Well, Jane McKinnon, I'm pleased to have you here because when I saw the movie ET, I don't know if you've seen it yet a potted mum plays a very important role in the movie ET and I won't I won't give it away what role the Potted mum plays but I thought it was interesting that what I used to call an ornamental at what you like to call an amenity or a flower or more commonly known as a flower plays an important role in a major motion picture and I was pleased to see that I'm glad to have you here for another reason too and that is because of some fairly strange news items in the last couple of days. It seems the world is going to pot faster than I ever imagined. It could first of all record cold temperatures have been established across the upper Great Lakes area today at 5:45 this morning the temperature at Duluth International Airport was 36 degrees now, that's cool. Even for the twin ports. That's a new record low for this day at the previous record was 39 degrees set in 1925.Little probably a little cool for some of those flowers up in the Duluth area. And then this news item chain scientists are warning that the first Frost this year might come a little early in the reason is a giant cloud of sulfur and debris spewed by a March eruption of a Mexican volcano the Six Mile thick Cloud floats in an area from the equator up about as far north as New Orleans. So I guess it doesn't really affect us. We don't have to worry about it too much but those are the news items that would indicate that it's a little bit cooler this summer this growing season that in has been and I've heard people complaining that their Gardens especially sometimes their flowers just don't seem to be responding this year is is that really happening? Well, it's true but you know, there are always two sides to all of these problems. The pens is have never been so lovely the perennials In Bloom are lasting longer because it's cooler. We often jealous of Duluth because the colors up there stronger because they're not washed.By so much heat and things like calendula has that fade away for us in California poppies, when it gets warm down here. They have them all summer. You know, I wish I'd had brains enough to plant sweet peas this spring. I think it could have had some the first time in st. Paul the cool season plants have been very fine where the problem is that almost every Minnesotan who Gardens at all grows a tomato and a tomato Heaven Help Us is a tropical plant. And so we are really pulling a stunt. We grow such fine ones in this state and they have been very much slowed along with the peppers the peppers just up and turned purple when it gets cooled. They don't like it at all and we know why they turned purple there's a very fancy scientific reason but it's some sort of amusing my toes turned just like those but not for the same reason. Well, obviously Jane McKinnon University of Minnesota horticulturalist will not I suppose turn away questions about vegetable gardening, but we should make clear to all of our listeners now as we give out the telephone numbers that Jane'sReason for being here is to answer questions about flowers and other amenity plans and we'll explain the reason we're using amenity instead of ornamental in just a moment. You can call us in the Twin Cities area at 2276 thousand 2276 thousand is the Twin Cities area telephone number if you have a question for horticulturalist, Jane McKinnon about what's going on in your garden or what is not going on in your garden and for listeners outside the Twin Cities with in Minnesota, please call us toll free in that toll-free number is 1-866-560-4440. 1-800-695-1418. We wait just a moment for the callers to get lined up. I see the lines flashing Jane. I walked by the rose gardens near Lake Harriet here the other evening and the roses don't seem to be suffering at all. They were just blooming like crazy plus not they like the cool weather. It's been a bumper year for Roses because ofFact that it's cooler and they get better use of the water and fertilizer when they're not exhausted with the heat. So you just depends on which plants are the most worried about now. I can't grow celosia this summer very well or coleus. They're both suffering because they are very tropical plants came from java. Well, I suspect we're going to hear in a few moments about lots of other problems and again friendly reminder that while Jane would might attempt to answer your questions about vegetable gardening were much more interested in questions about flowers and amenity plant. So we have callers on the line will get to the first one right now. Good afternoon. Jane is listening. Good afternoon. I'd like to ask a question. My hobby is bone site washing trees and we use many Woody ornamental flowering plants and sometimes in order to thicken the caliper of the trunk. We like to leave things in the ground outside and I'm wondering what kind of a hardness rating in a protected area in the Twin Cities. Would you suggest would be safe for overwintering? Well, I'm notAn expert on Bonsai that is a bonsai Club in the Twin Cities that knows all of the answers, but some of those people literally bury some of their plants and I'm not sure exactly how they protect them from being broken, but it's very difficult to leave anything in a pot above ground in Minnesota over our Winters because the lethal temperature for roots is much higher than the lethal temperatures for Tops and so very often when the roots get Frozen and deeply chilled that plant never comes back that we prove that without growing apples in this state. We don't grow apples on their own rootstocks. We put them onto very Hardy Crabapple roots. And so anytime a root system is above ground we've got problems. That's why many of our ordinary Hardy plants die in the Planters. Remember one year st. Paul spent a lot of money on arborvitaes downtown in large concrete tubs. They were watered they were cared for in every way but they all died each winter becauseIt's got too cold. So I would suspect that if you will get in touch with me at the office at the University. We can find the address of the Bonsai club for you. Maybe you already belong I do well, then you ask your own friends and problem that we all share wandering in a you know, in a protected area what we can get away with as far as keeping not having to Winter things under glass. I am I would be afraid to leave anything a very much value above ground. But thank you very much. You're welcome. All right. Thanks for calling with your question in the lines are filled with other callers who will get to the next question right now. Good afternoon. Jane McKinnon is listening. Thank you every year. We lose a few roses. It seems some years. I'll bury them some years. I'll put them in Clone put cones over them. Sometimes