WCCO's Smart Gardens

University of Minnesota horticulturist/educators Laura Irish Hanson and Jon Trappe remind us to get those bulbs in and tend to our gardens NOW before the cold weather hits. We scored with the nice weather this weekend - get out and get everything ready for next season! And tips on how to seed your lawn. Smart Gardens has the hot tips from the professionals this morning! For any gardening questions...

UMN Extension Horticulturist Mary Meyer talks about all the fun PUMPKIN happenings at the University of Minnesota Landscape Arboretum! Plus APPLES! And… the scarecrow display! Fall is the best. Then tips on how to actually grow your own pumpkins for next year. Then how to properly bring our hibiscus inside for the season, planting bulbs in the fall, and a question about fruit trees. For any garden...

Happy Harvest FULL Moon! UMN Extension Educator Julie Weisenhorn talks about a fun event happening tonight at the University of Minnesota Landscape Arboretum: Full Harvest Moon Hike! Check out arb.umn.edu for more info on how to attend. Plus tips on how not to overwater when we bring our plants inside for the season, how to best cut their roots, fertilization after rain, and more! For any gardenin...

House plant pests - the need to know. We’re joined with an expert on this topic, University of Minnesota horticulturist Laura Irish Hanson. You can hear her give a workshop on house plant pests on 10/3. Register at hennepinmastergardeners.org! Plus, Umn Extension Educator Jon Trappe walks us through his tips for grass seed and fall weed maintenance. For any gardening questions with your project vi...

A lot to get into with Master Gardener Theresa Rooney as time is ticking down on summer and your outdoor gardening projects! Right away, we give Theresa the floor to share more about the Master Gardener program and the step by step process of that! We try to tackle as many of your garden questions and issues as we can! Today we talked about dahlias, weed and feed, different Arborvaite varieties, s...

You can smell it in the air - summer is ending and once again we discuss those last minute seeding and winterizing processes. We also dive in to talking fern beds, nitrogen addition, coloration of your lawn, white spruce troubleshooting, crabgrass issues, raking vs. leaving those leaves and brush out into the winter, Creeping Charlies, getting blueberries planted before its too late, dormant seedi...

While the drought continues, we do have some rain for your lawn and garden this Saturday morning! We also have the two experts to answer your questions for any lawn and garden project - lawn and turf expert Jon Trappe and U of M extension horticulturist Julie Weisenhorn who join Laura on the WCCO Radio porch! We discuss drought of course, also - raspberry plants, Creeping Charlies, boulevard garde...

Laura is joined in studio this morning with UMN Extension horticulturist Laura Irish Hanson. This season’s drought has been difficult, but Laura has tips on how to keep your gardens alive. Don’t forget to water your trees! And when is the best time to water our plants? Clue: you can stay in your pajamas. Plus questions about apple tree termite infestations, tomato blossom end rot, butternut squash...

Laura is joined this morning with UMN Extension horticulturist Mary Meyer! She takes questions regarding watering during these drought conditions, maintaining Mexican Marigolds, and the most interesting questions she’s answered from the “Ask a Master Gardener” feature on the University of Minnesota Extension website. Plus the Minnesota Horticultural Society is celebrating its 160 anniversary! Mary...

Laura is joined this morning with not one but two garden experts: UMN Extension horticulturist Julie Weisenhorn and UMN Extension Educator Jon Trappe. Jon in particular knows about his Quack Grass and we have many questions about how it spreads. Julie weighs in on peach tree maintenance for an ambitious caller trying to grow peaches in MN! Plus Julie previews all the fun events coming up at the Ar...

Master Gardener with UMN Extension Teresa Rooney answers questions about pole bean control, tree pruning, magnolia scale, and critter control. Also a gentle reminder to clean your pruners, especially if you’re going from plant to plant. For any gardening questions with your project visit extension.umn.edu

University of Minnesota horticulturist Laura Irish Hanson is in studio to chat about all things horticulture. Plus questions and answers about Japanese Knotweed, Magnolia Scale treatment, fern takeovers, and garden veggies! For any gardening questions with your project visit extension.umn.edu

We chat with University of Minnesota horticulturist Laura Irish Hanson about the best time to fertilize, moth and grub treatment, mowing tips and more ! For any gardening questions with your project visit extension.umn.edu

With more of the summer heat on the way - plenty of time to get into those garden projects and we have Julie Weisenhorn, retired horticulturist with the University of Minnesota to help with any questions you have! We begin with some fertilizer questions, the weekly Creeping Charlie troubleshooting, perfecting the harvesting of tomatoes including Laura’s own personal experience and some questions o...

