WEBVTT 1 00:00:02.160 --> 00:00:06.240 Coming to you from Studio A here at Proven Winners Color Choice Shrubs. It's 2 00:00:06.320 --> 00:00:11.480 time for the Gardening Simplified Show with Stacy Hervella, me Rick weisst and our 3 00:00:11.560 --> 00:00:17.199 engineer and producer Adrianna Robinson. All Right, today we're going to talk beneficial 4 00:00:17.239 --> 00:00:20.879 insects Stacey. And it's you know, one thing to use them in a 5 00:00:20.920 --> 00:00:26.519 greenhouse setting, and many do. It's a controlled environment and you've got controlled 6 00:00:26.519 --> 00:00:33.000 temperature. But it's another to count on beneficial insects in your yard. Not 7 00:00:33.119 --> 00:00:38.039 a bad idea to try it, but I think causes confusion from people. 8 00:00:38.200 --> 00:00:42.039 Well it does because I think, especially as people have gotten more and more 9 00:00:42.119 --> 00:00:45.759 aware of the plight of honey bees and native bees, you know, just 10 00:00:45.799 --> 00:00:49.119 like we were talking about with Mike Connor last week, they think, okay, 11 00:00:49.119 --> 00:00:52.600 well, bees are beneficial because they pollinate, and so people tend to 12 00:00:52.640 --> 00:00:56.759 think of beneficial insects as pollinating insects, and yes, that is a benefit. 13 00:00:57.280 --> 00:01:00.960 But when we talk about beneficial insects in this contexts what we usually mean 14 00:01:02.479 --> 00:01:07.560 is that they're benefiting you and that they are carnivores who are eating other insects, 15 00:01:07.799 --> 00:01:11.079 or they are invertebrates who are eating other insects, or are eating insects 16 00:01:11.159 --> 00:01:17.799 in your garden like spiders. So the benefit to you from these beneficial insects 17 00:01:17.840 --> 00:01:21.040 is they're doing your past control for you. You've got it a form of 18 00:01:21.400 --> 00:01:26.239 IPM, well, said Stacy, And so let's talk about it and some 19 00:01:26.280 --> 00:01:32.879 of those beneficial insects that maybe you can spot and learn more about in your 20 00:01:33.040 --> 00:01:38.959 landscape. Everybody wants to do something and possibly do something that's beneficial to nature. 21 00:01:40.079 --> 00:01:42.599 You know, it's no different than the guy who walked out out of 22 00:01:42.640 --> 00:01:46.760 his house with a frog on top of his head and his neighbors laughing at 23 00:01:46.840 --> 00:01:48.879 him that he's got a frog on his head, and he says, you 24 00:01:48.920 --> 00:01:53.480 can laugh, but I haven't been bit by a mosquito in years. I 25 00:01:53.480 --> 00:01:57.879 wouldn't suggest that technique. But to be successful in your landscape, you need 26 00:01:57.920 --> 00:02:02.359 diversity. You need some native plants. I think you need some herbs, 27 00:02:02.439 --> 00:02:08.719 because herbs are aromatic. The many are perennial or regano or thyme or lemon 28 00:02:08.759 --> 00:02:15.919 balm, and especially when they bolt, they make a great situation for beneficial 29 00:02:15.360 --> 00:02:22.319 insects. And those insects love flowers of cilantro or lemon balm. Or dill 30 00:02:22.479 --> 00:02:27.520 is a big one. Native plants of course, stacey asters, jobpi weed, 31 00:02:27.639 --> 00:02:30.800 ironweed, b balm, milk weed, a lot of different types of 32 00:02:30.840 --> 00:02:34.840 plants that can draw beneficial insects to our landscape. Well, you know, 33 00:02:34.879 --> 00:02:38.680 there's a common thread through a lot of the plants that you just name that 34 00:02:38.719 --> 00:02:42.280 people might not be aware of, and that is that they pretty much all 35 00:02:42.360 --> 00:02:46.520 have very small flowers. At least the little fluorax make up a larger inflorescence. 36 00:02:46.560 --> 00:02:51.120 So if you think of something like a dill flower or a cilantro flower 37 00:02:51.280 --> 00:02:54.319 or regano or something like that, all of these plants they have flowers, 38 00:02:54.400 --> 00:03:00.479 small flowers in clusters. And when we're talking about beneficial insects are for the 39 00:03:00.479 --> 00:03:04.120 most part talking about some pretty tiny little guys. Yes we are, and 40 00:03:04.199 --> 00:03:07.039 they can't, you know, get into a big flower and get the nectar. 41 00:03:07.080 --> 00:03:09.759 They'll drown. They'll fall right in and drown in a nectar pool, 42 00:03:09.759 --> 00:03:14.280 and that's no good. So all of these plants with small flowers, and 43 00:03:14.319 --> 00:03:17.319 you talked about bbalm, he talks about ironweed and all of these other things, 44 00:03:17.680 --> 00:03:21.800 same exact thing. All of those plants are in the astor family. 45 00:03:21.879 --> 00:03:25.039 Astor acy and they're flowers even though we look at them and think, oh, 46 00:03:25.080 --> 00:03:28.439 it's one flower. If you think about a daisy that you think it's 47 00:03:28.520 --> 00:03:32.159 a daisy flower, it's actually a whole bunch of little, tiny florets arranged 48 00:03:32.159 --> 00:03:36.960 in that influorescence. So from an insect point of view, that's not one 49 00:03:36.960 --> 00:03:38.960 flower. That's like, you know, five hundred flowers, and that's you 50 00:03:39.039 --> 00:03:43.319 know, a bonanza. You know, that's well said and a great point. 51 00:03:43.400 --> 00:03:46.400 So if you're looking to attract beneficial insects to your landscape, look for 52 00:03:46.479 --> 00:03:53.599 those types of flowers, which are kind of complicated flowers because many numerous florets. 53 00:03:53.680 --> 00:03:57.479 As you said, Stacy, I wanted to ask you how you feel 54 00:03:57.520 --> 00:04:00.439 about bug food. Of course, you can go online and you can buy 55 00:04:00.520 --> 00:04:03.639 beneficial insects, and then some of these sites will recommend that you use bug 56 00:04:03.680 --> 00:04:10.360 food. Essentially, you take sticks in your garden and you paste this bug 57 00:04:10.400 --> 00:04:15.039 food, which is some of them call it waste paste in other words, 58 00:04:15.159 --> 00:04:20.360 whey and yeast and sugar and brushing them on these sticks. There's recipes out 59 00:04:20.360 --> 00:04:23.800 there. How do you feel about that? I mean, how I feel 60 00:04:23.800 --> 00:04:28.560 about it is that flowers are more fun. Yes, so you would really 61 00:04:28.600 --> 00:04:30.439 only need to do that if you didn't have flowers, and a lot of 62 00:04:30.439 --> 00:04:35.160 times, especially like in a greenhouse situation, if you are releasing beneficial insects 63 00:04:35.199 --> 00:04:41.279 to help prey on aphids or spider mites or whatever, then you might need 64 00:04:41.319 --> 00:04:45.079 that because you might not have anything in flour to feed the adults. And 65 00:04:45.120 --> 00:04:48.439 that's the key. When we talk about beneficial insects, what we're mostly talking 66 00:04:48.439 --> 00:04:54.920 about are insects that from their larval stage or their baby stage. Those that 67 00:04:55.040 --> 00:05:00.680 stage preys on insects or spider mites, and the adults want them to stick 68 00:05:00.720 --> 00:05:04.480 around and have their babies in your garden, and they eat flowers. So 69 00:05:05.160 --> 00:05:09.680 that's a big difference. So you need to have that food source for the 70 00:05:09.720 --> 00:05:12.560 adults in order for them to be like, hey, it's cool here, 71 00:05:12.600 --> 00:05:15.120 I can set all there's food there, shelter, you know, I like 72 00:05:15.199 --> 00:05:16.600 it here. If you don't have that, if you don't have flowers, 73 00:05:16.639 --> 00:05:19.800 which can happen in a greenhouse or depending on your garden, you know, 74 00:05:19.839 --> 00:05:23.680 you get them in in spring and you don't have a lot of stuff blooming 75 00:05:23.720 --> 00:05:27.839 or stuff not suitable to these tiny little guys, then yeah, you might 76 00:05:27.920 --> 00:05:30.680 need to provide some supplemental food like that. So let me segue off what 77 00:05:30.839 --> 00:05:35.439 you just spoke about. Ladybugs. Yeah, ladybugs dealing with aphids, and 78 00:05:35.480 --> 00:05:39.639 of course you have the Asian lady