Make the McKenzie Connection!
Make the McKenzie Connection!
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Wisteria & house By Kym Pokorny Wisteria delivers a beautiful spring display, but this vigorous vine needs plenty of pruning to keep it from swallowing the garden. “Wisteria are very vigorous vines and can climb easily to 30 to 40 feet,” said Neil Bell, a horticulturist with Oregon State University Extension Service. “They can be quite heavy and should be grown on a strong structure.” When people see the jaw-dropping blooms erupt in mid-spring, they covet wisteria for their own garden. But, they should first know that in addition to the pro...
Saving seeds By Kym Pokorny As the gardening season winds down and you pick the season’s last vegetables let some plants go to seed and harvest them for planting next year. “Saving seed can be really fun and is a great way to learn about plants,” said Weston Miller, a horticulturist with Oregon State University Extension Service. “If you choose the right types of vegetables, you can keep them going year after year without buying them again.” The key to saving seed is selecting open-pollinated or heirloom plants, which produce offspring...
Kids garden tools By Kym Pokorny When grubby little hands grip your pant leg as you head for the garden, put them in the soil and they may dig up a lifetime of learning and pleasure. “One of the keys to getting kids interested in gardening is to get them engaged,” said Joy Jones, Oregon State University Extension Service master gardener coordinator in Tillamook County. “Let them explore what catches their attention, especially small children.” Stimulating a child’s imagination can be as simple as filling a dishpan with dirt, passing them a ha...
Slug By Kym Pokorny Follow the glistening trail and you’ll find the gardener’s most familiar, frustrating and certainly slimiest pest, the common slug. It’s spring, after all, and as soil temperatures start to climb, slugs rise from their winter hiding place underground to munch tender seedlings, emerging perennials and even seeds. “What slugs want is a place that’s warm and moist,” said Claudia Groth, an Oregon State University Extension Service master gardener. “That’s why they’re coming out now. The soil temperatures are getting to be abo...
Mason bee By Kym Pokorny For mason bees, the wait for their first meal is a long one, six months if it’s a day. There’s no TV, no smart phone, not even a book to while away the time as these solitary bees hang out in their tight cocoons waiting for the cool temperatures of early spring to break them out of lethargy, to convene at the floral banquet waiting for them among the branches of fruit trees. And because honeybees and other pollinators haven’t made an appearance yet, there’s more sweetness for the native mason bees. “Mason bees fill...
Lavendar photo By Kym Pokorny Pop some flowers in among the beans and lettuce and you’ll have two times the chance for an edible harvest. “Edible flowers look great in the garden and on the plate,” said Brooke Edmunds, horticulturist for the Oregon State University Extension Service. “Some especially pretty and tasty ones are the blue blossoms of borage, classic roses and chamomile with its little, white flowers.” Others on her list include annuals such as happy orange or yellow flowering calendula, marigold or nasturtium; the distincti...
Onions By Kym Pokorny Get onions in the ground in spring and avoid heartbreak when it comes time to harvest big, beautiful bulbs this summer. Plant as soon as the soil is dry enough to work, said Jim Myers, a plant breeder at Oregon State University. March and April are prime times. Most onions grown in Oregon are long-day onions. They make top, green growth until a critical day length is reached, which triggers bulbing. That generally begins at about 14 hours of light per day. If you plant onions in early spring, they’ll grow to fairly l...
Rose By Kym Pokorny Valentine’s Day is coming up and that means it’s time to pay attention to your loved ones and your roses, too. On the west side of the Cascade Range, mid-February is generally time to start thinking about pruning, according to Amy Jo Detweiler, a horticulturist with Oregon State University’s Extension Service. In Central Oregon, April or May is the best time. In both cases, take your cue from the plants. When the buds begin to swell and get ready to break open, pull out your pruners. Detweiler recommends using bypass prune...
