Mistletoe: Tree Thief, Holiday Tradition

Once autumn leaves have fallen, mistletoe becomes highly visible on large trees throughout Kentucky. Phoradendron, the scientific name for this parasitic plant, means tree thief. You can commonly find these small leafy plants on twigs and branches of many hardwood species in the southern two-thirds of the United States. Mistletoes extract water, mineral elements and food from their host tree by way of a parasite nutrient-uptake organ; hence the name, tree thief.


Mistletoes’ use in holiday traditions has roots in pagan times. Its parasitic nature and the fact that it appears to be alive while the host tree appears dead, led some to believe mistletoe mysteriously held the life of the tree during winter. Druids harvested mistletoe in a special rite, never letting the plant touch the ground, then hung it in their homes for good luck.


Our modern-day mistletoe holiday tradition likely originates with a mythological Norse goddess of love and beauty. Frigga, whose son was restored from possible death by mistletoe, was thought to bestow a kiss on anyone walking beneath one. Today, when two people meet under the mistletoe, tradition suggests they must exchange a kiss for good luck.


Phoradendron, the most common mistletoe growing in Kentucky, resembles another species that grows in Europe. It has simple, fleshy green leaves arranged oppositely on the stem. Stems are short and more branched than the host tree, so mistletoe often appears as a spherical bunch of dense vegetation. These bunches may be a foot or two in diameter and are located high in the tree for better sunlight exposure. Mistletoe berries range from white to straw-colored to light red. Birds eat the fruits, reportedly toxic to human and animals, then deposit the seeds onto branches where they germinate and penetrate the host tree.


Since birds tend to roost in open-grown trees, mistletoes do not appear as frequently in forest trees. Generally, they do not cause much damage, although they can be harmful to a tree already under stress. If mistletoe appears on landscape trees or other trees in the urban forest, you can control it through pruning.


For more information about tree parasites and diseases, contact the Hardin County Cooperative Extension Service by phone: 270.765.4121, email: Amy.Aldenderfer@uky.edu or on the web: www.hardinhort.org. Educational programs of the Cooperative Extension Service serve all people regardless of race, color, sex, religion, disability or national origin.

Autumn in the KY Garden

Autumn in the Kentucky Garden

Autumn is a beautiful time in Kentucky gardens, but it can also be a messy time. The season brings piles of leaves from our trees and spent shoots from our flower beds.


The way we address this yard waste can have a significant impact on our gardens and the environment. Gardeners commonly rake up and bag leaves to be hauled away to yard waste dumps.


This option, while tidy, uses a lot of energy, both yours and the energy to transport the leaves and mixed garden waste.


Mulching leaves and yard waste is another option. Why not use this bountiful resource to enrich your lawn and garden and create less waste and air pollution?


A very simple technique with leaves is to rake them into a line and mow over them with your lawn mower.


The mower will chop the leaves into pieces small enough to fall between the blades of grass in your lawn. The chopped leaves will break down out of sight and provide nutrients to your lawn and improve the quality of your soil.


For larger items like spent flower stalks, composting is a simple, easy and environmentally friendly option. Proper composting produces no odor and provides you with a generous amount of nutrient-rich organic compost for your garden which reduces or eliminates the need to buy fertilizer.


Composting also eliminates the need to transport garden waste, making composting a triple-win situation for your garden, wallet and the environment.


The speed of compost production is influenced by the size of the material placed in the bin, so the more you can chop up the garden debris, the quicker you will have usable compost. Many options for compost bin design and construction are well suited to any location and budget.


Turning leaves into mulch has many benefits. The mulch helps retain moisture in the soil and insulates plants from extreme winter temperatures. The decomposed leaves become an excellent conditioner for warming spring soil helping to attract worms and other beneficial microorganisms.


For more information on mulching and composting, contact the Hardin County Cooperative Extension Service via email: Amy.Aldenderfer@uky.edu, webpage: www.hardinhort.org. or phone: 270.765.4121

Master Garder Class Deadline Extended

Hi All,
I've extended the Deadline to apply for taking the Master Gardener Class for 2010.  You have until end of business, Aug 6 to return your application and fee.  If you would like to join us for this year, contact the office at 270.765.4121.

