WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.480 --> 00:00:04.000 Katie r h. Garden Line does not necessarily endorse any of the products or 2 00:00:04.040 --> 00:00:11.000 services advertised on this program. Welcome to Katie r h Garden Line with Skip 3 00:00:11.119 --> 00:00:38.960 Ricter. It's crazy trip. Just watch him as the sepotas not a side. 4 00:00:42.039 --> 00:00:46.200 Well, good Sunday morning, Welcome to garden Line. We're glad you're 5 00:00:46.240 --> 00:00:50.479 listening. Looking forward to talking to you about I don't know what's of interest 6 00:00:50.479 --> 00:00:54.920 to you regarding gardening. We are in peak gardening season already. Now you 7 00:00:55.000 --> 00:00:57.840 may look outside and say, well, you know, it's kind of cool 8 00:00:57.880 --> 00:01:00.719 out there, and I'm not sure it's time to play tomatoes. Well, 9 00:01:00.759 --> 00:01:03.439 of course it's not a little bit early at least I don't know. Some 10 00:01:03.479 --> 00:01:08.760 brave gardeners are out there planning and protecting them and it's practically building a mini 11 00:01:08.840 --> 00:01:14.239 greenhouse to keep those things going early. But seriously, it's time to prepare 12 00:01:14.319 --> 00:01:17.280 for everything happening in the spring, and it's time to plant a lot of 13 00:01:17.319 --> 00:01:21.920 our cool seasoned plants as well. So do you want flowers? Do you 14 00:01:21.959 --> 00:01:26.519 want to establish some perennials? Do you want to establish some perennial grasses for 15 00:01:26.560 --> 00:01:30.480 example? That's something probably underutilized in our landscapes. Is some of the beautiful 16 00:01:30.560 --> 00:01:36.760 perennial grasses that we have in the features that they can offer. Maybe your 17 00:01:37.159 --> 00:01:42.959 vegetable garden needs some additional crops such as lettuce or spinach. It's time for 18 00:01:42.040 --> 00:01:45.959 that. And you can plant carrots. Now, you can plant all of 19 00:01:46.000 --> 00:01:52.000 those cruciferous vegetables. Korabbie and brussels sprouts. Well, it's a little brussel 20 00:01:52.040 --> 00:01:55.239 sprout's is one I generally aim for in the fall, just because they take 21 00:01:55.319 --> 00:01:59.640 so long to reach their full size. But broccoli would be an example, 22 00:02:00.239 --> 00:02:07.359 cauliflowers and example cabbage of course, Kale karabia mentioned just a lot of really 23 00:02:07.439 --> 00:02:12.439 good quality vegetables that are healthy that can be planted. Now in the flower 24 00:02:12.479 --> 00:02:17.759 beds, we've got pansies and violas. We've got a lissome dianthus. Dianthus 25 00:02:17.840 --> 00:02:23.039 is one of the most underutilized plants. I think in our floral beds, 26 00:02:23.439 --> 00:02:28.680 our color beds. We have the old types. I call them the old 27 00:02:28.680 --> 00:02:34.000 types. It's a standard, little small compact dianthus. Tellstar was a series 28 00:02:34.039 --> 00:02:37.400 that really was a big deal number of years ago. Now we have so 29 00:02:37.439 --> 00:02:39.800 many more new ones that we can plant. But we also have the upright 30 00:02:39.919 --> 00:02:46.840 dianthus, and these think of like a carnation flower, but in miniature, 31 00:02:46.680 --> 00:02:52.120 long stem with a carnation like bloom at the top. But with the kinds 32 00:02:52.159 --> 00:02:55.479 we use embedding plants now they're clusters of blooms, so you get a really 33 00:02:55.560 --> 00:03:00.520 nice little bloom head. And the colors are absolutely neon. I mean, 34 00:03:00.639 --> 00:03:06.639 they are really bright. They're not your standard primary colors or pastels or things. 35 00:03:06.680 --> 00:03:10.080 These are amazing and they do well in the middle of a color border. 36 00:03:10.879 --> 00:03:14.879 So maybe you have something lower in front of them, like a lissen 37 00:03:15.000 --> 00:03:17.199 would just be an example. Like that, you come up and then you 38 00:03:17.280 --> 00:03:23.319 have these taller dianthus. The Amazon series is one. There's some other really 39 00:03:23.360 --> 00:03:25.800 good ones out there, and that's a little bit taller, and so you 40 00:03:25.840 --> 00:03:29.439 have a kind of layers of color, and that's a good way to approach 41 00:03:29.479 --> 00:03:32.960 it to By the way, you always want to have something coming on. 42 00:03:34.080 --> 00:03:38.000 And even when you know people think of a color bed as like you plant 43 00:03:38.000 --> 00:03:42.120 it and you just get all this color at one time, and yeah, 44 00:03:42.199 --> 00:03:46.080 you can do that, but when you add perennials and things like that in 45 00:03:46.479 --> 00:03:50.080 it is a bed that evolves through the seasons. So, for example, 46 00:03:50.120 --> 00:03:53.280 perennials have their season when they bloom. Some bloom for a very long time, 47 00:03:53.639 --> 00:03:58.840 but a lot of them are actually quite fast. They show up, 48 00:03:58.879 --> 00:04:00.280 they do their thing, and they go away. A lot of our bulbs 49 00:04:00.280 --> 00:04:04.159 are that way. They come on for their season, they do their thing, 50 00:04:04.240 --> 00:04:10.400 they replenish their reserves, and then they essentially appear to go away for 51 00:04:10.439 --> 00:04:14.319 the rest of the season. Whether it's rain lilies that pop up during the 52 00:04:14.360 --> 00:04:18.279 summertime, or whether it is something like paper whites that typically are going to 53 00:04:18.319 --> 00:04:24.279 be the announce those that announce the spring season coming on at the end of 54 00:04:24.319 --> 00:04:27.959 winter. We have a lot of beautiful options like that, daffodils, that 55 00:04:28.120 --> 00:04:31.120 type of thing. It's another example. And those do their thing and go 56 00:04:31.160 --> 00:04:35.759 away. But that's okay because you plan your beds to always have something going 57 00:04:35.800 --> 00:04:42.439 on. If you just do perennials, you're going to have periods where the 58 00:04:42.439 --> 00:04:46.839 bed doesn't look its best. It's just how it is. If you just 59 00:04:46.920 --> 00:04:50.279 do annuals, you're going to be spending a lot of money on color changes, 60 00:04:50.600 --> 00:04:54.439 and that's okay if you want to do that. That's the way to 61 00:04:54.519 --> 00:05:00.279 have constant riot of color all the time is just constantly be replacing annual in 62 00:05:00.360 --> 00:05:02.720 it is, one goes out, you put another one in, and we 63 00:05:02.759 --> 00:05:08.639 call those color changes, and you can do in a home landscape. Some 64 00:05:08.639 --> 00:05:12.120 people do two a year. You got a warm season and a cool season 65 00:05:12.279 --> 00:05:15.199 color change, and so there's some edges to those seasons that don't look so 66 00:05:15.279 --> 00:05:19.519 great. Some people will do three or four color changes a year. As 67 00:05:19.560 --> 00:05:23.680 you go through the season, you know, you got your spring stuff that 68 00:05:23.839 --> 00:05:27.439 comes out and looks great in spring, but when our Texas summer arrives, 69 00:05:27.439 --> 00:05:30.759 it's not so great. So we go to some heat tolerance summer color, 70 00:05:30.439 --> 00:05:33.560 and then when fall comes we've got some of that, and then of course 71 00:05:33.560 --> 00:05:38.040 in the cool season we have our cool season flowers. Anyway, the idea 72 00:05:38.240 --> 00:05:42.639 is you do it however you want, but just as you plant it out, 73 00:05:42.839 --> 00:05:46.120 think a little past what you're putting in the ground right then. So, 74 00:05:46.240 --> 00:05:51.839 for example, if you're planting violas or a dusty miller, which is 75 00:05:53.120 --> 00:05:58.199 a silvery foliage plant that does well in cool weather, if you're planning one 76 00:05:58.240 --> 00:06:00.279 of those, then be thinking about, well, when are you going to 77 00:06:00.319 --> 00:06:05.720 do the next color change? And you will always be changing it out before 78 00:06:05.759 --> 00:06:10.920 it's finished blooming. Because as things reach the end of their season, they're 79 00:06:10.959 --> 00:06:14.600 kind of scraggly. They're still blooming, but it's kind of here and there. 80 00:06:15.000 --> 00:06:17.519 You know, your pansies or violas. It's warming up and they're still 81 00:06:17.560 --> 00:06:21.399 going, but they're not real happy with that. And so you just decide 82 00:06:21.399 --> 00:06:25.519 we're in there. Do I want to jump in and put in the petunias, 83 00:06:25.560 --> 00:06:28.439 for example, in the spring or one of the many many other plant 84 00:06:28.480 --> 00:06:31.040 options that we have, and you plan that out through the year. All 85 00:06:31.160 --> 00:06:34.720 right. So those are just some ideas and tips of things that we're right 86 00:06:34.759 --> 00:06:40.959 in the big middle of right now. By the way, when it comes 87 00:06:41.000 --> 00:06:44.240 to garden centers, if you haven't been to Plants for all seasons, they're 88 00:06:44.240 --> 00:06:48.399 talking about all this color reminds me of plants for all seasons because they constantly 89 00:06:48.560 --> 00:06:54.839 are having a new group of really cool plants come in that are just awesome. 90 00:06:55.360 --> 00:06:58.000 And that's just how they are there. I mean, it is a 91 00:06:58.040 --> 00:07:01.040 place where whenever you show up, you're going to see some of the hottest 92 00:07:01.079 --> 00:07:09.240 items, the most dependable, proven adapted to our area of plants that you 93 00:07:09.279 --> 00:07:12.480 can have, and that they stay on top of that, and they also 94 00:07:13.040 --> 00:07:15.600 are just filled with knowledge I mean, you talk to anybody around there. 95 00:07:15.600 --> 00:07:19.279 The Flowerty family and the folks that work at Plants for All Seasons, they 96 00:07:19.319 --> 00:07:21.759 know what they're talking about. So when you walk in and you go, 97 00:07:21.839 --> 00:07:26.800 hey, I got this bed and it gets us much sun and this is 98 00:07:26.839 --> 00:07:30.040 what I want and here's a picture. You know, these are shrubs that 99 00:07:30.079 --> 00:07:32.199 are behind it and stuff. They can direct you right to a set of 100 00:07:32.240 --> 00:07:34.600 plants that are going to do well, and then you come back and you 101 00:07:34.600 --> 00:07:40.079 ask questions and they just keep helping you. That is what you can't get 102 00:07:40.319 --> 00:07:44.360 at a lot of places, because you know, if places are selling hammers 103 00:07:44.399 --> 00:07:47.639 and flowers, chances are they don't know flowers very well. And that's just 104 00:07:47.680 --> 00:07:51.040 how that works in the industry. But a good mom and pop nursery when 105 00:07:51.079 --> 00:07:55.079 you're talking about Plants for All Seasons, and the Flowery family been doing it 106 00:07:55.120 --> 00:07:59.120 since nineteen seventy three. You can go to their website Plants for All Seasons 107 00:07:59.160 --> 00:08:01.800 dot com, or just do this, just go visit them. They are 108 00:08:01.839 --> 00:08:07.519 on Highway two forty nine Tomball Parkway, just north of Luetta Road on the 109 00:08:07.560 --> 00:08:11.920 right hand side as you're heading toward Tombol Direction. Plants for All Seasons dot 110 00:08:11.920 --> 00:08:16.000 com. They'll get your color going there. I'll tell you that for sure. 111 00:08:16.120 --> 00:08:18.000 Let's take a little break. Our phone number if you'd like to give 112 00:08:18.079 --> 00:08:20.720 us a call. I guess it would be good for me to give you 113 00:08:20.720 --> 00:08:24.800 a phone number today nine seven or nine seven nine seven one three two one 114 00:08:24.920 --> 00:08:31.839 two fifty eight seventy four seven one three two one two ktr H. Welcome 115 00:08:31.839 --> 00:08:33.879 to garden Line. We are glad you're listening this morning. We're here to 116 00:08:33.919 --> 00:08:37.679 talk to you about whatever you want to talk about that might be of interest. 117 00:08:39.200 --> 00:08:43.039 For example, do you want to talk about vegetables or flowers or maybe 118 00:08:43.080 --> 00:08:46.960 houseplants. Houseplants are kind of one of the big plants of wintertime. And 119 00:08:48.000 --> 00:08:50.759 we say that because you get cooped up in the house a little bit, 120 00:08:50.320 --> 00:08:54.279 and uh, it just gives you some other things to mess with and enjoy. 121 00:08:54.360 --> 00:08:58.879 And you know, I love I've never been a big houseplant person most 122 00:09:00.120 --> 00:09:05.720 my life, but in the last probably five years, especially the last three 123 00:09:05.799 --> 00:09:09.480 years, I just have gotten more and more into them and looking at all 124 00:09:09.519 --> 00:09:13.200 the different types that are out there. I tell you, you know, 125 00:09:13.240 --> 00:09:18.399 it's like anything you begin to collect anything, I don't care if it's trading 126 00:09:18.519 --> 00:09:22.799 stamps or old you know, muscle cars or whatever. You start to get 127 00:09:22.799 --> 00:09:26.919 into it and it just it's it becomes this black hole, you know, 128 00:09:26.919 --> 00:09:30.840 where there's always something else. And I was looking at some of the philodendron 129 00:09:30.879 --> 00:09:35.720 houseplants that are out there on the market now. It's like half of them 130 00:09:35.759 --> 00:09:39.600 I've never even seen the plant before. Right, it's a new type. 131 00:09:39.000 --> 00:09:43.639 Somebody's crawling through a jungle somewhere to find something new, or in some cases 132 00:09:43.679 --> 00:09:48.600 doing some plant crossing and coming up with new types. But there's always something 133 00:09:48.639 --> 00:09:54.559 else. In another town of far away, I was at a garden place 134 00:09:54.600 --> 00:10:01.159 that specialized in the interior tropical kinds of plants, and they had, you 135 00:10:01.200 --> 00:10:05.320 know, the standard plants that you can get just about anywhere, and then 136 00:10:05.360 --> 00:10:07.759 they had some that are a little less common. And then they had this 137 00:10:07.960 --> 00:10:11.799 rare table where you know, something just a plain old you would go, 138 00:10:11.879 --> 00:10:16.440 oh, oh, that's just a pathos or I don't know, philodendron or 139 00:10:16.480 --> 00:10:20.159 something, and he'd be like five hundred dollars. If there's one plant it's 140 00:10:20.159 --> 00:10:22.480 like, WHOA, Well, it's got a little different marking in the leaf, 141 00:10:22.519 --> 00:10:26.360 and this one's different than all the All right, I get it, 142 00:10:26.840 --> 00:10:31.120 And that's the fun thing about it again, and it applies to anything, 143 00:10:31.240 --> 00:10:33.360 snamp collecting or you name it. You just find, oh, I need 144 00:10:33.399 --> 00:10:37.840 this a special type here that I don't have now, And so that's what 145 00:10:37.960 --> 00:10:41.320 drives that. But I think it's fun that people get to grow what they 146 00:10:41.360 --> 00:10:43.600 want to grow, because if you just want to enjoy a green plant, 147 00:10:43.679 --> 00:10:50.120 you can get find some brand that has a pathos, cut a little section 148 00:10:50.200 --> 00:10:52.399 offs to get in the ground or root it, and you got your plant. 149 00:10:52.440 --> 00:10:54.320 I mean, it's that easy. That stuff roots so easily. But 150 00:10:54.399 --> 00:10:58.720 if you want some of the unique and the beauty that's out there in that 151 00:11:00.000 --> 00:11:03.519 houseplant world, there's a lot of that too. And I find myself each 152 00:11:03.159 --> 00:11:07.399 pretty much several times a year. I'll look out and I'll see some plant 153 00:11:07.720 --> 00:11:11.919 that is just that is really cool, and now it's part of my houseplant 154 00:11:11.960 --> 00:11:15.480 collection. Then I just have to figure out where to put it. So 155 00:11:15.559 --> 00:11:18.440 on. But I like color and houseplant foliage. There's a lot of green, 156 00:11:18.679 --> 00:11:22.320 and green is a color too, of course, but I like when 157 00:11:22.360 --> 00:11:26.799 a houseplant can have some variegation or can have some of the corals and reds 158 00:11:26.879 --> 00:11:31.000 and other kinds of patterns and streaking and coloring in the leaf. I just 159 00:11:31.039 --> 00:11:35.879 think that adds interest to an indoor environment. And if you need help with 160 00:11:35.919 --> 00:11:39.159 houseplants, we can help you with that. There's a lot of good information 161 00:11:39.240 --> 00:11:43.039 out there online too. You can find the plants that do best in lower 162 00:11:43.159 --> 00:11:48.000 light. You can find the plants that do best on neglect. If you've 163 00:11:48.039 --> 00:11:52.279 never been a houseplant person before, I recommend that you get a sense of 164 00:11:52.360 --> 00:11:56.679 area. It's also called mother and lost tome. It's got the long strappy 165 00:11:56.759 --> 00:12:01.200 leaves. It goes straight up to the vertically out of the pot. Those 166 00:12:01.200 --> 00:12:05.600 are are foolproof. They take low light, they take highlight, they take 167 00:12:07.679 --> 00:12:13.000 modern considered consistently moist soil. But they'll put up with drought really really well. 168 00:12:13.240 --> 00:12:15.840 Also, in fact, I like to say that if you can't grow 169 00:12:15.879 --> 00:12:20.200 a sense of AIA, I can't help you because it's pretty much barely one 170 00:12:20.240 --> 00:12:24.399 step above a silk plant. When it comes to easy care. It just 171 00:12:24.519 --> 00:12:26.879 real, real, easy to do. Zz is another one. Z z 172 00:12:28.279 --> 00:12:33.600 is in two zebras. Zz zz plant will put up with lower light. 173 00:12:33.679 --> 00:12:37.159 It's a little on the lankier side. It puts up with very high light. 174 00:12:37.679 --> 00:12:41.399 It is another one that can take some drought it's a succulent type plant 175 00:12:41.440 --> 00:12:46.879 storing a lot of moisture, and it's and it's leaf petioles and leaf leaf 176 00:12:46.360 --> 00:12:50.039 leaflets, and so it's you know, it's pretty tolerant of that. That's 177 00:12:50.080 --> 00:12:56.399 an easy one to grow. One of my favorite houseplants is Aglionema Chinese evergreen. 178 00:12:56.399 --> 00:13:01.679 The old types were always kind of a green aby with some gray streaking 179 00:13:01.759 --> 00:13:05.679 in the foliage, different patterns of gray, silvery gray in the foliage. 180 00:13:07.200 --> 00:13:11.440 Now we have some types that are beautiful, beautiful color with the reds and 181 00:13:11.480 --> 00:13:16.679 whatnot, and I just am continually attracted those again for the color moderate light. 182 00:13:16.360 --> 00:13:20.600 Can't put it in a closet, but it doesn't have to sit there 183 00:13:20.720 --> 00:13:24.600 right in a window to be happy. That's an easy one to grow. 184 00:13:24.639 --> 00:13:26.679 There's a lot of others. You get the idea. Some can be more 185 00:13:26.759 --> 00:13:31.679 challenging, but hey, that's one of the things we enjoy about gardening is 186 00:13:31.039 --> 00:13:35.559 we can always step a little further into it and try some things that are 187 00:13:35.639 --> 00:13:39.360 more challenging. I think that's pretty good way to go. You know, 188 00:13:39.440 --> 00:13:45.039 if you have dealt with weeds in your lawn in the past, and I 189 00:13:45.120 --> 00:13:50.360 know I was out looking through my yard and due to some real struggles last 190 00:13:50.360 --> 00:13:54.720 summer when it got so dry and we just couldn't couldn't keep going on the 191 00:13:54.720 --> 00:13:56.399 water, I actually left for a couple of weeks, and oh my gosh, 192 00:13:56.480 --> 00:14:00.879 when I came back, the yard looked like it had been torched because 193 00:14:00.919 --> 00:14:03.559 the autosystem did not come on and run and take care of it. But 194 00:14:03.639 --> 00:14:07.720 anyway, if you're dealing with some weeds in the yard, now's a good 195 00:14:07.759 --> 00:14:11.399 time to go ahead and deal with those. And here's why our cool season 196 00:14:11.440 --> 00:14:18.399 weeds germinated primarily in the late fall, mid to late fall. You can 197 00:14:18.440 --> 00:14:22.320 still have cool season weed germinating going on now, but most of that happened 198 00:14:22.399 --> 00:14:28.120 already, and those seedlings are very small. When we get into longer days 199 00:14:28.279 --> 00:14:35.240 and warming temperatures, those plants will take off growing flower set seeds. And 200 00:14:35.360 --> 00:14:39.200 here we are sentenced to two hundred times the number of plants that you weeds 201 00:14:39.200 --> 00:14:43.200 that you had before in the future. So they're like our blue bonnet. 202 00:14:43.200 --> 00:14:48.399 Blue bonnet seeds germinate in the fall, they sit there through winters. We 203 00:14:48.440 --> 00:14:52.960 call it a rosette. It's a little plant that's not very conspicuous, and 204 00:14:52.000 --> 00:14:56.759 then in spring you get this giant mound of growth and the beautiful blooms we 205 00:14:56.919 --> 00:15:01.200 enjoy, and then they cast their seed. You wait until a plant is 206 00:15:01.240 --> 00:15:05.639 blooming and setting seed. It's very difficult to control if you can control it 207 00:15:05.679 --> 00:15:09.440 at all. And also it may already have viable seed, so you may 208 00:15:09.519 --> 00:15:15.159 kill that plant, but not the thousand seeds that are going to fly everywhere 209 00:15:15.519 --> 00:15:18.919 from it. So you want to deal with these weeds early on. And 210 00:15:18.200 --> 00:15:22.960 that's why nelson put together, you know, their their product line where they 211 00:15:24.360 --> 00:15:28.720 offer fertilizers, and they have a particular product and I'm going to tell you 212 00:15:28.000 --> 00:15:31.039 a little bit more about it as we go through, but excuse me, 213 00:15:31.120 --> 00:15:35.799 I'm having some trouble with my throat here this morning. But Nelson's has a 214 00:15:35.840 --> 00:15:41.279 product that has a post emergent in it that is for broad leaf weeds that 215 00:15:41.360 --> 00:15:46.320 you would use when the plant is very when the weed plant is very very 216 00:15:46.320 --> 00:15:50.200 small, and when when you use a plant, when you use a product 217 00:15:50.240 --> 00:15:54.879 like that and you're able to get in and catch that weed at an early 218 00:15:54.000 --> 00:16:00.000 state, it's easier to knock it out. It's just it's just much easier 219 00:16:00.240 --> 00:16:03.759 to knock it out. And it's called the turf Turfstar turfinate or weedinator, 220 00:16:03.799 --> 00:16:07.720 excuse me, turf star weedinator. And it's got that broad leaf product in 221 00:16:07.759 --> 00:16:11.039 it. Now, if you're going to use that, you need to wet 222 00:16:11.039 --> 00:16:15.360 your lawn first because the granules need to stick to the weed leaves. They're 223 00:16:15.360 --> 00:16:18.240 not going to hurt your lawn. It's a broad leaf product, not a 224 00:16:18.320 --> 00:16:22.159 grass product. It doesn't kill grass, it kills broad leaves. But when 225 00:16:22.200 --> 00:16:26.440 you put that out there, that will work. And you know, normally 226 00:16:26.519 --> 00:16:30.000 I would say hold off on your fertilizing because our grass isn't growing right now, 227 00:16:30.360 --> 00:16:33.120 but in this case, we've got a fertilizer that will last you about 228 00:16:33.120 --> 00:16:37.120 five months, maybe six months actually going out. So to put that on 229 00:16:37.279 --> 00:16:41.720 now, it's going to gradually release and not gonna all wash away, but 230 00:16:41.759 --> 00:16:47.000 you will get control of that early on issue with the weeds. And if 231 00:16:47.000 --> 00:16:51.799 you wait until the hendbit and chick weed and clover and everything else are now 232 00:16:51.919 --> 00:16:56.559 big plants and your lawn looks just horrible because they've taken over, it's going 233 00:16:56.639 --> 00:17:00.159 to be a little late to have effective control options at that time. So 234 00:17:00.240 --> 00:17:02.360 this would be a good time to go ahead and get that done. If 235 00:17:02.360 --> 00:17:04.640 you're gonna if you're dealing with that kind of problem and you want to shut 236 00:17:04.640 --> 00:17:10.640 it down, do so before it sets the seeds. And you know, 237 00:17:10.720 --> 00:17:18.400 the whole issue with lawns is building a denser lawn over time by proper practices 238 00:17:18.480 --> 00:17:22.279 like mowing, like watering, like fertilizing. When we do that, when 239 00:17:22.319 --> 00:17:26.319 we take care of our lawn and create density, we pretty much work our 240 00:17:26.359 --> 00:17:32.440 way out of most weed problems. Now I say most. There's weeds like 241 00:17:32.559 --> 00:17:37.680 Virginia button weed and dollar weed, for example, that can coexist in a 242 00:17:37.799 --> 00:17:41.200 dense, healthy Saint Augustine lawn. But there are a lot of weeds that 243 00:17:41.240 --> 00:17:45.000 can't. Weeds that come from seed, typically because there's no sunlight reaching the 244 00:17:45.039 --> 00:17:49.480 soil, because your lawn is nice and dense the cause you mowed, watered, 245 00:17:49.519 --> 00:17:53.559 and fertilized properly. And when you do that, now you have fewer 246 00:17:55.200 --> 00:17:59.920 times that you're having to apply fewer product efforts to shut down the wheed. 