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Home / Winter / “What Do You Guys Do All Winter?”

“What Do You Guys Do All Winter?”

February 23, 2018 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
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
A fresh pruning cut
A fresh pruning cut

Ralph prunes Malus floribunda

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.

Mole tunnels in melting snow
Mole tunnels in melting snow
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
Deer tracks in the snow
Deer tracks in the snow

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
Ted skating
Ted skating on Shelburne Pond
Steve skiing out West
Steve snowboarding out West
Charlie skating
Charlie skating on Lake Champlain
Dave skiing out West
Dave skiing out West

Some staff opt for warmer weather botanical adventures.

Kristin at Longwood Gardens
Kristin visited Longwood Gardens

 

Kristin at Longwood Gardens
Orchids at Longwood Gardens
Los Angeles Flower Market
Jessica visited the Los Angeles Flower Market
Succulents at Los Angeles Flower Market
Succulents at the Los Angeles Flower Market

Filed Under: Staff, Wildlife, Winter

Reader Interactions

Before Footer

  • Are you heading to the @vtflowershow next weekend? If you want to see some tulips in bloom (among MANY other wonderful plants) this is the weekend stop for you! Starts March 1 at @champlainvalleyexpo
  • “Your kind never sees us whole. You miss the half of it, and more. There’s always as much below ground as above.”
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Fun fact: we have a book club here amongst the #horsfordteam. We call ourselves The Bookworm Castings Club (not joking) 😂🐛🍎
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Right now we’re in the middle of The Overstory by Richard Powers. It’s all about trees and our connections to them. 🌳 Surprisingly it’s the first plant book we’ve read!
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PS: If you guys have more book suggestions we’d love to hear!
  • This one’s a little dense. Bear with us. 🤔
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You usually hear about new growth or new wood when learning about how a plant flowers and when to prune. ✂️
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Blooms on NEW wood = flowers are on current season’s growth. You can usually prune these in early spring, late fall or winter. Examples include summer bloomers like spiraea and hydrangea paniculata and arborescens.
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Blooms on OLD wood = flowers are on last year’s growth. Don’t prune these in spring; you’ll be cutting off flowers! It’s best to prune immediately after flowering so they have time to set buds for next season (that will then bear flowers). These are your early spring bloomers like forsythia, quince and lilacs.
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New growth is flexible and can be followed back to a woodier stem which was the previous year’s growth. During the winter, what was the current season’s growth becomes more rigid and woody in order to support the next season’s growth. In a way, a shrub or tree is building the framework that supports itself and you can see it if you look closely! 🌳 .
Think about it.
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Woody plants only grow taller by adding new growth. If you carve your name in a young sapling at 4 feet off the ground, your name will still be 4 feet off the ground 200 years later. It’s fun to think about how this differs from animal growth. Imagine if we sprouted “new growth” every year! 🤓
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More in our story!
  • Blooming #buddleia and #butterflies for your Valentine’s Day 🥰
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#gardencountdown #tbt #happyvalentinesday #thisisvt #butterflybush
  • We’ll admit, deadheading isn’t the most lovely-sounding term! The practice can result in lovely-looking plants though.
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Remember, a plant’s lofty goal is to go to seed so it can reproduce. Deadheading diverts energy from those seeds back into more flowers (that ultimately go to seed again).
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When deadheading, look for dead flowers since this is usually where seeds are. Be sure to cut the flower stalk too all the way down to the next set of leaves. Otherwise you’ll be left with tall dead stalks. When you can, try to have the cut hidden by the plant’s remaining foliage.
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Deadheading isn’t necessary but it can definitely help annuals last longer and perennials bloom later.
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Petunias, marigolds, zinnia, and many perennials are commonly deadheaded so they bloom again. Roses can also benefit from deadheading.
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Some gardeners don’t prefer deadheading because birds and other wildlife depend on seeds. Some plants also have quite decorative seed heads so it’s nice to keep them for that reason too.
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See examples of deadheading in our story!

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2111 Greenbush Road | Charlotte, Vermont 05445
(802) 425-2811 | info@horsfordnursery.com
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