We have had a fulltime (seasonal) job opportunity come open this week. This position will mainly be in our production area with some landscaping duties. Working in our production area is wide reaching - working with the container inventory – the field trees – setting the nursery up in the spring and putting it to bed in the late fall & everything in between and when an extra hand is needed with the landscape crews – there may be a little time spent there as well. This work is very physically demanding. Prior nursery or landscape experience is preferred and you must be able to obtain your DOT medical card.
We also are looking for an individual to multi-task in all areas of the nursery as well. Watering, plant care, etc. Our season runs from March through November.
Our plants need care 7 days a week so the ability to work some weekend days is a must (for both job opportunities). Wages are commensurate with experience. For fulltime positions – benefits are available.
Our 4th Annual Kid’s Planting Day was a huge success this year with over 50 planters being potted up. Heidi’s little girl – Belinda – was very excited today as she picked up her planters for her Mom and Grandmas.
Here’s wishing a Happy Mother’s Day to all the Moms, Grandmas, and the other special women in the lives of all of us! Have a wonderful day!
A big thank you to little Belinda for such a beautiful pot of flowers she gave me!
Every year I get excited about one of our new hosta varieties that we bring in. This year – it’s ‘Wheee!’. The extremely ruffled leaves make this plant a unique specimen. They have a heavier substance leaf which will make them more resistant to slugs.
A medium sized hosta – it will sport light lavendar flowers atop purples scapes in mid-summer. It was selected in 2011 to belong to the Proven Winners line of plants.
Hosta continue to be a leader in perennials and with thousands of varieties available on the market, it’s hard not to find some that strike your fancy. If you’ve been thinking of starting a collection – or simply adding one – think about hosta ‘Wheee!’.
We have a limited supply of ‘Wheee!’ – these won’t last long!
Many landscape plants broke dormancy extraordinarily early this year, and had new growth or swelled buds that were damaged by a hard freeze several weeks ago. Many plants had new growth shrivel and turn brown or black.
Now we are seeing that many of these plants are putting out a second push of new growth where frost “fried” the first flush. We are also seeing some plants just barely starting this process, but it looks like for certain varieties the appearance of new growth after frost damage might take longer. Don’t give up on plants that seem dead, at least until June. You might be pleasantly surprised.
April 28, 2012 – 11:16 am
Not even 38 degrees with a cold rain could stop these little folks from coming and planting a special container of flowers for Mom or Grandma for Mother’s Day!
This is our 4th year of offering this opportunity for parents to introduce gardening for their children. Some were tentative, others dug right in. We keep these pots in our production house for a couple of weeks and then right before Mother’s Day, we dress them up with a bow and a Mother’s Day pick.
Smiles all around!
See the large slideshow of the dozen photos or SLOW CLICK this small slideshow:
Each year we have wildlife encounters here at the nursery. We’ve got all sorts of bird stories, and encounters with groundhogs, racoons, deer, and skunks to name a few. This week, we found a Killdeer nest out in one of our tree production areas. They had built the nest between two posts right between our irrigation lines.
A shorebird which you can see without going to the beach! They are tawny colored and run across the ground in little spurts, stop and jolt around again. They make their nests on the ground, preferably in rock or stone – which made our production areas the perfect spot! They are great actors – when taking the photos, they would run from their nest – and do a death scene better than any Hollywood actor to distract me away from the nest. Their voice carries far and excitedly sounds like ‘kill…..deer’ – hence their name.
We have placed orange cones around the area to keep vehicles and people away until the eggs hatch and the little ones have flown away.
After the wimpiest March and early April that we can ever remember experiencing, Mother Nature is throwing us a cold wave. To make sure that we have plenty of top quality plants available for our customers – we are engaged in a massive effort to protect our plant material in greenhouses and under wraps, so some plant materials may be unavailable on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday this week – April 10, 11 & 12. By mid day Friday plant materials should be available once again. It looks like a run of nice weather will be coming our way once again. We do want to publically acknowledge all of our employees who have worked so hard the last few days in helping get our plant material protected. It’s hard work!
We’re open 7 days a week from now through mid-November.
If you have delicate plants or tender new growth that you want to protect, these next couple of nights would be the time to protect them.
We are closed for Easter Sunday. We wish everyone a Happy Easter. We will be resuming our regular hours tomorrow on Monday. Monday through Friday we are open from 8 am to 6 pm; on Saturdays our hours are 8 am to 5 pm and Sundays from 10 am to 4 pm.