247 00:18:00.119 --> 00:18:02.559 You don't want us to be on a treadmill where the only way to keep 248 00:18:02.559 --> 00:18:06.039 it from having a weed is just constantly, every seemed like every season of 249 00:18:06.039 --> 00:18:08.519 the year, be doing something to kill weeds. Start with it, make 250 00:18:08.559 --> 00:18:11.640 it easier on yourself. Start with the dense, healthy lawn, and then 251 00:18:11.920 --> 00:18:15.799 the weeds that might escape that the issues you have. Then it's a much 252 00:18:15.839 --> 00:18:19.920 easier thing to deal with. And I just think that's the better way to 253 00:18:19.960 --> 00:18:25.839 go horticulturally, no matter what you're growing, to be able to create a 254 00:18:25.880 --> 00:18:30.039 healthy plant, to create a dense, healthy plant, to minimize the problems. 255 00:18:30.279 --> 00:18:33.319 Because your goal in having plants, whether it's a garden or a lawn 256 00:18:33.400 --> 00:18:38.319 or flower beds, isn't to spend your weekends out there killing things. It's 257 00:18:38.359 --> 00:18:42.599 to springd your weekends out there walking through and then smelling and eating and enjoying 258 00:18:42.759 --> 00:18:45.680 and all the other things we get from plants. All right, Well, 259 00:18:45.759 --> 00:18:51.559 there's a philosophy for you. Hold on to that one because it is the 260 00:18:51.599 --> 00:18:52.920 way to go. We're going to take a break right now. Our phone 261 00:18:53.000 --> 00:18:59.759 number is seven to one three two one two fifty eight seventy four. We 262 00:19:00.119 --> 00:19:03.640 come back to garden Line on a Sunday morning. Look outside, it's dark 263 00:19:03.680 --> 00:19:07.079 outside. If your neighbor's lights aren't on, go bang on the door, 264 00:19:07.200 --> 00:19:12.960 tell them they're missing garden Line. They will so appreciate that. Someday we'll 265 00:19:14.599 --> 00:19:17.799 head right to the phones this morning by the way. Our number is seven 266 00:19:17.880 --> 00:19:22.640 one three, two one two five eight, seven four. We're going to 267 00:19:22.640 --> 00:19:26.839 talk to Frank. Hello, Frank Good on skip one of them. I 268 00:19:26.400 --> 00:19:30.480 emailed you a couple of photos yesterday. Yeah about us long we were talking 269 00:19:30.480 --> 00:19:34.200 about and I know there's a lot of possibilities, but I was just thinking 270 00:19:34.200 --> 00:19:37.440 maybe if you looked at those and say, oh, this would be a 271 00:19:37.440 --> 00:19:41.359 perfect spot for uh whatever. Yeah, well, boy, there's there are 272 00:19:41.400 --> 00:19:45.759 a lot of possibilities. That's always the challenge of it all. You've got 273 00:19:45.759 --> 00:19:51.160 a lot of good evergreen material there in that front area. I'm just kind 274 00:19:51.160 --> 00:19:56.039 of wondering if maybe something that had some flowers on it would be appropriate. 275 00:19:56.079 --> 00:19:57.279 I mean, like a big rose bush would be there. We have some 276 00:19:57.359 --> 00:20:02.000 really good tough roses. You don't have the pamper arm or anything. You 277 00:20:02.039 --> 00:20:06.680 know, everybody's probably seen knockout roses everywhere. They're one of the most planted 278 00:20:06.759 --> 00:20:11.559 roses in town. A bush that's a rose bush would look good there. 279 00:20:11.759 --> 00:20:15.880 You could go with something that is a more of a standard, meaning it's 280 00:20:15.880 --> 00:20:21.519 a shrub, but it has a trunk or trunks to it. Crate myrtle 281 00:20:21.599 --> 00:20:25.559 is a good example. The smaller crate myrtles would be a possibility in that 282 00:20:25.640 --> 00:20:29.799 area, be deciduous, but you would have flowers through the summer. You 283 00:20:29.799 --> 00:20:33.920 could go with that, or just something that had attractive foliage. Laura Pedlam 284 00:20:34.160 --> 00:20:40.200 Chinese evergreen has a burgundy, a deep burgundy foliage, especially in the cool 285 00:20:40.240 --> 00:20:42.680 weather, and then you have spring flowers. So I'm just kind of thinking 286 00:20:42.720 --> 00:20:47.920 that might add a little interest seasonal interest to the area as well. But 287 00:20:47.960 --> 00:20:52.720 they're really about eight hundred thousand options for a nice full sun area like that. 288 00:20:52.920 --> 00:20:56.960 Okay, well, thank you very much for looking at it. Skip. 289 00:20:56.000 --> 00:20:59.079 If you have a blast day, well you too, thank you for 290 00:20:59.119 --> 00:21:02.200 the call. Appreciate that. Frank all right, Well, you know, 291 00:21:02.240 --> 00:21:06.640 if you are emailing me, I just have to say this, just due 292 00:21:06.720 --> 00:21:11.640 to time constraints and the potential for all the emails that come in, I'm 293 00:21:11.680 --> 00:21:15.480 not able to type out the answers in most cases. Occasionally there's something I 294 00:21:15.480 --> 00:21:21.799 can give a quick answer to, but a lot of times plant questions are 295 00:21:21.799 --> 00:21:25.640 more elaborate than that. They take a little more, and so just for 296 00:21:25.680 --> 00:21:29.119 the sake of time, if you do email me, please include photos that 297 00:21:29.200 --> 00:21:34.559 are in good sharp focus. Repeat good sharp focus when possible, as close 298 00:21:34.640 --> 00:21:38.359 as you can get to something, if it's a bug, or if it's 299 00:21:38.400 --> 00:21:41.920 a spot on a leaf, or if it's a little seedling coming up that 300 00:21:42.079 --> 00:21:45.559 I don't know. In other words, let me be able to zoom right 301 00:21:45.599 --> 00:21:49.079 in within a few inches away from it, if at all possible, in 302 00:21:49.279 --> 00:21:53.160 good sharp focus. And then what I'll do is I'll ask you to please 303 00:21:53.200 --> 00:21:57.000 call in the show and call in and refer to that email, and then 304 00:21:57.039 --> 00:22:00.920 we can go from there. That's probably the best for me to help the 305 00:22:00.960 --> 00:22:04.920 most people that I can. And so I would just kind of refer you 306 00:22:04.960 --> 00:22:08.599 to that you're listening to garden Line. I'm your host, Skip Richter, 307 00:22:08.720 --> 00:22:14.200 and we're here to answer your gardening questions this morning. I first of all, 308 00:22:14.359 --> 00:22:17.279 welcome to guarden Line. Be glad, glad you're a listener today. 309 00:22:17.319 --> 00:22:21.079 Hopefully you got at least one eye open, maybe a cup of coffee or 310 00:22:21.079 --> 00:22:23.079 tea or whatever in your hand, just to kind of keep things going there, 311 00:22:23.680 --> 00:22:27.160 Let's talk about the things that interest you at seven one three two one 312 00:22:27.279 --> 00:22:34.200 two fifty eight seventy four seven one three two one two five eight seven four. 313 00:22:34.599 --> 00:22:41.200 Now pruning season is upon us. You can prune a tree any month 314 00:22:41.279 --> 00:22:45.000 of the year that you want to prune it. I mean it can be 315 00:22:45.119 --> 00:22:48.640 done the time when we try to get the majority of our pruning done, 316 00:22:48.799 --> 00:22:53.319 especially when we're doing quite a bit of printing to a plant, not just 317 00:22:53.440 --> 00:22:57.519 lopping off a limb here or there, is in the mid to late winter 318 00:22:57.640 --> 00:23:02.359 that that would be our idea. One of the reasons for that is because 319 00:23:02.400 --> 00:23:07.160 the fastest period of wound growth on a tree branch that's been cut off, 320 00:23:07.279 --> 00:23:12.160 the closing over of that exposed inner wood, that occurs in the spring. 321 00:23:12.839 --> 00:23:18.440 And so if you were to do a little like it could be time lapse 322 00:23:18.440 --> 00:23:21.279 photography, or if you just do a little like a little chart with the 323 00:23:21.319 --> 00:23:25.119 line that goes up and down, the fastest wound healing occurs in the spring, 324 00:23:25.160 --> 00:23:27.119 and then it sort of tails off in summer, slows down a lot, 325 00:23:27.319 --> 00:23:30.319 not stops, but slows down, and then in fall you get a 326 00:23:30.359 --> 00:23:33.160 little bump again, not as much as spring, but you get a little 327 00:23:33.160 --> 00:23:37.960 bit of healing speed up in the fall, and then in winter, of 328 00:23:37.000 --> 00:23:42.920 course everything's sitting pretty much still. So by pruning in this month and early 329 00:23:44.000 --> 00:23:48.119 next month, it's just the easiest time to get it done. The leaves 330 00:23:48.160 --> 00:23:49.279 are off, the tree, you can see what you're doing, you can 331 00:23:49.319 --> 00:23:53.119 get in there and get that kind of pruning work done. So that is 332 00:23:53.160 --> 00:23:59.559 why we aim for that this season, to get the pruning done. Pruning 333 00:23:59.640 --> 00:24:03.759 correct is critical, and I'll talk about that more than once this spring or 334 00:24:03.799 --> 00:24:11.160 this late winter. But most people go out and prune without knowing what they're 335 00:24:11.160 --> 00:24:18.400 doing, and in some cases that causes irreparable damage to a plant. When 336 00:24:18.440 --> 00:24:23.799 you take a tree and you just basically hack it up with poor pruning, 337 00:24:25.680 --> 00:24:32.799 that structure is destroyed and you essentially never really get it back. This is 338 00:24:32.839 --> 00:24:37.519 done to crate myrtles all the time. You know. These guys go out 339 00:24:37.519 --> 00:24:42.079 from landscape crews and homeowners because they watch what's being done commercially and they think 340 00:24:42.119 --> 00:24:45.720 that's what you should do at home, and they just basically hack the tree 341 00:24:45.720 --> 00:24:48.400 off at a certain height, they just cut it off, you know, 342 00:24:48.519 --> 00:24:52.279 grab your loppers, reach above your head, and that's how how you prune, 343 00:24:52.880 --> 00:24:55.680 and that is not how you should prune a great myrtle. As a 344 00:24:55.720 --> 00:24:59.960 result, we get these stumped off tops. They look like the fence posts. 345 00:25:00.119 --> 00:25:03.720 You know, it's just got this sizeable little branch coming up and it's 346 00:25:03.799 --> 00:25:06.920 just cut off and you get a crow's foot of growth, which means a 347 00:25:06.920 --> 00:25:10.440 whole bunch of sprouts take off and grow straight up in the air. They're 348 00:25:10.559 --> 00:25:15.880 poorly attached, they're a good summer storm can break them off, and the 349 00:25:15.920 --> 00:25:19.920 beautiful, shapely form of a grape myrtle is destroyed by that kind of pruning. 350 00:25:22.079 --> 00:25:27.160 That's just kind of like the poster example of pruning abuse that we have, 351 00:25:27.640 --> 00:25:32.880 but that happens. Similar things happen to shade trees too. Someone comes 352 00:25:32.920 --> 00:25:34.839 through and goes, I need to cut all those branches off, so you 353 00:25:34.880 --> 00:25:40.880 know it's hurricane season, you don't need to. Well, there is judicious 354 00:25:40.920 --> 00:25:45.720 pruning that's done to help strengthen your tree through storms and build strength over time, 355 00:25:45.319 --> 00:25:48.359 but that doesn't mean cutting them off like a hat rack is what you 356 00:25:48.480 --> 00:25:52.039 do, and it destroys the structure. And so if you're going to do 357 00:25:52.079 --> 00:25:56.640 it yourself, do a little learning about how to prune properly. And I'm 358 00:25:56.680 --> 00:26:03.839 going to talk about that often on this morning the show, and some principles 359 00:26:03.880 --> 00:26:08.000 of proper pruning that help you get off to a really good start from the 360 00:26:08.079 --> 00:26:12.440 time you plant a tree, even when you have a giant, older tree, 361 00:26:12.680 --> 00:26:15.640 how do you deal with that, and of course above all, you 362 00:26:15.680 --> 00:26:19.880 know hire professional that that is the most important thing to know too. Hey, 363 00:26:19.960 --> 00:26:23.480 I'm gonna take a break here. Our phone number seven one three two 364 00:26:23.519 --> 00:26:27.519 one two five eight seven four Kif Joshua call, you'll be on the board 365 00:26:27.519 --> 00:26:33.119 when we come back. Welcome back to garden Line on a Sunday morning. 366 00:26:33.279 --> 00:26:36.519 We're glad you're with us today. We're talking about all kinds of things gardening 367 00:26:36.640 --> 00:26:40.240 kind of Some of the topics that come to my mind is things I think 368 00:26:40.359 --> 00:26:44.279 are important for the season, things that you should know. If you'd like 369 00:26:44.319 --> 00:26:47.359 to give us call today, our phone number is seven one three two one 370 00:26:47.400 --> 00:26:52.119 two five eight seven four seven one three two one two fifty eight seventy four. 371 00:26:52.519 --> 00:26:57.799 By the way, if wild Birds Unlimited has got a selection of seeds 372 00:26:59.160 --> 00:27:03.440 for your birds that is second to none. And now you're thinking, okay, 373 00:27:03.480 --> 00:27:06.279 bird seed is bird seed right, because it's just seeds, right, 374 00:27:06.400 --> 00:27:10.160 It's just seeds. No, it's not cheap. Bird seed is filled with 375 00:27:10.200 --> 00:27:15.519 the little red bebies. You've seen it all on shelves. The little tiny 376 00:27:15.599 --> 00:27:19.480 red seeds are stuff that birds just don't really eat. It's a sorghum type 377 00:27:19.519 --> 00:27:25.920 seed. It's just filler if you will. And so if you look at 378 00:27:25.920 --> 00:27:27.680 a price of a bag of that bird seed, and you were to take 379 00:27:27.720 --> 00:27:32.039 that seed and take out all the red seeds out of there and see what 380 00:27:32.119 --> 00:27:34.559 you have left, in other words, of stuff birds want, you would 381 00:27:34.640 --> 00:27:38.880 find that what you're really paying for that bag is a lot more, maybe 382 00:27:38.920 --> 00:27:44.720 double or more what it should be because it's in there. It's because it's 383 00:27:44.759 --> 00:27:47.599 cheap and easy to put that in seed, to extend it out a little 384 00:27:47.640 --> 00:27:49.000 further, it makes a big bag, and no one knows the difference. 385 00:27:49.119 --> 00:27:53.640 Well, I'm telling you it's better to purchase a high quality seed like wild 386 00:27:53.680 --> 00:27:59.079 birds has, because when for every penny you spend on that seed, you're 387 00:27:59.079 --> 00:28:02.640 getting seed that birds are going to eat. Now some types they have or 388 00:28:02.680 --> 00:28:07.200 even completely whole free. So like you know, let's take sunflowers for examples, 389 00:28:07.279 --> 00:28:11.200 great bird food, but when they crack it open, they drop the 390 00:28:11.200 --> 00:28:15.160 holes on the ground. It's still it's a seed that the birds want. 391 00:28:15.240 --> 00:28:18.160 So yes, that's good, But do you want holeless In other words, 392 00:28:18.160 --> 00:28:23.880 where there's zero zero debris anywhere. Wilbirds has that too. I would recommend 393 00:28:25.039 --> 00:28:29.000 right now that you focus on their winter super blend because it's loaded with the 394 00:28:29.079 --> 00:28:33.839 fats and proteins that birds need. They need that, especially during this particular 395 00:28:33.880 --> 00:28:37.680 season, your bluebirds are starting to look for a nest box. And so 396 00:28:38.039 --> 00:28:42.880 if you have bluebirds or want to attract bluebirds, consider getting a bluebird box 397 00:28:42.920 --> 00:28:47.400 from Waldbirds Unlimited and getting it set up. They can tell you where to 398 00:28:47.440 --> 00:28:51.839 put it. Bluebirds have their own opinions about you know how and where they 399 00:28:51.880 --> 00:28:53.799 prefer to us. They can set you up with that. How about Purple 400 00:28:53.839 --> 00:28:57.799 Martins. They're coming in next month in February, so go ahead and find 401 00:28:57.839 --> 00:29:03.640 a location, get that polls set up and they have wonderful Purple Martin houses 402 00:29:03.680 --> 00:29:06.480 at Wildbirds Now. Wildbirds is all over the place. We've got a bunch 403 00:29:06.519 --> 00:29:10.960 of stores here in the Houston and Houston Greater Houston area. Six stores now 404 00:29:10.960 --> 00:29:14.119 in the Houston area, and you can find one near you by going to 405 00:29:14.359 --> 00:29:21.640 w b U dot com forward slash Houston w BU as in Wildbirds Unlimited dot 406 00:29:21.640 --> 00:29:23.920 com forward slash Houston. When you go in there, you're going to find 407 00:29:23.960 --> 00:29:26.680 a lot of cool stuff, from bird houses, to bird feeders, to 408 00:29:29.000 --> 00:29:33.279 well, perhaps most importantly, people that know what they're talking about and can 409 00:29:33.319 --> 00:29:37.599 direct you to a product that is both both beautiful and really really effective in 410 00:29:37.680 --> 00:29:42.359 bringing the songbirds in to your house. I love mine. I've got the 411 00:29:42.440 --> 00:29:48.839 squirrel excluding feeder, and anytime I can disappoint a squirrel is I want to 412 00:29:48.839 --> 00:29:52.880 take advantage of that. And this thing disappoints squirrels because I used to have 413 00:29:52.920 --> 00:29:56.519 the feeders they could get into all the time, and I was basically Bill 414 00:29:56.640 --> 00:29:59.799 Murray and Caddyshack trying to figure out how to keep the squirrels out of the 415 00:30:00.160 --> 00:30:03.599 feeders. But now I just you know, with that quality feeder, it's 416 00:30:03.680 --> 00:30:08.960 just enjoyable to watch. I was talking about pruning a little bit earlier, 417 00:30:10.000 --> 00:30:12.519 and I want to go back to that because there's a few things that are 418 00:30:12.559 --> 00:30:17.559 really important to know. First of all, when you plant a tree, 419 00:30:18.599 --> 00:30:23.720 you start the pruning process of that plant. And here's what I mean, 420 00:30:23.839 --> 00:30:27.599 it's called training at that stage for the first let's say five years. I'm 421 00:30:27.640 --> 00:30:30.920 just going to throw a number out there. We're doing a lot of training 422 00:30:32.119 --> 00:30:36.720 on that tree. We're establishing where are those scaffold branches going to be, 423 00:30:37.440 --> 00:30:42.279 and making those choices wisely is important. You look at this little tree, 424 00:30:42.359 --> 00:30:47.279 maybe it's the size of a broomstick, and it's got the little branches coming 425 00:30:47.319 --> 00:30:49.160 out, and you see two branches that are six inches apart, and that 426 00:30:49.559 --> 00:30:55.519 looks nice. Well, imagine each of those branches twenty years from now, 427 00:30:55.599 --> 00:30:59.640 thirty years from now, when it's grown to be you know, eight ten 428 00:30:59.680 --> 00:31:04.799 inches are twelve inches in diameter apart. They're suddenly crowded together and they're pushing 429 00:31:04.839 --> 00:31:08.559 against each other, and some of the structural strength is not going to be 430 00:31:08.640 --> 00:31:14.200 there had it as it would had it been trained properly. So you look 431 00:31:14.240 --> 00:31:18.279 at that tree, and unless you buy a very large tree, when you 432 00:31:18.359 --> 00:31:22.759 just go buy a little tree and a five gallon bucket or ten gallon bucket 433 00:31:23.240 --> 00:31:27.680 somewhere, pretty much every branch on that tree is not going to be there 434 00:31:27.880 --> 00:31:33.400 later in the life of the tree. And it's because walk underneath a big, 435 00:31:33.480 --> 00:31:37.079 beautiful tree in your yard or anybody's yard, where's the first branch. 436 00:31:37.799 --> 00:31:41.599 Well, it's a way above head high, right, Because those branches come 437 00:31:41.640 --> 00:31:44.279 out, they sack down. You got to walk and mow under them. 438 00:31:44.599 --> 00:31:48.079 And so all those branches in the tree you bought are temporary. So what 439 00:31:48.119 --> 00:31:52.559 we want to do is get that tree growing as fast as we can and 440 00:31:52.599 --> 00:31:55.720 you don't prune them all off and you're just left with like a fishing pole 441 00:31:55.839 --> 00:32:00.680 or a bamboo shoot. No, you leave them because they're going to have 442 00:32:00.799 --> 00:32:06.279 leaves in the spring that make carbohydrates that fuel the growth of that tree. 443 00:32:06.319 --> 00:32:08.359 And our goal is to get it to grow as fast as we can from 444 00:32:08.400 --> 00:32:12.640 the day it hits the ground on and so you leave them. What I 445 00:32:12.640 --> 00:32:15.599 will do is often tip those branches, take my pruners and cut the last 446 00:32:15.640 --> 00:32:21.039 few inches just out of them. And that is a dwarfing process. It's 447 00:32:22.599 --> 00:32:25.279 I guess it's like almost as if you were doing a bone's eye or something. 448 00:32:25.599 --> 00:32:29.319 Some of the pruning and things that are done with that to keep it 449 00:32:29.759 --> 00:32:34.440 more dwarf. Well, when you tip a branch, it those tipped shoots 450 00:32:34.559 --> 00:32:37.519 try to branch out and grow, but they stay there. The leaves stay 451 00:32:37.559 --> 00:32:42.000 on them, but the branch doesn't grow in diameter much. Now, if 452 00:32:42.039 --> 00:32:45.200 you never tip it again, yes it will, But my point is is 453 00:32:45.240 --> 00:32:49.359 that we leave them on there. And I like to use the term nurse 454 00:32:49.759 --> 00:32:52.920 limbs. As a nurse limb, so imagine this tree you put in the 455 00:32:52.920 --> 00:32:58.559 ground size of a broomstick, maybe just as an example, and you've got 456 00:32:58.559 --> 00:33:00.960 all this little stuff growing out the sides that you know are not going to 457 00:33:00.960 --> 00:33:05.359 be long term branches. You don't want the energy of the tree going into 458 00:33:05.400 --> 00:33:07.640 those because you're just going to hack them off and throw them way later. 459 00:33:07.000 --> 00:33:09.720 So when you tip them, you keep them a little smaller, but you 460 00:33:09.839 --> 00:33:15.000 maintain good foliage cover. You don't prune everything off of it. And then 461 00:33:15.119 --> 00:33:19.960 people that do strip out the whole tree and just leave the highest parts, 462 00:33:20.000 --> 00:33:23.079 well, that's called lion tailing. That's one of the types of lion tailing, 463 00:33:23.440 --> 00:33:28.240 meaning you got this long, long, skinny, naked branch and a 464 00:33:28.240 --> 00:33:30.279 bunch of leaves out at the end like a lion's tale. And that's not 465 00:33:30.319 --> 00:33:34.680 what you want to do. Now. Once a branch reaches about an inch 466 00:33:35.279 --> 00:33:37.720 in diameter, it could be up to a golf ball size, but preferably 467 00:33:37.720 --> 00:33:42.279 by about an inch, you go ahead and cut it off. And so 468 00:33:42.440 --> 00:33:45.720 you're you're using leaving these limbs long enough to do as much good as you 469 00:33:45.799 --> 00:33:50.440 can without letting them become the boss limb of the tree. You know, 470 00:33:50.519 --> 00:33:55.000 tree limbs compete with each other, especially trunks going upward, and you have 471 00:33:55.079 --> 00:34:00.160 to you have to hold them back with some of that pruning to allow the 472 00:34:00.200 --> 00:34:05.039 trunk to grow up and the branches that are permanent to get established and get 473 00:34:05.039 --> 00:34:07.880 out there. So I will often use when I plant a tree, for 474 00:34:07.920 --> 00:34:10.960 the first year, I've got those nurse limbs on it, and then they're 475 00:34:10.960 --> 00:34:15.880 coming off or about the time they hit about it a little over an inch 476 00:34:15.920 --> 00:34:17.960 in diameter. You want to be able to cut them off with looppers, 477 00:34:19.280 --> 00:34:22.360 not have to use a saw. If you do use a saw, the 478 00:34:22.440 --> 00:34:25.320 smaller the branch is the better because the fast it heels over. I don't 479 00:34:25.360 --> 00:34:29.519 know if that makes sense to you, but that is the process. Maybe 480 00:34:29.519 --> 00:34:31.880 I ought to do a video put it online or something like that. That 481 00:34:31.960 --> 00:34:37.519 would probably be helpful to do that. But anyway, if you're interested in 482 00:34:37.519 --> 00:34:39.079 that, let me know. Maybe we'll get something like that up on the 483 00:34:39.079 --> 00:34:45.400 website or training early in the life of the tree is very very important. 