May 10, 2025 • 45 mins
Hanging baskets never go out of style! Learn how to choose the best one and care for it like a pro. Featured shrub: Fairytrail White Cascade 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 A here at Proven Winners
Color Choice Shrubs. It's time for the Gardening Simplified Show
with Stacy, Hervella me, Rick Weist, and our engineer and
producer Adrianna Robinson Stacy. Today we talk about hanging baskets.
It's Mother's Day weekend and so hanging baskets are kind
(00:23):
of a big deal. They were a big deal, I
guess to King Nebekenezzar and Babylon way back when the
famous hanging gardens where allegedly hanging baskets got their start.
May baskets were a big deal back in the eighteen
hundreds and nineteen hundreds. People would fill little baskets with
(00:44):
candies and cut flowers and hang them on the door
knob of their neighbor.
Speaker 2 (00:50):
That's the tradition we should bring back. That's quite lovely.
Speaker 1 (00:53):
I think we should exactly. And then, of course the
Saturday before Mother's Day and garden centers is considered basket
because well, what are you gonna get for mom? And
a hanging basket, of course, is a great gift. IDEA.
One flower that sticks out in my mind because when
I first started out in the garden center industry years ago,
(01:14):
we would sell all kinds of them, still do today.
But it made a great Mother's Day hanging basket. And
that is Fuchio's.
Speaker 2 (01:21):
Oh yep, classic choice. And you know, attract hummingbirds. So
if mom likes hummingbirds, can't go wrong with a fusia.
Although I will say I did buy my mom fusia
hanging baskets for many years and she didn't love them
because they need a dead heading.
Speaker 1 (01:36):
Oh okay, So even though they.
Speaker 2 (01:38):
Did attract hummingbirds and that was great. And also if
depending on where you live, if it gets really hot
in the summer, they will kind of slow down, yes,
and not be as fabulous. But I'll tell you fusha
flowers are some of the prettiest flowers. And the colors
are just irresistible.
Speaker 1 (01:52):
Yeah, if you can give them a little bit of shade,
you can get upright and pendulating. There's a cultivar out
called black Key Midnight. Have a picture for our YouTube
viewers of that. There's eruptions all different types of fusia cultivars.
And then of course I also love bogonia baskets. You
(02:13):
can get tubris, fibrous rex, bogonias pendulating begonias. Bogonia foliage,
by the way, if you're growing them in a hanging basket,
are notorious for deflecting irrigation. Water. Yeah, I think you're
watering that basket, but it's deflecting off the off the foliage.
(02:34):
And then of course angel wing bogonias also have become
very popular over the past.
Speaker 2 (02:39):
Yeah, so like Bonfire and all of those fabulous choices.
Right colors though on Bonfire, which I actually love best,
bright orange, al switch tracks, hummingbirds.
Speaker 1 (02:48):
Yes, exactly. Now, when you purchase a hanging basket or
give one to mom, most hanging baskets you'll find in
garden centers come in a plastic ten inch basket.
Speaker 2 (03:01):
I'm going to give that a thumbs down. Same here,
because I don't buy that kind for my mom.
Speaker 1 (03:05):
And so what I want you to do, and that's fabulous,
Your mom is lucky. What I want to do is
just point out to people that there's nothing wrong with
upsizing those. In other words, I view those ten inch
poly baskets as a delivery container, similar to how you
would go to the grocery store and let's say buy
(03:25):
cool whip. Okay, yeah, cool whip invented in the nineteen sixties.
To this day, we still do not know what non
dairy cool whip is made of. But that's a whole
other story. I like cool whip containers because I can
store nuts and bolts and nails and that kind of stuff.
So what do you do with that ten inch hanging basket?
(03:46):
Because I like to upsize into a twelve inch, fourteen
inch or sixteen inch basket, maybe a Sphagnum moss basket,
or just go online and look, there are a multitude
of great twelve to sixteen inch sized baskets that you
can purchase to upsize your your hanging basket.
Speaker 2 (04:05):
Right and upscale it. I think that's really important too,
because you know that plastic container in most scenarios where
you're hanging a hanging basket, that container is like right
and eye level, so you're looking not at this fabulous plant,
but this kind of junkie white molded like these weird waves,
you know, kind of containers. And I understand that's the
(04:27):
lowest cost for garden centers and that's why they do that,
But I always do prefer to get my mom a
bigger hanging basket that's in more of the moss type
or even the cardboard, the cord fiber, yeah, that pressed
cord fiber even, that's just something that looks a little
bit more organic, so that while the hanging basket is
growing out, and most do eventually grow out, that's kind
(04:48):
of why they're hanging baskets, because they're big plants that
are going to overgrow the basket in time. It just
looks a little you know, more organic and nice. But
I think it's a great idea to invest in really
high quality hanging back baskets which aren't going to cost
that much, that go with your decor of your home,
and that you can plant into every single year, and
that's always going to look a lot nicer. And that's
(05:09):
a good way to save the money by buying the
inexpensive plastic hanging basket, but give it more of that upscale.
Speaker 1 (05:15):
Look exactly how I feel. And then when you do that,
make sure to use a good quality, lightweight potting mix
or soil where you can upsize into that basket. You
could consider using soil moist granules, just a few granules
in the soil to help hold the moisture in because
(05:35):
one of the key aspects of hanging baskets. If you're
buying one of these ten inch hanging baskets and hanging
that thing up, is that as the season progresses, the
root system develops and creates a firm or solid surface
along the top. Also, if the soil dries a little bit,
it contracts away from the side of the pot, then
(05:57):
you're watering that pot. It's running across the surface down
the sides and not getting the rootball.
Speaker 2 (06:04):
What never really saturating it. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (06:05):
Yeah, So when growing hanging baskets, I'd love to just
walk along and lift up on them. Tell by the
weight of the basket whether or not it needs moisture.
And I like to keep a screwdriver handy because I
just puncture some holes to basically cut into that surface
tension and stacy. You're going to have a lot easier
(06:27):
job watering your hanging basket.
Speaker 2 (06:29):
Absolutely, And you know, for anyone who is listening who
is getting this into their head, for the love of
your mother or anyone else important in your life, do
not put a diaper in a hanging basket in an
attempt to make it hold more water. No matter what
you've seen on interest or any other social media site,
any parent can tell you that a diaper is intended
(06:51):
to hold onto moisture and not release it. And that
is exactly what's going to happen in your hanging basket.
Is you're going to have a really gross, dirty dipe
that is just full of soil and water that is
not doing anything for your planet except actually taking away
space that could have been soiled that could have actually
helped it. So, no matter what you've read, and a man,
(07:12):
I tell you off topic, but I feel like the
misinformation on social media right now is just going through
like a wildfire. It's just we are in the season,
So don't believe everything that you hear. And please, if
you are repotting a hanging basket, do not put a
diaper in it.
Speaker 1 (07:28):
That's right. Instead, you should pamper your baskets.
Speaker 2 (07:32):
That's exactly. That's a good idea.
Speaker 1 (07:34):
Coming up in segment four today we will talk about
plants that are great in hanging baskets, because I think
you should pot up your own hanging baskets. Combinations are
great proven winners. On their website has countless recipes that
you can tap into where you take two or three
different types of plants and plant them, some of them
(07:57):
quite simple. I love the vista view you recipe. I
use it every year. It's just three different types of supertunias,
including the bubblegum supertunia. But boy do they perform as
a hanging basket. So we'll talk about that. We're also
going to talk about on a different subject, tulips and
the different types of tulips. Now that they're in bloom,
(08:19):
you can see the different types of tulips that you
could grow in your garden. We'll also talk about that
in segment for today. While we're on this subject of
hanging baskets, and I think this is a subject stacy
that probably you and I both have very strong opinions on.
Let me give you a limb a rick that I
(08:39):
wrote about hanging baskets. It's called the basket case. My
baskets hang around my place, hung without enough headspace. Be
very careful where you tread. You're liable to bonk your
head and become a basket case. So if your head
you clobber, take some asp for that throbber. Don't be upset.
(09:03):
Get a grip, because that basket is next going to
drip on your clean white shirt. It will slob.
Speaker 2 (09:12):
You know.
Speaker 1 (09:12):
Again, Having worked in the garden center industry for years, Stacy,
I wish I had a dime for every time I've
walked into a hanging basket or bunked my head on one.
Speaker 2 (09:22):
Oh yeah, or that feeling when it drips down and
it goes right down the back of your neck and
down your shirts is not good. So all of that
is to say at home, if you're having guests or
you're planning to hang out on your patio or porch
later in the day, do the watering in the morning.
Let them drain through and avoid that whole mess.
Speaker 1 (09:40):
Yes, And another suggestion, get yourself a good watering wand.
So if you are not installing drip irrigation on these
hanging baskets, get a good quality watering wand. And the
very first thing you do, at least I do, is
I take that watering wand, I pull out the cheap
washer that's in there, and I put in a good
(10:01):
quality rubber washer. Because there's nothing worse than holding that
watering wand up and having that water run right down
your arm, into your armpits down your side and it's
cold and it's miserable.
Speaker 2 (10:14):
Yeah, and you know, a hanging basket watering wand is
a life changer, Like if you don't have one, you
will not believe how much easier it is to care
for that. So if you are looking up to looking
to up your Mother's Day gift game, you know, maybe
think about that hanging basket watering wand instead of just
the hanging basket. If you feel like you know, hey
two into hanging baskets. I'm getting moum watering wand this year.
(10:36):
She will so appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (10:38):
I love it. Put a bow on it. Stacy's next
with plants on trial here on the Gardening Simplified Show.
Speaker 2 (10:50):
Beautify your home and community with Proven Winner's Color Choice
Shrubs with over three hundred and twenty five unique varieties
to choose from. There's a flowering shrubb or evergreen, forever
Retaste and every space. Just look for the distinctive white
container your local garden center or learn more at Proven
Winners Color Choice dot com. Greetings, plant peeps, and welcome.
Speaker 1 (11:15):
Keep rolling. We're gonna use this, okay.
Speaker 2 (11:18):
Sorry, you know, I've been thinking about trying to change
up my greeting and I've been puzzling over it, and
i was like, is this going to be the day
I'm gonna go for it. I'm gonna give it a whirl,
and it yeah, it obviously did not feel natural. So
greetings gardening friends, and welcome back to the Gardening Simplified Show,
where for the time being, I will be sticking with
(11:38):
my traditional welcoming greeting. Obviously, Happy Mother's Day. Yes, Happy
Mother's Day to my wonderful mom, uh and to moms everywhere.
