1 00:00:02,680 --> 00:00:06,599 Speaker 1: Broadcasting from Studio A here at Proven Winters, Color Joy Shrubs. 2 00:00:06,879 --> 00:00:11,880 It's the Gardening Simplified Show with Stacy Hervella, me Rick Weist, 3 00:00:11,880 --> 00:00:16,160 and our engineer and producer Adrianna Robinson. Well, today we 4 00:00:16,199 --> 00:00:21,800 talk about conifers. Conifers make excellent specimens standalone trees and 5 00:00:22,359 --> 00:00:26,359 accents in our landscapes. Conifers are a broad family of 6 00:00:26,399 --> 00:00:31,519 plants described as coniferous, meaning they produce cones. I call 7 00:00:31,559 --> 00:00:36,799 them woody cones so to speak, that contain their seeds. 8 00:00:36,840 --> 00:00:40,240 But I'm sure in Plants on Trial Stacy will give 9 00:00:40,320 --> 00:00:44,719 us a hed education on that issue. Conifers are typically, 10 00:00:45,240 --> 00:00:51,320 not always, but typically evergreen trees with needle like foliage. 11 00:00:51,799 --> 00:00:56,039 I think some of the most spectacular large trees in 12 00:00:56,079 --> 00:01:03,439 the landscape that are conifers are not necessarily evergreen. And Stacey, 13 00:01:03,520 --> 00:01:06,560 I think about the bald cypress that I've seen at 14 00:01:06,599 --> 00:01:12,280 places like Arnold, Arborretam and the unusual root system, the 15 00:01:12,400 --> 00:01:15,239 roots growing out of the ground to have a picture 16 00:01:15,319 --> 00:01:19,879 for you on YouTube, or down redwood or larch. So 17 00:01:20,000 --> 00:01:22,079 not necessarily evergreen trees. 18 00:01:22,480 --> 00:01:24,519 Speaker 2: Yeah, and you know, I think that a lot of 19 00:01:24,519 --> 00:01:26,799 people when they hear that, for the first time. Their 20 00:01:26,879 --> 00:01:30,439 mind is kind of blown because they so closely associate 21 00:01:30,519 --> 00:01:33,879 being a conifer with being an evergreen. And yeah, there 22 00:01:33,920 --> 00:01:37,760 are all of those native, they're not all native, but 23 00:01:37,760 --> 00:01:40,439 of course bald cypress famously is very is native to 24 00:01:40,480 --> 00:01:43,280 the south, and you can't go anywhere down south without 25 00:01:43,400 --> 00:01:46,000 seeing it. And then we have larch up here, which 26 00:01:46,239 --> 00:01:48,599 we'll be turning color just about any moment now if 27 00:01:48,599 --> 00:01:51,760 it's not already out there. You know, even out here 28 00:01:51,799 --> 00:01:54,280 in lower West Michigan, we have an abundance of larch. 29 00:01:54,879 --> 00:01:56,480 And it's one of those plants that you think is 30 00:01:56,519 --> 00:02:00,000 just an evergreen until you see it blaze bright yellowil 31 00:02:00,159 --> 00:02:01,719 and you're just like what. And that is a cool 32 00:02:01,760 --> 00:02:05,680 thing about them is that their fall color does rival 33 00:02:06,000 --> 00:02:09,840 a regular standard deciduous flowering tree because it's like, especially 34 00:02:09,879 --> 00:02:12,719 on the Don redwood turns out beautiful salmon color. Just 35 00:02:12,800 --> 00:02:15,400 a really cool ornamental feature in. 36 00:02:15,360 --> 00:02:17,759 Speaker 1: The garden center industry. If I had a dime for 37 00:02:17,840 --> 00:02:19,759 every time someone has come up to me and said, 38 00:02:20,000 --> 00:02:23,159 I'm having a problem with my pine tree. 39 00:02:23,280 --> 00:02:23,759 Speaker 2: Oh yeah. 40 00:02:23,960 --> 00:02:27,400 Speaker 1: People refer to conifers as pine trees, and it may 41 00:02:27,439 --> 00:02:31,560 be a fur or a spruce or a bald cypress, 42 00:02:31,599 --> 00:02:34,919 whatever it may be for me. I fell in love 43 00:02:35,080 --> 00:02:39,560 with conifers in the Pacific Northwest when I've spent time 44 00:02:39,599 --> 00:02:44,919 in the Pacific Northwest, specifically Oregon and suppliers up there 45 00:02:45,000 --> 00:02:52,280 of evergreen specimen trees, boy wow, or British Columbia taking 46 00:02:52,400 --> 00:02:56,479 rides through their western red cedar, Noble and Grand Fur 47 00:02:56,960 --> 00:03:00,840 some of the biggest Douglas fur trees you'll ever see 48 00:03:00,879 --> 00:03:04,360 in your life up there in the Pacific Northwest. As 49 00:03:04,360 --> 00:03:09,520 a matter of fact, I remember walking the Capilano suspension bridge. 50 00:03:09,560 --> 00:03:12,120 If you ever get a chance to do that, way 51 00:03:12,199 --> 00:03:16,560 up in these trees gorgeous and you really develop a 52 00:03:16,840 --> 00:03:21,199 love for conifers. My most familiar connection, of course, with 53 00:03:21,319 --> 00:03:26,199 conifers is again coming from the garden center industry. I 54 00:03:26,240 --> 00:03:31,879 would like to know how many Christmas trees I have 55 00:03:32,199 --> 00:03:40,439 lugged unloaded off trucks tied to the tops of cars. Unbelievable. 56 00:03:40,520 --> 00:03:45,360 So I have a real connection to Christmas trees. And 57 00:03:45,400 --> 00:03:48,680 as a matter of fact, some people are not familiar 58 00:03:48,719 --> 00:03:52,280 with the Rus Simmons, which is the Christmas tree ship 59 00:03:52,400 --> 00:03:59,039 that sunk on Lake Michigan in nineteen twelve. Every Christmas 60 00:03:59,080 --> 00:04:02,000 Eve I go out there on the lake shore regardless 61 00:04:02,000 --> 00:04:06,919 of the weather, looking for the Rus Simmons, because legend 62 00:04:06,960 --> 00:04:09,639 and lore has it, you can see that three masted 63 00:04:09,759 --> 00:04:13,800 schooner just struggling in the water. It was a ship 64 00:04:14,240 --> 00:04:17,959 that they would load with Christmas trees, uh sail at 65 00:04:17,959 --> 00:04:21,959 across Lake Michigan to Chicago and tie up at the 66 00:04:22,000 --> 00:04:26,680 wharf there. Unfortunately, in nineteen twelve, they overloaded this old. 67 00:04:26,480 --> 00:04:29,000 Speaker 2: Ship with trees, yes, with tear me. 68 00:04:29,319 --> 00:04:32,199 Speaker 1: And there was a rain, ice storm. The trees got 69 00:04:32,240 --> 00:04:33,759 way too heavy. The tree sunk. 70 00:04:34,079 --> 00:04:36,360 Speaker 2: Oh my gosh. And now it's a ghost ship. It's 71 00:04:36,360 --> 00:04:39,600 a ghost ship and it specifically comes out on Christmas Eve. 72 00:04:39,839 --> 00:04:43,079 Speaker 1: Well that's when legend and lore says you can see 73 00:04:43,120 --> 00:04:46,199 the ship. I personally have not ever. 74 00:04:46,160 --> 00:04:48,000 Speaker 2: Run okay, but if you did, would you tell. 75 00:04:47,920 --> 00:04:52,120 Speaker 1: Us absolutely, I'd be shooting video. I have my video camera. 76 00:04:52,199 --> 00:04:54,120 Speaker 2: Well, there is the surest way to know you're never 77 00:04:54,199 --> 00:04:56,319 going to actually see it is are out there with 78 00:04:56,399 --> 00:04:56,920 your camera. 79 00:04:58,040 --> 00:05:03,079 Speaker 1: But it's never worked. Are so interesting three hundred and 80 00:05:03,120 --> 00:05:05,519 sixty five days out of the year, and Stacy, that's 81 00:05:05,560 --> 00:05:10,079 why I think they're so just so popular. I mentioned 82 00:05:10,160 --> 00:05:13,959 the bald cypress roots or don Redwood or larch or 83 00:05:14,759 --> 00:05:19,839 you know the spruce furs, douglas fur. Just amazing. Three 84 00:05:19,959 --> 00:05:24,279 characteristics of conifers. There's many different types of conifers, most 85 00:05:24,519 --> 00:05:27,959 share a few common traits. Stacy. Number one, they have 86 00:05:28,040 --> 00:05:33,279 cones right, yes, correct, that's right. Number two usually spiny 87 00:05:33,360 --> 00:05:36,079 foliage right ye, would be fair to. 88 00:05:36,040 --> 00:05:39,279 Speaker 2: Say, point in their life cycle, if not permanently during 89 00:05:39,319 --> 00:05:40,399 their life cycle, yes, yes. 90 00:05:40,759 --> 00:05:45,879 Speaker 1: And then number three size and shape, in other words, magnificent, 91 00:05:46,399 --> 00:05:50,800 huge conifers. But you can also find low growing or 92 00:05:51,040 --> 00:05:52,560 shorter conifers. 93 00:05:52,600 --> 00:05:56,360 Speaker 2: You can find tiny, signy conifers that grow it like 94 00:05:56,399 --> 00:05:59,639 a quarter inch a year, if you are so inclined. 95 00:05:59,439 --> 00:06:03,720 Speaker 1: Exactly, and if you want to add conifers to your landscape. 