Speaker 1: Broadcasting from blooming West, Michigan. Here at Studio A proven
Speaker 1: winners Color Choice Shrubs, It's time for the Gardening Simplified
Speaker 1: YouTube radio and podcast show with Stacy Hervella, me, Rick
Speaker 1: weisst and our engineer and producer Adrianna Robinson. All right, Stacy,
Speaker 1: you're on a deserted island. What kind of plants would
Speaker 1: you want on that island with you, especially if you're
Speaker 1: limited to let's say five plants. And I thought about this,
Speaker 1: and I thought, why is this topic important? And I
Speaker 1: think the topic's important because there are a number of
Speaker 1: plants that we take for granted every day. I first
Speaker 1: think about trees and the shade that they provide, and
Speaker 1: many times we don't pay attention to those beautiful trees
Speaker 1: and the landscape until a storm comes along and branches
Speaker 1: or trees are down. Or you know, I love ornamental grasses,
Speaker 1: and you look at panicum or switch grass and its
Speaker 1: ability to provide biofuels and bedding for animals, maybe feed,
Speaker 1: whatever it may be, in addition to being a beautiful plant.
Speaker 1: Many times we take certain plants for granted. I'm pretty
Speaker 1: sure we wouldn't take them for granted if we were
Speaker 1: on a deserted island.
Speaker 2: No, you'd be grateful for everything that you could get.
Speaker 2: And that is what this is about. So we're not
Speaker 2: saying these are like our you know, must have plants
Speaker 2: that we love the most out of the world. These
Speaker 2: are our survival plants. On this theoretical island where climate
Speaker 2: is no issue, we can grow whatever we want. Yeah,
Speaker 2: and we're talking just about like what plants can equip
Speaker 2: us with our everyday needs of survival.
Speaker 1: Yeah. And when you said dessert, I thought it was dessert,
Speaker 1: not desert or disha.
Speaker 2: I always say I feel like desert island, but I
Speaker 2: could be wrong. I don't know. Yeah, is what we
Speaker 2: don't mean. It's literally a desert because obviously we're saying
Speaker 2: you can grow plants there.
Speaker 1: Oh, I was thinking along the lines of Crembu lat
Speaker 1: and Lemon Moraine.
Speaker 2: That's a dessert eye favorites.
Speaker 1: Yeah, but it's true. There are deserted islands, deserted so
Speaker 1: to speak, across the world, including those that aren't necessarily tropical.
Speaker 1: You look at Devon Island in the far north of Canada.
Speaker 1: They use that island to practice and test for future
Speaker 1: Mars landings. Oh I did not know that verse and
Speaker 1: that sort of thing. Yeah, so if it was a
Speaker 1: tropical island, I think you and I are going to
Speaker 1: probably both agree that I want bamboo there.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, you gotta have a bamboo because you
Speaker 2: want to build structure. Now you talked about shade. Of course,
Speaker 2: in theory this island, you're going to need some shade,
Speaker 2: but you're also going to need shelter because you know,
Speaker 2: who knows what's going to happen, You're gonna need you
Speaker 2: have wind or animals or who knows what. In Bamboo
Speaker 2: is a great plant for providing construction materials extremely quickly.
Speaker 2: And you know, I'm going to go one further with
Speaker 2: the bamboo, and I am going to pick the specific
Speaker 2: species Philostackies edgeless, because this is the most edible bamboo
Speaker 2: as well. So you got a two for one here.
Speaker 2: Because all of our plants they're gonna have to do
Speaker 2: at least double duty. Well, they can't compete with us
Speaker 2: for the bamboo. That's going to be a problem, okay,
Speaker 2: But yeah, I mean, you know, then you've got the
Speaker 2: bamboo shoots to eat, and you've got the bamboo stems,
Speaker 2: which actually grow very fast. I think bamboo is one
Speaker 2: of the fastest growing plants on Earth. Uh, so you'll
Speaker 2: be able to build yourself that shelter relatively quickly and
Speaker 2: then start to you know, have some protection.
Speaker 1: Oh by weight, one of the strongest materials in the world.
Speaker 1: And you're right, we need that for shelter. I want
Speaker 1: to make sure to have a coconut tree. Heck yeah,
Speaker 1: and I think that you know, they knew what they
Speaker 1: were doing on Gilligan's Island. As a matter of fact,
Speaker 1: you know, they had that coconut, the coconut trees there
Speaker 1: on Gilligan's Island. The professor could even make a radio
Speaker 1: out of a coconut, but they couldn't get off the island.
Speaker 1: I just think coconut's important because I could use it
Speaker 1: for building materials. The leaves pretty much most of the
Speaker 1: parts of the plant are edible, very fibrous. And of
Speaker 1: course the coconuts. This past year, when I was in
Speaker 1: Costa Rica and sipping from a fresh coconut, you know
Speaker 1: where you grilled a hole in and pop the Wow.
Speaker 2: The only plant with liquid endosperm, So the coconut liquid.
Speaker 2: The liquid inside the coconut is the endosperm, which is
Speaker 2: the tissue that nurtures the seedling when it germinates. So
Speaker 2: like when you think about a bean seedling, those two
Speaker 2: you know, big bean halves that come out. That is endosperm,
Speaker 2: That is the food that fuels the shoot to germinate.
Speaker 2: So coconut is the only plant with a liquid endosperm.
Speaker 1: Fascinating and you can.
Speaker 2: Drink it and it's extremely nutritious. And you know, in
Speaker 2: theory here on our island, we may not have a
Speaker 2: lot of fresh water, and coconut water is going to
Speaker 2: be the next closest thing that you can do to
Speaker 2: sustain yourself. Coconuts are extremely productive, they're pretty much ever bearing.
Speaker 2: And then yeah, as you said, coconut palm foliage is
Speaker 2: extremely useful. You can weave yourself a hat, so while
Speaker 2: you're out there cultivating your you know, desert island garden,
Speaker 2: you're not getting all sunburned. You can weave yourself some clothes, bedding. Yeah,
Speaker 2: you know it's in yes, and you got the fiber
Speaker 2: off the coconut. So it's another, you know, multiple duty
Speaker 2: kind of plant. And coconuts are so ubiquitous that they
Speaker 2: don't actually know where they originated because they are so
Speaker 2: good at getting around and maintaining the integrity of their seed.
