Landscape Designers’ Favorite Plants

<v Speaker 1>Broadcasting from Studio A Here at proven Winns Color Choice Shrubs.
<v Speaker 1>It's time for the Gardening Simplified Show with Stacy, Hervella me,
<v Speaker 1>Rick weisst and our engineer and producer Adrianna Robinson. Well Stacy.
<v Speaker 1>Today we talk about designer plants, designing with plants. One
<v Speaker 1>of the characteristics I love of certain plants to design
<v Speaker 1>with would be big leaves. Love big leaves. You can
<v Speaker 1>make a real impact. There's great variety in leaves. And
<v Speaker 1>it's interesting to me how monsterra became a designer plant.
<v Speaker 1>How monstera came along and everybody used it in their marketing.
<v Speaker 1>But it was a popular houseplant back in the nineteen seventies.
<v Speaker 1>I remember that when we had lava lamps and shag
<v Speaker 1>carpet in the house and we had a Monsterra. The
<v Speaker 1>NBC television show Golden Girls featured a giant monster a
<v Speaker 1>plant right in the sets living room, right in the
<v Speaker 1>middle of the living room, and the plant became a star.
<v Speaker 1>I guess what I wanted to say by this, Stacy,
<v Speaker 1>is that I believe Instagram and social media has created
<v Speaker 1>these stars and has created something we now know as
<v Speaker 1>a designer plant.
<v Speaker 2>That's a good point.
<v Speaker 1>Yeah.
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, And we're not just talking about interior plants here. Obviously,
<v Speaker 2>when you talk about designing, most people's you know, minds
<v Speaker 2>immediately go to the interior. The interior design and plants
<v Speaker 2>are certainly a part of interior design in a way
<v Speaker 2>that they weren't even twenty years ago. But afteroor, designing
<v Speaker 2>with plants is just as important. And I think it's
<v Speaker 2>so crucial that people realize that if someone is a
<v Speaker 2>garden designer, they almost certainly did not just come to
<v Speaker 2>it with some sort of you know, sixth sense of
<v Speaker 2>combay plants. Anytime someone is a quote good designer with plants,
<v Speaker 2>they've gotten it by learning. I mean, some people will
<v Speaker 2>have a natural instinct or they'll see plants in the
<v Speaker 2>oh that will look good with that. But really, I
<v Speaker 2>have found I do not consider myself a designer by
<v Speaker 2>any stretch, but I have found that any design skills
<v Speaker 2>that I have acquired have simply come from being around plants,
<v Speaker 2>getting to know them, thinking about how they look, how
<v Speaker 2>things can look with each other. It's not like a
<v Speaker 2>special you know, knowledge that people are just imbued with
<v Speaker 2>and then you know, I have to go out there
<v Speaker 2>and you know it takes experience to become a good
<v Speaker 2>designer with plants, just like it would be to be
<v Speaker 2>good interior designer.
<v Speaker 1>I agree with you, and that's what's been interesting for me.
<v Speaker 1>I've mentioned previously my neighbor who's great at interior design
<v Speaker 1>and flipping houses and that type of thing. He goes
<v Speaker 1>out in the landscape, knows nothing about plants, but has
<v Speaker 1>a feel for putting them together within a landscape, and
<v Speaker 1>it's something you get from experience. I've also mentioned in
<v Speaker 1>a previous show that interior design is somewhat universal. I mean,
<v Speaker 1>you've got whether you're in Calgary, Canada or Miami, Florida,
<v Speaker 1>you've got a ceiling and you've got walls, right, But
<v Speaker 1>the concepts of design like balance, unity, rhythm, emphasis, scale, proportion,
<v Speaker 1>all of those things come into play within a landscape.
<v Speaker 1>The three five seven rule working with the odd numbers,
<v Speaker 1>or the seventy thirty rule in interior design, as I
<v Speaker 1>understand it, basically, you take a dominant design element for
<v Speaker 1>seventy percent of the room and a contrasting complementary element
<v Speaker 1>for the remaining thirty percent. Whether or not you apply that,
<v Speaker 1>the point is that whether it's interior design or exterior design,
<v Speaker 1>all of those issues like repetition come into play. So
<v Speaker 1>if you find a good designer plant that you really
<v Speaker 1>really like and is beautiful in your landscape. I saw
<v Speaker 1>someone do it last week with allocacia, where they used
<v Speaker 1>it repetitively throughout the landscape. So if you can repeat, repeat, repeat,
<v Speaker 1>it makes a real impact and kind of ties everything together.
<v Speaker 1>You do the same thing with groundcovers. Groundcovers, of course
<v Speaker 1>help suppress weeds that sort of thing, but a good
<v Speaker 1>groundcover can tie a whole landscape together.
<v Speaker 2>You know. There's a great lesson in there for people
<v Speaker 2>who like to shop for plants and typically don't have
<v Speaker 2>an idea of what they're going to do with them
<v Speaker 2>when they get home, which you are in good company.
<v Speaker 2>Every plant lover is like that. But if you are
<v Speaker 2>in love with a plant, like unless it's a great
<v Speaker 2>big tree or shrub or something like that, don't just
<v Speaker 2>buy one. Buy three. You will find that you have
<v Speaker 2>so many more options for what to do with them
<v Speaker 2>when you do get home, because a group of three
<v Speaker 2>typically looks way better than just a single plant, unless you're,
<v Speaker 2>you know, using it as a specimen. If you buy
<v Speaker 2>three plants, you save yourself a return trip to the
<v Speaker 2>garden center, which you almost certainly want to do. And
<v Speaker 2>you know you can plant those three together as one grouping,
<v Speaker 2>or you can you know, do a theme in variation
<v Speaker 2>thing where it's reoccurring throughout your garden.
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, exactly. It's all about the esthetic characteristics of plants.
<v Speaker 1>So we talk about form, texture, contrast, size, and color
<v Speaker 1>even before you talk about the specific plants that you're
<v Speaker 1>going to utilize for that purpose. I found a great
<v Speaker 1>thing from the University of Florida. Will put the link
<v Speaker 1>at our website, but it addresses exactly that focal points.
