Hello, and thanks for joining us for another episode of Mid American gardener.

I'm your host Tinisha, Spain.

And joining me in the studio today are Ella and Shane here to talk about all things green and growing.

So let's have them introduce themselves and tell you a little bit more about their specialty.

And then we'll get started.

So Ella, we'll start with you.

Thanks.

I'm Ella Maxwell.

I'm a horticulturist and a Master Gardener up in the Tazwell County area.

And I have a large yard and I really like perennials and trees and shrubs.

And you managed to find some green this time.

I am Shane Cultra, I'm from country arbors nursery, and I've recently retired from daily operations, but I am a lifetime nurserymen.

And I've worked in the trade since I was in high school.

And so I've been on the show since the 90.

So I've been here Aging Gracefully here on the panel answering questions, and I can continue to do so awesome.

All right.

So you brought lots of stuff to share?

do.

I do it, I brought some evergreen ground covers.

So if Yes, I you're thinking about having something, you know, that's going to look nice through the winter, there's a number of different ones.

And so I just brought a couple of them.

And now none of these are truly native.

And so for our Native people, sometimes some of these can get a little out of control.

But the first one is a juga.

And this is carpet bugle or whatever you want to call it, but it's very just low to the ground.

And it comes in lots of colors.

Now there's a feather kind of series where there's some yellows, and variegation and whatever.

And then I have some of the Vinca perriwinkle.

And of course it has little blue flowers in the spring.

And again, this one can spread.

It has little underground roots and pops up all over the place.

And of course, the English ivy as well would prove That's That's right.

Yeah, you got to, I aggressively trim it off of my house because I don't want it climbing up.

So again, it can just gotta stay on top of it because it can creep out into your grass.

And another one that I like a lot is the pacasandra This is Japanese pacasandra.

This has some little flower beds for next year.

It'll have a white flock see kind of little flower and it makes a really nice evergreen ground cover as well.

And then there are a couple of plants that are perennials and this is an epimedium and it has some evergreen foliage to it as well.

Now I do have a couple of varieties are different species that are deciduous that they have a fall color and then they die.

The leaves are, you know, brown and dead looking.

But these go through the winter as do the hellabores.

So in the next round we're going to talk about one of the hellabores, hellabore Niger that is blooming.

Now its leaf is a little bit different than this orientalist, but fun things to add winter interest in your garden question.

Now these are not covered in your yard other, maybe buy some leaves, right?

So how do you do anything for them with them?

Do you have to water in the winter?

Whoa, this is the best thing about them.

You don't really have to do anything.

Now, these two that I showed the epimedium and the hellebore.

This foliage is from last year.

So this foliage will be replaced and I usually take I trim this off early in the spring before they begin to bloom.

And with this one I just use a weed whacker and kind of go over the top of it and lightly rake it out.

But you could leave it and let the new foliage just come out over the top.

Excellent.

Okay.

Yeah, well I can tell from the plant that that's mostly a shady area because almost right then you had was more shade or right right?

That's well that is true.

Although a lot of these ground covers as aggressive as they are, they can grow in in the sun to maybe not these two perennials, the epimedium or the Helleborus.

But certainly the other ground as you're adding I go well that could be anywhere that could be anywhere and then Okay, now we're getting towards yes cuz I have all the great stuff in the winter that you can have in the shade.

So because people always looking for shade plants and yeah, you just gave a whole selection of did.

Thank you.

All right.

I know people are at home for it too.

Are we taking notes on?

Oh, sure those that they want to have in their yard next year?

There we go.

So it's it's January and pruning is a thing or will be soon, we're kind of getting up to that that winter pruning time.

And so, Shane, you shared some pictures.

Yeah.

So we this is a time of year that which little or was a little warmer than normal?

And you're always looking outside thinking, Is there anything I can do to get ahead of the spring or just something to be outside, we had some decent days.

And so the first thing that I'll tell people is, yeah, take advantage of it and get ahead.

And you just need to ask yourself, What am I accomplishing?

What What am i How am I going to add or detract from the flowering in the spring?

How am I gonna affect the shape?

