To Prune Or Not To Prune, That Is The Question…

Dabney rules!

“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”

I see the light!

Here’s the follow up picture from Friday’s puzzler:

As you can see, there’s a street light near the lower half of the maple.  (I cleverly hid it behind the utility pole in the first photo.)  The green part of the tree never received the message that days were getting shorter, since the street light is bright enough to interrupt the dark period necessary to initiate dormancy.

This is one of my favorite phenomena unique to urban environments. … Continue reading this article “I see the light!”

Autumn color puzzler

Here’s a photo I took in Buffalo about 20 years ago.  Buffalo, like many places in the northeast part of the country, has fantastic color changes in the fall.  This maple seems to have changed its mind part of the way through the process:

What do you think caused part of this tree to retain its green leaves?  Answer and another photo on Monday!

Slugs and Eggshells

I just couldn’t resist posting this picture today.  There are a bunch of garden gurus out there who claim that slugs won’t cross crushed eggshells.  I, personally, have never seen a slug halted by them.

What Makes Growers Change?

Over the last few weeks I’ve said a lot of complimentary things about the Minnesota Nursery Industry and how they’re careful to avoid situations where trees are planted too deeply.  What I haven’t mentioned is that there is a reason for this.  During the 1980s and early ’90s trees were usually planted deeply with lots of soil over the uppermost roots.  It was just common practice.  Unfortunately this practice led to roots growing across the trees stems and, when those roots cross the stem, the roots always win  (as you saw in Linda’s quiz last week)! … Continue reading this article “What Makes Growers Change?”

Inspecting nursery plants, part 1

I’m frequently asked to give seminars on selecting healthy plants at the nursery, especially trees and shrubs which can run hundreds of dollars.  (Nobody seems to want a seminar on how to pick out a flat of petunias.)  I routinely visit nurseries with my camera so I can record examples of good and not-so-good choices.  What better forum to share these than on our blog?   I’m also curious whether the problems we see in the Pacific NW are found elsewhere in the country, or in the world for that matter. … Continue reading this article “Inspecting nursery plants, part 1”

Carrot-top syndrome in white pine

I know a few folks out there are starting to believe that I’m just an apologist for the nursery industry.  While it’s true most of the nursery people with whom I work are hard-working folks trying to do their best to run a successful business and produce a quality crop, there are certainly some issues out there and I’ve got my share of pet peeves.  One of the things really that chafes my heiney is what I refer to as “Carrot-top” syndrome in eastern white pine (Pinus strobus). … Continue reading this article “Carrot-top syndrome in white pine”

How on Earth Did I Land This Gig?!

Linda referred to my recent absence from the blog – but it was in the name of education, I swear!

Cocos nucifera, the iconic coconut palm.  My office for the past two weeks. Or a Corona advertisement. You pick.

This study abroad to the Dominican Republic sent Virginia Tech students (mostly biology and natural resources majors) to the Punta Cana Ecological Foundation for the entire semester, with faculty rotating in for two-week stints on topics from ornithology to geography.… Continue reading this article “How on Earth Did I Land This Gig?!”