Narrator> Making It Grow is brought to you in part by Certified South Carolina.

This cooperative effort among farmers, retailers and the South Carolina Department of Agriculture helps consumers identify foods and agricultural products that are grown, harvested or raised right here in the Palmetto State.

McLeod Farms in McBee, South Carolina, family owned and operated since 1916.

This family farm offers seasonal produce, including over 40 varieties of peaches.

Wesley Commons, a full service continuing care retirement community located on more than 150 wooded acres in Greenwood, South Carolina.

Additional funding provided by the South Carolina Farm Bureau Federation and Farm Bureau Insurance and Boone Hall Farms.

♪ ♪ ♪ > Well, good evening, and welcome to Making It Grow .

We sure are glad you're with us tonight.

I'm Amanda McNulty, I'm a Clemson Horticulture Agent.

And Terasa Lott, my co-host, and also... a Clemson person.

I'm sure glad I get to come over here, because I took Horticulture a long time ago, and things have changed, and I forgot a lot of stuff, but, you know, it's- I just think it's so much fun because I, you know, I learn about the new things that they didn't even talk about when I was there.

> That's right, and it is lots of fun.

And that's important for people to know, that science is not constant.

But, science researchers are there to look at how things are changing and then make sure that we communicate that back to folks who can use it to make the best decisions for them.

Amanda> Yeah.

I mean, like, the government brought in kudzu because it was so good for erosion control.

And, I once read in an ancient garden book, "If carefully cultivated, it will come back year to year."

[laughter] Terasa> Isn't that the truth?

Amanda> Yeah, yeah.

Anyways... it's kind of fun.

isn't it?

Brad Fowler, you're a Clemson Urban Hort.

Agent down in Georgetown and Horry.

And we think of just beach, beach, beach, beach, beach.

But y'all have some rural areas where maybe people are doing some agriculture.

> Yes, ma'am.

Yeah, there's a, ton of rural area in Georgetown and Horry Counties.

And, sometimes it may be forgotten about a bit, but we've got a lot of agriculture going on.

You got the traditional kind of row crops, but then you have some more specialty farmers doing some fruits and vegetables and stuff like that.

And so, there's a pretty good, thriving, agriculture community in both counties for sure.

Amanda> Okay.

What, are they doing like berries and things or?

Brad> We got some, some blueberries going on.

Other... different, vegetables, you know, squashes and zucchinis and different things like that.

And then, like I said, you got your traditional, you know, cotton and tobacco and those sorts of things.

Amanda> Still tobacco down there?

I can't remember where they plant tobacco still and where they don't.

Brad> Yeah, especially in Horry County.

Terasa> I think, Horry, Marion.

<Right> But not much beyond there.

Amanda> Oh.

Okay, okay.

Anyway.

Well, I'm glad you made the trek up here.

Brad> Well, thank you, glad to be here.

Amanda> Yeah, we're glad you're here.

Stephanie Turner, from Greenwood, where you're the Urban Hort.

Agent.

And, you said y'all had, that Hurricane Helene kind of came where y'all- > We were hit very hard by Hurricane Helene.

Yes, so.

We're still cleaning up.

There was a lot of work to do and a lot of trees down.

We, I still have a lot of homeowners, working with us, especially repairing... lawns from where whole trees have ripped out their lawn.

And they had to have equipment, heavy equipment through.

And so, working with them and trying to help them on that.

And... we've also had, recently, a giveaway to try to encourage people to replace their lost trees.

And so, Trees Upstate partnered with Greenwood County, and our Master Gardeners went out there and helped people, you know, pick out what trees would be good for their landscape.

And we gave 350 trees out, so.

Amanda> Were they native trees?

Stephanie> All native.

Yes.

Different types, you know, different... size, some smaller, some taller trees.

Yeah, some different species.

And so the Master Gardeners helped people select what might be good for their landscape.

And I just, I don't want people to be afraid of trees in their landscape.

And that's what, you know, Helene really did that for a little while.

And so we're trying to work with people.

Amanda> They're so important.

<Yeah> I mean, they sequester carbon and they just put so much- And they help with rain and- Yeah... and, you know, I don't have air conditioning, if I didn't have some trees around my house, I don't know what I would do.

Stephanie> That would be rough.

Amanda> Yeah, yeah.

I mean they're just wonderful for shade.

Well, thank you.

I'm so glad your master gardeners up there... the Lakeland Master Gardeners.

Stephanie> Lakelands Master Gardeners.

Amanda> They are the bomb.

Stephanie> They are the bomb.

They're so active and very helpful and passionate about what they're doing.

Amanda> Brandon Huber, who has a PhD in something or another... plant... Dr.

Huber> Yeah.

Yeah, horticulture in general.

[laughter] And, you grew up in Philadelphia?

Dr.

Huber> I did, yeah.

Amanda> Okay.

And now you live in St.

Matthews.

> Yeah, I just love growing plants, since I was a kid, even though I was in a big city.

I did a lot with the Philly Flower Show it was really influential.

<Whoa!> So, Yeah, it was kind of cool.

Amanda> Yeah.

And now you're at South Carolina State.

Right over there in Orangeburg.

Dr.

Huber> That's right.

Yeah.

Amanda> And, you're a research scientist.

Dr.

Huber> Yeah.

Yeah, research scientist.

So basically, a faculty member.

So I do 75 percent research and 25 percent extension dealing with, greenhouse production, high tunnels, controlled spaces, hydroponics, and that sort of thing.

<Okay> But, I also deal with vegetables, like tomato, pepper, and watermelon.

I deal with those a lot.

Yeah, it's kind of my background and experience.

Amanda> Yeah, yeah, yeah.

So, what do you- What's good in a high tunnel in our part of the world?

What are they used for specifically?

Dr.

Huber> Well, you know, we're doing some... variety trial testing, to see you know, the feasibility.

You know, a lot of farmers got high tunnels as part of the EQIP Program.

You can as a farmer, you can get a high tunnel, for, basically subsidize.

But the question is what do you do with them?

And especially in South Carolina, it's already kind of hot.

<Yeah> And so we're trying to, you know, make sense and look at some economic modeling and stuff like that.

<Okay> So, you know peppers do really well.

They're very useful in the fall, in the winter, fall, winter, spring months.

And, you know, it really helps people get into the ground earlier.

So if you're growing tomatoes and peppers, you can have the first crop in the area.

Amanda> And that's when you get more money.

Dr.

Huber> That's right.

So you really have to kind of look at that.

and you know, it's got to make sense for you.

We're trying to map out some of that for South Carolina.

Amanda> Okay.

Thanks a lot.

Yeah, yeah.

And... we have Clay Owens, who's the, South Carolina Orchid Society President.

And he came down, I think, not too long ago and showed us how to repot orchids, which would be interesting because their root structure, is really not very rooty.