we'll cover with straw and dirt and every year we still lose them as their one best way of protecting roses in the winter. Well, the Minnesota Rose Society has as I'm sure you know decided that the Minnesota tip isWay that they have the most success with where they loosen the rose on one side tip it into a trench about 18 inches deep covered first with soil and then put hay and leaves and things on top. It most always works. I suppose that sometimes when it doesn't work, perhaps that particular plant was stressed during the summer. There is a tremendous connection between summer problems and winter survival. And if a particular plant did not do so well from any reason it might not live through this with the same protection that a more healthy plant would we also know as I'm sure all the rose Growers know that some of the varieties seem to be harder than others people talk with great interest about peace and Queen Elizabeth living through everything and some of the others not quite making it. So that's the only explanation I have for that. Thank you very much. We've had remarkable success in my family Jane with a ratty old styrofoam cooler.Don't throw away and turned it upside down over a pretty little rose plant that my mother-in-law truth broughal gave me about three years ago and be darned if that thing hasn't survived two Winters now despite our best efforts. I'm sure to kill it off did lots of snow fall on top of this cooler. Well, yes, there was a lot and pretty good cover. Well, we have other callers waiting with more interesting anecdotes than that. I'm sure we'll take the next one right now. Good afternoon. Jane is listening good afternoon, many of us have limited space in which to practice flowers, but would still like to have several kinds many which are available only in seed form. As you know packages of seeds have become quite expensive. We'd rather have a large variety, especially if you use any few seats and throw the rest away. My question is can a person you see it's from prior years and if so, is there a rule of thumb to use to determine which varieties will still be potent in the following years?Yes, there is more information that I have in my head. I know in particular that Delphinium seed are more viable if they're used almost immediately after they are ready to take off the plant but most flower seed can be kept as long as they kept cool and dry you leave them in their packages. Perhaps you put them in a fruit jar, you know a glass jar and keep them in a cool dry place in the basement. They should not be kept warm because a seed is a living thing. It is having limited respiration all winter long while it's waiting but in all truth many of the seeds that we get commercially have been mixed with seeds from other years of those that are long-lasting and with some research we could probably make a list of those seeds that lasted the longest that's a good idea we ought to do that at the University. So people ought not to shy away then from keeping some of those seed packets not good seed packages. Yes, we don't suggest that many people.Save seeds from their own garden unless they want to go to the problem of using fungicides on them and learning a great deal about caring for seeds. That's that's a real skill that the seed companies have had to learn and you often have diseases kept through if you've had problems Outdoors on the seeds that you would pick yourself and none of your hybrid varieties would be right either they'd be all mixed up. But the ones that you've saved I have saved seed for several years. In fact, I planted pans has this year that came from sluice and grew to very fine company in Holland. They came in 1972 and I have lots of lovely panzers in my garden right now from those seeds. It's 15 minutes after 12 o'clock. We're talking with horticulturalist Jane McKinnon from the University of Minnesota who is answering questions about flowers and amenity plants. We have callers on the line will get to the next questioner right now. Good afternoon. Jane is listening. Hi.I was just wondering I have two questions about my indoor plants. I have a weeping fig and the leaves are kind of sticky some are some of the leaves also our campground at the tips and then the new small leave but there are falling off. Mmm. Well, whenever you find stickiness on an indoor plant lots of outdoor plants you look for either scale or aphids because both of those insects exclude this stuff they call honey do in the summertime. It falls out of the elm trees with black sooty mold all over people's cars and poor Village of a city of over Tana was having a practically right down there few summers ago, but this happens with indoor plants and so you must find the insect that's causing the trouble and then if you will give a ring to the entomology clinic at the University, they'll tell you how to clean them off. Okay? Yeah about that well,The and in when you need an insecticide for mites, there's nothing else to do. We have several suggestions about how to use them on a nice warm day when there's not a terrible amount of wind if you take your Chef Lair or anything outdoors and give it a good spray of Cal Thane that's ke ke L th a any and really drench it. That's one way to treat it. Well hurt you or anybody else anytime you're using the chemical sprays. It's a good idea to keep it off your skin. And when you get through take a bath change clothes, you never know who's going to be allergic to what most of the things that are recommended for amateur use are safe with precautions, but that's the kind of precaution. We think you ought to take if you are forced by cold weather or your situation to treat a plant indoors go to the bathroom a spread in the tub open the window a little bit and get out of there until everything is calm down. That isWay to handle it inside. Thank you very much. You're welcome. Right. Thanks for calling and we have other callers on the line right now will give out the numbers once again, so you have a chance to call and get in line to ask your question of horticulturalist chain McKinnon in the Twin Cities call us at two two seven six thousand two two seven six thousand listeners outside the Twin Cities with in Minnesota are invited to call toll free no charge if you call one 800 695 to 9701 800/600 2097 hundred and we'll take the next questioner. Good afternoon. Jane is listening. Hi. I have a question about the flowers at the back of my annual Garden. I planned this out in my head. It was going to be so beautiful this year, but the flowers at the back are letting me down. I have crackerjack marigolds that are supposed to be big and they're not even a foot tall and they're starting to bloom.Well, I'll tell you what the trouble is it's the cold weather crackerjack Maragos a form of the of the taller ones. We've