Carpenter Bees

They are out there harassing not only you and me, but they are also harassing the unpainted wood around your house. While these buzz -bombing rascals may look like bumble bees, they are actually carpenter bees, sometimes called wood bees.

 Carpenter bees are solitary nesters, although there may be several females nesting in the same basic area. The female chews holes into unpainted wood, sometimes into dead trees, and establishes nest compartments off of the main tunnel. She then lays an egg at the end of each nest compartment and packs nectar and pollen in over the top of the egg. After the egg hatches, the larvae eats the food then pupates, and late this summer they’ll hatch out. Now, the male carpenter bees hang around where there are females and act threatening and fly around you and buzz bomb you. Don’t worry! Males do not have stingers. 
The females are busy gather food and won’t bother you UNLESS you grab them or pick them up. The best solution is to paint the wood. If you cannot do that, then spray the entrance tunnels with sevin or permethrin.  A dust works better than a liquid, but leave the tunnel unplugged.  This fall you can fill the holes with wood putty and then paint over it or apply a wood stain so that the area won’t be so attractive next year.

Mississippi Medallion Plants 2011


   The Mississippi Medallion program was started in 1996 to To increase awareness of outstanding garden and landscape plant materials and to promote sales and production of ornamental plants in Mississippi.  Fifty-eight plants have been selected as Mississippi Medallion winners since then. For 2011, 3 plants are being featured.




SunPatiens



  'SunPatiens' are hybrid impatiens that thrive through the hottest parts of summer. Provided with adequate water, they will flower from spring until first frost.  There are 15 Sunpatiens selections that come on colors  include white, red, orange, coral, pink, blush, and magenta.  They have been solid preformers in trial gardens in Mississippi.

 



   'Aristotle' bell pepper very widely adapted green to red, blocky bell pepper with tremendous yield potential. Its extra large, dark green fruit and heavy sets have impressed growers everywhere. 'Aristotle’s' vigorous 20-24 in. plants offer good sun protection to the fruit and have intermediate resistance to bacterial leaf spot (races 1,2,3), potato virusY, and tobacco mosaic virus.

 



   Itea virginica, commonly known as Virginia Sweetspire is a native plant in Mississippi. This shrub has erect, densely branched stem when grown in full sun. The plant is evergreen most years in the coastal region and semi-evergreen to deciduous in northern Mississippi. The foliage is dark green and changes to a brilliant red fall color.  Flowers are produced on the previous year’s stems, prune after flowering. There are no serious pest or disease problems.  Virginia Sweetspire needs adequate moisture during dry periods inorder to grow well.

 

   Look for Mississippi Medallion plants at your local garden center.





Prime Pruning Time

Do not commit crapemurder!

    February is prime time for pruning time in Mississippi.  This spell of warm weather has ever gardener outside working in their yards.  Pruning shears are in a flurry of activity.

   But gardeners need to stop and slow done for a moment.  Why are they pruning and do they really need to be doing it?  Not every plant needs to be pruned every year!  Stop and look at the plant before you make any cuts.  Plan your cuts carefully.

   A properly pruned shrub is like a good haircut; hardly noticeable at first glance. Pruning cuts should be selective and hidden inside the plant where they will be covered by remaining leaves.

   The first step in pruning a shrub is to remove all dead, diseased, or damaged branches. Remove branches that cross or touch each other and those that are growing in the wrong direction.  This might be all that is needed.

   One of the main reasons people have to prune every year is that they planted the wrong plant for the space and it has over-gown the area.  In this situation all the branches are headed back or entire limbs are thinned out.

   In extreme situations the entire plant might need to be rejuvenated. In this case the plant is cut back to with 4 - 24 inches of the ground and encouraged to regrow.   As the plant grows back, some of the branches will need to be removed inorder to have a well-shaped plant.

   Another reason for pruning is to create a special-shaped plant or a topiary design.  We do not see lots of ornately-shaped plants in Mississippi, but they can be created if an ambitious gardener chooses to do so.

  The take-home lesson is to prune only if you need to or have to do it.  Otherwise relax and take time to enjoy this warm spell.

Pruning Muscadine Vines



Properly pruned vine.



       The best time to prune your muscadine vines is during the winter when they are dormant -sometime between mid-January to mid-March. Pruning of the past seasons growth must be done each winter to ensure a high quality crop with vigorous growth. Failure to prune annually can result in a night-mare mass of vines and very few fruit.

     After a muscadine vine has been trained, you want to cut off 70 to 90 percent of last year‟s growth. The shoots of muscadine grapes arise from buds in the leaf axils of the past seasons growth. The fruit of mus-cadine grapes is borne on the current year‟s growth. A good recommendation is to prune the previous year‟s growth back to 2 to 4 buds.

    Also, prune out lateral branches every 6 inches between each branch. Re-member to remove excess tendrils to prevent girdling of the vine.

Christmas Tree Recycling

    According to one report I read, 33 million Christmas trees are used every year in the United States. What do we do with all of these trees after Christmas when they no longer have any use? The answer is simple: recycle. And I do not mean to simply put them in the garbage.

    Almost all municipalities will pick up or have a place to discard Christmas trees. Hopefully they have a program to utilize rather than destroy the trees. If you live in the country, you will have to solve the problem yourself.
   But before you begin the recycle process be sure to remove all lights and ornaments. However, if you used "natural" decorations, such as strung popcorn or cranberries leave them on the tree to provide food for birds and animals.
    Here are some ways you can recycle your Christmas tree and keep it from going to overflowing landfills:
    Make mulch - If you have a chipper, run the tree through it. The chips make great mulch and smell good while being chipped. You can cut off the boughs and place them on the ground like a blanket to protect plants that are susceptible to wind or cold damage, plants that are marginally hardy in your area, and plants that might come up early and be nipped by a late spring frost, such as fall-planted pansies or flowering bulbs. Retain the trunk for a use I will tell you about later.

    Save it for wildlife habitat - Move the tree in its stand outdoors for the winter or tie the tree to a post, where it can provide food and shelter for wild birds. Even better, put the tree near a bird feeder or hang bird treats from the tree. The trees could be used as artificial fish attractors in ponds or lakes. The sunken trees provide a place for small fish to hide. Snails and aquatic insects grow here also to provide food for the fish.
    If you are in a hurry, a simple alternative way to dispose of holiday trees is to use them as wildlife cover in fields and forests. Besides birds, rabbits and other small animals could use them as shelter during winter months. The trees will eventually decay and be recycled naturally.
    Turn it into a trellis – That trunk you saved after removing the branches can be set up in your garden as a trellis for peas, beans, or cucumbers. I guess you could even use it to make a “bottle tree.”

    Reuse your tree any way you can. Remember it took 5 – 10 years or possibly more, depending on the species, to grow this tree. Do not waste all of Mother Nature’s time for a few weeks of your pleasure.