Speaker 2: And so they've basically spread to the entire tropical world
Speaker 2: and beyond and and sinus can't quite pinpoint exactly where
Speaker 2: they originated.
Speaker 1: Wow, that's fascinating. Interesting. Well I'm going to add to
Speaker 1: that then, bananas, because bananas.
Speaker 2: Also, you don't like bananas, I'll eat them.
Speaker 1: I mean I put them in my fruit smoothies in
Speaker 1: the morning. I just don't like to sit there and
Speaker 1: eat a banana.
Speaker 2: I got you.
Speaker 1: But if I'm on a deserted island, I mean when
Speaker 1: in Rome, do as the Romans do, and I'll eat
Speaker 1: you know, even the flowers are edible. And you were
Speaker 1: talking about the fibers, you know, with bananas, maybe I'd
Speaker 1: be able to start up a craft project. I have
Speaker 1: a lot of time on my hands on this dessert.
Speaker 2: Well, and you can also use banana leaves for cooking,
Speaker 2: so they can be a plate potensil. But I am
Speaker 2: actually going to diverge from you here. My number three
Speaker 2: plant is a little bit specific. It is coffee cups
Speaker 2: coal a Casia so col acasia alocasia. These are plants
Speaker 2: known as elephant ears, and coffee cups is very interesting
Speaker 2: variety where the foliage grows facing upward, forming a little
Speaker 2: quite a large cup like formation, so very different than
Speaker 2: your standard plant where it's just going to be that
Speaker 2: straight leaf. But now you have a vessel to collect
Speaker 2: some rain water. And the colocasia itself, the root is
Speaker 2: edible and widely consumed again in tropical countries known as malaga.
Speaker 2: Different things, different names in different cultures, but it is
Speaker 2: highly nutritious and highly edible. So I got a water
Speaker 2: catchment system and an edible route.
Speaker 1: I love that now, and I agree with you that
Speaker 1: that's going to be a great choice. I believe it's
Speaker 1: called tarro, and is that what it's called.
Speaker 2: Yeah, so it has different names in different countries and cultures.
Speaker 1: But yeah, and here's an interesting thing that I'll throw
Speaker 1: at you, and that is my beloved Cannas are a
Speaker 1: potential candidate for our deserted island because you can eat
Speaker 1: the rhizomes of a can and they taste very similar
Speaker 1: to the colocacia that you're talking, same difference. And you know,
Speaker 1: I could probably form the can of leaves to collect
Speaker 1: rain water too. But you're right, we're gonna need a
Speaker 1: method to collect rain.
Speaker 2: Water and This is a cool plant that you can
Speaker 2: actually grow. So the other ones, you know, we're talking
Speaker 2: about not really plants that most of our listeners could
Speaker 2: just PLoP into the garden and grow. But this coffee
Speaker 2: cup's colocasia is a very popular plant right now and
Speaker 2: easy to find as you're doing your garden center shopping
Speaker 2: in the north.
Speaker 1: Of course, we can grow bananas. We'll talk about that
Speaker 1: in segment. For Musa bajou is a winter hardy banana,
Speaker 1: we can talk about that. So my final plant, I
Speaker 1: think Stacey is going to be having an orange tree.
Speaker 1: I want oranges. Captain Captain Cook when he sailed the seas,
Speaker 1: he understood that scurvy and lack of vitamin C is
Speaker 1: what would kill his sailors on a long journey. So
Speaker 1: on some oranges.
Speaker 2: Yeah. I put citrus as a generic sort of you know,
Speaker 2: I couldn't really decide. I thought long and hard about
Speaker 2: which citrus would be the best citrus. I'm leaning towards lime,
Speaker 2: but I'm open to any of them. And you know,
Speaker 2: the other great thing about the citrus is true, it's
Speaker 2: going to give you some shade, so you know, you'll
Speaker 2: have some shade to sit under on your island under
Speaker 2: your tree, and you know you're going to be kind
Speaker 2: of probably stressed and maybe a little bit sad, but
Speaker 2: you'll have the beautiful fragrance of the citrus tree to hopefully,
Speaker 2: hopefully give you a little bit of hope.
Speaker 1: I love this. I love this, and all of these
Speaker 1: plants far more useful than Wilson the volleyball that Tom
Speaker 1: Hanks was stuck with.
Speaker 2: Well, I don't think Tom Hanks had a choice. I
Speaker 2: don't think he and I don't think we'll get a choice.
Speaker 2: But just in case we do, I did add one
Speaker 2: more garlic. Now, I garlic. You know I'm feeling like.
Speaker 1: For my cholesterol level.
Speaker 2: Well, I'm your cholesterol levels are probably going to be
Speaker 2: matter a lot less on this silent. I'm just saying,
Speaker 2: but you know it's you're gonna want to switch up
Speaker 2: the flavorings. Garlic is pretty easy and fast. You can
Speaker 2: eat the flowers as well as the I mean, don't
Speaker 2: take up a lot of rooms. So that's my frivolous choice,
Speaker 2: I think. But you're gonna probably need to do something
Speaker 2: to switch up your dietary. You know, regime here, it's
Speaker 2: gonna get a litt dull believe me.
Speaker 1: In segment four, I'll add a few frivolous Also, here's
Speaker 1: my limerick for today. It's tough on an island deserted.
Speaker 1: Not my choice to be here inserted. Just me and
Speaker 1: my plants only here. It can get quite lonely. Bear
Speaker 1: in mind I'm extroverted. I'll occasionally go off on some rants.
Speaker 1: Can't keep to myself. Some stance. Just me and my
Speaker 1: very own plot. There's no human within earshot. Tell me
Speaker 1: do you talk to your plants? I want to find
Speaker 1: out from Stacy if she talks to her plants. I'll
Speaker 1: admit that I do plants on try. Coming up next
Speaker 1: here on the Gardening Simplified Show.
