October 25, 2025 • 42 mins
Teresa's Dirty Word of the Day: Anthocyanin.
Have you ever seen the "Dead Man's Toes" while walking in the woods or forest?
What to prune & NOT to prune right now before the winter weather gets to us.
Start your pansies seeds now.
Part 2 of Black Plants to grow in Florida.
Have you ever seen the "Dead Man's Toes" while walking in the woods or forest?
What to prune & NOT to prune right now before the winter weather gets to us.
Start your pansies seeds now.
Part 2 of Black Plants to grow in Florida.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Heel and her magical technology.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
Press and buttons.
Speaker 1 (00:04):
There you goes. We've had a great show today. We've
had a lot of fun. It is all about you,
and we're talking about black plants and murderous plants. I've
got a whole bunch of plans to give to you
that are kind of interesting to note and how scary
and creepy they are. Uh. But we also are taking
(00:24):
your phone calls one triple eight four five five two
nine six seven one triple eight four five y five
two nine sixty seven, or you can text two three
six eight zero. We had a busy first hour. We
have a great second hour coming up for you. And
so let's get to the dirty word of the day.
Speaker 3 (00:47):
And now it's time for the dirty word of the
Day on Better Lawns and Gardens with Teresa Watkins.
Speaker 1 (00:53):
And the dirty word of the day is Antho cyonins
antho sionins. Now, black plants really do not have the
color of black. Okay, that black pigment does not exist
in nature, but actually comes from the very deep tones
of purple, red, and blue, and the shades are mainly
(01:14):
caused by anthocyanins and a pigment responsible for blue, and purples,
and so this is depending on the pH they may
appear red, pink, purple, blue, or black. First used in
eighteen thirty five, the German pharmacists Ludwig clamor Mark Quat
(01:34):
named a chemical compound that gives flowers a blue color.
Now Anthokeian is what he named it. Food plants rich
in anthocyanins include the blueberry, raspberry, black rice, and black soybean.
Some of the colors of autumn leaves are derived from anthocyanins,
(01:55):
like the sweet gum, which has the deep purple and
dark red leaves during the fall. Anthocyanins belong to a
parent class of molecules called flavonoids. They can occur in
all tissues of higher plants, including leaves, stems, roots, flowers,
(02:15):
and fruits. Anthocyanins are odorous and moderately astringent. Although approved
as food and beverage colorants, they are not approved for
use of food additives, so there's no conclusive evidence that
antocyonins have any effect on human biology or diseases. Antocyanins
(02:35):
give the pansies their dark purple pigmentation. In other flowers,
the coloration is provided by an accumulation of antocyanins that
attract a wide variety of animal pollinators, while in fruits,
the same coloration may aid in seed dispersal by attracting
herbivorous animals to the potentially edible fruits bearing those red, blue, black, pink,
(03:01):
or purple colors. Antocyonins have a protective roll in plants
against extreme temperatures. Antocyanins and tomato plants protect against cold stress,
leading to a lower rate of cell death in leaves,
the asorbit's pattern responsible for the red color of antocyanins
may also be complementary to that of green chlorophyll. It
(03:23):
may protect the leaves from attacks by herbivores that may
be attracted to the green color. So that's the dirty
word of the day is Anthocyanins is which causes the
black color pigmentation in flowers. Now, the evolutionary behind the
(03:43):
flower colors is to attract pollinators. That's why flowers have
different colors. They do attract pollinators. Bright colors like yellow
and red attract bees and butterflies and birds, while a
darker flower attracts specific insects like moths and beetles and
fly The less attraction to pollinator limits their ability to breed,
(04:04):
making them very rare in nature. So black flowers that's
why you don't see a lot. They're also cooler in
I mean, they're also more comfortable in cooler climates. So
that's the dirty word of the day. One triple eight
four five, five, two nine sixty seven where you can
text two three six eight zero.
Speaker 2 (04:24):
Okay, So I have a question for you. I'm sure.
Speaker 4 (04:27):
So we went we went from like the thousand degrees
of degrees of HG double hockey six over the summer
to very nice weather I mean for Florida, Okay, sure
to within this last week it's gotten a little bit
cooler and it's supposed to be really cool next week.
Speaker 2 (04:46):
Is that why? Between the two?
Speaker 4 (04:49):
Is that why my garden is like struggling to produce,
Like it started to produce and I've fertilized them, but
they started producing. I started getting okra, and then all
of a sudden, instead of taking like one day to
two days to grow really long and fast, it's going, Yeah,
I like being really small at this moment, and it's
taking like almost like three four or five days.
Speaker 1 (05:10):
Well, I will tell you it's also because of the
shorter days.
Speaker 4 (05:15):
Okay, Shrek said that. Now, now I wanted you know
what I don't like when he's right.
Speaker 1 (05:22):
Shorter days. So that so Okra likes full sun eight hours,
you know, nine hours, ten hours a day, and we're
getting shorter and shorter hours.
Speaker 2 (05:31):
So that's what he said.
Speaker 1 (05:32):
Nature is as it's cruel. You don't understand, Like you
buy frozen okra. I don't. I don't like.
Speaker 5 (05:41):
I don't.
Speaker 2 (05:41):
I don't even like ogra.
Speaker 4 (05:43):
Okay, I mean, if it's frieda and it's a good
cut fried okra for breakfast, yeah, yeah, yeah, I'll snag some,
but I don't want to cook it.
Speaker 2 (05:51):
I don't. I don't just sit around and eat it
and munch on it. But my thing is is that.
Speaker 4 (05:56):
Other people in this building love okra and love my gardening,
and God blessing me with having all of this stuff
to shut down people.
Speaker 2 (06:03):
Yes, now I can't.
Speaker 1 (06:04):
Now you have a reputation and you can't produce. Hey, no,
pun intended.
Speaker 4 (06:08):
I would bet sure to have that kind of reputation.
Then I guess any other one.
Speaker 1 (06:11):
There you go. We're going to be back with some
beautiful black flowers, all right, So stay tuned. You're listening
to better lines and gardens from the Summit Responsible Solution Studios.
I'm Teresa Watkins and this is Florida's Talk and Entertainment Network.
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Excuse me, what happened to.
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Speaker 1 (09:36):
This welcome back to better lawns and gardens. If you
have a gardening question one triple eight four five five
two nine sixty seven, or you can text two three
(09:57):
six eight zero. Just wanted to update again on our
art and bloom garden tours. In April next year, we
are celebrating the two hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the
United States, the semi Quin Centennial, and we are going
on a revolutionary garden tour and it is going to
be just beautiful Virginia and DC. We're going to go
(10:20):
to places like Mount Vernon and Monticello and some wonderful
Virginia gardens, private gardens, and then also Williamsburg, which is
celebrating its one hundredth year next year, so big celebrations
and gardens that will only be open, private gardens that
will only be open next year for one or two days,
(10:41):
and they they're not open ever again.
Speaker 4 (10:43):
I was gonna ask you about that because I know
you had mentioned that earlier about that this is your
only chance, this is their.
Speaker 1 (10:50):
Only chance to get to see some of these gardens.
They're not going to be open again, so very exciting.
And that is in April, and then in May we
are going to the Chelsea Flowers Show and the Best
of English Gardens, which is also a wonderful, wonderful trip.
And then in June we're going to the Newport Flower
Show and Martha's Vineyard and we're going to head into
(11:12):
one day into Boston, an exciting trip. I will tell
you the gardens that we will see and the homes
we will see are going to be amazing. In July
we go to the garden Walk Buffalo and also Niagara
Falls in Canada, and then in August we are doing
the best of the artistic French gardens. And in September
(11:34):
we are doing the Brandywine Valley and going to Longwood
Chanticleer Winters and then also some private gardens like the
Fabulous Garden of Jenny Rose, Carrie and Northview and so
we'll be that's going to be very exciting. And then
in October to celebrate Halloween, we are doing the Ethereal
(11:55):
Gardens of New Orleans, and so if you're interested in
any of those tours, we would love to have you along.
We take small groups, only about fifteen people, and we
just really go into the gardening and geek out at plants.
Speaker 2 (12:12):
I'm excited.
