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Knoxville | Jackson | Crossville
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May 10-11, 2014
Join us for the 11th annual Blooms Days on May 10-11. Take a walk through the UT Gardens, Knoxville at its peak of bloom, attend educational sessions, enjoy musical performances, sample some tasty food, and shop for
garden gifts from more than 30 local and regional vendors in our marketplace. In addition, join us on Sunday for special Mother's Day activities.
$8/person per day or $10/person for a two-day pass; children 12 and under free.
Blooms Days Event Sponsors:
Media Sponsors
Floribunda
Hybrid Tea
Community Partners:
Platinum
Gold
Ruth and Erbin Baumgardner
Silver
Bronze
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by Ben Cordes, horticulturist, UT Gardens, Knoxville
The UT Gardens' selection for plant of month for May is the Emily Bruner Holly, or the Ilex x 'Emily Bruner' as it's known botanically. The Emily Bruner is one of
many hybrid hollies stemming from crosses of American, European and Asian cultivars, and it is truly a homegrown selection. Read
more.
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Be sure to check out our gardening tips and tricks in each issue of the newsletter. You'll learn about fantastic plants throughout the year that will enable you to make your garden a showpiece. Jason Reeves, gardening expert and research horticulturist,
will tell you when and how to care for bulbs, annuals, perennials, shrubs and trees. Each issue will feature the upcoming month, so you can plan ahead.
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Our weekly volunteer sessions (Tuesday and Thursday mornings from
9 a.m. to noon) have resumed! Join staff and fellow volunteers to help with gardening tasks in the greenhouse and/or Gardens. If you've been interested in volunteering, this is a great time to get involved. Some weekend opportunities to volunteer also are
available if the weekday option is not convenient for you. Weekend events include plant sales, Blooms Days festival and other special events. Contact
Beth Willis for more information.
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Knoxville Gardens
April Educational Classes
Books & Blooms: Every Thursday (beginning May 15), 10:30 a.m.-noon. Summer program for children featuring books, music, crafts and sprinklers (weather permitting)
Cost: Free (preregistration not required)
Sunday Garden Walk: Egg Carton Garden, Sunday, May 25, 3-4 p.m. This free tour offers visitors a chance to learn about the UT Gardens and see what is new.
Cost: Free
Plateau Discovery Gardens
April Educational Classes
From Garden to Table: Canning 101 Water Bath and Pressure Cooking
Thursday, June 12, 9-11 a.m..
UT Extension agents Kelli Bottoms and Jan Williams will present the principal for pressure canner and safe water bath canning. Pressure gauge testing will be included without additional cost (bring your gauge to class).
Cost: $5
Preregistration requested. Contact Glenda Wisdom at 931-484-0034 or [log in to unmask]. Classes are held at 320 Experiment Station Road, Crossville, Tennessee. Crossville is in the
central time zone.
Click
here to find out more about the 2014 classes held at the Plateau Discovery Gardens in Crossville.
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Attend the Plateau Discovery Gardens Spring Plant Sale
Open to the general public on Saturday, May 17, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Many varieties of perennials and shrubs will be available. Proceeds from this sale benefit the development of the Plateau Discovery Gardens. Visit the Gardens website at
plateau.tennessee.edu or the Cumberland County Master Gardener Association website
ccmga.org for a complete list of plants.
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Stories From a Tennessee Master Gardener's Notebook
By C. Rae Hozer, Cumberland County Tennessee Master Gardener
Pruning and Pinching
When Tennessee homeowners conducted their 2014 late winter or early spring inspection of trees and shrubs in their yards, many who have broadleaf evergreens found some (if not
all) of those plants in sad shape. Winter drought stress caused by frozen ground is worse when plants are in sunny spots. By the beginning of May, the typical last frost date has passed in most parts of our state, which signals it is time to do corrective
pruning of those winter-damaged landscape plants.
Pruning may bring to mind cutting back trees and shrubs using hand clippers, loppers, hedge trimmers, hand saws, or, for big jobs, chain saws. It also includes simply using your
fingers to pinch off soft, new shoot growth or to remove spent blossoms. Whatever the plant to be pruned and whichever tool is employed, cuts are injuries. Harm to the plant can be minimized if cuts are made at growth points and in ways known to promote fast
healing. Prevent spreading from one plant to another bacteria or disease pathogens found in decayed tissue when trimming a lot of damaged trees or shrubs. Wipe blades between cuts with a rag moistened with an antiseptic. Both a 10 percent chlorine and water
solution and isopropyl rubbing alcohol are effective disinfectants. I use the alcohol because no mixing is necessary, and it doesn't seem to rust or dull pruner blades. A fellow Master Gardener tipped me off to how easily alcohol can be applied using a plastic
spray bottle. I keep one with my pruning implements.
Spray blades of pruning tools with rubbing alcohol to disinfect.
