Callery Pear: the Jekyll and Hyde Tree

Last year, I vowed not to take any more pictures of blooming Callery pear (Pyrus calleryana). I have hundreds of pictures including some that I've labeled "Field of Pears." It's a 13.5-acre former farm field along I-75 just north of the exit for SR 129. The field is covered with escaped pears; no trees had ever been planted there. I've been taking shots of the field since 2010.
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Joe Boggs

Loebner Magnolias Bloom in Columbus

Loebner Magnolia Article

Authored by Claudia Winslett

 

This is the first bygl-alert over the next several weeks from students in the Horticulture and Crop Science 3410 class, “Sustainable Landscape Maintenance”, now meeting virtually. This alert text and images are by Claudia Winslett (the posting indicates the author is Jim Chatfield; we are working on changing this as students begin submitting these articles).  The pictures are from Columbus, Ohio with its Growing Degree-Days of 99 as of this Sunday. Magnolia stellata, one of the...

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Jim Chatfield
Squirrely - and Other Behavior chatfield.1@osu.edu Sat, 03/28/2020 - 16:23
How much do squirrels eat, and how do we interpret numbers that we read? These and other questions will be addressed here.
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Jim Chatfield

Mysterious Mukdenia

Mukdenia rossii (Mukdenia), is a perennial plant (hardy to USDA zones 4-8) well suited to Ohio gardens, yet it remains known only by a few gardeners. This native of China forms  a low-growing rhizomatous clump 8-12” tall and 1-2 feet wide (though it will take years to form a clump that large!). In China it can be found on rocky slopes and ravines, which tells us something about growing it in our own gardens.
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Paul Snyder

What Is That?: Take Notice of Winter Annual Weeds

Many among us have found ourselves confined to quarters over the last few weeks.  During times like these, I find I have more time to be observant in my yard and garden, resulting in the inevitable shout of, "WHAT IS THAT????"   Perhaps some of you too are noticing new plants or critters as you soak up the sun on days like today!  While out walking my cat, Mew Mew, (a superstar plant-lover in her own right) we got ourselves tangled up in some winter annual weeds, Hairy bittercress (Cardamine hirsuta) and  Catchweed Bedstraw (Galium aparine).  

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Ashley Kulhanek

Holy Hellebores!

Everyone anticipates spring’s arrival and subsequent awakening of plants from their winter slumber. If you’re like me, every plant exhibiting signs of life is exciting: from the complex flowers Acer saccharinum to the showy flowers of the magnolias, all are welcome. At Secrest Arboretum you can find many plants that remain unknown to the average gardener, but there is one plant that seems to remain in obscurity-Helleborous, or...

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Paul Snyder