Speaker 2: Beautify your home and community with proven Winner's Color Choice
Speaker 2: Shrubs with over three hundred and twenty five unique varieties
Speaker 2: to choose from. There's a flowering shrub or evergreen for
Speaker 2: every taste and every space. Just look for the distinctive
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Speaker 2: proven Winner's Color Choice dot Com. Greetings gardening friends, and
Speaker 2: welcome back to the Gardening Simplified Show, where we are
Speaker 2: doing a little bit of a thought exercise today and
Speaker 2: talking about plants that we would want if we were
Speaker 2: to be stranded on a hypothetical island somewhere. And yes,
Speaker 2: as horticulturists and gardeners, it would be easy for us
Speaker 2: to say, oh, I just couldn't possibly live without the
Speaker 2: beauty of you know, summarific hibiscus. But you know, when
Speaker 2: the rubber hits the road, we're talking about the survival plants,
Speaker 2: plants that are going to give you a little bit more.
Speaker 2: Even though these plants, for the most part, are not
Speaker 2: plants that we're going to be growing here in our
Speaker 2: gardens in Michigan. Although I would love to live in
Speaker 2: a climate where I could grow my own coconut palm.
Speaker 2: That would be pretty great. That would be pretty pretty great.
Speaker 2: But anyway, so when it comes to proven Winter's Colored
Speaker 2: Choice Shrubs here and plants on Trial, where we talk
Speaker 2: about one of our three hundred and twenty plus varieties,
Speaker 2: despite having that very long list of plants to choose from,
Speaker 2: none of them, I regret to inform you quite rises
Speaker 2: to survival level requirements. They are mostly ornamental plants, of course,
Speaker 2: they're certainly animals. Survival may depend on some of these plants,
Speaker 2: insects and birds and so forth, but human survival, it's
Speaker 2: a little bit of a stretch. Now, we do have
Speaker 2: some edible plants. We have splendid blue blueberry, we have
Speaker 2: Taste of Heaven BlackBerry. We have a new it'll actually
Speaker 2: be on the market next year. All those small plants
Speaker 2: will be available mail order this year. A new bush cherry.
Speaker 2: You ever grow a bush cherry? No, yeah, So it's
Speaker 2: you know, the they're not going to be like the
Speaker 2: cherries you buy in grocery stores, but they are completely edible.
Speaker 2: They're quite tart, but it's much easier to grow than
Speaker 2: a tree cherry, very very prolific. You don't need a pollinator.
Speaker 2: So it's just kind of a fun choice. So we
Speaker 2: have some edible plants that are going to give you
Speaker 2: some nice fruit. But again, you know, these even though
Speaker 2: they have a good crop and a fairly good long
Speaker 2: season of bearing, you know, on our island, we can't
Speaker 2: afford to just you know, have a plant there that
Speaker 2: we're waiting for two weeks of blueberries on We need
Speaker 2: perpetual production. So it was a hard one for me
Speaker 2: today to keep with the theme. But I did come
Speaker 2: up with an idea and it is a flavorette paired rose. Now,
Speaker 2: you know, on this desert island, you are going to
Speaker 2: need some you know, food for the soul, of course,
Speaker 2: and we talked about that a little bit with the
Speaker 2: citrus and the delightful fragrance of the citrus, and so
Speaker 2: flavor Ae paired probably follows more into that food for
Speaker 2: the soul than food for the body. But it does
Speaker 2: at least work with this idea of it doing double duty,
Speaker 2: you know, and that's important too. So Flavorette paired is
Speaker 2: actually new in garden centers this year. It is an
Speaker 2: edible rose and it starts out kind of pink, and
Speaker 2: the flowers open white, and they're really full. They have
Speaker 2: a really really high pedal count an amazing fragrance, and
Speaker 2: the flavor and fragrance is reminiscent of ripe pears. Now,
Speaker 2: this is a plant. It's a second plant in the
Speaker 2: Flavorette series. This is a series of edible roses that
Speaker 2: came to us from Serbia and from a great rose
Speaker 2: breeding program there. You know, in the US, most people
Speaker 2: don't really think of roses as food. I mean, maybe
Speaker 2: some people will have like a bottle of rose water
Speaker 2: if they do a lot of baking, or something. But
Speaker 2: for the most part, North American people not big rose eaters,
Speaker 2: whereas we're in Europe and in other cultures, roses are
Speaker 2: very much a part of you know, everyday food consumption.
Speaker 1: It's going to change now, I tell you what. These
Speaker 1: are fabulous plants. And we just got them in at
Speaker 1: the greenhouse where I'm helping out in spring, and I
Speaker 1: also posted about them in social media, posted beautiful plants,
Speaker 1: posted a picture of myself with these plants, Stacy. People
Speaker 1: are excited about this and really hadn't thought through this
Speaker 1: concept until Flavorette comes along, and it's like, wow.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's all in and they're beautiful, and that's you know,
Speaker 2: what's really important is they aren't just edible, they are beautiful,
Speaker 2: and so you know, technically speaking, all roses are edible.
Speaker 2: So we're talking the petals, the flowers, the fruit after
Speaker 2: the flowers fade, the rose hips when they're right. But
Speaker 2: these roses, Flavorette pair today's plant on trial and then
Speaker 2: its companion plant, Flavorette honey apricots were selected specifically for
Speaker 2: being edible, and that's not just a question so of
Speaker 2: their flavors and the intensity and uniqueness of their flavors.
Speaker 2: It's also a textural issue, so some roses are going
Speaker 2: to have really thick petals, some might have some bitterness
Speaker 2: to them. Whereas the flavorrette were in addition to the
Speaker 2: flavors selected for this high quality edibility. They're really soft
Speaker 2: and kind of lush to taste. I have taste of
Speaker 2: them now, I think they are really nice. I do
Speaker 2: enjoy eating them. We do recommend if you're really looking
Speaker 2: for the maximum sweetness, you'd want to kind of avoid
Speaker 2: the very base of the pedal where it's kind of white.
Speaker 2: There's a little bit of bitterness there, but not enough
Speaker 2: to really impact it, kind of like treat it like
Speaker 2: an artichoke, keep that and then bite it off. But
Speaker 2: you might be wondering, like, well, what do I do
Speaker 2: with an edible rose? Well, the thing is with flavorette paired,
Speaker 2: you don't actually have to do anything. It can just
Speaker 2: kind of be in your garden and you're like, oh, hey,
Speaker 2: this is edible, because even if you never harvest it,
Speaker 2: it is still a beautiful, landscape worthy rose. It's going
Speaker 2: to bring a lot of interest to your garden. But
Speaker 2: the petals are can be used fresh or dried and fresh.
