HAMILTON COUNTY MASTER GARDENERS
November, 2015
Volume 22, Issue 11
In This Issue
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Officers’ Messages
Education News/Camellias
Garden Expo
Tom’s Tidbits
November Garden Tips
Calendar of Events
Turkey Trivia
Officers/Chairpersons
MISSION
In support of the University of Tennessee mission and the University of Tennessee Extension
missions, the Master Gardener Program promotes environmental stewardship through a
network
of volunteers who provide research based
information and education to Tennessee
communities in home gardening and related
areas. As part of our mission the program
supports the continued education and
development for committed volunteers.
PRESIDENT’S CORNER
By Lisa Clark
Fall in the South is a wonderful place to
be; the spectacular foliage displays, coolness in the air, great food and let's not
forget the football.
As Master Gardeners we learn that hard
work pays off with great rewards. If you haven't already
heard, Carol Mathews and her team are already planning
the 2016 Garden Expo. I encourage anyone that is interested in helping to let Carol or any member of her team know.
Thanksgiving, a forgotten holiday in today's commercialized world, is one of the best times to celebrate with family
and friends. This leads me to ask the question, "What are
you thankful for?" As I write this, Steve and I are headed to
the Smokies to celebrate our 17th wedding anniversary. I
am thankful to have a partner that is truly my
soulmate as well as my best friend. We are
blessed to have our health, our families and
good friends.
May the blessings of Thanksgiving fill your
heart and home with happiness .
To quote the Dalai Lama: "The roots of all goodness lie in
the soil of appreciation for goodness."
Happy Gardening!
MONTHLY MGHC MEETING
November 19, 2015
SOCIAL @ 6:00 PM MEETING @ 6:30 PM
FIRST CUMBERLAND
PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
1505 N. MOORE ROAD
Send contributions and/or calendar events for the
December publication by the 25th of November. Articles
may be edited or delayed due to time and/or space.
Suggestions are welcome about errors that warrant
correction and they will be made in the next newsletter. Send to the Editor at: [email protected]
MESSAGES FROM MGHC OFFICERS/CHAIRPERSONS
From Your Secretary
The October Board Meeting was both informative and
productive and here are some interesting tidbits:
Save the Date: Winter School is now called the Tennessee Master Gardeners State Conference and will take
place in Knoxville on March 17-19, 2016 .
Carol Mathews has been working hard to secure Chairpersons for the 2016 Garden Expo and she now has all
the positions filled. MG’s, start thinking about where
you want to spend your time at the Expo and let the
Chairperson know that you are interested. (The Chairpersons are listed in Carol’s memo on page 4.)
The Nominating Committee, headed up by Clyde
Mathews, has been busy filling the slate of candidates
for the 2016 officers/chairpersons positions. As per
the by-laws, voting will take place when the slate will
be presented to the membership at the November 19th
MGHC Meeting.
—Valarie Adams
From Your Vice President
November is here already and I would just like
to say Thank You to all of our members for a very active
and productive year we have had! So many of you took
on some new and very intense projects, and I have to
say that all of your efforts have been very successful. I
am excited to see so many of our ongoing projects have
had someone step up and agree to lead us as we go into
the New Year of 2016. I hope everyone knows how important they are and what their incredible support
means to me and all those in our organization.
This new year just happens to be My 10 Year
Anniversary and I look forward to my new role for
the upcoming year ! I hope to see everyone soon.
—Bud Hines
Pointers From Your
Project Committee
It’s that time of the year:
Our Annual Project Evaluation Reports are due.
We need the annual project evaluation reports completed by each of the Project Leaders and returned to
me. This form is on the MGHC website and it is on the
section under forms. It can be completed online and
submitted directly, however if you prefer to print the
form and complete it, please mail it to:
1325 N. Glen Drive, Hixson, TN 37343
or email it to me @ [email protected].
Please have these in by December 10th.
It has been a good project year for us and we should
be thankful for all our leaders and volunteers. I will be
the first to say THANK YOU!
—Freeman Powell, Projects Officer
HOLIDAY PARTY
We will celebrate the season together on
December 3rd at 6:00 PM at the church.