<v Speaker 1>For example, Stacy, when you're going to pick out a tree,
<v Speaker 1>and let's say you're going to buy three of them,
<v Speaker 1>what are you going to go for? They shape, columnar, round, weeping,
<v Speaker 1>or pyramiddle. You have all of those options available to you.
<v Speaker 2>Right, I'm probably picking on flowers more than anything else
<v Speaker 2>in space. There you go, but it is nice to
<v Speaker 2>know then I have all those options, and probably I
<v Speaker 2>have most of those options represented in trees and shrubs
<v Speaker 2>in my garden, I think pretty close.
<v Speaker 1>Speaking of shrubs, you could pick from arching, irregular, cascading, upright, spiky, rounded, mounding,
<v Speaker 1>they shaped, again, all these different types of choices, and
<v Speaker 1>then if you pick that form or that shape, if
<v Speaker 1>you're able to repeat it through the landscape. I really
<v Speaker 1>do think that that creates an incredible landscape almost this
<v Speaker 1>spatial feeling within the landscape where you feel comfortable to
<v Speaker 1>be in it. It's not a hot mess, so to space.
<v Speaker 2>Right, it brings a lot of you know, direction and cohesiveness.
<v Speaker 2>And I'll tell you, if you feel like your garden
<v Speaker 2>is a hot mess, you're in good company. But taking
<v Speaker 2>a tip like that helps a lot to make sense
<v Speaker 2>of the hot mess. So that's why I've done things
<v Speaker 2>like imposed hedges around my herb garden, which is a
<v Speaker 2>hot mess inside, which I like it that way, it's
<v Speaker 2>supposed to be that way. But just implying a little
<v Speaker 2>bit of structure or these kind of overarching design principles
<v Speaker 2>in some areas lets you get away with so much
<v Speaker 2>more in the rest of your guard Again.
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, so a landscape designer will love diversity. We've got
<v Speaker 1>a lot of plants at our disposal, and yet most
<v Speaker 1>of them have a go to list, plants that have
<v Speaker 1>performed for them that give long season interest, diversity, seasonal longevity,
<v Speaker 1>so to speak. That's their their go to list, and
<v Speaker 1>of course some projects that they work on they have
<v Speaker 1>jurisdictions with approved plants. You can only use certain kinds
<v Speaker 1>of plants, So when they find a good one to
<v Speaker 1>create that cohesion, they'll use that plant repetitively throughout the landscape.
<v Speaker 1>And I think that that makes a world of difference
<v Speaker 1>for the structural value of your landscape. I've got a
<v Speaker 1>limb a rick to share with you, a designer, Limerick,
<v Speaker 1>and I want to encourage people who say, you know,
<v Speaker 1>I can't design, you can. There are some basic things
<v Speaker 1>that you need to do. Dare to be a designer.
<v Speaker 1>Not all woe is my landscape winer. You're in charge
<v Speaker 1>around your home. If the looks you bemoan, transform them
<v Speaker 1>into something finer, planting ideas in your head for technique
<v Speaker 1>for a subtle but intriguing tweak. You're just like your plants.
<v Speaker 1>You need to take a stance and remember that you're unique.
<v Speaker 2>Oh I like that. Yeah, I mean you have every
<v Speaker 2>right to design with plants in a way that makes
<v Speaker 2>sense to you and you enjoy as much as you
<v Speaker 2>do with your throw pillows and rugs and home accessories.
<v Speaker 1>There you go.
<v Speaker 2>There are no right or wrong answers. It's all what
<v Speaker 2>you like. And the great thing about gardening, much like
<v Speaker 2>your throw pillows, is you can always dig stuff up
<v Speaker 2>and move on. Of course, you don't have to dig
<v Speaker 2>up your throw pillows, but you know that's why I
<v Speaker 2>reckon and I are moving stuff around, because you don't
<v Speaker 2>necessarily get it right the first time. And it's not
<v Speaker 2>short of a tree, it's not a life sentence. You
<v Speaker 2>can move things around.
<v Speaker 1>It's more fun that way. I think it's much more,
<v Speaker 1>much more fun. How do you feel about the ratio?
<v Speaker 1>You'll you'll go out there and see design advice and
<v Speaker 1>you'll see, okay, the ratio should be thirty percent evergreen,
<v Speaker 1>seventy percent deciduous. How do you feel about ratios like that?
<v Speaker 2>I mean, I think it's a good starting point for
<v Speaker 2>someone who maybe is inclined to go too much one
<v Speaker 2>way or the other. But of course, if you live
<v Speaker 2>in like the South, you kind of can't not have
<v Speaker 2>an ever If you live an hot, mild climate, you
<v Speaker 2>kind of can't not have an evergreen. So there are
<v Speaker 2>still deciduous plants, but you would obviously have much more
<v Speaker 2>evergreen stuff in a mild climate than you would in
<v Speaker 2>a gold climate.
<v Speaker 1>We'll see how Stacey ties this in and plants on
<v Speaker 1>trial and segment four we'll talk more about designer plants
<v Speaker 1>and designer aspects in your landscape. That's all coming up
<v Speaker 1>here on the Gardening Simplified Show.
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<v Speaker 2>to choose from. There's a flowering shrub or evergreen for
<v Speaker 2>every taste and every space. Just look for the distinctive
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<v Speaker 2>proven Winner's Color Choice dot com. Creating's Gardening friends, and
<v Speaker 2>welcome back to the Gardening Simplified Show, where or the
<v Speaker 2>order of the day is all about designing with plants,
<v Speaker 2>designer or plants and being a plant designer. And I
<v Speaker 2>did want to mention, you know, there's a lot of
<v Speaker 2>different terms that go around with all of this. So
<v Speaker 2>someone might call themselves a landscaper, That to me kind
<v Speaker 2>of means that they will do installation, but they're you know,
<v Speaker 2>also providing regular maintenance type of services, right trimming your shrubs, weeding, mulching,
<v Speaker 2>maybe even lawns and that kind of thing. Then you've
<v Speaker 2>got a garden or landscape designer. These are also just
<v Speaker 2>kind of general terms that anyone can call themselves. To me,
<v Speaker 2>this means that they focus more on the planting side.
<v Speaker 2>They're not necessarily going to do like a lot of maintenance.
