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Plant Materials Today, October 2008 Issue

A Quarterly Newsletter of the Montana/Wyoming Plant Materials Program

If you encounter any problems with the file provided on this page, please contact Technical Resources at 406-587-6822.

Volume 15, Number 4, October 2008.

This is a quarterly field office newsletter to transfer plant materials technology, services, and needs. The plant materials personnel will be featuring short articles on project results, new cultivar releases and establishment techniques, seed collection, and field planting needs, and so forth. All offices are encouraged to submit articles about plant material-related activities relative to plant performance, adaptation, cultural and management techniques, etc. Direct inquiries to USDA NRCS, Plant Materials Center, 98 South River Road, Bridger, MT 59014, Phone 406-662-3579, Fax 406-662-3428; or Ron Nadwornick, State Resource Conservationist, USDA NRCS Montana State Office, Federal Bldg., Rm 443, 10 East Babcock Street, Bozeman, MT 59715-4704, Phone 406-587-6998, Fax 406-587-6761.

If you encounter any problems with the file provided on this page, please contact Technical Resources at 406-587-6822.

This newsletter is also available in Adobe Reader format.

Plant Materials Today, October 2008 (PDF; 108 KB)

Zentner is new Farm Foreman

Darren Zentner, biological technician for the last 4 years at the Bridger Plant Materials Center (BPMC), applied for and was selected in early October for the vacant Farm Foreman position. Darren’s work ethic, fabrication skills, crop production knowledge and seed cleaning expertise all were reasons he was chosen for the position. The entire BPMC staff would like to extend their heartfelt congratulations to Darren on his promotion.

Roger Hybner, PMC Manager

Fall and Winter Watering of Trees and Shrubs – and other ways to prevent winter desiccation.

We often think of raking leaves as the last maintenance job of the year relating to trees and shrubs (well, except for tossing logs onto the fire or trimming pine boughs for the mantle). There are numerous fall and early winter tasks that are needed, and late season watering is probably one of the most important and over-looked jobs. Woody plants (trees and shrubs) continue to lose moisture from their branches and needles over the course of the winter and this isn’t just the case with evergreens. Deciduous plants (plants dropping all of their leaves each fall) lose an appreciable amount of moisture through their branches, especially in windy environments. Applying supplemental water after woody plants become fully dormant (no leaves, approximately mid-late October) is one way to reduce desiccation.

Expert opinion on the timing, amount, and even value of mid-winter watering varies, especially across the major eco-regions of the country. In the northern Great Plains and Intermountain West, the most common recommendation is to water slowly and thoroughly in late fall after dormancy in an attempt to saturate the soil profile before winter, and to then water periodically as needed until the ground freezes. Keep in mind there is limited value in applying water when the ground is completely frozen as plant uptake becomes very limited as the soil cools to near freezing. In these cases, several other practices may be more beneficial than supplemental watering. Mulching the soil around trees while the soil is warm helps retain soil moisture and heat, two conditions facilitating water uptake later into the winter. Use up to 4 inches of clean, coarse bark mulch in windy locations to assure the material is not blown away. High quality, woven weed barrier serves a similar function as bark mulch. Anti-desiccants and anti-transpirants are waxy emulsions sprayed onto plants to prevent evapotranspiration of water. For small plants, tree screens, snowfence, burlap, and other protective structures greatly reduce wind desiccation and conserve plant moisture.

So the big question is always, “Should I water my trees in the dead of winter?” Maybe…… if it makes you feel better. As I said, not much water is absorbed as soil temperatures cool, but it can’t hurt to apply modest amounts of water if the soil isn’t frozen (Jan – Feb). Nature periodically does this with snow melting into the soil profile. Untimely or excess watering could lead to root damage and low soil aeration should temperatures drop dramatically or if the additional water sits atop a frozen soil layer and can not drain.

A good indication of the effectiveness of any practice can be gauged by the condition of needles and emerging foliage in the spring. Needle tip burn and retarded growth suggest inadequate plant moisture at some point in time. Keep in mind some of these symptoms may result from stress conditions during the growing season. Additionally, some injury is just to be expected if the site is severe – it’s just a question of what level of injury is acceptable. If your trees and shrubs continue to suffer severe winter injury, it might be worth installing a protective row of a hardier species or replacing the stressed species altogether.

