Dear Valued Lanoha Customer,

April 5th, 2014 was Lanoha Nurseries Spring Event.  A great turn-out helped us kick off the spring season.  If you missed it, we certainly hope you can attend our next event this summer.  The date will be announced weeks in advance.

This is Lanoha Nurseries 40th anniversary. The garden center now has a number of nostalgic prints on display on the walls in the check- out area of the store depicting the changes that have occurred over these past 4 decades of the growth of the nursery and the development division. Even many native Omahans do not know the story behind Lanoha Nurseries. Here are but a few glimpses into the past 40 years of "building" Lanoha Nurseries into what you know it as today.

This is Lanoha Nurseries 40th anniversary. The garden center now has a number of nostalgic prints on display on the walls in the check- out area of the store depicting the changes that have occurred over these past 4 decades of the growth of the nursery and the development division. Even many native Omahans do not know the story behind Lanoha Nurseries. Here are but a few glimpses into the past 40 years of "building" Lanoha Nurseries into what you know it as today. 

In 1974, Dave Lanoha, an Omaha native, had a rapidly growing lawn care and landscape service that he had started with a single lawn mower while still a student at Westside High School. With a work ethic and drive seldom seen in a man of his age, Dave finished his studies in business at Omaha University while running his thriving business, D.F. Lanoha Landscape Company. The westward movement of Omaha was at its prime-Regency, Armburst Acres, Harvey Oaks, and many new subdivisions were being plotted. Shopping centers, including Oak View, and commercial properties were being built where non-visionary groups thought "Omaha could never spread that far west!" Dave was involved in all of these major developments both as a supplier of nursery stock as well as personally ensuring superior customer service after the projects were completed.

Dave turned his dreams into reality with the purchase of about 10 acres of land at the corner of 192 and West Center Road. A 1st generation owner, he epitomized the meaning of entrepreneurship.  Within a year, trees were planted and "Lanoha-Home-Grown" quality trees from Northern hardy seed sources began."   With wise investments and a definite business plan in place-- staff, equipment, and services were added until currently Lanoha Nurseries is the largest nursery in the Midwest encompassing over 1,000 acres and employing hundreds. Lanoha Nurseries plant material and hardscapes have been utilized at many of Omaha's biggest commercial projects: Con Agra Foods, 1st National Bank Business Park, Bass Pro Shop, Village Point and Shadow Lake in the metro area, and numerous large projects throughout the state of Nebraska, Iowa, and South Dakota.

Lanoha Development Company, establish in l988, began developing quality home sites with a unique concept not seen before in Omaha. Large "instant impact" spade planted trees were placed throughout the subdivisions giving the blank canvas a look of "having been there for many years."  This concept of spade planted specimen trees is a "Trademark" of a Lanoha Development site either residential or commercial. Baywood, Hawthorn, Mission Pines, West Baywood, Pacific Springs, The Sanctuary, and the newest subdivision, The Prairies are residential areas that have benefited from this innovation.  You truly are shopping the "Big O" when you select your trees, shrubs, gardening plants, and all your outdoor as well as indoor décor for your landscape and home this year. Come and help us celebrate this 40th year of serving you and your neighbors!   

The introduction to spring in the metro area has been slow and quite frustrating to the gardener who was more than ready to get the season started weeks ago.  The soils are certainly workable and most spring garden tasks can be done now without hesitation. Cleaning beds, cutting back perennials, roses, and shrubs should be done now before the plant material advances any further.  Once the beds have been cleared of last season's debris, a slow release granulated garden fertilizer is recommended.  We recommend a Ferti.lome product called Gardener's Special. It is a slow release blend of 11-15-11 with five trace elements including iron, zinc, boron, and manganese. This is the standard granulated fertilizer used throughout the maintenance programs at the nursery. Its slow release properties deliver several months of balanced nutrition. This is a great product for any plant that may have been damaged by the past winter's wind and sun. A light 1-2" layer of wood mulch applied over the fertilizer will deliver great results.  Remember to keep the mulch at least 2" away from the stems or branches of the plant being mulched.  If weeds have been a problem in the beds, now is the time to apply either Treflan or Dimension pre-emergent herbicides to the beds. If organic gardening is your choice, corn gluten is available for a pre-emergent in beds or gardens. Always water with at least ˝" of moisture within 24 hours to activate the herbicide properties. A second application of this pre-emergence can be applied in late May to early June for added control. For the difficult to control grasses and weeds that are perennial, we offer several specialty herbicides for controlling those weeds in flower and shrub beds.  Never use a turf weed control spray in and around plantings!

