transcript

Speaker 1:
[00:00] Today's episode is brought to you by the Southern Living Plant Collection. To view our plant collection, find a retailer near you or buy online, visit southernlivingplants.com. I'm a grouch, but I'm no slouch. Of my brilliance, all plant geeks vouch. It is I, Steve Bender, The Grumpy Gardener. Welcome to Ask Grumpy, a podcast from Southern Living. Whether you're an ardent fan or an eager newcomer, these next few minutes will mark an historic point for all things green in your life, as I generously answer questions with 100% accuracy. I'm here with my sidekick, Nellah McGough. Hello, Nellah.

Speaker 2:
[00:47] Hey, Steve.

Speaker 1:
[00:48] Hey, Nellah.

Speaker 2:
[00:49] We have a question from Christine.

Speaker 1:
[00:52] Okay.

Speaker 2:
[00:53] I live in Norcross, Georgia, and have a little Miss Figgy plant growing in a pot in my sun room that produces good fruit and seems to be fine. However, it's outgrowing its space, so I'm wondering if I can plant it outdoors. If I do, should I cover it in winter? And will it need any special fertilizer?

Speaker 1:
[01:14] Well, no problem, Christine. Little Miss Figgy is cold hardy in USDA zone 7 to 10, and Norcross is in zone 8, so it won't need any special winter protection where you live. It's a member of our Southern Living Plant Collection, and it's great for containers because it's upright and compact, and it grows only 4 to 5 feet tall and 3 to 4 feet wide. This also makes it good for planting in small space gardens outdoors for people who don't like to prune. Fertilize it in spring with an organic slow-release product such as Espoma Plant Tone according to label directions.

Speaker 2:
[01:55] Okay, so how long will it take to produce fruit?

Speaker 1:
[01:59] It may produce the first year that you have it. It produces at a very young age. It's a compact kind of a dwarf plant. But you're not going to have to wait long.

Speaker 2:
[02:09] And it's self-pollinating, so you don't have to have them.

Speaker 1:
[02:11] You don't need to. You could just need one. But two would be even better for our Southern Living plant collection.

Speaker 2:
[02:17] That's right. Y'all go ahead and buy two or more.

Speaker 1:
[02:19] Yeah, buy a dozen. What the heck.

Speaker 2:
[02:22] All right. Thank you, Steve.

Speaker 1:
[02:24] You're welcome.

Speaker 2:
[02:30] We have another question from Roseanne.

Speaker 1:
[02:34] Roseanne.

Speaker 2:
[02:34] Roseanne. She is named after her question. I have a rosebush that was in my grandmother's garden in the 1970s. Every spring it leaves out and blooms and looks beautiful. Then in summer, all the leaves, blooms and buds fall off and the plant looks almost dead for the rest of the year. None of my newer roses do this. What should I do?

Speaker 1:
[02:59] Okay. It sounds like your rose is a victim of a common fungus called black spot. This disease often appears with the onset of warm, humid, wet weather. You get black spots appearing on the foliage and they gradually enlarge, and then the infected leaves turn yellow and drop. With no leaves left to convert sunlight into food, the rose can't make any more flowers. There's newer roses such as Knockout and Oh So Easy, Drift and Home Run that resist black spot, but not most older types. Here's what to do. Rake up all fallen leaves and debris from around the base of your rose and throw it out with trash because this may contain disease spores. Next, cover the soil surface where you just raked with a two inch layer of fresh mulch to bury any spores that you missed. Avoid wetting the plant's foliage when you water, as splashing water spreads the spores. Finally, spray the foliage with a natural fungicide called neem oil every 10 days throughout the growing season according to label direction. Neem oil coats the leaves and prevents disease spores from infecting them. It's also good for controlling common rose pests like aphids, thrips, spider mites, and Japanese beetles. But don't spray the flowers, as neem is also toxic to pollinators.

Speaker 2:
[04:29] You know what I just want to suggest to everybody? Go ahead and get you some neem oil. You have talked about it for four seasons now.

Speaker 1:
[04:38] And I think Nellah has neem oil in the pantry.

Speaker 2:
[04:42] And so I did buy neem oil after our first season of Ask Grumpy. So it's just something that you can use with various problems.

Speaker 1:
[04:52] Well, the good thing about it, first of all, it's natural. It's made from the neem tree. It's both a good fungicide and a good insecticide, and a miticide as well. So it takes care of a lot of problems in your yard. But again, just remember, don't spray it on flowers because it is toxic to bees and pollinators.

Speaker 2:
[05:16] Okay. Thank you, Steve.

