Wow! It's May 12th and in a normal environment we would be admiring bedding plants placed around the patio and watching our vegetable transplants slowly acclimate to their new surroundings in your garden. But we live in Colorado where spring snowstorms seem to come out of nowhere and all of a sudden our gardens and landscapes are turned into 'plantsicles' under the weight of the snow. Driving into the CSU campus this morning I noticed that the damage on the west side of Fort Collins appears to be worse than the central or east side of town, although there is still plenty of damage to see.
I did make a few observations this morning on the damage that has occured:
- The trees that are damaged most heavily appear to be trees that are in full flower (crabapples especially seemed hard hit) or fully leafed out.
- Trees with a spreading habit rather than upright also seem to be harder hit.
- Trees that have not fully leafed out, such as Lindens, appear to have very little to no limb breakage.
- Trees with a pyramidal shape (some of the ornamental pears, etc.) also appear to have very little to no limb breakage.
The recommendation would be to get out and inspect your landscape as soon as feasible for any signs of breakage or damage. http://www.ext.colostate.edu/mg/gardennotes/616-MatureTrees.html will provide information on when and how to prune trees, if needed, as well as providing information on when or if there is a need to hire a certified professional arborist. Here on campus this morning, the tree crews were already out pruning trees and cleaning up fallen branches. The road around the Oval was closed to traffic to allow crews to get the job done. The elms around campus have really taken a beating this season with the early fall snowstorm and now the late spring snowstorm. Hopefully all the damaged trees will survive in good shape. As always, if you have any questions, you can contact the Plant Diagnostic Clinic at CSU or contact your local County Extension Office for more information.
There has been much discussion between Extension Agents, Specialists and Diagnosticians regarding diagnosis of disease or insect problems related to medical marijuana. The following protocol has been vetted by CSU Legal Counsel and Extension Administration: The General Counsel's staff at Colorado State University has informed CSU Extension of the following in regards to medical marijuana. These restrictions apply to all CSU Extension staff members to include Master Gardener Volunteers.1. While the use of medical marijuana is legal in the state of Colorado, marijuana remains a schedule 1 illegal drug under Federal law and as such, Colorado State University Extension cannot be involved with this item.a. Assistance with medical marijuana plant health questions will not be provided.b. Individuals requesting such information will not be provided referral information.2. Our offices are considered drug free workplaces as CSU is a Federal contractor.a. Marijuana plants and/or plant parts are not permitted in CSU Extension offices.b. Marijuana plants or plant parts delivered to or left at CSU Extension offices will be turned over to legal authorities for destruction.3. If CSU Extension employees or volunteers (including Master Gardeners) assist medical marijuana growers, they will be acting outside the scope of their employee/volunteer role and assume personal liability for any legal action that may be taken against them.Based on this information from General Counsel, the Plant Diagnostic Clinic will not accept marijuana plants for diagnosis, nor can we offer assistant via phone or email.
Here in the clinic, we've received several phone calls regarding the effectiveness of a product on the market called Organic Disease Control or ODC. The product is a colloidal chitosan which states that it will increase resin production in trees to help reduce attacks by Mountain Pine Beetle. Sky Stephens, Colorado State Forest Service Entomologist, has provided talking points regarding this product. To date, no testing has been done to determine the impacts of Agrihouse ODC on mountain pine beetle in lodgepole or ponderosa pine. One point from the information provided is that until specific testing is done to determine the impacts of ODC on mountain pine beetle, CSFS encourages landowners to use well-tested products with a proven track record to protect important pine trees on their land. CSFS Talking Points Regarding ODC (pdf)
We've received several samples in the Diagnostic Clinic this month of Scots pine that have been hit with Mountain Pine Beetle (MPB) from areas along the front range and one of those samples also had Pine Wilt Nematode (PWN) (Bursaphelenchus spp.). So we are asking ourselves, which came first, MPB or PWN? And, is one exacerbating the other? To see if we can answer this question, we are collecting samples of MPB hit Scots pine that are being cut down in counties along the Front Range to process for PWN to see if there is any correlation. The specific counties we would like samples from are Larimer, Weld, Boulder, Adams, Jefferson, Denver, Arapahoe and Douglas. The samples should be from trees no higher than 6000 ft elevation. The samples should be collected from branch areas closest to the trunk and should be no more than 3 inches in diameter and about 6-8 inches in length. Samples will be processed at no charge to the submitter. Samples should also be sent within 1-2 days of the tree being cut down. Samples can be sent to the Plant Diagnostic Clinic, E215 Plant Sciences Bldg, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523-1177. If you have any questions, feel free to call us at 970-491-6950.
Dr. Tisserat's ProGreen presentation on common turfgrass diseases and their control. If you weren't able to make it to ProGreen or just want an extra copy, the presentation is in PDF format and the link is below.ProGreen Turfgrass 2010 Presentation
I've fielded several phone calls this week regarding Mountain Pine Beetle/Ips Beetle and whether homeowner trees in the urban areas should be sprayed for prevention of MPB/Ips attacks. I asked Fort Collins Assistant City Forester Ralph Zentz, and his reply is as follows:"In the Front Range urban areas, the main host is still Scotch/Scots Pine (about 80% or more). Austrian pines are rarely hit and I have not seen or heard of any othe them being killed by MPB in any of the communities. Ponderosa is the second most hit species of pine in our cities, but lodgepole, pinyon, bristlecone, eastern white pine and others have been hit as well. Mortality in scotch pine runs about 10% when they are hit; the same is true for Ponderosa.In the foothills and mountains of the Front Range, the MPB population is building in the native Ponderosa according to Dave Leatherman, Entomologist, formerly with CSFS.Spraying should occur prior to May, however there may be a few earlier flights, but (in my opinion) not enough to warrant earlier spraying. It is critical that people realize that just because a tree is hit, it does not mean it will be killed from the pest. 10% or less mortality is reported from all the communities from Colorado Springs north to Fort Collins."In a previous blog posting, there is a link to 'Mountain Pine Beetle Information' from October 30, 2009 that provides the most recent information compiled by the Colorado State Forest Service and Colorado State Extension. Scroll down to the date and the link is at the end of the posting. The links to fact sheets from CSU Extension on MPB and Ips/Engraver Beetles are posted here. These sheet should also provide information for concerned homeowners. http://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/insect/05558.htmlhttp://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/insect/05528.htmlAs always you can call the Plant Diagnostic Clinic with your questions, or contact your local County Extension office for the latest information.
Colorado Department of Agriculture is instituting new regulations for the importation of plant material into Colorado that will protect Colorado by reducing the introduction of Japanese Beetle into the state. These regulations will take effect on January 1, 2010. Links to the regulations, a presentation to Extension Horticulture Agents and Best Management Strategies for Control of Japanese Beetle are at the end of this post. These new regulations have no effect on what growers can ship out of Colorado. These regulations only affect plant material (which includes, among other items, soil, compost, manure, and grass sod) imported into Colorado from states east of Colorado. Any questions regarding these new regulations can be directed to Laura Pottorff, Colorado Department of Agriculture, Nursery Program Manager, 303-239-4153.Best Management Strategies (PDF)Presentation to Extension Horticulture Agents (PDF) CDA Regulations effective 1.1.2010 (PDF)
