Burning Man Bugs

Interesting article on Gizmodo about bugs infesting the Burning Man festival in northwest Nevada.

Pasadena Tree Failure Due to 'Summer Limb Drop', Lack of Adequate Root Crown Among Other Things

Last month when a large Mediterranean pine fell in Pasadena, seriously injuring two children, I was interviewed by KNBC as to what could cause trees to fail during the summer. I mentioned several causes, one of which involved water rushing up to the limbs but not being able to escape due to high humidity and low wind-speed reducing the amount of water that is eliminated normally due to transpiration. Apparently Ted Lubushkof, the independent consulting arborist who was hired by the city of Pasadena, cited that as the main cause of the failure. Summer limb drop is quite common, it's just that it rarely occurs at the same time people are underneath the trees.  

Edible Seeds of Common L.A. Area Ornamental Tree May Be Attracting Rats

I received an email about branches and leaves coming off of a Chinese elm. Turns out that the branches that were coming down were laden with the seeds of the tree (it had recently flowered and was now going to seed). A little web-jogging turned up an "Eat the Weeds" blog page  that states that Chinese elm tree seeds (called samaras) are edible.  So why were these seed covered branches falling?  Either rodents looking for an elm tree seed meal were causing them to fall as they greedily chomped down on the seeds, or maybe even the local parrot flock -as parrots love edible seeds.

Edible winged seeds of the Chinese elm. 

New Posts to TUMBLR

I've updated the Arboretum's TUMBLR page. This is where I put photos that I don't post to the Arboretum's Facebook page.

Amazing Plants Links

Amazing Plants Links

Wayne's Word Noteworthy Plants
Kalanchoe beharensis 'fang'
Devils Claws
Euphorbia tirucalli - Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaAtlas cedar | Attractions At Kew GardensSeed Dispersal Methods The sadistic dispersal strategy of the puncture vine | Kew Blogs
Cedarwood Oil Profile

The Rain Queen of Limpopo's Fascinating Story

She is the official protectoress of the ancient and sacred cycad Encephalartos transvenosis -which was on the tour but we didn't have time to see.

Rain Queen - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Legend of Rain Queen | Modjadji House
Rain Queen Makobo Modjadji VI, dies after a sudden illness | South African History Online
The Rain Queen's Sacred Tree Preserve

Discovering a New Bug

Turns out the pest is called the 'Golden Mealybug', it's a type of mealybug that attacks only Australian members of the Araucaria family (Norfolk Island Pines, Bunya Bunya trees, Queensland Karis etc.) and as such is not considered an important pest by the state of California. A volunteer for another Arboretum (Fullerton?) wrote about this bug in her blog. Apparently it's been around for a while.

Golden Mealybug on Araucaria bidwillii (Bunya Bumya tree).

A few weeks ago I was wandering through the Australian section looking for that perfect shot and getting ready for a talk I was going to give on Australian trees ideal for our gardens. Halfway through the trek I noticed the trunk of a Lophostemon conferta just covered in what looked like very active uber mealy bugs (see below). I took pictures of it with both my Nikon D5000 and my iPhone. I then sent pictures and a video of the pest via an app called 'Report A Pest' from the California Department of Food and Agriculture. It was a Saturday and I didn't think much of it because the last time I used it several weeks went by before I was contacted back, besides I planned to send the info to Gevork Arakelian as soon as I got back in the office on Tuesday but...

Here's one of the pix I sent to the California State Dept. of Agriculture vie the 'Report a Pest' app. 

Here's the video I sent. I've since added some cool music to it.

...monday roles around and I get an urgent message from Jerry Turney over at the County Ag Commissioner's office -seems the state thought my little insect was a big deal. The next day I was back at work and Gevork comes over first thing and we go out to look at the pest. As both Jerry and Gevork previously guessed from the images it was not a mealybug at all but a mealybug and scale predator beetle larvae know as the "Mealybug Destroyer". 
While we were out there Gevork noticed that the mealybug destroyer was feeding on a previously unknown (to Southern California) pest that was feeding on the Bunya-bunya trees located next to the Lophostemon tree-trunk that the mealybug destroyer was first found on.

