1
00:00:02,680 --> 00:00:05,799
Speaker 1: Coming to you from the Iconic Studio a at proven

2
00:00:05,839 --> 00:00:10,000
winners Color Choice Shrubs. It's time for the Gardening Simplified Podcast,

3
00:00:10,359 --> 00:00:15,560
YouTube and radio show with Stacy Hervella me, Rick Weist,

4
00:00:15,599 --> 00:00:18,800
and our engineer and producer Adrianna Robinson.

5
00:00:19,239 --> 00:00:19,399
Speaker 2: Well.

6
00:00:19,440 --> 00:00:22,559
Speaker 1: In the US trends and statistics show people are moving

7
00:00:22,679 --> 00:00:28,440
to Tennessee, the Carolinas, and Georgia for domestic migration. The

8
00:00:28,559 --> 00:00:35,240
leaders are by far Florida, Texas, North Carolina, Arizona, South Carolina, Tennessee,

9
00:00:35,960 --> 00:00:38,320
and Georgia. And I think they're getting a lot of

10
00:00:38,359 --> 00:00:43,960
people from the bottom three Illinois, New York and California.

11
00:00:44,079 --> 00:00:45,799
I'm going to guess it has less to do with

12
00:00:45,920 --> 00:00:50,679
gardening and more to do with cost of living, winter, climate, taxation,

13
00:00:50,960 --> 00:00:54,280
all those kinds of things. If it's about gardening and

14
00:00:54,320 --> 00:00:57,840
the best year round weather, the top three states arguably

15
00:00:58,399 --> 00:01:03,200
are California, Hawaii, and Florida. Now, Stacy, for me, I

16
00:01:03,280 --> 00:01:07,200
really like a change of seasons, the change of pace.

17
00:01:08,079 --> 00:01:11,000
But it's no wonder that plant breeders more and more

18
00:01:11,560 --> 00:01:17,560
have focused on plants that are heat tolerant versus cold tolerance.

19
00:01:17,599 --> 00:01:20,680
Speaker 3: Well, you know, heat tolerance is an issue. There are

20
00:01:20,760 --> 00:01:23,439
many climates, even in the Midwest. I always like to say,

21
00:01:23,519 --> 00:01:25,959
shout out to those people in Missouri. You've kind of

22
00:01:25,959 --> 00:01:28,640
got the worst of both worlds. You get really cold

23
00:01:29,159 --> 00:01:33,040
and it gets really really hot, and I can't imagine

24
00:01:33,079 --> 00:01:35,400
gardening like that. I mean, it sounds like such a challenge.

25
00:01:35,439 --> 00:01:38,599
So even if you live in what would be considered

26
00:01:38,680 --> 00:01:42,280
like a mild or cool climate, you could definitely still

27
00:01:42,280 --> 00:01:44,799
need plants that can easily tolerate you know, periods of

28
00:01:44,840 --> 00:01:48,079
one hundred degree temperatures or more for several days. That's

29
00:01:48,120 --> 00:01:49,400
not uncommon nowadays.

30
00:01:49,799 --> 00:01:50,439
Speaker 2: Great point.

31
00:01:50,920 --> 00:01:54,439
Speaker 1: Well, we have our issues in the Midwest like snowstorm winters,

32
00:01:54,599 --> 00:01:58,799
road salt, and we have corn sweat in summer. A

33
00:01:58,799 --> 00:02:01,719
lot of people have never heard of corn sweat before,

34
00:02:01,840 --> 00:02:06,319
but when the corn is actively growing and it's transpiring

35
00:02:06,359 --> 00:02:10,159
out in the fields, they say it really pumps out

36
00:02:10,199 --> 00:02:13,039
the humidity in the Midwest and you can feel it

37
00:02:13,560 --> 00:02:14,319
corn sweat.

38
00:02:14,439 --> 00:02:16,439
Speaker 3: I've been hearing about that quite a bit lately. Yeah,

39
00:02:16,479 --> 00:02:18,360
although it does not seem to be affecting us as

40
00:02:18,360 --> 00:02:21,840
of late, the temperatures have plunged, has the humidity.

41
00:02:22,120 --> 00:02:25,840
Speaker 1: It feels fall like all of a sudden here in Michigan.

42
00:02:26,120 --> 00:02:28,680
But as Alan Armitage told us a few weeks ago,

43
00:02:28,840 --> 00:02:32,439
he said, it's easier to garden in the north than

44
00:02:32,439 --> 00:02:33,199
in the south.

45
00:02:33,800 --> 00:02:35,039
Speaker 2: His opinion.

46
00:02:35,639 --> 00:02:38,080
Speaker 1: So I thought I'd give us a quick limb a

47
00:02:38,240 --> 00:02:43,080
rick to start us off today. And my limerick is

48
00:02:43,199 --> 00:02:48,919
ballad of a northern transplant. I faced northern winters with accidity,

49
00:02:49,560 --> 00:02:53,159
sold my house. Now I've got liquidity. I learned through

50
00:02:53,199 --> 00:02:56,360
word of mouth to garden, you gotta go south and

51
00:02:56,479 --> 00:03:00,199
put up with the heat and humidity. I long or

52
00:03:00,199 --> 00:03:04,599
a cool, gentle breeze. I'm surrounded by drooping leaves. My

53
00:03:04,719 --> 00:03:08,159
plants aren't the only thing wilting like me. They are

54
00:03:08,199 --> 00:03:14,560
slightly tilting. It feels like a bajillion degrees. And I

55
00:03:14,680 --> 00:03:18,080
put together that limerick for our guest on today's show,

56
00:03:18,240 --> 00:03:21,439
Bri Arthur. She's joining us today on the show. She's

57
00:03:21,479 --> 00:03:26,400
a best selling author and gardening personality. Brie is widely

58
00:03:26,479 --> 00:03:29,960
known for her leadership with the National Foodscape movement, and

59
00:03:30,000 --> 00:03:35,840
she has lively and informative packed presentations. I've attended a

60
00:03:35,919 --> 00:03:38,879
number of them, and with the more than two decades

61
00:03:38,879 --> 00:03:43,159
of professional horticultural experience, she's a long time contributor on

62
00:03:43,199 --> 00:03:46,479
the Emmy award winning PBS television show.

63
00:03:46,719 --> 00:03:48,639
Speaker 2: Growing a Greener World.

64
00:03:48,719 --> 00:03:51,680
Speaker 1: So if you want to follow Bri as I do,

65
00:03:51,840 --> 00:03:55,680
briegrows dot Com or her social media and YouTube channel

66
00:03:56,120 --> 00:04:00,039
Breathe the Plant. Lady, Bri, thanks for joining us and

67
00:04:00,159 --> 00:04:04,280
the Gardening Simplified Show and helping us with this conundrum

68
00:04:04,439 --> 00:04:09,000
of comparing northern garden with gardening in the South.

69
00:04:10,360 --> 00:04:13,080
Speaker 4: Well, thank you for having me. It's always such a

70
00:04:13,199 --> 00:04:16,920
treat that I was having to really not laugh out

71
00:04:16,959 --> 00:04:19,519
loud during your limerick, but it's pretty accurate.

72
00:04:21,279 --> 00:04:23,639
Speaker 1: Well, yes, and I stole that phrase from you, Bree,

73
00:04:23,639 --> 00:04:27,319
because I do follow you on YouTube and many times

74
00:04:27,319 --> 00:04:30,560
you'll be standing out there demonstrating something and you'll say

75
00:04:30,600 --> 00:04:34,240
something like it's a bajillion degrees out here, and I

76
00:04:34,279 --> 00:04:36,240
believe you.

77
00:04:36,240 --> 00:04:38,240
Speaker 4: You know, We've had a few days where I thought

78
00:04:38,279 --> 00:04:42,839
my skin was going to melt off my body.

79
00:04:42,879 --> 00:04:43,519
Speaker 2: Amazing.

80
00:04:43,839 --> 00:04:45,600
Speaker 1: Well, we want to get a little help from you

81
00:04:45,680 --> 00:04:48,600
today and we'll be interviewing you in our fourth segment

82
00:04:48,639 --> 00:04:52,680
about this comparison between gardening in the North and South.

83
00:04:53,240 --> 00:04:53,680
Speaker 2: Stacy.

84
00:04:53,759 --> 00:04:57,120
Speaker 1: We get comments and mail from people on this topic.

85
00:04:57,439 --> 00:05:00,680
Speaker 3: Oh yeah, a lot, because because of exactly so you described,

86
00:05:00,720 --> 00:05:03,879
a lot of people are moving, they get a new home,

87
00:05:03,920 --> 00:05:07,000
they're excited to landscape it, and then they find out,

88
00:05:07,160 --> 00:05:10,240
oh my gosh, I can't grow my beloved lilacs, I

89
00:05:10,240 --> 00:05:14,040
can't grow my beloved peonies, and they feel a bit

90
00:05:14,319 --> 00:05:15,879
on moard. I mean, I've I've said it on the

91
00:05:15,879 --> 00:05:18,319
show before, but I cannot tell you how many gardeners

92
00:05:18,319 --> 00:05:20,439
I've heard from who moved to a hot climate and

93
00:05:20,480 --> 00:05:22,360
we're just like, what do you mean, I can't grow lilacs?

94
00:05:22,399 --> 00:05:25,079
Like what is even going on here now? To me,

95
00:05:25,480 --> 00:05:27,680
it is definitely a question of the grass is always

96
00:05:27,680 --> 00:05:30,600
greener on the other side, because I can enumerate a

97
00:05:30,720 --> 00:05:33,040
number of plants that I would love to grow if

98
00:05:33,079 --> 00:05:36,399
I lived in a warmer climate. To me, that would

99
00:05:36,399 --> 00:05:38,600
be a very exciting opportunity. And I don't think I

100
00:05:38,600 --> 00:05:41,800
would miss lilacs one bit. But it's very hard for

101
00:05:41,839 --> 00:05:46,399
people to leave behind what's familiar and learn to face

102
00:05:46,439 --> 00:05:49,319
these challenges, not just in plant selection, but also in

103
00:05:49,519 --> 00:05:52,639
you know, dealing with humidity, dealing with drought, dealing with

104
00:05:53,040 --> 00:05:57,680
prolonged periods of high tempers and especially high night time temperatures.

