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PLEASE NOTE: In the autumn of 1995, we hatched the idea for a free, local gardening publication. The following spring, we published the first issue of Michigan Gardener magazine. Advertisers, readers, and distribution sites embraced our vision. Thus began an exciting journey of helping our local gardening community grow and prosper.
After 27 years, nearly 200 issues published, and millions of copies printed, we have decided it is time to end the publication of our Print Magazine and E-Newsletter.

Archive for the plant tag

What are good plants to give as a wedding party favor?

March 14, 2022   •   Leave a Comment

Picea Glauca (White Spruce)

At our upcoming wedding, we want to give a seedling or plant as a wedding party favor. We need suggestions as to what tree or plants can be planted in Michigan in September. Since there will be about 500 guests, the price of each plant must be relatively low.

Congratulations on using a plant as a wedding party favor! One of the best choices for fall planting, and a Michigan native, would be a white spruce (Picea glauca) seedling. These strong conifers transplant easily, and tolerate a wide variety of soil types and sun conditions. They are used for windbreaks, lumber, and sometimes Christmas trees. They have a strong conical form and hold their limbs out horizontally. The dense branching provides shelter and food for birds and other wildlife. What a fitting long-term remembrance of your wedding.

Understanding the large quantity, you want to deal with a local wholesaler/retailer that can offer a practical price. Consider Cold Stream Farm in northwest Michigan (www.coldstreamfarm.net). Please remember that 500 seedlings will likely be prepared in bulk. You will have to separate them and individually wrap their roots in a moisture-retaining mulch and secure in a waterproof sleeve. Therefore, timing your order is important so that the seedlings are not stored indefinitely. Once received, you have approximately one week to separate, rewrap and distribute. Prepare a tag for each tree that tells guests to plant as soon as possible and the optimum soil and light conditions.

Related: Why is my blue spruce struggling?

Filed Under: Ask MG Tagged With: party favor, plant, wedding, wedding party favor

Weird subterranean plant not seen in 150 years re-emerges from the underworld

March 5, 2018   •   Leave a Comment

This is the first photograph ever taken of the bizarre and mysterious species.
This is the first photograph ever taken of the bizarre and mysterious species.

In 1866, an Italian botanist named Odoardo Beccari was scouring through the jungles of Malaysia when he unearthed something truly alien-like: a plant, to be sure, but a plant with no leaves, no chlorophyll, and which did not perform photosynthesis and appeared to live underground. It looked more like a fungus or, perhaps more astutely, an insect or arachnid.

Beccari documented the discovery, filing away his illustrations and notes on the new species. And then, nothing. This weird, subterranean plant was never seen or heard from again.

That is, until just last year. Biologists from the Crop Research Institution in the Czech Republic happened to be exploring the exact same region of rainforest that Beccari had trudged through 151 years prior, when they spotted a bizarre flower poking through the leaf litter. They didn’t know it right away, but they had just rediscovered Beccari’s otherworldly plant. The picture above represents the first time the species has ever been photographed.

Read more here…

Filed Under: Clippings Tagged With: discovery, plant, subterranean plant, underworld

What is a plant volunteer?

November 13, 2011   •   

What do people mean when they say a particular plant is a “volunteer?”

A plant is called a volunteer when it grows in an area it wasn’t planted. These can either be desirable or undesirable plants. If you like the way it looks, it’s a desirable plant; if you don’t, of course it becomes undesirable. Another word for a volunteer plant is “weed.” The definition of a weed is any plant that grows where it’s not wanted. A beautiful sunflower is a weed/volunteer when it appears in a bean field. There are several ways these plants can get to your flower bed or garden. They may come from roots or seeds you planted the previous year, animals may deposit them in their feces, birds can drop the seeds, or the wind may blow them in. If you like the plant… leave it; if not…remove it!

Filed Under: Ask MG Tagged With: plant, volunteer

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