LSU Agricultural Center….
Ornamental Horticulture E-mail News (December 8th)
Get It Growing Columns for December (from Dan Gill)
Holiday Cactus – December 5
http://www.lsuagcenter.com/en/communications/news/get_it_growing/read_more/Holiday+cactuses+brighten+the+season.htm
Winter Plant Pruning – December 12
http://www.lsuagcenter.com/en/communications/news/get_it_growing/read_more/You+can+prune+some+plants+in+winter.htm
Maple Trees – December 19
http://www.lsuagcenter.com/en/communications/news/get_it_growing/read_more/Maple+trees+can+grace+Louisiana+landscapes.htm
Louisiana Winter Landscapes – December 26
http://www.lsuagcenter.com/en/communications/news/get_it_growing/read_more/Louisiana+winter+landscapes++what+a+difference.htm
Ornamental Pepper Landscape Trial Results (from Yan Chen)
Ornamental peppers are selections or hybrids of peppers (Capsicum) with aesthetic genetic attributes such as unique fruit shape and color, foliage color, and growth habit. Because of the many new cultivars available from plant breeders and the low maintenance requirement of this species in general, ornamental peppers have attracted renewed interests as bedding and garden plants in recent years. Thirty-six classic and new ornamental pepper varieties were evaluated over the last two years at three locations: Hammond (LA), Crystal Spring (MS), and Verona (MS).
The best performers in the Hammond trial have been:
• Chilly Chili
• Explosive Blast
• Explosive Ember
• Explosive Ignite
• Calico
• Red Missile
• Black Pearl
• Purple Flash
• Little Elf
• Sweet Pickle
See the photo gallery here:
http://www.lsuagcenter.com/en/lawn_garden/commercial_horticulture/ornamentals/top+10+varieties+rated+in+2007+and+2008+ornamental+pepper+trials.htm
Mulch Demonstration at Hammond (from Allen Owings)
A demonstration planting of different mulches available for landscape contractors and home gardeners was implemented in late August 2008 at the LSU AgCenter’s Hammond Research Station. Mulches were applied to a depth of two inches. Visual appearance ratings of the different mulches were taken in October, November and December. Weed suppression ratings for the different mulches were taken in October, November and December. See the ratings scale below. The preliminary data listed is a pooled mean of the three month data. More information forthcoming.
Mulch Visual Rating Weed Suppression Rating
Control (no mulch) 1.0 2.7
Pine Bark 3.0 4.2
Rainbow Mulch 4.0 4.4
Loblolly Pine Straw (bale) 4.4 5.0
Red Eucalyptus 4.5 4.8
Eucalyptus 3.0 5.0
Colored Red Mulch 4.2 4.8
Dupont Redwood Rubber 4.5 4.2
Dupont Earthtone Rubber 4.5 4.2
Softscape Chestnut 4.2 4.0
Softscape Sienna 4.8 4.4
Softscape Gold Durado 4.8 4.4
Loblolly Pine Straw (bag) 3.8 4.0
Pine Bark Nuggets 3.0 3.8
Florida Gold – Midnight Black 3.5 3.5
Florida Gold – Rouge Red 4.0 3.4
Cypress (grade B) 2.8 3.0
Visual rating is based on appearance of the mulch (1=worst, 5=best).
Weed suppression rating is based on number of weeds present in plots (1=worst, 5=best).
Softscape Mulch – www.softmulch.com
Dupont Rubber Mulch – http://www2.dupont.com/Garden_Products/en_US/products/mulch.html
Florida Gold Mulch – http://floridamulchonline.com/main.php?main=mulch
Commercial Ornamental Horticulture Events Upcoming
December 10
BRLA Quarterly Meeting
Mike Anderson’s
Baton Rouge, LA
Contact Allen Owings at aowings@agcenter.lsu.edu
December 12
SE Louisiana Nursery Christmas Party
Windmill Nursery
Folsom, LA
Contact Annie Coco at acoco@agcenter.lsu.edu
December 14
Azalea Society of America – LA Chapter Christmas Party
Margie Jenkins House
Amite, LA
Contact Allen Owings at aowings@agcenter.lsu.edu
December 16
Nursery Focus Group Meeting – Promotion/Marketing
LSU AgCenter Office
Amite, LA
Contact Annie Coco at acoco@agcenter.lsu.edu
December 18
New Orleans Horticulture Society Monthly Meeting
City Park Botanical Gardens
New Orleans, LA
2 0 0 9
January 6
La Turfgrass Association Annual Conference
Lawton Room at Tiger Stadium
Baton Rouge, LA
Contact Tom Koske at tkoske@agcenter.lsu.edu
January 15
Louisiana State Horticulture Society Annual Conference
Hammond Research Station
Hammond, LA
Contact Ed Bush at ebush@agcenter.lsu.edu
January 29-31
Gulf States Horticultural Expo and Educational Seminars
Outlaw Convention Center
Mobile, AL
www.gshe.org
February 12-13
Southern Nursery Association Trade Show / Research Conf.
Cobb Galleria
Atlanta, GA
www.sna.org
February 19
Landscape Pest Management Workshop
Hammond Research Station
Hammond, LA
Contact Allen Owings at aowings@agcenter.lsu.edu
March 12-13
LNLA Certified Nursery & Landscape Professional Training
Burden Center
Baton Rouge, LA
Contact Dan Gill at dgill@agcenter.lsu.edu
April 3
Cool Season Garden Open House for Green Industry Professionals
Hammond Research Station
Hammond, LA
Contact Allen Owings at aowings@agcenter.lsu.edu
April 4
Louisiana Open House at SFA Mast Arboretum
Nacogdoches, TX
Contact Severn Doughty at scd357@cmaaccess.com
May 26-28
Louisiana State Horticulture Society Spring Tour
Locations TBA in Mississippi
Contact Allen Owings at aowings@agcenter.lsu.edu
June 18-19
LNLA Certified Nursery & Landscape Professional Training
Ira Nelson Horticulture Center at ULL
Lafayette, LA
Contact Dan Gill at dgill@agcenter.lsu.edu
July 22-23
Mid South Greenhouse, Retail and Landscape Conference
Eagle Ridge Conference Center
Raymond, MS
Contact Jan Winter at msnlaexec@aol.com
August 13-16
Nursery/Landscape Expo
Convention Center
Dallas, TX
www.txnla.org
September 3
NW LA Nursery Association Meeting
Ewing Irrigation
Shreveport, LA
Contact Severn Doughty at scd357@cmaaccess.com
September 17-18
LNLA Certified Nursery & Landscape Professional Training
City Park Botanical Garden – Garden Study Room
New Orleans, LA
Contact Dan Gill at dgill@agcenter.lsu.edu
November 19
NW LA Nursery Association Meeting
American Rose Center
Shreveport, LA
Contact Severn Doughty at scd357@cmaaccess.com
