Narrator> Making It Grow is brought to you in part by Certified South Carolina.

This cooperative effort among farmers, retailers and the South Carolina Department of Agriculture helps consumers identify foods and agricultural products that are grown, harvested or raised right here in the Palmetto State.

McLeod Farms in McBee, South Carolina, family owned and operated since 1916.

This family farm offers seasonal produce, including over 40 varieties of peaches.

Wesley Commons, a full service continuing care retirement community located on more than 150 wooded acres in Greenwood, South Carolina.

Additional funding provided by the South Carolina Farm Bureau Federation and Farm Bureau Insurance and Boone Hall Farms.

♪ ♪ ♪ Amanda> Well, good evening and welcome to Making It Grow .

We are so happy that you can join us tonight.

I'm Amanda McNulty, and I'm a Clemson Horticulture Agent.

And I'm here with my fellow Clemson... employee, Terasa Lott.

And Terasa looks over the people in the Midlands District.

Which just means budgets and all kinds of things.

And you're very good at doing all that, Terasa.

Thank you for taking that job on.

> No.

Well, it's my pleasure.

And May or May... March has been a wonderful month in that I got to go out in the field and watch some of my agents in action.

And so it's really great to see them serving the citizens and providing that educational programing.

Amanda> Well, tell me one that you particularly enjoy.

Well, you know, Katie Collins is one of our Water Resources Agent based here in Sumter.

And, she co-hosted an event which was, Shoreline Stabilization and involved, both teaching and installation.

So there was a really good turnout.

And people learned about how plants can help prevent erosion and protect water quality.

Amanda> Did they use those sticks?

Terasa> Live stakes.

Yes.

Amanda> Live stakes, yeah.

Terasa> They sure did.

Which, it looks like you're just planting a stick of wood and you would never imagine.

But one of the species that's used is willow.

You know, that plant has a strong will to survive.

Amanda> Salix, yeah, yeah.

<Yes> And, you know, likes to be in that situation.

Terasa> That's right.

It's got to be able to take wet feet.

Amanda> Yeah.

Well that's terrific.

Yeah.

Great.

Stephanie Turner, we've missed you.

But Greenwood is a long, way away.

We're so happy you could come back and be with this.

Stephanie has, kitty cats in case you don't know.

[laughter] So we've always liked to keep up with your kitty cats.

But you have such a wonderful, active Master Gardener group.

> We do.

The Lakelands Master Gardeners serve our area.

And so that's Greenwood and the surrounding counties.

And so there's a great group, and they're involved in a bunch of different things in our community.

Amanda> And, your downtown is so active horticulturally.

And I think, I don't think they could do the things they do without the volunteers.

Stephanie> Yes.

Very many volunteer hours.

We have a greenhouse.

The city has a greenhouse in Greenwood.

And so they work in the greenhouse and in the landscape, pollinator gardens and so forth, yeah.

Amanda> It's wonderful.

Well, thank you for making the trek.

Stephanie> I'm glad to be here.

Amanda> We really appreciate it.

And, give the kitties some catnip for us.

If you don't mind.

And Dr.

Emily Belser, you, are connected with the real estate firm, but you are particularly interested in, things that relate to forestry and land protection, I believe, and things like that.

So tell us how you got into that.

> Yeah.

So my background is in wildlife management, and so I do work with landowners and help them manage their property for wildlife.

And also I'm in land sales and then I also have been working with landowners who are interested in placing their property in a conservation easement.

So I kind of help walk them through that process and help them negotiate the terms of the easement and things like that.

Amanda> And I love the word in perpetuity because we're losing so much land in South Carolina.

So many people want to come here and live because it's such a great state.

But at the same time, the places that were there that made the state so beautiful are disappearing.

And so the Conservation Trust is a wonderful way to protect your land, I believe.

Dr.

Belser> Absolutely.

Yeah.

It protects that property in perpetuity, forever.

So it stays with that land, whether you sell it or keep it or your kids inherit it.

So yeah, it protects that land, forever.

And keeps it from ever becoming a... you know, a subdivision or- Amanda> Or a parking lot.

Well, thank you so much for helping your clients.

And for coming to be here with us.

Yeah, we appreciate it.

Dr.

Belser> Thank you for having me.

Amanda> And Dr.

John Nelson, who retired as the Curator of the A.C.

Moore Herbarium at the University of South Carolina.

And, John, you always have things going on.

I always fuss at you because I want you to do this and you tell me your too busy.

> I'm very rarely bored.

[laughter] Amanda> Well, you've got your little press that you can take with you.

> I've got a number of projects and there's always some time for botany, even in the wintertime.

And of course, I haven't been here for a little while, but... I just wanted to say I'm so glad to see March end.

Because it means that spring is on the way.

<Yeah> Spring is here, basically.

Amanda> Well, you know, I do radio spots for, public radio, and I talked to you about dandelions.

And you told us that they bloom every month of the year in South Carolina.

Dr.

Nelson> Probably, so.

I would think, if you go out and look in fields.

Amanda> But they get taller?

Dr.

Nelson> When they're producing their fruits, they'll elongate... what we call is the peduncle.

which has the head of flowers at the top.

Amanda> Yeah.

They're cool, I like them.

Dr.

Nelson> Oh, they're wonderful.

And there's more than one species.

Amanda> Yeah.

Interestingly, Terasa, the colonist who came over the settlers, brought dandelion seeds with them because they thought they were such an important crop, to have in their gardens because they're so full of vitamins.

How crazy is that?

[laughter] Terasa> That's right.

I wouldn't think about bringing them with us.

Although, I have definitely spread the seeds.

It's a fun thing to do.

Amanda> It sure is.

Okay, well, we're so happy you came today.

Dr.

Nelson> I'm glad to be here again.

And we have some fun things for y'all to watch.

I went to a Camellia Show in Columbia and met a very nice person, John Maker.

And he came down and talked about Camellias with us.

And then Ben Powell is our bee person.

And we, he's been doing bee research, we went to the Pee Dee REC and he told us all kinds of interesting things that he was doing.

So those will be things that you will enjoy learning about.

Also seeing the beautiful Camellias, ah, they're just magnificent, aren't they?

