KCG 03Mar18 by The Kansas City Gardener

The Kansas City

GARDENER A Monthly Guide to Successful Gardening New for 2018

March 2018

Annuals add

beauty to life

Rose Report Simple Steps for Blueberry Success Excitement About Native Plants Beginner Butterfly Gardener Resources

Attention Homeowners! If you’re thinking of adding a water garden this year, here’s why you should call Swan’s Water Gardens.

Today’s Marketplace We realize that you are bombarded with many companies competing for your business. Everyone claiming to be the best or having the best products with the lowest price.

In search of the ultimate Water Garden

The “Water Garden Village”

After 23 years of researching and installing water gardens, we have refined our building techniques to a level that produces the most naturalistic and easiest maintenance water garden you can have built today.

Located on 8 acres dedicated to building and maintaining water gardens. Make a day of strolling through water gardens and quaint shops of our Water Garden Village.

With so many companies just wanting to sell you their products for a price, then leave you We call it the “Four Season Water Garden” alone to deal with the many costly mistakes that for good reason. It’s the water garden for all first-time pond builders and landscapers make. seasons. From the beautiful flowers of summer, to the magical ice sculptures of winter. We don’t think that’s right! The best part of the “Four Seasons Water When you entrust Swan’s Water Gardens Garden” is it’s guaranteed from leaking for with your business, you get more than just the 5 full years! The longest guarantee in the industry. materials to build your pond.

You’ll be able to see container water features you can build for as little as $295, ideal for small patios or courtyards.

You get over 23 years of pond building experience and knowledge to go with your purchase. We are going to be here to assist you with the step-by-step pond building process from start to finish, or we can build it for you. Your end result, a Water Garden Paradise.

Why do we stand behind our work for so long? Very simple, when you hire Swan’s Water Gardens to build your water garden, it’s the beginning of our relationship, not the end! So if you’re looking for a company you’ll never hear from again, we’re probably not the company you’re looking for.

We also have many more display gardens ranging in price from $2,500 up to $40,000 for a more elaborate feature built by Swan’s Water Gardens. We have many exciting events and classes scheduled for 2018 so be sure to watch for them in upcoming issues of The Kansas City Gardener. We are Kansas City’s only full service water garden company that carries everything you’ll need to complete and enjoy your water garden lifestyle.

We’re Living and Loving The Water Garden Lifestyle! “Creating Paradise ... in Your Backyard” www.swanswatergardens.com

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SPRING CONTAINER BULB PLANTING HOW TO SUCCESSFULLY PLANT BULBS: (remember, grow different varieties in different containers)

1. FIGURE OUT WHICH END IS UP

If you plant bulbs upside down or sideways, you’re asking them to waste time & energy. Examine your bulbs for room remnants at the base – the end goes down.

2. FILL YOUR POT PART WAY WITH SOIL MIX Enough so bulbs placed upright on this layer with their tops 1” below the rim of the pot. Make sure to check the bloom dates of the bulbs you are planting.

3. SPACE BULBS SO THAT THEY’RE GENTLY TOUCHING OR NO MORE THAN 1/2” APART Press the base of the bulbs into the soil to keep them standing straight. Place any larger bulbs at the center of the group.

4. FILL IN AROUND THE BULBS, BARELY COVERING THE TOPS, WITH SOIL MIX

Use a mix that’s well drained but still holds some moisture. A soil mix with starter fertilizer is adequate, or you can mix in a small amount of bulb fertilizer while planting.

5. WATER GENTLY WITH A CAN OR HOSE

Set at a trickle until the soil is fully moistened. Some spring-blooming bulbs require a special chilling period before they’ll grow & bloom.

TIPS FOR GREAT RESULTS: Get the most color out of your planted space by planting bulbs or perennials with various bloom times. Mass planting of one color together makes the biggest impact. When the blooms are gone allow the foliage of the bulbs to yellow & dieback on its own before removing it. This is important to allow the plant to continue making food for the bulb’s next season.

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VISIT US FOR GREAT TIPS, ADVICE & A LOCATION NEAR YOU!

20 STORES IN THE KC METRO! WWW.WESTLAKEHARDWARE.COM The Kansas City Gardener | March 2/19/18 201810:36 AM3

The Kansas City

editor’s notes

GARDENER A Monthly Guide to Successful Gardening

Random musings

Independently owned and operated since 1996 Publisher Michael Cavanaugh Editor Elizabeth Cavanaugh Contributors Mike DeRee Tracy Flowers Nik and Theresa Hiremath Lenora Larson Marion Morris Judy Moser Ken O’Dell Diana Par-Due Dennis Patton Judy Penner Ed Reese Chelsea Didde Rice Phil Roudebush Scott Woodbury Distribution Publishers Delivery Solutions, Inc.

How to Reach Us ...

P.O. Box 8725 Prairie Village, KS 66208 Phone: 913-648-4728 For advertising information contact Michael Cavanaugh at mike@kcgmag.com Submit editorial questions to Elizabeth Cavanaugh at elizabeth@kcgmag.com

See us on the Web: www.kcgmag.com

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hen I begin writing this column usually there is a spark of inspiration, some sort of theme that sets the wheels of creativity in motion. Before you set the bar too high, expecting artistry or some highbrow essay (is there such a thing?), this ain’t that! And you can put that bar away. You see, it’s winter. For us gardeners, those words say it all. Enough said. To set the stage, it’s the kind of day that lacks clear thinking, and no amount of caffeine seems to make a difference. Truth is when it is cloudy outside, it is typically cloudy inside my head too. To formulate a coherent sentence becomes a challenge, let alone a paragraph. With my laptop and trusted thesaurus inside, I start clicking out a few words to encourage brainwave activity. At least this way there’s a chance for that eureka moment. Then Lou, my big orange tabby decides it’s bring-your-cat-to-work day. When the laptop is in my lap, Louie wants major lap occupancy. No negotiating. By pushing his big self in, and edging the computer out he wins my attention and I’ve lost my train of thought.

Where was I? Off I go wondering about the date spring arrives? Right away from my memory I can hear my youngest daughter’s favorite phrase, “Just Google it!”, as she mimics her dad. She actually has grown to dislike those three words. Too often they are part of a discussion regarding her chosen college major and future career opportunities. I discover that Tuesday, March 20 is the first day of spring. Certainly the sun will shine that day! Certainly clarity will come then.That’s a hopeful thought. How about this week? What does the forecast look like? I go to the weather app on my phone to check. It is so disappointing to see those little cloud icons … for the next four days. Maybe going for a walk will help. Let’s stroll the garden. Bundled up and curious, I begin pushing mulch around, hoping to uncover some early sign of spring. I’m eager to find hellebores planted last season, as well as bleeding

hearts planted the season before (one of Mr. Gardener’s favs). The more I wander through the garden, the better I start to feel. Eureka! A walk in the garden opened the creative gate and I am thrilled. In my mind scenes of the gardens roll through like a movie, filled with sweet memories of the garden in bloom. No lack of words now. Always seeking a lesson to be learned, I contemplate how a murky, somber day was easily transformed into a bright and brilliant one. My garden did that. In the middle of winter, my garden did that. Amazing! Does your garden do that? Can you take a stroll through your garden, and simply feel better having been there? Can you sense a shift in attitude? I believe the trick is a focus on being present. There was nothing to interfere with this relationship I have with my garden. Every time I’m there, in this sanctuary of mine, all that matters is peace. I pray the same for you. I’ll see you in the garden!

In this issue March 2018 • Vol. 23 No. 3 Arboretum at Baker ................. 6 Charming Chickadee ............... 8 Ask the Experts ........................ 10 Bold Monarch Statement .......... 12 Naturalizing with Wildflowers ... 14 Steps for Blueberry Success ...... 16 Annuals Add Beauty to Life ....... 18 Rose Report ............................ 20 Herb: Catmint ......................... 21 Excitement About Natives ......... 22 Pets & Plants ........................... 23

about the cover ...

Tulip Time ............................... 24 OPA Plant Sale ....................... 25 Bird Facts ................................ 25 Healthy Yards Expo ................. 26 Butterfly Gardener Resources .... 28 Plant Profile: Basil .................... 30 Upcoming Events ..................... 30 Hotlines .................................. 33 Garden Calendar .................... 34 Subscribe ................................ 35 Meet an EMG .......................... 35

This new for 2018 Salvia ‘Mysty’ is sure to be a thriller in any container combination. Learn about more new annuals beginning on page 18. Photo courtesy of Ball Flora.

Plants don’t get to choose, but you do. Osmocote® Smart-Release® Plant Food Flower & Vegetable Feeds continuously and consistently for up to 4 full months. If you grow your own, grow with Osmocote®. © 2018, The Scotts Company, LLC. All rights reserved

The Kansas City Gardener | March 2018

Discover Arboretum at Baker Univ

hen Baker University was founded in 1858, there were no trees on campus as this entire area was prairie. Baker University is in Baldwin City, Kan., about 45 miles west of Kansas City. In 1941 Ivan L. Boyd came to Baker as professor and chairman of the biology department. Dr. Boyd continued to teach until his death in 1982. Dr. Boyd was instrumental in planting most of the trees on the campus today. The Ivan L. Boyd Arboretum consists of the six-block Baldwin City campus and was dedicated in 1978. There are 400 trees of 125 species and varieties growing on this beautiful campus today. All are healthy, well cared for and many have indentification markers. For seven consecutive years Baker University has been named Tree Campus USA.

Ask students at Baker about the trees adorning campus, they’ll likely mention the many large catalpa trees. Growing from one end of the campus to the other are at least a dozen giant catalpa trees, many reaching 60 to 80 feet into the sky. Each year in mid to late spring thousands of 1” to 2” white flowers cover the catalpa trees just as the leaves emerge. The bell shaped flowers have thin purple and yellow markings in the throat. The flowers are as small orchid flowers floating to the ground when the soft, warm wind blows in May and June. These are the northern catalpas (Catalpa speciosa) which grow larger then other catalpa species. Several of these catalpa trees have a trunk circumference of 10 to 11 feet. That takes two or three college kids to reach around the trunks of the trees. They are massive trees thriv-

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Photos by Ken O’Dell.

Local plantsman and top-notch tree expert, KEN O’DELL highlights the trees found in this must-see arboretum.

Catalpa tree blossoms

Catalpa tree leaves

ing and marking their territory with many other well spaced trees on this eastern Great Plains college campus. Perhaps the rarest species in the arboretum is the Ozark Chinquapin. This species, Castanea ozarkensis, is native to the Ozark Mountain region and is considered a threatened species in Missouri. The original tree was cut down just a few years ago likely due to chestnut blight that attacks the above ground parts of the tree. The surviving roots can produce new stump growth of sprouts that will develop into small trees, which has happened. One trunk has grown to about 10’ in height with some branching. It sends out flowers and had some fruit which are tiny chestnut looking seed enclosed in a spiny covering. Several species of Linden trees were planted about 40 years ago and their size is remarkable. Bigleaf Linden, Tilia platyphyllos, is planted on the south side of the campus along with a giant American Linden, Tilia americana, which most of us call Basswood.

Bigleaf Linden is native in Europe and SW Asia while the Basswood is an American native. Basswood is native in Eastern Kansas and most if not all of Missouri. Smaller linden trees including Basswood and Greenspire Linden have been recently planted and are doing great on the campus. Many species of Oaks, Maples and Redbud are planted with Soapberry, Black Cherry, English Walnut, Ironwood, Buckeye, Hickory, Black Walnut, Magnolias, and the largest Box Elder tree I have ever seen. Download a walking tour map from the website (https://www.bakeru.edu/aboutbaker-university/arboretum/) and see the Google map for information on the trees. Ken O’Dell is a lifetime member of the Friends of the Arboretum. He is a long time volunteer at the Overland Park Arboretum and Botanical Garden and the Kansas City regional leader of the Kansas Native Plant Society.

