A few weeks ago, I got to go out to Oregon and visit several nurseries to see their selection. It was very cool to see the variety of plants that they can grow that we can’t. Geographically, we’re almost straight across the country from each other with our southern borders hovering around the 41-42° North parallel line. We are zone 5 and they are zone 8 or 9 depending on where along the coast you are. It was amazing to hear that they can potentially gain up to 12” on a Japanese maple in one growing season or to see 4.5’ emerald green arbs that they say in a few weeks will be nice 5-6’ arbs. It was a very busy trip as I saw 10 different nurseries in 4 days, but it was totally worth it.

It’s that time of year again. The weather is hot, and the days are long. The plants are growing, blooming, and the season is in full swing. The last thing on your mind is spring bulbs! This time of year, bulbs are at the forefront of mine.  Updating our bulb selection and preparing for our Early Order Bulb Program can take quite a bit of time. Last year, we revamped the program. Largely due to the quantity increase from 50 tulips per box to 100 per box and the daffs from 50 to 75. Along with the increased quantities in these bulb sizes, we added an additional value to our customers by offering quantity breaks at 2 boxes for all of our Crocus and unusual varieties, including Chionodoxa, Hyacinthoides, Iris, Muscari, and Scilla.

The Early Order Bulb Program allows our customers to take advantage of some substantial savings. Although there is still a discount for the more boxes you buy, it doesn’t even compare to the savings of getting that order in quickly!

This season we have added a few more selections to choose from.

Unfortunately, every season we lose a few varieties that we have enjoyed. The good news is that there are so many fun choices it is exciting to see what each season holds in store! Be on the lookout for our bulb mailer that should land mid-July, but you can digitally check it out and print it if you click here! (The password is the same as the availability password on your e-mail) We also have the flyers at all our service counters. And don’t forget your BulbTone!!

Welcome back – I hope that everyone had a great holiday. Whew! Spring is finally over! For me, summer is a time of slight relaxation. 2023 is humming along and I have a month until I must start 2024. (Let’s not think about that!).

I wanted to check with everyone and make sure you all saw some of the new plant varieties at the nursery – if not, come on in as there are more newbies here and incoming.

There are a couple of new plants that I am excited about. Of the hundreds of new cultivars every year it is hard to know what to choose. Sometimes, I throw dice, sometimes I look at the magic 8-ball, and sometimes it has to do with a catchy name (I am a sucker for a catchy name!). Then I do some research and decide if the name is catchy enough! Check some of these out:

I have a couple of newer grasses this year, as well. My favorite is the Andropogon gerardii cultivars. Check out ‘Holy Smoke’ (Cheech and Chong movie ??), ‘Blackhawks’ (again with the movie?), and Red October (another movie!). ‘Holy Smoke’ and ‘Blackhawks’ both are going to be 4-5’ tall and ‘Red October’ is a dwarf coming in at 2-4’. All 3 are native prairie grass and rock hardy. All 3 also have purple-green leaves and get varying shades of red from mid-late summer through fall.

I also have a couple of new Hydrangeas! Please don’t tell Chris!!! They are a secret. The one I am most excited about is Hydrangea paniculata ‘Puffer Fish’, “a Bobo on steroids”! It has white flowers that age lime and pink. They will typically send another flower at this same time and rebloom over top of older blooms. It gives the effect of double flowers – very showy. It seems everyone likes the compact habit of the ‘Tuff Stuff’ so take a look at this one ‘Pop Star’ . This one is from the Endless Summer people. This is a typical blue or pink lacecap (macrophylla). However, ‘Pop Star’ is far more compact (and looks far denser) than the traditional ‘Endless Summer’. Its biggest claim to fame is that it reblooms much faster than a traditional ’Endless Summer’.

Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to get my hands on Jeffery’s Weigela ‘Bubbly Wine’. If you were unaware, Jeff Good is now the patent holder of Proven Winners® Weigela ‘Bubbly Wine’. I will let him tell you all about it. I on the other hand will tell you about a relative of Weigela ‘Midnight Wine’ with darker, shinier burgundy leaves and a 12’ tall about 3’ wide habit. W. ‘Midnight Wine Shine’ is also much denser. Finally, W. ‘Very Fine Wine’ is a dwarf – 30x30” with better hardiness and heavier rebloom.

