Planters' Choice Weekly Picks!

Planters' Choice Weekly Picks!
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Friday, April 30, 2010

Cornus florida " Aristocrat of Native Flowering Trees..." *

Cornus florida 'Cloud Nine'

Common Name: Flowering Dogwood
Botanical Name: Cornus florida
State flower: Missouri, Virginia
Native range: Massachusetts to Florida, west to Ontario to Texas
Size: 20-30' in height, and as wide or wider
Leaves: Leafs out after bloom. Nice purplish to red fall color.
Flowers: The showy 'petals' are actually bracts. The true flowers are in the center. Creamy white on the straight species, white to pink to deep pink-red.
Fruit: Glossy red, about 1/3" in a cluster. Many species of birds eat these berries.
Culture: Grows best in an understory situation; slightly acid soil, moist but well-drained with plenty of organic matter, sun to part shade.

Take a look at Cornus florida 'Cloud Nine'. Lots of creamy-white overlapping bracts in April-May starting on young plants. It has a nice spreading habit which make it just what you need for naturalizing along a woodland and making it a strong choice for winter interest. Very cold hardy. Combine with some evergreen shrubs like Rhododendron and Azaleas or underplant with groundcovers and spring flowering bulbs. Many sizes to choose from. Other cultivars available: 'Cherokee Princess', 'Cherokee Brave', Cherokee Chief', 'Rubra'.

* So says Michael Dirr. He continues with ..."often overplanted but never becomes obnoxious..." We'll take that as a compliment! Come see all our Flowering Dogwoods while they're still flowering.

New Turf Product

Lebanon Fertilizer 9-2-5 Organic Biosolid base with 6% Iron

The 6% Iron in this product along with the slow release characteristics of the Organic biosolids combined with Lebanon's Mesa Technology will give you the best dark green turf possible without excess mowing. It will improve the quality of your soil while feeding the lawn evenly and slowly. Use anytime during the growing year.

Perfect for the customer that demands dark green turf!

Coverage: 50 lbs. covers 5,000 - $24

Staff Picks! One of Darryl's favorites - Linden

Darryl Newman has worked in Newtown since 2004 as sales manager. He's been working in this industry for 15 + years and holds a degree in Landscape Management from University of Maryland. He's also fluent in Spanish. Darry's always available to talk about plants!

"One of my favorite trees for a difficult landscape is Linden (Tilia). There are very few trees that

Tilia tomentosa 'Sterling'

require such small amounts of pruning to maintain a very symmetrical and well branched habit. Other than occasional browsing from Japanese Beetles on the otherwise clean foliage, and deer rubbing the trunks in the fall of younger trees, Linden have been problem-free in my experience.
I remember planting Linden in Maryland the fall of 1999 in an island filled with construction debris, mostly trap rock. Despite having very little soil to maintain a reasonable moisture level, having only 3 wheelbarrows or so of topsoil at my disposal per tree, and 10-10-10 fertilizer, the trees thrived, leafing out perfectly in the spring! They showed little to no signs of stress, even coloring at the proper time the following fall! Wow!"

Learn more about Lindens here:
Tilia americana (American Linden, American Basswood)
Tilia cordata (Littleleaf Linden)

Tilia tomentosa 'Sterling' (Silver Linden)

Thanks Darryl!

NOW

Here's a sampling of what came off the truck this week:

Buxus - assorted plus nice 48-52" 'Green Mountain'

Ilex x meservae 'Blue Maid' 6/7'

Carpinus betulus 'Fastiagata' 3.5-4"
Chamaecyparis obtusa filicoides, C. obt. 'Compacta' , 'Cripsii' (Hinoki Cypress)

Euonymus varieties, including espaliered

Ilex crenata assorted varieties

Ilex meservae 'Blue Maid', 'Blue Princess' (Blue Holly) some nice larger sizes!

I. opaca (American Holly) 7/8'

I. x 'Dragon Lady' 4-5' (Dragon Lady Holly)

Parthenocissus 'Green Showers' 5 gallon staked
Prunus laurocerasus 'Otto Lyuken' (Cherry Laurel)

Pyracantha 'Yukon Belle' espaliered

Roses including tree form

Grasses:
Pennisetum alopecuroides (Fountain Grass)

Schizachyrium 'The Blues'

Wildflower Seed is in - nice assortment

Tropicals have begun to arrive

Evergreens
Cedrus atlantica (Blue Atlas Cedar)

Cryptomeria japonica 'Yoshino' 10-12'
Picea omorika 'Pendula' (Weeping Serbian Spruce)

Pinus cembra (Swiss Stone Pine), P. cem. 'Glauca' (Blue Swiss Stone Pine) 4/5'
Pinus nigra (Austrian Pine) 6/7'
P. flexis 'Vanderwolf' 6/7', 7/8', 8/10' (Pyramidal Limber Pine)
P. leucodermis (Bosnian Pine)
Pseudotsuga menziezieii (Douglas Fir) 8/10', 10/12'
Thuja occidentalis (Emerald Green Arborvitae) 8/10', 10-12'

Dan's HOT Lists!
Looking Good and in Good Supply!

Perennials:

Aquilegia 'Biedermeier' (Columbine), at right
Cimicifuga 'Atropurpurea' (Bugbane)
Hosta especialy 'Stiletto' 3 gallon, 'Wide Brim'
Paeonia - Herbaceous and Tree Peonies
Salvia 'Marcus' (Meadow Sage)

Grasses:
Pennisetum 'Hameln' 1 & 2 gallon
Sporobolus heterolepsis (Prairie Dropseed)

Enjoy the first weekend in May!

Planters' Choice, LLC

Visit our two locations:
140 Huntingtown Rd. Newtown, CT 06470 Tel. 203-426-4037 Fax 203-426-8057

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