August 11, 2011 Meeting Minutes

The Meeting was held at Dyane Moore’s house in Vassar, MI.  Networking began at 1740, the meeting was called to order at 1810.  Because of the 10 minute rain shower that started at 1800, the business meeting was held before refreshments were served just in case we got rained out with another shower. 

Dyane Moore was thanked for allowing us to have the meeting in her gardens. 

Christmas Party- the EMHS Annual Christmas Party will be held on December 1^st, 2011 at the Mayfield Twp. Hall in Lapeer, MI.  Decorating will begin at 1700 and the Party will begin at 1800.

Orel Carson- sent a thank you email to Glen extending his gratitude as well as Donald and Monica’s, to the people that helped clean Pat’s Gardens, attended the Memorial Tour, sent sympathy cards, and/or donated money in Pat’s memory to The American Cancer Society or Brian’s House.

EMHS Donation- a discussion about EMHS donating money to ACS or Brian’s House in memory of Pat was held.  A motion was made by Carolyn Pickard to donate $50.00 to Brian’s House in Davison, MI in memory of Pat Carson.  Motion was seconded by Jan Zawisa.  A unanimous vote in favor of the motion prevailed.  Mary Smith will write the check and mail it to Brian’s House.

Door Prize donations- were made by Pat Carson (Pat had asked Orel to donate her potted plants to her friends in EMHS. The plants were divided and potted up individually so that more members could have one of Pat’s plants.  These plants were brought by Glen, Mark, and Mick & Cathy.), Glen Pace, Barb Hunter, Carolyn Pickard, Mick & Cathy Hodgson, (there were also some other plants that I do not know who donated them).   Phil Klimowicz donated a Hosta “Torchlight” and a concrete leaf for a special prize drawing.  The drawing was held and each family present left with at least two door prizes.  The special drawing was held.  Phil’s donation brought in $39.00 for future club activities. 

Next Meeting- will be held at Pam Walmsley’s home in Grand Blanc, MI on Sept 8^th, 2011.  The times will be moved up 30 minutes to accommodate the change in daylight hours. 

Respect of Time- Glen asked that all people that attend a meeting at a member’s home to please be respectful of the length of time they stay past a meeting.  He asked that all people please leave no later than 2000 (8:00 PM) unless they have been personally invited to stay longer by the home owner. 

Adjournment- a motion was made by Cathy Hodgson to adjourn the meeting.  Motion was seconded by Ray Brice.  Adjournment was at 1930.

Respectfully submitted,
Glen Pace
EMHS President

August 2011 Newsletter

Note from the President- Clio has been a victim of drought during the early summer with a total of only 1.75 inches of rain since the beginning of June.  The July heat wave has taken its toll on Pace Gardens and although the well dedicated to the gardens was running nearly every day of the week there is damage to a lot of things and a few casualties.  Most of the Hosta in front rock garden area have been scalded by the extreme heat and with all the large trees in the woodland area it was near impossible to get enough water into the soil to prevent severe wilting of the understory plantings.  Even the daylilies faded quickly this year.  The beginning of August is showing signs of a possible reprieve as last night Pace Gardens got another 0.5 inches of rain.  I hope Mother Nature sees fit to send a bit more moisture our way.  I hope that those of you in other areas were blessed with better rainfall than I had.

Our last meeting was a huge success with 65 people in attendance.  When you combine a beautiful garden, perfect weather, EMHS Members and visitors, and lots of good food, it is certain that a good time will ensue.  Carolyn and Dick Pickard’s gardens were beautiful and a delight to tour.  Thank you Carolyn and Dick for a perfect meeting place.  Also thanks for the opportunity to buy more daylilies.

As most of you already know, Pat Carson died on July 16^th.  Nearly 20 people showed up to help Orel prepare the gardens for Pat’s Memorial Tour that was held on July 23^rd.  I wish to thank all of you for your compassion shown to our fellow member by donating your time in her honor.  We also wish to extend our deepest sympathy to Orel.  Per the family’s request, Memorial Contributions may be made to the American Cancer Society or Brain’s House in Davison.

Pam Walmsley’s husband Jim had surgery last week as was announced at the last meeting.  We are happy to announce that his tumor was benign.  We wish Jim the best for a speedy recovery.

Lastly, I want to thank those people that donated plants and other things to the door prize drawing.  By donating items for the door prize drawing, nine people walked away from the meeting with something new for their garden.  Since I do not remember who all donated I will not mention anybody, but rest assured that your generosity is greatly appreciated. 

