December 14, 2024 • 51 mins
Got a gardener in your life - or maybe the gardener is you? Join us as we share gift ideas and suggestions for the horticulturally inclined. Featured shrub: Invincibelle Wee White hydrangea.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
Coming to you from Studio eight here at Proven Winners,
Color Choice Shrubs. It's time for the Gardening Simplified Podcast,
radio and YouTube show with Stacy Hervella, me, Rick weisst
and our engineer and producer Adrianna Robinson. Well, Stacey, I'm
wearing my mister Rogers sweater, a wonderful gift I received
from you and Adriana, and I think you know it's
(00:25):
time to talk garden gifts a fun thing to talk about.
And wow, I'm looking at for our YouTube viewers this
beautiful gift on the table.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
Yes, this is an Adriana Robinson original and she presented
it to me a few weeks ago, and it is
a stained glass version of the show logo with the
microphone and all of the flowers and leaves and things
sprouting out of it. Isn't it great?
Speaker 1 (00:52):
She is so talented. I love that and I.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
Hate to break it to your listeners, but she is
not available for personalized gifts. She is two full a
ready this season.
Speaker 1 (01:01):
So well, I'll tell you what personalized gifts are wonderful
And also for oh let's call them boomer gardeners like me,
we have to learn to embrace new technology. And you know,
I had somebody this past week say to me that
that folks who are in the gen Z generation, they
(01:21):
are digital natives. They don't know anything different than smartphones, computers,
AI and all that type of thing, and so it's
natural to them. But for us as gardeners, for example,
cordless electric pruning shares, you know a pruning shares that's
cordless and electric, are you kidding me? Or cordless electric
mini chainsaws, or electric sprayers as opposed to those pressure
(01:45):
tank sprayers that can be a real pain.
Speaker 2 (01:47):
Yeah, all of.
Speaker 1 (01:48):
That kind of stuff is available to folks today. I
mean you think about LED lights and LED technology outdoor
lighting in your garden. Fabulous.
Speaker 2 (01:58):
Yeah, such such great choices, and you can get solar
powered so you don't need to make it a complicated thing.
I'm glad you brought up the electric or cordless items
because we just got a electric blower. So I'm not
a big fan of blowers. You know, We've talked about
blowers plenty on the show. But you know, I have
a number of succulents in the garden, right, So I
(02:20):
have a couple of different succulent gardens, and if there's
one thing that doesn't mix with succulents. It's leaves. It's
very easy for them to get smothered with foliage. And
so my husband wanted to do something about it, and
he got a battery operated blower that works on his drill.
Speaker 3 (02:35):
Battery.
Speaker 2 (02:36):
Yes, and it's super light. It's not loud and obnoxious.
You know, it doesn't have like a combustion engine because
it's electric and it is fantastic. It's easy to carry,
It works with the batteries we already had because the
battery is the biggest part of that. That would be
a great gift for someone. I have to tell you
right now. The best gifts wreck I think, are the
ones that people don't know they want.
Speaker 1 (02:58):
Love that, love that. Why don't we just go to
segment too.
Speaker 2 (03:02):
Because you just figure out the rest yourself. We've got nothing.
Speaker 1 (03:05):
Well, have I got a surprise for you?
Speaker 3 (03:07):
Then?
Speaker 1 (03:10):
But you're right, you know the electrical pet and the
power that they have. You know, you see people using
these rechargeable lawnmowers.
Speaker 2 (03:17):
Yeah, I've got that too.
Speaker 1 (03:18):
Amaze.
Speaker 2 (03:18):
We have a battery operated lawnmower that is fantastic. I
love it because you're not looking like an idiot out
there trying to pull your cord and the darn thing's
not starting, and it's so quiet that it doesn't bother
your neighbors. You know, you can actually hold a conversation
while you're using an electric mower and it doesn't stink,
no bad fumes. And I mean it really makes mowing
(03:40):
the lawn of pleasure. I love it to.
Speaker 1 (03:42):
Make a lawn story short. It's a great way to
go outdoor speakers that are solar charge and play music outside.
Cork lined Italian clogs for her wancy. Yeah, I love that.
I've gotten into again. I'm at that. You know, medicare
retiree a the Martha Stewart and Snoop Dog slip on
(04:04):
sketcher shoes. Oh and they're great. Never thought i'd wear them,
but I'm wearing them. Harvest baskets. How many times have
you gone into the vegetable garden and you've got armloads
of peppers and beans and tomatoes and you drop half
of them on the way back into the house.
Speaker 2 (04:20):
Yes, that is true. I have many harvest baskets that
never seem to be in the garden when I need them,
and therefore I do that despite the presence of harvest baskets.
But it is a great gift because they are beautiful.
I have one that kind of has like a wire
mesh so you can just rint stuff off right outside
in the garden. And I have some other nicer ones
that are suitable for for a kitchen display, and that's
(04:42):
a great gift too, if you really don't know like
what someone wants, you know, sometimes I think some garden
gifts are maybe just a little too personal. Like, you know,
if you want to get a gardener some gloves, I
would caution against it, like unless you know what kind
of glove they get they like, and you are looking
to get them like a year's supply of them or something.
(05:02):
It's a very personal preference, it's true. But something like that,
you know, like a beautiful basket, that's a great thing
that they can use and you know, enjoy and think
of you every time to use it.
Speaker 1 (05:13):
Sunglasses and hats would probably fall into that category also. Yeah,
for me, based on the recommendations of our viewers and listeners,
I'm going to get a hose link eighty two foot
retractable hose. They're two hundred and fifty bucks. I'm gonna
gift myself.
Speaker 2 (05:28):
I think you've earned it. And you know, anything that's
one of those things that yeah, I mean everyone who's
who has one of those raves about it. And you know,
if you're like us and you really just despise the
hose struggle, it's worth it. You know, the sanity that
you will regain will pay for itself, like in the
first day, or use it really, you bet you?
Speaker 1 (05:49):
And of course you guys know I'm a runner, and
so I use a lot of these moisture wicking shirts
that runners use. Cool, they're cool, they fight off UV rays,
they stretch, they have anti microbial odor fighting technology. Why
not use them in the garden. And the same as
for tactical pants that have pockets, are lightweight, that stretch.
(06:12):
I'm big into that in the garden. I want to
mention that. Coming up in the fourth segment, we get
to talk to doctor Allan Armitage who has written many books.
And I still think books are a great gift. And
I'm not being old fashioned here. Books are easy to
wrap or ship, They entertain people. They are the ultimate
(06:36):
regiftable gift. Books increase intelligence, They last forever. Books meet
everyone's needs. Books offer variety, to gift giving. They're inexpense.
I can go on and you can personalize a book.
Speaker 2 (06:50):
Yes, I will always welcome a book. And so I
would have two book suggestions for our listeners. So you've
heard me say this on the show before. If you
are interested in getting some want a gardening book, like
a practical gardening book, the best recommendation I can offer
you is The Well Tended Perennial Garden by Tracy Di
Sabado Oust. It is an absolutely incredible volume of work.
(07:12):
I've talked about how she basically sacrificed her own garden
for years, experimenting with different perennial pruning techniques to either
delay bloom or get stronger stems, all of these other things.
And the great thing about that book in particular is
it's not information you're going to find online. So many
other books, you know, sure it's nice to have on
your shelf, but ultimately it's just kind of duplicating stuff
(07:33):
that you can find online. Tracy's book is not information
you're going to find anywhere else, and perennial gardeners especially
are going to love reading it. So that's a specific recommendation.
If you don't know what kind of book to get someone.
I love any kind of garden inspiration book, like if
it's a colorful, you know, coffee table level picture book.
Whether it's of a specific garden, say a famous garden
(07:55):
in the UK or something like that, or a bunch
of different gardens, you can't go wrong because, you know,
especially in winter Christmas time, people are dying for some inspiration.
They're ready for the spring again, and it's a great
way to just inspire them and give them something really
beautiful to look at.
Speaker 1 (08:12):
Great suggestions in today's digital age, at coffee table book
still works, I think. So yeah, I'm gonna throw a
few other suggestions at you. But Stacy, I'm going to
have you open this up on air.
Speaker 2 (08:23):
Oh my gosh, wow, watching on YouTube. We've got some
sound effects here of the This.
Speaker 1 (08:29):
Is a personalized nostalgic.
Speaker 2 (08:32):
Gift for stag Oh my gosh, look at them, did you?
Speaker 3 (08:40):
Oh?
Speaker 2 (08:41):
Yeah, it is for our listeners who cannot see what
I'm opening right now.
Speaker 3 (08:45):
It is a.
Speaker 2 (08:46):
Macrome lawn chair, the kind that Rick hates and is
always make sure he's first of the buffet line so
he doesn't come back and get stuck with the Macrame lawnchair,
as he said in our nostalgia show, this is gorgeous.
Speaker 1 (08:59):
Yeah, and full disclosure, I did not make the chair.
I am not talented like you, Stacey. I bought it
on Facebook marketplace. Oh, this is great, slightly used too.
Speaker 2 (09:10):
I love it. I love it fantastic.
Speaker 1 (09:13):
But you know, giving gifts with meaning is important, even
if you're giving gifts to gardeners. And so you know,
I think seed kits are great. You can buy garden
gloves now. I know you mentioned the garden gloves, but
you can buy garden gloves now that have claws.
Speaker 2 (09:26):
Oh I like those. Actually, that is a gift I
would welcome, yeah, because I do too much digging and
then I wear out just like a couple fingers on
the gloves. It's very annoying.
Speaker 1 (09:35):
And of course a gift card to your favorite garden
center or greenhouse also a great idea. So there are
many different things that you can give as gifts, and
you know, put a little thought, a little meaning into
it too. And that chair I might even sit in there.
Speaker 2 (09:53):
You only have to give it a try and see
if you know changed your tune since back in the
day when you really developed your dislike of the Macrimay
lawn chair.
Speaker 1 (10:01):
Well, don't forget the gardener on your gift list. Let's
see how Stacey ties this in with plants on trial
that's coming up next here on the Gardening Simplified Show.
Speaker 2 (10:16):
Proven Winner's colored choice Shrubs cares about your success in
the garden. That's why we trial and test all of
our shrubs for eight to ten years, making sure they
outperform everything else on the market. Look for them and
the distinctive white container at your local garden center. Greeting's
gardening friends, and welcome back to the Gardening Simplified Show.
Or the order of the day is gifts. And Rick
(10:38):
just gifted me a wonderful vintage Macromay lawn chair. If
you missed our nostalgia show, you should definitely go back
and check that out. We talked about a lot of
things from our past, and Rick expressed his disapproval for
disapproval for the classic macromy lawn chair. Are you changing
her tune?
Speaker 3 (10:56):
Now?
Speaker 1 (10:56):
I am changing my tune. You've converted?
Speaker 3 (10:59):
All right?
Speaker 2 (10:59):
Good, I'm I'm glad to hear it. And you know
it's I think that gardeners. Anytime someone in your life
has a passion like gardening. It becomes a lot easier
to shop for them. You know, there's a lot of
people in your life that are hard to shop for
because either they buy everything that they want or they
don't really have like a thing that they love to do,
and it becomes very difficult to shop for them. So
(11:21):
by having a gardener in your life, you're already halfway
there because you know that they love something and there's
a lot of different things that you can get them,
And plants, I think are always a natural choice for gifts. Now,
of course, December here in the Northern Hemisphere and certainly
here in the Midwest and Northeast and much of the
United States, plants are not the best gift to give
(11:42):
at the holidays because it's winter and things are dormant.
Speaker 1 (11:46):
Yeah, and that's a great point, Stacy. Coming up next week,
we'll talk about citrus plants, and that's a plant that
could be given as a gift.
