• DR. DAVID GRAPER reportedthe 2014 plant trials at McCroryGardens in Brookings SD. He is aSouth Dakota Extension horticultur-ist, and Professor of Horticulture atSouth Dakota State University(SDSU). About 150 varieties weretrialed at the gardens. Most vari-eties were grown from seed inSDSU greenhouses and trans-planted. They planted seeds pro-vided by Ball Floraplant, BallIngenuity, Burpee Home Gardens,Kieft Seed, Pan American Seed,Proven Winners, Selecta, and TerraNova. June temperatures werecooler than average as seedlingswere transplanted. July and Augustwere hotter and dryer than aver-age. The gardens are irrigated.Unique to these trials, seeds weregrown in ground, in pots, and inhanging baskets. Results of allplants can be found at the SDSUIgrow.org website in the "Garden"section where a download of trials,plant by plant, is available.

• AMONG NATIONAL gardeningtrends, 75 million U.S. households

have lawns, gardens, or growplants in containers. Survey con-ducted for Garden Writers Associa-tion was published in October2014. It showed that among thesehouseholds, 58% plan to grow edi-ble plants in the ground, in contain-ers, and sometimes both next year.Gardening concerns for thesehouseholds include insect and dis-ease control, wildlife control, irriga-tion, and cost of gardening.

• ANY ICE MELT product withchloride in the ingredients is harm-ful in contact with plants, whether itis calcium chloride, magnesiumchloride, or sodium chloride, ac-cording to Dr. John Ball, foresthealth specialist for SD Departmentof Agriculture and extensionforester for SD Cooperative Exten-sion. Plant buds and foliage can ac-cumulate toxic chloride and causedieback or scorch in trees, shrubs,and turf grass after repeated expo-sure over the winter. He says thatchloride enters the plant when theroots absorb it through runoff or indirect bud contact with salt-ladensnow piled on plants. To minimizedamage, Ball suggests using a saltsubstitute such as cat litter or saw-

dust for traction. By clearing snowoff the ice before salt application,less salt is needed to melt ice.Flushing salts with water in earlyspring helps dilute and removesome salt. More topics can befound at his "Pest Update"http://sdda.sd.gov/conservation-forestry/forest-health/tree-pest-alerts/

• SOME VEGETABLES, especiallycucumbers of the Cucurbit familyturn bitter under drought or otherstress growing conditions in sum-mer. While bitterness is selectedagainst as a home garden trait, cu-cumbers have long been valued as"bitter fruit" in Chinese and Indiaherbal medicine. Wild cucumbers,including its leaves, are quite bitter.Bitterness as a trait may act as thecucumber plant's protection frominsects in time of growing stress oran attractant to specific insects.Eleven genes have been identifiedas collectively responsible for bit-terness and their interaction areunder study. As well, the interactionthat resulted in domestic, usuallynot bitter cucumbers is under study.Cucurbitacins found in bitter cu-cumbers can slow or stop cancer

cell growth in humans. To learnmore about the interaction of thegenes and the masked domesticusually not bitter genes, re-searchers grew cucumbers in coolnight conditions as a stressor. Asmore is known about these interac-tions, then cucurbitacins may bemanufactured for use in anti-tumordrugs or other medicines. Source:28 November, 2014 Science mag-azine, "Biosynthesis, regulation,and domestication of bitterness incucumber."

The November Green-house Grower is a horticul-ture trade magazine thatpublished 2014 flower fieldtrial results provided fromseveral Midwest universitiesand public gardens. AtGreenhouse Grower (Web-site: www.greenhouse-grower.com) one can seemore Midwest trials. Beloware selected top flower per-formers in our geographic re-gion from the plants eachinstitution selected and grew.(To view the flower bloomand get more information, In-ternet search the flower'sname.) Midwest top flower-ing plant performers namedvarieties of canna andcelosia in common high re-gard for beauty, adaptabilityto local growing conditions,and growth in the annualseason.

UNIVERSITY OFMINNESOTA- MORRIS

(They noted weather conditionswere below normal temperaturesand above normal rainfall in 2014.)

Best in Show: Lantana 'LittleLucky Orange'

Top Performers:Canna 'Cannova Yellow'Salvia 'Playin' the Blues'Salvia spendens 'Ablazin

Purple'Euphorbia 'Diamond Delight'Coreopsis grandiflora 'Sun Up'

REIMAN GARDENS-IOWASTATE UNIVERSITY

(Ames, Iowa temperatures

were 5-10 degrees cooler than av-erage and less heat tolerant trialsshowed longer as a result. Plantsthat needed more heat such, asEchinacea didn't perform as wellthis season.)

