Posts Tagged: environmental horticulture
UC Davis Mural: 'When Words Are Not Enough'
It's titled “When Words Are Not Enough.” A newly installed UC Davis mural...
This is the mural newly installed in the hallway of the the UC Davis Environmental Horticulture Building. The tiles are the work of top (from left) Heewon Shin, Diane Ullman, and Mai Xiong; center (from left) Jason Hu, Emma Stone, and Analiese Ignacio, and bottom (from left) Anushka Vispute, Gale Okumura, and Leslie Briceno-Marquez.
Designer-lecturer Gale Okumura of the UC Davis Department of Design engaged in printing.
Invasive Plants: Don't Encourage 'Bad Neighbors'
What do ice cream, potato chips, Scotch and Spanish Broom, and Tree of Heaven have in common? While they're all tempting to indulge in, less is more. In fact, plants such as Scotch, Spanish Broom, Tree of Heaven, Pampas Grass, Green Fountain Grass, and dozens of plants are all considered invasive plants in California. Simply put, they should not be planted. There are some great alternative plants that are better choices listed at the end of this blog.
Truth be told, I admit to falling madly in love with the Spanish Broom (Spartium junceum) shrubs adorning Highway 18 on my drive from San Bernardino to Lake Arrowhead in early spring 1984 right after my job interview for my current position. Being a “wet behind the ears” recently hatched graduate student from the Midwest I was truly in awe of their lovely yellow blooms and vowed to plant one if I got the chance to move to California. Fortunately, I found out very soon that, while the plantings were made on purpose, they were a mistake and needed to be removed due to their invasive nature.
While they were ‘recruited' from Europe and had what seemed like a perfect resumé (fast growth, lovely yellow flowers, adaptability to poor infertile soil and disease and insect-resistance), they didn't play well with others, a fatal flaw. In California, they were aggressive and crowded out native plantings. Fires only exacerbated the situation. After the 2003 burns, the Spanish Broom populations exploded, obliterating any remaining natives and taking an even larger area hostage. In summer 2010, the San Bernardino National Forest removed the plants in a costly but necessary $500,000 project under a partnership with the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Constant monitoring continues in the San Bernardino Mountains and other areas of the state to prevent its reestablishment which is challenging due to its ability to quickly resprout, seed longevity, and effective dispersal. It has definitely earned its ‘noxious weed' label!
This is just one example of the problems posed by invasive plants. In effect, they grow too well! They outcompete desirable plants in our gardens, lawns, and other urban and natural areas for water, nutrients, and space. They also shade sun-requiring plants. Threatened and endangered plant species and other California native plants are particularly vulnerable to their encroachment. (In most cases, invasive plants are non-native species.) Interestingly, our beloved state flower, the California poppy, is an invasive plant in New Zealand, Hawaii and other locations outside of California.
As urban gardeners, we can all greatly reduce the impact of the encroachment of invasive plants in our urban environments. Please don't plant invasive sane remove plantings on your property to stop their spread. Below are some great resources to learn more about invasive plants and find viable replacements:
California Invasive Plant Council: https://www.cal-ipc.org/
Don't Plant a Pest: https://www.cal-ipc.org/solutions/prevention/landscaping/dpp/
Invasive Plants of Southern California:https://www.cal-ipc.org/solutions/prevention/landscaping/dpp/?region=socal
PlantRight: https://plantright.org/about-invasive-plants/plant
Julie Newman, UC Cooperative Extension advisor, retires after 28 years
Newman, University of California Cooperative Extension advisor in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties, retired in July after 28 years of providing research and educational programs in environmental horticulture.
Newman completed her B.S. in botany at the University of Washington and then earned her M.S. in horticulture from Washington State University. After graduation, she taught ornamental horticulture classes at California State University, Chico and volunteered on UC Cooperative Extension projects in Glenn, Alameda and San Mateo counties. In 1985, Newman began her career as a UCCE advisor.
Early on, a focus of Newman’s research and extension program focused on integrated pest management, or IPM, for ornamental crops. She collaborated with other UC researchers to evaluate sampling strategies, monitoring methods, biological control and reduced-risk pesticides.
