Give Valentine's Day flowers some TLC for extended enjoyment
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Valentine’s Day flowers will last longer if kept watered and fed, said University of Missouri horticulturist David Trinklein. Trinklein’s tips and homemade preservative recipe provide an extended warranty of sorts to make certain flowers last up to twice their normal lifespan.
African violets help chase away winter blues
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Just in time to brighten the dull, dreary days of winter, the National Garden Bureau has named African violet as its houseplant of the year for 2024. The choice is an excellent one, says University of Missouri Extension state horticulture specialist David Trinklein. African violets thrive in most interior settings, provide nearly continuous color and are inexpensive.
A flood of support
ST. PETERS, Mo. – From flood-ravaged fields to productive gardens, University of Missouri Extension Master Gardeners in St. Charles County show how volunteers help communities flourish.
Engineering firm volunteers at KC urban garden maintained by MU Extension Master Gardeners
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Food and hope for the hungry are growing in the heart of downtown Kansas City. Since 2016, professionals from Dialectic Engineering have grown fruit and vegetables on a once-vacant city block. Produce goes to After the Harvest for use at a nearby community kitchen run by Nourish KC, a group that fights food insecurity.
Turn up the flavor and nutrition by planting turnips
COLUMBIA, Mo. – You may not be able to squeeze blood from a turnip, but you can easily grow this tasty and nutritious vegetable.“Turnip is an underappreciated and underused fall vegetable crop,” said David Trinklein, horticulture state specialist for University of Missouri Extension.Plant turnip seed in late summer
Rotten tomatoes star in garden horror show
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Your beautiful tomato plant is setting fruit and soon has nice green tomatoes. Then, to your horror, a dark sunken spot shows up at the bottom of the fruit.You might think an insect or disease has attacked your plant, but such is not the case. Old-timers referred to the problem as “sooty snoot.” Today, it is called blossom-end rot. It is a physiological disorder caused by a calcium imbalance.
Gardens: Fast food for hungry critters
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Cute critters by day, gardeners’ worst enemies by night.Most gardeners know the frustration of having a beautiful garden decimated by wildlife, said University of Missouri Extension horticulturist David Trinklein.
Groups work together for a blooming Blue Springs
BLUE SPRINGS, Mo. – Master Gardeners of Greater Kansas City, the Blue Springs Historical Society Museum and University of Missouri Extension horticulturists have teamed up to make Blue Springs bloom with activities in 2023, including free classes throughout the growing season.
Magnolia flowers tantalize the senses
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Several species of ornamental magnolias grace the Missouri landscape with colorful flowers from March through mid-June.“In addition to showy, prolific blooms, magnolias’ sweet, citrusy floral fragrance permeates the air and beguiles the senses,” says University of Missouri Extension horticulturist Michele Warmund.
Master Gardeners hold garden tour in historic Ste. Genevieve
STE. GENEVIEVE, Mo. – University of Extension Master Gardeners offer a late-spring garden walk through historic Ste. Genevieve gardens 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. May 20 and May 21.MU Extension horticulturist Katie Kammler says the garden walk is part of a two-day celebration of historic French colonial homes, wineries, restaurants and shopping in the oldest European settlement west of the Mississippi River. The tour includes about 20 private,…
Horticulturist plants seeds of hope in community
JACKSON, Mo. – Retired engineer Lois Caron’s lifelong thirst for knowledge led her to the University of Missouri Extension office where she often bent the ear of MU Extension horticulturist Donna Aufdenberg.“She was a lifelong learner,” says Aufdenberg. “We had something that she wanted. We had knowledge, and she wanted that knowledge.”
Extension Master Gardener program turns 50
COLUMBIA, Mo. – 2023 marks the 50th anniversary of the first Extension Master Gardener program at Washington State University. What began with 300 volunteers in Washington state has grown to more than 84,000 volunteers across the country, said University of Missouri Extension horticulturist and state Master Gardener coordinator David Trinklein.To commemorate the event, March 20-26 of this year has been designated National Extension…
Pansy: The smiley face flower
COLUMBIA, Mo. – “If ever there was a flower that brings a smile to people’s faces, it has to be pansy,” said University of Missouri Extension horticulturist David Trinklein.This delightful, cool-loving garden flower bears blotched petals that resemble a face smiling back at those who admire it. Midwesterners enjoy pansy’s unique palette of colors and delicate fragrance in spring and fall, Trinklein said.
