WEBVTT 1 00:00:04.879 --> 00:00:09.599 Reading's gardening friends, and welcome to the Gardening Simplified Show. We are coming 2 00:00:09.599 --> 00:00:14.160 to you from Studio A here at Proven Winners Color Choice Shrubs. I'm Stacey 3 00:00:14.199 --> 00:00:17.960 Hervella and I am joined in studio by the one and only Rick Weiss and 4 00:00:18.000 --> 00:00:23.440 of course our engineer and producer Adriana Robinson. And no, you are not 5 00:00:23.519 --> 00:00:27.920 imagining it. It is the beginning of this episode of Gardening Simplified. And 6 00:00:27.960 --> 00:00:33.320 we've switched roles a little bit because we have got breaking news. It's not 7 00:00:33.399 --> 00:00:37.719 branching news. It's breaking news, true breaking it is. It's breaking news. 8 00:00:37.759 --> 00:00:39.920 Well, we're a little bit late, a little late on the uptake 9 00:00:39.960 --> 00:00:43.640 here because it did happen about a month ago, but it's the biggest news 10 00:00:43.640 --> 00:00:47.399 to hit horticulture since twenty twelve, and that is that there is a new 11 00:00:47.880 --> 00:00:53.960 USDA Hardiness Zone map. I remember the turmoil it caused in two thousand and 12 00:00:53.960 --> 00:00:58.240 two and two thy twelve or somewhere in that area. And here we go 13 00:00:58.280 --> 00:01:00.840 again. Yes, so there is a new map if you haven't heard, 14 00:01:00.840 --> 00:01:06.359 and it has been everywhere. It is not causing nearly the consternation that the 15 00:01:06.400 --> 00:01:11.599 twenty twelve map caused. And you know, looking into it a little bit 16 00:01:11.640 --> 00:01:17.640 more, I found some interesting history as to why the twenty twelve map caused 17 00:01:17.680 --> 00:01:21.560 so many problems, and that kind of leads into many of the changes that 18 00:01:21.599 --> 00:01:26.359 we're seeing here in the new twenty twenty three maps. So before twenty twelve, 19 00:01:26.799 --> 00:01:32.599 there had not been a new USDA Hardiness Zone map since nineteen ninety. 20 00:01:32.879 --> 00:01:36.799 Wow. Yeah, so that was a long span of time. So nowadays 21 00:01:36.920 --> 00:01:41.239 the USDA, the United States Department of Agriculture, who administers these maps along 22 00:01:41.280 --> 00:01:44.159 with the Prison Working Group in Oregon, they use a bunch of weather data. 23 00:01:44.959 --> 00:01:48.840 Now they're committed to doing it roughly every ten years to make sure everything 24 00:01:48.959 --> 00:01:51.400 is accurate. But at the time, no, they hadn't had a new 25 00:01:51.400 --> 00:01:55.719 map since nineteen ninety. So from nineteen ninety to twenty twelve, nothing new. 26 00:01:56.359 --> 00:02:00.319 And the nineteen ninety map, which you know everybody was kind of basing 27 00:02:00.400 --> 00:02:06.719 their horticultural decisions on, was based on data from nineteen seventy four to nineteen 28 00:02:06.799 --> 00:02:09.240 eighty six. A lot has changed since, A lot has changed, and 29 00:02:09.280 --> 00:02:13.919 so what what was happening? Of course, if you are old enough to 30 00:02:14.039 --> 00:02:17.800 remember the late nineteen seventies, and I was very young in the I remember 31 00:02:17.840 --> 00:02:22.039 the late nineteen seventies, so it was very little. I was, you 32 00:02:22.080 --> 00:02:24.439 know, at the age where I would be like walking to school in the 33 00:02:24.479 --> 00:02:29.879 insanely freezing cold and heavy snow, and I remember, you know, snow 34 00:02:29.919 --> 00:02:34.639 days galore. So we had some unusually cold winters in the late nineteen seventies. 35 00:02:35.240 --> 00:02:38.879 So all of that time span from nineteen ninety to twenty twelve, those 36 00:02:39.400 --> 00:02:45.800 really unusually cold years in the nineteen seventies were kind of just dragging down everybody's 37 00:02:45.840 --> 00:02:51.360 heartiness zone because it kind of skewed the data much colder. And so when 38 00:02:51.400 --> 00:02:54.159 they decided to introduce the new map in twenty twelve, they were using thirty 39 00:02:54.199 --> 00:03:00.159 years of data that took off those nineteen seventies years, and everybody freaked out 40 00:03:00.159 --> 00:03:06.319 in twenty twelve because it looks like they skyrocketed up in their zones, when 41 00:03:06.319 --> 00:03:09.360 in fact, all they did was just sort of change the view of the 42 00:03:09.439 --> 00:03:12.800 data that they were looking at. They just shifted it to more recent data. 43 00:03:13.319 --> 00:03:16.719 So, Stacey, we're talking about the USDA Hardiness Zone map, and 44 00:03:16.800 --> 00:03:21.639 it's important to point out right at the top here, Essentially what we're talking 45 00:03:21.719 --> 00:03:25.719 about is the average minimum temperature on an annual basis. Yes, So that 46 00:03:25.800 --> 00:03:30.120 is what the USDA Hardiness Zone Map is based on, is the average minimum 47 00:03:30.159 --> 00:03:35.560 temperature. And this is actual air temperature. It's not windchill that an area 48 00:03:35.759 --> 00:03:39.199 experiences. Again, it's an average, well, Stacey. So when we're 49 00:03:39.199 --> 00:03:45.159 talking about average minimum temperature, I watched the YouTube video where you explain the 50 00:03:45.319 --> 00:03:50.080 USDA Hardiness Zones, and I recommend to folks to go watch that video. 51 00:03:50.240 --> 00:03:55.039 It is a great explanation, Stacey, of why the USDA Hardiness Zone Map 52 00:03:55.120 --> 00:03:59.719 is important to us. But within that video, you talked about the difference 53 00:03:59.719 --> 00:04:04.120 between Austin, Texas in Portland. I've been both places and yet on this 54 00:04:04.360 --> 00:04:10.479 map they have the same average minimum temperature, right, And so you're getting 55 00:04:10.520 --> 00:04:15.879 at probably my biggest pet peeve about the usc Hardiness Zone Map. It's the 56 00:04:15.879 --> 00:04:17.319 only system we have. It's not a perfect system, but it's the only 57 00:04:17.360 --> 00:04:19.920 system we have, so we have to use it now. Because it's only 58 00:04:19.959 --> 00:04:26.839 based on the lowest temperature, it's not that useful for our friends and numerous 59 00:04:26.839 --> 00:04:31.040 listeners in warm climates because it's yes, cold is a very important measure of 60 00:04:31.040 --> 00:04:34.560 how how a plant will survive, but so is heat and so if you 61 00:04:34.600 --> 00:04:39.120 are living in a warmer climate, it's not really giving you any data to 62 00:04:39.120 --> 00:04:41.879 base that decision on. And you know, like Rick said in this video 63 00:04:41.920 --> 00:04:45.079 and of course put that in our show notes at Gardening Simplified on air dot 64 00:04:45.120 --> 00:04:49.839 Com. Because it's based on the lowest minimum temperature. Austin, Texas and 65 00:04:49.879 --> 00:04:55.319 Portland, Oregon are both considered USDA Zone nine. But again, you don't 66 00:04:55.319 --> 00:04:57.000 have to, as you'll hear me say in the video, you don't have 67 00:04:57.040 --> 00:04:59.759 to have visited either of those places, but certainly if you have, you 68 00:04:59.800 --> 00:05:04.399 will know how different sure those climates are. And if it's just based on 69 00:05:04.439 --> 00:05:08.480 how cold they get, so they're equally as cold, but they certainly aren't 70 00:05:08.480 --> 00:05:13.959 equally as warm. They certainly aren't equal in the amount of time that they 71 00:05:14.000 --> 00:05:15.879 have their very hot weather. You know, in Austin, you're gonna have 72 00:05:16.560 --> 00:05:21.399 well over one hundred days of eighty six degree plus temperatures, whereas in Portland, 73 00:05:21.439 --> 00:05:24.879 Oregon, you know you're probably going to have you know, ten to 74 00:05:24.959 --> 00:05:29.759 twenty at most. So's it's the only system we have, but it really 75 00:05:29.800 --> 00:05:33.319 doesn't give us the full picture of what we can grow and how it will 76 00:05:33.319 --> 00:05:38.360 survive. And if you try to grow something that's thriving in Austin in Portland. 