Speaker 2: They are really lovely and tasty enough to just kind
Speaker 2: of sprinkle over a salad or garnish a dessert plate.
Speaker 2: It's very popular to layer them with sugar and put
Speaker 2: them into a sealed container and for a couple of days,
Speaker 2: and then that infuses the sugar with the fragrance of
Speaker 2: the rose and you can use that in things like
Speaker 2: teas and that type of thing.
Speaker 1: I was gonna say, I'd put them on ice cream.
Speaker 2: Oh yeah, you could definitely do that, or maybe.
Speaker 1: My porridge, my oat brand that I eat in the morning.
Speaker 2: Give that little summary, you know, kind of vibe. I
Speaker 2: like that. So you're gonna get one? Are you gonna
Speaker 2: add one to.
Speaker 1: The solt It's going in the compound.
Speaker 2: All right. I'm glad to hear that. So uh yeah.
Speaker 2: So really, there's so many different things that you can
Speaker 2: do with this once you start diving into it. And
Speaker 2: the people who developed this rose in Serbia created a
Speaker 2: beautiful cookbook where they worked with chefs from all over
Speaker 2: Europe to develop some unique recipes. So if you need
Speaker 2: some inspiration, it's definitely a great choice. Now we have
Speaker 2: also evaluated these for disease resistance and we are looking
Speaker 2: for plants. You know that we're always looking in the
Speaker 2: proven winner's color choice line for plants that do more
Speaker 2: than just one thing. You know, we don't want it
Speaker 2: to just be like, hey, this is an edible rose
Speaker 2: and it's really cool and it's beautiful, but it's going
Speaker 2: to be, you know, plagued by disease and you're gonna
Speaker 2: not even be able to get anything out of it
Speaker 2: because it's struggling so much. So we are testing for
Speaker 2: disease resistance, and both flavor At Honey Apricot and Flavorite
Speaker 2: PAIRT have shown good disease resistance. But as with any rose,
Speaker 2: for best disease resistance, you're going to want to do
Speaker 2: a couple of things. You're going to want to plant
Speaker 2: it in full sun, so that's a minimum of six
Speaker 2: hours of bright light every single day, and you're going
Speaker 2: to want to give it good air circulation. This is
Speaker 2: so important because all of those fungal leaf spot diseases
Speaker 2: that pop up on roses and other plants, they thrive
Speaker 2: where there's a low air flow. So you know, the
Speaker 2: plant isn't drying off quickly. It's just kind of like
Speaker 2: a stagnant spot with good airflow. Air can get to
Speaker 2: the plant, the leaves will dry off quickly, which will
Speaker 2: help reduce the incidents of any kind of folly or
Speaker 2: disease occurring. So flavor ite pair gets to be about
Speaker 2: three to four feet tall and three feet wide, so
Speaker 2: you're going to want to make sure that from the
Speaker 2: center of the plant it has at least three feet
Speaker 2: kind of on all sides to make sure it has
Speaker 2: that good air circulation so that it's getting maximum light,
Speaker 2: maximum disease resistance, and of course maximum flowers because you
Speaker 2: need all that sun and light for flowers.
Speaker 1: Absolutely great point, and I think I would add to that, Stacey,
Speaker 1: I would probably prune off some of the bottom branches too,
Speaker 1: not allow some of those branches to touch the ground.
Speaker 1: But you're so right that that air movement thing, especially
Speaker 1: when we get into the hot, humid days of summer,
Speaker 1: is so important.
Speaker 2: Yeah. And speaking of hot and humid days, this is
Speaker 2: also a continuous blooming row. So it will bloom all
Speaker 2: summer unless it gets very very hot and you're in
Speaker 2: a hot climate, it might need to take a little
Speaker 2: break just to deal with all of that heat stress.
Speaker 2: But here in Michigan they do bloom pretty much all
Speaker 2: summer for us without a problem. You may be wondering
Speaker 2: where you can grow it, and it is hardy down
Speaker 2: to USDA Zone four, heat tolerant through USDA Zone eight,
Speaker 2: so a little less heat tolerant than a lot of
Speaker 2: other roses, which I think just comes from it coming
Speaker 2: from a breeding program in a fairly temperate, you know
Speaker 2: country where it was developed more for its edibility than
Speaker 2: it's you know thoroughly, it's it's landscape resistance. So it's
Speaker 2: companion plant. Flavor Ae honey apricot gets to be five
Speaker 2: to eight feet tall, so this is a much smaller plant.
Speaker 2: Very good if you have small spaces. I think this
Speaker 2: would be an amazing addition to an herb garden. Absolutely,
Speaker 2: I wish I could put it in mine, but I
Speaker 2: can't because I have deer, and of course roses, despite
Speaker 2: their thorns, are not the least bit deer resistance. So
Speaker 2: I'm just gonna have to dream about having flavorette paired
Speaker 2: row in my herb garden instead of actually being able
Speaker 2: to put it there.
Speaker 1: I'll let you know how it goes. Like I said,
Speaker 1: I'm putting one in the compound.
Speaker 2: Are you putting in paired or Honey Apricot are thinking
Speaker 2: about both, Okay, yeah, so in my vegetable garden. Yeah,
Speaker 2: I think it makes a great companion to the vegetable garden.
Speaker 2: And flavor at Honey Apricot is a beautiful kind of
Speaker 2: orangey apricotti color and paired, like I said, is pink
Speaker 2: and aging to white. And you know you can combine
Speaker 2: them together in your in your dishes and everything. So
Speaker 2: I look forward to your Martha Stewart styled photoshoot once
Speaker 2: your flavor ate roses are producing and you and you
Speaker 2: have a very deluxe porge.
Speaker 1: Oh boy, you asked for it. Get ready, Adriana, bring
Speaker 1: the video camera.
