By Michael-Anne Foley, Butte County Master Gardener, June 17, 2016.
Are you are confused by plant catalogs or magazine articles using different climate zone maps to describe the appropriate environment for particular plants? You are not alone.
The USDA plant hardiness map divides North America into 11 hardiness zones. Zone 1 is the coldest; zone 11 is the warmest. When you order plants from catalogs or read general garden books, you need to know your USDA zone in order to be able to interpret references correctly.
The 2012 USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map compiled by the USDA and Oregon State University is based on the annual average minimum winter temperature over a 30-year period, and is divided into zones of 10 degrees each, further sub-divided into “a” and “b” zones of 5 degrees. Since 1990, the zone boundaries have shifted in many areas. Zones on this relatively new 2012 map are generally 5 degrees Fahrenheit (a half zone) warmer than those indicated on the previous map. This data was accumulated over the 30-year period before 2005; the more recent zone map based on this information was released in January of 2012.
The USDA map is now available as an interactive GIS-based map, for which a broadband Internet connection is recommended, and also as static images for those with slower Internet access. Users may also simply type in a ZIP Code and find the hardiness zone for that area. For example, using the USDA Hardiness Zone map, Chico, Oroville and Paradise are all located within Zone 9a (minimum winter temperatures of 20-25 degrees Fahrenheit). Although this is a useful plant hardiness index it has some important drawbacks: for example, it puts the Olympic rain forest into a zone with parts of the Sonoran Desert.
Gardeners in the western United States are sometimes confused when confronted with these 11 Hardiness Zones created by the USDA. A more useful index is the 24-zone climate system published in the Sunset Western Garden Book in collaboration with the University of California. The Sunset climate zone map for gardening was devised in the mid-20th century for thirteen western states. It has been expanded to include areas across the U.S., providing a more useful alternative to the USDA zone system.
The 24 Sunset Zones are determined by a number of factors to help gardeners identify the most appropriate plants for their needs. Winter and summer highs and lows are used to provide information about the temperature extremes in the region. Weather patterns like humidity, rainfall and heat are considered. The Sunset Zones also take into account specific environmental conditions like prevailing winds, day length and soil type.
The greater precision of the Sunset system is evident in our local area: Chico is in Sunset zone 8, Paradise is in Sunset zone 7, and Oroville is in Sunset zone 9. Because the Sunset zone maps are more precise than the USDA's, they are considered the standard references for gardeners in the West. So, when you purchase plants for your zone, be sure you are using the right zone map! Sunset's zones 7 and 8 are much warmer than the USDA zones 7 and 8; mixing up the systems might well result in planting the wrong plant in the wrong place.
And keep in mind that even within a city, a neighborhood, or a street, microclimates can affect how plants grow. For example, planting tender citrus against a wall that absorbs daytime heat places it in a micro-climate that is warmer than a more exposed area. The zones are a guide and a good starting point, but you still need to determine for yourself what will and won't work in your garden.
For further information, check the following websites:
By Cindy Weiner, Butte County Master Gardener, June 3, 2016.
The Alice B. Hecker Native Plant Garden at Chico Creek Nature Center was planted in the late 1980s. While some plants have been replaced over the years, many are original and were propagated by members of the Mount Lassen Chapter of the California Native Plant Society. Some of these, like leather oak and California nutmeg, are rarely seen in gardens. The garden beds represent different local habitats, such as foothill or riparian. Fully-grown Oregon ash, elderberry and redbud trees provide shade for California bush anemone, Western bleeding heart, pipevine and mock orange. Spreading daisy, soaproot and several species of sage grow in sunnier areas. This garden demonstrates how a native garden will look after a couple of decades of growth.
