East Texas Hoticultural Field Day set June 26

By Robert Burns

Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service

For the first time since 2009, the 2014 Overton Horticultural Field Day will include vegetable trials in addition to the hundreds of bedding plant trials that are the standard fare, according to Texas A&M AgriLife Research experts.

Set this year on June 26 at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center at Overton, gardeners, professional landscape managers and seed company representatives will learn which landscape plants do well under East Texas heat and sunshine at the field day, said Dr. Brent Pemberton, AgriLife Research ornamental horticulturist.

Pemberton said he started the trials in 1994 in response to need by both commercial seed companies as well as for local nursery managers and gardening enthusiasts.

There is no cost to attend or for the barbecue lunch. The field day will begin at 8:30 a.m. at the center's North Farm site, about four miles north of the Overton Center on Farm-to-Market Road 3053.

The field day will feature more than 500 bedding plants, including everything from geraniums to petunias to verbena to begonias in outdoor plots, said Pemberton.

The vegetable trials are a collaborative effort between AgriLife Research and Kilgore College, Kilgore. They are conducted by Dr. Karl Steddom, AgriLife Research plant pathologist who also is an instructor at Kilgore College.

Steddom said his vegetable trials include more than 30 tomato varieties, five pepper varieties, cantaloupe, strawberries in low tunnels, a fungicide trial on watermelon and a pruning trial on watermelon.

"We also have other vegetables like pole beans, bush beans, cucumbers, squash - things which we're doing for student education," Steddom said.

He noted that watermelons are subject to several diseases, including powdery mildew, downy mildew and gummy stem blight, all of which can be devastating for both commercial growers and home gardeners.

The bedding plant tour will continue at the North Farm, as will the vegetable tour, until about 10:30 a.m., then both tours will move to the Overton center's headquarters building at about 10:30 a.m. Lunch will be served at about 11:45 a.m.

The program will move inside after lunch with presentations by Pemberton and Dallas Arboretum representative Jenny Wegley, who will discuss the 2014 California Spring Showcase, also known as Pack Trials, as well as top performers for 2013.

Indoor presentations will begin at 1 p.m., and the program will conclude by 3:15 p.m. There also will be indoor presentations on vegetables by Steddom and Texas AgriLife horticulturists from College Station.

Participants are welcome to start the day at the Kilgore College site, then move to the bedding plant trials, or vice-versa, Steddom and Pemberton said. Or they may tour only one of the sites if they wish, and still have lunch at the Overton Center and attend the indoor presentations.
"The new Cora Cascade vinca will be on display as well as a large number of trailing petunias," Pemberton noted.

Newer additions will include Napier grasses, almost all of the commercially available varieties of seed-grown pentas and a large number of new New Guinea impatiens entries, he said.

New Guinea impatiens have received a lot of attention due to the fact that they are resistant to downy mildew, he said, and also noted the impatiens are great plants for shade gardens.

"Pentas are a great plant for full sun in our heat and humidity that flowers continuously and is attractive to butterflies," Pemberton said. "This will be a follow-up trial from last year, and will be a comprehensive trial of mainly seed-grown varieties of this great plant."

Also included this year will be more Napier grasses, which are purple- leaved ornamental plants, he said. The emphasis will be on some of the newer tall varieties that are just coming to market.

"I think the Napier grasses will be really interesting in the future for us," he said. "Last year, we promoted Princess Caroline Napier grass as a Texas Superstar plant and in the future we would like to look at the really tall ones."

There is also a huge selection of geraniums this year. New interspecific hybrids that have better heat tolerance are becoming widely available now and many are in the trials.

There will be an expansion of the tests of verbena from 2012 and 2013.

"Verbenas have been around for awhile, but the new varieties are making the bedding plant attractive to gardeners again," Pemberton said. "Several previous varieties did very well both years, and we're bringing them back for an encore, along with many new varieties."

The bedding plant industry has had a $500 million annual economic impact on the region for at least a decade, and though not recession proof, it hasn't experienced the downturn in consumer spending that other businesses have in the last couple of years, Pemberton said.

The center and the North Farm site are north of downtown Overton on Farm-to-Market Road 3053. For driving directions, go to http://flowers.tamu.edu/field-day/ or call 903-834-6191.

