Saturday, April 01, 2023

GardenDC Podcast Episode 144: Flowering Cherry Trees

In this episode of GardenDC: The Podcast about Mid-Atlantic Gardening, we talk with Dr. Margaret Pooler, Research Leader for Floral and Nursery Plants at the US National Arboretum, all about flowering cherry trees. The plant profile is on Grape Hyacinths and we share what's going on in the garden as well as some upcoming local gardening events in the What's New segment. We close out with the Last Word on Crabgrass Prevention from Jeff Rugg, author of Greener View Gardening.



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Show Notes: 01:29 Dr. Margaret Pooler, Research Leader for Floral and Nursery Plants, of the Arboretum, whose work has included 26 years of flowering cherry breeding. Her unit has released four flowering cherries to the trade: Prunus ‘ Dream Catcher’. Prunus x incam ‘First Lady’, Prunus ‘Helen Taft’ Prunus campanulata ‘Abigail Adams’ 03:13 Ornamental cherries are in the same genus as the fruiting cherries and nectarines 03:48 Do ornamental cherry trees produce fruit? 07:28 How does gene editing work? 08:15 Breeding in cherry tree relatives – apples, strawberries, and more! 09:30 Cherry tree growing conditions: sunlight, pests, and soil 11:19 Do NOT over mulch 13:37 Cherry tree lifespans in home landscapes vs. the Tidal Basin 16:36 Pruning and suckers 19:57 Should people graft their own trees? 20:56 Taking cuttings for cherry tree rooting – when’s the best time and what to do with the cutting. 23:23 Supplemental fertilizing – try soil testing. 24:09 We gotta talk about pests (ugh!) 29:26 Cold weather “rarely kills the plant” 31:56 An ancient Japanese art – the use of wooden crutches to support aging cherry tree limbs 34:51 ‘Dream Catcher’ is an early flowering tree 35:40 ‘First Lady’ – “It’s so different than anything else out there” 38:33 ‘Helen Taft’ is “actually pink” 39:32 ‘Abigail Adams’ -- don’t even bother to look for this one, Dr. Pooler warns that this species is not reliably hardy here in Mid-Atlantic region 40:13 The US National Arboretum has hundreds of trees in their trial fields 42:19 Online sources vs. garden centers for cherry tree availability 46:09 Why growing cherry trees are worth it 46:53 Grape Hyacinths: this week’s Plant Profile! 49:07 Garden updates: early tulips are blooming and arugula and lettuce seedlings are up! 49:29 Upcoming events: Maryland Native Plant Society’s monthly program; Arlington National Cemetery Memorial Arboretum walking tour and spring tour. 51:08 “The Urban Garden” by Kathy Jentz and Teri Speight 52:10 “Groundcover Revolution” by Kathy Jentz 53:33 Jeff Rugg, author of “Greener View Gardening,” shares the Last Word on Crabgrass prevention

If you liked this episode, you may also enjoy listening to:

~ GardenDC Podcast Episode 119: Crapemyrtles

https://washingtongardener.blogspot.com/2022/09/gardendc-podcast-episode-119.html

~ GardenDC Podcast Episode 6: Spring-Flowering Trees and Shrubs

https://washingtongardener.blogspot.com/2020/04/gardendc-podcast-episode-6-spring.html



This episode is archived at: 

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Episode Credits:
Host and Producer: Kathy Jentz
Editing and Show Notes: Jessica Harden

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