484 00:34:45.599 --> 00:34:50.480 I get a lot of photos and phone calls from people that describe a tree 485 00:34:50.519 --> 00:34:52.519 and it's just a mess, and now what do I do. Well, 486 00:34:54.000 --> 00:34:59.360 you know, it's six years down the line and there's things we can try 487 00:34:59.400 --> 00:35:00.960 to do to help, but it would have been so much better to do 488 00:35:01.000 --> 00:35:06.000 it early on. Something I like to say, and this is an exaggeration 489 00:35:06.199 --> 00:35:10.519 that it makes a point. If you have planted a tree yourself and during 490 00:35:10.519 --> 00:35:14.400 the life of that tree yet to pull out a saw, it's an admission 491 00:35:14.440 --> 00:35:16.800 of guilt. What does that mean? That means that back when a limb 492 00:35:16.800 --> 00:35:22.079 could have been cut off with loppers, you delayed the decision and now you're 493 00:35:22.079 --> 00:35:23.639 having to make a big wound on the tree. That's kind of what I'm 494 00:35:23.679 --> 00:35:27.679 talking about. Hey, we'll be right back. Seven one three two one 495 00:35:27.719 --> 00:35:31.960 two fifty eight seventy four. Katie r h. Garden Line does not necessarily 496 00:35:32.079 --> 00:35:37.880 endorse any of the products or services advertised on this program. Welcome to Katie 497 00:35:38.000 --> 00:35:50.280 r H. Garden Line with Skip Richard. It's so crazy trip. Just 498 00:35:50.519 --> 00:36:00.880 watch him as well. Good Sunday morning. Welcome back to Garden Line. 499 00:36:00.960 --> 00:36:02.760 I'm your host, Skip Rector, and we're here to talk gardening. If 500 00:36:02.760 --> 00:36:07.760 you'd like to give me a call. Seven one three two one two five 501 00:36:07.960 --> 00:36:13.079 eight seven four seven one three two one two KTRH. I see a glow 502 00:36:13.280 --> 00:36:16.480 in the eastern sky. It's just getting started, but it means the day 503 00:36:16.559 --> 00:36:20.920 is on the way and it's going to be a good day, a beautiful 504 00:36:20.960 --> 00:36:23.440 day. Outside, Just really looking forward to spend a little bit of time 505 00:36:23.599 --> 00:36:29.679 outside myself. I've been talking about different things going on in timely things in 506 00:36:29.719 --> 00:36:34.480 the garden. Talked a little bit about training trees, getting into that last 507 00:36:34.519 --> 00:36:37.239 break that we took. I did want to mention a little bit about nutrients 508 00:36:37.480 --> 00:36:43.039 and our vegetable gardens and our flower beds this time of year, this is 509 00:36:43.079 --> 00:36:47.519 a time when are it's cooler, and so plant growth has slowed down a 510 00:36:47.559 --> 00:36:53.280 little bit. But nutrients are especially important. The fact that a plant is 511 00:36:53.400 --> 00:36:58.519 able to get all the nutrients that it needs enables it to have vigor. 512 00:36:58.519 --> 00:37:01.039 And when you have vigor with some light, you're going to get lots of 513 00:37:01.079 --> 00:37:07.079 carbohydrate production and more bigger and more blooms and more fruit maybe or maybe flower 514 00:37:07.360 --> 00:37:10.639 buds. Do you know we eat flower buds. It's called broccoli. That's 515 00:37:10.840 --> 00:37:15.880 that's one thing that we eat that's a flower bud. But in order for 516 00:37:15.920 --> 00:37:19.880 those things to be their most productive, you need nutrients. Especially the nitrogen 517 00:37:20.039 --> 00:37:23.159 is important, but all of them are important. Now, maybe you're growing 518 00:37:23.360 --> 00:37:28.360 onions. You planted onions and you can't wait for your spring harvest of big 519 00:37:28.400 --> 00:37:34.719 beautiful onion bulbs. Nitrogen is very important for those onions should not just sit 520 00:37:34.800 --> 00:37:38.559 there. They should be growing actively as much as is in your power to 521 00:37:38.599 --> 00:37:44.480 help them grow. And so, for example, you can take a fertilizer 522 00:37:44.840 --> 00:37:47.559 that has a good boost of nitrogen. An example of that would be Microlife 523 00:37:47.639 --> 00:37:52.880 Microlife I really like for that kind of fertilizing. I like their Ultimate eight 524 00:37:53.039 --> 00:37:58.760 four six Microlife Ultimate eight for six. That's a blue bag and it's got 525 00:37:58.800 --> 00:38:01.920 a really good strong boot boost of the nitrogen in it as well as the 526 00:38:01.960 --> 00:38:06.960 other ingredients that plants need. Now I know it's a lawn fertilizer, you 527 00:38:06.960 --> 00:38:10.920 can use it for that, but it's in anything pretty much fertilizer. So 528 00:38:12.039 --> 00:38:14.920 if you've got a vegetable garden or a flower bed, maybe you have some 529 00:38:15.199 --> 00:38:19.239 violas or pansies or a lissom or something like that out there, when you 530 00:38:19.280 --> 00:38:22.840 give a boost of a nitrogen product like that in the cool season, you're 531 00:38:22.880 --> 00:38:27.280 going to sustain that good growth. And as the weather warms up, it's 532 00:38:27.320 --> 00:38:30.880 going to break down even faster, releasing more and more nutrients because plant growth 533 00:38:30.920 --> 00:38:35.519 is speeding up as the weather warms up a little bit, and as a 534 00:38:35.519 --> 00:38:40.239 result, you have more bountiful and beautiful gardens. Now, just think about 535 00:38:40.239 --> 00:38:45.559 it a little bit. If you allow your plants to they will essentially, 536 00:38:45.679 --> 00:38:50.039 in the case of flowers, bloom themselves to death. Just about that's an 537 00:38:50.079 --> 00:38:54.880 exaggeration, but my point is that they take a lot of carbohydrogen energy to 538 00:38:55.000 --> 00:39:00.559 create blooms, and if they have fruit to especially to eat fruit, that 539 00:39:00.920 --> 00:39:06.599 draws on a lot of reserves of the plant and vigor goes down as a 540 00:39:06.639 --> 00:39:10.559 result. But when you keep feeding them, when you keep encouraging growth, 541 00:39:10.719 --> 00:39:16.840 not excessive amounts of fertilizer, but constant, dependable supply of nutrients in the 542 00:39:16.920 --> 00:39:21.400 ratio they want, they're going to do well. And that's one reason I 543 00:39:21.480 --> 00:39:28.400 like Microlife's Ultimate eight four six. The Microlife products are sold all over town. 544 00:39:28.480 --> 00:39:31.199 You can go online to Microlife Fertilizer dot com and find out where, 545 00:39:31.239 --> 00:39:36.000 but pretty much any place you walk in you're going to find Microlife in the 546 00:39:36.039 --> 00:39:39.679 Greater Houston area. It's an organic fertilizer, so we it's one that a 547 00:39:39.679 --> 00:39:45.639 lot of folks enjoy, love to use, and have had excellent success with 548 00:39:45.760 --> 00:39:50.920 and I know I know you will too. So nutrients are important in the 549 00:39:51.159 --> 00:39:57.440 in this season, keeping that broccoli growing as fast as you can the cauliflower 550 00:39:57.480 --> 00:40:00.320 as fast as you can based on the weather we're having, making sure those 551 00:40:00.360 --> 00:40:04.000 onions grow. By the way, do you know why it's important to fertilize 552 00:40:04.000 --> 00:40:07.679 onions so much? The onion you eat is really an onion leaf. An 553 00:40:07.679 --> 00:40:13.960 onion bulb is an onion leaf. So just think about that for a minute. 554 00:40:14.199 --> 00:40:15.679 The roots of the onion, everybody knows what those are. At the 555 00:40:15.679 --> 00:40:21.400 bottom of the base. That little plate at the bottom of the bulb that 556 00:40:21.480 --> 00:40:24.880 the roots come out of, that's the stem of the onion. Everything above 557 00:40:24.920 --> 00:40:30.400 that little round belly button on the bottom of the onion is leaves. Everything 558 00:40:30.440 --> 00:40:35.719 above that, so an onion ring is the swollen base of an onion leaf. 559 00:40:35.800 --> 00:40:38.119 Now why am I going but all into botany. Well, here's why. 560 00:40:38.639 --> 00:40:43.800 If you want a big onion bulb, you have to have a big 561 00:40:43.840 --> 00:40:47.559 onion plant with lots of leaves that are healthy. And that's how you end 562 00:40:47.639 --> 00:40:52.559 up when the day length changes and tells the onion it's time to create a 563 00:40:52.559 --> 00:40:55.320 bulb at the base there. When that happens, if you've got three leaves 564 00:40:55.400 --> 00:40:59.320 on an onion plant, that's going to be a really tiny bulb. It'll 565 00:40:59.360 --> 00:41:01.599 still taste like an onion. It's still worth having and eating and all that, 566 00:41:02.239 --> 00:41:07.840 but you have just really reduced your production as a result. So what 567 00:41:07.880 --> 00:41:10.639 do we do. We fertilize regularly in small amounts, We keep moisture going 568 00:41:10.679 --> 00:41:14.519 there, we do all the things plants want, good sunlight, blah blah 569 00:41:14.519 --> 00:41:20.039 blah. Because the strength of that plant when bulbing initiates in the early spring, 570 00:41:20.559 --> 00:41:24.000 that is the big that's the size. You're the potential that your onion 571 00:41:24.000 --> 00:41:28.480 bulb that's going to have. Okay, that makes sense. A lot of 572 00:41:28.480 --> 00:41:30.639 people don't think about it that way, but that that's basically what it's going 573 00:41:30.719 --> 00:41:35.039 on. So you cut across an onion, you see onion rings. That's 574 00:41:35.119 --> 00:41:37.400 the base of an onion leaf. It is part of the onion leaf that 575 00:41:37.440 --> 00:41:44.360 you're looking at. That's probably one of the most important secrets to success with 576 00:41:44.440 --> 00:41:47.480 onions is to get as big a plant as you can. That determines the 577 00:41:47.559 --> 00:41:52.639 cultivars that we plant that are adapted here. It determines the timing of when 578 00:41:52.679 --> 00:41:54.800 we plant because we want to get as much growth as we can, and 579 00:41:54.840 --> 00:42:02.199 it certainly determines the kind of nutrition and moisture dependent. Moisture levels that we 580 00:42:02.280 --> 00:42:06.880 have for our onion plants. There's a lot, a lot of information on 581 00:42:06.880 --> 00:42:09.199 onions, but I don't know. I think it's fun to learn about things, 582 00:42:09.239 --> 00:42:15.079 but I also think that it's important to learn about things because if you're 583 00:42:15.079 --> 00:42:19.320 going to have success with a garden, understanding how things work is a big 584 00:42:19.360 --> 00:42:22.199 part of that. You know, you can memorize eight hundred thousand little mini 585 00:42:22.280 --> 00:42:28.400 facts about gardening, or you can, hopefully in addition to learning facts, 586 00:42:28.639 --> 00:42:30.679 you can learn about some of the principles that make plants grow and you can 587 00:42:30.760 --> 00:42:36.760 learn have success with that. So that's what we just did with onions, 588 00:42:36.800 --> 00:42:43.559 and also with tree pruning. I want to make another comment about tree pruning 589 00:42:43.719 --> 00:42:46.480 as we go forward here, We're going to keep circling back on this today 590 00:42:46.519 --> 00:42:51.599 and I'll probably do it in future shows as well. But in addition to 591 00:42:51.760 --> 00:42:58.559 training the tree right so that as much energy as possible goes into trunks, 592 00:42:59.039 --> 00:43:02.800 trunk and brand that are permanent on the tree. That was the first goal 593 00:43:02.840 --> 00:43:07.719 in the training, getting it established. The next thing is learning to make 594 00:43:07.960 --> 00:43:16.239 printing cuts properly. When a tree branch joins a tree trunk, you see, 595 00:43:16.280 --> 00:43:19.519 you've got your trunk, and then here comes a branch in from the 596 00:43:19.599 --> 00:43:24.559 side. As you follow that branch down toward the trunk, there's a certain 597 00:43:24.559 --> 00:43:29.239 diameter to the branch. It isn't changing much. And then right as you 598 00:43:29.360 --> 00:43:34.280 get just about to the point of attachment to the trunk, the branch gets 599 00:43:34.400 --> 00:43:39.280 larger, it expands, it flares out. And when you make a printing 600 00:43:39.360 --> 00:43:45.760 cut, there's three places to make that cut, and two are wrong. 601 00:43:45.519 --> 00:43:50.000 I'm going to leave you with that thought, and when we come back, 602 00:43:50.079 --> 00:43:52.159 I'll talk about the three places to make the cut and the two that are 603 00:43:52.159 --> 00:43:55.639 wrong, so you won't make the wrong cut. Our phone number seven one, 604 00:43:55.719 --> 00:43:59.639 three, two, two, fifty eight to seventy four will be right 605 00:43:59.679 --> 00:44:05.199 back. Welcome back to garden Line. I'm your host, Skip Richter. 606 00:44:05.360 --> 00:44:07.480 And what are we doing today. We're talking all kinds of things gardening. 607 00:44:07.519 --> 00:44:10.920 I've been kind of going through some stuff on tree pruning and I want to 608 00:44:10.960 --> 00:44:16.000 continue with that. It's just an important number one. This is the primary 609 00:44:16.039 --> 00:44:22.159 season where we do the majority of our tree pruning if we're able. Sometimes 610 00:44:22.679 --> 00:44:27.199 nature throws us a little challenge like limb breaks in the summer or whatever, 611 00:44:27.679 --> 00:44:30.639 but this is the time when we like to get it done. But doing 612 00:44:30.679 --> 00:44:32.920 it right is so important, and I would say it's better not to do 613 00:44:34.000 --> 00:44:37.719 it, to go learn how to do it, and then come out to 614 00:44:37.800 --> 00:44:42.760 do your pruning rather than do what seems best, because I see a lot 615 00:44:42.760 --> 00:44:46.199 of examples of quote what seems best to people, and by the way, 616 00:44:46.280 --> 00:44:53.239 also companies that claim to be experts in trees that it's just a butcher job 617 00:44:53.320 --> 00:44:57.840 and it messes the tree up. So I mentioned before we went into break 618 00:44:58.159 --> 00:45:02.199 that we were going to that a branch when it comes in toward the trunk, 619 00:45:02.599 --> 00:45:07.280 it you know, whatever the diameter of the branch is is pretty consistent. 620 00:45:07.360 --> 00:45:10.239 And then right when you get right up to where the trunk attachment point 621 00:45:10.360 --> 00:45:15.920 is, the branch flares out and where it attaches. So there's three places 622 00:45:15.960 --> 00:45:20.159 you can make this printing cut two or wrong. One is right. First 623 00:45:20.159 --> 00:45:23.199 place. You can reach out a little bit past where it starts to flare 624 00:45:23.239 --> 00:45:28.519 out and cut it off there. That's wrong because it leaves a stub. 625 00:45:29.159 --> 00:45:32.800 Where you cut that branch off, that end will die. Everything out from 626 00:45:35.000 --> 00:45:37.559 the swollen area, if you will, or the larger the flared out area 627 00:45:37.679 --> 00:45:40.760 where it attaches, everything out from that is going to die and it'll be 628 00:45:40.800 --> 00:45:45.239 a dead stub, and the branch will the tree will not be able to 629 00:45:45.320 --> 00:45:52.960 close that wound back over because the main place of healing is in that collar. 630 00:45:52.119 --> 00:45:58.320 That flared attachment point on the branch, that's where most of the effective 631 00:45:58.360 --> 00:46:02.119 healing is done, are such that they're designed to close over there very well. 632 00:46:02.480 --> 00:46:06.079 So you leave a dead stub, now you've got a dead two by 633 00:46:06.119 --> 00:46:09.199 four, you got moisture entering the tree. You've got interior trunk decay over 634 00:46:09.239 --> 00:46:15.559 the years. Not a good place. The second place that's not correct is 635 00:46:15.159 --> 00:46:20.800 right up flush against the trunk because imagine this now that analogy, I hope 636 00:46:20.840 --> 00:46:23.280 I created the picture in your mind. But when you cut the branch off 637 00:46:23.320 --> 00:46:29.000 where it's the size of the regular size of the branch down there before it 638 00:46:29.039 --> 00:46:32.800 flares out, you've got a certain sized wound. But as you go closer 639 00:46:32.840 --> 00:46:37.159 and closer to the trunk when it flares out, if you cut it off 640 00:46:37.199 --> 00:46:42.039 there, you've got a much larger wound. So that's more area to try 641 00:46:42.039 --> 00:46:46.159 to heal over right, and so as a result, it takes more time. 642 00:46:46.280 --> 00:46:50.840 That leaves the interior wood exposed for longer, which is not a good 643 00:46:50.840 --> 00:46:55.920 thing. Also, you've removed the tissues on the tree that are basically the 644 00:46:55.920 --> 00:47:00.840 ones designed to close that wound over best. Where you get the fastest healing 645 00:47:00.960 --> 00:47:05.679 is the tissues that you just cut off because you went too close to the 646 00:47:05.719 --> 00:47:09.960 trunk and you removed that collar, that flaring out base at the bottom of 647 00:47:10.000 --> 00:47:15.159 the branch. Wrong place to prune. The right place to prune of those 648 00:47:15.199 --> 00:47:20.760 three is right where the branch begins to flare out. Just really close right 649 00:47:20.800 --> 00:47:24.880 in there, because then you're removing the branch, You're still having the smallest 650 00:47:24.920 --> 00:47:30.119 possible wound that you could and all those healing tissues are right behind where you 651 00:47:30.199 --> 00:47:35.760 cut, and they can begin. I shouldn't use the word healing the callous 652 00:47:35.800 --> 00:47:42.639 forming tissues that close the wound. Those tissues are actively going to come in 653 00:47:42.719 --> 00:47:46.039 now and grow that callous and close it back over and seal them protect the 654 00:47:46.079 --> 00:47:50.880 interior wood from the exposure to the elements and microbes and moisture and all that 655 00:47:50.960 --> 00:47:53.199 kind of thing. So that's the proper way to make a cut. That's 656 00:47:53.239 --> 00:47:57.559 the proper place to make a cut. I'm going to talk in a minute 657 00:47:57.639 --> 00:48:01.159 about the proper way to make a cut. That would be a different category 658 00:48:01.159 --> 00:48:06.719 altogether. For right now I just want to I just want to point out, 659 00:48:07.119 --> 00:48:09.320 and you hear me brag about Ace all the time, and the reason 660 00:48:09.719 --> 00:48:15.320 I do, the reason I love Ace is because Ace has everything that you 661 00:48:15.400 --> 00:48:19.280 need for lawn and garden. You know, of course, ACE has everything 662 00:48:19.400 --> 00:48:25.039 for electrical repairs and plumbing and you name it like a hardware store would. 663 00:48:25.559 --> 00:48:31.320 But you're not going to find the kind of options when it comes to fertilizers. 664 00:48:31.360 --> 00:48:34.440 If I talk about it on Guardenline, they're going to have it at 665 00:48:34.440 --> 00:48:37.880 Ace. That's how that works. The potting soils, the fertilizers, the 666 00:48:38.400 --> 00:48:43.320 insect control, the disease control, the weed management. Do you need a 667 00:48:43.360 --> 00:48:47.079 little pump up sprayer or gardening tools like a whool burrow or many others gardening 668 00:48:47.119 --> 00:48:51.119 hose for crying out loud. I mean, they've had all. They've got 669 00:48:51.119 --> 00:48:54.320 it all there at Ace. They've got the multch there, They've got every 670 00:48:54.480 --> 00:48:58.800 kind of product you need to have success with your lawn. It's going to 671 00:48:58.800 --> 00:49:02.760 be at Ace Hardware. And that is nice because it's so convenient. Forty 672 00:49:02.800 --> 00:49:07.719 Ace Hardware stores around the Houston area. It's easy to find one near you. 673 00:49:07.760 --> 00:49:12.960 Go to Acehardware dot com and you will find a store locator if you 674 00:49:13.000 --> 00:49:16.920 want to take that url out one more step. Ace Hardware dot Com slash 675 00:49:17.079 --> 00:49:22.599 store dash Locator, store dash locator, and you can find the Ace Hardware 676 00:49:22.639 --> 00:49:25.719 near you here in the Greater Houston area. And it is going to be 677 00:49:25.760 --> 00:49:29.480 at the kind of thing where when you walk in, you're going to realize 678 00:49:29.519 --> 00:49:30.800 why I talk about them all the time. They've got it all. They've 679 00:49:30.800 --> 00:49:35.719 got everything you need. Makes it makes it so much easier to be able 680 00:49:35.760 --> 00:49:40.239 to have success with your lawn and your garden, any part of your landscape. 681 00:49:40.559 --> 00:49:45.679 So I was talking about on a branch, where do you make the 682 00:49:45.760 --> 00:49:50.719 cut? That is one important factor, and we've covered that. We talked 683 00:49:50.719 --> 00:49:54.800 about previous to that. I talked about the importance of training a tree properly 684 00:49:54.840 --> 00:49:58.840 in the first especially the first five years, just to throw a number, 685 00:49:58.880 --> 00:50:02.079 a general number out there. By that time, you will have a tree 686 00:50:02.119 --> 00:50:07.039 that has its major scaffold limbs formed, You've cut off all the small branches 687 00:50:07.079 --> 00:50:10.360 once they got a little above an inch that aren't permanent, and you've created 688 00:50:10.360 --> 00:50:15.800 a beautiful tree. By the way. One additional factor in training is trees 689 00:50:15.880 --> 00:50:20.719 love to send up competing trunks where you have two side by side, going 690 00:50:20.800 --> 00:50:23.599 up, each one trying to be the boss, and you got to take 691 00:50:23.679 --> 00:50:27.840 one or the other out. I would say it doesn't matter which one you 692 00:50:27.880 --> 00:50:30.719 take out, just because people get hung up and they put it off, 693 00:50:30.039 --> 00:50:34.039 and that creates a bigger problem and a bigger wound, and just make a 694 00:50:34.039 --> 00:50:37.480 decision. Cut one or the other out. Single trunk coming up through those 695 00:50:37.639 --> 00:50:44.480 narrow, narrow, v shaped trunks are destined to be weakly attached and to 696 00:50:44.559 --> 00:50:47.519 split apart in a storm. It's coming. Who knows what day it'll get 697 00:50:47.559 --> 00:50:52.480 there, and maybe ten fifteen years down the line, but it is coming. 698 00:50:52.760 --> 00:50:57.800 When you have those narrow, angled, v angled trunks that you don't 699 00:50:57.800 --> 00:51:01.480 take one or the other out of, I'd like to talk about how do 700 00:51:01.559 --> 00:51:07.960 you make a proper pruning cut. The goal is to use sharp materials, 701 00:51:07.239 --> 00:51:12.199 sharp tools rather for example, your loppers, your hand pruners, or a 702 00:51:12.239 --> 00:51:14.760 saw. You want it to be nice and sharp because you want to make 703 00:51:14.800 --> 00:51:19.639 a nice, cleaned wound. Now, as branches get larger, what happens 704 00:51:19.719 --> 00:51:22.199 is people reach out and they grab the branch and they start, let's say, 705 00:51:22.280 --> 00:51:27.719 sawing it off from top to bottom, and all of a sudden, 706 00:51:28.039 --> 00:51:32.159 the weight to the branch is heavier than the wood that's left that you haven't 707 00:51:32.159 --> 00:51:37.480 cut through yet can hold, and the branch falls in. It strips the 708 00:51:37.559 --> 00:51:42.159 bark off going down the wound instead of a nice clean wound. Now you 709 00:51:42.199 --> 00:51:45.519 have this stripped almost like you peel the banana. You know, one section 710 00:51:45.559 --> 00:51:49.760 of a banana peel off. And when you have that, that is going 711 00:51:49.840 --> 00:51:53.320 to be forever to healing. Everything I said about the tissues being in the 712 00:51:53.360 --> 00:51:59.280 flare at the base of the branch where it attaches, that's where the healing 713 00:51:59.440 --> 00:52:01.480 best occur. Will you just stripped right through those when you do that. 714 00:52:02.199 --> 00:52:06.440 So what you need to do if you cannot hold a branch in one hand, 715 00:52:06.519 --> 00:52:07.960 You look at that branch and you say, can I with one arm 716 00:52:08.039 --> 00:52:12.239 reaching out hold that branch? Probably your left arm if you're right handed, 717 00:52:12.559 --> 00:52:15.360 can you can you do that? And if the enter is no, and 718 00:52:15.400 --> 00:52:20.360 it often is no, then you need to use a three point cut. 719 00:52:20.440 --> 00:52:23.960 Now what a three point cut is is first you go out from where your 720 00:52:24.000 --> 00:52:28.840 final cut's going to be, out the branch away from the trunk just I 721 00:52:28.840 --> 00:52:30.760 don't know, it could be a foot, it could be less uh, 722 00:52:30.800 --> 00:52:36.039 and you cut upward about a third of the way from the from the ground 723 00:52:36.239 --> 00:52:38.239 upward into the branch about a third of the way. Don't go too far, 724 00:52:38.559 --> 00:52:44.440 the branch will will fall. Lean down and pinch your saw. It'll 725 00:52:44.440 --> 00:52:49.039 get your saw out of there. Then you go out from that a little 726 00:52:49.079 --> 00:52:52.800 further, not closer to the trunk, but out from the where the first 727 00:52:52.800 --> 00:52:57.639 cut was even further and you cut downward, and at some point that branch 728 00:52:57.719 --> 00:53:00.239 is going to break and fall off, but where it does that, it's 729 00:53:00.280 --> 00:53:04.920 going to stop. That first cut is going to stop the stripping because it's 730 00:53:04.960 --> 00:53:09.800 not connected there anymore. The branch breaks away and you've avoided stripping that bark. 731 00:53:09.960 --> 00:53:15.239 When the branch falls, then the third cut is where it should be 732 00:53:15.320 --> 00:53:16.800 made. That's where we were talking about before. Where do we make the 733 00:53:16.880 --> 00:53:23.920 cut just outside that swollen flare at the base right where the branch approaches the 734 00:53:23.960 --> 00:53:28.000 normal diameter of what that branch is going to be going outward from there. 