARE LANDSCAPE MATERIALS NURSERY STOCK

POW E R EQUIPMEN T Celebrating Our 75th Anniversary

601 Union Ave. Middlesex, NJ

18 Hamilton Rd., Hillsborough, NJ 08844 (908) 359-4652 • CentralJerseyNurseries.com

GardenerNews.com

February 2022 3

Around The Garden By Tom Castronovo Gardener News

Need a Website? or Graphic Design Work?

Congratulations! Well Wishes! And a Tribute! First and foremost, congratulations to the 2009 Gardener News “Person of the Year” New Jersey Senator Nicholas P. Scutari. Senator Scutari was sworn in as President of the New Jersey Senate on January 11, 2022. The Senate president is the second-most powerful elected state official in New Jersey, after the governor. Senator Scutari was elected to the State Senate in 2003 to represent the 22nd District, which includes the Middlesex County municipalities of Dunellen and Middlesex, the Somerset County municipalities of Green Brook and North Plainfield, and the Union County municipalities of Clark, Fanwood, Linden, Plainfield, Rahway, Scotch Plains, and Winfield. Congratulations are also in order for my friend Senator Steve Oroho. He is a five-term Republican from Sussex County who was elected Senate Minority Leader for the 220th Legislature. He has been serving in the State Senate since 2007. Senator Oroho’s legislative district is in the northwestern part of the state, which comprises all of Sussex County, and parts of northern Warren and Morris Counties. Well wishes go out to Al Murray and Assemblyman Eric Houghtaling. Both have retired as columnists for the paper. Al Murray was the New Jersey Assistant Secretary of Agriculture, the 2015 Gardener News “Person of the Year” and served as executive director of the New Jersey Agricultural Society. Al Murray has now retired from all leadership roles. Assemblyman Eric Houghtaling proudly represented the 11th Legislative District in the New Jersey General

Assembly from 2016 to 2022. Assemblyman Houghtaling has been a part of an environmentally friendly agenda, as seen in his support of pollinator bills and legislation protecting open space in New Jersey. He served as Chair of the Assembly’s Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee. In 2021, Houghtaling narrowly lost his reelection bid. I thank these fine gentlemen for their contributions to this paper and its readers. You will both be missed. A final tribute to Robert V. Castronovo, my Uncle Bob, who passed away on January 9, 2022. Uncle Bob was a mentor to me in the horticultural world since I was a kid. When I was a mere 15 years old, I used to hang out in his florist shop, garden center, greenhouses and produce stand. I also tagged along with him as he was estimating landscape projects. The best was riding along with him snow plowing. We used to sing the Harry Chapin song “Taxi” together. When it comes on the radio, I still sing it and it brings back some wonderful memories. I think this verse is my favorite: “So I turned my cab into the driveway/Past the gate and the fine trimmed lawns/And she said we must get together/But I knew it’d never be arranged/She handed me twenty dollars, for a two-fifty fare, she said, Harry, keep the change.” As I got older, my landscaping and gardening career began with him before I went out on my own. He was always there, just like an “Outdoor Industry” guiding light. Later in life, Uncle Bob cultivated Bonsai plants and loved photographing the landscape. Thank you, Uncle Bob. I will miss you! Happy Valentine’s Day, Mom. ~ Love, Tommy.

Editor’s Note: Tom Castronovo is executive editor and publisher of Gardener News. Tom’s lifelong interest in gardening and passion for agriculture, environmental stewardship, gardening and landscaping, led to the founding of the Gardener News, which germinated in April 2003 and continues to bloom today. He is also dedicated to providing inspiration, and education to the agricultural, gardening, landscaping and nursery communities through this newspaper and GardenerNews.com. The Premier Gardening Monthly Newspaper Number 226 Published Monthly Reserve Ad Space Website: www.GardenerNews.com E-Mail: Mail@GardenerNews.com Staff

Executive Editor/Publisher . . . . Tom Castronovo Art Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Susan F. Kessel Advertising . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tom Castronovo

Tom Castronovo Todd Pretz Gail Woolcott Andrew Bunting

February 2022 Columnists Brian Schilling Peter Melick Diana Dove Bob LaHoff

Gardener News is published monthly by

Gardener News, Inc.

16 Mount Bethel Road #123 Warren, NJ 07059

Douglas H. Fisher Bruce Crawford Lesley Parness

February 2022 Contributing Writer Hubert Ling

The Gardener News invites correspondences on gardening subjects of interest. Gardener News, Inc, and its Publisher reserve the right to accept, refuse, or discontinue any editorial or copy, and shall not be liable to anyone for printing errors, misinformation or omissions in editorial or copy. The information contained in articles herein represents the opinions of the authors and, although believed to be accurate and complete, is not represented or warranted by Gardener News, Inc. to be accurate or complete. All advertising is subject to the Gardener News advertisement rates, and must be PAID IN FULL at time of submission. Publisher reserves the right at its absolute discretion, and at any time, to cancel any advertising order or reject any advertising copy whether or not the same has already been acknowledged and/or previously published. In the event of errors or omissions of any advertisement(s), the newspapers liability shall not exceed a refund of amounts paid for the advertisement. NOTE: All editorial, advertising layouts and designs and portions of the same that are produced and published by Gardener News, Inc., are the sole property of Gardener News, Inc. and may not be reproduced in any form unless written authorization is obtained from the publisher. POSTMASTER: Send all address changes to: Gardener News, 16 Mount Bethel Rd - #123, Warren, NJ 07059. (c) 2022 Gardener News, Inc.

YOUR WEBSITE IS THE FACE OF YOUR BUSINESS Don’t lose customers because your website is out of date...

We Build Mobile Responsive Websites!! Because in today’s world your website needs to display well on mobile devices

Call or visit our site today for a FREE quote or consultation

Celebrate Valentine’s Day with us! *Award Winning Wine List* Seafood, Steaks, Pasta. Are Our Specialties Daily Lunch & Dinner Specials Family Style Meals To-Go Curbside Pickup, Delivery and Takeout

601 Grand Central Avenue (Rt. 35 North) Lavallette, NJ | 732-793-4447 *Award Winning Wine List* OrderSteaks, OnlinePasta. Seafood,

Celebrating 41 Years

Are Our Specialties Daily Lunch & Dinner Specials Family Style Meals To-Go Curbside Pickup, Delivery and Takeout

4 February 2022 About one million students each day in our state are in school, and it is great to have them literally in school again. One of the great parts about being back in their physical schools is that I truly believe they should all be exposed to a garden that produces a crop. We have become so efficient in agriculture that only about one-percent of the population are actively involved in producing food professionally. Most children have no real understanding of where and how crops are produced. Is this important? It sure is! Not long ago, giant food conglomerates worked feverishly to convince us that what came processed in a box or a can was as good as it got. Convenience was the holy grail that gave us more time to do something else. Americans suffered many bad effects from these food campaigns, and people began to lose their connection to the farm and the benefits of close-to-home production. Fortunately, today there’s a resurgence of interest by parents in learning more about the foods we eat and having better diets. At school, there’s no better place to start teaching about food,

GardenerNews.com NJ Dept. of Agriculture By Douglas H. Fisher Secretary of Agriculture

What can I do? A lot!

better diet, and instilling an appreciation for the value of truly good nutrition than a school garden. What is the benefit to students of creating a garden? A study conducted in 2013 found that a school garden program reported an 80-percent improvement in math and 72-percent improvement in language arts. The data to support these claims is astounding and you can easily find similar statistics on-line. So, what does it really take to get a garden at your school? Frankly, most everyone will say it’s a good idea, but they do not know where to start. Lots of questions start to pop up, and one can easily become dismayed and get mired down. First of all, you can start small. Whether it’s indoors on a windowsill or a hydroponic system, or

outdoors in a raised bed or some containers, it can start as a limited-scale adventure for students. They can focus on a number of areas, from environmental education, nutrition, sustainability, history, biology, math, all with a tip toward the disciplines in STEM education. There is so much help from government and nonprofit groups available. Our own N.J. Department of Agriculture’s Food & Nutrition Division, Rutgers Master Gardeners, as well as many garden clubs, would oblige if they were asked to assist. Learning Through Gardening at the N.J. Agricultural Society is another. The list is extensive. All that’s needed is someone to take the lead and start the ball rolling. Local businesses will join in, as will school boards and

parent-teacher groups. I guarantee you that when the students get involved at almost any age, they are affected for life and learn many valuable lessons that will stick with them. A greater appreciation for planning, working, and producing your own crop has profound effects. The biggest problem to date has been that school is out of session in the summer months, when crops are most prolific. Here is where creative and communityminded folks (I have seen numerous examples) can find ways to maintain the gardens so they are active until fall. The crops can be donated throughout the growing season to the food-insecure, thereby teaching more great lessons about sharing and caring. If we can, as communities, work on this issue, every school can and

should support a school garden. There really is no downside to dwell upon. I’m appealing to you now in February, as the cold winds blow, to think about spring and the prospect of a school garden in your neighborhood. You, too, will derive great joy in knowing you made a difference in the lives of so many children. All it takes is you going to your school and starting the conversation. We at the Department of Agriculture stand ready to assist. You can find more information at: https://www.farmtoschool. nj.gov/ag r icult u re/ farmtoschool/schools/schoolgardens/. Editor’s Note: Douglas H. Fisher is New Jersey’s Secretary of Agriculture. He is the department’s executive officer, secretary to the State Board of Agriculture and a member of the Governor’s cabinet. Secretary Fisher fulfills executive, management and administrative duties prescribed by law, executive order or gubernatorial direction. He can be reached at 609.292.3976. For more info, please visit: http:// www.state.nj.us/agriculture

Device Sniffs Out the “Smell-fingerprints” of Pestered Plants A team of Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and university scientists has developed an electronic nose to sniff out whitefly infestations of tomato plants. The “E-Nose” works by detecting a specific cocktail of chemicals, called volatile organic compounds (VOCs), that tomato plants release into the air when attacked by whiteflies. In nature, these chemicals put other plants on high alert. Scientists are hoping the E-nose will also warn growers so they can fine-tune their use of whitefly-killing insecticides, biocontrol agents like parasitic wasps or other measures. According to Heping Zhu, an agricultural engineer with the ARS Application Technology Research Unit in Wooster, Ohio, who co-developed the E-nose with collaborators at The Ohio State and University of TennesseeKnoxville, whiteflies are top insect pests of U.S. fresh-market tomatoes, which were valued at $721 million in 2020.

Left unchecked, adult whiteflies and their immature nymphs probe the undersides of tomato plant leaves for sap, causing them to turn yellow, curl or drop off. Whitefly feeding can also cause uneven ripening of fruit and transmit viral diseases that weaken the plants further. Whitefly monitoring typically involves checking for a threshold number of the pests per leaf on a sampling of plants or captured in sticky traps—both a time-consuming process. Towards that end, the researchers designed a prototype E-nose device about the size of a shoebox that can operate in the greenhouse. According to Zhu, the device mimics the mammalian sense of smell and brain’s ability to recognize certain odors. But instead of a nasal passage, receptor cells and an olfactory bulb, the E-nose uses gas sensors, data acquisition modules and other components. A key feature of the E-nose is a

nerve-like circuitry board that helps convert VOC samples from the air into digital signals. These signals in turn are transmitted to the system’s “brain,” namely, a mathematical algorithm programmed to recognize specific types and concentrations—or “smellfingerprints”—of VOCs that tomato plants give off when attacked. In greenhouse tests, the E-nose displayed the VOC fingerprints of such plants as different lines with different colors that rose sharply and steadily to the right of an LED screen. Moreover, the system distinguished the smellfingerprints of whitefly-infested tomato plants from un-infested ones, as well as plants whose leaves were punctured with pins for comparison. With additional testing and development, the E-nose could give greenhouse growers another monitoring tool to use in deciding where, when, and how best to tamp down whitefly infestations before they reach

economically damaging levels. Besides whiteflies, the E-nose also successfully sniffed out tomato-infesting aphids and insect pests of other greenhouse crops. “The future E-nose system can be designed as a hand-held device for growers to take samples from individual plants,” Zhu said. “It can also be designed as a computer-controlled cloud networking system which consists of multiple smart sensors placed at different locations in the greenhouse, so the computer can automatically collect samples and monitor infestations 24 hours a day.” Editor’s Note: The Agricultural Research Service is the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s chief scientific in-house research agency. Daily, ARS focuses on solutions to agricultural problems affecting America. Each dollar invested in agricultural research results in $17 of economic impact.

