Polk County Itemizer-Observer • June 24, 2015 9A
Polk County News
Disease hitting boxwood shrubs
A disease that attacks
boxwood shrubs could po-
tentially become a serious
problem in residential and
public gardens in western
Oregon.
Boxwood blight, which
first showed up in nurseries
in Oregon in 2011, is making
inroads in the Portland area,
according to Jay W. Pscheidt,
a plant pathology specialist
with Oregon State Universi-
ty’s Extension Service.
“The message to home-
owners is that if they notice
something unusual going on
with their boxwood they’ve
never seen before, it could
be boxwood blight,” Pschei-
dt said.
The fungus is active dur-
ing warm, wet weather,
splashing from plant to
plant by rain. Even though
this spring has been rela-
tively dry, overhead water-
ing causes the same condi-
tions so the disease can
spread like any other year.
Using a soaker hose will
help. The sticky fungal
spores easily attach to
clothing, pruners or other
equipment and then trans-
fer to other boxwoods, so
avoid working with wet
plants.
Boxwood blight (Calonec-
tria pseudonaviculata) caus-
es spots on leaves and stems
and eventually defoliates
and kills the plants. Stem le-
sions show up as wide black
streaks; on leaves they ap-
pear as round spots.
There is no cure, but pre-
K YM
P OKORNY
Your
Garden
vention measures can help
keep the disease from
spreading, he said. The most
effective method is to in-
spect purchased plants and
keep them in an area away
from already planted box-
wood for two weeks or
more. If the shrubs don’t
show spots, they can be
planted.
“That might be hard,”
Pscheidt said, “but the fun-
gus can be present and the
plant hasn’t shown symp-
toms yet.”
Boxwood blight emerged
in Europe in the early 1990s
and quickly spread. Eradica-
tion has been unsuccessful,
he said. The fungus most
likely hitched a ride on
plants shipped from Europe
to North America. By 2011,
the disease had been found
in nurseries and landscapes
in several East Coast states,
three nurseries in Oregon
and four in British Colum-
bia, Canada.
According to Pscheidt,
wholesale nurseries in Ore-
gon, which consider box-
wood a bread-and-butter
crop, have kept the disease
mostly in check with a nurs-
ery cleanliness program ad-
ministered through the Ore-
Preventing the spread of
boxwood blight :
• Inspect new plants and isolate them from other box-
woods for at least two weeks before planting.
• Avoid overhead watering. Instead, use a soaker hose.
• Don’t work with wet boxwood.
• Disinfect pruners and hedge clippers after use.
• Never compost infected plants.
• If you have a diseased plant, place it in a plastic bag
and dispose of it in the garbage bin rather than yard debris
recycling bin.
• Buy less-susceptible cultivars. The fungus seems to
prefer the most common boxwood known as American or
English boxwood (Buxus sempervirens). Instead, look for B.
microphylla ‘Wintergreen,’ B microphylla ‘Franklin’s Gem,’ B.
sempervirens ‘North Star,’ B. microphylla ‘Wedding Ring’ and
B. harlandii ‘Richard.’
For more information, read about boxwood blight in Ex-
tension’s Pacific Northwest Plant Disease Management
Handbook or contact an OSU Extension Master Gardener.
gon Department of Agricul-
ture. But the disease has
jumped into some land-
scapes in Portland and Coos
Bay. Now that it’s made in-
roads into gardens, coopera-
tion from homeowners is es-
sential.
MI TOWN
Summertime in MI Town
means awakening to spec-
tacular sunrises and fresh
air, with the promise of a
busy day ahead. Some of us
are busy with children and
their activities, others are
heading off to workplaces,
and those with big yards and
gardens are hoping to ac-
complish the hardest tasks
in the early morning hours,
before it gets too warm out-
side.
We’re enjoying endless
pitchers of lemonade and
sun tea, which taste espe-
cially good after hard work
in the flower and vegetable
gardens. The poet, James
Whitcomb Riley, could have
been sitting under a tree in
the backyard when he wrote
“Knee Deep in June.”
