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News Release Distributed 06/25/12The Fourth of July is the biggest hot dog holiday of the year, with Americans downing an estimated 155 million wieners. Although Americans enjoy hot dogs all year long, we eat an estimated seven billion between Memorial Day and Labor Day. If your holiday plans include hot dogs, LSU AgCenter nutritionist Beth Reames offers information that may help you make nutritious choices. Most regular hot dogs contain 10 to 15 grams of fat, Reames says. To lower the fat content, choose low-fat or fat-free hot dogs. The low-fat dogs often contain half the fat of regular, while fat-free varieties contain less than a half gram of fat per serving. Chicken and turkey dogs don't necessarily contain less fat than the regular hot dogs, Reames says, so read the label to compare products. Vegetarians and vegans can enjoy hot dogs made from soy products, such as tofu. Although most hot dogs are high in sodium, some lower-sodium varieties are available. The 2010 Dietary Guidelines from the U.S. Department of Agriculture recommend limiting sodium to 2,300 milligrams per day. Remember that condiments such as mustard, mayonnaise, ketchup and chili are also high in sodium, so use these sparingly, Reames says. Because hot dogs are among the foods associated with choking among children, experts often recommend not feeding hot dogs to children under 3. For children of all ages, Reames says, cut the hot dog to appropriate sizes and watch children eat to ensure they do not choke. To prevent listeriosis, a foodborne illness that has been associated with ready-to-eat processed foods, the USDA recommends heating hot dogs to at least 165 degrees. This is especially important for at-risk individuals, including pregnant women, those who are immune compromised and the elderly, Reames says. According to the Centers for Disease Control, listeriosis, which usually is caused by eating food contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, primarily affects older adults, pregnant women, newborns and adults with weakened immune systems. Reames recommends other food safety guidelines for hot dogs, including: –When you leave the grocery store with hot dogs, head straight home and refrigerate or freeze them immediately. –Eat hot dogs by the product use-by date. If there is no product date, hot dogs can be safely stored in the unopened package for two weeks in the refrigerator and one week after opening. –For maximum quality, freeze hot dogs no longer than one or two months. –Never leave hot dogs at room temperature for more than two hours and no more than one hour when the temperature goes above 90 degrees.
News Release Distributed 06/22/12By LSU AgCenter Horticulturists Dan Gill, Kyle Huffstickler and Allen Owings Many coreopsis are available for our landscapes in Louisiana. Coreopsis, sometimes called tickseed, are herbaceous perennial flowers. Sometimes we treat these as annuals in Louisiana, and sometimes we treat them as perennials. The larger-flowered varieties are usually most popular with home gardeners. Popular coreopsis varieties on the market include Jethro Tull, Sunfire, Early Sunrise, Rising Sun, Corey Yellow and Sunray. Flowers on all of these are some shade of golden yellow. Some varieties have more of a semi-double to double flower form, which is characteristic of the Early Sunrise variety. A variegated form of Early Sunrise is called Tequila Sunrise. These plants do well in a sunny, well-drained landscape bed. They do best planted in late winter through early spring or even in fall. You can often find a nice selection of coreopsis in bloom at garden centers in late spring. Their typical peak blooming times are May through July, but they still provide some additional flowers through late summer and fall. Plants prefer limited irrigation and perform best when we have less-than-average rainfall. Over-watering or excessive rainfall can lead to root rot and other disease problems, so we recommend preparing beds to maximize drainage. Fertilize at planting with a slow-release fertilizer. You also can use liquid feed as needed during the growing season to keep plants at their best. Plants can be divided every two to three years. This is best done early when new growth begins in early spring or when growth slows later in the fall. For best flowering, you can lightly remove old flowers as they fade. This will bring on additional blooms and slow seed pod development. Sometimes coreopsis will lightly reseed themselves in a landscape bed. Anytime your coreopsis totally finishes a flowering cycle, cut the entire plant back one-third to one-half. A new flower cycle should commence in three to four weeks if growing conditions are favorable. Coreopsis have few insect problems. They are a nectar and larval plant for butterflies, so they’re recommended for butterfly gardens. Coreopsis have long been favorites with gardeners across the South. Use them combined with annual warm-season flowers or in a perennial planting with buddleia, rudbeckias, salvia, coneflowers, lantanas, shasta daisies, verbenas or other hardy favorites. Visit LaHouse in Baton Rouge to see sustainable landscape practices in action. The home and landscape resource center is near the intersection of Burbank Drive and Nicholson Drive (Louisiana Highway 30) in Baton Rouge, across the street from the LSU baseball stadium. For more information, go to www.lsuagcenter.com/lahouse or www.lsuagcenter.com/lyn.