96 00:06:03,759 --> 00:06:10,399 I believe personally that conifer care starts with selection and 97 00:06:10,680 --> 00:06:14,959 two things that people often do not think about. Number One, 98 00:06:15,240 --> 00:06:18,839 if you're going to be planting a conifer, accessibility to 99 00:06:19,000 --> 00:06:23,920 supplemental watering at least for the first couple years in 100 00:06:24,040 --> 00:06:29,879 order to get the plant established. Secondly, staking how many 101 00:06:29,959 --> 00:06:33,560 evergreens have I seen in landscapes that are growing askew 102 00:06:34,040 --> 00:06:39,160 so to speak, Because the plant is again evergreen foliage, 103 00:06:39,240 --> 00:06:42,040 it can become a sail during windy parts of the 104 00:06:42,120 --> 00:06:46,240 year and prior to it rooting, it's probably a good 105 00:06:46,480 --> 00:06:50,439 idea to stake a conifer tree. So I think that 106 00:06:52,000 --> 00:06:54,959 those are important things to look at and when you're 107 00:06:55,000 --> 00:06:58,519 shopping for conifers, and really it holds true in my 108 00:06:58,639 --> 00:07:01,240 opinion for any woody plants in general. You need to 109 00:07:01,240 --> 00:07:06,839 pay attention to structure, roots, and overall health. Get a 110 00:07:06,839 --> 00:07:10,439 good start by choosing a well grown specimen. That's the 111 00:07:10,480 --> 00:07:11,879 first step in conifer care. 112 00:07:11,959 --> 00:07:14,240 Speaker 2: That is one hundred percent true. You know, it's you're 113 00:07:14,279 --> 00:07:16,600 going to be You're going to have what you start with. 114 00:07:16,839 --> 00:07:21,680 And that could mean sort of that perfect iconic triangular 115 00:07:22,560 --> 00:07:24,759 you know tree with a straight up and down leader 116 00:07:24,839 --> 00:07:28,480 Christmas Christmas tree shaped, or it could mean something that's 117 00:07:28,519 --> 00:07:31,720 a little bit more funky and poetic. I mean, really 118 00:07:31,720 --> 00:07:35,279 that is how Boneses Eye, which were initially mostly conifers 119 00:07:35,319 --> 00:07:40,560 pines started, is these monks and thinkers and philosophers would 120 00:07:40,560 --> 00:07:45,560 go out into the mountains and collect these very very 121 00:07:45,600 --> 00:07:48,079 stressed trees that were trying to grow in this rock 122 00:07:48,600 --> 00:07:50,560 and they would bring them back and they would repot them, 123 00:07:50,560 --> 00:07:52,360 and so bonce I really started as a way to 124 00:07:53,160 --> 00:07:56,920 bring that you know, in into your space to enjoy 125 00:07:56,959 --> 00:08:00,360 every day. And I think that there is a salute 126 00:08:00,439 --> 00:08:05,040 validity in conifers that maybe don't have that perfect profile. 127 00:08:05,680 --> 00:08:07,920 They can be very interesting and unique, and I have 128 00:08:08,000 --> 00:08:12,199 seen people do some very very cool and creative things 129 00:08:12,240 --> 00:08:14,800 with different conifers, just having that vision. 130 00:08:14,959 --> 00:08:18,120 Speaker 1: Yeah, and I'm glad you mentioned that, because speaking of 131 00:08:18,279 --> 00:08:24,879 stress with conifers, a conifer most being evergreen, not all, 132 00:08:25,079 --> 00:08:30,399 as we've noted, but with them being evergreen, they can 133 00:08:30,519 --> 00:08:35,039 grow in some pretty tough areas like mountainous regions stacy 134 00:08:35,080 --> 00:08:41,720 because they're photosynthesizing. Whenever you think about a deciduous tree, 135 00:08:42,080 --> 00:08:46,159 it can't photosynthesize if the foliage has dropped off, but 136 00:08:46,240 --> 00:08:51,399 an evergreen tree is always waiting at the ready to photosynthesize. 137 00:08:51,480 --> 00:08:55,919 Speaker 2: Yeah, and because their foliage is so dramatically reduced to 138 00:08:56,200 --> 00:08:59,320 again mostly just those needles or those compressed scales like 139 00:08:59,360 --> 00:09:02,519 in the case of a arborvide or something like that, 140 00:09:03,240 --> 00:09:06,000 very minimal leaves means very minimal water loss, and that's 141 00:09:06,000 --> 00:09:10,759 why they're able to be so adapted to those mountainous 142 00:09:10,759 --> 00:09:13,159 areas where the soil's frozen and they're growing in very 143 00:09:13,200 --> 00:09:15,919 little actual soil because they're growing in rock. And you know, 144 00:09:15,960 --> 00:09:17,480 of course, when you go down to the desert you 145 00:09:17,519 --> 00:09:21,000 see all sorts of different various conifers, bristle cone pines 146 00:09:21,039 --> 00:09:23,679 and all of that kind of stuff. So they're really 147 00:09:23,720 --> 00:09:28,720 really adapted to some of the most stressful conditions that 148 00:09:29,159 --> 00:09:30,000 we can throw at them. 149 00:09:30,120 --> 00:09:34,440 Speaker 1: You bet. So. For forty six years I unloaded Christmas 150 00:09:34,440 --> 00:09:37,000 trees and then tied them to the tops of cars, 151 00:09:37,320 --> 00:09:40,799 thousands and thousands of trees. Adriana has a picture to 152 00:09:40,840 --> 00:09:44,240 put on YouTube for you of me unloading a tree truck. 153 00:09:44,519 --> 00:09:48,000 We would unload fur trees out of North Carolina. They 154 00:09:48,000 --> 00:09:51,639 would come in an enclosed box because they didn't want 155 00:09:51,639 --> 00:09:54,600 the exhaust of the truck as opposed to a steak truck, 156 00:09:55,200 --> 00:09:59,279 to cause the trees to smell poorly when you bring 157 00:09:59,320 --> 00:10:01,879 them in doors. So I'm going to give you an 158 00:10:01,879 --> 00:10:06,879 old fashioned Christmas limb a rick because I have so 159 00:10:06,960 --> 00:10:10,919 many memories of Christmas trees. Oh Tom and Baum, did 160 00:10:10,919 --> 00:10:14,000 I mention you pined for my attention? We put you 161 00:10:14,080 --> 00:10:18,039 inside at Christmas, wide eyed and hope for needle retention. 162 00:10:18,679 --> 00:10:23,960 With boughs and branches proliferous. We celebrate all coniferous with 163 00:10:24,120 --> 00:10:29,080 lights from my bin. I plugged you in. Now you're luminiferous, 164 00:10:29,240 --> 00:10:31,360 and I don't know if that is a word, but 165 00:10:31,399 --> 00:10:34,639 I'm sitting next to a linguistics major, so I'm taking 166 00:10:34,679 --> 00:10:36,200 the liberty of doing. 167 00:10:36,320 --> 00:10:38,120 Speaker 2: I will call that pure poetic license. 168 00:10:38,200 --> 00:10:41,600 Speaker 1: Rick, Thank you. Old fashioned lights made you dry. When 169 00:10:41,679 --> 00:10:46,320 your limbs we would electrify. Incandescent bulbs make you fizzle. 170 00:10:46,679 --> 00:10:51,240 We're watching your needles sizzle from the corner eating pumpkin pie. 171 00:10:51,759 --> 00:10:55,360 Oh conifer. It may sound sappy, but your branches make 172 00:10:55,399 --> 00:10:59,799 me happy. We spruce the place up, sipping eggnog from 173 00:10:59,840 --> 00:11:03,240 a cup, then curl up and take a nappy. I 174 00:11:03,320 --> 00:11:06,480 made that word up too. Plans on trial coming up 175 00:11:06,519 --> 00:11:09,840 next here on the Gardening Simplified. 