Dakota Pinnacle Birch is beginning to make a statement in landscapes across the Upper Midwest.  Slender and upright in it’s form, and very uniform in growth habit, Dakota Pinnacle Birch is extremely hardy, thriving in climate zones 3 to 7 and tolerant of many soil types including those with alkaline pH.  Growing quickly to a mature size of 30′-35′ tall by 8′-10′ wide, Pinnacle becomes an eye catching feature of the landscape as its bark changes from brown in youth to a striking white.

 This nice hybrid birch can serve as a focal point specimen tree, or being clumped with 3-5 trees close together, or in a grove of randomly scattered individuals.  It is a perfect tree for narrower spaces where you want a tree, but a larger one just won’t work.   In just 3 to 5 years, a modest sized Dakota Pinnacle Birch will develop into a lovely tree.  Pinnacle has been touted as having better resistance to birch borer than other white bark birch varieties, but we still recommend a once a year, one minute treatment with the systemic insecticide, Imidacloprid.  Imidacloprid is now widely available under a variety of name brand labels. It’s very easy to apply.  Pour a few ounces in a 5 gallon pail, add a couple of gallons of water, and pour the solution onto the soil within 12 inches of the trunk.  The tree roots will absorb the protection and send it throughout the tree.

We gave Dakota Pinnacle Birch available in containers – single stem and some in clump form.

I have also shared my blog here with the Northfield News.

The keys to success are:   Good quality plant materials, proper site preparation that eliminates soil compaction in the areas where new roots will be growing, aggressive root pruning of any matted roots that have developed inside the container, avoiding planting too deep, and consistent watering that is just enough, but not too much.  (most plant death we see is from over-watering)

At Knecht’s Nurseries we have developed our own new one page planting guide that gives the simple, easy to follow steps that you can follow to achieve summer planting success.  Our experienced sales staff can help you select the right plants for your special site conditions.   It’s available under our instructions page – just click and print!

This simple technology of having dozens of air pruning openings built into the design of a molded plastic nursery pot prevents root circling inside the pot.  The result is a well balanced, properly shaped fibrous root system that prevents trees from becoming root bound. 

When you plant trees and shrubs produced with an almost perfectly formed and vigorous root system, the trees become established very quickly following planting on your property, and as a result are healthier and grow more quickly than trees that have been grown in traditional plastic nursery pots.

Chris Siems of Northfield who has a web blog -  Oak-Watch.blogspot, did a segment on Ron Schara’s Minnesota Bound shown on KARE 11 May 2nd showing the benefit of Oak trees and also discussed the benefits of air pruning nursery pots.   We have over 2000 potted trees available here at the nursery that are produced using these air pruning nursery pots.  Stop in soon to see the difference in this better growing technique.

I have also shared my post here with the Northfield News for their blog section.

The planting of warm season annuals such as impatiens, begonias, salvia, marigolds, bacopa, celosia,  ageratum, coleus, and tender vines among others should wait until after Mother’s Day or even until after May 15^th, which is the average date of the last frost in the Northfield area.  The same goes for warm season veggies such as tomatoes, peppers and the vine veggies – like cucumbers and zucchini.    You really lose very little by waiting.  If warm season plants go in too early, they may stress out and not produce as well in mid to late summer.

The planting of trees, shrubs and most perennials should be just fine now, since the vast majority of them actually prosper in cool spring weather.  Be patient and ‘Happy Planting.’

You will also find this post in the Northfield News’  blog.

Red Maple trees (Acer rubrum) quietly put on a wonderful show of beautiful red flowers each spring, long before their leaves emerge.  Preferring mildly to strongly acidic soil, Red Maple trees and their popular hybrids push out early spring flowers that cover the canopy of the trees in a beautiful mantle of lacy red.

The spring color show generally lasts for one to two weeks, and depending on the way spring weather breaks, can begin at the end of March or as late as mid-April.  Take time this early spring to enjoy the show put on by rubrum maples.  The lovely spring color is a good reminder of the fantastic fall colors of yellow, orange, red and magenta that Red Maples give us every autumn.

 I have also blogged this article on the Northfield News website.