735 00:53:28.400 --> 00:53:31.119 So one, two, three, First upward a third of the way, 736 00:53:31.599 --> 00:53:37.880 then out from that downward till the branch falls off. Then third, grab 737 00:53:37.920 --> 00:53:42.400 that stub that you've created and make your final cut, and you can just 738 00:53:42.599 --> 00:53:45.800 lift it away. It's a little more time and trouble. But when you 739 00:53:45.840 --> 00:53:49.239 get in a hurry and you think, oh, I can hold it with 740 00:53:49.280 --> 00:53:52.119 one hand, or I'll just cut real quick before it falls, Inevitably, 741 00:53:52.400 --> 00:53:57.760 you're going to create a wound. And now you've done significant damage. It's 742 00:53:57.760 --> 00:54:01.559 going to last to that tree. So hopefully that that little one two three 743 00:54:01.639 --> 00:54:07.159 tip is helpful for you. You're listening to garden Line. I'm your host, 744 00:54:07.320 --> 00:54:09.559 Skip Richter, and we're here to answer gardening questions. You can reach 745 00:54:09.679 --> 00:54:15.199 me at seven one three two one two fifty eight seventy four. That is 746 00:54:15.280 --> 00:54:22.000 seven one three two one two five eight seven four. I want to remind 747 00:54:22.039 --> 00:54:27.000 you that it is coming up upon big time season in the lawn once we 748 00:54:27.360 --> 00:54:30.559 once we get here into February especially, we got a lot of things going 749 00:54:30.599 --> 00:54:35.480 on. If you're doing a pre emergent, if you're dealing with certain disease 750 00:54:35.599 --> 00:54:38.719 problems, uh, if you're doing your fertilizing that's going to be beginning in 751 00:54:38.760 --> 00:54:43.760 the spring. We just want to get all that done and my lawn care 752 00:54:43.960 --> 00:54:50.039 schedule and my lawn disease weed pest management schedule or both online at Gardening with 753 00:54:50.360 --> 00:54:53.559 Skip. Gardening with Skip, that's me Dot com gardening with skip dot com. 754 00:54:53.559 --> 00:54:57.280 These are free, you can download them. They're full color, they 755 00:54:57.320 --> 00:55:01.000 have organic options, they have synthetic options, and they tell you January through 756 00:55:01.079 --> 00:55:05.800 December what to do. Boy, if we just have more charts like that 757 00:55:05.960 --> 00:55:09.360 and life Nikki were we just look at the chart and it says exactly what 758 00:55:09.400 --> 00:55:13.280 we need to do in life at every stage of the game. Wow when 759 00:55:13.320 --> 00:55:15.400 you do that. Yeah, I think a lot of us are a little 760 00:55:15.400 --> 00:55:20.320 bit too much of a rebel to what charts telling us how to love are. 761 00:55:22.320 --> 00:55:25.519 I'm looking at you. Yeah, I'm confessing on the all right, 762 00:55:25.559 --> 00:55:29.079 it's time for the news. Give us a call. Seven one, three, 763 00:55:29.159 --> 00:55:34.119 two and two five eight seven four. Welcome back to garden Line. 764 00:55:34.719 --> 00:55:37.760 Glad you're with us this morning. I don't know, this morning's kind of 765 00:55:37.760 --> 00:55:40.679 turned into a let's talk about trees kind of day. We can talk about 766 00:55:40.719 --> 00:55:45.360 whatever you want to talk about, starting your seedlings indoors, we talk about 767 00:55:45.840 --> 00:55:50.559 we talk about fertilizing your flower beds a little bit. And it's season for 768 00:55:50.639 --> 00:55:53.280 planning fruit trees. By the way, the cool season, at the end 769 00:55:53.320 --> 00:55:58.280 of the cool season midwinter to late winter, that is a prime time for 770 00:55:58.320 --> 00:56:00.000 planning most types of fruit trees. I mean, and you can, you 771 00:56:00.039 --> 00:56:04.239 can. I think if I bought a citrus right now, I might hold 772 00:56:04.280 --> 00:56:07.440 on to the plant just a little bit, just because I don't know if 773 00:56:07.440 --> 00:56:10.920 we have one of those very unusual, really really hard phrases and you just 774 00:56:10.960 --> 00:56:14.840 stuck the thing out there in the ground. Oh yeah, you can protect 775 00:56:14.840 --> 00:56:16.079 it. We can do that. We have ways of doing that here. 776 00:56:16.239 --> 00:56:20.360 But it might be way better to hold the plant a little bit. But 777 00:56:20.400 --> 00:56:23.880 go ahead and get it now while you have the ultimate selection. I mean 778 00:56:23.920 --> 00:56:28.039 that is right now in our garden centers, it is. It is the 779 00:56:28.039 --> 00:56:30.599 best time to get great selection on art your free trees. You know, 780 00:56:30.639 --> 00:56:34.639 it doesn't matter if it's a fig or if you're going to plant a citrus 781 00:56:34.679 --> 00:56:37.519 tree, or maybe you want to put a peach or a blueberry or something 782 00:56:37.639 --> 00:56:40.159 like that. By the way, Buchanan's Plants has got an excellent selection in 783 00:56:40.320 --> 00:56:44.880 of all of those kinds of plants and more. They always stuck up really 784 00:56:44.920 --> 00:56:47.280 well on those, and I like, you know, I mentioned the I 785 00:56:47.360 --> 00:56:53.000 mentioned three right there that are really easy care too. Figs. Not really 786 00:56:53.079 --> 00:56:57.960 many disease or insect problems you have to deal with on a fig tree. 787 00:56:58.000 --> 00:57:04.320 They're easy. They do have a few problems, but nothing major. We 788 00:57:04.360 --> 00:57:06.880 have fruit that's a little more of a challenge. You're gonna be spraying it 789 00:57:06.960 --> 00:57:09.039 more and whatnot. Blueberries not so much. Get a little bit of leaf 790 00:57:09.039 --> 00:57:13.400 spots and things on them, but in general we don't have to worry about 791 00:57:13.400 --> 00:57:15.440 a whole lot on blueberries. You do need to make sure you get two 792 00:57:15.519 --> 00:57:21.519 varieties so that they can cross pollinate, not just to set fruit, but 793 00:57:21.599 --> 00:57:24.360 to set fruit that gets bigger. And here's why I'm a blueberry. If 794 00:57:24.400 --> 00:57:28.800 you put if you take a blueberry, cut it open, it's got a 795 00:57:28.840 --> 00:57:34.320 whole lot of little seeds inside, several dozen little seeds inside. And if 796 00:57:34.360 --> 00:57:39.199 you partially pollinate it, and let's say only half of those seeds are successfully 797 00:57:40.519 --> 00:57:47.400 fertilized, the berry will not get as large because seeds release hormones that create 798 00:57:47.639 --> 00:57:52.400 size and fruit. For example, an apple, if seeds on one side 799 00:57:52.440 --> 00:57:58.079 of an apple dye or never really are pollinated, you're gonna have a lopsided 800 00:57:58.119 --> 00:58:00.440 apple because the side with seeds on it is going to produce that hormone and 801 00:58:00.519 --> 00:58:04.559 create a fruit. That is why we're growing it so we can eat that 802 00:58:04.599 --> 00:58:07.679 thing. Blueberry is the same way. It's not just can a blueberry pollinate 803 00:58:07.719 --> 00:58:13.920 itself? Most of them can, but when you have at least two varieties, 804 00:58:13.960 --> 00:58:19.159 then you're more assured of getting better pollination. Therefore, the fruit sets 805 00:58:19.239 --> 00:58:22.559 better, and the fruit that does set is going to be larger when you 806 00:58:22.639 --> 00:58:27.320 successfully pollinate more seeds. Anyway, that was a little side on blueberry. 807 00:58:27.880 --> 00:58:30.599 Citrus really easy to grow. It has a few issues. We can get 808 00:58:30.639 --> 00:58:35.360 scale on them. We have the citrus leaf minor, which is more of 809 00:58:35.440 --> 00:58:38.320 a nuisance than anything, and you know, it has a few issues. 810 00:58:38.360 --> 00:58:43.920 But in general, citrus is not too difficult to grow. A nice little 811 00:58:43.920 --> 00:58:47.320 evergreen plant, beautiful fragrant blooms. If you don't plant a citrus for any 812 00:58:47.320 --> 00:58:52.360 other reason planet so you can enjoy the fragrance of the blooms. I think 813 00:58:52.400 --> 00:58:58.480 everybody ought to have a big containerized like a satsuma or maybe a kumquad or 814 00:58:58.480 --> 00:59:04.320 something like that, you disposition on the patio where you can get the enjoyable 815 00:59:04.360 --> 00:59:07.079 fragrance of those heavenly blooms when they come out. But yeah, Buchanans has 816 00:59:07.119 --> 00:59:12.840 all of that. Buchanans specializes in native plants. You know, they basically 817 00:59:13.519 --> 00:59:15.840 have every kind of plant you can imagine from house plants to native plants, 818 00:59:15.840 --> 00:59:20.440 to fruit plants, to vegetables and herbs and things for the shade. They're 819 00:59:20.480 --> 00:59:23.199 on an East eleventh Street and the Heights. Always fun to go by there 820 00:59:23.239 --> 00:59:27.679 because there's always something going on at Buchanan's Plants. You can go to the 821 00:59:27.719 --> 00:59:32.519 website Buchanansplants dot com or just go over there six to eleven East eleventh Street 822 00:59:32.920 --> 00:59:36.599 and the Heights. While you're there, you're going to find the fertilizers I 823 00:59:36.639 --> 00:59:40.079 recommend, you're going to find soil products. Remember, we spend some money 824 00:59:40.119 --> 00:59:44.480 on the brown stuff when we are going to want to have success with the 825 00:59:44.480 --> 00:59:46.239 green stuff. First, you got to take care of the soil so that 826 00:59:46.320 --> 00:59:51.079 your plants will thrive. And Buchanans can get you off on the right start 827 00:59:51.400 --> 00:59:57.280 from fertilizers and soil amendments as well. You're listening to Gardenline. Our phone 828 00:59:57.320 --> 01:00:04.199 number is seven one three two to five eight seven four seven one three fifty 829 01:00:04.199 --> 01:00:07.960 eight seventy four. We're going to go out to Manville now and talk to 830 01:00:07.000 --> 01:00:10.840 Adolf. Hello, Adoff, good morning. Yes, sir, I have 831 01:00:10.920 --> 01:00:19.440 a what I think is a Chinese zelm. And word forks. Evidently there's 832 01:00:19.599 --> 01:00:27.519 a there's a in that fork. I guess it's deep enough to where it's 833 01:00:27.559 --> 01:00:32.679 collecting leaves, et cetera, and in rockets, and now it's growing plants. 834 01:00:34.039 --> 01:00:37.960 That's how that's all. Yeah, okay, growing in there. I 835 01:00:37.960 --> 01:00:39.320 don't know how to take care of it. So these branches are going to 836 01:00:39.360 --> 01:00:45.480 be pretty large if it's doing all that right. This tree is probably probably 837 01:00:45.519 --> 01:00:51.079 around thirty some years old. Yeah, well, you'd rather water not sit 838 01:00:51.159 --> 01:00:53.440 in there. I mean, mosquitoes can even breed and it doesn't take them 839 01:00:53.440 --> 01:00:58.519 long to go through their their egg to adult life cycle. And in those 840 01:00:58.559 --> 01:01:02.480 areas on a tree that cap sure rain water and then have that rotting organic 841 01:01:02.519 --> 01:01:06.920 matter. That's a mosquito heaven. So you don't want it for that reason 842 01:01:06.960 --> 01:01:09.880 either. But I tell you at this point, Adolph, taking a saw 843 01:01:09.920 --> 01:01:15.000 and cutting that branch off would be a problem in so many ways. Number 844 01:01:15.000 --> 01:01:20.519 One, it would really disfigure your tree. Number Two, Now you've got 845 01:01:20.519 --> 01:01:24.840 this giant wound that is essentially probably never going to fully close over. So 846 01:01:24.960 --> 01:01:32.679 the introduction of decay inside is there. Not seeing it, it's hard to 847 01:01:32.760 --> 01:01:37.199 advise you and say this is absolutely what you need to do. My gut 848 01:01:37.199 --> 01:01:40.360 feeling is that you're probably going to leave it and live with it, but 849 01:01:40.440 --> 01:01:44.159 you may want to have an arborius come out and take a look at it. 850 01:01:45.159 --> 01:01:52.239 And I've heard previous conversation so a while back that people put very dry 851 01:01:52.320 --> 01:01:58.159 and then they put cement in there. Yeap, that is not a good 852 01:01:58.159 --> 01:02:04.679 thing to do. Definitely not it. If you you're not saying you have 853 01:02:04.760 --> 01:02:08.960 this giant hollowed out area yet, are you? Like you're not saying that 854 01:02:09.039 --> 01:02:14.679 you've got this big area where the interior wood has decayed away and now you 855 01:02:14.760 --> 01:02:19.239 have this big area. I don't know because I haven't I haven't gotten a 856 01:02:19.320 --> 01:02:22.599 letter. Yeah, and look, but well, just the nature of way 857 01:02:22.679 --> 01:02:27.719 trees grow. When they're growing, branches are growing real close to each other, 858 01:02:28.159 --> 01:02:30.719 it can form that thing that holds water without it being that deep. 859 01:02:30.880 --> 01:02:34.679 And I don't Number one, don't do the cemount. I mean, I 860 01:02:34.679 --> 01:02:37.519 could go into more detail about why, but it's not a good idea. 861 01:02:37.800 --> 01:02:40.840 It's not going to help uh, And it's just a mess in a number 862 01:02:40.880 --> 01:02:45.039 of ways. I think you're going to be okay on it without seeing it 863 01:02:45.079 --> 01:02:50.400 for sure. But this is where hiring a qualified arborist, you know, 864 01:02:50.480 --> 01:02:53.320 like affordable tree service. That would be one that could come out, take 865 01:02:53.320 --> 01:02:57.639 a look at it, make a make a decision on Yeah, here's what 866 01:02:57.679 --> 01:03:01.039 you need to do. Uh, this is one of those situations that's grown 867 01:03:01.119 --> 01:03:06.400 into the problems. So we're kind of you know, if we could go 868 01:03:06.440 --> 01:03:08.760 back in time, we could have more things we can do than is available 869 01:03:08.840 --> 01:03:12.920 right now. Hey aight, I'm gonna have to run for a break. 870 01:03:12.960 --> 01:03:15.320 If you want to hang on, we can keep talking. Or if that 871 01:03:15.440 --> 01:03:17.960 answered it, thank you, Thank you, appreciate the call. Our phone 872 01:03:19.039 --> 01:03:22.000 number seven one three two one two five eight seven four. I'll be right 873 01:03:22.039 --> 01:03:29.199 back. Welcome back to garden Line. We're glad you're listening today. Got 874 01:03:29.239 --> 01:03:32.519 a lot of things that we can be talking about today. Hey, are 875 01:03:32.559 --> 01:03:38.719 you familiar with Landscapers Pride's black velvet multz Now Landscapers Pride you Probay familiar with 876 01:03:38.800 --> 01:03:42.119 them? Have been around a long time, in two thousand and two, 877 01:03:42.480 --> 01:03:46.800 over twenty years now here in the Greater Houston area, local top quality resources. 878 01:03:47.039 --> 01:03:51.440 They have twenty seven different bag products and you can also buy bulk from 879 01:03:51.480 --> 01:03:53.719 them too. By the way, if you want to find out more information, 880 01:03:53.880 --> 01:03:58.719 you can go online to Landscaperspride dot com. That's where they'll have their 881 01:03:58.760 --> 01:04:01.960 store locator where you can find it near you. But the black velvet mulch 882 01:04:02.239 --> 01:04:05.760 has been popular for a long time. And the reason this has a beautiful 883 01:04:05.920 --> 01:04:12.599 dark color. It's an organic composted hardwood mulch. So as it ages, 884 01:04:12.679 --> 01:04:15.159 as it decomposes, it enriches the soil. I mean, that's what forests 885 01:04:15.199 --> 01:04:18.679 do. Forests build their own soil with leaves and bark and wood and all 886 01:04:18.760 --> 01:04:23.440 kinds of things decomposing away. So whenever you have multa in your soil, 887 01:04:23.480 --> 01:04:26.320 this is a side note here, whenever you have mult on the soil, 888 01:04:26.360 --> 01:04:30.039 don't take the old mult away and put new mulch on. I hear people 889 01:04:30.079 --> 01:04:32.199 doing that. No, throw the new mulch on top of the old. 890 01:04:32.320 --> 01:04:38.039 As the old gets a little thin and it just continues to provide what mulch 891 01:04:38.079 --> 01:04:42.800 does, and that protects all temperature, protecting against erosion, protecting against weed 892 01:04:42.840 --> 01:04:46.559 sprouting by blocking out the sunlight. Very important. But let that old mulch 893 01:04:46.599 --> 01:04:51.360 decompose well. Black velvet, it is a beautiful dark, velvety color, 894 01:04:51.480 --> 01:04:59.559 very dense. It keeps your plants healthy by protecting the roots against the things. 895 01:04:59.599 --> 01:05:02.800 I just ma. That's one of the main reasons why mulch is so 896 01:05:03.239 --> 01:05:08.559 very very important. Now is it colored, No, it's not. It 897 01:05:08.639 --> 01:05:15.000 is not artificially colored. I can't stand the red mulches, the black dyed 898 01:05:15.360 --> 01:05:18.440 mulches. I know people like that, they think that's attractive. I think 899 01:05:18.440 --> 01:05:23.519 it looks very unnatural to do the artificial dyes. Now, this is naturally 900 01:05:23.800 --> 01:05:30.559 just a dark, mult black and velvety from Landscaper's Pride easy to find Landscaperspride 901 01:05:30.599 --> 01:05:33.639 dot Com, easy easy to find. I'm going to head out now to 902 01:05:34.239 --> 01:05:38.480 Wimer, Texas, and we're going to talk to Jeff. Hello, Jeff, 903 01:05:38.519 --> 01:05:42.639 how are you today? Good? How you doing? I'm good. 904 01:05:42.719 --> 01:05:48.960 What's up in Wimer? I have some water oak trees that are developing like 905 01:05:49.000 --> 01:05:55.800 a greenish gray mold on them, and eventually it spreads, the bark falls 906 01:05:55.840 --> 01:06:01.400 off, and it kills the tree. Greenish mold on the bark of the 907 01:06:01.440 --> 01:06:06.760 tree, well, actually it's underneath the bark. It starts out where there 908 01:06:06.840 --> 01:06:13.320 is no bark, and then it just spreads and it kills the tree. 909 01:06:13.400 --> 01:06:16.000 So far, I've lost about two or three of them, and either mature 910 01:06:16.079 --> 01:06:20.239 water oaks, and I don't want to lose any more and describe that color 911 01:06:20.280 --> 01:06:26.559 again, greenish what it's like, kind of like a greenish gray powdery mold. 912 01:06:26.920 --> 01:06:33.519 Okay, so I'm ninety percent sure what you're talking about is called hypoxylan 913 01:06:34.000 --> 01:06:40.840 canker. Hypoxylan canker is an opportunist. It is out there in the forest 914 01:06:41.079 --> 01:06:47.360 on oak trees already, and when the tree gets stressed, the hypoxylon it's 915 01:06:47.440 --> 01:06:53.280 like the tree's natural defense system is weakened and the hypoxylon quickly gets the upper 916 01:06:53.360 --> 01:06:57.960 hand and it kills entire branches and usually the entire tree. It can attack 917 01:06:58.039 --> 01:07:01.000 a lot of different types of oaks. I've seen appoxillon on sycamore and other 918 01:07:01.079 --> 01:07:05.679 trees as well. Oaks is where we see it the most. The droughts 919 01:07:05.679 --> 01:07:10.480 have been through the last two years have set our trees up for a lot 920 01:07:10.519 --> 01:07:14.559 of hypoxillon. We've hypoxillans around all the time. But anytime you stress a 921 01:07:14.599 --> 01:07:17.000 tree, and drought is the big stress in these past couple of years, 922 01:07:18.000 --> 01:07:20.519 then it gives it the upper hand. There's not a spray for it, 923 01:07:20.639 --> 01:07:26.679 Jeff. There's not any you know, spray or drench or systemic or anything 924 01:07:26.760 --> 01:07:30.440 like that that you can do. Once it's there, it's there and you 925 01:07:30.599 --> 01:07:32.800 just have to get rid of the limbs and in many cases the tree. 926 01:07:33.559 --> 01:07:39.840 But the thing to do is to prevent it by doing everything in your power 927 01:07:40.320 --> 01:07:46.599 to minimize stress for your trees. So basically, I'm gonna the ones where, 928 01:07:46.840 --> 01:07:49.760 like where it's small spots are starting on it, there's nothing I do 929 01:07:49.880 --> 01:07:56.880 about it. You can cut the lumb off and maybe eliminate it there. 930 01:07:57.440 --> 01:08:00.719 Typically I find that it occurs in several places. Maybe it'll like on a 931 01:08:00.760 --> 01:08:03.840 trunk, It can happen several places around the trunk. It can happen on 932 01:08:03.880 --> 01:08:08.960 major scaffold limbs. If you were able to isolate it and cut that branch 933 01:08:09.000 --> 01:08:13.639 off, that would be helpful. But in general, we don't look at 934 01:08:13.719 --> 01:08:19.039 hypoxylon as something we get rid of, something we avoid. Yeah, all 935 01:08:19.159 --> 01:08:21.920 right, well thank you. Yeah. If you want more information on it, 936 01:08:23.680 --> 01:08:28.399 you can go online to the State Plant Clinic. It's plant clinic. 937 01:08:28.479 --> 01:08:32.399 That's one word plant clinic dot t A m U, dot E d U 938 01:08:32.479 --> 01:08:36.760 as in Texas and university. It's a state plant Clinic plant clinic dot TAMA 939 01:08:36.840 --> 01:08:41.359 dot edu. Do a search in there for Hypoxylon and they have a publication 940 01:08:41.439 --> 01:08:43.920 they put together. It's free. You just click on it and read it 941 01:08:43.960 --> 01:08:46.319 online and it goes into more detail. But bottom line is going to tell 942 01:08:46.319 --> 01:08:50.000 you what I just told you. Okay, all right, well, thank 943 01:08:50.039 --> 01:08:53.880 you very much, Yes, sir, sorry to be the bear bad news, 944 01:08:54.520 --> 01:08:59.840 that is for sure. Now we're gonna see I want to continue on 945 01:09:00.079 --> 01:09:02.680 with some tree care comments as we go through here. I'm going to head 946 01:09:02.680 --> 01:09:06.000 back to the phones one more time before I start doing that again, I 947 01:09:06.039 --> 01:09:10.479 want to give the number one more time out. If you're interested in calling 948 01:09:10.520 --> 01:09:15.319 and talking about whatever horticulturally is of interest to you, uh seven one three, 949 01:09:15.399 --> 01:09:19.159 two one two five eight seven four anything related to lawn and gardening, 950 01:09:19.279 --> 01:09:24.760 as long as it's not let's say, marriage advice. One time I went 951 01:09:24.800 --> 01:09:30.840 out. One time I went out to somebody's yard and under the auspices of 952 01:09:30.039 --> 01:09:33.079 I have a question about a plant kind of thing. And I was standing 953 01:09:33.159 --> 01:09:40.960 out there and the spouse, uh, with the other spouse. I'll try 954 01:09:40.960 --> 01:09:44.960 to leave genders out of this, but one spouse with the other spouse standing 955 01:09:45.039 --> 01:09:47.520 right there, put their hands on their hips and looked at me and said, 956 01:09:48.239 --> 01:09:55.000 now will you tell my husband, my wife, blah blah blah, 957 01:09:55.039 --> 01:10:00.479 and I realized I had been brought out there to win an argument. It's 958 01:10:00.640 --> 01:10:03.279 like, oh, no, I do horticulture. You know. You get 959 01:10:03.279 --> 01:10:08.079 to hear Garden Line for free thanks to our mini sponsors. If you want 960 01:10:08.119 --> 01:10:11.079 marriage advice, that's two hundred dollars an hour. I'll be happy to divv 961 01:10:11.199 --> 01:10:14.319 it out. It'll be worth less than you paid for it. I promise 962 01:10:14.399 --> 01:10:16.439 that. Let's go to the phones. We're going to talk to Paula in 963 01:10:16.560 --> 01:10:20.880 northwest Houston. Hey, Paula, Oh hi, good morning. I didn't 964 01:10:20.880 --> 01:10:27.640 know who's gonna put me on the phone. I'm I'm seventy nine years old. 965 01:10:27.680 --> 01:10:30.039 I'm downsizing and get rid of a lot of things. I've got a 966 01:10:30.079 --> 01:10:33.920 box of old garden books. I wondered if you might be interested in any 967 01:10:33.920 --> 01:10:38.479 of them. I made a list. I put it in Microsoft Word a 968 01:10:38.600 --> 01:10:42.720 list all right, that I could give you. Let's do it this way. 969 01:10:43.000 --> 01:10:45.399 If you I'm going to put you on hold right now, and Josh 970 01:10:45.399 --> 01:10:47.359 will pick up. Hes he's handling another call, but he'll be there pretty 971 01:10:47.399 --> 01:10:50.680 quick to pick up, and you can just He'll tell you an email where 972 01:10:50.680 --> 01:10:54.880 you can just send some information like, I appreciate that's a kind offer. 