It is essential that you RSVP for your own attendance
and whether you are bringing a guest. There will be a
sign-up sheet at the November meeting, or you can
contact me personally at 423-903-2404 or
[email protected]
The deadline to RSVP is Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 26th.
Also, remember that in December we DO NOT have a
3rd Thursday meeting, but rather our Holiday
Party on the 3rd of December.
—Lori Ashton
Hospitality Chairperson
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EDUCATION NEWS
On November 21st at 10:00 AM—12 Noon we will have
our last of the 3rd Saturday classes for this year and it
will be on making live wreaths. Please bring a medium
We had another good 3rd Saturday on October 17th
size grape-vine or other artificial wreath of your choice
with Jim Gumnick. There was great information infor the class. We are asking all Master Gardeners who
cluding the origin of Bonsai, the different styles and
have greenery with winter interest to donate some for
shapes a bonsai can have. As you can see from the pic- this class. Some ideas are pine, boxwood, nandina bertures, Jim took a bushy boxwood plant and with his
ry clusters, pine cones, cedar, spruce, along with dried
trained eye found the windswept tree within. It is
okra pods, magnolia seed pods, and cedar seed pods.
amazing to watch Jim find the hidden beauty of a com- Louise Gilley has offered to help with bow making for
mon ill shaped tree. As always, when he completed the those who need it , so you may bring a ribbon of your
art he gave it away and
choice. Remember the time you spend gathering and/
Johnny McMasters was
or creating is counted as “C” hours. The class is 2 CEU’s.
very happy to be the
Please contact me, Samantha Pfeiffer or Gretchen
recipient!
Rominger if you will be donating the greenery or anything else.
PHOTOS BY CAROL MATHEWS
Since the class will be held in the AG Center classroom
it will be limited to 30 people. Should we have an over
flow of people registered, we can try to have another
class in the afternoon. Watch for announcements on
Yahoo, our website, and MGHC Friends. PLEASE REGISTER FOR THIS CLASS ON OUR WEBSITE: mghc.org.
We really do need to know how many will be coming.
Carol Mathews
Education Chairperson
Camellia likes an acidic soil (a soil pH below 7.0) with plenty
of moisture and beneJapanese Camellia (Camellia japonica) is an evergreen fits being fertilized in
shrub prized for its showy flowers in the South's win- the spring. It thrives
ter landscape. Blooms can be as large as 5 inches
in a partial-shade loacross with yellow centers or full in the center with
cation and makes a
rounded overlapping petals, much like a rose.
good foundation plant
or background plant
More than 3,000 varieties, cultivars and hybrids of Ca- in the garden. It
PHOTO BY ANN DALE
mellia japonica are cultivated, and selections can vary
thrives best in Zones
from blooming in the winter to blooming in the spring. 7 - 9, but cold-hardy Zone 6 selections are available.
Plants are rated as being early flowering (prior to January 1st), mid-season flowering (January through Feb- If needed, prune Camellia within two months after it
ruary) and late flowering (March or later).
has finished blooming. Blooms can range in color from
CAMELLIA’S IN THE WINTER LANDSCAPE
white to various shades of pink and reds.
Selections of the slow-growing shrub can also vary in
For more information, check out the American Camelsize, growing to a height of 10 feet to 15 feet tall with a lia Society at http://www.camellias-acs.com.
spread between 6 feet to 10 feet wide. A native of China, camellia is also valued for its glossy leaves that stay
a deep, shiny green all year.
3
GARDEN EXPO 2016
We had our first organizational meeting in October for our 2016 Garden Expo and we are off to a fabulous
start. All committee chairpersons are in place and they are needing your help ! Our first round of
Vendor letters have gone out and more will be going out soon along with emails, phone calls, and visits.
Thanks to Lisa Clark, EPB, and MGHC being a 501c3, we have been offered a wonderful opportunity for TV
spots with network channels which is giving us a boost to our advertising. This is in addition to our billboards, newspaper ads, magazine calendars, leaflets, and signs.
We are doubling our educational opportunities with two classrooms and 17 speakers. We will have our
guest speakers in the regular classroom and MG speakers in the back upper right section. Our Children’s
Corner will be moving to the front area to take advantage of the ramp and to give more visibility to parents. As always, we will have our demonstrations throughout the arena. Because we are about education,
we will be sharing much.
