VOL. 8, NO. 3 University of Arizona Cooperative Extension MARCH 1997

Cochlse County Master Gardener

Neu/itetU^Univeisitv of Arizona and U.S. Department of Agriculture cooDeratino.

PLANT PROFILE-Bring on the Wildflowers

Botanical name: P^istanon (poi-stay-mon)Family: ScrophulariaceaeRange: Native to the Western United States andMexico

Thishuge goius ofwildflowers is essential foranyxerisc^)e gankn and is one of the best flowers forattractii^ hummingbirds. There are more than 250poistemon species. They can be found growing cmsandy, arid hillsides; in forests; on the plains; andfrom the low deserts to the hi^iest mountains, sochoosing a species suited for your specific conditions no matter where you live is easy. They rangefrom 1to 6 feet in height andcanspread from 1to 3feet across. Most are peromial, can be deciduous orevergreen, are drought-tolerant, C(»ne in a rainbowof colors, and like their relative, the sn^)dragon,produce flowers alrmg a ^ike.

Penstemons feel at Ikxim in rock gardors, borders,courtyards, cmitainers, wildgardens, meadows, andlode wonderfiil with Southwest plants ^^ch sharetheir water usage to include yuccas, cacti, and ournative treesandshrubs. Plants improve with ageandreach their glory in the second or third year.

After blocnning, let tlK seed heads ripen on thestalk, coUect, and scatter than where you vs^t tostart a new coltmy or leave seed heads cm the plantand let them do the woric foryou. Depending on the

weaflier conditions in winter, you should see newvolunteers next spring. Most require well draining^loose sandy or gravely soil. Poorly drained soils encourages crown rot, as well as 'Svet muldhes" (woodmulches), so use a "dry muldi" sudi as sand orrocks. During the blocan period, if the weather ishd ai^ dry, a supplonental, deq) irrigatidi everytoi to fourteen days will keep the foliage and flowers lookingtheir best.

If you are new to this wonderful group of plants,here are a few of the easier (mes to try first. If youare a "Paistananiac," go crazy! P. eatonii (Firecracker Penstemon) grows 2 feet high x 15 incheswide. Native to Utah. A prolific bloomer in latespring with numerous spikes of scarlet flowers anddaric green foliage. Ah^ turner. P. palmeri (PinkWild Snapdragtm) grows 4-5 feet hi^ x 24 incheswide. Native to New Mexico and Arizona. Veryhardy, heat-tolerant beardtongue wifli highly fragrant spikes of huge, light x^iiite blosscans tlut aretinged with lilac or pink. Flowers in early summer.Grey foliage. P. psetuhspectabilis (Desert Beard-tongue) 36 inches x 18 inches wide. Native to south-em New Mexico. Loves hot weather! Long spikesof hot pink flowers wife grey leaves. Deadheadingfeded flowers will keep tl» plant blooming formanymonths.

Penstemtm - a wildflower youshould get to know.HappySpringeveryone!

Cheri MeltonMaster Gardener/Staff Writer

1140 N. Colombo, Sierra Vista, AZ 85635(520) 458-8278, ExL 141

Cochise County Cooperative Extension450 HaskeU, WUlcox, AZ 85643(520)384-3594

Oops!The first page article, second

paragraph, (Acada) of Fd)ru-ary's newsletter should haveread:

A. stenophylla (shoestringacada) is widely used in SierraVista and looks great plantedwith eucalptus and palo verdes.Leaf threads are long and narrow ^ch produces a beautifulweeping effect. Flowers arewhite puffballs and can t^pearduring winter and spring. A fastgrowing evergreen tree to 30'tall with a 20* spread. A. greggii(catclaw acada) is a long-lived(one hundredyears or older) de-dduous shrub. Plants found in

M&dco can reach up to IS' butit usually grows to no more that6'. It is also known as the "fiito"

plant because the flat, widefiuits are twisted like com

chips. The flowers are yellow,sweet-scented, and attract beesand butterflies. The seeds are

relished by quailsand desert animals seek refuge in it's brancheswhich contains sharp, cat-likeclaw thorns. A. redolem (prostrate acacia) is a spreading, evergreen groundcover that canspread up to IS' and often staysunder 2' in hdght. Leaves arenarrow, pointed ovals, grey-green, and leathery. In springsmall, puffy yellow balls coverthe plant. Noted as one of thebest sprawling plants for aridclimates and can dieout if

overwatered.

