Lafayette Parish Master Gardeners Association

The full moon tonight has up thinking back to PlantFest last year and a fan favorite presentation - Planting With the Phases of the Moon.

What speaker are you most excited to see this year on September 28th?

9:00 Tina Jumonville, LPMG
Plants: Cool Season vs. Warm Season

10:00 Ed Wilhelm, LPMG
Fall Garden

11:00 Jamie Duval, LPMG
Incorporating Edibles Into the Landscape

12:00 LJ Delcambre, LPMG
Staghorn Pup Propogation

Rhododendron 'Koromo Shikibu' - Purple Spider Azalea

Unlike any azalea in your garden, the delicate strappy blooms of Koromo Shikibu are certain to be a conversation starter. After several unsuccessful attempts at propagation, we are proud to finally offer this special plant, in gallon size, ready for your garden.

The upright, evergreen shrub will grow to 4' x 3' and thrives in acidic soil.

Part sun is best for this delicate lady.

Available at PlantFest ™ September 28th

Waiting for you at PlantFest™ September 28th!

Senna alata, Candelabra Tree.....3 to 4 feet high and getting ready to bloom! Striking bright yellow cones rise above the coarse compound foliage. Can be grown in a large container as a patio plant, until it eventually needs to be set out in the landscape. Prune in early spring to broaden the canopy and increase bloom. Winter hardy and usually evergreen in zones 9-11. A host plant for the sulphur butterflies.

Two Saturdays out and it's time for another walk down memory lane of PlantFest™ past!

Check out these snapshots make sure you have your schedule open for September 28th. We can't wait to see you there!

PlantFest ™ is coming quickly! Mark your calendar from 8-1 on 9/28!

Here's another one to add to your shopping list!

Capsicum annuum, Bird Pepper

Sweet as a baby wren but fierce as a momma mockingbird! This perennial is the only pepper native to the US. Tiny white flowers are followed by the cutest round fruit that seems so benign, but measures 50,000 to 100,00 scoville units! Add fresh to salsas and other spicy dishes, or dry and grind for your culinary adventures.

It's a short-lived perennial, lasting two to three years, but seeds can be harvested for future plants. So named because birds enjoy the green fruit. Grow it in the garden or as a pretty patio container.

The delicate bushy habit is easy to maintain and requires no staking. Average growth is 2' to 3' in full sun, smaller in part sun.

Don't forget to get your raffle ticket while you're there!

Chemistry of fall foliage

Phyla nodiflora or Frogfruit

Who doesn't love a native, evergreen, blooming groundcover?

Dainty Frogfruit fits the bill. It will meander quickly under your shrub border, among your wildlife plantings, around a tree or problem spot, serving as a living mulch.

Tiny white flowers rise above the low foliage (3'', 6'' in bloom), and attracts bees and butterflies while being cold, heat and drought tolerant.

Be forewarned, however, that this is another of our "Naughty but Nice" offerings and should not be planted in mixed ornamental beds. Management is easy since it's not deep rooted and can be cut or pulled out where it wanders away from its boundaries.

It is considered by some to be a good turf alternative where grass does not grow.

Learn about growing cut flowers in Louisiana with the LSU AgCenter's new guide! https://tinyurl.com/CutFlowerProductionLA

Spiders might be scary to some, but are friends of the garden!

Master Gardeners of Santa Clara County provide
five reasons you should love spiders (or at least not harm them and leave them alone):
- Spiders consume 400-800 million tons of prey, mostly insects, each year.
-Spider silk is one of the strongest naturally occurring materials. It is stronger than steel and more stretchy than Kevlar; a pencil-thick strand of spider silk could stop a Boeing 747 in flight.
-Hummingbirds use spider web silk to line their nests.
- Some spiders are incredibly fast – able to run up to 70 body lengths per second (10X faster than Usain Bolt).
- Although nearly all 47,000-plus spider species have venom used to kill their insect prey, very few actually have venom that harms humans. In California, only the Black Widow falls under the harmful category.
- Some spiders are really good parents –wolf spider moms carry their young on their backs until they are ready to strike out on their own; female trapdoor spiders keep their broods safe inside their burrows often longer than one year, and some female jumping spiders even nurse their spiderlings with a protein-rich substance comparable to milk.

From the Bug Squad Blog (UC Davis Department of Entomology)
Photo: Bold Jumping Spider on Opal Basil

Lafayette Parish Master Gardeners are seeking donations of decorative plant containers. Ceramic, metal, wood, etc. No plastic please.
These will be used to sell our lovely houseplants and succulents at PlantFest on Saturday, September 28th. Now is the time to clean out your potting bench or garage shelves and let your old containers shine with a new life!
Bring to our greenhouse on Coliseum Road or message us for pickup. Thanks for your support of our biannual fundraiser. Master Gardeners are a support arm of the LSU AgCenter.

