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February 2016
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Vol 5, Issue 10
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Greetings from Christianson's!
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 And when wind and winter harden All the loveless land, It will whisper of the garden, You will understand.
~Oscar Wilde
February is the month for planning, prepping and pruning. Notoriously unpredictable, the weather can change from spring-like temperatures to a deep freeze in a matter of hours! The second half of February is the worst. At the Nursery, we make daily notes of the weather and from memory, in what John calls, "a long history of suffering." Our advice to our customers is to proceed with caution when wanting to do anything spring-like in the garden this month. Best to wait until the first part of March before pruning softer wood plants like roses.
In fact timing is important when pruning. Different plants have different pruning "rules." Spring flowering shrubs should be pruned when they have completed their flowering cycle. Because flowers bud on last spring's wood, pruning them in winter would leave you without any flower buds. This rule applies to lilac, pyracantha, quince, rhododendrons, older varieties of hydrangea, camelia and viburnum. When gardeners come into the Nursery asking why their spring flowering shrub doesn't bloom, the first question I ask is when do they normally prune it? A rule of thumb is, if it blooms before June, don't winter prune, wait 'till blooms dry to try (I just made that up).
Summer flowering shrubs produce flower buds during their new growth period in the spring and are best pruned in the winter months. You can prune Rose of Sharon (hibiscus), rose, butterfly bush, Japanese maples, spirea, smoke bush, mock orange and many other deciduous shrubs that branch upward from the root system, including deciduous trees. Again, be aware of our sudden freeze cycles when pruning tender caning shrubs like roses.
Conifers are best pruned in the fall and if you have a pine, candeling works well. With a flick of the wrist, simply snap off the new growth that's shaped like a candle standing up. Cutting off a pine's candles with pruners will cut the emerging needles in half and look unsightly when the candle opens up.
Fruit tree pruning is a whole different topic that deserves a column all on its own. Best to take one of our classes on fruit tree pruning because these trees have different requirements for best fruit production.
Summer flowering shrubs produce flower buds during their new growth period in the spring and are best pruned in the winter months. You can prune Rose of Sharon (hibiscus), rose, butterfly bush, Japanese maples, spirea, smoke bush, mock orange and many other deciduous shrubs that branch upward from the root system, including deciduous trees. Again, be aware of our sudden freeze cycles when pruning tender caning shrubs like roses.
Conifers are best pruned in the fall and if you have a pine, candeling works well. With a flick of the wrist, simply snap off the new growth that's shaped like a candle standing up. Cutting off a pine's candles with pruners will cut the emerging needles in half and look unsightly when the candle opens up.
Fruit tree pruning is a whole different topic that deserves a column all on its own. Best to take one of our classes on fruit tree pruning because these trees have different requirements for best fruit production. Of course, addressing the four D's first - dead, diseased, damaged and deranged (a branch crossing over another branch) is all the pruning the plant needs. There's also the pruning budget to remember which suggests no more than a quarter to a third of the plant be removed in any one season.
If the idea of pruning has you faklempt, we are offering some great classes this month and in March on pruning techniques, so be sure to check out our class listings below. Our pruning instructors are professionals in the field, so you'll get great instruction and advice.
As to the prepping topic, the Northwest Flower and Garden Show is February 17 - 21 at the Convention Center in Seattle. What better way to start your gardening juices flowing than with the beautiful display gardens and great seminars. The show is full of ideas and inspiration and well worth the trip! We'll have a beautiful booth located in the north building just across the sky bridge, so come by and say hello.
Of course, the winter landscape does not have to feel bleak because there are hellebores! During the month, the front of our Nursery will be stocked with many fabulous, blooming hellebore varieties. We'll have our best selection during our Winter Festival, February 27 and 28th. Local horticulture expert, Riz Reyes, is teaching a class on how to grow and care for hellebores on Saturday, February 27th at 11 a.m. Riz is a delightful speaker and also plans to show how to use the long-lasting blooms in flower arrangements. The class is complimentary as part of the Festival.
It's a good time to start planning and we are here to help you out with our expert Nursery advice. Time to sharpen those pruners and get to work!
