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

I'm your host Tinisha, Spain and joining me to talk about all things green and growing are two of our favorite panelists.

We're going to have them introduce themselves tell you a little bit about their specialties and then we're going to take some of your questions.

And of course we've got Show and Tell So, Kay, we'll start with you.

Okay.

I'm a Champaign County Master Gardener, and volunteer out at Allerton Park.

And my specialty is herbs and vegetables.

Whatever, whatever else is growing out in the yard.

All right, Miss Martie.

Hi.

Um, hello out there in TV land.

I'm Martie Alanga.

And I'm retired landscaper and I'm asking for a machete for my birthday to beat my way through the weeds.

Get to my front door.

Oh, yeah.

And you haven't even had as much rain as I'm in Vermillion County.

It has been raining daily.

Not just a little bit to rain rain.

So I'll trade you okay, because I'm outside Muddin in zinnias, they're growing Zinnia yard growing.

Here I am with no rain.

No rain.

I'll send some your way.

That's a weird, very strange set of some gutters.

Yeah, run it down.

I'll trade you manure for rain.

It's a deal.

Okay.

All right.

I'll give you anyway.

So the talk of the town as it has been for weeks now are the cicadas and Kate we were talking just a few minutes ago, before the show.

Okay.

You said your house.

You're in Urbana, and you're now we're in Mama's Monticello, I'm sorry.

And you're just crawling.

It's just like, explain how bad it is that you're playing.

even begin to explore.

We just have these swarms of you go out, then they just explode all over everywhere.

And there's piles of the shells under all our trees.

I've been huge piles.

And they're just you said they're just dive bomb and you're flying into is it loud?

Are they noisy?

Yes.

They just just yesterday really started saying they are calling, if you can call it saying yes.

Yes.

We've got some folks who and Marty you're not seeing any right.

Not at all.

I'm not so yeah, bugs.

We got the we got the sweet spot.

My in laws live in Potomac and their farm is also crawling with them.

So we've had a lot of folks into send some pictures here are a couple from Jim and Sherry, Chris shell.

So we've been saying this whole time that they will only damage small trees to lay their eggs.

But we're seeing some plant damage in folks who are having them just really camp under their tree.

So this is kind of blurry here.

But you know, they're not laying eggs in hostel.

They're not feeding on the hostel, but what's going on here?

What are you guys seeing?

Well, you know, she walked around carrying 147 bugs on the weight of the world and waited and waited and waited the cicada.

I don't know.

If it was we know they're not I would knock them off.

I mean, I suppose you could just brush them off.

I mean, it wouldn't bother me, but some people are kind of truly you know, so.

I mean, they're really just in some of the pictures that they sent.

Are you seeing any plant damage?

I'm not really yet I haven't looked really close, but I don't think I've seen any yet.

They're mostly in the face of the trees and around the trees.

Gotcha.

I bet you're right though Marty.

Just the sheer weight and it's really just smother and they're like, I wouldn't recommend mulching with cicadas but clearly these people are not taking my advice.

Look at that.

That's a lot.

They sent a lot of pictures and videos and and it just goes on and on.

I mean they are literally just piled on these people's property.

Here's another one this is before the cicada got our I'm sorry before the hostel got tired, but maybe try a hose Marty that was a good idea.

Maybe try a hose and knock them off.

Brush him off.

knock them off.

Give it a shot.

Just get them off the plant and not hurt.

There's a smell.

Okay, are you is there I haven't noticed it.

Okay, maybe.

I hope I don't have to learn any of this firsthand.

But some people are saying give me think about to die and massive amounts.

I can see where they're probably a little stench there.

So hang in folks Hang in there, but keep your pictures coming because they're given us all the creepy crawlies.

So yeah, maybe try the water hose on the highest setting and blast those babies right off of there.

We have another question and this is a plant ID A Johnny moon sent this one in and said he found this growing in his yard.

And wanting to know if you guys could help out with plant ID I have an idea, but I am the student and not the teacher got that?

I'm not sure what it was Hemlock, poison hemlock.

There's a lot of that around we have we have poison hemlock.

And that that looks just like it.

So what do you do?

Is this one of the ones with a difficult root system?

How do you how do you get rid of yours?

Yeah, I yeah, you have to be careful because you can get on your skin issues.

Now.

Can the leaves brush your skin?

Or is it the latex or just be careful, I guess when you're looking at these.

I'm not, I'm not especially sensitive to them.

But I also don't get poison ivy unless I, you know, I'm really exposed to a lot of it.

I'm just not sensitive that way.

But these things greatly resemble Queen Anne's lace.

And people often mistake it except that poison Hemlock will get like six feet tall.

There.

They're both in the same family and they're in the same family along with carrots.

It's why the foliage looks the way it does.

But when poisoned and like it's a stem on it.

