Some plantings are difficult.  Poor soil, deer, high ph, lack of irrigation, or a combination of some or all of these issues.  The more factors in combination, the more your plant list gets whittled down.  One of the plants you can count on to be available to use when the whittling is done is diervilla, or bush honeysuckle.

Diervilla grow in most soil conditions, all light conditions, and are deer and drought resistant. They all sport somewhat inconspicuous yellow flowers. The Kodiak® series, developed for the landscape, sport various leaf colors for more summer interest and are non invasive.  All of these colors, including amazing fall colors, are more intense the more sunlight the plant gets.

Kodiak® Black sports a blackish-purple leaf which contrasts well with the usually inconspicuous flowers.  Kodiak® Orange and Red are also available with hints of orange and red in the leaves.  The most intense fall color seems to come from Kodiak® Orange. 

These plants get between three and four feet tall and wide.  Their habit can be considered a little messy and leggy if left to grow naturally.  I like to prune them regularly to maintain a smaller size and encourage increased branching, but do it in late fall so as not to miss any of the fall color show. 

Diervilla is a tough plant for tough conditions, but the Kodiak® series gives you an attractive plant even when conditions aren't tough.

Social Distancing for... plants? Yes, you read that right.

Social distancing for plants has two distinct applications.

The first is to keep plants apart that simply don’t get along well. Examples include those affected by Cedar-Apple Rust such as crabs, hawthorn, and quince and their alternate hosts of Juniper (virginana, horizontalis, and scopulorum). The deciduous get orange spots on their leaves and early leaf droppage while junipers get galls. Similar to this is Pear Rust which affects our ornamental Asian Pears , Bradford, Cleveland, et al. This, too, is caused by over-planting and proximity to Juniper species. The results are similar to Cedar-Apple Rust. A more recent fungal problem exist with our boxwoods and pachysandra. While not alternating hosts, plantings of these as complementary may increase risk of Boxwood Blight. Some genera simply need some distance or even not being included in the same landscape altogether.

The second application of plant distancing is proper spacing. This requires planning and knowledge of plant size, growth rates, and growth habit. The first crime in planting I would call the model home or interior-decorator syndrome. The landscape is planted for the here and now. It has to look lush and lived-in – NOW. The result in a few years is usually a crowded, jungle-like landscape. Much of the original plant material will need to be pulled out. The second crime is a planting that looks nice but really does not reflect the true growth habit of what has been incorporated into the landscape. Remember the Colorado Blue Spruce on the corner of the house; thirty years later you cannot see the house. The development of columnar trees and evergreens has solved this problem. Also, the introduction of many dwarf or compact versions of the old standby varieties has expanded the pool of variety and color palette. Only people my age remember the old Vanicek Weigela (a monster) that yielded to W. fl. ‘Red Prince.’ And now, we have Weigela florida: ‘Wine and Roses, Fine Wine, Dark Horse, My Monet, et al.’ How small can they get?

The art and discipline of plant spacing depends on a great knowledge of plant growth rate and maintainable size. If a new landscape is developing nicely in about three to five years, then you did a good job of placement. Larger trees and evergreens can take around three years to really establish. This is evidenced by greatly increased leaf size and improved coloring in evergreens. From this point on you should see an increase in growth rate. Most woody ornamentals are filling in and exhibit much heavier blooms during this same time. Perennials and groundcovers establish showing very little top growth first season – the Iceberg Effect (roots first, then foliage and flowering the next season).

We are at the mercy of tag information which is far from perfect and landscape architectural drawings rendered by an industry with low plant knowledge. If you take your landscape installation seriously and are interested in long-term results, become familiar with nursery varieties as fast as you can and keep up with new introductions.

We’re not talking about something not agreeing with you. We’re asking can plants pass on disease to humans?

Humans have a number of viruses in common with plants and animals. Three such families exist: the Bunyaviruses carried by insects (like mosquitoes, ticks and sandfly) causing the diseases Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever and Rift Valley Fever and rodents causing Hantavirus infections; the Rhabdovirus better known as rabies causing encephalitis; the Reoviruses which causes gastrointestinal and respiratory disease primarily in infants and young children.

