Dayton "Dirt" - February 1, 2013

The first seminar of the winter series seemed to go on without a hitch. The invasive species that I did speak about was more than enough to fill the two hour time slot but so many more I would have presented only if there had been more time. Greg Snowden of the Davey Tree Company was on hand to elaborate especially on the question of invasive plants as he is an inspector of wetlands monitoring these constructed wetlands to be sure that they comply with the federal standards before they may be sold to an entity needing credits to offset the destruction of a wetland area somewhere else. Greg did mention an invasive species of grass called phragmites australis that is extremely aggressive to the point that shoots will come up through a four inch layer of freshly laid asphalt! In order to check out this monster grass you only have to go to the Interstate 76, Barber Road exit where you’ll see it growing in abundance. Tomorrow our honored speaker will be Denise Ellsworth, Honeybee and Native Pollinator Program Director of the Department of Entomology at Ohio State University. Denise has addressed many audiences including the Master Gardeners of Summit County about a wide variety of subjects. The subject at the Owl Barn tomorrow at 11 a.m. will be Pollinators - what some of them are and their importance in the natural world and our own lives. The rooting of cuttings and subsequent transplanting of all kinds of annual flowers just goes on and on especially right now with geraniums and New Guinea Impatiens. I had stated in earlier blogs, Impatiens are going to be a puzzle because of the high incident of downy mildew that caused the collapse of many plants late last summer and fall. Part of the answer to planting Impatiens in flats (Impatiens walleriana) instead are the Sun Harmony Impatiens that are resistant to downy mildew. Unfortunately the Sun Harmony Impatiens are more expensive as they must be grown from cuttings instead of a seed like Impatien walleriana. The bright side is that the Sun Harmony grow’s well when planted farther apart such as 18 inches on center which would make them more economical then one would think. Dress warmly and come to the seminar tomorrow! Tom