Magic Carpet Spirea continues to rank as one of my favorite shrubs because of its multiple color phases throughout the growing season, ease of maintenance and modest size.
With a rated size of 18″-24″, Magic Carpet Spirea is very useful in smaller spaces in the landscape. In very good quality soils, Magic Carpet may grow a bit larger, but it is very easy to cut back aggressively in the spring to keep it as manageable size.
Each spring Magic Carpet Spirea starts out as a bright reddish burgundy shrub that lights up its part of the landscape. Over a period of weeks, the burgundy new leaves change to gold, and soon violet / pink flowers cover the whole plant. Once the blossoms fade in mid-summer, you can re-create the burgundy to gold color phases by lightly pruning enough to remove the spent blossoms. New burgundy growth will push out and a light second set of blossoms often follow. The third color phase takes place in fall when the leaves that have aged to a gold/chartreuse once again become a vivid burgundy.
Magic Carpet Spirea will grow in a wide variety of soil types and has its best color when planted in a location with 1/2 day to full sun. An “old standby” shrub – it’s economical and will perform well. (Photo courtesy of Bailey Nurseries)
Cardinal Redtwig Dogwood has long been my favorite variety of red twig dogwood because of it’s vigorous growth, ability to grow in a wide variety of soil types, and its electric orange/red winter twig color. While most red twig dogwood varieties have a nice burgundy with a tinge of red winter stem color, Cardinal Red Twig Dogwood bark changes from a green summer color to an intensely bright, almost flourescent red. This creates an amazing color treat on sunny winter days when a massed planting of Cardinal Red Twig Dogwood produces a stunning contrast with a fresh snowfall.
Cardinal Red Twig Dogwood grows to 8′-10′ tall and is a selection made by the plant research program of the University of Minnesota. Hardy to frigid zone 3, Cardinal’s green leaves turn to a pleasing purple-red in fall. When the leaves drop they reveal the twigs which have turned from summer green to flaming scarlet. Cardinal Red Twig dogwood is also very versatile with a demonstrated ability to grow in soils from poorly draineed to well drained upland soils.
Plant some Cardinal Red Twig Dogwood now, enjoy it now and wait for the magic to start this fall!
Bloomerang Dwarf Lilac is creating a stir in the gardening world. Like it’s close cousins the dwarf lilac category, Bloomerang Lilac displays nice fine textured foliage, fragrant lilac blossoms, and most notable of all, blooms more than once during the growing season!
With a compact and mounded shape, Bloomerang Lilac fits well as a foundation plant, small hedge or an accent to larger shrubs/small trees/perennials. A vigorous spring bloom is followed by a “rest” period in the heart of summer, and more blossoming in late summer and through fall right to the first heavy frost.
Bloomerang Lilac prefers 1/2 day to full day sun, properly drained soils, and can even prosper in alkaline soils. As with all other lilacs, avoid water logged soils and heavy shade. With its wonderful re-blooming characteristics, Bloomerang Dwarf Lilac will please for years to come. Mature size is rated at 4′-5′ tall by 5′-6′ wide compared to 10′-15′ tall and wide for standard lilacs.
Photo courtesy of Bailey Nurseries.
Aglo Rhododendron - photo courtesy of Bailey Nurseries
With the memory of our mild Minnesota winter rapidly fading and the grass growing greener by the day, you may be feeling the need for a little something to chase away the last of the winter blahs. A color burst from the Rhododendron family may be just the thing to perk you up!
Winter hardy Rhododendrons and Azaleas have long been a lovely spring fix for avid gardeners. Rhododendrons such as Aglo and PJM have proven themselves able to prosper in southern Minnesota provided they are planted in a moderately to strongly acidic and well drained soil.
Aglo Rhododendrons grow to 3′-4′ tall and wide and PJM’s grow slightly larger – 4′-6′ tall and wide. Green leaves turn mahogany in the winter. The Aglo sports clusters of pink flowers while the PJM’s flowers are a more vibrant, darker pink.
The Northern Lights series of winter hardy Azaleas has been devloped by the University of Minnesota and have become very popular. Some of my favorite colors are Mandarin Lights, Rosy Lights, Golden Lights and Northern Lights. These winter hardy azaleas grow to 4′-5′ in height and width.
