WSU Pierce County Master Gardener

Friday Fun!🤣

🌱 W**d Wednesday: Canada Thistle (Cirsium arvense) 🌱

Don’t let the pretty purple flowers fool you—Canada thistle is one of the most persistent weeds found in Washington gardens and landscapes!

This aggressive perennial spreads through both windborne seeds and an extensive underground root system. In fact, new plants can sprout from small root fragments, making it difficult to control once established. Canada thistle often forms dense patches that compete with desirable plants for water, nutrients, and sunlight. (Hortsense⁠)

🔍 How to identify it:
• Purple to pink (sometimes white) flower clusters
• Spiny, lobed leaves with wavy edges
• Upright stems growing 2–5 feet tall
• Often found in gardens, fields, roadsides, and disturbed areas (W**d Control Board⁠)

🌿 Management Tips:
• Remove young plants before they become established.
• Repeated cutting or mowing at the bud stage can gradually weaken the root system.
• Avoid tilling infested areas, as root fragments can create new plants.
• Persistence is key—effective control often requires multiple seasons of management. (King County⁠)

Have you spotted Canada thistle in your garden? Share your experiences and management tips in the comments!

The information in this post is based on guidance from the WSU Hortsense fact sheet and Washington State Noxious W**d Control Board resources.
https://hortsense.cahnrs.wsu.edu/fact-sheet/weeds-canada-thistle-cirsium-arvense/

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W**ds: Canada thistle – Cirsium arvense CAHNRS > Hortsense > Fact Sheets > W**ds > Broadleaf > W**ds: Canada thistle – Cirsium arvense Share on Twitter Share on FaceBook Share on Linkedin share with email share with link W**ds: Canada thistle – Cirsium arvense Categories: Broadleaf C-E W**ds Last review date: 2026-06-07 03:30 Scientif...

🍅 Dreaming of vine-ripened tomatoes this summer?

Join the WSU Extension Pierce County Master Gardeners for Tomatoes in the PNW and discover how to grow delicious, mouth-watering tomatoes in our unique maritime climate. Learn practical tips and proven techniques to help your plants thrive despite our cooler temperatures and shorter growing season.

📅 June 20, 2026
⏰ 4:00 PM – 5:00 PM
📍 Tacoma Public Library – Moore Branch
215 South 56th St, Tacoma, WA 98408

Whether you’re growing tomatoes in containers, raised beds, or a backyard garden, you’ll leave with research-based advice to help you enjoy a successful harvest.

This program is free and open to the public.
Discover more PCMG public outreaach events at:
https://extension.wsu.edu/pierce/mg-home/

🌱 It’s not too late to register for the From the Ground & Up Garden Workshop! 🌱

Only four days remain to register, and several sessions are filling quickly!

Whether you’re interested in growing healthier plants, improving your landscape, learning about dahlias and tuberous begonias, preparing your property for wildfire, managing slugs and snails, or tackling lawn challenges, there’s something for every gardener.

Join the WSU Extension Pierce County Master Gardeners for a day of learning, inspiration, and gardening fun!

📅 Registration closes soon—don’t miss your chance to attend!

🔗 Register today:
https://my.cheddarup.com/c/from-the-ground-and-up-copy/barriers/visitor-report

We look forward to growing with you!

WSU Extension Pierce County Master Gardeners present a "Celebration of Pollinators"

June 27 | 9:00 AM–12:00 PM
Puyallup Demonstration Garden/ 2607 West Pioneer, Puyallup WA. 98371

Join us for a fun and educational morning celebrating the important role pollinators play in our gardens, ecosystems, and food system.

Join Us For:
* Pollinator Scavenger Hunt
* Learn to Make Your Own Pollinator Watering Station
* Learn about the importance of Pollinators and our Food System
* Discover how Native Plants support Native Pollinators
* Learn how Composting supports Pollinators
* Homemade Hummingbird Nectar Demonstration and Hummingbird Feeder Cleaning and Maintenance Tips
* Bring your Gardeneing questions to our "Ask a Master Gardener" Plant Clinic
* And more!