The Kilgore College Demonstration Farm can be reached from downtown Overton by going north 2 miles on Highway 135.

Nacogdoches: SFA Gardens at Stephen F. Austin State University will host the mconthly Theresa and Les Reeves Lecture Series at 7 p.m. Thursday, June 12, in the Ina Brundrett Conservation Education Building at the Pineywoods Native Plant Center, 2900 Raguet St. in Nacogdoches. Former president of The Native Plant Society of Texas, Peter Loos, will present "Native Plants That Work for You."Loos has a degree in horticulture from SFA and is a resident of Chireno. He owns Ecovirons which specializes in hard to find native plants, plant growing services, biological and botanical services, native plant seeds, landscape design, wetland construction and maintenance services, and land management services. The Theresa and Les Reeves Lecture Series is held the second Thursday of each month at the Arthur Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture's SFA Pineywoods Native Plant Center. A rare plant raffle will be held after the program. The lecture is free and open to the public, but donations to the Theresa and Les Reeves lecture series fund always are appreciated. Parking is available at the nearby Raguet Elementary School, 2428 Raguet St., with continual shuttle service to the Ina Brundrett Conservation Education Building. For more information, call 936-468-1832 or email grantdamon@sfasu.edu.  

San Antonio: Christine Arredondo, owner and manager of San Antonio Gourmet Olive Oils, will speak at the San Antonio Herb Society's meeting June 12. The meeting, running 6:30-8:30 p.m., will be held at the San Antonio Garden Center, 3310 N. New Braunfels, San Antonio. For additional information, visit www.sanantonioherbs.org.

Denton: The 2014 Denton County Fruit, Vegetable, Herb and Flower Show will be held Saturday morning, June 14 at the Denton County Historical Park, located at Carroll Boulevard and Mulberry Street in Denton. For more information, contact the Denton County Master Gardener Help Desk at 940-349-2892 or visit www.dcmga.com.

Seabrook: Judy Jones, part-owner of Enchanted Gardens, will present "Fairy Gardens and Terrariums" at 10 a.m., June 18, at Clear Lake Park Meeting Room, 5001 Nasa Parkway, Seabrook. For additional information, visit https://hcmga.tamu.edu/Public/pubp2.aspx.

Cleburne: Junior Master Gardener Wildlife Gardener Certification Summer Camp will be held Monday June 23 though Friday June 27, 9 a.m.- noon, and the Chisholm Trail Outdoor Museum, 101 Chisholm Trail Dr, Cleburne. Learn backyard habitat gardening basics by exploring, Birds, Amphibians/Snakes, Mammals/Bats & Insects/Monarchs. Classes will be made up of hands-on projects, class discussion & take home crafts. Friday the class will put everything they have learned about gardening for wildlife into practice by creating and planting a butterfly garden on site. Those who attend all 5 classes will receive JMG Wildlife Gardener Certification. Classes are geared for kids 7-11 and space is limited, If space is available, children under 7 may attend with an adult & those older than 11 but younger than 15 may attend with approval. Take all 5 classes and receive a JMG Wildlife Gardener Certification for $45.00 or take individual classes for $10.00 per class. For more information contact Pat Kriener, 817-793-4625 or wildwoodc@yahoo.com. 

Humble: Children entering the 4th and 5th grades can jump into the fascinating world of plants during summer camp at Mercer Arboretum & Botanic Gardens. Participants may choose from two week-long sessions: Monday, June 23 through Friday, June 27 or Monday, July 21 through Friday, July 25 from 9 a.m. to noon each day. Registration is now open, but seating is limited! Call 281-443-8731 or visit Mercer to register and find out more. An $80 enrollment fee is due at the time of registration. Plant hunters will learn about the diverse plants of the world and the ecosystems in which they are found as they engage in a variety of outdoor activities to learn about the natural world. Discover the amazing abilities of plants that allow them to thrive in virtually every habitat on earth, including grasslands, wetlands, the tropics, temperate forests, and the human environment. Mercer Arboretum & Botanic Gardens is located one mile north of FM 1960 at 22306 Aldine Westfield Road, Humble. For additional information, contact Mercer at 281-443-8731 or online at www.hcp4.net/mercer.

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