Planters' Choice

Weekly Pickstip

Friday, June 29, 2012
SPECIAL of the WEEK!
  • Cherry Laurels B&B
  • Hydrangea 'Quickfire' 3 gal. 

Scroll down and SAVE!

In This Issue
Deadheading perennials for longer bloom
Question of the Week
Spotlight on Clethra
Special of the Week
Perennial HOT List!
NOW!
Quick Links







Question of the Week

"Can too much water be a problem?"

Check out the answer below. Submit your questions and earn a chance to save!
Southern Magnolia

'Bracken's Brown Beauty'
All Magnolia continue to be on special. Many varieties including Magnolia grandiflora!
 1 - 10%, 2 or more - 20%
Spring Bulbs for
Fall Planting

2012 Bulb Brochure
Get your customers excited about spring bulbs! Pick up some brochures for your customers the next time you're in and start your wish lists for our fall delivery. Need any specialty bulbs?
Give us your list soon!

Lawns need greening up?


These products are available and may be just what you need.

 

19-0-19 with 3% iron - slow release with low burn potential

9-2-5 with 6% iron, a customer favorite!

Follow us on Twitter Follow Us on Twitter!
Lily of the Valley Convallaria majalis
 
We will be CLOSED
Wednesday, July 4th!
 
Happy Independence Day!
Also, please note - this is our last full Saturday. 
Sat. hours July 7th - Nov. 17th: 7 am - 1 pm
Try Deadheading for repeat bloom!
 
Salvia 'May Night'
Meadow Sage - a good example of a great rebloomer 

So many of our customers choose perennials for their long bloom time or because they are repeat bloomers in the hopes of giving their customers a longer show. Common re-bloomers are some of the Iris and of course Daylilies such as 'Happy Returns' or 'Stella d'Oro'.  But with a small amount of maintenance there are lots of other choices that will give you more bang for your buck. Deadheading is simply cutting off the spent, or dead, flower. Doing this forces the plant to put its energy into more flower production instead of producing seed. Try deadheading these and see for yourself!   

 

Achillea (Yarrow) Deadheading spent blooms will encourage lateral bloom. When the second flush is finished blooming, cut the stalks to the basal foliage.   

Campanula persicifolia 'Takion Blue' (Bell Flower) Same care as the Achillea for longer bloom time.  

Coreopsis 'Early Sunrise', 'Elfin Gold' (Tickseed) This plant responds very well to deadheading. It keeps them flowering and looking neat. That also discourages them from seeding. In late August cut them back to the basal leaves to gain strength for next year's show.  
Leucanthemum (Shasta Daisy) Cutting the dead flowers can really extend bloom time especially on young plants.   

Salvia nemerosa (Meadow Sage) Deadhead to lateral buds or to basal leaves. They will soon re-bloom. 

 

Often it will depend on the length of the season for reblooming but here's a short list of others to try: Centaurea, Dianthus, Echinacea, Gallardia, Kniphofia, Monarda, Nepeta, Phlox paniculata, Physostegia, Platycodon, Scabiosa, Tradescantia and Veronica. 

 

back to the top 

Question of the Week

 

"Can too much water really be a problem?"

 

Answer:  

It is our belief that more plants are killed by overwatering than anything else. When customers come to the nursery and see us watering every day during the growing season, those customers new to the nursery and landscaping business think that's what is necessary when the plants are planted. Not so. Plants growing in containers and balled and burlaped trees and shrubs which are above the ground dry out much more quickly than when they're planted.

 

Homeowners with irrigation systems are the worst culprits. Many irrigation systems installed for lawns overlap into shrub beds which create a death knell for the plants that are sensitive to too much water when the lawn is watered every day.

 

Plants should be well watered when they're planted and every 4 to 7 days after that until they get established (depending on how hot the weather is).  If some of your plants look wilted at the end of the day, wait until morning and if they're still wilted, then water. They should again be well watered in the fall before the ground freezes. Most plants should be "babied" for about 2 years and then left alone unless a severe drought has affected the region.

 

Submit your landscaping question via email to [email protected] and you'll be entered in a monthly drawing to receive 10% OFF your next purchase (pick up only, does not apply to deliveries). Please use "Question of the Week" in the subject line and let me know if you want your name and business mentioned. 

