When I first started exploring roses, I thought myself to be pretty educated once I knew the difference between a David Austin and a Knock Out. And then I discovered a whole new world of
11.07.2023 - 16:37 / gardenerspath.com / Kristine Lofgren
Learn About Jackson & Perkins and Their Best RosesNot so long ago, the idea of shipping roses across the country was almost unheard of. If you wanted a particular type, you bought it locally or you couldn’t buy it all.
While I’m all for supporting local businesses, this was a rather limiting situation.
Then Jackson & Perkins hit the scene and shipping roses (and other plants) became wildly popular.
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The company bred their own roses and would send them to you even if you lived on the opposite coast. Suddenly, people could get their hands on hybrids that they’d never heard of before.
Imagine how exciting a time that would have been.
The company also worked hard at breeding new types of roses, and they’re responsible for the introduction of the fabulous floribunda category that fills so many catalogs.
Jackson & Perkins also spearheaded efforts to pass laws that would allow growers to patent plants.
Whether you support the ability to patent a plant or not, there’s no denying that it has resulted in some pretty incredible cultivation efforts and has no doubt brought us cultivars many of us never could have dreamed of.
If you’re a Rosa lover, your knowledge of the genus simply isn’t complete without knowing a bit about this popular and storied company.
We’re going to make you a J&P expert by chatting about the following:
David Austin and Knock Out roses might get all the attention, but Jackson & Perkins has been out there changing the breeding landscape for a long time.
So let’s talk all things J&P…
What Is Jackson & Perkins?Jackson & Perkins started out in New York as a farm founded by Charles Hinsdale Perkins in 1872, with
When I first started exploring roses, I thought myself to be pretty educated once I knew the difference between a David Austin and a Knock Out. And then I discovered a whole new world of
With a few exceptions, apples (Malus x domestica) need a nearby friend so they can pollinate each other and subsequently develop fruit. You can’t just plant one tree a
1. That all the mail-order providers I have used send me my “slips” (pieces of vine sprouted off their stock sweet potatoes) much too early. Yes, I may have few hard frosts after late April or early May…but the weather is by no means as settled nor the soil as warm as a sweet potato would ideally have it. I want my slips to arrive a month later than some stupid automated calculation at the growers is apparently indicating, triggering my too-soon shipment. Just say no to early delivery; hurrying doesn’t help.D.I.Y. for Starters?2. If I had healthy, firm stock left from the previous year—and no sign of any disease or troubles last growing season—I could technically sprout my own slips, and it may just come to that. I’d need to get some of the stored potatoes to begin to sprout in
“Last year [2012] at the overwintering sites, the area occupied was at only 60 percent of its previous low,” she says. “It had been declining, but that was astonishingly low.”The migration-monitoring program Journey North also reported lower stats in 2013’s cold spring. And though the numbers were only preliminary when we spoke that fall, University of Minnesota’s Monarch Larva Monitoring Program seems to indicate that “we’re at about 20 to 30 percent of our average,” Oberhauser says, acknowledging that these drastically lower numbers might be a “new normal.” But she’s not sounding defeated, by any means.A big positive: A lot of people are interested in monarchs. “Though it will be difficult to make up for all the habitat we’ve lost, we can make that ‘new normal’ as good as we can.” (Ways to help are father down this page.)what going wrong for monarchs?MONARCH
First, the workshop back story: Last year, Bob Hyland and I started teaching together again, something we hadn’t done in more than a decade, not since our “old lives” in New York City, where he was head of horticulture for Brooklyn Botanic Garden. What started as, “Do you want to do a container workshop at Berkshire Botanical Garden together?” turned into another and another over at his nursery. The bug bit us; we remembered how much fun we have working together this way, so this year’s schedule reflects that.The April and September workshops begin here with light breakfast, tours and teaching in the garden, then we all head over to Loomis Creek for two-plus hours more learning. Hope to see you at some of the events.MARCH Sunday, March 7 – Reading at Berkshire Botanical Garden, Stockbridge, MA, with my sister, Marion Roach Smith, to celebrate Paris Press’ publication of its “Sisters” anthology. 2 PM. Free, but must RSVP to in
Skip right to the bottom of the page if you just want recipes, or start with these cucumber FAQ’s:Q. I have many flowers but no fruit forming on my cucumbers (or squash). Why?Q. Some cucumbers finally started to form, but they are misshapen and stunted looking. What should I do?Q. I finally got fruit! Except it’s bitter. What did I do wrong with my cucumbers? Q. My cucumber vines were looking great—and then the vines started to wilt, though the soil wasn’t dry. Why?Q. Are those gherkins in the top photo? Is a gherkin just any small cucumber? Q. I have many flowers but no fruit formi
THEY ARE ‘FUN-LOVING PARTY ANIMALS,’ says Kevin McGowan, a Cornell Lab of Ornithology researcher who has studied crows for more than 25 years. McGowan, acknowledging that people either love or hate these familiar birds, led a webinar I just attended (part 2 is Wednesday night; details below), sharing insights into their complex family structure and more. (Apparently crows are also very trendy, as the BBC TWO video from a recent show demonstrates in somewhat-glitzy fashion.)
‘IT’S ENDLESS,” plantsman Michael Dodge (former owner of Vermont Willow Nursery) was saying over the phone a few years back. He was alluding to the possibilities of the genus Salix—the willows to which he has been devoting the recent chapter of his impressive horticultural career. We narrowed it down to some best-of willow selections from about 200 in his collection—best willows for outsmarting deer; winter interest; abundant flowers and even best for making honey if you’re a beekeeper—and I also got a brutal tutorial on willow pruning (also known as coppicing) to share with you.best of the salix: michael dodge’s picksBest cut flowers: Pink ‘Mt. Aso’ has “such a dense stem of flowers,” says Michael—some have 30 catkins along a space of 2 feet of stem.
I have the pleasure of interviewing entomologists and ecologists pretty regularly on my public radio program and podcast, and in 2018 a few conversations touched on my question about what insects are after.The year ends in my northern garden with outdoor insect activity at its low point, but I’ve nevertheless been thinking of them, and of some key takeaways from interviews this past year about “the little things that run the world,” as Harvard biologist Edward O. Wilson famously called insects and other invertebrates. I rounded
The miracle of bird migration is a subject of much intensive study, especially in this age of rapid climate change. Migration actually originally evolved in large part as a response to changing climate, but of a far more gradual nature over the millennia and longer. Now scientists wonder how species will adapt–or if they can–to current faster shifts.At the end of 2019, Colorado State University, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, and the University of Massachusetts published research based on analysis of 24 years of weather radar data, showing that the timing of spring bird migration across North
Now I know that was a mouthful, but it’s a brave new increasingly virtual world out there. And I want us to get in on the ground floor and learn more about the promise and potential of a newish entity called SeedLinked.com that a number of expert friends are part of.One who is participating tipped me off to a selection of curated seed collections that are part of the bigger digital undertaking. To learn more I called Bjorn Bergman, who curated the SeedLinked lettuce collection and is also part of the SeedLin
I absorbed at least a rudimentary command of the official language of plants, and my only regret is that I didn’t learn even more. Now, thanks to the fun I’ve been having dipping over and again into the new book called “The Gardener’s Botanical: An Encyclopedia of Latin Plant Names,” I’m further sharpening my skills, because botanical Latin opens up a world for gardeners willing to try learning some of it.What can a gardener learn from studying botanical Latin? Ross Bayton, a former editor of the BBC’s “Gardeners World Magazine” created the “The Gardener’s Botanical,” and when we spoke recently, he answered that question and more. (Photo of Ross, below, from the Heronswood garden