The steering committee for 2016 will be:
Vendors----------------------------Florrye Grant, Asst. Kay White
Advertising------------------------Holly Colf
Children’s Corner ----------------Sara Stanley
Decorations------------------------Tammy DeArk
Q&A----------------------------------Nancy Williams
Admissions-------------------------Beverly Fowler
Speakers-----------------------------Louisa Mesich
Set-up/Take down-----------------Dick Smith
Vendor Care/Floaters-------------Judy Smith
Treasurer----------------------------Rodney Selcer
Directors ----------------------------Carol Mathews, Asst. Freeman Powell
A Parking/Outside Committee will be organized later when we know more about the construction that will
be going on in front of the arena and what we are going to need should the road be closed.
You can help by giving us the names of newspapers and/or gardening magazines you read, or any other
printed calendars you know about for advertising and that would help us find the garden and/or nature
related vendors we need. One brings the people and the other pays the bills. We need plenty of both.
Hamilton County Master Gardeners 4th Annual Garden Expo is only 6 months away and there is much
work to do.
—Carol Mathews
4
Tom’s Tidbits
By Tom Stebbins, UT/TSU Extension Agent for Hamilton County
Go Big Orange
PLANT A TREE TO SHOW SCHOOL COLORS
At Thanksgiving in Tennessee you can count on
bountiful family feasts,
beautiful fall foliage and
abundant football fans.
The trees this year are
spectacular in many
areas. If you want more
of this beauty in your
own yard, now is the time to take action. This is the
best time of the year to plant trees and shrubs in your
landscape. The second best time is early spring, so why
wait? The soil temperature in the fall is warmer than
spring. This gives the roots time to become established
before winter sets in. Soil moisture is also adequate
now with the recent rains in most areas. Dig an area
twice the width of the container or root ball. It is best
to plant an inch or two above the normal soil line to
give the tree room to settle. Remember the old saying
“Plant it high so it won’t die. Plant it low and it won’t
grow”. We don't recommend that you amend the soil
when you are planting trees.
Check Out Your Neighbors’ Trees
Get ideas on what trees or shrubs to plant by looking
around your neighborhood. Chances are that the soil is
similar and trees that are doing well down the street
will also succeed in your yard. Visit a tree nursery for a
wider selection of color. Cultivated trees selected by
nursery producers and arboretums typically have consistent fall color regardless of the fluctuating weather
conditions. Now is a great time to visually compare fall
foliage color of the different species instead of just believing the tag in the spring when every tree is green.
Tennessee nurseries grow the best selection and highest quality trees in the world so ask for Tennessee
grown trees at your local garden center to ensure
planting success for your yard.
Get close to UT orange the following selections. The
leaves are usually orange but there are other interesting features as well.
Chinese Sumac - Rhus chinensis The yellowish-white,
summertime flowers are quite showy. The hairy fruits
which follow are orange/red.
Paperbark Maple -Acer griseum cinnamon brown exfoliating bark is attractive all year.
Sugar maple - Acer saccharum: A large maple with
three-to-five-lobed leaves that turn a brilliant orange,
red and yellow in autumn.
Serviceberry - Amelanchier arborea A native tree. It
flowers in early spring prior to leafing out. Edible fruit
ripens in June. Bark is smooth gray.
American Smoke Tree - Cotinus obovatus A native tree.
At a distance the tree appears as if a great cloud of rosy
smoke rested upon its gorgeous foliage.
Sassafras – Sassafras albidum has excellent fall color.
Inner leaves will glow orange and outer leaves will be
bright purple.
Crapemyrtle - Lagerstroemia indica Grown as a single
trunk or more commonly a multi-trunk tree. Flower
panicles provide a lot of color during summer with colors ranging from white, pink, red and lavender.
Go Georgia Red
For red or purple in your yard you might try:
Black gum – Nyssa sylvatica A native and a honey
plant for bees and the fruit attracts birds
Japanese flowering cherry – Prunus serrulata is grown
for the relatively large flowers that cover the trees in
spring.
Scarlet oak – Quercus coccinea prefers dry, acidic soils
in which to thrive.
Red maple – Acer rubrum has a profusion of tiny, red
flowers against its smooth gray bark in the spring.