The extremely deep frost in the soils, generated from record cold temperatures, prevented the trees from being able to move moisture from the ground up into the needles during the relentless weeks of windy weather and bright sunlight.  This caused even the otherwise "sturdy" spruce to show signs this early spring of "winter burn."  If the tree had been well watered going into the winter, the damage may not have affected the new bud growth, and new "candle" growth will probably begin developing in the next few weeks if temperatures stabilize.  

While a healthy spruce will retain its needles for 5-7 years, spruce infected by Rhizosphaera Needle Cast fungus may hold only the current year's needles. In older spruce that have been infected for a number of seasons, but have not been treated, even the current year's needles may drop and the entire branch may die. It is important to understand that spruce needles will not re-grow back on the portion of the branch if the needles are lost to fungal infection. New needles are produced on spruce trees once a year on the very tip ends of the branches.  Fungicide spray can only protect uninfected foliage.  Fungicides can't "cure" existing infections. This is a very frustrating disease because defoliation can occur quite rapidly and without indication that the disease is even present.

Chlorothalonil fungicide ( Ferti.lome's Broad Spectrum Landscape and Garden Fungicide) should be sprayed on the new needles when the new soft growth is ˝"-2" long. This can occur anytime in April or even May depending on spring temperatures.  This is a disease where visual inspection rather than a firm date must be the guideline for spraying. While the damage often begins on the lower branches on the north or west side of the tree, it can be very random damage with no apparent pattern. This is especially true in trees that are hit directly with turf sprinklers. It takes longer for the north and west side of the tree to dry after irrigation, and in cool spring weather the cool damp environment stimulates the growth of the fungus spores.  The on-going drought has also stressed many spruce trees and has made them more susceptible to the fungus. Visually you are looking for a raspberry-brown- to purple cast on the needle while it is still attached or after the needles have dropped from the branches. Under a power lens or a good magnifying glass you will see distinct dark black dots that run vertically on the individual needles. If you suspect such a disease, bring in samples or some great photos before new growth begins so we can advise you on the proper spray program. This disease does not kill instantly, but it can disfigure a specimen tree to where it loses all of its landscape value!

Another fungus that is appearing this early spring is Sirococcus Shoot Blight. This disease affects the current year's needles causing needle drop on outside shoots up to 18" long. This damage is often mistaken for winter injury or herbicide damage as a slight "hook" deformity to the tip ends may occur.  This disease will hit any spruce, pine, or hemlock. The damage should be removed early in the spring with a sharp pruner.  The damage can be very random and occur on any portion of the tree.

A trip through the produce section of the grocery store and reports of a projected water shortage to the state of California and resulting produce shortages and escalating prices have generated a huge interest in growing some of the family's vegetable needs in their own back yard. The most popular trend is in "raised beds." While that may mean just a spot big enough for a few tomato plants or an ambitious bigger garden up to several thousand square feet, the interest is indeed there!!!

 Figuring out how to approach a raised garden area can be daunting---but here are a few easy steps in figuring out what you may need and the volume of materials it requires to fill a given raised garden bed.   If you have any questions, just bring us your dimensions and we will be able to quickly tell you the materials needed to be successful.  Remember most vegetables require a minimum of 6-8 hours of direct sunlight.  Only leafy vegetables such as chard, lettuce, spinach, or some herbs will grow in shady locations.

