WEBVTT 1 00:00:03.759 --> 00:00:08.960 Hey, it's time for the Gardenings Simplified Show with Stacy Hervella me Rick weisstand 2 00:00:09.119 --> 00:00:14.640 our engineer and producer Adrianna Robinson. We come to you from the Beautiful Studio 3 00:00:14.839 --> 00:00:20.199 a at proven Winners Color Choice Shrubs. Mosquitoes are a serious issue. Not 4 00:00:20.320 --> 00:00:25.120 only can they spot you, they can actually detect thermal cues dissipating from your 5 00:00:25.160 --> 00:00:29.440 skin. And one of the most important sense that draws mosquitoes in from far 6 00:00:29.519 --> 00:00:34.679 away is carbon dioxide, the gas that we exhale when we breathe and Stacy, 7 00:00:34.759 --> 00:00:40.119 mosquitoes are not only terribly annoying their vectors for disease, they spread diseases 8 00:00:40.679 --> 00:00:45.240 like malaria, Dengey fever, or West Nile virus, and according to the 9 00:00:45.280 --> 00:00:51.399 CDC, Westnile virus is the leading cause of mosquito born disease in the continental 10 00:00:51.560 --> 00:00:55.960 United States, most commonly spread to people by the bite of an infected mosquito. 11 00:00:56.039 --> 00:01:00.520 But the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention just this past week has been 12 00:01:00.560 --> 00:01:07.560 talking about malaria meaning infections. Malaria in the US meaning infections were not linked 13 00:01:07.599 --> 00:01:11.040 to foreign travel but appear to have been transmitted by mosquitos. In the US 14 00:01:11.159 --> 00:01:18.760 carrying the parasite to four cases Florida and Texas. This calls for some serious 15 00:01:18.760 --> 00:01:23.879 personal IPM. I got it, You bet it does. And you know, 16 00:01:23.959 --> 00:01:26.159 we got to pay attention to this. I was surprised. Each year 17 00:01:26.159 --> 00:01:32.280 around two thousand cases of malaria are diagnosed in the US, but they're usually 18 00:01:32.280 --> 00:01:38.760 connected to people who have traveled out of the country. Today's initial topic plants 19 00:01:38.200 --> 00:01:42.560 mosquitos hate. That's right, Stacy. We're going to talk skeeters today. 20 00:01:42.879 --> 00:01:48.560 We may make some comments that may come back to bite us, but we're 21 00:01:48.560 --> 00:01:56.200 going to talk mosquitos and plants that mosquitos hate. And that's a good thing 22 00:01:56.319 --> 00:02:00.799 to identify the plants that mosquitos hate. And I think a big reason for 23 00:02:00.840 --> 00:02:05.480 it, Stacy, is that for many people, they think, well, 24 00:02:05.519 --> 00:02:09.960 all mosquitoes are after is our blood, a blood male. But it's just 25 00:02:10.039 --> 00:02:17.319 the female mosquito, actually bold female and male mosquitos love plant nectar. Yeah, 26 00:02:17.400 --> 00:02:23.000 something we like to talk about. And so taking a close look at 27 00:02:23.080 --> 00:02:28.719 plants probably a good idea if you are plagued by those skeeters. Yes, 28 00:02:28.919 --> 00:02:32.400 especially any plant that holds water, you know, like has leaves a hold 29 00:02:32.439 --> 00:02:35.960 onto a lot of water, like I've talked a bunch about my cup plant. 30 00:02:36.240 --> 00:02:38.960 Yes, I sylphia and porfoliate. I'm one of my favorite pernials in 31 00:02:38.960 --> 00:02:44.560 my garden. But it does have these unique leaf bases that subtend or surround. 32 00:02:44.680 --> 00:02:46.560 This is the big square stems and it makes a cup that holds water 33 00:02:46.800 --> 00:02:52.439 and there's really no ways for it to dump out because it's a plant, 34 00:02:53.800 --> 00:02:55.639 and so yeah, that would not be one to have around if you have 35 00:02:55.639 --> 00:02:59.199 a mosquito problem. Now, I have to say, living where I do, 36 00:02:59.280 --> 00:03:02.719 and probably you have something similar, very dry soil I don't knock on, 37 00:03:02.800 --> 00:03:07.479 would have a huge mosquito issue in my yard between the breezes from the 38 00:03:07.560 --> 00:03:10.520 lake and the super sandy soil, not a huge problem. How about you, 39 00:03:10.919 --> 00:03:15.080 Well, in the same here, being along the beach, and you 40 00:03:15.120 --> 00:03:17.719 know when people will give you mosquito advice, Yeah, they'll say stuff like, 41 00:03:19.240 --> 00:03:23.000 well, pick up the old tires that are in your yard that are 42 00:03:23.080 --> 00:03:28.080 collecting water. And I'm like, what, who's got tires in their back? 43 00:03:28.159 --> 00:03:31.120 A lot of people do. Actually you might be surprised. But you 44 00:03:31.199 --> 00:03:35.879 know, I think that the important point here and where I'm trying at least 45 00:03:35.879 --> 00:03:39.439 to zero in on, is that mosquitoes love plant nectar. As a matter 46 00:03:39.439 --> 00:03:46.719 of fact, mosquitoes need plant nectar, especially the males in the whole reproductive 47 00:03:46.879 --> 00:03:52.599 cycle and process as far as mosquitoes are concerned. Also, where there are 48 00:03:53.000 --> 00:03:59.360 female mosquitos, you're gonna find male mosquitos and they'll be buzzing your ears. 49 00:03:59.680 --> 00:04:02.520 When folks will spray for mosquitoes, let's say you're gonna have a backyard party 50 00:04:02.599 --> 00:04:06.800 or something like that. I remember when my daughter got married in the backyard. 51 00:04:06.879 --> 00:04:14.319 We used this organic spray which essentially was essential oils, lemon, grass, 52 00:04:14.360 --> 00:04:17.360 cinnamon, that sort of thing. It worked quite well, but really 53 00:04:17.439 --> 00:04:24.160 the focus needed to be on the shrubs and the flowering plants that were surrounding 54 00:04:24.160 --> 00:04:30.439 the wedding area because again this whole nectar issue. If you want an element 55 00:04:30.519 --> 00:04:33.160 of control, that's where you're going to have some success. Well and nectar 56 00:04:33.199 --> 00:04:40.920 and shelter. Mosquitoes love to take shelter in cool tall grass. That's one 57 00:04:40.920 --> 00:04:43.800 of their favorite places to hang out during the day while they're waiting for the 58 00:04:43.959 --> 00:04:46.959 night and evening to come back around so they can go out on the prowl. 59 00:04:47.079 --> 00:04:51.160 So you know, any of that tall kind of vegetation is really where 60 00:04:51.199 --> 00:04:56.000 you do need to focus your energy. Now, I think it's important with 61 00:04:56.079 --> 00:04:58.519 social media, and we've talked about this now and then on the show. 62 00:04:59.399 --> 00:05:05.879 There's a lot of memes or little shareable things that you can get an app 63 00:05:06.079 --> 00:05:12.240 on your phone that will play a high frequency sound to keep the mosquitoes away 64 00:05:12.279 --> 00:05:14.920 from you. Yeah, that's a thing. Yeah, it's a thing. 