Spring flowers shine from bulbs planted in the fall
COLUMBIA, Mo. – If you think autumn is the time to put away your gardening tools for the year, think again. It’s bulb-planting time.“Daffodils, tulips and hyacinths won’t greet you in the spring if they’re not planted in the fall,” said David Trinklein, horticulture specialist for University of Missouri Extension. Spring-flowering bulbs need 10 to 14 weeks of cool temperatures to induce flowering.
Let the gourd times roll
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Fall is the time to harvest, cure and store ornamental gourds, said University of Missouri Extension horticulturist David Trinklein.“Gourds are thought to be among the first domesticated plant species, dating back to as early as 13,000 B.C,” Trinklein said. “Through the years, dried gourds served many purposes – as ladles, birdhouses and luffa fibers used in diverse items such as oil filters, life preservers, scrubbing…
Sunflower: The story of this summer goddess begins with search for love
COLUMBIA, Mo. – The sunflower’s story begins with a tale of unrequited love.According to Greek mythology, the water nymph Clytie fell in love with the god of the sun, Apollo, who dazzled the earth as he drove his golden chariot across the sky each day. When he rejected Clytie’s affection, it nearly drove her mad. She spent days without food or water as she searched the heavens and waited for Apollo to appear.
Fall flowers usher out summer in a blaze of color
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Fall is time for the changing of the guard in flower beds and containers. As some summer flowers shout their last hurrah, others gradually fade into the background.
Lasagna gardening: Layers and layers of goodness
JACKSON, Mo. – As traditional gardening season takes a bow, lasagna gardening makes a grand entrance. Lasagna gardening is no-till, no-dig gardening that uses materials typically thrown away such as kitchen and yard waste, says University of Missouri Extension horticulturist Donna Aufdenberg.Aufdenberg says lasagna gardening is environmentally friendly and frees the gardener from tilling, weeding and digging. Gardens also retain…
Golden rule for dorm room plants: Keep it simple
COLUMBIA, Mo. – One way to spruce up a college dormitory room is to add plants, says University of Missouri Extension horticulturist Michele Warmund.Dorm rooms can appear a bit bare and dreary, Warmund says, but plants can add color and provide a pleasant atmosphere. “After spending the day in lecture halls, a plant-filled dorm room can be a nice place to study or relax with friends,” she says.
Time to transplant irises
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Now is the time to transplant one of America’s most popular flowers, the iris.Although irises can be transplanted at any time, they do best when established in the landscape from August to mid-October, said University of Missouri Extension horticulturist David Trinklein.
Cool gardening tips for hot days
JACKSON, Mo. – Both gardeners and their plants need extra care when it’s hot outside, says University of Missouri Extension horticulturist Donna Aufdenberg.She reminds gardeners to take care of themselves first so they can tend to gardens and flowerbeds.Consider gardening in the early morning and late evening to avoid high temperatures and harsh sun.
Plant a peck of sweet peppers
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Bearing fruit ranging in color from red, orange and yellow to purple, white and chocolate-black, sweet peppers are the Easter eggs of the vegetable garden, said University of Missouri Extension horticulturist David Trinklein.
Gardeners, baseball fans swing into summer
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Whether you are a fan of the St. Louis Cardinals or the Kansas City Royals, you can show your true colors in a baseball-themed garden this summer, says University of Missouri Extension horticulturist Michele Warmund.
Gladden a late-summer garden with gladiolas
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Few flowers bring more late-summer gladness than gladiolas, says University of Missouri Extension horticulturist David Trinklein.Their colorful flowers are known botanically as spikes. Individual flowers on the spike are called florets. “Glads are somewhat unique in that the florets on the spikes all point in the same direction,” Trinklein says.In Missouri, glads grow as annuals, but some species grow as perennials in…
Poppy: A remembrance of fallen heroes
COLUMBIA, Mo. – “In Flanders fields the poppies blow / Between the crosses, row on row … .” So begins “In Flanders Fields,” written in 1915 by John McCrae, a Canadian poet and military physician.“The hauntingly eloquent words of McCrae helped to immortalize poppy as one of the most recognized symbols honoring soldiers who have died in combat,” said University of Missouri Extension horticulturist David Trinklein.