I’m taking the easy way out this week, as I’ve got to get my annual review done by next Monday (and I haven’t even started it yet. Hah!). But over the weekend, let’s see if you can figure out (1) what this is, and (2) why it looks the way it does:
Monday’s photo will reveal all!
David, one of our newer readers, asked why his red-stemmed roses seem to be more cold hardy than the green-stemmed cultivars. So today’s blog will be dedicated to a brief discussion of why it’s better to be red than dead.
The brilliant red, blue, and purple colors seen in flowers and fruits are due to anthocyanins (and the closely related betacyanins). These water-soluble, non-photosynthetic pigments are also commonly found in stems, leaves and other vegetative tissues. … Continue reading this article “Better Red than Dead!!!”
I just got this today – it releases in February!
Isn’t it a great cover?
And this one came out the week before Christmas – my holiday gift to myself! (You try riding herd on 21 different authors and see if you like it!)
Getting these books done was a major milestone, and I hope that this year I might have time for some new projects.
Happy New Year!
Not much activity on the Friday quiz! It was a tricky one. Take a look at our photos in total:
As you can see, these aren’t plant “problems” in the strictest sense. (The “landscape” in question is a retail nursery.) They are cultivated anomalies – little mutations that have been discovered and propagated. There are several points to this exercise:
1) Be sure you know your plant material! Many peope mistakenly assume that plants such as these are diseased, pest-ridden, or lacking some nutrient and need to be “fixed.” … Continue reading this article “Foliage fun flaunted!”
It’s days like this that I am so grateful to have this blog at my disposal!
It’s 7 am on Sunday and I’m just finishing the paper, drinking Earl Grey tea, and listening to NPR. Liane Hansen just finished an interview with Martha Stewart, who among other things was discussing healthy eating for the new year. She’s a proponent of organic food (as are many of us), and mentioned two reasons she doesn’t like conventionally grown produce. … Continue reading this article “Sunday rant – the evils of chemicals”
Take a look at these three closeups of foliage from three different plants in a landscape in Washington state:
You’ve been asked to diagnose what’s going on in this landscape that would cause these foliar abnormalities. (I get photos emailed to me all the time asking these kinds of questions.) Bugs? Disease? Nutrient deficiencies? Environmental conditions? All of the above?
More photos and answers on Monday!
Just had to get your attention there. We’ve had a great discussion over native and nonnative plants over the last few weeks. I’m going to completely switch gears and move on to another topic – biodynamics.
If you’re not familiar with this term, let me refer you to my online column here. Biodynamics is a set of agricultural practices based on a belief system, not science, but is an increasingly popular approach, especially in the wine industry. … Continue reading this article “Invasives! Natives! No, wait, biodynamics”
(You’ll see two posts from me today. This first one is easier to do at 6 a.m.)
One of the efforts I’ve been involved with is serving as science editor (and writer) for MasterGardener Magazine. We started this quarterly publication in 2007 (take a look at it online at it here) – not just for Master Gardeners, but for anyone interested in sustainable gardens and landscapes. Sadly, the publication went to an annual issue last year because of the economic downturn and now may be eliminated altogether.… Continue reading this article “Is there any future for a scientifically-sound gardening magazine?”
A few months ago I posted a caution about using old pressure-treated timbers for vegetable gardens (see my Sept. 23 posting). I now routinely get questions about alternatives to these arsenic-laden materials, especially new treated lumber. What’s in the new wood that makes it rot resistant, and is it dangerous?
Rather than arsenic, new pressure-treated lumber has copper as its active ingredient. Though it also will leach out of the wood, there is not a human health hazard associated with its uptake by plants or animals. … Continue reading this article “Veggie garden safety”
Great discussion over the weekend, with some very astute observations. If you looked at the brown needles under the tree in Friday’s picture, you may have noticed that some of them weren’t needles:
Not only was this tree planted too deeply, as several of you pointed out, but the burlap and twine were left intact. It appears the nylon twine has already started to girdle the trunk, based on the trunk swelling just above where the twine is wrapped.… Continue reading this article “Friday puzzle solved!”