Friday, December 17, 2010
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Field trip to Brandywine Valley Museum
Weather: Snow flurries
Well, the morning was more scouting. The highlight of the day was a trip to the Brandywine Valley Museum. Well, it doesnt sound particularly thrilling, but turns out they have an excellent collection of paintings by both N.C Wyeth and his son Andrew Wyeth. N.C Wyeth is well known for his illustrations for Treasure Island, a book I love. I was completely surprised when I walked around a corner and saw them. So all in all a good trip.
Thats Alex Giwi and Woon Sung, both internationals braving the snow. And bad ass Captain Bill Bones
Well, the morning was more scouting. The highlight of the day was a trip to the Brandywine Valley Museum. Well, it doesnt sound particularly thrilling, but turns out they have an excellent collection of paintings by both N.C Wyeth and his son Andrew Wyeth. N.C Wyeth is well known for his illustrations for Treasure Island, a book I love. I was completely surprised when I walked around a corner and saw them. So all in all a good trip.
Monday, December 13, 2010
Rose pruning
Weather: High of 41oF. Snow in the morning, but none of it really accumulated.
First thing in the morning we watered the Poinsettias and collected some cottony cushion scale from the infected Artemisia to feed to the Vadelia beetles. After that, we went to the nursery to start pruning roses. IPM has a plot at the nursery where they are conducting trials for blackspot resistance. I've done plenty of rose pruning at the Wellington BGs rose garden so it was familiar. Though I must say Ive never pruned in the snow before!
The roses are fairly young as the trial is only a year or two old. And for that reason the pruning was fairly easy, plenty of fresh healthy canes to work with. I pruned with the principles I learnt in Wellington; first pruning out dead diseased and dying (pruning 101), crossing and obviously weak or old canes; then pruning (ideally) the remaining 3-6 into a open vase form with buds facing outwards; then clearing out leaves and debris from around the crowns. In Wellington we would take the extra step to brush the crowns lightly with a stiff wire brush in order to clean them up and encourage budding. But we didn't have a wire brush so we skipped this step. Not crucial, and anyway, as noted the roses are relatively young and vigorous. And well, they're an IPM trial. Dare I say it, they're not meant to be well treated. I
Apart from being a tad cold, it was fun. I enjoy rose pruning. Especially when its not the 300 or so beds that Wellington has (Wellington does do a very good rose garden). The trial beds are much smaller and we got more than half done before lunch. We will finish the rest tomorrow morning.
In the arvo me and Carolyn collected samples from some fungus that are growing on one of the large copper beech on oak knoll. I had admired the tree before from a distance, but getting close you quickly realise that there is a lot of damage on the trunk, including a lot of carved graffitti... Its a shame because it is a beautiful speciman.
We also collected some samples from the main conservatory Poinsettia beds to send off and then did a bit more scouting for the arvo.
First thing in the morning we watered the Poinsettias and collected some cottony cushion scale from the infected Artemisia to feed to the Vadelia beetles. After that, we went to the nursery to start pruning roses. IPM has a plot at the nursery where they are conducting trials for blackspot resistance. I've done plenty of rose pruning at the Wellington BGs rose garden so it was familiar. Though I must say Ive never pruned in the snow before!
The roses are fairly young as the trial is only a year or two old. And for that reason the pruning was fairly easy, plenty of fresh healthy canes to work with. I pruned with the principles I learnt in Wellington; first pruning out dead diseased and dying (pruning 101), crossing and obviously weak or old canes; then pruning (ideally) the remaining 3-6 into a open vase form with buds facing outwards; then clearing out leaves and debris from around the crowns. In Wellington we would take the extra step to brush the crowns lightly with a stiff wire brush in order to clean them up and encourage budding. But we didn't have a wire brush so we skipped this step. Not crucial, and anyway, as noted the roses are relatively young and vigorous. And well, they're an IPM trial. Dare I say it, they're not meant to be well treated. I
Apart from being a tad cold, it was fun. I enjoy rose pruning. Especially when its not the 300 or so beds that Wellington has (Wellington does do a very good rose garden). The trial beds are much smaller and we got more than half done before lunch. We will finish the rest tomorrow morning.
In the arvo me and Carolyn collected samples from some fungus that are growing on one of the large copper beech on oak knoll. I had admired the tree before from a distance, but getting close you quickly realise that there is a lot of damage on the trunk, including a lot of carved graffitti... Its a shame because it is a beautiful speciman.
Friday, December 10, 2010
Snow! And finding new unidentified bugs...
Weather: High of 35oF. Snow flurries in the afternoon, but none of it stuck.
In the morning Carolyn and I picked up the compost tea buckets and checked the mouse traps in B1. Nothing caught... After that we scouted the other 14 house, which consists of five smaller houses containing a mixture of Tims ferns and Kats succulents in different climates. The main pests we found were soft brown scale and mealy bug. Keely also found two more unknown mealys... And I found a scale on the ferns that I wasn't sure about. I couldn't tell if it was alive or dead, and the male casings looked similar to bois duvel scale except no females were present. So add them to the list of unknown bugs. Ha.
After lunch I got a chance to look under the microscope at the unknowns. The scale on the fern turned out to be alive, and with a little research in "Scale insects of Pennsylvania greenhouses" (an old and rare book according to Mike), figured out that it is most likely Fern Scale, or Pinnaspis aspidistrae. http://www.entomology.umn.edu/cues/inter/inmine/Scalef.html
http://ipm.ncsu.edu/AG136/scale3.html
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ch195
The two unknown mealybugs are, well, still unknown. I couldn't find any likely candidates in any books, and haven't come across a key that I would be able to follow (they get very technical...). So theyll go in the fridge and Ill ask Mike when I next see him. I will try to get photos up of them.
In the morning Carolyn and I picked up the compost tea buckets and checked the mouse traps in B1. Nothing caught... After that we scouted the other 14 house, which consists of five smaller houses containing a mixture of Tims ferns and Kats succulents in different climates. The main pests we found were soft brown scale and mealy bug. Keely also found two more unknown mealys... And I found a scale on the ferns that I wasn't sure about. I couldn't tell if it was alive or dead, and the male casings looked similar to bois duvel scale except no females were present. So add them to the list of unknown bugs. Ha.
After lunch I got a chance to look under the microscope at the unknowns. The scale on the fern turned out to be alive, and with a little research in "Scale insects of Pennsylvania greenhouses" (an old and rare book according to Mike), figured out that it is most likely Fern Scale, or Pinnaspis aspidistrae. http://www.entomology.umn.edu/cues/inter/inmine/Scalef.html
http://ipm.ncsu.edu/AG136/scale3.html
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ch195
The two unknown mealybugs are, well, still unknown. I couldn't find any likely candidates in any books, and haven't come across a key that I would be able to follow (they get very technical...). So theyll go in the fridge and Ill ask Mike when I next see him. I will try to get photos up of them.
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Tying wreaths and mulberry whitefly
Weather: high of 32oF, or 0oC! The first day Ive noticed where the expected high is 0.
In the morning me and Carolyn delivered compost tea to Mark at the Pierce Dupont house and also Mary in the potting shed. We didn't have to prepare anymore as none is needed tomorrow.
At 9 we went to a wreath making class with Mary Allinson. I hadnt made a wreath before, so it was fun to do a learning session about them. Wreaths, and for that matter all christmas decorations, seem to be a very northern hemisphere tradition. I cant really remember too many people making them in NZ. But well, Christmas in NZ is in the summer, and wreaths and evergreen decorations do fit more brightening up a winter landscape.
Wreaths in concept are easy to make, simplytwiring evergreen foliage and decorations to a frame. But like any floral arrangment, there is a huge range of combinations, styles, and ways of making them. We made 12 inch diameter wreaths, which are quite small. the first step is to attach your wire to the frame, and then lay a bunch of greenery onto the frame and attach it to the frame by wrapping the wire around. It is then simply a matter of adding overlapping bunchs of greenery. I used a combination of white pine, blue spruce and douglas fir as my backing. After your done with the backing you can add accents and decorations such as bows. I used a variegated american holly and some winterberry holly as accents, and didn't add and bows or bells and whistles. I was pleases with the end result, with my only criticism being the the winterberry holly made it look a little similar to the boxes I made for Christmas which I'm sick of. Still, it was a fun to make. Other people made all sorts of combinations, and they all looked good. It is definitely a skill that I will take with me, I would love to do Christmas displays somewhere like the Wellington Botanic gardens.
Heres some photos
After lunch Keely and I went and scouted the Pierce Du Pont house. It hasn't been scouted in awhile! There was lots of two spotted spider mite, mealy bug and also a bunch of thrips on the Holly Fern. And we also found two new unidentified... scales? One lot on the underside of some Azalea leaves, Small (3mm), green, flat oval disks with a waxy fringe. And then another lot on the underside of a Chamaedorea, small (2mm), black with an white waxy coating.