As far as I know.

So it's good to learn all about that.

And, let's see, Terasa, I bet we have some "Gardens of the Week."

Terasa> You know we do, Amanda.

Our viewers always come through for us.

This is your time to show off what you're growing in your yard, your garden, could be house plants.

Maybe you've captured one of South Carolina's many beautiful places.

We begin today with, Actually, a Clemson Extension employee Patricia Whitener sent in an absolutely beautiful wildflower meadow.

From Kevin Overbeck, we have fungi that recently emerged after some rain in Berkeley County, possibly the jack-o'-lantern mushroom.

Appropriate given we are close to Halloween.

From Sharon Templeton, a Mandevilla, "that just keeps blooming," she said in Murrells Inlet.

Larry Hines shared Autumn Sedum by the driveway, which he said, "is attracting many pollinators."

And we wind up today with Carolyn Nimberger, who shared an eastern tiger swallowtail visiting Sunchokes in Walterboro.

Lots of diversity there.

Thank you so much for sharing your photos.

You can visit the remaining photos on our Facebook page.

And when you see us make a call for "Gardens of the Week" I hope that you will consider posting your photo right there in the comments.

It may appear on air.

Amanda> Well, thank you and thanks to everybody who contributed.

We sure appreciate it.

Okay.

Well, I bet some people would like some help with what's going on in their yard, Terasa.

Terasa> They would, we are going to try to help Danny first, who reached out from Conway and said, "What are these things growing out of my weeping willow tree?"

And thankfully we have a photo so we don't have to use too much of our imagination.

Amanda> Okay.

Brad, what the heck's going on?

Brad> Yeah.

So, it's a little bit of an odd looking, picture.

And not something I have seen a tremendous amount, but I believe they are adventitious roots or air roots, may be another term for them.

Essentially, probably something has happened to that tree.

Maybe, environmentally, it is not happy in some way.

And so... I think that it's probably putting those roots out to, you know, as kind of a, a response to that to try to help, save itself in a way.

I mean, those... growths probably won't do much and they're probably not going to get, you know, very big or anything like that.

They may end up drying up and kind of falling off.

But, it may be an indicator that something else is possibly going on with that tree or in that area, or may not be.

Amanda> Well, you know, we had a long dry spell and willows, I think, like water.

Brad> Right.

Exactly.

Amanda> They really do.

So maybe it had something to do with- I don't know how long it would take them to decide to put out an adventitious root or not.

Brad> I don't either.

And the weird thing is, a lot of times I would say that it would be something that stays too wet or could be a reason that it would send those out.

But yeah... willow- Amanda> They really like- Brad> Kind of likes the water.

So, it's definitely an odd one.

And I think it's important to note that at times we do get some strange pictures of some strange things, and we don't have a whole lot of research or knowledge on it.

And so, you know, it can be a little tough to figure out exactly what's going on, for sure.

Amanda> We have a lot of eyes on the ground.

Brad> That's right.

Amanda> And isn't it wonderful that people ask us for help?

I just think that's terrific.

Oh, great, great, great.

Okay, well, Terasa?

Terasa> So sometimes we have questions, but we also get to utilize show and tell items.

And Stephanie brought one.

That we were commenting before the show "is just so beautiful."

Amanda> Oh, my gracious.

Stephanie> Yeah.

So, this is a fun little treat that, one of your past panelists actually gave me, Katie Dickson.

<Yeah> Yeah, from down at Boone Plantation.

She... at Boone Hall.

She gave me this, and it's been growing happily all summer, and it kind of looks like an ivy, but it's actually a sweet potato.

Amanda> Uh-huh.

Stephanie> So it's an ornamental tricolor sweet potato.

And I've been enjoying it- Amanda> So how did they start having ornamental sweet potato vines?

Stephanie> Well, I was talking to Brandon earlier- I'm gonna let him pitch in and help me with this one.

What were you saying about that?

Dr.

Huber> Well, my understanding, and I think they came from many avenues, but, you know, breeders of sweet potatoes- When I was at North Carolina State doing my PhD, they were, they're... a big sweet potato breeding program, and they prefer eating sweet potatoes.

You know, they've developed some varieties, and every so often when you're doing these breeding crosses and you're generating thousands of offspring, you get a lot of mutants.

And so they were discovering purple leaf varieties and green leaf varieties.

<Come on> Well, like limegreen and variegated- And I'm not sure that one came specifically from them, but they were kind of mutations.

And so, they just became a cool thing.

Amanda> Gah.

And so they don't make a tasty sweet potato?

Stephanie> They make those tubers, but they're starchy.

They're not something you would enjoy.

Amanda> I love sweet potatoes.

Stephanie> Yeah, yeah.

Amanda> Isn't that the prettiest thing?

Stephanie> Yeah.

And so I thought, you know, as it gets, the frost comes on, and cuts it back.

I'm going to take some of these, bring them inside and root them in some water, and just kind of keep them as a living bouquet over the winter.

<Yeah> And then I can put them back outside.

And, you know, if my, if my tubers don't overwinter, I'll have plants again next spring.

Amanda> Yeah, yeah.

Oh, that's the prettiest thing.

Isn't that amazing that here they were looking for different sweet potatoes for us to eat and they came up with something beautiful for us to have in the house.

Stephanie> As gorgeous mutant.

Both> Yeah.

[laughter] Amanda> Great fun.

You could make a hat out of that very easily.

I'll have to keep that in mind.

Okay.

All righty.

Let's see, Terasa?

Terasa> Well, in keeping with our show and tell theme, Brandon brought some cool things.

I think maybe some, starfish flowers.

But these are not things that would be associated with the ocean.

Not, that kind of starfish.

So, let's see what you got.

Dr.

Huber> So I have... I have three species, and this, <Whoa!> these are starfish flowers.

They're actually from the, milkweed family.

But there are a lot of them come from South Africa.

Amanda> So if you break it, it'll bleed, they exude?

Dr.

Huber> Yeah, it's the same family.

And so this is a giant one.

This is the giant starfish flower.

It has a... 12 inch flower.

Big star, hairy- Smells like a dead animal when it blooms and draws flies and whatnot.

And the... So, unfortunately- Amanda> So that's how they get pollinated?

Dr.

Huber> That's right.

Yeah.

And, and unfortunately that one's not open today, so I brought this little one here.

And this is, different genus but same group.

This is the Huernia group.

And that smells really bad.

You want to, you want to give it a smell?

Terasa> The things we do on Making It Grow .

Tastes... Amanda> It's a little stinky.

Terasa> things that turn your mouth inside out.

Smell stinky stuff.

Amanda> I'm gonna put it here.

We can get a pretty picture.

Dr.