Speaker 4 (12:13):
Okay, I know you already said up, but just in case,
where do you go to get the information in the
costs and how to sign up?
Speaker 1 (12:19):
Get the information and the cost and get put on
a wait list Because we're doing some of the tours
are not up yet, but we're still getting them scheduled.
So it will be. You can go to art in
bloomgardentours dot com. Art in bloomgardentours dot com. So let's
go to Jerry in Citrus County real quick, and then
we'll go into our black plants. How can I help you? Jerry?
Speaker 9 (12:42):
Good morning, Oh, good morning, Heza. I have a question
on Zelle. Yes, how you got here in this area
and the variety of they have for this area. Okay,
I only had a reference from the South Florida, Victor.
Speaker 1 (12:57):
And so forth right, No, no, that's fine. So rose,
any variety of roselle will grow in Citrus County, Okay.
It grows from nine to twelve and in the Caribbean
in South America, so it will grow. It's the Hibiscus sabadifera,
and it is in the mallow family, and the calluses,
which are the buds that before they open, the red
(13:20):
part of the plant, which is really good because this
is a Halloween planet. It's really deep in dark and burgundy.
It's what's used to make the teas and the jams.
So that's primarily the edible part, although you can eat
the leaves. Jerry, okay, And I'm being very careful when
I talk to you about this because you like to
eat everything, and so the leaves can be eaten raw
in salads or cooked like spinach, and they have a
(13:43):
little tart of flavor. You can use the seeds and
put them in oil. And so it's very heat loving
and it's sensitive to frost, so it could freeze where
you are. Okay, nine to eleven, and it's considered an
annual zones. Further up, it likes full sun and it
(14:03):
prefers drained, well drained soil, which is good for where
you are a good citrus county. And you can plant
it anytime. Uh and uh. So I would plant it
in a pot right now for you, Jerry, and then
put it in the ground in the springtime.
Speaker 9 (14:19):
Okay, Okay, I got that pot springtime right.
Speaker 1 (14:23):
Any variety will grow where you are, so if you
see one, grab it. It'll be good.
Speaker 9 (14:28):
Well good, Thank you. I appreciate that. For Lisa.
Speaker 1 (14:31):
You're welcome. It's nice to hear from you. You're good.
That's a good plant for Halloween.
Speaker 9 (14:36):
Yeah, that's what I need.
Speaker 1 (14:39):
Thank you so much. Okay, So I'm going to I'm
gonna say these slowly, but if you want to get
a pen and paper, or you can listen to the
podcast and write it down.
Speaker 2 (14:49):
Better lawns dot com.
Speaker 1 (14:51):
You can replants, you can replay it. So these are
all black plants that will grow here in Florida or
elsewhere in the world, but these are the most popular
black plants. Black Rose a onium. A onium is a
type of succulent that produces large rosettes of reddish black
leaves and they get to be about six to eight
(15:12):
inches in the width. So these are really cool cuculent plants.
Black Rose aonium. Black velvet alocasia, which I mentioned in
the first hour. Black velvet alocasia is gorgeous black magic
elephant ears and it's Colocasia esculenta. Colocasia esculenta black magic.
(15:33):
The heart shaped leaves can grow up to two feet long.
It's a big plant, and the black Magic's variety is
a dusty blackish purple. It's great. It's hardy in zones
eight to ten. It's great for water gardens, and it's
also a great plant if you love to do floral
displays with dark colors. The black bat flower the taka shantria,
(15:56):
is a wonderful plant that grows in the same conditions
as orgs in the ground in shade, and then the
black Prince Etcheviia ecaviria. Black Prince is another succulent black
tulips for those of you up north. It's got deep black,
velvety petals and it needs chilling. If you want to
(16:17):
grow them in the south for a few weeks, then
you need to chill them in the refrigerator for twelve
or ten to twelve weeks. Black Magic Chocolate Cosmos, which
is a spring summer annual. It has a fragrance that
smells like chocolate and it is really dark. It looks
lovely black devil pansies. They're gorgeous too as well, deep
(16:39):
dark black, and they're about two inches across, very very
cool gardens for winter gardens here in Florida up north,
you can grow them in the spring in summer. Black
magic BlackBerry petunias. They grow ten to fifteen inches wide.
They are great in hanging baskets and they're blanketed with
big velvety looms in dusky black with subtle purple and
(17:03):
red undertones. If you love iris in zones three to nine,
one of the darkest black iris is called Before the
Storm and it is deer and rabbit resistant. If you
like sunflowers, Lizzie, this one's for you. Moulin Rouge is
a deep dark burgundy blackish color.
Speaker 2 (17:24):
And it is exactly the name. It is that beautiful
it is.
Speaker 1 (17:28):
It's gorgeous. The clear crystals black pansy is another black pansy.
But I love this one. Green Wizard cone flower. You
have to look it up, Lizzie. Green Wizard cone flowers
Rudebecia occidentalist green wizard, very very cool. It's it looks
(17:49):
like a Mexican hat. But it's black. Great in the garden,
Oh my goodness, black beauty gladiolus. And then also black
charm asiatic lily. Then you have black star edge of
the night kaliilies which will grow in zones eight to eleven.
You want to grow them in the shade. They're very elegant,
make great floral arrangements. And then black hollyhocks, which will
(18:13):
grow here in Florida during the spring and summer, and
you grow them up north during the spring and summer,
a deep purple to black. I'm sorry, black hollihowks grow
here in the wintertime. Excuse me, okay, wintertime. I'll see
a Rosia nigra all right, and in the up north
the spring and summer the ravens zz plant, very cool houseplant.
(18:37):
So those are my black plants that are gorgeous. Did
you see the did you? Did you look up green wizard.
Speaker 2 (18:46):
It's very interesting, isn't it cool?
Speaker 1 (18:48):
You know?
Speaker 4 (18:49):
To be honest, if you if you look at it
and you like, you know, the sunflowers and the daisies
and the black eyed Susans and stuff like that, yeah,
I would have thought something happened to this and it
didn't produce the petals. But then if you look at it,
you can see there's lots.
Speaker 2 (19:07):
Of little petals, like micro mini petals. It's really cool,
isn't that.
Speaker 1 (19:12):
It's a great garden, a great garages. Yes, very much so.
And so let me go through. So the dolls eyes.
This is an interesting plant. It grows in North America.
You'll find them in the woods. It's called white bainberry,
and it actually looks like eyes of porcelain dolls. But
(19:34):
it can be lethal, so don't eat them, guys. Toxic.
There's a reason why the eyes are on there. It
makes the insects and all the critters scared of it.
So that they don't eat it. So it can give
you indigestion, stomach cramps, burning, cessation in the mouth, hallucinations,
and possible cardiac arrest. Oh death, there you go. So
(19:58):
now there's two trees I got to tell you about, Lizzie.
The Puya Ramundai, which is a vermeliad known as the
Queen of the Andes. Okay, so the andes are really
tall and cold, right fifty foot tall it can get.
But it's known for its sticky seeds that are the
spikes on it that when the birds land on the
(20:19):
tree to feed a rest, it can stick them and
they're stuck on and they just die from being stuck
on the plant. There is also another one called Pisonia tree.
It's called the bird catcher, and the seeds of the
bird catcher personia are so sticky and so big they're
(20:40):
about the size of your thumbnail, and they get on
the birds and they weigh the birds down so much
that the birds fall to the ground and can't fly
and they just starve to death. Okay, that's great, it is.
And so the birds die in the trees. They build
nests in the trees and then get the seeds on them,
and their mummified corpses look like the branches like a
(21:03):
macabre Christmas tree ornament. Is that not creepy?
Speaker 2 (21:06):
Creepy? Creepy, that's creepy.
Speaker 1 (21:08):
Then there's also the Devil's fingers stinkhorn and it is
red and it looks really really creepy. You have to
watch the video of it opening up. It's a fungus
mushroom and it's in from Tasmania, New Zealand and Australia.
It's just really cool to watch.
Speaker 2 (21:25):
Of course, where else was it like that they come from?
Speaker 1 (21:29):
So that was really cool. But I want to talk
about the oleander when we come back. It's very important.
