COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL November 10, 2015
Pamper fuchsias,
geraniums and dahlias
through winter
BY KYM POKORNY
Special to the Sentinel
Just like perennial plants,
some garden questions come
up year after year. How to keep
geraniums, fuchsias and dahlias
from dying over winter is one of
them.
“Some plants are what we call
tender perennials and are living
outside their hardiness zone,”
said Brooke Edmunds, horticul-
turist for Oregon State Universi-
ty’s Extension Service. “In most
places in Oregon that includes
geraniums and fuchsias. If we
get a cold snap, they’ll have
problems and most likely die.”
To keep that from happening,
bring potted plants into shelter
for winter, she said. But keep in
mind each plant needs different
conditions.
Geraniums — more accurate-
ly pelargoniums — continue to
grow throughout the cold sea-
son, albeit slowly. Fuchsias go
dormant in cool weather so need
less fuss. Dahlias, which are tu-
bers, need even less attention
and can be dug up and stored
like potatoes.
For geraniums, Edmunds ad-
vises moving them into a bright
spot in the house or green-
house where the temperature
doesn’t get above 70 degrees.
They won’t tolerate too much
moisture on the roots, so leave
off watering until they dry out
almost completely, about once
a month. Fertilizer isn’t neces-
sary.
To get geraniums to fi t in the
space you have available for
storage, pruning is OK. Don’t,
however, get too severe. Be sure
to leave some leaves and green
stems. Be aware they won’t be
very attractive as they take a
winter break.
The hardiness of fuchsias de-
pends on the cultivar.
Please see GARDEN, Page 10A
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NOTICE OF CITY OF COTTAGE GROVE
URBAN FORESTRY CITIZENS ADVISORY
COMMITTEE VACANCIES
The City of Cottage Grove Urban Forestry Committee currently
has three vacancies to this volunteer body. Committee positions
are appointed by the City Council. The Urban Forestry
Committee meets once a month. People interested in applying
for these positions need to complete the Volunteer Appointment
Application available at the Library/Community Center or City
Hall. The deadline for submitting applications is 5:00 on
Friday November 27th, 2015. For further information please
contact Teresa Cowan, City of Cottage Grove Community
Coordinator at 942-1185.
Douglas G. Maddess, DMD
Tis’ the season already
for Christmas tree harvest
ODA inspectors help clear the way for Oregon, the nation’s
top producer of Christmas trees
F
or one of Oregon’s top
agricultural commodities,
the 2015 holiday season is well
underway. Between now and the
middle of December, up to 7 mil-
lion Oregon Christmas trees will
be harvested and sold locally, na-
tionally and internationally.
Some of the early trees are
already on their way to distant
export markets with the bulk of
activity just around the corner.
It’s a very busy time for inspec-
tors with the Oregon Department
of Agriculture who issue the
necessary certifi cates that clear
the trees for entry into the mar-
ketplace.
“We are about a week ear-
lier than last year,” says Gary
McAninch, manager of ODA’s
Nursery and Christmas Tree
Programs. “We have already in-
spected and issued certifi cates
for trees going to Hawaii and we
are just starting to do the same
for trees bound for Mexico.”
Oregon remains the nation’s
top producer of Christmas trees.
While those trees can be found
in numerous international mar-
kets, including many Pacifi c Rim
countries, the U.S. neighbor to
the south remains the biggest
foreign customer at about 12 per-
cent of Oregon Christmas trees
harvested annually. Those trees
don’t cross the border without
the all-important inspection and
phytosanitary certifi cate.
“Our customers don’t want to
get any dangerous pests or dis-
eases from Christmas trees and
we don’t want to give them any
of those pests and diseases,” says
McAninch. “So we are required
to inspect the trees here in Or-
egon before they are shipped to
other states and countries. That
ensures we are meeting the im-
portation requirements.”
With as much as 90 percent of
Oregon’s 530 licensed Christmas
tree growers shipping out of state,
ODA inspectors will be working
seven days a week between now
and about the fi rst week of De-
cember when harvest and ship-
ping fi nally ends.
“Other states and countries
want to make sure we provide
Christmas trees that are clean
of insect pests and diseases, and
that requires a very good work-
ing relationship with the Oregon
Department of Agriculture,” says
Bryan Ostlund, executive director
of the Pacifi c Northwest Christ-
mas Tree Growers Association.
“ODA inspectors come out and
spend considerable time to make
sure the trees we ship out of Or-
egon are what we say they are.”
The inspection of Christmas
trees actually begins well before
the holidays approach. ODA in-
spectors examine fi elds in late
summer and early fall, looking
for potential problems that could
put a snag into out-of-state ship-
ments. Receiving countries want
to make sure those trees arrive
without problems that could be-
come established in their own
backyard. In some cases, trees
are required to be mechanically
shaken to dislodge larger insects
as well as dead needles.
ODA inspectors even look at
Christmas trees that never leave
the state. Growers will often re-
quest the expertise of inspectors
to identify problems in the fi eld
even though there is no require-
ment for certifi cation of trees that
remain in Oregon. It’s just an-
other way of upholding the good
reputation of high quality Oregon
Christmas trees.
An additional challenge this
year — at least for the younger
trees that won’t be harvested
for a few more years — was the
warm and dry summer.
“The bigger, more mature trees
are generally pretty hearty, so
when we have a year of extended
warm and dry weather during the
summer months, those trees han-
dle it fairly well,” says Ostlund.
“Fortunately, the recent rain is
fully hydrating the trees being
harvested. We want those trees
being shipped out of Oregon to
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be in the best possible condition.
The rain we are currently having
is perfect timing.”
On the other hand, seedlings
that went into the ground to re-
place the 2014 harvest are small
without a lot of water carrying
capacity and root systems that
are not fully developed. There
has been more seedling mortality
in 2015 than what has taken place
in recent years, which could have
a slight impact when that plant-
ing is ready for harvest seven to
nine years from now.
All in all, it should be a de-
cent year for Oregon Christmas
tree growers. In other parts of
the United States, production is
down, which is directing buyers
to look to the Pacifi c Northwest
for ample supplies of trees. Os-
tlund refers to the shift from a
national oversupply of Christmas
trees as a right-sizing of supply.
“Buyers have to work a little
harder to fi nd the types of trees
they want and the sizes they want.
That will be refl ected in prices
going up a bit this year. That may
not be the case so much in Or-
egon, but with our major markets
like California — where about
50 percent of Oregon’s Christ-
mas trees are sold — there will
be a bump in price at the whole-
sale level for the fi rst time in
many years. What that means to
the consumer at the retail level
remains to be seen.”
Ostlund expects the export
market to be down somewhat
this year since Oregon growers
can more easily sell their inven-
tory inside the continental United
States. While the bread and but-
ter of Oregon’s industry remains
the Douglas fi r and the noble fi r,
newer species are increasing in
popularity. Nordmann and Turk-
ish fi rs perform well after harvest
in terms of keeping their needles,
color and fragrance.
In terms of production value,
Christmas trees have annually
been a top 10 agricultural com-
modity in Oregon.
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