You can see purple, like purple blotches all up and down the stem.

They'll be like a little bruise here, a little spot there.

And that's how you know it's poison Hemlock and not Queen Anne's lace and just by the sheer size of that thing.

Compared to the mulch, I'm gonna say it's poison hemlock.

They have a taproot just like a carrot does and you're going to need to dig it out with a spade.

Get them all the small My friend has one of those little you seen these things they are down and twisting?

No, it's easier than you might need to upgrade my tools you put I should have borrowed it from her brought it and then I have to bring a checker ground and with some dandelion, you know, you slide it right next to the plant.

And then you step on this little lever and you rocked the handle back and goes Sorry.

Yeah.

Oh, wow.

That is easy.

Yes.

Yes.

It's really great.

But back wow.

To look into that.

I'll try to I'll try to bring Yeah, next time.

Next time.

We'll need a demonstration.

Oh my gosh, yes.

Are they hard to control?

Is this invasive?

Is it is it going to spread and go seed and get crazy spread by roots but you got to get them out before they go to seed because the seed the flower head is an umbrella flat on the like, like Queen Anne's lace.

And everyone um turns into a flower and they are amazingly high germination rates.

I get in my asparagus bed and you you really need to get you know I don't want to dig up my my asparagus friends.

But those have got to go those have got to go those and Burdock.

that's those are the these are the enemies.

The real troublemakers?

Yeah, so yeah, be sure you get something that will get the root out.

Get as deep as you can.

Because if you miss a piece, you'll see one there later, you'll see you'll say Okay, Now dig it out again.

All right.

Okay.

Looks like you brought something.

Yes.

This is French lavender.

Not to be confused with any with with regular.

And it's it's really kind of a pretty.

It's actually a perennial.

And it's got this one's kind of scratched.

I haven't.

I just got it and I haven't put it in the ground.

That's all right.

She still loves that it is blooming.

I smell so it's different than the regular because it blooms longer.

Okay.

Balloons all summer long.

And it's not cold towel.

I know.

Sort of Ravello for me.

Relax.

Lay around.

Yes.

Very pretty.

So you said this is perennial.

It'll it'll survive.

No.

Oh, I thought you said perennial.

It's not cold towel.

It's not perennial.

But the sun porch it?

Yeah, you can Yeah.

If you had some place to bring it in, you know, potted up and bringing it no do you put yours in pots?

Or do you put them in the ground and enjoy them that why put a mind in every room for all the pots?

I know.

But then you start thinking I want to save this one.

I want to save this one.

I want to save this one.

And then before you know what you've got 100 pots.

I'll probably try and bring this one in.

Yeah, we'll see what that is pretty.

So you said it, boom, it's got a longer bloom time.

Then Are there any other differences or advantages from regular lavender to French?

Any anything that you like it for above the regular?

Just that they you know they're showy.

I mean, it looks like it's kind of scraggly, but it blooms for a really long.

Got it and that would be pretty in a pot to kind of complementing other things, especially with these.

The long flower stock.

foliage is a little bit more finely cut than English lavender.

Yes, it is.

And but it has the fragrance.

Oh, yeah, yes.

Yeah, that smells really nice.

Don't don't smell your fingers on.

Good.

If you're just tuning in, I'm just say it's French lavender.

Okay.

All right, we've got a question.

Were you gonna say something else?

I didn't mean to cut you off.

No, we've got you know, ever since I started working here, I've noticed that hydrangeas stress people out really bad every single summer.

So we've got no shortage of those questions.

So let's knock those out.

Don wants to know, she's got an endless summer, that's probably 20 years old, hasn't bloomed for a few years, wants to know what to do if she can give it anything?

Or if it's just time to what are your thoughts there?

I I was deeply disappointed in Endless Summer hydrangeas as possibly Kay was as well because they are not as they claim to be unless they're not endless in the slightest.

The ones that are that are pH sensitive, pink to blue to lavender in the middle.

I find them to be incredibly unreliable for rebloom they're supposed they bloom on old and new wood.

First of all, in this climate, I've never seen one with old wood.

They just don't unless you have a perfect little inside corner, face and southwest with evergreens around the mouth of it but still manages to get some sun maybe then.

But Blushing Bride is one of their varieties.

And it's white and then it fades to pink as the name would indicate.

That one is very reliable for rebloom.

But I don't find the pH sensitive ones to be reliable at all.

I don't know what kind of mic she's got hers in.

I have put those in for clients over the years and I'm like, you make me look stupid.

I just don't think there's me and my reputation.

We're gonna have to go to compost.

You're gonna do what you grow.

stays out of that arena entirely.

I don't I don't find them to be an asset.

Really?

I don't.

Okay, like I said, maybe if I lived in if I lived in Kentucky or Tennessee that might be warm enough where they don't struggle.

But here, you know, we got those.