When we got back we asked Mike about the bugs. His hint was, "its not a scale". After a bit of guess work we came to whitefly. And after we consulted a book we worked out that the black 'scale' was mulberry whitefly. Tetraleurodes mori, bugguide, Whitefly. As The first 'scale' remains unidentified, but it is most likely another species of whitefly. I will try to get photos, though it could be difficult.
In the morning me and Carolyn delivered compost tea to Mark at the Pierce Dupont house and also Mary in the potting shed. We didn't have to prepare anymore as none is needed tomorrow.
At 9 we went to a wreath making class with Mary Allinson. I hadnt made a wreath before, so it was fun to do a learning session about them. Wreaths, and for that matter all christmas decorations, seem to be a very northern hemisphere tradition. I cant really remember too many people making them in NZ. But well, Christmas in NZ is in the summer, and wreaths and evergreen decorations do fit more brightening up a winter landscape.
Wreaths in concept are easy to make, simplytwiring evergreen foliage and decorations to a frame. But like any floral arrangment, there is a huge range of combinations, styles, and ways of making them. We made 12 inch diameter wreaths, which are quite small. the first step is to attach your wire to the frame, and then lay a bunch of greenery onto the frame and attach it to the frame by wrapping the wire around. It is then simply a matter of adding overlapping bunchs of greenery. I used a combination of white pine, blue spruce and douglas fir as my backing. After your done with the backing you can add accents and decorations such as bows. I used a variegated american holly and some winterberry holly as accents, and didn't add and bows or bells and whistles. I was pleases with the end result, with my only criticism being the the winterberry holly made it look a little similar to the boxes I made for Christmas which I'm sick of. Still, it was a fun to make. Other people made all sorts of combinations, and they all looked good. It is definitely a skill that I will take with me, I would love to do Christmas displays somewhere like the Wellington Botanic gardens.
Heres some photos
After lunch Keely and I went and scouted the Pierce Du Pont house. It hasn't been scouted in awhile! There was lots of two spotted spider mite, mealy bug and also a bunch of thrips on the Holly Fern. And we also found two new unidentified... scales? One lot on the underside of some Azalea leaves, Small (3mm), green, flat oval disks with a waxy fringe. And then another lot on the underside of a Chamaedorea, small (2mm), black with an white waxy coating.
When we got back we asked Mike about the bugs. His hint was, "its not a scale". After a bit of guess work we came to whitefly. And after we consulted a book we worked out that the black 'scale' was mulberry whitefly. Tetraleurodes mori, bugguide, Whitefly. As The first 'scale' remains unidentified, but it is most likely another species of whitefly. I will try to get photos, though it could be difficult.
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Coconut Mealybug, Nipaecoccus nipae.
Weather: Clear, cool.
First thing, we made compost tea. After that me and Carolyn finished scouting 14I and the Palm house. Both 14I and the palm house have plenty of soft brown scale (usually on Anthuriums or Philodendrons) and Mealybug sp. There were also plenty of Aphids in the palm house on the Alocasias and a Heliconia sp. I also found more of the unidentified mealy/scale in 14I.
After lunch I got a chance to ask Mike Leventry what he thought the unidentified mealy/scale was. He narrowed it down to most likely being mealy (Pseudococcus) after flipping an adult specimen and seeing legs waving in the air. From there we went to the resource books. Still, the giant tombs (Mealy insects of California etc) are useful if you have an idea of what your looking for, but if your just looking for photos theyre not the place to go. Instead they are filled with technical descriptions and drawings of the mealy undersides. But, by chance I was flipping through and found a photo of the unidentified. It is coconut mealybug, or Nipaecoccus nipae. After a little research on the net I found this Coconut mealybug. Good info. And from the pictures it seems like it can be a serious problem.
So, good to have IDed it. But as Mike pointed out, its important only for curiosities sake. From a control viewpoint, figuring out that it is a soft bodied mealybug that is inside is enough to say that we would most likely control it with horticultural oil or a generalist beneficial predator. If it was outside a positive ID would be more important as we would have to work out what stage of its life cycle it was at with growing degree days (on which I will write more later). Scale and mealy are most susceptible to control as crawlers.
First thing, we made compost tea. After that me and Carolyn finished scouting 14I and the Palm house. Both 14I and the palm house have plenty of soft brown scale (usually on Anthuriums or Philodendrons) and Mealybug sp. There were also plenty of Aphids in the palm house on the Alocasias and a Heliconia sp. I also found more of the unidentified mealy/scale in 14I.
After lunch I got a chance to ask Mike Leventry what he thought the unidentified mealy/scale was. He narrowed it down to most likely being mealy (Pseudococcus) after flipping an adult specimen and seeing legs waving in the air. From there we went to the resource books. Still, the giant tombs (Mealy insects of California etc) are useful if you have an idea of what your looking for, but if your just looking for photos theyre not the place to go. Instead they are filled with technical descriptions and drawings of the mealy undersides. But, by chance I was flipping through and found a photo of the unidentified. It is coconut mealybug, or Nipaecoccus nipae. After a little research on the net I found this Coconut mealybug. Good info. And from the pictures it seems like it can be a serious problem.
So, good to have IDed it. But as Mike pointed out, its important only for curiosities sake. From a control viewpoint, figuring out that it is a soft bodied mealybug that is inside is enough to say that we would most likely control it with horticultural oil or a generalist beneficial predator. If it was outside a positive ID would be more important as we would have to work out what stage of its life cycle it was at with growing degree days (on which I will write more later). Scale and mealy are most susceptible to control as crawlers.
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Birthing wasps
Weather: High of 34oF. Over night low of 25oF, or -3oC. Getting cold
Feeling a little bit sick in the morning. Nothing major, just glands up and feeling a tad gross. First thing this morning, made some compost tea. After that me and Keely took some soil samples from the Poinsettias on the west walkway of the main conservatory. A large portion of the 'Orion Red' cultivar have started to crash. The biggest symptom being wilting, even when the soil media is still moist. The most likely culprit is Pythium root rot. The samples that we took will be sent to the University of Delaware for confirmation (though Mike seemed pretty confident...). Without having the resources of a university, a good way to diagnose a root rot (admittedly unspecific...) is to gently pull the roots. If the outer layer slides back then a root rot (of some form) is present. When we arrived back at the lab I read a little about Pythium in the excellent book Diseases of herbaceous perennials. Pythium, like Phytophtheras, used to be classified as a fungus. They have recently been reclassified and are now in a completely different kingdom, the Chomalvolata. But are still thought of as being fungus-like organisms. Plant diseases are an area I feel I could learn a lot more.
After lunch me and Carolyn scouted Joyce's 14 house and the Palm house. I found more of the unidentified scale, this time a slightly larger colony. I still have to get Mike to have a look at it. I also found some more parasitised brown soft scale. The scale are parasitised by a tiny wasp that lays an egg directly into the scale. The grub then proceeds to eat the scale from the inside out. Last week I found a parasitised specimen, and accidentally squashed it while trying to dissect it under the microscope. Today though, I was a little more successful! I found a parasitised scale (not hard, theres a few of them. You can tell them apart from normal scale as they're a darker colour and slightly swollen). I then gently pulled the scale casing away under the microscope using a scalpel. A bit of prising, and there was a kinda startled looking wasp. Which then started to run off (I guess its wings weren't developed fully)... So I put it in a petri dish with some alcohol. Sorry wasp. Felt a bit bad killing beneficials... But now I have to ID it.... It is most likely a species of Aphytis, Coccophagus, Encarsia or Metaphycus (from http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7408.html).
Feeling a little bit sick in the morning. Nothing major, just glands up and feeling a tad gross. First thing this morning, made some compost tea. After that me and Keely took some soil samples from the Poinsettias on the west walkway of the main conservatory. A large portion of the 'Orion Red' cultivar have started to crash. The biggest symptom being wilting, even when the soil media is still moist. The most likely culprit is Pythium root rot. The samples that we took will be sent to the University of Delaware for confirmation (though Mike seemed pretty confident...). Without having the resources of a university, a good way to diagnose a root rot (admittedly unspecific...) is to gently pull the roots. If the outer layer slides back then a root rot (of some form) is present. When we arrived back at the lab I read a little about Pythium in the excellent book Diseases of herbaceous perennials. Pythium, like Phytophtheras, used to be classified as a fungus. They have recently been reclassified and are now in a completely different kingdom, the Chomalvolata. But are still thought of as being fungus-like organisms. Plant diseases are an area I feel I could learn a lot more.
After lunch me and Carolyn scouted Joyce's 14 house and the Palm house. I found more of the unidentified scale, this time a slightly larger colony. I still have to get Mike to have a look at it. I also found some more parasitised brown soft scale. The scale are parasitised by a tiny wasp that lays an egg directly into the scale. The grub then proceeds to eat the scale from the inside out. Last week I found a parasitised specimen, and accidentally squashed it while trying to dissect it under the microscope. Today though, I was a little more successful! I found a parasitised scale (not hard, theres a few of them. You can tell them apart from normal scale as they're a darker colour and slightly swollen). I then gently pulled the scale casing away under the microscope using a scalpel. A bit of prising, and there was a kinda startled looking wasp. Which then started to run off (I guess its wings weren't developed fully)... So I put it in a petri dish with some alcohol. Sorry wasp. Felt a bit bad killing beneficials... But now I have to ID it.... It is most likely a species of Aphytis, Coccophagus, Encarsia or Metaphycus (from http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7408.html).
