A Celebration of Lilacs

Coming to you from Studio A here at Proven Winters color Choice Shrubs. It's
time for the Gardening Simplified Show with Stacy Hervella, me, Rick Weist,
and our engineer and producer Adrianna Robinson. Well Ah, the Fragrance of the
Venerable old shrub. Lilacs an old fashioned favorite, memorable and deeply nostalgic,
popular because of their rugged ability to survive tough conditions while remaining a beautiful,
relatively low maintenance plant. So the month of May is about weddings, memorials,
graduations, moms, and lilacs and heirloom lilacs are always there to help.
If there is a comfort food equivalent in the plant in the plant world,
it would have to be lilac. You know, I would agree,
and I've said it on the show before. But if there was one plant
that people have asked me if they could grow, it is by far lilacs.
And usually it's the person who has retired relocated to Florida, Arizona or
California, Texas, and they're like, I grew up with lilacs and I'm
just wondering if I can grow them here. And it breaks my heart to
tell them that they usually can't. But that's the one thing that they really
really want in their new home is lilacs because that fragrance, it takes you
back the color everything about them, fragrance and nostalgia. And I've also heard,
Stacy, I've heard people say that lilacs in the landscape are the backup
singers to the band. Generally, of course, French or Vulgaris lilacs can
get pretty big, ten twelve, fifteen feet tall. I've taken hedgerows of
lilacs and run a chainsaw two or three feet above the ground, rejuvenated them
that way. But they were back up saying until well, they're not backup
singers anymore. And Stacey's going to explain that to us during Plants on Trial,
because there are some incredible lilacs available today. French lilacs, well,
it has nothing to do with their place of origin, which is much further
east in the Balkan Peninsula and parts of temperate Asia. But there were individuals
who well made French lilacs what they are today through plant breeding. They have
a tremendous history, but the botanical name really doesn't give you a clue.
Syringea did I pronounce that right? I would say syringa, syringa or syringa.
Yeah, you know what syringa sounds better, not syringe. Yeah it
does not. The derivation is not from the word for Actually, it could
be because where syringa comes from? Or do you have this or am i
am I scupina here on this? Oh no, I want My intention was
for you to scoop me on this because you taught me this. It's a
great story. It's very interesting. So syringa, the botanical name for lilac,
derives from the Greek word for seyrinx, which is also pan pipes.
So you know the hollow pan pipes that you play, because lilacs have stems
that have a pithy center you can remove and then it is a hollow tube.
Now similarly, a syringe is actually also a hollow tube, so there
could actually be some connection there. But so there are still ways that you
can, you know, find to make pan pipes from lilac stems online if
you are so inclined, but you can hollow them out. Yeah, the
pan pipe thing is really cool. And with lilacs, I find the stems
the wood to be really hard. Yeah, do you need sharp bruers to
prune a lilac, for sure. Exactly along that line with the botanical name,
how about the common name. Stay tuned for branching news, because I'm
going to break down for you. How do you pronounce it? Is it
liluc, lilac or lilac? So stay tuned. I won't deal with that,
Okay, I'll be interested to hear where this goes. Now, of
course, there are a lot of festivals during the month of May that appreciate
lilacs. Now I'm catching myself a lilac lilock. No usually says it.
Lilac Mackinaw Island here in Michigan, big, big festival. It's about to
head into its seventy sixth years, so since nineteen forty nine. That's fascinating.
And then, of course you have the Mother's Day at the Arnold Arboretum
Lilacs Lilac site that's May twelfth this year, the one day that they allow
you to picnic on the grounds. Rochester, New York, has a huge
lilac festival. It's a big deal there. And then Woodland, Washington,
the holda Klager Lilac Gardens, a restoration project to honor the work of the
famed lilac developers. So those are just four of many types of festivals.
Stacy, you could say people certainly appreciate this plant. They do, and
I think where those festivals are located says a lot about what it takes to
grow lilacs, and that is that they are They like cold, they do
not like heat, and I think when something is as fragrant as lilacs,
people are a little surprised by that because they expect them to be more heat
tolerant, like jasmine and citrus and all of these wonderful smelling things that are
not cold tolerant. Lilac is an extremely fragrant, extremely cold tolerant plant to
the point where it can't in many cases tolerate heat. Yeah, exactly.
So to cut to the chase as far as that's concerned, if you're interested
in growing lilacs or lilacs, I'm not going to be able to shake this.