Ruellia elegans, Rosy Red Ruellia

We've grown this favorite for years, but have been puzzled by web searches that show it as an annual with bright red flowers. Ours is a reliable perennial with rosy red trumpets, hence our given name. We can only conclude this is a robust cousin to the annual and tender Ragin Cajun™ ruellia.

Our Rosy Red survives winters to freezing temperatures, returning in late spring. Its mounding habit makes it perfect for front of the border or in containers.

Full to part sun, 24 inches high and wide.

Pick up yours at ™ September 28th!

The 2024 MG Class on September 12th is cancelled due to Francine.

Stay safe in the storm and we’ll see you next week!

Emergency generators become popular after disasters. They can help save food in freezers and refrigerators, but they also may be dangerous if not used properly. Be sure to use your generator safely. Check out these tips before you power up: https://bit.ly/2WBdycw.

Now is the time to have your hurricane food supply ready with our list of non-perishable, shelf-stable foods. Visit the link for full list: https://tinyurl.com/HurricaneFoodSupply

Did you know the LSU AgCenter's fall edition of Horticulture Hints is out?
Check it out as you plan your fall garden, and as you make you list for PlantFest on September 28th!

Horticulture Hints for Louisiana - Fall 2024 Fall gardening tips for homeowners in Louisiana.

Excited to learn more about fall vegetable gardening before you pick up your PlantFest goodies (and raffle ticket!) on September 28th?

Check out this wonderful guide by the LSU AgCenter

​Vegetable Gardening in the Fall Even though the temperatures aren’t falling yet, it is time to start preparing for the fall vegetable garden.

Did you get your raffle ticket yet?

There are some amazing prizes up for grabs this year!

Funds raised from this event go directly towards supporting LPMGA programs such as the School Garden Initiative, Ask a Master Gardener tables, local grants, and the creation and maintenance of educational gardens at like at Vermilionville, Moncus Park, and Meredith's Place.

The raffle ticket prizes are:

1st prize - $500 gift card to All Seasons Nursery in Lafayette, LA
2nd prize - 2 tickets to Art In Bloom Lecture, Lunch, and Tour March 26th, 2025 in New Orleans
3rd prize - $250 gift card to Brother's Lawn Service for plants and installation
4th prize - 2 tickets to Dans le Jardin in March 2025
5th prize - $200 gift card to Cane Row Nursery in Broussard, LA

Raffle tickets are also available the day of the event!

Costus scaber or Orange Spiral Ginger

The broad spiraling leaves and striking orange cones of Costus scaber will add a touch of the tropics to your patio or pool area. We are offering healthy, blooming 3-gallon specimens, perfect to set in the ground or containers now. Stiff curving stems end in orange bracts with orange tubular flowers.

Flowers last only a day but are replaced quickly with more. The waxy bracts retain their color and interest; long lasting in floral arrangements.

Easy to grow, requiring filtered to full sun with regular moisture (especially when in full sun). Cold hardy, dying back in winter and reliably returning in late spring.

Fertilize with slow-release when they emerge, as they are heavy feeders when growing. Grows 4 to 5' high, 3 to 4' wide.

Come get yours at PlantFest!

Still making your list for PlantFest™

Malvaviscus arboreus var. drummondii or Pink Turk's Cap is a great one for your list!

Dainty, upright, whorled blooms cover this bushy native plant. It may look fragile, but it's a workhorse in the hummingbird garden. Evergreen in mild temperatures, and returning reliably after a hard winter.

This large herbaceous perennial grows to a size of 3' to 4' high and wide but takes kindly to pruning. Expect sweet pink blooms to cover it all season.

It can be easy to get a bit lost with the many plants available at Fall PlantFest but the LSU AgCenter has a great Perennial Chart to help give clarity.

We look forward to seeing what you pick on September 28th at the Lafayette Parish Master Gardeners Association demo beds at Ira Nelson Horticulture Center!
https://www.lsuagcenter.com/MCMS/RelatedFiles/%7B41E75CEB-5F1E-4378-A48B-DE7C63502650%7D/Perennial-Chart.pdf

Naughty but nice!
Wedelia aka Creeping Oxeye Daisy is an excellent quick growing groundcover for problem areas....around a tree, on a ditch bank, and in a difficult corner.

