WEBVTT 1 00:00:02.359 --> 00:00:07.000 Coming to you from Studio A here at Proven Winners Color Choice Shrubs. It's 2 00:00:07.040 --> 00:00:12.519 only natural that we chat today on the Gardening Simplified show. What's Stacy? 3 00:00:12.560 --> 00:00:18.359 Hervella me, Rick weisst and our engineer and producer Adrianna Robinson. Okay, 4 00:00:18.359 --> 00:00:23.640 Stacy, should you only plant native plants? Maybe today is going to be 5 00:00:23.679 --> 00:00:27.800 a little bit of a controversial show. We haven't had this much controversy since 6 00:00:27.839 --> 00:00:32.640 we tried to define the color blue. So let's have at it here and 7 00:00:32.759 --> 00:00:36.280 talk about native plants. Well, I think you've really gotten us off on 8 00:00:36.320 --> 00:00:41.200 a controversial start by saying should you only plant native plants? Because that is 9 00:00:41.280 --> 00:00:45.840 a that is an extreme way to start this discussion. It's an extreme way. 10 00:00:45.920 --> 00:00:49.640 And here's why I said that and phrased it that way. Working in 11 00:00:49.679 --> 00:00:52.840 the garden center and in the greenhouse, I would have people who would come 12 00:00:53.240 --> 00:00:57.560 walk in and say, where are the native plants? And I'm only going 13 00:00:57.640 --> 00:01:04.400 to plant native plants And I'll ask them why and they can't really answer me. 14 00:01:06.000 --> 00:01:07.359 And it's a real struggle for me. As a matter of fact, 15 00:01:07.359 --> 00:01:11.680 Here at Proven Winter's Color Choice Shrubs, Tim Wood says, we live in 16 00:01:11.760 --> 00:01:17.719 the Golden Age of plant breeding. That's true, and it's true. He's 17 00:01:17.840 --> 00:01:21.599 right exactly. And so I think about these things. I think about like 18 00:01:21.719 --> 00:01:26.920 someone like Henry Ford when he invented mass production in the vehicle, and it 19 00:01:27.000 --> 00:01:32.680 is said that he was quoted as saying that, you know, did you 20 00:01:32.760 --> 00:01:34.840 consult with people on this? And he said no, if I asked people 21 00:01:34.879 --> 00:01:40.159 what they wanted, they just would have asked for faster horses. Now, 22 00:01:40.239 --> 00:01:42.959 it's arguable whether or not he ever said that, but one thing he did 23 00:01:44.000 --> 00:01:48.920 say, and that is, if you want your car in a certain color, 24 00:01:49.400 --> 00:01:52.400 it's all good as long as you get it in black. Right. 25 00:01:52.560 --> 00:01:55.719 Yes, famously that he did say. Famously, he did say that, 26 00:01:56.120 --> 00:01:57.640 So we live in this golden age. And then, you know, in 27 00:01:57.680 --> 00:02:02.519 American history, I think of somebody like Lady Bird Johnson, the first lady 28 00:02:02.599 --> 00:02:08.080 and wife of Lyndon Baines Johnson, and a person who's totally into native plants. 29 00:02:08.080 --> 00:02:12.800 And when she was asked why she had so much interest in wildflowers and 30 00:02:13.560 --> 00:02:16.240 native plants, she said, well, this is such an amazing, wonderful 31 00:02:16.280 --> 00:02:22.240 country and if I'm going to be in Texas, I want it to look 32 00:02:22.360 --> 00:02:24.840 like Texas. If I'm going to be in Vermont. I want it to 33 00:02:24.919 --> 00:02:30.479 look like Vermont. So, you know, native plants is a fascinating subject. 34 00:02:30.560 --> 00:02:34.080 And you know, I'm glad that you brought up Lady Bird Johnson because 35 00:02:34.360 --> 00:02:38.960 the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center is in Austin and is a marvelous I have 36 00:02:38.039 --> 00:02:43.120 not been fortunate enough to visit it, but marvelous place to learn more about 37 00:02:43.159 --> 00:02:47.000 Texas native plants. But their website, wildflower dot org is one of my 38 00:02:47.240 --> 00:02:53.280 absolute, hands down favorite resources for native plants on the entire internet. So 39 00:02:53.319 --> 00:02:54.599 when I'm looking, you know, and I'm trying to help, when I'm 40 00:02:54.599 --> 00:02:58.840 researching the show and I'm trying to help people garden, It's one of my 41 00:02:58.919 --> 00:03:02.840 go to spots to learn about where plants are native to what benefit they have 42 00:03:04.000 --> 00:03:07.800 to wildlife. And I find it to be just an invaluable resource. Yeah, 43 00:03:07.879 --> 00:03:12.639 I agree, it's an amazing thing. So talking to Kevin Hurd yesterday 44 00:03:12.680 --> 00:03:15.000 at Proven Winners, Kevin said to me, I like to use native plants 45 00:03:15.000 --> 00:03:22.240 because of their adaptability, and that doesn't mean that non natives aren't adaptable. 46 00:03:22.919 --> 00:03:27.840 It limits your garden palette if you were to only plant natives. In other 47 00:03:27.879 --> 00:03:30.759 words, I'll come right out and say that I am in the camp and 48 00:03:30.840 --> 00:03:38.439 with my landscape. Also, what I practice is I practice planting both natives 49 00:03:38.520 --> 00:03:43.199 and non natives. And I think as long as you're attuned to which plants 50 00:03:43.280 --> 00:03:49.319 are invasive or could potentially be invasive, and not plant those, not distribute 51 00:03:49.360 --> 00:03:53.599 those, then I think that the native plants and non natives can coexist. 52 00:03:53.800 --> 00:03:58.560 Yeah, they absolutely can. And I think you know that you make a 53 00:03:58.599 --> 00:04:01.280 really good point, and that a lot of people who are very vocal about 54 00:04:01.360 --> 00:04:05.840 native plants do treat it like is an all or nothing issue. You either 55 00:04:05.840 --> 00:04:09.840 have to be a completely native plant gardener or you shouldn't garden at all. 56 00:04:09.879 --> 00:04:15.000 And I think that that is there's no benefit in having such a hard line 57 00:04:15.080 --> 00:04:17.199 stance. And I think you know for myself, I do garden with a 58 00:04:17.199 --> 00:04:20.160 lot of native plants. I value gardening native plants, and I will tell 59 00:04:20.199 --> 00:04:26.639 you why, because I love bugs, and I specifically choose native plants because 60 00:04:26.680 --> 00:04:30.079 what I want out of my garden is to see a variety of insects. 61 00:04:30.079 --> 00:04:33.160 I want to watch the interaction of the plants, of the insects, of 62 00:04:33.199 --> 00:04:36.560 the birds, and that's where the value and the joy in the garden is 63 00:04:38.160 --> 00:04:40.879 for me, but I think everyone kind of needs to come up with their 64 00:04:40.920 --> 00:04:45.319 own reason for it, and then that will inform it. And I think 65 00:04:45.360 --> 00:04:48.240 that, you know, sometimes limiting your plant palette can actually be a valid 66 00:04:48.279 --> 00:04:51.839 reason. I know that people get very confused when they go to a garden 67 00:04:51.879 --> 00:04:56.920 center and there's you know, thousands of different plants, and you know, 68 00:04:56.959 --> 00:04:59.079 you may walk in and say, where are the native plants? This is 69 00:04:59.120 --> 00:05:03.040 how I am choosing to narrow down these endless options that otherwise I'll all well 70 00:05:03.199 --> 00:05:06.279 walk out of here empty handed because I don't know what to buy. So 71 00:05:06.319 --> 00:05:12.160 there's a lot of different reasons. But I don't think that it has to 72 00:05:12.160 --> 00:05:15.959 be extreme. And I also think that people might have a journey similar to 73 00:05:15.000 --> 00:05:19.399 mine. Whereas once I started growing native plants and I really enjoyed their set 74 00:05:19.399 --> 00:05:24.240 of contribution, I really enjoyed the insects and everything that they brought in, 75 00:05:24.639 --> 00:05:27.720 then I wanted more, and I