- Kid’s Planting Day
We will be hosting our 4th Annual Kid’s Planting Day on Saturday, April 28th from 10 am to 11:30 am.
We will provide the pot, selected annuals, soil, and all the care the plants need until Mother’s Day Weekend, when the kids can pick up their planters decorated with a bow and Mother’s Day pick!
The cost is $6 per child, and we encourage pre-registration so we know how many to plan for. Due to the great turnout last year, the planting area will be in a larger greenhouse. It will be nice and warm, even if the weather is cool or rainy.
You can call to pre-register at 507-645-5015 or just
Contact Us and we’ll add your name(s) to the list. This is a wonderful way to introduce children to the joy of gardening.
Our first ever March tree sale has begun! With the ground thawing early and trees beginning to swell buds on some varieties, it’s time to start planting trees!
At Knecht’s we have 150 balled and burlapped trees on sale at 50% off regular prices while supplies last. There are maples, oaks, elms, honeylocusts, ornamental crabapple trees, lilac trees, pine trees, arborvitae, and spruce trees available.
We also have 300+ potted trees available at March Madness prices of 30%, 40% & 50% off! These potted trees are all deciduous trees including maples, oak, elm, crabapples and more!
Hours for March are 8 am to 4:30 pm on weekdays. The weekend of March 24th & 25th- we’ll be open from 8 am to 4 pm on Saturday, and on Sunday, we’ll be open from 10 am to 4 pm. Starting April 2nd, our hours will be 8 am to 6 pm Monday through Friday, 8 am to 5 pm on Saturdays and 10 am to 4 pm on Sundays. We will be closed on Easter Sunday.
As soon as the ground has thawed enough to dig holes, it’s an excellent time to plant trees, and there just happens to be some great discounts. We can hold your purchase of larger balled and burlapped trees until early April. They are going quickly so stop in soon for the best selection. Now get growing!
February 8, 2012 – 10:12 pm
The severe clear of the February full moon brings a legion of shadows marching across the forest floor. Like soldiers marching shoulder to shoulder, the moonshadows of trees move in unison through the nightscape.
Standing tall and strong, mature trees move little on this windless winter night, but their shadows move constantly as the moon drifts from horizon to horizon. I’ve seen this dancce of the moonshadows many times before when the snow pack sharpens the stark figures as they grow longer and then shorter throughout the night.
Delicate and severe, the shadows of branches reach out to each other. Touching and parting repeatedly the shifting tracery speaks of lovers’ arms meeting, embracing and letting go only to seek a new embrace.
The winter forest which sometimes seems so lifeless has come alive this winter’s night as shadows move and dance till dawn. Moonshadow tracery is working it’s magic, and hints of lively times soon to be upon us when sap rises, buds swell and the entire web of life awakes in a rising crescendo.
November 30, 2011 – 7:49 am
Our December office hours are Monday through Thursday – 9 am to 1 pm. We do answer phone messages and e-mails 7 days a week – so if you’re in need of firewood or gift certificates – we’ll get back to you right away! Gift Certificates can be mailed out (to you or to the recipient) anytime or we can arranage a time for them to be picked up if the office hours don’t work for you!
We’ll be closed from December 23rd through January 1st. We’ll be back in the office on January 2nd!!
November 30, 2011 – 7:41 am
We have a limited amount of super dry firewood left for sale. This is all hardwood that has been cut, split and drying for three years. A fireplace cord – or face cord – when stacked is 8 feet long, 4 feet high and 15″-18″ wide, sells for $175 delivered to a Northfield address. Outside of Northfield – call for delivery costs. This is exceptional wood! Most of the wood in this photo has been sold – except for just a few loads.
Firewood makes a great Christmas gift as well!
November 23, 2011 – 10:28 am
We want to wish everyone a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday.
We will be closed from Wednesday November 23rd through Sunday, November 27th.
November 21, 2011 – 2:00 pm
We have gift certificates available for your holiday gift ideas! What’s better than to give a gift that can be used for flowers in the spring – a tree for the yard – for shrubs around the house .. the list could be endless! We can do gift certificates in any amount. We will mail them to you – to your recipient – or if you need to pick them up on hours we aren’t here – we can usually make arrangements to be here for you to pick one up! Give us a call or drop us an e-mail and we’ll take this one off your list!
