1 00:00:02,759 --> 00:00:05,160 Speaker 1: Coming to you from Studio A here at Proven Winners 2 00:00:05,240 --> 00:00:08,960 Color Choice Shrubs. It's time for the Gardening Simplified radio 3 00:00:09,080 --> 00:00:13,560 podcast and YouTube show with Stacey Hervella Me, Rick weisst 4 00:00:13,599 --> 00:00:18,320 and our engineer and producer Adrianna Robinson. Well. Over the 5 00:00:18,359 --> 00:00:22,239 past few weeks, the Gardening Simplified Show has gone on 6 00:00:22,280 --> 00:00:25,800 the road. We've gone our separate ways on trips, and 7 00:00:25,920 --> 00:00:29,960 today we'll share some of those adventures with you. Stacey 8 00:00:30,039 --> 00:00:34,560 went to Japan, Adriana went to Australia, and I went 9 00:00:34,679 --> 00:00:41,119 to Costa Rica now Putavida. It's pure life. What a 10 00:00:41,159 --> 00:00:44,200 wonderful life it is. I loved Costa Rica. It was great. 11 00:00:44,320 --> 00:00:47,000 Speaker 2: I have heard great things. I have also had people 12 00:00:47,039 --> 00:00:49,799 say to me, if you go to Costa Rica, they're 13 00:00:49,799 --> 00:00:51,799 going to have to drag you away because they're going 14 00:00:51,840 --> 00:00:53,280 to go crazy from all the plants. 15 00:00:53,880 --> 00:00:58,880 Speaker 1: And there are many Americans, many Canadians who live in 16 00:00:58,920 --> 00:01:01,799 Costa Rica. I look, the US Department of States said 17 00:01:02,079 --> 00:01:06,959 one hundred and twenty thousand private US citizens, many including 18 00:01:07,040 --> 00:01:13,000 retirees like me and tourists, live in Costa Rica. So 19 00:01:13,040 --> 00:01:16,799 it's pretty cool. Twenty five percent of the land is conservation, 20 00:01:17,000 --> 00:01:22,079 with twelve ecological zones over one hundred national parks, reserves 21 00:01:22,120 --> 00:01:26,400 and protected lands. It was incredible, and the people there 22 00:01:26,439 --> 00:01:30,799 I found to be very very friendly. The people are 23 00:01:31,040 --> 00:01:36,359 very proud of their country. They're proud of their echodiversity, 24 00:01:36,560 --> 00:01:41,760 the plants, the birds, the animals. Every morning, at seven 25 00:01:41,799 --> 00:01:44,120 o'clock in the morning on the radio, they play the 26 00:01:44,239 --> 00:01:46,680 national anthem. Oh and I don't know if you've ever 27 00:01:46,719 --> 00:01:49,599 heard the national anthem of Costa Rica, but it's a 28 00:01:49,599 --> 00:01:54,719 pretty cool national anthem. You get adjusted pretty quickly for breakfast. 29 00:01:54,760 --> 00:01:59,719 Forget bacon and eggs. You quickly learn to eat gallo pinto. 30 00:02:00,319 --> 00:02:04,359 It's a breakfast breakfast staple essentially beans and rice. 31 00:02:04,840 --> 00:02:06,120 Speaker 2: Love it very good. 32 00:02:06,640 --> 00:02:11,400 Speaker 1: The people there I think are very healthy. Gallo pinto 33 00:02:11,599 --> 00:02:15,919 means spotted rooster. I don't know why. Nobody could tell 34 00:02:15,919 --> 00:02:18,840 me why, but it means spotted rooster. Of course, as 35 00:02:18,840 --> 00:02:27,360 far as agriculture and horticulture are concerned. Coffee, rice, banana, sugarcane, beans, citrus, plantains, 36 00:02:27,520 --> 00:02:32,240 which I found interesting stacy. You eat those for breakfast, 37 00:02:32,319 --> 00:02:37,599 chopped up and fried and just like climatis or clematis. 38 00:02:37,639 --> 00:02:41,319 Some people call them plantins and some people call them plantains. 39 00:02:41,680 --> 00:02:44,159 Speaker 2: Or platinos. If you're a goods. 40 00:02:44,439 --> 00:02:47,800 Speaker 1: There you go exactly, or platano, whatever it may be. 41 00:02:48,360 --> 00:02:53,840 But pie, passion, fruit, dragon fruit, coconuts, pineapple, watermelon, cantaloup. 42 00:02:54,199 --> 00:02:56,840 It goes on and on and Stacy. I thought of 43 00:02:56,919 --> 00:03:00,719 both you and Adriana often on my trip because if 44 00:03:00,800 --> 00:03:05,159 bird watching is a favorite pastime of yours, Costa Rica 45 00:03:05,360 --> 00:03:06,919 is a must visit place. 46 00:03:07,080 --> 00:03:09,479 Speaker 2: You know. There, I've read about so many different birding 47 00:03:09,520 --> 00:03:13,039 excursions and hotels resorts that are specifically up in the 48 00:03:13,080 --> 00:03:15,479 mountains for birding in it. It's definitely my dream to 49 00:03:15,479 --> 00:03:18,000 do one of those one day. And you saw some amazing. 50 00:03:17,560 --> 00:03:22,159 Speaker 1: Birds, amazing bird The two cans, of course, were just unreal. 51 00:03:22,360 --> 00:03:24,599 Tell me back to my childhood when I eat fruit 52 00:03:24,639 --> 00:03:25,879 loops for breakfast, you. 53 00:03:25,840 --> 00:03:30,400 Speaker 2: Know, Sam, So, were those just common, like, oh, there's 54 00:03:30,400 --> 00:03:32,639 another two can because you had multiple photos of them? 55 00:03:33,159 --> 00:03:35,800 Speaker 1: Yeah, and no. It was more so when we got 56 00:03:36,400 --> 00:03:41,159 into the rainforest area near the volcanoes. That's where I 57 00:03:41,240 --> 00:03:45,800 really saw the two cans, the sloths, which were just amazing. 58 00:03:46,439 --> 00:03:51,680 I had some personal interaction with some snakes yikes, like 59 00:03:51,759 --> 00:03:57,199 the eyelash eyelash pit viper. And this is a snake 60 00:03:57,319 --> 00:04:02,719 that preys on hummingbirds. Oh no, yeah, ziplining saw you know. 61 00:04:02,759 --> 00:04:04,719 They tell you not to go ziplining because it's not 62 00:04:04,919 --> 00:04:08,719 too safe. But it was fine, and I got up 63 00:04:08,759 --> 00:04:13,039 close and personal with the birds, hummingbirds. There's a social 64 00:04:13,199 --> 00:04:17,120 fly catcher called the kiss Kadi. I thought that bird 65 00:04:17,279 --> 00:04:20,480 was beautiful and if you're watching on YouTube, you can 66 00:04:20,519 --> 00:04:23,519 see a picture of that. I got a kick out 67 00:04:23,560 --> 00:04:28,079 of these white throated magpies. They look like bluebirds. No, 68 00:04:28,120 --> 00:04:31,319 not bluebirds, they look like blue jays with a little 69 00:04:31,360 --> 00:04:34,199 tuft on their head. And of course in Costa Rica 70 00:04:34,199 --> 00:04:36,920 it's nice and warm, so the restaurants are open air. 71 00:04:37,759 --> 00:04:41,720 And every morning I'd watch these guys, the locals there 72 00:04:41,759 --> 00:04:47,000 call them horakas, and these horakas would gather on tables 73 00:04:47,120 --> 00:04:50,199 and railings outside of the restaurant and you'd watch them 74 00:04:50,240 --> 00:04:53,800 have a little conference, a little meeting, and they would debate, 75 00:04:53,879 --> 00:04:56,160 and then finally one of them would be knocked to 76 00:04:56,240 --> 00:05:01,079 the ground, and I guess that's the designated hraka to 77 00:05:01,120 --> 00:05:04,480 make a venture into the restaurant to see what kind 78 00:05:04,519 --> 00:05:08,319 of food or snacks the haroca could find. And I 79 00:05:08,480 --> 00:05:11,879 watched every morning someone would be pushed to the ground. 80 00:05:11,959 --> 00:05:15,519 The horocca would fly into the open air restaurant and 81 00:05:15,800 --> 00:05:19,040 return about thirty seconds later with two sugar packets in 82 00:05:19,079 --> 00:05:21,800 their mouth, and they would drop them on the floor 83 00:05:21,839 --> 00:05:24,079 and then there'd just be an all out brawl. They'd 84 00:05:24,079 --> 00:05:27,720 fight over the sugar, and then the whole thing would 85 00:05:27,920 --> 00:05:29,120 repeat itself. 86 00:05:29,240 --> 00:05:31,720 Speaker 2: Well, you know, not many places can boast free entertainment 87 00:05:31,720 --> 00:05:33,720 at breakfast, so that is impressive. 88 00:05:34,720 --> 00:05:37,920 Speaker 1: But it was fun for me. You know, I live 89 00:05:37,959 --> 00:05:42,079 in Michigan and enjoy the hummingbirds, the Baltimore Orioles in 90 00:05:42,279 --> 00:05:45,680 spring and summer, and to see them vacationing down there 91 00:05:45,680 --> 00:05:50,319 in Costa Rica was pretty cool. Speaking of flying, it 92 00:05:50,360 --> 00:05:54,600 took four attempts to land the plane in Liberia. 93 00:05:54,680 --> 00:05:55,920 Speaker 2: Oh dear for a tech. 94 00:05:56,000 --> 00:05:58,199 Speaker 1: Now, I didn't land the plane. It was the nice 95 00:05:58,279 --> 00:06:03,000 Delta Airlines pilot who landed the plane due to debris 96 00:06:03,040 --> 00:06:09,040 on the runway, potholes and torrential downpours. And that brings 97 00:06:09,040 --> 00:06:10,759 me to my next point. If you're going to go 98 00:06:10,759 --> 00:06:15,240 out traveling and enjoying plants, my gim a rick for 99 00:06:15,360 --> 00:06:18,519 the week. These are life hacks. You can use travel 100 00:06:18,600 --> 00:06:22,560 on the shoulder seasons because you get better deals and 101 00:06:22,680 --> 00:06:26,759 fewer crowds just don't go when the rainy season is 102 00:06:27,439 --> 00:06:34,360 supposed to end torrential downpours, unbelievable tropical depression, Hurricane Sarah. 