did get to more. But it doesn't 76 00:05:27.720 --> 00:05:30.240 have to be like, Okay, right now, rip out your entire yard 77 00:05:30.639 --> 00:05:33.240 and transition everything over to native plants, and then you know, put yourself 78 00:05:33.279 --> 00:05:35.560 on the back and sit down for the next twenty years. It's not going 79 00:05:35.639 --> 00:05:39.120 to work that way. Yeah, I agree one hundred percent. I have 80 00:05:39.160 --> 00:05:42.600 a number of native plants in my landscape. But that's the point I'm trying 81 00:05:42.639 --> 00:05:46.360 to make is that I'm not going to go to an extreme as I view 82 00:05:46.399 --> 00:05:51.399 it, and plant all of just one thing. I think that they can 83 00:05:51.480 --> 00:05:57.000 coexist. I benefit from it. I think of plants Stacey, like basil 84 00:05:57.639 --> 00:06:02.439 or hack in the cloa, or hellebores or the red hot pokers that are 85 00:06:02.480 --> 00:06:08.160 in my yard, or even my beloved cannas. Right, if I decided, 86 00:06:08.160 --> 00:06:11.800 well, I'm only gonna plant native, I wouldn't be enjoying those plants 87 00:06:11.839 --> 00:06:14.600 in my yard. And you know, you garden for enjoyment, you garden 88 00:06:14.680 --> 00:06:17.800 for the color. And I think that's really what is the bottom line here 89 00:06:17.879 --> 00:06:25.160 is whatever your gardening decisions are is like searching out the root of that and 90 00:06:25.199 --> 00:06:29.879 then using that to make your decisions. And you know, again realizing it 91 00:06:29.879 --> 00:06:32.680 doesn't have to be an all or nothing kind of thing. And I think, 92 00:06:32.759 --> 00:06:36.519 especially when it comes down to native plants, you start to get into 93 00:06:36.680 --> 00:06:41.759 a you know, issue of like, well, how native is native? 94 00:06:42.199 --> 00:06:45.120 Right? Is it just native to my county? Is it native to my 95 00:06:45.319 --> 00:06:47.360 city? Is it native to my state, is it native to my region? 96 00:06:47.480 --> 00:06:51.439 And those are not questions that we can answer for anybody. If you 97 00:06:51.519 --> 00:06:55.480 are on that native plant journey, those are questions you have to answer for 98 00:06:55.560 --> 00:07:00.000 yourself. What is native enough for you? True? And of course North 99 00:07:00.000 --> 00:07:04.000 America is a big place. It's pretty huge, and so if you are 100 00:07:04.120 --> 00:07:09.800 going down the road of native plants, consult the USDA Hardiness Zone. Man, 101 00:07:10.240 --> 00:07:13.720 when you're putting plants in the ground. I think about something like lavender 102 00:07:14.000 --> 00:07:17.920 native to Mediterranean regions, then moves to Europe, then comes to the States. 103 00:07:18.160 --> 00:07:23.720 I love lavender. I want lavender in my landscape. So just an 104 00:07:23.959 --> 00:07:29.680 an interesting, somewhat controversial subject. And some people will argue that, well, 105 00:07:29.920 --> 00:07:33.279 native plants are lower maintenance than non native plants. Well, you know, 106 00:07:34.519 --> 00:07:38.959 I think that that also gets it. Another issue reaction with that, 107 00:07:39.079 --> 00:07:44.800 with that native plant issue, is that people just they characterize it with these 108 00:07:44.839 --> 00:07:49.439 really broad strokes that really don't do any aspect of the issue. Justice and 109 00:07:49.839 --> 00:07:55.759 lower maintenance is certainly one of them. Yeah, there are absolutely grasses that 110 00:07:55.839 --> 00:07:59.800 I can grow in my West Michigan garden and will be very low maintenance. 111 00:08:00.240 --> 00:08:03.839 But you know, if I grow panicum, a native panicum it's not actually 112 00:08:03.920 --> 00:08:09.319 any lower maintenance than a miscanthus, because they both are going to be cut 113 00:08:09.360 --> 00:08:11.120 back in spring. They're both going to form big clumps all of this, 114 00:08:11.759 --> 00:08:16.000 and it's still going to be an issue of the right plant in the right 115 00:08:16.040 --> 00:08:20.560 place. I could go up to Miskegan State Park, and I should, 116 00:08:20.720 --> 00:08:22.800 no one should do this, but say I wanted to, you know, 117 00:08:22.879 --> 00:08:28.600 in the spring, there's some very interesting carnivorous plants that grow along the shores 118 00:08:28.639 --> 00:08:33.639 there, and that's a native plant. But I cannot take that from Miskegan 119 00:08:33.720 --> 00:08:37.960 State Park and PLoP it into my very sandy, very sunny garden and expect 120 00:08:39.000 --> 00:08:41.440 it to be a low maintenance plant. If I wanted that to stay alive, 121 00:08:41.480 --> 00:08:46.000 it would be extremely high maintenance. So it's always a question of, 122 00:08:46.200 --> 00:08:48.879 just like anything else in gardening, it's the right plant for the right place. 123 00:08:50.480 --> 00:08:54.720 And again going back to that motivation, why this plant? Why is 124 00:08:54.759 --> 00:08:56.840 this resonating for you? Yeah? Exactly, And so then you have a 125 00:08:56.879 --> 00:09:03.080 person like me who begins to struggle because because I'm a plant hoarder, and 126 00:09:03.159 --> 00:09:05.879 many of us become plant hoarders. So I have a limerick for you on 127 00:09:07.000 --> 00:09:11.120 that on this subject before I give you the limerick. Let me say this 128 00:09:11.159 --> 00:09:13.840 though, Stacy, because you made an important point here earlier in this segment, 129 00:09:15.200 --> 00:09:20.240 and that is my experience has been both native and non native plants do 130 00:09:20.320 --> 00:09:26.440 a great job in attracting pollinators. Yes they can. I mean the insects 131 00:09:26.480 --> 00:09:30.759 and mollinators don't actually necessarily know what's native and what isn't. Right, they 132 00:09:30.799 --> 00:09:33.759 just know it's yummy. Yeah, exactly, they know it's yummy. So 133 00:09:33.840 --> 00:09:39.720 here's my limerick. I really want to be accommodative. What's original, what's 134 00:09:39.879 --> 00:09:46.039 imitative? Which of these plants got here first via seeds? Birds inadvertently dispersed? 135 00:09:46.519 --> 00:09:50.639 I'm trying to be natural and native priority in a pecking order. I 136 00:09:50.679 --> 00:09:56.440 have impulsive plant buying disorder. A circle has no beginning. The thought has 137 00:09:56.519 --> 00:10:03.320 one's head spinning for this per perpetual plant order. Oh that's me. Was 138 00:10:03.519 --> 00:10:05.320 that was fantastic? Well, thank you, it was some of your finest 139 00:10:05.320 --> 00:10:09.759 limerick. Well, thank you, very mulch. I appreciate that this is 140 00:10:09.840 --> 00:10:11.799 just a topic that I'm passionate about, and I think I'd like to talk 141 00:10:11.840 --> 00:10:16.159 about it in future weeks because there is so much talk about native plants. 142 00:10:16.240 --> 00:10:22.399 I love native plants. Native plants are so important, but there's an opportunity 143 00:10:22.480 --> 00:10:26.399 here to use both and that's how I feel. Yeah, So send us 144 00:10:26.399 --> 00:10:31.559 your notes, your cards, your letters. Plants on Trials coming up next 145 00:10:31.559 --> 00:10:41.279 here on the Gardening Simplified Show. Proven Winner's Color Choice Shrubs cares about your 146 00:10:41.320 --> 00:10:43.919 success in the garden. That's why we trial and test all of our shrubs 147 00:10:43.919 --> 00:10:48.919 for eight to ten years, making sure they outperform everything else on the market. 148 00:10:48.080 --> 00:10:52.440 Look for them and the distinctive white container at your local garden center. 