Speaker 2 (11:52):
Do definitely, And of course, you know, a point setta
is a classic hostess gift if you're invited to someone's house.
But I think a lot of people throughout the year
actually really want to give plants as gifts for a
variety of reasons. I mean, of course, plants are very
very popular as something to commemorate a birth, a wedding,
or to give to someone who has lost someone that
(12:14):
they've loved as a kind of living memorial to them,
and I think that those can be just such a
good reason to give a gift. So knowing that you know,
December is not the best time for giving most plants
as gifts, except for houseplants, which I've definitely given houseplants
to people for gifts before, and that's always a nice thing.
I wanted to talk just sort of generally about what
(12:37):
makes a plant suitable forgiving at any time of the year,
because it's kind of a tricky thing. I mean, very
often we're giving these to people that we know fairly well,
but at the same time, we don't necessarily know how
much space they have. We don't necessarily know, you know,
how much sun they have, or where the sun, what
the sun is like in the spot where they actually
(12:58):
will eventually plant this thing. And you want to give
them something that is beautiful and memorable and special but
also not a ton of work.
Speaker 1 (13:09):
And you want it to work, Yes, you want it
to work, because they're going to feel a degree of
pressure to well, I got to take care of those planet.
Speaker 3 (13:16):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (13:17):
Absolutely. You know, of course that definitely becomes true if
it is something that is tied to a life event.
So you know, you don't want to get something that's
like too boring in work a day and it's like, oh,
this is just something they would buy themselves. You kind
of want it. You want to be that like gifting
superhero where you've found the perfect plant and it's something
that they can really appreciate and enjoy. So I thought
(13:38):
a lot about you know, what is the right kind
of plant, and here are some characteristics I think it
should have. Number one, it should be fairly small, because trees,
of course are a classic choice. But a tree is
a big commitment usually not just in terms of its lifespan,
but also you know, it can be a lot more expensive.
I mean, trees have come down since they're mostly container grown,
(14:00):
but still they're going to cost a bit more, and
you know, it's it's just a much bigger commitment. So
you want something usually it's going to be a little
bit smaller that it's easy for the person the recipient
to fit into their yard and into their life and
you want it to have at least one spectacular moment.
Speaker 3 (14:17):
You know.
Speaker 2 (14:17):
I think that that's really important too, is you don't
want it to just be like, oh, yeah, they gave
me this, you know you taxes, and it's like okay,
you know, almost the same all year and it never
really has that special moment where it does that purpose
of you know, reminding the person either of you and
the reason that you gave it to them, or you know,
the reason that it was planted in the first place. Again,
(14:39):
whether a wedding or you know, birth or something like that.
So you need something something spectacular, you need something small,
you need something adaptable. You need something that's going to
be able to take almost any kind of soil that's
going to be able to take you know, anything from
part shade to full sun. Something that's going to be
forgiving of course, because you know, again it needs to
(15:02):
have some leeway there for people of varying skill and
interest levels in gardening. So it's kind of a tall order.
Speaker 1 (15:11):
Yeah, it is a tall order. And you know, working
in the garden center industry, Stacey, one thing that I
dealt with often we're memorial plants, and you know, what's
a good memorial plant or like you mentioned many times,
they want this memorial plant to bloom around the time
of the event, possibly somebody's passing, and it's you know,
(15:34):
it's a big deal. And I always I was always
very serious and took it to heart because it's important.
Speaker 2 (15:40):
Yeah, and it's it's it's very you know, meaningful. So
I am going to give you for today's plants on trial,
the ultimate all purpose, easygoing gift plant. Whether it's a housewarming, birth, death,
wedding promotion. I don't know why you're given plant gifts,
but here is the one that you can keep in
your back pocket for any occasion. In vinceibel we white
(16:03):
hydrange Wow. Now, now, of course hydrangeas are always great.
You know, they're easy to grow, they're very floriferous. But
this particular hydrangea is a native smooth hydrangea, so hydrangel arborescine.
So that's always a good thing as well, just a
nice little bonus to have, and so it checks all
(16:25):
of these boxes. Basically, the easiest way to think about
in vincibel we white hydrangea is that it is a
dwarf version of the very famous and widely planted Annabelle hydrangea.
So Annabel is a classic, a lot of people know it,
a lot of people grow it. Beautiful plant, but it
gets to be about five feet five to six feet
(16:46):
tall and wide, and it flops. Anyone who's ever grown
it will tell you one good summer thunderstorm in July
and that thing is on the ground, never to recover
until the following year. And in Vinceibel, we white hydrange
resolves both of those issues. So compared to that five
feet tall and wide for Annabel, it's going to be
just one to two and a half feet tall and wide,
(17:07):
So it's great. It's almost like a perennial really that
that same kind of size, and it doesn't flop. It
has very very sturdy stems. So this is not one
of those plants it's going to wind up on the
ground with the flowers all in the soil and looking
sad and kind of making you taking away from the
joy of why you planted it in the first place.
Speaker 1 (17:27):
It's smart choice, they sy because people love high ranges,
and it being an Annabelle, you're taking away the pruning
issue too.
Speaker 2 (17:36):
Right exactly. So that's the other good thing is that
no matter if your gift recipient prunes it or doesn't
prune it, it's going to flower. So it's kind of
got that fool proof built in thing, because you know,
if they don't know what to do and they don't
do anything, it's good. If they think they know what
to do, when they do something, you're still good to go.
(17:57):
And of course, you know, as with all of the
provens colored choice shrubs, it's going to come with a
tag that has all of that information in it, but
of course sometimes people lose those. It's also on our
website and of course you can always reach out to
us and will always help. But it has that kind
of fool proof factor. So even if they never read
the so called instruction manual all the you know, they're
going to still be successful and not have to worry about,
(18:20):
you know, that disappointment or that you have. You don't
have to worry that you have given your recipient more
work except for deer. Now, I do have to caution
that this is one liability of this plant. I think
that smooth hydranges and panicle hydranges, which are also a
close second for the perfect gift plant, do you both
have the liability of being very much beloved by deer,
(18:42):
especially the flowers, so very often they will come along,
they'll just eat the flower bud. They'll mostly leave the
rest of the plant alone. In many cases, not so
much on smooth hyde ranges I've seen in my garden,
but back when I attempted to grow them, I'm done
with that. If you know, deer or not an issue,
this is an excellent, excellent choice. It's going to have
white flowers that are proportional to the plant for us
(19:03):
usually in about early to mid July, so really nice
time for summer, and you know, everything is looking really great.
Speaker 1 (19:12):
So a couple questions for you, Stacy. One question would
be the deer issue. Yes, but it's offset by the
fact that generally smooth hydranges have a pretty wide heartiness zone.
Speaker 2 (19:24):
Yes, yeah, thanks for bringing that up, because no matter
where pretty much your recipient is, they're going to be
able to grow this invincibel white hydrange is hardy down
to USDA Zone three, so very very cold tolerant, and
heat tolerant through USDA Zone eight so also very very
heat tolerant. So that's a good wide range, you know,
(19:44):
for the plant to thrive in if they have off
years where it does get really hot, it's still going
to do great.
Speaker 1 (19:49):
And another question for you, I'm just curious, is it
appropriate if you're giving this as a gift to add
a soil amendment and some fertilize.
Speaker 3 (20:01):
Or not.
Speaker 2 (20:02):
So I get where you're coming from, Rick, and I
think that, yeah, a lot of people, a lot of
people will, you know, try to round it out and
give that total package. But we actually do not recommend
a mending the soil or really doing anything at all
at planting time, especially for something like a smooth hydrangea.
They really truly are going to be best planted in
(20:25):
the actual soil, and our tags do say that, you know,
but a lot of people just still think, you know,
that they don't have to. And as far as fertilizer goes,
you know, new plants don't use annuals aside, and vegetables
of course don't need fertilizer. They have been fertilized to
within an inch of their life by the grower before
you get them, and so there's really no need for fertilizing.
(20:46):
I think for the entire first year.
Speaker 1 (20:48):
That's good because it's tough to wrap a bag of
potting soil and fertilis.
Speaker 2 (20:52):
That is true. And so if your recipient asks, because
they're going to say to you, Hey, you're the gardener here,
what should I do to site? Just plant it in
the ground, find a good spot. I can help you,
and you know, to really make a plant gift extra special,
you can always volunteer to stay around and help for
the planting, because giving your own time is always a
welcome gift. We're gonna take a little break. When we
(21:14):
come back, we're going to be opening up the garden
mail bags to please stay tuned at proven winner's color choice,
We've got a shrub for every taste and every space.
Whether you're looking for an easy care rose and unforgettable hydrangea,
or something new and unique, you can be confident that
(21:34):
the shrubs and the white containers have been trialed and
tested for your success. Look for them at your local
garden center. Greetings, gardening friends, and welcome back to the
Gardening Simplified Radio Show, YouTube show and podcast. Take your pick,
although I always recommend the YouTube show because you get
a lot of bonus content. It Arana puts a lot
of time into the YouTube and then you get to
(21:57):
see pictures of the plant on trial and all the
other cool stuff we do, and photos that our listeners
are sending in with the mailbag, because sometimes that's very
important to understanding the problem when you're.
Speaker 1 (22:07):
Doing detective work. And coming up in segment four today
more about garden gifts, an interview with doctor Alan Armitage
and here's a gift for you. Alanarmitage dot net is
the website you can see is wonderful books. I've read
his books. You use promo code West. That's my last name,
(22:28):
so it's spelled vuys t and he'll give you free shipping.
Speaker 2 (22:33):
Oh got all love that.
Speaker 1 (22:35):
There you go. So we'll talk to him about that
in segment four.
Speaker 2 (22:37):
So you know, we are going to answer some gardening
questions now and if you have a gardening question, we
would be glad to help you. You can reach us
at Gardening Simplified on air dot com. There is a
contact form there, you can attach photos, you can describe
your problem. And I also wanted to mention as we
are coming into the winter season and questions do kind
of slow down because you're not out there thinking what
(22:59):
do I do about this? Or what what's going on
with this? Is our plant panel videos, so I don't
know if you've seen those on our YouTube channel, but
you know, we always get a lot of questions from
people asking like what should they plant, what should they
do with this area? And those kind of questions are frankly,
just really hard to answer on a radio show because
there's a lot to talk about a lot of different things.
So if we answered a lot of those plant recommendation questions,
(23:21):
we wouldn't be able to get to any of the
other gardening questions. So we have actually created a playlist
called Plant Panel, and so myself, my colleagues Natalie and Christina,
we get together and we look at pictures that people
have sent in. They talk to us about their challenges
and their hopes and their dreams for the space, and
then we make different suggestions, not just of proven Winner's
(23:41):
Color Choice shrubs, but all sorts of different things. And
so it's been a lot of fun. It's been very
well received, And if you would like to submit your
garden for some plant recommendations, just visit Proovenminner's Color Choice
dot com and you can click on the contact us
and there is a form right there to do it.
Speaker 1 (23:56):
So who wouldn't want that gift? Yeah? Sure, to tune in.
Speaker 2 (23:59):
Free advice, love it, I mean free, very opinionated advice.
I will give you this, but that's good love it.
You know, we always have perspective, so you definitely have opinions.
So anyway, Rick, what do we got in the mailbag today?
Speaker 1 (24:11):
Don writes to us, love your show. I'm in southern
New Jerseys on seven B. This is a Japanese red maple.
Don sent us a picture maybe blood good. Please can
you tell me what causes this kind of damage? Six
to feet six to eight feet off the ground. And
then he says, our deer are short, so he has
damage on the tree, but it's six to eight feet
(24:32):
up the tree, and Don saying the deer they're in
New Jersey are short.
