The Most Perfect Plant Ever, According To Grumpy

About This Episode

The best way to keep apple trees looking their best. Plus, Grumpy’s plant of the week.

Question of the Week

“I live in North Carolina and have lots of apple trees. They look great in spring, but as the months progress, the leaves fall off and the trees look terrible, even though they still bear fruit. My spouse wants to cut them down. I want to save them. Is there something we can spray that won’t contaminate the nearby creek?”

Grumpy’s Answer: Well, many fungal diseases affect the foliage and fruit of apples. Now, the best preventative is to plant disease resistant selections, such as Freedom, Liberty, Priscilla and Redfree. But if you’ve already planted other kinds, I recommend you spray your trees every 10 to 14 days after they finish blooming with neem oil according to label directions. But remember, don’t spray when the trees are blooming because neem oil is toxic to bees. Neem oil is a natural fungicide that helps to control common apple diseases like apple scab, rust and powdery mildew. Spraying your trees with dormant oil in winter will also support, as will picking up all rotten fruit on the ground and throwing it out with the trash. Now, keep in mind that fish are very sensitive to both natural and synthetic pesticides, so don’t spray anywhere near the water.

Plant Of The Week

Every year I try out fresh plants and I praise the ones that perform and I trash the ones that don’t. So, here’s my latest winner. It’s called Solarscape Pink Jewel Impatiens. It’s a 2024 All American Selections winner. Now, like the SunPatiens series that I often rave about, Solarscape loves the sun, but it also works in part sun as well. And Pink Jewel features these huge, magenta pink blossoms that are more than two inches across atop mounds of disease-free foliage that reaches about 12 to 15 inches elevated and 18 to 20 inches wide. So, you can grow it as a solid border or in containers. It works really well. And a nice point about this one, is the faded flowers are self-cleaning. You don’t have to deadhead them. They just fall off and more flowers come. So, you can look for this beauty in your garden center this spring.

About Ask Grumpy

Ask Grumpy is a podcast featuring Steve Bender, also known as Southern Living’s Grumpy Gardener. For more than 30 years, Grumpy has been sharing advice on what to grow, when to plant, and how to manage just about anything in your garden. Tune in for brief episodes every Wednesday and Saturday as Grumpy answers reader questions, solves seasonal conundrums, and provides need-to-know advice for gardeners with his very Grumpy sense of humor. Be sure to follow Ask Grumpy on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen so you don’t miss an episode.

Editor’s Note: Please be mindful that this transcript does not go through our standard editorial process and may contain inaccuracies and grammatical errors.