Ground Breaking Banter - Rick
One of the best things that you can do for a better spring is to plant flower bulbs this fall. Once they start emerging after the long, cold winter, you will be very glad you did! But of course, the trick is knowing that they need to be planted some time before the ground freezes, when spring is a very long time off. So it pays to devote the time and effort now, especially since the majority of spring-flowering bulbs will behave as true perennials, returning every spring for decades and beyond.
Please join us at the YouTube link above or on your favorite podcast platform to learn just about everything you’d need to know about spring-flowering bulbs and planting them, as well as some of our favorites that deserve a spot in your garden. After all, as we say in this episode, there’s always room for more bulbs!
I love bulbs for so many reasons: they’re inexpensive, easy to plant, bloom for years (if you pick the right ones), extremely low maintenance, bring their color and beauty at the most welcome time of the year, and perhaps best of all – there’s always, always room for bulbs. But of course, nothing is perfect, and bulbs do have a small liability – their decaying foliage. For many minor bulbs, this is barely noticeable, but some of the most beloved and hard working bulbs (and yes, we do mean daffodils!) have a long, slow, ugly death. You must indulge them in it, because if they don’t have that time to photosynthesize, they won’t be able to create and store enough energy to bloom again next year. But there’s something so…off about all that sad yellow foliage sitting around just as everything in the garden is getting going.
Over the years, gardeners have proposed many solutions to the issue of dying bulbs foliage, bundling them into a pony tail, and even, infamously, braiding them. But those approaches aren’t ideal because they limit photosynthesis is parts of the foliage that are in the center and not exposed to sun, so you’re still looking at a sad yellowing clump and it’s not even maximizing the time for what the plant needs. So a better approach is distraction – planting something alongside the dying bulb foliage that draws more attention than the foliage itself. Many enlist daylilies and hostas in this task, as their expanding foliage will gradually cover the bulb leaves, but may I suggest today’s plant on trial, Kodiak Fresh diervilla?
Diervilla is a North American native shrub that is grown for two main reasons: clean, colorful foliage, and a durable, easy-going nature. Here at Proven Winners ColorChoice Shrubs, we have been working on developing the most colorful, most attractive diervilla available, so you’ll find shades of red, orange, yellow, and even black. Kodiak Fresh diervilla combines all of these, with chartreuse-green foliage that emerges an array of orange and red hues through the season. Those colors are particularly vivid and unique in spring, when temperatures are cool and the days are lengthening – exactly the same time you’d be wanting something to make up for the less-than-delightful appearance of the dying bulb foliage.
As for the effect, the name really says it all, as this plant brings fresh, vivid, cheerful color that will make you forget about those sad bulbs, and it won’t negatively impact the bulbs doing their job. Any of the Proven Winners Kodiak diervilla will work well for the job, so take your pick, but as far as spring vibes go, it’s hard to beat Kodiak Fresh. Foliage isn’t its only feature, as come early summer, it produces clusters of small yellow flowers continuously through fall. It’s not one of those shrubs that has that one huge, shining moment and then is quiet the rest of the season; it really continues to contribute to the garden from early spring through fall. The flowers attract pollinators, especially bumblebees.
Diervilla are exceptionally easy to grow plants and will grow in part shade to full sun. They’re quite drought tolerant, and not finicky about soil pH. Good drainage is recommended, but if you’ve got an area that’s occasionally quite wet after the rain, they’ll be good with it – though, that said, bulbs wouldn’t be, which I’m mentioning only since it’s the topic of the episode. Diervilla can be left to grow naturally, where they’ll make a kind of shaggy rounded ball, or you can trim them lightly to give them a tighter, more defined shape, it’s really up to you. The foliage is most colorful on the new growth, so trimming also has the effect of encouraging lots of that for a colorful display. Diervilla are moderately deer resistant – I have found that they nibble mine in spring and early summer, when the growth is tender, but leave them alone the rest of the season. Hardy USDA zones 3-8, 2-3’ tall and wide.
If you’d like to add Kodiak Fresh diervilla – or any of the 320+ Proven Winners ColorChoice Shrubs – to your garden or landscape, you’ll find a list of local retailers here.
Gardening Mail Bag - Stacey
Michio, one of our listeners who lives in Tokyo, Japan, sent us this photo of an interesting hydrangea she recently encountered. The irony! This is actually a cultivar of our North American native smooth hydrangea, H. arborescens, despite the fact that so many of the most popular hydrangeas we grow in our gardens are actually native to Japan. 
We have also heard from some listeners about apples and lilacs blooming out of season – as in now, in fall. While often, flowering out of season can be a sign of severe stress, this is more likely due to weather. September has been unusually warm, and the extra time in the season can encourage some flowers to open without the need for vernalization, also known as a cold treatment or chilling period. This does almost certainly mean fewer flowers next spring, but not enough to significantly impact the display or fruit set. 
Great question! When you cut back a young shrub, you get double the growth at the point where you cut, as well as a few nodes below that point. So if you have a plant that is not full and lush, trimming off the top will cause the plant to put out more branches. Normally, if you are buying a larger plant in the garden center, you shouldn’t need to do this because the grower already has trimmed it many times. That said, you may wish to try this as your plants gets older and needs rejuvenation, or perhaps gets ice or snow damage. However, if you purchase the smaller shrubs that are often sold online, they will almost certainly benefit from trimming. In this case, I recommend trimming two to three times during its first year. How much you should trim depends on what the plant looks like and what you want it to do, but overall, you can safely trim off up to half and likely could do more if you feel it is warranted.
So glad to hear you got a soil test, that’s great! Unfortunately, the fertilizer that they recommend doesn’t exist, to our knowledge – or if it does, it would only be available to the trade. However, all is not lost – you should simply seek out fertilizers that have a similar ratio to what they recommend. And definitely read the ingredients on the bag to make sure they don’t contain magnesium, as you don’t want to increase that.
I would recommend applying the fertilizer in late March, once the ground is beginning to thaw. This will allow the soil moisture to begin weathering the fertilizer for the plants to use, and then you should be able to start planting a couple of weeks later, once the soil is no longer so cold and wet.
Do you have a question for us? We’re happy to help! E-mail us or use the contact tab above. Due to high volume, we may not get to your question, so if you need an answer quickly, please reach out via the Proven Winners website.
Branching News - Rick
In our final segment, we’re joined by author Jenny Rose Carey, a British-American horticulturist who loves color. She also has a book on bulbs coming out in fall 2025. Join us at the YouTube link above or on your favorite podcast platform to hear our whole conversation.