Huber> And then this one is- Amanda> It's not... they're not spiky, I mean, they don't... hurt you?

Dr.

Huber> No, no, not at all.

They're just kind of soft spines.

And then here's another, just different species, you know, <Whoa!> it's a fun group.

And, then this one is, this one is a lifesaver plant, Huernia zebrina.

It looks like a little lifesaver.

Amanda> It sure does, looks like a little red cherry lifesaver.

Dr.

Huber> Same group, same plant family.

And they just kind of- They're just weird plants.

As we get close to Halloween, it's just kind of- Thought it was a cool, demonstration.

Amanda> I wonder if they're in places where there were just a whole lot of flies, isn't that strange?

Dr.

Huber> Yeah, must be.

Amanda> I declare, they're right pretty and they certainly are fun to look at, yeah.

So, you need to bring them in, in the winter?

Dr.

Huber> Yeah.

They're very tropical.

So they're not frost tolerant.

Amanda> Are they easy to- Dr.

Huber> Very easy.

Amanda> To propagate?

Dr.

Huber> Very easy, it even dropped a few limbs on, on it's way, transporting it here.

They're very fragile.

And, this one is busting out of its container.

They're easy to propagate, and you don't have to water them much at all in the winter.

Amanda> So if you wanted to propagate one from a cutting, how would you go about it?

Dr.

Huber> Just, pop a cutting off and dry it a couple days and then stick it in soil.

And they root easily.

Amanda> Dry it for a couple of days?

Dr.

Huber> Yeah.

Just to harden, just to make sure you callus that wound a little bit, <I declare> And, quite easy... I'll send you a, I'll give you a cutting.

Amanda> This is so pretty.

I mean, it's a pretty little flower.

Dr.

Huber> And they draw flies.

Amanda> They really do?

Dr.

Huber> They really do.

Flies will actually lay eggs in this flower.

And you'll see maggots form in a day or two after.

Amanda> How lovely.

Stephanie> How lovely.

[laughter] Amanda> Well, maggots are useful for cleaning wounds.

They really are.

They're very useful for cleaning wounds.

And they still do that sometimes.

So don't, you know... I mean, I know they don't seem attractive.

[laughter] Terasa> Brandon, you were mentioning that you had several genera here.

So starfish flowers encompasses not only just multiple species within one genus, but more than one.

Dr.

Huber> Yeah.

So there is Stapelia.

This is the Stapelia gigantea.

And then you have the, these are Huernias.

And there's, there's some other odd genus as well.

There's, I think, there's Edithcolea.

There's... those are less common, but there's at least three or four that are starfish flowers.

And this is an old- This plant's been around- A common houseplant.

You'll find this at old like, plant nurseries.

Even when I was... like, mail order catalogs, when I was a kid, I would see this advertised in like some of those old paper catalogs, mail order catalogs.

So this one's probably been circulating as a houseplant for a really long time.

And these are a little rarer.

But- Amanda> It's is kind of cool.

Dr.

Huber> Just a fun plant, you know.

Really, I don't water this at all, at all, all winter because it rots.

It's very, it only likes water when it's hot and, you know, dormant the rest of the year.

So, very proned to rotting.

But if you leave it alone, it doesn't rot, so.

It's a great plant.

If you need something that you can... you can neglect a little bit.

Stephanie> Yeah.

Don't love it to death.

Amanda> Cool.

Well, thanks so much.

That was really fun.

And, it's not... the smell- Dr.

Huber> It's not too bad.

Amanda> It's not bad.

Yeah, yeah.

Dr.

Huber> This one is really- Amanda> Well, let's be glad he's not, that, that one's... Dr.

Huber> I was hoping it was blooming today because it might not want to be in the studio for long.

[laughter] Amanda> All righty.

Great fun.

Thanks a lot.

Well, Teresa, who else is next in the queue?

Terasa> Let's see what we have.

Steve, wrote in from Aynor and said, "I think when my landscape was installed, a lot of my plants were planted to deep.

What should I do?"

Amanda> Oh my goodness.

Did he say anything about symptoms and things or just asked that?

Terasa> He just asked that.

Although, I do believe we have at least one photo of some example.

So that must give us some more insight.

Amanda> Okay.

Goodness, Brad.

He had a company come and do it, but, you know, sometimes, you know, I mean, people are in a hurry and they may get people who haven't, taken Horticulture at Clemson.

[laughter] Brad> Yeah, exactly.

And I mean, in these type situations, I don't like to necessarily blame anybody.

I mean, these things can happen pretty, pretty easily.

And... but I do see a lot of landscapes where the plants are too deep.

And, while planting something too deep may not kill it, a lot of times what I see is it'll just be stagnant.

It'll never, it'll stay alive, but it won't thrive.

It will never do a whole lot.

And at times it can die as well.

I was at a, in a situation not too long ago where I was looking at some Azaleas for a landscaper because they were, they just wouldn't do anything.

They were planted in the right location, good soil, they just wouldn't do anything.

And so we were looking at them trying to figure out what was going on.

And I said, "Do you mind if we dig one up?"

He was like, "That's fine, because they're not really doing anything anyways."

And so we dig this Azalea up and I start pulling soil away from the top of the root ball.

And the plant was actually too deep in its own root ball.

It had been, the root ball had been planted at the right place, but the root ball was up probably six inches on to the stem- Amanda> Between that root flare.

Brad> Exactly.

And so what we're doing, what we want when we plant stuff is we want to see whether from the stem or the trunk, where it starts to flare out into the roots.

That is what needs to be at or just above ground level.

I tell people all the time, I'd rather you plant something three or four inches too high than an inch too low.

Amanda> Well, the roots need oxygen.

<Exactly> And, you know, it just diffuses in from naturally.

And so if you get deep, there ain't no oxygen down there.

Brad> Exactly, exactly.

And so, it just kind of chokes that plant.

And like I said, it won't always kill them, but they'll just stay stagnant.

And so the question then becomes though, well, what if this has happened in your landscape?

You've got a bunch of stuff that's been in a year or two.

And, it's too deep and they're just not growing well.

Maybe they're sitting down in water or whatever.

What do you do in that situation?

A lot of people ask like, "Well, should I replant them?"

You know, "What should I do?"

My first suggestion to people is try to rake soil and the top of that root ball back as much as you can and see if you can uncover where that, where that root flare is, if you can and you can make that work, you know, maybe you'll be all right.

But at times you may have to dig them up and replant them- Amanda> And you've got to get rid of those roots that are above.

Brad> Exactly.

Amanda> And, you know, we see now I believe now they say, you know, we used to say, "Oh, be careful, don't disturb the root ball."

But now they say, "Do disturb it."

Because you want to see, as you say, where that root flare is.

And then sometimes they're circling roots, kind of stuff.

Is that right?

