PlantAmnesty news... · 2017-01-06 · ticularly want, coyotes According to Google, the two most...

PlantAmnesty Volume XXVIV • No. 1 www.plantamnesty.org wINter 2017

Plant Activist Update

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Look at What’s Inside

Hybrid Tea Rose Pruning 6

Bee Buzz 8

A Bit About Elderberry 11

RabbitsBy Cass Turnbull

A t some point in your life, you may become aware that you have a totem A totem is an animal or other living thing

with which you identify You may not have consciously chosen it, and it may not reflect your physical aspect or personal-ity at all. You just find that you have been collecting various versions the same animal over time I have a friend who has pictures, wall hangings, note cards, plates, and many other things with images of salmon on them Another friend’s totem is a hippo, and one of my sisters-in-law has a penguin totem When you discover your totem, don’t tell anyone, or soon your house will fill up with all sorts of gifts featuring images of your critter Each giver thinks that they have cleverly come up with the perfect, personal gift

My totem is the rabbit I don’t know why Rabbits are known for being cute, soft, mild, quiet, bottom of the food chain, and avid reproducers Our culture has two particularly well-known rabbit identities—Bugs and Peter Br’er Rabbit is an example of the trickster rabbit that is portrayed in many different forms in many cultures Another story, shared by both China and South America, tells how the lowly rabbit sacrificed his own body to feed a God disguised as a starving trav-eler. For that sacrifice the rabbit was rewarded by having his image set in the moon As a result, in Asia when the people look up into the night sky, they see the rabbit-in-the-moon, instead of the man-in-the- moon The rabbit is often associated with the moon in Europe, too Other associations are mystery, romance, and sometimes madness, like the March Hare of Alice in Wonderland

Gardeners are not big fans of rabbits The beginning

Tree Hugger BINGO

A full house of cheering and well-fed members and friends waved bingo cards and daubers in the air for several

hours at Tree Hugger Bingo The winners gleefully took home a boatload of coveted plants Bingo players, cheered on by Cass (the Queen Bee) and Ciscoe Morris, filled the ELKS

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Ciscoe and Bingo Winner!

2 ©2017 PlantAmnesty

Rabbits continued

gardener is apt to claim love for all God’s creatures and look forward to entertaining some backyard wildlife—until they get some, that is. Deer decimate roses, raccoons flatten corn stocks, mountain beavers chew off rhododendron roots, and moles pockmark lawns daily

Just so you know, when people talk about backyard wildlife, they are mostly referring to birds, and not all birds at that Remember the year that the cherry tree was just covered, I mean covered with cherries, until the day the crows found it

I get a kick out of wildlife when it defies our romanticized notions of how it should behave Nature shows as little regard for the affairs of people as people show to nature

I have a client with a flamboyant and fabulous garden that reflects her own larger-than-life personality. In the beds in her huge garden, she spends endless hours watering, disbud-ding, and staking, along with many other chores This year I was shocked to hear her announce that she was forsaking her prized and terribly expensive oriental lilies She was through because wild bunnies had eaten many of them to the ground overnight Though we never actually saw any bunnies, the signs were unmistakable. Little grey ornamental grasses looked like someone had taken a pair of haircutting scissors to them I found burrows beneath shrubs, but said nothing to the client, lest she trap She decided to wait for the local coyote to finish rearing her kits and go back to hunting in her garden, which it did The client has areas in her garden designated as coyote corridors, where we, the paid garden help, are not allowed to remove fallen branches, brambles, and debris When this client says she gardens for wildlife, she means very wild wildlife, the top of the food chain kind

Vegetable gardeners get especially hard hit by rabbits Most of them are not so lucky as to have, nor are they par-ticularly want, coyotes According to Google, the two most

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PlantAmnestyPO Box 15377, Seattle, wA 98115-0377

206-783-9813

www.plantamnesty.org

email: [email protected]

— Mission Statement —To end the senseless torture and mutilation of trees and shrubs caused by mal-pruning

(and other common forms of plant mismanagement).

Goals:1. Raise awareness of the problem.2. Provide solutions (referral service, education,

volunteer pruning and care) and ensure they are readily accessible to the public and green industry professionals.

3. Engender respect for plants.

We Affirm:• That our organization is inclusive, tolerant, and

based on grassroots collective action.• That our educational materials are clear, current,

and technically accurate.• That we will maintain a sense of humor and

goodwill while being outspoken on the issues.

— Staff —General Manager . . . . . . Heidi MairOffice Manager . . . . . . . Margaret Metz

— Officers and Board Members —President . . . . . . . Cass TurnbullVice President . . . . . Anna MooreSecretary . . . . . . . TBDTreasurer . . . . . . . . Jack Bautsch

Suzan Gallup, Christina Masters, Laura Watson

— Newsletter Contributors —Editorial Committee Heidi Mair, Cass Turnbull, Laura Watson Graphic Design cbgraphics, Constance BollenContributors Margaret Metz, Anna Moore Pandora Touart, Cass Turnbull, Laura WatsonPhotographers Many, Various, AnonymousArtists Kate AllenPrinting & Distribution Color Printing Systems and AAA Mailing Services, Inc.

