Next week we will be receiving a nice assortment of greens for the upcoming holiday season! Wreaths, roping, swags and more. Please call the office in Newtown for details 203-426-4037.

Let's Honor Our Veterans!

Sunday, November 11th is Veterans Day. We would like to extend our profound gratitude to all veterans, those who have served in the past and all troops currently serving in our armed forces.

We honor your dedication and courage.

Happy Veterans Day!

Shore Juniper (Juniperus conferta)

So, did you miss us last week? Hopefully you all noticed that there wasn't a 'Weekly Picks' in your Inbox last Friday!  Like many of you, thanks to Hurricane Sandy, we had no power or internet. Our generators helped us through the week until all was restored late in the day last Friday. We fared well, thankfully, and hope you are all safe and busy now with post-storm cleanups.

As damage is accessed from both the hurricane and this past week's snow storm, you may need a list of proven salt tolerant plants for your properties along the hard hit shore. Janet has put together a good list of plants that we carry which are excellent choices for replacements. She deliberately based this list on anecdotal experience, both ours and some of our customers who care for properties along the shore. It is by no means complete but it's a great start! Please feel free to let us know if you have any additions!

TREES AND SHRUBS THATWE HAVE SEEN THRIVING AFTER REPEATED SALT WATER INUNDATION: 

Trees       

Juniperus virginiana (Eastern Red Cedar)

Magnolia virginiana (Sweetbay Magnolia)

Malus (Crabapple cvs.)

Thuja plicata 'Green Giant' (Green Giant Arborvitae)

Shrubs 

Aronia (Chokeberry)

Hibiscus syriacus (Rose of Sharon)

Hydrangea petiolaris (Climbing Hydrangea)

Juniperus conferta (Shore Juniper)

Ligustrum ovafolium (Privet)

Myrica pensylvanica (Bayberry)

Vaccinium spp. (Blueberry)

Potentilla (Bush Cinquefoil)

Prunus maritima (Beach Plum)

Rosa rugosa (Rugosa Rose)

TREES AND SHRUBS WE HAVE SEEN THRIVING WITH REGULAR SALT SPRAY (but will not take salt water flooding):

Trees 

Acer platanoides 'Crimson King' (Norway Maple)

Carpinus betulus (European Hornbeam)

Celtis occidentalis (Hackberry)

Cornus florida (Flowering Dogwood)

Gleditsia tricianthos var. inermis (Honeylocust)

Pinus flexilis (Vanderwolf Pine)

Pinus nigra (Austrian Pine)

Pinus thunbergii (Japanese Black Pine)

Prunus serrulata 'Royal Burgundy' (Royal Burgundy Cherry)

Quercus rubra (Red Oak)

Zelkova serrata (Japanese Zelkova)

Shrubs 

Ilex crenata (Japanese Holly)

Ilex glabra (Inkberry)

Ilex x meserveae (Blue Holly)

Ilex verticillata (Winterberry)

Stephanandra incisa (Cutleaf Laceshrub)

Syringa cv's (Lilac)

What: 6 classes to help you prepare for the Arborist Licensing Exam 

Where: 140 Huntingtown Rd. Newtown, CT  (our sales office) 

When: Wednesdays, Jan. 9th - Feb. 13th, 2 pm

Cost: $175 (non-refundable)

Thinking about getting your arborist license? Consider signing up for this 6 session class to help you prepare for it. Detailed information will be coming asap. Call and talk to Mark Kokinchak with any questions or to sign up, 203-426-4037

Welcome spring with Narcissus!

With Wednesday's snow you may have forgotten about planting bulbs but there is still time to get them in, especially with the warmer weather predicted for next week. 

One of our old-fashioned favorites is Narcissus, the tried and true Daffodil.  They've been used for centuries - planted because they do the job: provide early color, are long lived, and form a nice deer and rodent resistant carpet of bright color.

We still have a nice selection including those seen here l-r: Ice Follies, Dutch Master and the mixed assortment. Bags of 250 are also available for your larger jobs.

Plant them in well-drained soil enriched with organic matter about 4-6" deep. If planted too shallow they will produce non-flowering offsets.

Click to read more about Narcissus culture.

"How do salts actually damage plants?"

Mark answers: 

With the coming and going of hurricane Sandy, we are getting the usual questions about salt damage and what can be done about it.

