You may be surprised to learn that the signature of Abraham Lincoln on a Senate bill in July of 1862 put into motion actions and ideologies that would culminate in a nation-wide program that includes the UC Master Gardeners of Butte County.

The first half of 1862 was a busy year for Lincoln and the US Congress. Our country was a year into a brutal civil war when two bills were signed that would shape our nation in ways that are still pertinent 160 years later. The first of these congressional actions was the Homestead Act of 1862, signed into law by Lincoln in April of 1862. Hot on its heels was the lesser-known Morrill Act (also known as the Land-Grant College Act), which was passed into law just before 1862's Independence Day celebrations, such as they were at that fractured time in our history.

Sponsored by Vermont Senator Justin Morrill, the Land-Grant College Act called for the donation of public lands “to the several States and [Territories] which may provide colleges for the benefit of agriculture and the Mechanic arts…” Through this Act the Federal Government was committed to grant each state 30,000 acres of public land, which became the basis of our national system of Land-Grant state colleges and universities. It is important to acknowledge that lands nationwide had been occupied by Native Americans for tens of thousands of years. In keeping with the dominant world view of that time, the land appropriated by the federal government was considered “public” and could be given to each of the states for beneficial use.

The Hatch Act of 1887 is also pertinent to the history of the Master Gardener Program. This Act provided federal funding to the state land-grant colleges to conduct basic and applied agricultural research in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The resulting Agricultural Experiment Stations now exist in all 50 states. Congress continued its interest in developing agriculture and supporting farmers throughout the US by passing the Smith-Lever Act in 1914. This took farm advisors directly into the field to teach improved agricultural practices to farmers through the Agricultural Extension Service, later becoming Cooperative Extension. For farmers to access these new services, a county “farm bureau” had to be organized to request the posting of a county extension advisor in partnership with the USDA and the Land-Grant College.

In California, the University of California at Berkeley was established as the Land-Grant College. Today, UC Berkeley, UC Riverside, and closest to home, UC Davis carry on that legacy by housing the Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources. Cooperative Extension specialists and Experiment Station Faculty are based on these three campuses and coordinate their education efforts with UC-funded Cooperative Extension Advisors. Fifty of California's 58 counties support a UC Cooperative Extension department.

The University of California Cooperative Extension (UCCE) County Advisors are valuable resources who conduct outreach and education that encompasses much more than crop development. In addition to plant sciences, pest management, and soil and water health, they oversee agricultural economic issues; management of livestock and natural resources; nutrition, family, and consumer sciences; and youth development – particularly through the 4-H program.

Over time, as the reputation of the County Extension programs and California's population grew, busy Farm Advisors increasingly found themselves fielding questions about plants, pests, and problems from home gardeners. The Master Gardener (MG) Program was developed to help the Farm Advisors extend information by training volunteers in the science of gardening and horticulture. This program was conceived by Dr. David Gibby of the University of Washington Cooperative Extension. Gibby ran a pilot program in Tacoma, Washington in 1972. Following its resounding success, the Master Gardeners were officially established, along with a rigorous training program and curriculum. The concept quickly spread throughout the US and Canada. Each MG program in the US is affiliated with a land-grant university and a county UC Cooperative Extension office.

In California, Riverside and Sacramento Counties were first to launch programs in training and certifying Master Gardeners, beginning in 1980. Since then, certified Master Gardener programs have been founded in more than 50 California counties.

In 2007, Butte County UCCE Farm Advisor Joseph Connell and Family and Consumer Science Advisor and County Director Susan Donohue identified a real need for a local MG Program. Working with UC Davis, the county, the UCCE office in Oroville, the Butte County Farm, Home, and 4-H Support Group, and three Master Gardeners trained elsewhere, Connell and Donohue organized a local MG training program.  The MG training course was to be taught by Advisors, Specialists, and professors from the UC system and the Butte County UCCE put out a call to enroll volunteers. In May of 2008 the inaugural group of Butte County Master Gardeners completed their training. The 17-week training program of weekly classes is now offered every other year in Butte County. The upcoming 2022 class will constitute our eighth cadre of graduates.

