- Hi, thanks for joining us for The Family Plot: Gardening In The Mid-South.

I'm Chris Cooper.

Perennials will come   back year after year.

And if you pick the right ones,   you'll have blooms all season.

Also, spring means flowers,   and if you don't   have a flower bed,   you can still plant   in a container.

That's just ahead   on The Family Plot:   Gardening in the Mid-South.

- (female announcer)   Production funding for   The Family Plot:   Gardening in the Mid-South   is provided by   the WKNO Production Fund,   the WKNO Endowment Fund,   and by viewers   like you, thank you.

[upbeat country music] - Welcome to The Family Plot.

I'm Chris Cooper.

Joining me today is Joellen Dimond.

Joellen is Director of Landscape at the University of Memphis.

And Tonya Ashworth will be joining me later.

Hi, Joellen.

I know you like to talk about perennials.

- Perennials, yes.

One of my favorites.

And we're gonna talk about a bunch of perennials that do well, in the ground, 'cause perennials come back year after year and these last for years.

So the first we're gonna talk about is the hellebores.

They bloom first in February and clear through 'til April,   they're all different kinds.

Their blooms last a long   time, 'cause it's cool out.

But they can be grown in   zone six through nine.

And it's also called   the Lenten Rose   because it's   blooming during Lent.

So that's their claim to fame,   and they have   evergreen foliage,   which stays around   all year long.

Next we're gonna talk about peonies.

Peonies are in zones three through eight,   and they bloom in the spring,   probably middle of the spring.

Nice big blooms,   gorgeous, very fragrant,   all different kinds and colors.

Does well, then when   the blooms are gone,   it's got this nice bush   of foliage that's there.

So very nice plant.

Next, Coreopsis- - Coreopsis, I like Coreopsis.

- There are all kinds of Coreopsis,   and the grandiflora and the   verticillata are native.

There's native forms of that.

And there's a lot   of new varieties   that are based on   these native forms.

They're zones four   through nine.

And they are beautiful.

Bloom in the late   spring to early summer.

And I had one that bloomed   almost sporadically   all summer long.

So there's some really nice ones out there.

Coneflowers, everybody knows coneflowers.

They have zones   five through eight,   which is good.

- That is good.

- And there's a new variety   called Magnus that I   think we planted that out   in the Family Plot   perennial butterfly garden.

And it is hardy to zone three.

So, that's really good.

- That's pretty good.

- They all have summer blooms   and they bloom for a   long time in the summer.

Then of course   there're daylilies.

Oh my goodness, whole society's of daylilies.

Very easy to grow.

Summer blooms, zones 3-10.

So it's a very long range.

Different heights,   different colors.

If you have enough daylilies,   you probably have 'em   blooming all summer long.

Right next we have hibiscus.

And now not just any hibiscus, the perennial hibiscus.

So make sure it says perennial hibiscus.

Most of them have fleshy   stems that come up,   and then they'll die back   to the ground every year   and come back up.

And the hibiscus likes   zones five through nine   and it blooms in the summer   and it'll bloom for a   long time in the summer.

The Rudbeckia, the hirta, the perennial one.

Black-eyed Susan is   another common name for it.

It's zones four through nine.

And it blooms in   the summertime,   gets into the late   summer sometimes too.

So it's a good plant.

And here's one that you don't   hear a lot about, catmint.

Zones four through eight.

It spreads quite a bit,   grows about a foot tall,   has beautiful blue and   purpleish flowers spikes on it.

Very, very pretty.

- So why is it called catmint?

- Well, it's in   the same family.

This is the ornamental   variety that I like,   but there's this   is the same family   that they put the catnip with.

You know so-   - Got it.

- I don't have cats, so I don't know if it likes this particular one, but this one's considered ornamental and that's why I got it, 'cause it's pretty.

- Got it.

- One thing that I like everybody to have is some type of ornamental grass.

- I'm a big fan of   ornamental grass.

- There's all different   kinds of the Carexes   and the sedges and everything.

But one that I know does really   well in perennial gardens   is one called Hameln.

It's a dwarf fountain grass.

I like it because it   gives a different texture   in the garden and   it has seed heads,   little foxtail seed   heads looking like,   in the latter part of   the summer and into fall.

So it's really pretty.

Another one that I like is called Sedum, all of the Sedums.

There are many, many Sedums.

There're dwarf and they're   all different sizes,   they bloom at all different   times during the summer.

My favorites are the   fall blooming ones,   which are Autumn   Joy and Autumn Fire.