65 00:05:15.199 --> 00:05:16.560 Or you know, people will say like, oh, if you just you 66 00:05:16.600 --> 00:05:21.040 know, eat seven bananas and stand on your head, you know, it's 67 00:05:21.040 --> 00:05:26.319 a surefire way to get rid of mosquitoes. And I think that it's important, 68 00:05:26.360 --> 00:05:28.759 as with many things online, to take all of that with a grain 69 00:05:28.800 --> 00:05:30.399 of salt. And I do want to say we are going to talk about 70 00:05:30.759 --> 00:05:34.879 plants that do sort of have a repellent effect on mosquitoes, but it's so 71 00:05:34.920 --> 00:05:42.600 important to understand that no plant is mosquito cryptonite. You know, if if 72 00:05:42.959 --> 00:05:47.600 solving mosquito problems was as simple as planting a certain plant or a combination of 73 00:05:47.639 --> 00:05:50.759 plants, then you know, there would be a lot of people in this 74 00:05:50.759 --> 00:05:54.279 world who would be a lot better off because they wouldn't have to be spraying 75 00:05:54.279 --> 00:05:57.319 for malaria and all of these things. You know, we're lucky we don't 76 00:05:57.360 --> 00:06:00.800 have that problem here in the US, but you know, mosquitoes are a 77 00:06:00.879 --> 00:06:03.120 huge problem worldwide, and honestly, if the solution to them was as simple 78 00:06:03.120 --> 00:06:08.879 as like planting lavender or mints, then you know, we'd be in a 79 00:06:08.879 --> 00:06:13.600 lot better place. So unfortunately, no matter what you're seeing on Facebook or 80 00:06:13.639 --> 00:06:19.000 Instagram or Pinterest or whatever, it's not quite as simple as just planting something 81 00:06:19.079 --> 00:06:21.560 and walking away. I agree, you know. It brings up the point 82 00:06:21.600 --> 00:06:28.879 there's a difference between citronella and lemon grass. For example, Citronella or mosquito 83 00:06:29.000 --> 00:06:35.480 plants are actually scented geraniums. It's a pelargonium. I hope I got that 84 00:06:35.600 --> 00:06:40.879 right. You did, okay, citrosum, and it's marketed as a mosquito 85 00:06:41.040 --> 00:06:45.480 plant. But just because you have one sitting next to you doesn't mean that 86 00:06:45.519 --> 00:06:48.600 the mosquitoes are not going to bite you. As a matter of fact, 87 00:06:48.639 --> 00:06:53.279 with many of these plants, the leaves need to be crushed. We need 88 00:06:53.319 --> 00:07:00.199 to have those essential oils, actually the foliage crushed and create those essential oils 89 00:07:00.240 --> 00:07:04.959 to put them to work. And we're talking about plants here. Mosquitoes hate 90 00:07:05.000 --> 00:07:12.399 like lavender, marigolds, mint, lemon balm, peppermint, be balm, 91 00:07:12.759 --> 00:07:19.040 adjeratum, basil, cat nip, lantanna, rosemary, fennel. There's a 92 00:07:19.160 --> 00:07:25.800 variety of plants that mosquitoes don't necessarily care for, but just because you're surrounded 93 00:07:25.839 --> 00:07:29.120 by them doesn't mean you're not going to be bit right, no harm. 94 00:07:29.160 --> 00:07:31.680 They're all beautiful plants, useful plants that would look great together, but they 95 00:07:31.720 --> 00:07:35.199 aren't going to be a substitute for, you know, an overall mosquito management 96 00:07:35.920 --> 00:07:42.000 program or approach in your yard, whether that means again emptying out areas where 97 00:07:42.000 --> 00:07:46.040 water might stand, whether or not that's old tires or an old bird bath 98 00:07:46.240 --> 00:07:48.079 or pool cover. I mean, there's a lot of places that when you 99 00:07:48.079 --> 00:07:56.879 really look around your yard, Yeah, so it is. It doesn't hurt. 100 00:07:56.959 --> 00:08:00.519 There's no harm in planting these, but you definitely can't eat it as 101 00:08:00.519 --> 00:08:05.800 though you've resolved a mosquito problem just by doing this. Again, go back 102 00:08:05.839 --> 00:08:09.959 to the point though, mosquitos love the nectar of flowers, and if you 103 00:08:11.040 --> 00:08:15.959 wanted to look at the reverse, some plants that mosquitoes are drawn to because 104 00:08:16.000 --> 00:08:20.600 of the nectar. Examples would be water lilies, jasmine, butterfly bush, 105 00:08:20.839 --> 00:08:28.160 water hyacinths. In many cases. They again love that aroma. But you're 106 00:08:28.199 --> 00:08:33.279 so right that this is kind of a controversial subject because there's just so much 107 00:08:33.399 --> 00:08:37.840 information out there. It's difficult to sort it all out. It is. 108 00:08:37.879 --> 00:08:41.080 And you know, a few weeks ago I talked about sort of one of 109 00:08:41.120 --> 00:08:45.639 my surefire ways to find reliable information online, and that is going to a 110 00:08:45.639 --> 00:08:48.919 search engine, typing in your search terms, and then the command site s 111 00:08:48.960 --> 00:08:52.879 I te colon dot edu, and that's going to limit your results to just 112 00:08:54.039 --> 00:08:58.000 university website. So it kind of helps you cut through the clutter and gets 113 00:08:58.039 --> 00:09:01.960 you to reliable information fast. By doing that, I can give you one 114 00:09:03.039 --> 00:09:09.799 plant that when crushed or extracted absolutely positively does repel mosquitos. Barberry. Oh 115 00:09:09.840 --> 00:09:16.639 no, Calicarpa americana. So our native beauty bush, beauty berry, beauty 116 00:09:18.480 --> 00:09:20.960 yes, thank you, Not beauty bush. Yes. Our native beauty berry 117 00:09:22.000 --> 00:09:28.720 Callicarpa americano, which grows natively throughout the south and southeast, not hardy enough 118 00:09:28.720 --> 00:09:31.399 for us here in Michigan. It's pretty much like a zone six seven plant, 119 00:09:31.480 --> 00:09:33.120 or pretty much a zone seven plant, but it has big bowled berries 120 00:09:33.519 --> 00:09:39.639 and that has been scientifically proven to have an extract in its foliage and fruit 121 00:09:39.200 --> 00:09:41.960 that will repel mosquitoes. But again, this is not a situation where you 122 00:09:43.000 --> 00:09:46.120 can just planet around your house and say good enough, you can make your 123 00:09:46.120 --> 00:09:50.159 own mosquito repellent from it. You might find mosquito repellents that are made from 124 00:09:50.440 --> 00:09:56.840 the callicarpa plant, but that has been shown again and again, and we 125 00:09:56.000 --> 00:10:01.080 actually have a callicarpa in the proven Winner's color choice line, her Pearl glam 126 00:10:01.000 --> 00:10:05.759 Beautiful plant. And when I heard about this, I was really excited about 127 00:10:05.759 --> 00:10:07.399 it. And then not long after a researcher contacted us and said, hey, 128 00:10:07.399 --> 00:10:11.600 I'd like to test your plant see if it has this, and unfortunately 129 00:10:11.679 --> 00:10:16.519 it didn't. So it seems that only the Calicarpa americana are true species. 130 00:10:16.039 --> 00:10:20.399 Native beauty berry can do this, but you can if you have it. 131 00:10:20.519 --> 00:10:24.639 It's a fabulous plant and actually could do a little something for you in the 132 00:10:24.679 --> 00:10:28.600 mosquito realm. So you have to sort it out just like just like we're 133 00:10:28.639 --> 00:10:33.519 doing, and you're right that plant on the list. We'll post some stories 134 00:10:33.559 --> 00:10:37.559 also on the website Gardening Simplified. OnAir dot com, I found a great 135 00:10:37.679 --> 00:10:46.200 story about it. Suggested that the soap you're using maybe attracting mosquitoes. Now 136 00:10:46.279 --> 00:10:50.720 that's kind of that's kind of interesting. At least the mosquito makes a clean 137 00:10:50.879 --> 00:10:56.799 getaway. It cannot lie. Ye if you're going, I know you where 138 00:10:56.919 --> 00:11:00.279 you're going with that, and so, but I don't know if most people 139 00:11:00.279 --> 00:11:05.200 would make that Connectionally. Hebrew University in Israel, they're developing a new kind 140 00:11:05.240 --> 00:11:11.039 of insect repellent, which is a chemical camouflage. That's interesting. We'll put 141 00:11:11.080 --> 00:11:16.799 the story there. And also another study where if you swat at the mosquito 142 00:11:16.879 --> 00:11:22.000 or the mosquito has a memory that you've been swatting and avoid you really are 143 00:11:22.320 --> 00:11:24.960 making that up. No, I'm not making it up. It's here. 144 00:11:24.000 --> 00:11:26.799 It's one of the many things that you can fly. So you're just going 145 00:11:26.840 --> 00:11:31.799 to walk around perennially like this just to hide your bets and you know, 146 00:11:31.960 --> 00:11:35.679 hopefully that'll work for you. Don't believe everything you read on the internet. 