176 00:11:09,159 --> 00:11:18,480 Speaker 2: Show, Beautify your home and community with proven Winner's Color 177 00:11:18,559 --> 00:11:21,440 Choice Shrubs. With over three hundred and twenty five unique 178 00:11:21,480 --> 00:11:24,519 varieties to choose from. There's a flowering shrub or evergreen 179 00:11:24,600 --> 00:11:27,360 for every taste and every space. Just look for the 180 00:11:27,399 --> 00:11:30,480 distinctive white container your local garden center or learn more 181 00:11:30,519 --> 00:11:35,919 at proven Winner's Color Choice dot com. Greetings gardening friends, 182 00:11:35,960 --> 00:11:38,559 and welcome back to the Gardening Simplified Show, where it 183 00:11:38,639 --> 00:11:42,519 is time to stuff your heads full of knowledge. There's 184 00:11:42,559 --> 00:11:45,440 so many things I want to say about conifers, which 185 00:11:45,480 --> 00:11:50,799 is our topic today. I mean, I just there. This 186 00:11:50,840 --> 00:11:52,799 goes back to something that happened to me in my 187 00:11:52,840 --> 00:11:55,120 previous job. I was a garden editor at Martha Stewart 188 00:11:55,200 --> 00:11:58,879 Living and we once did an article on state flowers. Okay, 189 00:12:00,039 --> 00:12:02,360 very nice thing to do an article on. Well, the 190 00:12:02,399 --> 00:12:08,960 state quote unquote flower of Maine is pine and I 191 00:12:09,120 --> 00:12:13,159 wrote for its description that it was not really a flower, 192 00:12:13,440 --> 00:12:17,240 which is true botanically speaking. And I got a letter 193 00:12:17,360 --> 00:12:22,000 from a very angry person and they said, how dare 194 00:12:22,080 --> 00:12:25,960 you it is a flower? Just because it's not conventionally 195 00:12:26,039 --> 00:12:29,720 pretty doesn't mean it's not a flower. But they were wrong, 196 00:12:29,960 --> 00:12:35,919 because no conifers flower. Conifers are not flowering plants. All 197 00:12:35,919 --> 00:12:41,120 flowering plants are in the division of angiosperms, and conifers 198 00:12:41,200 --> 00:12:45,919 are what is known as a gymnosperm, and gymnosperm what 199 00:12:45,960 --> 00:12:52,240 that actually translates to in Greek is naked seed. And 200 00:12:52,320 --> 00:12:55,759 what that actually means is that if you think about 201 00:12:55,960 --> 00:12:59,679 flowering plants in the actual fruit a true you're gonna 202 00:12:59,679 --> 00:13:02,279 have to all forgive me for being trying to be 203 00:13:02,360 --> 00:13:07,240 pedantic while also using like really wrong terms because sometimes 204 00:13:07,320 --> 00:13:13,840 it's just necessary. So, no conifers actually produce fruit because 205 00:13:13,960 --> 00:13:18,080 for a fruit from botanical from a botanical perspective, fruit 206 00:13:18,240 --> 00:13:22,360 only comes from a flower, and since gymnosperms do not flower, 207 00:13:22,440 --> 00:13:28,440 they therefore do not fruit. All of those seed bearing 208 00:13:28,480 --> 00:13:34,039 portions of the actual conifers are indeed cones, even if 209 00:13:34,080 --> 00:13:38,279 they look like a berry, like a juniper. So no, 210 00:13:38,919 --> 00:13:42,600 the pine blossom or whatever you want to call it 211 00:13:42,639 --> 00:13:46,320 is not technically a flower, and therefore it's a pine 212 00:13:46,360 --> 00:13:50,000 cone is not technically a fruit, so you know, no, 213 00:13:50,080 --> 00:13:52,279 it's it has nothing to do with whether or not 214 00:13:52,360 --> 00:13:55,159 I think it's pretty enough to be a flower. It 215 00:13:55,440 --> 00:14:00,480 has only to do with the botanical definition of a flower, 216 00:14:00,600 --> 00:14:03,240 and that means that it has an ovary, So like 217 00:14:03,279 --> 00:14:06,080 if you think about a tomato or an apple and 218 00:14:06,120 --> 00:14:09,799 that fleshy ovary. Now, of course not all antiosperms have 219 00:14:09,879 --> 00:14:12,960 something quite so fleshy, but that's what differentiates it. What 220 00:14:13,080 --> 00:14:16,399 makes a gymnosperm a naked seed is it just has 221 00:14:16,399 --> 00:14:19,679 what's known as an arrowl or a very minimal coating 222 00:14:20,279 --> 00:14:25,720 on that seed, and so it's not it's actually not 223 00:14:25,799 --> 00:14:28,080 a fruit. So it's very hard to talk about these 224 00:14:28,120 --> 00:14:32,440 things and not use terms that are like correct but 225 00:14:32,879 --> 00:14:36,440 just also more common, and also talk about today's plant 226 00:14:36,480 --> 00:14:40,200 on trial, which I am getting to. I promise I'm 227 00:14:40,240 --> 00:14:42,519 all about the fruit. See I said, I did it again, 228 00:14:42,559 --> 00:14:44,080 so you're gonna have to bear with me. I'm all 229 00:14:44,120 --> 00:14:45,320 about the cones today. 230 00:14:45,799 --> 00:14:48,600 Speaker 1: Yeah, I pine for your plant on trial. Let's hear it. 231 00:14:48,679 --> 00:14:52,120 Speaker 2: So within the uh okay, I'm sorry, I'm gona have 232 00:14:52,120 --> 00:14:53,720 to buy a little more time on this to just 233 00:14:53,759 --> 00:14:58,679 go back to the botany real quick. All conifers are gymnosperms, 234 00:14:58,720 --> 00:15:02,440 but not all gymnosperms are conifers. The conifers make up 235 00:15:02,480 --> 00:15:07,840 the majority of the gemnosperm group, but there are also ginkgos, 236 00:15:08,000 --> 00:15:10,759 which are in a little class by themselves. They are 237 00:15:10,840 --> 00:15:13,440 cone bearing, even though again that's something that we very 238 00:15:13,519 --> 00:15:16,240 much think of as a fleshy berry or a fruit 239 00:15:16,759 --> 00:15:18,399 or a nut, but they're not even a nut because 240 00:15:18,399 --> 00:15:24,600 they're a cone. And then the cycads, so cycads are gemnosperms. 241 00:15:24,600 --> 00:15:29,360 Definitely our warm climate listeners are well familiar with with cycads. 242 00:15:29,919 --> 00:15:32,559 And then a plant that probably most of our listeners 243 00:15:32,600 --> 00:15:36,480 are not necessarily familiar with is need them g n 244 00:15:36,679 --> 00:15:41,360 E t u M also a little odd bowl in 245 00:15:41,480 --> 00:15:46,840 the gymnosperms. Edible mostly grows in tropical and subtropical climates, 246 00:15:46,840 --> 00:15:48,960 so we don't really have it here. You can look 247 00:15:49,000 --> 00:15:52,440 it up. It's very cool. I can't really recall. Maybe 248 00:15:52,440 --> 00:15:54,600 it's some botanical gardens. I've seen one, but they're not 249 00:15:54,679 --> 00:15:58,440 really that common. But they do eat them in Indonesian food, 250 00:15:58,799 --> 00:16:01,360 and you can buy them as crack and I would 251 00:16:01,440 --> 00:16:03,960 like to try the needum crackers at some point, so 252 00:16:04,000 --> 00:16:07,480 I will be looking out for the needum crackers next 253 00:16:07,519 --> 00:16:09,840 time I met some sort of grocery store with a 254 00:16:09,840 --> 00:16:14,120 good diversity of food. Okay, so it's a very complex 255 00:16:14,159 --> 00:16:18,240 and interesting group of plants, but we tend to think 256 00:16:18,279 --> 00:16:19,879 of them again as a monolith. And it's like you 257 00:16:19,879 --> 00:16:22,759 were talking about pine cones, right, Everybody is like, oh, 258 00:16:22,840 --> 00:16:24,559 it's a pine cone. Well fine, it could be a 259 00:16:24,559 --> 00:16:26,960 spruce cone. It could be a fur cone. It could 260 00:16:27,000 --> 00:16:30,919 be an arborvidy cone, it could be a camisiperous cone. 261 00:16:31,000 --> 00:16:34,799 All of these are cone bearing plants. And sometimes we 262 00:16:34,840 --> 00:16:38,240 talk about some plants that are conifers as having berries, 263 00:16:38,399 --> 00:16:41,360 Like if you now that we're coming into the cozy 264 00:16:41,360 --> 00:16:44,320 cooking season. You may be making something that calls for 265 00:16:44,399 --> 00:16:46,960 juniper berries. Well, I got news for you. Juniper berries 266 00:16:46,960 --> 00:16:49,320 are cones, even though they look like berries. 267 00:16:50,000 --> 00:16:52,960 Speaker 1: And now you can see why I sidestepped this issue 268 00:16:53,000 --> 00:16:57,360 and segment one all together. And can handle it. I can't. 269 00:16:57,480 --> 00:16:59,240 Speaker 2: I mean, I know, I'm saying all this crazy stuff 270 00:16:59,279 --> 00:17:02,720 all over the place. It's so fascinating. It's really just 271 00:17:02,799 --> 00:17:05,839 it's so fascinating. And I wanted to bring up today's 272 00:17:05,839 --> 00:17:08,079 plan on trial, which I'm finally getting to five minutes 273 00:17:08,119 --> 00:17:13,160 into it. Stonehenge you or taxis, because if you want 274 00:17:13,160 --> 00:17:16,240 to talk about a plant that people say has berries, 275 00:17:16,480 --> 00:17:19,519 that's it. Why Because if you grew up as I did, 276 00:17:20,079 --> 00:17:23,519 with taxis around your house, which you know, I'd say 277 00:17:23,559 --> 00:17:25,880 probably everybody who grew up in the seventies and eighties 278 00:17:25,920 --> 00:17:31,160 did it, really had a moment back then. Possibly the 279 00:17:31,200 --> 00:17:34,440 first time you were ever aware of a plant is 280 00:17:34,480 --> 00:17:37,000 your parents putting the fear of God into you about 281 00:17:37,039 --> 00:17:41,680 eating the cones, berries, fruits, whatever you want to call them, 282 00:17:42,079 --> 00:17:45,720 off of the taxes because every part of taxis is 283 00:17:45,839 --> 00:17:50,960 extremely toxic to humans and pets. So of course you 284 00:17:51,000 --> 00:17:53,240 know you listen to these you read these story books 285 00:17:53,240 --> 00:17:55,839 about you know, girl, little girls going out into the 286 00:17:55,880 --> 00:17:58,440 woods and gathering berries, and you're like, oh, baby, I'm 287 00:17:58,440 --> 00:18:00,960 gonna be that. I'm gonna get berries right here in 288 00:18:00,960 --> 00:18:04,839 my front yard. Oh no, surprise, they're super toxic. You 289 00:18:04,880 --> 00:18:10,359 are definitely not gathering the cones or berries of a Texas. 