Rotarians hear fellow member
At a recent club meeting, Kinston Evening Rotary Club member John Exum detailed to club members what it meant to be a Rotary Ambassador Scholar.
From 2005 through 2007, Exum was in Strasbourg, France, working on a master’s degree in International Relations. During this time he made many national connections, completed several service projects, attended meetings and made presentations on life in the southern United States. His host club was Strasbourg Sud Rotary Club.
Evening Rotary meets at 6 p.m. Tuesdays at the House of Wang.
Gardenintg Guru: Plants show water stress in many ways
Plants vary in their need for water but our area has recently received more than needed from heavy thunderstorms. The South receives about 44 inches of rain in a typical year.
Cumulative rainfall amounts for spring indicate we have had more than 9 inches above our normal amount. Too much water stresses plants in different ways.
Oxygen in the soil is necessary for plants to grow. Waterlogged soils limit oxygen uptake by plant roots. Too much water can exclude the needed oxygen from the soil pore spaces. Without enough oxygen, plant roots suffocate and die. Fewer active roots mean nutrient and water uptake is reduced, as well as photosynthesis.
Plant parts above ground can exhibit symptoms of this stress. Young leaves may turn light green or yellow. Shoots may wilt and foliage can become brittle. Leaves may drop and twigs could die. Too much water may slow plant growth or kill many plants. Diseases become a problem with symptoms of root discoloration. Plant growth slows and plants often die.
Too much water — whether irrigation or rainwater — especially affects plants with poorly drained sites. Soils containing heavy clay do not drain as fast as lighter sandy soils.
Gardeners can help plants thrive by increasing drainage, which is key to growing in the South. Add organic materials to planting beds to increase soil porosity, establish raised planting beds or garden rows to increase drainage, and install drainage tile in landscapes. Plant materials that will tolerate wet soils.
Many plants are available such as: Black alder, Red buckeye, Juneberry, Pawpaw, River Birch, Butterfly bush, American beautyberry, Fringetree, Redtwig dogwood, Witch hazel, Star magnolia, Sweetbay magnolia, White mulberry, Southern wax myrtle, Poplar, Swamp white oak, Pin oak, Black locust, Weeping willow, Bald Cypress or American elm. There are also many herbaceous plants that will tolerate poor drainage.
Great looking plants that thrive for a long time should be carefully chosen for the garden.
“Rain Gardening in the South,” by Helen Kraus and Anne Spafford, includes many pages of plants that not only thrive with occasional flooding but can withstand periods of drought.
Mushrooms and mosses are thriving in the abundance of water.
Peg Godwin is horticulture agent, Lenoir County Cooperative Extension Center. Reach her at Peg_Godwin@ncsu.edu or 252-527-2191.