Little Shop of Horticulture

<v Speaker 1>Broadcasting from Studio A. Here at proven Winners Color Choice Shrubs.
<v Speaker 1>It's time for the Gardening Simplified Show with Stacy, Hervella me,
<v Speaker 1>Rick Weist, and our engineer and producer Adrianna Robinson. Well
<v Speaker 1>as Vincent Price would say in the thriller, darkness falls
<v Speaker 1>across the land. The midnight hour is close at hand. No,
<v Speaker 1>I'm not talking about Halloween. I'm talking about the end
<v Speaker 1>of daylight saving time and the growing season. Oh boy, today,
<v Speaker 1>little shop of horticulture.
<v Speaker 2>Hmm.
<v Speaker 1>I was thinking about you the other day, Stacy, because
<v Speaker 1>I have a neighbor just down the road and she
<v Speaker 1>has a Stacey Halloween Nightmare yard. Not on Elm Street,
<v Speaker 1>but on my street. This neighbor has a yard full
<v Speaker 1>of agapodium, goutweed, vinkevine growing all over the place, and
<v Speaker 1>chameleon place at the Yes, all three. I watch your
<v Speaker 1>fill a little bucket of miracle grow and go out there.
<v Speaker 3>On that fertilizes. That's the scariest part.
<v Speaker 1>Yes, I know that. I know that. Is there a
<v Speaker 1>barbary scarier?
<v Speaker 2>Right?
<v Speaker 1>There was no barbary?
<v Speaker 3>Is there? Wind chimes?
<v Speaker 1>There are?
<v Speaker 3>Okay?
<v Speaker 2>Got me?
<v Speaker 1>So four out of five something like that.
<v Speaker 3>It's a tree nightmare.
<v Speaker 2>There might be some barbary in the backyard that you
<v Speaker 2>just haven't seen yet, so.
<v Speaker 1>I'll check it out. Are you decorating in your yard
<v Speaker 1>or landscape like many people do for Christmas? Americans are
<v Speaker 1>expected to spend four point two billion dollars on Halloween
<v Speaker 1>decorations decorating their house uh this year, and many people
<v Speaker 1>that the number of people decorating their homes has continued
<v Speaker 1>to increase. Some displays look so elaborate people have had
<v Speaker 1>to call the police.
<v Speaker 2>Uh.
<v Speaker 1>And I have a neighbor down the road, not the
<v Speaker 1>same neighbor with Stacy's horror land, but a neighbor down
<v Speaker 1>the road that decides to put up Christmas and Halloween
<v Speaker 1>at the same time and just get it over with.
<v Speaker 1>Oh my, yeah, so it looks like the Holidays threw
<v Speaker 1>up in their yard. It's just crazy, the.
<v Speaker 3>Whole Halloween yard decorating. I mean, it's fun.
<v Speaker 2>Don't get me wrong. I don't begrudge anyone. They're fun,
<v Speaker 2>but it is wild. It came out of nowhere, you know.
<v Speaker 2>It is like you used to put some pumpkins on
<v Speaker 2>your porch and call it good. And now I mean
<v Speaker 2>people start decorating in September, and they have to get
<v Speaker 2>their money's worth because they're spending so much on these displays.
<v Speaker 2>And I mean they are really fun to see, but wow,
<v Speaker 2>I mean it's in some ways it's like more than
<v Speaker 2>Christmas decorating.
<v Speaker 1>It's unreal.
<v Speaker 3>Yeah, And where do they store it all?
<v Speaker 1>That's that's always the big problem. Where do you put
<v Speaker 1>those things? Well, invasive plants and invasive bugs are a
<v Speaker 1>big contributor to Halloween horror stories and the Little Shop
<v Speaker 1>of Horticulture. Now, I do want to mention something right
<v Speaker 1>off the bat, and we have some pictures for our
<v Speaker 1>YouTube viewers, Stacy. But at this time of the year
<v Speaker 1>I get real melancholy and sad based on the fact
<v Speaker 1>that I don't get to see that bright yellow color
<v Speaker 1>of green ash trees in the landscape. Because of Emerald
<v Speaker 1>ash bore. Many of our ash trees are gone, and
<v Speaker 1>I'm chilled by the lack of that bright color in
<v Speaker 1>our neighborhoods our parks. Green ash had ecological and cultural
<v Speaker 1>significance in our landscapes. Streets lined with green ash trees.
<v Speaker 1>They made baseball bats, bowling pins out of green ash.
<v Speaker 1>I really really missed that tree, and you'll see some
<v Speaker 1>here and there where they're struggling to survive or growing
<v Speaker 1>out of the base of the plant, sending out suckers
<v Speaker 1>or shoots. I've got some pictures to show you in
<v Speaker 1>a parking lot that I went through the other day, Stacy,
<v Speaker 1>I missed that tree. And Emerald ash bore is one
<v Speaker 1>of those little shop of horse to culture things that
<v Speaker 1>I'm dealing with personally.
<v Speaker 2>It's horrifying they are, and you know, what they did
<v Speaker 2>to trees all over the Midwest is really genuinely horrifying.
<v Speaker 2>But where my in laws live out in the Detroit
<v Speaker 2>area is literally just a few miles from what was
<v Speaker 2>ground zero of the Emerald ashboor invasion here in Michigan.
<v Speaker 2>And it's interesting because ashes are coming back because they
<v Speaker 2>ate everything, you know. So the ashes took care of
<v Speaker 2>everything that they could.
<v Speaker 1>Eat in the area extinct.
<v Speaker 2>Yes, and so they have then moved on to new
<v Speaker 2>areas because it's saying, hey, there's nothing for us to
<v Speaker 2>eat here, better move to West Michigan. And now that
<v Speaker 2>is giving ash from seed because it does spread pretty
<v Speaker 2>significantly from seed and other ones that were just significantly
<v Speaker 2>weakened a chance to come back, and there are actually
<v Speaker 2>some quite large ash trees now around there.
<v Speaker 3>Now.
<v Speaker 2>That doesn't mean they can't come back, but there is
<v Speaker 2>this kind of sequential or succession of ash and Emerald
<v Speaker 2>ashboorger that.
<v Speaker 3>Maybe they will be back.
<v Speaker 2>Now we're behind the Detroit area because we didn't get
<v Speaker 2>it as early as they did, but maybe.
<v Speaker 3>In a couple of years. Yeah, I agree, your ashes
<v Speaker 3>could be back.
<v Speaker 1>I agree, And that's why I took pictures of these trees,
<v Speaker 1>because they're also seeking out some of these trees that
<v Speaker 1>seem resistant to Emerald ashbourer to develop cultivars for future generation.