290 00:18:10,400 --> 00:18:12,799 But they are conifers, so they are related in that 291 00:18:12,839 --> 00:18:15,839 way to pines and spruces, and all of these are 292 00:18:15,880 --> 00:18:20,839 in a slightly different family within that. Here's a fun 293 00:18:20,920 --> 00:18:25,359 fact as well, not specific to Stonehenge, but to taxes 294 00:18:25,400 --> 00:18:29,680 in general. In England, they call those cones or fruits 295 00:18:30,559 --> 00:18:39,400 Snottyggs's appetizing and I think that again, anyone who has 296 00:18:39,440 --> 00:18:41,000 grown up with these, and even though you were, of 297 00:18:41,000 --> 00:18:43,039 course terrified of them because you knew that they were 298 00:18:43,039 --> 00:18:47,119 going to send you to dogs snottyggs g ogs if 299 00:18:47,119 --> 00:18:49,920 you did squish and the red part, that red fleshy 300 00:18:49,920 --> 00:18:51,839 part is actually the only part of the taxes that 301 00:18:51,920 --> 00:18:54,119 is not toxic, but you still should not eat it. 302 00:18:54,519 --> 00:18:56,559 But if you have ever squished it, it is really 303 00:18:56,720 --> 00:18:59,720 like viscous and gross. But they know what they're talking 304 00:18:59,720 --> 00:19:02,880 about it England because they are all about taxis in England, 305 00:19:03,200 --> 00:19:05,519 and I urge you if you have time right now 306 00:19:06,359 --> 00:19:10,119 to look up use and look up specifically ancient US 307 00:19:10,240 --> 00:19:12,839 in the UK, and you will think about this plant 308 00:19:12,839 --> 00:19:15,519 in a totally different way. You know. Here in the 309 00:19:15,599 --> 00:19:19,039 US it's just this kind of like, oh, no brainer, 310 00:19:19,480 --> 00:19:23,440 front yard ever green, and it's kind of boring. And 311 00:19:23,440 --> 00:19:27,839 in England there are the most magnificence, magnificent specimens that 312 00:19:27,880 --> 00:19:30,960 you can possibly imagine, and that is of course how 313 00:19:31,000 --> 00:19:34,640 we were inspired to name our Stonehenge U Stonehenge after 314 00:19:34,680 --> 00:19:39,440 the famous site in England. It is also very tall 315 00:19:39,599 --> 00:19:44,119 and narrow, so it's a great space safer and it 316 00:19:44,160 --> 00:19:46,839 has darker foliage. There are plenty of other tall and 317 00:19:46,960 --> 00:19:49,720 narrow us on the market, but it has very very dark, 318 00:19:50,279 --> 00:19:52,960 deep green foliage which gives it a very nice dramatic 319 00:19:53,000 --> 00:19:56,160 look in the landscape. It's also a little faster growing 320 00:19:56,960 --> 00:20:00,240 than your average taxis. Now this is primarily go to 321 00:20:00,319 --> 00:20:03,680 make a difference for the growers who produce taxes, then 322 00:20:03,720 --> 00:20:06,279 it will for most people who are growing them at home. 323 00:20:06,920 --> 00:20:11,079 But it is amazing to me how taxes has gotten 324 00:20:11,119 --> 00:20:14,759 so popular despite the fact that it is extremely toxic 325 00:20:15,359 --> 00:20:19,000 and that it's so slow growing. But it has a 326 00:20:19,039 --> 00:20:24,640 superpower and that is it is extremely shade tolerant, and 327 00:20:24,759 --> 00:20:28,119 that is why it is as popular as it is. 328 00:20:28,160 --> 00:20:31,960 And Stonehenge is no exception. It can grow in deep shade. 329 00:20:32,079 --> 00:20:34,000 It can also grow in sun, so it's a good 330 00:20:34,200 --> 00:20:37,319 option for you if you have a situation like I do, 331 00:20:37,680 --> 00:20:39,759 where one half of your front yard is very very 332 00:20:39,759 --> 00:20:42,480 sunny and one half is very very shady, but you 333 00:20:42,519 --> 00:20:45,839 want to impose some symmetry and have the same plant. 334 00:20:45,880 --> 00:20:50,039 So it's it's very versatile in that way. It can 335 00:20:50,079 --> 00:20:52,559 also be pruned if you want to a lot of 336 00:20:52,599 --> 00:20:57,039 people will prune them into you know, yep. I do 337 00:20:57,160 --> 00:21:00,400 want to warn you if you have a taxis and 338 00:21:00,440 --> 00:21:03,440 you prune it or trim it, to not leave any 339 00:21:03,480 --> 00:21:05,519 trimmings around. I do have a friend who had to 340 00:21:05,680 --> 00:21:07,880 go to an emergency vet with her dog because he 341 00:21:07,960 --> 00:21:10,359 picked up the branch they have been pruning it and 342 00:21:10,440 --> 00:21:13,759 was playing with it. So do be careful if you 343 00:21:13,799 --> 00:21:17,119 do have it. Don't leave those lying around. Get something 344 00:21:17,359 --> 00:21:19,759 like Stonehems dark druid, which is going to stay real 345 00:21:19,839 --> 00:21:23,000 small and tidy, and you don't have to worry about 346 00:21:23,640 --> 00:21:26,240 pruning it at all. Now, one thing I will say 347 00:21:26,359 --> 00:21:29,759 for our warm climate friends, Taxes is not heat tolerant, 348 00:21:30,000 --> 00:21:32,440 and maybe you know, the fact that it is native 349 00:21:32,440 --> 00:21:35,640 to England should hopefully tip you off to that that 350 00:21:35,720 --> 00:21:39,079 it prefers the cooler weather. It is hardy down to 351 00:21:39,160 --> 00:21:42,680 USDA Zone four and only heat tolerant through about USDA 352 00:21:42,799 --> 00:21:45,680 Zone seven. However, if you live in a warmer climate, 353 00:21:45,720 --> 00:21:50,440 you can grow its close cousin Cephalotaxis, which is very 354 00:21:50,480 --> 00:21:55,559 similar in just about every way. Bolder, kind of more 355 00:21:55,559 --> 00:22:00,599 interesting foliage, but similarly tolerant of shade and to grow 356 00:22:00,759 --> 00:22:06,359 and versatile. So Taxes has its place. And certainly again 357 00:22:06,440 --> 00:22:09,000 if you're if you if you're just like taxes is boring, 358 00:22:09,759 --> 00:22:11,480 do take a look at what it looks like in 359 00:22:11,519 --> 00:22:14,680 England and maybe you can find some love for the plant. 360 00:22:14,680 --> 00:22:18,880 Because I certainly have uh in doing that research. So wow, 361 00:22:19,000 --> 00:22:20,799 that was a lot. It was all over the place. 362 00:22:21,279 --> 00:22:24,519 But I'm just so excited about conifers, and uh, you know, 363 00:22:24,720 --> 00:22:27,480 as they become the prominent feature in our landscape in 364 00:22:27,599 --> 00:22:32,119 these cooler months, uh, it's time that we uh give 365 00:22:32,160 --> 00:22:33,920 them the love. And the best way to give them 366 00:22:33,960 --> 00:22:35,640 the love is to to know what they're all about. 367 00:22:35,680 --> 00:22:38,640 Speaker 1: So I'm glad and I could just sit here. 368 00:22:38,519 --> 00:22:41,039 Speaker 2: With that's because I didn't give you a chance to 369 00:22:41,079 --> 00:22:46,160 say anything. Rix, Sorry about that, No, you handled it well. 370 00:22:46,240 --> 00:22:48,559 We're gonna take a little break and when we come back, 371 00:22:48,599 --> 00:22:50,279 we'll have the mail bag and maybe have a little 372 00:22:50,319 --> 00:23:01,759 bit more equal conversation. And Winner's Color Choice Shrubs, we 373 00:23:01,839 --> 00:23:04,680 know that a better landscape starts with a better shrub. 374 00:23:04,880 --> 00:23:07,720 Our team of experts tests and evaluates all of our 375 00:23:07,759 --> 00:23:10,720 flowering shrubs and evergreens for eight to ten years to 376 00:23:10,880 --> 00:23:15,240 ensure they outperform what's already on the market. For easycare, reliable, 377 00:23:15,400 --> 00:23:19,119 beautiful shrubs to accentuate your home and express your personal style. 