GardenerNews.com SupportSupport NJ Agriculture Support NJ Agriculture NJ Agriculture

February 2022 5

JERSEY GROWN JERSEY GROWN JERSEY GROWN

Support NJ Agriculture

Nursery StockNursery StockNursery Stock JERSEY GROWN JERSEY GROWN JERSEY GROWN

Sunflower Birdseed Sunflower Birdseed Sunflower Birdseed JERSEY GROWN JERSEY GROWN JERSEY GROWN

Firewood

JERSEY GROWN JERSEY GROWN JERSEY GROWN

JERSEY GROWN

Nursery Stock JERSEY GROWN

Sunflower Birdseed

Annuals & Perennials Annuals & Perennials Annuals & Perennials

JERSEY GROWN nor hopping you’re shopping for for Firewood Made With Made With Made With SEY ry WN nursery GROWN nursery JERSEY GROWN JERSEY GROWN JERSEY GROWN JERSEY GROWN k,w s, you the know trees, the trees, Wood Wood Wood Annuals & Perennials Birdhousesfor & Birdhouses & Birdhouses & bs, rs andplants flowers and flowers When you’re shopping Bird Feeders Bird Feeders Bird Feeders Made With ty, for checked quality, for quality, JERSEY GROWN nursery JERSEY GROWN nd est ase,free, are and pest free, you and know the trees, stock, Wood en stomed the Garden to the Garden Birdhouses & shrubs, plants and flowers Bird Feeders e’s eoil and climate soilare andchecked soil for quality, itions. disease, are pest free, and

accustomed to the Garden State’s climate and soil conditions.

Governor

Secretary of Secretary Agriculture of Secretary Agriculture of Agriculture Douglas H. Fisher Douglas H. Fisher Douglas H. Fisher

jerseygrown.nj.gov jerseygrown.nj.gov jerseygrown.nj.gov

Governor Phil Murphy

Secretary of Agriculture Douglas H. Fisher

jerseygrown.nj.gov

6 February 2022

R U T G ER S N J AE S / R C E

NJ Farm Bureau Awards Wes Kline 2021 Distinguished Service to New Jersey Agriculture Wesley Kline, agricultural and resource management agent with Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Cumberland County, has been awarded the New Jersey Farm Bureau Distinguished Service to Agriculture Award for 2021, presented at the New Jersey Farm Bureau Annual Meeting on November 15, 2021 at the Westin Princeton Hotel in Princeton, NJ. The award is presented annually by Farm Bureau, the state’s largest membership organization representing farmers and the wider agricultural community. The award was presented to Kline for his many years of dedicated service as an associate professor and agricultural agent, whose expertise in commercial vegetable production and on-farm food safety training have been of great assistance to over 300 growers and agribusiness personnel. The award is in recognition of his “knowledge and abilities as an educator are a source of food production assistance not only throughout New Jersey but also overseas in Central America. These contributions matter greatly in a fast-changing world of new technology and the challenges of maintaining a safe food supply amid an ever-expanding human population. Farm Bureau appreciates the passion with which he offers support to the viability of farmers and farming on a daily basis.” Kline’s current initiatives focus on microbial food safety on the farm as it relates to pathogens in soil, water, and post-harvest handling; new ethnic produce for New Jersey; and screening bell peppers for horticultural characteristics, disease, and Phytophthora resistance. Kline leads the Rutgers On-Farm Food Safety team, along with Mercer County agricultural agent Meredith Melendez, and senior program coordinator Jennifer Matthews. Prior to joining Rutgers in 1996, Kline served in various roles in agriculture in Central America, where he served in advising and consulting positions for the US Agency for International Development. He also served as an extension specialist at Cornell Cooperative Extension, where he received his masters and doctoral degrees in vegetable crops.

Rutgers Cooperative Extension Phone Directory Atlantic County Phone: 609-625-0056 Bergen County Phone: 201-336-6780 Burlington County Phone: 609-265-5050 Camden County Phone: 856 216 7130 Cape May County Phone: 609-465-5115 Cumberland County Phone: 856-451-2800 Essex County Phone: 973-228-2210 Gloucester County Phone: 856-224-8040 Hudson County Phone: 201-915-1399 Hunterdon County Phone: 908-788-1339 Mercer County Phone: 609-989-6830

Middlesex County Phone: 732-398-5260 Monmouth County Phone: 732-431-7260 Morris County Phone: 973-285-8300 Ocean County Phone:732-349-1246 Passaic County Phone: 973-305-5740 Salem County Phone: 856-769-0090 Somerset County Phone: 908-526-6293 Sussex County Phone: 973-948-3040 Union County Phone: 908-654-9854 Warren County Phone: 908-475-6505

GardenerNews.com

From the Director’s Desk

Rutgers Outreach Provided by Brian Schilling Director

Gearing Up for the Gardening Season As the days grow longer and the temperature slowly rises, a restlessness starts to build inside most gardeners. We are ready to be outside again, breathing the fresh air and tending the gardens with our hands in the earth. However, the soil is still frozen and the days of working outside in the warmth of the sun are still several months away. Luckily there are many things you can do from the comfort of the indoors to prepare for the gardening season ahead. Whether you are a new gardener who is eager to grow your first tomato or a seasoned horticulturist with two green thumbs, Rutgers Cooperative Extension has many resources available to help you succeed in producing lush, healthy plants, while conserving natural resources and having a positive impact on the surrounding environment. A great place to start is the Rutgers New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station (NJAES) Home, Lawn, and Garden website (njaes.rutgers.edu/ home-lawn-garden). This user-friendly website is a gateway to horticultural knowledge that has been developed by NJAES faculty and staff specifically for home gardeners. Topics include ‘What to Plant,’ ‘Gardening with Youth,’ ‘Nutrition and Wellness,’ ‘Urban Gardening,’ and more to provide accurate, reliable, and accessible information. The website also features a Plant of the Month and a calendar of upcoming Home, Lawn, and Garden events. One exciting event that is coming up is the Rutgers Home Gardeners School on Saturday, February 26th. This online program will feature 40 individual workshop sessions covering a wide array of horticultural topics designed to prepare you and your garden for the spring and beyond, including landscape design, common problems and solutions, annuals, perennials, native plants, vegetables, bees, pruning, best management practices, and much more. Another resource to help you gear up for the gardening season is the RU Ready 2 Garden Webinar series. This collection of recorded webinars features 37 episodes on various gardening topics from NJAES experts and their colleagues to provide tips and advice for gardeners of all levels of experience. Presentations on ‘Easy to Grow Vegetables for Your Garden,’ ‘Creating a Pollinator’s Paradise in Your Yard,’ and ‘Indoor Seed Starting’ provide the foundational knowledge you need to successfully grow the garden you have been dreaming about all winter. For those who might feel inspired to pursue

additional horticultural training, the Rutgers Master Gardener Program offers an excellent opportunity to receive in-depth, hands-on instruction from NJAES faculty and professional staff. Participants in this program receive over 60 hours of instruction and contribute volunteer hours in support of Rutgers Cooperative Extension in its mission to deliver horticulture programs and information to the public. Trained Rutgers Master Gardener volunteers also operate a yearround telephone helpline to advise the public about horticultural matters and diagnose and solve any home gardening problems that you might encounter. When it comes time to apply all this new-found knowledge to your garden plan, there are a few practical considerations to keep in mind. First and foremost, a small, well-cared for garden is usually more productive and more fun than a large garden that is out of control, so it is highly advised to start small and then grow from there. Once you have enjoyed success on a small plot, you can expand to a larger area and try new crops. Over the winter, you can also start thinking about where the garden should go. Ideally, the garden should be in a sunny location that is well drained. A garden that is located closer to the house is also likely to receive more attention than a garden that is farther away, because you will see it more often and notice any plants that need tending. Proximity to a water source is also a plus, and if your location has a high risk of wildlife damage, you may want to consider fencing or bird netting. Take some time to draw out your garden plans on paper before going out into the field. This will help you to visualize what you are trying to accomplish before putting any seeds in the ground. When the soil finally thaws, it will be time to take a soil fertility test to ensure that your plants have the optimum levels of nutrients required for healthy growth. The Rutgers Soil Testing Laboratory (njaes.rutgers.edu/soil-testinglab) offers accurate and affordable soil fertility analyses for gardens of all sizes, with custom recommendations for the specific crops you are planning to grow. The anticipation of the upcoming growing season can be a very exciting time for both new gardeners and lifetime stewards. Rutgers Cooperative Extension has a breadth of resources available to help you succeed in your horticultural endeavors as you develop your green thumb.

Editor’s Note: This month’s contribution was written by William Errickson, Agriculture and Natural Resources Agent for Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Monmouth County.

GardenerNews.com

February 2022 7

LAND-GRANT UNIVERSITY NEWS Rutgers Home Gardeners School @Home Offers Engaging Lectures for Gardeners of all Interests and Skill Levels

The 46th annual Rutgers Home Gardeners School @Home gets underway as a virtual conference over Zoom on Sat., Feb. 26, 2022, from 8 a.m. – 1 p.m. The conference, “Gardening For Everyone,” is made up of 15 individual workshop sessions that cover a wide array of horticultural topics. On the day of the event, attendees will be able to choose from one of five possible classes in each of the three workshop slots, for a total of three different lectures. This format allows attendees to select the workshops that are most relevant to their gardening interests and to create their own personalized schedule for a fun day of learning. The speakers include experts from the horticultural, ecological and landscape design industry, faculty from Rutgers Cooperative Extension and experienced home gardeners with unique skill sets. While many avid gardeners love and miss the in-person event that was held each March at the Rutgers-New Brunswick campus prior to COVID-19, enthusiasts have come to appreciate the convenience and other benefits of the “@ Home” online version, which Rutgers initiated in 2020 and continued in 2021. “I felt like the

teachers were able to answer many more attendee questions in the virtual format,” wrote Michelle Tuorto-Collins about the 2021 program. “I left the day’s classes with a lot of actionable information for this year’s gardening.” Rutgers has planned several new features for this year’s event, including a keynote speech by former Organic Gardening editor and radio host, Mike McGrath, a garden trivia game, and a period when attendees may choose to take a break from their computers. A “Garden Beginners” workshop track has been organized, and includes “Introduction to Perennial Garden Plants,” “Soil Health for the Home Gardener,” and The Basics of Butterfly Gardening.” Similarly, an “Advanced Grower” track is set, with “Planning Your Vegetable Garden for a Season Long Harvest,” “Color Throughout the Year,” and “Advanced Composting and Soil Building Techniques.” While the tracks are there to help orient attendees to workshops suitable to their experience, any attendee is free to join any workshop they like. A benefit of the virtual environment is that there is plenty of room for everyone—the “breakout rooms” won’t fill up!

According to Amy Cook, the Rutgers program coordinator who is organizing this year’s event, a number of brand new workshops will be debuted in this year’s Rutgers Home Gardeners School, such as “Growing Mushrooms at Home,” “Fruits for the Small Garden,” and “Bending is for Chumps,” a talk on how to continue gardening without the aches and pains of older age. “I really wanted to offer workshops that would appeal to a wide variety of gardeners,” says Cook. “We read through the past years’ evaluations and asked ourselves, ‘What do our attendees want to see in 2022?’ We’re offering more advanced topics that the Master Gardeners will enjoy, as well as sessions that beginning and intermediate gardeners will appreciate.” The registration fee for this event is $80.00. A discounted fee of $75.00 is available for Master Gardeners upon proof of certificate. Gift certificates to the conference as holiday presents are also available. For more information or to register, visit Rutgers Home Gardeners School or call the Rutgers Office of Continuing Professional Education at 848-932-9271.