<v Speaker 2>Well, that's exactly what happened with the Dutch Olean disease
<v Speaker 2>and the bark beetle.
<v Speaker 1>Exactly when we talk about Little Shop of Horticulture. Of course,
<v Speaker 1>one of the things we've talked about this year in
<v Speaker 1>our show is that area between the street and the
<v Speaker 1>sidewalk and what in the world to do with it.
<v Speaker 1>Some people call it the hell strip, some people call
<v Speaker 1>it a parkway, a boulevard or right of way. I'm
<v Speaker 1>planting some loriopee and some creeping time in mine. And
<v Speaker 1>for folks who are watching or listening to the show
<v Speaker 1>in the south. Remember also here in the Earth we
<v Speaker 1>suffer from something called snowplow disease in winter, so that
<v Speaker 1>is an area also that creates problems. Many plants we
<v Speaker 1>could talk about in our show on Little Shop of Horticulture, Stacy.
<v Speaker 1>You know, one that I can't stand is stinging nettle.
<v Speaker 1>Some people love it for the health potions that they
<v Speaker 1>can create out of it, but I get intense burning
<v Speaker 1>and an itching sensation. Low grow sumac. Now you'll see
<v Speaker 1>that growing in island beds at stores and parking lots
<v Speaker 1>because it's super tough. But I made the mistake of
<v Speaker 1>putting it in my landscape and they call it a
<v Speaker 1>fragrant sumac. It smells awful.
<v Speaker 3>I've ever really spelled it. What's it like.
<v Speaker 1>It's just pungent and it's kind of like Russian sage
<v Speaker 1>on steroids.
<v Speaker 2>So it really ran and spread and it's one of
<v Speaker 2>those plants that it's suckering and if it's happy yet,
<v Speaker 2>it'll sucker and colonize, which is perfect for parking lot beds,
<v Speaker 2>but maybe not so much for the backyard.
<v Speaker 3>So that's what's happened to your right.
<v Speaker 1>So I'm I'm pulling it out. But the whole time
<v Speaker 1>I'm pulling it out, I'm like holding my nose. It's awful.
<v Speaker 1>O Punti or prickly pear cactus. I love prickly pear wine.
<v Speaker 1>I love Opuntia and prickly pear cactus. But those pads
<v Speaker 1>are so innocent looking. You get close to them and
<v Speaker 1>you get those stickers in your socks, in your gloves.
<v Speaker 1>I was watching some deer eating them. I'm wondering, how
<v Speaker 1>in the world can they eat those pads real thirsty?
<v Speaker 2>Oh boy, you know, I have to say I don't
<v Speaker 2>think that our native a Puntia chumafusa, the one that
<v Speaker 2>grows out here. The glockids, which are the little teeny
<v Speaker 2>tiny hairs that are the most irritating because you can
<v Speaker 2>usually avoid those big, long thorns. It's the little tiny
<v Speaker 2>ones that get you. They're not as bad as long
<v Speaker 2>lasting as like cactus that you'll find in the Southwest.
<v Speaker 2>They provide a temporary irritation, but you know, for the
<v Speaker 2>most part, they're not that bad. But the thing that
<v Speaker 2>I find about them, at least in my garden, they
<v Speaker 2>need a lot of management.
<v Speaker 3>They really overgrow.
<v Speaker 2>Might have started spreading from seed, which, as you can
<v Speaker 2>imagine is simply delightful. We dead headed ours this year
<v Speaker 2>to prevent that from happening, because, yeah, you do not
<v Speaker 2>want to be weeding and come across a little cactus
<v Speaker 2>seedling in your vegetable garden, which I did have one there.
<v Speaker 2>The other thing about managing this plant, talk about horror stories.
<v Speaker 2>We're always really careful about what we do with it
<v Speaker 2>and make sure that we put it in thick bags
<v Speaker 2>in our trash and not the yard disposal, because I
<v Speaker 2>don't want, you know, the poor person who takes away
<v Speaker 2>that garbage just to get an unpleasant surprise. So it
<v Speaker 2>also has to be managed carefully, not just in the garden,
<v Speaker 2>but for other people to deal with.
<v Speaker 1>You're right, you're right about that. Well, on today's show,
<v Speaker 1>we're going to talk about some plants and some invasive issues.
<v Speaker 1>I've got things on my list like calorie pair daughter,
<v Speaker 1>horse bind weed, all of these things that have to
<v Speaker 1>be part of our Shop of Horticulture Hall of Fame.
<v Speaker 1>Here's a terrifying thought. Rick at your doorstep, Rick or treat. Yeah,
<v Speaker 1>today's limb a Rick Rick visits your doorstep. Caution with me,
<v Speaker 1>maybe hoove, I see a plant in your yard. I
<v Speaker 1>disapprove while you're busy doling out candy. The distraction I'll
<v Speaker 1>find handy in darkness, the plant to remove. If there's
<v Speaker 1>a weed in your yard, I'll pluck it. Take your
<v Speaker 1>treat in my bag, I'll tuck it my costume. Likewise,
<v Speaker 1>you may recognize I'm the guy wearing a five gallon bucket.
<v Speaker 3>You are on a roll, rick roll.
<v Speaker 1>Thank you very much. Yeah, on Halloween, I go out
<v Speaker 1>there wearing a five gallon bucket. It's ideal.
<v Speaker 2>Uh, okay, just drill some Oh it's a mask, gotcha.
<v Speaker 2>I was thinking like a full body, five gallon buck
<v Speaker 2>it kind of costume. But oh, you were in I
<v Speaker 2>didn't know you were such a Halloween fan.
<v Speaker 1>I don't know. I just little shop.
<v Speaker 3>I feel you're feeling the spirit. I like it.
<v Speaker 1>I can't wait for Plants on Trial that's coming up next.
<v Speaker 1>Here on the Gardening Simplified.
<v Speaker 2>Show, beautify your home and community with proven winner's color
<v Speaker 2>Choice shrubs. With over three hundred and twenty five unique
<v Speaker 2>varieties to choose from. There's a flowering shrub or evergreen
<v Speaker 2>for every taste and every space. Just look for the
<v Speaker 2>distinctive white container your local garden center or learn more
<v Speaker 2>at proven Winner's Color Choice dot com. Boo and greetings
<v Speaker 2>gardening friends, and welcome back to the Gardening Simplified Show
<v Speaker 2>where we are opening up the little shop of horticulture.
<v Speaker 2>You know, everyone's always like, oh, Seymour feed me because
<v Speaker 2>of you know, the famous movie.