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Charming Chickadees Local birding expert, THERESA HIREMATH discusses the life and times of chickadees, darling backyard bird.

he black-capped chickadee is one of our most familiar and charming year-round avian residents, with an insatiable curiosity and tiny body with a smart black cap on its head. This cutey is one of the first birds most people learn to recognize due to its willingness to visit birdfeeders and its habit of investigating everything around it. They are also easily identified by their namesake call “chick-a-dee”. The chickadee is a favorite feeder bird and they enjoy suet, sunflower seeds, safflower and mealworms. During the winter, their diet consists equally of seed and animal sources (insect eggs, larvae, etc.), and in summertime the ratio of animal source food increases to 70%. Chickadees are master cachers, hiding up to 200 seeds per day, and they remember each seed’s loca-

tion due to their highly developed spatial memory. Amazingly, the hippocampus region of their brain enlarges in fall, then shrinks again in the spring, helping them remember cached seed locations and helping them adapt to changes in their social flocks and environment. Chickadees do not migrate, and during cold weather, chickadees have been found to need 20 times more food than they do in summer. They eat ravenously first thing in the morning and just before dusk, and can gain as much as 10 percent of their body weight each day and lose it all again during a cold winter night. When the temperature falls below 10 degrees, research has shown that the survival rate of chickadees almost doubled when they had access to feeders. Birds with access to feeders had an over-

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all higher winter survival rate of 69% versus only a 37% survival rate for those without access to feeders. During wintertime, chickadees form small flocks of 6-10 members, and will mix with nuthatches, titmice, woodpeckers, creepers and kinglets. Joining a flock provides more eyes to spot food sources, increasing the chance of survival in the cold. The chickadee also learns the alarm call of the other birds to help them escape danger. Chickadees have several strategies to survive the winter. Perhaps one of the coolest tool is the Vitali Organ in their middle ear. This organ detects barometric pressure shifts, signaling a change in the weather. In response, the chickadee feeds heavier before the approaching storm front. Another strategy is fluffing their feathers—they can control the position of each individual feather. This insulating strategy provides an amazing up to 70 degree difference between the air and their skin surface. During nighttime, in addition to fluffing, chickadees enter into hypothermia, which can save 25% of their metabolic energy. Hypothermia reduces their body temperature 12-15 degrees. Lastly, chickadees stay warm by shivering, which uses a lot of calories. Chickadees weigh less than one-half an ounce and are found in wooded areas. This hardy little bird usually mates for life. They are cavity nesters and will excavate their own nest site in soft rotten or

decaying wood, use an old woodpecker hole, or use a nesting box. Scouting for a suitable nesting site begins in early February, and both the male and female excavate 3-5 possible nest locations. Once a site is chosen, it takes them 3-4 days to construct a cozy nest on a soft moss base. The female usually lays 6-8 white eggs with a light reddishbrown speckling, one per day. She starts incubating the eggs when the next to the last egg is lain. They hatch in around 12 days and fledge at approximately 16 days. The young have a yellow mouth to help the parents see them in the dark cavity…isn’t that cool? The chickadee family stays together for only 3-4 weeks, with the young totally leaving the adults’ territory after that time. Their wing beats are about 27 times per second (in comparison, a hummingbird beats its wings 80 times per second). Hopping is their preferred method of ground travel, as opposed to walking, and they are weak flyers. Average flight distance is only 16 yards, with a top speed of 12 mph. Amazingly, they can even hover for short periods. Add a little joy to your daily routine! Put up a birdfeeder, keep it filled with fresh birdseed, grab your binoculars, and enjoy the antics of the chickadee! Nik and Theresa Hiremath own and operate Wild Birds Unlimited of Leawood at 11711 Roe Avenue, Leawood, Kansas. Contact them at 913-491-4887.

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Ask the Experts maybe you are starting the plants too early and they are getting too big. Many common plants probably only require six to eight weeks for a finished plant. Continue to experiment and as always have fun. SUMP PUMP CREATES PLANTING PROBLEM Question: My neighbor’s sump pump discharges right next to the property line and into my garden. Many of my plants have died. Is there a boggy shade-loving plant that will grow in saturated soils? It is even wet in August. Answer: Oh my, this is a problem. You would not believe the number of calls I receive about neighbors discharging water onto others property. Growing up on the farm doing this was considered not neighborly and was just not

Photo by Spring Meadow.

HOW TO GROW STOCKY PLANTS Question: I am growing plants using shop lights. Even though I keep the lamps on 16 hours and place them an inch above the seedlings they still get tall and lanky. I can’t seem to grow stocky plants. What am I missing? Answer: Sounds like you are doing the right things. That is keeping the lights close to the plants and on for a long period of time. Here are a few tricks to add to your tool bag. Increase the length of light, maybe just leave them on 24/7. You might try locating the transplants in a cooler location. Most people start in their basement and that temperature should be fine. Avoid watering and fertilizing before the dark period. Letting the plant stress slightly between watering will help reduce elongation. Last thought,

Crepe myrtle ‘Double Feature’

Butterfly bush ‘Purple Haze’

the way to do business. You either fixed your own problem, or worked with your neighbor to solve the issue, not pass it along. It would be nice if more people thought about how their actions impact others. You might check with your city codes office as I thought this was not legal. Unfortunately, I do not have a good list of bog plants as my hunch is you are somewhere in the middle between saturated soils and a true bog. Is there a way you can create a creek bed to channel the water? Can the water be captured at the source and let it flow down a lined rock bed and out of the garden bed? Can you create a true bog area to hold the water? Bury a large tub to hold the water or maybe create a small pondless water feature? I

guess I feel dealing with the water is a better solution than bog plants. Sorry, this is an unfortunate situation. It is too bad people cannot own up to the problems they create for others.

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March 2018 | kcgmag.com

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Photo by Park Seed.

Gardeners have plenty of questions about landscape issues, DENNIS PATTON answers a few of them here.

Services offered: Landscaping Retaining Walls • Patios Outdoor Lighting 1001 S.W. 40 Hwy Blue Springs, MO 64015

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BUTTERFLY BUSH OR CREPE MYRTLE Question: I’m going to replace a sickly rose with either a miniature butterfly bush or crepe myrtle. I want something long flowering and easy care. Attracting butterflies and hummingbirds would be a bonus. My concern is butterfly bush gets bashed on the internet as an invasive species. What do you recommend? Answer: I am glad you are adopting my mantra and that is “life is too short for ugly plants!” Get rid of the under-performing

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plants, as there are so many great choices. Butterfly bush in some parts of the country have reseeded into native areas placing them on the invasive species list. Reseeding does not seem to be a problem in the Kansas City area. The newer dwarf selections of butterfly bush being released on the market are sterile plants that do not produce seed. I personally don’t think you can go wrong with either choice. I would lean toward the butterfly bush. They would have the pollinator draw you desire. On a personal note I have not been as impressed with the performance of many of the dwarf crepe myrtles. There are a number of nice small butterfly bush. One I have been very impressed with in our Extension Master Gardener demonstration garden is Purple Haze. Hey they are small, plant both! THIN AREAS NEED RESEEDING Question: Will bluegrass germinate in March? I have some thin areas that need reseeding. Answer: Yes. Next question. I think you might be looking for more than a yes/no answer. Soil temperatures in the spring are ideal for germination. However, there is a ‘but.’ The issue is not germination, the problem is establishment before the heat of summer and survival. The problem is usually spring seeded grass does not have extensive roots and dies off with heat and dry conditions of summer. If the area is highly irrigated and we have a mild summer it could hold on till fall. My gut hunch is that you will need to reseed again

in the fall. If they are small areas give it a try. But for a large lawn area, live with the stand till fall. A side note, if the lawn is bluegrass, it has rhizomes and can fill in thin areas. Provide good culture and maybe by fall it will repair itself. This is the main advantage of bluegrass in our area. USING LAWN FERTILIZER VS SPECIFIC FOOD FOR TREES, SHRUBS Question: I fertilized my lawn last September and November at the rate of three pounds of nitrogen per 1,000 square feet. Do my young trees still need to be fertilized using a product specifically for trees and shrubs? Answer: Here is a little secret… trees cannot read the label on the fertilizer bag. They do not know it was lawn fertilizer. They just enjoy taking up some of the leftovers. No, you don’t need a bag of fertilizer that says tree food. The question is do the trees need a supplemental application in addition to the lawn fertilization. I could go either way. The trees are getting some benefit from the lawn application, but if you want the fastest growth on the young saplings then an application that is targeted for the trees will provide a greater boost. The theory is instead of getting a few leftover crumbs they are at the buffet with a full, overflowing plate of food.

Missouri Prairie Foundation Kansas City Native Plant Sale Tues., April 3, 3:30—7:30pm

PF will hold a native seed and plant sale on Tuesday, April 3 at the Anita B. Gorman Conservation Discovery Center, 4750 Troost Ave, Kansas City, MO 64110 from 3:30 p.m. till 7:30 p.m. or sell out. Vendors donate a generous portion of proceeds to help MPF conserve vital pollinator habitat on its native prairies. A variety of native wildflowers, sedges, grasses, trees and shrubs suitable for shade, partial shade, sun, dry or moist conditions from three vendors will be available. This is a great opportunity to buy native seeds and plants that will look great in your home landscape and will provide essential habitat for native pollinators and birds. Many species of plants—both host and nectar plants—for pollinators, including monarch butterflies will be available.

Dennis Patton is the horticulture agent for Johnson County K-State Research and Extension. For free information fact sheets, visit www.johnson.ksu.edu, or call the Extension office at 913-715-7000.

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The Kansas City Gardener | March 2018

Make a Bold Monarch Statement or small tree, or in a container overwintered indoors. It requires full sun and well-drained soil, but is otherwise low-maintenance. Too much water actually causes leaves to yellow and fall off. There has been some confusion as to whether we were growing C. procera or C. gigantea, since the flowers of both can be white or pale purple, but no matter. Jack saw C. gigantea, otherwise known as Giant Milkweed or Tree Milkweed, in San Diego, growing to a height of 12 feet or more, and “absolutely covered with Monarch caterpillars, chrysalises, and swarming Monarch butterflies,” according to Jack. Unsuccessful in germinating the seeds he found online, Jack has been taking cuttings ever since then from the plant Chip Taylor gave him.

Missouri Wildflowers Nursery 573-496-3492, fax: 573-496-3003

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Photo by Lenora Larson.

onarch caterpillars were just starting to appear on the Calotropis when these large tropical plants in the Milkweed family attracted a surprising amount of attention during the Miami County garden tour in early September last year. The plants were brought to the attention of Idalia Society members (many of whom are also Extension Master Gardeners) by Jack Lawless, who had seen them in San Diego and obtained a plant from Chip Taylor at Monarch Watch in Lawrence. A native of tropical Africa and Asia, Calotropis is a distant relative of the Asclepias family we are more familiar with, as evidenced by its milky sap. Hardy only in zones 10 to 12, it can be grown in the ground here as an annual shrub

Photo by Judy Moser.

JUDY MOSER discusses the Tree Milkweed, Calotropis, and how you can get one for your garden.

The shorter plant, C. procera, has fragrant flowers and the more colorful common name Roostertree. Since ours are not fragrant, we are pretty sure we are growing C. gigantea, the Tree Milkweed (pictured above). For those who raise Monarch caterpillars, Jack says, “One cutting will usually rear a couple of caterpillars all the way to the chrysalis stage without wilting.” The cuttings stay firm in water and do not have to be replaced like native and tropical milkweed. Calotropis has naturalized in California and Hawaii, where the large, fleshy flowers are commonly

Opening day at our Brazito location is March 17. Meet us in the KC area at one of these locations. Give us your order by Tuesday before a sale, and we will bring it to the location.

used in leis. You can find detailed information about both species online. Seeds are available for purchase, if you dare. A limited number of plants will be for sale at the EMG plant sale in Paola the last weekend in April and the Arboretum plant sale the following weekend. Make your Monarchs happy and give your butterfly garden a bold focal point. Judy Moser, a Marais des Cygnes Extension Master Gardener.

We’re here to help with... Landscape Design & Installation Services

Burr Oak Woods Nature Center, 1401 NW Park Rd., Blue Springs, MO 64015 Native Plant Sale, March 17, 1 p.m. - 4 p.m., Naturescaping Workshop: 816-228-3766 to register Workshop hours 8 a.m. - 1 p.m. Kansas City Community Gardens, 6917 Kensington Ave., KC MO 64132 (Swope Park), Westport Garden Club Native Plant Sale April 14, 9 a.m. - 2 p.m. Northwest Missouri State University, 800 University Drive, Maryville, MO Grow Native - Native Plant Workshop grownative.org April 14, 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. Workshop attendees sale 9 a.m. - 1 p.m. open to public 1 p.m. - 4 p.m. Anita B. Gorman Conservation Discovery Center, 4750 Troost Ave., KC MO 64110 Missouri Prairie Foundation Native Plant Sale, 816-716-9159 www.moprairie.org April 21 & May 19, 9:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. Backyard Bird Center, 6212 NW Barry Road, KC MO 64154, Native Plant Sale by Burroughs Audubon, Backyard Bird Center 816-746-1113, April 28, 9 a.m. - 2 p.m.

March 2018 | kcgmag.com

Landscape Designers are ready to help with any project! • Design Consultation • Landscape Renovation • Flower Bed Installation • Drip Irrigation Installation • Seasonal Clean up • Pruning, Mulching

7130 Troost, Kansas City, MO Garden Center • 816-444-3403 Nursery • 816-333-3232

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TedX speaker, Nat Geo Emerging Explorer to discuss

‘Intimate Relationship of Plants and People’

ven to gardeners, the relationship of plants to people is deeper and more intricate than most of us realize. Plants change us, and we change them. Thursday evening, March 15, a National Geographic Emerging Explorer will help us explore some of these relationships in a program titled “The Intimate Relationship of Plants and People: Gardening and Beyond.” The program is a joint presentation of Gardeners Connect, a gardening education nonprofit organization celebrating 60 years of community service this year, and the Kansas City Public Library. It is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. at the Plaza Branch of the Kansas City Public Library, 4801 Main St., Kansas City, MO 64112. The speaker is Maria Fadiman, an associate professor of geosciences at Florida Atlantic University,

Boca Raton, who has presented TEDx Berkeley and TEDx Cancún talks on related topics. She is an ethnobotanist who has studied rainforests of Central and South America, the savannahs in Africa, and plants of Tibet, China, the Philippines and elsewhere. In this talk, Maria, will look at gardening and people’s connection with plants throughout the globe. She will help us explore how people grow food, ornamental and medicinal plants in their homes and gardens in the middle of the Amazon Rainforest. She will talk about what’s behind the scenes of what most people see in the Bahamas and about how to get kids to go beyond the hotels and cement and into the bush. She will show us the peaks of Tibet and the growth of interests about the plant knowledge of community elders grows among younger generations.

Join Maria Fadiman Thurs., March 15 to hear her impressive presentation on the relationships of plants and to people. She plans to lead us on an exploration of various facets of gardening and plant use and how we can help get others excited about the flora of the world.