378 00:23:19,240 --> 00:23:21,920 Look for Proven Winner's Shrubs in the distinctive white container 379 00:23:22,160 --> 00:23:24,599 at your local garden center, or learn more at Proven 380 00:23:24,599 --> 00:23:30,079 Winner's Color Choice dot com. Greeting's gardening friends, and welcome 381 00:23:30,119 --> 00:23:32,119 back to the Gardening Simplified Show, where the order of 382 00:23:32,160 --> 00:23:35,119 the day is all about the conifers. Especially as our 383 00:23:35,240 --> 00:23:39,079 landscapes the deciduous stuff goes dormant and falls into the background, 384 00:23:39,119 --> 00:23:42,599 those conifers become very central to our enjoyment of our 385 00:23:42,640 --> 00:23:45,599 gardens and our landscapes. And you know we're going to 386 00:23:45,759 --> 00:23:48,640 get to your gardening questions, but I forgot something very 387 00:23:48,640 --> 00:23:53,880 crucial in my long winded and convoluted discussion of conifers 388 00:23:53,880 --> 00:23:57,839 and cones and taxes. So taxes, like I said, the 389 00:23:57,880 --> 00:24:03,240 berries are very showy, the cones are very showy and visible. 390 00:24:04,640 --> 00:24:08,599 But taxes is a dioecious plant, which means that male 391 00:24:08,640 --> 00:24:12,880 and female plants are separate. So if you're concerned about 392 00:24:12,880 --> 00:24:16,559 having those very appealing looking red berries in your landscape, 393 00:24:16,640 --> 00:24:19,000 concerned that they will appeal to children or pets or whatever, 394 00:24:19,240 --> 00:24:22,119 all you have to do is get a male Taxes. Now, 395 00:24:22,119 --> 00:24:27,480 this isn't typically indicated on the plant tag. So Stonehenge you, 396 00:24:27,640 --> 00:24:30,039 which was today's plant on trial, is a female that 397 00:24:30,079 --> 00:24:34,160 will get fruit. But Stonehenge Dark Druid, which is that smaller, 398 00:24:34,279 --> 00:24:37,839 more rounded one that needs relatively little or no pruning, 399 00:24:38,599 --> 00:24:41,079 is a male. So it will not set any of 400 00:24:41,119 --> 00:24:44,640 those fruits. It just sets pollen to pollinate those female 401 00:24:44,680 --> 00:24:48,279 flowers on the female plants. So a good option if 402 00:24:48,359 --> 00:24:51,480 you are very concerned about those berries, they are out there, 403 00:24:51,559 --> 00:24:54,160 So that would be Stonehenge Dark Druid instead of the 404 00:24:54,279 --> 00:24:59,160 much taller female stonehenge you so, and. 405 00:24:59,079 --> 00:25:02,319 Speaker 1: For people keeping score at home, as we've talked about 406 00:25:02,319 --> 00:25:07,279 this Texas ta x US not the state of Texas 407 00:25:07,720 --> 00:25:10,079 and use ye. 408 00:25:09,559 --> 00:25:11,799 Speaker 2: W s oh yeah, thank you, not use guys. 409 00:25:12,039 --> 00:25:14,960 Speaker 1: We're not talking about me, you right. 410 00:25:15,200 --> 00:25:18,079 Speaker 2: Oh. I have one more fun fact about the taxes 411 00:25:18,119 --> 00:25:20,880 that I have to share because I was talking about 412 00:25:20,920 --> 00:25:25,440 its toxicity and uh it turns out that they have 413 00:25:25,519 --> 00:25:30,240 discovered that a compound in taxis is extremely useful in 414 00:25:30,279 --> 00:25:32,799 treating a number of different cancers. Oh wow, so. 415 00:25:33,079 --> 00:25:35,000 Speaker 1: Uh yeah, I did read that. 416 00:25:35,480 --> 00:25:38,319 Speaker 2: So even though it's uh, you know, it's just it's 417 00:25:38,359 --> 00:25:40,599 funny that we all just have this very different idea 418 00:25:40,640 --> 00:25:42,519 of what taxes is. It's not noble at all. In 419 00:25:42,519 --> 00:25:45,599 the US, it's just like humdrum. In the UK, it's 420 00:25:45,640 --> 00:25:48,440 super noble, but here it is saving lives. In the background. Well, 421 00:25:48,480 --> 00:25:49,680 we all do our work, so. 422 00:25:49,759 --> 00:25:50,519 Speaker 1: It is exciting. 423 00:25:50,559 --> 00:25:52,279 Speaker 2: That is exciting, you bet all right? What do we 424 00:25:52,319 --> 00:25:53,000 got in the mail bag? 425 00:25:53,119 --> 00:25:56,000 Speaker 1: Finally, in the mail bag after our backdrops, fences and 426 00:25:56,079 --> 00:26:00,240 Screens episode Back in September, listener Carol wrote us you 427 00:26:00,279 --> 00:26:03,559 wanted to know about Barb Edwyer. I went to school 428 00:26:03,559 --> 00:26:08,119 at Northern Illinois University and visited this museum many years ago. 429 00:26:08,960 --> 00:26:14,279 Enjoy and Carol sent us information on the Elwood House 430 00:26:14,920 --> 00:26:19,880 that's based on Isaac Elwood, the guy who invented barbed boys. 431 00:26:20,039 --> 00:26:23,440 Speaker 2: Yes, so it's into Calb, Illinois, which happens to be 432 00:26:23,480 --> 00:26:27,039 where Proven Winners is also headquartered. Yep, if you can 433 00:26:27,079 --> 00:26:30,920 believe that. And so you know Carol's response. I loved 434 00:26:30,960 --> 00:26:32,799 what she was saying about this because I didn't know 435 00:26:32,839 --> 00:26:35,319 really about the history of barbed wire, hadn't really given 436 00:26:35,359 --> 00:26:37,200 it much thought. But I'm always willing to learn some 437 00:26:37,279 --> 00:26:41,799 fun facts, as you just saw. But yeah, so these 438 00:26:41,920 --> 00:26:45,079 three guys into Calb were sitting around trying to come 439 00:26:45,119 --> 00:26:49,119 up with a way to limit livestock and discovered barbed 440 00:26:49,119 --> 00:26:52,359 wire made a small fortune and you can actually visit 441 00:26:52,400 --> 00:26:55,400 the house that he was able to build. Well it 442 00:26:55,440 --> 00:26:59,319 is it. Yeah, it's really quite interesting. But while I 443 00:26:59,359 --> 00:27:02,240 was looking at this Elwood House website, which will of 444 00:27:02,319 --> 00:27:07,279 course link in the YouTube version, they talked about the 445 00:27:07,319 --> 00:27:12,920 antique the Antique barbed Wire Society website, and it turns 446 00:27:12,960 --> 00:27:17,920 out that there is this community of collectors of antique 447 00:27:18,200 --> 00:27:21,839 barbed wire. This is a whole thing and it's and 448 00:27:21,920 --> 00:27:24,480 I understand, because really, barbed wire is what quote unquote 449 00:27:24,519 --> 00:27:27,720 tamed the West, you know, it really changed how people 450 00:27:28,319 --> 00:27:29,759 managed land. 451 00:27:30,480 --> 00:27:33,079 Speaker 1: Served a purpose without restricting the view. 452 00:27:33,240 --> 00:27:35,799 Speaker 2: Yeah, and so it played this huge role. So I 453 00:27:35,839 --> 00:27:38,559 get I can get why people, you know, collected as 454 00:27:38,599 --> 00:27:43,640 part of that history. The Kansas Barbed Wire Museum and Lacrosse, 455 00:27:43,720 --> 00:27:49,880 Kansas boasts that they display over two thousand varieties of 456 00:27:49,960 --> 00:27:52,680 barbed wire and each one is unique. 457 00:27:52,880 --> 00:27:57,480 Speaker 1: Yeah, and it's true. You go back to Isaac Elwood. 458 00:27:57,960 --> 00:28:02,079 His claim to fame was the two strand twisted barbed wire. 459 00:28:02,599 --> 00:28:04,759 That was his thing. And this guy was what I 460 00:28:04,799 --> 00:28:08,920 would call a real entremneur, so to speak. He started 461 00:28:08,920 --> 00:28:13,400 out in business sauer Kraut, selling sauer kraut. Then he 462 00:28:13,480 --> 00:28:18,240 went on the California gold Rush, comes back, starts a 463 00:28:18,279 --> 00:28:21,039 hardware store, and then in the back of the hardware 464 00:28:21,079 --> 00:28:23,200 store they start making barbed wire. 465 00:28:23,319 --> 00:28:25,119 Speaker 2: Oh. I was afraid you're going to say making sauer 466 00:28:25,160 --> 00:28:27,559 kraut because I would not get the customers into the 467 00:28:28,279 --> 00:28:29,960 into the hardware store. 468 00:28:30,279 --> 00:28:30,519 Speaker 1: Yeah. 469 00:28:30,519 --> 00:28:33,279 Speaker 2: So a fascinating history here, and I really had no 470 00:28:33,359 --> 00:28:36,839 idea that there were all of this community of barbed 471 00:28:36,839 --> 00:28:39,519 wire collectors. So thank you so much Carol for that 472 00:28:40,240 --> 00:28:42,799 fun diversion. I learned a. 473 00:28:42,759 --> 00:28:46,079 Speaker 1: Lot same here. Yolanda writes, I want to create a 474 00:28:46,119 --> 00:28:48,960 new bed at the foothill foot of a hill in 475 00:28:49,039 --> 00:28:52,119 a full sun area. Problem is there are black walnut 476 00:28:52,119 --> 00:28:54,759 trees on the hill and it's not my property. I 477 00:28:54,839 --> 00:28:57,720 had that same problem at a home that I owned. 