Many of us have experienced dermatitis from poison ivy and other plants. People often misidentify plants and become sickened or even poisoned after ingesting. A fairly common disease throughout the world is Sporotrichosis caused by the fungus Sporothrix. This fungus exists in soils, plant debris, sphagnum moss, hay, and on rose thorns. It usually enters the body through small cuts or punctures from rose thorns ( sometime called the rose-gardener’s disease). It can manifest as small bumps or blisters at entry site, more seriously if breathed in it can cause a type of pneumonia, and if entry wound is near a lymph node it can become disseminated throughout the entire body.

Another common and opportunistic pathogen is Pseudomonas aeruginosa. It’s what causes soft rot in plants, fruits, and vegetables. It is especially dangerous for people with immunity deficiencies causing pneumonia, urinary tract infections, and oral infections. And, similar to the staph that causes MRSA it is antibiotic resistant. Much of what has been mentioned results in disease caused by the myotoxins produced by the bacterium.

More recently in France people have been showing symptoms of fever, aches, and pruritus (a systemic itching usually caused by a disease) after eating peppers with mild mottle virus (PMMoV). Viable virus has been found in salsas, powdered spices, and in the samples of hundreds of people. Viable tobacco mosaic virus has been found in the mucus and thoracic fluids of smokers.

In India tospoviruses causing tomato spotted wilt and groundnut bud necrosis are passed on by insects, thrips, and humans. Live virus is found in ripe tomatoes only to be eaten and passed on through ground and water. Begovirus which causes the tomato yellow leaf curl virus affects tomato production worldwide and, in turn, affects the insects that carry it by shortening their lifespan and their ability to reproduce.

So as you can see, plant diseases have many paths to make humans sick - but none of the pathogens has, of yet, crossed the line of entering the human cell. Plant diseases for now have no direct route as a human pathogen.

If you’re anything like me, this Michigan shelter-in-place quarantine has been quite the eye-opening experience. While I happen to be very introverted by nature, the lack of human connection during this time has me going a bit stir crazy. At random points in the day I find myself talking to the various plants sprinkled around my apartment. The conversations are a little one-sided, but they got me thinking: does talking to your plants benefit them or you? 

Scientific evidence on this particular subject is somewhat sparse. Although this is not a new theory (Many believe the first mention of this particular ideology is “Nanna oder über das Seelenleben der Pflanzen” by Gustav Fechner) few actual studies have been conducted. In Fechner’s 1848 book, he puts forward the idea that plants have a soul of sorts. Although his premise was founded mostly on his own feelings and observations, it has become the basis for the few studies that exist today. A 2008 study from the National Institute of Agricultural Biotechnology, Rural Development Administration “identified a set of sound-responsive genes in plants” (1). The study suggests that both genes are responsive to sounds above 125Hz. The typical adult male has a vocal frequency between 85Hz and 180Hz, while the typical adult female has a vocal frequency between 165Hz and 255Hz. Sorry guys, women are just better when it comes to plants! A separate study published in the Journal of Experimental Botany found a link between sound vibrations and several outcomes including: “increase the yields of several crops and strengthen plant immunity against pathogens. These vibrations can also prime the plants so as to make them more tolerant to impending drought.” (2).

While there may not a ton of hard scientific data related to the effect of speech on plants, there is quite a bit of anecdotal evidence! On a 2004 Episode of Mythbusters, seven separate greenhouses were set up with varying levels of noise. Stereos playing loops of speech were set up in the greenhouses; Two of negative speech, two of positive speech, a fifth with classical music and a sixth with intense death metal music. A seventh greenhouse, used as a control sample, had no stereo. The control group grew the least out of the seven after 2 months.

Possibly one of the saddest commercials I’ve seen in recent years (with the exception of the ASPCA ads. The song gets me every time.) is a viral video (3) produced by IKEA last year. It was intended to show the effect of unkind words on children. In the experiment, two plants were isolated in identical, controlled environments and received either positive or negative comments through a speaker. After 30 days, the plant that received negative comments was visibly less healthy. Now obviously this wasn’t a strictly scientific experiment, it was an awareness campaign. It’s entirely possible that there were, lets just say ...outside factors... contributing to that poor plants’ demise. I sincerely hope not, because intentionally killing a plant seems a bit over the top for an ad campaign but this is the world we live in.

Here’s my takeaway: until someone initiates a large scale scientific experiment, we can’t conclude that talking to your plants absolutely will or will not help them grow. Really though, what could it hurt? The worst thing that could happen is people could conclude you’ve gone a bit mad. The Mad Hatter said it best “You’re entirely bonkers! but I’ll tell you a secret: all the best people are.” 