<v Speaker 3>But that's not really that scary. I mean, they didn't
<v Speaker 3>make it very scary.
<v Speaker 1>It's not scary.
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, but thank goodness, there's not actually plants like that.
<v Speaker 2>Of course, there are carnivorous plants that eat insects, but
<v Speaker 2>they are not ever going to harm you personally, so anyway, and.
<v Speaker 1>There's always barbary.
<v Speaker 3>There's all that.
<v Speaker 2>Barbary is indeed scary. You can scare me with many
<v Speaker 2>things in the garden, you know, stinging nettle. I also
<v Speaker 2>have a big, major issue with.
<v Speaker 3>Very very big rastion.
<v Speaker 2>And no one ever told me about stinging nettle. Right,
<v Speaker 2>so I'm working as a landscaper in college weaving and
<v Speaker 2>all of a sudden, like what the heck just happened?
<v Speaker 2>And also those stinging caterpillars. Yes, you know you're hearing
<v Speaker 2>a lot about those these days. So but you're not
<v Speaker 2>to discourage you from gardening, because all you have to
<v Speaker 2>do is learn a little bit. And that's what we're
<v Speaker 2>here for, is to kind of teach you some of
<v Speaker 2>that stuff, help you make you aware of those things
<v Speaker 2>so you can avoid them, whether that is an invasive
<v Speaker 2>plant or a pest or a bug or you know,
<v Speaker 2>whatever that that that scary thing is for you. We
<v Speaker 2>all have our own fears. But you know, last year
<v Speaker 2>there was quite a bit of talk going on about
<v Speaker 2>Gothic gardens, goth gardens, goth gardening, and you know, those
<v Speaker 2>words just got thrown around, and I realized that probably
<v Speaker 2>a lot of people don't really know what that means.
<v Speaker 2>You know, like I grew up in the eighties and
<v Speaker 2>nineties when goth people dressing like goths was the subculture
<v Speaker 2>was a thing, you know, like we knew what that was.
<v Speaker 2>But some people who are older might not. Maybe even
<v Speaker 2>some people who were younger might not. And that got
<v Speaker 2>me thinking, where did that goth term come from? So
<v Speaker 2>of course I looked it up, because this is what
<v Speaker 2>I do. So the original use of goth goes back
<v Speaker 2>to the term Gothic, which was a tribe of Germanic
<v Speaker 2>people in the fourth century. Now, the Romans did not
<v Speaker 2>like the Goths, and considered them uncouth and barbaric, and
<v Speaker 2>so to some extent you could say, okay, well, like
<v Speaker 2>dark ages, that's where the association with darkness comes from
<v Speaker 2>from that. But then fast forward to the twelfth century
<v Speaker 2>and we've got Gothic architecture, which plenty of people are
<v Speaker 2>familiar with. Of course, Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris is
<v Speaker 2>one of the classic examples, and that actually had nothing
<v Speaker 2>really to do with the Germanic tribe of the Goths.
<v Speaker 2>That just kind of came out of nowhere. Then fast
<v Speaker 2>forward to seventeen sixty four. Okay, so we're up, you know,
<v Speaker 2>another four hundred and five hundred years here, and Gothic
<v Speaker 2>takes on a new, yet another new meaning. In this case,
<v Speaker 2>the first Gothic novel, which was Horace Walpole's book The
<v Speaker 2>Castle of Otronto, which later got the subtitle, added a
<v Speaker 2>Gothic story, and that gave birth to the whole subgenre
<v Speaker 2>of Gothic novels. So, of course Rebecca by Daphne du
<v Speaker 2>Morier is a classic example. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley is
<v Speaker 2>another classic example. So it was kind of this, like,
<v Speaker 2>you know, mysterious is sometimes supernatural, freaky, scary, but also
<v Speaker 2>darkly atmospheric, taking place in creepy labs or abandoned mansions
<v Speaker 2>or castles and all of that kind of thing.
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, and if you're keeping score at home, that's O Toronto.
<v Speaker 1>I thought it was a typo. I thought it was
<v Speaker 1>supposed to be Toronto. It's Toronto.
<v Speaker 2>Yes, Okay, The Castle of Otronto by Horace Walpole. If
<v Speaker 2>you would like to spend this spooky season reading the
<v Speaker 2>first ever Gothic novel, I have not read it, but
<v Speaker 2>I find it sounds like it's very interesting, So I
<v Speaker 2>think that that is really where this idea of the
<v Speaker 2>goth subculture comes from. Is more of the gothic novel, dark, creepy,
<v Speaker 2>staying inside. But what really characterizes the goth subculture is
<v Speaker 2>wearing black, like dressing in black.
<v Speaker 3>Oh yeah, so Rick maybe a goth.
<v Speaker 1>Where we'll.
<v Speaker 3>Find a future API, but that's what it means.
<v Speaker 2>So when we say like a goth garden or a
<v Speaker 2>Gothic garden, what is generally meant by that is plants
<v Speaker 2>with black foliage or plants that kind of have this
<v Speaker 2>looming presence. So it can mean a lot of different things.
<v Speaker 2>So in celebration of Today's Little Shop of Horticulture. I
<v Speaker 2>wanted to share my top picks for proven Winner's color
<v Speaker 2>choice shrubs for Goth gardens.
<v Speaker 1>Fantastic, let's hear.
<v Speaker 2>Okay, So my number one quality, and this is the
<v Speaker 2>easiest one, is black foliage, because you know, that's a
<v Speaker 2>very common thing now. You could because black foliage has
<v Speaker 2>been so popular for the last gosh, I don't know,
<v Speaker 2>fifteen years, twenty years or something like that. There's tons
<v Speaker 2>and tons of options, everything from annuals, vegetables, perennials, shrubs,
<v Speaker 2>even trees if you wanted to plants it.
<v Speaker 3>Tulips, yeah, exactly.
<v Speaker 2>If you wanted to plant an entirely black flower and
<v Speaker 2>foliage garden, you actually could, and if you did, please
<v Speaker 2>let us know because we want to see it. That
<v Speaker 2>sounds pretty amazing. But black foliage is just one way
<v Speaker 2>you could think about this. You could also go for
<v Speaker 2>a plant with creepy gothy names, and like I said, other
<v Speaker 2>plants with a looming silhouette. You know one plant that
<v Speaker 2>I always think of. And when Lisa Roper from Chanticleer
<v Speaker 2>was on, she talked about it a little bit about
<v Speaker 2>the big weeping spruces that they have around the ruined
<v Speaker 2>garden at Chanticleer that kind of look like ghostly looming presences.
<v Speaker 1>Yeah around the garden it be oh yeah, that's.