77 00:05:38.360 --> 00:05:42.199 Because you're just looking at that Zone nine designation, it's not going to 78 00:05:42.240 --> 00:05:45.439 give you great success. And that's that's a problem for gardeners, and I 79 00:05:45.480 --> 00:05:46.600 think, well, that's where people like you and I come in. Rick. 80 00:05:46.879 --> 00:05:51.639 It's also where things like your local garden center really are important. It's 81 00:05:51.680 --> 00:05:55.319 one of the reasons I think is so important, especially if you are a 82 00:05:55.360 --> 00:05:59.600 beginning gardener, to shop locally, because you know, not only are they 83 00:05:59.639 --> 00:06:02.560 experts in what will grow, but they're generally stocking, especially in the perennials, 84 00:06:02.560 --> 00:06:06.279 strubs, shrubs, and tree section, they're only stocking plants that will 85 00:06:06.279 --> 00:06:10.120 actually grow in that area. Because I don't want you to be unhappy, 86 00:06:10.279 --> 00:06:14.519 and you know, come back and complain right exactly, And so I typed 87 00:06:14.560 --> 00:06:18.600 in my zip code and I moved from A six A to a six B. 88 00:06:19.040 --> 00:06:23.120 Yep, so here on the lake shore we're now six B and within 89 00:06:23.160 --> 00:06:26.800 your video. And again I recommend you watch this video because Stacey does such 90 00:06:26.800 --> 00:06:30.560 a great job with it. It really doesn't have that much of an impact 91 00:06:30.639 --> 00:06:34.439 on the plants or the plants that you can put in the ground, but 92 00:06:34.560 --> 00:06:41.759 Stacy psychologically for me, it has people impact. Yeah, because you're a 93 00:06:41.759 --> 00:06:44.600 little bit closer to Zone seven, right, I'm a little more darerent. 94 00:06:45.560 --> 00:06:47.000 So you know, I'm glad you brought up the A and B thing because 95 00:06:47.000 --> 00:06:51.759 that's another really interesting thing that came out starting in the twenty twelve map and 96 00:06:51.800 --> 00:06:57.240 the reason that so the hardiness zones are divided in ten degree temperature and ten 97 00:06:57.279 --> 00:07:01.279 degree fahrenheit temperature increments, so the difference between Zone six is ten degrees colder 98 00:07:01.279 --> 00:07:05.639 than USDA Zone seven. But in the twenty twelve map they introduced these A 99 00:07:05.800 --> 00:07:09.879 and B hardiness zones. And the reason that they did that is because the 100 00:07:09.920 --> 00:07:15.920 twenty twelve map was the first one that was based on geoinformational technology, so 101 00:07:15.959 --> 00:07:21.319 they were able to get so much more detail on where temperatures were being recorded 102 00:07:21.360 --> 00:07:25.800 and observed, and that is why they were able to get to that more 103 00:07:25.839 --> 00:07:30.879 granular level of an A and B within a hardiness zone. So that started 104 00:07:30.160 --> 00:07:33.680 in twenty twelve, and of course it's continuing now. And so there's a 105 00:07:33.800 --> 00:07:38.639 five degree difference between the A and B part of a zone, so it's 106 00:07:38.680 --> 00:07:42.959 kind of like the halfway point between the ten degrees between each zone. So 107 00:07:43.040 --> 00:07:46.720 with more data, better data. Within your video, you also point out 108 00:07:46.759 --> 00:07:51.079 there were more stations. Yes, there's there's better data now, Yes, 109 00:07:51.199 --> 00:07:57.240 much more data, so more specific because they're using different geographical mapping systems to 110 00:07:58.199 --> 00:08:03.360 map that data to our actual geography. And the twenty twenty three map is 111 00:08:03.399 --> 00:08:09.360 based on data from almost double the number of weather stations that there were in 112 00:08:09.399 --> 00:08:13.839 the twenty twelve map. So you know, I think people really freaked out 113 00:08:13.879 --> 00:08:16.120 with a twenty twelve map because there was such a huge difference from where they 114 00:08:16.160 --> 00:08:20.600 had been, But that map was essentially antiquated. So now here we are 115 00:08:20.639 --> 00:08:24.360 with the twenty twenty three map, differences are mostly subtle. People have either 116 00:08:24.399 --> 00:08:28.680 stayed the same or like us, gone up half a zone. And another 117 00:08:28.680 --> 00:08:33.320 thing that I say in the video, which is so important for people to 118 00:08:33.559 --> 00:08:39.120 understand, is just because your hardiness zone may have changed, it doesn't change 119 00:08:39.159 --> 00:08:45.120 the hardiness of the plants themselves, so that system is still the same. 120 00:08:45.360 --> 00:08:48.240 Basically the key that everything is the plants are tested against that's the same. 121 00:08:48.279 --> 00:08:52.240 So you can just kind of look at that and maybe now experiment with growing 122 00:08:52.399 --> 00:08:56.360 something a little bit hardier. But you know, I think that gardners have 123 00:08:56.799 --> 00:09:01.080 who really like plants, they tend to take a more experimental approach anyway, 124 00:09:01.080 --> 00:09:03.720 and I know I do, and I was excited. I was ready to 125 00:09:03.759 --> 00:09:07.759 plant bougainvilia and olander here a mission. Well, now that might be a 126 00:09:07.799 --> 00:09:11.320 little bit of a stretch. Now you're talking about zone nine zon ten stuff, 127 00:09:11.799 --> 00:09:15.279 but certainly you know I've had success with zone seven stuff. We had 128 00:09:15.279 --> 00:09:18.480 a question the other week about figs, which I've grown very successfully here in 129 00:09:18.519 --> 00:09:22.879 my backyard. So again, it doesn't tell us the whole story. It 130 00:09:22.919 --> 00:09:26.360 gives us a starting point for understanding what we can grow. And then with 131 00:09:26.480 --> 00:09:33.840 that starting point, we can start as gardeners to consider what are the conditions 132 00:09:33.840 --> 00:09:37.600 in our yard? Do we have snow coverage when it gets to that lowest 133 00:09:37.600 --> 00:09:41.279 minimum temperature? How long does that last? All of these other factors which 134 00:09:41.279 --> 00:09:46.799 again the USC Heartinesszone map doesn't cover. But that's sort of the art of 135 00:09:46.919 --> 00:09:48.799 gardening. It kind of the the USC heart Ones zone map gives us the 136 00:09:48.840 --> 00:09:52.960 science of gardening, and then all of that art stuff really comes from you 137 00:09:54.080 --> 00:10:00.240 and your lived experience as a gardener. And so again it's just a guideline, 138 00:10:00.399 --> 00:10:03.919 it's just a suggestion, and how risk averse you are. That is 139 00:10:05.000 --> 00:10:07.320 a very good point. I know as gardeners, I tend to be more 140 00:10:07.720 --> 00:10:13.080 risk positive you as well. But there's lots more to learn about the USD 141 00:10:13.200 --> 00:10:16.600 Hardiness zone system. Do check it out. We're going to put links on 142 00:10:16.639 --> 00:10:20.600 our show notes so that you can find out what your hardiness zones actually is, 143 00:10:20.639 --> 00:10:22.480 if it's changed or not, and you can let us know on the 144 00:10:22.480 --> 00:10:26.080 comments on our YouTube. And while you're there, check out