http://blog.mlive.com/gardening/A Gardening Blog by Ed Hutchinson.enMovable Type Enterprise 4.29-advance http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/noA Gardening Blog by Ed Hutchinson.gardening_bloghttp://feedburner.google.comhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/gardening_blog/~3/thIzwEsYb3w/gardeners_head_inside_for_wint.htmlbdegroffSun, 06 Jan 2008 07:58:27 PSTtag:blog.mlive.com,2008:/gardening//2366.600945 ]]>Get to the root of comfort When the snow gets deep and the wind rattles our windowpanes, it's comfort food time. Last winter I discovered the wonders of root vegetables, which are easy to grow, fun to cook, and readily...http://blog.mlive.com/gardening/2008/01/gardeners_head_inside_for_wint.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/gardening_blog/~3/4lGwPEmWzX0/gifts_can_cultivate_springtime.htmlbdegroffSun, 09 Dec 2007 10:33:43 PSTtag:blog.mlive.com,2007:/gardening//2366.550746 ]]>With the arrival of winterlike weather (winter technically begins in a couple weeks), there's very little to do, thankfully, in the garden outdoors. Since the holiday season is here, perhaps we should consider some gifts for gardeners. While most of...http://blog.mlive.com/gardening/2007/12/gifts_can_cultivate_springtime.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/gardening_blog/~3/-kMUW-GXsKk/gift_list_keeps_growing_for_ga.htmlbdegroffSun, 09 Dec 2007 10:31:29 PSTtag:blog.mlive.com,2007:/gardening//2366.550744 ]]>I'm in full do-it-yourself mode right now, in an effort to share the bounty of the garden with friends and family. Lavender has made it into homemade soaps. Bittersweet and dried flowers will find their way into holiday arraignments, and...http://blog.mlive.com/gardening/2007/12/gift_list_keeps_growing_for_ga.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/gardening_blog/~3/bf8oiDxDEmU/offbeat_gifts_please_gardeners.htmlJohn Hogan | The Grand Rapids PressSun, 02 Dec 2007 03:52:40 PSTtag:blog.mlive.com,2007:/gardening//2366.532208 ]]>We survived Black Friday and Cyber Monday, and there are still 22 shopping days until Christmas. Relax, there's plenty of time to find the perfect gift for the gardener and do-it-yourselfer on your list. To avoid humiliation and a season...http://blog.mlive.com/gardening/2007/12/offbeat_gifts_please_gardeners.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/gardening_blog/~3/vhHFlX-i6SM/pests_on_english_walnut_1.htmlTrees & ShrubsbdegroffMon, 27 Aug 2007 12:09:02 PDTtag:blog.mlive.com,2007:/gardening//2366.341640 ]]>Q. Two years ago, I bought two Carpathian English Walnut trees from a mail-order nursery. One was strong, the other weak. The small tree's leaves turned black and dropped off, but the tree itself did not die. It started to...http://blog.mlive.com/gardening/2007/08/pests_on_english_walnut_1.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/gardening_blog/~3/FTPCuf3k0mQ/scale_on_juniper_1.htmlTrees & ShrubsbdegroffMon, 27 Aug 2007 12:08:34 PDTtag:blog.mlive.com,2007:/gardening//2366.341638 ]]>Q. Several low evergreen bushes have a white substance on their needles. The bushes look bad and are thinning. I have tried spraying them but nothing works. Any ideas? Laurie Stowell, South Lyon A. Laurie, my guess is the low...http://blog.mlive.com/gardening/2007/08/scale_on_juniper_1.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/gardening_blog/~3/pD85qen-tLE/in_search_of_the_perfect_tree_1.htmlTrees & ShrubsbdegroffMon, 27 Aug 2007 12:08:05 PDTtag:blog.mlive.com,2007:/gardening//2366.341637 ]]>Q. We want a privacy wall along the east side of our home. The soil is dry, compacted clay. We'd like something that grows fast and has dense foliage, but no white or Austrian pine. We've been thinking about Colorado...http://blog.mlive.com/gardening/2007/08/in_search_of_the_perfect_tree_1.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/gardening_blog/~3/PHbyxrvs_R4/maple_trees_and_canker_1.htmlTrees & ShrubsbdegroffMon, 27 Aug 2007 12:07:30 PDTtag:blog.mlive.com,2007:/gardening//2366.341634 ]]>Q. In late spring, you wrote about canker on maple trees. The description fit the problem with our Norway maple perfectly. Our tree was planted by the builder about two years ago. We initially thought it was a bruise from...http://blog.mlive.com/gardening/2007/08/maple_trees_and_canker_1.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/gardening_blog/~3/djdaYcLe0uI/pruning_bittersweet_1.htmlTrees & ShrubsbdegroffMon, 27 Aug 2007 12:06:54 PDTtag:blog.mlive.com,2007:/gardening//2366.341632 ]]>Q. We have an older bittersweet that badly needs to be trimmed back. When should I do this? Betty Jelinek, Jackson A. Early spring is the best time to prune bittersweet in Michigan, Betty, and your first order of priority...http://blog.mlive.com/gardening/2007/08/pruning_bittersweet_1.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/gardening_blog/~3/byCzOma2vWg/tips_on_flowering_dogwood_2.htmlTrees & ShrubsbdegroffMon, 27 Aug 2007 12:06:20 PDTtag:blog.mlive.com,2007:/gardening//2366.341630 ]]>Q. The dogwood tree I planted on the east side of the house early this summer did well for a while. Then it looked as if it needed water. I soaked it well and nothing happened. I was told at...http://blog.mlive.com/gardening/2007/08/tips_on_flowering_dogwood_2.