bugs, and then you have the native 79 00:05:40.439 --> 00:05:45.040 lady bugs, which generally hang out in leaf litter. The Asian ladybugs tend 80 00:05:45.120 --> 00:05:47.319 to hang out in your house over winter. Oh yeah, and they operate 81 00:05:47.360 --> 00:05:51.160 in clusters. But the point is is the larva almost looks like tiny little 82 00:05:51.199 --> 00:05:55.920 alligators and that's where they do their damage. Yeah, and you know, 83 00:05:56.079 --> 00:06:00.519 so many people will see a ladybug larva for the first time, I'm and 84 00:06:00.800 --> 00:06:03.800 freak out, what is this in my garden? Is it bad? So 85 00:06:03.879 --> 00:06:08.199 we'll put a picture, of course, on the YouTube version of the show 86 00:06:08.240 --> 00:06:10.279 if you're able to see it, or of course you can just search for 87 00:06:10.319 --> 00:06:14.480 it. But yeah, I've heard alligator, I've heard dragon. People use 88 00:06:14.519 --> 00:06:16.839 all sorts of creative names. So basically, you know, I remember being 89 00:06:16.839 --> 00:06:20.199 a little kid and having some sort of little insect land on me and be 90 00:06:20.279 --> 00:06:23.560 like, mom, it's a baby ladybug. Well, no, it's not 91 00:06:23.600 --> 00:06:28.800 a baby ladybug, because a baby ladybug does not look like an adult ladybug. 92 00:06:28.839 --> 00:06:32.759 It's a kind of wormy alligator looking thing. It is orange and black. 93 00:06:32.839 --> 00:06:38.319 It's kind of spiky. I imagine people are getting some wild imagination. 94 00:06:38.720 --> 00:06:42.639 You know, it's movie. Yeah, it does. It kind of looks 95 00:06:42.639 --> 00:06:46.759 like being alien or something creepy like that. But they have a voracious appetite 96 00:06:46.759 --> 00:06:50.079 for aphids especially. I mean the adults will eat some, but those adult 97 00:06:50.120 --> 00:06:55.920 ladybugs again, they're going for the nectar. It's those those larvae that you 98 00:06:56.000 --> 00:06:59.000 really need to feed. That's what's what's doing your pest control for you. 99 00:06:59.319 --> 00:07:04.040 And we should dive in deep in regards to this subject. I know, 100 00:07:04.519 --> 00:07:10.199 Stacey, you know a lot about insects and love insects, and I don't 101 00:07:10.199 --> 00:07:12.800 blame you. I do too. You know, if we go down the 102 00:07:12.800 --> 00:07:17.160 list, there's beneficial nematodes where we're generally dealing with insects in the soil. 103 00:07:17.360 --> 00:07:24.480 Yea larva, you have lace wings. Parasitic wasps. I always in summertime 104 00:07:25.000 --> 00:07:29.199 love to watch the work of parasitic wasps when they lay their eggs on tomato 105 00:07:29.279 --> 00:07:30.959 hornworms. Oh yeah see, I have not seen that yet. I've seen 106 00:07:31.000 --> 00:07:34.040 pictures of it. But you know, people think wasps, whoa, whoa 107 00:07:34.079 --> 00:07:41.240 whoa wasps could never be beneficial, and wasps can be a predator of desirable 108 00:07:41.600 --> 00:07:44.920 insect larva as well. So it is important to know that some of these 109 00:07:44.920 --> 00:07:47.560 insects that are considered beneficial insects are really kind of non discriminate when it comes 110 00:07:47.600 --> 00:07:50.439 to eating, so they can eat some beneficials. But you know you're talking 111 00:07:50.480 --> 00:07:54.639 about a wasp that if you have a tomato hornworm, which you know, 112 00:07:55.120 --> 00:07:58.560 I'll just come right out and say it's tomato horn rooms are the only insect 113 00:07:58.720 --> 00:08:03.319 that truly freaks me out. They really do. They're so big, they've 114 00:08:03.319 --> 00:08:05.639 eaten so much of your tomato. I do not like them. I can't 115 00:08:05.639 --> 00:08:09.000 bring myself to squish them. If I find one, I fling it into 116 00:08:09.000 --> 00:08:11.959 my driveway and let the birds get it. But yeah, sometimes if you 117 00:08:11.959 --> 00:08:16.000 get lucky, you will find one that's all covered in white eggs. And 118 00:08:16.079 --> 00:08:20.879 basically what that is is the larva or the eggs of parasitic wasps. And 119 00:08:20.920 --> 00:08:26.160 when those eggs hatch, those larva are going to go into the insect body 120 00:08:26.920 --> 00:08:31.559 devour it. Got it help burst open as adult wasps to repeat the cycle. 121 00:08:31.720 --> 00:08:35.799 I've posted pictures in social media and people freak out. Yeah, so 122 00:08:35.960 --> 00:08:43.279 it's crazy you have the tacanid fly. I love the scientific name for that 123 00:08:43.320 --> 00:08:48.519 thing, bombie Leopsis abrupt something like that. We'll post it or maybe Adrian 124 00:08:48.679 --> 00:08:54.480 will put it on the YouTube video. Hover flies and I struggle with that 125 00:08:54.559 --> 00:09:00.159 word, Stacy. I never know if it's hover or hover or hover or 126 00:09:00.200 --> 00:09:03.080 hoover. So I always thought it was hover, you know, because they're 127 00:09:03.080 --> 00:09:07.120 hovering. I'm gonna take your words. So surfed flies. I usually say 128 00:09:07.159 --> 00:09:11.399 surfed flies anyway because it's more fun to say. And I don't know, 129 00:09:11.480 --> 00:09:13.679 I just I always say surfing flies. But so another way that people can 130 00:09:13.679 --> 00:09:18.080 think about these is their bee flies, because they do use a bee mimicry, 131 00:09:18.159 --> 00:09:22.759 so they look like bees, but they are flies. And you can 132 00:09:22.759 --> 00:09:26.240 tell the difference because the surfed fly has two wings, so flies have two 133 00:09:26.279 --> 00:09:31.240 wings. Bees have four wings. So if you're able to observe it and 134 00:09:31.279 --> 00:09:33.440 you only see the two wings, that is a surfed fly. It's beneficial. 135 00:09:33.759 --> 00:09:37.919 Again, going back to that larval stage loves to eat all sorts of 136 00:09:37.960 --> 00:09:43.639 nasty stuff and does a great job. And I find the adults really quite 137 00:09:43.679 --> 00:09:46.960 delightful and I love seeing them. I grow a lot of fennel ornamental fenel, 138 00:09:48.080 --> 00:09:52.320 and they love those flowers. Yeah, eats lots of nasty stuff. 139 00:09:52.440 --> 00:09:56.399 That's like some teenagers I know who can still do that at their age. 140 00:09:56.480 --> 00:10:03.360 Praying mantis, rove beetle are fascinating, learn more about them. There's so 141 00:10:03.480 --> 00:10:09.279 many that we could talk about. And I love the leafhopper. Assassin bugs, 142 00:10:09.399 --> 00:10:13.919 Oh my word, are they very cool. Also, so with a 143 00:10:15.000 --> 00:10:16.679 name like assassin bug, it's got to be cool. Well. And part 144 00:10:16.679 --> 00:10:22.559 of the reason they call them assassin bug is because they're predatory in all stages. 145 00:10:22.440 --> 00:10:26.360 And that's the interesting thing. As you mentioned the lady bugs just in 146 00:10:26.399 --> 00:10:31.559 the larva stage, but with assassin bugs they named them appropriately. Well, 147 00:10:31.639 --> 00:10:35.840 we'll see how Stacey ties this all in in Plants on Trial coming up in 148 00:10:35.879 --> 00:10:46.840 our next segment Here on the Gardening Simplified Show, Proven Winners Colored Choice Shrubs 149 00:10:46.879 --> 00:10:50.639 cares about your success in the garden. That's why we trial and test all 150 00:10:50.679 --> 00:10:54.639 of our shrubs for eight to ten years, making sure they outperform everything else 151 00:10:54.679 --> 00:10:58.159 on the market. Look for them in the distinctive white container at your local 152 00:10:58.200 --> 00:11:03.320 garden center. Greetings, gardening friends, and welcome back to the Gardening Simplified 153 00:11:03.320 --> 00:11:07.559 show where we are talking about one of my all time favorite subjects, insects. 154 00:11:07.679 --> 00:11:11.279 I love them, I love cnom, I love talking about them, 155 00:11:11.360 --> 00:11:15.679 I love learning about them, and I love sharing the few things that I 156 00:11:15.720 --> 00:11:18.799 do know about them, because, just like plants, learning about insects is 157 00:11:18.159 --> 00:11:22.120 open to a whole new world that you couldn't even begin to master. Now, 158 00:11:22.120 --> 00:11:26.399 we didn't mention in the first episode, in the first segment when we 159 00:11:26.399 --> 00:11:31.799 were talking about beneficials, you didn't mention one of my absolute favorite beneficials. 