News Release Distributed 06/14/12By LSU AgCenter Horticulturists Dan Gill, Kyle Huffstickler and Allen Owings What’s the most popular summer-blooming tree in Louisiana? Crape myrtles. Pretty easy question. Louisianians plant many crape myrtles in their landscapes every year. The lovely, long-lasting blooms make them attractive. Most years, crape myrtles start blooming between mid-May and early June. Flowering continues for 90-120 days depending on the variety. You may sometimes see crape myrtles not blooming well. “Why?” you might ask. Here are some factors to consider: – New growth. How much new growth did your crape myrtles have this spring? Crape myrtles need to have new growth each spring in order to produce summer flowers. These flowers come on current-season growth, so late winter/early spring fertilization can aid crape myrtle flowering in the summer. It is not too late to fertilize this year if you haven’t yet. – Shade. Crape myrtles require eight hours of direct sun daily to bloom well. Crape myrtles planted in areas that receive less than six hours of direct sun do not get enough sunlight for adequate bloom development. – Variety. Some varieties don’t flower as vigorously as others. Hybrid crape myrtles usually flower first. Natchez, Tuscarora, Basham’s Party Pink and Muskogee are the easiest-flowering varieties. The semi-dwarf varieties such as Tonto, Acoma and Sioux follow a week or two later. – Insects. Heavy infestations of aphids decrease flowering. This is the most common insect problem on crape myrtles. Ever feel like you’re being “rained” on under the canopy of a crape myrtle? That “rain” is actually bodily fluid being excreted from aphids. White flies and other insect also can cause problems for crape myrtles. – Improper pruning. Drastic pruning or pruning after new spring growth can delay summer flowering. Drastic pruning, in fact, may promote excessive growth and less flowering. Sometimes the “crape murder” method of pruning can initiate too much growth at the expense of flowering. – Too much fertilizer. Excessive fertilization, especially high amounts of nitrogen, in conjunction with other factors, primarily improper pruning, can eliminate or delay flowering. – Leaf spot. Foliar diseases decrease plant vigor and flowering, especially in the absence of new growth in spring. The main cause of leaf spot in crape myrtles is the fungus Cercospora, and it’s bad this year. Long term, this disease is not detrimental to the plant. Using fungicides for control has not been very effective because they would have to be applied repeatedly throughout the growing season, and getting adequate coverage on larger trees is difficult. – Wet soil. Crape myrtles need well-drained areas to grow well. Lichens growing on bark is common on crape myrtles growing in shady areas accompanied by poorly drained soils and low levels of native soil fertility. So, that’s the list. Consider these reasons if your crape myrtles are not performing to their potential. Hopefully, your crape myrtles will bloom and bloom some more for you this summer. Visit LaHouse in Baton Rouge to see sustainable landscape practices in action. The home and landscape resource center is near the intersection of Burbank Drive and Nicholson Drive (Louisiana Highway 30) in Baton Rouge, across the street from the LSU baseball stadium. For more information, go to www.lsuagcenter.com/lahouse or www.lsuagcenter.com/lyn.