Speaker 2 (24:36):
Yes, well, deer ken actually do damage higher than their
height if you live in a snowy area, because the
snow can definitely make them much taller than they would
normally be. And I have seen that. But this is
not dear damage. I don't have a definitive answer for you, Don,
but I do have some thoughts. So when I was
looking at this damage, I do believe that it is
(25:00):
yellow bellied sapsucker damage. So yellow bellied sapsucker are birds.
They're a relative of a woodpecker, and they actually do
look quite a bit like a downy woodpecker, much bigger,
so similar. So when you look at when you're like, whoa,
that's way too big to be a downy woodpecker. And
they do have a little bit of a flush of
yellow on their bellies, but they're much more secretive. You
(25:23):
don't usually see them as often as you see woodpeckers.
And what the yellow bellied sapsucker does is not suck sap,
but they peck holes into the wood of smooth barked trees.
So magnolias, certain maples, pines can also be really susceptible
to yellow bellied sapsucker damage. So they make a series
(25:44):
of holes and then the sap flows out of those holes,
and that attracts insects, and then they come along and
pick off the insects out of this little sap trap
that they have created. And so you will see this
on trees all over. It's quite common, and it's just
lines of very very neatly arranged holes through the bark
(26:05):
of the tree. Now, the reason that I think this
is yellow bellied sapsucker damage what's actually happening in Don's
photo is the bark has gone almost completely in these areas,
so not all over the tree, but just in these sections.
But when I look at it, when I look at
the edges, I see what really looks like it was
probably round sapsucker holes, so kind of like the margins
of the damage looked to me like it was very
(26:28):
very much likely to be yellow bellied sapsucker. And that
as that damage has recurred over and over again and
the sapsuckers have made increasing lines, that moisture and so
forth has gotten under the bark, it's kind of killed
off that section and it's just fallen off completely, so
you aren't seeing that kind of characteristic rhythmic lines.
Speaker 1 (26:48):
That is great detective work. I am impressed. That's fabulous.
And yes I have seen that on smooth barked beach trees.
Speaker 2 (26:58):
Yeah, beach trees as well. Yeah for sure.
Speaker 1 (27:00):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (27:00):
Wow, So that's what I think. Do you have any thoughts?
Speaker 1 (27:03):
Well, the only thing that I thought is if it
was not that, but I think you nailed it would
be sun scaled. I mean, we have to bear in
mind that, especially maples or a variety of trees, if
there's temperature fluctuations just under the bark cold hot. Sometimes
we'll get sun scaled, sometimes will lose bark that way.
But based on the pictures, no, I think you nailed it, Stacy,
(27:25):
I'd go down that road done so.
Speaker 2 (27:27):
In the case of yellow ellied sapsuckers, there's really nothing
that you can do. And normally it's important to realize
that sapsucker damage we call it damage, but I mean,
of course, most trees have evolved to live with woodpeckers
and sapsuckers and all of that, so it's not usually
quite this dramatic, and trees can live with it just fine,
(27:48):
because of course it's not in the sapsucker's best interest
to go around killing trees because then it's going to
lose its entire food source anyway. But of course certain
things can happen through a different, you know, confluence of
circumstances where it does remove entire portions of bark like this,
But again, there's really nothing that you can do. If
the sapsucker wants to feed there, it will.
Speaker 1 (28:07):
Yeah, you know, it causes me to wonder hanging up
a suet feeder with the woodpecker cakes if it would
distract them or attract more of them. So yeah, that's
probably not a solution yet.
Speaker 2 (28:19):
I'm not really sure how often they visit Sue, because
I think they are very insectivorous, when of course woodpeckers
are as well. And you know, I was I was
reading something not too long ago where someone says, oh, yeah,
you know, I tried putting out celt licks for the
deer in the hopes that they wouldn't eat my plants.
And I'm like, that will never happen. You know, deer
aren't like, oh, how wonderful she's feeding us. Guess we
won't eat the hydrangeas. They're just gonna be like, oh great,
(28:42):
more food at my favorite.
Speaker 1 (28:43):
Restaurant, quid Pro exactly.
Speaker 2 (28:46):
So nothing you can do but maybe get a pair
of binoculars and enjoy the behavior of the sapsucker because
it is quite interesting to watch.
Speaker 1 (28:55):
Helen writes to us, We've been battling squash bugs for
the last two years, and I'm thinking that they actually
wintered over in the soil from last year because they
were so prevalent in our garden area this past growing season.
A gardening friend told me I should get a flame
thrower yaigs and scortch the soil to eliminate them. Hey
there's a garden gift idea of flamethrower? Is there another solution?
(29:17):
We also had Mexican bean beetles for the first time ever.
Will they winter over to next year? I've been a
gardener for forty plus years and this is my first
experience with these pests.
Speaker 2 (29:28):
Yikes. Yeah, those are two brutal pests for vegetable gardeners
for sure. So I do you want to address the
squash bugs first? I would not recommend the flame thrower
simply because you know, there are a lot of garden
pasts that will overwinter directly under their host plant. So
a viburnum leaf beetle would be a great example. You know,
(29:48):
they're really going to be right around that plant, whereas
the squash bugs are not necessarily so you don't necessarily
know that they are where you grew the squash last year.
Speaker 1 (29:57):
I agree. That's why many times to deal with square
bugs we use floating row covers. Oh yeah, lay their
eggs when they're moving.
Speaker 2 (30:06):
That's a good idea. The other thing, so you can't
really so they are out there overwintering, you know, waiting
for your zucchini to start growing. So a couple of
things that you can do, uh, would be to monitor
your plants. And squash bug eggs are clustered so they're
very easy to see. They're also pretty bright red, So
(30:28):
if you are at the time, I would recommend contacting
your local cooperative extension find out the growing degree days
or time frame when squash bugs begin to be active,
and then just go ahead and start monitoring your plants.
Turn the leaves over and what you will see is
in the vs where the veins come together, a little
cluster of kind of ruby colored eggs, and then you
(30:48):
can either cut that leaf off entirely, or you can
take duct tape, roll it around your fingers and just
lift the eggs right off of the leaf. So, you know,
I'm afraid that probably is the best way. I think
the floating rope cover is also an effective way. The
only thing about the floating roll cover on things like
zucchini is then pollinating insects are also not getting in
there to pollinate it. You can also try staggering your crop.
(31:13):
You know, especially if you are growing zucchini, it's got
a pretty short life cycle, so maybe try sewing it,
you know, two, three, even four weeks later than you
usually do, and see if that doesn't help to kind
of miss their prime time. And that's also what I
recommend about the Mexican bean beetles. Mexican bean beodles do
start feeding quite early in the season. So if you
(31:33):
are out there sowing bean speeds in May, they're like, oh, yeah,
I got the tenderest spring leaves. This is what I
live for. Whereas if you make subsequent sowings of beans,
say later into June, that will again sort of avoid
their main window of feeding.
Speaker 1 (31:53):
And it's those are great points stacy, because remember when
it comes to IPM Integrated Pest Management, stacy, time is everything.
So you've got to learn who your enemy is.
Speaker 2 (32:04):
Yes, and you know we are going to be talking
a lot about timing in a future show when we
talk about what we learned this year, because I learned
a lot about timing in the vegetable garden and I
am now a big proponent of trying different timings to
evade all sorts of different pests. So I will put
some resources on the website Gardeningsimplified on air dot com
for you, Helen and anyone else who struggles with squash
(32:25):
bugs and or Mexican bean beetles. We're going to take
a little break. When we come back, we have got
a phone call with the one and only doctor Ellen Armitage,
so please stay tuned. The Gardening Simplified Show is brought
to you by proven Winners Color Choice Shrubs. Our award
winning flowering shrubs and evergreens have been trialed and tested
(32:47):
for your success so you enjoy more beauty and less work.
Look for proven Winners Color Choice Shrubs in the distinctive
white container at your local garden center.
Speaker 1 (32:58):
Welcome back to the Gardening Simplified Show today in Branching News. Well,
I gotta tell you this is a treat for me
because this gentleman has been a mentor to me and
an inspiration. I have read his books front to back.
His name is doctor Allan Armatage. He's a Professor Emeritus
(33:18):
of Horticulture, University of Georgia. Born and raised in Quebec
and Ontario, and then later lived in East Lansing, Michigan,
which is in close proximity to where we record here
and Stacey. If you look over our shoulders for our
YouTube viewers, it's snowing pretty good out there, and Alan
knows what that's like. But he now resides in Athens, Georgia.
(33:41):
He's worked with Gardner's landscapers, growers, retailers north and South.
He travels the world. He has a passion for plants.
He has what I call a great sense of humus.
You should follow this gentleman on Instagram or Facebook or YouTube.
He has an app Armatugees Great Garden Plants, and you've
(34:02):
got to visit his website and check out his books.
It's Alan Armitage dot net. And now I understand. On
top of all of that, Stacey, we've got T shirts too.
Speaker 2 (34:14):
Oh yes, I saw the T shirts. They You know
there needs to be more garden fashion, so I applaud
the T shirts.
Speaker 1 (34:20):
Well, I'll tell you what, Alan, you are into fashion
and I love it. Thanks for joining us on the
Gardening Simplified Show.
Speaker 3 (34:28):
Hey, Rick, I love listening to this stuff. Of course,
I was making you feel nice and people say good
things about you, but you got to share that on
this YouTube Thinger, if you're posting some pictures, you got
to tell them that the model for the T shirts
was just the last one they could find. So I
(34:49):
gotta be maybe sending you guys up some so you
can actually look a whole lot better in these T
shirts than that model is doing. But anyway, thank you.
It's great. Yeah, I just I just because love what
you do and love what we do as gardeners and
people who get their fingernails dirty. It's just it's just
it's in your blood. That's great.
Speaker 1 (35:11):
Fun. Well, I have tremendous respect for you, Alan, and
I'm serious. You were a mentor and an inspiration to me.
I think what really got me going, Stacey was I
read his book Herbaceous Perennial Plants, which now has a
fourth edition, read it cover to cover and wore that
thing out. No, I did not use it as a
(35:31):
door stop, but it's big enough to use as a dostop.
Speaker 3 (35:38):
If you don't like the book, Rick. You know, I've
also recommended to people that if they don't like it
that much, they can use it, you know, for weight training,
just one of those. But the part that book has
been well that of course is that's got real good legs,
just in the fourth edition, like you said, and each
edition is go ten years, so that doesn't how long
(35:59):
that thing went out. But it has. It has almost
little cult following. It's it is a good book. I'm
very proud of it and glad that you wore yours,
and so we'll have to get you all the one. Well.
Speaker 1 (36:10):
It has a cult following because Alan has a real
sense of humors and I love that. And you know,
it's amazing being in this industry. Alan, I'm I just
turned sixty five a couple of weeks ago, so I'm
getting up there too. And you know, I was listening
to you in an interview. I thought it was you
(36:31):
were talking about gen Z's and I was thinking about
the gen Z generation and it was mentioned that they
are digital natives. All of this digital stuff is just
second nature to them. But what's been fun to watch,
Alan is their love for plants. There's huge enthusiasm and
(36:51):
love for plants.
Speaker 3 (36:53):
You know, isn't it something? And again, you're sixty five, Uh,
your old man here and you may catch meet one
of these days. But the fact is that things I
don't know a Jens the are verage. I was in
the nursery and the garden center watching these mostly young
ladies with their mothers in the ad who weren't covering.
(37:14):
They were just with them having a grand time. And
they were at in the house plant section, which is
where they love to go. And I mean, they didn't
want just a probing and I say, Prumby, you didn't
want just a regular authors. They wanted to name variety.
