Walking around Christensen’s this spring you may notice a few distinct differences from previous years. You may see our new signs or the new machines at the hardscape center. However, the difference I am talking about is nothing new at all, it is nothing. The most obvious change for many of us is the half-empty field and the lack of towering evergreens waiting in our yard. As our investor for Deciduous, Ornamental, and Evergreen Trees I have been looking across the country for this material and the simple answer is that it just does not exist in many cases.

Arborvitae are experiencing an exceptionally brutal year on the east and west coast. After severe drought hit the west coast last spring and summer fires started burning across Oregon. We were being sent images of entire fields turned brown due to a lack of rain in what is historically one of the wettest regions in the country. Further east in Tennessee certain varieties of arborvitae have been hit by a yet to be identified disease. Paired with the unusually wet spring they have experienced and high demand these plants are not as readily available in large sizes (7-8’) as they once were. We have been buying up as much as we can stock due to the unpredictability of this crop.  Currently, we are overstocked in 4-5-6’ Emerald Green and have placed them on sale, but it’s hard to say what will continue to happen throughout this season with this genus.

Red Flowering Cherokee Dogwood are experiencing a similar issue. These trees are particularly susceptible to damage from excessive water, but also fungus and mold which thrive in wet conditions. Tennessee’s wet spring has resulted in crop failures and a lack of available material.

These droughts and diseases only account for a small part of the shortages, but they do contribute to the problem.  As we’ve mentioned before, the real disease behind the shortage is the pandemic we have all been living through. In addition to the increased desire to landscape, everyone sitting at home also pointed us towards a recession which was combated with a huge drop in interest rates. This created a boom in the housing market. Now demand for plants was not only surging for renovation but also for new housing developments.

This new housing boom is the largest our country has seen since well before the market crashed in 2008. As we mentioned in Eric’s article, Bring On Spring, trees take 5-10 years to size up, and 5-10 years ago we were on the back end of a huge recession. Due to financial difficulties, planting heavily to plan for the next demand surge was not an option. Pulling ahead on smaller and smaller crops starting in 2020 caused size shortages. This “overselling” is most obvious with evergreens, most large sizes are not available because they have all been sold as smaller trees in previous years.

So here we are in 2022, available product on many popular varieties is down to 6’ and 2” trees. As long as demand stays high, and everyone keeps selling, the next year’s available material will be smaller and smaller. And while the economy is slowing down, historically, an increase in fuel prices drives down vacations and increases investments in homes for “staycations.” If fuel costs stay high, we may be looking at yet another season of homeowners pouring financial resources into their landscapes.

Unfortunately, there are no real substitutes for pine, spruce, and arborvitae but there are some options. While larger sizes of popular varieties such as Emerald Green and Green Giant Arborvitae are harder to come by, similar varieties can be easier to find. We have good quantities of Hetz Wintergreen Arborvitae available which work great as a narrow evergreen and for screening. If you can substitute smaller sizes, check out the Emerald Green Arborvitae sale (see Sticks & Stones e-mail). Crabapples or Pink Dogwoods work as a bright flowering substitute for red flowering Cherokee Dogwoods. Many growers we have spoken with have learned from this unprecedented situation the industry is in. They are planting as much as they can to try and keep up, but it could be 5 years before we see a full recovery.

We’ll continue to keep scouring our sources to keep you supplied with the best plant material as long as this landscaping boom keeps going.

Whether you are going to sod or to seed your next lawn project there are advantages to both. Depending on the job, leveraging your options could give you a competitive advantage with your customers. Here are how the choices stack up.

The biggest advantage that sod has is the instant gratification of a green lawn and immediate erosion control by acting as a blanket to help hold soil in place. Sod has a faster turnaround time for when your customer can use their yard. After about two to three weeks the sod is rooted in and ready for normal lawn traffic. So, for those customers that decided to re-do the whole yard right before the graduation party/outdoor wedding/backyard baby shower, think sod.

The biggest advantage when you choose seed is the initial cost. Both the cost of product and installation start out lower. Having many different choices of blends of seed to make sure that you get the right lawn you are looking for. From Kentucky bluegrass to perennial ryegrass to red fescue, seed allows you to customize your mix to the area you’re planting. Seed can be a boon when you’re working with a discerning homeowner that’s willing to wait a little to get exactly what they want out of their lawn.