our video on 145 00:10:26.480 --> 00:10:28.759 the USDA Hardiness Zones. So listen, We're gonna take a little bit of 146 00:10:28.759 --> 00:10:31.759 a break and when we come back, Rick has got plants on trial, 147 00:10:31.840 --> 00:10:41.840 so please stay tuned. Proven Winners Color Choice Shrubs cares about your success in 148 00:10:41.879 --> 00:10:45.200 the garden. That's why we trial and test all of our shrubs for eight 149 00:10:45.240 --> 00:10:48.279 to ten years, making sure they outperform everything else on the market. Look 150 00:10:48.320 --> 00:10:54.320 for them in the distinctive white container at your local garden center. Welcome back 151 00:10:54.320 --> 00:10:58.240 to the Gardening Simplified Show, coming to you from Studio A here at Beautiful 152 00:10:58.279 --> 00:11:03.480 Proven Winners Colored Choice Shrubs is time. Four plants on trial and Stacy's given 153 00:11:03.559 --> 00:11:07.720 me the keys to the car. Oh boy, we swopped cars today, 154 00:11:07.960 --> 00:11:11.919 we did and I get to pick a plant, and the plant, of 155 00:11:11.960 --> 00:11:18.519 course I'm gonna pick is Blue Didley chaste tree Vitex agnes castis, which is 156 00:11:20.279 --> 00:11:24.080 a mouthful, but it is one of my favorite plants. And one of 157 00:11:24.080 --> 00:11:30.399 the reasons that I love Vitex and Blue Diddley is the fact that in summer, 158 00:11:30.679 --> 00:11:33.720 to me, I'm not saying to you, I think to some other 159 00:11:33.759 --> 00:11:37.879 people it would it smells like vix vapo rub and that causes me to think 160 00:11:37.919 --> 00:11:43.559 back on my childhood days. As a matter of fact, Mom would fix 161 00:11:43.679 --> 00:11:48.639 everything with four things vix Vapo rub, baking soda, saltine, crackers, 162 00:11:48.919 --> 00:11:52.919 and ginger ale. Those were the four go to things. And even today 163 00:11:54.200 --> 00:11:56.879 I love ginger ale. I love a drink like Werners, and when I 164 00:11:56.960 --> 00:11:58.960 drink it, people look at me and say, what's wrong with you? 165 00:12:00.320 --> 00:12:03.759 Do you feel sick? And I'm like, no, I enjoy it. 166 00:12:03.799 --> 00:12:09.279 But that aroma of vix vapo rub on this plant. But beautiful flowers attracts 167 00:12:09.320 --> 00:12:13.960 pollinators. So the plant of the day, the plant on trial is Blue 168 00:12:15.000 --> 00:12:20.879 Didley chased tree Vitex agnes castis. So just remember Blue Diddley. Now I'm 169 00:12:20.879 --> 00:12:26.320 going to assume stacy that the name of the plant is derived from the famous 170 00:12:26.360 --> 00:12:33.320 guitarist Bo Diddley, and assuming that I looked it up, his real name 171 00:12:33.440 --> 00:12:39.799 was Otha Ellis Bates or Elias Otha Baits, so I can see why his 172 00:12:39.879 --> 00:12:43.919 friends picked Bo Diddley. Good choice. Yes, so it is named for 173 00:12:43.440 --> 00:12:48.159 Bo Diddley, and also because the flowers are blue, and because Vitex blooms 174 00:12:48.240 --> 00:12:52.240 later in the season when people are in the garden center in spring most people 175 00:12:52.279 --> 00:12:56.600 are shopping, then they wouldn't see the flowers. So we really wanted to 176 00:12:56.639 --> 00:13:00.600 get that term blue in there so that people would, you know, when 177 00:13:00.759 --> 00:13:03.360 it's still an attractive plant when it's not in flower has very very handsome foliage. 178 00:13:03.720 --> 00:13:07.600 But you know, people don't necessarily have the confidence to say, oh, 179 00:13:07.679 --> 00:13:09.759 you know, I'm sure this is going to look amazing in August, 180 00:13:09.799 --> 00:13:11.799 which is, you know, when it blooms for us. So it is 181 00:13:11.840 --> 00:13:16.639 that now I will confess I strongly wanted to call this plant. Ain't misbehaving. 182 00:13:16.000 --> 00:13:18.320 I want to hear this story. Yeah, and so well. I 183 00:13:18.360 --> 00:13:22.399 love the artist Fats Waller. He is just one of my all time favorite 184 00:13:22.399 --> 00:13:26.200 singers in the entire world, and he is the one who originally did ain't 185 00:13:26.200 --> 00:13:31.279 misbehave and and then Louis Armstrong famously covered it. But so I love the 186 00:13:31.320 --> 00:13:35.120 song, and chaste Tree, of course does refer to chastity, and I 187 00:13:35.200 --> 00:13:39.600 kind of liked that little play on words. It's memorable, it's cute, 188 00:13:39.600 --> 00:13:41.799 But that is one I lost. Still a little bitter about it. Still 189 00:13:41.799 --> 00:13:46.799 try to suggest it now and then for certain plants. But blue dittaally it 190 00:13:46.879 --> 00:13:48.600 is, and that, you know, like I said, for the reason 191 00:13:48.639 --> 00:13:52.759 of it not typically blooming when people are in the garden center, I can 192 00:13:52.759 --> 00:13:58.080 see it. Wow. Interesting. Yeah, So Vitex is known as chaste 193 00:13:58.360 --> 00:14:03.639 tree or to be chased, And there's a lot of different roads that I 194 00:14:03.639 --> 00:14:05.639 could go down here, and I'm not going to do it because this show 195 00:14:05.720 --> 00:14:11.879 is rated G for general audiences, actually rated G for gardening, so I 196 00:14:11.879 --> 00:14:15.720 won't go down that road. However, the seeds or the fruit pods were 197 00:14:15.960 --> 00:14:24.159 used by monks to put out the fire fulfill their vows of chastity. I 198 00:14:24.159 --> 00:14:26.159 mean, I'm not going to go any further than that, am I correct? 199 00:14:26.600 --> 00:14:31.399 That is the legend. Whether it was effective, I could not say. 200 00:14:31.879 --> 00:14:35.840 Well, here's the thing. One of the reasons for talking about Vitex 201 00:14:35.919 --> 00:14:41.159 today and Blue Diddley, is that we're talking about hardiness zones. Yes, 202 00:14:41.519 --> 00:14:46.080 and I yeah, And when I first got into the industry, we viewed 203 00:14:46.480 --> 00:14:50.919 Vitex as a solidly zoned six plant. Now I looked at the Gardening Simplified 204 00:14:52.000 --> 00:14:58.360 Catalog and it's listed USDA six, but then behind that in parentheses it has 205 00:14:58.519 --> 00:15:03.240 five B the parentheses, So basically what we use that to indicate, and 206 00:15:03.240 --> 00:15:05.600 we aren't the only company that does this. You'll see this on other plants 207 00:15:05.639 --> 00:15:07.799 as well, to indicate that it will be okay in Zone five B with 208 00:15:07.960 --> 00:15:11.200 in a more protected area or if you are able to protect it. So 209 00:15:11.679 --> 00:15:15.919 it's probably hearty, but it's not going to be one of those plants that 210 00:15:15.919 --> 00:15:18.480 you can just set in the ground and just, you know, hope it 211 00:15:18.799 --> 00:15:20.840 does okay. If you're in a colder area, you're just going to want 212 00:15:20.879 --> 00:15:24.279 to be a little bit more deliberate about where you plant it, maybe in 213 00:15:24.279 --> 00:15:28.399 a more protected spot. Certainly it's going to need good drainage, which is 214 00:15:28.440 --> 00:15:31.960 a huge part of this. Really, anywhere that you can be successful with 215 00:15:33.039 --> 00:15:37.039 butterfly bush, you will be successful with Vitechs as well. But you're right, 216 00:15:37.080 --> 00:15:39.200 I mean, it's a very well known, very common plant in the 217 00:15:39.240 --> 00:15:45.279 South, and for years we would have people writing us and saying, oh, 218 00:15:45.320 --> 00:15:46.960 I was just visiting, you know, family and wherever, and I 219 00:15:48.000 --> 00:15:50.840 saw this plant and it kind of looked like a butterfly bush, but the 220 00:15:50.879 --> 00:15:54.960 foliage was a little bit different. Can I grow that the foliage looks like 221 00:15:54.039 --> 00:16:00.399 marijuana that many many a person has mistaken it is just because it is palmately 222 00:16:00.480 --> 00:16:04.759 compounds, that's shaped kind of like a hand better than I which Speaking of 223 00:16:04.759 --> 00:16:10.519 which, by the way, I said parenthesis, no parentheses? Is that 224 00:16:10.639 --> 00:16:12.919 right? Or do you say parenthesis? I think I would say parentheses? 