147 00:11:37.200 --> 00:11:41.559 All right, They have it coming up next. Plants on trial here on 148 00:11:41.720 --> 00:11:52.879 the Gardening Simplified Ship, proven winners, Colored Choice Shrubs cares about your success 149 00:11:52.039 --> 00:11:56.200 in the garden. That's why we trial and test all of our shrubs for 150 00:11:56.320 --> 00:11:58.960 eight to ten years, making sure they outperform everything else on the market. 151 00:12:00.360 --> 00:12:05.399 Look for them and the distinctive white container at your local garden center. Greetings 152 00:12:05.440 --> 00:12:09.720 gardening friends, and welcome back to the Gardening Simplified Show. It's the time 153 00:12:09.759 --> 00:12:13.480 of the show where we put a plant on trial, which is to say, 154 00:12:13.559 --> 00:12:16.639 we're going to tell you all about one of our favorite promo miner's color 155 00:12:16.720 --> 00:12:18.720 choice shrubs, and you get to decide if it's going to earn a place 156 00:12:18.879 --> 00:12:24.960 in your garden or landscape. And you know, I didn't have after all 157 00:12:24.000 --> 00:12:30.200 that talk about mosquitos, I didn't really have a perfect plant to align with 158 00:12:30.320 --> 00:12:31.360 the mosquito thing. Now we, like I said, we do have a 159 00:12:31.440 --> 00:12:37.200 Calicarpa pearlglam It's beautiful. It's the same species as the Calicarpa americana that actually 160 00:12:37.240 --> 00:12:41.600 does repel mosquitos, but it is not the same genus. Therefore it does 161 00:12:41.679 --> 00:12:46.759 not Sorry it's the same genus, it's not the same species and so therefore 162 00:12:46.759 --> 00:12:48.600 it doesn't have That's why I said, at you know what, that's a 163 00:12:48.639 --> 00:12:52.679 plant better saved for fall when it's at its best. Anyway, So what's 164 00:12:52.840 --> 00:12:56.120 cheesy? This plant will be all the buzz it will be and it's one 165 00:12:56.120 --> 00:13:00.480 of my favorites, and it's about to burst into bloom. You're in West 166 00:13:00.519 --> 00:13:05.639 Michigan, and it is incredible blush. Hydrangea a beauty. It is a 167 00:13:05.720 --> 00:13:09.080 beauty, now, incredible blush. When I say hydrangea, it could mean 168 00:13:09.200 --> 00:13:11.799 any number of things. There's a lot of different hydrangeas out there that are 169 00:13:11.879 --> 00:13:18.159 very popular. Incredible blush is what's known as a smooth hydrangea hydrangea arborescence, 170 00:13:18.919 --> 00:13:24.159 also known commonly as an Annabelle type hydrangea or an Annabelle hydrangea. Now usually 171 00:13:24.240 --> 00:13:26.759 we try to kind of avoid that word because Annabelle, as you may know, 172 00:13:28.080 --> 00:13:31.720 is a specific variety of hydrangea arborescents been around since the nineteen sixties, 173 00:13:33.200 --> 00:13:37.159 and this is actually native to North America. In fact, if you travel 174 00:13:37.279 --> 00:13:39.320 through the Southeast and the South, you will find it abundantly. I think 175 00:13:39.360 --> 00:13:41.960 I mentioned a few weeks ago that I saw one in a waffle house parking 176 00:13:43.000 --> 00:13:46.240 lot. One not even planted like in a planter box, just down the 177 00:13:46.360 --> 00:13:48.600 edge where it was surrounded by woods. Love the waffle house, and you 178 00:13:48.639 --> 00:13:52.879 know, it's so cool when you this plant that like you see in your 179 00:13:52.919 --> 00:13:56.080 child gardens at work, and you know, you see our plant readers working 180 00:13:56.159 --> 00:14:00.399 on and trying to create something really interesting and new, and you just go 181 00:14:00.559 --> 00:14:03.440 out to your car at the waffle house and there's a wooded edge and there's 182 00:14:03.519 --> 00:14:07.919 hydrange a harborssens growing there. It's a thing what you have at the waffle 183 00:14:07.960 --> 00:14:09.759 house. It was breakfast, I don't, you know, not waffles. 184 00:14:11.559 --> 00:14:16.000 I'm not really sweets for breakfast kind of person. But so anyway, this 185 00:14:16.159 --> 00:14:22.279 is because it is native. It's it's a very easy to grow hydrangea. 186 00:14:22.399 --> 00:14:24.759 And I'm going to talk a little bit later about some of the confusion surrounding 187 00:14:24.799 --> 00:14:28.799 hydrangees. But this hydrangea blooms on new wood, so you don't have to 188 00:14:28.840 --> 00:14:33.000 worry about if you know, how it survived winter or anything like that. 189 00:14:33.600 --> 00:14:37.399 And it's hardy to USDA Zone three that is really cold. Now let's talk 190 00:14:37.440 --> 00:14:43.759 about that a minute, because I think this is important. Winter is often 191 00:14:43.080 --> 00:14:48.960 a worry for folks that I run into as it relates to hydranges. Oh 192 00:14:50.039 --> 00:14:54.039 yeah, and with this hydrangea, because of how it blooms, winter is 193 00:14:54.440 --> 00:14:58.080 not a worry, not an issue whatsoever, right, not a problem. 194 00:15:00.080 --> 00:15:03.360 And so anyway, it's been popular since the nineteen sixties when Annabelle came out. 195 00:15:03.360 --> 00:15:09.000 Because Annabelle is the first mop head smooth hydrangea. So the wild types 196 00:15:09.039 --> 00:15:11.320 they have a flat, lace kept disc with a lot of pollen, good 197 00:15:11.399 --> 00:15:16.120 for mosquitos, whereas Annabelle was a mop head. So what that means is 198 00:15:16.159 --> 00:15:22.279 that it has those larger sterile florets or showier, but they obscure those nectar 199 00:15:22.360 --> 00:15:26.039 bearing fertile florets and it makes it a lot showier in the eyes of most 200 00:15:26.120 --> 00:15:30.960 humans. So Annabelle took the world by storm, but it had a little 201 00:15:31.000 --> 00:15:33.320 bit of a liability. It flopped. So you get one of those summer 202 00:15:33.399 --> 00:15:37.320 storms and next thing you know, you come out and your annabell Hydrangea is 203 00:15:37.360 --> 00:15:41.639 just laying on the ground flat. Didn't fail as far as marketing is concerned. 204 00:15:41.720 --> 00:15:46.240 It flopped. It physically flopped, but the plant physically flops over it. 205 00:15:46.360 --> 00:15:50.200 It was hugely popular and remains hugely popular to you this day, despite 206 00:15:50.200 --> 00:15:56.039 its liability of literally flopping over after a heavy rain. And you know, 207 00:15:56.159 --> 00:16:00.159 we've always wanted, we had always wanted to find hydrange arborescence. They didn't 208 00:16:00.200 --> 00:16:03.399 have this problem. A lot of people don't it, don't mind it, 209 00:16:03.799 --> 00:16:06.600 but you know, it can definitely detract. And it's always disappointing when you 210 00:16:06.679 --> 00:16:10.360 have a Hydrangea in full bloom and it's looking fabulous and you get a rainstorm 211 00:16:10.399 --> 00:16:12.080 and then the next morning it's just all over the ground. If you have 212 00:16:12.159 --> 00:16:15.799 to cut the grass, and that's WoT, Yeah, what are you going 213 00:16:15.840 --> 00:16:21.279 to do with that? So we first kind of had our first breakthrough with 214 00:16:21.480 --> 00:16:25.960 Incredible Hydrangea, one of our most popular plants, best sellers, and Incredible 215 00:16:26.080 --> 00:16:30.159 not only had stronger stems than Annabelle, it also had larger flowers. We 216 00:16:30.240 --> 00:16:33.120 crossed it with a variety that we used to offer called White Dome that had 217 00:16:33.279 --> 00:16:37.399 very very sturdy stems, and you know, through a series of selection, 218 00:16:37.440 --> 00:16:41.440 we were able to develop those stronger stems as well as bigger flowers. But 219 00:16:41.840 --> 00:16:44.960 as lovely as it was, the flowers are white, they mature to green 220 00:16:45.679 --> 00:16:49.399 um and you know, people who struggle with the more colorful big leaf Hydrangea 221 00:16:49.480 --> 00:16:52.639 is the ones that are pink, purple blue, that kind of color, 222 00:16:52.200 --> 00:16:55.759 but can grow Annabelle. We're kind of like, hey, this is this 223 00:16:55.919 --> 00:16:57.360 is cool and all, but I wouldn't mind if I got a little color. 