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2. Penstemon For Acreages
By Dale Lindgren, UNL Horticulture Specialist
Some acreage owners may enjoy having a part of their property planted to a natural planting or a mini-prairie. The mini-prairies may contain grasses, wildflowers or a mix of both. One group of plants to consider including are members of the genus penstemon.
Penstemon is one of the two or three largest genera of North American wildflowers/native plants. Botanically, penstemons are in the Scrophulariaceae or Figwort family, the same family in which snapdragons and foxgloves belong. There are about 270 species of Penstemon in total. In Nebraska, there are 10 native species of penstemon. However, many more are adapted to growing in Nebraska.
Some penstemon species/cultivars are adapted to a wide variety of growing conditions, while others will tolerate only very specific growing conditions. Some are herbaceous, and some form a woody base. Leaf types, plant form, flower color, and flower size vary greatly. However, all penstemon species have similar flower forms.
There are hundreds of penstemon choices available from which to choose. However, if you are thinking about incorporating wildflowers into an acreage planting or just want to plant a few in a flower bed, you might want to consider using one or more penstemon from the list below.
Three penstemon species we would recommend for planting in combination with prairie grasses and other wildflowers would include P. grandiflorus, P. gracilis and P. tubaeflorus.
P. grandiflorus 'War Axe'
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P. x 'Prairie Splendor'
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Penstemon grandiflorus is well-named, because it is one of the more spectacular species of penstemon. It is found throughout Nebraska and tolerates a variety of soil types. It is considered short-lived, 3 to 5 years, but does reseed. Its leaves are large, almost heart-shaped, gray-green, and glabrous. It receives its common name, “Shell-leaved Penstemon”, because of its foliage. It grows from 2 ½ to 3 feet tall. The large flowers can be white, pink or lavender. ‘Prairie Snow’ is a white-flowered form. Other mixed colored, flowered cultivars are available such as ‘War Axe’ and ‘Prairie Palette’.
Penstemon gracilis would not be considered a showy plant by many gardeners. However, it may well be the best penstemon species to grow in conjunction with native grasses. At North Platte, seed of this species has not only germinated well in grasses but has survived for many years in blue grama grass plantings. It flowers in June and has small lavender flowers on stalks about 24 inches high. It is very complementary to other prairie plants.
Penstemon tubaeflorus is mainly found in southeast Nebraska along the Kansas/Nebraska border in “road right of ways” and in other grassy areas. Although this species only has one to a few stems, the glistening white, one inch long flowers make it a strong candidate for a prairie planting. It grows to an average height of 3 feet.
Two other species native to southeast Nebraska that tolerate some grass competition but not as much as the three listed above, are Penstemon digitalis and Penstemon cobaea.
Penstemon digitalisis a very popular tall species with broad panicles of medium to large white or pale lavender glandular, open bell-like flowers. It is native to much of the eastern United States as well as to southeast Nebraska. However, it grows well throughout many other parts of the United States and Europe. ‘Husker Red’ is a selection with deep maroon foliage and white flowers. It does well in most landscape beds as long as it is not over watered and grown in soil with good drainage. Its height will vary from 2 ½ to 4 feet depending on location and moisture availability.
Penstemon cobaea is also native to the southeast corner of Nebraska. It has one of the largest flowers of any native penstemon species. Flower color varies from white to purple. It will tolerate growing in areas with moderate grass competition. One selection available through some local nurseries is ‘Prairie Splendor’.
All of the penstemon species mentioned above are good candidates for the flower garden as well. There are, however, many other penstemon to choose from for flower gardens in eastern Nebraska. A few of these include, Penstemon pinifolius, P. smallii, P. strictus, ‘Red Rocks’, ‘Prairie Dusk’, and ‘Prairie Dawn’, to name a few.
There are many other very good wildflowers that can be used in acreages and gardens in Nebraska. Why not add a few Nebraska natives to your acreage plantings!