Speaker 2: All right, Stay tuned, and if you are looking to
Speaker 2: add a flavor ate rose to your garden, make sure
Speaker 2: you look for it at your local garden center. This season,
Speaker 2: we're gonna take a little bit of a break. When
Speaker 2: you come back, we're opening up the mailbag, so please
Speaker 2: stay tuned. At Proven Winners Color Choice Shrubs, we know
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Speaker 2: Winner's Color Choice dot com. Readings Gardening, Friends, and welcome
Speaker 2: back to the Gardening Simplified Show where it is one
Speaker 2: of my favorite times in the show where we get
Speaker 2: to help people with their gardening questions, quandaries and conundrums.
Speaker 2: And I know we are in the thick of gardening
Speaker 2: season right now, and you may have some questions, quandaries
Speaker 2: and conundrums of your own, and maybe you also have comments.
Speaker 2: So obviously here in the show we only have a
Speaker 2: little bit of time to answer your gardening questions, but
Speaker 2: that doesn't mean that we don't want to help. So
Speaker 2: you can always reach out to proven Winner's Color Choice
Speaker 2: dot Com use the tact form there you'll get an
Speaker 2: answer much sooner, as well as on priven Winters dot com.
Speaker 2: So if you don't have a question about shrubs specifically,
Speaker 2: I have questions about annuals, perennials, tropicals, whatever, check it
Speaker 2: out in Priven Winners dot com and you will get
Speaker 2: an answer within a business day or two, not from
Speaker 2: a robot, from a real person who actually wants to
Speaker 2: help you. So apologies if we do not get to
Speaker 2: your question. But you know we do hear from a
Speaker 2: lot of listeners with comments or celebrations. You know, some
Speaker 2: people may not have gardening pals to share their accomplishments with,
Speaker 2: but a listener Dale actually reached out with an interesting article.
Speaker 2: So he says that we gave our listener who had
Speaker 2: aphids on her Cinderella milkweed the worst possible advice, and
Speaker 2: I'm like, whoa, my ears are pricking up here. And
Speaker 2: he goes on to share an article that was published
Speaker 2: in the journal Insects that so it's a peer reviewed article.
Speaker 2: This isn't just some you know, wacky thing he found
Speaker 2: on Pinterest that he's trying to claim is true. This
Speaker 2: is a real scientific article that milkweed plants that support
Speaker 2: quote diverse arthropod community. So multiple species of insects depending
Speaker 2: on them are actually better for monarchs, and specifically the
Speaker 2: first generation each year of the monarchs, the spring monarchs. Now,
Speaker 2: so basically, what the study goes on to say is
Speaker 2: that in milk weed plants that have aphids, and milkweed
Speaker 2: bugs and milkweed testic monsters, a number of different insects
Speaker 2: that do also rely on milkweed aside from the monarch,
Speaker 2: are actually sought out more by monarch adults to lay
Speaker 2: their eggs on, as they're seeing perhaps is more resilient.
Speaker 2: They're not exactly sure why. Now, I do want to
Speaker 2: add a caveat here. This study was limited just to Texas, Oklahoma,
Speaker 2: and Louisiana, and that is significant because those states, of course,
Speaker 2: are so close to the lands or the monarchs migrate,
Speaker 2: so their behavior there could be a little bit different
Speaker 2: than we're going to see up here in Michigan. But
Speaker 2: he did go on to say, also so that you know,
Speaker 2: one of the things that we recommended was an insecticidal soap.
Speaker 2: And the truth is that by the time the monarchs
Speaker 2: are or the milkweed is up enough to actually have
Speaker 2: aphids on it, it's completely possible that there are actually
Speaker 2: monarch eggs and or little teeny tiny caterpillars that you
Speaker 2: have to have a really good eye to see. So yeah,
Speaker 2: and of course the soap would kill those as well
Speaker 2: as killing the aphids, So you know my overall thought
Speaker 2: on aphids and I we talked a lot about aphids recently,
Speaker 2: because aphids are so prominent in the spring. You know,
Speaker 2: everything's soft and succulent growth, and that is their favorite thing.
Speaker 2: I will say for my part, I have a lot
Speaker 2: of tolerance for aphids. I usually don't do anything about them,
Speaker 2: but you know, I get it people get freaked out. Now,
Speaker 2: I will say later in the season on milkweed, I
Speaker 2: have had aphids that are so bad that what happens is,
Speaker 2: you know, they take over and their excrement starts to
Speaker 2: grow mold, and then that mold becomes really active to
Speaker 2: flies and wasps, and there are a number of wasp
Speaker 2: predators of milk of monarch caterpillars, And of course by
Speaker 2: that time, no sane monarch would lay her eggs on
Speaker 2: this mold covered horrible milk weed plant. But I will
Speaker 2: say later in the season, when I do have milkweeds
Speaker 2: that are looking like that, I very often do cut
Speaker 2: them back. But at that point, you know, of course
Speaker 2: I'm looking them over, but I would still probably just
Speaker 2: cut them back rather than actually try to control the aphids.
Speaker 2: So we will put the link to the study that
Speaker 2: Dale sent in the show notes as well as in
Speaker 2: the YouTube comma or the YouTube caption there. It is
Speaker 2: a full length article, so maybe a little bit much
Speaker 2: for the average listener, but it's quite interesting and I
Speaker 2: thought it was very interesting that it was something that
Speaker 2: they were studying, so I wanted to share that with you.
Speaker 1: I love that. That's a fantastic thank you, Dale, and
Speaker 1: great food for thought.
Speaker 2: Yes, for sure. So we have a question from Linda.
Speaker 1: Dear Stacey and Rick. I'm addicted to your show. Oh
Speaker 1: I've learned so much from watching all of your episodes.
Speaker 1: I keep watching them over and over. My son in
Speaker 1: law has a market with a greenhouse, and for the
Speaker 1: past three days, at the age of seventy four, I
Speaker 1: have done nothing from morning till night but help them
Speaker 1: repot plants to get ready for spring sales. Way to go, Linda,
Speaker 1: that's fantastic. You both have mentioned that you have a
Speaker 1: deer problem in your yard. My daughter and I both
Speaker 1: have the same issue, and my son in law's market
Speaker 1: gets attacked from time to time. You mentioned that you
Speaker 1: spray for deer to deter them, but you never mention
Speaker 1: an actual product. Might I ask what you use and
Speaker 1: how well it works for you. How often do you spray,
Speaker 1: how much do you dowse the plants with? And does
Speaker 1: it have a negative effect on the blooms? Love Love
Speaker 1: love your show so nice?