225 00:16:14.000 --> 00:16:18.519 Okay, because I said data, I said data and you said data, 226 00:16:18.080 --> 00:16:23.360 Well, you know, it's to call the whole thing off. Anyhow, 227 00:16:23.559 --> 00:16:30.679 Hopefully our viewing and listening audience gets the idea here. And so my point 228 00:16:30.799 --> 00:16:34.679 was, if we're talking about heartiness zones, I love vitex and I love 229 00:16:34.720 --> 00:16:41.120 the aroma. We've already established that. But in zones where maybe it's marginally 230 00:16:41.279 --> 00:16:45.679 hardy, I approach it almost similar to another favorite for pollinators of mine, 231 00:16:45.799 --> 00:16:49.879 and that is carryopters. So the concept or the idea here, Stacy is 232 00:16:49.919 --> 00:16:52.600 I want people to understand. I live right on the lake shore of Lake 233 00:16:52.639 --> 00:16:56.080 Michigan, and we moved from six A to six B with this new map, 234 00:16:56.440 --> 00:17:00.120 but prior to that, I was more inland, definitely Zone five. 235 00:17:00.159 --> 00:17:06.119 And so plants like a favor of mine, Carryopteris or Vitex, I would 236 00:17:06.200 --> 00:17:11.119 plant them. Or let's let's talk about a perennial Crecosmia. I think in 237 00:17:11.359 --> 00:17:15.720 most catalogs it'd be listed as a zone six. But I planted it anyhow 238 00:17:15.799 --> 00:17:19.519 and mulched it heavily. With the woody type shrubs. I'd get a lot 239 00:17:19.559 --> 00:17:25.160 of die back, and I almost treated them as an herbaceous perennial. And 240 00:17:25.240 --> 00:17:29.400 as long as I was doing what Vitex likes, and you mentioned it, 241 00:17:29.480 --> 00:17:33.599 Stacy, good drainage. We get into the hot weather, that's when it 242 00:17:33.759 --> 00:17:37.160 really comes out. I consider it a pretty good drought tolerant plant. Oh 243 00:17:37.160 --> 00:17:41.680 it's very drought tolerant. Okay, yep. Yeah. And so that approach, 244 00:17:41.799 --> 00:17:47.240 taking a woody shrub and almost treating it like it's herbaceous, no different 245 00:17:47.319 --> 00:17:51.759 than bud lea. Some winters are worse than others. Am I correct here? 246 00:17:51.920 --> 00:17:56.680 You're absolutely correct. And so these are plants that basically the plant will 247 00:17:56.680 --> 00:18:00.160 live. It's coming back from the roots, the actual growth that it's creating. 248 00:18:00.240 --> 00:18:04.440 Like in a heart, a regularly hardy shrub, the wood would persist 249 00:18:04.480 --> 00:18:07.279 and the growth would come from that wood. In these plants, which may 250 00:18:07.319 --> 00:18:11.599 die back in colder areas, the wood actually completely dies, but they are 251 00:18:11.640 --> 00:18:15.400 able to grow back from the roots. Another good example of this is a 252 00:18:15.440 --> 00:18:19.440 lot of the crape myrtles like Astromia's do something similar. You know, in 253 00:18:19.480 --> 00:18:22.000 our climate, they might die back, but then again they might not. 254 00:18:22.039 --> 00:18:26.279 It really just depends on the kind of winter we have, how much snowcover 255 00:18:26.400 --> 00:18:32.640 we get, and of course how long those really cold periods of weather last. 256 00:18:32.720 --> 00:18:34.960 If it's if it just barely dips down to those extreme colds and then 257 00:18:36.000 --> 00:18:37.880 comes right back up, that's fine. If it stays cold for three days, 258 00:18:38.559 --> 00:18:41.680 then you might have a problem. But you know it's I think that 259 00:18:41.680 --> 00:18:45.640 that you really just said it by taking that initiative and saying, you know 260 00:18:45.640 --> 00:18:47.839 what, these are cool plants and I want to grow them. Yeah, 261 00:18:48.359 --> 00:18:51.440 then that was you know all, you're amazing your friends and neighbors, and 262 00:18:51.480 --> 00:18:55.759 you're amazing yourself, and that to me is the real joy of gardening. 263 00:18:55.880 --> 00:18:59.359 Is kind of taking those risks and seeing what happens. And in your case, 264 00:18:59.440 --> 00:19:02.440 your where ward was a fabulous vitext. It smells like Vix vape rub. 265 00:19:02.519 --> 00:19:06.920 I surprised myself all the time. Yes, exactly, it smells like 266 00:19:07.039 --> 00:19:08.319 Vix vapo rub. Now I never knows that until you said that, but 267 00:19:08.359 --> 00:19:12.440 you've mentioned it to us several times. Vix vapor rub was originally known as 268 00:19:12.559 --> 00:19:18.759 Richardson's Croup and Pneumonia cure salve and the yeah, and they couldn't fit it 269 00:19:18.799 --> 00:19:22.960 on the bottle, and he had a brother in law, a relative whose 270 00:19:22.039 --> 00:19:25.880 name was Vix, and so they went with Vix. This is the same 271 00:19:25.960 --> 00:19:33.039 guy in his marketing savagy savvy that invented vix Tarheel's sarspirella and Vix yellow pine 272 00:19:33.160 --> 00:19:37.000 tar cough syrup. Oh wow, he had like a little empire of gold 273 00:19:37.039 --> 00:19:42.599 medicines. But I love the aroma vix vapel rum and that product really wasn't 274 00:19:42.640 --> 00:19:48.680 selling well until the pandemic Spanish flu pandemic of nineteen eighteen, and that's when 275 00:19:48.680 --> 00:19:52.680 it started just flying off the shelves and that's when it was my household name. 276 00:19:52.720 --> 00:19:56.960 Ever Sin It's interesting if you work for vix vapor rub and you want 277 00:19:56.960 --> 00:20:00.559 to send me royalty message me, but I don't think it's made with vitexs. 278 00:20:00.799 --> 00:20:04.559 No it, but it has a similar kind of aroma. Actually, 279 00:20:04.559 --> 00:20:10.400 if you want that aroma, tranthis toman tosa. Yeah, plick tranthos. 280 00:20:10.400 --> 00:20:14.240 Definitely those have a great smell. Anyhow, that's my shot at plants on 281 00:20:14.319 --> 00:20:17.799 trial, whether good or bad, we did it, and I recommend you 282 00:20:17.880 --> 00:20:22.000 plant Blue Diddley Vitex. And if you still have no idea what we're talking 283 00:20:22.000 --> 00:20:25.039 about, check us out at Gardening Simplified on air dot com or on our 284 00:20:25.119 --> 00:20:27.839 Instagram page or of course YouTube. You'll see the pictures of it. And 285 00:20:27.960 --> 00:20:30.680 if you have a full sun spot in your yard, it's deer resistant. 