Horsford Gardens and Nursery

Rooted in Vermont soil since 1893.

Garden Blog

Viburnum in the Landscape

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Viburnum trilobum ‘Redwing’

Learn about all of the species of viburnum and discover a pillar shrub in Vermont’s landscapes.

Soil and Site Preference

Nearly all viburnum are extremely versatile and can grow in a variety of of soil and site conditions. They can handle wet, heavy soils in sun or shade. The only exception is Koreanspice (Viburnum carlesii) which will not like heavy soil or full shade.

Uses in the Landscape

Viburnum make excellent privacy hedges because they sucker and become dense stands even in the winter. Our Garden Center hedge is a good display of this. The variety of viburnum planted here thoroughly block the view of the drive through the nursery year-round. Viburnum are wonderful for hedgerows and naturalizing woods edges as well.

If you would love a viburnum but don’t have as much space, there are excellent compact cultivars such as ‘Bailey’s Compact’ and ‘Blue Muffin’ that are behaved.

Viburnum are celebrated for their wildlife value to birds and pollinators too with their plentiful flowers and rich berries.

Flowers and Fall Color

Their flowers can be grouped into a few categories. All viburnum are excellent for fall color, and their foliage can range from purple, maroon and red.

Flat-topped Cymes
Native species usually have this type of flower. They don’t smell nice to humans, but pollinators love them. They are still very showy in the landscape.

 

 

Chrumps / CC BY-SA 4.0

Globular
Very sweet-smelling and wonderfully fragrant, these are found on Koreanspice (Viburnum carlesii)

 

 

Lacecap
Found on Doublefile (Viburnum p.t.) – very ornate and partially sterile flowers

 

 

Are Viburnum Native?

Native to our area

  1. Viburnum dentatum – Arrowwood
  2. Viburnum prunifolium – Blackhaw
  3. Viburnum lentago – Nannyberry
  4. Viburnum trilobum – American Cranberrybush

The types you may see blooming along Vermont’s fields, windbreaks, and hedgerows are Viburnum dentatum and Viburnum lentago. Viburnum trilobum also grows in the wild, but a little less frequently.

Not considered native to our area

  1. Viburnum p.t. – Doublefile
  2. Viburnum opulus – Snowball
  3. Viburnum carlesii – Koreanspice
  4. Viburnum lantana – Wayfaring tree
Viburnum dentatum ‘Blue Muffin’

Ornamental Berries

Many customers plant viburnum for their showy flowers and berries that range from blue and black, to red. Viburnum dentatum, Viburnum lentago, and Viburnum prunifolium all have blue-black berries. Viburnum trilobum and others have bright red berries.

If berries are one of your top priorities in planting and you’re planting cultivars, be sure to select two different cultivars to ensure pollination. Cultivars are clones and are not genetically different. If you’re using straight species, it doesn’t matter since they are grown from seed. Straight species can pollinate any cultivars.

Viburnum Leaf Beetle

The Viburnum Leaf Beetle (VLB) is an introducted pest that devastated many viburnum about 10 years ago when it first appeared in this area. Adult beetles and larva can defoliate a plant. This pest has been more mellow in recent years, with occasional reports of them. Viburnum dentatum and Viburnum trilobum are more susceptible than other species.

Pruning and Maintenance

With the exception of compact cultivars, viburnum aren’t dainty, small garden plants intended to be pruned regularly into, say, a formal shaped hedge. They are best left to grow to their liking. Their flowering and berries can be affected by pruning regularly as well. We recommend only pruning as needed for dead or diseased material, as well as rejuvenation pruning on older plants. This is where you remove older, woody growth to encourage new growth.

Viburnum Species

Viburnum dentatum ‘Chicago Lustre’

Viburnum dentatum / Arrowwood
Excellent for wildlife as a pollinator plant, food source for berries, and habitat for birds. Indigenous people used the strong shoots that develop from the roots for arrows.

 

 

Photo by David J. Stang / CC BY-SA 4.0

Viburnum prunifolium / Blackhaw
This species is newer to us. We love it for its lateral branching and rounded shape. Very architecturally interesting.

 

 

Viburnum lentago – behind bench in Garden Center hedge

Viburnum lentago / Nannyberry
Upright and vase-shaped. More narrow growth when young and vases over when mature. Slight preference for wetter soils.

 

 

Viburnum trilobum

Viburnum trilobum / American Cranberrybush
Reliable and often planted for wildlife. Flowers are excellent for nectar and bright red showy berries for food.