Their long lives, so they respond well to pruning. They need good
drainage, they like full sun. Stacy, you mentioned the chilling of winter.
Many lilacs are hardy to zone two. That's pretty darn hardy. That's
cold exactly. Issues I have found through the years that can be a problem
are number one, nitrogen heavy fertilizers can create problems, or if they adjoin
a lawn area pruning at the wrong time. You don't want to be pruning
lilacs, for example, in fall. You want to prune them right after
they're done blooming. Don't be afraid to prune. I find the plants to
respond really well to pruning. And then when lilacs are planted close together,
air and light can be a problem. And some lilacs, particularly the older
French lilacs, powdery mildew can be Yeah, the older ones in Syringa vulgaris
the common lilac in general is much more susceptible to powdery mildew than a lot
of other newer lilacs or different types of lilacs. But you know, I
think it's a relatively small praise to pay. I mean, as long as
you grow them well, they're usually okay, and you know, once they're
in flour you forget all about that. Now there's confusion on lilacs also because
Stacy, not all lilacs are created the same. There are many different types
and let's just run through this a moment real quickly so that you can help
me with this. You mentioned the common lilacs, so that's syringa vulgaris right,
and many people refer to them as French lilacs. Okay, then we've
got the Korean lilacs or syringa MEYERI like the dwarf Korean lin Caliban is very
popular one out there. Absolutely, the California lilacs, which are not lilacs
at all, but they're called California Wild Lilacs cnous. Yeah. And we
were just talking about our native c and of this, our Eastern natives C
and of this a few weeks ago exactly. Of course then, and I
don't want to steal your thunder here for plants on trial, but it's just
exciting to see what has happened with lilacs as far as Centaur is concerned and
stacy. As you said in a show a few weeks ago, it's a
mouthful hyacintha FLOORA Yes, did I get that right? Yes, you did,
erringa hyacinth the floor. We talked about that in our garden tour that
we just did, so that's available on our YouTube channel if you're interested in
what's going on in outside of the studio, reblooming lilacs exciting. We're going
to learn more about them today. And then Syringa reticulata or Japanese tree lilac,
and there we're talking about something that has a great size but does not
have the fragrance like a French lilac. It has a smell, It has
a smell, has a privect kind of smell too. Yeah, I don't.
I don't some people like the smell. I don't care for it,
and I you know, honestly, I'm gonna say it's not one of my
favorite plants, the lilac tree. They're okay, I mean, they're more
common than you would expect, but you know, they're just I guess it's
a smell for me. I don't love it. I can't get excited about
them either, I really can't. But they do make an impact in the
landscape, and so that's fun to see. So Victor Lemoine, Yes,
So there's an individual who basically gave French lilacs their name, like I said
earlier, a native, a native not to France, but because Victor and
his wife and kids, I guess did a lot of work climbing ladders and
cross pollinating lilacs, and also promoted the fact that they are edible. I
guess they make some kind of topping for cupcakes or pastry treats or whatever it
may be. They really help put lilacs on the map. Yeah, I
think a lot of people are surprised even to find out they're edible. Yeah,
but they are. And one of the most common ways to enjoy lilac
flowers is a very simple one, and that is to just layer them with
sugar and an enclosed jar, so like a little ball jar, and put
the lilac flowers, put a layer of sugar and so on, and layer
it up, and then a lilac fragrance goes into the sugar and you can
use that in tea or like you said, cupcakes or other things like that.
That's kind of great, isn't that How you make anything taste good?
Hammer it with sugar or bacon one or the other lilac scented sugar, especially
bacon optional. Well. I have a feeling lilacs will continue as our theme
coming up with plants on Trial. That's next coming up here on the Gardening
Simplified Ship proven Winner's Colored Choice Shrubs. Cares about your success in the garden.
That's why we trial and test all of our shrubs for eight to ten
years, making sure they outperform everything else on the market. Look for them
and the distinctive white container at your local garden center. Greeting's Gardening friends,
and welcome back to the Gardening Simplified Show. It's the time of the show
where we put a plant on trial, which is to say, we're going
to tell you everything you need to know, but one of the three hundred
and twenty plus proven Winner's Colored Choice shrubs, and you get to decide if
you are going to add it to your garden or not, or perhaps in
this case, buy it for mom from Mother's Day. Yeah. I feel
like lilacs are such a classic choice in the areas of course where you can
grow them, such a classic choice as a Mother's Day gift because they look
fabulous, they lasted a long time, everyone loves them, they're easy to
care for. But this one either deserves a spot in your mom's yard or
yours, or both. So I honestly, I was looking back over all
of our shows and I cannot believe that we have not yet really discussed Bloomerang
lilacs. I don't think we have, and we're talking about bloommerang, and
of course I love puns. That's great. I mean I've always said,
what is a boomerang that doesn't come back a stick? Right? Yes,
yes you have said that, Efident's true. But this is bloom rang.
