Register for Master Gardener classes
UT Extension Agent Tom Stebbins says it’s not too late to register for the next series of Master Gardener classes, which start Monday and Tuesday, Jan. 9-10. Two sessions are offered: either Monday night or Tuesday morning. Classes meet for 15 weeks at the UT Extension Office, 6183 Adamson Circle off Bonny Oaks Drive. To register, call 423-855-6113.
If you go
› What: Green Express Horticulture Short Course.› When: 8:30 a.m.-4:15 p.m. Wednesday-Thursday, Jan. 4-5.› Where: Chattanooga State Community College, Health Science Center, 4501 Amnicola Highway.› Registration fees: $35 one day, $60 two days for general public; discounts to Chattanooga Association of Landscape Professionals members.› Phone: 423-855-6113.› Website: www.chattanoogalandscapers.com.
Winter has hardly settled in and the Chattanooga Association of Landscape Professionals is already anticipating spring’s arrival.
Members of CALP are partnering with the University of Tennessee Extension Service to present the Green Express Horticulture Short Course on Wednesday and Thursday, Jan. 4-5, in the Health Science Center at Chattanooga State Community College.
Green Express is designed to be educational and informative for members of the “green industry” – landscapers, arborists, nursery professionals, Master Gardeners. But Tom Stebbins, UT/TSU extension agent for Hamilton County, says any home gardener, garden club member or farmer is welcome as well.
“The seminars are topical, information anyone can use. Most of them have to do with weeds, disease management and improving soil, but we also have one on what’s new for 2017,” he points out.
Each day will include hour-long breakout sessions as well as classroom seminars. Both sessions are included in the registration fee, but lunch is not.
Stebbins says the distinguished roster of speakers includes Soddy-Daisy High School alumna Dr. Lisa Alexander, who now lives in McMinnville, Tenn., and is a research geneticist for the USDA National Arboretum. The 2005 graduate of UTC became interested in breeding American chestnut trees for blight resistance with Dr. Hill Craddock while a student. She continued that work with the American chestnut at Purdue while earning a Ph.D in molecular genetics.
“She is very interesting. It’s her job to come up with new and interesting hydrangeas,” he says.
In addition to her Green Express programs, Alexander will give a talk on what’s new in hydrangeas, in particular, varieties homeowners should consider, on Tuesday, Jan. 3, at 7 p.m. in the Humanities Auditorium at Chattanooga State. Stebbins says her talk is open to the public and a $5 donation is requested to benefit the Hamilton County Extension Endowment Fund.
Hugh Conlon, a UT Extension Area Horticulturalist in East Tennessee for three decades, is another high-profile instructor Stebbins says participants won’t want to miss. He will speak Wednesday afternoon on drought-tolerant plants for the landscape and Thursday morning on tree selections for sustainable landscapes.
Seminar participants who are members of the International Society of Arborculture can earn required ISA points at this event. Also 10 pesticide points are available for specified seminars, says Stebbins, for landscapers who apply pesticides.
“Folks who come to this are serious about maintaining their education so they are more knowledgeable when they go to homes. We pride ourselves on the courses we offer for that purpose,” says the UT Extension agent.
Walk-ups are welcome, says Stebbins, and a one-day or two-day registration fee is offered. The fee allows access to all breakout sessions and classroom seminars.
Contact Susan Pierce at spierce@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6284.