Those two, I like the best   because they're   blooming at a time   when a lot of things   have stopped blooming.

That's why I like those.

And of course, last to bloom in the season is our aromatic aster.

And I'm not going to pronounce   the scientific name to that   because it's very difficult.

- It is.

- But it is zones   three through eight.

And it can grow just   all over the country.

So we've got a lot of range of perennials here, but all of them that we have talked about, then you have something blooming from February clear through November.

They may not all bloom at the same time, they're sporadic, and that they all like the same kind of properties.

I mean they all like sun to partly shady area.

They all like, well-drained, it can take a little bit of drought, if I forget to water them or Mother Nature doesn't water them.

They're forgiving in that sense, so that's why I like all of 'em.

And landscape value.

There's all different textures and colors.

So they do well together.

Also with these, if I have the perennial garden, I don't forget, there are bulbs that are perennial too.

- I know you like bulbs.

- And so daffodils.

I mean, I didn't even know,   we did a whole   segment on daffodils,   There are so many   different daffodils.

They're one of the   first heralders of spring   and they're blooming 'em with   the hellabores in the spring,   in the late winter.

I like daffodils,   they do really well.

I recommend buying   those as a perennial.

And for a surprise in   the middle of the summer,   the Belladonna lilies.

Big, pink, gorgeous.

They come up, they   just make you smile   because they come up   and they surprise you,   and they bloom and   they're big and gorgeous,   and I like those,   as is the nerines   that bloom then later   towards the beginning of fall,   late summer and into fall,   you get the nerines that   come up just suddenly.

The foliage comes up   early in the spring,   'cause the foliage is up now,   and then the foliage dies down and these come up at different times throughout the season.

So, I like all of that.

And to fill in for a little bit of extra color, an annual here and there.

- Just here and there.

- Just here and there.

'Cause I mean they just gotta tide you over in case something else isn't blooming.

- Wow, so something is blooming all season.

- Almost all the time.

- I like that.

- It comes up and blooms all the time.

And I wish I would have had this information when I started, 'cause it's taken me years to figure it out.

But this is- - It's good.

- An easy way to do all that.

And they would last for years.

Like my peonies at my mother's, they're probably 50 to 60 years old.

- Wow, so they, they can last that long.

- They can last that long.

- And you have all of this plant material that you pretty much talked about today?

- Yeah, I do.

And it's fun to go out and you see something new's blooming.

"Oh look, what's blooming now."

It's very nice.

And I don't do a lot of fertilizing.

I might fertilize in the spring.

- That's good.

Yeah, I was gonna ask you about that.

- I do soil test every once in a while.

Every two, three years you do a soil test to make sure the pH is where it needs to be.

And if you have any problems with it, like sometimes you move to a new place and you plant, it might be too wet or too shady, so you gotta change that around.

But once you find the right place for it, this stuff just lives and lives and lives.

- They thrive and survive.

How about that?

Any major problems that we need to know about.

- Actually being too wet.

- Being too wet, okay.

- That would probably be the worst detriment, because these like to be well drained.

So that's what they like.

And being that they are perennials and they'll die back, most of them, except for the hellebores, they don't, you're gonna have to cut 'em at some point.

So you can either do that as they die or you can do it in the spring in February just before everything starts waking up, or you can do it at the end of the season, whichever you prefer.

- Good deal.

How about that?

Yeah, so do your research folks.

Yeah, get some of these plants in your landscape.

Blooms all season.

- All season long.

- I like that.

Thank you, Joellen, that was good.

I can tell you like talking about this.

- Ah, welcome.

- Thank you much.

[upbeat country music] As you can see, grass is not growing very well in this area.

This area area is very shady.

When it rains, the water stands in this area, it's poorly drained.

But guess what?

Moss loves conditions like that.

As you can see here, this moss is thriving.

And the good thing about moss is this.

You don't have to worry about pulling out a lawn mower.

Every once in a while, leaves get on the moss, just blow the leaves off and your moss stays perfectly green all throughout the season.

So again, grass is not doing well here, but the moss is thriving.

[upbeat country music] Hi Tonya.

So we have our containers out here.

You did this for us last year, we're gonna have you back again to do it for us now.

- Thank you so much for having me back here to make some pretty flowers for your garden.

All right, so the thing to know about container gardening is it's been around for literally thousands of years.

People have been putting plants in pots forever.

And you can put just about anything in a pot and grow it.

Think about bonsais, you know.

But vegetables, herbs, flowers.

