Oh My – Just Magnificent – Spectacular

These are just a few words to describe what our nursery looks like.  It is now filled with plants, shrubs and trees and some blooming plants to feed the hummingbirds.  We have lantana trees and lantana pots to give the hummingbirds some appreciated nectar when they arrive here after their long journey.  Chances are good that if you put a lantana tree or pot on your deck or wherever you sit outside, hummingbirds will fly to it.  We also have blooming roses that are quite spectacular.  There are too many things to describe so we suggest you stop in and check us out.

               Wagon full of rose plants

                    Wagon full of lantanas

 

                                                                              Rose marvel salvias

 

The Itoh Peony

Have you seen the new Itoh peonies yet?  They are a cross between the tree peony and the common herbaceous peony.   The main differences are that the Itoh stems are much sturdier, the Itoh’s bloom for 3-4 weeks and can have 30-60 blossoms per plant and up to 6″ wide,  depending on the variety.   Itoh blossoms are exquisite, coming in more colors like yellow, apricot, coral, purples and then the usual array of pinks.  If Itoh flowers are protected from the hot afternoon sun, they can last as long as 14 days in your garden.  They are very fast growing, maturing to about 3 ft tall by 3-1/2 ft wide.  Planting in the morning sun is preferable although they can be planted in filtered to full sun.  The lush mound of Itoh foliage is another plus as it makes a nice looking shrub and often turn color in fall.  Deer generally avoid them.  It is recommended that for a real WOW, plant 3-5 in a cluster although one single specimen alone, or in a pot puts on quite the show also.   The downside is that they are more expensive then the herbaceous peonies, but once established they viturally are carefree and can last up to 50 years.  Consider them an investment.

 

Itoh Takara Treasure peony

Itoh Keiko pink peony

 

Itoh Cora Louise peony

Itoh yellow peony

 

Itoh Singing in the Rain peony

Itoh Julia Rose peony

Spectacular Tiger Eye Coneflower

Almost every week we get in around 200 coneflowers.   They are our number one perennial seller.   Customers flock to get them as they really perk up a garden.   The colors they come in are amazing:  the purples, pinks, oranges, whites, reds and it seems like each week we get a new variety.  The one that really struck our eye in this last shipment is the Tiger Eye coneflower. It is just a wow orange with a rustic brown center.   This is a Zone 4 hardy and reaches 18″ tall and wide.   If you want one of these we advise you to stop in very soon as we are certain they will not be around long.

Tiger Eye Coneflower

Tiger Eye Coneflower

 

Put a Smile on your Face

Well we survived winter and most of this awful spring.  Soon it will be summer.   Cheer yourself up and put a smile on your face.   Buy some beautiful perennials or shrubs to perk up your yard.  Presently our tables are full of perennials. We have many, many different types of shrubs and trees.  The last couple of years hydrangeas and coneflowers have been the big sellers.   We have at least 15 different types of hydrangeas, maybe even more as we get trucks every week.  Last week over 200 blooming or budded coneflowers arrived and more will be coming this week.  However, there are so many other plants that will bring color and joy to your garden.  The new variety of phlox bloom for weeks;  day lilies are improved every year so that many more are becoming rebloomers;  grasses are still hot and we have lots of them, hardy habiscus plants plus so, so many more;  shrubs like winterberry, new varieties of spireas, cheesehead potentilla, viburnums, ninebark, lacy elderberry, shrub roses, etc.   Stop in and spruce up your garden and thoroughly enjoy it before winter hits us again.

Some New Plants in our Inventory, Walberton’s Spirea

Happy Spring!  Finally spring has arrived.  However it will still be weeks before you should begin to uncover your plants or work in your garden.  In the meantime we will highlight a few plants that are new to our inventory this year or perhaps we added them last year.  Hopefully one or two of these plants may be of interest to you and work in that spot where you need something alive and growing.

This week we have chosen Walberton’s® Plumtastic spirea.  This compact plant is perfect for low borders or edging pathways. Plant it as a single species or in masses.   It works well planted in a small, skinny area that you may have between your sidewalk and house.   Plumtastic only gets around 16″ high and wide.   Outside of being small, it has flushes of pink-cerise blooms that flower continuosly from summer into fall.  The foliage opens to a rich purple and ages to green.  It likes full sun.  Like most spireas it is very easy to grow.  Butterflies and bees love it.  Google this plant and you will see some gorgeous pictures.  We predict this plant to be a hot seller.