973 01:10:55.439 --> 01:10:58.359 I hope you stick with house plants though as you're downsizing, you know, 974 01:10:58.439 --> 01:11:02.640 we never get to own. Listen. I'm still going to garden and here's 975 01:11:02.680 --> 01:11:05.880 some of the books I'm keeping. I'm well expressly back to one about the 976 01:11:05.920 --> 01:11:10.359 insects and stuff. Okay, all right, hey, well, thank you, 977 01:11:10.399 --> 01:11:12.800 thank you very much. I'm putting you on whole right now. Yeah, 978 01:11:12.840 --> 01:11:15.359 you're listening to the Guarden Line. We're going to be back after our 979 01:11:15.399 --> 01:11:18.960 break. Stop the hour for the news seven one three two one two five 980 01:11:19.159 --> 01:11:24.119 eight seven four, and I'm going to continue on offering little tips and advice 981 01:11:24.479 --> 01:11:30.239 for this time of the year. Kat r H Garden Line does not necessarily 982 01:11:30.279 --> 01:11:35.960 endorse any of the products or services advertised on this program. Welcome to kat 983 01:11:36.199 --> 01:11:47.319 r H Garden Line with scip Rictor. It's crazy, yes, Trim, 984 01:11:47.399 --> 01:12:00.920 just watching as crazy. Welcome back to Garden Line hops. We are glad 985 01:12:00.960 --> 01:12:04.479 you're listening today. Hey, look outside, we got sunshine, we got 986 01:12:04.479 --> 01:12:10.520 a farently blue sky. That's nice. It's gonna be a good day to 987 01:12:10.560 --> 01:12:13.279 be outside. I can just tell you that this afternoon. I hope you 988 01:12:13.319 --> 01:12:15.680 plan on getting out doing a little gardening, maybe visiting one of our garden 989 01:12:15.720 --> 01:12:19.720 centers or other suppliers. This is a time to stock up on things. 990 01:12:19.720 --> 01:12:24.439 We've been talking about different things you do this time of the year. If 991 01:12:24.479 --> 01:12:27.680 you are going to do some pruning, that has been kind of the topic 992 01:12:27.760 --> 01:12:30.760 of the day, I think, or at least that's what I'm interested in 993 01:12:30.800 --> 01:12:39.399 talking about the idea of successful pruning. It also includes having good, sharp, 994 01:12:39.479 --> 01:12:45.279 quality tools and when you are looking at making a cut, if your 995 01:12:45.359 --> 01:12:49.840 pruners, your hand pruners, or your loppers are very are very sharp, 996 01:12:50.159 --> 01:12:54.920 that you're going to much easier make a nice, clean cut, and that 997 01:12:55.000 --> 01:12:59.319 is important. A ragged cut is not as fast a heel. Also, 998 01:13:00.119 --> 01:13:01.880 and tear on your hands, your elbows, your arms, your shoulders, 999 01:13:01.880 --> 01:13:06.840 whatever muscles you're using to do the printing, especially the joints. When you 1000 01:13:06.880 --> 01:13:12.159 are really having to honker down and try to cut through something with not so 1001 01:13:12.319 --> 01:13:17.079 sharp printers, it's significant and you have fatigue. But you can also for 1002 01:13:17.119 --> 01:13:21.239 those of you who deal with issues like I don't know, an arthritis type 1003 01:13:21.279 --> 01:13:26.520 of issue, or beverside us or whatever, those kinds of issues are exacerbated 1004 01:13:26.560 --> 01:13:30.479 by having to struggle against printers that aren't sharp, so keep them really clean 1005 01:13:30.520 --> 01:13:35.039 and sharp. One other thing about the printers is it's better to use the 1006 01:13:35.119 --> 01:13:41.279 bypass printers than the anvil type printers. What does that mean. Well, 1007 01:13:41.600 --> 01:13:46.399 bypass printers cut like scissors, two blades that bypass each other as you slice 1008 01:13:46.439 --> 01:13:50.960 down. Anvil types are like an anvil. There's one side of the printer 1009 01:13:51.119 --> 01:13:56.359 is a flat plate and the other side is the blade that comes down on 1010 01:13:56.439 --> 01:13:59.920 that plate and cuts it. Now, those cut, but I find that 1011 01:14:00.079 --> 01:14:03.800 the anvil printers it's harder to make a really clean cut with them. It's 1012 01:14:03.800 --> 01:14:09.640 more of almost a crushing of the branch, especially toward the end there. 1013 01:14:10.439 --> 01:14:13.640 And I just don't think they're the better way to go go. The bypass 1014 01:14:13.720 --> 01:14:15.000 punter a way to go. It's a better way to go. So when 1015 01:14:15.000 --> 01:14:18.840 you're choosing and purchasing, do that. Another point, maybe I should have 1016 01:14:18.840 --> 01:14:23.680 made this like the top six points to keep in mind with prunters, but 1017 01:14:23.720 --> 01:14:28.720 we'll just keep going here. Another point is quality. You want quality printers. 1018 01:14:29.720 --> 01:14:32.520 Cheap printers do not hold their blade as well. They don't hold their 1019 01:14:32.640 --> 01:14:38.359 edge. You're going to end up sharpening a lot trying to keep a sharp 1020 01:14:38.359 --> 01:14:42.319 blade on them. The steel. The metal is not of such a quality 1021 01:14:42.600 --> 01:14:45.760 that it holds the edge as well, and as a result, again more 1022 01:14:45.880 --> 01:14:50.119 hand fatigue. They also, because they're cheaply made, tend to kind of 1023 01:14:50.119 --> 01:14:54.359 get sprung out. They don't if you ever had scissors that when you tried 1024 01:14:54.359 --> 01:14:58.439 to cut, the blades weren't rubbing tight against each other and you couldn't cut 1025 01:14:58.439 --> 01:15:01.479 through it just bent the paper over. Well, these cheap printers can kind 1026 01:15:01.520 --> 01:15:05.000 of do the same sort of thing to a degree, and it's just not 1027 01:15:05.119 --> 01:15:10.119 good. A quality printer will last you forever. I mean literally, it 1028 01:15:10.359 --> 01:15:14.239 just lasts and lasts. You take care of it, you deal with issues 1029 01:15:14.279 --> 01:15:17.800 like preventing rust and whatnot. The blades can be replaced. It's a quality 1030 01:15:17.880 --> 01:15:24.439 steel that sharpens and holes the cut. I would rather spend whatever money it 1031 01:15:24.479 --> 01:15:28.640 takes to get a good quality set of printers than to buy cheap o things 1032 01:15:28.680 --> 01:15:30.800 that are just going to end up. I don't know if you took them 1033 01:15:30.800 --> 01:15:32.439 all. Over the course of all the years I've been gardening, I've had 1034 01:15:32.439 --> 01:15:35.239 a lot of cheap printers that I came across and I gave me this or 1035 01:15:35.239 --> 01:15:40.399 that or whatever, and I used it and it ends up in the trash 1036 01:15:40.399 --> 01:15:44.640 can. I probably have a five gallon bucket full of worthless garden tools like 1037 01:15:44.680 --> 01:15:47.640 that that just aren't going to work. Spend some money on a quality perunter. 1038 01:15:47.720 --> 01:15:50.760 Get it very sharp, keep it sharp, keep it well oiled, 1039 01:15:51.680 --> 01:15:55.640 and take care of it, and it'll last you forever. I'll come back 1040 01:15:55.680 --> 01:15:58.279 to punters in just a moment. Right now, when to head out to 1041 01:15:58.279 --> 01:16:01.119 the phones. Our phone number is seven to one three two one two five 1042 01:16:01.159 --> 01:16:04.359 eight seven four, and we're going to go to Southwest Houston and we're going 1043 01:16:04.399 --> 01:16:11.760 to talk to Steve. Hello, Steve, Steve, how are you they? 1044 01:16:12.079 --> 01:16:15.279 Oh Hi, listen, I'm in Condra right the moment just came out 1045 01:16:15.319 --> 01:16:18.680 of the just came out of the garden. Lots of greens growing right now. 1046 01:16:18.720 --> 01:16:23.199 I'm about to pour them into this vitam mixed blender with green tea. 1047 01:16:23.800 --> 01:16:28.600 Oh boy, yeah, it's some turmeric I dug up yesterday. It's things 1048 01:16:28.640 --> 01:16:32.439 are really doing well right now? Well good. My question is last about 1049 01:16:32.439 --> 01:16:38.800 a year ago, the extension up here in Montgomery County sold some apple trees. 1050 01:16:38.880 --> 01:16:41.680 I put them in the ground instead of just letting them bush out. 1051 01:16:41.920 --> 01:16:45.159 I kind of trust them a little bit over to a couple of steaks with 1052 01:16:45.359 --> 01:16:51.159 wires growing strung between them, like you do great. So I'm interested in 1053 01:16:51.199 --> 01:16:57.079 knowing how to prove that properly so that it'll stay on that wire and make 1054 01:16:57.119 --> 01:17:01.039 it very easy to pick apples in the future. That's a good question. 1055 01:17:01.760 --> 01:17:08.199 Yeah, that's a good question. That process we called espalier training of trees. 1056 01:17:08.880 --> 01:17:13.000 You can create you know, the like the grapes. Your trunk comes 1057 01:17:13.039 --> 01:17:15.640 up and two branches go out and it goes up to the next wire, 1058 01:17:15.720 --> 01:17:18.000 two branches go out. Or you can create fans, which is kind of 1059 01:17:18.000 --> 01:17:21.560 like we open your fingers on your hand going out in all directions. There's 1060 01:17:21.600 --> 01:17:26.920 a lot of styles of espalier that you can use. Apples do lend themselves 1061 01:17:26.920 --> 01:17:30.840 pretty well to that, especially if they're a type that tends to have more 1062 01:17:30.439 --> 01:17:36.720 spurs. Spur type apples has have these little short stems that don't grow much 1063 01:17:36.760 --> 01:17:40.760 each year, but at the end each year there's a cluster of apples and 1064 01:17:40.800 --> 01:17:45.760 it's a little easier to espalier those types on there. There is not a 1065 01:17:45.800 --> 01:17:51.680 great publication I know of on how to espalier here in Texas, and primarily 1066 01:17:51.720 --> 01:17:58.359 because that's something that's done in other areas. More, if you were to 1067 01:17:58.439 --> 01:18:03.800 do a search on Google or whatever search engine you use, and type in 1068 01:18:03.920 --> 01:18:09.560 the word Espellier and fruit, and then I'm going to give you you got 1069 01:18:09.600 --> 01:18:14.399 a penhandy, I will get one. I grab a pen and paper. 1070 01:18:14.479 --> 01:18:18.039 Always listen to Guardline with a pen and paper. So I'll give you a 1071 01:18:18.119 --> 01:18:23.680 way to find a good Espelier publication. And this is a way to find 1072 01:18:23.680 --> 01:18:27.760 a lot of good stuff too. By the way, Espelier, I'm not 1073 01:18:27.760 --> 01:18:30.239 going to spell that one. I would probably butcher it, but Espelier and 1074 01:18:30.319 --> 01:18:34.920 then fruit and then a space, and then type in site s I t 1075 01:18:35.039 --> 01:18:43.439 e colon colon dot e d u. So s I t e colon dot 1076 01:18:43.640 --> 01:18:46.640 e d u. That tells a search engine I want you to find me 1077 01:18:46.680 --> 01:18:50.600 stuff and espaliering fruit trees. But I only want you to look in sites 1078 01:18:51.079 --> 01:18:56.239 that end in dot ed u. And you're going to get a lot of 1079 01:18:56.279 --> 01:19:00.840 the the agg universities, the extension services, the research folks all over the 1080 01:19:00.840 --> 01:19:05.319 country, and there'll be some really good ones. One or two or three 1081 01:19:05.439 --> 01:19:10.880 or more of the Langrande universities around the country is going to put something together. 1082 01:19:10.960 --> 01:19:14.640 Our about Cornell has something like that I wouldn't be surprised by how stated 1083 01:19:14.640 --> 01:19:17.359 something like that. But anyway, that is the way to get to a 1084 01:19:17.399 --> 01:19:23.239 good espalier. How to We just don't have one here in Texas. Okay, 1085 01:19:23.359 --> 01:19:27.279 well great, it sounds like you're an old DOSS user and you understand 1086 01:19:28.000 --> 01:19:30.960 how you put this in the computer. I'll try duck duck going, yeah, 1087 01:19:31.319 --> 01:19:35.000 it'll work, it'll work. Yeah. That there's a lot we can 1088 01:19:35.039 --> 01:19:41.000 do in searches by limiting the search. We call it restricting the search and 1089 01:19:41.319 --> 01:19:45.479 site colon dot du is a great way to start when you're doing gardening stuff. 1090 01:19:45.479 --> 01:19:48.800 Well, that's that's fantastic for the lady that wants to give away her 1091 01:19:48.840 --> 01:19:53.119 gardening books. I'm interested. All Right, hey, Steve, thank you 1092 01:19:53.199 --> 01:19:55.960 very much. I'm gonna have to run to a break, but I appreciate, 1093 01:19:56.039 --> 01:19:59.800 appreciate your question. We're going to be right back our number seven one 1094 01:20:00.119 --> 01:20:02.640 read two one two fifty eight seventy four. Charlie and James, you're the 1095 01:20:02.680 --> 01:20:08.720 first up when we come back. Welcome back to guard Line. I'm your 1096 01:20:08.720 --> 01:20:12.119 host, Skip Rictor. We're talking gardening today. Fact, I'm gonna just 1097 01:20:12.239 --> 01:20:15.960 run straight out here to friends Wood and we are going to talk to Charlie. 1098 01:20:15.000 --> 01:20:18.399 Hello Charlie, good morning to you, and I wish you a great 1099 01:20:18.399 --> 01:20:24.960 dear. Thank you you as well. My question is I'm about to treat 1100 01:20:25.239 --> 01:20:29.680 with glyph phosphate an area that had formerly been a worship but we're going to 1101 01:20:29.720 --> 01:20:33.439 turn it into a garden. Now there's cold golf of citrus, and I'm 1102 01:20:33.479 --> 01:20:40.199 wondering i'll be treating with. I believes the maximum strength two and a half 1103 01:20:40.239 --> 01:20:47.560 ounces per gallon. How long after treating is it safe to plant vegetables? 1104 01:20:47.720 --> 01:20:55.720 Okay, Well, what happens is the glay saint moves down into the soil 1105 01:20:55.760 --> 01:21:00.359 and gets tied up there and over time is broken down to bearing grease. 1106 01:21:00.760 --> 01:21:04.199 I have found that if you if you spray a bunch of weeds, give 1107 01:21:04.239 --> 01:21:09.279 it time to work. It needs time because it's not fast, but it's 1108 01:21:09.319 --> 01:21:12.800 thorough to move down and kill the weeds. Let's say give it a week 1109 01:21:12.920 --> 01:21:15.439 or so to really get in there. The weeds won't be dead in a 1110 01:21:15.479 --> 01:21:20.880 week, but they'll they'll be on their way and then you can go ahead 1111 01:21:21.039 --> 01:21:26.159 and rot a till that area or whatever you need to do to it to 1112 01:21:26.199 --> 01:21:29.520 mix up the soil. Let it said about a week and plant and you 1113 01:21:29.520 --> 01:21:33.520 shouldn't have a problem. I don't know, you know, it's it's activated 1114 01:21:34.079 --> 01:21:39.239 primarily is affected by getting on green tissues and moving in. So you spray 1115 01:21:39.279 --> 01:21:41.319 the side of the trunk of a tree, it's not going to kill the 1116 01:21:41.359 --> 01:21:44.279 tree, but a branch coming out with leaves on it, you spray and 1117 01:21:44.319 --> 01:21:47.119 it gets in those leaves and it moves in and does damage. So you're 1118 01:21:47.119 --> 01:21:50.960 saying it okay, where there's green, that's where it kills. Yeah, 1119 01:21:51.039 --> 01:21:56.319 And so that's why when you put it on the soil, you know, 1120 01:21:56.359 --> 01:22:00.800 it doesn't take long before it's it's getting tied up and some seed that lands 1121 01:22:00.800 --> 01:22:03.479 on the soil that's not going to be affected, or planted under the soil, 1122 01:22:03.520 --> 01:22:09.159 it's not going to be affected. Okay, I know if still question, 1123 01:22:10.319 --> 01:22:14.960 the label says either one and a quarter, which is difficult to measure 1124 01:22:15.000 --> 01:22:17.840 out, or two and a half, which would you recommend. What is 1125 01:22:17.880 --> 01:22:27.439 the percentage on the glyphosate laid? All right, that's full strength and it's 1126 01:22:27.479 --> 01:22:31.520 saying one and a quarter what ounces per gallon or two and a half? 1127 01:22:33.359 --> 01:22:36.199 Well, what are the we what weeds are you trying to get rid of? 1128 01:22:39.960 --> 01:22:45.119 Thing? Is there bermuda grass no bermuna grass no, okay, So 1129 01:22:45.319 --> 01:22:49.840 it only if you have weeds that are not actively growing, it's not going 1130 01:22:49.920 --> 01:22:53.680 to work. So I know you don't have bermuda, but I use that 1131 01:22:53.720 --> 01:22:58.119 as an example. Bermuda in the wintertime goes into kind of a it's not 1132 01:22:58.199 --> 01:23:01.760 true dormancy, but it just slows down and glafas ay won't kill it very 1133 01:23:01.760 --> 01:23:05.600 well at all, if any. But once it starts growing, then it 1134 01:23:06.000 --> 01:23:09.600 works. So if you've got weeds that are going to pop up and be 1135 01:23:09.680 --> 01:23:15.359 perennial problems in spring, you need to wait until they're doing that before you 1136 01:23:15.359 --> 01:23:23.239 you spray. So something like bermuda that's just insidious and invades everywhere. Yeah, 1137 01:23:23.239 --> 01:23:25.439 that one you want to get rid of. Where you try to garden 1138 01:23:25.520 --> 01:23:29.720 things that are just annual weeds like hind bit and chick weed and clover cool 1139 01:23:29.720 --> 01:23:32.880 season weeds for example. Right now, there's not even really a need to 1140 01:23:33.359 --> 01:23:36.520 spray them. I mean you can if you want, but just to you 1141 01:23:36.520 --> 01:23:42.239 know, start working the soil, getting ready doing that transition into gardening because 1142 01:23:42.279 --> 01:23:45.680 they're not going to come back again until see those seeds will sprout in next 1143 01:23:45.880 --> 01:23:51.079 fall. Okay, skip well, I thank you very much for good information. 1144 01:23:51.520 --> 01:23:56.279 Well you bet. Just remember glafys aid is not a pre emergent product. 1145 01:23:56.399 --> 01:24:01.560 It's a post only all right. It's okay, thank you, thank 1146 01:24:01.600 --> 01:24:04.960 you so much. Thank for the call. Appreciate appreciate that a lot. 1147 01:24:05.520 --> 01:24:11.279 When you're looking for supplies for things like different types of black site or different 1148 01:24:11.279 --> 01:24:14.159 other weed killers, you can go to an Ace Hardware store and they're gonna 1149 01:24:14.159 --> 01:24:17.159 have everything. I have everything that they're out there that is out there for 1150 01:24:17.199 --> 01:24:21.880 you. I mean even organic products. If it's organic that controls weeds in 1151 01:24:21.960 --> 01:24:26.159 various ways, they're going to have it at Ace Hardware. They just carry 1152 01:24:26.199 --> 01:24:30.319 that kind of selection. There's forty Ace Hardware stores in the Greater Houston area. 1153 01:24:30.479 --> 01:24:35.119 Easy to find. Acehardware dot com. Acehardware dot Com do their store 1154 01:24:35.159 --> 01:24:40.760 locator on the website. You can find exactly the stores that are closest to 1155 01:24:40.880 --> 01:24:43.920 you. And any kind of a product like that, you want to have 1156 01:24:44.319 --> 01:24:47.399 options. You want to have different kinds of options so that when you go 1157 01:24:47.520 --> 01:24:50.119 you don't have to go, Okay, this is the only thing for sale 1158 01:24:50.119 --> 01:24:54.960 that says it's kills a weed, or that controls a bug, or or 1159 01:24:55.119 --> 01:24:59.720 even a particular ton of type of fertilizer. ACE hardware gives you those options. 1160 01:25:00.159 --> 01:25:02.960 Let's head out now, we're going to go back out to Cyprus this 1161 01:25:03.079 --> 01:25:06.760 time and talk to James. Hello, James, Hello, good morning. 1162 01:25:08.279 --> 01:25:11.920 So you may have covered this earlier, but I got onto the radio and 1163 01:25:11.960 --> 01:25:17.279 I was listening and you were talking about pruning. I'm gonna be cutting back. 1164 01:25:17.720 --> 01:25:21.239 Got some knockout roses in the front bed, and I'm gonna I want 1165 01:25:21.239 --> 01:25:25.119 to prune back. I don't want to do a region. I just want 1166 01:25:25.159 --> 01:25:29.359 to go back maybe a third. I've got probably about three foot tall right 1167 01:25:29.399 --> 01:25:31.159 now. I want to turn them back to maybe a foot and a half 1168 01:25:31.159 --> 01:25:39.560 two foot. I've always been told Valentine's Day? Is that true? How 1169 01:25:39.560 --> 01:25:43.439 do I deal with the freeze after I've cut them back and so forth and 1170 01:25:43.479 --> 01:25:45.439 so on. What's the best time to cut back knockouts? That's a good 1171 01:25:45.520 --> 01:25:51.159 question. So basically, anytime you hear advice tied to a holiday or something 1172 01:25:51.239 --> 01:25:55.880 like that, it's just to make it easier for us to remember, you 1173 01:25:56.239 --> 01:25:59.960 play potatoes on Valentine's Day, prune your roses on valan that that kind of 1174 01:26:00.039 --> 01:26:02.960 what it basically is is just saying, is hey, when we get toward 1175 01:26:02.960 --> 01:26:05.279 the end of winter, that's a good time to prune your roses. I 1176 01:26:05.279 --> 01:26:09.359 mean, you could prune them now, but if we go through let's say 1177 01:26:09.439 --> 01:26:12.800 a week or two from now, we get up in the eighties, which 1178 01:26:12.840 --> 01:26:15.920 can happen in the winter here, and it just warn't those roses are gonna 1179 01:26:15.920 --> 01:26:18.800 start sprouting out. And then if we have a real hard freeze, you're 1180 01:26:18.800 --> 01:26:21.479 gonna get some burn back on the tip. So we like to wait until 1181 01:26:21.520 --> 01:26:27.039 later in the year. But roses start their growth pretty early, so Valentine's 1182 01:26:27.199 --> 01:26:30.520 ends up being a pretty good suggestion. But there's no rule about that, 1183 01:26:32.079 --> 01:26:34.399 okay. And then once I do cut them back, if we get a 1184 01:26:34.439 --> 01:26:36.960 hard freeze, just make sure to cover them. Yeah, if you have 1185 01:26:38.079 --> 01:26:40.520 tender succulent growth, you want to go ahead and cover them. Roses are 1186 01:26:40.520 --> 01:26:44.000 pretty hardy, but you know, you never know what's coming. I mean, 1187 01:26:44.000 --> 01:26:46.119 this has been, at least for me, it's been a pretty mild 1188 01:26:46.159 --> 01:26:50.800 winter. We just haven't had, you know, a pretty tough freeze to 1189 01:26:50.840 --> 01:26:54.600 deal with, and we may finish it out without one, or on the 1190 01:26:54.640 --> 01:26:59.039 other hand, there may be one on the way that, yeah, really 1191 01:26:59.119 --> 01:27:02.119 really hammers things. By two quick questions and then I'll hang up. I'll 1192 01:27:02.159 --> 01:27:10.439 let you finish up your suggestion brand of pruning or shears, and then bloppers 1193 01:27:10.960 --> 01:27:15.680 and last but not least, a good groundcoverage flower that'll play really well with 1194 01:27:15.720 --> 01:27:17.880 those roses. Something I don't I don't want anything that's going to climb and 1195 01:27:17.960 --> 01:27:23.560 intermingle with the you know, the rose bush. But just something good to 1196 01:27:23.800 --> 01:27:26.479 the you know, groundcoverage that will flower up and it'll look nice in the 1197 01:27:26.520 --> 01:27:28.600 bed. So thank you so much. All right, thanks James, I 1198 01:27:28.600 --> 01:27:32.720 appreciate that. Now I'll see if my brain can apprehend the the examples that 1199 01:27:32.760 --> 01:27:41.760 are gonna come to my head here. So let's see groundcover flower, groundcover 1200 01:27:41.840 --> 01:27:46.479 flower, maybe may or may not flower. I would a couple of things 1201 01:27:46.520 --> 01:27:51.000 I like to use themto roses. One is called polygonum. Polygonum is a 1202 01:27:51.279 --> 01:27:58.479 very flat little groundcover with little pink pump on balls stick up from the foliage 1203 01:27:58.520 --> 01:28:01.520 just a little bit. It can freeze back, but it always comes back, 1204 01:28:02.319 --> 01:28:05.920 but it makes a nice flat groundcover with a little bit of that interest 1205 01:28:05.960 --> 01:28:09.600 in it, with those little pink You just have to look it up. 1206 01:28:09.640 --> 01:28:13.960 Polygonum, that would be one that would do well. Oh, gosh. 1207 01:28:14.079 --> 01:28:18.800 Now I'm trying to think, Oh my gosh, ah, I'm gonna have 1208 01:28:18.840 --> 01:28:24.520 to hunt this at break and find the name. It's a little low, 1209 01:28:24.720 --> 01:28:30.119 low growing ground cover with dark dark blue, dark blue flowers. It's I 1210 01:28:30.239 --> 01:28:35.319 believe it's a type of shoot names escaping me. All right there, that 1211 01:28:35.479 --> 01:28:39.000 was what I was afraid was gonna happen. Now I can't remember, Josh, 1212 01:28:39.079 --> 01:28:45.039 what was the other question that he asked me before before we went let's 1213 01:28:45.079 --> 01:28:51.039 see knockout roses pruning knockout roses. I'm sorry, Josh, I mean, 1214 01:28:51.479 --> 01:28:55.359 I'm sorry, James. It just went right out of my head. Someone 1215 01:28:55.359 --> 01:28:58.359 else called tell me what James is asking me. We'll go from there. 1216 01:28:58.960 --> 01:29:00.920 Got too may things on the mind this morning. Oh I know, brand 1217 01:29:00.920 --> 01:29:05.840 of printing shares. That's it. Corona has traditionally been an excellent brand. 1218 01:29:06.279 --> 01:29:11.159 It's it's a it's a very good brand. There. There are a number 1219 01:29:11.199 --> 01:29:14.479 of other brands, even some newer ones, that do pretty good. The 1220 01:29:14.520 --> 01:29:17.479 first thing I would look for in those is can you replace the blades on 1221 01:29:17.520 --> 01:29:21.479 them? If it's hand printers now with loppers, you're probably not going to 1222 01:29:21.560 --> 01:29:27.199 be able to replace the blades. But I like Corona. That's a good 1223 01:29:27.319 --> 01:29:30.159 quality brand, and it doesn't just have to be Corona though. There are 1224 01:29:30.199 --> 01:29:33.840 some other good ones that are out there that will do a good job. 1225 01:29:34.000 --> 01:29:39.560 Just look on the handprinters will can you replace the blades and on the lappers? 