Beautiful Gardens™Plant Introduction Program Meeting Minutes, Notes

AllplantsthatarenolongerbeingevaluatedhavebeenremovedfromthesitebyDanMilesandDeanWilson,oneof theMasterGardeners. OnMarch31 st ,thefollowingnewplantswereinstalledbymyselfandDan: - Acershir. 8 AutumnMoon 9(E)& Acersiebold . 8SodeNoUchi 9(C) - Camellia 8AutumnRocket 9(E)and Camellia 8NorthernLights 9(C) - Corylopsisspicata 8Ogon 9(E) - Edgeworthiachrysantha (E) - Hydrangeamacro . 8FujiWaterfall 9(E) - Nerium 8HardyRed 9(C)and Nerium 8DoubleYellow 9(C) - RhododendronArborescens 8WhiteLightening 9(E)& RhododendronArborescens (C) - Hakonechloamacra 8AllGold 9(E)& Carexosh . 8Evergold 9(C) - Hemerocallis 8ButteredPopcorn 9(E) - Hemerocallis 8MoonlitMasquerade 9(E) Theremainingnewplantsonourspring2008triallistwillallbearrivingatVTbetweennowandtheendofApril.I haveplannedanothertriptoBedfordonMay14 th tocompletetheplantings.<br><br> PaulC.EdmondsPark,SouthBoston OnmyApril1 st visit,Ibroughttheplantsaslistedabove.Ithadrainedthepreviousdaysowewereunable toplant.TheMasterGardenerswillbeplantingwhenthegrounddries. UrbanHortCenter,Blacksburg Plantsnolongerintheevaluationhavebeenremovedmakingspacefornewplantings. Wewillorganizeaplanting daywithMasterGardenersinthenextcoupleofweekstoplantthenewplantsfortrials.<br><br> SWVA 3AREC,GladeSpring WehavemadesubstantialprogressattheGladeSpringevaluationsite.Agroupof5fromVirginiaTech(J.James,J. Freeborn,Velva,Danielle,andLisa),LeeWright,andhiscrewhaveworkedtofinishtheshadestructure,to completetheinstallationoftheirrigationsystem,remulchplantingbeds,attempttocontrolthethistleproblemwith post-emergentherbicide,seedpathwaysandpreparenewplantingbeds.Thissiteshouldbereadyfornewplantings bytheendofApril. NorfolkBotanicalGardens,Norfolk InameetingwithDonBuma,DirectorandBrianO 9Neil,DirectorofHorticulture,itwasdeterminedthattheGardens didnotwanttoexpandthecurrentBeautifulGardenssite.Theywerenothappywiththeweedyappearanceofthe bedslastyear,andexpressedtousthattheydonothavetheresourcestomaintainwithnofinancialsupportfromBG.<br><br> AsuggestionwasmadebyDonBumatoplantournewevaluationplantsamongtheGarden 9scollectionswherethey wouldbemaintainedwiththeGarden 9splants. ThissiteremainsquestionableuntiltheissuewiththeMasterGardenersisresolved.Wedohaveplantsincontainers thatweredeliveredlastfallandover-winteredintheircoldframe. NEWEVALUATIONPLANTSACQUISITION: Themajorityofthenewplantacquisitionsarelookinggreat.Thosethatwerepurchasedinthefallof2007over- winteredwellwiththeexceptionofthetwoHydrangeaspurchasedfromNurseriesCaroliniana.Ten?ofthe25plants of Hydrangeamacrophylla 8FujiWaterfall 9didnotsurvive,soIhavedecidedtoplantonlytwoplantspersite.Only three Hydrangeamacrophylla 8Hatsushimo 9of25plantsareshowinganysignsoflife.Theremaybethreepossible reasonsforthepoorover-winteringofthehydrangea.Theplantscouldhaveremainedtoomoistthroughthewinter althoughtheirrigationinthecoldframewasturnedoff;theplants,particularlythe 8Hatsushimo 9,wereplantedtoo deepinthecontainer;andanotherthoughtisthattheplantsmaynotbehardyinzone6a,althoughthewinterwas relativelymildinBlacksburgthisyear.<br><br> NewplantsarearrivingweeklyandarebeingstoredinthecoldframesattheUHC.Someoftheplantsrequired repotting,andwewillholdtheseplantsuntiltheybeginshowingnewgrowth.Alltheplantstobeplantedatthetrial sitesshouldarrivebytheendofApril. PLANTEVALUATIONS: TheplantevaluationformswererevisedaccordingtoinputwereceivedfromMasterGardenersandfromourown observations.Thegoalwastomaketheformsmoreuser-friendlysothatwewouldreceivemoredata.Lastyear, muchofthedatawasmissingorincomplete.IhavebeenspeakingwithMasterGardenersatNorfolk,Bedfordand SouthBostonabouttheuseoftheformsandtheimportanceofhavingcompletedata.Theirresponsehasbeen positive,mostsayingtheformsarenowe.Theyknowtheycancontactmeatanytimeiftheyhavequestionsor concerns. PLANTPROPAGATION: IwascontactedbyHoytMarch,HortonNurseryinSuffolk,aboutthepossibilityofgrowingplantsfortheBG program.Hewasalsointerestedingrowingliners.Isenthiminformationonafewnurseriesthatwouldcarryliners andaskedhimtocontactRickBakeraboutbecomingagrower.<br><br> Propagationhasbegunon Hemerocallis 8ShoresofTime 9inhopesofbuildingnumbersfora2011promotion.Fans weregivenbyLindaandwerepurchasedfromBell 9sGardensowewouldhave30fanstobegin.Fifteenfanswillbe propagatedbyBertCarr,atobaccofarmerinHalifaxCo.,withthehelpofLinda,meandBillMcCaleb.Iwill propagatetheotherfifteenfansundertheguidanceofLinda.Thehopeistoproduce1000 32000fansthatwouldbe availabletogrowersbyOctober15,2010. -providedbyLisaLipsey,BeautifulGardensProgramCoordinator

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