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.’

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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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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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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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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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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.

Ornamental Kale:  Color and texture are packed into these interesting members of the cabbage family.  Perfect along edges, in containers or baskets.

Heuchera, Tiarella and Heucherella:  More commonly known as Coral Bells, Foam Flower, and Foamy Bells, these wonderful plants are compact and dense with foliage that ranges from chartreuse to green, rusty peach to maroon and purple.  Some are even variegated or veined.  Awesome in containers or the landscape.  These are very versatile plants!

Ajuga:  This popular ground cover is terrific in
containers as well as the ground!  Shiny
even metallic looking leaves are amazing next to some of the softer textured
plants.

Weigela:  These compact shrubs have variegated or maroon purple foliage and they bloom in the spring.  Mature sizes will vary by variety.  Hummingbirds love them too!

Tiger Eye Sumac:  Deeply cut leaves are golden chartreuse and turn orange with red in the fall.  Amazing paired with some of the darker leaves shrubs and perennials.

Hydrangeas:  What wonderful additions to the landscape!  Hydrangeas bloom from summer until frost and go through many, butterfly attracting, stages of beauty along the way.  The Hydrangea paniculata prefer full to part sun and send out white or lime green buds that open to a beautiful clean ivory that matures to a lovely mauve pink.  As our nights get cooler and the flowers dry they become a parchment color that carries us into winter.

Many of the plants I have listed above are Minnesota hardy.  If you use them in a container planting or basket remember, you can plant them in your landscape before winter and enjoy them for years to come.

I should mention that in Minnesota our winters are too cold for most plants to overwinter in an above ground container.   Proper planting and mulching before the ground freezes will help your perennial plants come through the winter!

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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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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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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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