Bird and Wildlife Festival
 

 

Why We Are Not Normal

We are not the "normal" garden center or Nursery and we know it.  We are good with that!
This time of the year other places are stocked up with "Garden Mum" and Burning Bush. We are not and here is why:
Mums – Why We Don’t Grow Them
Hardiness issues. Plain and simple. The fall iconic mums you see stuffed in porch flower pots just aren’t hardy enough for our winters.  Excessive hybridization of the mum has created an astounding variety of color choices and flower styles, but with these unique variations comes less cold tolerance.  In this case, beauty is not without a price, and the flashy, Crayola box mums can suffer significant root loss over the winter-- unlike their hardy ancestors.  Since all of the perennials we grow and sell are hardy to this zone; we do not carry mums that will not reliably make it over winter. 
 
Pest issues.  Again, because mums have become so aggressively hybridized and bred, they have lost most of their natural pest tolerance.  Growing healthy mums involves a lot of pest control, and because we try to use as little pesticides as necessary, we do not want to grow a plant we would have to repetitively spray.  We practice IPM at Behmerwald Nursery, and growing plants with known pest issues contradicts our more natural approach to pest control. (For more information about Integrated Pest Management, click here)
 
Maintenance issues.  Those mums you are admiring that look like little orange footballs didn't’t get that way on their own.  Every week throughout their growing season, mums need to be pinched and fertilized.  For a grower who sprays, fertilizes, and prunes in a large scale operation, that might not seem like too terrible of an ordeal.  But, that is not what we do.  We tend to our plants individually and with the utmost care. Many of the plants that we grow are maintenance free; at the most our plant choices are “light maintenance”.  Pinching and fertilizing a plant every week is more than “light maintenance." There is way more to do around the nursery--weeding, potting, and of course, helping our customers!
 
All in all, growing mums doesn't fit our agenda.  We strive to grow hassle free, hardy plants that have little or no known pest issues.  We are very conscious of our environmental impact, and the less a plant needs to be treated with a pesticide or chemical, the better. Some of the plants we do love for fall interest are: Asters, Anemones, Montauk Daisies and some hardy ornamental grasses.

Burning Bush- Should be burned!
Burning bushes have terrific fall color, but they are considered invasive. An invasive plant is one that is spreading into areas where it was not "native" (indigenous) and then chokes out native plants and disrupts the native ecosystem. Some might say, "It's still a plant, so it must be good." However, that's not really true. Native plants do far more for our environment than non- natives by supporting many more insects and in turn, birds and mammals. 
We have many other options for fall color that will not spread like the Burning Bush. A few of the many options are: Itea virginica, Viburnum nudum, Cotinus oblivatus, Fothergilla, Lindera glauca, and Hydrangeas

In The Garden Weeding
Now is the time to pull your annual weeds before the seeds ripen and fall to the ground where they will plague you next year. We have seen an enormous amount of Japanese Stilt Grass this year and if it drops its seeds there will be even more next year. Weed control is an essential part of keeping landscapes healthy and aesthetically pleasing. No one wants to be pulling weeds by hand all summer or spraying harmful chemicals around their home. Prevention is the first step of any weed control program.
Make sure all “good” plants are healthy as they will typically out-compete weeds.That brings us to your next chore:
Fertilizing
It's a little too early right now to fertilize but now is the time to pick up your supplies and be prepared to fertilize after we have a frost or two. Perennials, shrubs, and trees all benefit from a late fall application of organic slow release fertilizer. We recommend "slow release" fertilizers because they provide a gradual flow of nutrients to the plant over time. Please keep in mind anything planted this year should NOT be fertilized, until next year. If you noticed any plants that had poor or stunted growth, yellow or pale looking leaves, or a lack of flowering and fruiting, fertilization is definitely suggested. And even if you didn't notice any of these signs, we still suggest fertilizing all of your established plants. You can find a full array of the Espoma brand fertilizers here at the nursery in different sizes. These include Flower-tone (for perennials), Holly-tone (for acid loving plants), Plant-tone (for general feeding), and Tree-tone (for flowering and shade trees). For more information, check out our Fertilizing info sheet HERE.

Pruning
Not now! I know it's tempting to take the clippers to the overgrown plants in your garden but hold off until later. Pruning stimulates growth and that growth will not have enough time to "harden off" before winter, so it will die. Wait until your plants start to become dormant. A good sign that they are going dormant is fall leaf color.

Planting
There is still plenty of time for planting!
 Many people have the misconception that it's too late to plant. That is far from the truth as we're still busy scheduling plantings. In fact, we'll plant up until the ground is frozen! Now that air temperatures are finally cooling down (soil temperatures are still plenty warm) and there has been a lot of decent rainfall, it's a perfect time to plant new trees, shrubs and or perennials in your garden! During this time of year, and with these conditions, plants can focus most of their energy on root growth.  giving them a head start compared to something planted next Spring. For more information on why Fall is a great time to plant, check out our webpage HERE. And, just in case you need a refresher on proper planting technique, check HERE.

Mulching
Everyone loves the look of a freshly mulched landscape bed, especially in the spring after cleaning up all that Winter has left behind. Please remember that one of the main benefits of mulch is adding a layer of insulation on top of your plants' roots.  This insulation helps keep the roots at a somewhat constant temperature over the Winter and helps prevent exposure to excessively cold temperature that can cause root damage. Mulching any plants installed this year is really important. We all all stocked up on mulch and are ready to deliver when you need it.