What an exciting concept? Yes, so it is a re blooming lilac.
And the very first Bloomerang lilac came out from us in about twenty ten and
it was an instant success and people were just absolutely loved it. And over
the years we have introduced several Bloomerang lilacs and the line currently consists of three.
So there's Bloomerang Dark Purple, Bloomerang per pink, and Bloomerang Ballet,
which will not be available in garden centers until next year. So since we
have all these lilacs to cover, I was like, how am I going
to decide which one? So today's plant on trial is the newest and available
now Bloomerang per pink lilacs. So you can go to your garden center and
find this. And the reason that I chose this out of all of the
bloomerang lilacs that are or were in the line is because it really represents a
concept that we've talked about on the show multiple times, and that is how
plant breeding can continue to excel even against what the same breeding line had done
previously. So bloomerang lilac. When Tim Wood, my boss and the new
plant manager here, he introduced bloomera after several years of work the concept of
bloomeraying of reblooming lilocs. So it's not entirely new. It's like we didn't
just invent that. There was a variety, an old variety French variety called
Jose which has been around for years and years, centuries really, and that
had some rebloom. But it was the kind of plant that like, you
know when it flowered in spraying and be like, oh that's great, and
then you know, you might walk out in your garden in August and say,
oh, hey, there's a couple of flowers on the lilac. It
wasn't yeah a dabble. You wouldn't be like, whoa that lilac is in
flower again. So it wasn't a totally new concept, but it does take
a plant breeder to recognize that potential and then work, uh to really amplify
that in a plant to the point where it is notable, not just like
oh that's kind of cool, but where it's like, oh, this does
this and you can count on this lilac doing this now, Rick, as
you were explaining previously, the bloomerang lilacs are not a syringa vulgaris, so
they're not a common lielac. They aren't a serring high scinth. The flora
that is our Centaura series, which again we've talked about in previous show.
Cinta Double Blue has been a plant on trial and then we just covered them
extensively in the garden to where that's currently up on YouTube that we did last
week. So these are they're still fragrant, but they're not as fragrant.
They don't have that same lilac fragrance. It's more of kind of like a
honey sweet floral fragrance. And a lot of people don't realize this, but
lilacs are actually in the olive family. Yes, they are related to olives,
and a great number of plants in that family are fragrant. And it
was interesting to me that when we were talking about the tree lilacs, you
said they smell like privet, because privet is actually quite fragrant, and the
bloomerang tile lilac kind of smells a little like that, maybe sweeter, not
quite so doggy. Okay, does that make sense, ke perfect. I'm
glad you get me on that. So it's a little bit different. The
foliage is much smaller, and the flowers are smaller, and and the kind
of cluster together like regular lilacs. But a great thing about it, aside
from the fact that it does rebloom, is they're very disease resistant, so
you don't have to worry about powdery mildew, bacteria, leaf spot, all
the things that can you know, play other lilacs. So I just want
everyone to understand first all, as we talk about bloommeranging lilacs, you've got
to kind of get that French lilac picture out of your head. These are
different. In fact, they're in our background right now, but they have
some benefits and namely, again that's reblooming. So what a reblooming shrub does
is it blooms on old wood. Like all of the other lilacs that are
currently in bloom are doing. So that is wood that was set last summer
when all the way through fall and winter and is blooming now. So that's
old wood. What a reblooming lilac does is blooms on that old wood,
and then after that flowering winds down, they will put their energy into vegetative
growth or growing leaves, stems, shoots, all of that kind of stuff,
and then they are capable of setting flower buds on that new wood that
don't require vernalization. That's a ten dollars word that basically just means it doesn't
need to be exposed to cold temperatures, right, no chilling. So these
new wood flowers can can open without vernalization and that's why you're able to get
that subsequent bloom. So look for them later in the season. Yeah,
later in the season. So it takes generally about six weeks from that initial
bloom for the plant to put on enough growth to start creating new flower buds.
