WEBVTT 1 00:00:02.680 --> 00:00:08.400 Coming to you from Floriferous Studio a here at proven winners Color Choice Shrubs. 2 00:00:08.439 --> 00:00:13.720 It's time for the Gardening Simplified Show with Stacy Hervella, me, Rick weisst 3 00:00:13.800 --> 00:00:19.079 and our engineer and producer Adrianna Robinson. Okay, today he's gonna be the 4 00:00:19.440 --> 00:00:22.600 I'm ready to give up show. No, I'm not ready to give up. 5 00:00:22.640 --> 00:00:25.399 You ready to give up? I'm actually not, so I am less 6 00:00:25.399 --> 00:00:27.760 ready to give up than I usually i'm at this time of year, very 7 00:00:27.760 --> 00:00:30.679 good. So it's not the I'm ready to give up show, but we 8 00:00:30.719 --> 00:00:34.920 do have to address the issue. Gardening is not an exact science. You're 9 00:00:34.960 --> 00:00:40.560 gonna make mistakes, You're gonna have some frustrations, and seasoned gardeners are relieved 10 00:00:40.560 --> 00:00:44.759 to know that there are others like them that are in the same boat. 11 00:00:44.880 --> 00:00:50.679 It was Winston you know, Winston Churchill. Many people misquote him. Historians 12 00:00:50.679 --> 00:00:55.240 will tell you this, they say, many people will quote Winston Churchill saying 13 00:00:55.280 --> 00:00:59.799 he said, never give up, never give up. The reality is he 14 00:01:00.119 --> 00:01:04.840 said never give in, never give in, never, never, never never. 15 00:01:06.040 --> 00:01:11.319 As gardeners, we never throw in the trowel. There's always a way 16 00:01:11.319 --> 00:01:17.159 to apply common sense and practices where we can deal with some of these frustrations. 17 00:01:17.200 --> 00:01:22.560 Now, looking at a survey, this is interesting, affecting well over 18 00:01:22.680 --> 00:01:26.519 half of gardeners fifty five percent. So at the top of the list was 19 00:01:26.599 --> 00:01:30.200 difficulty in managing insects and pests in the garden. Can you buy that? 20 00:01:30.719 --> 00:01:34.159 I can buy that, but I can also buy that. You know, 21 00:01:34.239 --> 00:01:38.200 that becomes a lot less daunting when you start to learn about your pests. 22 00:01:38.280 --> 00:01:41.439 Sure, you know, when you just see bugs biting holes into things, 23 00:01:41.439 --> 00:01:42.599 you freak out. When you see a leaf spite, you just freak out. 24 00:01:42.640 --> 00:01:46.760 But then you start to dive in. And that's where the magic of 25 00:01:46.760 --> 00:01:49.159 gardening happens. Right, The more you learn, the less scary these things 26 00:01:49.159 --> 00:01:53.439 become. I think that's really smart, Stacy. And as a matter of 27 00:01:53.439 --> 00:01:59.000 fact, knowing you, I know your interest in insects very love and getting 28 00:01:59.000 --> 00:02:04.359 a head education and when it comes to insects is important and it does help. 29 00:02:04.760 --> 00:02:08.719 Unpredictable weather came in a close second on the list of top gardening frustrations, 30 00:02:08.759 --> 00:02:13.800 affecting forty six percent of gardeners. Of course, Stacy allowed to talk 31 00:02:13.840 --> 00:02:16.479 about climate change. Sure well, and there's not much you can do about 32 00:02:16.479 --> 00:02:21.199 that. So that is of all of the things we can control, and 33 00:02:21.240 --> 00:02:24.080 gardening the least, you know, the thing that we can have the least 34 00:02:24.120 --> 00:02:28.439 control over. But you know, it's also where you learn the most. 35 00:02:28.439 --> 00:02:30.759 And like when I said that I am less tired than I usually am of 36 00:02:30.759 --> 00:02:35.039 gardening, it's because our weather has been you know, it was really dry, 37 00:02:35.120 --> 00:02:37.879 but it's been fairly cool for us here in West Michigan. And apologies 38 00:02:37.919 --> 00:02:39.400 to those of you who are sweltering through the heat wave and the rest of 39 00:02:39.400 --> 00:02:44.360 the country right now. But you know, you learn so much when you 40 00:02:44.520 --> 00:02:49.000 do encounter these different types of weather events. If everything was just even keeled 41 00:02:49.000 --> 00:02:51.240 all the time, you would just think that's the way things are, and 42 00:02:51.319 --> 00:02:54.000 you never learned anything. Yeah. True. Thirty seven percent of gardeners in 43 00:02:54.039 --> 00:03:00.439 the survey found the hobby was easier than expected. Twenty four percent it to 44 00:03:00.639 --> 00:03:06.520 be more difficult now one point before we get into the items that we want 45 00:03:06.520 --> 00:03:08.840 to deal with, and that is in this survey, and I don't buy 46 00:03:08.879 --> 00:03:15.280 this. Seventy three percent of respondents agreed that caring for plants required just as 47 00:03:15.360 --> 00:03:23.240 much nurturing as looking after a child. No way, what from a guy 48 00:03:23.280 --> 00:03:28.319 who's had three kids. It's a lot lower steaks. First of all. 49 00:03:28.319 --> 00:03:31.000 I mean, I'm just saying exactly, there are some expensive plants out there, 50 00:03:31.080 --> 00:03:36.159 but nothing like you know, a child exactly. So this survey, 51 00:03:36.280 --> 00:03:39.919 like any other survey, let's take it with a grain of salt. Here's 52 00:03:39.960 --> 00:03:46.159 my list, stacy deer, weeds, pruning, succulents, hydranges, clay 53 00:03:46.199 --> 00:03:53.039 soil, moles growing under trees and tree roots, squirrels and chipmunks, time 54 00:03:53.080 --> 00:03:58.599 and effort, smaller yields than expected, what to do with it when you 55 00:03:58.719 --> 00:04:02.680 have it, it's too hot, and hacks. That's my list of things 56 00:04:02.680 --> 00:04:06.759 that cause frustration for gardeners. That's a good list. Those are definitely things 57 00:04:06.800 --> 00:04:14.280 that cause people to be a little bit discouraged in their gardening. But you 58 00:04:14.280 --> 00:04:18.000 know what, almost every single thing on there you can actually learn about and 59 00:04:18.040 --> 00:04:20.720 then it's no longer discourage. I mean, weeds, you know, weeds 60 00:04:20.720 --> 00:04:26.079 remain an issue. But you could also always take my position, which is 61 00:04:26.120 --> 00:04:30.000 just to like space your plants closely so there's less room for weeds. Plan 62 00:04:30.120 --> 00:04:34.560 a lot of wild native plants so the weeds blend in, and you know, 63 00:04:34.639 --> 00:04:39.199 also just be like, you know what, it's okay if I don't 64 00:04:39.240 --> 00:04:42.600 get to the weeds today. I can live with it. Yeah, exactly. 65 00:04:42.639 --> 00:04:45.879 And like we've talked about on the show before, apply common sense, 66 00:04:46.160 --> 00:04:49.879 a multi pronged approach. Don't get tied up in these hacks that you find 67 00:04:49.920 --> 00:04:54.759 on social media. Gas Please do not start getting worse. They're getting worse. 68 00:04:54.800 --> 00:04:59.160 I saw one the other day. They're recommending pouring coca cola around your 69 00:04:59.680 --> 00:05:03.079 ze is to get them to bloom, and using apple cider vinegar on your 70 00:05:03.160 --> 00:05:06.360 hydranges to turn them blue. Oh my goodness. Yeah. You know, 71 00:05:06.800 --> 00:05:11.000 there's so many things in gardening and I think in life too, right where 72 00:05:11.000 --> 00:05:15.759 you just assume, like, okay, this vinegar is acidic. I know 73 00:05:15.800 --> 00:05:19.240 that hydranges will turn blue under acidic conditions. Therefore by giving them vinegar, 74 00:05:19.879 --> 00:05:26.360 they will turn blue. But you've missed like a whole huge aspects in there, 75 00:05:26.399 --> 00:05:29.079 which is the soil. Because the soil is something you know, there's 76 00:05:29.079 --> 00:05:31.720 like a lot of chemical reactions happening. It's full of minerals and so no, 77 00:05:32.000 --> 00:05:36.199 it's not this straightforward line, and people are forgetting that there's this you 78 00:05:36.240 --> 00:05:42.399 know, convoluted chemical path between the two and so the thing just because something 79 00:05:42.600 --> 00:05:46.319 seems you know, like it might be right, doesn't mean it's it's I 80 00:05:46.360 --> 00:05:49.319 think they call it the concept of truthiness. Yes, exactly, truthiness. 