- From the summer blooming studios of Rodale Institute Radio and Television at Lehigh Valley Public Media in the Christmas City of Bethlehem, PA, it's time for another half hardy hour of chemical-free horticultural hijinks, You Bet Your Garden.

I'm your host, Mike McGrath.

Can you grow a typically southern plant like crepe myrtle in a distinctly northern city like Muncie?

On today's show, we'll reveal how you might be able to pull it off.

Plus, huge news about this year's Philadelphia Flower Show and a couple three of your fabulous phone call questions, comments, tips, tricks, suggestions and none-sensibly nuanced notifications.

So keep your eyes and/or ears right her, cats and kittens.

Because it's all coming up faster than a crepe myrtle blooming at BSU.

Right after this.

In life, we have many kinds of partners, school bus partners, business partners, even gardening partners.

Shouldn't you have one for the most important aspect of life, your health?

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More information about Espoma and the Espoma natural gardening community can be found at... - Support for You Bet Your Garden is provided by the Rodale Institute.

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Welcome back to another thrilling episode of You Bet Your Garden from the studios of Rodale Institute Radio at Lehigh Valley Public Media in Bethlehem, PA.

Whether you like it or not, I am your host, Mike McGrath.

Coming up later in the show, oh, God, what the heck are we doing later in the show?

It's not rats.

We did rats last week to be festive.

What is the Question of the Week?

I forget I just finished writing it!

Oh, it's about crepe myrtle in cold climates.

We're also going to tell people down south how to prune their crepe myrtle and not commit crape murder.

We'll probably also take a couple three more of your fabulous phone calls.

But now it is time to bring on our very special guest, my old friend Sam Lemheney, who last time I introduced him... Don't wave, Sam.

Don't wave.

That's crude!

..was the designer of the Philadelphia Flower Show, but I just saw in an email from the show that Sam has a new title.

He's, like, director of spontaneous combustion or something.

What is it?

Am I close?

- You're close.

It's the chief of shows and events here at the Pennsylvania Horticulture Society.

My team runs all of the events.

- Right.

And basically, you only have one big one.

So it's like you're head chairman of the Department of Redundancy Department.

- Yeah, kind of, I guess... Yeah, kind of.

- All right, let me let me set the stage here.

The Philadelphia Flower Show has been for probably 100 years, the world's largest indoor flower show.

When it first started out for the first 87 or something, I'm not sure it was that big, but for quite a while it's been the world's largest indoor flower show.

And I will tell you, because you and I were working like mad at this previous flower show in the spring and we just got out under our chinny chin chin.

I mean, the world started shutting down as, you know, we were breaking down the exhibits.

- Yeah, Mike, I think we were we were probably one of the last major events that happened in this country before the country started shutting down.

I think it was telling you that I literally watched the last truck leave on that Wednesday after the show closed down.

And then by Friday, two days later, the whole country had basically gone into shutdown mode.

So and we've been back and forth here since then.

- And we were very lucky.

As best I can tell, we were not super spreaders or even like minor spreaders.

Everything worked out really well.

But... - Yeah.

Yeah, luckily, that was that was great.

We were able to have the show.

Our attendance was great at the beginning of the week.

And obviously, as the news continued to to to increase around the virus, our attendance did slip a little bit towards the end of the week.

But we still were able to pull it off and still have a really great show.

- Yes.

And I want to remind people upfront one of the reasons I promote the Philadelphia Flower Show every year is I've essentially had a relationship with the show since I was eight years old.

And my mother would drag me down to the Civic Center every year and walk me around until I couldn't find... Feel my legs anymore.

And you would go home and have a year's worth of amazing memories.

But also what a lot of people don't realize, even though this is a premiere event.

And one of the things my mother loved about the show was she could literally be standing next to Grace Kelly.

Everybody from every walk of life was there.

You had the main line.

You had Frankfurt, you had Kensington, you had South Philly, you had South Jersey.

I mean, it was one of the most inclusive shows in terms of the attendance.

It was absolutely one.

Everybody everybody was equal once you walked in those doors.

- And I think that's what plants do, Mike, right?

Plants bring us all together.

And they are the great equalizer because everybody can garden.

Most people have gotten their hands dirty in the garden at some point in their life.

If they're not gardening now, they should still go back out and get their hands dirty.

And it really is that great connector and that great, you know, way that people and that's what this organization has been about since it's a 200-year history is is really connecting people with horticulture and really trying to improve their lives and their health with gardening.

- We got a big announcement.

Some people may know this.

Some people may be surprised.

