Winter 2007 Vol. 24 No. 1 QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON BOTANIC GARDENS COLLEGE OF FOREST RESOURCES in the Arboretum IN THIS ISSUE 1 Pacific Connections Garden 2 Director’s Notes 3 News from UWBG 4 Miller Library News 5 Community Connections 6-7 Classes & Events 7 ProHort Classes 8 Avoiding Plantzilla ELIZABETH LOUDON Walking through the Chilean forest, you admire the primordial forms of the towering monkey puzzle trees with their geometric, spiky branches, and the lush undergrowth of plants you've never seen before. You follow a curve in the path, and suddenly, you're in a Cascadian grove, enjoying the sights and smells of western red cedar and other Northwest natives. In the long-term plan for the Pacific Connections Garden, you will be able to travel through gardens and forest groves of the Pacific Rim, all without leaving the comfort of your own backyard - the Washington Park Arboretum. In December 2006, the design development phase of the Pacific Connections Garden was completed, marking the first step in the most significant upgrade to the Arboretum since its inception. The Pacific Connections Garden will bring plants from around the Pacific Rim in an exciting new display covering 12 acres at the south end of the Arboretum, near Madison Street where Arboretum Drive and Lake Washington Boulevard meet. This garden is a top priority project in the Arboretum's Master Plan. Pacific Connections will be a series of ecogeographic displays from areas around the Pacific Rim that have similar climates: Central Chile, China, New Zealand, Southeastern Australia, and our home region of Cascadia, the Pacific Northwest. In contrast to much of the Arboretum, where plants are grouped by taxonomic classification (such as Azalea Way or the holly collection), these gardens will contain groups of plants from a specific area that occur together in nature. The managing partners of the Arboretum, the City of Seattle Department of Parks and Recreation and the University of Washington Botanic Gardens, with the Arboretum Foundation, its major support organization, have been working with Portico, a local planning and landscape design consulting firm to shape the design of Pacific Connections. This has included selecting regions based Director s Notes DAVID J. MABBERLEY According to our Vision Statement, the Gardens are to be 'an international hub for plant science, information, teaching, and stewardship' and reports in this newsletter demonstrate that we are well on the way. In new developments, wild-sourced collections will become the back- bone of our exciting new Pacific Connections Garden at the Arboretum. All this requires not only UWBG expeditions to procure much of the material, but also propagation at Union Bay Gardens and record-keeping to international standards. The first expedition, to be led by Dan Hinkley, is to China and its main focus is to gather material of hardy holly species for the new Holly Garden being made along Lake Washington Boulevard for the nationally significant holly collection being displaced by the Pacific Connections Garden. The UW expenses for the expedition are being covered through fund-raising by Arboretum Foundation Unit 16 which has pledged to collect $10,000 for it, support for which we are deeply grateful. We also have a program of taxonomic work on cultivated plants, my own projects including work on apples (in collaboration with colleagues in Oxford, UK), citrus (with colleagues in China and in Sydney, Australia), and Clerodendrum (with colleagues in Leiden, The Netherlands, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew). For these projects I had the privilege of carrying out fieldwork in Guangdong this fall to see the plants in the field, make contacts with Chinese colleagues at the South China Botanic Garden and elsewhere in Guangzhou, and to collect material for DNA analysis. I was able to see several Clerodendrum species and also truly wild populations of citrus, those probably representing the ancient form from which the modern kumquat was selected hundreds of years ago. My research has shown that all the most important commercially grown citrus (oranges, lemons) are in fact ancient hybrids and we need to track down wild populations of the ancestral parent species so as to enhance the range of available germplasm (genetic resources) in the light of the real threat of huanglongbing, a bacterial disease sweeping through Asia and threatening citrus stocks everywhere. This international collaboration is one of many in place or in the planning stage for UWBG. We look forward to engaging our readers in this work. David J. Mabberley, M.A. (Oxon.), Ph.D. (Cantab.) is the Director of the University of Washington Botanic Gardens and the Orin and Althea Soest Professor of Horticultural Sciences in