Debra Lacy,
Certified Professional Horticulturist & Editor
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Where To Find Us
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15806 Best Road
Mount Vernon, WA 98273
Map and directions
www.christiansonsnursery.com
360-466-3821
1-800-585-8200
Winter Hours
Open daily 9 am - 5 pm
Starting March 1
Open until 6 pm
Weekly Radio Broadcast:
Sunday Mornings at 10:30 am
The Garden Show
with John and Mike
KAPS AM 660
Voted Best Greenhouse and Nursery
in Skagit Publishing's
People's Choice Awards for
2010, 2011 and 2012
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February Specials
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February 1-14
Blooming Witch Hazel
& HeatherFabulous Winter color! 20% off
February 15-29 Roses
Our biggest Rose Sale
of the year!
Includes antique, English, climbing and drought
tolerant Rugosa roses.
20% off 
February 27-28
Hellebores
Hundreds of our favorite Winter-flowering perennials 20% off (2 days only)
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Upcoming Classes & Events
For more information visit our web site at
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Northwest Flower & Garden Show
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Flower Buses  
This year, the Northwest Flower and Garden Show takes place February 17 - 21. We are happy once again to offer our "Flower Buses" so you can enjoy the show without the stress of driving and finding parking. Buses leave the Nursery at 8:30 a.m. and return at around 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, February 17, 18 and 19. The cost of a combination show ticket and bus ride is $52. Call the Nursery today (360-466-3821) to reserve your space. The Nursery also has early bird tickets for just the show ($17 per person, a $5 saving over the at-the-door price). While at the show, check out the great plants and garden antiques we have for sale at our booth located at the entrance to the North building right after the sky bridge.
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Tenth Annual Winter Festival: A Fascination For Hellebores
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Saturday and Sunday, February 27 -28
 Guest Speaker Riz Reyes presenting Hellebores: A Primer for Gardeners and Floral Designers
Saturday at 11:00 a.m.
On this weekend in February our vintage 1946 Propagation House will be filled with a profusion of winter color. Flower color in winter is unusual enough in our Pacific Northwest but to have flowers that bloom dependably through rain, sleet, and snow with long lasting blooms and beautiful variations of color, will be a great discovery for those gardeners unaware of this genera. And for those of us familiar with Hellebores we know what a single plant can do for our spirits if planted along our walk to and from our home. One established hellebore makes a welcoming statement, but a large drift of plants makes a grand statement! This can happen by letting the flowers set seed and naturalize in a part of the garden. Even after the flowers fade, these plants look great for the rest of the year. The dark green, bold and unusual foliage that surrounds the flowers in winter adds texture to the garden until the following winter.
Helping us celebrate this winter flower will be noted Horticulturist Riz Reyes, who will present the basic types, culture and breeding of Hellebores. He will also discuss using them in the garden and containers. After his presentation, Riz will demonstrate how to incorporate Hellebores as cut flowers into floral designs. All in all, an inspiring and educational morning for those seeking winter color in their gardens.
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Exciting New Hellebore Varieties For 2016!
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Hellebores are a great addition for adding winter blooms to shady gardens. In general, Hellebores are hardy evergreen plants that prefer part-shade and moist, well drained soil. Prune old foliage off when new growth starts to emerge in winter, in order to best show off the blooms. The new varieties have been hybridized to have upward facing flowers for a better show.
Here are three new varieties for this year:
Helleborus 'Madame Lemmonier': Found in a private garden in France and introduced by Heuger of Germany, it is a natural crossing of H. niger × H. orientalis hybrid. Decidedly large, upward-facing pink flowers with just a subtle white brush stroke in the center of each petal give it a lovely, delicate look. Grows 12 to 18 inches tall and wide. A very promising variety.
Helleborus 'Silver Veil': This variety is so new, we know little about it! But, according to our Perennial Buyer, Katherine, "This is the silveriest hellebore I've ever seen!" Flowers are greenish-white with a touch of blush as they age. The silver leaves contrast dramatically with red stems. Grows 12 inches tall and wide.