 

 

Viburnum p.t. ‘Shasta’

Viburnum p.t. / Doublefile
Very architectural and horizontal branching with attractive flowers that bloom along the branches. They are relatively adaptable and we have been impressed with how they grow in our fields. Foliage turns a consistent deep maroon in fall.

 

 

Viburnum carlesii

Viburnum carlesii & Viburnum x Juddii / Koreanspice
These are the most fragrant of all. Their sweet fragrance is similar to daphne and this is often the reason they are planted. They flower slightly earlier than native species. Unlike other viburnum that are adaptable to challenging conditions, Koreanspice generally needs well-drained soils and will not thrive in heavy clay.

Viburnum x Juddii is a hybrid between Viburnum carlesii and Viburnum bitchiuense bred to be a fuller plant. Its habit is full and rounded, and a bit more dense with similar flowers. Viburnum carlesii can be wandering with more foliage on the top.

 

 

Viburnum lantana

Viburnum lantana / Wayfaring Tree
We’ve noticed this species is more resistant to pests and disease. It has very showy red berries when mature and its fuzzy leaves are more resistant to deer.

Features for the Garden

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For all the homeowners who complain about low wet areas in their yards, here is a shrub that will flourish along with willows. Cephalanthus occidentalis grows between 3-6 feet tall with a roundish shape. Creamy white flowers appear in late June and persist for a long period of time. Ideal for a naturalized setting, plant it along with elderberry, ilex, and willows. Buttonbush will also thrive in wet clay soils. You will find it growing along rivers and stream beds throughout Vermont.

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Sale excludes ‘Mini Mauvette’

These are the summer-blooming hydrangeas. The most well-known, and for years the only one available, is the variety ‘Annabelle’. It was discovered growing wild in Anna, Illinois in 1910. Its large snowball-like blooms really stood out, as they still do today. A hedge of these makes quite a summer show as their blooms spill and billow with abandon.

Recently, plant propagators have been on a quest to make something perfect even better and have hybridized pink-blooming varieties. These would be ‘Incrediball’, Invincibelle II’ and ‘Incrediball Blush’. All of these have airy, blush-pink flowers with a hint of white.

A note on growing, these all bloom on new wood. This means all the stems must be cut back either in late autumn or early spring or you will barely get a flower. This feature is what makes them so attractive in our growing zone since they may experience some winter dieback any way. Water well the first year upon installation. As years pass by they will become quite drought tolerant. All of these varieties prefer to grow in shade to part sun.

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We planted this native viburnum in our shrub row at the nursery in the early 1980s. While other shrubs have been culled, replaced or died out, this bush is still beautiful. Shiny green leaves, white flowers, and dark blue berries give it year-round interest.

It also has a dense, ground-up growing habit which is good if you hope to block a view as we were. Ours is planted in decent soil and is lightly fertilized every few years if we remember to do so. It never requires watering and we have chosen to allow it to grow naturally. By now it is probably 12-15 feet tall and many a bird has nested in it.

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Winterberry is one of our most favorite shrubs. We grow several varieties of both male and female plants in containers and field-grown, balled and burlapped sizes. The females have berries but you need to have a male planted somewhere on the property for pollination. Since the males ‘Jim Dandy’ and ‘Southern Gentleman’ do not get very big you can tuck them in amongst the females and they will all grow together.

Last fall we planted one of each of the varieties that we grow in a low wet area along our drive from Route 7. They are quite happy; growing nicely and flowering prolifically this spring. If you keep bees, Ilex flowers are addicting to honey bees. This fall and winter we anticipate an abundance of berries in shades of red. Winterberry prefers moist soils. At the nursery we have noticed that they will grow in full hot sun or a mix of sun and dappled shade.

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Aronia or ‘Chokeberry’ is another native plant that we think homeowners would love. It is non-invasive, tolerant of moist soils, and has a beautiful flower. It produces heavy crops of antioxidant-rich fruit in the summer and the leaves turn brilliant scarlet in autumn. Chokeberry is the new “hot” fruit in health-conscious circles. It is quite sour so you may want to have some local honey on hand to mix with it.

Many of the Aronia varieties have a spreading habit and are thus used in bank stabilization situations. You can install a beautiful naturalized planting with these, buttonbush, and winterberry. Do so and soon your yard will be full of berries and birds.

