Deer vs Evergreens: Winter Edition

Posted on by Beth

Arborvitae and junipers are a great choice and chosen by many customers seeking to create full coverage, all season screen for their yard. Arborvitae are soft in texture so deer love to munch on these delicious treats. Junipers are a bit more prickly in texture, but if food options are limited, deer will also take a bite of your junipers.

The best way to protect your arborvitae and junipers from deer feeding on them is to fence them off. Trees Today carries DeWitt Deer Fence. This product is made of UV-treated polypropylene for longer lasting durability. Benefits of this product are numerous, here are some of our favorite reasons.

                • Dark colored, no-show from distance can be left up all season long.
                • Easily compatible with metal or wood stakes
                • UV treated for durability
                • Made of polypropylene, will not rot

If you are tired of combating deer from eating your arborvitae and junipers stop in today and get the right tools for the protection your plants deserve.

 

 

When to Cut or Prune Your Hydrangea

Posted on by Marietta Buchner

To help you understand if your hydrangea should be cut or pruned and when to do it, click on the link following this article.  Listed are the three types of hydrangeas that we carry, along with their varieties.  This will help you identify what type of hydrangea you have.  You also need to know if your hydrangea blooms on old wood or new wood. Macrophylla hydrangeas blooms on both old and new wood.  Aborescens and Paniculatas bloom on new wood.

Aborescens (Smooth)
Annabelle
FlowerFull
Incrediball

Macrophylla (Big Leaf)
Bloomstruck – Blooms on Old and New Wood
Pink Splendor – Blooms on Old Wood
PopStar – Blooms on Old and New Wood
Seaside Serenade Cape May – Blooms on Old and New Wood
Seaside Serenade Crystal Cove – Blooms on Old and New Wood
Seaside Serenade Fire Island – Blooms on Old and New Wood
Seaside Serenade Kitty Hawk – Blooms on Old and New Wood
Seaside Serenade Martha’s Vineyard – Blooms on Old and New Wood
Seaside Serenade Newport – Blooms on Old and New Wood
Summer Summer Crush – Blooms on Old and New Wood
Twist n Shout – Blooms on Old and New Wood

Paniculata (Cone shaped flowers)
Berry White
Bobo
Early Evolution
Limelight
Little Hottie
Little Lime
Little Quick Fire
Strawberry Shake
Strawberry Sundae
Tiny Quick Fire
Vanilla Strawberry

Click on this link:

https://www.monrovia.com/be-inspired/when-to-prune-hydrangeas.html

 

 

Fall Cutting of Plants, Yes or No?

Posted on by Marietta Buchner

The following is only a guide to whether you should or should not cut perennials in Fall.  First of all, wait until we have had one or two hard frosts before cutting plants. Following is a list of common plants that suggest when to cut and why.  It is strongly recommended not to cut back any plant that has buds forming in fall. If you cut these plants with buds you will not have a spring bloom.  If you are unsure about any plant, do a google search on the plant.  If you have done things differently in the past and they work, then continue to do so.  When the reason says “Food” that means food for the birds over winter.

Should you cut perennials in fall?

 

 

Unbelievable, Sunbelievable

Posted on by Beth

Oh my, oh my! How are everyone’s Sunbelievable Brown Eyed Girls from Monrovia doing? Ours at the garden center is still blooming and is loaded with buds! Check out the photos below!

Whether you are new to the Sunbelievable Brown Eyed Girls or are a seasoned veteran look no further for an annual that will stand the test of the season spring through fall.

Ideal for containers or in the ground, this blooming workhorse is known for its 1,000+ blooms per year and will grow to be about 3’x3’. Fertilized weekly it will perform even more than you expect!

The greatest gift of course are the beautiful HUGE yellow blooms that can be seen from down the street or from across the garden center! These flowers incorporated into bouquets or on their own brighten every space they occupy!

 

 

 

We Had Beautiful Fall Color

Posted on by Marietta Buchner

The spectacular fall color put on by blazing trees and shrubs is just about over. The color was outstanding this year. Aspens were a brilliant yellow with tints of orange;  maples were everything from yellow orange to red; beech trees turned red, and a host of other trees and shrubs contributed to the array of fall color.   One of the most spectacular trees planted by a staff person last year was an Autumn Radiance tree. The color on this tree is just amazing, a neon glowing red. Plus this leaf color held on for over two weeks.  Another staff person planted a Brandywine a few years ago and it is putting on a show of fiery red. If you did any leaf peeping this fall and fell in love with some of those colorful trees, stop in now as we may have a tree or two left, otherwise next year get that fall color tree planted so you, too, can enjoy that fall color right in your own yard.

Click on the name of the tree below and you will find more information on this tree.

 

 

Last Chance: Hurry In!

Posted on by Beth

 

Tick tock, tick tock!  ⏰ ⏰

The time is drawing near to Halloween and before you know it, Thanksgiving! Have you decorated your home yet? If not, never fear, Trees Today is here! We still have a great assortment of decorating and Halloween pumpkins still available. Stop in and grab yours before you are left behind in the great decorating race.

 

Wilt Pruf & Why You Need It

Posted on by Alexis Stout

If you, like many folks this season, had one or a few too many plants struggle with this season’s drought or you want to prepare your new plants for winter, then you may want to look at applying Wilt Pruf to your plants.

