Hey there, fellow green thumbs! It’s Ken and Lisa Lain, your friendly neighborhood Mountain Gardeners, here to share the secrets to a thriving garden in Arizona’s stunning mountain landscape. Whether you’re a seasoned green guru or just starting to sprout your gardening wings, this episode of the Top 10 Gardener Podcast is for you!
Think of us as your virtual neighbors leaning over the fence, answering your gardening questions before they even pop into your head. We’ll dig deep into the best practices for Arizona’s unique climate, from nurturing your winter pond to coaxing vibrant blooms from those holiday poinsettias.
Worried about decorating your landscape for the holidays? We’ve got your back! We’ll reveal the top 10 ever-greens that add a festive flair to your winter wonderland. And if you’re wondering how to coax those poinsettias to bloom again next year, you’re in luck! We’ll share the secrets to keeping them vibrant and colorful long after the holidays.
But that’s not all, folks! We’ll also answer your questions about all things gardening in the high country. No question is too silly or too complex – we’re here to help your garden flourish.
So, grab your favorite cup of coffee, pull up a cozy chair, and get ready to catch our infectious gardening bug! Join us on the Top 10 Gardener Podcast, and let’s embark on a journey of discovery together. We can’t wait to share our knowledge and passion for growing beautiful things with you.
Remember, subscribing is key to unlocking a treasure trove of tips and tricks, so don’t miss out! Let’s get our hands dirty and watch our Arizona gardens thrive!
#wattersgardencenter, #wattersgardencenteraz, #mountaingardenerpodcast, #top10gardener,
#gardeningtips
Welcome to the top 10 Gardener with Master Gardener Ken Lane gardening can be challenging but with Ken’s tips tricks and top 10 advice you’ll reap huge rewards now welcome your garden host Ken Lane and welcome to this week’s edition of the mountain Gardener your host Ken Lane here every week talking about the Landscapes of Northern Arizona and wow it’s uh I’m starting to get a lot of work done out in the yard now things aren’t really blooming that much I’ve
Got pansies that look good some hukas or Coral Bells they look fantastic all my evergreens are just shining right now so the Hol by the front door the ivys all have lights in them and they’re just pretty it just feels good I have been taking time to prune back my wild
Flowers I’ve got quite a quite a few wild flowers They’re just stunning they they bloom so easily they’re natural they’re native low care pollinators are attracted to them butterflies and bees and moths and all the things that you kind of want in your backyard but now they’re just looking
Brown and they just look rough oh my gosh they were looking too rough and the dogs were were trats and through them and bringing back bringing things indoors it was time for wild flowers to be cut back so you can feel free to to cut back wild flowers any time when they
Start to turn brown so they pretty much they’re brown to the ground right now most there’s a few things acias uh the gardas had had some green to them the mums had a few greened Nubs to them but really I just took a lawn mower over them and just mowed them
Right down here’s the beauty of that for my yard it’s probably entire backyard instead of grass I’ve Got U I’ve got wild flowers and so I took the lawn more just whacked them back there and the seeds just start flying everywhere and they’re going to receipt for next year
So uh if if that’s what you want go for it the Messier the better it is if you don’t want wild flowers let’s say it’s up against a rock law and you might be a little more um little more careful just just because you’re G to spread those
Seed out and they’re going to come up over there again so if so if you want more wild flowers weed whacker is a great way to go just take that weed whacker just whack it back and get those seed flying everywhere and you will have more wildflower seeds next year as we
Get cold so starting December January and I’d say now through February is the absolute prime time it is the best time to spread wild flowers out in the yard if you want wild flowers for next spring because they’ll start germinating starting in March and then there’ll be a
Wave of different kinds of seeds so wild flowers you’re starting those by a wildflower mix that is multiple seeds in this same mix I’ve got some I’ve got one that’s just just straight California poppies that’s it but even that has different kinds of or colors of poppies
In the mix you orange is the standard you know California Orange for Wildflower for for poppies well they also come in pink and white and reds and so we blend all those things together but most the other wild flowers mixes we have we get a Rocky Mountain mix very
Showy big flowers we’ve got an Arizona mix really tough I mean like the toughest of the tough we have a you have a a dry mix that is I never want to care for this thing it’s a little it’s it’s not quite as pretty as the as the rocky
Mountain mix if you can if you can water the Rocky Mountain mix it’ll be U bigger stunni it just has more Beauty to it more fragrance the dry mix has shorter more drought Hardy looking and then we have our butterfly mix and so if you want to attract more
Of those so there’s four or five different mixes out there and they’ll have up to two two I don’t know at least one to two dozen varieties of seed in there and the reason we’re doing that it’s prettier first of all secondly not every year does every Wildflower Bloom
So if you’re just letting them go by themselves you’ll notice some years the verbas are over the top and some years it’s the poppies some years it’s so you’ll see these these es and flows you’ll see these stunning colors and they bloom at different times and so you’ll have wild flowers the poppies
Will Bloom first and then it’s the verbina and then it’s pinam and then it’s the so you’ll see this wave of flowers so you get a longer Bloom cycle by putting a mix of wild flowers out there but going back to when is it the best time to prune back your wild
Flowers well for me because the dogs are bringing in some of the seed heads they’ gotten dry dry they were sticking their coat and they were just dragging them in the house I’m going okay that is it I’m not cleaning up after these anymore the the robotic vacuums can’t keep up and so
I went okay it’s time to cut it back because that happened this week you can do the same if it’s not bothering you hold off you’ve got through I would say January is is ideal you now through January is it is the kind of your Peak