First, most people think of salt as just table salt or sodium chloride. There are thousands of different salts, including fertilizers, various ice-melters and many ions in sea water (see chart below). Salts have the ability to attract moisture from wherever it can get it. The reason why a cut or open wound stings when you get salt in it is because the salt is pulling the moisture out of the cells. When salt from ocean spray sits on leaves and twigs it pulls moisture out of the plant cells (osmosis) desiccating them to the point of death by "burning" the leaves, twigs and stems.

Excess salts in the soil from sea water, ice-melters, and even fertilizers can cause several problems. First, as described above, these excess salts can pull moisture out of the roots causing desiccation and death.  Ions such as sodium also cause problems with soil structure, deflocculating the soil giving it a pasty clay-like texture that is poorly aerated causing oxygen deprivation for the roots.

Some ice-melters such as calcium chloride and sea water (see chart ) are high in chlorides. In the case of chlorides, plants can actually pick up excess  amounts and accumulate them in leaf margins that cause the leaf margins to "burn".

So, what can be done to help mitigate excess salts and their damage? When practical on mild days rinsing off salts from ocean spray with clean water can be enough to prevent damage if there are only a few plants of concern. Wrapping or putting up burlap barriers is also a good protective and proactive option. Spraying with anti-desiccants can also be an option prior to likely periods of excess salt spray.

When plants are inundated with salt water and salts remain in the soil, leaching the root zone with fresh water can wash excess salts from the root zone assuming the soil is permeable.  Gypsum can detach ions, such as sodium,  from soil organic matter allowing them to leach through the soil profile past the root zone. This also improves soil structure reducing compaction and allowing life sustaining oxygen to get to the roots.

When installing new plants in areas likely to be inundated with sea water consider doing raised plantings on a berm. This encourages leaching, decreasing the chance of salt accumulation. Being sensible and planting species that are tolerant and or resistant to salts is also wise - but remember to have realistic expectations under severe conditions. 

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. 

Itea virginica 'Henry's Garnet' - fall show!

On SPECIAL this week are PC Grown Virginia Sweetspire 'Henry's Garnet'. This plant needs to be considered more often! It's a spreading shrub that has great fall color as you can see, plus fragrant white racemes May - June. Plant in full sun to part shade in moist soil. It can take wet feet so it would be a good choice for rain gardens, along sunny streams and low, wet areas - it can even take periods of drought and is pH adaptable. The flowers form on previous season's wood so any pruning should be done after flowering. Growing 3-4' tall x 4-6' wide it is hardy in zones 5-9. Best of all..it's a native plant! Give it a go!  

Continued specials on:

All B&B Japanese Maples - 20% 

All B&B Specialty Conifers, named cultivars only - 20% off

All Magnolia 20% off!
All Fruit Trees 10 & 15 gallon - 30% off

Valid:  Sat. Nov.10 - Fri., Nov. 16.  

** Does NOT include container Japanese Maples.
*Does NOT include screening evergreens, Arborvitae or container conifers.   

Prices are net, no further discount applies. 

Come dump a load!

If you are in need of dumping your load of clean wood chips stop by Planters' Choice! We will gladly take them at no charge. Just come on over to Newtown during business hours and you'll be directed out back. We will also be setting up an area to dump them after hours - just give us a call for details. 203-426-4037 Newtown

Work closer to Watertown? Give that office a call and they'll let you know where to bring them! 860-945-6588  

Thanks!    

Incoming this week! 

Deciduous Shrubs  

Rosa Knockout & Pink Double Knockout  

Check out these great ideas for winter containers!

Broadleaf and Specimen Evergreens 

Ilex glabra ( Inkberry) 'Shamrock'

Juniperus chin. 'Old Gold' (Juniper)

Picea glauca 'Conica' (Dwarf Alberta Spruce) 3, 7 & 15 gal.

Evergreens for Screening
Picea pungens (Colorado Spruce)
P. omorika (Serbian Spruce) 7/8', 8/10' limited

Thuja plicata 'Green Giant' (Western Arborvitae)  

Burlap selections

Hardgoods

*NEW* Green Burlap rolls  48" x 100', 10 oz. weight. Great for your selective customers who want winter protection that's easy on the eyes!  

Need tree staking supplies? We have Oak Stakes (6 and 8 ft.), green Tree Webbing in spools of 250 ft., Duckbill Tree Anchors in 3 sizes and Guy Wire in 5 lb. coils. 


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