the College of Forest Resources. Professor David J. Mabberlgi with Professor Dianxiang /(hang of the South China Botanic Garden (Guangzhou) and students identifying plants in Conghua, Guangdong, China. Photo by GuangLiu. Camas Quarterly Gamas Quarterly is named for the Northwest native plant Camassia quamash, a beautiful perennial herb with a significant ethnobotanical history. It has been an important food source for First Peoples (Native Americans) in the region. Editor: Elizabeth Loudon eloudon@u.washington.edu 206-543-3889 www.uwbotanicgardens.org WASHINGTON PARK ARBORETUM UNION BAY NATURAL AREA UNION BAY GARDENS CENTER FOR URBAN HORTICULTURE ELISABETH C. MILLER LIBRARY OTIS DOUGLAS HYDE HERBARIUM UW BOTANIC GARDENS MANAGEMENT David J. Mabberley, Director Carrie Cone, Administrative Services Kern Ewing, Head of Restoration Fred Hoyt, Grounds and Facilities Elizabeth Loudon, Education and Outreach Karen Preuss, Elisabeth C. Miller Library Sarah Reichard, Head of Conservation UW BOTANIC GARDENS HEADQUARTERS Center for Urban Horticulture Merrill Hall 3501 NE 41st Street Box 3541 15 Seattle, WA 98195-41 15 206-543-8616 PHONE 206-685-2692 FAX WASHINGTON PARK ARBORETUM Graham Visitors Center 2300 Arboretum Drive East Box 358010 Seattle, WA 981 95-8010 206-543-8800 PHONE 206-616-2871 FAX MISSION: Sustaining managed to natural ecosystems and the human spirit through plant research, display, and education. News from UW Devil’s Club (Oplopanax horridus) BANKING ON SEEDS WENDY GIBBLE The University of Washington Botanic Gardens is participating in a worldwide effort to collect and conserve seeds from 1 0 percent of the world's seed-bearing flora. This visionary project, called the Millennium Seed Bank Project, was conceived and developed by the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew, England. It addresses the need for conservation of genetic material of native plants using ex situ (off-site) conservation - in this case, storage of seeds in a secure facility. Increasingly, botanic gardens are playing a vital role in the conservation of rare and endangered species, in addition to their traditional roles of plant display, education, and outreach. Michael Way, the Americas coordinator for the Millennium Seed Bank Project, notes that botanic gardens "have a range of complementary skills in wild plant identification, collection and propagation." The UW Botanic Gardens effort is led by the Rare Plant Care and Conservation program. Rare Care opened the state-of-the-art Miller Seed Vault in 2003 to conserve seeds of the native rare plants of Washington State and seeds from other ecologically and horticulturaily-significant plants. "The Miller Seed Vault is the core of Rare Care's conservation program," explains Dr. Sarah Reichard, Rare Care's director, "and the Millenium Seed Bank Project is just the type of conservation work we want to use the vault for." Volunteers participating in Rare Care's programs made a number of successful seed collections for the Millennium Seed Bank Project in 2006. Volunteers from the Seattle Garden Club joined Rare Care staff to collect over 20,000 seeds from Columbia milkvetch (Astragalus succumbens). Botanic Gardens Other collections made by Rare Care staff and volunteers include spring gold (Lomatium utriculatum), sage violet (Viola trinervata), and western meadowrue (Thalictrum occidentale). Ex situ conservation is a vital tool to mitigate the rapid loss of genes, species, and ecosystems worldwide. Use of ex situ conservation was recommended in the Convention on Biological Diversity. The Convention, signed at the Rio Earth Summit in 1992, formally acknowledged the rapid loss of the world's biodiversity and the need for immediate action. Storing seeds of native plants in seed banks allows for future reintroduction of these species into the wild where protected and secure sites are available. As of February 2006, the Millennium Seed Bank held seeds of 1 4,098 species from 1 26 different countries, a significant way towards reaching the goal of collecting and storing seeds of 24,000 species by 2010. The project is focusing on drylands (arid and semi-arid ecosystems), because these lands are being developed with growing human populations, and because seeds from these regions tolerate desiccation, and can be preserved in seed banks. Rare Care plans to continue its participation in this program for the next three years. Future collections will focus on expanding the number of shrub-steppe species held for future restoration projects, plus increasing the representation of western Cascade species in the Millennium Seed Bank. Volunteers interested in participating in the Seeds of Success project should contact Rare Care at rarecare@u. washington.edu or 206-616-0780. Rare Care information and newsletters can be found on the