And you know, we're talking about hanging baskets because it
is a classic gift. And I think one of the
reasons that a hanging basket is such a classic gift
for mom is because they do tend to be little
(12:00):
bit more expensive. Yes, you know, and whether or not
your mom really considers herself a gardener, it is a
little bit. Especially a big nice one is a bit
of a splurge.
Speaker 1 (12:08):
But they're grab and go. It's easy. Pick out a
couple nice ones, grab and go, one in each hand.
And that's why we talked about in the first segment
that's wonderful. It's a delivery container. But think about upsize well.
Speaker 2 (12:21):
And the other part of it too, is that you're
not giving mom work. Now some of our moms are
gardeners and are happy to you know, get a bunch
of fabulous Proven Winns annuals and get to work planting
them in their planters and pots or whatever. But a
lot of them are not, and they want something beautiful,
and that that's the great thing is it's a grab
and go. You give that hanging basket to mom, you
(12:42):
hang it up on the hanger for and you know,
your work there is done and she gets to enjoy
a fabulous hanging basket all season long. Now, obviously, you
know this show is primarily about Proven Winners colored Choice shrubs,
so we do have a vested interest in Proven winners.
But I will say honestly that when it comes to
hanging baskets, Proven Winners plants in a hanging basket are
(13:03):
usually pretty clearly denoted. They either have the tags in
them or a special hanging basket tag. And you know,
if if this is your first time tuning in, it
is really worth mentioning that all of the Proven Winner's annuals,
all of the Proven Winner's plants in general, but this
is especially important for Proven Winners annuals, and talking about
hanging baskets, Uh, they are all tested to really outperform
(13:24):
what is already on the market. So you know, we've
talked numerous times about say, super Tunia Vista bubble Gum petunia,
which is super popular, probably the best selling proven winners,
uh you know, annual, And the reason for that is
because it doesn't need dead heading. So your mom might say, oh,
I don't like petunias. They need dead heading, they smell terrible.
Super Tunia Vista bubble Gum doesn't need dead heading. So
(13:45):
you're choosing plants that will actually perform better and bloom
all summer for mom and not just one of those
ones that are going to peter out. And then you know,
your mom's like, well, that was a crummy hanging basket.
So they really do make the better choice. I'm not
just saying that because I work here. I'm saying that
because I know the process and everything that goes into them.
Speaker 1 (14:01):
Yeah, not only do the plants have great genetics, but
the plants are tested, as you said, and even the
recipes and the combinations are also tested and proven, and
so you can proceed forward with confidence.
Speaker 2 (14:16):
Yeah, and that's important too, because sometimes you get a
fabulous looking hanging basket in may and the plants don't
all kind of grow at the same rate, and then something,
some really important key element of it gets totally overwhelmed
and it disappears and you're like, oh, wait, wasn't there
like this other plant in there. So they are like
really scientifically tested to make sure that all of the
plants in there are compatible and will give you that
(14:38):
nice colorful look all season loss it will look like
what you bought, which is important. But when it comes
to hanging baskets, shrubs, which we usually talk about here
on Plants on trial, not the first plant that comes
to mind. I mean, if you stretch your imagination, you
can say, okay, well maybe like ivy. Ivy is in theory,
(14:59):
Actually not ivy is a woody plant, though of course
in hanging baskets they don't ever really reach that point
where they're actually putting on woody growth. That's probably as
close as you could find, generally speaking, to any kind
of shrub or woody plant truly woody plant in a
hanging basket, and over the years we have definitely experimented
with different plants in hanging baskets in our R and
(15:22):
D facility research and development, trying to find out if
there are other plants that we can put in a
hanging basket and you know, make that a more interesting
way to kind of decorate and enjoy plants. And most
of them have not been successful because generally speaking, with
these woody plants, they want to grow up, and so
when you try to put them in a hanging basket,
(15:42):
which you want to grow usually down and have that
cascading effect, they won't do that. They'll just grow up
and they'll try to cling to the basket hangers and
it just does not work out that well. But there
is one major exception, and that is well one of
them is today's plant on trial. The major exception fairy
trail cascade hydranges. Love that plant, so you can kind
(16:06):
of guess by the name right there, trail and cascade.
These are hydrangeas that naturally grow with a very cascading
sort of trailing habit. And the first and original plant,
which has actually already been a plant on trial, was
fairy trail bride cascade hydrangea. And this was a plant
on trial a little over a year ago, and it
(16:27):
was the first one in the series. And this is
a plant that was sold in the EU and the
UK as Runaway Bride hydrangea. So Runaway Bride got a
ton of notoriety because it won in twenty eighteen the
Chelsea Flower Show Plant of the Year and people went
bonkers for it. They had never seen anything like it,
and it was not actually available in the US until
(16:49):
we were able to get the rights to it in
about twenty twenty one, twenty twenty two. So it's a
fairly recent plant to be available here in the US,
and we're really thrilled about that. And you know, it
is actually developed. Some people might not know this by Ushiosakazaki,
who is the same plant breeder who developed the Supertunia
(17:10):
Vista series too Supertunia Vista bubblegum All time bestseller, Proven
Winners annual. He also developed Fairy Trail Bride, so you
know it's got some serious chops with his talents behind it.
So Fairy Trail Bride is a lace cap cascading hydrangeles,
that's what we call them. We call them cascade hydranges
because we really wanted to differentiate them from big leaf
(17:32):
hydranges hydroge of macrophylla, because they are a bit different.
So they look a lot like it, but there are
some really key differences. So we really felt that to
help communicate that to people and understand their different habits
and need of care, that we should give them kind
of a new category because they're a wide hybrid of
different hydrange of species, So we call them cascade hydranges,
(17:53):
which really goes to describe their habits. So instead of
just growing upward and rounded like most hydrangees do, it
grows these long, arching, horizontal stems and it sets flower
buds at each individual leaf node along those stems. So
it's almost like and it's a little bit weird to
say that, to say this, but it's almost like a viburnum,
(18:15):
like a double file viburnum, which also looks like this
in the spring where you're getting that kind of, you know,
very distinctive look of the flowers kind of stacking along
the stems. Sure, yes, tearing. So fairy trail bride, like
I said, is a lace cap, so the flowers are
very large and open. Today's plant on trial, fairy trail
(18:36):
white cascade Hydrangea is a mophead cascade hydrangea. So I
personally am an equal opportunity hydrange of flower appreciator. I
like both the mopheads and the lace caps, and in fact,
if I did have a choice to live with only
one for the rest of my life, I would actually
choose the lace caps. Myself. I do prefer them, but
I get why people like the mophead because those are
(18:58):
the ones that are big and round and you just
want to kind of like put your hands around because
they're just so like fluffy. So fairy Trail white cascade
Hydrangea is today's plant on trial, and that's what makes
it really different. So when you see these plants side
by side in the garden center, and there are going
to be a lot of these in garden centers this
Mother's Day, you'll really be able to decide which one
(19:19):
you personally like better. There is also fairy Trail green
cascade hydrangea, which is like fairy Trail white in that
it's a mophead, but the flowers are green, like that
nice fresh green color.
Speaker 1 (19:29):
You know, it's exciting to think of growing something like
this in a container or even a large basket. I
was gonna mention I have tried flowering shrubs in hanging baskets,
like oh so easy roses, But of course these were
hanging baskets that were packed with spagnum moss and they
were four feet in diamond.
Speaker 2 (19:47):
Oh my gosh.
Speaker 1 (19:48):
Yeah, so took a high load to lift things.
Speaker 2 (19:50):
Yeah, and that's not really practical for most people. And
many of these plants that you're going to see at
your garden center at this time of year are actually
going to be in hanging baskets because this plant does
look absolutely beautiful and hanging baskets. So I did want
to give you a little bit of information in case
you are buying one of these for yourself or for
your mom this year. They are really going to be
(20:12):
very similar to growing a big leaf hyder range. So
they bloom on old wood just like the big leaf
hyder ranges do. So that means they set their flower
buds in winter, and that means that they also are
going to not need pruning. So it's a great plant
to give as a gift because it's very low maintenance.
But of course there's going to be a tag in
there that explains all of this, so don't worry. You
can give it and you don't have to like explain
(20:34):
all of this extra information. So no pruning, blooms on
old wood. It does bloom much earlier than big leaf
hyder ranges do. So for us outdoors, it's gonna bloom
usually probably by about early June, whereas, of course in
the garden center they've already been forced to bloom because
everyone wants to give their mom a beautiful plant that's
already in flower. So don't be totally deceived by the
(20:55):
bloom time. But they do bloom quite a bit earlier
than the big leaf hyder ranges do. Now there's one
key differ that we really want everyone to know about these.
Because they do bloom earlier than big leaf hydranges do,
they are actually more susceptible to spring frost damage. So
they bloom on old wood. They have their flower buds
all through winter. Spring comes along, it starts to get warm,
(21:17):
the plant starts to leaf out and open up those
flower buds a little bit more. Because it is going
to be so much more close to its bloom time
than a big leaf hydrange, it actually can make those
flower buds a little bit more susceptible to cold damage
even than a max. So what we recommend for these
is that you plant them in parts sun only, and
we actually recommend that that part sun occur in the morning. Now,
(21:42):
this might all sound like oddly specific, but there's a
good reason for it, and that is that when you
plant it in that part sun for the morning, if
a frost or freeze does occur, the frost or ice
crystals will actually melt very slowly instead of all at once,
like when the sun comes over the horizon hits that
all of that cold water instantly melts onto that bud
and damages it. Interesting, so if you plant it so
(22:05):
it is shaded in the spring in the morning, then
what's going to happen is that those ice crystals will
melt very slowly, and that will help to prevent the
damage to those flower buds. You can also just throw
a blanket or a towel or something like that over
the plant on any night that one of these frosts
or freezes threatens. But that's really the only kind of
tricky little thing to know about it. If you buy
(22:26):
your Mama hanging basket once, you should can certainly enjoy
it as those flowers persist. But once those flowers start
to fade in a few weeks, it can just be
taken out and plant it in the garden.
Speaker 1 (22:37):
I really love this plant and it's exciting and for
folks who are riding in their car or in the
yard listening to us, folks listening to the podcast or
radio version of this show, just a reminder that this
plant's name is fairy Trail t r Ail, not fairy
tail white cascade hydrant.
