The Inside Out Gardener

Piggy backing on No Mow May is "Leave The Leaves" another wear it on your shirtsleeve emotion based save the pollinators, and critters from winter. What you are not hearing is the other side of the story: why you should NOT leave the leaves.

Bad bugs, rats, mice, plant disease and oh yes FIRE....

Endemic to parts of Asia, jumping worms (Amynthas spp.) first arrived in North America sometime in the late 19th century, probably in imported plants and other horticultural and agricultural materials. Since then, jumping worms have become widespread across much of the northeast, southeast and midwestern U.S.

CORVALLIS, Ore. - Do new buds and branches on your lilac look blackish, like they've been scorched by a blowtorch? Your bush might have a bacterial plant disease called lilac blight.

A cool, wet, rainy, spring season favors development of lilac blight, especially if rains follow a late frost or winter injury, according to Oregon State University Extension plant pathologists.

Getting your potted plants ready for the winter in an easy but is a multi step process.

Treat for bugs now. As well treat for leaf spots and powdery mildew

Pots should be indoors on nights with temps 50* or lower but can go back again if temps are going to be above 50

From University of Minnesota Extension

Hydrangea paniculata, panicle hydrangea

Prune back stems to just above a fat bud — called a heading cut — prune in fall, late winter or spring.

Hydrangea macrophylla, big leaf hydrangea Pink round flower heads on a green hydrangea shrub planted against a tan stone wall. This original Endless Summer inspired a large series of other H. macrophylla developed by Bailey Nurseries. These plants produce buds in late summer to early fall (August-September) that will form next year’s flowers. So prune these shrubs after they finish blooming before August

Hydrangea arborescens, smooth hydrangea

Let these plants grow a season or two before doing any serious "hard" pruning. Once the shrub is established and has a couple of growing seasons under its belt, prune these hydrangeas in the spring down to the ground, or not at all if you want a larger shrub. Flower buds will grow on this season’s growth or new wood.

Hydrangea petolaris or climbing hydrangea

This tough, gnarly vine needs little to no pruning ever, except for removing any dead wood that develops.

Other Sources: The Spruce

University of Maryland Extension

Amaryllis are beautiful tropical bulbs that can last many years. They just take time and patience to save them and get them into bloom in following years.

In this episode of The Inside Out Gardener I tell you just how to do that.

Of all the flowers and bulbs for the Holidays Amaryllis rank right up there with mums, Poinsettias and Cyclamen

Nutsedges are very aggressive and persistent weeds that commonly infest lawns, vegetable and flower gardens, and home landscapes. They can be very difficult to eradicate, and their control is likely to be a long process. Successful control involves both cultural and chemical management methods.

Once a nutsedge infestation has been controlled, sanitation to prevent new introductions is critical. Any new infestations should be managed right away to prevent the spread of these aggressive and difficult-to-control weeds.

Tropical milkweed impact on monarch butterflies “vastly overblown,”says longtime butterfly researcher David James’ early research suggests that non-reproductive and migratory monarch populations in Australia are not adversely affected by the presence of non-native and other ”tropical” milkweeds such as Gomphocarpus fruticosus, an African milkweed sometimes called Swan plant or Balloon plant.

By Monika Maeckle|February 22nd, 2021

Why is there still a debate about male and female watermelons, and bell peppers?

Are there male and female plants?

Yes! Hollies for instance (XMAS types, and Winterberry)

Are there Male and female flowers?

Yes, on many plants like squash, cucumbers and water melons

Floral Cocktails can make a hot day cooler. Why NOT DRINK YOUR FLOWERS What flowers can be put in cocktails?

The Indoor Garden Facebook Page: Lots of great indoor gardening information

Time to stop anthropomorphizing our plants ,attribute human characteristics or behavior to (a god, animal, or object).

Plants do not have neurons, the cells that transmit information via electrical signals in animal brains. In general, plants lack the machinery for thinking, Robinson argues. However, information can be said to move around inside plants, via chemical signalling. The idea that plants can learn is also contested.

Scientist Daniel Chamovitz unveils the surprising world of plants director of the Manna Center for Plant Biosciences at Tel Aviv University. A plant, he argues, can see, smell and feel. PLANTS SMELLING The clearest example in plants is what happens during fruit ripening. You may have heard that if you put a ripe and an unripe fruit together in the same bag, the unripe one will ripen faster. This happens because the ripe one releases a ripening pheromone into the air, and the green fruit smells it and then starts ripening itself. CHEMICAL REACTION not a plant smelling

PLANTS HEARING Typically, though, much of the research on music and plants was, to put it mildly, not carried out by investigators grounded in the scientific method. Not surprisingly, in most of these studies, the plants thrived in music that the experimenter also preferred. Do plants communicate with each other?