And how am I gonna affect the health?

Well, at this point in time, you're not going to affect the health really, everything's dormant, everything in Illinois, or the Midwest is pretty much dormant, so you're gonna be good.

So the next question to ask yourself is, how am I going to affect the flowering, so the worst thing you can do is cut off flowers that you could have enjoyed.

So if that happens, you only lost some flowers, you're not going to hurt the plant.

But dogwood is a perfect example.

Dogwood has set up the flowers for next year.

So this is a picture at my house of a dog that I planted recently.

And it has little buds that they're just starting to swell a little bit, but you can see them coming on.

And so anything I trim will take off flowers in the spring.

So in those particular cases, I like to wait to a plant that's going to bloom in the early spring to go ahead and bloom.

And then once it's bloomed, that's a really good time to trim.

So there's that's the case with almost any plant, well, the best time to trim is after it's bloomed, let it do its thing, enjoy it.

And then go ahead and give it a hard trim that works almost 99.9% of the time.

And so that's the next thing that I'm showing is this is a dwarf lilac, this is a really nice lilac, it's been there 15 years, it's only three by three.

And but it does have flower set coming on, I can already see flower buds forming for next year, which you don't see in lilacs too much, but for some reason it does have them.

So I don't normally have to trim it.

But if I'm going to shape it, I'm gonna wait for that to bloom.

And then as soon as it's done on any of my lilacs, I'm gonna go back and trim them.

So I'm gonna leave them alone now.

Because why would I take away from flowers that I that I'm going to enjoy.

The next one is this.

This is an issue when you're evergreens get too big like this one at my front door.

The the ups and the Amazon guys walk in sideways as he comes in there it is, does not have growth underneath.

So the best time to trim these is to after the new growth has come on.

So we get these nice new candles, you can trim those down.

But I've let it get too big.

So if I take that back hard all the way to my sidewalk, I'm going to have open bare spots.

So I can trim it and keep it that size every year.

And that's what I've done.

But I have some decisions to make.

And a lot of people will have those same decisions do do I want to get rid of that plant?

Do I want to have the Amazon person walking sideways?

Right now I've agreed to let them walk sideways for a little while.

So there's no coming back from this, there's no coming back kind of creates can only maintain them, you cannot walk it back harder.

Some people will play the game like I do sometimes where I'll take it back hard.

And if it leaves out a little bit or put some more needles on, then I'll keep it and if it doesn't, I was gonna tear it out anyway.

But almost every time I tear it out anyway.

Now how long does it take not to shame you take to get out of pocket.

That was 17 years ago.

Okay, so I've had a great run.

But I could have easily with any kind of, you know, a cobbler son as no shoes, I could have easily kept that trimmed, it would have taken me five or 10 minutes here.

But no customer mind wants me to shame them and say, Why didn't you just keep it trimmed.

And I can tell you why because I didn't.

I didn't do it either.

So and I know better.

So this is my backyard.

This is not my my backyard.

And one of the unfortunate things of me being a nursery man is I planted a tree in my backyard that doesn't look that big as a scale.

But I can't put my arms around that oak tree.

And that oak tree does need to be trimmed and so I limit up and now is a perfect time to limit up.

I'll start taking off the smaller lower limbs in the winter is a great time to do that.

So any of your trees, except the blooming ones like we talked earlier, it's a pretty good time to trim.

Most people get around to them in March.

But if you can get it this time of year, go ahead and work on your trees.

It's not going to hurt them at all.

Now for this one.

Would you call someone in to do this?

Or would you do it yourself?

I personally can do it myself.

Just because I am a professional.

The bigger stuff like removal, I definitely call in people with equipment.

It's just what you feel comfortable and safe is really the important part.

And did you want to do this one now or come back as we'll do?

We're going to you want to go and answer that question all the time.

But okay, so we've got a question that asks, it's asking about why their hydrangea does not bloom?

We've decided over 20 years that that's the most asked question.

Here it is.

Why does my hydrangea not bloom.

So I'm going to kill two birds or two hydrangeas with one stone here.

And so there are several different types of hydrangeas, there's hydrangeas that bloom only on new growth, there's hydrangeas only grow on old growth.