We got a week of like, seven and below.

Yeah, for about five days.

Go by Oh, yes, by big leaf.

I try.

Not gonna do it.

So it has been my experience that I won't, I won't plan them.

I just won't bother unless they're Blushing Bride.

But if they're pH sensitive, they're just not hurting.

Alright, along that same vein, Doris and lamb says her tiny tough stuff.

Mountain hydrangeas have never bloomed.

She's had hers for six years.

She's doing all of the things.

And they are not blooming.

So is that in the same?

Okay, same explanation.

I'm sorry.

Well, those are those are supposed to have a redder.

Bloom color if I'm not mistaken.

And our red hydrangea was like, you know, the holy grail there.

Because everything is pink and blue and purple.

Who had no there's one called What is it burning embers or something like that?

I had one of those.

I was so like it.

My poor heart was broken.

panicle hydrangeas, people just by the other kind of yourself apart.

She's trying to tell yourself the heartache.

They're beautiful.

You know, they they're reliable.

They bloom no matter what they thrive on.

Scientific or other kinds of neglect.

They just I love them.

All right.

You've heard it here, folks.

Okay, let's see.

Kay, you brought in something else?

Yes.

Which I'm interested to hear about this because we've all got this under the counter.

Epsom salts.

Yes.

And they are wonderful for putting on your plants, okay.

Especially tomatoes and peppers.

You just want to sprinkle some around the edge.

Before you can make a tablespoon per gallon of water and spray using foliar spray.

But they give that plant magnesium.

Gotcha.

Tomatoes.

Does that help with loss loss loss My Blooming Mmm, interesting.

So just kind of dress this around.

Yeah.

Yeah, just sprinkle it around the edge.

And, you know, go in with the rain.

And, but you can also like I said, make a solution and just spray it off.

Do you also in addition to this, do you also feed your tomatoes?

And if you do, how do you alternate or can you do Epsom in fertilizer in the same day or you could alternate as I make a mixture of blood meal bone meal and potash.

And I usually when I plant my plants, I put a couple of tablespoons, so that are in the hole.

Gotcha.

Okay.

Do you use do you use Epsom on your?

I do not.

But I'm going to because just in the last two seasons, I've had trouble with blossom end rot.

And I never had trouble with it before ever, ever.

And the last two seasons have been absolutely miserable.

And so I'll be buying some of that.

And I'll be I did not know that you could dilute that and use it as a foliar spray.

Yeah, the things you learned the things you learn on.

tablespoon and again Cal and water.

Yeah, I'll do that.

Now blossom in rot.

Does that have anything to do with moisture rain uptake of water?

Or is that it's mostly just mineral religious minerals.

The available minerals because the plants don't care.

They just want to make fruit because they're trying to make seed because they're trying to survive and yes.

So but the Yeah, the the mineral content in the soil is is key.

And it's cheap.

anywhere anywhere.

Yeah.

Dollar Store down it.

Sure.

Okay.

We'll be getting that and putting it on our tomatoes, and peppers and peppers and peppers.

Elena, speaking of which I know tomatoes are kind of your jam.

How many?

How many varieties are we doing this year?

Well, I had four and I had 12 plants but I'm down to five because I've gotten a rabbit that just don't say we're family show.

Elmer Fudd relax.

I already see the expression on your face.

I didn't spray and I'm just rabid.

Nothing's worked right rabbit.

Yes.

Moving on.

Let's see here.

Season tularemia, but Pac Man says welcome.

Well they don't.

That's you're still talking about eating rabbit this season.

It's just like chicken.

It's just like, anyway, crab apple damage pegs got a tree.

She lost a big branch off of her crab apple tree.

She said she shaped it up the best she could wonders if it's going to recover.

Okay.

And she said it's got a lot of suckers coming up.

So what should she do about those?

And do you think the tree can recover from losing a large branch, the damage to the upper part of the tree is why you're getting so much sucker growth the trees from trying to survive.

But it lost a lot of you know if it's a big branch, it lost a lot of canopy it lost a lot of chlorophyll processing.

It's it had a big wound.

So the suckers at the bottom are its way of trying to keep on going.

If the if the main trunk dies, it's going to try to send out babies, the little ones, just just trim them off.

Don't try to if you absolutely people do this, if you trim off things in the ground, the little sprouts that come up even if they're even if here's the tree and the sprouts coming up over here, just cut it off.

Just cut it off.

Do not put toward on or something on there, because it'll go right up here.

And then you'll call in because your tree died.

Don't do that.

So yeah, cut it off.

Yes.

Right.

You don't have to treat the cuts with anything and you absolutely cannot prevent them with Woody brush healer unless you want to kill your old tree.

Now when you've had clients call with something like this before and you go out what are some things when you're looking at a tree specifically crab apple, what are some identifying characteristics where you know, it's time like Will the tree not leaf out?