Window to cut back or or prune back your your wild flowers and again it’s going to spread the seeds some of you are attracting Birds to your Gardens so the birds will appreciate you cutting those back so the seed will go flying on the ground they’ll be pecking around looking
For seed so a lot of your winter birds they’re they they use that as a it’s a food source it’s good good source of protein for them to get through winter and so a lot of your summer birds have left they’ve migrated out of here but now your s your winter birds are
Migrating in and they’ll spend the time here so your Robins some of that kind of stuff so it’s time another one to look for because the trees have dropped most of their leaves pruning can begin now especially if you see Deadwood in your plants any Deadwood is bad I mean it just attracts
Pestilence so the bulk of the pruning can be done January February first part of March uh but it anytime you see dead wood in your Gardens any time of year cut it out of there it is not good it’s just going to attract more Flathead bores bark beetles things that just
Naturally feed on the dead wood it just it just creates more pestilence you kind of want that out of there and it’s it’s a fire hazard so dead wood is just dry and crusty and it could be a problem so I was cutting back uh some of my roses
Had quite a bit of dead canes in the middle of it that is no good they’ been years since it’ been done it was time kind of back and I was amazed how much dead wood came out of that fruit trees are notorious for having some dead Twigs
Branches in there cut that out of there mimosas I noticed that my mimosas or or silk tassel tree that’s the one that’s uh it’s kind of a shorter umbrella shaped tree it’s got a pink flower that the butterflies just love hummingbirds are all all over this tree and so we use
Them to to grow at the base of our deck so when we’re up on the on the story and a half deck we could look out we’re watching butterflies right there at the canopy level well some of the branches at low in had died out time to prune
Those things back it’s pretty easy just just pruners a little snap right off and so don’t allow any dead wood in your Gardens uh the other one to watch too if you struggled with let’s say mildew there was quite a bit of mil powdery mildew the flowers last
Uh during the monsoon season usually August September somewhere in there we had quite a few customers coming in with powdery mildew the foliage was being coated with this white powder look that’s mildew it’s actually sucking the life the the sugars out of the plant It Coats the the the
Foliage so it can no longer create photosynthesis so so the sun is not able to get into the plant because it’s coated in this white powder that back every year by the Spore that that hangs out in in the ground or on the foliage as it drops if you saw that pick that
Stuff up and get it off your property or it will just come right back on that plant immediately so as you’re as you’re cleaning up remember where did I have issues where did I have insects where did I have powdery mildew or spots those plants you kind of want to prune back
Real hard clean up that foliage and get it out of it bag it up and throw it away or burn it or get just get it out of there so that you can break the cycle and so many of your aphids and your thrip hibernate underground so they were
On your roses now they’re down in the in that litter at the base of the Rose they’re going to come right back at you starting to March so so cleanliness is Next to Godliness I know that’s not biblical but it sure is in the Bible the garden Bible cleanliness is Next to
Godliness it just clean things up it’ll keep it from from coming back at you in spring so we got a little Hiatus here the pressures off in in the gardens except now’s the time to clean up and clean up at your convenience it’s a big window that you’ve got that you can use
With that all right we have a lot in store for you some great Garden questions coming up with Lisa Waters Lane right after this after we take a quick break be right back you’re listening to Garden Master kin Lane owner of waters Garden Center in presc join his daily podcast for timely Garden
Advice seasonally right for the gardens tin can be found throughout the week at Waters Garden Center in presc or through his website at top 10 gardner.com you’re listening to Garden Master Ken Lane and the top 10 Gardener podcast welcome to the top 10 Garden Show and we are back with Lisa Waters
Lane in the studio she comes each week with your garden question just what are your neighbors talking about in their Gardens and trying to impart some knowledge just kind of get the Q&A out there whatever what’s everyone talking about welcome to the studio Lisa thank you good to be back how are your
Holidays going so far pretty good I have most my shopping done really how about me anymore it’s so easy to shop I have yours and they’re actually surprisingly good this year usually I struggle because you buy what you want but this year pretty cool I’m excited yeah so yes
Uh I’ve got um covered in straw here you are covered in straw for you folks watching the the live on the video piece luckily it’s from just just just above pants level so you can’t tell if I have pants on and you can’t see all the just
Covered and I was unloading rolling in the straw I was unloading New Fountain statues containers and the crew needed some extra muscle yeah hey I’ll jump in with you and it was like a 300 lb huge container very decorative and it’s that the way they pack them is all the salser
Sal like the straw looking stuff and I didn’t look until I got on camera I’m covered yeah you can’t see it you’re can’t see it yeah there you go yeah I saw some cute pieces as I was walking through going oh those are cute great uh
Um Christmasy we brought them in for the christmy kind of the gardeners in your life if they want a fountain a statue something cute to decorate artistic things in the gardens this is your chance get fresh picking this week fresh picking very arizonan saying pickings I have no idea where pickings comes from
Oh so what are the garden questions people are asking right now sure well we do have a few uh first one is from sandre and Prescot she’s growing a Japanese maple in a large container she wants to know does it need winter protection and how often should be she
Be watering it through the win great question Sandra so we have a couple we have three Japanese maples we grow an in containers on our patios couple in the back one in the front Japanese maples are a smaller tree so it looks like a maple traditional Maple Leaf but just
