Narrator> Making It Grow is brought to you in part by Certified South Carolina.

This cooperative effort among farmers, retailers and the South Carolina Department of Agriculture helps consumers identify foods and agricultural products that are grown, harvested or raised right here in the Palmetto State.

McLeod Farms in McBee, South Carolina, family owned and operated since 1916.

This family farm offers seasonal produce, including over 40 varieties of peaches.

Wesley Commons, a full service continuing care retirement community located on more than 150 wooded acres in Greenwood, South Carolina.

Additional funding provided by the South Carolina Farm Bureau Federation and Farm Bureau Insurance and Boone Hall Farms.

♪ ♪ ♪ Amanda> Well, good evening and welcome to Making It Grow .

We sure are glad that you can join us tonight.

I'm Amanda McNulty, and I'm a Clemson Extension Agent.

And I come here with my good friend and co-host Terasa Lott.

Who also, is associated with Clemson, in a far more important capacity than mine because you're supervising people.

Terasa> I wouldn't say that's any more important.

All of our roles are very important, and it takes all of them to make everything happen.

Amanda> And gosh, it's such a huge number of things we do.

We do 4-H, we do food and nutritional health.

I mean, just on and on and on, besides just the agricultural things that everybody kind of thinks is the main thing.

Terasa> That's right.

I wish we could just shout it from the mountaintops because, many people are unaware of all of the different capacities, programming that we serve.

Not just traditional farming, of course, that is very important, but lots of other pathways as well.

Amanda> At home, the corn is about this big now.

So that's fun to see when I drive over.

Yeah, it's coming up.

The ones that have irrigation... it's a little bit dry.

Anyway, Jackie Jordan, you are the Hort.

Agent for Fairfield, Kershaw and Richland.

And we're so happy that you're here.

And, you were telling me that, something about peonies when you came on.

Tell me what you, share with us, our viewers what you were telling me.

> So, with the peonies in my mother's garden are doing great this year.

I've never had as many blooms.

And, it's really nice because she lost her roses two years ago to Rose Rosette.

But, the rose garden had this very rich, very highly organic soil that I have built and built and built up.

<Oh> And so I moved the peonies into that garden.

And I'm thinking that is the reason they're doing so well.

Because, I've had them in other parts of my garden, which is like walking at the beach and in pots, and I maybe get one bloom here or there, but these plants have like five and six blooms on them.

Amanda> Golly.

<Wow> Aren't they the most wonderful things in the world?

Yeah, they really are.

Well, I'm so proud of you.

Yeah.

Good for you.

I know your mama's happy that you- Jackie> Oh yeah, we cut them all and brought them in.

Okay, okay.

(laughter) Thanks for being with us.

Vicky Bertagnolli, you're the Hort.

Agent down in Aiken.

And also, you do some stuff for the, Hort.

team, and tell me what's been going down there in the deep sands of Aiken County.

> We've got folks coming in.

They're bringing, a whole host of things happening in their landscape.

So we're getting lots and lots of phone calls now.

Lots of emails.

The HGIC is bustling, so, it's been hoppin' down in my area.

Amanda> Are y'all getting a lot of people moving to Aiken from other parts of the country?

Vicky> We do.

We have, we've got a number of people that move, particularly from the northeast and then move down to our area.

Because it's, for the most part, is a horse community.

But we do have folks that have cows.

They have, they've got some emus.

<Whoa> And, then lots of folks just coming down here to, to enjoy a nicer climate.

Amanda> Yeah, yeah.

And it's interesting because Aiken was one of the places that people used to leave the Lowcountry and come to, to escape malaria.

Because you got those sandy soils.

So the mosquitoes weren't quite so bad.

Vicky> Well, I don't know if I agree with that.

Amanda> Well, now people have pots out in their yard.

(laughter) Well anyway, we don't have to scratch too much today, right?

Vicky> Not today.

Amanda> Davis Sanders, we've missed you terribly.

Where've you been?

Davis> I've been in Greenville.

Same as always.

I missed you guys too.

But thanks for having me back.

Amanda> And you've got a new logo on your shirt.

Davis> We certainly do, to go with our new owner.

The transition took place about a year ago, and Jim stayed on, the former owner, through the summer to kind of help ease the transition.

But he wanted to spend some time with his grandkids.

Amanda> That makes sense.

Davis> And we're happy for him.

He's living a happy retirement, and he's still coming in and helping us out one or two days a week, so.

Amanda> So I understand you're being, you're kicking and screaming and being dragged into the, the new- Davis> We've been dragged into the 21st century kicking and screaming.

Most of us, most of the old timers, anyway.

We do have a really good staff of young people that that have just jumped right in and seized their opportunity.

Particularly Claire Johnson, who is a high school senior.

She is our social media intern.

She's a paid intern, but she has really increased our presence on social media.

Amanda> And she's in high school still.

Davis> She's a senior.

She graduates, in just a couple of weeks.

But she's running circles around the rest of us, as far as getting our faces out there on on Facebook and Instagram and all the other social media.

Amanda> Well, cool.

Yeah.

Well, it looks like you're surviving so far.

Davis> So far.

Amanda> Yeah.

Glad to have you back with us.

Davis> Thank you.

Amanda> We've got some fun things to show you a little later on.

We've got the W. Gordon Belser Arboretum.

We went with Doctor John Nelson, and it's kind of near where he used to live.

It's sort of right in the city of Columbia.

And it's a beautiful getaway.

You'll enjoy going to that, and Willie's Roadside Market at Boone Hall Farms.

All kinds of fruits and vegetables and they even have some vendors who come in from other places with seafood and tacos and all kinds of things.

So you would enjoy going there.

Terasa, I bet we have some beautiful "Gardens of the Week."

Or something, sometimes they're whimsical rather than beautiful.

Terasa> That's right.

We get, we'll say all shapes, sizes, colors.

You never know.

But, what you do know is that it's going to be fun and like a virtual field trip.