But then there's also this is the last one I
got a little bit minute here. Xylaria polymorpha is called
dead man's fingers and dead man's toes and oh my gosh, Lizzie,
it looks just like fingers and toes sticking out from
(21:50):
underneath wood or out of the ground, coming up out
of the ground nature and yeah, and it's grewsome looking.
They're saprophobic because that means they're coming out of decomposition
decayne wood. And when you see the pictures you'll just
creep out. We're going to be back with more better
Lawns and Gardens. It's time for you to phone us
with your gardening question. Your text messages one triple eight
(22:13):
four five five two nine sixty seven, where you can
text two three six eight zero. This Saturday morning, you're
listening to Better Lawns and Gardens. I'm Teresa Watkins, and
this is Florida's Talk and Entertainment Network, and welcome back
(22:38):
to Better Lawns and Gardens. I'm Teresa Watkins, and we
are talking about really really disgusting plants and for Halloween
and murderous plants and trees and dangerous and I showed
you those dead man's toes and fingers.
Speaker 4 (22:55):
And it legit looks like fingers coming out underneath like
a law or through the ground. Had I seen that,
that would have in real life, out in the forest
or whatsoever I'd freaking out in my backyard, that would
have I would have I would have been like a
thrown up that peace sign and I would have been gone.
Speaker 1 (23:12):
Exactly what can you be doing right now in your yard? Well,
it's the final kind of season to prune everything before wintertime.
We are expected to have a warm winter. But when
you prune plants, you know, cut them in a hedge
or prune them back. They that stimulates growth, and you
want to have that growth hardened off before the first freezes,
(23:34):
which we get right around mid December, okay, and so
then January we really get some serious freezes. Uh that
could damage you know, new new growth. So you want
to have the final hedging and trimming done now. Okay.
Do not be trimming any azalea's, buga villas, Camellias, guardinas,
and points setti is right now. No trimming of those.
(23:56):
And Lourer pedulums are blooming beautifully right now. If your
Laura pedulum, your burgundy Laura pedlum does not is not
full of really beautiful pink flowers, then you cut it
at the wrong time of the year. If you do
not know when to cut your shrubs, it is always
good and acceptable to prune them after they finish blooming.
(24:20):
So when they finish blooming, you can cut them back
and it starts the new process, the new growth over again.
Let's go to Eileen and Windemere. Good morning, Eileen, how
can I help you?
Speaker 2 (24:30):
Good morning?
Speaker 5 (24:31):
Good morning. I love listening to you every Saturday. And
I have a question. Sure, I love I love my
Christmas cactus, but someone has told me there is a
plant that is a Thanksgiving cactus. Is that true?
Speaker 1 (24:47):
Yes, it is. There's a thanks Well, you'll find them
in the stores if they're blooming. Now there are Thanksgiving cactuses. Okay,
so there's three different types of the succulent plants. The
kind of Christmas cactus. I don't have the genus name
of it beforehand, but there's a Christmas cactus, there's a
(25:07):
Thanksgiving cactus, and there's an Easter cactus. And actually, and
the Thanksgiving cactus looks like a fork, so if you
will see look at the shape of the leaf, it
will look like actual fork times. And then the Christmas cactus,
the leaves look like Santa's belly is rounded. And then
(25:30):
the Easter cactus blooms in the springtime. So it's really
easy to tell that. And so what I'll do today
I lean for you is I will post on our
Facebook page the better Lawns and Gardens. I will post
how to identify the cactuses.
Speaker 5 (25:46):
Wonderful, thank you, And would you have any idea where
I should go to look?
Speaker 1 (25:50):
I would look at Yes, I would look in nurseries,
the mom and pop nurseries, Okay, like quality where you're
located in windomere Quality Green Specialists in DeLand, we'll have
some also Appenberry's in Orlando. But I would also look
in the the box stores too as well.
Speaker 5 (26:10):
Okay, very good, thank you very much.
Speaker 1 (26:13):
You're welcome, Ilene, thank you for listening. I appreciate that.
Speaker 4 (26:15):
Okay, So what crazy about that? I didn't realize that, I,
like everyone, see, see that's not a dumb question. See
she had a genius question because I too thought there
was only one Christmas cactus.
Speaker 2 (26:29):
That was it? Not even in Easter.
Speaker 4 (26:31):
I just thought, oh, it just blues then, right, Okay,
So then I showed Teresa a few years ago, Oh,
look at my Christmas cactus. I watch because that's a
Thanksgiving cactus. I said, get out of my face for
crazy talk, and she said no. Then she explained the
fork thing, and I said, I own nothing but Thanksgiving.
I've been I'm going back. I'm going to talk to
the box store about this. I've been Shenanigans have been
(26:53):
a fool or even pulled on me.
Speaker 9 (26:56):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (26:56):
No, it actually looked like fork times and it does.
And then the Christmas cactus has the rounded leave sides
and it looks like Santa's belly, and so that's pretty cool. Okay.
So oleanders oleanders have been a popular conservatory greenhouse plant,
very popular in the Victorian period. It is a vigorous
(27:19):
grower in the warm sub tropical regions. It's the shrub
that large shrubs that you see alongside I four and
it's most commonly grown as a shrub, but it can
be made into a tree. It comes in colors of white, red,
and pink, but it's toxic, very toxic. The plant is
(27:40):
tolerant of poor soils, intense heat, salt spray, which is
why you see it along the ocean, and it does.
It can sustain drought and it will flower and grow
more vigorously with water, but it doesn't need a lot
of water. So growing up, I heard the stories about
oleanders being poisonous and that the family in Tampa was
(28:02):
on the beach and they used oleanders sticks the stems
that you know to cook hot dogs. Have you ever
heard that story and you heard they all died? Yes? Okay.
Then there's a story of the boy scouts that used
the sticks to cook hot dogs and rots marshmallows, and
they died.
Speaker 2 (28:20):
Yes, that's what I heard.
Speaker 1 (28:22):
All urban legend never happened. They're really there. There was
a couple of deaths for children in California that ate
some leaves, but they were very young children and so
they did not survive. But there really hasn't been any
deaths from the oleander from those those two stories are
(28:42):
urban legends. And so yes, it is very very toxic,
but they are good plants and if you take care
of them. I mean there's a lot of plants in nature.
The majority of plants in nature, if you eat them,
are not going to do you very well. And so
oleander is the official flower of the city of Hiroshima, Japan,
(29:06):
because it was the first to bloom following the atomic
bombing of the city in nineteen forty five. Wow. It's
also thought to be the plant that they used to
burn as the oracle of Delphi so that they got
they could come up with the prophecies. But it creates hallucinations.
(29:30):
So here's what I need you to do, because I
will tell you. One day at my house and I
live off I four, I saw the prison crew who
was out doing service, and there was a guard there
with a gun, and they were in their little jumpsuit
in the community, yes, exactly, and they were cutting back
(29:50):
the oleanders. None of them were wearing gloves, and they
were even allowed to be smoking and touching their lips
after their fingers had been touching the oleander. I almost
freaked out, but I'm gonna come back. We've got just
a few more minutes. We could take your phone calls
one triple eight four or five five two nine sixty
(30:11):
seven or text two three six eight zero, and I
will be back with precautions to take how to take
care of your oleander in your garden safely. It's Saturday morning.
You're listening to Better Lawns and Gardens. I'm Teresa Watkins,
Florida's Talking Entertainment Network. Welcome back to Better Lawns and Gardens.
(30:39):
If you'd like to give us a call one triple
eight four or five five two nine sixty seven, or
you can text two three six eight zero if you
would like to have any of the information that I
talked about today in the first hour. The second hour,
you can go back and listen to the podcast which
is on Better Lawns dot com or even the iHeart app.
(31:01):
If you go to Better Lawns dot Com on iHeart,
you can hear all of the shows anywhere where you
listen to a podcast twenty four to seven around the world.
I'd like to say hi to Ashburn, Virginia. Ashburn, Virginia
has been really doing a great things with our podcast,
and Singapore and even Texas and Brazil welcome to Better
(31:26):
Lawns and Gardens. I'd like to give a big shout
out to the Green Thumbs Garden Club in Sola Vita,
who was very good and kind to my weird, wild
and wicked plants for them this week. They were very
good about it, very good. They were very good. Now
I was talking about oleanders, and do you know, Lizzie
(31:46):
that the actual oleander flower was referenced by plying Plini
and it was used to produce a hallsogenic hallucinogenic honey.