224 00:16:59.080 --> 00:17:03.000 And we were delighted through working with doctor Tom Rainey at the North Carolina 225 00:17:03.039 --> 00:17:08.759 State University Mountain Horticultural Crops and Research Station, that we were able to introduce 226 00:17:08.880 --> 00:17:15.720 a pink version of incredible, and that is incredible blush. So everything you 227 00:17:15.799 --> 00:17:19.440 love about Annabelle, everything you love about Incredible, but pink flowers. I 228 00:17:19.599 --> 00:17:25.759 like that. And the pink is really a very unusual pink when you see 229 00:17:25.799 --> 00:17:26.880 it, you know, I think most people think of like a really candy 230 00:17:26.920 --> 00:17:32.400 pink, like bubble Vista, bubblegum, super tunia. This is I almost 231 00:17:32.400 --> 00:17:34.839 call it like a chrome pink or silvery pink because it has these kind of 232 00:17:34.880 --> 00:17:41.839 metallic tones to it. That's just really really unique and really really beautiful. 233 00:17:41.079 --> 00:17:45.839 It's just kind of a blush. It's kind of like when I get embarrassed 234 00:17:45.880 --> 00:17:49.759 by mispronouncing botanical names. I mean, you get a little blush. I 235 00:17:49.799 --> 00:17:53.519 can tell under all that tan, you're like your summer height tan. Here 236 00:17:53.759 --> 00:18:00.359 it's summer. So this is now is great as it is. That incredible 237 00:18:00.400 --> 00:18:04.400 blush is a pink, smooth hydrangea hardy blooms on new wood, easy to 238 00:18:04.519 --> 00:18:10.400 grow. It will not turn blue or purple or white or any other color. 239 00:18:10.559 --> 00:18:12.480 It's always going to be pink. This is not the type of hydrangea 240 00:18:12.559 --> 00:18:15.359 that, despite the fact that we have a pink version, is going to 241 00:18:15.480 --> 00:18:18.119 change color. So if you get this plant, you're basically going to be 242 00:18:18.200 --> 00:18:21.680 have to be happy that it's pink, and you should because it's lovely. 243 00:18:21.880 --> 00:18:25.599 It's okay, be content, Yeah, exactly, because again the key here 244 00:18:25.799 --> 00:18:30.680 is winter is not a worry and the fact that it's blooming on new wood. 245 00:18:32.279 --> 00:18:36.359 You know, when I tell people a panicled hydrangea, or in this 246 00:18:36.559 --> 00:18:42.680 case, this arborescence hydrangea blooms on new wood, it's almost like they have 247 00:18:42.839 --> 00:18:49.559 this sigh of relief, right because we could prune in late winter or winter, 248 00:18:49.880 --> 00:18:52.599 or we could prune an early spring. Right, Yeah, absolutely no 249 00:18:52.720 --> 00:18:56.359 problem there. We do actually recommend that you do prune. Smooth hydrange is 250 00:18:56.400 --> 00:19:00.200 like incredible blush. We recommend that you cut them back by about a third, 251 00:19:00.359 --> 00:19:03.920 okay, And by doing that, what's going to happen is that you're 252 00:19:03.960 --> 00:19:07.960 continuing to build a sturdy, woody base that's going to give it those nice, 253 00:19:08.000 --> 00:19:12.640 strong stems. But you're also encouraging a lot of new growth for a 254 00:19:12.759 --> 00:19:17.359 lot of flowers. So if that makes sense, because that's a lot like 255 00:19:18.200 --> 00:19:22.519 bug Leah. Also, the new growth tends to be real floriferous, right, 256 00:19:22.680 --> 00:19:25.480 yeah, so you want to have some ability to put on the new 257 00:19:25.519 --> 00:19:27.759 growth. You don't want just that old wood. Now. One of the 258 00:19:27.839 --> 00:19:32.200 things that people often do with Annabelle that will make it flop even worse is 259 00:19:32.240 --> 00:19:34.279 they cut it to the ground. And so basically when you do that, 260 00:19:34.400 --> 00:19:38.440 you're forcing these plants to reinvent themselves. Every year there are a woody plant, 261 00:19:38.480 --> 00:19:42.240 there are a shrub that should have fairly sturdy wood stems. But if 262 00:19:42.279 --> 00:19:45.799 you keep hacking them back every year, they're coming back with herbaceous stems, 263 00:19:47.240 --> 00:19:51.160 not really getting a chance to develop that wood that really keeps those stems nice 264 00:19:51.160 --> 00:19:55.039 and upright. That's super important to make note of. I mean, all 265 00:19:55.119 --> 00:20:00.319 joking aside, that's the key to really enjoying these And I'm sure you put 266 00:20:00.359 --> 00:20:03.480 that in your copy. Oh, yes we do. If you buy an 267 00:20:03.519 --> 00:20:06.319 Incredible Blush, it's in the tag, it's on our websites. We do 268 00:20:06.400 --> 00:20:08.839 our best to make sure that you understand this. And also, some sun 269 00:20:10.839 --> 00:20:15.519 people tend to think of hydrangeas as shade plants, and certainly that's true if 270 00:20:15.519 --> 00:20:18.759 you live in a warm climate. They absolutely positively must have shade during the 271 00:20:18.839 --> 00:20:22.359 hottest part of the day, but some sun, especially in the morning is 272 00:20:22.480 --> 00:20:26.720 really going to help you not only get the strongest stems, but in a 273 00:20:26.799 --> 00:20:32.200 colorful variety like incredible blush, it's also going to help you get the best 274 00:20:32.279 --> 00:20:33.680 color. In too much shade, that color is going to go kind of 275 00:20:33.720 --> 00:20:37.920 muddy, not going to be as clear, and because the stems as they 276 00:20:38.000 --> 00:20:41.880 grow are going to stretch for the light in a very shaded spot, they're 277 00:20:41.960 --> 00:20:47.559 going to be weaker because they're elongated. So good sun at least four hours 278 00:20:47.680 --> 00:20:52.200 of bright sun every day is what we recommend for incredible blush. You can 279 00:20:52.240 --> 00:20:55.079 even in a cooler climate, or if you have irrigation and malt, you 280 00:20:55.160 --> 00:20:57.079 can even take that up to six or more hours of sun each day. 281 00:20:57.559 --> 00:21:02.000 Really not a problem. If you see it in the wild, you're going 282 00:21:02.039 --> 00:21:03.680 to see that it's generally growing sort of on the edge of the woods, 283 00:21:04.200 --> 00:21:07.359 so it's not deep in the forest where it's completely covered by trees and in 284 00:21:07.440 --> 00:21:11.799 deep shade. It's on those edges where it's able to get filtered sunlight but 285 00:21:12.000 --> 00:21:15.240 a little bit of shade and protection from the woods. So I'm going to 286 00:21:15.799 --> 00:21:22.160 represent the folks that don't work with hydranges every day like you, and that 287 00:21:22.519 --> 00:21:26.319 is their eyes start to glaze over and they're like, all this hydrange of 288 00:21:26.359 --> 00:21:32.960 talk. I get confused because newwood, old wood, all these different types 289 00:21:33.000 --> 00:21:36.160 of hydranges. How do I figure that out? Well, folks, that's 290 00:21:36.200 --> 00:21:40.400 why the Gardening Simplified Show is around because in our next segment we're going to 291 00:21:40.480 --> 00:21:42.599 tackle that. We are going to tackle it as best we can in ten 292 00:21:42.640 --> 00:21:47.160 minutes. Ten minutes definitely a ten minute plus topic. But you know, 293 00:21:47.200 --> 00:21:49.519 we've always got our show notes at Gardening Simplified on air dot com. We're 294 00:21:49.519 --> 00:21:52.559 gonna take a little break. We're gonna get our bearings. We're gonna get 295 00:21:52.640 --> 00:21:57.119 ready to give you a whole bunch of information about hydranges because it's hydrange of 296 00:21:57.119 --> 00:22:07.799 season. It's July hydrange of season here, so please stay tuned. At 297 00:22:07.880 --> 00:22:12.200 proven Winner's color Choice, we've got a shrub for every taste and every space. 