478 00:28:58,200 --> 00:29:03,240 I do have hosta's still be hellibor brunera, and a 479 00:29:03,319 --> 00:29:06,599 hydrangea on the shaded depart shade side of the bed 480 00:29:06,640 --> 00:29:09,599 which appeared to be doing okay. Any suggestions. I want 481 00:29:09,640 --> 00:29:13,039 to plant a flowering dogwood tree which would be next 482 00:29:13,039 --> 00:29:16,440 to some pine trees which would provide some protection, or 483 00:29:16,480 --> 00:29:20,400 a red bud, as well as other shrubs and perennials. 484 00:29:20,640 --> 00:29:22,160 Speaker 2: Well, you know, one of the reasons I thought that 485 00:29:22,200 --> 00:29:25,599 it was a great time to answer Yolanda's question is 486 00:29:25,720 --> 00:29:28,640 because if you have a black walnuts in your vicinity, 487 00:29:28,880 --> 00:29:32,599 the nuts are a fallen like crazy. The squirrels are 488 00:29:32,599 --> 00:29:36,000 going bananas burying those things and breaking them up. I 489 00:29:36,000 --> 00:29:37,759 know every day I come home to find a squirrel, 490 00:29:38,000 --> 00:29:40,279 you know, sat on some chair and busted it all up, 491 00:29:40,319 --> 00:29:44,240 and there's walnut bits all over. So a lot of 492 00:29:44,240 --> 00:29:48,200 people when it comes to jugglon, the chemical that walnuts 493 00:29:48,240 --> 00:29:52,680 can secrete that can impair the growth of neighboring pints 494 00:29:52,759 --> 00:29:58,480 in a phenomenon known as alellapathy. It is primarily from 495 00:29:58,519 --> 00:30:02,200 the fallen leaves, fruit and branches more so than the roots. 496 00:30:02,359 --> 00:30:04,240 Speaker 1: I agree, and that's what I was going to say. 497 00:30:04,279 --> 00:30:07,079 When I own this property, you have to be out 498 00:30:07,079 --> 00:30:07,720 there cleaning. 499 00:30:07,839 --> 00:30:10,119 Speaker 2: Yeah, you got to clean it up. People tend to 500 00:30:10,119 --> 00:30:12,599 think it's just emanating out of the roots, and that 501 00:30:12,799 --> 00:30:16,319 is true for some very sensitive plants like tomatoes. A 502 00:30:16,319 --> 00:30:20,960 tomato cannot grow anywhere near a walnut. But for the 503 00:30:21,000 --> 00:30:23,720 most part, if you just have a walnut that is 504 00:30:23,799 --> 00:30:26,640 dropping foliage and fruit especially that's one of the worst 505 00:30:27,119 --> 00:30:29,519 and branches on your garden, if you are able to 506 00:30:29,559 --> 00:30:34,680 clean that up, you will greatly mitigate the negative potential 507 00:30:34,680 --> 00:30:37,839 effects of growing a walnut. So, Yolanda, I did want 508 00:30:37,880 --> 00:30:39,279 to bring that up because I think that a lot 509 00:30:39,279 --> 00:30:41,519 of people, you know, just kind of assume that a 510 00:30:41,559 --> 00:30:43,759 walnut is a death sentence and is really going to 511 00:30:43,880 --> 00:30:48,119 narrow down your options where it really can be, you know, 512 00:30:48,480 --> 00:30:51,160 solved with some sanitation. Now that's easier so than done, 513 00:30:51,200 --> 00:30:53,119 because of course, picking up a ton of walnuts is 514 00:30:53,160 --> 00:30:54,599 not a fun. 515 00:30:54,440 --> 00:30:56,640 Speaker 1: Trip for anybody with the lawnmower. 516 00:30:56,880 --> 00:31:01,319 Speaker 2: Just nuts and of course that you know nasty hull 517 00:31:01,799 --> 00:31:04,400 husk thing that they have even if you pick them up, 518 00:31:04,440 --> 00:31:09,480 that's still you know, left behind or and you smell. Yeah, 519 00:31:09,720 --> 00:31:15,039 it's used as a dye. Fascinating stuff, but so and 520 00:31:15,079 --> 00:31:16,480 it also helps a lot if you can give the 521 00:31:17,039 --> 00:31:20,599 area enough water because that if they're drought stress, that 522 00:31:20,759 --> 00:31:24,079 is another factor that will really influence it. Now, we 523 00:31:24,160 --> 00:31:27,720 will share some links on YouTube of some resources out 524 00:31:27,720 --> 00:31:30,839 there from universities of plants that are believed to be 525 00:31:30,920 --> 00:31:34,200 resistant to jug loan. But I will tell you that 526 00:31:34,400 --> 00:31:38,079 my frustration with them is that they are often contradictory. 527 00:31:38,400 --> 00:31:40,400 You know, you will look at one university's website and 528 00:31:40,400 --> 00:31:42,400 that will say this is resistant and another one will 529 00:31:42,400 --> 00:31:45,839 say it's susceptible. Because there are just so many factors 530 00:31:46,200 --> 00:31:50,279 that go into a plant's ability to tolerate jug loans. 531 00:31:50,279 --> 00:31:53,680 So it's not a scientific thing necessarily where we can 532 00:31:53,720 --> 00:31:57,319 say these work and these don't, because it does depend 533 00:31:57,400 --> 00:31:59,160 so much on what part of the wall that you're 534 00:31:59,200 --> 00:32:02,119 exposed to and how much water it gets, what your 535 00:32:02,160 --> 00:32:05,039 soil is like, all of those factors. So there's definitely 536 00:32:05,039 --> 00:32:07,559 some very very sensitive plants you can avoid or you 537 00:32:07,559 --> 00:32:10,440 should avoid. But like, for example, you know, Yolanda mentions 538 00:32:10,480 --> 00:32:13,000 that she has a hydrangea. Now I would say hydrangea 539 00:32:13,039 --> 00:32:16,240 appears on almost every list of sensitive plants, but she 540 00:32:16,279 --> 00:32:20,279 seems to be growing one without any problem whatsoever. 541 00:32:20,759 --> 00:32:23,240 Speaker 1: So I think your point is well taken. Clean up 542 00:32:23,279 --> 00:32:26,559 the debris, and that is much easier said than done. 543 00:32:26,640 --> 00:32:30,519 They are messy trees, especially if you have a windstorm. 544 00:32:30,640 --> 00:32:33,640 Come oh yeah, but I agree with you on those 545 00:32:33,759 --> 00:32:40,119 university sites. For my purpose, I had success with service 546 00:32:40,200 --> 00:32:46,519 berry or juneberry, river birch, sweet gum and dogwood did work. 547 00:32:46,720 --> 00:32:50,519 Speaker 2: Oh by black walnuts, that's good to know. That's good 548 00:32:50,559 --> 00:32:52,960 to know. I think mulch will also help you a 549 00:32:52,960 --> 00:32:56,319 lot from you know, having that stuff directly contact the plant. 550 00:32:56,599 --> 00:33:00,000 The way to know if your plant is being influenced 551 00:33:00,160 --> 00:33:04,000 negatively by jug loan is that they will typically wilt 552 00:33:04,160 --> 00:33:07,160 or turn black. So it's not really And when I 553 00:33:07,160 --> 00:33:08,720 say turn black, I'm not like saying, you know, it 554 00:33:08,799 --> 00:33:11,480 turns brown. I'm saying like it will go black black 555 00:33:12,559 --> 00:33:15,720 and look immediately very sick. And that happened to some 556 00:33:15,759 --> 00:33:17,720 friends of mine with their tomatoes. So again, when you 557 00:33:17,799 --> 00:33:20,559 have those sensitive plants, they're going to go black and 558 00:33:20,559 --> 00:33:23,559 they're going to die, and there is no recovery. Whereas 559 00:33:23,880 --> 00:33:26,680 a plant that's maybe somewhat sensitive, or as only sensitive 560 00:33:26,720 --> 00:33:29,440 because maybe it's too dry, you might actually be able 561 00:33:29,480 --> 00:33:32,200 to see it wilt and be able to move that 562 00:33:32,440 --> 00:33:36,519 to a walnut free area in time to save its life. 563 00:33:37,000 --> 00:33:39,039 But it's a complicated issue, and I wish there were 564 00:33:39,079 --> 00:33:43,240 simple answers, but there really are not. But again, we'll 565 00:33:43,240 --> 00:33:45,799 provide the resources resources that we do have and try 566 00:33:45,839 --> 00:33:49,039 to help you make good decisions about your planting project. 