What is your favorite late fall flowering tree? Or what is your favorite mid-winter flowering shrub? If you didn’t think common witchhazel (Hamamelis virginiana) let me introduce the two of you. Witchhazel (sometimes seen as witch hazel) is a small tree or large shrub that can be either multi stem or single trunk reaching between…
Author: Scott Evans
Scott is an Extension Associate and Horticulture Program Coordinator in Douglas-Sarpy Counties. He helps co-coordinate the Extension Master Gardener program for the two county area.
Dutch Amaryllis
Two weeks ago I shed some light on telling the difference between the Thanksgiving and Christmas cactus (you should check it out). This week we are diving deeper into the holiday favorites and talking about Hippeastrum. Yes you are probably scratching your head and wondering why you haven’t heard of Hippeastrum. Trust me you have. …
False Christmas Cactus
Growing up my mom always called her Christmas cactus a Thanksgiving cactus because it would be in full flower by the end of November. Being the good son, I never questioned Mom or try to correct her. Twenty something years and a few advance degrees later, Mom was right. The popular plant that’s now arriving…
Plant Protection
Are your trees ready for winter? Last week I talked about the importance of winter watering but I want to touch on woody plant protection. Most of our herbaceous perennials die back to the ground and don’t need protection from small mammals. However, those plants that have a persistent above ground structure, tree and shrubs,…
Winter Water
When we think of droughts we often think of soaring heat, lack of rainfall and summer. We never stop and think that a drought can happen anytime of the year in any season. Winter droughts do as much damage, maybe even more, as summer droughts. This is because we tend to not think about our…
Boo!
A few weeks ago I blogged about plant names and how they can be misleading. Since Halloween is only a week away I thought I would share with you three of my favorite spooky plants: Death Camass, Bloodroot and Skeleton Weed. Death Camass (Zigadenus venenosus) is a native bulbous perennial that is found throughout the…
Pollinator Habitat
Pollinator decline has been a huge buzz word the last few years and rightly so. With so much focus on the use of pesticides, viruses, mites and whatnot – leaves us feeling helpless. Welcome to the Nebraska Extension Pollinator Habitat Certification. You spoke and we listened. If you want to be a part of the…
Black Tupelo – The Other Red Tree
“Autumn paints in colors that summer has never seen” – Author unknown We are coming up on Fall Foliage Week and the time of the year that we get to celebrate all the colors of fall. For many of us this means watching our trees turn hues of red, orange, and yellow. There are many…
Indoor Air & Houseplants
Welcome to the most exciting week of the year: National Indoor Plant Week! We often don’t take into consideration the quality of the air we breathe inside our homes. However, often times the air quality is not what we think it is. Homes have become more airtight in the quest to improve energy efficiency. Home…
Peonies
Peonies are one of the longest lived herbaceous perennials. Some anecdotal evidence reports upwards of 80+ years. How did your peonies do this year? Did they flower okay for you or have they started to fizzle in their performance. Working with clients I have found two major sources for poor peony performance. 1. planted to…