Right after the last flower show in the spring, you and I and you know, you and several thousand people sat down and went, "Oh, what are we going to?

Oy!

"Nobody's going to want to go into, you know, "into the convention center!"

And, you know, my stupid idea, if you remember, was that we would take over Lincoln Financial Field and turn the field itself into a giant flower show once the weather got nice because you got parking, you got concessions, you got the subway right there, and you shot me down on that, but you moved across the street.

I mean, you know, you can walk there.

So now we're going to be in Roosevelt Park.

- Yep.

FDR Park is the new location for the show and it has a beautiful backdrop, has an amazing landscape, some great architecture there.

It is an Olmstead Brothers' design park.

So you talked about New York and Central Park.

This park was designed by the Olmsted Brothers.

And, a really great treasure in an amazing location.

A very well used to park.

And we couldn't be more excited to be that be the home for the 2021 flower show in June.

So remember, it's a new time frame too.

Like we're moving it to the summer and early summer to June 5th through the 13th.

And we're going to be outdoors.

We feel like this show is going to be beautiful, lends itself to so many different things that we can we can do outside that we can't do on an indoor show.

But it also... - OK, wait, wait, wait... No, no.

No, no, no.

Time out, time out, flag down.

Five yards.

There was nothing we couldn't do at the indoor show.

You watched me do a lot of those things.

- you're exactly right.

That indoor show has been...

It is amazing to see what horticulture, what people, when they put their mind to it, can actually do in an indoor show in March when it's gray and gloomy outside.

We can never lose that.

You're exactly right.

- Right.

And which is why it was so important to have then.

I don't know, are we just going to distribute Prozac to people to get them through the month of March now?

Because, you know, they have to wait for the flower show.

- I don't know how we're going to do it.

Hopefully we'll get through this and everybody will be ready and itching to get outside when the show comes around in June and we're excited about hosting everybody outdoors.

I think this is going to be a beautiful show, just as beautiful as the indoor show.

It has this great borrowed landscape and the great tree canopies of FDR Park.

It really will be a special experience.

And also we have a lot more space to spread out and make this a safe show as well, too.

So we're really, really important to know that this show we're going to be doing everything we can to make everybody safe at the show so they can have a great experience, just like they have at every other show.

- Let's talk about accessibility, because obviously one of the big draws for this location is it's the last stop on the Broad Street subway.

Depending on what part of the park you will start in, it could be a shorter walk to the flower show from the subway then to Citizens Bank Park?

- Correct.

Yep.

Yeah.

So this is an important it's an important piece of making sure that the visitor has a great experience, not only in the show, but getting to the show.

And that's one of our top priorities, is making sure that that happens.

We are working with SEPTA to make sure that the Broad Street line is running and running to the capacities that we might see coming into the show, because we know a lot of people like to take the train to the show.

We are working with the different teams in the different areas of PIDC, Navy Yard for parking down there.

So that there's ample amounts of parking and we don't have it nailed down yet.

But we are looking at doing trains or trams or outdoor open-air trolleys so that people can go from the parking lot to the right front, right to the front door of the show, because accessibility is really great.

And then once you're in the show, we're making sure that that show is as accessible as it can and making sure that everybody can enjoy the flower show as the experience that everybody should have.

So that's why we're excited about that.

We're looking forward to that.

And it's something that the park lends itself to the folks at parks and rec who are amazing partners with us that we've been enjoying working with, and they're excited about us being down there.

We'll hopefully be making a lot of improvements to the park when we're down there.

So that's something that the neighborhoods can get excited about, that the flower show will leave behind some some great legacy and improvements that they'll be able to enjoy all year round, too.

It's in the heart of a lot of different neighborhoods in South Philadelphia, so biking, biking to the show is going to be an option in June, right?

So this is an easier option to get to the show.

So we're working with with folks to make sure we have enough parking for bikes as well as drop-off locations for the busses.

And so we have a lot of different ways that we can get there.

And, of course, if you decide to drive, 95 goes right near there and you get off right at the Broad Street exit and can come right in and use the parking lots that are all around there as well.

So trying to make it as easy as possible.

- The idea of the parking and the access to public transportation is unparalleled.

Obviously, there was really no other choice if you're thinking of convenience and in physical reality, people are going to get into the show an hour earlier than they used to because, you know, we're talking about a place that's been handling 50-70,000 cars at a pop for decades.

- Yeah.

And our our show starts at 10:00am like it normally does and will run until 7:00pm.

If you're a member of the Horticultural Society, you actually will get to come in at nine o'clock.

So you will get that extra hour to spend in the show before it gets too crazy in there.