Whether you choose to seed or sod, here at Christensen’s we have options for both to make sure you get the right product for your job. When it comes to seed Christensen’s carries three choices for you, sunny mix, shady mix, and fast green mix. If you require a special mix for your job beyond those, we can special order it for you. For those spots that need a little extra care, you can pick up sunny/shady lawn patch.

We also offer several items to make sure that your seed is given the best possible start. Try PennMulch, a mixture that fertilizes, holds in moisture, and holds the seed in place, over top of your seed to speed up germination and fill in quickly. Straw blankets are MDOT approved and help manage erosion, protect seeds from birds and shade the ground to help retain moisture. Talk to a sales rep about EZ Straw, fertilizer, sprinkler towers, and hoses. We stock all of these items to make your lawn and turf endeavors successful.

If sod is your choice, Christensen’s stocks a few pallets of fresh-cut sod in our yard, brought in bi-weekly. However, if you let us know when you are going to be laying the sod we can get as much as you need for your job. Upon ordering, you can pick it up from our yard or, if it meets the quantity minimum, you can have it shipped directly to your job site or yard.

So, whether you are laying sod or spreading seed Christensen’s has you covered.

...through "Guerrilla Art"

I have a friend who earns his living in an unusual field – he is a graffiti artist, commissioned to place his art on buildings. When we met, he oversaw pest management at the greenhouse we both worked at. Since then, his hobby has become his passion and livelihood. He has travelled the country splashing his art on the walls of Miami, Chicago, Kansas City and more. If you’ve been in Detroit or Toledo, you may have seen his work.

I’ve always thought of landscape color plantings as a form of “Guerrilla Art”, which is a term applied to certain forms of street graffiti. There are a lot of similarities if you think about it. Graffiti and landscaping are out in public space for everyone to see and enjoy (or critique). Also, the color theory needed for public space is the same. Both need to consider sight lines for how the art will be viewed. Both need to adjust for mere moments of attention versus minutes or hours of retrospection in a museum or walking garden. If people are speeding by on a freeway, the audience needs to be able to see large blasts of color to interpret the art. Bigger and bolder is most often better. And planning for surroundings is essential to get the cohesive aesthetic the artist is trying to achieve in the outdoor arena.

Do you consider yourself an artist? Most landscapers I know would not. However, it’s hard to deny that the masterpieces they create in yards and public spaces are works of art. I would argue that the medium you use is the hardest to work with, since it is living (or must incorporate the living, if you’re creating a hardscape). Further complicating your living artwork is timing. If you work in annuals, this is less of an issue, but perennials, flowering shrubs and flowering trees all need to be installed with their bloom season in mind. Perhaps you should start listing “Artist” on your business cards… or “Guerrilla Artist” if you want to be edgy.

When I met my friend, he was in a phase of his life where he didn’t express to others that he was an artist, but the transition has transformed his work into his passion and he can’t hide his creative prowess any longer. Obviously, we don’t all need to quit our jobs and become graffiti artists to capture or recapture our passion. We can continue to be artists in our current jobs and turn our love of landscape into artwork the public can enjoy.

For some helpful color theory tips to elevate your art, check out Makenna’s article from last year.

Alliance Lighting’s Bluetooth series of fixtures continue to gain in popularity. What started with the single, yet revolutionary, BL200-BT “bullet” fixture has grown to over 20 different fixtures, which include path light stems, understep fixtures, downlights, uplights, and more in a short period of time.

Let’s talk about how to market these to your clients.

Have you proposed installing these versatile, high-quality fixtures only to be told that your client is not interested in color-changers? Maybe they can’t anticipate ever using anything but white, or don’t want to be locked into “color” only. But here’s the thing - the RGB color change ability is completely optional. These fixtures can stay entirely in the white spectrum, and even have three preset “white” color temperatures. Or you can choose just the right tone and brightness from the graphical interface in the Alliance bt app.

Here’s another selling point - setting up and running your own custom lighting scheme is dead easy. You can group fixtures into zones that all run the same program, for instance. An example might be to zone six directional spots on the front of the house, another with three wide-beam spots on various focal points on the property, and a third for four or five path lights on the walkway to the front door. Each zone can be controlled independently by the client right from the app. Any fixture in your installation can be grouped with any of the others, no need to be on the same run. Also, you can define up to three "scenes" that can be toggled on and off at will.

One more feature: All of Alliance’s BT series of fixtures are dimmable. Clients have the option of changing how bright or how soft they choose to illuminate every aspect of their property, by fixture or by group. There are no additional switches, transformers, or other equipment needed, and changes take effect instantly. The app makes setting lighting schedules easy and they run on their own thereafter.

