The Vine Franklin County Master Gardeners

University of Missouri Extension in Franklin County 116 W Main, Union MO 63084 636-583-5141

Vol. 14, Issue 3, Sept 2016

Monarch Challenges and Outlook Joyce Oberle, Franklin County Master Gardener

There is an African proverb that states the world was not given to us by our parents, rather it was lent to us by our children. Perhaps in recent history, no statement has had more significance than in the world of today, and those of us from an earlier generation are no doubt keenly aware of this. We have witnessed tremendous changes over past decades with pollution of our oceans and other waterways, the air, the land and so much more. We can experience Mother Nature’s wrath almost instantaneously because of our advanced technology. Floods, wildfires, tornadoes, earthquakes, and many other calamities are occurring all too frequently somewhere in our world. Although most scientists who study climate are adamant in their conviction that climate change is real, still many people are doubtful. Those of us who are be-lievers wonder how long Mother Earth can tolerate such abuse. Having grown up in a much less stressful era, ear-ly on I became a lover of nature and all things natural. About six years ago and quite unexpectedly, I became in-terested in the plight of monarch butterflies. Over the years, my interest and involvement with this awesome insect have grown unabated. That the population has di-minished by ninety percent over the past two decades is truly disconcerting. Of course, as more individuals focus on the mon-archs, we must also include other more effective pollina-tors as well. Without them, our food supply would signifi-cantly diminish. It is not by accident that the monarch has become the icon for conservation and environmental is-sues as well. We see articles about them in magazines, pictures, television ads, and the list continues. Indeed, several years ago, a very popular gardening magazine asked their subscribers to designate their favorite butterfly. The monarch with an almost fifty percent vote easily won over all butterflies listed. So in 2016, we now find many concerned and in-terested individuals wanting to help this most popular in-sect. Many nurseries are being challenged to keep suffi-cient supplies of native milkweed and native pollinator plants available to keep pace with the demand. Speakers are being sought by many various organizations wanting to learn more about monarchs. As I continue growing native milkweed, not only for myself but also to share with others, I am reassured of

the goodness and profound interest of people. Soon mon-archs will be coming to our area, and many of us will once again experience the joy of raising them from caterpillars to butterflies. Renowned entomologist, Dr. Chip Taylor of the University of Kansas believes that we can contribute to helping monarchs by planting native milkweed and native pollinators, specifically nectar producing ones. Even small areas in our yards will be helpful. Ideally, large are-as such as parks, schoolyards, church yards, conservation areas, etc. are significantly beneficial. Our state of Missouri has a twenty-year goal to enhance the population. We cannot quickly alter a popu-lation that has diminished from a billion to several million. It will take years and the concerted effort of many mon-arch enthusiasts. Reducing the destruction of habitats will help not only the monarchs but many other species as well. Judi-cious use of herbicides is also an important factor. Cli-mate change will continue to have a deleterious impact whether we choose to accept it or not. Lastly, but certainly perhaps most important of all is to keep putting plants in the ground, native milkweed for the caterpillars and native nectar plants for the butter-flies. Because we humans are responsible for what has occurred not only to monarchs but also to other pollinators as well, it is our responsibility to fix the damage. Working together, we can accomplish this.

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Sacred Symbolism of Passion Flower Power Rosalie M. Luane, Franklin County Master Gardener

About a year ago, Judy Rice, an artisan with Astral Glass in New Ha-ven, gave me a Passion Flower plant. She told me it produced beautiful flow-ers. That basically was all I knew about the Passion Flower. But I dutifully found a spot for it in my garden and intended to Google it over the winter to learn what pleasures I could expect from this ad-dition to my garden. Fall faded and winter rolled by.