Please mail us articles, short jokes, artwork, tales, Adopt-A-Plant and Green Share information

The newsletter is a benefit of membership.

www plantamnesty org 206-783-9813 3

effective ways to deal with a devastating bunny infestation is to either 1) get a rabbit chas-ing dog, or 2) put in a chicken wire rabbit fence around the veggie patch Such a fence must be 24” high and buried 8” below ground, with the bottom part flaring outward underground Happy digging

Many nature-loving gardeners keep their faith by using exclusion methods to protect their yards from various marauders Baits and traps just seem so cruel, and sometimes they catch non-target animals

When I came home from college one year, my mother alerted me to the fact that my sister, Liz, had her new pet rabbit roaming free in our finished basement. I thought, “No big deal ” But when I opened the door to go downstairs, I spotted a giant black and white fuzzy skull looking up at me Once it started to ascend the stairs–thump, thump–I quickly reared back and shut the door. Turns out that Liz had brought home a Checkered Giant His name was Fred Fred turned out to be a lovely bunny House-trained and friendly, he amused us when he ate parsley because it disappeared like a string of spaghetti trying to get past his twitching nose He’d lick us affectionately with his tongue, which is much softer than a cat’s tongue as it has no bristles There was that little problem with wallpa-per, though Fred liked to strip and eat it I noticed our black and white cat, Wally, had taken to sitting on top of furniture to be out of reach of Fred lest he be mistaken for a female Checkered Giant But the best part of knowing Fred was how he would run, leap, twirl, and dance with me when I took him out to the back yard This is called binking, I believe In the old days it was called gamboling and is something that rabbits and lambs do at certain times of the year Gamboling is not to be confused with boxing, which is also something hares do in the spring It looks just like it sounds and is part of the reason for the references to mad march hares

Later in life I met a few people who owned pet rabbits and was surprised by how often they described their rabbits as cranky or ill tempered. “Cwabby wabbitt!,” Elmer Fudd might say The internet has an amusing blog on how to deal with them kindly

On the blog House Rabbit, I found the following story, which I shortened here

The great English poet William Cowper (pronounced, “Cooper”) was born in Great Berkhampstead, Hertfordshire, England on November 15, 1731. His father was a minis-ter, and his mother died when he was but six years old, and he suffered from an especially sensitive nature throughout his entire life.

[His] poems raging against the tyranny of slavery are intense and emotional. He staunchly called for the care for the poor. In other poems, he sang the praises of a bee, told an amusing story about his cat

getting accidentally locked in a drawer, and lamented that the shady poplar trees were felled by the axe.

In 1774, he was given three young hares, known as lever-ets, as companion animals by the children of a neighbor who had grown tired of the animals. He had written to a friend that he had been seeking something that would “engage his attention without fatiguing it,” and the hares met that demand perfectly. The hares went out to play in the garden (a backyard) with Cowper daily, and he wrote that Puss [the name of one of his hares] would tug on his pants leg when he wanted to frolic outside. They danced for him in the evening, and he said that they often brought him out of his depression simply by being there. In the epitaph to Tiney, Cowper wrote, “A turkey carpet was his lawn, whereon he loved to bound, To skip and gambol like a fawn, and swing his rump around.’ Puss was a lap rabbit, and Cowper wrote that he often licked his hand and leapt into his lap for attention.

Tiney had a retractable personality that was well loved anyway, because he made Cowper smile often with his antics. Tiney was almost nine years old when he died. Cowper wrote at his death, “Old Tiney, surliest of his kind…was still a wild jack-hare. Though duly from my hand he took his pittance every night, he did it with a jealous look, and when he could, would bite.”

Cowper dedicated his book The Garden to his beloved hares, saying “For I have pledged all that is human in me to protect thine unsuspecting gratitude and love If I survive thee, I will dig thy grave; and when I place thee in it, sighing say, I knew at least one hare that had a friend ”

Talk about romanticized nature–I admit that it brought a tear to my eye s

Rabbits continued


hall to capacity and partook of the many varieties of chili, the green salad and the yummy cake The Prize Walkers did not disappoint—their outstanding costumes gave everyone new ideas for Halloween attire Those who attended, but did not win, took home consolation plant prizes that were so generously donated by t&L Nursery. A heartfelt thank-you goes to them and to ALL the nurseries who donated, as well as to Ciscoe, our perfect game caller

Tree Hugger Bingo was made possible by the many volunteers, the staff, and the Events Committee, who worked all night (and long before) PlantAmnesty sends its heart-felt gratitude to all Even though we can’t list each of you individually, you know who you are!

Donated Arborist Work Day

On November 4th, two huge, beau-tiful oak trees at St Stephens

Episcopal Church in Laurelhurst got a good and thorough pruning by PlantAmnesty arborists The volunteer arborists from Apical tree Services, Madison Park tree, Major tree Services, Grun tree Care, Out on a Limb, the tree Stewards, and Fluent tree Professionals donated their time The job proceeds went to support PlantAmnesty The day was

a welcome, rain-free one, and the workers found themselves in a friendly competition to transform the stately trees from a sow’s ear to a silk purse A good time was had by all and

PlantAmnesty’s coffers grew pleasantly plumper Special thanks are due to Patrick Story of Grun tree Care who donated his job to the cause!

October MOLM— Meeting of Like Minds

D r. richard McDonald (aka Dr McBug) amused the room with

his tale of entomologic sleuthing The topic, “Beetles Save Needles”, fol-lowed McBug on his quest to stop the woolly adelgid’s devastation of climax forest trees in the north eastern US His journey led him to Seattle to seek out our overlooked natural predator beetles A UV light from Archie McPhee’s played a bit part his adventure

Dr McBug’s talk was preceded by a lively auction (thanks again, Laura) and wonderful potluck dinner

Annual Member Meeting and Holiday Party

F estivity reigned as members gathered once again to revel in the season

with like-minded people Bright lights, glittering packages, and white linen created a gay backdrop for socializing, noshing, and enjoying offerings from the

Holiday Cheer!