286 00:20:30.720 --> 00:20:34.839 It's a great choice to amaze all your friends and neighbors. Couldn't have said 287 00:20:34.839 --> 00:20:38.160 it better. Stacy and I will dive into the mail bag coming up next 288 00:20:38.200 --> 00:20:48.400 here on the Gardening Simplified Show at proven Winner's Color Choice, We've got a 289 00:20:48.440 --> 00:20:53.200 shrub for every taste and every space. Whether you're looking for an easycare rose 290 00:20:53.359 --> 00:20:57.559 and unforgettable hydrangea or something new and unique, you can be confident that the 291 00:20:57.599 --> 00:21:02.599 shrubs and The white containers have been trialed and tested for your success. Look 292 00:21:02.640 --> 00:21:07.519 for them at your local garden center. Reading's gardening friends, and welcome back 293 00:21:07.559 --> 00:21:11.680 to the Gardening Simplified Show. You know. One of the ways we love 294 00:21:11.759 --> 00:21:14.680 to simplify gardening for you by answering your gardening questions. You bet you, 295 00:21:15.079 --> 00:21:17.920 and no matter what time of the year it is, you are always wondering 296 00:21:17.960 --> 00:21:21.519 about something an indoor plan and outdoor plants, and we are here at help. 297 00:21:21.559 --> 00:21:23.039 So if you have a question, you can reach us at help HLP 298 00:21:23.160 --> 00:21:27.440 at Gardening Simplified on air dot com, or visit Gardening Simplified on air dot 299 00:21:27.440 --> 00:21:30.319 com, or leave a comment on our YouTube, or leave a comment on 300 00:21:30.359 --> 00:21:34.079 our Instagram. There's lots of ways to reach us with your gardening questions, 301 00:21:34.119 --> 00:21:37.799 so many choices, yes, so we do the best we can to get 302 00:21:37.839 --> 00:21:41.440 back to people. And I know this question from Ryan is our first question 303 00:21:41.480 --> 00:21:44.000 and he I have had this one on the list for quite some time. 304 00:21:44.119 --> 00:21:47.519 So what's Ryan asking? Well, Ryan asked us. Hi there, longtime 305 00:21:47.559 --> 00:21:51.319 listener, first time asker, welcome, Thank you thanks for asking. I 306 00:21:51.359 --> 00:21:56.240 bought this little seedling of a paperbark maple. Yeah, Ryan, one of 307 00:21:56.279 --> 00:22:00.839 my favorites such a fai oh, fabulous plants and fortunate for us. Stacey 308 00:22:00.960 --> 00:22:04.400 seated next to me, so I can ask her acer grisium grissium. Yep, 309 00:22:06.279 --> 00:22:11.000 he nice one. I'm hot today. Anyhow, Paperback Maple a couple 310 00:22:11.039 --> 00:22:15.319 of years back noticed it was sending up a single leader. I was holding 311 00:22:15.359 --> 00:22:18.839 for a multi stem tree to really show off its legs, if you know 312 00:22:19.319 --> 00:22:22.599 what I know. I love that, Ryan. We always had that saying 313 00:22:22.640 --> 00:22:26.960 in the garden center industry. Sometimes you got to show a little leg. 314 00:22:26.200 --> 00:22:30.279 Okay, that's great, So I cut it right down. To my surprise, 315 00:22:30.359 --> 00:22:33.279 this year, it only sent out a single shoot to one side, 316 00:22:33.319 --> 00:22:37.720 not the multiple stems. How the heck do you signal this tree into sending 317 00:22:37.839 --> 00:22:41.680 up multiple stems from the base? Love you, guys, and thank you. 318 00:22:41.759 --> 00:22:45.599 We love you too, Ryan Wild Well, so yeah, so it's 319 00:22:45.640 --> 00:22:48.400 a great question, and I have to confess I don't necessarily have a great 320 00:22:48.400 --> 00:22:52.680 answer. Boy, we're in trouble now. But Ryan did send pictures, 321 00:22:52.680 --> 00:22:55.559 and of course we'll put those. They're going to be in the YouTube video 322 00:22:55.599 --> 00:22:59.200 and we'll put them on the show notes as well. It's kind of a 323 00:22:59.279 --> 00:23:00.920 difficult question to answer. So the first thing that I want to say, 324 00:23:00.960 --> 00:23:06.039 acer Grissium is an absolutely beautiful plant called paper bark maple. It has this 325 00:23:06.279 --> 00:23:10.960 rich cinnamon colored bark that peels when it's mature, and it's a trip a 326 00:23:11.039 --> 00:23:14.960 try leaf maple, so that it's got palmate compound leaves. Just a very 327 00:23:14.960 --> 00:23:18.519 interesting and beautiful plant, beautifully sighted, backlit so the sun comes through that 328 00:23:18.599 --> 00:23:22.920 peeling bark. One of my absolute favorites, and birds love it. I 329 00:23:22.039 --> 00:23:26.599 found every time I had a paper maple, the birds just loved being in 330 00:23:26.640 --> 00:23:32.759 that tree for cover. So win win. But it is a very slow 331 00:23:32.799 --> 00:23:34.960 growing plant, and so one thing I want to first caution you against Ryan 332 00:23:36.039 --> 00:23:40.400 or anyone growing this is they are sometimes grafted. So what that means is 333 00:23:40.400 --> 00:23:45.400 that the paper bark maple would have been grafted onto a different maple to increase 334 00:23:45.440 --> 00:23:48.279 its growth rate, because you can graft it onto a base of a plant 335 00:23:48.279 --> 00:23:52.880 that's faster growing and that will help the top grow more quickly. So it's 336 00:23:52.920 --> 00:23:56.880 hard to tell for sure, obviously without seeing the plant if it is grafted. 337 00:23:56.920 --> 00:24:00.559 I would first will before you do anything else carefully look at the base 338 00:24:02.039 --> 00:24:04.359 to see if you see any difference between you know, a line where it 339 00:24:04.400 --> 00:24:07.319 might have been grafted, or a difference between the lower wood and the upper 340 00:24:07.359 --> 00:24:11.759 wood. Because if your plant was grafted, you definitely do not want to 341 00:24:11.759 --> 00:24:15.519 be cutting it back hard because that would mean that you're understock or you know, 342 00:24:15.599 --> 00:24:18.640 roots are going to take over, and that is not going to be 343 00:24:18.799 --> 00:24:22.160 nearly as interesting as the paper bar. I don't know what it is, 344 00:24:22.200 --> 00:24:23.839 but it's probably not going to be as interesting as the paperwrock maple. So 345 00:24:23.880 --> 00:24:27.039 with that in mind, you know, as you'll see if you look at 346 00:24:27.079 --> 00:24:32.599 the pictures, Ryan's planet is fairly small, going along with this being a 347 00:24:32.599 --> 00:24:36.920 slow growing plant, and so my recommendation here. You know, plants have 348 00:24:37.039 --> 00:24:38.759 this concept of apical dominance. They want to just grow up, up, 349 00:24:38.839 --> 00:24:44.559 up, unless something changes. And so basically what happens is that upper bud 350 00:24:45.079 --> 00:24:48.480 is a hormone factory that produces these hormones that stifle the growth of everything below 351 00:24:48.519 --> 00:24:52.200 it. So, you know, Ryan, by cutting it back, you 352 00:24:52.279 --> 00:24:56.079 tried to release more growth, but it just wasn't quite enough. So all 353 00:24:56.079 --> 00:25:00.359 it did was put out this one shoot. So my suggestion, if indeed 354 00:25:00.400 --> 00:25:03.480 it's not grafted, is to go back to what we were talking about with 355 00:25:03.519 --> 00:25:07.240 compassing in the last episode, and with compassing, where you're cutting something back 356 00:25:07.279 --> 00:25:12.079 to get multiple stems, the roots of a mature plant act as an engine 357 00:25:12.119 --> 00:25:15.079 to fuel that growth. Now, I think that your plant is still pretty 358 00:25:15.119 --> 00:25:18.759 young and small, and so that engine, so to speak, is not 359 00:25:18.880 --> 00:25:25.200 fueling enough growth yet for the plant to respond to being pruned. What you 360 00:25:25.359 --> 00:25:29.079 did is indeed the correct thing to do to try to get a multi stem 361 00:25:29.160 --> 00:25:33.440 habit, but I think that the roots just need a little bit more time 362 00:25:33.920 --> 00:25:37.200 to develop into a more robust root system to hopefully fuel more growth coming back 363 00:25:37.240 --> 00:25:41.279 so that you get those multiple stems emerging. You know, this idea of 364 00:25:41.319 --> 00:25:45.240 a multiple stem versus a single stem tree, whether it's for a birch or 365 00:25:45.279 --> 00:25:51.759 a maple or even crab apples, those multi stem versus single stem they kind 366 00:25:51.759 --> 00:25:53.759 of fade in and out of style. I know once I went to a 367 