Speaker 2 (22:58):
That's right, and it's available garden center near you for
you or your mom or anyone who's special in your life.
We're gonna take a little break. When we come back,
we're gonna be opening up the garden mail bags, so
please stay tuned. At Proven Winner's Color Choice Shrubs, we
know that a better landscape starts with a better shrub.
(23:21):
Our team of experts tests and evaluates all of our
flowering shrubs in evergreens for eight to ten years to
ensure they outperform what's already on the market. For easycare, reliable,
beautiful shrubs to accentuate your home and express your personal style,
look for Proven Winner's Shrubs in the distinctive white container
at your local garden center or learn more at proven
Winner's Color Choice dot com. Greeting's Gardening Friends and No,
(23:46):
I am not attempting another greeting variation. Although if you
have a suggestion for me, you can certainly leave it
as a comment on YouTube. I would be interested to
hear it. I'll keep workshopping it and we'll see. Not
that I have anything wrong with greeting's gardening friends, but
you know, it's just just exactly you know, some alternatives
something else. But you know, we understand that not everybody
(24:10):
is actually like a gardener. You know, some people are
interested in plants, they want to be better homeowners, they
want to be able to take care of their landscape.
Speaker 1 (24:16):
They may not, I mean, you know, you're preaching to
the choir. I always said, hello entremneurs and that.
Speaker 2 (24:23):
Yeah, well I can't take that. That's yr for everybody.
Oh that's your thing. That's so I need to come
up with my things. So we're working on that. But
not everyone considers themselves a gardener. Some people, like I said,
are just trying to learn how to better maintain their landscapes,
or they're just you know, curious and want to have
more information about plants and their brains for those awkward
moments at cocktail parties and the like.
Speaker 1 (24:44):
That's why we're here.
Speaker 2 (24:45):
So in that case, if you have questions about your
garden and things that you should or shouldn't be doing
or plants. You can always reach us at Gardening Simplified
on air dot com. That is the show website. And
my apologies to the person who commented on YouTube that
going to our show notes lately has just been a
link to the YouTube video. I am sorry about that.
My schedule has been a little hectic, but once things
(25:08):
calm down a little bit, I will go back to
adding the resources there because we do want those there
for you. So you know, this is the garden industry,
so it's a little bit of a little bit of
a hectic time for us here on time, right, But
in any case, you can also go there and email
us with your gardening questions and if you need an
urgent answer, since we only do the show once a week,
you can also go to Proven Winner's Color Choice dot
(25:29):
com or Proven Winners dot com and use the contact
form there to reach out and you will get a
personalized answer, not an AI answer from a bot. You
will get an answer from an actual horticulturist who wants
you to succeed. And that's one of the things that
makes Proven Winners different.
Speaker 1 (25:42):
So and as always maintain your compost.
Speaker 2 (25:45):
See you got that's your thing. Yeah, all right, I'll
keep working on my thing. Maybe when i'm working in
the garden this weekend, something well, something will come to me.
Our first question comes from Randy, and I thought this
was a good question. He sent some pictures of his plants.
He received an order or an online order of plants,
and they were in rough shape and he was worried
about them, and so I thought this would be a
(26:06):
good opportunity for us to kind of talk about for
people who do order plants online, kind of what to
expect and how to deal with these situations. Now, I
love shopping in garden centers, and I think it's important
that people realize that, for the most part, you're always
going to get the best value in plants by shopping
at a garden center because you don't have to worry
(26:26):
about shipping, and you're not then paying to have you know,
this giant three gallon container, if they indeed even offer
a three gallon sized container, you know, shipped halfway across
the country or whatever. Everything's been trucked. It's you know,
locally grown, so you will spend less for a bigger
plant in person. But of course, sometimes people want to
buy something and their stores don't stock it, and the
(26:46):
people can't you know, the people who own the garden
center are unable to source it. So ordering online in
those conditions can be a really good alternative. And for
the most part, I would say that the majority of
online plant nurseries are really good and really reputable, and
they want to help. They don't want you to fail.
They want to send you a good product. But of course,
(27:07):
lots of things can go wrong in between the time
it leaves their greenhouse and arrives at your at your doorstop.
And you know, we've all had packages of things that
were less fragile than plants arrive on our doorstops in
less than ideal conditions, So you can imagine if something
goes wrong with the plants in the shipping, how they're
going to arrive. So I would say, first of all,
(27:28):
if you notice something wrong with your plants when they arrive,
reach out to the company right away. You don't have
to be angry. They're going to want to help.
Speaker 1 (27:34):
You.
Speaker 2 (27:35):
Take a picture of what you're seeing, or a couple pictures,
and immediately reach out to them and just say, hey,
this is how my plants arrived. That is really important
to document that process. Now, it's very possible, depending on
how they look, that the company will tell you to
just take a wait and see approach, because very often
the plants will recover. I know, it's not a great
feeling to open up the box that you were so
(27:57):
excited to get and the plants don't look amazing, but
very often they will recover. They just need some time
to kind of recover from that shipping shock, and you
can sort of tuck them back into their containers. So
they may ask you to wait and see what happens,
and you know, take that with a grain of salt,
knowing that they will back up their product, but that
you should, you know, give it a chance to see
(28:17):
if it will recover. Make sure that you water them
right away, unless they are coming out very, very soggy,
which is not typically the case, but crazy things do happen.
Water them and keep them in a shaded location. This
is important because you know, not only have they been
in a protected greenhouse, now they just spent a week
or so in a dark box and now they're in
your backyard and they're just like, what in the world
(28:39):
is going on here? So you don't want to just
expose them right away to bright sunshine. Remove any packaging
as you're keeping them, if they're wrapped in plastic.
Speaker 1 (28:47):
Or anything like that's the keys. That's an absolute key. Again,
when I was running a garden center, we'd get a
lot of plants in boxes, primarily tropical plants. When we
get them in we always had box cutters in our
pockets because the shrink wrap comes off the palette right away,
you get the boxes out of the sun. And also
if you can't get to the plants right away, just
(29:08):
cut open the tops and let them air out.
Speaker 2 (29:10):
Yeah, that's the bare minimum that you should do, is
just make sure they're getting air. And then again keep
them in the shade because they've just been in this
dark box and they're going to need to acclimate back
to sun even if they're full sun plants gradually, So
give them a few days in the shade to kind
of recover. And one last tip here. If the plants
that you purchase have colorful foliage like purple foliage or
(29:32):
yellow foliage or something like that and the plant arrives green,
don't be shocked. They most likely did not send the
wrong plant. Although it's always worth asking. But a lot
of these plants either don't develop good leaf color in
the greenhouse environment, or they developed it fine in the
greenhouse environment, but they lost it being in a dark
box for a few days. So we see this a
lot with our blacklace elderberry. I'll tell you if there
(29:54):
is one plant that people order by mail order that
they've written me about and said I don't know what
to do it doesn't look good, it is probably black
lace elderly. This plant does not enjoy being in a
dark box, and it shows that by turning green instead
of the dark purple that it actually will be in
the in the gardens. So you know, don't panic. If
you see that. You can certainly let the company know
(30:15):
just in case there was a mix up, and they
will note that in the order. But for the most part,
you know, they just need a few days acclimate, get
out into the sun and they will take on the
color and be everything that you dreamed of. Are so
just a couple tips there from people who are looking
at purchasing plants online.
Speaker 1 (30:32):
Stacy Valerie writes to us, I have a perfect storm
that I want to transplant. I'm in zone five be
should I transplant now or wait until I see growth showing,
which is typically the beginning of June. So perfect storm, Stacy,
I'm thinking we're talking about Summerrific high biscus.
Speaker 2 (30:51):
Yes, that's the one.
Speaker 1 (30:52):
Yeah, And if that's the case, my personal opinion, because
it's a late bloomer, do it.
Speaker 2 (30:56):
Now, Absolutely, do it now. This plant will be so
much happier if do the transplanting well it is dormant
and not once it starts growing. Because once this plant
starts growing, And just a reminder to anyone who has
the Summerific or any other perennial hibiscus in their garden,
these are absolutely, hands down the last plant to emerge
in spring, no matter where you are. They emerge later
(31:19):
than anything else. They are like waiting to cross the
finish line till the very last minute. And so once
that growth comes out, usually for us in Michigan here
it's probably Memorial Day weekend. I've found for my summer efics.
Once that happens, that growth is going to be very delicate,
the way that it comes out of the root mass
(31:39):
or the crown of the plant, very easy to damage that.
And if you were to damage that growth in the
transplanting process, it may not be able to put out
more growth that season, and whether or not it can
survive that really depends, because then it won't have the
benefit of photosynthesizing all summer long to do that. Overall,
I have transplanted summerfic hybiscus a lot in my time.
(32:02):
I mean, I've transplanted more than my share of them,
just because you know, I change my mind about colors.
I have a lot of them, and they are actually
very amenable to transplanting. And even if you accidentally cause
quite a lot of damage to their roots, and their
roots are really thick, they're almost like woody roots. They're
not really fleshy roots. They're very fibrous. But even if
(32:26):
you like cause some damage and you break them apart
a little bit, or you know, lose a big chunk
of it, the plant can recover. It may or may
not flower, or it may flower less as it's trying
to recover from that substantial root loss. But overall, I
feel like these plants are very, very amenable to transplanting.
The trick that I have found is, especially if you
do a good job at digging up the root ball,
(32:47):
which you should attempt to do if at all possible.
Trying to fit that into the new hole is like
not an easy task, you know, because they're throwing all
over the place, and you got to position them, and
you've got to put a little more soil on this
side so that you kind of even out what's going
on this side. So they take a little bit of
a steady hand to figure out exactly how you're going
(33:07):
to get them in there. But if you just put
the extra soil in, you know, a container or a
tub or some things that you can kind of use
it to maneuver the plant in Overall, I have found,
you know, knock on wood, but I haven't lost any
to transplanting.
Speaker 1 (33:22):
Yeah, I haven't either. And you're looking at a tough
native plant, is what you're looking at. And you know,
the old approach also of trying to move a plant
when it's dormant is probably the best rule to stick by,
absolutely and again because it's going to be blooming in
August probably in zone five B. Doing it now, I
(33:45):
think it's the time to do.