Can you imagine a hallucinogenic honey? And that's interesting. But oleanders,
(32:08):
you need to take precautions when you have them in
your yard. Okay, they are safe when you know you're
handling them correctly. Always wear gardening gloves when dealing with oleander.
Always wear gardening gloves. Afterwards, wash your hands immediately, and
even though you're wearing gloves, still wash your hands. Then
(32:29):
you want to clean and sterilize your gardening tools if
they come into contact with oleander. You do not want
to burn oleander clippings because the fumes can be toxic.
Any part of the plant you do not want to burn.
You do not want to put oleander in a compost heap.
And if you need to dispose of the oleander clippings
(32:51):
or any debris from oleander wearing gloves, you put it
in a trash bag and then wash your hands. Oh okay, okay, Yes,
you want to make sure that you are being very
very careful.
Speaker 4 (33:05):
And we're also the time of year, like you had
to mention about the the old myth going around about,
you know, the the cup scouts and the people on
the beaches and skewers to you know, do s'mores and
cocotte dogs. Will do your research because it's from what
I've seen you need to like avoid like pine obviously
because of the sap, but like black cherry and elder
(33:27):
laurel oaks stuff like that. So I mean I would
either buy the right skewers, or if you're out in
the woods, look for maybe like.
Speaker 1 (33:35):
Oak, yes, yes, oaks. You got to be very or
just buy skewers at the grocery store. That's safe. Bamboo bamboo,
bamboo is very safe. But bamboo safe, you know, to
use for skewers and things like that. We don't want
to go into survival mode on the beach. Do you
ever watch those survival shows?
Speaker 2 (33:53):
I try not to.
Speaker 1 (33:54):
Yeah, I've never watched them. All right, so what can
you be doing right What can you be planting right now? Well,
herbs do very well in the cooler temperatures, so you
could be planting annis and basil and bay laurel, forage
and cardamen srvell and chives, coriander and dylan fennel and
you know sometimes you're dylan fenyl. They only last a season. Yeah,
(34:16):
you have to replant them, especially if you want the
butterflies to attract the butterflies. Go ahead and replant garlic
and lavender and then lemon, balm and lovage and mint
and asturtiums regano. My oregano is just going crazy, and
my rosemary is so huge, sage, sweet marjoram tarragon, thyme
(34:36):
and watercress, and so it is just a great time
to be planting plants in your garden. And you know,
just want to make sure that when you're gauging your plants,
if you don't know what to buy, you want to
assess your site first. Make sure you know what kind
of sunlight you have, which may differ between the front
(34:59):
yard and the back and the side yards. You may
have three different sunlight conditions in your yard, so you
want to put the right plant in the right place
to get the right type of sunlight. You want to
assess your soil. Get a soil test every two years.
It's recommended to get a soil test because pH changes
and your soil conditions changed too as well. And you
(35:23):
want to find out the nutrients so you know how
to fertilize your site your landscape properly, and then also moisture.
How much moisture does your soil hold on to do
you live near a lake front, low lying area, an
area like let's see I lean but Nikki in Melbourne,
(35:46):
she had those two homes where the gutters were all
coming down in the same place. That's going to produce
you know, kind of disease issues right there. It's not
going to dry.
Speaker 4 (35:53):
Out, I think, and that actually makes sense. Or if
you one of those called those old lily looking things.
Speaker 1 (35:59):
That grow, oh dollar weed, dollar weed, Yeah, dollar weed
is an aquatic plant. Yes, it only grows in water, shorelines, lakes.
Speaker 4 (36:08):
Or your yard.
Speaker 1 (36:09):
If you got to water, if you're watering too much,
you will have dollar weed. So it's a great sign.
When you see dollar weed and raised planters in the city,
you know the city comes along in the raised planters.
I was watching yesterday medians that had gotten pouring rain
the night before. We had some good rain this week,
(36:30):
and the irrigation systems are going on, and there's just
no need for that, no need for it all. What
else can you be planting flowers? You can be planting
all the beautiful flowers you see in the stores. It's
a little too early to put down rice seed. I
would put rice seed down for your turf. I would
put it down mid November. Go ahead and put it
(36:51):
down then, and it should do just fine. Also too,
vegetables you can be growing right now, beets and broccoli,
brussels sprouts and cabbage, carrots and cauliflower, celery and collars,
col robbie and lettuce, mustard and onions, peas and potatoes, ridikio,
radish and rhubarb. In North Florida, roquette and rode vegas
(37:14):
love rude vegas, spinach and strawberries. If you'd like to
grow strawberries to have in your garden, now's the time
you can go ahead and plant seeds or transplants and
they will do well all all winter long. You know,
the strawberry festival is in January for in the Tampa area,
So now's the time to put the strawberries down Swiss
(37:36):
shard and turn ups. That's good, and so if you'd
like to get the newsletter, you can go on to
my website. On both websites, you can go if you
want to be advised of the trips when they're coming
up and see and get notices of when the costs
and the dates are put up. You can go to
Better Lawns Not Sorry. You can go to Better Laans
(37:58):
dot com and get the show. You can go to
my website which is she Dash Consulting dot com. She
Dash Consulting dot com, or you can go to Art
and Bloomgardentours dot com and go to our Facebook page,
Lizzy Facebook Page. We'd love for them to like us, Yes, definitely,
and we'd love to hear from you. You can post
on it, you can send us questions on our Facebook
(38:20):
page and we would love to hear from you too
as well.
Speaker 4 (38:24):
And if something happens and you like our loyal listener
Eileen from Polk City, if you somehow did not receive
the newsletter and you checked your spam, just go in
and re sign up again because we've had a few
worldly technologiable blackouse seems like so yeah, so it's reset
(38:46):
a lot of stuff.
Speaker 2 (38:47):
So yeah.
Speaker 1 (38:48):
One of the things I saw today or not or
saw this week in landscapes is edging. Edging is so
important to a landscape. Makes the gardens and your bed
look neat and and it just adds a simple elegance
to the garden when you edge. I prefer metal edging.
I'm not so hot on the plastic. I don't like it.
(39:10):
It just curves too much and the lawnmower pushes it
too easily. But edging your sidewalks and your plant beds
now is very important. Adding mulch, you want to make
sure that the ground stays warm during wintertime, now is
a good time to add mulch. If you already have mulch,
you do not need to apply three inches down Again,
(39:33):
we don't want these mulch mountains in your landscape and
we don't want to see the mulch high above the sidewalk.
That's because when it rains, it's just gonna flush your
sidewalk away. Yes, don't fill your side your mulch beds up,
but only to It's back to three inches again, so
your moult should come to the height of your sidewalk
(39:55):
and then it doesn't wash away. So if you are
getting that problem is probably because your sand is your
soil is too high in your bed Do you want
to either take it out you can replenish the most there,
but also to make sure you're planting the beds so
that it comes up to the mulch comes up to
the sidewalk level. You can start pansies another winter annual seeds,
(40:19):
now stock and foxglove, hollyhocks and pansies, petunias. All these beautiful,
beautiful spring flowers that you can grow up north in
the springtime and summer, you can grow here in the wintertime.
So check those out. This is a great time to
divide and your perennials and your bulb plantings. And then
(40:44):
also too, if you have water lilies and bog plants
in your water feature, this is a good time to
go ahead and feed those two as well. Replanting your
beds with cool seasoned annuals. You can do that and
then look for beautiful all hanging baskets, lots of beautiful
fall hanging blasts. Lizzie, we want to thank all of
(41:05):
our callers today, Jerry and Eileen and Carol and Eileen
Part two, Eileen Part two in Melbourne. Mike, thank you
so much on Phil, but also all of our listeners.
If you do not get both hours of Better Lawns
and Gardens, contact your radio station and ask for it,
but you can always hear it on Iheartradios. It's Saturday
(41:26):
morning from the Summit Responsible Solution Studios. I'm Teresa Watkins
and this is Florida's talk and entertainment network. And if you.