They wanted something they could take home and and couddle
and give it a name. So they were looking for
(37:35):
good stuff and it was really wonderful to see it.
You know, I don't know how long this is going
to last, but this this whole digital thing and everything
is online that it's interesting that, believe it or not,
people still are reading a book or two, so thank
goodness for that, but they're the digital thing is certainly
second nature.
Speaker 1 (37:55):
We mentioned during the first segment of today's show that
I think books are still a great gift, and Stacy,
I know you feel the same way. You personalize them,
you can hold on to them. And uh, by the way,
at Alan Armitage dot net, if you use promo Codevice
that's my last name, it's spelled v u y st Alan.
(38:19):
You're gonna give free shipping too. Merry Christmas, well Mary Christmas.
Speaker 3 (38:23):
Indeed, because and again I'm doing this for your listeners,
right because if they're silly enough to listen to you
and me at the same time, they need a bonus,
they need something. I can make a T shirt that
I survived the Hermitage. But but anyway, so the free
postage is postage is getting to be such a terrible thing.
(38:45):
It's expensive, and so the free postage thing I think
twice about these days. But for you guys and for
people who are listening, I'm happy to do it. And
we talked about that, that that huge darn book onferennials.
But the bargain me free posh.
Speaker 1 (39:01):
Kid, Well, you know, we whether you're gen z or
into books or whatever it may be, Stacy, people love plants.
People love plants, and that's the great thing about being
in this industry. I was listening to Alan being interviewed.
He had a great line because I was just chatting
(39:23):
with Kevin heard about plant trials and how plants are
put through trials. Same thing here at proven Winner's Color
Choice Shrubs, and Alan said plant trials are Macy's on Thanksgiving.
I thought that's a great one.
Speaker 3 (39:39):
YEA. Well, and you certainly and you know, just going
to a plant trial or if you can't get there,
talk to someone who's been or getting some data from
online trials, you know, you can't help it learn something.
And depending on what you're doing, if you're just my
daughter just wanting to make her garden look better, it's
(40:01):
nice to know that if you go find a plant
that has a little bit of background, that you're probably
going to be successful with it because people breeders or
garden centers or whatever have actually, you know, filed these plants.
And there's an awful lot of new plants out there,
as you know, Rick, and not all of them are
any better than what's out there five years ago. You know,
(40:25):
it's good to have. It's good to have these things
trial to be sure.
Speaker 2 (40:28):
Well, you know, I think that it also says a
lot about why social media has helped garden grow, because
it starts to become this third party endorsement. You don't
have to take our word for it, you don't have
to take down doctor Armitage's word for it. Universities are
saying so, and your friends are saying so, and all
of that social proof really just kind of builds the
confidence that people need to actually take the plunge that
(40:50):
maybe kept them from gardening earlier, before they could get
this information.
Speaker 3 (40:55):
Well, we probably need to talk about some of those
things that bolt gardeners become more successful, and a few
things that are going on that are really happening making
gardeners think twice. But here's my take, you guys, on
what gardeners have that so few other people have. Why,
(41:19):
you know, and again I don't want to go crazy
here because I don't mean to be, but gardeners have
something that hardly anybody else has, and that is there
is always something to look forward to. Always. If you
put a seed in the ground, you're looking forward to
a German. You put a bolt in the fall, you're
looking forward to the spring. You put a shrug in now,
(41:41):
you're looking forward to the flowers. There is nothing we
do that does not give us joy because we're looking forward.
And I want to tell you don't get old when
you're looking forward. It's really really cool. And it's not
anything we do or did, it's just who we are.
And I don't truly believe that.
Speaker 1 (42:02):
Is really well said Merry Christmas.
Speaker 3 (42:08):
I mean, and I'm gonna put that in my T
shirt somewhere too, But I actually I do see that always,
you know, And I don't know Rick or face. You
probably have maybe not been to any one of my
silly talks. But I often will will treface this by saying,
you know, how many I've met many, many tired gardeners.
(42:28):
I've met many sore gardeners. I've met many broke gardeners.
But who I have never met is an old gardener,
because you can't get old looking forward to the future.
It just doesn't happen. So and again, we're healthier, we're
certainly not wealthier. I don't think they're any wiser. We're
out here and we smile a lot.
Speaker 1 (42:50):
I love that. I love that you made my day
with that. You know, Stacey and I have have been
talking about climate change, and you're very familiar with Michigan.
And I've been looking through the records this past year. Alan,
and by the way, we're chatting with doctor Allan Armitage.
He's an author, a speaker, has done so much for
(43:13):
the horticulture industry throughout the years, Professor Emeritus of Horticulture
at the University of Georgia. I've been looking at the
data and our garden seasons, our growing season. Doing this
thing that we're looking forward to has certainly extended. I mean,
if I go back to the seventies and eighties, I'm
(43:35):
looking at growing seasons that were maybe one hundred and
thirty days where we live here in West Michigan, and
last year I think we got close to one hundred
and eighty days. It's just incredible.
Speaker 3 (43:48):
It is incredible. And on the service that just sounds great,
oh boy, more we can garden it, and in fact
it's nice. But as you know, many of the plan
that we grow, particularly those that are perennial, with the
ie for vacious perennials, tree shoves, they benefit from cold,
(44:09):
and they benefit from long periods of cold, and they're
benefit from snow cover. And sometimes we're not getting as
much as that as we used to. You know for sure, Rick,
that when you were growing up in Michigan, you were
probably out there ice skating on the pond. Heck, the
pond probably doesn't even freeze anymore. Absolutely, things are certainly different, and.
Speaker 1 (44:29):
You you know, they're experience experiencing that also in Europe.
My dad yesterday turned ninety five years old. He grew
up in the Netherlands and he would ice skate the
canals and now there's there's no ice on the.
Speaker 3 (44:44):
Canals and for us, you know, I'm from Montreal. Hey,
that's all we ever did. That's the same was put
on ice skating those skating and we used to we
used to freeze in the backyard, put boards up. That's
really not happening anymore. And and from the point of view
of the garden side that it is good in that,
(45:06):
you know, we don't want that much winter. I get it,
but you know it's a little bit tougher for plants
I think with this change in climate.
Speaker 1 (45:15):
Stacy, I'm still clinging though to the show that we
did with Alan Armitage a few months ago, and make
sure to look for it on podcast or on YouTube,
where Alan just gave me encouragement. He said that it's
easier to garden in the north than the south. Alan,
because in the north, what was it you said, they're
(45:36):
either doing great or they're dead, one or the other.
Speaker 3 (45:38):
Right in the they tend to linger. In the north,
either beautiful or they're dead. But anyway, maybe maybe you've
got a few lingerers as well. But no, it is
actually easier to garden north. But most people don't believe
you want to say that.
Speaker 1 (45:56):
Alan's gonna ask you for a few things a Christmas
present for our viewers and for our listeners. So here
we go. The first thing I'm going to ask you is,
aside from a book, you have so many wonderful books.
And by the way, folks, Alan reminded us also that
the book Field Guide to Specialty Cut Flowers is a
(46:19):
big seller and it's a testament to how people have
really embraced cut flowers. But Alan, aside from a book
as a gardener's as a gardener, what's something you'd want
to get this Christmas as a gift you personally? What
would you want?
Speaker 3 (46:39):
I'm the kind of a fellow that doesn't need anything,
doesn't really want anything until I realize that I don't
have something. So there's a couple a couple of things,
like give me a great pair of leather gloves. Now,
I know it's boring. I mean it's boring. I can
tell you what the app and this other stuff. You
give me a quick pair of leather gloves because I
(47:00):
am I'm not a matchural guy. I am happy to
put a pair of gloves on and I'm digging or
whatever I'm doing, and and and they that's just that's
just a great gift. And the reason I'm thinking about
that now is because mine are you know, five years
old and starting to get a little worn. And uh
so that's that's one for sure. But I tell you
if I had not, only if you're a gardener, would
(47:21):
you ask for this? Okay? And and I don't expect
too many of your people to ask this, But what
I'd really like for Christmas is a big, big pile
of compost with a big ribbon on the top. Bring
me in trouble and I will be happy to spread it.
But that is that is the key to any good gardening.
(47:42):
But I'm not sure if the neighbors would appreciate the
truck coming in with a bow on top. But the
comp compost is compost is the key. But yeah, those
are two gifts there, and you can you can work on.
Speaker 1 (47:55):
Your neighbors would have to maintain their composter. But I
agree it's a great gift. And I I do have
your address, so be careful there you go.
Speaker 3 (48:03):
Well, I live in I live in town, so to speak,
in a very small garden sixty hundred and so I
don't have room for a big compost pile that you
know is making making one. I wish I could, and
I would if I get out of the room. So
we get composed every year and I put it on
my garden. And if we have sell we have heavy
play soils here, and so I just throw it on top.
(48:26):
Most everything is dormant. I just throw things on top,
and it's amazing. After you know, ten years or so,
you've got soil, you got dirt, and that really helps.
Speaker 1 (48:36):
Well. Time flies when we have the chance to talk
to you, and so I've got to ask you this
question again as a gift for our listeners and our viewers.
Give me two plants that you think everyone should have
in their garden. Two plants that everyone should put in
the ground. In twenty twenty five, According to Alan Armitage,
(48:58):
what would those two plants be?
Speaker 3 (49:00):
Yellen, well, I'm going to give you. I'll give you
one right off the top of my head is false
indigo or Baptisia. And Baptisia is a perennial grows very
fine in Michigan. It grows. Just put it anywhere. It
gives you fabulous new growth when it comes out of
the ground in the spring. Some of them actually a
black black buds. It gives you mind foldage spectacular flowers
(49:26):
and then good fruit and it is pregnal and it'll
be twenty years and you will be touching a thing.
So that's one plant that you just cannot go too
wrong on and a second plant. I guess, you know,
I guess I'm trying to stay away from the serbatous
stuff all the time. But I would would, I would
probably certainly. And I hate to say hydranges because I'm
(49:49):
not a fan at all of the mophead hydranges, your
grandmother's hydrange is. I'm not a fan at all. But
the panicle hydranges there are spectacular ones that and they're easy,
they tolerate sun and shade. They come back every year.
You can you can walk into the ground if you wish.
And those are two plants to just put any anybody
(50:10):
who's listening will be successful with.
Speaker 1 (50:12):
His name is Alan Armitage. Now for our listeners and
our viewers again radio podcast in YouTube. Gonna give you
the spelling. Alan is spelled A L L A N
and then Armitage A R M I T A G
E dot net. Check out the books. She'll be glad
(50:33):
you did. And now the T shirts use the promo
code West and if you're watching on YouTube, I'm sure
Adriana will put the spelling of my name up there
for you. VU y s T. Happy holidays, Alan, It's
always a pleasure to talk to.
Speaker 3 (50:51):
You, Rick Grig. I'm going to throw one more thing
at you before you get rid of me, and that
is if anybody wants to follow me every months they do,
it's called my favorites. It's a plant, it's a book,
not a garden book, but a book, a streaming series,
a place to go visit in a great garden. Because
they follow me, it's called armors. You's his favorites. Just
have a great time and aubure a Stacey, Adriana, Rick,
(51:12):
thank you for having me and I hope we can
do this more often.
Speaker 1 (51:16):
Would love to do it. Happy holidays, Allen, and thanks
so much.
Speaker 3 (51:19):
Thank you Allan, all the best, everybody take care now.
Speaker 1 (51:22):
All right bye bye, all right.
Speaker 2 (51:23):
Well, I hope that you have lots of ideas and
inspiration for the gardener in your life this holiday. We
wanted to do it right now so you'd still have
time to order and shop for that gardener in your life.
