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Resolution Time

9/1/2019

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Happy New Year every one!  Kathy and I are excited for the third year of Plant Wisdom Garden Center.  Last year, in spite of many challenges(late freezes, rain, ice, and heat), we saw a lot of familiar faces, friends, and newcomers.  We are so happy to be here again and hoping for our best year yet!  We have some fun and interesting classes planned, exciting new plants, and the same outstanding hardy plants you’ve come to expect from Plant Wisdom.
For many of us, this is resolution season.  It may be to get outside more, stop sitting around, eat better, or lose weight.  Well, this may not be the best month to get in the gardens, there are things to do.  There’s still time to plant spring bulbs, like tulips, daffodils, or alliums.   January is also a good time to get some pruning done on trees, shrubs, and woody perennials.  Doing so now allows one to see the structure of the plant better than when its covered in leaves.  Look first for any broken branches, then anything crossing or crowded branches. Once all of those are removed, step back and look at the over all shape of the plant.

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Doing these is a great way to accomplish some of your New Year Resolutions.  Just half an hour gardening can burn up to 300 calories.   Mycobacterium vaccae, that’s a bacteria and it’s in your soil.  A walk through your yard, and it will be on your shoes.   This bacteria was found about 10 years ago and used to boost the immune system of cancer patients.  As a side effect, the oncologists found that the mood of the treated patients improved drastically.  Not to mention all the tasty herbs, fruits, and vegetables your garden can give you! 

     So get out there and dig in the garden, your body and mind will thank you!

- Alex Wisdom

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Catastrophe!

20/1/2018

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Showing those photographs may be a retail cardinal sin, but our business plan is to improve everyone's skill set.  Our plants went through that cold snap just like yours did.  Even with a green house, a 200,000 btu heater, and blower fans, we couldn't keep up with the cold.  A lot was composted, but every photo above is of a plant that should bounce back. 
First cut out all of the mushy stems and leaves.  Leave any stem that still firm and greenish, and any leaves that are halfway decent looking.
After you cut the stems back, hopefully you should see some water or sap flowing out of the cut.  That usually means the plant is alive and trying to make new leaves.
The purple part is mushy and dead. Trim below that.
Only the leaves were damage on this plant, the stem seems to have survived intact.
After all the dead and damaged portions  have been removed, put the pot in a bright and warm area and lightly feed them.  They will really need the resources the fertilizer and sun provide to make new leaves. 
After that you should have have a sad looking plant that will grow back bushy and happy!

This applies to  outdoor plants too, but wait to do the trimming until mid February and wait to fertilize until the plant is actively growing.

If the plant is dead, this gives you a chance to try something new!  Keep in mind that these frost swings may be the new normal.  Last year we had a couple days of 0 degrees and one -3!  These are arctic temperatures, and they are lasting for hours at a time.  We didn't carry Indian Hawthorne in 2017 because of those cold snaps and we probably won't again this year.  Watch what doesn't come out of dormancy this spring, these will tell us how we need to adapt going forward.
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Aphids

11/9/2017

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One of our hibiscus got an infestation of aphids.  A lot of plants might have them will all of the temperature and humidity swings, and enough rain in August to kill the drought only for a couple counties to slip back into the drought.  All of those extremes can stress plants and open them up to pests.  Those of you with milk weeds are probably seeing lots of yellow guys on your plants right now.
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Unfortunately, I started treating it before I took pictures. 
Aphids usually attack the growth tips where the plant puts most of it's sugars and is most easily punctured.  On the buds (and thumb) above, they are the white and brown specs.  Like other soft bodied pests (spider mites, etc), they are actually pretty easy to git rid of.   You just have to torture your plants!  The best treatment for aphids is....
Seriously, spray the dickens out of your plants.  If leaves aren't tearing or getting bruised, you're doing it wrong.
Hose off the entire plant, focus on the tips, but spray the whole thing.  Top to bottom. 
Spray it until it looks like...
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It may take a couple treatments, but it will work but with no pesticides!  If the infestation is really bad, and on multiple plants, following up the spraying with Neem Oil, diatomaceous earth, or insecticidal soap is advised.  Doing so will kill off these guys..
Those long, dark triangles are actually baby Lady Beetles, or Aphid Lions!
That white speck is the egg sack of the Lady Beetle.
Simply using the high pressure spray won't hurt the Aphid Lions.  The will get knocked off, but climb back up and morph into Lady Beetles!  Where as any of the insecticides will kill them too. 