<v Speaker 2>Definitely a good creepy plant. So black foliage. Center Stage
<v Speaker 2>crape myrtle, now this is an interesting one. Beautiful, it
<v Speaker 2>is beautiful, and so most crape myrtles are considered Southern plants,
<v Speaker 2>and the tree forms definitely are because of course they
<v Speaker 2>can't die back, or you would not have a tree anymore.
<v Speaker 2>But center stage is a shrubby crape myrtle which is
<v Speaker 2>actually hardy down to USDA Zone six. It can die
<v Speaker 2>back to the ground and it will just come right
<v Speaker 2>back up and flower. And this has some of the
<v Speaker 2>darkest foliage out of any crape myrtle out there. But
<v Speaker 2>what's cool about it is it's not like goth and
<v Speaker 2>brooding all season long. Blooms in summer, and when those
<v Speaker 2>flowers come out, it just takes on a totally different character. Now,
<v Speaker 2>I personally like center stage red, and I think that
<v Speaker 2>probably is the most goth because it's combining that black
<v Speaker 2>with that red. But we also have center Stage pink
<v Speaker 2>and center Stage coral, and they're really just beautiful plants.
<v Speaker 2>That I think because of that they're long blooming and
<v Speaker 2>have that colorful flower. They don't just kind of suck
<v Speaker 2>the life out of the landscape, which can be a
<v Speaker 2>risk of black plants that they just kind of become
<v Speaker 2>a black hole or they blend in with the soil.
<v Speaker 2>The other thing about it it is very resistant to
<v Speaker 2>powdery mildew, because there is nothing scarier than a ugly
<v Speaker 2>crape myrtle covered in powdery mildew. No one wants that
<v Speaker 2>now our jazz hands. Variegated Laura pedulum. This is a
<v Speaker 2>really cool plant that is looking so beautiful right now.
<v Speaker 2>It is a varigated Laura pedilum. Of course, if you
<v Speaker 2>live in the South, you also know this plant dark
<v Speaker 2>purply black foliage. But the new both on this is
<v Speaker 2>variegated with white and spots of purple and pink and black.
<v Speaker 2>But it's also not like a festive party. It still
<v Speaker 2>has I think some like very goth kind of vibes
<v Speaker 2>to it. It's not overly happy, so so don't worry
<v Speaker 2>about that. Kodiak Jet black dravilla. Love that some of
<v Speaker 2>the darkest foliage that has ever been introduced on a darvilla.
<v Speaker 2>And what I love about this one much like the
<v Speaker 2>center stage crape myrtle in summer. It has these bright,
<v Speaker 2>bright yellow flowers and they're small, but the contrast when
<v Speaker 2>those are out is just so beautiful. Also, I love
<v Speaker 2>black and yellow because I like really strong contrasts, like
<v Speaker 2>that black hat rhododendron.
<v Speaker 1>You gave me one a few years ago. I planted
<v Speaker 1>it in my landscape. I love that plant. That has
<v Speaker 1>become a favorite.
<v Speaker 3>Yeah.
<v Speaker 2>So, so do you have a planet where you can
<v Speaker 2>set off the color or you just yet?
<v Speaker 1>Oh yeah, there's there's hosta, and there's the hack and
<v Speaker 1>a kloa yellow hack and a cloa near it, and
<v Speaker 1>that is just gorgeous.
<v Speaker 2>Love that. It's a great combination.
<v Speaker 1>Uh.
<v Speaker 2>And then I was thinking, you know, we don't really
<v Speaker 2>have anything yet. We will have a butterfly bush coming
<v Speaker 2>out in twenty twenty seven with near black flowers, but
<v Speaker 2>right now, we don't have anything with super moody gothy flowers,
<v Speaker 2>with a possible exception of wee bit grumpy hydrangea. And
<v Speaker 2>this plant it got its name. I think I've talked
<v Speaker 2>about it before because one of its trial codes was
<v Speaker 2>among seven the seven dwarfs. So each of the plants
<v Speaker 2>in that trial group had a name from one of
<v Speaker 2>the seven Dwarfs. This one was grumpy. It made us
<v Speaker 2>laugh every time we looked at it, so we kept it.
<v Speaker 2>But in the right soil conditions, so acidic cool, the
<v Speaker 2>flowers turned some very very moody, dark purples that are
<v Speaker 2>really really cool. Moving on to we've got, of course
<v Speaker 2>the white Gela Wine and spirits, which also has the
<v Speaker 2>benefit of a creepy name, Midnight Wineeshine, which is probably
<v Speaker 2>the blackest of any Whygela, and Sonic bloom Wine, which
<v Speaker 2>is a reblooming wygeala. So if you just want to
<v Speaker 2>be like a little goth with a black foliage, but
<v Speaker 2>you want some nice flower in there, it really splits
<v Speaker 2>the difference. And then kind of to end up, I
<v Speaker 2>think that laced up and black lace elderberry are really
<v Speaker 2>the ultimate Goth shrubs in our collection. So they have
<v Speaker 2>really dark black, kind of lacy foliage. But once that
<v Speaker 2>first frost hits, the foliage kind of does this thing
<v Speaker 2>where it just kind of droops on the plant, So
<v Speaker 2>it doesn't fall off right away, it doesn't turn color,
<v Speaker 2>but it kind of droops and it's got like immaculate
<v Speaker 2>abandoned mansion vibes. It really really a cool choice. So
<v Speaker 2>if you were looking for Halloween vibes or goth vibes
<v Speaker 2>in your landscape, there's just a couple of suggestions. But
<v Speaker 2>of course it's always about using your imagination and making
<v Speaker 2>it work for you. But be sure to tune in
<v Speaker 2>on YouTube so you can see what all of these
<v Speaker 2>plants look like. In the meantime, we're going to take
<v Speaker 2>a break and when we come back, we're opening up
<v Speaker 2>the mail bag.
<v Speaker 3>I don't think it'll be too scary, but.
<v Speaker 2>You never know what lurks inside. At Proven Winner's Color
<v Speaker 2>Choice Shrubs, we know that a better landscape starts with
<v Speaker 2>a better shrub. Our team of experts tests and evaluates
<v Speaker 2>all of our flowering shrubs in evergreens for eight to
<v Speaker 2>ten years to ensure they outperform what's already on the market.