Brad> Yes, yeah.

You don't have to be very gentle with, with plants.

Plants are tough.

They can, you know, it's actually better for them to cut up that root ball a little bit.

And yeah, if that root ball is up on the stem, pull that soil back.

Take those roots away from that stem or that trunk.

Get that stuff out of there.

Those circling roots, get it out of there.

Same if you have to dig one up, that's been planted, you know, work on that root ball some it's going to be better off to kind of go after it.

The plant will still be happier once you... once you replant it.

So there are times where you might have to dig some stuff up and replant them.

There may be times where, "hey it just didn't work out with that particular plant."

And you have to, you have to try again.

Amanda> And the fall would be a better time to do it than the spring.

Brad> Now is the time to do it.

And so, if you're going to do something like that, don't do it in the middle of the summer.

That's a tough growing environment.

Do it this time of year, where it- Especially on our woody trees and shrubs where it has a little time to get established.

You're not having to water as much.

The temperatures are cooler.

It's a little easier on the plant.

Amanda> Well, and, Terasa, when I was still in the office over in Sumter, this person had bought these real expensive trees.

You know, a little tree will outgrow a big tree.

But, he bought these real expensive trees and they all died.

And he said, you know, "I did everything right.

I dug this wonderful hole and I filled it full of compost and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah."

And, I mean, I think they kind of rotted in the hole.

Brad> It's very possible.

One thing that, you know, growing up, you know, my grandma was a wonderful lady, but she always taught me to plant things, and you pour potting mix or whatever back in the backfill with that.

That's not a good idea.

All we've done at that point is created an in-ground pot for that plant.

Amanda> And they hold water- Brad> Those roots circle in there and it holds water in there instead of going out into the native soil.

Amend your entire planting area don't just, backfill with compost or potting mix.

Amanda> Yeah, yeah.

So when I plant stuff, I just... you know, make sure not to plant it deep and then I don't do much about it, but sometimes I do put, when I put the mulch on it, I'll put compost on top of the mulch.

<Yes> And, you know, but a pretty big mulch, you know, because a little, that ain't gonna help you.

A little mulch like that, it's like an Easter hat, Brad> Exactly.

Amanda> Yeah, yeah.

Stephanie> And when you dig the hole, you know, like, you measure... measure twice, cut once.

When you dig the hole, don't start so aggressively, a really deep hole.

<Yeah> You know, start shallow and then put your plant in and see if you need to go a little deeper.

<Oh yeah> Because when you backfill a hole that soil compresses.

And so then, now you thought you've planted it at the right level, and it sunk.

Amanda> It's really important, oxygen is very important.

Brad> People think like planting is a really simple thing.

You dig hole, put plant in the ground.

But there's some things you can do to really ensure the success of that plant.

When you are, when you're planting it.

It's really important first steps.

Amanda> Okay.

So, knock it out of that pot and look and see what the roots- Cause I think in the industry, when they're, you know, they have to start things in small pots, you can't put something in a great big pot because the root and the, you know, it's just not gonna work right.

And so they're moving them up and they're all, you know, trying to do their very best, but you got a lot of them to do, I think, isn't that right?

Brad> Exactly.

So, you know, as they get upsized into pots, more soil is going to get added and eventually that plant will kind of become too deep in its own pot, in its own root ball.

And it's not necessarily anybody's fault.

It's really up to the landscapers, it's up to us when we're planting to make sure that we appropriately... you know, deal with that root ball and get it to where it should be before we put it in the ground.

Amanda> Okay.

Well, I've wanted to, talk about my hat because, you knew one of these plants that I don't think anybody else pays any attention to.

And it is the... I had to write it down.

It is the Roundhead bush clover.

And, it was, it's on the side of the road.

I mean, this thing was, had a skinny, skinny little stalk going up with a lot of stuff going on, on the top.

And I looked up about it and, anyway- And it said that "it's the host plant for the eastern blue tail, Eastern tailed-blue."

Which is, apparently this lovely little blue caterpillar.

I mean, blue, blue butterfly, the Eastern tailed-blue.

So I looked that up.

And then it's a nectar producer.

And, the seeds are great for quail and all.

And you said you've got some- You've got a funky yard, I'm just gonna go ahead and say it, I like it.

Dr.

Huber> Yeah.

There's some growing on the edge of the forest line.

And some of the sandy, at the edge of the Ag.

field.

It's kind of a- I was wondering what it was for a while and the- But it comes up and grows in random spots.

Amanda> Yeah.

Roundhead bush clover.

Terasa> Amanda, I can't see your hat because almost all the flowers are- Amanda> Oh, oh, oh, I'm so sorry.

Terasa> I know our viewers want to get a good look.

Amanda> No, no, no, no, no.

Anyway.

And then the yellow one, I've been seeing all the time, and I finally stopped and got some, and I used to, you know, we called "swamp sunflowers" things you'd have in the, you know, that would kind of be real vigorous.

And I don't know if this is one of those- But anyway, it's called, let's see... This one's called "purpledisc sunflower."

I don't see much of a purpledisc, but it was, it's real pretty and it had cool leaves.

The leaves were at the bottom mostly, and then it had the stalks coming up and the leaves at the bottom were funky.

They were kind of big and fat and, you know, it's funny when you stop on the side of the road carefully, you know, and, and start getting out there, and looking around, you just don't know what in the world you might find, it's kind of fun.

Terasa> There is so much to see.

If only we have the time to open our eyes and look.

Amanda> Yeah.

I'm so glad I don't go home, you know, on busy, fancy roads.

Because, I do stop fairly often, anyway.

But I try to be real careful.

Okay.

All righty.

Terasa.

Terasa> Goodness.

Amanda> I know.

[laughter] Terasa> Let's see what we might have, next.

We have an identification question from Jenny in Greenwood.

Sent us a picture and said, "Can you identify this tree for me?

I'm worried it might be an invasive species."

Amanda> Ooh.

Well, there are plenty of those out there?

Stephanie, is she right to be worried?

Stephanie> Yeah.

So she sent us a picture of tree of Heaven.

And it is invasive.

It is, throughout South Carolina.

Likes disturbed areas.

Amanda> You know, you see them, like, right beside a building or something.

I mean, they don't seem to be real picky about where they- Stephanie> Yeah, they're pretty widespread.

But again, it's like disturbed roadsides, along railways along forest edge.

You might see it kind of creep in.

But the thing about it lately, you've probably seen it in the news quite a bit because it's a preferred host plant for the spotted lanternfly.

And so it's actually, you know, from the same area.

So those, it tends to attract- Amanda> A new invasive pest that, already here... invasive pest.

Stephanie> So they, it's, it's interesting because when you're looking for spotted lanternfly, if you do know there's some tree of Heaven in the area, it's a good way to kind of gauge if they've kind of come to the area yet or not.