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^c(/\rc4/ Senvm/erA-y Winter pmne treesy Water periodicallyy Cold-moist stratify seedsy Order fi-om seed catalogsy Prune rose bushesy Plant bare root treesy Prepare spring planting bedsy Clean & repair drip irrigation systemy Plant seeds indoors for transplanting after last fi-ost date

Cuttings

'N'

Clippings

> The Cochise CountyMasterGardeners Association meets

monthly, the first Wednesday ofthe month, at 5:00 pm. Pleasecall the Sierra Vista Cooperative Extension OfBce for the lo

cation. All certified Master

Gardeners/Trainees are invited

to attend.

>• Tucson Botanical Garden,Tucson, AZwill be holding theirSpring Plant sale on March 22and 23.

Newsletter Staff:

Peggy DierkingCarolynGruenhagenBarbaraKishbaughChm Melton

MiginiaWestphal

Robert E. Call,Extension Agent,Horticulture

Useful

Definitions

Annual: A plant that completesits life QTcle in a year or less.Seed germinates, plant grows,blooms, sets seed, and dies all inone growing season.

Biennial: A plant that completes its life cycle in two years.Seeds are sowed in spring orplants are set out in summer/fall.Plant blooms the foUowingspring, sets seed, and dies.

Deciduous: A plant that shedsits leaves, usuallyin the M.

Herbaceous: A plant with softtissues. Plants die down to the

ground every year and regrowstems the following season.

Perennial: A nonwoody plantthat lives for more than two

years.

Semi-evergreen: In mild winters the plant will keep itsleaves; in cold wint^ or severedrought will lose its leaves.

Source: Sunset Western Garden

Book

The Virtual Gardener-

Compostingdept/compost/). Here is listedeverything you ever wanted toknow about composting. Onesection deals with the scientific

and engineering principlesinvolved in the compostingprocess. Another section discusses composting projects thatcan be used by school teachersin the classroom. And a third

section contains extensive lists

a result, more nitrogen isreleased than can be taken upand the excess is released as

ammonia gas.In order to preclude the

formation of the ammonia gas(which can be detected withyour nose) you should applynitrogen fertilizers lightly in aseries of applications over aperiod of time. Also, the totalamount of fertilizer to be

applied is much less than mightbe expected fi-om its nitrogencontent alone, although no research results are available to

quantify the rates or amounts.

How many of you know thatSierra Vista recycles a greaterpercentage of its waste streamthan any other city inArizona—15 percent to be exact? I didn't know that dther

until I heard Pat Bell of the Si

erra Vista Departmoit ofPublicWorks speak at a recentCochise County Master Gardeners Association meeting where Ilearned that this re-

markable percent- Afavorite Site Of Kline that tumed up in the "'S^e is the r^t of search is hosted by Comeii University everyone interestedthe atys highly sue- (http://WWW.caiS.COmeii.edu/dept/COnipost/) in composting. Ifcessfiil composting H L ^program. Later, atthe High Desert Gardening &Landscaping Confer^ice, I hadthe opportunity to visit thecity's composting facility andsee first-hand how it operated. Iwas especially impressed by thescientific rigor with which thecomposting process is regulated. Ed, the plant supervisorand our guide for the tour, wasvery knowledgeable aboutcarbon-nitrogen ratios, optimumtemperatures, moisture levels,and the like. My curiosityprompted me to see what information I could find about com

posting on the Web. A quicksearch using the Alta Vistasearch engine found 20,000documents containing the word"compost."