Master Gardener training is thorough, comprehensive, and science based. The mission of the UC Master Gardeners is “to extend research-based, scientifically accurate knowledge and information on home horticulture and pest management to the residents of California.” Aspiring Master Gardeners are trained in a wide variety of topics, including (but not limited to): Botany, Irrigation, Soils, Plant Pathology, Entomology, Integrated Pest Management, Fire Safety, Plant Identification, Diagnostic Techniques, Trees, Turfgrass, Irrigation, and Home Vegetable Gardening. The goal is to familiarize students with a wide range of pertinent topics, not to create experts in each field. The training emphasizes research techniques, so that MGs can assist clients by knowing where to look for the information that will help them identify and solve issues faced by local home gardeners.

The Butte County MGs have come a long way since the first class of 21 volunteers graduated in 2008. Currently we have 94 active Master Gardeners, and a new class of 24 will graduate next May. We staff a Hotline for gardening questions which can be reached by phone at 530-538-7201 and by email at mgbutte@ucanr.com. Each spring and fall we present a public education workshop series covering a wide variety of topics. Our Living Lab program is bringing plant science to several local schools through school garden projects. We've established a helpful and beautifully-designed website which contains a wealth of information and tips specifically focusing on our local gardening environment, as well as details about our upcoming activities. Every month we email a newsletter to subscribers. Our Gardening Guide and Three-Year Garden Journal contains information, tips, and note-taking space for every week of the year. You can find our outreach booths at local farmers markets and garden-related events. Twice a year we hold a plant sale, highlighting plants that grow well here. And on Fridays we publish an article on a gardening topic in our Real Dirt column in this newspaper as well as on the Real Dirt blog on our website.

Perhaps our most ambitious and rewarding project to date is our Demonstration Garden at the Patrick Ranch Museum on the Midway south of Chico. We call it “A New California Garden - A Garden for Today: Sustainable, Functional, Beautiful.” Here we have established multiple landscape examples, including gardening under oaks, edible landscaping, a space dedicated to Butte County All-Stars (plants proven to thrive in our local environment), and a cleverly designed space for holding outdoor classes. The one-acre area dedicated to the Demonstration Garden was made possible by Patrick Ranch Museum.

The UC Master Gardeners of Butte County owe our inception to the foresight and hard work of Joseph Connell and Susan Donahue, Cooperative Extension Advisors Emeritus. Major portions of the Demonstration Garden were made possible by funding from the Farm, Home, and 4-H Support Group. And we owe our continued existence to our MG volunteers and all the gardeners and plant lovers in our region. Thank you!

UC Master Gardeners of Butte County are part of the University of California Cooperative Extension (UCCE) system. To learn more about us and our upcoming events, and for help with gardening in our area, visit our website. If you have a gardening question or problem, email the Hotline at mgbutte@ucanr.edu (preferred) or call (530) 538-7201.

Imagine a mountainous and remote rainforest along the ocean coast. Whisps of fog drift through the trees as cascades of colorful flowers sweep down from plants perched high on the tree limbs. This is the Mata Atlântica or Atlantic Forest of Brazil, a biodiversity hotspot and birthplace of the Christmas cactus or Flor de maio (May flower). In the Southern Hemisphere this plant blooms in May (autumn); in the Northern Hemisphere it blooms during the winter holidays, hence its popularity as a Christmas gift.

Christmas cactus is a general name given to a small group (genus) of cacti called Schlumbergera that are native to the coastal mountains of southeastern Brazil, growing mostly in high altitude, moist forests where conditions are relatively cool, shaded and humid. In the wild, Schlumbergera are either epiphytic or lithophytic, meaning they grow either on moss-covered tree branches or in rock crevices filled with decayed leaves and other vegetation, rather than in the ground.

These plants are true members of the cactus (cactaceae) family even though they bear little resemblance to other species of cacti adapted to desert heat: they have photosynthetic stems rather than leaves and areoles rather than branches.

In spite of their cool and moist native habitat, these plants are hardy and grow well in a pot outdoors on a sheltered patio or indoors next to a window in bright, indirect light. With proper cultivation, they are also long-lived; Schlumbergera can live up to 50 years or more; many have been passed down in families as cherished heirlooms.

