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”
If I’ve seemed distracted for the last few months, this is why
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!
Do landscape trees need nitrogen fertilization?
I’m in Grand Rapids this week attending the Michigan Nursery and Landscape Association/Michigan Turf Foundation Great Lakes Trade EXPO. The topic for my talk today was Landscape Tree Fertilization. That might not sound like a subject that would generate controversy, but as with most things, there are camps emerging. There is a rising chorus of folks that suggest that landscape trees should not be fertilized with nitrogen. There are a couple of lines of evidence that bolster this point of view.
The Garden Professors Take a Holiday Break
Linda, Jeff, Bert, and Holly are taking a break. We shall return full-force January 4th. Note that there MAY be sporadic, interim postings if one of us gets significantly riled up. Subscribers to our RSS feed will be duly alerted.
My “greeting card” below was inspired by Jeff’s post on the insulating powers of snow. We here in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virgina have about 14″ of insulation at the moment!
Finally, thank you to all our wonderful Garden Professors readers and commenters – you made our first six months so fun and rewarding!… Continue reading this article “The Garden Professors Take a Holiday Break”
O Tannenbaum!
Twas the blog before Christmas… My last chance to post about Christmas trees for another year. I’m always surprised when I troll around the web or do interviews how many myths about Christmas trees still abound. So in the spirit of the season, a little Christmas tree myth-busting.
“Good grief. I’ve killed it.”
Using a real tree hurts the environment
Here’s a real post from the e-how.com website:
“Its so not fair to cut down all those baby trees, use them for a few weeks and then toss them by the curb for garbage removal.… Continue reading this article “O Tannenbaum!”
Foliage fun flaunted!
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!”
Sunday rant – the evils of chemicals
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”
Friday Foliage Fun!
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!