Garden Blog

How to Divide Peonies

Certain plants have specific seasons in their growing cycle that are best for digging and dividing, or transplanting. Peonies are best dug in the fall after it has gotten cold both day and night. Once the foliage has begun to turn burgundy, you know the plants are ready to be disturbed.

Digging established plants can be a real challenge. We find it easiest to use what we refer to as a digging fork. It gets around the roots while loosening it from the soil. Shovels or spades would also work but it is more work getting the roots free of the soil. Ultimately you want a bare root plant.

Once the plant has been extracted from the ground, do your best to knock off all the soil. You can be rough here. We often stand the fork in the ground and pound the base of the roots on the handle. Some roots may break off, that is not a problem. The goal is to have a clear view of the roots so you can see where to pull them apart. You can cut the foliage off any any time.

The soil is mostly off now and you can see the new buds emerging at the crown of the plant. The crown is the term used for the juncture of roots and stem growth. These buds are often referred to as eyes. Peony roots and the crown are tough and woody as opposed to being soft and fleshy.

Now you have your clump of roots. They seem to be all entangled and connected. Think of this as an unraveling challenge. If you wiggle the whole mess you will feel some of the spaces between roots opening up. Keep working those until you can break some free. Breaking the crown is perfectly OK. Be sure each root section has at least 3 eyes. Those eyes will grow into stems next year.

Once you have enough clumps to work with start planting. The roots may be long and unmanageable. Go ahead and cut them back to about 6 inches in length. Dig a hole in a sunny site that has good drainage. No need to add fertilizer now, do that in the spring. Bury the roots with the eyes 2 inches below the soil surface. Lightly mulch the first year if you want and water them in.

If you need to move your peony only temporarily due to construction or refiguring the landscape, you do not need to bareroot the plant if you don’t want to. Instead just dig the whole plant out and heel it in a spot in your vegetable garden. If it cannot be planted immediately in the spring then you will need to either leave it there until the fall or dig it first thing in the spring and put it in a pot. Do not divide it in the spring.

Why You Should Grow Saffron

by Horsford Team

First off, who doesn’t love a fall-flowering plant? Saffron’s beauty and landscape opportunity should sell itself, but there are far more reasons why saffron should end up in your garden and on your dinner plate.

Culinary Use

Saffron stigmas are the sticky orange-red threads pictured above. They are used globally for culinary cuisines. Saffron contains carotenoids which are powerful antioxidants and nutritionally, saffron is very high in iron, manganese, copper, potassium, calcium, selenium, zinc, and magnesium. It also contains high mineral sources, such as vitamin A, folic acid, riboflavin, niacin, and vitamin-C.

Saffon in Your Garden

Saffron can grow in a variety of conditions but would do best in a garden bed. This crocus variety is a corm and should be grown like any other bulb such as tulips, daffodils, and hyacinths. They are a hot and dry loving plant and growing saffron can be an easy addition for any gardener, and offers not only landscape beauty but a healthy investment with a delicious return.

Zone Hardiness

Saffron is hardy to zone 4, and has potential in some zone 3 areas.

Corm Information

Each year more saffron corms will multiple from the original corm, producing more flowers each year. After 4-5 years of harvesting, the corms should be relocated, or soils should be amended to replenish fertility. Your saffron corms are rated at 10+/centimeter grade, which is considered flower production size.

Soil Conditions

Saffron can tolerate a variety of soil pH (6-8), and prefer a dry, well-drained, full sun location. Saffron seems to enjoy fertilizer so don’t forget to add some compost to your planting to help improve daughter corm and flower development.

Planting Instructions

Plant your saffron corms as soon as you receive them in late summer/early fall. Plant 4-6 inches deep, and 4-6 inches apart. Mulch and plant corms deep enough into the soil to prevent frost exposure. Thoroughly water in your corms, and wait until you see growth above ground before you start watering them regularly. They should be watered during extreme drought or prolonged dry periods. They will flower first, during late October/early November, and remain vegetative through the entire winter. They will keep their foliage until July, when they will dry back and remain dormant until the fall. During dormancy they should not be watered. Natural rain or snow events shouldn’t be a problem.

Harvest Instructions

Saffron stigmas should be collected once the flower reaches full maturity, then dried and cured for the best culinary appeal and health benefits. Drying should take place for several days in a cool, wind-free area, and jarred, and cured over the course of a few weeks.