Rutgers Study Unveils New Carbon Mitigation Solutions to Combat Climate Change

Increasing adoption of agricultural practices such as cover cropping, grazing management and agroforestry can increase the amount of carbon stored in soils to help combat climate change, according to a new report by researchers from Rutgers University-New Brunswick and the University of Maine. The study, titled “Ecosystem Service Valuation Approaches and Carbon Mitigation Considerations for Garden State Agriculture,” explores how New Jersey’s plants and soils can help to absorb and store carbon dioxide from greenhouse gas emissions. New Jersey’s farmlands, forests and wetlands together can offset nearly 8 percent of the state’s greenhouse gas emissions. New Jersey’s Global Warming Response Act 80 X 50 Report notes that these lands, along with strategies to increase their carbon storage capacities, will be essential if New Jersey is to meet its 2050 emissions reduction goal. “Our study focused on understanding the current state of knowledge regarding the storage of carbon in agricultural soils, and on identifying the types of programs, barriers and opportunities to further carbon sequestration on ag land, with a particular emphasis on New Jersey,” said Marjorie Kaplan, co-director of the New Jersey Climate Change Resource Center at Rutgers. Stephanie Murphy, a co-author of the study and

director of Rutgers Soil Testing Lab, said, “It is well-documented that loss of soil carbon has been occurring over many decades from certain farming practices, affecting soil health and sustainability, but modifying these practices can address some of the deficit while also using the land as a carbon sink.” The report outlines considerations to increase soil carbon sequestration from agronomic practices, while also providing a scan of the landscape and lessons from other states and programs that could be applicable for agriculture in New Jersey. “Although there is scientific debate within the research community about the amount of carbon that can be stored in soil and how best to monitor and quantify it, there are many benefits to agricultural practices like cover cropping, improved grazing management and agroforestry that can also increase soil carbon,” said Wendie Cohick, director of research for the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station. The researchers interviewed more than 50 experts in ecosystem valuation programs for natural and working lands from more than 30 governmental, nongovernmental, academic and private sector organizations. Although sequestration of carbon is not the primary driver for many programs, it is a co-benefit along with multiple ecosystem services

such as promoting soil health, improved water quality, climate resiliency and flood mitigation. “Important co-benefits of these ecosystem services can include improved public health, enhanced biodiversity and creation of green jobs,” said Margaret Brennan, director for resources and economic development at the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station. Mark Robson, a co-author and Distinguished Professor of plant biology, said, New Jersey farm real estate value averages $14,400 per acre and ranks second nationally behind Rhode Island’s average of $16,400 per acre. “The strong farmland preservation program in New Jersey has saved over 241,000 acres of farmland from development,” he said. “These preserved farms and other working farmland provide an important opportunity to mitigate climate change and keep agriculture viable in New Jersey.” “Agriculture can definitely be part of the solution to climate change in New Jersey, and this report sets the table for how the farm community can think about where the pressure points are, so that we can move forward on programs that are a winwin for the climate and the producer,” said Brian Schilling, director of Cooperative Extension for the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station.

8 February 2022

GardenerNews.com

Poor Soil. Poor Lawn.

Great Soil. Great Lawn.

Improve Your Soil. Improve Your Lawn. Discover the “Jonathan Green” Difference on your lawn today. Jonathan Green FEEDS THE LAWN with a…

Jonathan Green FEEDS THE SOIL with a…

• PRE AND POST-EMERGENT CRABGRASS CONTROL

• UNIQUE SOIL AMENDMENT THAT RAPIDLY ADJUSTS THE SOIL PH

THE LEADING COMPETITOR USES A PRE-EMERGENT ONLY

THE LEADING COMPETITOR DOES NOT ADJUST SOIL PH

• NON-STAINING CRABGRASS CONTROL

• SPECIAL SOIL IMPROVER THAT LOOSENS HARD SOIL

THE LEADING COMPETITOR STAINS YELLOW

THE LEADING COMPETITOR DOES NOT LOOSEN SOIL

• THREE-MONTH FEEDING FORMULA

HELPFUL FACTS:

THE LEADING COMPETITOR FEEDS FOR TWO MONTHS

APPLY IN EARLY SPRING

Available at garden centers and hardware stores in your area.

APPLY AFTER THE FERTILIZER

FERTILIZERS LOSE GREENING POWER WHEN SOIL PH IS IMBALANCED AND HARD SOIL PREVENTS AIR, WATER AND ROOT PENETRATION.

Ask for a free copy of our Lawn guide. 2/22

A Charming, Warm, Blooming Piece of Paradise

Tom Castronovo/Photo

Inside of the clean burning, smokeless Kewanee coal boiler.

(Continued from page 1) technician. Anything that needs fixing, Brian knows just how to make the repairs. We then proceeded through a wooden door, over a steel ramp, and into the boiler room. Much to our surprise, Brain told us that he heats the greenhouse and buildings by an old fashioned Kewanee Coal Boiler system. A business with the name “Kewanee Boiler Company” began in 1892, but throughout the 1900s when Kewanee Boiler had an anniversary celebration or commemoration, the company marked its beginning as 1868. The historical explanation for that begins in 1868 when a man named Valerius Anderson started a company in Kewanee, Illinois to make steam heating devices to heat animal feed. The Kewanee coal boiler that heats the Hautau’s family greenhouse came from a school in Ohio dating back to the 1950s. The coal boiler burner was purchased by the Hautau family and installed in 1977 during the Arab oil embargo. Brian says the boiler is Tom Castronovo/Photo basically a train steam engine without wheels. Brian Hautau points to a HJ Hautau & Sons was founded Cyprus wood rail in his family’s in 1902 by Brian’s grandfather Harry Lord & Burnham greenhouse. Hautau in Bergenfield, Bergen County.

The greenhouse operation was handed down to Brian’s dad Charlie, and his brother John, in 1958. In 1966, Charlie and John dismantled the Cyprus wood Lord & Burnham greenhouse and moved it to its current location. The Lord & Burnham line of greenhouses has been continually manufactured since 1849. Frederick A. Lord and his son-in-law William A. Burnham formed a partnership and incorporated in 1883 as Lord’s Horticulture Manufacturing Company. In 1890 the name was changed to Lord & Burnham. In 1877 the company was contracted to build a conservatory at the Golden Gate State Park in San Francisco and a year later built the Conservatory of Flowers. 1893 saw the construction of both the Phipps Conservatory in Pittsburgh and the conservatory of the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina. As the nineteenth century ended and the twentieth began, Lord & Burnham built one of its most impressive structures, the conservatory at The New York Botanical Garden. Kelsey and I were very impressed to be walking through a legendary (Cont. on Page 22) wooden rail Lord &

GardenerNews.com Just a few short months ago I gave you an update about future higher grass seed and fertilizer prices. Well, it’s happening starting now! Let’s investigate what is causing these great increases. First, higher grass seed prices were caused not so much by recent supply chain logistical problems but by Mother Nature problems. The Pacific northeast region of the country is the world’s leading supplier of grass seed, with Oregon being the largest supplier. Grass seed is harvested only once a year in the summer months. The cleaning of millions of pounds of different species of grass takes place from August until the next year’s harvest. We are talking hundreds of millions of pounds of grass seed when you take into account cool-season grasses such as Perennial Ryegrass, Annual Ryegrass, Kentucky Bluegrass, Tall Fescues and Creeping and Chewing Fine Fescues. In the last ten to fifteen years, grass seed production has declined somewhat due to the 2008 economy crunch and reduced demand worldwide. Other crops such as hazelnuts have provided more profit per acre for some traditional grass seed growers. The Covid pandemic increased grass seed demand greatly for the last two spring seasons, reducing carryover

Evergreen conifers are a group of plants that naturally garner a gardener’s attention during these bleak days of winter. There are many evergreens from which to choose, including those with painfully sharp needles to those with more user friendly soft, scale-like foliage. Of course, the emphasis may not totally focus on foliage, since some evergreens offer colorful bark and perhaps invigoratingly fragrant foliage. Among the various plants that meet this criteria, one well known genus is Thuja, commonly called Arborvitae! Almost all gardeners are familiar with Arborvitae. It is a member of the Cupressaceae or Cypress Family with the genus including 5 species – 2 native to North America and 3 native to Asia. Thuja occidentalis is native to the southern reaches of Eastern Canada and Northeastern United States while Thuja plicata grows from Northern California North to Alaska and east to Montana. The common name of Arborvitae was originally scripted in 1579 by the Flemish botanist Carolus Clusius (1526-1609) when he combined the Latin Arbor (tree) and Vitae (life), creating the ‘Tree of Life’! He crafted the name following a winter expedition to the Hudson Bay by

February 2022 9 Turf ‘s Up By Todd Pretz Professional Turf Consultant

It’s happening…

supplies from harvest to harvest. Also, the coating of seed that so many seed companies seem to take part in reduces the amount of grass seed in the bag. Coating can add up to 50% of the weight of a bag of grass seed, read the label! In order to expand production quantities, new acres of grass seed are generally planted in early fall. Like all crops, the weather has to cooperate in the fall months in order to get the grass seed to fill in properly, with adequate rainfall, some fertilizer and weed controls. A dry fall or an early winter can sometimes reduce the development of grass seed plants. If you get a good stand with your fall planting, generally a cold, snowy winter season is alright. This provides much needed moisture once the snow melts. Spring weather is just

as important as fall weather. If it is too dry, this affects the development of the grass seed plants. If it’s too wet, the farmers cannot always get into their fields to fertilize or apply herbicides or other treatments to maximize the grass seed yield. In late spring the grass seed plants grow higher to start the pollination process. This is needed in order to produce the seed head for harvest. If this is disturbed by bad weather it can reduce proper pollination. If pollination is reduced, then the yield of pounds of grass seed per acre is also reduced. If this happens, the price of grass seed goes up. In early July, just as harvest was to begin, the Pacific Northwest and Canada received five to ten days of scorching hot 110+ degree weather. This totally messed up the grass seed harvest

and a lot of seed shattered on the stalk and fell to the ground. In some instances, yields where reduced more than 50%! This has caused a severe grass seed shortage and prices are up a lot at the retail level. Sadly, Mother Nature didn’t help the grass seed markets. Fertilizer is next. These prices are greatly affected by the worldwide agricultural supply and demand situation. Agriculture is king when it comes to fertilizers, with lawn and garden usage just a drop in the bucket of the overall usage. Well, you’ve heard of the many world logistics problems for many goods we take for granted every day. Covid, closed ports, shut down of plants, labor shortages, higher natural gas and gasoline prices, shortage of drivers, do I need to go on? These all negatively

Morris County Park Commission By Bruce Crawford Horticultural Manager

Life for the Winter Garden! the French explorer Jacque Cartier (1491-1557). As rations grew scarce, many of his crew grew ill from scurvy due to a lack of Vitamin C. Coming to their aid, the Native American Indians revealed how a tea made from the Vitamin C rich leaves of Arborvitae would ease their ailments. Miraculously, the crew recovered, leading Clusius to subsequently honor the plant with this common name. The origin of Thuja is a bit more tangled! Its roots are derived from the Greek Thuo, meaning to sacrifice. During many ancient European rituals, plants with fragrant bark were burned and Theophrastus (371-286 BC), often called the father of botany, coined the term Thuja to describe these plants. The French botanist Joseph Tournefort (1656-1708) adopted the term Thuja to describe Arborvitae, which the Swedish botanist Carl

Linnaeus (1707-1778) in turn accepted when formerly describing Thuja occidentalis in 1753. The species epithet of occidentalis means western and to the continent of Europe, Eastern North America was indeed Western! In its home environments, Thuja occidentalis grows as a single stemmed tree, reaching heights of 60’ and widths of 15-20’, although it matures to roughly half this size in gardens. Often grown as a multi-stemmed plant in nurseries, the numerous stems allow plants to splay open during heavy snowstorms, destroying the columnar form of the plant. Thuja plicata was not described until several hundred years later. From 1789-1794, a Spanish expedition surveyed the Western Coast of North and South America with the intent of mapping the

regions. The French botanist Luis Née (1734-1803) was a member of the expedition. In the early 1790’s while exploring Vancouver, he secured a branch from a tree with a scent similar to Cedar. This specimen ultimately found its way to the Natural History Museum at South Kensington, England where 10 years later it was studied by the English botanist James Donn (1758–1813). In 1807, Donn named this specimen Thuja plicata. The epithet plicata means pleated, describing the pattern on back of the scale-like foliage. Unfortunately, he failed to follow proper protocol and it was not until 1811 when the Scottish Botanist David Don (1799-1841) provided the proper description. Thuja plicata develops a very straight single trunk, reducing its susceptibility to bending

affected fertilizer supplies and prices. The “freeze” in Texas a year ago followed by Hurricane Ida really did a job on the fertilizer supplies in the USA too. The Mississippi river even had power lines come down across the river, slowing movement of fertilizer up this most important channel. The country has not recovered from this yet, and worldwide demand has sent fertilizer prices skyrocketing. Urea, a main ingredient, is now over $1,000 per ton when it was trading closer to $500 per ton at this time last year. If the farmers plant 90+ millions acres of corn this spring, that means the planting requires 500,000 tons of urea, or 22,700 truckloads! That does not even include the urea needed for other crops, wow! My advice is to buy your grass seed and fertilizer needs early this spring! Remember, in New Jersey you cannot apply fertilizer until March 1st.