Well, Terasa, I bet some of our wonderful viewers have sent pictures of gardens or indoor plants.

Terasa> They sure have.

Our viewers never let us down.

This is kind of an inspirational part of the show, where you get to show off what you're doing in your yards, your gardens, or perhaps you've captured one of the many beautiful spaces in the state of South Carolina.

Today we begin with Karla Windey, who shared daffodils brightening up a spot in her Greenville perennial garden.

From Carol O'Reilly, we have our state flower, the yellow jessamine, rambling along a privacy fence.

Laura Foreman shared Creeping Phlox or Thrift, as her Paw-Paw used to call it.

Her husband transplanted a clump from her grandparent's house to their first house and then to their current home.

So she has a tie to fond childhood memories.

From Theresa Mazell, Portuguese squill.

Which happens to be in the same plant family as Asparagus.

Amanda> Come on!

Terasa> That's a neat tidbit.

You may never know when you need that useful information.

And finally, we wrap up with Lisa Brett, who shared seedlings resting on the dining room table during some cold nights.

She said, "last year was their first time gardening and they learned so much from our show."

<Ah!> What a huge compliment to hear that maybe we, played a small role in helping Lisa and her family be successful.

Amanda> Isn't that fun?

And, you know, makes me think of people, tomato questions- And didn't we love having Tony to talk about... Terasa> Oh, yes.

Amanda> Yeah.

So, yeah.

Miss him a lot.

Well, thank you.

And thanks to all of your, all of our viewers who sent things.

That was so kind of you.

And... we can't show everything that comes, but, everybody is getting busy.

People in South Carolina are wonderful gardeners because you can do it 12 months of the year.

Well, do we have some questions?

Terasa> We do.

Amanda, we're going to try to help Liz from Greenwood.

Liz said, "Each year I get ants in my flower pots.

How can I get rid of them before bringing them inside?"

That's a good question.

Don't want to bring- Sometimes you don't want to bring the outdoors in.

Amanda> That's true.

Well, it's kind of- Before you bring them inside, because I think that her flowers, you would be taking them outside this time of year, but whatever.

Stephanie, what's the trick?

> I think maybe she's trying to head it off at the pass.

She knows she gets ants all the time, so she's going to make a plan, but... Yeah, so there's a number of different species, probably that would find that environment welcoming and safe for them.

And so, there's a few different strategies.

If it is fire ants.

You can always use a bait product.

And that way you don't even have to put the product directly into the pot.

Fire ants will forage a long way to find that bait product.

Amanda> But there are, other things you can use that would be instant and you don't- Because the temperatures and all have to be kind of particular for baits.

Stephanie> For them to find the bait, yeah.

And you could use a mound treatment as well in the pot, for sure.

If you're, if you're looking at the, environment in the pot for the ants, if you keep it a little bit more consistently moist, use a wick watering system, that kind of thing.

If you increase the moisture in the pot, they may not find it as appealing.

So that well-drained, drier media is more appealing to them than others.

And then, you know, just drench the whole pot before you bring it in and flood them out.

Amanda> Oh, just submerge it.

Stephanie> Submerge it in a bucket.

Drown them all out- Amanda> That's a great idea.

Stephanie> Before you bring them inside.

Amanda> But let it drain.

Stephanie> Let it drain.

[laughter] You're gonna have a puddle.

For sure.

Amanda> That's a really good idea.

I mean, that'd be pretty simple.

<Yeah> Thank you, so much.

Terasa> I'm glad I've never brought, at least I don't think I've brought ants inside.

But a few anoles have made their way in.

<Oh, yeah.> Or some tree frogs.

Amanda> Well, and if you pick camellias and bring them in you always bring ants in the house.

Because they're in the Camellias.

Stephanie> Oh, and that's the other thing I forgot to say.

Maybe check your plant for aphids or scale insects because that's attractive to the ants.

And so they can farm, they'll farm those insects.

So if you have that kind of insect problem, manage that.

And maybe the ants will find another- Amanda> Because their secretions are attractive.

Stephanie> Yeah, their honeydew, feeding off that.

Amanda> Yeah, okay.

Goodness gracious.

Okay.

The world is complicated.

Just a house plant.

[laughter] Okay.

Whom else can we help, Terasa?

Terasa> Well, this question comes in from your neck of the woods.

Jamie from St.

Matthews said, "I'm considering placing a conservation easement on my family's 200 acres in Orangeburg County.

Where do I start?

And what does that process look like?"

Amanda> Goodness gracious.

Well, Emily, we're so glad that we have an expert here to help us give her some information.

> Yeah, so my recommendation would be to first contact whatever conservation organization you think you might want to get your easement through.

And so once you contact them- Amanda> How would you find that out?

Dr.

Belser> You can go online and find one.

Usually they're, they'll be in certain areas of the state.

So if you're in Orangeburg County that might be either Lord Berkeley, or you can go with Congaree Land Trust.

And there might be a couple others that also cover that area.

<Okay> I typically recommend going with someone local, one of the local groups.

And so once you contact them and talk with them, if they choose to move forward, they'll come out to the property and meet with you and talk with you more about it and get eyes on the property and see if it might be a good fit for an easement.

And if they like it, then they'll take that property to their board, and then their board has to give a pre-approval, to move forward.

And so once that happens, if they approve it then, then you'll start the real work, where you start negotiating what that easement might look like.

So how many subdivisions you might want, how many potential, you can put, potential house spots, you know, one or two or depending on the size of the property.

Amanda> You could have a subdivision on a conservation easement?

Dr.

Belser> Well, one or two usually.

So if you have, say 500 acres, well, 200 acres, you might want to subdivide it.

Say you have two children.

<Oh, oh, oh.> You might want to cut it up.

Amanda> Okay, I'm with you now.

Dr.

Belser> So that would be in that easement.

And so that easement is completely voluntary.

So it's, it's the landowner and the conservation group working together to come to a mutually agreeable, easement.

And then once you have that done, then you start some due diligence work.

So you need to get a certified appraiser to come in and give a value for the property as it is now, and then give a value for the property once that easement is in place.

Amanda> Oh, because if you can't sell it, then, you know, I mean... if you can't sell it for development, obviously, that's going to reduce the market value.

Dr.

Belser> That's right.

