Paris Alston: This is GBH’s Morning Edition. We have a beautiful stretch of mostly sunny skies this week, and we’ll be enjoying the most daylight of the year in the coming days. Case in point: This morning’s sunrise was at 5:06 a.m., and sunset isn’t until 8:21 this evening. So all of this means lots of time to take in your garden and keep tabs on what’s happening in it — or maybe what’s not. To help satisfy your horticultural hunches, we are joined by meteorologist Dave Epstein, who’s here to answer your questions. Hey there Dave. Good morning.

Dave Epstein: Good morning. Good morning, good morning.

Alston: So tell me a little bit more about this early sunrise and this most daylight that we are expecting coming here. Does it have any significance? And, rather, does it have any significance for the garden?

Epstein: Well, yeah. I mean, of course, the amount of daylight in the garden is awesome. And things are growing. So as we get here with the peak UV light, things really do take off. So as long as you are providing adequate water and nutrients, the daylight is really amazing. You know, certain types of plants really like long daylight. Like, if you’re trying to grow onions, there’s long daylight onions, which we can grow up here. Actually, you can’t grow those down in places like Florida because there’s actually not enough daylight, even in the warmer months for those long daylight onions. Kind of interesting.

Alston: Very much so. So, given all that, what’s going on in your garden this week, Dave?

Epstein: Yeah. So yesterday I did a little bit of staking up of peas. My peas are up at about five feet tall now, the snap peas. My fava beans are up at about three and a half to four feet. So I also put some bamboo stakes there. I planted some seeds of cucumber and climbing zucchini yesterday. So those went in. Those will probably germinate in the next week or so. I do think we have some bigger heat coming in next week. So we’re going to have to make sure that things are adequately watered here as we head through the next 7 to 14 days, because I don’t see a lot of rain and I do see a warming trend.

Alston: That’s at least one tip for folks to take away today. So Dave, we do have some listener questions starting with another Dave in Burlington who says: Please correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe the official temperature for Boston is taken at Logan Airport on the water and often cooler than just a mile away. However, the official temperature for New York City is reportedly taken in Central Park, a much warmer area than on the water. So Dave wants to know, is this an example of comparing apples and oranges with the two cities?

Epstein: Well, yeah. I mean, the two cities are in completely different locations anyway, so I’m not sure why we would compare them. But the climate sites for New York City, certainly New York City, being in Central Park is a different type of climate site than Boston, say. Boston used to be downtown on Milk Street. They moved it out to the airport. They believed that the fact that it went from Milk Street to the airport was insignificant in terms of the change that happened back in the 1930s. I disagree. Many of my colleagues also disagree. I think it’s kind of silly that the official temperature is at Logan Airport, but that’s another discussion. It should probably be in Boston Common or something like that.

Alston: Okay. We’re going to put a pin in that one for another day. Okay. We also have a question here from Bill in East Greenwich, Rhode Island, who asks, or who says rather, I’ve been growing canna for years and I just love their colors. When I first purchased them, I had brilliant red leaves with red and orange colors. Each fall I dig them up, place them in my basement for the winter, and replant each spring. Why do I get all green leaves and orange flowers? And how do I get the red leaves back with red flowers?

Epstein: Yeah, there’s not going to be much he can do. It may have reverted. I do the same thing. I have the Tropicanna cannas. That’s the variety that I use. I actually have them in containers. I move the containers to the basement and pull them out. Mine have not reverted. If they’ve reverted, you’re not going to get them to revert back. So just buy new ones. And it just does happen sometimes with plants that are hybridized.

Alston: Okay. Dave, we have another question here from Sally, who is asking: I have a very leggy and dusty jade plant. Should I trim the branches and how short should I cut them? How do I clean off the dust? Can I spray the leaves?

