Planters' Choice

Now that the evergreens have hardened off, it is time to start getting them out of the ground. Demand has been high so we will be bringing in a great selection of trees in a variety of sizes including Norway Spruce, Black Spruce, Hemlocks, and Arborvitae (Green Giants & Dark Americans) all from our fields in Watertown! Call either Newtown or Watertown to inquire more. These trees will start coming into both sales yards starting in the next few weeks. 

Do you know why some trees are only dug at certain times of the year? Dig windows can be different across all deciduous and evergreens. This affects the availability of certain trees during different times of the year! When digging Betula (Birch) for instance, the energy stored throughout the winter needs to be transferred to the buds by mid-late spring. If dug too early and the energy has not been put into the buds and the tree will have a hard time leafing out. Because they are storing so much energy in the root systems for the winter, they cannot be dug in the fall. Other trees that fall in that same category are Cercis canadensis (Eastern Redbud), and Quercus (Oaks). This is just one example of the practices that are done all over the country to ensure healthy nursery stock, including our own tree farm!

-Heather

In Good Supply and Looking Great!

Here are a few good perennial choices for your next installs, whether it's a full sun site or shady nook!

Top row:

Asclepias tuberosa (Butterfly Weed, native, full sun)

Veronica spicata 'Royal Candles' (Speedwell, full sun)

Allium x 'Millenium' (Ornamental Onion, sun-part shade)

Bottom row:

Physostegia spicata 'Miss Manners' (Obedient Plant, sun-part shade)

Chasmanthium latifolium (Northern Seas Oats, native, sun - shade)

Hakonechloa macra 'Aureola' (Japanese Forest Grass, part shade-shade)

Ornamental Grasses - Their Time to Shine!

August is upon us, which means many varieties of ornamental grasses are beginning to shine. Grasses, often underrated, are a great way to bring texture, dimension and all season color to the landscape. They are also low maintenance and have many different practical and decorative uses.

The native Andropogon gerardii (Big Bluestem) is a great example of a tall grass that is useful in restorations; it is great for erosion control and can handle drought once established! It boasts purple blooms and blue-green foliage that turns bronze/red in the fall. The smaller Juncus effusus 'Big Twister' (Corkscrew Rush) has unique green, smooth, round, upright foliage that can be planted in containers or submerged in up to 4 inches of water. When in doubt, there is a variety of grass that can work for your site.

Pro tip: Want 6 months of interest? Pair warm season grasses with cool season grasses. When the cool season grasses start to go dormant in early summer, the warm season grass will be ready to take over! 

Cool season Grasses include Fescues, Deschampsia, Helictotrichon, Leymus and Nasella for examples.

Warm Season Grasses include Andropogon, Carex, Chasmanthium, Panicum, Miscanthus, Pennisetum, Schizachyrium, Sporobolus and others.

-Liz