As the cooling weather encourages me to change over from iced tea in the afternoon to hot tea in the morning and the blazing summer sun relaxes into a lower place in the sky, our landscape is changing too. Don't think that just because summer is over the yard must be dull and boring. In Michigan we are blessed with four seasons, each of them delightfully distinct.

When planning a landscape I love to focus on a few plants for each season so there is something to look at every month of the year. In the spring, trees are flowering and bulbs are popping up. Summer brings on bolder, more vibrant colors from blooming perennials, contrasted by thick, dark green leaves. From late summer into autumn there is an interesting transition period where some of the summer perennials are still showing off, whilst the cooler weather plants begin to display their offerings, like bright fruit and glowing fall foliage. Finally, the days become shorter and our warming sun cannot keep up with Old Man Winter. Branches turn bare, perennials retreat underground, and evergreens take prominence.

Use forethought when designing the landscape. Plant diversely and consider what each of our splendid seasons has to offer and how your plant choices will display during each. Hiding in plain sight during warmer months are the showstoppers of colder months. Leafy bushes shape the structural backdrop, whilst other plants offer contrasting foliage to your summer flowering showcase. In the fall, these ignored plants begin to get some attention. You may hardly notice a crabapple after it’s week of spring flowers, but then in the fall it begins to display shiny red apples. A juniper can get lost in the scene until it’s steel blue needle tips poke through the windblown leaves and snow.

When those first chilly end-of-summer mornings surprise you, look around and you’ll notice the Great Lakes native Joe Pye Weed (Eutrochium purpureum) standing tall. Another striking perennial is Helenium, with it’s daisy-like flowers in deep oranges and reds, blooming late summer into early fall. 

Ninebark is a fantastic three-season shrub that offers spring and summer foliage interest, late summer flowers, and has cool weather hangtime with colorful seed capsules and handsome, peeling bark. Consider Diabolo® for it’s stunning dark foliage, or Summer Wine® for a more compact version.

When snow has covered the ground, don’t fret! There are plenty of plants in our landscape to keep the winter doldrums away. The red chokeberry, for example, is a great choice for those lower damp corners that you don’t know what to do with. Aronia arbutifolia  ‘Brilliantissima’ should make your shortlist as it offers something in every season. White flowers, red fall color, glossy red berries, with dark woody twigs for the snow to settle on. Remember the clumping grasses you planted in the spring? What about the hydrangea you added soil amendments to? Standing clumps of dormant brown grasses and sturdy dried flower heads can present an engaging contrast to the white winter snow that sits atop of them.

Another aspect of our Michigan winters is the colorful population of birds. Wherever there are berries and seeds you will also find birds. Picture a tufted titmouse in a crabapple, hopping from branch to branch. For persistent fruit, Malus ‘Adams’ is still a popular choice. For a darker, almost red flower check out ‘Prairiefire’ and Royal Raindrops­®.

Color in the garden is important, but don’t forget texture. Seven-Son Flower (Heptacodium miconioides) is a plant that I recently noticed while meeting with a customer on their jobsite. It’s a small tree (or large shrub) with white flowers in late summer or early fall immediately followed by showy, red-pink calyces, and a peeling brown bark that reveals lighter tan beneath for winter interest. This is one of those plants that few people know about and they can be hard to find. We get a few in now and then and can also special order for you, so please inquire.

In my time off from Christensen’s I love going to different zoos and gardens to shoot photos. I’ve been into photography for about 35 years and now my oldest daughter is into it as well. I’m a self-taught photographer and became more interested in photography when a Lowland Silverback Gorilla threw a clump of grass at me that came within inches of my head. I wish I had been able to capture that shot!

 I shoot with a Canon EOS 800D and a Tamron 18-400mm zoom lens, and this kit gives me a lot of flexibility for shooting both landscapes and wildlife.

My favorite place to go is the Detroit Zoo. Within the past two years the zoo has opened two new exhibits that feature plant material from Christensen’s Plant Center. The new exhibits are the Holtzman Wildlife Foundation Red Panda Forest and the Devereaux Tiger Forest.

Christensen’s has supplied massive amounts of plant material over the past two years for the new exhibits. The red panda exhibit has a suspended bridge over two display areas that are fully landscaped. The pathway to the end of the tiger exhibit is spectacular, it goes on forever it seems, featuring trees, shrubs, perennials and ornamental grasses. The tiger area has tripled in size from the old display area and the tigers really seem to enjoy their new habitat.