--- Alex

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July To-Do List

5/7/2017

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Well, the Fourth is over. Time to clean up the firework debris and enjoy some garden time while is still enjoyable outside. Here are a few to-dos to make everything easier.

Cut back spring annuals

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A lot of the pretty mixed pots and hanging baskets from spring may be starting to look a little thread bare.  Root space is getting tight and there was that one week we forgot to water that one pot.  Now is a great time to cut back those spring annuals.  Cut out any dead stems and give the leggy stems a good whack.  Give the rest a little cut to make it all look symmetrical.  Apply a small does of Colorstar Fertilizer, water, and enjoy a lovely beverage on your porch!



Clean/Dust your porch light

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While your there, clean your porch lights and other outdoor lighting. We have a month before august hits and renders outdoor living impossible. Spending a few minutes cleaning your lighting will make your outdoor living area more welcoming during the last few cool nights of summer.  Not only will lighting highlight your plants in the evening so we can enjoy them, but a well kept yard and adequate lighting are the two most effective things that can be done to prevent crime in our neighborhoods!


Adjust your sprinkler system and watering habits

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The past few weeks we have seen some good rain, but that won’t last. It’s a great time to check your sprinkler system, drip hoses, timers and such for proper watering.  Place a cake pan in your yard and time your sprinkler to run as long as it takes to fill that up to one inch.  That’s how long your system needs to run PER WEEK!  We recommend twice a week, so half inch per run. Garden beds need about that much, but once a week is usually enough!  Specimen plantings that are not well suited to Oklahoma weather need to be dealt with as needed.  Potted plants most likely need to be watered once a day.  No matter what it is, morning is the best time to water.  Wet plants during warm nights are begging to be attacked by bugs, fungi, and viruses!

Re-apply compost

Redressing your beds and pots with a thin layer of compost will help retain moisture throughout the day, and replace organic material the plant has utilized during the spring.

Pinch bag worms

Pinch bag worms on evergreens before the infestation gets out of control.  Also, spray web worms in trees with a high pressure spray.  Once the webs are torn open, the birds will feast! It is very satisfying!

Add natives!

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If you have any dead spots or something isn't filling in the way you hoped, consider adding native plants. Most native plants are just now starting to bloom and will continue to thumb their noses(petals?) at the heat and drought! Not to mention the benefits of bringing in native wildlife.


Add a bird/bee bath

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You could also use those spots or add a bird/bee bath. Any bird bath will work, but add rocks. This will give bees and butterflies a spot to land and get a drink.


Don't worry about your tomatoes

It has been relatively cool, so tomatoes should still be producing.  But as temps climb over the mid 90’s, tomato pollen stops being viable.  This can be helped by shaking the plant early in the morning, before it gets too hot.  At a certain point, you will have flowers, but not fruit.  Don’t worry, keep the plant healthy with compost and water.  Once temperatures drop, production will return.

Relax!

Relax! There isn’t a whole lot that can be planted right now, so enjoy your spring labors and start planning for fall.
July 22nd is National Hammock Day! So go get one and relax!


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--Alex Wisdom
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April To-Do List

11/4/2017

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The cold winds are dying down and it's great time to get back out in the garden and do some of the less glamorous tasks while it's still nice outside!  So when May hits everything is ready for color installs and all the other fun stuff we look forward to!

Sow Annual and Herb Seeds

Now is the time to get your summer herb and annuals started.  Celosia, Moon Flower, Sun Flowers, Zinnias, and Basil, Cilantro(Coriander), and Parsley.  Just follow the directions on packets. 