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People are more familiar with the red and yellow-stem dogwoods as their branches are very showy during the winter. The Grey-stem dogwood is a native that historically was planted at the edges of open fields as a wind and snow fence. There are a few fields in town where all the grey-stem dogwoods that bordered the road were cut down. Now those roads are a snowdrift nightmare in winter.

Grey-stem dogwood are fast-growing even in the most difficult of soil conditions. They are pest-free, have white flowers followed by very attractive white berries, and attractive purplish-red foliage in autumn. Mass planted for a quick-growing living fence, you will see that they are tough as nails. Like all dogwoods they can easily be pruned should they get taller than you want.

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This native shrub has a range from Nova Scotia to Minnesota, and Florida to Louisiana. Its natural habitat is swamps, marshes, and wet roadside ditches. At home you would use it wherever you would plant a willow shrub or an Ilex.

Swamp Rose will grow in full sun or part shade and attain a height and spread between 3-6 feet. Its arching branches are covered in very fragrant pink blossoms for 6-8 weeks in June and July. Seeds are propagated by birds eating the rose hips and dropping the seeds. What an attractive addition to the yard!

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Rosa virginiana is another lovely North American native rose with fragrant pink flowers in June. This shrub can be found growing in full sun in well-drained sandy soil. Its dark green, glossy foliage is a beautiful backdrop for the blooms as well as the dark red rose hips that persist into winter (bird food). Very prickly branches act as a natural barrier. If it ever gets too big for your liking simply cut it to the ground and it will regrow with perfect form. Since it is salt tolerant it could be used along a street that routinely gets winter salt sprayed.

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We grow a few types of perennial Asclepias that go by different names. Butterfly Weed is an easy-to-grow perennial provided you give it basic garden soil in a sunny, well-drained site. The bright orange and yellow flowers really shine on hot sunny days. The few in our display gardens always have butterflies fluttering around them. Each year the clump gets a little bigger but it always stays tidy.

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In recent years many varieties of bee balm have cropped up on the plant market and this one is a favorite due to its short stature and compact growing habit. If you have limited space in your full-sun garden but really want to attract hummingbirds, this is the plant to grow. We suggest you cut out a few stalks on the plants once they achieve their height for the season to allow air to circulate. This will help during hot muggy summers.

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This native Joe Pye Weed was discovered growing in a clump of the species in Pennsylvania. Its stiffer branches and upright, compact growth habit distinguishes it from other species. Butterflies are attracted to its domes of magenta flowers in late summer. Plant in moist soils in wild/naturalized settings or rain gardens.

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This native soft-stemmed, shrubby perennial is the perfect solution for gardeners who want a shrub that dies to the ground in winter. The purple stems produce clusters of pale white flowers in July through August, followed by a spectacular display of fruit. This is our go-to plant when we need some heft in the shade garden. Aralia will grow 4-6 feet tall and prefers moist soils.

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Carex pensylvanica is a native sedge happy to grow in dry shade. It will grow in sun also as long as the soil is moist. The golden arching foliage makes a graceful mound in the garden. Use it at the front of a border where it will contrast nicely with dark green foliage.

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Bouteloua gracilis has fine-textured tufted grass with gray-green leaves and masses of delicate flowers with a hint of blue to them. It is the shorter growing of the two. ‘Blonde Ambition’ has taller, more upright stems and flowers that wave delicately in the breeze. We suggest using either in an open wildflower setting. Plant with Echinacea, Coreopsis, or Salvia. Both varieties require a sunny, well-drained situation.

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Packera obovata will easily naturalize in moist soils. Bright yellow daisy flowers welcome spring followed by lush oval foliage. Over time this will form a lovely groundcover in the shade.

Autumn Arrangements

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Tulips, lilacs, forsythia, and crabapples inspire the enthusiastic gardener to become an enthusiastic flower arranger. We then follow the summer blossoms for months on end with bunches of delphinium, daisy, lilium, cosmos and more. Come October, though, we tend to look to pumpkins, gourds, mums, bittersweet and hydrangeas for decoration. I love the oranges, burgundy, and rust of autumn. I wanted to extend my resources for autumn arrangements so I took a walk around the gardens and this is what I came up with.

Pure white blossoms of Anemone x hybrida ‘Honorine Jobert’ begin blooming in mid-September and continue into November. Here they are paired with the wine-red foliage of Penstemon digitalis ‘Husker’s Red’ and the seed pods of a bush clematis. All three plants have seed pods intact which adds texture. Seed heads from a vining clematis would also work and the twining nature would add some movement and interest.