Warning: Rodents

Because this plant grows when no other plants are growing, it is a very welcoming food source for moles and voles during March and April especially. Please be cautious of rabbits and rodents when siting your plants. If planting in raised beds, install hardware cloth to help ensure your saffron remains yours and not your garden pests’.

Supplies are limited, so if you plan to plant some saffron in your landscape, please pre-order online soon!

-Saffron Production Team aka Steve

Butterfly Gardens: Planting the Big Picture

by E. Schilling

Many homeowners visit the nursery requesting plants that will attract butterflies. What they actually desire are plants with beautiful flowers that butterflies will gravitate to for their abundant nectar. The choices are many and the gardeners at Horsford’s can select a plant suitable for just about any location. But if you want butterflies to return year after year you need to provide more than pretty flowers. A true butterfly garden needs to have both host plants and nectar plants.

The life of a butterfly is very short. It spends most of its time looking for a mate, looking for a host plant on which to lay its eggs, and drinking nectar. The host plant is the food for the butterfly’s larvae. Larvae must hatch on that particular plant because they do not wander looking for food. Some butterflies have a variety of plants that are suitable caterpillar sustenance, while others are limited. Most people focus only on flowering plants for the nectar. A good example would be the popular Buddleia plant (Butterfly Bush). Buddleia is native to central China and Japan. In the late 1800’s plant explorers/collectors introduced it to Europe and then America. Mid summer it is covered with gorgeous flowers to which monarchs flock offering great photo opportunities. However, not a single butterfly will use it as a host plant.

Coneflower and phlox in a Charlotte garden

It will take a little planning and research but anyone can plant a garden that will have butterflies visiting year after year. The easiest way to start is to install plants that serve the dual purpose of host and nectar. All of the milkweeds (Asclepias) are ideal plants. There is the orange and yellow butterfly weed, the common milkweed, and the swamp milkweed. This collection will fill the garden with flowers from June through September and they are host plants for at least a dozen species of butterflies, the most famous being the Monarch.

Asclepias tuberosa / butterfly weed (orange flowering plant) in Horsford’s display gardens

Below is a list of other excellent choices for a Vermont gardener wishing to entice butterflies to their gardens year after year. Keep in mind that you should always choose the original or true native of the species. For instance, the native Coneflower is Echinacea purpurea. When you are choosing a plant for both a host and nectar, butterflies prefer this over the newer hybrids.

– Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia varieties)

– Buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis) – this performs well in wet sites

– Joe Pye Weed (Eupatorium varieties)

– Native Willows (Salix)

– Tulip Trees (Liriodendron tulipifera)

– Black Cherry trees (Prunus) – many people are quick to cut down Black Cherry trees as ‘weed trees’. Think before you pull out that chainsaw, as the black cherry sustains over 400 moths and butterflies species!

– Violets (Viola)

– Oak (Quercus)

– Spicebush (Lindera benzoin)

Further suggested reading: Bringing Nature Home by Douglas Tallamy

All About Hydrangea

by Horsford Team

Up until July, the hydrangea occupy a very large corner of the Garden Center somewhat overlooked. Despite their lush green spring growth, they garner the most attention when their familiar white, pink, purple, blue, and lime green blooms start showing off in the summer.

When it comes to picking out a hydrangea even we admit it can be a little intimidating. Below is more information to guide you this hydrangea season.

Hydrangea paniculata (Panicle hydrangea)

A plethora of varieties to pick from in shades of white, lime green, light pink, deep pink. Flowers start white and fade to one color or another with time. Beautiful fresh or dried in arrangements.

Browse varieties here.

Treeform Hydrangea (Panicle hydrangea – Treeform)

These are Hydrangea paniculata that have been pruned into the shape of a small tree. They have the same panicle-shaped flowers and come in the same varieties as the shrub form.

Browse varieties here.

Hydrangea macrophylla (Big-leaf hydrangea)

These have the quintessential, globular flowers many associate as a hydrangea. Excellent cut flowers.

Browse varieties here.

Hydrangea arborescens (Smooth hydrangea)

These have large leaves with rounded flowers, though they aren’t as globular as the Hydrangea macrophylla. The florets that make up the flower clusters as not as big either. Of all the hydrangeas we carry, this is the only native type. Look for the ‘Invincebelles’ planted along the barn near our cut flower and propagation beds. They have reliably bloomed for many years now.

