Your August 2021 JC Raulston Arboretum e-Update

JC Raulston Arboretum e-Update

August 2021

Your Monthly News and Updates

Director's Note

By Mark Weathington, Director

When trying to teach people how to solve garden problems like powdery mildew on dogwoods, I always explain the disease triangle. The three parts include the disease, a susceptible host, and a suitable environment. People always ask, "What can I spray?" in an effort to kill the disease. Killing the disease is usually the hardest way to solve the problem though. Other solutions include getting a less susceptible host such as the mildew resistant 'Cherokee Brave' dogwood or planting the tree where there is good air movement and sunlight to make the environment less suitable for mildew to flourish.

The same is true for people. We have found that we are quite susceptible to COVID-19 and even more so to the Delta variant. Killing a virus is a tall task but we know how to make people less susceptible. It's as simple as a quick vaccine. The only other option is to make the environment less suitable and that means locking ourselves away from each other again. Even for an introverted plant lover like myself, I can't stand the idea of another year without all of you at the JCRA so please get your shot and encourage others to do so as well. Once you're vaccinated, I can't wait to see you in the garden.

See you in the garden.

Student Internship Program

By Carly Dressen, Development Assistant

As our Student Internship Program wraps up for the summer, we wanted to take the time to thank all of our generous donors! On July 27, we hosted our annual ice cream social to give our donors and volunteers a chance to meet and celebrate the interns' hard work this summer. Howling Cow ice cream with all the toppings was enjoyed and ended with a fun question and answer session. Thank you to all who attended!

The Student Internship Program runs from May–August each summer and gives young horticulturists and a youth educator a chance to gain valuable experience in one of the nation's premiere plant collections. By giving to this program, you are making sure that the JCRA can continue to offer this opportunity that can truly make an impact on the interns. If you would like to support student education, please consider donating to the Student Internship Program. If you have any questions, please contact Alycia Thornton, director of development, at alycia_thornton@ncsu.edu or (919) 515-7068.

You can also view the 2021 summer interns "Interns' Top Picks” Plant-lover's Tour on YouTube.

Support the Student Internship Program

Gardening in the South

Sponsored by Leaf & Limb

Saturday, August 28 – 9:00 AM–12:00 PM

Gardening in the South is back for new and experienced gardeners alike! The JC Raulston Arboretum and Leaf & Limb invite you to participate in this free symposium that designed just for you. Join us for a series of presentations that are guaranteed to expand your horizons.

"Four Ways To Make Your Trees Happy + Two Critical Errors to Avoid"

Basil Camu, Leaf & Limb

Trees were—and are—one of nature's most powerful tools for creating the planet we know and love today. One of the best ways we can show love to our beautiful planet is by planting trees and caring for the ones we have. Especially in the urban environment, trees need our help to be healthy and happy.

During this lecture, we will explore two key areas. First, we'll examine four ways to produce healthy, happy trees. We'll discuss when and how to plant trees, a framework for pruning goals, how to make excellent pruning cuts, and ways to create healthy soil where your trees will thrive. Then we'll discuss two critical errors to avoid: chemicals and something called a "buried root collar." Both of these can cause great harm to your trees. By the end of this presentation, you will hopefully have enough information to begin planting and caring for trees in a way the benefits all of your local ecology.

Healthy trees in abundance create happy people and a vibrant planet.

"Cutting Your Way Through the Red Tape: Understanding the Biology and Art of Pruning Will Help You Make the Cut Right"

Barb Fair, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Horticultural Science, NC State University

In this session you will learn a bit about woody plant biology to help guide you through making the correct cut and help you achieve your pruning goals. And, yes, you should have a reason to prune (and not just because it is fun)!

"Residential Landscape Design for the 21st Century"

Julieta Sherk, Associate Professor, Department of Horticultural Science, NC State University

The understanding of how the design process impacts decision making when creating a landscape design is critical. Participants will discover how elements and principles of design can improve their landscape. Julie will unpack how color theory can be used to beautify lanscapes. And she'll explore how plants are used in effective landscape designs including: aethetic, functional, architectural, and eco-systems services (processes of natural systems that directly or indirectly benefit the environment, humans, or enhance social welfare).

Summer Educational Programs

By Christopher Todd Glenn, Programs and Education Coordinator

The JCRA has something to offer for everyone looking to get the most out of their summer this year. Join us for in-person and online educational programs that are sure to make your skills bloom! And our Recreational Tree Climbing program returns, too. Spaces are limited in these programs so register today to reserve your spot.

Gardening Basics: Using Science to Grow Better Plants

Bryce Lane, NC State University

Mondays, August 2 through September 20 – 6:30 PM

Whether you are new to gardening, a seasoned gardener, or new to this area, this eight week in-person and online gardening class will help you be more successful in all your gardening endeavors! By understanding plant classification, growth, soils, and reproduction we will learn how to be better at propagation, plant selection, planting, pruning, fertilizing, and pest management. This practical, dynamic gardening course will equip you to handle most all of your gardening challenges.