<v Speaker 2>For easycare, reliable, beautiful shrubs to accentuate your home and
<v Speaker 2>express your personal style, look for Proven Winner's Shrubs in
<v Speaker 2>the distinctive white container at your local garden center or
<v Speaker 2>learn more at proven Winner's Color Choice dot com. And
<v Speaker 2>welcome back to the Gardening Simplified Show where Adriana just
<v Speaker 2>scared me half to death with some wind chimes. You know,
<v Speaker 2>again it's to each their own, but when you live
<v Speaker 2>in a windy neighborhood and your neighbors have wind chimes,
<v Speaker 2>it's hard. It's hard to get some rest. And that's
<v Speaker 2>scary because I could be pretty scary when I don't
<v Speaker 2>get enough sleep. But anyway, it's our time to answer
<v Speaker 2>your gardening questions. If you have a gardening question that
<v Speaker 2>you would like us to answer, you can always just
<v Speaker 2>visit us at Gardening Simplified on air dot com. There
<v Speaker 2>is a contact form there you can just send it
<v Speaker 2>right in. There's even a place to attach a photo,
<v Speaker 2>because there's nothing scarier than trying to identify a garden
<v Speaker 2>problem without a picture to tell us what the heck
<v Speaker 2>is going on. And you can also just leave a
<v Speaker 2>comment on our YouTube version of the show. He Drana
<v Speaker 2>reads all of those and responds to them and tells
<v Speaker 2>us if there's something that should be answered on air.
<v Speaker 2>So lots of different ways to get your questions answered.
<v Speaker 2>And we're kicking this edition of Mailbag off with a
<v Speaker 2>question for Rick. So Rick's expertise is requested by Melissa.
<v Speaker 2>I heard Rick talk about his leaf mulching machine. Can
<v Speaker 2>you describe what that is? And did you make it yourself?
<v Speaker 2>Why do you grind leaves instead of leaving them as is?
<v Speaker 2>I'm also curious about creating my own compost in much.
<v Speaker 2>Can you please describe the best formula. I know you
<v Speaker 2>have to mix the browns and the greens, but I'm
<v Speaker 2>not sure how to start on my own.
<v Speaker 1>Wow. Well, okay, so we're referring here to the what
<v Speaker 1>I call the cherninator. So this all started a number
<v Speaker 1>of years ago when I recognized that leaves were super
<v Speaker 1>important in my landscape infall, and they were free, and
<v Speaker 1>I wanted them because of my Dutch heritage. But they
<v Speaker 1>decomposed so much more rapidly if you shred them up,
<v Speaker 1>and that's what we do in the lawn. We get
<v Speaker 1>a super sharp blade for the lawnmower, a ninja type blade,
<v Speaker 1>and you can grind up the leaves and define pieces
<v Speaker 1>and not have to rake them up because, like my
<v Speaker 1>good friend Neil Sedaka said, raking up is hard to do.
<v Speaker 1>So we use a lawnmower and shred the leaves finally,
<v Speaker 1>and the turf can handle it and not be matted.
<v Speaker 1>I thought, well, this is going to work well in
<v Speaker 1>the landscape. So I got myself a garbage can, a
<v Speaker 1>weed whacker, some safety glasses, and I'm out there churning
<v Speaker 1>up these leaves. I went on an online site and
<v Speaker 1>you can take a look at it on YouTube. Adriana's
<v Speaker 1>showing you the video right now that I put together
<v Speaker 1>of the cherninator in action. It's loads of fun, it's entertaining.
<v Speaker 1>I entertain myself out there and it just shreds these
<v Speaker 1>leaves and they make the most fantastic mulch for my
<v Speaker 1>garden or if you wanted to put them in a
<v Speaker 1>compost bin. Yeah, they're basically decomposing quicker. You're speeding up
<v Speaker 1>the process by tearing them, just shreds.
<v Speaker 2>Increasing the surface area that makes them decompose more quickly.
<v Speaker 2>You know.
<v Speaker 3>That reminded me.
<v Speaker 2>I did complain a bit about windy areas and wind chimes,
<v Speaker 2>but one of the benefits of living in a windy
<v Speaker 2>area is it tends to blow all of my leaves away.
<v Speaker 3>It's true, and I don't.
<v Speaker 2>Usually have to do very much raking orlyaf removal because
<v Speaker 2>nature kind of just takes care of it for me.
<v Speaker 2>Hopefully they end up, you know, down in the woods
<v Speaker 2>somewhere and not in a neighbor's yard. But hey, once
<v Speaker 2>they blow away, I don't know what the heck happens
<v Speaker 2>to them. I wanted to talk about Melissa's questions about
<v Speaker 2>creating composts, and we've talked a little bit about this
<v Speaker 2>without ever directly addressing it, but you know the basics,
<v Speaker 2>you can read. There's whole books written about composts. But ultimately,
<v Speaker 2>composting is really just kind of managing the conditions that
<v Speaker 2>allow a natural process to take place so that it
<v Speaker 2>happens more quickly and that you actually get a usable product.
<v Speaker 2>Because all organic products, which is to say, anything that
<v Speaker 2>comes from nature naturally is are going to decompose eventually,
<v Speaker 2>but some things like oak leaves can take an extremely
<v Speaker 2>long time because they're very very and the tannins and
<v Speaker 2>all of that. But when you're composting, you want a
<v Speaker 2>mix of greens, which is to say, fresh material, so
<v Speaker 2>it doesn't necessarily literally need to be green. It's just
<v Speaker 2>something that's fresh and you see and browns, and the
<v Speaker 2>browns are going to be dry material. And by combining
<v Speaker 2>these in a rough proportion of one to two one
<v Speaker 2>part green to two part brown, which is so much
<v Speaker 2>easier said than done, because it seems for most of
<v Speaker 2>us we have no shortage of greens and a major
<v Speaker 2>shortage of browns. But again, you don't I mean I
<v Speaker 2>when I've composted, you don't need to like get don't
<v Speaker 2>be out there with like a scale or a measuring
<v Speaker 2>tape or anything like that. It's you know, you mix it,
<v Speaker 2>you put you layer them down, continue to layer, keep
<v Speaker 2>it moist. That is what I've always found is the
<v Speaker 2>most crucial. And then once you get it kind of
<v Speaker 2>up to the top of your bin or whatever, then
<v Speaker 2>you can start mixing it and mix it every once
<v Speaker 2>in a while, and eventually you'll have composts. How long
<v Speaker 2>that takes depends on the weather. Of course, it's going
<v Speaker 2>to happen much more quickly in warm weather than it's
<v Speaker 2>going to happen in cool weather, although you can compost
<v Speaker 2>all year long, I have found. I think my number
<v Speaker 2>one tip though, would be that you were never really
<v Speaker 2>going to get composts if you keep adding to the
<v Speaker 2>same pile, because then you're always going to have bits
<v Speaker 2>of fresh stuff in there. So it really is best,
<v Speaker 2>if at all possible, to have two separate piles. One
<v Speaker 2>that is that you're actively adding to that's my and
<v Speaker 2>one that's actively you know, rotting, because I've tried it
<v Speaker 2>and you know, you just you go to get it
<v Speaker 2>and then you got like a big squishy old tomato
<v Speaker 2>or pepper or something nasty in there. So it's really
<v Speaker 2>best to have one that's rotting, one that you are
<v Speaker 2>continuing to add to. Advice, and then compost is multra interchangeable.