103 00:06:35,360 --> 00:06:38,160 And that leads me to my limb a rick for 104 00:06:38,240 --> 00:06:43,279 the week. I had an inspiration, eureka, why not travel 105 00:06:43,399 --> 00:06:47,279 to Costa Rica? Despite the rain? I went. The weather 106 00:06:47,439 --> 00:06:53,480 did circumvent my route through Lovely Topeka. Actually I was 107 00:06:53,480 --> 00:06:58,240 circumvented through Atlanta, but Atlanta doesn't rhyme with coast. 108 00:06:57,959 --> 00:06:59,240 Speaker 2: Of fair Enough. 109 00:06:59,399 --> 00:07:03,519 Speaker 1: Okay, thanks, as far as plant material is concerned, Bird 110 00:07:03,560 --> 00:07:06,800 of Paradise is a big deal in Costa Rica. But 111 00:07:07,079 --> 00:07:12,759 interestingly enough, it's really not bird of Paradise. It's heliconias. 112 00:07:12,800 --> 00:07:18,439 Heliconias are native to Central and South America. Whereas the 113 00:07:18,639 --> 00:07:21,800 bird of Paradise Strelitzia was a plant that I would 114 00:07:21,879 --> 00:07:24,279 often bring up to the garden center. People love it. 115 00:07:24,600 --> 00:07:29,199 The foliage looks like bananas. Same thing with the heliconia, 116 00:07:29,240 --> 00:07:33,800 which the hummingbirds in Costa Rica just love. They call 117 00:07:33,839 --> 00:07:40,519 it false bird of Paradise or Pico deloro parrots beak 118 00:07:40,800 --> 00:07:43,240 because they do look like some of those toucans that 119 00:07:43,319 --> 00:07:44,720 I pictures of the Tucans. 120 00:07:44,800 --> 00:07:47,399 Speaker 2: Yeah, they do. You know, when I was at the 121 00:07:47,399 --> 00:07:50,399 New York Botanical Garden, they had an incredible collection heliconias, 122 00:07:50,959 --> 00:07:52,720 and the common name that they would usually put on 123 00:07:52,720 --> 00:07:53,639 them was lobster claw. 124 00:07:53,800 --> 00:07:56,279 Speaker 1: Yes, lobster claw, which. 125 00:07:55,639 --> 00:07:57,839 Speaker 2: Is accurate as the parrots beak. 126 00:07:57,920 --> 00:08:03,560 Speaker 1: So you're right, yeah, just amazing the biodiversity in Costa Rica. 127 00:08:03,639 --> 00:08:05,839 So if you're into plants, you're into birds, I recommend 128 00:08:05,879 --> 00:08:09,519 you go the Guanacosta Tree. What a huge crown on 129 00:08:09,600 --> 00:08:12,959 that tree provides shade in the hot weather. Some people 130 00:08:13,040 --> 00:08:15,519 refer to it as elephant ear tree because of the 131 00:08:15,560 --> 00:08:20,360 seed pods. The blue water in the waterfalls in proximity 132 00:08:20,480 --> 00:08:26,920 to the volcanoes in the northwestern province of Guanacosta just unreal, 133 00:08:27,000 --> 00:08:30,240 I mean waterfalls in general. And then to see plants 134 00:08:30,279 --> 00:08:33,960 like Philodendron cordatum just lining the walls, plants that I 135 00:08:34,039 --> 00:08:36,600 used to sell in the garden center and hanging baskets 136 00:08:36,639 --> 00:08:40,240 and just growing in the wild. I mentioned the coffee, 137 00:08:40,320 --> 00:08:43,799 the landscape and the vistas. It's so diverse. There was 138 00:08:43,840 --> 00:08:48,759 a really cool tree called sandpaper leaf. You grab the 139 00:08:48,799 --> 00:08:51,559 foliage and it is as rough as sandpaper. 140 00:08:51,799 --> 00:08:52,960 Speaker 2: Interesting unreal. 141 00:08:53,080 --> 00:08:57,039 Speaker 1: The snakes, the sloths, the lizards on the roof on 142 00:08:57,080 --> 00:09:01,600 the clay tile roof, the leaf cutter ants watching. 143 00:09:01,320 --> 00:09:02,759 Speaker 2: Them, those are amazing. 144 00:09:02,799 --> 00:09:07,080 Speaker 1: They're fascinating. The monkeys I could not get used to 145 00:09:07,120 --> 00:09:10,960 the howling monkeys or the howler monkeys. Man, do they 146 00:09:11,000 --> 00:09:15,080 make a racket at dawn and at dusk? So the 147 00:09:15,120 --> 00:09:19,039 papaya trees made me think of Steve Miller band. You know, 148 00:09:19,120 --> 00:09:23,559 I brought you a creative papayas chewing on sugarcane. So 149 00:09:24,159 --> 00:09:26,919 the lawn and short of it is, if you get 150 00:09:26,919 --> 00:09:30,320 the opportunity to go to Costa Rica, don't go during 151 00:09:30,320 --> 00:09:34,639 the rainy season. Even though the rainforest was just beautiful. 152 00:09:35,399 --> 00:09:38,679 But I recommend that you not go during the rainy season. 153 00:09:38,720 --> 00:09:46,200 But what a wonderful country, wonderful people and horticulturally agriculture birds. 154 00:09:46,759 --> 00:09:47,600 It's a paradise. 155 00:09:47,960 --> 00:09:49,639 Speaker 2: Did you see an equal frogs? 156 00:09:49,919 --> 00:09:52,840 Speaker 1: Yes, incredible frogs. As a matter of fact, we have 157 00:09:52,879 --> 00:09:55,919 a picture for the YouTube version of the show. Got 158 00:09:56,039 --> 00:09:59,519 up and up close and personal to sloth, snakes and 159 00:09:59,639 --> 00:10:02,600 frog and the red eyed green foot. 160 00:10:02,600 --> 00:10:03,600 Speaker 2: Oh so beautiful. 161 00:10:03,840 --> 00:10:08,120 Speaker 1: They're gorgeous, unreal. So I recommend you make a trip 162 00:10:08,519 --> 00:10:11,919 to Costa Rica and go to Topeka too if you want. 163 00:10:12,799 --> 00:10:14,679 Speaker 2: Well, it sounds great, but I'll tell you if I went, 164 00:10:14,720 --> 00:10:16,519 I think I would probably have to go for two 165 00:10:16,519 --> 00:10:18,679 weeks because it would probably take me like an entire 166 00:10:18,759 --> 00:10:19,759 day to go fifty yards. 167 00:10:20,399 --> 00:10:23,720 Speaker 1: Unbelievable, It really is. It really is kid in a 168 00:10:23,759 --> 00:10:27,200 candy store. Coming up next Adriana, we'll talk about Australia. 169 00:10:27,720 --> 00:10:32,320 Stacey will talk about Japan. That's on The Gardening Simplified Show. 170 00:10:37,519 --> 00:10:40,679 Speaker 2: Proven Winner's Color Choice Shrubs cares about your success in 171 00:10:40,720 --> 00:10:43,200 the garden. That's why we trial and test all of 172 00:10:43,200 --> 00:10:45,799 our shrubs for eight to ten years, making sure they 173 00:10:45,840 --> 00:10:48,519 outperform everything else on the market. Look for them in 174 00:10:48,600 --> 00:10:53,639 the distinctive white container at your local garden center. Reading's 175 00:10:53,679 --> 00:10:56,679 gardening friends, and welcome back to the Gardening Simplified Show. 176 00:10:56,679 --> 00:10:59,120 Today we are ripping up the script. We're doing things 177 00:10:59,159 --> 00:11:02,120 totally different because all three of us have taken some 178 00:11:02,200 --> 00:11:04,759 pretty amazing vacations. We've been lucky enough to do that 179 00:11:05,240 --> 00:11:07,279 over the past couple of months, and we wanted to 180 00:11:07,320 --> 00:11:10,120 tell you about what we did and what we saw 181 00:11:10,279 --> 00:11:13,440 and maybe get you inspired to take a vacation. Plant 182 00:11:13,440 --> 00:11:16,480 based vacation of your own. So I am going to 183 00:11:16,559 --> 00:11:18,639 hand it over to Adriana, who's going to tell you 184 00:11:18,639 --> 00:11:20,600 about her trip to Australia. But before I do that, 185 00:11:21,039 --> 00:11:23,480 I do want to mention since we're talking about Adriana, 186 00:11:23,559 --> 00:11:26,480 our editor and producer and who does all of our YouTube. 187 00:11:26,559 --> 00:11:29,360 Of course, this is a great episode to join us 188 00:11:29,639 --> 00:11:33,279 for on YouTube because there are run me so many photos, videos, 189 00:11:33,360 --> 00:11:35,679 stuff like that that we took of our vacation. So 190 00:11:36,159 --> 00:11:38,440 if you were interested, it would definitely be a good 191 00:11:38,480 --> 00:11:40,480 one to tune in. Just go to YouTube and type 192 00:11:40,480 --> 00:11:44,039 in gardening some fun. Yes, all right, so let's kick 193 00:11:44,080 --> 00:11:44,360 it off. 194 00:11:44,440 --> 00:11:48,399 Speaker 3: I visited Australia and Tasmania in October, so while that 195 00:11:48,679 --> 00:11:51,399 was fall for us here in the Northern Hemisphere, it 196 00:11:51,480 --> 00:11:55,159 was spring down there. The first stop that I made 197 00:11:55,200 --> 00:11:58,080 was in Sydney, and in Sydney I have to talk 198 00:11:58,159 --> 00:12:04,080 about the jacaranda trees. The scientific name is Jacaranda mimosa folia. Yeah, 199 00:12:04,120 --> 00:12:07,519 that's it, and it is in the family Bignoni a sea, 200 00:12:07,600 --> 00:12:10,000 which is the trumpet vine family. These trees have been 201 00:12:10,080 --> 00:12:13,600 growing steadily in Australia for around one hundred and fifty years. 202 00:12:13,919 --> 00:12:17,279 They are not native to the area, they are originally 203 00:12:17,360 --> 00:12:20,600 from parts of Central and South America, and they think 204 00:12:20,639 --> 00:12:24,159 that the seeds were brought along with sea captains from 205 00:12:24,240 --> 00:12:29,000 South America. This species epithet means having leaves like a mimosa, 206 00:12:29,039 --> 00:12:31,279 and the leaves truly did look like a mimosa tree 207 00:12:31,279 --> 00:12:33,159 with that really fine kind of foliage. 