Dayton "Dirt" - January 25, 2013

This past week has been a flurry of activity at the nursery in preparing for the cold blast of winter! Watering in the plant storage houses is the biggest factor in preparing as some of the plants (especially evergreens) tend to dry out more then the deciduous ones because the evergreen foliage still transpires water. Almost 35 years ago I remember a conversation with my mentor, Mr. John Ravestein, about working at Klyn Nursery in Mentor, Ohio more than 45 years ago when he observed that his boss watered a storage hut with young Ohio plants before a severe cold snap but neglected to water plants at the far end of the hut because he ran out of hose. Mr. Ravestein observed that the next spring all the plants that were watered lived and those on the dry side that were not watered all died! Tomorrow the upcoming seminar is on invasive species especially insects that are ravaging our forests, farms and backyards. Hopefully the seminar will illuminate everyone’s mind just how serious the problem is and how it affects all of us. Some of the subjects covered will be the Viburnum Leaf Beetle, Asian Longhorned Beetle, Emerald Ash Borer, Ambrosia Beetles and Hemlock Wooly Adelgid. There will be a segment on past plagues that still exist today such as the American Chestnut blight and Japanese Beetle. The seminar begins at 11 a.m. with an intermission for refreshments. Hope to see you there!