Here is a sample of our Newsletter from June 2004.
Greetings Gardeners!
I find that most of the time after I walk around the nursery looking at what to write you about I generally mention plants that are blooming. I thought it was high time to talk about the most common color of plants: green. Let’s look at some of conifers-those are the plants that we see in leaf twelve months a year.
First of all, a little basic botany: there are two basic kinds of trees that grow in the temperate areas of the world. The first to arrive on the scene were the conifers-mostly evergreen, with their seeds contained in a cone-type configuration. Next were the deciduous trees-those that drop their leaves in the winter and have their seeds contained in a fruit or as a nut.
I thought today we’d review some of the larger growing evergreens: Pines, Spruces, and Firs.
Eastern White Pine is about the fastest growing evergreen I know. Unsheared it can reach 50’ or more in height and 20’ or more in width. It is easy to grow adapting to a wide variety of soil types from dry to damp, but prefers a moist, well-draining soil. It has long soft bluish-green needles in groups of five. It grows straight and tall, so much so that the King of England owned every White Pine in Colonial New England as a potential mast for a ship. It can be sheared into a hedge.
We have them in 3 or 4 sizes from 4-5’ tall to 8-10’ that have been lightly sheared through the years to keep them full, but not sheared so drastically to take away from their natural shape.
All the following conifers are much more short-needled than the Pine with a more pyramid shape.
I really like White Fir (also known as Concolor Fir ) for its look and adaptability. It grows 30-50 tall and 15-30’ wide. Its rate of growth is slow to medium. Its soft, flat needles are blue with the new growth more blue than the older needles. It handles a wide variety of conditions: besides that old favorite, moist, well-draining soil, it will grow in gravely or sandy soils, but dislikes heavy clay soil. It handles heat, drought (once established!), and cold very well.
Colorado Spruce , along with White Pine, is perhaps the most widely recognized of these larger growing evergreens. It has very stiff needles all around the stem, growing 30 to 60’ tall and 10 to 20’ wide. It’s a very widely used ornamental, liking sunny spots with that same moist, well-draining soil.
The needle color is the big thing with Colorado Spruce. Generally the color ranges from a gray-green to a blue-green; in all cases the new growth is a more silvery blue-gray than the older needles. It’s a slow to medium grower
There is a great variation of color in nature of Colorado Spruce. People seem to put a premium on the more blue specimens. Nursery people will pick out the bluest specimens growing in the field and from them take cuttings to create named varieties.
We sell both seedling Colorado Spruce, those with some variation in color from tree to tree and some of these named varieties that are all grown from cuttings. These cutting types are more costly to produce than the seedling variety. With a named variety, like Baker Blue Spruce for example, each tree will be equally intense blue. Though among the seedling types you may find one just as blue as the Baker, it’s necessary to look at each tree to evaluate the color.
Norway Spruce is a dark green, much faster growing spruce. I particularly like the contrast of the light green new growth against the dark green of the older needles. It grows 40-60’ high and 25 to 30’ wide and likes the same soil conditions. It’s very hardy.
Serbian Spruce is a narrow pyramid grower that has a very graceful appearance. It grows up to 50’ tall but only 25’ wide. I can’t always get my hands on them, but we have a nice group of them this year. It will grow in full sun to partial shade equally well. It’s the kind of tree that makes people say, “What’s that?”
Now all these trees are evergreens, but every evergreen drops some needles annually as new ones mature. That’s why we get the pine needles on the ground in big stands of White Pines. Some trees drop their needles quietly, but some do it very dramatically. A White Pine keeps each needle for two years. In the fall of each year the two year old needles (those in the center of the plant because the tree has had two years of further growth) turn bright yellow and then drop. At the same time our phone starts ringing like crazy from new pine owners who are worried about what is happening. It’s nothing to worry about; it’s what pines do every year.
OK, that’s enough green-let’s talk color! We still have Annuals and Vegetables and we’ve marked them down. Of course, we’re marking them down more for you. See below.
The Roses are flowering like crazy! They all have received an application of a fertilizer that will feed them this whole year thanks to Stefanie. Removing the spent flowers (deadheading) will increase the number of future blooms. Cut back on the branch to just above a stem with at least 5 small leaves. It’s better if those leaves are facing out side rather than towards the center of the plant. I know that’s hard to explain in writing. We can show you what I’m trying to say.