And so as you shop, we want to thank you
for your time thank you Rick, thank you Adriana, and
of course thank you doctor Armitage. Have a wonderful week ahead.
Coming to you from Studio eight here at Proven Winners,
Color Choice Shrubs. It's time for the Gardening Simplified Podcast,
radio and YouTube show with Stacy Hervella, me, Rick weisst
and our engineer and producer Adrianna Robinson. Well, Stacey, I'm
wearing my mister Rogers sweater, a wonderful gift I received
from you and Adriana, and I think you know it's
(00:25):
time to talk garden gifts a fun thing to talk about.
And wow, I'm looking at for our YouTube viewers this
beautiful gift on the table.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
Yes, this is an Adriana Robinson original and she presented
it to me a few weeks ago, and it is
a stained glass version of the show logo with the
microphone and all of the flowers and leaves and things
sprouting out of it. Isn't it great?
Speaker 1 (00:52):
She is so talented. I love that and I.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
Hate to break it to your listeners, but she is
not available for personalized gifts. She is two full a
ready this season.
Speaker 1 (01:01):
So well, I'll tell you what personalized gifts are wonderful
And also for oh let's call them boomer gardeners like me,
we have to learn to embrace new technology. And you know,
I had somebody this past week say to me that
that folks who are in the gen Z generation, they
(01:21):
are digital natives. They don't know anything different than smartphones, computers,
AI and all that type of thing, and so it's
natural to them. But for us as gardeners, for example,
cordless electric pruning shares, you know a pruning shares that's
cordless and electric, are you kidding me? Or cordless electric
mini chainsaws, or electric sprayers as opposed to those pressure
(01:45):
tank sprayers that can be a real pain.
Speaker 2 (01:47):
Yeah, all of.
Speaker 1 (01:48):
That kind of stuff is available to folks today. I
mean you think about LED lights and LED technology outdoor
lighting in your garden. Fabulous.
Speaker 2 (01:58):
Yeah, such such great choices, and you can get solar
powered so you don't need to make it a complicated thing.
I'm glad you brought up the electric or cordless items
because we just got a electric blower. So I'm not
a big fan of blowers. You know, We've talked about
blowers plenty on the show. But you know, I have
a number of succulents in the garden, right, So I
(02:20):
have a couple of different succulent gardens, and if there's
one thing that doesn't mix with succulents. It's leaves. It's
very easy for them to get smothered with foliage. And
so my husband wanted to do something about it, and
he got a battery operated blower that works on his drill.
Speaker 3 (02:35):
Battery.
Speaker 2 (02:36):
Yes, and it's super light. It's not loud and obnoxious.
You know, it doesn't have like a combustion engine because
it's electric and it is fantastic. It's easy to carry,
It works with the batteries we already had because the
battery is the biggest part of that. That would be
a great gift for someone. I have to tell you
right now. The best gifts wreck I think, are the
ones that people don't know they want.
Speaker 1 (02:58):
Love that, love that. Why don't we just go to
segment too.
Speaker 2 (03:02):
Because you just figure out the rest yourself. We've got nothing.
Speaker 1 (03:05):
Well, have I got a surprise for you?
Speaker 3 (03:07):
Then?
Speaker 1 (03:10):
But you're right, you know the electrical pet and the
power that they have. You know, you see people using
these rechargeable lawnmowers.
Speaker 2 (03:17):
Yeah, I've got that too.
Speaker 1 (03:18):
Amaze.
Speaker 2 (03:18):
We have a battery operated lawnmower that is fantastic. I
love it because you're not looking like an idiot out
there trying to pull your cord and the darn thing's
not starting, and it's so quiet that it doesn't bother
your neighbors. You know, you can actually hold a conversation
while you're using an electric mower and it doesn't stink,
no bad fumes. And I mean it really makes mowing
(03:40):
the lawn of pleasure. I love it to.
Speaker 1 (03:42):
Make a lawn story short. It's a great way to
go outdoor speakers that are solar charge and play music outside.
Cork lined Italian clogs for her wancy. Yeah, I love that.
I've gotten into again. I'm at that. You know, medicare
retiree a the Martha Stewart and Snoop Dog slip on
(04:04):
sketcher shoes. Oh and they're great. Never thought i'd wear them,
but I'm wearing them. Harvest baskets. How many times have
you gone into the vegetable garden and you've got armloads
of peppers and beans and tomatoes and you drop half
of them on the way back into the house.
Speaker 2 (04:20):
Yes, that is true. I have many harvest baskets that
never seem to be in the garden when I need them,
and therefore I do that despite the presence of harvest baskets.
But it is a great gift because they are beautiful.
I have one that kind of has like a wire
mesh so you can just rint stuff off right outside
in the garden. And I have some other nicer ones
that are suitable for for a kitchen display, and that's
(04:42):
a great gift too, if you really don't know like
what someone wants, you know, sometimes I think some garden
gifts are maybe just a little too personal. Like, you know,
if you want to get a gardener some gloves, I
would caution against it, like unless you know what kind
of glove they get they like, and you are looking
to get them like a year's supply of them or something.
(05:02):
It's a very personal preference, it's true. But something like that,
you know, like a beautiful basket, that's a great thing
that they can use and you know, enjoy and think
of you every time to use it.
Speaker 1 (05:13):
Sunglasses and hats would probably fall into that category also. Yeah,
for me, based on the recommendations of our viewers and listeners,
I'm going to get a hose link eighty two foot
retractable hose. They're two hundred and fifty bucks. I'm gonna
gift myself.
Speaker 2 (05:28):
I think you've earned it. And you know, anything that's
one of those things that yeah, I mean everyone who's
who has one of those raves about it. And you know,
if you're like us and you really just despise the
hose struggle, it's worth it. You know, the sanity that
you will regain will pay for itself, like in the
first day, or use it really, you bet you?
Speaker 1 (05:49):
And of course you guys know I'm a runner, and
so I use a lot of these moisture wicking shirts
that runners use. Cool, they're cool, they fight off UV rays,
they stretch, they have anti microbial odor fighting technology. Why
not use them in the garden. And the same as
for tactical pants that have pockets, are lightweight, that stretch.
(06:12):
I'm big into that in the garden. I want to
mention that. Coming up in the fourth segment, we get
to talk to doctor Allan Armitage who has written many books.
And I still think books are a great gift. And
I'm not being old fashioned here. Books are easy to
wrap or ship, They entertain people. They are the ultimate
(06:36):
regiftable gift. Books increase intelligence, They last forever. Books meet
everyone's needs. Books offer variety, to gift giving. They're inexpense.
I can go on and you can personalize a book.
Speaker 2 (06:50):
Yes, I will always welcome a book. And so I
would have two book suggestions for our listeners. So you've
heard me say this on the show before. If you
are interested in getting some want a gardening book, like
a practical gardening book, the best recommendation I can offer
you is The Well Tended Perennial Garden by Tracy Di
Sabado Oust. It is an absolutely incredible volume of work.
(07:12):
I've talked about how she basically sacrificed her own garden
for years, experimenting with different perennial pruning techniques to either
delay bloom or get stronger stems, all of these other things.
And the great thing about that book in particular is
it's not information you're going to find online. So many
other books, you know, sure it's nice to have on
your shelf, but ultimately it's just kind of duplicating stuff
(07:33):
that you can find online. Tracy's book is not information
you're going to find anywhere else, and perennial gardeners especially
are going to love reading it. So that's a specific recommendation.
If you don't know what kind of book to get someone.
I love any kind of garden inspiration book, like if
it's a colorful, you know, coffee table level picture book.
Whether it's of a specific garden, say a famous garden
(07:55):
in the UK or something like that, or a bunch
of different gardens, you can't go wrong because, you know,
especially in winter Christmas time, people are dying for some inspiration.
They're ready for the spring again, and it's a great
way to just inspire them and give them something really
beautiful to look at.
Speaker 1 (08:12):
Great suggestions in today's digital age, at coffee table book
still works, I think. So yeah, I'm gonna throw a
few other suggestions at you. But Stacy, I'm going to
have you open this up on air.
Speaker 2 (08:23):
Oh my gosh, wow, watching on YouTube. We've got some
sound effects here of the This.
Speaker 1 (08:29):
Is a personalized nostalgic.
Speaker 2 (08:32):
Gift for stag Oh my gosh, look at them, did you?
Speaker 3 (08:40):
Oh?
Speaker 2 (08:41):
Yeah, it is for our listeners who cannot see what
I'm opening right now.
Speaker 3 (08:45):
It is a.
Speaker 2 (08:46):
Macrome lawn chair, the kind that Rick hates and is
always make sure he's first of the buffet line so
he doesn't come back and get stuck with the Macrame lawnchair,
as he said in our nostalgia show, this is gorgeous.
Speaker 1 (08:59):
Yeah, and full disclosure, I did not make the chair.
I am not talented like you, Stacey. I bought it
on Facebook marketplace. Oh, this is great, slightly used too.
Speaker 2 (09:10):
I love it. I love it fantastic.
Speaker 1 (09:13):
But you know, giving gifts with meaning is important, even
if you're giving gifts to gardeners. And so you know,
I think seed kits are great. You can buy garden
gloves now. I know you mentioned the garden gloves, but
you can buy garden gloves now that have claws.
Speaker 2 (09:26):
Oh I like those. Actually, that is a gift I
would welcome, yeah, because I do too much digging and
then I wear out just like a couple fingers on
the gloves. It's very annoying.
Speaker 1 (09:35):
And of course a gift card to your favorite garden
center or greenhouse also a great idea. So there are
many different things that you can give as gifts, and
you know, put a little thought, a little meaning into
it too. And that chair I might even sit in there.
Speaker 2 (09:53):
You only have to give it a try and see
if you know changed your tune since back in the
day when you really developed your dislike of the Macrimay
lawn chair.
Speaker 1 (10:01):
Well, don't forget the gardener on your gift list. Let's
see how Stacey ties this in with plants on trial
that's coming up next here on the Gardening Simplified Show.
Speaker 2 (10:16):
Proven Winner's colored choice Shrubs cares about your success in
the garden. That's why we trial and test all of
our shrubs for eight to ten years, making sure they
outperform everything else on the market. Look for them and
the distinctive white container at your local garden center. Greeting's
gardening friends, and welcome back to the Gardening Simplified Show.
Or the order of the day is gifts. And Rick
(10:38):
just gifted me a wonderful vintage Macromay lawn chair. If
you missed our nostalgia show, you should definitely go back
and check that out. We talked about a lot of
things from our past, and Rick expressed his disapproval for
disapproval for the classic macromy lawn chair. Are you changing
her tune?
Speaker 3 (10:56):
Now?
Speaker 1 (10:56):
I am changing my tune. You've converted?
Speaker 3 (10:59):
All right?
Speaker 2 (10:59):
Good, I'm I'm glad to hear it. And you know
it's I think that gardeners. Anytime someone in your life
has a passion like gardening. It becomes a lot easier
to shop for them. You know, there's a lot of
people in your life that are hard to shop for
because either they buy everything that they want or they
don't really have like a thing that they love to do,
and it becomes very difficult to shop for them. So
(11:21):
by having a gardener in your life, you're already halfway
there because you know that they love something and there's
a lot of different things that you can get them,
And plants, I think are always a natural choice for gifts. Now,
of course, December here in the Northern Hemisphere and certainly
here in the Midwest and Northeast and much of the
United States, plants are not the best gift to give
(11:42):
at the holidays because it's winter and things are dormant.
Speaker 1 (11:46):
Yeah, and that's a great point, Stacy. Coming up next week,
we'll talk about citrus plants, and that's a plant that
could be given as a gift.
Speaker 2 (11:52):
Do definitely, And of course, you know, a point setta
is a classic hostess gift if you're invited to someone's house.
