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Dr. Max Terman gave our banquet address for our advanced Master Gardener training. He did not have enough handouts on his work on the ecology of golf courses, but he did give the Web address for the same info. You can find his study titled "Prairie Dunes Country Club: A Golf Course for Birdies" at: http://www.mhhe.com/biosci/pae/environmentalscience/casestudies/case3.mhtml
Within a few days or weeks we will experience our first freeze of the season. Tender plants usually are injured when temperatures drop below 32 degrees F while hardy plants will withstand temperatures in the mid to low 20s without injury.
Cold air flows like water to lower areas, so people in low-lying areas will experience colder temperatures. You can create 'air pockets' in your landscape by solid fences not allowing cold air to flow away from your plant beds. In town, locations surrounded by buildings and streets emit a lot of heat during the night to warm the general area.
We usually experience a 'radiational freeze' as our first freeze of the season. This usually happens on a clear night, and coldest temperatures are recorded just before dawn. There is usually no or little wind so plant covers will stay in place easily. A freeze that accompanies a frontal storm that passes through the area usually gets coldest when the leading edge of the front passes through and may be accompanied by wind. It is much more difficult to protect against this type of freeze.
An insulating type cover such as blankets or fabric materials trap heat that is 'radiating' from the soil into the atmosphere and will provide 2-5 F degrees of temperature protection usually just enough to prevent freezing injury. This may be followed by several weeks of weather where freezing conditions do not occur. Avoid using metal coverings since these conduct cold temperatures very rapidly- making it just about as cold inside as outside the covering.
Immediately after a freeze, plant tissues turn dark and wilt since plant cells burst and are killed by the freezing conditions. Sometimes, only the upper or outer leaves are injured so the plant will continue to grow for a little while. (CWM)
As winter approaches, it is time to start thinking about the storage of bulbs that will not survive our Kansas winters. The bulbs of gladiolus, caladium, dahlia, tuberous begonia, calla lily, and canna lily need to be dug and stored so they can be planted next year. Actually, the storage organ of the above plants is not a true bulb. Canna and calla lilies are rhizomes, caladium and tuberous begonias are tubers, gladiolus is a corm and dahlia is a tuberous-rooted plant.
All of these plants should be dug after frost has browned the foliage. Then, allow them to dry for about a week in a shady, well-ventilated site, such as a garage or tool shed. Remove any excess soil and pack them in peat moss, vermiculite or perlite. Make sure the bulbs don't touch, so that if one decays the rot doesn't spread to its neighbors. Dusting them with fungicide before storage will help prevent them from rotting.
Caladium should be stored between 50 and 60 degrees F. The rest of the bulbs mentioned should be stored near 40 degrees.
Finding a good spot may be difficult. Some people place them against the basement wall farthest from the furnace, and insulate them so the wall keeps them cool. (WU)
Part of the allure of fall foliage is the variation in color. We have trees that turn red, purple, yellow, orange and brown. Specific colors are caused by specific plant pigments. The normal green color of foliage is from chlorophyll, the substance that captures the energy of the sun. Fall colors are caused by other pigments. Reds and purples are caused by anthocyanins, yellows are due to the presence of xanthophylls, and oranges are caused by a combination of carotenes and xanthophylls. Browns are the result of tannins present in the leaf. Most of these substances are present throughout the growing season but are masked by the green color produced by chlorophyll. Anthocyanins are the exception and are produced after the chlorophyll is destroyed in the fall.
If you have ever seen pictures of New England in the fall, you have probably wondered why trees in Kansas usually do not color as well. This difference is partly due to the species of trees prevalent in New England. Certain oaks and maples naturally produce good color. Coloring is also due in large part to the weather.
Warm, sunny days and cool nights are ideal for good color. The sunny days encourage photosynthesis and, thus, sugar accumulation in the leaves. As fall progresses, each leaf develops an abscission layer at the base of the petiole, or leaf stem, that prevents these sugars from being transported down the trunk to the roots for storage. This high sugar content in the leaves produces more intense colors. Cloudy days and warm nights prevent some of the sugar accumulation in the leaves and results in less vibrant colors.
Weather during other parts of the growing season can also have an effect. Heavy rains in the early spring or hot, dry weather during the summer can both have a deleterious effect on fall color.
The length of time a tree maintains fall color also depends on weather. Reds, yellows and oranges are short-lived when trees undergo frosts and freezes. (WU)
Contributors:
Ward Upham, Extension Associate; Chuck Marr, Vegetables
Horticulture 2006 E-mail Subscription
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