University of Missouri Extension

The Clinton County Master Gardeners meet the second Wednesday of the month at the Clinton County Youth Building 1 mile east of Plattsburg on Highway 116.

What seed catalogs are your absolute favorites?

Master Gardener Valerie Wright responds: I have four favorite seed catalogs that I regularly order from. Breck's, www.Breck's.com, phone # 513-354-1511. I order from them when I want good quality bulbs for spring. They also have lovely perennials. What's a garden without flowers? Pinetree Garden Seeds, www.superseeds.com, phone number 1-207-926-3400. They have just about everything. They also have the hard to find and the unusual. Totally Tomatoes, www.totallytomato.com, phone number 800-345-5977. They have the best variety of tomatoes and peppers, including many heirloom varieties. Jung Quality Seeds, www.jungseed.com, phone number 800-247-5864. They have everything else that the other catalogs don't.

Master Gardener Tedra Parker responds: Seed's of Change has information on when and what to plant, organic resources and products, and gift foods. Their catalog is chock full of information and photos of plants. In addition they answer every e-mail requesting information. Call 1-888-762-7333 for a catalog or on the internet go to www.seedsofchange.com. Gardenguides.com is much the same. They don't have a printed catalog just a web site. But the web site has articles, information, and links to other gardening information.

Master Gardener Theresa Stilley responds: One of my favorite places to buy seed is from a very small company called Grace Native Seed. They are located at 5790 Highway J, in Albany, Missouri 64402. Their phone # is 660-726-5884 and as far as I know they do not yet have a web site. The owners are a married couple, Jim and Betty Grace. They
grow and gather seeds from Missouri native grasses and wildflowers. They have a greenhouse and can also provide plugs and larger plants but everything is done by customer order, so if you want something you have to let them know and they will plant it especially for you. They even deliver the flats to me, when they come down to K.C.. I really like both of them personally and they treat the plants like they are precious. They don't like to ship them, so they deliver them. They will ship their seeds. They really love what they do and it is evident when you talk to them, so it makes the whole transaction very enjoyable. After you place an order they send you periodic updates about how your plants are progressing, so even though you can't see them you have a sense of how they are doing and when you can expect to have them for planting. It is very easy to develop a
personal relationship with these folks.

Master Gardener Clara Hanks responds: Johnny's Selected Seeds, 800-564-6697 or www.Johnnyseeds.com is one of my favorites. They have a very good selection of vegetable and flower seeds. For each vegetable or flower there is a section of growing information which tells how and when to start the seeds, how to raise the plant and when to harvest.

Question for the Master Gardener? We're here for you! Clinton County University of Missouri Extension 815-539-3765; email clintonco@missouri.edu; write Master Gardener, Clinton County University of Missouri Extension, P.O. Box 294 – 207 North Main Street, Plattsburg, MO 64477.

Every garden and every gardener are unique. We all do things differently. But one thing all gardeners have in common are tools and catalogs. We LOVE browsing through catalogs, making lists of the seeds and plants we want. Gathering ideas for designs to try and combos of plants to use in our own plot of land, gives us hours of enjoyment.

New gadgets and old favorites are always debated for use in preparing new plantings. Gloves, hoes and new digging thingys abound, and each year I look and see what new tool I could use. My husband insists I have more than I need, but I say gardeners can never have too many plants or to many tools.

Listed here are companies and websites that are favored by the local (and some not so local) master gardeners. These are just a few sites that have for one reason or another become our favorites. There are many more good seed companies and sites out there that are not shown here. You can write, call or email the companies for catalogs or go online to browse & order.

When ordering from any company check out warranties offered on plants and tools. Most offer replacement plants for those that do not survive the trip or even do not live for a year. Make sure the plants/seeds you’re ordering will handle our zone 5 (and 5a) weather.

Check the return policy on tools and gadgets, as well as the warranty on them before you decide to order online. Better safe than sorry.

Enjoy browsing and daydreaming of your perfect garden. Spring will be here before you know it!

If you have a gardening question, please call the Clinton County Extension Office Master Gardener hotline at 816-539-3765 or e-mail your question to clintonco@missouri.edu.

Gardening with the Masters

Question: What tree would you recommend for this area?

Master Gardener Joyce Vetter responds: Without a doubt my favorite tree is the River Birch that I planted in a clump of three. The three mature trunks with their peeling bark are so different from the normal trees. They provide wonderful shade in the summer, lots of yellow leaves in the fall, and then the peeling bark during the winter. Just a good landscaping tree in my opinion. It does well in moist soil, but will tolerate heat and dryer conditions. Do not plant over a driveway because they do drop seeds in the spring but ifor landscaping I think they are wonderful.