105
00:05:58,160 --> 00:06:03,120
Speaker 1: So, Brie, you recently gave a talk at the J. C.

106
00:06:03,480 --> 00:06:07,319
Ralston Arboretum at North Carolina State, which I believe is

107
00:06:07,439 --> 00:06:10,639
just up the road from you. What I've learned as

108
00:06:10,800 --> 00:06:14,800
a Southern transplant, are we on the right track here?

109
00:06:15,920 --> 00:06:20,199
Speaker 4: You are one hundred percent hitting it, and you know

110
00:06:20,439 --> 00:06:23,560
it's I've been here twenty two years. I did move

111
00:06:23,600 --> 00:06:26,839
here for climate. I decided early on I didn't want

112
00:06:26,879 --> 00:06:29,319
to have to do snow removal as part of my

113
00:06:29,920 --> 00:06:34,360
career path. And we have such an influx of Northerners

114
00:06:34,399 --> 00:06:39,480
moving here, and it's really important to have events like

115
00:06:39,519 --> 00:06:42,720
what the Ralston just held to try and educate the

116
00:06:42,759 --> 00:06:46,600
people so that they don't feel this crushing disappointment when

117
00:06:46,680 --> 00:06:50,680
everything that they do sales and it's what they used

118
00:06:50,680 --> 00:06:54,759
to do successfully in other climates. It really is like

119
00:06:55,000 --> 00:06:57,560
moving to a different planet when you come to the South.

120
00:06:58,560 --> 00:07:01,519
Speaker 1: Wow, it's that shocking to the system. Well, I noticed,

121
00:07:02,120 --> 00:07:05,000
based on a description of your talk, you said, my

122
00:07:05,120 --> 00:07:09,800
program covers a lot focusing on the importance of soil seasons,

123
00:07:10,319 --> 00:07:16,600
which are dramatically different there plant selections, including annuals and perennials.

124
00:07:16,639 --> 00:07:20,319
You know, when I follow you breed to try to

125
00:07:20,439 --> 00:07:22,720
learn some things, I see you walk up to a

126
00:07:22,759 --> 00:07:25,839
bed saying, well, I want to retro fit this bed

127
00:07:25,879 --> 00:07:29,160
and dig up the plants and change things for next year.

128
00:07:29,199 --> 00:07:31,439
But I'm going to wait until the weather gets cooler

129
00:07:32,000 --> 00:07:35,800
in December. You want to know what I'm doing in December, breath,

130
00:07:36,759 --> 00:07:39,639
I'm shoveling snow.

131
00:07:40,600 --> 00:07:46,160
Speaker 4: It's so accurate, you know. And that's the absolute hardest

132
00:07:46,360 --> 00:07:50,120
habit to break. I've recently gone through this with my parents,

133
00:07:50,160 --> 00:07:54,000
who you know, retired from Michigan and relocated to ake

134
00:07:54,079 --> 00:07:56,920
in South Carolina, and five years in and they still

135
00:07:56,959 --> 00:07:59,199
can't break some of the northern habits.

136
00:08:01,120 --> 00:08:02,079
Speaker 2: That's fantastic.

137
00:08:02,959 --> 00:08:06,959
Speaker 1: Are the plant varieties that you grow in North Carolina,

138
00:08:07,000 --> 00:08:10,720
Brie all that much different from what we grow in Michigan.

139
00:08:12,279 --> 00:08:12,480
You know.

140
00:08:12,959 --> 00:08:16,439
Speaker 4: It's not that they're that different, it's their performance might

141
00:08:16,560 --> 00:08:20,560
be very different, or the plants here might not get

142
00:08:20,560 --> 00:08:24,639
as large. Hosses are a great example. We don't have

143
00:08:24,800 --> 00:08:28,600
enough cold till hours. They don't have proper dormancy in

144
00:08:28,639 --> 00:08:31,439
the winter, so they don't get to be the size

145
00:08:31,439 --> 00:08:34,919
of shrubs. In North Carolina. You have in a few years.

146
00:08:34,919 --> 00:08:37,320
And I sort of dwindle away in part because of

147
00:08:37,399 --> 00:08:41,120
deer and fowls and rabbits, but also just because the

148
00:08:41,120 --> 00:08:45,519
ground doesn't freeze, and plants like hosses and peonies, they

149
00:08:45,559 --> 00:08:49,519
appreciate that cold, dormant period that you get in the north.

150
00:08:50,360 --> 00:08:52,919
Speaker 1: You know, that's really interesting. Brie on a show a

151
00:08:52,919 --> 00:08:55,559
couple of weeks ago, we had doctor Allan Armitage on

152
00:08:55,679 --> 00:08:59,960
the show, and he of course is from Quebec, Canada,

153
00:09:00,240 --> 00:09:04,240
studied at Michigan State University. But he said gardening is

154
00:09:04,320 --> 00:09:07,240
much easier in the North than the South because up

155
00:09:07,320 --> 00:09:11,440
north the plants are either beautiful or dead one or

156
00:09:11,440 --> 00:09:14,360
the other, whereas in the South they kind of linger

157
00:09:14,480 --> 00:09:17,320
or hang on like your hostas we have.

158
00:09:17,440 --> 00:09:22,000
Speaker 4: This you know, hope springs eternal, you never quite know.

159
00:09:22,960 --> 00:09:27,440
I fully agree with Alan, having lived in both climates.

160
00:09:27,639 --> 00:09:30,200
There's also a lot to be said for having that

161
00:09:30,320 --> 00:09:35,039
rest period in the winter where you aren't actively transplanting

162
00:09:35,080 --> 00:09:38,960
things and you know, working in your garden on a

163
00:09:39,000 --> 00:09:43,000
regular basis. Here it's a twelve month cycle. In fact,

164
00:09:43,000 --> 00:09:45,559
I've actually gone so far as to recommend to a

165
00:09:45,639 --> 00:09:48,919
lot of people that they take June, July and August

166
00:09:49,080 --> 00:09:53,600
off from gardening, and they really only garden from September May,

167
00:09:53,679 --> 00:09:58,279
because the summers are becoming less and less enjoyable.

168
00:09:59,120 --> 00:10:01,639
Speaker 1: Now that makes a lot of sense. Coming up in

169
00:10:01,679 --> 00:10:05,600
our fourth segment, stick Around, Brie is going to give

170
00:10:05,679 --> 00:10:10,240
us advice on gardening in the South, especially if you're

171
00:10:10,279 --> 00:10:14,399
a transplant from a northern region. This is gonna be

172
00:10:14,399 --> 00:10:17,279
great and we're looking forward to that. In segment four,

173
00:10:17,440 --> 00:10:21,080
coming up next, we'll hear from Stacy in Plants on

174
00:10:21,200 --> 00:10:24,080
Trial how she's going to tie it in this week.

175
00:10:24,519 --> 00:10:25,159
Speaker 2: I can't wait.

176
00:10:26,159 --> 00:10:30,000
Speaker 1: That's coming up next here on the Gardening Simplified Show.

177
00:10:35,200 --> 00:10:38,360
Speaker 3: Prooven Winners Colored Choice Shrubs cares about your success in

178
00:10:38,399 --> 00:10:40,840
the garden. That's why we trial and test all of

179
00:10:40,840 --> 00:10:43,480
our shrubs for eight to ten years, making sure they

180
00:10:43,480 --> 00:10:46,200
outperform everything else on the market. Look for them in

181
00:10:46,240 --> 00:10:51,559
the distinctive white container at your local garden center. Greening's

182
00:10:51,559 --> 00:10:54,919
Gardening friends, and welcome back to the Gardening Simplified Show,

183
00:10:54,960 --> 00:10:56,799
where the order of the day is the grass is

184
00:10:56,799 --> 00:11:02,559
always greener. On the other side, you know that people

185
00:11:02,720 --> 00:11:05,200
often do think if only I could grow this, I

186
00:11:05,240 --> 00:11:08,159
would be happy, and I feel that. You know the

187
00:11:08,200 --> 00:11:10,759
other day my husband said to me, if you could

188
00:11:10,799 --> 00:11:14,559
grow an avocado tree, would you I was like, two,

189
00:11:15,480 --> 00:11:18,320
I couldn't. You can't give me enough act because if

190
00:11:18,320 --> 00:11:20,240
I could grow an avocado tree, I could grow lemons

191
00:11:20,279 --> 00:11:23,320
and oranges and limes and all of these great things.

192
00:11:23,320 --> 00:11:25,039
But of course all the people who can grow those

193
00:11:25,039 --> 00:11:28,159
things are probably sitting around going, I really wish I

194
00:11:28,159 --> 00:11:31,279
could grow blah blah blah. So whatever wherever you're at, no,

195
00:11:31,399 --> 00:11:34,759
there is always someone who's wishing they could grow what

196
00:11:35,000 --> 00:11:40,360
you take for granted, if that's any comfort whatsoever. I

197
00:11:40,399 --> 00:11:41,679
know for me, I don't know if I'd want a

198
00:11:41,720 --> 00:11:44,120
garden in a humid climate, but definitely like an arid

199
00:11:44,639 --> 00:11:48,600
Californian Mediterranean climate, I think I would be very very happy.

200
00:11:48,639 --> 00:11:53,000
Speaker 1: And you know, I love humidity, but I'm strange. Forgive me,

201
00:11:53,120 --> 00:11:54,120
I'm only humid.