Smaller here in Arizona they grow in the shade more shaded areas they’ll take some sun but that midday in June not going to like that so more of the north sides that kind of stuff now they do take the cold they go go down to ricus
40 de some crazy cold we’ll never see it’s not about the cold it’s about the dry if they get dry in Winter they’ll the tips will kind of burn back so I would say you don’t need to protect them you don’t need to cover them with burlap
Or all kinds of crazy stuff you read on the internet you don’t have to do that the secret is water so her second follow-up question was how often should I water yeah about once a week probably probably enough and here’s The Insider tip if you hear the weatherman going oh
It’s a cold one a storm’s coming oh my gosh it’s going to be so brutal and then we get like a half inch of snow afterwards see before that event comes before the cold hits water your plants so a hydrated plant especially Japanese maples will go through that cold like it
Was nothing if it’s dry it’s kind of counterintuitive but if it’s dry it can’t keep the antifreeze going up and down flowing up and down the structure that plant and you’ll get the tip burn so it can actually kill the plant if it goes bone dry and you get down to you
Know single digits so keep them hydrated that’s the only thing you have to do and then that’s the only thing you have to do SRA it’s too easy so keeping them hydrated is that once a week once a week oh once a did you say that I said once a
Week or or and right before a real cold event happens right now it’s yeah it gets down to freezing that’s not that’s not cold to Japanese maple so when we drop from 32 down to 9 because the storm from the north is coming water it and that’ll that will greatly increase the
Health of that plant keep them keep them healthy sure okay next question is from Tammy in presca Valley she has geraniums that have suffered some from the cold but are still alive she wants to know if she can winter them over inside oh sure Tammy absolutely you sure can in fact
You should have done that a month ago and they wouldn’t look rough so tyani will go down to the mid 20s something like that and then they get vaporized if they go below mid 20s yeah they get they get killed so I would say trim them back
Take the weight off of them they kind of have a mangy kind of rangy look now because they’ve been growing All Season cut them back I would say water them deep soak them like water them until water is coming out the bottom because you do have worms and things in the pot
If they’ve been Outdoors stuff is living in the soil try to flush them out you’ll be it’s kind of gross what comes out the bottom of the holes and then I would come into the garden center we’ve got a a systemic granual there’s a some it looks like fertilizer you sprinkle it
On the ground and then it takes out any other ants worms centipedes millipedes fungus Nets fungus Nets it takes all that stuff out so you sprinkle it on water it in again and it will sterilize the soil so you’re not bringing spiders and things into the house and then the
Plant will actually absorb some of that systemic and it will keep uh mely worms and all these other nasty things that that can come inside with you kind of protects it or inoculates that geranium while it’s inside and then probably by next end of April you take it right back
Outdoors again and enjoy it again I had one customer he every year so disappointed in him Roy I’m so disappointed in you he cuts the geraniums back hard I mean just like shaves them right back puts them in his crawl space where that dirt area underneath your house puts them back
There he it’s dark no sun just throws them back there forgets them brings them back out in April Waters fertilizes them and they come back strong he’s got like a couple year old geraniums out there that’s kind of if you did that it’s basically letting them go dormant
Totally dormant yeah um or you bring them in you kind of treat them like a house plant through the winter Blom yeah Tammy if you bring that indoors you fertilize where you getting your systemic um Gra manuals to keep the bugs away get a bottle of the flour power it’s a water
Soluble it’s made it’s a special food we make for flowering things greatest house plant food ever but geraniums love it give it some of that it’ll probably be in bloom with by the end of the year he’ll probably bloom again for you yeah okay our last question I think we have
Time for is Jim and preset he has a wild flower patch that is obviously died out done its thing gone dormant want to know should he cut it back or or wait to cut it back and then also does he need to water that through the winter at all
Yeah good question so so who was that again Roger Jim Jim sorry Jim Jim for presc got it um cut them back whenever you want whenever you feel you want to get some sunshine out there uh if you don’t the snow is just naturally gon to
Make it kind of mat down as we go through winter birds will pick through it and look for it and stuff so you can print it back at your convenience whenever you feel like uh do you water it should you fertilize should you care for it through the winter I would say it
Is good to fertilize it not so much right now I would say into February fertilize it with the all-purpose plant food uh that is going to encourage additional seed growth and if you really want I mean if you want them to go crazy you want flowers like you’ve never seen
Give them the all-purpose plant food so so while you’re spreading that out also give it humic humic is humic acid it helps seed germinate and and get deeper roots and so if you get deeper roots from your new seedlings next spring and you fertilize them you’re gonna have
Like people are gonna be walking by going wow Jim how did you pull that off that’s crazy that how do I do that well you know I listen to these this couple on the airwaves they call them the mountain gardeners and they just told me to fertilize it with humic and humic and
Allpurpose plant food you get this hila and that’s what we do in my I’ve got a couple patches we do and it is it’s just just what you would it’s the picture it’s what you envision wild flowers should be that’s what they are because we do those two things you do it right
Before they germinate in spring so you’re gonna germinate start germinating sometime in March so do it the first of March into February and then you’ll have a a great pass water ah don’t water very much maybe maybe water them a couple times a month if it’s been dry because
