In early March 2021, I lgot off the plane in Phoenix and began my Arizona vacation by heading up toward the Grand Canyon. I knew I was in that desert environment so prominently romanticized in Western films due to the mighty Saguaro cacti I could see in every direction. If you see a wild Saguaro, you can be certain you are in the Sonoran. This 100,000 square mile desert in Arizona, Sonora Mexico, and a corner of California is the only place this cactus grows.

A Saguaro is hard to miss. They average 10-52 feet high with the tallest on record being 78 feet. When fully hydrated they can weigh between 3200 and 4800 pounds. These dimensions are reached over its 150-200 year lifespan. They have 3 inch spines, and had I been there in April, I may have seen its waxy white flower bloom. The root system typically fans out as far as the cactus is tall, about 3 to 6 inches underground with a 3 inch tap root.

If you live in Arizona, but don't have a Saguaro on your property, you can have one planted. The best time is fall after the monsoon season. Plants under 5' can be purchased and planted by your average homeowner. Larger specimens require heavy equipment including cranes and backhoes. As much of the root system as possible must be preserved and the cactus must be planted in the same orientation in regards to the sun as it was where it was taken from. Only authorized companies are allowed to harvest Saguaro from landowners willing to sell them. Cacti with arms are more expensive than ‘spears’. Armless spears cost about $75-$125 a foot. A one-armed 75-90 year old specimen can go for $1500-$2300 installed. A large transplant cannot be deemed successful until an entire year has passed. I would hate to be the person who paid $2300 for a dead cactus, which does not include removal. When planting young Saguaro (sounds like a safer bet, but not nearly as impressive), make sure to give them a shade providing ‘nurse’ plant like the Palo Verde to give them a break from the unrelenting sun. If you don’t live in Arizona or Mexico, small plants can be grown indoors provided they have plenty of sun.

If I lived in southwest Arizona I think I would just go visit them at their home instead of kidnapping them and forcing them to live at mine, since they are plentiful inside and outside of urban areas. Or, I could just buy a piece of property that already has some.

So, remember...If you are lost and see Saguaros, relax. You are in the Sonoran desert and have narrowed down your location to an area about 100,000 square miles, and you are most likely in Arizona or Mexico. Technically no longer lost, at least on a global scale.

I’ve always thought of myself as traditional. I’ll be the first to admit, in my personal life, I am not an “early adopter”. For example, I finally started feeling comfortable using my iPod right about the time that Apple decided to begin discontinuing them. I find comfort in the familiar and have turned into a bit of a curmudgeon when it comes to trying something new.

However, the agriculture industry was all shaken up by last year's introduction of the Cosmic Crisp apple. I sat up and took notice, mainly because I love Honeycrisp apples but think they are expensive and difficult to find. I like this variety so much that a few years back, I did some research on them. It turns out that Honeycrisp are difficult for an orchardist to cultivate and ship to stores. Not just a little difficult… really strenuous. It only wants to bear fruit every other year. Because of its thin skin, about 35-40% of the harvest is damaged and cannot be sold. And on top of that, the labor to harvest is increased through preventative measures to carefully pack to prevent damage in shipping. The final straw is that cold storage is difficult and generally only viable for 9 months.

So, what does all this mean for apple producers? A whole lot of hassle on a consumer favorite apple that just keeps growing in popularity.

Enter the Cosmic Crisp. Bred for superior taste, appearance, shelf life and disease resistance, this variety took the things that made other apples difficult to sell or produce and tried to solve them. It seems they have succeeded. Taste tests with consumers have gone well and cold storage tests have gone even better with more than a year of storage capacity.

My status as an early adopter might have to change, because I tried Cosmic Crisp the first season they arrived in grocery stores, last fall. I’m such a fan that I’ve been looking for them ever since. Unfortunately, quantities are limited and more expensive. So, I really didn’t solve my Honeycrisp riddle, merely moved it to a new focus. However, I have hope that the Cosmic Crisp will improve in both availability and price, since they are not facing the same production issues that the Honeycrisp are still struggling to overcome.

