I have been hiding from COVID-19 in Arizona, but I had to return to Ojai, Ca because I was “noticed” by the local fire department to abate my weeds. I returned to find the Weed Apocalypse (WA 2020). Late spring rains were spaced nicely in California supporting rampant weed growth. So, why did this happen? … Continue reading The weed apocalypse
Last week I discussed the mechanics of how cold hardy plants can survive temperatures far below freezing. Today we’ll consider the practical implications of this phenomenon and what, if anything, you can do to help your plants through cold snaps. What happens when temperatures change at unusually high rates? Remember, supercooling occurs when temperatures drop … Continue reading A Gardener’s Primer to Cold Hardiness, Part 2
Things have been going fast and furious here since the start of the year. We still have a few days left in February and I’ve already logged 13 talks in five states. Nevertheless, I’ve manage to find a little time to crunch some data on SOME-DED-TREES. For the uninitiated, SOME-DED-TREES is the acronym for the … Continue reading It came from the blog… The return of SOME-DED-TREES
It seems like every year we end up talking about ‘weird’ weather; either it’s extreme heat, extreme cold, too much rain, not enough rain, and on and on. Here in the upper Midwest and other parts of the central US, however, 2012 is clearly a year to remember. Our winter was fairly unremarkable until we … Continue reading The wackiness continues
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
A follow-up to Linda’s post about a recent study in Arboriculture and Urban Forestry that indicated mulch may not reduce evaporation of water from soil as we generally assume and which suggested that landscapers may want to re-evaluate their mulching practices. As Linda noted, we have some real concerns about this conclusion and believe that … Continue reading Mulch: Just Do It
Today I was sent a link to a posting on “droopy leaves.” Essentially, it suggests that droopy leaves are a means to conserve water on hot days and that watering these plants causes more problems than it solves because the roots don’t get enough oxygen. A link to the science of transpiration is provided. The advice … Continue reading Hot weather and not-so-hot advice
Wow! What a lot of great brainstorming over the weekend! I would venture to say that The Garden Professors have the smartest students in the world. On to the answer…or answers. First, the phenomenon. It’s called paraheliotropism – literally, a movement to protect (the leaves) from the sun (yes, Trena, it is a tropism!). This is the … Continue reading Friday puzzle answer(s)
Last week Jeff kicked off a lively discussion about invasive plants. Let me state up front that no one on this blog is promoting invasive plants. But the issues surrounding invasive plants are extremely complex and have profound implications for many groups with whom we work in landscape horticulture and urban and community forestry. It … Continue reading Are natives the answer?
Good speculation on the rhododendron leaf damage! Jim in Wisconsin zoomed right in on the causes: the first photo was taken on a year where we had an unseasonable freeze right as leaves were expanding, and the second was taken on a year where we had unseasonably hot weather as leaves were expanding. In both … Continue reading Friday puzzle answers!