But I think a lot of people throughout the year
actually really want to give plants as gifts for a
variety of reasons. I mean, of course, plants are very
very popular as something to commemorate a birth, a wedding,
or to give to someone who has lost someone that
(12:14):
they've loved as a kind of living memorial to them,
and I think that those can be just such a
good reason to give a gift. So knowing that you know,
December is not the best time for giving most plants
as gifts, except for houseplants, which I've definitely given houseplants
to people for gifts before, and that's always a nice thing.
I wanted to talk just sort of generally about what
(12:37):
makes a plant suitable forgiving at any time of the year,
because it's kind of a tricky thing. I mean, very
often we're giving these to people that we know fairly well,
but at the same time, we don't necessarily know how
much space they have. We don't necessarily know, you know,
how much sun they have, or where the sun, what
the sun is like in the spot where they actually
(12:58):
will eventually plant this thing. And you want to give
them something that is beautiful and memorable and special but
also not a ton of work.
Speaker 1 (13:09):
And you want it to work, Yes, you want it
to work, because they're going to feel a degree of
pressure to well, I got to take care of those planet.
Speaker 3 (13:16):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (13:17):
Absolutely. You know, of course that definitely becomes true if
it is something that is tied to a life event.
So you know, you don't want to get something that's
like too boring in work a day and it's like, oh,
this is just something they would buy themselves. You kind
of want it. You want to be that like gifting
superhero where you've found the perfect plant and it's something
that they can really appreciate and enjoy. So I thought
(13:38):
a lot about you know, what is the right kind
of plant, and here are some characteristics I think it
should have. Number one, it should be fairly small, because trees,
of course are a classic choice. But a tree is
a big commitment usually not just in terms of its lifespan,
but also you know, it can be a lot more expensive.
I mean, trees have come down since they're mostly container grown,
(14:00):
but still they're going to cost a bit more, and
you know, it's it's just a much bigger commitment. So
you want something usually it's going to be a little
bit smaller that it's easy for the person the recipient
to fit into their yard and into their life and
you want it to have at least one spectacular moment.
Speaker 3 (14:17):
You know.
Speaker 2 (14:17):
I think that that's really important too, is you don't
want it to just be like, oh, yeah, they gave
me this, you know you taxes, and it's like okay,
you know, almost the same all year and it never
really has that special moment where it does that purpose
of you know, reminding the person either of you and
the reason that you gave it to them, or you know,
the reason that it was planted in the first place. Again,
(14:39):
whether a wedding or you know, birth or something like that.
So you need something something spectacular, you need something small,
you need something adaptable. You need something that's going to
be able to take almost any kind of soil that's
going to be able to take you know, anything from
part shade to full sun. Something that's going to be
forgiving of course, because you know, again it needs to
(15:02):
have some leeway there for people of varying skill and
interest levels in gardening. So it's kind of a tall order.
Speaker 1 (15:11):
Yeah, it is a tall order. And you know, working
in the garden center industry, Stacey, one thing that I
dealt with often we're memorial plants, and you know, what's
a good memorial plant or like you mentioned many times,
they want this memorial plant to bloom around the time
of the event, possibly somebody's passing, and it's you know,
(15:34):
it's a big deal. And I always I was always
very serious and took it to heart because it's important.
Speaker 2 (15:40):
Yeah, and it's it's it's very you know, meaningful. So
I am going to give you for today's plants on trial,
the ultimate all purpose, easygoing gift plant. Whether it's a housewarming, birth, death,
wedding promotion. I don't know why you're given plant gifts,
but here is the one that you can keep in
your back pocket for any occasion. In vinceibel we white
(16:03):
hydrange Wow. Now, now, of course hydrangeas are always great.
You know, they're easy to grow, they're very floriferous. But
this particular hydrangea is a native smooth hydrangea, so hydrangel arborescine.
So that's always a good thing as well, just a
nice little bonus to have, and so it checks all
(16:25):
of these boxes. Basically, the easiest way to think about
in vincibel we white hydrangea is that it is a
dwarf version of the very famous and widely planted Annabelle hydrangea.
So Annabel is a classic, a lot of people know it,
a lot of people grow it. Beautiful plant, but it
gets to be about five feet five to six feet
(16:46):
tall and wide, and it flops. Anyone who's ever grown
it will tell you one good summer thunderstorm in July
and that thing is on the ground, never to recover
until the following year. And in Vinceibel, we white hydrange
resolves both of those issues. So compared to that five
feet tall and wide for Annabel, it's going to be
just one to two and a half feet tall and wide,
(17:07):
So it's great. It's almost like a perennial really that
that same kind of size, and it doesn't flop. It
has very very sturdy stems. So this is not one
of those plants it's going to wind up on the
ground with the flowers all in the soil and looking
sad and kind of making you taking away from the
joy of why you planted it in the first place.
Speaker 1 (17:27):
It's smart choice, they sy because people love high ranges,
and it being an Annabelle, you're taking away the pruning
issue too.
Speaker 2 (17:36):
Right exactly. So that's the other good thing is that
no matter if your gift recipient prunes it or doesn't
prune it, it's going to flower. So it's kind of
got that fool proof built in thing, because you know,
if they don't know what to do and they don't
do anything, it's good. If they think they know what
to do, when they do something, you're still good to go.
(17:57):
And of course, you know, as with all of the
provens colored choice shrubs, it's going to come with a
tag that has all of that information in it, but
of course sometimes people lose those. It's also on our
website and of course you can always reach out to
us and will always help. But it has that kind
of fool proof factor. So even if they never read
the so called instruction manual all the you know, they're
going to still be successful and not have to worry about,
(18:20):
you know, that disappointment or that you have. You don't
have to worry that you have given your recipient more
work except for deer. Now, I do have to caution
that this is one liability of this plant. I think
that smooth hydranges and panicle hydranges, which are also a
close second for the perfect gift plant, do you both
have the liability of being very much beloved by deer,
(18:42):
especially the flowers, so very often they will come along,
they'll just eat the flower bud. They'll mostly leave the
rest of the plant alone. In many cases, not so
much on smooth hyde ranges I've seen in my garden,
but back when I attempted to grow them, I'm done
with that. If you know, deer or not an issue,
this is an excellent, excellent choice. It's going to have
white flowers that are proportional to the plant for us
(19:03):
usually in about early to mid July, so really nice
time for summer, and you know, everything is looking really great.
Speaker 1 (19:12):
So a couple questions for you, Stacy. One question would
be the deer issue. Yes, but it's offset by the
fact that generally smooth hydranges have a pretty wide heartiness zone.
Speaker 2 (19:24):
Yes, yeah, thanks for bringing that up, because no matter
where pretty much your recipient is, they're going to be
able to grow this invincibel white hydrange is hardy down
to USDA Zone three, so very very cold tolerant, and
heat tolerant through USDA Zone eight so also very very
heat tolerant. So that's a good wide range, you know,
(19:44):
for the plant to thrive in if they have off
years where it does get really hot, it's still going
to do great.
Speaker 1 (19:49):
And another question for you, I'm just curious, is it
appropriate if you're giving this as a gift to add
a soil amendment and some fertilize.
Speaker 3 (20:01):
Or not.
Speaker 2 (20:02):
So I get where you're coming from, Rick, and I
think that, yeah, a lot of people, a lot of
people will, you know, try to round it out and
give that total package. But we actually do not recommend
a mending the soil or really doing anything at all
at planting time, especially for something like a smooth hydrangea.
They really truly are going to be best planted in
(20:25):
the actual soil, and our tags do say that, you know,
but a lot of people just still think, you know,
that they don't have to. And as far as fertilizer goes,
you know, new plants don't use annuals aside, and vegetables
of course don't need fertilizer. They have been fertilized to
within an inch of their life by the grower before
you get them, and so there's really no need for fertilizing.
(20:46):
I think for the entire first year.
Speaker 1 (20:48):
That's good because it's tough to wrap a bag of
potting soil and fertilis.
Speaker 2 (20:52):
That is true. And so if your recipient asks, because
they're going to say to you, Hey, you're the gardener here,
what should I do to site? Just plant it in
the ground, find a good spot. I can help you,
and you know, to really make a plant gift extra special,
you can always volunteer to stay around and help for
the planting, because giving your own time is always a
welcome gift. We're gonna take a little break. When we
(21:14):
come back, we're going to be opening up the garden
mail bags to please stay tuned at proven winner's color choice,
We've got a shrub for every taste and every space.
Whether you're looking for an easy care rose and unforgettable hydrangea,
or something new and unique, you can be confident that
(21:34):
the shrubs and the white containers have been trialed and
tested for your success. Look for them at your local
garden center. Greetings, gardening friends, and welcome back to the
Gardening Simplified Radio Show, YouTube show and podcast. Take your pick,
although I always recommend the YouTube show because you get
a lot of bonus content. It Arana puts a lot
of time into the YouTube and then you get to
(21:57):
see pictures of the plant on trial and all the
other cool stuff we do, and photos that our listeners
are sending in with the mailbag, because sometimes that's very
important to understanding the problem when you're.
Speaker 1 (22:07):
Doing detective work. And coming up in segment four today
more about garden gifts, an interview with doctor Alan Armitage
and here's a gift for you. Alanarmitage dot net is
the website you can see is wonderful books. I've read
his books. You use promo code West. That's my last name,
(22:28):
so it's spelled vuys t and he'll give you free shipping.
Speaker 2 (22:33):
Oh got all love that.
Speaker 1 (22:35):
There you go. So we'll talk to him about that
in segment four.
Speaker 2 (22:37):
So you know, we are going to answer some gardening
questions now and if you have a gardening question, we
would be glad to help you. You can reach us
at Gardening Simplified on air dot com. There is a
contact form there, you can attach photos, you can describe
your problem. And I also wanted to mention as we
are coming into the winter season and questions do kind
of slow down because you're not out there thinking what
(22:59):
do I do about this? Or what what's going on
with this? Is our plant panel videos, so I don't
know if you've seen those on our YouTube channel, but
you know, we always get a lot of questions from
people asking like what should they plant, what should they
do with this area? And those kind of questions are frankly,
just really hard to answer on a radio show because
there's a lot to talk about a lot of different things.
So if we answered a lot of those plant recommendation questions,
(23:21):
we wouldn't be able to get to any of the
other gardening questions. So we have actually created a playlist
called Plant Panel, and so myself, my colleagues Natalie and Christina,
we get together and we look at pictures that people
have sent in. They talk to us about their challenges
and their hopes and their dreams for the space, and
then we make different suggestions, not just of proven Winner's
(23:41):
Color Choice shrubs, but all sorts of different things. And
so it's been a lot of fun. It's been very
well received, And if you would like to submit your
garden for some plant recommendations, just visit Proovenminner's Color Choice
dot com and you can click on the contact us
and there is a form right there to do it.
Speaker 1 (23:56):
So who wouldn't want that gift? Yeah? Sure, to tune in.
Speaker 2 (23:59):
Free advice, love it, I mean free, very opinionated advice.
I will give you this, but that's good love it.
You know, we always have perspective, so you definitely have opinions.
So anyway, Rick, what do we got in the mailbag today?
Speaker 1 (24:11):
Don writes to us, love your show. I'm in southern
New Jerseys on seven B. This is a Japanese red maple.
Don sent us a picture maybe blood good. Please can
you tell me what causes this kind of damage? Six
to feet six to eight feet off the ground. And
then he says, our deer are short, so he has
damage on the tree, but it's six to eight feet
(24:32):
up the tree, and Don saying the deer they're in
New Jersey are short.