Where we get to see what you're doing in your yard, your garden, or maybe you've captured one of the many beautiful places in the state of South Carolina.

So let us take a look.

Beginning with Louise Cromer, a vibrant orange colored lily.

Maybe Clemson orange, who knows.

From Jane and Jim Van Senus, a landscaped area at Rolling Green Village Senior Community in Greenville.

Timmy Smith sent a photo of his garden in West Springs, which is in Union County.

From Sue Dicato, we have a pink peony in a container which she reports, "The deer in Tega Cay seem to be leaving alone."

Thank goodness.

I hope they don't hear us and decide to come for a buffet.

And last but not least, Timothy Mills, an evening shot of his three-year-old koi pond.

Where he says everything is filling in nicely.

<Ah> We really do appreciate all of your photos.

This is just a random sampling.

I encourage you to visit our Facebook page to see all of the other submissions.

And when you see a call for "Gardens of the Week," don't be shy, just post your photos right there in the comments and they may appear on air.

Amanda> Well, thank you.

And thanks to the people who participate, we really do appreciate it.

Terasa, are there some people we can try to help?

Terasa> There are, we're going to try to help Dolly in Chapin who said, "What is this funky growth on my blueberry plants?"

And luckily we have a picture to help us figure that out.

Amanda> Well, that is nice to have a picture.

because there are lots of funky growths.

And I don't want us to get too far away.

You have any idea, Jackie?

Jackie> Definitely.

So this... proliferation of leaves, kind of looks like a witch's broom, is evidence of glyphosate being used around the blueberry bushes.

So, using glyphosate for some weed control, you do have to be very, very careful because any bit of drift can be absorbed.

And although it doesn't do immediate damage... the next year you'll see it in the clustering of the leaves and it just looks really funky and weird.

So just be careful with herbicides.

Sometimes it's better just to get in there and hand pull weeds around your fruits and vegetables.

Amanda> Or be real careful that there's not a lot of air movement that day.

Does that help a lot too?

Jackie> Yes, always read the label.

Amanda> Yes.

Okay, okay.

Well, thank you so much.

So the plant's not going to die.

She just needs to do a little bit better job of weed control.

Jackie> Right, right.

Do a little bit better job of weed control.

And I would just say, you know... keep an eye on it, make sure that it gets plenty of water.

Because a lot of times when there is herbicide damage, keeping up with a lot of water to the plant will help it.

Amanda> Oh, okay.

Kind of flushes it out of the system, perhaps.

Well, we do have some long dry spells sometimes now.

Okay.

Well, thank you so much.

Well, Terasa?

Terasa> This one comes in from Johanna and Ray in North Augusta.

And I believe they submitted a video and they said, "Are these things ticks or mites or, what are they?"

Amanda> Good gracious.

(laughter) That sounds like a pretty big... swath of the insect community.

And, ticks aren't even insects.

So what do you think's going on?

Vicky> Yeah.

So, I've been getting a lot of calls about this, and I've gotten videos from all over the state.

Amanda> Really?

Vicky> Not just in Aiken County.

And a lot of folks are asking, "Are these ticks?

Are they baby, are they baby ticks?

Are they, clover mites?

What are they?"

And some people are saying that "They're biting them and, like, irritating their skin."

But, actually, they are none of those.

<Mhm> So- Amanda> Well, what are they?

Vicky> Your ticks and your mites they are, they're arachnids.

So they're related to insects, but they're not actually insects.

They're arachnids.

So they had eight legs at some point.

But now they have six legs as adults.

So, clover mites whenever we have complaints about those, those mites feed on like weeds and grass in our landscapes.

But that's not what these are.

A lot of times we'll see these on the concrete.

We'll see them on our porches, like the banisters on the floor part of it crawling around and they're real fast.

And what these are, these are actually predatory mites.

They're in a genus called Balaustium.

And so they're very often misidentified, just because we're so familiar with- Amanda> The clover mites.

Vicky> With clover mites.

But these are sometimes called concrete mites, commonly because a lot of times we'll find them on concrete.

And what these things are is they're predatory.

Amanda> Why are they on concrete?

Vicky> They're hunting.

They're out there hunting.

And, some of them are predatory.

And then you have others that feed on pollen and fungi.

Feeding on pollen.

So that's why we'll see'em, we'll see, like a large outbreak in the spring.

Amanda> Okay.

Because we certainly at times have a lot of pollen.

<We do> So do they bite people?

Vicky> They don't bite people.

It's probably something else.

<Yeah> There's other insects that, there are insects that are out there such as thrips.

That will poke us and kind of irritate our skin, but they don't typically do anything.

Amanda> Okay, well, not much to worry about then.

Vicky> Nope.

We're not going to recommend any control because these are considered beneficial.

<Sure> And they're, they're only going to be present for a handful of weeks in the spring.

Amanda> Okay.

Well, thank you for telling us that.

Well Davis, I think you've brought some things down from up, upstate.

What you gonna talk about?

Davis> Well, across the front here, we have, just some really nice ornamental shrubs.

<Uh-huh> All the way on the right, is a... it's a relatively new, Philadelphus or Mock orange.

I'm sorry, all the way on the left.

It's a Mock orange called Illuminati Spice.

It's, it's a smaller growing, more compact growing form of the Mock orange.

<Yes> It has double flowers, has a relatively long bloom season for that particular type of shrub.

Two and a half to three weeks.

Unfortunately, it has lost some of the fragrance that the Mock orange is known for.

Amanda> So what's the benefit?

Davis> Well, it jumps up and surprises you in the middle of May.

<Oh> When your garden is sort of in transition, the early spring flowers and the azaleas are starting to fade.

Summer flowers really haven't taken off yet.

Up jumps, this beautiful white, double flower.

Amanda> It is pretty.

Davis> It will light up a garden.

Amanda> Okay, okay.

And find something else to sniff.

Davis> Right, right.

It is deciduous, but, but even in the wintertime, it has a little bit of a structure.

It's not as gangly as the parent species.