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3. Wildflowers For The Home Landscape
By Dale Lindgren and Kim Todd, UNL Horticulture Specialists
Wildflowers and native plants can be a unique and interesting addition to the home landscape. The terms "wildflower" and "native plant" are often used synonymously, but there are differences. Wildflowers are described as flowering herbaceous plants (forbs) that grow with little or no human assistance. They can be native or introduced. Native plants in the Great Plains are generally described as those found growing in a defined area prior to the arrival of European settlers. Native plants may be grasses, forbs, shrubs or trees. Wildflowers and native plants also may be classified as annuals, biennials or perennials. Perennials are plants that live for more than two years.
Wildflowers can be used as landscape plants, as fresh cut flowers, in dried floral arrangements, to attract butterflies and for planting in conjunction with grasses in meadows or prairies. They also may be used in low maintenance areas and in sites requiring drought tolerant plants. However, some native species may be less drought tolerant than non-native species. Some native plants and wildflowers are highly adapted for wetland use as well
Continued...
http://ianrpubs.unl.edu/horticulture/g1074.htm
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4. Buffalograss: An Alternative Native Grass For Turf
By Sarah Browning, UNL Extension Educator
Buffalograss is a native, warm season grass that many acreage owners are considering for use as a turfgrass in place of Kentucky Bluegrass or tall fescue. Warm season grasses like buffalograss have the advantage of growing vigorously during the warm summer months of June, July and August, and have a high level of drought resistance. Buffalograss also makes a naturally low-growing turf, reaching only 5-6 inches tall, which reduces the need for mowing. One disadvantage to the use of buffalograss as a turfgrass is that it will not tolerate shaded conditions and must be grown in full sun.
For more information about buffalograss cultivars, establishment techniques and maintenance refer to:
Buffalograss: An Alternative Native Grass For Turf, http://ianrpubs.unl.edu/horticulture/g1297.htm
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5. Plastic or Paper? Or is it, Plastic or Clay?
By Don Janssen, UNL Extension Educator
Many gardeners have their own preferences regarding the choice of clay or plastic pots for their plants. If you do not have a firm opinion either way this article will detail some advantages and disadvantages of both types. Hopefully it will help you determine the best pot choice for a particular plant situation especially on an acreage.
Terra-cotta (unglazed clay) pots are made of a particular soil and fired in kilns during the manufacturing process. Clay pots provide a healthy environment for most plants. The porosity of clay allows air and moisture to penetrate the sides of the pot. This moisture and air is utilized by the fine roots located at the edge of the soil ball. Clay pots also act like a wick to remove excess moisture from the potting soil. This can be looked at as both an advantage and a disadvantage depending upon your watering habits.
Gardeners with a heavy hand at watering tend to over-water their plants will probably benefit from clay. Other gardeners who wait for the wilting signal from their plants are better off with plastic. Plants which demand a well-drained, dry soil like cacti also prefer clay pots.
Outdoor usage of clay also has advantages. Clay pots have thick walls that protect plant roots from rapid changes in temperature which can be destructive. They also have a fair amount of weight and do not blow over as easily as some plastic pots. Clay does have the disadvantage of drying quickly. This can be a problem for moisture loving plants such as ferns or when attempting to germinate seeds.
Clay also has the tendency to form a white crusty layer on the outside of the pot. This is formed when mineral salts dissolved in the water are wicked from the potting medium into and through the pot wall. Some find this layer attractive, most gardeners find it unsightly. The salt deposits can be scrubbed off. A final disadvantage, clay is easily broken.
Plastic pots are lightweight, strong and flexible. They are available in every color of the rainbow to coordinate with interior and exterior decorations. Plastic does not have the wicking action that clay has, making them an excellent choice for moisture-loving plants or for those gardeners who water infrequently.
Plastic pots are made of inert materials and are considered safe for growing plants. Many are made of recyclable plastic so disposal is environmentally friendly when the pot is no longer usable (unglazed clay pots are fully recyclable as well). Plastic pots generally have thinner walls than their clay counterparts offering roots little if any insulation from temperature change. Black plastic can actually act as a solar collector, heating up the potting medium to plant-damaging levels.