In our industry, we see hundreds of new plants come onto the market every year. Breeders are striving to improve the flaws in each genus. Are they succeeding? Yes. How do we know? We’re “taste-testing” them individually and watching what the experts at University trials are reporting. Your team here at Christensen’s does their research on all the plants we offer. We’re happy to point you towards the best options for your installation.

With the amazing number of bulb varieties in the world it is always a difficult task to decide what to order for our shelves each season, which is why we encourage you to order ahead of time (now) if you want something in particular.

We get 80% of our bulbs from the same vendor and have been doing business with them for over 30 years. We continue this relationship because they can provide the best quality and size bulbs. People always ask if size matters, and the answer is YES!  The bigger the bulb, the older the bulb. It is like buying an already established plant in a little package. You get a stronger plant with lots of blooms and instant display. The plants themselves are also more robust, producing more bulblets for more flowers!

All bulb packages show the bulb size, which is measured in centimeters and references the girth of the bulb at the widest point. When we say a bulb is “top size” that means you are getting bulbs at the high end of the range and you will see that reflected in the garden next season. Your customer will expect a nice display, but how about giving the unexpected - a grand display!

As you will notice on the bulb mailer we sent out recently, many of our varieties are tried and true and have earned their place as staples. Start with the Emperor tulips, with their large flowers, many colors, and sturdy stems. Another classic choice are Darwin Hybrid tulips. Blooming a little later than the Emperors, they also have strong stems, lots of colors, and are known to perennialize, which can maximize their potential. The dark plum ‘Negrita’ Triumph tulip is another show-stopper - pair it with a pink like ‘The Cure’ or ‘Pink Impression’ and wow!

If you are a narcissus fan, you can’t go wrong with ‘Dutch Master’ (yellow), or ‘Mount Hood’ (white). But you can certainly mix it up a little by choosing other varieties in different heights and colors to add some kick or longevity. The white and yellow ‘Ice Follies’ is a gorgeous traditional narcissus that can naturalize and withstands cold, wet spring weather.

Everyone must have a giant Allium, of course! Some people look at them as niche, others think of them as truly great performers. Bulbous Alliums require a little patience. They do not look like the picture on day one, but oh… give them time and they will stand up straight at 3’ with massive purple globes.

Don’t overlook the minor bulbs - not very tall but they get a lot of attention as they are our first look at spring. Many of them naturalize and you haven’t lived until you’ve seen a great sea of blue scilla carpeting the flowerbeds. Crocus large and small, Chionodoxa, Iris, Muscari and the short early narcissus like ‘Tete-a-Tete’ prove themselves year after year.

If you’re not installing bulbs in your designs, it’s time you did - take your client’s landscapes from wow to POW!

Adhesives hold our world together - literally. Industrial products of all kinds require bonds of varying strength to perform their function, from the furniture in your living room to the parts that intricately connect and hold together the automobile in your driveway. Due to my numerous hobbies I have easily fifteen different varieties in my basement right now. Luckily in our industry, we do not need quite that many. So let's talk about the main two types of adhesive products that you can choose from to make walls and steps; solvent based or polyurethane based.

The first is solvent-based adhesive like our VOC compliant SRW. This style has been the longest in the market and is still highly used. It cures as the solvent evaporates, leaving the polymers. (Cons are toxic and flammable fumes in non-VOC compliant products.) The pros for this product are price and availability, an extremely long shelf life, and basic ease of use. There are a wide range of curing times which are affected by heat, humidity, and moisture. The product will also shrink due to the amount of evaporation during the curing process, which mostly isn't a factor in our industry.

The next type of adhesive is polyurethane-based, such as Brickstick. The curing process for this product uses air and moisture. Since there are no solvents, there is no shrinking or cracking while this product cures. It can also withstand higher temperatures like you would see in a fire pit or fireplace. Lastly, the speed at which this product cures is probably the most significant reason this type of adhesive is sought after. However, that speed can also be problematic if you need to move, shift, or rearrange something so plan accordingly. It is also harder to remove from hands or tools. The shelf life is under a year so pay attention to that when stocking up.

