Category Archives: How To Advice

New Zone Hardiness Map – USDA Update – 2012

January 25, 2012 – 4:18 pm
From the USDA – Minnesota

The USDA released it’s new Hardiness Zone Map.   Minnesota now can claim a portion of the State being a Zone 5!  (a small part – but a part nonetheless).   A big change is the portion of Zone 4a which now extends further north.  Mary Schier, editor of the Northern Gardener magazine, has a blogpost on this subject - ‘Big Changes for Minnesota in New Hardiness Zone Map.’

 

Despite these changes, caution is advised if you don’t want to run the risk of losing plant materials that may be marginally zone hardy.  On the other hand, it can be an awful lot of fun to experiment with marginal plants that can sometimes be a nice surprise on hardiness and a visual delight.  We’re happy to visit with you about this subject concerning plants you might consider that are “on the edge”.
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By Deb Knecht | Also posted in Community, Landscaping | Comments (0)

Fall is for Planting

September 25, 2011 – 7:08 am

Fall planting of trees, shrubs and perennials has long been a tradition for many families.  Landscape plants are going dormant, temperatures are cooler, water demands are reduced, and success rates remain high.

When spring comes, the new plants are ready and waiting to quickly establish and flourish.  Well planned fall planting projects can also save substantial amounts of money, since great bargains are available at most nurseries.

An added plus for fall planting is the pleasant fall weather that makes time spent on a project outdoors enjoyable and easier.  October and November have quite a few fabulous fall days, so there’s still plenty of time to do that project you’ve been putting off.  Seize the opportunity.  It’s a wonderful time.  (to plant).

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By Leif Knecht | Also posted in Landscaping, Retail Sales | Comments (0)

Insect Pest Alert

September 9, 2011 – 5:09 pm

The Northfield area is facing increased problems from insect pests on landscape plants.  It may be a good time to start thinking about how you will choose to manage greater pressures from these destructive insects.

Boring insects of various kinds can destroy Birch, Oak, Linden and Ash trees and Viburnum shrubs.  There is a chemical treatment that is effective at controlling and/or preventing borers.  The active ingredient is Imidacloprid and is available in many commonly available pest control products.  Applied to the soil next to the stem of a tree or shrub, Imidacloprid is absorbed by the roots, and prevents dozens of insect pests in addition to borers from attacking the plant.  Treatment is simple, safe and effective.

Japanese Beetles are showing up in greater numbers.   Soon they will be widespread in the Northfield area.  We are all going to have to learn more about controlling this VERY destructive insect. You may be interested to know that Imidacloprid gives pretty good control of the Japanese Beetle and about 35 other insects, which helps property owners avoid having to spray foliar applications of conventional insecticides.

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By Leif Knecht | Comments (2)

Protect Your Trees

September 7, 2011 – 10:13 am

Now is the time to think about protecting your trees from damage going into the winter season.  We have several different types of tree protectors available – depending on the size of the tree and your intitial purpose of protection.  This past weekend – we installed tree protectors on a few of the trees in our meadow at home.  In the past, we have learned our lesson the hard way after we discovered “buck rubs” early in September.

You have invested alot into your trees – monetary and with TLC – and the next step is to protect them going into the winter.  The heavy snows of the past two winters saw lots of trees with rabbit and mice damage to them.  When food is scarce – the critters will start nibbling away at the bark of young trees.   If the damage is too severe, the tree will not recover.   These protectors help to eliminate this from happening.  Heidi has set up a great display here at the nursery and there are descriptions and advice on each of the protectors we have available.  All of these protectors can be used for many seasons which makes it a very inexpensive investment.

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By Deb Knecht | Also posted in Trees | Comments (2)

Watering Alert

September 7, 2011 – 9:51 am

Despite heavy rains during spring and the first half of the summer, significant rains have missed the Northfield area the last 5 or 6 weeks, and soils have become quite dry.  Landscape plants of all types that receive no regular irrigation will benefit from a good heavy watering.  For established trees, shrubs and prerennials, a thorough soaking every 10 to 14 days during the fall will help them enter the winter in good shape.

For recently planted trees, shrubs and perennials, more frequent waterings will be necessary, as often as every day or two until they are able to extend new roots outwards and tap moisture from a larger volume of soil.

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By Leif Knecht | Comments (0)

Fall Planter Ideas

August 10, 2011 – 12:25 pm

Heidi Brosseau - our retail manager submits the following blog.

Now is the time to refresh your baskets, beds and planters!