I hope to see you all at the August 11^th meeting at Dyane Moore’s house.

Sincerely,
Glen Pace
EMHS President

Next Meeting- Our next meeting will be at the home of Dyane Moore, 108 South East St, Vassar, MI 48768, phone 989-823-7763, on August 11^th, 2011.  Tour of the gardens and networking will start at 6:00 PM, refreshments will be served at 6:30 PM, and the meeting will begin at 7:00 PM.  Please bring your favorite dish to pass and don’t forget to bring your lawn chairs and bug spray.

Directions; There is construction on M-38 (Huron St from Vassar to Mayville) so use M-15 instead of going through Mayville.

-From Lapeer- take your desired route to get to M-15 and drive north to Millington.  Once you reach the main traffic light in downtown Millington go North on M-15.  Drive 6.7 miles to Butler St.  Turn right (East) to the first street, South East Street.  Turn left (North) and drive to the house on the left.  You can park in the State Farm parking lot next door to Dyane’s house. 
- From I-75- Take the Birch Run exit and drive east on Birch Run Rd to M-15.  Turn left (North) and drive to the traffic light in downtown Millington, then follow the above directions.
-From Saginaw Area- take M-46 east to M-15 and turn right (South).  Drive approximately 5 miles staying on M-15 in Vassar and turn left (East) onto Butler St.  Turn left (North) at the first street which is South East St, house is on left.

2011 Calendar of Events
August 11th- Garden Meeting at the home of Dyane Moore
September 8th- EMHS Plant Exchange at the home of Pam Walmsley in Grand Blanc
October 2011- No meeting scheduled
November 2011- No meeting scheduled
December 2011- Annual Christmas Party/Potluck, date to be announced

Hosta Stone Suggestion- A suggestion was made at the last meeting for people to buy the Hosta Stones to commemorate special dates.  What a great gift to give for a graduation, wedding, birth, or anniversary; the year in stone.  Thanks for the suggestion!

Hosta Stones have to be ordered in advance so please contact Mick and Cathy Hodgson at cehodgso@hotmail.com to place an order.  We have a few of the “in stock” stones from previous years that are on sale for the price of $20 each.  Please contact the Hodgsons’ for a list of availability.

Refreshment Committee- The refreshment committee for the August meeting is Pat Major, Gene Arms, Sharon Trato, Sue Karp, and Ann Oprea.  These people will bring refreshments and help organize the refreshment table for the meeting.  Please bring your own favorite dish to add to the buffet.

EMHS Officers
President, Glen Pace pacegardens@charter.net   989-244-4029
Vice-President, Carolyn Pickard (no email)   989-871-2873
Treasurer, Mary Smith brooktrout@tds.net   989-871-9833
Secretary, Marlene Daniels gardenfairy50@aol.com   810-664-8317
Past President, Mark Hanner mhanner@aol.com   810-631-4292
Fund-Raising, Mick and Cathy Hodgson cehodgso@hotmail.com   810-664-8985

Email Newsletter Extra Page

The following article was taken from the Delaware Valley Hosta Society via the AHS Newsletter exchange.

Article by Warren Pollack

Repellex® Systemic Tablets:

A New Product Claimed to Repel Deer & Voles “I’m constantly being asked about the best ways to prevent deer and vole damage,” writes Chick Wasitis of Bridgewood Gardens in Strasburg, Virginia, in his online catalog.  “Until now, the best I could recommend was egg-based sprays like Liquid Fence® for deer, [and] mouse poisons for voles. Both have disadvantages.  Sprays must be applied regularly as the plant grows and as it washes off. Mouse poisons, well, they’re poisonous and they don’t just poison mice.  You have to be very careful to avoid unintentional poisonings of pets and wildlife.”

“Now we have something entirely new,” he continues.  “Repellex Systemic Tablets”. These tablets use a chemical called DMSO, which has been used to treat muscle soreness in athletes because it can absorbed through the skin.  Research at the University of Minnesota found that it can also be absorbed through plant tissue and it can deliver the repellent, in this case capsicum, throughout the plant.  It makes the entire plant, roots, leaves and all, taste like hot pepper. The plant even develops a slight pepper smell that will warn the deer off after their first experience.”

Chick then gives information from the manufacture’s fact sheet:

Repellex USA is proud to introduce our new systemic animal repellent to the market. This exclusive breakthrough technology allows capsaicin (hot pepper) to be absorbed into the plant by simply planting a tablet next to a growing plants root system.