Speaker 2 (33:46):
Yeah, And like I said, you may have fewer flowers,
but you are likely to still have some. But yeah,
once that growth comes out. This job is going to
be infinitely more tricky and complicated, so do it now
and hopefully to be able to enjoy some great flowers
in it's new home this summer. We're going to take
a little break. When we come back, we're going to
be sharing some favorite hanging basket plits as well as
(34:07):
talking tulips, so please stay tuned. Thanks for listening to
The Gardening Simplified podcast, brought to you by Proven Winners
Color Choice Shrubs. Our award winning flowering shrubs and evergreens
are trialed and tested by experts with your success in mind.
Learn more at Proven Winners color Choice dot com.
Speaker 1 (34:30):
Welcome back to the Gardening Simplified, Joe. We'll continue our
talk on hanging baskets today, but prior to that, Stacy,
I wanted to mention here in West Michigan, it's tulip time,
and of course my parents were from the Netherlands, so
I'm kind of into tulips. I went out the other
day shot some pictures we'll show our viewers on YouTube.
(34:52):
Also posted some stuff in social media, and I was
surprised at the number of people who reached out to
me and said that tulip is incredible. What is that?
It was a frilly type of tulip that had the
green streaks and multi colors in it, and I said, well,
that's a parrot tulip, and they're like, what's a parrot tulip?
And then I realized a lot of people do not
(35:15):
know that tulips basically are in different classifications. So there's
all sorts of cultivars and hybrid tulips with registered names.
But they organize these tulips into groups by shape, heritage,
and flowering time. And I thought I'd take one minute
(35:36):
just to share with you that there are many different types.
For example, there are single early tulips which are perfect
for forcing in pots, double early tulips that almost resemble peonies,
triumph tulips which are a mid season cross of early
and late Darwin hybrids which have a big traditional look,
(35:58):
single lates that are very elegant. And then you get
into some of these interesting tulips lily flowering look that
have this flared lily look to them, fringed, crimped, wildly
cut feathery viid flora which have the green streaks in
them from base to tip. The Rembrandt tulips I mentioned,
(36:20):
the parrot tulips, the double lates, the calfmania tulips, petite,
very early flowering, All of these are I love the
Fosteriana tulips Red Emperor is one very large flowers, but
short plants ten to sixteen inches. Greggy I tulips distinctive
(36:42):
modeled foliage, very short, but big blooms on them. I
guess the point I'm trying to make is that not
all tulips are created the same. And when you buy
them and fall and put them in the ground, do
a little bit of research and look, because fringed or
lily or parrot tulips are sensational.
Speaker 2 (37:02):
Yes, I agree. And you know those parrot tulips or
rembrant tulips are the ones that are modern hybrids or
attempts to recreate the classic broken color tulips that caused
infamous tulipmania that was actually caused by a virus, which
was why the tulip bubble burst. So you don't have
to worry about that. Don't cause a tulip bubble, but
(37:22):
you don't have to worry about that with these because
these are actually stable hybrids that were not caused by
a virus. They're just an attempt to bring back that
cool old look. And I think this is an important
thing to mention because, you know, being tulip time out
here in West Michigan, a lot of people will see
the city of Holland plants all of these tulips, so
they have that really long season of bloom, and so
those early start blooming and everyone says, oh my gosh,
(37:44):
it's tulip time ruined. All the tulips are blooming. Now,
no they're not. That's just the early tulips. But they
really do include all of these different groups so that
you have that perpetual, you know, ongoing show of flowers
that bloom at different times. And you know, so if
you're shopping just at like a local you know, box
store or even a garden center, you're not likely to
(38:06):
get that much detail on what type you're buying, Like
it might say that it's a Darwin Hybrid or something
like that, but for the most part, or just say
like you know, Red Emperor or what, I just have
the variety name. So if you want that extra information,
it does pay to do some research and you know,
order online. A lot of bulb suppliers that you can
order online from will offer a discount if you buy
in spring and reserve your plants to be shipped. The
(38:28):
bulbs will be shipped in fall. And yeah, so that's
a great way to get really really cool tulips that
your neighbors are not going to have. But but you
have tulips, they've got to be in your deer compound.
Speaker 1 (38:40):
They're in the compound because deer. It's candy to.
Speaker 2 (38:43):
A Yes, now I have not. I've I have attempted
to grow tulips before the full realization of how bad
my dear issue was was apparent, and I have This
is funny, uh sort of, except I'm probably jinxing myself.
I have a couple of small plays of species tulips
up against a fence that I don't think they can
(39:05):
get their little deer noses down there, because there's like
a three inch space between like my driveway and the
neighbor's fence. So I kind of try to use that
to get a little stand of some of some species
seals because species tulips are my favorite.
Speaker 1 (39:17):
Yeah, and species tulips, you could say, are the originals,
and they reliably come back year after year, arguably better
than let's say, some of the hybridized varieties, and there's
all other sorts of issues like planting depth and that
type of thing. I won't get into that today. Just
(39:38):
the main point here is to understand that there's roughly
about fifteen different categories or groups and get to know
those groups because I think it will cause enjoyment for
you in years to come as far as Yeah.
Speaker 2 (39:53):
And you can use the City of Holland approach to
having tulips in bloom for you know, three or four
weeks instead of just one big show.
Speaker 1 (40:00):
Like I always say, if you've got questions on bulbs
because of that Dutch European blood running through my veins,
just use your two lips and speak to me and
I'll try to help you out, Okay, Stacy. Back to
hanging baskets. I was thinking the other day working in
the greenhouse. I know you like broelia.
Speaker 2 (40:18):
Oh yeah, I love that plant.
Speaker 1 (40:20):
Like endless flirtation, endless illumination are proven winter's varieties. So
I was looking at the hanging baskets thinking you're probably
a person that likes streptocarpella.
Speaker 2 (40:30):
I do like it. Yeah, it's cool. Yeah, yeah, that's
a very interesting plant and that's one that I feel
like a lot of people know as the houseplants, but
you do find it as a hanging basket because the
flowers come out on these long, thin stems and kind
of give it that really cool halo look.
Speaker 1 (40:46):
Yeah, it's beautiful. And then of course, also walking through
the greenhouse, I look at these plants that I call
trigger plants. So in some combinations there's b coopa or
for example, Tradus can anti bridle veil, which is an
old fashioned plant. Once again, some people view it as
a houseplant, but we do sell a lot of those
(41:09):
in the spring. These are what I call trigger plants.
In other words, you can see at a glance whether
or not the basket needs water, So always have some
trigger plants in your landscape. Of course, Boston ferns are
a classic, especially if you've got a shady porch. Mini
vista supertunias. Any of the supertunias do fantastic in hanging baskets. Stacey,
(41:35):
I can't help it, but I'm a huge fan of
super venas yep. I think perfect for hanging baskets. Silver falls,
dichondra trailing out of the basket.
Speaker 2 (41:47):
Yeah, a lot of places will do those like in
the very bottoms and they look like a jellyfish. Do
you ever see that, like where they got all the
puffy flowers on top and then the dichondra coming out
the bottom. It's kind of a fun look.
Speaker 1 (41:57):
That is a fun look. Lamium, which is a perennial
ground I don't cover. The lobilias are just so beautiful
and proven Winters has the Laguna ultra violet, the dark blue,
the royal lilac, the royal pink.
Speaker 2 (42:11):
Love those, and you know I would add to that.
This is another area where choosing the proven Winner's variety
is going to be really important because older and more
conventional lobilias do not hold up to the heat, even
like Michigan heat when we don't usually get super hot summers.
They'll just fry and they'll stop blooming, Whereas the proven
Winners lubilia are all tested to keep blooming in the heat,
(42:32):
so they might need some shade when it's really hot,
and if you live in a hot climate, they're definitely
going to need some shade. But that's one area where
you can count on a better performance than your standard lobilia.
Speaker 1 (42:41):
Absolutely, the genetics they're amazing, so you would look for
Laguna lobilia's stacy. In some of the hanging baskets. We
have manda villas, which may seem crazy and they go
nuts and they vine up the all the way up
and all over the place. But it is a fun
thing to grow on.
Speaker 2 (43:00):
I'm crazy about the mandavillas. I love them. I have
not grown a hanging basket, but I love to put
them on a trellis and get that look.
Speaker 1 (43:08):
I mentioned in the first segment. Of course, fuschia's and
begonias just a favorite of mine, tuberous begonias. But I
wonder if you've have you ever grown the small leaf
creeping wire type vine.
Speaker 2 (43:23):
Krokia.
Speaker 1 (43:24):
No, it's I'm going to take a shot at this.
Speaker 2 (43:27):
Mule len Bea.
Speaker 1 (43:29):
Yeah, muelen BEI I have not grown it.
Speaker 2 (43:30):
As a hanging basket, but I've definitely grown it as
a houseplant and as a topiary. Okay, but very pretty.
I love that plant. It's just got such a beautiful,
delicate look.
Speaker 1 (43:41):
Interesting approach to baskets are containers plectranthus. I love plectranthus,
and there's a variety called guacamole that I love fantastic
and then Thunbergia or people would refer to it as
black eyed Susan. Proven Winners has lemon appeal, coconut, orange, tangerine. Again,
(44:02):
using vines in hanging baskets can really add some cool
dimension to your basket, your arrangement.
Speaker 2 (44:10):
Yeah, and some of them, like you said about the mandavilla,
they do want to grow up, so instead of cascading
down like you might envision, they will kind of find
each other their fellow vines and twist all together and
go up. But that can be kind of a fun
look and I think that's especially nice. It all depends
on where your hanging basket situation is. You know, if
you have it on a lower hook, then letting those
(44:32):
vines grow up on the hangars could actually look really,
really nice.
Speaker 1 (44:36):
So I'd encourage the use of vines also in hanging baskets.
End of the season, I clean out my hanging baskets
and then it's fun to watch as we approach winter,
the squirrels use them as a porch swing. They sit
in the baskets and just kind of swing in the breeze.
Speaker 2 (44:52):
That's so cute.
Speaker 1 (44:53):
Yeah, it is cute, cute, lovable, little fuzzy.
Speaker 2 (44:57):
I love squirrels too, They're amazing. I'll tell you, if
squirrels were not everywhere and they were just like on
social media what people watching videos, they would go crazy
for them. They would visit zoos to see them. But
because there ever where, people just kind of go, eh,
it's a squirrel. Very true, just saying. And on that note,
just one for the squirrels there, So happy mothers. Stay
(45:20):
to you until all of the moms and mom figures
out there. And thank you Rick, thank you to Adriana,
and thank you all so much for listening. We hope
you have a wonderful week.