00:25:53.839 --> 00:25:59.240 lecture on the crab apple trees in Central Park and they were trying to restore 368 00:25:59.279 --> 00:26:03.119 some of them. No one produced apple trees like they did back in the 369 00:26:03.160 --> 00:26:07.400 early nineteen hundreds where they were known for having these low branching multiple stems, 370 00:26:07.440 --> 00:26:11.720 and so some of that pruning technique just gets lost. But that's a great 371 00:26:11.720 --> 00:26:14.160 thing about gardening. We can take it on ourselves. But I do think 372 00:26:14.200 --> 00:26:18.039 you need a bigger root mass before you do that cutting back to see the 373 00:26:18.039 --> 00:26:22.119 results that you want. Yeah, and you know, Stacey mentioned apical dominance, 374 00:26:22.559 --> 00:26:26.279 so you have that terminal bud, and plants produce a growth hormone that 375 00:26:26.359 --> 00:26:30.359 tends to go to the terminal bud. If you cut back on it forces 376 00:26:30.400 --> 00:26:33.839 outward growth or new growth. Right, And that's the concept here. By 377 00:26:33.839 --> 00:26:36.960 the way, That's part of the reason I love june berries the way I 378 00:26:37.000 --> 00:26:40.720 do, because you can get june berries and those multi stems and they're so 379 00:26:40.759 --> 00:26:44.400 pretty that way, so pretty, So I would agree. I think I 380 00:26:44.400 --> 00:26:48.759 think you nailed it to Stacey, and I would I'd let the plant establish 381 00:26:48.759 --> 00:26:52.799 and try again, and I think you should be able to get the multi 382 00:26:52.839 --> 00:26:56.000 stems again. Just look out for that grafting. Lee is wondering. I 383 00:26:56.039 --> 00:27:03.200 have two long hedges of hydrange of peniculata facing the south and north facing sides 384 00:27:03.279 --> 00:27:07.240 of our home. Some of the shrubs are starting to take on a tree 385 00:27:07.279 --> 00:27:11.240 shape instead of a hedge. Oh, so we're getting the opposite here? 386 00:27:11.400 --> 00:27:15.160 Can it be? From the way I'm pruning them and spring. I'm attached 387 00:27:15.160 --> 00:27:18.759 to photo of one of the firelight hydranges to illustrate my issues. So it 388 00:27:18.799 --> 00:27:22.519 looks like we're looking at firelight and limelight. Yes, and could this could 389 00:27:22.519 --> 00:27:27.160 happen with really any panicle hydranges. And this is another one I don't have 390 00:27:27.240 --> 00:27:32.559 like a super good explanation for as to why this happens. I call it 391 00:27:32.559 --> 00:27:36.039 broomstick growth, and I've seen it here in our trial gardens multiple times. 392 00:27:37.200 --> 00:27:41.400 For whatever reason, a panicle hydrange that will just send up these super strong, 393 00:27:41.960 --> 00:27:47.799 super rigid, pin straight shoots right out of the center, and that 394 00:27:48.000 --> 00:27:52.000 is the quality that gives them the ability to be trained as a standard or 395 00:27:52.079 --> 00:27:56.400 tree form hydrange, which people of course love, but sometimes it does it 396 00:27:56.599 --> 00:28:00.000 and I don't really know why. It very well could be related to proof 397 00:28:00.240 --> 00:28:03.279 kind of going back again to this concept of the root mass functioning as an 398 00:28:03.279 --> 00:28:07.359 engine to fuel growth. So if you're pruning something really hard and it has 399 00:28:07.400 --> 00:28:11.960 a big root mass fueling all that growth, it's going to respond by putting 400 00:28:11.000 --> 00:28:17.039 that energy into you know, big thick shoots like that. So I would 401 00:28:17.039 --> 00:28:19.920 recommend if you don't want that that you prune those out. Just get your 402 00:28:19.920 --> 00:28:22.960 looppers and prune them out at the base, don't let them get too large. 403 00:28:23.319 --> 00:28:26.920 If they are large, I would just go ahead and cut them back 404 00:28:26.920 --> 00:28:32.359 by about half to get more branching within the plant. But this is just 405 00:28:32.720 --> 00:28:36.079 a sort of I think, a strange quality the panicle hydrange just tend to 406 00:28:36.119 --> 00:28:38.839 have. And you know, again, it might be related to pruning and 407 00:28:38.920 --> 00:28:42.640 kind of the way the energy gets concentrated through the plant, but I've also 408 00:28:42.720 --> 00:28:47.559 just seen it happen and it just it's just one of those things. Lee 409 00:28:47.640 --> 00:28:49.720 hang in there, and as Stacey said, it's not your fault, so 410 00:28:49.839 --> 00:28:53.720 at least you feel that right. Wie rights to us. I have deer, 411 00:28:53.759 --> 00:28:57.279 but I'm determined to have hydranges. Yes, Wie, way to go. 412 00:28:57.680 --> 00:29:00.480 They have made it through the summer and their colors have been stunning. 413 00:29:00.480 --> 00:29:07.079 Should I continue to spray them with liquid fence during the winter months, Debbie, 414 00:29:07.160 --> 00:29:08.440 I think you should do the same thing I did, and that is 415 00:29:10.319 --> 00:29:12.720 I built a compound, put up signs that say no deer allowed and that 416 00:29:12.759 --> 00:29:15.519 type of thing. So far, it's working. They've read the signs and 417 00:29:15.599 --> 00:29:18.240 they're saying, oh my good, deer can read. It's very polite of 418 00:29:18.279 --> 00:29:22.680 them. Thank you. Well, the good news, and Debbie included pictures 419 00:29:22.720 --> 00:29:26.680 of her hydrangeas in the hydrangeas in the pictures are smooth Hydrangees Hydrangea arborescines. 420 00:29:27.160 --> 00:29:30.880 So this type blooms on new wood. In other words, it's not going 421 00:29:30.920 --> 00:29:37.000 to make any flowers for twenty twenty four until it starts growing in twenty twenty 422 00:29:37.000 --> 00:29:41.480 four. Now that you can compare that to an old wood hydrange and old 423 00:29:41.480 --> 00:29:45.920 wood bloom Hydrangea, which if it were an old wood blooming like Hydrangea macrophilla 424 00:29:45.000 --> 00:29:51.799 or oak leaf Hydrangea Hydrangea corsifolia, those would have their flower buds for twenty 425 00:29:51.839 --> 00:29:55.720 twenty four right now. In that case, it would be absolutely imperative to 426 00:29:56.039 --> 00:29:59.880 spray them and make sure the deer didn't eat the buds, because then you're 427 00:30:00.000 --> 00:30:03.599 plant wouldn't flower. Since you have a new wood blooming, it's not as 428 00:30:03.680 --> 00:30:07.200 important to spray them now because even if they eat the plant back, they're 429 00:30:07.240 --> 00:30:11.559 basically just kind of doing your pruning for you that you would normally do in 430 00:30:11.599 --> 00:30:15.799 the spring. They're not harming the plant's ability to set flower buds, which 431 00:30:15.799 --> 00:30:19.079 of course is the whole reason that we grow hydranges. But I would say 432 00:30:19.160 --> 00:30:23.200 that, you know, deer do love hydranges. The growth is very tender 433 00:30:23.240 --> 00:30:27.720 and delicious apparently to them. And I would say, if you want your 434 00:30:27.759 --> 00:30:34.000 plants to grow fast and look their best, I would consider spraying them to 435 00:30:34.160 --> 00:30:38.319 just minimize the damage because I have tried to grow hydrange of arborescens in my 436 00:30:38.440 --> 00:30:42.880 yard and they have literally eaten them to nubs. So the plant can come 437 00:30:42.920 --> 00:30:47.359 back, but I mean just so little left. And if you look at 438 00:30:47.359 --> 00:30:49.279 Debbie's photos, which we'll have again in the show notes and on YouTube, 439 00:30:49.880 --> 00:30:55.119 you'll see that they are pretty important part of her landscape. So I would 440 00:30:55.160 --> 00:30:57.079 say definitely spray them. You don't have to be as rigorous as you would 441 00:30:57.079 --> 00:31:00.799 if you were trying to preserve flower buds. Correct with a smooth high range, 442 00:31:00.839 --> 00:31:03.880 and you know, go back a couple of shows when we talked about 443 00:31:04.000 --> 00:31:10.079 cape Cod and the polar vortex and how big leaf hygh ranges were decimated. 