In addition, over the past five years we have supplied plants for the river otter and giraffe exhibits, and many of the display berms and gardens throughout the entire zoo. Next time you are visiting the Detroit Zoo, look at the plant displays as well as the animal habitats, you might get some great inspiration for your landscaping designs. We know where you can get the plants!

Who's ready for a for a sneak peak of 2020? I have been very busy getting ready for next year, and I thought this was a perfect time to spill some of my excitement over to you. As the nursery industry moves forward, we here at Christensen’s want to move forward as well. So allow me to introduce you to some of the new stuff out there, as well as maybe a few older items that will be new to us.

(In no particular order)

Physocarpus Summer Wine® Black: Ho-Hum... just another dark leafed Nine-Bark. Nope! These guys clearly stand out and make a mark. The foliage is so much darker and slightly shiny. They stood out across 3 large nursery blocks of plants!

Thuja occidentalis Tater Tot®: The name alone makes it a must-have! I really like the look of this one. Although a dwarf (reaching 1-2’ tall) it is considered a faster grower than a 'Hetz Midget' or 'Danica'.

Pinus Mugo var. Mugo ‘Slowmound’ and ‘Enci’: Although not new to the world these will be new to us. ‘Slowmound’ will eventually reach 4’ tall, but it will take 20-40 years to do so. The ‘Enci’ (which has a normal mugo growth rate) will only reach 2-3’ tall. (As a comparison, a “Mugo” will reach about 20’ tall and P. m. ‘Pumilo will reach 5’ tall)

Sedum takesimense ‘Atlantis’: This one is getting awards from all over – so I had to sneak in what few I could this fall for some division work. I honestly don’t think there are any left as I think the employees around here now have them in their own gardens! I am on the hunt for more! It is a medium sized (6-10” tall) Sedum with incredible serrated cream variegated leaves tinged slightly pink. I am guessing it flowers but who cares.

New Ilex verticillata? Really?? Yep! I am sorry to all the ‘Red Sprite’ aficionados but I have found a new love affair. Ilex verticillata Berry Heavy®. It is a fall and winter showstopper! Huge masses of red berries are spectacular. Also new is Ilex v. Little Goblin® Red: It has extra-large reddish orange berries on a dwarf 3-5’ tall plant. (Both can be pollinated by ‘Jim Dandy’.)

Andropogon gerardii ‘Blackhawks’: Another WOW! This Bluestem emerges deep green to dark purple in the late spring. As the summer progresses the grass gets darker and darker, finally ending up nearly black by fall. At about 5’ tall and very upright this grass looks best en masse. PS Did I tell you that it also has awesome red-purple flowers to sway in the breeze?

I am saving the rest for next year’s surprise!

I still remember planting my first serviceberry with my dad a long time ago – actually, a very long time ago. What struck me most were the many names for the same plant – Amelanchier canandensis, Shadblow, Juneberry, Serviceberry. Somewhat unusual at that time, little did I realize what a high-demand plant it would become. Therein lies the problem. It seems no matter how many are brought in every year we quickly run out. Landscape contractors, designers, and architects ignore so many other great similar-usage plants. Even when repeatedly told we are out till fall dig season, the requests keep coming. There are many good substitutes. In fact, there are many plants that would be better first choices!

Even more shade tolerant than Amelanchier are witchhazels. Larger, fall-blooming, native Hamamelis virginiana could match serviceberry with respect to growth rate and size. H. vernalis and the many crosses of H. mollis and chinensis (i.e.’ Diana, Jelena, Arnold Promise,’ et al.) are slower-growing but offer patio shade and a much greater color range. Native multi-stemmed dogwoods (Cornus florida and fl. ‘Rubra’) give a layered look; same usage but different than the arched or cascading habit of A. canadensis.

Also, a terribly-ignored, rugged, and problem-free group of plants are the Wrinkled Viburnums. In particular, Viburnum rhytidophyllum, Leatherleaf, and V. x rhytidophylloides ‘Willowwood’ are monsters. Achieving height and spread toward fifteen feet, they have an arching habit and are semi-evergreen. These offer spring flower, fruit, fall color, (and winter foliage interest).

A perfect match for Amelanchier ‘Rainbow Pillar’ is Cornus mas ‘Golden Glory.’ This Male Dogwood is very hardy and an early bloomer not usually susceptible to freeze damage. It has exfoliating bark and edible fruit. Its structure provides great winter interest.