149 00:10:54.440 --> 00:10:58.480 Greetings gardening friends, and welcome back to the Gardening Simplified Show. It's time 150 00:10:58.559 --> 00:11:03.320 for Plants on Trial, and as I always say, I try to tie 151 00:11:03.399 --> 00:11:05.799 it into the topic of the day, which today is native plants, one 152 00:11:05.840 --> 00:11:13.120 of our more controversial topics. But as always, you know, I hope 153 00:11:13.120 --> 00:11:16.679 that it comes across that. You know, what I personally firmly believe is 154 00:11:16.679 --> 00:11:20.480 that gardening is for everybody, and we can make our decisions about how we 155 00:11:20.519 --> 00:11:24.399 garden and what we plant. And as long as we're coming from a point 156 00:11:24.480 --> 00:11:30.840 of educated, you know, reasoning towards that, then you know everything is 157 00:11:30.879 --> 00:11:33.720 potentially about it. It's all a journey and we can all be on different 158 00:11:33.759 --> 00:11:37.039 points in that journey. And some of us might be on a native plant 159 00:11:37.039 --> 00:11:39.159 path and some of us might not be. And you know, it's just 160 00:11:39.200 --> 00:11:43.440 a matter. Gardening is a lifelong learning adventure, it is, and it's 161 00:11:43.519 --> 00:11:50.000 better when we apply common sense. Also, it's always important to apply common 162 00:11:50.080 --> 00:11:52.919 sense. And so you try to wrestle with these issues. And like I 163 00:11:52.960 --> 00:11:56.080 said, Stacy will continue to talk about it, right we definitely will. 164 00:11:56.159 --> 00:12:01.720 And because we are tying plants on trial into today's topic, it might not 165 00:12:01.799 --> 00:12:05.600 come as a surprise that it is what is known in some circles as a 166 00:12:05.879 --> 00:12:09.440 native ar. Now, I will tell you right now, I do not 167 00:12:09.679 --> 00:12:11.000 like this word native ar. No, this isn't going to turn into a 168 00:12:11.039 --> 00:12:16.919 Doctor Seuss inspired Limerick. I do know that I do not like this word 169 00:12:18.080 --> 00:12:20.039 native ar number one because it's a portmanteau. So if you heard this term, 170 00:12:20.039 --> 00:12:24.360 a portmanteau is like when a word is made up of two different words. 171 00:12:24.399 --> 00:12:31.480 So you've substituted something in, swap something in for the other words. 172 00:12:31.480 --> 00:12:35.519 So in this case, it would be cultivar, and they swapped native or 173 00:12:35.600 --> 00:12:41.320 native into it is culta, and so they call it a native ar. 174 00:12:41.360 --> 00:12:43.759 So it's a cultivar, that's native. But a portmanteau should work where the 175 00:12:43.799 --> 00:12:46.879 words are essentially equal, and in this case that is not the case. 176 00:12:48.440 --> 00:12:54.000 So I don't like the word from a linguistic standpoint. But also I've been 177 00:12:54.159 --> 00:12:58.039 portmanteauing whatever. I've been tau portmanteau for years that I just didn't know I 178 00:12:58.120 --> 00:13:00.799 was doing. Well, now you've got a word for it, thank you. 179 00:13:03.000 --> 00:13:05.159 And because most of the time when people talk about native ours, they 180 00:13:05.200 --> 00:13:11.279 are using it as a insult. So a native ar, again, is 181 00:13:11.480 --> 00:13:16.279 just a cultivar or a cultivated variety. So a selection that someone has come 182 00:13:16.320 --> 00:13:18.639 along and said, oh hey, this is pretty swell. It's a little 183 00:13:18.639 --> 00:13:24.480 bit different than the other, you know, individuals in this population, and 184 00:13:24.559 --> 00:13:26.279 so I am going to take it, and I'm going to disseminate it, 185 00:13:26.320 --> 00:13:31.320 and I'm going to call it, you know, rix picker whatever. So 186 00:13:31.440 --> 00:13:35.080 that would be a native ar selection of a native variety. And a lot 187 00:13:35.120 --> 00:13:37.679 of people say, oh, native ours they're not they're not environmentally valuable, 188 00:13:37.720 --> 00:13:43.639 they're not good plants. And it's a much more nuanced situation than that, 189 00:13:43.840 --> 00:13:50.600 because really, if you are not growing native ours, then your only true 190 00:13:50.679 --> 00:13:56.879 alternative is essentially to go out into the woods and dig stuff up and put 191 00:13:56.879 --> 00:14:00.600 it in your yard. And you should not do that because for you probably 192 00:14:00.600 --> 00:14:03.639 be on property where that is not permitted, could get you arrested. And 193 00:14:03.679 --> 00:14:09.240 second weld, then you are disturbing a natural ecosystem to put it into your 194 00:14:09.360 --> 00:14:13.320 artificial ecosystem in your backyard, and that's not cool. It's not a good 195 00:14:13.360 --> 00:14:16.360 thing at all. So, you know, native of ours again, a 196 00:14:16.399 --> 00:14:20.399 lot of people have a bad they have a bad reputation, they mean something 197 00:14:20.480 --> 00:14:24.200 bad to people, but really all it means is a selection of a native 198 00:14:24.240 --> 00:14:26.559 plant. And there can be a lot of different reasons that a native plant 199 00:14:26.639 --> 00:14:31.120 was selected to become a cultivar or native ar. So I think one of 200 00:14:31.120 --> 00:14:37.879 the earliest ones that kind of really set this native ar conversation in a bad 201 00:14:37.960 --> 00:14:43.360 direction was double Echinaesia. So Echinaesia was you know, on the scene. 202 00:14:43.399 --> 00:14:46.919 People were loving it. It's super duper popular, and of course plant breeders 203 00:14:46.960 --> 00:14:50.799 are like, hey, people love echinaesia, what's next for echinesia? And 204 00:14:50.840 --> 00:14:56.000 they came up with these double echinasia. So Echinasia of course are cone flowers 205 00:14:56.120 --> 00:14:58.279 and they have you know, pedals, a big cone in the center and 206 00:14:58.279 --> 00:15:03.440 then petals that go and then the double echinaesias have a second set of pedals 207 00:15:03.480 --> 00:15:05.799 on top, like a little crown. And so people said, well, 208 00:15:07.159 --> 00:15:09.879 pollinators aren't going to recognize these, and these are really bad for pollinators because 209 00:15:09.919 --> 00:15:15.759 now instead of planting Acinasia that are beneficial to pollinators, people are now planting 210 00:15:15.799 --> 00:15:18.559 these double acinaesia, and they aren't as beneficial for pollinators, and that is 211 00:15:18.600 --> 00:15:24.039 a bad thing. But a native ar isn't simply it's flowers. It's not 212 00:15:24.080 --> 00:15:26.200 simply like, oh, well, this is a double flower, or this 213 00:15:26.279 --> 00:15:28.679 is a different color flower. And a lot of the native VARs that we 214 00:15:28.759 --> 00:15:33.039 develop here at proven Winner's Color Choice Shrubs, one of our main goals is 215 00:15:33.080 --> 00:15:39.679 actually changing the size of native shrubs so that they are more useful and more 216 00:15:39.720 --> 00:15:45.120 easily incorporated into residential landscapes. Sure, and that's a really important thing because 217 00:15:45.159 --> 00:15:48.720 in this case we're not talking about, hey, we've fundamentally changed something so 218 00:15:48.759 --> 00:15:54.279 it's no longer beneficial to pollinators or wildlife. You wouldn't have probably been able 219 00:15:54.320 --> 00:15:56.720 to plant a lot of our native ours because they were ten feet tall and 220 00:15:56.799 --> 00:16:03.559 wide and you don't have space that in your backyard, so it can mean 221 00:16:03.639 --> 00:16:07.519 a lot of different things. And we have probably about a full third of 222 00:16:07.600 --> 00:16:11.720 the shrubs in the proven Winter's line are selections of our native species that