Surprisingly, a “Christmas cactus” can be one of three different species. Schlumbergera truncata blooms earlier, usually in November, and is more accurately called the Thanksgiving cactus. Schlumbergera x buckleyi (sometimes referred to as S. bridgesii) blooms later, often in December or January (hence “Christmas cactus”). Finally, there is Schlumbergera gaertneri (formerly classified as Hatiora gaertneri or Rhipsalidopsis gaertneri) which blooms in the spring, around Easter, and again later in the year (P. Geisel and C. Unruh, Holiday Cacti, Publication 8114, UC Regents, 2004).

The common and botanical names given to these plants can be confusing, and any of them may be labeled “Christmas cactus.” So how can you identify exactly which species you have?

If the plant is in bloom, the flowers of S. truncata are zygomorphic (bilaterally symmetrical when sliced lengthwise) held more or less horizontally or above the horizontal, and the pollen is yellow; whereas the flowers of S. x buckleyi are more regular and hang down below the horizontal, with pollen that is pink. The flowers of S. gaertneri are different from the other two species because they are radially symmetrical (actinomorphic) and open to a funnel shape, like a starburst.

If the plant is not blooming, the best way to identify which species you have is by looking at the stem segments (phylloclades) that form the plant. In S. truncata the stem segments have pointed teeth (dentate), often with two large teeth at the end of the segment, while in S. x buckleyi they are rounded, with more symmetrical teeth (crenate); in S. gaertneri the segments are very rounded with small notches along the edge at the aeroles. For helpful illustrations of all of these species, see Is it a Thanksgiving, Christmas or Easter Cactus? - World of Succulents

Indeed, some sources claim that the Thanksgiving cactus Schlubergera truncata is actually the one that is widely marketed as Christmas cactus.

A Brief History

Christmas cacti have been given as holiday gifts since the second half of the 19^th century. Charles Lemaire, a French botanist, named the genus Schlumbergera in 1858, commemorating Frédéric Schlumberger, who had a collection of cacti at his chateau in France. Lemaire began with only one species in his new genus – a plant discovered in Brazil in 1837 which is now classified as Schlumbergera russelliana.

Schlumbergera truncata (Thanksgiving cactus) was cultivated in Europe starting in 1818, and S. russelliana was introduced in 1839. The two species were deliberately crossed in England, resulting in the hybrid now called Schlumbergera × buckleyi, first recorded in 1852, the true Christmas cactus. 

Schlumbergera gaertneri (Easter Cactus) was first described in 1884 as the variety gaertneri ofSchlumbergera russelliana). The name honors one of the Gaertner family, early settlers in Brazil.

These winter and spring-blooming species are three of the seven recognized species within the genus Schlumbergera. In addition, there are hundreds of modern cultivars (breeder-selected cultivated varieties) of the Christmas cactus.

Care and Feeding

Schlumbergera cacti do best in temperatures ranging from 50 to 70 degrees F, which makes them an obvious choice for a houseplant, but they can also live outside if they are sheltered from direct, intense sun, heat and frost. These rainforest plants need humidity. An indoor environment such as a kitchen with bright indirect light is perfect, or you can provide humidity by misting the plant or placing the pot on a saucer of pebbles filled with water so that the plant benefits from evaporation but doesn't sit in water. In their native habitat, these plants may get up to 17 inches of rain a month during their growing season (March to September). Although this drops to as little as 3 inches per month in the dry season, it's still enough to provide consistent moisture and humidity (Geisel & Unruh, Holiday Cacti).

Since these plants naturally grow in crevices of tree branches or rocks, they prefer to be in smaller pots with tight root space. The potting mix should be loose and fast draining; a good cactus mix that is somewhat acidic (pH 5.0 to 6.0) will work. Allow Schlumbergera to dry out partially, but not completely, between waterings. A good rule of thumb is to water when the top one to two inches of soil are dry (depending on the size of your pot). Fertilize every two to four weeks during the growing season using a well-balanced formulation such as 10-10-5. Liquid fertilizer mixed with water according to directions[JL1]  or granular slow-release formulations are equally effective. With reasonably good care, these hardy plants are generally free of pests or disease.

