Monroe County Master Gardener Association

bE-Informed
Monroe Conservation District
February 2018

Minor corrections to the Spring 2018 Conservation Plants Sale
Hosta substitutions:
Blue Angel replaces Blue Hawaii; 32” tall by 70″ wide Heart-shaped blue-green leaves are slightly wavy and have nice corrugation. This hosta emerges blue but will be blue-green to green by mid-summer. Very little direct sunlight to hold onto the blue the longest. These giant hostas have excellent slug resistance.
Rainbow’s End replaces Cherry Berry; 10” tall by 21” wide Very showy and unique hosta with extreme variegation and shiny leaves. with a bright yellow center and dark green margins. The leaf variegation is so irregular that no two leaves look the same. The center of the leaf brightens to white during the summer. Give this hosta some good fertile soil and some bright sun for best results. In late summer, showy red scapes carry the dark lavender, tubular flowers. Slug Resistant.
Victory replaces T-Rex; 35” tall by 70” wide. Shiny green leaves with wide cream margins. Large heart-shaped leaves have a wavy cream margin. These very large thick leaves are held upright as they emerge and form a massive mound when mature. Absolutely stunning hosta that should be used as a specimen plant where it can be appreciated! Slug resistant.
Another correction is that the Lapins Cherry is self-fertile, it does not need another cherry to pollinate although another cherry will encourage a larger harvest.

Well Water Testing:
The Monroe Conservation District will screen drinking water well samples for nitrate/nitrite during tree pickup hours.
The screening is sponsored by the Monroe Conservation District and the Michigan Agriculture Environmental Assurance Program (MAEAP). There is no fee to participants for this service. The screening is open to everyone who uses a personal well for drinking water; however, the number of samples that can be tested is limited to one.
Please do not bring samples from public water supplies or non-drinking water sources. Only drinking water well samples will be tested. You do not have to use a special bottle for this screening. Any small clean jar will work—one ounce of water is enough.

The Michigan Agriculture Environmental Assurance Program (MAEAP) is an innovative, proactive program that helps farms of all sizes and all commodities voluntarily prevent or minimize agricultural pollution risks. MAEAP‘s mission is to develop and implement a proactive environmental assurance program ensuring that Michigan farmers are engaging in cost-effective pollution prevention practices and working to comply with state and federal environmental regulations. Please visit with Monroe’s MAEAP Technicians while picking up your trees or Monday thru Friday at the Monroe Conservation District office.

Monroe Conservation District Spring 2018 Conservation Plants Fundraiser Catalog is available on our website – http://www.monroecd.org/products.html If you are not on our mailing list and would like to receive a hard copy of the tree order form, please reply to this e-mail with your name and mailing address, or call the Conservation District office, (734) 241.8540 Ext 5.