And then there's new cultivars that grow on both.

And the problem with a lot of people is they don't know which one they had.

So ones that bloom only on the old wood.

If they die back to the ground and only start the next year with new wood and new growth, they're never going to bloom.

And that's a lot of the macro Fila hydrangeas, I always say if it's got a round flower, it's it's it's for the sun, and it's probably good, it could be any of the kinds.

So you really don't know if it's all white, it's almost always the other kind.

arborescens sits next to it.

So if it's pure white, it's the kind bloomed only on new wood, which makes it nice and easy.

And you can trim it anytime you notice I left the flowers on that one, I enjoy the flowers.

And I know I don't have to worry about anything, I'm going to trim that to the ground in the spring completed the ground, and it's going to grow beautiful flowers and new growth next year, the one to the right, I have lazily done nothing, I should be putting the leaves around it and the mulch on top of it to protect it because it only blooms on these that wood that you're seeing.

And if it gets a little bit colder, that's going to burn off.

And I still have time.

And I probably still not going to do we love the honesty, because we're not going to do any more exciting once every seven years for it to bloom every seven years.

It's a long time.

But when I get that bloom, it's just so special.

So I but that is I know that's the case.

And I know that's what's happening.

And so every time I see that it reminds me that my I know why the customers aren't doing it.

But I know and I don't do it.

So my my at least should be sympathetic to tell you you have an opportunity to to have blooms.

The newer varieties say that they bloom on both the the older wood blooms much better than the newer wood.

So the newer ones are better, much better.

That one just planted 17 years ago as well.

So I didn't have that opportunity back then.

Okay, I have a couple of questions.

Yeah.

One, the one on the left.

I have we just moved recently.

And I have these in our yard, but they're on more of like a tree.

Yeah, so that's Oh, that's a different one.

So there's more that I didn't send in the picture.

So there's a third variety.

That is exactly more it's more of us.

It can take a lot more sun, sorry.

So these are more shade oriented, the round ones or shade the pointy or sun.

That's how I tell if you don't know your hydrangeas look at the flower shape.

panicle.

And that's right.

Yeah.

All right.

Yeah.

And yeah, in either the panicle types can take a little more sun and actually prefer a little bit more sun.

But those don't die back so hard.

Those are really good at taking a hard winter.

So they'll stay at six and, you know, six and seven feet tall and not die to the ground, just a little bit tougher plant and I have one of those at my front.

That's, that's quite nice.

That gets a little bit of sun.

And those are the kind when you have a house that has one side with a ton of sun and a lot of shade on each side.

And you want to plant matching things, those panicle types to well, now they're going to be different sizes because of the sun.

They'll both live up to each other.

Do you have these to your eye do all of the above or I have all of the above?

I don't have very many macrophylla is because again, it requires protection.

It's the same way if you have a butterfly bush, you know, you have to give it extra protection if you're trying to do crape myrtles.

You know, maybe someday in the future if we get climate change even more drastic, because we just moved I think half of a zone we did we Yeah.

So yeah, I thought that the Earth would catch us before we develop cultivars, like Earth is moving quicker in temperatures and we're developing cultivars to meet the temperature environment.

Oh good about that.

But but there's lots of opportunity of different types of plants.

And that's why we all plant so many hydrangeas because there really is hydrangea for almost every case in every house, especially newer homes.

You This is the silent my house.

I was in the middle of a cornfield when I planted those.

This is in this is the final one.

This is the ornamental grasses.

A question we get often asked here is when should we trim it?

In my case, if you leave that foliage, it helps protect it right so it's all about protecting it for the winter and coming back.

And this one is a Miscanthus and variegated Miscanthus.

It's a really beautiful plant, and that everything stays so it's the only time I'll ever trim is if it's blowing and breaking off so bad that all the junk is getting my neighbor's yard, trying to be a kind neighbor, but this one stays up and stays there.

So I just let it stay.

And then in the spring, as soon as we see any signs of green, I'll cut it back to the ground.

If I were to cut it back now it's just exposing it, I would need to put more mulch on it, I would need to add to it.