And you know, the key is that you're going to get that better
rebloom on all the bloomerang lilacs. It the more vigorously they can grow in
that time, the better the rebloom is going to be, so it's still
a low maintenance plant. And even if you get little to no rebloom,
you can have a great shrub on your hands. But if you're really going
after that rebloom, you have to keep the plant growing vigorously. I keep
it well watered. I would recommend fertilizer. And what that's going to do
is just give the plant enough energy to put on abundant new growth and then
go on to flour. So watered properly in the summer, some fertilizer and
stacey, I'm gonna guess, just like with other lilacs, sunshines in Port
oh. Sunshine is so important. Got to have at least six hours of
bright sun for your lilacs, otherwise they will not really flower. The flower
a little. And when we're talking about syringa vulgaris, they're much more likely
to get those diseases that we talked about because the foliage isn't drying as fast.
So these are full sun plants for sure, very important. But let's
get back to bloomerang per pink. It's like I was saying, it really
represents what we look for in plant breeding, which is that if you were
to side by side. Compare Bloomerang per Pink Lilac with the original Bloomerang Purple.
The difference in performance, especially in the rebloom, between these two plants,
you would not even believe what you're seeing they, you know, as
we have been able to select and develop those qualities more and more, every
subsequent introduction in the Bloomerang series has really improved on that rebloom, and so
it is one of our strongest rain bloomers. And honestly, I have seen
this thing in July and August in our gardens, and I mean it's almost
as much as spring, the amount of flower coverage that you get on that.
So it's not just that smattering of flowers anymore. It is fully in
bloom again. And it's just wild to see a lilac blooming alongside your panicle
hydrangea. I was just gonna say that the timing's perfect so you can enjoy
it to next to limelight or Bobo or some of the other panicles that are
in bloom. Right. And I love Bloomerang per pink. I love the
color with those panicle hydranges, and so I'm sure people are wondering per pink.
What are you talking about? Is that or hearing that right? So
it is a mashup of the words purple and pink, and that's where the
name comes from, because we couldn't really tell is it purple is it pink?
In different lights, in different flight lower ages, some people would say,
oh, that's purple. Other people would say, oh, no,
that's pink, and you know, to each their own. So we decided
to mash it all up, and it's bloomerang per pink. I like that.
Now. When they were originally evaluating this plant and getting it closer to
introduction, do you remember the viral phenomenon of the dress where people couldn't tell
if it was black and blue or white and gold. So that was sort
of what was the guiding principle of this or no one could really agree on
what the true color was. So that's a great reason to grow at yourself,
is you can then decide in your garden, in your light if you
think it's more purple, or if you think it's more pink, or if
you think it's just plain per pink. Hell, you know, knowing we
were going to talk about lilacs, I looked it up Lilac and lavender are
two different colors. They are both pale shades of purple, but lilac has
a pink tint to it, lavender has the blue tint. So this is
no what's great topic matter. It's pretty neat. Yeah, and it's a
fun word to say. You can just go ahead, if you're in your
car right now, just say it per pink. So bloomerang purpaine easier to
say than lilac or sirringu or a syringa sirringu isn't the flora especially So really
this is I think, you know, if you're looking for a special gift
for your mom, you want to get her a shrubs and then it's going
to last a long time and give her many, many years of enjoyment.
I think these newer bloomerangs are I mean, any bloomerang would be a good
choice. But again, as we get into these newer varieties, you're seeing
such a substantial improvement in the plant, and that's why we drop the older
ones. So bloomerang purple, the original isn't around anymore, not because it
wasn't a good plant, but because we have so much better plants right now
that we don't want you to go and buy that plant that's not going to
perform that the best that it is, so we're always swapping these in.
We do have a similar approach to our Let's Dance series of reblooming hydrangees,
because we're really looking to get you the very very best performance. So if
mom loves lie locks, if mom has a full sun spot and well drained
soil, I think Bloomerang per pink would be a marvelous choice. You can
find it at your local garden center. If you don't know where your local
garden center is, check out proven Winters Colour Choice dot com. We've got
a retailer locator there that connects you with a garden center and gets you the
perfect gift for your mom. Whatever you decide, we're going to take a
little break. When we come back, we'll be opening up the garden mail
bag. At Proven Winter's Color Choice, We've got a shrub for every taste
and every space. Whether you're looking for an easycare rose and unforgettable hydrangea or
something new and unique, you can be confident that the shrubs and the white
containers have been trialed and tested for your success. Look for them at your
local garden center. Greetings gardening friends, and welcome back to the Gardening Simplified
Show on this fine Saturday in May. Is there a better month than May.