Speaker 2 (24:36):
Yes, well, deer ken actually do damage higher than their
height if you live in a snowy area, because the
snow can definitely make them much taller than they would
normally be. And I have seen that. But this is
not dear damage. I don't have a definitive answer for you, Don,
but I do have some thoughts. So when I was
looking at this damage, I do believe that it is
(25:00):
yellow bellied sapsucker damage. So yellow bellied sapsucker are birds.
They're a relative of a woodpecker, and they actually do
look quite a bit like a downy woodpecker, much bigger,
so similar. So when you look at when you're like, whoa,
that's way too big to be a downy woodpecker. And
they do have a little bit of a flush of
yellow on their bellies, but they're much more secretive. You
(25:23):
don't usually see them as often as you see woodpeckers.
And what the yellow bellied sapsucker does is not suck sap,
but they peck holes into the wood of smooth barked trees.
So magnolias, certain maples, pines can also be really susceptible
to yellow bellied sapsucker damage. So they make a series
(25:44):
of holes and then the sap flows out of those holes,
and that attracts insects, and then they come along and
pick off the insects out of this little sap trap
that they have created. And so you will see this
on trees all over. It's quite common, and it's just
lines of very very neatly arranged holes through the bark
(26:05):
of the tree. Now, the reason that I think this
is yellow bellied sapsucker damage what's actually happening in Don's
photo is the bark has gone almost completely in these areas,
so not all over the tree, but just in these sections.
But when I look at it, when I look at
the edges, I see what really looks like it was
probably round sapsucker holes, so kind of like the margins
of the damage looked to me like it was very
(26:28):
very much likely to be yellow bellied sapsucker. And that
as that damage has recurred over and over again and
the sapsuckers have made increasing lines, that moisture and so
forth has gotten under the bark, it's kind of killed
off that section and it's just fallen off completely, so
you aren't seeing that kind of characteristic rhythmic lines.
Speaker 1 (26:48):
That is great detective work. I am impressed. That's fabulous.
And yes I have seen that on smooth barked beach trees.
Speaker 2 (26:58):
Yeah, beach trees as well. Yeah for sure.
Speaker 1 (27:00):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (27:00):
Wow, So that's what I think. Do you have any thoughts?
Speaker 1 (27:03):
Well, the only thing that I thought is if it
was not that, but I think you nailed it would
be sun scaled. I mean, we have to bear in
mind that, especially maples or a variety of trees, if
there's temperature fluctuations just under the bark cold hot. Sometimes
we'll get sun scaled, sometimes will lose bark that way.
But based on the pictures, no, I think you nailed it, Stacy,
(27:25):
I'd go down that road done so.
Speaker 2 (27:27):
In the case of yellow ellied sapsuckers, there's really nothing
that you can do. And normally it's important to realize
that sapsucker damage we call it damage, but I mean,
of course, most trees have evolved to live with woodpeckers
and sapsuckers and all of that, so it's not usually
quite this dramatic, and trees can live with it just fine,
(27:48):
because of course it's not in the sapsucker's best interest
to go around killing trees because then it's going to
lose its entire food source anyway. But of course certain
things can happen through a different, you know, confluence of
circumstances where it does remove entire portions of bark like this,
But again, there's really nothing that you can do. If
the sapsucker wants to feed there, it will.
Speaker 1 (28:07):
Yeah, you know, it causes me to wonder hanging up
a suet feeder with the woodpecker cakes if it would
distract them or attract more of them. So yeah, that's
probably not a solution yet.
Speaker 2 (28:19):
I'm not really sure how often they visit Sue, because
I think they are very insectivorous, when of course woodpeckers
are as well. And you know, I was I was
reading something not too long ago where someone says, oh, yeah,
you know, I tried putting out celt licks for the
deer in the hopes that they wouldn't eat my plants.
And I'm like, that will never happen. You know, deer
aren't like, oh, how wonderful she's feeding us. Guess we
won't eat the hydrangeas. They're just gonna be like, oh great,
(28:42):
more food at my favorite.
Speaker 1 (28:43):
Restaurant, quid Pro exactly.
Speaker 2 (28:46):
So nothing you can do but maybe get a pair
of binoculars and enjoy the behavior of the sapsucker because
it is quite interesting to watch.
Speaker 1 (28:55):
Helen writes to us, We've been battling squash bugs for
the last two years, and I'm thinking that they actually
wintered over in the soil from last year because they
were so prevalent in our garden area this past growing season.
A gardening friend told me I should get a flame
thrower yaigs and scortch the soil to eliminate them. Hey
there's a garden gift idea of flamethrower? Is there another solution?
(29:17):
We also had Mexican bean beetles for the first time ever.
Will they winter over to next year? I've been a
gardener for forty plus years and this is my first
experience with these pests.
Speaker 2 (29:28):
Yikes. Yeah, those are two brutal pests for vegetable gardeners
for sure. So I do you want to address the
squash bugs first? I would not recommend the flame thrower
simply because you know, there are a lot of garden
pasts that will overwinter directly under their host plant. So
a viburnum leaf beetle would be a great example. You know,
(29:48):
they're really going to be right around that plant, whereas
the squash bugs are not necessarily so you don't necessarily
know that they are where you grew the squash last year.
Speaker 1 (29:57):
I agree. That's why many times to deal with square
bugs we use floating row covers. Oh yeah, lay their
eggs when they're moving.
Speaker 2 (30:06):
That's a good idea. The other thing, so you can't
really so they are out there overwintering, you know, waiting
for your zucchini to start growing. So a couple of
things that you can do, uh, would be to monitor
your plants. And squash bug eggs are clustered so they're
very easy to see. They're also pretty bright red, So
(30:28):
if you are at the time, I would recommend contacting
your local cooperative extension find out the growing degree days
or time frame when squash bugs begin to be active,
and then just go ahead and start monitoring your plants.
Turn the leaves over and what you will see is
in the vs where the veins come together, a little
cluster of kind of ruby colored eggs, and then you
(30:48):
can either cut that leaf off entirely, or you can
take duct tape, roll it around your fingers and just
lift the eggs right off of the leaf. So, you know,
I'm afraid that probably is the best way. I think
the floating rope cover is also an effective way. The
only thing about the floating roll cover on things like
zucchini is then pollinating insects are also not getting in
there to pollinate it. You can also try staggering your crop.
(31:13):
You know, especially if you are growing zucchini, it's got
a pretty short life cycle, so maybe try sewing it,
you know, two, three, even four weeks later than you
usually do, and see if that doesn't help to kind
of miss their prime time. And that's also what I
recommend about the Mexican bean beetles. Mexican bean beodles do
start feeding quite early in the season. So if you
(31:33):
are out there sowing bean speeds in May, they're like, oh, yeah,
I got the tenderest spring leaves. This is what I
live for. Whereas if you make subsequent sowings of beans,
say later into June, that will again sort of avoid
their main window of feeding.
Speaker 1 (31:53):
And it's those are great points stacy, because remember when
it comes to IPM Integrated Pest Management, stacy, time is everything.
So you've got to learn who your enemy is.
Speaker 2 (32:04):
Yes, and you know we are going to be talking
a lot about timing in a future show when we
talk about what we learned this year, because I learned
a lot about timing in the vegetable garden and I
am now a big proponent of trying different timings to
evade all sorts of different pests. So I will put
some resources on the website Gardeningsimplified on air dot com
for you, Helen and anyone else who struggles with squash
(32:25):
bugs and or Mexican bean beetles. We're going to take
a little break. When we come back, we have got
a phone call with the one and only doctor Ellen Armitage,
so please stay tuned. The Gardening Simplified Show is brought
to you by proven Winners Color Choice Shrubs. Our award
winning flowering shrubs and evergreens have been trialed and tested
(32:47):
for your success so you enjoy more beauty and less work.
Look for proven Winners Color Choice Shrubs in the distinctive
white container at your local garden center.
Speaker 1 (32:58):
Welcome back to the Gardening Simplified Show today in Branching News. Well,
I gotta tell you this is a treat for me
because this gentleman has been a mentor to me and
an inspiration. I have read his books front to back.
His name is doctor Allan Armatage. He's a Professor Emeritus
(33:18):
of Horticulture, University of Georgia. Born and raised in Quebec
and Ontario, and then later lived in East Lansing, Michigan,
which is in close proximity to where we record here
and Stacey. If you look over our shoulders for our
YouTube viewers, it's snowing pretty good out there, and Alan
knows what that's like. But he now resides in Athens, Georgia.
(33:41):
He's worked with Gardner's landscapers, growers, retailers north and South.
He travels the world. He has a passion for plants.
He has what I call a great sense of humus.
You should follow this gentleman on Instagram or Facebook or YouTube.
He has an app Armatugees Great Garden Plants, and you've
(34:02):
got to visit his website and check out his books.
It's Alan Armitage dot net. And now I understand. On
top of all of that, Stacey, we've got T shirts too.
Speaker 2 (34:14):
Oh yes, I saw the T shirts. They You know
there needs to be more garden fashion, so I applaud
the T shirts.
Speaker 1 (34:20):
Well, I'll tell you what, Alan, you are into fashion
and I love it. Thanks for joining us on the
Gardening Simplified Show.
Speaker 3 (34:28):
Hey, Rick, I love listening to this stuff. Of course,
I was making you feel nice and people say good
things about you, but you got to share that on
this YouTube Thinger, if you're posting some pictures, you got
to tell them that the model for the T shirts
was just the last one they could find. So I
(34:49):
gotta be maybe sending you guys up some so you
can actually look a whole lot better in these T
shirts than that model is doing. But anyway, thank you.
It's great. Yeah, I just I just because love what
you do and love what we do as gardeners and
people who get their fingernails dirty. It's just it's just
it's in your blood. That's great.
Speaker 1 (35:11):
Fun. Well, I have tremendous respect for you, Alan, and
I'm serious. You were a mentor and an inspiration to me.
I think what really got me going, Stacey was I
read his book Herbaceous Perennial Plants, which now has a
fourth edition, read it cover to cover and wore that
thing out. No, I did not use it as a
(35:31):
door stop, but it's big enough to use as a dostop.
Speaker 3 (35:38):
If you don't like the book, Rick. You know, I've
also recommended to people that if they don't like it
that much, they can use it, you know, for weight training,
just one of those. But the part that book has
been well that of course is that's got real good legs,
just in the fourth edition, like you said, and each
edition is go ten years, so that doesn't how long
(35:59):
that thing went out. But it has. It has almost
little cult following. It's it is a good book. I'm
very proud of it and glad that you wore yours,
and so we'll have to get you all the one. Well.
Speaker 1 (36:10):
It has a cult following because Alan has a real
sense of humors and I love that. And you know,
it's amazing being in this industry. Alan, I'm I just
turned sixty five a couple of weeks ago, so I'm
getting up there too. And you know, I was listening
to you in an interview. I thought it was you
(36:31):
were talking about gen Z's and I was thinking about
the gen Z generation and it was mentioned that they
are digital natives. All of this digital stuff is just
second nature to them. But what's been fun to watch,
Alan is their love for plants. There's huge enthusiasm and
(36:51):
love for plants.
Speaker 3 (36:53):
You know, isn't it something? And again, you're sixty five, Uh,
your old man here and you may catch meet one
of these days. But the fact is that things I
don't know a Jens the are verage. I was in
the nursery and the garden center watching these mostly young
ladies with their mothers in the ad who weren't covering.
(37:14):
They were just with them having a grand time. And
they were at in the house plant section, which is
where they love to go. And I mean, they didn't
want just a probing and I say, Prumby, you didn't
want just a regular authors. They wanted to name variety.
They wanted something they could take home and and couddle
and give it a name. So they were looking for
(37:35):
good stuff and it was really wonderful to see it.