always called them African but they really didn't come from Africa. They came from Mexico in the beginning they like hot weather. So if you can pinch off these first blooms fertilizing water them or maybe you won't have to do much fertilizing but a little bit wouldn't hurt and if when the weather turns warm, they'll start to grow you can encourage growing height by giving them water and fertilizer water it in well, and then you have to wait for warm weather. They just don't like cool weather. So I should pinch off the blooms if they're blooming way too small crackerjack should Bloom know about two feet. I think 18 inches to two feet. They're not there. Let's take them off and make the leaves grow for a while. Okay and let me ask you also about Clio. I've never planted them before and I understood from reading that they were supposed to be big and bushy and I have these tall thin stick things to feed upon.What can I expect from those they look exactly like mine in my garden for the same reason? The reason that those are terribly popular in the in the Deep South because they can stand hot dry weather. They even reseed themselves on some of the farms in Minnesota out to the west where the wind blows and it's warm all summer. They're in the same situation. They're waiting for warm weather and they will come along as soon as it warms up. Give them some fertilizer and a little bit don't don't burn them up and a little extra water and see what happens. They really do that best. Anyhow, every summer in Late July and August. Well, what about the blooms? I know they're blooming how tall are they? Well, they're about two feet tall, but they're just as skinny as a rail pinch the top Bloom and see what happens. Okay? Thank you very much. You're welcome. Very easy for you to say pinch the top and see what happens. Yeah, great advice great advice probably for all sorts of human problems. We have callers on the line with questions. We'll take the next one. Good afternoon. You're on the air. Thank you. Good afternoon Jane. I'm calling from st. Paul and I have two quick questions the first one.Is I've been I have real good luck with African Violets and I've been told that African that orchids are easy to grow the African Violets. Is that true? Cuz I'd like to start growing orchids. Well, there's an Orchid Society here in the metropolitan area that would certainly think so and as a marvelous article in today's New York about the Orchid show in New York, they are extremely popular and they must not be so hard to grow because so many people are growing them, but it is true that you have to choose the orchids. I believe for the kind of light in the kind of conditions you have and so if you were right me a card, I'll give me a call at school. I'll give you this the name of the Orchid Society. They are very smart about what you can do where and I know about the Orchid. Yes. Remember the Horticultural. Well, that's where you ask for. Okay, I'll take a hibiscus. That's about 6 feet tall. It's just huge and she will not prune it and it's just getting really laggy. I have some of herThings and I don't dare let minor two small yet, but I'd like to know just some general advice about pruning and specific hibiscus. And then can I take that advice and use it for you know pruiting like how you know, how do you go about pruning? Well, there are various kinds of hibiscus the florist right now selling some that are intended to be used on balconies and porches in the summertime and brought into the house and they do get big but they have soft tips on them. And so I have not tried this on the indoor variety the variety is being grown indoors here, but people in the South who grow them outside all the time take out some of the tall stems from the base and they do pinch the limbs the shoots of the young things to make them branch and keep them smaller, but it's very difficult to keep a plant that wants to be four or five feet tall down to two. It's better perhaps to look for a dwarf variety. Okay, either that or just, you know, let go to the ceiling. Yeah, and then give them away and start over again, but don't is just beginning to beA lot of interest on those things and dr. Harrell Wilkins has just been recommending that people use them this Summer and bring them in so we can look further for dwarf varieties for you. And those that are suited for indoor culture the ones I remember from the south got to be 20 feet tall and I know you don't want that kind. Well, no hardly. All right. Thanks for calling with your question and just before 1 o'clock. Jane will give out her office telephone number and address at the University where folks can write or call with further questions given address you better in a dress and we have other callers waiting. So the next questioner is ready. Go ahead. Jane is listening. I'm calling from southwest corner of the state.And what I'm wondering is what bedding crops would be good to raise for for sale to Flora and for sale the individuals and secondly, I'm wondering what crop what of these crops would be compatible to grow alongside melons and alongside other vegetable crops. Well the most popular bedding plant in the United States, of course for some years has been the petunia because there are lots of different colors and their people seem to be able to fit them in wherever they have sunlight on the next most popular bedding plant are geraniums and those who are being grown now by the florist from seed because they are the greenhouses because they're getting away from some of the diseases that were often present in the cutting stock that nobody knew about and they findingAlso that these these new seed grown geraniums while they have not yet achieved the fine finest of the double flowers at some of the older ones have a quite sturdy in our weather conditions. So they are populum and people like to have them their Gardens and then they can bring them in in the winter. If they have the right conditions and grow them in the house marigolds are easy to grow they come quickly in the in the greenhouse and they are popular with people because particular Western Minnesota, they can stand your warm Summer's and your windy locations another plant that's coming on strong in the bedding plant trade and they take a very short time in the greenhouse and can be quickly sold of the dwarfs in has particular the Peter Pan's that have the large blossoms and the short plants. They don't blow over they don't have to be staked and they are less expensive them geraniums for people who want a blaze of colour and who don't want to have to spend as much money as you would do for a large bed of geraniums the other two that are extremely popular.Well, there are three because it's great deal of interest in things for shady places and especially people