There's a reason they call it the merry month of May. Don't you
think it's there's a good reason why it's the merry month of May. I'm
ready to start planting. I am too, but I'm also ready to h
I'm ready to shop. Oh yeah, shopping is even more fun than planting.
I've been shopping for weeks. Well. I make it a Mother's Day
tradition to go shopping for plants with my mom, so I had, you
know, I save it up for that one special day, and I'm I'm
waiting for it, and I'm ready for it. So anyway, today we
are answering our garden questions, as we do in every episode, and if
you have a gardening question for us, you can reach us at help HLP
at Gardeningsimplified on air dot com, or just visit our website, or you
know, even ask as a comment on YouTube. Adriana sends those to us,
so we're able to answer you there as well. There's lots of ways
to get in touch with us, and as we get deeper and deeper into
the gardening season, sometimes the confusion can thicken. You find out things that
you didn't realize. We're, you know, going to be the case.
Are the case? Or I thought that we're going to be the case and
aren't the case? And we're here to help. So you can always reach
us and send us your questions like these listeners have what do we got in
the mailg Well, Kathy's wondering and writes to us. Your show is so
helpful. You're both very entertaining while you educate us. I really appreciate you.
Thank you very mulch Kathy. Now a question about Perfecto Mundo double purple
azaleas. I just purchased five two gallon size. I'd like to keep them
in their nursery containers over the summer, plant them in the ground in fall
Zone six B. Is that an okay plan as it relates to the health
of these shrubs. I've read its best to plant these in the fall,
and also I have so much to do before the heat and humidity set in
before summer. Wow, this is a great question. It is a great
question. Yeah. Yeah, So as far as keeping your plants in the
containers go. That's fine as long as you are able to check them for
water frequently through the season. You know, I think people get a little
bit paranoid about keeping their plants in their nursery containers. But the fact is
if you didn't buy them, then other people hadn't bought them. That's what
the nursery would be doing. Yeah, and let me add to that stacy.
If you're able to keep an eye on the watering and not rely on
irrigation, some hand watering, deep watering at the base fill the pots,
then you can get Yeah, there's a reason why when you go to a
garden center there are hoses everywhere and wet floors. That's because the staff is
always watering the plants. And so yeah, you can absolutely treat them like
you would like they would have been treated at the garden center. But do
remember you probably do not have a staff to be watering them multiple times a
day if they need it. That's what happens here in the greenhouses as well.
I mean, our growers sometimes are watering multiple times a day, so
it is possible to keep them in their containers, but you are definitely going
to need to check them frequently. I would say, especially during the heat
of the summer, they're going to need a thorough watering at least once a
day, if not twice. In often weji water twice on very hot sunny
days. So if also, if you can keep them in some shade that's
still convenient to your hose, that's another thing you can do. Yeah,
because when you're trying to take care of plant material you like people in the
industry, it never ceases to amaze me staycy. Not only the hot summer
sun, but let's not forget the wind. Oh yeah, definitely that wind.
It's unreal how quickly that can dry up. Yeah, because plants have
their little stomata open, they're trying to photosynthesize, and that just leaves them
open to losing water vapor and that is really expedited under windy conditions. So
yes, you can keep them. I will confess fully right now, I
have and continue to keep boatloads of plants in their nursery containers around my yard
in my nursery area. You are not alone. This is much more common
than you might think. But I do want to just advise you briefly Kathley
before we move on perfecting me into Azaleas are considered hardy to USDA's own six
B, so we've had great success with them here in West Michigan. But
generally, when it comes to growing something that's kind of marginally hardy where you're
pushing its hardiness, I do generally prefer spring planting so that the plant has
the longest possible time to develop a root system before it gets really challenged with
winter, which it certainly will in usdas on six B. So I don't
think it's a problem to keep them their containers, but I would if you
can think about trying to plant them in spring rather than trying to get them
in the ground in fall. I don't know what your schedule's like, but
they will be happier and you will probably be happier with the results if they
have that longer period to get established before the harsh weather comes in Stacy Nancy's
wondering how best to care for rows of sharing plants growing in my Zone six
B clay soil. You can see from photos that Nancy sent us where the
roots are surfacing. One plant was showing significant what I determined to be chlorosis.
