Jeremy Siegel: This is GBH’s Morning Edition. Whether you have a green thumb or are, as one listener described themselves to us, 'a horrible gardener,' our meteorologist and gardening expert Dave Epstein wants to hear from you.

Paris Alston: Dave is here with us now to answer your questions about plants and the weather. Good morning Dave.

Dave Epstein: Good morning. Good morning Paris. Good morning Jeremy.

Siegel: Good morning Dave. So let’s start with our 'horrible gardener.’ This is Stuart who says he loves listening to your forecast and gardening advice. And says despite being a horrible gardener, tries all the time. Last year I made these pollination zones on my yard, Stuart says. I love them. They were beautiful this year. They’re still there, but mostly it’s just black eyed Susans. How can I get more of a mix next year as opposed to just black eyed Susans?

Epstein: Yeah, creating a wildflower meadow is definitely a little bit difficult because, you know, nature wants to do what nature wants to do. And I think that, one of the ways in which you can do that is by overseeding again in the fall. So a lot of the wildflowers, actually, if you seed in the fall, they’ll establish themselves. And I’m talking, you know, September, October, we get a little cooler weather, a little more moisture. You get some of those baby seedlings to kind of winter over. And then in the spring they take over. Now, you could take out some of the Black-Eyed Susans to just remove selectively a little area, and then you’ll have an open area. And the key is to get whatever of those, you know, whatever plant that you want to go in between the Black-Eyed Susans to establish itself. Some of the more fragile ones are a little more difficult. I like using Mandara, which is actually bee balm. There’s some bee balms out there which are pretty hardy and pretty tough. And they really do work well in between the Black-Eyed Susans. And as opposed to some of the really hybridized ones, look for some of the more native ones. There’s a pink one out there. I can’t remember the exact name of it, but that one is a little hardy and really spreads nicely.

Alston: Well, speaking of putting the right things in the ground at the right time, Dave, Shelly from Northborough wrote in and said, I was just given some lily bulbs from a friend. Shout out to your friend Shelly, great friend there. When is it best to plant them? If not now, how do I store them? And Shelly is also saying that they got some dried lupine seeds and is wondering when and how to plant those too.

Epstein: Yeah. So let’s take the lupine seeds first, the second part of the question. So lupine — right now they’re done flowering. They flower mostly in June. The seed pods have formed and you have the lupine seeds. I would just scatter them around now in an area where you think they can become established. They want full sun. They don’t want super-fertilized soil. If you think about where they grow, they grow on the side of the road driving up to Maine, and you see them all over the place. No one’s fertilizing them. No one’s pruning them. They just kind of come up. So that’s the kind of environment you want, on the drier side, but not so dry that they don’t get any moisture. And they should establish themselves at some point, though, just like what I talked about in the previous one, they’ll start to germinate and you’ll end up getting — they take two years, so you’ll get your first year of the plant growing, and then the second year they’ll flower. So just don’t weed them out when you see them. You got to really look at those leaves, that compound leaf that almost looks like a little hand or a big maple leaf, kind of.

Siegel: We’re taking your questions with GBH meteorologist Dave Epstein, a reminder that if you ever have a question for Dave, you can text (617) 300-2008. If we don’t get to it today, we will try to next time. Dave, we’ve been getting so many hydrangea questions. This is the year of the hydrangea around Boston. Is there a way for people who have been loving the blooms this year to ensure that they come back year after year, or at least more frequently?

Epstein: Yeah, I’ll answer that question quickly. And then I want to go back to the first question you had, because I know I sort of glossed over that.

Siegel: Oh, the lily bulbs. Yeah. Let’s hear the hydrangeas first.

