Ornamental Grass Tips with Karen Parke - Garden America Podcasts & Radio Show [1.11.25] - Garden America - Gardening Podcast & Talk Radio Show

Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
But if you're listening to the show John after the fact,
it could be even good evening or good afternoon or
good early morning. But we are live right now. It
is Garden America broadcasting from the iHeartMedia and Entertainment Studios
located in beautiful San Diego, California, Brian Maine, Tiger Pelafox.
John Begnasco is here and we are ready to go.
We've got a guest this week. Haven't had a guest
in probably over a month because of the holidays, right, Tiger.

Speaker 2 (00:22):
Exactly, So we have a guest this week.

Speaker 3 (00:24):
We're going to be talking about ornamental grasses, growing them,
taking care of them, which ones to plant, and so,
you know, kind of excited about that. Kind of a
an interesting topic though, going into what's going on in
Los Angeles right now with all of the fires and everything.

Speaker 1 (00:41):
That could be an entire show well you know in itself. Yeah,
I know. The microphones.

Speaker 4 (00:47):
We need to let our listeners around, you know, because
we have people around the world and around the country
listening to us. That where we are in San Diego
is not a problem. Everything is in the LA area
and our hearts go out to those people. But for
those that are concerned about us, because all week I
kept getting you know, people in Michigan Sunday notes, are

(01:09):
you okay?

Speaker 1 (01:10):
Are you okay? Because when you watch it on the
national news, they it's almost as if the entire state
of California is burning, and it's it's within La County.

Speaker 5 (01:18):
Well.

Speaker 3 (01:18):
And also I think that the other thing that is
we we are accustomed to when these things happen is
specifically Santa Anto winds when they create the fires, they
blow from the east to the west, so as you
can see, those fires went to the ocean, right, Yeah,
so exactly, we don't normally during during a normal fire,

(01:40):
sometimes we do get smoke, and we can get concerned
because you know, it could be blowing north and south,
it could be blowing east or west, whatever it is.
When when a Santa Anae and even in San Diego,
when those fires happen, all that smoke, all that fire
danger goes towards the ocean, which we you know, we're
not even getting an smoke, you know, and normally, like

(02:01):
you know, if there's a fire in La sometimes will
have it or we'll smell it.

Speaker 1 (02:05):
Yeah, you're right, it's blowing out toward the ocean. Yeah,
and at my.

Speaker 4 (02:08):
House it's been going one way in the morning and
one way.

Speaker 2 (02:11):
At the shift.

Speaker 4 (02:12):
Yeah, it shifts. It's like two different directions, you know,
exactly the last five days, everything's just been flat.

Speaker 1 (02:17):
Like Tiger mentioned, it is the winds that that's the
biggest enemy of a fire, obviously, because the ymbers, yeah
can blow miles.

Speaker 2 (02:23):
Yeah.

Speaker 4 (02:24):
Yeah, you guys know Tom Kruth, Yeah sure, probably one
of the world's most famous rose breeders. He's got you know,
the striped rose Neil Diamond. One of your favorite Brian,
George Burns. It's one of your favorite.

Speaker 1 (02:39):
Roads, George. Yeah, even Gracie.

Speaker 4 (02:41):
Do you still have George Burns?

Speaker 1 (02:42):
Yes, I know that.

Speaker 4 (02:43):
One of our listeners, Jan sent you one.

Speaker 1 (02:47):
Right. You wouldn't know what though if you walk through
the pathway because everything's dormant. Everything. Oh yeah, everything's sleeping
right now.

Speaker 4 (02:53):
But anyway, he's got Anyone who grows roses, I'm sure
has one of Tom Carus roses. And now he is
the head, he's the curator at the Huntington Botanical Gardens
of roses. But unfortunately he lost his home in the fire.
He was able to escape only with change of clothes,

(03:15):
his phone, and his iPad or computer, and that was it.
So I wanted to let our listeners know that there
is a go fundme page. Okay, so if I think
I GoFundMe, if you just type.

Speaker 2 (03:28):
I'll find it and then I'll share.

Speaker 4 (03:29):
Put a link. And you know, I know everybody's asking
for donations this time of year, but if you're a gardener,
especially if you're a rose grower, you know Tom is,
He's been on our show before, and you know, any
rosarian just appreciates him devoting his entire life to growing

(03:50):
roses and creating new roses for us. So anything from
five dollars to five thousand dollars sure with help.

Speaker 1 (04:00):
Yeah, I mean the reality is people walk away with nothing,
whatever they had in their pocket, whatever clothes they had on,
whatever they were able to grab, and talk about starting
life over again.

Speaker 2 (04:12):
How do you spell Tom's name? Do you know?

Speaker 4 (04:14):
Tom C A R R U T H Tom Kruth.

Speaker 2 (04:25):
Wow, he's already raised almost twenty thousand dollars.

Speaker 1 (04:28):
Really m M yeah, it's outstanding anyway, So that that
is our taking what's happening. Nothing going on here in
San Diego so far, we are safe, but our hearts
and our prayers go out to those people in Los Angeles.
Just devastating. It's just, you know, it's it's a sort
of a once in a lifetime apocalyptic event.

Speaker 4 (04:45):
I know, our friend Alice at Lockhouse Plants up in
Oregon has two nieces in the in that area. One
of them their house burned down, and I think the
other one was endangered, but I haven't heard any update
on that.

Speaker 3 (05:02):
Yeah, And it's tough because I mean being here in
southern California that you know, fires is are fires, and
earthquakes are tornadoes and hurricanes, and you know, the the
hard part about it with gardening is that a lot
of times gardening gets the bad name in a fire,
like you know, oh, you know, if we would have
done proper shrubber.

Speaker 2 (05:24):
Baitmen, if we would have done this, if we would
have done that.

Speaker 6 (05:26):
Differently playing on the hill, this wouldn't have happened, Yeah,
you know, or or you know, And and there's a
lot of truth truth that there's a lot of research
out there about defensible space and your property and all that.

Speaker 3 (05:38):
But at the same time, like I said, for Southern California,
fires are our tornadoes are hurricanes and our floods. So
it's nature also, and it's kind of hard sometimes to
say that you can fight nature.

Speaker 2 (05:57):
With anything, you know, It's like it's like that, you know.

Speaker 3 (05:59):
I think there was that movie like Dante's Peak, when
they took the k rails and try to redirect lava,
and it's like anybody that lives in Hawaii, I knows
you don't redirect lava like it just lava goes where
lava wants to go.

Speaker 1 (06:14):
And here's something else. You can have all the abatement,
all the ice plant, but the wind is going to
carry those embers up and over whatever defense you may have,
and that could be just as close as up the
canyon and landing on top of your house.

Speaker 4 (06:30):
Well that's why if you go online. I think Monrovia
did a good job of coming up with his own landscape.
And then there's just some common sense like you know,
don't put a tree right next to the house, right sure,
or and and you can still you know, I think
usually a landscape is going to help, right Yeah. And

(06:51):
of course, unfortunately southern California has been getting rid of lawns,
and actually lawns would be great to turn to the.

Speaker 1 (07:01):
Right, So anyway, that that's our take, and we hope
that people that you know are okay and are safe.

Speaker 4 (07:06):
And yeah yeah, but by the way, also yeah right,
succulents will help make it through fires. And I brought
in some succulents.

Speaker 1 (07:16):
To any succulents John, if you're.

Speaker 4 (07:23):
Online and you want to buy succulents. I noticed that
Altman Plants has an Amazon site that sells a lot
of them. But if you're in the southern California area,
in Escondido is Oasis water Efficient Plants, and I went
there the other day and they had a great selection
of new varieties, new hybrids. The aloes that are there tiger,

(07:48):
I think I might be Kelly Griffin's hybrids, but anyway,
you know, I just thought they were really cool.

Speaker 1 (07:57):
You'll also have what's called living rocks in there.

Speaker 4 (08:00):
Yeah, you know, there's living there's living stones and living rocks,
and they're the that group of plants Brian is referred
to as mimic mimicry plants because they mimic pebbles and
stones in the landscape. So if you were you could
imagine putting those in a little saucer, a little uh

(08:22):
planter with with pebbles and rocks around them.

Speaker 1 (08:26):
Yeah, that would be nice.

Speaker 4 (08:27):
But you know when they bloom, and these just finished blooming.
When they bloom, the bloom covers the entire plant. It's
like a huge daisy, uh over an inch wide.

Speaker 2 (08:37):
Have you ever grown these lithops from seed? You see
them in seed packages everyone, Have you ever done that?

Speaker 4 (08:42):
I think I'm years ago. I may have tried, but
you know, back then I didn't have the patient.

Speaker 1 (08:47):
No, they're always just that big when you get them.

Speaker 3 (08:49):
Well, that's the thing is I have tried. I don't
want to downplay, but like I'm never successful with it.

Speaker 4 (08:55):
Really. I've had them Germany, have you, Yeah, but it's
it's so tiny.

Speaker 3 (09:00):
So whenever I see them and a grower has produced them,
I'm always impressed.

Speaker 1 (09:04):
Because absolutely, because.

Speaker 3 (09:05):
You know, if you can grow something from seed, because
that's how they grow these right right, Like you know.

Speaker 2 (09:09):
All our offsets do they do that?

Speaker 4 (09:12):
Because they do. They do sucker or offset and you
can just pull those and.

Speaker 2 (09:17):
That's that's an easy way.

