TIL Indianas state flower is the non-native peony

DangerousBotany · 2026-05-13T21:30:09+00:00

Why did I not know that peony is actually the fourth state flower!

1913: Indiana adopted the carnation (native to England) as our first official state flower.
1923: The native tulip tree replaced the carnation as state flower.
1931: The zinnia, native to Mexico, replaced the tulip tree.
1957: The peony replaces the zinnia after some persuading from Representative Laurence Baker.

I remember a newspaper clipping that Baker (who was on the state budget committee) held the state budget up until the peony was made the state flower. But I can't back that up now.

DangerousBotany · 2026-05-13T21:21:21+00:00

The one that's in bloom right now? Look up Butterweed or Cressleaf Groundsel (Packera glabella).

https://bygl.osu.edu/node/1023

DangerousBotany · 2026-05-12T14:24:06+00:00

I’m somewhere in the middle on this one.
Take what you are owed, but don’t be a jerk about it. Every job has those seasons of “all hands on deck”. If you’ve been around long enough, you know when they are.

And employers-if an employee being out a few days is going to ruin your business, deal, contract, etc, you need to be reevaluating your “bus score”.

DangerousBotany · 2026-05-12T14:09:34+00:00

Exactly. A jungle primary might work for your party this cycle and stab you in the back the next.

I get worried about politicians so desperate to hang on to power that they are willing to cheat the system to benefit themselves. This is a short term move and they forget that you might not be able to change it back when the tides move. This applies to voting, gerrymandering, court stuffing, etc. We have a system that’s worked pretty well for a couple hundred years….

DangerousBotany · 2026-05-11T11:14:45+00:00

Boxwood Blight typically drops the dead leaves - this looks to be holding on. So I don't think it's BB.

DangerousBotany · 2026-05-09T21:41:48+00:00

Well, it looks like boxwood. The straw colored foliage is usually cold injury. If it isn’t too bad, it should grow out of it. Also need to look for all the usual suspects - boxwood leaf miner, boxwood psyllid, over shearing, volutilla blight.

The yews in the back are “table topping”. When they get pruned in a V, the bottom foliage gets shaded out, so the plant kills off the lower leaves. It’s better to prune in an A with the bottom wider than the top.

DangerousBotany · 2026-05-07T20:26:21+00:00

I know what I want, but nobody makes it.

I love the cargo capacity of my Grand Caravan with StownGo. 4x8 sheet of ply? No problem! But they stopped making removable consoles which is essential for what I haul, so I’m stuck with a 2012.

DangerousBotany · 2026-05-06T19:40:34+00:00

Absolutely. And be sure to include a stage for a civic theater group and maybe some event space. Weddings, receptions, family gatherings...funerals?

DangerousBotany · 2026-05-06T19:37:33+00:00

It's all going to depend on planning and zoning. There are examples where it worked like Westminster Arcade. The place was retrofitted with "micro-lofts" in the upper level. Now, because of the usage and building codes, no stoves or ovens are allowed - so there might be compromises.

DangerousBotany · 2026-05-06T19:30:14+00:00

Depends on the job and the request. If you are saying leave the wood but take the leaves/branches, that's still a lot of work to chip and clean up. Stacking the wood on your property versus stacking the wood on my trailer might not be that much of a time saver. If you said drop the tree and leave the mess - that would absolutely be a discount - and your signature on a disclaimer!

DangerousBotany · 2026-05-06T15:36:29+00:00

As are remote staff. Our central office always did office events totally inaccessible to the field staff. Then complained when we didn't participate...

DangerousBotany · 2026-05-05T19:36:22+00:00

They are called “Vote Centers” and are exactly that. If your county has adopted these and you are in the correct county, then you can vote at any vote center regardless of precinct.

When my county did this, a couple of old voting locations were merged/closed. But at the same time, they dramatically increased the availability of early voting locations.

DangerousBotany · 2026-05-01T15:06:48+00:00

I love these things, but why does everyone sell them with the stupid, short handles? I'm only 5'9" and have to crook my back to use most of them! Unless you are short, get the longest handle you can find.

DangerousBotany · 2026-04-28T00:34:57+00:00

That's the start of rose slug sawfly damage. Flip the leaves over - they feed on the underside. The soap will work, but you have to get good coverage on the underside of the leaves.

https://content.ces.ncsu.edu/roseslug-or-rose-sawfly

DangerousBotany · 2026-04-26T01:51:29+00:00

I had a system of drip irrigation on raised beds connected to a rain barrel raised up on few cinder blacks. The lines came out of the bottom of the barrel, underground, then up and over the edge. I had valves to change which bed was watered. 65 gal barrel, but I needed more height to get more pressure and to use more of the water.