Master Gardener Ron Adam responds: Two trees we have in our yard are the Redbud and Sugar Maple (Hard Maple). Both are available through the local nurseries. The Redbud is a 15' to 30' spring blooming tree. I have found this tree will break apart at the 15' height at which time you can just cut it down or prune back to re-grow. Seed pod production can be heavy some years and small trees will grow everywhere. They are easily controlled though, by mowing or hoeing. They seem to do well where they have cooler daytime temps and some protection from taller trees. The Sugar Maple is a 40'-90' tree with a spread of 30 feet. These come in many different colors and varieties. They also have seed pods that get in gutters and sprouts in our yards and gardens but not as prolifically as the soft maples though. All trees have a life expectancy with good and bad features. Proper planting, watering and mulching are the best ways to assure your trees will grow and be healthy & happy.

Master Gardener Larry Golubski responds: Which tree to plant depends on your top priority for the tree, i.e. do you want a shade tree or a specimen (flowering) tree?
For a large beautiful shade tree that will not only be good for you but for your great-great-grandchildren I would recommend a Northern Red Oak. It is one of the fastest growing oak trees, however it will still take 10 to 12 years to reach a good sized shade tree. Eventually (25-30 years) it will make a 70 foot high broad, round-topped shade tree. The acorns will be about 3/4 to 1 inch long. It's leaves turn a deep red in fall. The wood in trunk and branches is very strong to withstand Missouri ice storms. It is a much better tree than the more poplar Pin Oak.
For a flowering tree I would recommend the Catalpa. This is a tree native to Missouri, however it must be planted in an area away from house, driveway, deck, etc. as it produces a lot of 'droppings'. But when this tree blooms its beautiful large white flowers in middle to late June it will draw much attention. It is a fast growing tree and in 25 years reach a height of 80 to 90 feet, so give it room. The Catalpa has large 10-12 inch heart shaped leaves that are easy to rake up. In fall the fruit, 15 inch long bean-like pods appear, which the neighbor kids will love to play with. It grows best in moist soil but will do fine in average dry soils also. It is a strong wood tree that often is cut for farm fence posts. As the Catalpa is not a commonly planted tree local garden centers usually do not stock them, but many mail-order nurseries have them.

Summertime in Missouri can be miserable, as we all know. The plants in our veggie gardens and flowerbeds feel heat stress as much as we do. So it’s up to we gardeners to give them ease when they’re stressed. The best stress buster for them is water and mulch.

Mulching goes a long way toward preserving moisture and keeping the soil surface temperature down. But when the temps soar to the 90s and 100, mulching can’t do it all.

A plant with vigorous vine growth and generous fruit set needs water to sustain that growth. Here in Missouri, tomatoes need at least one inch of rain per week during May and June. During July, August, and September, two inches of water per week is needed to keep the plants healthy and growing. Vigorous, healthy plants are resistant to disease.

Mulch to a thickness of two to four inches. Hay, straw, grass clippings, or landscape fabric all work and each gardener has his own favorite. I like to use grass clippings, but I like to dry them for a day or two first. Since I don't have a grass catcher, I mow so that the clippings end up in one area. After a couple of days I rake them up and use them for mulch. They won't be thoroughly dry but it's enough so that they don't become slimy.

Mulch can also keep soil from splashing the plants and causing disease. Fungal diseases can take hold when spores are carried in that splashing water from earth to foliage.

Bulletin G6461 Growing Home Garden Tomatoes is available at the University of Missouri Extension office.

Plants in containers need to be watered every day, especially when temperatures approach 80 degrees and then go higher. Give them a drink of water twice a day if they’re in a hot spot. But if you are finding that you water them and they don't seem to be responding, it's probably time to repot them.

Potted plants continue to grow in their containers. The roots have nowhere to go so they begin to coil around the inside of the pot. Eventually the container is so full of roots that when you water, the water cannot be absorbed because of the solid mass of roots. Instead, the water flows down the inside edge of the pot and out the drainage holes. The best thing you can do for them is to plant them in the flowerbed or repot to bigger digs.

