 Here's a new shrub I'll have this spring. If you're interested, do a little research on the medicinal qualities of these berries. Pretty amazing. I know this old man needs to eat more berries!
Goji Berry Lycium Barbarum • Easy to grow shrub that gives you wonderful edible fruit for those interested in plant based diets! • You are encouraged to read about all the medicinal qualities of this amazing fruit! Edible off the plant or processed • Easy to grow. Prefers full sun for optimal berries, not fussy on soil type. When planted, drive a sturdy stake in the ground next to it. Each year in fall, bundle and tie the branches to the stake; prune 5” tips off in spring to encourage branching and fuller shrub • Berries on new wood; no cross pollination needed • 120” H x 60” W – big shrub Photo by Proven Winner Inc.
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 I hear you...Are you off your rocker talking about Fall in February? Many folks say Fall is their favorite season, so here is a taste of Fall for you. Heucherella is a cultivar of two native plants - heuchera and foam flowers. Easy to grow in partial shade and a "go to" boarder plant I use when laying out a bed. How about that sunshine!!!!
Heucherella Pumpkin Spice Heucherella ‘Pumpkin Spice’ • Autumn colors from spring until autumn! Deep veined leaves and deep cut leaves just adds to the beauty • 8” H x 18” W • Prefers partial shade (especially afternoon shade); rich well-draining soil • Outstanding boarder plant, in pots, or mass planting – Great Plant Photo by Walters Gardens Inc.  Bleeding Heart is just too easy. So I selected this gorgeous lupine. Would this look great on your sunny deck this summer? Happy Valentine's day to all.
Lupine Bicolor Pink Lupinus polyphyllus Gallery Bicolor Pink • A pot of Lupine has no Equal! • Thrives in warm days and cool nights- perfect for northern Michigan • Prefers full sun to light shade and rich organic well-draining soil • Dead Heading spent flowers will prolong the bloom time • If in ground, mulch well to protect root crown in winter • 16” H x 10” W • Pink and white Bicolor is a rather rare combination for summer blooms making this a garden star Photo by Ball Horticultural Drink Cocoa. After a heavy snow or ice, many folks brush the snow off their woody shrubs and evergreens. This is not really recommended. Although they will bend over, the shrub is built to take this added weight! Branches are quite fragile now. When temperatures go 1 degree above freezing, the melting process will begin. So after shoveling your driveway, go back inside for a cup of hot cocoa.   The climbing hydrangea pictured here is a friend's shrub in Wisconsin. It is over 30 foot tall climbing her cottonwood tree. It is very slow to establish - up to 3 years before flowering or showing much growth. After that it's a fairly rapid grower. This needs a STRONG structure to climb such as a tree, fireplace, stone wall or well built trellis. But WOW are they beautiful! Very tough shrub. I'll have these available in the Spring. Climbing Hydrangea Hydrangea anomala petiolaris • Elegant vine with glossy green leaves and lace cap white flowers • Outstanding for walls, trees, chimneys and pergolas. Once you see one in bloom, it’s a must have! • Slow to establish –sleep, creep, leap • Moist soil (mulch); full to partial sun • 10 – 30’ H x 72” W • Blooms on old wood, no pruning necessary Goodbye 2020. Thank you all for your support. I can't wait for Spring 2021 - we'll have some terrific plants ready to go.   I spent the day potting up these monster 4' and 5' arborvitaes. It's a real workout! Just a great day to be outside working with my dog Jess. These will be available in the spring.
 Should I wrap my shrubs with burlap for the winter? Like most topics these days, there are different opinions. So I'll go out on a limb and state my opinion.....Some yes, and some no! For hardy woody shrubs -burning bush, privet, yew, forsythia, spirea, viburnum, for example, I see no need to wrap them. Certainly wrapping will keep the deer and rabbits from chewing on them, but from first hand experience, even if this happens, the shrub will grow back just fine. It might look wonky for a year or two until it fills in, but it will. Conversely I've been wrapping my evergreens since before rap music was even invented. I do this to protect from drying winter winds as much as varmint protection. Whether you wrap or not, do your shrubs a favor and give them a nice bucket of water right now. They'll take up this water before there's a snow cover. One last tip...I use safety pins to attach rope to my top layer of burlap as seen in the second picture here. Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!  Heeling In. I've had questions from folks about what to do with potted perennials and shrubs for the winter. The absolute best way to overwinter them is to heel them into the ground. Here, I unpotted some daylily, dug a trench and put them in, and covered the roots up with the soil and mulch. EASY! They are all tucked in for the winter and will do just great. In the spring, I'll just pop them out and repot them. This process can also be used if you're not ready to plant out extra plants in the summer. It keeps the roots moist, cool, and happy! So Heel'm In!  |
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May 2020
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