Speaker 3 (09:18):
So I don't know how they grew them, like you
know altmans, but you know, I think a lot of
times people will grow them from seed.

Speaker 2 (09:26):
I'm always impressed by that.

Speaker 1 (09:27):
We've got about a minute ago. We want to tease
our audience with our guests today. But John, you want
to do the quote of the week and then we'll
take a break for BIS Talk Radio. Bring on our
guests for this this portion of the show.

Speaker 4 (09:39):
Okay, Brian, the quote is from we have a lot
of quotes from mcgarten writer Hell Borland, and he said
that winter strips the broad leaf trees to their essentials.
Now they stand in bare bones, all of them except
the pines and the spruces and the hemlocks. And you
can see what stands behind their graceful Some nice new

(10:02):
cartoon in the newsletter too.

Speaker 1 (10:04):
Yeah, check out that newsletter, the caricature of myself that
John put together. Okay, we're going to take a break.
Our guest coming up, Tiger.

Speaker 2 (10:11):
Is Karen Park with Mussa Creek Nursery.

Speaker 1 (10:13):
Mussa Creek local company here in San Diego, Vally Santa Rista. Yeah, okay,
with that in mind, this is Garden America, Happy weekend.
Going to take a break for BIZ Talk Radio. Brian Main,
John Begnascar Target Palafox back after these messages and once again,
welcome to Garden America. And just like that, we are
back here on Garden America and so we continue. Hopefully
everything has been taken care of. We're settling down here

(10:36):
concentrating on gardening, horticulture and right now concentrating at Tiger
with Karen our guest on today's show, There You Go.

Speaker 2 (10:46):
Before before we bring on, Karen, John was mentioning his
new Gopher gopher count for the week sixty four.

Speaker 4 (10:56):
The update, This is sixty four.

Speaker 1 (10:59):
This is for the week.

Speaker 4 (11:00):
No, no, it's actually been over ten months and all
except for one, the one that bit me that I
got to come out awesome with a host. Best sixty
three of them were caught with the gopher hawks. And
I've had people say, you know, the gopher hawks are
kind of expensive, but if you're in the San Diego area,

(11:23):
I get mine at Grand Jettos and it's thereby far
the best.

Speaker 1 (11:27):
You know what, It's too bad they're not a sponsor,
because what a great angle to have the gopher count
each week.

Speaker 2 (11:32):
Yeah, I mean, seriously, what the gopher account brought to
you by Grand Jettos.

Speaker 1 (11:37):
Yeah. Absolutely, well, we'll work on that. In the meantime, Tiger,
I'm going to toss it back to you. Let's bring on Karen.

Speaker 3 (11:42):
Yeah, we have Karen Park joining us from Mussa Creek
Nursery this morning. Karen, thanks for joining us. How are
you doing?

Speaker 5 (11:49):
Of course, good morning. I'm having a little hard time
hearing you.

Speaker 3 (11:52):
Okay, we'll try to work on the audio. Maybe maybe
it's on our end, but I wanted to welcome to
the show. Mussa Creek Nursery one of the premiere southern
California growers of native plants. Karen, Now you've you've recently
started working with Music Greek Nursery or you've been working

(12:12):
with Moos Greek for nursery for a long time.

Speaker 2 (12:14):
There's been a transition.

Speaker 5 (12:15):
Having trouble hearing you have a good connection. I can't
hear you.

Speaker 1 (12:18):
Everything is good and our end it's it's it's the same.
I don't know what what that might be. Can you
hear me, Karen?

Speaker 5 (12:25):
I can, yes, but not me.

Speaker 2 (12:30):
Yeah, so it's just me. How about you can can
she hear John?

Speaker 4 (12:34):
I don't know.

Speaker 5 (12:34):
I can hear I can hear you very clearly. Whoever's
talking right now?

Speaker 2 (12:39):
Okay, Tiger go ahead, Yeah, Karen, can you hear me now?

Speaker 5 (12:43):
A little bit.

Speaker 2 (12:43):
Yes, okay, okay.

Speaker 1 (12:44):
We'll keep you pumped up there.

Speaker 4 (12:46):
Yeah, what about if you write down what you want
to ask her and then pass it over to me
and I'll just pass on the question.

Speaker 5 (12:53):
We can do it.

Speaker 3 (12:55):
So sorry for the technical issue, Karen, but uh, Moose
Creek Nursery, tell us about Musa Creek. Tell us about
your involvement there with the nursery.

Speaker 5 (13:03):
Sure, Music Creek's been a native plant nursery for twenty
years as of twenty twenty four. Sue and Hank started
the nursery because they built a house and they couldn't
find native plants to put back into their landscape. And
Hank was an opportunist and an entrepreneur and he thought
that there was a need for that in the industry.

(13:25):
So he started to grow a few native plants, went
back to his day job, left Sue answering the phone,
and kind of I could just say that was the beginning,
and in the end of Hank's involvement, Andy took over
and over about ten fifteen years, they grew the nursery
and the demand for native plants has increased and they've

(13:47):
done a great job for providing them and created a
marketing and retail. I'm looking for presents so that people
could buy plants and put them in their back yards.
And it's just taken off and been a very vital
part of San Diego's native plants since then.

Speaker 2 (14:08):
Yeah, definitely, and your involvement there.

Speaker 5 (14:11):
Yeah, So I started eight years ago. I was between
corporate stressful jobs and decided I wasn't going to do
that anymore. And I literally just went to the farmer's
market and to all my landscape friends and said, hey,
I need a stressless job that can keep me working
with plants and maybe do something different. And someone said

(14:33):
that Sue was hiring. And that's the day I found
out about native plants in My life really changed completely.

Speaker 2 (14:39):
And do you think that growing plants like is less stressful?

Speaker 5 (14:46):
Oh, absolutely, especially compared to my personal last job. Yet,
plant people in particular are just very nice for giving.
They're just amazing people to work with. A different to
a different stress level.

Speaker 3 (15:02):
Yeah, I was gonna say it's a it's a different
stress because you know, you're you're.

Speaker 2 (15:06):
Working with plants, you're working with plant people. That's an
enjoyable experience.

Speaker 3 (15:10):
Sometimes plants stress me out, though, in the sense of
like why won't you grow?

Speaker 5 (15:15):
Or what did you die? Why does somebody want something else?

Speaker 1 (15:19):
Or Yes, that's where the other stress comes in. Our
business is to keep things alive. We're responsible every day
to keep you alive. Now, whether you cooperate or not,
that's another story otherwise.

Speaker 2 (15:33):
Yep, Hey, So we wanted.

Speaker 3 (15:35):
To bring you on the program this morning to talk
a little bit about one of a particular type of plant,
and that's the ornamental grasses. And there's a lot of
native ornamental grasses. There's a lot of non native ornamental grasses.
But grasses add an element to the landscape that just
most other I mean, they're in their own category, right,

(15:56):
because we can talk shrubs, we can drop trees, perennials
and annuals, but grasses are their own category because there's
nothing else like them, and and so they're an important
part because I kind of feel also, if you see
a landscape without a grass in it, it just looks
a little bit off. I think that, you know, all
landscapes kind of require that. So tell us what is

(16:21):
a ornamental grass?

Speaker 5 (16:23):
And a grass can be a couple of things. It
could definitely be native, and it could be give all
of the benefits that a native grass gives, but additionally
it has usually just appeal for a person, aesthetic appeal.
It has some kind of plume or some kind of
decorative look to it, and then just is usually more

(16:44):
aesthetic than beneficial in other ways. But we have native
grasses that are both, and we have invasive grasses of course,
non natives, that are aesthetically pleasing that we sometimes put
in our landscape.

Speaker 3 (16:57):
Yeah, I think that the I mean asides and John,
I mean you your early years in southern California nurseryman,
was was pompous grass around? Like did you sell that
in the nursery?

Speaker 1 (17:11):
Right?

Speaker 4 (17:11):
It was probably one of the most common grass, was it? Yeah,
if not the most was it?

Speaker 1 (17:17):
Really? Yeah?

Speaker 3 (17:17):
And that was just horrible, right, Like just recedes just
goes everywhere.

Speaker 1 (17:23):
That's the name. Yeah, yeah, absolutely.

Speaker 3 (17:28):
But today I think that one of those grasses would
be the stipa, the Mexican feather grass.

Speaker 2 (17:34):
And I mean you know it again, it just recedes
goes everywhere.

Speaker 3 (17:38):
And when I was young in the nursery industry, no,
nursery didn't have it, And now I don't see it anymore,
do you do? You see it much around Karen, I mean, besides,
it just repopulating everyone in everyone's yard.

Speaker 5 (17:53):
No, unfortunately, I've been seeing it on a few bids
still here and there, but overall, no, I pretty much.
I think we're finally learning and finally getting it down
that we cannot be putting that out there.

Speaker 3 (18:06):
But at the same time, there are stipas that do
not do that, right, So that's the hard thing is,
like there's in the same family of grasses, there's different wands,
and they get all grouped together because there's a lot
of native stipa, right.

Speaker 5 (18:20):
Or there's a matter of fact, stipa polkra, which is
the purple three on is actually not only an amazing grass,
but it's our state grass. Oh real, Yeah, we have
a state grass. I hope it's one of our more
common grasses in San Diego County. It's really good looking.
But yes, you're right, it's a stipa, and so sometimes
people could mentally lump them together and just think generally

(18:44):
negative thoughts. But it's a great grass and it's our
state grass.