If you are planning a raised bed in an area that still has existing sod, the first step is to strip off the sod and reserve it either for a top-dress mulch or bring it to the garden center and drop it off at our yard waste site easily accessible in the parking lot. The area marked off as the raised bed should be dug with a shovel or tiller to at least the depth of 10-12" deep. This will open the hard compacted clay and make the raised bed you plan above it more successful. If the clay is very heavy and not easily fractured or broken, it would be suggested that perlite be mixed into this preparation site. Perlite is a naturally occurring rock that will remain in the soil giving air space for deep roots and moisture to enter into the hard clay. You should add a large 4 cubic foot bag of perlite to every 50 square feet of soil.

The depth of the bed is a matter of personal choice, but a minimum of 12" is recommended.  The beds can be bordered in wall rock, bricks, concrete blocks, or wood. The choice is up to the homeowner as all of these materials are suitable.  

The volume of soil and amendments have some definite guidelines. Topsoil is sold by the cubic yard. A cubic yard of topsoil is 27 cubic feet. If your bed were 9' long, 3' wide, and 1' deep, that volume would be 27 cubic feet (9x3x1). You would need 1 yard of topsoil to fill the raised bed. If you were to use 50 pound bags of topsoil that are ˝ cubic foot bags, it would take a whopping 54 bags of soil to equal I cubic yard!   If you have a pick-up available, the staff can load a 1/2yard of topsoil into even compact trucks. Delivery is available for larger volumes. Always allow a good 20-25% settling for soils in figuring any volume or enrich the topsoil with the following soil amendments available at the garden center.  Perlite, Cotton-burr compost, Ecoscraps (our newest 100% organic amendment), vermiculite, and peat moss are amendments available in easy to transport bags.

The following are some of our recommended recipes for successful raised garden planting sites:  For every 50 square foot of planting surface (length of bed x width of bed) incorporate one 4 cubic foot bag of coarse perlite and three 2 cubic foot bags of cotton-burr compost into the top 8" of soil surface.  If you really want to hold moisture better in the bed, incorporate one cubic foot bale of Canadian peat moss into the mix. This is my personal favorite that has proven extremely successful to even the most novice gardener I have assisted. Another new recipe for 2014 involves a brand new product available this spring. The product is called Ecoscaps which is a potting mix derived primarily from food waste from restaurants, hospitals, farmers markets, and grocery stores. Primarily vegetable and fruit compost, it is amazing. The city of New York has separated its trash of vegetable, fruit, and table waste for several years---I was amazed to see how completely cooperative most New York City residents are in this adventure when visiting my daughter several years ago. The waste is picked up separately and the resulting environmental savings are huge. Won't it be great when that trend hits the Midwest? Until then, you can get acquainted with this product at the garden center this season. You could substitute six of the 1 cubic foot bags of Ecoscraps in place of the cotton-burr compost in making a great growing medium.

Flowering crabapples continue to impress homeowners with their outstanding ability to withstand the extremes of Omaha weather. April is the month to experience the spectacular color display that our huge flowering crab inventory has to offer. Thousands of specimen trees have been dug from our quality northern seed source stock that has grown in our local fields. We have a huge inventory from which you are sure to find the perfect size and flower color to compliment your home.

 Every family of plants has a "Most Popular" cultivar. In the Malus family (crabapples), Prairie Fire is always at the top of the list! Prairie Fire's magnificent beauty gives you ever changing color throughout the year. It starts in the spring with prolific pinkish-red buds that develop into bright non- fading fragrant flowers. The bloom is soon followed by deeply toothed leaves that start as a deep red purple, maturing to a dark rich green. The blooms produce a small green fruit that changes to a glossy red persistent fruit that is a favorite of our feathered friends. The fall foliage brings a display of red, orange, and purple leaves that are spectacular against the shiny red fruit. As the tree stands bare in the winter, the dark reddish brown bark is striking. The upright growth habit when young matures to a rounded 20-25' beauty. It is the most disease resistant crabapple available! You will spend no time spraying for apple scab, cedar apple rust, or mildew that can attack other varieties. One of the best kept "secrets" of this jewel is that it is VERY RESISTANT TO JAPANESE BEETLES!!!  