298 00:22:12.559 --> 00:22:17.839 Whether you're looking for an easycare rose, an unforgettable hydrangea, or something 299 00:22:17.920 --> 00:22:21.319 new and unique, you can be confident that the shrubs and the white containers 300 00:22:21.400 --> 00:22:25.079 have been trialed and tested for your success. Look for them at your local 301 00:22:25.160 --> 00:22:32.000 garden center. Creating's gardening friends and welcome back to the Gardening Simplified Show. 302 00:22:32.880 --> 00:22:34.960 We love answering your garden questions, and if you have one, you can 303 00:22:36.000 --> 00:22:40.079 certainly reach out to us at help HLP at Gardening Simplified OnAir dot com, 304 00:22:40.440 --> 00:22:42.400 or just visit Gardening Simplified on air dot com. We've got a contact form 305 00:22:42.480 --> 00:22:48.160 there, and I haven't had a lot of questions come in on the website 306 00:22:48.400 --> 00:22:52.599 yet, but it's July now, and it is the season where the most 307 00:22:52.720 --> 00:23:00.519 common garden question starts to be asked in large numbers, and that is why 308 00:23:00.640 --> 00:23:04.000 is in my hydrangea blooming? And you know, I get it, like 309 00:23:04.240 --> 00:23:07.799 people, Hydrangs are really confusing to people, and I'm going to explain why 310 00:23:07.960 --> 00:23:12.279 that is and help you figure this out. But not only are hydranges a 311 00:23:12.319 --> 00:23:15.839 little bit confusing to people, I don't think that's necessary, so we'll try 312 00:23:15.880 --> 00:23:19.359 to demystify them for you. But they're beautiful and when people plan a hydrangea, 313 00:23:19.400 --> 00:23:25.319 they so look forward to seeing those flowers, so it's a huge disappointment 314 00:23:25.759 --> 00:23:30.359 when they don't, and it's difficult sometimes to understand why it is. People 315 00:23:30.400 --> 00:23:34.319 will go and buy a beautiful hydrangea and then they're like, well, well, 316 00:23:34.359 --> 00:23:37.920 what happens I plant it in? Am I just like not capable of 317 00:23:37.960 --> 00:23:40.799 gardening. No, that's not the case. You're absolutely capable of gardening. 318 00:23:40.880 --> 00:23:44.279 You just need to have an understanding of what you're dealing with. So we're 319 00:23:44.319 --> 00:23:45.640 going to try to break this down for you. The first thing I want 320 00:23:45.759 --> 00:23:52.319 everyone to know is that if you bought a hydrangea last year and it was 321 00:23:52.400 --> 00:23:56.200 flowering when you bought it in say, May, June something like that, 322 00:23:56.839 --> 00:24:00.039 it's not at all unusual that it would not be flowering now. And that's 323 00:24:00.119 --> 00:24:03.200 not because it can't flower its first year after it was planted in the ground. 324 00:24:03.599 --> 00:24:07.559 It's because it bloomed earlier the year that you bought it. As Rick 325 00:24:07.599 --> 00:24:12.720 could certainly tell you. When plants come to the garden center from the grower, 326 00:24:14.160 --> 00:24:18.079 they've usually been taken out of a cold area or put into early heat 327 00:24:18.160 --> 00:24:22.000 so that they start growing and hopefully start flowering. Because everyone knows that you 328 00:24:22.119 --> 00:24:25.559 like to buy plants in bloom, not something that doesn't have any flowers on 329 00:24:25.640 --> 00:24:30.599 it. Well, yeah, and you know it causes people to buy impulsively. 330 00:24:30.839 --> 00:24:34.160 I mean, you know, I'll admit it. I mean, if 331 00:24:34.200 --> 00:24:37.640 it's in bloom and it's beautiful, and who doesn't want to do that? 332 00:24:37.839 --> 00:24:42.279 Walk through a beautiful garden center and be inspired and buy something impulsively. Right, 333 00:24:42.400 --> 00:24:45.359 So, if you bought your hydrangel last year and it's not flowering yet, 334 00:24:45.599 --> 00:24:49.319 don't panic. You were kind of you weren't misled, but it was 335 00:24:49.400 --> 00:24:52.680 not blooming at the same time that it's going to bloom now that it's in 336 00:24:52.720 --> 00:24:56.839 your yard, now that it's been through winter and under more natural conditions. 337 00:24:56.920 --> 00:25:03.279 So don't panic about that. That's a nice easy answer. Those panical hydronical 338 00:25:03.440 --> 00:25:08.200 Yes, yes, if you tend to panic about hydrangeas, panical hydrangeas are 339 00:25:08.279 --> 00:25:15.279 for you. So the next most common reason that hydrangea doesn't bloom is improper 340 00:25:15.480 --> 00:25:22.680 pruning. And this is where things get a little bit hairy, because it 341 00:25:22.039 --> 00:25:26.519 is confusing for people. You know, people tend to approach hydrangeas as a 342 00:25:26.640 --> 00:25:30.640 monolith and they think that all of the hydrangeas that they see in their garden 343 00:25:30.680 --> 00:25:33.920 centers are growing the same way, are going to be treated the same way, 344 00:25:33.960 --> 00:25:36.240 and that's not quite the case. Now, it's not that it's super 345 00:25:36.319 --> 00:25:38.559 complicated and you can't learn it. But it's not like I said, it's 346 00:25:38.599 --> 00:25:41.160 not a monolith where you can just kind of, you know, internalize one 347 00:25:41.240 --> 00:25:47.640 simple fact and then apply that, reiterate that overall of your hydrangeas. So 348 00:25:48.759 --> 00:25:52.240 some hydranges, and we were talking about incredible blush bloom on new wood, 349 00:25:52.279 --> 00:25:56.319 so incredible blush, smooth hydrangeas like that, like Annabelle, like incredible, 350 00:25:56.759 --> 00:26:00.839 like the Invincible series, blooms on new wood, and venacle hydranges like Limelight. 351 00:26:00.920 --> 00:26:04.960 These are also known as peg hydranges. Those also bloom on new wood. 352 00:26:06.319 --> 00:26:10.559 So what that means is that when they leaf out in spring, they 353 00:26:10.599 --> 00:26:12.720 don't have any flower buds on them. They start to create their flower buds 354 00:26:12.799 --> 00:26:18.599 as spring develops and those flower buds come out. So it's okay to prune 355 00:26:18.640 --> 00:26:22.400 those two types in late winter in early spring because there's no flower buds on 356 00:26:22.519 --> 00:26:26.680 them. Now, the converse of that is some hydranges that bloom on old 357 00:26:26.759 --> 00:26:30.400 wood. And these are big leaf hydranges. So this is the really popular 358 00:26:30.480 --> 00:26:34.839 type with a big pink blue purple flowers with a round flower heads. Oak 359 00:26:34.920 --> 00:26:38.440 leaf hydrangees which you can see here kind of blurry in our background, and 360 00:26:40.079 --> 00:26:44.240 climbing hydrange of vine and mountain hydranges, which are closely related to the big 361 00:26:44.319 --> 00:26:48.720 leaf hydranges. Now, these four types all bloom on old wood. There's 362 00:26:48.759 --> 00:26:51.680 a term that gets thrown at around a lot without a lot of explanation, 363 00:26:52.160 --> 00:26:55.759 but basically what that means is that as soon as they finished blooming or would 364 00:26:55.799 --> 00:26:59.880 have bloomed in the