Both types of adhesives will perform well for most of your applications. They are both usable in rain or snow, so mother nature won't get in the way. Both are low-VOC compliant (volatile organic compound) so enclosed areas are no problem. Here at Christensen's we stock both types of adhesive, to have you covered in whichever choice you make. Ask one of our salesmen about the whats and whys so we can better help adhere to your needs and stick you with a great product.

Earlier in life I enjoyed a lack of sensitivity to our old friend, poison ivy (Toxicodendron radicans). The allergic reaction to this plant can wax and wane throughout one's life, but most of us start out allergic and stay allergic, with the effects growing worse with each exposure. I had a friend that even got it in the winter, but I never did. Part of it was that I quickly learned to recognize it even at a distance, especially after noticing the resemblance to Fragrant Sumac (Rhus aromatica), a safe-to-handle ornamental native shrub. Check out this website here for some examples.

However. A few years ago (OK, it was 15) I was surprised by a nasty case that required a course of steroids to get rid of. Maybe doing that woodland cleanup on a humid day wasn't such a good idea? Now I dedicate myself to avoiding poison ivy at all costs. I didn't encounter too much of it in my suburban garden but out here in my country garden holy heck it is everywhere. The tricky part is to not only look for those "leaves of three" but those tell-tale rooty vines clambering up tree trunks, with no foliage at eye-level where you stand a chance of noticing it, until popping great big leaves in the canopy, blending in with your hardwoods. Don't lean on any tree trunks!

A major issue is that poison ivy foliage is extremely variable. The three-leaf thing is definitely an ID point, but the darn leaves can be notched or smooth, matte or a bit shiny. The one thing that seems constant is it's exceptional vigor - it looks green and healthy all season until it bursts into glorious fall color. And while poision ivy is usually seen as a vine or groundcover, it can get quite woody and shrublike with age.

Another thing that confuses people is that there are OTHER vining plants found in the same habitat. Can you reliably tell wild grape and woodbine (parthenocissus) from poision ivy? Another fooler - baby boxelder seedlings. Even I sometimes glove up to pull one, just to be on the safe side. But I will tell you, if you see white berries on a vine, you are looking at poison ivy. Incidentally those berries are a valued food for plenty of wildlife which helps explain why it comes up everywhere.

In other (unwelcome) news, climate change is is making poison ivy both more virulent and allergenic. Ugh. Climate change is making poison ivy stronger and itchier

To remove it one must either pull it or use Roundup (glyphosate). Sever the vines that are climbing your shade trees, treat the fresh-cut stump, and spray any regrowth that occurs. Forget those "organic" salt and vinegar recipes, it's just going to re-sprout, and salting the soil is undesirable. And you must never, ever burn it as the smoke is toxic. Goats eat it, so you could see about renting a herd of them to clean up your acre, like the City of Ann Arbor does. Keep a bottle of Technu by the sink, and in your work truck or garden tool bag for fast treatment if you think you've been exposed and you might save yourself a trip to the doctor for a steroid pack.

If you’ve ever spent any time in the Sonoran Desert, shade is a huge commodity, and there aren't a lot of shade trees. Fortunately there is a fast growing member of the legume family that is native to that desert and does provide shade with it’s 25’ x 25’ multi stemmed canopy, and it is used extensively in the Phoenix area as a landscape and street tree. It is the Palo Verde.

This tree not only provides the important function of providing shade, it is quite beautiful.  Palo Verde roughly translates to ‘green stick’ or ‘green pole’. This is because the trunk and branches are green, and there is a fascinating reason for this.

The tree is full of small leaves that will drop during cold weather or drought. The Palo Verde’s trunk and branches are green because they contain chlorophyll and allow the tree to survive tough times by continuing to be able to photosynthesize without its leaves.

