2012 USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map

The 2012 USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map is the standard by which gardeners and growers can determine which plants are most likely to thrive at a location. The map is based on the average annual minimum winter temperature, divided into 10-degree F zones.

For the first time, the map is available as an interactive GIS-based map, for which a broadband Internet connection is recommended, and as static images for those with slower Internet access. Users may also simply type in a ZIP Code and find the hardiness zone for that area.

No posters of the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map have been printed. But state, regional, and national images of the map can be downloaded and printed in a variety of sizes and resolutions.

Source: http://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov/PHZMWeb/

Master hormone controls plant growth

(iStockphoto: ansonsaw)

A recent article in ABC Science reports that a single hormone co-ordinates how a plant grows in response to the environment, researchers have found.

Plant molecular biologist Dr Phil Brewer, of the University of Queensland, and colleagues, report their findings about a chemical called strigolactone, this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

"It's a very key hormone," says Brewer.

Three years ago, Brewer and colleagues published research in the journal Nature that showed strigolactone determines whether a plant grows long and skinny or broad and bushy.

Read full article: ABC Science

SciWhys: Why are plants green?

By Jonathan Crowe

After the greyness of winter, the arrival of spring is heralded by a splash of colour as plants emerge from the soil, and trees seemingly erupt with leaves. Soon, much of the countryside has moved from being something of a grey, barren wasteland to a sea of verdant green. But why is it that so much vegetation is green? Why not a sea of red, or blue? To answer this question let me take you on a colourful journey from the sun to within the cells of plant leaves.

As humans, our waking hours are punctuated by mealtimes: we must consume food on a regular basis if our bodies are to be able to generate the energy we need to survive. Plants, however, fuel their survival in an altogether different way. Plants don’t need to ‘eat’ as such; instead, they generate their own food supply. This manufacturing of food is powered by energy that plants capture from sunlight.

It might seem odd to say that sunlight contains energy, but our everyday experience shows this to be so: if we sit outside on a sunny day, our skin quickly becomes warm. This warmth is the result of our skin cells absorbing the energy contained in the rays of sunlight.

Read full article: SciWhys: Why are plants green?

University of Delaware - Department of Plant and Soil Sciences cultivates next leaders

University of Delaware-trained plant and soil scientists continue to build on the institution's stellar reputation, with six winning recent national honors.

One graduate student and five graduate alumni of the Department of Plant and Soil Sciences in UD's College of Agriculture and Natural Resources (CANR) were presented awards by the Soil Science Society of America (SSSA) and the American Society of Agronomy (ASA) at the national meetings of the societies in San Antonio, Texas.

Honorees are alumni Josh McGrath, Chad Penn and Amy Shober, who were advised by Tom Sims, CANR deputy dean and T.A. Baker Professor of Soil and Environmental Chemistry; Daniel Strawn and Kirk Scheckel, who were advised by Donald L. Sparks, S. Hallock du Pont Professor of Soil and Environmental Chemistry and director of the Delaware Environmental Institute; and Sudarshan Dutta, who recently completed his doctorate under the direction of Shreeram Inamdar, associate professor of plant and soil sciences.

Read full article: University of Delaware

Philippines: Tripling yields, placing mangoes on world market year-round

For his many contributions that have had unprecedented impact on agriculture, Dr. Ramon C. Barba, now 72, was awarded the 2011 Umali Award by the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) last Wednesday in Los Baños. The plant scientist from the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) is the first Filipino to receive the award and the third recipient in Southeast Asia. The $10,000-award, given to outstanding Southeast Asian scientists, is named after the late National Scientist Dioscoro L. Umali, a founding Director of SEARCA and former Assistant Director General of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. Foremost among Barba’s researches was a breakthrough discovery in 1974 of mango flower induction by potassium nitrate, making it possible for fruits to be available all year round.

The use of potassium nitrate is low-cost and benefits both farmers and consumers: flower production is profuse and fruit production can be programmed according to market demands. "Although Dr. Barba holds a patent for this technology, he has foregone royalties due him so that mango farmers can use it without additional cost," the award observed. "Dr. Barba is known to perceive simple solutions to complex problems and produce results with minimum resources," the citation noted. "His research on induced mango flowering was a private initiative that cost less than P500 to complete." His achievements include banana micropropagation and sugarcane and calamansi tissue culture; all have impact on the agribusiness potentials of these crops in the world market.

Read full article at source: FreshPlaza.com

Video: How to Plant Dahlias

Classification: Dahlia Cav.

Dahlia Cav.

Click on a scientific name below to expand it in the PLANTS Classification Report.