Speaker 4 (18:47):
I think that steak grass was just made legal a
few years ago.

Speaker 3 (18:51):
Listening Oh goodness, hey, Karen, we do have to take
a break. When we get back, we're going to continue
chatting with Karen Park from Mootsa Creek Nursery and we're
gonna be talking about ornamental grasses.

Speaker 1 (19:02):
Yep, and those on Facebook Live questions comments there on
the comment thread right there, Feel free, whatever's on your mind.
We're going to take a break for BIS Talk Radio.
John big Nasco. I'm Brian Maintiga, Pela Fox back with
Karen after these messages on BIS Talk Radio. Alrighty Garden
America back after the break. Hope you had a good
break here Facebook Live, Biz Talk Radio. Whatever is on
your mind in accordance with what's happening now with Karen

(19:25):
talking grasses here on our Facebook page and biz Talk
Radio back to you, Tiger.

Speaker 3 (19:30):
Yeah, we're talking again with Karen Park with Mussa Creek Nursery.
And before the break, we were just talking about what
an ornamental grass is, and you know, she was describing
on how to use them in a landscape as far
as you know, for their beautiful plumes or the textures
of the foliage. And you know, we mentioned a couple
that you maybe should avoid Mexican feather grass, pompus grass.

Speaker 2 (19:55):
Are there any other ones? You know.

Speaker 3 (19:57):
I know that you're focused mostly in California, Karen, Are
there any any other grasses that you might want to
mention to avoid?

Speaker 5 (20:07):
The one that's not planted that we see in the
wild quite a bit is called a rondo. It's the
giant reed grass. It looks like a grass at a
year lawn, but it's about ten to fifteen feet tall.
This is a horrible grass, typically not in homes, but
it's more in the wild that displaces other native plants.

Speaker 2 (20:28):
Yeah.

Speaker 5 (20:29):
And then there's a few pinacetums. It's a type of
grass that seeds terribly. I have a name written down here.

Speaker 3 (20:39):
Yeah, the arundo though, I mean that's in a lot
of our water ways, are a lot of our flow
areas where it just spreads like crazy and then.

Speaker 4 (20:47):
Looks a little like bamboo.

Speaker 2 (20:49):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (20:49):
Yeah, And like you said, it's like it's like the grass.
It's like a big piece of you know, Saint Augustine grass,
just ten feet tall. You of being in that movie Honey,
I Shrunk the Kids.

Speaker 4 (21:03):
You know, it's a it's a premium plant in the Midwest.

Speaker 2 (21:08):
Oh.

Speaker 4 (21:09):
Really, the variegated form, which is not quite as invasive,
but you know, because it they have freezes.

Speaker 2 (21:16):
Gonna say it dies every year.

Speaker 4 (21:18):
Keep it in control.

Speaker 5 (21:19):
Yeah. Pinatum is another grass that is bad for San
Diego that receeds terribly. Fountain grass. It's I'm gonna say
it right, pinaceum uh set to see them something like that. Okay,
that one that one seeds terribly and displaces our other grasses.

(21:40):
People really like it. The fountain grass has a really
pretty seed head to it, so it's purchased a lot,
but it also needs to be eradicated from our stores
and not sold.

Speaker 2 (21:51):
Yeah.

Speaker 4 (21:52):
Purple one receed tiger No, not as much.

Speaker 5 (21:56):
No, not the moly that one seems to be okay
so far.

Speaker 2 (21:59):
Yeah. Yeah. And so you know that is something that
we should mention Careen, is that, you know.

Speaker 3 (22:04):
A lot of the beauty of the grasses is that plume, right,
that bloom that it does have off of it. But
that is also a lot of the mess and also
a lot of the problem. If you do allow it
to bloom and it does recede, it'll get into every
nook and cranny of your yard. But also even the

(22:24):
ones that maybe don't receive real well, they can create
a bit of a mess. So you know, when we're
talking about care of the grasses, do you have any
tips for people that have them in their landscape about
maybe some of the different care techniques on keeping them
looking good.

Speaker 5 (22:43):
I think it kind of depends on the person in
the yard. I like to leave my grasses knife and tall,
and I don't cut them back until the early spring.
What I'm after is getting all the insects and all
of the birds their food and their nesting material for
the fall through winter. Other people have grasses that are

(23:04):
supposed to be ornamental and they're close to the house,
and so maybe they want to cut them back so
that the green grows back up through and looks nice
in the springtime. So some people cut them back in
the fall, and some people leave them.

Speaker 3 (23:19):
So you're saying a good way to be a good
steward of nature is to leave them through into the
winter because there's critters that use it for either nesting
or they live in them, and you don't want to
cut them back because there's a lot of benefits to
the dry grass or the plumes or anything like that.

Speaker 1 (23:38):
Right.

Speaker 5 (23:39):
Yes, the grasses host insects and that's so important during
the wintertime for our birds and even small mammals that
rely on insects when it's dry and there's not a
whole lot of other things for them to have. And
then yes, the birds use the grasses for also insects
that they eat but habitat to use as their nesting material.

Speaker 1 (24:01):
Hey, John, we got a couple of questions here. When
I think John's got a question.

Speaker 4 (24:05):
Yeah, John, and Newport Beach says that he has an
ornamental grass that somebody told him was cowboy grass. Cowboy
it was like the way you put your and he
wants to know yeh yeah, the scientific name and if
it's invasive. But I'm really not sure what that is, Karen,
do you know?

Speaker 5 (24:24):
I don't.

Speaker 3 (24:25):
I mean, I'm assuming it's like a pit, right, That's
what I see, like what a cowboy would put in
their mouth and mouth and like just hang out the
side something something.

Speaker 5 (24:34):
I googled it and I only see cologne.

Speaker 2 (24:39):
You see there's a name of a colone called cowboy grass.

Speaker 1 (24:42):
Wow.

Speaker 5 (24:42):
Yeah, yeah about that.

Speaker 1 (24:44):
Love it. But now again, somebody told him it was
called cowboy grass, so it's not a this is scientific
or you.

Speaker 4 (24:51):
Know right right, Well, that's why he wanted to know
scientific If we know what it is. If we know
what it was, we would know what grass.

Speaker 1 (24:58):
We don't know what it is, but we think it
is in vase.

Speaker 4 (25:03):
Well maybe right, well yeah, and then Veronica Tiger says
that in Spring Valley. She says she's got Mexican feather
grass that shows up in her yard and oh gosh,
she says, she didn't know anything about it. So she
put it in a pot and she said, yeap, it travels. Yeah,
she said, she just sticks it up and puts it

(25:24):
back in the same pot and she taking are cutting
the seed heads.

Speaker 5 (25:31):
Right now and then helps a little bit control it,
keep her busy for a lifetime.

Speaker 2 (25:36):
Yeah, right, that's.

Speaker 3 (25:37):
A you know, you know, Karen, back back in the day,
Alyssa reseeded.

Speaker 2 (25:43):
You know, that little white flowing or purple flowering plant would.

Speaker 3 (25:46):
Receed a lot of the varieties of a listen, don't
reced as much as they used to, you know today,
But back in the day, that was a plant that
when you planted a lissam, you had it pop up
in every little nook and cranny of your landscape as
it just grew. And kind of that's that's stipa, right
there is it'll just get into every nook and cranny,
So maintenance, you're saying, kind of if you can leave

(26:09):
the grasses through the winter for the critters, if you
want to be a good steward of some of the nature.
The way I kind of see grasses too is it's
kind of like those like kelp beds in the ocean,
where it just gives that opportunity for place for critters
to like live and eat and be safe. Right, Like,
there's a lot of really yeah, a good place to

(26:31):
hang out because there's so much in them.

Speaker 2 (26:34):
So you know, on the watering, do you continue watering
these all the way through the winter too, or is
there a time of year where you kind of start
to begin to cut back because they don't always grow
all year round.

Speaker 5 (26:49):
They don't this time of year, they're looking pretty brown
and they go they go winter dormance and they don't
grow too much. Yeah, it's just it's just a perfect
personal preference also too. And I don't want to use
the word fire today, I really really don't want to.
But if you don't want to have too many grasses
super close to the house either, and if that was

(27:10):
the case, then maybe you would you would trim them
back pretty hard in fall and not Wait, yeah, so
in our typical housing areas where you've got just your
standard backyards or a little piece of property, I think
grasses are a must have and if you feel the
need to cut them back in the fall, that's okay.

(27:32):
But just in my moral compass in my yard in particular,
I just love grasses throughout the fall, and I just
know that they're going to be needed for our wild life.

Speaker 2 (27:42):
Well they will.

Speaker 3 (27:43):
They just add a softness to the landscape that you
you can't achieve any other way, right, I.

Speaker 5 (27:47):
Mean no, especially like we're talking about it. It's so
dry and it is just all of the native plants
kind of shrink up and do their stress things. So
to have the grass and have the texture, yeah, I
can't agree. Is just part of the palette, part of
the esthetic palette.

Speaker 3 (28:03):
All right, and can we have about a minute left
of this spot. But I did want to lead into
what I want to chat a little bit more about
into the next spot. Is there's also a lot of
ornamental grasses or grasses that you know, this lawn alternative
you know, or meadow style grasses where people have filled
areas of their landscape with with grasses that they just

(28:24):
don't mow, or they do mow, but just not regularly,
like a fescue lawn or anything like that. And again,
if you're looking for like a low water lawn, there's
a lot of options there. We have about a minute,
so I will cut you off. But you know, are
there some varieties out there that you recommend for that?