Epstein: Yeah, you can absolutely spray the leaves. I would kind of take it outside, not in the sun, because you’ll burn them. But I would sort of just mist it gently. You don’t want to get it too wet, jades do not like to have wet feet. And that will get the dust off. I would say just pinch it back. It depends how high it is, but, you know, you can pinch those things back pretty good. Just give it a nice angle cut above a nice leaf, and it should start leafing out and get a little bit thicker. I also think it would benefit from some time-released food, like an Osmocote works really well for house plants because it releases food for three months and you don’t have to really worry about it.

Alston: Well, that is meteorologist Dave Epstein. A reminder you can always text questions for him to (617) 300-2008. Dave, thank you so much.

Epstein: You’re welcome.

Alston: You're listening to GBH news.

Meteorologist Dave Epstein is our go-to person for pressing weather questions on everything from winter blizzards to summer droughts. He’s also a horticulturist, meaning he’s an expert in anything that grows leaves and flowers. GBH’s Morning Edition asked our audience for weather and gardening questions, and Epstein graciously answered them on the air.

Have a gardening or weather question for meteorologist Dave Epstein? Tweet him  @GrowingWisdom, email us at  thewakeup@wgbh.org, or text 617-300-2008.

I’ve been growing Canna for years and I just love their colors. When I first purchased them I had brilliant red leaves with red and orange colors. Each fall I dig them up, place them in my basement for the winter and replant each spring. Why do I get all green leaves and orange flowers? How do I get the red leaves back with red flowers? I’ve asked around and no one seems to know. —Bill O’Rourke, East Greenwich, R.I.

This sounds like a hybrid variety of Canna which has reverted back to its original genetic makeup, Epstein said.

It happens with hybrid plants of all kinds, Epstein said.

Those beautiful red leaves were likely a result of plant growers breeding special varieties with genetic mutations that caused those brilliant colors. As the plants continued to grow, new leaves can pop up without those mutations.

“If they’ve reverted, you’re not going to get them to revert back. So just buy new ones,” Epstein said. “It just does happen sometimes with plants that are hybridized.”

I have a very leggy and dusty jade plant. Should I trim the branches, and how short should I cut them? How do I clean off the dust, can I spray the leaves? Any tips on repotting? — Sally

A potted plant with wooden stems and green and purple leaves.
Sally's jade plant, for which she sought cleaning and trimming advice.
Courtesy of Sally

You can absolutely trim and spray the plant, Epstein said, but make sure you’re doing it in the right conditions.

“I would kind of take it outside, not in the sun, because you’ll burn them. But I would sort of just mist it gently,” Epstein said. “You don’t want to get it too wet, jades do not like to have wet feet. And that will get the dust off.”

As for trimming: You can pinch back the growing branches to encourage thicker, stronger growth.

“It depends how high it is, but, you know, you can pinch those things back pretty good. Just give it a nice angle cut above a nice leaf, and it should start leafing out and get a little bit thicker,” Epstein said.

Bonus tip: Add a time-release plant food to the soil when you repot it.

“An Osmocote works really well for house plants because it releases food for three months and you don’t have to really worry about it,” Epstein said.

Please correct me if I am wrong, but, I believe the ‘official’ temperature for Boston is taken at Logan Airport, on the water and often cooler than just a mile away. However, the ‘official’ temperature for New York City is reportedly taken in Central Park a much warmer area than on the water. Isn’t this an example of comparing ‘Apples and Oranges’ with the two cities? —Dave from Burlington

Until 1937, Boston’s official temperature was measured downtown, on Milk Street, Epstein said.

“They believed that the fact that it went from Milk Street to the airport was insignificant in terms of the change that happened back in the 1930s,” Epstein said. “I disagree. Many of my colleagues also disagree.”

The Logan Airport location is now the default because the National Weather Center has a sensor there, and because the service partners with aviation authorities who rely on weather conditions to fly.

“I think it’s kind of silly that the official temperature is at Logan Airport, but that’s another discussion,” Epstein said. “It should probably be in Boston Common or something like that.”

GBH’s Curiosity Desk did a deeper dive into why Boston’s official temperature comes from the airport here.