Kingdom	Plantae – Plants
Subkingdom	Tracheobionta – Vascular plants
Superdivision	Spermatophyta – Seed plants
Division	Magnoliophyta – Flowering plants
Class	Magnoliopsida – Dicotyledons
Subclass	Asteridae
Order	Asterales
Family	Asteraceae – Aster family
Genus	Dahlia Cav. – dahlia

Source: USDA Plants Database

Tropical Plant Industry Exhibition (TPIE) - January 18 – 20, 2012 in Fort Lauderdale

The Tropical Plant Industry Exhibition (TPIE) starts the business year for buyers and producers of tropical plants and related products. Scheduled January 18 – 20, 2012 at the Broward County Convention Center in Fort Lauderdale, TPIE is the tropical escape from colder climates to the sunny shores of Fort Lauderdale, FL.  This international event is also a tropical escape to the largest and most diverse marketplace for colorful, exotic and in-demand tropical foliage.  The 2012 TPIE continues with the new Wednesday/Thursday/Friday format which was well received last year.

Link to more information: TPIE Information

DuPont and Evogene Enter Multiyear Collaboration for Soybean Rust Resistance

DES MOINES, Iowa, and REHOVOT, Israel, Nov. 21, 2011 – DuPont and Evogene Ltd. today announced a multiyear collaboration to improve resistance to soybean rust, one of the most devastating fungal diseases in soybean. Under the agreement, DuPont business Pioneer Hi-Bred and Evogene will collaborate to develop soybean varieties displaying in-plant resistance to rust. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

Soybean is one of the world's most important crops, supplying protein for human and animal consumption and feedstock for oil production. Soybean rust is a severe fungal disease, which causes significant yield losses that can reach up to 80 percent of the affected field. It is estimated that the yield losses caused by soybean rust exceed $1.5 billion annually. Development of new rust-resistant soybean varieties would help growers protect harvestable yield against rust, ultimately improving productivity of agriculture.

DuPont and Evogene will jointly generate a genomic database tailored to soybean rust resistance. Evogene will utilize its computational genomic technology, the ATHLETE™, to identify novel genes predicted to improve soybean rust resistance. Pioneer will use proprietary technologies to evaluate the genes in transgenic soybeans, and may advance leads for further development and commercialization. Evogene will be entitled to receive milestone payments and royalties based on the sales of resulting products.

“Strong disease resistance has been a cornerstone to the growth of our Pioneer soybean business,” said John Bedbrook, vice president, DuPont Agricultural Biotechnology. “Unique science from Evogene is going to help us more effectively tackle soybean rust.”

Holiday plant sale to be held at Solano College

With the holiday season just around the corner, Solano Community College Horticulture Club will sell wreaths and swags from fresh-cut greens during its winter plant sale Dec. 8-10 on the Fairfield campus.
The sale will also feature flowering plants, house plants, succulents and will take place in the Horticulture Building 1000.

The sale takes place 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 8 and from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Dec. 10.

Proceeds from the sale provide scholarships, equipment, and reference material for SCC Horticulture students. Cash and checks accepted.

For more information, contact Sandra Diehl, (707) 486-0179, avantgarden@sbcglobal.net.

Plant Classification - Kniphofia uvaria

Plant profile sheet: Kniphofia uvaria

Plant Classification:
Kniphofia uvaria (L.) Oken

Click on a scientific name below to expand it in the PLANTS Classification Report.

Kingdom	Plantae – Plants
Subkingdom	Tracheobionta – Vascular plants
Superdivision	Spermatophyta – Seed plants
Division	Magnoliophyta – Flowering plants
Class	Liliopsida – Monocotyledons
Subclass	Liliidae
Order	Liliales
Family	Liliaceae – Lily family
Genus	Kniphofia Moench – redhot poker
Species	Kniphofia uvaria (L.) Oken – redhot poker

World Plant Hardiness Zone Map

The first World Plant Hardiness Zone Map is available from the ADENEARTH's Plant Encyclopedia site.

All the various systems used to index plant hardiness across the globe have been brought together in one uniform scale of hardiness zones. This map is to be used as a tool for landscapers and gardeners globally and will be available in interactive form, free to the public, and associated with the open-authored wiki project ThePlantEncyclopedia.org.

Visitors to The Plant Encyclopedia will be able to zoom into their zone on the world map and discover cultivated plants that can be grown in their area of the world accurate to 50km sq. The Plant Encyclopedia also features search capabilities, allowing users to find plants through plant name, and various categories such as Tree, Shrub, Groundcover, or even Flower Colour.