If you have older seed and don't know if they are viable, here's a way to check.
     1. Moisten a paper towel and lay out flat.
     2. Place 5, or so, seeds on the towel with some space between and fold up so the seeds are wrapped up tightly.  Place towel package in a zip top bag.
     3. Place the bag in warm, but not sunny spot.  Leave alone for the number of days to germination listed on the packet or on this chart.
     4. Once that time is up, open the bag and package and inspect the seeds.  If most of the are plumped or even sprouting, the seeds are safe to plant. If only a couple are sprouting after a couple weeks, don't expect much out of those seeds.

Plant Fruit and Vegetable Plants

So this year has been odd, it's been warm(one day over 90!), and as I right this, at least, one more night in the 40's.  The soil temps have been in the 60's:  2 inch temps, 4 inch temps.  So it *should* be safe to plant most veggies.  Just remember, two years ago we had a frost on May 5th!  In any event, by the end of the week we will be bringing in the more cold sensitive plants.  There are just a few more days to think about your gardens.
      Apples, Pears, Strawberries, Tomatoes, Chiles, Cucumbers, Melons, Herbs, etc

Weed

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Yes, it's super exciting, but it pays off.  Just a couple hours on a Saturday morning will continue to pay dividends all season!  The trick is a scuffle or colinear hoe.  These are sharp and the blade is oriented parallel to the ground.  Just slide or "scuffle" the hoe around the bed and the weeds are cut off at the ground.  Yes, some do come back!  If you have a decent hoe(over $25), the task will be easy to do once a week.  After a while, the weeds will burn through their energy stores and die.  If you never till your bed(NEVER TILL YOUR SOIL), you won't activate dormant seed in the soil and you won't have weeds!  Follow this advice, and weeding will only end up on your to-do list twice a year!

Fertilize or Compost Your Plants

This is the easy one.  Add a does of good slow release fertilizer like Color Star, Nutra Star, or Espoma to all of your potted plants.  All their nutrients were used up last year or leached out of the pot over the Winter.  Feed them now, when new growth starts, they're hungry!

Add a good couple inches of compost to your garden beds.  It is denser, and will block light to seeds and retain moisture better than any wood waste mulch.  It also leaches into your soil adding nutrients and organic matter, and helps to break down the clay.

Explore

Finally, go explore the local botanical gardens and garden centers.  There is always something to look at and get ideas from. 
Myriad Gardens 301 W Reno
Will Rogers Park 3400 NW 36th
The OKC Zoo 2101 NE 50th St
The Botanic Garden at OSU 3300 W. 6th, Stillwater
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Summer is the Time of the Natives

14/7/2016

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Pyhlla nodiflora, Frogfruit. A great shade ground cover with verbena like flowers
Ah, Summer.  The heat index was 105 degrees yesterday, today looks like it will rain enough to make tomorrow miserable, and the weekend doesn't look much better.  This means, for those of us that WANT to get out in the gardens, our plants may not be looking all that great.  Geraniums are yellowing, petunias are petunia-ing, and Periwinkles are... well, they are probably fine. 
Veronia lettermannii, Iron Butterfly
Gaillardia pulchella, Sundance Bi Color
Ratibida columnifera, Prairie Cone Flower in front of Blond Ambition Grama Grass
Native Bees enjoying some Route 66 Coreopsis.
But there is a class of plants that is, just now, beginning to look their best!  Of course these are the plants that were here before any of us were; native plants!  Natives will thrive in any condition Oklahoma can throw at us because they have spent countless ages adapting to our, eh hem, interesting weather patterns.  The best part is that most of them start blooming when our spring perennials and annuals are starting to fade. 
Little Henry Rudbeckia setting buds
Conoclinum coelestinum, Blue Mist Flower.
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Joe Pye Weed
Eupatorium fistulosum
Does best in a low lying, damp area but will grow well in almost any condition with at least partial sun.