Garden Tour!

Wow, It's hot! We're hosting a part of the Elizabethtown garden Club's Garden Tour this Sunday from 1 p.m to 5 p.m. The Master Gardeners are hard at work pulling weeds, re-signing the plants and generally sprucing up the place. Come out and have a private tour of the Hardin County Extension Office Display gardens. We also would lilke your help in gathering data for the KY Annuals Trial. It's easy and won't take long to complete! Be a part of the research that happens at UK.

SPRING!!!  YEAH. It seams that El Nino and the Artic Circulation has finally allowed spring to begin.  Ok, it's not quite t-shirt and shorts weather, but it's a definate inprovement on the sub-freezing temps and the need to bundle up before steping outside.

I just took this picture of crocus blooming at the office.  Be looking for these in gardens and where houses used to be. 

In the next couple of weeks, take a walk in the woods looking for spring efemerals.  These flowers bloom and complete their lifecycle before the trees leaf out.  They are only around for about 3-4 weeks.

Look for:  Shooting star, toothworts, white troutlily, dutchman's breeches, hepatica, harbinger-of-spring, violets, bluebells, trilliums, and jacob's ladder.

And later in the spring: Lady's Slipper, Mayapple, firepink, spiderwort, blue-eyed grass, jack-in-the-pulpit, wild ginger, solomon's seal.

Don't forget to take time to find the spring wildflowers.  They don't last long and soon we will be complaining about the heat of summer.

Happy gardening!

Waiting and NEW PLANTS

I hate waiting.  Right now, Hardin County braces for 2-3 inches of snow.  Do not try to go to the grocery...there will be NOTHING left.  Milk, bread and eggs are gone.  I'm not sure why people buy only B, M and E.  I would much rather have soda, chips and soup when I'm snowed in.  Although for the last 15 years in Elizabethtown, I've only be house-bound for a day.  That was last year during the ice storm. 

I've finished what I'm supposed to be working on so I thought to update you all.  I gave a talk to the Master Gardeners on Monday.  The topic was NEW PLANTS!!!  It's one of my favorite things to talk about for a few reasons:

1.  I get to spend "work time" looking through seed and plant catalogs.  Oohing and Ahhing over the glossy pictures and descripitons.
2.  I don't actally have to grow all the plants, flowers and vegetables that I talk about.
3.  I get other people excited about new plants.  (These other people are also plant geeks!)

4.  I can recycle this talk for other groups.  This time is WELL spent.  (Unlike other office duties)
Finally,
5.  In January, we all need to be reassured that spring will come and color will return to the outside world!

To the right is a picture of 'Carnival' Morning Glory, available from Park Seed.  They are one of the most happy flowers that I have seen in a long time. I think I will try to grow them in a pot on the bacolny this summer.

Other things happening:  I am now on Facebook and will maintain the Lincoln Trail Area Master Gardeners fan page and the Hardin County Farmers Market fan page.  (Hopefully, we will get some fans.  I know, it's still early in the process.)

It's lunch time here, so I'm meeting friends for Mexican!

Wow! I thought that the typical January thaw was great! But today we had almost an inch of snow. The wind chill is what will get you.

Now the snow is mostly gone. It only lingers in the shade of buildings and the trees.

This week blooms: the crocus on the southern slopes have their buds peeking above the soil line. If it was warmer for longer, they would be in full bloom! Can't wait.

Winter aconite should be ready soon, as well as vernal witchhazel.

Seeing plants in bloom through the worst of the winter gives me hope! Spring is not too far away.

Welcome to the new year! I'm looking forward to sharing the bloomin' happenings around here in E'town and what's happening on the local garden scene.

Today: It's snowed about 3 inches today and it's SO pretty to look at. I do have to drive home in it. I've been told that it's slick in the county but the city is looking good. (Hurrah!) I should get off of here and go HOME!