The best part of my job is teaching, especially the plant production course (kind of Floriculture and Nursery management rolled into one). Today all the students are back on campus, and it’s an energy infusion for me, after weeks of quiet and mountains of paperwork. I made copies of the syllabus, and walked in to a class full of unsuspecting and slightly stand-offish students. They stared at the list of plants I handed them for the "crop lottery", where they draw for what they will be growing for the semester – from classic red geraniums to cutting-edge Colocasia (bartering is allowed for 5 minutes). They’re faced… Continue reading this article “Learning to Grow”
Category: Amusing Facts
Is Petting Your African Violet a Good Idea?
As some of you know, I post a research update every three months or so on Susan Harris’ blog www.sustainable-gardening.com as well as on GardenRant. This update reviews scientific articles which might be useful to gardeners. Anyway, I just finished up a new edition earlier this week — which will probably be posted soon — that included one of the more interesting articles that I’ve seen recently. For my post today I thought I’d spend just a couple of paragraphs telling you about it. … Continue reading this article “Is Petting Your African Violet a Good Idea?”
Better Red than Dead!!!
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!!!”
Post-holiday Poinsettia Fatigue
You’ve seen them. The saddest thing ever – a poinsettia, still in its little foil sleeve, tucked into the corner of the doctor’s office/bank/etc. In June. 
Photo courtesy of Beth Bonini http://beedrunken.blogspot.com
So iconic, there’s even a rock band in St. Paul called “Dead Poinsettia.”
Every year about this time, I get asked “how do I care for my poinsettia so it will bloom next year?” by friends, students, random callers, and random newspaper writers. … Continue reading this article “Post-holiday Poinsettia Fatigue”
Is It Worth Anything?
Plant aficionados everywhere are constantly looking for something which they can patent and make a million bucks on — something like ‘Endless Summer’ hydrangea which captured the public’s attention — and their wallets. Many of the new plants we see today came from something called “branch sports” which are basically segments of a tree — like a branch — which has somehow mutated so that it offers something a little different than what the original tree did. … Continue reading this article “Is It Worth Anything?”
I think about these things as I peer into my coffee cup…
This winter, we’re working on renovating part of the campus Hort Garden. We’re tossing around lots of ideas/themes, but I’m leaning towards a garden full of “Plants with a Purpose”. Edible, fiber-producing, medicinal…you get my drift. Which brings me to today’s bloggerific topic: beverages.
Mankind has, throughout history, infused or fermented just about every species of flora in an effort to get either perked up or calmed down. These plant potions are often classified anthropologically as, ahem, “ceremonial beverages”.… Continue reading this article “I think about these things as I peer into my coffee cup…”
Compost Tea? How About Compost Pee!
My news tab in Firefox is the BBC “latest headlines” page. It’s a great place to get pretty darn unbiased news plus the U.K. equivalent of “News of the Weird”. SO, relative to our ongoing discussion of composting…here’s a story ripped directly from the BBC headlines. Follow the link for a video (interview, that is).
Disclaimerage: I nor any of the other Garden Professors endorse this activity, nor any claims as to its usefulness, scientific relevancy, harrumph harrumph, etc,.… Continue reading this article “Compost Tea? How About Compost Pee!”
To Prune Or Not To Prune, That Is The Question…
“Dabney! No! Wait!” Just kidding. Dabney Blanton, our lovely and talented horticulturist, knows not to prune the Artemisia in the autumn.
I imagine most gardeners have experienced a frost or freeze by now [exceptions: our Southern Hemisphere readers (howdy to Jimbo)…or anyone in the deeeeep south].
The perennials here in Blacksburg have taken a couple of hits; time to start trimming things back. In the Hahn Horticulture Garden and in my own personal garden, we like to leave perennials and ornamental grasses up as long as possible – gives us something to look at besides mulch, plus the wee birdies enjoy it.… Continue reading this article “To Prune Or Not To Prune, That Is The Question…”
Veggie gardening science – whaddya know?
I just had a long conversation with Michele Owens (of Garden Rant fame) about vegetable gardening. This isn’t one of my strong areas, either professionally or personally (I do have containers of herbs, but that’s as far as it goes). But what piqued my curiosity was her revelation that the vegetable gardening is just as full of myths and misinformation as my field of ornamental landscaping.
I’ve ventured into the realm of vegetable garden science now and then, especially in reference to having soil tests done before planting edibles (good!),… Continue reading this article “Veggie gardening science – whaddya know?”
The World According to Chub
Following up on Holly’s theme of “I can’t believe I get paid to do this”, last Wednesday I participated in a walk-through and inspection of the Justin ‘Chub’ Harper Collection of Dwarf and Rare conifers at MSU’s Hidden Lake Gardens in south central Michigan. The Harper collection is widely regarded as one of the premier collections of rare and unusual conifers in the world.
Harper Conifer Collection with fall color background. Photo: Jack Wikle.
A little background: Chub Harper was the former grounds supervisor for John Deere’s world headquarters in Moline, IL, an avid plant collector, and a founding member of the American Conifer Society (ACS). … Continue reading this article “The World According to Chub”