<v Speaker 2>They might have like a container maintenance program, but they're
<v Speaker 2>more about getting you the garden that you want and
<v Speaker 2>then you do most of the care for it. And
<v Speaker 2>then there's landscape architects. And landscape architects are a totally
<v Speaker 2>different thing. You have to go to school, a lot
<v Speaker 2>of schooling. You have to pass tests to be a
<v Speaker 2>landscape architect. So if you're just looking for plants a
<v Speaker 2>planting design don't call a landscape architect. They also are
<v Speaker 2>very not often not They are often not super well
<v Speaker 2>versed in plants. You know, they might have a small
<v Speaker 2>but usually they're relying a small palette that they that
<v Speaker 2>they use, but usually they're relying on more planting designers
<v Speaker 2>within their firm to help them out with the plant stuff.
<v Speaker 2>And they're more concerned about drainage and structures, and you
<v Speaker 2>know a lot of the stuff that you know, to
<v Speaker 2>be honest, doesn't really appeal to me that much. You know,
<v Speaker 2>like landscape architects have like entire semesters devoted to drainage.
<v Speaker 1>You know, it's true, and retaining.
<v Speaker 2>Ones and retaining walls all right.
<v Speaker 1>Retaining walls is a big one and patios, Stacy, While
<v Speaker 1>you were talking there, I was thinking about a garden
<v Speaker 1>center owner who's a friend of mine and I talked
<v Speaker 1>to him this spring. He said he's amazed at the
<v Speaker 1>number of customers that come walking in, some who just
<v Speaker 1>want native plants. Other people that he refers to as
<v Speaker 1>his designers. Okay, they're just into design. In other words,
<v Speaker 1>don't bore me with the science on these plants, and
<v Speaker 1>you know, chlorophyll, bora, phyl that kind of thing. I
<v Speaker 1>want this color and I want that shape, And you know,
<v Speaker 1>they're designers and that's what they like to do. Put
<v Speaker 1>plant material together, make it appealing.
<v Speaker 2>They're both very valid ways to go through life. I
<v Speaker 2>think if you're missing out on the science part, you're
<v Speaker 2>missing out on a lot myself, because I find that fascinating.
<v Speaker 2>But today's Plants on Trial is going to be a
<v Speaker 2>little bit different because I wanted to, instead of just
<v Speaker 2>focusing on one plant, talk about some of the proven
<v Speaker 2>winner's color choice shrubs that have become staples for garden
<v Speaker 2>and landscape designers across the country. You know, typically when
<v Speaker 2>someone is designing a garden for someone or installing a landscape,
<v Speaker 2>you know, they don't necessarily want something. They want everything
<v Speaker 2>to be predictable. They want to know how everything is
<v Speaker 2>going to perform. They don't want calls from the client saying,
<v Speaker 2>oh this looks weird, please come back, or is this normal?
<v Speaker 2>And then they have to say, well, I don't know
<v Speaker 2>if it's not normal because I've never grown it before.
<v Speaker 2>And the result of all of this means that they
<v Speaker 2>tend to have they can have a very narrow focus,
<v Speaker 2>and you keep using the same plants yes, over and
<v Speaker 2>over again. And then what happens. Someone calls a landscape
<v Speaker 2>designer to do their house. They do an amazing job.
<v Speaker 2>The neighbor says, oh, hey, your lawn looks your yard
<v Speaker 2>looks great. Who did you call? And then they call
<v Speaker 2>that person and now this person takes their palette and
<v Speaker 2>reconfigures it for the next door, and then you end
<v Speaker 2>up with these, you know, very same landscapes. So we
<v Speaker 2>have a full time landscape outreach manager and her job
<v Speaker 2>is to really help people in the landscape industry, whichever
<v Speaker 2>of those levels that I just went through, that they
<v Speaker 2>are at to understand how our plants are different and
<v Speaker 2>can make their jobs easier and make them look like
<v Speaker 2>superstars at their job.
<v Speaker 1>The genetics are important.
<v Speaker 2>So I think the perfect example of one has really
<v Speaker 2>upended the landscape design industry is Incredible Hydrangea. So everyone
<v Speaker 2>knows Annabel, we've talked about it before. You know, it
<v Speaker 2>was a very common plant because it was reliable, it's beautiful.
<v Speaker 2>People love those big flowers right in the middle of
<v Speaker 2>summer when they're spending the most time outside. But Annabel
<v Speaker 2>flops as soon as we get a big summer storm.
<v Speaker 2>Those flowers are on the ground, and you know, landscape
<v Speaker 2>designers probably get pretty tired of hearing from clients that
<v Speaker 2>they want them to come out and stake them or
<v Speaker 2>do something about it, when it's really just an inherent
<v Speaker 2>liability of the Annabel hydrangea. So Incredible was really the
<v Speaker 2>first smooth hydrangea so like Annabel to come out that
<v Speaker 2>had stronger stems and bigger flowers, and so it really
<v Speaker 2>solved a problem as much as it solves a problem
<v Speaker 2>for homeowners, like you know, the gardeners who listen to
<v Speaker 2>our show. It also solved a problem for landscape designers,
<v Speaker 2>and now it is probably in our top five go
<v Speaker 2>to plants for landscapers. Landscape designers of all stre have
<v Speaker 2>switched from Annabelle to Incredible because it really again resolves those.
<v Speaker 1>Liabilities and maintenance is easy.
<v Speaker 2>Another great example, if you ever go down south, you
<v Speaker 2>will see Laura pedlum, also known as Chinese French flower everywhere.
<v Speaker 2>It is such a staple of warm climate landscapes. And
<v Speaker 2>we brought over jazz Hands variegated Laura pedalum. So really
<v Speaker 2>in the US there hadn't been a variegated Laura pedalum.
<v Speaker 2>We brought that over from a very talented breeder in Japan,
<v Speaker 2>and you know, again, it just completely took the Southern
<v Speaker 2>landscape industry by storm because it's so different. So instead
<v Speaker 2>of just being purple, it has this variegated foliage all
<v Speaker 2>through the season. It's really splashy. It's really different, and
<v Speaker 2>that has given people that landscape designers another plant in
<v Speaker 2>their palate for when they want to do something a
<v Speaker 2>little bit different, mix it up. It's a great choice.