We get some real dry spells they’ll keep the roots they’re they’re hibernating underground right now a good Wallflower patch is a perennial the roots are hibernating they will come back next spring but if you water them couple times a month and if you get a nice snow
Cut one of those out they’d be super happy with each gem so that’s how you take care of wild flowers great questions this week folks all right Ken Lisa Lane the mountain gardeners be right back after this okay maybe after after the same white elephant exchange it’s time to
Start a new holiday tradition a living Christmas tree from Waters Garden Center can be decorated and enjoyed for a lifetime not just a season when the holiday festivities end gather family and friends and plant your tree together for years of enjoyment guaranteed as your family tree grows have a tree grow
With your family from Waters Garden Center in presc you’re listening to Ken Lane aka the the top 10 Gardener Ken can be found throughout the week in presc at wat’s Family Garden Center listen daily as he answers the top 10 questions of the week streaming on Apple Google Spotify or
Wherever you download your podcasts you’ve tuned in to the top 10 Garden Show with Garden expert Ken Lane join the conversation daily as he answers timely Garden questions email Ken a question directly from your phone to his desktop through the web at Waters Garden center.com that’s Waters with
2garden center.com or visit face Toof face throughout the week where he can be found at Waters Garden Center in presc now welcome your host Ken Lan as I clean up some of the gardens I like to add some some fertilizer now fertilizer can be manure now over my
Vegetable gardens and and my flower beds as they’re cleaned up I do like putting some organic material on top of that so as it it just compost slowly over the winter and so when I’m ready to plant starting into February and March I’m just ready to go just like that it’s
Been sitting there just just doing the G the the garden a favor it attracts more worms there’s a lot of benefits but in addition I’m also adding some fertilizer this is a great time to to fertilize your evergreen trees uh some of them in your neighborhood you’re starting to see
Them to turn yellow so so deodor Cedars pine trees trees a Colorado Spruce have this they look unhealthy this yellow Hue we call it winter chlorosis so as the days get real short you’re sensing the days are short right now and they’re only going to get shorter for about
Another week I see the 21st I believe is a winter solstice shortest day of the year and then it will get longer from there so plants are they’re feeling it and so they’re showing up there this yellowing this is winter chlorosis and so fertilizing plants now keeps that
Chlorosis away away from your plants it keeps them Greener richer Fuller thicker and so and it will set the stage for next Spring’s additional growth so mainly you’re just keeping them green right now now I have quite a few customers last so really we fertilized heavily last September October so it’s
Been a couple months it’s time to hit them again especially your Evergreens but but what back then had several customers that were they they read something online you can’t believe everything you read on online the internet is not always right in fact frequently it’s I’m just I’m baffled by
Why people read this stuff but plant SP spikes so they make this real hard Spike that you drive in the ground and the myth is one Spike will fertilize the plant for a year now the spike does actually stay in the ground in the in
The garden for a year I find that they just don’t work though and so I I think the secret is one Spike doesn’t do it it takes a dozen of them to fertilize a bigger tree and then even then you need to put it where the fertilizer is
Releasing where the feeder roots are and how where where are those and so you never find the right spot and so I’ve tried several years I tried them I mean that’d be great the Magic Bullet get the right spike in the right place fertilize for a year I’m done once it done I’ll
Pay almost any amount to get rid of work and just do it once but it didn’t work the plants suffered they weren’t they weren’t thick they were they were yellow and they didn’t have big leaves they were small they didn’t flower as much the fruit wasn’t as big plant spikes it
Is virtually impossible to get them right where the at the right spot where the roots can pick up all that nutrient and so I just stopped selling at the Garden Center I said if I’m gonna sell if I’m gonna offer gardeners a product It better work and so I was trying it
Myself this plants plant spikes don’t work uh liquid fertilizers like Miracle Grow Peters 202020 these these you add a scoop into a gallon of water and it it fertilizes plants it’s those are pretty good for for raised beds for containers for house plants terrible for plants out
In the yard if you’re going to fertilize your trees and your shrubs your Vines your your your perennial flowers out in the yard uh use a granular fertilizer and I would say use organic granular fertilizer all natural foods are much better you don’t want to eat processed
Food ultra high processed foods nor do your plants and that’s what a chemical-based fertilizer is your Scots Turf Builders all these these uh fast released chemical fertilizers uh that it’s it’s it’s not as good for your plants it burns off the the worms they don’t like it your your
Beneficial things that live in the ground that do your plants a favor they it damages them while the plant grows you’re much better off using organic fertilizers and so we make a 744 allpurpose plant food it’s cotton seed meal and bird guano and some some other
Stuff in there that just spread it out there and as the rains and the Snows hit it just releases a little bit over a very long period of time and that’s what plants want and then we juice it with some iron and some sulfur that’s what’s going to keep your plants green your
Evergreens your your your Spruce your junipers Cypress Cedars Furs all these Evergreen plants a Hol the red tip fotas are notorious for turning yellow in the winter fertilize those it will keep them green and you’ll get a much better red growth or red tipped fenia the new
Growth is red as it grows big shade it’s like a screening plant grows 10 by 10 by 10 or even bigger but if you fertilize that now you’ll get tremendous red growth in the spring this usually starts they usually start growing March but it will mainly keep them green right now