208 00:12:33,240 --> 00:12:35,759 Speaker 2: But they are not related, yeah, because Momosa is in 209 00:12:35,759 --> 00:12:38,559 the bean family and Jackaranda is in the big Nonia 210 00:12:38,600 --> 00:12:41,279 the like you said. But the thing about Jackaranda and 211 00:12:41,360 --> 00:12:43,240 when I saw your picture on YouTube, because I was 212 00:12:43,240 --> 00:12:45,279 on vacation at the same time you were, and I 213 00:12:45,279 --> 00:12:46,759 looked at your picture on YouTube and I was like, 214 00:12:46,799 --> 00:12:49,000 oh my gosh, Adrian is there. When the jack Arandas 215 00:12:49,000 --> 00:12:51,120 are in flower, I am so jealous. I mean, you 216 00:12:51,120 --> 00:12:52,679 have to talk about what they look like when they flower. 217 00:12:52,759 --> 00:12:55,200 Speaker 3: Oh my gosh. Yes, especially being in Sydney. 218 00:12:55,279 --> 00:12:57,000 Speaker 2: It's a big city so seeing these. 219 00:12:56,879 --> 00:13:03,240 Speaker 3: Vivid, lavender blue flowers just lining the streets was incredible. 220 00:13:03,480 --> 00:13:05,679 It almost looks like you're looking through a UV filter 221 00:13:06,000 --> 00:13:08,360 or like a Doctor Seuss kind of tree. But they 222 00:13:08,360 --> 00:13:12,039 are absolutely stunning and they do actually drop the flowers 223 00:13:12,039 --> 00:13:13,799 so they kind of have a carpet like effect, which 224 00:13:14,039 --> 00:13:15,679 I'm sure for some people if they planted by a 225 00:13:15,720 --> 00:13:17,960 pool or something, could be a little annoying. But along 226 00:13:18,000 --> 00:13:20,320 the streets it was stunning. And actually a fun fact 227 00:13:20,440 --> 00:13:24,000 is that studies have shown it to have anti cancer activity, 228 00:13:24,399 --> 00:13:30,200 antimicrobial properties, and antioxidant capacity, and these characteristics may be 229 00:13:30,320 --> 00:13:35,120 used to fight off E. Coli, staphylococcus, and leukemia. In 230 00:13:35,399 --> 00:13:40,840 these trees like Rick like it hot and sunny. And 231 00:13:41,200 --> 00:13:45,399 so next we'll move to Melbourne, or Melbourne as they 232 00:13:45,480 --> 00:13:48,600 like to say. In the Royal Botanic Gardens of Victoria, 233 00:13:49,320 --> 00:13:51,360 I saw a Banksia plant. 234 00:13:51,440 --> 00:13:55,399 Speaker 2: Are you familiar? You know I am crazy about anything 235 00:13:55,399 --> 00:13:58,559 in the proteac also known as Protea family. Australia is 236 00:13:58,559 --> 00:14:02,840 an epicenter along with self the South Africa for these plants, 237 00:14:02,840 --> 00:14:05,320 and they are They're just like nothing else that you 238 00:14:05,399 --> 00:14:06,120 have ever seen. 239 00:14:06,320 --> 00:14:09,000 Speaker 3: They are not. And so it was in the botanic garden, 240 00:14:09,159 --> 00:14:11,120 but walking along it was kind of in a not 241 00:14:11,200 --> 00:14:14,000 conspicuous area, but I just stopped me in my tracks. 242 00:14:14,000 --> 00:14:16,039 So it's a genus in the Proteacea family with over 243 00:14:16,080 --> 00:14:18,240 one hundred and seventy species, which I was surprised to 244 00:14:18,240 --> 00:14:19,200 find native of them. 245 00:14:19,200 --> 00:14:21,039 Speaker 2: Fabulous, all of them fabulous. 246 00:14:21,120 --> 00:14:24,320 Speaker 3: Native to Australia and New Guinea, they can grow as 247 00:14:24,360 --> 00:14:27,120 trees or shrubs and they are popular garden plants around 248 00:14:27,120 --> 00:14:30,080 the area. Most of the species the flowers are quite distinguishable. 249 00:14:30,120 --> 00:14:33,120 They're kind of like a bottle brush spiky cone of 250 00:14:33,159 --> 00:14:36,240 flowers that usually has like one hundred to thousands of 251 00:14:36,279 --> 00:14:38,240 flowers in that individual kind. 252 00:14:38,159 --> 00:14:39,039 Speaker 2: Of conical shape. 253 00:14:39,080 --> 00:14:41,000 Speaker 3: And then it's actually if you do run your hand 254 00:14:41,039 --> 00:14:44,320 along certain species, it does have like a bottle brush 255 00:14:44,480 --> 00:14:46,679 effect where it kind of feels bristly and hard a 256 00:14:46,720 --> 00:14:49,360 little bit. A nice thing about these flowers is that 257 00:14:49,639 --> 00:14:52,720 they produce tons of nectar, so they attract pollinators and 258 00:14:52,879 --> 00:14:53,840 nectar loving birds. 259 00:14:54,159 --> 00:14:55,879 Speaker 2: And guess what else? What else? 260 00:14:56,320 --> 00:14:57,320 Speaker 3: Honey possums? 261 00:14:57,360 --> 00:14:58,320 Speaker 2: What I did? 262 00:14:58,399 --> 00:15:02,120 Speaker 3: Adorable little creeture. They look like mice, but they have 263 00:15:02,200 --> 00:15:05,600 elongated snouts and they're perfect forgetting that sweet, sweet nectar out. 264 00:15:05,600 --> 00:15:08,000 But I'll put photos in of these things because they 265 00:15:08,000 --> 00:15:08,879 are adorable. 266 00:15:09,000 --> 00:15:11,200 Speaker 2: Did you see one of them? No? I didn't, I didn't. 267 00:15:11,440 --> 00:15:13,559 Gotta go back, I know, yeah, just another reason. 268 00:15:15,039 --> 00:15:18,840 Speaker 3: So then the foliage size and structure will vary depending 269 00:15:18,840 --> 00:15:22,240 on the species. But the fruit contains seeds and this 270 00:15:22,360 --> 00:15:25,519 protective structure, so it's still that elongated kind of shape. 271 00:15:25,559 --> 00:15:28,919 And most species will often open from exposure, so typically 272 00:15:28,919 --> 00:15:31,360 with fire, so bushfires are kind of important for this 273 00:15:31,440 --> 00:15:34,480 genus in most cases. And the seed pods are really 274 00:15:34,600 --> 00:15:38,720 unique looking. The old flower spikes commonly referred to as cones, 275 00:15:38,720 --> 00:15:41,360 but they aren't technically cones botanically speaking. 276 00:15:41,559 --> 00:15:43,159 Speaker 2: But when they open, they kind of look like. 277 00:15:43,159 --> 00:15:47,399 Speaker 3: What I think of as a chorus of singing cartoon frogs. 278 00:15:47,519 --> 00:15:48,159 Speaker 2: Oh I love that. 279 00:15:48,360 --> 00:15:49,440 Speaker 3: Yeah, do you know what I'm saying? 280 00:15:49,519 --> 00:15:51,720 Speaker 2: Yea, I do. Yeah, yeah, because they have like they 281 00:15:51,759 --> 00:15:54,080 kind of open up like little mouths. Yeah, exactly. 282 00:15:55,159 --> 00:15:57,799 Speaker 3: So on top of that, these plants typically thrive in 283 00:15:57,919 --> 00:16:00,120 USDA zones nine to eleven. 284 00:16:00,039 --> 00:16:03,039 Speaker 2: And they are you can find them as ornamental plants 285 00:16:03,039 --> 00:16:05,360 in the US, not in Michigan, of course, but you 286 00:16:05,360 --> 00:16:07,960 can also use get them as cut flower sometimes. So yeah, 287 00:16:08,000 --> 00:16:09,600 it gets your little Australia fixed that way. 288 00:16:09,720 --> 00:16:12,879 Speaker 3: Yeah. It was funny because when we were in Tasmania, 289 00:16:12,919 --> 00:16:15,840 actually we were in the on this popular hiking trail 290 00:16:15,919 --> 00:16:18,840 where it had beautiful vistas and overlooks, and I saw 291 00:16:18,879 --> 00:16:22,360 a protea flower and it was just as perfect cut stem, 292 00:16:22,480 --> 00:16:25,639 but it was overlooking what they call Wineglass Bay, so 293 00:16:25,679 --> 00:16:27,639 it's like the super picturesque area. 294 00:16:27,919 --> 00:16:29,639 Speaker 2: I was like, that's a weird spot, and I was looking. 295 00:16:29,440 --> 00:16:31,240 Speaker 3: All around for the plant and I couldn't find it. 296 00:16:31,320 --> 00:16:34,639 Go down to a beach, another beautiful picturesque spot, and 297 00:16:34,679 --> 00:16:37,320 there's another flower. And then it dawned on me though 298 00:16:37,320 --> 00:16:39,320 it was probably from a photo shoot that someone had 299 00:16:39,360 --> 00:16:42,320 been clipping these flowers and taking them along, so I 300 00:16:42,360 --> 00:16:45,080 wasn't likely to find the plant there. But so now 301 00:16:45,360 --> 00:16:49,480 moving over to Tasmania. I love Tasmania. I kind of 302 00:16:49,519 --> 00:16:53,399 describe it as Jurassic Park mixed with Scotland. It's this 303 00:16:54,000 --> 00:16:57,080 phenomenal landscape. There were so many plants here it was 304 00:16:57,200 --> 00:16:58,840 kind of hard to pick which one. So I kind 305 00:16:58,840 --> 00:17:02,840 of picked two staples, and the first one being eucalyptus, 306 00:17:03,039 --> 00:17:07,599 and so Eucalyptus is predominant everywhere in Australia and Tasmania. 307 00:17:07,720 --> 00:17:09,000 But what really struck me. 308 00:17:09,079 --> 00:17:11,440 Speaker 2: Was the sheer size of some of these trees. 309 00:17:11,519 --> 00:17:15,839 Speaker 3: I'm going to talk about Eucalyptus regnans aka mountain ash, 310 00:17:16,480 --> 00:17:20,000 giant esh, swamp gum, and stringygum. These are in the 311 00:17:20,000 --> 00:17:24,640 family murdy race Myrtasi myrtasi and our native to Tasmania 312 00:17:24,680 --> 00:17:26,000 and Victoria. They're actually the. 313 00:17:26,000 --> 00:17:27,839 Speaker 2: Tallest hardwood trees in the world. 