I use the iron tone Midsummer. I think it helped. I don't
plan on moving the plants, wondering if I can top dress the beds with
mulch and just let them be. I know they won't thrive where they're planted,
but I do want them to survive. Thanks for all the information,
you know. I would agree Stacy that the iron tone, well, maybe
it helps, but it's a band aid because again, clay soil is a
condition, and if that condition doesn't change, if there's poor drainage and not
sufficient oxygen to the roots, you're going to continue to have problems. Right
And you know, I did not sure at least Nancy's picture with you,
but I my jaw dropped. Nancy, I will tell you if you're listening,
when I saw how much these roots have surfaced, I've never quite seen
anything like what she is describing. You know, It's not like, uh,
you know, if you have a tree and the roots kind of bubble
up to the top as they mature. No, these roots are fully exposed,
big roots of the rosa Sharon. So, I don't know if there
was like a big soil wash out or if they you know, they had
been under a bunch of mulch and were surface roots, but that's not ideal.
It doesn't mean they can't survive. But I think that your best solution
to that aspect of the issue is definitely going to be a good layer of
mulch. I think that's really important. You know, they're not necessarily losing
a lot of water out of those roots because it's more of like the root
hairs that that's really important, and that's more towards the living tips rather than
those barky, trunky roots. But it looks they look like they are not
happy, So I would say definitely get a good two to three layer two
to three inch layer of mulch over those and then Rosa sharin are very heavy
feeders. They don't need the fertilizer. You know, they'll still grow and
flower well without it. But if you want that like lush, dark green
foliage, look, these are plants you're gonna have to fertilize, and if
they don't have proper nutrients correct as Nancy says, here, you see chlorosis
yellowing of the foliage and that's unsightly right, And I also would say they
don't worry too too much about paler foliage in spring I do find that they
often leaf out in a paler color then they actually develop too. So if
you're looking at your Rosa Sharon right now and going, oh gee, mine
looks kind of pale too, what should I do? Don't panic about that.
But it's not a bad idea to fertilize because they really are heavy feeders
and you will get higher quality foliage and a lot more flowers if you feed
them. I think it also brings up the point that yes, you can
garden, and you can grow in clay, but at the time of planting,
that's the critical point when we're going to mix in organic material fifty to
fifty with the existing clay soil, and we're not going to just dig a
hole and create a bathb oh. Absolutely do not do that, especially if
you're planting lilacs, because the bathtub with lilacs that is the fastest way to
kill a lilacs. Or just to go back briefly, if you're planting a
lilac this season, do not. I would recommend not amending the soil at
all. Just put it straight away into your soil, adding any kind of
organic matter potting mix. People think all sorts of they put all sorts of
crazy stuff in there, in their whole crazy stuff, I can't put them.
They think they're doing something good for the plant, but generally speaking,
plants are just best planted in your native soil. Richard says, I have
the Temple of Bloom seven sons hepticodium planted about two years ago, which is
done nicely Central Pennsylvania. We had a lot of rain this spring. I've
noticed new leaves are shriveling up. I've attached photos. Also in photo you
notice the brown grass around the area. Oh Zoisia grass. Oh boy,
a warm season grass in Pennsylvania. Yeah, probably be June before that turns
green. The ground area is shaled. Drain's pretty good. I've attached pictures
to show what's happening. I don't know if it's from the extra amount of
rain that Richard's been getting there in Pennsylvania. Right. So, and we'll
of course put Richard's pictures as we will put Nancy's pictures in the show notes,
and of course we'll be in the YouTube version so you can get a
picture of what we're talking about here. So, yeah, I was surprised
to see Richard's photos because Temple of bloom. Hepticodium in general tends to be
very problem free plants. They don't really get disease or anything like that.
And so what you'll see on Richard's plant is that some branches are nice and
full and healthy and green, and then a couple of branches have these kind
of like shriveled, blackened foliage on them. And my first thought is definitely
cold. Richard actually sent this question a couple of weeks ago, so it's
super recent, but you know, when we were having some warm weather,
right and then some cold weather, and then you know, the warm weather
that we had in March really starts to accelerate things and then blamo, we
get that cold weather. Blamo, you know, and it is that's exactly
what it feels like, more like a punch in the face, and that
that can really fry, especially that tender foliage. So what I see in
Richard's photo is definitely pretty classic to me look of cold damage. And sometimes
people will see a plant like that and go, well, if it's cold
damage, why did these plant these leaves shrivel up, and these leaves are
fine, And honestly, there are so many little factors that can influence that
just the way cold air moves through your space. Sure you know it,
just what there could be a block, you know, something blocking the cold
air from settling on the plant somewhere else There's It doesn't seem like those little
things would make a big difference, but they can. And the good news
is after cold damage, most of these plants, if healthy, will flush
new growth. Right, So I think that that is probably the case,
and you should probably by now start to see some new growth coming out.