Exactly.

And then you also have to get a baseline documentation report done.

So that is, so that's actually something that I also do.

So someone like me would go out to the property and document everything.

Any plants, animals they see, take lots of photos, get maps and write everything up and do research on the property so that you have a great idea of what that property looks like, today.

Amanda> Goodness!

Dr.

Belser> And then- Amanda> So are you looking for like rare species or anything?

Dr.

Belser> Not necessarily.

I mean, if I come across them, I'll certainly document them.

But you just want a general, idea of what's there.

The types of plants that are there- Amanda> Is it all planted in pines or blah, blah, blah.

Dr.

Belser> Right.

Exactly.

And then once that's done, you take it back to the board to give final approval.

And once the, the conservation group, once their board approves it, then that conservation group will take it to the South Carolina Conservation Bank Board.

And they will, either approve or deny funding for the project.

Amanda> So there's only a certain amount of money available?

Dr.

Belser> There is.

It is limited.

<Okay> And so once you get approval there, if you get approval, then you have to have a final appraisal completed.

And do some title work, maybe a phase one environmental assessment at times.

And then once all that's done, you have a closing and it's complete.

So it's quite the process.

Amanda> I mean, does it take ten years or can it... can you do it in one year sometimes.

Dr.

Belser> Yeah.

One year is about- Sometimes less than that.

<Oh, okay.> But it can be quite the process because of all those people that are involved in it.

You know, and the, you know, the conservation bank, the South Carolina Conservation Bank only meets every three months.

And so you have to wait- Amanda> And then... I have some friends who are active with the Congaree Land Trust, and people come and inspect the property periodically to be sure that, you're staying within the parameters that you agreed to, I believe.

Dr.

Belser> That's right.

Most of the time they check on it yearly, they get boots on the ground, get eyes on it, and make sure everything looks as it should.

Amanda> Okay.

Well, I bet you've enjoyed meeting some people who are- I think that's philanthropy, don't you?

Dr.

Belser> It really is.

Amanda> That's wonderful.

Dr.

Belser> I've enjoyed it quite a bit.

Amanda> And we applaud the people who are doing it.

Dr.

Belser> Yes.

Absolutely.

Amanda> Okay.

Well, thank you so much.

Terasa?

Terasa> Let's see, this one comes in from Columbia.

Paul wrote in, "Sometimes I hear of something called a 'perfect' flower.

What exactly does it mean to be a perfect flower?"

Amanda> It means you get a blue ribbon at the flower show, I think.

[laughter] Dr.

Nelson> One of those Camellias is perfect.

Amanda> John, help us out here, please.

> Okay, well, it's a technical, question.

It's not nearly as applied as, dealing with an easement on your property.

So, botanists will tell you that as you, as we all know, lots, lots of terms in botany.

Botanists love terms.

And there's a, there's a particular term called a complete flower, <Yes> which is similar to a perfect flower.

But "complete," means that it has all the flower parts.

The sepals down at the bottom.

<Yes> And the petals and stamens, which are the male parts.

And then the pistils, the pistil or pistils which are the seed producing parts.

Amanda> The female?

Dr.

Nelson> Right.

All of that would be a complete flower.

Amanda> "Complete," alright.

Dr.

Nelson> Now a perfect flower... it almost sounds like a little bit of double talk, but a perfect flower is any flower that has the male parts and the female parts- Amanda> In the same structure?

Or not?

Dr.

Nelson> In the same flower.

<Okay> But it doesn't have to have that other stuff.

<Okay> As long as it's got the, both male and female part, it's called a perfect flower.

Amanda> Okay.

Dr.

Nelson> Which is, you know, kind of a useful term for a botanist.

But as far as, those beautiful Camellias you're going to be talking about, they seem to be perfect too.

That's one way of looking at it.

Amanda> And some plants have male and female parts- Dr.

Nelson> That's right.

Amanda> In different parts of the plant.

Dr.

Nelson> That's right.

And those flowers are imperfect.

Amanda> But then, I found this on the way to work, today.

And they, these hollies I think, have are male and female plants, which is kind of crazy.

Dr.

Nelson> Right.

It gets a little complicated.

But generally... what you're holding there, what we got here is a holly tree that we would call female because it had flowers that contain pistils.

And of course, the pistils end up producing these fruits that have seeds inside.

Now, the, the male plant has flowers, but only with stamens.

So both flowers would be imperfect.

This is a good example of the other side of the equation.

Amanda> Yeah.

Dr.

Nelson> But so yeah, there would be two different sexed trees in that case.

Amanda> I think our, American Holly tree is one of the most beautiful trees I've ever seen because the bark is whitish and has- If you ever get a chance to go and look at it, look at all the lichens and things growing on it.

It's just the most magnificent tree to me.

I love it.

Dr.

Nelson> And also sometimes you see, miscreants that carve their initials into holly tree bark.

A lot, like you'd see with Beech trees.

Amanda> Or bathrooms.

Yeah.

Fools names, like their faces.

Terasa> You know, and even though the terminology is, sometimes seems complicated, and maybe our viewers say, "well, I don't need to know that."

But if you're planting holly and you really want to have the fruit, you need to ensure that you've got males and females for the pollination to happen and the fruit to be produced.

Otherwise, you might be disappointed.

Amanda> Disappointed.

Yeah, yeah.

Stephanie> We also run into it in the vegetable garden because people are always wondering why their squash flowers aren't making squash, right?

And so the first few flowers are male.

And they don't have those female parts.

You're not gonna get a fruit off those first few flowers.

Amanda> So don't despair.

Terasa> They're on the same plant.

Just not- Stephanie> They're on the same plant.

Terasa> In the same flower.

Right.

Dr.

Nelson> But all those flowers are imperfect because they either have just male or female parts.

Stephanie> Yeah.

Amanda> Oh, goodness.

Well.

Terasa> It's not complicated at all.

[laughter] Amanda> Okay.

Well, we're now going to learn about Camellias with John Maker.

And, I brought some of my friend Hank and Ann's Camellias cause they're so kind and always share with me.

Amanda> My guest today is John Maker.

John, I came up to a Camellia flower show and met you there.

And learned a lot more about Camellias than I had known.