Speaker 4 (41:33):
Miss anything and you would like to play a recap
and go to Better Lawns dot com. That's Better Lawns
dot com and you can catch all of our episodes
there along with if you go to the Facebook page
and Instagram Better Lawns and Gardens two
Heel and her magical technology.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
Press and buttons.
Speaker 1 (00:04):
There you goes. We've had a great show today. We've
had a lot of fun. It is all about you,
and we're talking about black plants and murderous plants. I've
got a whole bunch of plans to give to you
that are kind of interesting to note and how scary
and creepy they are. Uh. But we also are taking
(00:24):
your phone calls one triple eight four five five two
nine six seven one triple eight four five y five
two nine sixty seven, or you can text two three
six eight zero. We had a busy first hour. We
have a great second hour coming up for you. And
so let's get to the dirty word of the day.
Speaker 3 (00:47):
And now it's time for the dirty word of the
Day on Better Lawns and Gardens with Teresa Watkins.
Speaker 1 (00:53):
And the dirty word of the day is Antho cyonins
antho sionins. Now, black plants really do not have the
color of black. Okay, that black pigment does not exist
in nature, but actually comes from the very deep tones
of purple, red, and blue, and the shades are mainly
(01:14):
caused by anthocyanins and a pigment responsible for blue, and purples,
and so this is depending on the pH they may
appear red, pink, purple, blue, or black. First used in
eighteen thirty five, the German pharmacists Ludwig clamor Mark Quat
(01:34):
named a chemical compound that gives flowers a blue color.
Now Anthokeian is what he named it. Food plants rich
in anthocyanins include the blueberry, raspberry, black rice, and black soybean.
Some of the colors of autumn leaves are derived from anthocyanins,
(01:55):
like the sweet gum, which has the deep purple and
dark red leaves during the fall. Anthocyanins belong to a
parent class of molecules called flavonoids. They can occur in
all tissues of higher plants, including leaves, stems, roots, flowers,
(02:15):
and fruits. Anthocyanins are odorous and moderately astringent. Although approved
as food and beverage colorants, they are not approved for
use of food additives, so there's no conclusive evidence that
antocyonins have any effect on human biology or diseases. Antocyanins
(02:35):
give the pansies their dark purple pigmentation. In other flowers,
the coloration is provided by an accumulation of antocyanins that
attract a wide variety of animal pollinators, while in fruits,
the same coloration may aid in seed dispersal by attracting
herbivorous animals to the potentially edible fruits bearing those red, blue, black, pink,
(03:01):
or purple colors. Antocyonins have a protective roll in plants
against extreme temperatures. Antocyanins and tomato plants protect against cold stress,
leading to a lower rate of cell death in leaves,
the asorbit's pattern responsible for the red color of antocyanins
may also be complementary to that of green chlorophyll. It
(03:23):
may protect the leaves from attacks by herbivores that may
be attracted to the green color. So that's the dirty
word of the day is Anthocyanins is which causes the
black color pigmentation in flowers. Now, the evolutionary behind the
(03:43):
flower colors is to attract pollinators. That's why flowers have
different colors. They do attract pollinators. Bright colors like yellow
and red attract bees and butterflies and birds, while a
darker flower attracts specific insects like moths and beetles and
fly The less attraction to pollinator limits their ability to breed,
(04:04):
making them very rare in nature. So black flowers that's
why you don't see a lot. They're also cooler in
I mean, they're also more comfortable in cooler climates. So
that's the dirty word of the day. One triple eight
four five, five, two nine sixty seven where you can
text two three six eight zero.
Speaker 2 (04:24):
Okay, So I have a question for you. I'm sure.
Speaker 4 (04:27):
So we went we went from like the thousand degrees
of degrees of HG double hockey six over the summer
to very nice weather I mean for Florida, Okay, sure
to within this last week it's gotten a little bit
cooler and it's supposed to be really cool next week.
Speaker 2 (04:46):
Is that why? Between the two?
Speaker 4 (04:49):
Is that why my garden is like struggling to produce,
Like it started to produce and I've fertilized them, but
they started producing. I started getting okra, and then all
of a sudden, instead of taking like one day to
two days to grow really long and fast, it's going, Yeah,
I like being really small at this moment, and it's
taking like almost like three four or five days.
Speaker 1 (05:10):
Well, I will tell you it's also because of the
shorter days.
Speaker 4 (05:15):
Okay, Shrek said that. Now, now I wanted you know
what I don't like when he's right.
Speaker 1 (05:22):
Shorter days. So that so Okra likes full sun eight hours,
you know, nine hours, ten hours a day, and we're
getting shorter and shorter hours.
Speaker 2 (05:31):
So that's what he said.
Speaker 1 (05:32):
Nature is as it's cruel. You don't understand, Like you
buy frozen okra. I don't. I don't like.
Speaker 5 (05:41):
I don't.
Speaker 2 (05:41):
I don't even like ogra.
Speaker 4 (05:43):
Okay, I mean, if it's frieda and it's a good
cut fried okra for breakfast, yeah, yeah, yeah, I'll snag some,
but I don't want to cook it.
Speaker 2 (05:51):
I don't. I don't just sit around and eat it
and munch on it. But my thing is is that.
Speaker 4 (05:56):
Other people in this building love okra and love my gardening,
and God blessing me with having all of this stuff
to shut down people.
Speaker 2 (06:03):
Yes, now I can't.
Speaker 1 (06:04):
Now you have a reputation and you can't produce. Hey, no,
pun intended.
Speaker 4 (06:08):
I would bet sure to have that kind of reputation.
Then I guess any other one.
Speaker 1 (06:11):
There you go. We're going to be back with some
beautiful black flowers, all right, So stay tuned. You're listening
to better lines and gardens from the Summit Responsible Solution Studios.
I'm Teresa Watkins and this is Florida's Talk and Entertainment Network.
Speaker 6 (06:37):
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Walk facing traffic if there's no sidewalk, and always cross
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make eye contact with drivers. Your safety starts with being
alert and visible. This message is brought to you by
the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.
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Speaker 1 (08:08):
Excuse me, what happened to.
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My grocery store?
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Speaker 1 (09:36):
This welcome back to better lawns and gardens. If you
have a gardening question one triple eight four five five
two nine sixty seven, or you can text two three
(09:57):
six eight zero. Just wanted to update again on our
art and bloom garden tours. In April next year, we
are celebrating the two hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the
United States, the semi Quin Centennial, and we are going
on a revolutionary garden tour and it is going to
be just beautiful Virginia and DC. We're going to go
(10:20):
to places like Mount Vernon and Monticello and some wonderful
Virginia gardens, private gardens, and then also Williamsburg, which is
celebrating its one hundredth year next year, so big celebrations
and gardens that will only be open, private gardens that
will only be open next year for one or two days,
(10:41):
and they they're not open ever again.
Speaker 4 (10:43):
I was gonna ask you about that because I know
you had mentioned that earlier about that this is your
only chance, this is their.
Speaker 1 (10:50):
Only chance to get to see some of these gardens.
They're not going to be open again, so very exciting.
And that is in April, and then in May we
are going to the Chelsea Flowers Show and the Best
of English Gardens, which is also a wonderful, wonderful trip.
And then in June we're going to the Newport Flower
Show and Martha's Vineyard and we're going to head into
(11:12):
one day into Boston, an exciting trip. I will tell
you the gardens that we will see and the homes
we will see are going to be amazing. In July
we go to the garden Walk Buffalo and also Niagara
Falls in Canada, and then in August we are doing
the best of the artistic French gardens. And in September
(11:34):
we are doing the Brandywine Valley and going to Longwood
Chanticleer Winters and then also some private gardens like the
Fabulous Garden of Jenny Rose, Carrie and Northview and so
we'll be that's going to be very exciting. And then
in October to celebrate Halloween, we are doing the Ethereal
(11:55):
Gardens of New Orleans, and so if you're interested in
any of those tours, we would love to have you along.
We take small groups, only about fifteen people, and we
just really go into the gardening and geek out at plants.
Speaker 2 (12:12):
I'm excited.
Speaker 4 (12:13):
Okay, I know you already said up, but just in case,
where do you go to get the information in the
costs and how to sign up?
Speaker 1 (12:19):
Get the information and the cost and get put on
a wait list Because we're doing some of the tours
are not up yet, but we're still getting them scheduled.