She is currently working on a global scale cross-cultural study of people’s use of cultural keystone species (the flora and fauna that are deemed important to the survival of a culture) and how these plants can be incentives for preserving a larger ecosystem. In addition to her peer reviewed articles, book chapters and essays, she has an essay in “Global Chorus,” a collection of over 365 perspectives on our environmental future. Other “Global Chorus” writers are the Dalai Lama, Nelson Mandela and Jane Goodall. Maria also an essay titled “Rainforest Creatures: The Creepy, Cute and Us” in the 2015 essay collection “No More Endlings: Saving Species One Story at a Time.” Her essay “How I Survived: Jungle Shock” was included in the 2009 book “National Geographic Complete Survival Manual.”

WELCOME

Spring Visit your local showroom and see how we can help you dress up your yard this spring

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The Kansas City Gardener | March 2018

Naturalize with Wildflowers in Woods Native plant guru, SCOTT WOODBURY describes how to naturalize woody areas with woodland wildflowers. Photos by Scott Woodbury.

hen I say “wildflower,” what is the first thing that pops into your head? Splashes of color along a roadside? Untended patches of weeds? Or perhaps spring flowers blossoming in the woods? These are common replies that I hear all the time. I’m going to focus on the woodland wildflower answer for now. Early blooming plants like trout lily (Erythronium americanum), bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis), wild geranium (Geranium maculatum), Virginia bluebells (Mertensia virginica), celandine poppy (Stylophorum diphyllum), and violets (Viola spp.) come to mind. These are some of the plants that grow and flower before trees leaf out so they can get enough sunlight to survive in the shade. They are referred to as spring

Celandine poppy seed pod opening to reveal seeds that ants help distribute. Ants carry seeds to their nests, eating the white carbohydrate-rich outer portion of the seed while depositing the actual seeds outside of the nests. ephemerals and go dormant by mid to late summer. These are the plants that lift our spirits at the end of winter and have hopeful names like harbinger of spring

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(Erigenea bulbosa), spring beauty (Claytonia virginica), and spring daisy (Erigeron pulchellus). But they aren’t the only plants that grow in the woods. By the end of spring, tick and chigger season is in full swing. Spring ephemerals give way to a second and third wave of wildflowers that bloom in summer and fall. These plants are sometimes overlooked because they bloom in the heat and humidity of summer when nagging insects are abundant outdoors and people are not. Don’t let this keep you inside; there is much to see in the summer woodland like purple coneflowers (Echinacea purpurea), downy skullcap (Scutellaria incana), garden phlox (Phlox paniculata), star coreopsis (Coreopsis pubescens), creek

oats (Chasmanthium latifolium), wild ryes (Elymus spp.) and yellow wingstem (Verbesina helianthoides), to name a few. The third wave in fall is mostly aster and goldenrod like Drummond aster (Aster drummondii), spreading aster (Aster patens), blue-stemmed goldenrod (Solidago caesia), ziggag goldenrod (S. flexicaulis) and rough-leaved goldenrod (S. rugosa). These combine nicely with the tan and russet glow of woodland grasses and the blacked seed heads of purple coneflower. Woodland gardens can be more natural in style and work well with large areas. Plants established from seed can be planted in a scattered fashion, as if they were thrown up in the air and planted where they land. They are intended to move

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March 2018 | kcgmag.com

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around (“naturalize”). Some are spread by ants, which stay busy in late spring, carrying seeds to their nests on the other side of the garden. Ants are not demure creatures. Imagine dragging a keg of beer by yourself five miles through an overgrown woods several times a day and you’ll get an idea what carrying seeds around is like for ants. Though many woodland wildflowers move around from year to year, others stay put for decades. Plants like mayapple (Podophyllum peltatum), Solomon’s seal (Polygonatum comutatum) and various ferns like narrow-leaved spleenwort (Athyrium pycnocarpon) grow in groups for years so they are planted in groups initially. We converted mowed lawn in the upper woodland area of the Whitmire Wildflower Garden by planting it rather than seeding. Turfgrass (in shade it never grows well) was sprayed with glyphosate in early April. Soon after, plants were installed about 18 inches apart and carefully mulched one to two inches deep with shredded leaf mulch. Large areas were planted over several years’ time by planting smaller manageable areas one-by-one. It took us five years to complete the upper woodland planting. Each area received weeding, water and mulch for two full growing seasons. The more vigorous plants were trimmed back to equal the size of slower-growers. In the third growing season they were weaned off care; no mulch, less weeding and watering, and little trimming. After a decade or more we are still equalizing by pulling up seedlings when they crowd a more vulnerable neighboring plant. For instance, Indian pink (Spigelia marylandica) and maidenhair fern (Adiantum pedatum) need help to survive especially at the edge where they are more visible. We pull seedlings of anything that sprouts within six to eight inches of them. Otherwise they would disappear over time. The usual seedy suspects include purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea), blue-stemmed goldenrod (Solidago ceasea), roughleaved goldenrod (S. rugosa) and garden phlox (Phlox paniculata). These are a few of the plants that we regularly keep in check and it would be wise not to plant them until the third year when all the other plants have become established.

When naturalizing with native plants in the woods, don’t forget the summer- and fall-blooming wildflowers. The upper woodland in the Whitmire Wildflower Garden is one of the most popular areas because it is very diverse with plants blooming in all seasons. It is also lower in maintenance compared to more traditionally planted areas in the garden. If you have

shade on your property and especially big areas, naturalizing in the woods may work well for you. For inspiration, visit the upper woodland in the Whitmire Wildflower Garden to see for yourself. It truly is a special gem in our crown of garden displays. Horticulturist Scott Woodbury is the Curator of the Whitmire

Wildflower Garden at Shaw Nature Reserve in Gray Summit, MO, where he has worked with native plant propagation, design, and education for 27 years. He also is an advisor to the Missouri Prairie Foundation’s Grow Native! program. Find suppliers of native plants for woodlands and more at www.grownative.org, Resource Guide.

The Kansas City Gardener | March 2018

Simple Steps for Blueberry Success

uch of my gardening efforts focus on producing foods that are expensive to buy at the store. Along with high dollar crops like bell peppers, garlic and herbs, blueberries are another plant I enjoy growing. By following a few guidelines and starting off on the right foot with the ideal soil mixture, nutrients and irrigation, blueberries can be a very long-lived, low maintenance source of fruit in your own backyard. From my own six young bushes, I harvest anywhere from 20 to 25 pounds of blueberries total each year, and that amount will increase as they get older. Ready to dig in? Let’s grow. Soil pH Let’s address the number one reason people don’t succeed with

blueberries in Kansas and Missouri: soil pH. Our native clay soil averages a pH of 7, and blueberries thrive in acidic soil with a pH of 4 to 5.5. Herein lies the dilemma of how we knock our soil pH down and keep it down so blueberries can thrive. Both elemental sulfur and iron sulfate are available at garden centers and work to lower the soil pH when mixed into the soil. Do some research to decide which is the better choice for you, and do not use aluminum sulfate as you would for hydrangeas because it’s toxic to blueberry plants. A pH tester is an important garden tool for blueberry success. Buy a pH tester or test kit and test the soil yearly so you know it’s within optimal range. At the beginning, it may take several months or up to a

Photo by Monrovia.

CHELSEA DIDDE RICE grows blueberries, more than 20 pounds each year. Here she shares her tips for success.

year of applying acidifiers gradually and testing often before you reach the optimal soil pH. Varieties For backyards, I recommend dwarf or half-high blueberry varieties, which stand anywhere from one foot to five feet tall. It’s best to plant at least two different varieties that bloom at the same time for cross pollination and increased production. Your local garden center can help with variety selection. Raised beds and soil mixture: Blueberries thrive in full sun and loose soil, so in clay-filled areas

like ours, grow them in raised beds or large containers filled with a special soil mixture. After experimenting with and researching various soil mixtures, here’s the mix I’ve had success with. (The percentages are based on volume, not weight). 30% pine bark fines (Suburban Lawn and Garden calls it Pine Bark Soil Conditioner), 35% sphagnum peat moss, 25% perlite or vermiculite and 10% compost or native soil Mix batches of soil in a wheelbarrow or on a large tarp (along with a few handfuls of elemental sulfur), then add it into the raised

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March 2018 | kcgmag.com

bed or container, moistening the mix in the process. While the soil mixture may seem expensive and labor intensive, remember that each blueberry plant can produce for 20 years or more! Fertilizing Blueberries benefit from regular fertilization. My regimen includes water soluble ammonium sulfate or Espoma’s Holly Tone and the occasional handful of compost. This feeds the plants and lowers the soil pH a bit when I fertilize them three or four times a year. Water In the wild, blueberries grow in boggy areas, so let’s try to duplicate that environment. The soil mixture holds moisture relatively well, so I recommend watering blueberry plants thoroughly every few days in the heat of summer, and once or twice a week in the spring and fall. If you’re growing blueberries in a container, you’ll water more often. Blueberry plants in the ground aren’t likely to die if you don’t provide supplemental water, but they won’t really thrive, either.

Protection Now that you have done the hard work and have your new plants in the ground and ready to go, do not lose your berry crop to the birds! When the berries start to turn from green to light blue, cover the plants with bird netting, ensuring all sides are secured tightly to the ground to prevent any birds from getting caught in the netting. Lift the netting to harvest and enjoy the sweet taste of success. While planting blueberry bushes may seem like a large project, the majority of the work is at the beginning and each plant can live for decades, producing pounds of berries each summer with minor care from you. Plus, who can resist the thought of walking out your back door in the summer and grabbing a handful of fresh blueberries for your morning smoothie or breakfast cereal?

FAMILY OWNED AND OPERATED

Our Story From the very beginning, Earl E. May wanted to provide his customers with the best quality seed, nursery stock, and most importantly, the best possible experience. Today that same passion for gardening and commitment to the customer experience continues. While our reach may seem wide, our roots are firmly planted in the small Southwest Iowa town of Shenandoah. We pride ourselves in providing our customers with product that is guaranteed to succeed in the Midwest. We grow and package many of our products at our headquarters in Shenandoah. Most of what we do not grow is sourced locally to ensure less time from grower to garden center giving you, our customers the freshest product available.

When Chelsea Didde Rice isn’t at work as a communications specialist, she’s an avid gardener who enjoys teaching young and old how easy it can be to garden.

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The Kansas City Gardener | March 2018

Photo courtesy of Pan American Seed.

Salvia ‘Mysty’

March 2018 | kcgmag.com

Phlox ‘Intensia Red Hot’

Zinnia ‘Zahara Zahara Double Raspberry Ripple’ Photo courtesy of Dümmen Orange.

Photo courtesy of Proven Winners.

Photo courtesy of Ball Flora.

Coleus ‘Great Falls’ Angel

Zinnia ‘Profusion Red’

Coleus ‘Great Falls’ Yosemite

Photo courtesy of Sakata.

Photo courtesy of Dümmen Orange.

New for 2018

Annuals add

beauty to life

Plant expert, MIKE DEREE introduces the new beautiful annuals available in garden centers this growing season.

Salvia Salvia plants, both annual and perennial, are ever popular and their multi-function success is the reason why. New for 2018 is Salvia ‘Mysty’, a salvia bred with the ‘thriller’ component of combination containers in mind. Dark blue spires of flowers longingly seek the sky, allowing this salvia to distinguish any container planting with elegance and grace. Phlox Last year the annual phlox series ‘Gisele’ was introduced with five varieties and immediately reinvigorated this class of annuals into the mainstream mindset of growers and gardeners alike. For 2018, welcome with open arms phlox ‘Intensia Red Hot’ by Proven Winners. Once known as phlox ‘Candied Apple Red’ and now adopted and renamed by Proven Winners as ‘Intensia Red Hot’,

Photo courtesy of Sakata.

hat do the words amazing, fun, inspiring, and beautiful have in common besides describing my wife? (This article is being written two days before Valentine’s Day; what more need be said?) These words also define in many ways the new plants for 2018 this article will present as worth looking for, hunting down, and growing in 2018. Due to space limitations, Part 1 here and Part 2 will appear next month.

Zinnia ‘Profusion Red’ this phlox is aptly named, and the flower color alone is enough to draw attention and scream ‘take me home now and let me show you what I can do’. Heat loving and easy to grow, ‘Intensia Red Hot’ is a showstopper; plant this one under the mailbox and expect the neighbors to ooh and aah all summer long. Coleus Coleus, and sun coleus in particular, have certainly taken close to center stage in horticulture for ease of growing and ease of success. Superlative varieties, and a plethora of them, continue to expand this class and claim more and more supporters. Coleus should

be marketed with the ‘Easy’ button seen on office supply commercials. Trailing coleus have always been a small part of the coleus scene, though change is on the horizon. The ‘Great Falls’ series of four new trailing coleus arrive with much fanfare and redefine what a trailing coleus should be. In the ‘Great Falls’ series, the two lighter leaf color varieties (Yosemite and Angel) are better suited to shade applications, while the two darker leaf color varieties (Iguazu and Niagara) work well in sun or shade. These coleus play well with other plants, not dominating, simply complementing, and this trait will endear them to most any application.

Zinnia The interspecific zinnia series ‘Profusion’ and ‘Zahara’ have captured the imagination of the horticulture world due to their disease resistance and ease of growing. These two series, from competing breeders, both have 2018 introductions that are worth noting. Zinnia ‘Profusion Red’ inches closer to a true red flowered zinnia, while ‘Zahara Double Raspberry Ripple’ features a double two tone flower that holds its flower pattern fairly well even during the dog days of summer. These zinnia series have turned the zinnia world upside down and now easily outsell the large flowered zinnias based on their summer long performance. Though this article could continue unabated for many more paragraphs, I hope this whets your appetite to add some or all of these new flower varieties to the list of ‘must have’ plants that will find a home in your flower bed or containers. There are five more ‘must haves’ that I’ll introduce to you next month. I trust these plants will only enhance your summer living experience in both beauty and appreciation of how flowers sublimely increase the joy in our lives. Happy Flower Growing! Mike DeRee, territory sales rep for Ball Seed Company, works and gardens in Wichita, Kan.