<Ahh> In the middle there, we have a, one of the obovatum Viburnums, small leaf viburnum.

Amanda> Oh, I've heard that, that's just a wonderful plant.

Davis> It's a beautiful plant.

And like all the obovatums, they do tend to be deciduous when they're young.

But as they get older and more mature, the foliage does persist a lot longer.

And, they eventually become more or less evergreen.

The tiny little white flowers on it are, often covering the plant.

Just a very happy little plant.

It will thrive in moist conditions, but they will, adapt to drier soils.

Amanda> Does it attract pollinators?

Davis> It blooms so early that a lot of the pollinators just aren't out and active yet.

Right, right.

<Okay> And then, all the way on the far right, we have a... Goshiki Osmanthus.

<Okay> It's one of the holly leaf Osmanthus.

Osmanthus heterophyllus.

Which, a lot of people do mistake it for holly, because you can see from the picture there, there are, the leaves are somewhat spiny.

But if you look at their arrangement up and down the stems, the leaves are arranged opposite each other on the stems instead of alternate or whorled like the hollies are.

It's got really pretty variegation.

And the new growth that comes out on it is pink.

Amanda> Pink!

That's cool.

Davis> So it's, it's really striking when it's undergoing a growth flush.

It does have the fragrant flowers that Osmanthus and the other tea olives are known for.

The bloom season's relatively short.

It only blooms for about two weeks.

But when it is in bloom, you know it- Amanda> It smells wonderful.

Davis> It really does.

Amanda> How big does it get?

Davis> That one can get up, six to eight feet.

I have seen them, a little bit bigger than that, but they were very old, established plants.

Amanda> Much smaller than the tea olives we are accustomed to.

Davis> Most definitely.

And, and this is one that actually benefits from a little bit of shade.

Amanda> Oh, okay.

Well, that sounds lovely.

Terasa> I'm curious a little bit about that.

With, so does that have anything to do with the pink on the new growth and a lack of chlorophyll?

Because typically with our variegated things we'll say, "Oh, they need a little bit more shade."

Do you happen to know?

Davis> I really don't, I've just seen that, that pink growth sometimes tends to burn a little bit.

Particularly in that late summer, early fall flush.

If it's in full sun, the pink color will, will burn a little bit.

So it does benefit from a little shade.

But I've also seen them growing in full sun.

And when the, the tips start looking bad, just trim them off a little bit.

The rest of the plant's perfectly happy.

<Okay> Terasa> Sounds good.

Amanda> And in the past, I've been told that they didn't bloom.

And, there was one in Swan Lake Iris Gardens, and, it didn't bloom.

And then I planted one in my yard and lo and behold, had some flowers on it.

Yeah, yeah.

Okay.

Tea olive... (sniffing sound) isn't it just wonderful.

Vicky> That's one of the best fragrances in your garden?

Amanda> Just heavenly.

Yeah.

It's heavenly, really truly.

Okay.

Well, we're now going to the, visit with John Nelson as he takes us on a tour of the Belser Arboretum.

I'm in downtown Columbia, almost, speaking with my good friend, John Nelson.

Former curator of the herbarium at the University of South Carolina.

What a special place.

And I didn't even know it was here.

Dr. Nelson> I know it's here.

And it's a wonderful place called the W. Gordon Belser Arboretum.

Not herbarium.

And it is part of the Department of Biological Sciences at USC.

Amanda> And in this ten acres, we have a lot of variation in topography, which allows us to have a great deal of variation in the plant life that grows here.

Dr. Nelson> Right.

They've, really taken advantage of the natural topography and different ecosystems that are here.

And with resultant local flora, that we can find here and that we'll see pretty soon.

Amanda> And so we were going to maybe talk about spring ephemerals.

But we've decided that we're going to include trees in that and little things close to the ground.

<Yeah> So, let's talk about some of the wonderful things we'll see.

Dr. Nelson> Well, one of the prettiest things, I think, and then one of my favorite plant families is Green and Gold, which is Chrysogonum.

And I know you've seen it.

<Yes> It's a plant in the sunflower family, which has beautiful, bright golden heads of flowers.

And, it is a, not real, real common.

One of the reasons people don't know too much about it, blooms in the spring, when a lot of other things aren't going on.

Amanda> Well, let's move on down the trail.

Dr. Nelson> All right.

Well, there's a quite a number of examples of at least two Trillium species that grow here.

And, Trilliums are just very popular with those, who are into nature, natural areas.

Amanda> And they have three leaves?

Dr. Nelson> I have to tell you Amanda, that... and this is a botanical statement, <Okay> They're technically not leaves.

Amanda> Oh, poo.

Dr. Nelson> They're bracts.

<Okay> It doesn't matter.

(laughter) Amanda> All right, well, let's move on down.

Dr. Nelson> And then in wetland that has been taken care of here.

There's a really wonderful plant called the Atamasca Lily.

This is when it blooms and it's quite showy.

Looks like a lily.

And it's not quite the same as a an honest to goodness lily, but it's in that family.

Another one I was just going to tell you is the beautiful thing Wild Geranium.

Which is one of the loveliest wildflowers you can think of in the spring with brilliant pink petals.

And they have a number of patches of that growing down at the bases of trees.

Amanda> One of the most beautiful flowers that we associate when the non-native azaleas come out across the city of Columbia is the dogwood.

Dr. Nelson> Right.

And let's face it, dogwoods, they're so pretty.

And their flowers are ephemeral too.

They don't last all that long, and we usually don't think of spring ephemerals as belonging or being attached to woody plants.

But why not?

Amanda> And then there's one that I like to go, when I want my salad to be more colorful.

Dr. Nelson> And I bet that's your redbud.

Amanda> And I don't know why they call it redbud because it's pink.

Dr. Nelson> And sometimes they're even white.

<Ah> But this is a plant that's in the bean family.

And following the flowers, it will make these beans, very smooth, sort of purplish beans that hang down.

And it's, what a treat to look at.

One other thing about redbud, not a lot of people know this.

Well, probably a lot of people do.