When you plant or repot, first cut through the coiled roots. For a one-gallon pot or larger, take a sharp knife and make a ½- to 1-inch cut from the top of the pot-shaped root ball to the bottom. Make three or four cuts evenly spaced around the root ball. Be sure to water them in well when planted, and water regularly after that! The plants should now thrive.

We've had a few spring-like days sprinkled in with the cold and snow, and that gets the blood of a gardener pumping a little faster. As I write this, we have a few inches of snow on the ground and must wait for it to melt. But there are chores we can be doing now, or soon.

You can prune your fruit trees, grape and berry vines, perennials, some shrubs, and ornamental trees. I've covered pruning before so I won't go into it too much now. Remember to prune out dead or broken wood, crossing or rubbing branches, suckers, and water sprouts. That will take care of much of the pruning needs for most trees. For fruit trees, prune for those conditions as well. You'll also want to prune for better fruiting. Bulletins on pruning fruit trees, as well as grape vines and berries are available in the extension office.

Spring-flowering shrubs like lilac and forsythia should not be pruned now or there won't be any blooms in the spring. Prune them right after blooming. Perennials can be pruned now. Cut away old growth. If you're like me, you leave the seed heads for the birds and for winter interest. The birds have pretty well cleaned up any seeds. For shrubs like Russian sage, or perovskia, prune hard. Some gardeners take it down to about six inches above the ground. I don't prune quite so drastically, leaving old wood about 8 to 12 inches. The new growth from old wood is what will bloom this year.

As for the lawn, spot treat broadleaf weeds on days that are 50 degrees or above. Do this when no precipitation is expected within 24 hours. If crabgrass was a problem last year, have your treatment on hand. Apply crabgrass preventer between April 1 and April 15. Many gardeners remember when to apply it by watching the redbud trees. When Eastern Redbud is in full bloom, put down the preventer, such as Barricade or Preen.

Did you get a soil analysis in the fall? If not, get it done now. You can still amend the soil but need to know what to use. Bring your soil sample into the extension office. The cost for analysis is $11. How to take a soil sample is in G6950 Steps in Fertilizing Garden Soil: Vegetables and Annual Flowers.

If you plan on planting strawberries this year, get them ordered. You'll want to plant them as soon as the soil can be worked in March or April. Request Bulletin G6135 Strawberry Cultivars and Their Culture.

Spray fruit trees with dormant oil to smother overwintering eggs of mites and scale. For more information on spraying, ask for Bulletin G6010 Fruit Spray Schedules for the Homeowner.

Broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrots, kale, lettuce, onions, spinach, potatoes, radishes, turnips, and peas can be planted at the end of the month. Just be sure that the soil isn't soggy. Working in soil that is too wet ruins soil structure. Bulletin G6201 Vegetable Planting Calendar is available in the office.

Don't forget to enjoy the earth's awakening. I noticed the spikes of crocuses poking up out of the soil and snow on March 3. Can daffodils and tulips be far behind? I've also noticed Johnny Jump Ups going through freeze and thaw a few times, yet still gaining in size. Blooms can't be too far off. What have you noticed in your yard?

Question for the Master Gardener? In need of a bulletin on a particular horticultural subject? We’re here for you! Clinton County University of Missouri Extension 815/539-3765; email clintonco@missouri.edu; write Master Gardener, Clinton County of Missouri Extension, P.O. Box 294 – 207 North Main Street, Plattsburg, MO 64477.

Some homeowners enjoy the violets that spring up in their lawn and flowerbeds, but others find them invasive and pesky. Violets grow from rhizomes, which spread rapidly. It can be difficult to dig the entire rhizome out, and if even a tiny piece is left a new plant will grow. They also spread by seed so this gives them two ways to spread, which means they spread fast!

The way to get rid of them is to dig them out, and do so before they set seed. Be sure to get the entire rhizome out. They can be resistant to herbicides but young plants will be easier to kill because they won't yet have formed extensive rhizome systems. If you would rather spray them, check with your nursery on what to use. A systemic herbicide like Roundup should work well on young plants. Roundup is a non-selective herbicide—it will kill all vegetation that it touches, so if the violets are in your lawn, don't use it unless you want to kill the lawn off too. Your nursery can advise you on a broadleaf herbicide to use in the lawn to kill violets. Always be sure to heed label directions and cautions.

Q: Next year I would like to attract more butterflies to my garden. What should I plant?

Master Gardener Sandy Stiefer replies: Now is a fine time to plan for next year's gardening. When it comes to planting for butterflies, think color, think spreads of color, and think food. The color is for attracting the adult butterflies. But of course, when we attract butterflies, we also have to think about their other life form: larva, or caterpillars.