160 00:11:31.039 --> 00:11:33.879 What one would that? Lace wings? Oh, lace swings, You're right, 161 00:11:35.120 --> 00:11:37.960 yes, So I love lace wings. They are beautifully elegant as an 162 00:11:39.000 --> 00:11:43.440 adult, So they have this sort of gorgeous, glowing lime green color and 163 00:11:43.440 --> 00:11:48.120 they're one of the larger, I would say, of the of the beneficial 164 00:11:48.159 --> 00:11:52.960 insects. And their wings really are very lacy and light and see through and 165 00:11:52.039 --> 00:11:56.080 delicate, so beautiful adult. But what I really love about them is the 166 00:11:56.120 --> 00:12:01.120 eggs. And once you know what a lace egg looks like, you do 167 00:12:01.240 --> 00:12:03.600 start to find them everywhere, and they're typically on the underside of the leaves, 168 00:12:05.159 --> 00:12:09.440 and they are they're just this fine, sort of little hair like structure 169 00:12:09.519 --> 00:12:13.200 with this elegant little egg at the end. So they lay their eggs on 170 00:12:13.240 --> 00:12:16.720 these stalks, and they are typically in groups of like maybe five to ten 171 00:12:16.399 --> 00:12:20.120 or something like that. Now, again, this is another case where those 172 00:12:20.200 --> 00:12:24.960 larva are doing much more benefit to you in terms of eating aphids and all 173 00:12:24.000 --> 00:12:30.279 these other you know, negative insects in your garden. But whether you have 174 00:12:30.320 --> 00:12:33.000 the eggs or the adults, I think they are just so lovely. And 175 00:12:33.039 --> 00:12:37.519 I do want to say, don't get lace wing confused with lace bug, 176 00:12:37.120 --> 00:12:41.960 because lace bug is a bad insect for your garden. Some plants are much 177 00:12:41.960 --> 00:12:46.080 more susceptible to it than others. Of course, the azalea lace bug is 178 00:12:46.120 --> 00:12:50.320 a notorious one. Sycamore and London plane also get a lace bug. And 179 00:12:50.440 --> 00:12:54.759 lace bugs are not beneficial. They actually suck plant juices and can cause some 180 00:12:54.159 --> 00:13:00.279 ugly you know coloration on your plant leaves. But lace wings totally good. 181 00:13:00.360 --> 00:13:03.399 Welcome in, roll out the welcome mat for the lace wings in your guards. 182 00:13:03.559 --> 00:13:07.679 So, in bug talk, the lesser of two weavils, Yeah, 183 00:13:07.720 --> 00:13:09.879 I guess. So, I guess you could say that although they are not 184 00:13:11.159 --> 00:13:16.759 in the weavil, weavels are type of beetle. Sorry, I'm gonna get 185 00:13:16.759 --> 00:13:20.600 a little pedanzic when it comes to bugs. I'm very passionate about that. 186 00:13:20.679 --> 00:13:26.279 Well, let's have it so as we're saying whatever, you know, beneficial 187 00:13:26.320 --> 00:13:30.639 insect that you are trying to encourage in your garden, and I do want 188 00:13:30.639 --> 00:13:33.639 to say this, we should mention this. You can buy beneficial insects. 189 00:13:33.919 --> 00:13:39.159 Those are very often sold for use in a greenhouse or something like that. 190 00:13:39.240 --> 00:13:43.320 But typically for most of us as gardeners, we don't need to buy them. 191 00:13:43.399 --> 00:13:48.000 All we really need to do is make our gardens more hospitable for them 192 00:13:48.080 --> 00:13:50.200 to take up residents and they'll find it on them. These are native for 193 00:13:50.200 --> 00:13:56.759 the most part, insects that just they're just around the environment. Yeah, 194 00:13:56.799 --> 00:13:58.960 and would you agree with me, Stacy, that dyl is a good choice, 195 00:14:00.080 --> 00:14:03.120 still is a great choice. Okay. The only problem with dill is 196 00:14:03.159 --> 00:14:05.000 that it blooms for a relatively short time. I mean, I love dill 197 00:14:05.039 --> 00:14:07.879 flowers. I love dill, But dill is a plant. You know, 198 00:14:07.960 --> 00:14:11.519 again, we've talked a bit about cilantro on. I know we're in plants 199 00:14:11.559 --> 00:14:15.559 on trial and I'm about to go off on some major tangent here, but 200 00:14:16.240 --> 00:14:20.159 you know, people think because of how they buy dill in the grocery store 201 00:14:20.000 --> 00:14:24.080 that it's going to grow one way and it doesn't grow the way. It's 202 00:14:24.080 --> 00:14:28.440 the same with cilantro. So in the garden, dill is very lush and 203 00:14:28.559 --> 00:14:31.240 leafy early in the season, and then as summer comes on and it gets 204 00:14:31.240 --> 00:14:33.960 ready to flower, those leaves kind of peter out and you just get that 205 00:14:35.080 --> 00:14:39.559 long flowering stamp. Great for pickles, perfect timing for when the cucumbers really 206 00:14:39.559 --> 00:14:41.919 start to come in the garden. But really to have a steady supply of 207 00:14:41.960 --> 00:14:46.039 dill, you need to keep sowing. The sea continues sewing so that it's 208 00:14:46.039 --> 00:14:50.919 always coming up because it just naturally has that short life cycle. But talking 209 00:14:50.960 --> 00:14:54.480 about dill and having that relatively short flowering time is the perfect segue into today's 210 00:14:54.519 --> 00:15:00.000 plant on trial, which is low and behold blue chip junior butterfly bush. 211 00:15:00.240 --> 00:15:01.919 I love that plant. Yeah, I love it too. And you know, 212 00:15:03.080 --> 00:15:07.919 of course, butterfly bushes budleia get all the attention for attracting butterflies. 213 00:15:07.960 --> 00:15:11.360 I mean, it's right there in the name, so kind of clear why 214 00:15:11.360 --> 00:15:15.840 that would happen. And yes, they do attract butterflies, but the same 215 00:15:15.919 --> 00:15:20.799 reason that butterflies are attracted to them. Are the same reasons that beneficial insects 216 00:15:20.919 --> 00:15:26.759 would be attracted to these plants. They have numerous small flowers, a very 217 00:15:26.840 --> 00:15:31.279 high pollen and nectar count. And the great thing about adding, now this 218 00:15:31.320 --> 00:15:33.519 is true of any butterfly bush, but I'm focusing specifically on loan Behold blue 219 00:15:33.559 --> 00:15:35.960 chip junior today, and I'll give you some reasons why in a moment. 220 00:15:37.519 --> 00:15:41.919 But the great thing about having a butterfly bush as part of this approach to 221 00:15:43.080 --> 00:15:46.639 encouraging beneficial insects is that they flower four months. You know, typically for 222 00:15:46.759 --> 00:15:50.279 us here in Michigan, butterfly bushes are in flour pretty much from like mid 223 00:15:50.360 --> 00:15:54.720 June all the way up through mid September, even late September, depending on 224 00:15:54.759 --> 00:15:58.279 how the weather goes. Compare that with dill, where you're going to have 225 00:15:58.279 --> 00:16:02.519 maybe you know, two weeks rich nectar flowers. Compare that even to something 226 00:16:02.559 --> 00:16:07.399 like you were talking about milkweed. We talked about bee bomb, fantastic flowers, 227 00:16:07.480 --> 00:16:11.480 but again usually only around for two or three weeks in the summer. 