Epstein: So let me let me answer that real quick. So lily bulbs should be planted in the fall. You can also plant them early in the spring. This time of the year — I’d probably if it were me, I’d probably put it in the ground rather than try to store it. Just because it’s humid. It’s just not the right time of the year. But if you have them, just throw them in the ground now, and see what you can do. Now, in terms of the hydrangeas, the macrophylla hydrangeas, which are the ones that can get desiccated and the blooms can die during a harsh winter, which are all looking so great. The blue ones mostly, and some in pink. You can use an anti desiccant in November and early December, and that can help to prevent those blooms from drying out. You could also try to cover them with a little bit of burlap or something like that. But honestly, it can be tough if it’s really cold and dry, then the blooms won’t be as, floriferous the following year. We really lucked out this year. Also, another thing you can do is plant other types like the paniculatas. And those flower now and into the August and even September, and those will flower on new wood all the time. And so those are something that are not as subjected to the winter harshness.

Alston: Well, there you have it. That is meteorologist and gardening expert Dave Epstein. And a reminder you can always text your questions for Dave to (617) 300-2008 or email thewakeup@wgbh.org. Dave, thank you.

Epstein: Thank you.

Siegel: This is GBH.

 

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.

Have a gardening or weather question for meteorologist Dave Epstein? Email us at   thewakeup@wgbh.org or text 617-300-2008.

Last year I made these pollination zones on my yard. I love them. This year they’re still there, but mostly it’s just black-eyed Susans. How can I get more of a mix next year as opposed to just black-eyed Susans? —Stuart

Creating meadows of native wildflowers is a great way to support pollinators and other habitats, but it does take some work, Epstein said.

“Nature wants to do what nature wants to do,” Epstein said.

You can have some control over what grows there, he said. One way is to overseed the area in September or October, when the weather gets a bit cooler and rainier, so the new seeds have time to take hold.

You can also remove a patch of the black-eyed Susans and plant something else in their place, he said.

“The key is to get whatever plant that you want to go in between the black-eyed Susans to establish itself,” he said. “Some of the more fragile ones are a little more difficult.”

He suggested a hardy native variety of mandara, sometimes called bee balm.

“As opposed to some of the really hybridized ones, look for some of the more native ones. There’s a pink one out there,” Epstein said. “That one is a little hardy and really spreads nicely.”

I was just given some lily bulbs from a friend. When is it best to plant them? If not now, how do I store them? I also got some dry lupine seeds. When and how should I plant them? —Shelly in Northborough

Lillies are ideally planted in the fall or early spring, Epstein said. But this year, high humidity means storing the bulbs in a basement, shed or closet might lead them to rot before they’re planted.

“If it were me, I’d probably put it in the ground rather than try to store it, just because it’s humid,” Epstein said. “It’s just not the right time of the year. But if you have them, just throw them in the ground now and see what you can do.”

As for the lupine seeds: They usually flower in June, which means now is the perfect time to plant them.

When planting lupine seeds, look for an area that’s fully sunny, on the drier side, and not too fertilized.

“I would just scatter them around now in an area where you think they can become established,” Epstein said. “If you think about where they grow, they grow on the side of the road driving up to Maine, and you see them all over the place. No one’s fertilizing them. No one’s pruning them. They just kind of come up. So that’s the kind of environment you want.”

Lupines will start growing their first year and should begin to flower in their second summer, Epstein said.

“Just don’t weed them out when you see them,” he said. “You’ve got to really look at those leaves, that compound leaf that almost looks like a little hand or a big maple leaf.”

Why are the hydrangeas so abundant on the North Shore this year? Our two hydrangeas which usually barely flower are full of flowers this year in Swampscott. —Anthony

The mild winter helped those blooms thrive, Epstein said.

“The macrophylla hydrangeas, which are the ones that can get desiccated and the blooms can die during a harsh winter, are all looking so great,” Epstein said.

Of course, we can’t control the winter weather. But there are things you can do to give hydrangeas a better chance, Epstein said.

“You can use an anti-desiccant in November and early December, and that can help to prevent those blooms from drying out,” he said. “You could also try to cover them with a little bit of burlap or something like that.”

But during really cold and dry winters, there’s not much to be done to support those blooms, Epstein said. Instead of despairing, look into different hydrangea varieties.

“The paniculatas … flower now and into the August and even September, and those will flower on new wood all the time,” he said. “Those are something that are not as subjected to the winter harshness.”