Just a note: I am one of those who did discover your channel many years ago and I still revisit those videos when I have certain questions about certain shrubs. I love them and they are not awful! The intro music, a little later on and “where we talk all things gardening” always got me excited.
I don't worry about gardening problems that I don't have. From experience, the only problem I think ahead about preventing is letting volunteer trees get so mature that I have to hire my tree company to remove.
Thanks, Jim! I remember back when you’d say, “What are you waiting for? Even you can grow (fill in the blank plant)!” Really have appreciated all of your advice and expertise over the years! 😊👍
Hi, Jim! Zone 7a Maryland. Can you provide a planting location “rule of thumb” on shade/part-shade evergreen shrubs that are in those situations during mid spring leaf out->fall leaf drop from many tall surrounding oaks, maples, poplars, beech. Once those leaves drop & sun is lower in the sky, my shade-loving shrubs are then exposed to 6-8 hours of full winter sun from November-April. I have numerous specimens or groupings of soft Caress mahonia, Marvel mahonia, Florida sunshine Illicium planted throughout our woodland gardens. Those planted in locations with shade (all year long) are definitely more vigorous than the ones that receive summer shade & winter shade. They look beautiful and robust. The plants that receive summer shade with winter sun are stunted, have yellow leaves as we emerge from winter. Only those plants that get winter sun. I am going to prune off the yellowed leaves & move those plants to shady, year-round locations this weekend. Perhaps other viewers would appreciate your experience & comments on this situation. Why evergreen shade shrubs seem to be affected. Thank you!
Jim, I'm just a random person from MD who started watching those first informational videos & I'm still here learning years later... 🌿 I greatly appreciate your plant-specific videos, too, and I still refer to them often. Thank you for all of your knowledge!
“I just don’t try to find any negativity in it, at all.” Great life advice, in addition to gardening topics. Gardening is a great reminder, that things do go wrong, fail, die, and yet they can be changed and redeemed. Worrying about what might be is a self-imposed obstacle that gets in the way of moving forward and enjoying the journey.
I love the bulbs coming up through ground covers. I have crocus coming up through speedwell, a happy accident. Anyway it looks super cool to have the bulbs coming up through the perennials.
I giggled when you said involuntary farmed on a tobacco farm when you were younger. I started helping my neighbors at 8 years old, and I think we that worked in tobacco have great work ethics. All the money I earned was to buy my school clothes. It was hot, sticky, and the wet tobacco in the eye still makes me grimace.
All of your plants right there around the steps are just beautiful! It looks like a lush forest of colors and textures. You and Steph make an amazing team on your home landscaping.
I was so delighted to hear you two keep track of your garden on paper. I don’t have any formal education in horticulture or design like you both have. I do, however, watch you and am learning so much and appreciate your time and education style! But, I have been keeping my plantings on paper, too. I wish I had more skill, but I use the circle template to show the mature size and color pencil them loosely to bloom and foliage colors. Keeps me busy in the winter months.
Someone mentioned worms and grubs. I had very unhealthy soil before I started mulching and putting wood chips down. No worms no grubs. Now we’ve got tons of earthworms in our soil and I can dig it so much easier. They’re wonderful to have. I have seen grubs and I hear that’s not great but I don’t think they’ve ever hurt my plants. That’s not in grass though. I think grubs damage grass more so than shrubs and flowers. I think the earthworms at least do more good than bad. I love seeing them. I know I’ve given them a happy place to live where they thrive. I like to think about it like this, we, the earthworms and myself work together to make it better. My plants are doing so much better.
Your videos have become a regular part of my Sundays 😊 I really appreciated some of those older videos. I'm in New Jersey zone 6b. It great that I can go to my local Home Depot or Lowe's and Google a specific plant or shrub and get more detailed information before I make a purchase. Thank you Jim and Stephanie for creating this channel. 😊
My beautyberry was one of the last plants to break dormancy in my garden last year. I pulled it out of ground twice to check if the roots were still alive. This year it broke dormancy really early but it also had a year to grow roots there.
I prefer to write things down as well, although I am far less tech savvy than you. That’s how I studied in school - typing on a computer led to zero retention, but writing it down, different story. (For reference, I’m 37.)
Jim thank you so much for showing us how to root our hydrangeas by using the pot method. Mine took, loss leaves in the winter and now is leafing out, it is a lace cap and is beautiful.
QUESTION: In your video, 50 plus small evergreen shrubs for the garden at times stamp 21:36; What are those pink flowers in front of the bird bath? It's just a round pink ball. Thank you. I love your videos.❤❤
QUESTION about a Skinners magnolia. I got it last spring looking very sad: few leaves, dead branches but decent roots. It had been in the ground at a friends. I researched, found some articles and your old video on banana shrubs and thought its best chance would be in a pot. Half Happy Frog potting soil, half pine bark soil conditioner. I'm in Georgia zone 8a-b. Red clay mostly, just working on amending pieces of it as I'm able. By August the plant had leafed out beautifully and in a couple more months was showing little buds. Then I decided to put it in the ground. I'm old and I finally found a younger man to help me dig. The leaves have been turning yellow ever since, have lost some but that's not as worrisome as the color; it's affecting all the foliage. The buds are still growing. It's also shot up a couple of suckers, which i can't find any info on. My incination is to get it out of the ground and back into a pot. Not sure if the change from pot to ground was too sever a shock, if it was planted too deep, if the location is wrong, (next to the stump of a huge pecan taken down 2 years ago). Or if repotting it would just be more stress. Don't much care if the buds dont open this year, just want to see the tree feeling perky again. Thank you all the information you share; I so appreciate learning how to create a little space where pollinators are safe to ply their trade.