But I do just want to caution anybody who plants directly into turf, as
this temple of bloom hepticodium was planted, that can also cause drainage problems.
You know, you definitely the plants lose less water through the turf than they
would just planted in soil. I've seen a lot of issues crop up planting
in there, so you do just want to be a little bit more maybe
conscientious of the water it's getting. And if you have long sprinklers, then
you might want to just consider a little less there because the shale is also
probably really slowing the drainage. And this isn't a plant that's like extremely sensitive
to poor drainage, but it is as most plants are somewhat sensitive, so
just something to consider there. So we're going to take a little break.
When we come back, we've got branching news and apparently a discussion on how
to pronounce lilac. The Gardening Is Simplified is brought to you by Proven Winner's
Color Choice Shrubs. Our award winning flowering shrubs and evergreens have been trialed and
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Welcome back to the Gardening Simplified Show. Hey, Stacey Adriana, We're
going to have a snack after the show. I don't know why I didn't
get the memo on this for our YouTube viewers. Look at that dill pickle
flavored sunflower seeds. How come I didn't know about this? I didn't know
about it till you told me about it. Absolutely delicious. Who would have
thought dill pickle sunflower seeds? Well, snack after the show? First things
first, we got to talk about the pronunciation of lilac because in the first
segment, and now I start to second guess myself, is it lilac?
Is it lilac? Is it lilac? So I thought, well, the
only way I can fix this in my mind is to write a limerick.
So here you go. Get it right, you should say lie lack.
Spare me your cultural feedback. Clip some for Mom. She'll think they're the
bomb and think you're a brainiac. Get it right, you should say lie
luck. It's grammar gone amuck. So everyone just relax. Are there rules
of syntax? I guess I'm simply dumbstruck. Get it right? You should
say lie lock, Disagree, retort, and squawk. The results are the
same fragrance that's insane, regardless of how you talk. And I have people
who say that to me all the time that I talk funny, they recognize
my voice. So that's why I tried to wrestle with this because Stacy,
I still don't know if it's lielac, lie Luck, or lie lock,
but I did a little research on it and found it it's all contingent on
your local dialect. How you pronounce it right makes sense. And you know
what I always say about pronunciation. As long as you walk out of the
garden center with the plant that you wanted that's all that really matters. But
I will say several years back, we did a radio commercial about bloomerng Lilac,
and we had hired voice talent the agency who did the commercial for us,
and honestly I missed it completely, but the actress who was doing the
voice said Lilac. And you would not believe the mail that we got in
response to this. People freaked out. So I'm onto something here. Well,
no, they it's Lilac, I know, and I like the way
you say it. But you know, Stacy, you're one of these people
where words just roll off your tongue. It's so eloquent, whereas with me,
it's like Lilac. You know, Lilac insurance commercial exactly Lilac, and
that's who I have my insurance. So but it's actually Lilac. I mean,
I'm an open minded on this pronunciation thing. It does sound funny to
my ear to hear Lilac or Lilac, but I know what we're talking about,
and that's the important thing. It's true. It's true, it is
you will get it. We I'm sure we will get some opinionated comment ares
on this, and I'm looking at well, yeah, so but yeah,
I mean I always say lilac. All right. Well, along that subject,
the Rochester Red Wings, that's a minor league baseball team, have found
a way to bring the flowers to the field. From May fourteen to May
nineteen this year, the Red Wings will wear uniforms featuring Rochester's iconic lilacs front
and center. They were designed by a member of the Wings major League baseball
affiliate team, the Washington Nationals. So flower city there in Rochester, New
York. These people love Rochester. They bleed purple, they just love it.