The map was created using satellite thermal image data from multiple sources, which were gathered to track climate change. The created Aden Earth Zones were then correlated with the existing USDA Hardiness Zones, so that even novice gardeners can use the new map to reference information in their existing gardening books, or garden pot tags, et cetera.

Go to the Plant Encyclopedia Tab and click on the World Plant Hardiness Zone Map
Source: PRLog Press Release

Plant Encyclopedia Added to Main Menu

The Plant Encyclopedia has been added to this blog-site. The Plant Encyclopedia a global guide on cultivated plants served to the world by AdenEarth.org.

Click on the main menu tab or go directly with this link: Plant Encyclopedia.

Plant Guides and Fact Sheet for RIbes (Currant)

Plant guides or Fact Sheet for:
Ribes americanum (American Currant):           Plant Guide
Ribes aureum (Golden Currant):                       Plant Guide
Ribes  sanguineum (Red Flowering Current):   Fact Sheet

Source: http://plants.usda.gov/java/factSheet

Plant Classification for Genus: Ribes

Kingdom  Plantae – Plants

Subkingdom  Tracheobionta – Vascular plants

Superdivision  Spermatophyta – Seed plants

Division  Magnoliophyta – Flowering plants

Class  Magnoliopsida – Dicotyledons

Subclass  Rosidae

Order  Rosales

Family  Grossulariaceae – Currant family

Genus  Ribes L. – currant P

Source: USDA Plants Database (includes listing of species and varieties)

Planting Guide from Urban Farmer

Planting guide available from Urban Farmer's site.

Guide provides information on choosing seed varieties, planning, sowing and transplanting for vegetables, herbs, and flowers. Tables are included for specific information on different varieties such as seed sowing depth, planting dates, days to maturity, along with soil and lighting requirements.

Link to Planting Guide: http://www.ufseeds.com/Garden-Planting-Guide.html
Online Catalog and Catalog request available at Urban Farmer's homepage:
http://www.ufseeds.com/index.php

Amsonia hubrichtii is the Perennial Plant Association’s 2011 Perennial Plant of the Year™.

Perennial Plant Association announces 2011 Perennial Plant of the Year™.

Amsonia hubrichtii, pronounced am-SO-nee-ah hew-BRIK-tee-eye, carries the common names Arkansas blue star, Arkansas amsonia, thread-leaf blue star, narrow leaf blue star, and Hubricht’s blue star. This all-season perennial has blue star-shaped flowers in spring and light green foliage all summer.  The foliage turns a beautiful golden-yellow in fall. Arkansas blue star is very soil-adaptive and insects and diseases are rare.

Amsonia, a native of Arkansas and Oklahoma, is a member of the Apocynaceae family. The species was named after Leslie Hubricht who first discovered it growing in Arkansas in 1942. The foliage is finer than a feather duster and leaves reach three inches long. This amsonia grows 36 inches tall and 36 inches wide in a mounded form. From late spring to early summer, two- to three-inch wide clusters of small, light blue, star-shaped flowers are borne above the ferny foliage. The alternate arranged leaves are bright green in spring and summer, but turn a bright yellow-golden color in fall.

MyNature Tree versus Leafsnap Apps

Video comparing MyNature Tree versus Leafsnap Apps:

Job Openings in Denver, CO Area

• Plant Health/Lawn Manager Position – seeking highly organized, knowledgeable, independent manager to run a growing high quality PHC/Lawn department. Position includes some production, customer care, computer database management, chemical inventory, training, program development, dispute resolution, and management of employees. Applicant must have at least 4 years experience in the field, a valid driver’s license, QS license, pass a background check and drug screen. Pay rate: 36K to 40K dependant on experience. Benefit package included. Call 303‐347‐0988 or fax resume to 303‐806‐0868 or email to thenaturalway@earthlink.net
  
  
• Arborists/ Climbers/ SprayTechnicians/ Groundsmen.
  Pay DOE. Experience desirable but will train the right people. Come be a part of a quality team serving the North-metro area. Opportunities to advance as we grow. Owner very involved day to day. Relaxed environment. We value employees and customers over all else. Must care about trees!
  
  Arbortec Tree Service
  Office 303-466-3175
  Fax 303-466-2171
  Email - armailto:arborshea@comcast.net
  http://www.arbortectree.com/

Monthly Mystery Plant Contest at Fine Gardening

Jump to this site for Fine Gardening's August mystery plant contest. ID the correct genus & species and you become eligible for a chance to a free year's subscription to Fine Gardening magazine. Enter contest>