—
Our local strawberries
and raspberries are putting
on their annual show and
the results are spectacular,
as usual. Freshly baked
shortcake crowned with
those beautiful fruits and
just a touch of sweetened
whipped cream is a wonder-
P ATTY
T AYLOR
D UTCHER
Columnist
ful temptation few — if any
— of us could even begin to
resist. The trick is to keep
enough of those delightful
berries away from the rest of
the household so they can
be transformed into jars of
jam before they disappear
for another year.
—
Summertime also means
reading time, with lots of
good books available at the
libraries or bookstores.
Whether you’re sitting under
those apple trees or in a
comfy chair out on the back
deck, summer books are fun
for readers of all ages.
The Friends of the Mon-
mouth Library would appre-
ciate donations of books for
their ongoing book sale.
Please bring your gently
read books — and especially
magazines — to share with
others. While you’re there,
see what’s new at either of
MI Town’s libraries.
—
Be sure to check both In-
dependence and Mon-
mouth’s city websites for the
upcoming outdoor concerts
and movies — and make
your plans accordingly. It’s
actually possible to see two
live groups and watch an
outdoor movie every week
without leaving MI Town. It’s
all happening at Mon-
mouth’s Main Street Park
and the Independence Am-
phitheater.
—
The local chapter of the
International Beta Sigma
Phi sorority, Laureate Alpha
Iota of Monmouth and In-
dependence, held a legacy
tea and Mother’s Day cele-
bration on May 9 at the
Faith Lutheran Church in
Monmouth. The Legacy
Program started in 1957 as a
way for members to give the
gift of Beta Sigma Phi to
their daughters, grand-
daughters, nieces or any
A RLENE
K OVASH
Columnist
Pe d e e. De a n n e t a u g h t
third and fourth grades
there throughout the
’60s. The rest of us enjoyed
hearing the history of that
time from the women.
—
April Makalea, who with
her husband Tale, has the
farm stand on Maple Grove
Road, will be teaching a
class on food preservation
Thursday night at Pedee
Church. Learn about cur-
ing fermentation, larding,
cold storage and cheese-
making on Thursday.
This workshop series is
open to anyone, so come
and invite your friends. A
potluck meal will be at 6
p.m., and the workshops
will begin at 6:45. Come for
either or both.
—
The Makalea’s daughter
Alyssa, who is home-
schooled, will be graduat-
ing from high school in a
few weeks. She will be
working with the animals
on her parents’ farm as
she’s a real animal lover.
—
On Thursday, 7 p.m., a
b l u e g ra s s j a m w i l l b e
launched at the church’s
outdoor amphitheater and
will continue through the
Johnson-Steed
Cynthia Rae John-
son of Dallas and Jar-
rod Kevin Charles
Steed of Monmouth
are planning a July
wedding.
The bride-to-be is
the daughter of David
and Judi Johnson of
Dallas. Her fiancé is
the son of Paul and
Margaret Steed of
Monmouth.
Cynthia is a 2005
graduate of Dallas
High School.
Jarrod, a 2011 grad-
uate of Central High School, is currently employed with
the Ron Wilson Center in Monmouth as part of the sup-
port staff.
The wedding is set for July 11, at the Portland Temple of
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
BIRTHS
Dittmar-Woods
Jack Ryder Dittmar-Woods was born to Patrick Cruck-
shank-Dittmar and Acacia Woods of Monmouth at 7:11
p.m. on June 12 at Salem Hospital Family Birth Center.
He weighed 7 pounds, 11 ounces, and was 20½ inches
long.
Jack joins Shawn 23 months old.
Grandparents are Laird Woods of Tidewater, Marlena
Brumley of Dallas, and Robert Dittmar of Pacific, Wash.
Mendoza
Damian Ricardo Mendoza was born to Jose and Brandi
Mendoza of Independence at 6:24 a.m. on June 15 at
Salem Hospital Family Birth Center.