Speaker 2: Yeah, So what do you use?
Speaker 1: Well, lots of deer where I'm at. Of course, you know,
Speaker 1: I built a compound online and I ordered signs that
Speaker 1: said no deer alloud and deer can read. So that
Speaker 1: has helped. Also, if you don't have a compound, of course,
Speaker 1: there are many wonderful deer resistant plants in this case.
Speaker 1: Of course, yes, Linda's trying to, especially in the market,
Speaker 1: have plants out there that deer can affect. So throughout
Speaker 1: the years, I've used liquid fence. Okay, however, over the
Speaker 1: past couple years I have used if we're asking for
Speaker 1: a specific product, I've used BOBBYX.
Speaker 2: Boy.
Speaker 1: Does it smell, yes, but it works. And I also
Speaker 1: like to do some feeding with malorganite. The deer do
Speaker 1: not like the malorganite. Also, even though the product is
Speaker 1: not labeled as a deer control, I know a number
Speaker 1: of people who use malorganite also to deter them. So
Speaker 1: I think a combination of deer resistant plants, you know,
Speaker 1: incorporating aliums, ornamental grasses, nepettas, lavender, that sort of thing
Speaker 1: will cause them to turn their nose up. But Bobex
Speaker 1: is the product that I.
Speaker 2: Like, all right, So I have definitely mostly just planted
Speaker 2: things that the deer won't eat. You know, I decided,
Speaker 2: despite the heartbreak of finding out that I had deer
Speaker 2: when I moved into my house, not thinking that I would,
Speaker 2: I found that I just don't have it in me
Speaker 2: to spray all the time, you know, the trait. It
Speaker 2: would just be disheartening to me. So I was kind
Speaker 2: of like, you know what, I'm just going to give
Speaker 2: up the plants that I wanted and can't have and
Speaker 2: enjoy them elsewhere, and I'm just gonna kind of have
Speaker 2: a garden that the deer don't eat. But that said,
Speaker 2: even if that is your approach, you do still need
Speaker 2: to spray because very often plants that are deer resistant,
Speaker 2: when they are fresh from the nursery or in spring,
Speaker 2: when they have fresh new growth, they may get some
Speaker 2: browsing because you know, it's not the same as a
Speaker 2: plant in the middle of this summer. It's all fibrous
Speaker 2: and tough. So sometimes you even if you have deer
Speaker 2: resistant plants, you still need to have a little bit
Speaker 2: of spray.
Speaker 1: Got up the other morning, poured a cup of coffee,
Speaker 1: walked out into the front yard to take a quick
Speaker 1: check at the landscape, and my next door neighbor there's
Speaker 1: a deer sitting on her front porch, just lounging there
Speaker 1: on her front porch, watching the sun come up. It's ridiculous.
Speaker 1: I had a little conversation with this deer. And I
Speaker 1: love putting pots of flowers on the stairway leading up
Speaker 1: to my front door, and I have used a truffle
Speaker 1: of pink gumfreness because I love them and allegedly supposed
Speaker 1: to be somewhat deer resistant, and they just chow on
Speaker 1: those things. So I hit them with the bobecks. And
Speaker 1: then when the Amazon driver comes or the postal service
Speaker 1: worker or a visitor to the house and they brush
Speaker 1: against the plants, their pants smell like bobecks. I can
Speaker 1: picture them in the car driving away, going.
Speaker 2: What is that? Yeah?
Speaker 1: You know.
Speaker 2: The simple fact is I really hate to be the
Speaker 2: bearer of bad news, but any quote unquote good smelling
Speaker 2: deer repellent is not going to work. They have to
Speaker 2: smell disgusting. There's just no two ways about it. And
Speaker 2: the most effective ingredient in deer repellent is putrefied egg solids. Yeah,
Speaker 2: and dried blood as lovely as the cell is. Sorry, Linda,
Speaker 2: those are the most effective ingredients. And as you can imagine, yes,
Speaker 2: putresca so rotten eggs that they have been dried out
Speaker 2: and powdered. So yeah, there's just no getting around at
Speaker 2: deer repellants to be effective, really, do you have to
Speaker 2: smell awful? Now? I have use some of the winter
Speaker 2: green type smelling like the really strong mint smell.
Speaker 1: Cinnamon, oil, castor oil, yes, lemon grass in there, that
Speaker 1: sort of thing, but some of them are only as
Speaker 1: useful as taking the actual bottle, yes, throwing it.
Speaker 2: Yeah, So unfortunately I use plants skid. It smells disgusting.
Speaker 2: It is very effective, and if you put it on
Speaker 2: and it looks like dried blood, it has like a
Speaker 2: really dark red color and you think, oh my gosh,
Speaker 2: I ruined my plants, but you didn't. It does kind
Speaker 2: of somehow disappear as far as flowers go. Yes, if
Speaker 2: you were to put a most deer repellent directly onto
Speaker 2: a flower, chances are you will lose that bloom, so
Speaker 2: you want to time it really so that it's the
Speaker 2: bud that you're covering over, you know, the actual blooming flower.
Speaker 2: And then you have to apply them as often as
Speaker 2: the plant grows, so you know it doesn't have a
Speaker 2: you know, a systemic effect where it's on the planet,
Speaker 2: and it will keep growing every time that deer puts
Speaker 2: every every time the plant puts out new growth that
Speaker 2: is now appealing to the deer because it doesn't have
Speaker 2: the repellent on it. So how often you apply it,
Speaker 2: they're usually pretty rain proof, but anytime you have new growth,
Speaker 2: you have to put more.
Speaker 1: On question four A, are we going to have deer
Speaker 1: on our deserted island?
