Fall Cleanup for Perennial Beds

Posted on November 9, 2014 by RutgersLN

As blooms and foliage begin to fall and fade, it’s time to begin considering a rousing game of fall cleanup! Not only will it make Spring planting a cinch, a bit of raking and deadheading can get you moving and staying toasty warm!

For starters, begin by raking up any dead leaves or debris that have settled around the base of your plants. This is a great opportunity to add a fresh layer to your compost pile for use in the Spring, as well as help deter pests and diseases from setting up shop.

After raking, it’s an opportune time to clearly see any remaining weeds that can be pulled up.

Next, take some time to cut back any perennials that need it. Most perennials can be cut down to just a few inches once they’ve completely died back (make sure the plant is completely brown before doing any cutting to ensure all of its energy has gone back to its roots). If you’re unsure about how to cut back a certain plant, come in and ask us!

Finally, take care with any fragile plants that are risky to keep outside over winter. Tuber plants like canna lilies or banana plants will need to be dug up, as well as spring bulbs to help preserve them for success next season. Store them separately in a brown paper bag in a dry place where they will not freeze. A basement or garage will work fine.

With a little elbow grease and forethought, managing your garden can get a little easier!

Gourds Galore!

Posted on October 9, 2014 by RutgersLN

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!

Sourwood Tree

Posted on September 19, 2014 by RutgersLN

Believe it or not, this showy flowering tree is native to our area, offering eye-catching color along with sweet, fragrant summertime blossoms. The Sourwood tree prefers acidic, rich, well-drained soil, and can reach heights of 20-40.’ As it’s typically an understory tree, it can handle part sun as well as full, making it quite adaptable to landscape location. The Sourwood tree gets its name because its leaves have a sour taste — which contradicts its sweet shades of peachy orange and red as it comes into fall color (another sweet fact is that bees love its blossoms, and sourwood honey is a delicious local treat).

This color is truly boldness to behold — stop in for a visit!

Naturally Adorned

Posted on September 15, 2014 by RutgersLN

Put away those holiday lights — these bejeweled

plants are deckedout for any occasion!

Columnar White Pine

This gorgeous evergreen exhibits classic and beautifully decorative cones in the fall. Elegant and slender in habit, this tree is great in a grouping or as an individual specimen, reaching a mature height of about 30′ tall, and 10′ wide.

Serbian Spruce

This majestic spruce produces compact cones of a deep purple hue. Combine that with a height reaching 50′ tall and 20′ wide, it’s not hard to see how this tree is a true show stopper.

Dragon’s Eye Pine

This slow growing, stripe-needled pine is another tree that’s two-fold ornamental. Vibrant alternating yellow and green needles truly illustrate its name, and light, creamy green cones are wonderful cool season highlights.

Arrowwood viburnum

This viburnum variety boasts showy white flowers in the spring which turn into super beautiful glossy blue drupes in the fall. This shrub reaches a mature height of about 8′ tall and 8′ wide, and attracts both birds and butterflies.

Blue Princess Holly

Bright, cheery berries adorn this deep, blue-green foliaged holly that reaches a moderate height of 10′ tall and 8′ wide. This is an excellent choice for a partially sunny spot that could use a little brightening up!

Cranberry Viburnum

This festive, fall-berried viburnum has a sweet lacecap bloom in the spring that attracts a host of friendly pollinators! Come fall, blooms burst into gemmed bright cranberry red clusters.

This is No Mellow Yellow

Posted on September 5, 2014 by RutgersLN

Golden hues abound at the nursery, and these gorgeous trees are certainly stealing the spotlight.

The Ogon Dawn Redwood (also appropriately called Gold Rush), is a chartreuse, pyramidal variety that is fast growing and can reach a mature height of up to 80 feet! It puts on a fantastic, eye-catching display in any garden landscape.

Frans Fontaine Hornbeam is also quite literally beaming, displaying its stately columnar shape, which is excellent planted individually, as a hedge, or for situating in narrow planting spaces. With an average height of 30′ tall and about 12′ wide, it takes and becomes its own spotlight!

Our Maidenhair Ginkos are also letting down their golden hair, with vibrant bright yellow fan-like leaves. This gorgeous ornamental shade tree can get 40′ tall with a canopy of 25.’ It holds a pyramidal shape, and is drought tolerant and can handle many soil types.

Come in and experience the glow!

Blazing Glory

Posted on August 29, 2014 by RutgersLN

Who needs Blu-ray when you can get this type of high definition naturally? Whether or not you’re ready for fall, our Japanese Maples sure are, and currently are putting on quite the fiery display. Japanese Maples make a great addition to your backyard landscape, and because they can handle part shade, are excellent for brightening up an area that needs a little kick of color. We have many types to choose from in stock, ranging from adorable ornamentals to stately Japanese Bloodgoods.

Living Color

Posted on August 22, 2014 by RutgersLN

Though it’s August, we’re beginning to fall in love with seasonal color here at Rutgers Nursery!

Our Persian Parrotia has started to put out beautiful hues of fiery copper and apple red. This gorgeous deciduous tree is especially prized for its foliage which changes from a deep forest green in Spring to warm fall hues in late Summer into the Fall. Flowers are rich, pomegranate-like red clusters of small showy buds that appear in the Spring. This magnificent tree is super hearty, and is tolerant of many soil conditions including clay. It also fares well in air pollution making it an excellent choice for parks or city dwellings. The tree’s mature height ranges from 20-30′ tall, and over time, its bark exfoliates to reveal dappled shades of gray green and white.

Coreopsis Cornucopia

Posted on July 9, 2014 by RutgersLN

Nothing gives you beautiful lasting color quite like Coreopsis! Not only are they super hardy (not to mention deer resistant), there are well over 100 varieties available of all heights, shapes, and colors!

Though very low maintenance, a little dead-heading goes a long way to help increase additional blooms. If you’re not a big fan of dead-heading, you’re in luck, especially if you’re a bird watcher — the seed pods can be left on to attract feathered friends to your garden (goldfinches in particular!).

Many varieties bloom throughout the summer and into fall, complimenting the seasons with a burst of sunshine that’s perfect for any garden walkway or border. Stop by the nursery to see some of the varieties we carry!

Paperbark Maple

Posted on June 13, 2014 by RutgersLN

Gorgeous Paperbark Maple

Sharpen your #2 pencils and add Paper Bark Maple to your must-see list of specimen trees! This slow-growing variety was originally cultivated in China, but has since found its way to our area, growing well in zones 5-7. This maple does well in both full sun and partial shade, and reaches a moderate height of 15′-30,’ with similar sized canopy. Leaves grow in clusters of three, ranging from 3-8” long, and turn from orange to bright red in late fall, holding onto its color far longer than most maples, which can be a real treat in the grey of winter! Although small, delicate yellow-green blooms appear in spring, the real boasting point of the Paper Bark Maple (as the name suggests) is its distinctive, chocolaty copper bark that peels away in ribbons and curls. This tree is truly an ornament for all seasons!

Trident Maple

Posted on May 30, 2014 by RutgersLN

Though the name Trident Maple may conjure a sense of sharpness, this shade tree is anything but. In fact, the forward-facing leaves are soft, lobed, and often likened to the shape of a duck’s foot. Ideal to bring shade to a patio, yard, or street, the Trident Maple grows to a moderate height of 20-30 feet, branching out equally as wide, providing a welcoming canopy of coolness. What else is cool about this tree? Mature trunks boast an impressive display of exfoliating bark in shades of pale pink and soft orange.

Category Archives: Fall Plants