we 223 00:16:11.799 --> 00:16:17.480 have collected over the years, that we have selected through selective breeding. And 224 00:16:17.519 --> 00:16:18.759 the one that I'm talking about today it took a long time for me to 225 00:16:18.759 --> 00:16:25.759 get to day's planet on trial is low scape snowfire ronia. And the reason 226 00:16:25.799 --> 00:16:30.320 that I picked low Escape Snowfire is because it has more of everything that's good 227 00:16:30.519 --> 00:16:36.159 for wildlife. So one of the reasons that this particular ronia also known as 228 00:16:36.200 --> 00:16:41.879 chokeberry chokeberry was selected is because it is an extremely heavy flowering variety. So 229 00:16:42.320 --> 00:16:48.720 what makes it different from our native ronias is that it has probably two or 230 00:16:48.759 --> 00:16:52.440 three times the amount of flowers on it, so that means a lot more 231 00:16:52.480 --> 00:16:56.879 nectar for pollinators. The flowers are just like the native you know species, 232 00:16:56.360 --> 00:17:02.279 so a lot more nectar for pollinators when it's flowering in spring, and then 233 00:17:02.480 --> 00:17:06.519 all those flowers turn into fruit for birds in fall, so then you have 234 00:17:06.960 --> 00:17:11.440 two or three times the amount of fruit for birds. So it's really just 235 00:17:11.519 --> 00:17:15.599 a different way of looking at what is the characteristic that any given plant reader 236 00:17:15.640 --> 00:17:18.319 is trying to bring out of the plant, And how does that when it 237 00:17:18.319 --> 00:17:22.559 comes to native plants, affect the reason that you're growing it in the first 238 00:17:22.599 --> 00:17:26.519 place, which, of course, in my case is insects. So Ronia 239 00:17:26.720 --> 00:17:30.039 is one of those native plants. You know, we talked a little bit 240 00:17:30.039 --> 00:17:33.960 about native to war in the first segment, and ronia is one of those 241 00:17:33.960 --> 00:17:37.680 plants that's native to a huge portion of the United States and Canada. In 242 00:17:37.720 --> 00:17:41.920 fact, if you look at a map basically everything east of the Mississippi aside 243 00:17:41.960 --> 00:17:48.839 from Florida and Louisiana, you will find ronia growing wild so hugely adaptable, 244 00:17:48.000 --> 00:17:52.279 hardy USDA zones three through nine. You'll find it all the way in the 245 00:17:52.279 --> 00:17:55.799 north of Quebec, all the way down to the southern part of Georgia. 246 00:17:56.160 --> 00:17:59.720 So if you are anywhere within this huge range of states, it is native 247 00:18:00.079 --> 00:18:03.920 for you. Birds and animals have done a good job spreading the love right 248 00:18:03.960 --> 00:18:07.839 because of those well we call them chokeberries because the fruit it will not make 249 00:18:07.880 --> 00:18:15.359 you choke, but it has a strong astringency that will suck all the moisture 250 00:18:15.359 --> 00:18:17.839 out of your mouth. If you've ever like put alum in your mouth. 251 00:18:17.880 --> 00:18:22.319 It's that kind of thing just like makes you pucker up. But the birds 252 00:18:22.319 --> 00:18:26.279 love it, and so do other animals, and therefore ronia has made its 253 00:18:26.319 --> 00:18:30.079 way and is considered native to again about half of the US. Try some 254 00:18:30.279 --> 00:18:34.519 in my morning smoothie time. Okay, let us know how that goes. 255 00:18:34.839 --> 00:18:37.920 Probably won't go too well, but you probably will not want to load up 256 00:18:37.960 --> 00:18:41.039 on the ronia. It's it's very healthy, has huge amount of vitamin I 257 00:18:41.079 --> 00:18:45.599 can imagine. But the flavor is definitely better for the birds than for your 258 00:18:45.640 --> 00:18:51.440 average human. But stacy the benefit of the plant also, and the cultivar 259 00:18:51.680 --> 00:18:56.839 to us, to people aside from pollinators and animals in our landscapes. A 260 00:18:56.880 --> 00:19:02.759 few weeks ago I took pictures of a ronia in fall color. Oh yeah, 261 00:19:02.920 --> 00:19:06.319 it is knock your socks off, yes, and snowfire. That's where 262 00:19:06.319 --> 00:19:10.440 the fire part of snowfire's name comes from. Is because it has incredible fall 263 00:19:10.519 --> 00:19:12.079 color. I mean, all ironias have good fall color, and so if 264 00:19:12.079 --> 00:19:17.759 you planted an ronia in your landscape, you would never plant a burning bush 265 00:19:17.799 --> 00:19:22.559 again, which is considered invasive in some states. Yeah, so yeah, 266 00:19:22.680 --> 00:19:25.920 just knock yourself right. So there's again It kind of really shows how there's 267 00:19:26.000 --> 00:19:32.559 just so much nuance into this conversation. But low scape Ronia is also very 268 00:19:32.680 --> 00:19:36.200 very easy to grow, very adaptive. We talked about adaptable. Native does 269 00:19:36.240 --> 00:19:40.839 not necessarily automatically mean adaptable, but in many cases, and certainly in the 270 00:19:40.880 --> 00:19:44.640 case of Ronia, it does. This is a plant that can tolerate pretty 271 00:19:44.720 --> 00:19:48.279 much any kind of soil. Wet, dry, not a problem. pH 272 00:19:48.519 --> 00:19:51.759 prefers a cidic, but not going to be too finicky about it. You 273 00:19:51.839 --> 00:19:55.920 got road salt, no problem. You got clay, no problem, you 274 00:19:55.960 --> 00:20:00.240 got sand, no problem. It really there's a almost there's few, if 275 00:20:00.240 --> 00:20:03.519 any challenges except deer, of course. Now the deer. I have grown 276 00:20:03.640 --> 00:20:10.480 ronia in my deer ridden yard and they eat the flowers, which is kind 277 00:20:10.480 --> 00:20:12.079 of a mummer. I moved mine in the compound, yours is now in 278 00:20:12.119 --> 00:20:15.400 the compound. Yeah, so it's in the rose family, So most members 279 00:20:15.440 --> 00:20:21.359 of the rose family are relished by deer. But it's a really beautiful plant. 280 00:20:21.400 --> 00:20:23.720 And again, it has benefits to humans and it has benefits to animals, 281 00:20:23.759 --> 00:20:27.920 and it's I think it's just a great example of how plant breeding, 282 00:20:29.079 --> 00:20:33.519 a native ar, selecting for a native ar does it necessarily mean it's taking 283 00:20:33.559 --> 00:20:37.880 something away from nature. It can actually I don't want to say improving it 284 00:20:37.880 --> 00:20:42.039 because that's not the goal, but it can actually do more in your yard 285 00:20:42.160 --> 00:20:45.240 for you and for animals. So if you want to see pictures of low 286 00:20:45.240 --> 00:20:48.359 scapesnow fire ronia, which of course you do. It's a fabulous little plant. 287 00:20:48.880 --> 00:20:52.839 It's three to four feet tall and wide, so very useful in the 288 00:20:52.880 --> 00:20:56.079 landscape. You can go to Gardening Simplified on air dot Com. You'll see 289 00:20:56.079 --> 00:20:59.480 our pictures there. Of course, it'll be on our Instagram and if you 290 00:20:59.519 --> 00:21:03.519 watch us on you you'll see Adriana's fabulous photographs of low scape, snowfire in 291 00:21:03.839 --> 00:21:07.279 our trial gardens. We're going to take a little bit of a break. 