But they're... they're good to remove, but they're very tenacious.

So you're not going to like, just cut it.

You're going to have to, do a cut stump application of a glyphosate or... <Yeah> yeah, an herbicide on that cut stump, because otherwise when you recut it, you'll just get lots of sprout regrowth.

Amanda> And if you cut it, you can't wait to paint it the next day.

Don't you need to do it right away?

Stephanie> Right away.

<Okay> Right before those cells start, you know, drying up and covering off.

Amanda> That's the tree, interestingly Terasa, in A Tree Grows In Brooklyn.

Terasa> I had no idea.

Amanda> Which, you know, it's a book.

I'm so old, I read it when I was little, but, I thought that was kind of interesting.

And I bet it did grow in Brooklyn, because, like you say, it can grow just about anywhere.

I mean, now, of course, Brooklyn is beautiful.

They have wonderful trees all over the place.

Dr.

Huber> I've seen those in Philadelphia covered with lantern fires, it really does draw them.

Amanda> Oh, my goodness.

Dr.

Huber> In recent years, they weren't there when I was a kid, but... Amanda> Yeah.

Oh, mercy, mercy, mercy.

Well, what in the... [knocking sound] world have we got here?

Dr.

Huber> Well, we got, so thinking fall festive- We got gourds.

[laughter] It's time for, it's gourd season.

This is... a bushel gourd.

And so this- <Goodness> Amanda> Looks more than one bushel to me.

Dr.

Huber> This is a previous- This was grown, a year or two ago in my yard.

It weighed 155 pounds when it was heavy, when it was green.

<Wow!> And it dried out.

And now it's only like about, you know, maybe- Amanda> Let me see.

Dr.

Huber> A pound or two maybe.

Amanda> Uh, yeah, it's a little bit heavier than that.

Dr.

Huber> But what's cool is you can make things out of them.

I mean, this can make a nice, like... not like a birdhouse gourd, but it's for large- You can make a cat house out of it, and it's just, it's got all the seeds in there.

Or maybe an owl house.

Amanda> That'd be fun, yeah.

Dr.

Huber> And they're fun to grow and, they get really big.

And you were at the house, recently just to look at the pumpkins and watermelons.

Well, this is kind of the same theme.

But these are also competitive.

But they're cool.

You can... make bowls out of them, and, you know, whatever really, sky's the limit.

Amanda> You want to pass it down.

So everybody can look at it up close.

So, if you wanted to do something, you could harvest it when it was smaller if you wanted to make something smaller out of it, I guess.

Dr.

Huber> Yeah, the genetics on that one is, is kind of bred to be big.

But you know, if you, if it's in a, in a favorable environment, they get really big.

I even made a lamp out of one of them.

Amanda> A lamp?

Dr.

Huber> A lamp.

I have a table- One of our, the table lamp is made from a gourd.

Amanda> You'll have to send us a picture of that.

That's pretty interesting.

Dr.

Huber> That's pretty cool.

They're just fun to work with and, <Yeah> fun to grow.

Amanda> Do things like the seeds when you- Have you noticed?

Dr.

Huber> For... like, the seeds inside.

Amanda> Yeah.

Does anybody like to eat them or?

Dr.

Huber> Well, they're kind of hard to get to because you have that- I just say the seed, they're kind of like a cucurbit seed.

Amanda> Oh, okay.

[laughter] Dr.

Huber> What's cool about gourds is they're nighttime pollinated.

Amanda> Are they?

Dr.

Huber> They have an actual night moth that comes at- So when I, when I go out there, because, like, with the competitive... you go out there with a headlamp at night, 8:00, 9:00 at night and hand pollinate.

But there's these hummingbird moths that come out and they do their pollinations.

Whereas most cucurbits pollinate in the morning, 8:00, 10:00.

But there's an actual area of bottle gourds all have that strange mechanism.

Amanda> What?

Dr.

Huber> And then this one- Amanda> This looks like a didgeridoo or something.

Dr.

Huber> So I actually have a friend who makes didgeridoos.

He always reaches out to me.

He says, "Hey, you got any extra long gourds?"

This is a long gourd.

Amanda> It's pretty long.

Dr.

Huber> And, I grow these on a big trellis.

And as long as I keep them up vertical, <Oh!> they don't curl.

<Dang> And so they're just fun to grow.

And it's, it's pretty amazing to see the trellis with all these things hanging down.

It's just kind of like, it looks out of this world- Amanda> And it'd have to be pretty strong because when they're fresh, I mean, they could be pretty heavy, couldn't they?

Dr.

Huber> Oh, yeah.

They're heavy.

So you got really secure them.

And a lot of times they pull themself off their own vine.

Here, just pass this down <Okay> But, they're, just fun to grow as well.

Amanda> And I don't know that we told people but you grow competitively pumpkins and... watermelons.

Dr.

Huber> That's right.

So there's giant pumpkins, giant watermelons.

There's these giant gourds.

And then the long gourd is for length.

Amanda> Terasa, if anybody, if they get out of hand you just bop them in the head.

Terasa> I was actually... "knighting" Brad.

I was making a... [laughter] Brad> This could be my this one here can be my... can be my helmet.

[laughter continues] Amanda> So, you just want to be sure that they got pollinated?

Dr.

Huber> Yeah, you know, they say something like for a watermelon to be pollinated- Amanda> 25 visits.

Dr.

Huber> 20 something visits of a bee and, you know, when we're growing competitively, sometimes that window- We might want to make a controlled cross to make sure it's not being crossed with the bottle gourds that I grow next to them.

<Oh> And so I want to preserve the seed and maintain that line.

Amanda> So you're out at night waiting for the flower to open?

Dr.

Huber> Yeah.

Well they're, they're open about as soon as the sun goes down.

Amanda> Okay, so you don't have to stay up- Dr.

Huber> The moths come out.

And it's, it's a good time because during the summer, it's so hot.

You know, it's a good time to go out in the garden and check things.

But, yeah, as long as you don't step on a snake.

[laughter] Stephanie> And you just let them dry on the vine?

Dr.

Huber> I'll actually cut them and take them to competitions and let them dry.

<Okay> But they will dry on the vine.

And what was cool, one year was I grew them on a tree.

I let it, I had a dead tree and I just let them climb the tree, and they were hanging from the tree.

It was really cool.

Amanda> Yeah, yeah.

Dr.

Huber> I'll have to send a picture of that.

Amanda> I don't know what your neighbors think about you, but, you know- Dr.

Huber> That's the crazy, the crazy gardener.

[laughter] Amanda> It's great, great fun.

And what do you call the society for the preservation of pumpkins, giant pumpkins?

Dr.

Huber> The Giant Pumpkin Commonwealth.