314 00:17:28,200 --> 00:17:31,400 Speaker 3: So red yeah, redwoods are softwood and they're they're kind 315 00:17:31,440 --> 00:17:33,359 of up there as well, but these ones will often 316 00:17:33,440 --> 00:17:37,000 reach over eighty meters or two hundred and sixty feet tall. 317 00:17:37,119 --> 00:17:40,559 And fun fact, regnans comes from the Latin word regnar, 318 00:17:40,839 --> 00:17:43,559 meaning to rule, so they kind of rain over the 319 00:17:43,599 --> 00:17:45,559 forest there. And it was really cool to see these. 320 00:17:45,599 --> 00:17:48,240 I saw these in the Huon Valley next to the 321 00:17:48,319 --> 00:17:51,960 Huon River in Tasmania, which is southeast Tasmania area. It 322 00:17:52,039 --> 00:17:55,799 was beautiful because you have these giant, towering Eucalyptus trees. 323 00:17:56,119 --> 00:17:59,440 The understory is all rainforest, so just seeing them pop 324 00:17:59,519 --> 00:18:04,039 up ever was absolutely phenomenal. The trunks are smooth with 325 00:18:04,119 --> 00:18:08,160 a beautiful cream gray brown coloring. 326 00:18:07,839 --> 00:18:10,599 Speaker 2: And some flaky bark because that bark's gotta go somewhere. 327 00:18:11,680 --> 00:18:15,400 Speaker 3: And those ones actually grow mostly in cool, mountainous rainy areas, 328 00:18:15,440 --> 00:18:18,680 so fitting for the Huon Valley. And because these trees 329 00:18:18,720 --> 00:18:21,960 want to tower over most of the rainforest understory plants, 330 00:18:22,200 --> 00:18:25,160 they take on that live fast approach, so they grow 331 00:18:25,279 --> 00:18:27,279 very fast when they're young and then they kind of 332 00:18:27,319 --> 00:18:29,599 peter out as they get a little older. But when 333 00:18:29,599 --> 00:18:32,680 they're young, they'll grow from one to two meters or three. 334 00:18:32,480 --> 00:18:35,799 Speaker 2: To seven feet per year. WHOA yeah, fast. 335 00:18:35,759 --> 00:18:39,599 Speaker 3: Yes, But unfortunately these trees are quite susceptible to fire, 336 00:18:39,720 --> 00:18:42,359 and they had actually had a fire in recent years 337 00:18:42,400 --> 00:18:44,160 that you could see the damage from some of those 338 00:18:44,200 --> 00:18:47,839 older mature trees. On the flip side. Moving on from 339 00:18:48,200 --> 00:18:52,440 the eucalyptus is the huon pine with a very fun 340 00:18:52,519 --> 00:18:56,160 scientific name Lageristrobos Frank Lnei. 341 00:18:56,880 --> 00:18:57,960 Speaker 2: I practiced them one. 342 00:18:58,279 --> 00:19:01,920 Speaker 3: Unlike Mountnash or swamp gum, which is a eucalyptus, the 343 00:19:02,000 --> 00:19:05,640 huon pine takes the slow and steady approach to life. 344 00:19:06,079 --> 00:19:09,359 So this long lived tree is only native to the 345 00:19:09,359 --> 00:19:12,599 wet rainforests of Tasmania, so it felt really special to 346 00:19:12,640 --> 00:19:15,400 see something that old and just kind of a staple 347 00:19:15,440 --> 00:19:17,880 to the land. It's not actually a pine but a 348 00:19:17,920 --> 00:19:21,319 conifer in the Podocarpesi family. Some have grown to be 349 00:19:21,359 --> 00:19:24,240 over two thousand years old, making them some of the 350 00:19:24,279 --> 00:19:26,400 oldest living organisms. 351 00:19:25,880 --> 00:19:27,319 Speaker 2: On the planet. That's amazing. 352 00:19:27,400 --> 00:19:29,839 Speaker 3: Yeah, And because they're so old, their tree rings have 353 00:19:30,000 --> 00:19:34,240 actually been used to help establish records of climate variation 354 00:19:34,319 --> 00:19:36,200 throughout ers, which I thought was pretty cool. And then 355 00:19:36,279 --> 00:19:39,240 another fun fact is that it's highly prized for its 356 00:19:39,279 --> 00:19:42,200 wood because it has a high oil content that makes 357 00:19:42,240 --> 00:19:45,640 it impervious to insects and also quite waterproof. 358 00:19:46,039 --> 00:19:48,000 Speaker 2: So the high oil content also. 359 00:19:47,839 --> 00:19:50,680 Speaker 3: Allows the wood to bend easier, all of these characteristics 360 00:19:50,680 --> 00:19:53,200 making it great for making boats. It was a sought 361 00:19:53,240 --> 00:19:56,039 after lumber back in the day, so they were just 362 00:19:56,160 --> 00:19:58,640 cutting these trees down until they kind of realized, wait, 363 00:19:58,720 --> 00:20:01,160 these things grow pretty slow. Oh, and they take a 364 00:20:01,200 --> 00:20:06,079 long time to grow. So in the nineteen seventies there 365 00:20:06,160 --> 00:20:09,039 was a consensus that it is not sustainable to cut 366 00:20:09,039 --> 00:20:11,839 down thousand year ols' trees, and they have since stopped 367 00:20:11,880 --> 00:20:12,200 doing that. 368 00:20:12,319 --> 00:20:14,279 Speaker 2: Well, thank goodness. Yeah, someone learns a lesson. 369 00:20:14,359 --> 00:20:17,960 Speaker 3: Yeah, but yeah, those were definitely some of my favorite. 370 00:20:18,000 --> 00:20:21,680 I mean, the fauna and flora down there is absolutely incredible. 371 00:20:21,759 --> 00:20:25,160 I saw little blue penguins which were amazing, and I 372 00:20:25,200 --> 00:20:32,279 did cry walla, thees wombats, kangaroos, the birds were incredible. 373 00:20:32,359 --> 00:20:35,319 So it was a phenomenal time and I highly recommend 374 00:20:35,440 --> 00:20:39,400 anyone who was interested in nature to absolutely visit Australia 375 00:20:39,440 --> 00:20:40,079 and Tasmania. 376 00:20:41,319 --> 00:20:43,240 Speaker 2: All Right, I hear you on that one, and you know, 377 00:20:43,279 --> 00:20:45,480 Tasmania is not as like a place where I don't 378 00:20:45,480 --> 00:20:47,839 think people really prioritize for visiting Australia. 379 00:20:47,960 --> 00:20:50,440 Speaker 3: No, I mean, honestly, you are the one who informed 380 00:20:50,480 --> 00:20:51,880 me about it, and once you told me about it 381 00:20:51,920 --> 00:20:53,920 and I started looking it up and everything. It is 382 00:20:54,119 --> 00:20:58,640 just such a such a beautiful place. Everyone is so friendly. 383 00:20:59,480 --> 00:21:02,359 We stayed in Hobart, which is a really cool old town, 384 00:21:03,559 --> 00:21:06,640 and it was just incredible to see the variation of 385 00:21:06,680 --> 00:21:10,079 the natural landscape around there, from rainforest to dry eucalyptus 386 00:21:10,119 --> 00:21:12,960 for us, waterfalls. 387 00:21:12,839 --> 00:21:16,960 Speaker 2: To the coast and caves. It was just absolutely amazing, 388 00:21:17,000 --> 00:21:18,880 and all on a relatively compact island. 389 00:21:19,200 --> 00:21:22,680 Speaker 3: Relatively compact island, I think it takes around four hours 390 00:21:22,720 --> 00:21:25,240 to get from one end of the island to. 391 00:21:25,200 --> 00:21:27,599 Speaker 2: The other, unless you're stopping for every bird. 392 00:21:27,759 --> 00:21:30,440 Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, it'd probably take us at least four days. 393 00:21:30,519 --> 00:21:34,000 Speaker 2: I feel that, all right. So that's a Dana's recap 394 00:21:34,039 --> 00:21:36,400 of Australia. When we come back, I'm going to give 395 00:21:36,400 --> 00:21:45,599 you my recap of Japan at proven Winter's Color Choice. 396 00:21:45,680 --> 00:21:48,599 We've got a shrub for every taste and every space. 397 00:21:48,880 --> 00:21:51,960 Whether you're looking for an easy care rose and unforgettable 398 00:21:52,039 --> 00:21:55,119 hydrangea or something new and unique. You can be confident 399 00:21:55,160 --> 00:21:57,440 that the shrubs and the white containers have been trialed 400 00:21:57,440 --> 00:22:00,160 and tested for your success. Look for them at your 401 00:22:00,200 --> 00:22:05,000 local garden center. Greeting's Gardening friends, and welcome back to 402 00:22:05,039 --> 00:22:07,240 the Gardening Simplified Show. Like I said, we're ripping up 403 00:22:07,240 --> 00:22:09,400 the script today, doing things a little bit different, although 404 00:22:09,440 --> 00:22:13,039 we will have some mailbank questions in the final segment. 405 00:22:13,519 --> 00:22:15,440 We'll be back to our normal format next week, but 406 00:22:15,480 --> 00:22:17,519 we wanted to just share with you because you know, 407 00:22:18,000 --> 00:22:20,240 we travel for plants, we travel for food, we travel 408 00:22:20,279 --> 00:22:23,920 for experience, but you know, plants and gardens are a 409 00:22:23,960 --> 00:22:28,079 huge reason why I travel. And of course when it 410 00:22:28,119 --> 00:22:30,559 comes to garden destinations, I think a lot of people 411 00:22:30,880 --> 00:22:34,599 know that Japan is sort of, you know, one of 412 00:22:34,640 --> 00:22:36,759 the places to go to see gardens. 413 00:22:36,759 --> 00:22:38,279 Speaker 1: Amazing. I want to go some day. 414 00:22:38,359 --> 00:22:41,119 Speaker 2: You should go. It's a long flight, but it's absolutely 415 00:22:41,119 --> 00:22:43,440 worth it. Now this was actually not my first time 416 00:22:43,440 --> 00:22:46,079 in Japan. I had been to Kyoto for my honeymoon. 