2019 AAS winners – including a Viking!


Wed. Jan. 16, 2019

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show:  2019 AAS winners – including a Viking!

You know I love sharing the new year All America Selection Winners!  Well, after the lousy season the Minnesota Vikings had, I’m especially happy to share a this Viking winner.  It’s Begonia Viking™ XL Red on Chocolate

The AAS Judges were impressed with how the deep bronze/brown color stayed sharp and intense throughout the season, no matter where it grew; north, south, east or west. The compact plant is covered with  … [Continue reading]

Where in the www to find reliable plant info


Tue. Jan. 15, 2019

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show:  Where in the www to find reliable plant info

Aside from right here at Garden Bite….  the Missouri Botanical Garden plant finder is one IMPRESSIVE website!

When your mouth is watering from all the plant catalog offerings and your eyes are wide with wonder at the new flora… it’s not a bad idea to do a little research on those plants.  Such as prunus persica ‘Contender’ from yesterday’s GB!  I looked it up and this link takes you  … [Continue reading]

Beets and Peaches


Mon. Jan. 14, 2019

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show:  Beets and peaches

As I lingered over catalogs of plants cozied up in my chair with jammies, cold medicine (as you can hear from my voice!) and a cup of coffee I rediscovered a beet and a peach that I think are worth trying.  

‘Forono’ is an intrigue. It is a smooth, oblong variety of beet that is described as sugar sweet and easy to slice.  

‘Forono’ resists bolting and won’t go corky or soft if harvest is  … [Continue reading]

New meaning to Winter blues


Fri. Jan. 11, 2019

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show:  New meaning to Winter blues

Lift the blues with these blues!  There are plenty of hardy blue perennials for our cool climate!  Some lovely choices include a native called Amsonia. The cultivar is ‘Storm Cloud’.  

It’s a low-maintenance shrub-like delight that grows to about 36 inches tall and about 40 inches wide.  The leaves are a sort of olive green while the perwinkle flowers sit atop making it look like a cloud of blue.  Plant in sun  … [Continue reading]

Scale – it’s a living thing


Thu. Jan. 10, 2019

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show:  Scale – it’s a living thing

Yesterday I talked about the new threat… EHS, Elongate Hemlock Scale.  Today I’m talking about Scale too, but these insects are natives.  Still, we don’t really appreciate them…

That word “Scale” seems odd to me for a living creature but there it is sucking the life right out of your houseplants. Scale-damaged plants look withered and sickly. Leaves turn yellow and may drop from the plant.

If left, they will kill it  … [Continue reading]

EHS – invasive alert


Wed. Jan. 9, 2019

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show:  EHS – invasive alert

It ain’t easy stopping invasive plants and pests from coming into our country.  The Upper Midwest just got a new warnings last week. 

The Minnesota and Wisconsin departments of Agriculture issued alerts on EHS, Elongate Hemlock Scale.  And so did South Dakota…

This guy is from Asia and feeds on the underside of conifer needles. It was discovered on wreaths, swags and other evergreen decorations sold at big box stores. The Wisconsin Department  … [Continue reading]

Light spectrum for houseplants


Tue. Jan. 8, 2019

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show:  Light spectrum for houseplants

Yesterday I talked a little about the light spectrum for houseplants.  If you’re trying to get a houseplant to flower, ideally you’ll give it the full spectrum of light.  While you can achieve that with a combination of warm/soft bulbs and the cool/white bulbs you may consider full spectrum LED lights.   They cost more initially, but their cost savings over time makes it worth it, if you want that flowering plant!

According to a  … [Continue reading]

How to kill a houseplant in 5 easy steps


Mon. Jan. 7, 2019

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show:  How to kill a houseplant in 5 easy steps

Now why in the world would I tell you how to KILL a houseplant?  To try and stop you!

Seriously, most of us can easily kill houseplants – it’s the WHY we don’t always know.

  1. Poor light. Either too little, too much or poor quality. Your plant may need artificial light from the blue and red ends of the spectrum.  One soft/warm light and one cool/white light can usually
 … [Continue reading]

The catalogs are coming, time to start planning!


Fri. Jan. 4, 2019

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show:  The catalogs are coming, time to start planning!

Odds are pretty good you’ve already been getting catalogs in the mail from plant and seed companies.  It does a heart good at this time of year to dream of your newly designed garden with a plethora of perennials and a vast array of veggies.  It’s a really good time to look over last year’s journal. See what worked, what didn’t, what you might change.

Plans are fun to make  … [Continue reading]

Living Coral – Pantone color of the year 2019


Thu. Jan. 3, 2019

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show:  Living Coral – Pantone color of the year 2019

As we push headlong into 2019,  Pantone has chosen the Color of the Year…  Living Coral.  As described on their website, it’s an animating and life-affirming coral hue with a golden undertone that energizes and enlivens with a softer edge.  I see it as kind of a pinky-orangy salmon.

So who is Pantone and how come THEY get to pick a “color of the year”.  It’s a  … [Continue reading]