1226 01:29:39.680 --> 01:29:44.079 You know, is it going to be a special hardened steel that's going 1227 01:29:44.159 --> 01:29:47.760 to hold up well for you. One thing that I will mention is that 1228 01:29:47.880 --> 01:29:54.680 equality priunters also offer you options for your hand to fit your hands, for 1229 01:29:54.720 --> 01:30:00.399 example, their printer. There are companies that produce printers for left handedeople as 1230 01:30:00.439 --> 01:30:05.439 well. There are companies that have prunters that have When you grab a set 1231 01:30:05.439 --> 01:30:09.520 of prunters, your thumb is over one part of the handle and your fingers 1232 01:30:09.560 --> 01:30:14.039 go over the other part. That part where your fingers go over can actually 1233 01:30:14.199 --> 01:30:18.279 roll and so as you squeeze down, it rolls in your hand and it 1234 01:30:18.359 --> 01:30:23.479 makes cutting much easier. It's initially you have to get used to it, 1235 01:30:23.520 --> 01:30:29.560 because that's not something most prunters do, but it is an ergonomic design that 1236 01:30:29.800 --> 01:30:34.600 really reduces stress on your hands when you prune, and that is very important, 1237 01:30:34.960 --> 01:30:38.760 by the way, anytime you're doing printing. I was going to mention 1238 01:30:38.880 --> 01:30:42.439 this before you want to make sure your printers are sharp, of course, 1239 01:30:42.479 --> 01:30:45.960 but you also want to make sure that you keep them cleaned off. SAPs 1240 01:30:46.159 --> 01:30:50.479 and things like that can get on them when there's moisture, which there is 1241 01:30:50.560 --> 01:30:56.159 implant tissues. It can cause them to rust or to get pitted, and 1242 01:30:56.199 --> 01:30:59.479 so we always want to oil our prunters when we're done. It may mean 1243 01:30:59.520 --> 01:31:02.600 cleaning off with a solvent some of the sap and materials that need a solvent 1244 01:31:02.640 --> 01:31:06.079 to remove them, and then oiling them very well. If you're purning a 1245 01:31:06.119 --> 01:31:12.039 plant that has disease issues like cankers or blights or things, get you some 1246 01:31:13.479 --> 01:31:16.640 liceol spray and after you make a cut, just spray both sides with lysol 1247 01:31:16.960 --> 01:31:21.399 and then go back to cutting again, and that avoids spreading the disease from 1248 01:31:21.439 --> 01:31:25.800 cut to cut as you go through the plant. That would be something like 1249 01:31:25.840 --> 01:31:29.359 a pair with fireblight, for example. You don't want to spread that disease 1250 01:31:29.359 --> 01:31:31.520 on your cuts. Just a little tip there. Our phone number seven one 1251 01:31:31.680 --> 01:31:35.000 three two one two five eight seven four send for Nicky in the news. 1252 01:31:36.920 --> 01:31:41.119 Welcome back to garden Line. Glad you're with us today. Boy, We're 1253 01:31:41.119 --> 01:31:44.680 talking about a lot of different things today. By the way, during break 1254 01:31:44.800 --> 01:31:49.199 I was I had reached that mental block trying to remember what was the name 1255 01:31:49.279 --> 01:31:54.760 of that groundcover that I want to recommend. I mentioned polygonum under roses, 1256 01:31:54.800 --> 01:31:59.199 polygonum as being kind of a little reseeding groundcover that I think it would be 1257 01:31:59.239 --> 01:32:01.880 a good choice. The other one I couldn't think of was leuad wart plumbago 1258 01:32:02.319 --> 01:32:12.479 lead wart w ort plumbago deep deep blue flowers, a little low tamelee vining 1259 01:32:12.600 --> 01:32:15.600 groundcover by tamely vining. I mean, it doesn't take over the world. 1260 01:32:15.640 --> 01:32:19.640 It just it spreads out slowly, beautiful flowers. Not the most common plant 1261 01:32:19.640 --> 01:32:23.760 in the world, but if you can find it, leuad wart Plumbago makes 1262 01:32:23.760 --> 01:32:29.760 a nice little groundcover and especially does well I think around roses. Just something 1263 01:32:29.800 --> 01:32:33.039 that's tame enough to behave for you out there. Let's see, we're going 1264 01:32:33.119 --> 01:32:34.960 to go to the phones. Now, We're going to head out to bell 1265 01:32:35.159 --> 01:32:41.600 Air and talk to Deborah. Hello, Deborrah, good morning. You basically 1266 01:32:41.800 --> 01:32:47.680 just covered what I was calling about. Okay, I can't pronounce or spell 1267 01:32:47.840 --> 01:32:55.319 that poly gomma poly Yeah, let me let me spell it. P O 1268 01:32:55.560 --> 01:33:06.279 l y polly g G o n you am polyg numb Okay. If I'm 1269 01:33:06.319 --> 01:33:13.600 wrong about that, it's not far off, but polygon that's in eu M 1270 01:33:14.159 --> 01:33:19.880 m is and Mary okay and in Nancy you m as in Mary Okay, 1271 01:33:20.359 --> 01:33:26.479 got it? Thank you? Sorry, you bet the rest of you day. 1272 01:33:26.800 --> 01:33:30.079 You bet. Another crisis averted. We got to take care of there. 1273 01:33:30.680 --> 01:33:32.079 Let's head out and now to spring and we're going to talk to Chuck. 1274 01:33:32.319 --> 01:33:36.159 Hello, Chuck, Hello, Happy New Year's to you. Are you 1275 01:33:36.239 --> 01:33:43.399 as well? Steve had called in a little bit ago on the sier and 1276 01:33:43.600 --> 01:33:45.399 I have a bit of information that maybe would be of help to him and 1277 01:33:45.840 --> 01:33:49.319 to anyone else listening. Sure, go ahead. About about four years ago, 1278 01:33:49.399 --> 01:33:55.760 I attended a session out at Harbor Gate, Okay, with both Beverly 1279 01:33:55.800 --> 01:34:01.319 and Angela and Chandler has a lot of on that because I was really interested 1280 01:34:01.359 --> 01:34:05.680 in it. It was the first time that I've seen that with regarding to 1281 01:34:05.720 --> 01:34:10.520 fruit trees versus you know, your typical uh, you know, grape vinds 1282 01:34:10.520 --> 01:34:15.319 and what have you. And anyway, she covered part of that fruit tree 1283 01:34:15.680 --> 01:34:18.920 class that I was at that morning, Okay. And I don't have her 1284 01:34:18.920 --> 01:34:25.239 website, perhaps you do, but again she has had a lot of information 1285 01:34:25.359 --> 01:34:29.399 pertaining to that and how to work with the train and where to plan them 1286 01:34:29.800 --> 01:34:32.279 the best spots in the yard. Yeah, well, she she certainly knows 1287 01:34:33.279 --> 01:34:39.239 the what Her website is the Garden, the Garden Academy dot com. The 1288 01:34:39.560 --> 01:34:43.000 garden Academy dot com it is, and I don't know. I'm looking at 1289 01:34:43.039 --> 01:34:45.520 it right now. As a matter of fact, I don't see a spell 1290 01:34:45.560 --> 01:34:49.439 you in there. It may well be there's probably way too Yeah, there's 1291 01:34:49.479 --> 01:34:53.399 a contact on there if you would like to pursue that lot. I don't. 1292 01:34:53.399 --> 01:34:56.920 I just don't know specifically what she has on that, but Angela is 1293 01:34:56.960 --> 01:35:00.640 excellent for that. That doesn't surprise me at all. Thank you, Right, 1294 01:35:00.720 --> 01:35:01.760 No, I did it? Okay, I have a great day. 1295 01:35:01.840 --> 01:35:06.159 Yeah, you bet appreciate that. It's good to have listeners that are keeping 1296 01:35:06.199 --> 01:35:12.439 their ears open for us as we do these things here. I've talked today 1297 01:35:12.479 --> 01:35:15.840 about pruning quite a bit, and I've talked about training trees properly when they're 1298 01:35:15.880 --> 01:35:23.159 young, talked about the importance of making pruning cuts correctly, and then I've 1299 01:35:23.159 --> 01:35:26.079 talked about how to do a three point cut. If you missed any of 1300 01:35:26.079 --> 01:35:29.840 those, you need to go back and listen to us on podcasts, and 1301 01:35:30.279 --> 01:35:32.199 that will that way you can kind of catch up on those things. Those 1302 01:35:32.199 --> 01:35:35.640 are all three important I've talked about the importance also of quality printers, sharp 1303 01:35:35.680 --> 01:35:42.600 printers, ones that you know are gonna gonna last and continue to perform for 1304 01:35:42.800 --> 01:35:47.800 you over time. So those are all important things. The importance of not 1305 01:35:47.880 --> 01:35:58.640 spreading diseases that very very important. I suggested, using Lysol for example, 1306 01:35:59.439 --> 01:36:04.760 that I will kill all kinds of critters and creatures and microbes and whatnot that 1307 01:36:04.920 --> 01:36:09.520 might be there, you know, trying to do damage to your plant. 1308 01:36:09.520 --> 01:36:13.359 You won't spread that when you prune, so that would be a really good, 1309 01:36:13.600 --> 01:36:16.199 really good choice to do that. I mentioned, you know brands. 1310 01:36:16.239 --> 01:36:19.960 I mentioned Corona, but I forgot to mention Falco. I can't believe that 1311 01:36:19.960 --> 01:36:26.520 that Corona and Falco are both excellent brands. And again there are other brands 1312 01:36:26.600 --> 01:36:30.960 out there. But remember that you get what you pay for. So while 1313 01:36:30.000 --> 01:36:34.600 you can find a pretty good deal on anything from time to time, don't 1314 01:36:34.640 --> 01:36:38.720 be afraid if a prunter's going to cost you a little more. If it's 1315 01:36:38.720 --> 01:36:43.279 a quality brand like Corona or Felco, those are excellent. Some people like 1316 01:36:43.680 --> 01:36:48.840 certain Fiskers products. I personally have not used Fiskers. Actually I have once 1317 01:36:48.960 --> 01:36:53.520 or twice for some things. But Felco and Corona I think are two of 1318 01:36:53.520 --> 01:36:57.159 your top But I have seen some other excellent brands out there, And so 1319 01:36:57.279 --> 01:37:01.319 when you go buy things at a quality place. You know, we're talking 1320 01:37:01.880 --> 01:37:08.439 earlier about the importance of shopping where they know what they're talking about, then 1321 01:37:08.479 --> 01:37:11.039 you can get those kind of brands. An example of that would be a 1322 01:37:11.079 --> 01:37:15.039 Southwest Fertilizer for example. There's a wide variety of tools that Bob has. 1323 01:37:15.079 --> 01:37:18.520 In fact, he has an eighty foot long wall of tools. Yes that's 1324 01:37:18.600 --> 01:37:21.359 right, eighty feet long wall of tools. And he has a lot of 1325 01:37:21.439 --> 01:37:25.199 quality brands of printers. So go by and talk to him. So you 1326 01:37:25.239 --> 01:37:29.239 heard about own guardline, does he have this or that or what else does 1327 01:37:29.239 --> 01:37:30.880 he have that he would recommend? And he's going to have some other brands 1328 01:37:31.119 --> 01:37:34.960 because there's not just two brands in the world out there, but those those 1329 01:37:35.000 --> 01:37:40.000 two I know are good and dependable. By the way, Southwest Fertilizers on 1330 01:37:40.039 --> 01:37:44.880 the corner of Businet and Renwick this afternoon, you know, getting out and 1331 01:37:44.920 --> 01:37:47.279 about. It's a good time to get out and do some shopping. Make 1332 01:37:47.359 --> 01:37:53.479 sure that you know whatever kinds of supplies, tools, plants that you have, 1333 01:37:54.079 --> 01:37:59.319 you're ready to go on that. Yeah, don't skimp when it comes 1334 01:37:59.319 --> 01:38:01.800 to those kind of We're gonna go to a break here. Our phone number 1335 01:38:01.800 --> 01:38:05.880 is seven one three two one two five eight seven four. Give Josh a 1336 01:38:05.920 --> 01:38:09.600 call. We'll have you up on the board and we'll be right back. 1337 01:38:12.079 --> 01:38:15.720 Welcome back to Guarden Line. We're glad you're listening in today. Talking about 1338 01:38:15.760 --> 01:38:17.199 all kinds of things. I got some calls on the line here. We're 1339 01:38:17.199 --> 01:38:19.239 gonna go ahead and jump to those, by the way, if you'd like 1340 01:38:19.279 --> 01:38:24.880 to join us. Seven one three two one two five eight seven four. 1341 01:38:25.039 --> 01:38:29.560 Let's head out to Alvin and talk to Mike. Hello, Mike, Hi, 1342 01:38:29.600 --> 01:38:32.960 Skip. I got a Mexican petunia. It was in a pot when 1343 01:38:32.960 --> 01:38:36.560 I bought the house and it kept blowing over every storm to come through. 1344 01:38:36.600 --> 01:38:42.520 So I finally planted it. And now a couple of months ago you said 1345 01:38:42.520 --> 01:38:46.239 they take over the yard and it's about ten feet wide. Now, okay, 1346 01:38:47.239 --> 01:38:50.760 we'll do about it. You know, there's several of those on the 1347 01:38:50.800 --> 01:38:55.560 market. What first of all, are the blooms purple or pink or white 1348 01:38:56.000 --> 01:39:00.039 purple purple? Is the plant like something about a foot less than a foot 1349 01:39:00.119 --> 01:39:05.439 high or is it something knee high or taller? Oh, it's like the 1350 01:39:05.439 --> 01:39:10.560 center of it's about three or four Okay, got you, I know which 1351 01:39:10.600 --> 01:39:13.840 one you're talking about. Yeah, Humban birds love it. So I've planted 1352 01:39:13.880 --> 01:39:15.520 it in front of a window so the cats could watch it. But now 1353 01:39:15.560 --> 01:39:19.239 it's kind of spread all. Well, it does spread. It has underground 1354 01:39:19.800 --> 01:39:24.479 you know runners that can that can spread. It also spreads by seed, 1355 01:39:24.520 --> 01:39:28.960 and that's that's the biggest challenge with them. They produce a lot of seed. 1356 01:39:29.199 --> 01:39:32.239 And I remember I worked at a place once where we had a sidewalk 1357 01:39:32.279 --> 01:39:35.960 out front. We had a Mexican petunia put in on one end of the 1358 01:39:35.960 --> 01:39:40.840 sidewalk, and a year later I came out and there were Mexic petunias coming 1359 01:39:40.880 --> 01:39:45.239 up beside the sidewalk, twenty five feet down the sidewalk And it's because the 1360 01:39:45.319 --> 01:39:50.079 seed had washed down there in the rain and popped up there. So yeah, 1361 01:39:50.119 --> 01:39:55.279 it's a great plant, but it's over enthusiastic, so you just have 1362 01:39:55.359 --> 01:39:58.720 to be ready to you know, kind of keep it in bounds. Well, 1363 01:39:58.800 --> 01:40:01.520 since it's the pruning. So should I prune some of it? Or 1364 01:40:02.079 --> 01:40:04.560 oh, you can print it. I would print that kind all the way 1365 01:40:04.560 --> 01:40:09.840 back to the ground, especially as we getroy the underwinter. It will not 1366 01:40:09.960 --> 01:40:12.760 kill it at any money close to kill it, and it'll come out all 1367 01:40:12.800 --> 01:40:16.520 fresh and new and healthy. And that's what I would do, And I 1368 01:40:16.640 --> 01:40:19.479 just be ready. When you see the little ones, you may have to 1369 01:40:19.520 --> 01:40:25.640 weed them out or I mean you can spray them, but the little seedlings 1370 01:40:25.760 --> 01:40:30.199 or where it really becomes a proliferator. Some people will put a barrier in 1371 01:40:30.359 --> 01:40:33.840 the ground to confine things like meant for example, that likes to take over 1372 01:40:33.880 --> 01:40:39.479 the world. So just imagine, like you sunk a metal ring in the 1373 01:40:39.479 --> 01:40:43.760 ground. You could do that with a five gallon bucket, just you know, 1374 01:40:43.800 --> 01:40:45.960 cut the bottom off at some height and push it down in the ground 1375 01:40:45.960 --> 01:40:50.359 and that confines your plant that way. But that won't stop the seeds on 1376 01:40:50.439 --> 01:40:55.880 Mexico petunia. Yeah, it seems like the wind blows the tall stalks over 1377 01:40:55.960 --> 01:40:59.800 and then they just kind of grow. They will, you know, parallel 1378 01:40:59.840 --> 01:41:03.359 and then yeah go upwards at the end. Yeah, they do. It's 1379 01:41:03.399 --> 01:41:10.039 a rue elia is It is a very enthusiastic genus let's just put it that 1380 01:41:10.119 --> 01:41:15.760 way. Okay, all right, well, hey, thank you, appreciate, 1381 01:41:15.039 --> 01:41:19.159 appreciate your call a lot. Uh, let's go. Now we're gonna 1382 01:41:19.159 --> 01:41:23.960 go to Tennessee and talk to Mark. Hey, Mark, Hey, how 1383 01:41:24.039 --> 01:41:27.560 you doing? Yeah? Good? How are you listening in Tennessee by a 1384 01:41:27.640 --> 01:41:33.439 computer? Oh? Now iHeart on my telephone? Okay, good, Yeah, 1385 01:41:32.920 --> 01:41:40.000 I'm over road driver and that's how I listened to Houston News. All 1386 01:41:40.119 --> 01:41:43.319 right, we'll good, We're glad you're listening. How can I help today? 1387 01:41:43.840 --> 01:41:48.079 Anyways? I like to give a pitch for the Falco loppers. Me 1388 01:41:48.159 --> 01:41:56.000 and my wife each ap a pair. They're dirty, run over mine several 1389 01:41:56.039 --> 01:42:02.520 times with my tractor and haven't been someone. So get out there trimming branches 1390 01:42:02.560 --> 01:42:06.760 and stuff off trees and the pasture and in the back and kind of forget 1391 01:42:06.760 --> 01:42:12.520 about them occasionally and they fall off and I've run them over. Yeah, 1392 01:42:12.640 --> 01:42:15.960 there's twice that I can think of. Yeah, the Flco for me, 1393 01:42:16.439 --> 01:42:20.439 and this is my personal experience, but Felco and Corona have been the two 1394 01:42:20.479 --> 01:42:27.680 brands that just really really excel. And a friend of mine was telling me 1395 01:42:27.680 --> 01:42:30.239 about a new brand a while back, and I tried something. They're excellent 1396 01:42:30.279 --> 01:42:33.119 too. Can you remember the name of it? Unfortunately, but yeah, 1397 01:42:33.119 --> 01:42:38.479 you're not gonna go wrong with with Falco for sure. Oh they're a little 1398 01:42:38.520 --> 01:42:43.319 bit expensive but well worth money. Well for sure, that's true. You 1399 01:42:43.359 --> 01:42:45.680 know, I say that about a lot of things here on the show. 1400 01:42:45.760 --> 01:42:47.640 But like bird seed, for example, you can buy cheap bird seed, 1401 01:42:47.880 --> 01:42:51.760 but you can't afford it because the amount of bird food you get in a 1402 01:42:51.800 --> 01:42:57.920 bag of cheap bird seed is a fraction of the bag. So yes, 1403 01:42:57.960 --> 01:43:03.119 sir, all right, Well be safe out there on the roads. Oh 1404 01:43:03.840 --> 01:43:08.239 I'm trying, all right, So thank you, thanks for pitching in this 1405 01:43:08.359 --> 01:43:13.880 morning. Appreciate that. Lots of lots of good, good brands of different 1406 01:43:13.880 --> 01:43:18.399 things. I I kind of am a tool nerd. I grew up For 1407 01:43:18.439 --> 01:43:23.239 example, I'll just use one specific tool as an example. I grew up 1408 01:43:24.439 --> 01:43:29.960 with a garden hoe. Was that standard hoe? Like if that is a 1409 01:43:30.079 --> 01:43:31.920 picture, you know, chopping in the garden with a hoe, there's a 1410 01:43:31.960 --> 01:43:34.560 hoe that comes to mind. That's the one I grew up with. That 1411 01:43:34.600 --> 01:43:39.279 hoe is made Yes, you can chop out big weeds, but it's also 1412 01:43:39.279 --> 01:43:43.239 it's basically it's made for moving soil around. That that's why you got the 1413 01:43:43.239 --> 01:43:48.039 big fat blade that set at a ninety degree angle to the handle of the 1414 01:43:48.079 --> 01:43:54.640 hoe. Uh, and that is not the best hoe by any means for 1415 01:43:54.720 --> 01:43:58.359 weeding in your garden. I'm gonna take a break here, run to a 1416 01:43:58.439 --> 01:44:01.680 quick quick phone call, and then I may come back and make some more 1417 01:44:01.720 --> 01:44:04.520 comments on that. In a second. We're gonna head to Hockeley now and 1418 01:44:04.560 --> 01:44:11.800 talk to Rusty. Hello, Rusty, we got Rusty. There sounds like 1419 01:44:11.840 --> 01:44:14.199 I lost I did lose him? All right, Rusty, come on call 1420 01:44:14.199 --> 01:44:17.479 back. We'll get you on anyway, the hose. There is a hoe 1421 01:44:17.600 --> 01:44:23.239 called a scuffle hoe or a stirrup hoe, because the hoe itself looks like 1422 01:44:23.319 --> 01:44:26.960 a stirrup like you put your foot through when you get up onto a horse. 1423 01:44:27.880 --> 01:44:30.319 And the bottom part, like if it were a horse strup where your 1424 01:44:30.359 --> 01:44:34.840 foot sets. That's the blade and it's sharp on two sides, and this 1425 01:44:34.960 --> 01:44:39.960 swivels, so as you push it cuts and as you pull it cuts, 1426 01:44:40.279 --> 01:44:44.000 and boy, it's like playing shuffle board, but not just on the push 1427 01:44:44.039 --> 01:44:46.119 stroke, but push and pull stroke both. You can cover a lot of 1428 01:44:46.159 --> 01:44:49.319 ground. And it's a very efficient hoe. Now, if you wait until 1429 01:44:49.319 --> 01:44:53.000 weeds are giant, no, you can't use that kind of hoe if you 1430 01:44:53.039 --> 01:44:55.199 wait until weeds are giant. It's kind of like I said, if you 1431 01:44:55.239 --> 01:44:57.800 have to use a saw, you're admitting guilt to the way you've been training 1432 01:44:57.920 --> 01:45:01.880 your trees. Well, if you have to go beyond a standard weeding hoe, 1433 01:45:02.039 --> 01:45:05.159 you're just basically saying, yeah, I let that problem get way out 1434 01:45:05.159 --> 01:45:09.000 of hand before I start dealing with it. We want to avoid that. 1435 01:45:09.520 --> 01:45:13.880 So basically, what we're going to aim for with a hoe is one that 1436 01:45:14.079 --> 01:45:17.680 slices right underneath the ground, just barely, because you want to sever the 1437 01:45:17.720 --> 01:45:23.199 weed, but you don't want to dig up new soil. The old time 1438 01:45:23.239 --> 01:45:27.199 hose dug up new soil, and all you did was bring more weed seeds 1439 01:45:27.239 --> 01:45:29.800 to the surface. And yeah, you got rid of those weeds. But 1440 01:45:29.920 --> 01:45:32.039 wait a while, and your soil turns back into a chia pet when all 1441 01:45:32.039 --> 01:45:36.640 the weeds start coming up again. And my favorite hoe is called a diamond 1442 01:45:36.800 --> 01:45:43.039 hoe. And a diamond hoe the blade is it's not set at a ninety 1443 01:45:43.079 --> 01:45:46.720 degree angle to the stem, but it's set so that let's see how a 1444 01:45:46.720 --> 01:45:55.600 would I describe it almost like you're sweeping or maybe mopping motion. The blade 1445 01:45:55.880 --> 01:45:59.960 lays parallel to the ground, not at a right angle to the ground. 1446 01:46:00.359 --> 01:46:03.840 And as you push it and pull it, all four corners of this narrow 1447 01:46:03.960 --> 01:46:09.800 diamond shaped hoe cut and with that long point you can get right in around 1448 01:46:09.840 --> 01:46:13.279 plants without damaging them. You do a little fine surgery around in there, 1449 01:46:13.560 --> 01:46:16.720 and you just slice like a half inch underneath the surface even less, and 1450 01:46:16.880 --> 01:46:21.479 you just slice underneath the surface and it cuts the weeds and you don't disturb 1451 01:46:21.520 --> 01:46:26.239 it. The weeds just die and lay there. It's a great way to 1452 01:46:26.840 --> 01:46:30.279 garden. There's another hoe called a swan neck hove. It's very good for 1453 01:46:30.359 --> 01:46:35.319 that. A lot of market farmers we use something called a collinear hoe, 1454 01:46:35.520 --> 01:46:41.399 and think of that is like a little short ruler with all four sides sharpened. 1455 01:46:41.920 --> 01:46:45.520 That's the stem comes straight up, the handle comes straight up, so 1456 01:46:45.560 --> 01:46:49.359 it's like you're sweeping as you hold it the handle on two hands to sweeping 1457 01:46:49.359 --> 01:46:53.880 motion, like you're sweeping with a broom, but you're sweeping right under the 1458 01:46:53.880 --> 01:46:57.840 sole surface. And all of those kinds of hoes are much better for weeding. 1459 01:46:58.039 --> 01:47:00.920 And again, being a tool nerd, I've always got to try a 1460 01:47:00.960 --> 01:47:03.199 new tool, and there's all these great tools out there. Maybe maybe we 1461 01:47:03.239 --> 01:47:08.800 should just do a show on gardening tools sometimes that would be probably time. 1462 01:47:08.840 --> 01:47:12.640 Well spot, maybe I should put something on my website that'll also be a 1463 01:47:12.640 --> 01:47:15.399 good idea. Hey, you're listening to garden Line. We're about to take 1464 01:47:15.399 --> 01:47:17.680 a break at the top of the hour here for the news. We invite 1465 01:47:17.720 --> 01:47:21.159 you to stick with us. Our phone number is seven one three two one 1466 01:47:21.239 --> 01:47:30.119 two five eight seven four. We'll be right back. Katie r. H. 1467 01:47:30.199 --> 01:47:32.960 Garden Line does not necessarily endorse any of the products or services advertised on 1468 01:47:33.000 --> 01:47:39.840 this program. Welcome to Katy r h. Garden Line with Skip Ricter. 