Monday, December 6, 2010
Christmas field trip to Baltimore
Weather: Cool, high of 57oF, but with quite a wind chill factor.
Today was the Christmas field trip. We went down to Baltimore and visited the national aquarium. The aquarium is located in the inner harbour of Baltimore, which is fairly upmarket (the bus driver pointed out some kondos that are at 500 grand and up...). Nice waterfront really, but from what I hear other parts of Baltimore can be pretty rough. The aquarium itself is an interesting building, very modern. It is built out over the water with lots of sharp angles. Almost reminded me of Te Papa in the sense that its not exactly easy on the eye. The exhibits inside however were very much what you'd expect from the national aquarium. Sharks, rays, turtles. They had some very good interpretations and displays, eg one on examples of natural selection. One aspect I enjoyed was that they didnt just focus on the attractive sea specimens (dolphins etc), and included plenty examples of freshwater fish both in the US and in other areas such as the amazon basin (including electric eels!). They exhibits spiraled up through the centre of the building until you reached the roof, which is a conservatory and aviary (with some sloths thrown into the mix), and then you spiraled back down again around the outside of the building, which had some excellent examples of reptiles, poison dart frogs etc. In a separate building there was an Australia exhibit. So all in all it was impressive and I enjoyed it. After lunch we had some time to wander around the waterfront. It was a good day, and now Ive seen all of the big cities in the area (NY, Philly, Baltimore and DC) .
Today was the Christmas field trip. We went down to Baltimore and visited the national aquarium. The aquarium is located in the inner harbour of Baltimore, which is fairly upmarket (the bus driver pointed out some kondos that are at 500 grand and up...). Nice waterfront really, but from what I hear other parts of Baltimore can be pretty rough. The aquarium itself is an interesting building, very modern. It is built out over the water with lots of sharp angles. Almost reminded me of Te Papa in the sense that its not exactly easy on the eye. The exhibits inside however were very much what you'd expect from the national aquarium. Sharks, rays, turtles. They had some very good interpretations and displays, eg one on examples of natural selection. One aspect I enjoyed was that they didnt just focus on the attractive sea specimens (dolphins etc), and included plenty examples of freshwater fish both in the US and in other areas such as the amazon basin (including electric eels!). They exhibits spiraled up through the centre of the building until you reached the roof, which is a conservatory and aviary (with some sloths thrown into the mix), and then you spiraled back down again around the outside of the building, which had some excellent examples of reptiles, poison dart frogs etc. In a separate building there was an Australia exhibit. So all in all it was impressive and I enjoyed it. After lunch we had some time to wander around the waterfront. It was a good day, and now Ive seen all of the big cities in the area (NY, Philly, Baltimore and DC) .
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Scouting
Weather: Clear and cool, High of 420F, low of 29.
In the morning I scouted Juergens houses, G37b and G37c. G37c was fairly clean as it is mostly bulbs (Velthemia etc), but I did find some two spotted spider mites on the Eupatorium. G37b has a lot of the non hardy standards that longwood grows. It had a fair amount of pests over the summer and there was a lot of dead aphids, scales and there combined honeydew and sooty mold. But, the Lantana standards had citrus mealybug, thrips and green looper caterpillers (that were pupating and had already done damage). I also found spider mites and thrips on the Cestrum newellii,on one quite severly.
After scouting me and Carolyn did our project for the hour or so before lunch.
In the morning I scouted Juergens houses, G37b and G37c. G37c was fairly clean as it is mostly bulbs (Velthemia etc), but I did find some two spotted spider mites on the Eupatorium. G37b has a lot of the non hardy standards that longwood grows. It had a fair amount of pests over the summer and there was a lot of dead aphids, scales and there combined honeydew and sooty mold. But, the Lantana standards had citrus mealybug, thrips and green looper caterpillers (that were pupating and had already done damage). I also found spider mites and thrips on the Cestrum newellii,on one quite severly.
After scouting me and Carolyn did our project for the hour or so before lunch.
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Weather: Rain! And pretty windy as well.
Carolyn was away sick today. First thing in the morning me and Keely delivered compost tea to Joyce. Keely then had to go to do trailer backing training so I worked on the greenwall beneficials project. Here is an excerpt:
Green wall size: 4072 ft2, 378m2
Expected pests
Spidermites
Aphids
Mealybug
Thrips
Whitefly
Biological controls of:
Spidermites
Neoseiulus californicus (Syn Amblyseius californicus), Cali Predatory Mite.
o Opitmum temperatures 55-105 oF. Goes into diapause in less than 11 hours sunlight.
o Sterling recommends release of 2500-5000 mites per acre at first sign of spidermites. Therefore the rate for the green wall is 233-467 mites. Biobest recommends preventitive 1-2mites /m2 (378-756 mites for the greenwall) every 2-3 weeks.
• Available from Sterling Insectary
The minimum order is 5000 mites @ $65
• Available from Biobest (as Amblyseius californicus)
Available per 2000 mites (nymphs and adults) in 250ml bottle.
• Available from Syngenta
Available per 2000 mites in 100ml bottle.
Galendromus occidentalis, Western Predatory Mite.
o Optimum temperatures 60-120oF. Goes into diapause in less than 11 hours sunlight.
o Sterling recommends Release at 2500-5000 mites per acre at first sign of spidermites. Therefore the rate for the green wall is 233-467 mites.
• Available from Sterling Insectary
The minimum order is 5000 mites @ $65
Thrips
Orius spp, minute pirate bug.
o Do best in temperatures above 59oF and 60% humidity.
o They can be introduced preventatively if a food source (pollen or prey) is present, at a rate of 1-2 per m2. Therefore the amount needed for the greenwall is 378-756 bugs.
Available from Biobest
• Available per 500 or 1000 in a bottle.
Available from Syngenta
Once the project is complete I will upload a copy. Most of the information (for example application rates) is coming from the company websites. biobest, syngenta-bioline, sterling insectary, insectary.com/lw/lacewing, beckerunderwood.com, bioworksinc
In the afternoon Me and Keely made more compost tea, and then finished taking photos of the Poinsettias. For the last hour of the day I did the project and looked up info on several pests in this excellent book (Pests and Disease of herbaceous perennials). I specifically looked up Scale (Coccids) and Mealy (Psuedococcids), as Joyce had stopped by earlier and quizzed me on the three most common mealybugs at Longwood (Longtailed, Citrus and Madeira). Interesting fact of the day. The biological control of Mealy bug Cryptolaemus montrouzieri (Mealy lady bug, Cryptolaemus montrouzieri) is not as effective a preventative control against Longtailed mealybug as against other species. This is due to the fact that unlike other species of mealy, Longtailed Mealy give birth to live young instead of laying eggs. Cryptolaemus requires mealy eggs to prompt it to lay its own eggs, which it lays in a mass of mealy eggs. This therefore means that control of Longtailed Mealy with Cryptolaemus will require subsequent reintroductions.
Carolyn was away sick today. First thing in the morning me and Keely delivered compost tea to Joyce. Keely then had to go to do trailer backing training so I worked on the greenwall beneficials project. Here is an excerpt:
Green wall size: 4072 ft2, 378m2
Expected pests
Spidermites
Aphids
Mealybug
Thrips
Whitefly
Biological controls of:
Spidermites
Neoseiulus californicus (Syn Amblyseius californicus), Cali Predatory Mite.
o Opitmum temperatures 55-105 oF. Goes into diapause in less than 11 hours sunlight.
o Sterling recommends release of 2500-5000 mites per acre at first sign of spidermites. Therefore the rate for the green wall is 233-467 mites. Biobest recommends preventitive 1-2mites /m2 (378-756 mites for the greenwall) every 2-3 weeks.
• Available from Sterling Insectary
The minimum order is 5000 mites @ $65
• Available from Biobest (as Amblyseius californicus)
Available per 2000 mites (nymphs and adults) in 250ml bottle.
• Available from Syngenta
Available per 2000 mites in 100ml bottle.
Galendromus occidentalis, Western Predatory Mite.
o Optimum temperatures 60-120oF. Goes into diapause in less than 11 hours sunlight.
o Sterling recommends Release at 2500-5000 mites per acre at first sign of spidermites. Therefore the rate for the green wall is 233-467 mites.
• Available from Sterling Insectary
The minimum order is 5000 mites @ $65
Thrips
Orius spp, minute pirate bug.
o Do best in temperatures above 59oF and 60% humidity.
o They can be introduced preventatively if a food source (pollen or prey) is present, at a rate of 1-2 per m2. Therefore the amount needed for the greenwall is 378-756 bugs.