The Kansas City Gardener | March 2018

Rose Report JUDY PENNER, local expert rosarian, talks about sustainable rose growing and healthy practices in the garden.

his year we actually are having winter weather, something we have not experienced for several years. At this writing in midFebruary, our current temperatures are in the teens, with temps rising to the 50s in a five-day span. The mulch we applied to our roses in late fall protects them from temperature fluctuations, and keeps the covered rose canes and grafts from freezing and dying. The reason we prune our roses in spring is to keep the bush size under control and to increase the amount of bloom on the rose bushes. Hybrid Teas, Grandifloras, Floribundas and shrubs all need to have a more severe pruning which encourages more bloom. The spring pruning also keeps the size of the rose under control. If you didn’t do this pruning, some roses would get 10 feet tall and all your bloom would be out of reach. We had this happen in the garden, several years ago, during the garden renovation when we were not able to prune the roses in the spring. That year our staff and volunteers had to use ladders to reach the blooms, and were not available to enjoy the roses up close. It was fun to have giant roses but for our

Heritage Rose

Rosa Elina Rose

public display it is more enjoyable to have the roses at a more manageable and accessible height. The mature roses (three years or older) in our garden are pruned to about 2’ to 2 ½’ to encourage bloom and keep them at a manageable height. Let your new roses reach a height of 3’ to 4’ before pruning them in the spring, this usually happens in the second or third year. People always want to know when to prune their roses. The rule of thumb for our area is when the leaf buds begin to swell, which is typically when the forsythia bushes bloom. Remove any dead wood, broken canes and any canes that have a lot of bark damage. Leaving dead or

damaged canes on your rose bushes can invite disease problems. Look at the shape of your rose and prune out any crossing branches or branches that are growing into the center of the rose. When these branches rub against each other they cause wounds which make the plant susceptible to insect and disease problems. Also remove any canes that are spindly (smaller than a #2 pencil). When you cut the rose canes, if you see a small hole in the center of the cane, cut the cane until you get to good wood where there is no hole. The small holes are made by rose borers and they can completely kill a cane and also bore into the graft of the rose bush killing the entire plant. I recommend when

you make these pruning cuts, apply a waterproof wood glue to keep rose borers from entering the canes. When you make your pruning cuts, be sure to cut 1/8” above the swollen bud, and make sure the bud is facing the outside of the bush. This will prevent growth toward the center of the bush, causing the branches to cross each other. Are you interested in hands-on learning about purchasing, planting and pruning roses? Then join us for the Rose Demonstration given by the Kansas City Parks Department in partnership with The Kansas City Rose Society. The program starts at 10 a.m. on Sat., March 24 at Loose Park Garden Center, located just east of the Rose Garden inside Loose Park. We will talk about roses while enjoying coffee and treats in the Garden Center. Then we’ll go out to the garden to watch a new rose being planted and an established rose being pruned. There will be drawings for great prizes to get your roses off to a good start! I hope to see you there. Judy Penner is Expert Rosarian at Loose Park, Kansas City, Mo. You may reach her at judy.penner@ kcmo.org.

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March 2018 | kcgmag.com

Herb: Catmint

Rose News The Kansas City Rose Society is kicking off the new growing season with its annual

right and beautiful perennial herbs are in my gardens. Catmint is one that is nearly impossible to kill and comes back bigger every year. The real quality in catmint comes from its tall purple blooming stalks. The stunning flowers bloom throughout the summer, jutting up from the base of the plant giving it an upright stature. For beginning gardeners or anyone who needs a plant that grows and grows without much care, catmint can make you look experienced. The structure of the plant lends it to many purposes from a vibrant edge along a landscape or garden to a center piece in an herb spiral. It has bug repellent properties making it an excellent companion plant where Japanese beetles or aphids are a problem. Caring for catmint couldn’t be easier. Simply mulch around it once or twice a year to help maintain the soil moisture and mycelium (the fungal network in the soil that helps bring nutrients to the roots). Catmint is naturally drought resistant and can handle heat with grace. Catmint has a mild flavor and some medicinal properties. The blooms can be harvested, dried and

used as a tea to relieve coughing, menstrual cramps and stress relief. It can also be used to season soups and other dishes by using the stalks or leaves. My favorite part of growing catmint is the constant hum of bugs that seem to be drawn by the sweet, lavender colored flowers. The benefits of attracting pollinators to your garden are endless but can be boiled down to this, your plants cannot properly produce fruits without a healthy population of many kinds of pollinators. Bees are just one pollinator and ignoring the vast array of other bugs that contribute is unfair. The best part of having a large and blooming herb is drawing in bugs that can help you succeed as a gardener. So pick up a catmint after the danger of frost and enjoy it each year as it quietly improves your garden’s productivity. Diana Par-Due is an avid gardener who, when not raising children, raises plants. She spends her time writing, reading, and studying as a mature student at a local college and making garden plans she never actually keeps.

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Spring Rose Demonstration March 24, 10am – noon Judy Penner, Loose Garden Director and Rosarian, will present a FREE program titled “The 3 P’s of Spring Care—Purchasing, Planting and Pruning”. The class will begin in the Loose Park Garden Center building and progress outside to the rose garden. So, dress for the weather.

Do you have questions about roses and rose care? Send an email to Ask a Rosarian at kcrosehelp@gmail.com and one of our American Rose Society Certified Consulting Rosarians will help you. Visit our website for comprehensive information on growing roses and links to other rose resources on the web. You can also find our calendar of events and programs for 2018 including the annual rose show and rose day, educational programs, literature, music and children’s events in the rose garden, and information on our Memory/Friendship rose donation program.

www.kansascityrosesociety.org

WATER’S EDGE

DIANA PAR-DUE describes this low maintenance show stopper.

Find the oasis from the ordinary

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The Kansas City Gardener | March 2018

Excitement About Native Plants Photo by Mervin Wallace.

Schyzachyrium

Penstemon digitalis

Bouteloua gracilis

plants are awesome and we all need to use them?” I reached out to three industry experts at the Western trade show and asked them for advice on how to get gardeners excited about native plants. Tracy Twombly, owner of Kansas City’s Sow Wild Natives, lets her own personal experienc-

es do the talking. She says, “My excitement about native plants gets others excited. The amazing critters and birds that come to visit and the beauty of it all. So speak up and spread your excitement! It’s contagious.” A native plant that Twombly recommends is beardtongue (Penstemon digitalis). Their tubular flowers attract butterflies and they survive in drought, full sun and clay soils. She also enjoys their seedheads that provide interest long after the blooms fade. I also had the opportunity to speak with Christopher Cardwell, owner of Green Hand Landscapes. He proves the importance of native plants with wildlife and nature. He says, “The ‘aha’ moment usually comes once general insecticide is reduced or discontinued, and the person witnesses the boom in bird and butterfly activity in their native garden. Additionally, the hardiness of these plants generally means reduced watering, fertilizer and other chemical costs; and most anyone, gardener or not, can get behind saving some money.” Cardwell finds native grasses like bluestem (Schyzachyrium), Grama (Bouteloua gracilis), and switchgrasses (Panicum virgatum) are beautiful substitutaions for the traditional grasses like maiden (Miscanthus sinensis), fountain (Pennisetum setaceum) and feather grasses (Stipa) that don’t provide much food web value. Whitmire Wildflower Garden manager, Scott Woodbury, feels

that spreading the word about native plants is an organic process. He says, “We develop a beautiful garden that people really enjoy experiencing and then they want to learn how to do it in their own backyard. Then they sign up for a Native Plant School class to get their feet wet and then dive in. Once you realize the negative aspects of traditional gardening and turfcare and see how native landscapes are a positive contribution to the community, the message sinks in. It’s also so much fun to experience wildlife in your own backyard, especially with children.” Woodbury is encouraging people to plant native oak (Quercus) trees to replace ashes lost to Emerald Ash Borer. He shared a quote from Doug Tallamy’s Bringing Nature Home that there are 350 species of butterflies and moths that lay their eggs on oak trees. This is meaningful as it takes 5,000 of these caterpillars to feed a nest of baby chickadees. No matter where you live in or around Kansas City, there is a native plant for your garden. The horticultural world is heading this direction and including traditional gardeners in the change will help us all appreciate the fulfilling experiences that native plants can bring to the garden.

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March 2018 | kcgmag.com

Photo by Missouri Botanical Garden.

ative plants are growing in popularity every year. After attending the 2018 Western Nursery & Landscape Association (WNLA) trade show, it became apparent that more homeowners want landscapes installed, designers are excited to create, and nurseries who are happy to produce with native plants. Unfortunately, at the Missouri pesticide recertification training the week after, there was evidence that the green industry still has a long way to go in regards to native landscapes. Many people continue to utilize the traditional exotic plants and practices that require wasteful amounts of water, fertilizer and chemical sprays to survive in the midwest. My big questions is, “How does one get the word out that native

Photo by Mervin Wallace.

Eager for gardeners to include native plants in their gardens, TRACY FLOWERS shares her excitement.

Tracy Flowers is on the Horticulture staff at Powell Gardens and she works at The Ewing and Muriel Kauffman Memorial Garden. You may reach her at 816-932-1200.

Pets and Plants Nightshades By Phil Roudebush, DVM, DACVIM

olanaceae, or nightshades, are an important family of flowering plants with worldwide distribution. The family includes a number of important agricultural crops, medicinal plants, spices, weeds, and ornamental plants. Economically important members of the nightshade family include tomatillo, paprika, chili pepper, potato, tomato, eggplant, tobacco and petunia. Many members of the nightshade family contain potent alkaloids, which can be desirable or toxic to people and animals depending on the dose. Tropane alkaloids (tropanes) such as atropine, scopolamine and hyoscyamine are some of the most important compounds found in nightshade plants. These compounds are used medically for their powerful anticholinergic effects, meaning they inhibit the neurological signals transmitted by the neurotransmitter acetylcholine. Examples of pharmacological uses include atropine to dilate the pupil to facilitate examination of internal eye structures and scopolamine as an antiemetic agent against motion sickness or other causes of nausea and vomiting. Despite the use of tropanes in small doses for medical purposes, ingestion of plant materials containing these compounds can cause serious adverse effects. Wild and ornamental nightshade plants often implicated in tropane poisoning include deadly nightshade (Atropa belladonna), mandrake (Mandragora officinarum), Jimson weed or datura (Datura stramonium), angels trumpets (Brugmansia species) and henbane (Hyoscyamus niger). Many of these plants belong to the classic “witches’ weeds” known as essential ingredients of love potions and magic brews. Clinical problems of overdose include dry mouth, dilated pupils, weakness, wobbly gait, urinary retention, hallucinations, convulsions, coma and death. Another nightshade plant that can cause serious problems is tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum). The

term tobacco also refers to products manufactured from dried tobacco leaves, including cigars, cigarettes, snuff, pipe tobacco and chewing tobacco. All these products contain high levels of the alkaloid nicotene, which can cause clinical prob-

Enroll now for Evening Horticulture Classes Class times: 7 p.m. • Location: Johnson County Extension Office, Room 1060 Enrollment limited to 45 • Fee $10 per person • Enroll: www.johnson.k-state.edu March 5 – Greening the Lawn They say the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. But each of us have a different idea of what green means. This class will cover recommendations that means green in different ways. Greener is an approach to lawn care which can reduce the use of fertilizers, water and other inputs while still having a nice green lawn. This program will help you tailor your lawn care inputs to match the desired outcomes. Proper lawn care is not a one size fits all program once you know the secrets to a green lawn. March 26 – Spectacular Shrubs Tired of the same old lilac, forsythia and juniper? Desiring something new, out of the box that stands out in the neighborhood or garden? Then make plans to attend this session. Newer varieties for the landscape will be covered. Shrubs are more versatile than ever with smaller plants, more colorful foliage and longer flowering periods. After this session you will be ready to give those tired shrubs the heave-ho and give the garden a facelift.

April 9 – Add a Splash of Color with Summer Bulbs Bulbs are not just for spring. Summer or tender bulbs are a great way to add more color and interest to the landscape. This session will look at those selections that either will not survive the winter or bloom during the summer. They come in a wide variety of plant types, forms, shapes and colors. This session will introduce you to these lesser-known bulbs for the garden. Proper care will be covered to help you get the most out of these garden gems. April 23 – Container Gardening Containers are problem solvers. They add so much flair to any location. This session will cover everything you need to know for success. The class will breakdown into two parts. First we will look at the science of container gardening and what it takes to grow the plants. The second part of the session will be the fun, art of container gardening including design tips and of course the great plants that add the wow factor. After attending this class you won’t be able to stop at just one pot!

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Jimson weed lems if consumed in large amounts. Fatalities have been reported in dogs who have accidentally consumed cigarettes. Ingestion of 11 typical cigarettes will result in approximately a 50% fatality rate in 40-pound dogs. Many members of the nightshade family are economically important agricultural crops but some nightshade plants or plant materials are potentially very toxic to dogs and other pet animals. Phil Roudebush is a retired veterinarian and specialist in small animal internal medicine. He was an adjunct faculty member in the College of Veterinary Medicine at Kansas State University and is now an Extension Master Gardener Volunteer in Buncombe County, North Carolina. He can be reached at philroudebush@gmail.com.