In early spring I started puttering in my garden and I thought about the Passion Flower. As spring progressed, I kept an eye on the area where I planted it. Finally I saw something emerging. But I wasn’t sure it was the plant or just one more of the profuse crop of weeds that successful-ly grow in my garden. However I didn’t pull it out. But I pondered, if it was the Passion Flower should it not have bloomed in spring? It kept growing in an undisciplined fashion and I finally I had to set up several poles and drape it over and around them to prevent a tangle mass of vines from piling up on the ground. However, still no flowers appeared. By early July I was beginning to worry that may-be it wasn’t the Passion Flower, but rather some invasive plant that would consume my property. The city has laws about that you know. In mid-July I went on the Master Gardener field trip to Bethany Gardens. During our tour, Theresa Long stopped with surprise as she eyed a plant which she identi-fied as a Passion Flower and which was just starting to bloom. The leaves were very similar to mine although her plant was more of a bush than a vine. I asked her if she knew how got its name and she confessed she really didn’t. When I came home I looked at my plant but still saw no evidence of flowering. However, in August blooms started to appear and I’m still getting new ones. By the way I finally got around to Googling the Passion Flower and this is what I learned about it and at least one legend about how it got its name: Passiflora, known also as passion flowers or passion vines, is a genus of about 500 species of flowering plants. They are mostly vines, with some being shrubs, and a few species being herbaceous. Nine separate species of Passiflora are native to the United States, found from Ohio to the north, west to California and south to the Florida Keys. The passion flowers have a unique structure, which in most cases requires a large bee to effectively pollinate. In the American tropics, wooden beams are mounted very near passionfruit plantings to encourage carpenter bees to nest. The size and structure of flowers of some Passiflo-ra species is optimized for pollination

by hummingbirds, bumble bees, Carpenter bees, wasps or bats, while others are self-pollinating. The sword-billed hummingbird with its immensely elongated bill has co-evolved with certain passion flowers. The leaves are used as food plants by the larva of a number of lepidoptera. To prevent the butterflies from lay-ing too many eggs on any single plant, some passion flow-ers bear small colored nubs which resemble the butterflies' eggs and seem to fool them into believing that more eggs have already been deposited on a plant than actually is the case. Also, many Passiflora species produce sweet nutrient-rich liquid from glands on their leaf stems. These fluids attract ants which will kill and eat many pests that they happen to find feeding on the passion flowers. The history of this striking flower is rich with rev-erence. Called "Espina de Cristo" (Christ's thorns) by Spanish Christian missionaries who first discovered it in South America, each part of the flower holds symbolic meaning in recognition of the crucifixion story - the pas-sion of the Christ. Five sepals and five petals refer to the ten faithful apostles (excluding Judas and Peter). Three stigma represent the three nails that held Christ to the cross, while five anthers represent his five sacred wounds. The tendrils of the flower are said to resemble the whips used in the flagellation, while the filaments, which can number in excess of a hundred depending on the flower, depict the crown of thorns. This powerful symbolism has led to the inclusion of the Passion Flower among the orna-mentation of various churches, such as in stained glass window designs, altar frontals and lectern falls. But the Passion Flower is sacred even outside the Christian world. In India, for example, the flower's struc-ture is interpreted according to the story of the five Panda-va brothers, with the Divine Krishna at the center, opposed by the army of one hundred at the outside edges. The pig-ment of the blue Passion Flower is said to be associated with the color of Krishna's aura.

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You may think it is premature to begin thinking about gardening projects for the long winter months ahead. After all, we are only starting to clean up our sum-mer gardens. However if you are lamenting the bleak grey days of winter we know are coming, growing sprouts in-doors may be just the cure. Sprouts are simply germinated seedlings of alfal-fa, mung bean, soybean, lentil, radish, kale, funugreek, mustard, onion, cabbage, broccoli, etc. Each type of sprout has a unique flavor and some vary in color. For example, China rose radish sprouts have pink stems with a spicy flavor. In contrast, hard red winter wheat sprouts have a sweet, malty flavor, whereas alfalfa sprouts have a nutty taste. Sprouts of any type are a great addition to salads, sandwiches, or many other cooked dishes. When purchasing seeds for sprouting, make sure they have not been treated with a fungicide. They can be purchased from a variety of sources including online sites or at garden centers and health food stores. Both organic and non-organic seeds for edible sprouts are commonly available. Specialized germinators can be used to grow sprouts or they can be grown in clean, wide-mouth glass canning jars. For canning jars, a screw-top ring and cheesecloth or fine meshed wire are also needed. Use a separate jar for each type of seed because they vary in the time it takes for them to germinate. To clean the seeds, first rinse them in cold water. Next, immerse the seeds in warm water in a sterile can-ning jar and allow them to soak for 12 to 24 hours to prime the seeds for germination. After this, with the open-ing of the jar covered with cheesecloth or wire mesh and secured by the ring or a rubber band, drain the water off the seeds. Rinse them with water again and drain, remov-