If you are able to move plants before they leaf out, the buds that swell up after you transplant will send a hormonal signal to the cut roots to begin very rapid growth of tiny new roots out into the surrounding soil.

Make sure to dig your planting holes extra wide so the new roots will have plenty of soft soil through which they can penetrate.  Avoid heavy packing of the soil you fill around your relocated plant.  Waterings and rainfall will settle the soil just fine.

Your plants will be especially happy if you mix some slow release fertilizer into the backfill soil before you bank it in around the roots.  Be sure to plant no deeper than the depth at which the plant was growing in its previous location.  Remember – even though it’s not a “new” plant for you, it has been newly transplanted so you will need to water it all season as if it were a brand new plant. 

You’ll find this blog also posted on the blog post for the Northfield News.

Even if you can’t drive right to the trees due to soggy ground conditions, you can carry in your saw, gas and a small tool box and enjoy an hour or two of pleasant work dropping and slicing/dicing trees into convenient lengths.  I have always preferred to split the blocks of wood out in the woods before loading.  In this way the mess stays in the woods and I can load, unload and stack lighter pieces of wood, means less effort and less risk of back injuries.

You will get the great benefits of more heat and cleaner burning if you are able to dry your wood for two years prior to use.  By working ahead two to three years, everything about making and using firewood gets easier and more satisfying. 

If you are cutting ash trees, be sure not to move the firewood out of Rice County.  This will be a habit we should all observe from now on to minimize the chances of spreading Emerald Ash Borer to un-infested areas.  While no infestations have been found in Rice County, this new way of handling wood from ash tree should become standard procedure for all of us.

Once Emerald Ash Borer has been shown to exist in Rice County trees, you will be able to treat selected high value ash trees to prevent them from being killed by this destructive insect pest.  Soil drench applications of Imidacloprid are over 90% effective when done at the correct rates, and these applications are very easy for people to do themselves. No spraying or injecting necessary.

Enjoy your time in the woods, cutting firewood!  These spring days will be some of the most enjoyable of the whole year to do outdoor work!

I have also shared this post with the Northfield News for their blog section.

The last day or two, I’ve noticed that puddles of melt water were disappearing rapidly.  This also speaks to the large amounts of unfrozen ground beneath of those snowbanks.   Crocuses on southern exposures are now blooming, so spring is right around the corner!

We all are looking out at our lawns that were hidden for so long.  My lawn definitely needs a little TLC once it dries up.  In addition to the light spring raking that we’ll need to do – we have many little mouse tunnels several places in the lawn.  The mice were able to tunnel from place to place underneath the snow this winter and were safe from the predators.  We have one little mouse racetrack off the corner of the house that we will actually need to fill with soil and seed.  

Another thing we have noticed being very prevalent is “snow mold”.  This white haze on the surface of matted grass usually does not kill the roots.  When things dry out, rake very lightly to fluff up the grass, remove debris, and avoid pulling out grass by the roots.  If in doubt, wait until a littler later to allow for more drying.

Resist the temptation to go out and rake your lawn yet or to work in your planting beds until the ground has dried more and firmed up.  Even by walking across the soft wet ground, you will make impressions in the ground that won’t necessarily “pop” right back up again, causing your lawn to be uneven.  Raking too early will pull the shoots of grass right out of the ground which isn’t what you want to happen.  Then, lastly if you start playing in the dirt when it is more like mud than dirt, you will end up with hard clumps of dirt in your flower beds that will last all season.   All indications are showing that we will be having an early spring so take heart – it’ll be here sooner than you think!

With the growing season finally upon us, I am also sharing my blogs with the Northfield News.  You’ll see them posted here and on their website.

Last April in my Blog Post, I discussed tree pruning — rather than re-writing another post – I am bringing it back this year.  It is so relevant and after a long winter, everyone is anxious to get outside and get something done and pruning your trees might be on your list.  The following is my blog post from April 15th of last year.

During late winter and early spring yards and gardens can often look their worst.  The grass is brown and sometimes damaged by winter stress, pets, de-icing products leaking off sidewalks, driveways and streets, snow plows, squirrels, and even foot traffic.  The tops of perennials that may have provided some winter interest are now tired and faded.  Interesting shrubs, vines and ornamental trees such as Winterberry, Bittersweet, High bush Cranberry, Mtn. Ash and certain flowering crabs that displayed beautiful red fruits all winter long now have finally faded.  Certain evergreen trees and shrubs show ugly browning foliage due to winter burn.

