Rutgers Nursery is pleased to announce its recent partnership with J.P. Case Middle School in Flemington to enhance their horticulture and environmental programs! We are so excited to share our love of plants with a new generation — together we can plant for the future!
Stay tuned for upcoming programs and events!
Evergreens are a hearty bunch. Though they hang onto much of their leaves throughout the year, evergreens are fall-shedding and drop leaves too! The secondary growth (old) from the center of the trunk is where they drop their leaves to store carbs for winter. This is how they make it through tough winters! But from time to time, they need a little help from us. There are a few easy DIY methods to help reduce leaf burn and branch damage. One product that we recommend is WiltPruf, a polymer spray derived from pine trees. WiltPruf is great to help protect the moisture content of leaves in evergreen trees and shrubs including skip laurels, azaleas, hollies, magnolias, rhododendrons, and boxwoods. The best time to spray WiltPruf is during the fall on a mild day when rain is not in the immediate forecast, as it needs dry conditions to be effective.
Another method that can really help reduce evergreen damage is by being a proactive home gardener. After snowfall, knock off the snow from your shrubs with a long handled broom. The key is to not let the snow sit for too long and freeze into a hard block of ice.
Recently, one of our customers told us how they’d construct open plywood boxes around their boxwoods which sat slightly under the eaves. The boxes helped prevent the melting snow and ice from landing on top of them.
With a little preparation and by being proactive, your evergreens will be healthy and happy come Spring!
Stressful weather conditions are inevitable factors that can harm your trees and shrubs. If you’re lucky, mother nature may grant your plant a second chance. Even with significant seasonal damage, you may be able to revive what’s left if there are signs of new growth. For example, take a look at the crape myrtle ‘bush’ in the foreground. Winter damage killed off the central trunk, but not the entire tree. New shoots came up from the bottom, yielding a more bush-like form, which still produced a multitude of gorgeous flowers in the summertime. This new form can be kept, or you may be able to achieve its former upright appearance. As new “suckers” begin to grow from below, you can select the 3-4 that look the strongest and let them grow, pruning the others away. To encourage the “suckers” to develop nice and straight, twine can be used to help brace the new young trunks upwards.
To learn more about how to revive a stressed crape myrtle, stop by our nursery — our knowledgeable staff is happy to help!
The colors of the season sure are shining bright! Kick it up a notch by adding festive pumpkins and gourds to accent steps, container planters and entryways. A customer recently shared with us how she carves pumpkins to make an au natural vase for fall flowers! Come stop by our nursery and check out our stunning collection of decorative pumpkins and gourds, many of which are grown on our farm!
By using a series of basic design principles, a landscape designer is able to create a pleasing, harmonious and ultimately useful outdoor space. The first of these is balance.
Balance is a very important design principle when it comes to planning your landscape. Simply put, balance is the overall distribution and spacing of similar landscape elements. There are two types of balance, formal and informal. Formal balance tends to describe a layout which repeats the same, left and right, giving stateliness and stability. Here is an example of a formal balance in the landscape.
Informal balance, on the other hand, will differ between left and right giving a sense of curiosity and movement throughout the layout. The total mass of plants on either side should be equal for a balanced plan.
Balance as a principle can also be applied to colors in the landscape. Keeping a consistent mix of flower and foliage colors on left and right sides can help to achieve this. Check back next week when we discuss the principle of scale in landscape design.