If plants in dark colored plastic containers wilt quickly, check to make sure the plants are well watered then move them to a shadier location where heat build-up should not be a problem. Sunlight can be hard on plastic causing fading and brittleness. Many plastic pots intended for outdoor use are treated with ultraviolet light inhibitors to reduce fading and maintain flexibility thus increasing the life-span of the pot.
Use this information when choosing between clay and plastic pots at your favorite store. Whether it be plastic or clay, make sure the pot you select has drainage holes in the bottom to prevent over-watering.
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6. Country Roses May Need Protection
By Don Janssen, UNL Extension Educator
If your hybrid tea roses didn't make it through the winter, then you may want to try hardy shrub roses for your acreage. Many shrub roses and old-fashioned roses are winter hardy in Nebraska without protection. Shrub roses are easy to grow in all parts of southeast Nebraska and are beautiful landscape plants when planted in groups of three or more. They are available in a wide range of colors but their flowers are not as refined looking as the hybrid teas.
The flowers of hybrid tea roses look a lot like the roses that you buy from a florist. They are among the most popular of all garden flowers. Unfortunately, most hybrid tea varieties will not survive Nebraska winters without adequate protection. Plant hybrid tea, floribunda, grandiflora, and miniature roses in beds where you can give them special care and winter protection. Climbing roses are effective when grown on a trellis, arbor, or fence but most of them also need winter protection and wind protection on the acreage.
Roses grow and flower best in a location where they receive a minimum of 6 hours of direct sunlight daily. They prefer a well-drained, fertile, loamy soil that is at least 2 feet deep. Good air movement at the planting site is also desirable. Good air movement helps dry wet plant foliage and reduce disease problems.
Before you buy roses, decide where you want to plant them and acquaint yourself with the many different classes of roses. There are hundreds of named rose varieties from which to choose. You can learn much by studying rose catalogs. A visit to local rose gardens also provides an excellent opportunity to study roses and learn which ones perform best in your area.
You may buy roses as either bare root dormant plants or container grown plants. When ordering bare root plants from a mail order company, be sure the plants are "number one" grade. These plants have 3 or more large, healthy canes (each about 3/8 inch thick) that will grow faster and produce more blooms the first season than #1 1/2 or #2 grade plants. Request delivery between April 1 and May 15. When selecting bare root plants from a local nursery, choose strong, healthy, dormant plants. Avoid plants with long new shoots. Bare root plants that are actively growing are more difficult to establish.
Plant dormant roses in early spring. Plant them with the bud union (knob) 1 or 2 inches below the surface of the ground. Dig a hole large enough to accommodate the roots, set the plant in the hole with the roots radiated outward, and add soil. Firm the soil by hand around the roots. Add soil until the hole is three-fourths full. Then, thoroughly water the plant and allow it to
soak into the soil. Later, finish filling the hole and water again. Finally, mound mulch over the dormant canes to prevent the canes from drying out. Leave the mulch in place for 10 days or until growth has started. Periodically check for signs of growth during this period. When removing the mulch, do so carefully to prevent damage to the new growth.
Container grown or potted roses have a longer planting season than dormant plants. Container grown roses can be planted from spring to fall. However, wait until the danger of frost is past when planting actively growing plants in the spring.
Potted roses are planted in much the same manner as bare root roses but you must remove the pot. Remove the bottom of the pot first. Then place the rose in the hole and carefully remove the sides without disturbing the soil ball. Lightly rough up the sides of the root ball to expose the root tips then fill the hole with soil and water the plant thoroughly. It is not necessary to mound actively growing roses.
Once planted, roses will need to be watered every 7 to 10 days during dry weather. Apply water at the base of each plant. Don't get the foliage wet. Apply a three inch layer of weed free mulch after the soil has warmed up to control weeds and conserve moisture.