web page courses.washington.edu/rarecare/. Wendy Gibble is Manager of Rare Care. SR 520 UPDATE The Washington State Department of Transportation is considering options for replacing and expanding SR520, the bridge across Lake Washington which cuts through the Arboretum. This project will have significant impacts on the Washington Park Arboretum, with potential destruction of wetlands, damage to the world-class plant collections, and significant increase in traffic. Thank you to organizations and folks locally, right across the country, and especially around the world who submitted comments and requested that this important resource be protected. For updates, including links to news coverage, visit our website. Photo left: Rare Care volunteers and Seeds of Success project manager, Ellen Kuhlmann (on right), take a break from collecting Devil's Club berries on Boulder Ridge near Mt. Baker. The berries were collected as part of the Seeds of Success project sponsored by the Bureau of Land Management. WELCOME TO NEW FACULTY MEMBERS Dr. Soo-Hyung Kim began as Assistant Professor with the College of Forest Resources in September 2006, and specializes in plant ecophysiology and landscape plant sciences. Soo is a native of Korea and received his B.S. and M.S. in agronomy from Seoul National University. He completed his Ph.D. in Ecology at UC Davis, where he met his wife Makiko, while doing research on roses. How can a girl resist a guy who works with roses? Soo comes most recently from Maryland, where he worked at the US Department of Agriculture headquarters as a plant physiologist studying the impacts of carbon dioxide and climate change on plants. Soo and Makiko also have two sons, Eugene (2), and Sean (5 months). The Chinese character for "flowing very far" is pronounced "Eugene" in both Korea and Japan. The Chinese character for "learning of literature and poems" is pronounced "Sean." Soo's favorite activities include hiking and being with his family. Soo can be reached at soohkim@u. Washington, edu, and more information on his research is available on his webpage at faculty.washington. edu/soohkim/. Dr. Jonathan Bakker joined the the College of Forest Resources as Assistant Professor of ecological restoration and sustainable ecosystem management in September 2006. Jon has a Master of Science degree in Plant Ecology from the University of Regina and a doctorate from Northern Arizona University in Ecosystem Science. Jon looks forward to studying the restoration of garry oak savannas and eastside ponderosa pine forests. We also wish to welcome Jon's wife, Erika, and his three children, Aidan (5), Linnea (3), and Marijka (1). When Jon isn't at the University, he spends time hiking 'at kid's pace', wrestling with his kids, and reading in a variety of disciplines. Jon can be reached at jbakker@u. Washington. edu; his website is www.cfr.washington.edu/People/faculty asp?ID=595. 3 Miller Library News PLANT ANSWER LINE Plant Answer Line SEASONAL QUESTIONS FROM THE COMPILED BY REBECCA ALEXANDER Q: I fell in love with Loropetalum chinense 'Ruby' and used it in several designs. All were planted in January or February, and all suffered some cold damage during that cold dry spell we had. The leaves are shriveled and brown on whole parts of the plant. So far I'm just waiting to see if new leaves sprout in the brown parts, and considering removing the brown leaves. Do you have any experience with this plant--are we likely to have troubles with it every winter, or perhaps the newly planted plants are more vulnerable? A: I haven't grown Loropetalum myself, but there is some information in the literature which suggests it is occasionally susceptible to cold damage. The Royal Horticultural Society A-Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants (ed. Christopher Brickell, Dorling Kindersley, 1996) says they are frost hardy to half hardy. An article by John Creech in The American Gardener (September/October 1998) says Loropetalum should be kept out of open, windy areas. It does best in full sun to part shade, in acidic, moist soils rich in organic matter. He also says this plant usually recovers from cold damage. In the August 2001 issue of Curtis's Botanical Magazine, Peter Boyce says that the hardiness of Loropetalum chinense is dependent on the ripeness attained by this year's shoots rather than a general inability to withstand cold winter temperatures. At Kew Gardens, they bring the plants into a cool greenhouse for the winter. A local gardener who maintains a website called Paghat's Garden (www.paghat.com) says the following: "They do well & flower best in full sun but soil must be kept moist. Like evergreen rhododendrons, it is susceptible to desiccation from winter wind & harsh winter sunlight, so may need some protection. In Zone 8 mulching probably