Speaker 1 (28:43):
Yeah?

Speaker 5 (28:44):
I think a couple of the nurseries recommend different things.
At most generally we say it's called Carrick's preg rescillis.
It's our clustered field sedge. It takes to mowing, it
does clump, but they're really small and kind of flat,
so plant them together. They can be mode. Nan Sternham

(29:04):
are our local gardening professional. At her house. She has
an amazing carre ex lawn if you're ever able to
see it on a tour. I believe Native West does
suggest a fescue. So yeah, there's there's several ideas. I mean,
you wouldn't get out your standard lawn mower and mow
them and then you know, maybe play games on it.

(29:25):
But it's super walkable and good for pets.

Speaker 3 (29:28):
All right, we are going to take a break. We
get back, we'll continue chatting with Karen Park.

Speaker 1 (29:32):
And those on Facebook Live. Yeah, keep those questions comments coming.
We are talking grasses here with Karen this morning, and
perhaps say anything else you want to discuss, so we
will hit that as well. Garden America Brian Main, John Bagnesco,
Tiget Palafox. It is break time, going to pay some bills.
Thank you to our major sponsor, Footlum. This break is
for you on BIZ Talk Radio. All right, we are
back from the break. Those that are tuned in on
BIS Talk Radio. This is the final segment of our

(29:53):
one news coming up top of the hour. We come
back at around six minutes after. Hopefully you'll pick up
the second hour as well. We continue with Karen.

Speaker 3 (30:01):
Yeah, so we're talking with Karen from Music Greek Nursery
and before the break we were talking about some of
the grasses you might use as a long alternative and Karen,
when it comes to those kinds of grass, it's usually
they're kind of spreading style, right, Yeah, So they'll reproduce
mostly by by like root systems or do they receede uh.

Speaker 5 (30:25):
The one that we suggest is usually by a little
bit of both at mostly by seed.

Speaker 3 (30:31):
Okay, and and if you were going to plant a
grass area like that.

Speaker 2 (30:38):
Overhead watering drip system.

Speaker 5 (30:42):
A million dollar question. Yeah, I'm a big fan of
overhead watering. I know the water district isn't a big
fan because there's some evaporation, but that's what the native
plants are used to. I know many gardeners that are
successful with drip. I just might call out with drip
is that sometimes that get soggy around the crown of plants.
But for a grass that might might be okay to

(31:05):
have just a lower water and not overhead. But generally
with grasses, especially along I would think overhead would be better.

Speaker 3 (31:12):
And also don't grasses specifically like so for instance, let's
say you did have a native a native garden in
a low lying area of your garden, they don't they
suck up that water a little bit better, so you
maybe don't have such a boggy area, you know where
maybe if you planted sages or see you note this

(31:33):
or something like that, they might actually rod out.

Speaker 2 (31:36):
Would that help kind of absorb some of the water.

Speaker 5 (31:39):
Yes, native grasses are super good for erosion control, stabilization,
saving water, and cleaning water. And yes they would do
just fine with seasonal or flooding like that, or extra water.
It depends on the grass. Some of them really like
to be dry. But these grasses that were talking about

(32:00):
for lawn would definitely been good for some of those
lower lying areas.

Speaker 3 (32:04):
And and you know, I think that this is another
thing because I think people group grasses all together as one.
And you know, when they talk about grasses, they think
of a lawn, and they always think of a heavy feeder,
you know, nitrogen rich fertilizer.

Speaker 2 (32:18):
And sure, you know all that.

Speaker 3 (32:19):
Now when we're talking ornamental grass, is it the same
is it the same case? Are they kind of a
nitrogen rich fertilizer grass a plant or or are they different?

Speaker 5 (32:30):
Not as much. But yes, they're still super beneficial for
the soil, mostly for filtration and just water quality.

Speaker 3 (32:40):
Yeah, but do they require the fertilizer like a lawn would.

Speaker 5 (32:44):
No, no, no, no. We'll never give any any kind
of native plants fertilizer unless they're dying or last.

Speaker 2 (32:51):
Hope trying to salvage it there.

Speaker 3 (32:56):
And you know, grouping that all the kind of the
natives together, and you know, with the grasses, you know,
we usually talk about planting in the fall. You know,
to kind of get them well established and kind of
growing into the spring, and so that way they're established
by the summer. Is that kind of a similar schedule

(33:18):
for the grasses as well, or is there a different
timeline for them.

Speaker 5 (33:23):
No, I think grasses are more You can do those
more throughout the year. When we're concerned about getting things
established before the heat, that's usually shrubs or tender plants
that we just want to get started right away. But
I think grasses you could plant throughout the year. They're
a bit dorm at this time of year and they
might not take off right away until until the spring.

(33:44):
But I think grasses are something you could plant just
about any time of year.

Speaker 3 (33:49):
And you know, the other neat thing about I think
with when it comes to planting, you know, grasses in
a landscape is.

Speaker 2 (33:56):
That a lot of a lot of the energy, a lot.

Speaker 3 (33:58):
Of the plant is within the root system, right, So
even if you planted it and it struggled. You know,
like if you plant a sage and it struggles or
dries up, you're a really good chance you lost that sage.
But with the grass, you know you plant it struggles,
there's a chance it can come.

Speaker 5 (34:15):
Back, right absolutely, especially if you plant it this time
of year, it's not going to do much because the
grasses are dormant. It's just kind of kind of sleep
for a little bit, and then ideally in the spring
summer it starts to put on those roots, which you
still won't see and then maybe you don't see any
growth until the end of summer or maybe even into
the next season.

Speaker 3 (34:34):
Okay, on when it comes to picking out some of
the varieties, are there are there any that you kind
of get excited about? You know, when are there any
new ones out there that you want to mention to
our listeners.

Speaker 5 (34:51):
My two favorite grasses are the standard deer grass, the
mullnburge erisions that everybody uses and loves. I think it's
a great size. It's days neat and size, it's not invasive,
it grows anywhere, grows all around our county, and it's
a bigger grass, so it takes up a nice amount
of space. The other one that I really like is

(35:12):
the purple three on, which is the aristed a purple raea,
and it's just much more ornamental when those seedheads and
those spikelets come in in the springtime and then the summertime.
They're red, they're like a purple color, and they're really
pretty in the breeze in the.

Speaker 3 (35:27):
Yard and on the deer grass. Do you know if
that got its name because deer eat it.

Speaker 5 (35:32):
I'm sure they do, Sure they do.

Speaker 3 (35:35):
So if you want to attract some deer into the landscape.

Speaker 2 (35:40):
Yeah exactly.

Speaker 3 (35:41):
My mother in law lives up in near Auburn, California,
which is in between Sacramento and Trucky, and she has
deer coming into her yard every day. She lives in
an area and there's just constant deer and it's funny.
She actually has a synthetic lawn in her front yard
and one day me this picture of this giant buck

(36:03):
deer just just sitting on the front lawn, just lounging
out there, just right there.

Speaker 2 (36:08):
It was like, holy cow, that's so amazing.

Speaker 5 (36:10):
But is that making a type of deer grass?

Speaker 1 (36:12):
And yeah, exactly.

Speaker 2 (36:13):
You know they've got to be able to enjoy it.

Speaker 1 (36:15):
Now, if any cowboys show up and sit on your grass,
I guess we're talking cowboy grass, right. Yeah.

Speaker 2 (36:20):
We still gotta still got to figure.

Speaker 1 (36:22):
That circle back on that one.

Speaker 3 (36:26):
Hey, So we are going to take a break at
about what do we have, Brian, about another and a
half minute and a half Okay, really neat thing that
Musa Creek Nursery does is you guys post your availability
online for people to see, right, we do, and and
so people can order from your website and actually get
it shipped to a local garden center where they can

(36:48):
pick it up.

Speaker 5 (36:50):
Yeah. So right now, Musa Creek supports about thirty retail
stores between San Diego, Los Angeles the riverside in Orange County.
We make deliveries weekly and if you go onto our website,
you can order to have those plants delivered to your
favorite Mission Hills nursery or wherever, at whatever garden center

(37:10):
is closest to you. And we stock plants at these
nurseries also, so if they don't have what you're looking
for in stock, we can put it on the truck
and bring it down the following week.

Speaker 2 (37:20):
Yeah that's awesome.

Speaker 3 (37:20):
I mean, it gives the nurseries an option to have
way more inventory than you know, what they maybe have
space for, and it allows the customer to be able
to prouse a little bit more than maybe what they
would normally see.

Speaker 5 (37:33):
Hey, Karen, Yeah, go ahead, Oh I was just gonna say,
we don't have a whole lot of native plant nurseries
in southern California, so sometimes it's hard to find. And
I yeah, it's been a nice feature.

Speaker 2 (37:43):
Yeah, definitely.

Speaker 3 (37:45):
Hey, thank you very much for joining us this weekend
and taking your time and talking a little bit about
natives and grasses with us. And again, Musa Creek Nursery
dot com is the website. Yes, all right, thank you, Karen,
have a good rest of the weekend.

Speaker 5 (37:58):
Thank you so much, thank you, by bye.

Speaker 1 (38:00):
All right, Thanks Kevin, and again we're going to take
a quick break and news coming up. BizTalk Radio. We
can back officially six minutes after Facebook Live a bit quicker.
This is Garden America. Stay with us, all righty, Garden
America is back in action, hot mics and everything that
goes along with that. If you're tuned in on BizTalk Radio,
we're kicking off our two Facebook Live. We just it's
just one entire audio band. We just don't we just don't.