THANK YOU BINGO SPONSORS! WE LOVE YOU!

AW POTTERYBRANCHING INSIDE OUT

ROSE BRITTENHAMCHRISTIANSON’S NURSERY

CITY PEOPLE’SCOTTAGE LAKE GARDENS

EDMONDS CC GREENHOUSEFANCY FRONDS

FAR REACHES FARM FLEUR DI LIS GARDEN ORNAMENTS

GEORGETOWN HOME & GARDEN“KIWIBOB” GLANZMAN

MOLBAKSTHE OLD GOAT FARMRAINTREE NURSERY

RIZ REYESROBINWOOD

SKAGIT GARDENSSKIPLEY FARM

SPECIES RHODODENDRON GARDENSKY NURSERY

SOUTH SEATTLE COLLEGESWANSON’S NURSERY

T&L NURSERYURBAN EARTH

LAURA WATSONWEST SEATTLE NURSERY

Plant Activist Update continued from page 1

Caption


bar Party guests indulged themselves in the potluck feast that included many beautiful and tasty desserts Cass regaled the audience with PlantAmnesty’s achievements for the past year Awards were awarded, nominations taken, and volunteers acknowledged The Ugly Yard Photo Contest amused even as it horrified viewers. Everybody thoroughly enjoyed the music and creativity of the fractured holiday songs composed and sung by Jack and the Holly-Dazed Singers. They filled the room with good cheer and the warmth of season

Holiday Party Award WinnersCongratulations and a big round of applause go to:

Plant Activist – Joe Wagner Plant Activist – Annette Freeman Amare Secare – Suzan Gallup Volunteer of the Year – Ken Tuomi Founder’s Award – Laura Watson

Spanish Renovation Workshop

T his year’s Spanish language pruning workshop was co-sponsored by WALP and held in a popular Kirkland park

in the first windstorm of the fall. Thirty-two students from various companies braved the weather to follow our eight expert teachers as they tackled the grounds As always, the best part was the on-site pruning demonstrations and hands-on practice Thank you volunteer teachers and students for your commitment to better plant care

Pandora’s Leaving—Heidi’s Moving In

O h, no! Pandora, our diligent, hardworking General Manager, only lasted a year During that year, Pandora

watched her traditionally Ballardian neighborhood—with its tidy, modest homes and aging Norwegians—be transformed by the Density Boom All around her she witnessed quaint bungalows becoming unkempt rental units or replaced by Urban MacMansions built for the incoming professional classes Upscale mixed-use condo monoliths marched through downtown Ballard bumping out the locally owned shops and long-established stores More and more, she found herself trapped in the engineered gridlock that is now common throughout the city So she decided, as many of our long-time residents have, to relocate to kinder environs She and her husband have moved to the fair city of Olympia to retire in peace We wish them well

Before she left, Pandora made the supreme effort to write down detailed directions for the new person She updated and expanded the Training Manual including examples of work product and making helpful timelines

Her replacement is Heidi Mair, and we are so lucky to have her She comes to us from a full-time position as Academic

Advisor at Bastyr University in Kirkland. She wanted to work closer to home (Wedgewood) and will match up part-time PlantAmnesty work with her ongoing yoga teaching

She has extensive nonprofit experience, with skills in organizing, social media, and customer relations She backs up her office skills with an underlying commitment to well-ness and the environment We love that

Flower and Garden Show

I n an effort to spare Heidi the agony and overwhelm of orga-nizing our booth at the Flower Show while she is still trying

to figure out where the paper clips are stored, we canceled our booth—for this year only We want to slowly ease her into the roll of Official Chaos Manager for PlantAmnesty. Cass, however, will still be at the show giving her talk

Milestone

Twenty eight years ago Seattle suffered a major windstorm that brought down trees throughout the region Then, as

now, television stations showed footage of trees crushing houses and cars A follow-up segment to Harry Wappler’s weather report featured Seattle Tree Service (not the same as Seattle Tree Preservation, Inc.) topping a Doug fir. They said they were taking “the whip out of it” to make it a safer tree. Horrified PlantAmnesty forces organized letter writing and phone calls to the producer We demanded retractions, sent follow up literature, and generally made a fuss We were invited to meet with Wappler who apologized, but no retrac-tion to the story was forthcoming

Over the next several years, we responded to similar news stories in similar ways, with similar results Then one year I noticed storm-related reporting omitted mention of tree topping In even later years’ reports, I was happy to see weather forecasters begin to attribute tree failures to things like saturated soils and high winds

The final moment of victory happened this past month, and I almost didn’t notice it PlantAmnesty got a call from the meteorologists at NOAA (the weather people) They were confused by all the explanations, many contradictory, they had heard as reasons for why trees blow down during storms They wanted us to tell them once and for all why trees blow down

We sent a consulting arborist to give a presentation Now this information has become part of their corporate culture, and we have become their resource for valid information

So you see, we can change what passes for common knowledge among the people and reach the upper echelons of society with the truth It only takes a decade or two of determination and vigilance

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“They've butchered our roses!” exclaimed the woman on the phone She was calling to report this crime to