567 00:33:49,319 --> 00:33:50,839 We're going to take a little break and when we 568 00:33:50,880 --> 00:33:54,759 come back, we are continuing our conversation about conifers, So 569 00:33:54,759 --> 00:34:04,599 stay tuned. Thanks for listening to the Gardening Simplified Podcast, 570 00:34:04,759 --> 00:34:07,480 brought to you by Proven Winners Color Choice Shrubs. Our 571 00:34:07,519 --> 00:34:10,519 award winning flowering shrubs and evergreens are trialed and tested 572 00:34:10,559 --> 00:34:13,440 by experts with your success in mind. Learn more at 573 00:34:13,519 --> 00:34:17,079 Proven Winners color Choice dot com. 574 00:34:17,280 --> 00:34:19,960 Speaker 1: Welcome back to the Gardening Simplified Show and Stacy, as 575 00:34:19,960 --> 00:34:26,480 I said, my primary nostalgic attachment to conifers is selling 576 00:34:26,559 --> 00:34:30,119 Christmas trees over forty six years in a garden center. 577 00:34:31,239 --> 00:34:34,320 You come home at night and you're clothing, your hair, 578 00:34:34,480 --> 00:34:37,639 everything just full of needles. You get into the shower, 579 00:34:37,760 --> 00:34:40,800 there's needles all over the bathroom floor. But the one 580 00:34:40,800 --> 00:34:43,519 thing that I learned about selling these Christmas trees is 581 00:34:43,559 --> 00:34:46,719 that as families with young kids come to pick out 582 00:34:46,719 --> 00:34:52,440 the family Christmas tree, like Clark w Griswold, their ability 583 00:34:52,480 --> 00:34:55,599 to pick out a tree and agree on it is 584 00:34:55,760 --> 00:35:00,519 completely contingent on the weather conditions makes sense. It's cold 585 00:35:00,519 --> 00:35:02,840 and snowy and windy. They can decide on a tree 586 00:35:02,880 --> 00:35:07,679 in thirty seconds flat if it's beautiful outside. Sometimes I've 587 00:35:07,719 --> 00:35:13,480 seen families take two three hours out the family Christmas tree. 588 00:35:14,039 --> 00:35:18,679 So conifers. Let's talk about conifers a little more, and 589 00:35:18,800 --> 00:35:24,440 speaking of garden centers, one of the things to look 590 00:35:24,480 --> 00:35:27,199 for is whether or not the tree is root bound 591 00:35:27,559 --> 00:35:31,400 when you purchase it. And again years ago in the 592 00:35:31,440 --> 00:35:35,239 seventies and eighties, most of these conifers we were selling 593 00:35:35,280 --> 00:35:39,599 Stacey were bald and burlap, and in a bald and 594 00:35:39,679 --> 00:35:44,280 burlap situation, it's usually heavy clay soil that you would 595 00:35:44,280 --> 00:35:50,719 find and heavy to move around. Now most grown in 596 00:35:51,039 --> 00:35:55,480 pots and containers, but it's important to take a look 597 00:35:55,480 --> 00:35:59,480 at take a look at that. An important thing also 598 00:35:59,480 --> 00:36:02,880 if you're playing in conifers in your landscape is and 599 00:36:02,960 --> 00:36:04,599 I want to make sure to point this out because 600 00:36:04,599 --> 00:36:07,320 I see this mistake made often, and that is how 601 00:36:07,440 --> 00:36:12,159 deeply buried is the root flare. The root flare is 602 00:36:12,239 --> 00:36:15,280 at the base of the plant. It's where the trunk 603 00:36:15,400 --> 00:36:21,639 flares out, and it's critical that that be visible at 604 00:36:21,679 --> 00:36:25,719 the soil's surface. So if you just as is the 605 00:36:25,719 --> 00:36:30,079 case with many woody plants that we put in the ground, Stacey, 606 00:36:30,199 --> 00:36:33,679 we are planting them, we're not burying them. And so 607 00:36:34,679 --> 00:36:39,559 if you get this thing too deep and water becomes 608 00:36:39,559 --> 00:36:43,119 a problem, too much water, that's when we really start 609 00:36:43,159 --> 00:36:45,800 to see conifers struggle for sure. 610 00:36:45,920 --> 00:36:48,559 Speaker 2: Yeah, you're no tree that you plant, whether conifer or 611 00:36:48,599 --> 00:36:51,119 anything else, should look like a phone pole. You should 612 00:36:51,199 --> 00:36:53,400 have that. You should have it to be straight and 613 00:36:53,440 --> 00:36:56,679 then that gentle flare, And I would say buy and large. 614 00:36:56,920 --> 00:37:00,639 Well drained soil is very crucial for most conifers. But 615 00:37:00,679 --> 00:37:04,719 of course boltzypress grows in standing water, so there's always 616 00:37:04,719 --> 00:37:06,760 an exception. And that's a really cool thing. Because you 617 00:37:06,800 --> 00:37:10,480 can use that to find the perfect conifer for just 618 00:37:10,679 --> 00:37:13,079 about any spot. You know, we really can't just say 619 00:37:13,559 --> 00:37:17,480 conifers need these conditions. Like I said that Taxes one 620 00:37:17,480 --> 00:37:20,000 of the most shade tolerant evergreens, if not the most 621 00:37:20,039 --> 00:37:23,480 shade tolerant evergreen, Whereas there's plenty of conifers that if 622 00:37:23,480 --> 00:37:24,760 you try to put them in the shade, you're not 623 00:37:24,800 --> 00:37:27,840 going to get much at all. But there is one 624 00:37:27,960 --> 00:37:32,480 for every kind of different scenario because they are so diverse, 625 00:37:32,519 --> 00:37:36,119 and they occur just about everywhere, I think, on every continent. 626 00:37:36,280 --> 00:37:40,000 Speaker 1: Sure, sure now, And speaking of that, I'm glad you 627 00:37:40,039 --> 00:37:43,039 brought that up. I think it's important to know where 628 00:37:43,239 --> 00:37:47,519 a conifer is native too, In other words, what is 629 00:37:47,559 --> 00:37:50,599 the environment that it likes to grow in. Now, people 630 00:37:50,760 --> 00:37:53,320 love frasier furs, so do I. They make a great 631 00:37:53,400 --> 00:37:58,639 Christmas tree, straight trunks, very fragrant, beautiful, But they're growing 632 00:37:58,840 --> 00:38:02,159 up in the mountainous regions of let's say North Carolina. 633 00:38:02,199 --> 00:38:05,119 And if you don't have that humidity, basically, if you're 634 00:38:05,199 --> 00:38:09,199 unable to replicate where they're native too, you're going to 635 00:38:09,239 --> 00:38:12,679 have difficulty growing it in your landscape. 636 00:38:12,880 --> 00:38:15,039 Speaker 2: Right. Well, look what happened with blue spruce. You know, 637 00:38:15,079 --> 00:38:19,280 blue spruce got so so popular. It was everywhere. Blue 638 00:38:19,280 --> 00:38:22,480 spruce grows in the rocky mountains in Colorado, not in 639 00:38:22,840 --> 00:38:27,159 you know, the suburbs of Detroit, where you know, summers 640 00:38:27,199 --> 00:38:30,239 are hot and winters are cold and wet and not arid. 641 00:38:30,800 --> 00:38:33,599 And yet it was such a popular tree. And now 642 00:38:33,599 --> 00:38:35,559 they're all dying because they got stressed, because they are 643 00:38:35,599 --> 00:38:39,159 not in the right conditions for how they want to grow. 644 00:38:39,280 --> 00:38:42,280 Speaker 1: Yeah, and you watch them decline out there, and there's 645 00:38:42,440 --> 00:38:47,639 thousands of them. That's true. Back in the seventies and eighties, boy, 646 00:38:47,719 --> 00:38:50,599 we sold a lot of those oh it shows and 647 00:38:50,719 --> 00:38:55,519 it shows exactly. So make sure to make sure to 648 00:38:55,599 --> 00:38:59,559 do that. Also, one very popular thing in the garden 649 00:38:59,599 --> 00:39:03,400 center industry for years has been to bring a live 650 00:39:03,599 --> 00:39:08,480 conifer indoors for Christmas and decorate it so that you 651 00:39:08,559 --> 00:39:11,119 can plant it and then you have the memory of 652 00:39:11,199 --> 00:39:13,960 that tree for years and years. But make sure you 653 00:39:14,079 --> 00:39:16,920 prepare the whole before Christmas. 654 00:39:16,400 --> 00:39:17,679 Speaker 2: Like now would be a great time, and. 655 00:39:17,800 --> 00:39:20,559 Speaker 1: Now would be a great time. And then also make 656 00:39:20,639 --> 00:39:24,199 sure that that tree is not inside for long a 657 00:39:24,239 --> 00:39:27,599 week or two tops keep it away from a fireplace, 658 00:39:27,639 --> 00:39:29,760 heat register that sort of thing, you're going to have 659 00:39:30,119 --> 00:39:31,280 better success. 