Before I let you go – let’s talk Ilex crenata ‘Sky Pencil’ I have not grown this personally and we have not had it at the nursery before. Everyone is yelling at me about this plant. Everyone wants it and I keep saying it is not hardy enough for us, you keep saying it is! I have special ordered this plant in the past and those that have put it in the landscape have told me they are hardy. So, this year I will stock a few. Ilex crenata ‘Sky Pencil’ is a female ilex and will need a pollinator to bloom (any ilex that blooms at this same time will work.) ‘Sky Pencils’ get to be about 6-8’ and 2’ wide – yes, with a very columnar habit. It is a very dense tightly branched shrub. Considered a solid zone 6 possibly a zone 5 – it may all depend on the winter. Berries or not, it is a good-looking plant!

Have you tried these new varieties? Let us know what you think of them! We welcome your feedback on the plants we stock.

I hope to see you around the plant center, checking out all the new stuff!

Bee-lieve it or not, I have never, in my life been stung by a bee. In all my years working here at the plant center, I have managed to avoid that painful sting. Often by running around like a crazy person, screeching. The fear of the unknown is probably worse than the actual pain. As scared as I am, there are so many benefits to planting pollinator-friendly varieties that I would like to share with you. The pollination of food-grown crops, the growing number of endangered insects, easy maintenance, and low-cost gardening are just a few. Pollinator plants attract bees, wasps, butterflies, bats, and even hummingbirds. These benefits far outweigh the fear of the sting.

Pollination is the transfer of pollen from the male parts of one flower to the female parts of another, within the same species. Pollination results in fertilization, which is essential to fruit and seed production. This process is accomplished by insects, birds, reptiles, and some mammals. Fertilization is essential in food-grown crops such as fruit trees. Approximately 75% of the world’s flowering plants and 35% of the world’s food-grown crops depend on pollinators for their success. That’s roughly one in every three bites! That makes pollinators an essential factor in the global food web.

Another important reason to grow pollinating plants is the declining number of honeybees and other pollinators. This is largely due to human actions such as pesticide use, urbanization, emerging pathogens, parasites, and predators. US beekeepers are losing up to 30% of their colonies each year. While there are still over 2.88 million honeybee colonies in the US, some species are still considered vulnerable, endangered, or critically endangered. 

Pollinators are important for many reasons. Global food production, making sure invaluable insects endure, and helping our environment, and the important ecosystems within it thrive, are just a few. Planting pollinators is cost-effective, low maintenance, and will help you feel that you are doing your part to preserve our valuable planet. Just try not to get stung, I’ve heard it hurts!

My inspiration for this week’s Sticks & Stones is a trip that my family took last year. We traveled over to the Netherlands and France to cheer on my daughter’s team. But being a plantsman, I really noticed how trees are done along the roadways in Europe. I wondered if there is a way that we could do something similar here. I was impressed by the way the trees were well-manicured to keep the line of vision clear for drivers.

Since we are looking at the smaller crab apples, another overlooked variety is the Malus Sargent Tina. It fits into the dwarf category at about 4’-5’ tall and wide when mature. When the buds start to form in the spring, they start out with a pink color and then go to a brilliant white that is fragrant. While it is not as “fragrant” as a Cleveland pear, it differs in being considered a pleasant scent as opposed to the generally distasteful aroma of the pear. As with the Sargentii’s, Sargent Tina also attracts pollinators in the spring and has a ¼" fruit in the fall that attracts and sustains birds through winter.

Being from the North and a country music fan, I started hearing about Kudzu in songs by HARDY, Morgan Wallen, Alabama, Scotty McCreery and more. You can’t get far into country music before an artist compares something to the invasiveness of a Kudzu vine. My favorite being “My mama said addiction runs like a kudzu vine on our family tree…” Being in horticulture, I had to investigate this mythical beast of a plant and learn more about it.

Kudzu, or if we’re being scientific, Pueraria montana, was introduced at the 1876 World’s Fair Centennial Exhibition. Originally from Asia, it didn’t really make a splash with Americans.  Farmers couldn’t figure out how to leverage the plant for any sort of profit and it was quickly gobbled up by grazing by livestock. It wouldn’t have actually taken off, if it wasn’t for a supplemented government program. It’s estimated that around 1945, there were about a million acres planted. That was a far cry from the 8 million acres the government hoped would be planted and the incentivization ended. 