But we will be... We are selling tickets.

You will have to know by the day when to buy your tickets so which day you would plan to come.

And then we're also going to be selling am or pm on that day.

So you want to come in the am or in the morning or if you want to come in the afternoon for those tickets.

And that's all about trying to keep everybody safe, really controlling the attendance and the amount of people that are coming through there and making sure that we have the right amount of folks and so that everybody can socially distance and be as safe as they possibly can and still really enjoy the show.

You know this flower show is really something Mike you and I have talked about this before.

It's a show.

And we want people to forget about the outside world and really sort of be engulfed and immersed into the experience of the show.

And we want to make sure that they feel as safe as they can so they can still have that experience and be immersed in this flower show.

- One last thing that occurred to me.

What is this year's show theme?

Because you know what I laughingly call my memory.

And did it have to be adjusted?

Because I know the themes you, you know, are picked out years in advance.

- Correct.

Believe it or not, the theme for this year's flower show and the theme that the flower show has been working on for at least three years now is called Habitat.

So we did not have to change the theme because we felt that the outdoor location actually will lend itself to a perfect interpretation of the of the Habitat theme.

And this is we're excited about this theme, which really goes down from, you know, as the animals and the plants that they use as their as their habitats and incorporated into that to the to the to you, even every day where you have your outdoor living spaces.

And that's the year we call your habitat.

So it goes all the way from from big to small and all over the world, habitats, and plants are used for habitats.

So we're excited about that and and really it connects to the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society too as in how plants can incorporate and can impact your habitat and your environment and really improving that and making it healthier and making it more sustainable.

And we're going to include all of that messaging as well, too.

So we're excited about this theme and we did not have to change it, we were lucky.

And it fit really perfectly with this outdoor location.

- And I'm presuming you and I will do something special in the central exhibit during the show?

- Absolutely.

We'll give a tour, just like we always do.

You and your folks who sign up during your fundraisers and your membership drives.

We will definitely have a tour with you and I walking around and entertaining the folks.

The Mike and Sam Show is always pretty entertaining.

- Yeah!

All right, Sam, I've kept you far too long.

But, you know, this show is not only important to me, it's important to the city.

It's important to all of horticultural.

And the fact that the late Bob Rodale said that, "You cannot have a truly thriving business "unless it meets adversity head-on at some point "and changes organically into a better organization, "into a better operation."

He called it "regeneration".

He said, "Embrace chaos and embrace problems "because your solution is going to keep you alive "and adapting and changing with the times."

So I think you've done a great job.

I can't wait to see it.

It will be in the first week of June, right?

Starting June 5th?

- June 5th through the 13th, you got it, yep.

- At ROO-sevelt Park!

Don't mispronunciate it you Phil-all-phians!

- Franklin Delano ROO-sevelt Park.

You got it.

That's the hard part.

Down in South Philadelphia.

Mike, thank you so much for your support, I've always appreciated it ever since I've, you know, you and I worked together back in my Disney days when I was there, and then you've supported me and this flower show so much and we really appreciate all that you do.

And your visitors, we love them, too, because they come to the flower show, definitely because of support.

So, we appreciate that.

- It's my great pleasure.

All right, Sam, get back to work!

You got a lot to do.

- We have a lot do, this is for sure!

- And we'll see you in June.

- All right, Mike, thank you so much.

Appreciate it.

Thanks for having me on.

- My pleasure.

Thank you.

Hi, I'm Mike McGrath, host of You Bet Your Garden right here on PBS39.

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As promised, it is time for the Question of the Week, which we're calling... Christopher in Muncie, Indiana, writes, "I've enjoyed your show over the air "from central Indiana for over a decade..." Well crepe myrtles are supposed to be woody perennials.

Like roses and rhododendrons, their above ground growth persists over winter.

This is the opposite of herbaceous perennials like spring bulbs and hostas.

Their leaves turn brown and they're above ground growth disappears only to return from the roots, bulbs, rhizomes or whatever you got down there after winter.

But even though their range seems to be extending northward by the year, crepe myrtles are not normally hardy north of USDA Zone 7.

And Muncie, it turns out, is either a warm USDA Zone 5 or a chilly Zone 6, which is why your plants died back to the ground four out of the last five winters.

So what to do?

First, ixnay on the black plastic.

Although many people think that black plastic is like gardening duct tape, it's really good for only one thing I can think of, which is to cover garden beds where heat loving summer crops like tropical melons are growing in colder-than-ideal climes.

Hey, like in Muncie!

You are correct that dormant plants can't process sunlight in the winter but that's not the issue here.