who are living in apartments and who's perhaps their balconies do not face south or west impatience and the fibrous rooted begonias and coleus are the ones that are the florists are using the most I don't know of any reason that any of those couldn't be grown in a alongside of the melon plants. We have two professors at the University who work with bedding plant people and we can get further information for you from them. And they also have conferences in the winter that you'd be most welcome to attend. Alright, thanks for that question and that response Jane we have other callers waiting at 25 minutes after 12 o'clock Our Guest is Jane McKinnon University of Minnesota horticulturalists, and we'll take the next question right now. Good afternoon. Jane is listening. Yeah. I had a couple questions one was I understand that the fluoride in the water is the thing that causes brown tips and like spider plants, and I also that problem with my Ficus fig andI was wondering if there's any nutrient other than just setting the water out, you know to get the chlorine whatever out of it that I could put in the soil to help prevent that problem and was there any course or books that you could recommend on detailed pruning of various outside plants and inside plants? Yes, the first question then not very many plants are sensitive to fluorine and chloride but a few are and we know the spider plants are and some of the other indoor plants. We don't I don't know of anything that you do except to take the to let the water set out overnight and let some of that evaporate from the surface. It's also possible though to get a list of those plants that are sensitive and have distilled water or water from your dehumidifier rainwater or melt the snow for those few plants and the rest of the things you just water ordinarily that would solve that problem for you on the question of books. We are right now out of print because we've had a budgetEven with Publications at the University but before long we hope to have some more issues of Mervin Nigel's very fine pruning folder. It's not on the we don't have it now, but we expect within a few months to have that again that has been used by lots of people in the state that is there are several hardcover books one how to prune almost everything and then another one called plant pruning in pictures. Both of those are not new they've been on the market a while and they still in print you can still find them in bookstores. So and then there is a very excellent softcover pruning bulletin put out by one of the companies that has a lot of those. I don't know remember now whether it's a sunset book on Ortho book, but it is in the book stores as well as Brooklyn Botanic Gardens pruning manual which costs about $2. So those are the four that I can think of that I have used with great pleasure and you are still available to anyone. Okay? Thank you. All right. Thanks for calling andYou have lots of callers standing by with more questions for Jane. And so we'll get to the next one right now. Good afternoon. Jane is listening. Hi. I have a question about a ficus that I have and since we moved which was about 10 months ago. I the plant which was very beautiful has been losing its leaves and it loses them. It comes out in a very luscious growth and then the new leaves kind of curl up and die or they fall off and there they are very green. They're very vibrant. I've treated it with malathion according to what the local florist said, but I don't know what else to do. Well, if you hadn't said 10 months I would have been I would have thought I was smart enough to answer you Ficus and notorious about hating to be changed in locations and the florist laugh about if they could just get people not to even look at him for about three months at be. All right. I don't know why they should be losing leaves again after 10 months unless it's not getting enough light. That's one of the first things you to think about those things. I have no other explanation.It has no insects if it's getting plenty of sunlight or plenty of good light. I can't imagine why it would drop and they get rootbound that's possible. But that user doesn't cause the dropping of leaves if you're feeding it. Okay, how long has it been in the pot? It's been in the pot for about two and a half years are the roots coming out of the bottom. Yes. Well that you may have to go to the in the summer time is the best time to replant them anyway, because you have to go to a picnic table and Slide the things out and get the next size pot and put in some fresh soil. Okay? And is there any special kind of plant food that The Ficus likes where most of the ordinary house plant things are work just fine. They just mixtures some of the florist and I don't understand this say to use it at half speed. I said, why don't they thin out the mixtures but very often they think that the recipe is on the bottles of the indoor plant fertilizers are little bit too strong and they suggest using about half half as much in the water that suggested if you don't have any luck.All these things let us know. We'll think of something else. Okay. Thank you very much 12:30. Now, we're talking with Professor Jane McKinnon horticulturalist from the University of Minnesota. And if you're trying to reach us, we have a couple of lines open, but to quite a few are still filled were at 2276 thousand in the Twin Cities one 865 to 9700 for those of you living outside the Twin Cities with in Minnesota and the next caller is on the line. Good afternoon were listening. Hi. We have a fuchsia out in our Northeastern garden and last fall we took it in and there was a great big caterpillars on it and it lost all its leaves when we put it in the garage and over the winter a gruesome really small green leaves, but this summer the spring we took it out in the garden and there's really a lot of green leaves are but there's no flowers.Probably had a hard winter, you know the people in Minnesota who have the best luck with fuchsias those fortunate Farm families that have a great big white house with an upstairs bedroom with Windows facing south that they don't heat very much and they really get fuchsias to grow a fuchsia is a cool season plan, but it doesn't really go dormant in the winter time. And so it needs to be in a little place in the winter where the sunlight where the temperature is quite cool but not freezing and that way it will burst back into bloom when the season comes. I don't think that it's very easy to keep one in good condition unless you have that ideal sort of a place watch for the insects in the summer it this it'll probably come along better. Now as we've had a Cool Spring, that's what they like be sure. It's fertilized and don't let him or big room. That's all right, you did. It doesn't like a hot place