Collier's Nursery Newsletter
November 2012
In This Issue
November at the Nursery
Deer Resistant Winter Garden
Native Plants
Planting & Forcing Bulbs
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November at the Nursery...

Looks like November will start off with a spectacular fall weekend! Sunny skies and warm temps will make it great for planting...

 

We have an amazing selection of pansies and violas for winter blooms, as well as ornamental cabbage and kale.  Remember to fertilize your winter plantings with

fertilome Start-N-Grow, which works in cold temps, unlike Osmocote. 

 

Plant snapdragons, dianthus, foxglove and poppies now for blooms late into fall and again next spring.

 

We have a lot of pretty evergreen foliage for winter.  Mix these in with pansy plantings for extra texture.

 

Anchor your container plantings with conifers and evergreens like arborvitae, juniper, hinoki cypress, steed's holly, tea olive or even rosemary!

 

Fall is the best time to tackle landscaping projects and we have a great selection of trees and shrubs right now.  Boxwoods, including dwarf English, are here and our camellias are budded and blooming!

 

A shipment of small, blooming hydrangeas is expected early next week.  These make great gifts or table decorations!

 

Fresh greenery, wreaths and poinsettias are expected to arrive the week of Thanksgiving!

It's time to apply Hi-Yield Pre-Emergent with Dimension to zoysia & bermuda lawns. Pre-emergent helps cut back on those weeds you'll hate this winter!

A Deer Resistant Winter Garden

For many residents of central Alabama, deer are a daily pest in the garden.  During winter, when food supplies are more scarce, they can be especially pesky, devouring pansies and violas with relish.  Try planting dianthus, snapdragons and poppies for deer resisitant fall and early spring blooms.  There are several colorful foliage options deer tend to pass by, including dusty miller, sweet flag, sedge and evergreen herbs (rosemary, lavender, parsley, thyme and oregano).

 

Pansies and violas are hard to resist for their winter-long blooms, and if you just have to plant them, here's a few tips to try to keep the deer from munching:  We carry a product called Shake Away, that is, brace yourself- powdered coyote urine!  Sprinkle this around the perimeter of your flowerbeds and the 'predator' smell deters deer from the area.  We've heard that the smell of Irish Spring soap is unfavorable to deer- this is an inexpensive option to try- sprinkle pieces of the soap throughout your garden and in your containers.  Several of our customers have said that human and dog hair (spread discreetly in your garden of course!) will keep those pesky deer away. Pick up a free bag at a hair salon, pet store or vet.  Let us know how these tips work for you, or if you have any other effective methods for keeping deer away, we'd love to hear about them!

Native Plant Selection

We have some very interesting native plants in stock, and November is a great time to plant them! Native plants, since they occur naturally in our area, are particularly well adapted to our climate and generally thrive with little maintenance. All of the following have wonderful characteristics that make them well worth adding to your garden!

 

beautyberry berries 

Beautyberry (Callicarpa americana)

 

bottlebrush buckeye bloom  

Bottlebrush Buckeye (Aesculus parviflora)

 

dogwood bloom   

Dogwood (Cornus Florida)

 

fringetree      

Fringetree (Chionanthus virginicus)

 

mayhaw fruit      

Mayhaw (Crataegus opaca)

 

oakleaf hydrangea in bloom   

Oakleaf Hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia)

 

 

Sassafras (Sassafras albidum)

 

strawberry bush fruit   

Strawberry Bush or Hearts-A-Bustin' (Euonymus americanus)

 

sweetshrub bloom 

Sweetshrub (Calycanthus floridus)

 

sweetspire blooms   

Sweetspire (Itea virginica)

Planting Bulbs for

the Holidays & Spring 

 

Amaryllis, daffodils, hyacinths,

paperwhites and tulips are in!

  • Plant spring-blooming bulbs after Thanksgiving. Tulips, daffodils & hyacinths are included in this group.
  • Narcissus bulbs, including paperwhites and daffodils, are easy to force into bloom for the holiday season. Plant bulbs in soil or gravel, place in bright light and allow 3 to 4 weeks for blooms to appear. Amaryllis bulbs are also easy to force, but take a little longer to bloom- allow 6 to 8 weeks for their blooms to appear.   
 
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