Speaker 3 (38:22):
Quick wait on on Facebook Live right now. With Brian's camera,
if you're looking at it, you see his screen, it
looks like he's tracking satellite waves or something from a
SpaceX launch on him.

Speaker 2 (38:35):
Oh yeah, I am Peter Monitor.

Speaker 1 (38:36):
I'm tracking all the people that are that are tuned
in on or watching on Facebook Live. These are analytics
as well.

Speaker 4 (38:43):
Well.

Speaker 2 (38:43):
No, I'm looking at the computers. Look at how you
have your audio just fill up the whole screen.

Speaker 1 (38:47):
Right, Well, that's an adjustment. We can make it smaller
next week.

Speaker 2 (38:51):
Yeah, it is smaller, but it looks like we're yelling
at each other.

Speaker 1 (38:56):
We could, but yeah, you can see that in that.
That can a shot that I'm in. And also John
is I've never seen John so up and around and
alive and ready to go, up and around and alive
and ready to go.

Speaker 4 (39:11):
I don't feel that way.

Speaker 5 (39:12):
You know.

Speaker 4 (39:13):
I'm really tired today.

Speaker 1 (39:15):
That's okay, though, you know what just showing up is contributing.

Speaker 4 (39:17):
I've had to get up early the last few days.
By the way, if anyone yesterday I did a show
on Wisconsin Public Radio on the I'm trying to think,
the Larry Meeler Show.

Speaker 1 (39:29):
How can we see? How can we find?

Speaker 4 (39:31):
Larry Meeler has a a website for his show for Wisconsin.

Speaker 1 (39:38):
How do you spell his last name?

Speaker 4 (39:39):
It's M M E I L L E R Larry Meeler.

Speaker 1 (39:45):
Larry Meeler, all right, so you can John anyway, it's
our would you what did you guys talk about? We
talked about gardening. Wow, really that surprises me, John.

Speaker 4 (39:55):
Yeah, the show is supposed to be about cactus and succulence,
and we we did talk about that little. But you know,
I had to mention roses.

Speaker 1 (40:02):
And just like this show, we have a topic and
then we start to drift and then people become enamored, enamored,
I should say, with what we've drifted to, and they
ask questions.

Speaker 4 (40:12):
I've started planting for spring already, you know, I'm putting
roses in the ground. And I mentioned I went to
Oasis water Fishing Plants and picked up some of these
new succulents and hybrids. And there's that one. Most of
our listeners know what epiphy lamar the orchid cactus, right,

(40:37):
And this one just intrigued me because it's twisted. You know,
if I was going to name that variety, Brian, I
might call it twisted, sister.

Speaker 1 (40:48):
I was thinking the same thing when you said that
our minds worked, well, I got to tell you or
I let you say that twisted, sister.

Speaker 4 (40:54):
But I'm sure it's going to bloom. I don't know
what the bloom will look like, but the leaves, uh,
just intrigued me. One thing about Epiphileum I noticed the
last two years is snails love them?

Speaker 2 (41:09):
Oh really?

Speaker 4 (41:10):
Yeah? Now this so far this year, it's been dry
and snails are not as much of it.

Speaker 1 (41:15):
Don't see many snails?

Speaker 2 (41:16):
You have them like in the ground though, meaning normally
you see them up in a you see them in
a pot or in a basket.

Speaker 4 (41:23):
Yes, these were in a pot setting on a stump.
Oh okay, and the they snails just crawl up the.

Speaker 2 (41:30):
Side right up there. Yeah, there's just so I was
gonna say that.

Speaker 4 (41:33):
The last two years I've had I've killed, which is
a pretty strong word, but thousands and thousands of snails.
It's just unbelievable.

Speaker 1 (41:45):
I haven't seen many snails the last couple of years.

Speaker 2 (41:47):
Oh really?

Speaker 1 (41:48):
And is that even now? I can?

Speaker 4 (41:50):
I can bring you some next week.

Speaker 1 (41:51):
Let me ask you, in a weird way, is that
a good or bad sign? Well, if you have some.

Speaker 2 (41:56):
So here's the challenge for years and early a weird way.

Speaker 4 (41:58):
That's kind of a normal way to ask a question.

Speaker 1 (42:00):
But I'm I'm thinking you know how we say sometimes
a quasi past might be good for whatever weird reason.

Speaker 2 (42:06):
Well, but here's the hard thing for you.

Speaker 3 (42:08):
You know, John and I can say, well, if we
haven't seen a snail, that could be a weird thing
because we know our yards. For you, you have a
landscape company that's managing your property and they could be
dropping snail bait and you might not know it, so
which a lot of companies will do, and so they've

(42:29):
controlled it. But you now like, wow, I don't see
any snails before where the company before or maybe there's
something that changed that they never used snail bait and
then you saw more snails.

Speaker 2 (42:41):
So it's kind of hard for you to know where.

Speaker 3 (42:42):
John knows if he drops slug o, you know, and
if he sees snails after he drops slugo, he's like
it didn't work. But if he hasn't put anything down,
because did you ever get your decal at snails?

Speaker 2 (42:55):
No, they know they've been really hard to get.

Speaker 4 (42:58):
Yeah, you said they weren't available, right.

Speaker 1 (43:00):
You know, what you just said makes a lot of sense.
But however, as I've observed this current landscape company, it's
the same one for several years, I just see them
as a company that comes out, trims, sweeps, blows and
gets out of there. I don't see a lot of
like intricate taking care of like a snail problem. It
would almost be like we would have to call and

(43:20):
complain about snails or some other pest and you know
around the landscaping, you know, call the ho way office. Okay,
we'll make sure next time they're out there to take
care of that.

Speaker 2 (43:28):
Yea.

Speaker 4 (43:28):
So you live in a condo too, So it's it's
an area that's not wild, right, So once the snails
are under control, it's easier. Might be in the CC
and ours too that no snails allow allowed, right right, No,
you bring up a good point. You know, snails are
but you know Teyger mentioned on the deck with snails

(43:49):
last year, they just weren't available anywhere. Yeah, and I
don't know if they'll be available this year.

Speaker 2 (43:55):
I can't remember what the issue was.

Speaker 3 (43:56):
I think it's where they were harvested from, because you
know the ladys, you know, people have to know that
those are harvested out of out of areas you know
that you buy at the store. They get permits and
they go into different woodland areas where they actually harvest
all those ladybugs from so I think the decklate snails

(44:17):
are kind of a similar thing.

Speaker 2 (44:19):
But you brought in you, you brought in a bunch
of other little old guys over here succulents wise too, John.

Speaker 4 (44:26):
You know, there's what like four aloes.

Speaker 2 (44:28):
Yeah, these this little grouping here.

Speaker 4 (44:31):
Yeah, and if you if you look at those, you
can see the varietal names on the size. But there
there's something different to all of them.

Speaker 1 (44:39):
Yeah.

Speaker 4 (44:40):
That one I noticed just a little tiny root.

Speaker 2 (44:42):
Yeah, so I have to I.

Speaker 3 (44:44):
Have to watch on fire cracker aloe fire cracker and they're.

Speaker 4 (44:51):
Smaller aloes and blooming. You can see one has got
a bloom coming. That one I really liked.

Speaker 2 (44:57):
Snow drip. Now. You know.

Speaker 3 (44:59):
The the challenge with some of these aloes though, is
that you buy them at the gardens and they look
like this in yeah, and they don't put it like
what is there? You know, what is their mature size?
Because you know, I've seen aloes that get massive.

Speaker 4 (45:17):
Right, and these are mostly smaller aloes. You know, elos
are grow all the way up to tree size, right,
and some of the tree elows, which are really cool
and they don't take that long to get tree size,
but these are smaller aloes. They're great for pots, little
accents in the landscape.

Speaker 1 (45:35):
What's the story in the living rocks, I'm fashion goes
back to it. I just I think that's just I've
never heard of that.

Speaker 4 (45:42):
Well, there's there's two there. Lithops are usually called living stones, right,
tiger and then the the other living rock is a
different one, but lithops. A lot of people plant those
in really well during gravelly soil and then put around them.

Speaker 1 (46:01):
And looks like a set of lungs and it does well.

Speaker 4 (46:06):
You know, each lithup is when it comes up, is
a just one single leaf. Each of those is a leaf,
and then the plant splits right in the center and
a flower comes up. That's the size of a daisy.
That is really cool.

Speaker 2 (46:24):
This is in agave white rhino.

Speaker 4 (46:29):
Yeah. And that one is a white form of the
agave Victoria regini, which is a nice agave to begin with,
but this one with the white and it is really
really neat.

Speaker 2 (46:44):
You know.

Speaker 3 (46:44):
What I've always loved about agaves too, is the markings
on the leaves from when it comes out. So for instance,
like some of the times you'll see them with the.

Speaker 2 (46:58):
Thorns on the edge.

Speaker 3 (47:00):
See on the leaf it's imprinted, oh you know, the
thorn markings and like you can see on this one
you can see the markings of where the leaf has
come out. And they lose it as they mature, but
it's but it makes it have a really a really
neat fingerprint, so to speak, on the actual leaf as
they kind of come out.

Speaker 4 (47:19):
I like white variegation and succulents and that one Echavaria there,
Oh yeah, I think it's it acavera compact of area.