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/gardening_blog/~3/fy84j2T8Tmw/berries_and_bentgrass_2_questi.htmlTrees & ShrubsbdegroffMon, 27 Aug 2007 12:05:41 PDTtag:blog.mlive.com,2007:/gardening//2366.341629 ]]>Q. Everyone says you must have a male and female plant to product berries on American bittersweet but no one (I talk to) seems to know how to tell the plants apart so you know what you are planting. Can...http://blog.mlive.com/gardening/2007/08/berries_and_bentgrass_2_questi.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/gardening_blog/~3/AA9q_IyXQi4/pussywillows_borers_1.htmlTrees & ShrubsbdegroffMon, 27 Aug 2007 12:04:47 PDTtag:blog.mlive.com,2007:/gardening//2366.341626 ]]>Q. The stems of my pussy willow trees have a borer in them. What would I spray them with and when? Would it be better if I cut them to the ground and started over? I have about a dozen...http://blog.mlive.com/gardening/2007/08/pussywillows_borers_1.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/gardening_blog/~3/vDx5SKgrtpc/white_cedar_and_windbreak_1.htmlTrees & ShrubsbdegroffMon, 27 Aug 2007 12:03:18 PDTtag:blog.mlive.com,2007:/gardening//2366.341618 ]]>Q. Last fall, I planted 130 Northern white cedar trees because we were in urgent need of a windbreak, after the utility company went through and cut down all the trees in front of our house. I wanted to plant...http://blog.mlive.com/gardening/2007/08/white_cedar_and_windbreak_1.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/gardening_blog/~3/Ywq-0K-0P_k/viburnum_and_winter_protection.htmlTrees & ShrubsbdegroffMon, 27 Aug 2007 12:01:29 PDTtag:blog.mlive.com,2007:/gardening//2366.341614 ]]> Q. Last fall, we wrapped two fragrant viburnum with burlap to protect them from the bitter winds. We found the branches were bare when we removed the burlap. I can't find a reference in my garden book that would...http://blog.mlive.com/gardening/2007/08/viburnum_and_winter_protection.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/gardening_blog/~3/ivGml_c5rF4/brown_branches_on_pine.htmlTrees & ShrubsbdegroffMon, 27 Aug 2007 11:56:28 PDTtag:blog.mlive.com,2007:/gardening//2366.341604 ]]>Q. The pine tree in my front yard (west exposure) has grown beautifully over the past six years. It turns brown in late March every year. This year, it looks especially sad and doesn't have the new growth it has...http://blog.mlive.com/gardening/2007/08/brown_branches_on_pine.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/gardening_blog/~3/dx_fkMnN02k/brown_needles_on_alberta_spruc.htmlTrees & ShrubsbdegroffMon, 27 Aug 2007 11:55:42 PDTtag:blog.mlive.com,2007:/gardening//2366.341601 ]]> Q. Two of my dwarf Alberta spruce has a problem that causes the needles to turn brown and fall off. I have tried insecticide and fungicide to control the problem. One of the trees looked much better by the...http://blog.mlive.com/gardening/2007/08/brown_needles_on_alberta_spruc.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/gardening_blog/~3/jIV_nh8OojA/seed_worms_and_birch_trees_1.htmlTrees & ShrubsbdegroffMon, 27 Aug 2007 11:55:01 PDTtag:blog.mlive.com,2007:/gardening//2366.341596 ]]>Q. I have a clump birch that was planted in 1991. It has grown beautifully until this year. Long "seed worms" developed on two trunks, then shriveled up and now there are dead leaves on some of the stems. There...http://blog.mlive.com/gardening/2007/08/seed_worms_and_birch_trees_1.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/gardening_blog/~3/V3-9AYKwygM/propagating_woody_shrubs.htmlTrees & ShrubsbdegroffMon, 27 Aug 2007 11:54:23 PDTtag:blog.mlive.com,2007:/gardening//2366.341593 ]]> Q. I would like to get new starter plants from wisteria, rhododendron and snowball bushes. I've tried taking cuttings to root by placing them in water, but so far, have had no luck this way. Could you tell me...http://blog.mlive.com/gardening/2007/08/propagating_woody_shrubs.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/gardening_blog/~3/5R4IZkDnT_o/caring_for_lilac_bushes.htmlTrees & ShrubsbdegroffMon, 27 Aug 2007 11:53:42 PDTtag:blog.mlive.com,2007:/gardening//2366.341577 ]]>Q. Last summer, we planted two small lilac bushes. Having grown up with lots of lilacs, I'm delighted to have them again. Some I have seen are more leaves than flowers in the spring while some are nothing but limbs...http://blog.mlive.com/gardening/2007/08/caring_for_lilac_bushes.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/gardening_blog/~3/ub6KvkGT3mI/caring_for_arborvitae_trees_1.htmlTrees & ShrubsbdegroffMon, 27 Aug 2007 11:53:05 PDTtag:blog.mlive.com,2007:/gardening//2366.341558 ]]>Q. We have a row of arborvitae trees that have not done well for about seven years. Someone told me that the trees require topping after their fifth year to make them full and bushy instead of their present condition...http://blog.mlive.com/gardening/2007/08/caring_for_arborvitae_trees_1.htmlnonadult