It's hard to think about spring during fall planting. But some of Mother Nature's first, and arguably most beautiful, specimens require us to think ahead. Somewhere between fall cleanup and putting the blade on the snow truck, our focus turns to these tiny miracles: BULBS.

Where do you come in? So glad you asked! There are some tips, tricks and helpful products when it comes to installing bulbs and boosting your yield. But, without human hands and a mindful eye on timing, these little guys would wither in their boxes or rot underground before ever getting the chance to bloom. The planting window matters: get them in the ground once nighttime temps settle into the 40s, roughly six weeks before the soil freezes. Bulbs need a snooze called cold stratification to bloom in the spring. And some varieties like longer naps than others. Daffodils like to get a head start, so tuck them in first. Tulips prefer to bed down a bit later in the fall.

What's next? It may sound obvious, but picking the right spot is key. After you determine your area has enough sun and good drainage for the soil, you'll want to dig a hole about 3x as deep as the bulb is tall. If you are planting in mass, an automatic auger is a lifesaver. For the love of God, do not forget the Bulb-Tone®! Place the bulbs with the whiskers down and the point up. Cover with soil and pat down gently. After you water it well, simply let them nap until spring does its thing.

The supplies you need for planting bulbs are available at Christensen's

Now that you have the basics, let's talk pro tips.

• Plant in odd numbers or in clusters, rather than in rows. It will look more organic and impactful when they bloom.
• Add a layer of mulch after planting to help regulate the soil temps and deter squirrels from digging up the bulbs.
• If there is a known varmint issue, mix in a bit of chicken grit or gravel to keep them from digging without harming the plants. You can also grate Irish Spring soap or spray diluted Downy in the areas to keep critters from munching on the leaves.
• We want to keep that foliage long after it blooms, until it turns yellow and dies back naturally. That's how the bulb recharges for next year.
• Bigger bulbs generally mean bigger blooms, so they are worth a little more money.
• Label where you planted so they aren't accidentally dug up in the spring before the flowers emerge.

Where do we go from here? Straight to Christensens to pick out your bulbs, of course! Our knowledgeable staff can help you choose varieties and products to turn these tiny miracles into a full-on magic show come spring.

Planning Ahead: Christensen’s Early Order Program Is Expanding

Every year, the Bulb Early Order Program gives Christensen's customers an opportunity to save a little while helping us plan ahead for the season.

When orders are submitted by the early order deadline, customers receive a small discount, and we get a better idea of what we need to have on hand when the season arrives. It’s a simple approach that helps everyone plan with a little more confidence.

This year, we’re expanding that same idea beyond bulbs. We’re introducing an early order program for tree stakes and burlap, two products that many of our landscape contractor customers rely on toward the end of the year to protect their plantings through Michigan’s winter weather.

Orders are due by October 5th to receive the early order discount!

Why make the addition? Better planning benefits everyone. Obtaining an earlier, clearer picture of demand allows Christensen’s to plan inventory more accurately, resulting in in-stock products when customers need them. For contractors, placing orders early saves money and it’s one less thing to worry about as the season gets busy.

We appreciate everyone who participates in our early order programs. Your early commitments help us serve you better, and we hope this expanded program makes it a little easier—and more rewarding—to plan ahead.

Mid-September is almost upon us, and it is a busy time of year. Now until early November could almost be considered the best time to plant, allowing your plants to "root out" and get comfy before the first freeze.

The graphic below shows some quick statistics and typical weather behavior. 

So, can you plant after that November freeze? Yes, but...

Be a little more careful with your plant choices. The later in the season you plant, the shorter your list of options gets.

Perennials

Shrubs

Trees

Most are a yes. However, there are some trees that are considered a fall hazard for digging and planting. Oaks, Redbuds, Dogwood and Amelanchier are considered fall hazard. A full list of fall hazard trees is available on our website under the Resources tab. If a customer chooses one of these trees in the fall, Christensen's requires a waiver to be signed.

If you do plant...

When planting late in the fall to early winter, remember to mulch and use anti-desiccates (on all evergreens). Also keep watering – Shrubs and Trees will continue to take up water until full dormancy. If you plant something on the "no" list just know it is risky. But If you are careful with the plants and add a little help, they stand a good chance of winter survival.