417 00:22:46,640 --> 00:22:49,599 And if you want to see gardens in Japan, like 418 00:22:49,640 --> 00:22:51,960 the classic Japanese gardens, you have to go to Kyoto 419 00:22:52,000 --> 00:22:54,839 that is really where all of these really famous, well 420 00:22:54,880 --> 00:22:59,599 known gardens are. Kyoto is actually spared bombing in World 421 00:22:59,599 --> 00:23:02,759 War two, so these really old gardens have actually persisted, 422 00:23:03,200 --> 00:23:07,319 whereas Tokyo was completely destroyed in World War two and 423 00:23:07,400 --> 00:23:09,759 so had to rebuild. So you don't see as many 424 00:23:09,839 --> 00:23:12,400 of those older gardens as many of those venerable old trees, 425 00:23:12,400 --> 00:23:15,279 although there certainly are some. But this time we did 426 00:23:15,319 --> 00:23:18,920 just go to Tokyo, and I saw a lot of 427 00:23:18,960 --> 00:23:21,599 really cool plants. But I honestly think that one of 428 00:23:21,599 --> 00:23:24,319 the coolest things, and this was true in Kyoto as 429 00:23:24,359 --> 00:23:29,119 it was in Tokyo, is that, you know, the Japanese 430 00:23:29,160 --> 00:23:33,640 culture is just really just I don't even want to 431 00:23:33,640 --> 00:23:37,079 say like plant focused. It's just that nature and plants 432 00:23:37,599 --> 00:23:40,920 and the seasonal cycles are just such an intrinsic part 433 00:23:41,000 --> 00:23:45,799 of Japanese culture and eating and everything, and so it's 434 00:23:45,839 --> 00:23:49,640 just like there's this natural respect there for plants that 435 00:23:50,440 --> 00:23:52,519 is really lacking in a lot of places. And it 436 00:23:52,559 --> 00:23:54,839 really shows in the fact that even in Tokyo, which 437 00:23:54,880 --> 00:23:58,599 is considered the most populous city in the world, huge city, 438 00:23:58,880 --> 00:24:01,119 I think there's like thirty six million people that live there. 439 00:24:01,359 --> 00:24:04,640 Any neighborhood street that you walk down, you see people 440 00:24:04,720 --> 00:24:08,200 create these little tiny container gardens outside of their homes 441 00:24:08,200 --> 00:24:11,000 and apartments, and I have some pictures of these. They 442 00:24:11,079 --> 00:24:13,720 just take a little assemblage of plants and put them 443 00:24:13,759 --> 00:24:15,519 out there for people to see and to kind of 444 00:24:15,519 --> 00:24:19,359 express themselves. And so you're really seeing these like miniature 445 00:24:19,400 --> 00:24:21,640 gardens everywhere that you go. 446 00:24:21,960 --> 00:24:26,160 Speaker 1: Beautiful. I've seen that from friends in Japan. There is 447 00:24:26,359 --> 00:24:28,359 just this appreciation for plant. 448 00:24:28,480 --> 00:24:30,680 Speaker 2: Yeah, so you don't have to like go to a 449 00:24:30,720 --> 00:24:33,039 park or anything to see this, and that was a 450 00:24:33,119 --> 00:24:34,839 very cool thing. So I have some pictures of that. 451 00:24:36,079 --> 00:24:37,519 It's kind of like where do I even start. We 452 00:24:37,519 --> 00:24:40,839 did visit some gardens, and the gardens in Japan typically 453 00:24:40,880 --> 00:24:44,359 are either associated with a temple or shrine or are 454 00:24:44,440 --> 00:24:47,680 like a historic park, part of a kessel, or a 455 00:24:47,720 --> 00:24:51,200 former samurai estate as well. So I think my favorite 456 00:24:51,200 --> 00:24:54,079 garden that we visited in Tokyo was Hamriiku Gardens, which 457 00:24:54,279 --> 00:24:57,559 was a former samurai estate. It just had a lot 458 00:24:57,559 --> 00:25:00,640 of really cool features and things like that, and one 459 00:25:00,680 --> 00:25:05,400 of the things that it had were these seasonal beds 460 00:25:05,440 --> 00:25:07,920 of annuals and there was a couple of them, some 461 00:25:07,960 --> 00:25:10,200 of them were bare or had plants just getting started. 462 00:25:10,799 --> 00:25:12,680 But what was at peak when we were there was 463 00:25:13,039 --> 00:25:16,599 a huge planting of cosmos sulfurious. So a lot of 464 00:25:16,640 --> 00:25:20,559 people know cosmos popular plant and cosmos sulfurious rather than 465 00:25:20,559 --> 00:25:23,400 the typical pinks and white that you have in the cosmos. 466 00:25:23,440 --> 00:25:26,240 Most people think of is as you might guess, with 467 00:25:26,240 --> 00:25:29,279 the sulfurious yellow and orange. So there were these huge 468 00:25:29,319 --> 00:25:35,079 beds of yellow and orange cosmos and they were just, 469 00:25:35,839 --> 00:25:38,319 I mean, what's the verb that I even used to 470 00:25:38,319 --> 00:25:41,720 describe it, just teeming with butterflies. I mean, I've never 471 00:25:41,759 --> 00:25:44,599 seen so many butterflies in my entire life. And I 472 00:25:44,599 --> 00:25:47,240 took a video of it doesn't do it justice, but 473 00:25:47,319 --> 00:25:49,759 as you said, they're looking at this flower field full 474 00:25:49,759 --> 00:25:52,640 of cosmos. I mean, there was just thousands of butterflies 475 00:25:52,640 --> 00:25:56,599 of different species everywhere, and it made it so magical 476 00:25:56,680 --> 00:26:00,400 and so interesting. So that was definitely a highlight, even 477 00:26:00,400 --> 00:26:02,240 though I think that a lot of people don't think 478 00:26:02,720 --> 00:26:05,720 of Japanese gardens as places to see flowers per se. 479 00:26:05,920 --> 00:26:08,160 You know, there's gonna be hydrange as, there's gonna be camellias, 480 00:26:08,200 --> 00:26:10,119 that kind of thing, but I don't think most people 481 00:26:10,119 --> 00:26:12,160 think of them as like the traditional flower garden. 482 00:26:12,279 --> 00:26:15,920 Speaker 1: Yeah, more so evergreens, bones eye, Japanese maples. 483 00:26:15,559 --> 00:26:18,960 Speaker 2: Yep, exactly. Another really cool thing that I saw. And 484 00:26:19,599 --> 00:26:21,279 this I'm not gonna call it a weed because it 485 00:26:21,319 --> 00:26:25,240 is native to Japan and grows everywhere. And this is 486 00:26:25,240 --> 00:26:26,839 the first time I saw it, So even though last 487 00:26:26,839 --> 00:26:28,720 time I was in Japan was also in the fall, 488 00:26:28,799 --> 00:26:32,480 I had never seen this plant. And the plant is 489 00:26:32,839 --> 00:26:38,720 Trichosanthe's pulosa, also known as the Japanese snake gord. Now, 490 00:26:39,559 --> 00:26:41,839 the first time I saw this, we were just walking 491 00:26:41,880 --> 00:26:44,440 on the street kind of getting from one area to another, 492 00:26:44,480 --> 00:26:47,680 and we're just in transit. Basically, it was hot, it 493 00:26:47,720 --> 00:26:51,119 was humid, I was getting tired and a little cranky maybe, 494 00:26:51,160 --> 00:26:54,680 and there was just this sort of like railroad station 495 00:26:54,839 --> 00:26:56,880 with this vine growing all over it. And you have 496 00:26:56,960 --> 00:26:59,759 to see these flowers to believe them. They are so 497 00:26:59,839 --> 00:27:05,000 in it. There are just hundreds of little filaments that 498 00:27:05,119 --> 00:27:07,279 start all curled up into the plant and then they 499 00:27:07,319 --> 00:27:12,079 just unfurl into this like a magical undersea creature looking 500 00:27:12,200 --> 00:27:16,440 flower that is just beautiful, pure white. And then when 501 00:27:16,480 --> 00:27:18,519 the flower matures, it becomes the snake gord, which does 502 00:27:18,559 --> 00:27:20,160 not actually look like a snake. There are, of course 503 00:27:20,200 --> 00:27:22,759 those long snake gords that you see, but this is 504 00:27:22,799 --> 00:27:27,960 just kind of a small, round, orange red fruit. And 505 00:27:28,000 --> 00:27:29,720 it turns out this is like a very kind of 506 00:27:29,799 --> 00:27:34,000 poignant association with autumn in Japan, and I actually bought 507 00:27:34,000 --> 00:27:36,519 a piece of fabric that had them printed on there, 508 00:27:36,599 --> 00:27:39,720 and it's really so just a special thing that I 509 00:27:39,759 --> 00:27:43,480 you know, it was just growing unattended and just really 510 00:27:43,519 --> 00:27:46,279 really cool to see. So I definitely want to grow 511 00:27:46,319 --> 00:27:49,240 that from seed to kind of connect to that memory, 512 00:27:49,240 --> 00:27:54,720 and also because it is just incredibly, incredibly beautiful. You know, 513 00:27:54,799 --> 00:27:56,359 a lot of the plants that we grow in our 514 00:27:56,359 --> 00:27:59,880 gardens are actually native to Japan, and so it's very different, 515 00:28:00,000 --> 00:28:04,240 I think, you know, seeing them in place where they're native, 516 00:28:04,319 --> 00:28:06,559 even if they're in a cultivated area like a garden. 517 00:28:06,680 --> 00:28:08,279 And one of those that I saw that was at 518 00:28:08,319 --> 00:28:13,440 absolute peak was triceurtus, also known as totally very popular 519 00:28:13,559 --> 00:28:18,039 autumn flowering perennial for shade, moist shade, and you know, 520 00:28:18,079 --> 00:28:20,359 in every garden that we went to and in many 521 00:28:20,400 --> 00:28:23,160 of those little residential gardens that I mentioned, it was 522 00:28:23,200 --> 00:28:25,920 in full bloom and just so so pretty and again 523 00:28:26,000 --> 00:28:30,440 just such a great association really with autumn. And you know, 524 00:28:30,440 --> 00:28:33,079 I thought of you Rick, because lots of miss canthus. 