<v Speaker 2>Same thing with double plate candy corns, Spyria. Now, if
<v Speaker 2>there is a plant that is a landscape designer staple,
<v Speaker 2>it's probably spyria, and for good reason. You know, they're
<v Speaker 2>very pretty, they're very appealing. They have that, you know,
<v Speaker 2>tidy rounded look, so that when a landscaper does a job,
<v Speaker 2>they leave that plant in the ground and the home
<v Speaker 2>owner says, oh, look how nice and tidy this is.
<v Speaker 2>I can't wait. This is colorful. So double play candy
<v Speaker 2>corn spiria is the most colorful spiria. It's smaller than
<v Speaker 2>most The color on this thing you really have to
<v Speaker 2>see to believe. It may even be dare I say
<v Speaker 2>too colorful for some people because it is that colorful.
<v Speaker 1>They're very reliable, very reliable. And I would say that
<v Speaker 1>those spireas are to flower and shrubs what nepetta is
<v Speaker 1>to perennial. Oh yes, same kind.
<v Speaker 2>Of Definitely, Neputa is like the go to for landscapers
<v Speaker 2>in the perennial world. And similarly to double play candy corn,
<v Speaker 2>double play doozy again a plant that people are familiar
<v Speaker 2>with Japanese spiria, but it's sterile, so no worries about
<v Speaker 2>its spreading seed and it reblooms, so it's going to
<v Speaker 2>keep flowering. So these are plants that were pretty easy,
<v Speaker 2>you know, for a landscaper to make the switch. Another
<v Speaker 2>good example, though, is low scape mound or the low
<v Speaker 2>scape arronias in general. So landscapers were already using a
<v Speaker 2>variety called Viking. It was a go to plant. You
<v Speaker 2>see it in parking lots a lot and they you know,
<v Speaker 2>it was popular and it was good, but it didn't
<v Speaker 2>have optimal flowering, it didn't have optimal fall colors. So
<v Speaker 2>along come the low scape arronia series. We've got new forms,
<v Speaker 2>we've got new shapes, we've got improved color, improved flowering,
<v Speaker 2>improved fruit set as a result of that improved flowering,
<v Speaker 2>and you know, the lowscaper ronias have really in some
<v Speaker 2>areas dethroned. Grow low sumac, which was sort of like
<v Speaker 2>this ultimate parking lot plant. You could just plant it
<v Speaker 2>and let it go and it would do its thing
<v Speaker 2>and it was virtually indestructible, but tended to be pretty
<v Speaker 2>expensive because it was hard to propagate and slow growing,
<v Speaker 2>whereas the erronia's easy to propagate, fast growing, so it
<v Speaker 2>makes it a much more cost effective substitute. So sometimes
<v Speaker 2>the plants that landscaper professionals. Gravitate towards aren't even necessarily
<v Speaker 2>the same kind of thing, but they do serve a
<v Speaker 2>similar role in the landscape. So, you know, when limelight
<v Speaker 2>hydrangea came out, of course it changed everything. And that's
<v Speaker 2>why there's limelight everywhere because homeowners and professional landscapers alike
<v Speaker 2>have planted it everywhere. But much like going back to
<v Speaker 2>what I was saying about incredible, it has some liabilities.
<v Speaker 2>It's late blooming, so it doesn't you know, you could
<v Speaker 2>have a cool summer here in Michigan and it doesn't
<v Speaker 2>even start putting on flowers until late August. And you know,
<v Speaker 2>because it was one of the earliest selections of panicle hydrangeas,
<v Speaker 2>the stems were not optimally strong like we have now
<v Speaker 2>with limelight prime. So now, even within a plant where
<v Speaker 2>limelight had changed the industry, Limelight prime is upending that
<v Speaker 2>part of the industry along with all of our dwarf
<v Speaker 2>panicle hydranges. You know, for years people might have wanted
<v Speaker 2>to use a panicle hydrangea in a project, but they
<v Speaker 2>didn't have anything small enough, you know, because they're big plants.
<v Speaker 2>They get to be ten twelve, twenty feet as they mature.
<v Speaker 2>So having a huge variety of dwarf panicle hydranges like Bobo,
<v Speaker 2>like little lime, like little lime punch, a little quick
<v Speaker 2>fire has also really changed the industry. Not it's a
<v Speaker 2>plant that they already loved using and now they're able
<v Speaker 2>to use those in new ways. So there's lots of
<v Speaker 2>these kinds of you know, I guess features that we're
<v Speaker 2>looking at to expand the selection for professionals, which of
<v Speaker 2>course then expands the selection for all of us who
<v Speaker 2>look at the landscapes that they design. So I am
<v Speaker 2>going to give Adriana this little list. I worked with Jane,
<v Speaker 2>our landscape design manager, on this list of the plant
<v Speaker 2>that landscaper is like the best. We will make sure
<v Speaker 2>to include it in the YouTube version, so please do
<v Speaker 2>check that out, and of course look for Proven Winner's
<v Speaker 2>Color Choice shrubs at your local garden center. We're going
<v Speaker 2>to take a break. When you come back, we're opening
<v Speaker 2>up the mailbags, so please stay tuned at Proven Winners
<v Speaker 2>Color Choice Shrubs. We know that a better landscape starts
<v Speaker 2>with a better shrub. Our team of experts tests and
<v Speaker 2>evaluates all of our flowering shrubs in Evergreens for eight
<v Speaker 2>to ten years to ensure they outperform what's already on
<v Speaker 2>the market. For easycare, reliable, beautiful shrubs to accentuate your
<v Speaker 2>home and express your personal style. Look for proven Winner's
<v Speaker 2>Shrubs in the distinctive white container at your local garden center,
<v Speaker 2>or learn more at proven Winner's Color Choice dot com
<v Speaker 2>readings Gardening friends, and welcome back once again to the
<v Speaker 2>Gardening Simplified Show wherever you are joining us, whether that
<v Speaker 2>is through radio, podcast, or YouTube, where we're so glad
<v Speaker 2>you're here and we would be happy to help you
<v Speaker 2>out with your garden questions, quandaries and conundrums, or of
<v Speaker 2>course celebrations. If you just been dying to tell someone
<v Speaker 2>who is on your same wavelength when it comes to
<v Speaker 2>plants and gardening, you can reach out to us with
<v Speaker 2>those as well, or leave them as comments on YouTube,
<v Speaker 2>just as it Gardening Simplified on air dot com. That's
<v Speaker 2>our website, and click the contact button to send us
<v Speaker 2>a message. It's just that easy. And I know there's
<v Speaker 2>a lot of stuff going on right now, like this
<v Speaker 2>question from Tom.