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The Kansas City Gardener | March 2018

Tulip Time 2018

100,000 tulips in three locations plus two special events usher in spring in Shawnee County

ulip Time 2018 is set for April 6-23. The event features more than 100,000 tulips in Shawnee County Parks + Recreation’s three featured gardens—Ted Ensley Gardens at Lake Shawnee, Old Prairie Town/ Ward-Meade Botanical Garden and Doran Rock Garden and surrounding areas in Gage Park. There are two special events in addition to regular self-guided tours through the gardens. Tulips at Twilight was a hit in its first year last year with more than 40,000 tulips illuminated by candle light and lighted displays. This year features more than 30 lighted displays including 15-foot tall illuminated tulips and larger-than-life illuminated flowers along candlelit pathways. Patrons may enjoy live music and Old Prairie Town building

tours on Friday and Saturday evenings. Tulips at Twilight is set for 6-10 p.m. April 6-15. Admission is a $5 donation with children five and under free. Tulip Time Festival the Lake is back for a fourth year at Ted

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Ensley Gardens at Lake Shawnee. The event is from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. April 8. The back-to-back events give out-of-town guests reason to spend a weekend in the capitol city. A $5 donation is suggested for the day which features classic cars, food trucks, photography and musical performances. Tulip Time has been attended in the past by people from 86 cities in 30 states, as well as visitors from the United Kingdom, India, Russia, Australia and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. Tulip Time is an annual destination popular with everyone from area residents to out-of-state visitors on bus tours. A $5 donation is suggested at Ted Ensley Gardens and Old Prairie Town/Ward-Meade Botanical Garden to help cover the cost of the event and enable Tulip Time to continue in future years. Guided tours for groups of 15 or more with

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advance reservations are available at Ted Ensley Gardens (785) 2516800 and Old Prairie Town/WardMeade Botanical Garden (785) 251-6989. Tulip Time began nearly 30 years ago in the home gardens of Jerold and Joan Binkley. Mr. Binkley desired to create an ongoing and beautiful countywide event with Tulip Time. Today the event draws visitors from around the nation. Following the blooming season for the tulips, the bulbs are removed from the gardens and sold to the public. The dates for the sale are contingent upon when the tulips bloom this year. Tulip Time is a combined effort of Friends of Ted Ensley Gardens, Friends of Ward-Meade, the Shawnee County Parks and Recreation Foundation, Shawnee County Parks + Recreation and Visit Topeka.

Overland Park Arboretum Spring Plant Sale May 4, 5, 6

o doubt you’ve survived yet another dreadful winter by daydreaming about your 2018 garden. Soon it will be time to shop for plants at the Overland Park Arboretum plant sale, held each year on the first weekend in May. The sale is open to the public under a big-top tent, rain or shine, on Friday, May 4, from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. and on Saturday, May 5, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., and—new this year—on Sunday, May 6, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. There will be limited quantities of some of the more unusual plants, and Friends of the Arboretum members will have first dibs from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Thursday, May 3. “Shoppers enjoy supporting this important Arboretum fundraiser while purchasing plants they might

have difficulty finding elsewhere,” said Pat Blanchat, plant sale chair. “Gardeners instinctively want to share what they know and love about our natural environment, and that’s one thing that makes our sale special—knowledgeable folks are always on hand to ‘talk plants’ and happily assist shoppers.” The 20th annual sale will feature butterfly host and pollinator plants; colorful annuals, hanging baskets and planters; native plants and unusual small shrubs and trees. There will also be a wide selection of perennials for shade and sun, including varieties featured in Arboretum gardens; great herbs, veggie transplants, and small fruits for cooks. All are locally grown plants that have proven their suitability for our climate. “We’ll have many of the most interesting new varieties this year,”

Bird Facts

ED REESE talks about March bird feeding.

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U-Pick strawberries begin this spring. Follow us on Facebook for updated information.

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ceed to their old “haunts” further north. With these birds traveling through, or stopping, mid to late March is a good time to catch a sighting of both birds. An orange feeder with grape jelly will be a welcomed sight for Orioles, and Hummingbirds will appreciate a red nectar feeder. Having both types of feeders out by late March encourages those who will summer here to return to your feeders all season.

nature-lover to the Arboretum and learn about the exciting things happening here.” Located a half mile west of Highway 69 at 179th and Antioch, the Arboretum is a year round retreat and inspiration for everyone who enjoys the outdoors. For more information, visit the Friends of the Arboretum (FOTA) website at www.opabg.org or call 913-685-3604.

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arch is the month we can say goodbye to the dreary days of winter, and realize that spring is in the air. A few other things will be in the air too. March is also the start of Baltimore Orioles and Ruby-throated Hummingbirds migrating from their over-wintering grounds in Central and South America. They don’t travel all at once though. Orioles and Ruby-throated Hummingbirds will start to arrive at the end of March. Both species may take anywhere from two to three months to complete the journey. This prevents either species from experiencing a catastrophic weather event, while traveling north. Usually, the first ones spotted in this area, pro-

noted Anne Wildeboor, Arboretum horticulturist. “This is your chance to support the Arboretum while adding some unique appeal to your 2018 garden.” Proceeds go toward expansion of the Overland Park Arboretum & Botanical Gardens. “The timing is perfect to shop for Mother’s Day,” added Karen Kerkhoff, Arboretum Supervisor. “It’s also a good opportunity for you to introduce a fellow

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The Kansas City Gardener | March 2018

Healthy Yards Expo promotes green lawn and garden practices

he Ninth Annual Johnson County Healthy Yards Expo on Saturday, April 7, can help you make greener choices for your yards and homes. This free event is from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Shawnee Civic Center, located at 13817 Johnson Drive in Shawnee. The expo highlights many simple and easy environmentallyfriendly practices that can be done to achieve a nice yard. Johnson County K-State Research and Extension is teaming with Johnson County Stormwater Management and the cities of Lenexa, Overland Park and Shawnee to present the event. Local businesses, non-profits, city and county departments will offer seminars and tips that help Johnson County and surrounding area residents. “The expo promotes eco-friendly practices and pro-

Take Crafts from 10 – 11 a.m. • Shop our Native Plant Sale! Choose from over 1,000 native plants selected specifically to thrive in your garden. Locally and organically grown, shop the best native plants for our area.

vides education so that you can do your part for clean water, air and healthy soils while maintaining an attractive landscape,” said Dennis Patton, horticulture agent for Johnson County Extension. Visitors to the Expo: • Enter to win door prizes • The first 100 visitors will receive a free tree seedling, courtesy of Overland Park. • The first 500 visitors will receive two native plants to try in their home gardens, courtesy of Johnson County Stormwater Management. • Visit with Johnson County K-State Research and Extension Master Gardeners and local plant societies for expert advice on gardening and plant cultivation. • Talk with city representatives to find out what’s going on in your

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neighborhood and learn about cost share programs for establishing rain gardens and rain barrels. • Listen to informative speakers on topics such as native plants, pollinators, vegetable gardening and landscaping • Kids can enjoy a free performance by Stone Lion Puppet Theatre at 10 a.m. and Make-and-

Free soil tests Johnson County residents get a free soil test, compliments of Johnson County Stormwater Management and Johnson County Extension. It is important to know the nutrient levels in order to grow healthy plants and protect the water quality in our local streams and lakes. Bring your soil sample to the expo. Learn how to take a soil sample by visiting the website. For more information on the Healthy Yards Expo, visit www. johnson.k-state.edu or call 913715-7000.

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The Kansas City Gardener | March 2018

Beginner Butterfly Gardener Resources

n the early 1990s, I became interested in butterfly gardening, but information was scant as I searched to move past “what a pretty butterfly!” I finally located a North American field guide in the Powell Gardens Gift Shop. Where else to turn? When I purchased my first computer, an internet search found NABA (North American Butterfly Association) www.naba. org and Monarch Watch www. monarchwatch.org. These two organizations plus Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation www.xerces.org have remained my most reliable sources of information. The internet makes research so much easier. For instance, if you are curious whether a particular plant is a butterfly host, type the botanical name of the plant and the words “butterfly caterpillar” into

your browser’s search box, and you’ll quickly know. Truth is only one mouse click away! Field Guides We are so lucky to have a true butterfly expert in our area, Betsy Betros, who authored A Photographic Field Guide to the Butterflies in the Kansas City Region. This extraordinary resource is my “butterfly bible” as it contains far more information than simple identification and serves as my guide to the necessary host plants for each species. Another excellent field guide, Kaufman Field Guide to Butterflies of North America has illustrations and digitally enhanced photographs. Adding to the identification difficulties, butterflies have four life stages, each with a very different appearance. David

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LENORA LARSON shares valuable resources you can depend on while learning about butterflies and caterpillars.

“The Wagner” identified this Cloudless Sulphur caterpillar feasting on my Partridge Pea, a native annual. Wagner’s Caterpillars of Eastern North America provides a photographic guide to the most common moth and butterfly caterpillars. Butterfly Gardening NABA defines a butterfly garden as “a habitat that provides the resources to sustain resident breeding populations of native butterflies”. So, the garden must include flowers for the adults, host plants for the eggs and caterpillars and leaf litter and plant debris for overwintering chrysalids. A true butterfly garden focuses on the unique caterpillar food plants for each species of butterfly. In my opinion, most butterfly gardening books put far too much emphasis on flowers. Fortunately, Xerces Society recently published Gardening for Butterflies which features native host plants. Unlike other books, it doesn’t assume that the reader is

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already a gardener. Directions start at the beginning with site selection, soil preparation, fundamentals of design, planting and maintaining, and care for all seasons. Beware of pre-planned “butterfly gardens”! They sound like an easy short cut, but none of the plant collections that I’ve seen are truly butterfly gardens. If they do include any host plants, it’s usually just one, Butterfly Weed, a milkweed disdained by midwestern Monarchs. And what are the caterpillars of the other 60 species of butterflies in our area supposed to eat?

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Even experts use Field Guides to identify small butterflies like this darling Zabulon Skipper. welcome new members. Monarch Watch, housed on the University of Kansas campus in Lawrence, focuses on Monarch research and reaches out to the public with a fabulous Butterfly Garden, two open houses, a spring plant sale, and tagging in the fall. Visit their website to learn more. Our local butterfly club, the Idalia Society (www.idaliasociety.org) invites the public to our spring and fall evening meetings at the Prairie Village Community Center. We sponsor field trips and black lighting from June through September and post our sightings

on our Facebook page for all to see. Guests quickly find friends because our members are also avid birdwatchers, gardeners and/or native plant aficionados. Everybody loves butterflies! Our meetings are posted in The Kansas City Gardener calendar. Marais des Cygnes Extension Master Gardener, Idalia Butterfly Society and Kansas Native Plant Society member, Lenora Larson gardens and hosts butterflies in the cruel winds and clay soil of Paola, Kansas. She may be contacted at lenora.longlips@gmail.com.

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Plant Profile: Basil MARION MORRIS grows sweet basil and shares her tips.

producing those fat green leaves. Once the plant produces flowers the flavor and quality of the leaves change. Bees will thank you for growing extra plants and allow their flowers to develop. Basil is a pollinator plant and a good companion for tomatoes! They need afternoon shade and tomatoes are happy to oblige. By attracting bees and butterflies to the garden you encourage pollination, pollination means more delicious veggies!

s our resident chef Tyler Mitchem says, “Sweet basil has a friendly flavor profile.” That’s chef talk for easy to use! It’s one of the most popular, versatile herbs in the kitchen. For a quick blender recipe almost everyone loves a good pesto! It’s one of my favorite spreads, so yummy with baked potatoes! When preparing fresh basil, the leaves should be torn rather than cut. Add sweet basil to oil and vinegar as a delicious dip with fresh bread. The whole plant, including stems, leaves and flowers are edible but there are definite advantages to avoiding the woody stems. In the garden, sweet basil needs regular clipping to keep

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Upcoming Garden Events places to go, things to do, people to see

