Ground Breaking Banter - Rick
Any time you’ve got someone on your gift list with a hobby – like gardening – shopping for them gets infinitely easier. But that doesn’t always mean that you know what to get a gardener, especially if you aren’t a gardener yourself. That’s why we’re talking about gifts that are great for gardeners, from quick, inexpensive ideas to splurges.
Join us at the YouTube link above or on your favorite podcast platform for our whole conversation on gifts for gardeners.
When we’re talking about giving plants as gifts – garden plants, anyway – winter really isn’t the time. But certainly during the gardening season, we often want to give plants as housewarming gifts, to celebrate a birth, or as a memorial for someone who has passed on. And as well intentioned as this is, it can be very difficult to pick the right plant. After all, you want to give someone the joy of a special plant, not a maintenance nightmare. You want it to be special and showy enough that they get excited when it has its moment, but not be so large it’s difficult to find a spot to plant it, or require a lot of work to look good. And sometimes, you barely even know the conditions in the place where it will be planted, making picking a plant even trickier. So what you need is a plant that’s small and adaptable but also showy and easy to care for. Sounds like a tall order – but there’s a simple solution. Well, there are many, really, and I could go on, but in this episode, we’re going to focus on one: Invincibelle Wee White hydrangea.
Invincibelle Wee White is a smooth hydrangea, also known as Hydrangea arborescens, and is native to North America. The easiest way to think about it is as a dwarf version of the famous ‘Annabelle’ hydrangea but with strong stems so that it doesn’t flop over in summer storms and just a fraction of the size: it reaches just 1-2.5’ tall and wide. That means that pretty much anyone can find a spot for it, and will have a great experience with growing it. What’s more is that it blooms on new wood, so even if your recipient knows nothing about hydrangeas, it will bloom if they prune it or if they don’t. (and of course, all the care instructions are on the tag anyway).
USDA zones 3-8, 1-2.5’ tall and wide
If you’d like to add Invincibelle Wee White hydrangea – 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
This is definitely strange, and I have to confess I’m not entirely sure what’s happening. However, looking at the edges of this damage, it is kind of reminiscent of yellow bellied sapsucker feeding. These native woodpeckers drill holes in neat rows into smooth barked trees, which causes the sap to flow. They don’t actually eat, or even suck, the sap; rather, they eat the insects who come in to eat the sap. Normally, the bark in between the holes stays alive – I have not seen it all die and fall off like in this case, but if you look at this photo and yours below, you can see that the outline does indeed look like the tidy holes of a sapsucker. If this is indeed from a sapsucker, there’s nothing you can do, and normally, a tree can readily tolerate even heavy sapsucker feeding. However, losing entire patches of bark like this could definitely compromise the tree’s health, so keep an eye out for signs of decline, like smaller foliage, dying branches, and low flowering.
While it’s true that squash bugs do overwinter as adults, they don’t usually do so directly in the area where the squash was growing. They may crawl to some other part of your yard, even a neighboring yard, and hunker down there until spring, so using a flame thrower in the area they were active is likely to be ineffective. Instead, try this: plant your squash a bit later than usual in the hopes of it maturing after they’ve completed their life cycle for the year. You’ll get a later harvest, but it may be worth it and you may even find you get a better harvest. As the plants grow, check the undersides of the leaves frequently for eggs. They’re quite easy to see: clusters of red-orange eggs usually laid at the “v” of a squash leaf vein. If you find any, either remove the whole leaf, or use a fresh piece of duct tape to lift them off the plant.
As for the bean beetles, the simplest solution there is to also plant later. By doing so, you move your crop to when adults have already mated and laid eggs, so those beans are likely to escape damage. You can learn more here.
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
We’re joined by the inimitable Dr. Allan Armitage, world-renown expert on perennials, for a discussion on unique plants and of course, more gift ideas…not least of all is his classic reference, Herbaceous Perennial Plants. It’s an absolute must-have for gardeners of any skill level, and you can order it directly from Dr. A with free shipping by entering code VUYST at checkout.