<v Speaker 1>Tom writes to us, I have a four year old
<v Speaker 1>Jane tulip magnolia in Baltimore, Maryland' zone seven. It has
<v Speaker 1>started to have dry gray stuff on the tops of
<v Speaker 1>some of the leaves. Then the leaves get dark brown
<v Speaker 1>turn yellow. We've never fertilized it. It's in well draining soil,
<v Speaker 1>lives next to a false cypress and perennial flowers and shrubs.
<v Speaker 1>It had two blooms this year. Any suggestions, love listening
<v Speaker 1>to your podcasts inspirational.
<v Speaker 2>So Tom did include some photos of what he is
<v Speaker 2>seeing on his magnolia, so you can check those out
<v Speaker 2>on YouTube. And you know, I wanted to answer Tom's
<v Speaker 2>question today because I think that what Tom is seeing
<v Speaker 2>on his magnolia is something that people are seeing on
<v Speaker 2>their magnolias as well as all sorts of different plants,
<v Speaker 2>which is simply that at this point in the season,
<v Speaker 2>the stresses have piled up, you know, all of the
<v Speaker 2>things that kind of went wrong in terms of plant health,
<v Speaker 2>whether that was a very hot and dry period or
<v Speaker 2>a very very wet period, or any number of things
<v Speaker 2>that can happen to a plant during the course of
<v Speaker 2>the growing season. They've all accumulated now. And I find
<v Speaker 2>that very often leaf spots become much more noticeable in
<v Speaker 2>full some for some in some cases that's simply because
<v Speaker 2>that's what has had. That's enough time for the fungal
<v Speaker 2>leaf spots, which actually make the leaf spot. The fungus
<v Speaker 2>is in the leaf, not leaving any signs of its presence,
<v Speaker 2>but then by the time fall comes around, it's like,
<v Speaker 2>oh hey, I'm you know, a fruiting body now and
<v Speaker 2>making those leaf spots. I think the gray on magnolias
<v Speaker 2>that they sometimes get at this point in the year
<v Speaker 2>are just it's just stress, just from you know, drying heat, whatever.
<v Speaker 2>It's not a problem. I mean, plants get stressed, just
<v Speaker 2>like we get stressed. We can still be happy and
<v Speaker 2>healthy and undergo various levels of stress throughout our day
<v Speaker 2>for all sorts of different reasons, but it doesn't mean
<v Speaker 2>that there's something like actually wrong with us. So I
<v Speaker 2>don't think that that's any cause for concern. Again, you're
<v Speaker 2>gonna see this happen on all sorts of plants. I mean,
<v Speaker 2>I think the tar spot on Norway maple is a
<v Speaker 2>classic example that a lot of people see. So don't
<v Speaker 2>be alarmed when you see spots coming onto your foliage
<v Speaker 2>in full. Fungal diseases are not in the plant, they
<v Speaker 2>are on the plant. So once that foliage drops, it
<v Speaker 2>doesn't have that fungus anymore. And the best thing you
<v Speaker 2>can do as a gardener is just to do your
<v Speaker 2>best to remove and discard any infected foliage. Just try
<v Speaker 2>to put it, you know, in the garbage instead of
<v Speaker 2>in a compost pile where those funkal lese wars can
<v Speaker 2>potentially you know, proliferate and spread. But it's really that
<v Speaker 2>simple and trying to reduce the stress for the plant. Now,
<v Speaker 2>why your plant isn't flowering super well, I don't know.
<v Speaker 2>It looks very healthy, you know. Again, there's pictures of
<v Speaker 2>the close ups of the spots that you're seeing as
<v Speaker 2>well as the whole plant. I have seen that it
<v Speaker 2>does have buds on it right now, because magnolias start
<v Speaker 2>to set their flower buds for next year in late summer.
<v Speaker 2>So when you see all those nice fuzzy kind of
<v Speaker 2>buds on the plant, that is all flowers for next year,
<v Speaker 2>and you're you know, from some of the pictures that
<v Speaker 2>you included, Tom, I could see it does have some
<v Speaker 2>good flowers. Some plants very often have off years, you know,
<v Speaker 2>they'll bloom relaiers like a mass year with acorns. They
<v Speaker 2>just will have some years where they're just super abundant.
<v Speaker 2>Probably the biggest issue with magnolias if they don't bloom well,
<v Speaker 2>is very often because they get a frost. Magnolias bloom
<v Speaker 2>early and are very susceptible to cold and frost and
<v Speaker 2>ice in that early spring time period when they bloom,
<v Speaker 2>and there are times where, yeah, if the buds are
<v Speaker 2>just open enough to show color and you get a
<v Speaker 2>really bad froster freeze, it can fry the entire bloom for.
<v Speaker 1>The year, not only the blooms, but the foliage. Also,
<v Speaker 1>when the foliage is tender in early spring, we get rain,
<v Speaker 1>cold weather, that's when those spots will start. But they're small.
<v Speaker 1>You really don't see it. As you approach fall, they
<v Speaker 1>coalesce and actually start to become one big space. Yes,
<v Speaker 1>and the foliage is unsightly, So I would agree with you,
<v Speaker 1>Agree with you, Stacey, and I would recommend that if
<v Speaker 1>this tree is getting rather large, maybe look at possibly
<v Speaker 1>doing some pruning. And when I say pruning, I'm talking
<v Speaker 1>about taking out some branches completely to open up the
<v Speaker 1>light and air penetration into the canopy. If that's necessary.
<v Speaker 1>I'm not saying that's the case here and then typical
<v Speaker 1>of any magnolia trees, make sure you check for scale.
<v Speaker 2>Yep, for sure.
<v Speaker 1>If there are lichens growing on the tree. The lichens
<v Speaker 1>are not a problem. I love lichens, but it can
<v Speaker 1>exhibit to us that there's slow growth on that tree.
<v Speaker 1>So there's all kinds of things to be looking at.