525 00:28:33,400 --> 00:28:36,920 Oh loves fall, you know, so plenty of miss canthus 526 00:28:36,920 --> 00:28:41,559 everywhere in flower and just that beautiful, silky, you know, 527 00:28:41,880 --> 00:28:46,000 tassel flower that they get. So you'll see some pictures 528 00:28:46,079 --> 00:28:49,599 from Shinjuku go In, which is the National Garden in Tokyo, 529 00:28:51,000 --> 00:28:54,440 sort of around this beautifully landscaped pond with you know, 530 00:28:54,559 --> 00:28:56,599 cloud prune trees and I'll talk more about cloud pruning 531 00:28:56,640 --> 00:28:59,440 in a moment. And yeah, the miss canthus was just 532 00:28:59,519 --> 00:29:04,440 at peak and looking gorgeous, fantastic, So shouldn'tchuku In is 533 00:29:04,480 --> 00:29:07,160 a really special place. I saw so many amazing trees. 534 00:29:07,799 --> 00:29:09,599 And it's always funny. I think, like when you go 535 00:29:09,680 --> 00:29:13,279 to another country and see a North American native and 536 00:29:13,319 --> 00:29:16,039 you're like, whoa, that's so cool. And for me on 537 00:29:16,039 --> 00:29:19,039 this trip, that was actually seeing our native bald snipers 538 00:29:19,160 --> 00:29:22,720 Taxodium disticum growing in chin Juko go In with the 539 00:29:22,799 --> 00:29:25,000 coolest news. You know how the taxodium gets the woody 540 00:29:25,119 --> 00:29:28,319 protuberances because it grows in wet soil, so it does 541 00:29:28,359 --> 00:29:33,119 the it creates these knobby looking things. Yeah, yeah, to 542 00:29:33,279 --> 00:29:36,640 be able to get some oxygen. And the coolest planting 543 00:29:36,640 --> 00:29:38,720 I think I've ever seen was actually in Japan, So 544 00:29:38,759 --> 00:29:43,839 there's a picture of that on YouTube and ginko. So 545 00:29:45,279 --> 00:29:48,680 you know, I was there in the last half of October, 546 00:29:49,359 --> 00:29:51,759 and so it was really too early for fall color. 547 00:29:51,839 --> 00:29:53,640 Yet you know here in Michigan that I missed peak 548 00:29:53,680 --> 00:29:56,119 fall color here in Michigan and didn't quite get it 549 00:29:56,160 --> 00:29:58,680 in Tokyo, they were still probably a good month away 550 00:29:59,440 --> 00:30:01,960 from developed fall color. So the ginkos didn't have their 551 00:30:02,000 --> 00:30:05,279 gorgeous gold fall color. But what they did have is fruit, 552 00:30:05,559 --> 00:30:09,119 and a lot of fruits. Now, if you're not familiar 553 00:30:09,200 --> 00:30:16,720 with ginko fruit, it stinks real bad. It smells as 554 00:30:16,920 --> 00:30:19,079 when the fruit falls off the trees, it sits on 555 00:30:19,160 --> 00:30:22,960 the street or whatever sidewalk, gets stepped on ferments in 556 00:30:23,000 --> 00:30:26,759 the sun and starts to smell like vomit. The seeds 557 00:30:26,759 --> 00:30:30,039 are edible, and we were served them at many different restaurants. 558 00:30:30,240 --> 00:30:33,799 They're actually quite good, kind of like a nut. But yeah, 559 00:30:33,920 --> 00:30:35,960 you know, in the US now basically all of our 560 00:30:36,000 --> 00:30:38,720 ginkgos are grafted, so you're only getting a male ginko, 561 00:30:38,759 --> 00:30:41,720 so you don't have to worry about those smelly fruits 562 00:30:41,759 --> 00:30:44,519 coming everywhere. You will still see them sometimes in cities 563 00:30:44,519 --> 00:30:47,440 like I know in New York, Like in older parks, 564 00:30:47,480 --> 00:30:50,039 you would still see some female ginkos. But ginkos have 565 00:30:50,079 --> 00:30:52,440 basically been grafted in the US to be only male 566 00:30:52,559 --> 00:30:56,160 since probably the nineteen seventies or thereabouts, but not in Tokyo. 567 00:30:56,720 --> 00:31:01,359 Lots of female ginkos everywhere. That made a little memorable 568 00:31:01,759 --> 00:31:03,400 smell memory for a trip. 569 00:31:03,599 --> 00:31:06,039 Speaker 1: So it was too early for the ginkos to be 570 00:31:06,119 --> 00:31:08,200 brilliant yellow, yes, okay. 571 00:31:07,880 --> 00:31:11,279 Speaker 2: But definitely peak fruit season, sir. And it was hot 572 00:31:11,319 --> 00:31:14,799 and humid, so you can imagine the combination of all 573 00:31:14,880 --> 00:31:18,559 of those things. So Tokyo is home to the Japanese 574 00:31:18,599 --> 00:31:21,839 Imperial Palace, which is of course a big tourist attraction there, 575 00:31:21,839 --> 00:31:23,519 and you know, of course we were going to go there. 576 00:31:23,519 --> 00:31:26,799 But what I was not prepared for with the Imperial 577 00:31:26,839 --> 00:31:30,839 Palace is that it is just surrounded by acres and 578 00:31:31,039 --> 00:31:35,799 acres of cloud pruned Pina sunburgii or Japanese black pine. 579 00:31:36,359 --> 00:31:38,400 And when I say cloud prune, so you might not 580 00:31:38,440 --> 00:31:41,240 be familiar with this term, but cloud pruning is basically 581 00:31:41,279 --> 00:31:43,799 the term that describes the way we all think of 582 00:31:43,880 --> 00:31:45,640 like the way a Japanese tree is pruned, you know, 583 00:31:45,680 --> 00:31:48,920 with that very meticulous it's called cloud pruning because the 584 00:31:48,920 --> 00:31:51,079 foliage is all on the upper side of the branch, 585 00:31:51,160 --> 00:31:54,039 kind of hanging over it like a cloud. It's pretty 586 00:31:54,079 --> 00:31:56,640 labor intensive. You do have to start from a young 587 00:31:56,720 --> 00:31:59,200 age for the tree, not for the person pruning it. 588 00:32:00,640 --> 00:32:02,920 And every single year you have to go in and 589 00:32:02,920 --> 00:32:05,000 you have to do what's called cutting the candles. So 590 00:32:05,039 --> 00:32:07,200 you know, pines put these candles out. You have to 591 00:32:07,200 --> 00:32:09,279 go in and cut them at a certain point so 592 00:32:09,319 --> 00:32:11,519 that they will continue to grow in the direction that 593 00:32:11,559 --> 00:32:14,839 you want them to. And I mean the Imperial Palace. 594 00:32:14,880 --> 00:32:17,920 I couldn't even begin to fathom a number of pines 595 00:32:17,960 --> 00:32:21,039 surrounding this place. It would have to be I mean, 596 00:32:21,319 --> 00:32:25,079 it would have to be twenty thousand or more. And 597 00:32:25,240 --> 00:32:29,640 I just cannot even imagine the labor that goes into it. 598 00:32:29,680 --> 00:32:32,720 And its timing is super crucial for cloud burning. You 599 00:32:32,759 --> 00:32:34,680 can't just say, oh, yeah, we'll get to that in 600 00:32:34,720 --> 00:32:36,519 a month. You know, you have to get it when 601 00:32:36,559 --> 00:32:39,279 the candles are at a certain stage. So it was 602 00:32:39,440 --> 00:32:43,079 really just I think an incredible monument to the effort 603 00:32:43,440 --> 00:32:47,880 that goes into gardening what it means to really, you know, 604 00:32:47,960 --> 00:32:51,039 take care of something and have a vision for a 605 00:32:51,039 --> 00:32:54,720 garden or a plant. And yeah, it was just an incredible, 606 00:32:54,759 --> 00:32:59,720 incredible experience and great food, great people. I loved every 607 00:32:59,720 --> 00:33:03,640 single minute of it, despite the heat and humidity which 608 00:33:03,640 --> 00:33:06,359 is a little bit extremely So we're going to take 609 00:33:06,359 --> 00:33:08,160 a little break when we come back. We're going to 610 00:33:08,200 --> 00:33:10,279 answer some gardening questions before we wrap the show, so 611 00:33:10,319 --> 00:33:18,839 please stay tuned. The Gardening Simplified Show is brought to 612 00:33:18,880 --> 00:33:22,319 you by Proven Winner's Color Choice Shrubs. Our award winning 613 00:33:22,359 --> 00:33:25,359 flowering shrubs in evergreens have been trialed and tested for 614 00:33:25,440 --> 00:33:29,000 your success so you enjoy more beauty and less work. 615 00:33:29,359 --> 00:33:31,960 Look for Proven Winners Color Choice Shrubs in the distinctive 616 00:33:32,000 --> 00:33:37,200 white container at your local garden center. Greeting's gardening friends, 617 00:33:37,200 --> 00:33:40,920 and welcome back once again to the Gardening Simplified Show. 618 00:33:41,000 --> 00:33:43,599 You know, we always say that we love answering your 619 00:33:43,599 --> 00:33:45,519 gardening questions. That's one of the ways that we try 620 00:33:45,519 --> 00:33:48,960 to simplify gardening for you here on The Gardening Simplified Show, 621 00:33:49,319 --> 00:33:52,279 and that's why in this vacation themed show, we are 622 00:33:52,440 --> 00:33:54,960 devoting at least one segment to answering all those burning 623 00:33:55,000 --> 00:33:57,839 gardening questions out there, even though I think here in 624 00:33:57,880 --> 00:34:01,319 Michigan this season is officially at it's. 625 00:34:01,119 --> 00:34:04,599 Speaker 1: Ad and end, but we can dream at Christmas time. 626 00:34:04,799 --> 00:34:07,160 And I love the fact that you go to Japan 627 00:34:07,319 --> 00:34:11,920 and you get some beautiful fabric of a snake gorg. Yeah, yeah, 628 00:34:11,960 --> 00:34:14,880 I love that I go to Costa Rica and I 629 00:34:15,000 --> 00:34:17,599 end up in one of those touristy shops and get 630 00:34:17,599 --> 00:34:20,679 this cheap taki shirt that you see me wearing here. 631 00:34:21,039 --> 00:34:24,039 Speaker 2: I like it. Do you like it a lot? Yeah? 632 00:34:24,280 --> 00:34:26,920 And Adriana did get a clip on Koala that did 633 00:34:26,920 --> 00:34:29,599 not make it on air this time, but it's out there. 