“We developed IPM demonstration sites in commercial nurseries and bilingual scouting training programs throughout the state,” Newman said. “We documented reductions in pesticide use in nurseries where IPM programs were implemented.” Scouting and the use of nonchemical approaches are now standard practices in the industry.
Later, Newman turned her attention to water quality issues and brought in over $4 million in grant funding. She worked with other UC Cooperative Extension advisors and specialists to develop water quality projects that assisted more than 200 growers, representing more than 21,000 farm acres draining into Ventura County watersheds. These research and extension activities resulted in substantial improvements in water use, irrigation efficiency, infiltration rates and reduced runoff from nurseries, farms and orchards.
“Water is a major issue for California growers,” said Fred Van Wingerden, president and CEO of Pyramid Flowers in Oxnard and advisory board member of the UC Hansen Agricultural Research and Extension Center. “Julie helped nursery growers in Ventura and Los Angeles counties to be proactive by establishing a cost-share program for improvements and providing on-farm assistance in implementing BMPs.”
One nursery that participated in Julie’s cost-share program was Plants Plus Growers Nursery in Somis. “Julie helped me update the irrigation system and showed me how to do it right,” said José Acevo, owner and president of the nursery. The grant funding enabled Acevo to install a system for capturing and recycling irrigation water. Plants Plus states on its website that it now operates with zero runoff from irrigation and catches 100 percent of storm runoff for reuse.
Newman expanded her understanding of water quality issues through a sabbatical study in Australia and New Zealand, which led her to work with researchers in other states on national water quality programs. She was the technical editor and an author of UC ANR’s “Greenhouse and Nursery Management Practices to Protect Water Quality,” which has been consulted by growers and researchers all over the world.
Newman was a leader in efforts to establish the UC Nursery and Floriculture Alliance (UCNFA). This program, associated with the UC ANR Floriculture and Nursery Workgroup, delivers workshops, hands-on demonstrations, field days and tours that benefit flower and nursery growers statewide. Many of the programs are presented in both English and Spanish. Newman has served as chair of the educational committee and co-editor of the newsletter.
“Julie’s coordinated efforts with UCNFA and our nursery association have been extremely valuable in providing programs and expert speakers that address key issues facing our industry,” said June Van Wingerden, president of the Santa Barbara County Flower and Nursery Growers Association and vice chair of the California Cut Flower Commission.
Over her career, Newman won numerous accolades. This included the Western Extension Directors' Award of Excellence for team farm water quality project in 2008, California Association of Farm Advisors and Specialists Distinguished Service Award in 1994, Outstanding and Creative Academic Teamwork Award from ANR four times, and the prestigious Alex Laurie Award in 2007 for most outstanding team floriculture research paper. She also received two awards from the interior landscape industry for her pioneering work in the development of statewide educational programs for interior landscapers and for establishing the California Interior Plantscape Association (now known as the Plantscape Industry Alliance). Most recently, she received the California Association of Nurseries and Garden Centers 2013 Research Award for her work benefitting the nursery industry. The award was presented at the California Nursery Conference in Etiwanda on Oct. 9.
“One of the most rewarding aspects of my career has been the opportunity to work as a team with other UC CE advisors and campus researchers to solve real industry problems and develop cutting-edge technologies,” Newman stated.
Barbara Allen-Diaz, UC vice president for Agriculture and Natural Resources, has granted Newman emeritus status. “I hope to continue to have positive impacts through my work as a Cooperative Extension advisor emeritus,” Newman said. She is currently working on the “Container Nursery Production and Business Management” manual as technical editor and an author. UC ANR plans to publish the manual next spring.
Ornamental and Environmental Hort program team to meet Oct. 3-4
The Ornamental and Environmental Horticulture, Nurseries and Master Gardeners Program Team and associated workgroups plan to meet Oct. 3-4 at the South Coast Research and Extension Center in Irvine.
When the agenda becomes available, it will be posted at http://ucanr.org/sites/programteams/Oct_3-4_Meeting.
Registration for the meeting is now open at http://ucanr.org/sites/programteams/Oct_3-4_Meeting_Registration.
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This announcement is also posted and archived on the ANR Update pages.