So I'm going to let it do its own job.

I'll let it protect itself kind of kind of like what we had here with all the different plants kind of catching the leaves and catching its own little blanket.

From all of you, I've learned the value of just sort of having something to look at in the winter.

Like dusting of snow or just, it gives you something to look at, think about.

I say this to the clients and customers all the time.

We're in November, December, January, February and March five months.

That's our longest season.

And right so that's more important than spraying.

And all we do in the garden center.

90% of the plants that are purchased are all plant our spring blooming plants.

When you come in 1.7 times a year you buy all the blooming ones, every garden center, make sure to have button bloom for the spring because I know you're not coming back.

A true gardener knows that winter, having a nice winter interest.

Like we're talking here today is what you want to do.

That's that's when you're going to see stuff.

That's when that's the most important part.

The other stuff too easy springs, easy winters, the stuff you have to work on.

Excellent.

Okay.

All right.

Oh, we are back to you.

Okay.

Wow.

Well, I did bring in a winter blooming perennial that's in my yard.

This is Helleborus Niger.

This is the Christmas rose.

And so it's doesn't have a lot of cultivars like the Helleborus orientalist, which is the Lenten rose, which will be blooming in early in spring.

But this is one in my yard, and it blooms every Christmas.

But sometimes if we have really cold temperatures, the buds are damaged.

And so this year, it stayed practically in the 40s.

Up until Christmas.

Well, until next week, everyone.

So they bloomed and I sent in some pictures.

And one thing that I do is I cover this with a clear umbrella.

So it goes over the top.

Interesting now how do you secure it?

It's it's on a post, I push it down into the ground is really small.

They they my husband bought them from some supply company years ago when I poo pooed them, but it really does nice to kind of protect this and keeps the winter winds.

I mean, it doesn't really insulate it that much when it goes really cold.

But does the umbrella touch the ground?

Yes.

Okay.

Yeah.

So it's like a sticky?

Yeah, gotcha.

And the top, the top of the real ones had a handle that you can pull it out.

But now I look for clear umbrella when I'm thrifting.

And just because you know, they don't last forever.

Sure.

But this is just, it's just so beautiful to go out and see something.

And you can see that there's just all kinds of little flowers still coming.

So it does bloom for a really long period of time.

But I don't know if there's really been that much emphasis on cultivars, and of course in the spring, the bees will be pollinating and my regular hellebores recede, you know all over the place, but because there isn't a lot of insect activity at this time of year.

You know, these have never really set viable seed that I've had success with.

Talking about things to look at in the winter.

That's perfect.

Yeah.

Okay.

Let's go to a question.

This is from Diane Armstrong O'Connor, she asked about elephant ears.

She said she bought two large elephant ears.

They're in pots right now in a heated basement wants to know she can leave them in the pots or if they need to be taken out of the soil to overwinter.

Yet, it's much easier to overwinter them if you have the space in the pot.

Because they they often won't die back especially if you have a heated somewhat lit basement.

And even if they do, all you need is the main bulb anyway.

So it's it's much easier to keep them in a pot if you have the space.

As a matter of fact, if I have them in the yard, I'll dig them up and throw them in a pot and then throw them in the basement just because I don't want to shake them off and I don't want to start over because that new growth generally doesn't, doesn't go back so you can still if you're five feet tall, you can keep it five feet tall, and then have it six feet tall.

If it gets that tall, you're able to get that so you can dry them and put them in peat moss and put them in but that's a whole nother thing.

And as we discussed, maybe two months ago the LED grow lights are so cheap now for $30 you can actually have it put on growth.

Elephant air, I've got a $10 one at my desk and it keeps my plants I mean it's they're just crazy.

If you can stick them anywhere, they're all over so much of that technology that I just did I feel so old because you know, I just remember buying the expensive grow lights and building all these things that now I can buy it on Amazon or wherever it stick it in a pot, and price looks truly in the pot.

And yeah, and every pot has its own little light.

And it costs $10.

He said and to have herbs.