Christensen's will be here for you well into November and the sales staff available to answer all of your fall planting questions. Stop in, give us a call (1-888-454-8733) or email (sales@christensensplantcenter.com).

One of our long-time sales people, David "Cinco" Krajniak has a passion for photography. At any given time, he has countless photos on his phone to show anyone that asks. And it's worth the ask!!

This week, he shares with us photos of summer blooms. These are all plants you can find at Christensen's Plant Center. Let Cinco, or one of the other sales staff, know what you'd like to add to your next project.

"Here comes the sun...doo-doo-doo." Can you hear the old Beatle's tune in your head when you look at this striking blanket flower? Gaillarida 'Arizona Sun' grows 8-12" tall and blooms early summer through to fall. Because they prefer well-drained soil and full sun, they are drought tolerant.

It's probably not nice to accuse a plant of being stuck-up. But with a name like 'All Eyes on Me', you have to wonder. This Summerific® perennial Hibiscus has reason to show off. Her 8" blooms emerge late summer on a 42" tall plant. They prefer full to partial sun and moist, well-drained soil.

Unlike some of the other mentions above, Sweetbay Magnolia tolerates poorly drained, swampy soils. Which makes sense since it's originally native to eastern coastal areas. However, it thrives in Zones 5-10. This beautiful, delicate, creamy flower has a light, lemony scent.

Another delicate flower can be found on the Pink Chiffon® Hibiscus. Rose of Sharon typically bloom mid-summer, attracting bees, butterflies and hummingbirds. Once established, these are the perfect low-maintenance, 8-12 ft tall deciduous shrubs.

Finishing out the Hibiscus highlights is Woodbridge. Maxing out at a similar size as Pink Chiffon®, this variety contrasts with it's deep pink flowers. 

Christensen's sells hundreds of Limelight Hydrangeas every year, for good reason. This panicle hydrangea is hardy enough for Michigan, growing 6-8' tall. Cinco did a beautiful job of capturing their cone-shaped flowers.

Little Lime Hydrangea, as you'd guess, is the dwarf version of the Limelight. Comparatively, this little guy's mature height is only 3-5' tall. But, it still blooms lime green transitioning to a creamy white that matures to deep pink and then to burgundy in the fall. 

Hydrangea arborescens Invincibelle® Spirit II not only provides these beautiful pink blooms, but for every plant sold, Proven Winners donates $1.00 to Breast Cancer research. At a mature size of 4' x 4', these hydrangea also rebloom from summer into fall.

Rudbeckia 'Goldsturm', similar to Limelights, are a standard at Christensen's. They are also a fall favorite for their golden color. While they smile brightest in full sun, they'll still grow for you in partial shade. Southeast Michigan is full of clay soil so these are also perfect for that!

Speaking of colors that evoke fall, the blood-orange color of this Sombrero® Adobe Orange Echinacea is gorgeous! Drought and deer resistant, pollinators love Coneflowers and as the weather gets cold, the seed cones are the perfect food for birds.

We'll finish this beautiful photo diary with Bubblegum Pink™ Garden Phlox. The Christensen's perennial lot pops with these bright blooms during the summer. Growing to 18-24" in height, they're another favorite of pollinators. Nothing says summer like bright colors that evoke memories of childhood, going to the park with your friends, everyone chewing on DubbleBubble.

Thank you to Dave "Cinco" Krajniak for sharing his talent and beautiful photos with us this week. Contact your Christensen's sales person to add any of these plants to your next project.

It's Sunday morning and stores aren't open yet. You're still in your pajamas anyway. So you go online to shop for a new piece of furniture. But it's so difficult to visualize that new chair, couch or side table in your living room. Wait, there's a button that says "Show Me" or "Try It In Your Space". Suddenly, a picture of that sofa appears on your screen with the instructions to point your device where you want to "place" it. 

Augmented reality is a fun tool. It allows you to "try before you buy", saving money and hassle.

It's also an opportunity for you, as a business owner or project manager/sales person. But who has the resources to develop that kind of technology? The hardscape vendors you buy from through Christensen's have done the work for you. They've developed everything from project galleries to augmented reality. What have you used from this list?

Oaks Landscape Products provides several inspirational opportunities. The Oaks Landscape Project Gallery includes 5 pages of image projects. Their website also has an extensive list of technical information and guides in their Resource Center. You can find it on their website on the top ribbon. Find the Landscape Project Gallery and more under the Inspiration drop-down menu on the top ribbon.