Tomato lovers last year discovered our newest gardening offering---grafted tomato plants. The reports continue to be shared by gardeners who were delighted with their results. Last year we were only able to offer grafted tomatoes---while they will be available again---we are pleased to inform you that grafted peppers are also in stock for your gardening adventure!!

Is it revolutionary? While the technique of grafting isn't new, the availability of grafted tomatoes and peppers is both new and newsworthy. Two things set a grafted plant apart from the pack. Not only are they more productive-they have been proven to produce 50 percent or more fruit---and they also resist soil-borne pest and diseases.

 Grafting is the practice of taking the top of one plant, called the scion, and attaching it to the root system of a different plant, called the rootstock. Growers have used grafting for centuries for woody plants such as roses and fruit trees. Only recently has it become popular in the U.S. for growing tomatoes and peppers though.

Grafted plants have consistently produced fruit earlier and later in the season, sometimes right up to frost. Grafted plants don't fade as quickly in drought. If you want to try growing your grafted vegetable in a container, you will need at least a 20 gallon sized pot.  Be sure to plan a sturdy support for your plant as it is not unusual to have a plant reach over 6 ft. tall.

We are all accustomed to planting tomatoes and peppers deep into the soil. When planting your grafted plant, be aware, there is a distinct planting depth that must be followed---the graft must be at or above the soil or mulch line---never below!! Pick up a FREE planting guide when you purchase your plants from our expanded inventory. The grafted plants are a bit more expensive than traditional vegetable plants---the reason-grafting is labor-intensive and not all grafts are successful. The potential payoff has irresistible appeal-- more produce with less fuss!!    

• Lanoha's Season Long Lawn Program is now available. Built around our Lanoha premium lawn food, which is specially formulated for Omaha soils, it has been the choice of satisfied customers for decades. The first step, lawn food with a pre-emergent herbicide should be applied in the window of April 15-May 10. Pick up your FREE lawn care guide today. Join hundreds of satisfied customers who have terrific turf by following this program.  
• Last year, ash flower bud gall mite was very active. It caused ash trees to develop clusters of hard black galls on the tips of branches that were unsightly and did not drop when the leaves dropped in the fall.  To prevent this from happening, spray the ash canopy when the buds are swelling and almost ready to open into leaf and repeat in 5-7 days. Use Bonide's Systemic Insect spray or Hi-Yield 38 Plus to prevent this mite damaging insect.
• Discount nurseries in the metro area offer Southern grown trees that are dug with under-sized root balls, so more trees can be packed onto a semi for the long trip north to Nebraska. Often sold at prices "too good to believe", the balloon bursts when the unsuspecting homeowner discovers that the tree will not thrive in Nebraska weather. COMPARE THAT TO LANOHA TREES which are locally grown from northern seed and seedling stock and are fully acclimated to conditions in Nebraska. Because the trees are dug from our local fields and the trip to the Garden Center is only a few miles, we deliberately dig OVER-SIZED ROOT BALLS to ensure minimal transplant shock and your success!!
• Floating row cover is a lightweight spun-bond fabric that will protect tender vegetables and flowers against temps as low as 26 degrees. It is very inexpensive insulation against spring weather's sudden mood changes. It is available in a 10'x12' sheet, and it's reusable.
• Arbor Day in Nebraska is April 25th. Remember it was Nebraska that had the first Arbor Day back in pioneer days---1872.  More than a million trees were planted in one day by those early settlers. Join in and plant a tree on Arbor Day's 204th birthday. Today Arbor Day is celebrated worldwide. Be a proud Nebraskan---plant a tree for yourself, a school, a church, a friend, a relative, or even a neighbor!!
• Be sure to get Ferti.lome's Systemic Insect Drench applied around ash, linden, crabs, and birch to prevent borers and Japanese beetles NOW. Pick up your FREE guide from the Information Center or ask our knowledgeable staff about this important gardening product!
• Our greenhouse is overflowing with color for your patio planters and garden beds. We do custom plantings and will help you select the right plant for that perfect container that will greet friends and family all summer. Our selection has never been this complete!