The snow has just started falling and I’m already thinking about what I’m going to be planting next spring. Most of my plantings won’t be at my own house, they’ll be out in the cities of St. Paul and Minneapolis. We’ll be looking at all kinds of fun stuff like growing trees in various new … Continue reading Planting Edibles in Cities
Growers and garden centers are always on the lookout for Poinsettia alternatives. Points make up the vast majority of potted flowering plants sold this time of year, but other crops are gaining ground. Due in part to the popularity of All-American Selection (AAS) winner ‘Black Pearl,’ there’s been an explosion of ornamental pepper varieties. … Continue reading Ornamental Peppers for the Holidays (!)
There was considerable interest in my post last week, where I shared a photo from Canadian garden writer David Hobson. I wasn’t impressed with the production method and materials for the petunia that was illustrated, but readers wanted to know a little more about the plant (how did the top of it look?) and the … Continue reading A followup on the WOW post of last week
One of the best things about my job is I get to work around bright, enthusiastic young people everyday. And not just students here at MSU. Through conferences, meetings and other contacts I get to interact with students at other universities as well. Over the last couple of years I have had a chance to … Continue reading A guest blogger (sort of)
Things have settled down briefly here and I have had a chance to summarize some of the data from the container tree transplanting experiment we installed earlier this year. For those that aren’t familiar we installed two tests this summer using 96 ‘Bloodgood’ plane trees grown in 25 gallon containers that were leftover when we … Continue reading SoMeDedTrees update
Just flew in from Miami and boy are my arms tired – rim shot. Seriously, I just returned for the annual meeting of the American Society for Horticultural Science (ASHS) in Miami. Always good to wander the halls and renew old acquaintances and take in the latest in Hort science. Judging by the posters and … Continue reading It’s Meeting Season
Worst post title, ever. Sorry. Attended the bazillionth annual OFA "The Association For Horticulture Professionals" Short Course in Columbus, Ohio last week. It’s a huge 1500-booth trade show with educational session featuring 150+ speakers. Of which I was one. The focus used to be strictly floriculture, but has expanded to include some woodies plus lots … Continue reading New and/or interesting plants/stuff
In prepping grad students for their first big talk at a scientific meeting I always tell them everything will be fine – until the first data slide hits the screen. The audience will nod knowingly during the introductory comments and even during the materials and methods, but data charts and tables are to scientists what … Continue reading Blood in the water…
If you live anywhere east of Montana you know that two-thirds of the country has been roasting under record heat for the past few weeks. While the weather has been a bane to farmers and many others, it has provided us with an ideal set of conditions to begin to look at the responses in … Continue reading Making hay while the sun shines
Admitting you’re wrong is difficult. For exhibit A see the recent discussion between me and Jeff over alternative nursery containers. We all like to think we’re open-minded but when push comes to shove we all end up like the Fonz on Happy Days when it comes time to say ‘I was wrrrrr… I was wrrrr…. … Continue reading How open-minded are you? No, really.