The tree has another beautiful feature which is the mid-spring emergence of yellow flowers all throughout the canopy. This bloom can also occur during unexpected summer rain events. And the tree supplies seed pods which are a source of food for many native animal species.

A good location in the landscape for this tree is a patch of sandy/gravelly, well drained soil in full sun. It is recommended to prune the tree often when young to develop the ability to walk or sit under it, though you should make sure to prune in warm weather as pruning in cold weather is damaging to the plant. Newly planted and young trees benefit from supplemental watering to help get them established. Continued supplemental watering once established will encourage faster growth and a thicker canopy, but this practice will shorten the life of the tree which on rare occasions can reach the century mark.

Despite how common this plant is in Arizona landscapes, there is a good reason for it and the commonness did not diminish the beauty of this plant for me. I would probably cultivate several of these trees for their shade with brief forays into the blistering sun to visit my agave before running back to the protection of their canopy where there would be some delicious ‘prickly pear’ lemonade or iced tea waiting for me. I wonder if there are understory plants that grow in the desert...?

Genetically modified foods have gotten quite a bad rap in the past few years, something I attribute to both a lack of knowledge and a multi million-dollar marketing campaign by the Non-GMO Project. That innocent looking butterfly that’s seemingly plastered on everything from salt to bread is an enormous spreader of misinformation. To begin with, salt does not have any genes to modify so a “Non-GMO” label is a bit misleading! I’ll try to dispel some of the more outlandish claims here.

Claim #1: Genetically modified produce is not as healthy as produce that is grown organically.

FALSE. There has been zero correlation between Genetic Modification and the health of food. Foods that have been genetically modified actually have a much more extensive testing and trialing process than traditionally grown foods. Biofortification can also result in a crop that has more nutrients than those that are traditionally grown. Ex. Golden Rice. (a)

Claim #2: Genetically Modified Crops are more expensive to cultivate.

FALSE. While it is true that there is a slightly higher price up front, “the economic advantages associated with insecticide savings and higher effective yields more than outweigh the technology fee charged on GM seeds.” (b)

Claim #3: The use of genetically modified crops only benefits large corporations.

FALSE. Globally, most genetically modified crops are grown by subsistence and small batch farmers solely for the purpose of providing for their families and the surrounding community. The recently approved GMO Cassava plant in Kenya produces a root with about 10 times more carbohydrates than the average cereal. It can also be grown in marginal and drought prone areas which account for about 80% of the land in Kenya. (c)

Claim #4: Genetically Modified crops use fewer pesticides.

TRUE. Most crops that have been genetically modified have actually been modified to be more resistant to diseases and pests. For example, with Genetically Modified corn, scientists engineered it to contain a gene that excretes a protein to kill invading pests such as the corn borer, thus eliminating the need to be sprayed with an insecticide (d).

(a) Ingo Potrykus, Lessons from the ‘Humanitarian Golden Rice’ project: regulation prevents development of public good genetically engineered crop products, New Biotechnology, Volume 27, Issue 5, 2010, Pages 466-472, ISSN 1871-6784 

(b) The Economics of Genetically Modified Crops, Annual Review of Resource Economics, Vol. 1:665-694 (Volume publication date 2009) First published online as a Review in Advance on June 26, 2009

(c) Kenya approves disease-resistant GMO cassava

(d) Gewin V (2003) Genetically Modified Corn— Environmental Benefits and Risks. PLOS Biology

… as inspired by Billy Joel.

Thirty years… who would've believed that? I know I didn't expect it! So, I wanted to write something special to commemorate my third decade with Christensen’s.

Before the COVID-19 shutdown last spring, I had been planning on getting tickets for Billy Joel, who was coming to town. Definitely a bucket list concert for me, but… since there was no telling how long lockdown would last, I decided to take my finger off off the “buy tickets” button. Good thing that I did. When we return to some form of normalcy, maybe he'll come back one more time. One can hope, right?