But I'm going to tell you is that the, the way that the flowers are held on the branches, you'll notice that there's not a stalk.

There's not much of a stalk between the flower and the tree.

This is sort of a tropical system going on.

<Oh> Not that our species is tropical, but it is sort of an unusual way for woody plants to hold their flowers.

Amanda> Okay.

And for people like me who love sticks but not straight sticks, redbuds are fun because I think at every node they take a little zigzag.

Dr. Nelson> And they're really pretty, yes, in arrangements.

<Yeah> You know, another one we've got here.

We haven't talked about it yet.

And it may be one of the premier flowering trees in this arboretum, is Pawpaw.

<Ahh> And that's everybody's favorite, I think, not only to look at the spring flowers, but to, of course, taste the, delicious fruits in the late summer.

Amanda> A peculiar, is it an actual flower?

I mean, so many things are but this one is a weird little one.

It's a flower, no doubt about it.

<Yeah> And it is, what they would call, a rather primitive angiosperm flower.

Which actually is... designed to attract moths and flies and maybe beetles sort of purplish brown, like meat.

Amanda> Not one that we want to stick our nose in necessary.

Dr. Nelson> Unless you like the smell of a deceased mouse.

(laughter) Amanda> Well, I'd love for all, any mice around me to be deceased, but I certainly don't want to, I certainly don't want to smell them.

Dr. Nelson> But it makes up for it with the fruits.

Amanda> John, there's one here that I just love, but, nobody much sees the flower.

Dr. Nelson> That's because they're not looking closely enough.

And of course, you're talking about wild ginger.

And this is Hexastylis, the genus.

We have several species of Hexastylis, but this one is sometimes called Little Pigs, in addition to being called wild ginger.

Amanda> And so you have to kind of get down and pull the leaves back to see- Dr. Nelson> Scrape the leaves off and you can see, they're not exactly brilliant flowers, but they get the job done.

<Yeah> And they, these are little flowers, they don't have any petals.

All they have is sepals.

It makes a tubular flower.

And they seem to be pollinated either by themselves or with the aid of little teeny things called thrips, which you've probably heard of.

So, the magic of this plant, I think, beyond its smell, which is wonderful, is that when this does make its fruits and then seeds, the seeds are visited by ants.

Ants, local ants, native ants find these seeds irresistible because there's a little piece of tissue attached to each seed that the ants can't resist.

So they carry the seeds away to eat them up later, and they all bury them in the same place near the ant colony.

Amanda> John, this is a lot to keep up with, and they have a small staff.

If people want to volunteer here, what would be the best way to do that?

Dr. Nelson> Well, I would think they could study the website for one thing and then get in touch with the director, who is Dr. Trey Franklin.

Amanda> Okay.

Dr. Nelson> And he's a really good guy.

I used to rub elbows with him all the time in the department when I was working there.

Amanda> Well, I just think what a hidden treasure.

But it is open to the public.

Again, check the website and find out when that is.

And if you want to volunteer there are probably, myriad days when you can come and help them keep up with this glorious place.

Almost in the middle of Columbia.

Dr. Nelson> It really is a special place.

Amanda> Thanks to Doctor John for taking us there, and thanks for the people who keep it in such beautiful condition.

Well, Hats, hats, hats.

I went out to see Ann, Ann Nolte.

She had several things that she said I gave her that I don't have any more.

So that's always fun.

But anyway, I have, some allium, which is really fun.

And, there are lots of different colors and sizes, if you don't have allium, it's a good bulb to have, I think.

And then also have some phlox, white phlox.

And you know, it used to be that we couldn't have phlox in the South because it got mildew so bad.

But now, fortunately, there are all kinds of them that you can have.

And I think they're beautiful flowers and smell good.

And I've got a little native one, that I stopped on the side of the road and got one time.

A little trailing blue one.

And, you know, I don't feel bad about taking it because the next time I went by, they'd mowed it.

And so at least I have a start of it, which I enjoy tremendously.

And then I also have, some indigo.

And so Terasa, to tell me about indigo.

Terasa> Yeah, we were talking about that before the show.

And I think most notably, people would recognize that indigo was used for dye.

But blue, and so, like well why pink flowers and blue dye?

And from what I understand, it's a fermentation of the leaves that, is used to get the dye.

So, it's not, it's not coming from the flowers at all.

But, once very widely used, I think, and grown.

Not native to here, but grown in South Carolina and used for dye.

Amanda> That was when they were trying to think of crops that would be good.

And I think it was Eliza Lucas, wasn't it?

Eliza Pinckney.

And, she did a good bit of it at her father's... estate.

And it was not as... the one she could grow was not as, prized as the one that the French could grow.

So that just didn't turn out to be.

But, eventually we found, you know, we found, cotton and, you know, rice, which did very well.

Okay.

Well, so can we help someone else?

Terasa> We are sure going to try.

That's what we're known for, right?

It's kind of problem solving, answering people's questions.

Amanda> Trying to.

Terasa> Shirley, contacted us in Columbia.

She said, "My dogwood tree is not doing well, and some of the trunk is covered in green scales.

What should I do?"

Amanda> Okay.

Dogwood trees are not happy these days, in many, many cases.

And it used to be that people had lots of tall pine trees in the yard and things like that, and I think they're an understory tree.

Is that what you would think, Jackie?

Jackie> It's an understory tree.

And whenever you see green scales, I imagine that it is lichen.

And that to me just tells me that the tree has got an open canopy.

It's not getting the nutritional needs met.

So, coming in and making sure that we keep a three inch layer of mulch is always critical.

It's going to help to insulate the soil.

It's going to help to fight weeds, but it's also going to protect that trunk and really just help to... improve the soil.

Amanda> It's just a better growing situation than having grass grow right next to you.

Jackie> Yeah, and like the other thing I think is, you know, pulling back the mulch.

And if you are concerned adding a top dressing of compost.

Compost goes a long way to reinvigorating the soil and improving the condition for all of your plants.

