County Agent Update

Hardy Plants

For North Dakota

Chrysanthemum are great fall bloomers that will provide bright colors heading into the cold winter months. Mums are an annual plant that will grow and thrive year after year. Sedum, sometimes known as stonecrop, is one of the most drought tolerant, low-maintenance and hardy plants available for North Dakota. Sedum works well for harsh rocky soils, hence its nickname. Sedums will have year round appeal, with the thick leaves in the spring and summer that provide attractive foil to other flowers. When fall arrives its pink flowers will provide great color while the rest of the garden colors fade away. During the warm months, you will notice that bees and butterflies are drawn to Sedum making it great for a pollinator garden. In the cold winter months, the birds will sit on top of the plant and poke at the seeds. With mentioning it does well in rocky soils, Sedum will grow in any garden, as long as it has well drained soils. These plants are effective in groups, whether as decoration along your house or even borders between yards. Some great varieties for North Dakota are, ‘Neon’, ‘Autumn Joy’, ‘Autumn Charm’ and ‘Sunsparklers’. Even though these plants bloom and look great in the fall, it is recommended that you plant mums in the spring, so they have time to establish roots before the cold weather arrives.

Another plant that many of us have not heard about is diervilla, this is because it is relatively new to North Dakotas’ landscape. Originally, divervilla was considered nothing more than a tough shrub for riverbanks and roadsides, but some new varieties are making it a well-known plant in the landscaping world. Divervilla has light yellow flowers that attract bees and butterflies during the summer months (also a great addition to pollinator gardens). This shrub does get fairly large and thick, 3-4 feet high and can spread 4-5 feet wide. This is also a low maintenance plant, tolerant to wind and drought, and is resistant to those sometimes pesky deer. These two selections will be available in the future so stay on the lookout for them.

This information was gathered from the NDSU Yard and Garden Report.

Newest County Agent

NDSU Extension Service in Williams County has just hired a new Family and Consumer Science Agent. Desire’e Steinberger graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Dietetics from University of North Dakota and has been a practicing Dietitian since 2011, most recently working for the Upper Missouri District Health Unit in Williston. She is part of a 5th generation farm family from Kenmare, ND. She loves canning, baking, cooking and gardening. Desire’e, along with her mother, compete in Minot at the Lefse Master competition coming up in October, she is really excited for that next event. Desire’e will be working with the 4H kids, local school and the community to help answer their questions about nutrition, gardening, and many other topics. If you are ever in Williston, come by the office to meet the newest member of the NDSU Extension Service Team. Our office is located at 302 E Broadway, Williston.