Covering any plant in plastic, whether it's clear or black, could easily kill the plant by cooking it on sunny winter days.

But you have the right basic idea.

It may be too late this year.

I'm writing this in mid-December in northeast Pennsylvania and we have already had nights in the teens.

But a windbreak could well make the difference in an in-between winter.

But again, no plastic.

Take a page from the Cold Weather Fig Growers Handbook and drive stakes into the ground about a foot away from the plants and then wrap burlap around the stakes, not around the plants themselves.

I suspect you want to use black plastic quote because you "have a lot of it".

Those are often the last words a plant hears.

"Why'd you use that?"

"Um, because I had a lot of it."

You Bet Your Garden Rule Number Three, just because you have a lot of something doesn't mean you should use it in the garden.

In fact, it generally means the opposite.

See wood ash, fresh manure, sawdust, etc.

Now, why are we wrapping the burlap around stakes instead of the plants themselves?

Because burlap gets wet.

Wet burlap alone can weigh enough to severely damage a plant it's on top of.

Then when it freezes hard, severe damage can escalate to death.

By allowing a small distance between burlap and plant, you cut the desiccating winds of winter, a seemingly small gesture that can greatly increase plant survival.

Some dedicated fig growers in chilly regions, it is no coincidence, that one popular fig variety is named Chicago.

They will frame out wooden enclosures around their figs and then wrap the lumber in burlap in the fall.

Opinions vary on the roof of these structures, but I would leave it uncovered of burlap, although a few extra boards up there would preserve more heat inside.

And if all this seems like too much trouble, don't grow semi-tropical or Mediterranean plants anywhere you get lake effect snow.

Again, the fig comparison.

Virtually all figs will regrow from their roots if winter kills the above ground growth, but that doesn't give the plant enough time to grow figs.

Protecting some of the above ground growth, even imperfectly, means the fig will start out with a good amount of biomass and have adequate time to set and ripen fruit.

A little trim in the spring will help stimulate that new growth faster.

Same with a crepe myrtle.

Their flowers appear on new growth only and those flowers are some of the last to appear on our landscape plants.

So a little winter protection might be all you need to see those flowers.

A nice mulch of shredded leaves around the base of the plant wouldn't hurt either.

Two final notes.

One, there are several cultivars of crepe myrtle that have been bred to endure USDA Zone 6 winters, and these should be the first choice of people who want to grow these magnificent late blooming beauties in chilly regions.

Plant them in a protected location at the highest spot in your property and/or near a wall or two, and you further improve your odds.

And finally, how to prune in a myrtle-friendly climate.

Leave the plant alone after the end of the season.

When new growth appears the following year trim off the amount that the plant grew the season before.

That keeps the plant at a manageable size and the flowers close to the eyes.

Do not cut the poor thing back to the ground.

That's not crepe myrtle.

That's crepe murder.

Well, that's sure was some interesting information about growing warm weather plants in a cool clime now, wasn't it?

Luckily for yous, the Question of the Week appears in print at the Gardens Alive website.

To read it over in detail, just click the link for the Question of the Week at our website, which is still and will forever be... Gardens Alive supports the You Bet Your Garden Question of the Week and you will always find the latest Question of the Week at the Gardens Alive website.

You Bet Your Garden is a half-hour public television show, an hour-long public radio show and podcast, all produced and delivered to you weekly by Rodale Institute Radio in association with Lehigh Valley Public Media in Bethlehem, PA. Our radio show is distributed by PRX, the Public Radio Exchange.

You Bet Your Garden was created by Mike McGrath.

Mike McGrath was created when he was placed in the Scratch and Dent box on the island of Misfit Toys.

Yikes!

My producer is threatening to crop my crepe if I don't get out of this studio.

We must be out of time.

But you can call us any time at... Or send us your email.

Your tired, your poor, your wretched refuse teeming towards our garden shore at...

Please include your location.

You'll find all of this contact information at our website... Where you'll also find the answers to all your garden questions, audio of this show, video of this show and our podcast.

I'm your host, Mike McGrath, and I'm wondering what are we going to call the Christmas City now that the holidays are over?

And tossed, trees covered with tinsel are rolling like tumbleweeds across the Fahy Bridge?

The blast furnace barrow, the Lehigh River's favorite city.

Hey, how about historic Bethlehem?

What?

They use that one already?

Well, dig that old slogan out, polish it up and run it until next October when we'll be the Christmas City again.

And thanks to... And thanks to mortgage payments, I will still be seeing you when that big star lights up the mountainside again, and again.

And again and again...