Editor’s Note: Todd Pretz is Vice President of Jonathan Green, a leading supplier of lawn and garden products in the northeast. For more information, please visit: www.jonathangreen.com under snow load and yielding an attractive pyramidal outline. It is also the largest species in the Cypress Family, where in the Pacific Northwest plants can reach heights far exceeding 100’, and widths of 30’ to 40’, although it is smaller in cultivation. Unlike its eastern cousin, it is also fairly deer resistant. For locations where the lower branches can be removed, the beautiful deep reddish brown bark becomes the icing on the cake. Both species grow best in well-drained soils that do not dry out excessively, with a pH near neutral. When properly placed to accommodate their size, both species will provide attractive foliar interest throughout the winter. In fact, one could even say Arborvitae provides some much needed ‘Life’ to the dormant winter garden!

Editor’s Note: Bruce Crawford is a lover of plants since birth, is the Manager of Horticulture for the Morris County Parks Commission, and a Past President of the Garden State Gardens Consortium. He can be reached at BCrawford@ morrisparks.net

10 February 2022

GardenerNews.com

Growing Gardeners By Diana Dove Environmental Educator

There is So Much for Children to LOVE about Gardening

How do children and teens come to LOVE gardening? It begins with gardening experience that’s fun, gaining knowledge about gardening, and understanding environmental connections between plants, animals and people. There are many ways youth may become Growing Gardeners. This could begin with a walk through a garden in bloom, engaging in gardening or garden activities, or visiting a flower show. My friend Helen Grundmann, a professional Landscape Designer, remembers when she was just eight years old and went to a flower show at the Morristown Armory. She recalls seeing a strikingly beautiful garden of bright yellow and orange marigolds designed to form the word, “WELCOME.” That was the moment she discovered flowers, opening up her world of gardening and design When I volunteer in a school garden with children of all ages, some are gardening for their first time. They often will exclaim, “Hey… This is fun!” They love the fresh air, sunshine, and digging in the soil. The garden is busy with sounds of nature – buzzing bees, hummingbird wings zipping past your ear, the call of the mocking bird, and later, crickets and katydids. I asked youth volunteers what they liked about gardening. Fifteenyear-old Trinity T. says, “I like the sounds of nature in the garden, when uprooting weeds, as you hear the sound of roots coming up from the ground.” Sixteen-year-old Julia Bisse stated, “I find gardening is a healthy alternative to being constantly online or on my phone. The pandemic forced everyone to depend on electronics a lot more. Gardening is something that is calming. It’s like a

break from everything, even if it’s just weeding.” The air is filled with the scent of flowers. The garden beds are in full bloom. Thirteen-year-old Jordan T. says he likes watching the flowers. A friend of mine has a grandson named Joshua, who is a high school sophomore who commented, “It’s amazing how you can turn the penny value of seeds into a dollar value of fruits and vegetables.” A teen who gardens may enrich his lifestyle later in life. What do children love about gardening? Some love being outside, digging, watering plants, and exploring what’s growing week to week. Some love finding insects, birds, and other animals in the garden…a grasshopper or praying mantis, butterflies, ladybugs, worms, nests, rabbits and more. Ten-year-old Ashlyn, who gardens in her school garden at a Waldorf School, said, “Gardening is peaceful. At school we take worms from the compost and put them in the garden. We grow herbs in salts and put them on potatoes. A Garden is like a tiny forest with tiny creatures.” As a love of gardening grows, children make connections to the environment. One activity is to choose a tree to “Adopt” and write journal observations through the seasons. Youth gardening creates memories with impact. One parent told me, “Gardening in the school Butterfly Garden was one of my kids’ favorite memories growing up.” Children love using wheelbarrows, garden tools, and anything with water. Weeding is not their favorite activity so we alternate gardening tasks and offer choices. Children love to be creative and they enjoy outdoor based learning.

Students are enthusiastic about Art and the Environment activities such as sketching, clay sculpting, flower pressing, floral design, wreath making, doing photography, creative writing, storytelling and much more. Unique garden programs with kid-friendly presenters encourage good attendance. For example, after securing a Fire Permit, in past years we held family campfire garden programs about Smokey Bear and Forest Fire Safety, the Lenape and how they lived off the land, Bats of New Jersey, and New Jersey Birds with a live Screech Owl…all are popular youth gardener programs. Motivated teen volunteers find gardening in a school garden a good way to earn community service hours to meet Junior and High School National Honor Society requirements. Service hours qualify from fifth grade through high school. Older students gain leadership skills working with younger gardeners. Years later, some of these students become College Garden Project Leaders and start their own garden projects at home. Gardening seems to make youth gardeners happy. It has been said that being around flowers helps put people in a positive mood. One parent told me how happy her child was gardening at school. This was an experience she could not provide at home. Another student lived in an apartment without a yard or balcony; the school garden gave that child a place to garden through a Youth Garden Club Program. If you have an opportunity to offer a youth garden workshop, or other youth garden activity, you will play an important role in instilling the love of gardening in children and teens so there will be future Growing Gardeners.

Editor’s Note: Diana is an Environmental Educator who can be reached at dianadove13@ gmail.com. She co-teaches, “Wildlife & Litter” programs with her husband Mike. They offer this and Wildlife Education booths, free, with kids’ crafts, fully funded by County & Local NJ Clean Communities for Pre-K through all grade levels and adults. Please ‘Like” the FB page of the Karen Nash Memorial Butterfly Garden she founded in Washington Borough, Warren County. Diana is Co-Youth Chair on the Board of the Garden Club of NJ and is the 2021 National Garden Club Youth Leader Award Recipient. She has a BS in Forestry & Wildlife Mgt, with a concentration in Biology, plus a BA in Communications from Va Tech. She is a former Sr. Naturalist for Somerset Co. Parks and has been teaching since 1975.

USDA to Test 2022 Census of Agriculture Online Questionnaire in New Respondent Portal Agricultural producers across the nation and the various segments of U.S. agriculture will receive an invitation to assist in the online 2022 Census of Agriculture Content Test. The Content Test, which will run through spring, is a critical part of the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service’s (NASS’s) preparation for the once-every-five-year Census of Agriculture. Participants in the test will be asked to complete the 2022 Census of Agriculture online questionnaire via a new Respondent Portal aimed to improve the reporting experience for all producers. “NASS would not be able to supply valuable agricultural data without producer participation. We recognize that time is valuable, and our goal is to improve producers’ experience when responding to our surveys,” said Census and Survey Division Director Barbara Rater. “That’s why NASS has been gathering feedback from producers over the last year to assist in modernizing areas of our data collection, which includes the development of our new Respondent Portal. We are grateful to the participants in this Content Test. Their support will assist us in analyzing the portal’s capabilities and help ensure that future census data remain as accurate as possible.” NASS has been preparing for the 2022 Census of Agriculture since 2018, when they began evaluating the content and design of the previous Census questionnaire and soliciting public input into the 2022 Census. The 2022 Census of Agriculture will mail out to all known U.S. producers next fall. The Census of Agriculture is the only source of comprehensive agricultural data for every state and county in the nation. The data are widely used to inform decisions that benefit the agricultural community and the nation – from decisions guiding essential food delivery systems, succession planning, and new and beginning farmer programs, to decisions affecting agriculture practices, land stewardship, sustainability, and more. In accordance with federal law, NASS keeps all responses confidential and uses them for statistical purposes only. Anyone who needs assistance completing the Content Test can call 888424-7828. For more information about the Census of Agriculture, or if you are a producer who does not currently receive NASS surveys or censuses, visit www.nass.usda.gov/AgCensus.

2022 Annual N.J. State Agricultural Convention is February 8 – 9, at Harrah’s Resort in Atlantic City For more information, please visit https://www.nj.gov/agricultur

Full Moon February 16, 2022 Eastern Daylight

GardenerNews.com

February 2022 11

Winter Activities: Tree ID By Hubert Ling The winter doldrums are here and active people may want to hike outdoors as an alternate to gardening. However, there seems little to see or do in bleak winter landscapes. To keep both your body and mind active, you might consider identifying trees by their winter characteristics such as bark color and form. This is not as impossible as you might think at first. Bark is produced by the tree’s cork cambium, which is one of the two areas of a woody stem where cell divisions take place (the other area being the vascular cambium). At maturity, the cells in outer layers of the bark die but are still highly functional and protect the stems from fire, fungus, and insect attack. Since the outer bark layers are not living, they cannot expand as a tree trunk grows. This fact allows us to have a chance at winter tree ID since

each species has a distinctive look as the outer bark splits due to increasing internal stresses. Admittedly some of the differences in types of bark are rather subtle, but with a reference such as ‘Bark’ by Michael Wojtech (2011) you really can ID many trees in winter. Wojtech divides bark into seven major distinctive types; I will only discuss mature bark in seven deciduous trees (those that lose their leaves in fall). 1. Bark peels horizontally into curly strips. An example of this is yellow birch (Betula alleghaniensis), a relatively uncommon NJ woodland native tree, which has bronze to yellow bark (sometimes tan to silvery gray). Young trees may have dark bark which is not peeling, and old trees may have scaly bark at the base of the trunk, although younger areas (higher up on the trunk) will have the familiar peeling bronze bark. Scraped young twigs have a wintergreen

smell as does a close relative black birch. 2. Bark is not peeling but has visible lenticels. Lenticels are breaks in the bark which let in gasses. The lenticels are linear, diamond, or oval in outline. Wild black cherry (Prunus serotina) is a commonly found example. The lenticels are linear and horizontal and longer than ¼ inch. The mature bark is broken into large grayish-brown scales which are curled outwards on the sides. Wild black cherry is one of our premier furniture woods. 3. Smooth unbroken light gray bark. This is our easiest to recognize tree in winter and most of you can recognize American beech (Fagus grandifolia) instantly on sight. 4. With vertical cracks in an otherwise smooth bark. This type of bark is uncommon in our area in mature trees except in Juneberry (Amelanchier

arborea). Several oaks and maples have this bark when young, but the bark changes radically as the trees mature. Thus when the trunks are about six inches or more in diameter the bark takes on a rough nature with deep fissures. 5. Broken into vertical strips which are at least 3 times as high as wide. Shagbark hickory (Carya ovata) is our second most easily recognized tree in the winter landscape. The vertical bark strips become detached at one or both ends and curl away from the trunk as much as 3-6 inches. Also look for nuts and shells on the ground. 6. Bark broken into scales or plates. Upper trunk and branches with whitish patches, American sycamore (Platanus occidentalis). The American sycamore frequently grows along rivers banks. As the tree matures further, the old bark becomes broken into

small brownish scales. The similar London plane tree has tan patches but rarely grows wild. 7. With mostly vertical ridges which crisscross, are uninterrupted, or are broken horizontally. Sadly our vanishing white ash (Fraxinus americana) is an example of ashy-gray bark with intersecting ridges which form diamond-shaped furrows. So on a mild winter day, get out of your lounge chair and try your hand at winter tree ID. You will increase your powers of observation and amaze your friends when you ID trees without looking at the leaves. You can confirm your tree ID by using books such as Fruit Key and Twig Key to Trees and Shrubs by W. Harlow, 1959. Editor’s Note: Hubert Ling is President of the Native Plant Society of New Jersey. He can be reached at milhubling@verizon.net.