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, I've learned a lot from you through the years,
<v Speaker 1>and last week you said something that I thought was brilliant,
<v Speaker 1>and that is set aside some brown browns for winter,
<v Speaker 1>because I'm always putting my broccoli scraps vegetable scraps into
<v Speaker 1>my composter, and but I don't have in winter, I
<v Speaker 1>don't have the browns.
<v Speaker 3>So I think, do you know if that reminds me?
<v Speaker 2>Someone did say I don't know if it was on
<v Speaker 2>YouTube or they wrote to the show, I don't recall,
<v Speaker 2>but someone did share that they tear up paper grocery
<v Speaker 2>sacks because we were talking about how it used to
<v Speaker 2>be that they used to just recommend newspaper and there
<v Speaker 2>was no shortage of newspaper. Now there is a massive
<v Speaker 2>shortage of newspaper. If indeed, you can even find one,
<v Speaker 2>so they tear up paper grocery sacks to provide some browns.
<v Speaker 1>So, you know, while you were talking about the leaves
<v Speaker 1>to enshredding them. In my neighborhood, as long as we
<v Speaker 1>have this scary show, I have two neighbors who are feuding.
<v Speaker 1>Oh no, when the leaves have fallen off the trees.
<v Speaker 1>If one of the neighbors leaves the house and leaves
<v Speaker 1>his garage door open, the other one will get out
<v Speaker 1>his leaf blower.
<v Speaker 3>And well that's the very nice I know.
<v Speaker 1>But it's the wind, did it?
<v Speaker 3>Wow? And you're witnessing all the wall.
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, yeah, from my living room. I'm sitting there having a.
<v Speaker 2>This is like a real rear window kind of situation.
<v Speaker 2>We had another question and I thought it was also
<v Speaker 2>very timely from Lily great name. I'm in Usda Zo
<v Speaker 2>nine A, and I like to transplant my roses from
<v Speaker 2>their planters to the ground this fall. They still have leaves,
<v Speaker 2>Should I prune them before transplanting? And if so, how
<v Speaker 2>much should I prune?
<v Speaker 3>So?
<v Speaker 1>Absolutely prune them. It's going to make it easier for you.
<v Speaker 2>Right, there's really nothing scarier than transplanting roses. I mean,
<v Speaker 2>I've been saying that about a lot of things this show,
<v Speaker 2>so forgive me. It is the Little.
<v Speaker 3>Shop of horticulture.
<v Speaker 2>But transplanting a rose is totally one of those easier
<v Speaker 2>said than done things. Now, I think that you can
<v Speaker 2>prune if you want, you don't really have to worry
<v Speaker 2>about it. But I have to tell you my approach
<v Speaker 2>would be to not pruin them before transplanting, solely because
<v Speaker 2>or at least not majorly prune them, because if you
<v Speaker 2>have more to work with as you're trying to dig
<v Speaker 2>them out and move, that often makes it a little
<v Speaker 2>bit easier than if you've kind of cut them down to,
<v Speaker 2>you know, just a few inches or whatever. Then you know,
<v Speaker 2>you really have to kind of work with very little.
<v Speaker 2>And if you cause damage then and you have less
<v Speaker 2>of the plant, then you're gonna have to prune that
<v Speaker 2>off anyway. So my general approach would be, yes, it's
<v Speaker 2>okay to prune, but I would typically save the pruning
<v Speaker 2>for after it's done. And what I would do when
<v Speaker 2>you've got all those unruly canes going all over the
<v Speaker 2>place is use some rope or an old pair of tits,
<v Speaker 2>Although that's going to be a little bit tricky on
<v Speaker 2>a rose, but you know, just like a durable rope,
<v Speaker 2>put it into a ponytail and then gather that all
<v Speaker 2>up so that will help you get closer to the plant,
<v Speaker 2>and then that provides something that's much easier to move.
<v Speaker 2>You can't do that if you cut it back to
<v Speaker 2>little stump, So this isn't really a plant health issue.
<v Speaker 2>You're absolutely free to prune them, and pruning and transplanting
<v Speaker 2>often go very well together because no matter how careful
<v Speaker 2>you are, there's always some root loss, so it's good
<v Speaker 2>to compensate with a little bit of loss from the
<v Speaker 2>top as well.
<v Speaker 1>That's what I do with my ornamental grass is when
<v Speaker 1>I cut them back, is I'll use the rope tie
<v Speaker 1>tie them in a tight bundle and then chop them
<v Speaker 1>off at the base.
<v Speaker 2>So much easier than trying to get in there, and
<v Speaker 2>because that's a tough job too, So yes, it's totally
<v Speaker 2>up to you. I think this is going to be
<v Speaker 2>a your mileage may very type of situation where it's
<v Speaker 2>going to depend on the rows and how big it
<v Speaker 2>is and how flexible it is. But usually if people
<v Speaker 2>are planning to prune and transplant, I recommend giving yourself.
<v Speaker 2>Obviously you need to sometimes prune stuff so you can
<v Speaker 2>actually get into it, but give yourself a margin of
<v Speaker 2>error of leaving the plant intact for that transplanting process
<v Speaker 2>and then go ahead and do your pruning once it's
<v Speaker 2>in its new home. So that's just one approach. But
<v Speaker 2>you know, again, this is not a plant health based reason.
<v Speaker 2>This is a convenience in transplanting based reason. So thank
<v Speaker 2>you both for your questions. We're going to take a
<v Speaker 2>little break. When we come back, we are going to
<v Speaker 2>be continuing a very scary conversation about creepy Crawley's and
<v Speaker 2>weeds and all that scary stuff.
<v Speaker 3>So stay tuned.
<v Speaker 2>Thanks for listening to the Gardening Simplified podcast, brought to
<v Speaker 2>you by Proven Winners Color Choice Shrubs. Our award winning
<v Speaker 2>flowering shrubs and evergreens are trialed and tested by experts
<v Speaker 2>with your success in mind. Learn more at Proven Winners
<v Speaker 2>color Choice dot com.