Wilt Pruf can keep plants healthy year-round, providing multiple layers of protection against transplant stress, seasonal drought, and winter burn. A few items that Wilt Pruf can be applied to include boxwood, rhododendrons, and evergreens. It can also be used on your holiday decorations too! Extend the life of your garland, wreaths, porch pots, and Christmas Tree! 

Wilt Pruf should be applied to the point of run off and allowed to dry outdoors in daylight for 3 to 4 hours. One application will last three to four months.

Make a plan to stop at the garden center and pick up a bottle of Wilt Pruf for year-round protection for your plants.

Wilt Pruf Ready to Use or Concentrate

Fall Tree Protection

Posted on by Beth

Fall is in full swing. As you begin to check off your fall to-do lists around the yard, don’t forget to protect your trees for winter. What exactly are you protecting your trees from you may ask?

Young trees benefit from having their trunks protected with either a tree guard or tree wrap. This protective covering keeps deer from rubbing their horns and tearing the bark during rut and rabbits from potentially girdling your trees.

Another benefit of protecting your trees is reducing the risk of sun scald. Sun scald occurs during winter when the sun’s heat reflects off the snow, warming the bark, and the trunk freezes overnight. This repeated thaw and freeze can cause a crack to form and the bark peels away from the tree. This result does not threaten the tree but is typically an eyesore.

We can help you cross off this task from your list! We have both tree wrap and guards in stock.

The breathable fabric tree wrap comes as a 3″x50′ roll and the corrugated tree guards come in sizes of 2″ diameter up to 4″ diameter to fit a large assortment of trees.

Stop at the garden center and let our staff assist you in protecting your trees for fall and winter.

 

Fabric Tree Wrap 3″x50′ Roll

Trunk Guards Available in 2″-4″ Diameters

Fall Planting

Posted on by Marietta Buchner

Why Plant in Fall?

There are many reasons.  The soil is still warm enough to encourage roots to grow whereas in spring the soil is still warming up from the winter.  Due to the fact that the plant no longer produces many flowers or foliage, the plant is able to spend a lot of its energy building roots.  There is less shock and stress to the plant as it is about to go into dormancy.  Planting in fall gives your plant a 6 month head start against spring plantings.  Your plants will have less insects to deal with.  Then there are the benefits of less weeds and less watering.

Fall is also a time to divide some  perennials.  Some perennials that benefit from dividing in fall are asters, native coneflowers, monardas (bee balms), day lilies, liatris, peonies, black eyed susans, garden phlox and creeping phox, siberian iris, bearded iris and veronica.  This is not an all inclusive list but tries to list the most common perennials.  If you are unsure if your plant should be divided in fall, google the plant or talk to a knowledgeable person.

Fall planting is not just for perennials, but shrubs and trees also benefit from fall planting.

Our nursery still has lots of perennials in stock available for immediate planting.  Stop in before fall turns into winter.

 

Ornamental Grasses

Posted on by Marietta Buchner

Did you know that there are cool season ornamental grasses and warm season ornamental grasses? Following are some warm and cool season grasses.  The ornamental grasses we carry are all clump forming meaning that every few years they should be divided to prevent  no grass growing in the middle of the clump.

Cool Season Ornamental Grasses:
These grasses start growing in early spring, usually erupting from the ground in May. They generally are shorter then the warm season grasses. When the weather becomes very hot and dry they will go dormant.   Cool season grasses generally start blooming late June or early July. Some cool season grasses that we carry and are in stock are:

Karl Foerster feather reed grass

Avalanche Feather Reed Grass
Photo courtesy of  Baileys

 

Warm Season Ornamental Grasses
These grasses usually do not erupt from the ground until Late May or June, or when the soil has warmed up.

Miscanthus Flame Grass
Photo courtesy of Baileys

Northwind Switch Grass
Photo by Trees Today Nursery

 

Switchgrass Shenandoah. Photo courtesy of Monrovia Nursery

Prairie Dropseed grass
Photo courtesy of Baileys Nursery

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Blue Heaven Little Bluestem,  Photo courtesy of Baileys Nursery

Red Silver Japanese Grass, Photo courtesy of Baileys Nursery

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hooray for Hydrangeas

Posted on by Marietta Buchner

Hydrangeas are perhaps the most showy, prolific and easy growing shrub around.  They come in many sizes, colors and appropriateness for different soils.  The shrubs are long living and extremely vigorous.  The mopheads offer up some astonishing huge blooms that you can see from some distance.  Some want only morning sun whereas others want full sun.  They make great foundation plants or look terrific in pots.  Some of the types of hydrangeas that grow in our area are the big leaf mophead (Endless summer), the smooth (Annabelle), and the panicle (the woody type like Limelight).  Because there are so many varieties we recommend you talk to a staff person who can direct you to the right hydrangea to plant for your conditions.  The following plants are some of the hydrangeas that we have carried.  These plants may or may not be in stock.

 

hydrangea paniculata strawberry shake

hydrangea seaside serenade newport

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Endless summer summer crush hydrangea

 

Invincible Ruby hydrangea

Berry White

 

Vanilla Strawberry

 

Hydrangea blue enchantress