Wreath By Kym Pokorny Wreaths hung on the door with care call out a festive “Happy Holidays.” Share that message in a special way by making your own circle of cheer with plants clipped from the garden or gathered from friends and neighbors. “A good part of the fun of making your own wreath is going around the neighborhood, collecting plants and talking to people,” said Susan Hoffman, who has been a master gardener with Oregon State University’s Extension Service since 2012. Be sure, she added, to ask before you clip. At the entry to almost ev...
River Stop baskets By Ada Weeks WALTERVILLE: We know summer is over when the spectacular floral hanging baskets are taken down from their custom metal supports on light poles at the Walterville Shopping Center. These beauties have delighted both local folks and Highway 126 travelers, from May through October, with their massive display of flowers. Greg and Tamara Clift, owners of the McKenzie River Nursery, are the dedicated providers and caretakers of the baskets. Greg recalls, “Tamara and I had been to Victoria, BC, on our honeymoon, and m...
Paperback maple By Kym Pokorny When trees get dressed with the colors of fall, it’s time to go shopping. “If you’re specifically interested in fall color, it will soon be the time to start looking,” said Neil Bell, a horticulturist with Oregon State University’s Extension Service. “There are already some trees starting to display color.” First, though, Bell recommends doing some research. Walk around neighborhoods, parks and public gardens to get ideas. If you can’t identify the trees you like, snap good photos, pick up several leaves or ask th...
Spider By Kym Pokorny In corners and along baseboards, on ceilings and spun between shrubs, spiders crawl through our lives this time of year. “Spiders are on the move right now because they’re looking for a mate,” according to Gail Langellotto, an entomologist with Oregon State University’s Extension Service. “The domestic house spider is one that regularly makes its way into houses in fall and if you haven’t seen one in the past, it can be a startling sight,” she said. “If you include their legs, they’re about as big as a silver dollar.” O...
Russian lavender By Kym Pokorny Hotter-than-usual temperatures and longer stretches between measurable moisture this year mean plants need more water from the end of a hose. Choose plants that require less water and you’ll save time and money and help sustain Oregon’s water supply, said Amy Jo Detweiler, a horticulturist with Oregon State University’s Extension Service. Detweiler recommends these 10 plants for water-wise gardens: - Cinquefoil (Potentilla fruticosa): A compact deciduous shrub that grows about three feet tall and five feet wide...
Training a fruit tree into an espalier takes a good dash of dedication Espaliered trees By Kym Pokorny Espaliered trees bring fruit down to eye level. They allow for easy picking and take advantage of small spaces. But don’t kid yourself into thinking espaliers are any easier than regular-sized trees, said Ross Penhallegon, a horticulturist with Oregon State University’s Extension Service. “Espalier is one of many ways to prune – or design -- a fruit tree,” he said. “It’s beautiful, it doesn’t take up a lot of room in the yard. There a...
Cut down on chance of disaster with fire-resistant landscape Fireproof By Kym Pokorny Drawing a line around the house with fire-resistant landscapes can mean the difference between a home consumed by flames and one left standing. “Fire specialists love to show us pictures of houses where people took precautions,” said Brad Withrow-Robinson, forester with Oregon State University’s Extension Service. “I’ve seen umpteen photos of land charred all around and a little house left standing in the middle. Not always, but often.” This year could be a...
Watering By Kym Pokorny The forecast promises high temperatures this summer, so take care to protect plants for the long, hot haul. “Already this year, I’ve noticed soils are drying out more and sooner than I’ve seen since I moved to Portland eight years ago,” said Weston Miller, a horticulturist with Oregon State University’s Extension Service. “It’s critical to be proactive about watering.” Once soils dry out, plants get stressed and struggle to recover, he explained. So water deeply and regularly. Especially vulnerable are plants put in t...
Stressed fir By Mary Stewart Many Oregonians have noticed widespread damage in landscape and forest trees this spring – and weather may be the culprit. “Browning or dieback is often caused by weather-related stress, sometimes in combination with pests and diseases,” said Glenn Ahrens, a forester with Oregon State University’s Extension Service. Douglas-fir trees are the most common victims, he said, but stress due to weather is affecting many tree species and a variety of problems are showing up. On some Douglas-firs, branches and tops...