<v Speaker 1>Welcome back to the Little Shop of Horticulture, Stacy. We
<v Speaker 1>could probably do three, four five shows on this because
<v Speaker 1>thinking about it, for example, someone could say you haven't
<v Speaker 1>mentioned poison ivy yet, and is poison ivy the worst
<v Speaker 1>thing growing on planet Earth? Some people would argue that
<v Speaker 1>maybe it's a harsh assessment as far as summertime problems go.
<v Speaker 1>A bad case of poison ivy competes with horrible sunburn,
<v Speaker 1>a swarm of black fly and mosquito bites. Or how
<v Speaker 1>about the ubiquitous European paper wasp that loves to congregate
<v Speaker 1>under your deck, your patio furniture, and when disturbed, packs
<v Speaker 1>a punch. There's all kinds of weeds like bind weed.
<v Speaker 1>I call that frankenvine is what I call it. And
<v Speaker 1>there are different types of bind weed. There's a hedge
<v Speaker 1>bind weed, and then there's one that's a relative to
<v Speaker 1>the morning glory family called field bind weed. And this
<v Speaker 1>thing is a real problem. And I think we have
<v Speaker 1>to take our cues from the agriculture industry, and that
<v Speaker 1>is bind weed can become a real problem in fields.
<v Speaker 1>And the problem that it creates Stacey is not necessarily
<v Speaker 1>the esthetic issues, but its root system is extensive and
<v Speaker 1>it sucks a lot of water out of the ground,
<v Speaker 1>and if you have a year like we had this
<v Speaker 1>past year with drought and heat, can create some problems.
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, And you know, I think one of the biggest
<v Speaker 2>issues and I'm certainly guilty of this. Well before I
<v Speaker 2>was in horticulture school, but when I was working as
<v Speaker 2>a landscaper. You're out there, you're weeding, You're like, oh,
<v Speaker 2>a wild morning glory. How lovely exactly because the flowers
<v Speaker 2>do look very much like a morning glory. And so
<v Speaker 2>if you have this in your yard and you're weeding,
<v Speaker 2>you might be inclined to say, hey, this is perfectly lovely.
<v Speaker 2>I'm going to leave this go. You should not.
<v Speaker 3>You will regret it.
<v Speaker 2>Not to mention that by letting it go to flour
<v Speaker 2>you're just going to get more seeds to spread more,
<v Speaker 2>and that is really scary thing about weeds. They're very
<v Speaker 2>very successful at spreading and growing. So look up bind weed.
<v Speaker 2>There may be different types of bind weed that are
<v Speaker 2>native to your area, and know what you're dealing with,
<v Speaker 2>so you don't just think that you have some special
<v Speaker 2>wild morning glory popping up in your yard.
<v Speaker 1>Yeah. Some people refer to it common name as devil's
<v Speaker 1>weed or devil's guts, so careful gy, Yeah it is.
<v Speaker 1>How about Dodd. It's an annual seed bearing parasitic vine.
<v Speaker 1>Now more of a problem in the south than it is.
<v Speaker 1>Let's say here, in the north or with our Canadian friends.
<v Speaker 1>But this is, you know, one of these parasitic type vines.
<v Speaker 1>It's fascinating how it well, you know, the seeds will
<v Speaker 1>fall to the soil, and then when the growing season starts,
<v Speaker 1>it starts to grow and it tries to find something
<v Speaker 1>to latch onto, and then once it does, it abandons
<v Speaker 1>the roots and basically sucks the life out of the
<v Speaker 1>plant that it's consuming. Dotter, it's an annual seed bearing
<v Speaker 1>parasitic vine that's got to be in the shop of horror.
<v Speaker 2>Oh absolutely, And I distinctly remember the first time that
<v Speaker 2>I ever encountered daughter and I freaked out. I mean it, so,
<v Speaker 2>you know, you're obviously you're envisioning sort of everything that
<v Speaker 2>Rick just describes so well. But what Rick didn't mention
<v Speaker 2>is that it is this bright yellow orange color.
<v Speaker 3>So it's not green.
<v Speaker 2>It is this weird bright yellow orange that looks like
<v Speaker 2>something that like dropped out of some sort of alien
<v Speaker 2>ship or something. And yeah, I remember, so I was
<v Speaker 2>working again as a landscaper, going way back here to
<v Speaker 2>all of those those old times, and we had this
<v Speaker 2>little kind of bed at the entrance to a subdivision
<v Speaker 2>or a condo development or something like that, and there
<v Speaker 2>was it was all planted with you know, annuals and
<v Speaker 2>one time, you know, we came there to do our annualine,
<v Speaker 2>our our weekly or bi weekly weeding or whatever, and
<v Speaker 2>the whole bed was covered in this orange spaghetti looking thing.
<v Speaker 1>Crazy.
<v Speaker 2>It happened so fast, you know, because we were doing
<v Speaker 2>relatively regular maintenance. Adriana is going for her phone because
<v Speaker 2>she's got to get the mental image. So if you
<v Speaker 2>need the mental image, be sure to check us out
<v Speaker 2>on YouTube.
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, and Stacy, let me quick mention if you're keeping
<v Speaker 1>score at home or you're in the car listening on
<v Speaker 1>the radio or podcast d O D D E R.
<v Speaker 2>Yes, scot cascuda is its scientific name. Adriana has a
<v Speaker 2>big frown on her face because she just looked up
<v Speaker 2>the daughter c us c us t a. So it's
<v Speaker 2>kind of a fun, uh scientific name. But yeah, So
<v Speaker 2>then it makes these little suckering structures that it attaches
<v Speaker 2>to the host plant with. They're called astoria H A
<v Speaker 2>U S T R I A and yeah, so there
<v Speaker 2>they aren't just using the plant's as structure that they
<v Speaker 2>literally make these little mouth like structures that directly connect
<v Speaker 2>to the plants, and they are literally sucking the xylum
<v Speaker 2>and connecting to the xylum and flow and sucking the
<v Speaker 2>water and sugar out of the host plant. And yet
<v Speaker 2>once it is established, it totally disconnects from the ground.
<v Speaker 2>So you can't even trace this thing back and find
<v Speaker 2>a place to pull it and sever it if you
<v Speaker 2>have daughter. If you had daughter in a bed, then
<v Speaker 2>I would honestly just recommend that you take out everything
<v Speaker 2>that's in it, and I would use a pre emergent
<v Speaker 2>in that bed, even if that means that you couldn't
<v Speaker 2>grow something that you wanted to. And of course a
<v Speaker 2>pre emergent is fine as long as you're not trying
<v Speaker 2>to grow from seed. Daughter is a true annual, so
<v Speaker 2>you don't have to worry about the plant returning. But
<v Speaker 2>as a weed, it does put out a ton of seeds.
