Out of the Snow and Into the Greenhouse...
 

Azalea 'Mother's Day' left, Propagation Greenhouse in Newtown, Carex pensylvanica right

...it's just the therapy needed to alleviate the winter blues! A great place to catch your breath in the dead of winter and get you thinking about the spring gardens under all that snow!  Flats of Thyme are the first blocks to catch your eye with their dense green mats lining up the center aisles.  Other blocks of Azalea, Boxwood and Viburnum cuttings are putting out leaves like champs. Perennial cuttings, like Dianthus and Phlox, and plugs of Sedges and Fescue are all filling out their trays and sporadic flowers can be seen here and there - a most welcome sight!    

Our native Pennsylvania Sedge (Carex pensylvanica), seen above, is a wonderful groundcover that will grow 8-10" high and 12-18" wide. The blades are narrow, bright green and slightly arching. It spreads by rhizomes and will colonize open areas nearby. It flowers in spring on the tips of tall stems above the foliage and the seed heads are reddish brown. Though most Carex grow best in moist soil, this Sedge is quite adaptable and can tolerate periods of drought. You can find it growing naturally in shady upland woods and open meadows. It will thrive in dry, well-drained soils, however, the more moist the soil, the more sun it can take. It's a resilient groundcover spreading 3-8" per year,  but can also be planted in a woodland shade garden or in a part-shade perennial border...and, it's deer resistant!   

Back out in the snow it's easy to believe there is another 6 weeks of winter, but spring will be here before you know it. In the mean time we'll keep growing quality material for you to plant and your customers to enjoy. 

We're excited that this is our third year offering free informative talks during the winter months! It's important to keep up-to-date with new ideas and practices that will help your business grow, and we're happy to be a part of it!  This session we are again offering three lectures; one geared to improving your business strategies for increased sales (details coming soon) and two that will teach you about common problems affecting ornamental plants that, if left undetected, could potentially leave some unsatisfied customers. The best news is that we are able to provide Pesticide Credits from the State of Connecticut!  

Euonymus scale

1. NEXT TUESDAY, Feb 8th at 1:30 pm (snow date: Wed. Feb 9th) Mark Kokinchak will give us A Close Look at Scale - an insect pest that often goes unnoticed, until it's too late. Scale are tiny parasitic insects that affect a wide range of both evergreen and deciduous plants. Knowing what to look for, and when, is critical to its treatment. Help protect your customers' landscape with this important information and receive 1.5 credits for this class for CT 3a, 3b, and 3d. 

2. Wednesday, March 2, at 1:30pm We are pleased to have Dr. Sharon Douglas come down from the CT AG. Station in New Haven to talk about Common Diseases in the Landscape - What to Expect for 2011. Sharon is a plant pathologist and is head of the Department of Plant Pathology and Ecology at the Ag. Station. Accurate diagnosis of plant disease is fundamental to maintaining healthy and attractive landscape plants.  She'll cover not only this diagnostic procedure, but also how to evaluate environmental and site conditions, how weather impacts disease severity and more. Not to be missed! 

Receive 1 credit for this class for CT 3a, 3b, and 3d.

Hope to see you then! 

More Opportunities to Grow 

 Thursday, March 3 The Ecological Landscape Association will be having their 17th Annual ELA Conference and Eco-Marketplace at the MassMutual Center in Springfield, MA . Fifteen different talks including the "Practical Challenges of Designing with Native Plants", "Insects: What's Coming Next" and a panel discussion on "Native, Introduced, Invasive, and Endangered Plants in the Landscape: Untangling the Roots of the Problem" with Bill Cullina, Dr. Peter Del Tredici, and Jono Neiger. Click for a full schedule and other information. Please plan on stopping by Planters' Choice booth in the Marketplace to say hi!

  Thursday, March 10 UCONN's Perennial Plant Conference  for the Professional Horticulturist.  Educational opportunities for the Pro held on campus at the Lewis B. Rome Commons in Storrs, CT. Two sessions of interesting speakers will talk about the Native Plant Palette, Sustainable Landscapes, Great Flowering Shrubs and many others. Check out the full schedule and register soon!

Have a Great Weekend!

Go Team!