It’s it’s a it’s Game Changer so as you as you trim things up clean them up rake things up look for for where bugs were or or mildew was was growing last year clean that area up then fertilize it it’ll keep it green keep it healthy and
Get you better growth that is pest free disease free next spring but now’s your time to to do that work for spr spring growth in a couple months hey we’ve got more in store for you be right back right after this the holidays are here in Arizona’s Christmas City bringing family closer
And those chilly Winter Winds while you’re decorating the outside don’t forget to brighten up the inside with exotic Christmas plants from Waters beautiful Christmas cactus and poincettia are coming to town grown exclusively by Waters and colors you won’t find anywhere else unique vibrant and guaranteed to warm even the
Dreariest winter day for exotic Christmas plants at Waters Garden Center in Prescot the top 10 Gardener your source for timely Garden advice seasonally correct for the garden guaranteed to make a difference in your yard this season you’ve tuned in to the top 10 Gardener with Garden expert can Lane
Join him daily as he answers timely Garden questions that are sure to make a difference in your garden now welcome your host Ken Lane and we are back with Lisa Waters Lane in the studio we give this segment completely to her I try not to jump in or say anything so that we can get more Garden tips tricks and advice Insider scoop on from a woman’s perspective my gal’s perspective another Master
Gardener here at the Garden Center welcome back to the studio Lisa thank you good to be here beautiful day beautiful time to be in Prescot it’s sunny it’s and the surrounding areas yeah the central I call it the central Highlands because it’s Sedona is the same as Camp fie is the same as
Cornville the same as Skull Valley pen Presa Presa Valley we’re all kind of the same so this advice just just is good so the plants go here the same planting technique it’s the same so that’s why we I think the reason we have so many people from the other side of the Mingus
Mountains the Mingus mountains Potato Patch is uh people are coming over to get Trader Joe’s in Costco and then they stop by the garden center tuned into the show they get a point set or whatever how do I plant this tree but the the pine trees that grow here will grow
There the lilacs that grow here will grow there the pansies the tomatoes that they grow here they grow there and we’re about the same Zone same yeah season same everything yep very true so what kind of garden tip you got for us share in part last week we were talking about
Poinas where they came from how how did they become a Christmas plant yeah and we kind of briefly touched on Christmas cactus but we didn’t really hit on it too much uh but one thing we did say we were like well is Christmas cactus really a cactus and we said we said we
Said no no but we were wrong oh really it is a cactus or what it’s no it’s in a it’s in the genus family of cacti we go it is technically a cactus cool which I did not know no it’s not like a prickly pear no you can’t grow it outside um it
Actually originates from um the Central Coast mountains of Brazil oh there you go Amazonian Amazonian really kind of high it likes kind of the higher altitude Forest areas where there’s moisture so they actually um in their native environment grow kind of like almost like an airplant where they’re um
On trees they grow on trees like an orchid right or on moist rocks so they’re uh they they don’t really put out roots into the soil in the native their native environment they do here we grow them in soil uh but it truly is a cactus so we
Learned something we did yes so did our listeners you see that’s the reason you tune in every week there we doing this for decades we just passed our 650th down uh uh upload to pod really so to our podcast and we just we’re almost at a 100,000 downloads so it’s like
People are gaining traction I’m we’re starting to have other you know PR companies hey they got something going on we should go try to ask them for money we could scale this for I don’t care about going nationville I only care about us here central Highlands it’s
Just us in the central Highlands yeah go otherwise it’d be work this is just fun this is fun if you turn into work it won’t be as much fun so back to Christmas cactus yeah sorry which truly is a cactus so here we like I said
Inside uh you kind of they don’t need a lot of watery Water when the top inch or two is dry then you get water on them they don’t want it to be constantly wet once a week once once a month depend on your home somewhat so I I hate to tell
People a specific twice a month because some of it’s the soil I like to use the stick your finger in the soil test oh moisture meter yeah okay tools make the make Garden easy and if it’s dry you water it a bright room uh definitely but
Super easy to care for and live 50 years or more I mean there’s Christmas cactuses that great grandma had you know and they’re super easy to take a slip off of and restart yeah uh to propagate another one so that’s what a lot of families do they someone has great
Grandmas and they all give slips to somebody and move them on but super easy plant to grow um little bit more of a challenge to try to get it back into color again um but there’s actually which we can discuss that later that’s kind of another part but there are
Basically three kinds there’s the Thanksgiving Cactus which blooms at Thanksgiving the Christmas cactus which actually blooms at Christmas and then there’s an Easter Cactus which blooms in usually march to April somewhere in there are they different ones or they’re just they actually Bloom at those times or they program them to bloom they
Actually naturally Bloom at those times and a lot of the so the question is now and they think that the Thanksgiving and the Christmas cactus they’ve interbred them so much hybridized them that they’re kind of the same now so the Botanical is slumberger slamburger say that 10 times f is some
Guy’s name who kind of found them in Paris it’s a whole long story kind of gotta got boring so I ignored it but um there’s only maybe 16 actually varieties of Christmas cactus out there so but yeah they just naturally Bloom at different times of the year um they
Became Autumn Bloomer and a spring Bloomer basically there’s two models so kind like hether Heather they have a spring and a full right yeah plus they’ve kind of inbred them and there’s a lot they do to that uh became fairly popular in the 1800s is when they started becom popular and so