Even though of course, they were all over everybody's yard.

> They were, yeah.

Here, they've been very popular for a long time.

But they were actually popular up north for a while.

Amanda> Okay.

But, you have kind of a new interest in this.

How did this come about for you?

John> Well, I visited with my wife's parents, and we have a yard full of Camellias that my wife's grandfather planted.

Amanda> But you had- You didn't get interested in Camellias till, what... not too many years ago.

John> I wasn't even aware of them really.

We moved down here in 2012, and, with a yard full of Camellias, I've really gotten into them.

[laughter] Amanda> They are fabulous.

John> They are.

Amanda> Yeah.

So let's talk about some of the ones, that we saw, the categories that you had, at the shows.

John> Well, for instance, we have here, on the counter these are formals.

<Yes> And, Lady Humes Blush.

<Uh-huh> Yeah.

<Okay> One of the earliest Camellias that came to New Jersey to John Stevens is Alba Plena.

And it's still popular today.

<Okay> These are classics.

Amanda> Okay.

And then, what's some other categories?

John> Well, we also have let's say... a Professor Sargent.

Which is an Anemone form.

<Ah!> And this would be Peony to Anemone form here as well.

Amanda> Okay.

And Professor Sargent is one that's just in everybody's yard, I think.

A really old one?

John> I think it's a, a really old one and it's popular.

It goes back to 1905.

It actually came from Magnolia Gardens, but was named for Charles Sargent.

Who was the Director of the Arnold Arboretum in Boston.

And, owned by Harvard University it's sort of interesting, yeah.

Amanda> Middleton and Magnolia both being places known for Camellias even today.

John> Right.

[soft laughter] Yes.

Amanda> Well, let's talk about some of the other shapes and forms.

John> Well, let's see.

This is a... this is a semi, a semi-double.

Amanda> Okay.

Semi-double?

And what makes it semi-double?

Because it's got lots of rows of petals?

John> It's sort of got you know, it's a little laid down on the outside and stands up more in the middle.

Amanda> Okay.

All right.

John> Yep.

Here's another one that is similar.

Amanda> Dr.

Burnside.

And then you said that some of them, are... sports.

So let's talk about some- "Sport" means on the same bush a different color or shape comes out?

John> Yeah, occasionally on a bush... there'll be a, like this Mathotiana.

There will be something that's a little different and it may sport to something and, someone takes that branch, propagates it, and this is Mathotiana Supreme.

Amanda> Come on!

John> Variegated.

Another example I can show you is... this which is Donckellari.

And the sport is Ville de Nates.

Amanda> Gosh, I mean they couldn't be more different.

John> And they couldn't be more different.

Amanda> And that just happens in a peculiar way just every now and then.

And you can see in this Donckellari it has similar what they call Moraea.

The white splotching.

<Yes> And this one has a lot of it.

And sometimes they'll be all red as well.

Amanda> Good heavens!

And I think the sasanqua which blooms more in the fall, <Right> can take a little more sun.

John> I believe so.

Amanda> I think these, like- John> More of the japonicas, prefer some partial shade to shade.

There are some that are sun tolerant.

I have some in my yard that get full sun, full season.

Amanda> But generally- John> Hot here in the summer as we know.

Amanda> But generally, we think of these- John> Generally, they prefer a little shade.

Amanda> But isn't that just wonderful because it means that in parts of your yard where you wouldn't think you'd have a lot of flowers, you could just have this magnificent tree that's going to flower for months at a time.

John> That's right.

Yeah.

And we have early bloomers, mid-season bloomers and late season bloomers.

And some bloom longer than others.

If you want to bring them inside.

Generally, we just thought about floating them in water because that was, they don't usually stay on the stem very well.

John> I bring blooms in every afternoon.

Changing them up.

They don't last that long when you, when you cut them and bring them in, even if you put them in water.

Amanda> But you said fascinatingly, that people have told you that if you cut a real long stem, they last longer.

John> If you cut a longer stem, there's more moisture and whatever nutrients are in there for the bloom and they will last longer.

<That's amazing.> So you might get a week out of them.

Amanda> Isn't that something?

They do perform better if they are pruned, however.

And opened up some.

So how to, how do you go about that?

John> Thinning the inside branches.

You know, typical pruning is branches that aren't going the way you want them to go, probably should be trimmed off.

<Okay> And it's good to get air circulation through.

It's better for prevention of disease to have them a little thinner.

Amanda> Okay.

John> Not too thick.

It's important to trim off the little shoots in smaller or lower branches.

And they should probably be at least three feet off the ground before you have branches.

<Okay> Because the tea scale... get up there, if it's too close to the ground.

Amanda> And it's just too much trouble to have to spray them and do all that stuff, if you could just make cultural changes that will control it for you.

John> That's one way to do it.

But I do say that we have someone come spray our Camellias, because we've got woods just full of them.

And some Camellias are intermingling with their neighbor, their neighbors.

Amanda> Oh, okay.

John> So, the spraying will help prevent the tea scale.

And we have that done twice a year.

Amanda> But, other people have beautiful- I have, mine don't get any of that.

And they do perfectly fine.

And then over here I have a display that came from my wonderful friends, Hank Stallworth, and Ann Nolte.

<Wow!> And they don't do any of that.

And, I think you can see- John> They look terrific.

Amanda> Theirs are stunningly beautiful.

John> They are.

Yeah.

Amanda> Yeah.

Isn't that something?

When I came to the show, it was interesting to see that, y'all had a lot of them in little plastic cups, and they were stuck in a grape instead of a cup full of water.

John> That's right.

You can put a grape on the end of the stem to provide moisture, and it's got a little sugar in it.

<Yeah> And, it will help the bloom last another day or two.

And the alternative is to put them in water in a cup but it's messier, so.

Amanda> Well, it's- John> The grape is the famous little trick ...for show people.

Amanda> Y'all had hundreds of them there.

That would have been a lot of water to get rid of at the end of the show.

John> Exactly.

And the grapes are great because you can recycle them by eating them.

[laughter] Amanda> Good point, good point.

This is such a wonderful plant that we can plant in shadier areas.

John> That's right.

Amanda> And I think, almost care free.

And what, joy to have something like this.

