JC Raulston Arboretum e-Update
June 2019
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Your Monthly News and Updates
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Director's Note
By Mark Weathington, Director
When the temperatures hit 85
°
F, it is officially the start of summer even if the calendar says we have until the end of the month. With summer comes our summer interns. They always bring with them a breath of fresh air and some much-needed energy after a busy spring.
The
Southeastern Plant Symposium
on June 7 and 8 will be an excellent opportunity for our interns to learn from some of the top people in the field from cutting edge plant breeders to seasoned plant explorers. If you haven't checked out this great program for yourself, don’t wait, registration will be closing before long.
See you in the garden.
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Southeastern Plant Symposium
By
Mark Weathington, Director
Calling all plantaholics, plant nerds, nurserymen, gardeners, and horticulturists! Tony Avent and I would like to invite you to a meeting of the horticultural minds on June 7 and 8 at the
Southeastern Plant Symposium
in Raleigh, North Carolina, a joint program between the JC Raulston Arboretum and Juniper Level Botanic garden. We have a lineup of 16 of the top plantsmen/plantswomen from around the world as speakers and an audience of keen gardeners, dedicated plant collectors, botanic garden professionals, and green industry members.
This will be your chance to mingle with the best and the brightest, take a deep dive into what is new and exciting in the plant world, and get to know your fellow horti-thusiasts. Speakers include Buddy Lee, the originator of the Encore azalea and many other garden mainstays, Julie Moore from the USDA's Office of Endangered Species, and John Grimshaw, director of the United Kingdom's Yorkshire Arboretum and co-author of the seminal New Trees, Recent Introductions to Cultivation.
But wait! There's more. The plant auction will be a must-attend for any plant lover with a wide assortment of the newest of the new and the rarest of the rare with a focus on items you would be hard pressed to find in any nursery.
We hope you'll join us for this plant-centric celebration of horticulture at the Embassy Suites by Hilton near Research Triangle Park in Cary, North Carolina.
If you cannot join us in person, you'll be able to participate in the plant auction online before and during the event. Be on the outlook for an e-mail with more details.
For more information, please review the
program's announcement
or contact Chris Glenn at (919) 513-7005 or chris_glenn@ncsu.edu.
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Meet the 2019 Summer Interns
By
Emily Bonner, Development Assistant, Elizabeth Overcash, Children's Program Coordinator, and the Summer Interns
The JC Raulston Arboretum is pleased to welcome the summer 2019 summer interns:
Liam Godbold is a rising sophomore in biotechnology at James Madison University. He's interested in horticulture and soil genomics. After he graduates, he hopes to pursue a Master's or Ph.D. degree investigating plant-microbe interactions.
Branden Kowalyszyn will be a senior in horticulture this fall at NC State. He grew up in Michigan and is really passionate about plants, especially rare and exotic perennials and woodies.
Hannah Fetzer will be a junior in the fall studying horticulture at NC State. She grew up in Raleigh and one of her favorite plants is an agave.
Emma Rider is a senior in horticulture at NC State. She grew up on a wholesale nursery in Delaware and has a interest in arboriculture.
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Alexis Tennant is a senior at Meredith College majoring in child development. She brings many years of YMCA camp experience along with her aspirations to become an elementary school teacher to the Children's Program this summer. We are excited to have her help develop curriculum, work with our campers, and be in the gardens this summer growing our programs.
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Our Student Internship Program is truly one of the most impactful and meaningful programs we have at the JC Raulston Arboretum. These summer-long internships, which give young horticulturists a chance to get hands-on experience in the field while learning about the care and conservation of a variety of rare plants, is only possible thanks to the remarkable generosity of our donors. In
giving to the Student Internship Program
, you are providing students with the opportunity to pursue their passions in the JCRA's truly unique environment. Thank you for bringing this incredible opportunity to life.
Don't forget to say hello if you see our summer interns hard at work in the gardens. We can't wait to keep you updated on all of the amazing work they accomplish!
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Planting and Watering
By Douglas Ruhren, Gardens Manager
Perhaps there is a best time to do everything. Often the best time to do something is when you have the time to do it. The campaign to promote planting in the fall was a brilliant one. There are benefits to planting at that time, if only liberating us from the idea that spring is the only time to plant.