There are many trees to choose from. Below are my
choices for trees that are truly glorious in the fall. They
can adapt to the diverse soil and climatic conditions
present in Tennessee or northern Georgia.
5
GARDENING TIPS FOR NOVEMBER
It’s not too late to fertilize your cool-season fescue lawn. Use a turf fertilizer and follow label directions. The fertilizer encourages good root development and help improve the color of the
lawn.
 Keep heavy layers of leaves raked from the lawn.
They should be composted. Alternatively, you can
mow over a light layer of leaves, turning them to
a mulch that adds important nutrients back to the
lawn.
 November is the time for the first herbicide application to control wild garlic and wild onion if
you have them in your yard.
 As soon as the leaves fall from fruit trees and
berry bushes, spray for the first time with a
dormant horticultural oil. Spraying helps control
overwintering insects and diseases. Apply according to label instructions.
 Incorporate compost in the annual and vegetable
gardens for next growing season.
 Complete removal of fallen leaves and debris to
help eliminate overwintering insect and disease
organisms.
 Cut the tops off asparagus plants and mulch with
a good layer of compost.
 Cover strawberries 2 inches deep with hay or
straw to reduce weeds and increase winter protection.
 Secure raspberry and blackberry canes to protect
them from wind whipping.
 Give houseplants as much light as possible as
lower light days begin.
 Stop fertilizing indoor plants until spring.
 If possible, provide houseplants with increased
humidity as levels decrease due to indoor heating. Begin to increase the time between waterings, but do not cut back on the amount of water.
 Force bulbs indoors like narcissus, hyacinths and
amaryllis for color early in the new year. Start
paperwhites in late November for Christmas
flowering. Keep your paperwhites from flopping
over by adding alcohol:
http://www.hort.cornell.edu/miller/
pickling_your_paperwhites.pdf.

It’s an ideal time to plant or
transplant trees, shrubs
and fruit crops. Be sure to
water well and add a good
3- to 4-inch layer of mulch
to new plantings.








Check newly planted evergreen plants regularly
during the winter to ensure they are getting
enough water.
Mulch existing trees and shrubs to help reduce
weeds, provide insulation from freezing temperatures, and conserve moisture.
Reduce peony botrytis blight and hollyhock rust
by removing and disposing of all leaves and stems
this fall. Roses should have all their leaves raked
from beneath to prevent black spot. Dispose of
plant materials in the trash, not the compost pile,
to reduce the carryover of disease during the winter.
Cut chrysanthemum and other perennials’ stems
back close to the ground once they have begun to
die back. Leave ornamental grasses to provide
winter interest until spring.
You can continue to transplant perennials
throughout the fall and winter, as long as they
remain dormant.
Winter annuals, such as pansies, violas, Dianthus
chinensis, red mustard, snapdragons, ornamental
cabbage and kale can still be planted. The earlier
in the month, the better.
It’s the ideal time to plant spring-flowering bulbs.
Consider planting some of the minor bulbs such
as winter aconite, glory of the snow, species tulips, narcissus and grape hyacinths.
Mulch flower beds with 3 to 4 inches of good
compost or fine mulch to keep soil temperature
stable and prevent winter plant injury from frost
heaving. As the compost or fine mulch decomposes, it will enrich your garden soil as well.