292 00:21:07.279 --> 00:21:08.799 When we come back, we're opening up that gardening mail bag, so stay 293 00:21:08.839 --> 00:21:18.880 tuned. At proven Winner's Color Choice, we've got a shrub for every taste 294 00:21:18.920 --> 00:21:23.839 and every space. Whether you're looking for an easy care rose and unforgettable hydrangea 295 00:21:25.039 --> 00:21:27.119 or something new and unique, you can be confident that the shrubs and the 296 00:21:27.119 --> 00:21:32.119 white containers have been trialed and tested for your success. Look for them at 297 00:21:32.160 --> 00:21:37.200 your local garden center. Greeting's Gardening friends, and welcome back to the Gardening 298 00:21:37.279 --> 00:21:41.799 Simplified Show. What are the ways that we like to simplify gardening for you 299 00:21:41.880 --> 00:21:45.480 is by answering your gardening questions. Now, I have to say, it's 300 00:21:45.839 --> 00:21:49.839 early November and it seems to me as though the garden questions are on the 301 00:21:49.839 --> 00:21:53.079 proven winner's side. People writing to us starting to dry up. I think 302 00:21:53.079 --> 00:21:56.160 people are are feeling like, hey, the garden is mostly put to bed, 303 00:21:56.200 --> 00:22:00.759 but we still have lots of questions in the inbox. And I tried 304 00:22:00.759 --> 00:22:06.079 to put questions today that would really speak to some concerns that people have now 305 00:22:06.279 --> 00:22:08.559 and over the coming weeks, because I know there's still a lot of confusion 306 00:22:08.559 --> 00:22:11.920 about hey, it's November, can I do this? Shouldn't I do this? 307 00:22:11.960 --> 00:22:15.200 Blah blah blah? So with how further ado? What do we got 308 00:22:15.279 --> 00:22:18.039 to know? Beg right? All right, let's do it. Kathy is 309 00:22:18.119 --> 00:22:22.000 asking us this week, I want to plant paint the town Dianthus in a 310 00:22:22.079 --> 00:22:27.119 shallow garden bed. How deep do the roots go on these plants when fully 311 00:22:27.160 --> 00:22:33.559 mature, so that I ensure they have enough soil real estate for their root 312 00:22:33.680 --> 00:22:37.519 systems. Your help is much appreciated. So this is a question, we 313 00:22:37.559 --> 00:22:41.680 get a lot, and I think because nobody, you know, you don't 314 00:22:41.720 --> 00:22:45.000 see the roots very much, and so they're kind of a mystery to people. 315 00:22:47.119 --> 00:22:52.440 But the bottom line here is that roots generally do not go as deep 316 00:22:52.519 --> 00:22:57.880 as most people think, correct and so usually you can guess about one and 317 00:22:57.920 --> 00:23:03.480 a half time the height. So paint theon Dianthus is a pretty short little 318 00:23:03.480 --> 00:23:07.480 perennial. I wouldn't count the flower stalks in this height, So the little 319 00:23:08.160 --> 00:23:12.640 clump of foliage is probably gosh, about five to eight inches or something like 320 00:23:12.720 --> 00:23:18.759 that. So they go about that deep and about one and a half times 321 00:23:18.839 --> 00:23:22.440 the width of the plant outward. But you know, I think one of 322 00:23:22.480 --> 00:23:26.880 the things that really surprises people when they find out is that plant roots don't 323 00:23:26.920 --> 00:23:33.599 necessarily go very deep because there's no oxygen down there, and plant roots need 324 00:23:33.759 --> 00:23:37.000 oxygen just like anything else. This is why you can kill a plant so 325 00:23:37.079 --> 00:23:41.039 easily through overwatering it, because that replaces all of the oxygen in the soil 326 00:23:41.119 --> 00:23:45.559 pores with water, and the plants literally can't breathe and they suffocate. So 327 00:23:45.640 --> 00:23:51.880 oxygen is super crucial for healthy root growth. And if you get much further 328 00:23:51.920 --> 00:23:56.279 down than about eighteen inches, you're starting to have very very little oxygen for 329 00:23:56.319 --> 00:24:00.640 the roots. Now, some plants do have certain ada adaptations where they can 330 00:24:00.720 --> 00:24:03.039 grow, but I think we said this on the show before. You know, 331 00:24:03.079 --> 00:24:07.200 if you're walking in the woods and you see a tree that is tipped 332 00:24:07.200 --> 00:24:11.440 over from a storm, you might be surprised to see that those roots that 333 00:24:11.519 --> 00:24:15.440 are torn up, you know, they weren't six feet down in the ground. 334 00:24:15.200 --> 00:24:18.519 You're right on with that, Stacey. And aside from the oxygen, 335 00:24:18.599 --> 00:24:23.480 also roots compete for moisture and nutrients. They do that by working their way 336 00:24:23.599 --> 00:24:26.839 up to the surface. I would say with this plant, paint the town 337 00:24:26.960 --> 00:24:33.440 Dianthus, which is a gorgeous perennial. I love this plant. Good drainage. 338 00:24:33.720 --> 00:24:37.839 Just make sure we have good drainage, because if you don't have good 339 00:24:37.920 --> 00:24:41.480 drainage, that's how we're going to lose this plant. As a matter of 340 00:24:41.480 --> 00:24:45.400 fact, you know years ago when we were planting pinks or dianthus in the 341 00:24:45.480 --> 00:24:49.000 landscape, they would melt out in summer due to heat. And this is 342 00:24:49.000 --> 00:24:55.759 one of these plants that was bred and developed for heat tolerance. So I 343 00:24:55.759 --> 00:24:59.680 would just make sure good drainage. Yes, that's true, and I do 344 00:24:59.720 --> 00:25:02.160 want to talk quickly about others, but I want to share a fun fact. 345 00:25:02.160 --> 00:25:06.200 And you said pinks, So you know, Dianthus or pinks have been 346 00:25:06.240 --> 00:25:11.839 around for centuries, very very popular garden plants. And the term pinking shears 347 00:25:11.079 --> 00:25:15.720 for those who sow they're special scissors that you use that make a little zigzag 348 00:25:15.839 --> 00:25:22.759 edge actually comes from Dianthus because the edges have that little serrated kind of zigzaggy 349 00:25:22.839 --> 00:25:25.759 edge. How do you know this stuff? Well, I recently did a 350 00:25:25.759 --> 00:25:27.920 bunch of research on Dianthus and that was one of the many interesting things that 351 00:25:27.960 --> 00:25:33.319 I found out. It's a pinking scissor, pinking pinking shears. Pinking shears, 352 00:25:33.359 --> 00:25:36.440 Yes, so they come. That name comes directly from pinks. Dianas's 353 00:25:36.480 --> 00:25:42.039 working on the list here, native our pedantic Lama, all these. Don't 354 00:25:42.039 --> 00:25:47.000 forget portmanteauteau. I've been doing it for years, just didn't know it. 355 00:25:47.920 --> 00:25:51.720 But Kathy, another thing I want to say is that when it comes to 356 00:25:51.880 --> 00:25:55.880 roots, a lot of plants can actually deal with more restricted root room than 357 00:25:55.960 --> 00:26:00.039 you might think. They are just going to respond by being smaller. So 358 00:26:00.039 --> 00:26:02.480 you can think of something like a bone side tree. You know, in 359 00:26:02.599 --> 00:26:07.160 nature, those trees would be forty fifty eighty feet tall. But if you 360 00:26:07.200 --> 00:26:10.240 take it and you grow it in a tiny little container and you restrict its 361 00:26:10.319 --> 00:26:15.079 roots, it's going to respond in kind by staying small. So you don't 362 00:26:15.119 --> 00:26:19.160 necessarily need to have this idea of optimal you know, real estrate. If 363 00:26:19.200 --> 00:26:22.160 you are willing to say, hey, you know, I don't mind if 364 00:26:22.160 --> 00:26:25.200 this thing stays a little bit smaller. But Rick, You're absolutely right. 365 00:26:25.200 --> 00:26:27.920 Good drainage is key for Dianthus. So, Kathy, I think that it 366 00:26:29.039 --> 00:26:32.160 sounds like your plan for paint the town Dianthus is going to work out. 367 00:26:32.319 --> 00:26:36.880 Justifye. Dana is wondering. I purchased ten quarts of maiden grass? Now 368 00:26:36.880 --> 00:26:41.680 that would be Misscanthus rights? Yep, okay, Miss Canthus to miss Canthus. 369 00:26:41.680 --> 00:26:45.920 She won the Miss America contest? Was it last year? Miss Canthus? 