Orchid care


Mon. Jan. 20, 2020

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Orchid care

Did you receive an orchid as a gift this season?  Phalaenopsis orchids are the most popular indoor houseplant gift.  Catching your eye in the produce aisle of the grocery store or in local garden centers, they can often be an impulse buy.

The good news is they are relatively easy care. Light and watering, however, are always an issue with houseplants.

The American Orchid Society recommends using a pencil or wooden skewer to determine whether an  … [Continue reading]

More 2020 AAS winners


Fri. Jan. 17, 2020

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: More 2020 AAS winners

 As cold winter winds whip, (currently 3 below zero “feels like” temp) it’s a wonderful time to peruse more 2020 All America Selections winners!

There’s a gorgeous new coleus! I know, you’re thinking there are already a lot, but this one, named ‘Main Street Beale Street’ is an outstanding variety with deep red foliage that holds its color extremely well, not fading, bleaching out or getting spotty as the season moves into late  … [Continue reading]

A googling we will go and the importance of Days to Harvest


Thu. Jan. 16, 2020

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: A googling we will go and the importance of Days to Harvest

Last week I was floating in a sea of plant catalogs.  If you’re like me, you were too. Now that you’ve catalogued numerous hours selecting plants to purchase, might I make a suggestion?

Jump on the internet and do some googling. There’s a wealth of information out there on seeds and plants.  DO check your sources, as we all know there’s a lot bunk out  … [Continue reading]

Rusty patched bumble bees and renovating your lawn for natives


Wed. Jan. 15, 2020

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Rusty patched bumble bees and renovating your lawn for natives

 I’ve talked about the Rusty patched bumble bee before but it bears repeating! RPB bee, as I’m calling him, has declined by 87 percent in the last 20 years. The species is likely to be present in only 0.1% of its historical range.

There are many potential reasons for RPB bee decline including habitat loss, intensive farming, disease, pesticide use and climate change. With the odds seemingly stacked  … [Continue reading]

Dwarf trout lilies


Tue. Jan. 14, 2020

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Dwarf trout lilies

I had the opportunity to walk in the Big Woods State Park in Nerstrand, MN.

While there, a friend who is Ole’s dad, lives in the area showed us the roped off areas were to protect the Minnesota dwarf trout lily, an endangered species.

Now, the regular trout lily is all through those woods and it’s lovely, it’s also not endangered, but the little fellas are!  The Minnesota dwarf trout lily (Erythronium propullans) is  … [Continue reading]

2020 Perennial of the Year


Mon. Jan. 13, 2020

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: 2020 Perennial of the Year

 Drumroll please! This year’s perennial plant of the year is Aralia ‘Sun King’. And I happen to have one! It has a tropical look, but it’s a fast-growing perennial that’s hardy to USDA Zone 3 and grows to about 3 feet high and wide.

 ‘Sun King’ emerges in mid-spring with bright gold leaves held on contrasting reddish-brown stems.

 

If given at least a few hours of sun a day, the foliage will  … [Continue reading]

New meaning to Winter Blues with Pantone’s 2020 color of the year… Blue!


Fri. Jan. 10, 2020

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: New meaning to Winter Blues with Pantone’s 2020 color of the year… Blue!

With the announcement of Classic Blue, the 2020 Pantone Color of the Year, I thought I’d share some hardy blue perennials for our cool climate!  Amsonia ‘Storm Cloud’ is a low-maintenance shrub-like delight that grows to about 36 inches tall and about 40 inches wide.

The stems poke out of the soil almost black!

The leaves are a sort of olive green while the periwinkle  … [Continue reading]

Scale – it’s a living thing


Thu. Jan. 9, 2020

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

That term 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 and move on to your other plants nearby.  These little nasties also secrete a sticky substance called honeydew that attracts black fungus called sooty mold.

Young scale insects crawl  … [Continue reading]

Why should you bathe your leaves?


Wed. Jan. 8, 2020

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Why should you bathe your leaves?

Uh, you might want to give that plant a bath. I’m not saying that there’s an odor, but… no, seriously, that crusty layer of dust is pretty thick… Teri. Yes, speaking to myself!

Periodically cleaning the leaves of your houseplants is actually less work than letting it go until a year down the road the sun shines in at just the right angle and you think, oh man, the air-cleaning machine is  … [Continue reading]

Oh boy! It’s plant catalog season


Tue. Jan. 7, 2020

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Oh boy! it’s plant catalog season

I love getting my new year plant catalogs and browsing on a snowy, or right now, rainy, Sunday morning!

There are so many cool new choices from Jung Seed Company and Burpee. Right on the front page of Jung is a tease of a berry called “Boreal Beast Honeyberry”. How could I NOT check this out. This is a lonicera but it’s not like my honeysuckle vine. It’s a shrub. I  … [Continue reading]