Redwoods in Southern California: Mostly the Wrong Place Here for Them But There Are Some Exceptions

Ah, Somebody Agrees With Me

Recently I did an Off Ramp show for KPCC where I warned of the perils of knee-jerk reactions to the drought, like planting a bunch of drought tolerant plants right before summer and during a time when the more frequent waterings they would need to establish could be eliminated by new water restrictions. I took a lot of flack for saying that right now is not the best time to eliminate your lawn, and that until then you can slow down, but not eliminate, the watering on your lawn until such time as you can decide what to do with it. I got some support in this article below. I like support.

http://www.scpr.org/news/2015/05/21/51858/don-t-want-to-ditch-your-grass-5-tips-for-putting/

Eight Things That Can Help Your Roses (and other high water use plants) Get Through The Drought

Roses have a long history in both western and eastern cultures, and rose gardens are considered a symbol of prosperity and wealth. Although there are many roses, both native to California and the old world, that are fairly drought tolerant, the dominant rose you’re going to find in most people’s gardens are hybrid teas, followed by the smaller floribunda types and the large grandifloras and climbing roses. These just about all have Chinese tea roses in their ancestry, a rose that, by itself, is not very hardy to Southern California’s dry, arid climate. This means that most of the roses that are popular today have moderate to heavy water needs. Even though roses benefit from a 2 to 3 times a week watering schedule there are some methods and techniques you can use to help your roses get through the drought and, if they have to,  being watered only once a week. Here they are:

1.     Mulch

 Bark mulches (small to medium size) are best for roses. Apply a 3-4 inch layer of mulch around your roses. Mulch helps even out the drying process of the soil, and as an added benefit, compounds that are released during the mulches slow decay are beneficial to your roses and detrimental to diseases and pests.

2.     Put ‘em on a diet.

 Feeding your roses produces growth that is more likely to lose water, so do not feed your roses until next year in the early spring.

3.     Apply Sunscreen

Kaolin powder spray can be applied to your roses to help them get through the drought. The fine, white clay acts as a sunscreen, keeping leaves cooler and lowering the amount of water they lose during the day. As an added bonus it also deters damaging insects. You will have to reapply after a rainstorm and the roses will look a little ghostly with their coating of fine white clay.

4. Strip 'em

If you remove all the leaves from your rose and leave the buds, the resulting foliage will adapt to the roses new, restricted watering schedule.

5.     Get them to the castle and close the drawbridge

Next winter, when transplanting is ideal, aggregate your roses into a single, high maintenance bed where you can control the watering and give them that special care.

6.   Let ‘em wear shades

Erect shade structures over your roses. 10%-20% shade cloth should do just fine. There new, more shaded digs will keep water loss from them to a minimum.

7.   Cover them with plastic (not what you think)

Spray on anti-transpirants are solutions that leave a plastic film covering the leaves and branches of the rose that can help your them get through particularly dry periods, but don’t overuse them.  One popular brand is Wilt-Pruf, another is Cloudcover. This is a last resort, and some experts believe that anti-transpirants aren’t that effective.

8.   Get used to their new ‘rough’ look.

Once you've applied some of the above strategies, watering roses only once a week, even in the dead of summer, probably will not kill them. However they may be a little (or a lot) rough around the edges. Get used to the browning and yellowing leaves that are sign of the plants adjusting to their new water regime.

Hunkering Down With Your Lawn to Survive the Drought

So you're not going give up your lawn until they pry it from the dry parched ground it's now growing in. What can you do to help it survive until you can find a reasonable California friendly replacement? Below are a few ideas:

1. Mow your lawn on your lawnmowers highest setting; cutting grass low stimulates growth which encourages water loss. Mature grass leaves develop a thicker cuticle (skin) which helps them stand up to drought much more readily.
2. If your lawn is old and water runs off of it when you irrigate, rent a power lawn aerator and aerate your lawn. Aerators remove 3”4” plugs from your lawn which allow water to penetrate deeper into the soil beneath your lawn. Remember to irrigate for to runoff the day before you aerate in order to allow for the deep penetration of the aerator tines.
3. Cut back your lawn watering to once a week for 10-20 minutes. Do not allow the irrigation water to run off, if it does, stop the irrigation and resume an hour later; if you haven’t aerated your lawn do so.
4. Do not walk, play games on , or have parties on your dormant lawn; it is now very susceptible to physical damage and the repair process takes both water and nutrients from the grass that it needs to get through the drought.
5. Do not feed your lawn; nitrogen makes lawns more prone to drying out. 
6. If you really can’t stand your lawn being the golden state’s official color then you can make it green with lawn dye. It will not look the same close up, but most people view lawns from a distance.  
7. Use this time contemplating your close-to-death lawn’s replacement later on with either more drought tolerant grasses, water saving ground-covers, or a major reduction in its size.

Don't think you're all alone in your struggle, the state of Texas has made holding on until the last blade of grass is standing an art. 

Even our own state agriculture wonks have some tips on helping your lawn survive this dry onslaught of naught (drought). 

Historic Tree Tour at 1 pm May 2nd During Wild West Days

Join me tomorrow at 1pm for a tour of some of the historic trees of the Arboretum. Here's a map of the trees that were here before the Arboretum was the Arboretum.

Hipster Horticulture: A Recipe for Kale Chips

For those of you who took my hipster horticulture class here's a recipe for great tasting kale chips from Bonnie Colcher:

"To make kale chips themselves, I just tear the kale into little pieces, sprinkle with olive oil and salt, and bake at 250 degrees for about 20 min.

However, here's a recipe for Cashew Cheese Kale Chips:

First you'll need to make the cashew cheese. You'll need:

• 2 cups cashews (soaked overnight)
• ½ red bell pepper, diced
• 6 tbsp nutritional yeast
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. cumin

1 cup water, or more to make the mixture a goopy mushy paste like "sauce"
Blend in a blender or food processor until desired consistency.
Wash, dry and tear 2 heads of curly kale into bite size pieces.
In a large bowl, massage the cashew cheese into the kale.
Transfer in single layers onto cookie sheets lined with parchment paper.

Cook in the oven at a low heat, 200 degrees or so, until the chips begin to crisp.
Enjoy!"

A List of Some of the Water Saving Rebate Programs Available in Southern California

Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (Various Cities)

Weather-Based Irrigation Controllers $200 per controller for less than one acre of irrigated landscape; $35 per station for 1 acre or more of irrigated landscape. For a list of qualifying models, go to the SoCal Water$mart. Applying for this rebate will make you ineligible to receive a rebate for the Soil Moisture System item below. How to apply for the SoCal Water$mart Rebate Program   $200.00 per unit (<1 acre) $35.00 per station (≥1 acre) Soil Moisture Sensor System Must include a sensor and a calibrator and an irrigation controller. For a list of qualifying models, go to SoCal Water$mart. Applying for this rebate will make you ineligible to receive the rebate for the Weather-Based Irrigation Controller item above. How to apply for the SoCal Water$mart Rebate Program $200.00 per unit (<1 acre) $35.00 per station (≥1 acre) Rotating Nozzles Must purchase a minimum of 15 nozzles to qualify for a rebate. For a list of qualifying models, go to SoCal Water$mart. How to apply for the SoCal Water$mart Rebate Program $8.00 per nozzle (Limit 1 rebate application per household) Turf Replacement Replace turf grass with California Friendly plants, mulch, and permeable pathways. Must get pre-approval of application before starting project. To see project samples and additional landscape information, go to Landscape. How to apply for the SoCal Water$mart Rebate Program $3.75 per square foot for the first 1,500 square feet, and $2 per square foot thereafter with no cap *You must get a pre-approval before starting your project. (Limit 1 rebate application per household) Rain Barrels Minimum 50 gallons in size. Maximum of four (4) rain barrels per home. For Rain Barrel Guidelines, go to SoCal Water$mart. How to apply for the SoCal Water$mart Rebate Program $100 per barrel

Other City Lawn Replacement Programs

City of Los Angeles

California Friendly® Landscape Incentive Program

RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS: For the residential turf replacement rebate program, all applications must be submitted online through the SoCal Water$mart website. Effective November 1, 2014, LADWP's single family residential program provides $3.75 per square foot for the first 1,500 square feet, and $2.00 per square foot thereafter with no cap for replacing turf with water wise landscaping features.

