Hello to all you lovely visitors, Denise and I have come to the end of our weekend and all I can say is, the end. The end of this practical weekend at Fanshawe College marks our last task to do before officially saying we are graduated in the program! It’s been on hell of a run and we’ve had such a good time, we made sure to apply all those skills the wonderful staff here has taught us.

First off, what would a Horticulture class be hoping for in tail end of April? Praise that it is that time the weather warms up, clothing becomes lighter and the working days with 3 layers are over! Not this weekend, the weather was all over place… snow, rain, sun and heavy wind were among us but thankfully all those previous class practical sessions throughout winter really ‘hardened us off’ (no plant pun intended)

 

 To kick things off, Jeff took us for a tour around the campus listing off and pointing our certain things to do. First tasks on deck included relocating a Pinus heldreichii from the within the Woodland garden area, planting in a more open, sunny filled spot about 50’ away. This was done with Cassie and Sijia, another pair of students as it was quite a job digging, lifting and transplanting an 8’ specimen! Immediately after that we moved on over to the entrance of H building to transplant a Oxydendrum arboretum from in between two large spruce trees as it was being over taking and not being supplied enough of its cultural needs!! The back of R2 was the home to be for this poor specimen, as this tree prefers a wet, soggy soil and on a rainy day like that, this area sure did show us the swamp it can be.

 

 

 

Now time for the spring clean up! After successfully transplanting the trees, we moved on over to the front of T building are dove into our bed clean ups. Weeds, weeds and more weeds, and oh, garbage everywhere too. Scanning for all the weeds and removing them using a fork but being tedious enough to  not rip up the landscape fabric was a little tricky and those weed runners just like to shoot along that stuff and cause huge problems spreading weeds everywhere! Thankfully the teachers had such patience in teaching bed maintenance and weed removal as that landscape fabric causes difficulty and would have been torn out.

So, what is the worst thing about a contractor on a school property removing snow? He pushes all his salt filled, gravel packed snow into all the garden beds! Seeing as rocks and dust really give no added nutrition to the soil, we figured we should take it out. 

 While moving on down through the front of T building, we ran across such tasks as cleaning out debris stuck within plants of the garden bed. Sometimes you just have to wonder if ground cover plants should really be called garbage collecting plants because that’s all they ever seem to do! After garbage picking each bed from T building to A builing, we found that  Heuchera ‘Obsidian’, Epimedium xversicolour ‘Sulphureum’ and Aurinia saxatilis ‘Gold dust’ seem to outdo all those plastic containers reading ‘Garbage’ on them… which is really sad.

 After a little cleaning, we now were set on giving the beds a little haircut to shaping everything up for a healthy and form producing plant come summer time. Have you ever used hedge shears to remove a Barberry shrub? Make sure the gloves you use are thick because the thorns on that sucker can really give you quite the scratch! Everything from cutting out and removing of the old wood from the Hostas, sniping off all sucker growth found on trees and wood shrubs, cutting out dead and overgrown branches on the Junipers and Euonymus and digging up every weed we could find was conquered. After completion of all that we found ourselves already nearing the end of our Sunday.

 Now with summer on our minds and the end of a day near, we headed back to the tool rooms to wash all tools and finish up for the day. We learned that bed maintenance work isn’t just what meets the eyes as it certainly felt like a more! Prioritizing and working as a team was really the overall factor that allowed us to get everything completed on time.

  All in all for a final practical at Fanshawe College, it sure did wiz by just like the last 2 years!! Reflecting on our day, a real big wave of impact comes over as you reminisce how much has changed and how much we’ve grown into horticulturists. Just like any plant in nature we started from a mere seed, we’re SCAREified, cared for enough by someone to survive on our own and now are off to continue to grow on our own.

MAINTENANCE BLOG (April 19 -April 21, 2013)

            On Friday April 19, Jeff gave Cassie and Sijia a tour to Dwarf Conifer Garden where maintenance was needed. Our first task was to move the Bosnian pine that was located on the west side of the conifer garden and it was to be relocated into a more open and sunny location. Because of the size we needed the help of Denise and Eric, who were also doing their weekend maintenance practical.

We dug a trench around the root ball so we could get our shovels beneath it and release it from the ground. Once the root ball was out of the ground we placed it on a piece of burlap so the ball would stay intact. We filled and leveled the hole that was made. Meanwhile, another hole was dug in the new location and the Bosnian pine was placed into it, the excess burlap was cut off and we began refilling the hole and compressing the soil every few inches with our feet. We put a ridge around the outside of the tree well to ensure that water doesn’t run off.

Once the heavy work was completed Eric and Denise continued on their weekend duties, while we staked the tree laid down some mulch and cleaned up the area.

            The second task of the day was to de-winterize the garden. The snow fence was removed and rolled up neatly, all stakes were taken out and all string wrapped trees were untied. The winterizing materials were taken to the compound for storage. We then began weeding the dogwood beds on the west side of the garden as well as creating an edge between the sidewalk and garden bed. Lastly, we cut down a limb on a crabapple tree that was also on the west side of the garden and it was loaded unto the trailer and Eric took it to the compound.    