1469 01:47:40.000 --> 01:47:59.600 It's so crazy just watch him as so many Spotsy. Welcome back to garden 1470 01:47:59.600 --> 01:48:03.560 Line. On a beautiful sunny day, a beautiful Sunday, sunny day. 1471 01:48:04.319 --> 01:48:09.159 Glad you're listening, boy, what a great day. Get out and about 1472 01:48:09.199 --> 01:48:12.439 hope this afternoon you get a chance to get outside and get a little bit 1473 01:48:12.479 --> 01:48:15.600 of work done in the garden. Maybe even pick up some supplies and things 1474 01:48:15.640 --> 01:48:19.039 we've been talking about, prunters and tools and whatnot. Lots of good plants 1475 01:48:19.079 --> 01:48:21.159 to be taken care of too. Now. By the way, if you 1476 01:48:21.880 --> 01:48:26.119 still want to plant cool seasoned vegetables, prime time. Get it done. 1477 01:48:26.199 --> 01:48:30.000 Let's do it. If you want cool season flowers, great time to do 1478 01:48:30.079 --> 01:48:33.239 that. If you want to plant trees and shrubs, get it done. 1479 01:48:33.560 --> 01:48:36.960 The sooner you do that, the better off you're going to be when summer 1480 01:48:38.000 --> 01:48:40.479 comes. And it will come and it will be hot, and we will 1481 01:48:40.479 --> 01:48:44.560 have some dry weather. And that plant that has had the most time to 1482 01:48:44.600 --> 01:48:48.000 get roots out into the soil and establish is the plant that's going to survive 1483 01:48:48.039 --> 01:48:53.199 the best. So now's the time to get that done. I know roses 1484 01:48:53.199 --> 01:48:56.880 are for February, but roses are for January too, excellent time to get 1485 01:48:56.880 --> 01:49:01.079 out plant rosebushes. If you like perennials, whether it's perennial herbs, whether 1486 01:49:01.119 --> 01:49:06.239 it's perennial flowers, they all do really really well when planted now, So 1487 01:49:06.600 --> 01:49:10.920 it's a good time to do that. But what's the most important thing quick 1488 01:49:10.960 --> 01:49:15.520 quiz for garden line listeners. What is more important than the plants you plant 1489 01:49:15.000 --> 01:49:20.159 the soil that you prepare ahead of time? Now I know it. Choosing 1490 01:49:20.199 --> 01:49:24.159 the right plant a species in a variety that wants to do well here, 1491 01:49:24.399 --> 01:49:29.920 Yes, critical, absolutely critical. But to get the best plant on earth 1492 01:49:30.319 --> 01:49:35.159 and PLoP it into an unprepared plot of heavy clay soil or just generally unimproved 1493 01:49:35.159 --> 01:49:43.000 soil. You have just essentially limited your success dramatically by not preparing the soul 1494 01:49:43.039 --> 01:49:45.840 first. So when you go to a garden center, come home with a 1495 01:49:45.880 --> 01:49:50.279 bag of soil amending products, or go to places where you can get those, 1496 01:49:50.640 --> 01:49:54.319 you know, and where you can order them bulk. You live done 1497 01:49:54.439 --> 01:49:58.279 South, you know we've got cenamultch down there, will they will get you 1498 01:49:58.359 --> 01:50:01.479 fixed up down in the road sharing direction. They've had all kinds of supplies 1499 01:50:01.560 --> 01:50:05.359 like that. You know, we've got Nature's Way resources up toward the conroad 1500 01:50:05.359 --> 01:50:11.439 direction on forty five heirloom soils of Texas out toward Porter direction. And these 1501 01:50:11.479 --> 01:50:15.600 products are sold all over town. Bag too, but take some time to 1502 01:50:15.600 --> 01:50:20.359 buy a quality product, not somebody who threw organic matter together for five minutes 1503 01:50:20.399 --> 01:50:25.399 to turn brown and then sold it, but someone who truly made a quality 1504 01:50:25.439 --> 01:50:28.119 blend. And those are the kinds of people that we have on garden line 1505 01:50:28.119 --> 01:50:33.079 of sponsors. We don't have sponsors of companies that I don't totally support their 1506 01:50:33.119 --> 01:50:38.359 product. So that's just something for you to think about. Let's go out 1507 01:50:38.399 --> 01:50:43.800 now to Hockeley we're gonna talk to Rusty. Hello, Rusty, morning skiff. 1508 01:50:43.840 --> 01:50:47.600 I'm sorry I read hey. I don't hold it against the dog. 1509 01:50:47.680 --> 01:50:59.319 I hope it wouldn't. You though, have a thornless oh hawthorn, hawthorne 1510 01:50:59.319 --> 01:51:03.560 tree, thank you? Was given to me for Christmas. I'm not sure 1511 01:51:03.640 --> 01:51:12.239 if it's good for this part of the the Gulf. That's I'm calling. 1512 01:51:12.399 --> 01:51:15.560 That's why I just calling to ask about that. You know, there's a 1513 01:51:15.560 --> 01:51:20.960 lot of different there's a lot of different species of hawthorn, so I don't 1514 01:51:20.960 --> 01:51:26.680 know exactly which species you're talking about, assuming that this this is a true 1515 01:51:26.720 --> 01:51:31.600 hawthorn, but hawthorns in general, most of them will do well here. 1516 01:51:32.199 --> 01:51:36.239 They do, they do okay here. I can't say that every hawthorn in 1517 01:51:36.279 --> 01:51:44.039 the world would, but East Texas is home to several native hawthorns that this 1518 01:51:44.119 --> 01:51:48.840 one's mostly from Washington, if that makes me, that's what's gotten me worried, 1519 01:51:50.840 --> 01:51:55.800 the state of Washington, State of wash Yeah, I guess, so, 1520 01:51:56.239 --> 01:52:04.520 okay, that's what the tags h It has a red berry that's edible, 1521 01:52:05.199 --> 01:52:14.960 supposedly ball and I'm going to lean toward and I have my doubts in 1522 01:52:14.960 --> 01:52:21.560 that case. There is a there's a hawthorn called the cockspur hawthorn that oh 1523 01:52:21.600 --> 01:52:27.800 it is. Okay, well, now that that particular hawthorn probably doesn't want 1524 01:52:27.840 --> 01:52:30.239 to be south of about about zone seven, which is a couple of zones 1525 01:52:30.319 --> 01:52:33.800 north of you. Uh, and so I have a feeling summers are going 1526 01:52:33.880 --> 01:52:36.880 to be too brutal if you want to give it its best possible shots. 1527 01:52:36.880 --> 01:52:41.760 Since you've already got the tree, find a space where it gets good sunlight, 1528 01:52:41.840 --> 01:52:45.640 but preferably morning sun and a little bit of a break, maybe an 1529 01:52:45.760 --> 01:52:53.119 understory to some trees that are shading it in the mid afternoon and on that 1530 01:52:53.800 --> 01:52:58.279 probably your best shot at it. I've never seen that tree planted here, 1531 01:52:59.000 --> 01:53:03.359 but that's one that is often settled as thornless. Okay, well, I'm 1532 01:53:03.359 --> 01:53:08.199 gonna give it a shot. I got sny shady trees out here and anywhere. 1533 01:53:08.319 --> 01:53:11.039 Hey, we're good, thank you, thank you very much. All 1534 01:53:11.119 --> 01:53:15.439 right, hey, Rusty, just a request, keep up, keep up 1535 01:53:15.439 --> 01:53:16.840 with that. Tell me how it does. I'd like to hear, you 1536 01:53:16.880 --> 01:53:19.439 know, not not the spring, but you know, and then the year 1537 01:53:19.479 --> 01:53:23.119 or two to come. If if you find that it does well here, 1538 01:53:23.199 --> 01:53:27.760 I'd like to know that because the information I have always heard on thornless cockspur 1539 01:53:27.840 --> 01:53:31.960 hawthorn is a little further north. But let's see. Yeah, okay, 1540 01:53:34.680 --> 01:53:40.119 that's good. Okay, with springtime, early spring, putting it in the 1541 01:53:40.119 --> 01:53:43.800 ground, I would get it done now. I'll get it as soon as 1542 01:53:44.199 --> 01:53:46.239 if you've got the tree, get it in sooner rather than later, because 1543 01:53:46.560 --> 01:53:50.520 again we're asking a tree to grow further south and it probably wants to, 1544 01:53:53.039 --> 01:53:56.760 and so we don't want we wanted to have his best root system. We 1545 01:53:56.840 --> 01:54:01.279 can going into the summer. All right, sludge LT Thanks Sarah, appreciate 1546 01:54:01.279 --> 01:54:05.720 the call. You know, there's so many plants out there, it's just 1547 01:54:06.119 --> 01:54:12.279 mind boggling, and being a general horticulturist, I feel like I'm trying to 1548 01:54:12.319 --> 01:54:15.239 always stay up on every kind of plant there is, and well, you 1549 01:54:15.279 --> 01:54:18.960 know, when there's eight hundred new tomato varieties every year, it seems like 1550 01:54:19.600 --> 01:54:23.760 and you're trying to keep track of every kind of thing that's out there and 1551 01:54:23.800 --> 01:54:30.439 every version of everything, it's daunting. And so I think that it helps 1552 01:54:30.520 --> 01:54:33.680 us all to realize there's more that we don't know than we do know. 1553 01:54:34.439 --> 01:54:40.600 Don't you have some friends that you wish realize that? But anyway, there's 1554 01:54:40.640 --> 01:54:43.279 more that we don't know than we do know, and we're just forever learning, 1555 01:54:43.399 --> 01:54:45.600 which I think is one of the best things about gardening. And why 1556 01:54:45.600 --> 01:54:49.880 do I say that, Well, learning is a mind stimulating process, you 1557 01:54:49.880 --> 01:54:53.359 know, as we get older. I mean if you just kind of just 1558 01:54:53.399 --> 01:54:57.520 sit and badge out and do not stretch your brain, use your brain, 1559 01:54:57.640 --> 01:55:00.319 whatnot? Same thing with your body, of course. Uh, let's just 1560 01:55:00.359 --> 01:55:03.800 say we atrophy. Maybe that's a good way to put it. And to 1561 01:55:03.960 --> 01:55:08.039 continue to learn is good. And boy, with gardening, I don't care 1562 01:55:08.079 --> 01:55:11.800 if you narrow it down to I just like native plants, well, good 1563 01:55:11.880 --> 01:55:15.199 luck. You must spend the rest of your life learning all about all the 1564 01:55:15.279 --> 01:55:18.119 nati plants are and about the time you get it all figured out, there'll 1565 01:55:18.119 --> 01:55:21.720 be new ones that have been discovered or they've been developed, or new information, 1566 01:55:23.359 --> 01:55:27.800 and it's just a forever learning process. It could be orkids that you're 1567 01:55:27.800 --> 01:55:30.279 into, or it could be vegetable garden. It doesn't matter. There's so 1568 01:55:30.720 --> 01:55:36.960 much new information. It just I love that part about gardening. It's stimulating, 1569 01:55:38.039 --> 01:55:40.760 it's fun, and I encourage that, by the way, I encourage 1570 01:55:40.760 --> 01:55:44.439 you too. If you're really really into garding. Now I know we got 1571 01:55:44.439 --> 01:55:46.239 a lot of listeners that are just you know, I got a loan, 1572 01:55:46.319 --> 01:55:49.359 will you help me keep it green? But if you're really into it, 1573 01:55:49.399 --> 01:55:55.000 I'm going to suggest when we come back some ways that you can help expand 1574 01:55:55.079 --> 01:55:58.640 your learning as you go forward. Our phone number is seven one three two 1575 01:55:58.640 --> 01:56:03.439 one two fifty eight seventy four. Welcome back to garden Line. We are 1576 01:56:03.479 --> 01:56:08.079 glad to have you around today because we love to talk to you about gardening. 1577 01:56:08.239 --> 01:56:11.600 I have one of the most enjoyable things that I have in life is 1578 01:56:12.000 --> 01:56:17.279 getting to visit with gardeners about plants and about helping them have success with plants. 1579 01:56:17.479 --> 01:56:20.560 You know, people think I got a brown thumb, can't grow things. 1580 01:56:20.840 --> 01:56:24.359 I need help. No, you don't. You just need your thumb 1581 01:56:24.399 --> 01:56:27.239 informed. And that's what we're here for. That's what we're here to do. 1582 01:56:27.520 --> 01:56:30.640 We're going to run right back out to the phones and talk to Paul 1583 01:56:30.840 --> 01:56:34.479 in Spring. Hello, Paul, you doing skip well? Thanks? Hey, 1584 01:56:34.520 --> 01:56:39.159 I got a question. I got two big pots with the bird of 1585 01:56:39.199 --> 01:56:47.880 paradise and on a quarter my ballooms don't open. Okay, I just want 1586 01:56:47.920 --> 01:56:51.159 to not assume here is this the bird of Paradise that has kind of the 1587 01:56:51.199 --> 01:57:00.640 orange with the bluish coloring in the blooms. It's not the barbee, it's 1588 01:57:00.680 --> 01:57:02.920 not the word. It's a tropical bird of paradise. Okay, Yeah, 1589 01:57:03.000 --> 01:57:06.960 I don't know why they wouldn't open. Sometimes often people will have trouble with 1590 01:57:08.000 --> 01:57:14.239 them not blooming, and the plants, UH can at times just be vegetative 1591 01:57:14.279 --> 01:57:16.560 and not do a good job of setting blooms. And there's there's various things 1592 01:57:16.560 --> 01:57:19.880 we can do. But if you get blooms and they're not opening, I'm 1593 01:57:19.880 --> 01:57:25.560 not sure what would do that. That's not a disease, that's not an 1594 01:57:25.560 --> 01:57:32.840 insect. Developmentallycts very very rare. No, that plant doesn't have problems. 1595 01:57:33.000 --> 01:57:38.119 I'm just saying. I So that would leave it to something cultural or something 1596 01:57:38.640 --> 01:57:41.800 you know, to do with the weather, temperatures, development, you know 1597 01:57:41.880 --> 01:57:45.199 certainly that. So what would you fertilize with? I would use a high 1598 01:57:45.479 --> 01:57:50.079 There's there's some high quality fee fertilizers that are out there on the market that 1599 01:57:50.239 --> 01:57:57.119 will be geared toward blooming plants. I know. Nelson says some products, 1600 01:57:57.119 --> 01:58:00.119 just as an example of that, some some color star types of products. 1601 01:58:00.600 --> 01:58:03.920 There are fertilizers that do well for plume areas, which by the way, 1602 01:58:03.960 --> 01:58:11.800 would do fine for Bird of Paradise too. The specific blends like that nitfive 1603 01:58:11.920 --> 01:58:15.520 fertilizer has some lines along the same thing that would do well. I would 1604 01:58:15.560 --> 01:58:17.479 just get a little canister, one of those one of the little plastic jars, 1605 01:58:17.960 --> 01:58:21.920 and sprinkle some out there. I don't worry about fertilizing it right now. 1606 01:58:21.960 --> 01:58:27.720 It's a little too early. That plant is not interested in growing in 1607 01:58:27.800 --> 01:58:31.680 this weather once right now. Yeah, well, once we get into spring, 1608 01:58:32.479 --> 01:58:36.000 then I would I would add the fertilization to it. But I have 1609 01:58:36.199 --> 01:58:43.439 never known an instance where fertilization made blooms open that were there but wouldn't open. 1610 01:58:43.960 --> 01:58:47.000 So I think it's just going to be a matter of warming up again 1611 01:58:47.399 --> 01:58:53.640 a little bit more and perhaps providing a little vigor for those plants to get 1612 01:58:53.640 --> 01:58:57.319 them going. That'd be curious. I'd like to hear about, you know, 1613 01:58:57.359 --> 01:59:00.600 if if they suddenly start opening or whatever. I hear about that, 1614 01:59:00.640 --> 01:59:04.319 I'm going to make a note and see if I can hunt down anybody any 1615 01:59:04.359 --> 01:59:09.520 tropical experts that have commented on that. With Bird of Paradise, I have 1616 01:59:09.680 --> 01:59:14.800 not heard of it. They start blooming in November and they're still blooming now 1617 01:59:15.239 --> 01:59:19.720 yeh, yes, well, and they'll be co it's fun moving them. 1618 01:59:19.800 --> 01:59:28.520 They'll continue the beautiful blooms, absolutely stunning tropical blooms. But yeah, give 1619 01:59:28.560 --> 01:59:31.600 it, give it the fertilizer I was talking about. But I would I 1620 01:59:31.600 --> 01:59:34.720 would say that, you know, the blooms on any plant, including bird 1621 01:59:34.720 --> 01:59:40.159 of Paradise, are are are centered around the fact that the plant leaves get 1622 01:59:40.199 --> 01:59:44.560 sunlight and make carbohydrates, and therefore the plant is able to produce blooms. 1623 01:59:45.159 --> 01:59:49.560 Uh. And so good gloom health produces blooms. Our mystery about six feet 1624 01:59:49.600 --> 01:59:54.279 tall. So oh wow, you got good healthy ones. Our our mystery 1625 01:59:54.279 --> 01:59:57.359 here though, is okay, they're producing blooms, but the blooms aren't opening. 1626 01:59:57.399 --> 02:00:00.000 And that's the part where I'm gonna have to look into a little further. 1627 02:00:00.159 --> 02:00:03.640 I'm not aware of what. It's not getting enough water sometimes or what 1628 02:00:03.920 --> 02:00:06.600 so, of course it's such a big pot, it's kind of hard water 1629 02:00:06.800 --> 02:00:12.359 correctly. Yeah, and you know those plants, I've seen them where they're 1630 02:00:12.439 --> 02:00:16.640 really not taken great care of and they do okay, they're pretty tough. 1631 02:00:17.600 --> 02:00:21.079 I don't I don't recommend, you know, not taking care of them, 1632 02:00:21.119 --> 02:00:26.199 but Uh so I would have a hard time believing that it's just water, 1633 02:00:26.279 --> 02:00:30.680 but I guess that could be a factor. Yeah, yeah, oh I 1634 02:00:30.720 --> 02:00:32.760 know they're pot bound, so yeah. Oh and then they're happy that way, 1635 02:00:32.800 --> 02:00:35.680 pot bound too, by the way, they they do just fine with 1636 02:00:35.760 --> 02:00:41.840 that. Yeah, just trying not okay, Yeah, but it's but at 1637 02:00:41.880 --> 02:00:45.920 some point you know that pot bound is too pot bound and for them to 1638 02:00:45.000 --> 02:00:54.359 keep growing and blooming and whatnot, you need to get so you split its. 1639 02:00:54.479 --> 02:00:58.199 Hey, well, life gives you lemons, make lemonade. You could 1640 02:00:58.199 --> 02:01:02.439 divide them into several So all right, Paul, say it again. I 1641 02:01:02.479 --> 02:01:06.439 said those pots are cheats. No they're not. They're not. There are 1642 02:01:06.439 --> 02:01:10.159 several plants that will do that. You know, the zzy house plant I 1643 02:01:10.199 --> 02:01:14.359 was talking about earlier. Oh my gosh, that thing it has creates some 1644 02:01:14.479 --> 02:01:17.439 force in a pot that'll crack it right wide open too. So all right, 1645 02:01:17.479 --> 02:01:20.159 well I'll look into it. If I know of anything, I'll say 1646 02:01:20.199 --> 02:01:24.479 it on the air. All right, thank you, thanks sir, I 1647 02:01:24.520 --> 02:01:30.119 appreciate it. Bird of Paradise is such a gorgeous tropical tropical plant. It's 1648 02:01:30.159 --> 02:01:34.640 also an example of plant names being sometimes frustrating. You know, we're sitting 1649 02:01:34.680 --> 02:01:38.680 here. We use the term bird of paradise for two plants that are very 1650 02:01:38.760 --> 02:01:45.399 unlike, very unlike, uh and the the Seesalpinia or pride of Barbadoes that 1651 02:01:45.720 --> 02:01:49.439 he referenced. The other bird of paradise plant, sometimes we call it red 1652 02:01:49.439 --> 02:01:53.920 bird of Paradise, and I think that helps just to separate it from bird 1653 02:01:53.920 --> 02:01:58.159 of paradise. But it is still kind of confusing, isn't it. That's 1654 02:01:58.239 --> 02:02:01.920 why we have botanical names of plants. I know, nobody likes to try 1655 02:02:01.920 --> 02:02:06.119 to deal with and memorize the scientific name of a plant, you know, 1656 02:02:06.159 --> 02:02:10.880 the botanical name of a plant. It's a little makes you sound like you're 1657 02:02:10.880 --> 02:02:15.399 trying to show off and use botanical names, but it's accurate, and that's 1658 02:02:15.439 --> 02:02:19.840 important. It's important that we have something that's accurate. So I talked earlier 1659 02:02:19.880 --> 02:02:26.479 today about fertilizing your cool seasoned flowers and vegetables to keep them vigorous, keep 1660 02:02:26.479 --> 02:02:30.880 them growing, for them to do well. You know, taking care of 1661 02:02:30.920 --> 02:02:34.520 plants can go beyond just the nutrients themselves. You know, for example, 1662 02:02:34.560 --> 02:02:39.960 Medina soul activator Medina cell activator has got over forty trace elements in it. 1663 02:02:39.960 --> 02:02:44.760 It's got hormones. It's got various things like, for example, iron and 1664 02:02:44.840 --> 02:02:47.520 zinc. You know that's not an a normal bag of fertilizer, but there's 1665 02:02:47.600 --> 02:02:51.960 a lot of trace elements in a Medina Soil activator. But now they got 1666 02:02:53.199 --> 02:02:56.479 well, now it's been around a while, they've got Medina Cell Activator Plus. 1667 02:02:57.039 --> 02:03:00.279 And when you add that, you're adding not only what was in the 1668 02:03:00.319 --> 02:03:03.960 original Medina Sol Activator, which we think of as something for the soil, 1669 02:03:04.840 --> 02:03:11.600 but with Medina Cell Activator Plus you're getting these other compounds that are helpful in 1670 02:03:11.640 --> 02:03:15.840 the plant, both blooming, growing of course setting fruit. Whenever you do 1671 02:03:15.880 --> 02:03:20.199 a transplanting, you could use the Medina Sole Activator Plus as a way to 1672 02:03:20.239 --> 02:03:26.159 set out your new transplants, or just dilute it down and use it for 1673 02:03:26.479 --> 02:03:30.319 young seedlings that you're getting growing as a folder. I'd put in a little 1674 02:03:30.359 --> 02:03:33.359 spray bottle and just spray it on the foliage as they grow and help them 1675 02:03:33.520 --> 02:03:36.680 along that line as well. It's very helpful for that, and you can 1676 02:03:36.680 --> 02:03:43.079 find Medina Cell Activator Plus in a lot of different areas. We call it 1677 02:03:43.119 --> 02:03:45.760 Medina Plus, that's the simple name for it. But any kind of plant 1678 02:03:45.800 --> 02:03:49.880 that you have it's going to be helpful for those kinds of situations. I'm 1679 02:03:49.880 --> 02:03:51.920 going to head back to the phones. By the way, our phone number 1680 02:03:51.920 --> 02:03:56.159 we're the last half of the show, or last half of the hour of 1681 02:03:56.439 --> 02:04:01.920 the Today's show is seven one three one to fifty eight seventy four. So 1682 02:04:02.039 --> 02:04:04.920 right now I'm gonna head out to Paarland and we're going to talk to Archie. 1683 02:04:05.199 --> 02:04:11.359 Hello, Archie Martin skip Hey, I'm going up to Fort Worth this 1684 02:04:11.359 --> 02:04:15.079 this week to visit my son, and he's got an issue between the house 1685 02:04:15.119 --> 02:04:18.880 and the fence. There's about three feet maybe three and a half feet where 1686 02:04:19.520 --> 02:04:24.279 he can't keep grass growing there. But now he's getting you know, he 1687 02:04:24.319 --> 02:04:27.880 had some stepping stuff, but he's getting mud and stuff now, and he's 1688 02:04:27.920 --> 02:04:30.039 wondering if there was something he could get down that would be course enough that 1689 02:04:30.079 --> 02:04:35.760 the rain would go on through. Because the fence sar blocks when the rains 1690 02:04:35.760 --> 02:04:39.680 coming, there's not enough sunlight for anything really to grow there. Okay, 1691 02:04:39.800 --> 02:04:42.279 if there's something that you can put down, but I don't want that. 1692 02:04:42.439 --> 02:04:45.039 I don't think I want that rubberized stuff. But is there something else you 1693 02:04:45.079 --> 02:04:48.039 could put down there that would kind of harden up to where they could, 1694 02:04:48.119 --> 02:04:50.640 you know, walk down through there. He's got a three year old gets 1695 02:04:50.680 --> 02:04:54.920 in there and gets mud all over him. Yeah, well, there are 1696 02:04:54.920 --> 02:05:00.359 different options. There's what we call hardescape, and that would be think of 1697 02:05:00.399 --> 02:05:02.680 it as like a bunch of bricks laid on the ground that have cracks some 1698 02:05:02.720 --> 02:05:06.000 space in between them, so the moisture can move down. Uh, it 1699 02:05:06.159 --> 02:05:11.279 sounds like this area probably is a clay soil, and it also sounds like 1700 02:05:11.319 --> 02:05:15.439 it may be a little lower lying, and so as you as you raise 1701 02:05:15.640 --> 02:05:19.520 up the surface, then the water drains away, just like off a hillside. 