WEBVTT 1 00:00:03.399 --> 00:00:06.679 Hello, my friends, across the fruited and rooted plane. It's time for 2 00:00:06.719 --> 00:00:12.119 the Gardening Simplified Show with Stacy Hervella me, Rick weisst and our engineer and 3 00:00:12.199 --> 00:00:19.160 producer Adrianna Robinson as we broadcast from Studio A Here at proven winners color Choice 4 00:00:19.160 --> 00:00:25.120 Shrugs Today. Initially, Stacy we banter about annual plants. Annual plants, 5 00:00:25.120 --> 00:00:29.320 those one season plants that well die when it gets cold later this year. 6 00:00:29.359 --> 00:00:34.200 They'll germinate flower, some set seed, and then die all in one season. 7 00:00:34.240 --> 00:00:38.200 But they're worth it. And in the flower business we always had a 8 00:00:38.320 --> 00:00:44.600 saying annual plants don't come back, so you come back. I love it. 9 00:00:44.759 --> 00:00:48.159 I love it, and they're worth it. Okay, flowering annuals are 10 00:00:48.200 --> 00:00:50.840 worth it. You think about this. If you go to the movies, 11 00:00:50.880 --> 00:00:55.119 Okay, twelve dollars for a ticket, let's say, eight bucks for popcorn, 12 00:00:55.280 --> 00:00:59.359 six bucks for a soda, five bucks for a box of Skittles, 13 00:00:59.399 --> 00:01:03.760 Nerds or Whoppers. That's thirty one dollars a person for two to three hours 14 00:01:03.760 --> 00:01:07.799 worth of entertainment. You know, that's a great way to look at it. 15 00:01:08.000 --> 00:01:11.799 I sneak chocolate into the theater by the way, I always have a 16 00:01:11.799 --> 00:01:15.560 few twixts under my sleeves. I was going to say, Rick, you're 17 00:01:15.560 --> 00:01:19.079 talent on yourself, because you're pretty recognizable and you know those movie theater managers 18 00:01:19.079 --> 00:01:22.319 are going to see you coming. Fortunately it turned it into a pun. 19 00:01:22.359 --> 00:01:25.400 Well, you know what I think that you know, it's Memorial Day weekend. 20 00:01:25.519 --> 00:01:29.319 This is like the super Bowl of the gardening this season. And you 21 00:01:29.319 --> 00:01:33.680 don't have to twist my arm into to the fact that annuals are absolutely worth 22 00:01:33.719 --> 00:01:36.640 it, you know when you especially, I think if you live in a 23 00:01:36.640 --> 00:01:38.560 cold climate, and I know we have a lot of listeners in warm climates, 24 00:01:38.879 --> 00:01:42.680 but especially for those of us who have relatively short summers, we've got 25 00:01:42.680 --> 00:01:46.359 to make hay will the sunshine, so to speak, and get that color. 26 00:01:46.439 --> 00:01:49.359 We don't have the benefit of colorful flowers like Bouganvillia in the middle of 27 00:01:49.359 --> 00:01:53.920 winter and things like that. So you know, this is our opportunity to 28 00:01:53.519 --> 00:01:59.239 briefly pretend that we live in a warm climate and can have bright, colorful 29 00:01:59.239 --> 00:02:02.159 flowers around it our time to shine. Annuals are great because they're easy to 30 00:02:02.239 --> 00:02:08.479 grow, favorites for both new and experienced gardeners, and you can experiment You're 31 00:02:08.520 --> 00:02:14.960 not making a lifetime commitment here, Okay, You're just having some fun with 32 00:02:15.159 --> 00:02:20.719 annuals, and they're very entertaining. You can experiment with different plants, color 33 00:02:20.800 --> 00:02:25.439 schemes, color, you know, something more risky than gray or beige. 34 00:02:25.560 --> 00:02:30.520 I mean, if you're flipping houses, gray age is fine. But out 35 00:02:30.560 --> 00:02:32.439 in the garden, let's have some fun with annuals. Yeah, it's very 36 00:02:32.479 --> 00:02:37.479 low stakes. And you know, I always said, oh, my mom, 37 00:02:37.599 --> 00:02:38.680 My mom always planted the same thing when I was growing up. She 38 00:02:38.719 --> 00:02:43.560 always planted the same annuals. She planned red geraniums with a spike and white 39 00:02:43.560 --> 00:02:46.759 a listen around it, and it was lovely. And I always said, 40 00:02:46.800 --> 00:02:49.360 as I became a horticulturist, I'm never going to do the same thing. 41 00:02:50.319 --> 00:02:55.400 But I have found myself often repeating my favorites because I love them so much 42 00:02:55.439 --> 00:02:59.280 and I look forward to seeing them like a friend. Every season. I 43 00:02:59.360 --> 00:03:02.159 look forward looking out my back door and seeing my vermilion or kufia in bloom 44 00:03:02.479 --> 00:03:07.719 with a hummingbird swarming at it. And I do try to always try something 45 00:03:07.759 --> 00:03:10.120 new every season, but I do have my standards. So that's vermilion arcoufia 46 00:03:10.240 --> 00:03:14.719 for me. And if I can find it the rock and deep purple salvia 47 00:03:15.159 --> 00:03:19.719 love that another one that's great for hummingbirds. And of course basil, but 48 00:03:20.039 --> 00:03:23.120 Basil's an annual but also kind of an arbsome. We're talking flowering annuals today 49 00:03:23.159 --> 00:03:28.120 though, Now that's fantastic. I remember those geranium days too, when I 50 00:03:28.159 --> 00:03:30.439 was a youngster working in the garden center. As we approached this weekend, 51 00:03:30.599 --> 00:03:36.639 everybody called it decoration day. They did not necessarily Memorial Day. Yeah, 52 00:03:36.680 --> 00:03:38.759 and there's a whole story behind that, but I won't go down that road. 53 00:03:39.039 --> 00:03:44.840 Although you know, years ago I was trained by this wonderful lady, 54 00:03:44.960 --> 00:03:49.479 hard working lady. Her name was Doris, and she served in the Navy 55 00:03:49.520 --> 00:03:53.919 waves nineteen forty three to nineteen forty six. Anyhow, working out there in 56 00:03:53.960 --> 00:03:58.520 the greenhouse and garden center with me, she was my mentor, trained me 57 00:03:58.719 --> 00:04:03.759 in flowering and nules. And those were the days of the big daddy petunias 58 00:04:03.759 --> 00:04:09.319 and the boil boy marigolds and the spikes and the geraniums. But she'd be 59 00:04:09.360 --> 00:04:13.719 out there in the hot weather wearing high heels and a dress, and she 60 00:04:13.919 --> 00:04:16.600 was boy. She led the charge. There was no scuttle butt, There 61 00:04:16.720 --> 00:04:20.720 no mutiny. She ran the show and it was great and you could always 62 00:04:20.759 --> 00:04:26.319 hear her coming that click click click of her heels. And at the start 63 00:04:26.360 --> 00:04:29.040 of the day she'd type up a worklist, and at the end of the 64 00:04:29.120 --> 00:04:34.120 day she'd type up a synopsis or a worklist. Those lists on a typewriter, 65 00:04:34.279 --> 00:04:41.279 tap tap tap looked like a cross between a Western Union telegram and a 66 00:04:41.360 --> 00:04:44.560 ransom note. But I don't know why that popped into my head. Well, 67 00:04:44.600 --> 00:04:46.399 I think it's safe to say that Doris would not be a fan, 68 00:04:46.959 --> 00:04:53.480 perhaps of today's exuberant mixed containers without a lot of organization in them, where 69 00:04:53.480 --> 00:04:57.439 everything's kind of overflowing and competing for space. Which I love that look, 70 00:04:57.480 --> 00:05:00.519 but it is a far cry from the way people used to plant. Well, 71 00:05:00.519 --> 00:05:04.079 and of course things have changed so much since then. And you know, 72 00:05:04.160 --> 00:05:09.879 petunias are a great example. She would have me deadheading those petunias which 73 00:05:09.879 --> 00:05:15.040 were setting seed, that slimy, sweet smell of the smell. You know 74 00:05:15.079 --> 00:05:18.000 what, life is way way too short for petunias. You have to deadhead. 