634 00:34:29,679 --> 00:34:32,639 It's out there, so wonderful. But anyway, if you have 635 00:34:32,679 --> 00:34:34,639 a gardening question for us, we know that just because 636 00:34:34,639 --> 00:34:37,320 the gardening season might end, your questions don't and we 637 00:34:37,360 --> 00:34:39,960 answer questions about indoor plants and that kind of thing 638 00:34:40,079 --> 00:34:43,360 as well. So you can reach us at Gardening Simplified 639 00:34:43,480 --> 00:34:46,119 on air dot com. There is a contact form there 640 00:34:46,119 --> 00:34:48,199 you can fill that out. You can even attach a 641 00:34:48,199 --> 00:34:51,280 photo if you'd like, and explain your issue and we 642 00:34:51,320 --> 00:34:53,559 would be glad to answer your question on the air 643 00:34:53,599 --> 00:34:54,239 if we can. 644 00:34:54,400 --> 00:34:56,920 Speaker 1: Yeah, or send pictures of your garden this past year 645 00:34:56,960 --> 00:34:57,880 and dream with us. 646 00:34:58,000 --> 00:35:00,159 Speaker 2: That's right, that's such a good idea, because, yeah, it 647 00:35:00,239 --> 00:35:02,599 is a little bit of a waste until next season. 648 00:35:03,440 --> 00:35:05,320 You don't tend to notice that in the holidays because 649 00:35:05,320 --> 00:35:07,519 you got a lot to think about, But once January hits, 650 00:35:07,519 --> 00:35:09,599 you're kind of like, m oh boy. 651 00:35:10,880 --> 00:35:14,039 Speaker 1: Well, Stacy Tina writes to us, Hi, Rick and Stacy, 652 00:35:14,079 --> 00:35:16,119 I loved listening to your show. I learned so much. 653 00:35:16,480 --> 00:35:20,880 I've had this dilemma over a Wjila am I saying that? Right? Yeah? 654 00:35:20,880 --> 00:35:21,280 Speaker 2: I think so. 655 00:35:21,440 --> 00:35:23,000 Speaker 1: Yeah, we've talked about that. 656 00:35:23,119 --> 00:35:25,480 Speaker 2: Well. It is one of the ones that trips people up. 657 00:35:25,920 --> 00:35:28,239 Speaker 1: It has grown way larger than I thought it would, 658 00:35:28,280 --> 00:35:30,840 But I do not know the name. You can see 659 00:35:30,840 --> 00:35:34,239 that it says tall as the house, or it's as 660 00:35:34,360 --> 00:35:37,920 tall as the house. I've trimmed on it occasionally, but 661 00:35:38,000 --> 00:35:41,119 it just seems to keep growing. How far down can 662 00:35:41,159 --> 00:35:44,400 I trim it without killing it? I hardly ever see blooms, 663 00:35:44,880 --> 00:35:46,880 so that doesn't matter if they don't come back for 664 00:35:46,920 --> 00:35:48,559 a while. It's on the south side of the house. 665 00:35:48,639 --> 00:35:52,679 Plenty of sun trying to take over Northwest Florida's Zone eight. 666 00:35:52,760 --> 00:35:53,960 Be any suggestion. 667 00:35:54,360 --> 00:35:58,400 Speaker 2: Yes, So the answer is in the question this time, 668 00:35:59,360 --> 00:36:04,159 interestingly enough, So what's happening here, Tina? Is that your 669 00:36:04,280 --> 00:36:07,039 why gela is not flowering because it's just too darn hot. 670 00:36:07,920 --> 00:36:10,480 Why Gela is one of those plants like lilac or 671 00:36:10,519 --> 00:36:14,639 apple that actually needs a period of cool temperatures, cold 672 00:36:14,639 --> 00:36:18,639 temperatures in order to set its flower buds for the 673 00:36:18,679 --> 00:36:23,239 following year, And in your Florida USA Zone eight B, 674 00:36:23,440 --> 00:36:26,480 that is just not happening. So that's why it's not flowering. 675 00:36:27,719 --> 00:36:31,039 So you know, in that case, I would potentially, I mean, 676 00:36:31,039 --> 00:36:32,639 I don't know why you're growing it, or what you're 677 00:36:33,119 --> 00:36:35,480 hoping for it to sort of accomplish, or what kind 678 00:36:35,519 --> 00:36:38,239 of role you wanted to fill in your landscape. But 679 00:36:38,360 --> 00:36:41,000 if you wanted flowers and it's not doing that and 680 00:36:41,039 --> 00:36:43,599 it's not looking good, I would say just go ahead 681 00:36:43,599 --> 00:36:44,199 and take it out. 682 00:36:44,639 --> 00:36:47,119 Speaker 1: I would agree. But now you're not going to kill 683 00:36:47,159 --> 00:36:49,760 it by pruning it, that's for sure. They respond well 684 00:36:49,800 --> 00:36:50,400 to pruning. 685 00:36:50,440 --> 00:36:53,440 Speaker 2: But yeah, and so on that same note, if you 686 00:36:53,480 --> 00:36:55,360 do want to just keep it and give it a 687 00:36:55,480 --> 00:36:58,880 new lease on life, there, you can pretty much prune it. 688 00:36:58,880 --> 00:37:01,920 I wouldn't print it flesh with the ground, but you 689 00:37:01,920 --> 00:37:04,400 can certainly prune it to just a couple of inches 690 00:37:04,519 --> 00:37:07,920 above the ground. Get a chainsaw or some heavy duty 691 00:37:08,000 --> 00:37:10,760 looppers or a handsaw. It is gonna probably be a 692 00:37:10,760 --> 00:37:13,119 big job having such a large, mature one like this, 693 00:37:13,639 --> 00:37:15,519 but you can take that down to just three inch 694 00:37:15,559 --> 00:37:18,719 stubs and it will start to come back and the 695 00:37:18,719 --> 00:37:20,559 foliage will be fresh. And you can do this with 696 00:37:20,639 --> 00:37:23,000 almost all shrubs, or some shrubs that take to it 697 00:37:23,039 --> 00:37:26,559 better than others. I know, for example, that elderberry doesn't 698 00:37:26,599 --> 00:37:28,400 take to this very well, but why Gila is one. 699 00:37:28,400 --> 00:37:32,440 It certainly does. And that's called a rejuvenation pruning, and 700 00:37:32,480 --> 00:37:34,440 that'll give you a fresh start. Or if you know 701 00:37:34,519 --> 00:37:37,440 someone with a pickup truck and got a strong metal chain, 702 00:37:37,480 --> 00:37:39,239 then maybe it's time to just pull it out and 703 00:37:39,280 --> 00:37:42,920 put in something, you know, that's a little bit more Florida. 704 00:37:43,199 --> 00:37:44,159 Take advantage of it. 705 00:37:44,079 --> 00:37:48,039 Speaker 1: You know, Stacey, you say that so nicely. A rejuvenation pruning. 706 00:37:48,280 --> 00:37:51,440 In the industry, we'd call that a hack job. But 707 00:37:51,599 --> 00:37:54,199 either way you get there, I recommend it. 708 00:37:54,280 --> 00:37:56,079 Speaker 2: Well, I guess you know. Hackjob is what you say 709 00:37:56,159 --> 00:37:59,360 to the other people on your team. Rejuvenation pruning is 710 00:37:59,360 --> 00:38:04,719 what you say to a client a little bit nicer. Now. Interestingly, 711 00:38:04,880 --> 00:38:08,119 now that it's December, we had a number of questions 712 00:38:08,199 --> 00:38:10,239 about Holly, so I think people are getting ready to 713 00:38:11,000 --> 00:38:13,360 deck the hull. So our next two questions are two 714 00:38:13,920 --> 00:38:15,559 different questions about Holly. 715 00:38:15,760 --> 00:38:20,960 Speaker 1: I see that, Stacy. Christine wrote to us from Quebec, Canada. 716 00:38:20,960 --> 00:38:26,760 Bou sure, Christine, so Christine says, First, I love your show, 717 00:38:26,840 --> 00:38:30,760 Thanks Christine. Second, I bought a very heavy gold winter 718 00:38:30,840 --> 00:38:33,840 berry on a whim at the end of season clearance sale. 719 00:38:33,840 --> 00:38:35,599 Don't you just love it? I love it. 720 00:38:35,679 --> 00:38:36,920 Speaker 2: That's a beautiful plant. 721 00:38:36,880 --> 00:38:39,480 Speaker 1: End of season bargains, and yes, beautiful. It came in 722 00:38:39,519 --> 00:38:42,519 a pot with a Mister Poppins winter berry. Since it 723 00:38:42,559 --> 00:38:45,960 was mid November, I just planted the whole thing, both 724 00:38:45,960 --> 00:38:49,519 the female and male, into a single hole come spring. 725 00:38:49,599 --> 00:38:52,559 Should I separate the two shrubs and move mister Poppins 726 00:38:52,599 --> 00:38:55,559 away to give them space to grow or do I 727 00:38:55,599 --> 00:38:57,960 just let them grow together? I couldn't find any information 728 00:38:58,079 --> 00:39:03,119 on the plant tag or PW website. Thanks Barry mulch, 729 00:39:03,199 --> 00:39:06,760 and I didn't say that, Christine said that. Good job, Christine. Thanks. 730 00:39:06,840 --> 00:39:09,679 Speaker 2: He went for the double pun, the rare double pun 731 00:39:09,840 --> 00:39:14,360 I love it so Christine. This is interesting because it 732 00:39:14,400 --> 00:39:17,119 is not typically sold that way. There's certainly no issue 733 00:39:17,119 --> 00:39:19,559 really with it being sold. Obviously it's much more convenient, 734 00:39:20,079 --> 00:39:22,159 not just for you, but for the garden center as well, 735 00:39:22,199 --> 00:39:25,360 because you know it can be difficult you could to 736 00:39:25,760 --> 00:39:30,119 maintain adequate stock of both plants, the male and the female. 