Are your containers looking a little tired?  Did your baskets fizzle in the summer heat?  Maybe you have lots of green plants and not a lot of color in that perennial border this time of year.  Dress them up & refresh them! Add some seasonal color & fall beauty to your planters, beds & borders with plants perfect for late season displays.  Here are some of our favorites!

Minnesota Hardy Mums:  They are finally here everyone.  Come and get ‘em.  Bright eye catching colors on dense compact plants.   Perfect for filling those empty spots and containers.

Asters:  A late season surprise.  The first Asters are just beginning to open their daisy style flowers.  These hardy perennials will be blooming until hard frosts come.  Providing a reliable wave of color in the fall garden.  Excellent mixed with Mums and Kale.

Grasses:  Whether you go with an annual or a perennial variety it doesn’t matter, you’re going to add graceful, elegant movement and color to your plantings.  Many varieties have both showy plumes that appear late summer to fall as well as brilliant fall color.

Sedums:  Beloved by butterflies and gardeners alike! These are the “tough guys” in the Minnesota garden.  Reliable and vigorous these succulent plants add wonderful texture with their thick leaves as well as a multitude of foliage colors and variegation.  They like to build up a little suspense, making us watch their forming buds all season long before finally showing us what they can do. Read More »

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By Deb Knecht | Also posted in Annuals, Perennials | Tagged | Comments (0)

Boring Mailbox?

August 10, 2011 – 10:57 am

It really doesn’t take much to make hum drum spots in your landscape / property just a little nicer.  Things like mailboxes, utility boxes, utility hookups and the like can all be softened, hidden or enhanced by the simple addition of the right plant materials.  There is no absolute right or wrong except perhaps doing nothing.  So take it as an opportunity to experiment a bit just as is done at this mailbox.  This rural mailbox has coneflowers and ornamental grass.  These plants can handle the tough site conditions along a gravel road and with snow loads – there’s no problem since perennials start from the ground up every spring – unlike some shrubs which may be damaged by a heavy snow load.

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By Leif Knecht | Also posted in Landscaping | Comments (0)

The Heat is On – Be Sure to Water Your Plants

July 17, 2011 – 7:39 pm

Landscape plants are much like pets and humans in  their need for some tender loving care during major heat waves and long dry spells.  When provided with enough, but not too much water and nutrition people, pets and valuable landscape plants will do well even under extreme heat stress.

New plantings are especially vulnerable until they have extended new roots into the surrounding soil.  While balled and burlapped trees and shrubs can do well with one or two good waterings per week during their period of establishment – 1 to 2 years – trees, shrubs and perennials that were purchased in plastic nursery pots can dry out and be severely damaged in just one or two days in hot, windy and low humidity conditions.

The reason potted plants dry out so quickly when placed into your landscape is that potting soil is formulated to drain and dry out quickly to avoid root rot while they are in the pots.  They also dry out quickly when planted in your yard  that is until new roots have grown out into the soil surrounding the planting site.  This can take from 6-12 weeks, depending on how compacted the soil is.

If the tree, shrubs or perennial receives aggressive root pruning prior to planting to completely shred any matted roots on the outside of the root ball, AND if there is lots of loose, unpacked soil filled in around the root ball, the rooting out process can happen much much faster.  Allow water and gravity to settle the crumbly soil around t he shredded root ball rather than packing the loose soil.

For more details on precision watering you can check out our instructions page on watering.  Keep in mind that most trees and shrubs purchased in nursery pots will need a little water everyday the first 4-6 weeks, every other day the next 4-6 weeks, and every third or 4th day until a year has passed (take the winter off from watering).  Do not allow the hose  to  trickle on the plant.  You will have no idea how much water you gave it, and you may drown the plant.

Successful planting can be done even in a heat wave  if you give them enough water, but not too much water on a daily basis.  Keep ‘em happy and keep ‘em hydrated!

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By Leif Knecht | Also posted in Perennials, Shrubs, Trees | Tagged | Comments (0)

Black Walnut Toxicity Alert

June 16, 2011 – 3:36 pm

As the years roll by, I find myself called on to do more and more diagnosis on why certain landscape plants are performing poorly.  I am seeing Black Walnut Toxicity on a more frequent basis, enough so that I am  training our staff to always keep this factor in mind when advising our customers on selection of trees, shrubs and perennials for landscaping purposes.

Just recently, I evaluated a Whitespire Birch clump that had severe die back.  At first, I thought it might be birch borer, but found no evidence of the tunnels that borers create just below the bark, and yet one entire stem had completely died and two others looked as if they would soon follow.  As I looked around, I noticed a huge walnut tree in the neighbors back yard, about 60′-70′ away.

