Say Hello to Jack Frost - A Gardening Simplified Preview

Rick Vuyst joins us to discuss this week's show!

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Steve, Kelly, Brett, Tekita, Laurence Smith. And this is Friday,
December twelfth, twenty twenty five. If it's Friday, best chance
you'll hear some regulars like our friend Rick Weist of
Gardening Simplify, Gardening Simplified on air dot com. Rick, thanks
for doing this again as always.

Speaker 2 (00:19):
Well, good morning, standing by just trying to stay warm.

Speaker 1 (00:22):
Speaking of which, say hello to Jack Frost. The word
I heard from you is that kind of like say
hello to my little friend.

Speaker 2 (00:30):
Yeah, that's that's about it. This weekend, Stacy and I
on the Gardening Simplified Show, we're going to talk about
Jack Frost. You know, he originates from ancient folklore as
a personification of winter. And you know it's up to
you to decide whether or not you see him as
a mischievous character or you see him as villainous or sinister.

(00:53):
But he's certainly hanging around here now, and so Stacey
and I will be talking about the difference between between
frost and freeze. Some folks complain about the snow, but
I would remind them that snow is moisture after months
of drought here in West Michigan, and it's great insulation

(01:14):
for the plants. So there's an old saying that goes
a good winter with snow makes all the plants grow,
And that's true because a lot of plants, trees, they
need a resting period dormancy, and fortunately dormancy is reversible
in spring. But that cold weather can be very beneficial

(01:38):
to plant material. Take a look, for example at our
beautiful Lake Michigan and the Great Lakes. They benefit from
ice cover and some cold It really makes a difference
to the health of the Great Lakes. Some of the
fish need it helps control invasive species. And so you know,

(02:01):
to a degree, we have to embrace jack frost in
this cold weather.

Speaker 3 (02:06):
Rick, when you're talking about the amount of snow, we'll
see what this frosty weather can that impact your plants?
Like should you be shoveling plants off? Does it get
too heavy?

Speaker 2 (02:16):
Oh? Great question. And you know sometimes we will see
damage from ice or icy rain or the weight of
the snow, especially underneath soppits, So you do have to
pay attention to that. But sometimes you do more damage
than good by trying to knock off or brush off

(02:37):
the snow. So it's really a call that you have
to make in a situation when it really starts to
pile up, because yes, some damage can be done.

Speaker 3 (02:49):
I've never done this before, but just piggybacking office any question. No,
but I see it a lot, and you've talked about
it in your neighborhood. Is plants that need to be wrapped
that you've seen, like they have their own little blanket, right.

Speaker 2 (03:01):
Yeah, yeah, you know some some people do that to
a large extent. I see, for example, arbor Viti's, which
is an evergreen pyramidal evergreen shrub that's ubiquitous in our neighborhoods.
I see them wrapped, and they're primarily being wrapped to
prevent deer browsing. But there are other plants that people

(03:26):
will provide a screen because what does damage in winter
is when the sun is low in the south and
the winds are blowing. The ground is frozen, so the
plant can't take a drink. That's when you start to
see damage, particularly on evergreens.

Speaker 1 (03:43):
It's nothing better to prevent deer browsing than my cousin Tim.
But again, put them over to my house rent by
the hour bush lights involved. It's kind of more of
a trade deal. Will hear that program that's after that.
He's not all right. Yeah yeah, Barge and our friends listening.

(04:07):
No gardening simplified on air dot com to find out more.
Rick Weist always great stuff.

Speaker 2 (04:12):
Thank you the buck stops here. Have a great weekend.

Speaker 3 (04:16):
Yeah,