202
00:11:55,159 --> 00:11:56,559
Speaker 3: Well, you have short hair, so you don't have to

203
00:11:56,600 --> 00:11:58,879
worry about, you know, getting big hair from the humidity

204
00:11:59,080 --> 00:12:01,840
and all that. But you know, obviously we're talking about

205
00:12:01,840 --> 00:12:05,519
temperature and gardening in hot climates versus cold climates. And

206
00:12:05,559 --> 00:12:08,759
I wanted today's plant on trial to be a plant

207
00:12:09,039 --> 00:12:12,679
that is from a warm climate, or is commonly grown

208
00:12:12,720 --> 00:12:16,720
in warm climates, but can actually be grown in cool

209
00:12:16,799 --> 00:12:19,240
climates as well. And I think that with the advent

210
00:12:19,320 --> 00:12:22,639
of the Internet, obviously that's been a while now, but

211
00:12:22,759 --> 00:12:25,559
that it has really changed the way that people think

212
00:12:25,559 --> 00:12:28,159
about a lot of plants, because you know, for many,

213
00:12:28,200 --> 00:12:30,399
many years, garden centers aren't really going out of limb

214
00:12:30,399 --> 00:12:32,080
and saying like, oh, hey, this is a cool plant,

215
00:12:32,360 --> 00:12:34,519
maybe it will survive for you. But now there's all

216
00:12:34,519 --> 00:12:37,200
of these discussion groups and Facebook groups and all of

217
00:12:37,240 --> 00:12:40,519
that where people are sharing their experience and they're starting

218
00:12:40,559 --> 00:12:44,360
to learn that things can be grown that maybe for

219
00:12:44,399 --> 00:12:46,879
many many years it was just assumed that things weren't

220
00:12:46,879 --> 00:12:50,399
as hardy. And one great example of that is crape myrtle.

221
00:12:50,799 --> 00:12:51,799
Speaker 2: What a great choice.

222
00:12:51,919 --> 00:12:53,879
Speaker 1: I'm looking forward to hearing what you have to say

223
00:12:53,879 --> 00:12:56,679
about this because you've shown me crape myrtle in the

224
00:12:56,759 --> 00:12:58,679
garden here and it is stunning.

225
00:12:58,840 --> 00:13:01,559
Speaker 3: It is stunning. And you know, I was thinking that

226
00:13:02,159 --> 00:13:04,200
a lot of people from the North when they travel

227
00:13:04,240 --> 00:13:07,720
to the South, they see crape myrtles, but they don't

228
00:13:07,720 --> 00:13:10,039
really understand what's so special about them, because they're not

229
00:13:10,120 --> 00:13:12,679
usually in the South in the summer, and that is

230
00:13:12,679 --> 00:13:16,120
when crate myrtles excel, and so if you're not familiar

231
00:13:16,159 --> 00:13:21,759
with them, they are honestly one of the most floriferous

232
00:13:22,000 --> 00:13:25,120
flowering shrubs or trees, and most of them are trees,

233
00:13:25,159 --> 00:13:27,720
but there are shrubby varieties. In today's plant on trial

234
00:13:27,879 --> 00:13:31,720
is a shrubby crape myrtle. But they are just I mean,

235
00:13:31,720 --> 00:13:34,399
they'll take your breath away. They are just positively covered

236
00:13:34,440 --> 00:13:40,559
in thousands and thousands of super vivid flowers, and I

237
00:13:40,559 --> 00:13:43,120
mean you can't not notice them. They're just they take

238
00:13:43,200 --> 00:13:48,159
all the attention, and they are They also have really

239
00:13:48,240 --> 00:13:51,320
nice bark, so that's another great feature. That's what most

240
00:13:51,320 --> 00:13:53,679
people will notice about them if they are traveling, you

241
00:13:53,679 --> 00:14:00,279
know south in the winters. Beautiful smooth bark. But you know, overall,

242
00:14:01,039 --> 00:14:03,159
their foliage is just kind of there. They do have

243
00:14:03,200 --> 00:14:06,120
good folk color overall, but their foliage is just not

244
00:14:06,240 --> 00:14:08,919
really their strong suit. So there has long been this

245
00:14:09,000 --> 00:14:15,080
desire to have crape myrtles that have more interesting foliage,

246
00:14:15,240 --> 00:14:18,120
and that's where the Center Stage series of crape myrtle

247
00:14:18,159 --> 00:14:22,159
come in. They have black foliage, so I mean really

248
00:14:22,200 --> 00:14:25,159
not kind of purply, it's really quite a true black.

249
00:14:25,879 --> 00:14:29,120
And there are three different colors of the Center Stage

250
00:14:29,519 --> 00:14:31,360
crape myrtles, each one with black foliage. So there's center

251
00:14:31,399 --> 00:14:33,759
stage red, which we've already covered on the show. There's

252
00:14:33,799 --> 00:14:36,000
center stage coral, which is kind of like a light

253
00:14:37,519 --> 00:14:40,600
slightly orange pink, and then center stage pink, which is

254
00:14:40,600 --> 00:14:44,879
today's plant on trial, which has vivid, bright fuchia flowers

255
00:14:44,879 --> 00:14:49,000
that just absolutely pop against that dark black foliage.

256
00:14:49,039 --> 00:14:52,480
Speaker 1: Yeah, the flowers look fluorescent to me. And whenever I

257
00:14:52,759 --> 00:14:56,159
fly south and get off the airplane and you go

258
00:14:56,600 --> 00:15:00,639
hail a cab, usually that drive out of the airport

259
00:15:00,720 --> 00:15:02,720
is usually lined with crape myrtle.

260
00:15:02,879 --> 00:15:04,919
Speaker 3: Yes, you know they And that's that says so much

261
00:15:04,960 --> 00:15:08,240
about how crape myrtles are so easy to grow, they're

262
00:15:08,279 --> 00:15:11,200
so durable because they are extensively used as street trees.

263
00:15:11,240 --> 00:15:13,399
You can go down to New Orleans and they line

264
00:15:13,440 --> 00:15:17,000
the avenues in the parks down there, absolutely on airports,

265
00:15:17,039 --> 00:15:20,000
and they're super popular as a home, you know, landscape

266
00:15:20,000 --> 00:15:23,039
plant as well. Because they're very easy to grow, they

267
00:15:23,080 --> 00:15:26,279
are very durable. As is common in the South, there

268
00:15:26,320 --> 00:15:29,320
are some pests that specifically prey on crape myrtle, some

269
00:15:29,399 --> 00:15:33,120
bark scales just because you don't have that killing frost

270
00:15:33,240 --> 00:15:36,039
that we tend to get up here, but still they

271
00:15:36,120 --> 00:15:40,000
shoulder that burden without problem, and every single year they

272
00:15:40,440 --> 00:15:43,039
just bloom like crazy.

273
00:15:43,240 --> 00:15:44,600
Speaker 2: Well, I'm anxious here.

274
00:15:44,679 --> 00:15:48,200
Speaker 1: I'm gonna jump ahead then, Stacy, because I'm sold on

275
00:15:48,320 --> 00:15:52,919
center stage, pink crape myrtle. Tell me the USDA Hardiness

276
00:15:53,000 --> 00:15:53,960
zone please, right.

277
00:15:54,080 --> 00:15:56,759
Speaker 3: So most crape myrtles, for many, many years were thought

278
00:15:56,799 --> 00:16:00,080
only to grow down to USDA Zone seven, okay, but

279
00:16:00,159 --> 00:16:02,720
they actually most of them will easily grow in USDA

280
00:16:02,799 --> 00:16:06,799
Zone six, some not center stage specifically, even down to

281
00:16:06,879 --> 00:16:09,519
USDA Zone five, And so we're really starting to find

282
00:16:09,600 --> 00:16:13,080
out that they are much more cold tolerant now. In

283
00:16:13,120 --> 00:16:16,480
these colder areas, most of these crape myrtles are going

284
00:16:16,519 --> 00:16:18,919
to die back to the ground, especially if you've had

285
00:16:18,960 --> 00:16:21,480
a hard winter. But the thing is they're able to

286
00:16:21,480 --> 00:16:23,759
come right back up despite the fact that they're woody plants.

287
00:16:24,000 --> 00:16:27,120
They come right back up from their roots and grow

288
00:16:27,159 --> 00:16:29,679
and flower because they flower on new woods. So having

289
00:16:29,720 --> 00:16:33,480
that frost die back over winter doesn't It means you

290
00:16:33,519 --> 00:16:36,559
still get all of that great color. And everybody in

291
00:16:36,559 --> 00:16:38,519
your neighborhood is going to be like, oh my gosh,

292
00:16:38,720 --> 00:16:41,440
what is that because they don't even know that they

293
00:16:41,480 --> 00:16:43,519
can grow them in the first place. So we put

294
00:16:43,600 --> 00:16:46,960
USDA Zone six B on center stage. Crape myrtle that

295
00:16:47,039 --> 00:16:51,360
black foliage that makes them so unique and distinctive does

296
00:16:51,559 --> 00:16:54,320
mean that they are a little less hardy than other

297
00:16:54,639 --> 00:16:58,840
green leafed crape myrtles that are out there. So if

298
00:16:58,879 --> 00:17:00,960
you are in zone five five or zone six A

299
00:17:01,080 --> 00:17:03,600
and you want to try a crape myrtle, center stage

300
00:17:03,600 --> 00:17:05,119
would not be the best one to start with. But

301
00:17:05,119 --> 00:17:06,839
if you're in zone six B, as we are here

302
00:17:06,880 --> 00:17:10,039
in West Michigan, we have had great survival. They will

303
00:17:10,079 --> 00:17:12,400
go on to grow and flower even if they dive

304
00:17:12,440 --> 00:17:15,279
back to the ground, which they actually don't do every year.