Yet the best time to plant certain plants is in spring. Certainly, it is the best time to plant a summer vegetable garden, as well as ornamental frost-tender annuals, both true annuals and the tropical plants like coleus and caladiums that are commonly treated as annuals. And here at the JCRA, spring is the best time to plant those plants that might not be winter hardy. Spring planting gives them a growing season to establish before their first winter in the real world.
Perhaps I am the only gardener with a chronic back log of plants to plant. Planting them means I can get by with soaking them once or twice a week rather than once a day, freeing a bit of always limited time in my own garden. Plus, the temperature of the root zone of the plant now planted is greatly moderated compared to the potted plant with its pot above ground. It's a glorious day when it becomes clear that the plant in the ground has "taken" and is now even less dependent on watering. So, planting in spring or even summer can be a labor-saving strategy.
But I write this less to promote planting during hot weather, than I do to remind all gardeners to soak newly planted plants at least once a week. It might even be necessary to water those planted last fall. It has gotten quite dry. In the fall of 2017, I wrote a similar piece for this newsletter because fall at that point had been relentlessly hot, sunny, and rain free. Though fall is a good time to plant, it doesn't mean that one can plant and walk away and never water the plant again. That article never got published because there was a soaking rain between the time the article was submitted and the time the JCRA e-Update was sent out. It is my profound hope that once again this will happen.
What does give me hope is that we were painfully dry a year ago at this time and then had an exceptionally wet summer. Perhaps this current dry spell won't go on forever. Until then we will be out soaking new plantings
and
continuing to plant.
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Hot Summer Educational Programs
By Christopher Todd Glenn, Programs and Education Coordinator
Summer is off to a sizzling start with numerous educational programs including some new programming and some of our returning favorites. Plantsmen's Tours, Friends of the Arboretum Lectures,
Gardening Adventures with Extension Master Gardener Volunteers lectures continue throughout the summer as well. In fact, this is our first summer ever with FOA Lectures every month.
Propagation Workshop
Saturday, June 1 – 9:00 AM
Join JCRA staff in this hands-on workshop and
learn how to asexually propagate
some of your favorite plants at the Arboretum. Participants choose which plants they want to propagate from the JCRA's collection of over 6,000 taxa (few exceptions apply, though).
Photography Walk
"From Smartphone Image to Photographic Art: Using Your Smartphone Camera and Apps to Transform Your Garden Images into Digital Art"
Thursday, June 13 – 10:00 AM
The smartphone is the camera many of us have with us at all times so why not
use the phone's camera
capability together with inexpensive phone-based apps to turn our pictures into digital art in the style of drawings, watercolors, and paintings. We'll use three apps to create digital art using photographs we take in the Arboretum or images from your phone's camera roll.
Introduction to Mushroom Foraging: Learn a Year's Worth of Wild Edible Mushrooms in One Day
Saturday, July 13 – 9:00 AM
Introduction to Growing Citrus in North Carolina
Saturday, July 13 – 1:00 PM
You don't have to live on the Gulf Coast (or the Left Coast) to
grow delicious citrus
. Learn how to grow citrus trees in the Triangle either in-ground or in pots in this class.
Photography Walk
"Key Photography Gear for Better Garden Photographs"
Mary Louise Ravese, Bella Vista Photography
Thursday, July 18 – 10:00 AM
Garden photography presents some interesting challenges for the photographer from being able to photograph in close proximity to flowers, to controlling the light to enable photographing at different times of the day. In this session we'll discuss some
key equipment professionals
use to enable better garden photographs.
Japanese Maple Grafting Workshop
Saturday, July 27 – 8:30 AM and 1:00 PM
Grafting is the only method possible to propagate some plants. Many rare and expensive plants are grafted. In this workshop, participants learn to graft Japanese maples (
8:30 AM
and
1:00 PM
) from two experts. Tim and Matt Nichols will discuss and demonstrate grafting techniques and then will individually assist each participant as they graft their own plants.
Hypertufa Trough Workshop
Saturday, July 27 – 9:00 AM
Hypertufa troughs
were developed in England as an alternative to old stone sinks which were used to feed and water livestock. Participants will mix the ingredients, build a container, and learn how to release a finished container from its mold in this workshop.