A favorite site of mine that

tumed up in the search is hostedby Cornell University(http;//www.cals.comeU.edu/

of references. I found the

scientific and engineering discussions to be the mostinteresting.

One of the biggest problemsfor composters in Sierra Vista atcertain times of the year isfinding enough green stuff(nitrogen-rich materials) for thepile. A page at the Cornell sitediscusses using nitrogen fertilizers for this purpose. It saysthat organic nitrogen sources(green stuflO decompose slowly,releasing nitrogen at ratescomparable to the rate ofgrowth of microorganimis inthe compost. Synthetic fertilizers, on the other hand, releasenitrogen at very fast rates thatexceed the ability of themicroorganisms to use it. This isespecially tme during the coldermonths when lower temperatures slow down the growthrate of the microorganisms. As

——— you are tne en

gineering type who likes toquantify everything, there aretables of carbon, nitrogen, andmoisture values for a wide

variety of materials andformulas to determine the

optimum mixes of everythinggoing into your compost pile. If,on the other hand, you are afi'ee spirit who uses the pds(pinch, dab, and smidgen)method of constmcting yourcompost pile, you will also findplenty of practical, easy-to-understand instmctions to make

your composting experienceseven better.

Gary Gnienhagen, Master Gardener(gruenhe^c2i2.com)

Page 3

Page 4

The Agent's Observations

Iproperty that produceburrs. One is clover

like and the other is a grass.They stick to clothing, blanketswd animal flesh including myown! What are they? I spraythem with herbicide but they reappear. How can I controlthem?

two plants thatproducing burrs in

fyour yard are bur clo-^^ver, Medicago hispida

Gaertn., and field sandbur,Cenchrus pauciflorus Benth.,which is a grass. Both of theseplants are annuals and sometimes short-lived perennials reproducing fi-om se^s.

Bur clover is a low trailingplant found in lawns, gardensand along roadways and wasteareas. Plants stem weakly,branching fi-om the base and radiating out from a taproot onequarter to two feet long. Leavesare composed of three lobedclover-like leaflets with toothededges and indented tips. Wherethe leaf joins the stem there is apair of small leaf-like structures.Yellow flowers are producedduring early spring and late fall.Seeds are found in spiny pods.The pods are straw colored orbrown when mature and containseveral kidney-shaped seedswhich are yellowish or tancolored.

Bur clover should not be confused with another weed of thesame graus called black medic,Medicago lupulina L., which isvery similar but has hair, notspines on the seed pods. Both

are natives of eastern Europeand Asia and are coudns ofalfrdfii.

Field sandbur, not to be confused with southern sandbur,Cenchrus echimtus L., is awarm season grass found in dry,sandy, cultivated soils in lawns,roadsides, washes, and wasteplaces. Plants are from dghtinches to three feet tall withshallow roots which spreadhorizontally forming mats. Leafblades are flat but can betwisted or folded and are two tofive inches long. Reproductionis by seed or by prostrate stemsthat root. Burs grow in spikesone to three inches long andbear 10 to 30 burs each that area shiny, straw yellow that contain two seeds. Each plant canproduce up to 1,000 se^.Control: These annual weeds

arise primarily from seeds. Cultivation of young and/or mulching before seeds germinate cancontrol these plants. On non-crop land, soil solarization,moist, tilled soil covered withblack plastic, can killweed seed.Control with herbicides likeRoundup or 2,4-D is best ac-complidied on young plantsHerbicides or cultivation of mature plants will not control tl^seweeds in the long run if seedsare allowed to mature. If seedsare allowed to develop ttenchemical controls must be applied before seeds germinate.Bur clover germinates duringthe cool weather of eariy springor frU. Sand bur germinatesduring the warm weather ofspring or summer. Herbiddesthat can be applied before seedsgerminate are Gallery, which

controls broadleaf weeds likebur clover or Surflan would be asecond but not as effectivechoice. Field sand bur growingamong broadleaf plants can becontrolled using Poast or Fusi-lade. On non-crop land severalcompoimds can be used including Stomp, Bueno, or other soilsterilants. Some of these compounds are only available to licensedpestidde applicators. Aswith all pesfiddes read the la-bd and undo-stand their use.