isn't necessary, but the shallow roots can be susceptible to winter damage & mulching would be a good idea wherever temperatures fall into the teens, & in the lower teens the shrub may die, especially if grown in a container. It bounces back quickly from shearing & can be incorporated into a mixed hedge. It is easily propagated from cuttings." It sounds as if your plants were somewhat stressed from being transplanted when the cold hit them. From what the above information suggests, they have a good chance of recovery. Q: How should I overwinter Melianthus major ? A: Since this is a tender plant, you can apply a heavy but dry winter mulch (4 to 6 inches). It may die back, but should come back in the spring. Here is a link to additional suggestions on winter protection for plants, from local gardener Ciscoe Morris: www.eskimo.com/ -ciscoe/archive/cold.html An excerpt: "Protecting evergreen shrubs growing in the garden can be a challenge. Many of the Cordyline australis, New Zealand flax ( Phormium tenax), hebes, and several other evergreen plants may die if they are not protected, especially if an arctic freeze hits. Simply throwing a mattress cover pad, or a blanket over the plant might not be enough to save it. First of all, never use clear plastic. It can act like a greenhouse when the sun is out, causing the plant to come out of dormancy. The antifreeze needed to prevent damage in the cells will be replaced by water and sugars. Then, if the sun goes behind a cloud, unprotected cells can freeze and burst: Time for the happy dumpster in the sky. Blankets and mattress cover pads work well to insulate plants. However, it's important to put tall stakes around the plant to make sure that a heavy snow won't crush the plant. Also, if the plant is large, you may need to use more than one cover. Make sure that all of the plant is covered, and that the blanket goes all the way to the ground. It's a good idea to heavily mulch the base of the plant covering the blanket where it lies on the ground. Using the burlap system I recommended for tree roses works well because you can fill the burlap with leaves or crumpled newspaper for added insulation." Q: Is poinsettia poisonous? A: According to Cornell University's Poisonous Plants Informational Database (www.ansci. Cornell, edu/plants/alphalist.html), the sap of poinsettia ( Euphorbia pulcherrima) can be irritating. Purdue University Cooperative Extension Service's list of poisonous plants (www.vet.purdue.edu/depts/ addl/toxic/plant08.htm) rates poinsettia's toxicity as low, and states that "the milky sap (a latex) is irritating to skin, eyes, and mucus membranes. Once considered extremely poisonous, toxicity is more likely to manifest as irritation, discomfort, rash, and stomach upset. Nausea and vomiting may occur if sufficient quantities are consumed." The Plant Answer Line is open from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. Monday - Friday. Call 206-UW PLANT (206-897-5268), or e-mail your question to: hortlib@u.washington.edu GARDEN LOVERS' BOOK SALE, APRIL 6 & 7, CENTER FOR URBAN HORTICULTURE Mark your calendars! Hundreds of used gardening and landscape design books will be on sale at the Garden Lovers' Book Sale. All proceeds from the book sale benefit the Miller Library's book budget, so that we're able to keep buying the best and newest in horticultural publications. Tracy Mehlin and Rebecca Alexander show off donations for book sale Friday, April 6 Wine and Cheese Preview Party and Book Sale 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. Tickets: $15 each Be among the first to hunt for that special book at our wine and cheese preview party. Bid on hard-to-find books in the silent auction. Enjoy a glass of wine, mingle with friends, and support the Miller Library all at once. Tickets will be available at the Miller Library beginning March 1. Saturday, April 7 Book Sale 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Free admittance Stock your shelves with gently used gardening books! You'll find a wide range of topics on all things horticultural, at great prices you won't be able to resist. We're looking for a few good books! The Miller Library is accepting used book donations right up until the book sale. Clean off your shelves to make room for new purchases! Gardening, plants, and design-related books only, please. And sorry, but we can't accept any more magazines! For more information about the book sale or on making a donation of books, please call the Miller Library, Monday through Friday, at 206-543-041 5. unity C HERBARIUM VOLUNTEERS BRING 'MIDAS TOUCH' TO BOTANIC GARDENS WENDY DE SCAMP Cutting samples of flowering and fruiting plants for herbarium specimens is an art form that the Hyde Herbarium Committee volunteers have spent years perfecting. Recently the Hyde Herbarium