John> Well, one of the wonderful things is the nickname for the Camellia is "Winter's Rose."

And so, we all love to see things coming up in the spring, nurtured through the summer and into the fall.

But then things start to disappear.

When you have Camellias, you've got something to look forward to as the sasanqua come out.

And then these lovely japonica, all winter long.

Amanda> Oh, they are just, they are glorious.

John> And there are parts of town in Columbia and other towns and cities where... you drive around, and there are people- Blooming in their yards are Camellias.

And it catches your eye.

It's really lovely.

Amanda> I'm so happy that we have them here.

And I'm so happy that you came to tell us about them.

John> It's a thrill to be here.

Yes.

Amanda> We appreciate John making the trip down, to Sumter.

It was a pleasure to have him and his wife with us and talking about the beautiful flowers.

Well, hats, hats, hats.

So... you know, when John was saying he's glad that, it's going to be April because we'll have all these, you know, new things to look at.

But so many things are in flower already.

And so on this, I have our state flower, which is yellow jessamine.

And there's a beautiful flower, you know, Confederate star jasmine that some people like.

But this is yellow jessamine, it's native.

And boy, it is tougher than tough.

Some people call it "poor man's rope" because the stems are so, strong.

And they are black, so it's, it's evergreen.

And do... if you're, new here, know that these are stunningly poisonous!

And... so some, you know, the imported invasive yellow honeysuckle, you know, we pull the, you know, back end out and get a sip of nectar.

But, these are stunningly poisonous, even to, honey bees.

Terasa> Yeah.

I think, if I understand correctly, they can be if there's not a lot of other things they're foraging on.

So it's a matter of, diversity, I guess you'd say.

Amanda> Because our native insects, you know, came up with coevolution, and the honey bee has only been here, I don't know, what, you know, a couple hundred years, so to speak.

So, I think that's a fascinating thing.

But, boy, this stem is so tough, you know.

And sometimes called "poor man's rope" because people would use it to tie things together.

But it is a scramble to try to get it off something.

Cause it all twines around each other and duh, duh, duh... Anyway, but it is our state flower, which is kind of fun.

And then, cherry laurel is everywhere.

It's seeds down everywhere.

But I'm sure that there are insects that love it.

And, boy, if you've got, if you're in your yard, you're going to be pulling cherry laurel all the time.

Although, I must give it... a compliment.

It's very, very easy to pull.

If you get a pecan tree, you going to be out there forever trying to dig it out?

Because they sprout sometimes too.

But cherry laurel, fortunately just comes, whoop!

right out of the ground.

And it's a good screen.

A lot of people, you know- Doesn't have any pest.

I've never seen a pest on it in my life.

So anyway, a pretty nice native plant.

Dr.

Nelson> And the robins and cedar waxwings love to eat the cherries.

Amanda> Oh, do they?

Dr.

Nelson> Oh, yeah.

Amanda> Okay.

Thank you.

Dr.

Nelson> And leave it all on your windshield.

[laughter] Yeah.

Amanda> "Calling cards", we used to call them.

Okay.

Well?

Terasa> Are you ready for another question?

Amanda> Yes, please.

Terasa> Let's see.

This one came in with a photograph.

This is from Audra in Ninety Six, and it's an identification.

"What is this small tree that just popped up in my garden bed?"

<Ah!> Volunteer?

Amanda> Okay, that's up your way, Stephanie.

Can you help us out?

Stephanie> Yeah, so, looking at that photo, it is a White Mulberry tree that has popped up in her garden bed.

<Okay> And they are pretty invasive.

That's a Chinese species.

And we do find them frequently where birds have left their calling cards [laughter] and spread it.

Because they do enjoy the fruit.

And I love mulberry fruit too, but that, that White Mulberry is kind of a troublesome thing.

You can tell the leaves look like little mittens, and they're very glossy.

Yeah.

Amanda> We had a, we have a mulberry tree when the kids were little, people don't know how good they are.

<Delicious> We put a sheet under it and put the children up in the tree to shake the tree, and they're very tasty.

Stephanie> Oh, yeah.

One of my favorites.

My grandmother and I used to walk down the street from her house in Connecticut and pick them.

Amanda> Okay.

Well, Thank you- So this person probably wants- Stephanie> Probably... think that we'll pull it out, yes.

For sure.

Amanda> Well, thank you so very much.

Who else is out there with a, puzzling question?

Terasa> Well, we're going to take a little bit of a break from questions.

Emily and I were talking about, how there's so much color sometimes when you're driving right now.

You'll see fields that are illuminated sometimes with kind of a red color.

And, people are always like, "what is that?"

So, we have an in-studio example now.

Yes.

> So I picked this on my way in this morning.

And this is red sorrel, or I always called it sourweed, <I know.> or sourgrass and- Amanda> And tell people why.

Dr.

Belser> Yeah, so this will eventually turn red.

So the flowers are a little bit pink, right now.

And it is an imperfect flower because it has female and male flowers, and the female flowers are red, and the male flowers are like, a yellow-green color.

But once this plant gets more mature, the stems will turn red and the flowers will be more red.

And so that's why it's called red sorrel.

And it actually has oxalic acid in it.

So you can actually chew on the stem and the leaves, although I wouldn't recommend too much.

Amanda> Yeah, okay.

Don't make lunch out of it.

But if you're walking around, it's fun to do that sometimes to show it to kids.

Dr.

Belser> It is.

Yeah, and you can kind of- It's really a sea of red when you see it out in a field.

Because it does, it likes partial to full sunlight, and the seeds that it produces are actually a food for different sparrows and other songbirds.

If you're a bird hunter, wild turkeys will also eat the seeds Amanda> Really?

How fun.

Dr.

Belser> So if you can help it, try not to mow it down.

Amanda> Okay.

Is it native to this part of the world or is it something that's introduced.

Dr.

Belser> I'll divert that one to Dr.

John because I've got conflicting answers in my research.

Dr.

Nelson> Yeah, it's been around for so long, it's, totally naturalized now.

Amanda> But not... didn't originate here.

Dr.

Nelson> Some of them have been.

But this one is, this one... looks like, it's one of the introductions.

Amanda> But not the worst thing in the world.

Dr.

Belser> That's right.

Amanda> Yeah.