There’s basically kind of three stories as to why they’re Christmas cactus okay because they’re from Brazil not so hardore Catholics and stuff down there know kind well that’s kind of what the stories are so the first story is there was a young man in Brazil he was in the
Jungle and it was just hot and it was humid and he was praying to God that God would just kind of change the weather because he was just miserable which who wouldn’t be in the jungles sounds like a Jonah Jonah the whale story or whatever so he was praying that you know God
Would change that and then on Christmas day he emerged from his hatut and he looked out into the jungle and it was just full of flowering CAC D that’s neat so that’s one story okay Second Story is I was thinking red and white or bringing
More into it you the color of Christ and the but all those religious good good Brazilian story there I just want it to be nicer weather the second one is a Jesuit missionary in Bolivia uh was trying to you know teach the Bible to the villagers and but he
Was really struggling because they didn’t trust him they just didn’t believe him um so he prayed and then on Chris on Christmas day he prayed for guidance trying you know he wants to help people and suddenly he heard singing in the back and he’s like what’s
That and they were singing A Hymn that he had taught them oh and then he turned around and there were the village children bringing flowering cactus into the church to get to the baby Jesus Oh neat that’s kind of a neat one yeah yeah that’s good so that’s a good one they
Finally trusted him they sang out loud and then it flowers that’s cool and then the third one and this is probably more is because they blew them around Christmas oh the science behind it is they bloom about them that’s basically what the Illinois Extension yeah was basically they’re they’re Christmas cactus because
They bloom around Christmas so that kind of makes sense too but I like learning the different Legends and every plant has tremendous stories uh and there’s new ones being developed every year we introduce at our spring open house it’s usually the third the weekend right before spring we have we introduce a lot
Of the new things you’ll never find anywhere else except here we’ve grown them it’s a new they’re just being introduced here in this area at the spring open house so you see a new lilac that’s maybe shorter or brighter or yeah has a bigger Foria with bigger flowers on it something like
That so there’s new ones being and the people that develop those that found them that created that propagated them usually their names attached to it and there’s a story on how they found it they they I know guys that go out they’re in Tibet between the four and 5,000 foot level
They just scour looking for new kinds of plants and that’s where this Christmas cactus came from I’m sure they were scouring sounds like Bolivia and the Amazon Brazil right and they found it and said oh we could grow that around Christmas we’ll call it a Christmas
Cactus right well thank you L if you need a handout on how to make it bloom again we have one of those here at the Garden Center or get it yourself just go to Waters garden center.com and type in in the search bar like Christmas cactus
It’ll pop right up so it’s Z to help you all right throughout the week Lisa and I we camp out here at Waters Gardens and if you want more Garden history on all things holidays last week as Point said is this week’s it’s Christmas cus come
Visit us back after this look if your wife mom or dad wants an ugly sweater for Christmas get them a sweater not some piece of plastic but if someone you truly care about loves their Garden a gift card to Waters makes perfect sense next spring she can pick exactly what
She was hoping we all know it’s not the same as a huge Flower Basket or fragrant Rose but hey it’s winter garders understand wat’s online gift cards are found at top 10 plants.com or at wat’s Garden Center in Prescot you’re listening to Garden expert Ken Lane owner of waters Garden
Center in presca look for more tips tricks and garden shortcuts through Ken’s website additional shows of this podcast read his weekly Garden column or follow him on Facebook Instagram at Waters Garden center.com that’s Waters with two T’s Garden center.com welcome to the top 10 Garden Show at Ken Lane listen to Ken’s tips
Tricks and garden shortcuts guaranteed to make your Gardens more beautiful than ever this year now welcome your host Ken Lang so lots of holiday plants going out right now from the garden center at least here in Prescot so we’re kind of famous for our poinsettas Christmas cactus even house plants are going out
I’ve noticed quite a few bigger trees that is Pine Spruce Furs of the big evergreen tree so people are decorating or are adding to and it is perfectly fine to plant right now it is absolutely a great time to plant I thought I would
Give you an insid or tip on how to plant that in the yard right now so your your your pressure’s off right now so plants are dormant they’re they’re they’re moving they’re alive but they’re in stasis they’re kind of slow motion and that’s why it’s so difficult to make a
Mistake by planting now if you do make a mistake it will be you planted it walked away and you didn’t do anything until it wakes up next March so it needs it’s going to need some care over the next you know eight to 12 weeks it’s going to
Need some water basically a couple times a month and when you’re planting it the secret is making sure you hydrate that surrounding soil well because that that moisture will stay there for a long time it’ll s it’ll stay around that root ball for a couple weeks which is great
Whereas if you’re to plant this in March when it’s windy and dry in uh in June when it’s just blistering Sun you’d have to water that thing every two three days now you don’t so the pressure’s off the plant likes it because it’ll wake up next spring go what what happened I went
To bed I was in this my I was at the farm and I was growing in this beautiful bucket and now I’m in the yard what is this and so here’s a couple tricks especially for evergreens so I’m planting some some Arizona Cyprus at our
Yard in between the houses so I want to block between the two buildings my house and yours and I don’t want to see you in your kitchen your skibbies making your coffee I just don’t want to see that I want to block that off and so we’re planting some Arizona Cyprus fastest
Growing of the thick kind of junip looking types of native looking Evergreens they grew up about 20 feet tall 12 feet wide it’s perfect for a fast growing screen and if we plant it now let’s say a nice 15 gallon size you know six seven eight foot tree it’s