81 00:05:49.720 --> 00:05:53.920 Good word. I like that. And Stacy, you've taught all of us 82 00:05:53.959 --> 00:05:58.920 who watch and listen to the Gardening Simplified Show just don't make assumptions. Don't 83 00:05:58.959 --> 00:06:01.240 make assumptions, and don't do it. You know, there are times where 84 00:06:01.319 --> 00:06:08.319 absolutely those hacks might actually work, but also there are usually tried into your 85 00:06:08.439 --> 00:06:12.759 true products at your garden center that are made specifically, you know, for 86 00:06:12.800 --> 00:06:16.879 the purpose, have instructions so you can apply them properly. Party on the 87 00:06:16.879 --> 00:06:20.120 front, business on the back. There you go and get results, because 88 00:06:20.120 --> 00:06:23.120 that's what this is about. And I understand everyone's like, well, I 89 00:06:23.120 --> 00:06:25.600 have eppleside of vinegar. I don't feel like making the trip to the garden 90 00:06:25.600 --> 00:06:28.959 center to go buy a looinumself fate. So you know, vinegar it is. 91 00:06:30.560 --> 00:06:33.160 But you know that's still a waste of time and materials and possibly, 92 00:06:33.160 --> 00:06:36.319 depending on what you're doing, it could be polluting something with absolutely no benefit. 93 00:06:36.439 --> 00:06:41.000 Yeah, so yeah, it's a I get the need to be like, 94 00:06:41.040 --> 00:06:43.439 oh I figured this out. I stuck it to the man, But 95 00:06:44.360 --> 00:06:49.360 it's not always going that straightforward. Well, when talking about I'm ready to 96 00:06:49.399 --> 00:06:55.319 give up, I would have to probably say dear are tops on the list. 97 00:06:55.439 --> 00:07:00.360 Today's word of the day is dear resistible. I made that word. 98 00:07:00.560 --> 00:07:03.639 I like it. That's a good one, dear resistible. And there are 99 00:07:03.680 --> 00:07:11.000 some plants that are just simply dear resistible, like tulips or hostas, where 100 00:07:11.000 --> 00:07:18.000 they're they're just going to eat them. So to celebrate this show and encouraging 101 00:07:18.040 --> 00:07:24.319 you not to throw in the trowel again, can I give you a limerick? 102 00:07:24.399 --> 00:07:26.720 I would love it? Okay, thank you. The deer have done 103 00:07:26.720 --> 00:07:30.720 their misdeeds. My veggies produced no proceeds. Beetles just ate my hollyhocks. 104 00:07:31.120 --> 00:07:35.120 My plants wilt in the window box. I'm left with just my weeds. 105 00:07:35.560 --> 00:07:40.079 The guardinia has never stood a chance. A wasp just flew up the leg 106 00:07:40.120 --> 00:07:44.399 of my pants. My house plants are drowning. Even my sunflowers are frowning. 107 00:07:44.439 --> 00:07:48.839 My successes are mere happenstance. The bulbs I planted did never appear. 108 00:07:48.959 --> 00:07:55.439 The rabbits the vegetation sheer. My pole beans stand askew, my squash has 109 00:07:55.439 --> 00:08:00.480 powdery mildew. I'm tired of let's wait till next year. So I liberally 110 00:08:00.560 --> 00:08:03.879 mulchwood, manure, till the weed growth, my flowers obscure. I resent 111 00:08:05.000 --> 00:08:11.240 my neighbor's scrutiny. I'm seriously considering mutiny and withdrawing from their garden tour. 112 00:08:13.759 --> 00:08:18.079 That is a good one, an extended limerick. It's very timely. Thank 113 00:08:18.120 --> 00:08:20.800 you. Now. I did want to mention also, I saw on the 114 00:08:20.839 --> 00:08:24.199 internet, and we've talked about that. Don't believe everything you read on the 115 00:08:24.240 --> 00:08:28.759 internet, But this thing about rage gardening. Have you seen that? I 116 00:08:28.839 --> 00:08:31.519 have not seen something about rage gardening. They say, instead of venting your 117 00:08:31.519 --> 00:08:37.559 frustrations out in various ways, do it in the garden pruning, pulling, 118 00:08:37.600 --> 00:08:41.720 digging, slashing, and weeding ferociously. Rage can give you the energy to 119 00:08:41.720 --> 00:08:46.080 tear through the task you may have neglected. Now, I think that that's 120 00:08:46.240 --> 00:08:50.440 ridiculous too. Gardening is fun. Gardening is fun. I would like to 121 00:08:50.440 --> 00:08:58.039 propose a twist on rage gardening and make it rage invasive plant removal. So 122 00:08:58.120 --> 00:09:01.200 let's educate people on invasive of plants. And when they are in a rage, 123 00:09:01.679 --> 00:09:05.799 you know they've got their training, they can recognize the invasive plants and 124 00:09:05.799 --> 00:09:09.799 then they can go into these natural areas and you know, rage pull some 125 00:09:09.120 --> 00:09:13.200 horrible invasive and everyone's the better for it. I like that, I really 126 00:09:13.240 --> 00:09:18.879 do. You know you and I are alike. We kind of enjoy weeding. 127 00:09:20.159 --> 00:09:22.519 I don't mind weeding. Yeah, so it's not a rage like in 128 00:09:22.600 --> 00:09:28.480 my garden. Though we all get a little behind at this time of the 129 00:09:28.559 --> 00:09:31.919 year. So again, you know, the whole point here, Stacey, 130 00:09:33.080 --> 00:09:37.039 is with these various issues that we have where we're ready to give up, 131 00:09:37.159 --> 00:09:43.120 and I know you're not kind to give up. Neither are we applying common 132 00:09:43.159 --> 00:09:48.039 sense and a multi pronged approach. That's how I've been successful with deer, 133 00:09:48.200 --> 00:09:52.080 everything from repellents to deer resistant plants to some barriers. There's a variety of 134 00:09:52.120 --> 00:09:58.480 things you employ. Same thing with pest. Integrated pest management important, very 135 00:09:58.519 --> 00:10:01.240 important, and you know what, have to keep an experimental attitude exactly. 136 00:10:01.320 --> 00:10:05.200 You know, use your brain, but you know you have to keep trying 137 00:10:05.240 --> 00:10:07.639 things. And if you do give up, you know what, there's always 138 00:10:07.639 --> 00:10:11.399 next year. Here's how it goes. Right, winter, you're ready for 139 00:10:11.440 --> 00:10:15.200 spring, Spring comes, you're gung how you're out there, you're working hard, 140 00:10:15.279 --> 00:10:18.159 and then you know by the time, it's getting really hot and you 141 00:10:18.279 --> 00:10:20.600 just kind of feel like, you know what I'm done, and that's okay. 142 00:10:20.759 --> 00:10:22.159 Yeah, that's okay to feel that way. Take a deep breath. 143 00:10:22.679 --> 00:10:28.720 But let's be entrepreneurs like Judson taught us a few weeks ago, risk takers, 144 00:10:28.799 --> 00:10:33.919 Risk takers, you got it, educated risk and Plants on Trial is 145 00:10:33.919 --> 00:10:45.559 coming up next here on The Gardening Simplified Show. Proven Winner's Color Choice Shrubs 146 00:10:45.679 --> 00:10:48.440 cares about your success in the garden. That's why we trial and test all 147 00:10:48.480 --> 00:10:52.440 of our shrubs for eight to ten years, making sure they outperform everything else 148 00:10:52.480 --> 00:10:56.000 on the market. Look for them in the distinctive white container at your local 149 00:10:56.000 --> 00:11:03.679 garden center. Greetings gardening friends, and welcome back to the Gardening is Simplified 150 00:11:03.879 --> 00:11:09.679 Show. It's our Are You Ready to give Up? Episode? And you 151 00:11:09.720 --> 00:11:11.879 know, I do really feel for the people who are going through this heat 152 00:11:11.919 --> 00:11:16.399 wave. I mean it's that nothing will make you want to give up on 153 00:11:16.440 --> 00:11:20.919 your garden like excessive heat. You can't even be out there, you know, 154 00:11:20.000 --> 00:11:22.240 you can't even be out there working, and you can't even be out 155 00:11:22.240 --> 00:11:26.240 there enjoying it. So what's the point of working in it if you can't 156 00:11:26.320 --> 00:11:28.279 enjoy it. And you know, honestly, the truth is if as long 157 00:11:28.279 --> 00:11:33.320 as things are staying watered, the weeds, you can deal with later. 