QUESTION: Im in zone 7 east Tennessee in oak ridge, tn, Knoxville area. I ordered 2 Carolina midnight, 2 cleyera japonica (ternstroemia gymnanthera, not sure which, but I think "big foot" due to the stated size), and 2 illicium parviflorum(not "sunshine"; it's the hardy parviflorum yellow anisetree shrub). I want to use them on both sides of my yard for screening between neighbors. Which of these shrubs experiences the least cold damage and which experiences the most damage and needs to be in the protected spot?, It will help me determine the best way to plant them. Im gonna wait till your show before I plant them. Sometimes my zone 7 gardenias die to the ground, but come back, and im hoping these plants will do better than the gardenias. thanks for all you do, I never miss your show! Love the questions videos and the chores/how-to videos the most, because I love to learn more. Have a great week🌼🌻🍄🌹🌸🌷🌺😊
Hi Jim! I purchased a couple of Purple Day Dream Loropetalum recently that I haven't planted yet. They are not as purple as they are supposed to be. They are more of a greenish, brownish purple. The woman at the garden center said they just need some fertilizer, so I put Plant-tone on them and they still haven't developed their purpleness. Should I prune them and wait for the new growth? I am in zone 8b, full sun. I also purchased some Illicium Parviflorum, which will be in full-all day sun, and eventually 90+ heat and humidity. Will they tolerate those conditions? I also want to say thank you for sharing your 38 year multi-faceted career in horticulture. I'm not sure that the general public is aware of the amount of information you share on a daily basis. Your 'Learn to Garden' series is such a sweet deal, and I encourage all of your viewers to take advantage of the amazing pricing on it. I now have such a passion for gardening and a level of understanding of it, that never imagined could be possible. Thanks so much. It's truly been life changing for me.
During the last big cicadas attack, they dug into/ate into the bark on two young lilacs and another young tree. All died because of the damage. I'm thinking of putting plastic guides on a few young trees.
My suspicion is that either it was something other than cicadas, or your lilacs and other tree were already in the process of death. Cicadas can not eat/chew as they completely lack a mouth. Adults do not eat. They lay eggs only in dead branches, as they require them to fall to the ground by the time the eggs hatch, allowing the larvae to burrow into the soil. Healthy trees will not be at risk (from cicadas, at any rate,) so you have no need to protect them this way. If you have another species that is the real cause of the damage, you will need to identify it first. Then you can decide your best course of action. By your description ("dug into/ate into") it sounds more like deer. If it was boring into instead, that seems more like a beetle or borer of some kind. Best of luck.
This is exactly the problem. Once they emerge, they don’t actually eat anything at all. Their only instinct is to mate before they die. Once they have, the females tear long strips into young bark on the underside of branches and deposit their eggs, and once those eggs mature and hatch the grubs fall to the ground, burrow, and the 17- or 13-year cycle continues. The damage to the bark and tissue right beneath can be a death sentence for very young trees. I’ve seen people net young trees in an attempt to minimize damage, but it’s quite hard to avoid it - they’ll find a way in!
In another video this week on Bradford pears. I had a thought which I would like to ask. Instead of killing a Bradford pear,( I removed mine BTW). Couldn't a person cut it back and graft a desirable pear cultivar onto it?
Fascinating history of how you started your YT channel! I also like to write things down, like when I have planted or transplanted things outdoors, I’ll write what I planted on an indoor calendar, almost like a diary. I will also occasionally write entries in a garden journal about how plants have performed during a season, or when I might have planted them. I used to maintain a regular diary when I was younger for many years, and perhaps I’ve evolved into transitioning this to gardening.
33:49 I am the exact same way if I write things down I remember them lol! Cool my hibiscus even have leaves out 😮 and my guacamole hosta has some shoots coming out weigela day Lillie’s peonies roses my Japanese painted fern is even out already all my grandmas really old Iris’s have buds up my stuff is up super early 🪴🪴🪴🤍🤍🤍
The odd jobs videos have been such great garden motivation for me. Ive really enjoyed them. I'm a fairly new gardener. This will be my 3rd season gardening in zone 8a 🙄 (7b) north Alabama and I love yall lol. I'm 32 and we have 5 kids under 11 and gardening has really turned in to a form of therapy for me. I was a houseplant enthusiast with a bare yard and I just happened to stumble across one of your videos and was like wow. Look at that yard. Ive been hooked ever since. Thank you for your infinite knowledge. #LifeGoals Also, if you know any kid resistant plants I'd be interested 😂😂😂😂
Weigela here in central Indiana are unpredictable. Some springs they wake up just fine but others they have only a few live branches. When that happens I have taken two different approaches. I either cut off only the dead and am left with only a small fraction of what was there the year before, or I have just cut everything to the ground. The plants lived either way. The one I cut all way down rebounded much better but that may have been due to its type or location. I have also had a weigela just die over the winter.
Thank you @j.c.linden. Weigela was my question and thank you Jim for answering it. I am in zone 8. The branches are not flexible. It’s less than one year old. I’ll see if growth happens from the base.
Hi Jim! Do you recommend using neem oil as a form of dormant oil? Can you clarify if dormant oils can be used as a pest/disease preventative? Great info as always!
Thanks for your very informative videos. I have an embankment that has sandy soil and is in full sun. It currently has very sparse native groundcover growing on it and a mature pine tree on the top of the hill. Would appreciate any suggestions on what to plant on the slope. Everything I try dies. Not enough water retention. Zone 5b, Ontario Canada.
QUESTION: My lorapetalums barely have any leaves ( I think due to deer damage?), but now they have flower buds. Only some of the buds are opening. Should I leave them alone? Cut them back? Thanks for your help!
Hello, another great video, thank you! I have a Mountain Snow Pieris that I planted last spring. Its in front our foundation and in part shade of a large Maple. Over winter it turned yellow and I didn’t realize that was unusual until now when I have seen some great looking blooming ones( i have no blooms) I am in North Delaware, 7a. My soil is not acidic so I will be adding some acid lovers fertilizer. Should I be doing anything else? I should mention the spot is not soggy. Thank you!
Our city's major water treatment facility is offline for repairs/upgrades into early April. During this time, we cannot use city water for outdoor irrigation. With our smallish yard (~20 shrubs, ~10 perennials), we don't need a lot of water. But we are running out of saved water (buckets, trash can), and I am considering collecting rain water from our gutters. We have an asphalt roof (replaced 3 years ago). Do you think there will be an issue using rain water collected from the gutters for our plants? For a vegetable garden, I might have some hesitation. We have a 3-4 day storm forecasted to start this Thursday (although most of these storms have been disappointing here in Central Texas in recent years).