ing any excess water from the container. Keep the jar in a dark place (or cover the top of the jar with foil) at room temperature at 68° to 72°F. Rinse the seeds two to four times daily until they are ready to be harvested and stored. After each rinse, make sure to drain the sprouts thoroughly to prevent growth of undesirable organisms. If contaminants are visible on sprouts at any time, discard them and maintain a sterile growing environment. Most seeds germinate and grow to an optimal size within three to five days. However, sprouts grown from large seeds like mung bean or chickpeas may require a few more days. For a little extra color, put the sprouts in a sunny window for a few hours to allow them to green up. If you wish to remove the seed coats, take the sprouts out of the jar and place them in a container with water. With a bit of gentle stirring, the seed remnants will float to the water surface where they can be easily re-moved. Drain the sprouts again and use them immedi-ately or store them in a sealed contain-er in the refrigera-tor for less than two weeks. Thus, growing sprouts is a quick and easy way to chase away your winter blahs until those warm sunny days of out-door gardening

Grow Some Sprouts Indoors Michelle Warmund, University of Missouri Division of Plant Sciences

My Irises Revolted Rosalie M Luane, Franklin County Master Gardener

My iris didn’t do well this spring. Oh, I’m not blaming them. It was totally my fault. I should have divided them prob-ably two years ago. My excuse in past years for not tackling the task was that so often we have little or no rain in July and August. Consequently by mid-August, sup-posedly the ideal time to divide iris, the ground was rock hard. That was not the case this summer. Until the first week of Sep-tember, I didn’t have to use my sprinkling system. In fact the last week of June and the first week of July, New Haven had 11 inch-es of rain. So I resolved to undertake the

task digging up my bed.

I started in early August digging up one patch which I didn’t intend to replant. I was going to let it re-vert to lawn or more accurately a good stand of crab grass. I dug up small sections at a time and as I often do with plants I can’t use, I set the rhizomes out in my front yard with a sign dusplaying the magic word “free.” One Sunday afternoon I heard a knock at my front door. A young man was standing there. He asked, “Are those plants really free?” I said, “Yes.” “Can I have all of them?” “Yes,” I said. “My wife will be so happy,” he said with delight. “She has an area she wants to put in a flower garden but it is so expensive to buy plants.”

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“Well,” I said “would you like more?” “Oh, you have more?” “I do and they are yours for the digging.” “Oh, I’ll dig them up. Let me go home and get a shovel.” “You can use my shovel” I said. But he insisted on get-ting his own. He told me he live several blocks down the street me and I wondered if he would return. He did and dug up the rest of the iris. I started digging up the bed I replanted about mid-August and worked at it until shortly after Labor Day. I hope my iris are happy and will reward me with prolific blooms next spring. Are am I asking too much for the first year. Tips on growing Iris: Plant them in a sunny spot in late summer. The plants

need well-drained soil and at least six hours of sunlight per day. A full day of sun is even better to keep the rhizomes dry. (The rhizomes are the fleshy root like structures at the base of the plant.)

Prepare their beds. Apply a low-nitrogen fertilizer and a soil pH slightly less than 7, which is neutral. A granular fertilizer Should be applied in early spring and again just after bloomming when the rhizomes are forming the next year's flowers. Water only if it is extremely dry or after transplanting.

Give them room to breathe. Bearded iris require good air circulation. Plant them a minimum of 16 to 18 inches apart (less space for dwarf irises and more for taller varieties).

Do not mulch. Mulching retains moisture, and too much moisture will cause soft rot of the rhizomes.

Break off seedpods that form after the blooms have fad-ed. This prevents seedlings from choking the surrounding soil. Seed formation also saps energy needed by the rhi-zomes, roots, and leaves.

Prune back the foliage in the fall. This will reduce the chances of overwintering pests and diseases.

Make dividing a habit. Divide clumps of bearded iris eve-ry three to four years in the late summer.

Some interesting iris facts: The iris takes its name from the Greek word for

a rainbow, which is also the name for the Greek god-dess of the rainbow.