collection reached 16,000 plant specimens, a great achievement made possible by all of the volunteers of the Herbarium. The 16,000th specimen is a holly, Ilex crenata 'Midas Touch.' It is the 2,493rd specimen collected by volunteers on the Herbarium Committee, some of whom have been collecting specimens for more than 20 years. The Otis Douglas Hyde Herbarium is the Herbarium for the College of Forest Resource's University of Washington Botanic Gardens and is located in Merrill Hall. Herbarium specimens are pressed and dried plant samples collected when a plant is either in flower or in fruit, with carefully documented supporting information. These specimens are used for research including plant identification, timing of flowering and fruiting, locations of plants, and landscape design. The Hyde Herbarium collects and houses specimens of all accessioned (documented) plants in the University of Washington Botanic Gardens, horticulturally significant plants, and plants that reflect the research and project efforts of faculty, staff and students at UWBG. The Herbarium also has a "Weeds of Washington" collection and the Washington State Noxious Weed Control Board's collection. Beginning in the 1960s, volunteers formed the Herbarium Committee and began collecting specimens at the Arboretum in an effort to document the plant collection. These collections formed the beginning of the Hyde Herbarium. Long time active members of the Herbarium Committee Sue Anderson, Pat Danford, Jean Gillespie, Lois Prestrud, Gloria Reading and Lily Takatsuka have been joined with new members, meeting twice a month. Armed with maps and collecting lists, volunteers begin the process with collecting samples in the field. The plant samples are taken back to the workroom in Merrill Hall, where they are pressed, dried, and glued onto herbarium sheets with a label developed from the volunteers' collecting notes. The specimens then go through a freezing process for sterilization, and finally, are entered into a database, and filed in metal cabinets in the Herbarium. Lily Takatsuka pressing plants in the Herbarium Over the last year, Herbarium volunteers have focused efforts on documenting the Ilex (holly) collection at the Arboretum, which is undergoing a renovation and move under the Arboretum's Master Plan. Herbarium volunteers have also worked on gardens outside the UW Botanic Gardens, with plant collections from the Bellevue Botanical Garden Perennial Border, the Rhododendron Species Foundation and Botanical Garden in Federal Way and most recently over 100 specimens from the Elisabeth Carey Miller Botanical Garden in Shoreline. Dedicated volunteers of the Herbarium Committee and our other volunteers allow the Herbarium to be a place of scientific importance as well as place to showcase the beautiful plant collections growing at the University of Washington Botanic Gardens. The Hyde Herbarium is open to the public and staff can assist members of the public with plant identification questions. Hours vary; check the website or call 206-685-2589. Wendy Descamp is the Herbarium Collection Manager. NORTHWEST HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY FUNDS SCHOLARSHIPS Once again, the Northwest Horticultural Society funded scholarships for students at the Center for Urban Horticulture, UW Botanic Gardens. Sierra Smith, Lloyd Nackley, and Rodney Pond each received $2,500 to further their graduate studies in horticulture. Congratulations, Sierra, Lloyd, and Rodney, and thank you NHS for helping support the next generation of plant experts! 5 Classes & Events For more information or to register, contact Jean Robins at jrobins@ij.washington.edu or 206-685-8033 or visit www.uwbotanicgardens. org and follow the link for Public Education. J Guide Pruning WHAT. WHEN. WHERE & HOW TO PRUNE FOR A MORI BEAUTIFUL CARDEN How to Prune and Renovate the Overgrown Garden Saturday, February 10; 9:00 a.m. to noon Douglas Classroom and Goodfellow Grove, Center for Urban Horticulture INSTRUCTOR: CASS TURNBULL, CERTIFIED ARBORIST AND FOUNDER OF PLANT AMNESTY FEE: $50; PRE-REGISTRATION REQUIRED This class covers basic pruning of ornamental trees and shrubs, as well as creative solutions to the overgrown or over-planted garden. Learn about various pruning cuts and the concept of the "pruning budget." You will also see before-and-after slides of pruning that illustrate pruning for size reduction and pruning for definition (thinning). Includes one hour demonstration outdoors; dress for the weather. ISA Certified Arborist credits pending. The Nature of Love - Arboretum Tour Saturday, February 10 from noon to 2 p.m. Meet at the Graham Visitors Center, Washington Park Arboretum TOUR LEADERS: SHAWNA ZUEGE AND LISA SANPHILLIPPO FEE: $10; PRE-REGISTRATION REQUIRED Nature has turned us on for