Once the repellent is absorbed over 7–30 days, the repellent will stay active for up to one whole year. Since the repellent is internally treating the plant, it will not wash off in the rain like traditional repellents do over time.

This repellent is labeled and approved for repelling: deer, rabbits, moles, voles, gophers, groundhogs, dogs, cats and feral hogs. During the initial uptake time it is recommended to apply Repellex Original Deer and Rabbit Repellent to treat unprotected foliage while the systemic repellent is absorbed and reaching an effect repellency level.

One 50 count bottle of Repellex Systemic Tablets will treat approximately 25-40 plants 12 inches tall. The number of tablets needed to treat a plant varies by height and width. Apply 1 tablet for every foot of plant height and width (height +width).  Application amounts may vary by plant type and growth rate. In season reapplications may be necessary with very fast growing plants.

Bridgewood Gardens sells Repellex tablets online. The 50-tablet jar costs $19.95; 100 tablets, $36.95; and 150 tablets, $49.95. There is a shipping charge.

Bridgewood Gardens web address is; http://www.bridgewoodgardens.com/

July 14, 2011 Meeting Minutes

The Meeting was held at the home of Dick and Carolyn Pickard in Millington, MI.  Networking began at 1750, refreshments were served at 1840, and the meeting was called to order at 1920.

Pat Carson- an update was given on her health status.  Members were informed that we would be making a date to go clean and weed her gardens.  The date will be soon.

Pam Walmsley’s husband, Jim is scheduled to have kidney surgery the last week of July.

Plant a Tree in a Michigan State Forest – Judy Lamphere gave an overview of the drive and Glen to add the info to the EMHS blog.

Glen thanked all the Board Members for their volunteer efforts for EMHS.

Treasurers Report- Mary gave an approximate balance of $2000.00 in the EMHS account.  This was pending checks received for membership and payouts. 

Fund Raising- Cathy gave a report on the current status of the Hosta Stones available and orders that have yet to be picked up. 

Officers Reports- No other officers had reports to announce.

Master Gardener Tour- Nancy Reno and Barb Hunter discussed the Lapeer Area Master Gardener’s Tour set for July 30^th.  Glen is to place the info on blog with contact info.

Door prizes- Nine people won door prizes that were donated by members. 

Special Prize Fundraiser- Ticket sales netted $57.00 to be used for EMHS functions and Education.

Refreshment Committee- Members were asked to sign up for refreshments for the next two meetings.

Next Meeting- the next meeting will be on August 11^th, 2011 at the Home of Dyane Moore in Vassar, MI.  Dyane was reminded to take the EMHS sign home from this meeting to place in her yard next month.

Demonstration- Mick and Cathy Hodgson brought Banana trees to the meeting and Glen gave a demonstration of how to divide them. 

Adjournment- Since most everybody had left the meeting by the time Glen finished the demonstration, no official adjournment was made. 

Lapeer Area Master Gardener's Tour

The Lapeer Area Master Gardener Tour is on July 30th, 2011 from 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM. The Tour will feature gardens at 11 homes in Lapeer and Oakland Counties. Tickets are $10.00. For more information you can contact Nancy Reno at 810-245-0135 or emailing her at nancy.reno@hp.com or you can contact Barb Hunter at 810-664-7531 or emailing her at baha@chartermi.net . This tour will start just down the street from Barb’s house and tickets will be available at that starting location.

Plant a Tree in Michigan

The “Plant a Tree” website is www.odwalla.com . By clicking on this link or pasting it in your web browser you can click on the state of Michigan to plant a tree in a Michigan State Park. What a terrific way to replant trees in our great State of Michigan! The site will ask you for your email. This is to thwart people from indiscriminately clicking on any state multiple times. They promise they will not send spam.

July 2011 Newsletter

Note from the President- Summer is now here. The spring rains really gave our gardens the moisture to make beautiful foliage. Most Hosta are bigger and more beautiful than they have been in recent years partially due to those spring rains. One thing that seems a bit strange to me is that some of my Hostas were extremely late leafing out and a few that have not leafed out at all. At first I thought voles had eaten the plants during the winter, but when I dug the plants that had not sprouted I found normal root systems with crowns that have normal appearing growth tips. I still have not figured out what caused the anomaly, but one hypothesis is that the plants had started to sprout and got frozen by a late frost. I feel this is a plausible hypothesis simply because I have a number of Hosta that got frost damage after their first few leaves were unfurled. Instead of fretting over the few plants that are not doing well I will celebrate the majority that are doing fantastic this year.