Browse varieties here.

Hydrangea serrata (Mountain hydrangea)

Their compact habit make them an excellent choice for smaller landscapes. Intriguing, flattened lacecap flowers distinguish them from other hydrangea. We’ve found their bud hardiness is more reliable than Hydrangea macrophylla.

Browse varieties here.

Hydrangea quercifolia (Oakleaf hydrangea)

They really do have lobed leaves and radiant fall foliage that resemble oak. Flowers are large upright panicles.

Browse varieties here.

Hydrangea petiolaris (Climbing hydrangea)

The only hydrangea that climbs! Unique textured flowers, glossy foliage, bark interest during the winter. Look for the specimen growing on the west side of the Garden Center.

Browse varieties here.

Our Top Hydrangea Questions

1.What’s the bluest hydrangea that will grow well in Vermont?

Hydrangea serrata ‘Blue Billow’ is the most blue of the mountain hydrangeas. If you’re looking for the big-leaf blue hydrangeas (like what you see on the Cape), we’ve found Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Bloomstruck’ has the hardiest buds. You will need to amend the soil to be more acidic for true blue flowers.

2. Does Horsford’s carry PeeGee hydrangea?

Yes, we do. PeeGee hydrangea can refer to a few different varieties but usually, it’s a full-flowered, panicle variety. Historically it has been Hydrangea paniculata ‘Grandiflora’. We also recommend Hydrangea paniculata ‘Limelight’ since it’s a nice full flower and more upright than ‘Grandiflora’. Hydrangea paniculata ‘Sweet Summer’ is also a nice choice.

3. What dwarf varieties do you have?

Some of our growers’ favorites include Hydrangea paniculata ‘Bobo’, ‘Little Lime’ and ‘Little Quickfire’.

4. What’s the hardiest hydrangea available?

The Hydrangea arborescens varieties are the hardiest. We recommend ‘Annabelle’.

5. Are hydrangea native?

Of all hydrangea we carry, only Hydrangea arborescens and its ‘nativars’ are native.

Butterflies are commonly found on hydrangea in the Garden Center

6. Do pollinators like hydrangea?

Hydrangea aren’t the highest nectar plants but pollinators do seem to like them. We see butterflies and insects enjoying the plants here at the nursery.

7. When and how do I prune hydrangea?

This varies between types:

Arborescens – cut back as far as you want in fall or early Spring. You’ll get flowers on the new growth.

Paniculata/Treeform – cut back no more than one third of the plant at a time in fall or early Spring and you’ll get flowers on the new growth. Thinning is recommended for Treeform.

Serrata and Macrophylla – Don’t cut in the fall. Wait and see how far up the stems the plant is budding out. In Spring, cut back to where they’re budding out.

Oakleaf and Climbing – prune to desired shape in early Spring.

8. How much sun do hydrangea prefer?

Overall, morning sun with afternoon shade is ideal. Most can handle more sun but they will likely require more watering.

Arborescens – can handle more shade but will bloom better with half day of sun.

Paniculata and Treeform – full half day of sun needed to bloom well. These can handle the most sun though.

Serrata, Oakleaf, and Macrophylla – half day of sun, afternoon shade preferred.

Climbing – can handle shade

“What Do You Guys Do All Winter?”

by E. Schilling

While planting, digging, dead-heading, plowing and seeding the fields, mowing, etc. all come to a grinding halt come December, there is still plenty to be done in preparation for next season at Horsford Gardens and Nursery. Happily, there is no sense of urgency so everyone is pretty relaxed.

The company cats take their relaxation very seriously and dedicate hours to perfecting it.

Frederick and Liu relaxing during the winter

Pruning deciduous trees in our fields is a big project. Our ultimate goal is to produce a well-shaped tree with strong leaders and branching that starts at about five feet or more off the ground. This means that when a customer buys it to plant on their property they can plant under it, mow under it, park under it or hang a swing from its branches. Pruning and shaping a tree while it is still young makes for a more attractive tree as it matures.

Ralph prunes in fields — Ralph pruning crabapples in the fields

Some trees may show signs of insect damage, disease or rodent damage, or have weak trunks. They get the saw. There is not a sadder sight or sound to a nurseryman than a saw in the field.