444 00:31:10.119 --> 00:31:12.880 But the smooth high ranges on cape Cod this past summer were great. Yeah, 445 00:31:12.920 --> 00:31:17.240 looking good. But definitely you're going to want to start look being real 446 00:31:17.319 --> 00:31:22.440 careful about your spraying in early spring because that's when they're really hungry, and 447 00:31:22.519 --> 00:31:25.079 that's when the plant's going to start growing and that's when they can experience the 448 00:31:25.079 --> 00:31:26.359 most stepback. So you can take it a little easy in winter if you 449 00:31:26.359 --> 00:31:30.559 want, but definitely mark your calendar for that early March timeframe and start mixing 450 00:31:30.640 --> 00:31:34.079 up the spray. So thank you everyone for your questions. We're going to 451 00:31:34.079 --> 00:31:37.759 take a little break. When we come back. Rick has branching news to 452 00:31:37.799 --> 00:31:45.880 so please stay tuned. The Gardening Simplified Show is brought to you by proven 453 00:31:45.880 --> 00:31:52.039 Winter's Color Choice Shrubs. Our award winning flowering shrubs and evergreens have been trialed 454 00:31:52.039 --> 00:31:56.920 and tested for your success so you enjoy more beauty and less work. Look 455 00:31:56.920 --> 00:32:00.200 for Proven Winners Color Choice Shrubs and the distinctive white container at your local garden 456 00:32:00.240 --> 00:32:07.480 center. Welcome back to the Gardening Simplified Show. It's time for branching news. 457 00:32:08.079 --> 00:32:12.319 Not breaking news, but we don't make this stuff up. Ready set 458 00:32:12.440 --> 00:32:15.400 glow. Oh, the National Christmas Tree fell over? Don't look now? 459 00:32:15.480 --> 00:32:21.960 Well? Actually it was Tuesday, November twenty eight. High winds and gusts 460 00:32:21.960 --> 00:32:25.960 caused the tree to fall over, so they had to stand the thing back 461 00:32:27.039 --> 00:32:29.799 up in order to light it. At least, a Christmas tree looks best 462 00:32:29.839 --> 00:32:32.880 when it's standing upright, and so they did that. But the reason I 463 00:32:32.920 --> 00:32:37.960 bring this up in Branching News Stacey, is that the previous tree, which 464 00:32:38.039 --> 00:32:44.480 was planted in twenty twenty one, was removed because it developed needle cast, 465 00:32:44.559 --> 00:32:49.640 which is a fungal disease that causes needles to turn brown and fall off. 466 00:32:49.960 --> 00:32:52.599 Also not a good thing for your Christmas tree. You'll have a Charlie Brown 467 00:32:52.680 --> 00:33:00.599 Christmas tree. I found that fascinating, and I think they're looking to plant 468 00:33:00.680 --> 00:33:05.920 one again, but in this case they stood one up because the previous tree 469 00:33:06.440 --> 00:33:10.599 was afflicted by needle cast. And we see that on spruce trees. It's 470 00:33:10.680 --> 00:33:15.920 very common. So they you know, they are very susceptible to a number 471 00:33:15.920 --> 00:33:20.480 of diseases, and not least of all because they had a real heyday in 472 00:33:20.519 --> 00:33:25.359 the nineteen seventies and eighties and just were completely overplanted. Everybody planted. Everybody 473 00:33:25.359 --> 00:33:30.079 play it like ornamental pair, same thing. Yeah, And so when you 474 00:33:30.119 --> 00:33:32.839 have a huge, massive plants like that, the disease can spread easily. 475 00:33:32.960 --> 00:33:38.000 That's right. That's why we always preach diversity on the show. Also, 476 00:33:38.079 --> 00:33:45.720 I think it's important this from Michigan Lanesburg, Michigan deer feasting on pines and 477 00:33:45.759 --> 00:33:51.000 spruce means the holiday tradition of cutting down a Christmas tree gets the axe this 478 00:33:51.119 --> 00:33:54.920 year at a tree farm in Michigan. I bring this up because it's just 479 00:33:55.400 --> 00:34:01.000 sad for me and I feel bad for these owners. There's a video and 480 00:34:01.319 --> 00:34:06.880 the owner shows where he says, from here, up tree, too bad, 481 00:34:06.960 --> 00:34:09.519 but down there it's it's ruined, and boy, do I feel your 482 00:34:09.559 --> 00:34:15.599 pain. So he's basically saying that the deer population has gotten so heavy there's 483 00:34:15.840 --> 00:34:22.440 less hunters that he's having real problems with his with his tree farm. That's 484 00:34:22.519 --> 00:34:27.519 that is interesting because typically I don't think of deer as eating much spruce and 485 00:34:27.599 --> 00:34:30.199 further not not super high on their list. But of course in a Christmas 486 00:34:30.239 --> 00:34:34.599 tree environment, the trees are frequently being trimmed, putting out a lot of 487 00:34:34.599 --> 00:34:37.079 succulent growth, and that does change things for the deer. They do like 488 00:34:37.119 --> 00:34:39.800 new growth more than old growth, so might not be an issue for someone 489 00:34:40.159 --> 00:34:45.039 with a sprucer for in their yard, but in an agricultural environment, different 490 00:34:45.039 --> 00:34:47.760 story. It just makes me sad, makes me, you know, I 491 00:34:47.800 --> 00:34:52.199 get melancholy at this time of the year, and I want to just pour 492 00:34:52.239 --> 00:34:57.119 a glass of wine, put a Dean Martin record on and listen to it. 493 00:34:57.199 --> 00:34:59.360 And that's kind of what this story does to me. I mean, 494 00:34:59.360 --> 00:35:02.719 the owner says, here down the drain, twelve years of mowing and spraying 495 00:35:02.880 --> 00:35:07.440 and pruning, and the deer did it. Oh, it's really shame. 496 00:35:07.599 --> 00:35:10.079 Oh deer, it's tough to make a buck, all right. How are 497 00:35:10.199 --> 00:35:15.559 Americans being echo conscious this holiday season? I don't know how many people think 498 00:35:15.639 --> 00:35:21.440 about being echo conscious during the holiday season, but I thought this survey was 499 00:35:21.440 --> 00:35:24.039 great. We're going to post it at the website Gardening Simplified on air dot 500 00:35:24.079 --> 00:35:28.559 Com. Check it out in our notes. So the way people do it 501 00:35:28.599 --> 00:35:34.840 is to reuse decorations from previous years. That makes sense, use reusable dishes, 502 00:35:35.760 --> 00:35:40.119 avoid over consumption on Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Coordinate with other guests 503 00:35:40.119 --> 00:35:43.679 so you don't have too much food, and you got to put them in 504 00:35:43.679 --> 00:35:50.119 those cool whip containers. Make homemade gifts, buy more locally sourced ingredients, 505 00:35:50.400 --> 00:35:57.079 compost your food scraps, offset any holiday travel, Serve more meatless options. 