So they're the entity that oversees the, that officiates giant pumpkin's weight, you know, at these competitions.

They certify, so the scales have to be certified, and, there's... prizes and you know- You know, it's a world competition, it's not really just locally at the county or the state level.

It's actually we're competing- Amanda> Around the world?

Dr.

Huber> We're competing for each other in this database and it's a worldly thing, you know.

And some of the biggest watermelons come out of this region, the Carolinas and, this kind of area.

So it's- Amanda> That's exciting.

Dr.

Huber> A good group to be a part of.

Amanda> That's exciting.

<Yeah> Well, thank you so much for bringing all that over.

That's... that's really, really fun.

Yeah, yeah.

Okay.

Well, as I said earlier, Clay Owens came down and told us how to repot an orchid.

And, you're going to do it a little differently than a lot of other plants.

> Hello, my name is Carmen Ketron.

I'm the Urban Horticulture Agent for Clemson Extension in Florence and Darlington Counties.

And today I'm here with Clay Owens of the South Carolina Orchid Society.

Clay> Hi, how are you?

Carmen> Good.

How are you?

Clay> I'm doing great.

Carmen> Excellent.

So, one of our big questions, always with anyone who comes in and ask me about orchids is "How do I care for it?

Did I kill it?"

Things like that.

Can you help us?

> I am definitely here to help you.

If you give me a little bit of time, I can ease all your fears and show you how to make sure you're successful with orchids that you might buy in your local stores or nursery and garden centers.

Carmen> Wonderful!

Where do we start?

Clay> So, the first thing that happens is most people say, "I bought an orchid, what do I do?"

Fantastic.

Well, these are the most common orchids.

You have the Phalaenopsis or moth orchid.

You're going to find these in stores and they come in mini, medium, or standard size.

Any one of these has the exact same care requirements.

They will stay in bloom up to three months.

So you may lose a few blooms, but they will stay in bloom and could even rebloom for you in that time.

But, you need to know how to take care of your plant to be sure to do that.

The first thing I want to talk about is these plants come in these decorative containers.

These are just decorative.

They are not what you want to keep the plant in when you're watering the plant.

That's why you can take your plant out gently, and you're going to see that they have usually a transparent cup inside.

And that cup has a hole in the bottom.

When you water your orchid, which should only be approximately every 7 to 14 days.

Now, every plant is different because everywhere you grow it is different.

So there is no answer of "how often do I water my plant?"

You water your plant when it needs to be watered?

You can look here and see this plant is very, very moist.

You can see the water, but look at the roots.

The roots are very green.

Green means they've absorbed water.

When they are dry, they're going to be silver color or gray.

Gray means that the outer cover of the root, which is called velamen, is dried out.

When you water it, you're going to make it green and that's how you know it's absorbing the water.

So if you ever think "I need to water my plant," the first thing you do is take it out and look.

If you see water... it's not time.

Let it keep drying out.

They need to have a dry period because they actually breathe through their roots.

Carmen> Fascinating.

Clay> If you keep them in water they're going to drown.

So, make sure that you're doing that on a regular basis.

Water your plant with room temperature water and ideally water it on the side.

Don't water directly on the top.

And I'll tell you why, because these plants normally don't grow straight up and down.

We do that so they look pretty.

They normally grow on the side so the water runs off the plant.

If you let your plant hold the water in the top, it can actually cause rot and it could kill your plant.

Carmen> Nobody wants that.

Clay> That's the bummer of plants.

So make sure it stays dry.

And once you have watered it, let it sit and just drip dry.

When it's completely stopped drip drying, take it back, put it back in your container and put it back where it came from.

That's all you have to do.

You want to put them in an indirect light area.

The rule is let them see light, but don't let the light see them because they can burn.

Think about it, orchids aren't at the top of a tree.

They're in the middle or the bottom where they have diffused sunlight.

That's what they need for care.

You want to have a temperature that's comfortable for you.

Anywhere between 65 and 80 degrees is about the average.

If you're comfortable, if you don't get too much sun and you have a good airflow, that's exactly what the plant wants as well.

Carmen> Easy enough.

Clay> It is.

If you like it, they'll like it.

So once you have your plant and it has stopped blooming like this one, people will say to us, "My plant's dead, there's no more blooms-" Carmen> Hardy all the time.

Clay> And they throw it away.

Your plant's great.

Your plant is beautiful.

Look at these leaves, they're upright, they're solid.

They're very full plant leaves.

Carmen> And they see this, the silver that you're talking about with the roots.

Clay> Exactly.

This means this plant is dry.

So this one has not been watered recently.

So this is a perfect time for us to do a little repotting.

You can see that it's a white root, but the plant is still vigorous and you have two spikes.

The spike is where the blooms used to be.

And you can see all the little blooms have fallen off.

This plant is ready to go.

It doesn't have to be repotted because this plant doesn't need to be in a huge pot.

But we're going to do that today to show you how to take care of your plant.

Now, sometimes... your plant may actually be on the way out.

This is an example of that.

You can see we've got yellow leaves, they're falling off the plant.

This is saying, this plant had water in the wrong way and it's rotted.

You might be able to resuscitate this plant, but honestly, just start over.

Just take this and say "it was a good try," but we're not going to do that one.

And then finally, if this is your plant and you have this on your desk or at home, yes, you have unfortunately found a dead plant.

There's no leaves.

This is brown, it's dried, the roots are shriveled, they're bad.

There's nothing to be done for this plant.

This is truly the dead plant.

So we're going to get rid of this.

And instead we're going to focus on how do you take care of a plant like this.

<Ah> Now, a question that we get asked is, "I have these two spikes.

What do I do?"

You have choices.

Choice number one... first thing you want to do is these little, spikes are held up on these rods.

The rods here, can come out very easily.

So you want to get rid of those.

They're just there to support a blooming plant.

And if you look along the spike you have little nodes.

Each of these little nodes is an opportunity for something to happen.

So, when a plant blooms it takes a lot of energy to produce blooms.

If you want it to rebloom, you can take a pair of clippers just like this and you want to disinfect them.

We do this with alcohol, 70 percent alcohol just like you would for your own cuts or wounds.

You want to disinfect- Carmen> Always good practices.

Clay> And you have a choice.

Choice number one... cut the entire spike off so that all the energy goes into the plant.

You go about a half an inch from the bottom, <Oh> right down here.

And then you're going to just take it and clip it off.

Carmen> Vicious.

Clay> Done.

That's all you do.

And now the energy that would have been in two spikes is going into the plant.

Think about your spring blooming bulbs, your lilies... they have to recharge.

Your Amaryllis blooms, if they're constantly in bloom, you're going to have smaller flowers or it's going to hurt the plant.

Your other option is to again take the, little support rod off.