Gardener News

Gardener News is the leading Agricultural, Gardening, Landscaping and Nursery industry publication, both online and in print, in the New Jersey metropolitan area.

Gardener News is written by amazing, credentialed industry professionals, industry leaders and brilliant industry specialists. Gardener News covers local, national and regional farming, forestry, horticultural, landscaping and green industry news. We also feature a wide variety of interesting reading material and great educational tips.

for an E-Newspaper Subscription

It’s Fast and Easy!

Please visit the top right-hand corner of

www.GardenerNews.com Gardener News is published and disseminated monthly. *Whether you are looking to promote your business, a sale or event, celebrate an expansion, enhance your image or maintain relationships with customers, Gardener News can help meet your advertising goals. Germinated in 2003

12 February 2022

GardenerNews.com

Oldwick Lamington

206

202

Old wic kR

Pluckemin

78 Somerset

to ing

m La

Hunterdon

d. nR

& Garden Center

287 Bridgewater North Branch

din

gto

202

Whitehouse Station

Rea din gto nR

Solberg Airport

& Garden BuyCenter Direct

206

From One Buy Direct From One Jersey’s Largest Of New 4 Coddington Rd. Of New Jersey’s Largest Whitehouse Station, NJ 08889 Growers Of Plants & Flowers! Growers Of Plants & Flowers! 908.534.7710

Somerville

Raritan

202

York Old

Rd.

www.HionisGreenhouses.com Six Acres Under CenterGlass/Garden Six Glass/Garden Acres Under Center

Graphic DesiGn | printinG | Direct mail

Establis h e d 1978

12 Center Street, Chatham, NJ 07928

www.ChathamPrint.com (973) 635-1880

Oldwick

Lamington

206

78 d. wic kR

287 Rd .

Bridgewater

202

206

Rd.

Solberg Airport

Rea

din g

Rd. Rea

Bridgewater North Branch

North Branch

din g

ton

22 Whitehouse Station

287

ton

Rd .

din g

Somerset

ing

Pluckemin

May 8

Hunterdon

700 Springfield Avenue 700 Springfield Avenue Berkeley Heights, NJ 07922 Berkeley Heights, NJ 07922 Buy Direct Buy From Direct One From One Phone: (908) 665-0331 Phone: (908) 665-0331 Of New Of Jersey’s Jersey’s Largest Largest Fax: (908) 665-9804 Fax:New (908) 665-9804 email: hallsflorist@hotmail.com florist@hallsgarden.com Growersemail: Growers Of PlantsOf&Plants Flowers! &www.hallsgarden.com Flowers! www.hallsgarden.com

Old

Somerset

& Garden Center Mom on

& Garden & Garden CenterCenter

202

FLORIST Remember

Solberg Airport

Pluckemin

ing

Whitehouse Station

206

SERVING THE AGRIBUSINESS COMMUNITY

Hunterdon

Old

wic kR

American National is a group of companies writing a broad array of insurance products and services. Products and services may not be available in all states. Terms, conditions and eligibility requirements will apply. Life insurance and annuity products may be underwritten by American National Insurance Company, Galveston, Texas. Property and casualty products and services may be underwritten by Farm Family Casualty Insurance Company, Glenmont, New York. Form 11094 | 12.18

202

Lamington

din g

LIFE • PROPERTY DISABILITY INCOME INSURANCE

Oldwick

908.782.4028

Order Your Easter Flowers Now

AGENT

BILL RANDOLPH

202 Old

k Yor

Somerville Raritan

Rd.

202

Somerville Raritan

28 Old

k Yor

Rd.

4 Coddington 4 Coddington Rd. Rd. Whitehouse Station, Whitehouse NJ 08889 Station, NJ 08889 908.534.7710 908.534.7710 www.HionisGreenhouses.com www.HionisGreenhouses.com

Buy Direct From One Six Acres Six Under Acres Glass/Garden Under Glass/Garden Center Center Of New Jersey’s Largest

GardenerNews.com

February 2022 13

AVAILABLE IN

NEW JERSEY & INNEW YORK AVAILABLE NEW JERSEY & NEW YORK

14 February 2022

GardenerNews.com

GardenerNews.com I have had dozens of conversations with homeowners and businesses in the past 15 years about hiring and retaining landscape professionals for their design/build projects and maintenance. It never fails to amaze me how little the average person knows about the industry and the people in it. It appears the past, along with a few bad actors, have created a terrible perception of the landscaping industry. Therefore, I thought I’d take some time to separate some fact from fiction. Fiction: Landscapers are people who weren’t smart enough to go to college and get a “real” job. Fact: This could not be further from the truth. Some of the businessmen and women in the industry did not attend college, but many of them did. When you meet with landscape professionals, they would be happy to explain that many of them are college graduates with degrees in horticulture, landscape management, turfgrass science, weed science, nursery propagation and more. There are also some with degrees in finance, accounting, business management, psychology, molecular biology, political science, etc. Those without college degrees may have gone to trade school, attend trade shows to keep up with the latest industry information,

In economic circles, inflation is a dirty word. And with most Americans, inflation has a very negative connotation as well. And why wouldn’t it? When most people think of inflation, they think about how their hardearned dollars don’t go as far as they used to. They see gas and food prices rising much faster than their own wages. Getting a five percent raise in salary while paying eighty percent higher for gasoline is not a good way to become financially independent. In agriculture however, inflation can be somewhat of a double-edged sword. Certain sectors of the farming community will take it on the chin, along with the rest of society. Other types of agriculture, though, especially some of the commodity-based types of agriculture, will stand to do very well during an inflationary period. Growers of agronomic crops such as field corn, wheat and soybeans should fare pretty well in an inflationary environment. Sure, they have higher input costs for fuel and fertilizer, but this sector is not overly reliant on labor, and the higher prices that these growers will receive

February 2022 15 The NJLCA Today By Gail Woolcott Executive Director

Fact vs. Fiction

go to meetings and workshops to increase their knowledge of plants, turf, trees and running a business. Most people who enter the outdoor living industry simply like to work outdoors with nature and like people. Some of our members run multi-million-dollar businesses with numerous branches and hundreds of employees. Fiction: Landscape company employees are underpaid and treated poorly. Fact: First, just as any other legitimate business in NJ must, our companies pay minimum wage at the very least. Honestly, I have not spoken to any outdoor living company owners who have paid minimum wage in years. The average hourly wage currently is $18 - $22 for unskilled, entry-level employees. Those who are skilled, have a driver’s license, or have

some education will start at an even better rate. Those in managerial and supervisory positions can make upwards of $70,000-80,000 per year. Furthermore, I truly enjoy seeing the many email blasts and social media posts of our members who provide employee of the month recognition, hold company outings such as fishing trips, bowling events, company picnics, etc. They are proud of their employees and like to brag on them. Many companies offer benefits to their employees, along with retirement plans. Some hold morning stretching sessions, safety tailgate training, and many of them pay for their employees to become certified, attend educational classes and attend social events in the industry. From what I have witnessed, many employees in this industry tend to be treated as

family. Fiction: The landscape industry just mows and blows and doesn’t care about the environment. Fact: I always say that people in our industry act as keepers of the environment. For those who do maintenance only (mowing, blowing, pruning, mulching, etc.), keeping a lawn healthy is no easy task, and a healthy lawn is an asset to the environment. Healthy turf helps to reduce carbon dioxide in the air, reduce temperatures, reduce the amount of stormwater runoff and produces oxygen. Furthermore, licensed pesticide applicators are encouraged to practice Integrated Pest Management. They will use soil testing, soil amendments, and proper maintenance practices to use as few chemical inputs as possible to keep your property disease and pest free. Finally, landscape

The Town Farmer By Peter Melick Agricultural Producer

Farm Inflation

for their crops should more than make up for these increased expenses. Farmers who raise cows, pigs or chickens and are forced to purchase some of those grains to feed their animals might have a tough time. While in theory, the prices for meat or dairy products should rise along with grain prices, they do not always go up and down at the same time. And if a grower is forced to buy inputs when they are high, and then sell their products six months later after rising prices have weakened consumer demand, then they might be in for a tough time. Another thing that sometimes happens is that as input prices rise, growers might decide to reduce their exposure and decrease the size

of their operations. This can put further negative pressure on the markets by increasing the amount of available supply. Producers of perishable crops, such as fruits and vegetables that are grown for the fresh market, will generally only experience the bad side of inflation. Because these crops must be marketed as soon as they are harvested, the market for these crops is influenced more by supply and demand than by anything. Because these crops must be sold immediately, growers have very little leverage when it comes to marketing their crops. For example, a soybean grower can hold on to his crop for almost a year, and has the ability to hold out for higher prices. A tomato grower does

not have that option however. They cannot take them home and then bring them back to sell a month later when prices might be higher. They must be sold for what they are worth that day. Period. On the other side of the equation, these growers of perishable crops must still purchase their inputs at market rates. Fuel and fertilizer will be higher, as will labor, which this segment of agriculture is overly reliant upon more than most. Packaging and equipment prices also tend to rise rapidly in times of inflation. All of these increases in cost can put a great deal of pressure on a grower’s bottom line, with no guarantee of raising income. Of course, as inflation takes

professionals are installing more and more water features, adding nature back into the landscape, which can provide habitats for small creatures, fish and birds, along with food sources for small animals. Please share the word that the outdoor living industry is made up of a variety of well-educated, outdoor-loving and happy people who simply want to keep the world and New Jersey not only looking beautiful, but healthy. They give back to nature and are hardworking businessmen and women. They are proud of what they do, as should we all be.

Editor’s Note: Gail Woolcott is the Executive Director for the New Jersey Landscape Contractors Association. She was presented with a community service award from the Borough of Fairview for her assistance in leading the 9-11 Memorial Park project and the Legislative Champion of the Year award from the Federation of Employers and Workers of America. She is currently the State Licensee Chair on the National Association of Landscape Professionals International Certification Council. place, there will be plenty of stories of success and failure. For example, growers who do not have to ship their products as far will not be impacted by higher fuel prices as much. Other producers who need to ship their products a long distance might suddenly find themselves in an unprofitable situation. Also, land prices will rise where commodity prices also rise. And if growers extend themselves too much with more acreage to expand their operations, they might be in for a rude awakening if commodity prices should come back to prior levels. All in all, growers should be in for a challenging year Editor’s Note: Peter Melick is co-owner of Melick’s Town Farm in Oldwick and a 10th-generation New Jersey farmer. Peter is Mayor of Tewksbury Township, Hunterdon County, NJ. He also served as a director for the New Jersey Farm Bureau and is a past president of the New Jersey State Board of Agriculture. Peter has also been featured on NJN, News 12 New Jersey and on the Fox Business Network.