75 00:05:18.240 --> 00:05:23.240 I agree, And so in the mid nineteen nineties, the wave petunias 76 00:05:23.279 --> 00:05:27.759 come along, but they get overgrown and they're grown from seeds, so then 77 00:05:28.879 --> 00:05:33.079 we now have the Supertunias Vista Supertunias. The roots system plays well with other 78 00:05:33.199 --> 00:05:40.399 plants. They bloom continually because they're sterile. I love the Supertunia series of 79 00:05:40.480 --> 00:05:43.759 petunias. You know, I think that it's not an exaggeration to say that 80 00:05:43.800 --> 00:05:47.839 the Supertunia series, and particularly Supertunias to Bubblegum, has completely changed the way 81 00:05:47.839 --> 00:05:50.360 people think about petunias, because they did think about it. Just like you 82 00:05:50.399 --> 00:05:55.480 said, they smell terrible, they're slimy, they're getting white fly, they 83 00:05:55.519 --> 00:06:00.519 need deadheading, they get scraggily. But the Supertunia series, it really is 84 00:06:00.560 --> 00:06:06.199 not an exaggeration to say that it is a truly innovative plant breeding invention that 85 00:06:06.240 --> 00:06:10.759 completely changes the way we think about it. And anyone who grows them or 86 00:06:10.800 --> 00:06:15.360 has grown them can agree that it's You really have to grow them to see 87 00:06:15.759 --> 00:06:18.680 how floriferous they are, and they don't set seed, so you don't have 88 00:06:18.720 --> 00:06:23.040 to deadhead them, and they just keep flowering. And if you like that 89 00:06:23.079 --> 00:06:28.120 pink, you are in business. Bubblegum Supertunias love them, So, you 90 00:06:28.160 --> 00:06:31.720 know, I look back through the years and I think about flowering annuals I 91 00:06:31.720 --> 00:06:38.480 could talk for hours. I mean, you think about impatience Walleriana and everybody 92 00:06:38.519 --> 00:06:42.920 planted them and they're colorful, and then two and twelve comes along and we 93 00:06:43.040 --> 00:06:48.040 have impatient downy mildew that spreads like wildfire. Changes the market. Now today, 94 00:06:48.079 --> 00:06:51.720 of course we've got Rockapulco, we have Beacon, we have of course 95 00:06:51.759 --> 00:06:57.199 the sun patients. The market continues to change and stacy. We keep seeing 96 00:06:57.319 --> 00:07:00.639 great new varieties. You know, the impatients are another great example. And 97 00:07:00.800 --> 00:07:03.720 you know, back in the day, New Guinea impatients were a thing and 98 00:07:03.759 --> 00:07:08.680 that completely changed the way people think about impatience as well. Now, I 99 00:07:08.720 --> 00:07:11.000 remember one year when I when I was growing up, and my mom would 100 00:07:11.000 --> 00:07:14.079 plant a row of impatience in front of the privet hedge in front of our 101 00:07:14.079 --> 00:07:16.920 little ranch house there in Lavonia, Michigan. And one year she picked these 102 00:07:16.920 --> 00:07:20.279 impatients that set seed. Now you know the impatient seed heads, right, 103 00:07:20.360 --> 00:07:25.600 yeah, Oh my gosh. Yeah, they have this this little funny shaped 104 00:07:25.839 --> 00:07:29.720 seed head that you can pop open when it's ripe. And every morning that 105 00:07:29.759 --> 00:07:33.160 summer, my brother and I would run out front to pop whichever had matured 106 00:07:33.199 --> 00:07:35.639 overnight. And you don't find those very often, which is a good thing 107 00:07:35.680 --> 00:07:40.720 from a gardener perspective, because that means they're putting their energy into flowering instead 108 00:07:40.720 --> 00:07:44.839 of setting those fun seeds. But I always like to find those around in 109 00:07:44.920 --> 00:07:47.839 planters and do a little bit of impatience popping. It is fun. They 110 00:07:47.839 --> 00:07:54.240 have this impatient nature they pop. And by the way, going back to 111 00:07:54.319 --> 00:07:57.480 Doris, you know, at the time she was my mentor, she was 112 00:07:57.639 --> 00:08:00.680 in her mid sixties, oh wow, and I was just a youngster, 113 00:08:01.160 --> 00:08:05.600 and she would call the impatients busy lizzies. That's a very old fashioning, 114 00:08:05.720 --> 00:08:11.439 but it's a fun one, busy lizzies now. Earlier of course, Stacy, 115 00:08:11.519 --> 00:08:15.680 you mentioned the salvia's like blue suede shoes, rock and fucia playing the 116 00:08:15.800 --> 00:08:22.120 blues. I agree. Drawing hummingbirds, you know, annuals are great because 117 00:08:22.160 --> 00:08:26.079 they give you a splash of quick color and talk about plants that help you 118 00:08:26.279 --> 00:08:31.319 draw butterflies, bees and hummingbirds to your garden. That's one of the reasons 119 00:08:31.319 --> 00:08:33.960 that I invest so much time and money into them, because it really is 120 00:08:35.039 --> 00:08:37.559 you know, most of my garden also is a little bit further out in 121 00:08:37.639 --> 00:08:39.320 my yard, and of course I walk out there all the time and see 122 00:08:39.320 --> 00:08:43.080 what's going on. But where we actually spend time, on our patios and 123 00:08:43.159 --> 00:08:46.679 porch, that's where I put the annuals, so they're really right there around 124 00:08:46.720 --> 00:08:50.879 me. It's a great way to be kind of up close and personal with 125 00:08:50.919 --> 00:08:52.360 the plants. Well, and that's my point. You know, the annuals 126 00:08:52.360 --> 00:08:56.679 are going to give you four or five, six, seven months of entertainment 127 00:08:58.080 --> 00:09:01.600 as opposed to that movie ticket. And I'm not picking on the movies. 128 00:09:01.759 --> 00:09:07.559 I like the movies, but flowering annuals and working in your yard is rated 129 00:09:07.600 --> 00:09:13.480 G for gardening, and it's a NonStop adventure. Is NonStop adventure I think 130 00:09:13.519 --> 00:09:18.399 about. You know, I love Verbina, meteor shower Verbina, the sun, 131 00:09:18.480 --> 00:09:22.639 credible yellow sunflowers, the color Blaze, Collius. We could go on 132 00:09:22.720 --> 00:09:26.320 and on, and I want to remind folks if you go to our website, 133 00:09:26.440 --> 00:09:31.440 Gardening Simplified OnAir dot com, Stacy has her top ten list of favorite 134 00:09:31.519 --> 00:09:35.960 annuals there and so do I. So you can take a look at it 135 00:09:35.159 --> 00:09:39.759 and boy do some experimenting. You know, we talked about the impatients. 136 00:09:41.000 --> 00:09:45.679 There's so many great shade choices too, like the Heart to Heart colladiums, 137 00:09:45.759 --> 00:09:50.840 that's an other favorite. So again, talk for hours about this. We 138 00:09:50.879 --> 00:09:54.320 could, and I wish we could, but we got other topics to cover. 139 00:09:54.399 --> 00:09:56.919 We have other topics. As a matter of fact, Plants on trial. 140 00:09:58.159 --> 00:10:03.559 I'm looking forward to Stacy selection today. And stick around too because later 141 00:10:03.600 --> 00:10:07.480 on in the show we're going to talk to a pollination expert. We'll talk 142 00:10:07.600 --> 00:10:11.600 bees and attracting pollinators to your yard. That's all coming up here on the 143 00:10:11.679 --> 00:10:22.039 Gardening Simplified Show. The Gardening Simplified Podcast is brought to you by proven Winners 144 00:10:22.080 --> 00:10:26.679 Color Choice Shrubs with over three hundred flowering shrubs and evergreens, all trialed and 145 00:10:26.720 --> 00:10:31.320 tested for your success. There's one for every taste in every space. See 146 00:10:31.320 --> 00:10:37.879 them all at Proven Winners color Choice dot Com. Gratings. Gorgeous gardening friends, 147 00:10:37.879 --> 00:10:41.720 and welcome back to the Gardening Simplified Show. You know it's the time 148 00:10:41.759 --> 00:10:45.080 of the show where we put a plant on trial and tell you all about 149 00:10:45.080 --> 00:10:48.519 one of the proven Winners Color Choice Shrubs. But before we dive in, 150 00:10:48.600 --> 00:10:52.320 I do just want to speak directly to anybody who is out shopping for annuals 151 00:10:52.639 --> 00:10:58.120 this fine weekend, big annual garden center weekend, and that is to just 152 00:10:58.399 --> 00:11:00.600 fun with it. You know, I grew up, my mom would get 153 00:11:00.600 --> 00:11:03.879 so stressed out and I don't know what this is and should I try this? 154 00:11:03.399 --> 00:11:09.039 And I would just encourage people to approach that process much like shopping for 155 00:11:09.080 --> 00:11:13.200 clothes or shopping for something in your home. Look at colors that you like. 156 00:11:13.840 --> 00:11:16.679 Don't be afraid to try something new. What's the worst that's going to 157 00:11:16.759 --> 00:11:20.519 happen? And with annuals, if you decide that you tried something and you 158 