           

            On Saturday April 20, a circle check was completed before we drove RTV, and picked up the tools we were going to use for the day. Then we spent entire day digging up the Euonymus alatus ‘Compactus’ hedge and relocated 4 chamaecyparis pisifera filifera aurea.

            On Sunday April 21, a circle check was completed firstly and got the tools we needed. Next, Cassie and I finished digging, relocating the 4 Juniperus squamata 'Holger'. The pathways and stair corners in the area were swept and in the morning.

After lunch, we started to weed at the Iris border along the residence building. We used garden forks to lift the soil and removed the weeds. The dead foliage was taken off as well. All weeds and dead foliage were taken to the compound and dumped into the compost area. Last but not the least, we washed the RTV and all the tools we used, and swept the tractor bay. We were done for our maintenance practical and school!

Weekend Practical Blog - April 12-14, 2013

The Gardens of Fanshawe College

Nick Amyotte & Ashly Haagsman

            Our overall experience at Fanshawe this weekend was a great experience and also successful. We managed our time accordingly and complete the tasks assigned to our best abilities. Our first job was to clean up and prune to some plants in the Louise Weeks Garden. We started by raking any debris out of the beds and removing the garbage and litter. We then pruned some Euonymus fortunei, pruning any overhanging branches and branches stemming upwards.

 We then cut back some Hydrangea arborescens “Anebell”, leaving roughly 6” of the plant remaining. A Prunus subhirtella needed attention and we removed any interfering branches and thinned it out where needed. A Wisteria floribunda is the tree we touched next removing and “whips” hanging too long, pruning back to 3-5 buds from the trunk.

 We finished in the garden by sweeping any debris and gravel from the walkways. The next set of garden beds that were tacked were the ones located outside the Fanshawe College BLVD. main gates and the beds separating the roads into and out of the college. All ornamental grasses were cut back in a mounding form to 6”. Next we cut back all sedums in the same fashion as the grasses. We then pruned some Rhododendron shrubs to maintain form. Once the entrance beds were cleaned from debris, weeded, and plants properly cultured the backpack blower was used to clear gravel from the sidewalk and concrete.

 We then moved into the long narrow beds separating the roads in the college. These beds were filled with Hemerocallis. We removed all dead parts of the plant and raked out the grass matted within the plant. All leaves, debris, weeds, and garbage were also taken out and removed from the beds.

 The final beds that were worked on were located right behind residents building 1 (R1). In these beds all debris, weeds, and leaves were removed first. Next the beds were solely filled with Iris pumila and those were cleaned up and dead portions were removed.

 A bed located just north of the Iris beds had some Hostas that needed to be raked up and the bed cleaned from debris. Once the bed was cleaned, the concrete section had weeds in the cracks, and leaves scattered across it. All weeds were removed and the backpack blower was used to clear the surface of debris.

 Cleaning all tools used over the weekend finished off the day, as well as power washing the Kubota RTV and sweeping the tractor bay. After completing the weekend at Fanshawe performing maintenance we learned that time management and prioritizing beds and plants is essential. It is important to complete the more high priority areas first. Time management and prioritizing is a crucial aspect to a successful landscape maintenance crew.    

The Gardens of Fanshawe College - Josh S. and Candice April 5-7, 2013

Good afternoon fellow horticulture enthusiasts, Candice here. Just got home from my weekend practical at the Fanshawe campus with my fellow classmate Josh and boy am I feeling the burn…wind burn that is!

This weekend our job was to clean up “D” courtyard and make it shine. That may not seem like a hard job, but I was surprised to see how harsh winter and Fanshawe students were to this area. It looked like a trashed car that was lived in by hippies.

Throughout the weekend we tackled projects alongside the adjacent building and the garden beds that are to the left as you walk into the courtyard. We cut back grasses like professionals, pruned back some shrubs and picked up mounds of garbage, leaf debris, and a disgusting amount a cigarette butts. All I have to say is I witnessed some server lazy habbits! We did some tree pruning, trimmimg back limbs that may “POKE somebodys eye out”, damaged limbs and as many of the little nasty stubs Mike hated so much. Removing debris from the beds was a big part of our weekend and I learned something…much like trees and turf don’t mix, neither do mulch and pebbles. I think someone missed the design flaw there.

We did some learning this weekend too. It wasn’t all work and no play. On the Magnolia in the front right bed of the courtyard there appears to be a black mold growing on the trunk of the tree which is scale. In addition to the Magnolia situation we learned about another disease, but I’ll let Josh explain that one.