158 00:11:33.480 --> 00:11:35.440 Like it's you know, gardening is supposed to be fun, and if it 159 00:11:35.440 --> 00:11:39.840 gets to a point where it's not fun for you, it's causing you stress, 160 00:11:39.879 --> 00:11:43.200 it's causing you health problems. Because it's one hundred and ten degrees out 161 00:11:43.240 --> 00:11:46.960 there, it's okay, so let it go. Yeah, or be like 162 00:11:46.039 --> 00:11:50.440 me out there at two o'clock in the morning with a flashlight. Yeah, 163 00:11:50.440 --> 00:11:52.080 you can always get a nice nap during the heat of the day. There's 164 00:11:52.559 --> 00:11:56.120 where there's a will, there's a way. But you know what it's you 165 00:11:56.240 --> 00:12:00.840 do owe yourself a little bit of benevolence as you go through the season. 166 00:12:01.320 --> 00:12:03.440 So but you know, when it comes to plants on Trial, I like 167 00:12:03.519 --> 00:12:07.120 to tie it into our topic of the day, and so I picked a 168 00:12:07.240 --> 00:12:13.000 plant today for Plants on Trial that is one that if you give up, 169 00:12:13.639 --> 00:12:16.639 it will be not only will it be okay, it will still look amazing. 170 00:12:18.080 --> 00:12:20.799 And while you're in the air conditioning looking out the window, you'll be 171 00:12:20.960 --> 00:12:26.440 patting yourself on the back. Or having chosen this particular plant, I'm already 172 00:12:26.440 --> 00:12:28.919 sold and I don't even know what it is. Well, it's a good 173 00:12:28.919 --> 00:12:33.799 one. It is poly petite hybiscus. Have you seen this one before? 174 00:12:35.120 --> 00:12:37.720 So this is a very interesting hybiscus. And so I'm gonna say right off 175 00:12:37.759 --> 00:12:41.679 the bat, the two things that are are really distinctive about it, and 176 00:12:41.720 --> 00:12:43.480 that make it one of those plants that you don't have to worry about when 177 00:12:43.480 --> 00:12:48.200 you give up number one. It is our smallest hybiscus. So it's a 178 00:12:48.279 --> 00:12:50.320 rosa sharon. You can think about it like that. It's a hybrid, 179 00:12:50.679 --> 00:12:54.080 but ultimately it resembles a rosa sharon, but it only reaches about three to 180 00:12:54.120 --> 00:12:58.679 five feet tall and wide, and it forms just this cute, tidy, 181 00:12:58.679 --> 00:13:01.320 little globe shape. Most rows of sharon they get real tall and they kind 182 00:13:01.320 --> 00:13:05.480 of start to fan out. Um. Some people even would describe the branches 183 00:13:05.519 --> 00:13:09.799 as like an old fashioned caveman club kind of look, you know where they're 184 00:13:09.840 --> 00:13:15.559 all clumpy. Um. I might have used that in regard to rows of 185 00:13:15.600 --> 00:13:20.639 share in earlier. But they're night it's a nice rounded shape. And this 186 00:13:20.840 --> 00:13:26.720 is the least seed set of any hybiscus interest. So, you know, 187 00:13:26.759 --> 00:13:30.600 one of the other issues that people you know have with hybiscus is that they 188 00:13:30.639 --> 00:13:33.240 self so there's seeds drop and they self so everywhere, and you know they're 189 00:13:33.240 --> 00:13:37.080 pretty easy to tear out. But that is another garden shore that you have 190 00:13:37.120 --> 00:13:41.639 to work with. So Polly Petite is all nearly sterile, so you'll get 191 00:13:41.759 --> 00:13:45.559 few, if any seeds from it. And you're probably thinking, Okay, 192 00:13:45.600 --> 00:13:48.919 this all sounds pretty great, but what does it look like? And the 193 00:13:48.960 --> 00:13:52.120 good news is it looks amazing. Um. I love it for two reasons. 194 00:13:52.679 --> 00:13:58.120 Um. It has very very very dark green foliage, so much deeper 195 00:13:58.159 --> 00:14:01.240 green than your average rose of sharon, which can sometimes look a little bit 196 00:14:01.320 --> 00:14:05.919 kind of pale a little anemi. Yeah, they do have pretty high fertilizer 197 00:14:05.960 --> 00:14:09.159 needs rosa sharing in general, and so if it's not getting the nutrients, 198 00:14:09.159 --> 00:14:11.799 it's going to turn kind of like a yellowy color. Polly Petite has a 199 00:14:11.840 --> 00:14:18.480 beautiful dark green and all the better to contrast with its lavender flowers. So 200 00:14:18.559 --> 00:14:22.799 it's kind of like, I mean, it's just like the perfect landscape plant 201 00:14:22.799 --> 00:14:26.159 because it's it's giving you all of these blooms and it requires a little you 202 00:14:26.159 --> 00:14:30.080 don't have to worry about it overgrowing its space. Because it's dwarf. You 203 00:14:30.080 --> 00:14:33.000 don't have to worry about it, you know, throwing seeds out all over 204 00:14:33.159 --> 00:14:37.399 and giving you another maintenance issue. And you know, it just looks fabulous. 205 00:14:37.399 --> 00:14:39.240 And who even if you're not ready to give up, even if you 206 00:14:39.360 --> 00:14:43.679 guard and through the heat of the summer, who doesn't want at least a 207 00:14:43.679 --> 00:14:46.919 couple plants out there that they never have to think about and look good without 208 00:14:46.919 --> 00:14:50.919 even trying. And it blooms on new wood. It blooms on new wood, 209 00:14:50.000 --> 00:14:54.440 right, So this is a USCA Zone five hardy plant, as our 210 00:14:54.519 --> 00:14:58.919 most hardy shrub hibiscus perennial hibiscus are usually hardy to zone four, but shrub 211 00:15:00.120 --> 00:15:03.799 woody plant hibiscuits like Rosa sharon and Polly petite are hardy to USDA Zone five. 212 00:15:05.200 --> 00:15:07.639 But yeah, even if it were to get some winter damage, it 213 00:15:07.679 --> 00:15:11.440 doesn't set its flower buds until later in the season, so you know, 214 00:15:11.480 --> 00:15:13.759 you can prune it in the spring if you want to. You don't even 215 00:15:13.759 --> 00:15:18.000 really need to because it does naturally take on that shape. So yeah, 216 00:15:18.039 --> 00:15:22.080 it's just a really fantastic, low maintenance plant. And it comes for a 217 00:15:22.120 --> 00:15:28.639 part of the world where you were recently visiting It comes from Polly Hill Arboretum 218 00:15:28.720 --> 00:15:33.559 on Martha's Vineyard in Massachusett. Yeah. I just got back from the Hydrangea 219 00:15:33.639 --> 00:15:37.639 Festival on Cape Cod So that's weird. Yeah, out it's from out that 220 00:15:37.679 --> 00:15:41.320 way. Well. Yeah, and it was a plant that you know, 221 00:15:41.360 --> 00:15:43.240 they developed there and had been growing there for many years, and we were 222 00:15:43.240 --> 00:15:48.039 really excited to be able to bring it into the line of proven Winner's Color 223 00:15:48.120 --> 00:15:50.480 Choice shrubs and to get it on the market. So, you know, 224 00:15:50.519 --> 00:15:54.720 it is one of those plants. I think people love Rosa Sharon, right, 225 00:15:54.799 --> 00:16:00.320 There's people have so much nostalgia and everything for Rosa Sharon and then they 226 00:16:00.360 --> 00:16:03.559 see Polly Petite. Of course, they're not blooming normally in the garden center 227 