summer, they're going to start making their flower buds four 365 00:27:00.160 --> 00:27:03.160 next summer. So by the time fall rolls around and they're going dormant, 366 00:27:03.440 --> 00:27:07.680 they're actually covered in flower buds. Sure you can't see them, you don't 367 00:27:07.720 --> 00:27:11.160 know they're there, but they are actually present on the plant. And you 368 00:27:11.240 --> 00:27:15.880 know, I love hydrangeas, but I swear they try to tempt people into 369 00:27:15.960 --> 00:27:21.720 cutting them back because they just look so ghastly and fall. They look like 370 00:27:21.799 --> 00:27:23.839 they should be cut back. Correct. This spen, my experience and I 371 00:27:25.000 --> 00:27:30.440 have found with people, is about the time that they start thinking about hanging 372 00:27:30.960 --> 00:27:33.920 Christmas lights on the house and they go out there and they look at the 373 00:27:34.039 --> 00:27:37.960 landscape. Maybe they're going to drape some lights in the shrubbery, and they 374 00:27:38.000 --> 00:27:44.279 see those sticks. Well, let's clean this up, let's chop it back, 375 00:27:44.400 --> 00:27:47.920 and you know, step away from the pruning cheers and nobody gets hurt. 376 00:27:48.799 --> 00:27:51.680 And you know, sticks is exactly right. They look like a pile 377 00:27:51.720 --> 00:27:53.839 of dead sticks. They aren't dead. They have flower buds all over them. 378 00:27:53.839 --> 00:27:56.680 You should not gut the meck. But they really look like they should 379 00:27:56.680 --> 00:28:00.759 be cut back. Its oak leaf less so but certainly the big leaf and 380 00:28:00.799 --> 00:28:03.559 mountain hydranges, they really look like they should be cut back. But if 381 00:28:03.599 --> 00:28:07.519 you do cut the neck, you are removing the flower buds for the following 382 00:28:07.680 --> 00:28:11.799 summer. And that is the number one reason that those type of hydranges don't 383 00:28:11.839 --> 00:28:15.319 bloom. And I'll tell you, I've heard from so many people who are 384 00:28:15.359 --> 00:28:18.319 like, oh, my son was home from college and thought he'd clean up 385 00:28:18.359 --> 00:28:22.519 my garden and he cut them back. Or you know, I hired a 386 00:28:22.599 --> 00:28:26.119 landscape company and they just came through here and treated everything the same as Another 387 00:28:26.240 --> 00:28:33.039 common reason or the deer or the deer for sure happening deer. All hydrangeas 388 00:28:33.079 --> 00:28:37.720 are susceptible too deer damage. Some are more beloved than others. Unfortunately, 389 00:28:37.799 --> 00:28:41.000 the two that bloom on new wood, panicle and smooth hydranges tend to be 390 00:28:41.079 --> 00:28:45.559 the most favored by deer in my experience in my I don't grow big leaf 391 00:28:45.640 --> 00:28:49.119 hydrangeas. My garden's too dry, but a lot of people in my neighborhood 392 00:28:49.160 --> 00:28:53.200 do, and they don't seem to knock on wood bother them all that much. 393 00:28:53.559 --> 00:28:56.480 And I do grow oak leaf hydrangeas, and those have actually reached a 394 00:28:56.559 --> 00:29:00.079 hYP where the deer can't reach them anymore, so they the flowers or they 395 00:29:00.119 --> 00:29:03.319 can reach, and beyond that we're good to go. I have beautiful flowers 396 00:29:03.359 --> 00:29:08.160 this year. I love my mountain hydranges. Now would tough stuff be considered 397 00:29:08.200 --> 00:29:12.039 a mountain ranger? Okay? And I love my mountain hydranges. And for 398 00:29:12.160 --> 00:29:15.160 two years in a row, I had the deer eat them all the way 399 00:29:15.240 --> 00:29:18.559 down to the ground. And they were beautiful plants, but they weren't blooming 400 00:29:18.640 --> 00:29:22.720 the way I wanted them to, generally a very tough hydrangea. When I 401 00:29:23.000 --> 00:29:30.079 moved them to the compound and they got compound status and the deer left them, 402 00:29:30.359 --> 00:29:33.480 wow did they bloom beautifully? Yeah. It was just a great example. 403 00:29:33.720 --> 00:29:36.920 That's like a type of pruning, right, it's just pruning by deer 404 00:29:37.039 --> 00:29:41.039 teeth instead of pruners. So that's another reason. But you know, if 405 00:29:41.079 --> 00:29:44.400 you've already pruned them last fall or spring, and that's why it's not bloing. 406 00:29:44.680 --> 00:29:48.599 There's unfortunately nothing you can really do about it now, but you can 407 00:29:48.839 --> 00:29:52.039 actually know better for next year. So you know, there's always next year. 408 00:29:52.039 --> 00:29:55.440 It's like a gardener's mantra, right, and there's always next year. 409 00:29:56.039 --> 00:29:59.319 And so the third reason, and again this is only going to apply to 410 00:29:59.440 --> 00:30:03.000 these old wood blooming hydranges that keep their flowers on the plant over winter, 411 00:30:04.559 --> 00:30:08.720 is cold damage. Yes, and this is especially true the cool Obviously, 412 00:30:08.759 --> 00:30:11.599 the colder climate you live in, the more likely this is to be the 413 00:30:11.680 --> 00:30:15.279 cause of your hydrange and not blooming. But it does even happen to people 414 00:30:15.400 --> 00:30:19.440 in milder climates, not because of winter cold, but because of spring frost. 415 00:30:21.519 --> 00:30:23.880 And so what happens is, you know, spring starts coming along, 416 00:30:23.960 --> 00:30:26.799 it's getting a little nice, it's getting a little warm. Your plants like, 417 00:30:26.839 --> 00:30:30.240 oh hey, this is great, I'm going to leaf out, and 418 00:30:30.119 --> 00:30:37.640 then blamo, spring frost and it just fries that bud because that bud that's 419 00:30:37.680 --> 00:30:41.720 on the plant has been left increasingly open by that opening foliage. And this 420 00:30:41.920 --> 00:30:45.440 is a this is a problem for people even in you know, like I 421 00:30:45.480 --> 00:30:48.279 said, warmer climates, and it's cold climates and warm climates equally. Now, 422 00:30:48.440 --> 00:30:52.200 the fortunate thing is when it comes to protecting them from those spring frosts, 423 00:30:52.319 --> 00:30:55.720 it's pretty easy. All you have to do is like throw an old 424 00:30:55.759 --> 00:30:59.559 blanket or towel over them just for as long as that frost or freeze threatens. 425 00:31:00.279 --> 00:31:02.880 When it's over, you just take it off. They've been protected, 426 00:31:02.960 --> 00:31:07.279 you know. Just keeping that freezing cold air from contacting that tender foliage and 427 00:31:07.400 --> 00:31:11.039 flower bud protects them sufficiently to preserve the bloom. Yeah, here in the 428 00:31:11.119 --> 00:31:14.880 north, it's usually a couple of weeks. And what I see happens Stacy 429 00:31:15.359 --> 00:31:18.519 here in Michigan. I've seen a number of times is the warm up in 430 00:31:18.759 --> 00:31:23.400 March April gets nice and warrant those buds swell, and usually right around Arbor 431 00:31:23.480 --> 00:31:26.400 Day the end of April, we get one of those nights where it's like 432 00:31:26.559 --> 00:31:30.200 in the mid twenties for five or six hours or yea, that's when we 433 00:31:30.319 --> 00:31:33.440 do that. Damn exactly, so easy to protect against that. Now, 434 00:31:33.519 --> 00:31:37.759 if it's dying from the winter, and the way you're going to know if 435 00:31:37.799 --> 00:31:41.880 your hydrangea is not blooming because of winter cold is that when it does start 436 00:31:41.920 --> 00:31:44.680 to leaf out in you know, March, April or whenever that is. 437 00:31:45.039 --> 00:31:48.839 You've got nothing but sticks and you only have like some foliage emerging down at 438 