4-5 feet tall, but we do have a 2 foot tall dwarf variety
2 feet wide
Blooms July to frost.
Pow Wow Wild Berry Cone Flower
Echinacea purpurea

Found variety of  the native Cone Flower that does not need deadheading.  Excellent as a showy specimen or planted in mass.  Does best in poor dry soil and full sun.

2-3 feet tall
1 foot wide
Blooms June to August
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El Reno Sideoats Grama
Bouteloua curtipendula

This is my favorite grass. All grasses bloom, but this grass has one of the most obvious and "traditional" flowers.  It forms a nice clump of minty green leaves and flower stems with reddish blossoms that then form seeds that song birds flock to.  In Fall, the leaves and seed heads turn gold and remain that way through Winter.

2-3 feet tall
2 feet wide
 Prefers dry conditions.
These are just a few of the natives that are available. Slash Pine, Kentucky Coffee Tree, and Catalpas, Blue Grama Grass, Indian Steel Grass, even a Sugar Maple!  So, if your yard or garden usually look a little drab this time of year and you want some color or texture to tide you over until Pansy and Mum time, think about some native plants.  The are easy, sustainable, and better than organic because they rarely need ANYTHING applied to them to grow well.  In fact, fertilizers and compost can harm or disfigure natives like Rudbeckia, grasses and Cone Flower either by encouraging too much growth so that they flop over or just burn the leaves!  They will need regular, deep waterings in their first year, but soon they will need nothing except the occasional pruning or deadheading to keep them looking tidy.
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Stop the Crepe Murder

2/3/2016

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Stop the Crepe Murder
Article by Greg Grant
Research Associate, Piney Woods Native Plant Center,
Stephen F. Austin State University Nacogdoches, Texas

This is usually the time we see people butchering crepe myrtles, bradford pears, and other ornamental trees and shrubs.  Leaving them weak, ugly, and prone to diseases.  Before that happens(unless it's too late) I heed you to read these words, and follow them precisely.  You will end up with much more attractive plant, and landscape.
       -Alex

Hideous crimes are being committed all ever Texas, some in our own front yards and many right in front of our local businesses. Unfortunately, many have turned a blind eye to the ongoing massacre. Not me! I can take it no more.
I am officially forming an advocacy group for plant’s rights. They can’t speak, so I’m going to speak for them. My first mission…to stop Crape Murder!
Lagerstroemia indica: The Crapemyrtle. A native of China. The "Lilac of the South". The most popular flowering tree in the southern United States. Introduced to the U.S. by Frenchman Andre Michaux to South Carolina around 1786. Perhaps the most beautifully branching flowering tree in the world.

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Planting Trees

26/2/2016

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So you bought tree, now what?   Dig a hole, put tree in hole, fill up hole...right?  Yeah, pretty much.   However, there are some trees that are not properly suited to your soil and climatic conditions.   That is what this article is about the planting of tree to ensure survival of an investment of both time and money.
PictureDo I have your attention?
First of all, lets assume the tree is near where you would like to plant it.   Is this a good spot?  Look at the tag and hopefully you asked some good questions at the nursery.   You did ask good questions at the nursery, didn't you?  The biggest consideration is sunlight tolerance.  Is the site sunny, shady or somewhere in between?  This something to ask your nurseryman, usually the tags are written in climates different than we have in Central Oklahoma and can be wrong, so ask.  Second is tree size.  Usually the tags are spot on here, but sometimes Oklahoma clay and wind can stunt growth.  Are there structures in the way? If so, do you mind regular pruning? What about driveway or sidewalks that the trunk or roots could damage? Does the tree fruit? You may not want it near you car. Maybe fall litter will clog your gutters. Things to think about. The last major consideration is water. Is the area higher and dry or low and wet? Is it an area you can get water to easily? There are other things to think about but these are the major points. Now that you have thought about them it is time to go pick a tree, go ahead, I'll wait...


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    Kathy and Alex have combined experience of over 25 years, and offer their expertise here.

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