So it will be. You can go to art in
bloomgardentours dot com. Art in bloomgardentours dot com. So let's
go to Jerry in Citrus County real quick, and then
we'll go into our black plants. How can I help you? Jerry?
Speaker 9 (12:42):
Good morning, Oh, good morning, Heza. I have a question
on Zelle. Yes, how you got here in this area
and the variety of they have for this area. Okay,
I only had a reference from the South Florida, Victor.
Speaker 1 (12:57):
And so forth right, No, no, that's fine. So rose,
any variety of roselle will grow in Citrus County, Okay.
It grows from nine to twelve and in the Caribbean
in South America, so it will grow. It's the Hibiscus sabadifera,
and it is in the mallow family, and the calluses,
which are the buds that before they open, the red
(13:20):
part of the plant, which is really good because this
is a Halloween planet. It's really deep in dark and burgundy.
It's what's used to make the teas and the jams.
So that's primarily the edible part, although you can eat
the leaves. Jerry, okay, And I'm being very careful when
I talk to you about this because you like to
eat everything, and so the leaves can be eaten raw
in salads or cooked like spinach, and they have a
(13:43):
little tart of flavor. You can use the seeds and
put them in oil. And so it's very heat loving
and it's sensitive to frost, so it could freeze where
you are. Okay, nine to eleven, and it's considered an
annual zones. Further up, it likes full sun and it
(14:03):
prefers drained, well drained soil, which is good for where
you are a good citrus county. And you can plant
it anytime. Uh and uh. So I would plant it
in a pot right now for you, Jerry, and then
put it in the ground in the springtime.
Speaker 9 (14:19):
Okay, Okay, I got that pot springtime right.
Speaker 1 (14:23):
Any variety will grow where you are, so if you
see one, grab it. It'll be good.
Speaker 9 (14:28):
Well good, Thank you. I appreciate that. For Lisa.
Speaker 1 (14:31):
You're welcome. It's nice to hear from you. You're good.
That's a good plant for Halloween.
Speaker 9 (14:36):
Yeah, that's what I need.
Speaker 1 (14:39):
Thank you so much. Okay, So I'm going to I'm
gonna say these slowly, but if you want to get
a pen and paper, or you can listen to the
podcast and write it down.
Speaker 2 (14:49):
Better lawns dot com.
Speaker 1 (14:51):
You can replants, you can replay it. So these are
all black plants that will grow here in Florida or
elsewhere in the world, but these are the most popular
black plants. Black Rose a onium. A onium is a
type of succulent that produces large rosettes of reddish black
leaves and they get to be about six to eight
(15:12):
inches in the width. So these are really cool cuculent plants.
Black Rose aonium. Black velvet alocasia, which I mentioned in
the first hour. Black velvet alocasia is gorgeous black magic
elephant ears and it's Colocasia esculenta. Colocasia esculenta black magic.
(15:33):
The heart shaped leaves can grow up to two feet long.
It's a big plant, and the black Magic's variety is
a dusty blackish purple. It's great. It's hardy in zones
eight to ten. It's great for water gardens, and it's
also a great plant if you love to do floral
displays with dark colors. The black bat flower the taka shantria,
(15:56):
is a wonderful plant that grows in the same conditions
as orgs in the ground in shade, and then the
black Prince Etcheviia ecaviria. Black Prince is another succulent black
tulips for those of you up north. It's got deep black,
velvety petals and it needs chilling. If you want to
(16:17):
grow them in the south for a few weeks, then
you need to chill them in the refrigerator for twelve
or ten to twelve weeks. Black Magic Chocolate Cosmos, which
is a spring summer annual. It has a fragrance that
smells like chocolate and it is really dark. It looks
lovely black devil pansies. They're gorgeous too as well, deep
(16:39):
dark black, and they're about two inches across, very very
cool gardens for winter gardens here in Florida up north,
you can grow them in the spring in summer. Black
magic BlackBerry petunias. They grow ten to fifteen inches wide.
They are great in hanging baskets and they're blanketed with
big velvety looms in dusky black with subtle purple and
(17:03):
red undertones. If you love iris in zones three to nine,
one of the darkest black iris is called Before the
Storm and it is deer and rabbit resistant. If you
like sunflowers, Lizzie, this one's for you. Moulin Rouge is
a deep dark burgundy blackish color.
Speaker 2 (17:24):
And it is exactly the name. It is that beautiful
it is.
Speaker 1 (17:28):
It's gorgeous. The clear crystals black pansy is another black pansy.
But I love this one. Green Wizard cone flower. You
have to look it up, Lizzie. Green Wizard cone flowers
Rudebecia occidentalist green wizard, very very cool. It's it looks
(17:49):
like a Mexican hat. But it's black. Great in the garden,
Oh my goodness, black beauty gladiolus. And then also black
charm asiatic lily. Then you have black star edge of
the night kaliilies which will grow in zones eight to eleven.
You want to grow them in the shade. They're very elegant,
make great floral arrangements. And then black hollyhocks, which will
(18:13):
grow here in Florida during the spring and summer, and
you grow them up north during the spring and summer,
a deep purple to black. I'm sorry, black hollihowks grow
here in the wintertime. Excuse me, okay, wintertime. I'll see
a Rosia nigra all right, and in the up north
the spring and summer the ravens zz plant, very cool houseplant.
(18:37):
So those are my black plants that are gorgeous. Did
you see the did you? Did you look up green wizard.
Speaker 2 (18:46):
It's very interesting, isn't it cool?
Speaker 1 (18:48):
You know?
Speaker 4 (18:49):
To be honest, if you if you look at it
and you like, you know, the sunflowers and the daisies
and the black eyed Susans and stuff like that, yeah,
I would have thought something happened to this and it
didn't produce the petals. But then if you look at it,
you can see there's lots.
Speaker 2 (19:07):
Of little petals, like micro mini petals. It's really cool,
isn't that.
Speaker 1 (19:12):
It's a great garden, a great garages. Yes, very much so.
And so let me go through. So the dolls eyes.
This is an interesting plant. It grows in North America.
You'll find them in the woods. It's called white bainberry,
and it actually looks like eyes of porcelain dolls. But
(19:34):
it can be lethal, so don't eat them, guys. Toxic.
There's a reason why the eyes are on there. It
makes the insects and all the critters scared of it.
So that they don't eat it. So it can give
you indigestion, stomach cramps, burning, cessation in the mouth, hallucinations,
and possible cardiac arrest. Oh death, there you go. So
(19:58):
now there's two trees I got to tell you about, Lizzie.
The Puya Ramundai, which is a vermeliad known as the
Queen of the Andes. Okay, so the andes are really
tall and cold, right fifty foot tall it can get.
But it's known for its sticky seeds that are the
spikes on it that when the birds land on the
(20:19):
tree to feed a rest, it can stick them and
they're stuck on and they just die from being stuck
on the plant. There is also another one called Pisonia tree.
It's called the bird catcher, and the seeds of the
bird catcher personia are so sticky and so big they're
(20:40):
about the size of your thumbnail, and they get on
the birds and they weigh the birds down so much
that the birds fall to the ground and can't fly
and they just starve to death. Okay, that's great, it is.
And so the birds die in the trees. They build
nests in the trees and then get the seeds on them,
and their mummified corpses look like the branches like a
(21:03):
macabre Christmas tree ornament. Is that not creepy?
Speaker 2 (21:06):
Creepy? Creepy, that's creepy.
Speaker 1 (21:08):
Then there's also the Devil's fingers stinkhorn and it is
red and it looks really really creepy. You have to
watch the video of it opening up. It's a fungus
mushroom and it's in from Tasmania, New Zealand and Australia.
It's just really cool to watch.
Speaker 2 (21:25):
Of course, where else was it like that they come from?
Speaker 1 (21:29):
So that was really cool. But I want to talk
about the oleander when we come back. It's very important.
But then there's also this is the last one I
got a little bit minute here. Xylaria polymorpha is called
dead man's fingers and dead man's toes and oh my gosh, Lizzie,
it looks just like fingers and toes sticking out from
(21:50):
underneath wood or out of the ground, coming up out
of the ground nature and yeah, and it's grewsome looking.