Coming to you from Studio A here at Proven Winners
Color Choice Shrubs. It's time for the Gardening Simplified Show
with Stacy, Hervella me, Rick Weist, and our engineer and
producer Adrianna Robinson Stacy. Today we talk about hanging baskets.
It's Mother's Day weekend and so hanging baskets are kind
(00:23):
of a big deal. They were a big deal, I
guess to King Nebekenezzar and Babylon way back when the
famous hanging gardens where allegedly hanging baskets got their start.
May baskets were a big deal back in the eighteen
hundreds and nineteen hundreds. People would fill little baskets with
(00:44):
candies and cut flowers and hang them on the door
knob of their neighbor.
Speaker 2 (00:50):
That's the tradition we should bring back. That's quite lovely.
Speaker 1 (00:53):
I think we should exactly. And then, of course the
Saturday before Mother's Day and garden centers is considered basket
because well, what are you gonna get for mom? And
a hanging basket, of course, is a great gift. IDEA.
One flower that sticks out in my mind because when
I first started out in the garden center industry years ago,
(01:14):
we would sell all kinds of them, still do today.
But it made a great Mother's Day hanging basket. And
that is Fuchio's.
Speaker 2 (01:21):
Oh yep, classic choice. And you know, attract hummingbirds. So
if mom likes hummingbirds, can't go wrong with a fusia.
Although I will say I did buy my mom fusia
hanging baskets for many years and she didn't love them
because they need a dead heading.
Speaker 1 (01:36):
Oh okay, So even though they.
Speaker 2 (01:38):
Did attract hummingbirds and that was great. And also if
depending on where you live, if it gets really hot
in the summer, they will kind of slow down, yes,
and not be as fabulous. But I'll tell you fusha
flowers are some of the prettiest flowers. And the colors
are just irresistible.
Speaker 1 (01:52):
Yeah, if you can give them a little bit of shade,
you can get upright and pendulating. There's a cultivar out
called black Key Midnight. Have a picture for our YouTube
viewers of that. There's eruptions all different types of fusia cultivars.
And then of course I also love bogonia baskets. You
(02:13):
can get tubris, fibrous rex, bogonias pendulating begonias. Bogonia foliage,
by the way, if you're growing them in a hanging basket,
are notorious for deflecting irrigation. Water. Yeah, I think you're
watering that basket, but it's deflecting off the off the foliage.
(02:34):
And then of course angel wing bogonias also have become
very popular over the past.
Speaker 2 (02:39):
Yeah, so like Bonfire and all of those fabulous choices.
Right colors though on Bonfire, which I actually love best,
bright orange, al switch tracks, hummingbirds.
Speaker 1 (02:48):
Yes, exactly. Now, when you purchase a hanging basket or
give one to mom, most hanging baskets you'll find in
garden centers come in a plastic ten inch basket.
Speaker 2 (03:01):
I'm going to give that a thumbs down. Same here,
because I don't buy that kind for my mom.
Speaker 1 (03:05):
And so what I want you to do, and that's fabulous,
Your mom is lucky. What I want to do is
just point out to people that there's nothing wrong with
upsizing those. In other words, I view those ten inch
poly baskets as a delivery container, similar to how you
would go to the grocery store and let's say buy
(03:25):
cool whip. Okay, yeah, cool whip invented in the nineteen sixties.
To this day, we still do not know what non
dairy cool whip is made of. But that's a whole
other story. I like cool whip containers because I can
store nuts and bolts and nails and that kind of stuff.
So what do you do with that ten inch hanging basket?
(03:46):
Because I like to upsize into a twelve inch, fourteen
inch or sixteen inch basket, maybe a Sphagnum moss basket,
or just go online and look, there are a multitude
of great twelve to sixteen inch sized baskets that you
can purchase to upsize your your hanging basket.
Speaker 2 (04:05):
Right and upscale it. I think that's really important too,
because you know that plastic container in most scenarios where
you're hanging a hanging basket, that container is like right
and eye level, so you're looking not at this fabulous plant,
but this kind of junkie white molded like these weird waves,
you know, kind of containers. And I understand that's the
(04:27):
lowest cost for garden centers and that's why they do that,
But I always do prefer to get my mom a
bigger hanging basket that's in more of the moss type
or even the cardboard, the cord fiber, yeah, that pressed
cord fiber even, that's just something that looks a little
bit more organic, so that while the hanging basket is
growing out, and most do eventually grow out, that's kind
(04:48):
of why they're hanging baskets, because they're big plants that
are going to overgrow the basket in time. It just
looks a little you know, more organic and nice. But
I think it's a great idea to invest in really
high quality hanging back baskets which aren't going to cost
that much, that go with your decor of your home,
and that you can plant into every single year, and
that's always going to look a lot nicer. And that's
(05:09):
a good way to save the money by buying the
inexpensive plastic hanging basket, but give it more of that upscale.
Speaker 1 (05:15):
Look exactly how I feel. And then when you do that,
make sure to use a good quality, lightweight potting mix
or soil where you can upsize into that basket. You
could consider using soil moist granules, just a few granules
in the soil to help hold the moisture in because
(05:35):
one of the key aspects of hanging baskets. If you're
buying one of these ten inch hanging baskets and hanging
that thing up, is that as the season progresses, the
root system develops and creates a firm or solid surface
along the top. Also, if the soil dries a little bit,
it contracts away from the side of the pot, then
(05:57):
you're watering that pot. It's running across the surface down
the sides and not getting the rootball.
Speaker 2 (06:04):
What never really saturating it. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (06:05):
Yeah, So when growing hanging baskets, I'd love to just
walk along and lift up on them. Tell by the
weight of the basket whether or not it needs moisture.
And I like to keep a screwdriver handy because I
just puncture some holes to basically cut into that surface
tension and stacy. You're going to have a lot easier
(06:27):
job watering your hanging basket.
Speaker 2 (06:29):
Absolutely, And you know, for anyone who is listening who
is getting this into their head, for the love of
your mother or anyone else important in your life, do
not put a diaper in a hanging basket in an
attempt to make it hold more water. No matter what
you've seen on interest or any other social media site,
any parent can tell you that a diaper is intended
(06:51):
to hold onto moisture and not release it. And that
is exactly what's going to happen in your hanging basket.
Is you're going to have a really gross, dirty dipe
that is just full of soil and water that is
not doing anything for your planet except actually taking away
space that could have been soiled that could have actually
helped it. So, no matter what you've read, and a man,
(07:12):
I tell you off topic, but I feel like the
misinformation on social media right now is just going through
like a wildfire. It's just we are in the season,
So don't believe everything that you hear. And please, if
you are repotting a hanging basket, do not put a
diaper in it.
Speaker 1 (07:28):
That's right. Instead, you should pamper your baskets.
Speaker 2 (07:32):
That's exactly. That's a good idea.
Speaker 1 (07:34):
Coming up in segment four today we will talk about
plants that are great in hanging baskets, because I think
you should pot up your own hanging baskets. Combinations are
great proven winners. On their website has countless recipes that
you can tap into where you take two or three
different types of plants and plant them, some of them
(07:57):
quite simple. I love the vista view you recipe. I
use it every year. It's just three different types of supertunias,
including the bubblegum supertunia. But boy do they perform as
a hanging basket. So we'll talk about that. We're also
going to talk about on a different subject, tulips and
the different types of tulips. Now that they're in bloom,
(08:19):
you can see the different types of tulips that you
could grow in your garden. We'll also talk about that
in segment for today. While we're on this subject of
hanging baskets, and I think this is a subject stacy
that probably you and I both have very strong opinions on.
Let me give you a limb a rick that I
(08:39):
wrote about hanging baskets. It's called the basket case. My
baskets hang around my place, hung without enough headspace. Be
very careful where you tread. You're liable to bonk your
head and become a basket case. So if your head
you clobber, take some asp for that throbber. Don't be upset.
(09:03):
Get a grip, because that basket is next going to
drip on your clean white shirt. It will slob.
Speaker 2 (09:12):
You know.
Speaker 1 (09:12):
Again, Having worked in the garden center industry for years, Stacy,
I wish I had a dime for every time I've
walked into a hanging basket or bunked my head on one.
Speaker 2 (09:22):
Oh yeah, or that feeling when it drips down and
it goes right down the back of your neck and
down your shirts is not good. So all of that
is to say at home, if you're having guests or
you're planning to hang out on your patio or porch
later in the day, do the watering in the morning.
Let them drain through and avoid that whole mess.
Speaker 1 (09:40):
Yes, And another suggestion, get yourself a good watering wand.
So if you are not installing drip irrigation on these
hanging baskets, get a good quality watering wand. And the
very first thing you do, at least I do, is
I take that watering wand, I pull out the cheap
washer that's in there, and I put in a good
(10:01):
quality rubber washer. Because there's nothing worse than holding that
watering wand up and having that water run right down
your arm, into your armpits down your side and it's
cold and it's miserable.
Speaker 2 (10:14):
Yeah, and you know, a hanging basket watering wand is
a life changer, Like if you don't have one, you
will not believe how much easier it is to care
for that. So if you are looking up to looking
to up your Mother's Day gift game, you know, maybe
think about that hanging basket watering wand instead of just
the hanging basket. If you feel like you know, hey
two into hanging baskets. I'm getting moum watering wand this year.
(10:36):
She will so appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (10:38):
I love it. Put a bow on it. Stacy's next
with plants on trial here on the Gardening Simplified Show.
Speaker 2 (10:50):
Beautify your home and community with Proven Winner's Color Choice
Shrubs with over three hundred and twenty five unique varieties
to choose from. There's a flowering shrubb or evergreen, forever
Retaste and every space. Just look for the distinctive white
container your local garden center or learn more at Proven
Winners Color Choice dot com. Greetings, plant peeps, and welcome.
Speaker 1 (11:15):
Keep rolling. We're gonna use this, okay.
Speaker 2 (11:18):
Sorry, you know, I've been thinking about trying to change
up my greeting and I've been puzzling over it, and
i was like, is this going to be the day
I'm gonna go for it. I'm gonna give it a whirl,
and it yeah, it obviously did not feel natural. So
greetings gardening friends, and welcome back to the Gardening Simplified Show,
where for the time being, I will be sticking with
(11:38):
my traditional welcoming greeting. Obviously, Happy Mother's Day. Yes, Happy
Mother's Day to my wonderful mom, uh and to moms everywhere.
