My cucurbits won’t stop having sex.

Not really a botanically-correct statement, but you know what I mean. John Porter’s previous blog post did a great job of explaining cucurbit reproduction (loved the Pucchini). Though I was surprised to learn “not getting any fruit” is actually a problem. Can’t say I’ve had an issue with that, ever. We have a really vibrant bee population and they’ve been super busy.

I love growing squash of all sorts, despite not being a terribly gifted vegetable garder.… Continue reading this article “My cucurbits won’t stop having sex.”

Sex and the Single Squash: A study in plant sex, sexuality, reproduction, and seed saving

In the 1960s, author and future Cosmopolitan magazine Editor Helen Gurley Brown scandalized the country with her book about independent single women called “Sex and the Single Girl.”  Taking a page from Ms. Brown, we can have a discussion about “Sex and the Single Squash.”  Here, we can talk about plant floral structure and reproduction and its effect on fruit production and even seed saving.  A true discussion of the “birds and the bees” if you will.… Continue reading this article “Sex and the Single Squash: A study in plant sex, sexuality, reproduction, and seed saving”

Set your roots free on this Independence Day week!

We’ve discussed barerooting/rootwashing trees before, and research on this controversial topic continues. But what about smaller shrubs and woody perennials? What about herbaceous perennials? Basically, what about PERENNIALS???

I’ve always made a practice of rootwashing everything except for annuals. They don’t last long enough to suffer the perils of potbound plants. But many gardeners are nervous about disrupting more fragile root systems. Let’s see what happens when we do.

A little context: we’ve just moved to our family farm, which has AMAZING spring flowers that the bees love.… Continue reading this article “Set your roots free on this Independence Day week!”

Bot-strosities

Those of you who are Stephen King fans will remember the Lobstrosities from the Dark Tower series: bizarre creatures that were part lobster and part scorpion and with the nastiest parts of each on either end.

Botstrosities are bizarre plants that aren’t deadly but still assault the senses of those who are unfortunate enough to find them. Here’s my collection – maybe you have others to add?

First up are a classic favorite  – the GMOs (Glue Modified Organisms).… Continue reading this article “Bot-strosities”

The search for bogus info and products continues!

The Garden Professors, led by our warrior princess Dr. Linda Chalker-Scott, continue to ferret out bad advice, bogus information, and worthless products foisted upon the unsuspecting gardener.

I’m assisting in the hunt as well.  See my survey link below.  Looking specifically for :

1) Gardening-related blogs and vlogs (video blogs) that are out there – could be anywhere on the spectrum of misinformation: spewing pseudoscience or just plain malarkey.  Or some of the content is o.k., … Continue reading this article “The search for bogus info and products continues!”

Do your homework before hiring landscape help!

(A guest post by Rich Guggenheim. You can see Rich’s bio at the end of this post.)

When it comes to shopping, my friends all know it takes me a long time to make a decision. I methodically research out what I want. Then I narrow it down to a few items. After I look over my choices carefully, I may go home to get on the internet and look at consumer reviews; I may go from store to store and check out prices.… Continue reading this article “Do your homework before hiring landscape help!”

You, too, can be up to your pits in perennials!

(posted by Holly Scoggins)
The Perennial Plant Association (PPA) is a unique group of folks – comprised of plant breeders, educators, propagators, promoters, garden writers, growers, retailers, gardeners, and landscape designers – all under one umbrella. The PPA is probably one of the most vertically-integrated plant organizations out there. If it has anything to do with a perennial plant, there’s a good chance one of our members is involved.

The marvelous/legendary PPA Symposium has been held in all parts of the country.… Continue reading this article “You, too, can be up to your pits in perennials!”

Costs and benefits of pre-plant root manipulation

Spring has sprung here in Michigan; time to get cracking on lots of projects. One of our new projects is an investigation of pre-plant techniques for dealing with root systems on container grown trees. As many of you know, Linda Chalker-Scott is advocate of bare-rooting trees before planting to correct potential root defects before planting. As some of you may know, I’m skeptical of this approach. It’s not that I think root systems are perfect – far from it.… Continue reading this article “Costs and benefits of pre-plant root manipulation”

My New Project — The Plants We Eat

By Jeff Gillman

I love stories, and my favorite stories, as you might guess, are true stories about plants. One of the things that I’m best known for here at the UNC Charlotte Botanical Gardens is telling random stories about some odd tidbit or another to students trapped in my classes or visitors locked into garden tours, but recently I found a new way to share my collection of those eclectic plant stories: Podcasting. Not only do I get to talk about all the things that I love to talk about, only those people who really want to hear about them have to listen.… Continue reading this article “My New Project — The Plants We Eat”

It’s all about location, location, location

Whenever we (the Garden Professors and our community) answer garden questions, we almost always will ask the location of the garden.  I’m sure this frustrates some people who think that plants act the same wherever they are.  However, this is not the case.  There isn’t a one-size-fits-all to most garden questions.

For example, I work on the east side of Nebraska in Omaha, along the Missouri river.  The environment (weather, soil, etc) here is vastly different than where I’ve spent most of my life in West Virginia. … Continue reading this article “It’s all about location, location, location”