<v Speaker 2>Ye, But it's healthy. Yeah, And you know, sometimes plants
<v Speaker 2>just have leaf spots and it's just the way that
<v Speaker 2>it is, and it's not usually a big cause for concern.
<v Speaker 2>So and soon enough that village will be gone and
<v Speaker 2>you'll have a fresh crop within you know, eight months.
<v Speaker 1>Look at this a question specifically for you. Stacy Lori writes,
<v Speaker 1>I have a question for the Hydrangea queen'stening the Hydrangeer queen.
<v Speaker 1>I've received multiple answers from my extension off local nurseries.
<v Speaker 1>I have a seventeen I have seventeen three year old
<v Speaker 1>beautiful bobo hydranges eastern exposure. They get sun until about
<v Speaker 1>three pm and bloom beautifully until the beginning of August
<v Speaker 1>every year, at which time the blooms start browning. I
<v Speaker 1>water and dripped for sixty minutes a day. They don't
<v Speaker 1>feel dry. They get hit by a sprinkler overspray every
<v Speaker 1>other day for about fifteen minutes. No one can help
<v Speaker 1>me point to why these are browning when the soil
<v Speaker 1>is adequately hydrated.
<v Speaker 2>Help.
<v Speaker 1>Here are a few pictures. It's pretty easy to tell
<v Speaker 1>when they were healthy in July versus August.
<v Speaker 2>Right, So thank you Lauri for your question, And yeah,
<v Speaker 2>you're right, Laurie. The number one reason that a panicle
<v Speaker 2>hydrangel like Bobo will not develop pink or red color
<v Speaker 2>is usually it dried out too much during its flower's
<v Speaker 2>blooming season. If you live in a warm climate, then
<v Speaker 2>the better reason would The reason most likely is because
<v Speaker 2>the nights are too warm. But it is also possible
<v Speaker 2>for panicle hydrangels even in well watered conditions, which is
<v Speaker 2>obviously one of to have browning on the flowers. And
<v Speaker 2>I think that you stated the answer right there in
<v Speaker 2>your sprinkler overspray, because what happens with these plants that
<v Speaker 2>I have seen even our own in our own trial
<v Speaker 2>garden where we have everything on irrigation. We are right
<v Speaker 2>on the Grand River, and I think a combination of
<v Speaker 2>heavy mist, heavy humidity, and or sprinkler overspray when that
<v Speaker 2>moisture sits on the flowers that delicate petal tissue when
<v Speaker 2>the moisture is just sitting there, and then you know
<v Speaker 2>that hot summer sun comes up over the horizon and
<v Speaker 2>it just fries them. It's almost like a kind of
<v Speaker 2>rotting effect. So it's not dry and crispy like a
<v Speaker 2>plant that didn't get enough water. It's just kind of like,
<v Speaker 2>I don't want to say mushy. It's not that, but
<v Speaker 2>it's almost like the blooms are kind of rotting. And
<v Speaker 2>so yeah, I have definitely found that humidity plays a
<v Speaker 2>big part of that. If you can adjust those sprinkler
<v Speaker 2>heads to not overspray your bobos, I think that you
<v Speaker 2>will be golden. But that is also something that's sometimes
<v Speaker 2>easier said than done. Although you know a screwdriver. Most
<v Speaker 2>sprinkler heads are adjustable with a screwdriver, and so you
<v Speaker 2>could see can you change the angle slightly or you know,
<v Speaker 2>make it not go up as high so it's maybe
<v Speaker 2>not covering the bobos. But I've definitely seen it here
<v Speaker 2>where humid areas or anytime moisture sits within those blooms,
<v Speaker 2>and especially with panicle hydrangels, they can hold on to
<v Speaker 2>so much moisture because the blooms are so big because
<v Speaker 2>of the problem.
<v Speaker 1>If you want to determine whether or not overhead irrigation
<v Speaker 1>and that humidity is a problem for future years, just
<v Speaker 1>plant a few cucumber plants. They'll tell you real quick
<v Speaker 1>what's going on?
<v Speaker 2>Yes, right, yeah, boy, speaking of leaf spots at this
<v Speaker 2>point in the year. Please do not look at my computer,
<v Speaker 2>my cue my computers. Please do not look at my cucumbers.
<v Speaker 2>Whatever you do, they are looking extremely, extremely sad.
<v Speaker 1>So Laura writes to us. In one of the episodes
<v Speaker 1>Rick and Stacey, we're discussing hydranges and if they are
<v Speaker 1>beneficial for pollinators. I can't find the episode. Would you
<v Speaker 1>be able to tell me which episode the discussion was, Uh, right.
<v Speaker 2>So I don't know offhand because we've talked about hydrange
<v Speaker 2>is so much. But I did want to answer your question, Laura,
<v Speaker 2>because my answer would be the same in any episode,
<v Speaker 2>and that is lace cap hydranges. So if you can
<v Speaker 2>find any type of hydrange, whether it's a macrophilla, a panicle,
<v Speaker 2>a smooth hydrangel like Annabel, and incredible if you find
<v Speaker 2>the lace cap version where those small sterary where those
<v Speaker 2>small starry fertile florets are more visible. They're not hidden
<v Speaker 2>by those showy sterile florets. You can see those fertile florets.
<v Speaker 2>That's where the nectar is, that's where the pollen is,
<v Speaker 2>that's where the bugs want to get to. So anytime
<v Speaker 2>you find a lace cap version, you are going to
<v Speaker 2>have pollinators, no matter what type of plant that is.
<v Speaker 2>The mopheads do tend to be more popular, and in fact,
<v Speaker 2>I think we had a hot take comment on YouTube
<v Speaker 2>where someone said why would anyone ever plant a lace cap?
<v Speaker 2>But you yourself said it here, Laura. The best reason
<v Speaker 2>to plant a lace gap is because they are beloved
<v Speaker 2>by pollinators. So just look at the label or do
<v Speaker 2>your research before you go to the gardens center. But
<v Speaker 2>pick a lace cap and as they say, if you
<v Speaker 2>plant it, they will come.
<v Speaker 1>Lace caps are landing pads for pollinators.