00:16:03.559 --> 00:16:06.840 when people are there for shopping season, because they bloom later. But they 228 00:16:06.879 --> 00:16:11.399 see Polly Petite and it looks so different than what they're accustomed to seeing with 229 00:16:11.480 --> 00:16:14.120 Rosa Sharin that they kind of might think like, whoa, you know, 230 00:16:14.639 --> 00:16:18.399 it's impossible for Rosa Sharon to be that size. It's impossible. Yeah, 231 00:16:18.879 --> 00:16:22.480 but this really is a fantastic plant, and you know, I'm really surprised 232 00:16:22.480 --> 00:16:25.639 that it doesn't have more fans. Yeah, you're not trusting. Yeah, 233 00:16:25.639 --> 00:16:26.840 it's it's one that you know, we keep saying like, it's such a 234 00:16:26.840 --> 00:16:30.480 great plant, I've seen it. If you see it in our trial gardens, 235 00:16:30.639 --> 00:16:33.639 you will instantly fall in love. So if you've been looking for a 236 00:16:33.639 --> 00:16:36.639 space saving Rosa Sharon, if you've been looking for a plant that you don't 237 00:16:36.639 --> 00:16:40.759 have to work too hard and looks really great, I think that Polly Petite 238 00:16:40.879 --> 00:16:42.960 is a really, really excellent choice. Well, we got to get the 239 00:16:44.000 --> 00:16:48.039 word out, and that's what we do on the Gardening Simplified Show. And 240 00:16:48.399 --> 00:16:52.240 if you're keeping score at home, we're talking about rows of Sharon or althea 241 00:16:52.960 --> 00:16:59.159 or our Hybiscus stacy. I think in my experience that causes a lot of 242 00:16:59.200 --> 00:17:03.559 confusion. It does, It definitely does. So a lot of people will 243 00:17:03.200 --> 00:17:07.359 will, especially in the South, people will refer to rows of Sharon as 244 00:17:07.400 --> 00:17:11.799 alphia. It's kind of a more old fashioned term for it. But that 245 00:17:11.920 --> 00:17:17.599 can be confusing because there are plants with the botanical name of alphia, and 246 00:17:17.799 --> 00:17:22.839 there's also hollyhocks, a related plant with a botanical name of alcia. Yes. 247 00:17:22.680 --> 00:17:26.720 Yes, and then you have all the different types of hibiscus. Yes, 248 00:17:26.799 --> 00:17:29.640 so you got your tropical hibiscus. You got your perennial highbiscus, So 249 00:17:29.720 --> 00:17:32.920 yeah, it does get pretty. I'm confused. I'm ready to give up. 250 00:17:33.079 --> 00:17:36.119 Don't give up. You can't go wrong. Honestly, you know you 251 00:17:36.160 --> 00:17:37.359 can't go wrong with any of them. I do love hibiscus, I mean, 252 00:17:37.599 --> 00:17:41.519 everyone's herbie at this point. Talk so much about my, you know, 253 00:17:41.559 --> 00:17:45.440 summerrific perennial hibiscus, But I do love the woody hibiscus as well. 254 00:17:47.400 --> 00:17:51.519 So a couple of things about them is these are full sun plants. If 255 00:17:51.519 --> 00:17:52.759 you live in the South, you might be getting away with some shade, 256 00:17:52.759 --> 00:17:56.920 and that's okay. But what you'll usually find if they're in too much shade, 257 00:17:57.319 --> 00:18:00.000 the classic they get kind of, you know, a little bit more 258 00:18:00.079 --> 00:18:06.119 sprawling and open, and they don't have that nice compact habit that you're particularly 259 00:18:06.160 --> 00:18:10.880 going to see with Polly petite. The flower color is muddy. It kind 260 00:18:10.880 --> 00:18:14.759 of has like more some like like just muddy undertones to it, so you're 261 00:18:14.759 --> 00:18:18.480 not getting that like nice crisp contrast, and especially for this one, you're 262 00:18:18.519 --> 00:18:19.599 not going to get that nice shape. So full sun, at least six 263 00:18:19.640 --> 00:18:22.559 hours of sun each day is what I would recommend. Oh, and guess 264 00:18:22.559 --> 00:18:27.240 what it attracts hummingbirds as most hybiscus do. Fabulous. I was just going 265 00:18:27.279 --> 00:18:33.799 to say that what I love about them is buzz pollination. The bees. 266 00:18:33.839 --> 00:18:38.319 We thought before about buzz pollination and getting up close and watching that happen or 267 00:18:38.599 --> 00:18:42.519 watching it not happen because they're so covered in pollen that they can't fly away, 268 00:18:44.519 --> 00:18:47.200 and that's always a really fun thing. See Adrian has captured that on 269 00:18:47.319 --> 00:18:52.000 video many times in fact, So it's a good a good plant for pollinators 270 00:18:52.000 --> 00:18:53.079 and that kind of thing. Again, it doesn't need pruning. If you 271 00:18:53.079 --> 00:18:56.279 want to prune it, you would do that in early spring because it blooms 272 00:18:56.319 --> 00:19:00.200 on new woods, so it will create its flower buds a little bit later 273 00:19:00.359 --> 00:19:03.960 in the year. Overall, I have found hibiscus, including rows of sharon, 274 00:19:04.319 --> 00:19:07.319 to be pretty deer resistant. How about you. You've had similar luck. 275 00:19:07.440 --> 00:19:11.640 Yeah, So I have an old, old fashioned rows of sharon that 276 00:19:11.720 --> 00:19:14.359 was just at our house when we bought it that we still have around, 277 00:19:14.400 --> 00:19:17.359 and they'll nibble that like a little bit in spring, you know, when 278 00:19:17.359 --> 00:19:19.960 the new growth comes out. But for the most part they're really not compromising 279 00:19:21.000 --> 00:19:23.839 the plant's habit. They're not compromising the blooms too much. No, I 280 00:19:23.839 --> 00:19:26.279 don't have a problem with As a matter of fact, I've always tried to 281 00:19:26.400 --> 00:19:32.319 encourage people to prune althea or rows of Sharon, at least the bigger, 282 00:19:32.359 --> 00:19:36.960 older monsters that we have in some of our landscapes. Again because it blooms 283 00:19:36.960 --> 00:19:40.440 on new wood right right, and because if they do get too tall and 284 00:19:40.519 --> 00:19:44.640 you see this like on old homesteads and that kind of thing as you're driving 285 00:19:44.640 --> 00:19:48.720 around in the summer where they just kind of bend over because their stems have 286 00:19:48.799 --> 00:19:52.079 grown so much and they and they flop over. So a little pruning is 287 00:19:52.119 --> 00:19:55.200 a good thing. Now, if I do have one caveat on these, 288 00:19:55.240 --> 00:19:56.880 they're great for summer. They're blooming all summer long, for weeks. They're 289 00:19:56.880 --> 00:20:02.240 one of the longest blooming, you know, summer flower shrubs. You might 290 00:20:02.240 --> 00:20:04.680 be tempted to put it by your swimming pool, but that would not necessarily 291 00:20:04.680 --> 00:20:11.319 be a great choice because hibiscus, when their flowers fade, they kind of 292 00:20:11.359 --> 00:20:15.000 twist up into a little wad and they drop and they kind of leave a 293 00:20:15.000 --> 00:20:18.480 little bit of a mess. So that's fine, you know. I treat 294 00:20:18.519 --> 00:20:21.920 it like I don't clean up after them in the beds. But if you 295 00:20:21.960 --> 00:20:26.160 were to have like a walkway where people are often walking, they can get 296 00:20:26.160 --> 00:20:32.680 slippery when it rains. Keep the cover on the hot tob so not necessarily 297 00:20:32.880 --> 00:20:36.000 a good choice too close to your swimming pool, but put it someplace where 298 00:20:36.079 --> 00:20:40.480 you can definitely enjoy it, whether that is indoors from the comfort of your 299 00:20:40.480 --> 00:20:45.640 air conditioning or outdoors from the comfort of your favorite lounge chair. So if 300 00:20:45.680 --> 00:20:49.640 you want to see photos and all of the information about poly Petite typiscus this 301 00:20:49.640 --> 00:20:55.359 week's plant on trial, you will find it at Gardening Simplified OnAir dot com. 302 00:20:55.559 --> 00:20:56.960 We're going to take a quick little break in When we come back, 303 00:20:56.960 --> 00:21:07.759 guess what we're opening up that garden mail bag. Please stay tuned at proven 304 00:21:07.759 --> 00:21:11.839 winner's color choice. We've got a shrub for every taste and every space. 