We begin the show talking about hydrangeas, tomato plant troubleshooting, rhubarb, applying GrubX to the lawn - how long can it last? oak tree trouble, insect damage to plants and gardens - this and much, much more with our friend Theresa Rooney, Master Gardener with Hennepin County and also the University of Minnesota! If you have a gardening question or want more information on some of the helpf...

With the heat on the way we want to keep our outdoor and garden projects in check - we chat with University of Minnesota horticulturist Mary Meyer - We get into everything from transplanting Rhododendron, Creeping Charlies, keeping your garden protected, Aster yellow disease, clematis and much, much more with Mary! For any gardening questions with your project visit extension.umn.edu

Plenty as always to get into with our Smart Gardens program and we begin discussing what is foodscaping, including a fun event at the University of Minnesota - Foodscaping at the Arb where you can plant and plan your growing project with the help of master gardeners. Of course, we answer some of your questions on creeping charlies, crabgrass, trimming stems, branches, zinnia plant problems, blight...

We are in the thick of gardening season in Minnesota and we have so much to get into with Master Gardener Theresa Rooney with the University of Minnesota. Whether it is pests getting into your gardening project, fertilizer tips, asparagus plants on the move, arborvitaes caretaking, unwarranted trees popping up as well - and much, much more! Theresa shares an upcoming ‘Learning Garden Tour’ going o...

It is a new era with Smart Gardens as Laura Oakes takes the helm for the first time and we dive right into it with your questions regarding asparagus, pruning, many people experiencing pests as well! That, tree questions, transitioning from spring to summer in the garden and more with Laura Irish Hanson - to learn more from horticulturist Laura Irish Hanson at extension.umn.edu

After years of helping our lawns and gardens we say goodbye to Denny Long as he heads into retirement. Should we begin to be concerned for our lawns and outdoor plants with a stretch of dry weather? Managing ground ivy or creeping Charlie. Keeping clover away from the yard. Preventing grubs from taking over your lawn. Keeping ants out of your yard. The right cutting height for a lawn. Learn more f...

We are LIVE from By The Yard Furniture showroom in Jordan, MN and we chat with horticulturist Mary Meyer with the University of Minnesota on a variety of gardening and lawn care topics - from tomato maintenance, ant problems, catmint planting, hydrangea seeding and much more! For any questions regarding your gardening project or lawn care questions visit extension.umn.edu !

Apple scab update. Bare root planting. Germinating rhubarb seed. Keeping critters away from your plants. The best way to kill dandelions. Preventing Lily of the Valley from spreading. Getting control of a clover outbreak. Best time of day to uncover plants. How to help peonies bloom. Bringing hydrangeas back to life. Waiting for peppers and tomatoes. Getting control of quack grass. Learn more from...

How to handle a lawn with high phosphorous. When to start planting peppers and tomatoes. Keeping bugs off of apple trees. Low maintenance plants. Start spraying for creeping Charlie. Why grass may be a different color. Maintaining grass when mowing the lawn. Adding compost to raised beds. What to after grubs are found in your lawn. Frost is still a factor with planting. Learn more from Master Gard...

Why grass may have difficulty growing. Preparing to plant perennials. How long tulips last. Restoring asparagus. What to do if your lawn has grub damage. Why a lawn may be bumpy. Keeping moss away from your yard. When its fine to apply lawn fertilizer. Growing grass in sandy soil. Learn more from horticulturalist Julie Weisenhorn at extension.umn.edu.

Keeping bugs away from your plants. Getting rid of moss on your outdoor spaces. When to start planting spring flower trees. What to do if you need to relocate your rhubarb. Maintaining an amaryllis. When tulips will be in bloom. Phone apps for gardeners. Pruning a rose bush. Learn more from horticulturalist Laura Irish Hanson extension.umn.edu.