And you know, we're talking about hanging baskets because it
is a classic gift. And I think one of the
reasons that a hanging basket is such a classic gift
for mom is because they do tend to be little
(12:00):
bit more expensive. Yes, you know, and whether or not
your mom really considers herself a gardener, it is a
little bit. Especially a big nice one is a bit
of a splurge.
Speaker 1 (12:08):
But they're grab and go. It's easy. Pick out a
couple nice ones, grab and go, one in each hand.
And that's why we talked about in the first segment
that's wonderful. It's a delivery container. But think about upsize well.
Speaker 2 (12:21):
And the other part of it too, is that you're
not giving mom work. Now some of our moms are
gardeners and are happy to you know, get a bunch
of fabulous Proven Winns annuals and get to work planting
them in their planters and pots or whatever. But a
lot of them are not, and they want something beautiful,
and that that's the great thing is it's a grab
and go. You give that hanging basket to mom, you
(12:42):
hang it up on the hanger for and you know,
your work there is done and she gets to enjoy
a fabulous hanging basket all season long. Now, obviously, you
know this show is primarily about Proven Winners colored Choice shrubs,
so we do have a vested interest in Proven winners.
But I will say honestly that when it comes to
hanging baskets, Proven Winners plants in a hanging basket are
(13:03):
usually pretty clearly denoted. They either have the tags in
them or a special hanging basket tag. And you know,
if if this is your first time tuning in, it
is really worth mentioning that all of the Proven Winner's annuals,
all of the Proven Winner's plants in general, but this
is especially important for Proven Winners annuals, and talking about
hanging baskets, Uh, they are all tested to really outperform
(13:24):
what is already on the market. So you know, we've
talked numerous times about say, super Tunia Vista bubble Gum petunia,
which is super popular, probably the best selling proven winners,
uh you know, annual, And the reason for that is
because it doesn't need dead heading. So your mom might say, oh,
I don't like petunias. They need dead heading, they smell terrible.
Super Tunia Vista bubble Gum doesn't need dead heading. So
(13:45):
you're choosing plants that will actually perform better and bloom
all summer for mom and not just one of those
ones that are going to peter out. And then you know,
your mom's like, well, that was a crummy hanging basket.
So they really do make the better choice. I'm not
just saying that because I work here. I'm saying that
because I know the process and everything that goes into them.
Speaker 1 (14:01):
Yeah, not only do the plants have great genetics, but
the plants are tested, as you said, and even the
recipes and the combinations are also tested and proven, and
so you can proceed forward with confidence.
Speaker 2 (14:16):
Yeah, and that's important too, because sometimes you get a
fabulous looking hanging basket in may and the plants don't
all kind of grow at the same rate, and then something,
some really important key element of it gets totally overwhelmed
and it disappears and you're like, oh, wait, wasn't there
like this other plant in there. So they are like
really scientifically tested to make sure that all of the
plants in there are compatible and will give you that
(14:38):
nice colorful look all season loss it will look like
what you bought, which is important. But when it comes
to hanging baskets, shrubs, which we usually talk about here
on Plants on trial, not the first plant that comes
to mind. I mean, if you stretch your imagination, you
can say, okay, well maybe like ivy. Ivy is in theory,
(14:59):
Actually not ivy is a woody plant, though of course
in hanging baskets they don't ever really reach that point
where they're actually putting on woody growth. That's probably as
close as you could find, generally speaking, to any kind
of shrub or woody plant truly woody plant in a
hanging basket, and over the years we have definitely experimented
with different plants in hanging baskets in our R and
(15:22):
D facility research and development, trying to find out if
there are other plants that we can put in a
hanging basket and you know, make that a more interesting
way to kind of decorate and enjoy plants. And most
of them have not been successful because generally speaking, with
these woody plants, they want to grow up, and so
when you try to put them in a hanging basket,
(15:42):
which you want to grow usually down and have that
cascading effect, they won't do that. They'll just grow up
and they'll try to cling to the basket hangers and
it just does not work out that well. But there
is one major exception, and that is well one of
them is today's plant on trial. The major exception fairy
trail cascade hydranges. Love that plant, so you can kind
(16:06):
of guess by the name right there, trail and cascade.
These are hydrangeas that naturally grow with a very cascading
sort of trailing habit. And the first and original plant,
which has actually already been a plant on trial, was
fairy trail bride cascade hydrangea. And this was a plant
on trial a little over a year ago, and it
(16:27):
was the first one in the series. And this is
a plant that was sold in the EU and the
UK as Runaway Bride hydrangea. So Runaway Bride got a
ton of notoriety because it won in twenty eighteen the
Chelsea Flower Show Plant of the Year and people went
bonkers for it. They had never seen anything like it,
and it was not actually available in the US until
(16:49):
we were able to get the rights to it in
about twenty twenty one, twenty twenty two. So it's a
fairly recent plant to be available here in the US,
and we're really thrilled about that. And you know, it
is actually developed. Some people might not know this by Ushiosakazaki,
who is the same plant breeder who developed the Supertunia
(17:10):
Vista series too Supertunia Vista bubblegum All time bestseller, Proven
Winners annual. He also developed Fairy Trail Bride, so you
know it's got some serious chops with his talents behind it.
So Fairy Trail Bride is a lace cap cascading hydrangeles,
that's what we call them. We call them cascade hydranges
because we really wanted to differentiate them from big leaf
(17:32):
hydranges hydroge of macrophylla, because they are a bit different.
So they look a lot like it, but there are
some really key differences. So we really felt that to
help communicate that to people and understand their different habits
and need of care, that we should give them kind
of a new category because they're a wide hybrid of
different hydrange of species, So we call them cascade hydranges,
(17:53):
which really goes to describe their habits. So instead of
just growing upward and rounded like most hydrangees do, it
grows these long, arching, horizontal stems and it sets flower
buds at each individual leaf node along those stems. So
it's almost like and it's a little bit weird to
say that, to say this, but it's almost like a viburnum,
(18:15):
like a double file viburnum, which also looks like this
in the spring where you're getting that kind of, you know,
very distinctive look of the flowers kind of stacking along
the stems. Sure, yes, tearing. So fairy trail bride, like
I said, is a lace cap, so the flowers are
very large and open. Today's plant on trial, fairy trail
(18:36):
white cascade Hydrangea is a mophead cascade hydrangea. So I
personally am an equal opportunity hydrange of flower appreciator. I
like both the mopheads and the lace caps, and in fact,
if I did have a choice to live with only
one for the rest of my life, I would actually
choose the lace caps. Myself. I do prefer them, but
I get why people like the mophead because those are
(18:58):
the ones that are big and round and you just
want to kind of like put your hands around because
they're just so like fluffy. So fairy Trail white cascade
Hydrangea is today's plant on trial, and that's what makes
it really different. So when you see these plants side
by side in the garden center, and there are going
to be a lot of these in garden centers this
Mother's Day, you'll really be able to decide which one
(19:19):
you personally like better. There is also fairy Trail green
cascade hydrangea, which is like fairy Trail white in that
it's a mophead, but the flowers are green, like that
nice fresh green color.
Speaker 1 (19:29):
You know, it's exciting to think of growing something like
this in a container or even a large basket. I
was gonna mention I have tried flowering shrubs in hanging baskets,
like oh so easy roses, But of course these were
hanging baskets that were packed with spagnum moss and they
were four feet in diamond.
Speaker 2 (19:47):
Oh my gosh.
Speaker 1 (19:48):
Yeah, so took a high load to lift things.
Speaker 2 (19:50):
Yeah, and that's not really practical for most people. And
many of these plants that you're going to see at
your garden center at this time of year are actually
going to be in hanging baskets because this plant does
look absolutely beautiful and hanging baskets. So I did want
to give you a little bit of information in case
you are buying one of these for yourself or for
your mom this year. They are really going to be
(20:12):
very similar to growing a big leaf hyder range. So
they bloom on old wood just like the big leaf
hyder ranges do. So that means they set their flower
buds in winter, and that means that they also are
going to not need pruning. So it's a great plant
to give as a gift because it's very low maintenance.
But of course there's going to be a tag in
there that explains all of this, so don't worry. You
can give it and you don't have to like explain
(20:34):
all of this extra information. So no pruning, blooms on
old wood. It does bloom much earlier than big leaf
hyder ranges do. So for us outdoors, it's gonna bloom
usually probably by about early June, whereas, of course in
the garden center they've already been forced to bloom because
everyone wants to give their mom a beautiful plant that's
already in flower. So don't be totally deceived by the
(20:55):
bloom time. But they do bloom quite a bit earlier
than the big leaf hyder ranges do. Now there's one
key differ that we really want everyone to know about these.
Because they do bloom earlier than big leaf hydranges do,
they are actually more susceptible to spring frost damage. So
they bloom on old wood. They have their flower buds
all through winter. Spring comes along, it starts to get warm,
(21:17):
the plant starts to leaf out and open up those
flower buds a little bit more. Because it is going
to be so much more close to its bloom time
than a big leaf hydrange, it actually can make those
flower buds a little bit more susceptible to cold damage
even than a max. So what we recommend for these
is that you plant them in parts sun only, and
we actually recommend that that part sun occur in the morning. Now,
(21:42):
this might all sound like oddly specific, but there's a
good reason for it, and that is that when you
plant it in that part sun for the morning, if
a frost or freeze does occur, the frost or ice
crystals will actually melt very slowly instead of all at once,
like when the sun comes over the horizon hits that
all of that cold water instantly melts onto that bud
and damages it. Interesting, so if you plant it so
(22:05):
it is shaded in the spring in the morning, then
what's going to happen is that those ice crystals will
melt very slowly, and that will help to prevent the
damage to those flower buds. You can also just throw
a blanket or a towel or something like that over
the plant on any night that one of these frosts
or freezes threatens. But that's really the only kind of
tricky little thing to know about it. If you buy
(22:26):
your Mama hanging basket once, you should can certainly enjoy
it as those flowers persist. But once those flowers start
to fade in a few weeks, it can just be
taken out and plant it in the garden.
Speaker 1 (22:37):
I really love this plant and it's exciting and for
folks who are riding in their car or in the
yard listening to us, folks listening to the podcast or
radio version of this show, just a reminder that this
plant's name is fairy Trail t r Ail, not fairy
tail white cascade hydrant.