And we talk about all the time organic matter, organic matter, organic matter.

<Yes> And whenever you have a plant that is not thriving, add some compost to it... (laughter) You will be surprised.

Amanda> Not fertilizer.

Yeah, not fertilizer.

Jackie> Not fertilizer.

Just some compost around it.

But I think, adding some mulch, adding some compost and making sure that these trees are getting watered when we get into extended periods of dry weather.

So they're not very drought tolerant.

So making sure that you are going out there and giving them some supplemental watering.

Amanda> But they don't like to be grown in wet spaces.

<No> So they need moisture but not wet spaces.

And tell us how you would suggest people mulch them if they're not from...

I mean, you see all kinds of weird- Jackie> Sure, absolutely.

You want to make sure that you leave more like a donut shape.

So we are leaving space around the trunk a few inches, about four to five inches and then you want to come out with three inches out to the drip line to where the branches end.

Because that is, really going to protect the trunk gives it a good covering.

And that's where a lot of the bark will break down and feed the soil.

Vicky> You're talking about three inches deep?

Jackie> Three inches deep of mulch.

<Okay> Terasa> Uniform.

So not, not six inches here- Jackie> No, not the volcano.

A nice uniform layer.

Amanda> I went down to McClellanville the other day through the Francis Marion Forest.

And the dogwood trees were so happy because they were under that high shade.

And they were, you know, getting, you know, shade part of the day, just a... And also they're more graceful if you see them in the... open sun, they look like some kind of lollipop.

And if they're in shade they have those beautiful ballerina like arms going out and kind of going down and up and it's so much... the natural shape is so beautiful when grown in the right place.

Jackie> Yeah.

And when you have a dogwood that is grown in shade, you get that 30 foot of width where they are very open and it is a beautiful tree.

Vicky> Yeah, we see a lot of problems whenever, that landscape changes, particularly after a storm.

And those trees are out in the middle of the yard.

Amanda> I know.

Vicky> Or, they don't always transplant all that great.

But whenever they want them, like folks want to make them a specimen tree.

And it can be a specimen tree, but it has to be on the side, specimen tree.

Amanda> Under some shade.

Vicky> It can't be out in the middle of the yard, because that is just not where it's supposed to be.

Amanda> And we saw some when we went down to the Belser Arboretum that were in just that wonderful spot for them.

Yeah.

Anyway, they are lovely but, they're not doing as well as they used to.

And I think up in the, National Forest in North Carolina, they've had all kinds of problems with diseases.

It's just almost eradicated them.

And they were apparently 50 percent, Terasa, of the massed.

Their berries were for wildlife there.

And fortunately, the thing that gets them up there is not here.

But, I think if you're north of Highway 11, there are all kinds of terrible problems for them.

So, if you can put one in your yard and give it the right spot, that would be a gift to nature.

Okay, okay.

Well, Terasa?

Terasa> Let's see what we can get to next.

This is from Vernon in Aiken, it says, "I live near a yard store that offers bulk lime and fertilizer.

Is this lime and fertilizer dust on my plant?"

Oh my goodness, what a great question.

I think sometimes people, assume kind of cause and effect.

So- Amanda> Especially, if there's a source that you could say, "I bet it's that."

Terasa> That's right.

Amanda> Well, Vicky, what do you think?

Vicky> So whenever I looked at this, it was one of those things you're like, oh my gosh, What, what could this be?

Amanda> Really?

Terasa> That's pretty dramatic.

Vicky> It's very powdery.

And... the thing is, is that this is a Euonymus.

And before the storm, that we had... the most recent hurricane in Aiken, there was a very large oak tree.

And then there was, a line of Euonymus shrubs that were very large.

<Okay> After the storm, a 75 foot limb had fallen on the row- Amanda> Glad it didn't fall on a house.

Vicky> And smashed all of them.

He took out the majority of the Euonymus in his yard- Amanda> 75 foot long limb?

Whoo!

Vicky> Except for this one shrub.

But this one shrub was heavily damaged, so he hacked it off.

<Sure> And now this spring, this is happening.

And he was wondering, "Oh, my gosh, you know, the dust is coming over from the yard store."

But it's not.

This is actually a fungus.

<Yes> It's called powdery mildew.

And, we see it a lot in the spring because it's, it's starting to be humid, it's starting to warm up.

And the warm conditions and then like, cool nights are going to be contributing to, fungal spore formation and then the dispersal of that fungal spore.

And then the, the humidity is a huge factor in it.

So this is one of those, plant diseases that if you see it early, you can prune out and destroy what there is.

This is going to be a, one of those things where you want to really work on sanitation.

If you have it in your plants, at the end of the season and the leaves fall, you want to clean those up and destroy them?

Don't put them in the compost.

You need to get rid of them.

And there are fungicides that you can spray, but the way that fungicides work is that you have to catch these infections early before- Amanda> They're not going to cure it.

Vicky> Like to this.

And fungicides... aren't necessarily going to kill the fungus.

It's not like a herbicide where it kills the, the weed or insecticide where it kills the insect.

Fungicides are protectants.

And so you have to be mindful- Amanda> Like sunscreen.

Vicky> Right.

You have to be mindful of this.

So, the thing with Vernon is that, he, the shrub was already in pretty bad shape.

<Yeah> And it wasn't really going to be one that he could prune and it be decent.

So he was open to removal.

Amanda> Okay.

Doesn't Euonymus frequently have scale too?

<So> I just don't think there's any point in trying to grow it, personally, but that's me.

Vicky> The Home and Garden Information Center has a Euonymus disease and insect fact sheet.

The first thing on there was powdery mildew.

<Okay> And then scale is right there.

Amanda> Yeah.

And there are so many other plants you could plant and get the same effect, and maybe even a native one that might be good for the environment.

<Yeah> I mean, the animals that are in the environment, the bees and everything.

Yeah.

It's just not that great a plant.

Yeah.

Vicky> I don't love it, but I mean, I don't hate it.

But if it's, <Yeah> if it's one of those situations where it's not happy.