When the birch tree was young, its roots were outside the root zone of the walnut tree, but as its root system grew larger, it spread far enough to contact the ever expanding root system of the walnut tree.  Walnut roots are the source of the greatest amount of juglone, the toxin released by the walnut tree.  The roots of a walnut tree can easily extend to double the width of the branches of the tree, so when planting anywhere near a walnut tree – select from a list of plants resistant to the walnut toxin.

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By Leif Knecht | Also posted in Trees | Comments (1)

String Trimmers and Trees – Not a Good Idea

June 3, 2011 – 2:28 pm

As spring rains have caused rapid growth of lawns and the need for frequent mowings, I have once again seen fresh examples of severe damage to landscape trees.  Careless use of string trimmers is the most common cause of severe damage to trees that I see during the many site visits I make to help people evaluate their landscapes and diagnose tree problems.  When the bark gets damaged, sap flow is reduced to leaves and tree quality declines.  More damage with each use of the trimmer can eventually result in the death of the tree.

The cure is very simple:   String trimmers should never ever touch the bark of a tree, no matter the age or size of the tree.  I repeat:  NEVER, EVER.  The damage inflicted from one careless round of string trimmer use can run into hundreds of dollars if the bark is touched by the trimmer string.

Very often the damage is gradual, but cumulative.  There’s no more reason to hit the living bark of a tree, than there would be to weed whip your bare leg.  Both are living tissue and both say “ouch” if you hit them with a string trimmer.

The following are ways that grass/weeds around trees can be safely controlled:

1) Trimming with hand operated grass clippers

2) Kill grass and weeds around the tree with roundup herbicide (avoid contact with the bark) and use a bark/wood chip mulch to keep a 3’—4’ circle around the tree free of weeds/grass

3) Heavy-duty tree guards that deflect the string of a power trimmer.  Thin plastic won’t be good enough.

4) Plastic or rubber mats around the tree (must have the hole for the trunk enlarged on an annual basis to accommodate the growth in trunk diameter.

5) Give the person/company that carelessly damages tree bark a $50 bill for each tree, for each time, they touch the tree bark, and insist they pay the bill, or pay to replace the damaged tree!  I suspect they will stop hitting the bark.

CAUTION:  This information will ruffle some feathers.  Be prepared for push back, but be firm and insist that trimmers never ever touch tree bark, no matter how large the tree.  (I even see severe damage to wooden fence posts from string trimmers!)

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By Leif Knecht | Also posted in Trees, Yard & Garden Notes | Comments (1)

Vegetable Garden

May 27, 2011 – 5:00 pm

Vegetable Garden

Leif and I finished planting our vegetable garden last weekend.  Since we spend 7 days a week here at the nursery, we have the garden here where we can tend to it. A number of years ago we decided to cover our vegetable garden with weed barrier fabirc and grow our vegetables in the small slits and holes that we cut in the cloth.  We weren’t sure if this would  work out but it has been a wonderful  way to grow a vegetable garden since we have  far fewer weeds to deal with and less blight problems.  We hand dig wherever we have the opening sin the fabric – work in some fertilizer and plant our seeds and vegetable liners, etc.
One of the best “perks” of our work here at the nursery is what we learn from our customers.  A few years ago, a college friend of Leif’s stopped in and in chit  chatting – we learned that he placed a banana peel under the tomato plants before he planted them.  The potassium from the banana peel gives a boost to the tomato plant.  That summer we planted our tomato plants (except for two) with banana peels.   The banana peel tomatoes surpassed in growth by leaps and bounds compared to the two with no peel, and the size of the fruit was amazing!  Needless to say, we save our banana peels starting in early May and put them to good use!
Abnormally rainy spring weather has caused quite a few fvolks to delay planting gardens and flower beds this year.  We do have good supplies of most varieties of vegetable 4-paks and single paks as well as all kinds of annual flowers.  Warmer weather  that is coming next week will really activate any vegetable or flower liners planted this week so despite the delays you should be ablve to have great eating and nice flowers this season.
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By Deb Knecht | Also posted in Annuals | Comments (0)

Garden Bed Preparation

April 5, 2011 – 8:06 am

Patience pays big dividends when doing tillage of the soil to prepare for spring planting.  Whether you do your tillage with a 4 tined hand cultivator, a garden fork, a shovel, a roto tiller, or a plow behind a giant 4 wheel tractor, wait until the ground has dried well and crumbles when worked.

If you dig when the soil is too wet, you are likely to battle a garden full of lumpy soil all the way through the growing season.  Waiting a few more days or weeks until the soil has dried usually results in tilled soil that is nice and crumbly.  Just prior to doing the tillage, spread fertilizer, compost, manure, and peat or sand, so these amendments become evenly mixed into the tilled soil.