they like California because they have such cool nights, but the new need sunshine andMany big green worms get on it. Just pick them off. Okay you watch for those big green worms the kind of fun anyway to watch him out. They probably have beautiful butterfly if you left him alone I suppose but who wants to wait that long? All right, we have other callers who will get to the next question right now. Good afternoon. Jane is listening. Good afternoon Jane first of all before my question. I just want to thank you for the information that you've given us so far. I really have learned a lot by listening to you when I'm having fun. Don't you don't need to thank me for that. Well, I'm glad to hear that. My question is with regard to a bed of delphiniums that I started about five years ago. I started with about 30 original plants and about three years ago. I started to split them under the advice of a florist in our area of northern Minnesota. I'm wondering if I'm doing this correctly by splitting them at the time that I am splitting them is in the spring of the year is what I understood. Is that correct? Yes them at that particular time. Yes, but I think what I've noticedIt is that when I've done this the mother plant of the original plant that's left basically in Disturbed as very well. The one that I start takes perhaps two years to really get going. Well, is it possible to do this same process in the fall of the year? And in order to get them established? How soon would I have to do it in the fall or what time would be safe to do it offer them maybe some more protection mulching of some sort and then expect to see more growth when they would come up in the spring of the Year. Well, it would be tricky the thing that most Delphinium experts claim is that the third year old three-year-old plant is the most vigorous and finest blossoms that they get and they suggest planting fresh seed all the time so that in a reserve bid someplace you have young plants coming to put into your display Garden so that you don't have to go through the spitting process youDone very well to be able to do it and have things Bloom so nicely but if you continue to get fresh seed you can continue to have young plants in really good shape and you can put them in as you need to expand the numbers. The worst Pest of Delphinium is something called Delphinium blacks and that's the cyclamen might and that sometimes gets into Old plantings and you are inadvertently moving that around are you don't have it because you'd know it if you did.There are some new varieties new Delphinium hybrids now coming out of England that are just beautiful Phil Smith. Who's a Delphinium expert is in England right now considered looking at them and thinking about which ones he's going to come back and talk about in Minnesota. So I think getting new seed would be fun from now on and they can be ordered from English Growers. So if what you're doing the splitting is the best I know but I would also advise starting young plants from seed every year if anybody is that successful with delphiniums. I'm jealous of you. Well, they're just beautiful the spikes of always been very sturdy strong 6-foot spikes on the on many of the varieties. We've had really good luck. Where do you live and your Princeton Minnesota? Yes, it's you're getting a little farther north, but you're doing an awfully good job. Well we Mulch and and do protect them in the fall of the year and find that it really has helped to do that. You have to yes. Alright. Thanks very much. Appreciate the question in the call and we'll get to the next questioner right now. Good afternoon. Jane is listening.Questions, you mentioned booklet or something saying what house plants were sensitive to chlorine. How can I get that? I guess I didn't mention a book that I said, that would be a worthwhile thing for me to check up on and make a list. Okay, and we'll be glad to try to do that. I know of two or three off the top of my head, but I would like to have a chance to do a little reading to find out what the others are that information is available in the literature. Okay. Also, I have a false Aralia plant that right at the base where the leaves join the stem. I've noticed some little milky white almost like a little webbing and somebody had suggested that might be a spider mite and suggested spraying it with a mixture of just dis detergent water but didn't know what proportions or anything. Do you know anything about that or have far too much? It's not a spider mite if it looks fuzzy that is are the terrible Pest of house plants called theMeet Willie a fedora they called mealybugs. They have all sorts of names of people hate them. They are very hard to get rid of one way that you can get rid of them without spring is to use a Q-tip and dip it in alcohol and touch them and if you don't have too many of them, sometimes you can clean them up that way. That's the actual bug that's right. And the alcohol has to fry it is what you're trying to do. If you can't get rid of all them that way and sometimes you can't then you go take the thing out doors and spray it with kill thing that I mentioned before or no malathion would be better for these outdoors and malathion smells to bed is spray inside. Sometimes it get to be such a pain that you ditch that plant and get another one. But if you just have a few better to start with the alcohol and then with the malathion outdoors and see if you can't clean it up. Okay, and one quick last question 2, can you use the same an indoor plant fertilizer for hanging pots outside or should they have something different different?No, it's easy to use the indoor plant fertilizer because it's usually milder and you don't get an over concentration in the pots actually a slow-release granulated thing that you can put in a teaspoon full of to every two or three months works. Just great on those pots outside. Thank you very much. Welcome. All right touching them with a Q-tip dipped in alcohol. Yeah. Well, that's sounds like pretty rough treatment for those they don't like it. I'll bet we're at 22 minutes before one o'clock. We're talking with Professor Jane McKinnon horticulturalist at the University of Minnesota and we'll take our next caller right now. Good afternoon. Jane is listening. Good afternoon. I'm calling from Golden Valley and I have two questions. I have a relatively new perennial and annual garden and I've noticed a little fly that has iridescent wings that are very similar to what's about the size of a mosquito and I noticed some force of My Shasta daisies you seem to land and stay there and die.I don't see any damage but I've never seen anything like that before in my garden. And the other thing is I've been putting blood meal around the edge of my garden in an attempt to keep the rabbits way seem to