16 February 2022

GardenerNews.com

Please read The Mudlark and the Orchid, Part 1, 2, 3 and the series introduction, Orchid Delirium, at www. gardenernews.com “Back Issues” or at lesleyparness. com. The Mudlark and the Orchid - Part 4 Despite the fair skies, I was feeling gloomy. “Tis the Queen’s weather, is it not Henry?” Dr. Ward asked. “I’ve got the morbs and am smelling the shrimpy,” I answered. “Aha – you are missing your mudlarking life,” the doctor replied knowingly. “Yes, and if you please, I would like to take the morning off.” The Doctor did not object and I quickly put on my coat and started for the Shadwell Dock Stairs at the entrance to London’s docks and as fine a place for mudlarking as any. At the top of the steps the familiar tang of Thames air, a combination of salt, offal, and rotting wood, filled my nostrils. I closed my eyes and breathed in deeply. “Well, look at ‘im, the Duke of Seven Dials ” said a mocking voice accompanied by a sharp slap to the side of my head. When my eyes flew open, I was surrounded by a pack of mudlarks. They eyed my clean, soft leather shoes, my fine woolen pants and jacket. “We ‘ardly recognized you ‘enry,” they said in one voice. “I’ve been studying with a Doctor, learning about plants called orchids,” I said uncertainly. This elicited no interest whatsoever and after a few more minutes of strained conversation one asked “Coming larking with us?” I looked down at my new shoes and knew I would not. Like one of the moths from Mr. Darwin’s tales, I had metamorphosized and could not squeeze back into my

The Garden Historian By Lesley Parness Garden Educator

The Mudlark and The Orchid

former shape. At once, like a murder of crows, they flew down the stairs together, seeking their fortunes in the mud. Slowly, I returned to Well Close Square and my duties tending the orchids. At tea, Dr. Ward inquired about my day. “I’ve no doubt they’ll come a ‘cropper,” he said decidedly of my former associates and then began my daily examination. “You have been reading Mr. Darwin’s On the Various Contrivances by Which British and Foreign Orchids are Fertilized. Therefore, please explain specialization to me.” I thought a moment and answered. “Each orchid has a particular insect to do this job. It’s a bit like my world. There’s the toshers I explained, them’s that comb the sewers for goods to sell. There’s the rag and bone men, them’s that comb the garbage pits, and there’s the mudlarks, them’s that comb the docklands. Specialists all, sir,” I finished. Dr. Ward chuckled softly and tousled my hair. “We’ll have a bit of an adventure tomorrow with our trip to Veitch’s nurseries in Chelsea. You have earned it.” At 10am sharp Dr. Ward and I entered Veitch’s nursery and at once removed our coats. These orchid glasshouses were steamy indoor jungles surrounding us on both sides with wood benches of potted orchids as far as the eye could see.* “The Veitch’s

are a horticultural dynasty,” Dr. Ward explained. “Three generations and counting of plant explorers, breeders and suppliers. In addition to this orchid house, there is an aquarium filled with nepenthes, a carnivorous plant from Borneo, a cool fernery with massive rockwork and Osmunda regalis, the royal fern, and a propagating house whose star is the Sequoiadendron giganteum from America, he said, his face flushed with pride and heat. As we explored the greenhouse, Mr. Darwin, Mr. Lindley, and a tall, robust young man joined us. “Frederick, so good to see you,” Dr. Ward said, clapping his hand on the man’s muscular back. “This is Henry, the young lad I’ve written to you about.” This was news to me, but I remained silent. “Nathaniel, your cases are paving the way for Britain’s expansion. Did you hear that Sir Clements Markham has used them to smuggle more than one hundred chinchona tree saplings from Peru? They arrived in India in good health and are already being grown out. First class quinine will be distilled from them I daresay,” Sander declared. “Managing malaria is the key to Britain’s colonial expansion and Rule Britannia” added Lindley acerbically. Dr. Ward waved a dismissive hand and said, “Tell us, Frederick what are

you up to?” The Orchid King’s face lit up as he replied. “I am planning a book on orchids. The images will be drawn life sized – that’s never been done before. I’ve more than two dozen plant explorers searching for new cultivars all over the world and my work in orchid husbandry will soon allow even those of modest means to afford them.” ** “But you strike a hard deal, do you not?” Darwin inquired. “Hard? No,” assured Sander. “New Guinean human sacrifices scared my collector William Micholitz, and he wanted to leave. When he telegraphed me asking what to do, I simply told him to stay calm, return and re-collect. But I have named an orchid for him, Phalaenopsis ‘Micholitz.’” “An epiphytic miniature,” I chimed in, having recently read about it in an auction catalogue. Then, looking directly at me Sander said, “I want to bring orchids to America and am looking for smart young men to help. New Jersey, Henry. That’s the ticket. My greenhouses will be built there, in a fine town called Summit. Fast American trains will carry Sander orchids to New York City and points beyond. There’s a place in this splendid work for you if you want it.” *** I returned his gaze, my face enthusimuzzy, telegraphing my assent. So

RECYCLE THE

Gardener News SHOW IT TO A FRIEND

ended our visit to Chelsea and so began my life with Frederic Sander, the Orchid King, with the endless pleasures of orchid breeding, and with New Jersey. * The Veitch family introduced 232 orchid cultivars. ** Sander’s masterwork on orchids, Reichenbachia, published in 1888, may be viewed online at www. biodiversitylibrary.org. *** Frederick Sander did indeed build his greenhouses in Summit, New Jersey. By the end of the Victorian era, New Jersey had become the second largest producer of orchids in America. The business was sold in 1896 to the firm of Lager and Hurrell who continued to build an orchid empire. This concludes “The Mudlark and the Orchid.” My new talk, “We Grew it Here – New Jersey’s Horticultural Super Stars” tells this and many other extraordinary stories of New Jersey’s place in the green history of the world. Visit www. lesleyparness.com for all five parts of this serialized fiction and a bibliography. Editor’s Note: Lesley Parness offers a variety of presentations and workshops for garden clubs, plant societies, and horticultural gatherings. Recently retired from her position as Superintendent of Horticultural Education at the Morris County Park Commission, and with four decades of teaching environmental science and garden education, her focus now is garden history. A complete listing of her talks can be seen at lesleyparness. com and she can be reached at parness@verizon.net. This column will appear in the paper every other month.

GardenerNews.com

February 2022 17

Invite One of These Ladies to Your Next Online Garden Club Meeting

18 February 2022

GardenerNews.com Unique Plants By Bob LaHoff Nursery Specialist

‘Indigo Eyes’

Holly, my sister-in-law, works in our family business and likes plants. I’m not sure she sees them or holds them in the same regard or reverence that I do, but she does appreciate their attributes and that’s enough for me. This past winter, during our busy Christmas season, Holly remarked on a certain tree type in front of our garden center, one that had been in place for nearly a week. Passing this unique pine for six days, it was on the seventh day that she exclaimed, “Hey Bob, this is beautiful!” I explained to Holly that we stock this tree in the spring and had just received a few for holiday sales. Her attraction to this gorgeous conifer, I’m sure, will be heightened this spring when she sees, first hand, their colorful cones punctuating the unique “stem structure” she was fascinated with. Bosnian Pine, Pinus heldreichii, also goes by such common names as Munika, or Cherna mura (translates to black pine) and Heldreich’s pine. The species name honors Theodor von Heldreich (1822-1902), a German-born botanist. Spending most of his life in Greece, von Heldreich is credited for discovering hundreds of Greek species. It is noteworthy that today Pinus leucodermis is synonymous with his species. Bosnian pine is a coniferous evergreen tree, native to dry limestone soils in the mountain areas of the Balkans, Greece and Italy. A tree that can grow north of 70 feet tall in its native habitat, Bosnian pine is touted for its glossy, dark green needles held in pairs, and thick, ash-gray, flaking bark with yellow patches and

large plates. Additionally, Bosnian pine has bright yellow pollen cones that grow in dense clusters at the base of the shoot. Perhaps its greatest attribute is its seed cones, held in clusters, ripening in early fall. Preceding this, they are the most amazing shades of dark purple or cobalt blue cones one could hope for. As with most plants, specific cultivars are available for today’s retail market. The most noteworthy Bosnian pine to this author is ‘Indigo Eyes’. Pinus heldreichii (leucodermis) ‘Indigo Eyes’ forms cones at an early age. In fact, this cultivar is literally smothered by cones. Up and down most of its branches, conelets are bright blue at first, then darken to purpleblack. By the time Holly saw its distinct cones, they had already graduated in color to soft brown, prominent none the less! A healthy, easy to grow tree, ‘Indigo Eyes’ has stiff dark green needles, is deer resistant, and offers a tidy, clean appearance all year. A semi-dwarf selection, one should expect ten feet high and eight feet wide after a decade or so. Having a slightly asymmetrical shape and offering unique character, ‘Indigo Eyes’ has always stood out in any garden where I have seen it, particularly with its amazingly colored cones. While tolerant of a wide range of soil types, I find it best to avoid poorly drained, wet soils and extreme heat and humidity. Extensive trials over several decades have brought to market unique plant selections (cultivars) with particular characteristics. Superior seedlings have been chosen,

and today gardeners can pick fastigiated columns, narrow spires, striking bun types, pyramidal shapes or a more traditional “pine tree” form of Bosnian pine. With better cold hardiness and stronger health, resistance to insect and disease, and thoughtful breeding, the results are superior dwarf, slow growing cultivars that thrive in full sun with welldrained soil. ‘Emerald Arrow’ stays decidedly narrow as does ‘Compact Gem’. ‘Irish Bell’ has a classic bell shape and ‘Banderica’ has been described as “chubby, squat and pyramidal.” However, for me, ‘Banderica’ reminds me of a Hershey’s Kiss. Years back, I traveled to Greece with my wife and distinctly remember a large specimen Bosnian pine not too far from the Acropolis of Athens. It is always a thrill to see trees that I studied in school in their native habitat. And even more of a thrill is to correctly identify them, almost like a Jeopardy competition or table game to me. I would be remiss if I didn’t also mention the Sacred Athena Olive Tree on top of the Acropolis. Standing by the west porch of the Érechthéion, historically claimed, this particular tree can be traced back to the original olive tree planted by the Goddess Athena. Regardless, every time I think of Bosnian pine, it conjures up images of the Acropolis and has my mind running with all sorts of horticultural vocabulary, which thrills me… I know, but it does! In closing, I can’t wait for Holly’s expression when she sees the glowing cones of ‘Indigo Eyes’ next spring, against the structure she admired so much.

Editor’s Note: Bob LaHoff is co-owner of Hall’s Garden Center and Florist in Union County, a member of the Union County Board of Agriculture, the New Jersey Nursery and Landscape Association, past member of Reeves-Reed Arboretum Buildings and Grounds Committee, a lifetime member of the Conifer Society and past member of the retail council for Monrovia Growers. He can be reached at (908) 665-0331.

Bobcat Company Launches Two Reimagined Toolcat™ Utility Work Machines Operators looking to perform a wide range of jobsite tasks will find unbeatable versatility, performance and productivity with Bobcat’s all new UW53 and UW56 Toolcat utility work machines. These two refreshed models of Bobcat’s Toolcat utility work machine lineup come equipped with a variety of enhancements – both inside and outside the cab – for superior operation. Replacing the previous models of the Toolcat utility work machine lineup, the UW53 and UW56 have the capability for incredible attachment versatility, allowing operators to easily turn their equipment into multi-purpose hauling, lifting, mowing, towing and loading machines. These new models have totally redesigned LED lighting, providing increased light dispersion and intensity using less power. The embedded road lights are integrated within the front fenders (instead of on the bottom of the front windshield), providing optimal protection and unobstructed illumination for better visibility in all directions. The rear work lights have also changed to LED, to optimize for better light dispersion. The newly updated dual-drive response system has been enhanced to provide smoother acceleration and deceleration, automatically recalling drive response settings. The first setting provides a smooth, responsive traction for driving between tasks, and the second setting changes the drive system to a more aggressive response when operating in low range to maintain hydraulic and traction power for uninterrupted work. A new optional rear-view camera gives operators ideal visibility for tasks that require regular machine maneuvering. The rear-frame location of the camera provides an unobstructed view for connecting a ball hitch (UW56 model only). In addition to these performance enhancements, operators will find several significant comfort updates, including a totally redesigned interior with an integrated 5-inch display, exceptional ergonomics, component placements, and storage spots all within easy access. All controls are in one place for increased operational control, including all secondary functions. For unbeatable uptime and serviceability, operators will find a larger fuel filter, increased operating time between required oil filter changes, increased corrosion protection and fender shape/material, larger in-cab access points and improved wiring harness.

New Law Establishing ‘Jersey Native Plants Program’ Governor Murphy signed legislation on January 10, 2022 launching the Jersey Native Plants Program to promote the sale of native vegetation at local garden centers. The new law, S-83, creates the Jersey Native Plants Program in the Department of Agriculture. The program will promote the sale of plants that are native to the Garden State at local garden centers and nurseries. Like the Jersey Fresh and Jersey Grown initiatives, this program will create a labeling system to identify native plants as “Jersey natives.” New Jersey has approximately 2,100 native plant species, and 19 globally rare plants have their largest or most viable populations in the Garden State.