And today we're gonna plant some flowers for you.

Now when you choose your container, of course, you already have this nice barrel here for us.

It's kind of a rustic feel to go in your vegetable garden, but if you're choosing a container for your house, you might wanna think about, the style of your house.

Do you want something formal or something kind of rustic?

How large is your space?

Does the container need to be on castor so you can move it or are you gonna put it someplace and leave it?

So- - A lot of things to consider there.

- Yeah, after you pick your container, and I always like to choose one that has drainage holes in the bottom.

It's not absolutely necessary if your container's large enough, but I like to have drainage holes.

You wanna fill it up with some kind of soil.

Now, if you have a very large one, you do have the option of filling the bottom with fillers.

You don't have to use the really best potting soil through the whole thing, but you wanna make sure the top 6 to 12 inches, depending on what you're planting, has the good stuff in it.

So any kind of good bagged potting soil will work.

So we already have ours filled with soil and ready to go.

The next thing you wanna do is choose your plants.

Well, there's lots of things to consider there too.

Is your container gonna be in full sun?

Is it gonna be in shade?

Is it gonna be part shade, part of the day sun, part of the day shade?

So you have to think about the conditions that your plants are gonna be in and then choose all plants that can tolerate the sun or the shade.

You may even wanna think about watering.

If you have things in there that are low water and things that are heavy drinkers, then that might not be a good combination.

I like to plant colors depending on the container too.

So for a barrel, I'm thinking rustic.

So oranges, reds, purples, greens.

Your primary colors are good for a rustic look.

If you've got a formal looking container and it's gonna grow in front of your nice fancy little porch, then greens and whites make a nice elegant look.

Anything like white and dark purple.

White usually is kind of a classic look.

And if you're kind of going for the country cottage, pastels are good for that.

So, think about the look and the feel that you want for your container.

Okay, so now that we've got our plants chosen, we've got mostly sun plants here.

And the next thing we wanna do is think about different heights.

So to make a really nice   presentation, it's just like   you're gonna do a flower   arrangement in a vase.

You want something   kind of tall,   you want something to   be kind of a filler   and then you want something   spill over the edge   to break up the hard   edge of the container.

And we call that   thriller, filler   and spillers.

- Spiller.

- So for our thriller, which doesn't look very thrilling right this minute, but it will be eventually, we have got a Canna tuber.

So this is the little top part of the package that it from.

And we're gonna plant this in the center to be our tall thriller kind of a plant.

- Okay, I'm gonna sit here and watch you do that.

- With our trowel here.

And you can see that this has signs of life, so that's a good thing, it's trying to poke out already.

And because it's like that, I'm not gonna plant it really deep.

- Okay, so we don't have to do anything else with that to plant it?

It doesn't have to be teased or anything.

- That's pretty much it.

That's pretty much it.

And then it's gonna go in the center, and then around, I'm going to choose some marigolds.

- Marigolds.

My dad loves marigolds.

- Yeah, gives it a nice kind of garden feel, you know.

Take these little plastic things out, y'all.

Don't leave those in there.

- And again, we don't have to tease the roots or anything, we just plant it right in there?

- Well, these are pretty loose, so not too much to worry about there.

Now, if it was very, very, just nothing but a white mass of roots and like they're growing out the bottom of the plastic container then yeah, you wanna do something extra.

But, probably not necessary with that.

So there's our marigold, and we've got some nice Verbena here.

Now when you're at the store, choosing your plants, keep an open mind.

So don't have in your head, "Okay, I'm gonna go to the store and I'm gonna buy this, this and this," because they may not have what you need.

- Okay.

- Exactly.

- So keep an open mind about what things could you could substitute with, if they don't have the exact plant that you had your heart set on.

- That's a pretty good size root ball there.

- It is.

You wanna check for nice white roots when you're at the store, choosing your plants.

And this one has a nice root system.

I'm gonna put this one kind of in the front.

And you know, I'm kind of planting these all the way around.

If your container is going against a wall, you can kind of do your tall thing right in the back and everything up in the front, everything else.

But this we're gonna see from all sides.

- Now, do you do this with your containers at home?

- Yes, mostly.

[Chris laughing] - It depends on what-- - Mostly.

- I'm growing in it.

I grow a lot of herbs at my house, so I don't really do this little formula with those.

I have one pot that I really like of my herbs.

I grow lavender, and I grow it in a purple pot.

So when it blooms, it has nice purple flowers, and then in that nice purple pot, I really like the look of that.