Speaker 2: I hope not. I didn't even consider them. I'm not
Speaker 2: gonna lie. And yeah. So the other thing is I
Speaker 2: would say they're not generally safe for vegetables, so any
Speaker 2: kind of edible plant, most of these deer repellents are
Speaker 2: not safe to use. But I did find a really
Speaker 2: great resource from the University of Maryland Cooperative Extension that
Speaker 2: goes over all of the different deer repellents, all of
Speaker 2: the common ingredients and talks about how effective they are,
Speaker 2: how you can use them. It's a really, really useful
Speaker 2: one of the best websites I have ever found for this.
Speaker 2: So we will definitely be sharing that in the YouTube
Speaker 2: caption as well as in the show notes at Gardening
Speaker 2: Simplified on air dot com. So we feel your pain, Linda,
Speaker 2: But unfortunately I have to say if it sounds too
Speaker 2: good to be true when it comes to deer repellent,
Speaker 2: it usually is just you know, putting coyote urine around
Speaker 2: your yard is usually not not gonna do it. It
Speaker 2: sure does. We're gonna take a little break when we
Speaker 2: come back. We're continuing our conversation on deserted island plants,
Speaker 2: so please see thanks for listening to the Gardening Simplified podcast,
Speaker 2: brought to you by Proven Winner's Color Choice Shrubs. Our
Speaker 2: award winning flowering shrubs and evergreens are trialed and tested
Speaker 2: by experts with your success in mind. Learn more at
Speaker 2: Proven Winners Color Choice dot com.
Speaker 1: Welcome back to the Gardening Simplified Show. Okay to continue
Speaker 1: on this deserted island thing. This fascinates me and by
Speaker 1: the way, that's making the assumption that the island is tropical.
Speaker 1: What about a cold weather deserted island. I mentioned at
Speaker 1: the outset Devon Island, which is and it's not a
Speaker 1: little island, it's big. It's about the size of West Virginia.
Speaker 2: Oh wow, that is big.
Speaker 1: Yeah, And they test Mars rovers there and that sort
Speaker 1: of thing. But if I was there and it was
Speaker 1: a cold island, my list of plants Stacey would be
Speaker 1: potatoes or some kind of root vegetable, cucumbers, blueberries for
Speaker 1: the whole vitamin sea thing, a maple tree because a
Speaker 1: maple tree is a great resource for many reasons. And cabbage.
Speaker 1: Those would be my choices.
Speaker 2: All right, I hope you have like a stove and
Speaker 2: some salt for canning.
Speaker 1: Well there's the next problem, creating fire, right, yeah, right,
Speaker 1: Because when I went to a survival guide thing and
Speaker 1: it said what do you do first, don't pant, don't panic.
Speaker 2: Well, okay, I'll try not to do that, but I'm
Speaker 2: sure I will be an a king.
Speaker 1: Maintain your composture. Then sit down, make a plan, and
Speaker 1: your survival priorities are shelter, water, fire, food. Yes, so
Speaker 1: the fire part. By the way. Interestingly enough, here in
Speaker 1: West Michigan we had quite an event this past weekend
Speaker 1: where some huge mulch piles started on fire.
Speaker 2: That's scary.
Speaker 1: Oh yeah, it was. It was scary, But some gigantic
Speaker 1: mulch piles at a suppliers started on fire. It just
Speaker 1: shows you the heat that's generated inside those mulch piles.
Speaker 1: But you're going to start to see some stuff out
Speaker 1: there where people are worried about mulch in your landscape
Speaker 1: just spontaneously self combusting. And it's not something that you
Speaker 1: have to worry about. When you've got two or three
Speaker 1: inches of mulch down in your landscape, this is not
Speaker 1: something that's going to start on fire. These are gigant
Speaker 1: and you find it around the country, not just the
Speaker 1: event this past weekend here in West Michigan, but around
Speaker 1: the country from time to time, Stacy, you'll see some
Speaker 1: of these mulch piles that get so hot in the
Speaker 1: center they do start on.
Speaker 2: Fire, right, And you really have to think about the
Speaker 2: difference between a massive, massive mulch pile and the temperature
Speaker 2: that is in the center of that versus just a
Speaker 2: few inches spread in your yard. And to be fair,
Speaker 2: you know, mulch is still a fire has ord. Do
Speaker 2: you want to be real careful if you are having
Speaker 2: you know, one fires and that kind of thing. But
Speaker 2: it's not going to spontaneously combust because it just doesn't
Speaker 2: get to that temperature once it is spread out, you know,
Speaker 2: into that normal layer that we use. But yeah, I
Speaker 2: remember being a landscaper, you know, and having mulch delivered
Speaker 2: to a job site and it's summer and you get
Speaker 2: into the center of that pile and it's just like, yeah,
Speaker 2: just like a sauna just coming right off of that,
Speaker 2: right off of that multipile.
Speaker 1: Thank you very mulch. But it does also bring up
Speaker 1: the point that when your mulching plants, don't mulch them
Speaker 1: too deep.
Speaker 2: That's for sure, you know, it can be warm around
Speaker 2: the plant exactly.
Speaker 1: So anyhow, just went off on a table.
Speaker 2: I was actually just quoted in a mulch article recently.
Speaker 2: I forget what magazine it was for. A garden writer
Speaker 2: reached out and it was really great because a lot
Speaker 2: of times when I talk to garden writers about different topics,
Speaker 2: you know, they kind of I wouldn't say, like they
Speaker 2: censor me. They don't censor me, but they will, you know,
Speaker 2: I will talk from the cuff and then they'll put
Speaker 2: my words very nicely, and she ran my unedited and
Speaker 2: thoughts on that rubber mulch. Oh, So you know, basically
Speaker 2: the short version here is it's just fine if you're mulching,
Speaker 2: your kids, play set with it, but do not under
Speaker 2: any circumstances. I think I said, for the love of
Speaker 2: all that is horticultural, do not use rubber mulch in
Speaker 2: your bed. So we can put a links to that too.
Speaker 2: If you want to know a lot more about how
Speaker 2: I feel about.
Speaker 1: Mulch, I agree, yeah, don't get me started on stone mault.