PlantAmnesty. “There was nothing wrong with them. The grounds crew just came through and hacked them down to a foot off the ground. My God, there's not a leaf left on them!” I did my best to calm her. “Correct rose pruning can look very severe,” I offered, and followed up with some illustrated literature

It's true To the novice, the annual pruning of hybrid tea- type roses (the kind most people have) can look quite frightening Half of the canes are removed at the base and then those that are left get reduced in height to two feet or so One rosarian I know teaches his students a chant, “You can't kill a rose by pruning it, you can't kill a rose by pruning it ” Novice pruners repeat it to give themselves courage

TOOLSBe prepared. Wear tight fitting leather gloves. Also wear a long sleeved shirt, not a sweater Have a sharp pair of by-pass pruners, a lopper and a pruning saw Gardeners tend to use the “ARS” or Japanese type of folding saws. They are easily carried in the back pocket, and fit into tight spaces between canes

DEADWOOD REMOVAL is first. This means mostly sawing out dead canes and stubs The stubs, which are many and rather large, can be found close to the graft union (looks like a bulge at the base of the bush)

Take your time and saw each and every dead cane or stub off carefully and completely

REMOVE SICK CANES and big old canes How can you tell if canes

are sick? Usually they are the older, thicker canes But not always. The bark on “unhealthy” canes is mottled and black-ish The perfect, healthy cane (rarely seen in real life) is about as thick around as your thumb and the outer bark is a clear, unblemished green

SHORTEN UNTHRIFTY CANES Canes die from the tip down, as a result of freeze or drought If the cane you are looking at fills an otherwise empty spot, you may want to keep it but shorten it to healthy, or at least healthier, tissue To find out where that point is, cut a bit off the top and look at the cut end The pith of an unhealthy cane is black, or partially black and brown As you continue cutting back the cane, the wood usually becomes a more clear tan color Then you finish off by cutting to the nearest side branch or bud facing outward

Prune out canes that are TOO SKINNY, cutting them off where they meet the graft union One recommendation is to take out canes that are smaller than a pencil

REMOVE ROOTSTOCK SUCKERS. Cut or tear them off Many roses are sort of spliced (grafted) to the roots of a tougher plant The suckers are canes that arise from any portion below the graft union (it looks like a bulge at the base) Suspicious canes have different colored bark, different leaves, and grow in a different form If the cane originates from the graft union itself, it is probably okay If the cane

originates from the roots, dig down to where it meets the parent root Twist and pull (yank, actually) it off If you simply cut a sucker off at ground level, you will get twice as many growing at the same place next year

REMOVE CANES THAT RUB OR CROSS others and some that fill

Pruning Topic:

Hybrid Tea Rose Pruning, by Cass TurnbullreprInT


up the center The perfect rose bush, should such a thing exist, would have five or six, clear green canes, each as thick as a thumb, radiating evenly from the center

In reality, one does the best with what is available Sometimes all the canes are weak and spindly Sometimes the only decent sized cane that exists goes horribly the wrong way Sometimes all you have are crusty, mottled, and huge canes Just do the best you can. Keep in mind, it's no big deal. For all the disease, die-back and death found in roses, they are tough, tough plants A rose's strategy for survival is to constantly renew itself by sending up replacement canes every year

Finally, SHORTEN THE CANES WHICH REMAIN How much? One rule of thumb is to cut no shorter than half a cane's original height I like to prune most teas to about one to two feet Some like them shorter, some like them taller The thinner the cane, the shorter it is pruned The fatter the cane, the higher you cut

CUT TO AN OUT FACING BUD, generally speaking In the late winter/early spring these are easier to spot as they begin to plump up They are about the size of pencil tips Some books call them eyes, since they look like eyes Teeny-weeny eyes

One is apt to find gardeners out in the rose beds this time of year, one hand down, practically standing on their heads, peering at the canes, their faces perilously close to thorns They are trying to locate the optimum buds Unerringly, the bud at the right height is in the wrong place, that is—it faces into the center As you prune, the height of some canes will be a little too high or too low It's a balancing act

Sometimes the buds are a bit to one side or another It is even okay to have a few that fill in the inside.

When you cut, the bud just below will be stimulated into growing out It grows out the same way the bud is facing You can anticipate how your rose bush will look, by imagining the shoots growing out If two little shoots grow out from the bud, snap out one with your fingers.

Make the cut at a slant, channeling the growth energy the same way the bud is headed Don’t cut too close, or the bud will die Don't cut too far away, or it will die back and leave an ugly stub. Actually (should I put it in print?) I find that I tend to cut a bit high on roses Don't ask me why, except that I know other rose pruners that do so as well One arbor-ist took me to task for “leaving stubs.” “But it's a rose!” I pleaded my case

WHY? All this thinning opens up the rose bush, allowing for increased light and air circulation This is more important on roses than many other plants because they are perpetually plagued by a host of fungal and bacterial diseases Open pruning helps, but rarely cures Roses, like cherry trees, are sort of the sick but tough kids of the plant world The homeowner is well advised to put up with a certain amount of cruddy leaves And the first criteria for buying a new rose (in our area anyway) is whether or not it shows good disease resistance

If we didn’t reduce the height of these roses every year they would soon tower above us where we couldn’t see, smell, or cut flowers to bring into the house and put in a vase And if we didn’t remove oldest canes by cutting them off at the base to trigger new ones to form and grow up, we eventually would be left with only one, very thick trunk And that would be very scary to prune down to a desired height, or prune out altogether, since it may have lost its regenerative abilities So, you see, you can kill a rose by pruning it s


A fter being interested keep-ing honeybees for ages,

opportunity came knocking at my door about three years ago A good friend and accom-plished beekeeper, Christine Ranegger, offered to teach me the ins and outs of beekeeping in exchange for hosting one of her hives in my garden She generally manages between 20 and 30 hives and was in need of more space for her bees What a deal!