Bright yellow daisy-like blooms rise above glossy green leaves, even in full shade!

Drought tolerant and easily managed with a w**d whacker when it roams out of bounds. It also makes a lovely hanging basket or a container plant on a shady doorstep.

Don't make the mistake of putting it in your mixed bed...this baby loves to spread!

For you at Lafayette MG PlantFest™ September 28th Scutellaria javanica 'Veranda'
Purple Skullcap

Here's a sweet, low growing evergreen perennial for the front of your part shade border. 1'H x 2'W. In constant bloom from spring to frost, sporting deep purple tubes with downward lobes above glossy green foliage. Try it in a container paired with gold mums or marigolds for a centerpiece at your Tiger Football watch parties. Attracts pollinators.

Cestrum aurantiacum
Yellow Cestrum

This evergreen shrub will bring the hummingbirds in by droves. Six-inch long panicles of buttery yellow tubes bloom almost year round to brighten your landscape. It can reach a size of 6' high x 5' wide, but takes kindly to pruning, particularly in early spring. It is also long lasting in cut flower arrangements. Our large plants are ready for you to plant now .

Another one for your PlantFest shopping list!

Jatropha multifida, or Coral Bush

We've enjoyed our Jatropha integerimma, Spicy Jatropha in our Butterfly Bed for years. It is a broad leafed, perennial, often evergreen. Coral Bush, J. multifida, on the other hand is a tender perennial. Lacy, deeply dissected foliage is topped with flat-topped clusters of bright, nectar filled flowers.

A striking single-trunked small tree, growing eventually to 5' or more. Height can be maintained with a yearly pruning.

Plant in a large container of well drained mix and prepare to bring in before frost. Leaves will drop once temperatures reach below 50 degrees. Grows best in a sunny location with average moisture.

"Something to consider - "If something is not eating your plants, then your garden is not part of the ecosystem."

These six are just some of the more commonly encountered insects that rely upon milkw**d. Some are seed eaters, some go for leaves or pods or buds, some even have stages that feed upon the roots!

They're all important members of the milkw**d ecosystem and bring their own wonderment to the equation. Spend some time watching your plants and I promise you'll find more appreciation for the species that live upon it or simply visit (many of which you won't find in this image). 🐛💖🦋"

Thank you Sarah O'Connor for sharing this information through Monarch Education; Milkw**d Ecosystems.

The September 2024 issue of GNO Gardening Magazine is now available online.
Click on the link below to view.https://www.lsuagcenter.com/~/media/system/8/9/c/4/89c4dc1d4a445ebc6f5135f617a18fea/september%202024pdf.pdf

TREE OF THE MONTH: SASSAFRAS

Sassafras is a small to medium-sized tree growing along slopes, tree lines, and bottomlands as an understory tree. Sassafras marches to the beat of its own drum. It is dioecious, which means its male and female flowers occur on separate trees. Only 5% of trees reproduce in this manner.

Here are some characteristics of sassafras:

Leaves: Each sassafras leaf is unique meaning they grow in different shapes. They range from 4 to 6 inches long and 2 to 4 inches wide with a yellowish-green coloring.

Bark: Younger sassafras trees have grayish-brown bark that slightly furrows. As they mature their bark becomes darker and furrows deepen.

Fruit: Dangling from a thin red stalk, sassafras fruit is a blue drupe about one-half an inch long and eaten by birds, squirrels, and other small mammals.

Habitat: Sassafras grows throughout Oklahoma, Texas, and the eastern U.S.

Its wood is watertight, making it an excellent resource for constructing small boats and oars. Historically, dugout canoes have been made of sassafras trees and used along the Mississippi River. But the most interesting fact about sassafras is its oil. Made from the tree’s bark, twigs, and roots, sassafras oil has been banned by the Food and Drug Administration for its high concentration of safrole, a carcinogen.

BLOG POST: https://extension.msstate.edu/blog/tree-the-month-sassafras

Is your plant suffering from a disease or insect issue? The LSU AgCenter Plant Diagnostic Center diagnoses plant samples with problems caused by fungi, bacteria, viruses, nematodes, insect pests and mites, as well as nonpathogenic agents and w**d identification.

Routine plant diagnostic services are provided to extension personnel across Louisiana as well as to state residents at a charge of $20 per sample. Learn more: https://tinyurl.com/PlantDiagnosticCenter

Mulch Volcanoes Kill Trees Mulch piled high around trees is harmful. Photo: D. Clement, University of Maryland Extension I’ve been a bit twitchy lately. I keep seeing mulch piled high around trees and it makes me more t…