228 00:16:11.679 --> 00:16:15.519 So I think it brings up the point diversity is important, so you can 229 00:16:15.559 --> 00:16:18.799 plant the herbs and that sort of thing. But your point is with butterfly 230 00:16:18.919 --> 00:16:23.799 bush that all those tiny little flowers, the insects love them, and it's 231 00:16:25.159 --> 00:16:27.960 it does the heavy work, the heavy lifting, because it's blooming for such 232 00:16:27.960 --> 00:16:30.559 a long period of time, right, So it's kind of like having this 233 00:16:30.600 --> 00:16:34.039 all you can eat buffet all summer long, open twenty four to seven, 234 00:16:34.200 --> 00:16:37.679 twenty four to seven. And then you know, if they're like, hey, 235 00:16:37.679 --> 00:16:40.399 you know, I'm getting a little tired of having buddleia for dinner every 236 00:16:40.440 --> 00:16:44.360 day. Oh but look, hey the bee bomb went and bloom, so 237 00:16:44.399 --> 00:16:47.120 I'm gonna go switch it up. So again, it's so important. And 238 00:16:47.120 --> 00:16:52.120 this is the great thing about this is it's just as beneficial for you from 239 00:16:52.159 --> 00:16:57.519 an esthetic standpoint as it is for the insects to have this broad diversity of 240 00:16:57.559 --> 00:17:03.319 flower colors for times, different nectar contents, different pollen contents, and so 241 00:17:03.400 --> 00:17:07.799 butterfly bush are just part of that equation. Preach it. You're on a 242 00:17:07.920 --> 00:17:12.039 roll. So we have a bunch of butterfly bush in the proven Winner's color 243 00:17:12.119 --> 00:17:18.000 choice lines. So of course choosing just one to cover today is always difficult. 244 00:17:18.319 --> 00:17:22.160 But I wanted to choose low and Behold blue Chip Junior, So Low 245 00:17:22.160 --> 00:17:26.519 and behold. Butterfly bushes came out about maybe fifteen ish years ago, and 246 00:17:26.599 --> 00:17:32.279 they were the first non invasive seedless butterfly bushes on the market. And not 247 00:17:32.319 --> 00:17:36.480 only were they seedlessen non invasive and we probably have listeners right now going wait, 248 00:17:36.519 --> 00:17:40.240 what butterfly bush is invasive? And it's not typically an issue here in 249 00:17:40.279 --> 00:17:45.119 Michigan, but especially in milder climates because butterfly bush had become so popular and 250 00:17:45.240 --> 00:17:49.359 older varieties are very seedy put out a lot of seed. Like if you 251 00:17:49.440 --> 00:17:53.000 go out west to Oregon or Washington, you are going to see butterfly bush 252 00:17:53.319 --> 00:17:56.240 growing in the ditches like we have purple LuSE strife. It's kind of a 253 00:17:56.240 --> 00:18:00.160 wild thing to see if you're not used to that, and especially if you 254 00:18:00.640 --> 00:18:03.119 gardening clay soil and are thinking, sesh, I can't even get a butterfly 255 00:18:03.200 --> 00:18:07.119 bush to live in my yard, much less imagine it being invasive. So 256 00:18:07.200 --> 00:18:12.039 for a lot of gardeners, having this seedless quality is really important and has 257 00:18:12.440 --> 00:18:18.480 made butterfly bush an opportunity again in areas where it was banned because these particular 258 00:18:18.519 --> 00:18:22.039 varieties don't set seed, but that doesn't mean that they don't have nectar that 259 00:18:22.039 --> 00:18:26.279 they don't have pollen, they still have all of that capability of sustaining not 260 00:18:26.319 --> 00:18:30.920 just butterflies, but other beneficial insects as well. So the original butterfly lo 261 00:18:32.000 --> 00:18:36.279 and Behold blue Chip was kind of a larger plant. The colors were kind 262 00:18:36.279 --> 00:18:38.519 of the flower color was more of like a dusty kind of blue. So 263 00:18:38.559 --> 00:18:42.200 the same breeder, doctor Dennis Warner out of North Carolina State University. He's 264 00:18:42.200 --> 00:18:47.759 retired now, but he devoted his career to developing sterile, non invasive butterfly 265 00:18:47.799 --> 00:18:52.599 bushes. He selected this one later because it has a much richer blue color. 266 00:18:52.640 --> 00:18:57.119 And what I really like about this particular variety is the foliage is kind 267 00:18:57.160 --> 00:19:02.039 of silvery. Of the other ones have a dark green leaf, which is 268 00:19:02.039 --> 00:19:04.920 still fine, but I think this one just has that like I love that 269 00:19:06.039 --> 00:19:11.000 Mediterranean kind of drought tolerant look good description, Yeah, exactly, So I 270 00:19:11.039 --> 00:19:14.680 love that color in there. So I really like the contrast between the flowers 271 00:19:14.680 --> 00:19:18.119 and foliage of Low and Behold blue Chip junior butterfly bush. It's also a 272 00:19:18.119 --> 00:19:22.000 little bit smaller than the original blue chip, so it reaches just one and 273 00:19:22.039 --> 00:19:23.759 a half to two and a half feet tall and wide, and that's pretty 274 00:19:23.839 --> 00:19:30.160 revolutionary for a butterfly bush because older varieties are like what eight feet tall and 275 00:19:30.240 --> 00:19:33.440 you know, five five feet wide, so they would get really really large. 276 00:19:33.480 --> 00:19:38.000 And so doctor Warner's breeding with a Low and Behold series really kind of 277 00:19:38.039 --> 00:19:42.559 helped people reimagine butterfly bush and how it could be used in the garden. 278 00:19:42.599 --> 00:19:45.960 And I think this is such a great example of it. Another thing about 279 00:19:45.000 --> 00:19:49.000 this one is it is less brittle than other butterfly bush and butterfly bush. 280 00:19:49.000 --> 00:19:52.279 You know, most plants have some liability somewhere in there. You might not 281 00:19:52.359 --> 00:19:56.240 discover it depending on how you're using it. But butterfly bush the wood is 282 00:19:56.279 --> 00:20:00.400 just naturally brittle, and so you know, very often if you've ever purchased 283 00:20:00.440 --> 00:20:03.119 one and you're bringing it home from the garden center, you know it's like 284 00:20:03.519 --> 00:20:06.759 breaking off. You think, oh geez, I just ruined it. Well, 285 00:20:06.799 --> 00:20:11.839 it's just something that happens with these particular plants. So a lot of 286 00:20:11.880 --> 00:20:15.680 improvements over it. But I did say I want to talk about some of 287 00:20:15.720 --> 00:20:18.519 the tips about butterfly bush since it is spring and a lot of people are 288 00:20:18.519 --> 00:20:22.680 probably wondering what they do, and pruning, of course is always a huge, 289 00:20:22.759 --> 00:20:26.359 huge issue. So yes, you can prune your butterfly bush, and 290 00:20:26.400 --> 00:20:30.559 in fact, you should prune your butterfly bush because if you don't, you 291 00:20:30.599 --> 00:20:33.079 will end up with a second story plant that flowers only at the tippy top 292 00:20:33.119 --> 00:20:37.680 where you can't even really see it. Still find for butterflies and beneficial insects, 293 00:20:37.880 --> 00:20:40.799 but not so great for you. And it doesn't really look that great 294 00:20:40.839 --> 00:20:45.559 either. But the time to prune your butterfly bush is when you see the 295 00:20:45.599 --> 00:20:48.920 new growth emerging on the stems. So whenever that happens, that's your signal 296 00:20:48.920 --> 00:20:52.759 to prune. Butterfly bush are one of those plants where it's not super clear 297 00:20:53.240 --> 00:20:56.680 where you should be pruning. It doesn't have really obvious bud points like some 298 00:20:56.759 --> 00:21:00.960 other plants like hydraengos or roses do, So if you wait until that new 299 00:21:02.000 --> 00:21:06.079 growth is actually emerging on the stem, it's telling you, hey, you 300 00:21:06.119 --> 00:21:08.559 can prune me here. I'm alive. Below this, we're good to go. 301 00:21:10.039 --> 00:21:14.039 And what you want to do is prune just above where a large bud 302 00:21:14.160 --> 00:21:17.319 is emerging. The bigger the bud, the more vigorous the growth that comes 303 00:21:17.319 --> 00:21:19.799 from it is, and you want to try to cut them pretty low. 304 00:21:19.920 --> 00:21:23.440 About as low to the ground as you can and still just above a bud, 305 00:21:23.839 --> 00:21:27.000 because this is going to give you that nice, compact, dense habit 306 00:21:27.039 --> 00:21:30.839 like you see in the pictures on our tags. That's how we take care 307 00:21:30.880 --> 00:21:34.440 of all of our butterfly bushes here at the nursery, and that will also 308 00:21:34.440 --> 00:21:38.759 help you get good flower coverage all over the plant. Now, if you 309 00:21:38.839 --> 00:21:42.519 don't see new growth emerging on your butterfly bush, even if everything else in 310 00:21:42.559 --> 00:21:48.359 your yard is emerging, don't panic. They can be very very late to 311 00:21:48.680 --> 00:21:52.519 emerge in spring. They can actually take all the way until mid June, 312 00:21:52.839 --> 00:21:55.640 especially if you live in a colder climate. You know, I have so 313 00:21:55.720 --> 00:21:59.240 much more to say about this, you know, bugs butterfly bush. I'm 314 00:21:59.279 --> 00:22:00.599 dying over here. So I'm going to put the rest of this in the 315 00:22:00.599 --> 00:22:03.839 show notes because we have to take a little bit of break. So visit 316 00:22:03.880 --> 00:22:07.359 Gardening Simplified on air dot com for all the information you need. When we 317 00:22:07.400 --> 00:22:08.759 come back, we're opening up the garden mail bags, so please stay tuned. 