Christine gave me a hive tool (for opening up hives) and I bought myself a bee keeper’s hat and gloves so I could help Christine regularly take the hive apart and put it back together We do this to see what the bees are up to Are they collecting enough honey and pollen to get them through the winter? Do we see signs of a mite infestation? Is the queen alive and laying well? Are they getting too crowded or showing other signs of swarming (swarming is when the queen and half of her colony leave the hive to find a new home, leaving the other half of the colony behind with a new young queen)

So much to learn Then two years ago I

ordered the boxes and frames required to set up my own hive—to blend the hives aes-thetically into my garden, I paint them dark purple Now Christine and I routinely go through both hives together Soon I should be confident enough to go through a hive on my own Christine is on the swarm list, which means that if a honey bee swarm is spotted, Christine is one of the people to call to remove

the swarm. Keeping the swarm for herself is her reward In this way, she increases the number of her colonies She caught me a new swarm for my very own elegant aubergine honeybee tower tucked in amongst the plants in my garden

Sadly, last fall (2015) my young colony was lost to wasp predation Those dirty-dog wasps! They can fly on cooler days in fall than honeybees and are hungry for protein If they can, they will invade a hive in droves, kill off the bees, and eat all the larvae It happens fast

Christine’s hive made it through the entire winter OK, but disappeared in February We are not sure what hap-pened Turns out that, these days, beekeepers generally experience heavy losses every year—as much as 50% of their colonies But lo and behold, in early spring a new wild colony moved right into her hive all

on their own For me, Christine caught a new swarm

Come fall this year, I started wor-rying about wasps again, especially since I have so many flying around in my garden I ordered an entrance

reducer for each hive The entrance reducer shortens the entrance to the hive from about 14” to either 1” or 5”, which gives the bees a better chance to fight off a wasp invasion I decided on the smallest entrance for the fall, but, now that the wasp threat is over, I will change to the medium one

If you are interested in learning more about bee keep-ing or if you find a honeybee swarm on your property, contact the bee keepers’ asso-ciation in your area If you live in Greater Seattle, contact the Puget Sound Bee Keepers Association: http://www pugetsoundbees org And look for my Bee Buzz column

Bee BuzzBy Laura Watson

Phoebe AndrewBarbara Asmervig

Jack BautschWilliam & Joanne Bender

Tracey BernalLorine Brakken

Susan Brooke MillerEllen Carnwath

Anne CurtisJean DanielsAnn Erickson

Alex GreenbergJudy Griesel

Christina HansenAvis JobrackPam Judge

Kaleidoscope LandscapingKramer Tree Specialists, Inc.

Major Tree ServicesChristy Monahan

Sue NicolLeonard O’Connor

Dorothy ReeseKahlia Root

Kristin SchultzSeattle Tree Preservation

Sandy ShettlerJudy Shigo Smith

Steuber Distributing CompanyJan Stirlin

Susan StollerPatrick StoreyRobert Story

Charlotte VenturiJeanne Walter

Robert WillWithey-Price Landscape

DesignCarol Zabliski

Recent Major Donors


Wanted: Pruning and Landscape Renovation Workshop SitesContact PlantAmnesty if you have a candidate

PA Wish list• An office volunteer for 2-3 hours a week to sort and organize paper files.• Another member for our Digiwrangler committee

LOST AND FOUNDA 1 quart glass Pyrex bowl was unclaimed from Holiday Party

Congratulations to our Master Pruner Graduates!Twenty-eight new Master Pruners hit the streets this fall—recent graduates of both the PlantAmnesty and UW Botanic Gardens Master Pruner Series

This and That

Huzzah! Tree-mendous New Graduates! Arbor non-scripta ‘fastigiata’?


Fruit Tree Pruning with Inglea Wanerstrand—Sunday, January 8, 10am–noon, Master Pruner Class (See Class List on page 13)

NOTE: Prices for classes and work-shops for 2017 have increased.

Prune-a-Thon at Sky Nursery February 4, 2017Come see us at Sky Nursery on Saturday, February 4th, for PlantAmnesty’s SEVENTH annual Prune-a-thon Take advantage of free pruning classes taught by expert teach-ers on topics like Japanese maples, fruit tree pruning, hydrangeas, and more!