centuries. Just in time for Valentine's Day, join UW Botanic Gardens Educators, Shawna Zuege and Lisa Sanphillippo on a walking tour through winter flowering gardens, woodland gardens, and romantic spots. Following the tour join us in the Graham Visitors Center to warm up with hot tea or cider. Dress for the weather: tour will take place rain or shine! Snow on Mahonia in the Winter Garden, Arboretum Photo by Stephanie Jeter. Miller Library Storytime: Cooking from the Garden Saturday, February 10 from 10 to 10:45 a.m. Miller Library, Center for Urban Horticulture FREE. Stories and activities that celebrate gardens, plants, and nature; for 2-7 year-olds and their families. Plant Identification (6-part series plus field trip) Wednesdays 2/21 - 3/28/07 from 7 to 9 p.m. Hitchcock Hall, UW (see UWBG web site for map and parking information or call 206/685-8033) INSTRUCTOR: DAVID GIBLIN, PH.D., COLLECTIONS MANAGER UW HERBARIUM FEE: $150; PRE-REGISTRATION REQUIRED MAXIMUM OF 24 REGISTRANTS (12 TO 1 STUDENT/ TEACHER RATIO) This course is designed for individuals who want to work on field identification skills and gain familiarity with how to use the keys in Hitchcock and Cronquist's Flora of the Pacific Northwest. Over the six-week course, University of Washington Herbarium Collections Manager David Giblin will cover 25 plant families commonly found in Washington. The course will have a one-day field trip to Deception Pass State Park on Saturday, April 7 from 1 0 a.m. to 3 p.m. Invasive Species: Facts & Tips for Gardeners Tuesday, February 27 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Douglas Classroom, Center for Urban Horticulture INSTRUCTOR: JOAN CABREZA FEE: $12, PRE-REGISTRATION REQUIRED Some plants that start out innocently enough become problems in our garden. Most of these are non-native species. A Master Gardener, Native Plant Steward, and EPA Invasive Species Coordinator, Joan Cabreza will provide background on invasive species as a group, then focus in on some of the common garden and pond plants that become most problematic, and finally suggest native plant alternatives. Hidden Gems - Undiscovered Pacific Northwest Plant Books Wednesday, February 28 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Miller Library, Center for Urban Horticulture FEE: $10; PRE-REGISTRATION REQUIRED Brian Thompson, Curator of Horticultural Literature at the Elisabeth C. Miller Library, shares his personal favorites from the many books by lesser known PNW authors, both present and past, in the UWBG Miller Library collection. From field guides to garden guides, these titles will inspire you as a reader and a plant lover. These and much more will be on the table. Please bring along your own favorites to share with the group. Botanical Drawing Workshop Saturdays 3/3 and 3/10 from noon to 3 p.m. Isaacson Classroom, Center for Urban Horticulture INSTRUCTOR: BEV BYRNES FEE: $120; PRE-REGISTRATION REQUIRED. FEE INCLUDES A $5 MATERIALS FEE This is an intermediate to advanced level botanical drawing course for students who have completed introductory drawing courses and desire to broaden their skills for realistic rendering and deepen their understanding of how to create dynamic compositions for the botanical art genre. Illustrations by Louise Smith, artist and instructor Winter Garden Tour Sunday, March 4 from 1 to 2:30 p.m. Meet at the Graham Visitors Center, Washington Park Arboretum TOUR LEADER: IAIN ROBERTSON, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE FREE, NO PRE-REGISTRATION REQUIRED. Join lain Robertson for a tour of the Arboretum's Winter Garden. Wander through the twig garden with the yellow, red-twig and "Midwinter Fire" dogwoods, enjoy the fragrance of honeysuckles and witch hazels, and admire the unusual barks of Stewartia and paperbark maples, lain, designer of the garden (along with Tim Hohn), will also talk about design issues such as shaping and grading the clearing, plant selection, and depending on weather conditions, a host of other wintry thoughts to warm the hearts of Puget Sound gardeners. Dress for the weather: tour will take place rain or shine! 