318 00:22:15.079 --> 00:22:18.799 At proven winner's color choice, We've got a shrub for every taste and 319 00:22:18.960 --> 00:22:23.920 every space. Whether you're looking for an easycare rose, an unforgettable Hydrangea or 320 00:22:23.960 --> 00:22:27.160 something new and unique. You can be confident that the shrubs and the white 321 00:22:27.200 --> 00:22:32.160 containers have been trialed and tested for your success. Look for them at your 322 00:22:32.200 --> 00:22:37.039 local garden center. Greetings gardening friends, and welcome back to the Gardening Simplified 323 00:22:37.079 --> 00:22:41.680 Show, where it's the time to answer your garden questions. If you've got 324 00:22:41.720 --> 00:22:45.359 a garden question, you can reach us at Gardening Simplified on air dot com. 325 00:22:45.359 --> 00:22:48.119 It's so easy. You just click the contact tab and send us your 326 00:22:48.119 --> 00:22:52.079 message. And I know some people have mentioned that they had trouble attaching photos, 327 00:22:52.119 --> 00:22:55.920 which very often when you're helping people diagnose gardening issues, a photo is 328 00:22:56.039 --> 00:22:59.559 very important. If that's the case, just go ahead and write us and 329 00:22:59.599 --> 00:23:03.880 say I couldn'tach my photot and we'll give you further instructions from there. But 330 00:23:03.039 --> 00:23:07.000 I know it's a busy time of year. We got a lot of questions 331 00:23:07.000 --> 00:23:08.319 in the inbox. So what do we got on tap this week? Well, 332 00:23:08.319 --> 00:23:11.079 along the lines of questions, Stacy, I just wanted to mention to 333 00:23:11.200 --> 00:23:17.880 your comments about pruning bud Leo were very, very good And I did live 334 00:23:18.000 --> 00:23:22.599 radio for years and that was one of the number one questions I'd get pruning 335 00:23:22.640 --> 00:23:26.799 bud leo right, because they look kind of crummy in spring. Right now, 336 00:23:27.160 --> 00:23:30.079 I can't possibly be meant to look at this for the next couple of 337 00:23:30.160 --> 00:23:33.319 weeks, and we want to get started, all right, Angie writes to 338 00:23:33.400 --> 00:23:37.279 us. A couple of weeks ago, I noticed my indoor Meyer lemon tree 339 00:23:37.319 --> 00:23:41.119 had spider mite's surprise. And this is the first time I've ever grown a 340 00:23:41.200 --> 00:23:45.880 mayor lemon tree, first time I've ever experienced a pest. And I fear 341 00:23:45.960 --> 00:23:51.720 I noticed too late to save it. So Angie applied some safers and all 342 00:23:51.799 --> 00:23:56.000 the leaves have fallen off. Now there's just branches. Any chance of survival 343 00:23:56.079 --> 00:24:00.880 or is it set for the compost Pilon Stacy. Anytime that I hear the 344 00:24:00.920 --> 00:24:06.160 word mites, I think dry air, dry air. And if we bring 345 00:24:06.200 --> 00:24:10.319 a lemon tree inside the house and the heat is running and I'm not sure 346 00:24:10.319 --> 00:24:14.000 where Angie lives, but it could be air conditioning too, dry air, 347 00:24:14.519 --> 00:24:17.640 you're gonna have mite problems. Yeah, And I think that you know what 348 00:24:17.839 --> 00:24:19.839 can happen, especially at this time in the year. The plant has been 349 00:24:19.960 --> 00:24:25.480 indoors for what you know, six months now five months. That's a long 350 00:24:25.519 --> 00:24:27.799 time, and that's really going to start adding up and causing the plant a 351 00:24:27.839 --> 00:24:33.279 lot of stress. Stressure, and when a plant is under stress, pest 352 00:24:33.319 --> 00:24:37.519 problems really explode. They can be managed just fine all season long, but 353 00:24:37.559 --> 00:24:41.799 then if you get some kind of major stress boom, it just kind of 354 00:24:41.839 --> 00:24:45.519 explodes with them. So I think that's what happened, Angie, that your 355 00:24:45.519 --> 00:24:48.119 plant just kind of is like, I can't take it anymore. I'm giving 356 00:24:48.200 --> 00:24:51.319 up the spider MIT's one. But that doesn't mean your plant is dead. 357 00:24:51.640 --> 00:24:53.519 When a plant is very stress, it's not at all uncommon for it to 358 00:24:53.519 --> 00:24:56.599 just be like, Nope, these leaves aren't doing any good. They're way 359 00:24:56.640 --> 00:25:00.559 too bitten up by spider mites. I'm just going to like row a whole 360 00:25:00.559 --> 00:25:03.079 new set. I'm gonna go mope for a while. I'm gonna mope. 361 00:25:03.359 --> 00:25:07.599 I'm going to regroup my energy, and I'm going to hopefully be able to 362 00:25:07.720 --> 00:25:11.160 get new foliage out when conditions improve. So the great news, Angie is 363 00:25:11.200 --> 00:25:14.640 I do think it's likely to be okay. I think that just the fact 364 00:25:14.680 --> 00:25:18.319 that the leaves were all dropped doesn't mean that it's suffering. It just means 365 00:25:18.359 --> 00:25:22.839 that it's stressed and kind of conserving its resources, and you know, probably 366 00:25:22.000 --> 00:25:27.079 has some sense based on the increasing light that better days are ahead. My 367 00:25:27.200 --> 00:25:32.920 recommendation for you would be to put it outdoors as soon as you reasonably can 368 00:25:32.960 --> 00:25:36.880 without risking, you know, its health to any cold. This plant is 369 00:25:36.880 --> 00:25:40.880 going to be so so much happier outside than inside. And I think that 370 00:25:40.920 --> 00:25:44.839 you know, as you water it and make it happy again, it will 371 00:25:44.920 --> 00:25:48.079 leaf out. I have certainly had citrus plants that I've attempted to grow indoors. 372 00:25:48.400 --> 00:25:52.359 I've never had bright enough light to really do it well, that have 373 00:25:52.440 --> 00:25:56.039 defoliated like that and taken a little break and then with water and you know, 374 00:25:56.160 --> 00:26:00.079 longer days and all of that come back without a problem. So do 375 00:26:00.119 --> 00:26:03.599 you not give up on it? And then maybe next year, you know, 376 00:26:03.640 --> 00:26:10.759 maybe some missing maybe a preemptive application of this safe spray that you put 377 00:26:10.799 --> 00:26:15.000 on to try to control any mites that might be coming in on the plants 378 00:26:15.599 --> 00:26:18.640 when you bring it in in winter, move away from any registers when it's 379 00:26:18.720 --> 00:26:23.240 indoors. But two words sunshine and humidity. But what do I know. 380 00:26:23.359 --> 00:26:27.839 I'm only humid. I love humid weather, so do lemon trees. Cheryl 381 00:26:27.880 --> 00:26:33.039 has a question. I purchased rooted plants of asparagus Jersey Giant and asparagus Mary 382 00:26:33.240 --> 00:26:37.519 Washington. My question where should I plant them? The package says to plant 383 00:26:37.559 --> 00:26:42.640 in full sun to create a mound in the trench and spreading the roots over 384 00:26:42.680 --> 00:26:47.200 the ridge. The only thing I do understand is that do not harvest the 385 00:26:47.240 --> 00:26:51.480 spears the first year. And you know, this is a great question because 386 00:26:51.519 --> 00:26:56.039 asparagus is a perennial vegetable, just like horseradish or rhubarb. The plants can 387 00:26:56.200 --> 00:27:02.079 last for years, and yes, when we see the spears in spring and 388 00:27:02.880 --> 00:27:07.880 ensuing years once that's done, to let that fern like foliage grow, Stacey, 389 00:27:07.119 --> 00:27:11.440 I let all the plant, yeah, to photosynthesize the plant. The 390 00:27:11.440 --> 00:27:15.799 foliage is so beautiful. So yeah, that's why the typical recommendation is to 391 00:27:15.960 --> 00:27:19.079 not harvest the first year because the spears that you eat in asparagus are actually 392 00:27:19.119 --> 00:27:22.279 the shoots for the foliage. So if you take those off, the plant 393 00:27:22.319 --> 00:27:26.640 doesn't have an opportunity to grow foliage, to photosynthesize and increase the size of 394 00:27:26.680 --> 00:27:30.039 that crown. So I'm not exactly sure where your confusion is, Cheryl, 395 00:27:30.119 --> 00:27:34.920 unless it's about the trench because this is kind of standard recommendation for asparagus. 