Source: An IlUstrated Guide toArizona Weeds, 1980. Author;iCittie F. Paiica'.

have apple, peach^^H^pand plum trees that^S^^Kwere planted in 1963.li^MiiifTh^ are being at

tacked by a boring insect thatmakes trails under the bark.What can I do to get rid ofthese insects?

There are several in-

sects that will bore

ies under the bark.

These insects however for themost part, attack only weakgrowing or old trees. The treesare nearly 34 years old and fallinto the weak and old treecatagory. Generally fiuit trees ifcared for will live for 25 to 35years. There are some exceptions like pearand ^ricot trees.I would not spend a lot of timeon these trees that are naturallydeclining anyway, other thantaking them out and replacingthem. I would plant some newfiuit trees if youwant to harvestfiuit over the next few years.Robert E. CallExtensionAgent, Horticulture

Grow Your OwnDecorations

Since many ofus are busy going through the catalogs andplanning our gardens for thisyear, it seems like a good timeto think about growing some ofyour own decorations for nextfall and the holidays. Lookingaround the house, I thought ofall the decorations I have that

were "home grown" in mygarden.

There is a dried arrangementwhich contains okra pods,statice in shades of blue and

pink and mauve, wild-collectedthistle pods and some tops ofcom stalks, aU arranged in abasket. Many annual flowers areav^able especially for drying,and lots of perennials and herbsdry well, also. On a visit to theflorist one day I noticed thatthey had hot peppers, still onthe plant, picked and displayedin the case. Dried peppers areea^ here, but I hadn't thoughtof drying them on the stem sothey could be put into an arrangement! Ristras are easy,too, if you grow your own peppers. I especially like the little"firecracker" peppers to makeinto mini-wreaths and ristras.

Last year I grew tiny pumpkins Tiny Tim (orange) andBaby Boo (white), both growwell here. The are very decorative, and can be expensive tobuy at the store. I had enoughto send a box full to my granddaughters for decorating at their

house from just a few vines.They loved painting funny freesfor Halloween, especially on thewhite ones. Of course, you cangrow large pumpkins, for JackC Lanterns, too. And, I haven'teven mentioned gourds! Notonly are there many differentsizes, shapes, and colors ofgourds but even more ways todecorate with them. \^olebooks have been written on

decorativeuses for gourds.I have also grown ornamental

popcorn in different colors,"Little Boy Blue," a pink andalso a variogated variety thathad lots of yellow and blackkernels on the small 6 inch or so

cobs. They are good decorations for a table or attaching toa wreath. The mauve-pink anddusty blue colors go especiallywell if you have "countiy" colors in your home. Strawberrypopcorn is another greatdecoration.

Even the last of the season's

veggies can be very decorative.At Thanksgiving, I fill acornucopia-shaped basket withokra, eggplant, peppers, andcom and this year a few tomatoes picked green when frostwas coming and ripening nicelyto provide red color in thearrangement.

So - while browsing the catalogs, keep some decorations inmind, too.

Maggi CristMaster Gardener

Castor beanEuphorbiaceae

The Castor bean is usuallyutilized in home landscapingprojects for shade purposes(near windows) and for its ability to form fast-growing property borders. It is an attractiveplant to display in one's yardduring the hot Arizona summermonths, plus it's also inexpensive to grow (ndighbors readilygive away its beans) and it's aneasy keeper.

Reaching approximately sbcfeet in height, the palm-likeleaves are large and are supported on stout stems. Thespiny clusters of fiuits produceup to three seeds (beans) each;the beans have a mottled appearance but are smooth to thetouch.

Originally, a cultivated oilcrop, this plant may grow alongroadsides, ditchbanks, in vacantlots, and in the unkempt yardsof deserted houses and ne

glected property.So, what's the problem with

the Castor bean? AU parts ofthis plant are extremely toxic toboth humans and animals (evenhandling the beans may causeskin irritation).