00:11:20.519 --> 00:11:24.519 don't like the way it looks with something else, you can almost always move 159 00:11:24.559 --> 00:11:28.120 it. Exactly. I can't agree more Stacy. Like I said, for 160 00:11:28.440 --> 00:11:33.080 either new or experienced gardeners, it's a great time to experiment, right, 161 00:11:33.120 --> 00:11:35.279 So I have fun with it, and that's what I'm going to be doing 162 00:11:35.279 --> 00:11:39.759 this weekend myself, so see you there. Anyway, when I was thinking 163 00:11:39.759 --> 00:11:43.200 about what plants to put on trial today, I was thinking about everything that 164 00:11:43.240 --> 00:11:50.320 you were saying about supertunias being really innovative. You know, new plants that 165 00:11:50.399 --> 00:11:54.519 have really changed the way that people think about petunias. They're no longer this 166 00:11:54.559 --> 00:11:58.159 fussy little thing that you know, only flowers for a little while and needs 167 00:11:58.159 --> 00:12:01.279 a lot of maintenance. They're really this robot flower machine. And so I 168 00:12:01.360 --> 00:12:05.639 wanted to talk about a shrub that has a similar innovative quality to it, 169 00:12:07.360 --> 00:12:13.039 and that is Steady Eddie Viburnum. Steady Eddy you did, Yeah, my 170 00:12:13.080 --> 00:12:20.399 neighbors named Eddy. But anyway, it's a beautiful plant. So Steady Eddy 171 00:12:20.639 --> 00:12:24.279 is a double file viburnum and double file. If you're hearing this word, 172 00:12:24.279 --> 00:12:28.799 you're probably like, what in the world does that even mean? Well, 173 00:12:28.840 --> 00:12:33.799 it's kind of like a single file line, but double So what double file 174 00:12:33.840 --> 00:12:39.080 by Vernum's got their name because the flower clusters come off the main branch in 175 00:12:39.159 --> 00:12:43.519 a line on either side, So you have a flower cluster coming off of 176 00:12:43.559 --> 00:12:46.200 each side of the branch, but then each of those forms a single file 177 00:12:46.240 --> 00:12:50.120 lines. You have a double file line and it's very, very distinctive. 178 00:12:50.120 --> 00:12:54.759 It's unmistakable when you see these in bloom. They have such a strong geometric 179 00:12:54.840 --> 00:12:58.919 quality. And that's where that funny word double file comes, like a horizontal 180 00:13:00.399 --> 00:13:03.320 tiered type of effect that you see with the flowering. It's gorgeous. Yeah, 181 00:13:03.360 --> 00:13:07.639 it's it's absolutely eye catching and people love them. And Steady Eddie what 182 00:13:07.720 --> 00:13:11.000 makes it so innovative? It is a double file of Yburnum or right burnham 183 00:13:11.039 --> 00:13:18.360 placatum tomintosum, if we're being exact about it. But it is a reblooming 184 00:13:18.039 --> 00:13:22.320 double file viburnum, and I would actually go so far as to say it's 185 00:13:22.519 --> 00:13:28.440 nearly continuous blooming. This is one of the most powerfully reblooming shrubs that is 186 00:13:28.519 --> 00:13:31.120 in our line. I have to tell you, I have been. It's 187 00:13:31.200 --> 00:13:35.759 knocked my socks off. It's impressed me so much. So it blooms in 188 00:13:35.960 --> 00:13:39.559 late spring, as most other double file viburnums do, and here in Michigan 189 00:13:39.559 --> 00:13:43.559 they're blooming now and looking absolutely fabulous. So it blooms now along with the 190 00:13:43.600 --> 00:13:46.960 other ones, and then it takes just a brief little break after that first 191 00:13:48.039 --> 00:13:52.559 round of flowers fades, and it keeps going, and I mean it will 192 00:13:52.600 --> 00:13:54.200 go all the way through summer. I have seen this thing in the middle 193 00:13:54.200 --> 00:13:58.559 of July where you could have sworn, if you didn't see the plants around 194 00:13:58.559 --> 00:14:01.399 it flowering, that you'd be back in May. What a bonus, Because 195 00:14:01.399 --> 00:14:05.480 I grow viburnums more so for the fall color than I do the blooms. 196 00:14:05.519 --> 00:14:09.240 But the blooms, of course are spectacular, and to have it bloom that 197 00:14:09.360 --> 00:14:13.200 long. What a bonus in the landscape it is. And you know people 198 00:14:13.200 --> 00:14:18.200 love flowers, right, We know shrubs are useful, garden plants were useful 199 00:14:18.200 --> 00:14:20.159 in the landscape. However, you need to plant them and make it work 200 00:14:20.240 --> 00:14:26.039 for you. But everyone ultimately is after the flowers. So a viburnum that's 201 00:14:26.080 --> 00:14:30.399 going to give you more flowers, and especially when they are so beautiful and 202 00:14:30.519 --> 00:14:33.240 so showy, steady eddy viburnum is a great choice. Now I'm sure you've 203 00:14:33.279 --> 00:14:39.360 encountered this at the garden center. A lot of people mistake Viburnum placatum tontosum 204 00:14:39.360 --> 00:14:41.799 for hydrangeas, yes, and they say I want one of those spring flowering 205 00:14:41.919 --> 00:14:48.879 hydranges, And they can't be blamed. They do very much superficially resemble hydranges. 206 00:14:48.440 --> 00:14:52.759 The flowers can be lace cap or mophead as hydrange of flowers can, 207 00:14:54.360 --> 00:14:58.960 and particularly the mophead ones, they do look a lot like hydrange of flowers, 208 00:14:58.960 --> 00:15:01.720 but they actually are not remote related botanically, just superficially they have that 209 00:15:03.200 --> 00:15:09.080 resemblance, and so steady Eddie is one of those lace cap types, so 210 00:15:09.120 --> 00:15:13.799 you're getting that more open flower, which is to some people's eye not as 211 00:15:13.960 --> 00:15:18.799 showy as the mophead type, but has the benefit of attracting pollinators because a 212 00:15:18.879 --> 00:15:22.879 lace cap flower has its fertile flowers, the ones that have all of the 213 00:15:22.919 --> 00:15:26.679 pollen and nectar and everything in it to attract pollinators. Those are more exposed. 214 00:15:26.679 --> 00:15:31.039 They're not obscured by the larger, showy or sterile florets, and so 215 00:15:31.399 --> 00:15:33.759 it's much more attractive to pollinators. So if that's important to you, not 216 00:15:33.799 --> 00:15:37.120 only does Steady Eddie do that as a lace cap viburnum, it does it 217 00:15:37.159 --> 00:15:41.440 over a longer period because it's blooming clear through summer. I agree. It's 218 00:15:41.440 --> 00:15:45.840 like a landing pad permission to buzz the tower. You know. That's why 219 00:15:45.879 --> 00:15:50.320 pollinators love them. It's fabulous. And another great thing about Steady Eddie is 220 00:15:50.320 --> 00:15:54.720 it's not as large as you're conventional Viburnum placatum tomatosum, which if you are 221 00:15:54.759 --> 00:15:58.039 seeing those around in your neighborhood or as you're driving around, you're like, 222 00:15:58.080 --> 00:16:02.440 WHOA, that's a that's a big fella. They can be you know, 223 00:16:02.559 --> 00:16:07.559 eight eight to ten feet or larger, certainly if you find a very mature 224 00:16:07.559 --> 00:16:11.039 one, whereas Steady Eddie's going to top out around four to five feet tall 225 00:16:11.080 --> 00:16:15.519 and wide, so it's much more usable in a typical residential landscape. It's 226 00:16:15.559 --> 00:16:19.399 much more in scale with the average home. I love the name of the 227 00:16:19.440 --> 00:16:22.320 plant, Steady Eddie. Well, it's called steady Eddie because it just is 228 00:16:22.360 --> 00:16:26.000 so steadily blooming. Yeah. If I could have a Cliff Claven moment here. 229 00:16:26.159 --> 00:16:30.320 Remember Cliff Claven from Cheers, I do, Yeah, always thinking about 230 00:16:30.639 --> 00:16:33.759 history and these odd facts in his head. When I hear Steady Eddie, 231 00:16:33.799 --> 00:16:37.320 I think of Eddie Murray. It was a first baseman for the Baltimore Orioles. 232 00:16:37.320 --> 00:16:41.759 Now. I loved baseball as a kid. I would listen to a 233 00:16:41.840 --> 00:16:47.879 little transistor radio with an earpiece. Ernie Harwell and Cal Ripken Jr. Was 234 00:16:47.919 --> 00:16:52.559 the shortstop. He was the iron Man. He played more consecutive games than 235 00:16:52.720 --> 00:16:59.720 the iconic Lou Garrig. But Eddie Murray was this guy that was always there, 236 00:16:59.759 --> 00:17:03.160 always dependable, year after year after year, always would get the big 237 00:17:03.240 --> 00:17:07.400 hit. Steady Eddie. Oh is that the same name? Eddie Murray? 