City of Santa Monica

Landscape Rebate

●       Rebate up to $4,50/square foot when you replace lawn with sustainable landscaping. Program conditions and eligibility have changed. New Program Details

Weather-Based Irrigation Controllers

Rebates start at:

●       $80/controller for less than 1 acre of landscape

●       $35/station for more than 1 acre of landscape

Rain Barrel and Cistern Rebate

●       Large Cistern Rebate: up to $2,000 each (max 2) and must be 500 gallons or more

●       Small Cistern Rebate: up to $500 each (max 4) and must be 200 to 499 gallons

●       Rain Barrel Rebate: up to $200 each (max 8 barrels) and must be less than 200 gallons

Downspout Redirect Rebate

●       Up to $40 per downspout  (no max).

I'll Be Speaking in Altadena Next Week

Pasadena Now » Experts Discuss Altadena’s Urban Forest: Past, Present & Future | Pasadena California, Hotels,CA Real Estate,Restaurants,City Guide... - Pasadena.com

Nature of Sculpture Map

Here's a  map to all the interesting sculptures on exhibit here now at the Arboretum. This map was made by importing Geo-tagged iPhone photos into Picasa, creating an album and then synchronizing that album with Google Picasaweb, and finally exporting from Picasaweb to a KML file and sucking that file up into Google map. The reason for all the steps is to get the large images that come up in the balloon when you click the geo-positioned thumbnails to show up, which they will not if you try just exporting a KMZ from Picasa and them importing that into Google Maps.

California Landscape Contractors Fund Polyphagous Shot Hole Borer Research

As the grave nature of the consequences of the current Polyphagous Shot Hole Borer infestation become clearer another organization with a stake in plants the pest attacks are donating money for research into methods to control it. Up until now the California Avocado Commission has been the biggest donor, but recently another organization that might have much more to lose, the California Landscape Contractors Association, is funding research. With the majority of the plants being attacked by this pest being important elements in landscape design here, this funding makes good sense for the organization whose members rely on them as the fundamental building blocks of their industry.

Plant Identification Class Tomorrow, March 13th at 1:30pm.

Here is a post to the Plant Identification Blog that talks about tomorrow's lesson.

Plant Identification Class (With Emphasis on Non-Native Ornamental Plants) Syllabus

This is the syllabus for tomorrow's plant identification class. The class runs for four Fridays this month, 3/6, 3/13, 3/20 and 3/27. There's still time to register for this class, or you can register at the door. Hope to see you there. 

Instructor Information

Frank McDonough, L.A. Arboretum Botanical Information Consultant

Office phone: 626 821-3236

E-mail: frank(dot)mcdonough (ahhhhhttttt) arborertum (dot) org

Office hours: Tuesday-Thursday 9:00-10:00 a.m.; 3:00-4:30 p.m. Please call or e-mail me as sometimes I am out in the field (a common botanist’s excuse).

Website: http://laarboretumplantid.blogspot.com/  Course materials will be posted online.

Course information

Prerequisites: A willingness to stare at very small things for more than a minute.

Meeting time and place: Lecture/Lab Friday 1:30-4:00 p.m. Education Greenhouse Classroom

Course Description: Key and description driven plant classification and taxonomy with emphasis on identifying orders and families, and using web resources in able to identify non-native horticultural plants with or without knowledge of their origin or provenance.

Goals of course:

·        To familiarize you with the Arboretum collection in terms of the identification of plants in it and the relationship of those plants to other plants in the same family and order.

·        To give you an introduction to the terminology of plant organs and structures, and how you can use this knowledge to identify unknown plants.

·        When you are finished with this course you will never look at plants the same way ever again.