Best in Show: Canna CannovaSeries

Top Performers:Acalypha 'Jungle Cloak'Celosia 'Arrabona Red'Big Bounce Impatiens SeriesOsteospermum 'Blue Eyed

Beauty'Petunia 'Sanguna Radiant Blue'

NORTH DAKOTASTATE UNIVERSITY

(Fargo university plant sciencedepartment trial manager com-mented that weather in June andthe first half of July was cool andwet. Pennisetum ornamentalgrasses had many visitor positivecomments.)

Best in Show: Celosia'Arrabona Red'

Top Performers:Canna 'Cannova Red Shades'Canna 'Cannova Rose'Canna 'Cannova Yellow'Mecardonia 'Gold Dust'Gaura 'Sparkle White'Angelonia 'Serenita Raspberry'Celosia 'Fresh Look Gold'Pennisetum setaceumMelinis nerviglumis (end of

season)

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Creating a Healthier Home Creating a Healthier Home Creating a Healthier Home

for You and Your Family for You and Your Family for You and Your Family

BY BRENDA K. JOHNSONP&D Corespondent

Even a small space rectangular backyardis just the size for some of the ideas dis-played at the Smithsonian Gardens in Wash-ington, D.C. Staff at the gardens gavepractical yard and flower garden design tipsin the January/February 2015 Horticulturemagazine.

Smithsonian Gardens' staff tips from theirpublic gardens inspired the pointers below.To illustrate Smithsonian Garden staff ideas,photo examples were taken at the skillfullylandscaped Lauritzen Gardens in Omaha, Ne-braska.

1. Create curves. Most backyards haveright angle boundaries, so curve theflowerbeds wherever possible. Considercurves in hardscape such as retaining wallsof landscape blocks. Perhaps a curved arborentrance to the yard fits your style.

2. Vary leaf textures. The more oppositethe texture the more it stands out. A fine or-namental grass contrasts with an evergreentree.

3. Dual duty is practical for a small space,

such as with edible herb sage, gold Celosia,and purple fountain grass. Ornamental chairsor birdbaths are other examples.

4. Add creative surprises. A cultivar ofdock, commonly grown for animal feed, pro-vides the ornamental ground cover in a fullsun area.

5. Create vertical interest. A boundarycrabapple tree provides its spring flowers,glossy leaves and shade, and fruit for birds.

6. Ignite your senses. Some areas havespace for a pond. A water interest in a smallspace can be the sound of an aquarium bub-bler in a ceramic bowl. Scented flowers andsingle plant lights for the evening are op-tions.

7. Miniature garden in a garden can add afun atmosphere to your back yard. Maybethe miniature garden repeats your back yardtheme.

Public gardens have plenty of landscapeideas that can be used in a small space back-yard. As you think about the possibilities foryour backyard, many major gardens have on-line information of interest such as the plant-related videos at the Smithsonian Gardenswebsite. www.gardens.si.edu

FebruaryPlant Tips

Beth Preheim is an experienced gar-dener who has grown a wide variety oftomatoes at the Yankton Community Gar-dens the past five years. Thanks to Pre-heim for her tomato recommendationsthat are intended as a resource as youfind best tomatoes for your needs whereyou garden.

She grows tomato transplants fromseeds at home to plant at the YanktonCommunity Gardens. She has kept care-ful records to find which tomatoes yieldthe best tomatoes for eating fresh insummer. She wants tomatoes that growwell in the conditions at the communitygardens, are tasty and disease resistant.

Setting at the gardens is full sun withwind exposure, clay loam soil, adequatemoisture available with nearby watertaps, limited space with heavy crop use,and single event hail, and torrential rain.Blight has been a continuing problem forgardeners, including last season, so herrecommendations refer to her severalyears of growing tomatoes.

For her tomato tips on "How To GrowTomatoes", see the Plant Exchange Blogunder the vegetable category at:http://brendakjohnsonplantexchange.wordpress.com/

Some varieties of tomatoes are notavailable as transplants locally. She indi-cates the seed company source becausevarieties' common names may varyamong companies. P = Pine Tree GardenSeeds J = Johnny's Select Seeds

HYBRID TOMATOES• JET STAR: My standard every year.

It's widely available and according toIowa Cooperative Extension, a top pro-ducing tomato in Iowa. Medium slicer.Vine is manageable with standard tomatocages. Transplant available in green-houses.