Peggy DierkingMaster Gardener/StaffWriter

infbitheraiioe of Oxipeiat^ Extoidonwoik, acts ofMay S andJune 30,1914,incooperation with theUnited States De|iartmait of Agriculture James A. Ouistenson, |^ectcar, Coopeiaiive Extmion, College ofAgrkutture, The University ciArizona and Arizona Counties cooperating. The Univosity (^Arizona CoH^ (^Agriculture is an

equal opportunhy en[q>l^tf authorized toprovide reseaidi, educational information and otho* services only toindividuals and institutions foat fimctkm without regard toses,race,religi<»i, color, national origin, age, VietnamEra Vetoan's status, or disability.Theinformation givenherein is siqsplied withtheunderstanding foatnodiscaimination is intoided andnomdorsemotf byCooperative Extension »implied.Any products, sovices, or organizations thatarementioned, shown, or indirectly implied inthispublication donotinq>ly endcHs^nent bythe Univasity Arizona.

Pages

COOPERATIVE EXTENSION

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA

TUCSON, ARIZONA 85721

OFFICIAL BUSINESS

PENALTY FOR PRIVATE USE $300

Conference Huge Success!

BULK RATE

POSTAGE & FEES PAID

USDA

PERMIT No. G268

The dedicatedvolunteers of the CiHiference Committee did it again! The FourthAnnual High DesertGardening & Land-sc^ing Conferencedrew 125attoute^ and 21 presenters friHn Texas, New Mexico, Califomia, and ofcourse from aU overArizcma. From the comments we got, it sounds like everyone had a great time! A special note of thanks to Cowboy Poet,Bud Strom who graciouslyrecitedseveralofhis poems, including Dry Lightning.

I especially want to thank the Committee Chairpersons and members who gave so much of their time, energy, and tal-fnAs to make the omferrace successful: Rob Call, Extension Agent, Jem Bamett, Dutch Cauwels, Alice Christ, FrankChrist, Pqggv Dieiking, Elaine Gaar, Jan Groth, Gary Gruenhagen, Wilma Hinzman, Barbara Kishbaugh, BarbaraKuttr^r, De Lewis, CheriMeltcm, SheriQuinn,Jean Reese, Elizabeth Riordon, and JoyceWilliams, Cooperative Extensirxi,Sierra Vista, Secretary!

Also, special thanks to our Sponsor, Bella Vista Water Company; Ehdiibitors, Diamond JK Nursery, Dorling Kin-dersley Fan^y Library, Lawn &Crarden Supply Co., Mountain States Nursery, Sears, Talking Drum Gourds, The University of Arizona Bodcstore, and TufOite; and Door Prize Donors, Ace Gardoi Place, Sierra Vista, Ace Hardware, Benson,Ajo Way Nursery, hsizom Pistachio Nursery, Bordiers Nursery, Chamber of Commerce and City of Sierra Vista, ColorSpot Nursery, CottageGardois Nursery, DesertTrees Nursery,Greenwood Nursery,HighCountryGardens, KanMarGutters, Kazzam Nature Center, L & L Distributing, Monterey Plant Food, Paradise Distributing, Phoenix Botanical Gzidea,Pima ValleyGreenhouses, Safeway, Shqiherd's Seeds, Talking DrumGourds, andWhetstone Pottery.

The Cochise County Master Gardoiers Association was very proud to present to the Sierra Vista Public Library $1,000to be used for 'liigh desert" gardening books. Also, $500 was donated to ^ Cooperative Extension Library for use by theMaster Gardoiers.

Plans will be under way so(m for next year's conference - February 12 - 14, 1998! Master Gardener volunteers will beneededooce again. Ifyou are interested, please OHitact Cochise CountyMaster Gardeners AssociationPresident,Gary Gru-«)hagen, or the Sierra Vista Cooperative Extensionoffice.

Carolyn Gruenhagen, 1997 Conference Coordinator