<v Speaker 2>And yeah, you don't see it often here, but you
<v Speaker 2>do see it.
<v Speaker 1>So, yeah, the plants are weakly photosynthetic. More So, as
<v Speaker 1>Stacey mentioned, the host storia basically just tap into the
<v Speaker 1>plant's vasculars Yep, they just.
<v Speaker 2>Chuck the juices right out like a barnacle or something.
<v Speaker 1>I've got a hot take. Hot take controversial plant in
<v Speaker 1>my shop of horticultural horrors, and people are going to
<v Speaker 1>be upset with me, oh marigolds, But again, remember I
<v Speaker 1>come from the garden center industry. I have handled hundreds
<v Speaker 1>and hundreds and hundreds of thousands of flats over the
<v Speaker 1>course of my lifetime. And when you've handled fifty two thousand,
<v Speaker 1>five hundred and sixty seven flats of marigolds and you
<v Speaker 1>smell like them, you do not like marigles hardy. I
<v Speaker 1>had to get that, all right, fair you had your
<v Speaker 1>win chimes. I got my marigolds, hardy orchid, broad leaf
<v Speaker 1>helleborine drives me crazy. And then we've got to mention
<v Speaker 1>for a lot of people, especially on the East coast Northeast,
<v Speaker 1>are dealing with spotted lantern fly. And this thing is
<v Speaker 1>an invasive species that has spread to eighteen states in
<v Speaker 1>the United States. Key areas that have been affected are Pennsylvania,
<v Speaker 1>New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware, New York, Virginia. But it's moving along.
<v Speaker 1>We're waiting for it here in Michigan to appear. And
<v Speaker 1>this is an invasive insect that will basically do damage
<v Speaker 1>to all kinds of plants, but loves the tree of heaven. Yeah,
<v Speaker 1>ilanthis and ilanthus is another shop of horticulture horrors. That
<v Speaker 1>tree is it is? So I got to mention it.
<v Speaker 2>No, and that's good to mention because now, especially if
<v Speaker 2>you live in an area, well, maybe it's not a
<v Speaker 2>good idea to remove any ilanthis if you don't have
<v Speaker 2>spotted lantern fly yet, because then that just means they're
<v Speaker 2>going to eat your other stuff as soon as they arrive.
<v Speaker 2>And they're like, wait, what, no, right, exactly, better go
<v Speaker 2>eat your Japanese maple because maple is one of their
<v Speaker 2>favorite other foods and when they can't get the ilanthis.
<v Speaker 2>But yeah, and unfortunately it's just a matter of time
<v Speaker 2>because they One of the main ways that they spread
<v Speaker 2>is if you make a nice road trip to an
<v Speaker 2>area where there is spotted lantern fly, they love to
<v Speaker 2>lay their eggs on cars. Yeah, and so that is
<v Speaker 2>one of the ways. You know, it's not just a
<v Speaker 2>situation where the insect itself is just flying and you know,
<v Speaker 2>moving its range a little bit here and there. Humans
<v Speaker 2>are actively playing apart. It's spreading it by you know,
<v Speaker 2>accidentally transporting the eggs.
<v Speaker 1>And in that adult stage, they don't necessarily have to
<v Speaker 1>fly as a matter of fact, they like to go
<v Speaker 1>for a walk. They take a walk. So if you're
<v Speaker 1>out there on the patio in summer and you've got one,
<v Speaker 1>you're sweating and they're crawling up the back of your neck.
<v Speaker 3>Have you seen one yet a spotted lantern fly?
<v Speaker 1>My daughter has described in detail to me what it's
<v Speaker 1>like to sit in Pennsylvania. Oh, okay, and when she
<v Speaker 1>was living there.
<v Speaker 2>Oh, I have not seen one yet. I truly dread
<v Speaker 2>the day when I do. But yeah, anyone I know
<v Speaker 2>on the East Coast is just, you know, saying horrible
<v Speaker 2>things about you know, how they're just ruining your ability
<v Speaker 2>to sit outside, and they just they can conglomerate. So
<v Speaker 2>there's bunches of them. But at least when there's a
<v Speaker 2>lot a lot of them, you can you know, kill
<v Speaker 2>a whole bunch at once with like a fly swater.
<v Speaker 2>So get to know what they look like, so you know,
<v Speaker 2>if they do reach you what they're actually quite pretty.
<v Speaker 2>I mean I hate to say that about them because
<v Speaker 2>they are so destructive, but they are quite lovely.
<v Speaker 1>We've got to include on the list, and there are
<v Speaker 1>hundreds of plants and invasive species we could include, and
<v Speaker 1>we're gonna have to do an additional show on this,
<v Speaker 1>but I got to make sure to throw in here
<v Speaker 1>calorie pair. Good intentions got out of control. You know,
<v Speaker 1>it's one of the first trees to bloom in the spring,
<v Speaker 1>covered with white flowers that have this objectionable fouls smell
<v Speaker 1>to them. Some people say they smell like mothballs or
<v Speaker 1>ammonia or whatever, but it just doesn't smell well. The
<v Speaker 1>tree grows at upright angles with weak crotches that break
<v Speaker 1>with age. And of course, Stacey, the problem here this
<v Speaker 1>plant has become highly invasive and crowds out native species.
<v Speaker 2>Oh, the invasive on this plant is really out of control.
<v Speaker 2>I mean, if you drive pretty much anywhere at least
<v Speaker 2>I can speak for the eastern half of the US
<v Speaker 2>anywhere in the spring when it's in bloom. You know,
<v Speaker 2>you don't really notice it too much when it's not
<v Speaker 2>in bloom, but when it is in bloom, you just
<v Speaker 2>see how utterly widespread it has become. And this isn't
<v Speaker 2>as simple as just saying like, oh, hey, I'll just
<v Speaker 2>take my little trowel with me on a hike and
<v Speaker 2>you know, take up any invasive species. I mean, you
<v Speaker 2>need a chainsaw to manage this invasive species and that
<v Speaker 2>is dangerous.
<v Speaker 3>Scary.
<v Speaker 1>You got it, boy, what a scary show. Maintain your composture.
<v Speaker 1>We're here for you in coming weeks and we'd love
<v Speaker 1>your questions and your comments. Send them to us. Remember
<v Speaker 1>we're on YouTube, podcast and radio. Thank you Stacy Rick
<v Speaker 1>or re ooh Rick Rick or treat.
<v Speaker 3>Rick or treat everybody.
<v Speaker 1>Thank you, Rick, Thank you very much. Thanks Adriana, and
<v Speaker 1>thank you. Have a great week.