Another easy sub for Amelanchier is Viburnum prunifolium, native Blackhaw, large, global, and a great bird attractor. A shrub easily surpassing fifteen feet in height and spread.

So, yes, there is life after serviceberries. I can't promise you that these or any other plants are going to be in stock when you are looking for substitutions, so don't be afraid to consider other options. Let's enhance our landscapes in terms of variety and plant health!

We do this all the time!

We over use, we abuse, we’re in a hurry, and we’re lazy! The landscape/nursery industry is a repeat offender! We have our “go-to,” easy-money plants. On the surface that doesn’t seem to be a bad thing. Almost every contractor has their favorite group of plants; almost every contractor is stuck in some sort of rut! Week after week we get the same list from contractors. Only the numbers change!

Need proof? Recent history provides great examples! Let’s start with the Green Ash. (I hope you don’t need an explanation!) Another great example is the Norway Maple. Our storage field used to have hundreds of Norways of many varieties. It’s “go-to-ness” turned it into an invasive species banned from most cities due to its ability to reseed into alleys and easement areas. The resulting offspring were often not very landscape worthy. Tree growers were left with fields of trees with no market in which to sell them!

Looming on the horizon is the fate of the beloved Callery Pear. The Bradford Pear’s (a.k.a. “Banana-Split Pear”) popularity succumbed to the hyper-popular Cleveland Pear. It’s been the near-perfect tree: Popular, household recognition! Transplanting into most any soil, great form, great bloom quality, and rich, long-lasting fall color!

The overuse of this species has led to outbreaks of Pear Rust, and its ability to reseed has begun to clog open spaces with again undesirable offspring. States and cities have begun restricting its usage. And then there’s probable, correcting fireblight….

What’s next? Will growers develop a truly seedless Callery? Or, what will be the new big seller? Haven’t we learned anything? We don’t need another “go-to” plant. This industry needs good practices and diversity!

We already offer a number of trees that would substitute well for the Cleveland Pear. Some of these are:

•  Acer rubrum ‘Brandywine’
•  Acer saccharum ‘Legacy’

• Acer x freemanii Armstrong’
• Amelanchier laevis ‘Cumulus’
• Carpinus caroliniana

• Cornus mas ‘Golden Glory’
• Ostrya virginiana
• Syringa reticulata ‘Ivory Silk’

• Taxodium distichum ‘Shawnee Brave’

Resist the temptation, don’t be a repeat offender! Mix it up out there!

Ever wonder how Christensen’s stores and maintains trees in "the field" to keep them viable all year long? If you've ever tried to keep above-ground material healthy over a long period of time you know there are challenges to be met. But for the most part, it’s really not that far off from what you do when you plant a tree in a landscape - except we do it for a few thousand trees.

First, we grade out the area where the trees are going to go and then auger holes to place the trees in. After the tree is straight in the hole we backfill it with dirt and lightly pack it down.

Then an irrigation emitter is placed into every root ball. We use two different sizes of irrigation emitters, yellow for trees that are 3” or smaller and black for anything larger. We do an irrigation check on the trees at least once a week depending on the time of year. The irrigation system for the field might run 24 hours a day in the summer, so making sure that the trees get the required amount of water is sometimes difficult. We check the emitters to make sure they are not clogged, that they are spraying correctly, and that they haven’t come off of the feeder line and are flooding the tree.

After the trees are put in the ground we apply pre-emergent to prevent weeds from growing in the root balls and the surrounding soil. We generally do this twice a year. As the year goes on if weeds begin to grow we spray with non-selective herbicide. We add a non-toxic blue indicator dye to make sure that we are only hitting the targeted weeds and not the trees.

We do several other sprays throughout the year to prevent disease or insect damage. For instance, we spray for apple scab in the early spring as the trees just start to leaf out. There's also a scheduled spray to prevent gypsy moth, when the temperature is right. We do other targeted sprays as issues come up. Our nursery is inspected regularly for pests so we can be sure that our material is ready for distribution.

At the end of the season we put tree guards on the trunks to prevent damage that could be caused by roaming rabbits and deer. In the spring we remove any guards that are made from solid material in order to allow the trunk of the tree to stay dry and also to prevent bugs from making a home there.

Lastly, when we lift trees from the field to go on your truck, we carefully re-wrap the rootball with fresh burlap if needed. You can be confident that the trees we store are ready to go on your landscape job, spring, summer, or fall.