Club Meetings African Violets of GKC Tues, Mar 13, 6-8pm; at Loose Park Garden Center, 51st and Wornall, Kansas City, MO. Membership. 816-513-8590 Bonner Springs Garden Club Tues, Mar 20, 1pm; at United Methodist Church, Bonner Springs, KS. A workshop on new rules and designs of a flower shop will be presented by Donna Schneck and Ruth Pleak. All guests are welcome. For more info contact bsgardenclub@gmail.com. Bonsai Society of GKC Sat, Mar 3 and 31, 9am-noon; at Loose Park Garden Center, 51st and Wornall, Kansas City, MO. Workshop. 816-513-8590 Greater Kansas City Dahlia Society Sun, Mar 11, 1-3pm; at Loose Park Garden Center, 51st and Wornall, Kansas City, MO. Regular meeting. 816-513-8590 Greater Kansas City Gardeners of America Mon, Mar 5, meeting at 6pm, presentation at 6:30pm, at Loose Park Garden Center, 5200 Pennsylvania, Kansas City, MO 64112. Our speaker is Rita Arnold, from Arnolds Greenhouse. Presentation title: Exciting New Plants, Roses and Shrubs for 2018. For more information, contact Effie Mitsopoulos at 816-935-1594 or Vince Vogel of Vogel Landscaping at 816-289-8733. Greater Kansas City Herb Study Group Wed, Mar 14, Noon; at Rose room of Loose Park Garden Center, 52nd & Wornall, Kansas City, MO 64112. Program: Making Spring Tonics. Lynn Soulier and Amy Kraus will present the tradition of taking spring tonics and show us how to make our own for cleansing the body and clearing the mind. A proper tonic contains herbs that purify the blood, thin or “cut” the blood, and reinvigorate it. Some of these tonics are; Sassafras, Dandelion, Elderberries, Burdock, etc. Come and learn about some of these and see how beneficial they are. Lunch: Bring your own lunch and drink. We invite anyone interested in Herbs to join our group. We meet the 2nd Wed each month. Dues are $15, we have an Herb garden at Loose Park we maintain, and have classes and luncheons to learn all aspects of herbs and how to use them in our lives. Facebook: at Greater Kansas City Herb Study Group. Friends, visitors are always welcome. Questions: call Nancy at 816-478-1640. Heartland Hosta & Shade Plant Society Sat, Mar 24; at First Lutheran Church, 6400 State Line Rd, Mission Hills, KS 66208. Check-in and Hospitality at 9:30, Meeting at 10. Speaker Tom Micheletti has lots of experience with hostas founding the Northern Illinois Hosta Society, serving on the board of the American Hosta Society, and selling hostas through his business The Hosta Patch. Tom’s presentation is “Maintaining Your Hostas”. The Club will provide barbecue for a potluck at noon, bring your favorite dish to share. Come for great information, food, door prizes, and great raffle options. Everyone is welcome! For more information, visit our website www.heartlandhosta or email drileycook@aol.com. Heart of America Gesneriad Society Sat, Mar 17, 9:30am-noon; at Loose Park Garden Center, 51st and Wornall, Kansas City, MO. Membership. 816-513-8590 Idalia Society Sat, Mar 17, 5:30pm, Pot-luck Dinner, 6:45pm Presentation; at Prairie Village Community Center, 7700 Mission Rd, Prairie Village, KS 66208. Free to the public. The “Evolution of a Butterfly Garden” traces Carole’s burgeoning interest in butterflies and gardening that culminated in a magnificent memorial garden at her church, Bristol Hill United Methodist in KCKS. Brilliant photographs will demonstrate the planning process, plant selection and how the garden became an important shared space for the community. Idalia member Carole Tomlinson is a graduate of Pittsburg State and works as a Medical Technologist in the Immunohematology Laboratory at Community Blood Center. She spends her spring,

summer and fall days in pursuit of butterflies, as well as insects and other critters! She belongs to the Idalia Society, Kansas Native Plant Society and North American Butterfly Association. KC Cactus and Succulent Society Sun, Mar 18, 1:30-4pm; at Loose Park Garden Center, 51st and Wornall, Kansas City, MO. We’re looking forward to a special presentation by cactus expert Dr. Rob Wallace of Iowa State University. Visitors are welcome. For information, call 816-4449321 or visit our website: kccactus.com. Kansas City Garden Club Mon, Mar 5, 10am; at Loose Park Garden Center, 5200 Pennsylvania, Kansas City, MO. You are welcome to join us. The program is “Small Trees– Big Impact” by Susan Mertz, the owner of www. PlantTimes,com, a former sales rep and marketing manager for local wholesale growers and an avid gardener. She will talk about small trees for patio gardens, downsized landscapes and gardens that are already bursting at the seams. Bring a sack lunch and join us for desserts and drinks after the meeting. 913-636-4956 Kansas City Garden Club Mon, Apr 2, 10am; at Loose Park Garden Center, 5200 Pennsylvania, Kansas City, MO. You are welcome to join us. The program is “Garden Wonders– The 2018 Philadelphia Flower Show” by Kansas City Garden Club member, Dianne Swann. She will share photos of many fabulous gardens, incredible plant specimens, creative plant and garden art, and much more along with the latest and greatest in the world of gardening gathered from this event that includes numerous national and international garden expert’s programs. Bring a sack lunch and join us for desserts and drinks after the meeting. 913-636-4956 Leavenworth County Master Gardeners Wed, Mar 14, 11am; at Riverfront Community Center, 123 Esplanade St, Leavenworth, KS 66048. Lenora Larson, a Marais des Cygnes Extension Master Gardener and a member of local chapters of both the Idalia Butterfly Society and Kansas Native Plant Society and she has degree in microbiology and had a career in molecular biology. She will present, Want Birds! Get Bugs! Birds have the same needs as humans: shelter, water and food. The presentation will feature native insect host trees, shrubs and flowers to set a banquet for the common bird. The meeting is free. Visitors are welcome. For more information contact Paula Darling at 913-240-4094. Leavenworth Garden Club Thurs, Mar 1, 10am; at the Jahn Rm, Leavenworth Public Library, 4th and Spruce Sts. We will be celebrating our 70th year of service to the community. On March 23, 1948, 22 ladies formed the group. Our last charter member recently passed away at the age of 99. Leawood Garden Club Tues, Mar 27, 10:30am; at Cure of Ars Catholic Church, 9401 Mission Rd, Leawood, KS. This is our Annual Fund-Raising Auction for donations to gardening-related charities. Horticultural Hints “40 Years & Still Growing Ivy” will be presented by club member Marlene Matthews. The meeting and our membership is open to everyone and guests are most welcome. Bring a sack lunch, beverages and desserts are provided. For more information, please visit our website www.leawood.org/committees/lgc or send an email to leawoodgardenclub@gmail.com. Lee’s Summit Garden Club Tues, Mar 13, 7-9pm; at Winterset Park Community Center, 2505 SW Wintercreek Dr, Lee’s Summit, MO 64081. Program: Water Gardening presented by Karen Fiske. All are welcome for an educational evening. Refreshments provided, visitors always welcome. Visit www.leessummitgardenclub.org or call 816-914-3970. Lenexa Field and Garden Club Sat, Mar 3, 1pm; at the Shawnee Family Tree Nursery, 7036 Nieman, Shawnee, KS 66203. Representatives from the nursery will share new plants and garden ideas for 2018. Learn more about the club at www.lenexafieldandgardenclub.org.

Mid America Begonia Society Sat, Mar 17, 1-4pm; at Loose Park Garden Center, 51st and Wornall, Kansas City, MO. Membership. 816-513-8590 Mo Kan Daylily Society Sun, Mar 4, 11:30am-3:30pm; at Loose Park Garden Center, 51st and Wornall, Kansas City, MO. Membership. 816-513-8590 Olathe Garden & Civic Club Tues, Mar 20, 12:30pm; at Grace United Methodist Church, 11485 S Ridgeview Rd, Olathe. Program: Attracting pollinators to the garden. The public is welcome. For information, e-mail Cathy at fraucathya@gmail.com. Sho Me African Violets Club Fri, Mar 9, 10am-2pm; at Loose Park Garden Center, 51st and Wornall, Kansas City, MO. Membership. 816-513-8590 Water Garden Society of KC Tues, Mar 20, doors open at 5:30pm for snacks and socializing and our first speaker begins at 6:30pm; at Our Lady of Sorrows, 2552 Gillham Rd, Kansas City, MO 64108. At 6:30pm, our first speaker is Cara Mullens from Flower Gardens Transformations LLC. Cara is not your typical landscaper or general laborer. She is experienced and educated in biology, genetics, aquaculture and landscaping Her first career was in medical research but she has always had a passion for flowers. Come hear Cara as she creates unexpected magic in the garden. Our featured speaker is Dan Parcel from Kaw Valley Greenhouses. At their research facility and trial gardens, plants must thrive for 2 years in our area of the country, before they come to the garden centers. Kaw Valley does not use neonicotinoid pesticides in any of their plants and they are serious about protecting the environment. Dan will have the scoop on what’s new for 2018 in plants, pottery, iron and décor. Gorgeous pictures of amazing success stories from last summer are included in the presentation he brings tonight. We’re a friendly group and visitors are always welcome. See you there!

Events, Lectures & Classes March Container Gardening Thurs, Mar 1, 11:30am; at the Sunflower Room, Wyandotte County Extension Office, 1208 N 79th St, Kansas City, KS. Container gardening is an excellent way to add interest and excitement literally anywhere that you want it–and designing a container does not have to be complicated! So, come be inspired when Leavenworth County Extension Master Gardeners Pat Paden and Jackie Lee will walk us through the process with some simple design tips for choosing the right plants to plant for success … whether using flowers, green plants, succulents, herbs or, yes, even vegetables. Learn how to use “thrillers, spillers and fillers” in numerous ways. Collect ideas for choosing interesting, unusual, exciting or even “quiet” containers. Ideas for creating your container garden are unlimited when you let your imagination run. Registration is not required. Fee: $5 payable at door (waived for certified Extension MGs). For more information, call 913-299-9300. Advanced Vegetable Gardening-Summer Crops Thurs, Mar 1, 6:30-7:30pm; at Clinton Parkway Nursery, 4900 Clinton Parkway, Lawrence, KS. How to grown summer vegetables, 4-5 different summer vegetables to be discussed. Which ones depends on a vote from the workshop attendees. Handouts will be provided. FREE, but Seating is limited, so please RSVP to 785-842-3081. Back to Basics Garden Bootcamp Sat, Mar 3, 9am-3pm; at Powell Gardens. Spring forward into the growing season with a clear vision for your garden and a greater understanding of your space, soil, what plants will work best with less work, and new cultivars to try. This daylong experience will feature small seminars that highlight 101 terminology (understand the difference between woody and herbaceous plants, annuals and perennials and varied soil types); soil testing and remediating; and adapting your design plan for what your landscape provides. Participants will also discover new cultivars that are great for the home garden to create a pleasing yet easy to grow aesthetic. Participants are encouraged to bring soil samples, photos of their space, and or sketches. Each participant will take home sketches for a new design tailored to personal garden space and a new

plant to include in this landscape (from an assortment to choose from). Visit powellgardens.org or call 816.697.2600 ext. 306. Beeginning Beekeeping Class Sun, Mar 4 and 11, 1-5:30pm; at the Douglas Co Fairgrounds, 2110 Harper St, Bldg 21, Lawrence KS. Registration and demonstrations are from noon1pm. Offered by Northeastern Kansas Beekeeper’s Association. Dr Dewey Caron, author of the textbook we will be using, Honey Bee Biology & Beekeeping, will present on the 2nd day, Mar 11. To register go to NEKBA.org or call Joli Winer at 913-856-8356 for information. The cost is $65 and includes the textbook, presentation notes and a 1-year membership. Greening the Lawn Mon, Mar 5, 7pm; at Johnson County Extension Office, Room 1060, 11811 S Sunset Dr, Olathe, KS 66061. They say the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. But each of us have a different idea of what green means. This class will cover recommendations that means green in different ways. Greener is an approach to lawn care which can reduce the use of fertilizers, water and other inputs while still having a nice green lawn. This program will help you tailor your lawn care inputs to match the desired outcomes. Proper lawn care is not a one size fits all program once you know the secrets to a green lawn while being green in the process. Limited to 45. $10, enroll at www.johnson.k-state. edu. Instructor: Dennis Patton, Johnson Co K-State Research and Extension Horticulture Agent. Gardening is Good Therapy and you get Tomatoes Too! Tues, Mar 6, 4pm; at Lansing Community Library, 730 1st Terr, Ste 1, Lansing, KS 66043. Paula Darling, a Leavenworth County Master Gardener, will give a presentation on the therapeutic advantages of gardening. The meeting is free and open to the public. For more information contact Paula Darling at 913-240-4094. Native Plant Rain Gardens Tues, Mar 6, 6-8pm; at at Burr Oak Woods Conservation Nature Center, 1401 NW Park Rd, Blue Springs, MO. Walk-in (adults) Come and learn a great way to deal with that water logged spot in your yard and do your part for storm water management, or just create a special spot in your yard for more water tolerant plants. Rain gardens are great for the environment and a new way to garden. Learn everything from arrangement to plant selection. For more information email discoverycenter@ mdc.mo.gov.

Plants and Spring at Powell Gardens 30 Must Have Plants for Your Garden This Season Thursday, March 15 | 5-7 p.m. Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, 4800 Rockhill Road, Kansas City, M) Enjoy an illustrated talk presented by Kunso Kim, vice president of gardens, featuring his suggested ‘top 30’ plants to include in your residential landscape or home garden and why you should consider them. Enjoy a welcome reception for Kunso, following the talk. Visit powellgardens.org or call 816.697.2600 ext. 306. Family Frolic: Think Spring Fling Saturday, March 31 | 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Join us for a celebration of all things “spring” including, eggs, the Easter bunny, flowers, soil, seeds, spring breakfast brunch, and much more! This drop-in day features storytelling by actors of the Coterie Theatre inspired by their upcoming theatre production Jack and the Bean Magico. Be sure to take part in an egg hunt on the lawn (for children ages six and under) at 10:30 a.m. and a scavenger hunt in the garden for kids seven and up (available all day)! Collected eggs and completed scavenger hunts will be turned in at the visitor center for age appropriate prizes and sweet treats. Professional color photos with the Easter Bunny ($5-7) and free hands-on activities—including creating an Easter Hat and bunny ears will also be available. Visit powellgardens.org or call 816.697.2600 ext. 306.

Use Our Natural Products All Year For Containers, Gardens, Turf Shrubs, Trees, And Ponds Join Judy Penner, Director/Rosarian of Loose Park & Laura

Conyers Smith Municipal Rose Garden in the garden center on Saturday, March 24th from 10 - Noon to discover the 3 P’s of Rose Growing: Purchasing, Planting and Pruning.