737 00:39:30,119 --> 00:39:32,440 And of course Holly needs both a male plant and 738 00:39:32,480 --> 00:39:35,000 a female plant, and only the female will set berries. 739 00:39:35,719 --> 00:39:37,840 But I would say you did the right thing by 740 00:39:37,840 --> 00:39:40,480 going ahead and planting it now together. But I would 741 00:39:40,519 --> 00:39:44,159 definitely separate these outcomes spring. And here is the reason why. 742 00:39:45,320 --> 00:39:49,519 In this case, very heavy gold, fabulous plant, just so 743 00:39:49,639 --> 00:39:52,760 unique and so beautiful, is going to get to be 744 00:39:53,000 --> 00:39:55,320 you know, I didn't check the height before I came here, 745 00:39:55,360 --> 00:39:58,920 but a good eight feet tall, if not bigger. Whereas 746 00:39:58,920 --> 00:40:02,880 mister Poppins is actually a dwarf variety. And so what 747 00:40:02,960 --> 00:40:06,519 is likely to happen is that since the female is 748 00:40:06,840 --> 00:40:10,480 larger and probably more vigorous, it's very likely to shade 749 00:40:10,519 --> 00:40:13,320 out the male, and if the male is in too 750 00:40:13,400 --> 00:40:16,159 much shade, it won't flower, it won't pollinate the female, 751 00:40:16,519 --> 00:40:18,920 and it will just end up kind of disappearing and 752 00:40:19,239 --> 00:40:22,079 negating its point of being in the same pot with 753 00:40:22,719 --> 00:40:25,440 the very heavy gold in the first place. 754 00:40:25,519 --> 00:40:30,320 Speaker 1: I agree they can enjoy the holidays together and the 755 00:40:30,400 --> 00:40:35,320 holly days together. But I agree next year, let's separate 756 00:40:35,360 --> 00:40:37,639 the two. Not too far, but let's separate. 757 00:40:37,280 --> 00:40:37,920 Speaker 3: The two, right. 758 00:40:37,960 --> 00:40:40,639 Speaker 2: And you know, Christine did say within fifty feet of 759 00:40:40,679 --> 00:40:42,440 each other, and that is what we recommend. That is 760 00:40:42,480 --> 00:40:45,519 what university is recommend because that is the average distance 761 00:40:45,559 --> 00:40:48,000 you can expect a pollinating insect to fly on its 762 00:40:48,000 --> 00:40:51,559 foraging trips to ensure pollination. So go for that splitting 763 00:40:51,639 --> 00:40:55,119 come spring, Christine, and enjoy two fibulous plants. 764 00:40:55,320 --> 00:40:58,360 Speaker 1: I love this question from Penny writes to us. I 765 00:40:58,400 --> 00:41:03,559 have three miniature eyes ilex rock garden plants. They seldom berry. 766 00:41:04,280 --> 00:41:08,599 What male pollinator should I get? My two red sprites 767 00:41:08,719 --> 00:41:13,880 don't have a male pollinator, and they are exceptional. You know, 768 00:41:14,000 --> 00:41:18,920 this particular plant being a smaller plant. I was visiting 769 00:41:19,079 --> 00:41:21,119 Isley Nursery in Oregon. 770 00:41:21,559 --> 00:41:23,920 Speaker 2: Such a they have such amazing plants. 771 00:41:23,960 --> 00:41:28,880 Speaker 1: It's incredible. And they had these growing in troughs and containers. 772 00:41:29,280 --> 00:41:30,559 What an interesting plant? 773 00:41:30,639 --> 00:41:33,079 Speaker 2: Yeah, and it is so a lot of people aren't 774 00:41:33,079 --> 00:41:35,679 familiar with this it's certainly not common. You aren't going 775 00:41:35,760 --> 00:41:37,360 to just see this at your run of the mill 776 00:41:38,280 --> 00:41:43,000 garden center. But it is a very dwarf holly with 777 00:41:43,639 --> 00:41:46,679 small leaves, small thick, pointy leaves. And yeah, it's called 778 00:41:46,760 --> 00:41:48,239 rock garden because it's the kind of plant that you 779 00:41:48,360 --> 00:41:50,039 put in a rock garden. Just grows as a nice 780 00:41:50,119 --> 00:41:53,400 kind of little tough itt. As I was reading about 781 00:41:53,400 --> 00:41:56,480 it and preparing for the show, grows about one inch 782 00:41:56,679 --> 00:41:57,039 a year. 783 00:41:57,239 --> 00:41:57,719 Speaker 1: Wow. 784 00:41:58,119 --> 00:42:02,480 Speaker 2: That is some slow growing, slow growing plants right there, Patients, 785 00:42:02,639 --> 00:42:04,800 is a fact, which is great, you know. It's it's 786 00:42:04,880 --> 00:42:06,559 kind of nice to have something that you don't have 787 00:42:06,599 --> 00:42:09,599 to worry about overgrowing its space at least in your lifetime, 788 00:42:10,800 --> 00:42:14,440 you know. But one thing that's interesting is so rock 789 00:42:14,599 --> 00:42:17,679 garden is indeed a female holly, so you have the 790 00:42:17,679 --> 00:42:20,719 potential for berries. But I have to say, in every 791 00:42:20,760 --> 00:42:22,880 single source that I looked at through like the first 792 00:42:22,960 --> 00:42:26,079 three pages of Google, I did not find a single 793 00:42:26,280 --> 00:42:28,760 recommended male pollinator for this plant. 794 00:42:29,440 --> 00:42:31,000 Speaker 1: I was going to ask you if you could put 795 00:42:31,039 --> 00:42:35,360 like a large castle wall holly somewhere in the yard, 796 00:42:35,559 --> 00:42:37,119 whether or not it would work, right. 797 00:42:37,199 --> 00:42:39,360 Speaker 2: So the tricky thing here is that I not only 798 00:42:39,400 --> 00:42:42,400 did I not find a specific male pollinator recommended, but 799 00:42:42,679 --> 00:42:46,519 even really reputable sites like the Missouri Botanic Garden just 800 00:42:46,559 --> 00:42:48,960 said it's a hybrid holly, like they didn't say it's 801 00:42:48,960 --> 00:42:51,639 a blue holly, or it's an English holly, or it's 802 00:42:51,719 --> 00:42:55,440 any kind of specific holly. And the key to holly 803 00:42:55,639 --> 00:42:59,519 pollination there's two crucial things. Number one, they have to 804 00:42:59,519 --> 00:43:02,320 be of the same species so that genetics are compatible. 805 00:43:02,679 --> 00:43:04,519 And number two, they have to flower at the same time, 806 00:43:04,840 --> 00:43:06,599 the male and the female, because of course, if the 807 00:43:06,599 --> 00:43:09,079 bloom times don't overlap exactly, you're not going to get 808 00:43:09,079 --> 00:43:12,440 full pollination. So it's interesting that your red sprites are 809 00:43:12,679 --> 00:43:15,480 doing so well. Red sprite is a winterbury holly, like 810 00:43:15,519 --> 00:43:18,280 the same kind that Christine was asking about, So this 811 00:43:18,400 --> 00:43:23,559 kind of loses its foliage in in winter. So what's 812 00:43:23,599 --> 00:43:25,800 happening there? If you live in a neighborhood, is your 813 00:43:25,800 --> 00:43:28,440 neighbor or perhaps if you're out in the wild, a 814 00:43:28,480 --> 00:43:31,239 wild specimen is just pollinating those. But there is nothing 815 00:43:31,280 --> 00:43:35,079 around for your rock garden holly. And I'm not sure 816 00:43:35,079 --> 00:43:37,400 exactly what I would recommend, since I wasn't able to 817 00:43:37,440 --> 00:43:39,960 find at least the species part. But yeah, I think 818 00:43:39,960 --> 00:43:42,679 that a blue holly like castle Wall would be a 819 00:43:42,719 --> 00:43:44,679 good start. But the only thing that concerns me with 820 00:43:44,719 --> 00:43:48,320 that is I feel like there's such common landscape plants 821 00:43:48,360 --> 00:43:52,679 blue holly that if that could do the trick, probably 822 00:43:52,719 --> 00:43:57,119 a neighbor's blue holly would potentially already keep dollinating pennies. 823 00:43:57,239 --> 00:43:59,880 Speaker 1: Yeah, you're right. I think the timing thing, you're right on, 824 00:44:00,039 --> 00:44:01,280 and I think that's the problem. 825 00:44:01,440 --> 00:44:04,159 Speaker 2: It could be timing. The other thing is rock garden 826 00:44:04,159 --> 00:44:06,920 holly is not the hardiest of holly's, probably due to 827 00:44:06,960 --> 00:44:10,360 its hybrid nature. So another possibility is that the flowers 828 00:44:10,400 --> 00:44:12,880 are just being lost to cold. You know, that the 829 00:44:12,920 --> 00:44:17,239 winter is killing the flower buds without actually harming the plant. 830 00:44:17,239 --> 00:44:20,480 So I would say look for those flowers to appear. 831 00:44:21,159 --> 00:44:23,599 If you have a friend who has a male blue holly, 832 00:44:23,719 --> 00:44:25,639 you know, maybe get a little clipping of it when 833 00:44:25,679 --> 00:44:28,000 it's in flower, put it next to this one, you know, 834 00:44:28,079 --> 00:44:30,079 just in a little vase or you know, jar or 835 00:44:30,079 --> 00:44:32,960 something like that to keep it hydrated and see if 836 00:44:33,000 --> 00:44:36,800 that works. Sometimes you just got a experiment. So we 837 00:44:36,840 --> 00:44:40,639 want to thank Adriana and Rick for sharing their incredible 838 00:44:40,719 --> 00:44:43,920 vacation experiences and thank you all so much for listening. 839 00:44:43,920 --> 00:44:45,760 We truly appreciate you and hope you have a wonderful 840 00:44:45,800 --> 00:44:46,239 week ahead.