Flower Power Garden Hour

Orchidelerium anybody? It was during the Victorian era that Orchidelerium took hold. Rich socialites & aristocrats hired their own plant hunters to gather and bring back as many different orchids as they could find. While poaching of rare orchids such as the Ghost Orchid still happens, the frenzy has died down. The ability to clone orchids from meristematic tissue has made these once hard to come by flowers as easy as grabbing one on the way out from the grocery store. In this episode Marlene & guest orchid exert Eric Cendejas touch upon the most commonly grown orchids & issues. What do you do once your Phalaenopsis stops blooming? How do I know when to divide my Cymbidiums? These questions along with pest, disease & fertilizing To ask questions for future shows, submit them at Flower Power Garden Hour Facebook page, The Plant Lady Facebook page, or Instagram  

Listener questions are the focus of this episode, predominantly looking at flowers and succulents (with of course a dabble of tomato and vegetable gardening advice). Also, a discussion takes Marlene down the path of nurseries that sell PAINTED plants. Store deceit or wishful thinking of the budding gardener…..you decide. This week’s questions include cactus, poinsettias, hydrangea health and how to attract the insects you want (bees & butterflies).   To ask questions for future shows, submit them at Flower Power Garden Hour Facebook page, The Plant Lady Facebook page, or Instagram Ask your question about:  general gardening, specific tree care/health, specific flower/plant recommendations or issues, vegetable and fruits

This episode is a deep dive into tomato planting – how to set your spring/summer vegetable garden up for success.  The first half of the episode focuses on the tactical aspects…when to plant, what & where to plant (containers versus native soil), soil amendments (fertilizer & compost), pruning & training, and tomato varieties (ie heirloom, roma, cherry).  The second half of the show turns attention to the most common tomato questions – diagnosis and treatment of diseases, pest infestation & environmentally controlled health problems.  To ask questions for future shows, submit them at Flower Power Garden Hour Facebook page, The Plant Lady Facebook page, or Instagram Ask your question about:  general gardening, specific tree care/health, specific flower/plant recommendations or issues, vegetable and fruits

You say potato…Horticulturalists say Solanum tuberosum. This week Marlene delves into vegetable gardening discussing potato planting…the do’s and don’ts. In addition she will be answering your listener submitted garden questions. This week’s questions include suckers, mites, hummingbird plants, rose leaf spot, planting garlic, bareroot trees, what is “organic”…. and she introduces Beetlegoat! To ask questions for future shows, submit them at Flower Power Garden Hour Facebook page, The Plant Lady Facebook page, or Instagram Ask your question about:  general gardening, specific tree care/health, specific flower/plant recommendations or issues, vegetable and fruits

Vegetable gardening 101 with Matt Amicucci. Matt is an Ag/Environmental chemistry PhD candidate, currently working in conjunction with the Foods For Health Institute. Their focus today is prepping vegetable gardens for spring planting. Marlene & Matt highlight their experiences with DIY raised beds, crops such as tomato and pepper varieties, organic gardening, fertilizing how-to, soil amending, seed starting, farm to fork, urban and sustainable gardening and Matt's unique planters. Matt can be found at @farmforageferment on Instagram

Marlene "The Plant Lady" talks to Joel Ledford, PhD arachnologist at UC Davis…that makes him a spider researcher to us lay people. Marlene & Joel discuss his varied pathway to becoming a leading expert in the field, including stops in the Marine Corp, time as an elementary school teacher and a post-doc fellowship at the California Academy of Sciences. Their conversation ranges from evolutionary mechanisms, unique habitats and survival strategies, arachnophobia, spider myths, and Joel’s adventures/travels as a researcher.

Marlene "The Plant Lady" sits down with Bob Starnes, owner of Shale Peak Horticulture. Bob is a leading expert in chemical-free pest management (aka bio-control), utilizing a multitude of predatory insects to control (ie hunt & kill) crop damaging pest populations. His IPM (integrated pest management) and consulting services are specifically targeted towards the burgeoning cannabis (marijuana) cultivator community in California. With a focus on maximizing efficacy, Bob utilizes bleeding edge drone and imaging technology to deploy beneficial insects and collect data on their impact. Bob’s company, Shale Peak Horticulture, can be found at http://www.sphort.com and on Instagram

Q&A with listener submitted questions. Topics include: Challenges of growing ficus Help with starting tulips Tips for increasing citrus crop yield Hydrangeas! Yucca! When to plant in the western US due to unseasonally early warmth The top blockbuster horticulture movie of 2017. And Bitcoin. To ask questions for future shows, submit them at Flower Power Garden Hour Facebook page, The Plant Lady Facebook page, or Instagram Ask your question about:  general gardening, specific tree care/health, specific flower/plant recommendations or issues, vegetable and fruits

Barry Rice is an astrobiologist, carnivorous plant and succulent researcher, 4th degree Kempo karate black belt and self-proclaimed agnostic Trekkie/Trekker.  He is an astronomy professor at Sierra College, and is world renown for his work with Carnivorous plants.  Barry can be found at sarracenia.com and his YouTube pages.

Intro to podcast and Marlene the Plant Lady answers questions submitted by listeners. To ask questions for future shows, submit them at Flower Power Garden Hour Facebook page, The Plant Lady Facebook page, or Instagram