The iris flower is of interest as an example of the rela-

tion between flowering plants and pollinating insects. The shape of the flower and the position of the pollen-receiving and stigmatic surfaces on the outer petals form a landing-stage for a flying insect, which in probing for nectar, will first come into contact with the perianth, (the non-reproductive part of the flower and the structure that forms an envelope surrounding the sexual organs) then with the stigmatic stamens (the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower) in one whorled surface which is borne on an

ovary formed of three carpels. The shelf-like trans-verse projection on the inner whorled underside of the stamens is beneath the overarching style arm below the stigma, so that the insect comes in contact with its pollen-covered surface only after passing the stigma; in backing out of the flower it will come in contact only with the non-receptive lower face of the stigma. Thus, an insect bearing pollen from one flower will, in entering a second, deposit the pollen on the stigma; in backing out of a flower, the pollen which it bears will not be rubbed off on the stigma of the same flower. For a better understanding of the pollination properties of the iris and diagrams see en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iris(plant)

Irises is one of many paintings and prints of irises by

Vincent van Gogh. It was painted while he was living at the asylum in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, France the year before he died (1890).He called the painting "the lightning conductor for my illness" because he felt that he could keep himself from going insane by continu-ing to paint. However, his brother, Theo, saw its merit and submitted it for exhibition. It was sold for 300 francs to a supporter of Van Gough in 1892, two years after his death. Tragically it is thought Van Gogh may have sold only one of his paintings during his life-time. In 1987, Irises became the most expensive painting ever sold. In 1990 it was re- sold to the John Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles. As of 2012 Irises was tenth on the inflation-adjusted list of most expensive paintings ever sold.

Irises Revolted . . . . . (continued from page 3)

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When I began working for University of Missouri Extension almost 25 years ago we had two computers in the office and they were used largely by the secretaries. Email was an awkward process of the secretary printing messages, putting them on our desks and then us writing a response that she then typed and sent. Presentations were in many cases made using an overhead projector with “acetates” that we made by hand or possi-bly printed through a laser printer. Slide presentations were expensive and time consum-ing to develop. Changes in technology have been rapid and revolutionized how we pro-vide education. PowerPoint or other presentation software allow presentations to be de-veloped at little to no cost, to be edited even minutes before a presentation and can be shared by simply attaching a file to an email. Many of you have used PowerPoint presen-tations to educate gardeners. Technology has changed how we make presentations and hopefully has allowed us to reach more people. Yet education is still about providing in-formation in a way that helps people gain a better understanding of a subject. You pro-vide education in a variety of ways. Sometimes it is using a PowerPoint presentation, but my guess is you have more opportunities for individual or small group discussions where you are asked to help an-swer a specific question. Either setting has impact. If you would like to learn more about using PowerPoint to make presentations, please let me know. As we move toward fall I hope your projects are going well. In October I will begin the process of identify-ing those Master Gardener Interns who have completed their 30 hours of volunteer service to order their Master Gardener name badges. If you have questions about entering your hours on-line email me or call. I appreciate what you do in your communities!

Matt

From Matt’s Desk Matthew Herring, Franklin County Extension Agronomist

Ice Cream Social Hosted By Norma Wilson

On August 4, Norma Wilson hosted her annual ice cream social. We enjoyed Norma’s homemade ice cream and an assortment of sweet treats brought by member guests. Since it was one of our many oppressively hot and humid days of the summer we retreated to the cool of Norma’s conservatory, a room which to me recalls memo-ries of my trip to Tuscany. Before leaving we toured the garden. Thanks, Norma for a lovely evening.

