Call 303-730-1920 or email Master Gardener volunteers with your lawn, landscape and garden questions.
Connect with us at our demonstration gardens:
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Apply to be a Master Gardener volunteer |
Applications are now being accepted for the 2022 class of Master Gardener volunteers. Check here for application and program information.
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Attend Classes
Sept 11, 2021 @ 9 AM
Sept 14, 2021 @ 9 AM
Oct 9, 2021 @ 9 AM
Oct 12, 2021 @ 9 AM
Oct 13, 2021 @ 12:30 PM
Fall-Planted Bulbs for Spring Blooms - Online class with Alison O'Connor, Larimer County Extension
Registration required. After registering, you will receive an email with the class link.
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.
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Seed Saving for Tomorrow
By Julia Coffey, Colorado Master Gardener
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Humanity has a foundational history of saving seed. The Agricultural Revolution defined the shift from hunting and gathering toward agriculture. From teosinte, the wild ancestor of corn, to modern day crops, seed is necessary for survival.
Today, it is uncommon to experience the full cycle of planting from seed to saving seed for planting the following season. However, seed saving is a worthwhile endeavor that is fun, satisfying, and practical. Selecting the right varieties and planning helps the process be less overwhelming, and seed saving is an excellent skill to learn.
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THE BASICS
Organization, planning, and plant type contribute to seed saving success. Start with open-pollinated seed, which means it is genetically similar to the parent plants. Hybrid seeds are varieties that result from pollination between genetically distinct parents. They may be sterile or not genetically stabilized and not produce seed that is dependable. Store-bought seed packets are labeled as open-pollinated (OP) or hybrid (F1). Heirlooms are open-pollinated.
POLLINATION
Reproduction occurs either by self-pollination (tomatoes, beans) or cross-pollinating (corn, squash). Self-pollinating occurs without the need for other plants as pollination takes place within the flower before it opens. Cross-pollinating exchanges pollen between different flowers or different plants. Self-pollinating plants are the best for beginners because they will produce true to type offspring.
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Volunteer Spotlight: Fred Freeh |
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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 Fred Freeh. |
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When did you join the Colorado Master Gardener program and why did you join?
I have had an interest in Master Gardening for many years. I inherited my horticultural interest from my mother who had beautiful English gardens at our house in Ohio. She also had books on gardening. I applied to the program in 2019 after encouragement from a Denver Master Gardener on the golf course. I was initially interested in becoming a Certified Colorado Gardener, but ultimately chose to become a Master Gardener volunteer because I wanted to learn about the various aspects of horticulture and to share this training with others. It's a give back program, and that is why I became a mentor this year.
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By Lucinda Greene, Horticulture Programs Coordinator and Assistant Horticulturist
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- Do you love gardening?
- Are you interested in learning about new topics to widen your gardening horizons?
- Do you like working and communicating with others?
- Are you interested in Citizen Science programs?
- Do you want to make some new friends with great people?
- Would you like to assist with projects that support local food insecurity?
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Left, Hudson Gardens, right, Plains Conservation Center, Photos: Lucinda Greene |
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Applications for the 2022 class of Master Gardener volunteers are now being accepted. Consider applying for the Colorado Master Gardener Program. For more information and the application, visit this link.
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Autumn is for Apples
By Donnetta Wilhelm, Colorado Master Gardener
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What says autumn better than apples? Warm apple cider, apple pie, apple butter and fried apples are all delightful as the chill of autumn sets in. There is even an ‘Autumn Glory’ apple, described as very sweet and crisp with hints of cinnamon and subtle notes of caramel. Sounds delicious, doesn’t it? |
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Autumn Glory apple, Photo: producebluebook.com |
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The State Agricultural College (CSU) bulletin, Fruit Interests of the State, published in October 1891 indicates that by the 1890’s apples were the primary fruit crop of Colorado. There are several reasons why Colorado is a great place for growing apples. Vernalization, commonly called “chill hours”, is vital to the apple tree life cycle. For apple trees to flower and properly set fruit each spring, they must accumulate 600 chill hours between 32°F and 45°F. Apple trees also require at least 6 hours of full sun each day once blossoming begins. Another reason apples grow well in Colorado is they blossom later in the spring making them more likely to avoid most killing frosts. Finally, most apple tree varieties are hardy to Zone 4, so Colorado gardeners have the perfect environment for growing apple trees.