And you know, I'm just fascinated that LED lights have really changed the world as far as in our world and plants and then in the home to, you know, it's just a future is now I let I let my elephant ears though dry back.

Do you take them out?

No, I leave them in them in the bud.

They just they go dormant because I put them in a back room that has no light.

And I don't I have enough houseplants to water that have to stay alive.

I don't need to water something and care for something.

And so I have some big elephant ears, I have some quotations and allocations.

And of course, the you know, the cannas and all of those kinds of bulbs, and I just let them all go, they all just need even even if you break, right, I even let my banana tree go dormant.

Yeah, that's a good.

Do you need to periodically do those plants need to go dormant?

I guess if you're living in a tropical area.

So okay, yeah, I just wondered, you know, because some of those they they need.

Yeah, some of the bulbs like the tulips and those kind of do get a cold period.

And a lot of perennials need that as well.

But but those are, right.

Okay, yeah, you've got a couple more ideas.

Real quick.

I want to get to those.

I want to share a book that I read this winter.

I just finished it how plants work.

The science behind the amazing things that plants do this is written by a horticultural professor, Linda Scott, and she lives out in the Pacific Northwest.

But I, of course, took some physiology classes while I was here at the University of Illinois, getting a horticulture bachelor's degree.

But some of the interesting things she talked about and is, is the fallacies that we have.

And one is on twining vines.

It used to be thought that if we lived in the northern hemisphere, because of the rotation of the Earth, the vines twined clockwise.

And if you were in the southern hemisphere, the vines twined counterclockwise, I'd never there's the Coriolis effect, or something.

But that does not work for vines.

Vines don't don't read those books.

And so what they did is they found out that 90% of the vines go counterclockwise all across the world.

And so I decided I was going to go find out.

What did I have?

And how did they twine.

And so I brought in this as a key BIA.

And again, a twining vine.

That's the way it climbs, and it is counter clockwise.

And then I do have some problems with some Japanese honeysuckle.

And it happens to twine clockwise.

So it was like wow, I've got one of the each well actually I have a whole bunch of other things too.

But I was like the clematis, Wisteria.

Some of those different things that are twining and it she explains how the the physiology of it all is.

And then the other thing that it talked about was some of the colors in the winter foliages as well is anthocyanins and this is a water soluble pigment that produces that kind of the purpley red color.

These are the ones that are high, you know, you want to eat berries because of antioxidants and all kinds of things but the plant itself on broadleaf evergreens, I brought a boxwood in and then this is Mahonia or Oregon, grape poly, you see the purpling of the foliage, and this helps to these pigments in the leaf help to protect the leaf from desiccation, because they can hold the water in the plants and then in the spring, they kind of go back to green.

Interesting.

It was it was the coolest thing.

I was like, I never see it on your evergreens.

It goes to an amber color, like especially your junipers.

Yeah, yeah, a lot of evergreens and broadleaf, evergreens can get kind of that purpling but it was also purpling that we see in some of these overwintering perennial plants, where this helps to protect this sells the anthocyanins hold the water molecules so that they don't, they become super cool, the water is super cooled and it won't resist freezing.

So she gives all these all these just all kinds of things about how geo tropisms and how roots grow down, and then how gravity affects and all these different bits of it all that that's neat that people look at that, yeah, look at a vine and say, why does it does that do that do other values, right?

Because percent so this and this.

So Chicagoland green box wood, the newer varieties were made to not get that color.

So they sell them and they promote them as we sell this and this is better, because it doesn't turn an amber color and keep this beautiful green in the winter.

And then these others Mahonia is there's newer varieties that say we like this better because it turns purple.

Yeah.

So they're just marketing remarks.

Yeah, exactly.

Do you want it to turn the color or do you not want it to?

And so it's, but it's natural to do that.

That's fascinating.

Yeah.

And we're out of time.

We could do a whole other minutes but that is it.

Wonder if your seed catalogs are coming in mind or get your orders in right before they all are all sold out.

Thank you guys so much for coming in.

Thank you so much for watching.

If you've got questions, send them into us at yourgarden@gmail.com or you can leave us a message on Facebook or Instagram.

And we will see you next time.

Goodnight