They're saprophobic because that means they're coming out of decomposition
decayne wood. And when you see the pictures you'll just
creep out. We're going to be back with more better
Lawns and Gardens. It's time for you to phone us
with your gardening question. Your text messages one triple eight
(22:13):
four five five two nine sixty seven, where you can
text two three six eight zero. This Saturday morning, you're
listening to Better Lawns and Gardens. I'm Teresa Watkins, and
this is Florida's Talk and Entertainment Network, and welcome back
(22:38):
to Better Lawns and Gardens. I'm Teresa Watkins, and we
are talking about really really disgusting plants and for Halloween
and murderous plants and trees and dangerous and I showed
you those dead man's toes and fingers.
Speaker 4 (22:55):
And it legit looks like fingers coming out underneath like
a law or through the ground. Had I seen that,
that would have in real life, out in the forest
or whatsoever I'd freaking out in my backyard, that would
have I would have I would have been like a
thrown up that peace sign and I would have been gone.
Speaker 1 (23:12):
Exactly what can you be doing right now in your yard? Well,
it's the final kind of season to prune everything before wintertime.
We are expected to have a warm winter. But when
you prune plants, you know, cut them in a hedge
or prune them back. They that stimulates growth, and you
want to have that growth hardened off before the first freezes,
(23:34):
which we get right around mid December, okay, and so
then January we really get some serious freezes. Uh that
could damage you know, new new growth. So you want
to have the final hedging and trimming done now. Okay.
Do not be trimming any azalea's, buga villas, Camellias, guardinas,
and points setti is right now. No trimming of those.
(23:56):
And Lourer pedulums are blooming beautifully right now. If your
Laura pedulum, your burgundy Laura pedlum does not is not
full of really beautiful pink flowers, then you cut it
at the wrong time of the year. If you do
not know when to cut your shrubs, it is always
good and acceptable to prune them after they finish blooming.
(24:20):
So when they finish blooming, you can cut them back
and it starts the new process, the new growth over again.
Let's go to Eileen and Windemere. Good morning, Eileen, how
can I help you?
Speaker 2 (24:30):
Good morning?
Speaker 5 (24:31):
Good morning. I love listening to you every Saturday. And
I have a question. Sure, I love I love my
Christmas cactus, but someone has told me there is a
plant that is a Thanksgiving cactus. Is that true?
Speaker 1 (24:47):
Yes, it is. There's a thanks Well, you'll find them
in the stores if they're blooming. Now there are Thanksgiving cactuses. Okay,
so there's three different types of the succulent plants. The
kind of Christmas cactus. I don't have the genus name
of it beforehand, but there's a Christmas cactus, there's a
(25:07):
Thanksgiving cactus, and there's an Easter cactus. And actually, and
the Thanksgiving cactus looks like a fork, so if you
will see look at the shape of the leaf, it
will look like actual fork times. And then the Christmas cactus,
the leaves look like Santa's belly is rounded. And then
(25:30):
the Easter cactus blooms in the springtime. So it's really
easy to tell that. And so what I'll do today
I lean for you is I will post on our
Facebook page the better Lawns and Gardens. I will post
how to identify the cactuses.
Speaker 5 (25:46):
Wonderful, thank you, And would you have any idea where
I should go to look?
Speaker 1 (25:50):
I would look at Yes, I would look in nurseries,
the mom and pop nurseries, Okay, like quality where you're
located in windomere Quality Green Specialists in DeLand, we'll have
some also Appenberry's in Orlando. But I would also look
in the the box stores too as well.
Speaker 5 (26:10):
Okay, very good, thank you very much.
Speaker 1 (26:13):
You're welcome, Ilene, thank you for listening. I appreciate that.
Speaker 4 (26:15):
Okay, So what crazy about that? I didn't realize that, I,
like everyone, see, see that's not a dumb question. See
she had a genius question because I too thought there
was only one Christmas cactus.
Speaker 2 (26:29):
That was it? Not even in Easter.
Speaker 4 (26:31):
I just thought, oh, it just blues then, right, Okay,
So then I showed Teresa a few years ago, Oh,
look at my Christmas cactus. I watch because that's a
Thanksgiving cactus. I said, get out of my face for
crazy talk, and she said no. Then she explained the
fork thing, and I said, I own nothing but Thanksgiving.
I've been I'm going back. I'm going to talk to
the box store about this. I've been Shenanigans have been
(26:53):
a fool or even pulled on me.
Speaker 9 (26:56):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (26:56):
No, it actually looked like fork times and it does.
And then the Christmas cactus has the rounded leave sides
and it looks like Santa's belly, and so that's pretty cool. Okay.
So oleanders oleanders have been a popular conservatory greenhouse plant,
very popular in the Victorian period. It is a vigorous
(27:19):
grower in the warm sub tropical regions. It's the shrub
that large shrubs that you see alongside I four and
it's most commonly grown as a shrub, but it can
be made into a tree. It comes in colors of white, red,
and pink, but it's toxic, very toxic. The plant is
(27:40):
tolerant of poor soils, intense heat, salt spray, which is
why you see it along the ocean, and it does.
It can sustain drought and it will flower and grow
more vigorously with water, but it doesn't need a lot
of water. So growing up, I heard the stories about
oleanders being poisonous and that the family in Tampa was
(28:02):
on the beach and they used oleanders sticks the stems
that you know to cook hot dogs. Have you ever
heard that story and you heard they all died? Yes? Okay.
Then there's a story of the boy scouts that used
the sticks to cook hot dogs and rots marshmallows, and
they died.
Speaker 2 (28:20):
Yes, that's what I heard.
Speaker 1 (28:22):
All urban legend never happened. They're really there. There was
a couple of deaths for children in California that ate
some leaves, but they were very young children and so
they did not survive. But there really hasn't been any
deaths from the oleander from those those two stories are
(28:42):
urban legends. And so yes, it is very very toxic,
but they are good plants and if you take care
of them. I mean there's a lot of plants in nature.
The majority of plants in nature, if you eat them,
are not going to do you very well. And so
oleander is the official flower of the city of Hiroshima, Japan,
(29:06):
because it was the first to bloom following the atomic
bombing of the city in nineteen forty five. Wow. It's
also thought to be the plant that they used to
burn as the oracle of Delphi so that they got
they could come up with the prophecies. But it creates hallucinations.
(29:30):
So here's what I need you to do, because I
will tell you. One day at my house and I
live off I four, I saw the prison crew who
was out doing service, and there was a guard there
with a gun, and they were in their little jumpsuit
in the community, yes, exactly, and they were cutting back
(29:50):
the oleanders. None of them were wearing gloves, and they
were even allowed to be smoking and touching their lips
after their fingers had been touching the oleander. I almost
freaked out, but I'm gonna come back. We've got just
a few more minutes. We could take your phone calls
one triple eight four or five five two nine sixty
(30:11):
seven or text two three six eight zero, and I
will be back with precautions to take how to take
care of your oleander in your garden safely. It's Saturday morning.
You're listening to Better Lawns and Gardens. I'm Teresa Watkins,
Florida's Talking Entertainment Network. Welcome back to Better Lawns and Gardens.
(30:39):
If you'd like to give us a call one triple
eight four or five five two nine sixty seven, or
you can text two three six eight zero if you
would like to have any of the information that I
talked about today in the first hour. The second hour,
you can go back and listen to the podcast which
is on Better Lawns dot com or even the iHeart app.
(31:01):
If you go to Better Lawns dot Com on iHeart,
you can hear all of the shows anywhere where you
listen to a podcast twenty four to seven around the world.
I'd like to say hi to Ashburn, Virginia. Ashburn, Virginia
has been really doing a great things with our podcast,
and Singapore and even Texas and Brazil welcome to Better
(31:26):
Lawns and Gardens. I'd like to give a big shout
out to the Green Thumbs Garden Club in Sola Vita,
who was very good and kind to my weird, wild
and wicked plants for them this week. They were very
good about it, very good. They were very good. Now
I was talking about oleanders, and do you know, Lizzie
(31:46):
that the actual oleander flower was referenced by plying Plini
and it was used to produce a hallsogenic hallucinogenic honey.