Cast Concrete Leaf Workshop
Saturday, July 27 – 1:00 PM
This two-hour workshop will teach you everything you need to know about how to prepare your leaf, mix the concrete medium, and mold a
natural leaf sculpture
to hang on an inside wall or use outside in a garden.
For more information about these programs, please contact Chris Glenn at (919) 513-7005 or chris_glenn@ncsu.edu. Online registration is available via the links below.
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Upcoming Events
Tim Alderton, Research Technician, and Christopher Todd Glenn, Programs and Education Coordinator
Saturday, June 1 – 9:00 AM
Volunteer Tour Docent
Sunday, June 2, 9, 16, 23, and 30 – 2:00 PM
"Mahonia and Their Kin"
Mark Weathington, Director
Tuesday, June 4, 2019 – 9:00 AM and 6:00 PM
Hosted by the JC Raulston Arboretum and Juniper Level Botanic Garden
Friday, June 7 and
Saturday, June 8
Friday, June 7 – 10:30 AM
Wednesday, June 12 and Thursday, June 13 – 9:00 AM
"From Smartphone Image to Photographic Art: Using Your Smartphone Camera and Apps to Transform Your Garden Images into Digital Art"
Mary Louise Ravese, Bella Vista Photography
Thursday, June 13 – 10:00 AM
"Horticultural Tartan—A Walk Through Scotland's Gardens and Landscapes Part II"
Amanda Wilkins, Juniper Level Botanic Garden
Thursday, June 13 – 7:30 PM
Friday, June 14 – 10:30 AM
Monday, June 24 through Friday, June 28 – 8:30 AM
"Bulbs for Every Season—Enjoy the Color and Interest They Bring to Each Season"
Cindy Chappell, Wake County Extension Master Gardener
Monday, June 24 – 10:00 AM
Presented by NC State's Department of Horticultural Science and the JC Raulston Arboretum
Wednesday, June 26 – 9:00 AM
✽Denotes a children's program.
Many programs require advance registration. Please register early to reserve your spot.
Save the Dates
Saturday, January 18, 2020 through Wednesday, January 29, 2020
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By Nancy Doubrava, JCRA Volunteer
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Hydrangea arborescens
'Ncha3'
Invincibelle Ruby smooth hydrangea
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Pterocarya rhoifolia
Japanese wingnut
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Echinacea
'Gemini Pink'
coneflower
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Hydrangea macrophylla
'Kompeito'
Double Delights Star Gazer bigleaf hydrangea
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Alstroemeria
'Sweet Laura'
Peruvian lily
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Ceanothus
'Minmarose'
Marie Rose summer lilac
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Agapanthus
'Early Blue'
agapanthus
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Canna
'Thai One On'
canna
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YouTube Channel Update
By Christopher Todd Glenn, Programs and Education Coordinator
Two new videos were recorded in March and posted to our
YouTube Channel
. Look for them on our channel or click the graphics below.
Receive announcements about our latest additions by subscribing to our
YouTube Channel
. Click on the bell icon to adjust your frequency settings from occasional notifications to all notifications and vice versa.
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Your Membership Makes a Difference
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Please Join or Renew Today!
The JC Raulston Arboretum is free to the public, but it is not free to operate. Memberships keep the gates open and the gardens in top shape. Membership gifts are the primary support for the Arboretum's daily operations and vital for its success. Thank you for your support and advocacy of the JC Raulston Arboretum through the membership program. It's fast and easy to become a Friend of the Arboretum, and there are many great benefits for you and your family.
Join or renew now
using our secure Web site, or contact Kathryn Wall, membership and volunteer coordinator, at
kbwall@ncsu.edu
or (919) 513-7004.
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Christopher Todd Glenn
Programs and Education Coordinator
NC State University
Campus Box 7522
Raleigh, NC 27695-7522
(919) 513-7005
You're receiving this e-mail because you're a member of the JC Raulston Arboretum. JCRA e-Updates are published electronically every month. If you are a member and need to update your contact information or wish to be removed from this mailing, please contact Kathryn Wall at (919) 513-7004 or kbwall@ncsu.edu. Please do not use the links below to update your e-mail address or to unsubscribe.
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