<v Speaker 2>They sure are, and I happen to like them quite
<v Speaker 2>a bit. Sure, but different strokes for different folks. So anyway,
<v Speaker 2>thank you all so much for your questions. We're going
<v Speaker 2>to take a little break. When we come back, we're
<v Speaker 2>continuing our conversation on designer plants. Stay tuned. Thanks for
<v Speaker 2>listening to The Gardening Simplified brought to you by Proven
<v Speaker 2>Winners Color Choice Shrubs. Our award winning flowering shrubs and
<v Speaker 2>evergreens are trialed and tested by experts with your success
<v Speaker 2>in mind. Learn more at Proven Winners color Choice dot com.
<v Speaker 1>Welcome back to the Gardening Simplified Show. As we talk
<v Speaker 1>about designer plants, Stacey, an annual plant that I have
<v Speaker 1>watched through the years become a designer choice. A designer
<v Speaker 1>plant has been Colius. When you look at the new
<v Speaker 1>cultivars of Colius available today, the color Blaze, Colius proven winners,
<v Speaker 1>and I'm thinking specifically Wicked Witch. You will see them
<v Speaker 1>in containers out in public places, a variety of areas.
<v Speaker 1>Now that it has the sun tolerance that it has
<v Speaker 1>has a tendency not to bolter go to seed. That
<v Speaker 1>has become a real designer plant in my mind.
<v Speaker 2>Well, you know, as far as designers go, you know
<v Speaker 2>there's times where you're like, oh, if only I had
<v Speaker 2>something with like this color and you know these colors
<v Speaker 2>in it, And chances are you will find that in
<v Speaker 2>Colius these days. Because there is just such a huge range.
<v Speaker 2>I just I truly wish I could grow them. But
<v Speaker 2>the deer love them. It is like a deer a
<v Speaker 2>parateief for the rest of the garden if I at
<v Speaker 2>least it's functioned that way when I've tried to grow them.
<v Speaker 1>But yeah, I have them in the compound. You're right.
<v Speaker 1>You mentioned elderberry earlier, and I would agree with you.
<v Speaker 1>Japanese maples, of course a go to plant for designers.
<v Speaker 1>Anything foliage that has a tropical feel, in my mind
<v Speaker 1>is a designer plant. Emerald isle, alocacia, of course, my
<v Speaker 1>beloved cannas, but any type of you know, cordillines, tropical plants,
<v Speaker 1>foliage plants, and of course I've got to throw grasses
<v Speaker 1>into the mix also. And I have a friend who
<v Speaker 1>has recently retired and was hired by a gol golf
<v Speaker 1>course to fix up their landscape areas, and his go
<v Speaker 1>to designer plant is hack and a cloaw.
<v Speaker 2>Oh, that's a nice one.
<v Speaker 1>And it is, and I think you will see a
<v Speaker 1>lot of designers use hack and a kloa to a
<v Speaker 1>large extent for some color, or if they have a tough,
<v Speaker 1>shady area they want to add something in with ferns
<v Speaker 1>and hosta hosta. Again, some people don't like them. Some
<v Speaker 1>people do, but there's great variety, and Stacey again, the
<v Speaker 1>size and impact of the texture of the foliage makes
<v Speaker 1>hostas a designer plant.
<v Speaker 2>Well, you know, the great thing about Hakkonakloa also known
<v Speaker 2>as Japanese forest grass, is it is one of the
<v Speaker 2>only somewhat shade tolerant grasses. So it's great on a
<v Speaker 2>place like a golf course where you are going to
<v Speaker 2>probably have some of those landscape areas with some shade
<v Speaker 2>because it gets hot and sunny out there on those
<v Speaker 2>golf courses. I'm guessing I don't know, I've never been
<v Speaker 2>on one. Seems like it in golf, and then it
<v Speaker 2>will help to tie in all of the other, you know,
<v Speaker 2>ornamental grasses that are being planted around because you know
<v Speaker 2>they have to be derresistant because you know, you can't
<v Speaker 2>fence off a golf course. You know, it's a lot
<v Speaker 2>of space. So it's a good unifier that way that
<v Speaker 2>they can kind of carry through from the sun to
<v Speaker 2>the shade.
<v Speaker 1>So he said that grasses and things like nepeta, Russian sage,
<v Speaker 1>those types of plants were go to for those types of.
<v Speaker 2>Well, ne but is another great choice because you know
<v Speaker 2>all those golfers they come at different times of the season.
<v Speaker 2>None of them want to see the landscape looking less
<v Speaker 2>than spectacular as they stroll the greens. I think it
<v Speaker 2>makes some of them probably notice you know that that
<v Speaker 2>you know, the golfers love the azaleas at that golf
<v Speaker 2>tournament in the spring. So the masters, Yeah, the masters.
<v Speaker 1>The masters, Augusta, Yes, that one, Yeah, that one phisocarpis.
<v Speaker 1>Of course, we see a lot of box would used
<v Speaker 1>by designers. But again to your point earlier, Stacey, if
<v Speaker 1>a landscape designer is going to put a plant in
<v Speaker 1>a landscape, they need it to perform, and they need
<v Speaker 1>it to perform not for just one week, but they
<v Speaker 1>need it to perform all season long reliably.
<v Speaker 2>Yeah. The boxwood, Oh my gosh. When I worked as
<v Speaker 2>a rooftop gardener in New York and took care of
<v Speaker 2>a lot of buildings, boxwood is such a go to.
<v Speaker 2>And it's partly because it is such a classic plant.
<v Speaker 2>I mean, you can't go wrong with boxwood. Pretty much
<v Speaker 2>always looks classy unless it's you know, half dead. But
<v Speaker 2>they're also such a great problem solver for the city
<v Speaker 2>because light can be very uneven. You want to have
<v Speaker 2>a match set of something, but one side is shady,
<v Speaker 2>one side is sunny. And boxwood. You know, it has
<v Speaker 2>that classic look, but it's durability has helped it to
<v Speaker 2>maintain that that stature. And I love them. I mean
<v Speaker 2>my garden would be lost without boxwood.
<v Speaker 1>Absolutely, river birch. You'll see a lot of river birch used.
