This past weekend GP Jeff Gillman and I were in Midland, Michigan for two different conferences and had a chance to catch up over dinner (Boulevard burgers – best in Midland) and a couple of cold Bell’s stout ales. It was nice to visit with Jeff since we have so much in common but rarely get to see each other. As you might suspect, our conversation centered on negotiating the perils of the tenure and promotion process at research intensive universities, dealing with bumbling administrators, and, of course, our fellow Garden Professors. … Continue reading this article “Keep Calm and Carry On…”
Month: March 2011
The roots of the rhody problem
There were several good shots at analyzing Friday’s unhappy rhododendron. Mature leaf size can be determined by light levels, as both Lisa B and Tom & Paul suggested. Moving a plant from a low to high light environment could cause this change in leaf size. This rhododendron hasn’t been recently transplanted, however, so we can eliminate light levels as a cause. (And there was no other impediment to light, such as the presence of shading plants.)… Continue reading this article “The roots of the rhody problem”
Friday puzzle: unhappy rhododendron
Today we have a diagnosis question. Consider this unhappy rhododendron:
While there is more than one problem with this poor thing, the one I’d like you to think about is why the newer leaves are smaller than the old leaves. (They are fully mature.) There are two parts to this question:
1) What is the physiological reason that the leaves are smaller? (In other words, what is directly causing this difference?)
2) Knowing this, what does this tell you about the underlying problem?… Continue reading this article “Friday puzzle: unhappy rhododendron”
Random thoughts from the NW Flower and Garden Show
Last week was Seattle’s NW Flower and Garden Show. This multi-day extravaganza features display gardens, educational seminars, and many opportunities to spend $$$. I had a little free time one day and shot some pictures, which I present here along with my commentary:
The Good
The “perfect” lawn is no longer just a monoculture of grass. At least two of the display gardens had flowers scattered for a designer version of ecoturf:
And a very cool repurposing of old heating vent covers as part of a patchwork of groundcovers:
The Questionable
A gorgeous Japanese maple (Acer palmatum), “born” in 1893:
I’m sorry.… Continue reading this article “Random thoughts from the NW Flower and Garden Show”
Off-label Use of a Chicken*
[Extremely] Preliminary research results from the University of Maryland indicate
chickens may be of interest in the fight against Halyomorpha halys, the brown
marmorated stink bug.
There are good stink bugs and bad stink bugs. The brown marmorated stink bug is a bad one. A relatively new introduced pest, it is piercing, sucking, and generally ruining vegetable and fruit crops (as well as some ornamentals) across a good part of the U.S. There are apparently few natural predators for this imported species and they reproduce like mad, thus the potential for this to become a very serious economic issue.… Continue reading this article “Off-label Use of a Chicken*”