 

I stumbled upon the material for this arrangement quite by accident. Along our fence, we have an Enkianthius campanulatus ‘Red Bells’ growing amongst spirea and Rose of Sharon. I never really noticed its brilliant leaf color or its delicate seed pods. After clipping a few branches I wandered to the annual display garden and saw the Cuphea ‘Vermillionaire’ in full bloom. The flowers were a perfect compliment to the Enkianthius leaves. A few sprigs of lavender add contrast.

 

 

Dahlias are the most anticipated blooms here at the nursery. We plant a long row of them in mid-May and wait and wait and wait until late August when the buds finally start to open. We choose varieties with the shortest planting to blossoming timespan and good, long stems for cutting. Here they are paired with branches from a Red Maple (Acer rubrum). This arrangement has lasted for 2 weeks. Something to know: cutting a dahlia stem halts its growth. Tightly budded flowers will not open any further as other flowers do.

 

 

Gladiolus have become a favorite of mine. I especially like to use them as short stems either alone in a bud vase or paired with one other type of flower or stem. Here I chose chocolate cosmos. The flowers are smaller than traditional cosmos and they sprawl rather than grow upright. Plus they have a faint hint of chocolate!

 

 

Classic with a twist. Hydrangeas are one of our go-to’s for fall arrangements. They come in varying shades of pink, white and bronze. We have a stunning Hydrangea paniculata ‘Vanilla Strawberry’ shrub growing on the side of our old carriage barn. Next to it is a Seven Son Flower (Heptacodium miconioides) which is a small, multi-branching tree. It has white blossoms in September followed by pinkish-red calyx. Their sort of floppy habit softens the stiffness of the hydrangea stems.

 

 

Here the Seven Son Flower branches are paired with a hardy chrysanthemum called ‘Vergennes Pink’ and yellow Profusion Zinnia which, because we faithfully deadheaded all summer, are still going strong. Simple, easy and understated.

 

 

This was the quickest arrangement done in my favorite McCoy vase. The green is a perfect foil for the brilliant yellow of the Sugar Maple leaves, bittersweet berries and Red Maple. I found many saplings in our woods and “trimmed” a couple of them. The bittersweet berries will last longer than the leaves.

 

 

This arrangement required some inventive scavenging. The deep blue flower is Aconitum ‘Barker’s Variety’ which does not begin blooming until late September to early October and continues into November. White Anemone ‘Honorine Jobert’ is a good contrast. The pincushion-like seed pods come from a Heliopsis ‘Summer Sun’ perennial that grows with great relish along the greenhouse. (We leave the stems standing all winter to feed the birds).

By October the leaves of Solomon Seal (Polygonatum multiflorum) have begun to turn a gentle shade of golden yellow. While I like their arching nature, they can be hard to corral. Using a tall, wide-mouth vase makes it easier to work with them. Please be aware that the sap from the Aconitum plant is poisonous. Wear gloves when handling cut branches and try not to touch the cut edge.

 

 

Finding tall, long-stemmed marigolds use to be quite difficult but with the surge in grow-your-own cut flowers, they are more readily available. We like ‘Golden Guardian, ‘Red Guardian’ and ‘Burning Embers’. The first two are a mass of flowers all summer until frost. ‘Red Embers’ is later to bloom and has more foliage. I think it works well in a vase because the green ferny foliage brightens the yellows, reds, and oranges of the marigolds without needing to add extra foliage. The cobalt blue vase is a good contrast.

 

 

This little tiny arrangement is my favorite. The Adams Ware pitcher is only about 3 or 4 inches tall. Into it, I placed some branches of Euomymous vegetus (Big leaf Wintercreeper) Those are the orange and pale pink berries. The pale pink in the berry picks up the pink in the painting on the vase. The flower is that same Cuphea that was used in another arrangement. The Cuphea flower and the inside of the berry are the same shade of orange. This arrangement is still beautiful a full 2 weeks later.

