Browsing by Author "Meyer, Mary H."

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    Common Questions about Wildflowers and Native Plants
    (St. Paul, MN: University of Minnesota Extension Service, 1998) Meyer, Mary H.; Olin, Peter
    Straight-forward questions and answers about planting and keeping wildflowers.
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    Culture of Garden Roses
    (St. Paul, MN: University of Minnesota Extension Service, 1994) Eisel, Mervin E.; Meyer, Mary H.
    The fact sheet describes how to grow roses in Minnesota. Includes information on selecting a site, selecting and purchasing roses, planting, watering, fertilizing, disease and insect control, weed control, winter protection, and spring pruning.
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    Ground Covers for Rough Sites
    (University of Minnesota, Minnesota Extension Service, 1998) Meyer, Mary H.
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    Growing Daylilies
    (St. Paul, MN: University of Minnesota Extension Service, 1999) Meyer, Mary H.
    The fact sheet dicusses the advantages of planting daylilies and gives instructions on where and when to plant them. It concludes with a list of cultivars that grow well in Minnesota.
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    Inheritance of growth habit and phosphoglucoisomerase isozymes in Pennisetum alopecuroides (L.) spreng
    (1993) Meyer, Mary H.
    Fountain grass, Pennisetum alopecuroides (L.) Spreng., is a C4 bunch type perennial typically 90-125 cm tall with numerous purple or mauve spike-like inflorescences. It has been grown as an ornamental in the U.S. since the early 1940's, yet only one form is readily available in the trade. Evaluation of germplasm from several sources resulted in the identification of four growth habits classified as prostrate (p), upright (u), mound (m), and dwarf (d). No reports of breeding improvements or basic genetics could be found for fountain grass. On that basis, three areas of research were selected: inheritance of growth habit, isozyme variation and inheritance, and pollen viability. Selected plants of the four growth habits were crossed in a complete diallel in 1990 and 1991. F1 and F2 progeny evaluations support the conclusion that the dwarf and upright forms appear to share similar genetic backgrounds, as do the mound and prostrate forms. The dwarf and prostrate forms appear to be controlled by one or two recessive genes. The upright and mound appear to be dominant traits. Progeny from four crosses, d x p; p x d; m x d; and d x m, exhibited heterosis in culm length, exceeding either parent. Ten isozymes were screened for variation. Polymorphism was found only in phosphoglucoisomerase at one locus, PGI-2, and appeared to be associated with growth habit. The dwarf form exhibited one slow band, SS; extracts from the mound and prostrate forms yielded one fast band, FF, and the upright formed as triple bands, FS, a heterodimer. Hybrids between FF and SS parents could be detected as triple bands, FS. Three generations followed expected segregation ratios for this isozyme. In vitro pollen germination (in a 25 g kg sucrose and 100 mg ml boric acid solution) ranged from a low of 4% for the F1 mound progeny to a high of 47% for the upright parent. Fountain grass appears to have sufficient genetic diversity for future selection and improvement as an ornamental.
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    Landscaping Septic Systems
    (University of Minnesota, Minnesota Extension Service, 1998) Meyer, Mary H.; Pedersen, Brad; Jaster, Marguerite; Anderson, James; Olson, Kenneth M.; Gustafson, David M.
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    Miscanthus: Ornamental and Invasive Grass: A Sabbatical in the Parks Project Report
    (2003) Meyer, Mary H.
    Miscanthus sinensis was investigated where it has naturalized and invaded native plant communities in southeastern Pennsylvania, the Washington, DC area, western North Carolina, and Iowa. Plants were identified; inflorescences were collected; seed was cleaned and tested for viability; and soil was collected for seed bank analysis. Many individuals were interviewed at each location including local Extension agents and university staff, National Park Service staff, county and state officials, homeowners, botanical gardens and nursery professionals. Locations were mapped to show miscanthus.
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    Plants in Prairie Communities
    (St. Paul, MN: University of Minnesota Extension Service, 1995) Robison, Roy; White, Donald B.; Meyer, Mary H.
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    Storing Tender Bulbs and Bulblike Structures
    (University of Minnesota, Minnesota Extension Service, 1998) Meyer, Mary H.
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    University of Minnesota Extension Master Gardener CenUSA Biochar Demonstration Gardens 2012-2015
    (2017) Davenport-Hagen, Lynne; Weisenhorn, Julie; Meyer, Mary H.; Sui, Luna Xiaoye
    Soil serves as the foundation of all gardens, and thus incorporating beneficial amendments before planting is of the utmost importance to a healthy, roductive crop. Increased interest and research in biomass and biofuels has promoted the use of biochar, a coproduct of the pyrolysis process, as one amendment to improve soil health. Urban soils, the site of many home and community gardens, can be carbon-poor, so we wondered if biochar would benefit home gardeners and grow more productive plants. Soils at four demonstration sites in Minnesota were amended with hardwood biochar. With the help of Extension Master Gardener volunteers, we grew, harvested and measured common garden crops over four years to see if those grown in biochar-amended soils were more productive. Variables in weather, crops and volunteer interpretation of data did not provide conclusive results. However, the poorer soils amended with biochar showed some increase in soil pH and percent organic matter, and clay loam soils were less compacted. Most crop yields showed improvement over the four years; however, we believe these increased yields were likely affected by a combination of factors (rainfall, air temperatures) and cannot be directly attributed to the addition of biochar.