Required texts: How to Identify Plants, H.D. Harrington and W. Durrell

Required Equipment: Lighted 10-15x hand lens, or non-lighted lens and a bright headlamp, scalpel (will have one to share first class), gloves if needed (may be provided), wipes, dissecting needle (nice to have but not necessary)

Date	Subjects Covered	Taxon Covered
May 6th	Introduction to Taxonomy, Plant Classification Hierarchy, Flower and Inflorescence Terms	Mint family, Acanthus family, Magnolia family, Poppy family, Grass tree family and possibly others TBD
May 13th	Leaves and Surfaces Terms	TBD
May 20th	Roots and Stems Terms	TBD
May 27th	Using Order to ID Unknown Families, Using the Internet to ID Plants	TBD

Hipster Horticulture Links

Hipster Horticulture

Below are links to plants I mentioned in the 3/4/2015 class on newly introduced plant product foods:

Kalettes, Broccoflower And Other Eye-Popping Vegetables For 2015 : The Salt : NPR

From Broccoli Leaves to Kalettes, New Vegetables to Cook and Grow in 2015 | Susie Middleton

Wood Sorrel, A Woodland Plant With FlavorEat The Planet | Eat The Planet

Unusual Vegetables. Oka.

How to Grow Oca (New Zealand Yams) | Thompson & Morgan

Oxalis tuberosa "Oca" - Buy Online at Annie's Annuals & Perennials

Pacific Bulb Society | Oxalis tuberosa

2015 NGB New Varieties: vegetables

Rediscovering the Lost Crops of the Incas - NYTimes.com

Lost Crops of the Incas

Lost Crops of the Incas: Little-Known Plants of the Andes with Promise for Worldwide Cultivation

Radix: Crap Crops of the Incas: my on-off-on affair with Andean root crops 4) Pachyrhizus - ahipa useless junk?

Radix: Crap Crops of the Incas: My on-off-on affair with high altitude Andean root crops 1) Oca

Radix: Crap Crops of the Incas: My on-off-on affair with high altitude Andean root crops 3) Mashua

Radix: Dioscorea japonica

Wetting the Beds: Ulluco: Crop of the future or Inca practical joke?

Ullucus - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Papalisa/Ulluco/Ullucus tuberosus | Zoom's Edible Plants

Ulluco (Ullucus tuberosus) | Cultivariable

Dioscorea alata - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Purple yam (Dioscorea alata)

Ullucus tuberosus Olluco PFAF Plant Database

Plants Profile for Dioscorea bulbifera (air yam)

Air potato | Center for Aquatic and Invasive Plants

Ahipa (Pachyrhizus ahipa [Wedd.] Parodi): an alternative legume crop for sustainable production of starch, oil and protein

Pachyrhizus ahipa (Ahipa) - Practical Plants

Amaranthus caudatus Love Lies Bleeding PFAF Plant Database

Quinoa - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The International Year of Quinoa | Global 3000 - YouTube

Quinoa History and Nutrition - Superfoods - YouTube

Yacón - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

All About Yacon: What It Is, and What It May Do for Weight Loss - ABC News

Yacon - Peruvian Ground Apple growing information

Raintree Nursery for Yacon Plants

Yacon and Oca from Nichols Garden Nursery - Fine Seeds & Herbs for the Gardener Cook

Yacon* (Polymnia sonchifolia) potted plant, organic

Samphire Seeds

Shungiku Seeds

Quinoa Seeds

Mizuna Seeds

Sorghum

Lamb's Quarters

Job's Tears Seed

Camelina Seeds

Bitter Melon Seeds

Amaranth Seeds

Yacon for Sale

mashua, yacon, oca: growing edible andean tubers, with help from peace seedlings - A Way To Garden

Yacon | Eat The Weeds and other things, too

Moonridge Farms Yacon

Pouteria lucuma - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Lucmo

View crop

LUCUMA Pouteria obovata (Lucuma obovata)

10 ancient grains to watch: from kamut to quinoa

Plukenetia volubilis - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Eragrostis tef - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Is Teff The New Superfood?

Growth Products - Catalog

Helpful Hints: Serenade® Garden and Lawn Disease Control sold by Northeast Nursery in Peabody, Massachusetts.

Golf Courses: Fertilizers and Biological Fungicides

www.northeastnursery.com/files/SGlawn.pdf

Stover Seed Company: Contact Us

UFEI - SelecTree - Attribute Information

Eat The Weeds by Green Deane, the most watched forager in the world