6 Botanical Drawing 2: The Pencil Rendered Botanical 5-part series: Mondays March 5 to April 2 SECTION I: Instructor, Louise Smith; 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. SECTION ll: Instructor, Bev Byrnes; 7 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. FEE: $170; PRE-REGISTRATION REQUIRED. FEE INCLUDES A $5 MATERIALS FEE. Isaacson Classroom, Center for Urban Horticulture Some of the most beautiful botanical works are rendered in pencil. This course teaches different techniques used in a fully rendered pencil drawing. Miller Library Storytime: Marsh Madness Saturday, March 10 from 10-10:45 a.m. Miller Library, Center for Urban Horticulture FREE Fruit Tree Grafting Saturday, March 24, 9 a.m. to noon Douglas Classroom and Headhouse, Center for Urban Horticulture INSTRUCTOR: BILL DAVIS FEE: $40; PRE-REGISTRATION REQUIRED, INCLUDES $6 MATERIALS FEE. Learn the basics of fruit tree grafting in this hands-on workshop. Bill Davis, Board Member of Western Washington Fruit Research Foundation, will demonstrate grafting methods suitable for spring, including a splice graft, whip and tongue graft, cleft graft and a bark graft. You will learn about necessary tools, how to safely sharpen knives, and how to collect and properly store scionwood. Students will have the opportunity to graft their own dwarf apple tree to take home; rootstock and scionwood are included in course fee. Grafting knives will be available to use during class. Miller Library Garden Lovers Book Sale Friday April 6 & Saturday April 7 Miller Library, Center for Urban Horticulture (SEE COMPLETE DESCRIPTION, P. 4) Miller Library Storytime: Birds! Saturday, April 7 from 10 - 10:45 a.m. Miller Library, Center for Urban Horticulture FREE. ONGOING PROGRAMS AT THE ARBORETUM Guided Weekend Walks Tour the Arboretum's renowned plant collections offered January - November on 1 st and 3rd Sundays at 1 p.m. The Arboretum's Witt Winter Garden is the highlighted tour for January-March. Meet at the Graham Visitors Center; no fee or advanced registration. Sense of Winter Explorer Packs (1st - 5th grade) The Sense of Winter Explorer Pack has everything you need for an outdoor winter adventure at the Arboretum! Learn about the fragrant Winter Garden, plant diversity, winter adaptations and more. For groups of 1 5 or less. Available January - March; 7 days a week between 1 0 a.m. - 4 p.m., $20.00 for two-hour rental; $1 5.00 for Arboretum Foundation members. Reserve in advance at 206- 543-8801 or email uwbgeduc@u. washington.edu. Seasonal Tours Plan a special seasonal tour for your group of 1 0 or more (two weeks advance notice please). Call 206-543-8801 for fee and scheduling information. Arboretum Foundation Events For tickets or more information, visit vwvw.arboretumfoundation.org or call 206-325-4510. Be Inspired! Arbor Eden, The Northwest Flower & Garden Show Preview Gala Tuesday, February 13, 5 to 9 p.m. Washington State Convention & Trade Center Be first to see the inspirational gardens of the annual Northwest Flower & Garden Show at a gala event benefiting Washington Park Arboretum. Enjoy a delightful silent auction of garden, home and travel treasures and delicious cuisine and wines. Preview Gala tickets are available for $1 00 to $500 each. Front Porch Friendly! Display Garden, Northwest Flower & Garden Show February 14 through 18 Washington State Convention & Trade Center The Arboretum Foundation proudly presents Washington Park Arboretum's display garden at the annual Northwest Flower & Garden Show. Produced with support from University of Washington Botanic Gardens and Seattle Parks and Recreation, the garden presents the best in design and plant materials to garden show visitors. The theme for the 2007 display garden is "Front Porch Friendly," designed by Octavia Chambliss. ProHort Series For professional continuing education; ISA certification credits pending. Pruning Trees Wednesday, February 21, 9:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Lunch is included. Graham Visitors Center, Washington Park Arboretum INSTRUCTORS: BESS BRONSTEIN, CERTIFIED ARBORIST AND HORTICULTURAL EDUCATOR AND LOU STUBECKI, ARBORIST AT THE UW BOTANIC GARDENS FEE: $60; PRE-REGISTRATION REQUIRED. FEE INCLUDES LUNCH. CLASS SIZE LIMITED TO 24. Proper pruning of trees is essential in maintaining the urban forest. This class is for professionals who want a basic overview of techniques for pruning trees in urban settings. The class will include both an indoor lecture and an outdoor demonstration of topics covered in the lecture. Also covered will be specific information on structural pruning of young trees, as well as techniques for renovation pruning. Please dress for the outdoors. Pruning Shrubs Thursday, March 8, 9:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Lunch is included. Graham Visitors Center, Washington Park Arboretum INSTRUCTORS: BESS BRONSTEIN, CERTIFIED ARBORIST AND HORTICULTURAL EDUCATOR AND DAVID ZUCKERMAN, HORTICULTURE STAFF SUPERVISOR AT THE UW BOTANIC GARDENS FEE: $60; PRE-REGISTRATION REQUIRED. FEE INCLUDES LUNCH. CLASS SIZE LIMITED TO 24. The large variety of shrubs that thrive in this region requires knowledge of various pruning approaches for successful maintenance. This class is for professionals who want to learn proper techniques used for shrub pruning. The class will include an indoor lecture and an outdoor demonstration of topics covered in the lecture. Also covered will be specific information on shrub renovation. Please dress for the outdoors. Early Bloomers Saturday, April 14, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Plant Donations and the Pat Calvert Greenhouse, Washington Park Arboretum Long one of the Northwest's best-kept gardening secrets, Early Bloomers has become an area favorite. The sale offers a great start on spring gardening with hundreds of plant choices. Perennials, shrubs, small trees, herbs and much more, with many surprises! 