Growing the Perfect Tomato Thurs, Mar 8, 6:30-7:30pm; at Clinton Parkway Nursery, 4900 Clinton Parkway, Lawrence, KS. Learn how to grow a great tomato whether it be a cherry or a beefsteak, in the ground, or in a container. Handouts will be provided. FREE, but Seating is limited, so please RSVP to 785-842-3081. Spring Gardening Seminar Sat, Mar 10, at Rockhurst University, Kansas City, MO. An all day event offering a variety of presentations from edible flowers to everything you wanted to know about no sow gardening. $54 including lunch. Visit www.mggkc.org/spring-seminar for detailed information on each of the 13 presentations plus enrollment instructions. Home Tweet Home Tues, Mar 13, 1pm; at Overland Park Arboretum & Botanical Gardens, 8909 W 179th St. Build a birdhouse and take it home. Fee: $15 per project plus admission. Contact: opabg.org or 913-685-3604 Beekeeping I Wed, Mar 14 & 21, 6:30-8:30pm; at Johnson County Community College, 12345 College Blvd, Overland Park, KS. This is an introductory course into beekeeping. We will review the importance of honey bees in our everyday life. Participants will learn about the life cycle of the honey bee, their history, and become familiar with today’s beekeeping techniques. Fee: $59. To enroll go to https://ce.jccc.edu or call 913-469-2323. Vegetable Gardening Wed, Mar 14, 7pm; at Basehor Community Library, 1400 158th St, Basehor, KS 66007. Melony Lutz, a Leavenworth County Master Gardener and her husband Bob Lutz, an avid gardener, will give a presentation on vegetable gardening. They will share their tips and tricks on how to grow a productive garden. The meeting is free and open to the public. For more information contact Paula Darling at 913-240-4094.

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EARTH RIGHT SUPER STUFF is the perfect product to apply in spring, especially before a rain. Prepare the soil now for a better lawn and great gardens. Planting with THE MUSHROOM STUFF will quick start your spring gardens, shrubs & trees. Use in containers too! Our SURE BLOOM NATURAL & SURE BLOOM 6-7-6 contain vitamins, trace minerals, enzymes & organic acids not found in commercial fertilizers. Experience great results in containers & gardens, around trees & shrubs & on the lawn.

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POND STUFF as soon as it warms up to help prevent algae & keep your ponds clear. Use in ponds 3 ft deep for best results or use with a colorant. Maintains a clear water supply and safe for all wildlife! For information on all Earth Right products call us at 913-492-2992 If you want to have our products applied contact Tobin Lawn & Landscape at 816-765-5565 or Sonshine Lawn at 816-525-7111. The Kansas City Gardener | March 2018

Planters Seed Co.

Upcoming Garden Events places to go, things to do, people to see

• Since 1927 •

(continued from page 31)

Potatoes, Onions, Herbs and Vegetable Plants arriving daily!

Native Plant Gardening Basics Thurs, Mar 15, 7pm; at Carnegie Bldg, 200 W 9th St, Lawrence, KS. Grassland Heritage Foundation Workshop Series is for everyone who wants to learn more about the benefits of and methods for gardening with natives. Prairie Ecologist Courtney Masterson will talk about aspects of starting and enlarging native gardens including site assessment and selection, purchasing, and planting. An RSVP is encouraged. E-mail GHF grasslandheritage@gmail.com to RSVP and more info. www.grasslandheritage.com Growing & Storing Herbs Thurs, Mar 15, 6:30-7:30pm; at Clinton Parkway Nursery, 4900 Clinton Parkway, Lawrence, KS. Learn how to grow and store your herbs. Handouts will be provided. FREE, Seating is limited, so RSVP to 785-842-3081.

Largest Selection of Flowers & Vegetable Seed in the Area More than 300 Varieties of Seed in Bulk Package Seeds Arriving Daily Grass & Pasture Seed • Thousands of Bulbs Baskets, Terracotta and Pottery Birdhouses, Birdfeeders MARCH PLANTING DATES Plant Above Ground Crops: 17, 20-22, 25, 26 • Plant Root Crops: 4-7, 31 Control Plant Pests: 9, 10, 13-15 • Plant Flowers: 17, 20-22 • Transplant: 25, 26, 31

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For All Seasons Lawn Food Plus Crabgrass and Weed Preventer Apply in early spring or fall 2 to 3 weeks prior to seed germination to obtain control of grassy and broadleaf weeds. Coverage: 5,000 sq. ft. Have a lawn and garden question for the Gard’n-Wise Guys? Go to Facebook and ask them your question. NOW AVAILABLE AT: Jacksons Greenhouse & Garden Center, Topeka v Doctors At the Lake, Lake of the Ozarks v Manns Lawn & Landscape, St. Joe v Gronis Hardware and Seed, Leavenworth v Clinton Parkway Nursery, Lawrence v Barnes Greenhouses, Trenton, MO v Soil Service Gdn. Center, Kansas City, MO v Loma Vista North, Kansas City, MO v Skinner Garden Store, Topeka v Full Features Nursery, Smithville v Springtime Garden Center, Lee’s Summit v Heartland Nursery, Kansas City, MO v Planter’s Seed, Kansas City, MO v Penrod’s Greenhouse, Kearney v North Star Garden Center, Liberty v Grimm’s Gardens, Atchison v Moffet Nursery, St. Joe v Suburban Lawn & Garden, Kansas City, MO

March 2018 | kcgmag.com

Vegetable Gardening Thurs, Mar 15, 7pm; at Leavenworth Public Library, 417 Spruce St, Leavenworth, KS 66048. Melony Lutz, a Leavenworth County Master Gardener and her husband Bob Lutz, an avid gardener, will give a presentation on vegetable gardening. They will share their tips and tricks on how to grow a productive vegetable garden. Meeting is free, open to the public. For more info, contact Paula Darling at 912-240-4094. Beginning Vegetable Gardening Sat, Mar 17, 10:30-11:30am; at Clinton Parkway Nursery, 4900 Clinton Parkway, Lawrence, KS. Learn how to start a simple and manageable vegetable garden. Handouts will be provided. FREE, but Seating is limited, so please RSVP to 785-842-3081. It’s About Thyme, Herbs for the Home Garden Sat, Mar 17, 10-11:30am; at Douglas County Fairgrounds, Dreher Bldg, Lawrence, KS. Douglas County Master Gardeners Class, presented by Sandra Siebert, Douglas Co EMG. Open to the Public. Pine Needles, Dandelions & Early Greens Oh My! Tues, Mar 20, 1-3pm; at Burr Oak Woods Conservation Nature Center, 1401 NW Park Rd, Blue Springs, MO. Registration required (adults). Plants have been used as medicinals since ancient times. What did our ancestors know that we have almost forgotten today? Let’s get back to our roots as we discover the lore and the medicinal value of these common native or naturalized plants. For more information email burr.oak@mdc.mo.gov Pruning Fruit Trees Thurs, Mar 22, 6:30-7:30pm; at Clinton Parkway Nursery, 4900 Clinton Prkwy, Lawrence, KS. Learn how to prune cherries, apples, peaches and pears for fruit production. Handouts will be provided. FREE, RSVP to 785-842-3081. Growing Bulbs: Expertise from the Industry Sat, Mar 24, 2-3pm; at Powell Gardens. Join Philipp Laagland for an illustrated talk as he discusses the business behind the Dutch bulb industry. Laagland’s family business began four generations ago in 1910 in the fields of De Zilk in The Netherlands and is today one of the largest flower bulb growers and exporters in the world. Philipp will review the yearly cycles of flower production from planting to selling and will also explain all about using flower bulbs in your landscape designs. Reservations are required as space is limited. Visit powellgardens.org or call 816.697.2600 ext. 306. Spring Rose Demonstration Sat, Mar 24, 10am-noon; at Loose Park Garden Center, 51st and Wornall, Kansas City, MO. The Kansas City Rose Society is kicking off the new growing season with its annual Spring Rose Demonstration. Judy Penner, Loose Garden Director and Rosarian, will present a FREE program titled “The 3 P’s of Spring Care—Purchasing, Planting and Pruning”. The class will begin in the Loose Park Garden Center building and progress outside to the rose garden. So, dress for the weather. Building a Raised Bed Sat, Mar 24, 10:30-11:30am; at Clinton Parkway Nursery, 4900 Clinton Parkway, Lawrence, KS.

Learn how to build a simple wooden raised bed out of landscape timbers as well as what media to put in it for maximum results. Handouts will be provided. FREE, Seating limited, so RSVP to 785-842-3081. Spectacular Shrubs Mon, Mar 26, 7pm; at Johnson County Extension Office, Room 1060, 11811 S Sunset Dr, Olathe, KS 66061. Tired of the same old lilac, forsythia and juniper? Desiring something new, out of the box that stands out in the neighborhood or garden? Then make plans to attend this session. Newer varieties and introductions for the landscape will be covered. Shrubs are more versatile than ever with smaller plants, more colorful foliage and longer flowering periods. After this session you will be ready to give those tired, old over-pruned shrubs the heave-ho and give the garden a facelift. Limited to 45. $10, enroll at www.johnson.k-state.edu. Nature Trail Tour Wed, Mar 28, 1pm; at the Overland Park Arboretum, a mile west of US Highway 69 on 179th St, Overland Park, KS. Jim Earnest and Ken O’Dell will give a one hour tour of one of the Beautiful Natural Trails at the Overland Park Arboretum. The arboretum has 140 acres of naturally planted woodlands with rocky bluffs, creeks, bottomlands, and hillsides. We will see most of the 50 species of trees that grow naturally at the arboretum. These woodlands have several trees that are not frequently seen in this area including, basswood, coffeetrees, hop hornbeam, yellow buckeye as well as the hickories, giant oaks, thousands of pawpaws, bladdernut, native hazelnut, prickly ash and rough-leaf dogwood. We will tour one of the seven woodland trails and will tour the other trails at other times. Come join us. Beekeeping II Wed, Mar 28 & Apr 4, 6:30-8:30pm; at Johnson County Community College, 12345 College Blvd, Overland Park, KS. This course offers an in depth review of current beekeeping practices. You will study beekeeping in the classroom and explore a beehive in the field. The course will give you hands on experience working a beehive. Fee: $59. To enroll go to https://ce.jccc.edu or call 913-469-2323. Caring for Berries & Small Fruits Thurs, Mar 29, 6:30-7:30pm; at Clinton Parkway Nursery, 4900 Clinton Parkway, Lawrence, KS. Learn how to start and care for your own strawberries, blackberries, grapes, raspberries, and blueberries. Handouts will be provided. FREE, but Seating is limited, so please RSVP to 785-842-3081. Spring Fashion and Flower Reveal Thurs, Mar 29, 6-9pm; at Powell Gardens. Join Rightfully Sewn and the Western Nursery and Landscape Association for an evening of new designs in Kansas City fashion, regionally grown cultivars, and floral arrangements. Meet the newly selected class of five Kansas City-based fashion designers plus learn about the hottest trends in 2018 plants on the market from Bailey Nursery. Enjoy beautiful displays incorporating fashion designs, live specimen, and creative expressions by area florists and Powell Gardens horticulture staff. This event features a short presentation at 6:30pm about design both fashion and floral; music, a signature cocktail and hors d’oeuvres. A cash bar is available as is round trip bus transportation from Kansas City by special reservation. Visit powellgardens.org or call 816.697.2600 ext. 306. Family Frolic: Think Spring Fling Sat, Mar 31, 10am-4pm; at Powell Gardens. Join us for a celebration of all things “spring” including, eggs, the Easter bunny, flowers, soil, seeds, spring breakfast brunch, and much more! This drop-in day features storytelling by actors of the Coterie Theatre inspired by their upcoming theatre production Jack and the Bean Magico. Be sure to take part in an egg hunt on the lawn (for children ages six and under) at 10:30am and a scavenger hunt in the garden for kids seven and up (available all day)! Collected eggs and completed scavenger hunts will be turned in at the visitor center for age appropriate prizes and sweet treats. Professional color photos with the Easter Bunny ($5-7) and free hands-on activities-including creating an Easter Hat and bunny ears

will also be available. Visit powellgardens.org or call 816.697.2600 ext. 306.