238 00:17:07.480 --> 00:17:11.759 Oh? Gotta love it. Yeah, Eddie Murray, which is which is 239 00:17:11.759 --> 00:17:14.319 pretty cool. You know. I liked baseball as a kid. I love 240 00:17:14.359 --> 00:17:18.480 statistics, and I love the history of the game, and I'll leave you 241 00:17:18.519 --> 00:17:23.799 with this. Baseball is the only sport or game where the defense has possession 242 00:17:23.839 --> 00:17:27.519 of the ball. That's why I like it. Think about all other sports 243 00:17:27.559 --> 00:17:32.880 the offense has possession of the ball. All right, this is a gardening 244 00:17:32.920 --> 00:17:36.400 show, not a sporting show. Stacy continue. But you know, gardening 245 00:17:36.400 --> 00:17:40.000 and baseball do go together very well because who doesn't like to work in the 246 00:17:40.079 --> 00:17:42.319 yard and have the ball game on and the smell of the cut grass. 247 00:17:42.319 --> 00:17:48.960 That's like the perfect summer days Americana Americana. Well, speaking of people, 248 00:17:48.039 --> 00:17:52.160 let's talk about where Steady Eddie came from, and that is they won and 249 00:17:52.240 --> 00:17:56.720 only doctor Tom Rainey from North Carolina State University. And you know, an 250 00:17:56.720 --> 00:18:03.400 innovative plant can only come from an innovative breeder, and that is absolutely doctor 251 00:18:03.480 --> 00:18:07.519 Rainey too a te He has developed some of our most innovative flowering shrubs from 252 00:18:07.680 --> 00:18:12.920 Invincible Spirit and the other pink Annabelle type hydrangeas that we have in the Invincible 253 00:18:14.000 --> 00:18:18.680 series. Here at proven winners color choice shrubs, double take thornless double flowered 254 00:18:18.759 --> 00:18:23.599 quints. Oh I love the perfectimundo reblooming azaleas which are not hardy for us 255 00:18:23.599 --> 00:18:27.880 here in Michigan, but are definitely making huge inroads in warmer climates. And 256 00:18:27.920 --> 00:18:32.720 that's just a few of the plants his crew. He and his crew at 257 00:18:32.759 --> 00:18:37.079 the Mountain Horticultural Crops and Research Station in around Ashville, North Carolina, really 258 00:18:37.119 --> 00:18:41.519 just put their heads together to create some of the most spectacular plants that really 259 00:18:41.559 --> 00:18:45.400 solve problems. So similar to what happened with the supertunias, Tom and his 260 00:18:45.480 --> 00:18:51.559 crew Doctor Rainey are really devoting their efforts in their knowledge to plants that do 261 00:18:51.720 --> 00:18:55.960 more for people because they know that that's what people want. And even if 262 00:18:55.960 --> 00:18:59.960 you are really experienced gardener and you say I don't need a reblooming, vibrant 263 00:19:00.359 --> 00:19:03.640 burnum that blooms once, is just perfectly swell for me. I mean, 264 00:19:03.680 --> 00:19:06.480 are you really going to turn down the extra flowers? Of course not. 265 00:19:06.839 --> 00:19:11.079 We're all here for the flowers. So a big accomplishment from them, and 266 00:19:11.119 --> 00:19:15.000 we're really really excited about this plant. It's available on the market now and 267 00:19:15.119 --> 00:19:19.200 if you want to grow it. Like most viburnums, it's pretty versatile and 268 00:19:19.359 --> 00:19:25.039 pretty easy to grow. Viburnums are well known for being very shade tolerant and 269 00:19:25.160 --> 00:19:29.000 steady Eddie, I would say, can easily take part sun or part shade, 270 00:19:29.000 --> 00:19:32.599 so those are interchangeable terms. Any So, that's about four to six 271 00:19:32.640 --> 00:19:36.319 hours of bright sun every day. Any less than that and you're going to 272 00:19:36.400 --> 00:19:40.000 start seeing fewer blooms. It will the plant will live and it will grow, 273 00:19:40.400 --> 00:19:41.799 but you're not going to see as many flowers. You're not going to 274 00:19:41.839 --> 00:19:45.160 see that coverage. So try to give it at least a good four hours 275 00:19:45.240 --> 00:19:51.319 of bright sun every day. Viburnums are generally known to be pretty drought tolerant. 276 00:19:51.359 --> 00:19:55.559 Once they're established, they definitely need some help getting there. But once 277 00:19:55.680 --> 00:19:57.240 you know, after they've been in the ground for two or three years and 278 00:19:57.400 --> 00:20:00.839 have a good root system developed, they don't necessarily need a whole lot of 279 00:20:00.920 --> 00:20:04.920 extra care. A good two to three inch layer of mulch well should easily 280 00:20:04.920 --> 00:20:08.920 provide for all of their water needs. And of course, steady Eddie does 281 00:20:08.920 --> 00:20:14.559 not need to be deadheaded or trimmed or anything like that to keep that flower 282 00:20:14.559 --> 00:20:18.519 show coming. So this is just one of those I hesitate to use this 283 00:20:18.000 --> 00:20:22.359 phrase. When we use it anyway, set it and forget it type of 284 00:20:22.480 --> 00:20:26.039 plants. Now, when it comes to deer, I do want to mention. 285 00:20:26.200 --> 00:20:29.680 Viburnums are known to be deer resistant, and what's one of the things 286 00:20:29.680 --> 00:20:33.559 that really attracts people to them. Now, I did put Steady Eddie in 287 00:20:33.640 --> 00:20:37.680 my yard which is teeming with deer, not at anyone given moment, but 288 00:20:38.000 --> 00:20:45.000 they visit frequently and unfortunately they ate the flowers, so they didn't really damage 289 00:20:45.039 --> 00:20:48.559 the plant much. The plant they left alone, which doesn't surprise me because 290 00:20:48.559 --> 00:20:55.119 Stacy at the outset, you said Placatum tomintosum tomintosum being soft, hairy foliage. 291 00:20:55.359 --> 00:21:00.920 Placatum is what textured rib kind of full, and they do have very 292 00:21:00.119 --> 00:21:04.200 heavily ribbed foliage. That's so it's good to know that, you know, 293 00:21:04.240 --> 00:21:07.960 And that's one of those tricky things about deer resistance is they don't damage the 294 00:21:07.960 --> 00:21:11.359 plant, but they do damage the flowers, So be aware of that. 295 00:21:11.839 --> 00:21:15.839 If you love this plant, which I absolutely do, you could certainly spray 296 00:21:15.880 --> 00:21:18.920 it if you wanted to grow it, or just protect it have it inside 297 00:21:18.920 --> 00:21:23.400 offense. But that's sort of the last bit I have to share right now 298 00:21:23.599 --> 00:21:27.720 on Steady Eddie Viburnum, but you can get lots more on as well as 299 00:21:27.759 --> 00:21:33.440 the beautiful photos of Steady Eddie Viburnum at our website Gardening Simplified OnAir dot com. 300 00:21:33.480 --> 00:21:36.160 We're going to take a little bit of a break, but when we 301 00:21:36.160 --> 00:21:45.680 come back, we'll be answering your gardening questions. Thanks for listening to the 302 00:21:45.720 --> 00:21:51.119 Gardening Simplified Podcast sponsored by Proven Winners Color Choice Shrubs. Learn more about our 303 00:21:51.160 --> 00:21:56.519 trial tested and proven flowering shrubs and evergreens, and find a local retailer at 304 00:21:56.559 --> 00:22:03.079 Proven Winners color Choice dot com Creatings Gardening Friends, and welcome back to the 305 00:22:03.119 --> 00:22:07.160 Gardening Simplified Show. While we were taking a little bit different break, Adriana 306 00:22:07.160 --> 00:22:11.000 and Rick and I were talking about Steady Eddie Viburnham. And Adriana, who 307 00:22:11.039 --> 00:22:15.960 if you didn't know, is also our videographer and photographer for Proven Winner's Color 308 00:22:15.039 --> 00:22:19.000 Choice Shrubs, said that it's one of the plants that she can't stop taking 309 00:22:19.039 --> 00:22:23.039 pictures of because every time she walks by it, whether it's in the greenhouse 310 00:22:23.119 --> 00:22:27.200 or somewhere in our trial gardens, it just always looks so good that her 311 00:22:27.240 --> 00:22:30.480 camera