Going to grow even more next spring because it’s going to root out some and it will just wake up and go it must be okay I’m going to root I’m grow right here so I’ll get more growth next Spring by planting now here’s how to do it when
You’re planting whatever it is whatever the size of the bucket is that’s as deep as the hole needs to be you do not need to go very deep you’re going wide roots go they go sideways there’s nothing down there in Arizona soil especially elevation there’s nothing down there for
Them they’re not going to go after more kichi and rock and there’s no soil there’s no richness down there we’re not in the Midwest where you’ve got six foot of top soil they just have more rock layers down there the roots go sideways in search of more nutrients more water
Around the yard they’re going to search out looking for things and so if you know that’s how the roots are going to grow encourage that just go go all in the same depth as the bucket three times the width kind of saucer shaped that’s the that’s the shape of your hole
Planting hole when you dig that hole when that soil comes out if you get any debris that’s bigger than a golf ball that has to be screed out has to be screened you need to get rid of that junk it’s just going to heat up in
Summer I know it’s cool now but it’s going to be hot those big particles they don’t a big chunky Rock doesn’t hold enough water molecules to kind of keep things moist and so you want to screen that stuff out of there old roots they just sit there and compost in the ground
You don’t want that it robs the nutrients it’ll take nitrogen from the tree you’re planting in order to feed the composting roots and weeds and that kind of stuff you don’t leave that stuff on the ground get it out of there of course Boulders rocks some of you live
On the Rock piles I don’t know how you dig a hole up there so by the time you get done digging a big boulder out of there you there’s no soil left so you might have to bring in some Top Soil we sell top soil by the bag so it’s for
That reason and so but dig your hole if it’s ideal you don’t have to screen it very much you just amend what’s left over with some compost of Premium mulch so we do make a composted bark product that looks real Rich looks like looks like coffee grounds only a little big little bit
Bigger uh so you want to add some more organic into that surrounding native crummy soil you’re not going to dig out nice stuff it’s going to be crummy blend about 25% premium mulch to your native soil and blend that together and that’s what you’re going to use to back fill
Around that root ball so as you blend that if you hit a rock or something and you need to use a little bit more mulch as filler go ahead you can go up to about 50/50 after that it gets too rich and there you need to really get a bag
Of top soil so but most of us we can use about 25 30% mulch to our native soil blend that together that’s going to loosen up that native soils doesn’t back back down so the roots can get through it faster and it’s going to hold the moisture in around the root ball through
The winter and it’s going to attract worms so the beneficial things that are attracted to the rich the richness of your soil is going to bring them in and so those are all good things so you’re going to take that plant out of the bucket loosen up the bottom Roots rarely
I mean you should not buy a plant that’s root bound that is where the roots are going spiraling round and round and round that’s just that’s an old plant they couldn’t sell last year so it’s a carryover a leftover and they’re still trying to get it to you many times
They’ll be cheaper priced they’ll be because they’re leftovers they’re just they’re getting rid of them but once a plant’s Roots start growing round and round and round like that they never stop I know they say to root prune it and that’s what you have to do if that’s
If that’s the case but even then when you prune that that that wraparound root it’s it just knows that’s what I got to do I’m wrapping around it just keeps growing that way so just try to if you do see that at the bottom a little bit
Just loosen them up a bit keep the root ball intact but loosen the side Roots a bit not a lot just a little bit then you put it you just you gently put it in the ground take that Mulch and native soil wrap it around just kind of pack it in
Around the that root ball to keep it upright and and that’s what you do what I do before I put the plant in the ground because I want to hydrate the surrounding soil if I’m going to plant these new Arizona Cyprus I’m going to have my hose out there I’m going to
Hydrate that soil in the in the root ball to kind of that that before I even put the root in the ground I’m Gonna Fill that that planting hole up halfway with with water not to water the the plant that I’m going to put in there but
To water the surrounding soil so it doesn’t Wick water away from this new plant I put in the ground that’s what’s going to ensure that plant stays moist for the next couple of weeks so I’ll fill it up halfway with water I’ll set my plant on top in the water on top H
That hole I’ll backfill it with the mulch and native soil then I’m going sprinkle a a layer a handful or two of allpurpose plant food then I’ll I’ll top it off by watering it all in at the at the very end kind of making sure everything is hydrated and you’re pretty
Much set for a couple weeks now here’s The Insider tip our snows to come can be very heavy and so especially on fast growing deodor Cedars very fast growing Arizona Cyprus these things grow they’re they just grow so fast they haven’t the wood hasn’t solidified and so these
Heavy snows come on they’re lighting up on these branches and then they just weep they they fall over almost so staking your evergreen trees especially Spruce Pine furge Cypress Cedar junipers all these Evergreens stake that so as the Snows come the plant doesn’t load up with 100 pounds of snow and then fall
Right over you you the root hairs will continue forming slowly but they are still rooting so it’ll keep you from breaking those as it goes over it won’t kill the tree but why have it why come back out and have it after heavy snowstorm have to prop it back up so
Staking is the secret for this time of year for trees and shrubs mainly Evergreens that you’re GNA have to do that with it’s it’s a game changer next year you could probably cut that off the stakes only need to stay on for about a year and then once that new ring of
Growth forms it’s going to solidify the roots are underneath it it will stand up straight in even the most ferocious of snowstorms so that’s kind of The Insider tip a lot of folks go this this Spruce is heavy on its own it is and it will
