Time to think about next spring's color - pick up some brochures and an order form soon! They'll be here before you know it! 

"Why do the leaf tips on my houseplants turn brown?"

Salt & scissor damage!

Mark answers: Most likely you are describing soluble salt damage. This takes place when the concentration of salts in the soil is higher than the concentration of salts in the plant cells causing reverse osmosis whereby water moves OUT of the plant.

The key to preventing this condition is understanding how it was created. Salts refer to the non-organic components of a soil or ions.

Many of these ions that we deal with, are forms of sodium, magnesium, calcium, along with various fertilizer components just to name a few. If you have ever boiled a pot of water until all the water is gone, you are left with a powdery residue on the inside of the pot. It is from the calcium or magnesium salts that were left behind as the water boiled off.  Out in the landscape, when it rains or irrigation is applied, the excess salts are constantly being leached through the soil profile and out of the root zone and thus typically do not build up in the root zone to cause a problem. When we water house plants and outdoor containers and urns, we tend to water only just enough so water does not run out of the pot and make a mess on the floor. Each time you do this you are adding salts that are in the water. They are not being leached out of the soil and are, in fact, increasing in concentration. Soon the plant can no longer extract moisture from the soil and the salts in the soil are now extracting moisture from the plant and this shows up as tip or margin burn on the leaves.   

So how can you avoid this? Every now and then take the potted plants outside and flood the pot with water to leach out excess salts. This should be done on an overcast day so house plants that are acclimated to shade don't get sun scald and water temperature may need to be moderated as some well water can be very cold even in summer damaging many tropical plants.

Submit your landscaping question via email to sbarbier@planterschoice.com 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. 

'Leonard Messel's spring bloom and now.

Just a reminder that there are some gorgeous Magnolias to offer your customers in our sales yards like this Magnolia x loebneri 'Leonard Messel' also known as Pink Star Magnolia. Considered a large shrub or small tree, it blooms early, has striking fragrant blooms in shades of pink and will grow approximately 20'. A beautiful harbinger of spring on its own or under-planted with some of the early smaller bulbs. 

And don't forget - they're still on special. 10% off one, 20% off two or more.

'Blue Baron Rhododendron (photo taken early May)

On SPECIAL this week are our 3 gallon 'Blue Baron'  Rhododendrons. A gorgeous blue flowering variety that is not easy to find in the trade and an uncommon color to see in the early spring landscape. They'll grow about 3' x 2' and are considered an H-2 which is hardy to Zone 6, -10º to -15º.

Continued specials on:

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

Cherry Laurel B&B 10% off 'Otto Lyuken' and Schip. Laurels

All Tropicals - 50% off Including Gardenia standards, Cannas, Mandevilla and more!

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

Stokesia 'Colorwheel'

Artemesia 'Silvermound'  (Wormwood) Great foliage on a full plant

Echinacea 'Lucky Star' (Cone Flower) Fully budded and blooming.

Physostegia 'Miss Manners' (Obedient Plant)

Sedum kamtschaticum (Stonecrop) Semi-evergreen, dense creeper. Full and blooming.

Stokesia 'Color Wheel' (Stoke's Aster)Interesting  white flowers age to lavender purple. Full and blooming. 

Thanks Heather!

Incoming this week- Korean Spice Viburnum, Dwarf Blue Spruce and Gold Thread Cypress

 

'Dawycki' green European Beach

 
Deciduous Trees

Need a classy windbreak or screen? Check out these 3-3.5"  'Dawycki' green Beech (Fagus sylvatica). Long-lived and beautiful, they'll slowly grow about 70' without pruning.  There is also a nice selection of the 'Red Obelisk' Beech 2-2.5". Makes a beautiful screen or single specimen.

Deciduous Shrubs

Azalea 'Gumpo Pink' 3 gallon

Rosa Knockout family

Viburnum carlesii (Korean Spice Viburnum)  7 gal. A popular fragrant spring blooming shrub.

24 - 30" specimen Common Boxwood

 
Broadleaf and Specimen Evergreens
Buxus semp. 'Variegata' 3 gal. , 'Suffruiticosa' 3 gal.

Chamaecyparis pis. (Gold Tread Cypress) 3 & 10 gallon

Juniperus sq. 'Blue Star' 3 gal.

Picea glauca 'Conica' (Dwarf Alberta Spruce) 3 & 7 gal.

P. pungens 'Montgomery' (Dwarf Blue Spruce) 5 gal. & larger

Evergreens for Screening

There are still some nice selections of larger growing evergreens available. Take a look:

Picea abies (Norway Spruce)
P. abies 'Cupressina' (Columnar Norway Spruce) Great for areas where space is limited. Many sizes available!

Pseudotsuga men. (Douglas Fir)

Thuja occ. (Emerald Green Arborvitae)

Tsuga canadensis (Canadian Hemlock)

Perennials  

Rudbeckia nitida 'Herbstonne'

This is the time of year when meadow plantings really come into their own. Look for the taller perennials like this Rudbeckia 'Herbstonne' which will grow 6-8' and tower over many of the meadow grasses. Others include: Asclepias incarnata 'Ice Ballet' (Swamp Milkweed), Eupatorium maculatum (Joe Pye Weed), Thalictrum rochebrunianum (Meadow Rue) and Veronicastrum virginicum (Ironweed). Does the property lack its own meadow? Look for natural areas  along a woodline or property border. Wherever they're planted it will add some nice color and height.

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