Saturday, February 17, 2024

GardenDC Podcast Episode 182: Amsonia

In this episode of GardenDC: The Podcast about Mid-Atlantic Gardening, we talk with Sam Hoadley, Manager of Horticultural Research at Mt. Cuba Center, all about Amsonia. The plant profile is on Coralberry and we share what's going on in the garden as well as some upcoming local gardening events and this week's garden tasks in the What's New segment. We close out with the Last Word on Craving Summer Flavors by Christy Page of Green Prints.

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

~ GardenDC Podcast Episode 134: Carex for the Mid-Atlantic Region

https://washingtongardener.blogspot.com/2023/01/gardendc-podcast-episode-134-carex-for.html

~ GardenDC Podcast Episode 99: Trilliums

https://washingtongardener.blogspot.com/2022/04/gardendc-podcast-episode-99-trilliums.html

~ GardenDC Podcast Episode 69: Garden Phlox

https://washingtongardener.blogspot.com/2021/08/gardendc-podcast-episode-69-garden-phlox.html


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SHOW NOTES: 01:05 Catching up with returning guest Sam Hoadley, Manager of Horticultural Research at Mt. Cuba Center 01:48 Developments in Mt. Cuba Center’s trial garden 03:03 “Mt. Cuba's mission is to inspire people by the beauty and value of these native plants for us specifically in the trial garden, so we're looking at the ornamental qualities and also their ability to potentially benefit wildlife in the Mid-Atlantic region.” – Sam 03:39 Sam talks about growing straight species of natives, along with the cultivars 05:11 Where is Mt. Cuba Center? 07:20 Common names for Amsonia 07:57 Amsonia’s foliage 09:07 “Their foliage is really kind of an underappreciated part of the Bluestars ornamental appeal...” – Sam 12:14 “All examples of all 20 Amsonia that we planted in 2013 were still there in 2023, and some of them just continue to get better and better.” – Sam 12:55 Sam talks about their rating scale 14:22 Sam talks about trialing natives and what is in the garden 16:37 “Through observation and, again this is over 10 years, ‘Blue Ice’ and Amsonia orientalis performed in a near identical way: bloomed at the exact same time, [and] they were the only plants in the trial that had any disease issues…” – Sam 18:05 Sam says that ‘Blue Ice’ is not recommended for a native garden 18:23 What to do about rust in the garden 19:14 Ideal planting site conditions for Amsonia 20:42 These are incredibly durable, low-maintenance plants. 21:37 “What if [the Amsonia] is starting to emerge new foliage and I haven’t done my cutback?” – Kathy asks Sam 24:50 Sam talks about the Amsonia seed heads 26:08 Sam talks about Amsonia as a host plant for native pollinators 29:14 They are also deer-resistant 30:12 “Why is this not more grown?” — Kathy asks Sam – since it is low-maintenance, deer-resistant, and has great pollinator benefits 31:52 Sam’s favorite Amsonia companion plants and where he places them 34:16 Sam’s favorite Amsonias (at the moment) 35:27 Sam’s Amsonia recommendation for beginners 36:46 The direction of breeding and improvement for Amsonias 40:52 You can access the Amsonia trial’s full research report at https://mtcubacenter.org/ 41:24 Register for Sam’s Classes on Amsonia in May and in the autumn on their website, some Mt. Cuba Center talks are in-person and others with a virtual option 43:05 Wildflower Weekend event at Mt. Cuba in late April Reach out to Sam via information@mtcubacenter.org or email at shoadley@mtcubacenter.org 45:03 Volunteer program at Mt. Cuba with the pollinator watch team 47:20 Plant Profile: Coralberry 49:05 What’s new in the garden this week? Winter aconite, Hellebores, and flower-arranging tips 49:52 Register at https://homesteadgardens.com/ to hear Kathy Jentz speak about Roses on Sun. March 3: 10AM in Davidsonville, MD, then at 2PM in Severna Park 50:32 Local gardening event: 2024 Spring Garden Kickoff on Sat. March 9 at 10AM to 1PM at the Arlington Central Library in Arlington, VA is the 51:16 Kathy Jentz’s book “Groundcover Revolution” 52:36 Kathy Jentz’s book “The Urban Garden” 53:36 Christy Page on Craving Summer Flavors on a Very Wintery Day 56:40 How to support the GardenDC Podcast

We welcome your questions and comments! You can leave a voice mail message for us at: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/gardendc/message Note that we may use these messages on a future episode.

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Episode Credits:
Host and Producer: Kathy Jentz
Interview Edit and Show Notes: Hannah Zozobrado

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