And now... instead of cutting off on the very, very bottom, what you can do, is you can cut it off at a midway point.

If you've select a node, which I have one right here in the middle, I'm going to cut it right above the node, just like so, at a little bit of an angle.

Now, I want to take a little bit of my alcohol, I'm going to just put it on because it's a wound.

We want to make sure that it's disinfected.

You can put alcohol or ground cinnamon.

Ground cinnamon is great for orchids because it seals the cut and it doesn't allow infection to go in.

Now, one of three things is going to happen.

Number one, this may just turn brown and die off.

You just cut it off.

It's done.

Number two, it may decide to send up another little spike off the side and you can have another set of blooms, probably less blooms and a little bit smaller, but you'll have blooms again.

Or, it might start to produce a little plant with little roots and leaves.

And that's called a Keiki, K-E-I-K-E-I.

It's the Hawaiian word for "baby."

So it's a little baby plant that eventually will grow leaves and roots.

And when it gets large enough, you can cut it off, repot it, and you'll have an exact duplicate of your original plant.

Carmen> How fun.

Clay> So you have all those options.

Now, if you decide, "you know what, my plant needs to be repotted."

If you want to... you say "it's in good shape like this one and I want to change it."

The reason you would repot is number one, the plant has outgrown its pot.

If it does get larger, you only want to go up one pot size, so about another inch in diameter.

Or, you need to inspect the roots.

"I can't see what's happening.

Might be my plant is getting soggy leaves or wrinkled."

Very often, people have wrinkled leaves and they think, "Oh, it needs more water it needs more water."

It's the opposite.

The plant has rotted the roots and it can't take up water anymore but I need to inspect it.

Or, it's been in the pot so long that all of this bark is turning into dirt.

They need to have air flow because those roots need to breathe.

And so if it's been in the pot for some time, you want to refresh it.

You want to give it new nutrients.

And that's what we're going to do today.

This plant has been growing in here for some time.

So what we've done is we've taken a mix and our mix was made with orchid bark, which you can find in the big box stores.

And you want to make sure it's orchid bark.

It's not soil, it's not dirt.

And it looks a lot like this.

There's different sizes and grades, but you want a little medium size, maybe like the size of a dime or smaller.

And you want to put some sponge rock or perlite into there as well, all to create that airflow, so there's space around the roots.

I actually prefer to buy the bark and the perlite that you can see.

The bag has little windows in it, you can actually check it, or if you get in there and feel the bag, you can know how big it is.

And sometimes it's sold with orchids, it tells you the size, it says it's the size of, you know, fine grained, medium, or bigger.

And that's what you want.

The bigger for the bigger plants, medium for the smaller plants Carmen> Need that air.

Clay> Exactly.

That's what you're going for.

And then it's kind of like cooking.

You blend it together.

And so I've created a little mix here that is all of the bark mixed together with some of that perlite.

And you'll notice it's in water.

I've soaked it.

And here's why.

We just said this plant hasn't been watered recently.

And so if I put dry media with this, any water that's still in the plant could get sucked out into the bark.

I want the bark to provide some nutrients instead.

So the first thing I'm going to do is I'm going to take my plant and just gently loosen it up by squeezing the pot all the way around like this.

And then very gently, I'm going to extract my plant.

I'm just going to take it out and hopefully it's going to cooperate with me, and I'm just going to keep moving it around until it slides right out.

Just like so.

Carmen> Like a glove.

Excellent.

Clay> Now, I want to get rid of all of the bark that is in the pot, because it could be old, and it's the only way that I can do an inspection of the roots.

So, we've done this we've gotten our plant and our roots, and now you're going to see something that's very common.

If you look in the middle there is a little plug.

That plug is sphagnum moss or tree fiber.

It's what the plant, when it was a little baby plant was originally put into.

But it doesn't need it anymore.

So we're going to get rid of it And now, it's clear and easy.

Look at these roots.

Feel that root.

What does it feel like?

Is it firm or is it squishy?

Carmen> It's a little squishy.

Clay> It's got a little squish, but it's still firm compared to maybe a root like this one.

Carmen> Oh yes.

Clay> If the root is flat or the root looks brown and desiccated, you want to get rid of it.

So we're going to take our little clippers and we are going to disinfect our clippers with our alcohol.

So we're just going to make sure we have our alcohol.

We're going to make sure this clears it up.

A blowtorch is also great, to make sure that you take care of it.

But no one wants to have me with a blowtorch in early morning.

Carmen> Me neither.

They don't let me play with those toys.

Clay> So then you're going to go in and just clip off any little dead roots.

If you see something dead, like, if this looks suspicious.

Carmen> Oh, see and it's got that papery... Yes.

Clay> So we're going to take that and just clip it off like that.

Now, look at the rest of these roots.

These are some champion roots.

Carmen> Everybody else is looking fabulous.

Clay> I've got one down here.

Do you want to try cutting that one for me?

Carmen> Okay and where... do I cut all the way to the node?

You want to cut down to wherever it doesn't look good anymore.

Carmen> Okay, so that looks, that still looks pretty good.

So I'd probably cut right there.

Clay> There you go.

Carmen> Is that okay?

Clay> Perfect.

Carmen> And then I go back in.

Clay> Exactly, disinfect.

And now, it looks like we've got some really good root system.

So the last thing we want to do is disinfect.

<Okay> We talked about alcohol earlier.

Hydrogen peroxide, like you would use in your home is another great tool.

I can take hydrogen peroxide, lightly spray my roots a little bit, and any little pests or bacteria that might be on the plant are now going to be killed.

Because usually they are soft bodied and so the hydrogen peroxide will actually kill the little pest, and it's going to break down into water.

So it's not going to harm anything.

Now, we have a plant that's ready for repotting.

So you have to be sure that you have the right pot.

And I've given you two examples here that you can easily find at any store.

You have your traditional terracotta pot, like this one or you have a clear pot.

This one has holes throughout the pot, which is perfect for all types of orchids, so they can have that airflow.

And it's great because you can see the roots through something like this.

This pot is wonderful because... being made of terracotta, the water and the air can still permeate through the pot and you can see based on where the water is, if it needs to be watered once again.

And because, you know, these plants get very top heavy, you want to have a little extra weight.

So what we're going to do today for a Phalaenopsis is put it into this pot.

Because phalaenopsis or moth orchids are special in that their roots are photosynthetic.

So they actually process energy through their roots as well.

Carmen> They have to have the light.

Clay> So we need the light and that's how it keeps them green.

We are going to put them into a pot.

You can see it's just a little bit bigger.

<Yeah> And I'm going to get it down so that it's a little bit below the line of the pot, but not to the leaves or not below where the bark is going to go.

Carmen> Okay.

Clay> We are then going to take... go for it.

We're going to take a little handful and we're going to just put it on one side and then the other.