What will what are some things that she can look forward to know you'll see.

Tip die back, you know, because crabs are crabs are pretty hardy, but they are and they're fairly long lived for a small tree, I would say but even in larger trees you'll see tip die back even in spring when it leaves out.

You'll still see some little little dead antlers sticking up here and there and it's in decline.

If you have dead branches, you know you'll see them or you'll hear woodpeckers out there or sapsuckers because there's dead wood come in or there's insect population because the tree is in decline.

Remember You get attacks from insects and fungus and bacteria on the weakest plants.

So if you have a tree that's already in or is in decline or it's suffering, and you oh my gosh it's got boars Well, it's got boars, but the other three don't because this one, this one was the weakest link.

Survival of fittest out there, people it's a jungle.

Well, extra water and maybe a little fertilizer, could that boost the NERT?

Okay, I would even you can do granular or that you can also do some water soluble.

Make sure you malted to keep the moisture even, especially on plant that's, that's struggling like that.

So, gotcha.

Okay, I'll do what you can I mean, you got to treat the symptoms.

If you see insects, you know, you can treat them.

But that's still just indicate that the tree is he's gonna go Yeah, yeah, at what point do you decide the trees done for you take it down?

Douglas.

They'll say that because it is it gets I mean, you know, unless you're really into, you know, haunted house trees.

And it's, sometimes they just have to go.

They just, it's unfortunate.

But it you also need to consider the possibility of how much longer do I leave this up before it falls when the garage, okay, or the truck or the mouse?

So you have to do that.

And it's important to keep that in mind notice where it where it's going to fall, if it falls and arrange for when it falls rather than if it falls.

Yeah.

Oh, great.

That's better.

All right.

So Ellen Frederick wrote in that her snowball Bush has lots of dead or bare branches.

It's about 10 years old.

She wants to know if she should cut the whole thing back.

I can see there's a dead spot there.

So if I call you and you're my landscaper, and you show up at my place, what what's the plan of attack?

My first question is, do you want it that large?

Because is it a nice screen, I mean, obviously, those bloom clear to the top, but those are those are a plant that like lilacs get a lot bigger than people expect them to get.

So if I were you, I would get down there at its feet.

And take out the dead branches take as much of the dead out as you possibly can.

And then, again, mulch it take a little care of it.

Those are lovely plants.

And people think of them as a little shrub like a like, like the smaller varieties of hydrangea that was spoken.

But these can be a majestic shrub with a lot of architecture to it much like old fashioned farmhouse lilacs.

So that's what it's going to do what you see in the picture.

You know, help it be beautiful.

I mean, you don't you don't have to keep it in a box.

If you really feel like it's way out of your league, which I'm from picture, I don't think it is, you can cut it all the way down and let it go again.

Just like you can you want to miss or lie lick or anything else.

But at this, at this age and stage, I just take the data because it has a beautiful architecture.

Now if they did want to shape this up, when we talking early spring or after bloom when you know when would be the perfect time to get in there and maybe round some of that and kind of bring it back.

Ordinarily, after spring blooming things particularly or have a you know, there's kind of a rule of thumb you anything that blooms before July.

You wait till after blooms.

And you prune it right away after that, because this is blooming on old wood.

All the growth that this is all the things that you see with flowers on them in the picture have been developing buds since last August, September, October.

And they overwintered reliably unlike some hydrangeas we've spoken of so so if you prune too late in the season, like just to even to shape it up and I don't even know why you would I mean let it let it do what it does.

You know if you're really into symmetry though, yeah, well, you know what it is growing in a tiny little bit there.

So if I were you, I would think about making the bed, bump out around it or plant something, you know, add a little bit in front of it, put some hosta at its feet and put some mulch down over the landscaper you can take the girl out of the business right you know, make it do some different Hey, you know, but it's not as bad as you think.

Just get in there and clean out that dead and take the dead part out and you'll be able to see some legs on it, but I don't think that's a bad idea.

I don't think it's a bad thing.

Those.

That's a That's a beautiful example.

I'm sure it's a little bit lengthier than you want.

And it's got some die back because I see some big trees there.

It's got some shade, but that's also a boon in the summer winds really, really hot.

That's true.

Very true.

Someone, there is your answer.

And that is the show.

We are out of time once I know No, we have more questions.

Is it we're out of time.

They're gonna they're gonna, I will just smell the lab.

Thank you guys so much for coming in.

It's always a blast when when you guys are in the studio, and thank you so much for watching.

If you'd like to send questions or email or pictures or have plant ID or anything for our panelists, send those questions into us at your garden@gmail.com or you can always look us up on Facebook.

We are inundated with cicada videos and pictures right now in our inbox.

So thank you for sending those recipes for cicada thank you so much for watching.

We'll see you next time.

Good night.