One negative thing with wood chips, I'm allergic to the dust. I used a mask but the particles still got to me. I'm coughing and sneezing. Awful. I'm either going to have to get a high tech gas mask or use something else.
We planted six fire chief arborvitae shrubs two years ago. This spring they look terrible. There is a lot of dead outer foliage. I think it was the dry fall that really hurt them. What can we do to save them? Prune back to green growth? Fertilize them? Thank you! Leah in Tryon, NC
I have a privacy screen question. It’ll be a mixed border but I’m a little unsure about sun hours summer/winter. The most important part is behind neighbors house/my porch and summertime the whole area has sun all day, but during winter, there’s sun from sunrise to 11 am and shade rest of the day? I have a lot of other things to consider, I live in Sweden but a very mild climate, wintertime snow lays in the ground for a week or two, temperature very rare below 20F. I live on s as n island so it’s pretty windy, especially living close to open fields like I do. Then there’s that alkaline soil and water. This is a limestone island known for limestone, roses everywhere and most sun hours in the country. Winters are wet, extremely wet and my road and yard is a mud hole from *** and summers dry and hot turning everything into concrete. Any suggestions in fast growing, deciduous or evergreen that reach 10-15”?
Hi Jim, I recently purchased a house that has lava rock in all the landscaping beds. Do you think it’ll be okay to mulch over the rocks? Or will I need to painstakingly remove all the lava rocks before mulching? The layer of lava rock is not enough to suppress weeds, and I want to add mulch for the health of the soil. Thanks so much. I love your videos.
Regarding ChipDrop wood chips. We got a load recently here in N NJ. it's got some twigs that I am not sure if they are invasive things that we have here like forsythia, multiflora rose, oriental bittersweet and others. How likely is it for any of these to propagate and grow from cut twigs? we are working hard to rid invasive on our land and I hate to lay wood chips to have some of that start growing again. of course, we already have the wood chips so I am going to spread them but I could probably take out some of the more in tact branches I see and discard them. also noting this is wood chips we are laying near the entrance to the long driveway, where we don't have anything planted besides some big trees, so it's not in a "gardening" area.
Love your Q&A sessions. I'm in zone 11b. In warmer climates, how do you know if a plant is dormant or just struggling? For example, I have a tropical bleeding heart viney shrub that appears to go dormant for about 4 months, usually beginning in January. Is that dormancy or is it just struggling due to a lot of rain during that period?
🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍 I hope my babies don’t get frosted in the morning 😱🍀🍀🍀🪴🪴🪴🪴🪴🪴 do I have to use hardwood mulch can I just use my leaves and pine straw from the woods around me ??? Thanks for everything!!!! 🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍
Hi. I have a question 😳😊 I live in denmark, Copenhagen. In my garden there is a big old birch (Betula pandula). It looked healthy and fresh. My husband pruned off a low branch, he left an inch, did not cut into the trunk. The tree bled a lot for the first two days. Now it still bleeds, but not so much you can see it. If you put your finger under the cut you see that the water is still running down. The tree has not started to leafe out yet, but will very soon. Should I put some wax on, to close the wound? Will that cause fungus and problems? Or should I give it more time to heal? This tree is the biggest peace in my garden and I would hate to loose it 😞
Hey Jim! Question- I recently dug out an infected verticilium wilt Japanese maple. When I took the tree out I removed all the soil in the planting hole. I just replaced it with a Japanese snowbell. Instead of using topsoil from somewhere else in my garden I just back filled the new tree with only compost. Is that okay or should I replant it mixing in some topsoil? Zone 8b western WA. THANK YOU! 🙏🏻
Thank you for always providing excellent content! Regarding fig tree pruning…I have a Little Miss Figgy(3rd year in the ground-zone 7b/8a) I cut off dead wood but should I be pruning hard? If so, is it too late to prune it now? Thank you
I have some grubby daisies that didn’t do good last year,can I dig them up and put in a pot are what can I do to help them do better. No blooms last. Help please
I bought several Sunshine Ligustrum and Red Sky Holly on the clearance rack this week. What's your advice for reviving them? I've been watering well but I'm wondering if I should prune out the dead or wait until planting
Another channel I watched about mulching mentioned that you need to turn last years mulch with a weasel, pitch fork before putting down new mulch, your thoughts?
Hi Jim! I so appreciate your channel. You are very informative. All your knowledge is so very helpful. I am from the PNW and have never seen a firefly. We don’t have those here. I know they are in the south. Do you have those in NC? What are they truly like? Do they really light up at night? Are they a beneficial pollinator or a pest that destroys plants? I’d love to know your perspective.
Hey Jim! Before we started watching your videos and learned not to, we planted a row of Emerald Green Arborvitae as a barrier between our house and a neighbor's. Not surprisingly we lost several and it's very asymmetrical now. Should we suck it up and plant more in the empty spaces? I think we failed to break up the roots when planting the trees we lost and will not make that mistake again. Or should we plant other things in the empty spots? There are 7 good ones in a row, a hole, another good one, 2 holes, 2 good ones, and 2 holes. So it's not the ideal situation. Any advice? We are zone 8a Randolph County NC.
I have a 2-3 year old red bud (I transplanted a weed) that has not bloomed. Last year you said it must be under some sort of stress if it’s not blooming. I assume it will bloom next year but I hate to keep growing it if it is a random species that doesn’t bloom. Are there red buds that don’t bloom? Will it eventually bloom? Do they take 3-4 years to bloom? It gets perfect conditions in zone 7b central Arkansas. It’s in prime real estate and maybe I should remove it while it’s small and put something else that will definitely flower consistently.