Anyway, that is when I came up with the idea of an improvisation to a Billy Joel song.

GREAT IDEA, Cap'n! You can do it!

I started out with the ever popular “We Didn't Start The Fire”. It was coming together beautifully, but then the song kept going and going… and going. I was running out of witty lines to put in for its sixteen parts (I got to about ten), while maintaining the pace and trying to keep it in chronological order.

You may have predicted by now that I hit a wall.

I tried spinning all kinds of ideas around and it just wasn't working out, so I put it on the back burner. But then ANOTHER song popped into my head, and it all started coming together. It is, arguably, the song that got Mr. Joel launched to stardom. While option one probably took a month to piece together to no avail, option two came together in about four hours.

So, please enjoy “Thirty years of the Cap'n”, as inspired and based on the rhythm of Billy Joel's “Piano Man”.

*Harmonica introduction that we all know*

It's 8am on a Monnnnday
And contractors start shufflin' in.
Thirty seasons in now with CPC.
So let our saga begin…

Off to the yard, we're unloading trees!
In March, it's pretty damn coooold.
There's rain, snow and mud, and mixed with some sleet,              
I need ten changes of clothes….

La da da dee dee dah….
La da da dee dee daaaaaah haaaa….

*Chorus*
Teach me about plants, you're a Nurseryman!
Show me ponds, legos, and lights!
You help our designs turn out beautiful,
From morning, through the day, and the night.

Some contractors have become friends of mine
Since I was around twenty-three.
Some share a joke, while some bum a smoke
While we're cruisin' on a cart tagging treeeees.

Some say “Dave, The Green Industry's killin' me!”
As the laughter fades away from their face
“I could've had, maybe, an office job”
“But I can't stay cooped up in one place!”

La da da dee dee dah….
La da da dee dee daaaaaah haaaa….

My alias is called “Cap'n Obvious”
You're my “Minions” when I rant, vent, and write.
I'm the first of four “Daveys”, which I find pretty crazy,
And I've been here over half of my liiiiife.

We've all learned about plants and new hybrids
Logistics, Distribution, and sales goals.
Fatigue creeps up on you with a vengeance
And you're exhausted by the time you get hooooome.

<Visualize me doing “air-piano”here>

*Chorus*
Teach me about plants, you're a Nurseryman!
Show me ponds, legos, and lights!
You help our designs turn out beautiful,
From morning, through the day, and the night.

There's a few dozen trucks before Memorial Day
Upper management throws us a smile.
It’s impressive to me when all of you come to see
Our controlled chaos for a while.

And the loaders roar like dinosaurs!
Is it six yet? I sure need a beeeeer!
I step out in the yard and hear “Good Lord! You're still bald!”
“But Cap'n, it's great you're still here!”

La da da dee dee dah….
La da da dee dee daaaaaah haaaa….

*Chorus*
Teach me about plants, you're a Nurseryman!
Show me ponds, legos, and lights,
You help our designs turn out beautiful,
From morning, through the day, and the night.

Ladies and gentlemen, it has been a pleasure serving you for the past thirty years. From the days when I was an eighteen-year old punk kid working at Rushton Farms as a production worker in the tree fields, to the today where you trust me and all of us at Christensen's to help coordinate and assist to make your design visions become a reality.

I would say let's see what the next thirty years will be like, but I'm going to be honest: That would put me at seventy-eight years old. At that point, I plan on being on a beach, sipping on some tropical drink that has a fruit basket as a garnish on top of it, and enjoying retirement.    

Thank you, everyone! And my apologies if the lyrics to this tune gets stuck in your head for the rest of the day!

Dave “Cap'n” Reutter

Early this spring I had the privilege of visiting the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix, Arizona, where I had my eyes opened to how many different varieties of agave there are. They reminded me of hostas back home.  Agave: loves dry heat and sun. Hosta: prefers shade and cooler temps. They are culturally opposite but have some things in common as a landscape plant. (For our Southwestern friends who think hosta is the agave of the Midwest... write your own article.)