Coarse sand is a great thing to add if you have high clay content in your soil.  Once you work sand into the clay soil, the soil will be much easier to work up into a nice crumbly condition in subsequent years.  In the photo – you will notice smaller pieces of rock/sand.  This makes this soil drain nicely and is quite fertile.  Too much sand, on the other hand, can cause plants to dry out too quickly.

It is wonderful and amazing to see how much more quickly roots of new plants are able to grow into a large root system when the soil has been made porous by good tillage and a few well-chosen soil amendments.  Your patience will be rewarded by bigger flower blossoms, vegetables that are bigger and more plentiful, and trees and shrubs that become handsome specimens in a shorter time!

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By Leif Knecht | Also posted in Landscaping, Yard & Garden Notes | Comments (0)

Spring is Coming

March 24, 2011 – 10:42 am

Single digit temperatures this morning are an unpleasant reminder that gardening in Minnesota is not for the faint hearted.  The good news may be that flood crests may be slightly reduced by this colder than normal weather that will last until about April 1st.  Happily, the long range forecasts show a period of pleasant early spring weather coming for the first week of April.  I’m sure we will all breathe a huge collective sigh of relief!

There will be opportunities for work out in the landscape while the big chill is still in force.  Pruning shrubs and trees, and cutting down dead trees can be a comfortable activity if you pick days with low winds and mid-day hours when temperatures are at their warmest.    My April 15, 2009 blog on tree pruning discusses pruning in more detail and I am linking back to that post.

 If you like to make firewood during this period when the seasons are transitioning, you may have to carry in your chainsaw gear and do the cutting.  In most locations, haul out will have to wait until the ground firms up enough to allow vehicles to operate without making nasty ruts.  If you cut down ash trees that have died, it would be a good idea to check under the bark to see if emerald ash borers (EAB) have infested the tree.  The Emerald Ash Borer website has more information and photos that will help you determine if your ash wood is infested with EAB.  If your wood is infested, be sure to call the City or County Forester to report the infestation.  They will probably come out to verify and lend some advice and assistance.  It is extremely important for the health of our forests to report possible new occurrences of Emerald Ash Borer.  We all need to help out in reporting new infestations so the spread of this devastating pest can be slowed/halted.

I have also shared this post with the Northfield News.

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By Leif Knecht | Also posted in Yard & Garden Notes | Comments (0)

Soil Moisture Recharge Benefits Trees

March 19, 2011 – 10:55 am

This year the melting of the heavy snowpack presents a good opportunity to recharge soil moisture levels that have been depleted by several years of summer dry spells.  In many areas of the landscape, the soil is not frozen, which is allowing water from melting snow to soak into the soil.  Deeper levels of the soil profile will be able to absorb a lot of water before it runs off.

Recharging moisture in the deeper levels of the soil will be especially beneficial to established trees that experienced drought stress the last few years.   Larger trees have larger, deeper root systems, and larger leaf canopies to support, meaning greater needs for moisture that can be met by recharge of moisture in sub-soils.

Hopefully spring flooding will be a little less severe due to unfrozen soils absorbing some of the snowmelt.  Unfrozen ground also means it will be possible to get an early start on spring planting of trees and shrubs.  While it is tempting to rake your lawn right away, it’s best to let the ground thoroughly dry out before beginning the spring clean-up. 

Early April should present good planting opportunities, and we normally have trees and shrubs available for sale beginning around April 1st, depending on the weather.  Our experienced and knowledgeable staff will be available to help you zero in on the plant materials that will work best for your particular situation.

I have also shared this post with the Northfield News.

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By Leif Knecht | Also posted in Yard & Garden Notes | Comments (0)

Planting for Wildlife

March 15, 2011 – 1:20 pm

This is the time of year when wild creatures are at the absolute end of their energy reserves.  Even though the weatherman is predicting warmer weather and receding snowbanks, new growth and new food sources are 3-6 weeks from being available for wild animals.  By planting trees and shrubs that produce various kinds of berries, nuts and fruits, you can provide late winter food for the critters.  Some Minnesota hardy varieties to consider are highbush cranberry, nannyberry, chokecherry, oaks, hackberry, amur maple, flowering crabapple, red twig dogwood, echinacea & rudbekia. 

By planting the right trees, shrubs and perennials, you can both beautify the landscape and help the wildlife.  You may want to check out the publication titled ‘Landscaping for Wildlife’ put out by the Minnesota DNR. 

I am sharing this blog with the Northfield News.

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By Leif Knecht | Also posted in Landscaping, Yard & Garden Notes | Comments (0)