😂😅 you had me laughing about people buying a plant in one stage of leaf or flower and concerned when it changes season..then you look aside and myttered to yourself, "you buy a deciduous tree [and in fall], and ask 'wha' happened?' " And then you suddenly veered to another question.. ohhhh. Dealing with us who are less experienced, you are so patient but occasionally have to shake your head!😅😅😅
do you think a bird can distinguish between seed that falls out the feeder and yard firterlizer under the feeder? don't want to kill the birds. kevin, new subscriber fron pass christan, ms, zone 9a. thanks jim, great channel.
Hi Jim, I have followed you for years and learned so much. I have a question about a Colorado Blue Spruce, I bought 3 one gallon spruces at Christmas, I would like to make them into a global by cutting the leader. Would this work. Thank you .
I've always heard you should never prune hydrangea quercifolia because they are said not to respond well to pruning. Does that mean I should ignore crossing and rubbing branches?
I have gorgeous camellias, some of which have been with me over 30 years! I have noticed some sucker-like activity on them . How do you prune camellias? Are my old beauties in any danger?
Any thoughts on chokeberries? I didn’t see them named specifically in your plant highlight series and I just got two free from my extension office/Arbor Day event.
Hello from Houston zone 9b. Question: I have clayish soil in my yard and wanted to start gardening. I currently have turf (st. Augustine) on my property, do I have to remove all the turf and amend the soil? If so, can you please let me know what type of amendments I have to do to the soil. Thanks.
Last year the moles/voles arrived back to our yard in Durham. Many years ago I had someone come out and put milky spores out in a grid pattern and that worked. I can't get him to come back out and reapply. Last year, I sprayed my yard with I Must Garden mole repellent, that really has not worked. Now I have discovered one of my drift roses has lost all its roots, I need to do something to get rid of these destructive creatures as I don't want to lose anymore of my plants. What have you found to be the best way to get rid of this nuisance?
A couple things…you can buy milky spore on your own and apply with a dispenser (bought or made yourself). I have done this myself. It will address Japanese beetle grubs, but not others. Moles do not eat vegetation, but voles will. Cats and snakes are good with dealing with voles.
@@PerennialProfiles Thank you! The best time to put out milky spore is in the late summer when grubs are closest to the surface, although I do intend to put some out soon. We have cats that roam around the neighborhood, not sure what good if any they are doing, but I'm about at the end of my rope with these creatures! 😊
In zone 8b NC where dahlias can stay under ground year round, do you still have to divide the tubers? And if so, what does that process look like. I have a dahlia that’s been in the ground for 2 yrs. I’d like to lift, divide and spread it around the garden but have never done this before.
Another great Q&A! I have a gardenia radcans that’s been in the ground for about 3 yrs. It has developed a weird nakedness in the middle; it has low growth along the ground, bare stems in the middle and a sort of poof of growth at the top. Can I top it to encourage the middle to fill out or would that be detrimental? I’m in NC Zone 8b. Thanks for all you do!!!
Jim, thank you so much for your helpful videos! I have a question: I'm in Nashville, TN (Zone 7b) and have a swale on the edge of my front yard. It funnels the neighborhood's stormwater to a pond behind my house. I'd rather not mow it so I was thinking about planting it in a similar way to the local rose garden you show in your videos. Muhly grass, sedges, red twig dogwoods, etc. Any suggestions for plants and how to approach this project? Thanks!
I planted a Scarlet Curls Weeping Willow in 2021. It was a one gallon pot. Now it’s 5ft tall. I put it too close to another tree and it’s growing sideways away from that tree. Can I transplant it to a different location in the garden without killing it? If yes then should I wait until the winter time when it’s dormant again (it already has leaves on it)? (7b area) Thank you!!
I have many boxwood (different types) in my garden design (I KNOW, I KNOW-not wise, but it's done for now). The Korean, Wintergem, Wintergreen, etc are fine, but the 4 huge American boxwood delivered from Raleigh farmers market have leaf miner. Any thoughts or suggestions?
What's the serviceberry you said had better tasting berries than blueberries? Is honeyberry a serviceberry? Your thoughts on goji berries? Live near border in north Arkansas.
Have a question from Virginia Beach 8A. I have a garden arbor I want to build do you recommend a climbing flowering plant. If something evergreen is possible would be great.
Just a note: I am one of those who did discover your channel many years ago and I still revisit those videos when I have certain questions about certain shrubs. I love them and they are not awful! The intro music, a little later on and “where we talk all things gardening” always got me excited.
I like and still revisit his old videos too!
Jim was a little stiff in those old videos, but they're still good!
My thoughts exactly. Those early videos are full of valuable information. I do love how the channel has evolved but I never discount the early vids
“So what are you waiting for? Even you can grow the (insert multiple adjectives) (plant name)!”
@@jebprendergast101 YES!!!!!!🥰🤣🥰🤣🥰🤣🥰
HortTube is my "radio show" I listen to while doing physical therapy for my back! It makes it go quickly!
It is my podcast while I clean the house!! I don't even have to see the TV to learn from jim.
Q&A are great on the treadmill!
The plant composition surrounding your steps is gorgeous.
That's what I was going to say. I just kept looking at it and marveling!
Clown college at its best.
I don't worry about gardening problems that I don't have. From experience, the only problem I think ahead about preventing is letting volunteer trees get so mature that I have to hire my tree company to remove.
Thanks, Jim! I remember back when you’d say, “What are you waiting for? Even you can grow (fill in the blank plant)!” Really have appreciated all of your advice and expertise over the years! 😊👍
Hi, Jim! Zone 7a Maryland.
Can you provide a planting location “rule of thumb” on shade/part-shade evergreen shrubs that are in those situations during mid spring leaf out->fall leaf drop from many tall surrounding oaks, maples, poplars, beech. Once those leaves drop & sun is lower in the sky, my shade-loving shrubs are then exposed to 6-8 hours of full winter sun from November-April.
I have numerous specimens or groupings of soft Caress mahonia, Marvel mahonia, Florida sunshine Illicium planted throughout our woodland gardens.
Those planted in locations with shade (all year long) are definitely more vigorous than the ones that receive summer shade & winter shade. They look beautiful and robust.
The plants that receive summer shade with winter sun are stunted, have yellow leaves as we emerge from winter. Only those plants that get winter sun.
