Knecht’s

Last Friday evening we had the pleasure of having Gordy and Jo Bailey for dinner at our home. We also enjoyed the company of our retail manager, Heidi Gervais and her friend Scott Brosseau and our landscape division manager (and right hand) Jim Westlund.

We have only been in the business for 15 years where Bailey Nurseries have been around for more than 100 years. It is from Gordy and so many of the wonderful people at Bailey Nurseries that we have learned so much of what we need to know! We discussed the nursery industry of course, but the Baileys are also lovers of the canoe country having a vacation home near Ely, so we exchanged many canoe country stories which is always a delight!

The Baileys were able to tour our hosta garden and after dinner we sat around the fire. One of our cats - Midnight - had to introduce himself to Gordy!

We are beginning to sound like a broken record… water, water, and water. Leif’s article for this week’s Northfield News gives some necessary advice - something we’ve all heard but in some cases - many of us need just a gentle reminder…. Here goes………….

Landscape plants in the Northfield/Dundas area need moisture if they have not received irrigation or other watering to supplement the meager rains we’ve had so far this growing season. This is on the heels of 2006 when we also saw some extended hot dry weather. Drought stress of this type can be cumulative, with plants lacking the opportunity to fully recharge their reserves of stored energy.

To relieve the stress partially, give landscape plants that have been established for several years a good heavy watering every 7 to 10 days, until significant rainfall comes our way. I like to follow a good heavy watering with a light application of a water soluble fertilizer such as Miracle grow, usually within a day or two. In this way, when the plant activates, there is a little bit of nutrition for it to make use of.

Recently planted trees, shrubs and perennials need watering every 1 to 3 days, with the water applied in smaller amounts directly over the root ball. In heavy or compacted soils it is easy to drown newly installed plants if too much water is applied. In this type of soil frequent applications of small amounts will provide just enough water for growth, without the risk of drowning.

On new plantings, DO NOT leave the hose trickling at the base of the plant. Most new landscape plants need 1 quart to 1 ½ gallons of water per day, depending on size. If you forget a host that is trickling at the base of a plant, you might accidentally apply 10, 20 or even 500 gallons of water when you only intended to give it one or two gallons. This could spell disaster for the plants unless the soil is well drained.

It is very difficult to know how much water you applied with a trickling hose. It’s much easier to verify how much water is applied with the hose running full flow. Just take a 5 gal pail and see how many seconds it takes for your hose to fill the bucket. With normal water pressure, it will probably take only 20 to 30 seconds to fill the 5 gal pail. This means that most newly planted trees, shrubs or perennials will only need 1 to 8 seconds of water per day from a watering wand turned to full flow, depend on their size, and the drainage characteristics of your soil. These instructions apply to landscape plants that are purchased in plastic pots and where you have made a ring dike of soil around each plant to keep the water you give it from running away and watering something other than your new plant.

For balled and burlapped trees, the watering schedule is quite different. Because the come in a ball of dense field soil, most balled and burlapped trees will only need 1 to 2 waterings per week of about 10 gallons each time. twice a week if you have sandy soil that drains out quickly, or if you have a variety like Birth that uses lots of water. One watering of 10 gallons each week is usually enough for most tree varieties unless the weather is scorching hot, in which case you may want to apply 5+ gallons mid-week.

The idea is to water just enough, but not too much. We all need a little tender loving care now and then, and our landscape plants are no different.

Plants that have been established for 3 or more years generally need watering only during drought periods, such as the summer of 2007,. For these plants, I try to water heavily two to four times a month.

Good luck! Could someone out there do a little rain dance for us?

Labels: Yard and Garden Notes by Leif

Leif’s article for the Northfield News last week answered one of the questions that we have been getting alot of lately - “Can we plant right now?” Read on…

During the heat of midsummer we are asked quite often if it is still all right to plant trees, shrubs and perennials. The short answer is yes!

The longer answer is that the plants you place in your landscape during hot weather need the same things we humans need to be comfortable and prosper in the heat. First and foremost is adequate hydration. When we are active during hot weather we are frequently reminded to keep drinking water to replace fluids lost through perspiration. Plants need the same thing. Enough water available, but not so much that the soil stays super saturated and waterlogged for days and weeks on end.

We also need proper nutrition, and so do your midsummer plantings. We humans need to eat frequently, but we are most healthy when we do so in moderation. So too with plants. Several moderate applications of your fertilizer of choice over the course of the growing season is better and safer than applying a lot at one time. Too much fertilizer at one time can damage or even kill the plant.

On realty hot days most of us really appreciate good air. Generally speaking, good air is air with some movement to keep things fresh. Plants also benefit from good air, especially in the soil. Ideal soil for plant growth has millions of small air spaces between soil particles. This allows for good levels of oxygen in the soil, which keeps roots healthy, and allows proper drainage of excess water. When air spaces in soil disappear due to compaction, or if the air spaces are continually filled with water due to poor drainage and over-watering, oxygen levels in the soil become very low. Low oxygen levels in the soil cause reduced growth and are an invitation to root rot and systemic disease.

Most plants also benefit from good air movement above ground. When foliage can dry off quickly with a little air movement, there is much less chance of diseases such as mildew, mold, leaf spot, and fungus.

While some plants are quite happy in full sun, others do better in a sun/shade mix. I used to seek out the sun, but now I prefer the shade during the times of day when sunlight is most intense. Success with plantings in the landscape can be increased by placing plants where they receive the amount of sunlight most favorable for each variety. There are differences between varieties so consult a nursery professional if you’d like a little guidance.