They are both easy to care for, though agave may have an edge in that area. They do resemble each other somewhat and are both grown mainly for the look of their foliage. This foliage comes in all shapes, sizes and colors. Over 250 different varieties of agave are out there. Hostas on the other hand top 3000! Hostas come with many variations of the colors blue, green, gold, and white, with many combining these colors in variegated foliage. Agave have a similar palette, but also include some purple and pink and come in variegated varieties as well. When it comes to diversity of shape and textures, agave certainly seems to have the upper hand. Some varieties of agave reach sizes a hosta could only dream of.

The largest agave is Agave atrovirens. It can weigh a total of 2 metric tonnes. Each leaf can be over 14 feet long and weigh over one hundred pounds, and the flower stalk can grow over 40 feet tall. This may not be suitable as a landscape plant, but the Blue American is a gorgeous large landscape plant at 4-6 feet tall and 8-10 feet wide. These, along with other large varieties, can make the largest hosta feel inadequate. Leaves on agave can be wide or narrow, short or long, tightly packed or loose and open. The more you research the more amazed you become with the sheer variety

If I lived in more arid regions, I might miss certain plants, like hostas, but I could see myself joining the ranks of other obsessed agave collectors. Going to agave swaps across the southwest, scouring the internet for more varieties, drunk on my own home made mezcal. Deeper into the rabbit hole I would go, dabbling in cactus and succulents until I’m hooked on them as well. It wouldn't be long until I was involved in shady back alley deals trying to get my hands on the rarest varieties.

There would be an intervention most likely... to no avail.

 All photographs copyright David E. Baker.

In my favorite Westerns, “Howdy, partner” was a common greeting. Having partners and friends was the key to survival in the Wild West. Today, partnerships can be a wonderful way to do business. The collaboration brings out the strengths in each organization, and deficiencies can be offset with shared experience and knowledge. Partnerships require honest, open communication to be most successful. It’s hard to be an expert in every aspect of today’s projects. Knowing what is going on in the marketplace and being prepared has never been more crucial. When you partner with your supplier, your team now has the knowledge and expertise of hundreds of growers, manufacturers and distributors. When your projects come in, share with your partner all your concerns and opportunities so you can work together for better outcomes that build your partnership.

Welcome to 2021 - the most challenging year in your career. The economic shutdown and Covid-19 has nearly destroyed the nursery and horticulture supply chain as we know it. We might as well be building it from scratch. It started with the evergreen shortage, quickly spread into commodities, containers - all the products we use every day and then - not to be left out - our hardscape suppliers have also been doing everything they can to keep up. The industry that took decades to build was brought to it’s knees in a little over a year. The creativity from our buyers and the flexibility of our vendors has been nothing short of amazing.

In addition, the transportation challenge has many aspects. The industry lost many drivers, and the demand in other industries is off the charts. The long and short of it is, transportation costs are through the roof, and our ability to move product has been greatly impacted. Another challenge I know you are familiar with is labor. The saying “Good people are hard to find” has been replaced with “Anyone has been hard to find”. When you can get a signing bonus at McDonald’s, you know the labor market is jazzed up.

We have faced many of these challenges in the past, maybe not all at the same time, but we have survived. But here’s the thing. You have never had so many opportunities to make money. The phones won’t stop ringing, the projects keep getting signed and the demand is not letting up anytime soon! So, buckle up, “Partner”, each week brings a new creative solution to our ever changing season.

This year will continue to test our mettle, but we can come out of this better, more adaptable, and willing to meet any challenge. We are learning and changing to meet the needs of the day. When you partner with Christensen’s Plant and Hardscape Centers rest assured, we are working hard every day to be the best supplier and partner we can be. So, stop in today and say, “Howdy, partner” and let’s meet this challenge together. Partnership, collaboration and our shared experience will lead to our success. Enjoy the summer season and remember we are all in this together.