It’s time to cleanup and prepare your landscape for the explosion of spring growth.  Spot seeding or over-seeding of the lawn, removing the spent tops of perennials, picking up twigs and branches and getting ready to plant potatoes and onions are things most of us put on our to-do lists in early to mid-April.  Pre-season pruning of shrubs is another task that we usually think of before new growth starts.

There is one landscape chore that otherwise diligent property owners seem to consistently forget, avoid or kid themselves they can ignore.  People mow their grass, pull weeds, plant flowers, prune shrubs, build patios, retaining walls, firepits and ponds and completely miss one important part of landscape maintenance.

It’s tree pruning.  Plain old tree pruning.  Once every year or two, prune your trees.   On fairly new trees that have been in the landscape ten years or less, it’s fairly easy tree pruning that so often gets left undone.  Until it’s too late!

I see the unfortunate results of delay in tree pruning everywhere I go.  It is common – very common – to see properties that the owners keep in immaculate condition except for good and timely tree pruning.  The sad thing is that when tree pruning is delayed too long, it may not be possible to get tree structure that is as good as trees that get pruned regularly from an early age.

 If you are unsure about tree pruning consult an experience nursery professional or arborist or read books and pamphlets and research pruning on the internet and then go at it. 

By pruning yourself every one to two years during the first ten years you have the trees, and later when the tree is large enough to be beyond your safe reach, hiring the professional arborists or tree service to prune every three to five years, you will likely have a tree of great stature, beauty and durability.

 On ornamental trees such as Flowering Crabs, Lilacs, Magnolia, Plum, Cherry and Mountain Ash that have mature heights of 25 feet or less, people sometimes decide to leave low branches on the tree between three and six feet above the ground.  If the ornamental tree is a real dwarf with a mature size of ten feet or less, these low branches can be an integral part of the purpose of having a dwarf tree:  small size and various kinds of unusual structure such as clumps, topiary, sphere on a stick, and low, horizontal or undulating lines.  Prune these trees with a sense of creative freedom and adventure. 

It is also just fine to prune ornamental trees that mature at 15-30 feet, so that it they have a higher canopy with the first branches at 7-12 feet.  While you don’t see these somewhat higher tree canopies as often on ornamental trees, there is nothing wrong with this approach. It allows people to walk freely underneath and sunlight to penetrate enough to keep grass growing nicely.

For shade trees, it is advisable to prune for higher canopies unless you have a specific reason to leave lots of low branches on your tree.  You may want to have a great climbing tree for your children or grandchildren, or feel you absolutely need the low level branches for screening.  If this is your decision, begin planning for some type of deep shade landscaping below the tree, since the canopy of a shade tree with branches 3-6 feet off the ground will allow only a very limited group of plants to survive in the heavy shade.

In most cases, when shade trees get to be 18″ to 48″ in diameter or more, the first branches ought to be at ten feet to twenty feet or more above ground level.  This allows for some sunlight penetration to ground level and keeps branches from touching vehicles and roof lines.  Over the years, prune out the steeply angled branches and branches rubbing on each other.  Keep branches that are more horizontal or angled up to 45 degrees to 55 degrees.  The lower angled branches are stronger. 

In summary – prune early and often during the first ten years of the life of your tree.  After that, hire professionals every 3-5 years to safely continue the pruning process.  In this way, you will have  beautiful, strong, long lived trees.

Stop in and talk with our knowledgeable staff about picking the right varieties for your particular situation and have a look at the amazing selection that we still have available for your fall planting!  As we speak, many of the varieties are showing their lovely fall colors and this will be changing daily.  It looks like there’ll be another few days of cool moist weather, but we are looking forward to a good run of weather toward the end of the month and into November.

The trees pictured here are from one of our growing ranges that Deb took last week.  It’s the Autumn Blaze Maple.  What fabulous fall color!   We have Autumn Blaze Maple in many sizes – to accomodate all prices points.  Stop in and take advantage of our incredible fall sale prices!  All of our plant materials are from 30% to 50% off!