Plant terms like "nodes," "internodes," and "buds" come up when explaining where and how to best make pruning cuts. A node is a spot where buds grow along a stem or branch. At
plant nodes, new cell and tissue growth is rapid. Pruning cuts made at that point heal more quickly. The space between two neighboring nodes is called an internode. Cutting on an internode some distance from the closest node leaves an undesirable stub. Stubs
are weak spots susceptible to insect pest and plant disease attack. The strongest growth point will be the bud just below a cut. After pruning, the shoot usually grows the way that bud points. Cut at a slant about 1/4 inch above outward-facing buds to develop
openness in the middle of a plant.
A good reference explains pruning terms, provides illustrations and gives plant-specific pointers. UT Extension's home and garden publication, "PB 1619: Best Management Practices
for Pruning Landscape Trees, Shrubs and Ground Covers," is a great reference with text, drawings and photos to explain the why, when and how of pruning (utextension.tennessee.edu/publications/documents/PB1619.pdf).
The revised edition of Lee Reich's "The Pruning Book" is another excellent resource. As I remember, a soft-cover edition set me back about $22. I learned how to "pinch my pines"
from "Pruning Made Easy: A Gardener's Visual Guide to When and How to Prune Everything from Flowers to Trees" by Master Gardener Lewis Hill. According to his account, Hill learned to pinch off new growth on pines known as "candles" while they are wet with
dew or rain after watching cows browse early in the morning on the soft shoots of pines growing along the fence line of their pasture. I have kept two young white pines small and dense for the past six years by following Hill's sage advice.
Pale-green shoots on pines are known as candles.
Cautionary Word on Growing Potatoes
It is important to know that belladonna, deadly nightshade and tobacco are in the same plant family (Solanaceae) as potatoes. So are eggplant, peppers, tomatillos and
tomatoes. (The best indicator is the shape of the flowers.) Solanaceous plants produce substances that are toxic/poisonous to humans. The toxins can cause nausea, vomiting and headaches. Do not eat green stems or leaves from plants in this family. The above-ground
fruit of plants in the eggplant - tomato list is safe to eat when ripe. Potatoes and the first plant grouping mentioned (belladonna - tobacco) produce above-ground fruit that is toxic and should not be eaten. The starchy potato tubers that grow underground
aren't harmful when ripe, but potato sprouts, green potatoes and/or green potato peels that taste bitter should not be eaten. Cooking does not eliminate the danger. If using potato growing as a gardening experience for children, be sure the kids are old enough
to understand and heed warnings not to eat potato plant parts, such as leaves, sprouts, stems and green potatoes.
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The following donors joined or renewed their membership during the month of February 2014.
Benefactor ($1000+)
Dr. Marjorie and Rogers Penfield
Sponsor ($250 - $499)
Faye Beck
Dr. Roger May
Carolyn Merz
Contributor ($100 - $249)
Beverly Beers
Dr. Paul Dudrick (in memory of Orlin P. Payne)
Dr. William and Carol Frey
John and Lillian Mashburn
Tiffany Phillips
Barbara Tourtelotte
Family/Dual ($50 - $99)
Fred Anderson
Donald Fike (in memory of Linda Fike)
Susan Garlington
Judith Girton
Joanne Hanley-Wilson
Knoxville Garden Club
Tiffany Saunders
Kim Stephens
Individual ($35-$49)
Richard Austin
Sandra Blackwell
Karen Fawver
Lynn Gessling
Sandra Hilliard
Linda Mason
Kathy Pittman
Janita Robinson
Sandra Stricklin
Richard Washburn
Ronald Wilson
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Platinum
Gold
Ruth and Erbin Baumgardener
Silver
Gold
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The UT Gardens include plant collections located in Knoxville, Jackson and Crossville. Designated as the official botanical garden for the state of Tennessee, the collections are part of the University of Tennessee
Institute of Agriculture. Their mission is to foster appreciation, education and stewardship of plants through garden displays, educational programs and research trials. The gardens are open during all seasons and free to the public. See
http://utgardens.tennessee.edu for more information.
This publication contains pesticide recommendations that are subject to change at any time. The recommendations in this publication are provided only as a guide. It is always the pesticide applicator's responsibility, by law, to read and follow all current
label directions for the specific pesticide being used. The label always takes precedence over the recommendations found in this publication.
Use of trade or brand names in this publication is for clarity and information; it does not imply approval of the product to the exclusion of others that may be of similar, suitable composition, nor does it guarantee or warrant the standard of the product.
The author(s), the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture and University of Tennessee Extension assume no liability resulting from the use of these recommendations.
The University of Tennessee is an EEO/AA/Title VI/Title IX/Section 504/ADA/ADEA institution in the provision of its education and employment programs and services. All qualified applicants will
receive equal consideration for employment without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, sex, pregnancy, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, physical or mental disability, or covered veteran status.
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