So I usually will do a smaller container than this, and grow all of one thing, but then different sizes of containers.

So I'll have like, instead of doing the height in one container, I've got three containers of different heights that I'm planting all one thing in each one.

Does that make sense?

- It makes sense, it does.

So it's kind of a three piece arrangement, instead of an all in one look.

- Gotcha, okay.

- All right, so now I'm gonna start adding in my things that are gonna spill over the edge.

- The spillers.

- Yes.

This are our spillers and they break up the hard edge of the container.

And this is our wave petunias.

- And do we need to pinch if we have something like that on our plants, we go ahead and pinch that off?

- I mean, that's not gonna get any better, so.

Yeah, I can take care of that.

- Just pinch it.

- Now, during the growing season, you have to keep in mind, your containers are probably gonna dry out a little bit quicker than the stuff planted directly into the ground, so you wanna check on the watering probably every day, go out and check your containers and see if they need any watering.

It's also good to have containers for water management.

Can usually take less of water than if you did a huge bed full of annuals, but you get just as much of an impact with your container when it becomes full in the summer.

I'll say you wanna scout for insect and disease problems during the season.

And I'm gonna scoot this marigold over a smidgen to make room.

- Yeah, I would also tell folks to check those pots to make sure they don't have any weeds growing in them.

- Oh yeah, that's a good point, Chris.

And I'm gonna break this up 'cause it's kind of big, this root ball.

And it will not hurt it to get in there and really mess around with it.

It will grow back, all those roots will.

So that's kind of how we do our containers.

Also, you may want to deadhead, your spent blooms during the year, during the season.

And it may not look like much when you first get it planted, but with a little bit of sun and water, it won't be long before it's nice and full for you.

- Right, and this is full sun, so it's definitely gonna get that.

All right, well Tonya, we definitely appreciate the demonstration.

- Thank you.

- Thank you, we can't wait to see what it looks like later on.

- Me too, thank you.

[gentle country music] - A lot of people are afraid to pinch their Coleus.

They're afraid that they're going to hurt the plant somehow or kill the plant.

But pinching is a real easy technique to get a fuller, bushier plant.

Large Coleus like this tend to want to grow just straight up on a single stem.

All you have to do is pinch that stem.

You can use a tool or just a couple fingernails to literally pinch that off, and then all along the stem, all of these little baby edges are gonna keep on growing, end up being a nice, big, bushy full plant.

And with this piece that you've broken off, you can strip off the lower leaves, and stick that either back in the soil to help the plant get bushier, or you can stick it at another pot or directly into the ground, and that should re-root for you and be another plant to go along with your first one.

[gentle country music] - All right, Joellen, here's our Q&A segment.

You ready?

- I'm ready.

- These are great questions.

Here's our first viewer email.

I like this one.

"I love to grow squash of all kinds, "and the squash bug loves me for it.

"I've learned that a few drops "of Dawn dishwashing liquid in a bottle of water "can be sprayed onto said bugs with death imminent to the bug, "but also the plants.

"My dog Riley, a 13-pound Australian Silky Terrier, "who enjoys zucchini as much as I, "would appreciate any information   "that would assist   in the control   "of this menacing little pest.

Many thanks," Shane   and Riley.

[laughing] - I like that.

- I like it.

- That's good.

- All right, so can we help Shane and Riley out?

- Yes we can.

- Okay, all right.

- You know, she needs to scout and find them when they start getting early.

In fact, sometimes when I see mine, they come as little rows of eggs on the leaves.

When I see those   eggs on the leaves,   I actually will make   a hole in the leaf   and just take the   eggs off of the leaf, and squish 'em and take 'em away.

I try to keep up with that, and that has helped a lot.

But if she sees them when   they start to be young,   I mean, I use pyrethrin,   which is an organic insecticide   and I spray in   early, early morning, or late in the evening.

- When those pollinators are not out.

- When there's no pollinators out.

So, you can do that.

And there's other things you can do.

- There's a couple of other things.

Squash bugs are tough.

So scout, look for the eggs.

They look like little bronze footballs, they're in a neat little row.

So yeah, if you see those, like you said, get rid of them.

Or how about this?

The master gardeners here have taught me this.

Double-sided tape.

The eggs are there on the leaf,   pull them off with   the double-sided tape.

Isn't that cool.

- That's a good idea.

- And just take 'em off   and just squish.

'em.

So you can do that.

Something else is crop rotation.

- Definitely, yes.