 

 

These arrangements are a sort of collection of all the flowers we were considering using. For the one on the left, the tall stems in the back are the flower from Heuchera v. ‘Autumn Bride’ which is a great plant. It is seriously drought tolerant, cold hardy, shade-loving, and late-blooming. In front of it are the leaves of a baptisia plant. They are a nice olive green and are very sturdy in an arrangement. Filling in is hot pink Cockscomb, another of our hardy chrysanthemums, a dahlia, some bittersweet berries, and one branch of Penstemon digitalis ‘Husker’s Red’. On the right is a simple blue bottle with baptisia leaves, the apricot-colored Dahlia and a sprig of Fuchsia ‘Gartenmeister’. In this little arrangement, the flowers are a similar shade but the shape is very different. Even the underside of the Fuchsia leaf has a splash of pinky-orange. I was surprised to discover that the ‘Gartenmeister flower has a very long vase life.

 

 

Years ago we cleared out some invasive honeysuckle to make room for our evergreen display area. Much to our surprise and delight, we unearthed a tree we had never seen before. Its common name is Devil’s Walking Stick due to its massive and very sharp thorns that run up the entire trunk. Toward the end of August it puts forth a huge spray of white flowers towards the top of each branch. These are followed by dark purple berries and pink calyx. While it was a challenge to cut it was worth the effort. (I recommend leather gloves). In this arrangement, it is cascading over the edge of an unusual antique watering can. Standing up behind it are Sugar Maple branches and Chrysanthemum ‘ Vergennes Pink’. This is has made an attractive addition to our front steps.

 

 

Last but not least, the ultimate Fall forage arrangement. Branches of crabapple, apple, ilex, hydrangea, bittersweet, coralberry, peony, grapes, ‘Dark American’ Arborvitae, and Aronia with cones, grasses and a bird’s nest (flung to the ground after a wild wind storm). I balled up some chicken wire and shoved it into an old sap bucket. Then I randomly pushed the branches into the bucket using the chicken wire to hold them in place and keep them upright. Ideally, the sap bucket would have holes in the bottom so water will not collect and become rank. The pumpkins tie it all together.

 

 

There are still more resources you could make use of in your Autumn garden. I have found parsley, mint, sage, and rue to be very useful fillers.  For foliage, the vast array of heuchera foliage is fun to play around with. Calendulas, snapdragons, and osteospermum put out lots of new flowers once the weather cools down. There are many more shrubs that have spectacular fall color including blueberries and viburnums. Foliage that has turned color may not last very long as a cut branch in a vase in a warm house since they are technically shut down for the season and are getting ready to drop. So if you are going to use the arrangement indoors for a specific event, keep them out of sunlight and if possible out of doors until the day you want to display them. Berries, when put in a vase filled with water, tend to last for a very long time without drying out.

So get out into your Autumn garden and think beyond the usual.

Growing Garlic in Vermont

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Garlic 101

Garlic is an excellent and fulfilling crop to grow in Vermont. Since you can replant from future crops, starting with quality seed garlic makes all the difference. Each garlic clove in a bulb is planted individually, which then grows into a full bulb of garlic. Cloves are planted in October or November before the ground freezes. Green shoots emerge in early spring and the plant is harvested mid-summer, around July or August.

There are dozens of types of garlic, but the plant can be classified into two categories of hard-neck and soft-neck varieties. Soft-neck types are usually available at the grocery store because of their long storage qualities. Unlike soft-neck types, hard-neck varieties produce scapes, or curlicue flower stalks, in early summer that are edible. Home gardeners in Vermont can grow both types.

Plant this Fall

Plant garlic now – a few weeks before the ground freezes solid. Cloves will establish roots while minimizing top growth prior to winter. Break bulbs apart into individual cloves. Don’t peel the cloves.

Plant each clove root end down, 2″ deep. Space cloves 6″ apart with 9″ between rows. You can water them in once.

Garlic will tolerate many soil types, but it’s important to plant in full sun in a well-drained space. Mixing organic material in the soil is helpful like compost. One member of our team uses what’s at hand – seaweed from the lake! Cover the planting with straw, leaves or grass clippings. This will insulate the cloves if heaving occurs during the winter.

Spring Care

Green shoots will emerge in early spring, usually when tulips and daffodils start appearing. Remove the mulch and water as needed. Keep the area well-weeded and apply an organic fertilizer in spring. Around June hard-neck varieties will send up their flower stalks, also called scapes. Harvest the curling scapes to enjoy roasted or in pesto. If you don’t eat them, it’s recommended to cut them so the plant’s energy is directed toward bulb growth, versus going to seed.

Mid-Summer Harvest and Curing

Garlic can be harvested when lower leaves start to dry up and some top leaves remain green. Loosen the soil with a pitchfork, taking care not to puncture the bulbs. Gently pull the garlic up. Do a happy dance. You can brush some soil off but don’t wash the garlic.