370 00:26:45.920 --> 00:26:48.519 A plant? It's a beauty. It's a grass to plant at a 371 00:26:48.559 --> 00:26:52.559 property in Lake County. I've had them a week and put them in my 372 00:26:52.680 --> 00:26:56.839 greenhouse, thinking I will plant them in spring. Should I plant them now? 373 00:26:56.880 --> 00:27:00.319 Temperatures are falling into the twenties next week. I'm concarn These small court 374 00:27:00.400 --> 00:27:04.759 containers wouldn't do well over winter. So you know, again it's early November 375 00:27:04.799 --> 00:27:08.519 here and people are definitely starting to wonder should I still plant? You know, 376 00:27:08.559 --> 00:27:11.920 the bargains are still out there, they can't resist scooping them up. 377 00:27:12.000 --> 00:27:17.200 Is it's still okay to plant? And the general guideline that I always give 378 00:27:17.240 --> 00:27:21.400 people is that you want to try to have your plants in at least six 379 00:27:21.480 --> 00:27:26.640 weeks before the ground freezes. So it really doesn't matter what kind of frosts 380 00:27:26.640 --> 00:27:32.039 we've had, it's you're looking for that date when the ground actually freezes solid, 381 00:27:32.039 --> 00:27:34.680 because it's at that point that root growth is essentially going to stop because 382 00:27:34.680 --> 00:27:37.480 the ground is frozen. But the trick with that, of course, is 383 00:27:37.480 --> 00:27:41.400 that it's impossible to predict when the ground is going to free solid. I 384 00:27:41.440 --> 00:27:45.079 don't know that that data is out there, and it changes so much these 385 00:27:45.160 --> 00:27:48.319 days from year to year. Sometimes the ground might be frozen and then it 386 00:27:48.319 --> 00:27:52.640 gets warm and then it's not frozen solid. So my general advice, especially 387 00:27:52.720 --> 00:27:56.559 for things that are very hardy and reliable, which would certainly be the case 388 00:27:57.039 --> 00:28:03.240 of Miscanthus it's best if you can to get them in the ground now, 389 00:28:03.759 --> 00:28:07.480 then to try to overwinter them in containers. And certainly don't try to overwinter 390 00:28:07.599 --> 00:28:11.000 them indoors. So if it's a hardy plant, a durable plant like miss 391 00:28:11.079 --> 00:28:15.279 canthus is again, as long as you're within roughly that six weeks before the 392 00:28:15.319 --> 00:28:18.480 ground freezes kind of time frame, I would say, yes, go ahead 393 00:28:18.519 --> 00:28:21.759 and get it in the ground. I agree one hundred percent. I've been 394 00:28:21.799 --> 00:28:26.720 planting in November in Michigan for years with great success. Maybe mulch at the 395 00:28:26.720 --> 00:28:30.160 base, but I think you'll be good. And miss canthus or maiden grass 396 00:28:30.359 --> 00:28:36.359 is very tough, a plant native to Asia, but does really well in 397 00:28:36.440 --> 00:28:41.400 Michigan, northern states here in North America, and highly deer resist them, 398 00:28:41.559 --> 00:28:44.400 very dear resistant. Yeah, just an overall tough plant. But mulch, 399 00:28:44.440 --> 00:28:47.920 of course is a good idea because what mulch is going to do is prolong 400 00:28:48.079 --> 00:28:51.960 that period of optimal root growth, and that's key to getting your plant established 401 00:28:51.960 --> 00:28:55.920 and through winter. What about your next question there, Stations, Oh yeah, 402 00:28:56.000 --> 00:28:59.640 okay, So, in keeping with a theme of a controversial show, 403 00:29:00.119 --> 00:29:03.440 decided to answer this question from a listener, Genevieve. She had very nice 404 00:29:03.440 --> 00:29:06.960 things to say. She says, I love to feed the birds, but 405 00:29:07.039 --> 00:29:11.359 the feral cat population in my neighborhood keeps increasing and they hunker down in my 406 00:29:11.480 --> 00:29:14.680 yard by the bird feeders. I'm worrying that I'm luring the birds to their 407 00:29:14.720 --> 00:29:18.279 demise. Should I stop feeding the birds? What would you do? That's 408 00:29:18.440 --> 00:29:22.880 tough. It is really tough. And you know, I know there's so 409 00:29:22.000 --> 00:29:26.880 much love for cats out there. I also love cats, But I don't 410 00:29:26.920 --> 00:29:30.680 think that there is a scientist on earth, or a biologist or ecologist who 411 00:29:30.720 --> 00:29:36.960 would characterize outdoor cats as anything less than an ecological disaster. I looked up 412 00:29:37.000 --> 00:29:41.480 some data found reliable sources. Outdoor cats are estimated to kill about one billion 413 00:29:41.559 --> 00:29:45.960 birds a year and six billion small mammals. Now, it's one thing. 414 00:29:47.079 --> 00:29:51.160 If you have a cat, an indoor cat that goes outdoors, it's probably 415 00:29:51.200 --> 00:29:56.079 well fed. It's hunting instincts may or may not be the best. It's 416 00:29:56.079 --> 00:29:57.200 still not a good idea to let them out doors. But when it comes 417 00:29:57.240 --> 00:30:00.920 to feral cats, you're definitely going to have cats that, whether or not 418 00:30:00.920 --> 00:30:04.319 someone in your neighborhood is feeding them, they're just going to be much more 419 00:30:04.359 --> 00:30:11.559 attuned with that natural hunting instinct and therefore are going to of course kill birds. 420 00:30:11.599 --> 00:30:15.160 Now, I think if you're really concerned about it. I do think 421 00:30:15.160 --> 00:30:18.559 as heartbreaking as it is, probably the safest thing to do is to stop 422 00:30:18.599 --> 00:30:25.319 feeding birds until the cats stop coming around. But I did find some interesting 423 00:30:25.359 --> 00:30:29.480 solutions out there that you might consider, and so I'm going to share those. 424 00:30:29.559 --> 00:30:33.480 So one of them is that you can use. First of all, 425 00:30:33.519 --> 00:30:37.240 position your feeders in the open. So they recommend ten to twelve feet of 426 00:30:37.400 --> 00:30:42.799 open ground around your feeders. So no plants that far away from your house 427 00:30:42.880 --> 00:30:47.839 or any other structure, no furniture, no storage bins, any place where 428 00:30:47.839 --> 00:30:52.000 a cat could lurk and hide. Keep those feeders out in a good twelve 429 00:30:52.240 --> 00:30:55.519 foot radius of complete openness, And that's what I do. But ten to 430 00:30:55.559 --> 00:31:00.720 fifteen feet away is really good cover afforded to the birds so that they can 431 00:31:00.839 --> 00:31:03.319 stick. Yeah, and thorny plants helps too. They really like to take 432 00:31:03.680 --> 00:31:08.000 shelter in thorny plants, so that's one thing that will help. Scent repellents 433 00:31:08.160 --> 00:31:14.559 will also work, so you can try sprinkling curry powder or cayenne pepper on 434 00:31:14.599 --> 00:31:18.400 the ground where the cats would walk to your bird feeder. Now, the 435 00:31:18.480 --> 00:31:21.079 Dollar Store is a great source for all those. You don't have to go 436 00:31:21.119 --> 00:31:23.400 broke buying them organic spice. Just go to the dollar store, get yourself 437 00:31:23.400 --> 00:31:27.240 a big container. And then there's a bunch of essential oils that can work, 438 00:31:27.319 --> 00:31:33.480 and some different cleaners, especially those formulated with orange peel or orange oil, 439 00:31:33.640 --> 00:31:37.880 that can also function as a scent repellent. And then finally, there's 440 00:31:37.920 --> 00:31:41.640 something known as scat mats, and they can be made out of metal, 441 00:31:41.680 --> 00:31:42.640 they can be made out of rubber, they can made out of plastic, 442 00:31:42.720 --> 00:31:45.720 and they're basically just something that's super uncomfortable for the cat to walk on. 443 00:31:47.440 --> 00:31:51.279 And you would have to combine that perhaps with some other strategies, but the 444 00:31:51.319 --> 00:31:52.599 cats won't walk on it. Just do bear in mind, of course, 445 00:31:52.680 --> 00:31:57.400 the cats can make some pretty impressive leaps, especially if they are food motivated, 446 00:31:57.519 --> 00:32:02.720 So make sure that your follow all of these other recommendations. Familiarize yourself 447 00:32:02.799 --> 00:32:07.960 with organizations in your community that deal with this also, they have ideas. 