Speaker 1 (47:27):
Gotta that was well well said.

Speaker 4 (47:32):
I I just I'm just fascinated by those colors. And
I've done really good in my landscape putting ecavarius. I
know they like supposedly like partial shade in the hot
inland areas, but mine are out in full sun and
they're they're doing really well. I think the key is
to make sure that they're in a well drained soil

(47:52):
and you're not going to overwater them.

Speaker 1 (47:54):
What do you give a leaf to mind of sunlight
this time of year as we look, you know outside
your patio doors there, that's where this exactly.

Speaker 4 (48:00):
Because that's the north side of the house away from
the patio where I've had the roses, you know, sitting
waiting to be planned. That area was always full sun,
but this time of year half that is shaded.

Speaker 1 (48:14):
Okay, we're going to take a break off for bistalk Radio.
We're coming right back, so do stay with us. And
by the way, Carla wants us to revisit a question
that she posted I think before the guest. Okay, and
if we can scroll back for that. So Carla, we
are monitoring that. We're going to take a break biz
Talk Radio, Garden America. Stay with us. We have returned
from that break biz Talk Radio. Thank you for tuning in.
If you want to take part live in the show,

(48:36):
just go to our Facebook page Garden America Radio Show
every Saturday morning eleven o'clock Eastern time zone eight am
here in the West Coast, and you can take part
to ask questions so on and so forth and again
any questions let us know once you are logged in,
and you can visit our website as well, that's Gardenamerica
dot com. So many ways to listen to the show.
In this afternoon. Early this afternoon, this show will be

(48:58):
uploaded on our YouTube channel, Garden America Radio Show on YouTube,
but subscribing, like and all those good things they ask
you to do if you are youtubing it. That's all
I've got Right.

Speaker 2 (49:08):
Now, I'm trying to look for Carlo's question. I can't
go up more.

Speaker 4 (49:12):
Yeah, I don't see it.

Speaker 1 (49:15):
Way back in the beginning before the guest.

Speaker 4 (49:18):
Yeah, I have, Rick asked a question about if Nucio's
was still standing. And then I see Carlo's comment that
says see the comment below, and there is no comment
below on my screen. So so I don't know.

Speaker 1 (49:35):
Carla post it again, carl Yeah, I post it again.
We're watching.

Speaker 4 (49:41):
Yeah, for some reason, it didn't come across. It was
right when she said her screen froze and then she
said it's okay. So maybe when that happened, I did
not get the post. This is the time of year
to prune roses in southern California. Listening to us in
a cold part of the country. Yes, we know you
don't go out in the snow and prune roses, but.

Speaker 1 (50:02):
Prune last month, did you really?

Speaker 4 (50:04):
Yeah, it doesn't hurt.

Speaker 1 (50:05):
You know what hurt? They start looking a little puney.

Speaker 2 (50:10):
Oh, here we go.

Speaker 1 (50:11):
They're begging. They're begging to be prune, go ahead.

Speaker 3 (50:13):
Time, I interject, yep, Carl the praying for the Nucio
brothers and their Chameleon nursery and Alta Dina. Ironically, I
received three camellias from them on Tuesday. I complained that
they came on the worst day possible with the wind,
not realizing what would transpire in a few short hours.
I did receive a bill from them yesterday, but their

(50:35):
website says temporarily closed, praying for the best.

Speaker 4 (50:39):
So yeah, they're right in the fire area, right.

Speaker 3 (50:42):
Yeah, yeah, so we hope for the best.

Speaker 2 (50:47):
Nucios as well.

Speaker 4 (50:49):
We were talking earlier about Tom carus house burning down,
and Tom I believe lives in Altadena, and that's where
Nucios also is.

Speaker 3 (50:59):
Right yeah, Oh man, that's bummer. You know, it's always
uh you know. That's the thing about nurseries too, is
a lot of times they're and new shows. I mean,
this is not relevant to the one we're talking about now,
but a lot of times.

Speaker 2 (51:15):
Are on the outskirts of towns. You know. That's where
always nurseries.

Speaker 3 (51:18):
Are out out out in the most fire danger parts
of town, and they're always the ones that kind of
usually get affected by these problems because you know, they
they're in rural areas.

Speaker 4 (51:32):
Because the land's too valuable to grow things. And yeah,
it's the true area.

Speaker 3 (51:37):
It's very rare that you have a city nursery, you know,
unless it's been absorbed and kept in the family for years,
in generations and generations.

Speaker 4 (51:46):
That was the even garden centers like Mission Hills. Yeah, yeah,
exactly's been there for one hundred years.

Speaker 1 (51:51):
Yeah, nineteen ten, is that right?

Speaker 2 (51:54):
That's right?

Speaker 1 (51:54):
But you're going, this is your one hundred and twenty fifth, Yeah,
it is the big one, twenty five, one two five?

Speaker 2 (52:00):
What do you what are you gonna? What do you
get someone for their one hundred and twenty fifth ANNIVERSI math?

Speaker 4 (52:04):
So it's not one hundred and fifteen fifteen?

Speaker 1 (52:06):
Did I say, was it?

Speaker 2 (52:07):
Yeah? He's in twenty twenty five.

Speaker 1 (52:09):
Yeah. I'm usually pretty good at well if you had
opened it up in nineteen hundred, yeah, but you said,
I know, I might. I was doing quick math. Thank
you for catching me, because I'm usually pretty good at that.
But you know, one twenty five who cares? Who knows?

Speaker 3 (52:22):
Yeah, celebrat was fee twenty five. I mean, at that point,
it's not a big deal, you know.

Speaker 4 (52:28):
Yeah, Tiger was just a kid when that nursery opened up.

Speaker 1 (52:31):
Yeah, so are you the third owner?

Speaker 2 (52:35):
Yeah, third Kate Sessions and ton of Chelly's and no, that's.

Speaker 1 (52:38):
Not bad for one hundred and fifteen years three owners.

Speaker 4 (52:41):
Yeah, you were little when your dad button Er.

Speaker 2 (52:44):
Yeah, in kindergarten. Yeah about yeah, right around kindergarten exactly,
a little snot running around, exactly terrorizing the place.

Speaker 4 (52:54):
I have a feeling that you were a lot like Isaac.

Speaker 2 (52:57):
No, I'm sure.

Speaker 1 (52:59):
I saw Sorr. Sure. What was it in the newsletter
of you holding a plant when you were where did I.

Speaker 2 (53:04):
See that picture of you of me and my dad?

Speaker 1 (53:07):
Yeah, something like that at the nursery and you're holding
some plant. You look almost like, why am I here
with this plant?

Speaker 2 (53:15):
Was this last week? Was this last week?

Speaker 1 (53:19):
Anyway? So I guess we're caught up on the questions.
Comfece those on Facebook Live, keep them coming. We've got
kind of open phones right now with whatever you want
to talk about.

Speaker 4 (53:27):
You know, I was I was in a garden center.
I actually it was home depot. I was in home
depot last week, and the thought looking at their roses
that are coming in there used to be bear root
rose seas in southern California. Now they're all potted, I think, right, yeah,
do you still get.

Speaker 1 (53:46):
We do not?

Speaker 3 (53:46):
Yeah, I think there's a hunters in like Spring Valley
area I think still gets bear root.

Speaker 2 (53:52):
I don't. I think Niffings maybe does.

Speaker 4 (53:54):
But yeah, I know Niffings used to. But anyway, I remember,
you know, the roses coming in bear root, and they
were like six ninety nine for non patents and nine
ninety nine or twelve ninety nine for the new ones.
And I'm looking thirty four ninety nine, yeah, thirty five
dollars for It's just I just can't get accustomed to

(54:18):
new pricing.

Speaker 3 (54:19):
I guess, well, I think, I mean, it's just not
just not just the new pricing, but it's the new,
the new, the new way of roses in the sense
of number one, I mean a lot of rose producers
have gone out of business, so you know, there's fewer,
fewer companies doing it. But number two, they used to

(54:42):
just you know, plant them up in fields and then
you know, harvest them like that, and that whole process
is just way more costly than it used to be,
you know, in the sense of you know, it's it's
easier for us to can and grow and do it
that way than it is to plant them in a

(55:03):
field and grow it out.

Speaker 2 (55:05):
You know.

Speaker 3 (55:05):
That's why you know, the stone fruits we talked about,
you know, with you know, the apricots and the apples
and those, they field grow those and then they dig
them up and harvest them, and that whole process is
more expensive nowadays than it used to be compared to
a ornamental nursery grower who instantly drops it in a
can grows it out. That's a much easier process then

(55:29):
the field grown now you know where it used to
be flipped, used to be harder to ornamentally grow plants.

Speaker 4 (55:37):
It's a good time of year to join your local
local roast society and learn about about pruning roses, because
everybody's giving seminars on pruning roses. I know, the San
Diego Roast Society has one coming up this week, I
think either this week or next week where they're going
to be demonstrating pruning. But else rot studies are happy

(56:01):
to have you show up, and I think you're usually
invited to go in free, you know, for a few
meetings before you join. But even if you want to join,
they're usually like twenty dollars a year to join. And
it does support the rows societies.

Speaker 3 (56:19):
And that you know, and they usually will support educational
aspects of of you know, growing roses, you know, or
different scholarships for people trying to get into horticulture or
other programs you know that support you know, saving roses.
I mean a lot of times you know, they'll give

(56:40):
money back to like places like Balboa Park or or
the Queenmaca Gardens where it promotes the whole horticultural end.