Trees that are sawed off — Trees that are not growing strong are composted

Over the course of a season we accumulate a massive amount of debris. It is all separated into individual piles: compost, recycle and burn. The burn pile can become quite dense. We routinely burn it throughout the season. In February we burn whatever has been piled on since November so we can begin in April anew. This would include trees and evergreens that have been out of the ground for just a little too long as well as trees that have obvious signs of disease or insect damage. Not extra Christmas trees and greens, though. All of that went to a goat farm here in Charlotte. ( Their milk may have a slight balsam flavoring to it for a few weeks.)

Burn pile of brush — Brush and natural debris we cannot recycle or compost is burned

Our co-worker's goats enjoyed leftover Christmas trees — Our co-worker Miles’ goats enjoyed the leftover Christmas trees, down to the trunk!

We walk the fields often on the lookout for signs of the presence of rodents: rabbits, mice and voles. Rabbits are uninvited pruners, nibbling the tips of shrubs such as lilacs and ilex. Our defense is to spray the area with a non-toxic but foul smelling liquid that will hopefully send them else where for meals.

Damage to lilac — Animal damage to shrubs

Animal tracks in snow — Tracks on their way to the buffet

The destruction happening by voles, moles and mice is impossible to see when the snow is deep. That is because they burrow close to the ground where they have set up residence. But once we experience a thaw, look out, those critters are everywhere. The only defense we have, or rather the only defense we are willing to use, is to protect every crabapple and fruit tree on the property with a plastic tree guard. This $2 item is truly a money saver. To keep the little rodents away from our tasty shrubs would require broadcasting poison and we are not willing to do that. There is too much wildlife on the property. So we just cross our fingers and hope that the coyotes, bobcats and hawks know that this is the place to come for the best winter buffet.

Hawk in tree — Red-tailed Hawks are commonly found at the nursery. Photo courtesy Wikipedia.com

Coyote tracks around the nursery — Coyote tracks from around the nursery

Not everything is all work here during the winter months. Those of us who enjoy it take advantage of the cold snowy weather both here in Vermont and out West. We have lots of skiers, riders, and cross county skiers. Should the ponds, rivers and lake freeze, quite a few of us strap on skates and spend hours bundled up skating up and down rivers and round and round on ponds.

Charlie skiing with group — Charlie skiing out West

Steve skiing out West — Steve snowboarding out West

Some staff opt for warmer weather botanical adventures.

Kristin at Longwood Gardens — Kristin visited Longwood Gardens

Jessica visited the Los Angeles Flower Market

Succulents at Los Angeles Flower Market — Succulents at the Los Angeles Flower Market

Live Christmas Trees

by Horsford Team

horsford-selection-live-christmas-trees

Any evergreen you select can be used as a live Christmas tree that can be planted and enjoyed for many years to come. We suggest selecting a tree you most want to have in your landscape.

After bringing the tree home, place it in a protected outdoor spot, such as the north side of the garage. Cover the roots with a bag of mulch to help prevent them from freezing. Mulching a couple of inches beneath the ball will prevent the tree from freezing to the ground. We also recommend placing a bale of straw or hay over the spot where you want to plant the tree to keep the ground from freezing. It really will!

Sometime before Christmas, bring the tree to your chosen spot to celebrate with. Place the root ball in a bucket or garden trug and water. Stash the mulch for later use. Keeping the tree indoors for three days is ideal.

After Christmas, bring the tree out to your planting spot. A spraying with Wilt-Pruf will keep the harsh winter temperatures from drying out the needles. Remove the straw and scrape off the sod. Dig the hole the exact depth of the root ball, no deeper, and two times wider. Plant the tree with the soil you just dug, adding only organic fertilizer to the soil. We use three handfuls of Pro-Gro by North Country Organics. Mulch with the mulch you stashed.

In the springtime, don’t forget this is a newly planted tree and it’s necessary to water it as needed. You can also add three more handfuls of Pro-Gro to the mulched tree ring.

Our Garden Center is happy to help and answer any questions you have. We carry a number of items mentioned above including: evergreens, mulch, bales of straw, rubber trugs, Wilt-Pruf, tools and gloves, Pro-Gro fertilizer, and more.

How to Divide Peonies