Wait to cut the tops and roots off as well. Hang in bundles to cure so bulb wrappers can form. A dry, well-ventilated area out of direct sun is ideal. A barn or open garden shed is great, a sunny greenhouse is not. Depending on the variety, curing can take 3-4 weeks.

Storing & Enjoying

Once bulbs are cured, they are ready for storage. Cut the tops and roots off. You can peel one layer or so off so they’re clean. A toothbrush is helpful to get dirt off too. Don’t wash bulbs with water.

Store in netted bags or ventilated crates. Ideal storage is 55-65 degrees and 45-60% humidity. Avoid refrigerating. We recommend enjoying garlic that has a shorter storage life sooner. Purple stripes store 4-6 months, Porcelain store 6 months. Artichoke and other soft-neck types store up to a year.

2020 Vermont-Grown Varieties – SOLD OUT

Young Fruit Tree Care

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Fruit trees can be a particularly rewarding part of the landscape. With a little extra effort, you can maximize the health of your trees and the fruit grown at home. Here are some tips from our growers as we think about the coming season.

Water and Weed
They seem like no brainers but we all need a reminder. Water young fruit trees well through this coming season. Everyone’s watering recommendations are different since our soils and sites are different. Check the soil with your fingers to see how moist it is. Think about soil moisture deeper down at the roots. We like gator bags or watering tubs that slowly drip for deep watering that reaches roos. Depending on the weather, you may need to water around 5 gallons per week.

Keep grass and weeds from the base of the tree but put down the weed whacker! Be sure to do this with care and don’t damage the tree. Some mulch or compost is helpful too.

Pruning Tips
Pruning is helpful for fruit trees mainly for air flow, and fruit spacing and support. We also prune for the “three D’s” – dead, diseased and dumb (crossing branches). Prune no more than about 20% of the tree at a time. A bad pruning cut won’t hurt your tree. Prune to buds on the outside of the branch. If you prune to buds on the inside, the branch will tend to grow inwards and later cross.

Peaches – Prune in early spring while they are dormant. Peaches flower and fruit heavily and branches often break.  You want to reduce the canopy so the tree isn’t overloaded. Take out crossing, close and repetitive branches.

Apples – Prune in early spring to allow lateral branches that can support fruit. We like to aim for three branches spaced equally around the trunk. Move up, providing space and allowing for another whirl of branches.

If you prune diseased branches, sterilize your pruners between each cut and dispose of material (don’t compost).

Common Diseases and Pests
Fruit trees are not immune to plant diseases and pests. There are quite a few that can find their way to fruit trees, but the most common ones are are asked about include:

Photos courtesy of Wikipedia

Cedar apple rust -caused by a fungus that requires both cedar trees and apple trees. You first notice circular lesions on apple leaves that turn into brown threads or tubes with spores. Likewise, on cedars, brown calls form on twigs that produce funky, bright orange “horns” in wet spring weather.

Peach leaf curl – this disease caused by a fungus is specifically found on peach and nectarine trees and is common in our area. It causes a characteristic curl on leaves. If you are going to try to prevent this disease, you should do so in fall or early spring as buds are popping.

Both of these diseases won’t kill a tree immediately, but they can lead to defoliation which can reduce fruit productivity and overall growth over time. To prevent them, rake up and burn all leaf debris in the fall. There are also preventative, organic, fungicides that can deter them. With any home treatment method you use, always read labels and time application properly.

Borers – the Prunus family (plum, cherry, peach) can be subject to wood-boring insects. These are flying insects that lay eggs at the base of the tree. Larvae bore into the trunk and branches, causing damage to the tree. You can tell your tree has borers if you notice weeping sap mixed with frass (the bug’s poop) that looks like goopy saw dust. We recommend keeping the tree healthy and well-watered so it’s less vulnearable. Keep an eye on trees in early spring, especially at the tree base. Hand-remove or poke boring larva with something sharp (like a wire), taking care not to damage the tree.

Thinning Fruit
Would you rather have 12 small peaches that didn’t ripen fully, or 8 full, juicy peaches? Would you rather have a branch break from being overloaded, or sustain itself for seasons to come?

It’s helpful to thin fruit so that the fruits you harvest are large and well-developed. How much to thin depends on the species and the overall fruit load on the branch. Orchards recommend small stone fruits like apricots and plums be thinned to every 2 to 4″ apart on the branch. Peaches can be closer to 3 to 5″.