If a maple tree is attacked by bugs, it releases a pheromone into the air that is picked up by the neighboring trees. This induces the receiving trees to start making chemicals that will help it fight off the impending bug attack. So on the face of it, this is definitely communication.CHEMICAL ACTION/ACTION REACTION to communicate requires the ability to mentally construct a method to communicate. PLANTS CANNOT DO THISPLANTS HAVE MEMORY?

For example a Venus Fly Trap needs to have two of the hairs on its leaves touched by a bug in order to shut, so it remembers to close up. NOT REMEMBERING ACTION/REACTION

Visit The Indoor Garden for great buys on tropical plants and GRO MX soils Just take a stroll through any gardening Facebook group, and two things immediately pop up: a general disdain for Monsanto and. There's also a widespread misconception that Scotts is actually owned by Monsanto. Scotts is not owned by Monsanto, but the idea is so pervasive because of the marketing agreement and the close ties between the two. Motley Fool

Roundup®, a non-selective weed control product owned by the German company, Bayer. We do not own the Roundup® brand but distribute the product to retailers for sale to consumers. We have served in this capacity since 1998.

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Neo P1 is a new variety of Pothos. A world first innovation from world class brains, it’s been meticulously bioengineered by our team of 20 scientists to capture and recycle some of the most dangerous indoor pollutants. Good for the world, gorgeous for your home. Thie NEO P1 a superplant with superpowers.

Oter companies including Neomorph, Themis BioScience and Circular Carbon Chemistry are also working on similar products.

The Indoor Garden FB Page is full of great plant care information

Shop The Indoor Garden for rooted cutting, succulents and cool foliage.

The Indoor Gardener Podcast looks at the use and sustainability of peat moss. As well we look at alternatives to peat moss The l debate concerning the sustainability of peat harvesting centers around whether or not peat is a renewable resource. Peat bogs in Western Europe and the UK are almost  deleted. According to science direct in a Jan 20th 2022 paper: “Peatlands store around one-third of the global soil carbon (Gorham, 1991; Rydin and Jeglum, 2013); however, peat extraction and drainage for forestry and agricultural purposes have resulted in the degradation of most of the peatlands in Europe “

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Thank you for listening to The Indoor Gardener Podcast with Greg Draiss

The Indoor Gardener Podcast looks at what are the trending plants for 2023 such as White Bird of Paradise.

Other trending plants for 2023 include some favorites like strings of__________________insert your favorite.

Visit The Indoor Garden  plant shop for rooted cuttings, succulents and tropical foliage.
Follow The Indoor Garden on Facebook for great plant ideas and information

Gardeners can find The Indoor Gardener Podcast on Spotify, Anchor, YouTube and other podcasting platforms

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How to get rid of mealybugs.

Mealybugs on houseplants can be a big battle.

The Indoor Garden online plant shop has rooted cuttings, succulents and foliage for sale

The Indoor Garden Facebook page is loaded with great plant care information

Over watering plants and wet bags of soil are the main source of fungus gnats.

More info: The Indoor Garden on Facebook

The Indoor Gardener Podcast with Greg Draiss can be heard on anchor.fm, Spotify, YouTube and other platforms

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This episode of The Indoor Gardener Podcast breaks down all the different types and formulations of fertilizer into an easy to understand 20 minute episode. What about feeding plants in winter? Is organic better than Miracle Gro for The Indoor Gardener? It's all here and no matter what type or formula of fertilizer you choose your plants will be healthier with a good meal. 

Plants discovered in "the wild" or uncultivated state cannot be patented, because they occur freely in nature. But a plant discovered in a cultivated area can be patented, even if it is discovered in a cultivated area owned by someone else. The plant breeders applied for and were given patent protection. In this country, plant patents last for 20 years. After that, the plant can be grown by anybody.

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Another overly complicated topic, when to repot. It's OK to repot anytime you like into any pot you like

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Welcome to The Indoor Gardener Podcast

Proplifting advocates say it is OK to pickup off the floor plant pieces and take them home. What about a banana on the floor in the produce department.
Is the argument "it's only going in the garbage anyway" legit?
No stealing is stealing. You have no right to assume something on the floor is going to the trash unless you own the store.

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