While the Kudzu on farms was plowed under or grazed away, the Kudzu on roadsides and railways grew to cover much of all the other vegetation, seemingly consuming the south at a rapid pace, up to a foot per day. This very visible conquest became the easy target of writers, poets and lyricists. This plant has taken on a cultural reference far surpassing most other southern plants. It has wrapped around the people to become an icon.

But in the end this plant doesn’t live up to the myth that’s been created around it. Horticulturists agree that it poses less of a threat than Asian privet, Japanese honeysuckle and invasive roses in the south. It does not grow inches in days and cover millions of acres. The U.S Forest service reports that in 2010 only 227,000 acres of forests are invaded by Kudzu. It sounds like a lot, but when you consider that over 1 million acres of the US are covered with Purple Loosestrife, you can see that it’s not nearly the problem we face from a local invasive species.

And some horticulturists even think it’s on the decline. It’s certainly debatable, but as many farming corporations, universities and the government have been attacking it with herbicides, mowers, fires, goats and replanting, it is possible that they are starting to get a handle on the spread. Another factor is the Japanese kudzu bug that has begun infesting large areas of kudzu and sucking the life out of the myth.

Kudzu’s Entanglement of South Begins to Unravel by Dan Chapman
WorldWideScience.org

Red Maples are some of the most commonly planted trees across North America due to their hardiness and beautiful fall color. There are dozens of varieties of Red Maples to choose from. Their differences may seem inconsequential but there are pros and cons to each variety depending on the location and desired appearance. I will outline the differences between two of the most popular varieties:
Redpointe^® and Red Sunset^®.

Red Sunset has been the standard for red maple for many years. They grow into a more oval and natural shape than Redpointe. Fall color of these trees is more of a reddish-orange and tends to last longer than other varieties. In the summer the leaves are a lighter green and may have hints of yellow due to leaf chlorosis caused by higher PH soils. Red Sunset are less resilient to heat and waterlogging but are more drought tolerant and require less sunlight. Consistent watering is still needed after planting but once established these trees require very little maintenance. They also are notably preferred for their sap production which can be used for maple syrup.

Both varieties will reach heights of 40-50 feet when mature. However, the spread of a Red Sunset can be 30-40 feet, 5-10 feet wider than a Redpointe depending on pruning. Redpointe may also require some maintenance once mature to remove some of the inner branches that become overcrowded due to their stronger upright growth habit. Both trees are fantastic options for a variety of landscapes. However, considering the conditions of the location and desired finished look of the landscape can help you decide what is best for every situation.

Recently, my wife and I celebrated what would have been the 100th birthday of her Aunt Ruth. Every family has at least one of these relatives. You know, the ones that keep the family together and focused. It's been tough on the family cohesion since we said goodbye to her. Ruth was a product of the Great Depression - frugal, smart with her money, hard-working, yet generous. Like many of her generation, she saved and re-used to a fault - old-fashioned recycling. Most notably she never threw away a good box. Somewhere somebody or something could always use a good box. Sometimes, we would open up some of the boxes only to find inside, you guessed it, more boxes. As she neared 90 my wife said she was a very neat, organized hoarder.

Well, at Christensen's we have thousands of good ‘boxes’. But we don't hoard them, we sell the #*%@ out of them. No sooner does a new group of boxwoods arrive when you see swarming sales reps tagging off pre-sold material, often arguing over whose customer is first in line on the backorder list. It can get ugly! Stock has moved so quickly that there are usually large patches of open gravel, usually only seen in early spring or late fall.

However, Buxus is not the only game in town. Many contractors have comfort zones so they don’t necessarily look at other options. But they are missing the opportunity to diversify their selection.

The most obvious substitution for boxwood is another broadleaf, such as Ilex. Box hollies are perfect but unfortunately do not consistently perform through our desiccating winters. Ilex opaca, or Inkberry, performs well and the newer varieties, Shamrock and Gem Box, can easily be mistaken for boxwood.

Azaleas are also perfect, but many shy away from the Rhodoendron family due to a perceived difficulty in establishing these plants. Contractors who do not plant these may not realize the need for a premium (more nutrient rich) medium and plenty of fertilizer. Also, the timing of the plantings of many broadleafs can make the difference between success and failure. Getting the plants rooted early will help the growth and development of Azaleas. If you add these practices into your Azalea planting routine, they make an excellent flowering substitution.