305
00:17:15,559 --> 00:17:17,960
And again, these are shrubby crape myrtles, So if you're

306
00:17:18,039 --> 00:17:21,160
trying a crate myrtle in a cool climate, you want

307
00:17:21,200 --> 00:17:24,200
to go for these shrubby types rather than the tree types,

308
00:17:24,240 --> 00:17:26,480
because the tree types will never be able to form

309
00:17:26,640 --> 00:17:29,759
that trunk and grow into that tree. But the shrubby types,

310
00:17:29,759 --> 00:17:32,200
they're multi stemmed, they are the ones that are more

311
00:17:32,279 --> 00:17:37,240
capable of regenerating after really really harsh weather. In Center

312
00:17:37,240 --> 00:17:40,519
stage is definitely one of those. Now, one of the

313
00:17:40,559 --> 00:17:43,440
things that I think is really interesting about crate myrtles

314
00:17:44,000 --> 00:17:46,160
When you see them, all you see is the color

315
00:17:46,359 --> 00:17:49,839
and you just see this big, massive flowers. But when

316
00:17:49,880 --> 00:17:53,000
you kind of zoom in, so to speak, and look

317
00:17:53,119 --> 00:17:56,920
at an individual flower, they are so unique and so

318
00:17:57,160 --> 00:17:59,680
intricate you really kind of can't believe your eyes when

319
00:17:59,680 --> 00:18:04,000
you're actually looking at an individual flower. And these are

320
00:18:04,039 --> 00:18:08,440
in the Lithraci family, so that is the loose strife family. Now,

321
00:18:08,920 --> 00:18:11,000
don't panic. I know most people are going to a

322
00:18:11,000 --> 00:18:13,720
panic when they hear that, especially in the Midwest, because

323
00:18:13,759 --> 00:18:16,079
purple lue strife is such a terrible invasive plant for us.

324
00:18:16,279 --> 00:18:18,599
But just because they're related does not mean they're a problem.

325
00:18:19,559 --> 00:18:23,000
Crape myrtles very rarely set seed and grow even in

326
00:18:23,079 --> 00:18:25,720
hot climates where they would be perfectly at home, so

327
00:18:25,759 --> 00:18:28,759
you don't have to worry about this spreading. But it's

328
00:18:28,799 --> 00:18:31,160
actually a pretty interesting plant family. So when you look

329
00:18:31,200 --> 00:18:33,200
at this flower, of course, it's the flowers that group

330
00:18:33,359 --> 00:18:39,599
plants into families. It is related to pomegranate, so pomegranate

331
00:18:39,680 --> 00:18:43,960
is also in the lithrace as is another invasive but

332
00:18:44,160 --> 00:18:49,920
very interesting plant, the water caltrop Trepa newtens, which is

333
00:18:50,119 --> 00:18:53,160
an aquatic plant. It was very common in the Hudson

334
00:18:53,240 --> 00:18:56,799
River in New York, and they make these really cool

335
00:18:57,079 --> 00:19:00,839
seeds they're kind of charcoally black. They're really fun to

336
00:19:00,880 --> 00:19:03,880
play with. Also in that same family, so it's kind

337
00:19:03,920 --> 00:19:09,640
of a really unusual mix of plants. And when you

338
00:19:09,680 --> 00:19:11,960
look at the flowers of all of them. I know,

339
00:19:12,000 --> 00:19:14,480
I was reading the Wikipedia page on the THREEC today

340
00:19:14,880 --> 00:19:19,119
and it said the petals often appear crumpled, and that

341
00:19:19,279 --> 00:19:21,519
is kind of actually the case. And it's really cool

342
00:19:21,559 --> 00:19:24,880
to see the crape myrtle flowers come. The way that

343
00:19:24,920 --> 00:19:27,599
they are arranged in the bud and the way that

344
00:19:27,599 --> 00:19:30,680
they open. It's just a really really unique plant. And

345
00:19:31,200 --> 00:19:34,799
because this is a shrubby variety, the center stage series

346
00:19:34,920 --> 00:19:36,920
is they're going to be down there where you can

347
00:19:36,960 --> 00:19:39,880
actually see them because in those large trees like that

348
00:19:39,880 --> 00:19:42,200
they use for street trees in the South, you don't

349
00:19:42,240 --> 00:19:44,559
get to engage with the flowers because they're usually pretty

350
00:19:44,640 --> 00:19:47,799
high up on the tree. So these shrubby ones allow

351
00:19:47,880 --> 00:19:50,839
you to get up close to really enjoy how unique

352
00:19:50,880 --> 00:19:53,240
they are. And will of course have pictures of those

353
00:19:53,240 --> 00:19:55,279
in the show notes at Gardening Simplified on Air dot

354
00:19:55,279 --> 00:19:57,720
Com as well as in the YouTube version. If you

355
00:19:57,839 --> 00:20:00,599
are watching that, you'll see what I mean with these

356
00:20:00,640 --> 00:20:06,119
really really unique flowers. Now we did. The Center Stage

357
00:20:06,160 --> 00:20:08,720
series was developed by Megan Mattai, our breeder here at

358
00:20:09,319 --> 00:20:11,799
Proven Winners Color Choice Shrubs, who has been on the

359
00:20:11,799 --> 00:20:14,880
show before, and she spent a lot of time developing

360
00:20:14,920 --> 00:20:18,599
these because she we needed them to be powdery mildew resistant,

361
00:20:19,240 --> 00:20:22,480
and any other black foliage crape myrtles that have been

362
00:20:22,519 --> 00:20:26,240
on the market previously were susceptible to powdery mildew. This

363
00:20:26,279 --> 00:20:30,160
is something that's not uncommon for black foliage plants. Whether

364
00:20:30,200 --> 00:20:32,599
it is that they are more susceptible in and of themselves,

365
00:20:32,920 --> 00:20:35,359
or just that the powdery mildew really stands out on

366
00:20:35,440 --> 00:20:38,000
that dark foliage, or a combination of both. I don't know,

367
00:20:38,680 --> 00:20:41,799
but it was really important that these varieties be very,

368
00:20:41,880 --> 00:20:44,559
very resistant to powdery mildew. So if you want to

369
00:20:44,559 --> 00:20:47,319
try it, they are disease resistant, but you are going

370
00:20:47,359 --> 00:20:49,039
to want to put them in full sun, so at

371
00:20:49,160 --> 00:20:51,920
least six hours of bright sun every day.

372
00:20:51,839 --> 00:20:53,519
Speaker 2: Full sun. Are they drought resistant?

373
00:20:53,640 --> 00:20:55,880
Speaker 3: They are going to be very drought tolerant once they

374
00:20:55,920 --> 00:20:57,920
are established. Of course, it's always you know, you got

375
00:20:57,960 --> 00:20:59,400
to get them there, make sure they get that good

376
00:20:59,480 --> 00:21:02,359
root system down. But yeah, I mean that's why they're

377
00:21:02,400 --> 00:21:05,440
able to grow as urban street trees because they can

378
00:21:05,559 --> 00:21:07,519
withstand long periods of drought.

379
00:21:07,720 --> 00:21:12,759
Speaker 1: It's fascinating information, Stacy. I thought the water coltrup was

380
00:21:12,839 --> 00:21:17,759
an Olympic sporting event, so I wrote it down here

381
00:21:17,880 --> 00:21:19,200
and I'm going to look that up.

382
00:21:19,240 --> 00:21:22,160
Speaker 3: Yeah, look at it's a quite interesting plant and you

383
00:21:22,160 --> 00:21:24,920
will never suspect it's related to today's plan on trial

384
00:21:25,240 --> 00:21:28,519
center stage pink crape myrtle. So we're going to take

385
00:21:28,519 --> 00:21:30,000
a little break right now and when we come back

386
00:21:30,160 --> 00:21:32,440
and open up that garden mailed eggs, so please stay

387
00:21:32,440 --> 00:21:41,680
tuned at proven winner's color choice. We've got a shrub

388
00:21:41,799 --> 00:21:44,880
for every taste and every space. Whether you're looking for

389
00:21:44,920 --> 00:21:48,559
an easy care rose and unforgettable hydrangea, or something new

390
00:21:48,599 --> 00:21:50,880
and unique, you can be confident that the shrubs and

391
00:21:50,920 --> 00:21:54,000
the white containers have been trialed and tested for your success.

392
00:21:54,279 --> 00:21:59,440
Look for them at your local garden center. Greetings, gardening friends,

393
00:21:59,480 --> 00:22:01,799
and welcome come back to the Gardening Simplified Show, where

394
00:22:01,839 --> 00:22:05,200
it's our time to help you in the garden. And

395
00:22:05,240 --> 00:22:08,640
of course, as fall is coming, people have so many questions.

396
00:22:08,720 --> 00:22:11,000
What do I do? What don't I do? And remember

397
00:22:11,079 --> 00:22:15,559
the answer is always winning out. Don't just don't wait

398
00:22:15,640 --> 00:22:17,799
until you know what to do to make a decision.

399
00:22:17,799 --> 00:22:19,920
It's a lot easier to correct something you didn't do

400
00:22:20,119 --> 00:22:23,359
usually than something that you shouldn't have done and did,

401
00:22:23,400 --> 00:22:25,799
if that makes any sense. But we've all been there,

402
00:22:27,680 --> 00:22:30,640
not just for gardening, but especially for gardenings. This is

403
00:22:30,640 --> 00:22:34,400
how gardening informs every aspect of life. The things you

404
00:22:34,519 --> 00:22:37,559
learn at growing plants can can make can make a

405
00:22:37,599 --> 00:22:39,799
difference in all aspects of your life. But if you

406
00:22:39,839 --> 00:22:42,240
do have a question, you are most welcome to reach

407
00:22:42,279 --> 00:22:44,960
out to us at help HLP, at Gardenings Simplified on

408
00:22:45,000 --> 00:22:47,839
air dot com, or just visit Gardening Simplified on air

409
00:22:47,880 --> 00:22:50,680
dot com. We've got a contact form there, and you

410
00:22:50,720 --> 00:22:53,279
can even ask us a question on YouTube by leaving

411
00:22:53,319 --> 00:22:55,279
a comment and we'll make sure that we get back

412
00:22:55,279 --> 00:22:58,680
to you if you have a question there. And what

413
00:22:58,720 --> 00:22:59,759
do we got in the mail bag today?

414
00:23:00,039 --> 00:23:04,599
Speaker 1: Well sage advice there, Stacey and I agree fall fabulous

415
00:23:04,640 --> 00:23:08,119
time to be out there gardening. Karma writes, does zucchini

416
00:23:08,200 --> 00:23:12,119
have a short life cycle? I planted six zucchini.

417
00:23:12,480 --> 00:23:13,319
Speaker 2: You think I'm.