Blooming and Propagation

The trickiest aspect of Schlumbergera cultivation is getting them to bloom abundantly every year at holiday time. Schlumbergera are thermophotoperiodic, which means that temperature and short days (fewer hours of daylight) trigger bloom. Even with good care, they will probably bloom sparingly unless exposed to cool nighttime temperatures (50 to 55 degrees F) and 12 to 16 hours a day of total darkness starting about six to eight weeks ahead of their flowering period.

In the fall, a sheltered location outdoors will work as long as daylight is limited to 10 to 12 hours and nighttime temperatures dip into the 50's (but not much below 50 degrees). Indoors, a cool room where lights are not turned on at night is ideal; another option is to place the plant under a black cloth or in a closet to ensure total darkness from 5 pm to 8 am.

When flower buds are set, keep the plant away from heater vents, fireplaces and other sources of hot air; continuous warm temperatures, especially above 80 degrees, can cause the flower buds to drop. Once the plant is blooming, make sure it is regularly watered, but do not fertilize.

Schlumbergera usually remain in flower for four to six weeks and then enter a rest period, followed by a new growth cycle. After blooming is a good time to prune and shape the plant. You can use the pruned sections to easily start new plants. Allow the cut ends to dry (callus) for a few days, and then insert them about 1 inch deep in moist, clean potting mix (5 cuttings in a 6-inch pot). Use of a rooting hormone is usually not needed. Cover the pot or tray with a clear plastic bag to create a more humid environment, making sure the bag is held up and away from the cuttings.

Although far from their native rainforest home, exotic Schlumbergera cacti still brighten our winter holidays with the gift of spectacular color and beauty.

Other References

Finigan, Monica. A Tale of Two Cacti, UC Master Gardeners of Napa County, Regents of the University of California, Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources. December 9, 2015.

Hartin, Janet. “Was that Gift Really a Christmas Cactus…or Something Else?” Environmental Horticulture News, Regents of the University of California, Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources, 2021.

Perry, Ed. “The Christmas Cactus,” The Stanislaus Sprout, Regents of the University of California, Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources, December 14, 2020.

UC Master Gardeners of Butte County are part of the University of California Cooperative Extension (UCCE) system. To learn more about us and our upcoming events, and for help with gardening in our area, visit our website. If you have a gardening question or problem, email the Hotline at mgbutte@ucanr.edu (preferred) or call (530) 538-7201.

If you have peach or nectarine trees, winter is the time to spray them to prevent peach leaf curl.

Peach leaf curl is a fungal disease that attacks peaches and nectarines. It appears in spring, causing new leaves to become reddish, puckered and severely distorted. This disease is caused by the fungus Taphrina deformans and is one of the most common disease problems for backyard peach and nectarine trees here in Butte County. In addition to disfiguring leaves, leaf curl can affect the blossoms, stems and fruit of infected trees. If it is severe enough, leaf curl can significantly weaken a tree and reduce fruit production. Leaves affected by leaf curl fall off in the spring, exposing the main limbs to sunburn injury. And sunburn injury facilitates flatheaded borer attacks, which often result in limb dieback.

The leaf curl fungus survives the hot, dry summer months as spores on the tree surface. Then, with the cool, moist weather of winter and spring, the spores germinate and the fungus resumes growth, attacking immature leaves as soon as buds begin to break (swell and crack), and later as leaves and shoots emerge from buds.

The best way to avoid leaf curl is to use resistant varieties of peaches and nectarines. Resistant peach varieties include Frost, Indian Free, Muir and Q-1-8. Although the Frost peach variety is very resistant to leaf curl, it must receive fungicide applications its first two to three years of growth. Redhaven peach and most of the varieties derived from it are rated “tolerant” to leaf curl. On the other hand, Redskin peach and its cultivars are rated “susceptible to highly susceptible” to the disease. Kreibich is a nectarine variety that is resistant to leaf curl.

Nonresistant trees should be treated with a fungicide every year after the leaves have fallen. Generally, a single spraying while the tree is dormant is effective in controlling leaf curl, if applied just prior to bud break.  However, during a particularly wet winter, a second spraying just as the flower buds begin to swell (but before the leaves emerge) is advisable.

