Thought I’d throw up a quiz today. In the work that I do I frequently see trees and other plants damaged by herbicides. The plant in the picture below was accidentally hit with an herbicide very similar to 2,4 D, but one that is not currently labeled for general landscape use (clopyralid). Can you guess what type of tree it is?
When I first started reading extension recommendations for plants around 15 years ago now, I read a lot about “balanced fertilizers”. Today I still see balanced fertilizers recommended, but not nearly as frequently, which is a good thing.
At this point you may be asking yourself “what is a balanced fertilizer?” A balanced fertilizer is one that has three numbers on its label which are the same — such as a 10-10-10 or a 14-14-14 (Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium are the three nutrients indicated by
these numbers). … Continue reading this article “Balanced Fertilizer and Peak Phosphorus”
Last month Linda posted on the need for horticultural knowledge for those trying to restore native habitats or at least establish native plants. There seems to be a pervasive notion that if we plant natives all we have to do is stick them in the ground and walk away. They’re native, right? Don’t need irrigation; don’t need fertilizer; all that good jazz. Well, often there is lot more to it than that.
A case in point. … Continue reading this article “Restoration ecologists – you need us! Part 2.”
OK, now we know why we usually leave the puzzles to Linda: mine are too easy! As several folks correctly noted the photo in my yard was an example of the "dog vomit fungus" or, more correctly "dog vomit slime mold" Fuligo septica. Either way, it’s fairly disgusting and fairly common. My expereince has been it that it often shows up shortly after I lay dowm some fresh mulch (ground pine bark in this case) and then we get rain and warm temps. … Continue reading this article “Icky Friday puzzle solved”
Was on the road earlier this week and missed my regular post. Thought I would slide in here with a Friday puzzler. This one is from my very own yard last week. Know what it is?
Today I was reading an interesting gardening website with a wide variety of advice, some good and some not so good. As I analyzed the website in my mind to figure out why some stuff was good and some stuff was bad it occurred to me that the problem was that a lot of the stuff that the author was recommending was based on testimonials. And then it occurred to me that many of you out there might not know what a testimonial is and why recommendations based on testimonials shouldn’t be recommended — and then viola!… Continue reading this article “Almost But Not Quite”
Hydrangeas are in full bloom this time of year. I snapped these photos yesterday of several hydrangeas, all planted along the same strip of land. Just look at the different colors:
Why so many colors? Most of you probably know that genetics play a role, as does soil pH. But there’s much more to it than simple soil chemistry and genes.
1. pH: Strongly acidic soils produce blue hydrangeas, while slightly acid to slightly alkaline soils favor pink or red flowers. … Continue reading this article “Hues of hydrangeas”
[And I don’t mean “greatest hits”, I mean “Mafia hit”]
Gardeners, yardeners, and designers are on a perpetual lookout for a good hedge species. Hedges are useful in so many ways: providing backdrop for a border, making good neighbors, containing football players, etc. In reference to the latter, the field at Sanford Stadium at the University of Georgia (cue woofing!) is known as “Between the Hedges”. In the extensive lore of UGA football, everyone makes like it’s some sacred plant, but (gasp!)… Continue reading this article “GP Hit List: Ligustrum sinense (Chinese Privet)”
OK, this Friday’s quiz is the real deal: everyone gets to play “Extension Specialist for a Day”. I am stumped on this and so are my colleagues here at MSU. I used to work for a guy who liked to say, “None of us is as smart as all of us”. Let’s put it to the test.
The photos below come from a nursery here in Michigan. The trees are container-grown Red sunset maples. Pretty routine crop around here. … Continue reading this article “Friday quiz: The case of the bumpy maples”
Last week’s column on “why do nurseries sell this plant?” struck a chord with many readers as well as with Holly! So here is this week’s submission: that ubiquitous vine, English ivy.
First of all, we’ll stipulate than many ivies are sold as English ivy (Hedera helix) but may be entirely different species. Genetic research on invasive ivy populations in the Pacific Northwest identify most as H. hibernica (aka Atlantic ivy), with H. helix making up only 15% of the invading populations. … Continue reading this article “Where to draw the line on a vine”