Speaker 1 (56:47):
We're going to take a break and when we come back,
we're going to answer Carla's next question here on Garden
America Facebook Live, Biz Talk Radio. And again, thank you
to Furtan keeping us on the air each and every
year back after these messes, and thank you for tuning in,
whether it be Facebook Live or BIS talk Radio. All right,
we are back. We've got two more segments. This is
the longer of the two segments coming up, so still

(57:09):
plenty of time to get engaged and let us know
what's on your mind. Did you want to read it, John,
since it was directed to you, Do you have the question?

Speaker 4 (57:16):
Carlos says that the article that was in the newsletter
this week mentioned picking up fallen leaves in the garden
to prevent pass and she says she thought leaves were
good for mulch. Could you please clarify, Yeah, depends on
what kind of leaves right, Tiger. For instance, if you
have magnolia's and Magnolia's are dropping leaves, they're a thicker,

(57:38):
heavier leaf and it's easy for sowbugs, earwigs, snail to
get in there yet to hide under those leaves. So
those she would.

Speaker 3 (57:48):
Rake, and they'll kill plants that are under it, because,
like you're saying, it's a big thick and if you
leave it there, if you leave it there for three months,
there's no light getting into the lower rass or plant.

Speaker 4 (58:01):
Yeah, and it provides perfect conditions for some diseases to start.
But if they're they're small or deciduous leaves, you know,
like Chinese elm or things like that that are going
to fall and filter down, those those are fine. And
that depends on the part of the country too. If
you have a thick leaf layer, say covering a lawn,

(58:23):
and then you get snow on top of that, so
you got good Blinko plus the leaves. You know, then
you know, you can have diseases farming there and holding
over through until the winter. So that's why they rake
the leaves in areas where they get a thick mulch cover.

Speaker 3 (58:40):
And also, you know, be aware of the plant that
the leaves fell from, in the sense of you know,
a lot of times they'll talk about roses and removing
that foliage, especially it's been riddled with mildew and rust
and stuff like that, because that could perpetuate the problem
if you don't kind of clean up those leaves. And
also if you throw those leaves in a mulch pile,

(59:03):
there's a really good chance that you are not a
professional multure and meaning you're not bringing that multpile temperature
up to you know, exactly where it kills all of
that stuff. And you go and put that mulch back
out into your garden, you could then, you know, have
those volunteer plants shoot up, or those diseases and fungal

(59:27):
issues come back. So you got to be careful with that. John,
are you a good mulcher?

Speaker 4 (59:34):
I have a lot of them, al and I get
mult you know, my son is in the tree trimming business,
and so they run the branches and things through a chipper,
and I end up, you know, putting that everywhere. It
helps suppress weeds for one thing. True, Yeah, but yeah,

(59:55):
right now I have a hillside that I'm trying to
get completely mult and in an area where Tiger is
going to be doing some work. So I'm trying to
clean that up, looking.

Speaker 1 (01:00:10):
Looking aware of the work he's going to be doing.

Speaker 4 (01:00:12):
Oh yeah, he's aware of the work that he was
going to be doing.

Speaker 2 (01:00:15):
Yeah.

Speaker 4 (01:00:16):
Now, it's pretty much the same thing. The beds in
the back of my house are going to be some
formal rose beds and maybe a bet or two for vegetables,
and that part's going to stay the same. But it's
just like where we're going to put the irrigation, because
I've started planning roses down where the trellises are below,

(01:00:37):
and and I want Tiger's opinion on where to put
some rose beds, whether I should put a bed there,
just keep it a walkway. But I do need to
get irrigation for when I'm not there where everything can
be watered.

Speaker 3 (01:00:51):
Now, and then you know, with the whole mulch thing.
I mean, it's really interesting. I'm really intrigued to see
John's landscape evolve over the years. I mean number one,
and it's going to be, you know, beautiful, just the
way he has everything all lined up and you know,
laid out and the different plant selection. But number two
is you know, he his house was built and they

(01:01:11):
had to scrape, so the soil that he's working with
was not very good at all, right, But because of
the luxury of having you know, a sun in the
tree business and having all those multch drops, he's been
able to add that element of organic material to areas
real quick where most people might not be able to

(01:01:33):
do that, and it's making a huge impact on the
overall landscape in the health of the soil in you know,
I mean it's really neat because I mean, you know,
coming from the house, how long did you live in
that other house in Fallbrook?

Speaker 4 (01:01:48):
Thirty years?

Speaker 3 (01:01:49):
Where I mean you worked that landscape for thirty years
and you had molts and stuff and when you probably
went out to dig a hole, you could dig a
hole where now you have to dynamite blast a hole, do.

Speaker 4 (01:02:03):
You granted you Well, the hill right behind the house,
every rose on that hill was planted with the jack caammer.

Speaker 2 (01:02:12):
Yeah.

Speaker 4 (01:02:13):
But and that was starting just two years ago, I think.
And now I can go out there with a shovel, yeah,
plant something.

Speaker 3 (01:02:21):
And it's just because of that mult and that element
of organic material.

Speaker 4 (01:02:25):
You know, I was wondering, do you think weeds had
a lot to do with that too?

Speaker 3 (01:02:30):
I think so, because they break up soil, right, and
you know they put their roots through there.

Speaker 1 (01:02:35):
Yeah, they put their they grow up through sidewalks.

Speaker 3 (01:02:38):
Yeah, and they and they and even you know, and
like what John I think is saying, like the root
growing into a rock or hard soil is breaking it up, right.

Speaker 2 (01:02:46):
So yeah, any any plant material will We'll do that.

Speaker 4 (01:02:51):
I've had a good weed cover there for a couple
of years.

Speaker 2 (01:02:53):
We call that a cover crop, a cover crop, John.

Speaker 4 (01:02:57):
A native cover cropt. Sometimes I don't know if it's native,
may not be. But you know, one thing I have
noticed since we've had virtually no rain, and son is
going to happen.

Speaker 1 (01:03:13):
I mean any on the horizon.

Speaker 4 (01:03:15):
No, I look, two weeks clear, the sun is coming up.

Speaker 1 (01:03:19):
Yeah, that's what only needs a huge rain rain rain.

Speaker 4 (01:03:24):
But because of that, I've noticed almost snow weeds compared
to past years.

Speaker 1 (01:03:29):
Last year, last two years.

Speaker 4 (01:03:31):
Yeah, last year at this time, where I would the
grasses would have been at least knee high right now,
if not getting close to waist eye. And right now
everything's still brown.

Speaker 2 (01:03:41):
And and isn't it a weird thing too? You know?

Speaker 3 (01:03:45):
I mean I've talked about this a number of times
where I have that flowering I think pair in my
front yard or something like that, it still has leaves
on it, you know, they have an we're not getting
that dorm because even forget about the rain, we don't
have cold like we normally do either.

Speaker 4 (01:04:04):
You know, when I came to work today, the temperature
was thirty seven, So you can have some of my cold.

Speaker 1 (01:04:10):
You want it, Yeah, but it warms up the further
south you get. It's not thirty seven here, yeah, well
further the.

Speaker 3 (01:04:17):
Further west, of course, yeah, because because yeah, we just
we just haven't had that, you know, because normally, like
you say, we'll have a rain and then it clears
up and that gets really cold, and and we just
haven't had that. So it's all the plants are. You know,
I've got I think I've talked about this before where

(01:04:37):
I've just got customers and they're just frustrated because the
plants don't look good. And I was like, if it
was raining and cold, I probably wouldn't even be having
this talkation, right because you realize why the plants don't
look good, but because it's sunny and warm and you're
frustrated that your your rose is not blooming or it's
got mildew on foldage.

Speaker 4 (01:05:00):
Roses that have not in the ground, that have not
gone gone dormant at all.

Speaker 2 (01:05:04):
Geez.

Speaker 4 (01:05:05):
I mean they're dark, rich, dark creas.

Speaker 1 (01:05:07):
And mine don't look that good. But I think I've
got a green planet or two. That's just kinda I'm like,
what do you want to what are you waiting to do?
What do you we can work this out. What do
you want to catch it? You want to be to trim?

Speaker 4 (01:05:19):
What do you want I kind of used to tell
your kids, you just want to shout out on them,
Hey go to bed.

Speaker 1 (01:05:24):
Yeah exactly.

Speaker 3 (01:05:25):
But you know the bigger part of this too, and
it is happening we you know, a few years back
we talked about this is the all the fruit tree
growers in the Central Valley. This is really going to
affect them because their their production won't be rest great.

Speaker 2 (01:05:41):
They didn't. You know, we talked about.

Speaker 3 (01:05:42):
How fruit trees require those chill hours and they're getting
chill but not what they normally would get. And then
you know, if plants don't get enough chill for fruit trees,
sometimes your production will go down the following years.

Speaker 1 (01:05:55):
It's just supposed to be another heavy rainy season or not.

Speaker 2 (01:05:59):
What is the lunny? That's what they were saying. La
Nina is it dry?

Speaker 1 (01:06:03):
Is dry?

Speaker 4 (01:06:03):
And California you know, Northern California is still having a
heavy rain season.

Speaker 2 (01:06:09):
Yeah, they have.

Speaker 4 (01:06:10):
They've had two atmospheric rivers right now.

Speaker 3 (01:06:13):
Right, and it's kind of come down all the way
just right north of San Francisco, right, Yeah, that's like
the farthest south. It's kind of come is like the
San Francisco San Jose area.