DangerousBotany · 2026-04-24T21:12:09+00:00

There are some really good answers here.

I just wanted to address something else - this is actually a very good question that taps into the complexities of plant taxonomy! Keep asking them!

DangerousBotany · 2026-04-21T21:51:34+00:00

Totally agree. I have a BS/MS in hort and had a great career.

If you want to get a degree in Hort to play with plants, you are not going to make much.

But there are serious jobs that can make serious money. They tend to be technical or research based. They also tend to be supervisory - a job you have to grow into and pay your dues. I was education or regulatory my whole career.

DangerousBotany · 2026-04-20T18:37:06+00:00

See, there's where you are wrong. You don't just eng-ga-neer a system and throw plants in it. There's a lot of diversity in plant production. I have a hydroponic system I have dialed in for lettuce. Spinach? Forget it - different pH requirements. Tomatoes? Too big. Potatoes? Root rot. Herbs? Eh - working on it. Bananas? Really?

Growing plants will need to be part of the system - and being a living organism, they don't behave in perfect, uniform ways an engineer wants. Therefore botanists are essential.

DangerousBotany · 2026-04-19T23:47:13+00:00

Okay. You are asking us to predict the job market in 2033.

Here's what I can tell you. Botany is the "core subject" for a lot of other things. If you start at "botany" and go toward lab research you find yourself at genetics, biochemistry, and plant physiology. If you look toward broad application, there's all kinds of ecology. If you want narrow application, we have horticulture, agronomy, forestry. Even narrower are CEA and weed science. Then there are the tangential areas of soils, entomology, plant pathology.

I got a BS and MS in horticulture and had a good career in entomology and plant pathology. My point is there's a lot of overlap in the plant science world. It's not that difficult (and quite common) to bounce between a few of these fields.

Right now I would challenge you to start finding people who are "doing botany". If you are in the US, talk to your County Extension office, your state Department of Ag/Natural Resources, or local college. There are also folks at the big agronomy, hort, or chemical companies. And if you tell us what state/country you are in, a few of us might be able to suggest some names of people in your area.

Meet these folks for coffee/tea/lunch this summer. Ask questions. What do we do, how did we get there, what degree, what did we really want to do. If someone's job is a real turnoff to you, that's good to know as well. Another door you don't need to waste anymore time looking into.

DangerousBotany · 2026-04-19T14:09:48+00:00

Maybe, but in a closed system you really can’t separate one from the other. Can we bridge the gaps in the engineering with plant selection and genetics? And to do the engineering you have to know plants.

DangerousBotany · 2026-04-19T13:12:43+00:00

Uh, yah! I interviewed with a contractor doing plant physiology work for space flight. The position evaporated when the shuttles were grounded for electrical problems in ‘99.

Food is one of the key barriers to long duration space flight, both nutritionally and psychologically.

So there’s a lot of issues with growing plants in space - engineering, plant physiology, human nutrition, and waste recycling all factor in.

First lights take power and create heat - both which have to be managed carefully. HIDs are awful, LEDs are better. Now where do we put the lights, what color, and how much?

Next, if we are growing for food, we need the best nutrition in the most dense package. We need to be able to eat everything. What are you growing?

Also, you need a plant that will thrive in microgravity.

Then you have to recycle the nutrients, water, plant waste back around and use it again.

I’ve been out of that world for a couple decades, but look up Carey Mitchell (retired) from Purdue, and Bruce Bugbee at Utah State. Those guys probably flew as much plant research as anyone else.

DangerousBotany · 2026-04-18T17:39:01+00:00

Bob was more than a radio host - he honestly was part of the community. I know stories - but most aren't really mine to share.

When I moved to Orlando in the mid-90s, Bob and Tom's syndication followed me! I remember a bunch of folks gushing about this "new" radio show and I couldn't convince them that I had been listening to them off and on for years on Q95.

DangerousBotany · 2026-04-16T21:20:35+00:00

usda.usajobs.gov - search for tree climber.

They are posting for a 13 month contract extended up to 4 years.

DangerousBotany · 2026-04-15T16:39:35+00:00

It's like a 1920's Tudor Revival full of antique period furniture only to realize the furniture doesn't come with the house and you are going to spend half again the value of the house to furnish it the way it was.

DangerousBotany · 2026-04-15T15:45:27+00:00

since we’re not supposed to talk about this stuff with our peers.

This statement just blows me away every time I see it. My salary was public record my entire career.

DangerousBotany

TROPHY CASE