7 Avoiding the Next Plantzilla on analyzing rainfall patterns and other data, selecting specific plants for displays, screening plants for invasive potential (see "Avoiding the Next Plantzilla"), planning trails, and designing an interpretive shelter and materials. The interpretive materials will focus on one 'iconic plant' native for each region. These are plants that tell a story about people's connection with plants, with a focus on contemporary indigenous uses. For example, the snow gum tree (Eucalyptus niphophila,) the iconic plant for the Australian exhibit, is a dominant species of the region visually, culturally, and ecologically. Western red cedar ( Thuja plicata), the iconic plant for Cascadia, is one of the plants with the most ethnobotanical uses in the entire U.S. The striking monkey puzzle tree ( Araucaria araucana) has economic and religious significance to the indigenous Mapuche communities in Chile as an important food source. For New Zealand, the iconic plant is not a tree but a grass-like perennial, New Zealand flax (. Phormium tenax), used for weaving by the native Maori. The iconic plant selected for China's Mt. Omei region is the dove tree ( Davidia involucrata), one of the most beautiful of all Chinese trees but now very rare in the wild. Next steps in this major project are to prepare the site by moving current plant collections (such as hollies), planning expeditions to collect plant species, beginning construction, and more fund-raising to make it all possible. The Arboretum Foundation has already gathered pledges totaling an impressive $2.4 million as of December 2006. Since a forest cannot be created overnight, this is a long-term project that will take a generation to reach maturity. Plants will be collected through seed exchanges, propagation, and expeditions, and gradually replace the existing collections. In 2007 the Pacific Connections project will break ground. Stay tuned! Elizabeth Loudon is the Education and Outreach Manager for the UW Botanic Gardens. SARAH REICHARD All gardeners know them - those beautiful plants that you brought home from the nursery and lovingly nestled in your garden. They may behave for a year or two, then one day you look out your window and realize your charming plant has become a thug, muscling out your prize roses. Private landowners and public agencies are also grappling with controlling invasive plants on vast tracts of land. An enormous amount of energy and money is going into trying to control invasives, but the most effective way to deal with them is to prevent them from establishing in the first place. And that is where all of us come in. About 82% of woody invasive species, and 65% of invaders overall, started as landscape plants. So, before we bring in lots of new species for a display like Pacific Connections, I carefully review the planting lists. First, I review invasive species lists, floras from similar climates, and even search the Internet to see if that species has invaded elsewhere. That gives me a clue that they have characteristics that increase their invasiveness. Then I look at the biology: do they spread rapidly vegetatively? Do they have very short periods from seed germination to first flowering? Do they "fix" nitrogen (take elemental nitrogen and change it to forms usable by the plant)? All of these are traits I have found positively correlated with invasiveness in my research. As a gardener, know what you are growing. If it starts becoming a thug, take it out - don't dig up plants and give them to your friends. Bring it in to the Hyde Herbarium and ask us about it. Look at the GardenWise booklet for recommended alternatives to area invaders (available through your county weed boards or on-line at www.invasivespeciescoalition.org/ GardenPlants/). And check out the codes of conduct for gardeners and get all your friends to swear to follow them (www.centerforplantconservation. org/invasives/gardeningN.html). Plantzilla is no match for all of us gardeners working together! Sarah Reichard, Ph.D., is the Head of Conservation for the UW Botanic Gardens and Associate Professor at the UW College of Forest Resources. UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON Camas Quarterly QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON BOTANIC GARDENS COLLEGE OF FOREST RESOURCES MERRILL HALL, 3501 NE 41ST STREET, BOX 3541 1 5 SEATTLE, WA 98195-4115