Jeremy Siegel: You're listening to GBH's Morning Edition. And here to answer your questions about plants and gardening is our own horticultural expert, meteorologist Dave Epstein. Hey there, Dave.
Dave Epstein: Hey, good morning. Good to see you.
Siegel: It's good to see you, too. So we got a question that I absolutely love because it's for a beginning gardener, which I would consider myself. I don't have much experience in the garden like you. They say, what is the best plant to start with for a new garden?
Epstein: Oh, boy.
Siegel: Putting you on the spot. But what's an easy one for someone who's just, you know, starting out?
Epstein: Yeah. I mean, I guess I'll throw out a few things. It depends on what you're trying to do, right? So if you were trying to grow something to eat, I think any of the greens are really good: So kales, some of the mixed lettuces, radishes are pretty easy if you have a little spot. If you're trying to grow some flowers this time of the year, you can still find some annuals. Just go to a garden center and pop almost anything in, as long as it has sun. If you're trying to grow a perennial, I think sedums are a pretty good, easy plant. They tend to be bug resistant, they're drought resistant, they flower. There's a bunch of different sedums that come out this time of the year. And then also, if you want something for the spring, start looking at bulb catalogs. You know, something as simple as just putting in some daffodils in the ground and letting those pop up in the spring, that'll give you some color. So that kind of gives you an idea, you know, kind of encapsulating some different ways to garden.
Siegel: We got another question from Kerry in New Hampshire, who says, I have been raising an apple tree for years. It is nine feet tall with very little fruit. This summer, the leaves have turned brown. I read this could be root rot from too much rain and my poor-draining clay soil. Can the tree be saved if it ever stops raining, or do I have to dig it up, clip the bad roots and move it, which I assume would require a tractor?
Epstein: Yeah. Again, not seeing it, it's really tough to tell. It could have been planted too deep. It might be that it is the clay soil. It may be that it has some sort of disease. In this part of the country, it's really hard to grow apples, and any even stone fruit, organically. You can do it, but it's really tough. And if this person has not been spraying, even organically, for some of the funguses and bacteria that do affect apple trees — also apple trees need to be pruned properly in order to get the blooms out. So there's a lot that could be going on. I would suggest just educating yourself on apple trees, pruning, feeding, treating and then also make sure it's not planted too deep.
Siegel: We're talking with GBH meteorologist Dave Epstein, who is with me to answer your questions about gardening and plants. We have a question from Stephanie in Roxbury who says, Are there colorful and fluffy annuals that do well in the shade? My petunias have failed to thrive in my mostly shaded lawn.
Epstein: Yeah, petunias will not do well. I think that for shade, impatiens are probably, you know, one of the better ones. I've got a bunch of impatiens kind of popped in corners of the yard that are really flowering really nicely and get very little sun. Now if it's deep, deep shade, like absolutely zero light, it's really tough, you know, if you're under like a hemlock forest. But if you have a little bit of dappled sunlight, impatiens work really well. It's tough to find them this time of the year because that's something that should have been planted late May into maybe mid-June. But I would say that for next year, that's a great way to have color continuously, spring all the way until you get your first frost. They will die as soon as they hit 32 degrees, however.
Siegel: We have a question about cherry trees from Nivi in Westford. They say we noticed that cherry trees, weeping, Yoshino, and other kinds did not flower this year. And furthermore, Yoshino is dropping leaves and didn't leaf fully. Any thoughts on what's going on there?
Epstein: Probably two different things. One is the reason they didn't flower is because of that cold snap we had back in February that killed a lot of the blossoms. That's why the forsythia didn't flower. That's why we're not having any local peaches this year. So that's that issue. In terms of why it's dropping leaves, again, it could be too much water, too little water, could have some disease on it. It's been a very wet summer, obviously. So a lot of the leaf diseases that tend to be on these trees could be really thriving. I would say that generally, unless the plant's dying, losing leaves from fungus and things like that, it will come back next year. But check your drainage and your soil and take a look at that.
Siegel: Okay. I have a question we promised to ask for our producer, Rachel Armany, a sort of myth busting question. A lot of people probably know the age old thing, that you rotate your plants that are inside reaching for the sun. Rachel wants to know, is rotating plants actually necessary? Do you really need to do that?
Epstein: So are we talking houseplants inside, just moving them from window to window, or are we talking outside like in a vegetable garden?
Siegel: Let's take both. And knowing that Rachel's in an apartment, I think she's talking about inside. But if you have thoughts on both, let's do them.
Epstein: So inside, depends on the plant. So I've got a bunch of plants that are in an east- and a south- facing window. And those like all the light they're getting even in the summer, they're fine. Some plants that tend to be lower light, you can move them into a higher-light window for the winter because the light's not as strong. So there are plants like, maybe a begonia you've got inside that could handle, in the winter, really bright light. But then in the summer when that light's really strong, you might want to move it into an east-facing window. Outside, you want to rotate plants in terms of, like tomatoes, I've had my tomatoes in the same spot for two years in a row. They've got to be moved next year because the diseases that attack tomatoes end up establishing themselves in that area. So it's a good idea to rotate as much as possible. I don't have a big vegetable garden, so it's hard for me to rotate too much, but I do try to do it.
Siegel: What about, you know, when like plants start reaching, if you if you're an in place that might not get a ton of sun and they start like reaching in the direction where the sun is? Do you need to change anything for that plant, or you just let it run its normal course?
Epstein: Yeah. You can turn them. So you know, plants that are in low light, if it's moving towards the window, just turn it 180 degrees, it'll start moving back the other way, and just keep doing that. So that's, if that's what Rachel was referring to in terms of rotating or turning, yeah, that's a good idea.