loves it and we all love it. So if that's the kind of 312 00:22:30.480 --> 00:22:34.400 plant you're looking for, Steady Eddie Viburnham, look for it at your local 313 00:22:34.559 --> 00:22:40.480 garden center. The plants a show off and knows a great photographer when it 314 00:22:40.559 --> 00:22:45.240 walks. I guess you could say it works both ways like that. So 315 00:22:45.359 --> 00:22:48.920 this is the part of the show where we answer your gardening questions. We 316 00:22:48.960 --> 00:22:51.599 are in the full swing of gardening season. So Rick, what do we 317 00:22:51.640 --> 00:22:55.000 got in the mailbag today? Well, Diane writes to us, planted two 318 00:22:55.119 --> 00:22:59.079 double play Doozy spy rheas. I love those. They're so beautiful and full 319 00:22:59.119 --> 00:23:02.319 sun with amended soil and mulched. Well, they were planted a week ago. 320 00:23:02.359 --> 00:23:06.799 Today they look wilt temperatures eighty two degrees. I'm in Zone seven B. 321 00:23:07.240 --> 00:23:08.920 Will they adapt to full sun? And if so, is there anything 322 00:23:08.920 --> 00:23:12.759 I can do to help get them established? Or do I move them now 323 00:23:12.839 --> 00:23:18.279 to an afternoon shade location. They were in full bloom one plant, So 324 00:23:18.880 --> 00:23:22.279 thank you so much for your question, Diane. Double Playdoozy is also an 325 00:23:22.279 --> 00:23:26.759 extremely innovative flowering shrub that also comes from doctor Rainey in North Carolina State, 326 00:23:26.759 --> 00:23:30.359 and it is you could almost think of it like the spirea version of Steady 327 00:23:30.440 --> 00:23:36.200 Eddie, and that it also blooms pretty much continuously, so a really great 328 00:23:36.200 --> 00:23:40.279 plant. Again, if you just want a lot of flowers. So Diane's 329 00:23:40.359 --> 00:23:42.160 question, I think is an interesting one. And you know, I have 330 00:23:42.440 --> 00:23:48.720 talked to gardeners over the years, answered tons and tons of questions, and 331 00:23:48.839 --> 00:23:51.720 when they've sent me pictures and said, oh, it's wilting, does it 332 00:23:51.759 --> 00:23:55.720 need more water? Is it getting too much sun? I always have to 333 00:23:55.759 --> 00:23:59.599 ask how much are you watering it? Because one of the really tricky things 334 00:23:59.640 --> 00:24:04.279 about a situation like this is that a lot of plants will wilt if they 335 00:24:04.279 --> 00:24:10.559 are overwatered or underwatered, and it really takes kind of a finely trained eye 336 00:24:11.079 --> 00:24:15.119 to see the difference. And I can discern that from a photo now typically, 337 00:24:15.039 --> 00:24:18.119 but you know, to someone who is not used to seeing plants all 338 00:24:18.160 --> 00:24:21.880 the time and thinking about plants all the time, it could be very, 339 00:24:22.000 --> 00:24:27.400 very difficult to tell the difference between wilting from overwatering and wilting from underwatering. 340 00:24:27.400 --> 00:24:32.000 So, Diane, before you dig anything up or do anything like that, 341 00:24:32.079 --> 00:24:34.680 I would encourage you to get out there and see what's actually going on in 342 00:24:34.720 --> 00:24:38.480 the soil. Now. Only the trick about answering these kinds of questions is 343 00:24:38.680 --> 00:24:42.279 only the person asking it really knows how much water it's getting. I mean, 344 00:24:42.319 --> 00:24:45.400 I don't know how much water it's getting. Even if it's rained, 345 00:24:45.119 --> 00:24:48.279 which we haven't had much rain here in Michigan, you still don't know if 346 00:24:48.319 --> 00:24:53.039 it's actually reaching the plant and saturating the soil in the route ball. So 347 00:24:53.079 --> 00:24:56.799 you really are the one to know, if you have a sprinkler system, 348 00:24:56.839 --> 00:24:59.880 if it's hitting it sufficiently, if you've been watering by hand, how much 349 00:25:00.079 --> 00:25:03.680 water it's getting. And if you aren't sure, then all you have to 350 00:25:03.720 --> 00:25:07.640 do is you take your finger, take a trowel, and just dig around 351 00:25:07.680 --> 00:25:10.599 a little bit just outside where the root ball is, and that will give 352 00:25:10.640 --> 00:25:14.920 you a pretty quick idea of how moist the soil is. Well, and 353 00:25:14.960 --> 00:25:18.160 Diane mentioned amended soil, and I'd like to mention again that when you dig 354 00:25:18.200 --> 00:25:22.160 the hole, don't throw amended soil in a hole and then put the plant 355 00:25:22.200 --> 00:25:26.400 in. Rather mix it fifty fifty with the existing parent soil. That's going 356 00:25:26.440 --> 00:25:32.079 to help with the watering too, and sensing how much water the plant needs. 357 00:25:32.160 --> 00:25:37.559 Plants do experience transplant shock, and often they'll show that via leaf scorch, 358 00:25:37.920 --> 00:25:44.200 especially if the weather is well. She's saying eighty eighty two degrees there 359 00:25:44.200 --> 00:25:49.640 are good water soluble starter fertilizers. Also because Stacy, I guess the whole 360 00:25:49.720 --> 00:25:55.160 key here is giving this plant a little time to establish roots in the soil 361 00:25:55.359 --> 00:25:59.200 right and really investigating what's going on. If you did amend and it wasn't 362 00:25:59.200 --> 00:26:03.039 thoroughly mixed, that can hold a lot more moisture around the root bowl, 363 00:26:03.160 --> 00:26:07.160 as we've talked about before. So Diane, the answer to your question is 364 00:26:07.240 --> 00:26:08.920 that you're going to need to go out there first of all and explore deep 365 00:26:08.960 --> 00:26:11.160 down, not deep down in the soil, but a few inches into the 366 00:26:11.200 --> 00:26:15.200 soil, see how moist it is, see if it's dry. And I 367 00:26:15.240 --> 00:26:18.279 think that that will help to answer your question. I don't think that in 368 00:26:18.400 --> 00:26:22.880 USCA Zone seven that you should have to move, double play douzy at all. 369 00:26:22.920 --> 00:26:25.960 I think it should do just fine in full sun, particularly if it's 370 00:26:26.000 --> 00:26:29.960 mulched. So I would say, look at what is happening with the water. 371 00:26:30.000 --> 00:26:32.960 And this is for Diane and anyone else. If your plant is wilting, 372 00:26:33.559 --> 00:26:37.000 don't just automatically assume it needs more water. There could be other things 373 00:26:37.039 --> 00:26:40.720 at play, So make sure you dig around in the soil before you act. 374 00:26:40.839 --> 00:26:42.799 And I've done this before Diane, and that, as you mentioned, 375 00:26:42.880 --> 00:26:47.640 it was planted one week ago. When we have problems with a plant, 376 00:26:47.720 --> 00:26:49.920 I've gotten to the point where I have dug it up, Yeah, and 377 00:26:51.119 --> 00:26:53.839 taken a look so that I'm sure of what's going on down there, and 378 00:26:53.880 --> 00:26:57.599 then replanted it. If it's only been planted a week ago. Yeah, 379 00:26:57.599 --> 00:27:02.319 that's not a bad idea at all. We got a note from Kenny wondering 380 00:27:02.960 --> 00:27:07.400 we purchased a load of top soil to fill new raised garden beds around our 381 00:27:07.440 --> 00:27:11.279 home. The soil was full of tiny bulbs that produced flat, variegated foliage, 382 00:27:11.319 --> 00:27:15.480 not wild onions. While I'm trying to remove the bulbs by digging them 383 00:27:15.519 --> 00:27:19.240 out, I know I'm not getting them getting them all. Will I keep 384 00:27:19.279 --> 00:27:26.079 the soil too moist for my panicle hydranges if I put cardboard under the mulch 385 00:27:26.200 --> 00:27:32.119 to hopefully suppress the weeds. The soil type is silt and we're talking about 386 00:27:32.599 --> 00:27:36.319 zone seven, Tennessee. And the plant that she planted is a little lime 387 00:27:36.359 --> 00:27:40.039 punch panical hydrangea. And I think I've said it on the show before that 388 00:27:40.160 --> 00:27:45.880 panical hydrangeas are definitely one of those plants that can be very sensitive to too 389 00:27:45.920 --> 00:27:49.319 much moisture in the soil, in particularly conditions where there's too much moisture in 390 00:27:49.359 --> 00:27:56.000 the soil because of landscape fabric or thick, thick layers of mulch keeping that 391 00:27:56.200 --> 00:28:00.880 in. So I would say tentatively yes, but you're going to want to 392 00:28:00.880 --> 00:28:06.599 make sure that this cardboard is kept well away from your panical hydrangea. Sure, 393 00:28:06.640 --> 00:28:10.920 you know, I would say a good two feet around that panical hydrangea. 