396 00:27:34.920 --> 00:27:37.720 And if you've ever seen an asparagus root crown, it's kind of like a 397 00:27:38.119 --> 00:27:44.960 octopus or something like a very tangled ball of yarn octopus with a crown, 398 00:27:45.319 --> 00:27:49.880 that's what it is. And so that trench recommendation is really so that you 399 00:27:49.920 --> 00:27:55.599 can kind of position the crown and try to spread those roots out the best 400 00:27:55.640 --> 00:27:57.079 that you can. Now, this isn't like the kind of thing that you 401 00:27:57.160 --> 00:28:02.319 got to fuss over and work really are at, but the typical way that 402 00:28:02.359 --> 00:28:06.680 it should be planted is to dig a wider hole and then as you place 403 00:28:06.759 --> 00:28:10.799 those crowns into the trench, take the time to kind of spread out the 404 00:28:10.880 --> 00:28:15.599 roots and that will really help it to establish better. And I'll tell you 405 00:28:15.640 --> 00:28:19.559 it's worth whatever you put into establishing and asparagus planting, because yeah, they'll 406 00:28:19.599 --> 00:28:23.079 last thirty years or longer. They're very, very long lived. And more 407 00:28:23.119 --> 00:28:26.759 important than the trench, in my opinion, is well drained soil. So 408 00:28:26.799 --> 00:28:32.160 they need moisture, some organic material. We can work in some manure organic 409 00:28:32.240 --> 00:28:37.319 material, but you need well drained soil with asparagus. The soil pH is 410 00:28:37.359 --> 00:28:41.160 important. Also, they don't like really acidic soils, so maybe get a 411 00:28:41.200 --> 00:28:45.799 pH test. You don't have to, but they do like that six point 412 00:28:45.880 --> 00:28:51.839 five range and then side dressing the rose with some twelve twelve twelve works great, 413 00:28:52.400 --> 00:28:55.400 but that drainage part is important. And sun, so you definitely want 414 00:28:55.759 --> 00:28:59.119 you know, your direction said six hours of sun. That doesn't have to 415 00:28:59.119 --> 00:29:02.160 be all at once necessarily like in one block. It can be throughout the 416 00:29:02.240 --> 00:29:04.319 day, but you definitely want six hours in Cheryl. If you happen to 417 00:29:04.359 --> 00:29:08.640 be here in West Michigan along with us, you've got great conditions for asparagus 418 00:29:08.680 --> 00:29:14.440 as the many many asparagus farms in our area can attest. Yeah. Absolutely. 419 00:29:14.559 --> 00:29:17.839 Now we got a question from another Shaw says, I have an oak 420 00:29:17.920 --> 00:29:22.519 leaf Hydrangea that is about three has been in my garden for three years, 421 00:29:22.559 --> 00:29:26.160 never bloomed. I bought this variety because I was told it would do well 422 00:29:26.359 --> 00:29:30.200 in a shady area. Can you advise one of my favorite plants? Oak 423 00:29:30.279 --> 00:29:33.680 leaf hydrange me too, Such a great plant, and I do generally consider 424 00:29:33.720 --> 00:29:38.000 oak leaf hydrangeas the most shade tolerant of hydrangeas. But there are a couple 425 00:29:37.960 --> 00:29:41.359 of reasons your plant might not be blooming. Now number one. I don't 426 00:29:41.400 --> 00:29:44.440 know what size you started with. So if you started with a really small, 427 00:29:44.440 --> 00:29:48.039 like one court plant that you would buy by mail order, it certainly 428 00:29:48.079 --> 00:29:51.680 just needs more time, you know, to mature and be able to grow. 429 00:29:52.839 --> 00:29:56.880 If you have deer. Very often deer don't cause a lot of problems 430 00:29:56.920 --> 00:29:59.720 a lot of damage to the plant, but they love to just nip out 431 00:29:59.720 --> 00:30:03.640 that flower bud, especially like in winter or spring. So if you have 432 00:30:03.720 --> 00:30:04.960 deer, you might not be noticing a lot of damage, but they could 433 00:30:04.960 --> 00:30:07.480 have eaten it. Squirrels will do it too. Oh they will, Yeah, 434 00:30:07.519 --> 00:30:11.920 they will. Oh, I didn't know them. They're so cute, 435 00:30:11.920 --> 00:30:15.319 but they can be they can be very destructive. Sorry, that's okay. 436 00:30:15.440 --> 00:30:18.279 I do. I have a very soft spot in my heart for squirrels, 437 00:30:19.079 --> 00:30:25.200 or of course if you're pruning it. So they're so cute, they are. 438 00:30:26.079 --> 00:30:30.599 I stand by my point that if squirrels were not so ubiquitous, people 439 00:30:30.599 --> 00:30:33.960 would be lining up to go to zoos that had squirrels, Like, they're 440 00:30:34.000 --> 00:30:38.000 so cute and so fun to watch acrobatic. Yeah, they're great to watch. 441 00:30:38.039 --> 00:30:41.240 People would they would be like a meme, you know, people would 442 00:30:41.319 --> 00:30:45.400 love them so much and and say all these great things about them, but 443 00:30:45.440 --> 00:30:48.119 they're ubiquitous, and so people ignore them. But we're coming off a mast 444 00:30:48.279 --> 00:30:52.480 year, so we've got them everywhere. They're having a grand old time in 445 00:30:52.480 --> 00:30:56.359 my art. Uh So, anyway, if you're pruning oak, leafier and 446 00:30:56.480 --> 00:31:00.400 just do bloom on old wood, so that means that you should not prune 447 00:31:00.440 --> 00:31:04.200 them, or else would be cutting off the flower buds. So I hope 448 00:31:04.240 --> 00:31:07.480 one of those makes sense you, Cheryl. Of course, we'll put this 449 00:31:07.519 --> 00:31:11.440 all in the show notes at Gardening Simplified on air dot Com. All right, 450 00:31:11.559 --> 00:31:15.039 great, Marie, wondering my iris leaves get brown streaks in them? 451 00:31:15.519 --> 00:31:19.880 What is wrong with them? Is there a way to prevent this from happening? 452 00:31:21.039 --> 00:31:23.759 A classic question? A classic question. Now, there are some fungal 453 00:31:23.799 --> 00:31:27.240 diseases that irises can get, and I will put some links in the show 454 00:31:27.240 --> 00:31:32.319 notes for those two. But almost certainly, in my experience, the number 455 00:31:32.319 --> 00:31:36.119 one reason that your iris is going to have streaky foliage is the dreaded iris 456 00:31:36.160 --> 00:31:38.680 bore bingal. Yep, horrible little thing. I mean, I love bugs, 457 00:31:38.720 --> 00:31:41.559 you know I've already been through that. This is a moth and it's 458 00:31:41.759 --> 00:31:47.240 larva in this case, very not beneficial larva, it lays its eggs. 459 00:31:47.319 --> 00:31:49.799 The moth lays its eggs sort of at the base of the iris, and 460 00:31:51.119 --> 00:31:55.799 they hatch out and then the caterpillars go into the iris foliage, which is 461 00:31:55.839 --> 00:31:59.400 what causes those streaks, and then when they're about ready to pupate, they 462 00:31:59.400 --> 00:32:04.480 go down in to the rhizome. They make a sticky, slimy, horrible 463 00:32:04.519 --> 00:32:07.519 mess of your iris rhizomes. So I'd say this is most likely what This 464 00:32:07.759 --> 00:32:12.720 is the best time to scout for iris boor is in July, so you 465 00:32:12.799 --> 00:32:16.319 want to get out there and look around. They even recommend if you do 466 00:32:16.400 --> 00:32:22.279 have iris bor that you dig up your clump look through all of the rhizomes. 