<v Speaker 1>In addition to that, juneberry, ferns, foam flour. And here's
<v Speaker 1>two perennials that have really elevated themselves in the area
<v Speaker 1>of go to plants for designers. And one would be
<v Speaker 1>Achinasia because of all the variety and long lasting blooms,
<v Speaker 1>the other being Baptisia. Those two I think have really
<v Speaker 1>elevated themselves on that list of go to plants for design.
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, you know, Baptisia. A good specimen is basically a
<v Speaker 2>shrub in the landscape. They can be so big and
<v Speaker 2>contribute so much texture and structure before they go dormant.
<v Speaker 1>I love broad leaf evergreens for designing. Of course I
<v Speaker 1>love rhododendrons. But Stacey the Paisley popp dog hobble, Now
<v Speaker 1>that plant I would consider that a designer plant and
<v Speaker 1>acts like a broad leaf evergreen.
<v Speaker 2>It is a broad leaf evergreen yep. And so that
<v Speaker 2>is a lukothawe and a native North American native plant,
<v Speaker 2>but variegated purple and white green variegation not like anything
<v Speaker 2>else you've ever seen, and just a really fun take
<v Speaker 2>on it. But also because this is a very shade
<v Speaker 2>tolerant plant really brightens up the shade. That variegation. You know,
<v Speaker 2>it looks great if you plant a green variety, of course,
<v Speaker 2>but the variegation really just helps to light up areas
<v Speaker 2>under trees, which is where that plant is happiest.
<v Speaker 1>You bet, sweet and low sweet box would be along
<v Speaker 1>that same line definitely, and I think has to be
<v Speaker 1>on that list of go to plants. Loria pee as
<v Speaker 1>a groundcover, some people will shake their head and say no,
<v Speaker 1>not for me. But you know, groundcovers can get a
<v Speaker 1>bad rap because some tend to get a little bit
<v Speaker 1>out of.
<v Speaker 2>Hand, and Lariopi's one of those. It's not really a
<v Speaker 2>problem for us too much in Michigan, but in milder
<v Speaker 2>climates it can be. But you know, it looks like grass,
<v Speaker 2>but you only have to cut it back, you know,
<v Speaker 2>once a year in spring, and then it has these
<v Speaker 2>great purple flower spikes. That pollinators love and it's der resistant,
<v Speaker 2>So in some ways, you know, it's all about Designers
<v Speaker 2>have to solve problems, just like home gardeners have to
<v Speaker 2>solve problems, but designers have the additional responsibility of doing
<v Speaker 2>so beautifully. So that's why they're so good to listen
<v Speaker 2>to you is because they've really kind of discovered what
<v Speaker 2>these solutions are in a plant that will make even
<v Speaker 2>finicky homeowners happy.
<v Speaker 1>No, I agree, many choices. So like any interior designer
<v Speaker 1>or a designer of landscapes, I think one of the
<v Speaker 1>things you have to do is you have to look
<v Speaker 1>at your own quirks. I mean, who hasn't put some
<v Speaker 1>plants in place and the following year been surprised by, Wow,
<v Speaker 1>that's really nice. I mean, that's that's happened to me.
<v Speaker 1>Put tulip bulbs in the ground over a bed of
<v Speaker 1>pansies than that I planted and fall and then when
<v Speaker 1>the tulips grew up through the pansies, it was just
<v Speaker 1>absolutely gorgeous and it was like I knew what I
<v Speaker 1>was doing all along, but actually I didn't.
<v Speaker 2>But you know, there, I think there's a case to
<v Speaker 2>be made by having some instinct at play there. But
<v Speaker 2>you know, honestly, what I have found. If there is
<v Speaker 2>one sort of thing that I have discovered in all
<v Speaker 2>my years of gardening, it's kind of that if you
<v Speaker 2>put a lot of plants together, they're gonna look pretty great.
<v Speaker 2>I mean it's you know, there's definitely levels of greatness
<v Speaker 2>visual greatness within it. But if you just like plant
<v Speaker 2>a bunch of stuff together that you like and it's
<v Speaker 2>different heights and different shapes, which you know typically they
<v Speaker 2>are going to be, it's gonna look awesome. I mean
<v Speaker 2>there's you know, designers can pass it off as natural
<v Speaker 2>all they want, but you know, really it's just a
<v Speaker 2>to me very much critical mass plays a role.
<v Speaker 1>I like that and I had that on my list.
<v Speaker 1>Lean into the proportions. Oh and just like interior design lighting,
<v Speaker 1>Oh yeah, think about it, the tree canopy, filtered shade,
<v Speaker 1>night lighting. These are all things that you can use.
<v Speaker 1>We talk about structures, whether it's a pergola or an archway,
<v Speaker 1>but basically they add dimension to your landscape. Can your
<v Speaker 1>landscape tell a story? I mean I can walk people
<v Speaker 1>through my landscape and tell stories about the plants as
<v Speaker 1>you walk along. It all adds to the interest of
<v Speaker 1>the landscape. I can say, hey, that one right there,
<v Speaker 1>I pulled out of a dumpster behind a box stove.
<v Speaker 1>They dumped it, so I put it in the land Now,
<v Speaker 1>look how beautiful it is.
<v Speaker 2>And then you got all the fun scientific facts. You know.
<v Speaker 2>If you like we were talking about last week with
<v Speaker 2>the Osa Grange, you got an osage orange on your property,
<v Speaker 2>you can tell everyone that visits that it's the seed.
<v Speaker 2>It was dispersed by mammoths. Yeah, love the exact to it.
<v Speaker 2>That's why I share them so that you can wow
<v Speaker 2>people with your knowledge of your plans.
<v Speaker 1>So if you think you didn't go to school to
<v Speaker 1>become a designer, I want to encourage you to experiment.
<v Speaker 1>And there are so many great choices. Like my good
<v Speaker 1>friend Jill would always say to me, Rick, fake it
<v Speaker 1>until you make it right now, and you have free
<v Speaker 1>reign to do that in the landscape. I said you
<v Speaker 1>can do that.
<v Speaker 2>I say you can do it too, Stacy.
<v Speaker 1>It's been fun fun. Thank you, Thanks Adriana. Thanks to
<v Speaker 1>you for watching us on YouTube, finding us along with
<v Speaker 1>your other favorite podcasts, and listening to the show or
<v Speaker 1>listening to us on our radio version. Have a great week.