Protecting Pollinators

      Spring is here.  Don’t blink; it will be summer soon enough.  As the dandelions, violets, and Bradford pears bloom, we need to think about all the insects, including honeybees, that pollinate those flowers.

Hover Fly pollinating a flower

Insects pollinate a large percentage of food crops grown in the U.S. and all over the world.  Many different species of pollinators exist, but the insect best equipped for this job is the honey bee. Honey bees are exceptionally efficient at collecting and transferring pollen among the flowers of a particular crop.  In a practice known as “flower fidelity” groups of foraging bees will visit just one type of flower, collecting and storing pollen in baskets located on their legs.  As the bees fly from flower to flower, pollen particles are transformed between male and female parts triggering the plant’s reproduction cycle which results in a fruit or vegetable that may eventually find its way to a dinner table. 

A growing concern for U.S. agricultural producers is the continuing decline of honey bee populations.  According to the National Agricultural Statistics Service, the number of colonies in Kentucky has dropped dramatically over the last century from 152,900 in 1909 to just 5,000 in 2009.

Many studies are underway to try to pinpoint the cause for this decline, and so far several factors have emerged as detrimental to honey bee health.  One of these involves the use of pesticides and insecticides which can produce harmful effects in other pollinators, too.

Approximately 4,000 species of native or wild bees assist the honey bee in making a large contribution to the pollination task.  They include everything from large bumblebees to tiny sweat bees.  There are miner bees, carpenter bees, mason bees, plaster bees and orchard bees -- all named for the types of nests they build.  Butterflies and some flies also pollinate certain plants. 

You can help promote and protect insect pollinators by following a few simple rules.  Never spray plants with insecticides when the plants are actively blooming.  If chemical applications are necessary, strive for infrequent use and choose selective products with minimal impact on natural resources, especially bees. 

Promote pollinators and invite them into your environment by planting a diverse landscape with flowers, trees and other greenery that bloom in succession from spring into fall. 

Start your Seeds...

               Starting seed indoors enables you to select the exact varieties you want for vegetable or flower beds, whether an heirloom tomato or new zinnia variety.  There are other benefits from having a variety of home-grown vegetables and flowers.  One of the most satisfying is to say, “I grew these myself, from seed.”

Display Gardens at the Hardin County, KY Extension Office

               Vegetable seeds that are easy to start indoors include tomatoes, peppers, squash, cabbage, eggplant and cucumber.  Marigold and zinnia flower seed also are simple to start inside.

               Garden centers and mail-order catalogs offer many varieties from the newest and improved ones to favorite standbys.  To avoid buying too many seed, calculate how many plants of each variety are needed for the garden.

               For greater success starting seed indoors, don’t plant them too early and give them adequate, but not excessive, water and sufficient light.

               Seeds planted too early result in overgrown plants that are yellow, crooked and spindly before it is even time to transplant them outdoors. Thus, it is critical to properly time the planting of new seed so young seedlings will be large enough to transplant in the garden when the danger of a late frost is over.

               To determine when to start the seed, check the outdoor sowing time on the seed packet or last late frost date for your location. In Hardin County, the average frost-free date is May 1.  Plant the seeds three to four weeks prior to the recommended seed packet date, or time before the last late frost.   An exception is squash and cucumbers, which require only seven to 10 days for seedlings to grow large enough to transplant in the garden.

               When it’s time to plant seed, gently press potting soil into each small container;  add two seed per container at the depth recommended on the package, and put the containers in leak-proof trays.  Unless you are using a peat product, be sure containers have at least one drainage hole.

               Then, slowly water each small container to saturate the potting mix, using slightly warm tap water.  Never allow containers to sit in standing water. Throw away excess water that seeps out of the trays.  A kitchen baster is a good tool to remove surplus water.

               Put the leak-proof trays in a warm location such as the top of a refrigerator or freezer to help seed germinate, usually in seven to 10 days.  A sprout emerging from the potting mix indicates germination.

               Plants need a bright area to grow indoors, but unfiltered sunlight will dry out the containers too quickly.

               After the seeds germinate, move the trays to a south window or sunroom with filtered light. An alternative is to put  fluorescent bulbs three to four inches from the containers to provide light necessary for growth. Leave the lights on all the time, and occasionally rotate plants that begin to grow towards the light source. 

               It is critical for newly-germinated seedlings to have water available for the next two to three weeks, so frequently check the moisture content with your finger to keep from damaging tender roots.  Carefully and consistently water when the soil feels dry a little below the surface for the first two weeks.  You can slowly apply a water-soluble fertilizer the third week.  Be sure to follow instructions for the amount of fertilizer to use.

               To avoid common problems starting seed indoors, use a high-quality starter mix, don’t plant seed too early; select a warm area to germinate seed; provide a high-light environment for seedlings to grow; and keep developing seedlings moderately moist.

               For more information on other gardening or horticultural topics, contact the Hardin County Cooperative Extension Service by phone: 270.765.4121, email: Amy.Aldenderfer@uky.edu, contact us on Facebook, or on the web: www.hardinhort.org.