High Format offers over a dozen Inspiration Galleries on their website, each with detailed pictures and specs of the products used in the project. Downloads are also available, providing project details as well as links to an Outcropping Layout App and Outcropping Height Guide Tool.

52 years of dreaming about seeing the tulips!

I'd heard of the gardens in the Netherlands most of my life: the colors, the amazing variety of flowers. I dreamed of being there!

Then I chose a seasonal, spring-dependent career and devoted many years to that beautiful business. Supporting my clients and my staff (that had become used to eating regularly) required time, toil, worry, and stress!  But how rewarding to know that Christensen’s had (indirectly) planted thousands upon thousands of perennials, shrubs and trees over the span of my work-life.

Then came the day I decided to exit Christensen’s. To this day, I struggle to say "retired". But, the nursery was well established, the staff very competent and experienced. It was time.

Retirement allows my wife, Penny, and I to thoroughly enjoy traveling. It was finally time to live my dream and travel to Amsterdam in April of this year. We chose a river cruise with day trips to different sights. One of our first visits was to Floralia Brussels. It is a spring flower show at a private estate, Castle of Groot-Bijgaarden, which opens during tulip time for visitors.  It features 14 hectares of daffodils, tulips and other minor bulbs planted in beds or in naturalized settings. There are one million bulbs planted annually with 500 different varieties.  We were stunned by the beauty of the estate and the dazzling colors.

The highlight of the trip was the Keukenhof Gardens!  We arrived by bus and the first thing we saw from the bus was the fields of production tulips, hyacinths, and minor bulbs planted in mass. Think acers of one color of tulips in full bloom! Reds! Yellows! Blue hyacinths! There had to be 150 acres of color!  Fantastic!

Keukenhof is a park like setting covering 70 acres. Walking paths lead you through bed after bed of color. There are ponds reflecting brilliant color. It is truly a horticultural park where they plant 7 million bulbs annually. There are over 800 varieties of bulbs! I was impressed with a display of blue grape hyacinths planted as a meandering stream of color. It was stunning! 

You've got to go and fill your eyes!

Christensen's offers a full selection of fertilizers for landscape professionals. With so many options available, choosing the right product can sometimes feel overwhelming. Here's a quick guide to help you match common landscape applications with the fertilizer best suited for the job.

Quick Fertilizer Guide

1. New planting Trees and Shrubs → Bio-Tone Starter Plus + Root Stimulator
2. Long-term feeding → Osmocote
3. Acid-loving shrubs → Holly-Tone
4. Established Trees and Shrubs → Plant-Tone
5. Flowers → Flower-Tone
6. Roses → Rose-Tone
7. Bulbs → Bulb-Tone
8. Turf → Milorganite

If you'd like a little more detail, here's a closer look at each fertilizer and where it fits best in the landscape.

Application Tips

• Bio-Tone: Mix into the backfill during planting.
• Root Stimulator: Water in at planting.
• Plant-Tone, Holly-Tone, Rose-Tone, and Flower-Tone: Mix into planting beds during installation or apply to the soil surface around established plants and water in.
• Osmocote: Apply to the soil surface under mulch or lightly incorporate into the root zone.
• Milorganite: Broadcast over turf and water in.

Christensen's prides itself on partnering with landscape professionals to help them install and maintain beautiful, successful landscapes.

While fertilizer can help plants establish and thrive, more is not always better. Fertilizer is most effective when plants are healthy and actively growing. Avoid fertilizing plants that are drought-stressed or experiencing significant transplant shock. Sites amended with quality compost may also require less fertilizer than expected. In most cases, proper watering, soil preparation, and planting practices will have a greater impact on long-term plant success than fertilizer alone.

As we enter the summer months, and even into fall, why not think of adding something out of the ordinary into the landscape by using a fountain pond? Christensen’s has long been a distributor for EasyPro, based out of Grant, Michigan. This year, we've added products from another Michigan based company, Blue Thumb.

Blue Thumb offers something a little different with their fountains, ranging from vase fountains, to real stone fountains and even metal fountains.

While planning for later this year, or even next, keep in mind the option of adding a small, relaxing element into the plan. If I was redoing my patio, I would surely add in a fountain set to relax with after being at work. 