Becoming a Monarch

I wanted to see a caterpillar turn into a Monarch and discovered how easy it was. First, into my new garden I planted some bright annuals to attract Monarchs and some Swamp Milkweed (red milkweed) for the Monarchs to lay their eggs on. I also planted some butterfly weed to feed the future Monarch butterflies. About a month later I discovered several Monarch caterpillars on the milkweed. I ordered a net cage from Amazon and put a caterpillar inside the cage with leaves from the milkweed plant. The caterpillar ate voraciously for the first couple days, then stopped eating. The next thing that happened was that he was hanging from the top of the net cage and then formed a “J” shape.  A few hours later when I looked he was in the halfway point of spinning himself into a cocoon. On the 11th day when I checked, he had just emerged from the pupa into a butterfly but since he was still wet, I kept him in the cage for another hour and then released the Monarch.  Stop at Trees Today Nursery as we have many, many varieties of butterfly plants in stock in spring of the year.

 

 

Sharing Photo of Lantana Tree

We just wanted to share a picture of this gorgeous lantana tree taken by a customer last summer. The tree was purchased from us in spring of 2021. They are always in bloom, attracting butterflies and hummingbirds. Each year we get a few of these trees in. They are a tropical tree but customers have had luck in carrying them over thru winter. Just google “Lantana trees” for some information if you are interested in trying to carry one over thru winter. Place them on your deck or patio and you will find hummingbirds visiting them within a couple feet of you. We have just a couple of these trees left in stock.

Lantana Tree
Photo by Trees Today Nursery

The Place to Shop

This week (June 1st) we unloaded two semi’s full of perennials, shrubs, roses, and etc.   So if you are looking to update your yard or replace those tired, old looking shrubs, stop in and shop at Trees Today Nursery.   The products we just received are high quality and beautiful. We must have over 200 coneflowers in stock.  Our Blue Marvel Salvias are an intense blue and blooming along with the yellow tickseed. What a striking combination the blue and yellow will make. The peach drift/carpet roses that arrived are to die-for.  We carry so much more then the normal run-of-the mill plants.  Our variety of shrubs and perennials is huge.

Crabapples Abloom

Now is the time of year when the crabapple trees are taking center stage. This year is a beautiful year for them as most of them are truly full of blossoms. Purchasing a crab apple tree now means you get to choose the color of blossoms as you will see most of them blooming at our garden center. There are many various shades of white to a dark pink, possibly close to red.  Following are a few of our crabapple trees blooming.

 

Emerald Spire Crabapple
Photo by Trees Today Nursery

Royal Raindrops Crabapple
Photo by Trees Today Nursery

 

Showtime Crabapple
Photo by Trees Today Nursery

Prairifire Crabapple
Photo by Trees Today Nursery

 

Crabapple in bloom in beautiful landscaped yard

 

WOW! and just in time for Mother’s Day

We have some amazing plants that just arrived on Monday, May 4.  Many are blooming.  At the end of this article are actual images of these plants, in stock, and at our nursery.  Stop in!  Also, we will be getting more hanging baskets and annuals before the weekend.

 

Pink Double Knock Out Rose
Photo by Trees Today Nursery

 

Pink Supreme Carpet Roses
Photo by Trees Today Nursery

 

Grace n’Grit Roses
Photo by Trees Today Nursery

 

Sea of Hydrangeas
Photo by Trees Today Nursery

 

Summer Crush Hydrangea
Photo by Trees Today Nursery

 

Cezanne Clematis
Photo by Trees Today Nursery

 

Rebecca Clematis
Photo by Trees Today Nursery

 

Row of Clematis
Photo by Trees Today Nursery

 

Golden Sphere Tickseed
Photo by Trees Today Nursery

 

Close up of a Brown Eyed Girl Sunbelievable
Photo by Trees Today Nursery

 

Row of Brown Eyed Girl Sunbelievables
Photo by Trees Today Nursery

 

Lilac Tree
Photo. by Trees Today Nursery

 

Miss Kim Lilac
Photo by Trees Today Nursery

 

Dwarf Korean Lilac shrub
Photo by Trees Today Nursery

 

Spruce Tree
Photo by Trees Today Nursery

 

Arborvitaes
Photo by Trees Today Nursery

 

Bush Clematis
Photo by Trees Today Nursery

 

Ada with a Mandevilla
Photo by Trees Today Nursery

 

Branch of a White Fir
Photo by Trees Today Nursery

 

Showtime Crabapple
Photo by Trees Today Nursery

 

Redbud Tree
Photo by Trees Today Nursery

 

Blossom of a Centennial Blush Magnolia
Photo by Trees Today Nursery

 

Bud of a Horse Chestnut tree
Photo by Trees Today Nursery