Our June meeting was held at the home of Jerry and Bernadette Perrou. The Perrou’s gardens are full of mature specimen Hosta and a large assortment of companion plantings. The lawn is a meticulous carpet of green and is the perfect complement to the many gardens that are beautifully manicured. Our thanks go out to the Perrou’s for allowing us to visit their gardens. Another highlight of the June meeting was the Saginaw Valley Hosta Society’s Annual Plant Sale being opened up to EMHS Members at the SVHS Member prices. Melva Bond and I transported 95 plants to the meeting and only 35 of those plants were taken back to Saginaw. Melva also took orders for an additional seven plants that I picked up at the SVHS public sale. Those plants will be delivered to their respective buyers (Gene Arms, Venisure Davenport, Pat Maitland, Don Mosher, Nancy Reno, and Betty Valentine) at the July 14th meeting. Thank you SVHS for opening your sale to EMHS Members.

One of our long time members Pat Carson is gravely ill. I talked with Orel this morning and they are waiting for a room to open at the Hospice Home and Pat will be transferred from the hospital to that facility. Please keep Pat and Orel in your thoughts and prayers. If you would like to send Pat and Orel a note you can "comment" to this posting on the blog.  Those comments will be forwarded to me and I will forward them to Orel and Pat.  Pat is too weak to talk so please do not take the family’s time with their wife and mother by trying to visit. An update to Pat’s condition will be given at the July meeting.

Pam Walmsley’s husband will be going in for kidney surgery in late July. Please keep Pam and Jim in your prayers as well.

At the last meeting there were people who were interested in the grafted Japanese Maples and Ginkgos I have. I will have the remainder of those grafts at the July meeting.  I also have Helleborus “Banana Cream Pie” and will be selling the extras. If interested in any of these please see me at the meeting.

We hope to see you at the July 14th meeting at Carolyn and Dick Pickard’s. Please don’t forget your lawn chairs and a dish to pass……..we are back to our regular feast type meeting this month.

Glen Pace
EMHS President

Next Meeting- Our next meeting will be at the home of Carolyn and Dick Pickard, 8317 Irish Road, Millington, MI 48746. Touring their gardens will begin at 6:00 PM, refreshments will be served at 6:30 PM, and the meeting will begin at 7:00 PM. Please bring your favorite dish to pass and don’t forget to bring your lawn chairs and bug spray.
Directions; Take M-15 north to Millington Road, turn left (East) and drive to Irish Road (Carolyn has a sign for Daylilies and Hostas for Sale situated at the corner), turn right and drive to the house on the right. The EMHS Meeting sign will be out at the road.
Refreshment Committee for July; Carolyn Pickard, Betty Valentine, Barbara Colling, and Connie Force

2011 Calendar of Events
July 14th- Garden Meeting at the home of Carolyn Pickard in Millington
August 11th- Garden Meeting at the home of Dyane Moore
September 8th- EMHS Plant Exchange at the home of Pam Walmsley in Grand Blanc
October 2011- No meeting scheduled
November 2011- No meeting scheduled
December 2011- Annual Christmas Party/Potluck, date to be announced

Hosta Stones- The 2011 Hosta Stones are still available for the Member price of $25 for the plain and $30 for the colored. For those that are not EMHS Members the prices are $30 for the plain and $35 for the colored. The stones have to be ordered in advance so please contact Mick and Cathy Hodgson at cehodgso@hotmail.com to place an order. We also still have a few of the “in stock” stones from previous years that are on sale for the price of $20 each. Please contact the Hodgsons’ for a list of availability.

EMHS Officers
President, Glen Pace pacegardens@charter.net 989-244-4029
Vice-President, Carolyn Pickard (no email) 989-871-2873
Treasurer, Mary Smith brooktrout@tds.net 989-871-9833
Secretary, Marlene Daniels gardenfairy50@aol.com 810-664-8317
Past President, Mark Hanner mhanner@aol.com 810-631-4292
Fund-Raising, Mick and Cathy Hodgson cehodgso@hotmail.com 810-664-8985

The following article was taken from Hostas of Kentuckiana April newsletter, thanks to the Hosta Club Newsletter Exchange.