The PlantAmnesty booth will highlight shearing horrors (no end to those…) and have loads of handouts, along with all the information you need on perfect pruning practices The more the merrier: some of our horticultural sisters, like the Master Gardeners, Seattle Tilth, and the Seattle Fruit Tree Society will also be on hand

Join us to Stump the Experts as well as get your Horticultural Fortune told—this is the only place in town! Bring your really tough pruning questions to the Queen of Pruning and members of the court: PlantAmnesty’s founder, Cass Turnbull will have the answers to your questions

If you are available to help us put on the best Prune-a-thon ever, we need volunteers for set up and take down, boothers, greeters, and more! Contact the office at 206-783-9813 x 3, or info@plantamnesty org

Rose Pruning with Keith Dekker—Sunday, February 12, 10am–noon, Master Pruner Class(See Class List on page 13)

MOLM—Meeting of Like Minds—Tuesday, February 21, 7–9pmTopic: Gardening with Chickens

Speaker is best-selling author Lisa Steele Chickens and gardening go hand in hand, but if you don’t do some pre-planning and supervising, your flock will happily trample, scratch up and gobble up all your prized produce. Learn how to incorporate chickens into your gardening to the mutual benefit of both. Chickens are nature’s aerators, tillers, fertilizers and bug control and are wonderful garden helpers through all four seasons

There is plenty of time for gossip and mingling Newer members are espe-cially encouraged to attend. MOLMs are free and open to the public Potluck dinner at 7pm

Northwest Flower and Garden Show—February 22-26, 2017Just when we need it most, here come the show gardens, massive fragrant bouquets, 300 exhibitors who’d love your money, garden wars and a “tasting corner ” This year PlantAmnesty booth will be there in spirit only, (it’s just one tiny break in years of boothing) Our fearless weeder, Cass turnbull will be there representing P/A She will join Kate Mackey and Linda Chalker-Scott to deliver The Best Garden Advice Ever

The Shearables, the Hackables, and the Untouchables with Cass Turnbull Sunday, March 12, 10am–noon, Master Pruner Class (See Class List on page 13)

30 YEARS of PlantAmnestyLet the year of feasting, pageantry and celebration begin! PlantAmnesty turns 30 in 2017 What will we do to commemorate the birth of our quirky but effective organization? Will there dancing, costumes and games? Parades or fireworks? PlantAmnesty balladeers? All but the fireworks have happened before Time will tell

Urban Forest Symposium: Equity and the Urban Forest— May 23, 2017 If you don’t know how the presence of trees impact diverse populations in your town, come prepared to be sur-prised Presenters will also share how race and social justice issues play out in their personal urban forestry work, and what communication strategies, tools and resources are available to help you in yours We will explore how the green industry and civil service agencies can be leaders in creating living wage jobs for low-income people and people of color This event is co-sponsored by the University of Washington Botanic Gardens and PlantAmnesty For more symposium info go to uwbgeduc@uw edu or call 206 685 8033 s

Upcoming Events


e lderberry is one of those useful plants that looks attractive in the

garden and can be used medicinally Although sometimes called a tree, this member of the genus Sambucus is actually a large, deciduous shrub that can grow to twenty or thirty feet at maturity All species of elder are cane-growers, so prune them as you would others in that group

In late spring, the shrub is cov-ered in cream-white flowers that are very popular with pollinators such as butterflies. Come late summer the flowers have turned into berries that are favored by both birds and humans alike

My favorite way use elderber-ries, is to make a delicious, immune boosting syrup to enjoy during the winter. This flavorful remedy is made with dried black elderber-ries (S nigra), cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and sweetened with honey I make a little bit at a time, keep it in the fridge and take a daily dose as a preventative to keep colds away Elderberry syrup can also be mixed into smoothies, added to sparkling water or used as a topping for pancakes

Elderberry SyrupMakes approximately 1 cupDried elderberries can be found at herbal shops

Always consult a physician if you are concerned about trying a new herbal remedy

Ingredients

2oz (quarter cup) elderberries

1-small cinnamon stick

3-whole cloves

1-tablespoon fresh ginger, grated

1/2-cup honey (or sugar, agave nectar)

1-cup water

Place elderberries, cinnamon, cloves, and ginger in a small pot and cover with water

Bring to a boil

Reduce heat and simmer until the liquid has reduced by a bit less than

half (approximately 5-10 minutes)

Strain the liquid through a colander lined with cheesecloth into a heatproof bowl

Add honey to hot liquid and stir well

Let cool.

Pour the syrup into jar with a lid such as a canning jar, store in the refrigerator and use 1-2 Tablespoons daily or as desired Try to use it up within a month s

Darlene AllenAlla & Rick AllenSharon BoguchSue Carberrry

Andy CecilEverett Chu

Robin CorthellHarriet Custer

Brian DaleDeborah Dlugosch

Samantha EverettJune FarranAnnie Gage

Maria Gonzalez-PetersonDuvall True Value

Hardware & Garden

Sarah HinckleyHarrison HouserPaige Johansen

Shannon KelleyVirginia King

Shannon LazzarottoMarion McIntoshPaul McKenna

Sue MillerToni Moen

Gabrielle MorrisIan McCutchion &

Bob MartinGary Mulcrone

Kristin O’HaraHarriet PlattsStefan Rau

Marlene RaymondBrian Reindel

Anita RepanichConnie Rezendes

Jean RogersJerry RonnebeckAndrea Saxton

Diana ShirleyDeborah Smeltzer

Darian SmolarLinda Steen

Marilyn StirlingDeborah Swets

Carol TaylorDahmane ThamiBonnie Thie & Randal CowartBrian Thomson

Roxanne TuckerJulie WeisbachClaudia WeldSusie Wetstone

Cynthia WheatonJessica Young

Stephanie YoungJulie Zander

Welcome New Members

A Bit About Elderberry By Anna Moore

Word of the week: APRICITY (obsolete) the warmth of the sun

in the winter

PRE-REGISTRATION IS REqUIRED FOR ALL WORKSHOPS—SPACE IS LIMITED.