The Lilac Festival May ten through May nineteen. So they've got a great
minor league baseball team. They're great ballpark in Rochester, and they will be
wearing lilacs this year. Well, well, two wonderful things, baseball and
gardening. Gotta love that. Throwing a little apple pie and you're all set
some hot dogs. That's amazing. And I am looking forward to hearing how
in Rochester, New York, they pronounce lilac. Oh, that's a good
question, or syringa or syringa for that. We do have a Rochester native
on staff here, so I am going to ask him. Very good speaking
of that, fresh spring lilac sent Forty three percent of Americans say one of
the best home compliments they can receive is your home smells so good. According
to new research, survey of adults found that home fragrances play a role in
cleaning routines and found that fifty five percent say that the way a home smells
is even more important than how it looks. So I found this survey to
be very interesting. People would want. Respondents would want their home to smell
like fresh laundry, linen, ocean breeze, lavender, vanilla, and lemon
or citrus. So there was no lilac in here, but I'm sure that
there are people who would go for lilac. Also, so interesting survey that
we're going to put on the website Gardeningsimplified on air dot Com. I guess
it doesn't surprise me too much that that's a big deal with folks. No,
But it also doesn't surprise me that they don't want lilac, because you
know, I love perfume, and I have a lot of fragrances that are
soliflora or based on a single flower, and I find that I cannot wear
them outside of that plant's bloom time. It feels so unnatural. It feels
so weird to me. So maybe like you know, if it's you know,
November and your house is smelling like lilac, people feel like it's a
little bit it's a little bit weird. You know. It's true. At
one time I ordered a cologne that smelled like a freshly mode lawn. It
really did. It smelled like a freshly mode lawn and I could not wear
it in winter. Yeah, it just feels out of place. It was
out of place. I don't wear it anymore. Got too many funny looks.
Longevity does that to you. It makes you no. It gives you
common sense, from marshmallows to meatballs, beef jerky and hot dogs. A
new study has found how Americans are expressing their creative taste buds when it comes
to their salads, along with what the perfect salad looks like. So aside
from occasional topping oddities, and people do put things like beef jerky, meatballs,
and hot dogs on their salad believe it or not, Okay, most
people are opting for number one choice cheese, oh heck you yeah, tomatoes,
bacon, crutins, crotons, kroutons, how do you want to pronounce
those? I'm just having fun with you here. And cucumbers. Those are
the favorite toppings. This lilac thing has really got me messed up. To
add, the best salad dressings are number one, Ranch, then Italian,
and then Caesar's topping. But for sixty one percent, the real main character
of salads are well the greens involved, right yeah, yeah, the best
of which were Romaine, Iceberg, spinach, spring mix, and crunchy green
lettuce. So there you go, whatever your choice. Let us romaine friends,
right yeah, okay, over a quarter believe they could turn any type
of sandwich into a salad. Oh so think about sandwich peanut, butter and
jelly, Yeah exactly, or it brings up the point. Is a hot
dog a sandwich? Yes? Of course the hot dogs a sandwich. It's
a sandwich. Yeah, I mean it's a sandwich ish. It meets the
definition of a sandwich. It's like, you know, it's a meat between
bread. So yeah, well wait are we going to get comments and notes
on this show? Galore? So top five things that make your salad appetizing.
Number one on the list, freshness makes sense. The dressing is number
two, the quality of the lettuces number three, toppings are number four,
and then the harmony of different flavors comes in at number five. I'm hungry,
I didn't have lunch today. A salad sounds good. Yeah, I'm
thinking I'm gonna go to stop the store and get some salad fixings. I'll
put some crotons on it. The rumors are true. Vegetables aren't real.
That is in botany anyway. While the term fruit is wreckedognized botanically as anything
that contains a seed or seeds, vegetable is actually a broad umbrella term for
many types of edible plants. You might think you know what carrots and beets
are. Carrots, beets, and other vegetables that grow in the ground are
actually the true roots of plants. Lettuce and spinach, our leaves, celery
and asparagus are stems. Greens such as broccoli, artichokes, and culliflowers are
immature flowers. Now, this is all according to Steve Reiners, a professor
of horticulture at Cornell University's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. So he's just
trying to get us straightened out. Ear, cucumbers, squash, eggplant.
Avocados are also classified as fruit according to the European Food Information So I guess
I don't know. I just throw that out there because it's one of those
fun things to debate. Well, you know, the whole vegetable fruit thing
that just dates back to Victorian arbitrary like sweet things or fruits, savory things
are vegetable, so it's completely you know, arbitrary. But do you know,
whatever you whatever you want, tomato tomato, it's been fun. Let's
call the whole thing off. Thanks Stacey, it's been a fun show.
Thank you so much, Adriana, and thank you to you. Thanks for
watching us on YouTube, listening on radio, and listening to our podcast,
The Gardening Simplified Show. Have a great week.