Speaker 2 (01:06:22):
Everything south of that has been dry.

Speaker 3 (01:06:25):
Yeah, but yeah, Lanina, I think is dry and Al
Nina is wet for us.

Speaker 2 (01:06:31):
So yeah, that's what we're having.

Speaker 1 (01:06:35):
Well, we need some rain, We need some rain, definitely, definitely.

Speaker 2 (01:06:40):
Never hurts.

Speaker 4 (01:06:42):
I wonder if we had people near us change their
water districts, and I think we stayed in the Rainbow
Water district and because people a little further south of
me and and towards the coast are paying seems like
fifty sixty percent more.

Speaker 2 (01:07:03):
And wow, yeah, I know we just mentioned earlier.

Speaker 4 (01:07:07):
I just can't get adjusted to new prices.

Speaker 1 (01:07:09):
I mean I was your SDG and ebil.

Speaker 4 (01:07:12):
Last month was I think ten bucks.

Speaker 1 (01:07:16):
Because you have solar? Yeah, welcome to the four hundred
dollars club?

Speaker 4 (01:07:21):
Really?

Speaker 1 (01:07:22):
Oh yeah yours? Yep? What pushing and we haven't done
anything different and that notpe. We're going to take a
break back after these messages on Garden America. Well, all right,
we made it to the very last segment of today's
show here on Garden America. For those that have hung
in there from the very beginning, we thank you thanking
for the lom Our sponsor here keeping us on the air.

(01:07:42):
So again, final segment here, not the longest of segments,
but still time to squeeze in a few questions, comments,
and whatever else is on your mind.

Speaker 4 (01:07:51):
I see our friend jan and Brentwood in the Bay
areas mentioning that a lot of heroses are still blooming.
And she she sent me an email this week and
told me about a new nursery that she was getting
some roses from. I'm not going to mention it on air,

(01:08:11):
but for some reasons that I won't mention it also
won't mention on air. But it's really neat because there
there are roses that haven't up till now, haven't been
in this country. Oh cool, and it's always yeah, it's
always cool to get something new.

Speaker 1 (01:08:28):
Yeah, why you know what my filter is working today?

Speaker 2 (01:08:32):
Yeah? Yeah, you didn't make a comment, not at all.

Speaker 4 (01:08:36):
Do you remember how long ago was it that we
did the little demonstration here about rooting rose cuttings.

Speaker 2 (01:08:44):
In the little a month or so?

Speaker 4 (01:08:48):
Do I remember the one cutting I made right there
and said okay, and then just put it in there,
okay that rose is rooted and now growing outdoors?

Speaker 2 (01:08:56):
Really yeah? Yeah, a month ago in the middle of winter. Yeah,
you know this should.

Speaker 1 (01:09:01):
Have taken a still shot and then now you take
see a picture of it. Now you put them side
by side in the newsletter.

Speaker 3 (01:09:07):
Can you get your acting get been good? Take a
still shot and do a video.

Speaker 1 (01:09:13):
Well, at least sometimes still.

Speaker 3 (01:09:18):
I love how you're still telling John to do this
when we know that's not in his wheelhouse at all.

Speaker 4 (01:09:24):
But I can provide you the material for you, guys.

Speaker 1 (01:09:28):
Yeah, exactly but that would have been, you know, good,
here in the studio, here's what I'm doing. And then
what a month later, here's what it. Here's how it
turned out.

Speaker 2 (01:09:35):
Yeah, yeah, that's what would have been good. John would
have been good.

Speaker 1 (01:09:40):
You blew it? What's going on?

Speaker 4 (01:09:42):
Yeah, come on, what's the January's the time of year?

Speaker 5 (01:09:50):
Oh?

Speaker 4 (01:09:50):
You know, we were talking earlier about one of the
big box stores, and I won't pick on because every
big box store is the same. Yeah, I went in
this we're talking about the San Diego area. Anyway, you
can go in and you can see they are selling
plants that have as close to zero percent chance of

(01:10:11):
growing as you can imagine, you know, like green peppers
and squash and basil.

Speaker 2 (01:10:20):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (01:10:20):
There, Their vegetable racks are fully loaded, like they have
every vegetable on that rack, right.

Speaker 4 (01:10:27):
And it's just no reason to to me. And maybe
things are changed because they've been out of retail for
a long time, but but I always felt as a retailer,
if you put something on the shelf, you were subconsciously
telling your customers now the time to plant this. And
and you know here they are either either knowingly or

(01:10:51):
unknowingly if it's unknowingly shame on them.

Speaker 2 (01:10:54):
Yeah, no, they can.

Speaker 4 (01:10:54):
They should know better.

Speaker 2 (01:10:55):
They know they're working a numbers game there for sure.

Speaker 4 (01:10:58):
You know how many people are not experienced gardeners are
going to go in, buy something, take it home, it dies,
and then their thought is going to be, I just
can't grow that.

Speaker 1 (01:11:07):
I would say a lot of experienced, unexperienced gardeners, I
should say, shop at those big box stores, because they're
in there for something else to begin with. Perhaps, Oh,
let's go out to the garden center. See, oh look
this is nice.

Speaker 4 (01:11:20):
Let's buy I mean, they might subscribe to the school
of hard knocks learning. You know, you try to plant that,
she'll learn. Now's not the time to do.

Speaker 1 (01:11:29):
Diane's got a question, she says, speaking of roses. I
trimmed mine back a bit earlier and was waiting until
January to cut back, and now they're starting to bloom.
I'm in the Redding area. Can I still cut back?
They are growing too wide?

Speaker 4 (01:11:43):
Yeah, Diane, you can go ahead and cut them back now.

Speaker 2 (01:11:45):
And that we've talked about it before.

Speaker 3 (01:11:47):
It's always a decision that you kind of just have
to make because sometimes they are growing and they all
have flowers on them, and you just have to do it.

Speaker 4 (01:11:54):
And sometimes the only way you get them to go
to Arman is to.

Speaker 2 (01:11:57):
Cut them back.

Speaker 1 (01:11:57):
Yeah, that's true.

Speaker 4 (01:11:58):
Yeah, I've noticed that some of the older garden roses,
like moss roses, maybe some of the hybrid perpetuals are
more I guess more prone to dormancy. And even though
the weather hasn't been cold for roses that have more

(01:12:20):
of a tea background in them, they have more of
a European background, and they are losing their leaves right
away and just sitting there not growing. But the tea
roses which came from China and warmer climates, you know,
they continue to grow all through the season where the
weather's warm, and you know, I've got full blooms on

(01:12:42):
a lot of them.

Speaker 3 (01:12:43):
Are there? Are there evergreen roses like they just they
are known to keep their leaves year round, no matter
like like like where they're needed, like you said China,
like they're warmer climates, you know, do they keep their
leaves you around there?

Speaker 4 (01:12:58):
Well, there's a species of rose called Rosa sempervirons and
sumpervirons is Latin for always green. Yeah, so yeah, there
are roses and uh Rosa gigantia, the same thing you
know from warmer climates. They're gonna they're gonna hold their

(01:13:20):
leaves longer.

Speaker 1 (01:13:24):
Interesting, okay, so really are.

Speaker 4 (01:13:27):
Gonna be larger growing plants too, since they're adapted to
growing year round. You know it's uh. I remember the
nursery people would always come in for hedge plants and
they'd say, I want something fast growing to six feet.

Speaker 1 (01:13:43):
Oh yeah, of course, and then stop.

Speaker 4 (01:13:45):
Yeah, so yeah, say yeah, get this plant here. It grows,
grows overnight to six feet, it.

Speaker 2 (01:13:51):
Stops, yeah, exactly.

Speaker 4 (01:13:53):
It used to be a product that never caught on
called before Miracle Grow, the number one fertilizer was rapid Grow.
Oh okay, and then Miracle wrote took over their place.
But they came out with the product around the same
time called slow Grow, which you would spray on a plant.

Speaker 1 (01:14:13):
You know, it's slow growth down. Yeah, but I wonder
in the long run, hu, that's detrimental to that plant
for you.

Speaker 4 (01:14:19):
You know there's bone side that lived for hundreds of years. Yeah, yeah,
you're there.

Speaker 1 (01:14:23):
That's a proven process.

Speaker 2 (01:14:24):
But no, but growers, you know, growers use what do
they call them in the industry, John, where.

Speaker 4 (01:14:33):
They growth hormones.

Speaker 3 (01:14:35):
Yeah, where they where they They spray the plant and
the plant does stop growing because we don't want it
to stretch or anything.

Speaker 1 (01:14:43):
I hate to do this. We have to go.

Speaker 2 (01:14:46):
We're just in the middle of over talk.

Speaker 1 (01:14:48):
It just got started. Basically, Hey, thank you so much
for joining us. We do appreciate it those on Bistalk Radio,
Facebook Live. It is time for us to exit, but
we hope you enjoyed today's show learning about grasses with Karen.
Have your so for a great rest of your weekend.
Let's hope we can get some rain sometime here in California. Otherwise,
have yourself a good rest of your weekend, a safe week,
and we'll do it again next week right here on

(01:15:09):
Guard in America. Thank you, Take care,

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Ornamental Grass Tips with Karen Parke - Garden America Podcasts & Radio Show [1.11.25]

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.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}Ornamental Grass Tips with Karen Parke - Garden America Podcasts & Radio Show [1.11.25]