Stay up by itself until it gets 100 pounds of snow then it flops right over so to stake it two stakes on either side just tie it one just one we make a v strap with some wire just holds it ight and it’s just going to take the pressure off keep that
Plant from from just flopping over under the weight of all that wet snow it’s mainly goingon to happen February March those snows are pretty heavy that’s how you plant this time of year mulch food nice same size hole three times a width and it’s that easy really water it a
Couple times a week a month couple times a month and you’re good to go be right back with more after this this okay maybe after the same white elephant exchange it’s time to start a new holiday tradition a living Christmas tree from Waters Garden Center can be
Decorated and enjoyed for a lifetime not just a season when the holiday festivities end gather family and friends and plant your tree together for years of enjoyment guaranteed as your family tree grows have a tree grow with your family from Waters Garden Center in presc you’re listening to Garden expert Ken
Lane he can be found throughout the week at wat’s Garden Center in preset thanks for tuning in to the top 10 Garden Show you’ve tuned into to the top 10 Gardener with Garden expert kin Lane join him daily as he answers timely Garden questions that are sure to make a
Difference in your Gardens now welcome your host Ken Lane this has been a very busy week for me and the crew here at Waters garden center now it’s we’ve got some time to take care of or nurture or clean up or maintain the garden center and so we’ve
Been changing out every single light bulb in the garden center with LED lights so we’re converting all the Flores you know T8 the traditional fluorescent light bulbs it’s getting expensive they’re hot they’re they’re difficult to maintain you’re up there all the time change the light bulbs every month LEDs we’ve been
Experimenting experimenting with those and you put them up and they’re good for years and they reduce your electric bill by dramatic amounts and so now commercial settings we have literally hundreds of bulbs and they’re on all the time it’s like you come in you turn the
Lights on and they stay on and so we’ve changed out hundreds of them already we didn’t we didn’t give it all changed out I mean just just a portion of them and we’ve got a reduction of of electricity by $600 it’s amazing the difference so we the
Incandescent we we have a few of those not very many mainly it’s the it’s the four foot tubes we’ve changed out the the fluorescent ones with LED we take the ballast out rewired it and I’m pretty handy that way so you know do research a YouTube video that shows how
To do it kind of go hey you try it once with the lights off with the power off so I’m not gonna electrocute myself deep respect for you electricians I do have respect for being me electrocuted but with the power off you’re pretty safe
You try it and then you you go oh let’s follow this again you try it once go hey this worked it’s pretty good and so now we’ve changed out we just finished the last one this week week and this is stuff we can do in the winter because
It’s not quite as busy I could never do electrical work in March and April and it’s just Mayhem customers are everywhere they’ve been inside way too long and they want flowers and vegetables and new flowering shrubs they’re just all in and so there I can
Now’s the Time I do and this is what I love about being a small business owner you never get bored you’re not specialized I mean yes I do plants but that’s that’s my passion I just love when I get really stressed out I’ve been shopping credit card rates or insurance
Or or whatever too much I get an irritated customer that just they they drag they suck the life out of you and you just need a boost I go out and I talk to my customers about gardening plants my favorite what works what doesn’t it’s like it’s like a joy but
Then then I get to to be a plumber or electrician or I get to lay pavers or or shop for a new car you’re always doing different things and so you never get bored and the beauty of a seasonal business so spring is our peak time because every
Department’s open so we don’t have vegetables right now we got a few winter vegetables I think there’s some left very few perennials at departments kind of shut down the these are major major uh volume going through with that we have lots of trees going out now lots of
Shrubs so that department lots of house plants lots of of Christmas plants those departments are still going but the half the Departments are kind of at half throttle so I’ve got time whole crew we’ve got time to maintain it we we sat down and we put all new shopping cart
Wheels I hate going to a retailer and the carts are all wobbly and squeaky and you’re flopping around it just drives me crazy and I don’t want I don’t like that for myself I don’t want that for customers come spring so we have I don’t know a hundred shopping carts something
Like that there’s a lot and so we changed out the wheels so they’ll be nice and straight and they work well next spring so these are things you never get bored being a small business owner so could I make more money in corporate probably but would I be as
Happy no way would I get bored sitting in a cubicle absolutely so I just love love being a owning a small family garden center here at Waters Garden Center truly all right that’s it for this show uh we will be back next week everyone until then have a happy holiday
Merry Christmas and happy Hanukkah I believe for all my Jewish friends out there throughout the week lece and I camp out here at wat’s Garden Center look if your wife mom or dad wants an ugly sweater for Christmas get them a sweater not some piece of plastic
But if someone you truly care about loves their Garden a gift card to Waters makes perfect sense next spring she can pick exactly what she was hoping we all know it’s not the same as a huge Flower Basket we’re fragrant Rose but heyy it’s winter gardeners understand water’s
Online gift cards are found at top 10 plants.com or at wat’s Garden Center in presc if you want a more fruitful Garden increased success in landscape that just feels better then tune in Daily to the top 10 Garden podcast years of tips tricks and garden shortcuts are guaranteed to make your Gardens nicer
Than ever listen to this podcast or read Ken’s weekly Garden column by visiting Waters Garden center.com that’s Waters with 2garden center.com thanks for tuning in