You won't automatically attract all butterflies to your garden unless you have a huge yard and can plant hundreds of plants and varieties. Butterflies are quite specific. Certain butterflies are attracted to certain plants. They feed on the nectar of specific plants, and they lay eggs on specific plants. The plants where eggs are laid and then eaten by the caterpillars are called host plants. I learned this in my own garden my first year of living in MO with the Black Swallowtail. Swallowtail larva feed on plants from the parsley family. I never saw eggs, but got a surprise when I discovered many green and yellow caterpillars in my parsley patch. Once I discovered what they were, I planned for them. The next year I planted lots of parsley , and although I planted carrots mostly for my donkeys, the swallowtails liked them too. This year I plan to put in even more carrots and parsley, and to do some mass planting with parsley since it functions in the flowerbeds quite nicely.

Now what about what I said above—planting hundreds of plants and varieties? Large drifts of single colors are easier for butterflies to find than red, yellow, and orange plants intermingled. If you have many large flowerbeds, plant in a drift of red, and one of orange, one of purple, and one of yellow. If your flowerbed space is small, consider planting mostly in all one color. But you can place a few green shrubs, and even mix in a small patch of a different color as long as it doesn't disrupt the solid, single color that is meant to attract the butterflies.

Adults (nectar plants): cosmos, azalea, butterfly bush (buddleia), lantana, French marigold, zinnia, aster, buttonbush, coneflowers, bee balm, daisies, yarrow, blazing stars, Joe-Pye weed, sunflowers.

Caterpillars (host plants): butterflyweed (Asclepias), parsley, carrots, dill, mint, copper fennel, blue passionflower, spicebush, tulip tree.

If you have natural fields around your house, many butterflies will find nectar and host plants there. Monarchs especially will be encouraged if there is milkweed (Asclepias) growing there.

There are a few more things to consider when planning to attract butterflies to your yard. Most of the plants that they prefer grow in full sun. I've read that they don't like windy locations, but since their natural habitat is fields of native wildflowers, and since these areas are usually open and windy, I don't think this is a real restriction. Where I live is always windy and I find that on high-wind days they simply hang on somewhere and wait it out.

Butterflies need moisture and a warm place to bask. A damp patch of sand or mud attracts them. Here, they drink and take salts from the soil. A flat stone will allow them to spread their wings and warm up. Their muscles need to be warm for them to fly.

Research the plants you want to add to your garden. Try to plant so that there is something blooming from spring through fall.

Avoid pesticides in and around your butterfly garden as butterflies are very susceptible to poisons.

Once you start seeing the many varieties of butterflies in your own yard, you will be hooked. It is fun to see how many different varieties you can attract.

Question for the Master Gardener? In need of a bulletin on a particular horticultural subject? We're here for you! Clinton County University of Missouri Extension 815/539-3765; email clintonco@missouri.edu; write Master Gardener, Clinton County of Missouri Extension, P.O. Box 294 – 207 North Main Street, Plattsburg, MO 64477.

How many of us have ordered seedling trees from the Missouri Department of Conservation, or received our "ten free trees" for joining the National Arbor Day Foundation? Perhaps some hard core gardeners have even started trees from seed. We have good intentions, but somehow those tiny trees eventually die, either having been mowed over, eaten by wildlife, or because we forgot to water them. And some seemed determined to die no matter how much we babied those babies! Here are some tips for being more successful so that you can take advantage of this very economical way to have more trees in your yard.

When your trees arrive, I can guarantee that it will be raining or just a plain inconvenient time. What do you do with those seedlings? If it will be just a day or two, keep them in their original shipping bags. The enemy of unplanted seedlings is root dry-out. Check on them each day to see that the roots are moist. You can spray the roots with a clean spray bottle (one that has never been used for herbicides or other chemicals). If the bags are small you can dribble a little cool water down to the roots. I like to open the packaging up ever day to allow some air circulation. Don't keep them in the house—it is too warm there. They are better off in the garage. Temperatures of 33-40 will be fine, and they can stay this way for up to two weeks. Plant them as soon as you can. If temperatures are warmer than 45, heel in the seedlings.

Since they are seedlings, heeling in is easy. There are two ways to do this. One is to find a place in the garden or flowerbed that has good, well-draining soil. Dig a shallow ditch, place the trees individually in the ditch, but lay them over on their sides. Then fill the ditch with soil. You just want to cover the roots to keep them from drying out—don't bury half of the tree. Keep the soil moist. They can stay heeled in for several weeks. Plant the trees as soon as you can—within a month is best.