394 00:28:10.960 --> 00:28:14.680 And the other thing you know to know here is that the cardboard will 395 00:28:14.720 --> 00:28:18.480 decompose. And you're in You're in Tennessee, USCS and seven, so a 396 00:28:18.519 --> 00:28:22.319 pretty humid climate, pretty warm climate. I'm going to go out on a 397 00:28:22.400 --> 00:28:26.359 limb and say that I don't think that cardboard is going to last long enough 398 00:28:26.440 --> 00:28:30.519 in the Tennessee climate to actually do any weed suppression. What do you think? 399 00:28:30.599 --> 00:28:33.279 Yeah, probably not, because we're talking about bulbous weeds. Now it 400 00:28:33.359 --> 00:28:37.519 was mentioned here not wild onions, but maybe it's muscary, grape, hyacinths 401 00:28:37.680 --> 00:28:42.519 or crocus or stripe squill, whatever it may be. And with something like 402 00:28:42.559 --> 00:28:47.599 that, if you do get to the point some point where you decide to 403 00:28:47.839 --> 00:28:52.559 use an herbicide to knock them back rough them up a little bit before you 404 00:28:52.559 --> 00:28:56.079 spray the herbicide. It will make it more effective for a bulbous type weed, 405 00:28:56.440 --> 00:29:00.640 which can be difficult to a radicate. They can be and my first 406 00:29:00.640 --> 00:29:04.079 thought when I hear a bulbous weed, my first thought is Ornithogolum also known 407 00:29:04.119 --> 00:29:07.440 as stars. Yeah. Yeah, I got a couple of those in my 408 00:29:07.519 --> 00:29:11.920 yard that I've got to dig up this week before they do become even more 409 00:29:11.079 --> 00:29:15.920 of a pest. And I could easily see that being the issue here, 410 00:29:15.440 --> 00:29:19.000 And it is going to take some time, and it's going to be difficult, 411 00:29:19.519 --> 00:29:22.279 but I think you can go through the work of putting the cardboard down 412 00:29:22.400 --> 00:29:26.079 leave the clearance for the hydranges, but you might just want to consider putting 413 00:29:26.119 --> 00:29:32.039 that effort into a different method, since I really don't think in a warm, 414 00:29:32.119 --> 00:29:36.880 humid climate the cardboard will last long enough to do the job. Thanks 415 00:29:36.880 --> 00:29:40.599 for your question, Let's get to this, Jim writes to us, we 416 00:29:40.720 --> 00:29:45.839 have five beautiful, incredible hydranges exhibiting the same problem of pairs of leaves rolled 417 00:29:47.000 --> 00:29:53.519 into pillows and fused together. Their organic gardeners want to support wildlife, so 418 00:29:53.680 --> 00:29:59.720 I want to avoid killing the caterpillars, but they want to protect the plants 419 00:29:59.720 --> 00:30:03.400 and sure the blooms. What do they do here? And this is a 420 00:30:03.440 --> 00:30:06.599 great question because this is something we do see. Yeah, we do see 421 00:30:06.599 --> 00:30:10.119 it. I think that it has been increasing for a lot of people. 422 00:30:11.359 --> 00:30:14.720 And the short answer here is that what you're seeing there, Jim, is 423 00:30:14.759 --> 00:30:18.640 the hydrangea leaf tire. And I'm always glad when I can talk about this 424 00:30:18.680 --> 00:30:22.880 problem rather than write about it, because if you write it, it's hydrangea 425 00:30:23.000 --> 00:30:29.039 leaf tier, like a tier of a cake or something like that tier, 426 00:30:29.440 --> 00:30:32.160 and then people are always like a hydrange a leaf tier, what in the 427 00:30:32.200 --> 00:30:36.759 world do you mean? But it's leaf tire because as Jim could unfortunately tell 428 00:30:36.799 --> 00:30:40.720 you, what this little caterpillar does is it makes a cozy little home for 429 00:30:40.799 --> 00:30:44.960 itself, or a pillow in his words, by taking the silk that it 430 00:30:45.000 --> 00:30:48.039 would use to like spin a cocoon or something like that, and tying literally 431 00:30:48.079 --> 00:30:56.279 tying the uppermost pair of leaves specifically on Hydrangea arborescence, so smooth hydrangeas or 432 00:30:56.279 --> 00:31:00.599 annabel type hydrangeas. And that's not surprising why because that is actually a native 433 00:31:00.640 --> 00:31:07.559 species for us. Hydrangea arborescence grows abundantly throughout the Southeast. In fact, 434 00:31:07.920 --> 00:31:11.240 last year I was on a vacation to the southeast, and so one in 435 00:31:11.599 --> 00:31:17.160 growing wild in a Wafflehouse parking lot, just to show you how ubiquitous, 436 00:31:17.559 --> 00:31:22.279 how ubiquitous the plant is. So when we have a plant like that that's 437 00:31:22.359 --> 00:31:26.839 native, it's not surprising that there are these native pests. So they're pretty 438 00:31:26.880 --> 00:31:30.640 easy to manage without spraying. I would honestly just spend you know, fifteen 439 00:31:30.640 --> 00:31:33.759 minutes busting those things open. If you want, you can squish them with 440 00:31:33.799 --> 00:31:37.319 your hand if you If not, all you have to do is open them 441 00:31:37.359 --> 00:31:41.079 up, and the birds will be only too glad to swoop in and pick 442 00:31:41.119 --> 00:31:44.519 out those little caterpillars. I agree with you because it's unsightly, but it 443 00:31:44.559 --> 00:31:49.400 isn't necessarily going to kill the plants. We just want these caterpillars to retire, 444 00:31:51.319 --> 00:31:53.720 that's right, Yeah, And you do want to do that sooner than 445 00:31:53.799 --> 00:31:59.640 later, because this first generation here, it's not really typically going to cause 446 00:31:59.680 --> 00:32:02.160 a lot of harm to the flowers because the flower buds are still quite tiny 447 00:32:02.240 --> 00:32:07.400 for those of us in cold climates. But as the season progresses, if 448 00:32:07.400 --> 00:32:10.559 those caterpillars are allowed to get larger and the bud is getting larger, then 449 00:32:10.599 --> 00:32:15.240 they might start to damage the flower bud. Right now, they're just eating 450 00:32:15.240 --> 00:32:19.720 the little leaf tissue in there, so bust them open. If you want 451 00:32:19.720 --> 00:32:22.279 to crush the caterpillars with your fingers, you can, but like I said, 452 00:32:22.279 --> 00:32:23.920 otherwise, the birds will probably be able to take care of it for 453 00:32:23.960 --> 00:32:28.920 you if you do them the courtesy of opening up those tied up leaves. 454 00:32:29.240 --> 00:32:31.000 So if you have a gardening question for us, we would be delighted to 455 00:32:31.039 --> 00:32:35.559 help you. All you have to do is email us at help HLP at 456 00:32:35.559 --> 00:32:39.400 Gardening Simplified OnAir dot com, or visit Gardening Simplified OnAir dot com. We've 457 00:32:39.400 --> 00:32:42.359 got to take a break, but when we come back, we've got a 458 00:32:42.400 --> 00:32:51.960 guest and it's going to be all about pollinators, So please stay tuned at 459 00:32:52.000 --> 00:32:55.079 Proven Winners Color Choice Shrubs. We love plants. That's why we bring you 460 00:32:55.119 --> 00:33:00.279 the Gardening Simplified podcast, and that's why we trial and test all of our 461 00:33:00.319 --> 00:33:04.599 shrubs to make sure they outperform everything else on the market. Let our expertise 462 00:33:04.640 --> 00:33:07.839 help you create the gardener landscape of your dreams. Get started at Proven Winner's 463 00:33:07.880 --> 00:33:14.599 Color Choice dot com. Welcome back to the Gardening Simplified Show. It's time 464 00:33:14.640 --> 00:33:19.039 for branching news, not breaking news. And today's branching news, we want 465 00:33:19.039 --> 00:33:23.240 to talk about pollinators. Earlier we were talking about annuals, bright colorful annuals 466 00:33:23.279 --> 00:33:28.440 and drawing pollinators and bees to your yard, and I thought, what better 467 00:33:28.519 --> 00:33:34.359 person to talk to than