<Yeah> Pick something else that's going to be happier.

Terasa> I don't think I've ever seen such an...

I mean, that's... Amanda> That's pretty bad.

Vicky> It is dramatic.

Terasa> Does it feel fuzzy?

Vicky> It's, it feels like he has taken talcum and dusted it in talcum.

I mean, it is... (laughter) It's really infected.

Amanda> Well, how's the tree?

Vicky> The tree's great.

He had it pruned up by an arborist.

<Correctly> And, the tree's doing great.

Amanda> Great.

Vicky> The shrubbery, not so much.

Amanda> Okay, well, that's good news.

I'd much rather have that wonderful tree than- Vicky> I would do too.

Amanda> That not very wonderful plant.

What are you going to talk about, Davis?

Davis> Well, I can't make a spring trip to Making It Grow without bringing along some of my favorite plants, the begonias.

<Okay> We have, a number of... different types of begonias, which are very common- Amanda> It's hard to think that's the same plant.

Look at one, one has flowers, one has stunningly colorful leaves.

Davis> Right.

This one is the Rex, one of the Rex Begonias.

They do bloom.

The blooms are not as showy as some of the Wax Begonias and the big dragon wing begonias, anything like that.

But the blooms are usually a sort of a salmon, coral, or pink color.

Some of them bloom white.

But the foliage on this is just magnificent.

Amanda> And they get pretty big.

This is just a baby.

Davis> Right, this one is.

Right beside it, we have this is one that I brought down once before.

This is one of the Hula, Begonias.

It's a true trailing begonia.

Amanda> Wow.

Davis> It's a beautiful plant.

It's taken them a while to catch on, but, but more and more growers are growing them now.

This plant will also, like the Rex Begonia it will get tremendous by the end of the summer.

One of these will fill a ten inch hanging basket by mid-summer.

<Whoa> And by the end of summer, it'll be two, two and a half feet- Amanda> Now, does it want sun or shade?

Davis> That really is, with, with the Hulas they prefer some shade because it is one of the green leaf begonias.

If you have some of the begonias that have more of a bronzy leaf, like the common Wax Begonias and some of the big leaf begonias, they can take quite a bit more sun.

But the green leaf cultivars and varieties, prefer some shade, just like the Rex Begonia.

<Okay> It's, in its native habitat it's an understory plant, so.

Amanda> Do you need to bring them in, in the winter or just replant the next year?

Davis> The Rex Begonias actually can be overwintered indoors pretty easily as long as you don't overwater them.

Begonias in general don't care for water.

<Okay> And, overwatering is usually what kills the Rex Begonias in the wintertime.

The Hulas, treat that as an annual.

Enjoy it while it lasts.

And then next year, plant another one.

Amanda> Okay.

And a beautiful basket of that.

Isn't that just a lovely idea?

Davis> Mhm.

And I do have one more begonia.

Which, I don't know if this is a new, <Whoo> new cultivar or, it's a hybrid, rather.

I don't know if it's a new one or if it's been around a long time, but when we got these in- Amanda> That's pretty showy.

Davis> This year, I said, where have you been all my life?

(laughter) Just spectacular crimson flowers.

<Gosh> They look almost like an anemone flower.

Huge single blooms.

Amanda> They do.

Davis> The the foliage is, is just unparalleled.

The foliage is very similar to the Rex Begonia but it's a solid green foliage.

Amanda> And it has a little, bit of purple right around the edge, which just adds a lot more fun to it.

Whoa!

Davis> This is one of the Hiemalis Begonias.

Amanda> And what does it want as far as exposure?

Davis> It does best in some shade.

<Okay> It can take quite a bit of morning sun, but I would not put it anywhere where it will be exposed to the hot midday or afternoon sun.

Amanda> Can you put it in the ground if you want to, or does it need to be in a basket?

Davis> I would think it would do better in a basket or a container because it does have fairly fleshy, really, really, water filled stems and they might get a little... prone to rot with that much, succulent growth.

Amanda> What a beautiful color.

Well, I'm glad that you have, in your later years, found this wonderful plant.

Davis> Me too.

(laughter) Amanda> Thank you so much Davis.

Davis> You're welcome.

Amanda> Okay.

Well, Mrs. Terasa?

Terasa> We're ready for another question.

Amanda> Yep, we already are.

Terasa> All right.

How about we try to help Wayne in Columbia?

Who said, "My Ligustrum, Japanese Cleyera and plum trees all have spots in the leaves.

What is wrong with them?

Amanda> Oh, spots on leaves.

Spots on leaves.

At least at my age, I don't have spots- Vicky> It's spring time.

(laughter) Springtime.

<Yeah> Amanda> What do you think?

Jackie> Definitely, it's the time of year.

We are, seeing... You know... like you alluded to with the powdery mildew, warmer days, cooler nights, it's that change in temperature.

The other thing when it comes to leaf spots, which is different from the powdery mildew, is the amount of times that the leaves stay wet.

A lot of people are turning on their irrigation.

They want their grass to green up, and one of the things to keep in mind is that established plants need about an inch of water a week, and they thrive with deep but infrequent irrigation.

So let's make sure that we are not watering ten minutes every other day.

Amanda> Oh, la, la, la, la.

Jackie> Calibrate your sprinkler system.

There's a great video you did on how to do it on HGIC that will walk you through the steps.

Your lawn only needs an inch a week.

In fact, our warm season lawns are extremely drought tolerant, so cutting back on the water will help.

The other thing is that a lot of neighborhoods, the houses are close together.

And so you have, he said, a lot of these shrubs were in between the two houses there's not good air circulation.

And so, I think we're going to have to really evaluate... our landscape choices.

It goes back to, right plant, right place.

And looking for things that are more tolerant to leaf spot.

More resistant to leaf spot diseases, But really, spacing your plants.

So when you look at the container and it says what it's going to be, it's what it's going to be in seven years, because they assume by seven years you're either going to kill it or you'll get tired of it.