like everything. I have their it's fairly good except it gets be expensive. When you have to put around every time it rains aside from using mothballs are do you have any other better or fencing which I do not want to do you have any other ideas? Yes, but you may not like them. The first thing is that I'm not sure which insect you're talking about. There is one fly that goes and sticks itself on Plants as it dies. And when it does that everything's all over is not causing any problem is also an iridescent insect called a tarnish plant bugs that that really hurts chrysanthemums And Shasta daisies, and if you have those it's worth spraying for if you could catch one of the things and send it to I insect Clinic you get some, you know, you'd know whether it was important toNot as far as rabbits a concern we are not particularly fond of using moth balls because they look like candy to children and we think it's not a good idea to scatter them around. They are poisonous blood meal. Of course is somewhat of a deterrent we don't know any really good way to keep rabbits out of gardens in in town where we where they cannot be hunted a shot the best success that I've ever had is a stray cat and some of our neighbors also have some cats and the fact that the cats are nocturnal and they walk about in the evening. They have cleared the rabbits out of our neighborhood and they really not that much trouble. So ethics at the chance of getting cat haters mad at me. I really think the cats do you more good than the then you would imagine with rabbits and squirrels and other things that that you I think even cat Essence not just the presence of can't but cat Essence will do the job on rabbits cats first brought the baby rabbits andEverything is disappeared. All the mama rabbits went away. Thank heavens. Thank you. We have other callers on the line. We'll take the next one right now. Good afternoon. Jane is listening. Good afternoon. We have a baby's breath that seems to be very vigorous. But I like to divide it to I had tried to divide one some time ago, but without any luck when and how should be done. Well, they are notoriously difficult to divide their one of the plants that hate it. They remind you of the way dick tamna sacks. They just don't like that at all, but I would suggest early in the spring just before the you know as the growth Begins the way you would have locked. So anything else that lives deep underground take it up and spit it and see if it'll work. It might be easier just to get one or two new plant spotted this time of the year many of the garden centers and flower dealers in the state have find examples in pots and they can just be dropped in that'sAnd lovely thing about our course year people haven't quit gardening yet, but dividing a good baby's breath is hard work, right? I have another question Delphinium. Once they have bloomed how far back should I cut them to get a second Bloom you cut the bloom stalk out sir, and leave the all of the leaves at the base a new stock will come up from the base completely from that crown of leaves. The old stock is no good to you and one other question we transplanted we brought some peonies from Illinois and they haven't done very well this first year. What should I do? That's not surprising because they don't Bloom much the first year whenever you plant them the three Essentials of peony care in Minnesota our first place don't you hit can't plant them too deeply you shouldn't have more than an inch and a half of soil over the little pink buds that are on the tops of the roots. The next thing is they should be in full sun and then don't forget that they are hungry plants. They need to beEd well with a complete fertilizer each spring you regret pin is this is peony Heaven maybe we should take that as our state model instead of the North Star State PTA Heaven well-known trouble is it's a Chinese flour and some once in a while, you know, that doesn't have won't work. We better not give lawmakers too many ideas that might bring it up at a special session. That's right. It will be again. We have other callers waiting. We'll take the next question right now. Good afternoon. You're on the air. The last question reminded me of when I have a couple others, but I've had a peony bush and it's a little tiny Buds and they never Bloom and is that was planted too deeply? No. Yeah. If you plant them too deep you won't get any buds. There are two fungus diseases that blastp any buds and they you you do two things for it first in the fall. You completely cut away the old tops and send them off with a garbage man because these fungus organisms live through on Old tops. I've watched Ward's Teamster one of our plant pathologist push away the soil and take his knife and cut even a quarter inch below.Those old stems to remove every bit of it and the other thing is that in the spring when the new growth starts, they can be treated with a fungicide a few times. We have fact sheets on this what you use and how to use it. And of course all the experience Gardens in a people know that to where you treat them with a fungicide so that the doesn't get started on those young Buds. And then I've always had problems with ferns whenever the new Franz come up there kind of puny and I have them in an East window and I tend to miss him but not maybe not as regularly as I should and I'm wondering what if that's a fertilizer problem with light problem. It may be and it may be a heat problem Boston Ferns and some of the others like a cooler room than most of us like to live in and different ferns have different requirements. And so misting is not as important as dropping the temperatures enough particularly at night that they don't burn up and that might help you some if you could change the temperatures after dark and then is it normal for us?It probably girl Violet to have as leaves curl under or is there some problem with that? I don't know. I'm not familiar enough with all of those different varieties, but I know someone who could tell you Vernon Lorenzen who works at the Johnson Floral company could tell you because he is an expert on all those different varieties earn Lorenzen it at the HW Johnson wholesale florist. Okay. Thank you very much. Thanks for calling and we have other questioners for Jane McKinnon and we'll get to the next one. Good afternoon. You're on the air. Hello. I'm calling from Fergus Falls. I have a question about Rose.And I'd like to know what kind of a rootstock do they graft or but on two roses here? Well, some of them are on what they call dog roses some in the past have been used on I forgotten I saw we had one amount of the University but most of them are on a rose would have a about seven little leaves on a thing and if they ever Bloom they'd be a small white blossom. You don't remember