1702 02:05:20.119 --> 02:05:28.319 So you might want to consider putting in a landscape. The metal landscape 1703 02:05:29.119 --> 02:05:33.399 border the bed bordering materials that you put down there, they're plastic and metal 1704 02:05:33.479 --> 02:05:40.399 versions metal ASTs a little longer. And then in between those two the landscape 1705 02:05:40.520 --> 02:05:45.600 edging materials, you could use a substance like decomposed granite. Decomposed granite is 1706 02:05:47.479 --> 02:05:53.439 very crumbly. Water will move down in it, but it also just drains 1707 02:05:53.439 --> 02:05:59.159 off to the to the sides, so it's like a like just broken rock 1708 02:05:59.439 --> 02:06:02.039 pieces, and but when you walk on it, it's very stable. You 1709 02:06:02.079 --> 02:06:05.399 don't have to it's not like pea gravel where you know, your foot sinks 1710 02:06:05.439 --> 02:06:10.720 down or someone is trying to holler. And the problem is as three year 1711 02:06:10.760 --> 02:06:14.079 old gets over there and he tries to you know, the pea gravel stuff, 1712 02:06:14.079 --> 02:06:15.720 tries to pick it up in his hand and throws it all over the 1713 02:06:15.800 --> 02:06:18.279 lace. And yeah, well you need to buy him a slingshot for Christmas 1714 02:06:18.319 --> 02:06:21.279 because then he'll need something. He'll have a time of his life as a 1715 02:06:21.319 --> 02:06:26.079 former three year old. I can tell you that that former eight year old 1716 02:06:26.359 --> 02:06:30.520 terrorism. Yeah but no, seriously, that's not going to be so much 1717 02:06:30.560 --> 02:06:33.800 the case with decomposed grantite. But but just the hardscapes. I like a 1718 02:06:33.800 --> 02:06:39.199 lot of the very attractive kinds of stone type materials, typically concrete materials, 1719 02:06:39.720 --> 02:06:43.560 flagstones and things that you could put They make a real good, good walkway. 1720 02:06:43.640 --> 02:06:45.319 So just something to think about there. It's not for it's like about 1721 02:06:45.319 --> 02:06:49.920 forty feet okay, yeah, and anesthetically, so think about what you like, 1722 02:06:50.840 --> 02:06:53.840 Archie. I'm about to have to take a break here. If you 1723 02:06:54.159 --> 02:06:56.520 if that covered it, we'll let it go at that. If not, 1724 02:06:56.880 --> 02:06:59.279 put you on hold. You can hang around if you like, we'll talk 1725 02:06:59.319 --> 02:07:02.279 to you all. Have a safe trip to Fort Worth. Good luck, 1726 02:07:02.279 --> 02:07:05.319 on forty five. By the way, that's taken your life into your hands. 1727 02:07:05.399 --> 02:07:11.520 Nikki, your life are your Archie. My mind immediately goes to Veronica. 1728 02:07:11.960 --> 02:07:14.800 Veronica, I was the three year old ones. Oh wow, do 1729 02:07:14.840 --> 02:07:16.920 you know? Okay, now we're cutting into your nie time when I was 1730 02:07:16.960 --> 02:07:21.439 a kid on the box of Super Sugar Crisp. Is that the name of 1731 02:07:23.760 --> 02:07:28.079 on the back? They pressed forty five records? I remember, did we 1732 02:07:28.079 --> 02:07:31.119 already talk about this? No? I remember Sugar Sugar by the Archies. 1733 02:07:31.439 --> 02:07:33.960 Yes, I had that record. You had to cut it out of the 1734 02:07:33.960 --> 02:07:38.359 cardboard put it on your little record, all right, So bottom line, 1735 02:07:38.359 --> 02:07:43.920 I'm old, it's time for news. Enjoy right off the back of a 1736 02:07:43.960 --> 02:07:46.239 box a Super Sugar Crisps. You got it right there. For several other 1737 02:07:46.279 --> 02:07:49.319 places you could get the record, but I always enjoyed that. That was 1738 02:07:49.520 --> 02:07:53.720 a lot of fun, Probably the first music I ever listened to. You're 1739 02:07:53.760 --> 02:07:56.640 listening to garden Line. I'm your host, Skip Richter. We're here to 1740 02:07:56.680 --> 02:08:00.479 talk about things that are of interest to you, questions you might have about 1741 02:08:00.479 --> 02:08:05.000 gardening. Our phone number is seven one three two one two five eight seven 1742 02:08:05.119 --> 02:08:09.239 four. We're entering into the last half hour of garden Line this weekend. 1743 02:08:09.920 --> 02:08:15.600 We're here every Saturday and every Sunday from six am to ten am, so 1744 02:08:16.199 --> 02:08:18.760 set your clocks to give you an alarm wake up call. Of course you 1745 02:08:18.800 --> 02:08:22.840 want to don't want to miss garden Line. We stuff up in the morning. 1746 02:08:22.199 --> 02:08:26.520 Tell your friends and neighbors about garden Line too. We always enjoy having 1747 02:08:26.560 --> 02:08:30.920 new folks listening in and that again is part of the fun that we have 1748 02:08:30.960 --> 02:08:33.479 here on guard Line. Today. I've talked about a lot of topics, 1749 02:08:33.520 --> 02:08:37.880 a lot of pruning stuff that we're mentioning today, talking about tools and waste 1750 02:08:37.880 --> 02:08:41.359 of prune and things to prune and things like that I'm going to go into. 1751 02:08:41.479 --> 02:08:45.880 I just gonna keep going on that theme, I think today because this 1752 02:08:46.079 --> 02:08:50.520 is a big time of the year for pruning. Types of things we do. 1753 02:08:50.600 --> 02:08:54.560 Most are pruning in the late winter and spring, because it's prior to 1754 02:08:54.720 --> 02:08:58.640 spring growth coming out and the time of the fastest healing, especially in the 1755 02:08:58.680 --> 02:09:03.560 case of trees and shrubs, the fastest healing of the wound that we create 1756 02:09:03.600 --> 02:09:09.920 when we prune. However, there are caveats to that. Any plant that 1757 02:09:09.039 --> 02:09:16.640 blooms only in the spring, we don't prune until after it blooms. Now, 1758 02:09:18.239 --> 02:09:20.920 I bet I know where your brain went on that. So let's just 1759 02:09:20.159 --> 02:09:24.920 let's just hang with me a minute and talk about it. When a plant 1760 02:09:26.239 --> 02:09:31.479 blooms only in the spring, it sets those bloom buds in late summer and 1761 02:09:31.640 --> 02:09:37.680 fall for the following springs bloom. And I'll use a fruit tree as an 1762 02:09:37.720 --> 02:09:39.760 example, because they do that, and I realized that broke the rule I 1763 02:09:39.880 --> 02:09:43.159 just gave. But here we go. That they set the bloom buds at 1764 02:09:43.159 --> 02:09:46.239 that time. They come out in spring and they bloom and then they're done, 1765 02:09:46.479 --> 02:09:50.840 and toward the end of next year, as long as there's some good 1766 02:09:50.880 --> 02:09:56.159 healthy growth that is not just brand new shoots, it'll start setting those buds 1767 02:09:56.520 --> 02:10:01.199 on that would for the following year. So a l banks rows a once 1768 02:10:01.239 --> 02:10:05.560 blooming rose, which a lot of climbers are once bloomers. They don't bloom 1769 02:10:05.560 --> 02:10:09.319 in cycles all through the year, like a knockout roads would, for example. 1770 02:10:09.319 --> 02:10:13.439 So those kinds of plants we wait until after they bloom to prune them. 1771 02:10:13.880 --> 02:10:18.199 The typical types of azalias that bloom just in the spring and then they're 1772 02:10:18.199 --> 02:10:22.920 done for the year. Spyriea are bridle's wreath. If you're from the further 1773 02:10:22.039 --> 02:10:26.680 north midwest, you had Forsythia, the yellow blooms that are early, early, 1774 02:10:26.720 --> 02:10:31.920 early in the spring. That's a once bloomer. Also, flowering quints 1775 02:10:33.159 --> 02:10:37.319 is a once bloomer that grows down here in our landscape. So Texas Mountain 1776 02:10:37.359 --> 02:10:41.119 Laurel just blooms once in the spring. Those kind of plants wait if you're 1777 02:10:41.119 --> 02:10:43.920 going to prune them until after they bloom, because otherwise you're just cutting away 1778 02:10:43.960 --> 02:10:46.439 the bloom buds that are right there. Now, I use fruit tree as 1779 02:10:46.479 --> 02:10:50.039 an example, but we prune fruit trees in the winter. Why is that 1780 02:10:50.079 --> 02:10:54.560 Because we're not growing fruit trees to have a beautiful bloom show. We're growing 1781 02:10:54.560 --> 02:11:00.000 fruit trees to have a productive crop. And so you can prune a fruit 1782 02:11:00.119 --> 02:11:03.600 tree in the winter to create the branch structure that's strong, that helps you 1783 02:11:03.680 --> 02:11:09.279 have a well balanced tree with production from lower in the tree all the way 1784 02:11:09.359 --> 02:11:11.680 up into the higher parts of the tree, and you're still going to have 1785 02:11:13.199 --> 02:11:16.880 more blooms than that tree needs to set. Then we even get into thinning 1786 02:11:18.039 --> 02:11:20.279 of some of the additional blooms if frost doesn't do that for us. So 1787 02:11:20.439 --> 02:11:24.640 fruit trees are kind of an exception, but we're not growing them for the 1788 02:11:24.640 --> 02:11:28.680 blooms. Now, a tree, a plant that blooms on and on through 1789 02:11:28.720 --> 02:11:33.840 the summer, like a rose bush typically would do, or a plant that 1790 02:11:33.279 --> 02:11:41.079 just blooms in the summer like vitex vtex agnes castis called shade not shade tree. 1791 02:11:41.239 --> 02:11:43.319 A chase tree, for example, would be a summer bloomer. O 1792 02:11:43.439 --> 02:11:48.640 leanders or summer bloomers. Those are blooming on new wood. So you could 1793 02:11:48.640 --> 02:11:52.640 cut that thing to the ground. Crape myrtle, it's another example. You 1794 02:11:52.760 --> 02:11:56.079 cut the ground almost and it's going to send up shoots and probably have some 1795 02:11:56.119 --> 02:12:01.960 blooms on it that summer because it blooms on new growth, not on buds 1796 02:12:01.000 --> 02:12:05.199 from last year. So those we can prune through the winter season. You 1797 02:12:05.279 --> 02:12:09.199 just want to remember that you want to print them properly, because if you 1798 02:12:09.239 --> 02:12:13.359 do cut something like that to the ground, that's going to probably mess up 1799 02:12:13.359 --> 02:12:16.640 the structure that you're aiming for on the plant, and and a lot of 1800 02:12:16.640 --> 02:12:20.119 other things. But just remember that the only thing, the only caveat to 1801 02:12:20.159 --> 02:12:24.560 the winter pruning is something that is only going to bloom in the spring that 1802 02:12:24.600 --> 02:12:26.920 you're growing for the flowers. All right, enough of that, let's go 1803 02:12:28.079 --> 02:12:31.760 out to Katie and let's talk to Mike. Hello, Mike, Hello, 1804 02:12:31.920 --> 02:12:41.760 skip one question. My question about a crowd. The leads, the older 1805 02:12:41.840 --> 02:12:52.520 leads on the plant have had curled the curl and uh, they look green 1806 02:12:52.880 --> 02:12:58.439 as they always have, but they're they Hey Mike, Mike, let me 1807 02:12:58.520 --> 02:13:01.439 cut into a minute. Do you have your phone on speaker because we're getting 1808 02:13:01.479 --> 02:13:05.880 a lot of rubbing and feedback. I thought I had turned it off. 1809 02:13:05.920 --> 02:13:09.319 I'm sorry, Okay, no problem, go ahead. So your crown of 1810 02:13:09.399 --> 02:13:15.720 thorns and leaves are curling, yes, sir, and uh it was it 1811 02:13:15.800 --> 02:13:20.880 happened before the weather change. I know the weather maybe can affect them like 1812 02:13:20.000 --> 02:13:28.720 that. The only other thing I have done is I've heard they're pretty sensitive 1813 02:13:28.800 --> 02:13:33.199 to boron and or kind of sensitive to it, and I have fertilized them 1814 02:13:33.359 --> 02:13:41.399 a couple of times with uh it was a week of weekend solution. I 1815 02:13:41.479 --> 02:13:50.800 had given them some fertilizer, soluble fertilizer with boron and h. But the 1816 02:13:50.880 --> 02:13:58.760 leaves are just you know, have been been like that for months months. 1817 02:13:58.319 --> 02:14:05.560 Okay, Now was it the product called solu bore so l ub r or 1818 02:14:05.680 --> 02:14:09.279 was it just a fertilizer that had boron in it. It was just a 1819 02:14:09.600 --> 02:14:16.279 yeah, just like a very small percentage of boron. Yeah, nothing, 1820 02:14:16.600 --> 02:14:20.520 nothing, you know. It was just a regular fertilized like miracle grow or 1821 02:14:20.560 --> 02:14:24.000 something like that. Right. Well, I don't think that's the cause of 1822 02:14:24.039 --> 02:14:30.920 the problem unless you just overused it over a period of time. No, 1823 02:14:31.199 --> 02:14:33.199 that wouldn't be the case. Yeah, krome of thorns is tough, as 1824 02:14:33.239 --> 02:14:35.800 you know. I mean, then go into drought and drop leaves and come 1825 02:14:35.840 --> 02:14:41.319 back again. I have noticed that in heat and we're very very dry soil, 1826 02:14:41.600 --> 02:14:43.319 sometimes you end up with some of that leaf curling. Listen, I 1827 02:14:43.399 --> 02:14:46.319 need to run to a commercial, but let me come back to you and 1828 02:14:46.399 --> 02:14:50.159 let's continue this discussion. If you're able to hang on through the break. 1829 02:14:50.439 --> 02:14:54.319 Our phone number if you'd like to give us a call seven one three two 1830 02:14:54.399 --> 02:15:00.439 one two five eight seven four will be right back. Welcome back to guard 1831 02:15:00.560 --> 02:15:03.840 Line. We're glad you're listening today. I'm your host, Skip Richter, 1832 02:15:03.960 --> 02:15:07.520 and we're here to answer your gardening questions. It's as simple as that. 1833 02:15:07.880 --> 02:15:11.560 We were just on the phone with Mike and Katie and we're going to join 1834 02:15:11.640 --> 02:15:16.680 Mike again and discuss this crown of thorns Mike, I think you said going 1835 02:15:16.000 --> 02:15:20.600 just going back to refresh, that your crown of Thorns had some leaf curl 1836 02:15:20.680 --> 02:15:24.760 on it that just seemed to continue on and on. That's correct, That's 1837 02:15:24.800 --> 02:15:30.159 correct. Yeah, I would, I would watch the watering. That's the 1838 02:15:30.199 --> 02:15:33.640 source of a lot of problems with the crown of Thorns. You ought to 1839 02:15:33.640 --> 02:15:37.720 be able to dig down a couple of inches and feel it feel dry soil 1840 02:15:37.760 --> 02:15:41.520 before it's time to water. They don't need much. They store water in 1841 02:15:41.560 --> 02:15:46.680 the stems, and so people tend to treat them like other plants and water 1842 02:15:46.760 --> 02:15:52.760 them end up watering them too much. I think that. I know I've 1843 02:15:52.800 --> 02:15:56.119 seen times where leaves kind of curl up when they get a little bit on 1844 02:15:56.159 --> 02:16:00.680 the dry side, not enough to go to drop all the leaves, but 1845 02:16:01.000 --> 02:16:05.239 I've heard some reports of even excessive watering contributing to that. To that second 1846 02:16:05.239 --> 02:16:09.159 part of it, I think mine might be the underwater. And to be 1847 02:16:09.239 --> 02:16:15.840 quite honest, because I have it in a very well drained because I'm I 1848 02:16:15.920 --> 02:16:20.560 tend to I could overwater, and so I've done very well drained soil. 1849 02:16:20.159 --> 02:16:26.079 Yeah, and I think I think my problem may be underwater, And it's 1850 02:16:26.199 --> 02:16:31.639 what what I'm thanking, and that could be the cause, it could be 1851 02:16:31.799 --> 02:16:35.959 contributing to it. I just you know, people that have crown of orange 1852 02:16:37.200 --> 02:16:39.159 or you know, some of them are sitting there on the phone going, 1853 02:16:39.200 --> 02:16:41.399 I got mine in a terra cotta pot. My mother in law has one 1854 02:16:41.520 --> 02:16:45.840 terra kotta pot out on the front porch, and it gets watered when she 1855 02:16:45.920 --> 02:16:48.559 thinks about it. And so that plan can go pretty dry. And I've 1856 02:16:48.600 --> 02:16:52.760 seen it drop its leaves because it literally got that dry. But I think 1857 02:16:54.600 --> 02:16:56.920 I don't want to infer that it needs to stay moist. It doesn't. 1858 02:16:56.959 --> 02:17:00.920 In fact, it would rather or not, but just let it dry a 1859 02:17:00.959 --> 02:17:03.719 little bit and then water it. I'm sure other issues like temperature. There's 1860 02:17:03.719 --> 02:17:09.719 probably some nutrient deficiencies that can do it. I don't think the excess boron 1861 02:17:11.159 --> 02:17:15.040 is what's doing that to your plants. But the only way to deal with 1862 02:17:15.159 --> 02:17:18.360 excess boron in a pop plant is to pull it up, you know, 1863 02:17:18.520 --> 02:17:24.079 tease the dirt off the soil and repotted in fresh soil because boron didn't go 1864 02:17:24.120 --> 02:17:28.920 away. But I doubt, I seriously doubt that's what's causing this. Okay, 1865 02:17:30.520 --> 02:17:33.440 all right, I'll appreciate your health, all right, sir. Thank 1866 02:17:33.479 --> 02:17:35.319 you, Mike. I appreciate the call. You take care. You're listening 1867 02:17:35.360 --> 02:17:39.440 to Guardenline our phone number seven one three two one two five eight seven four. 1868 02:17:39.479 --> 02:17:43.200 We're gonna now run to Southwest Houston. Talk to Jack. Hello Jack, 1869 02:17:45.559 --> 02:17:48.040 good morning. How are you. I'm doing good? What's up? 1870 02:17:48.360 --> 02:17:52.200 I had a question. I've noticed, especially in my yard in the neighborhood, 1871 02:17:52.239 --> 02:17:56.799 a lot of weeds that normally come up in the springtime are seem to 1872 02:17:56.840 --> 02:17:58.799 be coming up now. And I wanted to that to do with the drought 1873 02:17:58.840 --> 02:18:01.239 and that, you know, everything was so stressed, and then when we 1874 02:18:01.319 --> 02:18:05.959 had the rain that finally came late in the flall that everything just decided to 1875 02:18:05.959 --> 02:18:09.159 grow at the same time. I don't know, that's interesting. I don't 1876 02:18:09.159 --> 02:18:13.680 think it's necessarily the drought, though. Here's the deal that makes weeds grow. 1877 02:18:13.479 --> 02:18:20.079 The seeds get moist and the temperature is right. And so if you 1878 02:18:20.159 --> 02:18:26.479 take weeds like crabgrass, for example, believe crabgrass starts germinating when the soul 1879 02:18:26.440 --> 02:18:31.079 attempts are about fifty five degrees somewhere in there. I have to check it 1880 02:18:31.120 --> 02:18:35.520 to be sure. But as you get further along the line and you get 1881 02:18:35.520 --> 02:18:39.600 into things like some of the spurges, grassbur and whatnot. It has to 1882 02:18:39.639 --> 02:18:43.959 warm up a little bit more before the seeds will germinate. When we go 1883 02:18:43.040 --> 02:18:48.120 through winter down here. Number one, we don't really have winters. We 1884 02:18:48.159 --> 02:18:50.520 do, we just don't know which day of the year it's going to be 1885 02:18:52.040 --> 02:18:56.040 in the Houston area. But we can go through a spell in the middle 1886 02:18:56.079 --> 02:19:01.520 of early January where it warms up enough to where seeds start germinating for warm 1887 02:19:01.559 --> 02:19:05.360 season things. And that's not fortunately it's not every year like that, but 1888 02:19:05.440 --> 02:19:09.200 it's made it difficult when I put together my lawn pest, disease and weed 1889 02:19:09.280 --> 02:19:13.559 management schedule. Now this is nerding out more than you want to know. 1890 02:19:13.680 --> 02:19:20.559 But anyway, I went through it. Yeah, I just I'm sorry. 1891 02:19:20.680 --> 02:19:24.639 I was just gonna say I looked at civil temperatures throughout this region from Galveston 1892 02:19:24.959 --> 02:19:30.479 out to sugar Land and up to New Caney and Houston and all through and 1893 02:19:31.120 --> 02:19:33.959 was looking at when or the temperature's right for most of our warm season weeds 1894 02:19:35.000 --> 02:19:39.479 to germinate. And what that ended up being is that it's going to happen 1895 02:19:39.600 --> 02:19:43.959 typically toward the end of February, but it can happen in mid February or 1896 02:19:43.040 --> 02:19:48.840 occasionally even a little earlier. Okay, because it's happening now. Like I 1897 02:19:48.879 --> 02:19:50.680 have dollar weeed in my yard and I normally and I've treated it, but 1898 02:19:50.680 --> 02:19:54.399 I normally don't get it till the spring. Oh yes, okay, So, 1899 02:19:54.520 --> 02:19:58.440 and then those big weeds that grow like that turn into those those little 1900 02:19:58.680 --> 02:20:03.360 flower or those kind of those wild weeds. They're already you know, two 1901 02:20:03.399 --> 02:20:07.440 feet tall along this drainage ditch that I live near. So, and it's 1902 02:20:07.520 --> 02:20:09.719 unusual that I've never lived in that area for twenty years. I've never seen 1903 02:20:09.719 --> 02:20:13.120 the weeds be as profound as they are this early. It's you know, 1904 02:20:13.159 --> 02:20:18.920 it's they started growing back maybe around Thanksgiving or before. It's been it's been 1905 02:20:18.920 --> 02:20:20.920 over a month now through the month of December. That's what I was I 1906 02:20:22.000 --> 02:20:26.479 see. So we're having two different conversations. I was talking about weed seed 1907 02:20:26.520 --> 02:20:31.600 germinating and what you're describing are perennial weeds that are just getting rejuvenated. So, 1908 02:20:31.719 --> 02:20:33.639 yeah, getting out of the draft, the heat gives them a new 1909 02:20:35.079 --> 02:20:37.559 lease on life. You know, dollar weed can come from seed, but 1910 02:20:37.600 --> 02:20:43.760 typically it's something that's that's propagated vegetatively by the plant, and so it's just 1911 02:20:43.799 --> 02:20:46.879 a perennial uh. And and the other weeds you're seeing, the cool season 1912 02:20:46.920 --> 02:20:54.079 weeds that germinated are already blooming in some cases because we've had some mild temperatures. 1913 02:20:54.079 --> 02:20:56.920 Depending on the exposure at your yard too, that's another thing that can 1914 02:20:56.959 --> 02:21:01.920 affect how and when weeds needs start to you know, wake up enough to 1915 02:21:01.959 --> 02:21:05.319 get growing. But yeah, it's a temperature thing and a soul moisture thing 1916 02:21:05.399 --> 02:21:11.639 for you for your question, Okay, all right, well, thank you 1917 02:21:11.719 --> 02:21:13.879 very much. All right, Jack, Well, you know, weeds are 1918 02:21:13.920 --> 02:21:18.319 green if you mow them and take your glasses off. The lawn looks great, 1919 02:21:18.680 --> 02:21:22.200 looks really good. I know, but it's just it's just kind of 1920 02:21:22.239 --> 02:21:26.639 said. I just didn't all surprised to already see them so early, but 1921 02:21:26.040 --> 02:21:30.200 it is what it is. Maybe, Yeah, that's a good point. 1922 02:21:30.239 --> 02:21:31.879 And hey, Jack, I mentioned this earlier today on the show. But 1923 02:21:33.520 --> 02:21:39.479 the period of time we're in right now, if you've got warm season weeds, 1924 02:21:39.959 --> 02:21:45.440 this is a great time to start managing them because like that dollar weed, 1925 02:21:45.799 --> 02:21:48.440 a lot of the products that work well once we get into temperatures in 1926 02:21:48.479 --> 02:21:52.920 the upper eighties, those products can really stress your Saint Augustine lawn. So 1927 02:21:54.799 --> 02:21:58.680 if we've got some good weed growth, go ahead and take a shot at 1928 02:21:58.680 --> 02:22:03.120 it now. Don't wait until some of those weeds begin to flower and set 1929 02:22:03.159 --> 02:22:07.079 seeds and things, because they're harder to kill at that time. So maybe 1930 02:22:07.120 --> 02:22:09.840 you can get did to apply barricade to my yard. Okay, I guess 1931 02:22:09.879 --> 02:22:13.879 I missed the actual initial broke because I have a little bit, but but 1932 02:22:13.959 --> 02:22:18.840 I did. I did barricade probably in November, so I'm trying to be 1933 02:22:18.920 --> 02:22:22.760 ahead of the curve. But I was surprised that the weeds came up anyway, 1934 02:22:22.840 --> 02:22:24.920 Well, you're gonna have what I'm getting, yeah, and you're gonna 1935 02:22:24.040 --> 02:22:28.479 want to reuse that. And when we get now into the spring for the 1936 02:22:28.479 --> 02:22:31.760 warm season germination. Barricade takes us back to what I was originally talking about, 1937 02:22:31.799 --> 02:22:35.799 and that's weed seed germination. So barricade is not going to kill your 1938 02:22:35.920 --> 02:22:39.799 dollar weed that's growing in your lawn. It's it's already germinated, it's already 1939 02:22:39.840 --> 02:22:43.840 a plant. So the time for barricade, if you look at my online 1940 02:22:45.639 --> 02:22:50.360 lawn pest disease and weed management schedule, is in February. That's that's a 1941 02:22:50.440 --> 02:22:52.479 prime time now you can do it. You can do it in mid January 1942 02:22:52.520 --> 02:22:56.879 because we do have some early sprouting that goes on. There's nothing wrong with 1943 02:22:56.920 --> 02:23:01.280 that, but especially unless I say the first two weeks to February, that 1944 02:23:01.319 --> 02:23:03.959 would be primetime. Nothing wrong with doing a little earlier, even a little 1945 02:23:03.959 --> 02:23:07.079 bit later, it can still do you some good. But once we get 1946 02:23:07.120 --> 02:23:09.840 into March, a lot of these seeds are already on their way. And 1947 02:23:11.920 --> 02:23:13.959 you know, like I always use a baseball analogy, it's like swinging at 1948 02:23:13.959 --> 02:23:18.600 the ball after it's already across the plate. A little too late to start 1949 02:23:18.639 --> 02:23:22.719 swinging. I understand, all right, Thanks for the tips, Thank you, 1950 02:23:22.719 --> 02:23:26.680 you bet, I appreciate that. Hey, if you want to see 1951 02:23:26.680 --> 02:23:31.159 those schedules online, go to gardening with Skip dot com Gardening with Skip dot 1952 02:23:31.159 --> 02:23:35.680 com. They're free. You can download them or look at them online.