Well, thank you so much.

Okay.

You not gonna chew on a piece?

Maybe later?

Dr.

Belser> Ah, I don't think it's quite ready.

Amanda> Okay.

[laughter] John, I think you, since you're too busy to do things with me, one reason is because you're always doing things with other people in other places.

What's coming up?

> Well, I have something that's going to happen starting in April, and it's called "Botany Boot Camp."

And I've done this before, and it was, well-received.

I had 20 or so students signed up for it.

"Botany Boot Camp" is an introductory botany class for grown-ups.

And it's going to be offered through USC's Office of Continuing Education.

Amanda> Well, that sounds cool.

Dr.

Nelson> And it will be taught, a lecture on Mondays.

<All right> Starting on April the 13th.

Amanda> Oh, coming right up.

Dr.

Nelson> And then there will be a field trip each week on the Saturday following the lecture.

Amanda> And how many weeks?

Dr.

Nelson> Six.

Amanda> Gosh!

Dr.

Nelson> So it's six weeks.

It's like boot camp.

[laughter] Terasa> It's not quite that intimidating, is it?

Dr.

Nelson> Well, I don't know.

There might be a drill sergeant there.

Amanda> Okay.

[laughter] Well, if you want to take this, how do you go about it?

Dr.

Nelson> Well, they could call the Office of Continuing Education, or go to their- The herbarium has a link to "Botany Boot Camp," which is pretty easy to get to.

<Sure> Or you can call me up if you'd like.

And, my number is (8-0-3) 9-0-4-1-6-6-3.

Amanda> Okay.

Dr.

Nelson> So let the phone calls begin.

Amanda> That's great fun thank you.

Dr.

Nelson> And I'm looking forward to having a big crowd, so.

It'll be taught, on campus at the herbarium.

Amanda> Okay.

So you just have to find a place to park.

Dr.

Nelson> Yeah, that's the hard part.

Amanda> Yeah.

I think there's some parking lots around.

Dr.

Nelson> There are.

Amanda> Yeah.

And, the field trips, of course, since I've taken botany- Oh, it's just the most wonderful thing in the world.

I don't guess you're going to make them walk through the pond at Sesqui.

Dr.

Nelson> We'll have- Amanda> We'll see.

Dr.

Nelson> It will be good... good field trips.

There won't be any field quizzes.

<Okay> That's a good thing.

Yeah.

And I think the last field quiz will have a- Amanda> Field trip.

Dr.

Nelson> A picnic.

Amanda> Oh, won't that be fun!

[laughter] Dr.

Nelson> It was fun.

Amanda> Yeah.

When I took your class, I used to bring sandwiches because you wouldn't bring lunch and you got grumpy.

So if I gave John a sandwich, he was much nicer.

And he likes shrimp salad.

Dr.

Nelson> Chicken salad.

Amanda> Oh, chicken salad, is that what it was, anyway.

It was my pleasure.

I wanted to, take a moment, if it's all right to talk about pine trees, because everybody's fussing about pollen, and, you know, you got to clean- So, John I was going to ask you to talk a little bit about it.

Dr.

Nelson> Okay.

Amanda> And you might need to break some stuff off.

Let me see if I can cut this so it'll be easier for you to show.

What's going on with these pine trees?

Where is all this pollen coming from?

Dr.

Nelson> Well, the pollen comes from, these are special- Look at that piece of... These special pollen producing cones that look like little grub worms.

<Yes> And these are the things that you find, you know, in your driveway, and you have to sweep them up.

But each one of these is actually a specialized kind of cone.

This is where the pollen comes from.

Amanda> All right.

Dr.

Nelson> In great amounts.

Amanda> Yes, a lot.

Dr.

Nelson> Of course it's- Pollen, the plants are pollinated by the wind.

And they got to have a lot of pollen to do that.

And that's how they've evolved.

Now the female parts of the flower, flower... they're not flowers of course.

The cones that produce the seeds would be the female cone.

The seed cone.

Now those are very tiny little things, when they're first starting out.

And we're not going to see them right now.

<Okay> And of course, if you look at young cones on a pine tree, they start out green and they get bigger and bigger.

<Yeah> Cause they age.

But those would be the seed cones.

And these are the pollen cones.

Amanda> All right.

And they do make- Now, so what is this?

Dr.

Nelson> That's just the... that right there is just the tip end the growing end of the stem.

And it's putting new needles- Amanda> Oh, those are tiny little- Dr.

Nelson> Oh yeah, those are baby needles.

Amanda> And then when we brought this in, we brought some people with it.

Or some fun people.

<Some critters.> I think our inchworm is gone away.

<Uh-oh> But we had a wonderful- No there's the inchworm, he's still there.

So... here's the inchworm inching away.

Doodoo, doodoo, doodoo, doodoo, doo [laughter] And then... And then we have a nice big caterpillar... as well.

So, yeah.

So isn't that fun?

Yeah.

Hitchhikers.

Yeah.

It's just delightful.

It's such a complex world out there.

And this time of year- Yeah.

Okay.

Okay, inchworm.

All right he's- Look how fast that fella is.

Thank you so much for explaining that to me.

I do, appreciate it.

Dr.

Nelson> I hope that's useful.

Amanda> Yeah, it certainly is.

Terasa> And our viewers might be interested in noting that we blame that, that pollen for allergies.

And it does make a mess, but it's usually the pollen that you don't see that's responsible for the majority of the allergies.

Stephanie> Yeah, the pine pollens much bigger.

And the smaller pollen's, really what gets us.

What's cool about the pine pollen, it looks like little- Amanda> It looks like Mickey Mouse.

Stephanie> Yeah, it has little wings on it.

Yeah.

Amanda> If you got- Yeah.

Okay.

Um... Oh, oh, oh, okay.

Oh, there, I'm so sorry.

I was supposed to leave them there.

This fellow is going to go, walk over... [laughter] Okay, Terasa.

We got another question?

Terasa> We do have another question.

From Ware Shoals, Steve said, "These yellow flowers are popping up in my lawn.

Are they a weed, and what should I do?"

And thankfully, we have a photograph along with it.

Amanda> All right.

Stephanie?