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Who's in Your Garden?
By Kathi Thistlethwaite, Colorado Master Gardener
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This six-part series will feature topics of interest and timely delights found in the garden. |
SEDUM 'AUTUMN JOY'
The ‘Autumn Joy’ part of the Sedum name is appropriately descriptive. When many garden perennials are slowing down for autumn, this succulent member of the Crassulaceae family is putting on a show with its bronzy-pink blooms in late August to early September. Blooms last around six weeks, and if stalks are left until spring, deep mahogany seed heads give the garden some winter interest.
Easy to care for Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’ needs full sun and soil that is not high in organic matter. Diseases and insects are generally not problems, while bees and butterflies are constant visitors while blooms last. A mature plant will reach close to two feet tall.
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Photo: arapahoe.extension.colostate.edu
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The Amazing Monarch Butterfly |
Monarch butterflies are an iconic species in the United States. These bright orange and black butterflies are known for their migration in North America. How do these small creatures make the 3,000-mile journey every year? |
A female monarch butterfly, Photo: Lisa Mason |
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Lisa Mason
CSU Extension Horticulture Agent
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Identification
While the bright orange butterflies can be hard to miss, Colorado has a variety of orange-colored butterflies. You can identify a monarch butterfly by the black veins on the wings in addition to the bright orange color. They also have white spots on the edges of the wings. The wingspan usually ranges from 3-4 inches long. You can identify where the butterfly is a male or female by looking at the hind wing. If the butterfly is a male, it will have one black spot on each hind wing along one of the center veins. If the butterfly is female, she will not have a spot.
Monarch caterpillars have contrasting black, yellow, and white stripes on their bodies. Caterpillar size varies depending on what instar, or stage of growth the caterpillar is in.
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Tree From Heaven?
By Judy Kunz, Colorado Master Gardener
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Tree of Heaven (Ailanthus altissima) crowding out a pfitzer juniper. Photo: Judy Kunz
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There is an innocuous looking tree that has been quietly invading this continent. It is similar in appearance to and often confused with the native Smooth Sumac (Rhus glabra), but this badly behaved plant comes to a neighborhood uninvited, out competes other plants and brings thousands of its offspring to stay over. You’ll find it lurking in vacant lots, along fence lines, in alleys, even popping up in flower gardens and sidewalk cracks.
The not-so-heavenly Tree of Heaven (Ailanthus altissima) is a native of northern China. Introduced as an ornamental in 1784, it is considered an invasive weed that can now be found in most states, eastern Canada and Hawaii, and it shows no sign of slowing its spread. Like many invasive plants originating from other continents, there are few natural controls in place to restrain it.
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I Didn't Know That!
By Martha Kirk, Colorado Master Gardener
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Most gardeners have encountered (and cursed) field bindweed, the tenacious twining vine that strangles any nearby plant. Bindweed is a perennial weed and spreads by seed and an extensive root system. Each piece of root forms a new plant. Each plant can produce up to 500 seeds. Seeds can remain viable in the soil for 40 years, and roots can go 20 feet deep. It’s best to keep it in check by consistently pulling/cutting at the base and doing this before it forms a flower, at about five leaves long. Persistence is key. Over time, this stresses the plant and can reduce food reserves. Herbicides are another option, but best applied in the fall. The gall bindweed mite is an option for non-irrigated areas.
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Field bindweed, Convolvulus arvensis, Photo: adams.colostate.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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