Plus enjoy a FREE Special Presentation
"Buzz Pollination and Other Secrets in the Life of a Bumble Bee"
10:00 AM – 11:00 AM

Discover the fascinating world of bumble bees and learn how these important pollinators contribute to healthy gardens and ecosystems. This engaging presentation will explore the unique behavior of buzz pollination and reveal some of the remarkable adaptations that make bumble bees such effective pollinators.

Whether you’re a gardener, nature enthusiast, or looking for a fun family activity, we invite you to join us for a morning dedicated to celebrating and supporting pollinators.

Find more. information and other events at:
https://extension.wsu.edu/pierce/mg-home/

🌿 W**d Wednesday: Horsetails (Scouringrush) 🌿

Have you spotted these prehistoric-looking plants popping up in moist areas of your landscape? Horsetails and scouringrush are ancient perennial plants known for their hollow, segmented stems and deep, spreading root systems that make them especially difficult to control once established.

🔎 How to identify horsetails:
• Hollow, jointed stems with black “teeth” at the nodes
• Rough texture caused by silica in the stems
• Field horsetail produces two stem types:
• Tan fertile stems with spore cones in spring
• Green, branched sterile stems later in the season
• Scouringrush stays green, upright, and unbranched year-round

🌧️ Where they grow:
Horsetails thrive in moist to wet soils and are commonly found:
• Along roadsides and ditch banks
• In gardens and landscapes
• In pastures and damp areas

⚠️ Why they’re challenging:
Field horsetail spreads through deep underground rhizomes and tubers, making it very persistent and difficult to eradicate.

🌱 Management Tips (IPM First!)
WSU Extension Master Gardeners encourage using Integrated Pest Management (IPM) practices whenever possible:

✔️ Improve drainage where possible
✔️ Maintain healthy, dense plantings to outcompete weeds
✔️ Hand-pull young shoots repeatedly to weaken roots over time
✔️ Use inorganic barriers such as landscape fabric or heavy mulch layers to suppress growth

🚫 Avoid allowing horsetails to spread into new areas, especially moist garden beds.

📚 Learn more from WSU Hortsense:
https://hortsense.cahnrs.wsu.edu/fact-sheet/weeds-horsetails-scouringrush-equisetum-spp/

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W**ds: Horsetails (Scouringrush) – Equisetum spp. CAHNRS > Hortsense > Fact Sheets > W**ds > F-H > W**ds: Horsetails (Scouringrush) – Equisetum spp. Share on Twitter Share on FaceBook Share on Linkedin share with email share with link W**ds: Horsetails (Scouringrush) – Equisetum spp. categories: F-H W**ds last review date: 2025-09-15 02:16 Fami...

Hey, Pierce County Gardeners! Have you registered for From The Ground & Up Garden Workshop being held on June 20th?

This week’s Evergreen Thumb Podcast features Lisa Taylor presenting “Gardening When Water Is Scarce.”

Lisa will be one of the speakers at the FTG&U Garden Workshop and will be holding two marvelous presentations.

Listen to this and other Evergreen Thumb podcasts at: https://evergreenthumb.mastergardenerfoundation.org/episodes/
Find more information about FTG&u at:

https://extension.wsu.edu/pierce/mg-home/educational-outreach/from-the-ground-up/

Dry summers can make vegetable gardening challenging, especially when water becomes limited. In this episode of The Evergreen Thumb, Erin talks with Lisa Taylor about practical ways gardeners can adapt during dry conditions.

The conversation covers:
💧 Efficient watering tools and methods
💧 How plants communicate their water needs
💧 Mulch and soil strategies that help retain moisture
💧 Plant choices and garden design for lower water use

Listen now on your favorite podcast app or at https://buff.ly/0obZTiw