660 00:39:31,599 --> 00:39:33,400 Speaker 2: I mean, I think it's a great idea that people 661 00:39:33,440 --> 00:39:35,400 do that as long as they have the space, because 662 00:39:35,400 --> 00:39:37,440 of course, too many years of doing that, you're gonna 663 00:39:38,199 --> 00:39:40,360 you are going to run out of space. But it 664 00:39:40,440 --> 00:39:43,719 is pretty simple to do as long as you you know, again, 665 00:39:43,840 --> 00:39:46,599 prepare the hole for it now. I would even recommend 666 00:39:46,679 --> 00:39:49,880 that you put the excavated soil into the garage or 667 00:39:49,920 --> 00:39:52,679 basement or someplace that that isn't going to freeze. Here 668 00:39:52,679 --> 00:39:55,519 in Michigan we aren't usually super frozen by Christmas time, 669 00:39:55,559 --> 00:39:58,800 but you know better to have it available for you 670 00:39:58,840 --> 00:40:01,519 to actually plant. And then you know you're still going 671 00:40:01,559 --> 00:40:03,320 to want to water that in to settle the soil 672 00:40:03,400 --> 00:40:06,159 around it, and ye do keep it as cool as possible. 673 00:40:07,519 --> 00:40:09,599 And you know, I would say, if you're going to 674 00:40:09,679 --> 00:40:13,039 do that, you're doing that as a labor of love. Yes, 675 00:40:13,280 --> 00:40:16,679 it's not a cost savings. A Christmas tree is going 676 00:40:16,719 --> 00:40:19,639 to be far less expensive than a growing plant, but 677 00:40:19,719 --> 00:40:21,280 it is still a really nice thing to do. Whether 678 00:40:21,280 --> 00:40:23,800 it's your first Christmas as a couple, or you know, 679 00:40:23,880 --> 00:40:26,960 in commemoration of your first Christmas with your child, or 680 00:40:26,960 --> 00:40:29,559 something like that it can be really special, but it's 681 00:40:30,079 --> 00:40:33,519 done for the love of the tree, not as a 682 00:40:33,559 --> 00:40:36,920 money saving I think you know. 683 00:40:36,960 --> 00:40:40,719 Speaker 1: You mentioned that, and one of the primary memories I 684 00:40:40,840 --> 00:40:44,239 have of Christmas trees as a kid was my dad 685 00:40:44,320 --> 00:40:48,440 bought a Christmas tree a pine Christmas. It was Scotch pine. 686 00:40:49,239 --> 00:40:54,000 Bought the tree from a kmart for seventy five cents. 687 00:40:54,119 --> 00:40:56,519 Oh wow, and boy did it look like it. 688 00:40:57,360 --> 00:40:59,400 Speaker 2: I think pretty much all Scotch pines looked like the 689 00:40:59,519 --> 00:41:02,599 costs of ay five cents. It came heart, just my opinion. 690 00:41:02,639 --> 00:41:06,159 Speaker 1: And it fell over numerous times until my dad finally 691 00:41:06,159 --> 00:41:08,800 got sick of it, dragged it out of the house 692 00:41:09,079 --> 00:41:14,280 and stuck it in a neighbor's landscape in the dead 693 00:41:14,400 --> 00:41:18,440 of winter. The neighbor, of course, did not recognize that 694 00:41:18,599 --> 00:41:23,400 until the following summer when the needles started falling a 695 00:41:23,400 --> 00:41:26,639 lot turn brown. So many memories like that, you know. 696 00:41:26,719 --> 00:41:29,599 I also have memories when my kids were growing up, 697 00:41:30,000 --> 00:41:32,639 or in the seventies again, in the garden center, we 698 00:41:32,679 --> 00:41:37,519 would sell these incandescent bulbs on strings called C nine 699 00:41:37,760 --> 00:41:43,840 or C seven lights, and they were painted incandescent bulbs. 700 00:41:44,079 --> 00:41:48,360 The paint would flake off them. They were hot I'm 701 00:41:48,400 --> 00:41:51,840 outside putting them on the house like Clark w. Griswold 702 00:41:51,920 --> 00:41:56,079 on an aluminum ladder, stepping on the bulbs. It was horrid. 703 00:41:56,880 --> 00:42:00,960 In today's day and age, the led Christmas lights that 704 00:42:01,000 --> 00:42:03,519 are available are unbelievable. 705 00:42:03,719 --> 00:42:05,719 Speaker 2: Yeah, and you pair them with the little clips that 706 00:42:05,760 --> 00:42:07,280 they have to put on your house, you get that 707 00:42:07,400 --> 00:42:10,480 nice tidy line. Oh, it's a different world we're living in. 708 00:42:10,639 --> 00:42:15,119 Speaker 1: It is indestructible. I mean, just yeah, unreal. Anyhow, all 709 00:42:15,159 --> 00:42:17,360 these memories come back. Let's run down the list real 710 00:42:17,440 --> 00:42:20,480 quickly a minute. So we're talking conifers. We've got to 711 00:42:20,519 --> 00:42:24,599 start with the pine tree, right, so pine trees, then cypress. 712 00:42:24,679 --> 00:42:29,480 We mention the bald cypress. That's a conifer. Cedar trees right, 713 00:42:29,679 --> 00:42:31,719 evergreen conifers native. 714 00:42:31,920 --> 00:42:34,639 Speaker 2: Many Yeah, you know, cedars in cypress are definitely two 715 00:42:34,760 --> 00:42:38,639 very confusing terms. They're common names, so they don't benefit 716 00:42:38,679 --> 00:42:40,960 from that strict botanical definition. Like when I was going 717 00:42:40,960 --> 00:42:43,480 between fruit and cone and berry and all of that, 718 00:42:43,840 --> 00:42:46,719 those all have strict botanical definitions. These do not, So 719 00:42:46,760 --> 00:42:49,960 it can be a little bit confusing, but that's where 720 00:42:50,000 --> 00:42:51,000 scientific names come in. 721 00:42:51,960 --> 00:42:56,119 Speaker 1: Large trees, love them deciduous. You mentioned the beautiful color 722 00:42:56,280 --> 00:43:04,039 in fall use or taxes. We've all he covered that. Junipers, hemlock. 723 00:43:04,679 --> 00:43:07,599 I love hemlock trees, and it breaks my heart here 724 00:43:07,639 --> 00:43:12,719 in West Michigan with what's happening with the wooly adelgied insect, 725 00:43:12,800 --> 00:43:16,440 an invasive insect that's just wiping them out. And hemlocks 726 00:43:16,480 --> 00:43:19,360 are so beautiful, especially if you're taking a walk in 727 00:43:19,400 --> 00:43:26,159 the wintertime. Spruce trees spruces here there and everywhere around 728 00:43:26,199 --> 00:43:29,360 the United States, but spruce trees, they were not my 729 00:43:29,559 --> 00:43:32,880 favorite Christmas tree, and the needle retention was not good. 730 00:43:33,159 --> 00:43:36,800 And boy, they're real poky on your arms. Fur trees. 731 00:43:36,920 --> 00:43:40,719 I love fur trees, balsam fur, frasier fur, but my 732 00:43:40,840 --> 00:43:43,599 favorite's got to be Douglas fir. And again going back 733 00:43:43,639 --> 00:43:47,480 to Christmas time, which is in a fir exactly, you're correct, 734 00:43:47,719 --> 00:43:50,840 it is not a fur, but we call them Douglas fir. 735 00:43:51,440 --> 00:43:55,159 And of course at Christmas time, that citrusy type smelled 736 00:43:55,199 --> 00:43:58,920 to the foliage. Whenever we'd get the Christmas trees in 737 00:43:59,000 --> 00:44:00,920 at the garden center, that was one of the first 738 00:44:00,920 --> 00:44:03,960 things I did, just stick my face right into one 739 00:44:04,000 --> 00:44:06,719 of those trees and take a big sniff. 740 00:44:06,400 --> 00:44:09,000 Speaker 2: Well that must be why you had needles everywhere. Yes, 741 00:44:09,719 --> 00:44:12,880 it's true, but you're right. If you want that classic 742 00:44:13,280 --> 00:44:16,159 conifercent in your house for is the way to go, 743 00:44:16,239 --> 00:44:17,199 no question about it. 744 00:44:17,440 --> 00:44:20,760 Speaker 1: Would I be correct Stacy and saying arguably the biggest 745 00:44:20,800 --> 00:44:24,000 conifer in the world are Redwood's, like. 746 00:44:24,119 --> 00:44:27,079 Speaker 2: Just from size Redwood tree, Yeah, most likely, but I'm 747 00:44:27,119 --> 00:44:29,880 sure we've I'm sure someone could prove us wrong. Yeah, exactly, 748 00:44:29,960 --> 00:44:33,199 but I've seen them and they are amazing. This giant Sequoias, yeah, 749 00:44:33,239 --> 00:44:35,119 I mean yeah, I guess it depends on if you're 750 00:44:35,119 --> 00:44:38,679 talking with or height, but both of them are just incredible, 751 00:44:38,760 --> 00:44:42,480 incredible trees that everyone should should go see because well breathtaking. 752 00:44:42,880 --> 00:44:45,280 Speaker 1: Well I think we both agree. We love connif love 753 00:44:45,320 --> 00:44:49,440 them absolutely. Thanks Stacy, thanks Rick, Thanks Adriana, and thanks 754 00:44:49,480 --> 00:44:51,880 most of all to you for watching us on YouTube, 755 00:44:52,199 --> 00:44:55,480 listening to the radio, or looking for us where you 756 00:44:55,519 --> 00:45:02,000 get your favorite podcast. Have a great week.