proper transplanting, mulch, and more: linda chalker-scott’s horticultural myth-busting

THOUGH GARDENING is part art and part science, we shouldn’t take artistic license with the science part and defy the kind of sound information that can help us succeed. Linda Chalker-Scott has the science nailed, with a PhD in horticulture and a double minor in biochemistry and botany–and a continuing passion for pursuing the latest developments in all of the above.

She is an Extension Urban Horticulturist with Washington State University, and an associate professor of horticulture and landscape architecture there—and joined me this week on the radio podcast to talk (and debunk) popular garden myths.

You know, like whether you should dig a really big hole for trees and shrubs and amend the soil before backfilling. Or whether gravel in the bottom of a container helps drainage, or bone meal is a must (or a bust) for bulbs. Or whether landscape fabrics are really the miracle they claim to be—that has so many people using them as “weed block.”

Linda has been scouring the scientific literature; testing horticultural products under controlled, scientific conditions to support or disprove marketing claims; and basically challenging and often busting garden myths for years, including in her award-winning 2008 book “The Informed Gardener,” and the 2010 sequel, “The Informed Gardener Blooms Again” (affiliate links).

You may know Linda Chalker-Scott as one of the team of esteemed collaborators on the popular Garden Professors blog at extension.org. They share a Facebook page called The Garden Professors, were Linda and her colleagues post stories and start the discussion about all things garden-science related. In a related Facebook group, more than 1,000 members can begin a new topic or ask questions.

Listen in to Linda’s and my

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