GardenerNews.com The Mid-Atlantic states have a nearly perfect climate for many types of plants including magnolias, flowering cherries, peonies, maples, oaks and hollies, both evergreen and deciduous types. Many local arboreta and botanic gardens have exceptional collections, including the Tyler Arboretum in Media, Pennsylvania, and the Morris Arboretum of the University of Pennsylvania in Chestnut Hill. The Scott Arboretum at Swarthmore College has a nationally accredited collection highlighted with the James R. Frorer Holly Collection. A great evergreen, native holly for this area is the American holly, Ilex opaca. In its native habitat it can be found in the Pine Barrens, as well as lowland, coastal plain areas on the Pennsylvania side of the Delaware River. At maturity, this becomes a tall pyramidal tree to 50-60’. Like all hollies, there are male and female plants and both are needed at a relatively close proximity to each other to produce berries. ‘Satyr Hill’ received the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society Gold Medal designation for exceptional fruits and foliage. A good male pollinator is ‘Jersey Knight’. ‘Jersey Princess’ is another exceptional female clone that was developed in Dr. Elwin Orton’s breeding program at Rutger’s University. An

February 2022 19 Pennsylvania Horticultural Society By Andrew Bunting Vice President of Public Gardens and Landscapes

Holly Haven

interesting more shrub-like selection for smaller gardens is Ilex opaca ‘Maryland Dwarf’. A closely related hybrid to the American holly is the Foster holly, Ilex x attenuata ‘Foster #2’. It looks like an American holly, but has a narrower and more upright stature and narrower leaves. ‘Sunny Foster’ has bright yellow tips to the foliage in the winter and ‘Longwood Gold’ has yellow instead of red fruits. The classic holly look is a shiny leaf with many spines along the edge of the leaf and red berries. You often see this type of holly in wreaths or potted plants available in the garden center. This holly is the English holly, Ilex aquifolium and its hybrids, Ilex x altaclerensis and Ilex x koehneana. When I first arrived in southeastern Pennsylvania in the mid-80’s, all of the English hollies and their hybrids were considered “marginal”, which means they

were not truly winter hardy in this area. They might survive a winter or two and then be severely killed back to the ground. But nowadays, most likely as a result of global climate change and generally warmer winters, many of these species and cultivars do quite well throughout the MidAtlantic. In my backyard, I have an Ilex x koehneana which has relatively large and long, shiny green-black leaves with an abundance of red fruit throughout the winter. It is a great specimen for the winter landscape, but could also be grown for hedging purposes. Cultivars of Ilex aquifolium and Ilex x altaclerensis would probably still benefit from some winter protection to thrive. Ilex Liberty™, a hardy selection that has characteristics like an English holly, is a relatively compact small tree reaching fourteen feet tall and a spread of eight feet. A popular selection that

has an abundance of orangered fruits and is fast growing to tree to 30+ feet is ‘Nellie R. Stevens’, which is a hybrid of the English holly and the Chinese holly, Ilex cornuta. A favorite group of plants I have used over the years for exceptional winter interest are the deciduous winterberry hollies. Many cultivars have come and gone, but Ilex verticillata ‘Winter Red’ and ‘Winter Gold’ remain two of the best. For both of these selections ‘Southern Gentleman’ is one of the best male pollinators. ‘Winter Red’ reaches ten feet tall and about six to eight feet wide at maturity. The shiny, red fruits start ripening and turning red in late summer. When the leaves drop in the fall, the naked branches are laden with an abundance of fire engine red fruits that can last from mid-September to mid-March. Occasionally, a flock of robins or catbirds will come through and devour them, but in large

part the fruits remain intact all winter long, providing stunning ornamental fruit for the winter landscape. ‘Winter Gold’ is a little misleading in that the fruits are more of a soft salmon orange than golden in color, however they are still an amazing addition to the winter landscape. Editor’s Note: Andrew Bunting is Vice President of Public Gardens and Landscapes for the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society. He is one of the most recognized horticulturists in the Philadelphia, Pa., region and a highly regarded colleague in the world of professional horticulture. Bunting has amassed a plethora of awards, including the American Public Gardens Association Professional Citation, Chanticleer Scholarship in Professional Development, Delaware Center for Horticulture’s Marion Marsh Award, and the Certificate of Merit from the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society. In addition, Bunting has lectured extensively throughout North America and Europe, and participated in plant expeditions throughout Asia and Africa. Learn more at https://phsonline.org/team/ andrew-bunting

The PHS Philadelphia Flower Show Returns to FDR Park in 2022

The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society (PHS) has announced that tickets are now on sale for its highly anticipated 2022 PHS Philadelphia Flower Show, being held for the second time outdoors in its almost 200-year history. “In Full Bloom” will take place in South Philadelphia’s Franklin Delano Roosevelt Park (FDR Park) from Saturday, June 11 through Sunday, June 19, 2022. A variety of ticket options will be offered along with several returning and new events that will appeal to both seasoned fans of the Show along with new audiences. Regular and select special event tickets are available for purchase now at: PHSonline.org/ the-flower-show. New this year, guests will have the option to purchase a ticket for a specific date or, for additional flexibility, upgrade their ticket for the ability to visit any day. Specific timed session tickets will not be implemented in 2022. The Philadelphia Flower Show, started in 1829 by

the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, introduces the public to thousands of plants, gardens, and design concepts. As the nation’s largest and longestrunning horticultural event, the PHS Philadelphia Flower Show is a stunning and educational look at the world of floral design and gardening. PHS is firmly committed to building upon the grandeur of these designs to explore the use of organic and sustainable gardening practices. Show attendees at all levels of gardening (and even non-gardeners!) are invited to participate in curated daily gardening activities and enjoy premier food and shopping experiences.   As the world evolves, the inherent beauty in nature restores us. One’s garden provides a place for healing and connection. The 2022 Philadelphia Flower Show, “In Full Bloom,” welcomes all as we journey to explore the restorative and healing power of nature and plants, while experiencing all that gardening offers to improve our lives.

This year’s theme connotes good health, positive well-being, and a passion for life that culminates in a gorgeous and colorful spectacle. Guests will encounter outdoor gardens at the peak of seasonal perfection and beauty that will inspire everyone to plan for a better tomorrow. Tickets The decision to produce the 2022 PHS Philadelphia Flower Show outdoors was made to accommodate the continuing challenges and uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic. FDR Park’s spacious 15-acre footprint allows for social distancing and the associated health benefits of being outside. Public safety is a critical component for the upcoming Show, and adherence to recommendations from City/State health officials is paramount to Show planning. PHS will continue to work closely with health officials leading up to the Show with updated guidance available online.

20 February 2022

GardenerNews.com

NORTHEAST DEPARTMENT NEW JERSEY DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

DELAWARE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

2022 Gypsy Moth Treatment Program Announced

$2M in Seed Funding to Stabilize and Strengthen Family Farms and Local Food Supply Chain Operations

The New Jersey Department of Agriculture (NJDA) has proposed treating approximately 5,000 acres of residential and county owned properties in Burlington and Cape May counties this year to combat the tree-killing gypsy moth caterpillar. “The treatment program has proved very effective during the last several years and has significantly decreased the gypsy moth caterpillar populations across the state,” New Jersey Secretary of Agriculture Douglas Fisher said. “By treating these areas now, we can prevent this insect’s spread and keep the populations at a minimal level for the years to come.” The NJDA held an informational session in Ewing to outline its 2022 Aerial Gypsy Moth Suppression program. Egg mass surveys were conducted from August to December in 2021. A combined seven municipalities in Burlington County and Cape May County are recommended for treatment. Participation in the program is voluntary. If the towns agree, treatments will take place in May and June. To qualify for the program, a residential or recreational forest must have an average of more than 500 egg masses per acre and be at least 50 acres in size. A single egg mass contains up to 1,000 eggs. Less than 200 acres were recommended for treatment in 2021, also in Burlington and Cape May counties. The Burlington County municipality opted to not do treatment last year and 50 acres were treated in Cape May County. No areas of the state were recommended for treatment in 2019 and 2020. In 2018, the NJDA’s program included approximately 4,000 acres of residential and county owned properties in Burlington, Morris, Passaic, and Warren counties. That was about an 80 percent reduction from the 2017 program. The defoliation decreased due to a combination of effective treatments and sporadic E. maimaiga (gypsy moth fungus), reducing the populations. The NJDA and Department of Environmental Protection use Bacillus thuringiensis (B.t.) to combat gypsy moth. It is a biological insecticide that kills the gypsy moth caterpillar when ingested. Two to three consecutive years of significant defoliation (defined as 75 percent or more) can kill an otherwise healthy tree. However, any gypsy moth defoliation can make trees more susceptible to other damage that can lead to the death of the tree. Oak trees are the preferred host for gypsy moths, but the caterpillars can be found feeding on almost any tree in the vicinity. For more information on New Jersey’s gypsy moth suppression program, visit: www.nj.gov/ agriculture/divisions/pi/prog/gypsymoth.html.

Governor John Carney, the Delaware Department of Agriculture, and the Delaware Council on Farm and Food Policy announced a $2 million investment in seed funding to establish the First State Integrated Food System Program. This new program, which will be developed by the Delaware Council on Farm and Food Policy, will help stabilize and strengthen Delaware’s small and mid-sized farmers and local food supply chain operations, among the hardest hit sectors during the pandemic. The funding for this program is provided through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), which was signed into law by President Joe Biden and championed by members of Delaware’s congressional delegation – U.S. Senators Tom Carper and Chris Coons, and Congresswoman Lisa Blunt Rochester. “This program prioritizes our food system and provides an opportunity for the State to make a strategic investment in how families access food in their communities and at the same time improve the resilience of the local food supply chain,” said Secretary of Agriculture Michael T. Scuse. “Neighboring states, like Maryland and New Jersey, have reaped the benefits of food financing programs. The First State Integrated Food System Program will make similar opportunities available to bolster Delaware’s capacity. These efforts will go a long way in improving local access to local food.”

PENNSYLVANIA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Pennsylvania Phasing in Ban of Invasive Callery Pear, also Called Bradford Pear The PA Department of Agriculture added Callery pear, or Pyrus calleryana, commonly called Bradford Pear to a list of noxious weeds — plants that cannot be legally sold or cultivated in the state. The popular, non-native, flowering fruit tree naturalizes, spreading from planted landscapes, crowding out other plants and disrupting native ecosystems. The ban on sale and cultivation will take effect February 9, 2022 with enforcement phased in over two years. “Callery pear is another non-native plant that was brought to this country for its beauty and rapid growth, without regard for its long-term potential to harm our environment and food supply,” said Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding. “Banning the sale of an invasive plant is an important tool to stop its spread and is a step we take only after careful consideration of the damage it causes and its potential for continued harm to our ecosystem and economy.” Enforcement of the ban will be phased in over two years to allow time for nurseries and landscaping businesses to eliminate it from their stock and replace the trees with alternatives that pose less threat to the environment and agriculture. The department has established an exemption procedure for breeders who own the rights to varieties that have been researched and proven sterile, and will consider exempting these varieties from the ban. Callery pear was brought to the U.S. in the early 1900s by researchers looking for a fire blight-resistant species that could be bred with European pear to increase fruit production. It has garnered attention in recent years as a prolific

invader that can easily spread into woodlands, pastures, fields and natural areas. Property owners should control the tree’s spread on their land and consider native alternatives when planting new trees. Find native alternatives and information on how to control the plant on the PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources website, dcnr.pa.gov. The timeline for the two-year rollout of the ban is as follows: Winter 2021 - Callery pear added to Pennsylvania’s Controlled plant and Noxious Weed list as a Class B weed. Class B weeds are those that are so prolific they cannot realistically be eradicated. These plants are targeted for control measures. February 2022 – Nursery and landscape businesses will receive notice from the department, advising them to immediately begin adjusting propagation, ordering and planting of Callery Pear to decrease inventory. February 2023 – The department will issue letters of warning to any plant merchant still selling Callery Pear, providing a date in February 2024 after which remaining inventory will be subject to a destruction order. February 2024 – The department will issue Stop Sale and destruction orders to plant merchants selling or distributing Callery Pear. Merchants with questions should contact ra-plant@pa.gov. Find more information about Callery pear and other noxious, controlled and poisonous plants in Pennsylvania visit agriculture.pa.gov.