506 00:35:57.079 --> 00:36:01.800 So kind of an interesting, kind of an interesting survey. I for me 507 00:36:02.280 --> 00:36:08.280 being echo conscious, I like to buy ornaments when they're fifty percent off or 508 00:36:08.360 --> 00:36:13.639 seventy five percent off and then donate the old ones to somebody who can use 509 00:36:13.679 --> 00:36:15.639 them. See, in my family, we've always had like ornaments that we 510 00:36:15.679 --> 00:36:20.320 have every year. We've never had like the stylish Christmas tree that's like going 511 00:36:20.360 --> 00:36:22.800 with whatever kind of trend. It's always been like, oh, yeah, 512 00:36:22.800 --> 00:36:24.719 this is you know, the ornament I made in brownies in fourth grade and 513 00:36:24.760 --> 00:36:29.719 it's still going up there on the tree. I love that because this year 514 00:36:30.440 --> 00:36:35.280 had Max decorate the tree and all the ornaments are on one side of the 515 00:36:35.320 --> 00:36:39.360 tree and I love it. Beautiful. All right, we'd need to talk. 516 00:36:39.559 --> 00:36:45.440 A giant tumbleweed, roughly the size of a Volkswagen Beetle, was spotted 517 00:36:45.559 --> 00:36:49.840 hurdling its way down a four lane road in California. This was posted in 518 00:36:49.920 --> 00:36:53.559 social media. A lot of people picked up on this, and it was 519 00:36:53.599 --> 00:36:59.679 on x which I still call Twitter but whatever. The jaunty brown bundle of 520 00:36:59.719 --> 00:37:05.199 brush was captured on video and posted on November twenty one, and it is 521 00:37:05.360 --> 00:37:09.840 quite quite a sight to see this tumbleweed as big as a car rolling down 522 00:37:09.880 --> 00:37:14.559 the highway. Wow, amazing. You know, tumbleweeds are kind of like 523 00:37:14.599 --> 00:37:17.400 this iconic symbol of the West. But people who live around them, they 524 00:37:17.400 --> 00:37:22.079 can be a real problem. They can they can pile up on porches, 525 00:37:22.119 --> 00:37:23.960 and they're not as easy to remove as leaves. It's not a problem we 526 00:37:23.960 --> 00:37:28.400 have to deal with here in Michigan. But you start looking that stuff up 527 00:37:28.440 --> 00:37:30.239 and I do not envy them, No, not at all. They fall 528 00:37:30.320 --> 00:37:35.679 under an umbrella of noxious weeds that, when dry, breakoff at the root, 529 00:37:35.760 --> 00:37:39.440 setting off a seed spreading expedition. That's what they're doing as they tumble 530 00:37:39.440 --> 00:37:44.000 out there now Here's this is interesting for me. I didn't know this. 531 00:37:44.400 --> 00:37:49.519 It is believed they've hitched a ride from Ukraine to South Dakota and a shipment 532 00:37:49.559 --> 00:37:55.760 of flax seed back in the eighteen seventies and has plagued the country's dry arid 533 00:37:55.840 --> 00:38:01.400 lands ever since. So I think that that that's pretty interesting. Interesting, 534 00:38:01.559 --> 00:38:08.920 And not all tumbleweeds are made the same. They some grow more vigorously than 535 00:38:08.960 --> 00:38:14.840 others. So anyhow, very interesting to watch. I'll tell you what. 536 00:38:15.000 --> 00:38:17.639 Let's jump to a water park story here a minute and talk about drought. 537 00:38:17.679 --> 00:38:23.079 As long as we're talking about tumbleweed in this age of water wise gardening, 538 00:38:24.000 --> 00:38:31.119 check this out in Houston. Slick City is the very first ever waterless water 539 00:38:31.239 --> 00:38:35.719 park in the state of Texas. How fun is that? Would you want 540 00:38:35.760 --> 00:38:37.320 to go to a waterless water park? Well, I mean, I assume 541 00:38:37.360 --> 00:38:43.119 you don't go hurtling down the slides into a dry pit anything. I think 542 00:38:43.239 --> 00:38:47.320 you do fifty five thousand square feet with eleven awesome slides. We have different 543 00:38:47.440 --> 00:38:52.920 aerial attractions ziplining, swings, sport courts, et cetera, et cetera. 544 00:38:52.960 --> 00:38:57.599 But it's a different concept, unlike anything you've ever seen at an indoor slide 545 00:38:57.639 --> 00:39:00.480 park. A lot of us grew up going to a water park. This 546 00:39:00.639 --> 00:39:07.400 is a water park without the sun and without the water. It's a different 547 00:39:07.480 --> 00:39:10.840 concept. Yeah, that's a different concept. Well, and it's profitable year 548 00:39:10.920 --> 00:39:14.599 round. You can't argue with that compared to you know, water park you 549 00:39:14.639 --> 00:39:17.440 can only go two when it's nice enough to be outside. I can't wrap 550 00:39:17.480 --> 00:39:22.559 my room mind around a waterless water park. But I suppose you know, 551 00:39:22.599 --> 00:39:28.639 it gets so dry and hot in Texas. Earlier we were talking comparing Austin 552 00:39:28.840 --> 00:39:37.079 to Portland for average minimum temperature, but the other climate issues so very very 553 00:39:37.079 --> 00:39:42.320 different. So I don't know it's so dry. How dry is it? 554 00:39:42.400 --> 00:39:45.360 Thank you? It's so dry they had to close two lanes at the public 555 00:39:45.400 --> 00:39:49.000 swimming pool. That's how dry it was. Well, it sounds like you 556 00:39:49.039 --> 00:39:52.559 need to take a little trip to Houston and check out the waterless water park 557 00:39:52.599 --> 00:39:57.000 and report back. I'm going. I'm going. Doesn't sound too comfortable to 558 00:39:57.039 --> 00:39:58.639 me, but I'm going to give it a truck. Well, I looked 559 00:39:58.639 --> 00:40:00.239 at the pictures. People seem like they were having a good time. That's 560 00:40:00.280 --> 00:40:06.199 good. That's good. I would think that that's important. Australia for our 561 00:40:06.239 --> 00:40:12.880 final story here, Australia has too many sheep and farmers are giving them away 562 00:40:13.239 --> 00:40:17.400 for free. Australia's mutton glut has sent prices tumbling and some of the farmers 563 00:40:17.400 --> 00:40:23.559 are compelled to give their sheep away to save costs instead of rearing them on 564 00:40:23.920 --> 00:40:30.159 the farm. Wow. So driving the large sheep flock, and here's how 565 00:40:30.159 --> 00:40:34.920 it ties into gardening and plants, because again we often talk about drought driving 566 00:40:34.960 --> 00:40:40.559 the large sheep flock. Were three years of above average rainfall in Australia's sheep 567 00:40:40.920 --> 00:40:47.159 regions, so their flock has reached seventy eight point seventy five million head, 568 00:40:47.800 --> 00:40:53.159 the largest since two thousand and seven because it's been raining a lot and the 569 00:40:53.239 --> 00:41:00.599 grass is growing. I think that's that's very interesting. So there's hearing the 570 00:41:00.679 --> 00:41:05.440 sheep with you, and they're not sheepish about their intentions. Don't be a 571 00:41:05.480 --> 00:41:08.360 bleeding heart. They'll find a good home. So are they giving them to 572 00:41:08.480 --> 00:41:15.079 other farmers or just home to homeowners? Want a pet cheap? Anybody who 573 00:41:15.159 --> 00:41:20.639 wants them? All right? Interesting? I think it's a bad idea. 574 00:41:21.239 --> 00:41:23.000 Okay, that's it for today's show. Boy, we packed in a lot 575 00:41:23.000 --> 00:41:25.400 today. We sure did well. There's a lot to say it, a 576 00:41:25.480 --> 00:41:30.320 lot going on, and I want to remind you, and I'm sure Adrianna 577 00:41:30.440 --> 00:41:35.920 Robinson will put the links there to Stacy's USDA Heartiness Zone map. Watch that. 578 00:41:36.400 --> 00:41:39.320 What a great explanation and of course we got to expound on that today 579 00:41:39.320 --> 00:41:43.760 too and I enjoy doing that. Always a privilege and pleasure to do the 580 00:41:43.760 --> 00:41:46.840 show with you, Stacey Adrianna Robinson. Thank you so much for all you 581 00:41:46.920 --> 00:41:52.440 do and most of all, thanks to you for tuning in watching the Gardening 582 00:41:52.559 --> 00:41:57.320 Simplified Show. Visit our website Gardening Simplified on air dot com. Have a 583 00:41:57.320 --> 00:41:57.880 great week.