Available from Biobest
• Available per 500 or 1000 in a bottle.
Available from Syngenta
Once the project is complete I will upload a copy. Most of the information (for example application rates) is coming from the company websites. biobest, syngenta-bioline, sterling insectary, insectary.com/lw/lacewing, beckerunderwood.com, bioworksinc
In the afternoon Me and Keely made more compost tea, and then finished taking photos of the Poinsettias. For the last hour of the day I did the project and looked up info on several pests in this excellent book (Pests and Disease of herbaceous perennials). I specifically looked up Scale (Coccids) and Mealy (Psuedococcids), as Joyce had stopped by earlier and quizzed me on the three most common mealybugs at Longwood (Longtailed, Citrus and Madeira). Interesting fact of the day. The biological control of Mealy bug Cryptolaemus montrouzieri (Mealy lady bug, Cryptolaemus montrouzieri) is not as effective a preventative control against Longtailed mealybug as against other species. This is due to the fact that unlike other species of mealy, Longtailed Mealy give birth to live young instead of laying eggs. Cryptolaemus requires mealy eggs to prompt it to lay its own eggs, which it lays in a mass of mealy eggs. This therefore means that control of Longtailed Mealy with Cryptolaemus will require subsequent reintroductions.
Monday, November 22, 2010
Christmas changeover day two
So I this morning the main conservatory was looking fairly bare. By the time I left at 6.30 most of the south, west and central passages were planted. In short, today was a lot of planting. Production was constantly bring up plants. The design for this year is a mixture of pinks and whites, silvers with some blue and red. The central walkway is a mixture of a pink Poinsettia, silver Senecio with a pink/white Hippeastrum poking through. There are christmas trees everywhere, the total was 72 for the entire gardens. the biggest are the 32 foot Gardeners tree outside, and the 28 foot trees in the east and main conservatories. Each tree has to be lit and decorated, though each of the main trees have their own teams so I am not involved. I feel like we achieved a lot today. Me and Emma planted a large bulk of the Poinsettias that are being planted on the North and west walkways.
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Christmas changeover day one!
Today was the first day of Christmas changeover. Had a nice relaxing Sunday, made some leek and potato soup with David and Amber, ate some delicious pastries... And then at 4.30 went into work... The objective of the Sunday night is to clear and prepare the beds in the main and east conservatories. This involves removing plants that are being saved, and ripping out and composting the rest. All horticulture staff, as well as the director and various office folk helps out with the Sunday night rip out. Which is pretty neat and makes for a fun atmosphere. After a briefing from Karl (mainly on health and safety stuff, wet floors etc) teams everywhere got to it. The perimeter guys were driving pallet movers with big bins for compost and soil, teams were ripping out and separating stakes and cane caps, another team was moving the Christmas tree in the west exhibition hall doors. And then as beds were cleared others were picking up plant debris, tilling, walking beds, raking beds, moving in trees... All in all, organised chaos. It was pretty cool to see it all progress.
For the duration of christmas changeover I am in working in a team with Tim (a PG) and led by Emma (a senior PG). Both awesome people and a lot of fun to work with, it was a good team to end up in. Though of course, whilst in a team it is easy to end up working all over the place. We really just worked where we were needed, but on paper we were responsible for working on the northeast corner of the orangery. For a good quarter of tonight me and Emma drove an electric cart around collected plants that were being saved and moving them to production. And then I ended up at different points of the night planting trees, clearing beds, walking and raking beds... We wound things up at about ten, went home and crashed out.
For the duration of christmas changeover I am in working in a team with Tim (a PG) and led by Emma (a senior PG). Both awesome people and a lot of fun to work with, it was a good team to end up in. Though of course, whilst in a team it is easy to end up working all over the place. We really just worked where we were needed, but on paper we were responsible for working on the northeast corner of the orangery. For a good quarter of tonight me and Emma drove an electric cart around collected plants that were being saved and moving them to production. And then I ended up at different points of the night planting trees, clearing beds, walking and raking beds... We wound things up at about ten, went home and crashed out.
Friday, November 19, 2010
Picking up christmas ornaments and doing Chrysanthemum multiplications
First thing today me, Alan, Sara and Koa went over to the barn to pick up Christmas ornaments. There were 96 boxes, and then some more to pull. Luckily we were able to use the box truck and take it over in a couple of loads. There are masses of christmas ornament in the Barn!
After lunch I did some mum multiplications in the hood. The list of mums required for next years festival has come out, so those that are currently in culture need to be divided and pushed for production. Multiplying is a simple process, just trying to get as many cuttings as possible from the whatever good plant material is in the test tube. The cuttings can be small, down to one node and they will still grow.
After lunch I did some mum multiplications in the hood. The list of mums required for next years festival has come out, so those that are currently in culture need to be divided and pushed for production. Multiplying is a simple process, just trying to get as many cuttings as possible from the whatever good plant material is in the test tube. The cuttings can be small, down to one node and they will still grow.
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Finished Christmas boxes!
OK, I realise I havent posted at all this week. But, well, thats because quite simply Ive being doing that same thing every day... Christmas planter boxes.. Yikes. But today by lunchtime we (me and Barritt) finished. It was a big job and It was mostly just me and Barritt. Once the boxes were filled with Douglas fir greenery we filled them in with Juniper branches, yellow Chamaecyparis, Winterberry holly (Ilex verticillata) and Red Twig Dogwood (Cornus sericea). They look really good and, dare I say it, festive. We made 106 in total and they will be placed in a various locations around the gardens, with the bulk of them being outside the conservatory.
After lunch Sara and I went over to the Kapf barn to start bringing over Christmas tree ornaments for the trees that Alan will be in charge of. Christmas changeover is this Sunday! Everyone in the gardens is very busy making final preparations.
After lunch Sara and I went over to the Kapf barn to start bringing over Christmas tree ornaments for the trees that Alan will be in charge of. Christmas changeover is this Sunday! Everyone in the gardens is very busy making final preparations.
Thursday, November 11, 2010
More chirstmas boxes...
Weather: Clear and sunny. High of 57oF. Low of 34 ( For those not familiar with Fahrenheit, freezing is 32)
Fairly uneventful day really... Morning, cleaning up in the lab. Washing test tubes etc. The process of washing the test tubes is: First unwrap the parafilm that seals the cap, and use alcohol to get any marker pen off. The tubes then go into the autoclave for ten minutes; not to sterilize but to soften the agar and plant material. After they come out the agar and plant material is emptied and they get loaded in to a dishwasher facing down. When washed they are stored facing down to avoid the accumulation of dust. They're then ready to be filled with agar and sterilised in the autoclave. The most eventful part of the morning was spilling a bucket of half liquid agar. Bah ha ha. Yikes, it was quite a mess but well, the floor needed to be mopped anyway.
In the afternoon we (Barrett, Emily, Kristen and myself) started filling the Christmas planter boxes with Douglas fir (Psuedotsuga sp) branches. To the greenery we will add accents such as red stem dogwood or winterberry holly. Fun really, much like floral arranging (which reminds me I have to sign up for a course...).
Douglas fir seems to be the predominant christmas tree here in the northeast. Funny really, Id always just kinda assumed that the ratty Pinus radiata saplings we use in NZ were the norm.
Fairly uneventful day really... Morning, cleaning up in the lab. Washing test tubes etc. The process of washing the test tubes is: First unwrap the parafilm that seals the cap, and use alcohol to get any marker pen off. The tubes then go into the autoclave for ten minutes; not to sterilize but to soften the agar and plant material. After they come out the agar and plant material is emptied and they get loaded in to a dishwasher facing down. When washed they are stored facing down to avoid the accumulation of dust. They're then ready to be filled with agar and sterilised in the autoclave. The most eventful part of the morning was spilling a bucket of half liquid agar. Bah ha ha. Yikes, it was quite a mess but well, the floor needed to be mopped anyway.
In the afternoon we (Barrett, Emily, Kristen and myself) started filling the Christmas planter boxes with Douglas fir (Psuedotsuga sp) branches. To the greenery we will add accents such as red stem dogwood or winterberry holly. Fun really, much like floral arranging (which reminds me I have to sign up for a course...).
Douglas fir seems to be the predominant christmas tree here in the northeast. Funny really, Id always just kinda assumed that the ratty Pinus radiata saplings we use in NZ were the norm.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Christmas boxes...
Weather: Cool and clear. Warm in the sun.
Sooo... Today was pretty simple really. It consisted mainly of preparing a bunch of planter boxes to put greenery (Douglas fir, Chamaecyparis, Ilex verticillata, red stem Cornus etc) in for the Christmas season. They will go on display in and outside the conservatory. Preparation was putting a liner in the bottom and chicken wire on top, and putting some small stones in the bottom to add weight and stability. The greenery will sit in the chicken wire. Simple task, but it took awhile as there were quite a few to complete! The liner and chicken wire had to first be cut to size and then stapled in.
