Before I get started on this week's article I would like to give you a small preview of one of our very special speakers we are having at our "Spring into Gardening" workshop. If our budget would only allow us to present one speaker for you on Saturday, February 28^th at the first annual Spring into Gardening workshop, Tony Bratsch could fill the 'bill'. He may not have P. Allen Smith's southern accent or a newly built estate in the south and he certainly doesn't project Paul James humor or silliness, but what he has certainly should get you out the door of your house and into the new doors at the beautiful Life Span Center.

Tony knows horticulture. He speaks the language to home gardeners, as well as to commercial interests, in a range of subject matter that spans the selection, care and management of ornamentals; small fruit and vegetable crop management; soil science; plant pathology; turf management and the list goes on and on.

Tony received his B.S. in Plant and Soil Science from our own Southern Illinois University then went on to complete his Masters and PhD in Horticulture at Oregon State University. He has applied his knowledge throughout the U.S. and has made several trips to Eastern Europe as a horticulture crop consultant.

Our program will allow Tony to tell us all about "Flowering Shrubs in the Landscape" and he'll even have time to answer some questions. Don't miss this opportunity; he is really good; that's why his official title is University of Illinois Extension Educator, Horticulture. So, that should get you a little bit excited. Remember the seating is limited and we are already getting reservations in—so do not delay. You can go onto Coles County Extension web site at http://web.extension.uiuc.edu/coles/ or contact the office at 345-7034. You can also contact any of the Master Gardeners if you have further questions.

We can't predict the weather, and if temperatures dip below the average minimum temperature for zone 5 (which is the zone that our area lies in) of -20 degrees F, weather related damage is more likely to occur. But many factors determine the amount of damage. Some we have no control over and others we do.

Things we can't control are the cold temperatures, snow cover and a plant's inherent ability to tolerate winter extremes. However, we can control damage caused by lack of soil moisture, sunscald and frost cracks.

Desiccation injury is often called "winter drying" or "winter burn". It is observed in early spring on evergreens. Broadleaf evergreens, such as rhododendrons, exhibit browning or even total necrosis (death) of their leaf margins (leaf scorch), depending on the extent of injury. Narrow leaved evergreens, such as white pine, exhibit browning of needle tips when injury is slight. Extensive injury may result in complete browning and premature drop of needles.

Since we see this on a wide variety of plants, insect and disease problems can be ruled out. We have to look to the growing environment. Is there a common factor affecting this wide range of plant material that would cause browning? The problem seems to be related to soil moisture. During the dormant season, top growth ceases. However, roots are capable of taking up water and nutrients when the soil temperatures are above 40 degrees F.

Evergreen foliage is exposed to the elements year round. The injury starts with sunny and/or windy winter weather when plants lose their foliage through transpiration. This loss is faster than the rate water can be replaced by roots which are in frozen soil. When thawed in spring, there needs to be sufficient soil moisture for the plant to take in and compensate. In comparison, deciduous plant material loses less water in winter. To prepare our evergreens for winter, we need to water them well, making sure there will be available soil moisture next spring.

Some other problems a lot of our trees contact are "winter sunscald" and "frost or freeze cracks". Often, winter sunscald is confused with frost or freeze cracks. Sunscald occurs when the winter sun warms tree bark during the day followed by rapid cooling after sunset. This rapid change in temperature destroys tissues and the inner bark area called the cambium. These sunscald areas are more common on the south or southeast sides of trunks and branches. Thin-bark trees and newly-planted trees seem to be more susceptible. Characteristically, the dead bark falls away in spring exposing the underlying heartwood. Wrapping trunks of susceptible trees in the winter with "tree wrap" is the most effective way to minimize this type of winter injury. Remove wrap in the spring.

Frost or freeze cracks are splits in the bark and wood that result from rapid drops in temperatures. These cracks are often associated with internal defects or decays. Defective wood does not contract as readily as the outer layers of healthy wood do when winter temperatures plunge rapidly. The strain between the outer contracting layers of wood and the inner defect causes the outer layer to crack.

Avoid wounding trees when they are young. Mulch around the base to eliminate the need to mow or weed "whack" close to the trunk. It really is a good thing to be able to learn about taking care of our tress. We want to do all that we can to preserve what nature has given us.