The gardens at the Gateway Science Museum (at 625 Esplanade in Chico) include a native plant pollinator garden planted in 2013. These plants were chosen especially for their value to birds, butterflies, bees and other insects. Many of the plants provide nectar or pollen for the adult pollinators. Some insect larvae feed on leaves. The garden includes many different species of sun-loving sages and buckwheats. Showy milkweed is the host plant for larval monarch butterflies, and several monarchs go through complete metamorphosis in the gardens each year. The Gateway Gardens have been so successful at attracting both honeybees and native bees that it is one of 60 gardens in the state chosen to participate in the Urban California Native Bee Survey conducted by the UC Berkeley Urban Bee Lab. This is an established, but still young and developing, garden.
Public native gardens such as these are an excellent resource for anyone planning a more water-wise home garden.
By Barbara Ott, Butte County Master Gardener, May 20, 2016.
Gridley hosts the Butte Country Fair each August. The dates for this coming Fair are August 25 to August 28, 2016.
The Butte County Fair provides both individuals and organizations throughout Butte County with a venue in which to show off their unique products and skills. We can see the many facets of Butte County expressed through the various exhibits at the Fair, where agriculture, livestock, cooking, and gardening are primary categories of competition. Ribbons, plaques, and premiums are awarded in these categories.
The Flower Bowl building on the fairgrounds is a good example of friendly competition among gardeners. Each year the Adult Floriculture Department of the Fair presents one of the largest cut flower exhibits in the North Valley. In 2015, for example, this department featured more than 600 exhibits of cut flowers. And this number does not even include the other plant divisions represented at the Flower Bowl: in addition to Cut Flowers, the divisions include Flower Design; Container-Grown Flowering Plants; Container-Grown Foliage Plants; Hanging Plants; Cactus and Succulents; Herbs; Fairy Gardens; and Terrariums.
While individual gardeners and plant breeders are the primary contributors to many of these divisions, there are two specific areas where organizations compete. Local garden clubs and other organizations contribute displays to the Flower Bowl Booths, keyed to a distinct theme each year. For 2016 there will be entry fees for the plant divisions and booth division. Premiums will be paid to the top three winners in every division. In addition, there will be a new area outside of the Flower Bowl building comprised of four-foot by four-foot plots. Here, local garden clubs will be able to show off their own unique contributions and skills. There will be no fee attached to these new plots this year.
Amateur gardeners and floral designers are encouraged to enter in all of these divisions. Think about entering your most successful plants: maybe a favorite rose bloom or a wonderful outdoor container you have planted with an eye-catching combination of flowers and grasses. Have you made a fairy garden or a terrarium lately? Come show off at the fair. Let others see your accomplishments, and you might even place as a winner and get a premium.
More information about the specific Butte County Fair divisions and their requirements are outlined on the Fair's website, at Butte County Fair. This year the Fair Entry Book will be entirely online, simplifying the process of entering and paying entry fees.
Even if you don't enter an exhibit, come and experience the joys of horticulture at the Butte County Fair this summer!
By Cindy Weiner, Butte County Master Gardener, May 6, 2016.
The Chico State Herbarium's collection includes both native and naturalized plants (naturalized plants grow in the wild but are non-native). Each specimen has a label which lists the scientific name of the plant, its collector's name, the date it was collected, and information about where it was found, including elevation, geographic location and description of the habitat where the plant was growing. This information is added to an online database maintained by the Consortium of California Herbaria, a group of 32 herbaria in California plus three out-of-state institutions with sizeable collections of plants from California. After a specimen has been added to the database, it is filed in a cabinet according to its plant family, genus and species.
All it takes is access to the internet to be able to retrieve information about any of the more than 2 million specimens represented in the database without having to visit the herbarium where a particular specimen is kept. But sometimes an in-person visit to the herbarium is necessary. The Chico State Herbarium has hosted researchers from a variety of institutions, including the Smithsonian Institution, the University of Washington and even a Japanese university.
Sometimes specimens are lent to other institutions. The Chico State Herbarium recently lent 148 specimens of slime mold to a researcher at the Polish Academy of Sciences.
Traditionally herbaria were a resource for identification and documentation of plants, but their nature has changed in the last 50 years. The information on collection labels and the DNA contained within the plant are rich sources of scientific data about geographic range, evolution of new species, patterns of diversity, introduction and spread of invasive species, and global climate change. Past and current conditions can be compared with an eye to planning for future conditions. Therefore, in addition to botanists and other researchers, conservation and land managers find the Herbarium a valuable resource.