I am going to prune off the yellowed leaves & move those plants to shady, year-round locations this weekend.
Perhaps other viewers would appreciate your experience & comments on this situation. Why evergreen shade shrubs seem to be affected. Thank you!
Jim, I'm just a random person from MD who started watching those first informational videos & I'm still here learning years later... 🌿 I greatly appreciate your plant-specific videos, too, and I still refer to them often. Thank you for all of your knowledge!
❤hello everyone, gardeners friends 🧡 have fun gardening.
“I just don’t try to find any negativity in it, at all.”
Great life advice, in addition to gardening topics.
Gardening is a great reminder, that things do go wrong, fail, die, and yet they can be changed and redeemed. Worrying about what might be is a self-imposed obstacle that gets in the way of moving forward and enjoying the journey.
I love the bulbs coming up through ground covers. I have crocus coming up through speedwell, a happy accident. Anyway it looks super cool to have the bulbs coming up through the perennials.
Can you think of a scenario where a red maple would be a good choice?
I giggled when you said involuntary farmed on a tobacco farm when you were younger. I started helping my neighbors at 8 years old, and I think we that worked in tobacco have great work ethics. All the money I earned was to buy my school clothes. It was hot, sticky, and the wet tobacco in the eye still makes me grimace.
Bailing hay as a kid taught me hard work too. Bouncing bales off my thighs because I was short, I looked like I had a disease lol
Good morning from Tampa! Love getting my Sunday started with these videos!
All of your plants right there around the steps are just beautiful! It looks like a lush forest of colors and textures. You and Steph make an amazing team on your home landscaping.
In eastern NC we were all pretty much involuntary farmers but it sure made you appreciate the jobs that came after that stint in the tobacco field!
I was so delighted to hear you two keep track of your garden on paper. I don’t have any formal education in horticulture or design like you both have. I do, however, watch you and am learning so much and appreciate your time and education style!
But, I have been keeping my plantings on paper, too. I wish I had more skill, but I use the circle template to show the mature size and color pencil them loosely to bloom and foliage colors. Keeps me busy in the winter months.
Someone mentioned worms and grubs. I had very unhealthy soil before I started mulching and putting wood chips down. No worms no grubs. Now we’ve got tons of earthworms in our soil and I can dig it so much easier. They’re wonderful to have. I have seen grubs and I hear that’s not great but I don’t think they’ve ever hurt my plants. That’s not in grass though. I think grubs damage grass more so than shrubs and flowers. I think the earthworms at least do more good than bad. I love seeing them. I know I’ve given them a happy place to live where they thrive. I like to think about it like this, we, the earthworms and myself work together to make it better. My plants are doing so much better.
Your videos have become a regular part of my Sundays 😊 I really appreciated some of those older videos. I'm in New Jersey zone 6b. It great that I can go to my local Home Depot or Lowe's and Google a specific plant or shrub and get more detailed information before I make a purchase. Thank you Jim and Stephanie for creating this channel. 😊
My beautyberry was one of the last plants to break dormancy in my garden last year. I pulled it out of ground twice to check if the roots were still alive. This year it broke dormancy really early but it also had a year to grow roots there.
I prefer to write things down as well, although I am far less tech savvy than you. That’s how I studied in school - typing on a computer led to zero retention, but writing it down, different story. (For reference, I’m 37.)
You are more cheerful and relaxed compared to the older videos. Still, the older videos were greatly informative without useless filler.
I put the earthworms back in my soil and feed the grubs to my chickens.
Jim thank you so much for showing us how to root our hydrangeas by using the pot method. Mine took, loss leaves in the winter and now is leafing out, it is a lace cap and is beautiful.
QUESTION: In your video, 50 plus small evergreen shrubs for the garden at times stamp 21:36; What are those pink flowers in front of the bird bath? It's just a round pink ball. Thank you. I love your videos.❤❤
Good morning from Indiana. Thanks for these videos. I have learned a lot. Take care, both of you.😊
Thanks Jim, I always struggle with the "is it dead" question each spring. Last year I removed a Crape Myrtle and something still came back! 😊
QUESTION about a Skinners magnolia. I got it last spring looking very sad: few leaves, dead branches but decent roots. It had been in the ground at a friends. I researched, found some articles and your old video on banana shrubs and thought its best chance would be in a pot. Half Happy Frog potting soil, half pine bark soil conditioner. I'm in Georgia zone 8a-b. Red clay mostly, just working on amending pieces of it as I'm able. By August the plant had leafed out beautifully and in a couple more months was showing little buds. Then I decided to put it in the ground. I'm old and I finally found a younger man to help me dig. The leaves have been turning yellow ever since, have lost some but that's not as worrisome as the color; it's affecting all the foliage. The buds are still growing. It's also shot up a couple of suckers, which i can't find any info on. My incination is to get it out of the ground and back into a pot. Not sure if the change from pot to ground was too sever a shock, if it was planted too deep, if the location is wrong, (next to the stump of a huge pecan taken down 2 years ago). Or if repotting it would just be more stress. Don't much care if the buds dont open this year, just want to see the tree feeling perky again. Thank you all the information you share; I so appreciate learning how to create a little space where pollinators are safe to ply their trade.
QUESTION: Im in zone 7 east Tennessee in oak ridge, tn, Knoxville area. I ordered 2 Carolina midnight, 2 cleyera japonica (ternstroemia gymnanthera, not sure which, but I think "big foot" due to the stated size), and 2 illicium parviflorum(not "sunshine"; it's the hardy parviflorum yellow anisetree shrub). I want to use them on both sides of my yard for screening between neighbors. Which of these shrubs experiences the least cold damage and which experiences the most damage and needs to be in the protected spot?, It will help me determine the best way to plant them. Im gonna wait till your show before I plant them. Sometimes my zone 7 gardenias die to the ground, but come back, and im hoping these plants will do better than the gardenias. thanks for all you do, I never miss your show! Love the questions videos and the chores/how-to videos the most, because I love to learn more. Have a great week🌼🌻🍄🌹🌸🌷🌺😊
I have avoided blue spruce here in the east because all the landscape specimens I have seen get stripped by bagworms
Good Morning Jim!