00:31:48.880 --> 00:31:52.000 the base. That means your plant died back from winter cold. And your 439 00:31:52.039 --> 00:31:56.759 solution there is either going to be to protect it with some sort of structure, 440 00:31:56.200 --> 00:32:00.160 you know, like a wire filled with old leaves, or like Rick 441 00:32:00.240 --> 00:32:04.559 did, move it, move it to a more protected spot. It's certainly 442 00:32:04.640 --> 00:32:08.799 worth trying to move it before you just give up on it. Because hydrangees 443 00:32:08.799 --> 00:32:12.319 are one of those plants. You know, most plants that we talk about 444 00:32:12.680 --> 00:32:15.039 pretty easy going. You can pop it in the ground, it's going to 445 00:32:15.119 --> 00:32:19.160 do great. Hydrangees are one that need a little bit of consideration for their 446 00:32:19.200 --> 00:32:21.839 sighting. So we are already out of time. I knew this is going 447 00:32:21.880 --> 00:32:23.519 to happen. There's just so much to tell, but fortunately we have the 448 00:32:23.559 --> 00:32:28.160 show notes with lots of good information, including a link to our hydrange Is 449 00:32:28.200 --> 00:32:30.839 Domistified Info sheet, which is going to give you everything you need to know 450 00:32:30.319 --> 00:32:34.599 to become a hydrange of expert gardening Simplified on air dot com. We're going 451 00:32:34.640 --> 00:32:36.759 to take a little break when we come back. We got branching news. 452 00:32:42.680 --> 00:32:45.880 The Gardening Simplified Show is brought to you by proven Winners Color Choice Shrubs. 453 00:32:46.279 --> 00:32:52.160 Our award winning flowering shrubs and evergreens have been trialed and tested for your success 454 00:32:52.559 --> 00:32:55.839 so you enjoy more beauty and less work. Look for proven Winners Color Choice 455 00:32:55.839 --> 00:33:02.599 Shrubs in the distinctive white container at your local gardens and he welcome back to 456 00:33:02.680 --> 00:33:07.640 the Gardening Simplified Show. It's time for branching news. Not breaking news, 457 00:33:07.759 --> 00:33:09.599 branching news. But we don't make this stuff up, folks. As a 458 00:33:09.680 --> 00:33:14.880 matter of fact, I'll start right off the top stacy with a study. 459 00:33:14.960 --> 00:33:19.440 We're going to post it at our website, Gardening Simplified on air dot com. 460 00:33:19.680 --> 00:33:24.119 And that is the top sense that people enjoy the most at home. 461 00:33:25.119 --> 00:33:30.680 So there you go, the favorite sense. And what was number one on 462 00:33:30.759 --> 00:33:36.920 the list? Floral sense flowers, potpourri. I like that. I thought 463 00:33:36.960 --> 00:33:40.000 it was going to be like cinnamon, non't floral sense. Yeah, I 464 00:33:40.160 --> 00:33:45.759 was thinking chocolate chip cookies, that's you know, in the oven. Floral 465 00:33:45.839 --> 00:33:52.559 sense. Citrus sense came in number two, lemon and orange. Clean and 466 00:33:52.880 --> 00:33:59.400 sanitizing sense like bleach, chlorine, that sort of thing. I mean, 467 00:34:00.039 --> 00:34:05.400 I guess it's clean and baked goods. There you go, number four. 468 00:34:05.480 --> 00:34:09.960 And then would natural sense like cedar, pine, fresh cut grass, that 469 00:34:10.159 --> 00:34:15.000 sort of thing the top sents that people enjoy most at home. So I 470 00:34:15.079 --> 00:34:17.760 don't know. I guess you can debate it. These people just gave their 471 00:34:19.199 --> 00:34:22.639 two cents, so to speak. I'm wondering, Okay, so citrus is 472 00:34:22.760 --> 00:34:27.320 number two? Does that mean citrus flowers or citrus fruit? Good question? 473 00:34:27.639 --> 00:34:30.960 So the flowers are in the floral sense or is it all in the citrus 474 00:34:31.440 --> 00:34:37.239 categories? Anything that smells like citrus, all right, then probably the flowers 475 00:34:37.280 --> 00:34:39.440 in the flower categories. I love the smell of citrus flowers though, Oh 476 00:34:39.559 --> 00:34:44.599 man, that's amazing. It's amazing. Oh yeah, lemon, It's nostalgic, 477 00:34:45.119 --> 00:34:47.840 is what it is. All right. On a serious note here, 478 00:34:49.039 --> 00:34:52.880 I did want to touch on this in Branching News because it's something I've been 479 00:34:52.000 --> 00:34:59.920 following all spring. But vineyards and apple orchards across the Northeast are still gage 480 00:35:00.280 --> 00:35:05.320 damage from a late seasoned frost in May. So we had a very serious 481 00:35:05.480 --> 00:35:10.719 frost in May that wiped out a third, or for a number of growers, 482 00:35:12.320 --> 00:35:15.599 a huge amount of their crop. This spring. They're saying the worst 483 00:35:15.719 --> 00:35:22.639 frost damage that they have ever seen. Some states are seeking federal disaster declarations 484 00:35:22.400 --> 00:35:27.760 that would make low interest loans and other programs available to affected growers, while 485 00:35:27.880 --> 00:35:35.079 agricultural officials across the region are contemplating together asking the US Department of Agriculture for 486 00:35:35.280 --> 00:35:40.519 direct aid to these farmers. So Stacy in the North Northeast, things like 487 00:35:42.000 --> 00:35:45.960 the vineyards, fruit fruit growers, they really took a hit this spring, 488 00:35:46.280 --> 00:35:50.599 right, sounds like their hydrange and up bloomings least to their worries exactly. 489 00:35:50.760 --> 00:35:54.840 I mean, it was a devastating frost this spring. So our thoughts are 490 00:35:54.920 --> 00:36:01.800 with those folks there in the Northeast and as they try to recover from that 491 00:36:02.079 --> 00:36:07.039 heavy frost. And again that happened like in mid May, so everything was 492 00:36:07.239 --> 00:36:10.360 totally flushed out. Yeah, and that's when you see serious. We had 493 00:36:10.440 --> 00:36:13.519 it. We had it. It got pretty cold for us, but I 494 00:36:13.599 --> 00:36:17.239 know in many areas it was really really bad. So all right, so 495 00:36:17.800 --> 00:36:23.559 here we go. It was a few weeks ago that we did our watering 496 00:36:23.880 --> 00:36:29.639 show. I just wet my plants and I went off on a rant about 497 00:36:29.840 --> 00:36:36.119 sprinklers and hoses and that sort of thing. And I'm amazed at the amount 498 00:36:36.280 --> 00:36:45.679 of feedback that I have received. And interestingly enough and overwhelmingly you felt my 499 00:36:45.960 --> 00:36:50.800 pain and stacy. Folks are telling me to get this hoselink thing. I 500 00:36:50.920 --> 00:36:52.760 looked it up. Did you look at it? I looked at up. 501 00:36:52.800 --> 00:36:55.239 That's an interesting product. It is an interesting product. But it amazed me. 502 00:36:55.480 --> 00:37:01.320 How how folks just I mean too, I mean it was overwhelming. 503 00:37:01.360 --> 00:37:07.840 It was rick hoselink, rick hoselink, and you'll fix your fix your problem. 504 00:37:07.000 --> 00:37:10.519 So to say thank you, I thought I would write a limb, 505 00:37:10.719 --> 00:37:17.119 a rick about hoses and sprinklers as opposed to going off on a off on 506 00:37:17.400 --> 00:37:21.559 a rant. And one of the things that I thought about doing was, 507 00:37:22.039 --> 00:37:25.719 you know, I'm going to try and create a limerick using artificial intelligence. 508 00:37:27.800 --> 00:37:31.199 It's our Ahi is good at rhyming. It crashed and burned. I thought 509 00:37:31.239 --> 00:37:35.679 it was totally lame. Here's what it came up with. There once was 510 00:37:35.760 --> 00:37:40.159 a sprinkler so bold. It's water sprayed freely, untold with a rhythmic spray. 