Summertime is very often when we have time to be out doing planting projects in our landscapes. You can go ahead with these projects even in the heat of the summer if you just give yourself and your plants the basics for success. Enough water but not too much. Some nutrition, but not too much. Good air movement, good soil and good oxygen levels. Sunlight in the amounts preferred by each individual plant.

Have a happy and productive summer and stay cool.

Plant Spotlight: Purple Coneflowers & Ornamental Grasses. Two very staple members of the perennial family – very low maintenance and with spectacular beauty. In our meadow at home, we have a perennial bed with Karl Foerster Feather Reed Grass planted in the middle and surrounded by Purple Coneflower (Echinacea). The grass sends out a flower head in late June/early July and they shimmer above the coneflowers. The purple coneflowers are a long blooming perennial – showing blossoms mid to late summer. We leave the coneflowers standing till mid-November letting the birds feast on the seeds and just enjoying the different look once the flowers have past. The grass will stay until spring. One of the best features of ornamental grass is the winter interest. In early winter when the hoar frost sets on the blades of the grass & plumes, it sends out a magical appearance to the landscape. The grass will bend over with the snowfalls and once the snow has stopped – will pop back up to sway with the winter winds.

Labels: Yard and Garden Notes by Leif

The following article has been submitted by our retail manager - Heidi Gervais.

Buttonbush - Cephalanthus occidentalis

With the current interest in rain gardening, I decided to mention a shrub that thrives in those conditions.

Buttonbush is native from New Brunswick to California and south. Normally, in its natural environment, you would find it growing in wet areas or sometimes actually in water. It lends itself nicely to the raingarden situation for just this reason.

Buttonbush has a loose, rounded growth habit and bright green glossy leaves. It can grow 3′ tall all the way up to 10′ under perfect conditions. In August, it blooms — creamy white globes of flower clusters. The flowers will also attract butterflies.

We will once again be celebrating Crazy Daze with other Northfield merchants… Come and enjoy the heat wave — and pick up some really good deals on trees, shrubs and perennials.

Selected plants will be 60% off - some 50% off…. Come early - don’t miss the best deals!

We are once again faced with a drought here in Minnesota! The occasional rains are just not enough to sustain plants that have been planted this year or last year.

For landscape plants - once they’ve been planted - will take a year or better to become fully established in which their roots are out enough to obtain water from surrounding soil. Some plants need a couple of years or more to be able to obtain moisture without assistance.

Now you say - “I have an irrigation system - I don’t need to water my new trees - the irrigation will do it”. This isn’t true. When you plant or had someone plant - that big new tree - the root ball was sizeable. If your irrigation is set to apply an inch of water to your grass for the week - that means that the root ball of your new plant has had water soak down a couple of inches or so and the rest of the root system hasn’t been watered. You need to specifically water the plant. If you planted a new tree or two last summer - keep watering it this summer!

It doesn’t take as long as you think - most hoses with city water pressure will run out a gallon of water in just a matter of seconds. This means it will probably take you 10 to 15 seconds to apply 5 gallons of water to a plant and you can move on to the next one.

So - the next time that you say - “Wow, is it hot out here - let’s get a glass of cold water” - think of your plants as well.

Hosta - hosta - hosta —– there can never be enough, right? This morning I walked through our hosta garden to see how they were doing (and talked to them a little as well). Two that caught my attention this morning are Risky Business and Zippity Do Dah.

Risky Business… With it’s white center it just beckons you to look down and admire it! It is a vigorous grower and when the leaves are mature - they have a slight twist to the ends of them. Lavender flowers appear in August.

Zippity Do Dah. Sturdy, wavy leaves hoave green centers with creamy white margins. It’s vigorous to grow in the garden and is sun tolerant to boot!

This year alot of our landscape customers are folks with homes that they’ve been at many years, but are re-doing their landscaping. A “Landscape Redesign”. Our crews this week are working at a home on the south side of Northfield. We ripped out all of their overgrown shrubs that have been there for many years and are giving their yard a fresh new look.

A garden area that invites you to enter it and walk around and through it gives you the opportunity to really enjoy your yard. It creates that outdoor living space. These folks are having new landscape beds installed all around their home and they have many areas that they can enjoy the landscaping from the inside as well. The next time that you are sitting at the kitchen table looking out the window at your yard having your morning coffee, think about how beautiful it would look if you could see a new perennial bed or a new birch tree featuring a few boulders and ornamental grasses!

If you are the kind who enjoy doing the work yourself but are a little stimied at just exactly what to do and what kind of plants will work, etc. we have two landscape designers who can do a site visit consultation or draw you a landscape design plan for your whole yard, part of it or just a design for a new perennial bed. Amy Voight and Kristin Lucas have each received their degree in landscape design and are Certified Nursery & Landscape Professionals.

Our landscape crews can install a patio, retaining wall, pond, or just new beds like we are featuring here. Contact us and we can answer any questions you may have or we can set an appointment for one of our designers to meet with you.

The annual garden tour hosted by the Northfield Garden Club was a huge success and we really enjoyed being able to open up our yard for others to enjoy. For me, the most exciting part was having Northfield’s own Fred Somers paint in our garden! Fred Somers specializes in landscape paintings and to have him doing a pastel drawing in our yard was really pretty special!

The Northfield Garden Club had an incredible turn out this year and the proceeds of this fundraiser will go to all of the projects they do within Northfield to beautify and maintain certain areas in the parks and downtown area.