By Margaret Bayne, OSU Extension Staff-retired, OSU Master Gardener

March 2019

A gardener’s primer to cold hardiness, Part 1. (Dr. Linda Chalker-Scott, Garden Professors Blog, https://bit.ly/2GkDhMT

Arborists have cloned ancient Redwoods from their massive stumps. (Yale Environment 360) https://bit.ly/2E4KspQ

Balance, hearing, and more: Why some wasps have fat lower legs. (Entomology Today) https://bit.ly/2TaLaHt

Handwritten 19th-Century color guide poetically describes where shades are found in nature.(Kelly Richman-Abdou, My Modern Met) https://bit.ly/2TBPzmY

When Cicada-Killer wasps become cicada-stealer wasps. (Edward Ricciuti (Entomology Today) https://bit.ly/2MQanV2

Guttation-just a curious plant thing? (Tony Koski, Cohorts Blog, Colorado State U) https://bit.ly/2GAG1Vz

Culprit found for honeybee deaths in almond groves.(Misti Crane, Ohio State U) https://bit.ly/2Gmy9YG

 

The plant that farms other plants for food.  “It’s not just animals that the ladderwort, Utricularia, eats. Two new papers are finding out how bladderworts also digest microscopic plants.” (Alun Salt, Botany One)
https://bit.ly/2WYQZtF

Great selection of gardening videos! (Virginia Cooperative Extension Master Gardener) https://bit.ly/2UUm2VS

Flowers can hear buzzing bees—and it makes their nectar sweeter. (Michelle Z. Donahue, National Geographic) https://on.natgeo.com/2GDgQlg

300-Year-Old botanical illustrations and the art they inspire today. (Emma Taggart , MyModern.com) https://bit.ly/2SIIpA2

Overcoming the challenges of farming on Mars.  “Scientists are trying to perfect a technique for growing crops in space so that astronauts have enough food to get to Mars and back.” (Benjamin Plackett , Inside Science) https://bit.ly/2SwYklW

Extreme temperatures burn stone fruit from inside out, causing severe loss. (Jessica Schremmer, ABC.net) https://ab.co/2GEYzUD

Aussie plants facing extinction. (The University of Queensland) https://bit.ly/2BtzpFa

Life in a cubic feet of a lawn. (Charley Eiseman, Bug Tracks) https://bit.ly/2SDmJp2

Spray film helps stem water loss in fruit crops. (Ourimpact, OSU) https://bit.ly/2WYRCn1

Tomato plant aroma to protect crops. (R & I World) https://bit.ly/2Iga0EW

Should I worry about heavy metals in my garden Soil? (OSU) https://bit.ly/2USc9rG

Plants can smell, now researchers know how. (U of Tokyo) https://bit.ly/2SsAcAz

Watch these stink bugs hatch in unison. (Heather Murphy, NY Times) https://nyti.ms/2E4eV7I

This unbelievably rare opal has a fossilized bug trapped inside. (Tom Hale, Iflscience) https://bit.ly/2Spn9QH

The Cotton plant that sprouted on the far side of the moon has died.  “China, which is manning the first probe to land on the lunar far side, was hoping to find out how plants fare in outer space.” (Brigit Katz, Smithonianmag.com) https://bit.ly/2CtNfXV

Spider dances for his life- Watch the video. (Lifestory, BBC via youtube.com) https://bit.ly/2GmYVQy

Brewing beer? Go a step further and grow your own hops. (OSU) https://bit.ly/2DFwytd

6 easiest orchids to grow. (A Way to Garden.com) https://bit.ly/2E4pyY1

How ants sniff out the right path.   “They may seem like automatons, but ants are surprisingly sophisticated in their navigational strategies.” (James Gorman, NY Times) https://nyti.ms/2WWyq9B

Microbiological safety of chicken litter or chicken litter-based organic fertilizers: A review. (Zhao Chen & Xiuping Jiang, Clemson U, via mdpi.com) https://bit.ly/2UTCMMR

Float like a Dragontail Butterfly-beautiful video! (Center for Biological Diversity, via Youtube.com) https://bit.ly/2SqD9Sh

Moths muffle bat Sonar with sound-absorbing wings- “To shield themselves from bat echolocation, moths don an acoustic cloak of invisibility—using the sound-absorbing scales on their wings.” (Katherine J. Wu, PBS.org) https://to.pbs.org/2GmZzgZ

Horticultural Oils – What a gardener needs to know. (JoAnne Skelly, U of Nevada Extension)
https://bit.ly/2tjC8MN

Compost in seed starting mix: Recipe for success….or failure? (John Porter, gardenprofessors.com) https://bit.ly/2E3SShb

Plant hardiness zones: Why are they important? (Buncombe County Master Gardeners. NC Extension) https://bit.ly/2E39rd9

Your view of bugs may never be the same- “…after seeing these endearing photo stories of how bugs are cute, how bugs provide value, and how bugs are a lot more like us than many think.”
(Danae Wolfe, Ted Talk, via Youtube.com) https://bit.ly/2DvCwwB

What do opponents of genetically modified foods really know about the science?  “The study, published in Nature Human Behaviour, found that the strongest critics actually know less—a pattern similar for gene therapy, but not for climate change.” (Michele W. Berger, Penn Today, U of Penn) https://bit.ly/2Hf3RIj

Why do Rhododendron leaves droop and curl in the winter? (In Defense of Plants) https://bit.ly/2DyaDE7

Cool video shows spiders “raining” from the sky in Brazil. (Iflscience.com) https://bit.ly/2SJKxrl

Learn about different houseplants from the experts. (Plant Talk, Colorado State University) https://bit.ly/2BuwoEu

Find out how long your seed packs will last. (Amateur gardening.com) https://bit.ly/2UZsdIn

How Poppy flowers get those vibrant colors that entice insects. (U of Groningen) https://bit.ly/2TJ87lh

 

 

PDF 2019 March Horticultural Update