418
00:23:13,160 --> 00:23:16,400
Speaker 1: Crazy, but I have had horrible squash vine borer kills

419
00:23:16,440 --> 00:23:19,920
so many, so I planted a lot. To my surprise,

420
00:23:20,079 --> 00:23:24,119
all lived and I supplied my neighborhood for a few weeks.

421
00:23:24,599 --> 00:23:28,559
Then out of nowhere, approximately second week in August, four

422
00:23:28,599 --> 00:23:30,640
of them stop producing turned yellow.

423
00:23:31,160 --> 00:23:32,480
Speaker 2: I just took these pictures.

424
00:23:32,559 --> 00:23:35,279
Speaker 1: They aren't dead. What do you think happened? I live

425
00:23:35,440 --> 00:23:36,799
in zone five.

426
00:23:36,920 --> 00:23:37,640
Speaker 2: Bet Okay.

427
00:23:37,640 --> 00:23:39,279
Speaker 3: So she goes on to say a master gardener in

428
00:23:39,400 --> 00:23:42,440
Utah said, we don't have squash vine borer in Utah

429
00:23:42,559 --> 00:23:44,359
yet when I've seen a little moth that has the

430
00:23:44,400 --> 00:23:46,759
same coloring as a squash vine borer, a moth, a

431
00:23:46,759 --> 00:23:49,519
pumpkin or zucchini Wilson dies with in days, is the

432
00:23:49,519 --> 00:23:52,559
squash vine bor this far west or not?

433
00:23:52,799 --> 00:23:52,880
Speaker 4: So?

434
00:23:53,359 --> 00:23:55,920
Speaker 3: Karma? I want you to know that I feel your pain,

435
00:23:56,000 --> 00:23:58,799
because you know when people make those jokes about you know,

436
00:23:58,920 --> 00:24:02,200
national sneak zukin me onto your neighbor's porch. Don't leave

437
00:24:02,200 --> 00:24:04,680
your car unlocked or it's going to be full of zucchini.

438
00:24:05,160 --> 00:24:07,640
I have had a similar experience to you, where I

439
00:24:07,799 --> 00:24:11,160
always get squash vine bor, and I'm very jealous of

440
00:24:11,200 --> 00:24:13,160
all these people who have more zucchini than they can

441
00:24:13,200 --> 00:24:16,319
handle because my plants and you know, here in Michigan,

442
00:24:16,720 --> 00:24:20,920
the squash vine borer hits just as they start producing,

443
00:24:21,039 --> 00:24:23,839
so you don't even get like a little bit before

444
00:24:24,480 --> 00:24:26,519
they destroy the plant. If you're not familiar with this,

445
00:24:27,079 --> 00:24:29,640
it is a moth larva. So the little caterpillar they

446
00:24:29,720 --> 00:24:32,400
lay the eggs, it goes into the squash vine and

447
00:24:32,480 --> 00:24:35,160
it actually lives in those hollow stems, and it makes

448
00:24:35,160 --> 00:24:37,359
its way down into the main stem of the plant

449
00:24:37,640 --> 00:24:41,640
and can actually completely detach the plant from its roots,

450
00:24:42,880 --> 00:24:45,759
in which case, of course, it doesn't produce anymore. So

451
00:24:46,359 --> 00:24:48,599
good anya to not have that problem this year. I

452
00:24:48,680 --> 00:24:52,119
actually did have a successful zucchini harvest this year, and

453
00:24:52,519 --> 00:24:54,680
one of the reasons why, I think, is because I

454
00:24:54,759 --> 00:24:58,400
planted it much later than I usually do, so instead

455
00:24:58,400 --> 00:25:01,599
of planting, you know, in May when most people are

456
00:25:01,599 --> 00:25:04,319
planting zucchini, just because my garden wasn't ready and we

457
00:25:04,319 --> 00:25:06,440
were doing so much work in the yard, I didn't

458
00:25:06,440 --> 00:25:09,480
plan until about the second week of June, and so

459
00:25:09,680 --> 00:25:12,960
my zucchini harvest is actually just coming in now. But

460
00:25:13,000 --> 00:25:16,200
I think I kind of missed that crime squash for

461
00:25:17,799 --> 00:25:21,519
you know time. So Karma for your first question, Yes,

462
00:25:21,640 --> 00:25:25,039
zucchini absolutely does have a short life cycle. It's nothing

463
00:25:25,079 --> 00:25:27,640
that you're doing. It's not like you can keep watering

464
00:25:27,680 --> 00:25:30,160
it or do something special to it to keep it growing.

465
00:25:30,720 --> 00:25:34,200
It fruits. It's done. That's just how it is. And

466
00:25:34,279 --> 00:25:37,839
if you want a continuous harvest of zucchini, the best

467
00:25:37,839 --> 00:25:39,960
thing you can do is to continue to sow the

468
00:25:40,039 --> 00:25:43,720
zucchini seeds through the season. So what you would do

469
00:25:43,799 --> 00:25:45,759
is go ahead and make that first sewing, you know,

470
00:25:45,920 --> 00:25:50,240
in early May, and then three to you know, four

471
00:25:50,319 --> 00:25:53,960
or five weeks later, make a second sewing of zucchini,

472
00:25:54,000 --> 00:25:56,680
and you can even probably do a third one three

473
00:25:56,680 --> 00:25:59,200
to four weeks after that because it will you'll see

474
00:25:59,240 --> 00:26:02,319
how many days takes from germination on your seed packet.

475
00:26:03,279 --> 00:26:05,000
It will usually say like fifty four days, and that

476
00:26:05,039 --> 00:26:08,440
will be you know, roughly when you can harvest after germination,

477
00:26:09,319 --> 00:26:10,880
so you can kind of do the math based on

478
00:26:10,920 --> 00:26:13,799
your season. But yeah, that's that's just the way that

479
00:26:13,920 --> 00:26:16,960
zucchini is. But now, I did research about squash vine

480
00:26:17,000 --> 00:26:19,519
bore in Utah, and it is true that it is

481
00:26:19,599 --> 00:26:23,079
primarily a pest in the eastern half of the US

482
00:26:23,160 --> 00:26:27,400
and Canada. However, I did read that the squash vine

483
00:26:27,440 --> 00:26:30,680
bore is found in Mexico and Utah is not like

484
00:26:30,880 --> 00:26:33,200
right next door to Mexico, but it's not far and

485
00:26:33,279 --> 00:26:37,799
moths get around, so I don't think it's inconceivable for

486
00:26:38,279 --> 00:26:41,000
squash vine bore to be present in your area. But

487
00:26:41,039 --> 00:26:44,039
as I was researching this, I also discovered that there

488
00:26:44,079 --> 00:26:49,559
are relatives of squash vine boor with very delightful names

489
00:26:49,799 --> 00:26:53,440
pickle worm. Do you ever have a picklewormickle? Pickleworm?

490
00:26:53,599 --> 00:26:56,359
Speaker 2: When the relatives come over, it's trouble.

491
00:26:57,359 --> 00:27:02,400
Speaker 3: And this is so pickleworm. Pickleworm is a relative of

492
00:27:02,440 --> 00:27:05,200
the squash vine board and now it does prey primarily

493
00:27:05,240 --> 00:27:09,160
on cucumbers, but because cucumbers are closely related to squash,

494
00:27:09,279 --> 00:27:13,000
it can prey on squash and melon worm, which again,

495
00:27:13,480 --> 00:27:17,640
like the pickleworm, primarily a predator of melons, but can

496
00:27:17,799 --> 00:27:20,680
absolutely grow on squash, and those are found out west.

497
00:27:20,799 --> 00:27:24,400
So it is possible that what you're seeing is a relative,

498
00:27:24,839 --> 00:27:26,920
or it's also possible that you do indeed have squash

499
00:27:27,000 --> 00:27:29,839
vine or it sounds like from everything you describe, that's

500
00:27:29,839 --> 00:27:32,599
what the problem is. But from the photos that you sent, yeah,

501
00:27:32,640 --> 00:27:36,279
these plants are just they've you know, outlived their usefulness

502
00:27:36,319 --> 00:27:39,000
and they just go dormant. And you can use that

503
00:27:39,240 --> 00:27:42,079
as an opportunity to plant a fall crop, either of

504
00:27:42,160 --> 00:27:47,640
squash or of greens, lettuces, carrots, radishes. There's lots of

505
00:27:47,680 --> 00:27:51,000
different ways that you can then transform that space into

506
00:27:51,039 --> 00:27:53,440
a fall crop to extend your season and gets you

507
00:27:53,519 --> 00:27:54,599
a little bit more to harvest.

508
00:27:54,839 --> 00:27:57,599
Speaker 1: And Karma says that she lives in Zone five B.

509
00:27:58,079 --> 00:28:00,279
I can tell you from experience that when I gets

510
00:28:00,319 --> 00:28:03,519
hot and humid in summer, any of the q kurbets

511
00:28:03,519 --> 00:28:07,400
are also going to struggle with downy mildew or powdery mildew.

512
00:28:07,480 --> 00:28:09,799
Something to watch for too. All of these types of

513
00:28:09,839 --> 00:28:14,359
things Stacey can cause some wilt in short order.

514
00:28:14,519 --> 00:28:18,680
Speaker 3: Yes, definitely. They are very disease prone plants. I have

515
00:28:18,759 --> 00:28:22,599
to confess I'm growing them right now. Both my zucchini

516
00:28:22,640 --> 00:28:25,680
and cucumbers have disease. I'm just living with it.

517
00:28:25,799 --> 00:28:26,559
Speaker 2: Mine does too.

518
00:28:27,359 --> 00:28:30,279
Speaker 1: Joe Anne writes, I'm a listener to the podcast learning

519
00:28:30,319 --> 00:28:33,440
so much. Thank you well, thank you, Joeanne. And I'm

520
00:28:33,440 --> 00:28:36,200
writing to ask for pruning advice. I have a winecraft

521
00:28:36,519 --> 00:28:40,240
black smoke bush on its leap year. First year sleep,

522
00:28:40,319 --> 00:28:43,440
second year creeps, third year leaps and it did some

523
00:28:43,599 --> 00:28:47,160
funky wild growing. It's sent off tall branches that are

524
00:28:47,160 --> 00:28:50,599
bare until the top where there is a poor of

525
00:28:51,079 --> 00:28:54,720
there is a poor of small branches and leaves. It

526
00:28:54,759 --> 00:28:58,160
looks ridiculous and it's top heavy and bends down in

527
00:28:58,200 --> 00:29:01,279
the rain. My instinct is to cut the long branches off,

528
00:29:01,319 --> 00:29:03,880
but I'm not sure where all right.