467 00:32:22.279 --> 00:32:24.359 You will very clearly see if you have iris borer, because again, 468 00:32:24.759 --> 00:32:30.319 they just make it into this disgusting, slimy mess. Take out any that 469 00:32:30.359 --> 00:32:32.839 have it, of course, to crush any of those caterpillars that you see 470 00:32:32.880 --> 00:32:37.640 in your rhizomes, and then replant your rhizomes. The iris will be none 471 00:32:37.680 --> 00:32:42.279 the worse for it. And then, of course when fall comes and you've 472 00:32:42.279 --> 00:32:45.519 had your frost, at that point you want to make sure you remove and 473 00:32:45.599 --> 00:32:50.559 discard all of your irish foliage. Because that will really help to control any 474 00:32:50.599 --> 00:32:53.480 pests or any you know, eggs that are in the actual foliage or on 475 00:32:53.559 --> 00:32:58.680 the foliage itself. Right, absolutely, you have anything to add it. 476 00:33:00.240 --> 00:33:04.240 We have lots of information about this to help you diagnose them, understand what 477 00:33:04.359 --> 00:33:07.440 to do, and recognize them. For Marie or anyone else who is struggling 478 00:33:07.559 --> 00:33:12.000 with iris or they are very very common, very widespread. I barely have 479 00:33:12.039 --> 00:33:15.680 any irises in my yard and I've had them most every year, so I 480 00:33:15.720 --> 00:33:19.279 know the feeling. So anyway, thank you all so much for your questions. 481 00:33:19.599 --> 00:33:22.039 If you have a question, you can always reach us at Gardening Simplified 482 00:33:22.039 --> 00:33:22.880 on air dot com. We're going to take a break. When we come 483 00:33:22.880 --> 00:33:31.839 back, we've got branching news, so stay tuned. The Gardening Simplified Show 484 00:33:32.079 --> 00:33:37.519 is brought to you by proven Winners Color Choice Shrubs. Our award winning flowering 485 00:33:37.519 --> 00:33:42.319 shrubs and evergreens have been trialed and tested for your success so you enjoy more 486 00:33:42.359 --> 00:33:45.680 beauty and less work. Look for proven Winners Color Choice Shrubs and the distinctive 487 00:33:45.720 --> 00:33:52.480 white container at your local garden center. Welcome back to the Gardening Simplified Show. 488 00:33:52.480 --> 00:33:55.359 It's time for branching news. And right off the top. Just want 489 00:33:55.400 --> 00:34:00.559 to introduce folks who are not aware of the plant to a plan that's been 490 00:34:00.599 --> 00:34:04.440 around for a long time. Stacy's going to help me with a botanical name. 491 00:34:04.519 --> 00:34:07.840 I'm going to take a shot at it. See Anothus americanus. Yeah, 492 00:34:08.000 --> 00:34:13.719 Snothos close enough, okay good? Also known as New Jersey tea. 493 00:34:13.840 --> 00:34:19.159 Now. I love this native plant because it was used as a black tea 494 00:34:19.280 --> 00:34:23.960 substitute during the Revolutionary War when they had that little party there in Boston, 495 00:34:24.039 --> 00:34:29.119 that Boston Tea Party, and pitched it all over the side and they're like, 496 00:34:29.239 --> 00:34:31.559 wow, well, now what do we do? And that's when they 497 00:34:31.760 --> 00:34:37.239 use the leaves of New Jersey tea plant And it kept the colonist grumpy because 498 00:34:37.280 --> 00:34:42.159 Stacy, there is not caffeine in those leaves, but they used it as 499 00:34:42.159 --> 00:34:45.800 a substitute. Well back in Revolutionary War times, they were pretty much desperate 500 00:34:45.800 --> 00:34:50.639 for anything remotely palatable that they could in jest. So I have not tried 501 00:34:50.639 --> 00:34:52.280 it myself, but it is a beautiful native plant. I have tried to 502 00:34:52.320 --> 00:34:54.360 grow it, and I found out that my art is a little bit too 503 00:34:54.440 --> 00:34:58.719 dry for it. But I do love it. It has white flowers that 504 00:34:58.800 --> 00:35:02.280 attract a ton of pollinators, an interesting texture on the foliage and if you're 505 00:35:02.280 --> 00:35:06.480 sitting there going hmm, so you know this that sounds familiar. We have 506 00:35:06.480 --> 00:35:08.199 a number of other natives, so you know this in North America, but 507 00:35:08.239 --> 00:35:13.679 most of them are native to California. Not remotely hardy, but super popular 508 00:35:13.760 --> 00:35:19.440 landscape plants out in California gorgeous. Sometimes are even called California lilac because they're 509 00:35:19.480 --> 00:35:24.119 just covered in these like hazy, billowy masses of purple flowers so pretty. 510 00:35:24.119 --> 00:35:29.519 We can't grow those here in the Midwest, but we can grow New Jersey 511 00:35:29.559 --> 00:35:31.119 tea, and it's still a very cool plant with a very cool story. 512 00:35:31.280 --> 00:35:35.320 There you go, So put it on your radar. Another thing to put 513 00:35:35.320 --> 00:35:40.920 on your radar. Invaders from the underground are coming this summer in Cicada Geddon. 514 00:35:42.280 --> 00:35:45.599 Yeah, it's the biggest bug emergence in centuries this spring and unusual. 515 00:35:45.679 --> 00:35:51.559 Cicada double dose is about to invade a couple parts of the United States in 516 00:35:51.639 --> 00:35:55.760 what they're calling Cicada Geddon. And the last time these two broods came out 517 00:35:55.800 --> 00:36:00.840 together eighteen oh three, Thomas Jefferson wrote about them. He referred to them 518 00:36:00.960 --> 00:36:07.000 as locusts. But there's some pretty big broods coming out, as I've seen 519 00:36:07.000 --> 00:36:12.679 at Stacy, Georgia and Illinois being the epicenter as I understand, Yeah, 520 00:36:12.679 --> 00:36:17.519 we're not predicted to get much here in Michigan. So hopefully peaceful summer nights 521 00:36:17.519 --> 00:36:22.239 ahead for us, but not so much for our neighbors. You know, 522 00:36:22.360 --> 00:36:24.960 it's quite a topic for people to talk about, and this week, as 523 00:36:25.000 --> 00:36:30.960 opposed to a limb of rick, I got these two limericks from the Washington 524 00:36:31.079 --> 00:36:38.440 Post who invited people to write about cicadas. There was one Cicada's a hard 525 00:36:38.440 --> 00:36:44.599 word to rhyme. It's not one you hear all the time, but try 526 00:36:44.679 --> 00:36:51.840 rhyming echoskeleton only a clever felakin. So glad to be on the last line. 527 00:36:52.920 --> 00:36:55.199 Great sense of humor there, great job another one. Life is short, 528 00:36:55.320 --> 00:37:00.440 no time to waste sleep for years, then date in haste, flex 529 00:37:00.480 --> 00:37:05.199 those muscles, shed that jacket, find a mate cause a racket. Oh 530 00:37:05.280 --> 00:37:08.079 yeah, i'd said, is a cicala Cicada's m O right there. I 531 00:37:08.199 --> 00:37:13.840 like it. This next story stick around. This is gonna be good. 532 00:37:13.960 --> 00:37:17.559 So for those of you who are on Instagram, I suggest you look up 533 00:37:17.880 --> 00:37:25.159 official stick reviews. I follow that account. It has forty five point nine 534 00:37:25.199 --> 00:37:30.840 thousand followers, started about a year ago, and I love the names of 535 00:37:30.880 --> 00:37:36.000 the gentleman who started the account. One his name is boon Hog and the 536 00:37:36.079 --> 00:37:39.719 other is Logan Juggler. And they all just kind of as a joke. 537 00:37:39.840 --> 00:37:44.840 They loved collecting sticks when they go hiking and they're thinking, Wow, this 538 00:37:44.920 --> 00:37:47.679 is a really cool stick, or this is a cool quality stick. This 539 00:37:47.719 --> 00:37:52.639 one feels really good in my hand. And they started posting these and they 540 00:37:52.679 --> 00:37:59.360 found that there were a bunch of other people like me who love collecting sticks 541 00:37:59.400 --> 00:38:04.840 for whatever crazy reason. And then we rate sticks on their quality. Now, 542 00:38:05.079 --> 00:38:07.920 I brought along a couple of sticks here. Oh, I wonder, 543 00:38:07.960 --> 00:38:10.519 what do you have a rating for the Oh, well, these aren't rated. 544 00:38:10.559 --> 00:38:15.840 These are walking sticks. So this is a driftwood out of Lake Michigan. 