[clattering sound] Just like so.

[clattering sound continues] Carmen> Oh.

Clay> Yeah.

Carmen> This is so much easier than I thought it would be.

Clay> And notice I'm holding the plant, <Yes> so it doesn't sink down.

And we want to keep a level area.

Carmen> And I'm just pushing gently.

Clay> You got it.

That's all you're doing.

So we're going to keep going.

Just pushing down gently.

Yep, you want it in there firm.

And I keep checking to make sure that none of my roots and none of my, my leaves are lost.

We're going to turn it around a little bit so that we can get all the sides.

And notice I've kept it in the center of the pot.

The phalaenopsis only grows from one point and goes up.

It doesn't grow out like an ivy or another plant that goes side to side.

It only goes up.

So now I'm pressing it in firmly, making sure it's all there.

Maybe a little bit more on this side.

Carmen> Yes sir.

Clay> A little more cause it's going to settle a little bit.

Perfect.

All of our leaves are up and now, we're going to give it a little inspection.

We are going to look through that clear pot to make sure that there's not an air pocket anywhere.

So as we look around, see down here, we got a little bit of an air pocket.

I'm going to push a little bit, make sure it goes down... like so.

There's a little more space, a little handful.

And guess what?

You have just repotted an orchid.

That's all you have to do.

And it's already wet.

It doesn't need to be watered because we pre-watered it.

But there is a last step to be covered and that is some nutrients.

Carmen> Okay, this is where I get nervous.

Clay> You can find something like this in any store.

It is a liquid form of an orchid fertilizer.

You want to mix this.

It's about a quarter of a teaspoon with a gallon of water.

Carmen> A little bit goes a long way.

Clay> The rule is water orchids regularly, but fertilize them weakly.

And I mean W-E-A-K-L-E-Y, Not a lot.

[laughter] Now, I'm a lazy orchid grower, so I love a granulated fertilizer.

A little granulated fertilizer like this, you sprinkle on top and it lasts for six months.

Every time you water it, it's going to get fertilizer on your plant.

So you simply take a little bit, sprinkle it on top, sort of like your saltine or a dessert or something.

And then, you are done.

And always remember put your plant tag in your plant so you know what it is for later when it gets ready to bloom.

Carmen> Well, thank you so much!

I cannot wait to try this at home and I feel a lot more confident about doing it.

Clay> Well, fantastic.

I'm glad that we could help and remember, the South Carolina Orchid Society is here for anybody that has any orchid questions.

You can find us anytime, day or night at the internet with southcarolinaorchidsociety.org or South Carolina Orchid Society on Facebook and Instagram.

We have care sheets, videos, information tips, and of course, our meetings are in Columbia every third Sunday, once a month.

We're happy to have you there and we can answer anything you might need to know.

Carmen> I'm excited to use your resources.

Clay> Fantastic.

Carmen> Thank you so much.

Amanda> We sure appreciate Clay coming down, and Carmen Ketron, for coming up and talking to him.

You know, Carmen is interested in everything.

So I know she had a good time, talking to him and learning all about that business.

Well, I think you've got more weird stuff at your house, so let's talk about something else.

A corpse flower?

That's a dead person... flower?

Dr.

Huber> Yes.

So it's- Well, it's actually the- There's a lot of species, but this particular one we'll talk about is the world's largest flowering species.

It's Amorphophallus titanum.

Amanda> I'm sorry, the world's largest- Dr.

Huber> Largest inflorescence.

Technically, inflorescence.

Amanda> Golly Pete!

Dr.

Huber> So the flower can be- the inflorescence could be six foot to ten foot.

The records like, over ten foot tall.

And it's this big flower.

It can take 10 to 15 years to produce the first flower from seed.

Kind of like a century- We think of like agave, century plants.

But, it's from Indonesia, so a very tropical plant.

And this plant produces this leaf that comes up kind of like a perennial.

If you think about it.

A leaf comes up every year and it builds this tuber, has an underground tuber.

The tuber gets larger and larger and larger to the point where the tubers 50, 100 pounds 100 pounds, 200 pounds and produces this flower.

And the flower is born- Amanda> Okay.

So it had one leaf?

Dr.

Huber> Yeah, one leaf.

Amanda> Every year?

Dr.

Huber> One big leaf.

It looks like a palm leaf.

It's very symmetrical and geometric.

Amanda> All right, and then?

Dr.

Huber> And then once it stores energy in that tuber, the tuber gets larger and larger each year.

And then when it's ready to bloom, instead of the leaf coming up, the flower comes up.

And the flower is spending energy out of that tuber.

So it's got to build up this reserve, <Oh> because it doesn't have a leaf and a flower at the same time.

And so it produces this huge flower.

Amanda> How big around is the stem?

Dr.

Huber> The stem can be... that fat.

It's typical, like right now the leaf is this fat around and the flower stalk is that big too.

So it's a lot of energy.

Think about all that energy it's got to build in that tuber to produce it, because it's kind of dormant when it flowers.

<Okay> And so it's spending all this reserve carbohydrates that it's built up for years.

Amanda> So what is- Okay, so we've got about a minute left.

So, who's going to come and be interested in this flower.

Dr.

Huber> Well, this, it smells like roadkill.

So it's bringing in flies, carrion beetles.

It produce heat when it flowers.

So it draws these things in, and it's just for a day- Amanda> Just for a day?

Dr.

Huber> Just for about a day.

So all this energy comes and goes, and people love to come see these things bloom from all over.

Sometimes, when I had a bloom, one time we had, like, 5,000 visitors lining up to see it bloom.

Amanda> So we're going to come see you the next time- Dr.

Huber> The next time it blooms, please do.

Amanda> Golly, I swanee.

This is something... right in St.

Matthews, South Carolina.

Who would have thunk it?

Stephanie> And he named it too.

I asked him what the name was.

Amanda> Oh, what's the name?

Dr.

Huber> Well, named it, Lupine.

Well, I was at North Carolina State for a while, so... "Wolfpack" and, kind of- <Okay> Lupus is wolf for Latin and then the wolf- So it's Lupine.

Not to be confused with... the perennial.

Amanda> Okay, whoa.

Well, on that note, we will say sweet dreams, I guess.

[laughter] See you, next time.

♪ ♪ Narrator> Making It Grow is brought to you in part by Certified South Carolina.

This cooperative effort among farmers, retailers and the South Carolina Department of Agriculture helps consumers identify foods and agricultural products that are grown, harvested or raised right here in the Palmetto State.

McLeod Farms in McBee, South Carolina, family owned and operated since 1916.

This family farm offers seasonal produce, including over 40 varieties of peaches.

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Additional funding provided by the South Carolina Farm Bureau Federation and Farm Bureau Insurance and Boone Hall Farms.