In conclusion, Alliance's BT series can be zoned, are dimmable, and run from an easy-to-use mobile app. The color change ability is an extra, fun option to use seasonally or whenever the whim strikes, without having to invest in more equipment later. The app is available for Android and Apple devices and is free to download and use.

Landscape lighting just keeps getting better and better. There are few properties that can't be enhanced by outdoor lighting and having a professionally designed and installed system like Alliance's can make a big difference in a client's property value.

When I was growing up my father and I planted gladiolus corms in our flower garden next to the house. I remember their bold colors reliably displaying each summer. When I moved into my own home years later I found all sorts of new and exciting colors available. They were beautiful that first year, but the following year I noticed that most of my glads didn’t come back. After some internet-sleuthing I realized that they are supposed to be lifted and stored inside for the winter. So why did they always come back when I was a kid?

Microclimate perhaps? Our main flower garden was against a south-facing brick wall, with years of compost mixed into our sandy soil. Glads don’t like a wet bum, so our native, well-drained soil was a good match. The sun-exposed brick wall warmed up the soil, tempering the chilly winter ground.

Could it have been the heirloom varieties we grew? I’m generally a believer that local heritage varieties are hardier. This seems to be the case with gladiolus. In my experience the new fancy ones, though beautiful, are hit-or-miss with successfully overwintering in our area.

Here are some tips to help you on your way to beautiful spires of color each year:

Plant in pots

Be sure your pots are large and heavy enough so the flowers won’t blow over, also make sure they have drainage holes. Add rocks to the bottom of the pot, top with a sandy soil mix. For an extended blooming season plant pots a couple weeks apart, or mix varieties in the same pot. You can add supports to help the spires stand up as they grow tall. There are shorter, and even dwarf varieties available that may work well in pots without support or the fear of wind damage on balconies. After the flowers are spent it could be a good time to move the pots somewhere less conspicuous, as the plant does not rebloom. Sometime before the first frost, dump out the pots and collect the corms, set them somewhere where they can dry in the open air for a couple days, then lightly cover them up to dry further. For final long-term winter storage place them loosely in layers in a cardboard box, separating layers with newspaper. Keep them in a cool dark place where they may nap until spring, protected from animals and sub-40f temperatures.

Leave ‘em in the ground

With a little bit of luck and some forethought you can have success simply leaving your glads in the ground! Moisture and extreme cold temperatures are what you’re trying to manage. To this end, I have found that digging trenches in sunny areas that are not prone to spring puddling works out well. Planting next to a sun-exposed wall is even better! Dig the trench about 14” deep and fill the bottom 3” with rocks. Mix some native soil with whatever amendments are needed to build a sand-heavy blend with a modest amount of organic matter. Plant the corms at various depths as you fill the trench with soil. I’ve sunk ‘em down 8” with no problems. Hardier varieties such as ‘Violet Queen’ and ‘Atom’, as well as many old heritage classics may help you gain an edge on the colder weather.

Glads will do well with a mulch covering the soil and a balanced fertilizer after emergence.

How's everyone doing? I think we are now past the worst of the summer heat but to be honest I was ready for fall weeks ago. We may like to complain about the weather but when you are out in the hot burning sun day after day I think it's justified. Congratulations on making it through the dog days! Labor Day is the traditional end of summer but you and I both know there will be weeks of beautiful - even hot - weather before we trade sunscreen and Gatorade for hoodies and Carhartts. But today, let's get out of the sun for a minute and do some shade gardening.

I'm a big fan of shade gardening, and the plants that thrive in shade and partial shade. I used to have an enormous Hosta collection but now that I am gardening in the country I had to scale back on those because they are basically expensive entrées for our hordes of deer. I keep a few favorites behind fences but out in the yard I have better luck with ferns. 

Lest you think that all ferns need daylong shade, I have quite a colony of Ostrich fern that do just fine in nearly full sun. In fact they were getting a little carried away so I had to take some of them out. Here they are happily crushing my baptisia.

You're going to need to provide supplemental water especially under big trees, but established ferns can be surprisingly drought tolerant. Maidenhair fern can be a little fussy but Autumn, Lady, Male and Cinnamon fern are all happy in part sun to full shade, which is also where you will find ME when it's 90° or better. And you should really try to have some Painted fern if at all possible. 

So let's take a break from summer heat and enjoy this word search puzzle created by our very own Jeff Good. (Answers here)

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.

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!

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...?

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.