The newest group at Christensen’s is Box Honeysuckle, Lonicera nitida 'Thunderbolt.' Yes, this honeysuckle is evergreen, and its species describes it as shining and glittering. This and more box honeysuckles seem to be making their way here by way of Europe. It is much faster growing than Buxus and can be trimmed into any imaginable shape. This lends itself to both traditional and more contemporary applications.

Our Aunt Ruth was quite the world traveler. She probably saw hedges of these Honeysuckles years before I learned of them. And, I'm sure there are many beautiful hedges at her current home.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. I know, with all the pink popping up, it’s probably hard to forget. Since 1 in 8 women will be affected by this debilitating disease in their lifetime, you may even know someone diagnosed and receiving treatment. While my grandmother fought it twice and was victorious both times, my aunt passed away 12 years ago at the age of 46. As you can see, this cause is very personal to me.

There are many ways to join in the fight against breast cancer, but one of the easiest for people in the horticulture industry is to buy and install the Invincebelle® Spirit II Hydrangea arborescens.

The Invincebelle® Spirit II takes the groundbreaking breeding of the original and improves on it with brighter color, more abundant flowers and a stronger rebloom. The entire plant is more compact and bushier with stronger stems.

The Invincebelle® series is a step forward in arborescens breeding, but what makes Spirit really unique is the mission to eradicate breast cancer. Donating one dollar per plant, Spirit and, now, Spirit II have raised over one million dollars for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. Myra Biblowit, BCRF President & CEO, has said, “Proven Winners has made a real and tangible impact on advancing breast cancer research—raising over $1 million since 2010 to fund more than 23,000 hours of critical research through BCRF.”

Founded by Evelyn H. Lauder in 1993, BCRF-funded investigators have been deeply involved in every major breakthrough in breast cancer prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and survivorship. This year, BCRF will support the work of more than 275 scientists at leading medical and academic institutions across 15 countries, making BCRF the largest private funder of breast cancer research worldwide. BCRF is one of the nation’s most fiscally responsible nonprofits and is the only breast cancer organization in the U.S. with an “A+” from Charity Watch and Charity Navigator’s highest rating of four stars. Proven Winners® is very pleased to be working with the BCRF and plans to continue fighting this deadly disease.

Even if this particular cause isn’t close to your heart, it may affect your customers. I chose to plant an Invincebelle® Spirit in my aunt’s memory and have planted even more because the show of color is spectacular. Consider choosing this beautiful variety when installing Hydrangeas. It may mean only a little to you or your customer, but it might mean the world to women affected by breast cancer.

When Does Specializing Turn Into Hoarding?

I’ll just come out and say it. I am a Collector. Over the years I have built - and dispersed – so many collections, in categories such as craft supplies, books, glass paperweights, pink flamingos, Westmoreland milk glass, hardy geraniums, hosta, tools and hardware, office supplies, and for a while in the 80’s, budgerigars. At one point I had 18 of them in a giant flight cage. Good times.

It’s an all-American pastime as shown by the popularity of reality shows about hoarders and people who bid on the undisclosed contents of abandoned storage lockers. I haven’t slid so far; I prefer to do my collecting one piece at a time.

But when does “collecting” cross the line into hoarding? To me, collection is all about doing a deep dive into a particular subject and learning as much as you can about it. When I am studying a new topic, reference books get involved, and talking to experts in the subject, joining Reddits or groups, and getting as much hands-on experience as possible. For instance, I have collected figural cast iron - doorstops, bottle openers, party favors, door knockers and bookends – for years and I am pretty good at spotting reproductions and knock-offs.

When you really love something it’s easy to get caught up into accumulating, and it can be a rude surprise to look around one day and realize there is not one more square inch in your garden to wedge a single additional hosta, even though you are pretty sure you DON’T already have one virtually identical. That’s where we get to the critical difference between a “collector” and a “hoarder”. If you can’t part with your duplicates or lesser-value pieces; the books you’ve read ages ago and won’t look at again, stuff that’s broken or stuff that you MIGHT find a use for …someday… well, now you’re slipping into hoarder territory. News flash: your kids don’t want your stuff. You might want to winnow down your belongings before it gets bad.

I am not quite there yet. Yesterday I spent ten or twelve hours moving all my house plants back indoors after their summer vacation. Somehow there are more of them now than what went out this spring. I don’t know what happened! I have plants all over the house, on shelves and étagères, under lights and crammed into the windows. I am kind of proud of the fact that I also said farewell to a few of them! I am not a hoarder after all. Just don’t ask me how many house plants I have.