Be sure to provide a location with 1/2 day to full day sun and acidic soil for your winter hardy Rhododendrons and Azaleas. They will reward you with color beyond compare. I just walked out to the sales deck and the Rhododendrons are beginning to blossom, and the buds on the Azaleas are swelling. Prices range from $14.99 to $26.99.
Winter hardy Magnolias are bursting into bloom all across southern Minnesota. A few days after the bright yellow color bursts of the Fosythias start, the Magnolias swell and unfold their visual feasts of white/pink and reddish purple blossoms.
Royal Star Magnolia and Merrill’s Magnolia sport pure white blossoms, while Leonard Messel Magnolia delights the eye with a delicate pink and Ann Magnolia – a rich deep reddish purple.
These Magnolia varieties have proved themselves very hardy, even in tough Minnesota winters. Mature sizes range from 10 feet up to 40 feet, depending on the cultivar your choose, so allow enough space for these magnificent small trees to reach their full potential. Magnolias are able to prosper in locations with 1/2 day sun to full sun.
Despite the mildest winter in recent memory, a Forsythia fever outbreak is spreading quickly through the population of southern Minnesota gardeners. Risk factors include a prior history of generalized spring fever, exposure to warm spring breezes, and catching sight of a neighbor’s Forsythia in full bloom.
Once an avid gardener has contracted Forsythia fever, the treatment protocol is fairly straightforward. Proceed directly to Knecht’s Nurseries where you will find Forsythia in stock, select the variety that suits your fancy, and plant in a highly visible location in your landscape. Next, allow the rich yellow burst of the first spring blossoms to soothe your soul and elevate your energy.
Within hours, winter malise should melt away, and all will be right with the world. Enjoy the wild and whacky spring of 2012, and a Forsythia feast for your winter weary eyes.
Forsythia trees are in full bloom – already – March 17th! This is truly a crazy winter – early spring season here in Minnesota.
The Gold Tide Forsythia trees come in a #7 container and are on sale at $59.00. A great ornamental tree – it brightens up your yard when there is hardly any other color around. After the flowering is over – its bright green color provides a great backdrop to other plants taking center stage.
The crocus bulbs that we have in small containers for sale just started blooming. You can bring spring inside – or plant them outside for a splash of color. To accent your spring displays – add a stem or two of pussy willow branches. We have a limited supply that I just cut this week. If you want your own pussy willow shrub – we have those on sale at $19.99 and they just started blooming as well.
We are open early this season! Stop in and just browse around for your early gardening fix!
February 6, 2012 – 10:45 am
Red Sprite Winterberry
Winterberry is one of my favorite shrubs for great winter color. During a time of year when color is usually in short supply, a nice mass of winterberry can light up the landscape with beautiful red and orange colored berries.
As summer draws to an end, the 1/4″ inch berries that cluster in large numbers along the stems begin to turn from light green to bright orange or red. Partially hidden bybeautiful green foliage, the beauty of winterberry shrubs really becomes evident when the leaves drop off as they enter dormancy in preparation for winter.
From mid-September to late January each year, my heart feels a little lighter as I walk past the beautiful Red Sprite Winterberries framing the right side of my front entry at home. Perhaps winterberry can add a smile to your face if you include this fix of color to your winter landscape.
The female winterberry shrubs are the ones that have the showy fruit displays. To produce the colorful berries, they must be pollinated in springtime by the pollen from a male winterberry.
The varieties we have seen do well in southern Minnesota are Red Sprite, Afterglow, Berry Heavy and Berry Nice. These are all pollinated by a male variety named Jim Dandy. Winterberries are native in Minnesota. We have been watching a cluster of native Winterberry on a portage in the Boundary Waters now for years. The size of winterberry shrubs can be from 3′ in height to 8′ – depending on the variety. Width 3′ up to 8′ as well.
Check out a complete listing of the shrubs we carry on our Plant page. When doing your plant “wish lists” keep in mind the definite need to winter interest in your landscape.
August 16, 2011 – 8:21 am
Often overlooked and underused, Winterberry can actually deliver a very long lasting color feast for the eyes in areas of the landscape that lack excitement. Red Sprite Winterberry has shown itself to be a good performer with a modest size of 3-5 feet while displaying large quantities of brilliant red 1/4″ berries from early fall through mid-winter or longer. Use a Jim Dandy male Winterberry somewhere near your cluster of Red Sprite Winterberry to pollinate and assure the formation of the showy berries.