One other diease that Candice and I lerned about was fasciation. Fasciation or also commonly called “cresting” is a rare condition which causes abnormal growth within the vascular cambium. The apical meristem which typically focuses growth at a single point in any other healthy plant is what usally happens, but with fasciation it becomes elongated perpendiculary to the direction of growth which is what produces the flattened or crested like look. Fasciation can be caused by an hermonal imbalance but can also be caused by genetic mutaion or by bacterial and viral infesctions.

All in all, aside from working in what I will forever refer to as the “Wind Tunnel Of Doom”, I think we turned “D” courtyard back into a place that can be sat in and enjoyed by all the students and staff here at Fanshawe College. Now if we can just get around to fixing up that wisteria.

April 7^th 2013

Stacy and Caitlin reporting from campus. The name of the game this weekend was litter. This time of year is always bad for litter in the gardens after the snow banks melt.

We cleaned the garbage and leaf litter out of the gardens around the Fowler Kennedy Clinic and they are looking a lot better!

There were a few prime examples of the wrong plant being chosen for the wrong spot. The Euonymus fortunei ‘Coloratus’ needs to be pruned away from the side of the building several times a year and serves as an effective garbage and leaf trap.

The Quercus robur ‘Fastigiata’ is damaged by snow from the building beside which has ruined it’s form. We’re calling it character.

Otherwise we cleaned the leaf litter and the garbage litter out of the gardens and pruned and removed some shrubs that had lost the battle. Gardens are looking a lot better!

One of our challenges this weekend was dealing with field bindweed (Convolvulus arvensis). It is notoriously difficult to destroy bindweed once it is established because of its vigorous root and shoot growth. There are cultural and biological controls that can increase bindweed manageability. Bindweed does not do well in heavy shade or dry conditions. So plant large shrubs or trees that tolerate dry conditions; that way the bindweed will be in unfavourable conditions and it will take longer for it to come back after it is forked out. In addition, an effective biological control that can make bindweed more manageable is the field bindweed gall mite (Aceria malherbae). These mites will reduce flowering, and cause stunting and leaf curling. These mites prefer dry conditions so using them in conjunction with drought tolerant shady plants will help keep it under control.

http://www.colostate.edu/Dept/CoopExt/Adams/weed/pdf/BindweedMite.pdf

http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7462.html

Elissa and Miranda Weekend Practical:

In Search of the Elusive Easter Bunny

Easter weekend proved to be a busy one on campus this year.  The sun was shining and birds were chirping and grasses needed cutting back.  We began our weekend at the front of the college, cleaning up the gardens and finishing a job well done by the Horticulture Technician program students from Thursday.  Just a few more cut backs and fine tuning and the college was ready for spring, we were too and were blessed with the nicest weather we have had all year. 

After finishing up with the entrance to the college it was looking fine, we headed to our next task: Forwell Court (a daunting task).  Pruning, cutting back, leaf removal and just overall spring clean up it was a large job but one we were ready to tackle. 

Where to begin, we started by pruning the Amelanchair Canadensis, beautiful huge specimens that had become a little over grown and in need of a little reshaping.  Following the Rule of DDDI (Dead, Diseased, Dying and Interfering) we revitalized the Serviceberry for the season ahead.

“Overgrown”

"Pruned”

We foraged ahead, cutting back grasses of all varieties, Annabell Hydrangea and Spirea. Trimming back dead juniper and selectively pruning as we went. Pruning of the Taxus to waist height proved somewhat of a challenge; but no Easter bunny yet. One bucket, two buckets, three buckets.....too many to count! We cleaned up our mess and emptied the trailer.

“Hydrangea before and after prune”

“Is that a bunny in hiding in the Taxus?”

Sunday, where is that tricky bunny? The sun was sleeping but we were on the job.  Strapped on the backpack blower and cleaned, cleaned, cleaned. Leaves were hiding in every nook and cranny. Weeds were growing, but we destroyed them. Rain was falling but we remained on our feet, determined to leave a pristine garden for all Fanshawe College students to enjoy. Our final count: three trailer loads, too many leaf buckets, one can of mixed gas, two backpack blowers, one hedge trimmer, a bag of garbage, and two tired ladies. And no Bunny’s to be found!!

(Insert #91, 92, 93, 94jpeg, “All cleaned up and looking good!”)

Research:

Albizia julibrissin commonly known as the Mimosa Tree is native to Japan and Iran. Its growth habit is multi-stemmed, vase shaped with a flattened umbrella like top. This tree is not fully hardy in our zone (6a/6bUSDA or 7CDN), it must be grown in a microclimate (protected from harsh winter winds and cold temperatures, ie. Planted close to the corner of a building) to prevent damage to its weak wooded limbs. Plant Mimosa in medium well drained soils, can tolerate alkaline conditions. Flowering will occur best in full sun, summer conditions.  Selectively prune in early fall to remove dead, diseased, or interfering branches.  In the fall remove leaf litter, seed pods, and spent flowers to prevent clean up problems. 

Source:

Missouri Botanical Garden - http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/gardens-gardening/your-garden/plant-finder/plant-details/kc/a848/albizia-julibrissin.aspx