Released: June 25, 2009           e-Mail the story

Attendees Can View Recommended Plants, Talk to Experts

OLATHE, Kan. – Each year, Kansas State University’s K-State Research and Extension Horticulture Center in Olathe throws open its doors to the public so area residents can talk to university experts and learn how K-State Extension develops its list of recommended varieties of grass, flowers and vegetables.

 

The event is Sat., July 25, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Admission is $5 at the gate, and includes bottled water and hourly seminars delivered by professionally trained experts.

 

The popular showcase of the day is the flower plant trials. Thousands of annuals growing on two acres demonstrate the latest techniques in gardening. People can see what varieties do well in the Kansas City area. The value to the public is that they can see how they can reduce their impact on the environment and save money by choosing recommended varieties.

 

This year, the center is highlighting:

• 45 varieties of sunflowers – 12 inch tall to 8 feet tall
   
  
• Buffalo grass variety trial – see which variety of this drought tolerant grass does best
  
  
  
• Flowers in pots and planters – 140 patio planters on display
  
  
  
• Vegetable gardening for homeowners – come see great ideas for your home vegetable garden
  
  
  
• Fruit for home gardens – get ideas on fruit trees, dwarf and espaliered, sized to fit suburban back yards; also blueberries, raspberries and thornless blackberries.

Visitors will be able to speak directly with many of the university professors heading up the research and with Johnson County Extension Master Gardener volunteers. Volunteers will staff a plant clinic booth and answer gardening questions. Visitors are encouraged to bring ailing plants or specimens for identification. Lunch will be available for purchase during the event.

 

The Research Center is located at 35230 West 135^th Street, Olathe. The entrance is approximately nine miles west of Highway 7 on 135th Street (Santa Fe).

More information about the field day is available by calling 913-715-7000, or online at http://www.johnson.ksu.edu/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabid=681#Free_Seminars.

Information about the K-State Research and Extension Horticulture Research Center is available at http://www.hfrr.ksu.edu/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabid=585. Information about the Johnson County Extension Master Gardeners is available at: http://johnson.ksu.edu/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabid=106.

 

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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: Adele Wilcoxen
Adele.wilcoxen@jocogov.org
K-State Research & Extension News

Alan Stevens, director, K-State Horticulture Research Center, (913) 856-2335 , Ext. 100; Dennis Patton, horticulture agent, Johnson County K-State Research and Extension, (913) 715-7000