529
00:29:04,000 --> 00:29:07,880
Speaker 3: So, smoke bush in general, whether it's winecraft black or

530
00:29:07,960 --> 00:29:10,519
royal purple or one of the other many varieties that

531
00:29:10,559 --> 00:29:13,880
are out there, they just do weird things. It is

532
00:29:14,200 --> 00:29:17,920
just an inherent quality that this plant has. They have

533
00:29:18,000 --> 00:29:23,440
some very unusual growth. And particularly no Joanne didn't say,

534
00:29:23,440 --> 00:29:26,160
but particularly if these are plants that you purchased mail

535
00:29:26,279 --> 00:29:28,440
order and there you started with a very small plant,

536
00:29:28,799 --> 00:29:30,759
you're gonna have to do some heavy pruning on them

537
00:29:31,119 --> 00:29:33,440
to try to get them into shape. Now, the good

538
00:29:33,480 --> 00:29:35,920
news is that after they kind of go through this

539
00:29:36,039 --> 00:29:39,480
like awkward teenage phase, you know, roughly in years two

540
00:29:39,519 --> 00:29:43,119
to five they're done like they then they will grow

541
00:29:43,200 --> 00:29:45,680
normal and you won't get this wild and crazy. I

542
00:29:45,680 --> 00:29:48,119
don't even know how to explain it, like pom pom

543
00:29:48,279 --> 00:29:55,279
like growths, funky funky fireworks. Yeah, they're funky, So yes,

544
00:29:55,440 --> 00:29:59,200
I would say go ahead and prune them. You can

545
00:29:59,279 --> 00:30:02,160
prune them any time. At this point it's you know,

546
00:30:02,200 --> 00:30:05,799
it's September. I would probably wait until they are dormant

547
00:30:05,799 --> 00:30:07,440
to prune, just so that they can take in the

548
00:30:07,559 --> 00:30:09,920
energy in the foliage that's on the plant right now,

549
00:30:11,160 --> 00:30:13,480
and then you can pretty much prune it wherever you want,

550
00:30:13,599 --> 00:30:15,440
based on what you want the plant to look like.

551
00:30:15,880 --> 00:30:18,559
So that might mean that you take off that funky

552
00:30:18,680 --> 00:30:22,519
spray of growth and prune below that. It might mean

553
00:30:22,559 --> 00:30:26,039
that you prune off all but one of the branches

554
00:30:26,079 --> 00:30:28,200
in that funky spray of growth to try to get

555
00:30:28,240 --> 00:30:30,079
it to do what you want it to do. Some

556
00:30:30,119 --> 00:30:33,319
people like to grow smoke bush as a multi stem shrub,

557
00:30:33,759 --> 00:30:35,559
some people like to grow it as a small tree.

558
00:30:35,599 --> 00:30:39,039
So it all depends on what your goals are for it.

559
00:30:39,599 --> 00:30:41,599
Just know that wherever you you know, if you cut

560
00:30:41,640 --> 00:30:45,039
off that spray of branches, it is going to branch,

561
00:30:45,039 --> 00:30:47,119
but those branches will then be within the plant. So

562
00:30:47,160 --> 00:30:50,759
whenever this happens, you can feel free to prune it again.

563
00:30:50,839 --> 00:30:52,920
At this point, let the plant take in that energy.

564
00:30:52,960 --> 00:30:55,200
It's just the best practices kind of thing to do.

565
00:30:56,680 --> 00:30:58,400
But then you go ahead and prune it. And we

566
00:30:58,440 --> 00:31:01,960
have a video of a deal with this funny habit

567
00:31:02,039 --> 00:31:04,680
of all smoke bushes. And I will link that in

568
00:31:04,720 --> 00:31:06,799
the show notes for you, Joan, so you can read

569
00:31:07,559 --> 00:31:09,599
and see how we recommend dealing with it.

570
00:31:10,160 --> 00:31:13,000
Speaker 1: Tammy writes to us, my elderly parents take great pride

571
00:31:13,039 --> 00:31:16,599
in their lawn care. They're currently using a service to

572
00:31:16,720 --> 00:31:20,440
try and control weeds and dandelions. It's become a cost

573
00:31:20,519 --> 00:31:23,119
burden to them. Is there something out there, tried and

574
00:31:23,160 --> 00:31:26,519
true that you can recommend for weed control that won't

575
00:31:26,559 --> 00:31:29,839
harm the grass? And I say yes, a multitude of things.

576
00:31:30,119 --> 00:31:33,200
Number One, raise the deck on the lawnmower. You raise

577
00:31:33,279 --> 00:31:36,039
the deck on the lawnmower to the top heyth, you

578
00:31:36,160 --> 00:31:40,240
will naturally control weeds in your yard. Also, be out

579
00:31:40,240 --> 00:31:43,880
there in the fall, feeding it and taking care of weeds.

580
00:31:43,920 --> 00:31:46,519
Fall is the best time of the year for control,

581
00:31:46,960 --> 00:31:49,839
and you're going to find comes spring you'll have far

582
00:31:49,920 --> 00:31:53,359
less weeds if you pay attention to it in fall.

583
00:31:53,440 --> 00:31:56,720
And then, Stacey, I'm a big proponent for corn gluten

584
00:31:57,519 --> 00:31:59,279
on the lawn. I think it makes for a great

585
00:31:59,319 --> 00:32:04,279
fertilizer and also is a great weed preventative. It doesn't

586
00:32:04,440 --> 00:32:07,279
kill weeds, but it keeps weed seed from Germany.

587
00:32:07,000 --> 00:32:08,680
Speaker 3: Right, and that will go out down in the spring.

588
00:32:09,000 --> 00:32:10,880
The corn gluten meal would go down in the spring.

589
00:32:11,319 --> 00:32:13,000
You know, I think the key. You know, those are

590
00:32:13,039 --> 00:32:15,799
all great advice. You can also use a pre emergent

591
00:32:15,839 --> 00:32:18,400
herbicide to prevent seeds from germinating, but of course then

592
00:32:18,440 --> 00:32:21,000
you need to know if you're dealing with perennial weeds

593
00:32:21,079 --> 00:32:23,440
or annual weeds. So it does take a little bit

594
00:32:23,440 --> 00:32:27,519
of research to figure this out and plan what you

595
00:32:27,640 --> 00:32:29,799
can do, but it's absolutely within the realm of do

596
00:32:29,880 --> 00:32:33,079
it yourself. The other thing I would recommend is keep

597
00:32:33,119 --> 00:32:35,200
that lawn growing vigorously, and it sounds like if it's a

598
00:32:35,200 --> 00:32:38,039
point of pride for them, fertilize it, water it, and

599
00:32:38,119 --> 00:32:40,599
the more thick and dense and vigorous your lawn is,

600
00:32:40,759 --> 00:32:43,839
the better it can outcompete any weeds that attempt to

601
00:32:43,920 --> 00:32:46,440
grow in that beautiful, lush carpet.

602
00:32:46,519 --> 00:32:48,359
Speaker 2: Agree and raise that deck.

603
00:32:48,240 --> 00:32:50,400
Speaker 3: And raise the deck. So some easy things that you

604
00:32:50,400 --> 00:32:52,160
can do to hopefully keep the green lawn that they

605
00:32:52,240 --> 00:32:54,920
love and a little bit more green in their pockets.

606
00:32:55,160 --> 00:32:57,039
So thank you all so much for your questions. We're

607
00:32:57,079 --> 00:32:58,400
going to take a little break and when we come

608
00:32:58,440 --> 00:33:00,720
back We're going to have a conversation with Arthur about

609
00:33:00,799 --> 00:33:08,640
gardening in the South, so please stay tuned. The Gardening

610
00:33:08,680 --> 00:33:11,599
Simplified Show is brought to you by Proven Winners, Color

611
00:33:11,680 --> 00:33:15,400
Choice Shrubs. Our award winning flowering shrubs and evergreens have

612
00:33:15,519 --> 00:33:18,759
been trialed and tested for your success so you enjoy

613
00:33:18,839 --> 00:33:21,960
more beauty and less work. Look for Proven Winners, Color

614
00:33:22,039 --> 00:33:24,920
Choice Shrubs and the distinctive white container at your local

615
00:33:24,920 --> 00:33:25,559
garden center.

616
00:33:27,680 --> 00:33:30,640
Speaker 1: Welcome back to the Gardening Simplified Show. It's time for

617
00:33:30,839 --> 00:33:33,799
branching news and on today's show. As we mentioned in

618
00:33:33,839 --> 00:33:37,400
the first segment in interview with Brie Arthur, now many

619
00:33:37,480 --> 00:33:40,960
of you know of her as Breathe the Plant Lady.

620
00:33:41,000 --> 00:33:43,759
Make sure to check out her YouTube channel, social media

621
00:33:44,279 --> 00:33:47,759
and also go to bregrows dot com. She is an

622
00:33:47,839 --> 00:33:53,119
author and just a wonderful personality who really promotes this

623
00:33:53,200 --> 00:33:56,839
thing we love called gardening. And of course, Brie, you

624
00:33:57,000 --> 00:33:59,079
used to live in Michigan, correct?

625
00:34:00,079 --> 00:34:03,400
Speaker 4: Did I grew up in Monroe also known as fun Row.

626
00:34:06,359 --> 00:34:09,000
It's spent a lot of time at Michigan State as

627
00:34:09,039 --> 00:34:14,039
a foe Atuerat owed all the four hs for introducing

628
00:34:14,079 --> 00:34:17,440
me to horticulture and Michigan is just such a special

629
00:34:17,480 --> 00:34:24,559
place for agriculture, but specifically for ornamental horticulture. It's really

630
00:34:24,599 --> 00:34:28,119
the state that leads the industry. It's really remarkable.

