By Margaret Bayne, OSU Extension Staff-retired, OSU Master Gardener
NEW PUBLICATION- “Trees and Shrubs for Fall and Winter Bloom 28 Species Attractive to Pollinators and People West of the Cascades.” (Neil Bell, Heather Stoven, Andony Melathopoulos, OSU-EM9277) https://bit.ly/38IGgbw
REVISED PUBLICATION– “Managing Diseases and Insects in Home Orchards.” (J. W. Pscheidt, et al; OSU- EC631) https://bit.ly/2v9vmhd
NEW PUBLICATION– “Kabocha and Butternut Squash for Western Oregon Gardens.” (Alice Formiga, et al, OSU-EM9270) https://bit.ly/2VYmFS1
Bent into shape: The rules of tree form. “How do trees find their sense of direction as they grow? Researchers are getting to the root, and the branches, of how the grandest of plants develop.” (Rachel Ehrenberg, knowablemagazine.org) https://bit.ly/2Iy7lUj
Ants produce antibiotics that may protect plants. “The antimicrobial compounds ants excrete to defend themselves from pathogens may protect plants as well.” (Emily Makowsk, the-scientist.com) https://bit.ly/3cHrqp3
Scientists just solved the strange case of pine trees that always lean towards the equator. (Signe Dean, sciencealert.com) https://bit.ly/2TCV3jN
Bright yellow spots help some orb weaver spiders lure their next meal. “Bees and moths appear strongly attracted to the markings on the arachnids.” (Yao-Hua Law, sciencenews.org) https://bit.ly/2TIfZpH
Potting soil poison. “Gardeners often struggle to grow plants in containers. You may feel that you have a really black thumb at times when newly planted seedlings fall over dead or fail to thrive. The problem may not be disease or poor gardening acumen but rather your container media otherwise sold as “Potting Soil”. (Jim Downer, gardenprofessors.com) https://bit.ly/38Csyqv
Rise and shine-NASA mission captures aerial view of plants waking. “We aren’t the only lifeforms hitting the snooze button.” (Passant Rabie, inverse.com) https://bit.ly/337lpxh
VIDEO: NASA is ready to send more plants and a new way to handle seeds to the International Space Station. (NASA’s Kennedy Space Center via youtube.com) https://bit.ly/2TSJhAB
Prescribed burns benefit bees. “Freshly burned longleaf pine forests have more than double the total number of bees and bee species than similar forests that have not burned in over 50 years, according to new research from North Carolina State University.” (Elsa Youngsteadt, et al, NCSU) https://bit.ly/38HckMZ
Stunning! Colored micrographs magnify pollen seeds, plant cells, and leaf structures in photographs by Rob Kesseler (Grace Ebert, thisiscolossal.com) https://bit.ly/2TIyRVD
Pollinating opossums confirm decades-long theory. “In Brazil there is a plant so strange that researchers predicted — and 27 years later, proved-that opossums are key to its pollination.” (Ecological Society of America via sciencedaily.com) https://bit.ly/2TYgGtG
When good seeds go bad: How long can you store seeds? “While there isn’t a date where all the seeds go bad, they will eventually go bad over time. Why is this? And how can I make sure to use my seeds before they’re gone?” (John Porter, gardenprofessors.com) https://bit.ly/2W0QjGd
VIDEO: Story of flowers, a breathtaking botanical animation.(thekidshouldseethis.com via youtube) https://bit.ly/39Gsyr4
Invasive plant look-alikes! (Fate Syewoangnuan, greenseattle.org) https://bit.ly/38IiZq6
