Crab apple trees are Spring!  Most of us love spring as it is such a wondrous site to see the green, green grass and all the different colors of crab apple trees  blooming after our long winter.   Crab apple trees  range in shades from white to dark pink. Some do not produce berries, some will drop their berries in fall and some hang onto their berries into winter, which is wonderful food for the robins when they arrive. Crab apple trees might be in a pillar form and some may spread and even some that will stay short but spread, like those in a Japanese garden. Gradually crab apple trees are arriving at our nursery.  Following is a photo of a Showtime crabapple that was taken on April 16, at our nursery.

If you click on any of the following crabapple trees, and then click on the url that comes up,  you will be taken to our site describing that tree.  If you are interested in a particular tree, please call our office at (608 783-7333)  to verify that we have it in stock.

Coralburst
Prairiefire
Purple Prince
Rejoice
Royal Raindrops
Ruby Tears
Showtime
Spring Snow
Starlite
Tina

Spring is here and with that comes one of the first flowering trees of the season, Magnolias. Magnolias bloom profusely in April with either pink or white flowers. At Trees Today we have the Royal Star Magnolia in stock now. Stop in today while they are blooming and still in stock.

If you were fortunate to plant some hellebores last year, you should be enjoying their blooms now or shortly. They are also called Lenten Roses because they usually have buds or blooms during the Christian season of Lent. If possible, plant them so you can look out the window and see the blooms.They are a shade plant, however in winter they like sun. One of the best ways to achieve this is to plant them under a tree so the leaves shade them in summer but in winter the sun shines through the tree limbs. Mulching the plant in winter is also beneficial. After they are done blooming, prune the bloom stalk to the ground which encourages the plant to produce new growth. They are hardy to Zone 4. Our nursery carries hellebores, but they may not be in stock all the time and occasionally we get other varieties. Unfortunately we do not have photos of the three that we will be carrying, however if you google them you will see photos. They are: Frostkiss Cherisa, Frostkiss Glenda’s Gloss and Frostkiss Vibey Velevet.

Perhaps this year you would like to change the way your gardens look.  Then now is the time to think about changing the design of your gardens.  There are so many ideas available.  Searching the internet and  looking at Pinterest for ideas are good places to start. Also take a look at  Monrovia’s design trends. Just click on design 

If you would like to have more quality apples on your tree, then you need to prune your tree properly which will improve the quality of the fruit through better air flow and sun penetration.  It is recommended that you never remove more than 1/3 of the total canopy in a single year.  Click on the red text to see illustrations and learn more about pruning apple trees

Our Midwest winters can be very hard on the birds that remain here. We can provide food and water for them, but planting plants that produce berries is welcomed by these birds.  These berry plants also add some color to our dull winter landscapes. The following is an article from Monrovia Nursery, but besides the plants that Monrovia lists, there are other plants that produce winter berries in our zone.   Just ask our staff for help.

Clicking on the following link takes you to Monrovia’s suggestions for winter berries.

https://www.monrovia.com/be-inspired/plant-a-berry-garden-for-winter-birds.html