You know, I don't know how long this is going
to last, but this this whole digital thing and everything
is online that it's interesting that, believe it or not,
people still are reading a book or two, so thank
goodness for that, but they're the digital thing is certainly
second nature.
Speaker 1 (37:55):
We mentioned during the first segment of today's show that
I think books are still a great gift, and Stacy,
I know you feel the same way. You personalize them,
you can hold on to them. And uh, by the way,
at Alan Armitage dot net, if you use promo Codevice
that's my last name, it's spelled v u y st Alan.
(38:19):
You're gonna give free shipping too. Merry Christmas, well Mary Christmas.
Speaker 3 (38:23):
Indeed, because and again I'm doing this for your listeners,
right because if they're silly enough to listen to you
and me at the same time, they need a bonus,
they need something. I can make a T shirt that
I survived the Hermitage. But but anyway, so the free
postage is postage is getting to be such a terrible thing.
(38:45):
It's expensive, and so the free postage thing I think
twice about these days. But for you guys and for
people who are listening, I'm happy to do it. And
we talked about that, that that huge darn book onferennials.
But the bargain me free posh.
Speaker 1 (39:01):
Kid, Well, you know, we whether you're gen z or
into books or whatever it may be, Stacy, people love plants.
People love plants, and that's the great thing about being
in this industry. I was listening to Alan being interviewed.
He had a great line because I was just chatting
(39:23):
with Kevin heard about plant trials and how plants are
put through trials. Same thing here at proven Winner's Color
Choice Shrubs, and Alan said plant trials are Macy's on Thanksgiving.
I thought that's a great one.
Speaker 3 (39:39):
YEA. Well, and you certainly and you know, just going
to a plant trial or if you can't get there,
talk to someone who's been or getting some data from
online trials, you know, you can't help it learn something.
And depending on what you're doing, if you're just my
daughter just wanting to make her garden look better, it's
(40:01):
nice to know that if you go find a plant
that has a little bit of background, that you're probably
going to be successful with it because people breeders or
garden centers or whatever have actually, you know, filed these plants.
And there's an awful lot of new plants out there,
as you know, Rick, and not all of them are
any better than what's out there five years ago. You know,
(40:25):
it's good to have. It's good to have these things
trial to be sure.
Speaker 2 (40:28):
Well, you know, I think that it also says a
lot about why social media has helped garden grow, because
it starts to become this third party endorsement. You don't
have to take our word for it, you don't have
to take down doctor Armitage's word for it. Universities are
saying so, and your friends are saying so, and all
of that social proof really just kind of builds the
confidence that people need to actually take the plunge that
(40:50):
maybe kept them from gardening earlier, before they could get
this information.
Speaker 3 (40:55):
Well, we probably need to talk about some of those
things that bolt gardeners become more successful, and a few
things that are going on that are really happening making
gardeners think twice. But here's my take, you guys, on
what gardeners have that so few other people have. Why,
(41:19):
you know, and again I don't want to go crazy
here because I don't mean to be, but gardeners have
something that hardly anybody else has, and that is there
is always something to look forward to. Always. If you
put a seed in the ground, you're looking forward to
a German. You put a bolt in the fall, you're
looking forward to the spring. You put a shrug in now,
(41:41):
you're looking forward to the flowers. There is nothing we
do that does not give us joy because we're looking forward.
And I want to tell you don't get old when
you're looking forward. It's really really cool. And it's not
anything we do or did, it's just who we are.
And I don't truly believe that.
Speaker 1 (42:02):
Is really well said Merry Christmas.
Speaker 3 (42:08):
I mean, and I'm gonna put that in my T
shirt somewhere too, But I actually I do see that always,
you know, And I don't know Rick or face. You
probably have maybe not been to any one of my
silly talks. But I often will will treface this by saying,
you know, how many I've met many, many tired gardeners.
(42:28):
I've met many sore gardeners. I've met many broke gardeners.
But who I have never met is an old gardener,
because you can't get old looking forward to the future.
It just doesn't happen. So and again, we're healthier, we're
certainly not wealthier. I don't think they're any wiser. We're
out here and we smile a lot.
Speaker 1 (42:50):
I love that. I love that you made my day
with that. You know, Stacey and I have have been
talking about climate change, and you're very familiar with Michigan.
And I've been looking through the records this past year. Alan,
and by the way, we're chatting with doctor Allan Armitage.
He's an author, a speaker, has done so much for
(43:13):
the horticulture industry throughout the years, Professor Emeritus of Horticulture
at the University of Georgia. I've been looking at the
data and our garden seasons, our growing season. Doing this
thing that we're looking forward to has certainly extended. I mean,
if I go back to the seventies and eighties, I'm
(43:35):
looking at growing seasons that were maybe one hundred and
thirty days where we live here in West Michigan, and
last year I think we got close to one hundred
and eighty days. It's just incredible.
Speaker 3 (43:48):
It is incredible. And on the service that just sounds great,
oh boy, more we can garden it, and in fact
it's nice. But as you know, many of the plan
that we grow, particularly those that are perennial, with the
ie for vacious perennials, tree shoves, they benefit from cold,
(44:09):
and they benefit from long periods of cold, and they're
benefit from snow cover. And sometimes we're not getting as
much as that as we used to. You know for sure, Rick,
that when you were growing up in Michigan, you were
probably out there ice skating on the pond. Heck, the
pond probably doesn't even freeze anymore. Absolutely, things are certainly different, and.
Speaker 1 (44:29):
You you know, they're experience experiencing that also in Europe.
My dad yesterday turned ninety five years old. He grew
up in the Netherlands and he would ice skate the
canals and now there's there's no ice on the.
Speaker 3 (44:44):
Canals and for us, you know, I'm from Montreal. Hey,
that's all we ever did. That's the same was put
on ice skating those skating and we used to we
used to freeze in the backyard, put boards up. That's
really not happening anymore. And and from the point of view
of the garden side that it is good in that,
(45:06):
you know, we don't want that much winter. I get it,
but you know it's a little bit tougher for plants
I think with this change in climate.
Speaker 1 (45:15):
Stacy, I'm still clinging though to the show that we
did with Alan Armitage a few months ago, and make
sure to look for it on podcast or on YouTube,
where Alan just gave me encouragement. He said that it's
easier to garden in the north than the south. Alan,
because in the north, what was it you said, they're
(45:36):
either doing great or they're dead, one or the other.
Speaker 3 (45:38):
Right in the they tend to linger. In the north,
either beautiful or they're dead. But anyway, maybe maybe you've
got a few lingerers as well. But no, it is
actually easier to garden north. But most people don't believe
you want to say that.
Speaker 1 (45:56):
Alan's gonna ask you for a few things a Christmas
present for our viewers and for our listeners. So here
we go. The first thing I'm going to ask you is,
aside from a book, you have so many wonderful books.
And by the way, folks, Alan reminded us also that
the book Field Guide to Specialty Cut Flowers is a
(46:19):
big seller and it's a testament to how people have
really embraced cut flowers. But Alan, aside from a book
as a gardener's as a gardener, what's something you'd want
to get this Christmas as a gift you personally? What
would you want?
Speaker 3 (46:39):
I'm the kind of a fellow that doesn't need anything,
doesn't really want anything until I realize that I don't
have something. So there's a couple a couple of things,
like give me a great pair of leather gloves. Now,
I know it's boring. I mean it's boring. I can
tell you what the app and this other stuff. You
give me a quick pair of leather gloves because I
(47:00):
am I'm not a matchural guy. I am happy to
put a pair of gloves on and I'm digging or
whatever I'm doing, and and and they that's just that's
just a great gift. And the reason I'm thinking about
that now is because mine are you know, five years
old and starting to get a little worn. And uh
so that's that's one for sure. But I tell you
if I had not, only if you're a gardener, would
(47:21):
you ask for this? Okay? And and I don't expect
too many of your people to ask this, But what
I'd really like for Christmas is a big, big pile
of compost with a big ribbon on the top. Bring
me in trouble and I will be happy to spread it.
But that is that is the key to any good gardening.
(47:42):
But I'm not sure if the neighbors would appreciate the
truck coming in with a bow on top. But the
comp compost is compost is the key. But yeah, those
are two gifts there, and you can you can work on.
Speaker 1 (47:55):
Your neighbors would have to maintain their composter. But I
agree it's a great gift. And I I do have
your address, so be careful there you go.
Speaker 3 (48:03):
Well, I live in I live in town, so to speak,
in a very small garden sixty hundred and so I
don't have room for a big compost pile that you
know is making making one. I wish I could, and
I would if I get out of the room. So
we get composed every year and I put it on
my garden. And if we have sell we have heavy
play soils here, and so I just throw it on top.
(48:26):
Most everything is dormant. I just throw things on top,
and it's amazing. After you know, ten years or so,
you've got soil, you got dirt, and that really helps.
Speaker 1 (48:36):
Well. Time flies when we have the chance to talk
to you, and so I've got to ask you this
question again as a gift for our listeners and our viewers.
Give me two plants that you think everyone should have
in their garden. Two plants that everyone should put in
the ground. In twenty twenty five, According to Alan Armitage,
(48:58):
what would those two plants be?
Speaker 3 (49:00):
Yellen, well, I'm going to give you. I'll give you
one right off the top of my head is false
indigo or Baptisia. And Baptisia is a perennial grows very
fine in Michigan. It grows. Just put it anywhere. It
gives you fabulous new growth when it comes out of
the ground in the spring. Some of them actually a
black black buds. It gives you mind foldage spectacular flowers
(49:26):
and then good fruit and it is pregnal and it'll
be twenty years and you will be touching a thing.
So that's one plant that you just cannot go too
wrong on and a second plant. I guess, you know,
I guess I'm trying to stay away from the serbatous
stuff all the time. But I would would, I would
probably certainly. And I hate to say hydranges because I'm
(49:49):
not a fan at all of the mophead hydranges, your
grandmother's hydrange is. I'm not a fan at all. But
the panicle hydranges there are spectacular ones that and they're easy,
they tolerate sun and shade. They come back every year.
You can you can walk into the ground if you wish.
And those are two plants to just put any anybody
(50:10):
who's listening will be successful with.
Speaker 1 (50:12):
His name is Alan Armitage. Now for our listeners and
our viewers again radio podcast in YouTube. Gonna give you
the spelling. Alan is spelled A L L A N
and then Armitage A R M I T A G
E dot net. Check out the books. She'll be glad
(50:33):
you did. And now the T shirts use the promo
code West and if you're watching on YouTube, I'm sure
Adriana will put the spelling of my name up there
for you. VU y s T. Happy holidays, Alan, It's
always a pleasure to talk to.
Speaker 3 (50:51):
You, Rick Grig. I'm going to throw one more thing
at you before you get rid of me, and that
is if anybody wants to follow me every months they do,
it's called my favorites. It's a plant, it's a book,
not a garden book, but a book, a streaming series,
a place to go visit in a great garden. Because
they follow me, it's called armors. You's his favorites. Just
have a great time and aubure a Stacey, Adriana, Rick,
(51:12):
thank you for having me and I hope we can
do this more often.
Speaker 1 (51:16):
Would love to do it. Happy holidays, Allen, and thanks
so much.
Speaker 3 (51:19):
Thank you Allan, all the best, everybody take care now.
Speaker 1 (51:22):
All right bye bye, all right.
Speaker 2 (51:23):
Well, I hope that you have lots of ideas and
inspiration for the gardener in your life this holiday. We
wanted to do it right now so you'd still have
time to order and shop for that gardener in your life.
And so as you shop, we want to thank you
for your time thank you Rick, thank you Adriana, and
of course thank you doctor Armitage. Have a wonderful week ahead.
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