305 00:21:11.119 --> 00:21:15.680 Whether you're looking for an easycare rose, an unforgettable hydrangea, or something new 306 00:21:15.720 --> 00:21:19.039 and unique, you can be confident that the shrubs and the white containers have 307 00:21:19.119 --> 00:21:23.000 been trialed and tested for your success. Look for them at your local garden 308 00:21:23.079 --> 00:21:30.279 center. Gratings Gardening friends, and welcome back to the Gardening Simplified Show. 309 00:21:30.400 --> 00:21:33.480 While we were taking a break, Adriana reminded me of a word that I 310 00:21:33.519 --> 00:21:37.000 have used to describe It's not my word, it's an old fashioned word that 311 00:21:37.039 --> 00:21:42.559 people use to describe the spent flowers of the hibiscus, and that is mush 312 00:21:42.599 --> 00:21:45.759 mummy. I have never heard that. You never heard that before? Awesome 313 00:21:45.839 --> 00:21:48.559 because that's exactly what it is. Yeah, they're a little bit mushy and 314 00:21:48.559 --> 00:21:53.400 they are kind of like a mummy, like a mummified flower. So if 315 00:21:53.400 --> 00:21:56.759 you are picking them up, you don't have to again. They'll just decompose 316 00:21:56.839 --> 00:22:00.680 and you add to your soil. It's a lot more fun if you're saying 317 00:22:00.759 --> 00:22:03.079 mush mummy. You know. One time, though, my friend Nancy Burton, 318 00:22:03.160 --> 00:22:08.640 who takes care of containers at the at Beach Clubs in on the New 319 00:22:08.720 --> 00:22:12.880 Jersey Shore, was deadheading a tropical hibiscuss. That was one of the things 320 00:22:12.920 --> 00:22:17.279 she did. They're real popular to put in containers there. So she's taken 321 00:22:17.279 --> 00:22:21.920 out the mush mummies and she goes to grab one and it moves. It 322 00:22:22.000 --> 00:22:26.799 was a bat. It was a bat that had roosted in the high biscuits 323 00:22:27.079 --> 00:22:30.880 for the day, and uh yeah, she screamed and made a little bit 324 00:22:30.880 --> 00:22:34.359 of a scene that I guess gardeners at New Jersey beach clubs are not supposed 325 00:22:34.359 --> 00:22:37.400 to do, but who could blame her? So mush mummies would be fun 326 00:22:37.400 --> 00:22:41.400 in October, right, Yes, they're a little bit dried out by then, 327 00:22:41.480 --> 00:22:44.920 but that's mush mummy season. Yeah, correct, cool? All right, 328 00:22:44.920 --> 00:22:45.720 what do we got in the mail bag? All right, let's take 329 00:22:45.720 --> 00:22:49.920 a look. Kate shares a photo of her container in South Georgia, USDA 330 00:22:51.079 --> 00:22:57.240 Zone nine B with some fabulous dichondra, one of the best spillers for sunny 331 00:22:57.279 --> 00:23:00.079 garden. Yeah, so kay, it was nice enough to send in a 332 00:23:00.079 --> 00:23:04.440 photo, and she said she's very proud of her container and it has a 333 00:23:04.480 --> 00:23:08.720 beautiful silver falls dichondra. So you know this plant, silver falls is fabulous, 334 00:23:08.720 --> 00:23:12.319 and you know, people often do wonder like what's the best spiller for 335 00:23:12.359 --> 00:23:18.279 a sunny container? And in Kate's container even though like a lot of her 336 00:23:18.279 --> 00:23:19.680 other And we'll put the picture on on our show notes of course at Gardening 337 00:23:19.680 --> 00:23:23.880 Simplified on air dot com. But you know you'll see her other plants in 338 00:23:23.880 --> 00:23:27.880 the container haven't quite gotten established, but the dichondra is just trailing all the 339 00:23:27.920 --> 00:23:30.880 way down to the ground, and I love it. It just has soft 340 00:23:32.039 --> 00:23:34.319 little leaves, almost like a ginko leaf. They have almost like a ginko 341 00:23:34.440 --> 00:23:40.160 leaf type texture. They're smaller and is so vigorous, and I love that 342 00:23:40.200 --> 00:23:42.839 color. It goes with just about any flower color. It does. And 343 00:23:42.920 --> 00:23:47.559 silver foliage, We've talked about this before, has a tendency to be drought 344 00:23:47.640 --> 00:23:55.279 tolerant, and silver falls is both heat and drought tolerant. Probably an important 345 00:23:55.279 --> 00:23:56.960 thing in South Georgia, Yes, definitely. So if you want to see 346 00:23:56.960 --> 00:24:02.119 a picture of Kate's container, visit gardening simple Fied OnAir dot com. So 347 00:24:02.160 --> 00:24:06.720 what are gardener's asking? Rick Beth asked, watched your butterfly show and want 348 00:24:06.720 --> 00:24:11.359 to grow more Asclepius butterfly weed, but no success. They die out. 349 00:24:11.440 --> 00:24:17.880 Beth, You're asking in the right place, because Stacy is an Asclepius butterfly 350 00:24:18.039 --> 00:24:21.640 weed enthusiasm. I am, and I have an awful lot of them. 351 00:24:21.640 --> 00:24:26.920 Now, I will say that in my garden I mostly take a pretty I 352 00:24:26.920 --> 00:24:30.640 guess you would describe it as a less a fair approach. So I've purchased 353 00:24:30.240 --> 00:24:36.799 larger plants so like of our swamp milkweed Asclepius incarnata, the orange native one 354 00:24:36.880 --> 00:24:40.559 tuberosa, the yellow one. I buy those and then I just let them 355 00:24:40.640 --> 00:24:42.319 do their thing, like they set seed, and I let their seed just 356 00:24:42.400 --> 00:24:45.160 pop up, and if it's coming up somewhere where I don't want them, 357 00:24:45.839 --> 00:24:51.079 then I'll just rip them out. So, you know, Asclepius can be 358 00:24:51.119 --> 00:24:56.160 a little bit difficult to source because they as they have a long tap root, 359 00:24:56.599 --> 00:25:00.240 and a lot of perennials and shrubs and trees for that matter, have 360 00:25:00.359 --> 00:25:03.680 a long tap root, don't really do well in a conventional growing system like 361 00:25:03.720 --> 00:25:06.480 in a little, you know, gallon shot. So a lot of people 362 00:25:06.519 --> 00:25:08.640 do try to grow them from seed, but I think it's worth trying in 363 00:25:08.759 --> 00:25:14.640 earlier, earlier in the season to get the Asclepius plants and then let themselves 364 00:25:14.640 --> 00:25:18.720 sew. I have had luck growing them from seed, but ultimately I think 365 00:25:18.759 --> 00:25:21.880 best question, it depends on which one you're growing. Some of them are 366 00:25:21.920 --> 00:25:26.200 going to be a lot easier than others. The common milkweed Asclepius cyriacus. 