545 00:38:16.039 --> 00:38:21.440 Oh is a stick exactly. And I even taped them for you, 546 00:38:21.440 --> 00:38:25.039 you know, safety first, So one for Adriana and one for you. 547 00:38:25.400 --> 00:38:30.599 A walking stick. These guys on a hike in moab, Utah. They 548 00:38:30.719 --> 00:38:37.199 filmed their first stick review and posted it online. And I was thinking we 549 00:38:37.519 --> 00:38:44.800 as gardeners would appreciate and love sticks too, and this thing has gotten out 550 00:38:44.800 --> 00:38:50.599 of control. They now have the McMurray bend test, they have the Tennyson 551 00:38:51.039 --> 00:39:00.280 curve scale, the Williams Whacker meter, all of these different variations to hast 552 00:39:00.400 --> 00:39:04.599 the sticks. They have Stick of the Month, a tournament at the start 553 00:39:04.639 --> 00:39:09.760 of each month, and people post these sticks. Great webs great site to 554 00:39:09.920 --> 00:39:14.639 visit on Instagram and follow. Yeah, I'm definitely going to add it to 555 00:39:14.679 --> 00:39:15.599 my list. I was just trying to look for it. I didn't find 556 00:39:15.639 --> 00:39:19.039 it, so I'm gonna have to do a little more digging. But I 557 00:39:19.079 --> 00:39:22.639 am excited to follow the official stick reviews because who doesn't like a good stick? 558 00:39:22.840 --> 00:39:27.880 Yeah, so Adriana have some fun walking out there with your stick too. 559 00:39:28.119 --> 00:39:31.440 What do you call a boomerang that doesn't come back a stick? What 560 00:39:31.480 --> 00:39:36.360 do you call a magic one that doesn't do magic? A stick? Right? 561 00:39:36.599 --> 00:39:39.119 So? Anyhow do you know the stick on the Ground song? No? 562 00:39:39.360 --> 00:39:44.480 Oh, Adriana is a big fan, so I will not do a 563 00:39:44.519 --> 00:39:47.079 rendition, but we will share the link for the stick on the Ground song 564 00:39:47.199 --> 00:39:52.000 in the show notes. I love it. Where there's a willow, there's 565 00:39:52.039 --> 00:39:57.440 a way right there, you go. I'm gonna stick with my dad jokes. 566 00:39:57.480 --> 00:40:00.880 That's what I'm gonna do, all right. Rats are a nice thing 567 00:40:00.000 --> 00:40:05.519 to have in your house. In Boston, rat traps are getting a new 568 00:40:05.559 --> 00:40:10.400 look thanks to some local artists. An art festival in Boston is looking to 569 00:40:10.440 --> 00:40:15.880 bring some beauty to the neighborhood's rat problem. They're paying artists one hundred dollars 570 00:40:15.920 --> 00:40:21.599 to decorate rat traps that will be placed in the area, and the event 571 00:40:21.760 --> 00:40:25.920 is aptly named the Rat City Art Festival. So if you're looking for something 572 00:40:27.000 --> 00:40:31.480 that's well kind of ratical, I'm sorry I had to do that this summer. 573 00:40:32.519 --> 00:40:37.480 Boston's the place, the Rat City Art Festival. Well. Having lived 574 00:40:37.480 --> 00:40:39.199 in New York City and been a horticulturist in New York City, I have 575 00:40:39.360 --> 00:40:44.559 had more than my share of run ins with rats, so I doubt you're 576 00:40:44.599 --> 00:40:47.320 going to go I mean, I'm okay with them. I mean, the 577 00:40:47.639 --> 00:40:52.360 feeling of a rat running over your shoe is not one that you forget. 578 00:40:52.119 --> 00:40:57.920 But yeah, I have many rat memories. All right. Now, let's 579 00:40:57.920 --> 00:41:00.559 move from rats to run in my house. Gally never had them indoors that 580 00:41:01.039 --> 00:41:05.840 funny outcards Punk Satani, Phil, You know, we always talk about punk 581 00:41:05.840 --> 00:41:10.800 Satani in early February, whether or not Punk Satany sees its shadow while Phil 582 00:41:12.000 --> 00:41:15.079 and Phyllis have had babies. I'm just announcing that. Oh that's wonderful. 583 00:41:15.239 --> 00:41:20.159 Yeah, so Phil junior, a couple of Phil juniors, I guess, 584 00:41:20.199 --> 00:41:24.280 and I don't know if someday they'll inherit the mantle and be able to predict 585 00:41:24.400 --> 00:41:29.760 whether or not spring has arrived. But they had, they had babies, 586 00:41:29.880 --> 00:41:34.719 so pretty cool. Yeah, cute little groundhog babies only have to work one 587 00:41:34.800 --> 00:41:37.840 day a week, three hundred and sixty four days. It's kind of a 588 00:41:37.639 --> 00:41:40.960 great gig. Nice work if you can get it, nice work if you 589 00:41:42.000 --> 00:41:47.840 can get it all right, you know. It makes me makes me think 590 00:41:47.880 --> 00:41:52.599 of a polar bear who walks into a bar and he says to the bartender, 591 00:41:52.719 --> 00:41:58.079 I'll have a rum and a coke. And the bartender says, why 592 00:41:58.119 --> 00:42:00.440 the big pause, and the polar bear says, well, I was born 593 00:42:00.519 --> 00:42:07.199 with those. Sorry. See I earned the right to do bad dad jokes. 594 00:42:07.239 --> 00:42:09.920 Okay, I'm old enough to do them. Have you ever heard of 595 00:42:10.000 --> 00:42:14.519 jacket potatoes? Oh? Yes, they have in the United Kingdom. Really, 596 00:42:14.639 --> 00:42:16.800 oh in the United Kingdom, well, jacket they call it like baked 597 00:42:16.800 --> 00:42:21.880 potato right like it's got the skin on, yeah, exactly. In the 598 00:42:22.000 --> 00:42:27.320 United Kingdom England they love their baked potatoes and a lot of people feel that 599 00:42:27.360 --> 00:42:32.800 they do it best. So as opposed to taking a potato that you're going 600 00:42:32.840 --> 00:42:38.440 to bake and poking holes in it so it doesn't explode and then probably what 601 00:42:38.719 --> 00:42:43.880 four hundred degrees for an hour or something like that. To bake the potatoes 602 00:42:44.360 --> 00:42:49.159 in England, what they do is they slice the potato they almost make a 603 00:42:49.239 --> 00:42:54.440 cross in the center, and then they bake them for much longer, maybe 604 00:42:54.480 --> 00:43:00.800 two hours at four hundred degrees. The whole concept, the whole idea is 605 00:43:00.840 --> 00:43:05.559 to have them crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. And as 606 00:43:05.599 --> 00:43:09.960 I understand it and England, these jacket potatoes are the best baked potato you 607 00:43:10.039 --> 00:43:14.519 can have. Oh now, see, my father in law is a devoute 608 00:43:15.360 --> 00:43:19.559 of the long cooked potato school. Oh yes, he has a special clay 609 00:43:19.599 --> 00:43:22.400 pot where he makes them and cooks them for yeah, at least two hours. 610 00:43:22.920 --> 00:43:28.960 He loves that like super fluffy inside. Now usually he burns the outside 611 00:43:29.000 --> 00:43:31.320 so it's not really edible. It's like coal. But you know, you 612 00:43:31.559 --> 00:43:34.800 sometimes when he does them, on the grill. You really only get like 613 00:43:34.840 --> 00:43:37.400 one little scoop out of the potato. The rest is all incinerated. That 614 00:43:37.559 --> 00:43:40.119 is his favorite way to eat them. So I have had this type of 615 00:43:40.119 --> 00:43:45.320 potato many many times myself outstanding. I love that. So I'm gonna try 616 00:43:45.320 --> 00:43:52.400 this jacket potatoes. I'm just being a commentator here to close out our show. 617 00:43:52.440 --> 00:43:54.280 It's been fun, Stacy. Yeah, wait, I have a question 618 00:43:54.320 --> 00:43:58.000 on a potato things. Yeah. So I usually microwave them because I don't 619 00:43:58.000 --> 00:44:00.360 like to waste that much energy, you know, to just like baked to 620 00:44:00.480 --> 00:44:02.320 potatoes, So usually microwave. I'm to get a head start. Do you 621 00:44:02.320 --> 00:44:07.440 think that's permitted in the jacket potato? You know, I would say no. 622 00:44:07.800 --> 00:44:10.039 Okay, I would say no. We're going for that crispy outside. 623 00:44:10.239 --> 00:44:15.119 No hacks in the jacket potato world. Okay, I got you. Hey 624 00:44:15.159 --> 00:44:17.400 Stacey, it's been a kick in the plants. Thank you Adrianna, and 625 00:44:17.599 --> 00:44:22.159 thank you Stacy. Most of all, thanks to you for watching us on 626 00:44:22.199 --> 00:44:27.320 YouTube, listening to us on radio, and enjoying our podcast. Have a 627 00:44:27.360 --> 00:44:27.840 great week.