Rust disease By Kym Pokorny Charmingly warm weather coaxed roses into bloom early this year, which means dealing with the usual diseases and pests earlier, too. When it comes to one of the county’s most popular perennial plants, the “big four” vexations are powdery mildew, black spot, rust and aphids, according to Jay W. Pscheidt, a plant pathology specialist with Oregon State University’s Extension Service. More recently, downy mildew, which looks strikingly similar to black spot, has become an increasing problem. “People are confusing...
Sweet potatoes By Kym Pokorny When he was nine years old and riding with his brother on the back of a two-seater tractor on 30 acres in southern California, Gary Jordan planted sweet potatoes one at a time. “It took us weeks to do,” said Jordan, a volunteer Master Gardener with Oregon State University’s Extension Service. “I’ve probably planted more sweet potatoes than anyone you’ll meet. I have great respect for sweet potatoes.” The Eugene resident graduated from Extension’s Master Gardener program in Lane County a year ago and immediately...
Protecting perrenials By Kym Pokorny Spring seems to have arrived early in western Oregon, but never count on the weather. Though this year is shaping up to be mild rather than wild, anything can happen. There are still more than two months until April 15, when you can, on average, count on saying goodbye to frost, according to Al Shay, a horticulture professor at Oregon State University. “Certainly a cold snap down to 20 degrees in March will wreak havoc,” he said. “That kind of cold weather could bring an end to new growth, buds, flowe...
Apple tree By Kym Pokorny Anyone who buys or inherits a fruit tree faces the intimidating crossroads of how, when and if they should prune. “It’s one of the most difficult things for people to understand,” said Ross Penhallegon, horticulturist with Oregon State University’s Extension Service. “Ultimately, they make a few cuts and think, ‘Oh, I’m going to hurt the tree’ and run back into the house to watch TV.” But without the proper maintenance, production of fruit falls off, diseases increase and frustration goes off the chart. The key at...
Stink bug By Kym Pokorny When leaves fall and days get shorter, stink bugs go on the move looking for a warm, dry place for winter. Often that means sharing our homes with these prehistoric-looking insects, whether we know it or not. This year, it’s difficult not to know. Many homeowners have been inundated as the population of brown marmorated stink bugs (Halyomorpha halys) keeps increasing. In spring, the shield-shaped insects show up in the garden on foliage and then move on to their preferred fruit, seeds or nuts. Foliage is a last r...
Mistletoe Just how poisonous is holiday mistletoe? By eNature Almost all of us have come across American Mistletoe, the white or green-berried parasitic plant hung in doorways during the holiday season to elicit kisses from those standing beneath it. Reputed to be the “kiss of death,” Mistletoe (the Phoradendron species is found in North America) is said by some to be so poisonous that humans can be killed if they ingest the leaves or berries. This myth has been endlessly repeated throughout the years, reappearing every December in cou...
Conifer By Kym Pokorny We buy live Christmas trees with the best of intentions, promising ourselves to plant them in the garden as soon as the holidays are over. But resolve has a way of fading like resolutions after January. Moved outside without the care they need, the beautiful, and not inexpensive, trees meant to go in the ground in winter, languish, fade to brown and eventually die. One alternative is to buy plants meant to stay in pots, said Al Shay, a horticulture instructor at Oregon State University. “It’s a trade-off,” he said. “You g...
Cat with fire By Kym Pokorny Conscientious Oregonians have been storing up firewood for the inevitable cool days of winter and the experienced wood-gatherers know that dry, seasoned firewood burns most efficiently, provides the most heat and smokes the least. In fact, unseasoned wood is not suitable for open fireplaces, according to Steve Bowers, a forester with Oregon State University Extension Service. Ideally, wood should be purchased or gathered at least a year in advance of burning. "Fireplaces don't draft like a wood stove, so you need...