367 00:25:26.359 --> 00:25:30.640 I think that there's it grows everywhere. Whether or not you want it, 368 00:25:30.759 --> 00:25:33.640 you probably have it, But so I don't know if you're trying to grow 369 00:25:33.720 --> 00:25:37.279 something that's a little bit different, I know, the tropical Maybe you're accidentally 370 00:25:37.319 --> 00:25:41.559 purchasing the tropical one Asclepius curosavika, because sometimes those are sold, you know, 371 00:25:41.680 --> 00:25:45.359 they're sold as butterfly weed. They're not hardy, so in that case 372 00:25:45.480 --> 00:25:48.480 they would be, you know, dying out for you every season because they're 373 00:25:48.480 --> 00:25:52.640 actually a tropical plant and they attract a ton of butterflies, but they don't 374 00:25:52.799 --> 00:25:56.200 last. So I think the question is which one you're trying to grow. 375 00:25:57.000 --> 00:26:03.039 And you know, if you can and get a plant, get it established 376 00:26:03.079 --> 00:26:04.920 in your garden, and then let it go to seed, and then as 377 00:26:06.000 --> 00:26:11.079 those seeds float around and find a home, they kind of determine for themselves 378 00:26:11.079 --> 00:26:15.240 where they'll grow and be successful. So that's the approach I take. It's 379 00:26:15.279 --> 00:26:19.079 good advice. And but you know, I mentioned the quote of Winston Churchill 380 00:26:19.279 --> 00:26:25.240 earlier in the show. I also love Stacy hervella quotes lay say fair, 381 00:26:25.680 --> 00:26:30.680 it's as easy as falling off a law right kind of Yeah, you know, 382 00:26:30.759 --> 00:26:33.640 I love my self sowers. I think we should do a show and 383 00:26:33.720 --> 00:26:37.440 self sewing play day. That'd be great. Kathy's writing to us, I'm 384 00:26:37.480 --> 00:26:41.480 considering buying hostile liners from a nursery in Georgia, seeing how I do? 385 00:26:41.960 --> 00:26:45.680 How do I grow them myself? I live in the suburbs of Chicago, 386 00:26:45.839 --> 00:26:51.279 Zone five. If I planted the hosta liners in pots until they got a 387 00:26:51.319 --> 00:26:55.920 little bit bigger, put the pots in the garage over winter for them to 388 00:26:56.079 --> 00:27:00.119 survive, question Mark Kathy writes to us, Do I still cut down the 389 00:27:00.240 --> 00:27:03.160 leaves in the fall? I have two bigger dogs, so don't want to 390 00:27:03.200 --> 00:27:08.480 plant them in the ground until they can hold their own hostile la vista baby, 391 00:27:10.640 --> 00:27:11.920 Well, you know, hostile liners. A liner is just a baby 392 00:27:12.000 --> 00:27:15.640 plant that a grower starts with. Sometimes they are called plugs, it can 393 00:27:15.680 --> 00:27:18.799 be called all different things. It's just a tiny little plant that a grower 394 00:27:18.920 --> 00:27:22.039 starts with, of course to grow it on. And so when you're purchasing 395 00:27:22.720 --> 00:27:26.279 a one or three gallon hosta from a garden center, it started its life 396 00:27:26.279 --> 00:27:29.880 as a liner. They're not usually available to you know, home gardeners, 397 00:27:30.000 --> 00:27:33.160 because they do need a little bit of you know TLC in time. But 398 00:27:33.279 --> 00:27:34.960 if you can get them by all means, I would say, patting them 399 00:27:36.039 --> 00:27:40.160 up into a container and you know, probably going into like a one gallon 400 00:27:40.319 --> 00:27:41.920 depending on the variety. If you're going to grow a really large one, 401 00:27:42.000 --> 00:27:45.759 maybe you want to go into a bigger one. But I think putting a 402 00:27:45.839 --> 00:27:49.720 hostile liner into a one gallon growing it through this year it should be absolutely 403 00:27:49.799 --> 00:27:52.400 fine. And I would think so too. I don't even think you'd really 404 00:27:52.440 --> 00:27:56.759 need to worry about sheltering it indoors. You know, you might want to 405 00:27:56.960 --> 00:28:00.759 gather up all your one gallon hostas kind of put them together in a corner 406 00:28:00.839 --> 00:28:04.640 or some kind of semi protected area. Make sure that they can get water, 407 00:28:06.200 --> 00:28:07.640 you know, through the winter they're not covered by like an overhang or 408 00:28:07.680 --> 00:28:12.640 something like that. They are actually one of the easier grennials to grow and 409 00:28:12.759 --> 00:28:17.400 produce. So I think that it would be a great experiment and a great 410 00:28:17.440 --> 00:28:19.519 way to be successful. Yeah, I would agree. Provided the pots have 411 00:28:19.759 --> 00:28:23.680 drainage holes, very important. Sink them. You could sink them in the 412 00:28:23.759 --> 00:28:29.240 ground for overwinter, and they should do. They should do all right for 413 00:28:29.319 --> 00:28:33.039 it. You know, anyone who's ever looked at hasta roots, you realize 414 00:28:33.079 --> 00:28:34.720 looking at the roots, how tough that planted. Yeah, they are so 415 00:28:34.960 --> 00:28:40.079 thick and fleshy and extensive. That's one of the reasons that they can grow 416 00:28:40.319 --> 00:28:44.240 you know, so robustly, Nikki writes to us. My question is in 417 00:28:44.440 --> 00:28:48.599 regards to my bloody crane's bill. I transplanted it back in May. It 418 00:28:48.799 --> 00:28:52.319 struggled since then. I've noticed brown, black and red spots, but a 419 00:28:52.400 --> 00:28:56.480 different red that it turns in the fall, it seems. Is it super 420 00:28:56.599 --> 00:29:00.920 stressed from the transplant? Is it a disease? If it's diseased, do 421 00:29:02.000 --> 00:29:06.440 you have a recommendation on treatment. I'm in zone eight A, so, 422 00:29:06.799 --> 00:29:10.519 you know, Nikki's question made me realize that we have not really given a 423 00:29:10.599 --> 00:29:15.400 lot of credence to the hard working perennial geranium. And it is tough. 424 00:29:15.680 --> 00:29:18.119 They are very tough and relatively easy to grow. Yeah, they're quite easy 425 00:29:18.160 --> 00:29:22.039 to grow. I you know, I love them. I My mother in 426 00:29:22.119 --> 00:29:25.640 law had a little area in the front of their house kind of like a 427 00:29:25.640 --> 00:29:29.799 little courtyard that it was impossible to get anything to grow because it was really 428 00:29:29.880 --> 00:29:33.240 dry. Shade. Yes sometimes that your gation reached up there. But she 429 00:29:33.359 --> 00:29:37.759 tried hastas and all these different things and was never happy. And then one 430 00:29:37.839 --> 00:29:41.160 day I brought her be a Covo perennial geranium. It's a nice pink color, 431 00:29:41.759 --> 00:29:47.039 and that thing has just absolutely thrived there. It looks beautiful, it's 432 00:29:47.039 --> 00:29:51.160 covered in flowers, and so it's just a great problem solving plant. And 433 00:29:51.359 --> 00:29:56.160 it does divide very well when you have an established plant. So Nikki, 434 00:29:56.240 --> 00:30:00.839 I think that you know, it's when most of the fully they can get 435 00:30:00.880 --> 00:30:03.079 some folliar diseases, but it's really not a detriment to them. You know, 436 00:30:03.240 --> 00:30:07.119 they can get a little spotty looking sometimes, but it's not like it's 437 00:30:07.160 --> 00:30:11.559 going to harm the plant. And it's important when it comes to folliar diseases 438 00:30:11.119 --> 00:30:17.160 that like leaf spot diseases are not in the plant, they're on the plant. 439 00:30:17.599 --> 00:30:18.680 So if you have leaf spot, it's not like, oh, your 440 00:30:18.680 --> 00:30:22.480 plant is permanently infected and is going to have it forever. It literally is 441 00:30:22.559 --> 00:30:26.599 just living on that leaf surface. So if it's deciduous like a hardy geranium 442 00:30:26.799 --> 00:30:30.279 is, then you know that foliage is going to die back and as that 443 00:30:30.359 --> 00:30:33.000 goes away, the leaf spot disease goes away. So some years are bad 444 00:30:33.079 --> 00:30:37.119 depending on the spring, if it's rainy, if it's cool, if it's 445 00:30:37.200 --> 00:30:41.400 humid, if there's low air circulation, and then they're more likely to get 446 00:30:41.720 --> 00:30:44.200 that leaf spot. And I think that by dividing it. Yeah, that 447 00:30:44.359 --> 00:30:47.440 is a little bit stressful on the plant, not to say they won't recover, 448 00:30:47.920 --> 00:30:52.359 but certainly would make it more susceptible as they're recovering from that transplanting, 449 00:30:52.960 --> 00:30:56.400 especially with a perennial gerannium. I've often found that perennials that make those like 450 00:30:56.640 --> 00:31:00.519 thick stems like also yarrow is another there one. When you divide it, 451 00:31:00.680 --> 00:31:06.119 it's it gets a little funky for the next season or two. So I 452 00:31:06.160 --> 00:31:07.960 think Niki Nikki sent pictures and of course we'll post those in the show notes 453 00:31:08.000 --> 00:31:11.279 at Gardening Simplified on air dot com. I really don't think you have anything 454 00:31:11.359 --> 00:31:15.200 to worry about. I agree, just tough. I have three words for 455 00:31:15.680 --> 00:31:21.400 Nikki well drained soil. Yeah my opinion, and I think if you pay 456 00:31:21.440 --> 00:31:23.119 attention to that, you're going to be just fun yep. So give them 457 00:31:23.160 --> 00:31:26.119 some you know, keep the TLC up, give them some time to grow 458 00:31:26.160 --> 00:31:32.279 in and recover from the transplanting and dividing, and you know, next season 459 00:31:32.359 --> 00:31:36.079 they'll probably you probably won't even remember that you divided them because they'll look so 460 00:31:36.559 --> 00:31:37.799 fabulous. So if you have a question for us, you can reach us 461 00:31:37.880 --> 00:31:41.799 at help at Gardening Simplified on Air dot Com or just visit Gardening Simplified on 462 00:31:41.880 --> 00:31:45.319 air dot com, where you will find the photos we've referenced, plants on 463 00:31:45.480 --> 00:31:49.160 trial, links to break branching news, all of that good stuff, as 464 00:31:49.200 --> 00:31:52.720 well as a contact for them to send in your questions. And speaking of 465 00:31:52.799 --> 00:31:56.279 branching news, we're going to take a break in. When we come back, 466 00:31:56.400 --> 00:31:57.920 we're just going to update us on what's happening out there in the world. 467 00:32:04.440 --> 00:32:07.640 The Gardening Simplified Show is brought to you by Proven Winners Color Choice Shrubs. 468 00:32:08.039 --> 00:32:13.359 Our award winning flowering shrubs and evergreens have been trialed and tested for your 469 00:32:13.440 --> 00:32:17.279 success so you enjoy more beauty and less work. Look for Proven Winners Color 470 00:32:17.400 --> 00:32:24.200 Choice Shrubs in the distinctive white container at your local garden center. It's time 471 00:32:24.279 --> 00:32:30.160 for branching news here on the Gardening Simplified Show. And well, I wanted 472 00:32:30.200 --> 00:32:34.000 to let you know I've got some personal branching news, and that is my 473 00:32:34.160 --> 00:32:38.359 cannas are finally blooming. Yay, Long live the Canna King. That's how 474 00:32:38.440 --> 00:32:42.759 you know it's the height of summer when the cannas are blooming and they're all 475 00:32:43.000 --> 00:32:46.400 lush and full and the hummingbirds are going crazy. I love that. Next 476 00:32:46.480 --> 00:32:51.279 come the humming birds exactly. So I'm branching news this week. There are 477 00:32:51.359 --> 00:32:58.640 still snow piles at the Minneapolis airport in July. It's probably not a terrible 478 00:32:58.720 --> 00:33:04.319 surprise to anyone familiar with Minnesota winters, but while we're well into summer now, 479 00:33:04.359 --> 00:33:08.200 of course, these snow piles are primarily sand and debris and that sort 480 00:33:08.200 --> 00:33:10.839 of thing, but there's still a snow pile. So that's quite amazing to 481 00:33:10.960 --> 00:33:15.039 have snow piles, especially when we're hearing all this news of it being the 482 00:33:15.119 --> 00:33:21.000 hottest week on record on the planet. Right, Yeah, unbelievable. So 483 00:33:21.599 --> 00:33:25.480 they might not be run for too much longer at the Minneapolis airport. Snow 484 00:33:25.880 --> 00:33:30.599 it's a terminal problem. Did you get that one? Definitely? Yes, 485 00:33:30.039 --> 00:33:37.440 there it was in plane sight. I'm really trying to think of a comeback 486 00:33:37.480 --> 00:33:42.359 here, but I'm drawn a blank. It's like Christmas in July, all 487 00:33:42.440 --> 00:33:45.519 right. This was interesting In the news, a bear is suspected of stealing 488 00:33:45.799 --> 00:33:52.200 a backpack with a phone, jerky, bird seed, and a Heineken beer 489 00:33:52.119 --> 00:33:59.160 from a mobile home park in Lehigh, Pennsylvania. Police have been tracking and 490 00:33:59.319 --> 00:34:04.079 found the bag later. Actually was a farmer in a field who found the 491 00:34:04.519 --> 00:34:09.239 backpack. The backpack and the phone were recovered. The bear had no interest 492 00:34:09.440 --> 00:34:14.320 in the phone, of course, wanted the jerky and the bird seed, 493 00:34:14.400 --> 00:34:17.320 and police are just hoping the bear is over twenty one. As it relates 494 00:34:17.360 --> 00:34:22.679 to the Heineken beer, I like the implication that if it if it had 495 00:34:22.719 --> 00:34:27.079 been any other type of beer, things might have been different. But it 496 00:34:27.199 --> 00:34:29.960 was specifically the Heineken, you know that. It's like, Oh, if 497 00:34:30.000 --> 00:34:31.599 it was one of those like IPAs, that's too happy for the bear. 498 00:34:31.719 --> 00:34:36.760 I'm not going to go in for that. That's great, that's great. 499 00:34:37.119 --> 00:34:40.280 Yeah. And and the fact he left the phone and the back I you 500 00:34:40.360 --> 00:34:44.199 know, I just got back from Cape Cod. I was walking along the 501 00:34:44.360 --> 00:34:50.119 dock and there's a professor from Cornell University. His name is Daniel Schwartz, 502 00:34:50.239 --> 00:34:54.039 and we just struck up a conversation. Great guy. The point I'm getting 503 00:34:54.119 --> 00:34:58.760 to here is he said that in New York where he's at, they have 504 00:34:58.960 --> 00:35:02.480 this phrase they use all the time, leave something on the table for Murphy. 505 00:35:04.079 --> 00:35:07.039 Oh. I thought that was great. Leave something. So you know, 506 00:35:07.320 --> 00:35:10.800 the bear left something, he didn't take it all he left something on 507 00:35:10.960 --> 00:35:15.039 the table for a murphy. I'm sure if he could have eaten the phone, 508 00:35:15.039 --> 00:35:19.400 he would have just guessing, you know, he might have given it 509 00:35:19.480 --> 00:35:22.880 a little and then it didn't work out so well. I'm surprised he just 510 00:35:22.960 --> 00:35:30.920 didn't try to download a nap. How do plant reversions take place? Remember 511 00:35:30.039 --> 00:35:37.679 that many ornamental cultivars begin when an alert plant enthusiasts notice a tree or a 512 00:35:37.800 --> 00:35:42.920 part of a tree with a unique growing characteristic, and sometimes they revert. 513 00:35:43.159 --> 00:35:45.320 I just wanted to get a comment from you here, Stacy, on that, 514 00:35:45.519 --> 00:35:49.679 because I was out and about the other day and I took a picture 515 00:35:49.800 --> 00:35:57.159 of a dwarf Alberta spruce that was going through a reversion, reverting back to 516 00:35:57.440 --> 00:36:00.039 its I don't know what do we call it? A little species? Yea 517 00:36:01.559 --> 00:36:05.960 a white spruce original form? I guess you would say, yeah. And 518 00:36:06.199 --> 00:36:10.840 that is one of the wildest reversions that you will see. So if you're 519 00:36:10.880 --> 00:36:15.719 not familiar with dwarf Filberta spruce by name, you have certainly seen one. 520 00:36:15.199 --> 00:36:21.840 It's that little, conical, kind of starbursty looking evergreen that everyone seems to 521 00:36:21.880 --> 00:36:24.280 plant next to their front door. And the dwarf a little bit of a 522 00:36:24.360 --> 00:36:29.679 misnomer because sure it's dwarf wointing by it, but they do get quite large 523 00:36:30.320 --> 00:36:32.679 and there's really no way to prune them or anything like that to manage their 524 00:36:32.719 --> 00:36:37.519 size because they have such a tight conical shape. And I think this propensity 525 00:36:37.679 --> 00:36:42.320 to reversion has really increased over the last couple of years. I know. 526 