631
00:34:28,880 --> 00:34:31,679
Speaker 1: Well, let's give some pointers to our southern gardeners here.

632
00:34:31,880 --> 00:34:35,440
You you moved from Michigan to the well just south

633
00:34:35,519 --> 00:34:38,639
of the Raleigh area, I believe, in North Carolina.

634
00:34:39,360 --> 00:34:40,519
Speaker 2: Let's start with soil.

635
00:34:40,960 --> 00:34:44,000
Speaker 1: What struck you as far as the soil is concerned,

636
00:34:44,039 --> 00:34:47,320
and what are your recommendations for southern gardeners.

637
00:34:48,280 --> 00:34:51,480
Speaker 4: Well, soil is the key to everything. And the biggest

638
00:34:51,519 --> 00:34:55,119
disadvantage that Southern gardeners have is the fact that the

639
00:34:55,159 --> 00:34:58,719
ground doesn't free and we get a lot of precipitation

640
00:34:58,840 --> 00:35:01,480
in the winter and all all of your good organic

641
00:35:01,559 --> 00:35:04,840
matter literally flows into the Atlantic Ocean.

642
00:35:05,079 --> 00:35:05,360
Speaker 1: Wow.

643
00:35:05,599 --> 00:35:09,079
Speaker 4: So the number one thing as a gardener in the

644
00:35:09,119 --> 00:35:12,440
South that you have to sort of adjust psychologically to

645
00:35:13,159 --> 00:35:15,440
is the fact that you're never going to be finished

646
00:35:15,440 --> 00:35:18,880
with soil prep. Every single year you need to add

647
00:35:18,880 --> 00:35:26,599
more organic matter, particularly those fallen leaves that nature provides us.

648
00:35:26,880 --> 00:35:29,559
You know, instead of blowing them away or raking them

649
00:35:29,599 --> 00:35:33,119
or burning them, leave them in your beds. They are

650
00:35:33,199 --> 00:35:37,360
there for a reason. And in the South in particular,

651
00:35:37,519 --> 00:35:40,960
that is the fastest way to improve the ground that

652
00:35:41,000 --> 00:35:46,360
you grow in. Now I find that leaves aren't quite enough,

653
00:35:46,480 --> 00:35:49,239
you probably are still going to have to bring in

654
00:35:49,320 --> 00:35:52,559
some off site substrate, especially if you're living in a

655
00:35:52,599 --> 00:35:57,760
new subdivision where the builder has essentially scraped away anything

656
00:35:57,840 --> 00:36:00,760
that might have been quality soil that's now that it's

657
00:36:00,760 --> 00:36:04,840
sold to stop soil and has left you with something

658
00:36:04,920 --> 00:36:10,599
that might be like the surface of Mars and heavily compacted.

659
00:36:10,880 --> 00:36:15,159
It doesn't absorb water. Usually, it's hydrophobic, and it's a

660
00:36:15,239 --> 00:36:18,440
nightmare to try to dig in, and you know, the

661
00:36:18,679 --> 00:36:22,519
sooner that you can, you know, include organic matter into that.

662
00:36:22,679 --> 00:36:27,079
And then my next recommendation for soil improvement is spending

663
00:36:27,199 --> 00:36:31,840
just a few dollars on some really easy cover crops,

664
00:36:31,960 --> 00:36:37,079
things like di conrads, crimson clover, buckwheat. You know, these

665
00:36:37,079 --> 00:36:41,679
are plants that have more traditional roots literally and agriculture,

666
00:36:42,159 --> 00:36:46,599
but work really quickly to improve hard pan clay, which

667
00:36:46,639 --> 00:36:49,079
is typically what people in the South are dealing with.

668
00:36:49,639 --> 00:36:53,199
And in one rotation with those cover crops, you'll see

669
00:36:53,239 --> 00:36:57,880
an incredible improvement in the porosity and again the retention

670
00:36:58,000 --> 00:37:00,599
of organic matter so that you can start to build

671
00:37:00,679 --> 00:37:03,079
beds and successfully grow plants.

672
00:37:03,440 --> 00:37:07,440
Speaker 1: That's a well grounded advice. What about the seasons, how

673
00:37:07,440 --> 00:37:10,519
do you take advantage of the seasons being different than

674
00:37:10,519 --> 00:37:15,280
what we experience here in the north. November December important

675
00:37:15,320 --> 00:37:16,639
months to be in the garden.

676
00:37:17,960 --> 00:37:21,840
Speaker 4: I would say, you don't plant anything in any time

677
00:37:21,960 --> 00:37:26,960
before November, and it's so counterintuitive. You know, we often

678
00:37:27,039 --> 00:37:30,559
don't have our first killing frost and filled Thanksgiving wow,

679
00:37:30,880 --> 00:37:34,880
and you know, just to give you a reference of

680
00:37:34,559 --> 00:37:38,559
how different the climate is, and you really don't want

681
00:37:38,559 --> 00:37:42,800
to be putting in, particularly woody plants, trees and shrubs

682
00:37:42,840 --> 00:37:45,960
that are in larger sized pops three gallon, five gallon,

683
00:37:46,119 --> 00:37:49,519
seven gallon and larger, you don't want to install those

684
00:37:49,639 --> 00:37:54,800
in the ground anytime before we've started having regular frosts.

685
00:37:55,039 --> 00:37:57,559
And so we always say, you know, fall and winter

686
00:37:57,800 --> 00:38:01,559
are for planting. Summer is just for barely getting by.

687
00:38:02,639 --> 00:38:06,079
And it's the truth, because if you get your shrubs

688
00:38:06,079 --> 00:38:10,320
and trees planted in late autumn early winter, they're much

689
00:38:10,480 --> 00:38:13,760
easier to get established. They're still going to have to

690
00:38:13,800 --> 00:38:16,960
give supplemental water through the spring and summer during that

691
00:38:17,039 --> 00:38:20,280
first year, but far less than if you were to

692
00:38:20,320 --> 00:38:24,559
wait until you know April or May, or god forbid June,

693
00:38:25,039 --> 00:38:28,199
really don't ever plant anything larger than a one ballon

694
00:38:28,280 --> 00:38:30,039
in the South after May.

695
00:38:31,320 --> 00:38:34,960
Speaker 3: Now, bri just so our listeners have context, you are

696
00:38:35,000 --> 00:38:39,079
in the Raleigh Durham area of North Carolina, right, I am, okay?

697
00:38:39,119 --> 00:38:42,199
And what usc heartiness zone are you considered now?

698
00:38:43,199 --> 00:38:46,440
Speaker 4: So with the recent change, we have now graduated to

699
00:38:46,519 --> 00:38:52,079
zone eight. Okay, I don't trust it. I think, like

700
00:38:52,159 --> 00:38:55,679
a lot of people are saying now, the zone map

701
00:38:55,760 --> 00:38:59,880
that the East Coast uses in contrast to the sun

702
00:39:00,039 --> 00:39:03,960
that map out west doesn't really take into account all

703
00:39:04,039 --> 00:39:07,559
of the climactic information that we probably need to be

704
00:39:07,599 --> 00:39:12,400
thinking about. Average cold temperature is one set of data.

705
00:39:12,599 --> 00:39:17,519
But you know, it doesn't mean that we now can

706
00:39:17,719 --> 00:39:22,199
just without hesitation plant things that were always that are

707
00:39:22,320 --> 00:39:26,199
that are from the zone eight because establishment is so complicated.

708
00:39:27,239 --> 00:39:30,519
We all have that holiday for you since two years

709
00:39:30,519 --> 00:39:34,039
ago that really wiped out a huge portion of the

710
00:39:34,079 --> 00:39:37,639
South with you know, tons of broadly evergreens that have

711
00:39:37,760 --> 00:39:40,880
been in the ground thirty years and died to the

712
00:39:40,920 --> 00:39:44,519
ground or died all together. And we're all very sensitive

713
00:39:44,719 --> 00:39:49,000
now to the temperature fluctuation that the South is experiencing.

714
00:39:49,559 --> 00:39:52,679
And so I worry now with the zone map that

715
00:39:52,760 --> 00:39:57,440
it doesn't take into consideration enough information, and especially for

716
00:39:57,599 --> 00:40:00,400
people in the North who are pretty used to knowing

717
00:40:00,440 --> 00:40:03,880
like zone five is. That's sort of what our entire

718
00:40:04,639 --> 00:40:08,440
gardening perspective is based off of, Like all of the

719
00:40:08,480 --> 00:40:11,760
information on plant tags kind of revolving around zone five.

720
00:40:12,239 --> 00:40:14,320
You know, I grew up with a zone five mafia.

721
00:40:16,199 --> 00:40:17,519
It's quite accurate.

722
00:40:18,360 --> 00:40:19,679
Speaker 2: Oh that's great.

723
00:40:19,880 --> 00:40:22,400
Speaker 4: You know, here in the South, I think the bigger

724
00:40:22,559 --> 00:40:27,960
challenge with figuring out plant establishment is just how unpredictable

725
00:40:28,599 --> 00:40:31,920
the weather patterns can be through the winter season. You know,

726
00:40:31,960 --> 00:40:35,760
we can be seventy degrees and then suddenly go to

727
00:40:35,800 --> 00:40:39,800
fifteen degrees within eight hours, and the plants aren't harden off,

728
00:40:40,000 --> 00:40:43,599
and that's really what causes so much damage. So at

729
00:40:43,679 --> 00:40:46,719
Saint gardening is not for the saint of heart. When

730
00:40:46,719 --> 00:40:48,880
you move to the South, you actually have to develop

731
00:40:48,960 --> 00:40:51,159
bicker skins, you.

732
00:40:51,119 --> 00:40:51,800
Speaker 2: Know, Brie.