Speaker 1:
[05:18] You're welcome.

Speaker 2:
[05:25] All right, we have a question from Carolyn. Good morning, Grumpy. I have a pomegranate that has beautiful orange flowers in late spring. As you can see from the picture I included, which, sorry y'all can't see it, it needs pruning. When and how should I do this? Thank you, you are a blessing, Carolyn. Oh my gosh.

Speaker 1:
[05:48] Yeah, Nellah thinks so too. As well as all my readers and listeners. What can I say? I give and I give and I give some more. Now, I like to prune pomegranates when they're dormant in winter, but it's okay to prune now too. I prune pomegranates like I do crepe myrtles. No, Nellah, I don't chop them down into ugly stumps like your people do. The correct way is to remove root suckers, crossing and rubbing limbs, dead wood and branches that grow right through the center of the shrub from one side to the other. The object is to open up the center so that sunlight and air can get inside. This promotes health and vigor. By the way, you can also use this pruning technique on some other deciduous-firing shrubs, such as Chase Tree, Pinnacle Hydrangea, and Rose Assyrian.

Speaker 2:
[06:47] Okay. Did you know, Steve, that pomegranates signify a good marriage? Roman brides would wear pomegranate wreaths during their wedding. Did you wear a pomegranate wreath during your wedding?

Speaker 1:
[07:02] No, I think she wore grapefruits. Well, you asked.

Speaker 2:
[07:11] I did ask. I walked right into that.

Speaker 1:
[07:13] It was a fun, fun living.

Speaker 2:
[07:15] I bet. All right. Thank you.

Speaker 1:
[07:21] You're welcome.

Speaker 2:
[07:25] We'll be back with more After the Break.

Speaker 1:
[07:35] Today's episode is brought to you by the Southern Living Plant Collection. Because everyone's a neighbor in the South, your yard ought to say, y'all come on in. The Southern Living Plant Collection is full of plants raised on sunshine in a little attitude, tough enough for the heat, easy to care for, and pretty as a peach from porch to garden bed. If you're fixing to fix up the yard, they got just the thing. Visit southernlivingplants.com to see the full collection, find a retailer near you, or buy online.

Speaker 2:
[08:10] Welcome back to Ask Grumpy, a podcast from Southern Living. Hey, Steve.

Speaker 1:
[08:17] Hi, Nellah.

Speaker 2:
[08:18] Okay, what is our Plant of the Week?

Speaker 1:
[08:21] Plant of the Week is Red Diamond Laura Pedalum. One of the most popular plants I know is Laura Pedalum. But if you don't recognize the name, it's that purple bush you see growing next to just about every house in the south. And that's because it's evergreen, it's tough as nails, it has pretty flowers in the spring, purple foliage year round, and deer don't like it. There's just one problem. Laura Pedalum can grow bigger than a bus, which is no problem for Nellah because she lives in a bus stop. But that's why you should consider a compact Laura Pedalum from our Southern Living Plant Collection called Red Diamond. Red Diamond grows just six feet tall and wide, so it won't swallow your house. Its flowers are deep red. Prune it if necessary right after it finishes blooming. Give it full-to-part sun and acid soil in USDA Zones 7 to 10.

Speaker 2:
[09:24] You know, I really love and enjoy the hummingbirds and butterflies that visit me at the bus stop next to my Laura Pedalum.

Speaker 1:
[09:35] Yes, that's what she's known as, the Laura Pedalum lady.

Speaker 2:
[09:38] But they are good for hummingbirds.

Speaker 1:
[09:41] Have you ever seen hummingbirds around them?

Speaker 2:
[09:44] I don't have a Laura Pedalum.

Speaker 1:
[09:46] How would you know?

Speaker 2:
[09:49] Because I read it.

Speaker 1:
[09:50] Okay. Well, if anybody knows whether they're good for hummingbirds or butterflies, head on down to the bus stop. You'll see Nellah, she's on the green bench with a little blanket on her lap, and let her know she'd really like to hear from you.

Speaker 2:
[10:08] Oh my gosh. Y'all don't listen to a word that man says, except about plants.

Speaker 1:
[10:13] Yes.

Speaker 2:
[10:14] All right. Thanks, Steve.

Speaker 1:
[10:15] You're welcome. Thanks for tuning in to Ask Grumpy. If you have a question, you know where to find me. No question goes unanswered on the Grumpy Gardener Facebook page. Be sure to follow us wherever you get your podcasts so you don't miss an episode. And we love your feedback, especially positive feedback. If you could rate this podcast and leave a review, that would fill me with joy. You can also find us online at southerliving.com/askgrumpy.