448 00:32:08.400 --> 00:32:13.279 There are great people out there who rescue cats, Yes, who take care 449 00:32:13.319 --> 00:32:19.559 of cats. There's some amazing people and organizations out there. Familiarize yourself with 450 00:32:17.960 --> 00:32:22.359 these people. That's some great advice. We're going to take a little break. 451 00:32:22.359 --> 00:32:23.759 When we come back, we've got branching news, so please stay tuned. 452 00:32:30.640 --> 00:32:34.400 The Gardening Simplified Show is brought to you by proven Winners, Color Choice 453 00:32:34.400 --> 00:32:38.240 Shrubs. Our award winning flowering shrubs and evergreens have been trialed and tested for 454 00:32:38.359 --> 00:32:44.200 your success so you enjoy more beauty and less work. Look for proven Winners, 455 00:32:44.240 --> 00:32:47.079 Color Choice Shrubs and the distinctive white container at your local garden center. 456 00:32:50.319 --> 00:32:53.519 It's time for branching news here on the Gardening Simplified Show, Stacey, we 457 00:32:53.559 --> 00:32:58.960 talked about native plants earlier in this show. Of course, our attention and 458 00:32:59.000 --> 00:33:01.480 the attention of men any people. There's many good people out there who are 459 00:33:01.519 --> 00:33:08.599 dealing with invasive plants and the invasive nature of some of these non native plants 460 00:33:08.599 --> 00:33:14.400 that create a serious problem, and hydrilla is one of them. It's an 461 00:33:14.440 --> 00:33:19.599 aquatic plant and has been detected in our state where we're broadcasting from here in 462 00:33:19.640 --> 00:33:22.880 Michigan for the first time. A real concern. Yeah, you know, 463 00:33:23.039 --> 00:33:29.720 aquatic native or aquatic invasives are extremely problematic because not only are they difficult to 464 00:33:29.799 --> 00:33:32.400 manage, you can't use certain herbicides on them because of course they're going into 465 00:33:32.400 --> 00:33:37.720 the water, but they choke out waterways, They can completely change the biology 466 00:33:37.759 --> 00:33:40.200 of streams, ponds, rivers, lakes, et cetera. So they're really 467 00:33:40.200 --> 00:33:44.519 problematic, but you know, sometimes they can actually turn into something good. 468 00:33:44.519 --> 00:33:47.000 I don't know if you're familiar with water hyacinth. It's a popular ornamental that 469 00:33:47.039 --> 00:33:52.279 people put in their ponds and dish gardens and that kind of thing, and 470 00:33:52.319 --> 00:33:54.759 it's not going to it's not likely to be invasive here because it's very tropical. 471 00:33:54.799 --> 00:33:59.920 But in the tropical areas where water hyacinth is invasive, they actually harve 472 00:34:00.440 --> 00:34:04.440 and use it to make like a kind of fiber that they make into doormats. 473 00:34:05.079 --> 00:34:07.320 So they've made something really good out of something really bad. That's cool. 474 00:34:07.360 --> 00:34:12.000 You know, earlier we were talking about a non native here in North 475 00:34:12.039 --> 00:34:15.519 America, but we use a lot of it, and that is Miscanthus maiden 476 00:34:15.639 --> 00:34:20.679 grass, and they would weave the grasses to make thatched roofs and make something 477 00:34:20.719 --> 00:34:24.599 good out of it. So there you go. Hydrilla so very concerning, 478 00:34:24.880 --> 00:34:30.360 out competes native plants and can quickly fill a lake or a pond. I 479 00:34:30.400 --> 00:34:35.440 hear hydrilla, it makes me think of Godzilla. You remember the Godzilla movies. 480 00:34:35.679 --> 00:34:39.679 Yeah, of course, I don't know how many remakes of Godzilla they 481 00:34:39.840 --> 00:34:45.960 did. And the Blue Oyster Cult did this great song called Godzilla. It's 482 00:34:45.159 --> 00:34:51.960 it's fabulous. Listen to it. Sometimes I'm gonna have Adriana listen to it. 483 00:34:52.079 --> 00:34:57.039 Fun to listen to Blue Oyster Cult Godzilla. So there you go. 484 00:34:57.079 --> 00:35:00.000 As a matter of fact, it was the walk up music for the famous 485 00:35:00.000 --> 00:35:07.360 slugger Hedeki Matsui. Oh yeah, from the New York Yankees. Yeah. 486 00:35:07.440 --> 00:35:09.039 Nice, that's what they call them. You know why I went there? 487 00:35:09.119 --> 00:35:13.679 I have no idea. So let's go here. Here comes Thanksgiving. A 488 00:35:13.719 --> 00:35:17.039 survey of two thousand Americans looked at their social calendars for the holidays and found 489 00:35:17.079 --> 00:35:23.440 the average person will attend five different gatherings this holiday season. So the top 490 00:35:23.559 --> 00:35:29.079 rules when you go to these homes are to clean up after yourselves, help 491 00:35:29.159 --> 00:35:32.760 clean up afterward, and to bring something to the gathering. Don't show up 492 00:35:32.800 --> 00:35:38.960 with nothing. Forty six percent also expect others to take off their shoes before 493 00:35:39.119 --> 00:35:45.920 entering the house. Forty one percent expect guests not to go into closed rooms 494 00:35:45.440 --> 00:35:52.559 without their permission. Wait, who would do that? I mean maybe if 495 00:35:52.599 --> 00:35:57.800 it's like close family, but wow, there are some bad guests out there. 496 00:35:58.039 --> 00:36:00.719 Yesh, my room isn't messy. I just have everything on display. 497 00:36:01.159 --> 00:36:07.800 It's like a museum, all right, check this out. Baskin Robbins has 498 00:36:07.920 --> 00:36:12.760 just announced they'll be releasing a new ice cream flavor inspired by Thanksgiving dinner. 499 00:36:13.280 --> 00:36:16.320 This new flavor, released by Baskin Robbins will be the company's new Flavor of 500 00:36:16.360 --> 00:36:21.519 the month. It arrives just in time for Thanksgiving. The name of the 501 00:36:21.559 --> 00:36:25.760 flavor is Turkey Day Fixin's, but won't actually contain any turkey flavors. Instead, 502 00:36:27.159 --> 00:36:30.880 you'll be able to sample honey corn bread, spiced sweet potato, and 503 00:36:30.920 --> 00:36:37.280 Ocean spray cranberry all in one bite. And they're bringing back Turkey cake. 504 00:36:38.559 --> 00:36:42.320 That's a cake that looks like a turkey, not a turkey flavored cake, 505 00:36:42.400 --> 00:36:46.000 right, I don't know, I want to try. I'm I'm just gonna 506 00:36:46.039 --> 00:36:52.760 pretend that's the case, because I know you ain't seen stuffing yet much ado 507 00:36:52.800 --> 00:36:58.039 about stuffing well anyhow, so it comes to turkey. It's the based idea 508 00:36:58.199 --> 00:37:02.360 ever, It's a great flavor. Newsflash, viral sensation. Claude the leaf 509 00:37:02.440 --> 00:37:09.639 thief Koala Bear now has a partner in crime. Have you seen this story? 