News Release Distributed 06/08/12By LSU AgCenter Horticulturists Dan Gill, Kyle Huffstickler and Allen Owings One of the most popular non-woody perennials in Louisiana is the purple coneflower. The scientific name of this plant is Echinacea purpurea. It is native to an area from the Midwest into the southeastern United States. Coneflowers have long been favorites with gardeners across the South. You can use them in a perennial planting with buddleia, rudbeckias, salvia, coreopsis, lantanas, Shasta daisies, verbenas or other hardy favorites. Butterflies love purple coneflowers, too. Purple coneflowers are drought-tolerant, tough and long-lived. Flowering usually starts in late April or early May, and most coneflowers re-bloom through summer and fall. If you’re looking for a plant to enhance your landscape, new selections of this old garden plant are making it highly desirable for our Louisiana landscapes. Flower petals in coneflowers have typically been in the soft lavender to purple color ranges. Now white forms are available. Magnus is a popular variety that was the Perennial Plant of the Year in 1998. This selection has vibrant, rose-purple flowers. Bravado is a variety with 4- to 5-inch fragrant flowers. White Swan is a white-flowering form. With hybridization of coneflower species, a whole new group of coneflowers, called the Big Sky series, has added to the color range. The Big Sky coneflowers come in shades of oranges, reds and yellows. These plants originated from Itsaul Plants in Georgia and are being marketed by the Novalis “Plants That Work” program. The varieties Twilight (rose-red flowers), Harvest Moon (earthy-gold flowers), Sundown (russet-orange flowers), Sunrise (citron-yellow flowers) and Sunset (orange flowers) comprise the series collection. These varieties have been available at garden centers in Louisiana the past three years, but they are not as reliably perennial as we would like to see. New in the purple coneflower world is the seed-propagated PowWow series. PowWow Wild Berry is an All-America Selection winner from 2011. In addition, a white version is called PowWow White. These have performed nicely in LSU AgCenter trials. Also new are the vegetatively propagated Sombraro series and the double-flower series Doublescoop. A new purple coneflower that will be an All-America Selection winner in 2013 is Cheyenne Spirit. You can do several things to help coneflowers perform ideally. These plants prefer a mostly sunny location with well-drained soil. You can buy coneflowers at the garden center in 4-inch pots or quart or one-gallon containers. A light application of a slow-release fertilizer is recommended at planting and once or twice annually thereafter. Mulch with pine straw or a similar material. Remove old flowers to encourage quick re-bloom. Coneflowers are reliably perennial in Louisiana. Visit LaHouse in Baton Rouge to see sustainable landscape practices in action. The home and landscape resource center is near the intersection of Burbank Drive and Nicholson Drive (Louisiana Highway 30) in Baton Rouge, across the street from the LSU baseball stadium. For more information, go to www.lsuagcenter.com/lahouse or www.lsuagcenter.com/lyn.
News Release Distributed 06/01/12By LSU AgCenter Horticulturists Dan Gill, Kyle Huffstickler and Allen Owings Spring bloom on roses is just about completed. Roses in most home landscapes have their best bloom performance at first flowering in the spring (mid-April) and at the fall bloom in October. We are now rapidly approaching the summer months. Rose bushes will not necessarily look their best during summer. This is especially true as we get to July and August. We should be thinking now about how to maintain our roses through summer to enjoy them to their fullest. Most gardeners now are planting landscape or shrub roses in abundance. This includes the popular Knock Out varieties. However, many home gardeners in Louisiana still enjoy growing the traditional modern roses like hybrid tea, floribunda and grandiflora varieties. During summer, flower colors on roses are less intense and blooms are smaller. Petal count will decrease. A Knock Out rose with 10-12 petals in midspring may only have five to six petals in late summer. You can also see petal count reduction on hybrid tea roses. They typically have 40-50 petals per flower, but petal numbers are not quite as high in summer, and flower size is smaller. Also, flower pigmentation is not as good during summer due to the high temperatures and unfavorable growing conditions. Heat stress was common on all roses last summer with exceptionally high temperatures and drought conditions from May through September. Heat stress can be identified by flower performance, but also just by an overall reduced, almost stagnant, growth rate and pale green foliage. Leaf crinkling can occur when heat stress is severe. Roses need disease management from now through the end of summer for good flowering and performance into fall. Normally, the varieties with high to moderate susceptibility to blackspot disease need to continue to be sprayed with fungicide on a 10-to-14-day schedule. Even though it is hotter than ideal for the blackspot fungus to reproduce as fast in summer, the disease inoculum from spring will still be present. You may see foliage burn due to fungicide application during summer. Fertilizer should probably not be applied during the middle of summer, but a light application may be of value in some situations. Irrigation also needs to be maintained during droughty periods. Apply water to the mulched, root zone area around the plants. Avoid getting water on the plant foliage. Do not prune roses in June and July other than taking off old flowers as they fade. If you continually “deadhead” roses during summer, you’ll need to do less pruning later. The recommended late-summer pruning of modern rose varieties such as hybrid tea, floribunda, grandiflora and shrub roses should be completed by early September in south Louisiana. Bloom will return on the pruned bushes 40-45 days after pruning. Other rose gardening work that needs to be done during summer includes: – Watch roses for insect pests. Spider mites, aphids, thrips and cucumber beetles are usually the main problem insects on roses. Some can be easily controlled; some are more difficult to control. Monitor your plants weekly for insect infestations. – Clear debris from rose beds and pull any weeds that may be present. Add pre-emergent granular herbicide such as Preen or Amaze for summer weed control. – Add new mulch if you did not refresh the bed earlier in the year (pine straw is an excellent material). Even if you did add mulch earlier in the season, a new application on top of the older mulch may be beneficial. Three inches of pine straw is ideal. Visit LaHouse in Baton Rouge to see sustainable landscape practices in action. The home and landscape resource center is near the intersection of Burbank Drive and Nicholson Drive (Louisiana Highway 30) in Baton Rouge, across the street from the LSU baseball stadium. For more information, go to www.lsuagcenter.com/lahouse or www.lsuagcenter.com/lyn.