Helleborus 'Sparkle': Such a cheerful hybrid of H. x ballardiae! Upright foliage supports early blooms of upright star-shaped, rose-pink reverse on a white face. Shorter, growing to 10 inches tall and 12 inches wide.
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'Madame Lemmonier'
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'Silver Veil'
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'Sparkle'
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It's Bare Root Season!
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 During the month of January, we receive many different varieties of bare root fruiting trees and shrubs, and flowering trees and shrubs. Bare root plants have many advantages over potted or balled and burlaped types. First, the roots adapt well to our native soil conditions. Second, bare root trees and shrubs cost less than potted or balled and burlaped because shipping from growers is less expensive and the labor to pot or wrap the root ball is missing. Finally, bare root plants are so much lighter and easier for you to transport - you can fit a whole orchard in your car! It's important to keep the roots moist at all times. Ask one of our Nursery experts about how to properly condition and plant a bare root tree or shrub. Be sure to come into the Nursery soon for the best selection. The bare root season ends April 1st, when leaves emerge and the plants need to be potted into soil.
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Nursery Expansion Update
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We've been as busy as ever with our current nursery expansion. The new greenhouse will add approximately 2000 square feet of retail space which means a larger inventory of beautiful annuals and other seasonal plants such as herbs. The completion date should be around the end of February in time for our Hellebore Festival, February 27-28. 
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SE view of the new Retail Greenhouse expansion.
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Looking from the SW at the new Retail Greenhouse expansion. The entry is on the left side.
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South central entrance to the Retail Greenhouse expansion.
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The new pad on the west end of the new Retail Greenhouse expansion. This space will be used for receiving and labeling plants, and for demonstrations.
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The Garden
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 Rachel Anderson has decided to take a hiatus from her monthly "to do" articles. She will appear as a periodic guest writer for Garden Notes. You can access her previous articles on our web site's blog at www.christiansonsnursery.com. |
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Primrose Antiques & Gifts
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Beauty is truth, truth beauty, that is all ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.
from 'Ode on a Grecian Urn' by John Keats
February is the perfect month for clearing clutter, spring cleaning, and revitalizing our living spaces. Here at Primrose we are doing the same. Our shelves have been cleared, our pillows have been fluffed, and we are bringing out a fresh new assortment of fancy goods to celebrate the arrival of spring. Here are just a few of the treasures you will find in Primrose this month:
Many wonderful new collections of candles, soaps and lotions in beautiful containers and wrappings, and refreshing spring fragrances. In addition to our tried and true favorites, we are introducing a few new lines, such as U.S. Apothecary from K. Hall Studio, which comes in delicious botanical scents such as 'Juniper & Geranium', 'Orange Flower', 'Rose Water', and 'Elderflower & Vetiver'. For spring decorating and nesting, we have a wonderful selection of new and unique items, such as mirrors, cloches, lanterns, statuary, floor mats, birdhouses, an armillary sundial, and so much more!
For the kitchen, we have everything from practical to whimsical - porcelain citrus juicers, asparagus tongs, vintage ice cream scoops, colanders, cookbooks, and cotton aprons in delightful vintage prints.
For dining and entertaining, we have a great new selection of towels and napkins for all occasions, from luxurious 100% pure linen to cotton flour sack towels with whimsical designs. As always, we have a wide selection of botanically-inspired paper napkins and place mats for springtime entertaining.
All of the aforementioned items make perfect gifts and you know what that means - you'll need a card! We have freshened up our card racks and have a great assortment of new greeting cards, including cards from four new lines - Artists to Watch, Lucca Paperworks, P Flynn Design, and Montgomery Street. We hope you'll visit Primrose this month and
join us as we celebrate spring and the beauty of simplicity!
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Fresh Ideas
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Here's a collection of interesting ideas, helpful tips and great recipes gathered together to inspire and inform. Always on the look out for information on best practices, new approaches to horticultural related topics and delicious recipes, we hope you enjoy this month's collection of fresh ideas!
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Garden Notes Editor:
Debra Lacy, Public Relations
Christianson's Nursery & Greenhouse
360-466-3821
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