Hi Jim! I purchased a couple of Purple Day Dream Loropetalum recently that I haven't planted yet. They are not as purple as they are supposed to be. They are more of a greenish, brownish purple. The woman at the garden center said they just need some fertilizer, so I put Plant-tone on them and they still haven't developed their purpleness. Should I prune them and wait for the new growth? I am in zone 8b, full sun. I also purchased some Illicium Parviflorum, which will be in full-all day sun, and eventually 90+ heat and humidity. Will they tolerate those conditions?
I also want to say thank you for sharing your 38 year multi-faceted career in horticulture. I'm not sure that the general public is aware of the amount of information you share on a daily basis. Your 'Learn to Garden' series is such a sweet deal, and I encourage all of your viewers to take advantage of the amazing pricing on it. I now have such a passion for gardening and a level of understanding of it, that never imagined could be possible. Thanks so much. It's truly been life changing for me.
This weekly video has kinda become a podcast at this point 😂 with Jim rambling on about all the info that comes to mind from a question
During the last big cicadas attack, they dug into/ate into the bark on two young lilacs and another young tree. All died because of the damage. I'm thinking of putting plastic guides on a few young trees.
My suspicion is that either it was something other than cicadas, or your lilacs and other tree were already in the process of death. Cicadas can not eat/chew as they completely lack a mouth. Adults do not eat. They lay eggs only in dead branches, as they require them to fall to the ground by the time the eggs hatch, allowing the larvae to burrow into the soil. Healthy trees will not be at risk (from cicadas, at any rate,) so you have no need to protect them this way. If you have another species that is the real cause of the damage, you will need to identify it first. Then you can decide your best course of action. By your description ("dug into/ate into") it sounds more like deer. If it was boring into instead, that seems more like a beetle or borer of some kind. Best of luck.
This is exactly the problem. Once they emerge, they don’t actually eat anything at all. Their only instinct is to mate before they die. Once they have, the females tear long strips into young bark on the underside of branches and deposit their eggs, and once those eggs mature and hatch the grubs fall to the ground, burrow, and the 17- or 13-year cycle continues. The damage to the bark and tissue right beneath can be a death sentence for very young trees. I’ve seen people net young trees in an attempt to minimize damage, but it’s quite hard to avoid it - they’ll find a way in!
In another video this week on Bradford pears. I had a thought which I would like to ask.
Instead of killing a Bradford pear,( I removed mine BTW). Couldn't a person cut it back and graft a desirable pear cultivar onto it?
You're right about things leafing out early this year jim! I'm already seeing the buds swell on mine and its a month and a half early!
Fascinating history of how you started your YT channel! I also like to write things down, like when I have planted or transplanted things outdoors, I’ll write what I planted on an indoor calendar, almost like a diary. I will also occasionally write entries in a garden journal about how plants have performed during a season, or when I might have planted them. I used to maintain a regular diary when I was younger for many years, and perhaps I’ve evolved into transitioning this to gardening.
Thank you, Jim. 😊
33:49 I am the exact same way if I write things down I remember them lol! Cool my hibiscus even have leaves out 😮 and my guacamole hosta has some shoots coming out weigela day Lillie’s peonies roses my Japanese painted fern is even out already all my grandmas really old Iris’s have buds up my stuff is up super early 🪴🪴🪴🤍🤍🤍
I didn't realize forsythia was a caning shrub. Is there a pruning video? I have a massive one that was never maintained.
The odd jobs videos have been such great garden motivation for me. Ive really enjoyed them. I'm a fairly new gardener. This will be my 3rd season gardening in zone 8a 🙄 (7b) north Alabama and I love yall lol. I'm 32 and we have 5 kids under 11 and gardening has really turned in to a form of therapy for me. I was a houseplant enthusiast with a bare yard and I just happened to stumble across one of your videos and was like wow. Look at that yard. Ive been hooked ever since. Thank you for your infinite knowledge. #LifeGoals
Also, if you know any kid resistant plants I'd be interested 😂😂😂😂
I can find the video but I once saw you said you had a hose you liked. Can you let us know what hose you use?
Weigela here in central Indiana are unpredictable. Some springs they wake up just fine but others they have only a few live branches. When that happens I have taken two different approaches. I either cut off only the dead and am left with only a small fraction of what was there the year before, or I have just cut everything to the ground. The plants lived either way. The one I cut all way down rebounded much better but that may have been due to its type or location. I have also had a weigela just die over the winter.
Thank you @j.c.linden. Weigela was my question and thank you Jim for answering it. I am in zone 8. The branches are not flexible. It’s less than one year old. I’ll see if growth happens from the base.
Zone 8a (I think), Charlotte, NC
Hi Jim! Do you recommend using neem oil as a form of dormant oil? Can you clarify if dormant oils can be used as a pest/disease preventative? Great info as always!
Thanks for your very informative videos. I have an embankment that has sandy soil and is in full sun. It currently has very sparse native groundcover growing on it and a mature pine tree on the top of the hill. Would appreciate any suggestions on what to plant on the slope. Everything I try dies. Not enough water retention. Zone 5b, Ontario Canada.
Thank you Jim. Another very informative video. 🪻💚🙃
What are examples of toxic plants that should not be planted alongside edible fruits and vegetables? I am in Zone 8.
QUESTION: My lorapetalums barely have any leaves ( I think due to deer damage?), but now they have flower buds. Only some of the buds are opening. Should I leave them alone? Cut them back? Thanks for your help!
Loved the 50+ video!
Hello, another great video, thank you! I have a Mountain Snow Pieris that I planted last spring. Its in front our foundation and in part shade of a large Maple. Over winter it turned yellow and I didn’t realize that was unusual until now when I have seen some great looking blooming ones( i have no blooms) I am in North Delaware, 7a. My soil is not acidic so I will be adding some acid lovers fertilizer. Should I be doing anything else? I should mention the spot is not soggy. Thank you!