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7. Strategies To Prevent Wildlife Damage
By Stephen Vantassel, UNL School of Natural Resources
With spring right around the corner, you’re probably thinking about your garden and other outdoor activities. To help make your plans as pleasant as possible, let me suggest that you remember that wildlife are looking forward to your garden as well. Since, as the saying goes, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, I have compiled some wildlife damage prevention strategies to help reduce negative wildlife problems.
Strategy #1. Perform a property assessment.
- A. Walk around your land keeping a keen eye out for signs of animal damage or presence. Inspect the grass and shrubs. Is the lawn full of mounds, which suggest mole or pocket gopher? Or does it have furrows dug into it suggesting voles? Have the shrubs been damaged? Have the branches been cut at a 45 degree angle, suggesting rabbits, or are they torn suggesting deer? Knowing you have certain animals present on your land will help you prepare for future damage. If you plan on gardening, it would be advisable to fence it to prevent rabbits from nibbling.
- B. Inspect every structure on your property. Are the window wells properly covered to prevent skunks from falling in and becoming trapped? Are all the crawl spaces under decks, porches and sheds appropriately trench screened to prevent groundhogs, skunks and other animals from taking up residence? Finally, are all your chimney flues screened with professionally manufactured stainless steel caps to prevent animals from entering your home through the chimney? By reducing available den locations, you reduce potential damage to your garden as well as your property.
Strategy #2 Determine your tolerance level for landscape/garden damage.
Your tolerance level decides how quickly you should respond to wildlife problems. For example, if the loss of any vegetables is abhorrent to you then I would suggest building your garden’s fence before planting. If you desire a golf-course like lawn, then you should respond quickly to any signs of mole, pocket gopher, vole damage, etc. Don’t be too quick to say that you can tolerate damage to 20% of your garden or lawn. Substantial wildlife damage can occur in a short amount of time, especially if you are not monitoring your property on a regular basis. Too often people discover the damage when it is too late to do anything. Remember that it is critical to establish control methods before wildlife become habituated to eating your garden.
Identifying an active mole run is essential to effective control. |
Turf damage by voles- often found after snow melt. |
Rabbit damage-
note the 45 degree angle of cut. |
Deer damage- note how the branch is torn.
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This homeowner may think their chimney is capped,
but one has been missed.
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Strategy #3 Become more educated
Even if you are familiar with how to control various wildlife problems, take a few minutes and read a NebGuide to see if any new techniques have emerged. Contact your local Extension Educator or visit The Internet Center for Wildlife Damage Management, http://wildlifedamage.unl.edu for NebGuides and other helpful publications. The information is free (when downloaded from the web) making it is one of the best investments in yourself, and your garden, you will ever make.
Can’t find what you need? Feel free to contact me at svantassel2@unl.edu or by phone at 402-472-8961. I will be glad to help.
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8. Songbird Notes- Habitats to Window Attacks
By Ron Johnson, UNL Extension Wildlife Specialist
- Through the winter cold and snows we shoveled and wildlife shivered. Many folks (about 63 million) had a bird feeder or two that gave an extra boost for birds in the backyard and brought them close where we could better see them. Now as spring approaches, the longer days and warmer temperatures may lull us into thinking that the birds are home free – but think about their natural food sources. Late winter and early spring can be tough times because natural food supplies from the previous fall are dwindling or gone and spring growth isn’t yet producing. So continue your bird feeding program at least until about May when new spring growth is well underway.
- And feeding birds through summer is becoming more common – instead of viewing birds through a window, you can often see them at a nearby feeder while you’re sitting in the backyard swing or working in the garden. Because most birds are dispersed and nesting, summer feeding may bring fewer birds overall, but you will see summer residents that weren’t around in winter. Nesting and egg-laying activities require considerable energy, so birds that come to your feeder have the extra boost of an easy food source. Most will continue to feed on insects captured in your yard and garden, and will feed insects to their young.