Siegel: Before we let you go, Dave, you host your podcast, Growing Wisdom. Do you have any small piece of of plant wisdom of gardening wisdom to leave our listeners with before we say bye?
Epstein: I mean, I'd say planting some things now, some greens for the fall, is great. I just put in some daikon radishes a couple of days ago. Those will germinate and I'll be harvesting them right before, you know, we get a hard frost. So it's still plenty of time to plant things that will mature over the next 30 to 60 days.
Siegel: That is meteorologist and gardening expert Dave Epstein. Thank you so much, Dave.
Epstein: You're welcome.
Siegel: You're listening to GBH's Morning Edition.
Meteorologist Dave Epstein is our go-to person for pressing weather questions on everything from winter blizzards to summer droughts. He’s also a horticulturist, meaning he’s an expert in anything that grows leaves and flowers. GBH's Morning Edition asked our audience for weather and gardening questions, and Epstein graciously answered them on the air. This transcript has been edited for clarity.
Have a gardening or weather question for meteorologist Dave Epstein? Tweet him @GrowingWisdom , email us at thewakeup@wgbh.org , or text 617-300-2008.
What's the best plant to start with for a new gardener?
There is no one-size-fits-all solution for beginner gardeners, Epstein said. But he did have some suggestions.
“If you were trying to grow something to eat, I think any of the greens are really good: Kales, some of the mixed lettuces, radishes are pretty easy if you have a little spot,” he said.
Gardeners trying to grow flowers can look for almost any annual at their local garden center, Epstein said, so long as the spot where they plant it has some sun.
“If you're trying to grow a perennial, I think sedums are a pretty good, easy plant,” he said. “They tend to be bug resistant, they're drought resistant, they flower.”
Also, think ahead: This is a good time to browse bulb catalogues for flowers that will pop up next spring if cared for properly.
“Something as simple as just putting in some daffodils in the ground and letting those pop up in the spring, that'll give you some color,” Epstein said.
I have been raising an apple tree for years, nine feet tall, with very little fruit. This summer the leaves turned brown. I read this could be root rot from too much rain and my poor draining clay soil. Can the tree be saved, if it ever stops raining? Or do I have to dig it up, clip the bad roots, and move it? This would probably require a tractor, right? —Kerry in New Hampshire
Without seeing the tree, Epstein said, it would be tough to tell what the culprit is.
“It could have been planted too deep. It might be that it is the clay soil. It may be that it has some sort of disease,” he said.
It could also be that it’s hard to grow apples organically in New England, he said.
“It's really hard to grow apples, and any even stone fruit, organically,” Epstein said. “You can do it, but it's really tough.”
Apple trees have to be properly protected from bacteria and fungi, and pruned to encourage blooming and fruiting.
“There's a lot that could be going on,” Epstein said. “I would suggest just educating yourself on apple trees, pruning, feeding, treating and then also make sure it's not planted too deep.”
Are there colorful and fluffy annuals that do well in the shade? My petunias have failed to thrive in my mostly shaded lawn. —Stephanie in West Roxbury
Petunias will, indeed, struggle in shady spots, Epstein said.
But one flower that could thrive: Impatiens.
“I've got a bunch of Impatiens kind of popped in corners of the yard that are really flowering really nicely and get very little sun,” Epstein said. “Now if it's deep, deep shade, like absolutely zero light, it's really tough, if you're under, like, a hemlock forest. But if you have a little bit of dappled sunlight, impatiens work really well.”
They may, however, require a bit of planning. Impatiens are usually planted between late May and mid-June, Epstein said.
“For next year, that's a great way to have color continuously, spring all the way until you get your first frost,” he said. “They will die as soon as they hit 32 degrees, however.”
We noticed that cherry trees (weeping, Yoshino, and other kinds) didn't flower this year, and furthermore Yoshino is dropping leaves and didn't leaf fully. Any thoughts? —Nivi from Westford
The reason the cherry trees didn’t flower likely stretches back to February, when a cold snap fell over the Northeast and killed a lot of budding blooms that had been getting ready to emerge in an otherwise mild winter.
“That's why the forsythia didn't flower. That's why we're not having any local peaches this year,” Epstein said.
As for the falling leaves: It could be because the tree is getting too much or too little water, or because of a disease of some sort that thrives in the wet, rainy summer Massachusetts has been experiencing.
“It's been a very wet summer, obviously,” Epstein said. “So a lot of the leaf diseases that tend to be on these trees could be really thriving. I would say that generally, unless the plant's dying, losing leaves from fungus and things like that, it will come back next year. But check your drainage and your soil.”
Is rotating plants actually necessary? —Rachel
If an indoor plant seems to be stretching and bending toward a window or light source, then yes — it’s a good idea to give it a 180-degree turn every so often so it straightens out.
“It'll start moving back the other way,” Epstein said.
People can also move indoor plants around to different spots in their home, especially as the seasons change and more or less light comes through the windows, Epstein said.
“Some plants that tend to be lower light, you can move them into a higher-light window for the winter, because the light's not as strong,” he said. “So there are plants like, maybe a begonia you've got inside that could handle, in the winter, really bright light. But then in the summer when that light's really strong, you might want to move it into an east-facing window.”
Rotating can be important for outdoor plants, too, he said.
“I've had my tomatoes in the same spot for two years in a row,” Epstein said. “They've got to be moved next year because the diseases that attack tomatoes end up establishing themselves in that area.”
It’s good to rotate those plants to different spots in the garden as much as possible as the years pass, he said.
“I don't have a big vegetable garden, so it's hard for me to rotate too much, but I do try to do it,” he said.