Our city's major water treatment facility is offline for repairs/upgrades into early April. During this time, we cannot use city water for outdoor irrigation. With our smallish yard (~20 shrubs, ~10 perennials), we don't need a lot of water. But we are running out of saved water (buckets, trash can), and I am considering collecting rain water from our gutters. We have an asphalt roof (replaced 3 years ago). Do you think there will be an issue using rain water collected from the gutters for our plants? For a vegetable garden, I might have some hesitation. We have a 3-4 day storm forecasted to start this Thursday (although most of these storms have been disappointing here in Central Texas in recent years).
QUESTION: I got a new weeping willow and it was pretty leggy. I planted it and then high winds broke the leader off. Is this a lost cause?
One negative thing with wood chips, I'm allergic to the dust. I used a mask but the particles still got to me. I'm coughing and sneezing. Awful. I'm either going to have to get a high tech gas mask or use something else.
We planted six fire chief arborvitae shrubs two years ago. This spring they look terrible. There is a lot of dead outer foliage. I think it was the dry fall that really hurt them. What can we do to save them? Prune back to green growth? Fertilize them?
Thank you!
Leah in Tryon, NC
BTW, I am constantly asking myself, "what happened?" when contrasting my newbie yard to your expert one!!😂😂😂
Thx Jim🌿
I have a privacy screen question. It’ll be a mixed border but I’m a little unsure about sun hours summer/winter. The most important part is behind neighbors house/my porch and summertime the whole area has sun all day, but during winter, there’s sun from sunrise to 11 am and shade rest of the day?
I have a lot of other things to consider, I live in Sweden but a very mild climate, wintertime snow lays in the ground for a week or two, temperature very rare below 20F. I live on s as n island so it’s pretty windy, especially living close to open fields like I do. Then there’s that alkaline soil and water. This is a limestone island known for limestone, roses everywhere and most sun hours in the country.
Winters are wet, extremely wet and my road and yard is a mud hole from *** and summers dry and hot turning everything into concrete.
Any suggestions in fast growing, deciduous or evergreen that reach 10-15”?
Hi Jim, I recently purchased a house that has lava rock in all the landscaping beds. Do you think it’ll be okay to mulch over the rocks? Or will I need to painstakingly remove all the lava rocks before mulching? The layer of lava rock is not enough to suppress weeds, and I want to add mulch for the health of the soil. Thanks so much. I love your videos.
Regarding ChipDrop wood chips. We got a load recently here in N NJ. it's got some twigs that I am not sure if they are invasive things that we have here like forsythia, multiflora rose, oriental bittersweet and others. How likely is it for any of these to propagate and grow from cut twigs? we are working hard to rid invasive on our land and I hate to lay wood chips to have some of that start growing again. of course, we already have the wood chips so I am going to spread them but I could probably take out some of the more in tact branches I see and discard them. also noting this is wood chips we are laying near the entrance to the long driveway, where we don't have anything planted besides some big trees, so it's not in a "gardening" area.
Love your Q&A sessions. I'm in zone 11b. In warmer climates, how do you know if a plant is dormant or just struggling? For example, I have a tropical bleeding heart viney shrub that appears to go dormant for about 4 months, usually beginning in January. Is that dormancy or is it just struggling due to a lot of rain during that period?
🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍 I hope my babies don’t get frosted in the morning 😱🍀🍀🍀🪴🪴🪴🪴🪴🪴 do I have to use hardwood mulch can I just use my leaves and pine straw from the woods around me ??? Thanks for everything!!!! 🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍
Can you recommend a lawn mower repair service in the Raleigh area? Thank you.
Hi. I have a question 😳😊
I live in denmark, Copenhagen.
In my garden there is a big old birch (Betula pandula). It looked healthy and fresh. My husband pruned off a low branch, he left an inch, did not cut into the trunk. The tree bled a lot for the first two days. Now it still bleeds, but not so much you can see it. If you put your finger under the cut you see that the water is still running down. The tree has not started to leafe out yet, but will very soon.
Should I put some wax on, to close the wound? Will that cause fungus and problems? Or should I give it more time to heal?
This tree is the biggest peace in my garden and I would hate to loose it 😞
Great session as usual.
Hey Jim! Question- I recently dug out an infected verticilium wilt Japanese maple. When I took the tree out I removed all the soil in the planting hole. I just replaced it with a Japanese snowbell. Instead of using topsoil from somewhere else in my garden I just back filled the new tree with only compost. Is that okay or should I replant it mixing in some topsoil? Zone 8b western WA. THANK YOU! 🙏🏻
Good morning, here for Q and A and helpful info.
Thank you for always providing excellent content! Regarding fig tree pruning…I have a Little Miss Figgy(3rd year in the ground-zone 7b/8a) I cut off dead wood but should I be pruning hard? If so, is it too late to prune it now? Thank you
I have some grubby daisies that didn’t do good last year,can I dig them up and put in a pot are what can I do to help them do better. No blooms last. Help please
I bought several Sunshine Ligustrum and Red Sky Holly on the clearance rack this week. What's your advice for reviving them? I've been watering well but I'm wondering if I should prune out the dead or wait until planting
How do you deal with reverting foliage in variegated / gold carex?
Another channel I watched about mulching mentioned that you need to turn last years mulch with a weasel, pitch fork before putting down new mulch, your thoughts?
I have two little leucothoe shrubs that I use as foundation plants under some low windows and I'd like to make a few more. Any tips on propagating?
Stay cool Jim Lonnie in Boiling Spring Lakes N.C. Zone 8- A .
My seed starting mix will not wick water from the bottom. Any tips to remedy this?
Hi Jim! I so appreciate your channel. You are very informative. All your knowledge is so very helpful. I am from the PNW and have never seen a firefly. We don’t have those here. I know they are in the south. Do you have those in NC? What are they truly like? Do they really light up at night? Are they a beneficial pollinator or a pest that destroys plants? I’d love to know your perspective.
Are impatiens easy to grow from seed? Any tips?