So be sure that you do some good research on what the true final size is going to be.

And allow for some air circulation around the plants so they can dry out.

Amanda> Well, isn't that interesting?

Cause you think, well my yard is, you know, on a slope and we get great, you know, air movement.

But it really could just be what's in the different spots in your own yard can be little mini ecosystems, can't they?

Jackie> Oh definitely.

Amanda> Okay.

Vicky> Yeah.

So we're seeing so it's not just with the, so you see the crowding with the plants.

<Yes> But then that crowding around the plants, there's also going to be crowding within the plant.

So with, with Vernon's issue with the, with the Euonymus with powdery mildew.

That's a humid, that's a humidity issue within that plant's canopy.

And then you have an overcrowding issue... on top of it.

So I mean there's there's potential for disease within the plant.

And then around the whole grouping of plants.

Jackie> And I think you add that too, to improper pruning practices.

Amanda> So thinning- Jackie> People just come along- Vicky> The topping thing.

The shearing thing.

<Yeah> And if people feel like they have to do that because they just have so much of something, you can always go back with your hand pruners and cut some holes in it.

And at least, you know, you could... that way you can get some sunlight and air movement within the plant and still have the, you know, kind of solid looking hedge you want.

And when you finish, you just kind of rough them up like your hair and all is fine.

Davis> And we have to, occasionally, well, quite frequently remind our customers that, plants are not like people.

They grow throughout their lifespan.

If that Ligustrum lives for 100 years, it's going to grow for 100 years.

So whatever the tag says, the mature height.

Like Jackie mentioned, it's a it's a seven year maturity because, it dies.

You get tired of looking at it.

And the average American moves every seven years.

So they want you to know what that plant is going to look like when you leave it behind.

Amanda> The average American moves every seven years?

<Mhm> Good gracious, I've been where I've been forever.

(laughter) Oh, well.

Cool.

All righty.

Well, thanks so much.

Terasa> If we have time, I thought it, it would be really good to talk about why shearing, for the most part, is not a good practice.

Anybody want to tackle?

Jackie?

Jackie> Well, because when you shear, whenever you take a cut, there's two different types of cuts.

There's heading cuts and thinning cuts and heading cut is where we remove part of the branch.

And so when you are removing just part of the branch, you can remove the bud at the tip that controls all the hormones.

So the plant responds by sending out needless growth right there, right below the cut.

So if you're coming along and shearing all your new growth is right there at the top.

<Yeah> So you get this proliferation of growth that's not allowing light to penetrate.

And you get all of these little branches.

I mean whenever you look into somebody's holly or... <Boxwood> boxwoods where they just constantly shear them, there's a proliferation of, of branches in there.

And it's just so many of them.

So in order to- Amanda> And you look down in there, there's just this dead zone.

Jackie> Yeah.

So when you want new growth, you've got to come in and do the thinning cut.

Which is where you take a branch back all the way to where it ends.

<Yes> So that you can open it up for that light penetration and air circulation.

<Okay> You also probably see a whole lot more insect issues with spider mites.

Vicky> Well, there's, there's no insect issues because there's nothing inside.

I mean it's, everything's dead already.

I mean, it's not dead, but it's naked inside.

Davis> You get this big bubble of humid, stagnant air.

And that's, that's where the diseases start to breed.

Vicky> Yep, yep.

We see it all the time.

Amanda> Well, you can just right around town and you see these big things right in front of a church or something.

And they've got big dead spots in them because all they've done is come and go... (mimicking cutting sounds) And I understand that it's hard when you've got a whole lot of that to take care of.

But if you just come back in and as I said, punch some holes in it.

Vicky> Well, the thing is, is that whenever you do thinning cuts versus shearing, you actually prune less.

You're going, you're not going to have to maintain this square shape or this round shape.

You get to prune less often.

Amanda> I haven't seen many- Vicky> But it takes more time.

Amanda> I haven't seen many square plants in nature.

(laughter) Vicky> They're the lollipops and gumballs in nature.

Davis> They are the candy store.

Okay.

Boone Hall Farms is an interesting place to go, and it's now in a conservation easement.

And as you know how, Charleston is just booming and booming and booming.

It's, going to have a large, area that will be forever natural.

And they have a farm there and they have beautiful gardens.

Let's go down and see the farm.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ Amanda> I'm at Boone Hall Farms speaking with Erik Hernandez, who's the farm manager.

And you've got a long history with this place.

> Yes, I've been here for over 20 years now.

Yes, and I'm loving it.

And I love working in the farm and, with all everybody, with all the people.

Amanda> As we came in today, you've got some great, beautiful new buildings down where, just the old farm store used to be.

Erik> Yeah, so we have three new buildings.

We have, Willie's Roadside Market.

we got Elizabeth's Flower Shop, and then we got some really nice restrooms.

Amanda> With the good water fountain too.

<Yes> Amanda> Well, tell me about Willie's Roadside Market please.

Erik> Yeah.

So, this, this building was named after Mr. Willie McRae, which he was, the owner of Boone Hall Plantation.

And, so we were really excited, and, and we also had the other building with, Elizabeth's Flower Shop, which is named after, Mrs. Elizabeth, which is Willie's sister.

So we, we were very, happy to honor them with these buildings.

Amanda> A lot of people just don't know how to choose produce.

It's kind of hit or miss.

Your people who work with you, know exactly what to look for in the field.

Erik> So we attempt to like everything that you see at Willie's it's ready, it's ready to be eaten.

And the only, the only advantage that you have, it's it's like, with tomatoes, you can go get a tomato that you're going to eat today, or you can get a little orange color that you save that one for tomorrow.

Amanda> And I believe that with the watermelons you have a big variety that y'all are growing.

Erik> Yes.

We grow, different varieties of watermelons.

Seedless, we even went too find... We got some yellow watermelons.

It's, it's a good, we have a good variety of watermelon.

Amanda> I had a lot of fun looking around.

There was some peanut butter that looked like y'all were just making it right on site.

Erik> Yes.