Spotlight on: Summersweet 

Clethra 

Walk along a wooded road in summer and you'll likely notice the sweet fragrance of Clethra alnifolia - Summersweet. A native to the eastern parts of the U.S., they have a summer blooming creamy white spire that has a very sweet scent which provides nectar to hummingbirds, bees and butterflies. Leaves emerge late and are a glossy green turning shades of yellow to orangey-yellow in fall. They hold the color for weeks.

 

It prefers moist soil and if consistently moist will grow in full sun as well as shade. It's also salt tolerant so it makes a great addition to seaside plantings.  

 

We currently carry three types of Clethra - the straight species (C. alnifolia), 'Hummingbird' which is a dwarf form growing 3-4' H and 4-5'W and 'Ruby Spice' which has ruby-pink spires and will reach 6-8' when mature. By the way, 'Ruby Spice' was found right here in Connecticut by Andy Brand of Broken Arrow Nursery in Hamden back 20 years ago.

 

Clethra is deer resistant so use it freely in shrub borders, woodland gardens, in boggy areas or for wetland restoration. Good looking neighbors include Leucothoe, Oakleaf Hydrangea, Rodgersia, Japanese Forest Grass, Inkberry, Virginia Sweetspire to name a few. Try one on your next job! 

 

Back to the top    

Specials of the Week:
10% off B&B Cherry Laurels Prunus laurocerasus  

 

Schip and Otto Lyuken Laurels
Cherry Laurels

 

Sought after evergreen plants for those shadier sites! The upright P. laur. 'Schipkaensis' and the lower growing 'Otto Lyuken' add great texture for borders and screens. Best planted in wind protected sites. (Zone 6 for 'Otto Luyken', Zone 5 for the Schip) 

 

10% off 3 or more Hydrangea p. 'Quickfire' 3 gallon

Hydrangea 'Quickfire'
'Quickfire' is already starting to turn pink.

 

 

 

This is an awesome Panicle Hydrangea! Clean foliage, pink petioles and a large white flowers that quickly turn bright pink. Instant color!

 

 

 

 

Continued special on:

Magnolia 1 - 10% off, 2 or more - 20% off 

 

Stop by either yard, mention this email and receive 10% off  

 

Valid: June 30th - July 6th     

*Price is net. No further discount applies

Perennial HOT List

 

Geranium 'Rozanne'
Geranium 'Rozanne' 

Here's a list of great looking perennials - in stock and in good supply - ready for your next job!

 

Astilbe 'Visions', and all the Astilbe, rock on! Budded and in full bloom  

Coreopsis 'Elfin Gold' tons of buds, in bloom and looking awesome 

Gaillardia 'Oranges and Lemons' Budded and blooming

Geranium 'Rozanne' Award winner in bloom 

Kalimeris incisa 'Blue Star' - Budded - Great garden plant!

 

Thanks, Heather!  

 

NOW!

Looking good and incoming! 

Japanese Stewartia 


Deciduous Trees

Metasequoia glypt. (Dawn Redwood)

Stewartia pseud. (Japanese Stewartia) 

Taxodium dist. (Bald Cypress)

 

Deciduous Shrubs 

Clethra alnifolia 'Hummingbird', 'Ruby Spice'  

Rosa Drifts - Icy, Peach, Pink; Flower Carpet White and Yellow plus 'The Fairy' and Knockout family

Syringa x 'Bloomerang Purple' (Reblooming Lilac) 

Viburnum rhytid. (Leatherleaf Viburnum) 4/5'  

 

Broadleaf and Specimen Evergreens 

Buxus (Boxwood)  Common Boxwood and 'Green Velvet'

Chamaecyparis pisifera (Goldthread Cypress) 'Gold Mops'

Ilex crenata (Japanese Holly) many varieties 

Picea abies (Norway Spruce) 'Cupressina'

Sequoiadendron giganteum 'Pendulum' (Weeping Giant Sequoia) A matching pair of awesome evergreens - a must see! 

Canna bloom 

 

Tropicals

Cannas, Gardenia (so fragrant!) and Mandevilla are all blooming!


Annuals
50% off all 2, 4, 6, and 10" hanging baskets. Still some good selections including Bacopa, Coleus, Geranium, Petunia and others.

Back to the Top 

Have a Great Weekend!
Reminder - We will be closed
Wednesday, July 4th!

As always, we appreciate your business!

Sincerely,
Chuck and Darryl Newman
Planters' Choice, LLC