Briefly . . .
1) Store Discounts Not Always a Bargain
2) Heavily Shedding Pines May Very Well Be Healthy
3) Weather Wonders: Very Specific Conditions Lead to Ice Storms
4) Reduce Iris Pest Numbers Now
1) Store Discounts Not Always a Bargain
MANHATTAN, Kan. – Merchandisers hoping for holiday sales are offering a variety of incentives for shoppers, but not all of the incentives will be a bargain for everyone, said Carol Young, Kansas State University Research and Extension financial management specialist.
Early price reductions and sales tactics -- such as a buy one item at regular price and get a second item for half price or less -- can benefit shoppers if the items are on their shopping list, Young said.
“Incentives for applying for a store credit card – a 10, 15 or 20 percent discount on merchandise purchased the same day, for example – aren’t always a bargain,” she said.
Stores’ high credit card interest rates will quickly override any savings unless the buyer has cash available to pay off the card balance as soon as the bill arrives, she said.
“For many shoppers, the promise of a discount will also seem like a license to overspend,” Young said.
In addition, shoppers who pay with a credit card will often view their credit limit as their buying power, rather than the money they have available in an account to pay bills.
“To hold down holiday bills, shop with a list and stick to it. Pay with cash, a check or debit card to avoid stacks of after-holiday bills,” Young said.
More information on managing money successfully is available at county and district K-State Research and Extension offices and on Extension Web sites www.oznet.ksu.edu and www.oznet.ksu.edu/financialmanagement.
2) Heavily Shedding Pines May Very Well Be Healthy
MANHATTAN, Kan. – Evergreens aren’t truly green forever. Their oldest (inner) needles eventually discolor and drop off.
“But, that fact has been worrying some Kansans this fall, even though the process is natural,” said Ward Upham, horticulturist with Kansas State University Research and Extension.
The 2008 pine needle drop, in particular, has been so copious in parts of the state that residents are concerned about the health of their landscape and windbreak trees, he said. In some cases, the number of yellowed needles appears to be greater than the number of green ones.
“Pine needle drop always tends to be the most noticeable,” Upham added. “It varies from year to year, though, and sometimes looks very dramatic -- particularly with white pines.”
In contrast, the spruce, fir and arborvitae needle drop typically goes unnoticed.
How long needles stay green after they bud out depends on the species and sometimes the variety of evergreen, Upham said. It also depends on the weather and other stress factors.
Normally, however, needles tend to hang on for three or more years. Except for spring-favoring yews, their natural drop tends to occur in late summer or fall.
“This doesn’t hurt the plant. In fact, the only real worry is that several life-threatening insect and disease problems can produce similar symptoms, especially in pines,” he said.
Upham listed the following as characteristics that identify a natural needle drop:
* It’s seasonal.
* The affected needles have no spots or discolored bands.
* The needles on the tips of branches look fine.
* The dropping needles come from all over the tree, but only its interior.
3) Weather Wonders: Very Specific Conditions Lead to Ice Storms
MANHATTAN, Kan. – Temperatures on the High Plains are creeping lower, conjuring images of past winter difficulties.
“Freezing rain is one interesting possibility that can cause tremendous amounts of damage -- as we remember well from last year’s storm,” said State of Kansas Climatologist Mary Knapp. “Streets and sidewalks tend to become skating rinks. Ice collecting on trees and electric lines can result in power outages that take days to repair.”
Freezing rain occurs when warm, moist air overrides a thin layer of cold air just above the ground’s surface, said Knapp, who heads the Kansas Weather Data Library, based in Kansas State University Research and Extension.
Precipitation from the overriding air mass is or soon becomes a liquid as it falls toward Earth. Just before it reaches ground level, though, it goes through the cold air zone, which is so shallow that the liquid passes through it without having time to freeze into pellets. Instead, the moisture becomes “supercooled.” So, then it instantly freezes into a layer of ice as soon as it comes in contact with anything solid -- from sidewalk to shrub.
“Or, sometimes the cold air may be just above a ground level that’s still warm. So, you get icing on trees, fences, and other elevated surfaces, but little collection on roads and lawns,” she said.
How cold can such air temperatures be and still produce this kind of supercooled, liquid precipitation?
Knapp noted that on Dec. 21, 1990, Des Moines, Iowa had both freezing drizzle (i.e., liquid, not snow or sleet) and an officially recorded temperature of 2 degrees F below zero.
Information about Kansas weather is available on the Kansas Weather Data Library Web site: http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/wdl/. “Weather Wonders” audio reports are available on the K-State Research and Extension/Kansas Radio Network Web site at http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/radio/.
4) Reduce Iris Pest Numbers Now
MANHATTAN, Kan, -- Irises are long-lived garden perennials with showy, colorful flowers.
They’re mostly problem-free, too, if their owners take one simple step in late fall every year, said Ward Upham, who coordinates the Master Gardener program for Kansas State University Research and Extension.
“You need to wait until your garden has been through at least one hard freeze. That’s when the year’s iris leaves will all be dead – including the occasional few that may still look green,” Upham said. “After that, you can take your one step: You can remove all the dead iris leaves and other garden debris from the iris bed and dispose of them.”
The reason for the debris disposal is that two common iris pest problems overwinter in old, dead leaves. In that location they’re protected as well as positioned to attack the irises’ new growth the following spring.
These common problems are a fungal disease known as iris leaf spot and a rhizome-attacking insect called the iris borer.
“Fortunately, though, removing the dead organic material from an iris bed now can significantly reduce next spring’s pest populations,” Upham said.
More about growing irises and controlling their pests is available on the K-State Research and Extension Web site at http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/. Upham said that Clemson University Extension also has good information about irises at http://hgic.clemson.edu/factsheets/hgic1167.htm.
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K-State Research and Extension is a short name for the Kansas State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service, a program designed to generate and distribute useful knowledge for the well-being of Kansans. Supported by county, state, federal and private funds, the program has county Extension offices, experiment fields, area Extension offices and regional research centers statewide. Its headquarters is on the K-State campus, Manhattan.
Story by: Elaine Edwards
elainee@ksu.eduK-State Research & Extension News Contributing writers: Mary Lou Peter-Blecha, Nancy Peterson and Kathleen Ward