Educational programs of the Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service serve all people regardless of race, color, age, sex, religion, disability or national origin.

Time to Prune, for some #2...

Cornus mas (Corneliancherry Dogwood) blooms in 
March and is pruned after flowering.

     Spring-flowering shrubs may need rejuvenation pruning, and the best time for that is right after they flower. If you prune a shrub before it blooms, you remove buds too soon and don’t get an opportunity enjoy those blooms. When you prune after blooming, you can still enjoy the flowers and the plant can recover, grow, and produce more buds for flowers next spring.
       Here's a  list of some common trees and shrub and when to prune them.

Trees and shrubs to prune in late winter/early spring while still dormant:

·        Butterfly bush (Buddleia davidii)

·        Crape myrtle (Lagerstroemia indica)

·        Flowering plum (Prunus blireana)

·        Glossy abelia (Abelia x grandiflora)

·        Golden rain tree (Koelreuteria paniculata)

·        Honeysuckle (Lonicera fragrantissiam)

·        Hydrangea, Peegee (Hydrangea paniculata ‘Grandiflora’)

·        Potentilla (Potentilla fruticosa)

·        Spirea (except bridal wreath) (Spirea japonica))

Trees and Shrubs to prune in late spring/summer, after bloom

·        Azalea (Rhododendron species)

·        Beauty bush (Kolkwitzia amabilis)

·        Bradford pear (Pyrus calleryana)

·        Bridal wreath spirea (Spirea x vanhouttei)

·        Flowering crabapple (Malus species and cultivars)

·        Flowering dogwood (Cornus florida)

·        Forsythia (Forsythia x intermedia)

·        Hawthorn (Crataegus species and cultivars)

·        Hydrangea, Bigleaf (Hydrangea macrophylla)

·        Lilac (Syringa vulgaris)

·        Magnolia (Magnolia species and cultivars)

·        Mock orange (Philadelphus coronarius)

·        Mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia)

·        Redbud (Cercis canadensis)

·        Rhododendron (Rhododendron species)

·        Serviceberry (Amelanchier x grandiflora)

·        Slender deutzia (Deutzia gracilis)

·        Weigela (Weigela florida)

·        Wisteria (Wistera species)

Time to Prune, for some...

This is "topping" a tree and NOT a way to prune trees.

Believe it or not, spring really is on the way. After a long, cold winter, many homeowners begin to turn their attention to their landscape. The winter months can be damaging to trees and shrubs. To ensure healthy spring plants, homeowners may want to prune the trees and shrubs around their home. But you shouldn’t just prune for the sake of pruning; make sure you have a valid reason.

Pruning during the late winter months allows you to remove damage caused by winter winds and precipitation.

Pruning also is a way to remove diseased, crowded or hazardous branches. When pruning trees, the size of the tree should not be reduced too much in one season. Limit the pruning amount to one-fourth of the tree’s volume. Start by thinning out branches by cutting them off close to the tree’s trunk or a large limb.

Leave the base of the branch, known as the collar, intact. Cutting the collar will prevent the plant from growing over the wound caused from pruning. Pruning in this manner allows for a healthy tree that is more open to sunlight and air movement. If the branch is cut back only part way, there will likely be a crowded regrowth of new branches where the cut was made. Do not seal or paint the wounds resulting from pruning, because this will only delay the tree’s healing process.

Spring-flowering shrubs may need rejuvenation pruning, and the best time for that is right after they flower. If you prune a shrub before it blooms, you remove buds too soon and don’t get an opportunity enjoy those blooms. When you prune after blooming, you can still enjoy the flowers and the plant can recover, grow, and produce more buds for flowers next spring.

For rejuvenation pruning you remove one-third of the shrub’s oldest growth. You need to select the thickest, darkest and unhealthiest stems or branches and cut them back. You should cut back stems to soil level and branches to the point of intersection with the shrub’s main trunk. This ensures that only the youngest, most productive wood (that which produces the most and best flowers) remains a part of the shrub. During early spring you can also prune shrubs that will bloom during the summer months.

Pruning is not limited to a certain time of year. You can prune at any time if you notice damaged branches and limbs. The process is invigorating for the plants in a home landscape so you shouldn’t necessarily think of pruning just as a means of size control.

If you have a plant that has grown out-of-bounds, pruning may not be the answer – you may need to consider replacing the plant with one that will reach a smaller size at maturity.

The Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service offers publications that can answer many of your pruning and other gardening and landscape questions. Online, http://www.ca.uky.edu/agc/pubs/ho/ho45/ho45.pdf offers information about pruning trees and http://www2.ca.uky.edu/agc/pubs/ho/ho59/ho59.htm offers information about pruning shrubs. For more information, contact the Hardin County Cooperative Extension Service at 270.765.4121 or www.hardinext.org or Amy.Aldenderfer@uky.edu.

Educational programs of the Cooperative Extension Service serve all people regardless of race, color, age, sex, religion, disability or national origin.