• SUNGOLD: Prolific sweet cherrytomato with flavor. Widely available.

• CLUSTER GRANDE: Clusters of 3inch round tomatoes on sturdy, averagevines.

• BELLSTAR: Very small paste tomatothat sets fruit early and grows about 2-3feet tall. Tapers production by the timeothers get going. Handles drought well.

• POLBIG: Early start that stays small,and sets fruit early in cool weather. Slic-ing tomatoes are 3-4 inches. Slows downas other tomatoes get going.

• TIP TOP: Patio tomato can begrown in a pot with 2 inch tomatoes.

HEIRLOOM TOMATOES• ITALIAN HEIRLOOM: Large slicing

tomato with good flavor. Handled blightwell.

• BRANDYWINE: Large slicing tomatowith good flavor. Handled blight well.

• CHEROKEE PURPLE: Another largeslicing tomato with beautiful purple tone.

• AMISH PASTE: Bit sweeter andlarger than many paste varieties. Firstrecommended by other South Dakotagardeners. Seed came from LancasterCounty, PA, Preheim's childhood home.

BY MARY ANN KINGMaster Gardener

Most people love a maple tree, espe-cially in the fall as the tree develops intoa firestorm of red, yellow and bronze. Aswe all are most familiar with the largestandard maple trees that fill our land-scapes, I would love to introduce garden-ers to the Japanese maple tree. Offeringgraceful forms, vivid foliage colors andsizes from dwarf to full size, this tree willbecome a favorite in your landscape.

In my own garden, two special"spots" are each home to a Japanesemaple tree that draws attention all yearlong.

Yankton gardens are in a plantingzone area allowing these trees to growfairly easily. The Zone 5 to 8 cultivarsprefer moist, well-drained and slightlyacidic soil. Choose a location away fromstrong winds and blazing sun. Thesetrees thrive in sun-dappled shade ormorning sun with afternoon shade, sincethey are prone to scorched leaves.

Japanese maple trees, though not heavyfeeders, do benefit from an annual all-purpose fertilizer after the first yeargrowth. Mulching at the base out to thedrip-line of the tree with natural, organicmaterial, 2 to 3 inches deep, insulatesthe roots and aids in moisture retention.

These trees naturally develop agraceful style and form, making themvery easy to maintain size, with pruningrequired only every few years to removedeadwood, cross branches and renewshaping. This is best done in the late fallor early winter to avoid excessive saploss. These showy trees are also very re-sistant to pests and disease.

Fall planting six weeks before the firstfrost allows the tree time to settle in be-fore winter. Water deeply before groundfreezing takes place.

In the wintertime remove heavy snowfrom the treetop by a gently brushing toprevent branches from breaking. Icecovered tree branches must be leftalone.

Which tree to choose? This is a fun

task! With tree forms from cascading, up-right, rounded, weeping and mounding,to heights from 2 to 30 feet, there aremany Japanese maple choices. Leaftypes can be lacy, feather-like, and palmshape, with color palettes ranging fromred, orange, green, purple, and pink towhite. These chameleons of the plantworld can leaf out in the spring with red,change to green in summer and finish inthe fall with a blaze of orange. Please besure to limit tree choices to Zone 5 culti-vars.

Some Japanese maple trees lendthemselves to container planting. Thiscan be lovely; however, know that thepotted tree will require a large containerthat will have to be moved to a shelteredlocation over the winter. Special han-dling throughout the winter months willalso be required, so research well beforedeciding on a container planted tree.

With more than 700 unique cultivars,there will be a Japanese maple tree thatwill fill that very special "spot" in yourgarden.

Share tips from your outdoor or indoorplant experience, give us a tour of yourplant site, or tell us what you enjoy mostabout these plants and people who growthem. Contact news@yankton.net Attn:Brenda Johnson or write P&D, 319 WalnutSt, Yankton, SD 57078, Attn: Brenda John-son. Blog www.brendakjohnsonplantex-change.wordpress.com.

Plant Exchange

Dreaming About Spring

Backyard Ideas From Public Gardens

PHOTOS: BRENDA K. JOHNSON

Public gardens are resources for ideas in your own backyard. These garden design tips were inspiredfrom staff at the Smithsonian Gardens in Washington D.C. Fall photos to illustrate the tips were shotat the regional public Lauritzen Gardens in Omaha, Nebraska.

Midwest Flower Field Trial Results

www.yankton.net

A Special Tree For A Special Spot

Dibbles And Bits