Most winterberries have a welcome tendency to tightly hold their red berries until spring clean up time in early April. This habit of providing an eye-popping display of red color for months on end makes winterberry a plant to seriously consider for inclusion in your landscape.
‘Berry Heavy’ and ‘Berry Nice’ are two larger sized winterberry that also hold abundant colorful berries for long periods. Winterberry can handle full sun to 3/4 shade, and grows well in many soils, and is quite hardy! I have seen wild winterberry growing in the canoe country where winters dip to -50 degrees F, so hardiness is not an issue.
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!
As spring flowering shrubs complete their blossoming cycles, I’m always eager to see hydrangeas begin forming and opening their lush and numerous flowers. Right now, we are seeing Quickfire, Invincibelle Spirit, Annabelle and Incrediball Hydrangeas produce the first hydrangea blossoms of the season.
Quickfire Hydrangea produces an early and airy white blossom that seems to float on air, and has the delightful habit of gradually turning to a beautiful rich pink over 4 to 6 weeks. There are lots of new heavily hyped hydrangeas on the market these days, and I would have to say that Quickfire have great standability, very early flowering, 2 color phases, and a unique blossom structure, but it also has leaves that turn to a beautiful combination of yellow, orange and red fall colors come autumn.
Invincibelle Spirit Hydrangea is the first pink Annabelle Hydrangea available on the market. Last year we were impressed by the way the medium pink blossoms started in mid-summer and kept forming all the way to the first heavy fall frosts. Our third year, Invincibelle Spirit Hydrangea are shaping up nicely, with fairly good standability, and we suspect that they will perform nicely in the landscape.
Consider adding hardy hydrageas to your landscape. They have the ability to add abundant flowering to summer and fall landscapes. My wife cuts the flower stems in the fall and uses them in dry flower arrangements all year long – an added bonus to the hydrangea shrubs.
Some of the most beautiful and versatile shrubs for your landscape are the Weigelas. They have just started blooming and are an incredible display of color! They prefer full sun, but can do fine in 4-5 hours of sun as well.
Pictured here is the Carnaval Weigela which puts on a remarkable floral display of pink, white and nearly red flowers. They blossom for an extra long period providing a colorful addition to any garden space. It’s mature to a size of 4′-5′ tall and 3′-5′ wide.
The Red Prince Weigela sports non-fading rich red flowers on fresh green foliage. It’s upright arching branches will re-bloom during the summer. Slightly taller – this plant matures to a size of 5′-6′ tall and wide.
We also have Fine Wine, Ghost, Midnight Wine, Minuet, My Monet, Rainbow Sensation, Rumba and Wine and Roses Weigela varieties.
The time has finally come! The May 2nd arrival of the Bella Anna Hydrangea has us pink with excitement! Bella Anna is a pink re-blooming version of the ever popular Annabelle Hydrangea. It shows the same hardiness and vigor of its parent plant with the incredible ability to produce beautiful magenta pink blooms on new wood. The amazing flowers last from summer all the way through fall on strong stems that keep them up and showy! It has an “easy-to-grow” low maintenance habit with a mature height and width of only 3′ x 3′. We are proud to make this Bailey Nurseries introduction available just in time for Mother’s Day! What a wonderful gift idea for Mothers and Grandmothers this spring! And while you’re here be sure to pick one up for yourself. They going to go quickly!
Photo courtesy of Bailey Nurseries.
April 22, 2011 – 10:55 am
Open Easter Sunday!! Our late spring has delayed alot of the fun in the garden, but it’s going to be a beautiful day and we’ll be here from 10 am to 4 pm. We have a full selection of trees, shrubs and perennials along with a nice assortment of annual 4-paks, veggies and even some herb planters.
Just for Easter Sunday only - we’ll have an Easter basket filled with plastic eggs containing a surprise discount for the day. Come in and pick an egg for a extra-special eggciting discount! Hop on in – we’ll be here. Discounts will be from 10% to 15% and are applicable to any plant material! (even plants that are on sale!) Discount applies only to plant material – no hardgoods, mulches or bagged product.
We have updated our plant lists for 2011. Included in these lists are the new plants coming in this spring! Take a look at the lists and make some notes on what you want to add to wish list. In just a few days, we begin potting up perennials and some trees. The weather looks like it will take a turn toward spring – with even some 50′s in the forecast. The updates to our Plant Search pages will be completed in just a couple of weeks as well.