We just received some Jumbo Perennials in two-gallon pots. We have two varieties of Coreopsis (including Limerock Ruby , the red one), some Dianthus, and some Disco Belle Pink Hibiscus (only pink now, other colors to follow) that are all loaded with buds. Also in stock are some big pots of Shasta Daisy that are in full bloom for instant effect. These Daisies also have a lot of buds for future blooms as well!
We also got more Ornamental Grasses in stock. We just can’t seem to keep them in stock. It’s amazing how popular they have become. They aren’t fussy other than they do best in the sun.
Have you heard about Endless Summer Hydrangeas ? First I didn’t write about them this spring because I thought no one would be interested in them until they began to bloom. I was wrong-we’ve sold so many that we’ve had trouble keeping them in stock and then that was the reason I chose not to mention them.
What’s the big deal? Until now Blue Hydrangeas only bloom on old wood and many people have trouble keeping old wood alive after a severe winter. What happens after a tough winter is that the tops die off, and the following spring new growth comes out of the ground. But that’s new wood that needs a year before it blooms. It can become a cyclical problem of little to no bloom.
Endless Summer blooms on both new and old wood so they’ll bloom reliably every year! And they are hardy! I saw their trials when I visited the originating nursery, Bailey Nursery, St. Paul , Minnesota in 2002. (They are our primary supplier of deciduous trees and shrubs. Their plants have the distinctive Gardeners’ Palette shaped tags in our yard.)
Why am I telling you about them now? I just got 50 more in stock! After observing them and talking with growers it seems that they are slower growing than other Hydrangeas until the hot weather comes and then they take off. To make the flowers bluer, like all blue Hydrangeas the soil needs to be acidified. The less acidic, the more pink the flowers will be. All the nurseries (including us) are constantly trying to get them bluer, but they seem to pinken for all the growers while they’re still in pots. I really don’t know why, but planted they seem to get more blue. Adding Aluminum Sulfate or an acidifying fertilizer will enhance the blue.
You can learn a lot more about Endless Summer at the website established for the variety:
http://www.endlesssummerblooms.com/CR_About.html
For years and years there have been white flowering Hydrangeas that bloom reliably every year on new and old-the big thing about Endless Summer is its color. The white we stock is Annabelle and it’s just coming into bloom. It’s a vigorous grower that reaches 4-5’ tall and wide. The flowers are huge!
All Hydrangeas prefer some shade and a lot of water. We planted an Annabelle at the edge of our parking lot out by Route 9 in the heat and the sun and it does great in those far from ideal conditions. It’s a great variety!
I mentioned a few weeks ago a long lasting, systemic insecticide product that you pour on the ground and gets taken up into the plant. We have that same insecticide for bigger trees in a different application method. For this one you need to drill some holes in the tree down low where the trunk flares out. The product comes in a little capsule with a skinny tube. Place the tube in the hole and squeeze the material into the tree where the sapflow moves it through the tree. The active ingredient is Merit, a very effective long-lasting product that is labeled to control many insects including Adelgids, Borers, Japanese Beetles, Leafminers, and many more. It’s basically a homeowner version of the injection systems that arborists have used for many years. It’s packaged with the name Pointer Insecticide .
Lastly, I hope you’ll notice we finally broke down and made a new TV ad. (The old one that was running still had me with a mustache.) It will run primarily on NESN Red Sox games on Shrewsbury Cable and on HGTV on the Charter system. We were lucky to have a beautiful day when we taped it! Most photogenic I think was my assistant at the end of the ad. Take a look and see who it is and if you agree.
To receive these SPECIALS please print this page and present it to the cashier before the sale is rung up.
This SPECIAL is in effect through Sunday June 27, 2004, while supplies last, for cash & carry sales only, and may not be combined with any other discount or promotion. Heavy or large items are available for delivery with appropriate charge.
Don’t Forget! Last week’s specials are still in effect through this Sunday.
All White Pine; Douglas, Fraser, and White Fir; Colorado , Norway , and Serbian Spruce
15% off regular prices
Special #2- Annual and Vegetable trays and pots
Buy One, Get One Free
Special #3-Rose Bushes all types (Bushes, Shrubs, Miniatures, Tree Roses)
20 % off regular prices
Special #4-Jumbo Perennials
Two-Gallon Coreopsis, Dianthus, Shasta Daisy, and Disco Belle Hibiscus
10% off regular prices
Special #5-Ornamental Grasses
All sizes and varieties
10% off regular prices
Special #6-Hydrangeas
10% off regular prices of Endless Summer, Annabelle and all other Hydrangea varieties
Special #7-Pointer Insecticide
15% off regular price
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