Hot enough for ya?!

Ok, ‘Hot’ might not be exactly the right word, but winter in the Midwest has certainly been warmer than average this year.  I did a little trolling around on Michigan State University’s Automated Weather Network website, which has been logging temperatures and other weather variables around the state for the past 15 years and compared … Continue reading Hot enough for ya?!

Phosphate toxicity and iron deficiency

Bert’s post yesterday reminded me of some work one of my graduate students did about 10 years ago.  We were curious to see whether a transplant fertilizer containing phosphate was correlated with foliar iron deficiency, which is visualized as interveinal chlorosis:  What Scott did was to plant 10 rhododendrons per treatment into pots containing containing … Continue reading Phosphate toxicity and iron deficiency

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 … Continue reading Weird and Wonderful Plant Wednesday: Threefer!

Update on root-rotted Cornus kousa

A little more than a year ago I posted a Friday quiz based on a failing Cornus kousa.The answer explained that our landscape has, in part, a perched water table that effectively rotted most of the roots of this poor tree over several years.  Last spring we moved it to a different section of our landscape … Continue reading Update on root-rotted Cornus kousa

Science Education and Lichens

Seemingly once a week we see a report in the news about how Science and Math education in the US lags behind many developed countries around the world.  http://articles.cnn.com/2011-05-15/us/education.obrien.response_1_math-and-science-national-robotics-competition-education?_s=PM:US While we typically think of Chemistry and Physics when discussing science education, biology is in there too.   I bring this up because I am continually … Continue reading Science Education and Lichens

Solution to Friday’s flower fuddlement

Ed and Gayle correctly pointed out that short day plants (those that bloom in the spring or the fall) can sometimes do both.  The asters probably experienced some transplant shock in the fall, which would have suspended floral bud development.  This phenomenon could also be due to mild winter conditions (as Ed and Gayle also … Continue reading Solution to Friday’s flower fuddlement

What to do when it’s still raining?

It’s almost May…and it’s still raining. Even for our normally wet spring climate, this has been an unusually soggy year. I’m also blaming the weather on my 3rd or 4th cold so far this year, which has knocked me flat for the last 6 days (which was why I had no Friday puzzle posted). So … Continue reading What to do when it’s still raining?