The other way to heel them in is to fill a big tub with potting soil and place the seedlings in it just as you would if heeling in out in the flowerbed. If it is cool enough, they can stay in the garage. Otherwise, place the tub in a protected place in the yard. Be sure to keep the soil moist.

Once you do plant them, they need protection. If you plant them out in the yard, surround them with a wire fence that has small enough holes to keep vermin from chewing on them. Place a wire "cap" on the enclosure so deer won't reach in and eat the leaves, or even pull the seedling right out of the ground. Keep the grass and weeds away from the young trees, as these are competition for needed nutrients and water. And water them regularly. Plan for one inch of rain a week. When the weather gets hot, water them more often. And as the seedlings grow, expand their wire cages to accommodate growth while still giving protection.

Another way to take care of seedling trees is to create a tree nursery. To do so, till a strip of good soil, hopefully in a protected location in the yard. Plant the seedlings in a row in the strip. Or, you can till a strip elsewhere in the yard and then construct a small shelter by erecting a low arbor with stakes or poles and a lathe roof. I have used burlap for the roof. Keep the seedlings free of weeds and water them regularly. Keep the seedlings in their nursery for a year or two, and then transplant to the yard in spring or fall.

Starting your own seeds can be a simple and inexpensive way to get lots of garden plants. For some gardeners, their seed starting is as simple as a trip to the local garden center where they will pick out several packets of annual seeds, taking them home, scratching the seeds into the flowerbeds and then having a wonderful profusion of blooms in a couple of months. That's a fine way to start out, and it is how I started.

Somewhere along the line, many gardeners begin to expand their interest in flowers and vegetables and cannot find what they want at the garden center or nursery. Or, they have expanded their gardening spaces with new beds and want to save money on the plants they wish to put in. This leads many gardeners to consider starting their own seeds.

Start your seeds four to ten weeks prior to the time you will put them out in the garden. By starting them indoors you'll have plants ready to go into the beds as soon as the last frost danger has passed. If you wish to start your own perennials, start them much sooner.

A "soiless" mix. Use a commercial seed starting mix—Jiffy is one brand. You can also make your own by mixing peat with vermiculite or perlite, half and half. These items are available in garden centers. Be careful not to breathe the dust. Place the mix in trays or pots. I recycle many food containers for seed starting. Seed starting pellets are convenient and you can buy the trays made to hold them, or place a pellet in each cell of a Styrofoam egg carton. You can also place them in a tray and after you expand and plant them, pour moistened vermiculite around them to help keep them moist, as they can tend to dry out.

Light. Many gardeners simply use a sunny window. This works well, but the plants can become spindly, and crooked if you don't keep turning them. Constant, even overhead light works best to get full, healthy plants. I use growing lights in the basement. I have used inexpensive shop light fixtures and in each put one regular fluorescent and one plant growing light, which can be found at home improvement centers and K- Mart and Wal-Mart. The light fixtures can be hung from the ceiling. Use chains long enough when hanging them so that you can adjust the light as the plants grow. The lights should only be a few inches from the tops of the plants.

Warmth. Your seeds will need a warm place for germination. Put them on top of the refrigerator if there is light above it (it doesn't have to be directly above) to get them to germinate. Then move them to a sunny window or other growing place. You can also put them right off in a sunny window. I use a heat mat under the start trays because my basement stays pretty cool, although I have started plenty without a heat mat. It just took a little longer to get them going. The seed packets will usually tell you at what temperatures the seeds best germinate. Heat mats run about 70 to 85 degrees. I run the lights approximately 14 hours a day.

Keep the soil moist. Once the seeds germinate take them off of the heat mats. When they get their first true leaves, lightly fertilize them once a week with a water-soluble fertilizer.

When it's time to move your transplants outdoors, harden them off. It takes about two weeks to allow your young plants to adjust to the garden/bed environment. Wait until the night time temperatures don't go below 45 degrees. Place your transplants on a shady porch or other place, such as a cold frame, where they will be protected from wind and harsh sun. Don't fertilize now, and water them just enough to keep them from wilting. Your aim is to slow tender growth while they harden off. After two weeks, if the conditions are good, plant them out in the beds.

For more information on seed starting, bulletin G6570 "Starting Plants From Seeds" is available at the extension office.