- Whether you have a backyard or the greater expanse of an acreage or farm, take a look around while the year is early and the land still open. Because you can see fairly well before all the leaves are out, it’s a good time to think about where wildlife might go for winter shelter or food, or for spring nesting. What you see – or don’t see – can help guide a plan to plant something for wildlife this spring such a trees, shrubs, flowers, or a food plot that will stand above next winter’s snow. Leave snags standing as natural bird houses or, if desired for safety, cut them about 15 feet above the ground. You could remind a neighbor or friend to think about this too. Enough folks thinking about cover now may make a difference in the number of chickadees or ring-necks tallied up to next winter’s north wind.
- Garden catalogs will soon appear and spring migration is as close as red-winged blackbirds on a fence post or American robins on the high school lawn. In Nebraska, purple martins should show about April 10 and late April brings Baltimore orioles, house wrens, and chimney swifts. Look for ruby-throated hummingbirds migrating through in mid May. Why not keep track of what you see this year and then try to predict exact dates for your area for next year – great conversation starters – and perhaps conservation starters as well.
- Spring and early summer occasionally brings the frustration of a robin or cardinal repeatedly attacking windows on the house or mirrors on a car in the driveway. This odd behavior is a response to viewing their reflection in the glass and attempts to defend their nesting territory by driving the “intruder” away. It causes concern for the bird and annoyance from the disturbance. These repeated window attacks related to territory defense differ from window strikes that result when birds don’t see the glass, which occur throughout the year but especially during migration when birds unfamiliar with the window locations are present.
- To solve the problem, prevent the bird from seeing a reflection. Placing sheer cloth or netting in front of the window breaks the reflection and retains much use of the window. Taping crinkled plastic wrap onto the glass has a similar function. Another approach is to hang cloth or aluminum foil strips, large feathers from hobby stores, or similar objects in front of the window. Placing hawk or owl silhouettes in the window to frighten birds has only limited effectiveness but may distract the bird. Cover car mirrors with a plastic bag while parked or park out of the bird’s territory. Remove the covering when the bird changes behavior and is no longer a problem.
- Keeping a few notes in a backyard bird journal about what happens in your yard can be a fun and rewarding adventure. Over time, you will have a great record of what to expect and when. Examples of things to include might be what birds come, what season or time of day they first show up, favorite plants or places in your landscape, where and how long they feed, what foods they like, behavior such as who chases whom, and sounds you hear. You might also note your thoughts or feelings about the wildlife you see and your experiences. A backyard journal can help tailor landscape or feeding programs in other years. It can also be a unique learning exercise and a great activity to do with children or as a family.
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9. Computer Viruses 101
By Bradley S Barker, UNL
4-H Youth Development Specialist
Did you know that according to a leading anti-virus software manufacturer in a 30 day period from January to February 2005 between 10,000 and 100,000 computer files became infected with a virus in Nebraska? In addition, according to one estimate, a new computer connected to the Internet will be attacked by a virus within 40 seconds.
Viruses are malicious programs written to disrupt computers and networks. While it is true that PCs running Windows are most susceptible, other computers like the Macintosh can also be infected. Viruses usually exploit little known features in programs like Microsoft Office to enter the computer’s file system and perform its mischief. Most viruses are propagated through the use of email, often appearing as attachments. Once an attachment is opened the virus will be installed and begin its programmers bidding.
Not all viruses come from email however; many viruses can enter through numbered network connections called software ports. These ports are analogous to a door and if left open a virus has free access to your computer files. Fortunately, there are software programs called firewalls that close these ports and protect your computer while online.
A computer with a virus often will have degradation in performance, display odd or unexpected directory views, pop-up windows and blocks on certain web sites like the Microsoft Windows security site.
Programs like McAfee’s VirusScan or Symantec’s Norton AntiVirus can detect and prevent computer viruses from infecting your computer. Once installed the programs virus definition file should be kept current as new viruses are released daily. In addition, a firewall should be installed prior to connecting to the Internet as a virus may enter through an unprotected software port. McAfee, Symantec and Windows XP Service Pack Two provide firewalls.
McAfee VirusScan, www.mcafee.com
Symantec's Norton AntiVirus, www.norton.com
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