Call 303-730-1920 or email Master Gardener volunteers with your lawn, landscape and garden questions.
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Kudos to Arapahoe County CMGs who supplied local food banks with fresh produce they grew throughout the gardening season. |
Attend Classes
Nov 10, 2021 @ 12:30 PM
Gardening Year in Review - Online class with Amy Lentz, Weld County Extension and Alison O'Connor, Larimer County Extension
Registration required. After registering, you will receive an email with the class link.
Dec 8, 2021 @ 12:30 PM Evergreens and Holiday Decor - Online class with Amy Lentz, Weld County Extension and Alison O'Connor, Larimer County Extension
After registering, you will receive an email with the class link.
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Registration is required.
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Tree Dormancy
By Mae Rauen, Emeritus Master Gardener
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Have you ever wondered what happens to trees in the winter? Deciduous trees and shrubs are kept alive by photosynthesis, a process that converts light energy to chemical energy. During the fall when photosynthesis in leaves ceases, woody plants begin to become dormant. Dormancy enables plants to stay alive from one growing season to the next. |
Diagram: earthguide.ucsd.edu
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A popular idea holds that fall leaf color is brought on by frost. A coloring page for children in the 1950s depicted an impish Jack Frost in the forest with paint brush and buckets of red and gold paint. In fact, fall color is one of the visible signs of woody plants “hardening off” or going into dormancy for the winter. |
Photo: Aspen trees at Kenosa Pass, Martha Kirk |
As daylight hours shorten and temperatures begin to decrease, a tree begins the process of moving into dormancy by slowing growth and ceasing to make chlorophyll in the leaves. Chlorophyll and other forms of pigmentation are the result of light energy conversion. The absence of chlorophyll production allows leaves to lose their green color and display other pigmentation. |
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Volunteer Spotlight: Betsy Dickson |
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Colorado Master Gardener℠ (CMG) volunteers are a dedicated group of individuals who are knowledgeable and passionate about sharing gardening, landscape and horticulture education. This month we are highlighting Betsy Dickson. |
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When did you join the Colorado Master Gardener program and why did you join?
I became an Arapahoe County CMG in 2005. My grandfather was a wonderful gardener; his Minneapolis garden was beautiful, filled with peonies, tulips and award-winning roses. I have Littleton neighbors who are very gifted gardeners and they encouraged me to look into the Colorado Master Gardener program.
What is your favorite activity and why?
Discovering Colorado. My husband and I loved to four-wheel in our jeep when we were younger. That was the most glorious way to get to know this fantastic state. Now we travel in a more comfortable mode but continue our education and adventures. Next weekend we are revisiting Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park. I carry a pair of gardening gloves in the car for roadside treasures, dried flowers, rocks etc.
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Master Gardener Volunteers
Pilot New School Gardening Program
By Lucinda Greene, Colorado Master Gardener
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Clayton Elementary School, Photos: Lucinda Greene |
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In 2021, Master Gardener volunteers in Arapahoe County piloted a school garden program at Clayton Elementary School in the Englewood School District. Volunteers created and presented learning modules, aligned to state academic standards on composting and pollinators to the kindergarten and third-grade classes. They identified that school gardens could provide multi-generational gardening education to students and families to support STEM education, help reduce food insecurity and improve self-sufficiency. Additional modules on botany and soil science are being developed. |
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Amaryllis: Great Holiday Gift and Easy to Rebloom
By Martha Kirk, Colorado Master Gardener
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Photo: csuhort.blogspot.com |
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I remember the first time I received an amaryllis as a gift. Wow! The flowers were spectacular. And they came in so many colors from red to pink, white, and yellow. Little did I know that the bulb could rebloom had I saved it and followed a few simple steps.
The amaryllis sold in garden centers is technically Hippeastrum. Taxonomy aside, there are over 100 “amaryllis” hybrids to choose from with varying flower shapes and colors.
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Nothing to Sneeze at: Tree Pollination and How it Impacts You |
“Is it true that cities and towns plant only male trees, and male trees tend to cause more allergies for people?” The answer to this question is far more complex than just choosing to plant male or female trees, so let’s explore tree pollination and diversity in the landscape. |
This question stems from a theory that female trees produce seeds and thus require more cleanup and maintenance, while male trees require less maintenance because they only produce pollen. However, that pollen can trigger allergies.
Note that tree pollen is only one of the sources of allergens in the air. According to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, grasses are the most common cause of allergies, and ragweed is the top contributor to weed allergies. Other allergy triggers include other weeds, pet dander, dust, and mold. Wildfire smoke has also contributed to poor air quality across the west aggravating allergy symptoms and other health conditions.
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Lisa Mason
CSU Extension Horticulture Agent
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What's in Your (Indoor) Garden?
By Kathi Thistlethwaite, Colorado Master Gardener
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This six-part series will feature topics of interest found in the garden - indoors and out. |
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Fungus gnats on sticky trap, Photo: lancaster.unl.edu |
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Fungus Gnats
These small, mosquito-like insects can be seen around houseplants starting in the fall and continuing through the winter. Their larvae feed on algae, fungi and plant roots in growing media, particularly those containing large amounts of peat moss. They do not bite and are considered a nuisance when present in large numbers. Effective management techniques include allowing growing media to dry between watering, especially the top two or three inches, and the use of yellow sticky cards. Adult females are attracted to yellow and easily captured on the cards. Be persistent.
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Protecting Your Landscape in Winter
By Pam Rosendal, Colorado Master Gardener
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With the days growing shorter and cooler, you’ve earned a break from yard and garden chores. Before settling down for winter, follow these tips for simple things to do to keep your landscape healthy during the winter months and avoid more serious problems next year.
Leaves can help your landscape. If there aren’t many (10-20% of lawn covered), mulch them with a mower to provide beneficial nutrients for your lawn. Tuck leaves under shrubs, around roses and scatter them in flower beds to protect plants from drastic temperature changes often seen during winter. Compost the rest. Diseased leaves should be removed from the landscape to avoid reinfection. Do not compost or mulch with them.
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I Didn't Know That!
By Judy Kunz, Colorado Master Gardener
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Dwarf mistletoe and juniper mistletoe are small parasitic plants that can cause extensive damage and eventual death to ponderosa, lodgepole, limber pine and pinyon pine, as well as Douglas fir, bristlecone pine and some junipers. The invading plants produce sticky seeds that are expelled through the air at up to 60 mph, adhering to the surface of a susceptible host tree, growing into the tissue and robbing the tree of water and nutrients. Mistletoe is slow to grow but affects a tree’s vigor, eventually killing it. Early symptoms include swelling of the bark near the infection site, yellow or distorted foliage called witches’ broom, and branch death. Mistletoe can be managed in many cases if infestation is not heavy. Treatment includes pruning out affected branches or tree removal in extreme cases.
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Top: Dwarf Mistletoe, Photo: Colorado State Forest Service
Bottom: Witches’ Broom, Photo: extension.umn.edu
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PHONE
(303) 730-1920
EMAIL
mastergardener@arapahoegov.com
LOCATION
6934 S. Lima St., Suite B
Centennial, CO 80112
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CSU Extension programs are available to all without discrimination. |
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