He weighed 8 pounds, 7 ounces, and was 20 inches
long.
Damian joins Savannah 15, J.J. 10, and Dominick 2.
Grandparents are Ricardo and Colleen Camero of Inde-
pendence, and Felix and Carlota Venegas of Independ-
ence.
Bailey
other special girl in their
life. Sharing Beta Sigma Phi
with young girls is a very
loving gift the members can
pass on, knowing that their
legacies aren’t just the fu-
ture of the sorority, but the
future of the world.
—
The historic AME Church
in Charleston, S.C., is clear
on the other side of the
United States, but the mur-
ders of nine innocent peo-
ple at a prayer meeting last
week resonates with all of
us. To try to figure out why a
young man would commit
such a tragic and horrible
crime is way above my pay
grade, but we’ll hear lots of
commentary and conversa-
tion during the upcoming
days and have time to come
to our own conclusions.
Whether it’s the anonymi-
ty of the Internet or that
people feel free to act mean-
spirited and say and do
awful things, so much ha-
tred should never be wel-
come — or tolerated — in
our communities, our state
or our country.
PEDEE NEWS
Nine women who went
to Pedee School in the
1940s and ’50s met at last
Wednesday’s Pedee Wom-
ens Club meeting for a re-
union, where a lot of remi-
niscing went on.
The nine were Connie
Jones McBeth Ames of Dal-
las, Mary Lou Tharp
Phillips of Sheridan, Co-
lene Condon Lamberty of
Philomath, sisters-in-law
Deanne Maddux and Mil-
dred Maddux of Mon-
mouth, Marguerite McBeth
Nice of McMinnville, LaV-
erne Bennett, Alberta Bur-
bank Jones, and Judy Mad-
dux Houston, who was
here
from
near
Chicago. Alberta and Mil-
dred graduated in 1949,
the last high school class in
ENGAGEMENTS
summer. Dr. Pat Huff will
be there with his banjo,
and they are expecting a
couple of mandolin play-
ers, at least one guitarist
and possibly another
banjo player. They are
hoping for a fiddler.
The focus is to raise up
folks that are new players
or new to bluegrass, so any
skill level is welcome. An
audience is welcome, too,
so bring your chairs and
possibly blankets and lis-
ten in!
—
Nar Anon is still meet-
ing at the church on Sun-
day evenings from 5 till 6
p.m. This group serves as a
support group for friends
and families of those af-
fected by addiction.
ATTENTION
Students & Teachers
Dallas High Class of 1970
45th Class Reunion
Festivities Schedule
Fri., July 24th 2015 6:00-9:00 pm.
Meet at Abby’s Pizza in North Dallas for an evening of fun &
getting reacquainted. Food & drinks are on your own.
Sat., July 25th, 2015 11:00 am - 12:30 pm
Parade in downtown Dallas 5:00 pm til ?
Dinner: Hawaiian Theme. Come dressed for the occasion.
DJ, dancing, video presentation and more.
$45 person, $80 couple (advanced reservations needed),
Evy Kristensen 503-816-9009 for tickets & info.
Sun., July 26, 2015 7:00 am - 11:00 am
Breakfast in the Park (on your own)
Potluck Family Picnic 1:00 pm Dallas Park, Brandvold Kitchen,
near footbridge.
Jacob Jordan Bailey was born to Jacob and Kathrine
Bailey of Dallas at 7:06 p.m. on June 17 at Salem Family
Hospital Birth Center.
He weighed 8 pounds, 14 ounces, and was 21 inches
long.
Jacob is the couple’s first child.
Grandparents are Russell and Amy Hillebrand of Dal-
las, and Jay and Danette Bailey of Dallas.
Bethel Community Church
7575 Bethel Rd., Rickreall
presents
Jericho Road
Bluegrass Gospel BAND
June 28 • 10:45 a.m.
Potluck following the program. Friends & public invited.
For information or directions call 503-510-5141