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St. Paul, Minn. (July 7, 2008)- Do your tomatoes turn black and soft with rot just before they are ready to pick? Has your rose bush ever lost its leaves mid-summer? Do you wonder how to keep your shade trees healthy? All of these are excellent questions to ask a plant doctor because plants get sick, too.
Twin Cities residents are invited to bring their plant health questions to a unique event with plant disease experts on Saturday, July 26, at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. Sponsored by The American Phytopathological Society, the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum and the University of Minnesota Extension, this event is open to the public from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the arboretum's Oswald Visitor Center and is free with Arboretum admission.
Attendees will have the opportunity to tour the arboretum grounds and meet with real plant doctors (plant pathologists) to learn the best strategies for keeping gardens healthy and for recognizing common diseases affecting home gardens. Plant doctors will offer tips on how to prevent and manage plant diseases. They will provide an overview on which diseases can be tolerated, and which should be treated. The public is invited to bring samples and ask questions about specific problems.
The plant doctors are in Minnesota for The American Phytopathological Society Centennial Meeting, taking place July 26-30, at the Minneapolis Convention Center. "With thousands of experts on plant diseases in the area, we feel this is a great opportunity to introduce Minnesota gardeners and residents to this important science and enable them to go home with a prescription for a healthy yard and garden," said event organizer Michelle Grabowski, horticulture extension educator with the University of Minnesota Extension Regional Office in Andover.
For more information on this event, visit the arboretum's website at www.arboretum.umn.edu. The Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, the largest public garden in the Upper Midwest and a premier northern Arboretum, is part of the College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences at the University of Minnesota and serves as a community and national resource for horticultural and environmental information, research and public education. It is located 9 miles west of Interstate 494 on State Highway 5 in Chanhassen. It is open daily from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.; admission is $7 for adults; free for members and ages 15 and younger.
The American Phytopathological Society (APS) is a non-profit, professional scientific organization. The research of the organization's more than 5,000 worldwide members advances the understanding of the science of plant pathology and its application to plant health. Founded in 1908, APS is celebrating 100 years of breakthroughs in plant disease research.
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EDITORS: Call Barb DeGroot, PR Specialist, at 952-443-1459 or email her at degro035@umn.edu for electronic images of gardens (jpegs) or other information. Thanks!
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