After lunch a large shipment of Cyclamen came in, so I helped the production crew unload and take cardboard to the recycling center (which is looking very tidy for a change due to the new baler they've purchased). The Cyclamen were much the same as others Ive dealt with in NZ. Still plenty of Botrytis...
After that, back to boxes... Finished preparing them! But now we have to fill them with the greenery.
Sooo... Today was pretty simple really. It consisted mainly of preparing a bunch of planter boxes to put greenery (Douglas fir, Chamaecyparis, Ilex verticillata, red stem Cornus etc) in for the Christmas season. They will go on display in and outside the conservatory. Preparation was putting a liner in the bottom and chicken wire on top, and putting some small stones in the bottom to add weight and stability. The greenery will sit in the chicken wire. Simple task, but it took awhile as there were quite a few to complete! The liner and chicken wire had to first be cut to size and then stapled in.
After lunch a large shipment of Cyclamen came in, so I helped the production crew unload and take cardboard to the recycling center (which is looking very tidy for a change due to the new baler they've purchased). The Cyclamen were much the same as others Ive dealt with in NZ. Still plenty of Botrytis...
After that, back to boxes... Finished preparing them! But now we have to fill them with the greenery.
Monday, November 1, 2010
Research!
Weather: Cold and clear. First frost Ive seen.
Today I started in research. The research department consists of Alan Petrovich, Matt Taylor, Barret under Jim Harbridge (who is also the head of production). Plus all us students and interns. The research department introduces new plants and undertakes plant trials, oversee the tissue culture lab (used for multiplication and cleaning stock of disease), and also have some active breeding programs. While working in research I will mainly be working under Alan with the other students and seasonals. Alan mentioned that this month would involve a lot of tissue culture transfers and multiplications as well as some Christmas preparation work (the entire gardens are prepping for Christmas).
Today I started in research. The research department consists of Alan Petrovich, Matt Taylor, Barret under Jim Harbridge (who is also the head of production). Plus all us students and interns. The research department introduces new plants and undertakes plant trials, oversee the tissue culture lab (used for multiplication and cleaning stock of disease), and also have some active breeding programs. While working in research I will mainly be working under Alan with the other students and seasonals. Alan mentioned that this month would involve a lot of tissue culture transfers and multiplications as well as some Christmas preparation work (the entire gardens are prepping for Christmas).
Monday, October 25, 2010
Giving Lantana standards a haircut and staking paper weiss
Two main tasks today, giving the Lantana camara (Spanish Flag) standards a autumn cut back, and staking the pots of Narcissus papyraceus (Paper Whites). I started with the Lantanas. Longwood grows a lot of standards, with some of them being quite unusual. As Sharon said in a standards workshop a few months ago, nearly any herbaceous plant can be trained as a standard if it is given support and the correct pruning. Not too long ago I saw a chilli pepper standard in the north passage. Quirky and very cool. The Lantana standards are one of Longwoods standards (pun intended), being vigorous and performing reliably. They are displayed all over the place
cont...
cont...
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Field trip to Linville farms and Chaddsford winery
Weather: Overcast, cool with a breeze most of the day. Occasional warm sun.
So today was an all day field trip. We meet at 9 and then drove about 40 minutes to Linville orchard (Map). Going there I was under the impression that it would just be an apple orchard, and we'd maybe talk about techniques like pruning or something. But well Linville Orchard turned out to be more of an entertainment centre. Its fall, so there were masses of pumpkins, giant scarecrows, hayrides, mazes, and a lot of kids on school field trips. They also have a market and bakery selling things like apple cider donuts, pies and preserves. We got a tour from the farm manager in a tractor pulled trailer. We trundled around and occasionally he'd stop and talk about some aspect of the business. It was interesting as he talked very openly about finances. Linville seems quite opportunistic. Eg, they can no longer use fallen apples to make cider because someone in the state got e. coli. But rather than leave them to rot, they gather them and sell the to kids to slingshot at targets set up in a field. So after touring Linville and stopping for apple cider donuts and coffee we drove to Chaddsford winery, which is only about ten minutes down 1 from longwood.
At the winery we were given a tour of the facilities. I was a little surprised as they didn't actually have any vines (apart from a few demonstration) as they're at another site about 30 miles away. But we were shown the process (separating grapes from stalk, crushing, primary fermentation, casking, bottling etc), and she explained a little about different varieties and styles. After the tour we had a wine tasting. It was some of the first wine Ive drunk here ( I dont buy it here because the liquor shop is ages away). So fun to try some American wines. There were a couple I quite liked. One I hadn't tried before, warm apple cider wine. Was, ok. All in all a good day.
So today was an all day field trip. We meet at 9 and then drove about 40 minutes to Linville orchard (Map). Going there I was under the impression that it would just be an apple orchard, and we'd maybe talk about techniques like pruning or something. But well Linville Orchard turned out to be more of an entertainment centre. Its fall, so there were masses of pumpkins, giant scarecrows, hayrides, mazes, and a lot of kids on school field trips. They also have a market and bakery selling things like apple cider donuts, pies and preserves. We got a tour from the farm manager in a tractor pulled trailer. We trundled around and occasionally he'd stop and talk about some aspect of the business. It was interesting as he talked very openly about finances. Linville seems quite opportunistic. Eg, they can no longer use fallen apples to make cider because someone in the state got e. coli. But rather than leave them to rot, they gather them and sell the to kids to slingshot at targets set up in a field. So after touring Linville and stopping for apple cider donuts and coffee we drove to Chaddsford winery, which is only about ten minutes down 1 from longwood.
At the winery we were given a tour of the facilities. I was a little surprised as they didn't actually have any vines (apart from a few demonstration) as they're at another site about 30 miles away. But we were shown the process (separating grapes from stalk, crushing, primary fermentation, casking, bottling etc), and she explained a little about different varieties and styles. After the tour we had a wine tasting. It was some of the first wine Ive drunk here ( I dont buy it here because the liquor shop is ages away). So fun to try some American wines. There were a couple I quite liked. One I hadn't tried before, warm apple cider wine. Was, ok. All in all a good day.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Potting more bulbs with Juergen
Weather: Light rain until about midday. The overnight low was about 45oF, with a high of about 85. Its a little warmer at night thean usual, with the first frost aapparently occuring around the 17th. There is no frost forecast for at least ten days. Koa was saying the other day that the weather this year has been a little unusual, with a drought over summer and a wetter fall. So who knows what winter will bring.
So the morning was a bit of a mess today. After working with Jason yesterday I was meant to be working with Koa for the rest of the week. It took awhile to find him as he didn't have a radio or mobile today, and then at about 9am Juergen requested my help with bulbs. I'm not too sure where Ill be for the rest of the week, probably bulbs... Which is a bit of a shame as Koa is installing the Mum chandelier tomorrow which will be a fun project. Oh well.
So after moving to Juergens area we made a run over to abonde to stock up on peat and vermiculite, and we then made a few batches of soil.
And for the afternoon we potted bulbs. We potted about 50 Hippaestrum 'Minerva'. Juergen said Hippaestrums are his most expensive bulbs, at around $5 wholesale. This particular batch came from South Africa. Like the other bulbs, the are composted at the end of their season as there is not enough space or labour available to keep them... Pretty sad really. They were potted one to a pot in 6 inch pots. Hippaestrums need to be 2/3s out of the soil media rather than being buried, so we lifted bulbs and removed soil media by hand after the went through the filler.
After the Hippaestrums we potted some Tulipa linifolia, a species tulip that I hadn't heard of before. Tiny bulbs! Seven in a 4 inch pot. I cant wait to see it in flower. http://www.brentandbeckysbulbs.com/spring/productview/?sku=02-1423
Brent and Beckys bulbs is a company that Ive heard a lot about since Ive been here...
So the morning was a bit of a mess today. After working with Jason yesterday I was meant to be working with Koa for the rest of the week. It took awhile to find him as he didn't have a radio or mobile today, and then at about 9am Juergen requested my help with bulbs. I'm not too sure where Ill be for the rest of the week, probably bulbs... Which is a bit of a shame as Koa is installing the Mum chandelier tomorrow which will be a fun project. Oh well.
So after moving to Juergens area we made a run over to abonde to stock up on peat and vermiculite, and we then made a few batches of soil.
And for the afternoon we potted bulbs. We potted about 50 Hippaestrum 'Minerva'. Juergen said Hippaestrums are his most expensive bulbs, at around $5 wholesale. This particular batch came from South Africa. Like the other bulbs, the are composted at the end of their season as there is not enough space or labour available to keep them... Pretty sad really. They were potted one to a pot in 6 inch pots. Hippaestrums need to be 2/3s out of the soil media rather than being buried, so we lifted bulbs and removed soil media by hand after the went through the filler.
After the Hippaestrums we potted some Tulipa linifolia, a species tulip that I hadn't heard of before. Tiny bulbs! Seven in a 4 inch pot. I cant wait to see it in flower. http://www.brentandbeckysbulbs.com/spring/productview/?sku=02-1423
Brent and Beckys bulbs is a company that Ive heard a lot about since Ive been here...