News Release Distributed 06/01/12By LSU AgCenter Horticulturists Dan Gill, Kyle Huffstickler and Allen Owings Spring bloom on roses is just about completed. Roses in most home landscapes have their best bloom performance at first flowering in the spring (mid-April) and at the fall bloom in October. We are now rapidly approaching the summer months. Rose bushes will not necessarily look their best during summer. This is especially true as we get to July and August. We should be thinking now about how to maintain our roses through summer to enjoy them to their fullest. Most gardeners now are planting landscape or shrub roses in abundance. This includes the popular Knock Out varieties. However, many home gardeners in Louisiana still enjoy growing the traditional modern roses like hybrid tea, floribunda and grandiflora varieties. During summer, flower colors on roses are less intense and blooms are smaller. Petal count will decrease. A Knock Out rose with 10-12 petals in midspring may only have five to six petals in late summer. You can also see petal count reduction on hybrid tea roses. They typically have 40-50 petals per flower, but petal numbers are not quite as high in summer, and flower size is smaller. Also, flower pigmentation is not as good during summer due to the high temperatures and unfavorable growing conditions. Heat stress was common on all roses last summer with exceptionally high temperatures and drought conditions from May through September. Heat stress can be identified by flower performance, but also just by an overall reduced, almost stagnant, growth rate and pale green foliage. Leaf crinkling can occur when heat stress is severe. Roses need disease management from now through the end of summer for good flowering and performance into fall. Normally, the varieties with high to moderate susceptibility to blackspot disease need to continue to be sprayed with fungicide on a 10-to-14-day schedule. Even though it is hotter than ideal for the blackspot fungus to reproduce as fast in summer, the disease inoculum from spring will still be present. You may see foliage burn due to fungicide application during summer. Fertilizer should probably not be applied during the middle of summer, but a light application may be of value in some situations. Irrigation also needs to be maintained during droughty periods. Apply water to the mulched, root zone area around the plants. Avoid getting water on the plant foliage. Do not prune roses in June and July other than taking off old flowers as they fade. If you continually “deadhead” roses during summer, you’ll need to do less pruning later. The recommended late-summer pruning of modern rose varieties such as hybrid tea, floribunda, grandiflora and shrub roses should be completed by early September in south Louisiana. Bloom will return on the pruned bushes 40-45 days after pruning. Other rose gardening work that needs to be done during summer includes: – Watch roses for insect pests. Spider mites, aphids, thrips and cucumber beetles are usually the main problem insects on roses. Some can be easily controlled; some are more difficult to control. Monitor your plants weekly for insect infestations. – Clear debris from rose beds and pull any weeds that may be present. Add pre-emergent granular herbicide such as Preen or Amaze for summer weed control. – Add new mulch if you did not refresh the bed earlier in the year (pine straw is an excellent material). Even if you did add mulch earlier in the season, a new application on top of the older mulch may be beneficial. Three inches of pine straw is ideal. Visit LaHouse in Baton Rouge to see sustainable landscape practices in action. The home and landscape resource center is near the intersection of Burbank Drive and Nicholson Drive (Louisiana Highway 30) in Baton Rouge, across the street from the LSU baseball stadium. For more information, go to www.lsuagcenter.com/lahouse or www.lsuagcenter.com/lyn.
