Planters' Choice Weekly Picks!
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 Friday, September 10, 2010
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In This Issue
Katsura for Fall Color!
Staff Picks! Mt. Fire Andromeda
NOW
Fall Fertilizer Reminder
Katsura for Fall Color!

Cercidiphyllum japonicum

Katsura Tree
Fall is right around the corner, something you may or may not want to hear. With cooler nights and shorter days, we've already begun to see leaves turning here in our sales yards and out in the landscape. It's inevitable - the berries and fruit are ripening, ornamental grasses are in flower, mums and cabbage and kale have arrived, and fall foliage is slowly starting to show.
 
Take a quick look at Japanese Katsura (Cercidiphylum japonica). They have begun to show their fall color and will soon begin to emit their sweet fragrance.  Their heart shaped leaves emerge reddish purple in spring, turning medium green through summer and develop a great apricot to orangey-red fall color.
 
Plant them in rich, well-drained, moist soil in full sun. They will actually tolerate quite wet conditions. They are medium to fast growing especially in youth, and will reach 40-60' +.  Really worth taking a look at the next time your in.
Staff Picks!                               John Relies on Mt. Fire's New Growth

New growth on 'Mt. Fire' Andromeda

Mt. Fire Pieris
John started working in our Newtown Yard back in 2001 and is now up in Watertown. He makes frequent weekly trips back and forth between both yards loaded with plant material of all kinds. He always keeps us smiling.
 
John has picked Pieris japonica 'Mt. Fire' as one of his favorites. This is the perfect choice as his yard has a lot of shade! The flowers are an early sign of spring, but it's the new red growth that John likes best.  He trims them back for a second flush of color which extends the season into fall. A low maintenance plant that's great for shade!
 
Thanks John!
NOW

Freshly dug Picea abies - Norway Spruce

Freshly dug Norway Spruce
In This Week:
Buxus sempervirens assorted sizes, Specimen and Hedge
B. x  'Winter Gem' 21-24"
Euonymus alatus 'Compactus' (Burning Bush) 
Hydrangea m. 'Endless Summer' 5g. Ilex cren. Green Luster' (Japanese Holly) 2.5-3' 10g., limited
I. x 'Nellie Stevens' 6-7'
Rosa White flower Carpet
R. Knockout family
 
Evergreens:
Abies balsamea phanerolepsis (Canaan Fir)
Picea abies (Norway Spruce) assorted sizes including 12-14', 14-16' and 16-18'!
Pinus strobus (White Pine)
Thuja nigra (Dark American Arborvitae)
Thuja occidentalis 'Emerald Green' (American Arborvitae) assorted sizes
Thuja plicata 'Green Giant' (Western Arborvitae)
Tsuga canadensis (Canadian Hemlock)
 
***NEW***
Thuja plicata 'Steeplechase' (Western Arborvitae) A nice sport of  'Green Giant'. Dense and glossy, slower grower than the parent plant. Give them a try!


Perennial  HOT List!
Looking Great and in Good Supply!
 
Anemone 'Honorine Jobert' (white), 'Robustissima' (pink) July-Aug. 36" (Windflower)
Athyrium 'Pictum' (Japanese Painted Fern) Variegated silver foliage. 15-20"
Coreopsis 'Full Moon', canary yellow, 'Red Shift' , pale yellow flowers turn red. (Tick Seed)
Dryopteris 'Marginalis' (Eastern Wood  Fern) Part shade to shade.
Hemerocallis 'Happy Returns' (Daylily) Drawf yellow, rebloomer. 12"
Iberis 'Alexanders White' (Candy Tuft) Dense white flowers, 12", blooms April - May.
Nepeta 'Blue Wonder' (Catmint) 6" high, full sun.
Phlox subulata 'White Delight' (Mountain Pinks) Pure white, 6" tall x 18" wide, full sun.
Polemonium 'Stairway to Heaven' (Jacob's Ladder) Variegated foliage, intense blue flower. 16".
  

Mums, Cabbage and Kale

Mums, Cabbage and Kale
 
Take a look at our Mums, Cabbage, Kale & Millet!
Great for adding cool weather color!
Fall Fertilizer Reminder
Fall's a great time to give turf the extra boost it needs to start off next spring, green and healthy. There's still time to get in your two applications of fall fertilizer with 6 weeks in between.  Turf can be effectively fertilized up to two weeks after the top growth stops, typically the first or second week of November.  These applications are critical for making sure that your customers' lawns are as lush and green as possible in the spring.  Remember to remind your customers that a full lawn is the best way to prevent summer weeds, seeds can't germinate if there's no room for them!
 Choose from 10-20-15 with 1% iron, 20-0-5 with iron, 9-2-5 with 6% iron (organic based) and 12-25-12.  All are great starter fertilizers and can be used on new lawns or existing.  For an added boost, try applying BioPak in between the two fall applications.  It's a water soluble powder that has billions of beneficial microbes that dramatically increase soil fertility.  In other words, it's the best way to make sure that the fertilizer you're applying does its job!  One pound covers 40,000 square feet, and only costs $27.50.
Have A Great Weekend!
Please Stop by for a cup of "Coffee and..."
Saturdays through the month of September
We'll be serving 7-10 am.
Hope to see you then!
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