Friday, October 15, 2010
Perennial plant conference
Weather: Overcast, cold wind!
So today was the perennial plant conference. Ive been looking forward to it for awhile now, and it lived up to its expectations. It was held at Swarthmore college, a liberal arts school (a very expensive school...) thats campus also incorporates the Scott arboretum (scottarboretum ). Its a beautiful campus, lots of stone buildings, artwork and mature trees.
The conference itself was about 400 plant geeks in one room. There were five speakers. This from perennialplantconference.org/
Eric “T” Fleisher is the director of horticulture at Battery Park City Parks Conservancy in lower Manhattan and a national leader in the field of sustainable horticulture
Dale Hendricks has been growing and propagating plants professionally since 1975 and has been honored with the American Horticulture Society’s Individual Commercial award and the Perennial Plant Association’s Young Professional award.
Holly Scoggins is an associate professor in the department of horticulture, and the director of the Hahn Horticulture Garden at Virginia Tech, where she teaches courses in greenhouse management, ornamental plant production and marketing, herbaceous landscape plants and public gardens.
So today was the perennial plant conference. Ive been looking forward to it for awhile now, and it lived up to its expectations. It was held at Swarthmore college, a liberal arts school (a very expensive school...) thats campus also incorporates the Scott arboretum (scottarboretum ). Its a beautiful campus, lots of stone buildings, artwork and mature trees.
The conference itself was about 400 plant geeks in one room. There were five speakers. This from perennialplantconference.org/
Eric “T” Fleisher is the director of horticulture at Battery Park City Parks Conservancy in lower Manhattan and a national leader in the field of sustainable horticulture
Dale Hendricks has been growing and propagating plants professionally since 1975 and has been honored with the American Horticulture Society’s Individual Commercial award and the Perennial Plant Association’s Young Professional award.
Holly Scoggins is an associate professor in the department of horticulture, and the director of the Hahn Horticulture Garden at Virginia Tech, where she teaches courses in greenhouse management, ornamental plant production and marketing, herbaceous landscape plants and public gardens.
John Greenlee is the owner and founder of Greenlee Nursery in Pomona, California, the largest native and ornamental grass nursery on the West Coast greenleenursery.com
Piet Oudolf is a native of the Netherlands, where since 1982 he and his wife Anya run a small specialized nursery and trial garden in the countryside near Humelo. He has designed numerous award winning gardens and public parks throughout Europe and in the United States. www.oudolf.com/piet-oudolf
They spoke in that order, with Piet being the biggest drawcard. To be cont
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Planting bulbs with Juergen
So my help is needed more elsewhere in production. Today (and I think for the rest of the week), I was with Juergen (?) in the G33 houses. Juergen is another of Longwood's international community and is originally from Germany. He looks after a variety of crops, including most of the tender woody container trees (Citrus etc) and Longwoods bulbs. Longwood orders around 500,000 spring bulbs per yer. I cant wait till Spring! Most of that order goes outside (and Ill be planting in the few weeks), but a Juergen plants about 100,000 in pots for the conservatory.
Monday, October 11, 2010
Working the mum field
Weather: Sunny, high of 80
Was working with Koa today. Whilst its certainly getting colder and rainier, theres still the occasional brilliant day. Nice change from Welly really, where even though its spring they're having hail... Work wise, today was a simple day. First off, checked the mums that we transported last week, mostly doing well but a couple had missed water over the weekend... Then went back to the field. I worked on grooming some Chrysanthemum pacificum that will be moved to display shortly. C. pacificum was new to me. It is native to the island of Honshu in Japan. It resembles a standard though its foliage is thicker and more leathery with a distinctly silver underside and margin. Its flowers yellow and more insignificant than most mum hybrids, and it being grown more for its foliage interest.
After I was finished with that, I composted some excess Salvia luecanthas and mums. Quite a shame to see them going to waste really...
Found quite a few Wooly Bears (a caterpillar). There are loads of them around at the moment. Apparently the severeness of the winter can be predicted by the length of their stripe. Pyrrharctia_isabella
Was working with Koa today. Whilst its certainly getting colder and rainier, theres still the occasional brilliant day. Nice change from Welly really, where even though its spring they're having hail... Work wise, today was a simple day. First off, checked the mums that we transported last week, mostly doing well but a couple had missed water over the weekend... Then went back to the field. I worked on grooming some Chrysanthemum pacificum that will be moved to display shortly. C. pacificum was new to me. It is native to the island of Honshu in Japan. It resembles a standard though its foliage is thicker and more leathery with a distinctly silver underside and margin. Its flowers yellow and more insignificant than most mum hybrids, and it being grown more for its foliage interest.
After I was finished with that, I composted some excess Salvia luecanthas and mums. Quite a shame to see them going to waste really...
Found quite a few Wooly Bears (a caterpillar). There are loads of them around at the moment. Apparently the severeness of the winter can be predicted by the length of their stripe. Pyrrharctia_isabella
Monday, October 4, 2010
Moving mums with Koa and Dean
Weather: Rainy and cold!
So this morning was changeover day, geez it comes around quick! This time Im rotating back through production, and first off Im back with Koa in the mum field. I have hand written entries of my last rotation with Koa which I must write up! Koa runs the mum (Chrysanthemum) fields in the nursery on the other side of highway 1. While Yoko is creating the 1000 bloom Koa is in charge of producing the other forms. This year the include spirals, basket spheres (both large and small), columns, cascades, cloud forms, topiary forms (butterflies)... Its interesting to rotate through again after two months and gives a lot more perspective on the process. Last time I rotated through we (with a team of seasonals who have now left) were doing a lot of training and tying stems down. Since then they have been grown on and trained more, then sheared or pinched. That's a very simplified explanation of a process as all the forms and cultivars are different. Some stretch better, some have to be sprayed with growth regulator, some bud earlier etc... So now everything is budding up and we are moving pretty much everything over to the main nursery complex, where they will then get moved into the conservatory for the mum festival starting later this month.
This month will also see the first frost sometime around the 15th. One thing that I'm not used to is the winterising of the water systems, irrigation etc. Here the water in the pipes freezes and cracks, and for that reason a lot of irrigation systems (eg the mum fields) are closed down and the systems blown out.
So. Work undertaken today was moving mums.... We moved all the cascades with the boxtruck in the morning. Mums are fairly brittle and fragile, and the pots aren't light, so it took a degree of care. And then moved some of the bigger baskets in the afternoon with the bigger truck. It isn't exactly an easy task. Two to a truck and loaded by the bobcat. There is a custom made Chrysanthemum production facility in the works which would be located next to the G33 houses in Longwood proper which would cut down on all the backwards and forwards driving. But well, it probably wont be completed for a few years yet. It is needed though! Apparently Yokos 1000 bloom mum will barely fit out the doors of her current glasshouse.
Some photos
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| Koa and his cascades |
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Unionville fair judging
Weather: Pissing down!
So. Today was a sort of fieldtrip. All the students helped out with judging at the Unionville fair which was held at Landhope farms just down the road on 926. As mentioned before, the weather wasnt so hot. At first I thought the fair would be cancelled, but it turned out it was held in a big barn. The Unionville fair is fairly large, with everyone from kindergaartern kids to adults entering in a range of areas from photography to silage and corn. It was very much a farm agricultural fair. Today was just judging day so there wasnt to many people and when we got there a lot of it was still being set up. I ended up judging 'youth specimen flowers' with Brian Trader (my program coordinator) and Nicole (a PG). Twas good. But it hard be to critical when your judging a 4 year olds 'favourite flower'. Ha.
There was some really good entries though. I loved watching the old time judges of the corn and silage. Scent, texture, it all counts.
So. Today was a sort of fieldtrip. All the students helped out with judging at the Unionville fair which was held at Landhope farms just down the road on 926. As mentioned before, the weather wasnt so hot. At first I thought the fair would be cancelled, but it turned out it was held in a big barn. The Unionville fair is fairly large, with everyone from kindergaartern kids to adults entering in a range of areas from photography to silage and corn. It was very much a farm agricultural fair. Today was just judging day so there wasnt to many people and when we got there a lot of it was still being set up. I ended up judging 'youth specimen flowers' with Brian Trader (my program coordinator) and Nicole (a PG). Twas good. But it hard be to critical when your judging a 4 year olds 'favourite flower'. Ha.
There was some really good entries though. I loved watching the old time judges of the corn and silage. Scent, texture, it all counts.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Autumn leaves & Christmas preparation
Weather: Rainy throughout the day, sometimes heavy. High of 81oF.
Started at 7, and first thing we blew off in front of the visitors center. The trees out front are a two Honey locusts (Gleditsia tricanthos) and a row of Katsura trees (Cercidiphyllum japonicum). Katsura are beautiful trees, and their flowers smell like candy floss in the Autumn! You catch the occasional sickly swift waft on the breeze. But they've also dropped their leaves much earlier than anything else, and are looking a bit bare compared to everything else. So lots to blow...