Hey Jim! Before we started watching your videos and learned not to, we planted a row of Emerald Green Arborvitae as a barrier between our house and a neighbor's. Not surprisingly we lost several and it's very asymmetrical now. Should we suck it up and plant more in the empty spaces? I think we failed to break up the roots when planting the trees we lost and will not make that mistake again.
Or should we plant other things in the empty spots? There are 7 good ones in a row, a hole, another good one, 2 holes, 2 good ones, and 2 holes. So it's not the ideal situation. Any advice? We are zone 8a Randolph County NC.
I have a 2-3 year old red bud (I transplanted a weed) that has not bloomed. Last year you said it must be under some sort of stress if it’s not blooming. I assume it will bloom next year but I hate to keep growing it if it is a random species that doesn’t bloom. Are there red buds that don’t bloom? Will it eventually bloom? Do they take 3-4 years to bloom? It gets perfect conditions in zone 7b central Arkansas. It’s in prime real estate and maybe I should remove it while it’s small and put something else that will definitely flower consistently.
would/have you ever tried growing an Arctic Fire dogwood? I know it's zoned 4-7, but wondering if it might be doable in 7B.
😂😅 you had me laughing about people buying a plant in one stage of leaf or flower and concerned when it changes season..then you look aside and myttered to yourself, "you buy a deciduous tree [and in fall], and ask 'wha' happened?' " And then you suddenly veered to another question.. ohhhh. Dealing with us who are less experienced, you are so patient but occasionally have to shake your head!😅😅😅
do you think a bird can distinguish between seed that falls out the feeder and yard firterlizer under the feeder? don't want to kill the birds. kevin, new subscriber fron pass christan, ms, zone 9a. thanks jim, great channel.
Hi Jim, I have followed you for years and learned so much. I have a question about a Colorado Blue Spruce, I bought 3 one gallon spruces at Christmas, I would like to make them into a global by cutting the leader. Would this work. Thank you .
I've always heard you should never prune hydrangea quercifolia because they are said not to respond well to pruning. Does that mean I should ignore crossing and rubbing branches?
I have gorgeous camellias, some of which have been with me over 30 years! I have noticed some sucker-like activity on them . How do you prune camellias? Are my old beauties in any danger?
Any thoughts on chokeberries? I didn’t see them named specifically in your plant highlight series and I just got two free from my extension office/Arbor Day event.
Hello from Houston zone 9b. Question: I have clayish soil in my yard and wanted to start gardening. I currently have turf (st. Augustine) on my property, do I have to remove all the turf and amend the soil? If so, can you please let me know what type of amendments I have to do to the soil. Thanks.
Love these videos!😊
I hear the terms daffodil, narcissistic, and jonquil. What, if any, is the difference between them?
Nothing. Narcissus is the genus, daffodils and jonquil are just common names to confuse people
@@JimPutnam
They do a very good job of confusing people. 😕
Will a columnar hornbeam tree grow in North Alabama? I am not sure which hornbeam tree would be correct. I have seen different types.
Last year the moles/voles arrived back to our yard in Durham. Many years ago I had someone come out and put milky spores out in a grid pattern and that worked. I can't get him to come back out and reapply. Last year, I sprayed my yard with I Must Garden mole repellent, that really has not worked. Now I have discovered one of my drift roses has lost all its roots, I need to do something to get rid of these destructive creatures as I don't want to lose anymore of my plants. What have you found to be the best way to get rid of this nuisance?
A couple things…you can buy milky spore on your own and apply with a dispenser (bought or made yourself). I have done this myself. It will address Japanese beetle grubs, but not others.
Moles do not eat vegetation, but voles will. Cats and snakes are good with dealing with voles.
@@PerennialProfiles Thank you! The best time to put out milky spore is in the late summer when grubs are closest to the surface, although I do intend to put some out soon. We have cats that roam around the neighborhood, not sure what good if any they are doing, but I'm about at the end of my rope with these creatures! 😊
In zone 8b NC where dahlias can stay under ground year round, do you still have to divide the tubers? And if so, what does that process look like. I have a dahlia that’s been in the ground for 2 yrs. I’d like to lift, divide and spread it around the garden but have never done this before.
Another great Q&A! I have a gardenia radcans that’s been in the ground for about 3 yrs. It has developed a weird nakedness in the middle; it has low growth along the ground, bare stems in the middle and a sort of poof of growth at the top. Can I top it to encourage the middle to fill out or would that be detrimental? I’m in NC Zone 8b. Thanks for all you do!!!
I’m on Zone 5b and do I prune back ferns ? The leaves look tattered and brown and flattened to the ground.
Jim, thank you so much for your helpful videos! I have a question: I'm in Nashville, TN (Zone 7b) and have a swale on the edge of my front yard. It funnels the neighborhood's stormwater to a pond behind my house. I'd rather not mow it so I was thinking about planting it in a similar way to the local rose garden you show in your videos. Muhly grass, sedges, red twig dogwoods, etc. Any suggestions for plants and how to approach this project? Thanks!
مسيرة مزفقة🎍🎍🎍🎍🎍🎍👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻⚘️⚘️⚘️⚘️⚘️
I planted a Scarlet Curls Weeping Willow in 2021. It was a one gallon pot. Now it’s 5ft tall. I put it too close to another tree and it’s growing sideways away from that tree. Can I transplant it to a different location in the garden without killing it? If yes then should I wait until the winter time when it’s dormant again (it already has leaves on it)? (7b area) Thank you!!
I have many boxwood (different types) in my garden design (I KNOW, I KNOW-not wise, but it's done for now). The Korean, Wintergem, Wintergreen, etc are fine, but the 4 huge American boxwood delivered from Raleigh farmers market have leaf miner. Any thoughts or suggestions?
What's the serviceberry you said had better tasting berries than blueberries? Is honeyberry a serviceberry? Your thoughts on goji berries? Live near border in north Arkansas.
Have a question from Virginia Beach 8A. I have a garden arbor I want to build do you recommend a climbing flowering plant. If something evergreen is possible would be great.
Could you do small garden tours? Its possible to transform small spaces into beautiful gardens. Laura Bee Gardening comes to mind.❤🌸