00:36:42.480 --> 00:36:45.920 I mean before I never saw I rarely saw it, and now I feel 527 00:36:45.920 --> 00:36:52.000 like, you know, one in five or ten Albertas that I see have 528 00:36:52.199 --> 00:36:54.800 a reversion. So if you're thinking of the Alberta spruce, basically what happens 529 00:36:55.599 --> 00:36:58.679 is, you know, one day you go out and it's like a whole 530 00:36:58.880 --> 00:37:00.840 spruce tree is just shooting up out of the back of it. A Christmas 531 00:37:00.880 --> 00:37:05.199 tree. Yeah, so full size. Even though dwarf Alberta is very tight 532 00:37:05.280 --> 00:37:07.840 and compact, it just gets this whole, full size shoot of a tree. 533 00:37:07.880 --> 00:37:10.559 And you send a picture, so we'll put that in the show notes 534 00:37:10.599 --> 00:37:15.679 so you can see it and maybe once you see it's one of those things 535 00:37:15.760 --> 00:37:17.920 that like, once you see it, you start to see it everywhere, 536 00:37:19.280 --> 00:37:21.679 you know, that kind of thing, because a lot of people, I 537 00:37:21.719 --> 00:37:23.960 think would just assume it's like a seedling or something that popped up from the 538 00:37:24.039 --> 00:37:29.519 ground under the plant. But no, it is the plant reverting back to 539 00:37:29.880 --> 00:37:34.800 its original form, because you know, dwarf Alberta spruce originated as like a 540 00:37:34.880 --> 00:37:38.480 little branch mutation on that full spruce. So some things are more prone to 541 00:37:38.559 --> 00:37:43.079 reversion. We talked about this a little bit when Megan Attire Plant Breeder was 542 00:37:43.159 --> 00:37:49.880 on. You know, sometimes variation is another plant that often reverts, and 543 00:37:50.039 --> 00:37:53.679 sometimes you'll see that will certainly with things that are grafted that the understock. 544 00:37:53.760 --> 00:37:57.719 It's a little bit of a different type of reversion, but that will kind 545 00:37:57.760 --> 00:38:01.039 of come out. So it's always interesting to see and some people will think, 546 00:38:01.079 --> 00:38:04.280 oh, my gosh, it's a miracle. Well, no, unfortunately 547 00:38:04.320 --> 00:38:07.239 it's not a miracle. And in most cases you should cut the reversion out 548 00:38:07.320 --> 00:38:13.400 as soon as possible because usually the reversion is a much stronger plants and will 549 00:38:13.440 --> 00:38:16.119 quickly destroy whatever that feature was that you bought that plant for, whether it 550 00:38:16.199 --> 00:38:21.400 was the habit, texture, color, etc. Interesting. Interesting, Okay, 551 00:38:21.480 --> 00:38:32.000 A long time landscape staple use yews or Texas taxus are outlawed in various 552 00:38:32.039 --> 00:38:38.280 parts of Idaho in the past few years because animals, after nibbling on the 553 00:38:38.400 --> 00:38:45.880 plants have died, and a three year old Boise girl was hospitalized after eating 554 00:38:45.920 --> 00:38:49.360 a berry from a U plant in her family. Now, this plant has 555 00:38:49.440 --> 00:38:52.360 just been a staple in the garden center in nursery industry for years, so 556 00:38:52.480 --> 00:38:57.280 it was interesting to see that in this area they're saying, no, not 557 00:38:57.400 --> 00:39:00.880 going to plant them anymore. It is and you know, us are okay. 558 00:39:02.239 --> 00:39:07.880 They're extremely they're extremely shade tolerant, and that I think is the main 559 00:39:07.079 --> 00:39:10.960 reason that they have become as popular as they are now. I grew up 560 00:39:12.039 --> 00:39:16.119 in a house in suburban Detroit with us right outside the front door, and 561 00:39:16.280 --> 00:39:20.639 I remember from when I was a very young age, my mom saying, 562 00:39:21.360 --> 00:39:24.719 never ever, ever eat anything from that plant. Those red berries. They 563 00:39:24.840 --> 00:39:29.440 look good, but do not eat anything from that plant. And I remember 564 00:39:29.519 --> 00:39:31.199 her, you know, basically making me so afraid of them. If I 565 00:39:31.280 --> 00:39:34.199 walked out the front door, I would kind of do like a little like 566 00:39:34.679 --> 00:39:37.840 curve around it, so I didn't even touch the thing, you know what 567 00:39:37.920 --> 00:39:45.639 I mean. But they are they are so toxic, and but weirdly deer 568 00:39:45.679 --> 00:39:47.400 eat them. Yeah, So you know, I know that they're a problem 569 00:39:47.440 --> 00:39:52.280 for a lot of livestock. Other ruminants. But it's it's just it baffles 570 00:39:52.360 --> 00:39:57.440 me that a plant that is so toxic to humans and to most other animals, 571 00:39:58.559 --> 00:40:00.760 the deer are just at and just nibble it. They devour, they 572 00:40:00.840 --> 00:40:05.800 will destroy it. And it is a slow growing plant, so their chance 573 00:40:05.840 --> 00:40:12.400 of recovery from severe deer browsing is slim to none, basically. But it's 574 00:40:12.400 --> 00:40:15.599 an interesting plant. And you know, I think that people in the UK 575 00:40:15.000 --> 00:40:21.159 have a much bigger reverence for taxes than we have here, because I don't 576 00:40:21.159 --> 00:40:22.960 know if you've ever looked up like the old I mean, they have taxes 577 00:40:22.960 --> 00:40:25.880 in the UK that are literally thousands of years old, and they're in these 578 00:40:27.559 --> 00:40:31.079 you know, beautiful old churchyards, and they take on these just amazing shapes 579 00:40:31.119 --> 00:40:34.880 we're here in the US. They're a little bit like, you know, 580 00:40:35.199 --> 00:40:37.079 oh, I planted him in my front yard and pruned it into a tuna 581 00:40:37.159 --> 00:40:40.519 can, and isn't it beautiful? And you're a little like less than inspired. 582 00:40:40.679 --> 00:40:45.920 It is that plan, that plant that we prune into meatballs and tuna 583 00:40:45.000 --> 00:40:50.920 cans in our yards and for people keeping at score score at home, use 584 00:40:51.239 --> 00:40:58.280 yews or taxes ta x us. I always remembered the very thing because I 585 00:40:58.400 --> 00:41:04.400 made the analogy death and taxes. Yes, so stay away from evade your 586 00:41:04.519 --> 00:41:08.639 taxes is what you need. Definitely grew up evading taxes and uh so we're 587 00:41:08.639 --> 00:41:12.880 gonna put the link there at Gardening Simplified on air dot com. You can 588 00:41:12.960 --> 00:41:17.599 read about this story this community in Idaho, and fortunately the three year old 589 00:41:17.679 --> 00:41:24.400 girl is okay. Yeah, uh real quickly, if you are in your 590 00:41:24.480 --> 00:41:30.599 Semite National Park, they are recommending that if you come across these stacks of 591 00:41:30.800 --> 00:41:34.760 rocks that people will stack up, knock them over. You ever have the 592 00:41:34.880 --> 00:41:37.519 urge to knock him over, well, knock him over. They want you 593 00:41:37.639 --> 00:41:40.119 to knock him over. People use them to well, you know, create 594 00:41:40.599 --> 00:41:45.800 points of demarcation. I guess along the trail or whatever they're saying, go 595 00:41:45.960 --> 00:41:51.239 ahead, knock them over. Rock and roll, rock on all right, 596 00:41:51.360 --> 00:41:52.599 I'm all for it. So there you go. If you're going to be 597 00:41:52.719 --> 00:41:58.880 vacationing this summer, always a pleasure and privilege to do this show with you. 598 00:41:59.000 --> 00:42:02.559 Stay likewise, and a big thank you very much to our fabulous engineer 599 00:42:02.679 --> 00:42:07.599 and producer, Adrianna Robinson, and thank you to you for watching on YouTube, 600 00:42:08.000 --> 00:42:13.760 listening to us on the radio, and downloading the podcast. Wherever you 601 00:42:13.960 --> 00:42:16.280 download your podcast, have yourself a great week. See it