After blowing it started to rain and Nick, Emily and I got into making up the square wreaths for the Christmas display. Cutting foam to size, wiring it on and then covering them with moss to give a background. Time consuming, but also a good activity for the rainy day.
At lunchtime there was a brown bag presentation given by a visiting research assistant from Guelph university in Canada. He talked about Guelph and the research trials he has been involved in at the university. Very interesting. One plant he showed a slide of was a Amorphophallus sp. Interesting, I just saw an article in Stuff.co.nz about a Amorphophallus that is blooming at the Begonia House in Wellington. Flowers-pungent-smell-of-rotting-flesh
Started at 7, and first thing we blew off in front of the visitors center. The trees out front are a two Honey locusts (Gleditsia tricanthos) and a row of Katsura trees (Cercidiphyllum japonicum). Katsura are beautiful trees, and their flowers smell like candy floss in the Autumn! You catch the occasional sickly swift waft on the breeze. But they've also dropped their leaves much earlier than anything else, and are looking a bit bare compared to everything else. So lots to blow...
After blowing it started to rain and Nick, Emily and I got into making up the square wreaths for the Christmas display. Cutting foam to size, wiring it on and then covering them with moss to give a background. Time consuming, but also a good activity for the rainy day.
At lunchtime there was a brown bag presentation given by a visiting research assistant from Guelph university in Canada. He talked about Guelph and the research trials he has been involved in at the university. Very interesting. One plant he showed a slide of was a Amorphophallus sp. Interesting, I just saw an article in Stuff.co.nz about a Amorphophallus that is blooming at the Begonia House in Wellington. Flowers-pungent-smell-of-rotting-flesh
Monday, September 27, 2010
Making Christmas ornaments
Weather: Rainy! sometimes steady, sometime not, but consistent for the whole day. First time in awhile.
This week is the last week of September. Yikes, has gone pretty quick. This week Im working with Nick Tomlin and Bobs team. Nick looks after the visitors centre gardens and the carpark and main entrance.
Whilst I was meant to be with Nick, I was asked early on to go help in the east plaza, or more correctly the east conservatory. We were digging out two beds that have been near the construction site and have therefore accumulated construction debris. Access to the sites was not the best, trying to get the Toros in involved a lot of slipping and sliding in a narrow construction site... Things are getting closer to being finished in the east, with the opening being intended for October 7th. Next week.
After we were finished with that I rejoined Nick and we spent the day working on Christmas decorations, working out what decorations are needed, making a couple of experimental wreaths etc. We made a trip over to the Webb barn in order to pick up supplies. I havent been over there yet, so it was good to explore some more of longwoods property. The webb barn is on the other side of route 52. The barn itself is a huge slate roofed barn, very picturesque. There are also a few more employee houses. Route 52 is currently being moved to beyond the barn, which will be nice as the meadow will extend continuously, rather than being broken by a road.
This week is the last week of September. Yikes, has gone pretty quick. This week Im working with Nick Tomlin and Bobs team. Nick looks after the visitors centre gardens and the carpark and main entrance.
Whilst I was meant to be with Nick, I was asked early on to go help in the east plaza, or more correctly the east conservatory. We were digging out two beds that have been near the construction site and have therefore accumulated construction debris. Access to the sites was not the best, trying to get the Toros in involved a lot of slipping and sliding in a narrow construction site... Things are getting closer to being finished in the east, with the opening being intended for October 7th. Next week.
After we were finished with that I rejoined Nick and we spent the day working on Christmas decorations, working out what decorations are needed, making a couple of experimental wreaths etc. We made a trip over to the Webb barn in order to pick up supplies. I havent been over there yet, so it was good to explore some more of longwoods property. The webb barn is on the other side of route 52. The barn itself is a huge slate roofed barn, very picturesque. There are also a few more employee houses. Route 52 is currently being moved to beyond the barn, which will be nice as the meadow will extend continuously, rather than being broken by a road.
Friday, September 24, 2010
Mulching trees
Weather: Overcast, High of 87oF
Work: For the entire morning I mulched around some trees on oak knoll with Nicole. We mulched the rings around a Tsuga seiboldii (Japanese Tsuga) and some Japanese cherries that are further east. The cherries are beautiful trees and are L numbered on their tags, which means they were here prior to Mr DuPonts death in 1957. I look forward to seeing them in the spring.
In the afternoon I watered some Pachysandra terminalis that were planted about a month ago underneath the Sycamore avenue that surrounds the main fountain garden. Whilst P. terminalis is a hardy ground cover that will take dry shade, some supplemental water is needed to help it establish, especially in the areas where it receives too much sun.
Interesting note of the day. The 'Sycamore' avenue is a avenue of Norway Maples, Acer psudoplantanus. I call them sycamores, but here sycamore is the common name of Plane trees, Platanus sp. A perfect example of how common names can lead to confusion.
Work: For the entire morning I mulched around some trees on oak knoll with Nicole. We mulched the rings around a Tsuga seiboldii (Japanese Tsuga) and some Japanese cherries that are further east. The cherries are beautiful trees and are L numbered on their tags, which means they were here prior to Mr DuPonts death in 1957. I look forward to seeing them in the spring.
In the afternoon I watered some Pachysandra terminalis that were planted about a month ago underneath the Sycamore avenue that surrounds the main fountain garden. Whilst P. terminalis is a hardy ground cover that will take dry shade, some supplemental water is needed to help it establish, especially in the areas where it receives too much sun.
Interesting note of the day. The 'Sycamore' avenue is a avenue of Norway Maples, Acer psudoplantanus. I call them sycamores, but here sycamore is the common name of Plane trees, Platanus sp. A perfect example of how common names can lead to confusion.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Working in the rose garden, row clean up and marketing meeting
Work: I started at 8.30 today, due to having a meeting from 3.30-5 with marketing. Of which, more in a sec.
First off though, I went and helped Robin in the rose garden. The rose gardens is fairly small really, or at least in comparison to Wellington BGs rose garden. It has six main beds, some climbers trained up the surrounding stone walls, and a bed of miniatures. I started with deadheading the main beds of roses. It's done the same way as I had learnt in Wellington, taking stems back to the first or second set of five leaves. The roses are looking pretty healthy really, more so considering that its coming to the end of summer (when regardless of how diligent you are with controlling disease, roses will get something. Blackspot, rust etc...). But it has been a dry summer, and this has probably helped a lot. Robin is also committed enough to go through beds removing diseased leaves, a practise made practical by the smaller size of the garden. After deadheading I helped Robin take some soil samples that will go to the lab for analysis. A soil sample about a month ago revealed that the soil was slightly too acidic, and Robin has been liming to bring the pH up. Roses prefer a slightly acidic soil with a pH of about 6.5-6.
I left at lunch to go to row clean up. This one was pretty fun really, as it seemed I just got to play with machinery. First I weed wacked, and then I got the tractor to pick up some piles of debris in the old compost heap in order to make mowing easier. It was a learning curve as I hadnt driven a tractor that big, or with that set up before. Instead of a pedal 'forward-back', it had a stick select next to wheel. instead of gear ratios high, medium low, it had a numbered select. Bucket controls were the same though. It was good practise, and i had fun trying to use the bucket to grade the slope. And then we got training on the zero turn mower, which was also a bunch of fun. Great machine.
And then the marketing meeting... It was to help them reorganise their website, and required John Moore, Elizabeth Fite and me (all students) organising cards with website content on them (eg, "idea garden")....
First off though, I went and helped Robin in the rose garden. The rose gardens is fairly small really, or at least in comparison to Wellington BGs rose garden. It has six main beds, some climbers trained up the surrounding stone walls, and a bed of miniatures. I started with deadheading the main beds of roses. It's done the same way as I had learnt in Wellington, taking stems back to the first or second set of five leaves. The roses are looking pretty healthy really, more so considering that its coming to the end of summer (when regardless of how diligent you are with controlling disease, roses will get something. Blackspot, rust etc...). But it has been a dry summer, and this has probably helped a lot. Robin is also committed enough to go through beds removing diseased leaves, a practise made practical by the smaller size of the garden. After deadheading I helped Robin take some soil samples that will go to the lab for analysis. A soil sample about a month ago revealed that the soil was slightly too acidic, and Robin has been liming to bring the pH up. Roses prefer a slightly acidic soil with a pH of about 6.5-6.
I left at lunch to go to row clean up. This one was pretty fun really, as it seemed I just got to play with machinery. First I weed wacked, and then I got the tractor to pick up some piles of debris in the old compost heap in order to make mowing easier. It was a learning curve as I hadnt driven a tractor that big, or with that set up before. Instead of a pedal 'forward-back', it had a stick select next to wheel. instead of gear ratios high, medium low, it had a numbered select. Bucket controls were the same though. It was good practise, and i had fun trying to use the bucket to grade the slope. And then we got training on the zero turn mower, which was also a bunch of fun. Great machine.
And then the marketing meeting... It was to help them reorganise their website, and required John Moore, Elizabeth Fite and me (all students) organising cards with website content on them (eg, "idea garden")....