Biological sciences professor Colleen Hatfield is director of the Chico State Herbarium; Lawrence Janeway is part-time curator of the collection. Volunteers and student interns do the mounting, databasing and filing. A group of supporters called Friends of the Herbarium (FOH) raises money to pay for equipment and the curator's salary. FOH has a regular program of events and workshops that are open to the public. Some of the workshops are designed for botanists, but others are of general interest, such as recent workshops on botanical illustration and wreath making.
Located in Holt Hall room 129, the Chico State Herbarium is open to the public every Friday from 8-5. There are dissecting microscopes and an extensive reference library available for use. Volunteers can help identify plants, from the latest weed invading one's garden to the wildflowers in a favorite photo.
For further information, see the following websites:
Chico State Herbarium
Friends of the Herbarium
Consortium of California Herbaria
By Barbara Ott, Butte County Master Gardener, April 19, 2016.
The word Bonsai is a translation from Japanese and literally means “planted in a tray,” a definition which indicates the relationship between these miniature trees and the low pottery containers which complement them. The pot ‘frames' the tree and creates a sense of harmony, without detracting attention from the tree. This horticultural art form was first developed by the Chinese (as penjing) and then refined under the influence of Japanese Zen Buddhism over a thousand years. A bonsai tree has been subjected to a number of horticultural practices with the aim of achieving visual harmony and creating a living object worthy of contemplation. The gardener tells a story through living illusion, a representation of a tree as it lives in the elements of nature (water, ice, wind, rocks) over time.
Bonsai are created from woody-stemmed evergreen or deciduous trees or shrubs that produce true branches and tolerate having their root/food storage capability restricted through crown and root pruning as well as confinement in a pot. Full-size trees can grow roots that are many yards long and root structures encompassing several thousand yards of soil. In contrast, a typical bonsai container is usually less than 15 inches wide, and filled with between two and ten quarts of soil. Bonsai tree roots live in this small space. While regular mature trees grow to 16 feet or more, bonsai rarely exceed 4 feet in height, and many are under 18 inches.
The confined root systems of bonsai trees affect the maturation, transpiration, nutrition, pest resistance, and many other aspects of tree biology. Skill is needed to control the degree of stress that a tree will tolerate while remaining healthy. Bonsai gardeners use cultivation techniques of pruning, root reduction, potting, defoliation, and grafting to produce small trees that mimic the shape and style of mature, full-size trees. To maintain healthy trees, they develop the knowledge to recognize the degree to which a particular technique is required, and how much is too little. Most bonsai are outdoor plants needing some protection from severe elements. Some tropical bonsai need to be brought indoors in winter.
Many plants commonly grown as yard trees, bushes, or hedges are suitable candidates for bonsai. Once selected, the chosen tree or plant is then trained and shaped over time to stay small and to meet the aesthetic standards of bonsai. Once the bonsai nears its planned final size it is planted in a small complementary display pot. From then on throughout the year the bonsai is shaped to limit growth, redistribute leaf vigor to areas requiring further development, and meet the gardener/artist's design.
The art of bonsai is a horticultural pastime requiring basic garden sense, some artistic ability and plenty of patience. Indeed, patience is an important attribute for bonsai gardeners, because the growth process takes time, and there are no shortcuts. In this way, practicing the art of bonsai requires one to slow down, observe carefully, and appreciate nature on a small scale – all of which are attributes we might all benefit from cultivating.
To get started with bonsai, the Sunset Bonsai book (2003) is a good beginning reference. Meetings of the Chico's own Bonsai Society are held at the Butte County Library (1108 Sherman Avenue, Chico) at 10:30 a.m. on the second Sunday of the month. For further information, see
http://chicobonsaisociety.com/
Photo credit: Ginkgo Bonsai by Sharon Rico, Solano County, Master Gardener
