Good morning all!
The last two days were spent in classes at the Topeka Expo Center for the annual Kansas Turfgrass Conference. Greg Strahm, Neil Lednickey, Doug Grimm and I were at the center of it all for learning and networking with landscape and turfgrass professionals.
On Tuesday morning we arrived with high spirits and eager minds, ready for a change in our daily routines. My mind is always set to learning, and I was very aware of the potential knowledge I could pick up from this year’s conference. The Kansas Turfgrass Foundation holds this event yearly to give industry professionals a chance to talk over the closing turf season, compare research findings, and discuss recent disease and insect outbreaks.
I, being a horticulture professional not part of the greater turfgrass section, was happy to attend a variety of seminars geared at ornamental landscaping. My first class of the day was presented by Dr. Alan Stevens of Kansas State University, speaking on using perennials in commercial landscape beds. Typically, we think about commercial beds as being ones tied down with large annual color plantings, catching and sweeping the eye as you move across the landscape. Most commercial plantings are viewed from someone in motion, either drivers going on their routes or people walking past on sidewalks. The reason for including perennials is to develop a backbone of plants that do not have to be replaced year after year. Dr. Stevens included the use of peonies, daylilies, iris, coneflowers, and hardy hibiscus in commercial plantings.
The second seminar I attended was by Dr. Judy O’Mara of the KSU Plant Pathology Lab. She spoke on diseases that had been found recently in Kansas landscapes and on turf. For the first time, boxwood blight was confirmed in Kansas, in a nursery setting. It was likely an affected plant that was shipped from a nursery that had previous outbreaks. Boxwood blight is prevalent in areas of high humidity and high rainfall, and has been decimating the east coast for the last few years. That it was discovered in Kansas now for the first time shows that no one is totally safe from infection. Other diseases mentioned were cytospora canker on spruces which was triggered by past drought conditions and plant stress; a pine wilt resurgence from stressed pines; Oak decline and hypoxylon canker – another canker triggered by tree stress; pythium crown and root rot on liriope from the wet spring and cool wet summer; high levels of peony red spot from the extended wet; fireblight on pears, crabapples, apples, and hawthorns; cedar hawthorn rust on pears and hawthorns; and impatiens downy mildew confirmed in now multiple locations across Northeast Kansas, including one of my customer’s landscapes.
Next I attended a lecture on Rose Rosette and what to replace roses with given by Dennis Patton, the Johnson County Horticulture Agent. Rose rosette is a viral disease that affects all types of roses and is vectored by mites that are most commonly blown from plant to plant. Large groupings of roses are devastated by this disease which induces discoloration of the foliage, witches brooms, abnormal growth, excessive thorniness, and stunting of the plant. By increasing the spacing of roses, reducing the number of roses, and increasing biodiversity in our landscapes, we can reduce the negative effects of this disease and others. Dennis recommended replacing groupings of roses with different plant species including crape myrtle, panicled hydrangea, rose of Sharon, blue mist shrub, and hardy hibiscus.
Tim McDonnell of the John C. Pair Horticulture Research Station in Haysville, KS spoke next on the use of Elms in landscapes. In the earlier years of this nation, American elms were planted along great stretches of our roadways and streets. With the introduction of Dutch Elm Disease (DED), American elms were all but wiped out. Much research and trials have been done to find replacements for this great native tree. In arboreal forests of the east coast, tuliptrees have taken over the areas once dominated by the American elm. In our cities, we have tried multiple species, but with little success in replacing such grandeur. Now however, the American elm is making a comeback with DED resistant varieties and hybrids. Of the multiple crossings and cultivars now available to plant, Tim recommended ‘Princeton’, ‘Frontier’, and ‘Accolade’ as the best selections.
The next talk was by KSU faculty member and Entomology Extension Specialist Dr. Raymond Cloyd. He spoke about insects that have been seen in the last year and practices for controlling insect outbreaks in any year. He mentioned an increase in the number of caterpillars seen in landscapes in the last year as well as Japanese Beetles, European Elm Flea Weevils, and a large increase in grasshopper populations. Dr. Cloyd reminded us of the valuable use of water sprays to eliminate scale, mites, and aphids from plants. This is an alternative treatment to pesticides, but can be used effectively to reduce the number of smaller insects to a permissible damage level.
The last informational talk of Tuesday was by Jake Reeves, on using buffalograss in golf courses and other areas. Some of the disadvantages of buffalograss were poor shade tolerance, poor traffic tolerance, slow growth rate, and poor stand density. He mentioned studies they had done using rates of nitrogen to increase the growth of buffalograss and the advantage of watering on stand improvement. Several cultivars have been selected for color, heat and drought tolerance, and even shade adaptability for future use on golf courses and in home turf areas.
On Wednesday, I attended a lecture by Dr. Megan Kennelly, who gave a more in depth look at diseases on ornamental plants, and extra discussion on powdery mildews in the landscape. Importantly, powdery mildews are host specific; meaning that powdery mildew of lilac is not the same as powdery mildew of echinacea. She also went over ash diseases separate from the damage inflicted by Emerald Ash Borer, and aster yellows-a viral disease affecting over 300 landscape plants.
The last talk of the day was by Dr. Jason Griffin, lead researcher at the John C. Pair Horticulture Research Center. Dr. Griffin gave an excellent talk on the abiotic stressors of trees and had great photos. Dr. Griffin is a fun and energetic presenter, who like me, gets extra excited over seeing pests and damage to plants, while being upset about it at the same time. Abiotic problems are ones caused by non-living components, such as string trimmer damage to trunks, growth problems, and genetic mutations.
All in all, this was a highly informative conference, and I can hardly wait to attend again next year!