Symptomatology of Hosta Viruses

A. S. Windham1, M. T. Windham2, M. R. Hajimorad2, O. Adedire2, A. Self3 1U.T. Extension, 2U.T. Ag Research, 3TN Dept of Agric

Significance to Industry: Big box stores, independent garden centers and wholesale nurseries were surveyed
for the presence of virus infected hosta cultivars in Middle and West Tennessee. Twenty-nine symptomatic
hosta cultivars were infected with one or more of the following viruses: hosta virus x, tomato spotted wilt
virus and/or tobacco rattle virus.

Nature of Work: Hosta is an extremely popular perennial plant used in shade gardens in Tennessee. 
Unfortunately, it is susceptible to several virus diseases such as hosta virus x (HVX) (2), arabnis mosaic virus
(ArMV), tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV) and tobacco rattle virus (TRV). Recently, HVX was confirmed in hosta sold in Tennessee retail and wholesale outlets
(1). The purpose of this survey was to determine the viruses present in hosta sold in big box stores,
independent garden centers and wholesale nurseries in Middle and West Tennessee. Twenty retail outlets and nurseries were selected for the survey. Plants with symptoms of virus infection such as ringspots, mosaic,
abnormal green streaks on gold hosta and oak-leaf pattern were collected for testing. Symptomatic hosta
were taken to the Soil, Plant and Pest Center and tested for HVX using Immunostrips for HVX from Agdia
Inc. Also leaves from symptomatic plants were shipped to Agdia Inc where they were assayed for HVX, ArMV, TSWV, TRV, impatiens necrotic spot virus and tomato ringspot virus.

Results and Discussion: Virus infected hosta was recovered from 15 of 20 locations. Diseased hostas were collected at all big box stores, from all but one independent garden centers and from one of two wholesale nurseries. Twenty-nine hosta cultivars were determined to be infected with one or more of HVX, TSWV or TRV. HVX was the most common virus detected, followed by tobacco rattle virus and the tomato spotted wilt virus. In most locations, virus infected plants made up 1% fo the inventory. However, at one big box store, nearly 50% of Hosta ‘Golden Tiara’ were infected with HVX. Also, at one wholesale nursery, 15 cultivars of hosta were infected with HVX and/or TRV. Symptoms were most easily spotted on gold hosta cultivar such as ‘August Moon’, ‘Gold Standard’ and/or ‘Sum and Substance’ due to abnormal green streaks along leaf veins. Another common symptom was stunting. Hosta infected with HVX appeared to be less vigorous, and were stunted compared to healthy plants of the same cultivar. One of the interesting aspects of this survey was the knowledge level of nursery and store personnel on hosta viruses and symptoms associated with virus infection. None of the personnel recognized common symptoms associated with virus infection. There appears to be a general lack of knowledge of the viruses that infect hosta and the symptoms associated with virus laden hosta. To increase the awareness of the Green Industry, a web page was created on the Bugwood Network (3).

Literature Cited:
1. Adedire, O. L., R. H. Wen, A. S. Windham, M. T. Windham and M. R. Hajimorad. 2008. Hosta virus X in hosta identified in Tennessee, USA. Plant Pathology. Doi:10.111/j. 1365-3059.2008.02011.x

2. Lockhart, B. E. L. 1996. Characterization of a potexvirus infectin Hosta spp. Plant Disease. 80:1040- 1043.

3. Windham, A. S. 2008. Symptoms of hosta virus infection. The Bugwood Network. http://www.ipmimages.org/browse/autimages.cfm? aut=11 521

Thanks to Mary Schindler and her friend in the Nashville Hosta Society for permission to use this article.

June 9, 2011 Meeting Minutes

This was the first garden meeting of the 2011 season.


The meeting was held at the home of Jerry and Bernadette Perrou in Clio.

At 5:00 PM before the meeting, Melva Bond and Glen Pace set up tables for the Saginaw Valley Hosta Society’s Annual Plant Sale that was extended to EMHS Members at the SVHS Member prices. A total of 60 plants were sold. Thanks were given to Melva for bringing SVHS’s sale to EMHS members. Melva thanked EMHS members for their purchases. Dates for the SVHS Public Plant Sales were announced.

Date for MHS’s Garden Walk in Grand Rapids area announced.

MHS Leaf Show & Plant Sale at MSU, date of July 16th announced.

Lapeer Area Master Gardeners Tour on July 30th. Tickets offered for sale by Nancy Reno.

Next EMHS meeting, July 14th, 2011 at 6:00 PM at the home of Carolyn and Dick Pickard in Millington, MI.