Can you imagine a hallucinogenic honey? And that's interesting. But oleanders,
(32:08):
you need to take precautions when you have them in
your yard. Okay, they are safe when you know you're
handling them correctly. Always wear gardening gloves when dealing with oleander.
Always wear gardening gloves. Afterwards, wash your hands immediately, and
even though you're wearing gloves, still wash your hands. Then
(32:29):
you want to clean and sterilize your gardening tools if
they come into contact with oleander. You do not want
to burn oleander clippings because the fumes can be toxic.
Any part of the plant you do not want to burn.
You do not want to put oleander in a compost heap.
And if you need to dispose of the oleander clippings
(32:51):
or any debris from oleander wearing gloves, you put it
in a trash bag and then wash your hands. Oh okay, okay, Yes,
you want to make sure that you are being very
very careful.
Speaker 4 (33:05):
And we're also the time of year, like you had
to mention about the the old myth going around about,
you know, the the cup scouts and the people on
the beaches and skewers to you know, do s'mores and
cocotte dogs. Will do your research because it's from what
I've seen you need to like avoid like pine obviously
because of the sap, but like black cherry and elder
(33:27):
laurel oaks stuff like that. So I mean I would
either buy the right skewers, or if you're out in
the woods, look for maybe like.
Speaker 1 (33:35):
Oak, yes, yes, oaks. You got to be very or
just buy skewers at the grocery store. That's safe. Bamboo bamboo,
bamboo is very safe. But bamboo safe, you know, to
use for skewers and things like that. We don't want
to go into survival mode on the beach. Do you
ever watch those survival shows?
Speaker 2 (33:53):
I try not to.
Speaker 1 (33:54):
Yeah, I've never watched them. All right, so what can
you be doing right What can you be planting right now? Well,
herbs do very well in the cooler temperatures, so you
could be planting annis and basil and bay laurel, forage
and cardamen srvell and chives, coriander and dylan fennel and
you know sometimes you're dylan fenyl. They only last a season. Yeah,
(34:16):
you have to replant them, especially if you want the
butterflies to attract the butterflies. Go ahead and replant garlic
and lavender and then lemon, balm and lovage and mint
and asturtiums regano. My oregano is just going crazy, and
my rosemary is so huge, sage, sweet marjoram tarragon, thyme
(34:36):
and watercress, and so it is just a great time
to be planting plants in your garden. And you know,
just want to make sure that when you're gauging your plants,
if you don't know what to buy, you want to
assess your site first. Make sure you know what kind
of sunlight you have, which may differ between the front
(34:59):
yard and the back and the side yards. You may
have three different sunlight conditions in your yard, so you
want to put the right plant in the right place
to get the right type of sunlight. You want to
assess your soil. Get a soil test every two years.
It's recommended to get a soil test because pH changes
and your soil conditions changed too as well. And you
(35:23):
want to find out the nutrients so you know how
to fertilize your site your landscape properly, and then also moisture.
How much moisture does your soil hold on to do
you live near a lake front, low lying area, an
area like let's see I lean but Nikki in Melbourne,
(35:46):
she had those two homes where the gutters were all
coming down in the same place. That's going to produce
you know, kind of disease issues right there. It's not
going to dry.
Speaker 4 (35:53):
Out, I think, and that actually makes sense. Or if
you one of those called those old lily looking things.
Speaker 1 (35:59):
That grow, oh dollar weed, dollar weed, Yeah, dollar weed
is an aquatic plant. Yes, it only grows in water, shorelines, lakes.
Speaker 4 (36:08):
Or your yard.
Speaker 1 (36:09):
If you got to water, if you're watering too much,
you will have dollar weed. So it's a great sign.
When you see dollar weed and raised planters in the city,
you know the city comes along in the raised planters.
I was watching yesterday medians that had gotten pouring rain
the night before. We had some good rain this week,
(36:30):
and the irrigation systems are going on, and there's just
no need for that, no need for it all. What
else can you be planting flowers? You can be planting
all the beautiful flowers you see in the stores. It's
a little too early to put down rice seed. I
would put rice seed down for your turf. I would
put it down mid November. Go ahead and put it
(36:51):
down then, and it should do just fine. Also too,
vegetables you can be growing right now, beets and broccoli,
brussels sprouts and cabbage, carrots and cauliflower, celery and collars,
col robbie and lettuce, mustard and onions, peas and potatoes, ridikio,
radish and rhubarb. In North Florida, roquette and rode vegas
(37:14):
love rude vegas, spinach and strawberries. If you'd like to
grow strawberries to have in your garden, now's the time
you can go ahead and plant seeds or transplants and
they will do well all all winter long. You know,
the strawberry festival is in January for in the Tampa area,
So now's the time to put the strawberries down Swiss
(37:36):
shard and turn ups. That's good, and so if you'd
like to get the newsletter, you can go on to
my website. On both websites, you can go if you
want to be advised of the trips when they're coming
up and see and get notices of when the costs
and the dates are put up. You can go to
Better Lawns Not Sorry. You can go to Better Laans
(37:58):
dot com and get the show. You can go to
my website which is she Dash Consulting dot com. She
Dash Consulting dot com, or you can go to Art
and Bloomgardentours dot com and go to our Facebook page,
Lizzy Facebook Page. We'd love for them to like us, Yes, definitely,
and we'd love to hear from you. You can post
on it, you can send us questions on our Facebook
(38:20):
page and we would love to hear from you too
as well.
Speaker 4 (38:24):
And if something happens and you like our loyal listener
Eileen from Polk City, if you somehow did not receive
the newsletter and you checked your spam, just go in
and re sign up again because we've had a few
worldly technologiable blackouse seems like so yeah, so it's reset
(38:46):
a lot of stuff.
Speaker 2 (38:47):
So yeah.
Speaker 1 (38:48):
One of the things I saw today or not or
saw this week in landscapes is edging. Edging is so
important to a landscape. Makes the gardens and your bed
look neat and and it just adds a simple elegance
to the garden when you edge. I prefer metal edging.
I'm not so hot on the plastic. I don't like it.
(39:10):
It just curves too much and the lawnmower pushes it
too easily. But edging your sidewalks and your plant beds
now is very important. Adding mulch, you want to make
sure that the ground stays warm during wintertime, now is
a good time to add mulch. If you already have mulch,
you do not need to apply three inches down Again,
(39:33):
we don't want these mulch mountains in your landscape and
we don't want to see the mulch high above the sidewalk.
That's because when it rains, it's just gonna flush your
sidewalk away. Yes, don't fill your side your mulch beds up,
but only to It's back to three inches again, so
your moult should come to the height of your sidewalk
(39:55):
and then it doesn't wash away. So if you are
getting that problem is probably because your sand is your
soil is too high in your bed Do you want
to either take it out you can replenish the most there,
but also to make sure you're planting the beds so
that it comes up to the mulch comes up to
the sidewalk level. You can start pansies another winter annual seeds,
(40:19):
now stock and foxglove, hollyhocks and pansies, petunias. All these beautiful,
beautiful spring flowers that you can grow up north in
the springtime and summer, you can grow here in the wintertime.
So check those out. This is a great time to
divide and your perennials and your bulb plantings. And then
(40:44):
also too, if you have water lilies and bog plants
in your water feature, this is a good time to
go ahead and feed those two as well. Replanting your
beds with cool seasoned annuals. You can do that and
then look for beautiful all hanging baskets, lots of beautiful
fall hanging blasts. Lizzie, we want to thank all of
(41:05):
our callers today, Jerry and Eileen and Carol and Eileen
Part two, Eileen Part two in Melbourne. Mike, thank you
so much on Phil, but also all of our listeners.
If you do not get both hours of Better Lawns
and Gardens, contact your radio station and ask for it,
but you can always hear it on Iheartradios. It's Saturday
(41:26):
morning from the Summit Responsible Solution Studios. I'm Teresa Watkins
and this is Florida's talk and entertainment network. And if you.
Speaker 4 (41:33):
Miss anything and you would like to play a recap
and go to Better Lawns dot com. That's Better Lawns
dot com and you can catch all of our episodes
there along with if you go to the Facebook page
and Instagram Better Lawns and Gardens two
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