Tag: winter

Mitchella repens … Partridge Berry … an Evergreen Native Groundcover for Shade

NaturalSetting1

Partridge Berry in its Natural Setting

One of the questions that came up regularly when I was working the hotline at the local county Extension office, is a recommendation for an evergreen ground cover for shady spots.  I had the same issue when I created my own shade garden … something that would have year round interest, but complement my desire to emphasize native species, although that was only one consideration.

The solution was literally right next to me, as a walk in my woods revealed with the lovely plant Partridge Berry, or Mitchella repens.… Continue reading this article “Mitchella repens … Partridge Berry … an Evergreen Native Groundcover for Shade”

A tale of two winters

I’m not sure we’ve ever been quite so ready for the calendar to turn to March. That’s assuming, of course, you live somewhere east of the Rockies. For people on the west coast, the sentiment is probably, “When are those people back East ever going to quit b-tching about their weather…” While I was dealing with 10” of snow and 25 mph winds whipping up 3’ deep drifts on Super Bowl Sunday, my friends back home in Washington state were mowing their grass.… Continue reading this article “A tale of two winters”

You CAN grow it, but is it worth it?

As winter sets in here in Michigan, I’m seeing gardeners deploying winter protection. Like this, which I saw on a visit to Hidden Lake Gardens with some friends recently:

pinus contorta Chief joseph covered

Well. Isn’t that attractive? Come around to the far side, and you see this:

pinus contorta Chief joseph

Pinus contorta ‘Chief Joseph’ which is a stunningly beautiful conifer, green in the summer, this brilliant shade of gold in the winter. Sadly, those gold needles are also incredibly prone to turning a less brilliant shade of brown if exposed to too much winter sun and wind.… Continue reading this article “You CAN grow it, but is it worth it?”

Don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows

Posted by Bert Cregg
Yesterday afternoon I did a little fall garage clean-up and listened to former MSU Extension colleague Dean Krauskopf’s call-in gardening show on the radio. A couple callers in a man phoned the show worried about his Japanese maple tree, which had a near-death experience from this past winter’s severe cold. The man had heard this coming winter was supposed to be just as bad as last winter and he wanted to know how best to protect his struggling tree from further calamity.… Continue reading this article “Don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows”

You and me Baby ain’t nuthin’ but mammals…

As spring slowly makes it appearance in the Midwest, homeowners and landscapers are likely to continue discovering damage from our record-breaking winter. While brutally cold temperatures and heavy snow loads took their toll in many areas, some of the most severe damage that occurred to landscape trees and shrubs this winter was caused by mammals.

Our long, harsh winter resulted in heavy feeding damage by deer, rabbits and voles, also called field mice. Depending on the age and type of plant and which animal was feeding on it, mammal damage can range from light pruning to death of a tree or shrub.… Continue reading this article “You and me Baby ain’t nuthin’ but mammals…”

Feel the burn…

One of the most obvious impacts of this winter’s winter is rapidly becoming apparent in Michigan and other parts of the Midwest: winter burn on conifers. The primary symptom of winter burn is needle browning, especially on evergreen conifers in exposed locations. Needles may be damaged by extreme cold or the browning may be associated with winter desiccation as needles lose moisture during brief warm-ups. Winter burn is one of those situations that draws a lot of attention because it can look devastating; yet it often has relatively little long-term impact on plants.… Continue reading this article “Feel the burn…”

How cold WAS it?

The line ‘How cold WAS it?’ has been a lead-in for stand-up comics for years; as in, “It was so cold politicians had their hands in their own pockets…” or “It was so cold the mice were playing ice hockey in the toilet bowl…” Like everyone, I’ve heard lots of discussion these days about just how cold this winter has been. We certainly know that this winter bucks a recent trend of relatively warm winters in the Midwest over the past two decades.… Continue reading this article “How cold WAS it?”

The Ice-pocalypse of 2013: Winners and losers

Power has been restored to most of the nearly 600,000 people in Michigan that lost electricity during the ice storm that hit last weekend. The storm coated trees with an ice coating an inch thick in many locations, resulting in widespread tree damage. Exceptional events such as this remarkable ice storm provide numerous opportunities to make some observations about trees and how there were impacted by the event. Here are some notes based on observing trees near my home in DeWitt, MI and driving around Lansing, East Lansing, and the MSU campus.… Continue reading this article “The Ice-pocalypse of 2013: Winners and losers”

(Not so) pretty in Pink

The weekend’s weather forecast portended some lousy conditions and, unfortunately, this time the forecasters got it right. The outlook map for the Lansing area put us squarely in the dreaded Pepto-Bismol pink ‘Icy mix’ swath from Oklahoma to Maine.
icesort radar

Last night and this morning was a non-stop cacophony of “Snap! Crash!” as icy limbs headed earthward. About 4:30 this morning my wife saw a bright flash burst across the street and almost immediately we heard all our of appliances stop.… Continue reading this article “(Not so) pretty in Pink”

Long winter proves that climate change is a hoax

Just looked at the forecast for the week – Thursday’s forecast high temperature is 32 deg. F.  This is a far cry from last year’s record-shattering 86 on the same date.  Clearly all this blabbering about climate change is just a bunch of hysterical nonsense.

As sportscaster Lee Corso would say, “Not so fast, my friend…”  While winter 2013 can’t compete with winter 2012 in terms of record-breaking warmth, this winter has continued a trend which may have profound implications for landscape and garden plant selections.… Continue reading this article “Long winter proves that climate change is a hoax”