my friend Honey Tree Arborist Services Mike Connor. He's 468 00:33:34.400 --> 00:33:39.359 a lifetime bee keeper. Be enthusiast. When I say lifetime, Mike, 469 00:33:39.440 --> 00:33:45.000 can I share that's like fifty plus years? Is that correct? I've had 470 00:33:45.039 --> 00:33:50.519 bees for fifty plus years. Yeah, you can do the masrik while we're 471 00:33:50.599 --> 00:33:52.519 kind of in the same group, Mike Connor. Mike, thanks so much 472 00:33:52.559 --> 00:33:59.680 for joining us here on the Gardening Simplified Show. And I knew immediately that 473 00:33:59.759 --> 00:34:07.000 I needed to interview you on the show because, just like Stacy, you 474 00:34:07.039 --> 00:34:15.159 are a huge fan of seven Sons Temple of Bloom hepticodium I am. I'm 475 00:34:15.199 --> 00:34:19.079 so glad that Stacey. I'm glad to hear that you're a fan too. 476 00:34:19.199 --> 00:34:22.920 All Right, we have a good taste. It's a great tree, and 477 00:34:23.360 --> 00:34:25.840 I wish that there were more of them out there. You've got to do 478 00:34:25.880 --> 00:34:30.920 your job promoting these, you know, I try to Yeah, now it's 479 00:34:30.960 --> 00:34:34.880 you know, it's true. And of course it suffers from something that a 480 00:34:34.920 --> 00:34:37.719 lot of really fantastic landscape plants have, which is it blooms late in the 481 00:34:37.760 --> 00:34:40.480 season. So of course, right now it's May, everybody's at the garden 482 00:34:40.559 --> 00:34:44.559 center, and then you know, unfortunately, traffic kind of drops off and 483 00:34:44.599 --> 00:34:47.400 people don't realize that they're walking by a plant that's going to give them so 484 00:34:47.519 --> 00:34:51.639 much later in the season, not just aesthetically, but you know, as 485 00:34:51.679 --> 00:34:54.960 you of course know for the bees and pollinators as well. You know, 486 00:34:55.039 --> 00:34:59.840 let's talk about that for just a moment, because we have so many things 487 00:35:00.079 --> 00:35:04.400 bloom right now. Just dozens and dozens of plants and flowers and trees are 488 00:35:04.440 --> 00:35:07.039 in bloom right now, and then when it comes to the middle of the 489 00:35:07.079 --> 00:35:10.360 summer, there's not much in terms of trees, there's not much in terms 490 00:35:10.400 --> 00:35:17.039 of spectacular except maybe rows of Sharon. And in September, Temple of Bloom, 491 00:35:17.280 --> 00:35:23.480 the hepticodium seven suns comes into full bloom, and it is absolutely a 492 00:35:23.480 --> 00:35:30.840 pollinator magnet. And I was telling Rick earlier that we stopped at a resort 493 00:35:30.880 --> 00:35:37.519 community on Lake Michigan last year, and it was September and there was a 494 00:35:37.639 --> 00:35:44.679 seven suns someone had planted and there were literally thousands of pollinators on that single 495 00:35:44.719 --> 00:35:51.960 tree, including hundreds of monarch butterfly. And that's a good selling point because 496 00:35:52.159 --> 00:35:55.800 monarchs have to feed as they traveled down from up north all the way to 497 00:35:55.880 --> 00:36:00.480 Mexico, and what do we have for them to feed. Well, they 498 00:36:00.480 --> 00:36:05.199 can feed on golden rods, they can feed on whatever elsea's in bloom at 499 00:36:05.199 --> 00:36:08.679 the time, but the skepticodium just seems to draw them by the hundreds. 500 00:36:08.280 --> 00:36:14.800 And I think we could promote those just as as a as a monarch friendly 501 00:36:14.920 --> 00:36:17.480 plant in the fall. Yeah, I'm marking that down. And another great 502 00:36:17.480 --> 00:36:21.800 thing about it is because it is a tree. It's not a super tall 503 00:36:21.800 --> 00:36:24.360 tree, but that's a great thing for people who are afraid of bees, 504 00:36:24.559 --> 00:36:29.079 you know, who know that they're beneficial, but have still have that lingering 505 00:36:29.199 --> 00:36:31.360 fear that some of us develop in childhood. Not me, not Rick, 506 00:36:31.639 --> 00:36:36.199 not Adriana, but some people. And so they're they're way up there, 507 00:36:36.280 --> 00:36:38.400 so you're you're giving them all that benefit, but they're not, you know, 508 00:36:38.519 --> 00:36:42.760 right down there at eye level where they're scaring your kids and scaring your 509 00:36:42.760 --> 00:36:45.559 pets. Stacy, you make such a great point. And since I've known 510 00:36:45.639 --> 00:36:51.280 Mike, Mike is a guy who's mantra is save a bee, plant a 511 00:36:51.320 --> 00:36:54.400 tree. And if you think about it with trees, this is something Mike 512 00:36:54.519 --> 00:36:59.480 taught me. Whatever time of the year it is, we talked about temple 513 00:36:59.480 --> 00:37:04.000 of bloom, but if you talk about alder or red maple early in the 514 00:37:04.159 --> 00:37:07.519 year, we get a chance to go vertical. Just like Maverick in Top 515 00:37:07.559 --> 00:37:12.800 Gun. You know, let's go vertical, let's go ballistic. And Mike, 516 00:37:13.639 --> 00:37:17.519 whether it's the red maples or let's say Linden trees as an example, 517 00:37:17.800 --> 00:37:23.239 you're a guy who really promotes this what Stacy mentioned, because it's an opportunity 518 00:37:23.239 --> 00:37:30.360 to be very efficient with space and provide for our pollinators. And that's very 519 00:37:30.480 --> 00:37:34.800 very important. You know, when you look at a meadow that people will 520 00:37:34.800 --> 00:37:39.199 plant for pollinators or a pollinator garden, it may take up several hundred square 521 00:37:39.280 --> 00:37:44.360 feet for a pollinator garden, and if you were to count the blossoms in 522 00:37:44.360 --> 00:37:47.840 that pollinator garden, I think you'd be surprised when you compare that to a 523 00:37:47.840 --> 00:37:53.039 tree. That a tree with a footprint of a foot foot and a half 524 00:37:53.320 --> 00:38:00.079 can have a larger number of blossoms than a field of pollinator plants. And 525 00:38:00.159 --> 00:38:04.400 they're all out at once. They're producing nectar and pollen all at once, 526 00:38:04.679 --> 00:38:09.920 which is what bees need to gather a crop. And Stacy, I don't 527 00:38:09.960 --> 00:38:16.400 know if you know this that it takes two million flower visits for bees to 528 00:38:16.519 --> 00:38:22.880 make one pound of honey. Wow. Just don't get two million flowers in 529 00:38:22.920 --> 00:38:27.159 a small space or on a catman, or on a small landscape plant. 530 00:38:27.199 --> 00:38:30.840 But you can get two million flowers on a couple of trees that are in 531 00:38:30.840 --> 00:38:36.440 your backyard, and that's really significant. Well, you know the thing about 532 00:38:36.480 --> 00:38:40.239 lindens, and Linden's are one of my hands down favorite trees, and even 533 00:38:40.239 --> 00:38:45.679 though they're spectacular in flower, a lot of people don't really realize that they're 534 00:38:45.719 --> 00:38:47.800 even blooming. They might smell the fragrance in the air, but they don't 535 00:38:47.880 --> 00:38:51.360 look at a linden and go, oh wow, that's in flower that's really 536 00:38:51.360 --> 00:38:53.000 supporting bees. They'll look at a meadow and go oh yeah, great for 537 00:38:53.039 --> 00:38:57.239 the bees. And I think that's what you're saying is such a good thing 538 00:38:57.239 --> 00:39:00.719 for people to learn and internalize, and that is that planting trees and supporting 539 00:39:00.760 --> 00:39:05.760 tree health is such a crucial part of saving not just honey bees but all 540 00:39:05.840 --> 00:39:10.880 pollinators. Absolutely, And you know the linden tree, we don't necessarily see 541 00:39:10.920 --> 00:39:15.679 those flowers unless oh, like it's a little ly flended, and there may 542 00:39:15.719 --> 00:39:20.239 be millions and millions of flowers and the overwhelmed the leaves. But the flowers 543 00:39:20.280 --> 00:39:23.159 on a lot of trees come out after the leaves do. The exception would 544 00:39:23.159 --> 00:39:28.320 be red maples and pussy willows and the early spring flowers. But when the 545 00:39:28.400 --> 00:39:31.039 leaves come out, then we don't notice those flowers. We can smell them, 546 00:39:31.639 --> 00:39:36.880 but