In the garden, yellow captures our attention more than any other color. Daffodils, marigolds and sunflowers draw the eye with their cheerful colors and Sugar Maples and Ginkgo trees stop traffic with their brilliant hues in fall

While sunny annuals and golden fall foliage make us all smile, sudden or unexpected yellowing of leaves can also cause concern for gardeners.

Of all the plants in the garden, we don’t expect to see our evergreens take on a yellow shade. This time of year, however, yellowing on evergreen trees and shrubs is part of the normal growth process.

Conifers, such as pines, arborvitae, cypress, firs, and junipers undergo a process called “needle cast”. Needles on the interior of the tree are the oldest, and as fall approaches, they turn yellow or brown, and shed. The tips of the branches remain flexible and green, with needles firmly attached.

This shedding allows evergreen plants to lighten their branches, which will help them endure the weight of snow and ice in the winter.

This change in color is especially dramatic in new plantings, whose roots aren’t fully established yet. We also find shedding to be more prevalent after a drought or a particularly dry year as we’ve just experienced.

“Broadleaf” evergreens, such as Rhododendron, Hollies and Skip Laurel, experience seasonal leaf drop as well. In autumn they will shed their old foliage to make room for new growth in the spring. These types of evergreens will often shed again in the spring to flush out any leaves that have “burnt” or dried up over the winter.

Keep in mind that we still recommend watering twice a week in autumn. This will prepare your plants for winter and help them have a healthy growing season next spring.

What’s not to love? Buddleia is a prolific-blooming perennial shrub prized for its ability to attract butterflies with its sweet nectar. Though it is showy, and seems an ideal choice for butterfly-lovers, there are some unsavory aspects of Butterfly Bush that are worth considering.

For one, most varities of this plant (native to Asia) are very invasive, spreading easily through the yard by seed. If you’re concerned about it popping up all over, remove the blooms right as they are going to seed to prevent them from spreading. Also, check into sterile varieties (some are listed below).

Secondly, though they provide a nectar source for adult pollinators, they do not provide a food source for larvae. So while you may be attracting butterflies to the garden, it will not help support future generations. Therefore, if you simply must have butterfly bush in your yard, it’s best to plant native plants in the vicinity that will indeed help fuel future generations like common milkweed, butterfly weed, joe pie weed, or golden rod. Better yet, let the edges of your property go wild to encourage the native plants that are meant to be there, or if space permits, create a natural meadow for all pollinators to enjoy!

If you love butterfly bush, consider these sterile, low-seed producing varieties:

Buddleia Lo & Behold® ‘Blue Chip’ Buddleia ‘Asian Moon’ Buddleia Lo & Behold®‘Purple Haze’ Buddleia Lo & Behold® ‘Ice Chip’ (formerly ‘White Icing’) Buddleia Lo & Behold® ‘Lilac Chip’ Buddleia ‘Miss Molly’ Buddleia ‘Miss Ruby’ Buddleia Flutterby Grande™ Blueberry Cobbler Nectar Bush Buddleia Flutterby Grande™Peach Cobbler Nectar Bush Buddleia Flutterby Grande™ Sweet Marmalade Nectar Bush Buddleia Flutterby Grande™ Tangerine Dream Nectar Bush Buddleia Flutterby Grande™ Vanilla Nectar Bush Buddleia Flutterby Petite™ Snow White Nectar Bush Buddleia Flutterby™ Pink Nectar Bush

You just planted your new garden bed and it looks lovely. Being attentive to your new plants is important to help keep them looking that way. Proper planting is foremost, as is proper watering. You will want to follow a watering schedule for the first year of planting to help the plant get established. After that, less maintenance is required (but it always pays off to notice what your plants need!). Our recommendations for watering throughout the year are as follows:

Recommended Watering Schedule

For the first year, we recommend different watering schedules for certain seasons:

SPRING (approximately April 1 – May 31) 2 times per week for 30–40 minutes

SUMMER (approximately June 1 – August 31) 3 times per week for 30–40 minutes

FALL (approximately September 1 – November 30) 2 times per week for 30–40 minutes

WINTER (approximately December 1 – March 31) as needed during warm dry spells

Reduce amounts of watering by one day for each signifcant natural rainfall that we receive. If you have any questions, please contact us at info@rutgersln.com, or 908-788-2600.