733
00:40:51,800 --> 00:40:54,719
Speaker 1: I've always told people there are three types of people

734
00:40:54,719 --> 00:40:56,960
in the world. Those who make things happen, those who

735
00:40:57,000 --> 00:41:00,079
watch things happen, and those who wonder what in the

736
00:40:59,800 --> 00:41:03,480
world just happened? And that's what we're dealing with. As

737
00:41:03,480 --> 00:41:06,639
far as these weather patterns are concerned. It sounds like

738
00:41:06,679 --> 00:41:09,280
you have to be as creative in the South as

739
00:41:09,440 --> 00:41:11,960
we have to be in the north. As a matter

740
00:41:11,960 --> 00:41:15,800
of fact, Stacey, I watched with interest Bree in one

741
00:41:15,880 --> 00:41:19,719
hundred degree weather picking up one of her favorite things,

742
00:41:19,840 --> 00:41:24,800
cattle fence panels from Tractor Supply and using them in

743
00:41:24,880 --> 00:41:28,519
her landscape, not only for deer control, but also to

744
00:41:28,639 --> 00:41:31,360
create these really neat arches to grow your plants on.

745
00:41:33,519 --> 00:41:43,760
Speaker 4: I'm addicted to galvanized steel. It doesn't us and the

746
00:41:43,880 --> 00:41:47,719
termites don't eat it, you know. I always tell people like,

747
00:41:48,119 --> 00:41:50,360
if you want to start with raised head gardening, like

748
00:41:50,719 --> 00:41:56,000
maybe buya a like a feed tank, a galvanized speed

749
00:41:56,039 --> 00:42:00,760
tank from Tractors Supply. It won't disappear into your time

750
00:42:01,239 --> 00:42:05,599
from those horrible termites that are everywhere that you look.

751
00:42:06,199 --> 00:42:09,679
And I have realized that I have a real affinity

752
00:42:09,840 --> 00:42:12,400
for things that I don't have to replace with regularity.

753
00:42:13,400 --> 00:42:17,719
Speaker 1: I hope Tractor Supply is paying you royalties for these commercials.

754
00:42:17,960 --> 00:42:21,559
Speaker 4: You know they aren't, But I have to say I

755
00:42:21,679 --> 00:42:25,400
do appreciate that they're located everywhere, so it's advice that

756
00:42:25,519 --> 00:42:26,599
everyone can take.

757
00:42:28,320 --> 00:42:33,199
Speaker 1: For our Southern gardeners. Down south, I see castor bean

758
00:42:33,239 --> 00:42:35,119
plants growing as big as your house.

759
00:42:35,199 --> 00:42:36,159
Speaker 2: I see egg.

760
00:42:35,960 --> 00:42:42,239
Speaker 1: Plant taller than I am amazing. Do you have to

761
00:42:42,800 --> 00:42:46,559
become a good pruner or make sure that you understand

762
00:42:46,599 --> 00:42:49,440
good pruning practices if you're living in the South.

763
00:42:50,800 --> 00:42:55,000
Speaker 4: I would say yes and no. With regard to vegetables,

764
00:42:55,519 --> 00:42:59,199
we have a rule here tomato cages are for peppers

765
00:42:59,199 --> 00:43:04,039
and eggplants, and tomatoes need cattle panels because they grow

766
00:43:04,239 --> 00:43:07,800
so much bigger, often fifteen twenty foot tall. You know,

767
00:43:07,960 --> 00:43:11,760
we have an April to November frost free season and

768
00:43:11,920 --> 00:43:16,440
these vegetables grow that whole time. And then with pruning,

769
00:43:18,039 --> 00:43:24,360
you know, particularly with shrubs, it's really important to look

770
00:43:24,480 --> 00:43:29,559
and get information from local experts or local garden center

771
00:43:29,800 --> 00:43:32,440
because you can't in the South always trust the information

772
00:43:32,480 --> 00:43:33,599
that's on that plant tag.

773
00:43:34,199 --> 00:43:36,960
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean we you know, we do plant tags,

774
00:43:37,000 --> 00:43:39,559
and they're supposed to go all over the country, So

775
00:43:39,679 --> 00:43:43,000
we do very much rely on local garden centers to

776
00:43:43,599 --> 00:43:47,679
provide that specific information and that specific local insight. And

777
00:43:47,719 --> 00:43:49,960
that's the value really of shopping locally. Is it's not

778
00:43:50,079 --> 00:43:52,239
just that the plants probably didn't go as far and

779
00:43:52,280 --> 00:43:55,800
all of that. But like that, local advice becomes more

780
00:43:55,800 --> 00:43:58,679
and more important the less confident you are gardening there.

781
00:44:00,119 --> 00:44:03,360
Speaker 4: That is exactly true, and you'll better be able to

782
00:44:03,440 --> 00:44:06,119
understand where you should put the plants so then you

783
00:44:06,280 --> 00:44:10,519
don't have to do excessive amounts of pruning. Let's face it,

784
00:44:11,239 --> 00:44:14,400
watching something bloom and grow is more enjoyable than cutting

785
00:44:14,480 --> 00:44:14,840
it down.

786
00:44:15,719 --> 00:44:20,559
Speaker 1: Yes, all right, sure for our listeners, we've got just

787
00:44:20,599 --> 00:44:23,480
a couple moments left here, Brie, can you share a

788
00:44:23,519 --> 00:44:29,960
few plants that maybe struck you as being great plants

789
00:44:30,400 --> 00:44:34,159
to use if you're in the south, particularly if you're

790
00:44:34,199 --> 00:44:37,159
somebody who used the garden in the north now you've moved.

791
00:44:36,920 --> 00:44:37,480
Speaker 2: To the south.

792
00:44:37,960 --> 00:44:41,760
Speaker 1: What are three really good winners you should make sure

793
00:44:41,800 --> 00:44:43,480
to have in your landscape.

794
00:44:43,760 --> 00:44:47,639
Speaker 4: Oh I love this question so much. Okay, without hesitation,

795
00:44:47,920 --> 00:44:51,039
if you are addicted to lilac, you have to grow

796
00:44:51,079 --> 00:44:56,599
osmansis fragrance. Honestly, it's the plant that can justify the heat.

797
00:44:57,400 --> 00:45:00,599
When osmanthis fragrance starts to bloom, which is starting to

798
00:45:00,760 --> 00:45:04,639
right now, your whole life and perspective will change. It

799
00:45:04,719 --> 00:45:08,320
is truly the most magnificent plant. And then, of course,

800
00:45:08,440 --> 00:45:11,320
because I'm a camellia lady and I did not grow

801
00:45:11,400 --> 00:45:14,199
up with camelias, I was introduced to them upon moving

802
00:45:14,239 --> 00:45:17,039
to the South. You know, there are over twenty five

803
00:45:17,119 --> 00:45:21,880
thousand registered Chamelia japonica over three hundred species of camellias.

804
00:45:22,360 --> 00:45:27,000
You live in a warm climate, camellias are your best

805
00:45:27,039 --> 00:45:30,960
option for residential screening that you will also get fabulous

806
00:45:31,000 --> 00:45:35,679
flowers from all winter long. And then one other absolute

807
00:45:35,840 --> 00:45:41,440
favorite beam of sunshine, ultra fragrant, wonderful plant that brings

808
00:45:41,440 --> 00:45:47,400
you joy in January, edgeworthy of crysantha. And truly these

809
00:45:47,440 --> 00:45:54,280
are three taxa that justify what we live through in

810
00:45:54,320 --> 00:45:56,840
the summer, because when these plants bloom in the winter,

811
00:45:57,280 --> 00:46:00,280
you forget about how hot July in August are.

812
00:46:01,599 --> 00:46:04,280
Speaker 3: Well, those are definitely three plants that I personally would

813
00:46:04,280 --> 00:46:06,239
love to grow. Despite the fact that I've been a

814
00:46:06,280 --> 00:46:09,920
lifelong northern gardener. Cameilias are something that I could just

815
00:46:09,960 --> 00:46:12,920
go bananas for. I could just fill my entire yard

816
00:46:12,920 --> 00:46:16,760
with them. I'm crazy about them. So I am glad

817
00:46:16,960 --> 00:46:19,599
to hear that you are taking full advantage of the

818
00:46:19,679 --> 00:46:23,800
opportunities in North Carolina to and osmanthis, Oh my gosh,

819
00:46:24,039 --> 00:46:25,039
just love it.

820
00:46:25,519 --> 00:46:25,719
Speaker 2: Well.

821
00:46:25,760 --> 00:46:29,320
Speaker 1: You can follow breeze gardening journey through her website bree

822
00:46:29,519 --> 00:46:34,599
grows dot com so that's Burie grows dot com, or

823
00:46:34,639 --> 00:46:39,199
her social media her YouTube channel Breath the Plant Lady.

824
00:46:39,679 --> 00:46:42,519
Bree always a joy and a pleasure to talk to you.

825
00:46:42,639 --> 00:46:45,960
Thank you for everything you do for the gardening industry

826
00:46:46,039 --> 00:46:49,679
that we love and all the encouragement you give to people.

827
00:46:50,000 --> 00:46:52,519
And thanks for joining us on the Gardening Simplified Show.

828
00:46:53,480 --> 00:46:55,880
Speaker 4: You are so welcome. Thank you for having me.

829
00:46:56,280 --> 00:46:59,559
Speaker 3: Well, that was enlightening and inspiring. I don't think I'm

830
00:46:59,559 --> 00:47:01,679
going to be moving to the South anytime soon, but

831
00:47:01,800 --> 00:47:04,159
if I do, it's good to know what I need

832
00:47:04,159 --> 00:47:06,639
to know to make sure that I am as successful

833
00:47:06,639 --> 00:47:09,159
in gardening is as enjoyable as it is here. So

834
00:47:09,199 --> 00:47:10,960
thank you so much to Brief for your time and

835
00:47:10,960 --> 00:47:13,639
all that great insight. Thank you Rick, thank you Adriana,

836
00:47:13,679 --> 00:47:15,559
and as always, thanks to all of you for listening.

837
00:47:15,800 --> 00:47:16,920
Hope you have a wonderful week.

838
00:47:16,960 --> 00:47:17,079
Speaker 1: Ad