http://utgardens.tennessee.edu/newsletters/jason_monthly_tips.pdf
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CALENDAR OF EVENTS FOR NOVEMBER
CEU AND VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES
FOR MORE DETAILS OF UPCOMING EVENTS, WEBSITES OF INTEREST,
SPECIAL ALERTS AND CURRENT TOPICS & ARTICLES: SEE MGHC.ORG
BEING A MEMBER OF OUR YAHOO GROUP WILL GIVE YOU THE LATEST INFORMATION ON ALL ACTIVITIES
November 2,9,16,23,30 Monday’s, 10:00 AM
November 4,11,18,25 Wednesday’s, 10:00 AM
MG Hot line at the Ag Center on Bonny Oaks
November 10, Tuesday, 6:30 PM
Chattanooga Herbies Meeting at the Ag Center on Bonny Oaks
November 14, Saturday. 2:00 PM
Tennessee Valley Bonsai Society Meeting at the Ag Center on Bonny Oaks
November 19, Thursday, 6:00 PM
Master Gardener Monthly Meeting at First Cumberland Presbyterian Church
6:00 PM-social hour 6:30 PM-meeting
November 21, Saturday, 10:0 AM—12 Noon
Education Class on “Live Wreath Making” at the Ag Center on Bonny Oaks
November 26, Thursday— Thanksgiving
Deadline to RSVP to Lori Ashton for Holiday Party
TO VOLUNTEER FOR:
CAFB Greenhouse Workdays
Alpine Crest Elem. School
Seeding the Cumberland
Workday at the Zoo
Contact: Holly [email protected]
Contact: [email protected]
Contact: [email protected]
Contact: [email protected]
UPCOMING EVENTS
December 3, Thursday— 6:00 PM MGHC Christmas Party
December 25, Friday—MERRY CHRISTMAS
January 4 & 5, 2016—Master Gardener Training Course Begins (tell someone you know that is interested)
Deadline for returning applications to UT Ext. is Dec. 28th
7
TURKEY TRIVIA QUIZ
How much do you know about the turkey ?
Take Aristotie’s Turkey Trivia Quiz and find out !
1. When was the first Thanksgiving celebration?
1492
1567
1621
1777
2. Where was the turkey first domesticated ?
Canada
Mexico and Central America
New Zealand
India
3. What great American statesman lobbied to make
the turkey the national symbol ?
Benjamin Franklin
Thomas Jefferson
John Adams
Andrew Jackson
4. About how many feathers does a mature turkey
have?
1,500
2,000
3,500
5,000
5. Which state produces the most turkey annually ?
Kansas
Ohio
Arkansas
Minnesota
8. What is the name of the skin that hangs from a
turkey’s neck ?
snark
wattle
garble
swag
9. What Native American tribe celebrated the first
Thanksgiving with the colonists ?
The Wampanoag tribe
The Sioux tribe
The Choctaw tribe
The Arapaho tribe
10. Which U.S. president specified that Thanksgiving
would fall on the last Thursday of November ?
Martin Van Buren
Andrew Jackson
William H. Taft
Abraham Lincoln
11. Which country consumes the most turkey per
Year per capita ?
The United States
Israel
Spain
The United Kingdom
6. How fast can wild turkeys run ?
5 mph
15 mph
25 mph
45 mph
1621
Mexico and Central America
Benjamin Franklin
3,500
Minnesota
25 mph
90%
Wattle
The Wampanoag tribe
Abraham Lincoln
Israel
TURKEY TRIVIA ANSWERS
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
http://thanksgiving.aristotle.net/
No cheating—so how did you do ?
7. Approximately what percentage of American
homes eats turkey on Thanksgiving ?
49%
67%
82%
90%
8
2015 MGHC OFFICERS
President Lisa Clark
Vice President Bud Hines
Secretary Valarie Adams
Treasurer Rodney Selcer
Certification Officer Gretchen Rominger
Communication Officer Chad Pickeral
Projects Officer Freeman Powell
MGHC Coordinator Tom Stebbins
1 Year Board of Governors
Lori Ashton
Bob Kemp
Cindy Rutledge
2 Year Board of Governors
Barbara Blankenship
Ron Smith
Sue Henley
2015 New Class Representatives
Vicki Petzko
Johnny McMasters
CHAIRPERSONS
Bonny Oaks Arboretum Jim Davenport
County Fair Bertha Livingston/David Hopkins
Education Committee Carol Mathews
Events Coordinator Bertha Livingston
Finance Rodney Selcer
Garden Expo Sue Henley
Historian Jane Goodin
Hospitality Lori Ashton
Hummingbird/Butterfly Garden Mike Payne
Membership Directory Pam Bare
Mentor Coordinators Shirley McMasters/
Clyde Mathews
MG Hotline Bill Apps (Mon.) Diane Slover(Wed.)
Newsletter Editor Ann Dale
Nominating Committee Clyde Mathews
Scholarships Bob Kemp
Speakers Bureau Carol Mathews
State Advocate Patsy Boles
Webmaster Holly Colf
PHOPHOTO BY ANN DALE
9