While the Freyer – Newman Center has yet to open to the public, we have been diligently working behind closed doors to transfer non-living collections to their new homes in the Center. These collections include plant and fungal specimens, artworks, archives, rare books and more – some objects dating back to the 1500s. </p> “This is the first time in the library’s history that the archives will be publicly accessible,” says Archivist Angela Naumov in a video about the moving process</a>. The Center offers improved storage for all collections and opportunities for them to grow in both size and accessibility.</p> Scientists look forward to when visitors are able to walk into the Center for the first time and immediately see plant and fungal research ongoing through the glass walls of the herbarium. Exhibits team members now have customized storage for artworks while they are not on display in the Center’s new gallery spaces. Education staff enjoy improved storage for collections as well as an expanded library, where visitors will be able to access the main collection, as well as historical ones through the rare book reading room. </p> Whether it’s a herbarium specimen, botanical illustration or gardening guide, each object represents humanity’s connection to the natural world throughout history. We feel at home in the Center because it is where our history is – not just as a botanic garden, but as people who connect with nature. Once the Center has opened to the public, we hope that you will visit to connect with natural history – and that you will feel at home, too. </p> Re-housing our collections to the Freyer – Newman Center has been made possible by a Museums for America award from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (Award ID: MA-30-18-0410-18). Thank you, IMLS!</em> </p>
HOW TO IDENTIFY FLEA BEETLES</p> I identified the flea beetle in part one</a> of this two-part series as the western black flea beetle (</span></span></span></span>Phyllotreta pusilla)</span></span></span></span></em>, which is the most damaging flea beetle in Colorado.</span></span></span></span></p> To identify flea beetles in your garden, it is easier to look for the signs of their feeding (feeding injury described below) than it is to look for the beetles themselves. Finding the species of flea beetle depends on what plants they are feeding on (see table 1</a> about halfway down the page). They don’t typically get any larger than 1/16 of an inch in length, so flea beetles are very small and will quickly jump to escape—like fleas! </span></span></span></span></p> WHEN DO FLEA BEETLES APPEAR? Adult flea beetles overwinter in plant residue and in the soil and cause injury early in the planting season as they are emerging, typically when temperatures reach 50ºF (10°C). Eggs are laid at the base of plant stems in early summer after the spring feeding period, and most larvae feed at the roots later in the season.</p> FLEA BEETLE INJURY Adult beetles feed on foliage and produce “shotholes” in the leaves. Flea beetles usually don’t cause fatal injury to established plants because the leaves are already large enough to survive with a few holes. There is a possibility that the beetles spread bacterial diseases, such as wilts or blights, from plant to plant and garden to garden. </p> HOW TO PREVENT FLEA BEETLES In the spring, emerging flea beetle adults will be starving. If possible, reduce their food supply by delaying planting by a couple weeks.</p> In the fall, you can try to till your garden to unearth any hiding flea beetles to expose them to the colder temperature.</p> Flea beetles have shown to be repelled by catnip and basil, so planting these may reduce their numbers.</p> You can utilize species of plants that are attractive for the beetle as traps so that they do not attack other, more valuable, plants.</p> HOW TO MANAGE FLEA BEETLES Although flea beetles are common, injuries often are insignificant to plant health. Try this homemade spray to control flea beetles: </p> 2 cups rubbing alcohol</li> 5 cups water</li> 1 tablespoon liquid soap </li> </ul> First be sure to test out the mixture on a leaf of the plant. Let it sit overnight, then spray the rest of the plant if you don’t notice any adverse effects. Spray the mixture on the foliage of garden plants that are susceptible to these pests, making sure to also spray the undersides of the leaves.</p> Another option is dusting your plants with plain talcum powder, which can help repel flea beetles on tomatoes, potatoes and peppers. You can also use white sticky traps to capture the flea beetles as they jump between plants. Insecticides may be used early in the season but are generally unnecessary in the control of flea beetles on adult plants. </p> </picture> </div> </div> </article> Phyllotreta pusilla,</span></span></span></span></em> photo by Gerald Fauske, North Dakota State University</span></span></span></span></p> This blog post was written by Amy Hauver, Doctor Plant Health student intern from University of Nebraska-Lincoln.</em></p>
Now that it’s July and seedlings have had time to root in, container displays around the Gardens are taking off — bulking up in size, spilling over edges and launching flower stalks. Come with me as we wander among some of this season’s most colorful and dynamic displays. </p> First stop, the large containers outside the Bonfils-Stanton Visitor Center</strong>. Each pot is filled with citrus-colored flowers that echo the theme of neighboring beds – “So glad to see you,” a joyful hello to all who pass by. Although I chose the theme over a year ago, it has proven unexpectedly apt, reflecting the gratitude we feel welcoming visitors back. The highlight of this design is the tropical legume Senna didymobotrya</em> planted on either side of two cannas. Each plant has long stems that arch inward and, at distance, remind me of a person’s arms raised up in excitement before hugging a friend. Yellow, round flowers and leaves that smell like toasted corn give this beauty its common name, popcorn cassia. </li> Next stop, outside Marnie’s Pavilion</strong> where colleague Nick Daniels has transformed the low walls into a wondrous collection of cacti and succulents. This display encapsulates the principle that contrast is completion. It is diverse, unifying and satisfies our love of visual drama. Note how the variegated Agave attenuata</em> ‘AGAVWS’ Ray of Light pops in front of the brilliant red Aloe dorotheae.</em></li> From here we walk south to the Science Pyramid,</strong> where colleague Mike Holloway shows his talent for plant mixology -- combining cool and hot colors, spiny geometric forms and soft cascading ones. You’ll see more of his talents in the Victorian Secret Garden to the northwest, where kitsch is elevated to high art. Humorous touches — including a head planted with a bromeliad wig — are mixed with elegant combinations of foliage plants.</li> But first pass through the Steppe Garden</strong> to see an eclectic mixture of high-altitude gems displayed in front of the waterway. Colleague Sonya Anderson has assembled plants from four steppe regions, including a large pelargonium that looks like a tree and a king protea.</li> More must-see containers await in the Annuals Garden and Pavilion</strong>, where colleague Bridget Blomquist has lined beams of the pergola with baskets of silver dichondra, magenta geraniums and an Alternanthera </em>the color of red wine. The plants match those in planters below with equal lushness, making you feel as if you’ve escaped into a flower tunnel.</li> Next stop, South African Plaza</strong> where colleague Mike Kintgen transports us to the tip of Africa and nearby Madagascar and Sub-Saharan Africa. Here you’ll find flora that’s both familiar and unusual. Pelargoniums join lesser known specimens, such as Senecio </em>and Kalanchoe</em>, in pots on the terrace and in an adjacent bed of flowering torches, known as Kniphofia</em>.</li> Finally, walk through Le Potager,</strong> past a sea of larkspur to the gazebo and you'll find a container of Abutilon </em>‘Souvenir de Bonn’. Encircling it are wands of Campanula glomerata</em>, mingling so naturally with the flowering maple that you’d think they grew in the pot too. In fact, the campanula grows in the bed and the potted Abutilon </em>was placed there by colleague Ebi Kondo to create a seamless effect.</li> </ul>