The most common fungicides available to the home gardener contain fixed copper. The active ingredient, copper, is listed as “metallic copper equivalent,” or MCE. The higher the MCE, the more effective the product will be. Thorough coverage (by spraying the trees until they are dripping) is essential for disease control. Be aware that repeated use of copper products can result in the buildup of copper in the soil, where it may be become toxic to soil organisms. The synthetic fungicide, chlorothalonil, is the only non-copper fungicide available for managing leaf curl on backyard trees. When using pesticides, always read and follow the label for usage, rates, toxicity and proper disposal. Proper protective clothing and gear (including goggles) should be used when handling any pesticides.

When the symptoms of peach leaf curl appear on a tree in the spring, nothing can be done to control the disease at that time. Removing diseased leaves or shoots does not control the disease. If your tree had leaf curl last spring, be sure to treat it this winter to prevent more serious problems this coming spring.

For more detailed information on this topic, see the University of California Integrated Pest Management (UC IPM) Pestnote #7426, Peach Leaf Curl.

UC Master Gardeners of Butte County are part of the University of California Cooperative Extension (UCCE) system. To learn more about us and our upcoming events, and for help with gardening in our area, visit our website. If you have a gardening question or problem, email the Hotline at mgbutte@ucanr.edu (preferred) or call (530) 538-7201.

 

For many of us in the North State, Autumn is our favorite time of year. The heat of summer is past, and deciduous trees put on a spectacular show of deep reds, yellows, and oranges. The intensity of this show, however, is not consistently the same each year. What makes the colors of autumn leaves vary in depth of color from year to year?

During the long days of summer sunlight, trees cast shade created by leaves that use sunlight to convert water and carbon dioxide into sugar.  This is the process of photosynthesis, which feeds the tree and its leaves. Chlorophyll, responsible for the green color we see in leaves, is an important pigment that absorbs the light energy used in photosynthesis.  As days grow shorter and temperatures begin to cool, trees respond by producing less chlorophyll, and photosynthesis slows and eventually comes to a stop.  When that happens, pigments of yellow, orange and brown in the leaves (called carotenoids) begin to show through.  Some trees produce pigments called anthocyanins in their leaves during the fall, creating red leaves.

A severe drought can delay the arrival of fall color by a few weeks.  A dry fall with plenty of warm sunny days and cool nights contributes to vibrant late fall foliage. 

Deciduous trees begin to release their leaves when cool temperatures trigger a hormone that sends a chemical message to the leaves to “let go.”  Located where the leaf stem meets the branch is a thin, bumpy line of microscopic cells called Abscission cells. These cells “cut” the leaf away from the stem when they receive that message.  When the air moves them, these dangling leaves fall away.  If the abscission cells do not develop, wind will not blow the leaves off.  This is why some trees keep their brightly-colored fall foliage long after most other trees have dropped their leaves.

If deciduous trees keep their leaves permanently, they don't have to grow new ones, but when winter weather has a warm streak, these leaves will start the photosynthesis process of making food and bringing water into the leaves.  Then, when the cold weather returns, these leaves are caught with water in their veins, causing them to freeze and die. This can damage the tree.

The yellow, orange, and brown carotenoid colors in leaves remain fairly constant from year to year.  Carotenoid is always present under the chlorophyll and does not change in response to weather.   But when a series of warm autumn days and cool non-freezing nights occurs, it's a good year for red fall foliage. The warmth allows the leaves to produce sugar through photosynthesis, but the cool nights prevent the sap from flowing through the leaf into the branches and trunk. 

Scientists offer several reasons for why some trees produce the anthocyanin that leads to bright reds.  Primarily, it seems that anthocyanins protect leaves from excess sunlight and enable trees to recover remaining nutrients.  This helps trees prepare for the next growing season.  Anthocyanins give leaves their bright shades of red and purple.  So, thanks to the warm days and cool nights we had in the early weeks of October this year, we are enjoying a pretty good show of vibrant leaf color right now.

UC Master Gardeners of Butte County are part of the University of California Cooperative Extension (UCCE) system. To learn more about us and our upcoming events, and for help with gardening in our area, visit our website. If you have a gardening question or problem, email the Hotline at mgbutte@ucanr.edu (preferred) or call (530) 538-7201.