So, yeah, in the spring, you often find these little yellow flowers popping up, and sometimes people would take them and put them up under their chin and say, "do I like butter?"

[both talking and laughing] Amanda> The answer is always yes.

Stephanie> So, in the genus Ranunculus, this one is a little annual buttercup.

And it's one of those kind of winter weeds that we see in the springtime.

And so just some, some improvements to your lawn might help, you know, but, you know, "is it a weed?"

is the question, right?

Well, do you enjoy it?

Then maybe it's not a weed for you and you can leave it be.

But if you want, to eliminate it from your lawn, then, you know, we'll start with what species of lawn you have and then go from there for a good culture and so forth.

Amanda> But, you know, I mean, flowers which have nectar and pollen, are important for pollinators when they're coming out too.

<Exactly> And so... Yeah.

I mean, hopefully most people will think there's room for those.

Okay.

Terasa> Beauty is definitely in the eye of the beholder.

And people often ask, like, "what is a weed?"

And it really is just an unwanted plant.

So a weed for me might be a desirable plant for you.

Stephanie> Something, I enjoy.

Sure.

Amanda> Well, a pecan tree I mean, if it's, you know... if you don't want pecan trees all over your yard.

I mean, who knows.

Terasa> That's right.

So the location, it might be acceptable in your flower bed, but not if it comes up in your lawn.

Amanda> Yeah, yeah, yeah.

But they're all fascinating and just the world of plants.

You're not bored.

You don't have to take a trip around the world.

Take "Botany Boot Camp" if you wanted to.

Yeah, yeah.

Well, now we're going to the Pee Dee REC over near Florence and visit with Ben Powell, our State Beekeeper.

And hear some kind of discouraging news, to tell you the truth.

[bees buzzing] I'm talking to Ben Powell.

We're over the Pee Dee REC near Florence.

And Ben, you are, working with honey bees across the state.

Tell me exactly what you're trying to do.

> Sure.

I'm the coordinator of Clemson's Apiculture and Pollinator Program.

And I work with beekeepers statewide to help them solve problems and provide education.

We also conduct a little bit of research.

And then, of course, we also do that for all of the other little pollinators that we rely on as well.

Amanda> Yeah.

Because the honey bee was brought here with the colonist, I think.

Ben> Correct.

It is, originally from Europe and Africa, was brought over when the first settlers came and has been a part of our agricultural system for... since we've had it.

Amanda> And it has, major importance as a pollinator, not just in South Carolina, but nationally.

But even in South Carolina, tell me some of the crops that really rely on it.

Ben> So honey bees are important pollinators for certain crops that rely entirely on honey bees, such as almonds.

But we don't really produce a lot of almonds in South Carolina.

But we do have a lot of cucurbits, such as cucumbers and melons, pumpkins.

They rely pretty heavily on- Amanda> Watermelon.

Yeah, yeah.

Ben> Yeah, correct.

And then a few other fruit crops, like apples all the way up in the upstate.

And peaches and plums and blueberries.

Amanda> And, we have commercial beekeepers, and they spend a good bit of time here, and they- But their bees do a lot of traveling.

So let's talk about that and the crops that they are responsible for.

Ben> Sure.

So our agricultural system in the United States relies heavily on migratory beekeeping.

These crops that are in large scale operations cannot be supported just by the native pollinators.

So we have to move bees into those operations when they're flowering.

Almonds is the best example.

I think there's a little over one and a half million acres of almonds in California, and each one of those acres requires two bee hives.

<Wow!> And then they'll move from there up to cherries in Washington, sunflowers in the Dakotas, blueberries in Michigan and Vermont.

And then they'll come back to the South to get started early out of the winter and do it all over again the next year.

Amanda> Gosh.

So the South has a lot of beekeepers coming into it.

Then we have our own just beekeepers who are here doing things.

But y'all have come up with some pretty horrifying news, recently.

Ben> Yeah.

Unfortunately, a group called Project Apis m., which is a foundation supported by industry and academics.

They do reports, and every year they get a feel for what the winter losses are.

Amanda> Because winter is kind of hard.

Ben> Yeah, well, if the main stressor is winter and then if you have other stressors like pests and diseases, winter is when it happens.

So unfortunately, the reports this year are showing some of the most significant colony losses we've ever recorded.

62 to 67 percent nationwide.

Amanda> And traditionally you would have some loss.

But the numbers were... Ben> Oh yeah, almost three times what we would see naturally.

Amanda> Oh, 60 to 70 percent.

Ben> Correct.

And, obviously that's a drain for the beekeeper.

I don't know any grower that could lose 60 percent of their crop every year and stay in business.

Beekeepers are very industrious people, and they're able to recover.

But it eats into their revenue.

And then if we can't supply the bees that these crops need, then it's going to eat into the growers revenues as well.

And, this is not necessarily a very sustainable situation.

Amanda> There are some factors that have led to this.

And I've always heard of Varroa mites and things like that but you said there's a new pest.

Ben> Well, so there's a series of pest.

The Varroa mite is still public enemy number one.

And you know, for those that are not familiar with it, it's kind of like ticks on bees.

And they transfer diseases and they weaken the colonies.

When the Varroa mites get really bad, the colonies collapse.

But we also have some other, pests that are on the horizon or already here, but we just really don't fully understand them.

One of them is a gut parasite.

We call it Vairimorpha or Nosema.

It's big words.

But basically, it's like having a fungal infection in your gut.

And it's, obviously weakens the bees and very irritating.

We're trying to figure out how much that is contributing to our losses, right now.

Amanda> I mean, 70, 60 to 70 percent, that's just... Ben> Something's changed.

<Horrifying> Something is seriously going on.

And, and we're trying to help determine what's happening.

Amanda> Well, tell me about the bees in your hives here and, some of the things you're doing to try to figure all this out.

Ben> Sure.

So we keep bees for the university for research and education purposes.

We use our bee yards for training new beekeepers and, testing management strategies and pest control.

We also use the bees for breeding purposes and trying to learn, you know what bees are most suitable for our area.

And can we breed them to improve their resistance to these diseases and pests.

And so, you know, this is just one small apiary in our, operation.

Amanda> So there is some breeding possible that certain ones are stronger at resisting things.

You're kind of finding that out.