Speaker 2 (22:58):
That's right, and it's available garden center near you for
you or your mom or anyone who's special in your life.
We're gonna take a little break. When we come back,
we're gonna be opening up the garden mail bags, so
please stay tuned. At Proven Winner's Color Choice Shrubs, we
know that a better landscape starts with a better shrub.
(23:21):
Our team of experts tests and evaluates all of our
flowering shrubs in evergreens for eight to ten years to
ensure they outperform what's already on the market. For easycare, reliable,
beautiful shrubs to accentuate your home and express your personal style,
look for Proven Winner's Shrubs in the distinctive white container
at your local garden center or learn more at proven
Winner's Color Choice dot com. Greeting's Gardening Friends and No,
(23:46):
I am not attempting another greeting variation. Although if you
have a suggestion for me, you can certainly leave it
as a comment on YouTube. I would be interested to
hear it. I'll keep workshopping it and we'll see. Not
that I have anything wrong with greeting's gardening friends, but
you know, it's just just exactly you know, some alternatives
something else. But you know, we understand that not everybody
(24:10):
is actually like a gardener. You know, some people are
interested in plants, they want to be better homeowners, they
want to be able to take care of their landscape.
Speaker 1 (24:16):
They may not, I mean, you know, you're preaching to
the choir. I always said, hello entremneurs and that.
Speaker 2 (24:23):
Yeah, well I can't take that. That's yr for everybody.
Oh that's your thing. That's so I need to come
up with my things. So we're working on that. But
not everyone considers themselves a gardener. Some people, like I said,
are just trying to learn how to better maintain their landscapes,
or they're just you know, curious and want to have
more information about plants and their brains for those awkward
moments at cocktail parties and the like.
Speaker 1 (24:44):
That's why we're here.
Speaker 2 (24:45):
So in that case, if you have questions about your
garden and things that you should or shouldn't be doing
or plants. You can always reach us at Gardening Simplified
on air dot com. That is the show website. And
my apologies to the person who commented on YouTube that
going to our show notes lately has just been a
link to the YouTube video. I am sorry about that.
My schedule has been a little hectic, but once things
(25:08):
calm down a little bit, I will go back to
adding the resources there because we do want those there
for you. So you know, this is the garden industry,
so it's a little bit of a little bit of
a hectic time for us here on time, right, But
in any case, you can also go there and email
us with your gardening questions and if you need an
urgent answer, since we only do the show once a week,
you can also go to Proven Winner's Color Choice dot
(25:29):
com or Proven Winners dot com and use the contact
form there to reach out and you will get a
personalized answer, not an AI answer from a bot. You
will get an answer from an actual horticulturist who wants
you to succeed. And that's one of the things that
makes Proven Winners different.
Speaker 1 (25:42):
So and as always maintain your compost.
Speaker 2 (25:45):
See you got that's your thing. Yeah, all right, I'll
keep working on my thing. Maybe when i'm working in
the garden this weekend, something well, something will come to me.
Our first question comes from Randy, and I thought this
was a good question. He sent some pictures of his plants.
He received an order or an online order of plants,
and they were in rough shape and he was worried
about them, and so I thought this would be a
(26:06):
good opportunity for us to kind of talk about for
people who do order plants online, kind of what to
expect and how to deal with these situations. Now, I
love shopping in garden centers, and I think it's important
that people realize that, for the most part, you're always
going to get the best value in plants by shopping
at a garden center because you don't have to worry
(26:26):
about shipping, and you're not then paying to have you know,
this giant three gallon container, if they indeed even offer
a three gallon sized container, you know, shipped halfway across
the country or whatever. Everything's been trucked. It's you know,
locally grown, so you will spend less for a bigger
plant in person. But of course, sometimes people want to
buy something and their stores don't stock it, and the
(26:46):
people can't you know, the people who own the garden
center are unable to source it. So ordering online in
those conditions can be a really good alternative. And for
the most part, I would say that the majority of
online plant nurseries are really good and really reputable, and
they want to help. They don't want you to fail.
They want to send you a good product. But of course,
(27:07):
lots of things can go wrong in between the time
it leaves their greenhouse and arrives at your at your doorstop.
And you know, we've all had packages of things that
were less fragile than plants arrive on our doorstops in
less than ideal conditions, So you can imagine if something
goes wrong with the plants in the shipping, how they're
going to arrive. So I would say, first of all,
(27:28):
if you notice something wrong with your plants when they arrive,
reach out to the company right away. You don't have
to be angry. They're going to want to help.
Speaker 1 (27:34):
You.
Speaker 2 (27:35):
Take a picture of what you're seeing, or a couple pictures,
and immediately reach out to them and just say, hey,
this is how my plants arrived. That is really important
to document that process. Now, it's very possible, depending on
how they look, that the company will tell you to
just take a wait and see approach, because very often
the plants will recover. I know, it's not a great
feeling to open up the box that you were so
(27:57):
excited to get and the plants don't look amazing, but
very often they will recover. They just need some time
to kind of recover from that shipping shock, and you
can sort of tuck them back into their containers. So
they may ask you to wait and see what happens,
and you know, take that with a grain of salt,
knowing that they will back up their product, but that
you should, you know, give it a chance to see
(28:17):
if it will recover. Make sure that you water them
right away, unless they are coming out very, very soggy,
which is not typically the case, but crazy things do happen.
Water them and keep them in a shaded location. This
is important because you know, not only have they been
in a protected greenhouse, now they just spent a week
or so in a dark box and now they're in
your backyard and they're just like, what in the world
(28:39):
is going on here? So you don't want to just
expose them right away to bright sunshine. Remove any packaging
as you're keeping them, if they're wrapped in plastic.
Speaker 1 (28:47):
Or anything like that's the keys. That's an absolute key. Again,
when I was running a garden center, we'd get a
lot of plants in boxes, primarily tropical plants. When we
get them in we always had box cutters in our
pockets because the shrink wrap comes off the palette right away,
you get the boxes out of the sun. And also
if you can't get to the plants right away, just
(29:08):
cut open the tops and let them air out.
Speaker 2 (29:10):
Yeah, that's the bare minimum that you should do, is
just make sure they're getting air. And then again keep
them in the shade because they've just been in this
dark box and they're going to need to acclimate back
to sun even if they're full sun plants gradually, So
give them a few days in the shade to kind
of recover. And one last tip here. If the plants
that you purchase have colorful foliage like purple foliage or
(29:32):
yellow foliage or something like that and the plant arrives green,
don't be shocked. They most likely did not send the
wrong plant. Although it's always worth asking. But a lot
of these plants either don't develop good leaf color in
the greenhouse environment, or they developed it fine in the
greenhouse environment, but they lost it being in a dark
box for a few days. So we see this a
lot with our blacklace elderberry. I'll tell you if there
(29:54):
is one plant that people order by mail order that
they've written me about and said I don't know what
to do it doesn't look good, it is probably black
lace elderly. This plant does not enjoy being in a
dark box, and it shows that by turning green instead
of the dark purple that it actually will be in
the in the gardens. So you know, don't panic. If
you see that. You can certainly let the company know
(30:15):
just in case there was a mix up, and they
will note that in the order. But for the most part,
you know, they just need a few days acclimate, get
out into the sun and they will take on the
color and be everything that you dreamed of. Are so
just a couple tips there from people who are looking
at purchasing plants online.
Speaker 1 (30:32):
Stacy Valerie writes to us, I have a perfect storm
that I want to transplant. I'm in zone five be
should I transplant now or wait until I see growth showing,
which is typically the beginning of June. So perfect storm, Stacy,
I'm thinking we're talking about Summerrific high biscus.
Speaker 2 (30:51):
Yes, that's the one.
Speaker 1 (30:52):
Yeah, And if that's the case, my personal opinion, because
it's a late bloomer, do it.
Speaker 2 (30:56):
Now, Absolutely, do it now. This plant will be so
much happier if do the transplanting well it is dormant
and not once it starts growing. Because once this plant
starts growing, And just a reminder to anyone who has
the Summerific or any other perennial hibiscus in their garden,
these are absolutely, hands down the last plant to emerge
in spring, no matter where you are. They emerge later
(31:19):
than anything else. They are like waiting to cross the
finish line till the very last minute. And so once
that growth comes out, usually for us in Michigan here
it's probably Memorial Day weekend. I've found for my summer efics.
Once that happens, that growth is going to be very delicate,
the way that it comes out of the root mass
(31:39):
or the crown of the plant, very easy to damage that.
And if you were to damage that growth in the
transplanting process, it may not be able to put out
more growth that season, and whether or not it can
survive that really depends, because then it won't have the
benefit of photosynthesizing all summer long to do that. Overall,
I have transplanted summerfic hybiscus a lot in my time.
(32:02):
I mean, I've transplanted more than my share of them,
just because you know, I change my mind about colors.
I have a lot of them, and they are actually
very amenable to transplanting. And even if you accidentally cause
quite a lot of damage to their roots, and their
roots are really thick, they're almost like woody roots. They're
not really fleshy roots. They're very fibrous. But even if
(32:26):
you like cause some damage and you break them apart
a little bit, or you know, lose a big chunk
of it, the plant can recover. It may or may
not flower, or it may flower less as it's trying
to recover from that substantial root loss. But overall, I
feel like these plants are very, very amenable to transplanting.
The trick that I have found is, especially if you
do a good job at digging up the root ball,
(32:47):
which you should attempt to do if at all possible.
Trying to fit that into the new hole is like
not an easy task, you know, because they're throwing all
over the place, and you got to position them, and
you've got to put a little more soil on this
side so that you kind of even out what's going
on this side. So they take a little bit of
a steady hand to figure out exactly how you're going
(33:07):
to get them in there. But if you just put
the extra soil in, you know, a container or a
tub or some things that you can kind of use
it to maneuver the plant in Overall, I have found,
you know, knock on wood, but I haven't lost any
to transplanting.
Speaker 1 (33:22):
Yeah, I haven't either. And you're looking at a tough
native plant, is what you're looking at. And you know,
the old approach also of trying to move a plant
when it's dormant is probably the best rule to stick by,
absolutely and again because it's going to be blooming in
August probably in zone five B. Doing it now, I
(33:45):
think it's the time to do.