- You don't wanna put the squash in the same place year, after year, after year.

So yeah, definitely practice crop rotation.

How about resistant varieties?

Look for those.

- There are some.

- There are some available.

- But they still...

Squash bugs are just notorious.

- They are tough.

- With squash,   - Insecticidal soap,   but you have to target   the nymph stage,   with the insecticidal soap.

The nymph stage.

'Cause if not,   then pyrethroids.

Carbaryl is something   else you can use,   you have to read and   follow the label.

Of course you don't   wanna spray that   when bees are out foraging.

So cultural practices first.

Scout, crop rotation, resistant varieties.

Insecticidal soap, know the life cycle, target the nymph stage, pyrethroids, carbaryl.

- Yeah.

- And I think Riley would be just fine.

- Yeah, I think so.

They'll get something to eat.

- Be able to enjoy their zucchini.

- That's right.

- All right, so I hope that helps you out Shane and Riley.

All right, thank you for that question.

That was good.

Here's our next viewer email.

"I have a couple of   young sugar maple trees   "that have the bark splitting.

"Is this been caused by insects   "or could it be a   disease within the tree?

"Are they a lost cause?

"Or can I save them?

Thank you," this Claudia from   the North City, Tennessee.

So how about that?

Love the picture, right?

Good picture.

- Yes, good pictures.

- First thing that came to mind to me cicada damage.

'Cause the female would   actually makes slits   on those young tender   limbs or branches or stem   to deposit her eggs.

If you get a lot of those slits   could be detrimental to   the health of the plant.

- Yeah, sure can.

- The plant could either die or of course it'll be stunted in growth.

But that's classic cicada damage.

- Yeah, the little fraying on it, that's what you makes you think that's what it is.

- Right, and we did have a brood last year, I think sometime.

So yeah, that makes sense to me, to see that kind of damage.

And maples are on the list of trees that they actually like to lay eggs on.

So maples, oaks there's some others, but yeah, it is on the list.

- And just, try to keep it healthy.

- Yes, yeah, good point.

- Put some fertilizer on it this spring, as soon as the buds finished breaking and let it get some nutrients to try to overcome the damage that was done by the- - No, you're exactly right.

'Cause that's the best you can do at that point.

Just keep it healthy.

And there's.. Look, don't worry about spraying a pesticide.

It's not gonna work, it's not useful in that situation.

But keep that tree healthy, I think you'll be okay.

So thank you for that question, Claudia.

Appreciate that.

Here's our next viewer email.

"Something is cutting off   "the ends of my Magnolia   branches in my front yard.

"I have not observed this in   the 10 years I have lived here.

"We have no shortage   of squirrels,   "but I have not seen   them do this in person.

"Any ideas, how and   why this is happening?

Thanks."

And this is Ruth from   east Memphis, Tennessee.

So yeah, good pictures there.

Magnolia branches all over the place on the ground.

- Yeah, they're around my house too.

- So you know about that, huh?

- She's right, it's squirrels.

- It's squirrels.

- They're making nests this time, and you know, they're not that good.

They can't always remember to grab the branch that they're cutting and sometimes it falls down to the ground.

That's what you see there.

But think of it this way, Mther Nature is pruning your tree for you.

- Hey, just a little pruning.

- Just a little pruning.

- You might not like it, but it's a little pruning.

- A little more work for you to pick up, but it'll be all right.

- It'll be fine.

- And it'll stop soon.

- Yeah, pick up those branches of course, dispose of those, but yeah, just a little pruning.

- It's Mother Nature.

- Ah, just trying to make nest.

So there you have it Ms. Ruth.

No need to do anything else.

Don't worry about it.

If you wanna do the trapping method and you can do that, but you have to be patient and persistent with that.

But I wouldn't worry about that.

I wouldn't worry about that.

So, there you have it.

Just a little pruning, by squirrels.

All right, Joellen, that was fun.

- It was.

- Thanks so much, appreciate that.

Remember, we love   to hear from you.

Send us an email or letter.

The email address is   familyplot@wkno.org.

And the mailing   address is Family Plot,   7151 Cherry Farms Road,   Cordova, Tennessee 38016.

Or you can go online to   familyplotgarden.com.

That's all we had time for today.

Thanks for watching.

Did you know that every week we tape more Family Plot than what you see on TV?

Head on over to familyplotgarden.com to see what didn't make it to TV.

Be sure to join us next week for The Family Plot: Gardening in the Mid-South.

Be safe.

[upbeat country music] [acoustic guitar chords]