Spring—Saturday, April 15th 10am–3pmFall—Saturday, September 16th 10am–3pm

Fall (in Spanish)—Friday, October 6th 8:30am–3:30pmThe Renovation Workshop is a popular hands-on all-day event that features a rare 3:1 student-teacher ratio and real-world experi-ence Students will learn pruning and creative solutions for the overgrown garden as an entire yard is renovated during the class Topics discussed will be pruning, transplanting, and landscape maintenance The group will move through an overgrown landscape while instructors give on-the-spot evaluations of plants and demonstrations of pruning Workshop participants cycle between jobs to learn what the landscape has to offer

The workshop typically takes place at a private residence within King County selected for its neglected state and diverse plant material so as to provide class instruction on a wide variety of topics All participants receive a pruning DVD and handouts on various pruning topics

Fruit Tree Field Day—June 24, 2017 10 am–3 pmAn expert in the field will cover the basics of fruit-tree pruning first thing in the morning. The lecture is followed by an after-noon of live fruit-tree pruning demonstrations in small groups

Questions: PlantAmnesty at 206-783-9813 (please leave a message) or info@plantamnesty org For more information about the Master Pruner classes check out: www plantamnesty org

Preregistration is required for all workshops—space is limited

NOTE: Wanted—Pruning Workshop Site Nominations

2017 Pruning and Garden Renovation Workshops

Name(s): ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Address: _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ City State ZipPhone: (_______) ______________________________________ Email: __________________________________________________________

You may pay by credit card or check Please make checks payable to PlantAmnesty Mail completed form and check (if applicable) to: PlantAmnesty, PO Box 15377, Seattle, WA 98115-0377

MasterCard o Visa o Credit Card # ______________________________________________________________ Exp date ___________

Please mail form below to: PlantAmnesty, PO Box 15377, Seattle, WA 98115-0377

Spring Renovation Workshop

Saturday, April 15, 2017

Fruit Tree Field Day

Saturday, June 24, 2017

Fall Renovation Workshop

Saturday, September 16, 2017

Spanish Renovation Workshop

Friday, October 6, 2017

_____# of PlantAmnesty members @ $85 00 = $ _____________

_____# of non-members @ $95 00 = $ _____________


_____# of non-members @ $75 00 = $ _____________


_____# of non-members @ $95 00 = $ _____________


_____# of non-members @ $50 00 = $ _____________

Total $ _____________


Plantamnesty Presents: Cass turnbull’s Master Pruner Program

2016 Pruning ClassesPruning expert Cass Turnbull, and guest instructors, teach topic-specific pruning techniques

in this series of in-depth classes and workshops The Master Pruner Program is the set of

classes and workshops that, when completed, certifies the student as a Master Pruner. These

classes are open to home gardeners, landscape professionals, and horticulture students

Complete the entire series to earn a certificate or just attend a few classes. Horticulture stu-

dents can apply their college pruning classes towards certification. Master Gardener and ISA

CEUs can be earned No pre-registration is required for the Sunday morning classes

WHERE: Warren G. Magnuson Park, the Brig (Bldg #406) 6344 NE 74th St, Seattle, 98115

WHEN: Sundays, 10 am to noon, except for Workshops

COST: $25 per class, $20 for PlantAmnesty members, $5 for horticulture students and native Spanish speakers

Questions? email [email protected] or call PlantAmnesty at 206-783-9813.

PlantAmnesty Offices, Classes and Events

The complete Master Pruner Course is also offered through University of Washington Botanical Gardens (UWBG) at the Center for Urban Horticulture (CUH) on weekdays in winter 2017. For more information, contact CUH at [email protected] or 206-685-8033.

Upcoming Pruning Classes Sunday, January 08 — Pruning Fruit Trees (Ingela Wanerstrand) 10am–noon—Learn the basics of fruit tree pruning, covering apple, cherry, plum, and pear trees

Sunday, February 12 — Roses (Keith Dekker) 10am–noon—Learn the basics of rose pruning—hybrid tea, shrub and climbing roses Tools and timing are also covered

Sunday, March 12 — The Hackables, Shearables, and Untouchables (Cass Turnbull) ) 10am–noon—Some plants are cut to the ground each year But barely touch others, and all hell breaks loose Find out which ones are which, as well as which plants are appropriately sheared every year. Learn how to prune butterfly bush, lavatera, heather, lavender, rockrose, broom, witchhazel, and others

Sunday, April 09 — Easy Plants to Prune (Keith Dekker)10am–noon This class covers basic cuts, basic plant habits, and what Cass Turnbull calls the pruning budget. Then five plants that are relatively easy to prune are discussed: nandina, evergreen azalea, lilac, camellia, and yew

Starting January 1, 2017 prices will go up. Classes will be $25 public, $20 members, $5 students. Workshops will be $95 public, $85 members and $45 students.

2017 Schedule• Jan 8 Fruit Trees • Feb 12 Roses • Mar 12 Hackables, Shearables

and Untouchables • April 9 Easy Plants to Prune•April15 SpringRenovation

Workshop• May 14 Difficult Plants to Prune

(Mother’s Day)• June 11 Art or Atrocity• June 24 Fruit Tree Field Day• July 9 Trees 2• AuGuST nO ClASS • Sept 10 Renovate and Prune•Sept16 FallPruneandReno

Workshop•Oct6th SpanishPruning

Workshop• Oct 8 Tools • nov 12 Rehabilitative Pruning• DECEMBER — nO ClASS

NOTE: Prices for classes and workshops for

2017 have increased.