we may not necessarily see them. But those trees have thousands, 547 00:39:37.000 --> 00:39:39.440 hundreds of thousands of blossoms on them, and the bees are actively working them. 548 00:39:39.679 --> 00:39:43.719 You don't even know it. Those bees are up high. The bees 549 00:39:43.760 --> 00:39:49.159 are doing their things, the pollinating that the flowers and gathering nectar. Mike 550 00:39:49.800 --> 00:39:52.800 remind me, And don't want to put you on the spot here, but 551 00:39:52.199 --> 00:40:00.360 I'm sure you know about this. Wasn't it linden trees that were inappropriately parade 552 00:40:00.679 --> 00:40:07.400 somewhere in the Northwest that caused this whole movement as far as save the bees 553 00:40:07.159 --> 00:40:10.840 is concerned. There was an incident a number of years ago, correct, 554 00:40:12.559 --> 00:40:20.159 there was a landscaper inadvertently sprayed I believe they were little leaf Lindians for Japanese 555 00:40:20.199 --> 00:40:28.199 beetles and used a mediculprid product if I recall correctly, and that's just absolutely 556 00:40:28.239 --> 00:40:32.320 toxic to the bees and not only affected the bees, but it affected the 557 00:40:32.360 --> 00:40:37.800 bumble bees and the bumble bees the native bees are working these these trees too, 558 00:40:37.000 --> 00:40:40.800 and I think that's where the outcry came from. There was some fault 559 00:40:40.880 --> 00:40:45.599 pressed on that. Some people came out and said, well, linden pollen 560 00:40:45.760 --> 00:40:47.719 is toxic to bees and that's what killed them. No, it was the 561 00:40:47.760 --> 00:40:53.039 spray that killed them. If the linden pollen and nectar was toxic to the 562 00:40:53.079 --> 00:40:57.360 bees, then there wouldn't be much point in the bees going to them and 563 00:40:58.079 --> 00:41:00.920 pollinating them. Sure, and I know there are some exceptions, but some. 564 00:41:02.079 --> 00:41:05.800 Yeah, that was a horrible incident, and I think it raised people's 565 00:41:05.800 --> 00:41:09.920 awareness, you know, the chemical being improperly applied. Had they waited until 566 00:41:10.000 --> 00:41:15.559 the flowers were gone, then there would not have been any bees in the 567 00:41:15.599 --> 00:41:19.519 tree and they could have had gipsy mot I'm sorry, they could have had 568 00:41:19.960 --> 00:41:25.840 um well. I was a pest again Rick Japanese beetles control. And if 569 00:41:25.840 --> 00:41:30.679 they would have done it after the bloom, then there would not have been 570 00:41:30.760 --> 00:41:34.679 that that horrible die off. Yeah, you bet. Now, on a 571 00:41:34.880 --> 00:41:38.800 happier note, there are things that our viewers and listeners can do to attract 572 00:41:39.239 --> 00:41:44.840 pollinators to their yard. I was looking at a list that you had created, 573 00:41:44.920 --> 00:41:50.000 Mike, and we mentioned earlier Stacy's favorite temple of bloom, and I 574 00:41:50.119 --> 00:41:55.440 noticed one of Adriana's favorites, Miss Molly bud Leah is a plant that you 575 00:41:55.519 --> 00:42:00.480 liked. I do. I really really like that. And this is not 576 00:42:00.519 --> 00:42:02.719 a plug for proven winners, but I'll tell you they've really got some good 577 00:42:02.760 --> 00:42:07.400 stuff out there for pollinators. You know. The Miss Molly butterfly bush is 578 00:42:07.440 --> 00:42:14.920 great. Sugar shack button bush is another one that's great, an incredibly incredibly 579 00:42:15.079 --> 00:42:22.079 important plan as a carry aptress to beyond midnight cultivar that just draws bees by 580 00:42:22.119 --> 00:42:28.880 the thousands. And that's another fall bloomer bees and butterflies and bumblebees, native 581 00:42:28.920 --> 00:42:32.239 bees. Not all of these things are just all about honeybees. A lot 582 00:42:32.280 --> 00:42:37.079 of these things are about our native bees and our butterflies, and we have 583 00:42:37.119 --> 00:42:39.599 to take a broad approach on bees and say, you know, we're going 584 00:42:39.639 --> 00:42:43.760 to plant something for all the pollinators, and hey, you know what if 585 00:42:43.760 --> 00:42:46.519 the beekeeper gets a honeycraft off, the tests better yet, Yeah, I 586 00:42:46.559 --> 00:42:51.559 agree completely. You know, it's sometimes I feel a little bit personally indignant 587 00:42:51.639 --> 00:42:53.800 that the honeybees do get all the attention because it's like people only care because 588 00:42:53.800 --> 00:42:59.639 it's affecting their personal food source and not really understanding how, you know, 589 00:42:59.679 --> 00:43:05.599 the whole ecology that our native bees play in our role really supports our entire 590 00:43:06.119 --> 00:43:10.960 food system and basically our entire ecosystem. Yeah, generally, if we say 591 00:43:12.000 --> 00:43:15.599 that a plant is good for our honeybee, it's almost always good for the 592 00:43:15.679 --> 00:43:19.480 native bees. Now, it's not always a reverse of that. You know, 593 00:43:19.639 --> 00:43:24.480 black cherry is not necessarily good for our honeybees because they're not that attracted 594 00:43:24.519 --> 00:43:30.440 to it. But black cherry is very attractive to our native bees, and 595 00:43:30.519 --> 00:43:35.519 so we can plant that and enjoy the beauty of the flower. So so 596 00:43:35.559 --> 00:43:39.360 many plants, so many trees, shrubs that we can enjoy and plant for 597 00:43:39.760 --> 00:43:46.079 pollinators. Mike Stacey and I often talk about this, but avoiding a monoculture. 598 00:43:46.159 --> 00:43:52.960 There are so many opportunities, great opportunities, and we're looking for those 599 00:43:52.039 --> 00:43:58.599 blooming opportunities all season long. And we can do that with the variety that's 600 00:43:58.599 --> 00:44:02.519 available today. We sure ten And that's a very important point. I think 601 00:44:02.639 --> 00:44:07.280 municipalities are finally cut on that. If you plan a whole street scape to 602 00:44:07.559 --> 00:44:10.800 elm, you're going to pay for it. And then to replace those elm 603 00:44:10.840 --> 00:44:15.039 with ash, well, that was a probably not a smart thing to do. 604 00:44:15.079 --> 00:44:20.800 And then after the ashtyke they put in Cleveland select pairs, Yeah, 605 00:44:21.280 --> 00:44:25.480 exactly, and it's like, okay, we have to learn that monoculture is 606 00:44:25.519 --> 00:44:30.840 not necessarily good. It may it may look good, but if we need 607 00:44:30.880 --> 00:44:35.960 diversity for our wildlife, for our bees, and be able to provide something 608 00:44:36.039 --> 00:44:40.159 for you know, for all the pollinators, and in succession, you know, 609 00:44:40.440 --> 00:44:45.280 red maples in the spring, followed by pussy willows, followed by the 610 00:44:45.280 --> 00:44:50.039 sumats, followed by the you know, the the crab apples. All of 611 00:44:50.039 --> 00:44:54.599 these things come in succession, and then all of these things offer a continuous 612 00:44:54.679 --> 00:45:01.079 supply of nectar and pollen for our pollinators. And that's really Fortunes couldn't have 613 00:45:01.119 --> 00:45:06.480 said it better myself. Mike Connor. His name is Mike Connor, Honeytree 614 00:45:06.679 --> 00:45:14.000 Arborist Services, a lifelong beekeeper, be enthusiast. Mike, you always inspire 615 00:45:14.079 --> 00:45:16.719 me when we chat, and we want to thank you for joining us today 616 00:45:16.719 --> 00:45:22.920 on the Gardening Simplified Joe. It's been my pleasure. I really appreciate your 617 00:45:22.960 --> 00:45:25.599 interest in pollin leaders. Thank you very much. Thanks Mike. I told 618 00:45:25.599 --> 00:45:30.800 you he means business. He sure does. He does. Thanks so much, 619 00:45:30.840 --> 00:45:34.599 Mike. Wow, that was great. I am so inspired and so 620 00:45:34.679 --> 00:45:37.800 glad it's the weekend so I can get out there and do some planting myself. 621 00:45:37.920 --> 00:45:39.840 Me too, can't wait, can't wait to plan, and we wish 622 00:45:39.880 --> 00:45:44.159 you all happy planting. Thanks to Rick, thanks to Adriana, and thanks 623 00:45:44.199 --> 00:45:46.199 to Mike for joining us. Have a wonderful week and week ahead.