Ben> Sure.

Yeah.

There's some behavioral traits that the bees do.

They can remove infected larvae or actually groom themselves, significantly and help get the mites off.

They may be more resistant to some of these diseases and pathogens.

And so we're trying to select from our best stock to improve every generation of bees.

Amanda> Is this going on across state.

So do you have a big group of people who are working together?

Ben> Both the private beekeepers themselves are constantly breeding to improve their stocks.

All of the academic institutions that have bee programs, they're doing the same thing.

Of course, every one of them has their own specialty.

Our friends at NC State, they're working heavily on queen breeding and queen success.

Our friends over at Georgia are dealing with some other pest issues.

Down in Florida, where it seems like they're on the horizon of all invasive species, <They are.> they have to deal with a lot of different pressures.

And of course, that is one of the primary overwintering places for honey bees.

And so all of us in the southeast Georgia, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, we're working collectively together to try to help improve our overwintering success.

Amanda> I was looking at these and the colonies that have a queen with them, they're really, really active.

And the others aren't.

And you said that's because the ones that have a queen are trying to feed young.

Ben> Yeah, they're raising brood.

And so they gotta go out and collect food to build those, that next generation of bees.

And so you'll see colonies that are really active and they're probably queen right and brooding.

And they're out collecting pollen and nectar right now to try to raise their babies.

Amanda> Ben, I know that North Carolina is a great place for- you know, we get sourwood honey and all from there because there is so many trees up there.

And they just had a horrible experience with Hurricane Helene.

Has that done any damage?

Ben> It has.

It's kind of heartbreaking to some degree.

We've had beekeepers in western North Carolina that were impacted by the floods.

We actually had a few beekeepers lose their lives, in the storm.

But, we estimate somewhere between 800 and 1,000 colonies were destroyed during the storm.

And so beekeepers across the Carolinas are teaming together to try and help rebuild those operations and get bees to those folks so they can get started again.

But the second concern is that these storms oftentimes can make disease and pest problems worse.

So Clemson, working with NC State is, conducting a survey of honey bee diseases across the Carolinas to see one, if the diseases are present, and two, if the storm is making them any worse in the areas that were affected.

There's several things that contribute, the storm, tore down lots of trees and messed up natural forages, so the food available to bees may not be as good.

The increased moisture and flooding, obviously can make diseases worse.

And then second, the roads and bridges were washed out all across the area, so the beekeepers couldn't even get to their bees if they wanted to.

So we're worried that disease may have gotten started and this year will get worse as a result.

Our survey will help us determine that.

Amanda> I've come to some of your state beekeeping meetings, and had a wonderful time meeting the people there.

And they're a pretty close knit group.

They get together and I bet they are a help to you in some of these projects.

Ben> Oh yeah, beekeepers are awesome.

They really are.

They're just a great group of people.

One, they're willing to try new things.

But two, they're very, very invested.

And so they will oftentimes research things that I haven't even gotten to yet.

And we share information and we try to help solve each other's problems.

And it's really a community.

Because bees are very different from other livestock.

We can't fence them in.

They forage openly, they intermingle with each other.

And so beekeepers intermingle with each other too.

Amanda> I'd like to do something to help the bees, because I love honey.

And also... you know, bees are just fascinating creatures.

What is, what can just an individual do?

Ben> Buy honey.

That's one good thing.

I mean... while sugar is a wonderful thing, honey's even better.

It's a complex sugar.

It's more nutritious for you than just pure table sugar.

So support your beekeepers and buy it locally, because that's coming from the beekeepers in your area.

The other thing that we can do is think about your landscaping practices.

Oftentimes, we choose plants that don't necessarily support pollinators very well.

So if I'm relandscaping my yard, let's think about plants that we can incorporate that will provide nectar and pollen to our bees.

And then, of course any time we have an opportunity to reduce pesticide use, do so.

Integrated pest management, use the right plant in the right place.

Make sure it's well fed and has the right nutrients and water.

And all of those things will contribute to a healthier plant that doesn't need a pesticide to control its pests.

Amanda> And, I love that people are planting herbaceous perennials and things, but they won't last after I move and go somewhere else.

But are there certain trees that might persist, that would be good for the bees?

Ben> Sure, I love trees for bees.

And the reason for that is to make one pound of honey, honey bees have to visit over two million flowers.

<Oh!> And I can make 100 pounds of honey off of a colony.

So that's what... 200 million or... Yeah, I don't even do the math.

Amanda> Beyond my math skills.

Ben> It is a lot of flowers.

And in a home garden, if you're just planting a few little flowers, that's probably not enough to actually feed the bees.

A tree, though, is thousands of flowers on one plant, and that's a much more efficient food source for honey bees.

Amanda> Well, I want to thank you so much for the research that you and your compatriots in other states, this is a national problem and y'all are like you said, there's a lot that you can do.

Other places do other things.

And also, I want to thank the beekeepers in our state, what a great group of people.

And they work intimately with you and they're trying to all solve these problems.

Thank you Ben.

Ben> You're quite welcome.

And thank you.

[bees buzzing] Amanda> Terasa, as always.

And Stephanie, I'm so glad you made the trip down.

Stephanie> Thanks for having me.

Amanda> Give the kitties a rub for us.

Stephanie> A little scratch for you.

Amanda> Emily, it's a treat to have you come and tell us about conservation.

Thank you so much.

Dr.

Belser> Thank you so much for having me.

Amanda> And Dr.

John, I think I need a refresher in botany.

Thank you.

Dr.

Nelson> Well, you already know everything there is to know about botany.

Amanda> I don't remember much at all.

But, I could take a refresher course.

Okay.

Well, we hope you'll be with us next week.

Night night.

♪ ♪ ♪ Narrator> Making It Grow is brought to you in part by Certified South Carolina.

This cooperative effort among farmers, retailers and the South Carolina Department of Agriculture helps consumers identify foods and agricultural products that are grown, harvested or raised right here in the Palmetto State.

McLeod Farms in McBee, South Carolina, family owned and operated since 1916.

This family farm offers seasonal produce, including over 40 varieties of peaches.

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Additional funding provided by the South Carolina Farm Bureau Federation and Farm Bureau Insurance and Boone Hall Farms.