Speaker 1: We got to stop right here. Okay, Although while we're
Speaker 1: on a rant thing, why don't we just go for
Speaker 1: it here a minute. This past weekend very busy at
Speaker 1: the greenhouse. Sure, and you would be amazed. I want
Speaker 1: to make sure I'm accurate here. Three different people over
Speaker 1: the course of the day who came to me and
Speaker 1: asked me for the rainbow tomatoes or the red and
Speaker 1: white hosta plants. Believing that these AI scams are real.
Speaker 1: So I would invite people to go back and revisit
Speaker 1: episode eighty two fact or fiction when we talk about
Speaker 1: this stacy, because there's a lot of that out there.
Speaker 2: It is there's so much, and I do feel like
Speaker 2: it's a teeny bit better than it was last year,
Speaker 2: where at least you know, they are putting some really
Speaker 2: rotten stuff out there, but they're not offering it for
Speaker 2: sale for the most parts. But yeah, there's just so
Speaker 2: much AI generated stuff, and you know, it upsets me
Speaker 2: because plants are cool enough on their own. You know,
Speaker 2: they don't need to be put through some sort of
Speaker 2: AI and have weird colors and sizes for you to
Speaker 2: appreciate them. They're worth appreciating just as they are. But
Speaker 2: you know, it's always worth there's always information in there,
Speaker 2: Like it'll say, oh, this is called you know whatever.
Speaker 2: You can always google that plant name, that variety name
Speaker 2: that they're claiming is associated with it. See what else
Speaker 2: is out there, give it a little fact check before
Speaker 2: were you head out to the garden center.
Speaker 1: And while I'm thinking about it, we talked about the
Speaker 1: multch Let me just quickly mention that there was an individual,
Speaker 1: a nice gentleman who came walking in It's busy, stops me,
Speaker 1: shakes my hands as he watches the Gardening Simplified show,
Speaker 1: loves the show, and then he proceeds to tell me
Speaker 1: that his grandson was sent home from school with a
Speaker 1: note because they were working on grammar, and his grandson
Speaker 1: insisted to the teacher that the phrase was not thank
Speaker 1: you very much.
Speaker 2: It's thank you very mulch aw.
Speaker 1: And she sent him home with a note. And I'm
Speaker 1: so proud. Nah oh boy. All right. So this deserted
Speaker 1: island talk caused me to think a minute, Stacey, and
Speaker 1: I want to ask you this question. Let's say it's
Speaker 1: not a deserted island, but let's say you had to
Speaker 1: leave your home today and you could only take five
Speaker 1: plants with you. Oh, would that be tough?
Speaker 2: From my garden, I can only take five individual plants.
Speaker 1: Five individual plants, So I would probably take a favorite
Speaker 1: grass cultivar. I'd take some of my cannas, probably a baptizia,
Speaker 1: a panicle hydrangea, and a macrophilla hydrangea. When push comes
Speaker 1: to shovel. If that's all I could pick, probably take those.
Speaker 2: Oh those are good choices, those are good choices. I'm
Speaker 2: glad you had some Hydrange's in there.
Speaker 1: I mean, is there, yes, is there a plant that
Speaker 1: you absolutely positively would you know? We gotta leave, We
Speaker 1: gotta leave. Now we're not coming back. I'm taking this plant.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean it probably would be my summarific hibiscus. Okay,
Speaker 2: but you know, I have a lot of lavender, a
Speaker 2: lot of lavender in my garden and I love it,
Speaker 2: you know, and I feel like it's very you know, important.
Speaker 2: It could be a good seasoning, I guess if I
Speaker 2: if I'm stuck with this and in few other plants,
Speaker 2: I also just feel like, you know, if it's kind
Speaker 2: of like, oh, hey, what sort of symbolizes my garden
Speaker 2: at home, it's probably boxwood, lavender, succulents and summerific hibiscus,
Speaker 2: because I have a lot of hardy suculents, and I'll
Speaker 2: tell you my hearty suculent gardens right now are looking stunning,
Speaker 2: best they've ever looked, just amazing.
Speaker 1: You know, when we talk about having to pull up
Speaker 1: plants and take them with us and or being on
Speaker 1: a deserted island, one of the things that came to
Speaker 1: mind for me, and we don't talk about it often,
Speaker 1: well maybe we do, and that is herbs talk about
Speaker 1: plants that are so beautiful and beneficial at the same
Speaker 1: time and don't ask for much except for some sunshine.
Speaker 1: And I was thinking that. The other day, walking back
Speaker 1: in my landscape, there were some chibes that I left
Speaker 1: in a container over winter, and as opposed to getting
Speaker 1: rid of them, they come back up in spring and
Speaker 1: they were coming into flower and just so beautiful. And
Speaker 1: I'm thinking, you know, if there's if there's a plant
Speaker 1: we need in our landscape and incorporate into our landscape,
Speaker 1: it would be herbs because of the ornamental, edible, and
Speaker 1: therapeutic benefits that they provide.
Speaker 2: You know, I feel the same way, And I am
Speaker 2: so grateful that herbs are one of the plants that
Speaker 2: you can grow without having to fence off from the
Speaker 2: deer or no deer repellent required. I am very grateful
Speaker 2: that I am able to have a part of my
Speaker 2: garden that is not completely fenced off right now, because
Speaker 2: even when they're emerging and that foliage is young and tender, no,
Speaker 2: they aren't touching the sage or the chives or the
Speaker 2: oregano or anything else. So, yeah, I love herbs. I
Speaker 2: love how they all look so Mediterranean together. They all
Speaker 2: look incredible together no matter how you combine them. And yeah,
Speaker 2: I mean I've been working hard in my herb garden
Speaker 2: for the last several weeks getting it ready to kind
Speaker 2: of work towards the herb garden of my dream. So
Speaker 2: I have been thinking about herbs quite a bit lately myself.
Speaker 1: Well, thanks so much for joining us here on I'm
Speaker 1: going to call it Gilligan's Island today. I'm hoping I'm
Speaker 1: not the captain that got us into this mess. I
Speaker 1: certainly hope I'm not Gilligan. I like to think I'm
Speaker 1: the professor who can make a radio out of a coconut.
Speaker 1: Thank you, Stacy Rick, thank you Adriana, and thank you
Speaker 1: to you for watching us on YouTube, downloading the podcast,
Speaker 1: or listening on radio. Have yourself a great