Essential Photoshop—Photo Editing Beyond the Scope of Lightroom

Mary Louise Ravese, Bella Vista Photography

Wednesdays, August 4, 11, 18, and 25 and September 1 – 6:30 PM

Adobe Lightroom Classic is a fantastic tool for photo editing, however, it does have its limits and there are tasks that are simply beyond its scope. Fortunately, Adobe Photoshop is there to step in and accomplish those more sophisticated tasks. This class teaches you the essentials of Photoshop specifically so you can accomplish more advanced tasks like:

More sophisticated selections
More advanced content-aware adjustments like fill, move, scale, etc.
Combining editing effects from multiple app programs
Localizing adjustments from multiple app programs
Blending two or more images, whether for HDR, selective colorization of a B&W image, adding a texture overlay, or another reason

Gardening in the South

Sponsored by Leaf & Limb

Saturday, August 28 – 9:00 AM

Gardening in the South is back for new gardeners and those that recently moved to the Triangle! The JC Raulston Arboretum and Leaf & Limb invite you to participate in this symposium featuring Barbara Fair, Julie Sherk, and Basil Camu that's designed just for you. Join us for a series of presentations that are guaranteed to expand your horizons. Registration opens soon!

Crepe Myrtle Pruning Class and Demonstration

"A Tale of Love, Murder, and Proper Pruning"

Basil Camu, Leaf & Limb

Saturday, September 25 – 9:00 AM

You are probably familiar with the term crepe murder (and if you are not, all the more reason to attend this class!). But what can you do to avoid crepe murder? In this class, we will use the crepe myrtle as a vehicle to teach the basics of pruning. We will focus basic terminology and biology, the three basic cuts, and the overall goal of pruning. The difference between expert pruning and everything else is knowing what to prune—and how the plant will react to each cut given all existing conditions – in order to achieve a specific goal.

Recreational Tree Climbing at the JCRA

Open to Youths and Adults

Patrick Brandt, Piedmont Tree Climbing

Saturday, September 25 – 10:00 AM, 11:00 AM, 12:00 PM, 1:00 PM, 2:00 PM, 3:00 PM, and 4:00 PM

Recreational tree climbing is coming to the JC Raulston Arboretum in Raleigh! Climb with your friends and family into the canopy of one of our majestic oak trees and experience the JCRA like you never have before.

Patrick Brandt, founder of Piedmont Tree Climbing, will provide all the needed gear and instruction. Before you know it you'll be 40' to 50' high in the canopy experiencing a view that few humans ever enjoy.

New Naturalism: Site-specific Planting Design in Home Gardens

Kelly D. Norris, Horticulturist and Author

Wednesdays, September 29 through October 13 – 6:30 PM

This is a three-part, plant-driven class that introduces participants to the concepts of site-specific planting, particularly in the home landscape. Plantsman and planting designer Kelly Norris unpacks plant community archetypes that home gardeners can use as recipes and strategies for wilder, ecologically resilient plantings. Participants will learn about a range of plant communities with a focus on those relevant to the southeastern United States, the ecological properties that define them and how to translate them into gardening practice. The course ends with a primer in ecological planting design that reframes plant combinations around properties related to plant architecture, biology and their relationship to place.

2021: The Year of Planting

By Douglas Ruhren, Gardens Manager

Two thousand and twenty one might turn out to be the year of planting here at the JC Raulston Arboretum. JCRA staff and volunteers have continued planting all year long, yes even now in the heat of summer. As I write this, I can hear many of you screaming: "But fall is the time to plant."

Well, yes, fall is a superb time to plant for many reasons which I will not detail here. Provided rainfall is adequate, it can be easier on the gardener. And it can also be a time when plants more readily establish. But here we live in a world of "do it when you have the time to do it."

We succeed with planting during hot dry spells in summer by soaking new plantings at least once a week. Twice a week is far better, but, when push comes to shove, most plants get by with a once a week soaking. This fact actually might be of greater significance to the home gardener than here at the JCRA, for the Arboretum's plants live in automatically irrigated nurseries, whereas there might be a few of you who acquire pot-grown plants and then have to water them once a day in hot weather. Planting them can reduce daily watering to twice or even once a week. And then comes that sweet day, often just weeks after planting, when the plant establishes and becomes even less dependent on the gardener's hose or watering can.

Why do we continue planting now when the plants could stay in the irrigated nursery? There are many reasons. We probably have more of a backlog after the very minimal staffing of the COVID-19 shutdown. And the rate of incoming plants is large and steady and include: seed from the Index Seminum of public gardens around the world; plants from Mark's travels, most recently a trip to the Pacific Northwest and donations from others in the horticultural world to name just a few sources. In other words, we can't afford to stop planting if we are ever going to catch up.

One very important detail that every planter needs to learn is that until a newly planted plant roots out into the surrounding soil it is dependent on the moisture in its original root ball. So the surrounding soil might be moist but the plants original root ball might be bone dry. In this very common situation, it is necessary to water each new plant; making certain that its root ball is rehydrated.

So hopefully rain will be adequate, both here and in your own garden. For me, a good rain is like having the day off from work. Now back to planting.