the potential mate. No, I don't I can find it for you, but I don't remember it. Okay, and what would not be Rosa canina? That's what it is. And I know yeah, it's that's the dog Rose. Okay, and it would now be a good time to try somebody.Yes, I would think so, but I've never done it myself. So I don't want to give you a lot of advice about it. I would be glad to find out for you. We have Rose expert on our faculty. And so if you will, in fact, your county agent is named. Mr. Kenneth Rose your extension agent in Fergus Falls, you get the address from him and send us down a letter and we'll find out when and how you ought to do the budding and rugosa do they need to be buttered on to Canada also, or should I ask? Mr. Oh no, you just ask him for the address. I'm not sure whether we're ghosts are have different root stock or not, but I'll find out if you'll send us a card. Okay? Thanks very much. You're welcome. All rows questions and Otter Tail County go to mr. Rose from your dress your go nuts. He'll get the next call her right now. Jane McKinnon is listening. Good afternoon. You're on the air good afternoon. Now, we've got a large and otherwise fairly Hardy Sephora that some small brown scabs and sticky leaves you've got scale sir.You've got little insects underneath those round scabby looking things and the stickiness is the Honeydew that I spoke of before and so you can the only time you can spray scales is when they're hatching in the little green young scales are emerging from underneath those things you can do I protect them. Yes, and they're protected so you can wash off the scales you can touch them with the Q-tips with alcohol in them, which sometimes gets them and then you can spray them with malathion. If you can get the thing Outdoors when they're hatching I would remove as many as I could just with the Soapy washcloth Razor Leaf polish is more her help you any that just makes it worse. I just get the thing outside and spray it frequently or in a place where you could thank you much. Yes, sir. Other callers waiting with questions. And here's the next one Jane. Good afternoon. You're on the air. I'm mrs. Gibbs.I have a I have a raise. I had to read trumped dwarf tree. Yes, sir. Yes. You hear me? You said a red clump of red dwarf tree? Yes. I will find it at three weeks ago at it's doing fine. What I want to know is this will it survive the winter in Minnesota? I have to know that the variety named the red come dwarf tree why we bought it in Minnesota. Hmm. Well, we have increased sometimes called prune to yes. There are several of the red leaf plants Newport Plum is one that is red and lives in Minnesota. Very nicely systina century is another one that is of that family and lives and if you almost need the scientific name to be sure because there's several of those but if you got it from a Minnesota nursery that guarantees hearty stock you shouldn't have any trouble. Thank you. You're welcome. That's an interesting point Jane. You mean to say that? The reputable Nursery is presumably will stand behind their stock. Yes, when they are selling plants when we have an association called the Minnesota Circe Association of nurse women and their standard of Ethics means that when they are selling plants that are on the borderline or you know that our experimental that they let that customers know now, of course in the rush of spring business, sometimes people don't ask or they they do try to tag them differently in lots of places, but it's worthwhile making friends with your nurse man going back and asking the questions before it's too late this time of the year, they'd be delighted to see you not bad. We have callers waiting and we'll get to the next one. Good afternoon. Jane is listening a friend of ours gave my daughter and I this beautiful house plant the accommodate. Yes, and we have no idea what to do for culture right now. There are three separate stamps. They're all blooming beautifully, but we wonder if like the youngest damn has no rules on yet. It should be comes back. It's only about 3 inches tall and if if they can be sweet cans back at all. I have never grown in Acumen he's and so if you would just send me a card with your address on it and put down a companies will look it up for you. Okay? And then the other thing is do you think it'll be enough time with this chemical summer for the second lose and delphiniums? Well delphiniums like cool weather. They do better some of the prettiest ones I've ever seen in Minnesota will up a taken and then way up around loose. They're going to be much better off. They don't Bloom very well for us here when we have a hot summer. Well, we've had good luck with the past 3 years 6 feet 7 feet tall blue stands, but you said the pinch them off and I wondered no I didn't say to pinch them off. I said after the first blooms came take it take the blooms that those Bloom stuck bikes out because new ones will come up in the fall or thank you. You welcome. Send me a card and I'll find out about a company's for you. Alright, and we'll be mentioning that address for your cards in just one way of other call. Waiting the next questioner is on the line. Good afternoon. Jane is listening. So I'm wondering what I can do about the bugs look where there were. Rooms where you can quit water and your husband's quite so much part of those are the larvae of fungus gnats usually and they love wet soil not for heaven sakes don't dry your plants out, but you might want to be poke your finger in the soil and be sure that it's getting dry before you water. Again. The other thing is that you can water your plants. If you set them outside with a malathion drench and that should that would go down through the soil and should kill those things. If it continues then you can use an aerosol spray on the Nets when they hatch but usually drenching the soil with the insecticide and not watering quite so often we'll get rid of them. They don't hurt the plant very much. What are the mats look like. They Buzz around just like almost like little fruit flies. They hop up and down out of the soil. Okay, thank on springtails. Sometimes hmm sounds like a one could have quite a menagerie of insects here in the house. We got two should get used to them and enjoy them because they'd rather interesting. They're not as bad as people think we've had a little white bugs and green caterpillars and green worms. So far today, we'll take another call. Good afternoon. Jane is listening. I've planted to clematis plants two different times and they've grown very nicely and bloomed a lot and they each lasted about three years and didn't come up the following spring the first plant. I didn't cut back in the fall. I didn't know to do that and then someone told me to do that. I did that with the second plant. But again after its third