As I was looking over the label on a bag of fertilizer this morning I was reminded of the time, a few years ago, when a friend of mine and I went to a local K-mart and decided to see what the people in the gardening section knew. We started small—we went over to a bag of fertilizer and my friend asked what the three numbers on the bag meant. Now, as most gardeners know, those numbers indicate the amount of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium in the fertilizer. … Continue reading this article “A Challenge”
They said to write about it, so I will…
Please tell me – am I crazy? Or just not the gardening trend-setter that I should be? Should I be spending $10 on this? Check out this excerpt from Garden Cuttings Newsletter, with the note “Please feel free to use this information in your stories and columns”:
“Instead of sending dried leaves and other yard waste to the landfill, compost it! DeComp-9 Organic Compost Booster speeds up the composting process with patented microorganisms that quickly break down leaves, grass clippings and other yard waste.… Continue reading this article “They said to write about it, so I will…”
High-end WOW (Why oh why)
A few weeks ago I was lucky enough to speak to the Portland Garden Club and see some absolutely gorgeous private gardens. But alas…even in the midst of such botanical riches I still managed to find something to make me shudder.
Now I have nothing against garden remodels – or boxwood hedges (though I generally find them unimaginative). But here’s a good example of shrub salvaging gone horribly wrong:
Deadwood boxwood
And again
It will take a long time for these boxwoods to fill in. … Continue reading this article “High-end WOW (Why oh why)”
Be a Part of History!
Here at the Garden Professors we pride ourselves on being on the cutting edge of technology. In fact, we’re so tech savvy we didn’t even whine when FaceBook foisted a new homepage format on us for no apparent reason. So it’s only fitting that we offer you, Mr. and Ms. Garden Professor Blog reader, an opportunity to participate in the first ever landscape horticulture research project designed by social media.
Here’s the deal. My current research project on water and nutrient management of trees in container production has left us with over 100 ‘Bloodgood’ London planetrees in 25 gallon containers. … Continue reading this article “Be a Part of History!”
Beer and 1984
1984. That’s the year that the last professor here at the University of Minnesota published a paper about peanuts. He had tested a number of different varieties, some of which we’re testing now, and found that they do quite well in Minnesota. Then for the next 26 years there was a lull. And now? We have peanuts! Boiled peanuts and man are they good. But…will we end up in 1984 again? How do we make sure that our peanuts don’t disappear into academic oblivion? … Continue reading this article “Beer and 1984”
An unusual company
This week I’m in Charlotte, NC as a guest of Bartlett Tree Experts. In addition to providing tree services, this company also maintains the Bartlett Tree Research Laboratories and Arboretum. The latter includes over 300 acres of tree collections and ongoing research trials. Here’s a sampling of the tree research we had a chance to observe:
Demonstration espalier pruning…
…and pleaching
Comparison of root barrier materials. This area was covered with a sidewalk for a number of years and then exposed to observe tree rooting patterns. … Continue reading this article “An unusual company”
Fall color time…
Did you ever know one of those annoying people who always talks about how great everything is back wherever they were from; the kind of folks that make you want to say, “If things were so much better there, why are you here?” I have to confess I’m one of those people. No one’s ever actually given me the “If things were so much better there” line, but I’m sure my Michigan friends have been tempted. … Continue reading this article “Fall color time…”
My Thoughts on 2,4 D
My sister, who lives in the Pittsburgh area, just gave me a call. She and her husband have two kids and a lawn and she wanted to know my feelings about using herbicides to keep the grass free of weeds. When we were growing up our parents had a large lawn (and lots of fruit trees) and it took two of us two hours to mow the whole thing. It kind of turned her off to grass. … Continue reading this article “My Thoughts on 2,4 D”
Weird and Wonderful Plant Wednesday: Threefer!
This is a tale of three plants in my garden that would make the cruelest of multiple choice answers. Heh. Hence the inclusion of all three in this post:
a. Manihot esculenta
b. Abelmoschus manihot
c. Abelmoschus esculentus
d. All of the above
e. Aaaargh.
Manihot esculenta is Cassava or Tapioca; worthy of an entire post on its own. But the choice ornamental version is M. esculenta ‘Variegata’ or variegated tapioca. I first saw it (gawked and squealed, actually) at Allan Armitage’s fab trial garden at the University of Georgia.… Continue reading this article “Weird and Wonderful Plant Wednesday: Threefer!”
Pop quiz answer
Today’s post is a follow-up to yesterday’s quiz on foliar fertilization. I asked our blog readers to match the needle nitrogen content of Nordmann fir trees with the fertilizer treatments they had received.
Nutrient deficient Nordmann fir
The correct order is:
1) control: no fertilizer 0.98%
2) soil applied controlled release fertilizer 1.70%
3) foliar nitrogen fertilizer 1.14%
4) soil applied fertilizer + foliar feed 1.91%
While the foliar fert had a small effect, it’s important to note that, from a statistical standpoint, foliar fertilization did not significantly increase needle nitrogen concentration. … Continue reading this article “Pop quiz answer”