Next time you're at Christensen's, please ask any of us about the fountain pond options from EasyPro and Blue Thumb and we will get you all the information.

For the past several years, it seems that every new pest or disease affecting boxwood has sparked another round of conversations about removing these iconic shrubs from the landscape. Most recently, the arrival of box tree moth in southeastern Michigan has many homeowners wondering if it is time to replace their boxwoods with something else. In my opinion, the answer is still no. Boxwood has earned its place in our landscapes over decades of performance. Few shrubs can match its year-round color, versatility, deer resistance, and ability to provide structure and formality in the garden. While box tree moth is certainly a challenge, it is a manageable one.

The key is understanding that box tree moth is an insect pest, not a death sentence for every boxwood plant. Like many landscape pests, it can be effectively controlled through regular monitoring and timely treatment. Homeowners and landscape professionals who inspect their plants for feeding damage, webbing, caterpillars, or defoliation can often identify problems before significant damage occurs. Several treatment options have proven effective when applied at the proper time. For example, Btk (Bacillus thuringiensis var. kurstaki) is readily available. The reality is that maintaining healthy boxwoods through monitoring and treatment is often far less disruptive and less expensive than removing mature plantings and starting over.

When considering alternatives, it is important to remember what would be lost. Boxwood has long been the standard for foundation plantings, formal hedges, and landscape accents because few shrubs offer the same combination of size, density, evergreen foliage, and tolerance of pruning. Even Michigan State University Extension, while discussing alternatives, acknowledges that there are currently no perfect replacements that fully replicate the performance and appearance of boxwood. Replacing established shrubs often means waiting years for new plants to reach the same size and visual impact already present in the landscape.

For landscape contractors and homeowners in southeastern Michigan, my recommendation is simple: don't give up on boxwood. Learn to recognize the signs of box tree moth activity, work with a knowledgeable landscape professional, and implement a treatment program when necessary. With proper care, boxwoods can continue to provide the timeless beauty and structure that have made them a landscape favorite for generations. The best boxwood replacement is often the healthy boxwood already growing in your yard.

Installing joint sand on paver projects is crucial for both the structural longevity and lasting aesthetics of the installation. All joint sand fills the gaps between concrete pavers to lock them together, creating a rigid yet flexible surface. It evenly distributes weight, stops pavers from shifting, prevents weed growth and keeps out insects.

Today though, we're tip-toeing into air-cured, resin paver joint sands.

If you’ve been installing pavers for a while, you already know joint sand can make or break a job. It’s the last stage of the project and often the final step before you collect your check.
With polymeric sand, installers must keep a close eye on the weather, temperature, and even ground moisture levels that may keep your concrete pavers too moist on a shady day.

That’s where air-cured resin sands have been gaining traction. From our side of the counter at Christensen’s, we’re seeing more contractors make the switch simply because it takes a lot of the guesswork out of the process. Site prep and scheduling are more straight-forward. Yes, it’s initially more expensive than traditional polymeric. But it’s also more forgiving and less weather-dependent. With resin sand, you’re not racing the clock or watching the weather the same way you are with polymeric. There’s also no chance of polyhaze showing up after the pavers have dried and your crew has left the site.

The installation is straightforward. 

1. Clean the compacted pavers surface, leaving it slightly damp (not flooded)
2. Sweep or squeegee the sand into the joints with the help of a garden hose.
3. Sweep off the excess
4. Lightly mist to settle everything in.

After that, it cures from the top down as the resin becomes exposed to air. No mixing, no polyhaze, and no stressing about a surprise rain shower rolling through right after you leave.

Gator Nitro Joint Sand (stocked at Christensen’s) brings something extra to the table with its semi-permeable setup. It firms up hard and allows water to pass through. This can help with jobs where drainage matters or where permeable specs come into play.

Gator Nitro-X Fine Joint Sand installs the same way as the original Gator Nitro, but features a finer grain, making it a better fit for tighter joints and more refined surfaces. This tighter joint surface encourages water to sheet from your paved area. This may be especially useful near pools where you may grade towards a drain channel.

At the end of the day, resin joint sand isn’t necessarily about replacing every bag of polymeric sand you use. It’s about having another tool that’s a little more foolproof when conditions aren’t perfect or timelines are tight. Resin sand may offer a smoother day on site, and fewer return trips just to deal with joints.