So we made that, here at Willie's, and, we also have honey, that, that's a true local honey.

It's, we have some beehives here on the farm.

I worked with Zack Snipes very close.

And then, we came out with this cover crop plant, and, which it helps our bees, it helps, it helps our soil.

And, so we get some really, really good honey.

Amanda> In the store.

I see some things that, I think y'all didn't produce or can or manufacture.

So tell me how those come in.

Erik> Yeah.

So we love to support local.

So we work with a lot of local farmers and local vendors.

We go to the State Farmers Market and, we get a lot of the produce that we don't that we don't grow, or we're running low on, and we, we have partners like, Kim McLeod, that we get McLeod peaches from and different and other the different fruits from them.

And, so we, we like to support local.

Amanda> Now we're down here where everybody loves seafood.

Is that sometimes available too.

Erik> Yes.

we have it at, Willie's Roadside Market.

We have one of our local vendors, and, yes, it's there daily, so you can go get some seafood and then you can go get some vegetables and then go home and cook yourself a really fresh meal.

Amanda> And, I think y'all really like to include and help people make friends with all the people in this area.

On Saturdays, y'all bring a variety of people?

Erik> Yes, from, craft vendors to ice cream, to different food trucks.

So yes, we, we try to keep it fun at Willie's.

Amanda> And then, in Mrs. Elizabeth's flower shop you've got a wonderful shade cloth over it, and I thought it was fun, you have things for shade that are grouped together because a lot of people don't know.

Erik> Yes, we have things for shade.

I know they have a lot of tropicals that, there's some of the, people's favorites.

And, so, yeah, we've got a variety.

We have, like you say, you can come and get your vegetables or you can go over there and get a beautiful flower to take home.

Amanda> And plenty of sun flowers, as well.

Erik> Plenty of sun flowers.

Amanda> And you do actually grow sunflowers, actually, Erik> We do grow sunflowers.

And we grow those for people to enjoy.

If you drive on 17, and your drive gets boring, you look to your right and there's a beautiful field of sunflowers.

Amanda> Which is such a happy thing to see with all the development and all that's going on.

Erik> Put a smile on their faces.

(laughter) Amanda> Also, I know that you're very conscious of water use.

You have black plastic and I believe drip irrigation, which really cuts down on water and humidity problems for the plants.

Erik> We do.

That's one thing, our fresh water, we like to take care of it.

So we, with everything that we grow, it's under, drip irrigation.

And we also, grow other stuff in plastic where we can help with the weeds and different things.

And also the black cover helps to keep them moist where we don't have to use that much water.

Amanda> So much water.

Yeah.

And also, I know that Jim Westerhold, the new General Manager, his career before this was in natural resources in various aspects.

<Yes> And so y'all are doing oyster shell restorations, which is helping everybody to have cleaner, an oyster can clean Both> 50 gallons of water.

Yes.

Amanda> So I just think it's stunning the things that y'all are doing the huge commitment to sustainability.

Erik> Yes, we're doing everything that we can to have some good vegetables and a good environment here.

Amanda> And I believe that, Mr. Willie made provisions for this property to be put in a conservation easement.

Erik> He did.

Yes.

We've been very blessed that he, he left this place to be here forever, for generations to generations.

So we, I think everybody should be very grateful, what we have here.

Amanda> And I think it's wonderful that you make everyone feel like this is a place where they can come and make friends and have a sense of family.

Erik> That's right.

Yes.

I even found my wife here.

(laughs) Amanda> Erik, I'm so glad that you came here 20 years ago and that you're still here doing this wonderful work at Boone Hall Farm.

Erik> Thank you.

I love it.

♪ Amanda> You know, it's really nice to get produce that's grown locally and not shipped halfway across the country.

And, and also, they have beautiful gardens as well.

And they are one of our underwriters, so thank you, thank you so much.

Well, well, well Jackie, everybody wants their grass green, green, green.

What should we do?

Jackie> Definitely, fertilizing is good idea.

But you want to wait until our nighttime temperatures are warmer for our warm season grasses.

They are waking up through April, so the fact that we're in May it's now a great time.

You haven't missed the boat.

So, we're just now getting to where our nighttime temperatures are consistently in the upper 60s.

Your warm season grasses centipede, Saint Augustine need at least 68 degrees at night, consistently.

Amanda> Do they?

Jackie> Mhm.

And then you want to... have a fertilizer that has a high amount of potassium- Amanda> Which number is that when you look at- Jackie> The third number.

Amanda> The third number, ok. Jackie> So the third number, especially for your centipede lawn, the third, the third number should match your first number.

Amanda> So give me an example.

Jackie> So like, 15-0-15, 18-0-18.

<Okay> You want to stick with those numbers.

Zero in the middle because phosphorus, excessive phosphorus will contribute to centipede decline.

And you want the third number to be equal to the first number, because centipede really does need that extra potassium to help it with environmental stress.

Amanda> Okay.

Vicky, do we have some fact sheets for different types of grasses that people could go to also, and look?

Vicky> The Clemson Home and Garden Information Center has... a whole set of fact sheets.

So for each of your turf grasses, there's a fact sheet that just talks about like the background of it how to plant it.

And then there's, there's a maintenance, a yearly maintenance program for each one too.

Amanda> Well, thank you so very much.

And thank y'all for being with us.

We hope that you will join us next week.

Right here on Making It Grow .

Night-night.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ Narrator> Making It Grow is brought to you in part by Certified South Carolina.

This cooperative effort among farmers, retailers and the South Carolina Department of Agriculture helps consumers identify foods and agricultural products that are grown, harvested or raised right here in the Palmetto State.

McLeod Farms in McBee, South Carolina, family owned and operated since 1916.

This family farm offers seasonal produce, including over 40 varieties of peaches.

Wesley Commons, a full service continuing care retirement community located on more than 150 wooded acres in Greenwood, South Carolina.

Additional funding provided by the South Carolina Farm Bureau Federation and Farm Bureau Insurance and Boone Hall Farms.