year it died completely didn't come up in the spring it on. I have it planted against my house and I've shaded The Roots but I don't really know anymore care for them with well. Those are like delphiniums and Roses they have this special needs in some of the A gardeners have better luck than those of us who are not quite so careful. They really need to be covered in the winter and the vines that we've had out at the Arboretum and I hope everybody listen to me knows where that is and goes to see it once in a while. You take them down off the trail us' and you roll up as much healthy Vine as you possibly can and cover it with some soil and some covering. Hey because they bloom better on the old wood many of them that you can raise again the next spring and we do find that they are sensitive to our Winters the you know, they weren't native here in the first place except a while when the out on the ditch Banks and if if you can get them through coverage, you'll have a lot better luck one problem that people sometimes have growing them close to the house is that they do get fairly dry at times and you don't realize it because of other plants in the garden may still have enough moisture. They need organic matter in the soil. They need a slightly acid salt and don't for heaven's sakes pay any attention to the East and garden books to tell you to give them lime. They don't need lime in Minnesota. We have enough we often have to give them extra iron acid fertilizer to keep them green. But I think the winter covering would help you. Yes, thank you very much. Do members of the Eastern press share the same distinction as Eastern gardening books in your mind problem there with parochialism. They don't write for Minnesota. And so many of the beautiful books are either come out of California or that's one thing why we're so delighted doctors not as books they talk about what we do here Leon see Snyder. Yes, we have callers waiting. We'll take the next question or good afternoon. You're on the air. Thank you. That's what I can give me some advice about Japanese pachysandra. I made some cuttings from plants in New Jersey and I've got them routing in beds of sharp Masonry sand. Is there some special advice about how to transplant them into the ground and protect them over the winter? Yes it grow. They grow well in Minnesota if they can be in an organic soil with some organic matter in it and acid and peat moss will do it. Just fine or Moss Pete work that into the soil before. You plant them and then put them on the north side of your house or in the shade because they will not survive if they're not covered. And if the snow melts off of the wintertime, you lose them. We had a beautiful bed of it and on the north side of the library on the st. Paul campus, but you see the winter sun didn't hit it if the snow completely covers that you don't have to put straw and hay on but you may be safer to put something over it to help hold the snow there. Why isn't it very common around here? I'm from the east coast and it's quite common out there because it kills out here if we lose the snow cover. It's not quite as Hardy as we would like but it does do just fine here in Shady protected places. Thank you very much. Welcome these water to okay. Alright another caller wedding and we'll take a good afternoon. Jane is listening. I have a problem with some sort of well, it's a cousin I guess of the Japanese beetle they emerge Well, they came out yesterday from the ground but they light brown. Yes, and they cling they have very Barbed legs. Yes into my laundry and to me and to my roses that is the infamous Rose chafer. It is a most terrible pest Rose chafer and they come from the soil in Sandy's places and up in the northern part of st. Paul and sure of you where I live. They have eaten spinach and peonies and the buds of everything. They just awful. They don't last. No, they don't last moment to do lots of trouble while they do. What can I do last fall? I did put the milky spore bacteria address on we live about 60 miles north of the city's out near near Lindstrom and North Branch where along the st. Croix River and there's a lot of Farmland around so I suppose they're in the adjacent fields and whatnot. Well, you can you can dust your plants with The mythix of chlorine that won't help very much because another batch will come the entomologist on campus of suggesting that for very fine plants that you want to save put a nylon net over them make some sort of a barrier because they don't seem to be smart enough to know how to handle that and next year. I'm going to put nylon net over my CC opportunity opinion is so I have some that I can cut the entomology Department can give you other directions if you'll send them a card and I'll tell you how to do that Jane. Let's see. Let's see how fast we can get this next question around the are good afternoon. We're listening and this is the last one. Oh good. Thank you quick question on potting soil for house plants various potting soils that I've bought it at various stores. I really am not satisfied with them because they either take too much or they don't absorb water. You know, there's a real problem. So, do you have any advice for good potting soil? Yes, if you want to use an ordinary mixture for most things you can use 1/3 sand 1/3 pasteurized garden soil and 1/3 Mas Pete that works for most things if you want to use an artificial mixture where you use vermiculite plus ma speech and then then you will have to supply all the fertility and Trace elements another way that's called the is a mixture called the Cornell mix that is very widely used in Minnesota in Minnesota and the United States and you can get that from references. I can help you get it. If you will send me your name on a card very good and we have just time enough left chain for you to give us your address at the University. I'm speaking about the Agricultural Extension Service people and my own address is extension horticulturist University of Minnesota 1970. Foul. Well 1970 foul. Well fol we LL and it's st. Paul in the zip is 55108. We also have an extension entomology clinic on insect information Clinic that will Step cards and give you information. They are at Hudson Hall st. Paul campus the same zip and we have a plant Disease Clinic and and at stake Munhall sta. Kma in they will accept cards. We're all overwhelmed right now. I'll bet but that you get better information on diseases from the plant Disease Clinic and you get better information on insects from the insect extension people then you do for me because I'm a hoarder cultures and I have to try to remember what they told me. All right, Jane McKinnon. Thank you very much for joining us today and taking questions and thanks to all of our listeners for calling in with as usual good questions.