Yelm: HOUSePLANtS: One 9' tall corn plant; one 7' tall ficus; one 2' tall jade and one pot with a 2-fer, a philodendron and a dieffenbachia Photos available on request Contact Murray at 253-677-8055 or rmhart@ywave com 12/20

woodinville (Cottage Lake): Seven potted heucheras, varieties unknown though one is purple leafed variety Contact Phyllis at 206-257-8676 12/20

Bellevue (Crossroads): Two 8' tall conical conifers. Easy access. Contact Loic at [email protected] or 626-318-0840 12/20

Seattle (Ballard): One Acer japonicum, ‘Fernleaf Full-Moon Maple’, 4' tall In a container, ready to go Contact Dost at dostpanama@hotmail com 12/20

Sammamish: One 4' tall by 10' wide red Japanese maple. Easy access. Landscaping project necessitates removal Contact Shanie at shaniehsueh@gmail com 12/19

Seattle (Capitol Hill): Two hellebores, one pale green with maroon spots and one pale green with rose blush Two clumping ornamental grasses 12" tall. One wider leaved ornamental grass 2' tall. One pink flowered azalea, 8" tall One 5' tall red leaved Japanese maple Contact Barb at barbkyllingstad@yahoo com 12/12

Seattle (wedgwood): One dark pink flowering rose of Sharon, 7' tall. One dark pink flowering weigela, 6' tall One 2' tall golden spirea One 10' tall mock orange All healthy, just getting too big for their spaces Contact Becky at rebeccajeanp@gmail com or 253-720-0954 12/12

Seattle (North Seattle): One 8' tall evergreen conifer. Needs to find a new home, getting too large for it’s current home Contact Rohinee at rohinee paranjpye@gmail com 12/5

Mercer Island: Five 8-10' tall palm trees. Being taken down due to construction. Contact Lisa at 646-704-1834 12/1

Bellevue: Four rhododendrons, each 5' tall, bloom color unknown Photo available on request Contact Eric at 425-443-1103 11/29

Adopt-A-Plant. You call, you dig, you haul, that’s all.

The PlantAmnesty Adopt-a-Plant list is available on our website for members. If you do not have access to the internet, please call us at 206-783-9813, x3 and we’ll mail you a current copy of the complete list.

Adopt-A-Plant is a PlantAmnesty membership perk. But you don’t have to be a member to put a plant up for adoption. No money shall be given or received for these plants; if you are hired to transplant any,

of course your labor (only) may be charged. Keep things neighborly!

Please fill holes and leave the site tidy

Northwest ArborvitaeTina Cohen

Certified Arborist

206-789-3283

On site tree & plant diagnostic

services.

Line up for inspection!


In Print

A s part of a grant we got from the Washington State Department of Natural Resources’ Urban and Community

Forestry Division and the USDA Forest Service, we submit-ted an article titled No Place for Old Trees to the Arboretum Bulletin. It was published there as well as online to the edifica-tion of their members and readers

Donated Garden Clean-up

A brilliant event—the donated garden clean-up—was resurrected last

summer This event is a lot like a renova-tion workshop but without the students!

PlantAmnesty gardeners and vol-unteers gather at the site of a needy and deserving garden to weed, prune,

transplant, and do whatever is deemed necessary to restore a garden to its previous glory We get to rest and eat lunch with others of our kind, trading tips, techniques, and ideas—and maybe even some scuttlebutt or a shaggy-dog story After all, gardeners often lead lonely lives, and their shop talk is known to fall on disinterested ears at home The donated work day

is a safe place to talk mycorrhiza and phytophthora

Our generous crew donated their time, and the homeowner donated her money to PlantAmnesty We plan to do more of these donated work days next year

If you know of a person with suitable garden, let them know there is hope and send them our way s

Are You a Photosynthesizer Sympathizer?Join PlantAmnesty today!

MeMBerSHIP INFOrMAtIONNew Member(s) Name_______________________________________________ Phone (________)____________________

Address ______________________________________________________________________________________________ City State Zip

Email ______________________________________________ o I want to receive the newsletter ONLY electronically

o This is a gift so the check’s enclosed o Send them a gift card with my name

ALL NEW MEMBERS GET A FREE TWO-HOUR DVD OF CASS GIVING THE WORLD FAMOUS

SLIDESHOW AND THE PRUNING MICRO COURSE or A 2-HOUR PRUNING CLASS IN NE SEATTLE!!!

Send o them a free DVD or o me a free DVD or o me a class coupono English o Spanish (include your address)

g If your company has a corporate match program, please include your completed corporate match form with your membership. Plantamnesty is a nonprofit, 501 (C) 3 organization.

Please charge my o Visa o MC Exp Date _______/________ ISSN: 1095-4848

Card # _________________-_________________-_________________-_____________________________________________________

Print Name on Card ________________________________________ Signature _______________________________________________

o Adventitious Buddy $30 00o Family $40 00o Felco-teer $60 00o Tree Defender $120 00

o Heartwood $250 00o Cambium Club (Lifetime) $500 00o Limited Income/Student $15 00


Password Woes?Members who want to change/update their password online for the PlantAmnesty website just need to use the “Forgot Your Password” button Simple, easy to do Just click the Member login button on the home page

“To end the senseless torture and mutilation of trees and shrubs”

Non-Profit Org.US Postage

PAIDSeattle, WA

Permit #5011

PlantAmnestyP O Box 15377Seattle, WA 98115-0377

RETURN SERVICES REQUESTED

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