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While many people throughout the world use pump-kin as a staple in their daily diet, in the United States this colorful member of the Cucurbitaceae (gourd) family is used primarily for decoration. Pumpkin derived its name from the Greek word “pepon” which, literally interpreted, means “large melon”. The French word for “pepon” was “pompon” and the English changed the latter to “pumpion”. American colonists are credited with changing “pumpion” to “pumpkin”, the name which still is associated with this vege-table. Archeological evidence suggests that pumpkins and winter squash are native to the Americas from the southwest-ern part of what is now the United States through Mexico and Central America and south into Peru, Ecuador and Co-lombia. Pumpkins have been cultivated since about 3500 B.C. rivaling it with maize (corn) as one of the oldest known crops in the western hemisphere. Native Americans are said to have roasted long strips of pumpkin on an open fire and then consumed them. They also dried pumpkin strips and wove them into mats. Presumably, American colonists relied heavily on pumpkin as a food source as evidenced by this poem (circa 1630): “For pottage and puddings and custard and pies, Our pumpkins and parsnips are common supplies: We have pumpkins at morning and pumpkins at noon, If it were not for pumpkins, we should be undoon.” One way colonists are thought to have prepared pumpkins was to slice off their tops, remove the seeds and refill the inside with a mixture of milk, spices and honey. The resultant concoction was baked in hot ashes and is said to be the origin of our modern pumpkin pie. Columbus was known to have taken pumpkin seeds back to Europe on one of his excursions. However, pumpkins are warm season vegetables that require a relative long grow-ing season. Thus, they never have gained popularity in north-ern Europe and the British Isles where the summer tempera-tures are not conducive to their growth. Today, pumpkins still are valuable as a food crop but are more widely used for their ornamental value. Brightly colored, orange pumpkins are a staple for fall decoration es-pecially around Halloween when frightening faces are carved into them to form jack-o-lanterns. Although jack-o-lanterns have been carved by people for centuries, the use of pump-kins to make them is relatively new and originated in Ameri-ca. Jack-o-lanterns originated in Ireland and were originally carved on turnips. Immigrants arriving in America continued the tradition of making jack-o-lanterns but found pumpkins much easier to carve than turnips. The association of jack-o-lanterns with Halloween is related to a Celtic festival. Pumpkins are heat-loving plants and should not be planted until the soil has thoroughly warmed in the spring. Early June is a suggested planting date for most areas in Mis-souri. Select a location with good soil that is well-drained and has few perennial weeds. Avoid areas that have received herbicides the previous year aimed at broad-leaf weed con-trol since these compound can carry over to the following year. Pumpkins are vigorous growers and heavy feeders that require adequate nutrition to produce a good crop. Spacing

pumpkins depends upon variety and size. The use of black plastic mulch will both conserve moisture and help control weeds within the rows. Because of their lush vegetative growth, pumpkins are prone to insect and disease infestation. Squash bug, squash vine borer, cucumber beetle and aphids are some of the more troublesome insects that attack pump-kins. Problematic diseases of pumpkins include powdery mildew, angular leaf spot, black rot, gummy stem blight, mosaic virus and bacterial wilt. Strict sanitation including the removal or turning under of all plant residue between crops is the first line of defense against disease infestation. Weeds tend to reduce both yield and quality of pumpkins by com-peting for sun, water and plant nutrients. Harvesting pumpkins at full maturity is essential for high quality and good storage life. Maturity occurs when the shell (rind) has completely hardened. Fruits destined for stor-age should be allowed to undergo a curing process after har-vesting by exposing them for about two weeks to tempera-tures in the 75 to 85 degree F. range along with good air cir-culation. Avoid waiting until after a hard frost to harvest pumpkins since this will adversely affect storage. A portion of the stem (i.e., the “handle”) should be left attached to the pumpkin since this usually makes them more decorative. As previously mentioned, pumpkins are a valuable food crop and an important part of the diet of many people worldwide. They are low in calories, fat, and sodium and high in fiber. A study by the USDA indicated that diets high in pumpkin as a fiber source tended to curb the appetite. Pumpkins are good sources of Vitamin A, Vitamin B, potas-sium, protein, and iron. A cup of cooked, mashed pumpkin contains only 49 calories. Pumpkin trivia:

Pumpkins have been grown in North America for five

thousand years.

Eighty percent of the pumpkin supply in the United

States is available in October.

Morton, Illinois, the self-proclaimed Pumpkin Capital of

the World, holds an annual ‘Punkin Chuckin' contest.

The heaviest pumpkin ever grown weighed 2009 lbs. and

was grown in Topsfield, Maine in 2012.

The largest pumpkin pie ever baked weighed 2,020

pounds and measured more than 12 feet in size. It took 5 hours to bake and produced over 3000 slices of pie.

Pumpkins were once recommended for removing freckles and curing snake bites.

Pumpkin: A Brief History David Trinklein, University of Missouri, Division of Plant Sciences