Apples are different from stone fruit in that they produce a cluster of flowers and fruit from each bud. Thin to no more than on to two fruit per cluster.

Remember, fruit trees can be biennial, where they have larger masts of fruit one year, and much less the next.

Protecting from Critters
You’ve waited all winter, spring and summer. The whole cherry tree is finally loaded with fruit. You’ve been eyeing it for weeks, waiting for the perfect timing to pick. You’re not alone. The birds and chipmunks can’t wait either and they’ve been patiently waiting too. We try to use netting as minimally as possible, but it can help protect fruit from critters.

Some people build a frame for the net, and others drape the net and tie it at the trunk. Be sure to net after the tree flowers so pollinators can still visit. Net while fruit is green and remove the net after harvesting. Eventually, it’s hard to net large, mature trees so you may have to share some homegrown fruit with the critters.

As for tree protection during the winter, we always recommend tree collars. They prevent rodents from chewing bark and causing girdling.

Fertilizing
Fruit trees really don’t need a lot of fertilizer, especially in the first and second year. It’s more important for the tree to be well-watered. Fertilizers may encourage more top growth an branch production versus fruit.

Browse fruit trees and shrubs for sale

Garden Planning with the Family

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The days are becoming longer and we are daydreaming about gardening more and more. Now’s a fun time to plan your gardens and landscape with the family. Having a voice helps make everyone feel a part of the project and responsible for its health. Bring the family together, sit around the kitchen table, and brainstorm everyone’s ideas of beautiful plants, fabulous flowers, delicious edibles, and other priorities. A rough map of your garden space is a great surface to gather around. Consider placing post-it notes with everyone’s ideas to narrow down.

ORNAMENTALS – Perhaps flowers are a must for your family. Picking your own bouquets throughout the season will provide years of enjoyment. Plant low-maintenance perennials like peonies, echinacea, and Black-eyed Susan that bloom across seasons to extend color.

Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia) is a wonderful low-maintenance perennial that returns year after year
Colorful and fragrant peonies

Early-blooming trees like crabapples and serviceberry add color to the landscape and fruit for birds. Maples and oaks are lovely for their fall foliage and shade. Flowering shrubs like clethra, winterberry, and hydrangea can add privacy, blooms and wildlife value all in one.

Wildlife love winterberry
Red oak is a quick-growing, versatile tree

Be sure to remember bulbs in fall! If you missed planting them last season, don’t worry, we’ll have some potted up this spring. Some can go right in the yard, others in shrub and perennial beds. Plant dozens and don’t forget allium! Their balloon-like spikes bloom in purple, blue and white globes in spring. For very little work and money, your spring will come early and beautiful when you plant bulbs.

Allium is a cheerful harbinger of spring

EDIBLES – If growing food, think about if your family prefers to grow the staples you use a lot of, or if you want to learn how a variety of plants grow. Also remember you can have two gardens in one season. A second planting of carrots, beets and greens will last well into October and November. If some family members want kale and others want lettuce in a space that only allows one option, consider one in the spring and another in the fall. Here are a few of our favorite edibles to grow, especially with children:

Peas – An easy-to-plant, early season veggie that gets kids pumped for gardening. Witness a flower turn into a pea pod, plus sweet shelling peas are a discovery to open and tasty to eat. Be sure to wait for the soil to warm up a tad before planting, to at least 50-60 degrees.

Potatoes – They’re fun to plant and are like buried treasure to harvest. Worried about space? Potatoes can easily be grown in deep containers or raised beds.

Herbs like thyme and lemon balm are delightful for adults and children alike

Herbs – Not only are these valuable in the kitchen, but they open another sensory world. Introduce kids to fragrant rosemary, basil, chamomile, mint, and more.

Fruits – Berry bushes like honeyberries, blueberries, rapsberries and blackberries are enjoyable for years to come. There are varieties available for small spaces too, even patio planters.

MAINTENANCE – Ultimately the garden is the most fun when it’s low-maintenance and not a burden. Sustainable groundcovers reduce weeds and mulching. Creeping sedums, bearberry, low-growing junipers, even fruiting cranberry (yes like the kind at Thanksgiving) are all things that can be used to protect your soil, add to the landscape, and make time in the garden more enjoyable for all!

Iberis is a spring-blooming, perennial groundcover
Ajuga – another useful groundcover that can reduce weeding