510 00:37:09.800 --> 00:37:14.800 Is this the koala bear that destroyed like two hundred and fifty thousand dollars 511 00:37:14.840 --> 00:37:17.000 worth of seedlings in a nursery. Yes, I heard about that. Yes, 512 00:37:17.400 --> 00:37:23.800 walks into a nursery. So this is in Australia, Eastern Forest Nursery 513 00:37:23.880 --> 00:37:30.400 near Lismore in the Northern Rivers region. And so they caught Claude, the 514 00:37:30.480 --> 00:37:37.639 koala bear, and Joey feasting on this all you can eat buffet. They're 515 00:37:37.679 --> 00:37:43.920 eating for two and so Claude has been caught on camera and has eaten all 516 00:37:44.039 --> 00:37:47.360 kinds of seedlings. It's cost them a lot of money. And of course 517 00:37:47.480 --> 00:37:53.440 there's a lot of people working there in Australia trying to grow these eucalyptus seedlings 518 00:37:54.000 --> 00:37:58.960 so that they can grow more of them for the koala bears. But they 519 00:37:58.960 --> 00:38:05.039 figured out how to break in and feast in the nursery. Can you imagine 520 00:38:05.239 --> 00:38:10.639 a koala bears or garden pest, I mean, just imagine. They're so 521 00:38:10.800 --> 00:38:15.599 cute and you know that this is a really good interesting thing because of course 522 00:38:15.639 --> 00:38:20.760 eucalyptus is native to Australia, so some fabulous eucalyptus in Australia, but where 523 00:38:20.800 --> 00:38:22.760 it has been planted and it's not native like in California. It's causing huge 524 00:38:22.800 --> 00:38:28.679 problems, contributing to wildfires and has become invasive in some areas. So another 525 00:38:28.719 --> 00:38:31.679 good example of where a native plant is a good thing and where it might 526 00:38:31.679 --> 00:38:37.800 not be well. This nursery obviously has cameras to catch clawed red handed and 527 00:38:37.840 --> 00:38:43.480 they are koalified to grow you eucalyptus plants. Did you catch that? I 528 00:38:43.519 --> 00:38:49.280 did? Kala? Yes, After dinner they had a peanut koala. Oh 529 00:38:49.599 --> 00:38:52.360 this is so bad. I got to move on to Some of the sounds 530 00:38:52.360 --> 00:38:55.840 of cow bells are synonymous with the Swiss countryside. To others, they are 531 00:38:55.880 --> 00:39:04.320 a sleep disturbing nuisance. So there's a village in Switzerland where the regional government 532 00:39:04.719 --> 00:39:10.199 has become involved because the cattle are so noisy wearing these bells. The problem 533 00:39:10.280 --> 00:39:15.320 is is you have some people who say, take the bells off the cows, 534 00:39:15.400 --> 00:39:19.280 this is ridiculous and I can't sleep at night, and other people saying 535 00:39:19.599 --> 00:39:24.119 it's beautiful, it's wonderful. The cows have always had bells. Leave the 536 00:39:24.119 --> 00:39:29.400 bells on the cows, and now this whole thing has escalated to the point 537 00:39:29.440 --> 00:39:34.119 where there's thousands of signatures on a petition and it's going to go to a 538 00:39:34.199 --> 00:39:37.000 vote. Wow. Well, speaking of controversial topics, if I had given 539 00:39:37.079 --> 00:39:43.639 you my opinion on wind time slately again, something that some people think is 540 00:39:43.639 --> 00:39:46.159 the most beautiful sound ever, and some people like me sit there and say, 541 00:39:46.519 --> 00:39:52.320 I'm trying to sleep. Could the metal please stop clanking constantly all evening? 542 00:39:52.400 --> 00:39:55.400 So you know it's up. It's a highly subjective topic. Just made 543 00:39:55.400 --> 00:39:59.599 a note not to give you wind chimes for Christmas? Please don't, Okay, 544 00:39:59.639 --> 00:40:02.119 thank you? So yeah, fascinating and I'm going to be interested to 545 00:40:02.159 --> 00:40:07.119 see how this. The Swiss town is voting next month on whether or not 546 00:40:07.199 --> 00:40:14.119 to protect cow and church bells. Oh well, how are they going to 547 00:40:14.159 --> 00:40:16.119 find the cows if they don't have bells on them? I thought that was 548 00:40:16.119 --> 00:40:20.880 why they wore the bells, right, Cows wear bells because their horns don't 549 00:40:20.880 --> 00:40:30.559 work. You walked right into that one. I've before first that joke I 550 00:40:30.679 --> 00:40:35.960 need more cow bell The old SNL skit with Christopher Walking and Will Ferrell. 551 00:40:36.519 --> 00:40:39.679 It's got to be one of the best SNL skits ever. I wanted to 552 00:40:39.719 --> 00:40:44.639 mention this to you, Stacey. Of course we both love birds so much, 553 00:40:44.679 --> 00:40:50.440 and so does Adriana And and NPR did a story and I found this 554 00:40:50.519 --> 00:40:54.039 fascinating. I'm gonna follow this where they're they're going to rename a lot of 555 00:40:54.519 --> 00:40:59.480 birds. Did you see that. Yeah, like Anna's hummingbird will go away. 556 00:41:00.000 --> 00:41:06.239 They're going to take away human names, English human names off of off 557 00:41:06.239 --> 00:41:10.880 of birds because it can be deemed offensive or exclusionary. Yeah, and you 558 00:41:10.920 --> 00:41:15.480 know, it's really not that useful, so you know, it's I think 559 00:41:15.519 --> 00:41:19.079 it's a good thing they're giving new names out interesting. Of course, Now 560 00:41:19.079 --> 00:41:21.679 when it comes to common names, there is no one authority, so it's 561 00:41:21.719 --> 00:41:24.559 a little bit tricky because with scientific names, you know, there is an 562 00:41:24.639 --> 00:41:29.480 authority and everyone has to agree. But with common names, it's kind of 563 00:41:29.519 --> 00:41:34.199 like you can try, but some names are very very entrenched in the human 564 00:41:34.239 --> 00:41:37.000 psyche, and it would be very difficult to unseat them. Yeah, as 565 00:41:37.039 --> 00:41:42.760 I understand it, the scientific or botanical names or whatever you want. The 566 00:41:42.800 --> 00:41:45.440 scientific names, right, are going to remain the same, yes, of 567 00:41:45.440 --> 00:41:49.880 course, yes, but the common names may change. The project begins next 568 00:41:49.920 --> 00:41:54.800 year and initially focuses on seventy to eighty bird species that occur primarily in the 569 00:41:54.920 --> 00:42:02.119 United States and Canada. So take as an example, uh, Cooper's Hawk, 570 00:42:02.199 --> 00:42:06.679 it would no longer be the Cooper's Hawk. What they're gonna name it, 571 00:42:06.800 --> 00:42:08.559 I don't know, and I would think that this is gonna be kind 572 00:42:08.559 --> 00:42:12.840 of difficult to do. It's it is, But if they were ever going 573 00:42:12.880 --> 00:42:15.960 to do it, the internet's age is the best time to do it. 574 00:42:15.519 --> 00:42:17.880 You can communicate things a lot more quickly, you know. I think it's 575 00:42:17.920 --> 00:42:22.280 a great example of when you know better, you do better. Fascinating. 576 00:42:22.440 --> 00:42:25.519 I'm gonna follow this, and that's why it needed to be in branching News. 577 00:42:25.559 --> 00:42:29.280 I mean, this is a slippery slope when you think about it. 578 00:42:29.320 --> 00:42:34.519 What's next? Woody Woodpecker, Scrooge McDuck, foghorn, leghorn, big bird. 579 00:42:34.920 --> 00:42:38.239 They're gonna rename big Bird. I don't even think big birds is real 580 00:42:38.320 --> 00:42:43.960 name, tweety bird, daffy duck. I don't know. Anyhow, It's 581 00:42:44.000 --> 00:42:45.480 time for us to wing out of here. Boy, this has been quite 582 00:42:45.519 --> 00:42:52.400 a show. Make sure to join us again next week, same channel, 583 00:42:52.519 --> 00:42:59.000 same place. Reminders Stacey Instagram, YouTube, our website, Gardening Simplified on 584 00:42:59.039 --> 00:43:02.119 Air, dot com post. You can find us out there just about everywhere, 585 00:43:02.159 --> 00:43:05.719 so make sure to tune in and share it with friends and neighbors. 586 00:43:05.920 --> 00:43:08.960 A big thank you very much to Adrianna Robinson, our engineer and producer, 587 00:43:09.000 --> 00:43:12.280 and thank you Stece, and thank you and thanks to all of you