News From 2006

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

Thanks to the new Serena series and a new compact called Angel Mist, angelonias should finally reach star status in Southern landscapes.

Maybe that's wishful thinking because my recent surveys at seminars point to a disturbing fact -- gardeners still haven't tried angelonias and probably don't understand what they are.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Mississippi and Arkansas landowners interested in earning additional revenue from their land can take part in a March 2 workshop focusing on natural resource enterprises.

A variety of enterprises can be developed from natural resources including fee hunting and fishing, agritourism, wildlife watching, trail riding and heritage tourism.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Mississippians will represent the nation’s rural population when they provide health-care opinions in upcoming listening sessions throughout the state.

Established by an act of Congress in 2003, the Citizens’ Health Care Working Group is initiating a public debate to improve medical services nationwide. The goal is to provide every American with quality, affordable health care.

JACKSON -- Buyers rewarding young people for their efforts raising livestock paid $223,786 and set two sales records for the 35 champion animals sold Thursday at the 2006 Dixie National Sale of Junior Champions.

The grand champion lamb sold for $54 a pound, bringing $8,694 from buyers AmSouth Bank and Brookshire's Grocery Co. Later in the auction, a second lamb, the reserve champion Dorset lamb, brought the same price per pound for a sheep that weighed slightly less.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Mississippi regularly leads the nation in charitable giving, and where there is money, there are people who want to get some of it by illegal or unethical means.

Bobbie Shaffett, family resource management specialist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, applauded Mississippians for their generosity, but encouraged them to give wisely.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Quilts and costumes may seem unrelated, but to apparel students at Mississippi State University, a historic quilt can be an eye-opening artifact.

At a 2005 symposium on Southern quilts, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences associate professor Wanda Cheek gave her historic costume students a chance to get their hands on some important and valuable pieces of Mississippi's history.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- The Consortium for the History of Agricultural and Rural Mississippi was formed in 2002 to ensure preservation and access to important documents related to the individuals and organizations that built the state's rural heritage.

CHARM’s mission is to promote understanding and appreciation of the role played by agriculture, forestry and rural life in Mississippi’s past. The organization is working to collect, preserve and provide access to important historical materials as a foundation for teaching, learning and research.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

If you like the Boston Fern, you will adore the Tiger Fern. These tropical treasures make their Mississippi debut this spring at garden and patio shows in Hattiesburg, Jackson and Southaven.

Their incredible beauty comes from the variegation that resembles a tiger's stripes. Each frond will be a different color and offer a different pattern of variegation. The colors will vary from dark green to lime green and golden yellow.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Americans are conditioned to dread taxes, but for some working Mississippians, tax time can bring a bonus check or some hurricane-related tax relief.

Bobbie Shaffett, family resource management specialist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, said the Earned Income Tax Credit can be a big help to many taxpayers.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Mississippi youth are applying for grants to help them gain pride in themselves and in their communities through an environmental improvement program.

Community Pride is a grants and awards program sponsored by the ChevronTexaco Companies and administered by Mississippi State University’s Extension Service.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

There are thousands of spectacular daylilies for sale, some even approaching the cost of my first car, but two reasonably priced selections you should search for are this year's All-American Daylily Selections, Buttered Popcorn and Persian Market.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Mississippi landowners interested in earning additional revenue from their land can take part in a March 8 workshop focusing on natural resource enterprises.

By Robert H. Wells
Delta Research and Extension Center

STONEVILLE -- Mississippi State University's recent release of Pace means Delta rice growers no longer have to choose between a high yield or a solid disease package.

“Pace is a long-grain, high-yielding, semi-dwarf variety with good straw strength and field tolerance to sheath blight and blast diseases,” said Pace's developer Dwight Kanter, a rice breeder at MSU's Delta Research and Extension Center in Stoneville.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Arbor Day's annual emphasis to replenish Mississippi's valuable resources is taking on new importance this February.

Hurricane Katrina showed no mercy on the beautiful trees located throughout Mississippi communities. Professional arborists want to make sure replacement trees are considered as soon as possible in the recovery plans.

Walter Passmore, assistant director of public outreach for the Mississippi Forestry Commission, said more than $1 billion in economic damage occurred to the trees in cities and towns across the state.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Greenhouse tomato growers and people with an interest in this business should mark their calendars for the 16th annual greenhouse tomato short course to be held in Jackson on Feb. 28 and March 1.

The intensive, one-of-a-kind short course is exclusively dedicated to helping producers of greenhouse tomatoes. Mississippi is home to 130 growers who combine to produce a $6.5 million greenhouse tomato crop annually. In 2005, the short course attracted more than 168 participants from 26 states.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- 4-H’ers trying to gain educational extracurricular experience while in high school have the opportunity in March to work in Mississippi government.

The Mississippi State University Extension Service 4-H program and the Center for Governmental Training and Technology are recruiting four youth to serve as legislative pages March 13-17. The youth will serve either in the state Senate or House of Representative for one week during the 2006 legislative session.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- An interactive video conference on Medicare D will be held at 10 a.m. on Feb. 13 in participating Mississippi State University Extension offices across the state.

Speakers will discuss the prescription program and remind participants of the part Social Security plays in the Medicare D program. This video conference is a service of the Stone County Rural Health Coalition, MSU Extension Service, Cahaba Government Benefit Administrators, Medicare and Social Security.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

Rains, especially those on recent weekends, have been so plentiful that about all we can do is make plans for the spring planting season. I'm past ready to prepare beds for a new hosta I want to try called Stained Glass.

Stained Glass looks to be the hottest hosta in the upcoming season as the American Hosta Growers Association has chosen it as the 2006 “Hosta of the Year.”

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Weeds are opportunistic, and when Hurricane Katrina damaged or destroyed much of south Mississippi, weeds were given the opportunity to thrive.

John Byrd, weed specialist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, said the wind, the storm surge and cleanup efforts allowed weeds to gain ground.

“Weeds enter in the voids where other vegetation was growing,” Byrd said. “You hope the weeds that come up are native plants, but there are a number of introduced plants that can spring up. Because they have no natural enemies, they can thrive.”

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Brushing a dog's teeth is something most people think is not necessary or even silly, but Susan Seal has good reason to be aware of her pet's dental health.

“When I was growing up, my grandparents had a poodle with health problems related to gum disease,” Seal said. “Taking care of his teeth could have helped him live a longer, healthier life.”

Sadie, Seal's 2-year-old Shetland sheep dog, is benefiting from those childhood memories. The Starkville resident brushes Sadie's teeth two or three times a week.