Joe Scianna, PMC Research Horticulturist

Gardiner Basin Revegetation Project

The BPMC, in cooperation with the Idaho PMC, is helping Yellowstone National Park (YNP) with their northern boundary restoration project. The area is located between Gardiner and Yankee Jim Canyon on the west side of the Yellowstone River, and is described by early travelers as “very rough and barren”. Cinnabar was a small town located on Stephens Creek where the Northern Pacific Railroad ended and intrepid tourists began their adventures into YNP. The surrounding area was primarily used by local ranchers for feeding livestock. When the rail line extended to Gardiner, Cinnabar was abandoned, and in the 1920s the Park acquired the land for the protection of resident herds of elk, antelope, and mule deer. They tilled, planted, irrigated, and harvested hay from the area to provide winter forage for wildlife and YNP horses. As the Park’s policy of feeding wildlife changed the farm ground was abandoned. Over time, it converted to a wasteland of desert alyssum with some residual crested wheatgrass. Recent attempts by YNP to restore the area to a native plant community have failed.

The Plant Materials Centers will help YNP in this project by increasing native seed collected within the Park and surrounding areas, and in the seeding efforts. The project will progress in stages as funds from entrance fees are available. The first stage will focus on 22 acres in the area where Cinnabar once stood. An eight-foot high wildlife fence has been built to exclude animals during establishment. To control the alyssum and provide much needed ground cover, an annual cereal grain will be grown for two seasons followed by a fall dormant seeding of native grasses. Herbicides will also be used for weed control. During this time, research plots will be established to determine the most successful seeding techniques.

With the establishment of grasses, trials will attempt to establish forbs and shrubs for a diverse plant community to support wildlife. Upon successful restoration of the pilot site, new areas will be progressively fenced and seeded. When restoration is successful, it is expected the area will provide winter habitat for wildlife. This past summer, crews from the Bridger PMC helped collect more than 40 pounds of seed of bluebunch wheatgrass from a nearby location, plus collections of western wheatgrass, Sandberg bluegrass, needle and thread, and prairie Junegrass. These will be key species for the restoration project.

By Jim Jacobs, PM Specialist

Evaluating Wyoming Wildflowers for Revegetating Disturbance

The BPMC has teamed up with the Wyoming Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to evaluate the performance of native forbs for their potential in revegetating disturbance in desert shrub and sagebrush plant communities. The BLM nationally identified a lack of commercially available native wildflower seed for use in restoring habitats critical to such wildlife as pronghorn antelope, elk, greater sage-grouse, mule deer, and a myriad of important non-game species. To address this high priority issue, they initiated a native plant program to develop seed sources and ensure a long-term supply of seed and/or vegetative propagules. In 2008, Wyoming BLM made seed collections of target species from a variety of sites that will be dormant-seeded this fall in an initial evaluation planting (IEP) at the Bridger PMC. The BPMC will conduct annual evaluations of the 4-year study on factors concerning plant growth and development. General services to BLM include accessioning, seed collection dates, temporary seed storage, progress reports, and seed shipment as instructed. Information on each entry such as the number of seeds per pound, seed viability, seed processing techniques, and seed images may also be documented. Ultimately, the goal is to stabilize disturbed sites and minimize the loss of natural resources with naturally adapted plant materials--exactly the kind of conservation activity important to the PMC.

By Susan Winslow, PMC Agronomist.

NRCS and MSU Partner on Film

Montana NRCS and the film department at Montana State University have partnered to develop a film titled, “Cultivating Conservation with the Bridger Plant Materials Center.” The DVD was developed by Julia Sable, MSU film graduate student and Earth Team Volunteer, in conjunction with the NRCS Public Affairs staff in Bozeman. The informational DVD addresses the conservation challenges facing our state, and the numerous groups that partner to address these issues. Beautiful footage of the Montana landscape and background banjo music by our very own Jim Jacobs, NRCS Plant Materials Specialist, are also included. Copies are available by calling the NRCS Public Affairs office at 406-587-6842, emailing mt-nrcs-publications@one.usda.gov.

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Last Modified: 02/03/2009