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Mulching, composting and deadwooding
Weather: Partly cloudy, high of 89
First thing we mulched the boxwood's in the East Plaza that were planted yesterday. It had to be done as the landscaping contractor was intending on installing the turf today, although they didn't actually end up doing it. Once the turf is laid it is not meant to be walked on for a couple of weeks to allow the turf to knit and settle without compaction.
At 9.30 I helped Robin and the team spread compost over an area of bare earth in the north of the Topiary Garden. The bare earth is the result of a large Taxus hedge being removed. It was removed due to it being in slow decline. But also, the area is earmarked to be developed, possibly by another path north towards the conservatory and east plaza. At the moment there is a wall, and on the other side of the wall is a bunch of lilacs. The lilacs, well, don't look all that great. Leggy, and also, they only flower for a couple of weeks... We spread the compost about half an inch thick, both for aesthetics, and to add organic material to the soil before it is turfed (which will be as soon as the groundskeepers get to it).
After lunch I helped Robin deadwood some trees on conifer knoll. A new tree to me was momi fir, or Abies firma, a fir native to south and central Japan.
First thing we mulched the boxwood's in the East Plaza that were planted yesterday. It had to be done as the landscaping contractor was intending on installing the turf today, although they didn't actually end up doing it. Once the turf is laid it is not meant to be walked on for a couple of weeks to allow the turf to knit and settle without compaction.
At 9.30 I helped Robin and the team spread compost over an area of bare earth in the north of the Topiary Garden. The bare earth is the result of a large Taxus hedge being removed. It was removed due to it being in slow decline. But also, the area is earmarked to be developed, possibly by another path north towards the conservatory and east plaza. At the moment there is a wall, and on the other side of the wall is a bunch of lilacs. The lilacs, well, don't look all that great. Leggy, and also, they only flower for a couple of weeks... We spread the compost about half an inch thick, both for aesthetics, and to add organic material to the soil before it is turfed (which will be as soon as the groundskeepers get to it).
After lunch I helped Robin deadwood some trees on conifer knoll. A new tree to me was momi fir, or Abies firma, a fir native to south and central Japan.
Monday, September 20, 2010
Planting a boxwood hedge
Weather: Sunny, Average temp 86oF
Today I moved over to the main fountain gardens with Troy, Wendy and Robin. It is the only section of outdoor display that I haven't worked with as I was last scheduled with them during orientation week. The main fountain gardens team looks after (surprise surprise) the main fountain garden, but also the topiary garden, the rose garden and the under construction east plaza.
First off for the day, me and Alana blew off and cleaned up outside the main conservatory. We also spread some mulch under two Taxus. Wendy then showed me around the east plaza, which I hadn't had a chance to see yet. Its coming along nicely, with all the planting done and the turf installed. Still, it has had its problems. The latest one was a crack that has opened up in the planted at the top of the slope... Its a steep slope and is maybe slipping a little, not so good.
Around nine we got started on the main project for the day, ripping out a yew hedge and replacing it with boxwood. The Yew hasn't been performing, probably due to the initial quality of the plants and also the drainage of the area. Troy lifted the yews out with the back hoe on the tractor, and then saved us some back breaking work by digging a trench to plant in with the same back hoe. As he put it, " the back new tires, hydraulic hoses etc very day. But you only have one back". hear hear. The boxwood's arrived bagged and burlapped. They are a good size and as they had been watered recently were pretty heavy. Unfortunately I didn't have my camera at first which was a shame, but got some photos of the boxwoods being placed.
Today I moved over to the main fountain gardens with Troy, Wendy and Robin. It is the only section of outdoor display that I haven't worked with as I was last scheduled with them during orientation week. The main fountain gardens team looks after (surprise surprise) the main fountain garden, but also the topiary garden, the rose garden and the under construction east plaza.
First off for the day, me and Alana blew off and cleaned up outside the main conservatory. We also spread some mulch under two Taxus. Wendy then showed me around the east plaza, which I hadn't had a chance to see yet. Its coming along nicely, with all the planting done and the turf installed. Still, it has had its problems. The latest one was a crack that has opened up in the planted at the top of the slope... Its a steep slope and is maybe slipping a little, not so good.
Around nine we got started on the main project for the day, ripping out a yew hedge and replacing it with boxwood. The Yew hasn't been performing, probably due to the initial quality of the plants and also the drainage of the area. Troy lifted the yews out with the back hoe on the tractor, and then saved us some back breaking work by digging a trench to plant in with the same back hoe. As he put it, " the back new tires, hydraulic hoses etc very day. But you only have one back". hear hear. The boxwood's arrived bagged and burlapped. They are a good size and as they had been watered recently were pretty heavy. Unfortunately I didn't have my camera at first which was a shame, but got some photos of the boxwoods being placed.
Rather than attempt to rush the planting we left the burlapped and will plant them tomorrow. The rest of the afternoon was spent cultivating the rose beds. I noticed that the soil mix was significantly different to back in welly, I will have to ask Robin what the mix is...
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Field trip to Hershey Gardens
Weather: Overcast, high 80oF
Today we took a field trip to Hershey gardens in Hershey, Pennsylvania. The town of Hershey is (yep yep) where Milton Hershey founded the Hershey confectionery company. Hershey gardens were created when Hershey was approached and asked to donate to a rose gardens in Washington DC. He though it was a good idea, but rather than build it in Washington, he built it in his own town. It was opened to the public in 1937. The gardens started small, with just the rose gardens, but soon expanded to the current 23 acres. Hershey gardens used to be hugely popular, 20,000 people attended its opening day! And for a long time it was a popular weekend destination with people coming by train from New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington. But gardens are no longer the destinations they used to be, and attendance has now dropped.
Contrary to what might be thought, Hershey gardens is not rolling in dollars.Whilst Milton Hershey was a philanthropist who left a lot of money to a school, the gardens pretty much missed out. Barbara (an ex Longwood PG who is the horticulture director) who gave us our tour told us that she had been given a grand total of $37000 over 16 years for plants. The garden is a non-profit organisation and is now supported by the town and admissions.
I thought the gardens were great, and impressive given the funding. The rose gardens were outstanding. I was interesting to hear the receive the all American rose selections every year and replace under performing roses. Not sentimental in anyway! Other highlights including some wonderful mature specimen trees, including a huge weeping beech and another giant weeping blue atlas cedar (probably the largest weeping specimen Ive seen). I thought there children's garden was fun with some pretty cool little touches (ringing bell stepping pads, fountains, maps etc. A lot of it was educational for example a ABC border. There is also a butterfly house near the children's garden. they were all a bit slow due to it being colder than usual. The butterfly house is a huge draw card. As is the children's garden.
The stand out plant for the day was Ipomea quamoclit, A vigorous climber with masses of red flowers.
After the tour of the gardens we went to... Hersheys chocolate world! Ha. Ate to much chocolate and partook in blatant American consumerism.
Today we took a field trip to Hershey gardens in Hershey, Pennsylvania. The town of Hershey is (yep yep) where Milton Hershey founded the Hershey confectionery company. Hershey gardens were created when Hershey was approached and asked to donate to a rose gardens in Washington DC. He though it was a good idea, but rather than build it in Washington, he built it in his own town. It was opened to the public in 1937. The gardens started small, with just the rose gardens, but soon expanded to the current 23 acres. Hershey gardens used to be hugely popular, 20,000 people attended its opening day! And for a long time it was a popular weekend destination with people coming by train from New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington. But gardens are no longer the destinations they used to be, and attendance has now dropped.
Contrary to what might be thought, Hershey gardens is not rolling in dollars.Whilst Milton Hershey was a philanthropist who left a lot of money to a school, the gardens pretty much missed out. Barbara (an ex Longwood PG who is the horticulture director) who gave us our tour told us that she had been given a grand total of $37000 over 16 years for plants. The garden is a non-profit organisation and is now supported by the town and admissions.
I thought the gardens were great, and impressive given the funding. The rose gardens were outstanding. I was interesting to hear the receive the all American rose selections every year and replace under performing roses. Not sentimental in anyway! Other highlights including some wonderful mature specimen trees, including a huge weeping beech and another giant weeping blue atlas cedar (probably the largest weeping specimen Ive seen). I thought there children's garden was fun with some pretty cool little touches (ringing bell stepping pads, fountains, maps etc. A lot of it was educational for example a ABC border. There is also a butterfly house near the children's garden. they were all a bit slow due to it being colder than usual. The butterfly house is a huge draw card. As is the children's garden.
Oh and another highlight was a birdhouse competition they were holding. A good, and original idea! Some really neat arty ones
Thats a Sedum Hybrid flowering in the left photo, there are loads out at the moment. Innocuous (boring even?) for most of the year, but effective flowering in autumn. And the birdhouse on the right is surrounded by what I think is a variegated red stemmed Dogwood.
After the tour of the gardens we went to... Hersheys chocolate world! Ha. Ate to much chocolate and partook in blatant American consumerism.
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