Seasonal Container Gardens

Being right on top of the holiday season, container gardening is perfect for adding color and flare to entry ways, steps, decks, and patios.

If you are looking for a small ornamental tree but have limited patio space, consider planting a gardenia or citrus tree in a large pot. At this time of year, topiaries are quite attractive placed in pots and decorated with lights, at each side of a front or garage door.

Annuals make a great choice for containers and allow you to change things up based on the season. Combinations are endless and at this time of year may include the following: Sweet Alyssum, Impatiens, Petunia, Persian Shield, Snapdragon, Dusty Miller, Lantana and Pentas. Geraniums, Flowering Cabbage, and Calibrachoa are also several of the seasonal options for creating your color bowls.

Keep in mind that plants in containers tend to dry out faster than those in the ground so make sure to provide plenty of water. Go ahead and let the true artist in you emerge as you dazzle your clients with festive living art.

Happy Holidays!

Plant 'em High Never Die; Plant 'em Low Never Grow

Fall planting season is upon us, making this the perfect time for some gentle reminders as to basic planting techniques. Following these simple guidelines will give your landscape a good head start as we near the holiday season.

Customers come to us on a regular basis with samples of shrubbery and trees that have died as a result of being planted too deep. Make sure to leave a minimum of 1/2" of the root ball showing above grade when installing plants and trees. This leaves room for the settling that WILL occur after installation. By planting material at or below grade you are essentially burying the plant, and allowing for potential rot and insect damage.

Secondly, when laying out mulch, most folks tend to put down too much, and quite often put the mulch right up against the trunk. By banking the mulch directly against the bark they have in effect buried the plant, allowing for an over abundance of moisture retention and insect infestation. Approximately 2" of mulch is sufficient and keeping it away from the trunk is the healthier option for your plant material.

Happy Fall everyone!

Hazardous Situation (and I don't mean the oil spill)

Now is the time to hire a certified Arborist to trim the trees in your yard. By eliminating the deadwood and any potentially hazardous branches from your trees you are protecting yourselves, your family, neighbors, and your property from possible harm during the upcoming hurricane season. A certified Arborist will make sure the job is done properly and safely.

Still Kicking

Hey there everybody! Hope all is well with you and yours. Although you may think I have been missing in action I can guarantee I am still here. Life at the nursery has been keeping us hopping. After thawing out from the long, cold, non-typical winter that we had here, the nursery has looked like an ant farm with customers scrambling to replace their client's dead plant material. It never ceases to amaze me how our employees keep up with the pace and are still smiling at the end of the day. We have been blessed with a great staff.

Signing out for now and will be back soon with more gardening tips!

Butterflies and Memories

Dad was a Master Gardener who helped to design and install the butterfly garden at a local school. He put his heart and soul into making that garden a special place for children to learn and enjoy. Ever since his passing, whenever I see a butterfly, I naturally think of my dad.

If you are thinking of planting a butterfly garden, pick a sunny location that is preferably protected from the wind by a fence or wall. Certain shrubbery and small trees also help to provide shelter during inclement weather.

Utilize both host and nectar plants in your garden. The butterflies will lay their eggs on the host plants and the larvae (caterpillars) will quickly devour the foliage for much needed energy. The next stage will be that of the pupa in which the butterfly begins to form. Once the butterfly emerges it will need food provided by the nectar plants. Even fruit such as watermelon or mangoes that you place in the garden will delight these little creatures.

Have you ever seen butterflies standing beside a mud puddle? They are actually drinking the water and taking in amino acids and dissolved salts. By burying a plastic container, i.e. a litter box, at ground level, and filling it with damp sand in or near your butterfly garden you can provide this necessary water source.

Popular host plants can range from butterfly weed to passion vine to hibiscus to roses and many more. Nectar plants include but are not limited to blanket flower, coreopsis, lantana, salvia and plumbago.

The palette of choices is immense. Combined with your creative imagination and design techniques you to can make your own memories or provide a joyful learning experience for children of all ages.

Status on My Container Vegetables

I told you I would keep you posted on my attempt at growing veggies in containers. So far my bell pepper plants are flourishing and we have already been snacking on fresh green pole beans for several days now.
The tomato plants have produced but not as much as I had hoped for. I am now looking for the "Better Boy" variety and will give them a whirl. Just recently I picked up some banana pepper plants and am anxious to get them potted up.
My eggplant bush has been promising with many flowers but no fruit yet. It's possible that it needs more sunlight than it is getting so I am going to move it outside of the orchid house. Wish me luck!

Don't Shake Your Weeds!

Okay everyone, how many of you are guilty of pulling weeds from your garden and then shaking the heck out of them to loosen up the soil around the roots? Well, stop! Just when you think you are ridding your yard of those pesky weeds, by shaking them you are likely flinging weed seed everywhere. Some weed seed can shoot through the air ten feet or more. By shaking the weeds you are simply helping them start up all over again.

Carry a bucket or bag with you when weeding. Carefully grasp the weed at soil level and pull gently out of the ground. Immediately place the weed into the bucket or bag without shaking. Some weeds are extremely tough to pull up completely and will require the help of a knife but be careful! When you are done weeding, carefully empty the contents of the bucket into a bag and dispose of in the garbage.

Wearing gloves when weeding is a good idea as there are some weeds out there that may be irritating to your skin. Now, repeat after me: "I will not shake my weeds".

Cold Again

Here we go again folks. Although we are not expecting such enduring cold temperatures as last month, we are experiencing temps in the 30's and 40's at night and the 50's during the day. Don't forget to irrigate your plant material, and where possible cover and protect your tropicals. Any tender container plants should be brought inside or at least protected. Tonight especially will be a cloudless sky leading to loss of heat.

Cold Damage

I know that many of you have plants, and trees that have suffered cold damage. The best thing for you to do right now is to wait it out. As tempting as it may be, please hold off from trimming, and/or cutting off the dead material.

First of all, we don't know for sure if we have seen the last of the dangerously cold weather. By trimming things back now you may be leaving your plants wide open for further harm in the event of another cold snap.

Secondly, the dead/damaged foliage may help to protect the healthy foliage from further damage. Our advice is to leave things the way they are for as long as you can stand it. In some instances you may not know for sure if certain plants/trees are dead for another couple of weeks yet. Based on what we are hearing from many suppliers in even south Florida, there has been a lot of damage to palm fields and large nursery tracts. It may be a while before some replacement plants and/or palm trees are even available. You are better off, for the time being, to wait it out, and see if your plants spring back to life before cutting them back or ripping them out of the ground.