Speaker 2 (33:46):
Yeah, And like I said, you may have fewer flowers,
but you are likely to still have some. But yeah,
once that growth comes out. This job is going to
be infinitely more tricky and complicated, so do it now
and hopefully to be able to enjoy some great flowers
in it's new home this summer. We're going to take
a little break. When we come back, we're going to
be sharing some favorite hanging basket plits as well as
(34:07):
talking tulips, so please stay tuned. Thanks for listening to
The Gardening Simplified podcast, brought to you by Proven Winners
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Speaker 1 (34:30):
Welcome back to the Gardening Simplified, Joe. We'll continue our
talk on hanging baskets today, but prior to that, Stacy,
I wanted to mention here in West Michigan, it's tulip time,
and of course my parents were from the Netherlands, so
I'm kind of into tulips. I went out the other
day shot some pictures we'll show our viewers on YouTube.
(34:52):
Also posted some stuff in social media, and I was
surprised at the number of people who reached out to
me and said that tulip is incredible. What is that?
It was a frilly type of tulip that had the
green streaks and multi colors in it, and I said, well,
that's a parrot tulip, and they're like, what's a parrot tulip?
And then I realized a lot of people do not
(35:15):
know that tulips basically are in different classifications. So there's
all sorts of cultivars and hybrid tulips with registered names.
But they organize these tulips into groups by shape, heritage,
and flowering time. And I thought I'd take one minute
(35:36):
just to share with you that there are many different types.
For example, there are single early tulips which are perfect
for forcing in pots, double early tulips that almost resemble peonies,
triumph tulips which are a mid season cross of early
and late Darwin hybrids which have a big traditional look,
(35:58):
single lates that are very elegant. And then you get
into some of these interesting tulips lily flowering look that
have this flared lily look to them, fringed, crimped, wildly
cut feathery viid flora which have the green streaks in
them from base to tip. The Rembrandt tulips I mentioned,
(36:20):
the parrot tulips, the double lates, the calfmania tulips, petite,
very early flowering, All of these are I love the
Fosteriana tulips Red Emperor is one very large flowers, but
short plants ten to sixteen inches. Greggy I tulips distinctive
(36:42):
modeled foliage, very short, but big blooms on them. I
guess the point I'm trying to make is that not
all tulips are created the same. And when you buy
them and fall and put them in the ground, do
a little bit of research and look, because fringed or
lily or parrot tulips are sensational.
Speaker 2 (37:02):
Yes, I agree. And you know those parrot tulips or
rembrant tulips are the ones that are modern hybrids or
attempts to recreate the classic broken color tulips that caused
infamous tulipmania that was actually caused by a virus, which
was why the tulip bubble burst. So you don't have
to worry about that. Don't cause a tulip bubble, but
(37:22):
you don't have to worry about that with these because
these are actually stable hybrids that were not caused by
a virus. They're just an attempt to bring back that
cool old look. And I think this is an important
thing to mention because, you know, being tulip time out
here in West Michigan, a lot of people will see
the city of Holland plants all of these tulips, so
they have that really long season of bloom, and so
those early start blooming and everyone says, oh my gosh,
(37:44):
it's tulip time ruined. All the tulips are blooming. Now,
no they're not. That's just the early tulips. But they
really do include all of these different groups so that
you have that perpetual, you know, ongoing show of flowers
that bloom at different times. And you know, so if
you're shopping just at like a local you know, box
store or even a garden center, you're not likely to
(38:06):
get that much detail on what type you're buying, Like
it might say that it's a Darwin Hybrid or something
like that, but for the most part, or just say
like you know, Red Emperor or what, I just have
the variety name. So if you want that extra information,
it does pay to do some research and you know,
order online. A lot of bulb suppliers that you can
order online from will offer a discount if you buy
in spring and reserve your plants to be shipped. The
(38:28):
bulbs will be shipped in fall. And yeah, so that's
a great way to get really really cool tulips that
your neighbors are not going to have. But but you
have tulips, they've got to be in your deer compound.
Speaker 1 (38:40):
They're in the compound because deer. It's candy to.
Speaker 2 (38:43):
A Yes, now I have not. I've I have attempted
to grow tulips before the full realization of how bad
my dear issue was was apparent, and I have This
is funny, uh sort of, except I'm probably jinxing myself.
I have a couple of small plays of species tulips
up against a fence that I don't think they can
(39:05):
get their little deer noses down there, because there's like
a three inch space between like my driveway and the
neighbor's fence. So I kind of try to use that
to get a little stand of some of some species
seals because species tulips are my favorite.
Speaker 1 (39:17):
Yeah, and species tulips, you could say, are the originals,
and they reliably come back year after year, arguably better
than let's say, some of the hybridized varieties, and there's
all other sorts of issues like planting depth and that
type of thing. I won't get into that today. Just
(39:38):
the main point here is to understand that there's roughly
about fifteen different categories or groups and get to know
those groups because I think it will cause enjoyment for
you in years to come as far as Yeah.
Speaker 2 (39:53):
And you can use the City of Holland approach to
having tulips in bloom for you know, three or four
weeks instead of just one big show.
Speaker 1 (40:00):
Like I always say, if you've got questions on bulbs
because of that Dutch European blood running through my veins,
just use your two lips and speak to me and
I'll try to help you out, Okay, Stacy. Back to
hanging baskets. I was thinking the other day working in
the greenhouse. I know you like broelia.
Speaker 2 (40:18):
Oh yeah, I love that plant.
Speaker 1 (40:20):
Like endless flirtation, endless illumination are proven winter's varieties. So
I was looking at the hanging baskets thinking you're probably
a person that likes streptocarpella.
Speaker 2 (40:30):
I do like it. Yeah, it's cool. Yeah, yeah, that's
a very interesting plant and that's one that I feel
like a lot of people know as the houseplants, but
you do find it as a hanging basket because the
flowers come out on these long, thin stems and kind
of give it that really cool halo look.
Speaker 1 (40:46):
Yeah, it's beautiful. And then of course, also walking through
the greenhouse, I look at these plants that I call
trigger plants. So in some combinations there's b coopa or
for example, Tradus can anti bridle veil, which is an
old fashioned plant. Once again, some people view it as
a houseplant, but we do sell a lot of those
(41:09):
in the spring. These are what I call trigger plants.
In other words, you can see at a glance whether
or not the basket needs water, So always have some
trigger plants in your landscape. Of course, Boston ferns are
a classic, especially if you've got a shady porch. Mini
vista supertunias. Any of the supertunias do fantastic in hanging baskets. Stacey,
(41:35):
I can't help it, but I'm a huge fan of
super venas yep. I think perfect for hanging baskets. Silver falls,
dichondra trailing out of the basket.
Speaker 2 (41:47):
Yeah, a lot of places will do those like in
the very bottoms and they look like a jellyfish. Do
you ever see that, like where they got all the
puffy flowers on top and then the dichondra coming out
the bottom. It's kind of a fun look.
Speaker 1 (41:57):
That is a fun look. Lamium, which is a perennial
ground I don't cover. The lobilias are just so beautiful
and proven Winters has the Laguna ultra violet, the dark blue,
the royal lilac, the royal pink.
Speaker 2 (42:11):
Love those, and you know I would add to that.
This is another area where choosing the proven Winner's variety
is going to be really important because older and more
conventional lobilias do not hold up to the heat, even
like Michigan heat when we don't usually get super hot summers.
They'll just fry and they'll stop blooming, Whereas the proven
Winners lubilia are all tested to keep blooming in the heat,
(42:32):
so they might need some shade when it's really hot,
and if you live in a hot climate, they're definitely
going to need some shade. But that's one area where
you can count on a better performance than your standard lobilia.
Speaker 1 (42:41):
Absolutely, the genetics they're amazing, so you would look for
Laguna lobilia's stacy. In some of the hanging baskets. We
have manda villas, which may seem crazy and they go
nuts and they vine up the all the way up
and all over the place. But it is a fun
thing to grow on.
Speaker 2 (43:00):
I'm crazy about the mandavillas. I love them. I have
not grown a hanging basket, but I love to put
them on a trellis and get that look.
Speaker 1 (43:08):
I mentioned in the first segment. Of course, fuschia's and
begonias just a favorite of mine, tuberous begonias. But I
wonder if you've have you ever grown the small leaf
creeping wire type vine.
Speaker 2 (43:23):
Krokia.
Speaker 1 (43:24):
No, it's I'm going to take a shot at this.
Speaker 2 (43:27):
Mule len Bea.
Speaker 1 (43:29):
Yeah, muelen BEI I have not grown it.
Speaker 2 (43:30):
As a hanging basket, but I've definitely grown it as
a houseplant and as a topiary. Okay, but very pretty.
I love that plant. It's just got such a beautiful,
delicate look.
Speaker 1 (43:41):
Interesting approach to baskets are containers plectranthus. I love plectranthus,
and there's a variety called guacamole that I love fantastic
and then Thunbergia or people would refer to it as
black eyed Susan. Proven Winners has lemon appeal, coconut, orange, tangerine. Again,
(44:02):
using vines in hanging baskets can really add some cool
dimension to your basket, your arrangement.
Speaker 2 (44:10):
Yeah, and some of them, like you said about the mandavilla,
they do want to grow up, so instead of cascading
down like you might envision, they will kind of find
each other their fellow vines and twist all together and
go up. But that can be kind of a fun
look and I think that's especially nice. It all depends
on where your hanging basket situation is. You know, if
you have it on a lower hook, then letting those
(44:32):
vines grow up on the hangars could actually look really,
really nice.
Speaker 1 (44:36):
So I'd encourage the use of vines also in hanging baskets.
End of the season, I clean out my hanging baskets
and then it's fun to watch as we approach winter,
the squirrels use them as a porch swing. They sit
in the baskets and just kind of swing in the breeze.
Speaker 2 (44:52):
That's so cute.
Speaker 1 (44:53):
Yeah, it is cute, cute, lovable, little fuzzy.
Speaker 2 (44:57):
I love squirrels too, They're amazing. I'll tell you, if
squirrels were not everywhere and they were just like on
social media what people watching videos, they would go crazy
for them. They would visit zoos to see them. But
because there ever where, people just kind of go, eh,
it's a squirrel. Very true, just saying. And on that note,
just one for the squirrels there, So happy mothers. Stay
(45:20):
to you until all of the moms and mom figures
out there. And thank you Rick, thank you to Adriana,
and thank you all so much for listening. We hope
you have a wonderful week.
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