GardenerNews.com

February 2022 21

OF AGRICULTURE NEWS NEW YORK DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

MAINE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

New York State Hemp Plan Approved by the USDA Continuing the Grower Licensing Program

Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry Commissioner Amanda Beal Announces Maine Forest Service Ranger Chief Bill Hamilton’s Retirement, Regional Forest Ranger Robby Gross Selected as Successor

State Agriculture Commissioner Richard A. Ball announced that the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets’ Hemp Program Plan was approved by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Following the passage of the 2018 Farm Bill, all states interested in administering a state hemp program were required to submit a hemp program plan to the USDA. The Plan allows the Department to continue to administer a hemp grower licensing program, starting in 2022. The Department is now accepting applications for the program. Applications and additional information are available at https://agriculture.ny.gov/plantindustry/hemp-grower-licensing. Commissioner Ball said, “New York State has been a leader in the hemp industry since the launch of its pilot program, with producers registered to grow industrial hemp on 30,000 acres. Under this new plan, our growers will have stability and consistency in regulations moving forward, with continued guidance and support from the Department. We look forward to continuing to administer this important program, which provides growers with an avenue to diversify crops and tap into new markets.” All currently licensed growers participating in New York State’s program need to reapply under this new program to grow hemp next year. The current Industrial Hemp Agricultural Research Pilot Program expired at the end of 2021.

CONNECTICUT DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Import Alert: HPAI Restrictions for Pet Birds from Canada The Connecticut Department of Agriculture is alerting poultry and pet bird owners that Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has confirmed the presence of high pathogenic Avian Influenza (AI), subtype H5N1, at a multi-species exhibition farm in the Avalon Peninsula on the island portion of Newfoundland and Labrador. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) Veterinary Services (VS) is requiring an import permit and a health certificate for pet birds that are imported from Canada. In addition to these new requirements, pet birds which originate, or transit through, a highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) affected zone must travel direct to quarantine at the New York Animal Import Center in Newburgh, NY, or the Miami Animal Import Center in Miami, FL. A 30-day quarantine is required for these pet birds and includes mandatory testing of the bird(s). The department is urging all poultry owners to take a few minutes and review their bio-security. Poultry and poultry products are one of Connecticut’s most valuable agriculture sectors. The detection of Avian Influenza in Connecticut could have a devastating impact on our poultry industry. For more information on Avian Influenza and bio-security resources on how to protect your flock, please visit our website at https://portal.ct.gov/ DOAG/Regulatory/Regulatory/Avian-Influenza-Information

Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry (DACF) Commissioner Amanda Beal announced that Robert “Robby” Gross would serve as the next Forest Ranger Chief of the Maine Forest Service (MFS). Current Ranger Chief, Colonel Bill Hamilton, retired on January 1. Chief Hamilton and Regional Forest Ranger Gross will collaborate on the leadership transition through that time. Hamilton served the Maine people for 42 years, starting with the entomology division and progressing through the ranks. He was appointed Ranger Chief in 2012. “Choosing Chief Hamilton’s successor was a difficult decision; we are very lucky to have many accomplished professionals in our ranks,” said DACF Commissioner Amanda Beal. “It was a pleasure working with Bill, and I look forward to working with Robby as he oversees state and private forestry programs and applies the experiences and expertise needed to ensure the health, diversity, and productivity of Maine’s forests.” Ranger Gross has served as a Regional Forest Ranger since 2020. Before this, he was a District Forest Ranger from 2002 to 2020, an Assistant District Forest Ranger from 2000-2003, and a Ranger II from 1995 to 2000. Robby has held numerous leadership roles, such as Northern Region and East Branch District Operations. He is responsible for developing the Division Honor Guard and co-leads the Division fitness program. He administers Maine’s fire reporting program for wildland fire documentation, and he also created and leads the Fire Protection Division Respiratory Protection Program. “Chief Hamilton has always stayed focused on those he supervised, works with and for, and provided exceptional service to his administration and the people of Maine. I will miss him greatly,” said MFS Director and State Forester Patty Cormier. “Like so many others in the Maine Forest Service, I have the utmost respect for Robby Gross because of the proven track record of his leadership and support for his colleagues and the many communities we serve. He is ready to lead our Maine Forest Rangers.” Ranger Gross has served as Eastern and Southern States representative on the National Wildfire Coordinating Group Incident Business Committee and is the Division business lead for incident management response. He also served as Incident Commander of the Maine Forest Ranger Incident Management Team (IMT) and helped develop the Field Training Officer Program. He has deployed 27 times to help on national wildfire incidents, most recently as Incident Commander of Maine IMT in Idaho. Robby earned an Associate of Science, Forest Technology degree, a Bachelor’s Degree in Biology, and an Associate of Arts, Criminal Justice degree, each from the University of Maine at Fort Kent. He is Assistant Fire Chief with the Mapleton, Castle Hill, and Chapman Fire Department and has served there for 20 years. He volunteers with the Aroostook County Special Olympics Area Management Team and Boy Scout Troop 170.

22 February 2022

GardenerNews.com

A Charming, Warm, Blooming Piece of Paradise (Continued from page 8)

Tom Castronovo/Photo

Brian Hautau with his magnificent silky white calla lilies as the bloom cycle begins.

Burnham greenhouse, tucked away in the beautiful rolling hills of Sussex County. Before we walked into the greenhouses, Brian showed us ranunculus corms soaking in aerated water. He does this for three hours. As the corms soak, they plump up, often doubling in size. After soaking, the corms are presprouted. Presprouting the corms helps the flowers bloom a few weeks earlier. Ranunculus have an outstanding vase life, often exceeding 10 days. As we moved about the greenhouses, we were treated to a kaleidoscope of colors from dinner plate dahlias, spectacular hellebores, poppy, sweet pea, bleeding heart and, of course, their famous ranunculus in full bloom. The highlight of the tour was seeing the magnificent silky white calla lilies painting the back of the shady part of the greenhouse, and seeing the blooms of the dahlias in a dazzling rainbow of colors in the sunny part of the greenhouse. The Hautau’s signature calla lily history with this breed of flower dates back to the 1920s. The tubers have been in the family for generations. The upright trumpet flower form is usually five inches tall and three inches across. This long-lasting cut flower is very popular in wedding floral arrangements. The calla lily itself has a rich and interesting history. Originating in South Africa, this beautiful flower has enjoyed special historical designation, dating as far back as ancient Rome where the calla lily was cultivated and used as a flower of

celebration and a symbol of purity. Throughout history the flower has weathered consumer trends, with ups and downs in popularity, but has continued to be a fascination of artists and a flower cherished by florists. HJ Hautau & Son Greenhouses is one of the few remaining fresh cut flower producers in North Western New Jersey. Brian and his wife Kim formally took over the family growing operation in 2001. HJ Hautau & Son Greenhouses is primarily a wholesale facility, but is occasionally open to the public by appointment only. Kim Hautau, Brian’s wife, is the star of the operation. She is the one to speak to if you’d like to visit and purchase a bouquet. After a quick 45-minute visit in a warm tropical environment, we headed out to our next stop. And I’ll tell you, it was a bitter cold one. Thank you for your hospitality, Brian. Editor’s Note: Tom Castronovo is executive editor and publisher of Gardener News. Tom’s lifelong interest in gardening and passion for agriculture, environmental stewardship, gardening and landscaping, led to the founding of the Gardener News, which germinated in April 2003 and continues to bloom today. He is also dedicated to providing inspiration, and education to the agricultural, gardening, landscaping and nursery communities through this newspaper and GardenerNews.com.

GardenerNews.com

February 2022 23 B o B c a t. c o m / L a r g e e x c a va t o r s B o B c a t. c o m / L a r g e e x c a va t o r s

0% Financing Available 0% Financing Available When your work calls for big performance and productivity for difﬁcult jobs, step into new large excavators from Bobcat. Sometimes, bigger challenges demand a bigger excavator. New Bobcat® large excavators will measure up and then some.

A Proud Sponsor of the

Contact our Sales Specialists the Entire Contact our Proudly SalesSupporting Specialists

Visit Bobcat of North Jersey at When your work calls for big performance and productivity When your work bignew performance and productivity for difficult jobs,calls stepfor into large excavators from Bobcat. for difficult jobs, step into new large excavators from Bobcat. Sometimes, bigger challenges demand a bigger excavator. Sometimes, a bigger ® largechallenges excavatorsdemand will measure upexcavator. and then some. New Bobcatbigger ® New Bobcat large excavators will measure up and then some.

New Jersey Agricultural, Gardening, Bobcat of North Jersey Patrick Barckett 201-446-0127 Landscaping and Nursery Communities. 201 MALTESE DRIVE Bobcat of North Jersey Patrick Barckett 201-446-0127 Patrick.Barckett@NJBobcat.com TOTOWA DRIVE , NJ 201 MALTESE Patrick.Barckett@NJBobcat.com (973) 774-9500 TOTOWA , NJ of North Jersey Craig Dahl 201-788-4838 (973) 774-9500 of North Jersey Craig Dahl 201-788-4838 CraigD@NJBobcat.com http://www.njbobcat.com CraigD@NJBobcat.com http://www.njbobcat.com Steve Caputo 973-800-5097 201 Maltese Drive, Totowa, NJ Steve Caputo 973-800-5097 Steve.Caputo@NJBobcat.com Steve.Caputo@NJBobcat.com www.njbobcat.com • (973) 774-9500 Sean Kunkel 973-800-7109 Bobcat , the Bobcat logo and the colors of the Bobcat machine are registered trademarks of Bobcat Company in the United States and various other countries. ©2021 Bobcat Company. All rights reserved. 14520937 Sean Kunkel 973-800-7109 Sean.Kunkel@NJBobcat.com Bobcat , the Bobcat logo and the colors of the Bobcat machine are registered trademarks of Bobcat Company in the United States and various other countries. ©2021 Bobcat Company. All rights reserved. 14520937 Sean.Kunkel@NJBobcat.com ®

24 February 2022

GardenerNews.com

Z MASTER®

4000 SERIES ZERO-TURN MOWERS 48”-60” TURBO FORCE® CUTTING DECKS

NEW!

Z MASTER 4000 HDX PRO XL SERIES Featuring powerful 35 HP Kawasaki® FX1000 engines

FROM

START FINISH

TIMECUTTER®

GRANDSTAND®

ZERO-TURN MOWERS

STAND-ON MOWERS

36”-60” TURBO FORCE® CUTTING DECKS

IRONFORGED DECK ®

TimeCutters come with a Toro IronForged deck to ensure years of reliability and top performance.

TRACTION & HANDLING

MyRIDE® SUSPENSION SYSTEM

CUSHIONED SUSPENSION

A wide stance and optimal balance enhance hillside stability and control.

Save your body from the toughest terrain and avoid slow mowing speeds with the MyRIDE Suspension System.

Flex-Ride operator platform suspension self-compensates for operators of all sizes, resulting in less fatigue and higher productivity throughout the day.

Z MASTER®

2000 SERIES ZERO-TURN MOWERS 48”-60” TURBO FORCE® CUTTING DECKS FINISH JOBS FASTER Built to take on the toughest hits with powerful engines and upgraded hydros, this mower features a fully tubular frame, large 24” rear tires and 7/10-gauge steel deck with bullnose bumper.

SPRAYMASTER®

STAND-ON TURF RENOVATION Dual Smart Hour Meters and Lean-to-Steer Provide Precision Dispersement White Tanks Simplify Fuel Level Monitoring

GRANDSTAND® MULTI FORCE™ WITH MULCH DUMP ALL-SEASON USE A variety of attachments and accessories such as Mulch Dump, Pro-Force blower, snow thrower, power broom, tine rake, dethatcher and BOSS snow blade all provide the ultimate in productivity.

TURFMASTER® HDX

PROLINE™ MID-SIZE MOWERS 36”-60” CUTTING DECKS

30” WIDE AREA WALK POWER MOWER

NO-HASSLE SULKY

Commercial-Grade Kawasaki® Engine Larger, More Powerful Kohler® Engine Available Spin-On Oil Filter & Dual Element Air Filter

2-wheel sulky rotates 360º and folds away when not in use; no need to remove for trailering!

MOWING MUSCLE Reliable Kawasaki engines drive .204” blades for a gorgeous, professional cut.

See your local servicing Toro dealer at Toro.com/local