April Keeping Backyard Chickens Tues, Apr 3, 6-9pm; at Johnson County Community College, 12345 College Blvd, Overland Park, KS. An animal lover’s guide to sustainable agriculture on a small scale. Chickens provide natural bug control, as well as breakfast. Learn the how and why and what in order to avoid the perils of raising chickens on a domestic scale. Fee: $39. To enroll go to https:// ce.jccc.edu or call 913-469-2323. Designing Container Gardens Thurs, Apr 5, 6:30-7:30pm; at Clinton Parkway Nursery, 4900 Clinton Parkway, Lawrence, KS. Learn how to assemble a show stopping container garden. Handouts will be provided. FREE, but Seating is limited, so please RSVP to 785-842-3081. All About Dahlias Thurs, Apr 5, 11:30am; in Sunflower Rm, Wyandotte County Extension Office, 1208 N 79th St, Kansas City, KS. Dahlias are one of the most beautiful and underutilized flowers to add color and texture to the late summer garden. Hundreds of dahlias will grow in the Kansas City area, and they are available in red, orange, yellow, white and purple, and in a variety of heights. Please join us to hear a presentation by Dr. Bernard Lohkamp of the GKC Dahlia Society. Dr. Lohkamp is the judging chairman for the group’s shows as well as the organizer of the Dahlia Society spring tuber sale. Registration not required. Fee: $5 payable at door (waived for certified Extension MGs). For more information, call 913-299-9300. Make a Gourd Birdhouse Class Sat, Apr 7, 10-11am; at Overland Park Arboretum & Botanical Gardens, 8909 W 179th St. Come and make a birdhouse to take home. Fee: $15 per project plus admission. Contact: opabg.org or 913-685-3604 Add a Splash of Color with Summer Bulbs Mon, Apr 9, 7pm; at Johnson County Extension Office, Room 1060, 11811 S Sunset Dr, Olathe, KS 66061. Bulbs are not just for spring. Summer or tender bulbs are a great way to add more color and interest to the landscape. This session will look at those selections that either will not survive the winter or bloom during the summer. They come in a wide variety of plant types, forms, shapes and colors. This session will introduce you to these lesser-known bulbs for the garden. Proper care will be covered to help you get the most out of these garden gems. Limited to 45. $10, enroll at www.johnson.k-state.edu. Missouri TreeKeeper Course Location: Memorial Park, Belton, MO. Tues, Apr 10, 9am–1pm; Introduction to Trees, Urban Soils and Basic Tree Biology; Wed, Apr 11, 9am–1:30pm; Tree ID Field Day, Planting; Thurs, Apr 12, 9am– 3:30pm; Pruning, Tree Problems, Pruning & Planting Field Day. Offered by Heartland Tree Alliance, Bridging the Gap. See course details at https://bridgingthegap.org/heartland-tree-alliance/treekeeper/ If you have questions, please call Sarah Crowder at 816-561-1061 ext. 138 or email Sarah.Crowder@ bridgingthegap.org. If you cannot attend all the sessions, you can make them up at a later date (at no charge)! Wildflower Walk Wed, Apr 11, 18, 10am; at Overland Park Arboretum & Botanical Gardens, 8909 W 179th St. Explore the trails and wildflowers with a guide. Fee: Included with admission, register online. Contact: opabg.org or 913-685-3604 Beekeeping III Wed, Apr 11 & 18, 6:30-8:30pm; at Johnson County Community College, 12345 College Blvd, Overland Park, KS. This class will be a fun and active way to learn how to be a successful backyard beekeeper. We will provide the basic knowledge needed to keep and manage a healthy beehive, and produce honey and beeswax. This class will cover bee behavior, hive management, diseases, pests, swarming and how to harvest honey right from your own backyard. Fee: $59. To enroll go to https://ce.jccc.edu or call 913-469-2323.

Perennial Gardening 101 Thurs, Apr 12, 6:30-7:30pm; at Clinton Parkway Nursery, 4900 Clinton Parkway, Lawrence, KS. Learn what a perennial is, some easy care perennials for our area, and how to maintain them. Handouts will be provided. FREE, but Seating is limited, so please RSVP to 785-842-3081. Make Paper from PLANTS (Workshop) Sat, Apr 14, 12:30-4:30pm; Class less than 5 miles from Lawrence. Join us and learn how to turn the stem, seed and leaf fibers from native plants into unique, beautifully textured papers. The paper can be used to create artwork, notecards, bookmarks, photo mats, lampshades, and MORE! Fee: $39. Instructor is the founder of Kansas Native Plants. Pre-enrollment required to attend: http://goodearthgatherings.com/register-for-a-class-online.html The Know Maintenance Perennial Garden Thurs, Apr 19, 6:30pm; at Kauffman Conference Center, 4801 Rockhill Rd, KCMO. The Master Gardeners of Greater Kansas City present our speaker is Roy Diblik, a recognized perennial plant expert, grower, designer, speaker and author. Combining his 35 years of knowledge growing traditional and Midwest native perennials, he specializes in highly aesthetic, sustainable plant communities for all seasons, while reducing maintenance through design. He believes that gardens should be thoughtful, ecologically directed, emotionally outreaching, and yet very personal. Free and open to the public. No registration is required. Door Prizes. For further information call 816-665-4456 or visit our website at mggkc.org and browse Gardeners’ Gathering.

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Container Gardening Mon, Apr 23, 7pm; at Johnson County Extension Office, Room 1060, 11811 S Sunset Dr, Olathe, KS 66061. Containers are problem solvers. They add so much flair to any location. This session will cover everything you need to know for success. The class will breakdown into two parts. First we will look at the science of container gardening and what it takes to grow the plants. The second part of the session will be the fun, art of container gardening including design tips and of course the great plants that add the wow factor. After attending this class you won’t be able to stop at just one pot! Limited to 45. $10, enroll at www.johnson.k-state.edu. Instructor: Dennis Patton, Johnson Co K-State Research and Extension Horticulture Agent. Advanced Beekeeping – Queen Rearing Wed, Apr 25, 6:30-8:30pm; at Johnson County Community College, 12345 College Blvd, Overland Park, KS. Queen Rearing is a highly specialized process and an important part of beekeeping. There are many practices, variations and processes which you will review in depth. You will learn the DooLittle and Miller queen rearing methods, as well as best practices for queen grafting and successfully raising your own queens. Fee: $29. To enroll go to https:// ce.jccc.edu or call 913-469-2323. 2018_Now Hiring.indd 1

Annual Paola Plant Sale Thurs, Apr 26, 11am-5 pm; Fri, Apr 27, 8am-5pm; Sat, Apr 28, 8am-noon; at 808 Baptiste Dr. Take the Baptiste Exit off 169 Hwy and drive 1/3 mile west. This Marais des Cygnes (formerly Miami County) Extension Master Gardener sale includes annual bedding plants, vegetable seedlings, succulents and perennials. Exotic tropicals and unusual edible shrubs are also available. Native plants are featured and there will be over 20 species of butterfly caterpillar host plants, including Tropical Milkweed. All the plants are locally grown organically and are neonicotinoid-free. Extension Master Gardeners will be on hand to answer your gardening questions, and handouts on butterfly gardening will be available. Call 913-294-4306 for more information. Edible Landscaping Sat, Apr 28, 9am-12pm; at Johnson County Community College, 12345 College Blvd, Overland Park, KS. Increase the health benefits of your yard by learning to incorporate edible plants into your landscape design. Mix beauty with a tasty harvest. Explore designs and tips on maintaining landscapes with many colorful and productive edible annuals, perennials, herbs, shrubs and trees. Even yards with limited space and sunlight can be bountiful! Fee: $39. To enroll go to https://ce.jccc.edu or call 913469-2323.

More must-see events are posted on our website, KCGMAG.COM, and click on “Events.” Promote meetings, classes, and other gardening events! Send details to: elizabeth@kcgmag.com Deadline for publishing in the April issue is March 5.

Hotlines for Gardeners Extension Master Gardeners are ready to answer your gardening questions.

CASS COUNTY

816-380-8460; Wed, 9am-noon

DOUGLAS COUNTY

785-843-7058; mastergardener@douglas-county.com; Mon-Fri, 1-4pm

GREATER KANSAS CITY MISSOURI AREA

816-833-8733 (TREE); Mon-Fri, 9am-noon; mggkc.hotline@gmail.com River Market, 105 E 5th St, KCMO, 1st and 3rd Sat, May-Sep, 8am-noon

JOHNSON COUNTY, KS

913-715-7050; Mon-Fri, 9am-4pm; garden.help@jocogov.org

JOHNSON COUNTY, MO

660-747-3193; Wed, 9am-noon

LEAVENWORTH COUNTY

913-364-5700; Apr thru Sep, Mon 10am-4pm, Thurs 10am-4pm

MIAMI COUNTY

913-294-4306; Thurs, 9am-noon

WYANDOTTE COUNTY

913-299-9300; Mon, Wed, Fri, 9am-4pm

QUESTIONS ABOUT ROSES?

Ask a Rosarian; kcrosehelp@gmail.com; www.kansascityrosesociety.org The Kansas City Gardener | March 2018

March

garden calendar n LAWN

• Spot spray for dandelions, henbit and chickweed. Only spray on a calm day, using larger droplets applied close to the ground to reduce drift and damage to non-target plants. • Apply crabgrass preventer in late March through mid-April. • Seed the thin areas in bluegrass and tall fescue lawns. • Apply fertilizer to bluegrass and tall fescue if no fall application was made. Note: do not apply additional fertilizer if crabgrass control included a fertilizer. • Lower mowing height about ½ inch to remove winter debris, do not scalp. • Soil test to determine fertility needs.

n TREES AND SHRUBS

• Remove all broken branches and bark tears from storm-damaged trees by pruning to the next lower branch or fork. • Prune trees, except birch, maple and walnut, which are best pruned after leafing out. • Prune spring flowering shrubs after they bloom. Summer flowering shrubs can be pruned now. • Mulch trees and shrubs plantings up to 3 inches deep, avoiding trunk contact. • Fertilize young and establishing trees and shrubs. • Plant new trees in the landscape. • Remove tree wraps from young trees for summer growth. • Rake and clean ground cover plantings. • Tree stakes should be removed after one year.

• Start seeds under lights indoors for transplanting to the garden. • Remove winter mulch from roses and prune as needed, late month. • Cut ornamental grasses back to within 3 to 5 inches of the ground. • Plant new roses. • Divide and plant perennials. • Fertilize spring flowering bulbs such as tulips and daffodils before flowering. • Cut seedpods from spent bulbs. • Help control iris borers by destroying old foliage before new growth begins.

n VEGETABLES AND FRUITS

• Prepare soil for spring planting. • Soil test if needed. • Fertilize gardens before planting with 3 to 4 pounds of 27-3-3 or similar per 1,000 square feet. • Plant broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage in mid-to-late March. • Plant potatoes, peas, onions, lettuce and other salad crops. • Plant asparagus, rhubarb and strawberries. • Start seeds of tomatoes, peppers and other warm season vegetables. • Sharpen garden tools and repair. • Apply dormant oil to fruit plantings to reduce scale and mite insects. • Control peach leaf curl with fungicide application while tree is dormant. • Prune fruit trees, grapes, raspberries and blackberries. • Remove mulch from strawberries. • Turn the compost pile.

n HOUSEPLANTS

n FLOWERS

• Plant pansies, snapdragons, calendulas, other cool-loving annuals. • Clean up perennial bed, cut back foliage and remove winter mulch. • Prepare soil for annual planting by adding organic matter such as compost. • Fertilize gardens as growth begins. • Take a soil test if one has not been done in the last five years.

• Begin fertilization to encourage rapid spring and summer growth. • Repot crowded plants in a 1-inch larger pot. • Shape plants by pruning and trimming. • Remove winter dust from leaves with a damp cloth or by placing in a warm shower. • Check for insects. • Take cuttings or divide overgrown plants.

Johnson County K-State Research and Extension recommends environmentally-friendly gardening practices. This starts by identifying and monitoring problems. Cultural practices and controls are the best approach for a healthy garden. If needed, use physical, biological or chemical controls. Always consider the least toxic approach first. Dennis Patton is the horticulture agent for Johnson County K-State Research and Extension. For free information fact sheets, visit www.johnson.ksu.edu, or call the Extension office at 913-715-7000.

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A Mon thly Guid e to Suc October 2014 cess ful Gard Garde ning enin g to Succe ssful A Mont hly Guide

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Recommended Vegetable Varieties

K-State Research and Extension has updated its recommendations of vegetable varieties that have consistently proven themselves to be hearty, resistant to drought and disease, while producing good amounts of fruit. Read more about their findings, see the entire article at KCGMAG.COM.

E-mail: Where did you pick up The Kansas City Gardener? Please enclose your check payable to The Kansas City Gardener and mail with this form to: P.O. Box 8725, Prairie Village, KS 66208 The Kansas City Gardener is published monthly Jan. through Dec.

Meet Extension Master Gardener, Jan Sungail

What first drew you to gardening? My grandfather purchased the city lot next to his home which became his ‘farm.’ Born in the Alsace French region and immigrating to Hungary as a small boy, he had the European influence of raising his own food. I so admired his love for the garden which he tended diligently. I spent many gardening

hours with him. He even gave me a little area of my own. Why become an EMG? My vocation was in the business world (airline). I knew retirement would include volunteering and gardening. I have found such a group dedicated to learning and sharing knowledge about gardening. I was accepted an EMG Class of 2005, Johnson County. Most valuable information learned: To be successful with plantings, it is important to remember “the right plant for the right place.” That means paying attention to the requirements of the plant such as sun, shade, moisture, etc., while pairing it with a place meeting those requirements. Favorite tool: While in the garden, I always carry a trowel, a good pair of clippers, and my long handled dandelion tool used for general weeding. Favorite plant type: Oh so many, and different ones in different seasons. I love hellebores and have several different cultivars in my garden. Hellebores will be among the first flowers of the season. I love the beautiful burgundy red blooms of the calycanthus ‘Aphrodite’ (sweetshrub) in early summer, the hydrangeas in summer and the tall lily spires of my fragrant late blooming hostas.

Passion: I am passionate about the EMG program. Currently I am the Historian for the Johnson County EMGs. We are a committee of 14, photographing most all the activities in which the EMGs participate. The photographs are then compiled into a printed yearbook. Recording the wonderful work of EMGs includes everything from the hotline crews, eight demonstration gardens, horticulture therapy project, and committees such as Wildlife Habitat and their activities at schools with butterfly presentations. We include special projects where EMGs lend their expertise such as the Overland Park Arboretum plant sale. We also include photos from our six Junior Master Garden program. I like to think we are the “Press corps on the spot.” Challenges: One that perhaps we all face is climatic conditions. When it is hot and dry, watering is an issue. If it is too cold, hopefully you have mulched enough. Then there are soil considerations. With our clay soil, we must understand about soil amendments and water considerations. Best advice to share: I am glad to see the movement to plant natives. Considering the advantages, it’s easy to embrace native plants. They are able withstand harsh Midwest seasons and soil conditions.

The Kansas City Gardener | March 2018

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