511 00:37:40.280 --> 00:37:45.840 It made flowers sway and turned summer's heat into gold. Yeah, it's 512 00:37:45.960 --> 00:37:49.119 nice, but it's kind of like something you'd find on a Hallmark card. 513 00:37:49.360 --> 00:37:52.960 Right all told or that that was a little bit of a questionable word choice. 514 00:37:53.119 --> 00:37:58.480 Yeah, exactly. So I decided to create my own limb a Rick 515 00:37:58.760 --> 00:38:02.280 because my name is in limb a rick if you haven't caught that already. 516 00:38:02.639 --> 00:38:07.360 So here we go. Here's my limerick as a thank you for all those 517 00:38:07.440 --> 00:38:12.639 hoselink people out there who are going to cause me to buy a hoselingk contraption. 518 00:38:13.320 --> 00:38:16.679 One of my sprinklers is oscillation, the others supposed to be pulsation, 519 00:38:17.360 --> 00:38:22.519 but nothing. Their wedding just stuck on one setting, resulting in my frustration. 520 00:38:22.800 --> 00:38:27.800 Oh my hose is kinked. It's just dripping, and my patients, 521 00:38:27.920 --> 00:38:30.920 well, it's just flipping. I'll buy anything, I'll give it a fling, 522 00:38:31.639 --> 00:38:36.400 just send it my way. I'll pay the shipping. So thanks for 523 00:38:36.639 --> 00:38:42.480 understanding my ordeal. I'll be buying a new hose reel. You could say, 524 00:38:42.519 --> 00:38:49.480 I'm skeptical to buy another receptacle irrigations my Achilles heel. So there's my 525 00:38:49.719 --> 00:38:53.079 limerick for all the advice that folks gave me. I love it. You 526 00:38:53.119 --> 00:38:58.199 know, anything that makes watering easier, whatever your least favorite garden chore is 527 00:38:58.880 --> 00:39:01.039 anything that makes it easy year is worth investing in. Well. I think 528 00:39:01.159 --> 00:39:07.119 they understood just intuitively from watching and listening to the show that, for example, 529 00:39:07.239 --> 00:39:12.760 at home, if there's a plumbing project to be done and I engage 530 00:39:12.840 --> 00:39:16.719 in it, it's generally a disaster. Oh it includes twenty trips back and 531 00:39:16.880 --> 00:39:23.599 forth to the home improvement store and it's still leaking after that. So there 532 00:39:23.679 --> 00:39:27.800 you have it. There's a reason why plumbers are paid. So that's right, 533 00:39:28.199 --> 00:39:32.039 exactly skills, and I'm more than happy to pay them to do the 534 00:39:32.199 --> 00:39:37.800 work. Police officers utilized a YouTube app on their phones to play a series 535 00:39:37.840 --> 00:39:44.000 of mother Duck calls to lure ducklings that had fallen through a storm grate into 536 00:39:44.280 --> 00:39:46.000 the opening. Now this was in New York, I believe it was on 537 00:39:46.159 --> 00:39:53.719 Long Island, and so all four ducklings responded to the sounds and waddled their 538 00:39:53.880 --> 00:39:59.119 way to safety and back to mom. So what a cool thing. These 539 00:39:59.199 --> 00:40:05.159 police officers utilized a YouTube app to get these four ducklings that have fallen to 540 00:40:05.320 --> 00:40:09.239 their peril in through the storm. Great to get them to waddle their way 541 00:40:09.320 --> 00:40:14.079 back to safety and mom. Now that is cool. I love it. 542 00:40:14.199 --> 00:40:19.239 I also love imagining this conversation with the police officers. Danny, what are 543 00:40:19.239 --> 00:40:22.880 you gonna do? Oh, I know, let's try your YouTube video. 544 00:40:23.159 --> 00:40:25.960 And then they're holding it. That's so cute. They all took it in 545 00:40:27.079 --> 00:40:30.039 stride. They said, put it on my bill. You know there was 546 00:40:30.039 --> 00:40:34.880 a quack in the sidewalk. Actually they asked these ducklings to show their proper 547 00:40:35.199 --> 00:40:39.480 documents. I'll stop now. Nah, maybe they'll create a documentary about this. 548 00:40:39.880 --> 00:40:45.320 Okay, watch it serious note here to end up branching news this week, 549 00:40:45.840 --> 00:40:50.360 and I want to ask you this question, Stacy. We'll post the 550 00:40:50.440 --> 00:40:59.039 story at Gardening Simplified OnAir dot com. But why is grass the only acceptable 551 00:40:59.199 --> 00:41:01.519 planting material in the right of way? Now? The right of way, 552 00:41:01.559 --> 00:41:07.480 of course, is that area between a homeowner's sidewalk and the street curb. 553 00:41:07.920 --> 00:41:12.039 You will see some people getting pretty creative and then of course, yeah, 554 00:41:12.119 --> 00:41:15.960 you run the risk that they're going to dig it up, and so you 555 00:41:15.159 --> 00:41:19.960 plant grass. But in Canada a lot of talk about this. I found 556 00:41:20.000 --> 00:41:24.079 an interesting story on it. Will post the story at Gardening Simplified OnAir dot 557 00:41:24.159 --> 00:41:28.280 com. But I mean, is there something better than grass to put in 558 00:41:28.400 --> 00:41:31.599 that right away? In your opinion? Or oh, yes, lots of 559 00:41:31.679 --> 00:41:36.800 things. I mean, I think a lot of people who are gardeners probably 560 00:41:37.039 --> 00:41:39.800 get their gardens in their yard all set and then they start eyeballing that right 561 00:41:39.880 --> 00:41:43.800 away, or the Eastman ills and they're like, hey, you know, 562 00:41:44.000 --> 00:41:47.159 there's a lot more planting space over there. Look kind of cool. Yeah. 563 00:41:47.199 --> 00:41:51.599 So I actually just this morning, in fact, was talking to my 564 00:41:51.719 --> 00:41:54.639 husband about planting some seed them. We just had some construction. They replaced 565 00:41:54.639 --> 00:41:58.760 our water supply line and it's all torn up, and I didn't want to 566 00:41:58.760 --> 00:42:00.960 start grass because it's the middle summer and you know, and so I thought 567 00:42:01.000 --> 00:42:05.480 about planting some like groundcovering seedums in there. That's not a bad idea. 568 00:42:05.559 --> 00:42:09.199 See my problem is come March April, I always have snowplow disease out there. 569 00:42:09.480 --> 00:42:14.800 Yeah you know, I see yucky. Yeah, you know, just 570 00:42:14.920 --> 00:42:16.920 torn up by the snowplow. Well, if it's a groundcover seatum, you 571 00:42:16.960 --> 00:42:22.159 got nothing to worry about the snowplows the troubles, dude, not it's impact 572 00:42:22.239 --> 00:42:27.920 that whatsoever. Finally, on today for Branching News, just want to mention 573 00:42:28.119 --> 00:42:32.280 last week we got a chance to talk to Adriana Robinson, and you know, 574 00:42:32.400 --> 00:42:36.159 I was thinking what would be loads of fun, as if you can 575 00:42:36.239 --> 00:42:39.599 be sending us some pictures also. Okay, we want your questions at Gardening 576 00:42:39.679 --> 00:42:44.360 Simplified on air dot com, but boys send us some stuff too, like 577 00:42:44.639 --> 00:42:49.239 stories or thoughts or and thank you to those of you who have, but 578 00:42:49.400 --> 00:42:53.000 also pictures because I want to see your gardens or maybe your public right of 579 00:42:53.079 --> 00:42:57.760 way show me what I should be planting. Aside from right, it's the 580 00:42:57.880 --> 00:43:00.199 height of the garden season and we would absolutely love to see what you're proud 581 00:43:00.280 --> 00:43:05.400 of and what you've got going and we can share the same. Yeah. 582 00:43:05.559 --> 00:43:09.559 Absolutely, Thank you Stacy, thank you Adrianna, our producer and engineer of 583 00:43:09.599 --> 00:43:14.159 the Gardening Simplified Show, And most of all, thanks to you for tuning 584 00:43:14.239 --> 00:43:17.920 us in on YouTube, listening to the podcast, listening to us on radio, 585 00:43:19.039 --> 00:43:22.719 share it with friends and neighbors, have yourself a great view.